Searching for Home: Our European Expedition

Our Upcoming European Adventure! | We Should Move Here Travels Podcast

In this episode of the We Should Move Here Travels podcast, hosts Brittany and Josh share their excitement and detailed plans for their next big trip across Europe. They discuss their preparations, the excitement of packing, and the challenge of preparing episodes ahead of time for their audience. The couple outlines their itinerary, starting in Utrecht, Netherlands, and making stops in Ghent, Belgium; Augsburg, Germany; and Graz, Austria. Each destination was chosen based on extensive research, targeting potential places they could move to. They delve into the specifics of each location, such as activities, food tours, and the local culture they're eager to explore. Highlights include their anticipation for the canals in the Netherlands, the chocolate and beer in Belgium, Oktoberfest in Germany, and the scenic train ride through the Swiss Alps to Austria. Join them as they prepare for what they hope will be a life-changing journey!

00:00 Introduction and Upcoming Trip

00:44 Packing and Pet Preparations

01:47 Trip Itinerary: Destinations and Plans

04:25 Exploring Utrecht, Netherlands

11:18 Discovering Ghent, Belgium

20:28 Anticipating Augsburg, Germany

24:27 Exploring Dachau and Oktoberfest Excitement

25:12 Journey to Graz, Austria

26:48 Discovering Graz: Food, Wine, and Yoga

29:32 Anticipating the Best Experiences

38:40 Finding Our Future Home

45:26 Final Thoughts and Gratitude

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Transcript

Brit 0:11

Hello and welcome to the We Should Move Here Travels podcast. My name is Brittany.

Josh 0:17

I'm Josh

Brit 0:18

and we are your host. Today we are gonna be talking a little bit about our next trip, and we are leaving next week. So it's crunch time right now.

Josh 0:29

The excitement is building.

Brit 0:31

We are also trying to prepare many episodes to make sure that you all aren't left hanging and you get one every Monday. So we're trying to do that at the same time as preparing for this trip. So bear with us.

Josh 0:44

The way we have the trip set up, we're gonna be gone for several weeks, so having the episodes prepared ahead of time is essential.

Brit 0:53

Yeah.

Josh 0:54

The cats are not happy.

Brit 0:56

No, I started packing a little bit today and Oreo was just watching me, and he was glaring. He was glaring.

Josh 1:07

Our cats, Oreo and Callie, they are very much aware of what happens and they sense when we're about to go on a trip every time.

Brit 1:14

Yeah.

Josh 1:15

It's a little scary.

Brit 1:16

Also, if you hear them, you might, I don't know, um, I apologize.

Josh 1:24

He's just howling at us. He knows that we don't have much time left here before we leave, and he wants to spend time with us. Unfortunately, he's not the most quiet of boys, so if he was present during recordings in the room, we'd probably make a little bit more noise.

Brit 1:38

Yeah. And he'd be chewing on the cords too.

Josh 1:40

Chewing on the cords, knocking on the cameras. he would be the entertainment of the podcast.

Brit 1:46

Okay. So why don't we dive into why we chose these spots that we're about to go to. We hinted at where we're going, last episode, but we are going to start our next trip in Utrecht, Netherlands, and then we will travel to Ghent Belgium, Augsburg, Germany, and then our last stop will be Graz Austria. This is going to be a stunning trip.

Josh 2:15

We did plan this trip out for the podcast.

Brit 2:18

We did.

Josh 2:19

Yes. So our previous trips that we've talked about, They were all pre-planned and pre-booked Before we even thought of the podcast. This one, we chose these places in these cities specifically for the podcast and specifically for us to potentially move to these locations.

Brit 2:36

Yeah, we did some research on each of these places and these are places that look like they check a lot of our boxes. So now all that's left to do is really the in-person research.

Josh 2:49

The in-person research. I love that phrase. We gotta get that coined or something trademarked. But just to give you a little rundown. the layout of these is we're spending six full days at each location. Mm-hmm. And then traveling by train to the next one. at each location we found an Airbnb in the city that we wanted to stay in apartment style, So we could have the best feeling for what it would be like to live in that city.

Brit 3:17

Yeah. So we could get to know what it would look like living in an apartment cooking on our own, going grocery shopping, doing things like that so that we can really get that vibe.

Josh 3:28

Yeah. And we're also, doing plenty of fun things your typical touristy stuff. We're obviously doing food tours.

Brit 3:36

Obviously

Josh 3:38

if you listen to our previous episodes, we don't go anywhere without booking at least one food tour.

Brit 3:44

Why would we,

Josh 3:45

yeah. Why even travel at that point? It doesn't make any sense.

Brit 3:50

So we will be doing a lot of food tours on this trip. Mm-hmm. And I'm really excited for those parts because. you get to know what the food culture is like through these tours and also get to know a bit of the history behind not just the food, but the city that you're in.

Josh 4:08

Yeah. Most of these tours do a really good job walking around and pointing out certain landmarks and stuff to you as well, so it'll be really exciting.

Brit 4:16

Yeah. We'll see what these ones are like and hopefully they're as good as the rest of the ones that we've been on.

Josh 4:21

Yeah, I'm so ready for this.

