Bidish Traveling in Europe is mostly glamourized in the context of Summer. European Summer is a dream millions of people around the world hope to experience at least once in their lives. While Christmas markets and northern lights are a few highlights that take space in some people’s bucket list, winter is generally not the main season that people choose to travel. After four years of living in Germany, I couldn’t disagree either. My travels would drastically dry down as soon as winter hit.
However, when my two cousin brothers decided to visit Germany in winter, I was excited and very much looking forward to a travel sprint in the cold winter months, starting from December 20, 2024 until January 1, 2025.
I was behind the screen, meticulously planning the itinerary and selecting places to visit. Living on the western side of Germany, it was certain that we would mostly be exploring western Europe given the tight schedule we had to work with.
Hence came an intensive travel plan where we ventured to explore 7 countries (including Germany) in 12 days – and it was quite an adventure (I had promised Abhash to take his Europe country count to 10 so I had a promise to keep). In this post, I will walk you through each day’s itinerary along with our expenses.
Note: While I started this post with an idea of sharing only critical information and expenses to help you plan your travels, it later turned out to become a personal reflection of our travel – sort of a travelouge. I decided to keep it this way. You are free to browse through the table of contents to only take in the information you need.
Budget Winter Europe Itinerary Overview
| Date | Activity | Overnight in | Expenses (per person) |
| 20/12/2024 | Prep day in Koblenz, Germany | Overnight bus to Switzerland | Deutschland Ticket (Dec, Jan): 108 EUR Uniflucht trip cost: 75 EUR Other: 21 EUR |
| 21/12/2024 | Explore Rhine Falls, Lucerne, Zurich in Switzerland | Overnight bus to Germany | Groceries & Misc: 21.5 EUR |
| 22/12/2024 | Koblenz christmas market | Koblenz | Food & drinks: 10 EUR |
| 23/12/2024 | Luxembourg day trip from Koblenz | Koblenz | Food & drinks: 20 EUR |
| 24/12/2024 | Koblenz to Amsterdam via ICE train | Amsterdam | ICE train: 24 EUR Boating: 13 EUR ClinkNoord hostel (4-bed dorm): 15 EUR Other: 56 EUR |
| 25/12/2024 | Amsterdam to Brussels to Bruges | Overnight Flixbus to Germany | FlixBus (Amsterdam -> Brussels): 11 EUR FlixBus (Brussels -> Bruges): 11 EUR FlixBus (Bruges -> Brussels): 17 EUR FlixBus (Brussels -> Cologne): 27 EUR Other: 29 EUR |
| 26/12/2024 | Germany, rest day, explore Cochem castle | Koblenz | – |
| 27/12/2024 | Koblenz to Stuttgart | Stuttgart | A&O hostel (6-bed dorm): 15 EUR Other: 15 EUR |
| 28/12/2024 | Explore Bodensee and Bregenz (Austria) and ICE train back to Koblenz | Koblenz | Cable car (Bregenz): 17 EUR Food & others: 18 EUR ICE train (Karlsruhe -> Koblenz): 30 EUR |
| 29/12/2024 | Koblenz and surrounding | Koblenz | – |
| 30/12/2024 | Explore Düsseldorf, Cologne | Overnight bus to Paris | Studifahrten tour cost: 75 EUR Other: 10.5 EUR |
| 31/12/2024 | New Year’s Eve & New Year in Paris | Overnight bus to Germany | Boating: 15 EUR Other: 29 EUR |
| Total: ~680 EUR |
Day 1 – Departure to Switzerland
📅 December 20, 2024
The first lap of the trip started with a Uniflucht trip to Switzerland. Uniflucht is a tour operator, which offers many overnight bus trips around Europe.
Their tours typically start on Friday nights with an overnight bus ride, reaching the destination by Saturday morning. Travelers then are able to explore the place for an entire day before taking another overnight bus back home, arriving on Sunday. Such trips had to be included in our itinerary which allowed us to explore as many places as possible in a short time.
