Europe – The Girl Who Goes

Last Updated on September 28, 2026

Day Trip: Guadalest and Fuentes de Algar from Benidorm or Alicante, Spain

Last summer, a few of Matt’s college friends came to visit us in Alicante for a week! While we’d had quite a few visitors by that point, this group definitely had the most go-go-go energy of anyone who had come to see us so far, so they kept us busy. We spent beach days at Playa San Juan, rode the ferry out to the island of Tabarca, and even tagged along on a day trip they’d booked to two places I’d never heard of before: Guadalest and las Fuentes de Algar.

On that occasion, we were part of a tour group; our day started in Alicante and our bus then drove to Benidorm to pick up more people before heading on to Guadalest and las Fuentes de Algar. It was a long day and we were on a time schedule designated by the tour group. But this past summer, when our friends Sarah and Kelan came to visit, we knew they would enjoy taking this day trip… but we decided to plan it ourselves!

Now that I’ve done it both ways — both as part of a tour group and independently — I feel like I have good advice for anyone who wants to take a day trip to Guadalest and Fuentes de Algar. So, here’s what you need to know! [Read more…]

Last Updated on September 5, 2026

How To Eat Gluten-Free in Ireland: Ireland Gluten Free Guide

In May 2025, when I found out that I was likely going to be diagnosed with celiac disease, the doctor had one final instruction for me: Keep eating gluten until you have your endoscopy.

Luckily, I had a week-long trip planned to Ireland in the week leading up to the endoscopy, and I took my final opportunity to enjoy as much Guinness, Irish sourdough toast, and Tayto crisps as possible. And then I came home, had my endoscopy, and started my official gluten-free life.

About 8 months later, I visited Dublin for the first time since my official diagnosis — a long weekend winter trip for my friend Sarah‘s 30th birthday. But this past summer, we went for a full week and visited three cities, so I feel like I have a better handle on being gluten-free in Ireland.

So, here’s what you need to know! [Read more…]

Last Updated on August 30, 2026

Irish Rail Review: Train from Dublin to Galway, Ireland

A few weeks ago, I visited Ireland. It was certainly not my first trip to Ireland, but I did have the opportunity to do a bunch of things for the first time while I was there! It was my first time ever going to a “hen,” also known as a bachelorette party. It was my first time playing pádel in Ireland. And… it was my first time traveling through Ireland by train!

My friend Sarah‘s hen party was in Galway, but she and most of the other girls going on the trip live in the Dublin area. And knowing how much Sarah loves trains, there was only one viable transportation option: Irish Rail from Dublin to Galway.

Funny enough, I’d taken a charter bus across Ireland, road trips across Ireland, and even a public bus across Ireland. But never a train. So here’s my Irish Rail review of what it was like to travel from Dublin to Galway (and back). [Read more…]

Last Updated on August 23, 2026

7 Reasons Why You Should Visit Tübingen, Germany

I could say I only realized this in hindsight, but I definitely knew it going into our recent trip to Tübingen, Germany: Taking my husband to my ex-boyfriend’s hometown on vacation was a weird choice. I was hoping that Tübingen would be charming enough to justify the visit, though I hadn’t been there in 13 years and wasn’t sure whether it was actually cute or just rose-colored in my memories.

It turned out that both of us loved our visit to Tübingen, with Matt even saying it was his favorite city we visited during our entire two-and-a-half week trip across five countries. But it was no surprise that he had never even heard of it before — and when we told our friends we were stopping there during our trip, everyone said: “Where?”

Despite hardly anyone knowing about Tübingen’s existence, it is well worth a visit. Here are just 7 of the reasons why you should visit Tübingen. [Read more…]

Last Updated on July 30, 2026

Day Trip: Zürich to Schaffhausen + Rhine Falls, Switzerland

In May, we took a nearly three-week-long train trip that started in Brussels and ended in Zürich. After leaving Tübingen, Germany, it was time to cross the border from Germany to Switzerland — a new country for both me and Matt!

Our train route with Deutsche Bahn took us from Tübingen to Horb, where we had to change trains; then, it was supposed to be a smooth, direct ride from Horb to Zürich. But for some reason, once we were onboard, it was decided that this train’s final stop would not be Zürich, but the small Swiss town of Schaffhausen. So in Schaffhausen, we set foot in Switzerland for the first time (as we wandered around the train station, to figure out where to catch the next Zürich-bound train).