Brit 4:23

Oh, me too. So pumped. So why did we choose our first stop Utrecht Netherlands?

Josh 4:31

I think when we first started doing research into these. With our Criteria in mind. We wanted places that were close enough to a, large city where we could go and experience those attractions. if we potentially move to this place, most likely those large cities, like lots of countries and states in the US, they host the most jobs. So being in a city that's close to that, either by driving or by public transportation makes sense.

Brit 5:02

It feels important that we would be doing that and that we would be looking into those, bigger cities where we could potentially get a job.

Josh 5:10

So also Utrecht has canals,

Brit 5:13

I love a good canal.

Josh 5:15

We both do. There's so many things you can do along canals, you can walk along canals, you can drink along canals, you can eat along canals,

Brit 5:24

you can just look at the canals. They're beautiful.

Josh 5:28

They're so versatile.

Brit 5:30

They are. And it's just really nice having water flowing throughout the city. Mm-hmm. And you never know when you're gonna bump into a canal.

Josh 5:38

Mm-hmm.

Brit 5:38

Which is cool.

Josh 5:39

Right. It's like a surprise, like, oh.

Brit 5:41

Look at that. Yeah. And some of them are like along really beautiful old buildings. Yes, yes. I'm really excited to see the canals in Utrecht and in Amsterdam.

Josh 5:54

Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah. We'll spend at least one day, probably more than one day, taking the short train ride from Utrecht two Amsterdam, and we'll explore the food there, the canals there.

Brit 6:09

Mm-hmm. The Chun sandwiches.

Josh 6:11

The Chun sandwiches. Brittany has sent me plenty of tiktoks and pictures of multiple places. We have used a little bit of AI to create our own food tour for the day

Brit 6:25

I'm really excited to see how that works out.

Josh 6:27

we took every place that Brittany was like, we have to do this.

Brit 6:31

so many places.

Josh 6:32

It's so many places. AI seems very confident that we could get through all these in two hours, but I think it's nine potential places to eat.

Brit 6:44

And some of them are viral, so we will have to wait in the line. Mm-hmm. So it's gonna be more than two hours for sure.

Josh 6:51

We'll have more than one day there potentially. And because we're gonna be in this area for six full days mm-hmm. We have the ability to go maybe in the middle of a week, which would kind of spread us out a little bit or the weekend, maybe avoid some crowds. So we'll see how that goes. But I'm really excited to see Amsterdam, see the Red Light District.

Brit 7:11

Oh yes. We are gonna go to the red light district. Yep. I'm excited for that. Yeah, that'll be fun. We're also gonna do a snack and drink boat cruise.

Josh 7:21

Mm-hmm. That's gonna be really fun.

Brit 7:23

I saw the snacks and it looks like it's like a cheeseboard and I'm pretty sure that the Netherlands have really good cheese.

Josh 7:31

Mm-hmm. I think they got really good food overall. So I'm, I'm excited for that.

Brit 7:35

Yeah.

Josh 7:36

did you say it's unlimited drinks?

Brit 7:38

Yeah, it is dangerous. And then we're gonna go to the red light district right after, so, and then we're gonna try and find a train back to Utrecht. So we'll see how that all works out. Yeah.

Josh 7:50

Hopefully it all works out just fine. We're on vacation anyways. Yeah. you've brought this up to me and I realize that there's a difference between cafe and coffee houses in Amsterdam.

Brit 8:01

Yes. Yes. I was looking at several coffee houses that I realized were cannabis shops, or cannabis bakeries, or, I don't really know how to talk about it, but the cafes are actual cafes. They have coffee with no weed in them, so that's where we will be going.

Josh 8:28

But it's good to know that ahead time.'cause we have looked at some like, oh, a coffee house. That's not the right one. No, no. We might have to peek our head into one or two just to see what's up. we also have planned in Utrecht, we have found a couple places that have yoga classes. So we are going to be booking and going to a few yoga classes there.

Brit 8:47

We have found yoga classes at yoga moves and they have several different locations, and mats that you can borrow. They also have hot yoga. So I am excited to see what it's gonna look like there.

Josh 9:02

absolutely. We are spoiled with our yoga place here. We've already given a shout out, yoga Three and Appleton and Neenah. Woo. Love them. So hopefully this place can live up to what Yoga Three has given us so far.

Brit 9:17

Yeah. and we're not expecting the same exact thing. but it'll be interesting to see what the flows are like in another country.

Josh 9:27

Yeah, I'm a little scared.

Brit 9:29

I am really scared, but we're doing it for the pod, for

Josh 9:32

the pod, for everyone out there. so maybe if you visit, Utrecht and you're missing your yoga time, maybe you sign up for it. If we give it a good review on the way back.

Brit 9:41

Yeah. We'll see. We'll see. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the sense of community looks like in Utrecht. Mm-hmm.

Josh 9:49

We'll get a good sense when we're walking by some canals and just walking around and seeing what's all around Utrecht. And I believe we have a food tour pretty early on in our trip to usual Utah.

Brit 10:00

Yeah, I'm really excited to try the different foods and just see what it's like.

Josh 10:05

Hopefully that'll give us a good sense of the community as well.