Our tour started at 2 AM from Frankfurt bus station. Staying out until 2 AM in Frankfurt cold was already making us rethink how we would handle the bulk of an itinerary coming our way. When the bus arrived and we identified ourselves to get onboard, we were elated to finally be in a warm environment.
We traveled all night, passing through Stuttgart and reached Rhine Falls around 9 AM in the morning.
Day 1 Expenses (per person):
- Deutschland ticket for free public transport in Germany (for Dec, Jan): 108 EUR
- Uniflucht trip cost: 75 EUR
- Dinner at Sharavana Bhavana: 14 EUR
- Groceries & Miscellaneous: 7 EUR
Total expenses: 204 EUR
* If you buy a Deutschland ticket in December and you do not need it for January, you must cancel it before December 10. Otherwise, the subscription automatically continues for the next month.
Day 2 – Exploring Switzerland
📅 December 21, 2024
First stop: Rhine Falls
Our first stop was Rhine Falls. Located closer to the German border, Rhine Falls is a beautiful location where huge volumes of water fall over the rock across a width of 150m. It was beautiful and picturesque. As it was winter, the water level was quite low but it still was able to contribute to a beautiful scenery.
I lived close to the Rhine river in Koblenz and it had accompanied me on many hikes over the years. Observing the Rhine Falls and connecting with it was wonderful.
We walked around to improve our viewpoints, ate our packed breakfast and attempted to take our “picture-perfect Switzerland photo”. It was a calm morning with a faint sunlight, which is always a privilege in December.
I was already scooping near the vending machine to get an idea of how much the items cost so I could assess how “expensive” Switzerland was. Let’s say the vending machine made me hopeful.
Second stop: Lucerne
Lucerne was our second stop and my word, was it beautiful. It was closer to the Switzerland we fantasize about. Walking along the lake promenade with beautiful mountain tops in the background was serene. We had ~1.5 to 2 hours to explore the city so we explored as much as we could without wasting much time. Oh, except taking lots and lots of photos.
The main highlight of Lucerne was the lake promenade and the beautiful Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke). The wooden bridge was once part of the city’s fortifications and dates back to the 14th century. Today, it stands as a charming pedestrian bridge.
After spending a short time but wishing we’d had more time to explore, we reluctantly went back to the bus, now looking forward to seeing Zurich.
Third stop: Zurich
We looked forward to exploring Zurich. We would have more than 8 hours in this big Swiss city so we hoped it would be enough time to wash our disappointment of leaving Lucerne behind.
Zurich welcomed us in a different style compared to Lucerne. We were not welcomed by mountaintops on each side, rather tall buildings. There was no charming Swiss air; just a concrete aftermath. In our first impression, the city seemed void of the natural beauty that Switzerland is known for.
Thankfully, that didn’t last too long. As soon as we climbed to a viewpoint overlooking the city, we were able to see snowy mountaintops surrounding the city from all sides (albeit a bit far away).
We enjoyed exploring the Christmas markets, the beautiful streets of the old town, and walking alongside the brightly lit canals. Our favorite moment in Zurich was observing the sunset from Lake Zurich, which was truly picturesque.
Zurich had lots of budget grocery markets like Lidl and Aldi, so we bought enough groceries in Lidl — supplementing what we had already packed from Germany — and it was enough to feed us for an entire day.
The cold outside was unbearable at times so we treated ourselves to coffee in a warm shopping mall where we paid 6.5 EUR for a cappuccino. I’d say it is not-so-expensive for Switzerland’s standards. I’d prefer this random dot-on-the-map coffee place in Switzerland over expensive Starbucks anyday.
We returned back to the bus stop with beautiful memories and lots of pictures. Our bus would arrive at midnight so we waited for quite a long time in the cold. After hours of waiting and seeking shelter in Burger King with oily onion rings and fries, we finally boarded the bus at 12:30 AM and moved towards Germany. When we reached home in Koblenz, it was time to rest and rejuvenate for another round of travels.
