When you meet a boy from Norway and then eventually date him, you get to do cool things like travel to his home country every so often. This summer had been my third time there, but fortunately for me, I got to tag along with the family vacation and hit some spots that most people drool over. So, for a month and a half I spent time here in Norway:
After a long while there, we packed up our things and took what Norway considers a cruise ship vacation from Oslo to Kiel, Germany.
Of course, it only took two seconds to get through Germany, considering the speed limit feels like 1,000 mph. So, by the end of the night, we were already in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where we spent most of our time getting contact high (marijuana is legal there if you didn't already know), jumping out of the way of the city's massive amount of bikers, and picking our jaws off of the floor after experiencing the Red Light District.
With a sad goodbye, we traveled the rest of the way through the windmill country, constantly getting yelled at in Dutch for taking pictures on "private property." Bruges, Belgium was next on our list; a place that's way too overlooked. I highly consider those of you reading to book a flight immediately. Bruges is city full of history and charm. There is never a moment where you aren't distracted by what's around you.
The main purpose of our trip was next--northern France. I have had dreams of going to France ever since the wee age of six. Paris was always on the top of my list of places to go, and the fact that I was guaranteed time there was just insane. Paris is very different from the northern part of France, but only in good ways. If you want beaches and the cliche French lifestyle, hit up Normandy.
Sadly, I was a little disappointed with my time in Paris, but I blame the season. Summer is the absolute worst time to visit a city that big and touristic. The buildings and the lifestyle are awesome, but if you don't want to stay in hotels with no air conditioning and drink lukewarm bottled water, I suggest visiting this place in the fall or spring. Nonetheless, it was something neither me nor my wallet will ever forget.
Once we were finally in the cool climate of the car, we were headed to the majestic land of Annecy, France. It is a small little place with much to offer. It was almost a joke, how beautiful it was.
After an awkward encounter with the Swiss border police, we entered our next country, Switzerland. None of us had ever been there, and we were excited. Fortunately, the whole country is a damn postcard, so greetings from us!
After Switzerland, our European tour was coming closer to an end, but before we could say goodbye for sure, we stopped in Germany. There were only a few parts of the country I genuinely enjoyed, but for the most part I don't plan on visiting in the near future. First off, they don't take any form of credit/debit card almost anywhere, so our dreams of McDonald's at midnight was destroyed. Second, people are just plain rude. But I'll give you a slice of the good part to look at, so it's not a total loss.
After the infamous Deutschland tour, we were in our last country, Denmark. The temperatures throughout our trip had remained consistently hot, but once we hit the windy country of Denmark, I knew we were in Scandinavian territory, and my blissful summer was ending.
I'm an extremely lucky gal to have had a summer this eventful. Special thanks to my better half and his family for allowing me to embark on this journey with them.
