Five Months of Travel in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa
Just five months ago I was saying farewell to my friends, my family, my job, my apartment, and my home country to set out into the unknown for the adventure of a lifetime. Looking back it’s hard to put into words the things I’ve seen, the people I’ve met, and the lessons I’ve learned over these first five months of travel.
Where I’ve Been in Five Months
I’ve explored parts of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa traveling overland from large cities to small towns to stunning natural areas and flying only when necessary.
I’ve wandered the crowded alleys of Venice, ventured to the far and foreign at Spis Castle in Eastern Slovakia where they were stunned to see a tourist and wondered how I got there, and to the middle of nowhere in the Sahara Desert traveling only by camel.
My Planning Process
I had solid plans for only one week booked but the trip slowly formulated and expanded in scope, and it’s nowhere near done! Getting ready to set off on the next chapter of the trip into Asia and Oceania with so many adventures to come, but before that all starts, I just wanted to look back on the past five months at a high level, because it’s unbelievable the joys it holds.
Review of the First Five Months of Travel
Here’s a quick recap of the past few months:
The fjords of Norway
The Easter celebrations and peacefulness of Sweden
The castles of Denmark
The history of Germany
The off the beaten path Slovakia
The mountains of Austria
The small towns of the Czech Republic
The classic cities of Italy
The towers of San Marino
The stunning nature of Slovenia
The coast and walled cities of Croatia
The wonders of Montenegro
The recovery, peace, and papal visit of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The friendly expat community and liveliness of Serbia
The whirlwind tour of Hungary
The colorful cities of Poland
The quaintness of Lithuania
The Midsummer Night Fest of Latvia
The original sites of Estonia
The architecture and financial crisis of Greece
The Communist past of Albania
The ongoing debate of Kosovo
The hidden surprises of Macedonia
The bizarre of Bulgaria
The vampire history of Romania
The Middle Eastern vibes of Turkey
The religious center of Israel
The heartbreaking tales of Palestine
The deserts, Petra, and the canyons of Jordan
The Mount Sinai and the pyramids of Egypt
The revisited memories of studying abroad in Spain
The amazing views of Portugal
The architecture, bustling souks, and Sahara Desert of Morocco
The heat of Qatar
See more photos on Instagram: @thecureforcuriosity
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
I’ve received sooooo many questions along the way so here are a few stand out points.
Most Surprisingly Beautiful Places
- The snow and fjords of Norway
- The mountains in Innsbruck, Austria
- Lake Bled in Slovenia
- The sunset over the fjords in Kotor, Montenegro
- Lake Ohrid in Macedonia
- The first views of the Treasury at Petra, Jordan
- Sunrise from the top of Mount Sinai in Egypt
- The Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco
Most Disappointing Experience
Venice, Italy due to the hoards of people and tourist groups cramming through the tiny alleys. The awful experience really over took the beauty of the city.
Most Interesting History
- Berlin, Germany
- Tirana, Albania
Best Places to Meet Other Travelers
- The Baltics
- Many of the Balkans
- These areas tend to have more laid back and open travelers versus groups of friends on their first trip to Europe who are more exclusive and less budget conscious.
Most Expensive Places
- Norway
- Sweden
- Jordan
- Qatar
Least Expensive Places
- Albania
- Kosovo
- Macedonia
- Egypt
- Morocco
Easiest Area to Travel
Western Europe due to the well developed transportation systems, the quantity of tourists they receive, and the amount of English spoken.
Hardest Area to Travel
Jordan and Egypt due to the lack of transportation options besides taxis and the constant battle to not be overcharged due to my obvious tourist status.
Biggest Challenges
- Constant decision making
- Saying goodbye to people daily who have impacted your life from a few minutes to days of traveling together
- 100% self reliance for you and your belongings well-being around the clock
Things I’d Do Differently
Spend less time in each place in the beginning of my trip and leave a more open schedule. In the beginning I was spending too many days in each place, which limited my time further in due to the Schengen Area visa limitations of 90 days out of 180 days.
Also, I had specific dates planned to be certain places to meet friends, and it always caused a rush and a bump in expense trying to determine how to get there at the right time without missing things along the way. That being said, I love visitors and seeing my friends abroad!
Overall Takeaways From My First Five Months of Travel
I can’t believe how incredibly blessed I have been along the way with my experiences, my new found friends, personal safety, and (mostly) good health. While I thoroughly believe in safety precautions, there are certainly more good people in the world than bad, and even if you may not speak the same language or live similar lifestyles, it’s amazing how much common ground can be found with strangers on the other side of the world.
The backpacking lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it’s been refreshing to meet others who understand the joys of shaking up your daily routine, spending hours on uncomfortable transportation, wearing the same few clothes daily, sleeping in rooms full of strangers, and eating food you can’t identify just for the chance to see, learn and meet new people, places, cultures, foods, and traditions. It’s a true feast for all of your senses (usually in a good way).
If you want more details about these first five months of travel, take a look at Five Months of Travel by the Numbers.
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Great Post Julia! I love all the pictures and memories of what stood out to you for each country. One thing that stood out to me is that you said you would spend less time in each place from the beginning of your trip. If you’ve done 35 countries in 154 days, you’ve averaged roughly about 1 country per 4 days (not counting travel between them) and 1 city every 1.5 days. That seems very fast to me! Obviously some places you spent multiple days in while others only visited for the day, but overall are those numbers right?
Anyway I enjoyed your post and once again learned some great info to use on our own trip to those places one day! And you organize everything very well. I follow a lot of different travel blogs now and yours is one of the most well organized and provides excellent knowledge for potential visitors. Keep up the great work!
~ Corey
Hey Corey! The numbers are right. There are a few reasons for the numbers averaging out weird including that some countries like San Marino for example, or even Kosovo I only spent one or two days. In fact, San Marino was just a day trip as it is tiny. Also, many places I was visiting a second, third, etc. time so I didn’t spend much time, like in Hungary or Sweden meaning places like Budapest where you can spend days, I spent only a few hours having explored it previously. Another reason is in the Baltics, almost all of my travel time was overnight meaning that even though distances are big, I didn’t spend a ton of time covering them. Things in Eastern Europe are very close together with only a couple of hours of travel between them. There was a Norwegian guy who traveled to every country in the world including hitting 19 European countries in one day as they are packed so close together. As for cities, some cities like Berlin are huge but then there are many cities (or maybe towns is a better word), including capital cities like Riga aren’t very large and truly can be explored in under a day and in many of the countries like in the Czech Republic we explored with cars meaning we hit 4 or 5 towns/cities in a day.
If you wanted to hop big city to big city, you will definitely need more time to explore each city but also need more travel time as they are further apart than stopping in small places along the way. And if you’re traveling anyplace other than Eastern Europe, you definitely need more time per country as they are much larger and spread out. In Asia so far I spent two months to simply explore Japan, the Philippines, and China and it was tight! Hope that helps!