Reflecting on my travels around Europe
The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 final would have taken place tonight in Rotterdam, following the Netherlands’ victory last year with the song ‘Arcade’ performed by Duncan Laurence. Unfortunately, this year’s contest has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have to admit that Eurovision is my guilty pleasure and an annual event that I am very excited about and always looking forward to. So, understandably, I was rather disappointed when I learned that it wouldn’t be held this year. To mark the occasion, however, I’ve decided to embark on a mental journey and reflect on my travels around Europe.
Having been born and raised in Greece, and being a UK resident (now a citizen) since my early 20s, I am most certainly a European. So far, I have only been in 19 (including Greece and the UK) out of the 44 European countries (according to the United Nations). Many also include Cyprus, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan in Europe (rather than in Asia), as well as Kosovo (not yet recognized by the UN), raising the total number of European countries to 50.
I have always been fascinated by geography (as well as actual traveling) and I remember a time when this figure was much lower. It appears that it tends to increase every few years, as the Europeans seem to prefer division and fragmentation to union (despite the fact that the number of EU countries has more than doubled during my lifetime). Brexit, the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, is, of course, the most recent example of this European characteristic. But, I’m not going to discuss geopolitics, even though I could go on about modern-day balkanization all the way to the numerous city-states in Ancient Greece.
My travels around Europe
Instead, I am going to reflect on my travels around Europe, share cherished memories, photos, tips and recommendations, and pay tribute to the 20 countries (including Turkey) that I’ve been to. The soundtrack will feature mostly classical music by my favorite composer from each country, but played by musicians or orchestras from elsewhere in Europe. There’s also a bit of jazz and Eurovision in the mix. I’m starting this mental journey from the country where I was born and grew up, Greece.
Greece
I was born and raised in the country’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki. Although my hometown is much less famous than Athens, it has, nonetheless, a rich history dating back to the Ancient Greeks. Nowadays, it is a vibrant city and is often considered the culinary capital of Greece. It is also the gateway to Halkidiki, a popular summer destination for Greeks and foreign tourists, as well as to the autonomous monastic state of Mount Athos, where only males are allowed to enter. Last but not least, Thessaloniki is home to an international film festival that takes place every November.
My favorite time to visit Greece, however, is the summer. The reason? This is when the Greek islands (my favorite part of the country) come alive! If you now ask me which island is my favorite, I may struggle to answer, as I love them all the same. Skyros, nonetheless, is always the first to come to mind. I have to admit that I am somewhat biased, as this is my late grandfather’s home island; not only I have precious memories of spending my early childhood summers there, I also have beloved relatives still living on the island.
To read my tips for the Greek islands, check out my post ‘9+1 Greek islands to visit this summer‘.
France
When I was little, I used to travel abroad every year in the summer. Sometimes, this would be a family holiday (usually to an exotic faraway destination); other times it would only be my grandmother and me on a plane to Europe. In fact, it was thanks to my beloved grandma that I fell in love with Europe; by the age of 18, we had been to nine European countries (outside of Greece) together.
France was the first. As a 10-year-old, I was so excited about our trip to Paris that I still remember the anticipation I felt during the days leading up to it. Although Disneyland Paris, formerly known as Euro Disney, was the jewel in the crown, visiting the Palace of Versailles, the Eiffel Tower and the Notre-Dame are also memories that I will cherish forever. Looking back at that trip to Paris now, I may not remember exactly how many roller coaster rides we went, but I still remember how deeply impressed I was by the beauty of the Parisian landmarks and the grandeur of the French capital. What brings a smile to my face, however, is nothing else but my grandma’s slip of the tongue when she said we were going to Eurovision.
Since then, I have been to Paris quite a few times (I think at least half a dozen), and even more times in France. If I’m not mistaken, the last time was several years ago, when I had the chance to catch up with my friend Jeanne who lives there; this was before the fire that severely damaged the Notre Dame. This year, I’ve been lucky to have visited France twice: Nantes in the winter, and Megève in March right before the lockdown.
Check out my posts ‘Top 7 tips for an unforgettable weekend in Nantes‘ and ‘Megève: Ski, après-ski & jazz‘.
Denmark
A few years after our trip to Paris, my grandmother took me on a 10-day coach trip to Scandinavia. We first flew from Thessaloniki to Copenhagen, but we only stayed in Denmark for less than 24 hours, before taking the ferry to Oslo. In the last few years, however, I have visited Copenhagen several times. On the one hand, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the protagonists of the Danish TV series ‘The Bridge’ (‘Bron/Broen’) (actually a Danish-Swedish co-production), ‘The Killing’ (‘Forbrydelsen’), and ‘Borgen’. On the other hand, I wanted to experience hygge. I remember walking (a lot) around the city and rather than focus on the must-sees and the must-visits, I ventured out of the city center to the adjacent neighborhoods (mostly Vesterbro and Nørrebro). Foodie as I am, I came across some great -usually candlelit- places to eat (and drink).
To read my tips for the Danish capital, check out my recently-published post ‘A hyggelig weekend in Copenhagen’.
Norway
It is hardly a secret that Norway is one of my favorite countries in Europe (as well as in the world). My love affair with this Scandinavian country dates back to my early childhood. I must have been about six when I became interested in maps, geography, and the countries of the world. Soon afterward, my aunt traveled to Norway (admittedly without me). Amongst the presents she brought back was a jigsaw puzzle of a map of the Nordic countries.
I had to wait for a few years until I finally visited four of these five countries, and the one I liked the most was – you guessed right: Norway. I remember I vouched to return and stay (not for long, but for longer than a few days). In my young mind, I pictured myself coming back on my own and renting a cabin (a hytte) somewhere on the Norwegian mountains halfway between Oslo and Bergen. It was many years later that I realized that my very own Norwegian dream was, in fact, the Norwegian dream (of the Norwegians that is).
