My friend Carrie was planning on visiting Europe with her husband this January, but in December some things came up on the farm and he was no longer able to go. I stepped in so that she wouldn’t have to cancel the trip, because I had some American Airlines points to spend and hey, I hadn’t been to Europe in a while. 😉 We had a great trip exploring Italy, Austria, and Germany together!
I’ve written a few articles about our trip. You can read about our whirlwind three-day tour of Italy [coming soon] or take a photo tour of Maria Alm, a cozy ski town in the Austrian Alps. Find out how to spend 36 hours in Vienna or an afternoon drinking beer and visiting cathedrals in Munich [coming soon].
Otherwise, on to a brief itinerary of how we spent our twelve days in Europe!
Day 0: Left Minneapolis on overnight flight to Rome
Day 1: Arrived in Rome. After taking a cab to our hotel and checking in, we set off to visit the Colosseum, stopping to see the Trevi Fountain and a beautiful church along the way. We took a guided tour at the Colosseum, and then had delicious pizza for lunch. In the late afternoon we walked to Piazza Navona, seeing the Pantheon en route. Exhausted from jet lag and our walking tour of Rome, we went back to the hotel and ordered pasta to our room, which turned out to be amazing!
Day 2: Took a train from Rome to Naples, then a local train from Naples to Pompeii. Spent most of the day touring the Pompeii archaeological site, then took another train to Ercolano to see the Herculaneum archaeological site. Returned to Naples and then to Rome, where we visited the Trevi Fountain again (this time at night) and had a wonderful pasta dinner at Piccolo Arancio near our hotel.
Day 3: Early in the morning, we took a quick walk to the Spanish Steps and then to see the Trevi Fountain once more. Then we took a train to Florence, where we stowed our luggage and went for a little walk to see the cathedral there and Brunelleschi’s famous Duomo. After waiting in line to see the interior and grabbing a quick lunch, we caught our next train on to Venice. We checked into our hotel there and then took a vaporetto ride down to St. Mark’s Square, seeing many iconic sites along the Grand Canal, like the Ponte di Rialto, along the way. We did some shopping around the square and went inside St. Mark’s Basilica, then took a sunset vaporetto ride back up the Grand Canal to our hotel. On advice from our hotel receptionist, we had a delicious dinner at a local seafood place, then did a little more shopping and had some gelato before turning in for the night.
Day 4: We awoke somewhat early so that we could take a little walk around Venice and see the city relatively clear of people, getting some good photos in as we went. Then we checked out of our hotel and took the long train journey (with a couple of changes) from Venice to Saalfelden, Austria. It was blizzarding, which was quite a sight from the train, but we made it and took a cab to our hotel in Maria Alm. In the evening we took a little walk through the snow to a nearby restaurant, where we had our first schnitzel of the trip.
Day 5: It was still blizzarding in Maria Alm, meaning many of the slopes were closed. We spent the day exploring the picturesque town. The highlight was definitely seeing the breathtaking interior of Wallfahrtskirche, the Catholic pilgrimage church in Maria Alm.
Day 6: We were supposed to do a day trip to Salzburg, but due to the blizzards and several avalanches across the train line, it seemed like the normal two-hour journey would take much longer, not making for a very good “day” trip. So instead we stayed in town, doing some shopping, trying spaetzle, and, in the evening, watching the wonderful night skiing show.
Day 7: On our third day in Maria Alm, the sky cleared up and we were able to see gorgeous views of the mountains. Carrie skied and I went on a snowshoeing expedition, both of which were fun but tiring! We met up for lunch and then I bought a cheap lift ticket and rode the gondolas up for the beautiful alpine views!
Day 8: This day started with an early morning train ride to Vienna. There we took a cab to the beautiful Grand Hotel and checked in, then set off for lunch at Palmenhaus. We paid visits to the amazing Austrian National Library and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, then went back to the hotel to change for the ballet we attended at the Vienna State Opera house!
Day 9: We began this day with a trip to Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. We had an amazing lunch of goulash and spaetzle, with gugelhupf for dessert, at the Residenz Cafe there, then did the audio tour of the palace. Afterward we went back to tour the grounds and walked up to the Gloriette, enjoying wonderful views of Vienna along the way. We took a cab back into Vienna and visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral, plus did some shopping (including at Swarovski, which is based in Austria). Our train getting back to Saalfelden was rather late due to the avalanches, but eventually we made it safely back to our hotel in Maria Alm. To read more about the Vienna portion of our trip, check out the 36 Hours in Vienna itinerary, with more info and tips to make the most of a short time in Vienna!
Day 10: This day began with a long train journey from Maria Alm/Saalfelden to Munich, Germany. After finally arriving and checking into our hotel, we visited Hofbrauhaus, where we had pretzels, weiner sausage, and beer! We then checked out the Glockenspiel on the Town Hall and visited about six cathedrals in just a few hours, including Frauenkirche and Asamkirche.
Day 11: This is where the trip went a little sideways. We were supposed to fly home, but our flight was cancelled due to the airline needing parts for the plane. Unfortunately it wasn’t cancelled until fairly late in the day, so we didn’t have time to do much besides have a some beer/radlers (half lemonade, half white beer) at the hotel (which the airline paid for of course)!
Day 12: We finally made it home (on the emptiest flight of my life!) after the one-day delay.
It was a short trip, and there were a few days in there that were a little crazy, but we were happy we were able to see and do (and eat!) so much! If you have any questions about our itinerary, be sure to check my other articles from the trip or ask them in the comments below!
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