My European Must See List

I hadn't a clue what I was getting myself into when we packed, shipped, and stored all of our belongings in the days immediately surrounding our wedding back in August. At the very least, I figured, I would get a first hand glimpse at another culture. 

In the grand scheme of things, six months isn't a large period of time. You have enough time to settle in, hardly enough time to get home sick, and daily opportunities to step out of your comfort zone. By two months in I guess I meshed perfectly already, as people were stopping me and asking for directions. This wasn't often successful for either party as German is still not my strong suit...

Regardless, this time has been filled with more than I could have ever begun to imagine. I like to think Tom and I knew each other quite well before moving to Germany. Together eight years, living together for three, totally comfortable around each other; we were fully knowledgeable about one another, weren't we? Oh but travel and ex-pat adjustment will bring you closer than you could ever imagine. Want to test your relationship? Travel constantly, live in close quarters, and be able to communicate only with each other. That will be an adventure in and of itself.

Through all of these experiences, we have built such an extraordinary base of memories and once in a life time opportunities that I simply had to share our top recommendations with you.

Favorite life long dream realized: London, England
London has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. London is also the one city I found hardest to leave. I am actually missing it dearly just thinking back on our four days there.

Things to see:

• Changing of the guard/Buckingham Palace
• Hampton Court Palace: You can spend an entire day there. Behind the golden leaf door at HCP's entrance was where Kate Middleton's wedding dress was made.
• Trafalgar Square: Walk from Buckingham to Trafalgar, it's so peaceful.
• Abbey Road: The iconic Beatles picture location, near St. John's Wood.
• Tower of London: Walk across the Tower Bridge and stroll along the Thames.
• Joe Allen's: Craving American food? Go here. It is also located in the theater district so you can catch a show while coming or going.

Favorite City: Ghent, Belgium
Why Ghent? Because Ghent was a total wildcard. We weren't initially planning on going there, we were thinking Brussels instead. It was on a whim, and a fantastic recommendation from a coworker of Tom's, that we ever heard of Ghent. It embodied everything I love about European cities. Ghent is located on a series of canals and had a very historical, even medieval, feel to it. A person will more than likely never go to Europe solely to visit Ghent, but if you are ever in the proximity, it may change your life.

Things to see:

• Canal tour
• Gravensteen Castle
• Shopping district: Their Zara Home store is heavenly.

Favorite country: Switzerland
Let's lead into this one with a dose of honesty. The one downside of Switzerland is the cost. It is a very expensive country to visit and, I would imagine, live in. I am partial as we honeymooned in Lucerne, but we've visited that city three times in all weather and I love it just as much.

Things to see:

• Lake tour (Lucerne, Switzerland)
• Lion Monument (Lucerne, Switzerland)
• Kapelbrucke (Lucerne, Switzerland)
• Swiss watch shops and chocolate shops

Best things in Germany:

We've done a great deal of traveling in Germany, so I had to give it it's own category.

• Heidelberg Castle: People say it's touristy, but I consider Heidelberg very worth your while. They have a 212,000 liter wine barrel. Argument made.
• Stuttgart Cannstatter Volksfest/Wasen: I have to pay tribute to our beloved Stuttgart. The Wasen is Stuttgart's Oktoberfest, and is far more fun and less touristy (says the tourist).
• Hiking behind Neuschwanstein. The castle tour is cool, but the trails are where it's at.
• Berlin's German History Museum: Easily two to three hours of reasonably priced entertainment. I promise you will learn a few things there, too.
• The Berlin Wall Memorial: There is something about this that really intrigued me.
• New Year's Eve in Stuttgart. People are blowing of fireworks, sparklers, and anything else that can get their hands on for hours. It's crazy, it's fun, and you can drink a great beer while watching.

Best things to eat in each country:

Because good food can make or break a trip.

