National Lampoon's European Vacation is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Robert Klane, based on characters created by John Hughes in the 1983 original Vacation movie. The second film in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series, it tells the story of the Griswold family when they win an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe, only for chaos of all sorts to ensue. The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, making it the weakest of the original trilogy, yet it was a financial success.
Source: YouTube
On a similar note, Rachel and I took a European vacation to northeastern Italy, Croatia, and Greece in April and May 2024, for our 10th wedding anniversary. We had an amazing time on what was our third trip to the continent. We are both big fans of history, architecture, art, food, and wine. There is an abundance of all of these throughout Europe.
We decided to explore the continent differently this time. Our previous trips had been either with land tours or by cruise ship. This time, we decided to use my 60th birthday to explore our first river cruise. As you may probably guess, many of my clients have taken river cruises through the years and have talked glowingly about the experiences. I joked with many of these clients that by turning age 60, I had met the minimum age required to take this type of trip.
There are certain places you simply cannot get to on an ocean cruise ship, and central Europe is one of those destinations. We began by flying into Budapest, Hungary. We spent two days at a very nice hotel exploring the city on walking tours. We had a great time and always felt safe venturing out and exploring. A few pictures from our favorite places are below, including walking to Saint Stephen's Cathedral, the Parliament Building lit up at night, and inside the Budapest Opera House.
Source: Jesse’s iPhone
From there, we boarded the Viking Ingvi, the ship that would be our home as we explored sites in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. You learn quickly that there are major differences between an ocean cruise ship housing 2,000 to 6,000 passengers, which typically has many restaurants, lounges, entertainment areas, casinos, and typically a very nice spa and gym, and a river cruise longboat that holds less than 200 passengers. These boats typically have one restaurant or dining room, and one lounge and entertainment area. You quickly get to know your servers and your fellow travelers as you are all in close quarters for many days.
We were told that our time in central Europe was unseasonably cool, cloudy and rainy, which was disappointing, but we made the best of it. We certainly enjoyed seeing destinations that we had never had the opportunity to visit on our previous travels. On the stretch of the Danube River that takes you from Budapest to Passau, Germany, you pass through eleven different locks. The first and the largest was a fun experience. I had certainly studied locks as part of my Ohio history units. Growing up locally, you naturally study the Ohio and Erie Canal systems.
However, our boat was delayed by nearly 18 hours when a lock malfunctioned approximately 20 miles east of Vienna, Austria. This limited our time in Vienna, which seemed like a fantastic place that is definitely on our list to return to in the future. The shopping and the churches were beautiful, and we did get to come back in the evening for a classical music and opera experience. Rachel likes to joke that most of my knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Source: Jesse’s iPhone
When it wasn't cloudy and raining, the scenes along the Danube River were beautiful. We spent time at a monastery in Austria, had a rainy day in Germany, and then took a bus three hours north to finish with three days in Prague in the Czech Republic. I had heard great stories about Prague from clients who had visited there. We walked 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day, even in the drizzling rain. We got to see the changing of the guard at the castle, and the Lennon Wall, which graffiti artists started days after John Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980. We went to the Dancing House, the Banksy Museum, and walked the Charles River bridge, which connects the two sides of the city, several times.
Source: Jesse’s iPhone
The last night we were there, Rachel made special dinner reservations for the two of us to go to a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Old Town Prague. While we were there, we met a couple from Florida who we made plans to see when Rachel and I are there in late January next year. Rachel sometimes says that things like this only happen to me. However, it's incredible what happens when you explore the world with your best friend and talk to three-dimensional people instead of being glued to a phone.
There are certain places you can only see by land tour or riverboat. Central Europe is one of them, and after years of hearing stories about it, I'm glad we finally took the opportunity to create shared experiences and shared memories there. Despite watching our friend Clark Griswold struggle through his European Vacation, I have often encouraged you to use some of your resources to take these types of trips and travels. I wanted you to know that I practice what I preach. By the way, picking just eight photos to share with you from the more than 400 photos in our album was not an easy task.
I want to thank my beautiful wife, Rachel, for not only taking another trip of a lifetime with me, but also for helping coordinate more than 100 cards, videos, and messages that friends, family, and clients sent me for my 60th birthday. It definitely made me feel loved, valued, and blessed, which is one of the best things you can experience as we continue “Moving Life Forward.”
© 2025 Jesse Hurst
Senior Wealth Manager
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