After our visit to Zurich, we went on the Bernina Express, one of our bucket list train rides. So, since the train ended in Tirano, Italy, and Milan is only a two-and-a-half hour train ride along Como Lake, it seemed like the perfect place for us to go to next.

We love taking trains, they're a fantastic alternative to planes, when going from one place to another. However, the Bernina Express was on our bucket list for an entirely different reason. The sheer beauty of the mountains, glaciers, lakes, water falls, rivers, and bridges that the train passes makes this train arguably one of the most beautiful train rides in Europe, and possibly the world.

Istanbul is a place that we highly recommend taking some extra time to see and experience. For us, it was worth spending extra time just exploring the city and walking around because Istanbul is so different from most places we’ve been.

Public transportation in Turkey is a great way to get around the city while you’re visiting.

We did our research before arriving in Istanbul, however, what we think we know is often a bit different than what we experience once we arrive. We were excited to venture into a city that was very different than any place we’d visited in Europe so far. Not to mention, it’s one city on two continents!

Traveling continuously for months at a time can sometimes cause places and things to blur together. Turkey was a refreshing experience for our senses and Istanbul quickly set itself apart from other places we’ve visited.

We’ve been fortunate enough over the last five or so months of traveling to find homeowners gracious enough to allow us into their home to care for their pets and their home while their away. This has allowed us to see a great number of places that would have been difficult and much more costly otherwise.

In part five of this multi-part city guide, we go over our adventures and sightseeing itinerary in Brussels.

In part four of this multi-part city guide, we go over our adventures and sightseeing itinerary in Antwerp.

In part three of this multi-part city guide, we go over our adventures and sightseeing itinerary in Ghent.

Our home base, if you will, was in Brussels, Belgium. From there we took three, one-day-trips to cities outside of Brussels (Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp) and then spent two days sightseeing in Brussels. 

Our travels took us to Belgium and we couldn’t wait to see what the country was like. We’d just finished three days in Luxembourg and had 10 days scheduled in Belgium before a flight and a train would take us to Faversham, United Kingdom for a house sit.

Our time in Scotland came to an end. Our destination was Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

If you like green rolling hills, historic buildings, bustling city centers and castles, then Edinburgh should be on your list of places to visit.

As we travel different parts of Europe, we often see a particular attraction or even an entire city that reminds us of a loved one. We think to ourselves about how we’d like to share this place, this experience, and this time with them.

We were so excited to make our way to Hungary! We took a train from Didsburry, United Kingdom (outside of Manchester) to London and then flew to Budapest, Hungary. We generally prefer to take a train, but getting from the UK to Hungary is a bit more challenging to do by rail.

In our travels around the United Kingdom, we made a stop in Chester. We first learned about the city of Chester when we came across a house sit opportunity. After some research and seeing pictures, we discovered that it’s a marvelous city with a lot of history. We knew we wanted to visit.