Zugspitze Raintal Route: My Recommendation For The Two-Day Hike

If you’re still torn between getting up at 4am to conquer the tallest mountain in Germany in a single day or taking the more relaxed, two-day route with a cozy night in a mountain hut—let me make your life easier: go for option 2. Start your hike after a slow morning, wander through the Partnachklamm (it only opens at 8am anyway), and enjoy the gentle start of the trail. Then soak up the evening hut vibes with fellow hikers who are equally exhausted, equally happy, and equally proud of the kilometers already behind them. Sure, there’s pride in doing it in one day alone, but why not trade speed for scenery and turn it into a two-day adventure with time to recharge in the coziest atmosphere imaginable?

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Croatia, Albania, Italy – One Month Of Interrail And Road Tripping

This summer, my goal was to explore new countries without boarding a plane. Embarking on a long desired Interrail trip became the missing puzzle piece to achieve this. So I started mapping out a journey from Germany down to Albania and back to the Netherlands, all by train. Discovering that the Interrail network extended only as far as Croatia posed a little challenge to our plans. But it also brought us some unforgettable adventures and a wonderful 14-day road trip through Albania. Italy and France made our return journey by train comfortable and easy. And so we travelled for one month via several modes of transportation, some more pleasant than others, but no plane. Mission accomplished!

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Albania: The Perfect 14-Day Road Trip Itinerary

Albania has recently been hyped a lot on social media and among travellers, and for good reason as we’ve discovered. From stunning mountain ranges to breathtaking canyons – the country truly offers a diverse range of experiences. After traveling by bus from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Tirana, we rented a car and embarked on a road trip to explore this beautiful country from north to south. Here’s our 2-week itinerary.

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5 Best Things to Do in Bordeaux

Of course the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Bordeaux is wine. But besides visiting its modern wine museum ‘Cité du Vin’ and doing a wine tasting to test or expand your palate, the city has a lot more to offer. Not only is the center full of beautiful majestic buildings and monuments, but Europe’s largest sand dune is actually just an hour away and doubtlessly one of the highlights of the area.

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Lago di Garda to Milano to Bologna – A Road Trip Through Northern Italy

While we could’ve easily stayed another week in every single one of these places, our one-week road trip allowed us to spend a day or two in each location and enjoy the great mix of stunning nature and architecture. Endless lake views contrasting beautiful buildings and squares. Hiking up hills versus sipping Negroni in a courtyard of one of the many Aperitivo bars that can be found around every corner. Watching the sunset on an island of the Lago Maggiore or from a rooftop in Milan. Road tripping the north of Italy most definitely has it all.

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Montagne Sainte-Victoire

Just outside of Aix-en-Provence lies the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a limestone mountain ridge which is known for having been painted countless times by the famous artist Paul Cézanne who had his house on the outskirts of Aix, facing the 1,011m high peak. As you make your way to the top, you’ll quickly feel like you’re walking above the clouds. With quick elevation gains and the surroundings of the mountain being composed of a rather flat landscape, the view from up here stretches for miles and miles into the horizon. While the 2,5 to 3-hour hike can get challenging at times, it is generally doable with regular sports shoes and the perfect way to spend your Sunday getting out of the city for a little escape into nature.

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Arles & the Camargue

Driving over the highway bridge, with Arles appearing in front of you, the view of the city may remind you of a setting from Game of Thrones with countless ancient buildings and Romanesque architecture emerging from the accumulation of white facades of the houses. Being the capital of the Camargue, the city is the perfect base to explore the surrounding wetlands with its wild Camargue horses and flamingos.

But before venturing out, you should take some time to explore the city itself and admire its picturesque streets lined with flowers and plants in front of the colourful doors of the pretty houses with their blue shutters. I promise you, you won’t get tired of the views of its cute little streets, and the Colosseum-like arena might just leave you stunned.

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Camargue, Alpilles, Luberon & Verdon – Exploring the Natural Parks of the Provence

Besides its pretty little towns, Calanque cliffs and beautiful beaches, the Provence offers a seemingly endless number of natural parks. Driving for not more than 2-3 hours you will pass through a multitude of diverse environments, vegetations and landscapes. One second it’ll be a curvy road winding through forests with rocky mountains to all sides, the next second you find yourself in swampy fields, not a single other soul in sight. Renting a car and just wondering from one place to the next is probably the best way to explore the beauty of this area’s natural parks.

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Hyères & Île de Porquerolles – The Perfect Island Vibe Get-Away

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Looking for crystal clear water, empty beaches, and a calm place where one can only walk or cycle around? Then Ile de Porquerolles is most definitely the right address. Visiting for a day at the end of September, we had the island almost to ourselves, exploring the viewpoint at the north-eastern tip by bike, resting on Plage de Notre Dame, listening to the waves while the only other people were a good 10-minute walk further down the shore. If it wouldn’t have been for the last ferry at 6:20pm back to the mainland, we would’ve probably forgotten all about the time and stayed here forever.

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Provence Verte and the Grand Canyon of Europe

After having explored the Natural Parks of the Camargue, Alpilles, and Luberon, we continued our trip east to the Provence Verte, with the ultimate destination being the Gorge du Verdon – also known as the Grand Canyon of Europe. And the name certainly didn’t promise too much! Without wanting to spoil anything, I’d like to note here that the Gorge du Verdon is probably the most impressive piece of nature I’ve ever seen in Europe so far. After having seen the valley from the winding roads above, hiking through it was an incredible experience that left us in awe. Ever changing scenery, one viewpoint even more impressive than the other – there are really no words to describe this stunning place. Go and see for yourself!

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