Little did we know that we’d be intentionally traveling back to Schaffhausen the very next day — because as we rode the Swiss Rail to Zürich, we noticed a massive waterfall out the window. Matt instantly recognized this waterfall as having made a fleeting, nameless appearance on one of our favorite shows, Jet Lag: The Game. (Matt has a self-proclaimed bad memory, so I have no idea how/why he remembered this, lol.) But when we Googled this waterfall, which is called Rhine Falls, we found out that it’s the most powerful waterfall in Europe and a major tourist attraction! So we decided that we’d come back the next day to see it up close.

If you want to do the same, here’s everything you need to know about taking a day trip from Zürich to Schaffhausen and Rhine Falls. [Read more…]

Last Updated on July 26, 2026

How To Eat Gluten-Free in Germany: Germany Gluten Free Guide

Nearly a year after my celiac disease diagnosis, it was time to tackle a few more countries for the first time as a gluten-free traveler, as we set out on a train trip through nine cities in five countries. After Belgium was Germany — and while I certainly expected gluten-free life in Germany to be more difficult than where I live in Spain, I was hoping it would at least be on par with Belgium.

It wasn’t.

Germany actually turned out to be the most difficult country for eating gluten-free of the entire trip, and that goes for all three of the German cities we visited. Our time in Germany took us to Cologne, Heidelberg, and Tübingen — and while I recognize that these aren’t the biggest, most international cities with a huge number of tourists like you might find in Berlin or Munich, at least Cologne and Heidelberg seem like they should be popular enough for a few more gluten-free options.

Usually, in my gluten-free city or country posts, I provide maps and a list of restaurant recommendations, but I honestly feel like the options were so few that I can’t even do that. 😂 So this will be more about surviving being gluten-free in Germany.

[Read more…]

Last Updated on July 22, 2026

City Review: Tübingen, Germany

Have you ever heard of the German city of Tübingen? Unless you’re German yourself, probably not.

But it’s a special place to me, because it’s the first place I ever traveled outside the U.S. When I was 18 years old, I took my first-ever international trip, flying from Kansas City to Stuttgart. There, my former foreign-exchange-student boyfriend picked me up at the airport, just 40 minutes away from his hometown, Tübingen. And while I made a few visits there over a few years, understandably I hadn’t been back since we broke up in 2015.

A lot has changed in 11 years. I’ve lived in Spain for more than five years of my life and visited a total of 37 countries. And while I remembered Tübingen being a magical city at the time, I wondered whether it was really that charming, or whether it simply had the benefit of being the first place I ever went.

So on our European train trip this past May, it was time to find out. 🙂

Here’s my review of Tübingen, Germany. [Read more…]

Last Updated on July 9, 2026

7 Things To Know Before Taking a Train Trip in Europe

By this point, I’ve shared quite a bit about some of the cities we visited on our nearly three-week train trip in Europe — with more to come — but I haven’t talked much about the train travel itself! Fun fact: We took a total of 14 trains through four countries. While I had taken plenty of trains on previous trips, this was my first real “train trip” in the sense that it was my primary method of getting from one city to the next.

If you’re interested in taking your own train trip in Europe, here are 7 things you’ll want to know first.

[Read more…]

Last Updated on June 29, 2026

How To Visit Liechtenstein from Switzerland

During our train trip last month, we visited Switzerland for the first time — our last major Western/Central European country to check off the list! But as we planned for our Switzerland visit, we couldn’t help but notice that the country of Liechtenstein wasn’t that far away.

In a typical move for us, we thought, “When in the neighborhood!” (which has previously resulted in visits to both Andorra and Luxembourg), so one day we set off to take a day trip to Liechtenstein from Switzerland. From Zürich, where we were staying, it wasn’t too difficult nor too long of a day, so I recommend it if this is the type of thing you’re interested in.

Here’s everything you need to know if you want to plan your own visit to Liechtenstein from Switzerland. [Read more…]

Last Updated on June 24, 2026

City Review: Heidelberg, Germany

When I was in my early 20s and a brand-new international traveler, Heidelberg was one of the first few cities I visited. I remembered its long pedestrian street, the medieval, hilltop castle, and massive Christmas pyramids at the Weihnachtsmarkts that overtook all the city’s squares.

On our recent train trip through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Switzerland, I was excited to have the opportunity to explore Heidelberg again, especially now that I’ve been so many other places — so I could experience it from a new perspective. So, here’s my review of Heidelberg, Germany. [Read more…]