• Austria: You must try the local wiener schnitzel
• Belgium: hot, fresh street waffle
• England: fish and chips or fresh fish, depending on your preference.
• France: Hot chocolate at a cafe
• Germany: Kase spatzle. The Swabian mac and cheese.
• The Netherlands: Dutch pancakes. Pancakes Amsterdam has huge ones, the best are the ones with whole strips of bacon cooked inside the batter.
• Switzerland: Their pizzas are on point.

Best travel tip:

We didn't have wifi abroad. Before leaving our house or hotel, we loaded the city map in our Google Map app on our phones. I would save locations of restaurants and sites on the map. Also, create a note with a list of back up plans and places with addresses. You can also load the route so it makes remembering trains and buses easier. Second best travel tip: use a backpack, instead of a suitcase, as often as possible. You can easily spend pre-train/airport time touring with a backpack.

Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn is a beautiful palace in Vienna with vast property and seemingly endless gardens. The palace was constructed in the 1600's and opened in the final year of the century. Vienna was our final European vacation, and Schönbrunn was our final palace tour. Luckily, we were not disappointed.

Pictures were not allowed inside, a lot of the items were original and they did not want to put their preservation at risk. We took the self guided audio tour, lasting about an hour, before hitting up the gift shop on our way out.

We walked through the gardens after the palace tour. They were icy and all leaves and flowers had long since gone. All the ice and snow really added to the beauty and mystique of such a grand space.

From the ground level we walked up a snow covered path to get a better look of the grounds. My riding boots gave me a real battle as I hiked up, at times sliding and losing whatever ground I had just gained! The view was fantastic. Beyond the palace, you could see Vienna beautifully on display in the background. 

From Schönbrunn we took the bus back through the city to have a home cooked meal with some friends before heading to the airport. Vienna was a fantastically relaxing weekend. I loved the coffee shops, the cakes, and some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Europe. I even bought some artwork I look forward to framing soon and hanging up at home in Chicago.

Vienna from the Sky

We spent our last official European vacation in Vienna, Austria. Vienna is held in high regard internationally and domestically. Their quality of life, standards of living, and natives such as Freud are literally award winning. Vienna is also exceedingly beautiful, even when covered in ice and snow. We were very fortunate in Vienna and had some friends who planned our weekend and showed us around the city.

Saturday morning we got an early start, eating brunch by the university before walking through the city. We walked through the museum quarter before heading to the Rathausplatz, where their government building is located. There was an expansive winter market set up in the area. The largest, and most intricate, ice rink I have ever seen snaked between trees and along buildings. Behind the pretzel, beer, and hot chocolate stands was an attraction which allowed you to see Vienna from above. My dislike of heights and I were not initially thrilled to get on board, but I went for it.

Votivkirche - Votive Church

Vienna Opera

The view was outstanding and made for some excellent pictures. To recover from such an epic and nerve wracking adventure, we grabbed some drinks afterward. We walked through the shopping strip and I saw THE Julius Meinl. Julius Meinl is my favorite brunch spot back home, there are only two in the States, and it was nice to pay tribute to the original.

We spent our afternoon warming up at Cafe Diglas where we had cake and drinks. I had a mint tea and chocolate truffle cake. While apple strudel is what Vienna is really known for, I had to go with chocolate. The chandelier was my favorite, espresso mugs hung from the lights. While this made me slightly apprehensive the whole thing may fall on me due to the added weight, I want an espresso chandelier of my own.

Post cake, we took the train to dinner where we had schnitzel larger than our faces. Literally. Two people split one order, paired with the local Grüner Veltliner wine. Before calling it a night, we got a round or two of Moscow mules at a local bar with a balcony overlooking the city. We went to bed full and content we managed to fit so much adventure into one day.

Brunch at Chipps

Back in Chicago, brunch is an Olympic sport. A sport I sorely miss and excelled at nearly every weekend. While Germany is overflowing with bakeries and grab and go breakfast sandwiches, this was not filling the pancake and bacon sized hole in my heart. Before leaving Berlin on Sunday morning, we found a brunch restaurant walking distance to our hotel.

Chipps is a well known, and well rated, restaurant not far from Museum Island. The inside space was small, and we were fortunate to get a table! You could easily watch your food being freshly made, a reassuring concept and entertaining to watch.

