DECEMBER 21-25, 2009: SWEDEN
Lund (21-22)
Winterwonderland - I fell in love with Lund. I was only there for 24 hours, Monday night until Tuesday night when I left for Stockholm.
Lund is a small University town, with such nice people. I arrived at night, and as I walked around I fell in love with the city: There was snow everywhere, and Christmas lights and decorations on every street. There was also a nice church (that the city was built around), and a nice café called Café Ariman - good sandwiches, coffee, and brownies. I also saw a movie with Swedish subtitles here - the language is so interesting!
Stockholm (23-25)
This was the first time I have gone alone to a new city. I met a Swedish man on the train who told me a lot about Sweden - and was perpetually chewing on tobacco. He told me how the holidays are very important in Sweden for spending time with family, and that people normally go out to bars and clubs on the 25th at night. He also told me that Danish was a less sophisticated version of Swedish.
My hostel was great: The Chapmann. It was a boat at the habour. I shared a room with six beds (although only had two roommates). I made a few friends: two Argentinians in the common room, as well as some French women who were traveling, and two French guys that I ended up spending my time in Stockholm with. Also, on Christmas eve a group of Malaysians were making dinner in the kitchen and offered me a plate.
I ate traditional food (baked potato with shrimp sauce) at a 700 year old prison turned into a restaurant (Cafe Sten Sture). I also bought fresh donuts on the street (yummy). Since it was the holidays, nothing was open except churches. We went to two churches on the 24th - one for music and a play, and the other to get warm because we were walking through a park, and again on the 25th in Skansen - a big outdoor museum in Stockholm that is supposed to be like an traditional Swedish told. They also have moose and raindeer.
Observations and tips:
- Hostels are great. You get to meet a lot of people and normally they are not too expensive (though in Stockholm mine was around $30/night).
- French people travel a lot. Just in my hostel there were at least 4 groups, and everywhere we went we heard people speaking French.
- Such a beautiful city - I definitely needed more time to see all of it. There were lots of museums to see, but most were closed because of the holidays. Literally, there was no one (almost) on the streets the 24th at night, and the 25th (See "If only I'd known...").
JANUARY 8-17, 2010: ESPAÑA
Madrid (8-11)
My friend Amara and I decided to head to Spain as soon as we got our apartment in Paris. We arrived in Madrid on a Friday. We had stayed up the entire night before, and almost missed our shuttle bus to the Paris-Beauvais airport (See "If only I'd known..."). After 1.5 hours on the shuttle bus, and a couple hours in the air, we arrived in Madrid.
Within the first 30 minutes of being in Madrid my camera was stolen from me (See "If only I'd know..."). Then we checked into our hostel (Mad Hostel) and went to the Museum del Prado. It was a very big and beautiful museum - but not my favourite in Madrid.
Mad Hostel was a good hostel, although the beds were tiny and the bathrooms were shared (we got a 6 person hostel room). They had internet, as well as breakfast included (croissant, juice, coffee). Also, it was here that we met Marco, a Dutch that I couchsurfed with in Amsterdam!
The second right we spent in Madrid we spent with Dan - our first couchsurfing host! He met up with us in Malasaña (great student area with a lot of bars). We went for wine with him and then we went to meet up with his friends. We bar hopped a bit, ate tapas and drank wine. His friends were two Brits who were teaching English in Madrid. Two others who were living in other cities came and met up with us later that night, as well as an American couchsurfer living in Paris.
The next day we walked around the city and got our first churro relleno (a deep-friend pastry filled with chocolate). We went to the Reína Sofia (Museum where Picasso's Guernica is located). It snowed that day in Madrid, and later we met up with the American couchsurfer and had a snowball fight in a park. We also ate at the Museo de Jamón (a well known chain of Spanish restaurants in Madrid).
Observations and tips:
- Most museums in Madrid have free entrance every day of the week around 5:00 or 6:00pm.
- Make sure to surf with someone who lives in the downtown area - you will save money on transportation.
- Tapas are great; look for bars with tapas!
- Wine is cheap, beer is expensive.
- You can get a three day pass for the bus and metro - well worth it!
- Coffee is cheap and always comes with a little cookie.
Granada (11-14)
Granada had the best tapas! Even the falafel place gave us tapas; a falafel while we were waiting for our pita falafels. We couchsurfed with another Dan, this time from England. He was on exchange living with eight other students in Granada: four Germans, one Fin, one American, two French. We had a great time here, although it rained a lot, and we spent a lot of time in cafés writing in our journals.
We went to the Alhambra and the Cathedral. The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada - it was very impressive and a must-see. We paid for a headset tour which I strongly suggest because it explains each part of the tour in great detail and helps you understand the history much better.
It was also warm in Granada - 13 degree Celsius in January!
