Final European Thoughts

8 Countries + 13 Cities + 17 Days = 1 Amazing Vacation!
 
It's hard to believe the trip we planned and anticipated for so long has come and gone!  I remember when Logan came home from his mission we talked about traveling back to where he served and seeing other parts of Europe and I swore it would never happen.  Happen it did and boy did we have an incredible time!  I'm so glad I updated my blog every night because I'm sure I would have forgotten a ton of details by now and I don't think I would have the motivation to go back and blog about 17 days' worth of traveling.  As a way to tie the whole thing up, I've made a list of some things I loved and didn't love now that I can look back on the past 2+ weeks.

Things I will NOT miss:
-Paying to use public restrooms!  Seriously??  I couldn't believe how common that was!
-Tolls.  Wretched tolls.  I swear we paid just as much money in tolls as we did in gas.
-European breakfasts.  If I had to eat meat and cheese for breakfast one more time I was going to die! 
-Cigarette smoke!  My goodness.  I felt like we were walking through clouds of smoke at every corner.
-Seeing so many people in the nude at public beaches.

Things I WILL miss:
-Waking up in a new city/country nearly every day.
-Spending 24/7 with Logan and not having to worry about school or work.
-Trying the food I heard Logan talk about for years.  I have to say it definitely lived up to its hype!
-Gorgeous views of mountains, beaches, and cities every single day.
-Interacting with church members from other countries.  I love that no matter where you go, the church stays the same (even if it's in a language I can't understand).
-Gaining a greater and greater appreciation for nature and just the world in general by spending a short time outside of my little box.
-Hearing Logan reminisce about his mission as we walked through the same streets he walked through nearly 5 years ago.

Favorite City or Country:
There's no way I could choose a favorite.  By far the most beautiful countries were Austria and Switzerland but London had the most to do and see.  Barcelona and France were amazing because, let's be honest, who doesn't love the beach?  I would love to go back to each city one day and see even more!

Biggest Accomplishment:
Staying healthy!  We were in a group of six and the other four were all pretty sick at one point or another.  Pink Eye, sinus infections, and stomach issues all ran through the group and least once and Logan and I somehow avoided it the entire time.  Thank goodness!  I felt so bad when one of our friends got sick and couldn't fully enjoy everything we were doing.
 
A lot of people were surprised when they heard how many cities we were visiting in just over two weeks but I'm so glad we did it that way rather than only visiting a few places for a longer amount of time.  Going through Europe so fast allowed us to get a little taste of more places so that one day we can go back to our favorites.  If we have the opportunity to do that again, I would definitely want to see a number of other countries we didn't make it to in about that amount of time.

If you're on a budget like we were, staying in hostels is definitely the way to go.  Sleeping in a bunk bed every night and staying in the same room as 15+ other people isn't necessarily ideal but we saved a ton of money by doing that most of the time rather than trying to stay somewhere nicer. 

So many thanks to Tom, Chelsie, Russ, and Ellen for making this trip so enjoyable!  We had such a good time with them and loved sharing our experiences with such fun people.  Can't wait until next time!