It’s been a while since I’ve last posted here and I have “being lazy” and “exams” to blame. But while I haven’t been posting, I’ve reasoned with myself that I’ve been living in the moment, exploring new cities and discovering more about myself while travelling to new continents, solo travelling or with new friends and really taking the time to absorb the culture, the history and colours of each place I visit.
Now as I sit at gate C16 in Amsterdam Schiphol airport for what may be the last time for the next few years (until I make it back to Europe!), I can’t help but reminisce on the second part of my exchange journey and where it’s led me. Buckle in for a massive post!
Exchange thoughts
On exchange, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to over 10 countries and counting as I head to Asia on my way home, I’ve learnt to live successfully by myself (learning to cook, ride myself back home drunk on many Tuesday’s, clean and thrive in my own ecosystem). I’ve learnt to let things go, learnt to love myself more and learnt to grow mindfully. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve had fun and will always remember this experience.
I was also lucky enough to celebrate my 22nd birthday in Tilburg with a few of the closest friends I’d made here. It was also one of the last nights we could all come together while in Tilburg which made it bitter sweet when we parted, but we also knew that we now had friends all over the globe that we could visit one day. Happy Italy were also kind enough to give me a cake for free that night (cos apparently I can’t bring my own cake angery)
Where I’ve been since October
I have a lot to update here in terms of travelling, but here’s a quick snapshot and summary of where I went after the mid sem break in October!
Amsterdam Music Festival (AMF) (20 Oct)
This was my first rave and honestly it did not disappoint haha
We had come back from our Scandinavian travels a few days early just so we could make it to AMF and I’m so glad we made that decision!
The festival started from 10pm and finished at 6am. And while you may think “whoa didn’t you get tired Jess?!?” I really didn’t because the music was amazing, really engaging and heart pounding, the light shows were mesmerising and the dancing kept me alive. Favourites of the night were definitely Axwell and Ingrosso, David Guetta and Martin Garrix 😍
Only mistake was going to Amsterdam straight afterwards at which point I could reallllly feel the tiredness kick in and I took a “2h nap” at maccas before being told I could not sleep there.
Repping Australia
Morocco (30 Oct-8 Nov)
At the start of exchange I knew I wanted to visit Morocco, and with Ryanair’s cheap flights (55€ return to Marrakesh from Eindhoven) I really could not pass up the opportunity to visit. So I gathered a few friends and off we went (more detailed summaries will be posted soon but for now, here are a few snapshots of the cities and places we visited).
Marrakesh
Ait Ben Haddou
Todra Gorge
Sahara desert (Merzouga)
Imlil valley
Fez
Chefchaouen
Jardin Majorelle
Prague (15-18 Nov)
This trip was done with IESN and I have to be honest, I did not have the best time I could have had compared to if I went on a self planned trip.
Firstly, it was massively unorganised! Our city tour guides were not enthusiastic or engaging. They read off pieces of paper and the groups were so large it was hard to hear them.
Our pre-booked activities were also over priced for what they were. I opted for the “traditional polish dinner” which was bland, cold and did not represent the cuisine appropriately.
The meeting point for our Petrin Hill hike was not clearly marked and we missed it and had to head off by ourselves. Thankfully we caught back up with the group and got our free entrance up the tower, but didn’t have to go down with them. At least the views were beautiful.
Next was a “Cantus” at Storm club which was a disaster. The “line” for drinks were just students pushing against each other and waiting for 2h before getting our hand on anything 😡
Overall, I can’t deny that Prague is a beautiful city, but my experiences weren’t the best. Hopefully I can return to fix my fist impression.
Kraków (22-26 Nov)
My first solo trip was to Kraków and it was an incredible experience!
I booked my stay at Greg n Tom’s Party Hostel and I honestly think my whole trip was made better because I was there. There was free breakfast (if you manage to wake up for it after a night out haha) and free dinner every night.
But the best part was probably the pub crawls for the cheapest price I’ve seen across Europe at ~10AUD including 1.5h of unlimited drinks and drinking games. Followed by 5 clubs with free entry. To be honest, I don’t remember my time at the clubs much because that’s how tipsy I got from the pre-drinks hahaha and it was always fun with the people I met from Aussies to Americans to Canadians to Kiwis.