Brit 10:08

yeah, for sure.

Josh 10:09

What are you most looking forward to in your trip?

Brit 10:11

I am most looking forward to the food tour. I think we're gonna get to try a lot of different things, and I just love food tours. They're so fun.

Josh 10:22

I'm right there with you. Yeah, I'm super excited for it as well.

Brit 10:25

What are you most excited for in Utrecht? I think I'm most excited for figuring out what the community's like there.

Josh 10:34

I think we have a nice Airbnb picked out and it's pretty much on a canal or very close to one. And from the research that we had done, it is a growing community there. So just kind of getting the overall sense and vibe of that community will be super fun for me.

Brit 10:53

Yeah. And also I think within. The community. We will get to explore that through yoga too. Mm-hmm. As we take those yoga classes, we'll get to meet people and you know, maybe make a couple friends.

Josh 11:08

Oh, that would be fun.

Brit 11:09

That would be fun.

Josh 11:11

I hope we get that opportunity. I hope we come off as approachable and maybe people ask questions.

Brit 11:17

Yeah. Yeah. I hope so. so our next stop is Ghent Belgium. Mm-hmm. I am so excited for the chocolate and beer.

Josh 11:29

Oh,

Brit 11:30

okay. So Belgium chocolate. That's gonna be insane, right? Like that's gotta be so good.

Josh 11:37

I think it's gonna be life changing, earth shattering.

Brit 11:42

I hope so.

Josh 11:43

Yeah. We had actually talked about potentially going to Belgium instead of Sweden. Originally

Brit 11:50

we did.

Josh 11:51

It just didn't work out with times and flights. So when we were looking at the places potentially go on this trip, we mentioned Belgium and both of us were like, yes, please. Chocolate waffles, beer.

Brit 12:04

we're all in. Like, what more can you ask for?

Josh 12:07

Like, is there anything wrong with this place? No. So we of course had to look into potential cities to go to. Brussels. This is a big city. So then we found Ghent.

Brit 12:17

Yeah. And Ghent is only 30 minutes from Brussels by train. Mm-hmm. So it's pretty close. it also has canals.

Josh 12:27

Shocker.

Brit 12:28

You will find that every city that we picked has canals. A little bit of a trend. We love a good canal. Mm-hmm. Okay. Mm-hmm. Can you blame us?

Josh 12:39

I'm really excited for the beauty of all these places, but specifically we've looked at some pictures and it's just stunning.

Brit 12:49

Yeah. Yeah, it looks really beautiful. There's a castle in Ghent mm-hmm. That I'm really excited for as well I don't know if we're gonna explore the castle, I assume we might. but it looks really cool. we're gonna have a lot of time again, we've got six days, so we're just gonna go where life takes us, you know? Yeah. That's a bit of a struggle for me. I, I, I would like a plan, but, but I'm going with it. I mean, we're there for so long that we are gonna need some days where we will need some downtime, we will need some breather room, you know, we'll need some of that. So that'll be helpful that we're just kind of going with the flow. We do have some tours booked here as well.

Josh 13:31

We have a waffles and beer workshop in Ghent.

Brit 13:34

Yes. So excited. Waffles and beer.

Josh 13:39

It's at six 30 in the evening that's fine with me. I was always a breakfast for dinner kids, so not the beer's a breakfast, but in this case it's part of a breakfast meal, I think.

Brit 13:51

Yeah. We also have, in Brussels, we have scheduled a beer and chocolate tour. when you ask me what I'm most excited for here, this is it. That's it. Beer and chocolate tour. That's incredible. It's a dream. That's all I could ask for. Yeah. Like my God, what? I never knew that was a thing. Beer and chocolate anyways. maybe they have chocolate beers.

Josh 14:18

We do have, a favorite kind of dark beer. Mm. And it's a, it's a peanut butter style beer. So if they got like a peanut butter chocolate beer paired,

Brit 14:28

it's a peanut butter stout.

Josh 14:30

A peanut butter stout. Thank you.

Brit 14:31

Yes.

Josh 14:32

So if we have that paired with a chocolate, we might have to move there the next day.

Brit 14:37

Yeah. We might have to move there immediately, because my God, that's gonna make it so hard to go to the next place.

Josh 14:46

It is. It is. But I think what we have planned for the next place

Brit 14:52

Oh, I know.

Josh 14:53

Is exciting enough.

Brit 14:54

I know. I know. Yeah, this is going to be quite the place. Mm-hmm. we also are going to yoga mm-hmm. Here as well. So we are going to Yoga Loft in Gent It is not hot yoga. they have several different flows and styles, so we're gonna check out a couple different classes and see what that kind of community looks like as well.

Josh 15:20

Yeah. And again, terrified to go and see what it's like. I've only ever done yoga at Yoga Three I think. So they got me locked down there, so being in a different studio is gonna shake me up a little bit.

Brit 15:36

Yeah. You're really loyal to Yoga three. Mm-hmm. We love that. Mm-hmm. Loyal King over here.

Josh 15:42

But yeah, for, for Ghent, looking at the community there, walking along those canals, Seeing how safe it is. going to a local cafe, really excited for it.

