★ Travel diary of me in 2015 ★

I had this travel gap in my life for the past years that I felt the need to fill up in 2015. I used to have this purpose to travel to a totally new location at least once a year, and I managed to keep it for long, but then life came along and my plan stopped working the way it used to. But in 2015, I took revenge and traveled to 2 totally new countries (The Netherlands and Portugal) and 5 totally new cities (Leipzig, Clisson - Nantes, Amsterdam, Lisbon - Sintra, Rome), plus a new view of Berlin. Two were festival trips, one was business related, and the last two were total leisure. The ideal mix - match that allowed me to see things from different perspectives, and have different travel mates.

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

A new year, a new traveling experience

One week, two new European cities on my map....two Bs, two different cultures but with one common factor: WAR. My trip started in Beograd and continued with Berlin, a cultural loop through Europe.

Belgrade
We went to Serbia to a black metal music festival: Darkness Rising. As I am not a fan, the trip was labeled from the very beginning as an experience that would take me to a new, not very popular touristic capital in Europe.

A country neighboring Romania to South-West, a country that went through war not long ago and was bombed even from Romania...sad but true. Though we stayed next to Belgrade because of the festival  (at hotel Sucevic, a four start hotel that was worse than the worse hostel I ever went to), and were more than tired every morning, we managed to visit Belgrade. We walked for about 4 hours around Belgrade's center. Not much to visit except for a huge Orthodox church and an old fortress right at the other end of the city. The city's vibe is very similar to Bucharest. I am talking about a capital that was recently bombed and is not an EU member. Stray dogs, garbage, street vendors...these are common points between an EU capital and just a regular European capital's city center. Amazing or not...I have not seen as many gypsy as in Bucharest...which basically, in my view, makes us the lords of gypsies in Europe...

We went by car, so we entered Serbia at Portile de Fier and drove along the Danube. The scenery here is absolutely amazingly beautiful. The Danube flows through the mountains before entering Romania, turning from a sea like river to a stream...before heading for the Black Sea. Golubac Fortress is an old Turkish crossing point over the Danube. An old fortress lost into the Danube, unfortunately not very well taken care of.

The festival was the very interesting experience I expected. We had great company and made cool new friends...The cold weather and all organisational issues were nothing to the great time we had in the end. In the first day I was absolutely frozen and literally couldn't feel my toes anymore. The bus back to the hotel was never on time and kept changing schedules without us knowing. It was the first edition, and we were expecting them not to be super organised, but at some point it was just amazing...and it seamed like the organizers stopped caring. Black metal bands singing after sunrise :) I am sure that was something new for them as well.

Berlin

No time to get used to being home as I had to leave for another European B. For me, Germany is the womb  of civilization. The city was a first timer, but the country not. I have not been to Germany since I was 13...when it was the first country I ever visited. A memory that sticks with me because of the sadness I felt when I got back to Romania back then.

I did not like Berlin as much. The city is continuously being built since the '90s, and because of that it's not very inviting for tourists. Everything is just too clean and very well organised, and an obsessive - compulsive like me would go mad in such a place. I found out some interesting facts about the city though: 

• it has 153 museums which I only got to see from the outside, 
• one third of Berlin's citizens are immigrants, first or second generation, 
• there is no minimum wage law and though some would like to have that, others don't.

If I were to describe the city in a few words, the first things that come to my mind are: linear, massive, organized.

Unfortunately, our trip was rather short, but we did manage to see the most important touristic attractions, even if we could not get a real vibe of the city, maybe next time.

My favorite thing about the city was the street art. I didn't get to see much because we were mainly going through the center, but it is something particular about it.

Holy Land - North of Israel & Jerusalem

My weekend in Israel was full of history and culture. We had a great guide who didn't focus as much on the religious part of the stories, but also on the political issues. She had a joke for each story - religious or not. The land bears the signs of the passing of time. History has been very generous with this territory and there is really a lot to learn. The green lands that I saw now used to be nothing by desert. With a great water system built by the Americans, Israel has water all over the country from only one source - the Jordan. Where there wasn't desert, there were swamps and this is where you find many eucalyptus trees, especially brought from Australia. The country has a great infrastructure. Probably the best roads I've seen so far.

