Belgrade, Serbia

For Labor Day weekend, we jetted off to Serbia. Why? The flight on Wizz Air was affordable and it gave us another country to cross off our list. I do not know anyone who has visited before, so I went in with little knowledge about the city. 

We stayed at Hotel Nevski which was in a convenient location to the places we wanted to see while in town for the long weekend. The room was huge and the breakfast spread was plenty to fill us up for days of touring the city. 

After checking in, we headed to Republic Square and the National Museum of Serbia. They had a ton of great pieces of art on display including some very well known names like Picasso, Degas and more. 

A major attraction in Belgrade is the Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park. We booked a walking tour through Tripadvisor. Part of the tour included the underground tunnels/bunker which was a really cool (literally and figuratively) part to see. 

This statue was originally in the town center back in the day, but was moved up here because it was offensive to the lady folk. Delicate ladies should not have to gaze upon a naked man. ;)

The military bunker was an interesting place to visit. These tanks were used to hold drinking water for the soldiers living in the bunker.

All around Europe you can find some version of Mexican or Tex-Mex food and most of it is not worth the effort. We strolled by a restaurant after the fortress tour and thought why not! It was billed as "Santa Fe Tex-Mex" which made me chuckle. My chicken tacos had a Carolina BBQ sauce on top. A little weird, but tasted good enough. 

After our inauthentic taco lunch, we had a boat tour. It was a leisurely ride on the Danube and Sava rivers (the two meet here in Belgrade which has led to some turbulent times in the city's history). 

Another tour that we enjoyed during our visit to Belgrade was a street food tour. The first stop was to a "pie" shop where we tried a traditional Serbian dish that is often served at breakfast or dinner. It's filo dough with different fillings like meat, cheese, potato or spinach. 

We also tried "meat fingers" (don't ask me the Serbian name...), pizza topped with "salad" (think chicken salad), a Serbian pre-game wine shot and dessert balls of Austrian/German influence. 

And finally we went on a street art tour. Belgrade was covered in tags, graffiti and street art. Many pieces are inspired by the two soccer teams. The city has also hosted many out of town street artists to create beautiful murals. The bird mural was my favorite of the tour and was created by an Israeli couple. 

 

Copenhagen, Denmark

Our cruise ended in Copenhagen, Denmark. We opted to stay one night to squeeze in a bit of the city before heading home from our epic vacation. However, one day in Copenhagen is not sufficient!

I am a fan of Scandinavian design, so a top priority for me was the Design Museum. It was filled with fascinating displays and artwork. 

Aside from the Design Museum, we had planned to do a bike food tour. However, the weather forecast called for strong winds and rain. That sounded miserable, so we bailed on the tour. Instead, we visited the National Museum of Denmark where we started our visit off with lunch in their restaurant. They specialize in the famous open-faced sandwiches. My roast beef sandwich was way better than I was expecting and quite satisfying. If I remember correctly, Charles has the salmon. 

The museum was extensive and had a lot of interesting displays. It made for a good rainy day activity.

Our hotel, Coco Hotel, was lovely! They are part of a food collective and gave a fantastic recommendation for pizza from one of their partner restaurants. They even had arancini which made my quarter Sicilian heart happy. We ordered take away and cozied up in our hotel room and relaxed after a long vacation with lots of sightseeing. It was a bummer not to see more of Copenhagen, but it just means we will have to return one day. 

Stockholm Museums

While visiting Stockholm, we checked out two vastly different museums. Both were equally cool to visit, so I highly recommend if you're in town!

The first was the Stockholm Toy Museum. Charles and I have visited a couple other toy museums (Basel, Switzerland, Kansas City, and Nuremberg, Germany). It makes for a fun trip down memory lane. The Stockholm Toy Museum was unique because of the building--it was a cave! 

I loved the way they displayed the toy cars in a car!

One of my favorite things is doll house displays. However, what the heck is a skeleton doing in the closet of this one???

The other museum was not really on my radar until I was chatting with my Dad. I called him on Father's Day for a quick chat and he mentioned the Vasa Museum and recommended that we go. When Dad gives a recommendation, you listen! 

The Vasa Museum features the world's only preserved 17th century ship. On our Old Town walking tour, we learned that the museum is managed by a guy from South Carolina. Small world! He had learned about the Vasa when he was growing up and was so fascinated by it that he became an expert in it. 

The whole museum is built around this ship that they recovered from the ocean. It sank immediately upon its maiden voyage and lay submerged in the water for hundreds of years.

Salzburg, Austria

For Easter weekend, we spent a wet and rainy few days in Salzburg, Austria. Despite not being properly attired for such dreary weather, we enjoyed strolling around town and experiencing as much as we could stand in the picturesque town. Austria continues to be one of my favorite European countries for its beauty, food and history.

Our very first stop in Salzburg was to the Salzburger Freilichtmuseum. The museum has amassed a wonderful selection of old homes and buildings to create a mini town complete with its own train. We came late in the day so entry was half-price (bonus!) and enjoyed walking around the grounds. 

Our weekend accommodations were at the JUFA Salzburg City hotel. They had a friendly staff, breakfast was included and it was dog-friendly. Our room looked out to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. 

The Easter bunny managed to find us in Salzburg and delivered a chocolate bunny to our room!

One of the top attractions in Salzburg is Schloss Hellbrunn. Our entry ticket included a tour of the trick fountains, palace and folk art museum. The trick fountains were really neat to experience, even on a dreary, rainy day. 

We also took in a marionette show while in Salzburg. The show was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Despite not understanding all the dialogue, it was cute to see the show. Before the show started, Charles enjoyed a coffee and we shared some Mozartkugel. 

We had about two hours of sunshine after the marionette show! 

The other exciting experience during our visit to Salzburg was at Edelweiss Cooking School where we learned how to make apple strudel and Salzburger Nockerl. Both desserts were easier than I was expecting, so maybe I'll try to make them at home soon!

Salzburger Nockerl is a soufflé dessert that is supposed to represent the mountain peaks surrounding Salzburg. 

Cyprus: Segways and Ruins

Paphos has so many historical spots to check out! We opted for a Segway tour to be introduced to them. This was our first experience with Segways, so we were a little hesitant. But it ended up being super fun and easy!

After the tour, we circled back to the harbor area to visit the Kato Papohs Archaeological Park. This park has a wealth of ruins to help you imagine life in ancient times. The views of the ocean are really spectacular, too! We managed to see the whole park just before the rain and hail came pouring down.

You have to have ice cream on any beach vacation, am I right? 

We also visited the Tombs of the Kings. I was not as impressed with this park, but it was still an interesting place to visit to learn more about the history of the area. It gave great photo opportunities.

And after visiting all the ruins, we headed down to the Paphos city center which had some great street art! Most of it we saw while driving through, but I managed to snag this photo after we visited the Paphos market.