Northern Ireland - Giant's Causeway

Signed up for another day tour to Northern Ireland, this time the main destination is Giant's Causeway. Giant's Causeway is located at the Northeast coast of Northern Ireland facing Scotland and the Atlantic Ocean.

First time in exchange that I was required to wake up before 7 am, as the bus leaves Dublin City Center at 7 sharp. Cycling along empty streets at 6+ in the morning really made you wonder if you are the only person out of bed. As I reached the meeting point, I was surprised many people signed up for this trip despite the cold weather nearing winter.

The tour bus by-passed Belfast City and arrived at our first stop: Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. This famous rope bridge is said very scary when crossing as cautioned by our tour guide. Upon reaching, I was completely underwhelmed by the size of the bridge and to be honest, there was close to no fear when crossing.

After a disappointing lunch (Irish Beef Stew that tasted as plain as water), the bus brought us over to our main attraction of the day: Giant's Causeway. From where the bus was parked, we had to walk about half an hour to the attraction and I was glad that I chose the longer route with more climbing. The coastal scenery from high up the hill said it all.

Giant's Causeway is a really amazing wonder of nature, with interlocking rock columns said to be the result of volcanic eruption millions of years ago.

In the late afternoon, the bus brought us back to Belfast City and we were given 20 minutes at the Titanic Museum for photos, followed by an hour at Belfast City. This time I had at least sufficient time to roam about the main landmarks and buildings around the city center, as well as take a sneak peak at the Christmas Market. The tour ended with a quick visit to peace walls before bringing us back to Dublin. Pretty worthwhile trip as I only paid 35 euros for it.

Austria - Salzburg

Another day trip. One of the rather epic day of travel as we couldn't find the bus station and ended up missing our 9am bus to Salzburg. Lady luck was still on our side and we managed to find another bus company there with a 11.30am bus.

As I reflect upon this incident, I was pretty glad that I didn't panic or feel unlucky at that moment we missed the bus. I used to have all those feelings when bad things happen but now a lot less. Experiences in recent years have thought me not to expect 'everything to go right' and enjoy the imperfections in life.

Reached Salzburg at 1.30pm and we decided not to buy the Salzburg Card as Museums close at 5pm. Had a chilling walk to the river and the city center where most of the attractions are. The Hohensalzburg Fortress was no doubt the best attraction to enter given our limited time there and the views from the top of the Fortress say everything.

Salzburg is a chilling city in Austria with a lot of 'Old Town' architectures, definitely a worthwhile day trip.

Germany - Fussen

Took a 2 hours train from Munich to Fussen in the morning for a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. Fussen is a town in Southern Germany that is only 5km from the Germany/Austria border. Upon reaching Fussen, we took a bus that brought us to the foot of the mountain where the Castle is situated.

We took another bus there to go up to the top of the mountain. From there, we were able to find the the hanging bridge which gave us a perfect view of the castle covered with mist.

We then made our way into the castle with the audio guide tour, which turned out to be pretty disappointing. The descend down to the foot of the mountain was special as we paid to ride a horse carriage. There is actually another castle there called the Hohenschwangau Castle which is also very beautiful but it's completely overwhelmed by Neuschwanstein Castle so not many people visitors, a bit poor thing.

When we were back at Fussen, there was almost 2 hours to the next train to Munich, so we explored the cozy town of Fussen, which was not bad either.

Germany - Munich

Flew from Dublin to Munich and reached at 7.30pm. Kaixin waited for me at the arrival hall and we ate pork knuckles for dinner at the airport. It was a drizzling first night in Munich, with rather deserted streets as shops mostly closed at 8pm.

Day 2 - Rainy day again. First stop of the day was Deutsches Museum, supposedly world's largest museum of science and technology. The airplane and ship galleries are indeed overwhelming but most of the other galleries are too complicated for any non-engineering students to understand. Joined Sandeman for city tour in the afternoon, which lasted for 3 hours.

Signed up for the Beer Challenge at night and it turned out to be the worst blunder ever. We were expecting an experienced tour guide to teach us Bavarian beer culture but it turned out to be just a pub crawl. Some girl who can hardly speak English brought us to a few bars which we sat down to order and drink beer, what?! What a waste of time (to Germans, walking around to drink is pure enjoyment)

Day 3 - Fussen, Germany

Day 4 - Salzburg, Austria

Day 5 - Woke up tired but excited about our trip to Dachau Concentration Camp. To be honest, before the exchange, I wasn't particularly interested in historical sites but my interest grew tremendously after seeing more and more stuff in Europe.

Reached the camp at 10:30am and paid 3 euros per person for the 2.5 hours guided tour. It was no question the most well-spent 3 euros since I came Europe. The entire tour was more than amazing to say the least. The sufferings and tortures faced by the prisoners back then simply make u cringe, and make you appreciate peace and being born this era so much more. We have been so privileged to live in the 21st century.