A strange observation I made is that they have mostly white cars. White or dark blue and grey. You rarely see a red car, but no yellow, green, baby blue...etc.

First day - North of Israel
I can't even remember everything we visited...there were so many churches and holy places...just too much for me. The only thing that struck me was the origin of the word Armageddon which comes from Maggidon - some hills in the North of Israel that have been a continuos battle field for many years since ancient time.

The country is also divided between Jewish towns and Arab towns. They each live in their own world and interact only little on common holidays. You can certainly see and feel the differences...Palestine is still there.

Second day - Jerusalem

This city was tiering. It's a mix of Orthodox Jews and Arabs. Busy, full of tourists and very noisy. You do have a feeling of warmth while visiting the Mountain of Olives or the Western Wall, but it doesn't last long because the next group of tourists is pushing you out :) 

These are the places we will all see when the Savior will come. This is the gate through which we will pass for our judgment :D Some already have front row seats, the hills around the gate and the golden dome are full of graves. It's like a large open cemetery in the middle of a city.

The Meeting
The meeting was great! We had a good time together...I had my own presentations which went out well and a successful client event.

I ate so much...Israel has great food and my love for spicy food has been satisfied.

Hopefully more to come...next year should be Cape Town...sounds good I'd say.

Holy Land - Tel Aviv & Jaffa

Who would have thought about Israel...another year, another IESF Regional Meeting and another pin on my personal world map.

The trip is fine so far. We flew with I think, the oldest plane Tarom had, with a large group of Christians (Orthodox). They were with their priest and their nun traveling to the holly places before Easter. I was so lucky to sit just behind the priest. Adelina and I were convinced that no matter how old that plane would have been with a priest in front nothing could have happened or at last we would end up in Heaven for sure. 

It's not as easy to get into Israel, especially if you are a young girl with light hair. As you don't need a visa we didn't bother our heads with invitations and other official stuff, but it turned out that such a paper would have served us well. First a girl stopped and interrogated us just as we got off the plane" "Where are you going?" "Why?" "With who?"...etc etc...very in depth questions, by the way. As if that wasn't enough we got even more questions at passport control...so it took a while until we were actually in Tel Aviv.

The Taxi driver ripped us off of course, but when you come from a country where this is normal...it doesn't bother you, you expect it.

Tel Aviv is different. Sunny weather, beautiful beach...but a city which makes you feel as if you are nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It's a complex mix of American/ European/ Arabic infrastructure and architecture. On one road you feel like in Miami, then you feel like in Milan and a few streets away like in Greece. The city is actually being rebuild. They are "restoring"...which means that they practically take down the whole building but a wall, and then build something new :)

Though the state is strongly militarized you don't feel that on the street, or you somehow expect it. They check you every time you enter the hotel, there are planes and helicopters going back and forth, but I only saw armed police men once. You don't feel any threat...By the way, the military is mandatory here. After highschool girls go for 2 years and boys for 3. After that, boys have to go in every year for one month. They don't serve the government, they serve the nation (that's what they say). So basically everyone here knows how to shoot a gun.

The people are also a weird mix. I can't tell a certain common physical trait they have. They look Jewish indeed, but I can't say why. Some of them have a very light - gingerish figure and others are a bit darker. There are no blondes here for sure, but otherwise...Still, I do identify them with the people in this region. They don't look European or American...

I missed staying in this nice hotels and I was so looking forward to sleeping in these super mega soft beds...We have a great view also :D

On our first day, just before the IESF dinner, we got to travel around bit. First we went to Dror's office where we learned about this strange tradition. People here are strongly connected by their religion and their religion becomes their law. For example it a state law that restaurants are not allowed to serve meat and diary at the same time. So if you have diary in your restaurant, there will be no meat for sure (except fish). ***though, there's no state law on Kosher in restaurants regarding dairy and meat - even McDonald's serve cheeseburgers. Many restaurants, however, do have Kosher certificates issued by the rabbinic authorities, after the owners had voluntarily applied for them.

