I landed back in England on the 25th of February after my last trip and, as all travellers do, the countdown to the next trip began. 153 days, 9,180 hours, 550,800 minutes – shall I go on? No?
There’s definitely a brat-like element to feeling “trapped” in your own country for 5 months. Living comfortably with a roof over my head and a stable job in a first-world country – you wouldn’t believe the “struggle” these past few months have been as I count down to the second holiday of the year. Is that a violin I hear?
“Trapped” in this hell hole?
Joking aside, going so long between trips isn’t something I’m used to which is why I wrote a little post about managing wanderlust a while back ( Read me! ). Wanderlust is a dreaded disease with only one known cure, a temporary one at that, which is to book another trip!
As tempting as that has been I’ve been trying to save my pennies for the summer trip. One of my tips to help manage my wanderlust was to travel locally and I’ve been trying to make the most of that over the last 3 months. I’ve had weekends in Manchester, London and Kettering plus other daytrips to Lincoln and London (yes, again) which have helped a little.
Lincoln castle!
I’ve also been trying to appreciate Peterborough (home) a little more given the good recent weather. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have noticed I’ve been making the most of my lunch hours with visits to the cathedral and museum recently – both are free and well worth a visit!
I feel like I’ve done a good job of managing my wanderlust over the past three months so I rewarded myself with a trip to France! Oops!
Going back to France!
Alright, let me explain! I figured I could squeeze in one more day trip somewhere before my summer adventure, I was adamant I wouldn’t do an overnight trip and I started contemplating all of the places within the UK that I could visit in a day. There’s a lot to see in the UK but I don’t drive so I’m always a little restricted by the public transport and the extortionate fees that can come with train fares. Of course I didn’t have to go by train, I could have taken a bus journey but bus times are even more restrictive if you’re only looking at a daytrip and that’s when Eurostar’s sale caught my eye!
I’ve used up all of my remaining annual leave for the summer so I couldn’t take any more time off work. As I didn’t want to stay overnight I wasn’t feeling too hopeful about finding suitable weekend tickets at a good price. You usually find that you can only find the cheapest fare one way or that it’ll be at a stupid time that doesn’t work with a daytrip. I’d given up hope of being able to find an affordable weekend Paris daytrip, Amsterdam seemed too inconvenient in a day and I didn’t fancy another trip to Brussels but decided I’d have a quick look at trains to Lille and voila!
I found a £29 morning train to Lille, a £29 evening train back to London and had a £5 Eurostar voucher still to use. Whilst £53 isn’t the cheapest day-trip I suppose I see it as a substitute to a day out at the football. I’d easily spend £50 on a game of football so there’s little difference here.
Exploring Manchester in March!
Could I have saved a little more on a UK based daytrip? Perhaps, although a £50 return train journey isn’t anything out of the ordinary in this country. I’d sooner have a small taste of some foreign adventure and a return to France!
So come June 30th I’ll be waking up in my own bed, traveling to France for a day and then sleeping in my own bed that same night. It’s an incredible luxury and privilege as a European to be able to travel so freely! How lucky are we to be able to pop to another country for a day?
Perhaps remind me of that on July 1st when I’m moaning about the “long” four week wait until the USA trip?
Salzburg was the foundation of this trip and ultimately it was an opportunity for romance. Could Salzburg possibly be the start of my “happy ever after” fairytale?
Well, I had it pointed out to me by Carlie over at Listfiveblog that I’d already offered a spoiler to this story. The eagle-eyed among you will have noted that I spoke of subsequent long-distance relationships which was a good indication as to how things panned out for me and Nicole.
So you’d be forgiven for thinking that this might be a sad end to the journey but it isn’t. I think it’s easy to be bitter when things don’t quite go to plan but that’s not really my style. I could be resentful of my time in Salzburg but in fact my feelings are quite the opposite, it remains a special place for me and somewhere I left with a lot of fond memories.
So on to the story! Firstly I had to navigate myself from Vienna to Salzburg, I was pretty excited about the train journey because Austria is famed for its scenery and I hadn’t really seen much thus far. Bratislava and Vienna are Europe’s two closest capital cities so when traveling from Slovakia to Austria you don’t really see much of the country.
I bought my train ticket on the day so I was pleasantly surprised to find that traveling right across the country (175ish miles / 280ish kilometres) only cost me 25 euros and that included free Wi-Fi. Are you taking note England?
Seriously! For comparison it’d be like paying a one way fare from Peterborough to Newcastle for £20 on the day you travel:
“Sorry sir, we missed off a zero. That’ll actually be £200 for you to travel today”
“Wait, how much!? Do I at least get free Wi-Fi?”
“No but you can purchase that on board!”
“Alright, I’ll do that when I find my seat”
“Very optimistic sir, you’ll probably be standing for the next 3 hours. Have a nice trip!”
At least they’re on time, right? Spacious, no? A cynic might suggest I’m not too fond of the rail system in the UK. Austria’s however was wonderful. My only criticism is that the free Wi-Fi should be criminal in a country so pretty, I did check up on the football scores before we departed but once we left Vienna I spent my journey with my face glued to the window. The view seemed to improve the closer we got to Salzburg and eventually I was arriving in to Salzburg’s main station. I stepped outside, looked left and BAM!
Just outside the train station. My first sight of Salzburg!
Mountains! I often call London my favourite city in the world but where are the mountains at? I was stood just outside of the train station, in a city and I had mountains in my face. Perhaps the novelty wears off when you live so close to them but I was in awe – Salzburg had already won me over and I hadn’t been in the city for more than 60 seconds.
As keen as I was to get exploring I had to wait for my company for the weekend to arrive. I didn’t want to stray too far from the station so I grabbed some lunch and a beer at a restaurant across the street, it helped with some of the nerves.
People find first dates nerve-wrecking because you want to make a good first impression and this was in essence a 48 hour first date. We arrived Friday afternoon and Nicole would be heading back to Germany on Sunday, I was flying home Monday morning so had an extra night in Salzburg.
I think the waiting made me more nervous, however once Nicole arrived the nerves had pretty much gone and I was ready to enjoy the weekend together. One of the perks, other than the company itself, to having Nicole with me was she could obviously speak the language! It was something I’d struggled with every time I’d been in a German speaking part of the world.
Nicole made sure we found the right bus to our hotel and then I followed our directions which said something ridiculous like “get off at the stop after the Chinese restaurant” – bizarre directions but ultimately ones that helped us find the hotel pretty easily.
We were keen not to waste any time exploring, we dropped off our things and went to have a little wander for my first real view of the city (Nicole had been before but was excited to come back after so long).
I was left mesmerised by Salzburg’s beauty – my first glimpse of the mountains had blown me away earlier but as you get in to the heart of the city it only gets prettier!
I’d anticipated Salzburg’s beauty in the photos I’d seen beforehand but seeing it in person was something else – it’s one of the most stunning cities I’ve been to. We explored the Mirabell gardens, famously used in the classic “The Sound of Music” and soon our attention turned to getting some dinner.
We were in the mood for something a little more local so we found a restaurant with a traditional Austrian menu. The only problem was there were no free tables inside the restaurant. Before you enter the restaurant there was this darkly lit room with a large round-ish table, I’d call it a lobby but it felt more like a dark hallway as a go-between from outside the restaurant to inside the restaurant.
We were asked if we wanted to sit there and decided that we would do.
It was quite romantic actually, particularly for our first meal together. We were sat at a table all to ourselves away from the rest of the dining guests and with a few candles to set the mood. It was nice to have that little bit of privacy and then our first dinner-party guests arrived!
The restaurant was still packed inside the main restaurant so as more hungry people showed up we were asked if we’d mind having them join us. Our first guests were an old German* couple on holiday (*potentially Austrian, I can’t remember) who sat beside us. They came across as really friendly and it gave Nicole someone else to talk to.
Next up were a party of Brits who took up the other end of the table – there was around 8-10 seats cramped in together. The Brits had the same language barrier that I did but it created a really nice atmosphere and everyone was in good spirits, probably helped by the fact all 3 parties were in Salzburg visiting and in holiday mode.
It ended up probably being a better night than had we found a table for two within the main part of the restaurant.
We didn’t do much with the rest of our night, we chilled out back at the hotel and watched some tv and then a movie dubbed in German which I was trying to keep track of what was going on but failing miserably at. A successful start to our time in the city and one I was keen to see more of the next day.
Salzburg looking impressive with the fortress in the background!
Saturday’s first stop was going to be the Festung Hohensalzburg – the fortress/castle sat up on the hill overlooking the city. We made our walk from the hotel and Nicole had soon stopped us, excusing herself to approach some stranger in the street.
Coincidentally a friend (Flo) from Innsbruck just so happened to be in Salzburg with his parents and Nicole had spotted him and they were soon exchanging pleasantries. I was briefly introduced and we suggested meeting up later on for some drinks.
After we said our goodbyes Nicole dropped a bombshell on me and mentioned that Flo was “the Arsenal fan that I’d told you about”. An Arsenal fan!? My heart sank, Flo had seemed so nice until that revelation – cancel the drinks!
Jokes aside I was looking forward to meeting up later but until then me and Nicole had some exploring to do! Salzburg is a really walkable city and a nice place to have a bit of a wander. We passed the stunning cathedral and a few busy squares and streets with a selection of shops, cafes and restaurants. We took the funicular ride up to the fortress and the views of the city and the mountains from up there are breathtaking no matter which direction you choose to look in.
The fortress was cool to have a look around and then we grabbed some lunch at one of the restaurants up there which has to be one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever eaten at. Great company, great food and great views – it was a perfect moment and I could have stayed sat there for much longer than we were.
