Eurotrip #1

I went on a small eurotrip-10 days- in the end of May. I went to Gdansk, Bergen,Oslo- though very briefly- and Munich. Each city has its perks, like always, but there were some that I liked a lot more than others. I’ll give you guys some tricks I picked up in this trip at the end of this post.

Gdansk (Poland)

Located in the northern part of Poland, this tiny town was pretty but it didn’t do that much for me. Probably because I arrived during off-season and I wasn’t that into it to begin with. To be honest, I went there mainly because everyone did- so peer pressure- and because it was just so cheap.

So what did I do?

I mainly wandered around the tiny city for the first day and ate in restaurants with a friend. We came back to the hostel pretty early because there wasn't that much to do, probably because we were really off-season. On the second day, we went to Westerplatte, a memorial site for WWII, which was really interesting. I highly recommend it to anyone coming to Gdansk, you need to take the tram to get there, but it’s worth it. Afterwards, we went to a museum and had a really nice tour guide, so nice that she even offered to give us a ride back to the city center and recommended us to some restaurants. After supper, we just shared some drinks with some friends at a pub 2 steps away from our hostel. It was nice to have drinks that didn’t make your wallet bleed.

Personally, I didn't really care much for Gdansk, and given the atmosphere, the weather and other circumstances, I unfortunately didn't enjoy it as much as I did the other destinations. Maybe once I develop further interest for Poland, I would go back for a day or two and appreciate it more, during the high season maybe? For now, I’m more into Germanic and Nordic/Scandinavian countries.

View on top of the Westerplatte

Westerplatte

Bergen (Norway)

First thing I saw when I arrived in Bergen

I basically had to wake up at 3-4 AM in order to catch my flight to Bergen at 7AM. (It was amazing that the flight cost me less than 25 euros.) The connection to the city center was really good; I stopped right in front of the fish market at around a little before 9 AM.

Neighbourhood I was living in

I was supposed to meet up with a friend 10 hours later, so I pretty much had all day to wander around Bergen. What I didn’t know when I booked the tickets was that I arrived on a national holiday, so most of the stores and supermarkets were closed. So the city was pretty dead except for the tourist attractions. Also, all the hostels downtown were booked and I wasn’t able to find anyone to host my friend and I for couchsurfing. Actually we did find one, but that person lived at least an hour away from the city and we figured it was just too complicated. So, what we did was rent an apartment about 15 minutes away from the city center by lightrail/bybanen. It’s amazingly efficient, comfortable, smooth, modern and every commuter’s dream. Of course, we had to pay around 31 NOK everytime, but it was worth it. I think it’s really nice to get away from the downtown area once in a while. Like that, you get to see other parts of the city and have a better feel of how to be a local.

View from my balcony

Every commuter's dream: bybanen

 


Bergen is absolutely beautiful and I really liked it. I was also extremely lucky since I came in the perfect timing: I came in the middle of two festivals- The Bergen International Festival and the Jazz Festival-; and with fantastic weather: I was 4-5 days in Bergen and it was 15-20 degrees with blue skies the whole time, something extremely rare considering it rains at least 200 days a year. Talk about insane luck.

So what can you do once you’re in Bergen?

1.       Go up Mount Floyen (I would recommend walking all the way to the top intead of taking the funicular, especially if the weather is beautiful).

2.       Visit the Fish Market

3.       Wander around the city center, see if there are any festivals or activities happening.

4.       Go shopping (if you’re loaded)

5.       Visit some interactive museums

These are all pictures taken of Bergen on top of Mount Floyen:

Before flying to Munich, I opted for a train ride from Bergen to Oslo. Yes it lasts nearly 7 hours, but it was worth it. I got the idea from reading stuff to do in Norway and everyone seemed to love it. It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful railways in Europe. AND IT IS! The first and last hours are okay, but it’s really nice in between. You see the landscape change before your eyes: beautiful lakes to summer mountains, to winter ones, back to lakes and waterfalls and farmlands. It’s really something, especially around Voss. I upgraded a bit from the normal wagon to one that had bigger windows and more leg room (not like I needed it but it was still nice). It was maybe 10 euros extra? But totally worth it. I highly recommend everyone to do it if they get a chance.

Look at that reflection in the water...

A Farmland

Somewhere in Oslo

I arrived to Oslo a bit later than I thought so I had less time to discover the city. I had maybe 2 hours to walk as much as possible around the city? I managed to see some of it and, of course, the sun was still shining. Flowers were blooming everywhere and everything looked beautiful. It was also nice to have some sort of crowd, some urban life to a city.

And then I fled to Munich

Munich (Germany)

The flight to Germany was smooth. It was once I got there that and had to find my host’s apartment that things got a bit tricky. I took close to 3 hours from the airport to the apartment because I was so confused as to how the transportation worked. Luckily I was a
ble to ask around every step of the way, both in English and German, so I was able to get there safely. I was mainly going back and forth in the S-Bahn because it didn’t stop at some stations at night. I didn’t know that so I went too far and back… ouf.

To be honest, I was pretty nervous about this. It was my first time really travelling alone and surfing at a stranger’s apartment. Add that to the fact that I’m a female alone at night, things can get a bit scary. Still, I managed to shut my fear out brave my way through there.

Munich comes to a very close second after Copenhagen in being my favourite city. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also just so rich in history- with the dark Nazi past and all. The Nazis knew that Munich would be destroyed in the Second World War, so they drew as many sketches as the could in order to rebuild it as it was before once it was destroyed. What I also like about the city is that, unlike Berlin where there is just this huge memorial for the Jews in WWII, there are subtle reminders here and there all around the city. For instance, there is a plaque right in front of a store commemorating a Jewish family during the holocaust.

