After the holidays, I will head to Europe and I have figured out part of my plans for the first couple of quarters! Here are some of the places where I will definitely be going in the first quarter:
Frankfurt, Germany
Heidelberg, Germany
Strasbourg, France
Dijon, France
Lyon, France
Krakow, Poland
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Seville, Spain
Cordoba, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Here are possibilities for the second quarter:
Istanbul, Türkiye
Cappadocia, Türkiye
Antalya, Türkiye
Fethiye, Türkiye
(Lycian way hike)
Tbilisi, Georgia
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| Istanbul |
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Albania
Montenegro
Kosovo
(Peaks of the Balkans hike)
 |
| Albania & Montenegro |
Just as a side note, for those who are unaware, as Americans we can only stay 90 days in the Schengen zone out of every 180 days. What is the Schengen zone? It is a unified zone comprised of most of the western European countries, and some of the eastern ones. It does not include Ireland, the UK, Cypress, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina or most of the countries east of Romania/Poland. Here is a map.
So if you are going to be in the Europe area for a long time, you have to get out of the Schengen zone after 90 days and go to one of the other countries for at least 90 days before coming back. If you default on this you may not be let back in the next time!
If you have been to any of these places, do you have any suggestions? I lived in Istanbul, but may go for a refresher, plus the grand bazaar has THE BEST roasted pistachios. I have also been to Albania (Tirana, Sarada, Durmi) and Montenegro (Durmitor, Podgorica, Kotor) before, but would like to go back for further exploration.
If you have not been to any of the above, are there any other European places that have sparked your interest, and if so, why?
If you haven't already, you can fill out this form with any questions you want answered for my upcoming ask me anything post!!
This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here.
Well, that looks all very fun! Our travel plans next year are not so varied nor adventuresome, but I'm excited for them nevertheless. We have our fancy trip to Mexico that we take with our friends every year, we are driving to the Canyonlands in early April, and we are going to Paris and then to Morocco next fall. Again, not adventure travel but very fun. My husband is taking our younger son for their father-son trip (remember he went with M up north). They are going on a hiking trip in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteThat all sounds fun! I have not been to the canyon lands, and Morocco is definitely on my list, but I don't think I'll make it this go around. Which cities will you go to? Have you been to Paris before?
DeleteI have questions about Scotland! I have been looking into the Cape Wrath or Skye hikes and wonder which area your husband is considering.
I have not been to Paris before. We will only be there a couple of days as a stopover. In Morocco we are going to Casablanca, Meknes, Chefchauoen, Fes, Erfoud, Merzouga, Dades, Ait Benhaddou, Oukaimden and Marrakesh! My husband and son are going to do the West Highland Way.
DeleteNo matter how many days you are there, you will enjoy it. The first time I was there, I only got off the plane and onto a train to Bordeaux! So I don't actually count that trip. However, even just flying in is exciting!
DeleteOf your list, I've been to Lyon (for a grad school program in 2008 for 2 weeks) and Sevilla (plus Rondo and Granada - Granada was actually my fave of the 3 cities). Phil studied abroad in Sevilla so definitely hit him up for suggestions although that was 20 years ago... The husband in the couple we had over on Saturday was born in Bosnia. They fled the country during the war and were in Croatia for awhile before emigrating to the US. I will have to ask him if he's been back.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a grand pause from big trips for awhile until my kids are older/I'm traveling less for work. My travel desires are very simple, though. I would love to get back to Paris. That is my favorite place to visit of all the places I've been. I'd also like to go to Portugal!
I'd be interested to hear what you enjoyed about Lyon. I have a walking tour planned for the first day so that I can get a feel for the place but I know I'm definitely interested in the silk factory and all of the tunnels/passages. Did you go and see them? I will be there a month and am looking forward to getting my routine down, aka finding the best patisserie.
DeleteI will have to ask Phil about Sevilla. I will only be there for a couple days and will be staying on the Costa del Sol so may get to Granada as well but that's not a definite yet. What about Cordoba? I actually have heard good things about it too and it will be about an hour away from where I am staying.
Portugal is great and I will definitely go back there at some point. There are just too many places that I want to go and I don't want to go too fast through them!!
I did not get to see all that much of Lyon unfortunately. There was a guided tour at the start of our 2 week program and we did a little bit of sight seeing on our own, but I didn't get to see a lot of the area. We had a free weekend but I went to Annecy with a friend rather than hanging around Lyon (we LOVED Annecy).
DeleteI am pretty sure Phil has been to Cordoba. I think he saw most of that southern Spain area while he was in Sevilla!
