The Broughtby's European Adventures

Heading to London (July 20 - 23) to meet up with my friend Dawn (from Milwaukee) and a Chicago friend now living in the London area, Gretchen.  The initial catalyst for this trip was to see Red Hot Chili Peppers which we're doing on Friday. Knowing Gretchen is a concert fan of the same general music genre (we've done Foo Fighters together), I thought I'd see if she was interested in going (yes!) and then I threw it out to Dawn (also yes!). Very excited for a girl's weekend and of course satisfying my ongoing obsession with RHCP.  The only concerts I've been to since the pandemic are Justin Bieber and Lizzo (with Sam).  Both great concerts but not my typical jam.   I have been to London a couple times so we did not hit the main attractions other than a walk by of the Tower Bridge and Tower of London.  Super fun weekend mostly just hanging out at new places (Borough Market and The Shard), good food ("floor bread" is a new inside joke!), great music ...

I have been to Paris 2 times before this.  Once 20+ years ago on my first overseas trip with my friend Dawn (which included a quick, yet eventful day/night in Amsterdam as well as a few days in London).  And again a few years ago when Ryan started at his current job and had a training in Amsterdam.  I joined him at the end and we traveled a bit - including a night in Paris but not long enough to do very much.  So that is all to say that it has been a long time since I have been to Paris and it's all very exciting.  It also gave us a chance to meetup with more friends - Ryan's college friend Jay and his wife Mary Beth and 9 year old daughter Sylvia from Florida.  More Paris photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WDTGzzmGtQEdS3Xy5 July 11:  After today Ryan has a lot of feelings about traveling by plane vs. train in Europe (he prefers trains).  I request anyone reading this to refrain from asking him about this unless you are prepared for a lon...

Vienna is the biggest city so far of the trip and a change from the smaller Bratislava.  I think because of the heat and crowds while we were there, I may favor the other cities over Vienna.  I want a re-do though when it's not so hot. More Vienna photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7wdgEAKygpT25pmN9 July 7:   Other than a 1 hour delay, the train to Vienna was uneventful.  Ryan attended a classical music concert at St. Stephen's Cathedral but Sam and I opted out due to our unsophisticated tastes in music (i.e. Sam's favorite album is the soundtrack to Captain Underpants - The Epic First Movie). July 8:  Today we headed to  Schönbrunn   Palace and then the Vienna Furniture Museum.  Yep, we went to a museum with furniture.  It was more interesting than you might think but also still a furniture museum. With these 2 tours I have more background on the  Empress Elisabeth of Austria (aka "Sisi") who has often been compared to Princess...

I knew very little about Bratislava before deciding to go there except it is close to Budapest and Vienna and Kate and Jesse were going there before meeting us in Budapest. My summary is that it is another great European city but small and completely walk-able. The Old Town Square was a mostly pedestrian area with cafes, shops and sights.  More Bratislava photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KjdEF5tNXk2NSE8S9 July 4:  Arrived in Bratislava.  Instant success with 2 cats that lived in the area of our Airbnb.  We did the UFO Tower for sunset.  Similar to the Ferris Wheel of Budapest, Sam was scared of the heights but then afterward was obsessed with going back. Interesting kid. July 5: This was the first day I was really on my own with Sam since we are no longer with Kate, Jesse and Mara and Ryan was working.  I opted for heading to the Bratislava Castle. This castle has been restored so pretty fancy inside. The nice thin...

The beginning of our European travels since moving to Amsterdam started with Budapest.  We have friends that were going to be there at the time we planned to start traveling so that seemed like a great place to start. We met up with Kate, Jesse and their 8 year old daughter Mara (Sam's now wife) from Wisconsin and spent several days with them.  Having a kid for Sam to hang with was a real bonus if you know what I mean (what I mean is that it kept him out of our hair a little). Details below but overall I really like Budapest. I have not met a European city I don't like, but Budapest was a manageable city with great scenery and food.   Also, maybe it's a little less popular because it did not feel very crowded. More photos from Budapest here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/K1xqaq2XgRJbXVCD9 June 28:  Getting to Budapest involved a quick flight from Amsterdam but felt extra long with 2 screaming toddlers sitting behind us that made me want to stab my eyeballs out...