Another thing is that they have at the entrance of each door a wooden thing which inside has a scripture from the Bible which protects the room you enter.

I can't say that we visited Tel Aviv from Dror's car, because we didn't really have time to see everything. The only thing we actually visited in Tel Aviv is the old train station and Jaffa...a placed filled with catttsss (all females were neutered by the way :) beautiful place...

Bangkok weekend nights

Saturday was a different story. This was a whole day full of adventure. Four different countries: Italy, Spain, Romania and South Africa on a hunt to visit as much of the city as possible. Everything started with a great taxi driver - Charlie - who amazingly spoke a bit of English...and recommended us to take the boat on the Canal. I must add the fact that this city is huge, but every street you go on looks exactly like the other, so you constantly have  the felling that you are going around. The amazing thing is that taxi drivers have no idea where main streets actually are. I don't know if this is because they actually have a different name in Thai, or we don't pronounce it correctly or...I don't know, but it is confusing. Anyway...here the taxi is the best and only way to get around, even if the traffic is horrible!!

Anyway this turned out to be a great experience as we got to see a different side of the city. The side which is even poorer that what we saw on Patpong.

On the Canal people actually have their houses in water. The image of people washing themselves, clothes and probably getting water to cook from the dirty Canal was a shock. Children leave here and I even saw somebody who had a dog on the porch. Some literally have a 10 cm of water in their houses. I have to admit that some houses were really nice, but all in all it just looked like a permanently flooded city.

We also passed Wat Arun, a Cambodian model temple. I always thought Cambodian architecture is really nice, but now I am sure about it....definitely on my list.

...and we also saw this giant golden plated Buddhist monk statue's back...I have now idea what it was..

As soon as we got off the boat a new era began for my smelling senses. I think this is the city with the worst smells I have ever felt in my life. Nothing could ever beat this. The thing is that they don't sell just objects in their street markets (which are on every street), they sell food...meat that stays for a whole day in a terrible heat, fruits and dried fish (which is absolutely the worse).

Our goal was to see the Royal Grand Palace, but I've learned that you should never make plans in Bangkok. Everything happens really fast and one plan becomes another in a couple of seconds. Instead of going to the palace we got on two tuk tuks which took us around the city for a couple of hours. The experience was great, until one of the tuk tuks broke....and to fix it the drivers tries to connect the two with a rope that obviously broke when we started the engine...but it did get the other one working.

The story never ended because it was too long and exciting...to many things to write down...

Bangkok classical nights

After a shocking experience yesterday at Pat Pong street market, today we had a sip of the classy part of Bangkok's night life.

First things first...the conference was great. We had two young and talented key speakers that did a great presentation on social media/ social market and the need for a shift in the industry's paradigm. Tomorrow I will have my last and final presentation...Chris did it for me today, I just assisted here and there...too lazy...the garden in the second photo is the mini jungle I was talking about. Today I saw a squirrel while someone was presenting...my attention span suffered for a few minutes :)

After the meeting, we went to a great restaurant for dinner - Baan Khanitha - with a Hello Kitty bus :). We only had Thai food, which I must say is very strange. I ate a lot...really did, but I still felt hungry...For aperitif we had some sweet sauce and peanuts and other stuff rolled in a leaf...I have no idea what they are called...and of course rice and curry chicken and curry pork (or at least I hope it was pork)...and some spicy stuff...yeah, not a big fan I must say....

Of course we had to do something else, so we went to Red Sky restaurant. This is a classy must see in Bangkok situated at the 55th floor of a building. You can really see the city from above while listening to nice piano/ live music...

Bangkok continues to amaze me. On Friday it was our last day at this year's conference. This has been so interesting and fun that time simply went by. I will so very miss them...next year we have IESF's 10th anniversary and it's Europe's turn to host the meeting...in Milano. Till then though I have a Regional to do in Tel Aviv...another new city for me and another great experience to come!

