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Europe Summer 2026
  • Ella Balagula
  • Ella Balagula

Europe Summer 2026

An open-ended adventure by Ella Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 16, 2026
    Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    We danced in a beautiful 19 century ballroom with fewscoed ceiling
    Baden central squareSchnitzel and some giant gnocchi

    Amado encuentro in Baden, Austria

    Jul 16–19 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We started our adventure in Baden - we flew to Frankfurt, connected to Vienna, and took a quick train to Baden. We checked in to our hotel, which was in a historic villa, very cute and filled with memorabilia. But when we got to our room, we were immediately met with hot air, being circulated by the ceiling fan. We unsuccessfully looked for an air conditioner, and upon further inquiry, the receptionist confirmed that indeed, the ceiling fan was all the AC we were going to get, despite the weekend being a toasty high 80s F. Who would have even thought to check in advance if the hotel had an AC? The things we take for granted in our amazing country 🇺🇸! But the weekend still turned out very nice, with some very lovely dancing, good tango music, and food, despite the heat ?including in the tango ballroom, which had an AC, but not strong enough.

    As usual during the encuentros, I didn’t take any pictures, and the only outing was few wonderful hours spent in the adjacent to the hotel thermal spa with various saunas. On the last evening on Sunday, milonga finished early and we went for a nice dinner in a beautiful terrace, where we had our first (by far, not the last!) Weiner schnitzel. We learned that if schnitzel is called Weiner, than by law it can only be veal.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler

    DJing in Vienna

    July 20 in Austria ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    We woke up late on Monday, had a nice breakfast and leisurely made our way to Vienna, with no plans for the day, except my DJing gig in the evening. It was in a nice little tango studio ONE TANGO with lovely atmosphere and very warm organizer Rosa. It’s was only 2.5 hours and only about 25 people because it was a Monday night, but I managed to create a very chilled cool party vibe and people danced the whole time, and stayed until the very end. I felt very connected to the crowd and got a very long and warm applause at the end. The place reminded us how cool tango spaces in Europe are, with funky chandeliers, real candlelight, and fresh flowers.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Near where Hitler exited the train, arriving to Vienna for the first time
    Hitler rented a shoebox apartment on the second floor with a roommateHQ of gestapoCity hallThe square where Hitler announced from the balcony the annexation of Austria to NaziThe Academy of Arts that had a chance to turn historyA beautiful courtyardGarden with blooming rosesStephenplatz cathedral

    Hitler in Vienna tour

    July 21 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    One of the reasons I was so excited about coming back and spending a few days in Vienna, was a new recently added VoiceMap tour about Hitler’s youth in Vienna. It was done by the same authors as our favorite VoiceMap Vienna tour about the Natzi hunters. We spent a couple of hours, tracing Hitler’s journey. He was born in a small town near Vienna, and came to Vienna as a young hopeful, to apply to Vienna Academy of Arts. He was rejected and kept reapplying, meanwhile his mental state unraveling, paving the way for the megalomaniac epitome of evil that he was about to become. He was poor and crushed in Vienna, and the tour took us through fascinating details of his years there. The tour ended at the Academy of Arts, showing us the place that had the potential to turn the wheel of history and save many millions of innocent lives. If only he was accepted there (rejected three times, instead!), becoming a harmless artist…

    Afterwards, in the afternoon I did another new VoiceMap tour of the center, revisiting beautiful squares, buildings and cathedrals.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    The famous hare with the window reflection in its eye
    A table that Marie Christine got as a gift from her sister, Marie Antoinette of FranceA great example of pointillismThe lone tree with the black birds - which are actually ghosts!1Chagal is always my favorite1Massive white party

    Albertina museum

    July 22 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Today we went to the Albertina museum. We loved it last time in 2023 and wanted to go back. There is a fantastic permanent exhibit, “From Monet to Picasso” that traces the development of groundbreaking styles in the late 19 century. This time, there was an exhibit about the actual development of the museum from a private collection of Prince Albert. It was very well curated, talking about the life of Albert and his wife princess Marie Christine. They loved collecting drawings, especially on their various travels and that’s how collection started eventually growing after their death. One special drawing was of a hare 🐰, amazingly well executed, where the bunny really looks real, with every hair of his fur distinctly visible. Interestingly, when zooming in, one can see the windows of the artists studio reflecting in the hare’s eye. Apparently, this hare cannot be displayed because it’s extremely sensitive to light, so it’s presented once a decade only for 3 months - how lucky we were to see it!