We made our way back in to the city, explored a little but mostly just strolled along the river and people-watched. It was a nice afternoon with our final stop being the St Sebastienkirche (church) and St Sebastien Friedhof (cemetery) on the way back to our hotel. The cemetery is home of the Mozart family, Salzburg’s other “claim to fame” is its ties to Mozart. You’ll see Mozart souvenirs sold everywhere throughout the city, most of it is the usual tacky stuff you see sold to tourists but you should make an exception and try the Mozartkugeln – it’s delicious!
The church and cemetery were nice to look around, particularly as they’re free to do so and neither were busy when we visited. From there we made our way back to the hotel to relax and freshen up a bit before meeting Flo later on.
Flo fortunately had a good idea of where to go in the evening and soon took us to this bar – the doors seemingly locked but Flo took us next door and through a little hidden side door. I thought it was bizarre but Flo assured us it wasn’t all that unusual. So if you’re ever encountering something that appears closed in Austria, try next door?
Anyway we found ourselves in this cosy little bar, well hidden away from the tourists which meant it was mostly a young crowd full of students and young professionals. Much like our restaurant experience, it seems Austria is more focused on community rather than practicality.
The seating was rather limited so we were sat next to a few Austrians on our left meaning any time someone wanted to go up to the bar you’d have to move and let each other pass you. It made for a really sociable and friendly atmosphere though.
Myself, Nicole and Flo shared a few beers and good conversation over the course of the night. Despite Flo’s obvious oversight we clicked pretty quickly, the start of a little bromance, as we bonded over football and a love of beer in particular. The night also offered Nicole and the opportunity Flo to catch up and share stories which provided plenty of amusement. Both were interchanging effortlessly between English and German whilst reminding me that their “English isn’t very good” which seems to be a common trait of our European friends.
Given how intimate the seating situation was it didn’t take long for the party to our left to notice there was a foreigner among the ranks (me!). I quickly became the target of some light-hearted teasing – mostly silly idioms such as “Ich glaube ich spinne” or “Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof” but it kept them amused. Although one guy seemed to obsess over repeating “awesome.. totally awesome dude” and failing to understand it wasn’t really an English thing.
It was a fun night though and nice to get chatting to a few locals. We chatted away over a few beers and then eventually came time for the three of us to call it a night and we bid farewell to Flo, hoping our paths would cross again someday.
On Sunday morning me and Nicole went and explored one of the less exhausting trails in Salzburg which offered some cool views looking over the city. We then grabbed some tea at a cafe in one of the squares and I suppose started winding down until Nicole’s trip home to Germany. We said our goodbyes at the train station which left me with one final night in Europe on my own. In all honesty I was feeling pretty deflated. Nicole leaving obviously played a part but it also signaled the beginning of the end. I knew my 10 day trip was almost at its conclusion and I’d be flying home the next morning.
I wanted to enjoy my last evening but it didn’t really materialise. I had a little wander before grabbing some dinner and a couple of drinks but I think the trip finally caught up with me and I was kind of relieved to just have a night doing absolutely nothing. I’d been to 3 countries, 4 cities and had various pieces of company along the way and I think Sunday night was the moment that I started accepting it was time to go home. I’d had a wonderful time and was taking some wonderful memories back to England with me but it was exhausting too.
Salzburg was simply stunning!
As for Salzburg – it was genuinely a city worthy of romance, it’s such a picturesque city and we had a few romantic moments in our time but long-term it just wasn’t to be.
Fear not though! Whilst we left the romance behind in Salzburg that isn’t the last you’ll hear of Nicole! We’ve remained good friends, I started learning German soon after Salzburg which has made such a difference when traveling and I’ve even visited my favourite German a couple of times since in her hometown so stay tuned for future posts about the delights of Bayern (Bavaria)!
What about the bromance I hear you ask? That stayed intact too and Flo even made a brief visit to Peterborough a couple of years ago! Now I just need to make the return visit to Innsbruck!
Hopefully you enjoyed my mini Eurotrip series. If you missed parts 1-3 you’ll find them on the blog but my highlight was definitely the time spent with my favourite German and my favourite Austrian! The perfect way to end my four part trip!
Two cities down, two to go! For those of you that haven’t already been following my 2014 Eurotrip let me catch you up! I was traveling to Salzburg (Austria) for romance, spending a weekend away in a stunning city with my favourite German.
However I had a bit of annual leave to use at work and figured I’d make the most of being in Europe, so extended my trip by a week to give me a chance to explore a little further.
I began my trip in Budapest, traveled onwards to Bratislava and here we are at part three of four. To get from Budapest to Salzburg I knew I’d have to travel through most of Austria so a stop in Vienna seemed rather inevitable.
Bratislava to Vienna!
I didn’t have high hopes for Vienna, that’s nothing against Vienna but it was more of a time issue. I had 24 hours in Vienna and I just didn’t feel like it was going to be long enough to enjoy it fully. I was right, I barely scratched the surface in Vienna. To emphasise my point, if I’d wanted to, I could have traveled from Bratislava to Vienna by boat rather than train. The river Danube flows through both cities (and Budapest) and yet I didn’t even see a river in Vienna – numerous puddles but no river.
So if you’re looking here for numerous tips and recommendations on Vienna you’re wasting your time. Nevertheless I wanted to make the most of the 24 hours I had in the city. If I could go home with some memories and a taste of life in Vienna I’d consider it a success.
I’d wanted to maximise my time in Vienna so it was rather unfortunate that I hit my first stumbling block pretty quickly. The first task of the day was to find my hostel for the night and that was easier said than done, my directions had only led me so far, I knew I was close but the hostel was nowhere in sight!
I was walking around back and forth in the rain and it must have been pretty noticeable that I was lost, an old woman approached me and asked if I needed any help.
That’s when I hit stumbling block number two – the language! I did need help but I didn’t speak any German. “No German at all?” she said with a wry smile. It didn’t take a mind-reader to know what she was thinking. She was helpful though and she’d soon put me on the right track. Luckily my room was ready early so I could quickly check in, drop my things off and start exploring the city.
Miserable weather in Vienna!
I’d sadly missed the walking tour so I set off on a day of self-exploration and hoped for the best. Vienna’s public transportation makes it really easy to get around but it probably helps in knowing where you’re going. I had no plans whatsoever and as I walked in to the nearest U-Bahn (underground) station I realised I had to work out where I wanted to go. I hadn’t really done any prior research so I didn’t know where anything was!
St Stephen’s Cathedral is perhaps one of Vienna’s best known landmarks so I took an educated guess to visit a station called “Stephansplatz” in the hope that I’d wind up somewhere central, a guess that paid off! It was a good place to start exploring and my early impressions of Vienna were good. The only downside was the miserable weather so I opted to go and grab lunch somewhere in the hope the rain might stop.
I found a traditional Austrian restaurant, particularly keen to have my first proper Wiener Schnitzel – it’s a dish I’ve grown up eating at home but it felt a little more authentic eating it in Wien (Vienna) rather than anywhere else. I’m not sure why it isn’t more popular in the UK though, escalopes are pretty close I suppose but not quite as good!
Whilst I’d heard how expensive Austria is, what you don’t hear people say is that it’s balanced out a little with their portion sizes. It was delicious but I struggled finishing it, it did set me up nicely for a few hours of exploring at least.
Sadly there was no sign of the rain stopping but coming from England it wasn’t enough to deter me from exploring. I wandered the city by foot and I was left in awe of the city’s architecture, it is a stunning city. I couldn’t tell you what half of the buildings were but they were impressive nonetheless – every street you walk down has something to catch your eye.
One of the more interesting discoveries was what I can only assume were preparations for a film of some sort. There were tanks, army vehicles and helicopters just casually sat on a lawn in the heart of the city. It caught me by surprise a little and had me pondering what they might be filming.
Bloody raindrops ruining all of my photos – haha!
My afternoon seemed to fly by as I wandered aimlessly for a few hours before eventually admitting defeat to the weather. I knew I’d have to return to Vienna one day, 24 hours was never going to be enough so why wander just for the sake of it? I grabbed some food and then ducked in to a bar in hope of catching the Spurs game back home.
No luck! For some reason they weren’t showing this particular game and I had to wait until the next morning to discover our fate – switching on the Wi-Fi to find a message from a friend along the lines of “Harry Kane in goal – LOL”. A disastrous message to wake up to without any context. Spurs had actually won comfortably courtesy of a Harry Kane hat-trick and the infamous Erik Lamela rabona goal – a real “I was there” moment (I wasn’t!).
Back to the bar.. I’m not a “pick up a girl at a bar” type of person but the upshot to not being able to watch Spurs was that I found myself stuck at the bar chatting to some local woman for the next hour. We talked about Vienna, travel, work and a number of other things. It was a nice way to end my evening and provided me with a memorable moment to take home with me.
We went our separate ways and I wound up going to bed via the hostel bar, I’d been given a free drink voucher when I checked in so it would have been rude not to. Perhaps surprisingly I did just have the one though as I was keen to head for Salzburg at a reasonable time the next day.
It would be easy to have considered Vienna a waste of time, I didn’t really see much and I can’t offer any genuine reasons for you to visit. I wish I’d had longer in Vienna and I wish the weather had been better too but let’s focus on the positives!
I knew beforehand my time was restricted so all I wanted from my day in Vienna was to leave with some good memories. I left having had a taste of the local cuisine, spent my evening with a local and got to see a small glimpse of what Vienna had to offer. Everything considered I’d call that a successful first visit, albeit a brief one.
