Gorgeous little outdoor escapes...

Before we know it snow will be falling and ice will cover the roads ...atleast here in the north east. So enjoy these beautiful days of autumn outdoors while you still can... happy weekend!

I hope there's a beach behind that cottage....

so gorgeous...

via Pinterest

One of my favorite cities from my European backpacking trip - Germany's charming Ulm

Aside from seeing the sites, Chris and I chose Ulm as one of our destination cities in Germany because his good friend Ruth was living and grew up there.  We had heard it was a great town - but it ended up being one of our favorite cities from our entire trip.  You'll see why from the pics below:

Ulm Münster, the world's tallest steeple (161,53 m)

The very cute - and tilting - Schiefes Haus (crooked house)

So beautiful!

Ulm was the birthplace of Albert Einstein.  There is a memorial where his house stood.

The three images above are of the beautiful town hall

We arrived during the Nabada Festival, where citizens build elaborate floats and make their way down the Danube...it was really fun to watch

A pretty view from our train from Switzerland going to Ulm.

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena
•Venice
•Lake Como, Italy

Switzerland
•Jungfrau region, Switzerland, Part 1
•Jungfrau region, Switzerland, Part 2

Flower covered cottages tucked away in green mountains...

Sounds like a fairy tale right? Nope...it's the Jungfrau region in Switzerland, which I was lucky enough to visit this summer during my 9 week backpacking trip around Europe. The weather wasn't ideal for the few days we were in Jungfrau, but it was still gorgeous. See below...

A view of the town we stayed in - Lauterbrunnen

We started off the morning by taking a cable car up to this hiking path towards Gimmewald, where we hit some early morning traffic...

Gimmelwald is a charming little town. They sell lots of fresh cheeses - and you'll see lots of cute little cheese huts along the way.  The other main occupation is farming.  Farmers raise hay on tiny plots to feed to cows.  It saved itself from development as a ski resort by having it falsely declared an avalanche zone - wikipedia.  Thank goodness for that!

The population is about 130 - and most people have one of three family names: von Allmen, Feuz, or Brunner.

The cable car and a walking path are the only way to get to the town directly.

After Gimmewald we went to Wengen, and from there we took another cable car up to a beautiful hike.

We returned to Lauterbrunnen for dinner, where we witnessed a parade of men ringing huge bells down the street, unfortunately for them it was pouring rain.  Does anyone know anything about this tradition?

Unfortunately pictures just can't do this gorgeous country and these AMAZING mountains any justice, I hope everyone gets a chance to see it...

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena
•Venice
•Lake Como, Italy

Switzerland
•Jungfrau region, Switzerland, Part 1

Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who acted as the trip photographer

The amazing mountains Lauterbrunnen in Jungfrau region of Switzerland

More pics from my summer backpacking in Europe!

I had never seen mountains like this - movies and pics don't begin to convey the awe and beauty of Lauterbrunnen. Arriving in Switzerland after spending the past few weeks in Spain and Italy was like landing on another planet. We had some clouds but the scenery was still gorgeous.

Just one of the many adorable cottages decorated with adorable flowers.

cheese shacks! With Stauubach falls behind.

Fresh milk just a few hundred yards from our cabin

Staubbach falls

In Lauterbrunnen are 10 glacial falls accessible by lift. They are called Trümmelbach Falls

Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -

Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona

Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena
•Venice
•Lake Como, Italy

Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who took these amazing photos.