i visited 33 cities in 6.5 months!!!

clearing my student exchange in Europe meant that i could fly to different countries at really cheap prices, so i took full advantage of them and explored as much as i could, so here's a list of places that i visited, and my ratings of each city. let me know if you share similar or opposing views!!

1. Oslo, Norway - 9/10

i did my student exchange at BI Norwegian Business School here, so Oslo was my home for half a year! my housemates and i love Norway so much that we actually don't mind migrating here in the future :') really hoping to go back soon.

2. [Jan] Bergen, Norway - 7/10

the land of rain, because it rains an estimated 240 days in a year! was a pretty chill trip, just exploring the city and cruising around the fjords. also tried whale meat here and absolutely hated it hahaha

3. [Jan] Tromsø, Norway - 9/10

where i saw the northern lights and whales for the first time! also tried cod tongue and fell in love.

4. [Feb] Svalbard, Norway - 9.5/10

flying into the arctic circle will remain my top bucket list trip of my life. shall not share too much here, but you can check out my itinerary here!

5. [Mar] Scotland NC500 road trip

i flew to Edinburgh and took a train to Inverness, where my friend and i started and ended our road trip. we visited Wick, Tongue, Ullapool, Isle of Skye, and Dornie. this was my first road trip without my parents around so it was definitely exciting!! whiskey is also one of my top favourite alcohols so i drank and bought quite a few bottles hahahaha.

6. [Mar] Dublin, Ireland - 8/10

our main purpose of this trip was to experience and celebrate St Patricks Day and it was so fun watching the parade and bar hopping from morning till night! also managed to go for horseriding because i missed it so much.

7. [Mar] London, UK - 6.5/10

hmm nothing amazing happened during this trip, it was more of a retail and food focused trip hahaha. the only highlights were a day trip to Bath and the 2 musicals that i watched (Dear Evan Hansen and Lion King)

8. [Apr] Rome, Italy - 7/10

spent a week here during the Easter break (which was kind of a mistake because it was hella crowded everywhere, especially Vatican City). my friend and i did day trips to Cinque Terre, Orvieto and Tivoli on alternate days to escape the city and we ended up enjoying those day trips more than Rome itself. i highly recommend going to Tivoli, the vibes and pistachio gelato are to die for. italian wine is also always good, my friend and i basically drank 1 bottle every day yums

9. [Apr] Hamburg, Germany - 7.5/10

this was only a weekend trip so i didn't do much, but there was a carnival going on so that was quite fun! also made some friends from the hostel we stayed at and had a blast with them :)

10. [May] Barcelona, Spain - 9/10

visited Barcelona a few years ago and it has been one of my favourite cities in europe since then so i decided to come back again for the food and sangria. i was also lucky enough to catch Cirque du Soleil because i've always loved their shows and i was definitely starstruck by their skills. also finally managed to visit Camp Nou (Barcelona FC's base camp), my first love since my interest in football grew!

11. [May] Madrid, Spain - 8/10

travelled to Madrid for a short 3D2N trip because i had this small gap in between Barcelona and Paris, both of which i planned with friends. spent most of my time aimlessly walking around, which is one of my travelling must-dos because i always end up noticing something interesting!

12. [May] Paris, France - 3/10

i have been to Paris many years ago and didn't like it a lot due to the dirty streets, over touristy vibes and the need to always be on my toes in case of pickpocketing or any other kind of danger. my friend hadn't been here, so i accompanied him anyways. Paris Disneyland ended up being the highlight of this trip! being able to indulge in french pastries was also nice since i have a sweet tooth.

13. [May] Bordeaux, France - 8/10

this was heaven because of all the wine, which is probably my favourite alcohol!! did a vineyard tour and ordered quite a few bottles to be sent back to singapore for my family, and also visited the wine museum which we didn't get to finish exploring cries.

14. [May] Nice, France - 7/10

Nice had a chill vibe which was super enjoyable, although there was nothing particularly exciting to do there. visited Monaco in hopes of dropping by the casino but there was a grand prix happening so most of the roads were unfortunately closed.

15. [May] Vilnius, Lithuania - 8/10

this trip left me pleasantly surprised because i felt safe there, everything was pretty cheap, and food was good! took a hot air balloon ride for the first time ever and even though i was quite nervous initially (i have a fear of heights), the view from 2km up in the air was so breathtaking that my fear disappeared in that moment.

16. [Jun] Berlin, Germany - 8/10

highlights from this trip include the Anne Frank house (highly discouraged to set this as your first stop because your heart will feel so heavy for the rest of the day/trip), the zoo (saw gorillas that were so cute!), and the german spy museum (was geeking out here). although german food is delicious, their portions are so huge that my friend and i, both pretty small eaters, often had to order 1 person's worth of food to share.

17. [Jun] Prague, Czech - 9/10

i made friends with a Czech couple during the vineyard tour in Bordeaux so when i asked them for recommendations, the girl sent me the longest email with everything you could ever do, eat, drink and see in Prague. i planned my itinerary using 99% of their recommendations and wow i was not let down because everything was so good!! my friend and i met them for a meal too and they even brought us to walk around town 🥲 also i didn't know that the chocolates in Prague are so heavenly?! if you also like pilsners, Prague is the destination for you.

18. [Jun] Trondheim, Norway - 7/10

this was a solo trip and honestly i enjoyed myself quite a lot, besides the fact that i fell sick on the second day so i only left my airbnb in the afternoon LOL. i also visited Røros for a day trip, which is a quaint mining town.

19. [Jun] Bergen, Norway - 8/10

came back to Bergen to watch Imagine Dragons concert!! after visiting this city in both winter and summer, i can confidently recommend everyone to only visit Bergen during the summer because there's way more activities to do compared to the winter period.

20. [Jul] road trip around Norway - 8/10

my family flew over to Oslo to find me so we embarked on a road trip! we visited Lillehammer, Åndalsnes, Geiranger, Ålesund, Stryn, Loen, and Voss, before driving back to Oslo. the views were gorgeous. my only tip if you want to do a road trip in Norway is to bring more instant noodles or book accommodations with a kitchen so that you can cook your meals because food in Norway really doesn't hit the spot LOL.

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