I first started traveling in hostels when I was 18, all the way back in 2011. Since that first trip, I’ve been a convert to hostel travel and have nearly always chosen hostels as my accommodation when traveling. There are so many great things about staying in hostels—they’re cheaper, it’s a much more social atmosphere,… Read More 10 Tips For Staying In Hostels
I’ve visited lots of places in Eastern Europe. It is one of my favorite regions in the world to explore, but one that so many people deem “dangerous” and disregard completely. Which is why I’m here to tell you that it’s not that scary, and absolutely worth visiting! A trip to Eastern Europe will require… Read More 20 Tips for Traveling Eastern Europe
For as long as I’ve been traveling, I’ve always made it a goal to pack light. I typically only travel with carry-on luggage, unless I’m flying trans-atlantic (when checked bags are generally free!). So for my big 6-week trip this summer, I told myself my goal was to pack just a carry-on. I was so… Read More What I Packed For 6 Weeks With Only A Carry-On
I really struggled with what to write about Moldova. I spent 5 days here, based in the capital, Chisinau (pronounced Kish-in-ow), between time in Ukraine and Romania. Flying in from Kiev, I took a minibus across the border to Iasi. So I’ve done a mixture of both story time, and things to know before you… Read More Moldova: The Last Undiscovered Place in Europe?
Russia is an absolutely massive country, and one that so many people shy away from visiting due to the complicated visa process and the general “foreignness” of the language and customs. My trip to Russia was absolutely some of the best moments of my life, and definitely worth visiting! Since I only went to Moscow… Read More 20 Practical Tips For Traveling In European Russia
The time has come, yet again: I’m heading off on a big trip this summer! And whenever I announce I’m going on a trip, it’s only ever a short time before I’m asked the inevitable question: how can you afford it? How do you have so much money to travel? In the last two years,… Read More How I’ve Saved Thousands of Dollars to Travel the World
Russia is the largest country in the world and one of the most fascinating, beautiful, and diverse places on earth. But so many people don’t visit it for one simple reason: every person needs to have a visa to enter Russia. And the visa process is complicated and can be quite tedious. I’ve done this… Read More How To Get A Russia Tourist Visa In The UK
Packing has become second nature to me—every trip I go on, I bring more or less the exact same things. While there are some great clothing essentials that are definitely important, it’s almost always the small items that make the most difference to me—they might not seem important, but they’re worth their weight in gold.… Read More 10 Everyday Items I Pack On Every Trip
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
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
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
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
One of the things that I use travel blogs for the most is for transportation advice—and especially overnight transportation. I recently took the night train from Warsaw, Poland to Lviv, Ukraine, and wanted to do a full write-up of the journey. You can read all about my best safety tips for night trains here! To… Read More The Warsaw-Lviv Night Train
The capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is charming, fun, and full of life. Even though I’ve been twice now, I’m already itching to go back and explore more of the city and the surrounding area. There’s history, culture, cozy pubs, beautiful scenery, and definitely a lot to do. So here you go—15 tips for a weekend… Read More 15 Tips for A Weekend in Edinburgh
Living in England has always been a dream of mine. But when I started looking into it seriously after my study abroad in Nottingham, I realized just how difficult it is to move permanently to another country. If you’re generally thinking of going abroad long-term, check out my post on 10 Ways to Actually Leave… Read More UK Visas For US Citizens
As the home of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Edinburgh, Scotland has a lot of connections with the most magical books of our time! Besides being a beautiful city with loads to do, there’s a special draw for HP fans to the Scottish capital. If you’re wanting to explore the city that inspired J.K. and… Read More 5 Harry Potter Places to Visit in Edinburgh
Applying for my UK visa this summer was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. The paperwork, the rules, the giant price tag… all of it made for so many sleepless nights and so many tears shed over UK Visas & Immigration. But I thought I’d write out this guide for an insight into… Read More How To Get A UK Partner Visa
The election results are in, and the world sits in shock. I’m sitting here in shock too. It wasn’t long before the common phrase started popping up everywhere: “I’m moving to Canada now.” America’s northern neighbor has always been the fallback plan if an election doesn’t go your way. I’m pretty sure I still have… Read More 10 Ways To Actually Leave the Country (And Travel)