Brit 15:53

And maybe we'll make some friends here too.

Josh 15:55

Hopefully we make friends everywhere.

Brit 15:56

I hope so. what are you most excited for in Ghent

Josh 16:02

I think it's hard to beat a waffles and beer workshop if it's something specifically that we have planned that I'm super excited for. But Belgium beer in general, hopefully it's life changing.

Brit 16:18

I mean, how could it not be? hopefully this entire trip is life changing.

Josh 16:22

But I want one of these beers to just, slap me in the side of the face. Like, you never drink another beer again. This is the only beer you can drink. And then when we leave, I'll just be sad'cause I'm like, it's not that beer.

Brit 16:34

I was gonna say, that sounds so depressing.'cause we're coming back to Wisconsin and we're not gonna have that beer.

Josh 16:41

Okay. But if you've ever had lasagna since your favorite lasagna place in Italy,

Brit 16:47

I don't think I have.

Josh 16:48

What we have had is sushi since sushi in Japan has anything compared No. See, but I want something like that. I want something. I want it because I, I am a person to make a travel destination that I've been to my entire personality.

Brit 17:06

Oh, me too. You make so many jokes that I do that,

Josh 17:11

oh, I love to do it.

Brit 17:13

I can't help it. These places change your life.

Josh 17:15

Yeah.

Brit 17:16

So yeah, it's now my entire personality. For sure.

Josh 17:21

Yeah. But so I think, I think beer, and again, just all these places are so beautiful. We picked each one looking at the beauty of it, the history of it. Like you said, they all have canals. We picked them all for pretty much all the reasons that fit our criteria. Yeah. And so, like you said, just going there and doing the in-person work, what was the term? Used

Brit 17:47

in-person research?

Josh 17:48

In-person research.

Brit 17:50

These are all places that have ticked a lot of boxes for both of us. Mm-hmm. So. I'm hoping that we find a place within one of these four cities that really feels like home, that calls to us, that checks all of these boxes and that we feel a connection to.

Josh 18:14

Yeah. Yeah. And if we wanted to or needed to, we could start planning to move there. Soon.

Brit 18:21

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And who knows, maybe we would look into the Visa requirements and it would be pretty easy. Maybe we would be able to get a job right away there, which would help us move that visa along. Maybe it would be really difficult, and we need to start two years in advance. who knows?

Josh 18:41

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I agree. We have each of our top three locations right now listed on our website. And I'm hoping one of these, if not all of'em, multiple, break the top three for us.

Brit 18:55

Yeah, me too.

Josh 18:57

It will be interesting considering we have planned this for one of these places to break into that top three if they actually do so. It'll be interesting if we go and we're like, oh, we really love it. Can't live there.

Brit 19:09

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think about it and I'm like, I would have a hard time taking Portree away from number one, but I think if there's a spot that calls to me as much, if not more, probably could do it. Right. And right now I am thinking that the Netherlands could possibly do it. I mean, I've seen a lot of videos. it really seems to be my kind of vibe. our kind of vibe. I think in many ways.

Josh 19:40

we definitely share the same kind of vibe that we're looking for.

Brit 19:43

I think so. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So I, I think that's what makes us so great.

Josh 19:47

Yeah, I agree. I think the Netherlands could definitely take that spot for me. Maybe for you, I don't know. I think that's gonna be a hard one. I hope you stick firm. I hope you don't just let one of these lightly push Portree outta the way it's gonna take it by force. I

Brit 20:06

mean, it would have to, because I would have a really hard time pushing Portree from number one, right. That spot. I mean, Portree is just incredible. It would take a lot for me to move Portree.

Josh 20:16

I think out of all of our destinations, these last two have the most potential for me to break through.

Brit 20:22

Really? Mm-hmm. Okay. Interesting. Mm-hmm. So what is the next stop?

Josh 20:29

our next stop is Augsburg, Germany,

Brit 20:32

Augsburg, Germany.

Josh 20:34

When we were looking at doing this trip, we did place Augsburg in a specific spot so we could be in Germany during Oktoberfest

Brit 20:44

Yes, we did. this has been on both of our bucket lists for a long time and I am so excited to be going to Oktoberfest Mm-hmm. Like the Oktoberfest in Munich. That's gonna be so fun.

Josh 21:01

I think it's going to be an experience that breaks all others. Because where we live there is quite a large Oktoberfest that's hosted here in Wisconsin.

Brit 21:13

Yeah, there is. We have in the Fox Cities Appleton, Oktoberfest and it is wild. There are so many people that travel to get to this one. it's a huge festival. in Wisconsin, we have a large German population so it makes sense that we would have a really big Oktoberfest Going back to Germany. I think that this Oktoberfest is going to be much different because there are different tents that are dedicated to different things and we are gonna have to explore many of the tents. I don't know if we can do all of them. I think we would probably get alcohol poisoning at that point. but we will be having some drinks and having some fun at Oktoberfest for sure. We also might be renting dirndl and lederhosen. So maybe we'll make a video of, you coming along with us to rent one of those in Germany. but Augsburg is 45 minutes from Munich by train. Mm-hmm. So it will be a little bit longer of a train ride than the other two cities, but still pretty close.

