Follow Me and I'll Show You Europe in 125 Photos

Madrid - Spain

I landed in Madrid in the early morning, and the first thing I did was join a free walking tour to explore the city.

Thank God I did that because I didn't have a lot of time in Madrid, and the walking tour showed me all the attractions in one go.

I really hit the ground running when I arrived in Madrid. That same night, after 3 hours of walking around the city in the heat of mid-summer Spain, I joined a pub crawl and went on a drinking spree. Needless to say, I completely wasted the next day.

Seville - Spain

After Madrid, I took a bus to Seville and explored the city on foot. I love European cities; everything is within walking distance!

This is possibly my favorite place in Seville: the Plaza de España. The scale of the palace is just mind-blowing.

As I was walking around the palace, it felt almost as if I had the whole place to myself. I think, due to its open-air corridors and vast space, the place never felt crowded at any time.

Did you know that Star Wars was shot here? Me neither, but don't get too excited, though. It was used as one of the scenes in the Attack of the Clones prequel, not the new one.

Granada - Spain

Granada is my favorite city in Spain, hands down. The laid-back culture, the cheap tapas, and the nature will make you want to stay here forever.

As I found out from experience, the best way to see the city and meet new people in Spain is to join the free walking tour. We hiked up to the caves of Sacromonte and learned about the people living in the caves and how they came to be.

After a few days of exploring the city, it was time to go out and explore the surrounding areas. My friends and I went out and hiked the waterfall trail in Monachil.

We found a nice, refreshing pool of water at the end to chill out and freshen up before making our way back.

The trail is definitely not for people who have acrophobia. One person in our group backed out at the last minute because he did not feel comfortable walking along the side of a cliff.

The trail itself was very easy, but the terrain can get really rough sometimes. At one point, we had to hang our bodies from the side of a cliff to continue on.

Last day in Granada, my friends and I decided to grab a few beers and go up the Sacromonte again to watch the sunset. This is possibly the best place to experience a sunset in all of Spain!

Lugano - Switzerland

From Spain, I flew directly to Zurich to make it in time for my friend's road trip. We took off to Lugano and stayed at my friend's place, which was three steps away from Lake Lugano.

I had never associated Switzerland with a hot climate, but man, the sun was burning furiously when I was there at the end of August.

We couldn't go a day without swimming in the lake.

A little morning stroll as we make our way across to Italy on foot.

One of the benefits of having an open border between your neighboring countries is that you can literally walk to another country. This was me walking from Switzerland to Italy. It only took me 15 minutes.

Lucerne - Switzerland

After 15 years, I was finally back in Lucerne, my favorite city from childhood. For some reason, I remember nothing about my childhood travels except Lucerne.

I remember this bridge vividly when I was here 15 years ago. I even recall the stories told by our guide about the fire that was supposedly caused by a discarded cigarette.

I even remembered where our tour bus parked 15 years ago! It was like déjà vu walking around Lucerne again.

Check out the interior of the Church of St. Leodegar.

Bern - Switzerland

After spending half a day in Lucerne, we decided to spend another half in Bern. We made our way to see the Bern bear, only to realize that the bear had been moved to some other town.

The weather wasn't so great, but that never stopped me from taking a photo of my back! :)

Zurich - Switzerland

I couldn't resist passing by these mountains without stopping and taking a photo of them. Switzerland really does take your breath away at every turn.

Possibly one of the best lunch spots in Zurich.

St Gallen - Switzerland

Since we had a one-day pass, we decided to explore other cities a little bit. In the early morning, we went to St. Gallen. It was okay, with a bunch of nice churches and streets, but what we were looking for was some nature.

Appenzell - Switzerland

We sure found nature in Appenzell! Hayden and I, a friend I met during the road trip, decided to find some hikes to do in the area.

From Appenzell, we took a train to Wasserauen and hiked to Seealpsee lake, a beautiful emerald lake located in the valleys of Appenzell.

The hike was not hard per se, but it was very steep. It took us around an hour to reach the lake.

We were very impressed with the trail. We did not expect it to be so quiet, and the nature to be so untouched because it was not far from the tourist attraction, and the hike was only an hour, but we sure got what we asked for.

We found a small wooden church nestled in the untamed forest.

A good hike is defined by the trail and the reward it gives at the end. A good trail always rewarded us with jaw-dropping scenery at the end. Always.

I cannot help but feel small and insignificant when standing face-to-face with Mother Nature.

Even with half of the valley covered in fog, it was still beautiful. Can you imagine looking at this valley on a clear day?

Swiss National Park - Switzerland

After a week of living cozily with my Swiss friend, it was time to shake off that fondue weight and do some intense hiking. Hayden and I bought a 4-day pass and roamed the land freely, looking for an epic hike to do.