It was a little bittersweet to be leaving Vienna so soon but Salzburg beckoned. I left on the Friday morning excited (and nervous) for the final part of this story.
The goodbye was made easier in the knowledge that I’d return someday.
If you’re planning on going to Vienna, go for longer than a day! I still feel like I have unfinished business with Vienna so it’s somewhere I have to go back to, fortunately I’ll do so with much more knowledge of the German language. On that note there’s only one thing left to say..
If you were with me for part one then you’ll know I was sad to be leaving Budapest. It was an incredible city and one I want to return to but it was only part 1 of a mini Eurotrip discovering four European cities back in 2014.
I couldn’t stay sad for long because soon enough I was using the last of my Hungarian Forints to buy a train ticket to Slovakia.
So what did I really know about Slovakia? Absolutely nothing. I knew Ljubljana was nice and that it had some beautiful lakes and scenery.. wait, wait, wait. That’s Slovenia not Slovakia!
Slovakia’s famous blue church
Alright, so I didn’t personally get confused – football goes a long way to broadening my geographical knowledge but they’re both two small European countries and a lot of people genuinely do confuse them. It’s not a great start for Slovakian tourism, is it? “Oops, wrong country”.
You’d think that would be the worst of the struggle that Slovakia has but alas, it isn’t. At least in scenario one you’re stealing some of Slovenia’s tourists too, right?
The bigger issue is that some of Slovakia’s fame is unwanted fame – so the chances are if you have heard of Bratislava/Slovakia it’s probably negative.
It’s a sad reflection on the influence of Western culture. You see what the Western world can do for tourism in places like Croatia for instance – an influx of tourists all wanting to walk the streets of Game of Thrones’ “Kings Landing”. Croatian tourism has soared because of it!
However if you’re a small country like Slovakia, Slovenia or Croatia how much do you need that Western influence to be a positive portrayal rather than a negative one?
“Wait, is it Slovakia or Slovenia with the lakes?”
“Slovenia. Slovakia is the one where Hostel was filmed”
“Isn’t that the horror film where they torture tourists?”
“Yeah, do you want to go?”
“Let’s go to Slovenia instead shall we?”
Bratislava found fame in the two American films ‘Eurotrip’ and ‘Hostel’. Eurotrip depicted it as a miserable hellhole and whilst I haven’t seen the latter I’ve heard enough about it to know the damaging reputation it has had on Slovakia. Unsurprisingly Slovakian tourism nosedived following the release of Hostel in particular. No apologies for the horror pun but tortured tourists doesn’t scream “come to Slovakia”.
In contrast Hostel was a huge success and went on to release follow-up films.
There was a huge backlash to the film, it caused a lot of offence in Slovakia for the way the country had been portrayed. Not to be deterred the Slovakian tourist agency invited director, Eli Roth, to visit Bratislava / Slovakia to show how nice it was. A show of hospitality which was snubbed by the director.
It makes me sad that the influence of the West can have such huge repercussions for smaller countries reliant on tourism so I’ve since awarded myself the title of “unofficial ambassador for Slovakia”. It’s an opportunity to balance the scales a little in Slovakia’s favour.
“So Mr Ambassador, what was Bratislava really like?”
Well let me start with the obvious, I’m writing this post (or am I?) so I escaped Bratislava torture-free. Success! So at the bare minimum, if I convince you of nothing else I can put that myth to bed – no torture!
Welcome to Slovakia, Mr Ambassador!
You’ve had the background so now back to my trip..
I hopped on a train to Bratislava, well Prague actually, so my first task of the day was to stay awake and get off in the right city! If you know me well you’ll know I have a bad habit of falling asleep on trains so that was easier said than done. Not that waking up in Prague would have been disastrous but Bratislava was the intended destination for my train journey.
It was a nice train too – small-confined compartments that, if you’ve seen the films, reminded me of Harry Potter (without the dementors). I shared my compartment with a couple of guys but it was a nice bit of privacy and made it feel more like a first-class experience. I could have easily dozed off. I’d love more trains like that in the UK, particularly given the train fares accompanying any journey here.
I admired the scenery plus importantly stayed awake and was soon arriving in to Bratislava. As I entered the train station a huge banner reading “Welcome to Slovakia” greeted me. Despite all of the negative things that I’d heard prior to my trip it was an encouraging start to my time in the city.
Shortly after I was arriving at my hostel, that’s right – I braved a hostel stay in Bratislava!
They lure you in with friendly greetings before they torture you!
Still to this day the hostel remains one of my favourites that I’ve stayed at. It was in a good location, had a friendly vibe to it, decent sized dorm rooms and was nicely decorated. The bar area was somewhere easy to socialise and all in all I’d thoroughly recommend staying at the Blues Hostel if you’re ever in Slovakia. Apparently they have live music on occasions too!
The receptionist checking me in was super friendly and offered a few recommendations for a first-time visitor which I appreciated.
I’d arrived a little later than I would have liked so quickly dropped off my things and made my way in to the old town to have a quick look around. In reality I was mostly interested in finding somewhere to get some dinner and soon found a restaurant that appealed. Despite being the end of October and being a rather chilly day I still found myself sat outside, it just adds to that European experience right?
With a parasol over my head and outside heaters it wasn’t actually too cold and I enjoyed a nice dinner.
The downside to being the end of October is that it gets dark quite early, I’d had a small glimpse of Bratislava but I hadn’t had enough time to familiarise myself with where things were. Rather than get lost in the dark I decided I’d just head back to my hostel and perhaps find some company to enjoy the evening with.
I got chatting to some guy from Argentina at the hostel bar and we shared a couple of beers together before some woman came over and asked if we were joining the pub crawl. It was a bit of a no-brainer for me, I was definitely up for meeting some new people and experiencing Bratislava’s nightlife in the process.
The Argentinian was less keen and I had little luck persuading him so we had one more drink together and then went our separate ways.
The host signalled it was time to go and off we went in search of bar number one. There were only 3 of us from our hostel but I was assured there’d be others joining us at the first bar (there was).
The bonus to being so few of us initially was I quickly got introduced to the other pair, two Finnish girls traveling together. My grandmother was Finnish which has always given me an interest in the country so I instantly perked up at discovering where they were from. I was grateful for Finnish company and a chance to hear more about life in Finland.
At the first bar we joined up with a decent sized group containing Americans, Canadians, Australians and fellow Europeans. Many drinks and many bars followed before winding up at our final destination – a nightclub where we were then left to party for as long as we liked.
I wasn’t planning on being out late and it wasn’t long before I knew I’d had too much to drink and I sensibly called it a night.
Let me start by saying this was my first official pub crawl, of course I’d gone bar-hopping before with friends and stuff but it had always been self-guided pub crawls. In this instance I was a little naïve and I just followed the tour guide throughout the night without paying much attention to where we were going and suddenly wound up at our final stop without having any real idea of where we were or how to get back to my hostel.
No big deal. I jumped in a cab and got myself to bed, right? I’d love to say that’s what happened but in spite of having no idea where I was, drunken Jason knew better. I hadn’t been in Bratislava long enough to familiarise myself with the city but off I went on foot anyway trusting my sense of direction – I figured I had a rough idea of the direction we’d come from and I’d recognise something sooner or later.
Now in my memory it wasn’t long before I was walking alongside what felt like a motorway in the middle of nowhere. For clarity let me add Bratislava is a really small city and I can’t have walked that far – to back up that logic I flagged down a taxi pretty quickly so I wasn’t that far from civilisation but for dramatic effect we’ll go with how I remember it.
It was pissing down with rain, I was drunk and the further I walked the more hope that seemed to drain out of me. Eventually I admitted defeat and I managed to flag down a taxi driving by. I have some sympathy with the taxi driver who found himself picking up a drunk, drenched and lost little Englishman who couldn’t speak the language – no doubt slurring my words in telling him where to take me to.
I say some sympathy because whilst I was living up to every stereotype that Europeans have of the English, I’ve no doubt he saw an opportunity too. I was 95% soaked because of the downpour and the only bit of dryness left seemingly had “MUG” printed on my forehead.
Having had a little doze in the back of the taxi (I’m a sleepy drunk) I was soon waking up just outside of my hostel with a taxi driver demanding payment.
I can’t remember what the taxi fare was but he could have charged me anything and I’d have been none the wiser. I didn’t give it much thought in the moment but I’m certain he overcharged me for that taxi fare – to top it off I know I left a tip too at the inconvenience of picking up a stranded drunk. I woke up the next morning with my wallet feeling much lighter than I would have liked! Oops!
On the plus side I’d had a really good night, Bratislava’s nightlife hadn’t disappointed and I didn’t wake up feeling particularly rough so I was up at a decent time to go and properly explore Bratislava.
The weather was still miserable but I made my first stop of the day a walking tour of the city. I’d been a little disappointed with my tour guide in Budapest and this couldn’t have been more of a contrast. It’s one of the better tours I’ve been on and the guide was really knowledgeable / passionate about the city whilst adding a dash of humour along the way. I got talking to one of the other guests on the tour which was an added bonus and helped me enjoy it a little more.
The tour covered most of the old town with the only real absentee the castle. Unsurprisingly I made that my next stop, it’s not a typical castle in appearance I suppose but it easily stands out and is so recognisable. Even better, you can walk around a lot of the castle grounds for free so it’s a must visit on any trip to the city. It’s said you can see Austria from the castle grounds, probably on a clearer day than the one I was there for but I’m not sure how you’d know where the border is anyway as the Danube river effortlessly flows from one country to the next.
