Budapest - Prague - Berlin - Amsterdam
"The deepest form of Love is curiosity" - Iordan
Travelers : Sneha Iyer , Prashant Pillai , Rishita Ojha , Disha Gupta , Priyanka Dharamshi , Akshay Punjabi , Akshay Arora , Akshita Gargi , Kanika Jindal , Shriti Jaiswal , Sonali Potdar , Shivam Singh , Komal Goyal
Where to start from - Like all other travels, even this trip came and went like a flash and left us with everlasting memories. We at "Travel to Discover" added another chapter in our small journey. We feel happy and blessed that we got a chance to meet such lovely people from different parts of India on this trip.
It all started on 19th April '17 in Budapest - the 1st city of our 4 city tour Euro adventures. We had 13 travelers joining us from different parts of India, some came solo, some came in groups, all with an intention to travel and discover Europe.We all met in Budapest.
Budapest weather did not welcome us well - it was raining and was cold too. After settling in our hostel we all started with a walk on the very famous Andrássy Avenue which took us to Heroes square and from there we made our way to St.Stephens basilica only to find it closed. We settled ourselves in one of the cozy cafes near basilica and got to know each other. Wine, beer, soup kept us warm. After stopping of rain, with everyone doing with food, we headed to explore one of the very famous ruin pubs of Budapest "Szimpla Kert". It's a great place to be and has a very touristy and international vibe. The night passed by dancing, drinking, in knowing the people from Budapest and from other parts of the world.
Travel in Budapest really started on day 2 of our trip. We explored Buda Castle and it's galleries showcasing artworks from Renaissance time , Fisherman's Bastion for it's great panoramic views of the city , Matthias Church - one of the most beautiful churches in whole of Europe of Virgin Mary and later we enjoyed our day with Hop on - Hop off bus tour which took us around the city - where we explored Grand market, Old Synagogue, Jewish quarter in pest, famous cafes of Budapest and lot more. The day was well spent.
After a long cold day - everyone was pumped to explore the nightlife of Pest. Everyone was ready to party and we were off to a different pub this time - which was Fogasház, another ruin bar - where we all danced our way through the night and later moved to Szimpla Kert while dancing & singing some Bollywood songs. Budapest weather was getting nicer and better with time. On our 3rd day, travelers enjoyed thermal bath experience at the "Széchenyi Thermal Bath" which is a must to have experience when visiting Budapest - later in evening we all met for a guided walking tour - where our guide Anita from Budapest showed us the District VIII hidden streets, history of ruin bars, artistic history of Budapest, Jewish past and lot more. We walked away from Budapest with a lot of memories.
Night came to an end with a long walk along the beautiful Széchenyi Chain Bridge while rest of group headed for a boat party to enjoy the Danube river cruise with some live music & drinks to enjoy the beautiful night views of this city.
After Budapest we headed to Prague - capital city of Czech Republic, we reached in afternoon.The city Old town was bursting with tourists all around - good sunny weather welcomed us - we walked all the way from bus stand to Prague castle crossing the Old town, Charles Bridge and other small beautiful streets of this gorgeous city.
Everyone was happy in the group because Prague welcomed us with good weather and we all planned to be part of one the biggest pub crawls happening that evening. Saturday night. Everybody dressed up and left to try some local Czech cuisine and later we all met for pub crawl which led to an amazing night of drinking and dancing. It was a long night for a lot of people.
Next day we were lucky to get sunny weather - without wasting time - we started our day by visiting Prague castle - which is the biggest castle in the world , we walked from castle till Old town crossing Charles bridge , we saw the very beautiful John Lennon wall - symbol of Love & Peace in Prague, Jewish quarter where you have the Jewish cemetery, we also saw the fashion street of Prague with all big showrooms lined up. In evening we dropped by at the famous John Lennon Pub to quench our thirst with some Czech beer. We were later joined by two other Indian friends Vidit & Udit whom we randomly met in Budapest at Szimpla Kert and they connected so well that we landed up having some beers in Prague while watching El Classico.
