Recently, I went on a month and a half long backpacking trip across Europe. This is something I've been wanting to do since college but never had a chance to do due to time constraint usually tied to having a full time job. I really wish I have done this when I was younger but it's better late than never right?
I went from Barcelona->Ibiza->Barcelona->Paris->Berlin->Prague->Bratislava->Budapest->Vienna->Budapest
There are some cities I went to twice because of poor planning.😅 I ended up wasting some money going back and forth but I just did not know any better.
Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
The thing that surprised me about Europe is how easy and cheap it is to go to the country next door. You can just hop on a Flix bus for 15-30€ and there are no border control or anything. Just different language and different culture.
Chilling on a beach in Ibiza
The different language and culture thing was really tripping me out. I'd learn how to say the basic in each language and by the time I start getting used to it, I was off to the next country. So when I got to that new country, I'd be still trying to use the language from the previous country (Like telling the store clerk in Prague, "danke"). Which made me feel embarrassed but now that I think about it, its probably a common occurrence with how close the countries are to each other.
Eiffel Tower in Paris
I can speak some Spanish and I've been mainly traveling in Spanish speaking countries the past few years for this reason. So, when I got into France, it was kind of refreshing to experience that "oh shit, I have no idea what anyone is saying" feeling. You'd be surprised how many people do not speak English.
Reminiscence of the Berlin Wall
This trip ended up costing me alot more than I was planning on spending. Western Europe sure is expensive! I've been pretty frugal and staying in Hostels and cooking all my meals but I ended up maxing out my credit card and had to keep making cash transfers into my credit card so I can keep using it. Once I got to Eastern Europe, lodging expenses were more manageable but the food prices did not change much.
City of Prague
The cheapest place out of all was Bratislava. The hostel bed was about 10€ a night and grocery prices were also very low. I'd like to spend more time in Eastern Europe next time I am in Europe for sure.
City of Bratislava
Budapest really surprised me with how much of a party city it is. The night life in Budapest was popping. There are these bars called ruins bar and they are kind of like dilapidated buildings that was turned into a bar/club. Some of these places were huge and there will be a line forming around the block on weekends with people trying to get in. I think Budapest was the best spot for Bar Crawls.
Hungarian Parliament Building and the Danube River in Budapest
IMO, the most beautiful city out of them all was Vienna. The city is clean and all the building looked very well preserved or renewed. The attention to detail in the buildings in Europe is amazing but in Vienna, all the buildings just looked like they were well maintained.
St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna
