Again, Ryanair came to save the day and finally allowed me to visit Scotland. I booked a flight from Berlin to Glasgow for 10euro and I was due to stay with my friend Erin who I had met in Vancouver at he beginning of my time there. We were such good friends in Canada and stayed in touch constantly almost two years later and I was so excited to reunite with her. I was actually planning on many reunions here in Scotland- It seemed to be the place to be for everyone. Erin and I had a blast together over the next week and even hired a car to go to the highlands which I  have written about seperately. I explore Glasgow while Erin worked and walked all around the city. It is a big city but if you like to walk, it is doable, until the end of the day when you have to return the whole way home- thats when you take advantage of the quirky underground. I explored the Riverside Transport museum, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and even walked to Hillside and the cute alley way of pubs, Ashton Lane.

​Erin and I met with my friends Angi and Karen who I had met in Australia almost ten years before and we took part in a local pub quiz, which we didnt win unfortunately. When we werent in Edinburgh or the highlands, Erin took me around the whole East Side and showed me some cool flea markets and the Necropolis. While in Glasgow I organised a couchsurfing event too where we met some locals and some travellers and had a great night together. I even got to reunite with my friend Analine from my travels and also Rebecca who I worked with on Seabourn Encore. Glasgow was something super special and I was so happy to be able to reunite with some many of my friends in one place. This is a city a lot of people opt to ignore in replacement for Edinburgh, and although they are very very different, I would say that Glasgow should not be missed.

Erin had planned my itinerary like a pro and had decided that we would go to Edinburgh to explore. She had lived there for over 7 years and knew the city well. We also planned to meet our friend Dominic who we knew from Canada and exlplore the Christmas markets. We took the train from Glas gow Central station to Edinburgh which was less than an hour with some beautiful views, similar to home, beyond the window. In Edinburgh we made our way towards Arthurs Seat which we planned to hike but the terrible weather prevented us from going more than half way. The view however was so nice from up there and It was yet another location spot from the movie Trainspotting. We walked through the city and I took many pictures of the ancient windy streets, Edinburgh Castle, the famous Royal Mile, the gothic style churchs in the old town and the famous Greyfriars Kirkyard (where JK Rowling got the names for her characters), the iconic phone boxes and the scottish bagpipers. We went to a small local pub for a beer which was super cute with its Scottish style, open roaring hot fire and comfy chairs. We decided to carry on and headed towards another bar for a wuick drink before continuing to the Christmas markets. The markets were absolutely stunning and the Christmas spirit was truly alive here with the smell of mulled wine, various foods and with people everywhere enjoying the fun. We met Dom as planned and had some food and some mulled wine for the evening before heading back on the train to Glasgow. Edinburgh was so cute and It was somewhere I had known about my whole life but has never had the chance to go until now.

Erin had planned for us to hire a car and drive into the highlands towards Lough Lomond and Glencoe. We got up early, braced the icy roads and made our way to pick up the lovely car we had to ourselves for the day. We decided that I would drive in the city and she would drive in the country, both in our skillsets. I started the trip as we headed off towards a small town of Brannach where we stopped for breakfast in the only cafe in town- if you can call it a town. We ordered two veggie breakasts and out came two of the most unusual veggie breakfasts we had ever seen including a potatoe samosa looking thing, beans, eggs, a veggie burger and a hash brown. We planned to hike that day so we ate it all for energy. As we drove higher and higher into the highlands we became surrounded by snow. The scenery was very Queenstown, New Zealand, British Columbia, Canada looking and I was shocked by the incredible scenes at every corner. Scotland was unbelieveable, how had i not been her before. We drove towards Glencoe, stopping at some beautiful places along the way including Glenfinnan (Harry Potter bridge) and Fort Williams. The scenery was incredible as you can see below but as you can imagine, pictures dont do it justice.

Again, you should know by now that I live life spontaneously. I decided to go to Berlin on a whim when I found a cheap flight from Bucarest to Berlin for 5 Euro with Ryanair. I couldnt believe I was finally getting to go to this much anticipated city full of history and culture and at Christmas time, for 5 Euros. I had some friends in Germany who I planned to visit and with a week in between my arrival and my flight to Scotland, I planned to spend a few days in Berlin and a few days in Hamburg. I had organised a couch host for Berlin and was due to stay two nights with Yumiko from Japan. So far on my trip I hadnt actually stayed with any locals apart from Ruxandra in Cluj-Napoca but It was still super interesting to meet people who had moved here. Yumiko made me feel at home immeditaley and we got on well. I spent my first day walking from her place in the hip area of Prenzlauerberg towards Fredrichstrasse where I planned to see the famous Checkpoint Charlie and to hang out with my yoga sister Franzisca. That evening i attended a couchsurfing meeting at a local bar close to Yumikos place, which she joined too. It was great fun to introduce her to the couchsurfing community especially as I was her first guest and she was just getting into the experience.

​Over the next few days in Berlin both before and after going to Hamburg, I explored the city from all sides including Alexanderplatz, Tiergarten, Brandenburg Gate, The Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery and even visited a few museums including the super cool DDR museum (8 euro online), Topography of Terror(free), Otto Weidts museum (free) and Anne Franks museum (5euro). I did a lot of my sightseeing on my last day in Berlin via the Hop on Hop off City Sightseeing (20euro) which included two large routes which showed me a greater view of the city. I even got to reunite with Anthony who I had met in Serbia, Bosnia and Poland. I had some nights out with couchsurfers and met some amazing people, while I was there and organised two meet ups, one at Mein Haus Am See and one at Belushis where I was staying on return from Hamburg. Berlin was an incredible place and I was only sorry I didnt have longer to explore more of the vast city including the Christmas markets which were due to open when I left. Next time, Next time!

The idea of going to Hamburg came when a friend of mine who I had met in Latvia invited me to stay. He assured me it was even better than Berlin and I would arrive just in time for the quirky Christmas markets. I took a Bla Bla Car from Berlin to Hamburg and when I got to Hamburg I had a slight mishap with the trains. I boarded the wrong train which I confused for the local train. It was in fact the long distance train from Munich which did not stop at my friends place. After a bit of confusion I finally took the right train back and reunited with my friend Sean. He took me to his flat which was beautiully located on a corner street in the hip area of Sternscanze. He took me around the city, showing me some of the coolest street art and we ended up at the St Pauli Christmas markets which included many naughty gft stalls and even a strip tent, which was so famous here. Over the next few days we explored the city on foot, went to flea markets, Scandinavian Christmas Markets and lots of quirky cafes and restaurants. Hamburg reminded me a lot of Vancouver or Portland and It definitely had that X Factor which made it stand out from other cities. I was so happy to finally get to see another city in Germany and get to visit not only one Christmas market but four of them.