As we travel Europe, we seem to find ourselves visiting the UK (United Kingdom) more than we’d imagined we would when we started this adventure. It’s actually not something we’ve tried to do, it just seems to have worked out that way, for what we think are two primary reasons...
In general, we try to be incredibly careful when it comes to our health, but especially when we’re traveling long term. First, because a cold, flu, or injury could ruin the best of days. Secondly, because we’re traveling internationally and medical care depending on the country (language, laws, cost, etc.), could be challenging to obtain.
We'll be honest, Leeds took us by surprise! We arrived by train and stepped into a busy and bustling city center in a very lively city.
Little did we know that our travels had taken a surprising twist of fate. Oddly enough, without even knowing it, we’d set off to visit three ‘competing’ European tourist cities in short succession. It wasn’t our plan, we didn’t even know there was a behind-the-scenes rivalry between them; it just worked out that our travels would take us on a route through all three cities.
Prague is known as a city of cobblestone with magical architecture, unique artwork, and an enormous castle. It’s high on many travel destination lists and was one of the first central and eastern European cities to westernize after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The city embraced western culture while holding strong to its historical charm, creating a melting pot of old and new.
At first, we struggled a bit to understand the options available for visiting Auschwitz and how to subsequently reserve tickets online, especially the self-guided, non-tour tickets. With that in mind, we hope our experience and tips can help you reserve your preferred tickets ahead of time so you’re able to experience the Auschwitz concentration camps via your preferred method.
Most visitors to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau know the history of the two camps, likely from the multitude of books, documentaries, and other educational pieces that have been created. Instead of discussing the history, we’re going to take this opportunity to share our experience at the camps through our pictures, as there are no words that will fully capture the meaning and emotions behind the camps and the atrocities that took place there.
IIn our research and preparation for our trip to Poland, which included a visit to both Warsaw and Krakow, we learned about Polish Milk Bars. Known as Bar mleczny in Polish, milk bars originated in the late 1800s as government subsidized eateries for workers and they flourished after World War I and then again after World War II.
Many argue that no visit to Poland is complete without time spent in Krakow. It’s described as a magical, fairy tale city that’s not only beautiful but inexpensive and full of great food. For us, traveling first to Warsaw and then continuing south to Krakow, we wanted to see and experience one of Poland’s most visited cities, but we also knew Krakow to be the gateway to the concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau.
We’re frequently asked how we can afford to travel the way we do. The short answer is that we made the choice (thousands of small choices really) a long time ago. The long answer is a bit more complex.
Let’s be honest, Warsaw, Poland probably isn’t one of your future top travel destinations... But, you’d be wise to give Warsaw a chance; it’s an up and coming destination that may just blow you away! It certainly took us by surprise, leaving us in awe of the city and its rise from the ashes.
If you’re looking for the sightseeing gems in Warsaw, you’ve come to the right place!
When you think of a country’s capital, the words ‘charm’ and ‘quaint’ aren’t likely to come to mind. However, in one of the most unlikely places, Poland’s capital, Warsaw, you may just find yourself using those descriptors. Warsaw’s Old Town was nothing like we expected it to be!
We like to be prepared so we did our due diligence and researched Warsaw’s public transportation system ahead of time. We feel competent with public transportation in general, and while some cities may be similar to each other, when it comes to the details, every public transportation system and network is different.
We arrived in Vienna, Austria after a short (1 ½ hr) bus ride from Bratislava. We disembarked, strapped on our backpacks, and started to walk into city center. It didn’t take long before we were looking around and up in awe! We couldn’t believe how beautiful the buildings were.
We embarked on this year of travel, knowing that many of the comforts of home we’d grown accustom to wouldn't be available on our trip. Either the sheer circumstance of not being in our own home, or the fact that our bags can only fit so much stuff, meant that we were going to need to manage without a lot of 'stuff' we were used to having for the next year or so. Of course, we knew this going into it, so it wasn't a surprise to us.
If you're planning a trip to Vienna, you're probably trying to figure out where to stay, where to eat, and how to get around the city.
We were fortunate enough to be asked to house sit a home, a dog (Mono), and two cats (Tigris and Bella) in the center of Vienna, Austria. So, as the date of our scheduled house sit approached, we started to look for transportation from our current location, Cluj-Napoca, Romania to Vienna, Austria.
Bratislava, Slovakia and our travel plans met, totally by accident (a welcome accident we might add!). Let us tell you the story of how we, Screw The Average, ended up in Bratislava. We'll try to make it quick!
Bratislava offers a great network of trams, trolleybuses, and buses, so the city was only a short trip away. Plus, we’d be able to use public transportation to make our getting around the city easier!