Bratislava castle
I had a walk by the city walls and then popped my head in to a nearby cathedral to temporarily escape the rain. After a little look around I headed back in to the rain and had a further wander through the city. I did so with my Bratislava-tinted glasses on.
Parts of the old town are really pretty and some of the architecture is stunning but I can’t pretend the city is as easy on the eye as its, perhaps, more illustrious neighbours. However there was something about Bratislava that I couldn’t help but admire. Maybe Budapest was more pleasing to look at but there was an authenticity about Bratislava.
It had this European charm about it that I found irresistible but more importantly I felt like it was a city that every day Slovakians lived in. The people were really friendly and there was a homely feel to the city. There are areas that look a little rundown but there wasn’t ever a moment that I felt unsafe in Bratislava and if anything it just endeared the city to me more. There was no pretence about Bratislava, it wasn’t trying to be anything other than itself and it meant the personality of the city shone through. There was no catering to tourists here that you find in other big cities.
No doubt busier in the summer!
After wandering for a while my thoughts turned towards food and then having a couple of beers in a bar before calling it a night. I wanted to get to Vienna for a reasonable time the next day so it wasn’t a late one (I was sensible this time).
I left Bratislava the next morning pondering if I’d ever go back. It’s a small city and I’ve probably seen much of what there is to see, there’s little reason for me to return and yet there’s a part of me drawn to returning to Slovakia’s capital.
Don’t be mistaken, it’s not the greatest city in the world but it’s one I’d thoroughly recommend not overlooking if you’re visiting that part of Europe. Budapest and Vienna are great, I hear the same of Prague too but Slovakia might just surprise you! Personally I loved it and I hope our paths cross again.
For now though it was time to leave and head onwards to Vienna!
In my last post ( Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Salzburg – why? ) I spoke about my decision-making in planning a mini Eurotrip for October 2014. It was an adventure that would see me visit three countries and four cities over ten days – starting in Budapest!
Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect from Budapest. I think if I was going for the first time now it’d be less of a struggle but at the time it didn’t seem like anyone was talking about this destination. I was a bit of a novice traveler at the time so maybe I was just looking in the wrong places but Budapest and Hungary were both a bit of an unknown for me.
I didn’t know anyone who had visited and I had never learned anything about Hungary in school so I went there just hoping for the best. In some respects I’m quite thankful I went there blissfully unaware – within a couple of hours I was mesmerised by Budapest and I think it helped with it coming as a surprise rather than the feeling of “I’ve seen this on Instagram 1,000 times already” that I have when visiting some places now.
Stunning on both sides of the Danube!
I don’t know what the catalyst for change was. Shortly after I booked my trip George Ezra released his hit ‘Budapest’. Without boosting his ego too much (George blatantly reads my blog, right?) I can’t help but feel that it put a little spotlight on Budapest. Alternatively perhaps people were just waiting for the seal of approval from myself before visiting. Whatever the reason (probably not the latter), Budapest appears to be a much more popular destination than it was when I visited in 2014.
Anyway, back to my trip. It’s October 2014 and I’m counting down the days until my adventure begins. My first bit of excitement came when I was exchanging currencies. I picked up Euros for Slovakia and Austria but I also had to get some Hungarian Forints for the trip. I think the exchange rate at the time was around £1 to 300-350 forints which left me walking away with thousands in my wallet and feeling rather rich.
Soon enough I was flying out to sunny Budapest and leaving the miserable English weather behind. I arrived in to Budapest around lunchtime on Saturday and went on the hunt for my hostel – that took some finding. I don’t know why but I never seem to find hostels too easily and I must walk past them several times as they blend in to the other buildings around them. Bizarre.
With three days to explore I didn’t really want to waste any time so I dropped off my things and started to wander towards the river Danube. It was only a short walk from where I was staying and seemed a good place to start my exploration of Budapest. My first impression of Budapest was one of disbelief, I’d been blown away by the beauty of the city and I couldn’t understand how I’d got here without knowing how stunning it is.
With the blue skies and beautiful scenery Budapest had won me over instantly! I continued my walk alongside the Danube, admiring everything in all directions and then I stumbled upon the Hungarian Parliament building for the first time. Wow! I’d seen photos of it online but photos don’t really do it justice. It’s my favourite piece of architecture I’ve seen anywhere and, even with my London bias, it is much more impressive than our own Houses of Parliament in Westminster.
Budapest Parliament. Photos don’t do it justice!
I don’t know how much time I spent admiring the parliament building, it doesn’t matter what angle you’re seeing it from it isn’t any less impressive. As afternoon quickly turned to evening I decided I should find somewhere for dinner and somewhere to entertain myself for the evening. It was at that point I realised how cheap Budapest is. I’ve always been good at numbers but I was left second guessing myself if I’d calculated the exchange rate correctly – “that must be wrong” I thought as I came to the conclusion that a beer, dinner and a tip was still ridiculously cheap.
After a couple of drinks I called it a night and had a relaxed first evening in Budapest, keen to get off to an early start the next day.
I started my day off with a “free” walking tour, I find that these are a great way to familiarise yourself with a city and you usually learn a few things along the way. For instance I quickly learned that one side of the city was called “Buda” and the other side of the river called “Pest” and between them they formed one city called, that’s right, Budapest! Who knew?
I wasn’t overly impressed with the specific tour-guide but overall it was a good tour, covered a few of the sights and gave me a better understanding of the history of the city. It also offered me a little inspiration for other things to see in the city that weren’t covered on the tour. The tour began on the Pest side of the river but it finished off in Buda, I was staying in Pest so hadn’t ventured to this side of the river yet so it was quite convenient to explore a little more over here.
Views of Pest from Buda!
Buda is on much higher ground so offers great views overlooking the river and the Pest side of the city – in particular the parliament building which is perhaps best viewed from the Buda half of the city.
After a little wandering I made my way back over to Pest in time to catch a tour which explored the Jewish district a little more. I was fascinated to learn how involved Hungary were in the rise of the Nazi regime around World War 2 – a history, much like Germany, that they’re not proud of but don’t shy away from re-telling.
The tour was really interesting, not just telling the history of the Jewish district but also showing it off in a modern climate. You’ll find the largest Synagogue in Europe here but also plenty of street art, restaurants and bars making it one of the livelier (and cheapest) parts of the city to enjoy an evening.
Exploring the Jewish district!
Following the tour I found some dinner in a nearby restaurant and then headed back to my hostel for a little downtime before deciding what to do with my Sunday evening.
I was sharing a 4 bed dorm in my hostel and on my return I found a fully occupied room. The other 3 guys coming from Scotland, Switzerland and Pakistan. We quickly established we were all in the same boat – traveling solo around Europe and up for a night out with new friends.
Budapest is famous for its ruin bars and it wasn’t long before we were heading out in search of the city’s most famous – Szimpla Kert. Words don’t really do it justice as to how unique it is but it’s a must visit and you can find some photos of it here: Szimpla Kert
From the outside you’d never know what was awaiting inside in what is one of the quirkier bars you’re likely to visit. It attracts both tourists and locals alike, perhaps more the former as it’s one of the highest rated bars in the world. Tripadvisor had it rated as the 3rd best bar worldwide at the time of my visit I believe. It’s definitely worth a visit and if you don’t fancy the crowds in the evening they do host a farmers market during the day on a Sunday too.
After a few beers and a few shots we called it a night and went in search of a kebab house on the way back to our hostel. It was a great night and a highlight of my time in Budapest.
Entrance to the Szechenyi baths!
I’d ticked off a ruin bar on my Budapest bucketlist, the other thing the city is famous for are its baths/spas which was on my list for Monday. I’m not a spa type person but “when in Rome..”
The Szechenyi baths are Budapest’s biggest and most famous and perhaps the one you’re going to see recommended most – they even have a bath party on Saturday nights during the peak season. However it’s worth noting there are several in Budapest and if you want to escape the crowds you’ve got other options too. I chose the second route and found one on the Buda side of the city. If you’re in to that sort of thing they’re probably well worth a visit but I found the experience a little underwhelming and made use of the pool more than anything.
It did however set the tone for the rest of my day. I felt fairly relaxed and in the end I decided rather than rush around trying to do a million things in a day to just enjoy the city at my own pace. By this point I knew I’d be coming back to Budapest some day and I didn’t want to spoil my experience by rushing around when it could wait for future visits.
After a little breather I went and found a lunch spot near my hostel and had the most amazing goulash – not something I’d normally eat but I was in the mood for something a little more traditionally Hungarian and it was a really good decision – probably my best meal in Budapest!
The rest of the day was just spent wandering before settling down in a bar for a few drinks.
Vadjahunyad Castle
I woke up on Tuesday morning a little down-hearted. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Budapest yet and there was definitely a part of me tempted to change my plans to stay a little longer. However I knew an extra night in Budapest meant a night less somewhere else and I didn’t want to miss out elsewhere. I made my way to the train station suffering a bit of the holiday-blues at the realisation that I was leaving.
Then it dawned on me. Yes, I was leaving but not to go home. I was leaving Budapest behind and heading onwards to part 2 of the adventure. I still had 3 cities to explore, why was I moping about?
I used up the last of my forints to book a train to Bratislava and then grabbed a beer until it was time to leave.
I took my seat in a small enclosed carriage on the train and said farewell to Budapest, however the adventure wasn’t over. I was off to Bratislava!
As some of you will know, come the summer I will be spending 4 weeks in the USA to celebrate a wedding (not mine) and also my 30th birthday. You can read about the early planning thoughts here: The big 3-0!
