June is my month of anniversaries: 1-year in Germany, 5-years with mein Schatz, 32-years on the planet. To say that the last year has been full of change and lots of traveling is an understatement.  Aside from the U.S. and Germany, I visited five countries, two of which were brand new to me (Belgium and Scotland). In addition to the two new countries, I added 21 new cities to my travel list:

• Belgium: Brussels.
• Germany: Bayreuth, Fulda, Göttingen, Helgoland, Karlsruhe, Koblenz, Leipzig, Leonberg, Ludwigsfelde, Osnabrück, Potsdam, Rastatt, Rockenhausen, Weimar, Wiesbaden.
• Ireland: Dingle.
• Switzerland: Lausanne.
• Scotland: Edinburgh, Falkland, St. Andrews.

And let’s not forget my regularly visited spots: New York City, Seattle, Amsterdam, Hannover, Berlin, Kappeln, Munich, Bonn, and Cologne.  And Paris in a couple weeks for my birthday !

I have to say that the ease of travel within Europe is one of my favorite things about living here.  No need to save up months in advance for the airfare, simply hop in a puddle jumper and arrive at your destination in about an hour.  No need to worry about the exchange rate when you’re already earning Euros.  And no need to take a week or two off of work to make the airfare worth it,  a weekend is all you need.

Have you taken any adventures this year that you’d recommend?  Or where is your favorite place to spend a long-weekend?