I feel like I say this every year but 2014 has been the best year yet! I met some amazing people, went on life-changing trips, and got to live in Europe. This year, I’ve surpassed my traveling goals and feel like I have so much to live up to in 2015 :) The adventure called life has only begun!
2014 IN NUMBERS:
Flights flown: 28
Transatlantic flights flown: 6
Countries visited: 17
New countries visited: 7 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Denmark)
2014 TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS:
I started out 2014 by celebrating my birthday in Lisbon, Portugal with a close friend, great food, and warm weather!
Before finishing my first semester of graduate school and heading back to the USA for a few months, I soaked in the gorgeous view of Heidelberg from the Heidelberg Castle.
After heading home to Traverse City, Michigan, I got caught in the March polar vortex and man, was it cold!!!
In April, after heading back to Heidelberg, Germany, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my friend for a few days in Tallinn, Estonia. I would highly recommend this city! :)
My graduate program took a trip to Berlin, Germany in May and I was able to celebrate being 21 years cancer-free there!
During a long weekend in June, I headed to Belgium to visit Ghent, Bruges, and Brussels as well as see an old friend from high school. Bruges definitely stole my heart (the beer there was an added bonus!).
The last two weeks of July were spent exploring Prague, Bratislava, and Budapest. I spent a week attending a conference in Prague before taking the train down to Bratislava and Budapest. Budapest easily became my favorite city of 2014!
Right before I headed home to Michigan in August, I took a one week trip to my favorite region of Europe…Normandy, France!
While home in Traverse City, Michigan, my Mom and I took a day trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit ArtPrize, a world-renowned art competition that incorporates the entire city! Plus, there was a great selection of food and beer offered!
On my way back to Germany in October, I opted for a 5-day layover in Iceland. As one of the top countries on my travel bucket list, I had the opportunity to visit Reykjavik and drive around the Golden Circle (oh ya, and get stitches in my foot!)
In November, I had fabulous weather and visited a friend in Amsterdam. The skies were blue the entire weekend and I had the best company :)
I was fortunate enough to travel to Copenhagen with my little sister. Because it was the Christmas season, we were able to take in a showing of “The Nutcracker” at Tivoli Gardens.
2015 TRAVEL GOALS:
In 2014, I made it a goal to visit 30 countries by the age of 30. Well, I turn 24 in a few weeks and have managed to already visit 26 countries! So my main goal for 2015 is to hit those final 4 countries (and hopefully even more)!
This upcoming year is full of so many exciting changes! I finish my master’s in February and will graduate from the University of Heidelberg in April. From February/March to May, I’ll be living in Zagreb, Croatia. This upcoming summer, I will be in Sofia, Bulgaria and hopefully I’ll be starting business school in the United Kingdom this upcoming fall.
Here are some experiences I hope to have in 2015 :)
+ Go snowboarding in the Alps
+ Finally take that trip to Australia to visit my brother (Perth) and friends (Adelaide and Sydney)
+ Go on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria
+ A beach vacation in Croatia
+ See Annie in San Francisco!
+ Visit these countries: Greece, Malta, Poland, New Zealand (and Australia), Romania, Russia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia!
I’d love to hear your travel plans for 2015! Where do you plan to travel this upcoming year?
Happy 2015 everyone!
you’re so cool. your travels are amazing. I LOVE your new theme – it looks so polished! emailing you noooowww….
Just replied back :) Thanks so much…I’m LOVING this theme and hopefully something can work out for you! Should have added that San Francisco is also on my travel list (changing it right now!). and you’re the coolest and my j.crew buddy and I talk about you at least once a day with someone (not that I’m obsessed or anything). hehe xoxoxo
eee! I’m so excited to be twin themes with you ;) thank you so much for that!
also. dear goodness. these photos! GORGEOUS. the sights you do see (and capture!) pretty lady! hehe those stitches…but at least there was a cute doc involved. you gals cracked me up with that! ;) YEAH FOR A SAN FRANCISCO REUNION!
No joke….I’m planning on the Sound of Music tour for May and Croatia and June!!!! Sounds like some amazing plans girl!
Ahhh!!! I’m so hoping we overlap somewhere. Plus, I might just end up in Munich for my birthday (so many plan changes!) so I might head down to Garmisch for a day or meet you at Schloss Neuschwanstein! xo
That would be great! We are going to the castle on that Monday :)
I want to do a Sound of Music tour! I still get angry thinking about Rolf….. Grrr…. What a lot of things you’ve accomplished this year! happy 2015! x
haha Rolf annoys me so much and I have such a crush on Christopher Plummer! :) Happy a great New Year! xo
I loved the Sound of Music Tour especially with all the tourists that can’t speak English but know all the words to the music, it’s brilliant!
Lucky girl getting to live in Croatia, I have family living on the coast and it’s just such a beautiful country and fascination region with all the history.
Have a brilliant 2015! xx
Oh goodness, that must be so funny to watch a bunch of people sing the songs :) My mom’s family is actually from Croatia so when I got offered the internship there, I couldn’t say no! Unfortunately, I don’t speak Croatian :( Happy 2015! xo
Wow that’s quite a list! I loved Salzburg – Croatia is definitely on my list to visit soon. I’m planning on visiting Jersey for a foodie break and Ravello in Italy for a wedding
Suze | LuxuryColumnist
Ravello sounds amazing! I definitely have to get to Salzburg ASAP (and you must get to Croatia!) Thanks for stopping by my blog xo
That is a lot of flights!
