Dresden
Dresden was my first stop, and it was a pleasant city with excellent Christmas markets everywhere. During this stop, I went to Dresden Castle, which exhibited a fantastic array of riches. I also explored the Zwinger it is an impressive large building, with many statues outside, that used to be a fortress, exhibition grounds and today it is a museum complex. I also went to many Christmas markets including one outside the main city.
Travel to Gent to Dresden: 803km
A picture of me at Zwinger
Krakow
In Krakow, I stayed at a "party hostel", and saw some fascinating sites. One of those sites was Auschwitz this was a very creepy and unsettling place, but I would recommend it to anyone. I also got to explore the Wieliczka Salt Mine which was very cool. The city center of Krakow was also exciting to explore, and of course, the Christmas Market was on during the entire time I was there. Krakow was definitely one of the most interesting cities I have visited.
Travel to Krakow from Dresden: 522km
Picture of an old church in Krakow
Vienna
I spent one day in Vienna touring around with my friend Lisa. She showed me the large summer palace of the former royals, as well as the regular palace. We also went to the St. Stephens Cathedral, which has the best roof of all the cathedrals I've seen. It was a very nice and busy day thanks to Lisa for showing me around the beautiful city.
Travel to Vienna from Krakow: 500km
Picture of Lisa and I with St. Stephens in the background
Bratislava
This is actually where I stayed for the days I was in Vienna and Bratislava. When I Bratislava, I explored there Christmas market, which was right outside of my hostel! I also went to see a KHL hockey game, and on the opposing team, Andrei Markov was playing. It was interesting, and I'd go back at least for a hockey game.
Travel to Bratislava from Vienna: 66km
Picture of Bratislava CityScape
Plzen
During my first day in Prague, I spent most of it in Plzen. While in Plzen I, of course, had a to have a Pilsner Urquell, and visit the brewery. I also saw their main square, the outside of the Cathedral, and the exterior of the Synagogue. To top the day off, I went to see a hockey game. This game was the best of all I attended, but that may have been just because the beer was $2 for a half litre. There are many places here that I missed, and I certainly want to go back.
Travel to Plzen from Bratislava: 403 km
A couple of pictures from the Hockey Game
Prague
Prague was a great city with many things to see. On my first day there I went on a 'free tour' of the old town where I got to take all the main sites of the city and learned more about the Prague Castle. On the second day, I went on the 'free tour' for Prague Castle, and it was fascinating. I also saw the Lennon Wall and the Charles Bridge. The guides talked lots about how communism affected the Czech Republic which was interesting. Overall Prague was one of the most interesting cities on my trip.
Travel to Prague from Plzen: 95 km
A picture of the Lennon Wall
Nuremberg
Here I got to learn lots about the NAZIs and what they did. The NAZI party rally grounds are located in Nuremberg, and I spent hours going through the Documentation Center. Courtroom 600 is also found in Nuremberg, and I again spent many hours there learning about how the trials were set up and the ramifications of the trials. Other than NAZI things there was also very nice and big Christmas Market. One of the highlights was seeing the Nuremberg Ice Tigers game, which ended up being a blow out victory for the Ice Tigers. It was a really great visit.
Travel to Nuremberg from Prague: 297 km
A picture of the beautiful fountain in Nuremberg
Back To Gent
I had to pick up my luggage in Gent before heading to Paris, but that was alright since it gave me a chance to see the Gent Christmas Market. It was a really great market and even had a gigantic Ferris Wheel in the middle of it. I also met some friends to go have one last drink while in Gent. The next morning I said goodbye to Gent and made my way to Paris.
Travel to Gent from Nuremberg: 670 km
The big Ferris Wheel in Gent
Paris
Paris was actually quite nice. I say 'actually' because I was not expecting to like it much. It has lots of interesting history and some very nice buildings, and the people are even nice as long as you are nice to them. The Louvre has an amazing array of historical artifacts my favourite being the Code of Hammurabi, and a big plus of having a Belgian residence and student card is that you get in for free! Palace of Versailles was also an amazing place to be, and also free for students😀 I also went to the Effiel Tower and toured Cathedral Notre Dame. My trip was also planned very well as to coincide with a few interesting protests, so that was nice. It was an altogether interesting visit.
Travel to Paris from Gent: 300km
A picture from inside Notre Dame of one of the windows
So that was it 6 countries, 8 cities, and approximately 3656 km. Watch for the separate blog posts and thanks for reading 😀😀😀
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