After 4 weeks in Europe, our time here is sadly at an end. But hey, I guess it’s time to go back to the Sahara, only this time in Egypt!

• Brussels – I like this town. I challenge anyone to think “Brussels” and then come up with something interesting about it. I knew Belgium was a colonial power, especially in Africa. And apparently there is a pissing boy statue there. But the weather was great, the city is super walkable, and it seems interesting, fun, and the beer was delicious. I’d totally go back to Brussels.
• Amsterdam – Cloudy, windy, at night it rained, the flower market had no flowers, I’m married and in no need of the red light district, and I really didn’t need any pot this trip (despite seeing two dudes roll a joint on a park bench and smelling it everywhere).  So I’m not sure about Amsterdam. I didn’t spend 24 hours here, so maybe in the early summer I’d come back and explore more? But the food was really good. And again, super walkable.
• Berlin – 5 hours in Berlin. Delicious food and beer. The city was kind of…a city. I don’t know. I feel Germany has more to offer that isn’t in Berlin. Like Munich or something.
• Prague – I love Prague. It was cloudy the first day, the second day it was beautiful. Great bridges, the food was really good, so was the beer (a theme of Europe). I’d go back
• Budapest – Rained the whole time, so I didn’t get to explore the “old and crumbly’ stuff like I wanted. But the baths are where it’s at. It’s a dirt cheap city, the food and drink was great, very roamable…I want to go back to Budapest for many more days.
• Vienna – What a cool place! The opera, the old stuff, the entire city center is a pedestrian district. Delicious.
• Venice – This city initially confused the heck out of me. Why is it here, with canals?  Because…islands. It is a legit city built on over 100 close islands. So they just sea-walled all the island boundaries, and the area in between became the canals. And the buildings? They drove wooden pilings into the ground (through the muck and dirt, down to clay — so the wood is underwater and sealed and not rotting) and then put stone on top to form foundations. It’s super cool. And it’s exactly what you think an Italian Renaissance city would look like because it is. Also – no cars, trams, bikes, motor scooters. Just walking. I like this city too, but things shut down by like 9pm, which is weird compared to Rome.  And their buses are boats!
• Verona – Side trip to Verona? Our train pass made it free, so absolutely! Old colosseum they now use for operas was neat. Juliet’s balcony? Meh…lots of people grabbing a statue’s breasts. But the town was neat to walk around. Nice way to spend a day – roaming another Italian city just because.
• Rome for a night? Night tour of the Colosseum down to the floor AND the underground? !!!
• All in all, every city basically had excellent public transport – metros, trams, and buses all working together to get you places. Bike lanes all over, wide sidewalks, lots of public squares to hang out in and roam. I like public squares.

And so far, here has been our journey!