Bath and Bristol

Royal Crescent

In this final phase of study, I felt a bit stressed out due to my final design project (MSc Thesis). I need to have a break during this stressful yet tiring stage so I proposed a road-trip to Bath and Bristol. My friend and I preferred to rent a car instead of going by train/bus as it was a lot cheaper. We heard that Bath is beautiful and we had never been there previously so we intended to visit them. We hired a car from Europcar, a well-trusted rent-car company in the Europe. They accept Indonesian driving license as long as we do not stay longer than one year since we arrived to the UK.

The Circus

Beautiful buildings in Bath

The trip to Bath took a 2-hour journey with a slight congestion. When we arrived in Bath, we looked for parking lot that has long duration as we wanted to walk by foot there. We parked our car in The Podium Car Park as it has a large area for parking and longer duration compared to street parking area. Our first stop was The Circus and then Royal Crescent. It is truly suitable for those who love to do picnic especially on summer days. We also walk around the Bath city, as it has scenery similar to most cities in European countries. If you're currently in the UK and have no time to visit European countries, Bath represents this very well. You can also visit Roman Baths and try the Royal Bath Spa for a quite expensive experience. Don't forget to have a nice cuppa tea or coffee in one of the coffee/tea shops here for a more relaxing ambience.

As the time is running out (and the time for parking is limited to 4 hours only), we then moved to Bristol. We visited Clifton Suspension Bridge (yeah we're those civil engineering geeks). There is a petite castle as well near the bridge, as the great view of the bridge can only be seen from there. Unfortunately the weather was not really good so we need to go home in the evening. We went back to Coventry and stopped to ALDI for grocery shopping (in case you wanna know lol).  

Clifton Suspension Bridge

How to Fast during Traveling (Euro-trip in Particular)

One of my goals when I had the opportunity to study in Europe is take a euro-trip. Either it's by train, bus, or car, I want to feel and see the beauty of Europe by my own eyes. It is very hard to arrange the euro-trip from England, as I have to apply for Schengen visa, as well as looking for the right moment to do the trip. Apparently master degree in the UK has a very tight schedule as it is only 1 year calendar academic. Moreover, every course in each uni has different schedule so I can only have the chance to travelling with my course-mate (apparently my house-mate too lol). We then noticed that after term 2 exam, we will have like a 3-week holiday before starting our final project dissertation. That's the only possible dates so we applied for Schengen visa earlier, and chose Italian embassy for the application process as we will spend more days in Italy.

I have mentioned and shared my journey on each place during my euro-trip on previous posts, and maybe you also noticed that my trips were done during Ramadan. If you have questions in mind like, did I fast? The answer is, yes. So how did I fast during my journey while it was on summer and I should fast for 18-19 hours a day? Here I would like to share the tips if you're gonna have the same condition where you should travel for days while fasting, particularly during summer time.

Mostly fasting in European countries during summer will have iftar (breakfasting time) at 9-10 pm. You may also find some restaurants or fast food corners that are closed during that time. My suggestion is, you can have fun all day in one city until 6 pm circa (or maybe earlier if you're tired). I suggest that time to finish your journey because it is hard to perform praying during the trip so you may pray for Zuhur and Ashar in the accommodation after travelling. If you have finished your wandering, you can look for a place to buy meals. For this case, you can always buy the food for iftar and don't forget to buy some for sahur as well, earlier before the shops are close. You may choose like take-away option, or buy frozen food that can be reheated later and eat in the hotel/apartment. You may take a power nap before iftar time, as you'll be more tired after wandering around and fasting at the same time. Once you have had your iftar, you may have your prayer afterwards. The time between Maghreb and Isha is very near so you can read Quran between the two prayers. Once you have finished all the prayers (you can also have Tarawih if you're not too tired), you can have your sahur then. Remember, don't take too much food during your iftar because you need to reload your stomach for sahur too before the morning prayer. If you're lucky enough, there are places near Mosque in some part of the European countries so you may join for iftar until Tarawih prayer. The morning prayer in Europe summer time is usually at 2 am, so after finishing your prayer and had sahur, you can wait for the morning prayer. If the morning prayer is due at 3 am, you may take a nap after Isha (and Tarawih if possible), then wake up again at 3 am to have sahur and then take the morning prayer. I'm sure you will not have any difficulties regarding Kiblat as it is easily accessed by many applications on any smartphones. You can have a full rest after all your prayers and sahur. Don't worry, summer days in Europe last for hours, so you can start your journey at a very late time like 10 or 11 am (or maybe 12) in the morning and finish the journey during iftar time if necessary.

