Budget Travel Series: Introduction

Brian and I have lived in the UK for more than 6 months now, and we have been able to see some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The question we always get though is: how do you afford to do it? It’s taken research and experience, but we now have a system that allows us to travel in Europe on a budget without feeling like we’re on one. We stay in nice hotels, eat local food, and are truly able to experience the cultures by finding ways to save where we can.

Before you begin planning your trip, there are a few general tips that can make a difference. First, it is helpful to check out travel deals through Web sites such as Travel Zoo (www.travelzoo.com or www.travelzoo.co.uk). Myvouchercodes.co.uk can also offer you great savings on destinations in the UK specifically. Expedia and Travelocity are also great resources for traveler information, ideas, and savings. Many of these sites offer a regular, online newsletter with travel deals delivered straight to your inbox.

Over the course of the next 4 days, we will share our tips for saving money when booking flights, choosing hotels, getting around town, and eating out. We hope you will find the information helpful when planning your next trip to Europe!

Amsterdam: The Land of...well, you know... =)

Brian and I thought Amsterdam would be a fun city to visit, so when we saw cheap airfares, we booked our tickets quickly and headed over for a 3-day weekend. Some people may be hesitant to visit the city, but that would be a big mistake. It's a beautiful city with gorgeous canal homes, friendly people, and a lot of history.

We started off our trip by visiting the Anne Frank House, somewhere I have always wanted to go. It was very surreal waking through the actual house where the family lived for those years during World War II. It was extremely well-done and maintained a respect and integrity that I feared it would lack due to the vast numbers of tourists who visit the house every year. It's a definite must-see for anyone visiting Amsterdam.

Despite the not-so-great weather that day, we ventured onto the canals for a boat tour through the city. The houses along the canals are so beautiful and deceptively small. We actually visited a few of the historical ones, and once you get inside, you discover they are actually skinny mansions!

That night, we went somewhere I thought I would never go: the Red Light District. We went on a tour that was highly rated by Trip Advisor, and it was actually strangely fascinating to see this part of the city. Brian was 1 of only 2 men in our group of 10 which we all thought was quite funny. If you're in the city, I think it's something you definitely have to see. And before anyone asks, no, we don't have any pictures from this part of our trip. =)

Our final night in Amsterdam, we took part in the annual Museum Night, where you purchase one ticket that gets you into museums around the city from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. It was a blast! We started off with a secret Catholic church that had been built in a canal house attic, then went to a few more historic canal houses, and finally ended up at the Olympic Stadium from 1928. The Olympic Stadium was by far the highlight of the night for Brian - we even got to hold the official Olympic Torch!

On our trip, we also visited the Heineken Brewery, the BOLS Cocktail Museum, and one of the largest food markets in the city. Here are the pictures from our adventures. Hope you enjoy!

Friends in England =)

Since moving to England, we have tried to explain to our friends and family what it is like, but we really want everyone to come out and visit us to see it for themselves. One of our best friends Chris took us up on the offer and came out for a visit a few weeks ago. We had the best time showing him around our little town and then visiting Cambridge and London!

Chris started out here in Bury St. Edmunds where we took him to the local sites and of course our favorite local pubs. (He would never survive in England though because he got tired of pub food pretty quickly!) =) A unique adventure he and Brian did was to visit Go Ape! in a local forest where you could zipline and do ropes courses through the woods. Brian has been wanting to do it for a while, so I was glad one of his friends came over to go with him.

We also visited the Duxford Air Museum and Cambridge, which is still one of our favorite towns because of the college feel, great architecture, and yummy food we can't seem to find anywhere else close to us! We had a great Turkish dinner the night we were there with Chris.

After a few days in the more rural part of England, we caught up with Chris' friend Trisha who lives in London and Brian's friend from work to venture into London. The five of us ended up being in a car together for several hours in addition to 2 days of sightseeing so it's a good thing we got along so well from the beginning! =)

We started off by seeing Windsor Castle (the Queen was actually in residence there when we visited!) and Hampton Court Palace, one of the main homes of Henry VIII. Anyone coming to London should definitely visit these two places! On Sunday, (after the guys finished watching the Gator game early that morning), we did the hot spots in the center of London, including the Tower of London where we saw the Crown Jewels. It was definitely a fast-paced weekend full of a lot of history and walking, but I think I can safely say everyone had a good time. =)

Check out our photos from our weekend. Remember that you too can visit us here in England and be taken on a great adventure! Chris, please feel free to add your endorsements about what great hosts we were. (hint hint) Hope to see more friends soon!

Oslo, Norway - A Great, Unexpected Adventure!

Brian and I love traveling and experiencing different parts of Europe, but I don't think either of us ever thought we would see the real Norway (we've been to the fake one in Epcot a lot though)! =) However, when we found two round-trip plane tickets to Oslo for less than $100, we decided to go for it and experience Oslo.

