Traveling in the Europe can be thrilling, exciting, and also scary - especially if you (a girl) are traveling with just another female. Before these 6 months, I would have been extremely adverse to the idea of being in a 2-girl travel group, but now - after having traveled Europe with another girl who gets lost half the time - I think that a 2-girl travel group is perfectly possible.
Being a 2-girl group definitely has its dangers, but my argument is that everything has its danger and if bad things were to happen, they are bound to happen irregardless of the situation. It's something I call 'fate'，命運.
Hopefully by sharing my travel experiences with you, I can make you feel a little more confident about traveling the UK with your girlfriend and do not be so caught up with trying to find a male travel companion.
Disclaimer: It is definitely still a safer bet to have a male travel companion, but I believe that if you are vigilant, observant, and quick-thinking enough, you can cope without a male companion.
So here are my favourite European destinations from my trip to Europe:
1 - Munich, Germany
First on my list, München. The best parts about Munich were the company I had and the beer :-) Munich's beer, the best! Drink only. Really. Munich is littered with beer places, so just hop into any of the beer places and grab a 1-litre jug of beer. One of the places we went to was Hofbraühaus.
I think that there is quite a bit to do in Munich alone, from the English Park to their many many museums to their clubs. Apart from the things that Munich has to offer, we also set out on day trips via the train at Hbf (the main train station) to Neuschwanstein castle and also to Salzburg in Austria. (So I guess you can check two countries from your list in just one trip?)
View from Neushwanstein. How pretty is this? *o*
Salzburg, Austria with ma homies. Missing Clifford cause he's the photographer.
p/s dont miss the surfers at the English Park.
2 - Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, lisbon, lisbon. This might be my true "first", if I were to just consider the city, minus the company. Everything is lovely in Lisbon! The people are absolutely friendly, the sights are so pretty, the food is one of the better ones that Europe has to offer, and it's really convenient to get from one place to another in Lisbon.
Before I continue to be all excited about my time in Lisbon, I have to give the biggest shoutout to our Airbnb host, Kleber and Kinho. Please, do yourself a favour and stay here if I ever decide to go to Lisbon! Click here for their listing on Airbnb. It is an apartment with two rooms that can accommodate 2 people per room at each time. The place is clean and situated in a wonderful small lane in an even more wonderful location. It's super near the metro, which means short distance to lug your luggage! Furthermore, there is a convenience store just downstairs (10 seconds walk) and a souvenir just beside it (12 seconds walk).
What made our time in Lisbon even better was how awesome our Airbnb hosts were!
Kinho, Adriel, Kleber, Me!
Other than having such friendly and accommodating hosts, there are quite a few things to do in Lisbon and also day trips!
Palacio Nacional de Pena has lots of colourful walls for you to take your next profile picture!
Palacio Nacional de Pena, Sintra. Day trip from Lisbon. Just a train ride away. Click for more information.
And if you have an extra day to spare, you might want to go to Cascais. Adriel and I were not particularly impressed by it and I ended up not taking up any photos. There is a beach there, which is not very nice. The beaches in Barcelona and Athens are nicer. But it's just my opinion la. So if you are still interested in going to Cascais, click here for more information.
On the way back from Cascais to Lisbon. Sit on the left side of the train towards Cascais, and on the right side of the train towards Lisbon, for the view of the coast!
A word of caution about Lisbon before I move on: There are apparently well-disguised gypsies in Lisbon. A Chinese shopkeeper spoke to me while I was paying for my souvenirs, and warned me about all the possible scenarios. These gypsies are apparently disguised as tourists and they love Asians (cause apparently Asians are rich and easy targets). That scared us a bit, so we ended up carrying our bags on our front. Very fortunately, nothing happened to us while we were there. My advice: just be vigilant. Even with guy travel companions, gypsies will still attempt to steal from you.
Ancient ruins, beautiful night city lights, beer. The three things that pop into my head when I think about my time in Athens. Adriel and I were pretty worried about Athens before we reached. The girl had googled "tourist safety in Athens" and got terrifying results. Endless horror stories about snatch thieves. :/ In an effort to calm her (and myself) down, I even fb messaged a friend who has been there before as a tourist about how Athens was and what not.
When we were finally in Athens, we were pleasantly surprised. The Airbnb apartment we were in was damn pretty la. Minimalist all. Our hosts were like artists of sorts and can tell they were hipster-ish, but not the kind not make you feel super uncool about yourself. They seem friendly, but Adriel and I did not really had any chance to interact with them at all. The apartment was located relatively near to the centre, so.... I guess it is ok :-)
We were in Athens for only 4 days, which is not enough! There is so much to do in Athens. Ancient ruins sites, museums, day trips, beaches, food. So, one day for like museums, another day for the sites, another day for a day trip, another day for the beach, and like another day to like laze around.
Being a tourist at the Acropolis. There were so many times during my travels when I was so annoyed by the presence of the other tourists. I had forgotten I was a tourist myself. :/
Here is me being an idiot cause I had forgotten to bring my sunglasses and the sun was being an absolute B. Used Adriel's sweater to cover my eyes from the blinding light.
