Weekend adventures in Luxembourg were my favourite kind of pastimes, back when I was living there. There was something exciting and comforting in these short getaways, and I couldn’t be more excited to explore everything the country had to offer. Hidden between more popular and greater in size lands, Luxembourg is often overlooked as if it was only a dot on the map.
A Tale of Two Cities is full of surprises and awe, and it includes two interesting places: Macau and Shanghai. I visited both of them during my trip to Asia, along with Hong Kong and Taipei, and it was truly one of the most interesting experiences in my life. Shanghai and Macau are both Chinese cities, but they are like fire and water. Each has its own distinctive flavour, completely different from one another. Shanghai is racing up towards the future like there’s no tomorrow, and in Macau, the past and the present blend together like watercolours.
Breathing the history in and out is inevitable when you visit Berlin. At first sight, the city seems to be a chronicle of the tragic and the ugly, the divided and the hurt, but that’s just one face of Berlin. It is a place full of variety, pulsing with life, and it showcases a thousand years of German coming into fusion with modernity. Clean streets and great accessibility should make it one of my favourite destinations, but Berlin has never made it to my top 5 list. Everything about it screams “Top notch quality!” but the city doesn’t have “the spark” for me. I can appreciate its flavour, but I would never choose it over cities like Barcelona, Hong Kong or Rio de Janeiro. It still makes a nice travel story to tell, so bear with me. What to do in Berlin? Is it accessible? The answers are waiting below!
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Falling in love with Barcelona felt natural, as I entered the city for the first time… in 1992. Barcelona was preparing for the Olympics, which were soon to transform a fairly unknown place (outside Spain!) into a popular tourist destination. I looked at the skies above the city and the sea, painted in all shades of blue, and I knew there was no turning back. Parts of my heart stayed in Barcelona, never to come back. Since 1992, I’ve visited the city numerous times, and I never get bored of it. White Christmas is exactly the opposite of what I came for to Barcelona, and I got what I wanted. The weather was absolutely wonderful – it was sunny and warm as if it was the middle of September, not December. If you want to finish your year with a big bang, Barcelona is a way to go. What to do there? What to skip there? What to know? More about it below!
Diving into the future in Brussels was the best moment of my entire stay in Brussels. The monument I had in front of my eyes – the famous Atomium – seemed to scream “future” like no other building I’d ever seen before, and I couldn’t turn my eyes away for a minute or two. When I finally did and started to explore the city, everything else felt uneventful. It, to my surprise, turned to be nice and pleasing to the eye, yet completely not exciting.
Lights are always burning brightly in the city of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Hong Kong illuminates at night and comes into thousands of different shades, diving straight into the future. When I visited the city in 2008, it was like a busy beehive, as China was preparing for the Olympics. Everything felt hectic, modern, and impressive. I’m more in love with outdoors adventure than city exploration, but Hong Kong managed to grasp my full attention and made me go “woah” a few times. It felt as if the future was just within the reach, somewhere among luminous skyscrapers. The concrete jungles like Hong Kong never lose the sight of tomorrow.
Falling in love with Barcelona was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. Finding a more loveable city would be the ultimate challenge, so Barcelona isn’t going to lose the title of my favourite place anytime soon. I try to visit at least once a year: a year without Barcelona wouldn’t just simply feel right. The last time I was exploring Gaudi’s city was in December 2016. I wanted to finish a year with a big splash, and nothing screams “eventful” more than Barcelona. My parents agree, so we said yes to “fun” and took a plane straight to Spain. I was there for about two weeks: Christmas and New Year’s Eve included, and just as expected, these were some of the nicest weeks of 2016. What to see, what to do, and how to fall in love with Barcelona? More about it below!
Navigating between Buddhist temples and skyscrapers felt unreal. Don’t get me wrong – I knew Asia was becoming synonymous with a modern architecture. Still, to know something and to experience it firsthand: these are two different things. There I was in Taipei, watching two seemingly different worlds collide. I didn’t see it coming. While I didn’t take the wrong plane and magically appear in Taiwan, my trip was spontaneous. Since me and my friends decided to take a 10-days trip around Asia, we thought visiting Taipei could be a good idea. If I had to make a list of all travel decisions I regret, Taipei wouldn’t have made the list. It wasn’t the nicest place I’ve ever visited, true. Still, just as if skyscrapers and old temples weren’t a bizarre combination, there was something balanced about the city. Something promising that I will try to put into words
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Strolling around Prague, Czech Republic is probably one of the best ways to explore the city. With its lovely, old streets full of nostalgic vibes, Prague was made for long strolls. It may not be the biggest or hottest European destination, but it’s definitely one of the highlights of Eastern Europe. I visited it back in 2006, and it was, overall, a nice trip. Not the most accessible city I’ve ever visited, but absolutely charming. More about Prague – what to do there, and how accessible it actually is – below!
Exploring canals of Amsterdam was the most fun thing I’ve ever done in this city. I know it may be surprising since many people would link Amsterdam to great coffee shops or a laid-back atmosphere. Probably it offers things more “fun” than canals, but it is what it is – the city’s never been my favourite. Before going there, I have already heard of its wonderful coffee shops and The Red Light District. (Un)fortunately, I’ve never been very much into any of those, so the city didn’t really cater to my travelling needs. Still, I think it makes an interesting place to visit, and I’m going to fulfil my duty as your travel chronicler. How accessible is Amsterdam and what does it offer to people, who are eager to explore it? Keep reading and I promise to tell you everything I know.