Virtual Ryan

I Need To Go Here Now!

European Winter Trip.

I recently got back from a 2 weeks trek through Europe and I thought I’d share the trip with you guys. My close friend, Bryan, and I hopped on a plane the day after Christmas and flew to Paris with our bags, Eurail Passes and return flights home flying out of Barcelona 2 weeks later.

First stop in Paris was a coffee shop to figure out what we were going to do, make sure our phones were working and test Bryan’s breakfast ordering skills in French.

Our stop off at the cafe.

Parlez vous Anglais? 

WTF?

Notre Dam Cathedral

Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Élysées

Our Paris trip went fast. We ended up leaving the next day around lunchtime. We had only planned on being there for 2 day and it actually go cut short due to train times. This was fine though. We would have loved to have stayed in Paris a bit longer, but we both had been there multiple times before so leaving wasn’t that bad.

Next we hopped on a train to Cologne, Germany. The train ride was a nice one bringing us through Brussels on the way. We arrived in Cologne in the evening, checked into our hotel and hit the town. Being that I lived 30 minutes south of Cologne in Bonn for 4 months while in college, I had been to Cologne a ton. Bryan on the other hand had never been so it was great being able to show him around. Here is the site once you come out of the main train station in Cologne.

Cologne Cathedral

The next day, after an awesome night of drinking Kölsch, the beer from the Cologne region, we cruised down to Bonn. It was the first time I was in Bonn in almost 4 years and I couldn’t be more excited. While in Bonn we walked around, I showed Bryan where I hung out and went to school and then we headed to Bad Godesberg, which is an area in Bonn where I lived.

In front of the Bonn University

Overlooking the Rhine River with the DHL and UN buildings in the background

After walking around Bonn, we ended up going over to my host family’s house for dinner. I was great being able to see them and catch up. I’ve kept in good contact with my host brother, Adrian, but being able to see Maria and Lothar (host parents) again was great. I had such a great experience living with them. They are such a warmhearted family and having a home cooked meal from Maria topped the trip.

Adrian and I on a walk down the Rhine River

Even though it was hard leaving Bonn, our next stop was Salzburg, Austria. Leaving from Cologne we traveled by train through what I consider the most beautiful areas of Germany, the Rhine Valley on into Bavaria. We had to change trains in Munich, so because trains leave hourly from Munich to Salzburg, we decided to grab lunch in Munich.

In front on the Glockenspiel in Munich

From Munich we hopped on an evening train to Salzburg, which for some reason felt like it took forever. It was probably the shortest train ride on our entire trip, but I couldn’t wait to get off the train in Salzburg.

The train arrived in the early evening and we went straight to our hotel. The hotel was in a great location. We could walk out the door of the hotel and be in the city center in 5 minutes.

The next day was New Years Eve so after a small breakfast we decided to walk around Salzburg. Salzburg is my favorite city in all of Europe. It’s your typical European city with Baroque style buildings and a castle on the hill above the city. If you are ever in Europe, try your best to make it to Salzburg!

The castle in Salzburg

On the way to the castle

The view from the top!

That night after a quick bit to eat on the street we stopped off in an Irish Pub. Great rule of thumb that I lived off of while living in Germany. If you ever need to find something fun to do in a European town, go to the nearest Irish Pub. They’re everywhere and usually attract a good crowd. After a few beers we decided to head out to the town square where there we vendors selling Glühwein and a live cover band was playing. We hung out there the rest of the night rocking out to the cover band and dodging fireworks in the chilly -2°C weather. The clock struck midnight, the town erupted in fireworks and we ran for our lives. It was a great New Years and I loved that I was able to experience it in Salzburg.

Next we jumped on a train to Lucerne, Switzerland. We wanted to ski in the Alps during this trip so we felt Lucerne would be a good spot to post up and find a ski resort. The small trip from Salzburg to Lucerne was great. It was the first time we saw sun the best part was we were traveling through the Austrian and Swiss Alps.

Picture from the train to Lucerne

We arrived in Lucerne in the evening and after getting a hotel we decided to go right into the city and look around. The city was beautiful. Every time I’m in Switzerland I am so impressed by how nice the people are and how beautiful the towns are.

Lucerne at dusk

The next morning we took one of the first trains out of Lucerne to a ski resort called Titlis. We ended up in a small village, rented our ski equipment and took the gondola to the top.

Small village where we got our equipment

On the way to the top

On top of the world!

Look at this view!

After a long day of skiing in one of the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, we headed back to Lucerne, each ate our own pizza, watched some soccer with the locals and passed out. The next day we would head back to France.

Lucerne at night

Next we decided to head to Marseilles, France. I had never been to Marseilles, or the French Riviera so I couldn’t be more excited. Luckily Bryan had been there before so he knew where to go and what to see. After close to 10 hours of traveling by train through Switzerland, a quick stop off in Geneva and on through Southern France, we finally made it to Marseilles.

Geneva from across the lake

Our sketchy train from Lyon, France to Marseilles

When we finally made it to Marseilles, I couldn’t wait to see the town. It was beautiful. Other than there being dog crap everywhere this was an awesome city. At the top of a hill which overlooked all of Marseilles was a huge church. We decided to hike to it which ended up taking way longer than we expected, but it was totally worth it.

Church we hiked to

View overlooking Marseilles

Best view ever!

Our next stop would be Toulouse, France. Bryan spent 6 weeks one summer in college studying in Toulouse and wanted to go back and show me around. If Toulouse had anything worth noting, it would be that they have the best Kebabs I have ever eaten. Hands down nothing can compete. Oh and their Mojitos are amazing as well. Go figure…

The main square in Toulouse

The Toulouse stop was quick but we were anxious to get to our next stop, Barcelona. Both of us had never been to Barcelona. We even tried to get there in previous trips but things fell through. This time we made sure were could make it to Barcelona and nothing was going to stop us. The train ride down the coast was nice. It was funny watching the French and the Spanish interact and try to talk to each other. We arrived in Barcelona right around lunch time and we were so hungry we went right for Tapas and Sangria!

Tapas bar on La Rambla

The rest of the trip would be in Barcelona. We gave ourselves 3 full days in Barcelona so we were able to relax a bit. We cruised around to all the sites including various houses designed by Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia, a museum and more. On our last day we fought off a dude trying to pick pocket Bryan which made for a crazy end to the trip.

La Sagrada Familia

Camp Nou where FC Barcelona plays

Overall the trip was a great success. I’m a huge fan of traveling throughout Europe and even though I’ve been back for only a few weeks, I can’t wait to go back! There is so much to do in Europe, so much to learn and see. The people are very interesting and friendly and the food is to die for. It’s is a place I will for sure return to and hope you can make it there soon as well.