Temple of Poseidon, Sounion.
(someone please identify this weird looking plant. thank you.)
Sounion. It's a 2.5 hours bus ride from Athens via KTEL Attikis Public Busses. From Athens to Sounion, the buses run every 2 hours from 0630, until 1640 where it runs hourly until 1830. The way back: every 2 hours from 0800 until 1800 when it starts running hourly until 2100. Catch the bus from K.T.E.L. Nomou Attikis S.A. Kotsika 2 Athens 104 34 Greece. Google maps it. IT IS DAMN PRETTY SO JUST GO! Decided not to post photos of the beaches cuz spoiler. It looks even better in real life.
Apart from the beautiful sights that Greece has to offer, be sure to do lots of souvenir shopping there! The souvenirs are SO PRETTYYYYYYYY with all their greek mythology design and replicas. Just so pretty. Plus it's cheap. cheap cheap lai lai just buy only.
Just a tip and if you have the balls to be out late at night: At 11PM, buy beers from a kiosk, keep it in your bag, walk to this marble rock beside the acropolis, climb up the rock, sit there, open a can of beer with your friend(s), and enjoy the magnificent sight of the acropolis behind you and the city below you. It is magical. Thanks Kostas for bringing Adriel and I there. :)))))))
4 - Hamburg, Germany
I traveled to Hamburg during the Easter holidays, which means that the weather was still being ruthlessly cold. Despite the bone-chilling winds and the gloomy drizzle, I did enjoy my time in Hamburg.
While in Hamburg and exploring the non-touristy areas, we chanced upon a carnival! And I honestly think I quite zai! Won a care bear for myself, and some other stuffed toy for Adriel.
Hamburg also houses a world-famous museum of miniatures. When we were there, the queue was not very long and the waiting time was approximately 30 minutes at the lounge. I don't remember it being cheap (it's Germany), but it was quite awesome cause they gave us free flow fountain drinks! Free anything makes me happy. Hehe!
Apart from just being in Hamburg, we took a day trip out to Luebeck. It is a quaint little town with many churches, cobbled stones, and its history is linked with that of Hamburg. It is not much of a tourist destination, with little to do and see; hence a day trip is more than enough for you to explore Luebeck.
Luebeck. Day trip from Hamburg from the Hauptbahnhof
Hamburg is not the most thrilling place I have been on my travels, it was laid back and slow. And that I appreciated a lot during my travels. Traveling can be fucking tiring, so when you finally reach a destination that is slow and just so damn chill, you'll appreciate it. The beer is still not too bad in Hamburg, but Munich's still the best.
Sevilla was where Adriel and I found out that we were mole sisters. Shoulder moles. And the right side of my face looks so photoshopped, as if I meitu-ed it until so sharp. But trust me, in fact I tried to photoshop the right side of my face to make it look rounder. Didn't work out obviously.....
So Spain is the land of llaollao! I have only eaten llaollao in Singapore once, and it was with Anu's mum before I left for the UK. So below, was the second time I tasted llaollao. El llaollao es delicioso! Plus it was super hot in Sevilla, like no joke kind of hot (cuz summer). So the llaollao was super refreshing and also much needed.
Inside the Alcázar of Seville. It is basically a huge palace (and apparently the royalties are still staying in there) with a lot of gardens. Everything is very pretty in Mudéjar style.
Sevilla was lovely to Adriel and I. It was so safe, we did not have to worry about carrying our backpacks on our front. The people are also friendly even though they do have slight difficulties in speaking English. But they try their best to understand you no matter what.
Bullfighting ring/stadium in Sevilla.
Sevilla offers rich culture and history, from the Alcázar to the bullfighting stadiums. I am personally against bull fighting, so I was glad that during my time there, there were no fights scheduled. If there were fights, Adriel and I would be torn between our morals and our want to "see the world and experience culture". However, if you are interested in watching a fight, there are fights scheduled on a weekly basis. Google before you book your flights so you don't fly in too late or too early.
Flamenco is also from Sevilla, but Adriel and I did not have the luxury to afford a concert. It would have been absolutely wonderful to watch a flamenco dance, but we just could not afford it. #budgetmax Nonetheless, Sevilla was still a really good place for us. If you guys have the mullah, please go for the extras that we could not afford!
To prove how pretty the streets and architecture of Sevilla are.
In all, Sevilla is a friendly tourist destination with much to explore (if you have the patience). If you are going to be in Barcelona or Madrid, please do travel to Sevilla as well? 3 days is enough, and 4/5 days if you are as slow as Adriel and I.
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Personally, I would not recommend being in a group of more than 2 or 3. A big group basically means having to accommodate with everyone's wishes and also it's harder to find accommodation. Furthermore, when you are in a large group with your friends, you are well within your comfort zone and you will find yourself unwilling to say hi to that other traveler beside you during the free walking tours. Stick with smaller groups and make friends as you travel :-)
I have caught the travel bug. I'm traveling to Thailand in August, and am kinda excited for it already. Haha, but this time it's with family. Wish me luck hahahaha
x Jo.