Another thing is, you can always bring a little Quran during your journey, and have a read between prayers, or during your journey between cities in the train, bus, or plane. You can also rely on e-Quran on your smartphone but I prefer a physical one. I also did my prayers during journeys between cities. People will always notice but who cares? As long as we fulfilled our obligations during Ramadan it is fine. It's normal as well to have a drool during the days, I also wanted to have gelato during my trip in Italy, or croissants when in Paris. You can have gelato after iftar as gelateria are everywhere like every 100m available in Italy. If you crave for foods like croissants or pizza, you may have them for or after iftar. Don't forget to check your accommodation is it near many restaurants or not, so you don't have to go farther from your place if you want to buy foods for iftar or sahur. If you have a very long journey like 2-3 weeks, maybe you can break one or two fasting days but I don't suggest that as I'm not a mufti of such who has that ability to measure the allowable things in Islam or vice versa (plus, you travel for fun, not for a critical thing). Hope these tips can help, and you may ask me further questions regarding this topic if this thread is not thoroughly covering your search.

Paris, France

Arc de Triomphe

Paris was our last euro-trip destination before we get back to England. We took an air-plane there from Geneva, as it is cheaper compared to bus or train. Though still can't move on with Switzerland, I still need to continue my journey. We landed in Orly airport Paris, then took a metro to get to our bed and breakfast. Yes we used so many airbnb rooms during our trip as it is a lot cheaper, and has faster wi-fi lol. Also, they provide washing machine, tumble dryer, and kitchen too. We need to wash our clothes when it is a very long trip, right? I craved for a Belgian waffle that day so we went out after put our luggage to the bnb and had a delicious Belgian waffle and we also had crepes, lol! We took a rest on day one, and started the journey in the morning.

Oh so delicious desserts

Our first trip was going to Arc de Triomphe. It is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, in Champs-Élysées. We then moved to the famous Eiffel Tower. When we arrived, we need to walk like 10 minutes to figure out the location, and stroll around for hours to get the best spot in Eiffel. We then visited Pont Alexandre III, and went straight to Musée du Louvre. Please beware of scams near these areas, they may trick you with card games or offering humanity petitions. Paris is indeed a very romantic city, if you put aside the criminal thing. My partner got scammed near the Louvre, thus he then did not have any intention to continue the trip.

Musee du Louvre

The next day we actually did not want to go anywhere, but we ended up getting bored and decided to look for a park nearby. We visited Buttes-Chaumont Park, had a stroll until we get so bored. Then during our way home, we decided to buy super delicious croissant near our place. Yes, our very intention to visit this country is to try their delish desserts. I still remember how good it was when I had the croissants, super yum!! I then also met my undergrad pal who works in Paris in the evening, and we would like to have an iftar that day, as I was fasting during the trip. We met and went to Sacré-Cœur previously, a cathedral that is located in the highest level in Paris. There, we can see the whole city of Paris, with beautiful landscape. My friend said that it was not as crowded as it is now. Then we moved to Notre Dame for a while, and went to Republique to look for a restaurant to dine in. Republique is the location where I stayed in. You will never regret visiting Paris if you look for a place to eat like crazy. 

Buttes-Chaumont Park

Sacre Coeur

Notre Dame with Bosil, my undergrad buddy

I then took a rest in the bnb since my flight was the next day at noon from Orly airport. We took Orly bus as it is the most affordable yet convenient transportation from Paris to Orly. We had a flight to Birmingham, since it is much closer to Coventry than arriving in London. Also, sometimes the flight from and to Birmingham is a lot cheaper than London airports. 

