It is truly amazing how quickly two months can pass by. Our last stop before returning home was Cologne. While there, we took a day trip to Cochem, which was a nice place to wrap up our stay.

We are home now, trying to overcome jet lag. We learned so much from traveling around by train; I put together a few thoughts that might be helpful if you are planning a trip to Europe, whether you are traveling by train or not. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures!

Cologne, Germany

Cochem, Germany

Top Tips for European Travel by Train

Brussels is where we hung our hats for our time in Belgium, but we also visited a couple of other places. Belgium is a small country, so it is very easy to take day trips from Brussels. It was a bit disconcerting at first to find that there are very few places with English translations. Brussels is predominantly French-speaking, but Dutch is also commonly spoken, so signage is in both languages. If you don’t speak either language, it does complicate matters a bit!

Brussels, Belgium

Bruges, Belgium

Antwerp, Belgium

Vibrant, hip, eclectic – we’re in Rotterdam! What a change of scenery from the other European cities we’ve visited! It turns out our hotel is the “Cool District” – how cool is that?! We visited Rotterdam a year ago as part of a European Cities Cruise. Our experience here was a bit mixed, given our travel “don’t” visit to Kinderdijk, (Rotterdam), but we decided to spend a few days here as a cheaper alternative to staying in Amsterdam. The train ride in to Amsterdam is only 40 minutes and the trains run frequently, so it is easy to get into the “big” city. Rotterdam is a big city in its own right, but it is a completely different vibe than Amsterdam.

Amsterdam

Utrecht, the Netherlands

I wish I could post pictures of Munich, but though we have been here for a little over a week, we have not actually toured the city! Instead, we have used it as a hub for other adventures. The city is located about 2 hours away from other places we wanted to visit. Unfortunately, on the days that we were in Munich, we had a rainout and a sick day, so never did get to see the sights here. Obviously, we will need to come back again to explore!

Salzburg/Sound of Music Tour (sort of)

Neuschwanstein Castle

Dachau Concentration Camp

The Romantic Road

Innsbruck, Austria

Are you getting tired of me saying how beautiful and/or charming the cities we have visited are? Add two more to the list, then!

We are currently in Munich and the heat wave has finally ended. Now, I can complain about the rain! It’s hard to believe that our trip is more than half over.

Zagreb, Croatia

Venice, Italy