The top 12 places to travel to in Europe

         In the last two weeks, I've received a couple of requests to provide my recommendations where I'd go in Europe. Similar to my Africa list, there are way too many great places to visit to put into this blog post. Therefore, I will just write about my twelve places I either have been or I'd really like to see.

12) Lake Bled in Slovenia - This has often been a setting for the world rowing championships, but the scenery should be enough to lure you in at other times of the year. That's a church on an island in a lake, which looks fantastic!

11) The Fjords in Norway - I haven't been to Norway, but I have a reliable source that told me that a summer trip is a must. The trifecta of Iceland, Norway, and Finland makes for a solid vacation. There are a lot of camping and hiking opportunities along the fjords, but a cruise may be the way to do. It's pretty far north, so unless you bring heavy winter gear or want to visit Lapland (in Finland) you'll probably want to target the warmer and lighter months. It stays light much later in the summer.

10) Plitvice Lakes, Croatia - This is on my short list of places to visit. My brother went earlier this year and found some legit waterfalls and incredible scenery. It's not super easy to get to, but appears to be well worth the effort.

9) Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany - This is known as the Disney Castle located in a beautiful valley in southern Germany. It's very central in Europe, although not that close to anything. I've been to this place 3 times and it's interesting every single time.

8) La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain - Somebody started building this place in 1882 and have it planned to be complete by 2026. It's the craziest looking building I've ever been to and a very interesting place to visit. There are a bunch of other places that are must-sees in Spain like Alhambra and Seville.

7) London, England - There are too many things to visit to list in the title. Buckingham Palace (and the changing of the guard), London Tower and Bridge, Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. As a bonus, they speak English and drive on the wrong side of the road. The downside is its an expensive city to visit.

6) Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany - I lived in Berlin for a few months back in the day, so I'm pretty familiar with the area. Berlin has a ton of history due to it being divided into sectors and having a wall dividing it for several decades. Most of the historical stuff is within walking distance downtown near Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburg Gate.

5) The Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France - There are a lot of things to see in Paris, but nothing more iconic than the Eiffel Tower. I'd also go to the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, and then stop by the Palace of Versailles. One of the downsides to France is the French aren't always friendly to tourists that don't speak French. Nonetheless, it's still well worth visiting.

4) Prague, Czech Republic - There are lots of things to see in Prague. Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, Vyšehrad, and Old Town Square are a few of them. Eat some svickova. Go to Cesky Krumlov if you want some place to visit outside the city.

3) Grindelwald, Switzerland - I challenge you to find a more beautiful place on the planet. Northern Italy, Switzerland, and southern Germany are all incredible, but I give the nod to the Grindelwald in Switzerland.

2) Budapest, Hungary - Budapest is easily one of the best cities in Europe to visit. You'll find bath houses like the one below of interest (Gellert). Széchenyi is another popular one. St Stephens Basilica and the Parliament are worth a stop by.

1) The Coliseum and the Vatican in Rome, Italy/Vatican City - The list is a mile long of things to see in Italy, but the two biggest in Rome are the Coliseum and the Vatican in Vatican City. These belong at the top of anybody's list. The canals of Venice, the Tower of Pisa, Pompeii are all worth visiting in other parts of Italy.

I realize I excluded places like Austria, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, the Ukraine, Sweden, and others that legitimately belong on the top places to visit depending on your priorities. I've been to all of those except the Ukraine and recommend all of those countries too along with many others. Europe can be an endless exploration venture, but you have to start somewhere.

The top 10 places to travel to in Africa

I should provide the caveat that I haven't been to all ten spots on my list. However, I've heard about and researched the ones I haven't been to. 

10) Namibia Sand Dunes, Cheetah Conservation Fund, and the Etosha National Park - Namibia used to be a part of South Africa before gaining its independence in 1990 and was the setting for the new Mad Max Fury Road movie. As highlighted by the movie, the sand dunes are expansive and the largest in the world. There are plenty of activities that go along with the dunes such as sky diving, 4 wheeling, and sand boarding. Since Namibia is the 2nd most sparsely populated country in the world, you are likely to not see too many people. The Cheetah Conservation Fund will allow you to get up close and personal with cheetahs and watch them run! Cheetahs are endangered, so there's only a few places that you have a decent chance at seeing them. The Etosha National Park is a good place to view the endangered black rhino.

  
9) Gorilla tour in the Democratic Republic of Congo- Virunga National Park seems to be the best spot in Africa to do a gorilla tour, since 3/4 of the gorilla sub-species reside there plus the scenery is excellent and there are two active volcanoes in the park. DRC is currently safe, but that should be closely monitored based on somewhat recent history. Rwanda or Uganda provide pretty good alternatives if there is any political turmoil in the DRC.