It has been decided by everybody that for my own safety they would pay for my hotel during the weekend, so on Friday I checked out and checked in again after about 2 hours. So, I am not alone here this time :) 

That's why after the meeting we went to a Thai Massage. That was a first for me...a painful first. The girl doing the massage was about my size...and just about as bony as I am. So imagine my elbows pressing on you finest nerves. Just when I was about to relax a painful move followed...I went from a love to a hate and full of bloody wishes relationship with that girl from one moment to the other. But the place was really neat and at the end I really meant the "thank you". 

The rest of the night was just a mega spicy dinner at Maha Naga where we went again with our Hello Kitty bus :)

Bangkok wild nights

My trip to Bangkok deserves an every day post. I'll make it a photo post... I just have to say AMAZING...I would never ever in my life wish to live in such a place but it is worth visiting. You have to plan a trip here!!...I don't know whether Asia in general is like this, but if you want a cultural shock, Bangkok is the place to be. And I am saying this after just one day.

So here I went...

First stop - Istanbul airport. I could already feel the oriental air. The airport is like a huge Bazar...crowded and a true place for cultural diversity, people in flip flops and short pants along with women wearing a burka. I always loved airports, but this one was indeed special. Istanbul from above is huge...like a never ending sea of lights. It is definitely on my list...

When I got to Bangkok, after a night slept on a airplane chair...I had to go back and forth from one agent to another because they weren't sure whether I needed a visa or not. As soon as the mystery was solved and I finally got my visa...I couldn't find my bag. The belt where it was suppose to be stopped and nothing was left on it. A kind man led me to the lost luggage room...and there I found my blue travelling seahorse :)

The cab driver couldn't understand where I wanted to go, so he called someone to help him...anyways, he had a nice religious symbol above the left seat of the car...here they drive on the right, which makes it even more exciting.

At the hotel, the wonderful Nai Lert Park, because I am one of the organizers I got to meet everybody...and got a free tour of the mini jungle I live in now. The hotel is amazing, in the middle of a crazy city such as Bangkok they recreated the feeling of a resort...simply wonderful. At night I get to hear birds and other nature sounds I have never fallen asleep on. Of course, I got a really cool room, with  a pretty view :)

The first day of the conference went out perfectly. Everything was according to plan! As much as I am pissed sometimes I missed all of them, and I feel very family like when I am with them. They have so many stories to share with me and every time I meet them I find out so many marvellous and unique insights about their culture and the way they do business. I wish I will have the courage some of them have. I love my job...I just wish it was more challenging. They all hugged and kissed me, loved my new haircut and especially my tattoo, which they haven't seen until now.

...we went out to one of the street night markets. I can tell you Bangkok never ever sleeps...and what happens in Bangkok stays in Bangkok....and these are not just sayings. It was extreme...I have never been surrounded by so many poor people, fake objects (bags, clothes, watches...anything you wanted) and sex. Everywhere we turned there was a list of Ping Pong and other erotic shows. They even allowed you to take a 1 minute glimpse. There were bars with girls in swimming suites, with numbers that you could just pick...not to mention transvestites. Crazzzyyyy....

We ended the night in a bar where there was a live band. One of the singers was a transvestite of course, you get everything here. They were absolutely amazing. They could sing anything, absolutely anything you asked them in a perfect English. Great talented people in a bar in a night market in Bangkok...pitty. Because I was singing along, the transvestite singer gave me the microphone and allowed me to sing with him...

We went home in a tuk tuk race which we (the girls) won....:)) and I am alive...can't wait for tomorrow.

Zurich

About a month ago I pined another city on my map - Zurich. Switzerland does not sound like a very promising land to me. I see it like a suited up country with a very German life style.

That's why I was not that anxious to be there. I thought it would be just another Germanic style city, with a few things to visit - most of all Protestant churches.

During the conference I didn't have so much time to visit around, except for the night when we had our client event. I have to say that by that time I already concluded that they just became my second favourite country on the food map - delicious dishes. My first glimpse of the city left me with the feeling of being part of a very well done painting. A painting that did not have human life in it - but very good looking buildings. Close to what I was expecting, but once the sunny weekend came, the German like city became very Italian.

