Alpine Adventures: A Road Trip Through Europe's Best Views

10 Day Road-Trip Loop Through Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany:

Day 1:

Flew in to Budapest in the afternoon of March 26th and picked up the rental car. We chose an SUV 4x4 since we knew we would be driving through mountains with snow. You do not need a car in Budapest, because the transportation system is great, but we went ahead and rented at the airport since the drive into the city was 40 minutes and we didn't want to make the trip back out to the airport to get the car. 

By the time we checked into our hotel, Premium Buda Caste Apartment ($163 USD per night), it was already almost sunset. We walked to the Chain Bridge to take in the views of both Buda and Pest over the Danube River. So beautiful at sunset and at night!

After sunset, we grabbed a quick dinner and headed to the famous ruin bar, Szimpla Kert. This bar had such a good vibe and way different from the pubs back in Dubai. 

Day 2: 

We woke up at sunrise with the intention to head to Fisherman's Bastion to catch the morning light over the city, but unfortunately it was pouring down rain and thick fog blocked any views. We decided to wait out the rain at New York Cafe (rated the most beautiful cafe in the world). This cafe is very well known, therefore, BUSY! We got there around 7:45am (15 minutes before it opened) and there was already a line! We ended up waiting in line (in the rain) for around 45 minutes, which I hear is nothing compared to lunch time! When we entered, you could already tell the cafe was absolutely breathtaking. The details of the paintings on the wall to the ceiling, the gold trim, and a gentlemen playing a Violin made for the perfect Renaissance setting. I ordered the eggs benedict and the 24 carat gold cappuccino. It was definitely on the pricey side, but the food was great and the cafe was stunning. I would recommend to visit this cafe for the overall experience. 

After we left the New York Cafe, the rain finally stopped and the sky started to clear up. We head back to our Airbnb on Castle Hill, which honestly turned out to be the best location to stay for us. It was walking distance to Buda Castle and Fisherman's Bastion. We dropped off our umbrellas and made our way to Buda Castle, where we spent a few hours viewing Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church. The views were amazing! After taking what seemed like a million photos, we sat down and enjoyed the views at the coffee shop there and had a hot coffee and dessert.

After we left Castle Hill, we met up with our cousins for a quick bite and walk around the streets of Budapest. We had an early night to prepare for the beginning of our road trip the next day. 

*One thing that will most definitely be a top priority the next time I visit Budapest are the thermal baths. They looked amazing! 

Day 3: 

We woke up around 4am to start getting ready for our drive to Lake Bled, Slovenia. We were on the road around 5am and began our 5 hour drive from Budapest to Lake Bled. It was a very smooth drive, mostly flat highways. Once we got to Lake Bled, we walked around taking in the stunning views of the lake. We have been to Lake Bled before so we decided not to climb the stairs to the top of Bled Castle, but instead do a hike called Mala Osojnica. It was around 1 mile RT, but extremely steep on the way up. The steep hike was worth it for the views at the top though! 

After the hike, we headed to a cafe to get some lunch and of course get the famous Bled Cream Cake. After an already busy day, we still had around 4 hours left on our road trip. We made our way to Verona, Italy, where we were staying for the night. We arrived in the evening and surprised to see that the town was still busy. We ate dinner and went into a few shops. We stayed in an Airbnb in San Nicolò 3 ($128 per night), which was walking distance to almost everything! 

Day 4:

We started our day pretty early so we could explore Verona and head to Zermatt, Switzerland before the sun went down. We had breakfast at Elk Bakery before heading to see Romeo and Juliet's balcony. We thought we were getting there early enough to beat the crowds, but the balcony was already packed when we arrived around 9am. We visited an outdoor market then walked around for around another hour before starting our 5 hour drive to Zermatt. 

*The drive from Verona, Italy to Zermatt, Switzerland passes through Milan, but we were here a few months before so decided not to stop. This would be a great stop for those who have not been before!*

Zermatt is a charming mountain town that does not allow public cars the enter. Therefore, you have to park your car outside of the town and get a taxi or take the train in. We booked with Park & Relax, paying around 96 CHF ($108) to park and take the RT taxi to our hotel in Zermatt. 

We stayed at a cute hotel called Le Petit Charme-Inn ($268 USD per night). Zermatt is pretty small so we were able to walk around 5 minutes to get to the area with the restaurants and shops. 