I travel a lot but that isn’t everyday life for me. I applaud those that have built themselves a life to work whilst traveling around the world but personally I’m working a regular 9-5 (5:30) Monday-Friday office job.
A four week holiday, unfortunately, has consequences for the rest of the year.
I managed to squeeze in a trip in February but that’s used up the little remaining annual leave I had for 2018. Sadly now I’m back home, the wanderlust is kicking in and there’s not much I can do about it. I am craving a trip somewhere and I still have FOUR MONTHS until my summer adventure begins (128 days to be precise, not that I’m counting right?).
February trip to Washington State!
I can’t remember the last time I had to go so long between trips! People around the world live in warzones, poverty, abusive situations, inequality and I’m not really sure where my ‘woes’ sit on the scale of important world problems.
Bizarrely I’m finding little sympathy with my life ‘struggle’. My peers have been of no use and apparently there isn’t a suitable helpline for those struggling from the dreaded disease (wanderlust), so I decided I’d put together my own little list of remedies to ease the pain.
I have to warn you, these are only temporary measures! I’m no miracle worker. There is still no known cure for wanderlust but hopefully these will tie you over until you get your next “fix”.
So here are my top tips for managing wanderlust and what I’ll personally be doing over the next four months:
Make time for family and friends!
“You’re never here”, “You’re always on holiday”, or “where’s next?” are a selection of commonly used phrases amongst my loved ones. I feel like there’s a subtle point they’re trying to make somewhere in there but in 2017 the catchphrases particularly had some conviction to them.
2017 was my most travelled year to date and I hold no regrets in that, it was a wonderful year. However it did also feel like a year where I saw a lot less of my favourite people.
Whilst technology makes it easier than ever to stay connected from anywhere in the world, it’s certainly nice to actually catch up and spend time together in person. There have already been a few occasions in 2018 where I’ve got to see a number of family and friends which has served as a good reminder to make more effort when I am in the country.
I’m hopeful 2018 has many more opportunities to see the important people and I’m pleased there are a few events coming up in the weeks ahead to maintain this. Starting this weekend with a little ‘adventure’ to Kettering!
Make some penpals!
This is one suggestion I’d recommend for everyone, regardless of how frequently you travel! Not everyone can dedicate their time and money to traveling as other things in life take priority. So whilst you’re unable to travel why not send just a little piece of you around the world instead through the joy of having a penpal.
I’ve been doing this for a few years in my spare time and I think it’s a great way to have a little taste of foreign culture, learn more about the rest of the world and make some good friends along the way.
Whether you go for the traditional “snail mail” route or prefer to stick to chatting online, it’s always a nice feeling to have some new mail (whether physical or electronic) waiting for you.
The age of technology makes it easier than ever to make contact with people from all over the world and from the comfort of your own home too!
My collection is much bigger since this photo!
Read a book!
Of course it doesn’t all have to be about technology. People were going on adventures long before the days of the internet. Forget all that nonsense with border control, books can take you to an infinite number of destinations and you don’t need a passport to do it either!
Once you’re stuck into a good book nothing is stopping you from visiting places such as Narnia, the Middle Earth, Hogwarts or Space which are beyond the reach of your typical traveler. A little imagination can take you anywhere!
If you’re not much of a reader: TV shows, movies and video games can also take you on quite the journey.
Be right back, I’m off to Hogwarts!
Learn a new skill!
One of the best things about traveling is experiencing something new, so why not do the same at home? Learning a new skill can be a great help in life and potentially on your travels too. I started learning German a while ago and it has made visiting Germany since then much more enjoyable.
Of course it doesn’t have to be a language. You could improve your cooking skills, learn to sew or learn an instrument for example but with a bit of free time between trips there’s so many skills you could learn that come in handy both in life in general and potentially on future adventures too!
Deutsch? Kein problem!
Go local!
and if all of the above fail, why not go local? Traveling doesn’t always mean you have to go to the other side of the world to have a little adventure. Sometimes it’s easy for us to overlook the places closer to home which still have their own highlights and quirks of their own.
Visit a local town or city and see how it differs to home. Better yet, see what’s happening where you live. Attend that festival this weekend, go see a show, visit your local museum or just treat yourself to dinner at that new restaurant that just opened.
It’s a little dependent on where you live but you don’t necessarily have to jump on a plane to experience something new or make some lasting memories. As much as that urge to travel consumes me, maybe I should embrace some of the better things about England.
England’s not all bad, right?
With four months until I go to the US I’ll be focusing on some of these options to limit my travel envy. What are some of your own methods for coping with wanderlust? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Germany as I’m sure you know by now happens to be one of my favourite places to visit, I first visited the country in 2013 and have been at least once every year since with my most recent trip (November) concluding my 8th visit! Germany has provided me with some wonderful memories and I’ve grown to love the diversity, people and culture of the country – I’ve even made an effort to learn German! Verrückt! (Crazy!).
So seeing a friend on Facebook suggest that she would never visit Germany was a little disheartening. Whilst I’ve generally made my destination posts chronological anyway, I thought I’d use this as an opportunity to follow on from Barmouth with my next trip and set the record straight given some of the misconceptions about Germany last week following an incident at Munich’s airport.
I’m not going to get in to my thoughts on the incident itself but Mo Farah claimed to have been on the end of racial harrassment in Munich, an accusation quickly denied by the accused. Online and media reaction to the headline went in two ways with some aiming criticism at Farah and others being critical of the accused security guard and then the defence of said security guard
.
Criticism is one thing but I read MANY comments making a sweeping generalisation of Germany as a whole because of this incident and I can not accept that. You’ll find ignorant and hateful people EVERYWHERE and one incident is not reflective of an entire nation with 80+ million citizens. Just like anywhere, Germany is a friendly and welcoming place and dismissing it as a potential travel destination would be a waste for a country that has so much to offer!
So let’s travel back to August 2014 and my trip to the German capital: Berlin! Myself and a friend had talked about going on a weekend break somewhere and as soon as Berlin was mentioned we were both in agreement that we should go! It had always been a “must visit” destination for me, Berlin was so steeped in history that it had always appealed to me. I couldn’t wait to go!
Yet wait and wait I did. Solo travel and group travel both have their pros and cons, a pro to solo travel is that you’re in complete control of everything. With 4 of us making plans for Berlin I was growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress in booking the trip. I couldn’t get properly excited until plans were finalised and it felt like there were a few setbacks, I’m sure there was equal frustration on their part as the planning process went on but eventually we had dates booked into the calendar!
Myself and Karl flew out to Germany on Friday morning, Andy and Rox had already flown into Germany a day or two earlier to get a little longer out of their break. Budget airlines hold a bit of a catch 22 situation – on the one hand it means pretty much everyone can travel, on the other hand it means pretty much everyone can travel.
Particularly when flying out of Stansted, flying on a Friday or Saturday and flying to a popular destination, you can not avoid the stag / hen (bachelor / bachelorette) groups.
Our flight to Berlin consisted of at least two stag do’s and I think one hen do on board too. Karl somehow bagged the window seat which left me sat next to a young lad who, at 6am or whatever it was, was already far too drunk to string a coherent sentence together.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding alcohol limits in airports and on flights recently and I’d apportion 99% of the blame at our drunken little island if I’m being honest. Our friends in the rest of Europe seem a little better at knowing their limitations than the Brits who disgrace themselves in the continent on cheap weekend breaks. This guy was a perfect example and you question firstly if he should have been allowed to fly and secondly why they let him buy a further beer on board. I think he was keen I joined in for a breakfast beer but I politely declined.
In fairness to him he wasn’t any trouble but it made my journey a little less peaceful than I would have liked. Nevertheless the two of us were soon arriving in to Berlin and making an effort to figure out how to get to our hostel, at the time I knew no German so both of us were solely dependent on English getting us by for the weekend.
It wasn’t too tricky and eventually we were arriving into Berlin’s “Cat’s Pajamas” hostel – I liked it and would probably stay there again.
We met up with Andy and Rox and made plans to go and see some of Berlin, we started off with a quick lunchtime stop and then aimed for central Berlin.
I’m a big fan of kicking off day one with a walking tour, however when Andy suggested we do a biking tour I was a little more sceptical. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, perhaps that is true but it didn’t make me feel any more confident about riding around the city and through the streets of Berlin on a bicycle. When was the last time I’d even rode a bike? I was coming up to my 26th birthday and the last time would certainly have been as a kid, so well over 10 years.
I don’t think Karl and Rox were 100% sold on the idea either so credit to Andy’s persuasion skills. He’d not just convinced one sceptic person it was a good idea but three, 3! Even after agreeing to it I was a little nervous about it. No sooner had I climbed on my bike had I fallen off it, and again, and again. The tour was something like 3 hours long and I couldn’t stay upright for more than 2 minutes – disastrous and we hadn’t even started hitting the streets yet! Can I get some stabilisers please?
Pros!
My fortunes did change (without the need for stabilisers before you ask!), soon enough I’d remembered how to balance myself and stop properly. I was whizzing through the streets and ready to embark on the Tour de France (alright, maybe not). Nevertheless I had been won over. We ticked off a number of the sights spread out across the city and I started to appreciate how much there was to see in the city. From viewing the stunning architecture to learning about the history from our tour guide, Berlin was living up to my high expectation.
A bike tour was a perfect way to see it and allowed us to cover so much more distance than if we’d been on foot. I think the highlight was riding through the Tiergarten (Berlin’s answer to Central Park) and seeing how peaceful it was. The Tiergarten was also home to a couple of pubs, one of which we stopped at for a scheduled break in the tour! A beer later and we were back on our bikes to see a little more of Berlin before rounding up the tour. It wasn’t something I’d ever have considered doing if I’d traveled alone but I’m really pleased we ended up doing it.
