Gretch Runs

With today being Thanksgiving Day, I wanted to dedicate a post to something that I'm constantly thankful for- the ability to travel the world.  I've been to so many amazing places , and getting to explore a new country makes me happier than anything else.  Today I'll be sharing some pictures from a trip I took to Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic two years ago. I purchased this trip from Groupon Getaways, through the company Gate 1 Travel .  I get a lot of questions from people about the benefits of going on a Groupon Getaway, so I also want to discuss my personal experience (I also went on a trip to Costa Rica through Groupon, and I purchased both trips on my own). The trips are usually a lot cheaper than purchasing on your own.  For this trip, round-trip airfare was included, as well as transportation between the countries and hotel rooms.  We could add on additional day trips or activities through the company as well.  All together, the ...

Hello everyone!  Today I'll be posting my final recap from my trip : Copenhagen.  If you missed the other two, check them out: Mallorca and Sweden . Copenhagen is such a beautiful and fun city!  I heard a lot about it before my trip, and everyone told me it was their favorite city ever.  I went in with really high hopes, and most of them were met and exceeded.  As usual, I'll be sharing some places where we slept, ate and explored. First, some quick facts. - The city was hit with 2 huge fires in the 18th Century.   Because of this, there aren't a lot of medieval relics and older buildings that are common in Europe.  To me, Copenhagen felt more like an American city than most European capitals, and is the main reason why I wouldn't call it my favorite city. - Copenhagen is home to Tivoli, the second oldest amusement park in the world.   We sadly never made it inside, but it looked absolutely beautiful!  The park's founder convinced...

Hi everyone!  How is your week going so far? For today's Travel Week post, I'll be talking about my trip to Sweden.  We visited the southern region of Skåne, and it was a lot of fun!  We visited smaller cities than I'm used to in Europe, and I could definitely see myself living in one of these areas.  Read on to see where we slept, ate and explored!  First, a few facts: - Skåne (or Scancia) County is the southernmost county in Sweden .  The largest municipality in this region is Malmö, and Lund is the third largest (these are the two cities I visited). - The Øresund Bridge connects Sweden and Denmark and is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe.  It's an incredible-looking bridge, and the train we took was the quietest I've ever experienced!  It was amazing! - Valborg is an annual festival that celebrates the start of spring .  While we were in Lund, there were tons of parties, concerts, outdoor drinking and bon...

Hi Everyone!  I have a fun post planned for today - a guide and recap for my three days on the island of Mallorca in Spain! (I'll have my recaps for Denmark and Sweden coming soon!)  It was an amazing trip and the island was breathtaking.  We spent one day in the city of Palma, one day in Soller and one day in Sant Elm/Port d'Andratx, and I'll highlight each area in the sections below. I want to start off with a bit of background of the island.  I didn't know much about it before visiting, and it's such an interesting place!  I hope you enjoy! - The island is called Mallorca (or Majorca) and the capital is Palma .  It's a bit confusing, but the island is in the Mediterranean Sea and part of the Balearic Island (which also includes Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.)  Mallorca is the largest of these islands. - There's a lot of German and British tourists on the island, so speaking English is no problem.   The official language of the is...