Hello again! This week, I thought I would write about one of my favorite trips I’ve taken so far, backpacking through Europe! This is going to be an overview of the trip and I will do more in-depth posts in the future! 🙂 Be prepared, this is a long read! My good friend, Uzma and I spent almost 6 weeks traveling through multiple countries, marveling in the architecture, devouring delicious food, and snapping candid pictures along the way.
Ever since Freshman year of high school when a past teacher shared her story of backpacking through Europe, I knew I wanted to do it too. Whenever I put money into my bank account I subconsciously said, “This is money for Europe.” After graduating high school the thought was still in the back of my mind, but I didn’t really think it was possible. Fortunately, during my gap year I traveled out west with my family and when I got home I started to understand the phrase of having the “travel bug.”
Uzma and I had always joked about backpacking together, but never super seriously. However, during the fall of 2018, I just got a feeling that if I didn’t go now, I wouldn’t end up going. I messaged her to see how serious she was and the rest is history. We started researching, thought about how long we wanted to travel, booked our flights, and brainstormed all of the places we wanted to see! We decided to go for about 6 weeks (40 days), flying into Athens, Greece, and leaving from London, England. We had a loose idea of where we wanted to travel in between, but we wanted to just plan as we went. One thing we decided on ahead of time was that we wanted to try to visit a bookstore in every city!
Packing my Backpack
I think one of the best things I researched was backpacks. I had no idea where to begin, but we started watching videos of other backpackers packing their backpacks. I still watch those videos today, it’s so calming watching everything compact into a backpack or two. In one particular video, a fellow backpacker talked about the Fairview 40 travel backpack by Osprey (not sponsored). It was carry on size, opened like a suitcase, and affordable. What could be better? We ended up buying them and I highly recommend it! I’ve used my bag for other weekend trips and always try to use it whenever I can because I love it so much!
We bought packing cubes and other travel essentials backpackers recommended, such as a travel clothesline, sink stopper, and first aid kit. We didn’t end up using everything we brought, but I will talk about that in a different post. In the future, I will share what I packed vs. what I wish I packed. I did not use to be a light packer but packing six weeks’ worth of what I needed into a backpack definitely changed my normal packing habits. The absolute best thing I packed and what I recommend to everyone, is a travel journal! It is my lifeline when I get home when everyone wants to know where I went and what I thought. I’m using it to write this post and have come across stories that I forgot had happened!
Now on to the actual traveling part!
Athens, Piraeus, and Santorini
Three flights and about 18 hours later, we made it to Athens, Greece! Luckily our flight landed at night, so we were able to go to bed as soon as we got to our hostel. We stayed at City Circus Athens Hostel near yummy restaurants, spectacular murals, and walking distance to the Acropolis. We spent our first day on a walking tour with a fabulous tour guide who showed us all of the highlights of Greece while inputting his local stories. We only spent 2 nights in Athens and then headed to our next stop, Piraeus.
We decided to stay in Piraeus because we had a 7 AM ferry ride to one of the Greek islands, Santorini. The ride was pretty good with stunning views of the Aegean Sea, except for a few bouts of nausea and the ride lasting 8 hours. It was all worth it though because Santorini was amazing! We stayed on the southeast side of the island on Perissa Beach, a semi-touristy area.
When I thought of Santorini I thought, “Oh it’s an island, it should be pretty easy to get around.” I don’t know why I thought that, but it wasn’t the easiest to get from one place to the other. In my experience we had to go back to Fira anytime we wanted to visit anywhere and the buses consistently ran late. When we decided to explore Oia, our bus ride which I believe usually takes 1hr-1hr 30min ended up taking 2hr 30min. If you ever decide to visit, which you definitely should consider, just be prepared about the bus system or stay in Fira, if you don’t want to explore as much. Although I recommend you do explore, plus the bus rides are a great way to see the island. I very much enjoyed staying at Perissa Beach because we got to wake up and walk to the ocean every day. We only spent a short time here, but I will always want to visit Santorini again!
When in Rome…
We flew to Rome and had quite the hostel experience, maybe I’ll share that in another post, but after that, we ended up staying at a really great place, just a short walk from the train station, where we could visit anything we wanted! We didn’t expect to do Rome in one day, but that’s what ended up happening. First stop, breakfast at a fantastic little cafe where we got cream croissants, cappuccinos, and blood orange juice all for under 10€. Then on to Fontana di Trevi, where we saw the Spanish Steps on the way. We found our way to the smallest country in the world, Vatican City. On our way from the metro we got caught in a torrential downpour, but we were able to stop and get some pizza and gelato to avoid more of the rain. We decided to take a guided tour, so we didn’t have to wait in the long entrance lines. I highly recommend this because you will learn the history and what each room signifies. By the time the tour was done the sky was a beautiful blue and the sun was shining.
It was mid-afternoon at this point and we knew we had to see the Colosseum. We didn’t sign up for a tour, but we walked all the way around and were able to see inside at certain angles. Lastly, we went back to Fontana di Trevi because earlier they had drained the water for cleaning and we also wanted to see it at night when it was all lit up. So that was our day in Rome, jam-packed and full of memories!
The Countryside of Italy
Next up we made our way to Florence by train. As I said earlier we were planning our trip as we went, so by the time we looked up hostels in Florence we didn’t find many in our price range. However, we found one that was about an hour by bus outside of Florence in Tavarnelle. I am so glad we decided to stay here because we were out of the city and were able to see the stunning countryside as we rode on the bus.