8) Perinet Reserve in Madagascar - This is the place to go if you like seeing species of animals that exist nowhere else on the planet, since there are at least 615 new ones in Madagascar. If rare wild lemurs and chameleons are your thing, this is the place to be.

 

If lemurs and chameleons aren't your thing, then skip Madagascar and head to island of Mauritius. This is an island most Americans haven't heard of, but it might be a cheaper alternative to visiting the Seychelles.

 

7) Masai Mara/Serengeti in Kenya/Tanzania - These two parks are adjacent to each other, so I've lumped them together. These are arguably the two best day safari parks for the entire continent. You get the classic savannah plains with tons of diverse wildlife. One of the most interesting things to watch for is the wildebeest migration.

 

The native people around there are from the Masai tribe. My sister took this picture in Tanzania back in 2006 of some Masai warriors. One of their main hobbies is jumping, which happens to be one of my hobbies.

 

6) Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania - This was my favorite safari area to view wildlife. There is a natural valley that contains more than 30,000 animals. It's considered the most compact wildlife venue on the planet and often gets compared to the Garden of Eden. We caught up with this lion sitting in the middle of the road:

5) The Seychelles - While this is technically Africa, it's really the island that many Europeans escape to for honeymoons and vacations. It looks to me like a worthwhile visit based on pictures alone.

4) Cape Town and vicinity in South Africa - There is a lot to do in the Cape Town area. Table Mountain provides fantastic views of Cape Town. You can tour Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Cape Point is a relatively short drive down the coast, which is the southern most point in Africa and where the scenery is top notch. Getting a tour of the townships will completely change your world view of what poverty is. This is my sister's picture from the top of Table Mountain:

3) Hike up Mount Kilimanjaro - If doing multi-day hikes at high altitude is your thing for a huge payoff, then hiking Mount Kilimanjaro might appeal to you. The hike takes about a week and ends up at around 19K feet. You get unparalleled views at least theoretically. I am not personally too excited about this hike, but I know many people who have it on their bucket list.

2) Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border - This should be on your bucket list if it isn't already. Victoria Falls is easily the 2nd best waterfall in the world. This is a picture my sister took on our visit there:

Interestingly, this waterfall is famous for being able to dangle on the edge without being sucked in. This is called Devil's Pool, which shouldn't be confused with Devil Throat at Iguazu Falls.

1) Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx - The pyramids are a world wonder and very much worth the visit. Egypt has a lot of ruins to explore, so you'll need a few days. I recommend going with a big group, because Egypt isn't the safest place and scammers are everywhere. This is a picture from my visit there.

There are a lot of things to do in Africa. I could have expended my list to 25 and filled it up with all the wonderful places to visit. My first visit in 2006 changed my world view dramatically. Even though I came as a tourist, my eyes were really opened to how differently much of the world lives. Even though visiting can be high stress in places, it's worth visiting at least once.

Life Experience vs Material Things

       This article came across my facebook news feed recently. The premise of the article is that if we spend our discretionary income on one-time experiences versus buying upgraded material things it will lead to greater happiness. Even though it's a somewhat counter intuitive premise to throw your discretionary income at say a 10 day vacation versus driving a nicer car for the next 5 years, it seems like a no brainer choice for me to take the vacation and drive a worse car.

       The article pointed out that one of the detriments to having upgraded material things is that you eventually adapt to them. Adapting to nice things may seem like a net positive, but I see it as a net negative. You really only enjoy new things the first few weeks of having them and then there's a 'meh' effect. The upgraded material thing become the new status quo and you start taking it for granted. Even worse, it is much harder to appreciate lesser quality things in the future.   

         If the truth be told, it's unrealistic and probably not advisable to spend 100% of your income on buying your way into experience based activities. There has to be some sort of balance. You have to live somewhere, have some mode of transportation, and have enough decent clothes to change regularly and present yourself effectively. If you decide to buy a house and a car you like, it doesn't make you materialistic or a poor steward over your money. Having a place that serves as a sanctuary at home and on the move is highly beneficial to productivity and making progress towards your life goals.

        What does experience have to offer that material things can't? You gain memories from experience that can never be taken from you, whereas material things degrade over time. Experience makes you more interesting and gives you a different perspective than anybody else. Even if you travel to the same place as someone else, chances are you will stay at a different place, eat at different places, get different weather, and meet different people along the way. On the other hand, if you buy a nice car, there is probably someone else who has the exact same model and features. Even most houses are not unique.

 

          I will conclude this post with a line from the new Cinderella movie: She was imprisoned in her attic by her stepmom and chose to stay positive, because she knew that her time with her parents and the prince would become beautiful distant memories (paraphrased). Even Cinderella understood that material possessions degrade and devalue over time, whereas good memories can be brought back in an instant no matter how dire life's circumstances are.