Day 2 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- Coffee: 6.5 EUR
- Groceries and miscellaneous: 15 EUR
Total expenses: 21.5 EUR
Itinerary total: 204 EUR + 21.5 EUR = 225.5 EUR
Day 3 – Rest Day in Koblenz
📅 December 22, 2024
This was a day to rest at home, explore the Christmas markets in Koblenz and nearby towns, carb up on homemade Nepali food so we could survive another cold adventure.
Day 4 – Day Trip to Luxembourg
📅 December 23, 2024
Luxembourg is the nearest country to Koblenz, only 2h30m away by train. So we decided to make it a day trip – going early in the morning and returning back in the evening.
It was going to be my third time in Luxembourg and it meant a relaxing day as a tour guide because I knew many places by heart. We marveled at the beautiful Luxembourg old town, the Adolphe bridge, explored the city center, snacked at a Christmas market that appeared out of nowhere in a random park, and pretended to shop when it was too cold outside.
I would describe Luxembourg to be one of our calmest trips of this whole saga; it was peaceful, we explored beautiful places and we still had time to reach home and eat dal-bhat tarkari and get ready for another early morning departure.
Day 4 Expenses (per person)
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- Groceries: 5 EUR
- Christmas market (Glühwein + Bratwurst): 10 EUR
- Coffee at Golden Bean: 5 EUR
Total expenses: 20 EUR
Itinerary total: 225.5 EUR + 20 EUR = 245.5 EUR
Day 5 – Amsterdam City Visit
📅 December 24, 2024
The next morning, we hurriedly woke up to our alarms at 3:30 AM and got ready for Amsterdam. We walked (and ran ‘coz we were late) to the train station to catch the ICE train departing at 4:41 AM. We reached Amsterdam at 9:30 AM in the morning.
It was a gloomy and overcast day and it was going to be my second trip to Amsterdam. We stored our luggage at the central train station which cost us 10 EUR for 24 hours and ventured to explore the city.
We walked around the city center, along the various canals, saw Anne Frank house, took shelter in H&M and bought something, used a NeoTaste deal for a budget lunch in a restaurant, and so on. Abhash and Akrit took a boat trip to see more of Amsterdam through canals. After a day of sight-seeing, we made our way towards our hostel at 15:00.
Our hostel was located in the north side of Amsterdam, namely Amsterdam Noord. Amsterdam Noord is recently getting a lot of traction as the city is trying to promote this area for tourism.
There is a free ferry available for the general public to reach the area quickly from Amsterdam central station. We had booked a 4-bed hostel for an overnight stay in ClinkNoord for only 16 EUR per person, one of the perks of traveling in Winter. In Summer, that price would clearly soar above 70 EUR.
In the evening, Abhash’s friend spontaneously joined us to celebrate Christmas eve in Amsterdam and the night just opened up. We explored the city, ate mo:mo at an overpriced restaurant, and went to a pub for drinks while chatting about each other’s stories that somehow connected us all together. It was one of the highlights of my trip. Meeting new and old friends and connecting with one another in a random pub in Amsterdam might just happen out of the blue, but if you take a step back and think about it — it is these beautiful and bizarre occurrences that make up wonderful moments in life.
Day 5 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- ICE Train ticket (Koblenz -> Amsterdam): 24 EUR
- Accommodation at ClinkNoord Hostel: 16 EUR
- Day ticket (Amsterdam): 9 EUR
- Dinner in Amsterdam: 20 EUR
- Boat trip: 13 EUR
- *Pubs & miscellaneous: 25 EUR
Total expense (Amsterdam): 108 EUR
Itinerary total: 245.5 EUR + 108 EUR = 353.5 EUR
* For reference: a 500 ml beer in a normal pub in Amsterdam cost 8 EUR
Day 6 – Brussels & Bruges
📅 December 25, 2024
Early Christmas morning, we took our FlixBus from Amsterdam to Brussels. Our initial plan was to visit Brussels and then return back to Germany. I was not completely happy about this plan as I really tried to fit Bruges in our itinerary but dropped the idea as it would be too much of a rush. Abhash’s friend also reinforced the idea of visiting Bruges. So we took a short diversion to see one of my favorite places in Europe.