Friday evening we went and grabbed food somewhere and then enjoyed a few drinks to finish off the night. A successful start to our trip in Berlin!
Four years later, Saturday and Sunday are a bit more of a blur. I remember what we did but I can’t particularly associate the things we did with a particular day.
The Reichstag building
Over the next two days we took a little more time to see some of the sights we’d only briefly visited on Friday such as the famous Brandenburg Tor, Checkpoint Charlie and the Reichstag building. The latter you can enter for free to then see views over Berlin from up on the roof – despite being free you do have to book a time slot in advance so keep that in mind before visiting. We got a little caught up elsewhere and ended up having a crazy rush to get there in time, I think we were a little late but they fortunately weren’t too strict on enforcing an exact time. I’d still recommend getting there before your time slot though! Haha.
We checked out a few museums. The Topography of Terror and DDR museums ended up being the best of the ones we visited. The Topography of Terror my favourite of the two and as most of it is based outside, it’s free to enjoy! You also have to make sure to check out the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe – it’s a must see!
However in contrast the Checkpoint Charlie museum I personally found a bit of a mess and didn’t enjoy. The museum had no structure to it, parts of it were interesting but it wasn’t well laid out and some of the rooms had exhibitions with no real relevance to the museum. It was bizarre and I didn’t really feel like it justified the admission price.
One of the other enjoyable things we did in Berlin was visit the huge Flohmarkt (flea market) on the Sunday which was interesting to look around. I’m not much of a shopper but it was interesting to see the variety of things sold and people watch as tourists and locals both looked to enjoy themselves! It was also a good spot to pick up some cheap lunch.
Beyond the daytime antics, one of the things I loved most about Berlin was that it felt completely different in the evening. It’s a fascinating city by day and has plenty to offer for tourists but come the evening it felt like a much livelier place. It helped that we were there in the summer. The better weather made it easy to enjoy eating out and drink at one of the numerous beer gardens that occupy the city, there was a buzz about Berlin every evening we were there and it made it a fun place to go out and enjoy Berlin’s nightlife.
With great company, great beer and great weather I could have spent many more nights soaking up the atmosphere of Berlin. Köln (2013) had given me a little taste of German culture but I truly felt at home in Berlin. There’s something I love about big cities and I found that Berlin matched some of the best and ranks as one of my favourite European cities.
I feel like I only covered a fraction of what Berlin had to offer so it’s a city I definitely want to return to and I highly recommend you visit too! Whilst it’s unfortunate that racism, discrimination and inequality continue to exist within society please don’t let it put you off visiting Germany.
Berlin in particular is incredibly welcoming and a multi-cultural city home to foreigners from all over the world, you’d be missing out to overlook a country as diverse as Deutschland!
Me at the Brandenburger Tor
Deutschland; Ich liebe dich! Bis bald!
Have you ever been to Berlin? What did you think? Where else in Germany should I add to my growing list in this wonderful country? Let me know in the comments!
Before getting on to Barmouth I wanted to start by saying thank you – to each and every one of you! I spoke a while ago about suffering a mini-blogging slump at the back end of 2017. I’ve got back on track in 2018 but it was helpful taking a little step back from blogging and realising that, more than anything, I wanted to enjoy this opposed to doing it for anyone else.
I want to share my stories, I want people to enjoy what they’re reading and I want to inspire more people to travel. However more than anything I want to enjoy what I’m writing about and I realised I wanted to keep a personal touch to this. I promised to do so going forward.
So the response to my last post, Travel helping my struggle with anxiety!, was overwhelming. I was blown away by the feedback to it and it reaffirmed that keeping this personal was the right thing for me. It was my most personal post to date and yet my most popular post too. Encouraging!
Anyway, moving on! Today I’m reverting back to a “destination post” and that takes me on to a little town in Wales called Barmouth! This was going to be my next post regardless but by coincidence St David’s Day occurred this week, so to any Welsh readers I hope you enjoyed yourselves! A belated happy St David’s Day!
Prior to Barmouth my last trip had been to Lisbon, you can read all about that here (3 wonderful nights in Lisbon) but I mentioned that I’d planned to leave Lisbon on the Saturday to spend the weekend with my, at the time, girlfriend only to find myself single a couple of weeks later. A tad frustrating as a couple of extra days in Lisbon would have been fantastic!
Before that breakup came a romantic getaway to Wales! I finished work on the first Friday in April (2014) and hopped on a train up to Birmingham to spend the evening together. On Saturday morning we left Birmingham’s New Street station and caught an early train to Barmouth!
I had never heard of it before but a couple of her friends had recommended it so we decided it’d be fun to take a trip.
Barmouth is this cute little coastal town in Wales. I’ve never really spent much time in Wales so it’s not a country I’d seen much of until now – I was impressed! The beauty in catching a train is you can really admire the view as you travel. I said in my post on Edinburgh that England gets a lot of the attention when people talk about the United Kingdom and I’ll repeat it here, there is so much more to the UK than just England. More people should be talking about how beautiful Wales is! I was in disbelief at the stunning scenery. Why does Wales not get more credit for being so pretty?
Perhaps people don’t talk enough about Wales’ beauty but one thing they do talk about is the number of sheep in Wales. I try not to submit to the stereotypes and figured its association was exaggerated. It isn’t! Wales is full of sheep – they’re everywhere! Sheep outweigh the human population roughly on a 3:1 ratio which tells you all you need to know really. The fabled “counting sheep” method to help you sleep makes Wales a perfect destination for you insomniacs out there!
Ignoring the sheep it is such a pretty country. The closer we got to Barmouth the more beautiful the scenery became, it was breathtaking to look at. Barmouth isn’t too far from the Snowdonia national park and it is definitely a part of the country I want to explore more of. Preferably in the summer and with better weather.
Miserable weather but a pretty Barmouth
Soon enough we were arriving in to Barmouth’s train station. As you’d expect from a small town, the station is quite small but the location is right in the heart of the town and close to the beach making it an ideal day-trip. We arrived around lunchtime and headed straight for the beach. Unsurprisingly it was pretty empty, the problem with going anywhere in the UK in April is that the weather is still pretty miserable. We did have a wander along the beach but with grey skies looming over us we made our way to check in to our hotel.
The one downside to staying in such a small town is that hotel options were rather limited. It was a nice hotel but not the cheapest stay and apparently I’d committed the crime of the century in booking a hotel situated on a hill. A little up-hill walk saw us checking into our stay for the night in what was a cosy room with a decent sized bath too (FYI – I love my baths!). The room views are probably usually decent but ours wasn’t a sea-facing view and to be honest it was so miserable outside that there probably wasn’t much worth looking at anyway. I imagine the views are great on a warmer day though.
Having had a little time to relax and drop off our things, back in to the cold we went. Barmouth is your typical coastal town but perhaps with better scenery. We took a little stroll across this bridge and started picking out the houses and pretty buildings overlooking the water – some of them looked perfect!
Sadly the sky was even greyer at this point and now there was a little light rain, we popped in to the arcades which gave me my first experience with the famed 2p machines – a great way to pass the time and a favourite of any British coastal town!
Content that our 2p coins had vanished we did a little window-shopping and then went in search of dinner. Shortly after eating we called it a night, relaxing back at the hotel and watching whatever rubbish was on TV (it might have been Match Of The Day actually – such a romantic getaway!). A good night’s sleep followed and we woke up refreshed ready to see a little more of Barmouth before heading back to England.
We kicked off our day with breakfast at some nearby café, I think we stuck out like a sore thumb as the only tourists in town. We were greeted to friendly faces which added to a really nice atmosphere in this little place. Everyone else seemed to be local – greeting each-other in a familiar tone, laughing away and just generally enjoying their company. It was wonderful to witness and definitely led to us having a much more authentic local experience.
After breakfast we had one last stroll along the beach – it may have been another cold day in April but we had to pick up an obligatory ice cream! You have to when you’re at the beach, right?
As we walked along the promenade every passer-by seemed to do so with a smile, many of which were walking their dogs, and it felt like a really welcoming little town. I’d like to think it’s the same in the summer months when there is better weather and more tourists in town.
We bought some souvenirs to take home with us at a nearby shop which left us with just enough time to get some lunch before making the journey back to England. We found a cosy little pub that served a traditional Sunday roast – it was delicious and like the café it just felt like everybody knew each-other and perhaps had the same Sunday routine every week. It was a nice way to round off our time in Wales.
Time to go home! See you later Barmouth!
If you’re in that part of the UK I’d suggest it is worth a daytrip, however I don’t know if I’d personally go back given how far it is from where I live.
For us, it was a short and sweet visit but nevertheless it’s somewhere that left an impression on me and somewhere that I’m glad I visited.
Barmouth – I might not ever see you again but thanks for the fond memories you left me with!
Have you ever been to Barmouth? What did you think? Are you a fan of visiting places outside of peak season?
Let me know!
I remember a friend saying to me that New York City was the best city in the world. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t but for someone less traveled than myself I pondered whether he could proclaim it as the best?
If he’d said the best he’d been to so far or his favourite city, sure, I’ll allow it but stated as fact? No, I can’t accept that. Particularly as he spent his visit staying in New Jersey. If it’s too expensive to stay in the city it doesn’t really give merit to the idea that it’s the best city in the world, does it?
NYC, best city in the world?
