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Travel with Heike

Curated European travel ✈️
Hidden gems • Coastal escapes • Old-world charm
Born & raised in Germany 🇩🇪

10/23/2026

Miami's most glamorous hotel name is coming to London. 🇬🇧

Delano — born on Miami Beach in 1995 — is making its UK debut between Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Just 67 rooms, and more than half of them suites — 14 with prime views over the park.

Miami's legendary Rose Bar comes with it, reimagined as a subterranean drinking den with live music. The restaurant is Lana Lusa, a first London outpost of the Dubai favourite (Portuguese heritage, Mediterranean warmth), plus The Source by Delano wellness space.

Soft launch December 2026, official opening early 2027 — and bookings are now open.

Planning a London stay for 2027? DM me 'DELANO' and I'll help you time it — custom trips, no planning fees.

— Heike · Travel with Heike

Renderings courtesy of Delano London

10/23/2026

Romania in October just got a big stamp of approval 🏰🍂

National Geographic Traveller put Romania at No. 6 on its "where to travel in October" list — best for cultural road trips. Storybook, a little mysterious, and still blissfully uncrowded.

Why October is the moment for Transylvania: the Transfăgărășan (56 miles of hairpins through the southern Carpathians) is at its most scenic in autumn, and October is the last month it's fully open; Bran Castle, nicknamed Dracula's Castle, above the forests near Brașov; Brașov's Gothic Black Church; the crooked trees of the Hoia-Baciu Forest; and a warm chimney cake on a chilly afternoon.

If you're already in Europe, there's still a window this month — for everyone else, this is one to plan a year ahead.

Want a Transylvania road trip built for you? DM me 'ROMANIA' — no planning fees, ever.

10/23/2026

✈️ Berlin on your winter list? Check your flights before you book anything else

Ryanair confirmed on Oct 8 that it is cutting about 700,000 seats from its German winter schedule — about 10% fewer than last winter. Its 7-aircraft Berlin base closes Oct 24, Berlin capacity drops by 50%, and 12 routes are dropped, including Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Marseille, Bologna, Palermo, Pisa, Thessaloniki, Tallinn and Vilnius.

Ryanair is NOT leaving Berlin altogether — it will still fly there with planes based outside Germany, just far less often.

Booked on one of those routes this winter? Check your exact dates now, and don't lock in non-refundable hotels until your flight is confirmed.

Planning a Germany or Europe winter trip? DM me 'BERLIN' and I'll help you re-route — no planning fees.

10/23/2026

A little river-cruise lesson, with money attached. 💶✈️

"All-inclusive" with VIVA Cruises goes further than most people realise: all meals (in up to three restaurants), premium drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities — plus shore excursions and airport transfers, which many lines charge extra for.

Fall Special: book a VIVA cruise of 5+ nights by November 15, for travel through December 31, 2026, and get a $250 air credit per person — up to $500 for two. It applies via a voucher code at checkout, and I'll make sure it lands on your booking.

Thinking about a Rhine, Danube or Moselle sailing this fall? DM me 'VIVA' — my planning help is always free.

10/22/2026

🎄 Dreaming of December in Europe? October is honestly the time to start planning it ✨

December feels far away — but the loveliest festive trips are mapped out early, while you still get to choose the hotel, the neighbourhood, and the pace you actually want.

A few December trips worth booking now:

🎁 A festive Christmas trip — twinkling old towns, hot drinks in hand, and that cosy, storybook feeling
🕯️ A holiday market trip — Strasbourg, Vienna, or Prague, with plenty of time to wander and soak it in
🥂 A New Year escape — a grand capital city break, or a quieter winter getaway to start the year gently
❄️ One last trip before the year ends — a few slow days somewhere beautiful, just because

December is popular, and the nicest spots in the best locations get picked first. A little planning now keeps your options open.

