This is the European leg of my Summer 2019 Bucket List trip.
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23 June
9:45pm – After having gotten an email from Icelandair the day before that my flight via Reykjavik was now two hours later, I take off from Boston Logan airport with SwissAir via Zurich.
24 June
11am (5am in Boston) - Arrived in Zurich
12:30pm - Flight to Amsterdam took off
2:10pm - Landed in Schiphol
3pm - Had my OVchipkaart (Dutch travel card), got in the train to Leiden centraal
3:30pm - Arrived in Leiden Centraal
4:30pm - Chilled, got groceries, made salad for grandparents
25 June
11am - Pick up sister at Leiden Centraal
12pm - Boat on the Rhine to Leiden
1:30pm - Train to Amsterdam
2pm - Walk down the Damrak. The Damrak is the name of the long street that cuts the north of Amsterdam, before the stacked U’s canal belt or “grachtengordel”. It’s very touristy with a lot of international restaurants and souvenir shops on the right but it connects Amsterdam Centraal (the central station) with the canal belt and the rest of Amsterdam and there’s picturesque buildings on the right.
2:30pm – We have a some fries and a broodje kroket (a fried cylinder with beef ragu inside in a bread roll) “out of the wall” at our favorite fast food chain FEBO. It has a traditional counter to buy food but it’s known for having a vending machine wall with slots of different Dutch fried foods for one or a few euros. You get here by taking a right towards the end of the Damrak just after the hotel/restaurant “De Roode Leeuw” onto the Damraksteeg and then take a left at the end of the alleyway.
3pm – After walking along the busy and sunny canals, we sit outside along the river with a glass of wine
4pm - Walk along the canals to Albert Cuypmarkt, unfortunately no snacks for sale at this time of day like poffertjes (mini pancakes with powder sugar/butter) or stroopwafels (wafel cookies with syrup, sometimes seen in Starbucks/on planes)
4:30pm - Avocado show, we share a toast, it has chicken on it which is a little weird
5pm - De Carrousel = share poffertjes/pannekoeken (Dutch pancakes; a bit thicker than a crepe but nowhere as thick as American pancakes). We haven’t had real poffertjes in a while and they are incredible, very buttery and the powder sugar is a great addition.
6pm train back to Schiphol, I say goodbye to my sister and head back to Leiden to my grandparents
26 June
Hang out at home with grandparents
27 June
8:30am - train to other grandma in Bussum (east of Amsterdam)
10:30am - Singer museum cafe, gardens, see a bit
12pm - Walk around Laren
1:30pm - Home
3:30pm Train to Den Haag (The Hague), not the capital but where the government is.
5pm - arrival at the station, picked up by my uncle
5:30pm - cake + dinner
7pm - Cousin’s end of elementary school play (6th grade before you go to the 7-12th grade “middle school”), hilarious.
9:30pm – Go back to my uncle’s house to hang out for a bit
10:30pm - Drive back to Leiden
28 June
7am - Get in train at Leiden Centraal
7:30am - Arrived at Schiphol train station
9am - With a slight delay, we take off for Berlin
10:30am - Landed in Berlin Schonefeld
11:30am - On train to downtown Berlin, took forever, really bad signs
12:30pm - Arrived at Alexanderplatz, walked to hostel
no check-in till 2pm so put stuff in locker
1pm - District mot + walked around the area
1:45pm - At deutsche historische museum, history from 500AD-now, exhibit about the Weimar republic
Walk back, saw tv tower, stopped at dm for supplies (learned about the pharmacy in Budapest)
3:45pm - Went to hostel room, unpacked for a bit
5pm - Walked to Alexanderplatz to Saturn/mediamarkt to look for a fan for heat, only ones left were >€30
6pm - Took metro to U Kotbusser Tor in Kreusberg district
6:30pm - Reservation at Lode and Stijn, start trip in style with prix fixe menu
9:30pm - Metro back to hostel
10pm - Chat with ppl in hostel
12am - Went to sleep before touristy day
29 June
4am - Girls coming in from late night
7am - others are packing to leave
10am - Dutch roommate wants to come with, left for restaurant
10:50am - Little late because lots of construction, got a spot outside at steel vintage bikes cafe
12pm - at Pariser Platz at Brandenburg gate, Sandeman free walking tour. Saw holocaust memorial, site of Hitler’s bunker/car park, wall, checkpoint Charlie, square, Bebelplatz
2:15pm - Met Dutch guy on tour
2:45pm - Ended tour, asked for wine recs
3:15pm - Expensive wine shop, kept walking
3:30 - 5:30pm - mozzarella bar, drink wine and eat snacks in the sun, enjoying the summer.
