The first leg of our European adventures this summer looked like exploring along the Rhine River with my family. My parents invited us to join them on a Viking River Cruise, which has proven to be one of their favorite adopted hobbies at this point in their lives. We cruised from Basel, Switzerland through a few spots along the Rhine in France and Germany, and rounded out our trip in The Netherlands. The scenery was truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen, with Medieval castles lining the river, extravagant and truly massive cathedrals within each city, and all the charms of Western Europe that I’ve come to know and love! Each little side street was impossible to resist capturing—so, in short, I didn’t even attempt to resist!

The staff on our boat were absolutely delightful and made our visit so much more special than we could have imagined. We were on our feet pretty much all day, every day, so it was so nice to be able to relax on the boat in the evenings. We got to know so many of the staff members personally, who were genuinely some of the kindest people we’ve ever met. Although Peyton, myself, and my sister were probably the only visitors under the age of 50, we had an absolute blast getting to spend time with my parents and others on board. No bottle of wine was left unattended—I can certainly say that much!

Each little town we stopped by had such unique character and charm. The entire trip felt like it happened so quickly, so it’s so nice to be able to look back and recall where we saw that one little side street, café, or partook in that one amazing Aperol Spritz. Some unexpected highlights were hiking through The Black Forest (which was a much rainier, chillier day than expected—but so dreamy!) and getting to see the windmills in The Netherlands up close and personal. It’s hard to believe that we packed all of this into a week-long period, but when we are able to travel abroad, we never take it for granted.

Enjoy some film highlights below and escape to some of our favorite spots on the Rhine. Prost!