Europe: Summer 2024

We did a tour of Europe and visited 7 countries in almost 3 weeks. Unfortunately, I didn’t take my camera, but I did take photos on my phone, although the quality is not the same. There was a heatwave and we did struggle quite a bit! I’ve added links to the places, so if you want, you can check them out and I've added annotations about the places with my thoughts.

Here is our itinerary for the trip:

22nd July - Fly into Vienna (Austria)

We rented a car(which was one of our biggest expenses) and stayed in a hotel for the night.

Places visited: Vienna

• The house of music (Museum 35 euros for a family. It was a lovely place and was educational and interactive- Best thing was the piano stairs!)

• Science and Technology Museum (Kids go free. This place was massive - you could easily spend 4-5 hours here! It was interactive and educational; it had all sorts of stuff, and how things had evolved over the years. The food was good too, the only drawback was that there was no AC, and we were all struggling with the heat!)

23rd July - Day in Vienna and then drive to Bratislava (Slovakia)

We stayed in an Airbnb. The drive took 1 hour from Vienna across the border to Bratislava, which is an up-and-coming city. It was a very colourful city, and I felt a lovely vibe.

Places visited:

• We visited a cat cafe and walked around the city center, and also went to a couple of play parks in our area.

• Went to a hotel that had a 360 view restaurant at the top, which slowly revolved around. (It was a pretty cool experience that we haven’t had before. However, the menu is limited and not child-friendly. It was 6 euros each to go up, but that was deducted from your food bill).

• Delvin Castle (Only 10 euros for the family, and the castle had a super deep well - 3 second drop. The views at the top were pretty, you could see where the 2 rivers met up, and it had a little museum not too far away and a memorial for the 400 people shot and murdered over some riots about the land. Bratislava has been a place between 12 countries over the years!)

Thursday 25th July 2024 - we drove out to Austria and found this really pretty spot - a really pleasant walk and views, we also found a place where an artist had made tons of sculpture artwork that you could view.

26th July - Drive to Budapest (Hungary)

We stayed in an Airbnb, the drive took a couple of hours, and Hungary was the cheapest city of them all, as it didn’t take euros, just Hungarian forint.

Places visited:

Saturday - 27th July: Thermal Margaret Island - water park (It was amazing! Only 35 euros for the whole day!! It was situated in a large park which had play parks, rentable bicycles, cafes, etc - HIGHLY recommend!)

The place had: Outdoor large pool slides X4, Outdoor wave pool, Outdoor fountain chill pool - cold water, Outdoor baby pool covered in shades and with toys, Outdoor swimming length pool, with lanes, Outdoor swimming pool with little slide - cold water, Outdoor thermal swimming pool, Indoor thermal pool, Indoor children's pool with slide, Indoor ice dipping bath, Massage rooms(Indoor), Steam rooms/sauna(indoor, Outdoor park with misters, Several places to eat and get snacks, Shop with costumes, pool toys etc. Lockers and changing rooms(indoor and outdoor)

• The upside-down house (A temporary art exhibition of an upside-down house illusion)

31st of July: We had a day trip over to Slovenia

We visited a natural hot spring, which is 21-25 degrees all year round. It had quite a little trek to get to - a big hill to walk back. But the area was lovely, lots of locals there - it did have a portapotty, but that was gross! Then, on the way back, we stopped off at a little park, which had a jumping pillow. I was so shocked at how beautiful Slovenia was! Full of mountains, pretty well-kept houses, and it was just so pretty!! Must explore again!!

29th August - Drive to Zagreb (Croatia)

We stayed in an Airbnb, but did upgrade this one for an AC because the heatwave was killing us! This drive was pretty long, 4 hours to get to. I was very excited to see one of my dearest friends, Emma Alicia, an actress and model.

Places visited:

• Amazinga (Highly recommend this place, the kids loved it! We paid 44 euros for 2 hours - covering high ropes, trampolining, and games. There were more activities; escape room, Laser tag, VR games, etc!)

• Sljeme cable cars - it was a 25-minute ride up, and there were restaurants at the top. One with a beautiful view, so we had drinks and pancakes.

• Makimir Park, and then we walked to a cat cafe.

2nd August - Drive to Moggio di sotto (Italy)

We stayed in an Airbnb, and this one had a pool, and the kids loved it! Italy was also the most expensive country of all. This was my favorite place of the trip, the views of the Alps were stunning, and the water was so fresh (We just drank from the river!)This was our longest drive, it took us around 6 hours.

We drove through Slovenia and stopped off at a few places on the way - Jasana, which was just breathtaking, and a little village, had homemade pizza and met a cute pet pig! Honestly, Slovenia is a pretty country.

Places visited:

• Paradise Caves (An awesome experience - Down 207 stairs, we saw some caves and stunning views)

• We walked around the town, it was very pretty, and had a meal at a local restaurant.

• We viewed the surrounding areas: a waterfall and river, which was soooo pretty. Then we went to a lake, where we went swimming.

• Visited a butterfly house (Which was a wonderful experience, and this pretty Camelion climbed on me whilst I was taking a picture, I loved him!!)

• Sutrio town (Which was full of wood carvings, had a coffee and cake stop at a local cafe).

• Drove up a mountain - 1600 m above sea level (1 mile) and the view was incredible!

6th August - Drive to Munich (Germany)

We stayed in a hotel for the night, spent the day exploring the city, before flying home on the 7th August. It was incredible to see the history, culture, and try new foods.

Places visited:

• Salt mine (Which was an interesting experience! A couple of slides, a small light show boat ride, a fanicular ride, and a couple of mini train rides through the salt mine, with a tour guide - it wasn’t in English. Of course bought some Alpen salt. However, no photos because they didn't allow pictures).

• A pretty church.

• Made our own Harribo mix at the Harribo shop.

• Studio of wonders. An illusion and selfie place.

• The Museum of Contemporary Art - Damien Hurt exhibition.