Oslo is where the Nobel Peace Prize is from, and since we went not long after they announced that President Obama was this year's recipient, we visited the Nobel Peace Center. The center also had an exhibition titled "From King to Obama" where they compared President Obama to Martin Luther King, Jr. We thought this was interesting and possibly controversial to some people...

And of course when you think of Norway, you think of Vikings so we visited the Viking Ship Museum. It was actually really interesting, and it's always amazing to see artifacts that are older than the US!

Other than those two things, we really just enjoyed walking around Norway. It was cold, but with the sunshine, we didn't mind. There were beautiful parks EVERYWHERE where we got to see leaves that had changed colors. The waterways and fjords were gorgeous too - it was just such a peaceful and beautiful country. We definitely had a great time and hope to go back sometime, which is good considering we had no idea what to expect when we booked the tickets! =) Check out the sights in Oslo here.

Barcelona: The Land of Tapas and Interesting Architecture

Brian and I continued our travel marathon and headed over to Barcelona for a quick weekend. My brother recently asked me why we were traveling so much, and the truth is that 1) we love experiencing different cultures and 2) we are able to do it on a budget because of Ryan Air and because of tricks we have learned to keep travel costs down.

Barcelona was mine and Brian's first time to Spain, and we loved it! The weather was beautiful, especially after coming from cold England. The city was vibrant and energizing - we loved the people, the food, the architecture, and everything else. We actually spent most of our time just walking around the city and taking it all in.

Of course we ate tapas for lunch and dinner, and enjoyed the sangria too. =) We took a city bus tour to hit the highlights of the city and made a great stop at the Olympic Stadium and Museum. Brian LOVES the Olympics so it was cool to go visit where the 1992 games were held. We're trying to figure out how many more "Olympic cities" we can visit on our travels.

Definitely the most interesting building we saw was the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi. It's been in the making for 80 years and isn't expected to be complete until 2030. It is the most random building and collection of design techniques I have ever seen - Brian thought it was interesting; I honestly thought it was very random and a bit of a mess. I'll reserve my final judgment though for when the building is complete. =)

Our Spanish wasn't great, but we did the best we could and we found the people to be very friendly and helpful. We especially ran into bits of language barriers when we ventured out of the main tourist areas to eat at more local restaurants (we always try to do this because the food is usually better and less expensive).

Overall, this was an amazing trip and we definitely want to go back to Spain, especially when the weather gets miserable here and we need some good sunshine. =) Check out our photos here to see beautiful Barcelona.

Bavaria, Germany Part 2: Garmisch and the Zugspitze

After Munich, we explored other parts of Bavarian Germany. First, we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp. My mom was German, so I have always been very interested in the country. In both high school and college, I took a lot of German language, culture, and history classes. It was so powerful to be able to stand in the spots I had studied for so many years.

We then headed down to Garmisch to see the German Alps. We highly recommend this beautiful town for anyone visiting Germany. Brian and I have always thought that Epcot was a surreal or fake version of countries, but after visiting places like Garmisch, we see now that Disney got it right - these countries really are that surreal and beautiful.

While in Garmisch, we ventured up the Alps to the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany at nearly 10,000 feet! It's pretty much an all-day adventure that includes a couple of cable cars and trains. In addition to the breathtaking view, one of the highlights for us was seeing snow. Brian and I are both native Floridians, so this was the first time Brian has seen real snow and only my second time (ironically my first time seeing snow was visiting my mom's family in Germany more than 10 years ago)!

During the winter, this area attracts tons of ski lovers. We're talking about heading back to try out the slopes and maybe even do some tobaggoning. In the meantime, here are some photos from this trip. =)

Bavaria, Germany Part 1: Oktoberfest!

This past weekend, Brian and I headed over to Munich, Germany, to see the real Oktoberfest. Since we were there on the last weekend of the festival, it was PACKED!!! They estimated 6-7 million people were going this year. Now if you think Oktoberfest is just for drinking, you would be very wrong - yes, there is a lot of beer flowing but there is so much more! All of the local breweries set up "tents" which are really elaborately decorated temporary buildings that can hold upwards of 10,000 people. Once inside, you grab a table (usually you are sitting at a large table with strangers) and then order your drinks and food. We always eat so well in Germany - the roast chicken, bratwursts, and homemade potato salad were delicious as always!

Beyond the tents, Oktoberfest includes "carnival rides," but we don't think that is the accurate term to describe them. These rides would fit right in with the best amusement park rides - they are crazy scary (probably even scarier if you've been drinking!). The carnival has several rollercoasters, two giant ferris wheels, and tons of rides that spin you and flip you and throw you into the air. We opted to avoid those rides... =)

After Oktoberfest on Saturday, we ventured into downtown Munich and visited the famous Hofbrau House. We had to shove our way in, but it was so worth it! The food and drinks were really good, and it was so much fun just to watch everyone around us. (Check out our photos to see the traditional German attire we saw all weekend...)

We weren't sure what to expect going into Oktoberfest, but it was a blast and we are already planning on going back next year. Check out our photos and let us know if you'd like to join us! =)