For what it’s worth, I love New York City and I can understand why it’s so highly rated but it just falls short for me when compared to London. My love for London is unrivalled really. It is the best city that I have been to and will probably always be my favourite.
I had high hopes for New York City though, if anywhere was going to surpass my favourite this was as likely as any.
I said above, for me personally, it just fell short compared to London and I asked myself why? What gave London the edge? New York City has everything, ignoring the cost (London is hardly cheap either) my only criticism of NYC was that it “wasn’t London”. Needless to say I’m not entirely impartial when it comes to being a travel critic – my system was already rigged in London’s favour.
So rather than focus on some overseas based destination, I thought I’d dedicate this post to “my city” and giving a few reasons why it’s my favourite.
Little Venice, London
It’s home!
First and foremost it’s home. I was born in London, living there until I was 9 years old so it’s a city that has been with me since day one. I feel proud to have grown up in London and have that association with the city. I’ve lived in Peterborough for the 20+ years since and whilst I do possess some local pride it just isn’t the same.
I have so many good memories growing up in London and it’s a city that is always there to welcome me back when I visit. It’s a special city with special people and it’s easy to see why so many people around the world fall in love with it.
Views like this have people falling in love with London
It’s diverse!
One of the things I love most about London is that it’s open to everyone. I’m privileged to be able to travel pretty much anywhere in the world without fear but not everybody has that same luxury. Homosexuality for instance is still punishable by death in some countries, whereas London has one of the largest Pride festivals in the world.
I’m not suggesting London is perfect but it’s a lot more accepting than many parts of the world and celebrations of all backgrounds are widely enjoyed here. For example a vivid memory of my time in school was learning about Diwali and being fascinated by the “festival of lights” in assembly.
London is home to people of so many backgrounds so throughout the year you’ll find various celebrations to reflect that. With the Chinese New Year approaching it’d be a great time to take a wander through London’s very own Chinatown and see some of the decorations on display.
London getting in to the Christmas spirit!
It’s not all city life!
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about London is that it’s just a big city – all traffic and pollution. You might be surprised to know that it’s estimated that 47% of London is green space, almost half of the city! London always has so much going on and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by that but if you need a little time to sit back and escape the London rush then there are so many places to do so!
London is full of beautiful parks and places to relax. Admittedly the weather can be detrimental to actually enjoying some of these spaces but on sunnier days there are few better places to enjoy London. Park visits were always an enjoyable part of my childhood and I used to love collecting “conkers” as the change of season hit and they started falling from the trees near our home.
Green Park last Autumn.
It is ever-changing!
I think there’s a reluctance among travellers to visit somewhere more than once but with London you’re never going to see everything. Whether you visit once or you visit 500 times it’s never going to be the same experience.
For starters, England has four different seasons so London has a very different feel to it depending what time of year you visit (rain in the summer, rain in the winter..). London is a great place to see the changing seasons and the festivities that come with that, such as great outdoor festivals in the summer or Christmas decorations in the winter, make it a place you’ll want to return to.
Beyond the seasons there’s so many other things constantly happening in London. New restaurants opening, new shopping brands arriving in the city, new shows to see in the city, new bars to check out. You’ll never experience everything in London and it makes it such an enjoyable city to return to time after time.
One of the new shows I went to see in 2017 – it’s good!
It’s home to world-famous sights!
I thought I’d end on this final point but the last thing that makes London special for me is that it’s home to so many iconic landmarks. Everybody is familiar with the likes of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s cathedral and the London Eye and they look even more impressive in person!
I’ll never tire of wandering through Westminster and taking in some of London’s best known landmarks.
Of course the landmarks stretch beyond the best-known ones. Many popular TV shows and films feature some famous places in London such as Baker Street or the Millennium Bridge, whilst of course you have iconic music, theatre and sporting venues too.
Some of the marketplaces in London are some of the world’s most famous and everyone loves a good red bus / telephone box photo when they visit. London is full of familiar sights and sometimes you’ve got to go and see them for yourself!
Beautiful St Paul’s Cathedral
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this post and the little glimpse in to the reasons why I love London. There are many more of course but I’d be writing forever if I listed them all.
Now tell me, what do you love about London and if it isn’t your favourite city then tell me where is! Maybe I’ll have to pay it a visit!
One of my blogging struggles of late has been trying to focus on what I actually want this blog to be. Whether you’re a full-time blogger or doing this just as a bit of fun, I think it’s easy to question yourself and let the doubts creep in. Are people still reading this? Are they enjoying it? Is the content good enough? What can I do better? What are other bloggers doing?
It took me giving advice to someone else recently to remember why I started this – I enjoy it! I want to read back about MY experiences and whether it’s 1 person or 1,000 that read along it shouldn’t matter.
So the questions switched from the above to am I still enjoying this? Does this blog truly reflect me? What can make it more personal?
There are several styles to approach blogging with and different things work for different bloggers. However the aim of the (blogging) game for me is going to be keeping a personal touch to this.
In spite of that I do still want to do the places I visit justice and offer people some inspiration to visit; with that in mind this has possibly been my toughest blogpost yet.
Spending three days in a city should be plenty of time to talk about everything the city has to offer and yet I’m struggling. I barely scratched the surface in Lisbon. To say I spent three days in Lisbon would be a lie, three nights would probably be more appropriate. I checked in to my hostel on Wednesday morning and was greeted to a “welcome to Lisbon” shot. In more ways than one that should have been a sign of things to come.
I say more ways than one because whilst it was certainly a sign of how much alcohol I would end up consuming on this trip, it was also a reflection of Lisbon’s hospitality. I had never been to Portugal before but I already felt right at home.
Of all the places I’ve visited, I’m not sure there’s anywhere I’ve felt as welcomed as I did in Lisbon throughout my stay. I’ve yet to visit anywhere that can match Portugal’s hospitality and a lot of accommodation awards and reviews back that up!
Lisbon made me fall in love with Portugal very quickly and the people were a big reason for that. Three days (nights) in Lisbon gave me a wonderful impression of the country and it’s definitely somewhere I want to explore more of – Porto in particular is now high on the list of places to visit!
However back to Lisbon, it’s a beautiful city and like many capital cities has a lot to offer. I didn’t get to experience as much as I’d intended before going as the evening antics did result in some necessary recovery time the following day. Nevertheless here’s what I got up to in Lisbon and why my 2014 trip proved to be so memorable.
First exploration of Lisbon. Blue skies were a good start!
Wednesday:
I’d convinced my friend Daniel that we should go out to Portugal to watch the football. A football-orientated European away trip had been a childhood dream of mine and by 2014 I was itching to do my first overseas trip watching Tottenham.
The schedule sent us to play Lisbon based Benfica and it was too good an opportunity to miss. Lisbon was a “must-do trip” .
Me and Daniel booked our flights and accommodation separately as I was a little less cautious in worrying about getting a ticket for the football – worst case scenario I’d find a pub in Lisbon to watch it if it proved to be problematic.
We both took morning flights from London but I arrived in to Lisbon an hour earlier which gave me a small opportunity to have a little wander before lunch.
I first found my hostel on the off-chance I could check in early – my room wasn’t ready but the guy on reception kindly gave me a shot (as mentioned above) and showed me around the hostel. I left my bag in some storage and got back to having a little wander of the city.
First impressions of Lisbon were good, admittedly the sunshine probably helped but the city had character in abundance. I quickly arrived at one of Lisbon’s most famous squares – the Praca do Comercio. It’s a huge area overlooking the Tagus river with a range of restaurants closeby. A great place for people-watching!
Praca do Comercio
My next impressions weren’t so flattering – I was soon approached by a couple of guys enquiring if I’d like to purchase some drugs from them. This seemed a regular occurrence in Lisbon over the next couple of days in what appeared to be a bizarre combined sunglasses and drugs enterprise. “Sunglasses? Hash?” – seemingly unable to sell one without the other.
They were everywhere Wednesday and Thursday but had seemingly disappeared come Friday with grey skies. I politely declined which was a better response than they received from most of my fellow Brits on Thursday. Admittedly they didn’t have the strongest business model – attempting to sell cheap sunglasses to people wearing sunglasses wasn’t ever likely to be too successful!
I arranged to meet Daniel around lunchtime in Rossio Square – having never been to Lisbon I had no idea how big the square was or how easy it’d be to find each-other so I reverted to Google for a suitable meeting spot.. “Outside the big yellow M?”
A lack of Wi-Fi meant I knew I wouldn’t be able to contact Daniel in Lisbon so I figured meeting outside of something so easily recognisable would be the best option before moving on elsewhere.
It sounds like a good idea in theory but did this famous M jump out at me? No. “Where the fuck is this McDonalds?”
My first impression in Bonn (Germany) exiting its train station was the sight of that big yellow M which was a damning first impression but, on this occasion, when I was actively looking for it I was having no luck whatsoever. I reckon I walked past it at least once, plus figured maybe I’d confused it with a neighbouring square so circled that at least once too. Eventually I found Daniel who found it a little quicker than I had.
Even if we’d wanted to go inside I think I’d have boycotted it on this occasion in my frustration at finding it!
As it was we found a little bakery / pastry shop nearby and picked up some good local cuisine – pastries and fish are particularly popular in Lisbon.
After a quick lunch we went and grabbed a beer, soaked up the sunshine and did a little people-watching. It killed a bit of time before allowing us to head to our hostels and get checked in.
Exploring Lisbon, meeting the locals.
We made the most of a little downtime and arranged to meet up again later in the evening, find some food and go and find a bar to watch the Wednesday night football. We found an Irish pub and apparently weren’t alone in our thinking as we came to find there were a number of other Spurs fans already here creating a bit of an atmosphere.