8pm - Hang out at hostel of the Dutch guy and make friends with some British students + an Australian guy, who comes along with us
9:30pm - Get a very German (?) pizza for dinner
11pm – Go to fancy wine bar
30 June
12:40am - take taxi to Oberbaum bridge where there are a lot of clubs
1am - Dutch guy tries going in Watergate alone as a “tactic”, is not allowed in
1:10am - in Musik & frieden (not techno), paid €15 entry, disagree about vibe but we leave
2:30am - in line at Trésor, n2 techno club in Berlin. We make it inside and it’s in a basement with lots of winding corridors and smoky rooms playing techno music with a repetitive beat, not really my scene
3:30am – Leaving the Dutch guy to enjoy the techno, the rest of us went back to the area around the hostel. W get wine and sat on a terrace as it was starting to get bright outside
4:30am - I was that person getting back at 4 in the morning
8:45am - groggy wakeup
10am - brunch with Dutch roommate at Factory Girl, delicious
11am - took train alone to airport bus station
11:30am - after wondering around, found bus station way behind. Turns out google maps can be really wrong
12pm - arrive at Tegel airport, have a currywurst
12:12pm - stress about baggage, no person there so I go in
1:30pm - flight delayed
2pm- try to board plane, have to wait till end (tried to re-check in but you can’t <2hrs before boarding)
2:40pm - finally leave
4pm - land in Dubrovnik
4:45pm - after busy passport control + money exchange and getting on the more expensive bus, we off
5:09pm - driving along the Adriatic coast with beautiful views, Dubrovnik pops into view, lots of pics ensue
5:25pm - drive through old town, wow I’m in Croatia!
5:45pm - get off at port, hop on bus and kind driver exchanges my money, I go
6pm - get out at Lapad, check into Airbnb
7pm - dinner at poppers, solo dining, pork belly + cocktail + burrata + cheesecake
9pm - walk around harbor, tired so home
1 July
10:33am - finally on the bus, ticket desk opened at 10:30
10:55am - running through the gate, lots of ppl
11am - GOT walking tour - inner, landing platform, fortress, iron throne
1:45pm - walking through small streets, lunch at ala mizerija
2:30pm - exploring the streets, port, etc.
3:30pm - bought ticket along the way so skipped the line, 3-minute trip up to top
3:33pm - walking around, beautiful views, terrace x2, past restaurant to cliff
4:30pm - back down, bus back to Lapad
6pm - Tommy market (cheap supermarket) - doing backpacker life right
7pm - dinner part 2 - mojito/skewers/Asian salad
8:30pm - Lapad beach was too rocky + busy so I decide to spend the day at Lokrum tomorrow
9pm - meal prepped + packed
9:25pm - realize ferry ticket is for Hvar, oops
2 July
9:15am - Airbnb checkout, catch bus to old town, walk to port
10am - on boat to Lokrum, good view of city
10:12am - arrive, very blue water
10:20am - Austrian archduke Maximilian’s holiday castle, botanical garden, peacocks
10:36am - game of thrones exhibit, iron throne #2
11:10am - little beach, walk over the rocks
12pm - stumble out of water, chat with Dutch woman who happened to be on the GOT tour yesterday
12:30pm - ate little packed lunch
12:50pm - swim in little bay
1:15pm - swam from rocks
2:15pm - ferry back to Dubrovnik, back to Lapad, bus to ferry
3:45pm - mass line up for ferry, my stress
4pm - seated, very spacious
4:30pm – boat left
7:55pm - arrive at Hvar, not kicked off
9pm - arrive in Split, walk to hostel, chat with ppl, admire Belgian girl who is dressed up to go out and read by herself
9:45pm - wonder around, get ice cream x2
11:15pm – crash in bunkbed
3 July
7am – reminded that I’m back in a hostel as people are waking and packing up
10:27am - walking to Pandora Greenbox, remember city from last night
11am - joined by hostel roommate, get fruity breakfast - wow!
12:22pm - got to bell tower, French/Dutch
12:52pm - started climbing
12:56pm - looking over the city
1:10pm - crypt, disappointment
1:19pm - realized that there was no palace but the city was built on the remains of the palace
1:40pm - north of city to gardens + Gregory of Nin statue (medieval bishop who strongly opposed the Pope)
2:30pm - In palace basement, a reflection of the above ground
3:10pm – have a bubble egg Waffle dessert - ultimate tourist symbol and of globalization
3:30pm - back at hostel, Australian guy sleeping
4:30pm - interview
6pm – sit at bar at Boqueria
6:30pm - food arrived, conversation with friendly French/Russian woman
7:15pm - Zoi, drink + dessert, admiring the view. Croatian thing that u have to ask for stuff BUT European so I’m left to sit there for as long as I want, even though it’s super busy
Spot another woman eating alone
8:40pm - realize I have to book it for game
8:55pm - get last spot right by tv, next to swedes, all swedes
9pm - game begins
9:15pm - already tense
9:45pm - half time and still no change, spot a group of Dutch girls in sea of Swedes
11:10pm - goal, win?