Swiss people are a really good mix of hard work and leisure. I am still surprised to say that I enjoyed the city more than I expected. Their suits go off during the weekend and they reveal tattooed bodies, and a mix of personalities. The best frame I captured is that of two young couples in the park. The ones on the right were very romantic - he was playing the guitar for her and the one on the left were very though - he was doing push ups next to her.

Not to mention the beauty of the city....it definitely went between my top cities to live in...

Miami

I realized that I have no spoof about my trip to Miami. It's been almost two months since I went back to the big S. I guess I didn't write anything about the trip because it wasn't that exciting. Strange, but true. I was missing the vibe of the city, I guess it's just not my type of city. 

I spent my first days at the conference, not visiting much...except for the conference room and expensive restaurants. I stayed at The National and had a grand view. The hotel staff read my mind and gave me a beautiful ocean view room. My first jet lagged nights were marvellous nights spent watching out the window and listening to the ocean. Missing the sunrise typical Bolero, I watched the sun raise up from the ocean surrounding itself with a beautiful red blooded curtain.

My first visit outside the hotel was the beach...I can't even remember how I got there, it seamed to be just behind the hotel...just when I got back I realized that I've been walking for a while. The beach was simply beautiful...and after first seeing it, I couldn't wait to go there again and take a swim in the ocean. And that's just what I did as soon as the conference ended. South Beach is really small so as soon as I moved to the hostel, I took a long walk and saw everything there was, bought souvenirs, and then I spent the extra day and a half I had...at the beach. I was completely sun burned, so sun burned that I had to wear a skirt on my flight back, but I just couldn't leave the soft burning sand and the crystal clear water. That was the best thing about Miami...but I'm sure beach paradises can be found in many other places around the world, even better ones. 

It was a great place for complete relaxation...I would go back, but not alone...it has a great wild side that I'd also like to experience.

On top again

You know those things you fall in love it and at some point you love them so much that your afraid of getting disappointed?! This is me and the travelling mania I am slowly developing.

Last week I visited, on fast forward, two of Europe's greatest historical capitals, London and Paris. Maybe the quickness of the visit made the experience "dirty". Of all my travelling I found both as the darkest, dirtiest cities I have ever been in, Bucharest included.

London, I arrived around 6 (UK time) at Heathrow, and the second I looked out the plane's window, I remembered the beautiful Nordic sunset from Denmark. The darkness was similarly warm. I felt familiar, maybe because everything was in English :P. I went around the city only a bit (Buckingham, The Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, The Eye). I would have liked to see more, but it was cold and the poor illuminated streets made things look darker and colder, and I constantly had the feeling that I have to go to bed. The chaotic direction of cars was confusing and dazzling...though I wasn't scared, I felt like getting out of the streets as soon as possible. The feeling was tripled by the sight of homeless every here and there. When I got home I realized that I forgot about London's bridge, so I'll just have another reason to go there, this time by day...in a warmer season.

Paris was even quicker. I didn't even realize when the train we were on crossed the channel and got us in the suburbs of Paris. The sight wasn't so great. I've seen these gipsy built suburbs for a million times on TV, but never got goose bumps. You cannot imagine the dirt and poverty standing to be noticed next to a city of luxury and history. Once we got in the city, I had the feeling of familiarity again. The language is a complete puzzle to me, but the faces, clothing and architecture made me feel like home. The stint of the underground in Paris, could not be neutral to me. They urgently need to drop one of those famous perfume bottles in the underground. I didn't see much...but in April I'll go back and investigate :)

On top of it all, these cities are so expensive...and in my opinion....without reason. My no. 1 is still San Francisco...and my no. 1 1/2 is Madrid.

7 days 5 cities 3 countries

When: 11th October - 18th October

Where: Denmark (Odense)– Sweden (Malmo, Stockholm, Uppsala) – Norway (Oslo)

Who: me (Romania), Marketa, Kamila, Alice (Czech Republic), Lina (Spain)

How: Train (intrerail ticket) – 160 Euro

Extra costs: 50 Euro

Last week it was potato week, this meant one week of holiday for all the students in Denmark at least. Potato week is a very old tradition – kids used to get holiday from school this week in order to go help their parents harvest the land and pick up potatoes before winter. We took advantage of this great opportunity and decided to take a trip around the Scandinavian countries. We made the decision a few days before leaving so we couldn't find housing before. We just hoped we will find something there...but it turned out everything was full.

