Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

We visited Mostar as part of a day-long guided tour while we were in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We drank traditional Bosnian coffee, paid too much for a bottle of wine I ended up finding for half the price and our neighborhood grocery store in Sarajevo, and walked up to see gorgeous views of the area. It’s a must-see and I really enjoyed walking around and taking photos. Everything was so photogenic.

Siena, Italy

Siena was another beauty of a city. We bought a pass that allowed us to visit three of the major sights in the city, including heading to the top of a tower to view the church. The Sienese sure know what they’re doing with marble.

Bologna, Italy

We learned the hard way in Bologna to make reservations for climbing towers beforehand, but Bologna was still a blast, even from ground level. We explored churches, ate lots of sugar, walked through the tiny alleyways, and had our first mortadella sandwich. It was a great and easy day trip from Florence.

San Gimignano, Italy

San Gimignano was, in a word, dreamy. It’s the stereotypical old Italian village that comes to mind when you think of the Tuscan countryside. I mean, it was in Under the Tuscan Sun for god’s sake. The town is breathtaking. It was an easy day trip from Florence, not accounting for the fact that for some reason the bus system was down and we couldn’t figure out how to get a bus ticket back down the hill. But we made it, and got to see some breathtaking views.

Milan, Italy

Milan was my favorite day trip we took during our time in Italy. It was a quick train ride, and felt like a different world from Florence where we were living. It was a big, beautiful city with tons of nature and things to do. My favorite part was Orto Botanico di Brera, a beautiful botanical garden behind Palazzo Brera operated by the University of Milan. Highly recommend a visit.

Delft, Netherlands

The birthplace of the famous blue pottery and Vermeer, Delft is a beautiful city in South Holland. This was an accidental day trip that was originally supposed to be a day trip to Brussels, but a few cancelled trains later, we ended up in Delft. We had a great breakfast along a canal, climbed to the top of a church tower for amazing views, and salvaged our day quite successfully.

Saxony Switzerland National Park, Germany

My husband and I are suckers for a national park, so Saxony Switzerland National Park was at the top of our list while we were in Germany. We had the most perfect day here—a bit of hiking through the park, a tour of old castle ruins, ending with a beer in the gorgeous little village on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is everything you dream it will be—incredibly romantic with music everywhere, meandering cobblestone streets, and beautiful architecture. Also, amazing beer. We stopped at a brewery that only had 1 option for beer. And it was perfect. You can’t really experience Prague in just a day, so this is a place I’m really looking forward to visiting again someday.

Cambridge, England

Cambridge is a fun little college town that’s an easy day trip from London and home to the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209. That kind of history still boggles my brain. I’m obsessed with ornate architecture and wanted to move into just about every house I saw. Cambridge is dripping with character and was small enough that it felt like we had seen everything we wanted to see in a day.