While I was tempted to order a latte, I decided to live dangerously and order a mint green tea. I was pleasantly surprised when a cup of piping hot green tea arrived stuffed to the brim with fresh mint leaves. I didn't use the honey they brought, but it made for an adorable display! It gave me the genius idea to add fresh mint leaves to my green tea to switch things up. How I failed to think of this myself, I don't know.

Our food was beyond my expectations. Tom ordered french toast and I chose the pancakes.  There is truly an art in cooking such basic dishes and having them turn out so brilliantly. My only complaint was they brought us appropriate, European portions of the amazing brunch options. I wish I had an American sized plate piled high with those pancakes, but it makes you appreciate it all the more! I'm not saying I would totally drive the six hours to Berlin just to brunch at Chipps, but the thought had crossed my mind.

The Wall

History is so easily forgotten and dismissed. Even the historical events occurring within our own lifetime. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 and demolished from 1989 to 1992. While I was a toddler when the dismantling began, I associate the wall with a much different time period. Until recently, I also failed to fully comprehend the heart break, betrayal, and often times death associated with the division of East and West Berlin while the east was occupied by the Soviet Union.

We took the train out to the Berlin Wall Memorial and were able to walk through a free exhibition detailing its history and the lives of those affected by the division.

We arrived after dark. The shadows projected by the wall's remains created an ominous feeling as we walked along both sides. In the exhibition, we read stories of families and best friends who were eating together one day and hopelessly divided the next. A number of secret escape channels had been created for those in East Berlin to escape to the west, but often those participants were exposed and jailed, or sometimes worse. A number of people were shot trying to escape while their deaths were covered up for years. Family members sometimes didn't live long enough to hear the truth about what occurred to their loved ones. 

Forgetting how free we truly are in our everyday lives is easy to do. Visiting the memorial and seeing the stories, pictures, and videos of those who risked it all to escape or be with those they love serves as a powerful reminder. A reminder for us to never take life and our freedom for granted.

Walking Through Berlin

Our hotel in Berlin was located by Museum Island. While I had researched various hotels in a multitude of locations for days, Tom searched for about five minutes and came up with the perfect one. Go figure. We drove the six hours to Berlin on a Friday afternoon and settled into our hotel. Hangry and unsure of where to go in the area, we ate at the Indian restaurant next door. The food was flavorful and the servings were huge. This created a perfect equation for a full night of sleep before getting off to an early start Saturday morning.

Believe it or not, we enjoyed our first rain free weekend in quite some time. We were able to take advantage of the weather and walk the thirty minutes to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building just five minutes beyond that.

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag Building

From the Reichstag we walked about twenty minutes to the Deutsches Historisches Museum, or the German History Museum. Before going inside, a nearby market caught our eye. As we walked through the tents, we glanced across the river and caught a glimpse of the Berliner Dom, the Berlin Cathedral. The Cathedral wasn't even on our list to see and made for a happy surprise as we realized it was a short walk across the bridge.

Berliner Dom and Fernsehturm

The Fernsehturm, the silver tower you can see beyond the cathedral roof, is a television tower in central Berlin. It is also an iconic landmark, I consider this picture to be quite a two for one view.

We finally made our way into the history museum where they give you a sticker as proof of entry instead of a ticket stub. While this method did not bode well for me, I lost mine halfway through and had to get another, I liked the idea. It seemed more environmentally friendly.

I have, understandably, learned a great deal about European history since arriving here. This museum was particularly awesome. Displays began in the 500's, but there was an animated map to show the shifting country lines throughout the preceding centuries.

"Discord in Marriage"

Art work was featured throughout a number of exhibits and I consider the above piece to be my favorite by far. The marriage piece is humorous and descriptive. I may consider requesting a replica for my own decor.

The museum spanned two floors, I lost my sticker after floor one, and concluded with a glimpse into the lives of East/West Berlin residents. We spent a significant portion of time walking through that display. We left the museum around three and I was beyond starving. I had yet to eat and all of that walking and education was draining me quickly.

