In November 2024, I visited 12 European cities in 28 days. It was a loop around central Europe, done entirely by train. Here are a couple of photos from the trip.

• Paris, France

  • Notre Dame
  • Seine River
  • Montmartre
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Arc de Triomphe
  • Musée de l'Orangerie

  • The Louvre

    • Mona Lisa
    • Venus de Milo

• Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

  • Trimmelbach Falls
  • Wengen
  • Eigergletscher
  • Mürren
  • Gimmelwald
  • Lake Brienz

• Florence, Italy

  • David
  • Duomo
  • Piazzale Michelangelo

• Rome, Italy

  • Colosseum
  • Palatine Hill and Roman Forum
  • Pantheon

• Venice, Italy

  • Doge's Palace
  • Rialto Bridge
  • Murano
  • Burano

• Salzburg, Austria

  • Mirabellplatz

• Vienna, Austria

  • Stephansplatz
  • Volksoper
  • Belvedere Palace

• Budapest, Hungary

  • View from the Buda castle
  • Parliament
  • Shoes on the Danube

• Prague, Czech Republic

  • Astronomical Clock
  • Prague Castle

• Berlin, Germany

  • Berlin Hauptbahnhof
  • Brandenburg Gate
  • Holocaust Memorial

• Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Red Light District
  • Van Gogh Museum

• Notes and reflections

  • Scams and strange interactions
  • Equipment
  • School
  • Trip planning

Paris, France

Notre Dame

Seine River

Montmartre

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Musée de l'Orangerie

Water Lilies by Claude Monet

The Louvre

We went during the free admission night (first Friday of the month). But we were able to see much of the museum in the 2.5 hours we had.

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Took the train from Paris to Interlaken, then another (30 minute) train to Lauterbrunnen, arriving in afternoon. Did the a walk along Lauterbrunnen Valley to Trimmelbach Falls.

The train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen

Trimmelbach Falls

Lauterbrunnen Valley at dusk

Day 2: We did the hike from Wengen - Kleine Scheidegg - Eigergletscher (about 5 hours). Then we took the train back to Wengen and hiked back to Lauterbrunnen.

Wengen

Eigergletscher

Day 3: Took the bus to Stechelberg, then the cable car to Mürren. We then hiked to Gimmelwald and back to Stechelberg.

Mürren

Gimmelwald

Day 4: Explored Interlaken and Lake Brienz.

Lake Brienz

A famous spot from Crash Landing on You

Florence, Italy

David

Duomo

Piazzale Michelangelo

Rome, Italy

Colosseum

Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

Pantheon

Venice, Italy

You can get around the canals by vaporetto (water bus) or fancy gondola.

Doge's Palace

Rialto Bridge

Murano

Murano and Burano are islands near Venice that you can visit by vaporetto as a day trip.

Burano

Salzburg, Austria

A small city to stop by on the way to Vienna.

Mirabellplatz

Vienna, Austria

Stephansplatz

Volksoper

You can get a great seat for a heavy discount if you're under 25. Viewing an opera is a must-do in Vienna.

Belvedere Palace

There was a Christmas market at the Belvedere Palace.

Budapest, Hungary

View from the Buda castle

Parliament

Shoes on the Danube

Prague, Czech Republic

Astronomical Clock

Prague Castle

Berlin, Germany

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

A really big train station.

Brandenburg Gate

Holocaust Memorial

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Red Light District

Van Gogh Museum

Notes and reflections

Scams and strange interactions

I saw a lot of scams on this trip. Because I've lived in North America most of my life, I was really surprised and didn't really know about much of them prior to this trip.

Paris (Eiffel Tower, Montmartre):

• Petition: An individual walking around with a clipboard (all women in my experience) would approach you and ask if you can sign a petition. Afterwards, they would pressure you to donate money. Or they'll use the petition as a distraction to pickpocket you.
• Cup game: A group of people would play a game with three cups and a ball on the street. To make the game seem legitimate or attention-grabbing they have many participants all watching the game. They would ask you to bet massive amounts of money on where the ball is. It's rigged of course.

On intercity trains in Italy:

• Individuals leave a note on your table that describes their dire situation and asks for money, later coming back to collect it. How are they able to print so many of these notes? Seems suspicious and more like organized crime than begging. I refused to give anything. Make sure to secure your belongings (e.g. phones on tables) as they may attempt to steal them if you refuse.

Budapest (Fisherman's Bastion):

• A lady with many birds (chickens) tries to catch your attention. I didn't see the rest of it play out, but presumably she and an accomplice would put the bird on you, take photos, and try to pressure you to pay an exorbitant amount for the photos.

Hostels and restaurants, especially in Italy:

• I would get asked to pay in cash because "the card machine is broken". They just want to avoid taxes. If you insist on paying by card, the card machine will magically start working again. Many places in North America advertise a cash discount or cash only for similar tax avoidance, but at least they don't give a dishonest reason for it.

Two common themes of these scams is that they occur in touristy areas and they try to do something that catches your attention. If it seems anything remotely out of place and it is not what you came for, then ignore it.

Equipment

I carried a backpack and a gym/duffel bag which stored around 5 days of clothes. This made it easy to move around cities and take transit instead of lugging around a suitcase.

School

I was able to do this trip while I was finishing up my last term. I chose all asynchronous online courses and made sure that they did not have timed assessment. This meant essay / writing-heavy courses worked well. The courses I took were CLAS 201 (Ancient Greece), PHIL 256 (Cognitive Science), and GEOG 225 (Global Health and Environment).

Trip planning

In many cities, we only spent two nights, which is really just one and a half days when taking into account train travel (often arriving in the afternoon) and checking into the hotel. Because of this, it felt a little rushed near the end of the trip, especially the Berlin and Amsterdam (and return to Paris) segments. Two nights is really quite short for such major cities and the train travel can get exhausting. However, I don't regret it as I was able to get a sample of many different cities and learn about what I liked and didn't like.