Berlin

Flag of Berlin

I headed to Berlin to meet up with one of my good friends Tyler who I met in Athens and later saw in Paris. This was his last stop and I really wanted to see him again before he headed back to good old Oregon.

I think everyone agrees when I say Berlin is the best city to just live, no need to make a check list of must sees, you just need to live day to day experiences. It has this vibe that's hard to explain but impossible to resist.

I got to experience the underground club scene as well as get a great history of the city and the country on a walking tour and just enjoy the great people and places of Berlin. One day I had the chance to visit Sachsenhausen concentration camp just outside of Berlin, which was not only used by the Nazis but also during the soviet union, I had a really great tour guide that made the experience very interesting.

Chocolate Brandenburg Gate!!

Me with part of the Berlin Wall in the background.

Oh and I met this interesting Australian fellow named Jason who decided to join me in Vienna...

BUDA pest

View of Pest from Buda

When I initially thought of places I wanted to visit while I was in Europe, Budapest had never come to mind but because I didn't have time to go to Russia and really wanted to see some of Eastern Europe, I made my way there. The hostel I stayed at was one of my favourite. It was owned by a young american who was on his way to Israel when he stopped in Budapest and ended falling in love with a local. He never made it to Israel but now he owns a pretty awesome hostel and got himself a lady friend.
Budapest is gorgeous, it was originally two cities divided by the river. On Buda you can find the palace and the castle hill and on Pest you find the parliament and many other monuments. I had the chance to rent a bike, it was the best way to tour the city. One day I went to these traditional outdoor thermal baths,  it felt pretty great swimming outside in the middle of December. On the last day I went to the House of Terror, which was the Nazi headquarters and then later during the Soviet Union the secret police headquarters.
I met some of the nicest people and had some of the most relaxing and freeing moments in this city, I love you Budapest :)

Thermal Baths

Me and my beautiful bike!

House of Terror 

Amsterdam

I know this will be hard to believe but the cheapest flight out of Athens was to Amsterdam. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about going there but I had a few days to visit one more place before going back to Paris and then Nice to meet my mom. Weekends are crazy packed so most hostels were booked, I ended up staying in a Christian hostel in the center of the Red Light District (oh the irony!).  Honestly I know this city has a reputation for a few things, but it is truly one of the most beautiful cities I've seen. It's clean, safe, and rich in history and culture. I got the chance to get a quick history lesson on the Deutsch at the Rijksmuseum and see paintings by one of their most famous painters- Rembrandt. I also checked out the van Gogh museum!

These past three weeks have been great, now I'm in Nice once again with my family where I met up with my mama :) Next up I'm trying to go to Vienna, Budapest and Slovenia, and I'd like to finish in London before heading back to Toronto!

-Clara

Greeece!!

After Rome I went to Athens. I had my first experience with the current situation in the country when parts of downtown were shut down due to protests and I had to take a detour to get to my hostel. It was interesting because when I asked the tourism office what was going on they claimed it was a national holiday and definitely not a riot or protest, but when I talked to my cab driver he confirmed that it was absolutely a protest. But overall my trip in Greece was very safe and not violent or scary like the media makes it out to be.  Protests go on only in specific sections of the city and the rest is normal and the day to day life continues.

The historic sites of Athens are so impressive! The Acropolis Museum was great and gave me a nice refresher on Ancient Greek history and then actually seeing the Acropolis was amazing, I loved it so much I went twice!

                                                 On the Acropolis infront of the Parthenon

After Athens I went to the greek island Santorini. It was beautiful!! Exactly what you picture when you think of Greece with the white houses and blue roofs. I was travelling with two Canadian guys from Calgary and we went on a boat tour of the Island. We got dared to go swimming because since we're Canadian apparently this temperature is normal for us haha the water was COLD, but soo worth it :)

                                  

                                                                 Sunset in Santorini