Fortunately we were just up the road from a long strip of restaurants. We perused some menu choices before settling on one advertising more traditional German fare.

By now, I like to believe I know my way around a menu. I knew I ordered something with pork, potatoes, and vegetables. I thought it would be a slab of pork with everything else on the side. Then, they brought out the above contraption. I devoured nearly the entire thing, and it tasted like a fusion of Mexican and American style cooking. From the restaurant we took the train out to the Berlin Wall, but that experience is for another post. 

Munich on New Year's Day

Our New Year kicked off with a trip to Munich. Technically, we had been to Munich before, but as participants and eager observers of Oktoberfest. I expected this visit might have a bit more culture. We stayed at the Hotel Cristal, awesome because of it's central location, not awesome due to the amount of wandering we had to do in order to access and escape the parking garage. 

We began exploring the city after we arrived midday. There weren't snow or rainstorms following us throughout the day, for once, but the sidewalks were deathly slippery and lead to me slowing everyone down with my unsure shuffle.

There were remnants of the local Christmas market just outside of Marienplatz. We saw one very unfortunate fellow drop a fresh order of fries, I wanted to cry for his loss but the local pigeons were able to indulge in a serious feast. Going off of a recommendation, we went to Augustiner, a very famous beer hall, for lunch. It is the second largest beer hall in Munich and their beer recipe goes all the way back to the 1300's when the Augustinian monks began crafting it in their monastery.

Baskets of pretzels welcomed us to the table. They were decent, though slightly stale and not free! I ordered a venison goulash and only made it half way through. I forgot how heavy carbs, beer, and meat can be.

After lunch we walked just across the way to St. Michael's church. The inside was beautiful and the sunlight shone through in a magnificent way. From there we walked by the Neues Rathaus. Rathaus means government building, our Rathaus in Stuttgart is nothing special and the ones in Munich, the old and the new, put ours to shame.

Neues Rathaus

Altes Rathaus

Given that is was New Year's Day, museums and other points of interest were closed. Luckily, we were able to take in all of the major sites of the city without having to set foot inside a building. For dinner we ate at a small German style restaurant where I balanced out my lunch with a salad and ice cream. I figured I would need to keep my strength up for the treacherous walk back to the hotel along a large sheet of ice.

I loved the accessibility of Munich. To have all the must sees all in one place with a never ending selection of great food and beer was ideal. 

An Explosive New Year's Eve

How does Stuttgart prefer to bring in a New Year? By blowing up an assortment of fireworks in the city square of Schloßplatz. While many cities admire and enjoy fireworks over the holidays, it is required they are done by professionals to avoid risk of injury. Those in Germany feel no such pressure for an orchestrated, well managed show.

After arriving home from Trier and doing some festive drinking at our apartment, we hopped on the U-Bahn downtown. As we approached Schloßplatz, the crowd went from nonexistent to throngs of people clumped together for warmth, and possibly safety. The four of us set up base under a tree, we figured if something went flying and sparked overhead we would have decent coverage!

The age of the attendees were mostly college through those in their thirties, although to one side of us there was a family of elementary aged children setting off Roman candles as quickly as they could manage! Many of the fireworks were small, items that twirled on the ground, or emitted sparks ten or so feet into the air. However, a number of participants took their firework celebration much more seriously! We had the perfect view of high arcing fireworks exploding over the crowd and lighting up the night. Truth be told, there was one point of concern where a rouge firework shot directly at us and exploded so closely we could feel the warmth on our faces. 

As midnight approached things began going off like crazy. The sky went from clear to overwhelmed with smoke and lights. The crowds were cheering, drinking, and having the best of times as they set their own stash aflame and into the air.

While the exact stroke of midnight was lost in luminous chaos, the ten minutes preceding and after the start of 2015 were filled with intense celebration by everyone in the square. 2015 easily goes down as the most memorable New Year's Eve of all time.

