Winter Break 2018
By Adila Apsara - 21:22
Following the last post where I said that I was going on the road trip, here I will write a bit about the trip! And seeing how inconsistent I am with writing blog posts, it is to be expected that this likely will be my last blog post for 2018 (or until the last 3 months of 2018. Who knows? Or maybe not both!)
Long story short, I had one of the most rad winter breaks ever since the history of me starting my studies here in Germany. In the past years, I was usually too busy with 5 exams at once and could only visit my relatives or some friends in different cities in Germany (though I was homebound in 2016).
This year, I finally decided (and allowed, by the situation) to visit Spain, but not with a two-way plane ticket.
Wait, what?
Kurz gesagt, I took a flight from Dusseldorf to Jerez de Frontera in Andalucia (South of Spain) and slowly made my way back to Bielefeld through the land. Yep... this is why I called it a road trip!
Roughly 2,491 kilometers distance. I was a passenger all along. In the first hour after my arrival on the evening in Jerez, I already started to conquer this distance by sitting in the car heading north to the city of Sevilla. Before dinner, I got to see the highlight of the city. And then ate dinner (some tapas, of course) and saw live Flamenco dance before calling it a night and went to rest.
The second day was directly my last full day in the city and I got to see even more highlights. What can I say? This city is the closest thing to a fairytale that I have ever seen. The weather and the atmosphere are amazing and I would visit this city at least 5 times more, maybe.
Since my boyfriend is a native of this city, I got the privilege to see almost everything that matters only in one and a half day. But I think, traveling blindly here with some friends who don't know the city would also be nice. Because this city has this kind of nice atmosphere almost in every corner and you can enjoy being lost here. Not even kidding!
On the next day (Wednesday) approximately in the noon, I began my journey further to the north after breakfast with some big churros that somehow resembled the Indonesian "cak weh" so much, that I was confused in the first sight lol. I planned to stay one night in the city of Burgos. But due to the long way ahead, I took a nice little break in the city of Salamanca, where it was rainy and windy. I didn't take so many pictures there. Mostly with my phone, but none with the analog camera.
When I arrived in Burgos, it was already late at night and after a quick dinner, I went to rest.
The city of Burgos was also nice, but cold. Just like Germany. In my whole trip, Burgos was the only city where I had to take three layers of clothes. I closed my stay in this city by having a big Spanish breakfast (which was enough to feed me for a whole week, I think) and headed to France, to the city of Bordeaux.
This time, we made a stop in the city of San Sebastian to enjoy the beach and eat some local food. What could I say? 4 hours in the heart of the city and feeling the sand and the sea water back on my feet were the nicest feeling ever!
Back to the trip, Bordeaux was reached around 9 PM. The hotel this time was a bit degrading than the hotel in Burgos (little did I know that the hotels will just degrade until the end of this trip hahaha), but was okay nonetheless. Since it was late at night and I was practically nowhere near the city center, I only got to buy some cheap bread (tasted like papers. No kidding), some toiletries, and some plastic plates and toothpick.
On the next morning, my boyfriend and I met up with my sister's old friend who is currently studying in the city. Since I know him as well, I decided to take him out for breakfast and we agreed to meet up to eat some crepes. After breakfast and a little city tour, we said goodbye and continued the journey. This time, it's ooh la la! Paris!
The pause this time was in the city of Tours, and only for coffee. We took lunch before reaching tours in one rest area and ate the food that we bought in the supermarket.
Ah yeah and please let me rant about how shitty it is trying to find a post stamp in this city?! With such a romantic atmosphere I was writing two postcards to two friends back in Germany while sitting in the park for lunch and enjoying the scenery of the Eiffel tower in front of us (see photo above). And after some hours later and countless souvenir shops, I still haven't find any stamps. They said I could find them in a Tabak shop. And guess what happened when I finally found one Tabak shop? Yeah, that's right. The owner was a guy who directly shook his head fervently when I said the word "stamps?" Pretty sure he just didn't understand English.
So in the end, I brought the postcards back to Germany.
Anyway, Paris was our last city. On the same day, we headed further to Germany and had a little pause in Gent, Belgium.
The highway in France had cost a lot for my boyfriend. So, seeing the border to Belgium was like something worth celebrating for him. It was like seeing a God or the light of heaven. He was overjoyed.
In Gent, I begged him to get us some Asian food because I realized that in this whole week I only ate European things and even though they were good, my belly was craving so badly for some rice or noodles with hot sauce and some well-cooked meat and veggies. In my mind was nothing but a cheap Chinese takeout. But after wandering in the city for a bit, we ended up in a fancy Asian restaurant in which one main course could cost you at least 15€. But since the food was remarkable, I would not protest!
At the same night, we arrived back in Bielefeld. Safe and sound. And now he has his car here in Bielefeld!
It was a surreal journey for me. I really enjoyed it, through the ups and downs (more ups, of course) and I just can't wait for more adventures.
Until then!
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