Observations and tips:
- Take advantage of tapas!
- Do not (even if you are really tempted) buy the 2 euro wine. It will not be good!
- Check out the shots bar, Chupetearía!
- The street names are on the sidewalk, so if you are lost just look down!
Barcelona (14-17)
Barcelona was beautiful - 17 degrees Celsius on our second day there in January!
My favourite part about it was the sea, and the life around it. There were always people walking along the side of the water!
The other beautiful part of the city was the Gaudí architecture! We visited the Sagrada Familia, the Park Güell, the Casa Batlló and the Pedrera. They were my favourite parts of the trip, you could easily spend the entire day in the Gaudí Park!
Do not look for tapas in Barcelona - you will not find them! However, there is a restaurant near the sea that has a Menu del día (Monday to Friday) for just 8 euros that includes so much food. It is called El Tinglado. We were three people and were given three entrées to share, a main course each, a bottle of wine, water, digestivos, cookies, dessert, coffee, and bread - we ate for hours!
Catalán is a great language - sounds like a mix between French and Spanish.
Make sure to check out the chocolate museum (it was closed when we arrived) and the homemade chocolate store named Xocoa (amazing chocolate).
Food in Spain:
- Food in Spain is significantly less expensive than the food in Paris. You can get the Menu del día from most places for under 10 euros, most often 7-8 euro.
- Wine is cheap and most pubs and bars have tapas (free hors d'oeuvre ranging from nuts to olives to grilled cheese and fries in Granada!).
- Make sure to try... tortilla española, patatas bravas, ensalada rusa, croquetas, paella, arroz a la cubano, churro!
JANUARY 27-31, 2010: BELGIUM
I went to Belgium with my friend Adriana. We were only in the country for five days - but visited three cities: Brussels, Gent and Antwerp.
Brussels (27-28 & 30-31)
In Brussels we ate our first waffles, fries, beer, and Belgian chocolate - all were musts. We also went to see the Atomium, a giant monument north of the city center. It has a park around it and I can see it being a nice place to visit in the summer, but since it was January the weather was not pleasant: it was cold and raining. We also went to the Magritte museum, a well-know Belgian artist. It was a great museum, just the right size, and the art was all very interesting. Another famous site is Mannekin Pis, sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin, that is dressed in a different costume several times per week. The people we couchsurfed with the first night made us a traditional dinner: Chicons au gratin, endives wrapped in ham in bechemel sauce. We also ate crepes, and drank flavoured beer (I had cherry). The second people we surfed with brought us out to a rock concert. I rode on the back of a tandem bicycle, through the red light district, during a small snow storm.
Gent (28-29):
Gent is a great city. It is beautiful and old - like Brugge, but with significantly less tourists. We had a nice time walking around the canals, visiting the various churches and castles. The guy we couchsurfed with gave us a small article that includes a walking tour of Gent. It took us like a couple hours and we walked all over the city. I highly suggest getting one. Also, bike is the best way to get around in this city.
Antwerp (29-30):
We went out for a beer, and traditional sandwich and massed potatoes. We then bought some jenever (flavoured liquor, we got apple) and went to our couchsurfer's friend's apartment, and then out to a bar in the city. The next day we walked around the city, and enjoyed the nice weather before heading back to Brussels.
FEBRUARY 26-March 6: THE NETHERLANDS
Coming soon...
MARCH 26-28: Reims, Champagne, FRANCE
I went to Reims (pronounced rinse) with friends who are on exchange at Sciences Po. Reims is in the Champagne region of France, home of CHAMPAGNE!!
Needless to say, we drank a lot of Champagne that weekend. We also visited Notre-Dame de Reims and climbed the tower. We took a tour of Maison Mumm Co., where they make Champagne. This is a good city to eat, drink, and relax in.
We stayed at a hotel called the Hôtel Chrystal de Reims. To save money, we shared a one bed room between four people (66 euros per room).
Observations and Tips:
- Pass on the biscuits roses de Reims. You are supposed to dip them in champagne. They are definitely just another way to get tourists to spend money, and they were really not very good.
- Go on a champagne tour! It costs less than 20 euros and you learn a lot, and get champagne at the end! (Maison Mumm Co. is the one we took).
- Check out Notre-Dame de Reims - very nice church.
- Go to l'Apostrophe. They have food that is not very expensive, good champagne options, and "piscines" - large cocktail that 3-4 people can share!
Coming soon!!
APRIL 24-MAY 1: Normandy and Brittany, FRANCE.
MAY 14-17: Strasbourg, FRANCE.
June 1-11: MOROCCO.
JUNE 14-25: SOUTH OF FRANCE & PORTUGAL
JULY 1-17: WWOOFing in Annecy, FRANCE.