Want help putting a December trip together? DM me 'DECEMBER' and let's talk through what you're dreaming of — my planning help is always free. 💛

10/22/2026

Paris is still Paris — but this week, go in with your eyes open. 🇫🇷

On Oct 21, the U.S. State Department reissued its France travel advisory: France stays at Level 2 (Exercise Increased Caution), citing terrorism and unrest — protests are ongoing in Paris this week — plus pickpocketing and phone theft as the everyday risks. Full advisory: https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/france.html

My "know before you go" list:
• Avoid demonstrations and protest areas — routes change fast.
• Metro stations near marches may close at short notice — allow extra time.
• Parts of central Paris have had temporary overnight curfews this week — check before a late night out.
• Guard your phone and bag — pickpocketing is the #1 tourist headache.
• Enroll in STEP (step.state.gov) for embassy alerts.

Paris is still very much visitable — this is awareness, not alarm. Heading there soon? DM me 'PARIS' and I'll help you plan around the noise. — Travel with Heike, custom trips, no planning fees.

10/22/2026

A cruise that follows truffle season? Silversea, you have my attention. 🍝🚢

Silversea just opened general sales on its Voyage Collection 2028–2029 — 103 voyages to 219 destinations in 56 countries. My favorites: the new S.A.L.T. W**e & Truffle voyages. Three sailings aboard Silver Dawn, October through December, from Livorno (the gateway to Tuscany) to Palamós in Catalonia's truffle country — with truffle-hunting excursions, vineyard visits, and chef-led tastings on board. Food isn't an add-on here; it's the itinerary.

The Mediterranean season also brings 17 sailings on Silver Nova and Silver Dawn, overnights in Venice, Genoa, Naples and Cádiz, Venice during Carnival, and New Year's Eve in Madeira.

Bookings opened today. Want a walk-through of the Europe sailings? DM me 'TRUFFLE' — my planning help is always free. ✈️

10/21/2026

Fun fact: Budapest is hiding tiny statues in plain sight 🔍

All over the city, sculptor Mihály Kolodko has tucked palm-sized bronze mini statues into corners you'd walk right past — on railings, fence posts and low walls. Most people never notice them. Once you know, you can't stop looking.

A few favorites to hunt for:
• A mini Franz Joseph keeping watch by the fence near Liberty Bridge
• A balloon dog on Falk Miksa Street

Some are playful, some carry a quiet bit of history or commentary — Kolodko started placing them as guerrilla art, and Budapest has adopted them as its own little treasure hunt. There are dozens now, and finding them is honestly one of the most fun ways to wander the city.

Budapest is coming up in my Tuesday European city series, too — consider this your warm-up. 👀

Planning a Budapest trip? DM me 'BUDAPEST' and I'll help you plan it — my help is always free. ✈️

10/21/2026

Ireland's best hotel? The readers have spoken. 🍀🏆

Ballyfin Demesne in County Laois has just been named the No. 1 hotel in Ireland in Condé Nast Traveller's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards — voted on by nearly 800,000 readers.

It's a Regency mansion on a 614-acre estate at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, restored over eight years before opening in 2011 — lake views, falconry and fishing on the grounds, and the kind of quiet you can't fake. In the same awards, Ireland was voted the friendliest country in Europe.

A splurge, yes — but for a milestone anniversary or the Ireland trip you've always dreamed of, this is the one to build the trip around. Planning Ireland? DM me 'IRELAND' — my help is always free.

📸 Photos courtesy of Ballyfin Demesne

10/20/2026

Hamburg is getting a Hoxton — and as a German, I'm claiming this one early 🇩🇪✨

The Hoxton, Hamburg opens in 2027 — only the brand's second hotel in Germany (after Berlin), in a 1950s building on Alter Wall in the Nikolaiviertel, Hamburg's old-town quarter of canals and independent shops.

What's coming:
🏨 188 rooms across ten floors, including 32 connecting rooms for families and groups
🍽️ A canal-side restaurant and all-day lobby bar on the ground floor
🦐 The showpiece: a rooftop seafood restaurant with a wraparound terrace — views to the Elbphilharmonie, the Michel and the Rathaus

The Hoxton does 'open-house' hotels better than almost anyone — the lobby is a hangout, not a hallway. A 2027 opening, so it goes on the watchlist for clients planning Germany ahead.

Planning Hamburg or a north-Germany trip? DM me 'HAMBURG' — custom trips, no planning fees.

— Heike · Travel with Heike
Renders courtesy of Ennismore

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