You read our feature on the top “lows” from our spring 2016 trip and, while we did have a lot of problems, we had tons of amazing experiences too! Although we did feel like we had some bad luck at times, we were actually very fortunate that nothing truly terrible happened. Overall, the trip was wonderful and we couldn’t have asked for a better time.
Here are the top “highs” from our spring 2016 Europe trip:
Visiting Iceland In Winter
We were pretty much on a travel “high” the entire time we were in Iceland! We were very proud of ourselves for visiting this expensive country on a budget and not eating out one time. Iceland in the winter was practically an arctic wonderland which made for epic photos. During our time in Iceland, we did 8 shoots, some of which lasted less than 5 minutes long. The natural beauty of the country was everywhere and we were really happy we got to visit.
Prague Exceeding All Expectations
Confession: When we booked Prague, we had no idea what to expect. When we arrived at our Airbnb, it was a cold, gray day and everything looked very stark. The next day was bright and sunny and we headed to Prague Castle and the old town area and fell in love! We spent days exploring what Prague had to offer and even did our first city photoshoot there. It is safe to say that it is one of our top favorite European cities and that it definitely exceeded our expectations.
Airbnb Customer Service Pulling Through For Us
Despite a few of our bad experiences and our trouble #airbnbwhileblack, the customer service representatives and case managers over at Airbnb really did pull through for us on numerous occasions. When our host in Vienna misrepresented his listing, Airbnb worked with us and got us placed in a new apartment even though it was 1am local time. They comped the difference in price between the original and the upgrade and even provided us with a $200 coupon for our troubles. This is just one example of the stellar customer service we received a few times throughout our trip.
The Italian Riviera Saving Our Trip
Truth be told, we were having a pretty bad month leading up to arriving in Bogliasco, Italy. We were sick, our rental car [x2] ended up costing way more than we expected, Austria was expensive, we had a difficult time finding Airbnb listings, our Trento host was awful etc. We were at the point where we wished we could go home. Then we arrived in the small town of Bogliasco in the Italian Riviera. Our Airbnb cost $30 a night and didn’t have wifi. We stayed for 3 days and didn’t even care about the lack of wifi. It is true, the sea heals everything. We spent the majority of our time outdoors, visiting local towns, walking along the coast, swimming in the Mediterranian, and hunting for colorful rocks and sea glass. We 100% credit the Italian Rivera with saving our trip and we absolutely cannot wait to go back.
Publishing the Buzzfeed Article That Helped Us go Viral
Terrence was on the phone with UPS trying to find out why his replacement credit card still hadn’t been delivered and Victoria was on her 7th day in a row of being sick in Budapest when we decided to publish this post. Within 24 hours, the post made Buzzfeed.com’s home page and received over 100,000 views. That one post led to bunches of other news outlets and companies reaching out to us and affording us the opportunity to share our project with the world.
Completing 33 Shoots Across 12 Countries
We were extremely fortunate that we were able to shoot as many locations as we did. Being from Florida [flat, hot, beachy], getting to shoot all sorts of different landscapes for 3 months was super cool! We learned a lot of things and shot thousands of photos. Some locations have yet to see the light of day so make sure to follow our social media for the latest photography updates!
Our travel motto is “no dying or broken ankles.” No one died and no one broke any bones, and we are pretty thrilled about that. We don’t want you to think we are Debbie downers which is why we are excited to highlight some of our favorite moments of the trip with you!
Check out our list of Europe trip “lows” if you want to hear us complain!
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