11:15pm - games over and the few triumphant Dutch fans and I celebrate among the sad Swedes
11:48pm - bar empty looking, late, alone
12am - Back to hostel, sleep
4 July
4am/6am/7am - Kept being woken up by people leaving
8:30am - Started packing
9:15am - Croatian bakery, checkout left stuff
10am - Got to Marjan hill steps
10:10am - climbed, very hard, a bit more to church
10:45am - Walked to a bus station, not sure when coming
11:04am - It (finally) arrives
11:11am - Walk down to the beach, rocky, go for a swim
1:49pm - Catch the bus back to center
2:02pm - Sit down for lunch at fife, order the special, plate of meat, people-watching
4pm - After checking out and walking towards bus station, bus is there and leaves at 4pm
4:40pm - People who need to check in herded somewhere, I walk off to the side
5:30pm - Wow, so many people, plugs don’t work, lots of elderly Italians chatting, crazy
5:50pm - Rampage to get on, sit down in my seat up front
7pm - Another rampage to get off, close to front but 1 check in man. Spot woman from Zoi in Split last night, we make eye contact and simultaneously silently sigh at the situation.
7:40pm - Bus right there, just €5 to train station (have euros 🎉)
7:50pm - Get to station and walk to hostel, dicey area and a smidge hard to find but very friendly and welcoming
8:30pm - Nightly event - pizza night! Give our order (margarita/marinara), get €5 pizza. Very tired and in Naples after all
9pm - Get pizza and chatting with different travellers about our paths, Split ultra, Nice, Pompeii/Vesuvius itinerary, 4 July
12am – Dead tired
5 July
5:30am – Someone’s alarm goes off, and they go back to sleep
7am – The girl whose alarm went off is now snoring very loudly and someone else is packing to leave + snoring so I research the route for the day
7:30am Breakfast
8:20am - Leave hostel, get mini sandwiches
8:47am - Walk to station, worried about being on time but no-one there, walk to spot
8:50am - My train came up on the screen, nice man let me through but just workers looking at me questioningly, Campania Express special train is graffitied just like the "metro" Circumvesuviana
8:59am - No-one is here
9:02am - A woman comes to the platform and checks your ticket, tells you which car and you find your seat. Only open at the last door of each carriage so it’s slow going
9:09am - Only 3m late departure, wow for Italy
9:12am - Glad I read Porta Nolana was empty, Garibaldi was crowded, American group sitting next to me.
9:20am - Chatting, the guide mentions teaching in Chicago, join in, students want to talk, teacher seems less enthusiastic
9:29am - Get to Ercolano (Herculaneum), say goodbye
9:34am - Get to desk - bus is supposed to be every 40m but with no explanation, told it’s 10am. €20 for bus + entrance to Vesuvius. Has WIFI at least
9:50am - Get on bus, see train arrive, wait to fill bus
10:02am – We’re off. There’s AC and grumpy driver does kindly stop to let us take pictures along the way, both sides of the bus were good for pictures.
10:40am - Arrived at summit entrance point, ticket booth is a ways down for people who haven't bought tickets, told bus comes back at 12:30pm.
10:50am - Hot and gravelly but doable, views just get better
11am - Reached top, wowowow, what a view of both the Bay of Naples and in the volcano! Saw too late that there were free guided tours, oh well
12:10pm - Back down the mountain, saw old bus, joined ppl waiting
12:25pm - No bus, getting antsy
12:30pm - Bus arrives, old bus back to Ercolano station waves at me on but I stand my ground
12:40pm – A rush to get on but we finally leave, only €3.10 to get directly to Pompeii
1:20pm – Roman theatre
1:24pm - Confusion on the bus but at Porta Marina main entrance
1:30pm - No line, put down student ID, didn't accept student ID but EU <26 = €2 ticket
1:33pm - See it’s the whole town in ruins, was expecting more of an exhibit with artifacts
2pm - Don’t need tour a) there are sooo many b) they give u a detailed guide c) can download a very detailed PDF guide to your phone.
2:10pm - Theater
2:30pm - Run into group
3:20pm - Amphitheatre
4:30pm - Museum, watch video
5pm - On platform with lots of people
5:15pm - Very busy, no sign of conductor for Campania express
5:25pm - Still nothing
5:35pm - Clearly not my train but can’t tell when mine’s coming so I get on
6:05pm - Arrive at the train station (had a seat even if busy and only 10m more than the other train)
6:41pm - Chilling, realize tan/mud line on ankle (future note: it stayed for weeks)
6:54pm - In line at pizzeria da Michele, pay €5 and get my ticket for pizza to-go
7pm - 5m later, I have my Neapolitan pizza
7:20pm - sitting in hostel common room with pizza, chatting with hostel peeps
11:30pm - In bed, dead, excited to go “home” tomorrow
6 July
9am - After early breakfast and checkout, out to explore Naples
9:18am - Arrive at the museum, cleaner part of Naples. Eschew the €60 (!!) tour outside/official audio guide is €5 and use rick steves’ audio Europe for free
See busts, huge sculptures and Pompeii artifacts
10:02am - In secret room, wow, displays erotic art
10:25am - Dodging Dutch school groups, run back to hostel
11am - Catch the bus at train station to airport
11:45am - Through check in, it’s lunch time. Ultimate tourist meal – maccies/macdo -> McDonalds. Get to gate very early but then it changes
1:30pm - plane leaves
2:50pm - Land in Nice, a bit ahead of schedule
3pm – At arrivals but where’s dad? Call mum - doesn’t know
3:15pm – I finally find him - “But the flight was on time? I’m here now”
4pm - Home, in the pool, exhausted
HIATUS
Not noting what I did per day because I mostly slept in, did some job stuff, swam, watched tv, drank wine + ate mozzarella/saucisson, sunsets, etc.
