Our Spring Break Trip 2024

This year Davin, Madeleine and I took our Spring Break Trip to Eastern Europe. We had a whirlwind itinerary covering six cities and four countries. I put together a list of my favorite moments & recommendations from each city. Enjoy!

Prague, Czech Republic

We booked a private walking tour to see the highlights. We spent 7 hours with our guide, exploring the Old Town, the Jewish Quarter & Castle Districts, making stops at Prague Castle, the largest castle complex in the world, and to have a beer at Strahov Monastery Brewery, which has been brewing its own beer for over 600 years.

The Monastery itself was actually founded in 1142. We crossed Charles bridge, a medieval stone arch bridge, which construction began in 1357, and is one of the only medieval bridges still standing and in use today.

We also made stops along the way at the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Church of Our Lady of Victorious and the Baby Jesus of Prague, and Prague Astronomical Clock, making sure to be there at the top of the hour to see the clock come to life as the 12 apostles march around the top of the tower (see this at the end of the reel)! This special mechanical clock also shows the position of the sun, moon, Zodiac and other planets on an astronomical dial and has been doing so for over 600 years!!

It was very cold & windy, so we made stops for hot cocoa & coffees to warm up, but also made sure to enjoy a Chimney Cake filled with ice cream … so cold, but delicious!!

Where We Stayed

Le Augustine - a beautiful hotel with incredible service & history. There is a working Monastery that still houses four Monks on the hotel property. We were lucky enough to stay in the Fresco Suite, the most beautiful hotel room with original frescos on the walls!

Where We Ate

Our favorite meal was enjoyed during lunch in the Jewish Quarter at Golem Restaurant, which I highly recommend. Our guide has been going to this restaurant with her grandmother since she was a child.

Budapest, Hungary

We had a tour guide to show us the main city highlights while giving us a fantastic lesson in history. We were able to see:

  • Liberty Bridge - a beautiful backdrop for a photo opp
  • I tried a shot of Unicom, a beloved Hungarian herbal liqueur, drunk as a digestif or aperitif. The liqueur was created in 1790, and is currently produced by Zwack according to a secret formula consisting of more than 40 herbs.
  • Matthias Church, located in Holy Trinity Square in front of Fisherman's Bastion
  • Budapest Great Market Hall to discover & sample the most symbolic products of Hungarian cuisine ... lot's of sausages, picked EVERYTHING, and Fois Gras.
  • Hungarian State Opera House
  • Davin & Madeleine even took a dip in one of the many thermal springs bath houses located around the city.



Where We Stayed & Ate

Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel

Our two favorite meals were enjoyed at Ket Szerecsen, for lunch, and Indian Palate, for dinner.

What I Wore

Vienna, Austria

  • Where We Stayed: Hotel Imperial, A Luxury Collection Hotel. The one time Queen Elizabeth visited Vienna, she stayed at this hotel. We completely lucked out and were upgraded to the most AMAZING suite that looked more like a palace than a hotel room!
  • What We Saw: It was a very cold & rainy day, but we toured the city with our private guide to make sure we saw the most important highlights of the city, trying to soak up as much of the history as possible. Vienna was so beautiful, and was definitely the most luxurious city we visited on this trip!
  • Where We Ate: Huth Gastwirtschaft for traditional Viennese cuisine

Salzburg, Austria

  • Where We Stayed: Hotel Goldener Hirsch, A Luxury Collection Hotel. This was the most charming boutique hotel! With the property dating back to 1407, it was the perfect combination of original country house & luxury boutique hotel.
  • What We Saw: After seeing a few must-see spots in town, our private guide drove us around the country side, village to village, to view 5 of the most magnificent lakes in the area. The water was beautiful and completely clear ... and so clean, apparently you could actually drink the water straight from the lake! The mountains in the background provided the most amazing backdrops.

Munich, Germany

After arriving by train, we quickly checked into our hotel and headed to the famed Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall, which was founded in 1589, by the Bavarian Duke Wilhelm V. This was definitely a must for my husband, so Madeleine & I happily tagged along! We listened to live music while we enjoyed lunch ... Pork Knuckle, more Schnitzel and a pretzel as wide as Madeleine's shoulders!

After lunch, we met up with our tour guide for a 5-hour city tour that included several historical highlights, a visit to the BMW Headquarters (quite impressive), and the Olympic Village that was built for the 1972 Olympics (which began with absolute jubilation, but was plagued with horrific tragedy).

Where We Stayed

The Munich Marriott Hotel City West

Where We Ate

Al Paladino - a very charming neighborhood Italian restaurant that was recommended by our tour guide. She called the restaurant & begged them to let us in ... we didn't mind a tiny table in the corner, we rushed to the restaurant to arrive for an early dinner, and promised to be quick so they could seat their reservation after us! It was delicious & well worth it for an Italian meal & great wine ... one can only eat so much schnitzel & potato salad!!

Garmisch, Germany

For the last day of our spring break trip we went skiing in the Bavarian Alps. It was beautiful & so enjoyable ... well worth lugging the extra suitcase with all of our ski clothes!

We took an Uber about 1.5 hours outside of Munich to the quaintest little ski town ... Garmisch. We had the best day and cannot wait to do it again! I was so much nicer and way less expensive than skiing in the United States! The only difficult part was getting back to Munich ... We had to walk about 2 1/2 miles to the main train station, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Hopefully this gives you some inspiration for your next trip! Where are you headed next?