Around Europe in 18 days (replicate of what I have shared with Dolce readers)

With the intention of visiting my elder sister, who is posted to Berlin by her company, we (my mum, my younger sister and I) embarked on an eighteen days trip to Europe. In a short span of two and half weeks, we travelled 5 cities (in 3 countries). The cities are Berlin, Dresden, Rome, Munich and Prague.

Needless to say, our first stop was Berlin where we took a seventeen hours flight (inclusive of 3 hours of transit time at Istanbul) via Turkish Airline to get there.

3 hours transit at Istanbul airport where we couldn’t wait for the time to pass for us to take the transit flight to Berlin to meet my elder sister

Sight-seeing in Berlin : Brandenburg Gate

The famous currywurst in Germany – We bought this a roadside store in Berlin and paid about 4 euros

Sight-seeing in Berlin: Charlie Checkpoint – Tourist can pay a token to get a stamp their passport

Sight-seeing in Berlin: Charlie Checkpoint – We are crossing the border

Sight-seeing in Berlin: Berlin Wall – The sky was turning dark when we visited the Berlin Wall and perhaps that was the reason I found this place very quiet and eerie

We took a day trip to Dresden, a nearby city which is 2 hours away from Berlin, via the intercity train, also known as DB Bahn. The buildings in Dresden were magnificent, though my mum commented that they looked like those abandoned haunted building which we saw in the horror movies at night. *Laugh*

Sight-seeing in Dresden: Dresden Frauenkirche




Sight-seeing in Dresden: Zwinger

Our third stop is Rome. Yes, you must be wondering why we went to Rome because it is almost on the other side of Europe. Well, the reason was simple. We have always wanted to visit the popular city and since we are already in Europe, we decided to take a short flight to Rome. Weather in Rome was so much better (as compared the rest of places which we had visited) at a comfortable temperature of 18 to 24 degrees.

On the tourist ‘Green’ Bus - Hearing so much about the pickpocket syndicates in Rome, we decided to tour the city via the tourist ‘Green’ bus, which brought us to nearly all the attractions in Rome

Sight-seeing in Rome – The famous Colosseum

Sight-seeing in Rome – Trevi Fountain where people toss coins and make their wishes

Sight-seeing in Rome - View of Dome of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, where the pope stays

Sight-seeing in Rome – View of ceiling in museum in Vatican City

After spending four days in Rome, we took flight back to Berlin where we stayed over a night before to move on to our fourth destination – Munich. Munich is 6 hours away from Berlin via the DB Bahn and is a more lively place than Berlin. If you even have the chance to visit the place, you must visit the Bavaria castles because they are really beautiful.

Most famous beer hall worldwide

Sight-seeing in Munich: Walking toward Linderhorf Castle

Sight-seeing in Munich : Linderhof castle

Sight-seeing in Munich: Ludwig's castle – Neuschwanstein. Doesn’t it look like those which you have seen in fairy-tales?

Sight-seeing in Munich: View from Neuschwanstein

The famous desert from Bavaria, also known as Bavarian Cream. It is really yummy!

I have heard from friends that Prague is a very scenic place and finally I get a chance to visit it! We took a four hours ride from Berlin via the DB Bahn to get to Prague.

You may not know that famous school shoes brand in Singapore, Bata, originated from Prague and the Bata shop in Prague is 5 storeys high! And don’t be mistaken that Bata shoes are cheap because a simple pair can cost about S$150 – S$200.

Sight-seeing in Prague – On Charles Bridge

View from Charles Bridge

I have learnt from this trip that I should never take safety for granted and assume that low crime means no crime. My elder sister told me that Berlin is very safe but yet, I nearly got pick pocketed when I was on my way to the train station to travel to Munich (luckily I caught the pickpocket and scare him off by screaming loudly)

Despite the fact that we had to spend a lot of time and effort planning and booking tickets prior to travelling, we found it all worthwhile as we had a great travelling experience. In fact, I have always believed in planning my own trip (instead of joining tour groups) as I can manage the time can manage my time better.