Some highlights - swimming, dinners in Cannes/Cagnes sur Mer/Valbonne, parfum museum in Grasse.
13 July
8am - Very different from previous week
10:45am - Say bye to mum/dad
1:20pm - Leave nice to my exciting new destination
2:16pm - Land in Brussels, northern Europe
8pm - Land in Malaga, almost the most southern part of Spain. Take the bus
8:50pm - Arrive at hostel (so quick + no checked luggage)
10pm - Eating pesto pasta + making lunch for tomorrow, ultimate backpacker dinner
11:20pm - Pre-bed, sitting on the terrace working with lots happening below
14 July
7am - Getting up early for the bus, traveling through empty Malaga
8am - After searching around at the bus station, hop on
9am - Driving through the Andalusian countryside, beautiful
10am - Walking through the town
10:30am - Omg, we’re on a cliff
12:26pm - In a house, scary skeletons in the corner, automatic light
1:17pm - Walking through Arab baths
1:49pm - Old house of woman, down steps to marsh
4pm - Get on the bus early, convince
5:30pm - Arrive, back to hostel, make dinner
8:15pm - Walk around Malaga
8:35pm – Eating tejeringos (like churros) with caramel sauce, omg
9pm - Pier, so cool
9:23pm - Climbing a mountain, beautiful views
10:30pm - Came back but ppl were gone, ok because early day tomorrow
15 July
8:30am - Looking for stop, google maps is wrong once again, why so reliant on it?
10:30am - Take-off from Malaga, bye Spain!
1pm - Land in Paris, so happy to be back.
1:20pm - Can’t get into Airbnb till 6pm but my brother is here in a hotel so hop on the bus to Montparnasse
1:50pm - At Montparnasse, besides going from train to metro being long, so many Paris metros are shut down but luckily was in the right area
2:27pm - Eating crepes with my brother, convenient location
4:30pm – His friends are there so I skedaddle, walk to the Jardin de Luxembourg
4:45pm - Beautiful weather, sit outside
5:50pm - Get to Airbnb address, had to walk a lot but it turned out to be rue (road) not avenue so 7m walk to metro and hop on to actual address
6:20pm - After also not being to find the elevator, made it in the Airbnb apartment. Quickly head back out because the dinner place opens soon
7:25pm - Arrive at East Mamma, opens at 7 but less worried because alone.
They get me a space at the bar but the party of 3 ahead only could get in at 9:15pm
7:43pm - Burrata, omg, best burrata ever. Also truffle pasta, yummmm.
9:30pm - Having walked from Bastille in the west of the city to the center. Looped by Notre Dame (first time I saw it post fire). Then got boba and sat by the Seine watching the sunset.
16 July
12:15pm - By Grand Palais near the bottom end of the Champs Elysees. Walked up the champs.
1:20pm - Met a friend for lunch at a restaurant off the Avenue des Grandes Armées, off of the Arc de Triomphe. Thought it was a normal French brasserie but turned out to have a really small menu with €17 dishes - oops.
2:30pm - Walked down from the Arc de Triomphe past Victor Hugo
2:48pm - Walked by my old apartment in the 16th. Wanted to stay longer but there was construction going on and I could tell people were looking at me and questioning why I was staring at an ordinary building for too long.
3pm - Sitting by the Eiffel tower
3:30pm - On the replacement bus, glad I got on early because I’m squished. Entertained by the girl next to me who is scrolling through her “Harry Styles 💕” photo album.
4:15pm - Back at the Airbnb, couldn’t find an affordable apartment in the city for the full 3 days I was there I go to a hostel for 2 days. I make use of the kitchen so made a salad but only had 1 tupperware so put hot pasta and broccoli into Ziplock bags.
5:30pm - Check into my hostel, crash and then rush out
7:20pm - Meet a friend at Wanderlust for a Facebook event for early free entry. It’s an outside bar in the Cité de la Mode et du Design space near Austerlitz which has a bunch of bars, exhibitions, restaurants, and shops. Get a “bucket” - a wine bottle in a sandcastle bucket with ice.
9:30pm - They have pizza! Took an hour before it was ready but nice to have when you’re out.
10:30pm - It gets and the dancing really starts; they generally play modern and hip-hop music.
17 July
11am - Grab brunch at Treize - a cute cafe with a terrace right by the Jardin des Luxembourg. I start talking to the waitress before realizing she’s Australian and a non-experienced French speaker and the menu is in English. Too late to go back at this point.
12:21pm - Getting a quick walk in in the sun in the Jardins.
12:36pm - On my to have lunch at a friend’s house just outside Paris. Take the metro to Austerlitz as the RER C isn’t running in the city and then take the RER.
1:30pm - Hang out in her garden with a delicious home cooked meal and baked goods. The plan was to go to a nearby outlet mall (near a Costco, in Paris!) after lunch.