I will put Annecy on my "maybe day trip" list, but it is about 2.5 hours away, so we shall see. I may do a day trip once a week or maybe every two weeks so I will definitely keep it in mind!
DeleteOoh! Sounds fascinating. Of all those places, I haven't been to any of them- except for the cities in Germany. In my late 20s and 30s I spent a lot of time in Germany. Just out of curiosity, why did you pick Frankfurt and Heidelberg? (Oh wait- I have been to Amsterdam.)
ReplyDeleteI would love to go to Bosnia! It looks really beautiful. And, after reading Ken Follett's Century Trilogoy, I would love to go and see the spot where the shot that started WWI was fired.
Turkey is another country I would love to visit. Well, I would visit any of these!
We picked Frankfurt because I am going with a friend and her two kids for their first out of the continent trip and we didn't really care where we went particularly, so we just chose the cheapest flight. We will then do day trips from there. They are going to love it no matter what and it is going to be winter, and we would rather just soak in a place than worry too much about seeing "all the things." Plus there is a river with fireworks for NYE. We actually were going to go to Thailand but the tickets were so expensive!
DeleteI am looking forward to Romania/Bulgaria! I am looking forward to everything, but I have had Romania/Bulgaria on my list since I went to Italy in 2004!
I was in Bosnia & Herzegovina for several days about ten summers ago (I was in Croatia for a bike tour and then figured I should see someplace else in the area while there) and Sarajevo remains one of my favorite cities I’ve ever visited. There’s a lot to learn re: the history of the area and it’s also just a beautiful city that did not feel at all touristy (or at least catering to American tourists, of which we barely encountered any). I was with a friend and we also spent a night or two in Mostar, which I decided to visit based solely on Google image searches. :) We got around by bus and had no issues with transportation even ten years ago when we were often without cell service. We also had no safety issues/worries while traveling there.
ReplyDeleteSpain is number one on my Europe bucket list —
Oops, wasn’t quite finished yet! Spain is number one on my Europe bucket list but it overwhelms me bc I want to go *everywhere* within Spain. I have summers off so I may need to block off most of a summer one year and take like 6-8 weeks there. OR just decide on a focus for a shorter trip and know that I can always return.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear that you liked Bosnia. I have wanted to go to Mostar for sure but know tht is it probably touristy, so am looking forward to exploring! I want to go everywhere EVERYWHERE! It is so hard to narrow down, so I am literally letting the price of Airbnbs choose sometimes! I plan to stay a month at a time in most places, with some travel in between. However, I don't really want to be packing and unpacking, plus I like getting to know a place!
DeleteI will be watching your France posts closely since the kids and I are heading there in the summer :)) July is cheaper than June so we will probably do something like July 14th to August 16th ?...
ReplyDeleteI already have a long list of things I want to do, but I will definitely let you know which ones I liked the most. When you are with the kids, do you plan "kid" activities or do they just do what you would normally do anyway?
DeleteI have been to Lyon and Strasbourg--highly recommend both! Let me know if you want more details...
ReplyDeleteI definitely would love some tips! I have walking tours planned for both places, but my favorite thing to do usually is to just wander around, eating and looking at stuff!
DeleteWow, this all sounds so exciting, Kyria! I will look forward to reading about your travels! I had no idea about the Schengen Zone. I wonder what the reasoning is for that? I lived in France for a year a LONG time ago (1991) and had to get a Carte de Sejour. I applied for it and didn't receive it until the month before I was going back to the US! I was always worried that someone would ask to see it, but no one ever did.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I think the EU was not formed until 1992 and Schengen was 1995, but I was there in 1999 and it was still the franc! I still have some francs which are of course worthless now.
DeleteThe big question is what is Bob going to do while you are away;-) I bet he will have quite the story to tell when you get back.
ReplyDeleteAnd seriously tho, this all sounds great and I can't wait to live vicariously. I haven't been interested in international travel in the past, but maybe that will change as I learn more.
Ha. Bob will live in my parent's basement and will probably throw parties when they are away. You know, like dudes do. Why are you not interested in international travel? Like, not interested or just not comfortable, or what?
DeleteIf you go to Amsterdam, I'd also recommend visiting Haarlem and The Hague (especially Mauritshuis museum). All of Belgium is wonderful, as is Luxembourg City, which is easy to get to. Curious about the German citties... Hamburg, Munich, and Berlin are all phenominal.
