I just started my first official week of my study abroad program in Porto, but I wanted to write about how I spend the past couple of weeks before arriving here in Portugal! Because I was already buying an overseas flight for the program, I decided to make the most of my trip by traveling across Europe for 14 days before my program. Before this trip, I had never been overseas before. I chose to explore Paris, Prague, Hallstatt, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. I knew a ton about Paris before, but did not know what to expect for the rest of the locations. I traveled with around 7 friends, and we stayed in tiny AirBnB’s the whole time. We stayed in each city for only a few days at a time, and traveled by trains, planes, taxis, and more.
I was the least excited for Prague going into the trip because I did not know much about the city. However, it ended up being one of my favorite places. As soon as we landed in Prague, I quickly saw the beauty of the scenery and the laid-back, fun atmosphere.
My absolute favorite place, however, was Hallstatt. Many people online recommend going to Hallstatt for a half-day trip from Salzburg, so we did not think we wanted much time there. We found an AirBnB we really liked, so we decided to devote a night to staying in Hallstatt. We ended up falling love with the natural beauty of the landscape and the peaceful, sleepy atmosphere of the town. We hiked, swam in the beautiful crystal clear waters, and enjoyed the slow pace after traveling to a ton of busy cities.