A few beers and an early start had taken its toll on me, I definitely dozed off at one point during the football which says it all for how exciting the game was. We got talking to a couple of other guys who’d traveled over from England but left soon after the football finished in aim of an early night. Tomorrow was going to be all about the football and soaking up the atmosphere in Rossio Square with thousands of Spurs fans expected to be in Lisbon for Thursday evening’s game. We didn’t want to start drinking too early so agreed to meet up around lunchtime – allowing us the morning to explore independently.
On the walk back to my hostel I’d been craving food and before heading up to sleep I thought that I’d pop my head in to the bar area to see if food was a possibility – success! I ordered some pizza and was told to “take a seat” and someone would bring it over. A party of four to my right invited me over to join them. I was feeling pretty drowsy and planned to get a good night’s sleep after eating but the opportunity to make some friends quickly perked me up.
Minutes later a party of three had sat down to my left and were engaging me in conversation and looking on in pizza-envy! There wasn’t enough pizza to go around, mind you I’m not sure I would have shared it anyway.
The party to my right had dispersed shortly after but I shared conversation and drinks with the other three for the remainder of the night. At 2 euros a beer I was even content buying the odd round because four beers for less than ten euros seemed a bargain.
It got to around 1am and we called it a night – “see you at breakfast” someone said rather optimistically. I don’t know if the other three made it but my attempt was much less successful!
Thursday:
I’m not going to go in to Thursday’s daytime antics too much as I plan to do a separate post on life in Lisbon from a football perspective. Plus there isn’t much to tell.
Daniel spent his morning exploring for miles and I’d spent mine in bed still feeling a little rough from the night before. We met around lunchtime for a few hours of drinking and singing in Rossio Square and then dispersed towards Benfica’s Estadio De Luz (Stadium of Light).
Home of Benfica FC. The game finished 2-2.
After the football we arrived back in to Rossio Square to find a scattering of Spurs fans still around and occupying the restaurants. We grabbed a late dinner and finished off the evening with a couple of drinks before calling it a night.
I’d already had a taster of night-time fun in my hostel so couldn’t resist the temptation of popping in to the bar for “a quick drink” in the hope maybe I’d cling to some more new friends or bump in to the ones from the night before.
The bar was a bit busier at this point as the hostel run their famous “Mamas Dinners” and I think this had just ended followed by an imminent pub crawl.
Two Spanish guys saw me sat by myself and invited me over. We got chatting and they asked if I’d like to join them to go and watch some local Fado music as there was a particular artist they wanted to see playing. It sounded perfect to me!
Off we went in to the streets of Lisbon to find this bar. In hindsight I should have messaged Daniel, told him to leave his hostel and join us. I got swept up in the excitement of heading out with new friends and the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Sorry Daniel!
Soon enough we arrived at this cosy little bar with lots of locals dancing away. We grabbed a couple of beers and joined in, enjoying the atmosphere of the place. It didn’t go on too late (I think) but it was such a fun evening and a real highlight. We parted ways once back at the hostel but I was so thankful they’d invited me to tag along. It wasn’t something I would ever have done otherwise.
Friday:
De ja vu! I’d had a fun night but it led to another morning not wanting to get out of bed. I hadn’t seen much of Lisbon on Wednesday and seen even less on Thursday – with another morning passing me by I had to make the most of my Friday afternoon.
If I saw nothing else on this trip I had to go and see the Sao Jorge castle.
I can’t recommend anything else in Lisbon so fortunately I can at the very list recommend visiting here. The grounds are great to look around and the views are stunning and make the entry fee worthwhile. For better photographers than myself it is a dream location and we even had a peacock for company wandering the castle grounds! Crazy!
After getting plenty of photos we made our way back in to town for an early dinner. The city felt much emptier than previous days with the majority of Brits already homeward bound by this point.
Following dinner we returned to our hostels to freshen up and enjoy one last night in Lisbon. I’d missed out on the hostel pub crawl on the previous two nights so there was part of me tempted to do it this evening. However given I had a Saturday morning flight I took the more sensible approach and avoided it.
After a little time to relax I waited outside my hostel for Daniel to come and meet me – the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was apparent rain was imminent.
I rushed back upstairs to pick up my coat and found two young women had checked in to my shared room. They were also Brits but studying in Spain and just wanted a little weekend break in Lisbon.
I was conscious I was now late meeting Daniel so I said my goodbyes and left them to relax. Again in hindsight I should have invited them to join us for a few drinks in Lisbon. Another missed opportunity that, looking back on, I wished I’d done differently. Oops!
I met Daniel downstairs and suggested we grab a beer at the hostel bar and hope the rain would pass. With no signs of improvement we braved the rain and went off in search of a bar in one of Lisbon’s famous neighbourhoods (Bairro Alto) known for having a great nightlife.
Being a Friday evening we were hopeful of finding some fun bars to enjoy ourselves but instead were greeted with a zombie-like city.
I don’t know if we’d gone out too early to enjoy the Portuguese nightlife or whether they’re all fair-weather drinkers afraid of a little rain but we passed several bars which were empty. Eventually we gave in and just found a cosy-looking bar to get out of the rain. After a couple of drinks we moved on hoping for more success and found this tiny bar showing some Portuguese football. The only other people here were a group of Portuguese women who seemed more interested in having a dance than the football. Realising they weren’t going to have much luck here they left and soon after we did the same in search of a livelier bar.
Finally we found a bar with some music playing and looked to have more than a handful of people inside – the first bar that didn’t seem completely dead. Along with a number of other people we’d somehow found the group of women from the bar before who seemed equally amused that we’d crossed paths again.
We enjoyed the music but were soon on our way again but resigned to the fact we weren’t having much luck finding somewhere in Lisbon. On the way back to our hostels we did pass one bar which actually seemed busy and we could certainly squeeze another beer in so figured we’d go in.
It seemed like an after-work hangout for the business folk of the city – a little posher than anywhere else we’d been. I ordered a beer which the barman handed to me. A bottle of beer accompanying a glass, as I reached for just the bottle I was met with a look of disgust from the barman – “Use the glass you peasant”.
Whilst I didn’t argue I did wonder why he’d given me a bottle if I wasn’t supposed to use it. If you’re going to force me in to using a glass then pour the damn beer in to the glass for me – i.e do your bloody job as a barman.
Needless to say it isn’t a bar I’d feel a rush to return to and we only stayed for the one beer.
We’d had a few beers but weren’t too drunk, however it felt like a good time to call it a night and so headed back to our hostels. I’d like to say that’s where the night ended for me but you can probably see where this is going.
I’d purposefully avoided the pub crawl in order to not get too drunk but another quick one before bed at the hostel bar wouldn’t hurt, right?
I’d not even got as far as ordering a beer and I could hear my name. The Spanish guys from the night before were waving me over to come and join them to which I was happy to oblige.
They were sat with some new friends around this large round table and I found some space to join them. The guys had a guitar with them tonight and were playing some Spanish tunes and having a bit of a sing-along. I had no idea what they were singing but most of the tunes were easy to follow and clap along to. The songs kept coming, the beers kept flowing and I was in the best of company – pure bliss!
I forgot to add one of the Spanish guys only spoke broken English (still better than my Spanish), the night before his friend had played a happy interpreter to leave nobody feeling left out. With the night winding down my Spanish friend tried, in his best English, to ask what songs I liked that he could play. I was trying to think of artists or bands that he might be familiar with and posed the question – “Oasis?”
Next thing I know he’s blasting out Wonderwall on the guitar and we’re both singing along in one of those rare instances where you realise how incredible music can be in bringing people together. He couldn’t speak good English, I could speak virtually no Spanish and yet here we were sharing this incredible moment belting out a classic with some beers.
It would have been the perfect time to call it a night but some French guy bought a round of vodka shots. I hate being in debt with people, even strangers, so of course I had to return the favour .
By this point it was clear I needed to get to bed but the damage was probably already done. I’d avoided the pub crawl and probably ended up equally drunk anyway. We said our goodnights and they wished me luck for the morning in my attempt to get home. I was going to need it!
Saturday:
A morning flight? Why!? This is another wonderful case of hindsight and prioritising relationships over convenience. Trying to make long distance work with some girl based in Birmingham was tricky whilst holding a Monday-Friday job. Weekends were the easiest chance for us to catch up so I figured I’d fly home Saturday morning so we could still spend Saturday evening and Sunday together.
2-3 weeks later we’d broken up and I now wish I’d flown home Saturday evening instead or, better yet, Sunday evening and had an extra day in Lisbon.
I woke up feeling SO rough on the Saturday. I also wasn’t helped by waking up late which meant I had a mad rush to get checked out and to the airport in time for my flight. I flagged down a taxi and crossed my fingers that I’d be on that flight home back to England.
Fortunately I was. I felt awful and flying didn’t help that. It’s one of the worst hangovers I’ve had but fortunately I ended up sleeping most of the way which was probably for the best.
My photos don’t do this city justice but it’s so perfect!
Reflecting back on Lisbon could easily be seen as a waste to some people. I would love to have more photos or to have seen more of the city and it’s definitely somewhere I want to return to but there’s not a chance I’d swap those memories for a hangover free morning on any of the days I spent in Lisbon.
Whilst it wasn’t the three days I’d anticipated, the three nights are some of the best I’ve had traveling and the people I met only enforced why I love exploring this beautiful planet.
Thank you for being such wonderful hosts Portugal! I love you!
Jason likes to travel 