Josh 22:25

Mm-hmm. that works out perfectly fine.'cause when we were doing the research for the podcast, Augsburg was one of the top cities in Germany that fit a lot of our criteria. Yeah. And so it just works out that it's only 45 minutes by train, to Munich, which is great also because we can go and enjoy ourselves the only thing we really have to worry about is not getting sick and getting to the train on time. Yes. So that we can get back.

Brit 22:51

Yes, yes.

Josh 22:52

like Brittany said, Augsburg, Germany, lots of history and canals.

Brit 22:58

And canals love a good canal. yoga is not a possibility here. Every single yoga place that I have looked at is in German and fully in German. And neither of us knows German, unfortunately. So we will not be attending a yoga class. I think we would be totally lost I don't wanna put us in that situation.

Josh 23:21

Yeah. As I've said, I'm scared enough as it is to do yoga in different countries, so having to do yoga in different country and a language, I don't know. Yeah. My, my middle school German won't carry me that far.

Brit 23:34

No, no. Mine, mine won't either. what are you most looking forward to in Augsburg?

Josh 23:40

I don't want to be a broken record, but getting the overall vibe for a place. I'm really excited to be doing this podcast in the way that we are. Going there and sitting down in the apartment, going outside, getting groceries, walking around. Mm-hmm. Like, could we live here? Yeah, I think the canals are gonna make a hard case for us.

Brit 24:03

I mean, They might.

Josh 24:05

Hopefully people get it by now. We love a canal, so we like waterways. So you know, we have big lakes in Wisconsin, so being close to water in some form or fashion is something that just hits us, I think maybe brings us back to home a little bit,

Brit 24:22

I don't know. It's just something about being around water. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I also wanna say, I think the food culture and the drink culture will be an experience that we won't ever forget so we will also be going to the Dachau concentration camp and we're gonna try to check that out. it feels really important for us to go to a concentration camp while we're in Germany.

Josh 24:50

I think it's a huge part of history that we shouldn't ignore.

Brit 24:53

Yeah, I agree.

Josh 24:55

Yeah. What is gonna be your most look forward to part of Augsburg?

Brit 25:00

I mean, it's not really Augsburg, but Oktoberfest I'm so pumped for Oktoberfest I'm so excited. Mm-hmm. We're ready. we're doing it. We're doing it. We're doing it. our next stop will be Graz Austria. Oh my gosh. I'm so excited for the train ride from Augsburg to Graz. we are going to be going through the Swiss Alps. Yes. It's gonna be stunning.

Josh 25:28

Mm-hmm. When we were booking the train tickets between each of our locations, I had Google maps up and this one I plugged in. Directly south from Augsburg, Germany into the Alps, and then it just goes through the Alps all the way. Mm-hmm. To Graz. Mm-hmm. I'm hoping it's as beautiful as Google Maps is showing it at the moment, and I cannot wait. I will also say, If you listened to last episode, we talked about Vienna having a coffee festival. It's at the beginning or the middle of September. And we're gonna be in Graz the beginning of October. I didn't know about the festival when we booked it. If I would've, we would've kind of flipped this trip around.

Brit 26:18

We definitely would have, there would be no way that we would be missing a coffee festival in Europe. That is so cool. We have to do that eventually, but we're also not staying in Vienna, so we'll go back. We'll, we'll do it

Josh 26:35

correct. Yeah. We're not staying there, but we've already talked about it. Gonna go back on a different trip and experience that.

Brit 26:42

When he told me, I was like, are you kidding me? anyways. Graz Austria. So it is two and a half hours from Vienna. Mm-hmm. So it's a ways away from Vienna by train. it does have canals, surprise. and then yoga. You actually recently found a yoga studio that does their classes in English and that we can borrow a mat, correct?

Josh 27:13

still waiting for the instructor to get back on the mat, but yes, I did find a place that does have some classes in English and they would be very happy for us to come and do that. So we might only have to miss yoga during Augsburg, Maybe if even when we're walking around Augsburg, we might run into someone who says, oh, like there's a yoga studio over here that kind accommodates, so who knows? Yeah. But yeah, right now it looks like we can do it in Graz. Just gotta wait to see if they'll let us rent mats.

Brit 27:43

Yeah. Exciting. Mm-hmm. So, we'll see if that's a possibility. I am really looking forward to the food drinks nightlife scene. Mm-hmm. In Graz. I think it's going to be different than the other three. Mm-hmm. I think it's going to be a lot different.

Josh 28:02

I'm really excited for it. During our research, I found that Graz is apparently very well known for the food culture there. Apparently it's like the taste of Austria. Yeah. that region is well known for some of your favorite wine. Mm-hmm. So we both love wine. Brittany loves sauvignon blanc, so we'll get to have some of that. This is another one though. It's a small enough location and I guess not enough tourist. Attraction that they don't have a lot of food tours or drink tours. Yeah. So this is one that, again, we looked up some places and put'em into a map and we're gonna try to do our own little food tour out here.

Brit 28:46

Yeah. I'm excited for that. I think that's gonna be really fun. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think it'll be interesting to see, what the community is like. we made sure that all of these places are safe, but just making sure that you feel safe, that I would feel comfortable, walking alone, things like that. looking forward to seeing all of those things. Mm-hmm. And experiencing what Graz has to offer.

