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Travel
My Europe Trip 2010 – Rome, Italy
Aug 21st
Being the center of Christianity’s largest denomination, Rome has many interesting churches and home to some of the most beautiful ones in the world. It is advisable to spend at least three nights to visit the Ancient City, where many impressive Roman monuments are still standing.
Summer would be the best time to see Rome, when the temperature is at an average 25°C and the weather is calmer too. But that is also during the tourism peak season so plan your trip early, especially the accommodation part.
The Colosseum was the first attraction on our list of places to visit and luckily going there was simple and straightforward enough. There are only two main metro lines – A or B, much less compared to London’s 11. The Colosseum’s facade was impressive already, as seen from the Colosseo metro station.
If you have imagined it to look like what is shown in the Gladiator movie you are so gonna be disappointed. But it has another side of beauty to be appreciated.
The Colosseum is a hollowed-out marble structure, completed back in 80AD where animals were killed for sport and men were pitted against each other. It was a surreal feeling getting to see the Colosseum in real, it was our most memorable experience in Rome.
My Europe Trip 2010 – Pisa & Florence, Italy
Aug 3rd
Our trip to Pisa and Florence was a short one because we spent a lot of time in the train and also wasted a lot of time outside our hostel waiting for the owner to open the door for us. Because of that, we only had about only a few hours to see both places in the same day.
Passengers get to enjoy a beautiful view of the beach along the journey.
Although Pisa is more known worldwide for the Leaning Tower, the city has many other attractions too with over 20 churches, some palaces and the various scenic bridges across the River Arno.
There are a couple of bus services just outside the Pisa Centrale train station and only one of them (red line, called LAM ROSSO) goes to Piazza del Duomo, where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is located.
The bus tickets could be purchased either on board, or at the ticket machines. Either way, you will need to validate them when you get on the bus. However, we’ve seen many tourists who just enter the bus without a ticket and the bus driver cum conductor wouldn’t even bother to check. You can save €1.50 per trip by doing that but it is totally up to your own conscious.
My Europe Trip 2010 – Milan, Italy
Jul 25th
After a two hour train ride to Milan from Spiez, we immediately got ourselves a 2-day pass for the public transport that cost €5.50. The Milan Centrale Station is one complex and confusing train station because its multi-level design, which is made worse by its misleading signs that led us in rounds for the metro. Unlike other Italian cities like Rome, Florence and Venice that are richer in history and arts, Milan is a cosmopolitan city that seem more rushed and lavish more well known for its stylish fashion boutiques.
But its facade is majestic for a train station at 200 meters wide and 72 meters high. It even held a record high for a building when it was first built.
Then we literally dragged ourselves to our hotel (Hotel Arno) and made our way to Milan’s main attraction – Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral) located conveniently above the duomo metro stop.
My Europe Trip 2010 – Switzerland
Jul 17th
If I were given a chance to do the Europe trip all over again but I could only visit one country, I will choose Switzerland without a shout of a doubt. For most of the time in Switzerland I actually felt like I was actually having a holiday. Instead of rushing from one place to another to visit the attractions, we were walking leisurely to enjoy the breathtaking sceneries.
Thanks to the diverse landscape in Switzerland, every photo is postcard beautiful.
By the time we reached Zurich it was already at night. Due to summer season there wasn’t any room available and even if there was one, it would be too expensive. After checking with every single hostel but to no avail, we decided to give up and catch a train to Interlaken instead. Although tiring, at least we got to see Zurich, which is a modern city with an active nightlife.
Panini (sandwich) stalls were aplenty at the train station.
Ever had a bacon pretzel? They are pretty common in Europe and come with many different type of fillings.
Using the hotel reservation kiosk at Interlaken West’s train station, we finally secured two beds at Balmer’s Herberge, which happens to be the first and oldest private hostel in Switzerland. Talk about coincidence. After spending the night in one of the 32-beds dorm (like a chicken coop) at Balmer’s Herberge we quickly left for Lauterbrunnen.
My Europe Trip 2010 – Paris, France
Jul 10th
After London, our next destination was Paris, France. Naturally there are two ways of getting to Paris from London, either by ferry (cheaper, but longer time needed and confusing) or via Eurostar.
If you didn’t know, Eurostar is a high speed passenger rail service with its trains crossing the English Channel connecting London with Paris and Brussels. It is pretty obvious Eurostar is expensive but it would cut down the traveling time into just a little more than two hours.
Luckily we booked our Eurostar tickets earlier so we still got it at a relatively affordable price at £39. Here, we were boarding the train at St Pancras station. Anyway, if you are planning to travel to Europe including England on your own, do be prepared to fork out extra for Eurostar tickets – even if you have a Eurail pass!
And here are some useful tips: when you are leaving for home, try not to fly out from London because you would have to pay extra to cross the channel again. I myself did a mistake here by choosing to fly back to Malaysia from London. I could’ve saved myself a few hundred ringgit if I had planned to go back because my last destination was Amsterdam. More tips at the end of this post, so keep reading lol.
After reaching our crappy hostel we walked to our first attraction – The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris or Basilique du Sacré-Cœur in French. It is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and also prominently located at Montmartre hill, the highest point in the city.
My Europe Trip 2010 – Itinerary & Travel Tips (Still Updating)
Jul 9th
A few people have been asking me for my Europe trip‘s itinerary and total cost. So for sharing sake here it is, we covered mostly Western Europe and Czech Republic over 28 days during summer.
London -> Paris -> Interlaken -> Lauterbrunnen -> Milan -> Pisa -> Florence -> Rome -> Venice -> Vienna -> Munich -> Prague -> Berlin -> Amsterdam -> Brussels -> London
Do note that this is never intended to be used as a reference or even a guide for your own Europe trip. It’s more like sharing the stories of your trip with a friend, highlighting the ups and downs as well as throwing in some advice and tips in the process.
Besides a return air ticket, you will probably also need a rail pass if you plan to explore more than three countries. For my case, I bought the following:
- Economy class Emirates return flight ticket from KL to London (transit at Dubai airport) – RM3050
- Eurail Global Pass (adult, 1 month continuous inclusive of air delivery) – €839 (about RM3346)
Then if you are planning to include UK in your list of destinations, prepare to pay another extra RM300-400 for Eurostar train per pax per way. Plan your trip early and book Eurostar in advance to save more here. Of course, if you plan to fly or take ferry to UK then that’s a different story.
For accommodation, I used HostelBookers. Highly recommended with plenty of info, real reviews, photos and there are no commission fees. Only 10% of the total is charged to your credit card for deposit and the rest are payable in cash upon arrival. There are three things to pay extra attention to when booking hostels: breakfast, linen and towels. It makes your life a lot easier if these are included.
