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Generally, you find yourself with a VERY busy month of journey — and that’s what June was to me!
That mentioned, the perfect time for a seaside summer season trip in Europe is in early June. It’s a bit earlier than peak season begins, and at occasions, it’s largely been me, Charlie and many Germans. (Irrespective of the place you go, there are Germans. They go in every single place.)
The one trade-off is that the water is commonly a bit chilly right now of 12 months within the Mediterranean. And certainly, it was a bit too chilly for countless swimming in Crete in early June — however greater than satisfactory for fast swims. And for me, that’s a good trade-off.
Let’s check out all the pieces that went down in June 2025!
Locations Visited
- Kraków and Wieliczka, Poland
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Athens, Chania, Elafonissi, Milia, Vatolakkos, Agia Marina, Melidoni, Fournes, Drakona, Agios Nikolaos, and Krasi, Greece
- Paris, France
- London, England
Highlights
The remainder of an awesome journey to Poland. Cailin and I arrived in Kraków late on Might 30 and spent our first day visiting Auschwitz. We celebrated her birthday with paczki and pierogi, avenue markets, out of doors cafes, vodka tasting, fancy cocktail bars — and I discovered a number of birthday candles with cat heads on them that she beloved!
The subsequent day, we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Positioned exterior Kraków within the city of Wieliczka (VEE-yeh-LEECH-ka), that is the proper half day journey from town. The mine has dazzling rooms, together with their well-known room with hanging chandeliers that may make SUCH an excellent wedding ceremony or celebration setting.
We had been hosted by Kraków Reserving, who’re hosts to fantastic excursions in and round Kraków. We beloved our personal trip in a luxurious automobile to Wieliczka, although you need to know all excursions of the mine itself are group excursions. You can see their salt mine tour here and their other tours here.
And two bits of recommendation: this mine is the BEST place to go to on a scorching day! It’s a lot cooler inside. Should you’re visiting Kraków within the scorching summer season months, this must be a significant precedence for you.
And secondly, should you plan a visit to Kraków, you’ll see quite a lot of mixture excursions that do each Auschwitz and Wieliczka in the identical day. I strongly urge you not to do that, as Auschwitz is such a heavy expertise that you simply’re not going to need to do the rest that day.
As a substitute, don’t schedule something within the afternoon, and maintain your schedule gentle. Mirror in your expertise. Perhaps take a stroll across the beautiful park that surrounds the outdated city. You’ll be glad you probably did.
My first go to to Athens ever! The day after getting back from Kraków, Charlie and I had been off to Athens! Athens has lengthy been one in all my greatest oversights in Europe, and we spent two days there absorbing the sights.
We visited the Acropolis, obtained misplaced within the labyrinthine streets of the Anofiotika neighborhood, dove into all of the Greek meals, sampled Greek wines, watched the altering of the guard, ran across the Olympic stadium like Phoebe in Associates (that was simply me), market-hopped, and loved dinner and drinks with Charlie’s Greek colleagues. I even visited my good friend Alexa’s favourite gyro store from her semester overseas, 20 years in the past!
The robust factor about Athens is that the perfect time to go to is in spring or fall, when temperatures are extra nice — but most individuals pair Athens with the islands and thus go to in the summertime. Such is life. However I’d love to return to Athens when it’s cooler and discover extra in depth.
A implausible week in Crete. Charlie and I’ve lengthy needed to go to Crete, and let me inform you — that is an INCREDIBLE island.
We began with 4 nights in Chania within the west, and completed with three nights in Agios Nikolaos within the east. I feel the west is the higher a part of the island, and Chania is a beautiful little metropolis. The day journeys listed here are top-notch, and we did enjoyable journeys to Elafonissi Seaside in addition to a cooking class up within the hills.
Agios Nikolaos isn’t as good of a city, however we stayed in a wonderful resort there — Minos Beach Art Hotel. It is a nicer place than we normally keep in, and it was an expensive but laid-back place for our last days. We additionally took a wonderful catamaran journey!
