Sojourning Abroad

For the next few weeks, we are going to begin an overview of Europe and some of the countries that we are planning on going to.

Nearly three quarters of a billion people live in Europe.When we (Americans) think of Europe, we often have mixed thoughts between overly romanticized France, Italy, and Spain, and WWII Germany attempting to take over the world.Europe, however, is so much more.

This trip to Europe is about understanding other cultures and being immersed in the experiences of others.Almost everything we are taught in school (from ancient Greece, to the Roman Empire, to the Renaissance, to the Protestant Reformation, to the founding of the Americas, to all of the wars in the past 300 years) seems to revolve around, or at the very least involve, Europe.Because of this, I think that we owe it to ourselves to spend some time abroad.

In an ideal world, I would be able to spend time in every country and meet all kinds of people. But unfortunately, money and time are both factors that make it difficult to travel for a long period of time.So, in narrowing down the list, I have picked 13 countries to visit on our 2013 Euro-Trip:

England

France

Spain

Belgium

Ireland

Netherlands

Switzerland

Italy (Part 1; Part 2)

Germany

Poland

Hungary

Greece

Scotland

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be looking at our top five things to do in each of these countries.

Am I missing any good countries?Is there a place you have been that should be on this list?Let me know by commenting below!