Trip Summary
We have been planning and saving for this dream vacation for a while now. Not only did we want to see the beautiful landscapes and small towns of each country, but also to do a little digging into the history of our German family name (Seltzer).
At first our plan was to try to rent a car and create a schedule ourselves, but being our first time in each of these countries and unknowing of a lot of the customs and crossing boarders we decided to look into tours. There were a lot of tours out there, but none of them really hit all of our check boxes of what we were looking for. Then we came across Rick Steves' Tours. We have been fans of his show for years and after seeing episodes on Germany and Switzerland they helped with our decision on what we really wanted to see and experience. The great thing about Rick Steves' Tours was the flexibility to explore on your own while also having the convenience of a great tour guide (Tara) to provide you with knowledge, history and overall do's and don'ts of each country. At the beginning of our tour we met our group and we all were complete strangers, but by the end of our tour it was a sad goodbye as if we were a small family :)
As you make your way through our itinerary on the website each day has a little highlight film showing a glimpse into each location. Once you scroll down to the bottom of each page there are buttons to move on to the next part of our journey. Don't forget to view our 360 images to feel like you were there!
Our tour and itinerary: ricksteves.com/tours/germany-austria-switzerland/germany-austria-switzerland-tour
History on the Seltzer Surname:
Many people, such as the Seltzer family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. The surname Seltzer was an occupational name for a person who sold or extracted salt. A variety of similar German surnames are derived from the Old German word "salt," such as Selter and saltzer. Salt was know as the white gold in Austria. Some of the first settlers of the Seltzer family name arrived in the United States in the early 18th Century. Many calling Pennsylvania and Maryland their new home. So it kind of makes sense that I was born and grew up in Central Pennsylvania.
Gear used to film our trip:
Sony RX100 v
Samsung Gear 360 (2017)
Zhiyun Crane M
DJI Mavic Pro
Lowepro Flipside Trek BP 350 AW Camera Backpack
At first our plan was to try to rent a car and create a schedule ourselves, but being our first time in each of these countries and unknowing of a lot of the customs and crossing boarders we decided to look into tours. There were a lot of tours out there, but none of them really hit all of our check boxes of what we were looking for. Then we came across Rick Steves' Tours. We have been fans of his show for years and after seeing episodes on Germany and Switzerland they helped with our decision on what we really wanted to see and experience. The great thing about Rick Steves' Tours was the flexibility to explore on your own while also having the convenience of a great tour guide (Tara) to provide you with knowledge, history and overall do's and don'ts of each country. At the beginning of our tour we met our group and we all were complete strangers, but by the end of our tour it was a sad goodbye as if we were a small family :)
As you make your way through our itinerary on the website each day has a little highlight film showing a glimpse into each location. Once you scroll down to the bottom of each page there are buttons to move on to the next part of our journey. Don't forget to view our 360 images to feel like you were there!
Our tour and itinerary: ricksteves.com/tours/germany-austria-switzerland/germany-austria-switzerland-tour
History on the Seltzer Surname:
Many people, such as the Seltzer family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. The surname Seltzer was an occupational name for a person who sold or extracted salt. A variety of similar German surnames are derived from the Old German word "salt," such as Selter and saltzer. Salt was know as the white gold in Austria. Some of the first settlers of the Seltzer family name arrived in the United States in the early 18th Century. Many calling Pennsylvania and Maryland their new home. So it kind of makes sense that I was born and grew up in Central Pennsylvania.
Gear used to film our trip:
Sony RX100 v
Samsung Gear 360 (2017)
Zhiyun Crane M
DJI Mavic Pro
Lowepro Flipside Trek BP 350 AW Camera Backpack
Stopping Points
Below is a map with markers of all our stops.