#145 Brussels, Belgium

I spent a lovely 24 hours in Brussels, which I found was more than enough time to see all the main sights in the city. 

I started the day with a free walking tour, which took me around all the sights and gave me a brief history of the city. Although I didn't particularly like the tour guide I still enjoyed the tour and being brought around the city, and would recommend it as a good way to see the all the sights if you only have a short time. 

 
Belgian WafflesBelgian Beer 
Transport 
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After the tour I had lunch, then revisited some of the main areas again so I could get more photos and soak in the atmosphere a bit more. Of course the main attractions are the Grand Place (the big colourful square) and the Mannequin Pis (the tiny statue of the boy peeing), both within a moments walking distance of each other. 

The most popular places for lunch would be the many places that sell French fries, of course the fries being a Belgian invention that was introduced to Americans by some French speaking Belgians (hence the confusion of the name, although in Ireland we just call them chips).  

Weather

Being mid-May the weather was glorious and got as hot as 27 degrees, although I had heard that it usually rains a lot in Belgium and had rained for a few days before my visit. To beat the heat I treated myself to a visit to one of the many gelato places in the city centre, they all seemed to have similar prices and flavours. 

Belgian Waffles

As for the waffles - I have a confession. I didn't really like them!! I absolutely love sweet things and had been drooling over photos of Belgian waffles on Instagram in the days before my trip. However I had two - one was plain and I thought it a bit stale tasting, and the other was covered in strawberries and cream from an eatery in Bruges (which is apparently the best), and while it was definitely fresh I still found it very heavy and a bit chewy, not what I was expecting. My sister has a waffle maker in her house and I much prefer the light and fluffy ones we make, sorry Belgium! 

After a return to my hostel for a shower I headed out again to the Parlementarium, the interactive exhibit about the European Union, which is of course based in Brussels. They provide free audio guide devices with little screens which you can use to interact with the many exhibits. I was tired and honestly skipped through a lot of it but it's a modern and interesting facility nonetheless and would be a good place to visit while the weather is very hot in the afternoon. 

Belgian Beer and Belgian Chocolate

Of course Belgium is also very famous for its beers and there are many bars and restaurants with plenty of space to sit and relax outside, a cold beer in hand. One of the most famous bars in Brussels is Delirium Village, a complex of about four or five different bars ranging from tequila bars to beer, based on the famous Delirium beer, a very strong beer with a pink elephant logo.

There are also many chocolate shops, however you will find that many are for example Leonidas or Godiva and are the same as you can get in these chain stores in your home country, or are tourist traps selling very poor quality chocolate in boxes from China that say "Belgium" on them. It can be difficult to try find a genuine chocolate shop!

Transport

In terms of transport, most of the main sights are within walking distance of each other, but there is a metro, bus and train available. During my visit to Belgium I also went to Bruges, which is just over one hour away by train, so very closeby. You can also get trains to countries like the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

#129 Hamamatsu, Japan

Hamamatsu is a city on the Shinkansen line about halfway between Tokyo and Osaka.

Ieyasu Kun at Hamamatsu Castle

It has a population of about 800,000 people. It is home to Japan's cutest mascot Ieyasu-Kun, and is famous for it's japanese eel unagi.

There are a number of attractions in Hamamatsu, the most apparent being the only skyscraper in Shizuoka Prefecture, Act Tower. For a small fee of around 500yen you can get a great view of all of Hamamatsu from the top.

Hamamatsu has a small castle, which was built by the famous shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa (who also inspired Ieyasu-kun!).

Hamamatsu is also sometimes known as the City of Music, and is home to the Yamaha world headquarters as well as a music museum.

However, most of the attractions are near a big lake called Hamana-ko.

About a one hour bus ride from the city, you can find many attractions such as Hamamatsu City Zoo, Flower Park, Kanzanji Onsen (hot spring), an amusement park, cablecar and boat rides.