4:30pm - Realize that it’s 4:30pm and we’ve been talking this whole time - we decide to stay and hangout
9pm - We’re on a boat near the Tuileries gardens/Musée Orsay via another Facebook event. Hanging out by the water with a drink in hand and looking at the beautiful city around you.
18 July
11:30pm - After a 15m wait at this small cafe, I have brunch at Fragments. Have a delicious avocado toast and carrot cake while watching Friends on Netflix on my phone - the ultimate solo traveller move.
1pm - A couple minute walk away, I sit in one of my favorite parks in Paris - place des Vosges. A small yet spacious park surrounded by beautiful red and brown brick buildings and with fountains in each corner.
1:30pm - Walking around the Marais area, including a visit to UNIQLO, HEMA, walking by the long lines at l’As du Fallafel, getting macarons at Pierre Hermé (less well-known by tourists but better than Ladurée!).
3pm - A quick visit to Musée d’Orsay after a 30-minute line. Usually a €14 entrance fee for adults but free for me as a European citizen under 26!
3:21pm - Realizing I’d never been here in summer because I went on their balcony for the first time (entrance is directly to the right of the big clock in the restaurant on the 5th floor). Great views of the city!
4pm - Quickly stop at my hostel to pick up my bags - off to the next destination!
6pm - Get on the plane after 20-minute wait in the shuttle bus right by the plane with no explanation as to why they didn’t let us in.
8pm - Flying over the many small islands, we land at Copenhagen airport
8:30pm - A school friend who now lives in Copenhagen picked me up from the airport and we took the very easy and quick Copenhagen metro into the city center. Ate some candy and had a chill evening catching up.
19 July
10:58pm - Having walked along the Vesterbrogade main street past Tivoli Gardens amusement park, I get to the main square and get ready to start a walking tour.
1:45pm - Finished the tour by the Amaliehaven square. It was a great tour which was very entertaining and was a comprehensive tour about Copenhagen but also about Denmark and Danish culture more generally.
2:30pm - Having met up with my friend, we headed to the Torvehallerne market where I tried smørrebrød, the quintessential Danish dish of an open-faced sandwich on rye bread.
4pm - Having walked through the city and the kings garden, we ended up further north at the Danish Design museum. My mum is a huge lover of Danish design and so I felt I had to go to this museum for her (she has never been to Copenhagen).
4:30pm - after seeing lots of funky furniture, we end up in the “chair room”. It’s a slightly dim long room with shelves filled with… chairs. 3 high, these chair shelves line the walls.
5:30pm - Having walked through Kastellet, a star shaped island with a 17th century fortress, we ended up at the northern end of the city by the water. I’m kind of excited to see the little mermaid statue but had been told by both the tour guide and my friend that it was known as one of the most disappointing monuments in Europe.
5:32pm - It’s a small statue and not particularly exciting but “the most disappointing” seemed a bit exaggerated, maybe this came from the view being blocked by the many tourists? It does have some fun facts, namely that it had been decapitated twice and had its arm taken off and that when it was at the World Expo in Shanghai, there was a 24/hr video screen at the Copenhagen harbour of the statue in China.
5:40pm - We decide to take lime scooters to the across town, more hipster area of Nørrebro. I’d recently read an article about most bikeable cities which put Copenhagen at number 1. Being Dutch, I’d scoffed at this rating but while everyone bikes in Amsterdam, the width and accessibility of the bike paths everywhere in Copenhagen made me see why it was in first place. I’d never tried lime scooters and I loved zooming down the bike lanes with nostalgia for 5-year old me (non-electric) scootering to school - the high price not so much though.
6pm - Hopped from a few eateries in the area getting tacos, fries and cocktails.
9pm - Scootered to the meatpacking district, which is now a revamped and bougie food area. Walked around to find an affordable (for Copenhagen, at least) place to grab a drink - I ended up settling for a milkshake at a burger place.
20 July
12pm - After a relatively long bus ride to the north-west of the city, we got to Reffen, a large open-air food court with lots of food trucks out of a large warehouse. There were lots of things to choose from but we settled for affordable yet delicious large pitas and falafel bowls.
1pm - Sat on free deck chairs by the water and enjoyed the sunshine
2pm - Took the bus and ended up at Christiania - a “free town” alternative community with entrances covered in graffiti after which you are not allowed to take pictures.
2:30pm - Came back to the Nyhavn area to take more pictures with the colorful houses lining the canal.
6pm - Got on a plane at Copenhagen airport to…
8pm - Prague! As I get off the plane, I get texts from the high school friends I’m travelling with that we don’t know where our Airbnb is.
9:30pm - There were various rounds of communication and blackout periods when different people were on planes. After having called the Airbnb host to get the address and then getting a completely different address over text (Czech names sound very different than they are in English phonetically), I finally make it to the Airbnb in district 3 of Prague, a 15-minute tram ride from old town with lots of restaurants and bars.
21 July
10am - Alarm goes off
11am - Two of us go get breakfast, we’re not making the 12pm tour
1pm - We take the tram and head into the old town.
