Edinburgh | Bacharach | Munich | Gengenbach | Paris
Edinburgh
I'm taking my friend Eric to Europe for the first time and meeting up with Ross whom I befriended last year at the hostel in Munich.
While in Dunbar we hit up the Belhaven brewery there. A must see if you're a beer fan. They provide an amazing tour for only ÂŁ6 and you get nearly unlimited beers.
Climb the Scott Monument for the amazing view of all of central Edinburgh and take walk down Princess Street and the Royal Mile to do some window shopping. Oh and you can't leave Scotland without trying some of their famous Haggis. It tasted like a well peppered ground meat.
Bacharach
Rick Steves turned me on to Bacharach and I just had to visit. This is a small castle town on the Rhine River. They converted the old castle into a hostel however there are Bed and Breakfasts in the town. I recommend staying at Orth Zimmer.
You can pretty much see the entire town in about a day or two but this is one of those "stop and smell the roses" towns.
We ventured up north on bikes to a small ruined castle to have lunch. As well as 1 train stop north to St. Goar for a larger city with more shops and people. Take a break and enjoy the Rhine river at a cafe by the shore.
Munich
Munich again? YES! Because it's the best city in Europe hah. We set off to Oktoberfest but learned an extremely valuable lesson and that's to not go the first day or even the first week. The event is just chaos packed full of rowdy tourists.
Hit up the bier gartens and markets. The same stuff I mentioned back in my 2010 visit. Still can't get enough of this town. If going during Oktoberfest, your best bet is to go the last two weeks. Locals advised this due to how crowded the first half of Oktoberfest gets. It's a difference of waiting 2+ hours to get into a tent and walking right in. Relax have a liter or two under the canopy of a bier garten. Prost!
Gengenbach
Klein Stadt (small city) in the heart of the Black Forest. Another get-away town to relax in. This city is centered around outdoor activities. Hiking, biking, river paddling.
There aren't any hostels in this town so book a hotel, they're not too expensive. Make sure to hike through the black forest, you're surrounded by it. They have plenty of good hiking paths. Bring a picnic and spend the afternoon wondering through nature.
They have weekly and sometimes daily farmers markets in the mornings and the market in town has the cheapest food I've seen in Europe.
Paris
What can I say about Paris that hasn't been said before? Well I'll start off by saying it's expensive! I happened to get to Paris at the end of my two week long trip which left me with little in my pockets. This made it a challenge for me to find cheap food throughout the day. Street vendors and croissants were my go-to food. Chilling out on the steps of Montmartre was probably my favorite thing to do while in Paris. Such an amazing view and great people watching.
This is another city of relaxation. Don't rush anything. Paris isn't going anywhere so make sure to come back. Sit at a cafe for 2 hours people watch, chat up the locals, you're not wasting time, your enjoying it!
Transportation Map
We flew into Edinburgh and stayed with Ross then took RyanAir to Bacharach and stayed at the Orth Zimmer. Then took the Deutsche Bahn to Munich and stayed at the 4You Hostel. Highly recommended due to it's location to the Hofbahnhof. On our way to Gengenbach we took the Deutsche Bahn again and stayed at Pfeffermuhle hotel. The high speed ICE train took us to Paris where we stayed at the Plug-Inn hostel. Finishing out the trip with another RyanAir flight to Edinburgh to stay at Ross' place.