We started off at the Swiss National Park in Zernez. As soon as we arrived, we set up our tent and summited Alp da Munt.

It was a nice day, and I did not want it to go to waste because, from my experience hiking in New Zealand, good weather doesn't last. I'm glad we did it because it was pouring cats and dogs the next day, and we ended up exploring Zernez instead.

The next mountain we tackled was Munt la Schera. The day started out cold and wet, but we decided not to waste another day hiding and powered through it.

The trail took us really close to the border. We were only a few cows away from Italy.

It took us 3-4 hours to reach the summit of Munt la Schera, which stood at 2,378m above sea level. As we approached the top, we met this Swiss woman from Zurich who enthusiastically offered us chocolates and cheered us for reaching the summit together. It's this kind of genuine interaction that made me fall in love with hiking.

It was so windy and cold, we had to hide behind a rock as we ate our energy bars bit by bit, like squirrels.

This was me conquering the summit of Munt la Schera.

We could not handle the cold any longer, so we decided to hike down before another wave of clouds came.

From the summit onward, the trail was simple and mostly exposed. I was so glad that it did not rain afterwards.

If you like nature and want to avoid the crowd, the Swiss National Park is yet another good option.

Matterhorn - Switzerland

After visiting the Swiss National Park, Hayden and I headed to Zermatt to do some hiking around the Matterhorn. We were bombarded with throngs of tourists. It was a shock coming from the Swiss National Park, so we decided to leave the city as quickly as possible.

We decided to combine multiple trails together and create a full-day hike. We started off at 8 AM in Zermatt and hiked towards Furi.

Hayden and I were somehow split up. I was following someone whom I thought was Hayden, but when I realized it was not him, it was too late. Thankfully, we divided our food in half, so we were able to continue our hike separately without either of us starving to death.

The first 3 hours, I spent hiking from Zermatt to Schwarzsee Paradise. From Schwarzsee Paradise, I continued up towards the Matterhorn. I was on the fence about hiking to the Matterhorn base camp (Hörnlihütte mountain hut) at first since it would add another 3 hours to an already long hike (9 hours).

In the end, I said, "F*ck it. I'm only here so often. How often do I get a chance to see the Matterhorn up close?"

And off I went. In my mind, I was planning to take a cable car back down after the hike and call it a day, but that did not happen. As I was climbing, I tried my best to keep my head down because I would have given up already if I had seen how far the hut was.

I eventually arrived at the base camp at 1 pm, tired but still energetic enough to inspect the Matterhorn up close.

The hut stood at 3,260m above sea level, and to think that I had just climbed from Zermatt, which was 1,620m high, in 5 hours was extraordinary.

After half an hour at the hut, I came down, and instead of going back the same way, I decided to tackle the Glacier trail, which took me down to the glacier. It was a hell of a view from down here.

After 3 hours of walking along the Glacier trail, I finally reached the stop that I was supposed to take the cable car down. Somehow, the adventure found me again when I realized that the cable car had already closed, just 10 minutes before I arrived. The situation did not look any better as the sun started to set.

I quickly scanned the area and found a trail that goes directly to Zermatt, BUT it would take another 3 hours! I was running out of food and water, and I was losing daylight every minute, so I decided to bite the bullet and run down as fast as I could. After a 9-hour hike, running is usually not what I would do, but I had no choice. I arrived back in Zermatt at 8 PM and found Hayden waiting for me. I was gone for so long that he almost reported me missing to the police.

Lauterbrunnen - Switzerland

After a crazy day in Zermatt, we decided to take it slow this time and go on a little stroll in Lauterbrunnen.

The valleys in Lauterbrunnen are perfect for base jumping, and as we made our way to the Staubbach Falls, we saw a couple of base jumpers free-falling from the cliff. One of them, I couldn't, for the life of me, find where he/she went!

Another day, another hike. This time, we went on a 2-hour hike to the small uphill town, Wegnen. After about an hour, it rained heavily on us, and we had to abort the hiking mission and go back to the hostel. The next day, we bid farewell as I had to meet my friends in Basel, so we went our separate ways.

Lorrach - Germany

After Lauterbrunnen, I decided to make my way towards France, and in between that, I stopped at Basel and crossed the border to Lörrach in Germany to meet my friends, Julia and Jannis.

We all met in Vietnam on a train to Ninh Binh, and now we meet again in Germany. Oh, the randomness of traveling!

Lyon - France

After two weeks in Switzerland, I decided that it was time to move on to my next country: France. I took a train from Basel to Lyon and couch-surfed at my good friend's house, Aurélie, whom I met in Australia two years ago.

This was her showing me around the Ancient Roman Theatre near the hilltop Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière.

