Oh, Where Are You Going?
Suggested Listening: The Greatest Adventure
It’s officially starting! The Hares are on Holiday!
Many of you have asked about our travel plans so we thought we’d kick off with an overview of our Grand Tour of Europe although we must say that aside from a couple points, this is all theory and may change depending on our whims. Cus what’s adventure without the unknown!
Guiding Theory
Since this is Ian and I’s first major trip together solo, we’ve decided to start easy and then move into more challenging areas. The reason for this is two fold:
- Establish our travel habits together in a relatively low risk area
Traveling together can be challenging. The habits of home are gone, the road requires a degree of flexibility, and you are now bound together through it all. Even the best of partners can take some time to adjust. Ian and I are generally very easy going and independant as couples go however we just threw our entire lives up in the air and plunged into the relative unknown. To help be kind to one another, we thought we’d start in Scotland where there’s English, small hops, and a ton of familiarity. (Also, it was a really cheap ticket 6 months ago when we still weren’t sure if it was a holiday or a Holiday.) - Expense
Despite the recent political choices of a segment of their population, the United Kingdom remains one of the more expensive areas to travel and Western Europe is equally pricey. The pound isn’t exactly in the dollar’s favor and since we know the budget will only get tighter from there on out, we can spend money knowing our dollar will go further down the road as we head east. If we reversed it, we’d be pinched at the end trying to make it all work without going into debt (a key goal of our trip).
Overall, we want to see new places and territory we can’t easily access later on in life on two week PTO vacations so we’re going to be focused on Eastern Europe where it’s cheaper and arguably less crowded during the summer.
Breakdown
May to Early June — Edinburgh & Scotland
We’re kicking off the trip in Scotland and I swear Ian has been bouncing up and down with joy for weeks as he talks about whiskey tastings, hikes through hills, and cozy beds looking out at morning mist. Both of us have Scottish blood so we’re going to take our time wandering through the mystical land of our ancestors.
Mid June to June 21st — Scotland to France
After we return our car rental to Edinburgh, we’re free to meander down to Paris at our leisure. Outside of visiting my French host family in Dunkerque and Ian’s family in Paris and London, we’re thinking of visiting World War sites or rambling down to Bordeaux on the coast to sip wine and eat seafood. We meet our friend Linnea on June 21st in Paris for what will be one hell of a party.
June 22nd to 25th — Versailles, France for the Grand Masked Ball
Held annually at the Palace, the Le Grand Bal Masqué du Château de Versailles has been on my bucket list for over two years. A 18th century costume and mask required affair held in the Orangerie halls and gardens, this year’s ball is pirate themed. (Check here for last year’s Alice In Wonderland theme) We’ll watch the fireworks kick off the party at 11pm in our movie-quality rented costumes and join our fellow revelers in drinking champagne, watching performances, and dancing until dawn when we’ll watch the sunrise over the gardens.
June 25th to early July — Switzerland and Austria
Following a good day of recovery from our Marie Antoinette escapades, Linnea will join us as we head to Switzerland to hike, eat fondue, and generally admire the splendor of summer in the Alps. From there, we have two planned stops in Austria before waving goodbye to Linnea as she heads home to California. Having three of us for this expensive leg will help with costs and we plan to hike a great deal to work off all the cheese and bread.
July — Czech Republic, Berlin, and the Baltics
Departing from Vienna, we’ll train our way to Prague and Berlin for a couple days each before heading into the Baltics — all of which is fresh turf for both Ian and I. We’ll meet Ian’s parents Bob and Fiona in Tallinn, Estonia for a week at the end of July and may boat over to Stockholm to visit a friend of mine currently working for EA Games.
Aug — Poland, Hungary, and Eastern Europe
With our EuroRail pass now likely used up, we have several options of hopping on a bus to tour down to Hungary and Eastern Europe or getting a new Rail Pass delivered to us to take through Eastern Europe. Ultimately, we’re aiming for Croatia and the Mediterranean while pausing along the way to smell the roses.
Sept — Croatia and Decision Time
By this point, I’ll be itching to dive into the waters off Croatia’s coast and we’ll be making the call on whether to continue our tour or head home. This trip was always intended to be temporary, however we’re leaving it open as to when we’ll return to the United States. From Croatia, we can hop over to Rome to head home or hop down to South East Asia for a whole new trip!
Adventure Awaits…
There you have it! Although we’ve been plotting for several months, it still feels unreal how much turf we’ll be covering. The last time I did this for 2.5 months, we were able to hit up 4 countries so the goal is to take it a bit slower in some parts, while moving quickly through the expensive ones.
But, so as long as we’re good with our daily budget, don’t get lost in time à la Outlander, and stay open to possibilities, we’re sure to have a Grand Tour.
