When we hear Switzerland mentioned our minds are quick to race to the Swiss Alps, rolling snowy peaks and a holiday in a winter wonderland. The truth of the matter is that Switzerland has some of the most amazing natural scenery in all of Europe, be it the snowy Alps or the radiant green pastures stretching between some unique architecture and healthy, flowing blue rivers.

A great example of a classic Swiss town in a fantastic setting is Switzerland’s lesser-known capital city, Bern. Surrounded by stunning views of the Alps and the wide plains of Switzerland the central old town demands attention from any nearby tourist. Read the rest of this entry »

Bakeshop Praha

Not sure what to get your travel-fiend friend for Christmas? Untrustworthy of guidebooks that spout out the usual, over-saturated tourism tips? Want to plan a trip through Europe based entirely around chocolate?

Problem solved. Travel DK’s personalized guidebooks – the guidebooks that you create entirely – have you taken care of from cover to cover, country to country.

To get the full effect, I took two approaches in creating my own travel guide. First, I created a guide to a city I know: Paris. I scrolled through DK’s attractions and then browsed those added by users to find that several of my favorite spots (Jardin du Luxembourg, Pozzetto, the galleries of le Marais) were already listed. Those that weren’t could easily be added and reviewed.

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You are now leaving the American sector

I love Berlin. For my money, there’s no cooler city in all of Europe. Berlin is a thriving modern melting pot of alternative lifestyles, international influences, and art. Still, you can’t – and shouldn’t – visit Berlin without being aware of its history. For decades, the division of Berlin by the Berlin Wall represented the epic struggle between communism and capitalism to define the economic systems of the western world – it also demarcated a real divide in the daily lives of East and West Berliners.

Many former East Berliners will tell you that living in East Berlin wasn’t so bad. Many of them say they had no real desire to leave East Berlin permanently. The problem, according to them, wasn’t communism or economic deprivation – in fact, unemployment in East Berlin was virtually zero. The problem was the lack of freedom to travel: to take vacations, see other parts of the world, experience a weekend in Paris, or simply see family who happened to live in West Berlin.

As an avid traveler, the human yearning for freedom and experience strikes a chord in me, so the most moving part of my trip to Berlin was visiting the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the many Christmas markets in Cologne

It’s Christmas market time! What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than a trip to one of Europe’s famous Christmas markets? With almost every tiny village, town, and city in Europe having some semblance of a Christmas market, it is almost impossible not to stumble across one of these timeless traditions.

Picturesque historic squares filled with wooden stands provide the perfect backdrop for the traditional festive Christmas environment. Over the years, these markets have become so popular that there are now Christmas market tours that hop from country to country, stopping at the biggest and most popular markets in Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

Sulfurous steam escaping from Solfatara, one of Italy's volcanoes

You probably don’t associate volcanoes with Europe. Chances are, volcanoes make you think of Hawaii or the Pacific Rim. But if you’d like to add an unusual dimension to your European student travel, I suggest putting volcanoes on your backpacking itinerary by heading to Italy. Italy has three active volcanoes that make impressive destinations.

The most famous of Italy’s volcanoes is, of course, Mt. Vesuvius. It destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae in 79 AD and has been periodically active ever since. One of Mt. Vesuvius’s most recent eruptions occurred during World War II, destroying four local villages and threatening American troops stationed nearby. Although Mt. Vesuvius is currently quiescent, some volcanologists claim that the smoking mountain is due for another major eruption sometime in the near future. The area around Mt. Vesuvius is extremely densely populated, so the Italian government offers financial incentives to people willing to move out of harm’s way. But don’t let the danger deter you: Mt. Vesuvius is very carefully monitored for any seismic activity, so hike up the crater with confidence and peer in. Read the rest of this entry »

Ice Skating in the Netherlands

It may still be 50 degrees and raining outside in Amsterdam, but that doesn’t mean the Dutch haven’t started to lace up their skates for the start of this winter’s ice skating season.