We arrived in Brussels at 12:50 and immediately boarded on another Flixbus headed towards Bruges. We reached Bruges at 15:30 and rushed to the city center as we only had an hour to see the city before sunset.
Bruges is ever-beautiful and decorated with all the Christmas lights, the city was glowing even more. My first visit to Bruges was in summer of 2023 when I stayed two nights — exploring the UNESCO world heritage city center multiple times — so I knew my way around it quite well. We rushed from one attraction to another trying to catch glimpses of a medieval history that was so well and alive in front of us.
After the sight-seeing, we sat down at a café near Rozenhoedkaai for coffee and waffles, marveling at a picture-perfect spot. For the complete list of things to do and see in Bruges, you can refer to this article published on my blog.
In the evening, we headed to Everest Snack Bar, a restaurant owned by a lovely Nepali family. I first met them during my 2023 visit, and they had showered me with kindness and warmth; it was one of my beautiful travel moments in Europe. We enjoyed a delicious mo:mo, chicken kebab, Chat, and some fries. I highly recommend you to visit the restaurant if you are visiting Bruges, you’ll love it!
We took Flixbus back to Brussels at 20:45 and reached at 22:10. Our scheduled journey home was at 00:40 so we had a maximum of two hours to see Brussels. We went straight to the Grand Palace, marveled at its grandeur, had a disappointing Mannequin piss waffle and returned back on time to board the Flixbus and return home.
Day 6 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- Short train ride to Amsterdam bus station (Sloterdijk): 2.5 EUR
- FlixBus (Amsterdam -> Brussels): 11 EUR
- FlixBus (Brussels -> Bruges): 11 EUR
- FlixBus (Bruges -> Brussels): 17 EUR
- FlixBus (Brussels -> Cologne): 27 EUR
- Transport to Brussels Midi: 2.5 EUR
- Waffles & Coffee at Mr.Waffle & Sandwich (Bruges): 7 EUR
- Food at Everest Snackbar (Bruges): 10 EUR
- Groceries & Miscellaneous: 7 EUR
Total Expenses: 95 EUR
Itinerary Total: 353.5 EUR + 95 EUR = 448.5 EUR
Day 7 – Koblenz
📅 December 26, 2024
We reached Koblenz in the morning and immediately crashed onto our beds. After sleeping in all day, we finally woke up in the evening and ventured out into the city to celebrate Akrit’s birthday.
Unfortunately, it was boxing day and we could not find any open groceries to buy cakes or any cafe that served cakes. We moved from one street to another hoping to find an open cafe with some cakes available. It was already past 21:00 so the odds of going home disappointed were getting high with each passing minute.
As it happens on moments like these, we found an open cafe/bar (likely our last hope) and it turned out they only had one piece of carrot cake remaining. Relieved, we took our seats. We had a calm, yet beautiful birthday celebration — no big fluff, just being grateful for the moment (at least I think so, I need to ask Akrit how he felt 😉 ).
Day 8 – Koblenz & Cochem castle
📅 December 27, 2024
We had intended to visit Munich on this day, then Salzburg the next – but we opted out to instead rest at home.
We visited the beautiful Cochem castle instead. The place was charming as always.
Day 9 – Stuttgart Overnight
📅 December 28, 2024
On 28th December, we made a spontaneous trip to Stuttgart. We needed another country to take the country count to ten.
So I devised a plan: Visit Stuttgart (stay overnight) and head towards Bodensee early in the morning and cross the border to Bregenz, a famous ski town in Austria.
