8 June 2018, Friday After yesterday’s momentous hike to Trolltunga, it was time to move on from the small town of Odda to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. I woke up at about 7am, had my breakfast, checked out of Trolltunga Hotel and took bus 984 (fare: 37 Kr / S$6.32) to go […]
Category: The Grand Adventure 2018
7 June 2018, Thursday I woke up this morning at 6am, all ready and excited for the hike to Trolltunga (click here). I checked the weather forecast and it was a chilly 8 degrees Celsius at the moment, with the temperature expected to hit a nice 17 degrees at noon time. I had booked a […]
6 June 2018, Wednesday After spending three nights in Stavanger, it was time to move on to Odda, a small town located about 200km away. The journey would require two bus transfers and take some five hours altogether. The total fare for the entire three-leg bus journey was 492 Kr (S$85.22) and I had booked […]
Europe | Norway | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 36 – Norway (Stavanger / Lysefjord)
5 June 2018, Tuesday After the thrilling hike to Preikestolen yesterday, I was left wondering what I could do with another spare day in Stavanger today. When drawing up my itinerary months ago, I originally planned to do another trek to Kjeragbolten, which is not too far from Stavanger, about 2.5 hours’ drive away. Kjeragbolten […]
Europe | Norway | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 35 – Norway (Stavanger / Preikestolen)
4 June 2018, Monday This morning, I woke up with an extra spring in my step, because it was the day I had waited for so long…I would be hiking up to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) today! After months of planning and dreaming about it, I am finally going to do it. Super excited! I left […]
3 June 2018, Sunday After spending two nights in Oslo, it was time to head southwest to Stavanger, the fourth largest city in Norway and gateway to one of the country’s most visited natural attractions – Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock. This 604m steep cliff ranked high on my bucket list and it was one of […]
2 June 2018, Saturday This morning, I woke up relatively late and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at my hostel at 9am. For once, I was not having croissants bought from the supermarket the night before because breakfast was included in my room booking. Food in Norway is very expensive so I was happy that there […]
Europe | Norway | Sweden | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 32 – Sweden (Gothenburg) / Norway (Oslo)
1 June 2018, Friday I woke up very early this morning because I had a 6:55am train to catch. In fact, I could very well have been woken up by my roommate’s snoring rather than by my mobile phone’s alarm. I had the “fortune” of having snoring roommates for the past three nights so I […]
Denmark | Europe | Sweden | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 31 – Denmark (Copenhagen) / Sweden (Gothenburg)
31 May 2018, Thursday Today marks a milestone…it’s Day 31 of my trip and it means that this is the longest I have ever been away from home. My previous record was set in 2012, when I went on a 30-day backpacking trip around Asia to celebrate my 30th birthday. So it has been a […]
30 May 2018, Wednesday After “going local” yesterday, I decided to do the opposite today. It was my third and last day in Copenhagen so I wanted to see some sights and learn a bit about the city’s history. The weather forecast showed the temperature reaching a high of 26 degrees Celsius, so I knew […]
29 May 2018, Tuesday I got tired from all the walking yesterday so today I decided to do what the Danes do – cycle! Luckily for me, Danhostel rents out bicycles at 120 Kr (S$26.40) for a day so it was really convenient as I could pick up the bicycle right at my doorstep. Note […]
Denmark | Europe | Germany | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 28 – Germany (Hamburg) / Denmark (Copenhagen)
28 May 2018, Monday After just one night in Hamburg, it was time to move north to Copenhagen, the Scandinavian city and capital of Denmark. I had a light breakfast of croissant and coffee (€3.50 / S$5.70) at Generator hostel before checking out just before 9am. I then strolled over to Hamburg Hbf, which was […]
Europe | Germany | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 27 – Germany (Dresden / Hamburg)
27 May 2018, Sunday It’s Day 27, time to move on to another city! After checking out of Kangaroo-Stop hostel bright and early at 6:05am, I walked to Bahnhof Dresden-Neustadt and bought a single-trip ticket (€2.30 / S$3.74) for the S-Bahn ride to Dresden Hbf. I arrived way in advance, as usual, so I got […]
26 May 2018, Saturday I woke up this morning to unfamiliar surroundings. I found myself in a dorm room occupying the lower bunk of a double-decker bed. The floor was strewn with bags and shoes that I did not recognise. I looked around for mum and dad but only saw some strangers still snoozing away […]
Czech Republic | Europe | Germany | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 25 – Czech Republic (Prague) / Germany (Dresden)
25 May 2018, Friday Today is D-Day. The day my solo adventure officially begins, as mum and dad will be flying home today, leaving me to carry on my journey alone. The feeling is bittersweet. After 25 days of travelling together, we have become so used to each other’s company and routines – in the […]
Czech Republic | Europe | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 24 – Czech Republic (Prague)
24 May 2018, Thursday This is probably going to be the shortest blog post for the trip as it was a pretty uneventful and chillax day today. Perhaps the knowledge that it was our last day together contributed to the somewhat subdued mood. Mum and dad would be flying home tomorrow, while I would continue […]
Czech Republic | Europe | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 23 – Czech Republic (Český Krumlov / Prague)
23 May 2018, Wednesday After the heavy rain last night, we woke up to a misty morning and it was a chilly 13 degrees Celsius outside. After breakfast, we reluctantly checked out of our lovely apartment at 8:15am and made our way to the bus station to catch our bus to Prague. I had booked […]
Austria | Czech Republic | Europe | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 22 – Austria (Salzburg) / Czech Republic (Český Krumlov)
22 May 2018, Tuesday After five wonderful days in Austria, it’s time to move on to another country – Czech Republic, the sixth country of the trip so far. Before heading to the capital Prague, we will be spending a night at Český Krumlov, located in the southern part of the Czech Republic and near […]
21 May 2018, Monday After yesterday’s wonderful visit to Berchtesgaden, we have an entire day today to fully explore Salzburg. The weather forecast showed that it would be a sunny day ahead, with temperatures ranging from 14 degrees Celsius in the morning to 23 degrees in the afternoon. Perfect conditions for walking in the city. […]
Austria | Europe | Germany | The Grand Adventure 2018
The Grand Adventure: Day 20 – Austria (Salzburg) / Germany (Berchtesgaden)
20 May 2018, Sunday For once, we started the day with a proper breakfast. This was our first hotel stay for the trip (as opposed to Airbnb apartments for the past 19 days), and it felt really good to be pampered with a buffet spread and freshly ground coffee for our first meal of the […]