Who are you and why are you traveling to Europe?

Speaking for my wife and I, it's to one up our daughter who made it to Octoberfest before we made it to the Continent! :-) Actually it's something that we have wanted to do for a long time and seeing her go at the age of 24 we figured we should follow suit. The draw to us is Spain, so we want to spend a couple of days in Cordoba where my g-great grandfather was born and left in 1825. So I'm going back to my roots come May!

I first traveled to Germany when I was 16 years old for a class trip for 3 weeks. I was hooked on Europe from that point on. I then spent a year there in college and met my husband who was stationed there in the army. He loves Europe, too, but we both have a special place in our heart for Germany... I think the countries are just so incredibly beautiful and the history is so amazing... Plus I love the people, but I'm sure that's up for debate on here!!! ; )

I am an 23 yr old anthropology student who has learned about so many different cultures that I have always fancied travel. My husband works as a welder and had to be convinced on going outside the US before we significantly explore our homeland, but now that we are he is estatic.

In two weeks we will have our first international travel experience and I can't wait! My first instinct was to go to Ghana because I did so much research on the culture and people plus my mentor did her field work there, but in the end we thought we better ease into international travel. So we decided on Paris, Münich, and Rome for this trip and after researching and talking with everyone here I could be more excited about our choice.

I first went to Europe as a student when I was 19. We had class from Monday through noon on Thursday and were expected to travel every weekend that we could. We also had 10 days off in the middle of each of the two terms and three weeks to travel between terms! It was a wonderful introduction to a new world. We were based south of Stuttgart and an overnight train took us all over Europe. I skied for the first time near Dornbirn in Austria. I saw my first prostitute on the Ku Dam in Berlin. I saw the Acropolis by night. I traveled the Loire River Valley on bus packed with students from South Carolina. You've not heard anything until you've heard French in a southern accent. I've been back many times since with most of my travel focusing on Scotland which is my grandfather's homeland. I travel in the US for business and to Europe for myself. Pam

My Parents raised me to be a Traveler. They nurtured my inner traveler from a young age. I can recall as a young girl receiving a five star Hotel Stay as a 12th Birthday gift...And my very first Flight was to wherever my family could find an economical Airfare when the US-CAD exchange rate was so high in the 80's...just for the "future flight attendant" experience. (My Parents are absolutely awesome!)

While the majority of our trips as a Family were not outside North America it exposed me to many new and interesting things. It wet my hunger and helped me find my true calling as a Travel Professional. So off I went to College and got my Diploma in Travel. It is an amazingly rewarding thing to do what you love, see the world, and get paid reasonably well to do it! Over a decade in I'm still glad I chose to become a part of such a dynamic Industry!

My first journey across the Pond was deadheading with my significant other who was operating the Flight. I guess he was good for something afterall! LOL!

We lived in Germany for several years in the early 80s and traveled extensively from Norway to Greece. My work since that time often takes me to Europe, Asia and Africa.

After seeing Ricks shows on PBS, visiting his website and learning about his tours, I took my first trip to Europe, by myself, as a mature adult in 2001 -- after dreaming of going there for many years. It was in October, a month and 1/2 after the 911 attack, but that did not dampen my enthusiasm for going. I spent 3 days in London and then did an RS Paris city tour. Since that time I've been back to Europe almost every year -- by myself or with friends and relatives -- all of whom I've turned on to European travel. I've been to Paris 7 times -- and am now branching out into Italy. I usually respond to questions about Paris, and a once in a while about Italy also, though I am certainly not an expert, I have had some experience. I love European syles, history, culture, food and sights -- I'm going to keep on travelin' as as long as I can.

Well, to make this useful to others, I will at least make a point or two in my answer. My wife and I were high school sweethearts, married young, parents three times young, very much lower middle class most of our lives, and felt due to raising kids, career (Mfg. Eng. and a Pharm Tech) and money limitations, that travel was just not an option. After 20 years we said "enough" and planned a trip to Europe, which included partly a stay with a brother stationed there. I stumbled on Rick Steves books, and was impressed that he talked about how to travel, as much as where to travel. We took off for 3 1/2 weeks, my wife had never flown, had never even been out of the Midwest. We had a railpass, reservations for a couple first nights in Haarlem, and a few nights in Paris...thats it. We had a ball! Hit 7 countries,built our travel skills, and most importantly, made a pact to travel like that at least once every two years, creating an account specifically for travel. 8 years and 5 trips to Europe later we are still at it. So what is the point to make? 1. Do not wait to travel. When I think of all the places I could have been...aggh. 2. Be prepared to travel, but nothing teaches you to swim like jumping in. 3. Budget and pay for a trip like you would a car, tuck away money, give up a few small things, whatever, but make travel a priority and part of your life, not a luxury.

For me it started simply enough. Reading Agatha Christie and Jane Austen. Soon enough I was reading only English authors. I fell in love with an England that no longer existed but it didn't matter. I was 44 the first time I went. I knew I would love it and I did. After about a dozen trips I still love England. But I don't just travel to England...I also go to Ireland, Scotland and Wales. My family and friends ask keep telling me I should try someplace new. I will. When I'm through with England. Oh, yes and I'm comfortable with the language.