    In the afternoon, I had lunch and came back to the museum to see the permanent exhibit and loved it once again. When I emerged from the museum around its closing time, I was surprised to see hundreds of young people wearing white and a high energy DJ pumping up the crowd. There was a massive white party on the terrace in front of the museum!    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Monument to the victims of Nazi GestapoHolocaust memorialThere is our favorite small plate restaurant next to the memorialMedieval plaque commemorating and celebrating burning of the JewsLatest Holocaust memorial

    Holocaust and Nazi hunters VoiceMap

    July 23 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We had a nice breakfast in our hotel and decided to do a repeat VoiceMap about the Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal who was a miraculous concentration camp survivor and dedicated his life to hunting down the Nazi leaders hiding after the war in various countries, mostly in Argentina. We did it last time in 2023, but it was amazing to hear this story again. I love most when we learn tidbits of history on our travels that connect to various countries and stories that we visited before. We actually learned about the Nazi hiding in Argentina on a tour in Bariloche a couple of years ago. So it was amazing to make this connection with the actual Jew who survived and was instrumental in bringing Nazi to justice. Simon Wiesenthal lived to 97 and there are several movies about him which we absolutely must see when we get back home.

    A terrible story we learned from VoiceMap - there is a medieval plaque on one of the buildings in the same square as Holocaust memorial, stating that the “Jewish dogs have been burned by fire and the city has been rid of them”. The text is in Latin, so it doesn’t attract attention but it’s crazy that it remains untouched (even though its a historical object, it could be sitting in a backroom of some museum instead)

    In the evening we went to the summer outdoor movie festival and watched the recording of Amy Winehouse concert. It was very beautiful and enjoyable.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Back to Ulrich
    Pistachio pomegranate croissantReunited with Tanyuha, and wearing her birthday gift!Belvedere palaceThe KissBirthday boy and his schnitzel (we split it)1Birthday boy and his apple strudel

    Igor’s birthday in Vienna

    July 24 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    In the morning, we went for a birthday brunch in our favorite best brunch in Vienna place Ulrich. We went there every day when we were in Vienna last time. But this time, our hotel breakfast was included until today, so I was super happy to finally make it to Ulrich and it was as amazing as we remembered.

    Then we did a quick and relaxing VoicwMap about the classical music in Vienna. And in the afternoon the sister of the birthday boy arrived for the weekend!

    In the afternoon, we went to the Belvedere museum and saw many beautiful painting, including our favorite The Kiss by Klimt.

    For dinner we went nearby our hotel to a small restaurant with the courtyard and delicious schnitzel. Fun fact was that we remembered from 2023 that we celebrated Igor’s birthday in Vienna is a small restaurant where we had a great schnitzel. We didn’t remember the name or location, but luckily I saved it in a google map list! It was also just as great as the last time!

    We capped the evening with going back to the outdoor movies festival and this time watched a fun huge annual charity concert in Paris.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler

    Vienna - Sisi museum, food and milonga

    July 25 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we went for breakfast to our favored Ulrich, but it was packed and we settled on their sister restaurant nearby Erich which was also quite delicious - we poached eggs on roasted eggplant and a pink porridge. We then went to the famous Sisi museum dedicated to the fascinating life of Elizabeth, wife of emperor Joseph who was known as Sisi. It was a story of rebellion, depression and deep love.

    Afterwards, we stopped by for a quick lunch of mini open-faced sandwiches at the Trzesniewski, which is Vienna institution and reliably delicious. We topped it off with the best apple strudel at cafe Demel.

    In the evening I DJed at the Milonga del Vino and enjoyed it, despite some technical difficulties.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Just a beautiful old building
    Fascinating that Lenin lived in London and spent a lot of time in the nearby British museumVery inventive set at the Oresteia play

    London explorations started

    Jul 26–27 in England ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We arrived to London early afternoon on a Sunday and didn’t want a nice evening go to waste - so we decided to do a VoiceMap of the neighborhood where we were staying. Fun fact is that London has 150 (!) VoiceMap without a whole lot of curation, so choosing the ones for us was an an easy feat. The one that we started was not really working for us - it was full of non consequential to history anecdotes - mostly based on some drunk or thief form the Middle Ages that lived and practiced his craft in a building we were passing. We aborted the pursuit after half an hour and switched to another VoiceMap that was mostly talking about the Bloomsbury society of artists, poets, and writers. That was quite interesting!

