Long Overdue, But not Easy to Put into Words Part 1

After an extensive education from a few finicky English teachers, I fully understand clichés and I have even begun to roll my eyes when actors throw out the now-trivial-phrases. But I carry on knowingly when I say; best summer ever.

The summer vacation in the Dutch schools is six weeks long and in those six weeks I spent roughly five days in the Netherlands. The rest of the time was spent on my great European experience. The day after the school broke up, my rucksack was packed and I headed off to London. There I once again stayed with my cousin in Guildford. I spent the next day with my cousin and two of her friends going around the North of London. We went on one of the paths through London starting at Little Venice; this path was along one of the canals that flows into the Thames. We had a picnic in Regents Park, strolled through the Camden market and ended the afternoon in a craft beer house before heading back.

My next day in London was my chance to see as much as I possibly could in my first time in the centre of the city. I arrived early in the morning and saw the sites such Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Opera, the Houses of Parliament, Churchill War Rooms, Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre and St.Pauls Cathedral. I strolled through Hyde Park and St. James Park and was even lucky enough to see the Tour de France London Leg. I mastered the tube in that short time and ended off my touristy day at a restaurant on the banks of the Thames, next door to the Globe Theatre and eating Fish and Chips. I then made my way to the hotel where I would be staying the night and to meet the group of people who I would be spending the next 32 days with.

I was joining a tour group organised by the company Contiki. They organise trips all over the world for people from the ages 18-35. Contiki provides accommodation, transport, majority of our food and insight into the cities that we travelled to. The 'Contiki Team' consisted of a driver, tour manager and chef but they became part of our group instead. It is an easy way to travel as everything is organised for you and there are people with similar ideas about travelling as you do. Sometimes it is limited time in a city but that is a sacrifice you make to see as many cities as possible. Sometimes they have tours or activities or optional activities planned but you usually do get some free time to do your own touring in the cities. The next morning, 35 of us headed off before sunrise to the Cliffs of Dover where we would catch a ferry over to France.

After my first ferry ride, we made our way to Paris. This was my second time in Paris this year so some of the sites I decided not to revisit. But I did take in the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Arc’ de Triumph. During some of my free time, I spent a good few hours in the Louvre Museum, strolling around and acting like I knew what was going on. It is an incredible collection and I was personally surprised by the number of artefacts, collections and sculptures where I had imagined majority paintings. The museum definitely has more to offer than an A4 drawing of an indifferent girl which is where most of the tourists flocked to, admittedly I also sneaked a peek from 20 metres away. In my time there I also tried Escargot. I really enjoyed them, but I think it is mostly the garlic sauce as opposed to the snail. I thoroughly enjoyed Paris even though the weather was not on my side, but I do think I have seen enough of Paris and I cannot it imagine it somewhere that I will go back to. Next we headed into the wine areas of France.

We stopped just for one night just outside the city of Bordeaux. We were just there for the night to break up travelling distances. There was not much to do near the camp site, but this was our first time where we really had time to get to know everyone else on the trip. It was a good evening as everyone sat around chatting and it certainly became more jovial as we tried out the local Bordeaux grape products.

We then headed off bright and early to Spain, but just before the border we had an afternoon stop at the coastal town of Biarritz. This was an incredible little beach town, I really loved the views, the atmosphere, the beach and just wandering in and out of the city centre. But it was just a stop and our gang hopped back onto the bus and headed off to the Spanish town of Pamplona. 

Now Pamplona is known for one thing, San Fermin, otherwise known as Running of the Bulls. And I will also remember Pamplona as one of the longest days of my life. It was the last week of the festival while we were there and I do not think anyone knew what was to come next. After setting up camp and having dinner we headed into town and it was crazy. During this time the entire town is just one massive party. There is live music every night all over town, with street performers, concerts and every bar and club is packed. The streets are packed with people dressed in white but stained purple from the sangria. And so the longest night began, we decided to stay in town that night instead of back to the camp site so that we would definitely be in time for the Running of The Bulls the next morning. I bought the customary white clothes with red scarf and sangria skin and began to enjoy the festivities. I enjoyed local Spanish music as well as their love for the Classics and just the general pandemonium on the streets. People were lost, people were found but ultimately I think everyone was a little lost. We finally lay down for some sleep in a bus depot before we were kicked out and made our way to the centre where we ran with the bulls. I do not think I thought about what I was doing until I saw a full grown bull charging behind my shoulder. But I was safe in the end and there were no serious injuries during the run. Afterwards we headed off to the town of Zaragoza for lunch before we made the journey to Barcelona.

Barcelona is a city that I would classify as ‘alive’. It just looks electric from up the mountain and in the city everywhere you turn or go is busy and bustling and you cannot help but to get caught up in it. It is a special place, it has some incredible architectural influences, an awesome coastline with warm water and the entire city is designed to entertain visitors, from the main park, down La Rambla and into the port which is a great place to spend the afternoon. There is also the dominating figure of Sangrada Familia which is Gaudí’s masterpiece that will take 150 years to build. The food in Barcelona has little compare, incredibly well priced but very delicious. Paella and Tapas was pretty much my staple diet in my time in Barcelona. The Football World Cup Final was also on while I was there; which was an entertaining night with a group of AArgentiniansat our camp site. The night life in Barcelona is something electric as well; drinks do not hurt your wallet too much and the principle of ‘free-pour’ beat more than a few men that night. Foreigners definitely stuck out as the Spanish showed their moves on the dance floor. But the best part of the night life was towards the end of the night; you can leave the club, take ten paces and be on the beach. Barcelona has certainly got things right.

