Where are we going?
The #1 question we get is "Where are you going?" and that is a great question! It is almost easier to start with "Where aren't we going?" Our plan for the next 12-14 months is to see as much as Eastern and Western Europe as we can! We are trying not to book too many places in advance, as we want the flexibility to stay longer in a place if we fall in love with it, or leave if we aren't enjoying our stay. This will allow us to explore recommendations from those we meet on our travels, and be spontaneous when something exciting presents itself.
Every journey has to start somewhere and our first stop will be Frankfurt. We hope to get over the jet lag and find our bearings here just for a couple of days, and from there we plan to head north! We have a short stay in the Czech Republic before we go on to northern Germany, then up through Denmark, into Norway, and clockwise from there!
In Europe there are 26 countries that make up the Schengen Area, and we can only spend 90 out of every 180 days in the countries which are part of the Schengen Area. Since we are not applying for work or travel visas, we will have to follow these rules and pay close attention to how many days we are traveling in each different country. We decided to start our trip within the Schengen Area, for the first 75 days. This will leave us with 15 days to return our car and maybe do a couple of day trips without going over the 90 days. We will then continue to Eastern Europe where we will leave the Schengen Area for at least 90 days. This will allow our 180 day clock to reset and let us re-enter countries in the Schengen Area.
Although there are many unknown specifics about our where and when we will be over the next year, we couldn't be more excited to get started!