A Glimpse of Europe

It has been an indelible 2 weeks. With one my closest friends in the UK, I went to see some parts of Europe which 20-year-old Ayas wouldn't even have dreamt of seeing. For 15 days, I was surrounded by people who talk in different languages.

For me, the vacation starts when I make the itinerary - when I plan what to do, where to go, where to stay, et cetera. We planned and booked everything ourselves: the hotel or Airbnb; the plane, bus, or train tickets to go from one city or country to another; the bus from the airport; and the attractions to visit. Planning a budget vacation was not easy, yet I love all the challenge and the satisfaction of knowing that we could do so much within our budget. I prefer planning my own vacation than joining a tour, because the "exploring" part is one of the most exciting one.

I knew from beginning that I'm not the kind of person who would enjoy travelling for 2 weeks straight, but we did it anyway because we have no time (nor money) to visit only one or two countries for a week a couple of times. We knew from the beginning that it would be exhaustive, yet we still managed to relish it until the end.

Colloseo, Roma

Duomo di Firenze

Europe was awesome. Brussel's grand place was incredibly pretty with all the golden details. Brugge's markt was filled with unique buildings that look like Lego houses. Madrid was interesting because I saw a lot of people reading on the metro (even more than in UK), yet found only a few people who can speak English. Toledo was extremely hot and tiring to explore on foot, yet also charming with all the medieval architecture. Barcelona was astonishing with all the Gaudi's masterpieces. Rome was surprisingly a little messy but beautifully embellished with all the roman ruins. Florence has a Duomo which looks like something you see on movies. Milan was nice for a little break and a little shopping. Paris looks a bit like London in some way, but has a special charm and ambience which I enjoy very much. Budapest was amazingly stunning at night, and even better (for me) at day. Lastly, Prague was charming and serene. There are still a lot of places to visit, obviously, but for now, this is more than enough. Enough to end my Journey in Europe before going back to Indonesia for good.

Gorgeous Budapest

The gigantic Eiffel Tower in Paris

The whole traveling experience was exhilarating, although wearing. It makes me want to explore other places around the world, broaden my perspective, and makes me discover a lot of novel things about myself. A year ago, I would not mention traveling as something that I love doing, but now I think of it as a necessity - something that I must do once in a while to keep myself sane and content.

Until next trip!