Touring the Oldest City in Germany

Trier is likely the oldest city in Germany and said to be founded in 16 B.C. While I am always up for touring a new city, this visit held a special meeting. Some of Tom's not too distant relatives are from the nearby town of Spies, Germany and we were very interested in seeing the area. Outside of my day visit to Cologne, this was also my first visit to the Rhineland-Palatine area.

We stayed at the Mercure Hotel, directly across from Porta Nigra. Providing us with an immediate view of the medieval Roman gate each time we walked outside. The day of our arrival we gave ourselves a tour of the city.

Electoral Palace

Cathedral of Trier

The most fantastic site was the Electoral Palace. While the palace's main claim to beauty is the surrounding gardens, they were rather lackluster in the winter months. The palace was built in the late 1600's and currently serves as a local government office. Could you imagine if all government offices looked that nice? There certainly are some perks to working in Trier!

Next up was the Cathedral of Trier, the oldest church in the country. Construction began in the 1200's and it still stands to this day. The inside of the cathedral was bare in comparison to many of the plush and gilded churches I have seen throughout Europe, but that is to be expected for a building of that age.

After lunch, drinks, and our walk though the city, we all crashed and took a nap. We wanted to see the city at night, but needed to rest up first.

Porta Nigra

While it was a few days past Christmas, we were fortunate all of the decorations were still up. I love the holidays and the weather was clear and pleasant enough for us to enjoy an evening walk through the city. We ate dinner at Theo, a restaurant right by the Porta Nigra, before returning to our hotel for the evening. The following day was New Year's Eve and we had to get back to Stuttgart to pick up some food and beer for the celebration!

Lucerne: A Winter Wonderland

On our drive home from Geneva, we decided to stop off in Lucerene. Switzerland is a relatively small country and taking Tom's brother and sister to a city we love so much was worth the slight detour. Tom and I honeymooned in Lucerne back in October and quickly found ourselves feeling at ease as we walked along the lake and bought true Swiss chocolates.

The winter snow seemed to be following us throughout Europe. While it was colder than we were used to, the weather made for a picturesque afternoon in the city. We parked by the Palace Luzern, where we stayed on our honeymoon, and walked through the city.

The snowflakes were fluffy and perfect. While I certainly am not a fan of the cold, I braved the temperature and quickly accumulating snow as we strolled through the footpaths and shops. We made our way by the church, the Lion Monument, across the river, and finally found warmth in a fantastic restaurant on the other side.

There's nothing like pumpkin soup to warm you up on a winter day.

After lunch, we crossed the famous Kapellbrücke and meandered into my favorite chocolate shop in the area. We ended our visit with a stroll along the lake front path. Lucerne is beautiful, and one of my favorite places in Europe, regardless of the season.

Our First European Snowstorm

Winter had been exceptionally good to us this year, until December 27th. That Saturday morning we were leaving France around 6:30 to drive to Geneva, Switzerland. Tom's brother and sister were flying in for the week and we were scheduled to get to the airport in three hours, plenty of time or their 10:20 arrival.

Sadly, the weather completely foiled our plans. We knew snow was coming, but we highly underestimated the amount and speed at which the snow would be falling .We survived the Polar Vortex of last winter and the snowstorm which closed down Lake Shore Drive back home, so we were optimistic about our winter survival tactics.

When our initial SUV broke down back in October, we received a manual, four wheel drive version and that may have been our saving grace through out this storm. The three hour drive took us five and a half due to the weather. Once we made it through the mountains, we saw hours worth of traffic backed up in the opposite direction and were grateful to just be moving along, even if it was at a snails pace. The next morning we found out one person died and thousands were stranded on the roads, we were very fortunate we left as early as we did.

We ended up meeting at the hotel due to our large delay. The weather in Geneva was chilly and rainy, but I gladly took such dismal weather over the snowstorm we just survived! We borrowed some umbrellas from the hotel and went exploring.

Geneva had a very easy to navigate train system. The main station was across the street from our apartment and we were able to get from one end of the city to another with ease. Our first stop was the United Nations building. The rain really picked up when we arrived, so our stay outside was very brief.