Musee du Louvre

Switzerland

Switzerland in a picture

I was really expecting my trip to Switzerland would be amazing, as it was my intention to visit Meiringen and Lucens, where there are two spots related to Sherlock Holmes to be visited. We took a train from Pisa to Lucern, then continue to Zurich airport. We booked a car to be picked up there, as it is cheaper to book a car from the airport. We then had an overnight as well in Zurich. At first we were shocked by the food price there. It is pretty expensive compared to other countries in the Europe. We stayed in airbnb, and had a stroll in the evening around Zurich city center. Zurich is a lovely place, more to a civilised area in Switzerland.

Reichenbach Fall

In the morning, we went to Meiringen to visit Reichenbach Fall. We were going through such beautiful mountains and lakes during our road-trip, and passed many road-tunnels. As we are currently studying tunnel engineering, we were so excited and nerding around about tunnels during our journey lol. When approaching the area, we went through many steep roads before arriving to the destination. When we arrived in the Reichenbach Fall, we needed to pass also steep walks, before finally seeing the Fall. When we arrived in Reichenbach Fall, there lies also beautiful Swiss alps, yet we were pleased by the scenery and fresh air there. Just for your information, Reichenbach Fall is a tale place where Sherlock Holmes defeated Moriarty and survived. 

Reichenbach Funicular

Serlock Holmes museum, Meiringen

We also took Reichenbach funicular from car park to the fall, and then visited Sherlock Holmes museum near the area. It will take approx 1-2km away from the fall to the museum. Don't worry, it is not that far as you can enjoy beautiful scenery of mountains and lakes during your walk lol. The area is also well-arranged for Sherlock Holmes tour as there are many hotels and restaurants with Sherlock-esque ambience. When arriving in the museum, there will be a huge statue of him in front of the place, and there are useful information along the walk from the statue to the museum. The museum is not quite big. It is located on the basement, equipped with electronic information through personal earphone, which is not available in London's museum. You can also buy some souvenirs there, and have a meal outside the museum as there is a restaurant named Conan Doyle Place. The museum itself is open at 1 pm. The museum ticket is already included if you buy the package on Reichenbach Funicular (and is very cheap).

Meiringen Area

Sherlock Holmes museum, Lucens

We then got to our car, continuing our journey to Lucens. We intended to visit the other Sherlock Holmes museum in Switzerland there, but unfortunately it was close when we arrived. We just took some photos of the museum, and then we decided to visit the nearest lake to had a rest. We finally visited lake Gruyere, about one hour from our next stay. We instantly sunbathing after seeing many people also swam and had picnic lol. We could not help the fresh lake water and also did swim there. After spending more than an hour in lake, we then finally finished our journey in Switzerland and had a stay in Romont area. Surprisingly, this is the best journey we ever had in our eurotrip, as we were satisfied by the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains, no pollution, and experiencing one of the best road-tunnels in Europe. We would definitely visit again if we had the chance.

Pisa and Cinque Terre

Leaning Tower Area

Our travel journey continued to Pisa, Italy. To be honest, we only wanted to visit Leaning Tower of Pisa lol. We took a bus to visit the tower, with 24-hour transport ticket. It was quite surprising knowing that the leaning tower is not really crowded compared to other tourist attractions in Italy. The area has 3 main buildings, with 2 cathedrals within the area as well as the tower. It was still too early to go home, then we decided to have a visit to Cinque Terre instead. What an impulsive decision hahah. We consider this place as it's only 1-2 hours journey from Pisa to Cinque Terre, and also the day was long as it was still summer.

Aesthetic wall at Riomaggiore

We took a train to La Spezia, and then bought a day ticket for exploring Cinque Terre. The ticket also includes free wi-fi on each train station within the area, also free toilet service. This region comprises of 5 areas with its own uniqueness. The first area is Riomaggiore. This is the closest area from La Spezia. When you arrived, you'll have to follow a pedestrian tunnel that will direct you to the beach. There will be beautiful colourful houses along the beach, and you can also swim or sunbath in this area. The second area is Manarola. For me, this is the best area to enjoy Cinque Terre's beautiful houses as it has cleaner area and more beautiful landscape. I spent more time here other than 4 areas in Cinque Terre. This could be a redemption as I failed to visit Santorini heheh.

