Ireland – EU

I started the trip from Belfast in Northern Ireland, as I wanted to see two countries in Ireland that have been facing Brexit. First, I visited the Giant’s Causeway. There were wonderful, mysterious interlocking basalt columns. It was cold for Sept., so I needed to wear an outdoor jacket.

BTW, If you go to the entrance of the Giant’s Causeway, you’ll find the visitor centre. However, you don’t need to buy a ticket unless you want to take a guided tour. *16/9/18

My train passed through the currently hot border and arrived in Dublin. Then I took a walk around the city. The old library in Trinity College was so charming and quaint. Next, I enjoyed the pub food and beer. Come to think of it, Shepherd’s pie I ate in Belfast tasted really good.

BTW, I had a problem: the express ship from Dublin to Wales that I had booked to go abroad the next day had just been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. How unlucky! *17/9/18

I finally found an alternative, slower ferry at dawn. A tight plan gets messy once things slip. Eventually, I arrived in London two hours late. It was already past five — I dashed to tkts for a discounted one last minute. Anyway, the musical Kinky Boots was brilliant. I was still excited and walked in London while singing.

BTW, the train ticket from Holyhead to London costs £100. As it was relatively high priced, I should have bought a discount ticket SailRail. It’s cheaper to use an aeroplane, though. Ha-ha. *18/9/18

I needed to leave the hotel at 4:30am to catch on the Eurostar. Passengers must arrive at the station 45-60 minutes before departure. Well, well, it’s like a plane. That aside, I was pleased to wander around Paris just on foot. Notre-Dame, St-Gervais, Pont Neuf, Saint-Germain, Eiffel, Le Select, I always tend to visit the same places in Paris. Just wandering around at random is enough for me.

BTW, “confit de canard” I had at La Petite Périgourdine, a bistro I stumbled into, was quite tasty. Paris, couldn’t be better. *19/9/18

On the way to Konstanz, I dropped by Ulm Cathedral. It’s 162m high and I took the stairs up to the top, totalling 768 steps. I felt weak at the knees at the top. I was really impressed by the beautiful, relaxing sound of pipe organ. Anyway, I often had to change trains and buses due to various issues such as cancelled trains or traffic accidents.

BTW, Konstanz lies on the Swiss–German border. My hotel was in Swiss side, so I often crossed the border on foot. *20/9/18

I crossed Bodensee by express ship and went to some towns on the edge of the lake like Friedrichshafen, Lindau, and Bregenz. After that, I made a deliberate visit to Liechtenstein from Feldkirch, as it was a country I had never been to before, making it my 65th country visited. I have an aim to visit countries I’ve never been to.

BTW, in the end, I got on the Night train for Wien at Zurich, and of course, I had Rösti again. Although it’s been a while since I used couchette in Europe, I find it brings back good memories. *21/9/18

I reached my final destination. It was windy like Ireland, so I wore a jacket again. I took a look around various locations where Before Sunrise was filmed. Finally, I chose to check out a classic concert at the Musikverein. There were too many noisy tourists in the hall. I wasn’t sure if that’s why, but honestly, I didn’t feel their performance was professional enough.

BTW, I visited 9 countries during this trip. The number of transfers was actually quite enjoyable! *22/9/18