Of the 5 months I spent in Europe, 5 weeks were spent in Portugal. So far, it is my favourite country visited. Yet with 5 weeks in this beautiful country, I still did not have the opportunity to see all that it has to offer – a couple more trips are warranted in the future.…
Tag: backpacking
Coimbra: Intelligent beauty
This will be one of my shorter posts and not because Coimbra isn’t a beautiful place – I just didn’t have the chance to spend more time there. Fortunately travelling there isn’t too difficult. Trains run regularly from the north and south of Portugal to Coimbra – the university city of the country. I couch…
Prague & Budapest: Not Quite Western Europe
Prague reminded me of a cleaner version of Belgrade. It has that same Communist feel to it, full of culture and rough around the edges. The city relies on its tram network to get around. They are always on time, surprising for vehicles that look ancient. English is not a popular language so it may…
Braga & Guimarães: Picturesque North
I took an hour long train ride from Porto to Braga, cost was around 3.5 euros. Braga is a very small place but beautiful. It has a strong historical aura mixed with the young spirit of a university town. I walked to my hostel – Braga Pop Hostel. Now I HAVE to give a little…
Porto: Uncork a bottle!
I remember landing at the Porto airport on a sunny day in November and I couldn’t have been happier to be there. Portugal is a gorgeous country and I felt I hadn’t seen enough of it the first time around – round two was in order. I took a cheap flight from Budapest to Porto…
The trip that changed my life
August 15, 2013 marked the year anniversary of my embarkment on a 5 month European tour. Last year I felt excited and nervous about what my trip would have in store for me. I packed my bag and took some “me” time. After visiting 15 countries, spanning over 3 seasons, I learned a lot about…
Malmö: Sweden’s southern bridge
After my few days in Stockholm, I had to find a way to make my way back to continental Europe. Malmö, located in southern Sweden, was a perfect choice for my next destination. Considering there is an approximate 600 km distance between Stockholm and Malmö, that would make for a very long bus ride. Instead I took…
Stockholm: Scandinavian capital
Stockholm is a beautiful city with many contrasting personalities. It has achieved a wonderful balance between modernity and antiquity where many cities have not. The many islands and canals create a sense of unknown and, at times, mystery. In November, Stockholm has some pretty pleasant weather. There was no snow, only some rain and fog,…
Tromsø: Brrr it’s cold outside
At this point of my trip I hadn’t seen my sister for almost 3 months, which is totally unusual for us considering that her and I would spend all our time together while she lived in Toronto. We worked together, went out together, had the same friends. So I decided to visit her at the…
Netherlands: Land of canals
Finally the day came to leave warm southern Europe for the cold and grey parts of northern Europe. I took a discount flight from Porto, Portugal to Eindhoven, Netherlands and then moved directly on to Rotterdam. This is much easier said than done. Well it should have been easy, but it definitely was not. There…
Eyes.Wide.Open 