    The next day we decided to do a VoiceMap of the main London parks, including Hyde park. It was interesting but the walk was scorching hot 🥵 and the usually bright green grass in London park was all dry yellow hay. The signs of this summers heat wave and lack of rain were very evident.

    In the evening I was able to score a ticket to the play Oresteia with amazing cast including Mary Louise Parker. It was 3.5 hours with two intermissions, but I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. It was certainly a memorable new play that makes the audience think and truly engage.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Beautiful view from St James park
    Westminster AbbeyThe small building on the right is where King Charles was beheadedWe took a bus!Beautiful Notting HillWhere one of the notable scenes in the movie Notting Hill takes placeThe travel books store where Julia Roberts character worked

    King Charles story and exploring Notting Hill

    July 28 in England ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Today we decided to select a VoiceMap tour that would focus on one theme or story and picked the tour about the killing of the King Charles I. This was the right decision and we really enjoyed the tour, learning about England civil war and the conflict between the Royalists and Parlamentarians. As the result of this war, King Charles was beheaded. The tour took us along the road that King Charles walked on his way to meet his executioner and showed many famous sites along the way, including the Westminster Abbey. We didn’t go inside because it was a very long line for the tickets. But the VoiceMap was very enjoyable.

    We then decided to switch gears in the afternoon and took a VoiceMap tour of the hip Notting Hill neighborhood. It was also very engaging and interesting - felt like a world apart from the hustle and bustle of the touristy central London. Notably, we expanded our transportation comfort zone from only the tube, and took a bus there!    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Easter island head statue
    Pharaoh statueEgyptian cat statue - the British collector who brought it from Egypt, gave her gold piercingsRosetta StoneRelief from ParthenonCrazy delicious lagman

    British museum and a funny play

    July 29 in England ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today, we went to British museum, which is massive, super impressive and free. We were attracted to the opportunity to see the highlights with the 2 hr VoiceMap tour by a London Art historian. It was really interesting - essentially a massive collection of treasures brought (stolen?) from other countries. Here, we saw more Egyptian mummies than we saw in Egypt, and more beautiful Parthenon reliefs than we saw in Athens.

    We also saw a mythical Moa head from the Eastern Island (perhaps we don’t need to go there anymore?). We also saw famous Rosetta Stone - a stone that was found in Egypt and was the first known “dictionary”. On the stone some financial and historical transaction is recorded - in three languages: Greek, Egyptian mainstream and Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone allowed to decipher and understand Egyptian hieroglyphics.

    After the museum I had lunch of delicious lagman with hand pulled noodles at the Uyghur restaurant. I never heard of this cuisine but apparently it’s central Asian, in northern China, similar to Uzbek, but distinctly different.

    In the evening we went to see a play HowThe Other Half Loves. It was a classic British comedy - very fun! On the way there, on Ilona’s request I stopped by at a Greek yogurt bar for a tasting. It was good, but Ilona’s is much better!    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Entry into the basement
    Conference roomChurchill cabinetCommunication room - now it can be rented out for events!Room from which Churchill broadcasts his famous inspirational speechesOriginal map on which all the front movements and battles were recorded dailyChurchill bedroomWe had delicious Lebanese lunch afterwards

    Churchill War Rooms

    July 30 in England ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today, we went to see the original war rooms in the bunker that Churchill and his team used during the WWII. It was absolutely fascinating. It actually wasn’t a bunker, but a regular large basement under one of the government buildings that was expanded and set up as Churchills was headquarters. It wasn’t a real shelter and wasn’t bomb proof, but luckily it was never struck during the London blitz bombings. The location was extremely secure, and it remained a closely guarded secret through the war years. We saw all the rooms in its original state, including Churchill’s office, bedroom and communication room from which he would talk to American President.Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Delicious Friday brunch in ten villageBeautiful spaceThe view from the encuentro terraceOn Sunday morning we had brunch in the village outside and there was a very fun farmers market!

