My 2025 Travel Recap: Everywhere I Went This Year

In comparison with my travel recaps from 2023 and 2024, my 2025 recap is much more chill.

After my year of full-time travel from mid-2023 to mid-2024, and then some funemployment time for the remainder of 2024, I returned to full-time work at the beginning of this year. So naturally…I didn’t travel as much this year!

But I still squeezed in a few international trips and some weekend domestic trips too.

Like many people, I love using the end of the year to look back on what’s happened in the last twelve months. Here’s a recap of everywhere I traveled in 2025!

April

For the first few months of the year, I focused on settling back into my job and enjoying my home again. As a result, my first trip of the year was in April, when I spent a long weekend in New York.

I live just a short train ride away from New York and have several friends who live there, so I try to visit a few times a year. During this particular trip, I saw several Broadway shows (Maybe Happy Ending and Purpose, both of which I loved!), met up with friends, visited the Top of the Rock for the first time, and enjoyed some leisure time at the French cafe in Grand Central — a sort of preview of my next trip!

May

My first international trip of the year fell at the end of May.

It started with my second trip to Paris, which I hadn’t visited in 8 years. I enjoyed it on my prior visit too, but this trip had me dreaming of being one of those people who visits annually. Gosh, I loved it. I think the key, this time, was determining that a proper trip to Paris involves alternating sights and food/drink. So, you know: have breakfast, visit a church, have some coffee at a cafe, admire the views from somewhere, eat lunch, visit a museum, have another drink at a cafe, walk around a while, have dinner, watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle, enjoy a nightcap at a cafe — you get it.

Suffice it to say that I enjoyed a lot of great coffee and cocktails this time in Paris. But I also saw a lot of the sights — some that I had seen in my previous trip, and others that were new to me. Highlights this time around included sunset on Arc de Triomphe, visiting the top of the Eiffel Tower (believe it or not!), climbing to the Sacre Coeur dome, and walking around Montmartre. I also had the best steak of my life, no lie, at a wildly underappreciated little restaurant called Le Gentil.

I also took a day trip to Mont St. Michel, which I’ve wanted to see for years. I’m happy to have experienced it, but sort of meh on whether it’s worth the very long trip from Paris — read more about it here!

From Paris, I took a train to Zurich, which is charming enough but has never really grabbed me in my three visits there.

This time around, I liked it more than ever, though — no doubt in large part because of my reason for visiting, which was a huge global gathering for the 500 year anniversary of Anabaptism. (I’m a Mennonite!) Thankfully, one of my best friends was also there, so I got to hang out with her while revisiting Mennonite history and connecting with lots of people from a few different points in my personal history (parents of middle school and college friends of mine, college cross-cultural leaders, etc.!). It was a cool day capped with a interdenominational service that included reconciliatory moments with church groups that previously persecuted Anabaptists in Switzerland and musical performances by groups from countries all around the world (including a college choir led by my friend!).

I spent a few more days in Switzerland after the Anabaptist event. I’ve been fortunate to visit Switzerland twice before — it’s one of my favorite countries! — and was tempted to take day trips to some of my favorite locations, but instead opted for new-to-me spots.

First, I took a train to Wasserauen and cable car to Ebenalp — a gorgeous summit in the Appenzell Alps. There, I hiked down to Berggasthaus Aescher, a guest house and restaurant that’s built into the side of the mountain. I knew I would love the views, but I was surprised by how fantastic my meal was! I also did some more hiking around the mountain and admired the truly unbelievable views. Honestly, I was jealous of the many parasailers who were enjoying the views from the skies — maybe I’ll return and join them someday!

At the end of my trip, I also spent a day in the charming city of St. Gallen, which is famous for its abbey — a UNESCO World Heritage site with a spectacular library and more.

June

In June, I joined my extended family for a weekend trip to Knoebels Amusement Resort, a super unique little amusement park in the woods of central Pennsylvania. There are no entrance fees for the park — instead, you pay per ride or buy a wristband that will get on some or more of the rides, but can always walk around the park freely — and there’s a campground. For more than 30 years, my extended family has spent a weekend each summer camping at Knoebels, venturing into the park to enjoy some of the rides (most notably, the world-famous Phoenix roller coaster) and zooming down the waterslides at the pool.

July/August

In late July, I flew to Italy with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. We started our trip with just a few hours in Milan, where we sped through some of the highlights — most notably, visiting The Last Supper.

From Milan, we took trains and buses up to Lake Como, where we spent the next few days. I hadn’t been to Lake Como before, and I loved it! I really enjoyed taking ferries to and from the charming little towns dotted around the lake, as well as walking part of the Lake Como Greenway.

We stayed in Bellagio, which I think was the right call — it’s so central! — and I would definitely stay there again on future trips to Lake Como.

Next, we headed toward the Dolomites — but on the way, we stopped at Verona (super beautiful but super crowded) and a famous cliffside church, Santuario Madonna della Corona.

Once we reached the mountains, we stayed in Brixen (also known as Bressanone), a lovely little town that served as a good home base for exploring the Dolomite region. During our days there, we hiked around Tre Cime di Lavaredo (which was awesome) and to the Cadini di Misurina viewpoint (which was terrifying), walked around Lago di Braies, saw Seceda shrouded in clouds, and visited Alpe di Suisi — in the rain, unfortunately, so we didn’t get to experience those famous alpine views :/

For the last leg of our trip, we spent several days in Venice. I was fortunate enough to spend a full week there during my travels in 2023, and I was delighted to return, even for a shorter visit.

This time around, I repeated some of my favorite things to do in Venice — including traveling up and down the Grand Canal on a #1 vaporetto — but I mainly tried to focus on new experiences, like visiting Palazzo Grimani, climbing the spiral stairs at Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, and journeying out to the quiet island of San Servolo.

October

My last trip of the year was a weekend trip to Harrisonburg, Virginia for homecoming at my alma mater. It’s always a joy to be there in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, and this time I had a class reunion — so I very much enjoyed catching up with some of my college pals.

As it turns out, I took no shareable photos during this trip, but here’s one I took during a previous homecoming weekend 🙂