In the evening, we visited BMW Welt and took a brief glimpse of the Olympic Park, before heading back to city center for the long-awaited famous Pork Knuckle.

It was a slight disappointment that we didn't get to visit Munich during Oktoberfest (mainly due to our limited budget). I was glad that I still made my way to Munich as it has so much to offer, and a lot of fantastic day-trip opportunities to nearby cities.

.

  

Northern Ireland - Belfast

Booked a day trip with Paddywagon to Belfast on Sunday. For those who didn't know, Northern Ireland is part of United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales). The tour started at 9am and we took a 2.5 hours ride which brought us to Belfast City Center.

The first activity was my long awaited Black Taxi Tour. Black Taxi Tour in Belfast is a political tour that takes you to the conflict zone between the Protestant and Catholic community and allows you to see first hand the years of tension that exists even until today. The whole tour was absolutely an eye opener and lasted almost 2 hours.

When we were back at Belfast city center, there were only 10 minutes left before we were supposed to leave for the Titanic Experience. Took 5 minutes walking around the city center and taking some pictures and used the remaining time to grab some food from Burger King.

Our Titanic tour began at 2pm and we spent 2 hours inside the Titanic Museum. It was an enriching experience as well, especially for those who have interest in ships. One new knowledge I learnt was that Titanic actually sailed from Queenstown, Ireland to New York, instead of from London to New York which I had thought for years.

It is really amazing to step into a community with political problems for the first time. Northern Ireland people are actually really friendly and fantastic people but decades of tension simply prevented the two sides from trusting each other and living in harmony. It is great to hear that the current education system is steering the younger generation towards the right direction.

Ireland - Kerry

Signed up for a 3 day 2 night trip to County Kerry with ESN over the weekend. The bus ride of 4 hours was torturous as expected. After surviving long traffic jams, we finally reached our hostel at Killarney at 6pm and settled down. Pub Crawl began at 8:30pm and we hanged out in several pubs before going into a night club for some dance and rock music. To be honest, pub crawl was seriously boring, but the club was quite fun since we were given the entire dancing hall to ourselves.

Day 2 - Began the day with Ring of Kerry tour. The entire trip was confusing as the tour guide was mumbling throughout and we could hardly hear what he was saying and unsure where we were exactly. The bus brought us to Killarney National Park in the afternoon where the lake and green is really spectacular. We also headed to Torc Waterfall where one of the US dude fell into the water when trying to climb the slippery rocks.

Night activity was clubbing again and it wasn't free so some of us didn't feel like going. We hanged out a bit at the pub outside the club and later strolled around town of Killarney before heading back to our hostel. Glad that it's daylight saving that night so we get to sleep an extra hour.

Day 3 - Last tour of the trip was to Rock of Cashel, which is along our way back to Dublin. There was a guide explaining to us the significance of the Cashel during war times but I could hardly understand as usual. After the visit, we strolled along the peaceful town of Cashel to have lunch before continuing our bus ride back to Dublin.

It was a fun weekend getaway which I got to know a lot of friends and living in hostel is definitely the best way for communal interactions.

Greece - Athens

Arrived at Athens at midnight after an 8 hour ferry ride on the Mediterranean Sea. We were amazed by how near our accommodation was to the attractions and central metro station, barely 100m away.

Day 1 - Slept until noon (as usual), and headed to Plaka for some day time shopping. We visited Acropolis later in the afternoon, followed by New Acropolis Museum and Temple of Zeus.

At night, we strolled around Plaka again and discovered some crowded shopping districts full of locals. From the picture you can actual see the Acropolis, pretty good place to be at night.

Favorite photo of Athens, over-seeing night Acropolis

Day 2 - We were dead tired by now as it was day 10 of our trip. Spent the afternoon in National Archaeological Museum and Panathenaic Stadium, where the first International Olympic Games was held.

Day 3 - Good things have to come to an end I guess and it's time to return to Dublin.

Experienced the most happening day on planes, and here's the story: My first flight to Copenhagen was delayed by 2 hours due to technical issues, causing me to miss my connecting flight to Dublin. The airline compensated me with alternate flights that bring me from Copenhagen to Frankfurt, then to Dublin. Fine. Then, the flight to Frankfurt got delayed by half an hour due to AC malfunction. When I arrived at Frankfurt, the connecting flight was about to fly in 10 minutes. I ran all the way from arrival to the gate, and guess what? Everyone was sitting around as the plane has yet fill its engine. Arrived at Dublin at 11:30pm instead of 6pm. No complains since exchange students are never in a rush to go back school. But I would never take anymore flights with the-airline-that-shall-not-be-named.

Greece - Santorini

Spent 10 hours 'flying' from Brussels to Santorini. Actually majority of the time was just waiting for transit which was really painful. Reached Santorini airport late at night and glad that my villa host came to fetch us from airport because everywhere was pitch dark with no bus or taxi at that point of time and we would have no idea how to get to our villa.