    Royal Embrace private encuentro

    Jul 31–Aug 3 in England ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    On Thursday we took a bus and went to Richmond, a beautiful suburb of London where Royal Embrace was being held. We checked into our airbnb which was a very cute and spacious room with the bathroom and a kitchenette of a local sweet British couple who befriended us instantly, left us yogurt, fruits, and cookies. 6 min walk to cutest Kew Village and 12 min walk to the encuentro venue. A big win of a booking for Igor!

    The next 3 days we only managed to walk and eat in the village in addition to dancing. There were beautiful Kew Gardens nearby but we didn’t make it there. We danced in the Rowing Club room, which has a great floor, high ceiling, and gorgeous terrace overlooking the river. Curiously, it was next to the cemetery and crematorium, which is why all the reviews of the venue were mostly from people who held or attended funerals there. It was nice to bring the lively joy of tango into that space :) We loved the encuentro - great dancing, and they served amazing food for dinner on that terrace.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    Broadway High street
    Old pubChippin Camden marketplaceEncountered this on our walk on the streetOld churchEvery old church has an old cemetery.The church tower in the sunsetGorgeous architecture at every cornerMedieval marketplace

    Cotswalds - Broadway and Chippin Camden

    August 3 in England ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    On Monday morning after the encuentro, we went to Heathrow to pick up a rental car for our week-long England roadtrip. It was hard to chose where to go, as there are 200 VoiceMaps in the UK outside of London. We looked at something that would be beautiful, and fairly easy to drive to. The Cotswalds were a perfect start, because it’s a series of small 15-16 century towns with honey-colored buildings of local limestone. All with great history and many with a VoiceMap tour, about 2 hours drive from London.

    We started at Broadway - beautiful town basically with one High Street (meaning Main street). We did a VoiceMap there and had delicious lunch in one of the cafes. We then drove to nearby town called Chippin Camden with the same story - High street with honey colored buildings and interesting stories. We stayed there overnight and the town was magical after all the day trip tourists have left.    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    They used this device in 15-17 centuries to punish people for petty crimes by securing their anklesTree grown into the churchBibury has a big trout farm on this riverArlington row of very old weaver housesOld farmYet another churchBeautiful estateA cute courtyard in CirencesterDelicious dosaCathedralThe tallest hedge in the world

    Cotswalds - Bibury

    August 4 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    In the morning, we left Chippin Camden and drove to the next main Cotswalds attraction - Bibury. On the way we stopped at Stow-on-the—Wold village and walked around. It had a beautiful St Edward’s church and very cute high street and central market square.

    Then we drove to Bibury where we did a fascinating VoiceMap walk of the town. It’s famous for the row of small 14 century cottages, called Arlington row after the family that owned it. Fascinating detail is that the owner of that row of cottages moved to America in 1600s and then through some marriages the descendants moved to Virginia and founded a cemetery, which they named Arlington to commemorate their ancestors roots in England. So the Arlington cemetery is connected to this row of cottages! Another interesting detail that we learned from VoiceMap - we noticed that Bibury had an unusually large number of Japanese tourists. Apparently, Bibury is famous in Japanese anime because one character from a famous series lived in Bibury in Arlington row. So it’s extremely popular for Japanese tourists to visit it.

    After Bibury, we drove to Cirencester where we stayed overnight. I had a delicious dosa for lunch there in the restaurant appropriately named Dosapark. In the afternoon I did a VoiceMap tour there. It’s a medieval market town with a beautiful cathedral and nice parks. There was also a curios site - one estate was protected from the public eye by the worlds tallest hedge - it’s in the Guiness book!    Read more

  • Ella BalagulaEurope Summer 2026Traveler
    House where the man who sold his wife lived
    Another beautiful churchI guess people were much shorter back thenRooms at the hotel have no numbers but names insteadTypical medieval buildingMedieval timber houses

    Cotswolds - Burford

    August 5 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We went today to another star of the Cotswalds - Burfurd. The town had many old stately houses and a lot of interesting historic characters. For example, there is a house where lived the man who sold his wife. Apparently, if you wanted to divorce and get rid of your wife, you could take her to an auction and sell her to the highest bidder! In this particular case, the townsfolk disapproved and staged a mob outside this man’s house, banging on pots and pans all night. Interesting traditions.

    After Burford, we drove to Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare where we stayed overnight. There were a couple of VoiceMaps there, so k did know in the afternoon. I didn’t finish it, but saw many medieval timber houses.    Read more