Originally we were going to explore the little village we were staying in, instead of going back to Florence, but we decided to head back and I am so glad we did! We visited The Uffizi where we saw incredible paintings such as The Birth of Venus and many depictions of Madonna and child. If you ever find yourself here, you should definitely visit the museum over multiple days or visit the sections of the museum that you would like to see the most. We spent 2 hours making our way through the rooms in order on the map, but then we decided to just skip and go to the remaining rooms we definitely wanted to see. When we were done we made our way to the Duomo, the famous dome, and ate some gelato. Uzma taught me all about the Medici family and we stopped at the San Lorenzo church before heading back to our hostel.
In the future, I would love to go back and just walk through all of the streets and look at all of the amazing architecture.
Vibrant Burano and getting lost in Venice
Our last stop in Italy was Venice! We ended up staying in a super modern hostel that wasn’t our cup of tea, but it sure was an experience! Near the hostel was a great supermarket where we found the most delicious coconut cookie sandwiches with chocolate. I still dream of these!
Something I did not realize until I started researching is that there are many small islands you can take a ferry to from Venice. Probably one of the most well know is Burano. If you don’t know what I’m talking about just look at the picture below and you may have seen it at one point. The vibrant colored houses and winding canals make it a very picturesque spot.
My biggest suggestion when visiting Burano or Venice is to explore all of the side streets and wander around because it’s not like you can truly get lost, once you hit the water just follow it to where you started. Also, you HAVE to find Essi cookies, they are THE best cookies I have ever had! I’ve even tried to recreate them, but I’ve never been able to get it close to the actual cookie.
We explored Venice the next day. I recommend visiting the Rialto bridge, Piazza San Marco, the Bridge of Sighs, and getting lost. I was definitely the navigator of the two of us, but there were times where we were walking on streets with no names posted and just kept walking until we found a street that was on our trusty paper map. One of the great things about Venice is that it’s pretty easy to get around. There are lots of water buses and you can walk to most places over all of the unique bridges. My favorite place we visited was Libreria Acqua Alta. OMG, this place was amazing! A bookstore where books are in tubs, stairs made of books (which you can walk on), and cute little seating areas. Definitely a more touristy area, but worth it if you love eclectic bookshops!
We did take a gondola ride, but personally, I don’t think it is worth the money. I am glad I did it, but I don’t see myself doing it again. I think you can get the same feeling by exploring all of the side streets on foot, and save 80€.
Now everything you have read so far had taken place in the first two weeks of our trip. We still had 3 more weeks to go!
Budapest, Hungary
On to Budapest! I didn’t know much about Hungary or Budapest before our trip, but I’m very glad we went because of everything we experienced. We stayed in a very eclectic small hostel named Big Fish. Budapest was where we got turned around the most and where the metro was crazy fast! We were able to go on a walking tour of the Jewish district, went to one of the well known thermal baths, the House of Terror, ate the traditional Hungarian Jewish cake Flodni (delicious!!), and had the most amazing goulash.
I did not know the House of Terror existed until we were there. It is now a museum, but it was witness to two tragic periods of history. Used as the headquarters for Hungarian Nazis and Communist terror organizations. It was a very heavy part of our stay in Budapest, but I recommend visiting it because I learned about a part of history that I did not know existed.
Storybook Prague
About a 10-hour bus ride later we made it to Prague, which looks like a page out of a storybook! We spent the next two days wandering the beautiful city! We stayed at Advantage Hostel, an interesting setup, but a great location, as we were able to walk to almost everything we wanted to see. Our first stop was to Wenceslas Square, where we stopped for breakfast to have Palačinky Sladké, which are sweet pancakes, almost like crepes, but a little different. We then found our way to Old Town Square where we saw the Astronomical Clock and the Charles Bridge where we saw the Prague Castle in the distance. My favorite place that we visited that day was the John Lennon wall. It was filled with quotes from The Beatles, a painting of him, and lots of signatures. I think the greatest thing is people keep adding to it, so if I were to go back it would look like a completely different wall!
While in Prague we also stopped at a few bookstores, checked out the Centre for Contemporary Art, and tried chimney cakes! The picture below is the Blizzard, made with vanilla and chocolate ice cream with chocolate inside and the hollow cake, cooked on a stick over a fire that we saw being made! One of the most filling desserts, but worth it!
One book… left on a shelf in Prague
When I was deciding what to pack I knew I should only pack one book and I decided to bring the Tattooist of Auschwitz. I happened to end up with two copies and wanted to bring a book that I could leave at a hostel. When I finished reading it I had Uzma read it because it was so powerful. The book is about Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who is brought to Auschwitz. Since he can speak several languages he is made the Tätowierer, or tattooist, where he must mark his fellow prisoners. Based on the tellings of what Lale shared with the author, Heather Morris, it is a story that will leave your heart hurting, but hopeful.
Uzma finished the book while we were in Prague and left it on the bookshelf at the hostel with a list of all of the places the book had traveled so far. We have no idea where the book is today, but I hope it is still traveling around!
I don’t quite remember how we came to the decision, but after we finished the book we were so close to Germany that we wanted to visit the Dachau concentration camp. Neither of us had any thought of going before we read the book, but for some reason, I was meant to bring The Tattooist of Auschwitz on our trip.
Now that’s where I’m going to leave this tale of one of my favorite trips. Make sure to look out for part 2 of this journey sometime soon.
Take care and stay safe,
Renée