Leipzig and Clisson - Nantes were festival destinations (Wave Gothic Treffen and Hellfest), so I can't say I tasted much of the local flavor. Festival traveling is special in it's own way, and I totally recommend the experience. The city you will be in, will be totally different that it's usual, day-to-day look. Everybody is there to have fun and enjoy themselves, so if you want a high dose of dopamine that crawls through your pores, this is the right crowd. You get to just relax, listen to your favorite music, see your favorite bands, and all this is a totally alien environment, that some how feels good and ideal. Your brain will be thankful for the high dose of adrenaline and dopamine that you'll provide him with. When traveling for festivals, pack light...and if you plan to stay in a tent, I recommend you rent a festival tent, because even if it costs a bit more, it saves you a lot of hassle...trust me...and if the airline looses your luggage (like in my case) at least you have a place to sleep.
Berlin has been added to my Leipzig trip as an extra couple of days of relaxation, since the city was our departure airport. Though I have been in Berlin before, this time I focused more on just walking through the city and getting the Berlin vibe that everybody is just so excited about. Still no real change of impression, and still not on top of my favorite places list. The city is nice, very clean, very well structured, lots of nice street art....very and lots of everything, but it feel just dead. I like a bit of history and WW2 ruined that for Berlin unfortunately.
Amsterdam...oh the city of the Red District, drugs, sex and loosing oneself completely into the devil's temptations. Such a superficial view of a city that is filled with history and riches. Unfortunately, this scrap image takes over, and the people visiting this city are good christians that come to meet the devil every now and then, loose themselves and piss on the city's history. If you visit Amsterdam for this reason, then I recommend a stay in one of the many hostels that are in the heart of the Red District. It's a bit more expensive, but our option was a room of 14 girls and though it seams like a horrifying experience, it was actually pretty good. But if you visit Amsterdam for it's history, museums and boat travels around the canals, try to stay further from this area. Either way you don't need more than a Friday to Sunday trip to see what Amsterdam has to offer. I recommend at least two trips to this city....one to smoke weed, get drunk and piss on the street, and one to visit and enjoy the history of this great European capital. What I liked most were the flee markets...visiting them takes you on a trip to the beautiful, rich times that Europe used to be submerged in. If you come from Eastern Europe and like books and movies about what life used to be in the rich cities of Europe, you will love this.
Lisbon - Sintra was the highlight of the year. I have been waiting to take this trip for almost 4 years, and I can't believe I finally managed to be there. The flight ticket was so expensive that when I found this special offer, I just had to take the tickets. I guess excitement took over my brain during this visit, because not even now, I can't find the words to describe it. It was beyond expectations and if you manage to actually feel the city and not just visit it, you will have an unforgettable trip. Of course there are different types of travelers with different interests, and the travel mate I had, did not enjoy it as much as I did. Coming form Romania, Portugal is not very different. You have their own beggars (not your own country's beggars like in Rome), and "dirt" that shows the level of development is just about the same as where you're coming from. So, if you come from Eastern Europe, and you usually appreciate flee markets that take you back in richer times, rather than the poverty that you can easily see when you walk down the street in your own city, it might not be so great. But, if you come from Western Europe this is a bohemian paradise. I loved the oriental mix in the architecture of the city, the crumbled dirty streets of the old town where everybody knows everybody, mostly because they can see in each-others houses, the history of the Inquisition times, Templar and secret societies, discoveries of unknown worlds, megalomania and obsessions of rulers, music, sun and natural resources. This part of the world has such a great vibe, that you can just get sucked into the feelings of the millions that used to inherit it. Here, every piece of history is built from love, not reason...even if we're talking about mad, destructive love. What I liked most was this very old Inquisition cathedral that somehow survived time - Igreja de São Domingos. This red painted cathedral used to be an Inquisition court house. Here, thousands of innocent lives were sentenced to be killed on fiery stakes in the market that stands very close to it. The red paint, the cracks in the walls and the signs of the great fire that it went through make you shiver. As a side note, man I would love to eat a pastel de nata right now.
Rome, my most spontaneous trip ever, to a city I was not that excited about visiting. I was horrified I think by it's fame and the hoards of tourists that come with it. I was curios, but not that curious....expecting some turned over old stones that you learn about sooooo much at history and see so many documentaries and movies about. I thought it's most likely another overrated tourist trap. But, when cheap flights and promising travel mates come along...why not make it. If I would have not liked it, and least I would have enjoyed the company I was with. And so, the beginning of December turned into, what it seams, the best time of the year to visit Rome. We had great weather and the best part...no tourists. It was just us and Russians at this time of the year. We stayed near the train station, a place that makes everybody squint, but to be honest I don't understand why. It was super quite, averagely clean and not dangerous at all...even better, it was close to everything. Oh yes, and I was impressed...this city exceeded all my expectations and it's definitely worth seeing all those "stones". History is just amazing, and being able to still witness it's greatness with the good and the bad it's just as amazing. We walked through the city from "one corner to the other" and saw it all...the famous and least famous spots, that are obviously the best. We had great tips about these not so famous places and we did not hesitate to see the orange garden with our own eyes, taste delicious ice cream and pasta and pizza and porchetta panini. Some tips should definitely include not eating oranges from the trees unless you want to taste pure, super concentrated Vit. C...we did it and it hurt our taste buds. Don't miss the Basilica of Saint Pietro no matter your beliefs...we were lucky to attend a mass that had a choir singing and the organ playing...beautiful. Another thing that should definitely not be missed, and we experienced it by accident basically, is the evening starling flocks flight over the river Tiber of the millions of starlings that migrate through Rome. It's the most spectacular nature meet urban life phenomena I ever experienced. Millions of little birds hoover while singing and dancing on the sky, and then settle in the trees around for their good-night sleep. Ah...important here is to have something to cover your head with, ideally an umbrella...you get it why :)
2015 Travel Map