And this is part of the path Nazi victims took in order to avoid the Nazi monument that was round the corner, where they had to do the Nazi salute:

So yeah, the city decided this would be more effective and educational since it actually takes effort to think about it and figure it out. People have to research about- like I just did to write this blog- to know what it means. Since it’s all around the city, it’s harder to forget and disrespect rather than if it were really ostentatious at one place. You can’t just forget about it and go about your day.

On the second day, I decided to go visit the first Nazi-German concentration camp: Dachau. It was very heavy and emotional, but I really believe that it’s something everyone should see. You learn about so many atrocities, the history, the humiliation. What we read in history books were nothing but Disney versions of that era, so many things were left out. I walked in the barracks, the cells, and even the gas chambers. Just being there made me so uncomfortable and claustrophobic. But I don’t regret going there at all. I can’t imagine living in such conditions for years. I felt like shit within 2 minutes, imagine years. In other words, Dachau is a very dark but necessary must-see in Munich.

English Garden

So, what I did in Munich?

1.       Free walking tour!!!

2.       Visit English Gardens

3.       Caught a glimpse of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universitet (it was my 3^rd choice for exchange!)

4.       Wander around Hofbrauhaus

5.       Went up the old St-Peter’s to see the view from up top ( I must warn you, it’s one heck of a climb… it’s the equivalent of climbing up 14 flights of stairs)

6.       Visit the market place

Pimpin' around in BMW World

7.       Visit Dachau concentration camp

8.       BMW Welt (I’m not a car person at all but I must admit it was pretty impressive and fun)

9.       Olympic Stadium and Park

10.   Drink delicious heavenly Bavarian beer

What I will be doing next time I’m in Munich

1.       Go on the Third Reich Tour

2.       BMW museum

3.       Deutches Museum

4.       Get a massive beer at the Hofbrauhaus

5.       Neuschwanstein Schloss (Castle)

6.       Try some Weiss and BratWurst

7.       Try on some Bavarian costumes and take a picture with a man wearing Lederhosen
 

I only spent 2 full days there and it was unfortunate that many things closed so early. I will definitely go back there once I get the chance.

I'll leave you with a vid of hot Bavarian men surfing in the English Gardens.

Some tips when you’re traveling for 10 days straight on a tight budget (that's just how I would work. It's up to you to take my tips or not, everyone has different tastes and travels differently so don't just take my word for it):

1.       Check for free walking tours.

These tours are just so amazing and are based on tips. So, obviously, the tour guide is generally outstanding. The tour itself lasts about 3 hours but it gives a great overview of the city. Learn about history, good places to eat that don’t bleed out your wallet and such.

2.       Get a map.

Unless you’re in London where the map costs about 6 CAD (what a freakin ripoff), airports offer great city maps. I like maps because I don’t have google maps on my phone and I’m just that old school. Some places offer amazing ones (Copenhagen for example) with landmarks and good places to eat. They are really useful if you want to make the best out of your trip without getting lost.

3.       Don’t be afraid to ask for directions.

Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can be smart, suck up your pride and be somewhere in 5 minutes instead of wandering around like an idiot for 30. Also ask some info desk guy (either at the airport or the tourist info) about how to get to a destination and have them point it on a map. It’ll just make your life easier.

4.       Learn the language (or try).

Not everyone speaks English. I went to Munich, a pretty big city and even within downtown, I had to speak some German to order food and ask for directions. It’s not a must, but it’s just easier.

5.       Do your research and plan your stay.

Don’t plan every single minute of the day and be super rigid- plans change all the time. But do some research to avoid wasting time. Wandering around aimlessly is nice, but when you’re crunching for time, you need a plan. Though worst comes to worst,  go visit the tourist information center. These places offer great maps and give you really good suggestions for what to do in the city if you run out of ideas. Unless you already have everything planned out, you should go there.

6.       Get a phone/device that lets you have access to wifi.

 I was planning my stay in Munich while I was in Gdansk, looking at websites like tripadvisor. Or sometimes you need to check something like your mail, check in online for your next flight, etc.

7.       Eat well and buy food in supermarkets.

Buying food in supermarkets helps you save money and gives you more choices in foods, giving you more opportunities in eating well/healthy. Your body needs fruits and vitamins. You can eat cheap food from 7/11 for so long before your body feels like shit. When you feel like shit, you feel lazy and won’t enjoy the awesome city you’re in.

8.       Don’t be afraid, challenge yourself. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This may sound kinda stupid but it’s true. When I get nervous, I tend to overthink everything: what happens if I get lost? Will I get to my destination safely? Will I get raped? What do I do if something happens to me? Etc. The best thing to do is to just shut those voices in your head. You gotta force yourself to or else you become paranoid. Once you manage through this, you’ll be so proud of yourself you have no idea.

9.       Be smart.

Seriously, just use your brain. If you don’t feel (reasonably) safe doing something or going somewhere, just don’t go. There are other things to do/see. There’s always something or other ways. Challenge yourself, but do remember to use your common sense.

10.   Be frugal, but don’t be a hobo.

Save up where you can to go do some activities. Sure, there’s always some free stuff to do like wander the streets and visit the local markets or even check out some museums. But some things are really worth doing if you spend a little extra money here and there. For instance, the Dachau tour cost me 17 euros, but it was totally worth it because it’s not something you can see anywhere else. Basically, save your money, but try to spend a little for yourself too.


So until you decide to move your ass to Europe, I say:

Okrzyki, Skål and Prost.