Winters in Amsterdam used to get frosty and frigid, and Hollanders would flock to the canals by the hundreds to take advantage of the frozen waters.  But in the past few decades, milder weather has meant significantly less cold days for ice lovers (global warming, anyone?).  In fact, last winter was the first year in over ten years that the temperatures stayed cold enough for the canals outside of the city to freeze.  As a result, manmade skating rinks have popped up all over Amsterdam and are a favorite winter pastime.

Ice Skating at the Artis Zoo

The Artis has always been a pretty happening zoo, but this winter its coolness factor is going over the top with the addition of an ice rink right in the middle of everything.  Ice skating, animals, and booze?  I may be an animal lover, but to me this sounds like the perfect day.

So make a day out of it – check out the animals for a bit (you’ll laugh at their selection of animals… there’s even a raccoon, an overpopulated nuisance where I’m from in the Pacific Northwest!), then head over to the rink and skate the day away.  If you get cold, there’s a wonderful historic indoor aquarium that will entertain you and serve as a great place to warm up your freezing hands and feet. Read the rest of this entry »

The Circumference is travel inspiration

Students have enough on their plates without trying to decide where to travel next. And if you’re anything like me, the endless number of options for student travel in Europe can be dizzying! That’s where The Circumference comes in.

The Circumference is a spiffy new travel site that promotes “amazing experiences.” With a clean layout that includes cute cartoon graphics of some of the best known global landmarks, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Sydney Opera House, the Alps and the Eiffel Tower, you are immediately drawn into the world of The Circumference when you land on the homepage. Read the rest of this entry »

Munich's Rathaus, illuminated.

Forty-eight hours, I admit, is a pathetic amount of time to spend in any city – particularly Munich.

Throw in the fact that it’s Christmastime and you’ve got a real tragedy. The season entails not only far more things to see, do, eat, drink and buy but also far more people, making it twice the challenge to work your way through the city, dine in its restaurants, ride its immaculate train system…you get the idea.

For flight reasons, Munich was the starting and ending point for a trip elsewhere. It seemed a sin, though, to miss it entirely, and so I gave myself the weekend before takeoff to get a tiny taste of this Bavarian beauty.

While Berlin, ever-growing in popularity, reminds you of what’s around the corner,  Munich reminds you of where you are. It’s Europe – in its architecture, pace and people and, while I wouldn’t advise taking it on like I did, here are a few ways to spend forty-eight fleeting hours.

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A French friend of mine recently speculated (in al lseriousness) that Americans prefer to drive cars with automatic transmission so they could have a free hand to eat. WELL JOIN THE CLUB!

Americans like to be “first” in everything, but this is one list on which it’d be better not to appear.  The World Health Organization recently published a list of the “World’s Fattest Countries” based on the percentage of overweight adults, and the United States, despite its reputation for girth (not that kind), places third.  The two fattest countries are, puzzlingly, tiny Pacific islands.  Europe is also well-represented in the Top Ten.  Germany, Bosnia, Croatia, and the U.K. are ranked fourth, sixth, ninth, and tenth  respectively.  The U.K.’s presence doesn’t surprise, and neither does Germany’s, with their steady diet of delicious sausage and finely-brewed beers, but Croatia?  I thought Croatians typified the Mediterranean diet, with their appetite for seafood and Italian-inspired cuisine.

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Bran Castle, home of the historical Dracula

I didn’t mean to sneak into Dracula’s Castle for free. I had just gotten off the train in Bran, Romania, and my eyes were fixed on the striking white turrets of Bran Castle, the medieval fortress famous as the setting for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I wanted desperately to get to the castle, which sat on a high hill a good fifteen-minute walk away, but I kept running into a fence. I didn’t know what it was protecting – it looked like some gardens or something – but I figured if I could just find my way around it, I could walk to the castle. I followed the fence as it ran in a very broad arc, never getting any closer to the castle and never seeming to end – until finally it hit me: the fence went around the castle.

“Fine,” I thought. “There must be a ticket booth here or something.” I searched for a gate, a booth, even a sign to indicate where I should go. I found nothing. Read the rest of this entry »