2pm - We start a walking tour in the old town square. See the beautiful buildings, jannus statue, clock tower and are promised a “riveting” show later
3pm - Pouring, run and hide in a cafe
3:40pm - By the clock tower as the crowds start to grow waiting for “one of the most disappointing tourist attractions in Europe.”
4pm - Pretty small but not awful, both this and the little mermaid statues weren’t these huge let downs. Making our way out through the swaths of people
4:40pm - End the tour by the Vltava, walked down the river past beautiful big buildings and the Charles Bridge
5:14pm - Come to a really funky building - “the dancing house”
5:20pm - We’re up on the rooftop. 100 Kč to go up on the terrace and free if you order a drink and a bottle of wine was 140 so easy decision, we drink some nice wine and look at the beautiful view, staking out a bar table and eventually get part of a couch
6:20pm - Walking to the little island, hanging out there
7:20pm - At Kantyna, big slabs of meat and everything’s in Czech + different food stations, a cashier at the front where you pay at the end and tables in the back. Saw wagyu burger so went for that and got a bone with a number on it, tentatively took it to the table and waited
7:34pm - Taking the bone turned out to be right because I was eventually served my burger
8:20pm - We find a boba place and then head home
22 July
10am - I woke up but it’s going to be chill again
12pm - We made progress because we’re already in old town at a fancy cafe Myšák. Got a delicious looking cinnamon roll but can’t eat it, save it for later
12:15pm - Getting some rosé
12:25pm - Got to the north tip of Slovansky island, very excited
12:28pm - Out on the water in a 3-person pedal boat, super fun, good food/drink/company
1:30pm - Looking for lunch at a Lokál chain, find Lokal Blok. Once inside, it’s not Lokál but we’re too tired and hungry to move
2pm - A variant with a rock-climbing gym, not part of chain, got comfort food. Too much excitement + sun so decide to go home, have a nap.
Al out felt guilty for not going out and doing things but we had 4 days in Prague (a lifetime on my travel timeline) and into the 5th week of city hopping, appreciated the slow pace
7pm - Roused ourselves, should explore our area known for bars and nightlife
8pm - Some places were closed, got some great cocktails, sitting out on the street with people smoking, the true European experience
9:14pm - Late night dinner, on the hunt for goulash soup, potatoes etc, very Czech
23 July
10:30am - Want to go visit the palace, walk around to avoid paying a fee for gardens
10:56am - After wandering around different government buildings armed with google maps, come to a long set of stairs
11:03am - Huffing and puffing in the heat, we eventually made it to the square, see the palace buildings.
11:15am - Through security, we explore the grounds. There’s quite a lot you can see without paying at least 250 Kč ($10.66/€9.66)
11:23am - Get to the castle part, could stay forever it’s so beautiful and large
11:40am - BUT can’t dilly dally, going to the nearby Kuchyna overlooking the hill, ask for the menu, told there is none.
Can’t get tap water, what I don’t miss about certain parts of Europe
12:07pm - When we deem it time to eat, we ask the server to bring us inside. She then proceeds to open different pans filled with different meats, vegetables, etc. and we get to pick what we want
12:16pm - Eating our assortment, yum
1:36pm - After wandering around the area, came to the garden cafe
3:12pm - More wandering, John Lennon wall (hearing it as Lenin monument), take pictures
3:37pm - Cafe Savoy, order yummy desserts to go
3:43pm - Little island, sitting on grass with snacks
5pm - Hang out at home, dinner
10:15pm - Back on old town square, anonymous bar
10:26pm - Fire pan drink, secret menu
12am - Went to club, pretty empty
1am - Left
24 July
11am - Cafe Louvre, drinks, decide to go back to Myšák and get CINNAMON ROLLS
12:15pm - Sad goodbye
1pm - On bus, off we go
4:43pm - Hit Bratislava, people unload
9pm - Hour delay but we made it to Budapest
9:50pm - At friend’s apartment
25 July
8:30am – My friend went to work, I rolled over and went back to sleep
10:30am - Out and about exploring the city
11am - Great bagel place, give my forint from my last trip but turns out that the money is no longer valid, have to go to the nearby bank, straight to the 1 English teller and get new money
11:40am - Crossing the chain bridge to the Buda side of town, just how wide the Danube is vs. the Seine and Chicago river, not used to such a walk to get to another part of town
11:50am - Eschewing the 1000HUF/€3/$3.34 very short cable car, take a 7-minute walk up
11:58am - Only a very short walk, great view of the city, see the Pest side, parliament, Margaret island, enjoying the July sunshine
12:30pm - Walk up to the parliament building and I catch what looks similar to a changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, two guards marching and exchanging guns. Last time I was here at 5:30pm I caught 6 men on horses in their full regalia doing a short procession near the palace
12:45pm - Fisherman’s bastion is the main attraction but I love the colorful Matthias church. Walk down the hill and back to Pest.
1:15pm - At Retro Langos Bufé stall to get langos, favorite Hungarian food. I get the classic; fried dough with sour cream and cheese, adding a twist of fried onion. Delicious. No place to sit + lots of construction so trying to eat a bit now
1:30pm - Creating a makeshift to-go package, take the metro back home
3pm - On a train to Balatonalmádi, a popular town on lake Balaton, Budapest and Hungary’s main weekend and holiday destination.
