The Night I Slept with Seven Hippos

Well, well, well. Long time, no talk! (I will posting an update blogpost sometime this week with all the photos from my trip from Austria back to Italy; life got a bit hectic, I was just enjoying my time travelling and blogging got away from me. However, I am back! But, I wanted to start with this exciting post about my trip to Akagera National Park in Rwanda)

Here I am! In Kigali, isn’t that crazy!? I have been in Rwanda for three weeks, but it feels like an eternity – I have developed such wonderful relationships and I absolutely love the country, the people and the wildlife. I will write up a post soon about my time in Rwanda, but for now here is a snippet of my time!

On Thursday afternoon we headed East out of Kigali, destined for the Akagera Park where an incredible array of animals would be awaiting us! We arrived at the welcome centre and were greeted by various animal skeletons. This is an elephant skull…I know I am short, but come on, that thing is huge! 

Venice: Unexpected Beauty, More Canals and Food

Almost everyone I told that I was going to Venice responded with resounding sighs and disappointment. “Why?” “Hopefully you don’t have too long there?” “Ugh, it was my least favorite” “It smells weird” “Everything is expensive” and so on…
So, when the time actually came to go to Venice, I wasn’t really that excited.
However, I am happy to report, that Venice is one of my favorite stops on my trip. Yes, it does have its downsides like the seemingly never ending tourist traps, but if you venture off the beaten trail there are many hidden gems down tiny little sides.  

Geneva and Genoa: Dreams, Fevers and Gelato

Geneva is both the most beautiful place and the most expensive. I spent the first night eating a $25 dollar pizza and the second eating bananas and stale-ish bread. Ah, the life of a European backpacker.  

Belgium, France and Switzerland: One Crazy Day

This post is going to be a bit of a mash up of things (I am behind by a few cities!)

I woke up in Brussels, spent the afternoon in Paris and ended my day in Geneva. Being able to easily visit three countries in one day is unheard coming from Canada, but here in Europe, it was just another day on the trains!

I woke up at the crack of dawn in Brussels after a pretty wild night out with an Australian, an American and a Brit. These three lovely gentlemen and I met at the hostel bar and decided to go out for a nice meal and see where the night would take us. Well, I had some garlic shrimp, they had huge steaks and then we ended up at the bar which held the Guinness World Record for “most beer offered in one establishment”for having 2,400 beers available. The menu was honestly the length of a novel. Insane. We spent the night tasting different beers from all over the world and losing out voices while singing along to the house band. “Hey, Jude” was when I really let loose. 

Amsterdam: XXX, Friends and Shipping Containers

I was in Amsterdam for 20 minutes when I decided it was the greatest city on earth. (Not that I’ve been to all the cities on earth or anything.) I’ve never been to a city that has such a distinct feeling to it. Amsterdam was harsh, welcoming and delicious.

I started off my first day in getting very lost in the small canal streets. Of course. Despite this, walking through the canals and trying to find my hostel was still more beautiful than any walk I’ve ever been lost on before.

After checking into my very conservative Christian hostel (not sure how I ended up here, but it had its perks), I decided to just wander around the small side streets and get a feel for the city. Well, as I turned the corner out of my hostel I was in the red light district, and all I can say is woah.

Berlin: Train Floors, a Concentration Camp and Hostel Relationships

My journey to Berlin was the most challenging so far. I have Eurail pass, which means that I can travel on any train, at any time without any real problem. Although, most people recommend making a booking for busy trains. I asked in Copenhagen if the train to Berlin was busy and the lovely woman at the ticket counter reassured me that I would have no problem getting a seat.

She was wrong, very wrong.

I ended up having to sit on the floor of the entrance to the train for 7 hours, facing backwards. This was an experience for sure and it actually wasn’t as bad is it sounds. For the first time this trip, I felt like I was getting the ‘real nomad’ experience.
The coolest thing though was that the train literally drove onto a ferry to cross the ocean from Denmark to Germany. We drove onto the train, got off and got to go and sit on the top of the ferry, and have a buffet breakfast. Such a cool experience, and apparently it is the last train/ferry combination of its kind!