There's a trip on the horizon. (heart flutter)It involves some locations I've been to before, like Venice, and some places I'm very excited to visit for the very first time—Switzerland. And since it's the first trip after the birth of this blog, I thought I'd turn to you for ideas & recommendations.

Have you been to the Swiss Alps? What shouldn't we miss? Any particularly breathtaking roads to drive down? Authentic, off the beaten path restaurants? Should we splurge on a cuckoo clock? (yes, I think so.)

I'm already emptying my brain to make room for the art stimulation overload at the Venice Biennale. Any exhibits you'd recommend? What are you dying to see?

Croatia is next and I cannot wait for the sparkling coast. I haven't visited since I was a kid, so can you get me up to speed on hip bars? Restaurants? (we'll split our time between Istra and Dalmatia) If we do a day trip to one of the islands, which would you choose? Should we make time for Slovenia? (we probably will.)

After that we're off to Belgrade (my beautiful childhood home), through Bosnia. What shouldn't we skip along the way? I'm already planning to stop at some of the fantastical monuments I blogged about recently.

The people at DK Travel were kind enough to send over some guides, so I have plenty to read, but I'd love to get some first hand advice. You can email me at una@mac.com or leave a comment here.

photo credits: Jace Home/flickr; Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger; unknown; Trek Earth