Once again it comes to the end of another trip series, this is my second solo trip around Europe, continuing on my adventures 2 years ago. I kinda love writing such post since I am able to reflect on the whole trip and see what is really the highlights throughout everything. Furthermore it also allows me to sum up everything. You probably know that this time around, I am headed to cities that are more out of the way, more little quirky places that might not be first up on a traveller mind. It is also the first time that I am doing my travels without a plan, winging it on the road, in fact most of the places are just what comes to my mind, what is there on the map, as well as the cost of tickets. It is surely a very enlightening process. Besides sharing a little on how much I spent, I will also like to share on some of the more adventures experiences I encountered during the trip.
Winging it on the go, this time around I went to 6 Countries and 15 Cities, of which 14 of them are new to me. It is really about being to places that I have never been to. I had such a lovely time seeing new sites, capturing lots of memories as well as meeting plenty of people, from bus, plane or just simply on the streets. Most of them I am still in contact currently. From hiking mountains to exploring little towns, I even fell asleep by the lake, Wow Dennison!
I believe if you had follow this trip, my favourite place out of this trip definitely got to be……well there is more than one. I fell in love with Den Haag, Colmar, Bruges, Berlin and of course Zurich, Switzerland is never disappointing. Breathtaking scenery amazing vibes! I had it all. Interesting enough, with this trip. I literally went to all EU Capital Cities, Frankfurt, Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg City. Amazing. This is just one out of the many unique things I experienced.
There are so many places that I went and I really love some of them, especially Berlin which surprises me much. One of the place that I will really want to try living in for a bit.
Another unplanned miracle was also me being in the right place at the right time. I was in France for Bastille Day, Belgium for Belgium National Day and Zurich for Swiss National Day. I even went all out and caught the fireworks over the Rhine Falls. I didn’t know how that came about since usually I am the one to avoid crowd, but I can certainly say that it is one of the most mind blowing, spectecular, remember for life stuff. The fireworks that light up the sky with the sounds was the falls gushing thru. Perfect!
Amazingly or unlucky, I might have brought the heat over from Singapore since I had a date with the sun. I experienced the hottest day ever in Europe, a scorching more than 40 degrees in a no air conditioning train. Yes I did it. Memorable? Yes. Uncomfortable? Very Much!
This is also the first time I am doing a winging it trip, it seems so simple and carefree for others but I have to say that I did not enjoy it at all. Constantly searching for places to go while keeping in mind of your budget, trying to avoid high train prices when you are buying everything last minute. Furthermore, it is also kind of tiring when you have to plan where you are headed to the next day, the following day. Do I have a place to stay tomorrow. I am a constantly worried person. Going on, I will still like to have some sort of plans for my travels. Meeting new people and being impromptu, that is kind of amazing as well.
Outdoor music concert at a whim of a notice. Let’s go Stephanie!
Expenses wise, I did not spend much on this trip, I also did not shop at all. The bulk of my expenses goes towards my accomodations. I stayed at hotels for the most of them, mostly at Hilton group.
There is also a good side to this. In addition to free breakfast, I usually get access to the lounge as well and sometimes that solves my dinner. Another reason why I really save on my 3 meals this time around. I spend 3590 SGD on accomodations for 29 days. Some special stuff like fries in belgium are still a must get when there.
On my transport around the various cities, as per the norm, I took a combination of trains, flixbus and a flight on the ending part from Berlin to Zurich. The most expensive one would be the day pass in Switzerland. Public transport costs are really no joke over here. All together they cost me 850 SGD.
While on the other hand, trying out the new Singapore Airlines Suites is also another highlight and a lifelong dream of mine. It is pretty and a bucket list of mine.
I barely shop, so there isn’t much to share about on this aspect. With some cash spending here and there. The whole trip, including everything cost me 6200 SGD. A much higher cost than the trip I did 2 years back. HEHE, but the experience are priceless. With that this end Chapter Wanderlust II. Another trip series is coming up very soon!
Seeing The World In Steps 