Our time in Barcelona could not last forever, so we headed back into France where we stayed in the French Riviera. Our days consisted of sun and relaxation. We visited Nice which is a vibrant beach town, spent a night in Monaco at the Monte Casino, I decided not to risk my travel money. Even though one from our group left 100 Euro richer and that was our time in the South of France, where there is never any rush.

Moving into my sixth country of the trip, we headed to Florence. Dante’s very own forbidden paradise and Hitler’s favourite bridge and therefore the only still standing since before the war. Florence is a city rich with artwork from many of the great artists and home to Michelangelo’s David. I found that I enjoyed Florence going up and down many of the alleyways, as the town does not really have a main business/ shopping street as most other cities. But after one in the afternoon, it just became unbearably hot and you had to look for shade or refreshment. Our first night there, we found a karaoke bar, which ended up in plenty of fun with my new group compatriots. Myself getting up on stage twice, disregarding any pride I previously had. I will always have fond memories of Florence but I feel like I could have seen more in my time there.

We moved onto Rome where I took the opportunity to visit the Colloseum, the Pantheon, the Forum and many of the other rich historical sites that Rome has to offer. Rome truly is an ancient city, there are ruins everywhere, in and among the city and almost everywhere you look there is some sort of relic. And in the Roman time, they did not do ‘small’, everything is awe-inspiringly massive, from the Colloseum to the statues with two metre wide moustaches. I had an incredible time in Rome, and I feel I made the most out of every moment. In Rome we also picked up seven more people who would join for the rest of the trip.

But there was no time to wonder when more of Europe was waiting. We moved onto the coast town of Sorrento for another night stop, I did have an incredible supper on a cliff overlooking the stunning view that Sorrento has to offer. But the next day we headed off on an overnight ferry to the Greek island of Corfu.

Corfu was something else, it was four days on an island and our camp site was two minutes from the beach. Corfu was a holiday in the middle of a busy and tiring travel programme. Every day consisted of going to the beach, swimming, gyros and drinks at the beach bar and an afternoon nap. One of the most memorable days of the trip was in Corfu where all of us took a full day boat ride around the island, stopping at caves and little beaches to swim, and stopping for some food.  It was definitely a day to remember.

As much as we wanted to stay, we were excited to leave because our next stop was Venice. Venice is an impressive and a place like I have never seen before. It is really hard to imagine how this city has continued to prosper. The one thing I could not get my head around is how the main square just floods when the tide comes in and people just carry on with their normal lives but in ankle deep water, at home that is when we get the plunger out.

After Venice we drove up into Austria, which is one of the most incredible drives I have ever been part of. I would happily get lost in those mountains for a couple weeks. We then headed to Vienna which is a city I thoroughly enjoyed. I found the open and grand streets and squares very refreshing compared to the crowded and tight alleyways of Italy and Spain. I visited one of the older amusement parks in Europe. It was different to normal theme parks as it was open just like a normal park and the rides were only a part of the area. There were beer gardens and restaurants and people using it as their cycle routes. I also had the chance to visit the old Vienna Schnapps Museum which is something that they are renowned for. Staying with the Germanic theme, we then moved onto Munich, Germany.

Munich is one of the cities I will very happily go back to. It had the similar large and grand architecture as Vienna but even more so and with more green and parks in between. We made our way through the city on a cycling tour. We saw even more of the city this way, and stopped halfway at one of the large beer gardens that Munich is renowned for. This was fun, but cycling after a couple steins became more difficult and a lot funnier for the group. The night in Munich ended off at the Hofbräuhaus, the largest beer garden in the world and centre of the Oktoberfest. The night ended off well.

The next day was a day when we ticked a few countries off the list. We made our way through three countries, Germany, Lichtenstein and Switzerland. We stopped for lunch in Vaduz in Lichtenstein; oddly enough they have a very large Indonesian influence there and is where I had a very tasty honey Peking duck. We then moved into Switzerland and had a stop in Lucerne, where I saw one of the most incredible statues, a lion representing the Swiss Guard cut into the side of a cliff.

Our final stop for the day was in the small valley town of Lauterbrunnen, the town was surrounded by cliffs on both sides with waterfalls coming down all around. The next day we took a cog train up into the mountains and near Peak of Jangfrau Mountain. There was plenty of snow and games, there was an ice gallery carved into a glacier and since we were in Switzerland, there was a place to buy Lindt chocolate.

I had a great time in Switzerland; we were even upgraded to cabins while we were there. But we headed off back into Germany to see the amazing town of Heidelberg which is dominated by Heidelberg Castle. The town is quiet and peaceful but still has a good atmosphere. This was our last night were we would have food cooked for by our chef so it was a big and fun night at the camp site and plenty of stories about the trip bubbled to the surface.

We made our final bus journey the next day, to our final destination, Amsterdam. This was a really nice way to end off the tour with some amazing people. I saw a side to Amsterdam that I had not seen previously and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately my camera and tablet was stolen from the camp site while we were in town, but there is nothing I can do about that now.

On my trip I saw some incredible things, learnt some very interesting things about Europe and about myself and ate some incredible food from so many different cultures. But the thing that made this trip so memorable for me is the people I spent it with. I made some lifelong friends and have shared some amazing experiences with people who just wanted to have a good time but also wanted to enjoy the richness of Europe.

If you have any questions about the trip or some of the places, please feel free to post them or get in contact with me.