One of the best times to visit would be during the Hamamatsu Festivall, which is held during Golden Week every year. There, at Nakatajima sand dunes, you can find different neighbourhoods take part in kite battles in the sky!

Hamamatsu has many hotels, so it is convenient as a hub for visiting other places in Western Shizuoka such as Kakegawa which has a castle and bird park, Kikugawa which is famous for it's green tea fields and Iwata which is home to the EcoPa stadium which hosts music concerts and sporting events.

Access

The Shinkansen from Tokyo takes either 1.5/2 hours and costs 7,700 for an unreserved seat. There is also a 4 hour highway bus from Shibuya/Shinjuku for 3,800 one way or 6,700 return.
From Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport it's about a 2 hour direct bus for 3,200.
From Osaka it's either 1.5/2 hours and 8,400 for an unreserved seat.

View of Hamamatsu city from Act Tower

#121 Kyoto March 2016 Cherry Blossom

So I already visited Kyoto a few months back in September 2015. It was during Japanese public holidays so of course it was very crowded, but I figured I would probably go back again sometime before I left Japan.

In March 2016 I returned to Kyoto, in time for cherry blossom season (but too early for full bloom!). I honestly don't really get the whole sakura obsession Japan goes through, complete with sakura flavoured foods and drinks. I mean they look nice but.... I'm not going to eat a daffodil or a rose, so why would I want to eat a cherry blossom? Anyway, back to Kyoto!

Since it was cherry blossom season and a weekend, it was again pretty busy. In fact, I'm not really sure when you could visit Kyoto that it wouldn't be busy. The cherry blossoms weren’t even out yet; there was maybe like one or two trees starting to bloom wherever we went, so obviously these were very crowded. The advantage was there were tons of young women in kimono coming to take photos with their friends, so there were ample opportunities to take some sly photos of them (but if you want a photo of their faces you should always ask permission first!).

If you’re planning on coming to Japan to see cherry blossoms my recommendation is: don’t. It’s hard to plan for (unless you’re planning on coming for a month) and will ultimately lead to disappointment if there’s only one tree in bloom by the time you leave, or all the leaves are blowing off. If you insist on coming I would definitely recommend the JR Pass. The unlimited travel included in the price means you can travel further for free, for example if the only ones blooming are far North or South, as these could be otherwise very expensive to get to.

As for the season and timing, it was bad since the cherry blossoms weren’t really blooming and most of the other vegetation was also still kinda dead. Especially at Kiyomizu dera (the big temple on the hill) the surrounding trees and nature below looked brown and awful in comparison to when I visited in September. The weather was also very changeable, one minute hot and the next cold which meant we were constantly taking on and off our jackets. I think skipping the cherry blossom crowds and coming later in around April/May would be better, as the weather’s usually quite warm and there is more vegetation. (However if you’re coming in May beware of Golden Week, the biggest public holiday in Japan held start of May).

Again the public transport was annoying...especially on weekends and during rush hour on weekdays you’ll find yourself standing on a crowded bus stuck in stationary traffic. The bus route from Kinkakuji (the gold temple) is probably the worst as it’s often very busy and takes a long time in traffic to get to the station. Also, the area of Arashiyama (the bamboo forest) is awkward to access, it means getting a long subway and then walking for around 15mins (there is also some kind of bus option – but in my experience the buses always run late so avoid if possible, which in Kyoto is difficult). Despite the somewhat inconvenient public transport, taxis in Japan are very expensive and I wouldn’t recommend one either. My best advice is to allow plenty of time and just laugh at the experience of being wedged in public transport in Japan. Other than that there are some bicycle rentals which could be useful as long as it’s not too hot or too cold.

I also took another day trip to Nara and the deer park. I noticed this time that the train from Kyoto to Nara passes through Uji, which is famous around Japan for its green tea, so I’m sure there are some things to do around there too. The direct train is very convenient, but Nara Park is about 20min walk from the station when you arrive so it would probably not be a great rainy day activity. The deer park was just as magical this time as it was last time, and this time I brought a selfie stick too for that perfect deer photo!