After the first night, I spent the next day with a new friend exploring the Jewish Quarter on a free walking tour and it was definitely eye opening. The guide we had was informative and engaging and retold stories that came alive. Most striking was the origins of the Hero’s Square memorial in the Jewish Quarter. There are 68 chairs (each representing 1000 Jewish lives) of different sizes to symbolise the women, men and children who were liquidated and murdered. The chairs are the symbol because before the Jews were sent to death camps they were told they were going to Russia to work. So they all brought their belongings and furniture including chairs thinking they would need it where they were going. But the morbid truth was, they didn’t.
This tied in nicely with my Auschwitz visit (which started off a bit rough as I missed the tour and had to run around like a headless chicken before I took a public bus and met the tour group there).
You really need to visit with a guide as they explain the different rooms with respect and accuracy. Being there felt horrible, as in how could anyone in humanity commit murder to this extent and treat other humans so inhumanely. One thing that stuck with me was what our tour guide ended on: “we come here to learn the history so it may never happen again. We are capable of understanding and listening. We must be wary with anyone with too much power.”
The next day came one of my first mistakes as a solo traveller which was not planning day trips better haha I had planned to go to Morskie Oko which is a lake south of Poland in the Tatra region.
I woke up too late after another late night out haha and ended up taking the 2h bus to Tatra and another taxi to the start of the hike only to just miss out because it was getting dark and I was told that there are wild animals like bears and foxes which could harm us if we started the hike before dark.
So I learnt my lesson the hard way and had to take the bus straight back for another 2.5h before meeting up with my mates back at the hostel and literally drinking my sorrows away (cos this night I didn’t even make it out of the hostel 😂). Luckily a Korean couple were kind enough to send me a few of their own Morskie Oko pics so I could see what it looked like.
I also very much enjoyed the beef goulash here I had it twice! And also the polish dumplings
On my last day I also had time to visit the Oskar Schindler museum which isn’t actually the factory which Schindler used to employ hundreds of unskilled Jewish labourers and thereby saving them from murder. Make sure to book tickets in advance especially if you’re going on a Monday where it’s free!
I unfortunately missed out on tickets when I went but after loitering for about 10-15mins, after hearing everyone else get rejected, I asked the ticket gal if there was any way I could get a ticket because it was my last day and I really wanted to visit, she gave me a free ticket and in I went! 
Lisbon (28 Nov- 1 Dec)
Lisbon was my last hurrah before exams. And I really fell in love with the city. The colours and culture and food kept me smiling for the whole trip. I also had the opportunity to meet up with my Sydney friend Kepin while I was there and he encouraged me to get up for the beautiful sunrise below on my last day!
Part of my visit included all my meals at the Time Out market haha (next time I go, I will be visiting more authentic places) but we were incredibly lazy and I was ok with that especially after my wild nights in Kraków and the one day I had to rest back in Tilburg.
As part of our trip we also visited Sintra and Pena Palace, Quinta Regaliera and Coba de Roca (the western most point of Europe for the most stunning sunset I’ve ever seen).
Finland Lapland for Christmas (21-29 Dec)
This was tour I did to Saariselka with Time Travels and while it was a bit expensive, I’m so glad I did it because I spent the best part of a week with an amazing group of aussies in our cute cosy cabin and playing in the snow and with huskies and reindeers and taking dips into freezing waters after braving steamy saunas together.
Highly recommend 10/10 doing all the activities too! I also enjoyed snowboarding for the first time, even though I fell like a million times, it has me craving more adrenaline and persevering to get back up.
Scotland for New Years (30 Dec – 4 Jan)
Words cannot describe how wild nye was in Scotland haha!! We visited for the purpose of Hogmanay (which is the Scottish word for the last day of the year) and is a massive street party in Edinburgh.
We rushed to get our pre drinks mixed because we lived so far away in Haddington (would recommend staying closer to the city centre if you can!).
Then a wild night followed by the most spectacular fireworks… because I was drunk they really seemed to glow more and sparkle brighter.
And then a night I could not remember, except for when my friends had to pick me up and take me home after I was missing for 2 hours 😂
We then hired a car and took it around the Scottish highlands towards Glencoe and Loch Lomond. The views were beautiful but I can imagine how lush it would be if there was green grass.
Onwards to the trips of 2019!
I will be visiting:
- Slovenia (Ljubljana, Bled)
- Italy (Milan)
- Switzerland (Interlaken, Lucerne)
- Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima)
- Hong Kong
- Macau
- Singapore
- HOME !