Our 1st Europe trip

We took our 1^st trip to Europe in July 2019. I say 1st because I know we will be taking more! There are 44 countries in Europe and we had a chance to visit 3 of them in 9 days during summer 2019. 

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

Booking.com

To begin, making a decision about what places to visit was tough. We as a family know that we would like to visit France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Rome, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and the United Kingdom to name a few. We also knew we would visit only 2-3 countries at a time to enjoy the most out of the visit. Since we were planning for July, we researched weather and tourism (aka the number of people visiting) and decided to drop our 1st idea of going to France and the UK. We decided to go to Zurich, Switzerland; Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czech. 

We reached Zurich by flight from New Delhi on Swiss Airlines on July 28. It was a comfortable 8-9 hours flight and we reached early morning. We called up the hotel and they readily accommodated to dropping off our luggage in their storage room, as our check-in time to the hotel was in the afternoon. We took the Uber and checked in to Grossmunster. We strolled around the Romanesque-style Protestant church, which is on the banks of the Limmet and the present structure was commenced around 1100 while it was inaugurated around 1220. It was serene, cool and relaxing. 

For the sight-seeing tours, we had already booked through Best of Switzerland tours for the next day for Mount Titlis, which is a full day trip starting at 9:30 am. We were excited and ready for our trip to the Great Alps and reached the tour bus stop 15 minutes in advance.  We stopped on the picturesque Lucerne as the experienced guide tour pointed out some top Lucerne attractions on a short orientation drive through the city. It was followed by some free time in this charming city, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Next, we continued to Engelberg in the Swiss Alps and rode in a revolving cable car to the top of mighty Mount Titlis for majestic views of ice boulders and crevasses. We took many pictures, as expected, at the 10,000 feet/ 3020 M elevation and walked across Europe’s highest suspension bridge for more spectacular views. We bought our souvenir pictures on the suspension bridge and called it a fulfilling day as we reached back to our hotel room by 8 pm. The next tour was booked for August 4, after our return back from the 2 other places we would visit. 

We took the overnight train from Zurich to Vienna and reached Austria early in the morning on the 30th. Again, there was no issue in dropping off our luggage before the Marriot hotel check-in time, and we were ready to explore the beautiful city. Our 1^st stop was the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which is a landmark and historical place for all tourists. After lunch and some more exploring, we checked in to K.u.K. Hofzuckerbacker Demel, where we relished mouthwatering cakes and coffee. On 31^st we went to Schlob Schonbrunn, which is full of history and splendor. There is a palace and a huge park outside. It was pleasant though a little warm due to the sun. We ate ice-creams from side vendors to make sure we felt cooler and comfortable😊 

The same evening we were traveling to Prague from Wien Hbf . The 1^st place we visited in the lovely city of Prague in Czech was the Church of Our lady Victorious. It had a great ambiance and a place with many tourists, as expected. It is the home of the famous Child Jesus statue called the infant Jesus of Prague. The statue, a 16^th-century depiction of infant Jesus holding a glorious cruciger, was donated to the Carmelitefriars in 1628 by Polyxena, 1st Princess Lobkowicz. Later we checked the Smallest Street in Prague, John Lennon Wall, and Charles Bridge. Karluv most- Charles Bridge- is a must-visit place; the bridge is always crowded with people and has many spires and churches to admire and cherish. Prague’s oldest bridge was built to replace the Judith Bridge that had been badly damaged by floods in 1342. The Stone, or Prague, Bridge, called Charles Bridge since 1870, was begun in 1357 by Charles IV and was completed in 1402. The bridge is built of sandstone blocks, flanked at each end by fortified towers. From 1683 to 1928, 30 statues of saints were carved to decorate the bridge, the most famous of which is the statue of St John of Nepomuk. The night view is amazing and breathtaking.   

The next day we roamed around in Prague; it is known for travelers on foot as well as public transport. We got more than 15000 steps each (as tracked on our phone app) on both the days we were there! We visited Karlstejn Castle also, which is a neo-gothic structure founded in 1348 and built by Czech King and Roman emperor Charles IV as a place to protect family jewels. You can do the tour, but we ended up not doing it due to long lines but it was a good afternoon to explore the castle and learn more.  

We flew back from Prague to Zurich on August 2nd and completed our last tour of the magnificent Jungfraujoch, in the mountaneous Bernese Oberland region of central Switzerland, which was 1 of my favorite days. We had stops at Lake Lungern and Interlaken. Interlaken is a pretty traditional resort town which is built on a narrow stretch of valley, between the emerald-colored waters of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, it has old timber houses and parkland on either side of the Aare River. Its surrounding mountains, with dense forests, alpine meadows, and glaciers, has numerous hiking and skiing trails. We did our Swiss chocolate shopping from a couple stores here as well as from Jungfraujoch. Jungfraujoch, also called the Top of Europe, was worth the time and money we spent. It is called so as it stands 3771 M or 11,782 feet above sea level. The Alps looked so magnificent and amazing. The train ride was simply breathtaking, though we did take different routes on both ways, as suggested by our guide, who was experienced as well as a fun guide! 

Overall our 1^st trip to Europe was an awesome experience and we would definitely do it again! But since we have other countries to visit, this part of Europe will have to wait till we return again! 

Booking.com