mjkuchera-blog

[mjkuchera-blog]

Zürich, Switzerland

Switzerland is one of those places that never leaves my mind. I love to snowboard; it is my absolute favorite hobby and the swiss alps are the dream for anyone into skiing/snowboarding. The sole reason I want to visit is for snowboarding, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. Zermatt Ski resort is the goal, but I would love to try out different mountains. They say there is nothing like snowboarding on the alps and this is the one place I would pick to visit before I die. I heard the food and little towns are also unmatched, but snowboarding in Switzerland is the ultimate goal. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Gold Coast, Australia.

For my last two blogs, I am going to look at places I want to visit in my lifetime. Obviously, I am going to start with Australia. There are many cities I would like to see but, I think Gold Coast fits the idea of the location I am looking for the best. My sister was going to study abroad there over the summer of 2020, however, due to unfortunate timing of a pandemic, she never got to go. My family and I were going to go for two weeks this summer to move her in and explore Australia and New Zealand. Very bummed not to go this summer but my family is planning to go sometime in the future when everything opens up. When I am there, I hope to swim in the Great Barrier Reef and go to an opera in the Sydney Opera House. I look forward to one day seeing the country and enjoying the views.

[mjkuchera-blog]

St. Simons Island, Georgia

I feel like I had to include this place because it is a very special place for me and my family. We used to come every year when I was little, so we ended up buying a vacation home at the beach on the island. It has recently become very popular, but it is still always an amazing time. The locals all drive their golf carts around and they have a downtown area with amazing food. We lost to go fishing there, relax on the beach, and go to our favorite restaurants. this place is an escape for my family, and I will always enjoy going there. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

New York City, New York

My older sister in high school chose to go to New York City for her 16th birthday trip. This was cool because it was our first time going to New York as tourists on a vacation. My family is originally from upstate New York, so it wasn’t our first time there. We rode around central park, went Ice-skating, and did a lot of shopping. My favorite thing I have done in the city is the Color Factory. I suggest this place to anyone who goes to New York City because it is just a really fun activity to try out with everyone. We also checked out Ellis island and The Statue of Liberty. Overall, New York is always going to be a fun trip and I highly suggest everyone to go at least once in their life. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

San Francisco, California

San Francisco was the only time I have visited California. I was in middle school and this was my first major trip. Everyone has that idea that California is so great, and it really filled that idea for me. We memory that i have from that trip is when we went whale watching. Two huge humpback whales jumped right next to our boat and then dove down so we could see their tail. It was an incredible ting to witness even though it might have been scary in the moment. In conclusion, San Francisco is a very fun city but i would love to go back to California when I am older and visit some other major cities. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

London, England (Pt. 2)

Although I have been to England for multiple occasions, this will be the only other time I write about it. It was different trip than the other one I wrote about and that is why I think it is appropriate to write about. This trip was a family trip for a week, and this was our first time to England. We visited Liverpool, Manchester, and Oxford, but spent most of our time in London. We did the typical tourist attractions in the city. The London Eye is an observation wheel that goes in a circular motion that allows you to see the skyline of the city. This was a very cool activity because it gives you a different perspective of the city. One of my favorite things that we did there was watch a soccer game of my favorite team against their rival. We also explore the markets, the subway, went shopping, and just the city life as a whole. We also went to many well-known places there like Big Ben, The Tower Bridge, and the British Library. Overall, London is one of those cities I could always go back to. The lifestyle and food have always been one of my favorite places and I hope everyone can experience it. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Lima, Peru

Peru was my first and only time in South America. We went to Lima, Peru for a mission trip with my church. My entire family went for 10 days and we mostly stayed in the city. Since this was a planned trip with the church there wasn’t much time to check out the country by ourselves, but I wouldn’t say we didn’t get the experience. We spent 4 days in Lima and the headed to Nasca, Peru and put on a VBS with a small school there. I was in middle school so my food palate wasn’t as broad so everywhere we went, I ate chicken and rice for dinner. The one thing that I will never forget, however, is how good the fruit is. The fruit is freshly grown there and is perfectly ripe. Overall, Peru is a really cool country to visit and I would like to go back and explore more but I am glad I’ve had to chance to check it out a little bit. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Conwy, Wales

This trip, I would call one of the most unique ones, was to Conwy, Wales. Wales is one of those countries I think many people don’t think about too often. This was a very relaxed few days with a lot of sight-seeing. The scenery was green everywhere with farms taking up the mountain sides. There aren’t many tall trees, its mainly just bright, long green grass covering the valleys. Wales is also known for their castles and we took a tour to see many of them. We also stayed in a town called Conwy, which is one of the more popular destinations in Wales. This has a large castle and many small homes around which is quite a view. During the morning and night, we would stroll the town checking out local bakeries and restaurants. Their food was very different to say the least. Lamb and rabbit were very common meals to see on the menus. Overall, Wales is a beautiful country but more for a few days, rather than a week-long trip. There is a lot to do but it is more sight-seeing rather than activities. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Paris, France