In Prague whatever time we got everyone made the best use of it.Next day morning we were off to our next destination - Berlin - the capital of Germany.
In Berlin we were staying at Rosa - Luxembourg which is in the city center and after checking in it was all about exploring this beautiful city - we walked all the way from Rosa Luxembourg to Brandenburg gate - crossing Unter den Linden.On the way, we saw the Berlin Cathedral, some Old bridges, Museum Island and later we sat down at a local bar enjoying German beer with an epic view of Berlin Cathedral. We all sat down thinking where in the world we are - India is such a different country as compared to Germany and when you are traveling in Europe you carry this thought with you. We strolled till Brandenburg gate, cycled like mad people across the gate, saw the Holocaust memorial. Berlin in the night is very different - to know more of the city and its people we headed to a local bar with great view of the city, where we luckily got a chance to meet amazing people.
Next day in Berlin started not on a good note, We were not able to get an entry in Reichstag - the German parliament - as it has to be pre-booked, hard luck - a miscalculation happened on part of Travel to Discover. After that we started with our Hop on - Hop off bus tour of Berlin wall and East side gallery - Our 1st stop was The Berlin Wall memorial. It is a really valuable place in terms of history, the whole group came to know about Berlin wall history and a lot that has gone down in history. #Travel_to_Discover.Berlin is high in history and is one of the most visited cities all across Europe, people come from all parts of the world.
In evening we all met at the Berlin Tv tower to enjoy the city panoramic views from the highest point in Berlin. No doubt it was exceptional. Berlin travel came to an end with a long walk back to the hostel.
Next day started with a great adventure when two of our travelers in confusion because of us got into a different train to Switzerland and later jumped back in the original train to Amsterdam. This all happened in a matter of 10 mins. that's when we felt we were off to "AMSTERDAM" What a Start to our journey to Amsterdam.
We were heading to celebrate King's day or Koningsdag called in Dutch - this day marks a very big celebration all across Amsterdam as it's the birthday of King Willem-Alexander.People from all over the Netherlands and from different parts of the world come to Amsterdam to be part of this big celebration in Amsterdam - The city known for its beauty, bikes, canals, people, coffee shops, beautiful houses and above all the Freedom to enjoy life responsibly - you really make a connection with Dutch culture during this time.
We at Travel to Discover feel happy that because of us lot of people were actually living their dream of traveling to Amsterdam. We checked in to our hostel - and without wasting time we were off to explore the Dam Square and all the hustle bustle the city offered us - explored some coffee shops and later headed to Red Light district - most famous among tourists. We walked - and walked - exploring this beautiful city and getting to know it more as we were there for 4 nights. We headed back late in the night to our hostel and was welcomed with a big party. The whole of Amsterdam was partying and So were we.Next day started with a party too - people were partying all night and were getting ready for more. No break in between. After good breakfast, we headed out to explore how the city looks on King's day.
The whole city was colored in Orange - people dressed in Orange some wearing hats, robes, flowers, suits and all around you see happy faces. It was a great day to be in Amsterdam.Canals were lined up with party boat's, music pumping from all streets with numerous parties happening. No end to it. Dutch people just take it to another level.The day came and went in a flash, we walked, ate, drank, danced, met a lot of people, laughed and walked back with in-numerous memories.
In no time we reached last day in Amsterdam and last day of our trip as well , we headed to Van Gogh museum , Rijksmuseum , interacted with lot of people , walked in Vondelpark , some people went to Tulip garden as it was the main season and last but not the least we stood and got ourselves clicked in-front of I AMSTERDAM letters for a souvenir picture. Everyone in the group enjoyed Amsterdam in their own way. We gave them what Amsterdam is all about "Freedom".
We were happy that everyone walked back with a lot of memories at their end and that's what matters. Memories stay forever. Happy that we have this trip as a chapter in our small journey. Love for travel connects the world. Connecting Cultures.
Thank's to all travelers who joined us on this beautiful journey. It was indeed a pleasure to meet you all.
Love - Travel to Discover - Everything happens for a reason, Love & Hope always #Mutlumesc #TeIubesc ​