Country 25: Sweden | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! There are plenty of things to see in Stockholm, Sweden: but the first happens before you arrive. Flying into Arlanda gives you a fantastic view over the city, making it clear why you were right to visit Stockholm before you even…
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Country 24: Austria | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! “What does Vienna smell like?” The words hung in a crowded bar in the middle of the Tenderloin, thousands of miles from the city in question. My friend had just opined that Vienna smells worse than San Francisco—and I found it unfathomable…
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Country 23: Denmark | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! Whenever I think of Copenhagen, I think of playgrounds—which surprised me as much it may surprise you. This graceful northern city is typically more associated with design, architecture, and sculpture than it is with play. But whether you love blocks,…
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Tourists flock to Mallorca for the beautiful beaches, crazy party scene (okay, maybe this is just the Germans), and wild scenery, but it’s still possible to take in some of Spain’s food culture in a quieter, more intimate way—and try the best tapas in Mallorca while you’re at it. In Palma’s Sa Gerreria district (just…
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Country 12: France | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! April 2009 — Paris, France Paris. There’s no other city like it—(perhaps because we keep saying there’s no other city like it). I spent four days in that city and cannot even begin to claim that I have seen it.…
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Country 11: Italy | This post is both part of my 30×30 series (read more here!) and part of my travel traditions series (read more here.). “What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems …a delusion…
Read MoreCountry 10: Czech Republic | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! One of my biggest regrets from my trip to Prague was missing out on the Mucha Museum. Prior to visiting the Czech Republic, I’d had no idea that the artist famous for most of the French Art Nouveau pieces…
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Country 9: England | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! At 10 years old, I was a self-proclaimed Anglophile who wanted nothing in the world more than to live in London when I was older. While I’m a few countries off, London is still a place that captures both my…
Read MoreCountry 6: The Netherlands | This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here!
My 6th country was your classic study abroad in Europe tour, with a slight twist. Rather than staying in an apartment or university dormitory, I spent four months living in a medieval castle in the middle of nowhere. And you know what? Despite being a city girl, I loved it. We all rented bikes from the local shop and I spent the hours I wasn’t studying or traveling tooling around the Dutch countryside, watching frolicking spring lambs, finding dunes, and rolling through charming little villages.
After we left, my castle friends and I always planned to do a big reunion bike tour, and when I was researching how it could be done, I found Vrieden op de Fiets (Friends with Bicycles), a homeshare program designed for bikers and hikers visiting the rest of the Netherlands. For 19eur a night you get a comfortable bed, a nourishing breakfast, and the chance to meet and bond with local Dutch people. If you’re thinking about doing a biking tour through the Netherlands, I highly recommend checking them out!
Country 1: Germany |This post is part of my 30×30 series. Read more here! Is it irony or fate that the first country I ever visited is also the place I’m currently living? It was 1993, my grandfather had booked a trip to Germany to revisit the country where he’d spent his time in the…
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