Paris, France is one of those destinations that i feel is on everyone’s buck list, and I think it has a right to be there too because the country is exactly how people make it out to be. Small pastry shops and locally owned restaurants flood the streets. Paris definitely is home to some of the best food i’ve tried. Unfortunately, while we were there, the Eiffel Tower was under construction, so we weren’t able to go to the top. We still got to take pictures with it but this was for sure a letdown. We also explored the Louvre Museum, one of the most famous museums in the world. I have never really been interested in art but in a place like this it is hard not to admire everything. The Mona Lisa was smaller than I expected but the eyes still followed you. We also went on a river cruise one day taking us through most of the city and we were able to enjoy the view with a meal in front of us. Overall, France’s landscape and local food, as well as the huge monuments they have create an amazing atmosphere that I think everyone should experience. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

London, England

I have always been a big soccer fan and my favorite team is located in London, England. For my 16th birthday, my dad took me to London to watch them play in their home stadium. It was a shorter trip because I couldn’t miss too much school. Even though the trip was short, it was nothing less than eventful. The first day we got there, there was a bombing on one of the subway trains and this caused a whole commotion in the city. Police were everywhere and helicopters were above. This caused an entire city lockdown. The game was the next day and luckily, they still allowed the fans to attend. Our hotel was located inside of the gates of the stadium, so we had a special pass to get into the facility after we would leave. Soccer games in England are nothing like any games in the USA. 40,000 fans standing and singing the entire time. Our last day we went shopping to take up time before our overnight flight that night. Overall, this London trip is something I will always remember because I got to see my favorite team play at home and I look forward to one day experiencing it again.

[mjkuchera-blog]

Algarve, Portugal

Algarve, Portugal was one of the coolest trips I have taken. The blue water resorts with the cities right outside were unmatched from anywhere I have been. We stayed in two different resorts in Algarve to try out different things because my family wants to explore as much as we can while we are there. Some activities we did while we were there included: cave tours, deep sea fishing, parasailing, and of course enjoying the beach. The cave tours were not what I expected. They put about 15 of us on a boat and drove us up the shoreline into the enormous caves dropping us off and letting us take pictures. After we enjoyed our stay at the resorts, we headed into Lisbon for two days. Lisbon is such a unique city and the food there is phenomenal. Overall, Portugal was very fun country to explore. The food and the caves were definitely nothing like you can find in the USA. I would love to go back and see a little more of the northern part of thee country. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland is a special trip to me because my family went to visit my sister when she studied abroad for her first semester freshman year. This was a different vacation than we were used to because we were mainly there to see my sister and the way she lived. We spent a lot of time walking throughout the city and the college, University College Dublin. Another cool experience we had was attending a rugby game in Aviva Stadium. They are very passionate about their rugby team and to see Ireland play against the USA team was very fun. I am also a big Star Wars fan and they had many film locations from The Last Jedi. To see all the different spots and islands was so cool because you remember those parts from the movie. Overall, Ireland was an amazing trip with a different vibe than we were used to. I would love to go back and check out some other towns, but I wouldn’t make it a priority on my list. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Reykjavík, Iceland

One of my favorite and most memorable trips was to Reykjavík, Iceland in 2019. I think this was one of the most memorable trips because it was my sibling’s and I first trip without our parents. My two sisters and I stayed a week in Iceland exploring all alone. We roamed the city, went horseback riding, went snowmobiling, visited the blue lagoon, and saw the Great Geysir. The greatest thing that I experienced there however, was the northern lights. The pictures can’t capture what they are really like. You can see the bright blue and green lights moving in the sky.  Overall, this was one of my favorite trips and would go back in a heartbeat. 

[mjkuchera-blog]

Salt Lake City, Utah

Most recently, I went to Salt Lake City, Utah for New Years with my family. The mountains weren’t like anything I had ever seen before. I love to snowboard and that is one of the main reasons we went there. The mountains we went up to were Park City and Brighton. The snowboarding there was the highlight of my 2020. COVID restrictions were a little more laid back, but of course, still there. We also visited the salt flats which is just miles of a flat salt ground. It is definitely something I would suggest to people to check out while they are there. Overall, it was a very good experience, but if we were to go back to the midwest again, I would like to check out a different state before I go back to Utah.