I did not get into traveling by choice. My ex-husband was transferred ALL OVER and we lived in various states and took many vacations.

I traveled with my job all over the country.

And when I retired, my daughter and I went to Europe for 8 weeks and traveled to 8 countries. Each detail was planned by me - self guided tour.

I traveled to Israel last fall with a tour. Israel is probably the only country that an organized tour is necessary.

I have been to 25 of the 50 states including Hawaii and living in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Canada:

British Columbia, Yukon Territory, Alberta and Quebec.

Europe:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Traveling does get in your blood.

I would travel each summer if I had someone to travel with.

Daughter and I were going to UK last summer but she went there with a friend that wanted to go more than I.

We had a wonderful time in Europe. I had always read on the boards that Europeans did not like Americans...which was NOT true.

Not to give away too many details... I started traveling to Europe for pleasure, and now I work in a field that allows for frequent business travel to both the popular tourist areas and to areas of Europe that travelers completely avoid (hence, I tend to be a bit critical at times of the large gaps Rick leaves in his books, even though I otherwise find them an excellent source). And now, I'm married to a Belgian, so I can also add "family visits" for reasons to visit Europe.

Born in Paris( well just outside actually in Conflans St Honorine) , to French father and Canadian mother. We moved to Canada when I was an infant. Went back first time when I think I was 7, with mom and sister,, to stay with grandmother and assorted relatives for 2 months.
At 13 was sent alone , for 3 months, to stay with same assorted relatives, and family friends( I was farmed out here and there for a week or two at a time to give grandmother a break , so got to see alot of different areas in France) . Had a wonderful time, and most of my memories start with this trip.
Of course we as a family had already done the Disneyland( LA) and Hawaii thing, plus lots of travel every summer in Canada, the horrible car trips that involve driving for 3 days with no a/c across the praires, to see relatives( moms side).

After 13 I didn't get back till I was 18, (meanwhile did Hawaii again, Vegas, Reno, and San Fransico) , then at 23 friend and I did the three month backpack trip around Europe.
Then got married ( Caribbean honeymoon) and no big holidays for next few years( Hawaii again, camping etc) , kidlets arrive ,, first trip back to Paris was in 1996, since then I go as often as I can. I have gone on my own( serveral times) , I have gone with my dad ( we had never been together in France since I was an infant) I have taken 2 of my 3 kids( hubby took other on), and I have taken a friend who had never been ( and is now totally hooked, and wants to go back)..

I love travel. I admit to having a hard time understanding people who don't want to leave their hometown,or State or Province. I have always wanted to see more. We bought a lot on a lake here at home and a nice trailer to park on it as a summer retreat. We sold it after two years, I could not stand having to stay in the same place, but with small kids we knew camping was a great holiday for them, so we bought an motorhome,, I just love to move along to another place every 3 or 4 days..

Laura,
What a wonderful question, I am enjoying reading all the responses.

We would watch Rick Steve's on PBS and say one of these days. We finally saved up enough money and made our first trip to Europe (London) in 2002. My wow moment was seeing the Tower for the first time, it was magical. I kept thinking wow I am really here. We were hooked after that. We have since been to Paris, Rome, Bath and back to London. I also enjoy Maui and have been there twice.

When I was 17 we went on a family vacation to Bush Gardens in Virginia and as corny as it sounds, that was when I decided that one day I wanted to go to Paris. Since that time, a little more than 30 years ago, I have been there more than 10 times and can't seem to get enough. I was lucky enought to marry a wonderful man with family in Baveria, which has helped to fulfill my European thirst on a regular basis. My first time abroad was with my sister, and we drove all over Germany, Austria and Italy. My son who is now 17 has acquired the passion of Europe as well and has recently received dual citizenship. And to think it has come this far all from a trip to Bush Gardens!

In 1972 went with the college boyfriend to Europe. Visited Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Munich (just before the Olympics),Paris Vienna, and Zurich.
Opened my eyes to the beauty of experiencing other ways of life, different food,
art, etc. As we approached Amsterdam I remember looking out of the plane window and seeing a windmill surrounded by tulips. Still brings a smile to my face to recall that "we aren't in Kansas anymore" moment. Travel keeps me sane.

Hi- I'm a 51 year old middle school asst. prinicpal, married to a manager at AAA. We started traveling to Europe more than 20 years ago and fell in love with it! We love the UK , Austria, Norway and lots of other places. After our first few trips, we "found" Rick Steves on TV and have used his ideas and tips ever since.

Posted to germany while in the army, so was able to get a sense of Europe then. I travel becuase the world is a great big, beautifully amazing place.

How boring would it be if we all stayed in our own little corener of the planet??

My first trip to Great Britain will be at the end of the year...

I travel a lot with work (mostly U.S., sometimes Canada) and got my first taste of the international bug when I flew to Australia, New Zealand and Japan (work related).

Great Britain will be a first European personal trip.