Overall, I still think Kyoto is a worthwhile place to visit. There are many old, odd and interesting things scattered around Japan, but Kyoto has a lot of them all in one small area, which can’t be beat.

#110 Osaka, Japan

I went to Osaka after spending 2 action packed days in Kyoto. My feet were blistering, my legs had turned to jelly and I was exhausted. But I persevered!!

However, if you have time to spare I would recommend scheduling some down time as I felt very rushed (working in Japan = very little vacation time) and I felt I couldn't properly appreciate all of Osaka because I had overdone it in Kyoto.

OK! So would I recommend it? Yes! It's only a short trip from Kyoto (30mins on the local train) so there is no reason why you can't fit it into your visit to Japan.

While Osaka castle is mentioned as one of the main sights, I didn't think it was the most exciting thing ever, and it was also a little awkward to get to. I also thought Shinsekai wasn't as interesting as the internet had led me to believe.

My favourite area was around Namba and Dontonbori - with all the restaurants and flashing neon lights. We also happened upon a flea market at Shitennoji temple, by far the best of what I've seen in Japan - but it only happens on the 21st and 22nd of each month.

#109 Kyoto, Japan

Recently I went on a trip to Kyoto. I was travelling during a big Japanese holiday, which made a lot of things difficult. Obviously I would highly recommend against this - however it was my only time off work so I had no choice but to go then. I still had a good time, but I would strongly advise you to check the Japanese calendar before you plan a trip, as it is very busy, and trying to get photos or linger in one place is tricky surrounded by crowds (but still very safe, as always).


Getting There
Since I'm already in Japan, this involved me hopping on a shinkansen (bullet train). It was my first time on it (although I had lived in Tokyo for 4 months before) so it was an exciting day!

Big stops like Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka will have trains that always stop, but the faster trains will skip many smaller stations, so always be sure to check that the train will stop at the station you want before you board.
Kyoto is only 30mins from Osaka by local train so that could be a good location to fly to. While it's easy and quick to get from Tokyo, the bullet train tickets are pretty expensive, at least 10,000yen each way (about €200 round trip). I would also caution people travelling during high season - reserved seats will sell out in advance, and with unreserved seating you could end up standing for 2 hours on a train that cost you €100....



Baggage Storage
Yes, I am giving this it's own heading. Kyoto Station has both lockers and a baggage storage room. Now, there are only a limited number of large lockers that fit big suitcases, and these can be difficult to find and sometimes can be full. Since we stayed in an AirBnB we had no option of leaving our bags and coming back later in the evening, and the lockers were all full, but we did get into baggage storage just in time (they were also full shortly after us). You cannot travel around Kyoto with a suitcase, so please be aware of the storage situation!!


Accommodation
While Kyoto is a big place, it doesn't have the selection of cheap hostels that Tokyo has. There are times when everywhere will book out (check Japanese holidays) and you can bet on the cheapest/highest rated accommodation being booked out on most weekends. I would recommend booking ahead, websites like HostelWorld take only a small 10% deposit so there should be no excuse! We had to use AirBnB because everywhere was sold out, and had a good experience, but I personally would always prefer a hostel.



Sights
Thankfully, most sights were actually free. This includes the treetop KiyoMizu Dera temple and the red gates of Fujimi Inari. The Ginko golden temple you had to pay for, and although it is one of the classic images of Japan I basically just took a photo and left...not so exciting, but one of those things you just have to do I guess.
When we went to Gion it was too busy with crowds to really the street, but we did catch a quick glimpse of a maiko walking down a side street. I could say similar about the Arashiyama bamboo grove...it was too full of people to get a good photo, and also it was disappointing anyway, very small (I think I have more bamboo in my back garden).

#101 London

LONDON!! So just before Christmas I went on a trip to London, and I have only just got around to telling you about it. Sorry!