What did I like about Crete? The individuals are SO heat, welcoming, and pleasant. The meals is astoundingly good. The landscapes are stunning. And I used to be shocked how inexpensive it was — you’ll be able to go fancy in order for you, however you can even have a dynamite souvlaki pita or gyro for 4 euros, which I did for a lot of meals.
I’ll be writing extra in depth about Crete sooner or later, however for now, my greatest recommendation is to deal with Crete as THE vacation spot, not a part of the vacation spot. Plenty of vacationers (significantly from the US) go to three or 4 Greek islands for a number of nights every, and Crete is a type of. As a substitute, keep in a number of completely different spots in Crete and also you’ll like it.
After so many summer season journeys to Italy and Croatia, I feel we’re hooked on Greece now!
Seeing Bruce Springsteen in Prague. Nicely…for a part of the live performance, anyway. Charlie and I went, and this was our first time seeing Bruce stay. However about 45 minutes into the live performance, it began raining actually onerous, and it was thundering and lightning.
We caught it out for a bit, then bailed after we figured they’d cancel the live performance as a result of lightning. And you understand what? They didn’t! We loved what we noticed for an hour or so, however will certainly pack our ponchos for the long run!
(Additionally at that live performance? The Czech president, Petr Pavel, simply hanging out within the GA space with everybody.)
Seeing Beyoncé in Paris. This journey was a bit on a whim, lengthy after the tickets had gone on sale — however I like Beyoncé, and I like Paris, so why not?? I actually needed to go to the Renaissance tour in 2023, as that’s my favourite album, however I didn’t need to danger getting COVID so near my two weddings.
The great factor was that Beyoncé carried out a ton of Renaissance songs at this live performance, too! And Miley Cyrus was the shock visitor — she and Beyoncé carried out their duet “II Most Needed” for the primary time stay, ever!! And naturally I beloved seeing Beyoncé’s daughters Blue and Rumi carry out.
The live performance was superb, although I used to be form of in an ungainly seat and I want I had spent extra so I might really see the large display screen. I’ll maintain that in thoughts for the long run.
I beloved seeing everybody of their cowboy costumes, although I didn’t participate in that myself (as a substitute I wore a flamenco-style ruffled shirt for her track “Flamenco”). It was actually enjoyable seeing everybody in cowboy hats on the airport and throughout Paris.
In truth — that is the primary time I’ve been surrounded by folks in western put on and truly felt secure. Like, no person right here had a gun. It was a bizarre however fantastic feeling, and I’m grateful to Beyoncé for giving us that.
A beautiful journey to London. After Paris, I took the Eurostar to London (Charlie left Prague about the identical time and we raced to our resort. I beat him by 4 minutes). We stayed for the weekend to have fun my father-in-law’s milestone birthday.
Along with having a very nice celebration with household and mates, we noticed The E-book of Mormon (how did I am going so lengthy with out seeing this present?!), loved Chinese language meals and cocktails.
And I took the time to see Rachel Zegler sing “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” to the gang exterior the theater the place she’s starring in Evita. The crowds had been insane, however she sang so fantastically, I cried. It was so extremely value it.
She sings round 9:00 PM on the London Palladium, and I might suggest getting there no less than 45 minutes early.
Good occasions with mates. Too many to say. Although I did do my first Escape Room of all time, and we had a blast!
Challenges
Heraklion Airport is the worst airport I’ve ever skilled in Europe. I do know lots of people have one unhealthy expertise and declare an airport the worst ever — however this one was BAD.
It was extremely scorching inside, there was nowhere close to sufficient satisfactory seating, and in a primary for me, I had lounge entry however the lounge didn’t even have its personal rest room. The one girls’s rest room within the space had 5 stalls, two of which had been out of order, and a wraparound line across the airport.
For what it’s value, they’re opening a brand new airport in Heraklion quickly. They want it.
And for transparency: my picks for the worst airports on this planet are Kathmandu and Manila, whereas my favorites are Amsterdam and Qatar.
Packing an excessive amount of in. I spotted this month that between Might 21 and June 23, I had precisely someday at dwelling with out entertaining out-of-town guests. And because of this, it left me unmoored and a bit irritable.