4:43pm - Arrive and take the short walk to friend’s family’s lake house
5:30pm - Swimming in the lake, feeling the soft and squelchy mud under your feet, relaxing on the “beach” or grass near the water. You have to pay an entry fee for the beach, which was new to me.
7:15pm - At dinner, they were out of fish and chips so I tried the Hungarian fried cod, mostly bone and not much fried so took some getting used to, give you pieces of white bread and minced garlic
8pm - Have ice cream at the best place Amaretto, so many flavors but settle on strawberry cheesecake and salted caramel.
26 July
10am - Hanging out in the garden, some timing issues but saved money on the beach entry fee so that’s a plus
5pm - Back on the train back to Budapest, was here 24 hours ago but feels like a while, nice to get some relaxing in
8:30pm - Having a late dinner + wine (red, surprisingly I loved it), oh those summer nights!
27 July
8am -My friend is a yoga instructor and aficionado so naturally we are at one of Budapest’s summer events: yoga on the bridge. Every summer weekend they close the Liberty bridge (further south than the chain bridge) for workout events, parties, etc.
8:45am - Very verbose instructor, or maybe it’s just that it’s in Hungarian. Looking around me and marveling at the number of people doing yoga together and the fact that I’m doing yoga on the car lane in the middle of a bridge in Budapest, wow!
9:30am - Finish yoga and get lots of healthy goodies + a tote bag. Walk through the Pest streets to the Erzsébet square (named after Empress Elisabeth "Sisi" of Austria in 1858).
10:30am - After some searching, find the English free walking tour by the Ferris wheel. Feels weird to do a walking tour on my second trip after spending a total of a week in Budapest but I love me a free walking tour and I wanted to try it out, plus I love getting the historical background, etc. and it’s a great way to meet other travellers as I learned in Berlin!
12:45pm - After walking around Pest, St Stephen’s basilica, seeing buildings from pre-World War 2 that share a wall with reconstructed, very ornate ones, past the Academy of Sciences, crossing the bridge and back up to the fisherman’s bastion, and meeting some new people (Dutch, Australian, and American), I’m heading back down the hill and back across the river to the same langos stall, the same as two days ago but the real Budapest experience!
1:30pm - I can’t believe that I’ve been in Budapest for longer than a week total and have never had a kürtöskalács (chimney cake). I had avoided them in Prague where our tour guide had berated them for being not Czech. My friend had said that the stall by the Deak metro was the best, but it was closed! At least I have my langos.
2pm - Back home and so happy that my friend has had a long morning, happy to nap and chill in the apartment.
8pm - Some friends come over and we chat and bond over growing up in places different from where our parents were from.
9:45pm - In the university district so check out a local bar; looks very fun but lots of people and very hot and busy, so venture out.
10pm - Find a great open-air bar with long picnic tables and alcohol. I try my best Hungarian to order “czia, ej mojito kosonum” (hello, 1 mojito please) and the bartender has no clue what I’m saying, oh well. I feel better when the friend who has lived here for 5+ years orders in English.
12am - Starts pouring and they close the outer portion so we head home.
1:30am - After a lot of laughs and snuggling under blankets with the rainstorm outside, it’s bedtime.
28 July
11am - Having a chill last breakfast with my friend.
1pm - Adamant that I can’t leave Budapest for the second time without having a kürtöskalács, we go to a shop by the airport bus in pest center. Clearly not the “best” as it was a very touristy stall and not very fresh but who cares, it’s fried dough with cinnamon sugar and I added whipped cream, it was delicious!
1:30pm - On the bus to the airport, sad to be leaving Budapest but back to Paris next so excited! After having stayed in hostels for a while and with friends, I had booked a cute hotel between opera and Gare du Nord to relax pre-Asia. Was starting to get more nervous for this very different, mostly unknown part of the trip.
4:40pm - After an hour delay, we take off from Budapest airport. Sitting by the window and get some beautiful views of the city!
7pm - Land at Charles de Gaulle, love being back in Paris!
7:30pm - Just as the doors close on the RER b and thus my free WIFI (my month 3g pass had ended the day before), I realized that tonight was the last round of the tour de France where the cyclists would be ending their 22 day, 3,365.8 km/2,091 mile journey with 8 laps from place de la Concorde down the champs Elysées and around the arc de triomphe. The journey was then spent trying to debate whether it was worth trying to make it; should I get off at Gare du Nord to dump my stuff and then go, get out near the arch with all my luggage, not go at all?
8:10pm - I get to Gare du Nord and at that moment decide to get out. I know there’s free WIFI and I can always get on the next train with my stuff.
8:14pm - It’s been delayed and they don’t expect the cyclists to get there until 9:20pm, great! I run to my hotel, check in (WIFI’s down in the rooms but can’t worry about that now), dump my stuff, grab a quick dinner to go nearby and take the metro.
8:45pm - Walking around opera trying to find the RER A, argh summer construction!
