Category: City Wanders
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A day Around Amsterdam- Beauty Amid the Bustle {Netherlands}
Sometimes a new city becomes a new favorite. And sometimes, the city just doesn’t connect with us like others do. Amsterdam, we decided, is not really our scene. We truly enjoyed many of the places we visited in the city, but we just didn’t connect with Amsterdam itself. Part of it was the sheer busyness-…
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Summer Days Around Munich {Germany}
We really love returning to places we’ve visited before and experiencing them in a different way. Sometimes you see familiar streets with new eyes. Other times, you seek out something entirely new and let the place reveal another side of itself. Our previous visit to Munich had been wrapped up in Christmas markets — a…
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Painted Houses, Mountain Views, Violins, & Masks- A Day in Mittenwald {Germany}
We have a soft spot for small towns and places just off the main tourist trail, and Mittenwald fits that description perfectly. Our day there was filled with all of our favorite things — wandering through a museum, lingering in a bakery, and heading out onto mountain trails. Of course, it wouldn’t be one of…
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Perfect Views & Family Bones-Exploring Hallstatt {Austria}
For as long as I can remember, my mental picture of Austria has been shaped by two places: Salzburg and Hallstatt. Salzburg, of course, came from the hundreds of times I watched The Sound of Music. But Hallstatt entered my imagination later — through guidebooks, travel magazines, and glossy pages filled with impossibly perfect photographs.…
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Strolling & Surprises Through Salzburg {Austria}
We arrived in the beautiful city of Salzburg early in the morning, dropped our bags at the hotel, and headed straight back out. With comfortable shoes and tired eyes, we set off to wander. This was the first day of our two-week trip, and because we love Salzburg so much, it felt like the perfect…
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Cowboys & Cattle Drives at the Fort Worth Stockyards {Texas}
For the longest time, the two places our daughter has wanted to see are Alaska and Texas. So when we told her that on our way home we would be landing in Texas, her excitement was immediate. As we flew into the Dallas–Fort Worth airport, she pressed her face to the window and asked, “Are…
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Historic Sites Around the Shoals {Alabama}
When we planned a last-minute trip to northern Alabama, our original goal was simple: visit Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller. But as soon as we started exploring, we realized the Shoals—this collection of towns along the Tennessee River—was full of surprises. From historic landmarks and quirky local sites to musical milestones, there’s so…
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Oil History, Cowboy Icon, & Art Deco- Exploring Tulsa {Oklahoma}
Somewhere over the last few years, I became set on visiting Tulsa. Every time I looked at a map of the states I’ve traveled to, Oklahoma stood out as this glaring blank space—right in the middle of places I had already explored. So during a trip to Missouri to visit my in-laws, we decided to…
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Christmas Markets, Courtyards, & Wishes on a Tree in Basel {Switzerland}
Our last stop on this festive trip was Basel—a city uniquely positioned at the crossroads of France, Germany, and Switzerland. It turned out to be the perfect place to end a trip built not on plans, but on wandering—where even something as simple as crossing a border became part of the experience. The logistics alone…
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Old Town Gates & Markets in Freiburg {Germany}
After spending several days wandering through the storybook villages of the Alsace region, we crossed the border into Germany for a day in Freiburg—a city that had quietly worked its way onto our itinerary. We first came across it in a travel book, then again through a fellow traveler’s story, and something about it lingered.…