I’ve gotten higher at not scheduling an excessive amount of journey again to again — what actually did me in was having so many family and friends visiting, as a result of I all the time overlook how a lot power it saps out of me. I like having folks go to, however I must be higher about recharging.
Charlie and I are speaking about going to Italy in October, and I’ve already mentioned that I want two weeks at dwelling after my large Madagascar journey earlier than we go some other place.
New on the Weblog
25+ Fun Things to Do in Portland, Maine — I feel the East Coast Portland is among the most underrated cities within the US. Don’t simply velocity by way of right here on the best way to Acadia — really cease for a number of days and revel in a very nice metropolis.
Most Standard Reel on Instagram
My hottest reel in Might was all concerning the Umbrella Cowl Museum on Peaks Island, Maine, simply off the coast from Portland!
That is simply the quirkiest museum I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen many). I imply, it’s a museum not dedicated to umbrellas, however particularly the sleeves that maintain the umbrellas.
The museum is run by a enjoyable woman named Nancy, who’s so captivated with her assortment. You’ll completely fall in love with this place.
You’ll be able to watch this reel on Instagram or watch it on TikTok. I’m @adventurouskate on each platforms.
What I Watched This Month
I actually loved The 4 Seasons on Netflix. An ideal little comedic miniseries with a bunch of actors you like. Tina Fey, Will Forte, Steve Carell? I’ll watch them in something. And whereas Colman Domingo is one in all my favourite actors in the mean time, it was so good to see him in a comedy.
One other good factor about this collection is that it’s a couple of bunch of fifty-somethings with fifty-something issues. You don’t all the time see that age group represented in romantic comedies (dramedies?).
And I loved the fantasy of getting such good mates, you go on 4 journeys collectively yearly!
What I Listened To This Month
I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, which I’m having fun with immensely. I’m loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve one way or the other missed my complete life till now!
In June, I listened to albums 340-319. I didn’t take heed to something whereas I used to be in Greece, in order that’s why there weren’t as many. This month was a little bit of a slog — it was a VERY male assortment of albums with few feminine voices, and a bit an excessive amount of of Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Listed here are the highlights:
Favourite Discovery: Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana del Rey. I’ve by no means listened to a Lana album earlier than — I’ve possibly heard two or three of her songs? — and this positively blew me away. Her songs are stunning and darkish, ephemeral and messy.
On prime of that, these are each songs of affection gone improper, and an attention-grabbing reflection of a model of American life immediately. I all the time take pleasure in darkish perceptions of California. Now I must dive into extra of her stuff.
Different Favourite Discoveries: Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson, Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg, Abraxas by Santana, Endtroducing… by DJ Shadow, A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay.
Favourite Revisited Album: I haven’t listened to any of this month’s albums in full earlier than (possibly I listened to Madonna’s Like a Prayer at a good friend’s home after I was a teen?), so let’s simply go together with there was no full album to really revisit.
Favourite Songs: “Incident at Neshabur” by Santana, “Come Again to Me” by Janet Jackson, “A Fast One, Whereas He’s Away” by The Who, “Below My Thumb” by The Rolling Stones, “Mariners House Advanced” by Lana Del Rey, “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face” by Coldplay.
Get the playlist: I’m making a playlist of my favourite songs from the five hundred albums — most one per album — on Spotify. You can listen to it here.
Lowlight of the Month: Los Angeles by X. One other late 70s/early 80s album sitting squarely between pop and punk — a particular style that I’ve found out I completely hate each time I hear it. The entire album appeared a bit juvenile for my style.
Random Music Ideas: This month, two extra artists I listened to on the highest 500 albums handed away. RIP to Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. Thanks to your music.
A part of me hopes that their ascension closed the darkest timeline that started with the deaths of Prince and David Bowie.
Coming Up in July 2025
The month started with a fast in a single day journey to Frankfurt to see Kendrick Lamar and SZA in live performance! And it was completely FANTASTIC. It’s so, so value it to see the artists you like essentially the most in live performance.
And that’s just about it for July. No different journey, as I take pleasure in time with the kittens and recharge earlier than my weeklong Slovakia-Poland journey in early August.
What are you getting as much as in July? Share away!
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