There's nothing like having a local to show you around. You get to see how they live and all the hidden gems that only the city dwellers know.

There are hundreds of hidden passages that weave through the old quarter of Lyon. These were a few of them.

I spent nearly a week living like a local in Lyon before heading to my next destination, Chamonix.

Chamonix - France

I was finally back in the mountains, exactly where I belonged. After a week in the city, it was great to be back in nature again.

The weather was clear, so I decided to make use of that day to the maximum and combine 2 trails to create a full-day hike. I combined the Grand Balcon trail and the Lac Brac trail, creating an 8-hour hike in total.

The problem was that I was there at the beginning of the low season, so all the cable cars were closed, and I had to walk the entire length of the cable car, which added 3-4 hours to the hike.

Since I was there at the beginning of autumn, the colors were extra vivid in the mountains. I had never hiked during autumn before, so this was a nice surprise.

I kind of like the French Alps more. The mountains here are epic for some reason.

But Mont Blanc is not as iconic as the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc looks like a little blob being carried by other mountains, whereas the Matterhorn is its own beast.

The Grand Balcon is definitely one of the trails I recommend you to do if you are short on time. It will give you an unmatched view of the entire mountain range, as you can see in the photos.

It's not all roses and sunshine, though, especially when hiking with me. This was the moment I stepped on a massive ant nest! Hundreds of ants were crawling on my right foot at the moment the photo was taken.

From the end of the Grand Balcon trail comes Lac Branc, or White Lake in English. This is one of the most photogenic locations in the area. The lake, when there's no wind, creates the perfect reflection of the mountain range.

It was so calm and peaceful; I could stay there for days. In fact, I stayed there for hours, which cost me greatly, as you will learn about it in the next photo.

It was 5pm when I started to make my way down from Lac Branc. I thought I would be back in Argentiere in time to catch the last train back to Chamonix. Don't get me wrong, I was at the train station right on time. I waited, and the train never came. As it turned out, only the bus runs that day (for some reason), and I ended up missing the bus because I was waiting at the train station! In the end, I had to walk 2 hours back in the dark on the side of the mountainous road. It was so dangerous; I'm glad I survived to tell about it. I almost collapsed when I arrived in Chamonix. It was 10pm, and I found the nearest bar, ordered a steak, and devoured the hell out of it while watching the Rugby World Cup. It was a great day!

I decided to extend my stay in Chamonix to rest and take a cable car to the top of Aiguille du Midi to see Mont Blanc up close. It was magnificent!

Grenoble - France

With great friends come great opportunities. I surfed another couch in Grenoble, this time with my friend Delphine, who works as a guide in Grotte de Choranche, one of the most unique caves in France, displaying one of the thinnest stalactites I have ever seen!

So delicate... so fragile.

I took this opportunity to tag along with her to work, as she personally showed me around the cave. What an awesome job she has!

After the personal tour, I went on my own and hiked the canyons to Pont-en-Royans, another small town with buildings hanging off a cliff.

Corsica - France

I took a ferry from Toulon to Ajaccio, Corsica after Grenoble. It was an overnight ferry, and the cabin would cost me an extra 90 Euros. I did not want to spend that much money for a night on the ferry, so I decided to rough it and sleep on the floor. I had a great night's sleep!

I had heard about this ruin on the west coast of Corsica called Tour de la Parata, so the next day, I decided to go to the ruin... on foot.

It was a long hike (at least in my mind), and the scenery was kind of cool at first, but then it got boring really fast. The weather was also pretty bad, which fueled my negativity towards the hike even more.

At the end, the ruin was great. It is surrounded by beautiful coasts and colorful vegetation.

I was on the fence about whether to stay in Corsica or go back to the mainland, since it was raining constantly every day. I decided to leave because the weather forecast did not look good. Thank God I did, because right after I left, a storm hit the south of France, which killed several people. Yikes!

Avignon - France

I paid dearly for sleeping on the floor of a ferry because, on my way back, I caught bedbugs from the carpet. I found hundreds of bites afterward, and it was itchy as hell. It took me weeks to heal, and I have been traveling in paranoia ever since. Not worth it.

After a painful night, I decided to make use of my time in Avignon a bit more and went to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. The town is famous for its ancient watermills that are scattered around the city and still function after all these years.

Except for the market, it was kind of boring in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, so I hopped on the next bus to the Fontaine de Vaucluse and stayed in nature for a little while before heading back.

The next day, I went to Arles, a small town full of history and photogenic streets. This is my favorite town in Avignon. All the streets and ancient ruins, including the colosseum, made me feel like I was walking through history.

The inside of the Church of St. Trophime in Arles. I'm getting a bit of a Game of Thrones vibe here for some reason.

Isn't the street beautiful? There were hundreds of these streets, all colorful and unique in their own way.

