A Few Excursions

Nice

My first trip was the most unexpected and spontaneous of my life. It started on the Monday before departure: My friend Elena and I realized that most of our friends were going on trips that same weekend because we had that Friday off. Somehow, we very quickly decided that we wanted to go on a trip too, and quickly settled on Nice. Despite us booking the flights literally days before departure, it actually wasn’t that expensive because it was off-season.

After landing around 11 A.M., our first stop was La Maison De Celine Pâtisserie, a cafe recommended by Elena’s friend. To be completely honest I forgot the names of both things I got, but they were in the window so I just pointed at what I wanted, haha (I will include a picture, of course). Afterwards, we went to Villa Masséna, or the Masséna Museum. The interior was very pretty, and it didn’t take long to see everything. For the rest of the day, we pretty much just walked around the Old Town, which was gorgeous, lively, and vibrant. Most of our time in Nice was just walking around and looking at our surroundings because it is such a visually stunning city. We ended the day at Chez Pipo, a restaurant that serves a Nice speciality: socca, a very thin flatbread made from chickpea flour, water, olive oil, and pepper. I hate to exaggerate, but the socca at Chez Pipo was genuinely one of the best things I had while abroad. It is such a simple dish, but it was truly breathtaking, and all at such a low price! I’m sure all the socca in Nice is good, but I highly recommend going to Chez Pipo, specifically.

The next day was actually our only full day in Nice, so we had to make the most of it. We started off at Marché Aux Fleurs - Cours Saleya (a farmer’s market, basically), where we bought various things for a light brunch on the beach. Nice is unique because instead of sand, it has pebbles on its beaches; the ebb and flow of the waves pulling the rocks into the water was so satisfying, and it was relaxing to lie on the shore and take it all in. I forgot to mention that the weather was perfect when we went: not too hot or cold, even at night, and it was sunny all day. Afterwards, we went to Hobo Coffee, where we did some people-watching while sitting outside. Taking a break to decompress like this is very important on trips where you try to cram everything into a couple of days! Next, we went up to the Colline du Château, which offered the most gorgeous view of the city. Be prepared to walk a bit, though… To end the day, we went to Babel Babel, where we had another lovely outdoor meal while the sun set. I once again forgot the name of what I ate... Overall, Nice is a perfect location for a three-day weekend trip, especially if you are studying in Germany (the flight will be quick and cheap!). I recommend going in late September to get the most out of the good weather!

Amsterdam

Only two weeks later, I was off to my next location: Amsterdam. This trip was a bit spontaneous as well, as I only decided to go two weeks before…do not do that because the train was not the cheapest 😅 We arrived in the evening, so all we really had time to do was eat dinner and walk around, which was nice! We had Thai food, which was just ok, but we followed up with amazing truffle fries from Fabel Friet. These fries single-handedly got me addicted to anything truffle-related, so I highly recommend them.

The next day, I started my morning off with a bagel from Breadwinner. I believe I got the Chutney bagel, and it was a nice start to my long day. Afterwards, I spent nearly four hours at the Rijksmuseum. It was extremely tiring but very, very worth it. It was probably my favorite museum that I visited while abroad (which is saying a lot because I went to many). Then, we went to the Albert Cuyp Market, where I had my first Stroopwaffle from the famous Rudi’s Original Stroopwafels, which was worth the wait. We ended the day by getting dinner at Effendy Lahmacun Cafe, recommended by my friend Justin. He swore it was the best thing in the world, and it was definitely good, but not a must-have…

The next day was very simple and relaxing: with nothing specific on the agenda, we pretty much just walked around the city, which was really nice. There isn’t a lot for me to talk about with this day, so that leaves me to talk about the food I ate, of course! I had brunch at Chun Cafe, where I had an amazing Bulgogi sandwich. The long wait was worth it overall; however, I will admit that it is a tiny bit overrated, especially when considering the price. For dinner, we went to Umaimon Chicken Ramen, which was good and not terribly expensive. I wasn’t the craziest fan of my bowl, but I recommend a ramen with a more creamy broth. Finally, the next morning, we left pretty early, but not before grabbing sandwiches from Caldi e Freddi, which I cannot recommend enough!!! They were so cheap and delicious, perfect if you are on the go. I’m not really sure how wait times typically are because we went right when they opened, but it didn’t take too long.

London

Unlike the previous two trips, this one was actually planned more in advance. But this was mostly because my friend Tobi (who is studying abroad in London) was able to house me, so I didn’t have to worry about finding a hostel :) I also planned this trip with my good friend Leah, who is studying abroad in Greece. It was nice to see some familiar faces while abroad; I was missing a lot of people around this time, so it helped me out, mentally. I arrived at around 6 P.M., so I spent the night walking around the city with Tobi, Leah, and Leah’s friends from Greece.

I spent most of the following day with Leah, where we started at Layla Bakery near Notting Hill (I unfortunately have zero photos…but it was good!). After walking down a market on Portobello Road, we made our way to the Natural History Museum. This museum, along with many in London, was free, which made the experience all the more enjoyable, haha. Despite the size of the building, you can get through the whole thing pretty quickly (if you don’t spend too much time in “The Vault”). After grabbing my first Fish and Chips dish from Hobson’s Fish & Chips (great fish, mediocre chips), we headed to The British Museum, which was not very British, funny enough. The collection here was nice, but I actually enjoyed the two “themed” areas the most, which were the Clock area and the Money area, which had displays specifically dedicated to, well, clocks and money. It was quite informative, and there were many references to Freiburg and the Black Forest in the Clock area, which was a delight to see, as someone studying there 🙂 I spent the evening eating a Truffle burger and Cold Stone for the first time, which were both amazing ways to end my first full day.

I hate to sound overdramatic, but the next day was my absolute favorite day during my entire time abroad. I spent almost the whole day with Tobi, which was very important to me because he’ll be abroad the entire school year, meaning I won’t see him next semester :( So, I made every moment count. We started our day at My Old Dutch, where we enjoyed gigantic pancakes that I highly recommend. Then we headed to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where we stumbled upon a choir singing on the steps. They were mostly singing Christmas songs, but suddenly, as if they knew I was in the audience, they started singing songs from Wicked, which I am a huge fan of. To top it all off, the sun began shining right onto the Cathedral, making the moment all the more perfect. Afterwards, we walked and talked for a while, admiring the Financial District from up close. However, the best view of the district was from far away, so Tobi took me to watch the sunset from Tower Bridge. I must have been blessed by King Charles himself because the sunset that day was one of the prettiest I have seen in my entire life (even the Tower Bridge workers stopped to take photos!). The sight almost made me emotional; the day was going so perfectly, and this moment really made me appreciate everything I had experienced while abroad.

After taking in the view, we finally headed to the famous Dishoom, where we waited in line for 40 minutes…but it was well worth it. We wanted to try as much as we could, so it was a bit pricey, but I enjoyed the atmosphere, the food, and the service. I, once again, forgot what we ordered specifically, but one of my favorites was something shrimp-related. Finally, as if the day was not perfect enough, we walked by a crowd of people singing in front of Covent Garden; the lively crowd singing next to a giant Christmas tree was a perfect way to end my time in London.

That concludes the major weekend trips I went on! I did some day trips as well, to Strasbourg and Heidelberg, but I figured the three above were much more eventful, haha. For those traveling in Europe, I hope some of my recommendations make it onto your list. Thank me later 😉

Cheers,

--Dana