Jan. 4-5: After picking up some French chocolate croissants at a cute little bakery for the road, I took the bus from Paris to Amsterdam, which took about 6 hours with a stop in Antwerp. After arriving in Sloterdijk, I took a train to Amsterdam Centraal and the tram to my hotel on Prinsengracht canal, … Continue reading Amsterdam (Jan. 4-5 / Jan. 8-9)
Category: Europe
Belgium: Brussels & Bruges (Jan. 6-7)
Jan. 6: My day in Brussels got off to a slow start since I slept in pretty late. The first thing I did was walk to the Grand Place, with its shiny gold buildings. From there, I searched for some true Belgian waffles, and was not disappointed by my strawberry and Nutella waffle. I also … Continue reading Belgium: Brussels & Bruges (Jan. 6-7)
ADPals in Paris (Jan. 3-4)
I took the night train from Milan to Paris, which was an interesting experience. There were 6 people in a tiny little room on little "couchette's" but actually I slept for almost the entire time. So all in all it wasn't bad. I arrived in Paris at 11:15 am, later than expected since my train … Continue reading ADPals in Paris (Jan. 3-4)
New Years in Italy (Dec. 29-Jan. 2)
Dec. 29: We took a pretty long but scenic bus ride from Munich down through the Swiss Alps to finally arrive in Milan after 6 hours, where we checked in to the Airbnb apartment we're staying at near the Central Station. After we freshened up a bit, we went to Princi Bakery (my fav place … Continue reading New Years in Italy (Dec. 29-Jan. 2)
Bavarian Germany (Dec. 26-28)
Dec. 26: Mia's friend picked us up from the train station and drove us home, where we took some much needed showers after our time in the mountains. After, we just hung out with Mia's friend and ate some pizza before going to sleep. Dec. 27: We went to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, which is an … Continue reading Bavarian Germany (Dec. 26-28)
Swiss Christmas (Dec. 23-26)
Dec. 23: I took the train leaving Denmark going south to Germany to meet my friend Mia in her city Kaufbeuren, which is southwest of Munich in Bavaria. It was pretty much a full day event, as I took 3 different trains (transferring in Hamburg & Munich) and a ferry to finally arrive 11 hours … Continue reading Swiss Christmas (Dec. 23-26)
Copenhagen, Denmark (Dec. 20-23)
Dec. 20: After my layover experience in Iceland, I boarded my second flight to Copenhagen, and was greeted at the airport by my Danish friend Johan, who lives in a suburb of Copenhagen near the airport called Kastrup in Amager. We took the bus back to his house, where I'm staying for my time in … Continue reading Copenhagen, Denmark (Dec. 20-23)
Six Hours in Iceland (Dec. 20)
This winter break I decided to spend 3 weeks in Europe visiting my AFS friends for Christmas and New Years and just doing some traveling. I flew with Icelandair, and my flight had a scheduled layover in Iceland for 7 hours. After doing some research, I decided I'd spend my layover doing something fun and … Continue reading Six Hours in Iceland (Dec. 20)
Italian Memories: Bellaria, Bergamo, World Expo, Milan, & Venice
After our time in Rome, my mom flew back to the States while I stayed in Italy a week longer and visited a bunch of my Italian AFS friends I met while I was in China. Bellaria First, we left Rome and spent some time at the seaside in Bellaria - a small seaside city close … Continue reading Italian Memories: Bellaria, Bergamo, World Expo, Milan, & Venice
Rome: Caput Mundi
The last stop on my mom & my European vacation was Rome, the Eternal City! We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Rome Central Park, which is pretty far from the city center, although a good hotel. When we arrived at Termini station in Rome, we crammed on to the metro, got off at the last … Continue reading Rome: Caput Mundi