Visit Me in London

Meeting people whilst travelling is fantastic, but it is even more exciting when they come visit you in your country!

I met Kay when i was travelling in Copenhagen. We instantly hit it off and became great friends. Found out we had a lot of shared interests too. She inspires me! she travels more than one country at a time on her own (London - Iceland-London-Paris). She is organised, she carefully executes all that she has planned. She is one those people you want to align your life with.

And since she is on an exchanged programme from Japan to Austria so she is definitely making the most of her new territory in Europe. 

She got to meet some of my precious friends

I will be visiting Kay in Japan next year!!!

Finland February

Finland Flag

Under a week from now I will be border jumping to the land of the Finnish.

What awaits me is mountains of snow, minus 18 degrees and i haven't a clue about the culture.

Loh and behold i don't think i own any clothing that could be capable to insulate me for -20 degree weather.

This time round i will not be venturing the city (Helsinki - capital) alone but i will be staying with a friend, so this takes the pressure of having to be super prepared and careful planning.

My flight from heathrow is at a shockingly early hour. Heres hoping i might be able to wake up.

More updates on the trip coming soon!

Documenting Denmark

Danish Escapade Review

Country: Denmark
Capital: Copenhagen (Kopenhagen)
Language: Danish
Currency: Danish Kroener (DK)
Details: January 2011

Copenhagen is an interesting and bizarre city to visit. Great if you need an R & R weekend city break. Copenhagen has a lot to offer. The Danish are known for their amazing architecture and design, bakeries and cycling (especially in snow storms which totally amazes me.) Getting my head round the currency was a little bit of an issue since items cost 100s or 1000s. An average meal in a restaurant costs between 140 - 180DK

The entire time I was in Denmark it snowed heavily but it didn't put a damper on my enthusiasm to discover the hidden gems of this weird but wonderful culture.

The best time to travel to the land of the Danes' is between April and September when the Tivoli (Theme park) is open.

Tivoli

 It will be much easier to appreciate the cities beauty and scenery.
Unlike Vienna I would recommend using the metro whenever possible because the distance between tourists sites is vast. Most art galleries and museums offer free entry but special exhibitions require ticket purchase. I wouldn't recommend buying the Copenhagen Pass. Its too expensive and you will probably do two things out of the 60 listed options.

Thanks to my friend Rodelle who had travelled to Copenhagen a few months before I did I was able to eliminate and concentrate on specific things about the city which was a big help and did not require much planning on my part.

I also discovered that the Danish language does not have a word for "please", which is why at first they came across as rude.

Frozen Canals

Christianhavn

Christianhavn, Near Cafe Wilder

Somewhere near Parliament

Charlottenborg Palace (changing of the guards)

Aalborg Maritime Museum 

Behind me is Aalborg Maritime Museum

The famous little mermaid (I am standing on frozen sea)

The little mermaid has had her head severed many times 

Statens Museum for Kunst

Adam, Eve, dead Abel and Cherry

Kopenhagen Airport

I was astounded by the way transport worked like clockwork in spite of the heavy snowfall I endured on my trip. Involuntary skiing down the streets and excessive walking left me with a rather bruised and battered knee. In awe I was astounded by the relentless effort the locals had to continue cycling in the blizzard when I was suffering a great deal to trudge through the snow.

Lastly this time round I was able to make a lot more friends and they will be visiting me in London over the next couple of months, so i guess it does pay to smile and be friendly.

Travel 101: General Travel Tips (learned thus so far)

1) Smile
 People want to help a friendly face. And you have more chances of making friends with fellow travellers if you do.

2) Learn To Enjoy Your Own Company.
Don't travel abroad alone if you cannot enjoy being in your own company because its you, you and you. You will have to sit in restaurants, cafes, museums, and terminals on your own. Get comfortable of being alone but not lonely. Meet other travellers.

3) Dont Get Married Off By Some Mother.
Yes you read right! In Vienna, I happened to be walking along a Church garden till i heard someone in the distance shouting for me to stop. A mother and her son rushed towards me requesting to take photos with me which i agreed to. She quickly proceeded to tell her her son was a good man and thereby offered him to. I thanked her for her offer and was on my way.

Hold on it doesn't end there!

Not once did i run into them in one part of the city but twice on opposite sides of traffic. Smile and wave. Just smile and wave.

4) Plan, Plan, Plan!!!!!
I dont do enough of this which is why i never remember the way back to the airport. Oh i start acting pansy when i get off a plane and we are transported to the main terminal by bus to hear the intercom speaking in a foreign language (of course what did I expect.)

5) Borrow Travel Guides.
Go scour your local library for some travel guides. Save your self some money for goodies.

6) Learn to Pack.
Dont end up with 5 extra pairs of socks (happens to me all to frequently). Ladies, carry what is necessary, you dont need 8 pairs of matching outfits with shoes too.
You dont want to turn up to the terminal looking like this.

7) Carry a Spork
Its basically a hybrid of spoon and fork at opposite ends. You never know when you might need it.

8) Ask People To Take Your Photo.

A friend of mine asked the other day, "you know when you go travelling, you go on your own right? but why are there so many photos of you?".
Just ask, people don't mind (in my experience) taking photos of your because they can evidently see that you are alone and if you don't ask who will help make lasting memories of you?

More Travel Tips to follow suit

Documenting Wein (Vienna)

Volkstheatre

Viennese Escapade.

Country: Austia
Capital: Vienna
National Language: German
Currency: Euro
Detail: 1st Solo Trip

 U-Bahn at Kalplatz (underground)


After a goodnights sleep and anxiety worn off from the sheer shock of first time solo travel, this is what Wein had to offer me.

The city is breathtakingly beautiful. Its clean, pedestrian friendly, easy to navigate (partly because the Austrian people are so helpful). The architecture is magnificent and well maintained, palace gardens are manicured to perfection.

Its a safe city to explore at night.
The city too is rich with Saturday food markets.

Schloß Schönbrunn


A vacation of 5 days or less in enough to see Wein.

Parliament

Naschmarkt - Food Market

Hofburg

Gloriet Palace Gardens

Path leading to Palace

'Interruptions and the Everyday'

"Stop…regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'real' life.

The truth is that what one calls 'the interruptions' are precisely one's real life --

                                  the very life that God is sending day by day."

C.S. Lewis