As we boarded the train to the Altstadt area, the weather had begun to clear. We walked through the shops, popped into St. Pierre Cathedral, and investigated the free Maison Tavel Geneva History Museum. Previously, we had only been in the German speaking parts of Switzerland, and it didn't occur to me Geneva would speak French, not German, due to their proximity to France. I can navigate a German country and ask for the basics, but my knowledge of French numbers one through ten and oui and non would not be getting me far here. Shannon to the rescue. Tom's sister is fluent in French and made the entire visit a breeze for the rest of us. Knowing the language is such an advantage. 

The streets of Geneva with St. Pierre in the background.

By early evening, we were starving and began wandering the streets in an attempt to locate a place to eat. Due to European culture a number of places were not open yet and we ended up taking an accidental walking tour of the city in our efforts to find food.

We walked by the flower clock, along Lake Geneva, and through the city center where we finally ended up eating at a diner two blocks from our hotel. The rain came and went, and by the time we sat down to eat, my boots and socks had become thoroughly soaked. After refueling with pizza and an ice cream sundae, we walked the short distance to our hotel and turned in early. It was hard to believe so much had occurred in one day.

Jet d' Eau

The following morning came too soon. After packing up and eating a hotel breakfast, we drove to one final sight, the Jet d' Eau. The Jet is a famous water fountain in Geneva and one of their most well known landmarks. A gray hue hung in the air from the previous rain and oncoming snow, making it difficult to do the fountain justice in pictures. We walked all the way to the edge of the pier to get a very up close look before heading out. On our way back to Stuttgart, we had plans to stop off in Lucerne and were ready to get on the road.

Dinner for Twenty One

Every morning in France was a new opportunity. A couple of days I headed up the mountains on a ski lift, some days I stayed at the chalet and read, each day I explored a path or part of the town I hadn't seen before. I had only visited La Salle Les Alpes once in the summer of 2013, but I consider myself to have a decent familiarity with the layout. The winter landscape however, altered the views and the offerings. On Christmas Eve, while wandering through the shops, we came across an open air market. Some booths had clothing, some dried meats, but most importantly, some had glorious French cheese.

My thoughts on cheese? The stinkier, the better!

Christmas Eve night ended with half of the group going to church and half playing Perudo, drinking, and overseeing the finishing details of our dinner. Dinner each evening was seriously decadent with multiple courses, all of them handmade. Seating was always a struggle, and you became closely acquainted with those next to you very quickly as twenty one of us were crowded into two tables each day. To be fair, the only rough patch was when you got seated on one of the two benches near the end. Three people were on each bench, requiring everyone to sit, rise, and scoot the bench in at precisely the same time. There was true strategy to this as well, as it had to be two women and one man. You could not disturb the delicate bench balance! We all had chalkboard napkin rings with our names on them to designate our assigned spots.

Champagne and appetizers on Christmas Eve

The last night of our stay, the 26th, was a really special meal. The menu mirrored that of a Thanksgiving dinner, a true luxury for us this year, with the exception of the appetizer. We began with escargot. I consider myself adventurous when it comes to food, I do like stinky cheese after all, but this was something I had not tried before. After a few failed attempts at removing the snail from it's shell, I finally succeeded in retrieving one and it was delicious. They were cooked in an amazing basil sauce, which was remarkable by itself, and the texture was not as odd as I was fearing! 

Dinner was turkey, cabbage, parsnips of varying colors, potatoes, stuffing, and we finished with a chocolate log I would describe as a Swiss roll covered in powdered sugar and pomegranate seeds. Those pomegranate antioxidants really helped balance out the meal. 

The whole week at the chalet had absolutely flown by and was stuffed full of food and new experiences. Tom and I tried to retire at a decent hour, but wanted to enjoy as much time as we could with everyone. We were leaving at 6:30 the next morning and wouldn't be seeing them before we departed! Spending Christmas in France was an absolute dream and made for a fantastic first Christmas together as a married couple.