One of my bucket lists had checked: traveling to cities in Europe! I finally had the chance to visit my dream destinations. It was Christmas and New Year holiday, and I definitely didn't have any class since 22 December 2017. Actually, I had planned this trip since one month before because I was pretty sure that the accommodations, plane and train tickets would be very expensive if I bought them in December.

This journey was absolutely the most ambitious and challenging trip I've ever done, because only in 13 days, I went to 8 different cities in several countries in Europe! At first I needed to convince myself that I could do it because 8 cities were many and I couldn't imagine how I managed my energy to move to every cities back then. So this is the cities of my Euro trip:

Málaga - Köln - Brussels - Antwerpen - Amsterdam - Berlin - Prague - Dresden

Note: I only spent several hours in Köln and Dresden, mostly when I needed to wait for my train and bus to different cities, but I had the time to explore the main interests in both cities.

Málaga
I went to Malaga because my flight was from this city, and my flight was on the next morning. It only took 3 hours by bus from Jaén, short transit in Granada, then Málaga.

Before I went to the airport, I decided to spend some times here, strolling around the city to see some interesting spots. As you can see at the headline photo, it's Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga. It was closed in the evening so I was only able to see the big cathedral from the outside.


The design of Puerto de Málaga is so modern. You can see the "long bones-shaped canopy" (maybe we can say it so? Hahaha) along the pedestrian walk right next to the sea.



I arrived at Teatro Romano de La Alcazaba exactly on the closing time. I was only able to enter the theater for a few minutes, then I enjoyed the rest of the view from the outside. Kinda disappointed, I decided to sit in front of the theater, just looking around it. Then, there was a man coming to the theater and he started to play an accordion. I really liked what he played and stayed for a bit before I continued my journey. It was such a serene evening...

After that I walked back to the train station because I left my backpack there on a paid locker. It was only 3 euro for the small locker per 24 hours. From the train station, I took one trip train to the Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport.

Since my flight was at 7 am on the next day and I couldn't spend extra money only for hostel (also taxi to go to the airport), it's way better to sleep in the airport. Thankfully in Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport, it's kinda easy to find spots to sleep. In terminal 2 and terminal 3, you can find bench or windowsill (to see the runway) that can be utilized. I was on the windowsill first, but since I needed to charge my phone, I moved to a long bench that was close to a power socket.

Köln
I was so thrilled when I finally arrived at Köln! Germany is one of my dream countries to visit. It was so cloudy and so cold there, but it didn't matter; hey, I was in Germany!

Köln Am Dom (Köln Cathedral) is literally next to Köln Central Station, so it's so easy to reach the cathedral. My first impression? It is so huuuuugeee!! I even can compare it with Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I did enter the cathedral, and it was so beautiful.

After that I walked passing the famous Hohenzollern Bridge. As you can see on the photos, there were immeasurable locks across the bridge where people put the lock with their names and their loved ones on it. This bridge is also a nice spot to see the large Rhine River.

Unfortunately, I was in Köln only for several hours before I went to Brussels by train. So far, Köln was an interesting city, especially it was Christmas and there were plenty of Chirstmas markets I found around the cathedral. I didn't know it was such a bad timing or not, but I was there only in the morning until the afternoon (meanwhile the market opened at night), so I couldn't visit any of the market.





Brussels
Bonjour, Bruxelles!

Here I was, in the second city of my list. It only took 2 hours by train from Köln Central Station to Bruxelles-Midi Station. I stayed one night in this city, so (hopefully) I had enough time to explore this city!

I was in Brussels when it was Christmas eve. At first I almost didn't go to the city center because I was a little bit afraid of the surroundings around my hostel. It's kinda hard to explain but for the first time, I felt not really safe to go out at night. But then a roommate from my hostel told me that it's safe to go alone. I doubt it at first, but I thought again, I only had one night in Brussels. So, I decided to leave the hostel to see the city center.

You know what? I made the right call.

I didn't know that there was a special event at the Grand Palace during Christmas Eve. When I arrived, I heard musics and saw some lights on the buildings. Apparently, bunch of people went to Grand Palace to see the big, beautiful attraction that night: a light-show on every building along with Christmas-themed songs.

It was one of the most memorable moments from my trip in Belgium, because everything looked so magical. I was standing alone there in the middle of crowd, listening and enjoying the view around me.




I was so mesmerized. It was so freaking amazing!! For the first time, I felt the regret of going alone during my trip! This is one thing that you should see with your family, friends, or loved one. I don't celebrate Christmas, but I can understand that Christmas holiday is a special time to gather with your family and friends.

I left for a moment to buy waffle (come on, I was in Belgium, there's no way that you don't try their authentic waffle here!), looked at the Manneken Pis, and went back to the Grand Palace. The light-show ran for a couple of times, and I stayed until it finished.

By the way, Belgium waffle is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.





The next day: Christmas Day! It was also the last day for me to stay in Brussels until the afternoon. Before I left, I went around the city and I'd say that there was almost no one on the street; except tourists. Of course many people were staying at their houses to celebrate Christmas with their family. I was wandering around Brussels city, looking at some buildings that were so beautiful.

Why only looking around? Well, it's holiday, every stores and public places were closed (except the Brussels Park and few food stores around my hostel, because I went there). I also wasn't able to enter any museum, so I only could see them from the outside.

By the way, the famous comic book character Tintin was "born" here in Brussels! Besides, I could see so many comic book stores and street arts around Brussels. Even there's a comic museum here (but it was closed, so sad!). But overall, all the street arts and comic book stores were very interesting to see!