Having fallen head over heels in love with the Balkans last year, I was determined to get to Bulgaria this year (and conveniently visit my friend living in Sofia). I was based in Sofia for my trip, but definitely didn’t have quite as much time to explore the city as I would have liked! I’d… Read More A Quick Guide To Sofia
Having spent large chunks of time living and traveling in Europe over the last few years, I’ve learned a whole lot of lessons. The US is so different from Europe, and there’s lots of basic information Americans should know before traveling to make their experience less stressful. Some of these may be natural for Europeans,… Read More 12 Things Every American NEEDS to Know About Europe
April was a really busy month. A Yorkshire daytrip, a long weekend trip to Bulgaria, and a weekend away in England. All of that and the fact that I work full-time—wow. It was a very busy month! Here’s what I got up to in April. Where I Went York, Scarborough, Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, Bowness-on-Windermere (United… Read More April 2017 Recap
Now that I’m permanently living in England, I’m slowly but surely making my way through my local bucket list—seeing as much of Yorkshire as possible! So on a beautiful sunny day, I set off for the sea, to see the coastal town of Scarborough (and yes, I did sing the Simon and Garfunkel song “Scarborough… Read More A Sunny Day In Scarborough
Let me say it loud and clear: Vilnius is awesome and the Lithuanian capital surprised me in the best ways. Vilnius is a city that isn’t on the radar for lots of people traveling to Europe. But that means that it’s not inundated with tourists, and will give you more breathing room to explore. The… Read More What To Do In Vilnius, A Hidden Baltic Gem
York is one of the most popular places to visit in England (outside of London, of course). The city’s history goes back millennia: Romans, Vikings, medieval times—you can see remnants of them all! York is also a beautiful city, and one that I’m lucky enough to call home. I haven’t written much on the blog… Read More 15 Photos to Convince You to Visit York in Spring
Europe is an incredibly diverse continent. There are so many different countries, languages, religions, and ethnicities in a relatively compact area, and border hopping is so easy! Catholicism is the official religion of many different countries, and the Catholic holidays are just as important as other national holidays. But traveling during Easter in Catholic countries… Read More 8 Tips for Traveling In Catholic Europe During Easter
If you know me at all, you’ll know that I’m fascinated by history. I studied Russian in college, and 20th-century Soviet history is one of my main specialties. So when I found out about this open-air museum housing old statues from Soviet times in Lithuania, I knew I had to visit. And same as the… Read More Grutas Park: The Soviet Sculpture Park In Lithuania
The Peak District National Park is one of my favorite places in England. I had an amazing time on my weekend in the Peaks last November, and was so excited to go back and explore more of this area! For this trip, I was based in Edale, and spent my time in the Hope Valley… Read More Postcards From The Peak District, Part 2
It’s about that time again! I can’t believe how fast time is going now that it’s spring. I still feel like I just moved to England, like I just went on my big Christmas trip, and like my trip to Lithuania was yesterday. March has been a really busy month, both with work and travel… Read More March 2017 Recap
The Hill of Crosses is awe-inspiring and simply stunning. Made up of well over 200,000 crosses, this monument is one of Lithuania’s most popular sites and one place you absolutely must visit in Lithuania. It’s located 12km north of Šiauliai, in the northwestern region of Lithuania. People began planting crosses here since at least the… Read More Amazing Sights: Visiting The Hill Of Crosses In Lithuania
The last few weeks have definitely been busy. But I’ve been working on a project from my trip to Lithuania, and today is finally the day to share it all with you! Introducing… my first ever vlog! For those who don’t know, a vlog is a video blog—more like a visual recap. I did and… Read More My First Ever Vlog!
My first trip to Lithuania was one for the books! This Eastern European gem in the Baltics definitely has a lot to see. I only spent 4 days in the country, and it definitely wasn’t long enough! There is so much to do and see in this small country: beautiful architecture, sandy beaches, dense forests,… Read More 7 Places You Need to Visit in Lithuania
Warning: super personal post alert! It’s been exactly one year since I eloped and got married in Gibraltar, so I thought on my first wedding anniversary I’d do a post all about it! Gibraltar is located on the very southern tip of Spain, and a United Kingdom territory. Gibraltar itself is worth visiting for a… Read More Eloping In Europe: How (And Why) To Get Married In Gibraltar
Welcome back to another monthly recap! February was a fairly busy month, with lots of fun adventures, but also with lots of work (as always). Here’s what I got up to last month! Where I Went York, Malham, Skipton (United Kingdom) Vilnius, Grutas, Siauliai (Lithuania) Best Moments Lithuania! This was my first trip to Lithuania… Read More February 2017 Recap
Krakow. This Polish city is one of my favorites in Europe. It is stunningly beautiful, with magnificent old architecture, has a fascinating (albeit sometimes dark) history, and is wonderfully affordable. There’s a lot of things you should know about Poland. On my most recent trip to Krakow, I put my finger on one of the… Read More Krakow: The Perfect Gateway City
Today is a big day: one year ago today, I bought my website domain name and hosting, and Away With Maja was created! My one-year “blog-a-versary” has crept up much faster than I thought it would, and I still can’t believe how far I’ve come on this journey. I have learned so much since I… Read More My One-Year Blog-A-Versary!
My trip to Lviv was short but sweet—I had just a few days in the country before heading back to Poland, this time to Krakow. I’ve already written about taking the Warsaw-Lviv night train, but wanted to do another post on the Lviv-Krakow night train, in case anyone is traveling that direction and is wondering… Read More The Lviv-Krakow Night Train
This past Christmas was different from previous Christmases for me in a lot of ways. Mainly because I spent the holiday season traveling, on the road in Poland! But after spending three out of the last four Christmases away from Minnesota, my home (wow that sounds bad, sorry everyone I’ll be there next year!), I… Read More Spending Christmas Away From Home
New year, new you? Every year, it hits January and people seem to decide to make life changes and resolutions. I’ve never really bought into the hype about New Year’s Resolutions. I went through a phase in high school where I made them every year (and they were basically the same, every year), and then… Read More Travel Resolutions For The New Year