Josh 29:09

Me too. I'm really looking forward to waking up in the morning in our Airbnb and then walking out the door and saying, we live here, for this week, and then applying that to potentially our lives.

Brit 29:22

Who knows? Maybe it's Graz,

Josh 29:23

maybe it's Graz. it's right on the edge of the mountains too,

Brit 29:27

Yeah. I bet it's gonna be absolutely beautiful.

Josh 29:29

Mm-hmm. Ugh, I'm so excited. what are you most excited for in Graz?

Brit 29:34

I am most excited for, I think the nature, but also the wine. The wine in Austria is so good. I have had a lot of wine from Austria and I'm really excited to see what kind of wine we can try while we are there.

Josh 29:53

It's gonna be a really interesting fall winter for you with this trip. You're gonna get Austria with Sauvignon Blanc, and then after Christmas we're gonna be in New Zealand sauvignon blanc. So You're getting your best life wine experience in a span of less than six months.

Brit 30:12

I mean, I can't complain

Josh 30:14

we're going to Belgium and Germany, hopefully the greatest beer experience that you could get. Yeah. With those two. And I'm sure Austria doesn't have beer to slouch at either, We'll see. I'm probably most excited for the food there. Along with the nature, but also because when we did our research, it's so well known for its food in Austria, the entire country. This town is most known for. Its food. I can't wait.

Brit 30:45

I am so excited. The food, the drinks, the culture, the sense of community, the friends we might make.

Josh 30:55

I'm so excited too. I'm counting down the minutes. I'm counting down the hours.

Brit 30:59

I think it's like six days. Yeah, it's definitely under seven days. What do you think is going to be my favorite experience and what do you think is going to be yours?

Josh 31:10

Oh gosh. Oh, that's tough. You've been so looking forward to. Some of the viral food places in Amsterdam. We've talked so much about Oktoberfest in Germany. You know what? I'm gonna go, I'm gonna give kind of a dark horse pick here. I'm gonna say you're gonna love Ghent Belgium most Really? Mm-hmm. I think something's gonna happen in Ghent where you're gonna kind of like Portree. I think something's gonna happen in Ghent similar to Portree where we get there and it grabs you by the shoulders and you're just. Looking around, walking around, and you know, right now I'm getting a little teary eyed.'cause I just want that feeling again. but I think that's gonna happen for you in Ghent. I'm not sure where it's gonna come from. Maybe it's walking along a canal, going to yoga class, riding a bike there, potentially having a piece of chocolate and Brussels making waffles. I, I can't pick one, but I bet Ghent is the place that gets you.

Brit 32:20

Okay. Mm-hmm. What do you think yours is gonna be? I

Josh 32:23

think it's gonna be when we're on the train, but pulling into Graz. Mm-hmm. who knows if the train ride is gonna be as beautiful as it looks on Google maps? Hopefully it is. But if it turns out how I am imagining it. Mm-hmm. It's gonna be similar to when the great hall doors opened in the making of Harry Potter, where it's like dreams came true. Yeah. And you're tearful right away. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm thinking that's what's gonna happen. The only thing that would make it better is we get off and someone's holding like welcome drinks for us. That's not gonna happen. But you know, we can go get welcome drinks right away. Yeah. Go to the Airbnb, drop off the luggage. Get our own welcome drink. Yeah. What do you think is gonna be the favorite for you?

Brit 33:11

I think, I really think it's gonna be the Netherlands.

Josh 33:15

You think so? You're holding on.

Brit 33:17

I am holding onto the Netherlands right now. I think that there's a lot that I've seen on social media that makes me believe that it might be there, but I could also see any of these countries being it for me.

Josh 33:33

Is there a specific thing in the Netherlands, part of the community that you've seen or the food culture, the beauty of it? Is there one specific thing or just the overall vibes of the Netherlands?

Brit 33:45

I think just the overall vibes, but the food culture looks insane. It looks so good. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So probably that, yeah.

Josh 33:53

Biggest draw. Yeah.

Brit 33:55

Yeah. And then for you, I think your favorite is going to be Graz.

Josh 34:01

You think so?

Brit 34:01

you're most looking forward to Graz. we're gonna do some hikes while we are in Graz. And while we do these, I think you're gonna get emotional. I think we're both gonna get emotional, that's gonna be your favorite.

Josh 34:16

I think I might get emotional at all these places. Me too. we chose them. Well, there's a lot of natural beauty. There's a lot of architectural beauty, lot of history. I think we might cry a lot of this trip.

Brit 34:30

We will cry a lot on this trip because this podcast has been working us towards this. And we have been planning this trip for a while now. Mm-hmm. And even when I was quitting my full-time job, we were planning this trip. it was really busy. But that's what kept me going during that time, was looking forward to this trip. So now that we're actually gonna be going on this trip, I think we're gonna be emotional.

Josh 34:57

And on top of that. This whole buildup to getting the episodes ready for everyone that's listening. All this hard work that we've put in both. Yeah. Prepping the trip and prepping the podcasts. we're going to use this trip as work, of course, but we are also gonna take the time to be the travelers and explorers that really feed us, that give us that energy.