Day 9 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- A&O hostel (6-bed dorm): 15 EUR
- Food at Subway: 9 EUR
- Drinks at A&O Hostel Bar: 6 EUR
- Miscellaneous: 5 EUR
Total Expense: 30 EUR
Itinerary Total: 448.5 EUR + 30 EUR = 478.5 EUR
Day 10 – Bregenz (Austria)
📅 December 29, 2024
Early in the morning, we carefully readied ourselves in a 6-bed hostel dorm where other 3 travelers were sound asleep. Careful not to disturb them, we headed to the bathroom in the lobby to brush our teeth and get freshened up. Bodensee was 3h50m away from Stuttgart by train. It was a long ride.
We reached Bodensee around 09:00 AM. We headed directly to Bregenz without stopping in Bodensee, given the time constraint. We bought a ticket each from Bodensee to Bregenz for 5 EUR per person via the Austrian transport app ÖBB. Via the DB Navigator app, it cost 7.5 EUR per person.
In Bregenz, a big lake welcomed us. But it was super cold. No visibility, nothing to do, nowhere to go. We partially enjoyed the view of a vast lake and told ourselves that on a good day, we could see mountains everywhere around us.
Again, as it happens on days like these, we had seen a cable car advert while buying the train ticket and decided to give it a try. So we headed to the cable car station. The cable car was huge; a big gondola with standing rooms that would accommodate almost 50 people at a time. We did not know what awaited us but we were excited.
As the gondola started rising up, we went above the clouds and guess what – the whole view cleared. We could see the snowtop mountains, the beautiful lake, and every bit of the landscapes that were hidden earlier.
It was Abhash and Akrit’s first time in the snow and I could see they were elated. They played with the snow, hiked around and took pictures while I decided to bask in the sun, overlooking the lake and the magnificent view.
Not long after, we had already exhausted our time in Bregenz so we found ourselves sprinting to catch the return train. We made it, then headed to Karlsruhe where our ICE train was waiting to take us back to Koblenz.
Day 10 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- Cable car (Bregenz): 17 EUR
- Breakfast at Hamma Bakery (Bregenz): 5.5 EUR
- Snacks at Hamma Bakery (Ulm): 7 EUR
- ICE train (Karlsruhe -> Koblenz): 30 EUR
- Round-trip train ticket from Bodensee to Bregenz: 7 EUR
Total expense: ~67 EUR
Itinerary total: 478.5 EUR + 67 EUR = 545.5 EUR
Day 11 – Studifahrten trip to Paris
📅 December 30, 2024
On our tenth day and the final trip, we headed to Paris to celebrate New Year’s Eve. We took a day trip with overnight bus rides (similar one like Switzerland) with another tour operator, Studifahrten. We liked the Studifahrten tour better; here’s a detailed article I’ve published regarding what to expect on a Studifahrten day trip to Paris.
Day 11 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- Studifahrten trip to Paris cost: 75 EUR
- Groceries for Paris: 5 EUR
- Light dinner at BurgerKing: 5.5 EUR
Total expense: 85.5 EUR
Itinerary total: 545.5 EUR + 85.5 EUR* = 631 EUR
*Let’s get rid of the .5 here ; )
Day 12 – New Year’s Eve in Paris
📅 December 31, 2024
After a 9-10 hour bus ride from Düsseldorf, we reached Paris at 8 AM in the morning. We first had a short bus tour of Paris where a local tour guide shared the interesting stories and brief history of Paris. Then, we were dropped off near the city center to explore the city on our own.
Our first stop was, undoubtedly — the Eiffel tower. We could clearly see it from the point the bus dropped us off so we just followed the mighty tower.
Like the tour guide had warned us, there were scammers scattered everywhere. One unique scam that’s famous in Paris is when scammers ask passersby to sign for a humanitarian pledge (which later turns out to be something where they’ve signed to pay money). So we stayed clear and kept our belongings safe throughout the day.
