Who Are We?
I, Marielle, have navigated you through our journey through the Alps with the help of my husband, Dan. We currently live in Burlington, Vermont and have been married since Oct 2016.
Our trip began on May 20th; we started the tour on May 22nd and it concluded June 1st. I had 20 pages of pre-trip notes going into this trip and wound up with 50 hand-written pages in my Rick Steves' travel journal recording the details of our trip. We took over 1,400 photos and 45 minutes of video.
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Trip Methodology
This was Dan and my first time to Europe, and honestly, I'm not sure how soon we'll be back. We're just getting our lives started together and have some other life goals planned for the near future.
Not knowing how soon we'd likely be back at each awesome destination, we set out each day with the goal of visiting the most popular or well known activities, trying the local cuisine, and maximizing each day to the fullest.
In the months leading up to the big trip, I spent a weekend on each city researching and laying out our agenda, down to all the costs and bus time tables.
Another valuable step we utilized pre-trip was studying & practicing the German language through the app Duolingo. We were by no means fluent and maybe had a pre-school knowledge of basic nouns and verbs, but it was enough for us to be able to read signs and menus. Our waiter in Berchtesgaden couldn't speak any English, but we were still able to communicate easily enough through the basics.
Final Thoughts
This experience was a trip of a lifetime and it has been a pleasure recounting our favorite moments and photos. We lucked out with incredible weather, a fantastic guide, expert driver, and our incredible group of fellow travelers.
One of the best parts from our journey, was the unexpected camaraderie of the group and how it enhanced the trip more than we could have ever imagined. It was fun as we walked around unfamiliar villages, turned a corner and saw a familiar face. We'd take a moment to share and recommend to each other what to see or miss.
This trip exceeded our expectations and we're left with memories that will last a lifetime. We certainly hope to return someday and we've got our eyes on that beautiful alpine meadow of the Alpe di Siusi and that Swiss paradise of Lauterbrunnen. We also know there is so much more to explore too. Well...
Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen!