ReplyDeleteFor Amsterdam, thanks for the tips! For Belgium, I only have two days so will likely have to go back another time. For Germany we are going there to show the kiddos around a foreign place, and so will likely eat Haribo and giggle about paying to go to the toilet. They will be excited to be in a different place no matter what. We will have Frankfurt as a base and will go on day trips to the Rhine and other cities from there. Also they are only there with me for about 5 days, so I honestly did not want to try to cram a bunch of plans in. We will eat German food and see German things and be happy. I will probably go to Berlin later without them when the weather is better, and I have been to Hamburg and Munich before.
DeleteThis is an impressive travel list. I've been to Germany a bit in college while traveling around on an Eurail pass with my younger brother. We didn't visit any one area for very long. I've never been to Spain and was only briefly in Paris. My daughter, Mini, will be studying abroad in Italy next semester. I was hoping that your path might include Italy in case we could maybe cross paths when Coach and I go over to visit her. ;) We don't have an itinerary figured out yet, but my guess is it will include Florence and Rome. Coach has never been to Rome.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ed studied in Budapest for a semester a few years ago, Coach and I visited. I rank it currently as one of my favorite places in Europe. Vancouver is my favorite Canadian city so far. (I've only ever been to Montreal in Canada).
I definitely have Budapest on my list! As for Italy, when are you going to be there? Maybe our paths will cross. I have been to both Florence and Rome (twice) but I love Italy and would go back in a heartbeat. I will probably try to aviod overly touristy places during the summer though since I have time to do it when everyone else is in school, so why wouldn't I? I have no interest in standing in a long line or paying twice the price for lodging when I don't have to.
DeleteI am curious to know what you do with the younger kids when you travel with Coach!
And Dijon! :) I love Türkiye. I lived in Istanbul for a few months, so really got a chance to just live and see things at my leisure which is great. However, I am looking forward to seeing other parts too! The food is great, and when I was there, it was not expensive. Costs have gone up a lot since 2004 though!
ReplyDeleteI will put Anne Frank and Van Gogh on my list. My cousin lives there so I am sure she will have ideas too, but I always love having stuff on my list just in case! Re food tours, I eat a lot for sure. I do read Melissa and also on her Paris food tour, I have been to some of those places! Isn't that fun! PS WC has some good places to eat; I don't know if you like Korean, but the Mixed Grain has a good spicy tofu soup!
This sounds WILD to me, as someone who loves my creature comforts at home. But I can't wait to live vicariously through you and your travels! I've only traveled internationally once (Ireland) but I desperately want to get back. I really want to do a Paris/London trip!
ReplyDeleteSince you like cruises, you could definitely do a Siene river cruise and could probably hit up both of your spots in one trip! Some friends on mine did a Rhine river cruise and really liked it.
DeleteYou are endlessly curious and I hope you have a wonderful European adventure the first several quarters of the year. And your bicycle will be happy to see you upon your return.
ReplyDeleteHa! I am sure he will not miss me at all. He is tired and ready for some rest. :) I am looking forward to a bit of a change, that is for sure!
DeleteI haven't been to any of these, but I can't wait to read all about your trip. How exciting! I would like to go to Sicily because the food, the history and the landscapes make it a complete package.
ReplyDeleteI love Italy and will definitely go back there at some point, just not in the first half of the year. The food alone is enough of a reason, but yes, the rest of it really is great too!
Deleteyeah... what an exciting outlook to 2025.
ReplyDeleteI have been to a couple of these places.
As I already told you Krakow is rather cute and interesting.
Also I was impressed with Lyon when I visited last year (just a day) and though I would like to come back on a weekend trip with the husband.
I personally find Frankfurt boring. What is there to visit? Heidelberg is nice but I don't think I have been.
I have been two Strasborg twice or maybe even three times.
Amsterdam is on my wishlist and I actually have trip gifted to me 2 years ag but I have not yet cashed in.
Well, if you do make it to Berlin you let me know.
Well it sounds like I am going to have some fun then! I will definitely let you know if I am going to be in Berlin!
DeleteWhy in the world is Cologne not on that list? :)
ReplyDeletePersonally I would rather soak up one place really good that try to run around to a bunch of different ones. We are going to focus on one area this time and will just have to come back!
DeleteOh, wow - many countries that were not high on my list, but i will love seeing them through your adventurous eyes. I've been to several of the locations on your list but not many of them. Thanks for the update on the Schengen zone. I didn't realize that you had to leave for 90 days, too. And you need a visa now, even for the 90 days, correct?
ReplyDeleteAnne, I don't think you need a visa, but starting in mid 2025 they are going to start a program called ETIAS where you can apply in advance and get clearance for a three (?) year period. You still will be restricted to the 90 days but will have more assurance that you will be granted entry. I think also it is not mandatory, but just a way to make it go more smoothly (that is my understanding so far!)
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