New adventure to Europe in 2016 - Barcelona, Lisbon, Oslo, Stockholm

I'm back!

After 2 years with serious withdrawals, I am headed back to Europe in 3 days. This will be a 17 day trip covering 4 countries - Spain, Portugal, Norway and Sweden. I have only been to Portugal, so the rest of the countries are all new to me.

I'm almost all packed, but the nerves are starting to set in. I have always tried to learn the language a bit prior to traveling, but with 4 countries, that's quite the task when I work full time and have other responsibilities. So, my plan is going to be learning basic words and phrases just before heading to each country and also having an offline dictionary that I can refer to. I purchased the Trulingo apps for each language, but have yet to try them out offline. Hoping that they work! It is definitely nice to be able to type in a phrase or word and have written and audio translations given to me immediately. I have a feeling that will especially help in restaurants. I like to eat where the locals do, so that generally means menus are not in English. There is the tip for everyone - you will get so much better food if you get out of the tourist area. If you see or hear no English in the restaurant, that is where you want to be.

I'm definitely excited for this trip and am fully expecting to have an incredible experience. Here is a quick breakdown of the trip:

May 24 - 25: Flying from Portland, OR to Barcelona (3 legs and approximately 14 hrs of flight time).

May 25 - 29: Exploring Barcelona, Spain. Staying at Mediterranean Youth Hostel.

May 29: Flying to Lisbon, Portugal on Vueling Airlines.

May 29 - June 1: Exporing Lisbon (including a day tour to Berlenga Island). Staying at Home Lisbon Hostel.

June 1: Flying very late on Norwegian Air to Oslo, Norway. Staying at Gardemoen Hotel B&B near the airport.

June 2 - 5: Taking the train into Oslo and exploring the city (including renting a car for one day to visit the Telemark region where my mother's family is originally from). Staying at an AirBnB flat with a Norwegian woman named Marion.

June 5: Taking the train from Oslo to Stockholm, Sweden.

June 5-9: Exploring Stockholm. Staying at the Castanea Old Town Hostel in Gamla Stan area.

June 9: Saying goodbye once again to Europe and flying to Seattle through Reykyavik, Iceland.

That's all for now! Will be back on my arrival to Barcelona on May 25th.