Articles with travel

Budget Travel Tips For Your Next European Vacation

In a conversation with my brother last fall, he asked if I had any tips for traveling. That question inspired me to think about ways that one can save money as a budget traveler, especially in Europe. International travel can seem daunting. For many Americans their first trip overseas is to Europe. I hope these tips will encourage them to take that European trip. Last week I wrote about some simple and practical ways to save when finding flights and…

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Simple Budget Travel Tips for Flights and Hotels in Europe

Anyone who has read my blog has probably figured out that our travel style is budget travel. Part of the philosophy is that the less we spend on a trip means a greater possibility of another trip to Europe. So we don’t choose expensive hotels or visit pricey restaurants as we travel. Those are some of the obvious ways to save money. However, there are some other ways to save as well. They may not save as much, but every…

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40th Birthday Trip to Budapest and Prague With My Parents

My mom has always mentioned that she would love to see the Christmas markets in Europe. Given I’m still making up for missed trips due to COVID, I suggested that we make the journey to Europe this year to see some Christmas markets. My dad suggested Budapest and Prague. Of course perhaps I also wanted to go because I was turning 40 and felt like I deserved a special trip for my birthday. Ten years prior, for my 30th, I…

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Prague: From the 70s to the Jewish Quarters

Saturday was our final day in Prague. Unfortunately Silvette was not feeling well. She had a bad cold and decided it would be best to stay at the hotel and rest. Andrea and I then took off to take in our final experiences in the city. It didn’t all go as well as we had hoped. Our first stop for the day was a place I had discovered online. It was the Retro Museum. Prague seems to have a museum…

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Spending a Day in Prague’s Castle Complex

A visit to Prague requires one to visit the castle complex. I say complex as this is a large area with a number of buildings and things to see. The complex is easily visible as it looks down over the Vltava River and the Charles Bridge. Today was our day to explore this significant part of Prague. First one has to make it up the hill. We weren’t exactly sure how to get up to the castle, but we figured…

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Prague’s Charles Bridge and Christmas Markets

When we visited Budapest, we walked everywhere. Our hotel was near enough to the city center that we could walk there in about fifteen minutes. Such was not the case in Prague. We had a very nice hotel, but it was some distance from the city center so we took a light rail back and forth every day. Fortunately for us, seniors over 65 ride the light rail for free so only Andrea had to pay. Payments were made on…

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A Morning in Budapest then a Train to Prague

Wednesday was our last day in Budapest. We would be leaving by train for Prague in the afternoon. We should have had another full day here, but as happens too often, I managed to be confused about the dates when I made the reservations. Since Andrea had been to Budapest before, she was more excited about visiting Prague so it worked out. Our train to Prague wasn’t leaving until 3:30 so we still had time to take in more of…

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More of Budapest and an Evening Cruise on The Danube

Since we had only one full day in Budapest, it meant we had a lot to see in that day. Having visited the Fisherman’s Bastion the previous night and our first Christmas market on this day, Boxing Day, it was time to find the second Christmas market we planned to visit. We knew it was close by, but we were having a little challenge finding it. However, getting lost only allows one to explore the area even more, and we…

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Amazon Spheres, Seattle’s Unique Architectural Wonder

A picture with Seattle’s Space Needle easily identifies it as being a photo of Seattle. Another unique architectural feature in Seattle was completed in March of 2016, the Amazon Spheres. While it was not completed on the inside for almost two more years, the Spheres have become another recognizable symbol of Seattle and is worth visiting. A trip to the top of the Space Needle will set one back as much as $37.50 per person. However, a visit to the…

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A Serene Shoreline Hike in Lake Wenatchee State Park

Sunday morning dawned, and it wasn’t raining. It wasn’t the most sunny of days, but since it wasn’t raining, I was hoping we would be able to go to Lake Wenatchee State Park. When I had planned this weekend, I put Lake Wenatchee high on the list of activities. Despite the fact that we had come to Leavenworth a number of times over the years, we had never gone out to Lake Wenatchee. First, of course, we needed to stop…

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