We left on Saturday the 11th of October in the morning for Malmo (Sweden) from where we planed to take the train to Oslo during the night. The trip to Malmo was really nice, but when we got there we found out that we just missed the last train in that day to Oslo, so we decided to stay and sleep in Malmo.

We went searching for a place to sleep while sightseeing, but nothing. In the end we decided to find a club or a bar or a place where we could stay during the night because it was getting really cold...but nothing (they all close around 2 at night). We found a hostel but nobody was there and Marketa was really tired and she decided to stay in the hall way of the apartment building where the hostel was and wait for us while we went out searching for another option. The plan was to go back and get her after a while if we found something or not. Of course as I said we didn't find anything but when we went back she wasn't there anymore. All types of scenarios started going through our head and being tired didn't help us think at all. Her phone wasn't working and our backs hurt really bad from the backpacks so we got confused. After some hours of walking around trying to find her she called me for an unknown number. We decided to meet her somewhere so two of the girls went after her while me and Kamile stayed with the backpacks. But they didn't manage to meet. So we went to McDonald's and ate some warm unhealthy food and than went to the train station which was out last hope of sleeping somewhere inside during the night. Fortunately she was there as she knew that this was our initial plan.

Everything turned out ok but than the train station guards told us the train station closes at midnight and we can't stay there and sleep. The confusion was back. We had no idea what to do....until one of the guards suggested us that the airport in Copenhagen is open all night long. It wasn't past midnight so there were still trains going to the airport and our one day ticket trip wasn't canceled. We got our stuff really fast and got on the train back to Copenhagen That's how we managed to be in two countries in the same day – visit one and sleep in the other. Things started getting better and we relaxed. The airport wasn't closed of course and we found a nice place where we put our sleeping bags and went to sleep. There were two columns and on one of them a group of 5 boys were sleeping so we felt good that we aren't the only weird ones. The morning was a bit strange because we woke up in the airport riot and lots of people with suitcases were getting ready for their own trips. The feeling of waking up and seeing people leaving and staring at you in the morning was strange. It was good that here the chances of somebody stealing your stuff are very low so we didn't have to take turns and managed to sleep very well on the Copenhagen airport's floor. All in all the first day was rough but beautiful. We knew that this was going to be awe faith on this trip and we decided to go further and not return home. So we woke up and got on the train back to Malmo and than to Stockholm. We wanted to change our route and go to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris but we decided not two and follow the first plan..or at least what was left of it...the cities. Malmo is a really nice city - not very big but big enough to get lost in it :)

The next day the unexpected became the expected and nothing could scare us now. The train from Malmo to Stockholm was really long. But we got to see a beautiful sun rise on the Swedish fields. The sun was extremely big that morning and coloured the clouds in all sort of colours  The clouds were high and low attitude and this made us feel like floating with the train between them. I got to see to muses on the window train. It was funny because at the begging I thought they were cows...really big horse like cows and just as they entered the forest I realized they were muses. Stockholm was waiting for us.

We got there in the afternoon and after eating some more toast bread with apples and carrots in the train station (which became like home) we went out to visit the beautiful Venice of the North. The name suits the city perfectly as it is full of rivers and lakes....divided into little islands and filled with bridges that take you further into the heart of the Scandinavian culture. It was really amazing. The old buildings are monuments and statements of history and culture. We couldn't stop staring and we were like little children discovering how new toys work.

