Yellow Backpack Adventures

We arrived in Rome the evening of Jan 9 after flying from Santorini to Athens to Rome. We took a train to our hotel. When we were almost to our hotel we stopped by a restaurant and ordered a pizza to go to take back with us. It was wood fired and absolutely delicious.  Jan 10 We started our day with a fabulous breakfast spread at the hotel with all kinds of pastries, cakes, croissants, fruit, cheeses, cold meat platters, sausage, bacon and juices. And a waiter making espresso drinks. We caught the train to St Peters Basilica. Supposedly Peters tomb is there. We walked around the square and admired the beauty. The grand building and beautiful fountains. We also walked through a door in what was one of the city walls. It was wide and very tall. Wide enough to have a chariot on top like the stories say. There are several different walls left in the city from different time periods. We did some shopping then took the train to the coliseum. It was built to be the most magnificent buildi...

 Jan 6 Early morning found us hopping on a plane for a quick flight to Athens, Greece. Of course taking public transportation can take extra time so we got to our hotel around noon to drop off our luggage. We had a convenient hotel right beside the ferry port because we had a 7 hour ferry ride tomorrow to the island of Santorini. The ferry was canceled a few days ago due to weather. There have been high winds on the sea. So we quickly booked a flight to the island instead as we were not gonna miss out on it. Luckily most Europe flights are $60-$100 so it was not too bad. However we are over and hour from the airport now by train! So that means an early morning tomorrow to catch a flight as well.  Athens had not necessarily been a destination on this trip, but happened to be because of the connection to the Santorini Island. We decided to just explore the city and see what it had to offer. The first thing I noticed was it definitely is not a tourist destination. Our other stops...

 Jan 4 The morning started bright and early. We packed our bags and headed for the train station before the sun was up. We traveled for 8 hours on 5 different trains. (Hence why you should instead book your tickets early for a good train route) Once again we traveled through the beautiful countryside of Europe. This time we seen an even more rural part with bigger farms. There are lots of sheep grazing on the green hills. We continued through the mountain passes, seeing many waterfalls and beautiful stone arched bridges along the way. If you looked close enough you could see an old wooden covered bridge or a church steeple high in the hills. I just love there churches. Built of stone. A big clock on the side, often with gold Roman numerals. The steeple reaches high into the sky with the bells in the tower. And you can always see one no matter where you are it seems like. As we traveled along, the country side changed. The houses no longer had the wooden shingles and wooden trim. In...

 Jan 2 The train ride was about two hours long to Interlaken. A town between two lakes nestled in the mountains. The ride was lovely with beautiful green valleys with farms, tree covered hills, and the tall snow covered mountains in the distance. When we arrived we checked in at our hostel, Happy Inn. It was a quaint chalet style building with a cafe on the first floor, and dorms on the second and third. We had a 6 bunk bed  dorm which we shared with 3 other girls. 2 of them happened to be from the US as well. It was very plain with just a sink and lockers but quite cozy. Down the hall are bathrooms and a shower rooms. Downstairs is a hangout room for all the hostel guests with a kitchen and tables. Also this sounds like Switzerland is primitive. It is definitely not. It is incredibly expensive and we are budget travelers. I definitely did not mind as this place was cozy, the staff were the sweetest and we had so much fun with the other young people staying there. We left our ...

Dec. 31 After traveling for about 19 hours with good flights and no catastrophes (except a near catastrophe when I left my phone on the chair in London airport and started to board without it till a lady came running to me with it. Bless her heart.) I arrived in Zurich. Switzerland.  As we broke through the clouds, you could see the green hills with little brown chalets scattered here and there, and the city of Zurich with its houses and buildings surrounding a lake. A few hours later, my friend flew in as well. In the meantime, I walked across the street to the airport mall. I stopped at Migros grocery store to grab a snack. I have never seen so much or many kinds of cheese and chocolate. Also many bins of fresh rolls and pastries. A chocolate croissant and fresh mozzarella cheese was amazing.  The amount of fresh food is incredible. Fruit juices, waters with fruits and herbs freshly made to buy, and so many more healthy options made there in the store. After Stephanie arrive...