Over the course of 2 years, we’ve been living and working in Belgium. We would love to share the travel highlights of our time on European roads. We’ll try not to bore you with weekend trips to Boulogne-sur-Mer (but they do serve amazing seafood platters!) nor will we bother you with a regular short ski in Italy.

Wining and dining and a tiny bit of snowboarding (short ski in Italy)

Red wines, snowboarding, eating pasta then sauna. Maybe not in that order, or maybe yes. We don’t really remember. What we do remember is our stay at the Grande Astoria hotel near Trente. Although the snow conditions weren’t ideal, the panoramas surely made up for it.

Sleeping in our Traveller

Two steady jobs and a cozy apartement. Youlia and I missed this life. We mean of course vanlife.

Our next stay had a mattress and 4 wheels. We were steering a Peugeot traveler van.

While we gradually made our way to Slovenia, we took an incredibly scenic drive through Austria (Großglockner-Hochalpenstraß). Whenever you have the opportunity to catch sight of this zigzagging high alpine road, don’t miss it! Plan ahead because they do close from November till spring.

Triglav in Slovenia

Then we arrived at Triglav, Slovenia. It’s as beautiful as it is on the picture. The place felt quiet and looked spectacular. Almost as if it wanted to be explored. Where were the Instagrammers? We have been told that there are brown bears living in these mountain ranges. Didn’t see any of course. Maybe the influencers did? While in Slovenia, we booked one night in a remote farm stay. Our Happiness index grew when our host put freshly milked cow milk in front of our door in the morning. Slovenia feels like a contradiction to a burnout. We really enjoyed our time there.

Swiss

The most stunning country in Europe. Jaw-dropping vistas. Imagine the people were friendly, and prices a lot more reasonable, then this could have been the best place in Europe. But nothing is perfect.

Except for this picture? We’re wondering how many more years we could pull off this pose. I think 10.

Just like Banff in Canada, Interlaken is the hub for outdoor activities. You pay top dollar but you can paraglide your way through the mountains. We went for hikes and even those ski lifts were not cheap. Also, we found Oeschinensee to be the most beautiful lake we had come across.

The French Alps

This time we have stunning areas, friendly People, and way more affordable prices. Could it be paradise? It could be if your french is C2 – Proficient User. Ours was definitely not. Maybe more like A1.

Pay whatever the cost to go to Aiguille du midi. This is almost the top of Europe (that name is reserved for pricy Switzerland). You’ll witness the highest peak in Europe (Mont Blanc). It’s so high that when you reach the top for the first time you’ll feel like you’ve just chugged two pints. Altitude sickness surely is real. Or we shouldn’t have drunk beforehand.

Lac Blanc is one of the best mirror lakes in the Alps (on a sunny, wind still day) and it costs nothing. However, your knees recommend you take at least one 1skilift to get you started. The directions are dummy-proof.

The Provence

While our French-speaking casually improved, we drove further south in La Douce France. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the world of vineyards and become competent at taking pictures of Lavender fields. We only succeeded in the latter.

There are so many places to go to. Definitely visit Gorges du Verdon and take a dip in Lac de Sainte-Croix. This is the most popular lake in Verdon and is very enjoyable!

In the Provence, you don’t need much if the company you’re traveling with is fine. It is easy to find delicious meals and amazing wines needless to say. We didn’t plan ahead and we had a blast!

Tip: don’t forget to listen to French classics while you’re on the road.

Port Camargue

Now, this really is an interesting region and technically still part of the Provence. Except for the insane number of flies, we absolutely adored this place! If you’ve always wanted to ride horseback through the water while the sun is setting, this is your place to be!

Look for a farm away from the popular spots to find the best horse ride deal. Just drive around!

A remarkable thing is they have a healthy population of wild! flamingoes. If you’re in a hurry and looking for an amazing picture with these rose-wading birds, visit Parc ornithologique.

The lake as rose as a flamingo is not actually a lake. They made it for tourists so they can shoot incredible pictures. Kidding naturally, it is a huge salt mine named Salin d’Aigues-Mortes.

Cote d’azur

Fan of hidden gems along the Cote d’Azur? This spot is a 4-hour (back and forth) hike from the tourists. Forgot the name though. If 20 people ask for it, we’ll take the time to look it up. I mean 2 people.

Calanque d’en vau 😉

The Pyrenees

By this time we had seen enough mountains. However, in desperate need of stumbling upon a brown bear (apparently they do live here as well), we decided to drive through the Pyrenees in direction of the Atlantic coast. Oh and take this one and only picture. Can you spot the bear?

Can you spot the bear? We can’t.

Lacanau Aka Aussie on the Atlantic Ocean

Lacanau reminded us so much of our time in Australia. Same surfer vibes. Nothing is mandatory, only nice people and good waves. The wise people that live there chose lifestyle over comfort.

Lisbon

Here’s another picture of us trying to chase Australian heights in Lisbon. We got to speak with true digital nomads that live and barely work? (in between surfing sessions). They specifically asked us not to tell others about this area. You should ask them all about the place. You’ll find them in Costa da Caparica ;).

Next: Norway