Day 5: 

We had breakfast at the hotel then headed straight to the railway station to go see the famous Matterhorn and go sledding. We rode the train and got off at Rotenboden station to pick up our sleds. We booked the Snow Fun Pass with Gornergrat for 98 CHF each, which included our railway ticket up, the sleds, and the unlimited rides up the mountain after you sled. If you are a skier, this is obviously a great place to ski, but if you're like me and fall on your face when you try to ski, then sledding is a great option! Once you sled down, you can take the railway back up as many times as you'd like during the time period you rented the sleds for. We went down 3 times (because honestly it was freezing and we kept falling off). On our last ride down, we returned it to a shop at the bottom that takes them back up to the top. We had lunch at a restaurant there and watched the skiers. We rode the railway back down then had dinner in Zermatt. 

Day 6:

We had breakfast at the hotel then arranged the taxi to take us back to our car. We then started our 2 hour drive to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. During the drive, we had to park on a train and ride the train (while still in the car) for around 30 minutes. That did not come up in any of my research, but such an interesting experience! We walked around the charming town of Lauterbrunnen for a few hours before we stopped at a cafe for some lunch. We then drove 20 minutes to Interlaken, where we stayed at Hotel Post Hardermannli ($396 USD per night). This was my second time in Lauterbrunnen. The first time, we took the cable car up to the top. Would definitely recommend if it's your first time here! 

Day 7:

We got breakfast in Interlaken (I am truly the worst person at remembering to write down the random cafes we eat at). After breakfast, we started our 3 hour drive to go to Stoos. Stoos is a mountain village that you have to take the steepest funicular in the world to get up to. We bought our tickets here https://www.stoos.ch/en/pages/online-shop and they were 56 CHF. We bought the one that also included the cable car from Stoos to Fronalpstock. The views from Fronalpstock were beautiful. In the summer months, you are able to hike around the area, but it was closed off since there was so much snow when we went. There is also a cafe at the top when you get to Fronalpstock. It is a good place to get some tea or coffee to warm you up. After we finished up in Stoos and Fronalpstock, we headed back down the funicular and drove 20 minutes to our hotel in Gersau.  We stayed at Gasthaus Platten ($170 per night). Gersau was probably by favorite area we stayed in. It was my first time there and did not expect it to be so amazing. It was on a hill, overlooking a beautiful lake. We walked around the town and ate fondue for the first time. If I would have known how amazing this part of Switzerland was, we would have stayed another night. 

Day 8:

On this day, we planned to head straight to Innsbruck, Austria, but last minute we decided to make a quick visit to Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany. The drive to the castle was 3.5 hours from Gersau. I have been here before, but my mom wanted to explore the castle. While she did this, my sister and I set off to find the viewpoint hike over Lake Plansee in Austria, around a 30 minute drive from Neuschwanstein. The hike was difficult to find, but if you keep walking past the parking lot, you will find a hidden turn off with the sign on your left. We missed it the first time. This is not an official trail, so it was not well kept, but the hike and view over the lake was worth it! The hike took us around 2 hours. We went to pick up our mom and headed to Innsbruck. We stayed at Blackhome Innsbruck Boutique ($130 USD per night). We had such an early start in the morning, we actually made it to Innsbruck with 2 hours of sun left. We walked around the charming town with stunning backdrop views of the mountains then got some dinner.

Day 9:

We spent most of this day exploring the ins and outs of Innsbruck. It is such a majestic place. Since we were bouncing around so much, we thought it would be nice to have a slow day here. In the afternoon, we drove 2 and a half hours to Werfenweng. On the way there we passed by Hohenwerfen Castle and just admired it from the outside. We stayed at Haus Silvia ($151 per night). 

Day 10: 

Our last day! We left Werfenweng super early since our flight was leaving from Budapest at 10pm. We had a long drive ahead of us. To make the drive bearable, we added in a couple of exciting stops. Our first stop was the magical town, Hallstatt. This stop was an hour into our drive and made a great place for breakfast. We had breakfast at a cafe then walked around Hallstatt, visiting both famous views(the one by the lake and the one at the top of the stairs). We then drove around 3 and a half hours to Vienna. We walked around Vienna, visiting the St. Stephens Cathedral and The Hundertwasserhaus House. We went to a few shops and had lunch then continued our way back to Budapest. It took us around another 3 hours to reach the airport in Budapest, where we returned the car then caught our flight back to Dubai.