I’ve wanted to go to Tallinn for ages but haven’t made it yet.
Wow, Croatia and Bulgaria! That’s quite a year you’ve got ahead of you. All the best for it :-)
Thanks so much! We must meet up before I leave Germany permanently! You definitely need to add Tallinn to your list :)
Wow did you ever have an amazing year travel wise! All your pictures are gorgeous. And I want to get to Greece so badly this year as well! Happy new year! :)
Thank you so much Sara! Ughhh, Greece has been on my list for so long and I always seem to pass it over for another place. 2015 is the year that I will make it there :)
It sounds like you had a wonderful 2014 – and 2015 sounds like it’ll be even better! I’m heading to Tallinn later this month and I can’t wait! All the best for the upcoming year xxx
Thanks so much! I’m excited to see what 2015 brings :) If you need any advice for Tallinn, I wrote a few posts so just look for them under “Estonia” in the “Countries Visited” tab (or you can always email me!) Have fun!
Beautiful photos! It looks like you hit some really awesome places this year! You went to so many cities that I’d love to see in the next year or two :) I hope your 2015 is just as epic!!
Thanks so much Courtney! I definitely got spoiled this year so I know it will be hard to top in 2015! :)
30 countries in 30 years, not bad! Gwen made it to 13 countries in her first 13 months, but we’ve tapered off since then (she’s made it to 18 total — https://www.flickr.com/photos/aryanhwy/sets/72157630854394648/).
Where in the UK are you planning to come?
[And a note since this is my first time posting — is there a way you could enable “name + email/URL”, or OpenId? My blog is over on LJ, not any of the options you offer, and I don’t really like having to connect my google account to yet another service.]
Hey Sara! It is so good to hear from you! Wow, Gwen is rocking it (missing her!!!)…all your pictures of her are so adorable (and she is getting so big!). I’m applying to business programs in Edinburgh, Leeds, and London so we will see what ends up happening! Because this is a central system, I have no control over the login :( However, I might be switching comment services to make it easier in the future! Miss you all xo
What an incredible year (and the biggest congratulations on your 21 year milestone!) And there is SO much more to come in 2015!
Thank you so much!!! I always make a big deal about celebrating my “cancer-versary” :) Can’t wait to see what 2015 brings for me!
Glad that the #travellinkup gave me a chance to stumble upon your blog, love it from the name down :) I am going to lisbona in February, any tips? Happy 2015, Serena
Awwww, thank you so much!!! Now I will have to go check out yours :) You’re going to LOVE Lisbon and the weather will be so nice! I rounded up all my Portugal posts here: http://www.beertimewithwagner.com/portugal/ However, if you have specific questions, shoot me an email at jordanbeckwagner@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to help! Look forward to hearing from you xo
So many travels you had last year and what a way to celebrate your 21st birthday! Hope you get to make it to Australia this year!
I’m crossing my fingers Australia will happen this year! The flight is soooo much cheaper from Europe. Plus, my brother is in Perth (west coast), so the flight is only like 12 hours or something like that…not too bad! :)
So exciting to hear you will be living in the fall, where abouts will you be? P.s. if you need any NZ travel tips I’m your girl (currently suffering from NZ induced jet lag).
Still waiting on applications so I’m hoping either Edinburgh, Leeds, or London! :) And yes, I will definitely hit you up on advice about New Zealand :) My Dad always says it is the best/friendliest country in the entire world! xo
I’m heading off to Iceland to start off 2015 – so glad to see you’ve gone already! Happy travels for 2015!
Have so much fun in Iceland! If you need any tips, I’ve compiled my Iceland posts here: http://www.beertimewithwagner.com/iceland-2/ Jealous you’re going because I miss Iceland! :)
I want to do the Sound of Music Tour as well – It’s the 50th anniversary of the movie and I’ve heard Salzburg will be celebrating. What better time to visit Salzburg right?! Your polar vortex photos look scary – we got caught up in the beginning of it when I visited my family for Christmas. It was not fun!
I was home during both the polar vortexes! I’m used to snow and cold living in Michigan but really, the polar vortex was just on another level!!! And totally hoping the Sound of Music Tour happens this year…just LOVE that movie :)
Wow you’ve really packed a lot into one year! That’s the one thing I don’t miss about being back home in America, the harsh harsh NY winters, michigan gets them even worse! Glad I’ve stumbled across your blog :)
i love how much you got to travel last year! :) may 2015 be filled with many more adventures!
Thanks so much! I definitely think I was spoiled in 2014…it will be a hard year to top!!! Can’t wait to see what 2015 brings :)
Gah I gotta hit Bulgaria up while you’re there. Loved finally getting to meet you!
Yes, please do! I’ll be there from June to August :) It was so great we were able to meet up and thanks for coming out for my birthday! xo
Wow, you’ve had an incredible year! Iceland looks so lovely.
Hi Ashley! Thanks so much! I was so lucky and blessed to be able to travel to all these cool places…can’t wait to see what 2015 brings for me! xo