Munich, Germany

Rathaus in Marienplatz

After visiting Berlin, we moved to Munich the next day. We took a bus as my friend wanted to experience Auto-Bahn in Germany hahah. We booked a room in airbnb, as it is more comfortable yet affordable to us. By the time we got there, we had an iftar (break-fasting) around Marienplatz with a friend who is currently studying in Munich. We had Asian dishes in a halal Vietnamese restaurant (I forgot the name). I was quite surprised as the portion is like super big and I couldn't even finish them all although they are super delicious. We went to a beer house afterwards (a must thing to if you're travelling to Munich). Since I don't consume alcohol, I just had a nice chat with them, and then went back to airbnb before midnight.

Pride of Munich

BMW Museum

In the morning, we began our journey in Munich. At first, we visited Allianz Arena, a very much pride stadium in Munich. The stadium is quite big, and very worth visiting compared to other stadiums in Europe. Second location to be visited is BMW museum, where the collections of BMW cars are located in the very heart of Munich. I didn't go inside as I didn't want to pay extra money but my friend did. I think it's worth it if you're an automotive enthusiast. As we didn't have much plan in Munich, we then just straight forward to English Garden, I think it is he biggest garden in Munich. Many people had their picnic there, or just sunbathing as it was during summertime when we got there.

English Garden

Berlin, Germany

Brandenburg Gate

After 2 nights in Amsterdam, We moved to Berlin by bus (Flixbus). We had an overnight during the journey on the bus. Yes you can imagine, I can never EVER sleep on the bus OMG. It felt like a nightmare to me. As the trip is on Ramadan, I must maintain my worship as well during the journey. I brought a little Quran in my bag so i can read it anytime I had spare time (mostly in transport between cities like this). We arrived in Berlin in the morning, and went straight to airBnB to put the luggage only. Our check in time is afternoon so we couldn't take a bath before our trip in Berlin hahaha. Thank God the host was fine if we put the luggage first before check in time.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Our first destination is off course Brandenburg gate. This gate a historical site of Berlin, symbol of the European unity and peace. Since I'm addicted to Abrahamic religion histories, I also visited Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This monument is kinda unique where the land has uneven levels, and also has its dark ambience. Our third trip was to visit Topography of Errors, where it contains many histories during Nazi regime. I can assume that Berlin is the city of German's history. As I quite like history, I can enjoy this city quite a lot. We then also visited the ruins of Berlin wall, where it used to be separating East and West Germany. 

Topography of Errors

If you are into European histories, Berlin is truly worth visiting. In addition, everything is a lot cheaper than any other cities in Europe. Foods are great, where many affordable yet delicious Turkish dish are everywhere in Berlin. Most of the Muslims here are from Turkey so I suggest you try Turkish dish if visiting Berlin. I had Turkish Baklava for iftar in one of the Turkish Restaurants and it was sooo good yummm!! German people are also quite good in English so you won't find any difficulties in speaking English. Our next journey is to visit Munich, where I'll post it right after this one ;)

Ruins of the Berlin Wall

Netherlands

I Amsterdam sign in central Amsterdam

As a master student in the UK, I sure don't wanna let go any chance of having eurotrip in this continent. Tight and dying schedule is one of the constraints to go through on this eurotrip journey. I only had one chance, which is a 2.5-week holiday after term-2 exams, before starting my project dissertation, so I applied for schengen visa long before summer time. It took me weeks to have the itinerary done, but finally it all set up. First country to be visited is Netherlands, as the plane ticket from UK is cheaper than going to France.

Botel (boat hotel)

We arrived in Amsterdam Schipol at night, and then took a train to Amsterdam Centraal, and continued to take a ferry to the hotel. Surprisingly the ferry is free, as a service from the government to bridge from one location to another as dams are everywhere in the Netherlands. We had two overnights at Botel (Boat Hotel), where the rooms are floating above the boat. This is very unique, but quite worth it as the price is affordable. This eurotrip is surely a challenge for me as I have to fast as well during Ramadan. However, this is the only chance for me to have this trip (cries). I bought some foods from Amsterdam centraal for iftar and suhoor before going to the hotel.

Traditional Shoe Factory

Windmills in Zaanse Schans

In the morning we began our trip. We went to I Amsterdam sign, but we didn't expect there would be a lot of people (you dont say). We then walked to Heineken Museum, but we didn't go inside as we have to pay for the ticket (yes we are that cheap bastards). Then we decided to look for day ticket for transport, but we ended up lost in Amsterdam lol. We finally went to Amsterdam Schipol to buy 2-day pass ticket for €26, and continue to go to Keukenhof. Oh if you wanna take picture of I Amsterdam sign, better go to Schipol Airport, as it is not as crowded as in Amsterdam. On the journey, we checked on the internet that the flower festival in Keukenhof had ended one week ago. We then finally went back to Schipol (lol) and discussed where to go next. We then decided to go to Zaanse Schans to see the windmills. We have to go back to Amsterdam Centraal to get to Zaanse Schans by bus.

Agrarisch Museum

Amsterdam Royal Palace

One of many canals in Amsterdam

Zaanse Schans is indeed a beautiful, rustic and traditional place in Netherlands. There are also traditional shoes factory, and traditional dutch cheese factory in Zaanse Schans. I am more into this kind of travelling than visiting buildings or cathedral. After some times, we decided to go home as I was too tired having my first fast with travelling hahah. We took some nap on the hotel, then continued strolling Amsterdam at night after iftar. We went to Red Light district, where yeah you know, a "restricted" area in Netherlands. I love the situation like a lot of people but not too crowded. We had a cup of coffee and chats, and also grabbed some food for suhoor.

Amsterdam City

The next day we went to Agrarisch museum of Amsterdam (not too worth it actually), then visited Amsterdam Royal Palace. This is like the Buckingham palace of Netherlands. We noticed that we still had a few time so we visited Ajax Amsterdam as well hahah, only for a couple minutes though. Before ending our trip, we bought some Indonesian food for our journey to the next trip, Berlin. There are several Indonesian restaurants in Netherlands, and the taste is so good. As you know, we were colonised by this country for hundreds of years so there are many things in common between Indonesia and Netherlands. Mostly Dutch people use bicycle for transportation, as their land is flat and supporting. Overall Netherlands is worth visiting, especially for Indonesians.