9pm - After wandering around under the star shaped metro under the arc de triumph trying to find the closest exit to the champs, I’m back above ground where there’s lots of people and big screens reporting on the race. I’ve missed the sponsoring stores giving out free goodies but I find a part of the arch roundabout with only 4 rows of people in front of me - my height is so useful once again!
9:04pm - Turns out the cyclists are here earlier than expected and they come round on their 6th (out of 7) round but I caught it!
9:15pm - They make their last round and Egan Bernal wins the race, wow!
9:30pm - Crowd into the packed metro where they’ve opened the gates, take line 1 to near the louvre where I use all of the free WIFI’s I can find (they exist though, there was never free WIFI when I lived here!) to find the nearest Chatime (my favorite Chicago boba place) that sells my mango smoothie.
9:48pm - After one failed attempt, I’ve found an open Chatime by palais royal and get my smoothie, yey!
29 July
10:30am - I realize I have quite a bit of work to do and not a lot of touristy things I want to do so I decide to make today a food/drink explore day. I check my long list to find work-places.
11:30am - I’m at Rivié, the cafe in the Hoxton hotel. It’s a very nice hotel with a very international clientele and feel; most guests are speaking English and the staff are half French half not. I sit outside enjoying the sunshine and free WIFI.
12pm - I have a delicious smoothie and a “hox monsieur” (though not my favorite, I feel I have to have a croque monsieur before I leave France and I made the right choice) with truffle fries, yumm!
2pm - Feeling ready for a change of pace, I venture out but not before exploring the inside. The hotel also has a lovely inside space which was mostly empty besides a few people on laptops, will definitely be coming back!
2:15pm - Wandering around the Canal St Martin area and enjoying the sunshine.
2:45pm - I get to La Chambre aux Oiseaux, a really cute and homey café just off the canal. After a small confusion about charging (it’s allowed just not for an extended period of time - “we had a very high electricity bill” I was told in French by the very nice owner), I’m sitting down with an amazing tea with thyme, honey and chamomile. I then spot a sign saying that laptops are not allowed between 12-3pm, I’m a little early but there’s no-one here on this Monday afternoon so I figure it’s ok.
3:40pm - To extend my time here I have a carrot cake which I’d heard good things about, was disappointed at first with the first bite being a bit dry but the next ones were great! There were a few more people here now.
5:35pm - Though they close at 6:30pm, they’re starting to close up while discussing their upcoming summer closure (most people in France have august off and establishments often follow suit) and I decide to head home, but not before taking a cheesecake to go! Really enjoyed my stay here, the husband and wife owners were very friendly. Whenever I’m in France I’m so happy I speak French as I find it lets me cut through the (often true) unfriendly Parisians stereotype and meet really lovely people.
7:10pm - I’m meeting a friend near the Hotel de Ville and I decide to try the scooters in Paris after having so much fun in Copenhagen. Decidedly more difficult with small/non-existent bike lanes and devil-may-care Parisian drivers, I push forward (literally) until I get to my final hurdle, cobblestone streets.
7:30pm - I meet my friend and we head to a nearby Scottish pub (auld alliance) for trivia night. She’d told me about it last time I visited and as it’s only on Tuesdays, I was adamant we go while I’m in Paris on a Tuesday.
8:30pm - After a dismal (for me) darts tournament, trivia night starts. Lucky me, tonight’s the last night of the summer so great timing.
10:45pm - The pub quiz has ended and we’ve done reasonably well (I’m thanking my mostly British education).
30 July
6am - Starting to get nervous for my Asia leg starting tonight - I’m in an internet rabbit hole getting nervous about apparently needing a lot of cash at Thai immigration and how to not get ripped off at ATMs. I frantically message my friend who’s currently in Thailand and tells me to calm down, it’s all ok and really pretty easy, no boatloads of cash required.
8am - I catch the free hotel breakfast and go back to sleep.
12pm - More rested after my early morning stress session, I walk to Pizzeria Popolare, the pizza-focused location of the Big Mamma group. It seems that the days of €5 pizza (like in Naples) that the internet had told me about are gone. but being 1 person, I got through the already pretty short for lunchtime line very quickly.
12:30pm - With the drinks menu looking so good, I decide to get a “papasteque” mojito (pastèque is grapefruit in French) and a buffalo margherita pizza, the burrata is calling my name but the hotel breakfast was more filling than I thought.
1:15pm - I meet my friend at the Tuileries gardens. We had the floated the idea of going to the Musée Orsay but ended up strolling through the beautiful gardens, taking touristy selfies with the in the distance Eiffel tower, and chilling on the public lounge chairs.
3pm - Saying goodbye to my friend, I rush back to the hotel, pick up my stuff and head to Gare du Nord to take the RER B to Charles de Gaulle airport for the last time.
7:30pm - I land in Frankfurt for my layover. I go on the WIFI and see I have an email requesting to do an interview.
9pm - I do a 15-minute phone call with hr over WIFI at the quietest place I can find near my gate in busy Frankfurt airport.
10pm - Saying bye to Europe through the window, me and the seemingly mostly French/Dutch tourists take off for Bangkok.
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