My first impression of Paris was nothing short of an epitome of human accomplishment. I had always underestimated the Eiffel Tower and Paris as a whole. I had fallen victim to the “travel influencers” who say big cities like these are overrated. But my visit told me that Paris can never be overrated! Experiences can be different, yes — but the city with such livelier energy, esteemed history and grand architecture is definitely a place to (try to) visit at least once in our lifetime.
The Eiffel Tower may be the magnet to attract people from all over the world, but the architecture, the champ de elyse, the Seine river, the beautiful bridges, and the Arc de Triomphe definitely took the city to a whole new level. I have been to Rome and Vienna and I would say these cities, along with Paris, would line up as frontmen in the decorum of grandeur and royalty in the modern world.
And the evening river cruise on the Seine river with twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower – it was the sort of stuff we hope to experience when we travel. It is difficult to explain how a man-made architecture which you might have seen countless times virtually can still introduce this feeling of wonder and awe while seeing it just in front of you – I guess you just have to be there!
At night, we headed to Eiffel Tower where we sat beneath the tower with thousands of other people to welcome the New Year 2025. While it was not full of firecrackers, we still enjoyed a calmer New Year’s Eve with three cousins talking about lives and stories and trying to take one more “good” photo. And just like that, our story had been etched into our personal narrative of Paris – and we were delighted to bring it back home with us.
Note: New Year’s Eve show with fireworks was conducted in the Arc de Triomphe where hundreds of thousands of people gathered. Traditionally, this happens every year on New Year’s Eve.
Day 12 Expenses
The expenses mentioned below are per person.
- Hot chocolate: 7.5 EUR
- Groceries: 9 EUR
- Metro ticket: 2.15 EUR
- Souvenirs: 10 EUR
- Seine river boating cruise with Bateaux Mouches: 15 EUR
Total: ~44 EUR
Itinerary total: 631 EUR + 44 EUR = 678 EUR
Day 13 – Return & Reflections
📅 January 1, 2025
Our return to Koblenz was anticlimactic as it brought an end of our 12-day travel stint around Europe. Abhash and Akrit were due to fly to Greece the next day and it was one final day we would spend together in Koblenz so we rested well, feasted well, had a reflective time before the crushing moment of goodbye. It was a wonderful experience for me to be able to show bits of Europe that I had known and explore new places with Abhash and Akrit. It was an experience for life.
This fast-paced itinerary was a totally new experience for me and I came out of it more appreciative of all kinds of travel. I was fixated into the idea that traveling to a place only for a day is not enough and that you need to stay a few days in a place to truly understand and explore it.
While that may still hold true and even though all of us would like to have longer experiences in beautiful places – not all of us have enough time, money or the priorities to travel for a longer time. So it is completely fine and even perfect to be on travel mode for weeks or months and see as many places as possible. Ultimately, time matters most in the present, whether long or short – reappearing later only as a fragment of memory of something that once existed! I can confidently say that we three brothers made the most of our time in this 12 day travel itinerary throughout Central Europe.
Let’s hear what Abhash and Akrit think of their sprinter Europe travel itinerary
Abhash’s Reflections
(Will be updated soon)
Akrit’s Reflections
(Will be updated soon)
If you’ve come this far in the post, I sincerely thank you for your time and hope this post could be of help to you. And I hope you continue having great travel adventures of your own. If you’d like to stay connected, do give me a follow on Instagram, where I share travel videos, on-the-road moments, and stories. Happy travels!
You might also like the following guides from Europe.
- Studifahrten Trip to Paris on New Year’s Eve: Was It Worth It?
- Where to Eat in Vienna with NeoTaste: Dine Like Royalty & Save Money
- Lisbon Travel Guide: Best Things to Do in Lisbon
- Perfect Day Trip to Strasbourg from Germany: Your Complete Itinerary
- Dubrovnik Travel Guide: Best Things to Do in Dubrovnik
- Valencia Travel Guide: Best Things to Do and See in Valencia
- 13 Best Things to Do in Bruges (Belgium)