Brit 35:24

Yeah. I mean, it's what created this podcast. So I think the cool thing about this is that we can look at that as work. Yes. But it's also something that we absolutely love to do. And it's something that does feed our souls. Yeah. So we can look at it as work. But also. We're doing something that's so meaningful to us. That's really powerful.

Josh 35:48

Yeah. We're both so passionate about this, That's why sometimes we have such hard moments doing this podcast. Mm-hmm. Is'cause we want it to be great. We wanna have people who enjoy listening. Even if they just come for one episode that's talking about a place they wanna go. I want that person to get something out of it. Yeah. And so with this trip, hopefully we find a place where we could potentially move there in the next couple years. Yeah. Whether or not that happens recording this podcast, I hope give someone something that they need. Yeah. Whether that's motivation to go to one of these places move to one of these places.

Brit 36:36

Or even taking the leap on doing something similar. maybe we encourage others to do that.

Josh 36:42

Yeah. Yolo man. Yolo. Is there a new age term? There's gotta be something newer than Yolo.

Brit 36:48

I mean, we're millennials. It's fine. Uh, what tour or experience are you most looking forward to doing here?

Josh 36:56

I can't get the beer and waffle tour, or the beer and waffle experience outta my head. It's gonna be so fun. Like I said, I grew up as a. Breakfast for dinner kid. That was my favorite meal of the week when it was planned. And now we're just throwing beer into the mix. Yeah. And it's a beer tasting. We're tasting different locally brewed beers. Yeah, that's, that's for me. It's gonna be so good. What about you? What's the experience that you're most looking forward to?

Brit 37:29

does Oktoberfest count?

Josh 37:30

Yeah.

Brit 37:31

I'm gonna say, Hmm. This is hard. I am looking forward to all of them, but the beer and chocolate tour that I'm really excited for. And then Oktoberfest, I'm so pumped for Oktoberfest, like it's gonna be, such a fun experience for us, and I think we're gonna meet new people there. We are going to have so much fun. I just hope it's a really breezy, light, easy kind of day. You know, when we go, we just meet people. We have fun. We're not worried about too much. Mm-hmm. I hope that's what happens. Sometimes that doesn't happen because one of us gets too much anxiety, usually me.

Josh 38:16

I hope for you, the hardest thing that you have to do is choose between one piece of chocolate and another, which is your favorite.

Brit 38:24

Hopefully I don't have to choose between the chocolate. I can just eat them both. I mean, that's a thing.

Josh 38:35

Fair enough. I hope that's the hardest thing you have to do is eat two pieces of chocolate.

Brit 38:39

Yeah. what city do you think will check most, if not all of our boxes for possibly living there?

Josh 38:47

You know, I'm gonna go back to yours. I think the Netherlands will be for us. Yeah. We had looked at that one hard before, even looking at the trip as a whole. Yeah. We did a lot of research on Utrecht Netherlands for that reason. The other ones we've done a lot of research on as well. Mm-hmm. But that was the first one that kind of knocked down the dominoes for the other Yeah. So I think that the Netherlands and Utrecht specifically.

Brit 39:18

I think so too. I think the Netherlands is going to check a lot of boxes and also give us a lot of boxes that we didn't know we wanna checked. I think that's what the Netherlands will do.

Josh 39:30

Oh, no. Yeah. I just thought of that. I wasn't thinking about that.

Brit 39:36

It, it seems like that's overwhelming for you.

Josh 39:39

It's not overwhelming. It's just, and we've talked about this in a lot of episodes, in the criteria episode about a place giving us something more that we think we want. Yeah. In a place. Oh, I think that's gonna happen.

Brit 39:52

That's totally gonna happen. It's definitely gonna happen.

Josh 39:56

Oh, that's gonna make this so much harder.

Brit 39:58

It's gonna make it challenging to actually pick a place. Mm-hmm. but I think we'll know when we come across it. I think we will know. I hope so. And I hope we agree when we know. Mm-hmm. But you also have to believe me when I say this is it? cause you're gonna be like, no, you say that about every place. I say we should move here. But if I'm seriously saying it, I will say, this is it. This is the place.

Josh 40:24

I have no problem believing you when you say that. I think it might be a struggle to get there for me.

Brit 40:30

Why do you think that is?

Josh 40:31

I think we're very early on in this process. We've gone a lot of places. For me, there would have to be no question in regards to the places we've gone to already. For instance, Toronto is one of my top picks for several reasons. I'm still holding on to a little bit of proximity to the United States, so a place would have to be really pulling at me hard to allow that separation.

Brit 41:03

So you're really hoping that the, this is It place is in Canada, is what I'm hearing? Nope. I'm hoping that or in the US.

Josh 41:13

Let me say it this way. When we go on these travels, for me it feels like there's a rubber band attached to me and a rubber band attached to home. And when we leave, the rubber band gets stretched out. I still feel like a little tug pull me back home. But I'm hoping this place that you're looking for that's like, this is the place, is that rubber band stretched out and the place is just some scissors. It just cuts the rubber band like. You don't, but you don't feel that rubber band when you're there. Correct? Yep.

