Sverige

Sweden! Or Sverige to the natives... Our final stop was Sweden. We fly out of Stockholm in the morning and I can't believe it's already over! We have to truly enjoy each phase of life because time flies too quickly.

We flew from Warsaw to Goteborg (pronounced yet-eh-boy) early this morning. We flew with Ryanair for $15 each. AWESOME. Despite the complaints you may hear about European budget airlines, you complain compete with their prices. 

We then trained to Stockholm. This was one of our most beautiful train rides! It had snowed a few inches and we padded through gorgeous fields, lakes, and forests dotted with red Swedish farm homes. 

Pictures definitely do it no justice.

We then went to the Stockholm

LDS Temple. 

Nativity out front.

We met a member who was very friendly and told us a but about the church here in Sweden. 

It is a beautiful thing to see these gorgeous structures all across the globe. "The work will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, until it has penetrated every  continent, visited every climb, swept every nation, and sounded in every ear..."

Our trip to Europe was amazing... Filled with new discoveries of places, cultures, food, and spirit. There is a special feeling you get when you travel, especially with those you love. Harmon and I grow closer as we are put in an unknown situation or environment. It's awesome. :) I love that kid.

Middle Europe

Harmon and I decided to throw in a few new countries this trip, namely Hungary, Romania, and Poland. During our time in these countries, we discovered that they prefer to be referred to as "Middle Europe" and never "Eastern Europe." I think they can take offense to the latter. 

It was a whirlwind trip, starting with a night train from Munich to Budapest, night train from Budapest to Brasov, night train back to Budapest, and then a night train to Krakow. Crazy I know. 

Budapest: Harmon and I both agree that Budapest surprised us. It was fun, active, and surprisingly clean despite the rickety public transport. We were not surprised by the delicious goulash and chimney bread, as we had experienced that in Prague...

We also discovered a "milk bar" in Budapest. Back in the time of Soviet occupancy these "bars" were for serving out the allotted milk ration. 

Now they serve delicious milk products and pastries...

The Fisherman's Bastion... My favorite spot in Budapest. You have this awesome view of the city, especially of the Danube River and the beautiful Parliament building. 

Apparently the Hungarians went crazy in the 1800s and built quite a few buildings, like the Bastion, Royal Palace, and Parliament building for the 200th anniversary. 

Romania: We decided to see Romania in a day! Not possible, I know, but we decided to try. We visited the towns of Brasov and Bran. Bran is known for Bran Castle, or "Dracula's Castle." 

Truly Vlad Tepes may have only visited the castle, it was never his. However this doesn't stop tourists from flocking! It is a castle in Transylvania, and that was enough for me to be spooked!

It was a sweet castle! It devoted most of the space to describing life in the castle and its various occupants. It even has a secret staircase behind the bookshelf! It also devoted an entire floor to describing the vampire myth and evolution of Dracula from the man Vlad Tepes. Very interesting!

And of course Harmon and I ate delicious food, namely some walnut chimney bread that was sweet, warm, delicious, and truly in my dreams every night since. In Harmon's own words, it was as though a flock of ravenous wolves came across a small animal. 

Brasov was surprising a well. What a cute town!

Note the "Brasov" sign on the mountain.

We took a cable car up the mountain to see the small Romanian town at sunset. It was glorious. 

Poland: Poland was a somber stop. We stopped at Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest Nazi concentration camp and the site of the most deaths.

The main gate, with the words "work is liberating" across the top. 

Words just can't really describe how you feel here. Harmon and I couldn't find the right words... Harmon said "moving" and I think that might fit best. It's never easy seeing the evil humanity is capable of... That people could actually do this to other people is appalling. I left with a goal to somehow be a little better. There should be no person that I cannot somehow uplift, whether it be by a smile, kind word, or act of service I can make a difference. No matter how small. 

From Auschwitz (in Osweicim) we spent the rest of the day in Krakow. 

Wawel Cathedral. Rick Steves refers to it as the "Westminster Abbey" of Poland.

Wawel Castle

And to finish off our time in Poland we had borsch and pierogi. 

What can we say? We love food.

Fairy tale castles in Bavaria

Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau was the dream of King Ludwig II that was never finished. Apparently the king died a mysterious death in 1886 before he could finish construction. 

It was awesome! We toured the castle inside and out.

No wonder the king chose this setting to build the castle. These mountains are stunning! Especially when there is a bit of snow covering each tree. 

Ludwig actually grew up in the castle right next door to Neuschwanstein in Hohenschwangau. 

Just beautiful scenery here. It felt good to get up in the mountains and breathe some fresh air. The train ride was also stunning!  

All roads lead to Rome...and Florence

TWe couldn't pass by a second chance at Italian pizza, pasta, and gelato. Italia a second time is as wonderful as the first :)

We started in Rome, staying with Angiola again. She has an awesome bed and breakfast! We hit the classic sights again as well as discovered some new treasures.

Hanging out by Castel St Angelo listening to street music and watching the sun go down

We also stumbled upon some rare finds. A food lovers dream. 

Eataly.

Fresh produce, meats, cheese, pasta, anything! There are also restaurants, pastry stands...the possibilities were endless. 

We bought some pasta to bring home! One is chili garlic and the other is curry infused...mmmmmm 

Gnocchi with Parmesan crema

Only the best dessert in all the world. Pistachio almond white chocolate heaven. Didn't catch the name in Italian...

We also found a big outdoor market that was more of a farmers market with some cheap local eats.  I highly recommend it!

The food we liked here was a meatball sandwich...although the "meatballs" were much better I think that anything you'd find at Subway. No offense Subway fans. Italians also know the value of good bread. 

We added in a nice historical sight by visiting the non-Catholic cemetery in Rome. Home if Keats' grave

From Rome we stopped at Orvieto, an Umbrian hill town. Gorgeous. 

Took the funicular up to the top!

And what a view!

The streets were timeless. The town also had caves underneath and the one we explored had a "presepe" inside, or a nativity. Common in all Italian Catholic churches during christmas time.

We spent the day exploring this adorable town and then moved on to Florence! 

No seats so we were banned to the hallway. Ha!

In Florence we stayed with the Evertsens! An awesome American family that we stayed with last time. 

We just wanted to explore Florence more, take in more Tuscan goodness.

Ponte Vecchio

At our favorite indoor market, Mercato Centrale. 

$330,000 truffle... 

And our new foodie find in Firenze:

Trattoria Mario!

The one and only! Apparently you definitely want a reservation here...it was slammed. But somehow Harmon and I got a seat! We also shared a table with two Italian ladies, but that's common at Mario's. Squeeze as many people in as possible! It's a small space too, but the food is traditional and delicious! 

I got ravioli and Harmon got a steak that might have still been moo-ing. It's Florentine style... And yet so delicious! 

We also spent New Years with the Evertsens. We were able to watch the fireworks from a park on a hill overlooking Florence. Fireworks were lit off from the piazzas in the city, not to mention the surrounding area. Everywhere we looked there were fireworks. We even got to send away floating lanterns! Mine and Harmon's didn't make it past the dog park. Harmon hopes this isn't indicative of 2016 for us...

The goof. Life's too short to stop being silly.