Typical pedestrian tunnal

Manarola

The third area is Corniglia. This spot is mainly just beach, but you can still enjoy its beauty. When you got to Cinque Terre, make sure you visit all the 5 areas for complete pleasure. Toilet is available at the train station of each area. The forth one is Vernazza. This place also has beautiful scenery to be enjoyed. This is the second area I love the most after Manarola, as it has beautiful colourful boats along the shore. When you visit one of the areas in Cinque Terre, have a sit and buy their local food there. It will be more relaxing to have meals while enjoying the sun. The last one is Monterossio al Mare. This spot has the most beautiful beach compared to other places in Cinque Terre. This is the best spot for swimming as well as sunbathing. However, the beach is pretty crowded but the water is pretty clear and the sand is also white yet tempting. What I love the most about Cinque Terre is, the spot of the attraction is only within walking distance from the train station. Therefore, you don't need to give big effort on climbing or such. If you wanna save more money, you can always have McDonalds at La Spezia train station (like we did for breakfasting). We only spent one whole day to enjoy Cinque Terre, but it's totally worth it.

Vernazza

Monterosso al Mare

Florence, Italy

Typical architecture in Florence

Florence, or mostly known by the locals as Firenze, is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. It is on Tuscany, the northern part of Italy. It has more beautiful yet cleaner area compared to Venice or Rome. Actually it was by accident we eventually had to visit Florence. We missed our flight to Santorini when we were in Rome, so we went straight to Florence before going to Pisa on the next journey. Actually I didn't know where to go when in Florence but then I relied on tripadvisor to visit the city.

Santa Maria Cathedral

Piazza del Duomo

Most of the main attractions in Florence are located in City Center. There are many architectural and historical buildings along the route from hotel to city center. We visited them one by one. We just noticed that there many statues of Michelangelo and David here in Florence. When we arrived in city center, we were amazed by the wonderful architecture of historical buildings there. We visited Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, on Piazza del Duomo. We queued on the line, and went inside the Cathedral. We then strolled around Florence and my partner stopped by to buy gelato. It was tempting enough for me who fasted that day. I also visited Merkato Centrale, a central market that mostly sells everything made from leather. You should buy bags or wallet here if you had spare on your luggage.

Inside the Cathedral

Firenze Sinagoge

We had no idea anymore then we attempted to visit Sinagoga di Firenze e Museo ebraico. It was a sinagoge, a place for Jewish to pray as well as a museum. Since we were already exhausted, we then decided to go home and took a rest. However, I still craved for a gelato, so when I had iftar, I stopped by to a gelateria near the accommodation. As you may already know, gelateria and pizzeria are always within walking distance in this country.

Rome, Italy (plus Vatican)

Coloseum

After spending two days in Venice, we headed to Rome by bus. It took very long journey as Rome is in the southern part of Italy while Venice is in a bit north. When we arrived in Rome, it was already night and dark so we stopped by at a pizzeria nearby to have iftar. We then bought travel ticket for 2 days, and went straight to the bnb.

Roman Forum

Pantheon

Ruins are everywhere in this city

Our journey starts in the morning where we were gonna visit Coloseum. We took a bus to be there, though people actually prefer a tour bus to travel within Rome. When we got there, I was kinda surprised by the crowd. It was such a crowded place where people selling drinks and everything within every one step you take. It was like a traditional market, I say. We then went to Roman Forum, a place nearby Coloseum where the ruins of Rome are still preserved. Since many place can't be entered if you don't pay the entry ticket, we decided just to have a stroll and took pictures around them. Moreover, it was super sunny summer day yet I still have to fast during the day so I wanted to walk less. We then moved to Pantheon, a historical place in Rome. I also got tempted during my visit in Italy as gelateria is everywhere. I love gelato so much, but not ice cream. That's two different things tho! I also had to buy a new simcard there, as my simcard was blocked previously due to calling Agoda call center to complain about my booking.

Vatican City

We also went to Vatican city, where it is a sacred place for Catholics to visit. Unlike Rome, Vatican is a bit cleaner since it is a very small city within Rome. We saw the lining to enter the Cathedral in Vatican was very long, thus we decided not to come in as the day was super duper hot! (it is free of charge tho). We then just strolled around and stopped by to McDonalds to buy foods for breakfasting (iftar) to be eaten at home. We then spent one more night in Rome to continue our journey the next day.