I went from Ireland and got the bus/boat over - it was cheap and it was good. The ferry was delayed by about 2 hours on the way over (bad weather), but I had two seats to myself on the bus (each way!) and we made regular stops at petrol stations so you could take a smoke break, pee, stretch your legs, grab a coffee etc. For the €53 it cost I can't fault it and would definitely recommend it! (Read more about it here; travelbanter.blogspot.ie/yes-it-is-cheaper-than-flying).

It wasn't my first time in London, but it was the first time as an adult so I could decide what I wanted to do! As you know I had a small budget, and I'm not fond of paying for things, so all of what I did was free! This included Camden markets, Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Tower of London and Tower bridge, British Museum, Harrods, Baker St, Buckingham Palace, Oxford St, Victoria and Albert Museum, looking at Christmas lights etc etc.

In fact, once you get your transport sorted (some form of Oyster card - it's not cheap but it's 100% necessary!) you can actually visit many of the major famous places in London for free. If you're thinking of going inside somewhere, check review sites ahead of your visit, as some of them will give you a good indication if it's overpriced and mediocre.

It being Christmas we also went to Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. And it was wonderful! It was absolutely packed full of people, craft stalls, food stalls and amusement park rides. It really was a winter wonderland, and entry was free which was the best part!

I was lucky with the weather, and the day we decided to do the outdoors sightseeing (Big Ben etc) it was blue skies! I don't think you need a bus tour or to pay in to most things - you can pretty much find all you want to do quite easily once you work out the tube!

 

I cannot remember where this was!

 

British Museum (free!)

Harrods at Christmas

Festive ice skating 

Trafalgar Square

Big Ben

London Eye

Oxford St

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

#97 Budapest, Hungary

Budapest. Cheap, wonderful, exciting! I was really impressed with Budapest (ha, it rhymed!). The Hungarian capital inhabitants weren't the most polite or helpful, and the language is completely unintelligible, but if you get past these minor details it's a wonderful city.

The most famous sight is the Parliament building, located on the banks of the Danube river. You can get a great view of here from Castle Hill and Gellert Hill.

Parliament (view from Castle Hill)

Castle Hill is just absolutely fabulous! It is home to Fisherman's Bastion, a fairytale-esque wall, the colourful Matthias Church, and of course Buda Castle (Fun Fact: the Katy Perry video for 'Firework' was filmed there!). It also has some winding streets with cute cafes and shops. It has a magical atmosphere (even with the hundreds of bus tours and groups) and was a real treat. 
To get there take the 16 or 16A bus from the sloping hill opposite Szell Kalman tér station, it leaves regularly and only takes about 5 minutes. I took the bus, but despite what you hear on the internet I don't think it would be a struggle to walk it.

Fisherman's Bastion

Gellert Hill is less impressive and much smaller in comparison to Castle Hill, but is nice all the same. The main focus is a large 'Lady Liberty' type statue, and it still offers wonderful views of the city. It's not as easy to access, you need to walk up quite a few steps in a park type area to get to the top. It's lined with benches and I found it quite a nice walk, but I noticed some less-fit and elderly were struggling a little towards the top. Some bus tours drive you very close to the top, you only need to walk a short way uphill, no steps or anything involved, and I would reckon is suitable for absolutely everyone.

Gellert Hill

Other sights include the Shoes on the Promenade memorial, which is located very close to the Parliament building. Then there are the baths which are purported to be a 'must-do', but the thoughts of hanging out in our swimwear surrounded by other tourists didn't really appeal to us so we gave it a miss. There was plenty for us to do in the 2 days we spent there without wasting time going for a swim.

For nightlife, your only option is one of the ruin bars. Basically they're all just very hip and indie bars with oddball décor and layouts, with cheap alcohol. We popped into one before dinner and since it was early it was quiet, but it gave us a chance to look around and it did look pretty cool.

There are many cruises along the Danube available, but it would be useful to perhaps book in advance (especially on weekends) as there are hundreds of bus tours who take up quite a lot of space! (Alternatively if you are there for a few days, perhaps go to the office the day before and buy your ticket for the next day). We took a night time cruise, and it was lovely to see the Parliament building and Castle Hill lit up, since we had already seen both during the day.

The currency there is the Hungarian Forint, and 300 forint is about €1. Prices are cheap - a 72 hour travel card is about €13.

We got the train in from Bratislava, but Ryanair fly there too. The train is cheap, so I would recommend a trip to a neighbouring country since you're in the 'hood (Slovakia or Austria are probably the closest).

Panorama

Parliament by night

Budapest and the Danube from Gellert Hill

Parliament

Shoes on the Promenade memorial

Instant - ruin bar

#96 Vienna, Austria

Vienna is the capital city of Austria, a country most famous for 'The Sound of Music' and bearded woman/Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst.

The main sights are the three palaces - Schonbrunn, Belvedere and Hofburg. You can also see other impressive buildings including the Rathaus, St Stephens Cathedral and the Opera House. There are many impressive shopping streets, the most famous being Kärntner Straße (near the cathedral) and Mariahilfer Straße (near the Museums Quartier). 

There is the Naschmarkt, an outdoor market where you can sample both local and international foods. There is a big zoo (where you can see Giant Pandas!) but prices are a little expensive so I gave it a miss. You can also get standing tickets for the Opera for under €10, but you have to queue early to be sure you get one. In terms of transport, I would recommend to get either the 24, 48 or 72 hour ticket (prices from around €7 to €17). 

It uses the Euro which is convenient, but it is more expensive than nearby countries like Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. It is centrally located and really easy to hop on a train and get a cheap ticket to many of its neighbouring countries, which is always a positive. 

Ryanair don't fly to Vienna - but don't worry as they do fly to Bratislava in neighbouring Slovakia, which is only one hour away by train. 

I wasn't a huge fan of Vienna. It was nice, it was pretty, it was clean, it was efficient, the weather was great - but for me something didn't click. Perhaps it was a little safe, nothing made me gasp in awe and wonder. It was nice but for me it just wasn't amazing.

Schönbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Gardens

Buildings at the Naschmarkt

Vienna Opera House

 Kärntner Straße

Hofburg Palace

Vienna Rathaus

Prater Ferris Wheel

#94 Bratislava, Slovakia

Sometimes known as the 'little big city', Bratislava is definitely little. As regarding tourism, it has enough to keep you busy for a weekend, but not much more than that. It's just an hour train ride away from Vienna, and less than 3 hours from Budapest, so it's a good stopover on the road to somewhere else.

The positives: cheap, centrally located, different.
The negatives: A bit too small, not very tourist friendly

Bratislava, or even Slovakia, aren't usually the top of everyone's holiday list, so it's a bit different and special to say you were there. It's a cheap country, and even when you are getting ripped off in restaurants it's still far cheaper than the equivalent in Ireland.

The main attractions in the city are all quite centrally located so can be walked to, or alternatively you can grab a bus. What are the main attractions? There's an old town, although much smaller than the likes of Stockholm. In it you can find a blue Church, a castle on a hill, a palace, a fountain in a little square, and a few other buildings of mild interest or significance.
Just a few minutes outside the city centre there's a good sized zoo (and Dinosaur park!) which is very cheap and a good idea for a day out with children. There's a monument on a hill (Slavín) which is purported to give good views (but I just wasn't bothered trying to get there), and there's also another castle (in ruins).

View from the above castle

The negatives; It was a bit small, but due to it's close proximity to other cities that can be easily forgiven. My biggest shock was the general rudeness of people I met. As an Irish person I get hit with the "Oh Irish people are so friendly" thing all the time, but after visiting Slovakia it does make me wonder that what I had always considered as basic manners is regarded as something special. It could have been the language barrier - but let's face it, Slovak isn't exactly Spanish or a language that can be practically learned or used widely, so I don't think I should be blamed for not knowing it.

Overall, for the value it was great. I wouldn't recommend going solely to here - to make it worth your while you should avail of the cheap trains to nearby Vienna (€13 return) or Budapest (€20 return).