After a few days of traveling around Avignon, it was time to explore Avignon itself.

Beautiful door in Arles and a hole in a church in Avignon.

Goodbye, Avignon. Thank you for giving me so much to do while I healed from my bedbug wounds.

Bordeaux - France

Bordeaux is one of the cities in Europe where I could see myself living. I love a spacious city with a good mix of history and architecture, and this city has it all.

I can never get enough of Place de la Bourse. The thin sheet of water mirror in front creates a perfectly symmetrical reflection of the building, and you guys know how much I love symmetry.

Mont Saint Michel - France

I had to see Mont Saint Michel with my own eyes. It's one of those bucket list items I must do. Although, it would have looked better if I were there during high tide, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

A fortified island like this could be a great base for when a zombie apocalypse happens. I call dibs.

Paris - France

Of course, you cannot go to France without going through Paris. I had my own agenda for Paris, though, which was to visit the locations used in one of my most favorite films of all time, Before Sunset.

This was an elevated park built on an abandoned railway track that stretched 5 km across Paris.

And, of course, the Notre Dame Cathedral. I didn't bother going in, though. I kinda like to appreciate things from a distance.

I did not even go near the Eiffel Tower because I know how touristy it is, so I simply enjoyed it from the top of the Arc de Triomphe instead.

I usually hate lining up to go see an attraction, but I made an exception for this. I lined up for 2 hours to go into the catacombs, a vast maze of skulls and bones buried beneath the City of Light.

I should have spent more time in Paris, but my visa days are running out, so I had to continue on to Germany.

Stuttgart - Germany

From Paris, I took a bus to Stuttgart, Germany, and once again stayed with my local friend, Steffi. Through her, I had the opportunity to live like a Stuttgarter, socialize with her circle of friends, and truly enjoy Stuttgart like a local.

I had a great time in Stuttgart. The most favorite thing for me was hanging out with Steffi's friends and having a great time at the Contain't event. Contain't event is a nonprofit project that breathes life into dead places with art, music, performance, and festivals in the form of old freight containers, timbers, and tents.

Munich - Germany

Munich is where the Bavarian culture shines the most. From a 1-liter beer stein to Weißwurst, you can be full and drunk at the same time.

On my last day in Munich, I was able to convince my friend, who was studying at Munich University, to take a break from her studies and show me around. We got to try all sorts of weird ice creams, from kebab to beer-flavored. I loved them all!

We also went out of the city a bit and visited Nymphenburg Palace. I had experienced many new things on this trip, and one of them was here at the palace. It was the first time I asked a stranger to take a photo of me, and they said no. Really! From my 2 years of traveling, this was the first time a stranger said no to taking a photo for me.

Erlangen - Germany

After parting ways with my friend, Julia, in Lörrach, I had the opportunity to visit her again, this time in Erlangen where she is currently studying. It was a brief stop, but it was nice to see a familiar face again.

Cologne - Germany

Noticed anything different here? Yes, there's no bag because my bag was stolen at the Cologne train station! Worst of all, my laptop, passport, and a hard drive with 2 years' worth of photos and videos were also gone with the bag!

Here is how it happened. I was waiting for my friend to come pick me up at the train station, and while I was sitting down, I forgot to keep my daypack with me. As I was sitting, someone came out of nowhere, poked me, and informed me that I had dropped a coin. They only needed 3 seconds for me to turn my head and look at this guy, and the bag was gone... forever.

Berlin - Germany

I got over it in no time, though, and I bought a new bag the next day. I went to Berlin to get my temporary passport sorted and got a new laptop. It was an unnecessary inconvenience, but nothing I couldn't handle. I also took the opportunity to slow down a bit and stayed in Berlin for a week.

Luneburg - Germany

I couldn't seem to catch a break. After Berlin, I tried to go to Poland via bus, but they rejected my temporary passport, citing that there was no valid visa on it. Without knowing what to do, I glanced at a nearby bus and saw that it was leaving for Hamburg in 15 minutes. I said to myself, "Why the hell not?", booked the ticket online, got on that bus, and off I went to Hamburg. Luckily, I had a friend in Luneburg who was willing to host me.

Leipzig - Germany

With my temporary passport, I only have two options: either stay in Germany until my visa days run out or go back to Thailand. I decided to stay, so after Hamburg, my friend hooked me up with another couch in Leipzig, and off I went.

I really enjoyed Leipzig. It is much less crowded than Hamburg or Berlin, and it has a nice history to it.

My favorite place in Leipzig was the first (yeah, try pronouncing that!). The Monument to the Battle of the Nations is a monument erected to commemorate Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig. The monument had a raw, ancient vibe to it. It's like Diablo meets Game of Thrones.