Two summers ago, I planned a trip to Norway with a few friends of mine; our itinerary included Oslo, Bergen and Ålesund. Disappointed I realized we did not have enough days to visit Trondheim too. Upon my return, however, I found out there was a direct flight from London to Trondheim. And then, I read about the jazz festivals taking place all over Norway from late spring till the end of summer. Trondheim Jazz Festival, which takes place in May, was just the excuse I needed to visit the third-largest Norwegian city.
My most recent trip to Norway was before last Christmas, when I visited Tromsø, a city located 350km north of the Arctic Circle. The main reason for that trip was to experience the Northern Lights.
Check out my posts ‘20 Music Festivals in Norway in 2020‘ and ‘Fjords & Jazz: Explore Norway in 9 days‘.
Sweden
Quite a few years after my coach trip to Scandinavia, my interest for this European region rekindled mostly thanks to the Nordic Noir crime novels and TV series. It all started with the Swedish Stieg Larsson and the three girls, and has continued with books about hygge and then lagom. Defined by Lola Åkerström as ‘a way of living that promotes happiness and celebrates fairness, moderation and being satisfied with what you’ve got’, lagom reflects the Swedish values. It was only a matter of time before I returned to Stockholm, a fascinating city sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North, or the Venice of Scandinavia.
To read my tips for the Swedish capital, check out my post ‘Stockholm Syndrome & 7 tips for Stockholm‘.
Finland
According to the United Nations World Happiness Report, which was published earlier this year, Finland is the happiest country in the world (for the third consecutive year), followed closely by Denmark (the happiest 4 years ago), Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway (the happiest 3 years ago). The report is based on a number of variables, such as real GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
With Finland being the happiest country, it comes as little surprise that Helsinki is the happiest city in the world. The Finnish capital was the final stop in my childhood coach trip, and that was also the last time I’ve been in this Nordic country. At this point, I would like to correct a common misconception; strictly speaking, Finland is not part of Scandinavia. However, it is one of the five Nordic countries, of which Iceland is the one only that I am yet to visit.
Check out my post ‘Finland and the World Happiness Report‘.
Austria
Even though Helsinki is the happiest city in the world, according to the annual Mercer Quality of Living survey, Vienna is the best city to live in – for the tenth year running. Meanwhile, according to the UN World Happiness Report, Austria is in the ninth place on the list of the happiest countries in the world.
But Vienna is not only the best city to live in; it is also a great travel destination, ideal for a weekend break. Personally, when I think of the capital of Austria, three things spring to my mind: (classical) music, psychotherapy, and coffee. So far, I have visited Vienna four times, the first being shortly after my coach trip to Scandinavia (and Finland). It was during my third and fourth time, that I visited the apartment where Mozart lived between 1784 and 1787 (known as Mozart Haus), the Sigmund Freud Museum (where the renowned Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis lived and worked for 47 years), and some of the coffee houses the city is famous for. My favorite is Café Central, where I had the ‘Sisi’s Favorite’, rum pastry with apricot jam.
To read more tips for Vienna, check out my posts ‘Vienna: Music, Psychotherapy & Coffee‘ and ‘Vienna: Search for Meaning & the Mozart Effect’.
Hungary
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was formed in 1867, and was dissolved half a century later following the First World War. This multi-national state was the second-largest country in Europe, and included not only Austria and Hungary, but also parts of the modern-day Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Italy.
A couple of years after my first trip to Austria, my grandmother took me on another trip to that part of Europe to visit Hungary and the Czech Republic. We first flew to Budapest, and from there we continued to Prague.
The Hungarian capital is bisected by the River Danube. In fact, Budapest is the result of a 19th-century merger between two cities: the hilly Buda, on the western bank of the river, and the flat Pest, on the opposite. Constructed in the middle of the 19th-century, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge now connects the two halves of the unified city.
Czech Republic
A few years after my first trip to Prague, I returned to spend a whole month in the Czech capital. I was a 19-year-old medical student at the time, far more interested in traveling and spending time abroad than conducting biomedical experiments in a hospital lab (which was the purpose of my visit). During that month, I met other students from all over the world and made some great friends, with whom I explored Prague and traveled to other nearby cities, both within the Czech Republic and in the neighboring countries. We visited Karlovy Vary, a spa town in western Bohemia, at the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, as well as Brno, the second-largest Czech city, located in South Moravia, at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers.
Since Prague is only a few hours away from Berlin (a 5-hour coach journey), we also decided to visit the German capital for a weekend.
Germany
Since that weekend in Berlin, I have been back to the German capital several times to visit a good friend of mine living there at the time. Since a lot of my friends have moved to Germany, I’ve had the perfect excuse to travel to the most populous member state of the European Union, and second-most populous country in Europe (after Russia). So far, I have visited Munich (München), the capital of Bavaria (in South-eastern Germany), Cologne (Köln), the largest city of Germany’s most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Stuttgart and Freiburg im Breisgau, both in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and Göttingen, a university city in Lower Saxony. I hope the travel restrictions lift soon, so I can visit Germany again – my next stops will be Dortmund and Stuttgart (once again) to visit my friends Elsa and Fofi respectively.
The Netherlands
The following summer after my month in Prague (and my first weekend in Berlin), I visited Amsterdam. I stayed there for a total of six weeks, this time actually conducting medical research in a hospital lab. Despite my newly-found commitment to science, however, I remained committed to my love for traveling, and explored not only the Dutch capital, but also other Dutch (as well as Belgian) cities.
When I found out that the Eurovision Song Contest would be hosted in Rotterdam this year, I decided it was about time to be in the crowd rather than watch the contest on TV. