Halloween is all about hearts racing, pumpkins being carved out & light up, adrenaline pumping in your veins, and dressing-up for a trick or treat expedition full of mischief and sweetness. If one thing is for sure in Germany, it’s that it has plenty of haunted castles and many more stories to tell. So keep your ears wide open to the whispers of ghosts wandering aimlessly down stoned corridors, feel the walls tremble in fear from centuries of relentless haunting, and witness history come back to life with the tales of times past.
Hi there! I’m Laura McCarthy. I live in the Kaiserslautern area of Germany and moved there in August 2019. Since then, my husband and I have been eating, drinking, and traveling our way through Europe. This past February, we went to Porto, Portugal and had such an amazing time. There are some really gorgeous sites to see, and I can’t imagine how crazy it would have been to visit in the peak tourist months. We were able to see the churches without other visitors, enjoy a private port tasting across the river, and savor the view from the top of the cathedral tower to ourselves. Plus, compared to Germany, we had lovely weather. I am forever going to recommend others to visit Porto, Portugal in the winter.
If I ever had to move to a big city, for me there’s only three different options that I could live with: Vienna, Budapest and BERLIN! To be completely honest with you, the first time I visited Berlin was when I was 18 and I didn’t like it AT ALL! In hindsight, a lot of that antipathy would have to do with the fact that they took a teenage country girl out of the familiarity of her village and to an unknown world which they called “the big city”. I was simply overwhelmed and a lot of the things that MAKE Berlin got much less scary when I started to get to know the city. I returned regularly and today can count it to my all-time favorites! There are so many reasons to love Berlin that it’s a bit of a struggle to get it all into one short blog article but I’ll try my best to introduce you to five of my highlights of the German capital.
“Home is where the heart is” was already sung by Elvis Presley and there couldn’t be any more truth to a few simple words. While his love story was the one of two humans, mine is of a different kind: the love story of myself and the small town of Bamberg…the place I live and study in and the place I lost my heart to – my HOME. It’s with great pleasure that I’d like to introduce to you this gem of Upper Franconia, only about 65 miles west of Grafenwöhr. What makes it so special? Let me first introduce you to a few facts before I get all romantic…*sigh*
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The Italian capital has so much to offer to everyone! The history, the Italian food and lifestyle…and which city can say that it has an entire country within its city boundaries? Vatican City, for those wondering 😉
If you haven’t experienced Lake Garda or Verona yet you are missing out on killer views and romantic experiences. Lake Garda is a popular destination for German tourists looking to get away in the summer in search of water sports. My husband and I joined Explore Europe on their trip to Lake Garda & Verona and although I originally booked the trip with the intention primarily being to experience Verona, I soon unexpectedly also fell in love with Lake Garda.
My husband and me had decided we needed to go to Ireland, how could we not? Ireland has it all! Beautiful architecture, strong culture, history, museums, libraries, amazing natural landscapes showcased in many of our favorite movies and TV shows. Then, as though sent from heaven Explore Europe offers a Saint Patty’s 4 Day trip to Ireland by air, leaving from Frankfurt Airport.
Through the eye of the average tourist, one may think that Venice only thrives off of gondola rides & Venetian masks. Although the costumes and rides are magical in their own right, you should take the alleys and bridges less taken as well. If you take a chance on getting lost down cobblestone streets and ornate bridges, Venice has much more to offer than its well-known Carnival and gondoliers. We had the opportunity of experiencing both views of Venice in just one day on our recent Explore Europe trip.
In my eyes, it is still the most underrated travel destination Spain has to offer, although its popularity is rising quickly as more and more travellers find their way to the fourth biggest Spanish city. So, with that said, let me introduce you to the city that cultivated my passion for travel.
