Planning a 4 week trip to Europe in winter? The first thing you should know - an accommodation with heat is not a guarantee. Especially in Barcelona.

But I'll take upper 50s and sunshine over a Chicago winter anytime. The trip started with some familiar spots: Picnic DIY, the statue wallride and the slappy curb at the beach.

I had five days to settle in and it was back to El Prat for a flight to Vienna, Austria. As soon as I landed, winter smacked me right in the face.

Heavy fog, snow and ice set the wintery mood as I took in the first impressions of St. Stephen's Cathedral. Luckily, Vienna has a world class indoor park where you can get buck for only €3.50 per day.

The ambitious itinerary required extensive research. Too cold outside? Head into the Imperial Treasury Chamber or 'Kaiserliche Schatzkammer' for a glimpse at priceless relics.

The Museum of Military History or 'Heeresgeschichtliches Museum' offers an in-depth look at historical items of World War One, including the car Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding in when assassinated in Sarajevo.

The adventure continued as I boarded a train from Vienna to Innsbruck. And the following day I made it to Bolzano, Italy.

Bolzano might've been the surprise destination of the trip. I wasn't expecting anything and the local park turned out to be super fun - with it's mountain backdrop equipped with a castle and vineyards.

Back on the train and it was off to the final destination: Venice, Italy.

Venice is a photographer's dream. There was a certain buzz in the air with the 2026 Winter Olympics and Carnivale just days away.

I may have tried to do too much - considering after Venice, I had to retrace the route back to Vienna and Barcelona. In my experience, backtracking kills the momentum of the trip.

In the future, I'll be looking into open-jaw flights. That way, we just keep moving forward to new places...