We knew that we will not find a place to sleep so in the night we headed towards the Stockholm airport. Everything was dark now and the wonder of the city turned into a cold creepy place to stay. The train took us to the airport in 20 minutes but when we got there confusing and fear started kicking back. The airport is huge and at that hour it was almost empty. We couldn't find the resting area so we wondered around it. In the end after going through some neon coloured corridor, where they had tropical forests sounds for relaxation we got to the resting area. We weren't alone this time as lots of people were crawled on the airport benches trying to get some sleep. The airport is just as beautiful as the city. There was a high glass window through which you could see outside directly to the landing lane. There were so many planes outside that night waiting for their passengers. We couldn't find a place to sleep together so we had to split and sleep on different benches I don't know if it was because I was extremely tired but I had a great night sleep there. Morning came really fast and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a plane taking of from the lane. It was absolutely beautiful. We got our things together and met in the airport bathroom where we washed our faces and cleaned our teeth ready for another day of adventure.

The next target was Uppsala, but we decided to take a train the the evening and so we visited a bit of Stockholm again. It was Monday and all museums and closed on Monday So we went to the Royal Palace to see the guard shift and that had a walk to Vasa.

Vasa is a ship for the 17th century which sank just moments after it left the port. 333 years later they managed to take it up from the bottom of the North Sea. The surprise was that the ship was intact...in perfect condition and now they turned it into a state of art.

Even if we slept better that night we were still tired and decided to leave Stockholm for Uppsala where a warm bed and shower were waiting for us. We got there in the evening by train. A friend of Marketa's was leaving there (Erasmus student also) and she found a place for us to stay. The feeling was great. We went out to get a glimpse of the city and take some photos because the next day we had to leave for Oslo.

We ended the night in a great way with spaghetti (I burned my hand a bit while making them but the feeling of eating something else than toast apples and carrots was great).

We slept really well in a warm room and watched a bit of TV.

The next morning we woke up early and went to see the rest of the city before getting on the train to Göteborg and Oslo.

We got to Oslo in the afternoon after 7 hours of going by train. We thought that we would be relaxed after the train but we were just as tiered as waking with our backpacks.

Oslo was very different from Stockholm and the other cities in Sweden. It was something new, glass and steal buildings. There was a lack of the Scandinavian feeling which we got in Sweden The city was very big and a bit more complicated. It wasn't so great for sightseeing. Except the Vigelandsparken (sculpture park). The sculptures looked great. It was raining and dark when we got there so there was some sort of a special feeling.

Though we really wanted to find a place to sleep here we ended up in the airport again. Oslo airport was the next stop for that night...the last airport we were to see and sleep in before going home. Just like the city the airport was huge and new. It wasn't as good as the others because it was extremely crowded and it didn't have a sleeping area. Worse they were rebuilding a part of it and they were working during the night so we didn't sleep so well...at all. But the thought of going home the nest day was great and helped us get through the night. The next morning we went to the Royal Palace and to the Sculpture Park again.

The city is very expensive and filled with modern, luxury shops. On the other hand you could see homeless people and garbage on the street, a thing not common in the other places. I didn't really like it but this is maybe because Stockholm was so great.

We took the train back to Denmark the next day. I decided not to go directly home (Aarhus) but to visit Odense too. Especially since Vento was there and I knew I have a place to sleep inside at least. When I got to Copenhagen to switch trains for Odense I had a weird feeling of being home. I was so happy and really relaxed as if I knew that now everything is ok because I know what to expect and what I will get. The girls went to Aarhus as they were really tired and wanted to get to a warm bed and shower. The weather changed just when I arrived there and it was raining most of the time. That's why we mostly stayed in the room and the dorm...watching movies and doing nothing..a thing I was lusting for...doing nothing. It was really nice as I got to speak Romanian to somebody face to face for the first time in one month and a half. I also met other Romanians...it was fun and relaxing. I could stay more but decided to return home...I didn't know what day we are in as time passed to fast forward for me these days.

On Friday night I got back to Aarhus. I was so tiered that i got lost in my own city. i went 2 hours around the center and couldn't figure the way out of the mase. With help from people on the street I managed to find the way to the University and than went donwhill to the bus station. I got home pretty late and Marketa was sleeping. Mara wasn't home yet as she was to return from Latvia the next morning. The first thing I did was eat and take a shower. I went to bed and woke up late as my body was in stand by.:)

The trip was more than great and a true adventure for all of us. We survived and this gives you a great feeling. I hope we will find jobs and do it again in November...a weekend in Amsterdam is our next goal.