Travel blogger Adventurous Kate's June 2026 was a study in contrasts: a joyful US homecoming timed perfectly with the World Cup, and a brutal heat wave back in Prague that ended with her fleeing to a hotel with her two cats.
The US trip started in the Boston area, where she caught the World Cup in full swing. The standout surprise was Scotland's famous Tartan Army fans, who turned up across Massachusetts in kilts, playing bagpipes, marching to Fenway Park and, in her words, drinking all the beer. Their energy spilled up the coast, too — she ran into them again in Portland, Maine, where they took over a pub during lunch with her three-year-old niece in tow. The toddler's verdict on her first Scottish pub: too loud.
Kate also squeezed in some serious walking. In Boston she covered the full Emerald Necklace — the chain of parks from Franklin Park to Boston Common — in about four hours, though she admits hour three in the heat and humidity was rough. In New York, staying with family in Harlem, she walked the entire length of Broadway in Manhattan: 13.76 miles in roughly five hours, hitting neighbourhood after neighbourhood. Her practical tip: the newer bus terminal at the George Washington Bridge (at 178th and Broadway) is far more convenient than midtown if you're heading to Harlem, Washington Heights or the Upper West Side. She also made time for a meet-and-greet with Baby Corn, her favourite internet cat, plus North Shore classics — lobster rolls, beaches and good pizza.
Back in Prague, the month's low was a record-breaking European heat wave. Her apartment's tall ceilings and size defeated even the strongest air conditioners on the local market, so for the worst two days she checked into the Hilton Atrium Prague, which allows pets for a 1,000 CZK (about $50) fee for up to two small animals. The cats' first hotel stay involved 24 hours of hissing, then a full recovery — a useful trial run for future pet travel. There was also a genuinely scary mishap: she got locked inside an out-of-service tram parked under a bridge in the heat, and only escaped by finding the emergency release and shoving the doors open herself. A Ricky Martin concert in the city was cancelled, likely heat-related.
July looks calmer: a road trip from Prague to Provence for a chateau wedding, with stops planned at the Gorges du Verdon, the lavender fields of Valensole, Arles and Nîmes, plus Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein en route.
Why it matters for travellers: this is a nice reminder that World Cup years transform host cities — Boston in summer 2026 was electric — and that long urban walks are one of the cheapest, best ways to know a city. The pet-friendly hotel workaround is also worth noting for anyone travelling with animals in Europe during heat waves.