Brit 41:45

I feel like I can be connected to that place. Mm-hmm. I feel like you can be connected to a place with having that rubber band still there. I think that the rubber band for you is never going to go away because your family is here. Your friends are here. Mm-hmm. Your house is here. Everything is here. You have so many memories in Wisconsin it would be so hard for you to move. And I, that's what I hear you saying.

Josh 42:13

It would be. It would be. I think places have already gotten close though. Portree is one that I felt such a connection to. it really blurred the line between being pulled back to Wisconsin versus just staying there.

Brit 42:30

do you think you would notice it and you would say it?

Josh 42:33

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Because the rubber band analogy is always kind of tugging at me. And I think that's gonna be even more present when I'm actively thinking about we are going to be living here. Yeah, I'm gonna be trying to place myself in that mindset when we get there. Like this is our home now. We live here, we need to go to the cafe, get a coffee, we need to go over here to get some lunch, grocery store, get some groceries, make dinner, get on this train to go to Amsterdam. And it's definitely gonna get lost, you know, being present in that thinking. Because we've only traveled ever knowing in the back of our head when this is over, we get to go home.

Brit 43:19

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. We still are. Mm-hmm. that is still something that we're doing. Mm-hmm. However, we are going in with the mindset of we are moving here for the week and this is our home for the week. Mm-hmm. Could we see ourselves living here longer? Mm-hmm. Maybe not in that direct apartment or Airbnb, but yeah.

Josh 43:40

Mm-hmm. Yep. I want to be a racehorse with blinders. This is, this is my home now. Yeah. Not looking back. Wisconsin's back there. United States is back there. This is my home now.

Brit 43:55

Yeah. That's kind of the focus of what we're gonna be doing. Mm-hmm. I think that's a good way to look at it and go into it. I will try to do the same.

Josh 44:03

I've been trying to do exercises where I do that in preparation for this trip. Because it is a hard thing to just, I live here now.

Brit 44:11

Yeah. And obviously we don't live there. Right. It is still a trip. Mm-hmm.

Josh 44:16

I'm gonna enjoy it. Like it's a trip.

Brit 44:19

But we have to go in with that mindset to really consider it as a place that we could move. Mm-hmm. I guess we went to all of these other places and we didn't have that mindset and we still could see ourselves moving to some of these places Mm-hmm. Like Portree, like Toronto. Mm-hmm. Like Quebec City. Yeah. Like Stockholm. these are places that we have considered without going there with that mindset. So who knows? Maybe going in with that mindset will be a game changer and we'll really find our place that way too.

Josh 44:52

I think with that mindset and the fact that, again, we did research on these and we're like, this has potential to be a spot. This isn't just a, a vacation trip, which we're gonna do vacation things, but this is a place we could live. I think it's gonna be a lot emotionally, and that's why I said like, I think we're gonna, we're gonna cry some on this trip.

Brit 45:12

That's okay. Then we cry

Josh 45:14

Then we cry and we take a little sip of Sauvignon Blanc and have a bratwurst or a Belgian waffle. Or a Chun sandwich.

Brit 45:23

Oh my gosh, yes.

Josh 45:26

is there anything that you have thoughts on about this trip?

Brit 45:31

I think you said a lot of it. I'm just really looking forward to going with you and making new memories with you. I know we're really privileged to be doing this, but I just, I feel so grateful and I'm so happy that we get to do this. I'm really looking forward to it.

Josh 45:52

Me too. And it wouldn't be anything without you.

Brit 45:54

Wouldn't be anything without you. I am also really scared. I think going in with this mindset is making it more real. That we are, really looking for a place. being away from my cats for a month is really scary. I wish they were outdoor cats and loved the outdoors and we could just take'em with But they would hate it. They would meow. They would cry. They would scratch, they would claw.

Josh 46:23

Callie too much of a princess for that.

Brit 46:25

She is, although we could get her her own like seat and her and Oreo could cuddle on a seat. Mm. Or have their own seats.

Josh 46:35

this might be a good place in the YouTube video or something to insert a picture of them. So listeners and everyone, if you're get a chance, you can head over to YouTube and maybe if we don't cut this out. Here's Callie and Oreo.

Brit 46:53

Yeah, that is a good point too. I don't know that we've mentioned that our YouTube channel does have our full length podcast episodes with pictures. Mm-hmm. So if you wanted to listen to it with all of the pictures of things that we're talking about, you can do that through YouTube. Otherwise, Spotify and Apple are totally fine too. Good ways to go. Anything else that you want to mention?

Josh 47:19

If you have any suggestions on any of the previous locations we've gone to, any of the locations that we are planning on going to, maybe in the last episode you heard someplace that you'd like to leave us some tips on or give us any recommendations, get in contact with us on TikTok, Instagram. YouTube. Our handle is at WSMH travels. We also have a website. Which is wsmhtravels.com and you can get in contact with us through that as well.

Brit 47:54

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. We are so excited for this upcoming adventure. The next episode, we will be talking about Utrecht and we will be in the Netherlands, so we are looking forward to that. Stay tuned. Thank you again, and we'll see you next time.