Day 1 - Rise and shine, literately SHINE, I mean the sun felt as if it will burn your skin in minutes. Took bus to Fira, the so called city center of the island. 

After spending the afternoon there, we took bus to Oia for sunset (the place that appears on google images when you google Santorini). We lost our way walking back from Fira due to a wrong turn, and it was a bad idea to wear one layer as the night was really cold with the strong wind. Everywhere was pitch dark and we were feeling so helpless that we began waving for cars passing by. Thankfully, one friendly local stopped for us and took us back to our villa.

My favorite photo of Santorini

Day 2 - Booked an ATV (scooter but 4 wheels) so that I can drive around the island, NOT! I didn't bring my driving license and it requires one, oh well not fated for it. So we took bus to Kamari Beach which supposed to be a very happening and crowded beach...during the peak period. It was close to empty, with a few angmohs here and there lying under the umbrellas for sun tan. 

Went to Fira again in the evening as there is really a lot of shops to see. As it was still early, we walked down the donkey trail and headed to the Old Port of Fira. It was quite a walk down the trail full of donkeys and feces. Fortunately, the view at the Port was really beautiful. In the late evening, we took cable back up to Fira for sunset and dinner.

                                Walking down to Donkey Trail                   Roaming around Fira

Sunset at Old Port

Day 3 - Went to Perissa Beach (opposite of Kamari Beach) and once again it wasn't happening at all. Took bus to Oia again in the afternoon and spent rest of the day there as there was nowhere else to go.

Sunset at Oia

Day 4 - Glad that we took the afternoon ferry to leave for Athens instead of the midnight one as there is nothing much left to see in Santorini.

Passed by another nice island along the way

Overall takeaway: Great place for couples, girls like it more than guys, bring your driving license, 3 day is more than enough to cover the island.

Belgium - Bruges

Day 3 - Day trip from Brussels to Bruges. Belgium is a small country thus we were able to get all the way across to the Northwest of the country in an hour by train. Bruges is called "The Venice of the North", where river canals filled the city. The canals are not as excessive as Venice though and there are roads for driving and horse-riding. We spent the afternoon strolling around the small city taking pictures, eating waffles and fries.

Belgium - Brussels

Belgium is the first country I go where there is nothing written in English. Has to make some smart guesses when deciding which train station to alight and what food to order. First evening in Brussels city center is really great. The ambiance of the city is really unique, differently from any other places I have gone so far in Europe. It's happening but not crowded, brightly lit but not glaring, just a peaceful and modern small city.

Had the most unforgettable dinner in Europe: a full pot of steamed mussels! Yes, you must try this in Belgium.

Day 2 - We joined a 3 hour city walking tour which brought us to most of the landmarks in Brussels.
Brussels is indeed a small and peaceful place.

England - Cambridge

Took Rail from London Kingscross station to Cambridge. The ride took more than an hour as there are many small stops in between. Reached Cambridge station at 12:30pm and my friend Qian Chen picked me up. We took taxi to city center and had our lunch. It started raining after lunch and it was really bad! My shoes have no resistance to water and my feet are completely soaked within 15 minutes. Walked around in soaked shoes for the rest of the day.

Visited all the famous College campuses such as Kings College, Trinity College, and St. Johns College. Managed to sneak into all of them without paying entrance fees by walking behind my friend and pretending to be a Cambridge student.

Rained finally stopped at 5pm and we took a Punting tour along the river.

England - London

First solo backpack trip ever, rather excited. Checked-in to my 6 bed hostel at 8pm and below is a picture of my hostel. The night was still young so I decided to take tube to River Thames for London night view. London Eye is actually much smaller and dimmer than Singapore Flyers. Strolled along the river from London Eye to London Bridge which took me around 40 minutes. The night stroll along the river Thames was peaceful yet enjoyable.

Day 2: Woke up relatively early to catch the Changing of Guards at Buckingham Palace at 11am. Reached at 10:30am but there were already a massive crowd camping there and I couldn't get a good view. The ceremony was actually alright and I wouldn't say it's a must for anyone touring London. Ate lunch and headed to National History Museum, one of the many free museums in London. Finished up the evening with Science Museum and Victoria Museum as they are just around the corner.

Day 3: Woke up pretty late and went straight to Borough Market for food. Spent a total 14 pounds on scallops, fresh oysters (1.5 pounds per oyster and MUST TRY), curry rice and chocolate doughnut.

Spent the whole afternoon in British Museum which is really really huge, probably need a full day there if you wish to see all the displays in detail. Headed to Lobster and Burger Restaurant for mandatory lobster dinner in London. The 20 pounds is no doubt well-spent!

Day 4: Took train to Windsor Castle for half-day trip. Windsor Castle is very much like Versaille Palace where it was the home of former Kings and Queens.

Day 5: Cambridge

Pounds is a very scary currency and London is an expensive city. But no doubt London is a mandatory trip for anyone who goes UK as it is the heart of the all activities. This backpack trip alone really allowed me to reflect and find out more about myself.