My wife and I have so far spent two days in Milan and have hiked the Cinque Terre trail from Monterosso to Riomaggioro (which was quite a feat). We're now headed to Venice. After that we'll be in Vienna for a few days.
After Vienna we don't have certain plans. We'd like to go to Prague and then to Berlin. I'd really like to hit up some Scandinavian cities. We fly out of Paris on the 12.
Put away your phones and computers and go explore. Have lots of romance. Make friends with locals and other travellers. Eat. Ride bikes. Hike. Find a live band, tell them it's your honeymoon and ask if you can sit in and play your wife's favourite song. Introduce each other as "my wife" or "my husband," whenever possible. After this honeymoon that gets less "new" feeling. Drink lots of wine. Get good bottles. Drink champagne too. This stuff is way more expensive once imported to US. Spend time in a very nice hotel with a comfortable bed and some champagne. -use your imagination from here. Go swimming Ask people about their favourite bands etc. and see lots of local music. Dumpster dive. -just to say you did.
Definitely get off of Hubski/Internet. Report back. Congratulations my friend!! Knowing you, I have no doubt You will have an awesome marriage.
Not only are these wonderful suggestions, I'm glad that by chance Kathryn and I have already done most of these.
You're on your honeymoon, might as well fuck while you're there.
Come to London and drink in as many pubs as you can for the remainder of your trip. That may be more something I want to do than something you want to do, though. If you like hiking and outdoorsy shit, I bet the Lake District is gorgeous this time of year. It's a bit out of your way but it could be worth it.
Nothing is out of the way when there are no plans. Could you provide a surface to sleep on?
Depends on what you're into. If you want to see architecture and history, go to Prague for 2/3 days. If you want to see what life is actually like in the Czech Republic, skip Prague and find a small resort/camp site somewhere in south Bohemia, maybe near Sumava national park (but there will be a wider mix of people, so you won't get to know so much about the area). You'll probably be able to meet some people who speak English and want to have a few beers with Americans. Also, for accommodation use airbnb. There is a service in Germany call mitfarhgegehen (I think it's called) where you can find people driving in certain directions willing to take others for some gas money. It's like electronic hitchhiking, so probably another good way to meet people (I've never used it though, and we don't have a similar one here in Czech). Good luck!
Logistically we're going to have to skip Prague in this venture but we'll must certainly look into the hitchhiking from Berlin to Copenhagen!
Venice: go out to the islands if you can. Can't remember how much a water taxi is, but Murano is so amazing. But even if you don't do that, make sure to get completely fucking lost in the city at least once. What an amazing place. Is there a reason you're skipping Switzerland? How about the Jazz Fest? Pricy these days but I'm sure you can find an off-show. Is your wife into outdoorsy stuff? Go into the Alps. Most beautiful part of Europe. Find a hostel, get bikes, radiate outward. Message me if you want specifics. In between Paris and Berlin is the lovely city Strasbourg, and south of Strasbourg are the Alsace Wine Route (for which you need a car, but if you drive stick rentals are cheap as shit in Germany, like really, like 20/night) on one side of the border and the Black Forest on the other. The wine is the best in the world and the food is a scintillating and unique mix of two cultures. If you've never driven the Black Forest at midnight through the hills, unable to see the road in front of you ... just do it. Some awesome castles in the area too.
Currently in Venice with a whole day ahead. Murano is certainly an option. Yesterday we explored and got lost a few times haha. Crazy place this is. We haven't looked much into Switzerland but I'll look into including it. We're only planning about five days at a time. Back in Portland we have a friend who's parents live in Strausburg and have offered up their place for a few nights. We'll probably take them up on it. There's so much on this continent we don't want to go too fast. Thank you for your recommendations.
When you get to Paris, don't forget the cavern of jazz that we talked about a couple of years ago.
I have certainly not forgotten. I'm sure at this point Kathryn is tired of hearing about how much I want to go there.
Will definitely do that. I haven't responded to the last one due to being on the road since early July but I will certainly do that.
If you're at all interested in some WWII history and can swing by Belgium, hit up Bastogne. It's about a 2 hour drive SE from Brussels or an hour drive NW of Luxembourg. If you're headed to Denmark, the Round Tower in Copenhagen is Europe's oldest still-functioning observatory. If you travel north to Humlebæk, you can check out the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and get a sweet view of the Swedish sound.
A friend mentioned Copenhagen so I think we'll definitely make it there.
I've not been to Europe, sadly, but I say, as a Buddhist and traveler, to visit the Plum Village monastery on one of their days of mindfulness if they have any coming up. As a regular boring traveler, see nature! Nature is always beautiful. I believe it's in Norway where the Northern Lights are the most beautiful.
Hadn't even thought about seeing a monastery, great idea. And yes, we live seeing nature wherever we are. Great suggestions, grazie!