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.

Ireland - Wicklow

Assembled at the bus station at 11am for a day trip to Wicklow organized by ESN. Wicklow is a big County in the east of Ireland, which is a popular for tourists.

The bus first brought us to the base of The Sugarloaf Mountain. The Mountain is only 500 meters high but the slope leading up to the top is extremely steep. We took around 40 minutes to climb up to the summit and the view from the top was indeed rewarding.

Climbing down, as expected, was even tougher than climbing up. Everyone looked exhausted when we finally reached the base.

The bus brought us to Glendalough in the afternoon. Glendalough is a glacial valley, formally a monastic settlement in the Medieval times.

A simple but fulfilling day trip. Climbing is quite fun and rewarding but not so good for your knees.

Ireland - Cliffs of Moher

Signed up for ISS's Cliffs of Moher day trip. Assemble time was very early in the morning as the cliffs are all the way at the west coast of the country, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Wore 3 layers of clothes but was still freezing on my walk to assembly area. It was a really long ride, and after several short stops and lunch break, we finally arrived at the cliffs at 2pm. The bus driver only gave us until 3:45pm to see the cliffs... WHAT?

Due to ridiculous time constraint, I ended up running from cliffs to cliffs hoping to see the breathtaking cliffs from all angles, and I also intended to sit by the cliff to embrace the wind and peace. Time given was so short that I didn't get to fulfill either task.  For those who are going to Cliffs of Moher, please go on your own.

Ireland - Howth

Decided to do a day trip to Howth on my free day. Howth is a village which forms a large part of the peninsula on the east coast of Ireland, just outside the North of Dublin. Took DART from the nearest train station and arrived at Howth in 40 minutes. The afternoon was perfect, sunny with strong sea breeze.

Walked along the coast a little and began to walk up the track which leads to the summit. The track going up the mountain is along the coast so there is nice scenery along the way. Took me around one and a half hours to reach the summit where I was presented with a great view of the cliffs.

This place is pretty decent for a simple full-day or half-day getaway from the city to experience Ireland's coastal beauty.

France - Paris

Our train from Mannheim was supposed to reach Paris at 4:50 pm but due to two different train faults, we reached Paris at only 6:30 pm. It was already 8:30 pm when we checked in and had our dinner thus there was no way we were going to catch the sunset at Eiffel Tower. Still made our way to the tower and the night view was fantastic! The night sky, coupled with the bright Tower lights, cool breeze and couples sitting around the garden picnicking, it felt as if we were on another planet. The only regret was not bringing a picnic mat.

Day 2 - Woke up at close to noon and made our way to Louvre Museum, most famously for the Mona Lisa painting. I personally have no affinity for art works and museums (despite being an AEP student) thus it was a relatively boring experience for me in the museum.

In the evening, we headed to Montparnasse where we had a perfect view of the entire Paris city.

Day 3 - Took RER to Palace of Versailles after our lunch. Once again I was bored walking around the interior of the palace. Museums and art works are just not my thing. Entered the garden only at 6:30 pm as we would need to pay for the music fountain show if we were to enter earlier. Describing the garden as breathtaking is an understatement, you must go there if you visit Paris.

View before we enter the Palace

View in the garden - the arc

View in the Garden - the lake

Back to Paris city late at night looking for a place for dinner but the prices in all the restaurants were ridiculous. We finally walked into a pizza restaurant where we weren't allowed to share a pizza initially (1 person 1 plate!) but after negotiating, the waitress eventually allowed us to.

Paris is an average city for student tourists as the price level is extremely high. You might want to skip if on a budget.

Italy - Venice

Day 7 - Regretted not buying the ticket to Venice the day before and it turned out that all tickets were sold out until 1 pm. We had no choice but to sit around the McDonalds near Florence train station to wait for the next available train. We manage to reached Venice in the evening and it was drizzling and pretty cold. For the first time I needed to put on my jacket in Italy. Our B&B was off the Venice island thus we took a bus over. Venice is beautiful!

This is the main canal which cuts through Venice, it's really wide.

This is one of the small sub-canals where people go for boat rides. Sadly we didn't join one as it was rather expensive.

Day 8 - We were too tired from the entire trip and we slept until noon for the first time, it was totally satisfying. Took bus to Venice island again and this time we took a ferry to a nearby smaller island called Burano. Burano is known for its colored houses along the canals, pretty special concept.

Day 9 - Last day in Italy! We went back to Venice island once again for some final photos before saying goodbye to this beautiful country. Gonna catch our plane back to Frankfurt Hahn. Yeah the airport is really uluu and we took a seriously long bus ride back to Mannheim.

The first trip in Europe is truly an eye-opener for someone like me who has hardly been out of Asia (went Perth once). Can't wait for the upcoming trips!