I've become sort of an anglophile because of all the entertainment that come from such a small country :) Plus I love the accents... ;)

I am a 20-something social worker from Minnesota. Culture, history and far away places have always fascinated me...although I've never yet been over seas. My mother and I plan to travel to Europe in May for her 50th birthday. It's been something we've talked about doing for years, and it's finally going to happen! We've been researching and planning for nearly two years. I don't think I would feel my life is complete until I've done certain things and been certain places....going to Europe is just one of the things on my life's to-do list!

I can't remember ever not wanting to travel. It might have started from reading National Geographic in grade school. The article that captivated me the most was about Pompeii. I have longed to go there ever since.

I went on vacations every year with my family, but we generally went to places like Washington D.C., Gettysburg and the New York Worlds Fair. Never to Europe. I loved every place we went, especially the places with history. The rest of my family was no where near as interested in travel as I was. My mother practically forced my Dad to go, and my sisters only wanted to swim in the motel pools. My mother enjoyed travel, but didn't have my stamina. I did my best to drag her around until she couldn't walk another step.

My two dreams were to go to Disneyland and Europe. I went to Disney World on my honeymoon and to Disneyland a year later in a 6 week trip across the U.S. when my husband got out of the Marine Corps. That was a fantastic trip because I had never been further west than Youngstown, Ohio!

We finally got to Europe six years later and went twice before having our first child. When the kids were in high school, we took them twice. Now that they are more or less grown, we have taken several more trips. I still haven't been to Pompeii yet. But it doesn't matter -- I love every place!

I am a middle school history teacher, and I have been in love with travel since childhood. We traveled all over the states with our parents. As an adult, I continued such U.S. travel with my own family. Finally, after years of saving and planning, we made our first trip to Europe in 06. We did the RS 14 day Best of Europe trip with our grown children, and it was just the most magical experience. Then this past June, my husband and I added London, Normandy, and Belgium to our list of visited places...adored them as well....what next? Don't know, but thinking more of England and then Ireland and Scotland. But, of course, much more of Italy beckons as well... and Germany, and and and

:-)

I always wanted to travel, but when I was growing up my family couldn't afford it. After working for a few years after college, I decided to go for it. By then, my brother had been in the Peace Corps overseas and was currently in a private job in Asia, and my sister had worked for several years in various places in Europe for a US corporation, so they showed me that travel was possible. My first trip was for 7 months travelling all over Europe, mostly hitch-hiking. Visited countries from Ireland to Greece and from Morocco to Sweden. Took another 24 years to get back to Europe, but have been 3 times since and am planning the next trip.

Aside from a day or two in Mexico and a couple of days in Canada as a kid, my first international travel experience was a semester of college in Salzburg, Austria. During that time I visited Germany, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Hungary, and England. Since then I have been to Ireland several times, Spain, China, and Costa Rica. I was fortunate to have been raised by parents that love to travel, and who never took a vacation without us kids, so I have visited 44 of the 50 states, as well.

What a great question! I have always loved Europe. I first in 2004 to London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Florece, Turino & Pisa for several weeks. I wanted to go back and do a bit more traveling but I did not have the time nor the money but I came into a bit of money and so in July 2008 till now I have been to London, Madrid, Barcelona, Venice, Turino, Milano, Frankfurd, Hamburg, Heidlburg, Bad Homburg, Salzburg, Zurich, Bern, Interlocken, Thun, Zermatt, Geneva and next week I will go to Paris and I will finally arrive home January 7th. Thank you for all of your help in making this a trip of a lifetime.

Ciao Ciao

In Feb 2007 my best friend and I left our kids and husbands at home and spent a long weekend in Amsterdam, Delft, and Leiden. I was hooked. In Feb 2008 my husband, 8 year old and I went to Paris and Normandy. When we returned we realized we had enough miles to return. Because it was convenient for a long weekend we returned to the Netherlands and saw Haarlem and Amsterdam in Sept 2008.

My next trip - which I am working on - will be June 18 to 26 and I need help on where to go. My boss is giving me 300,000 ff miles and we want somewhere great to go in Europe. Right now we are looking at Prague - Dresden - Berlin. But I don't know. I like places which are historically significant and places which would interest my son (who will be 10 when we travel). Nowhere crazy expensive, like to travel by train rather than car. Would love a beautiful city full of locals and lacking tourists. In Paris we stayed at Hotel Levesque on Rue Cler - it was Feb and we had nice weather and were able to sit outside - we'd love somewhere like that.

So ... I am trolling websites looking for travel ideas and need help. Where would you go?

My first trip to Europe was in 1951 when I was 15 and I fell in love with Roma and Firenze ..... and not incidently, travel ..... We've been back often and never tire of Roma, Firenze and everthing Italian and most European.

On this site several years ago some young girl said, "I have 3 months to spend in traveling. Where should I go and what should I see." If you have to ask that question, you need to stay at home and read until you have some knowledge and imagination. If you don't know where you want to go, stay at home. At 73 and years of travel I can see I will never live long enough to see everything I'm curious about. When you travel you should go home with a long list of things you discovered on that last trip that you just have to go back and explore more thoroughly. I see so many people for whom travel is a destination, not a journey. Did someone give you a box of chocolates you thought were just the most delicious you ever ate? Arn't you curious to go see where they were made? What the people there are like? What the country looks like? What its history is?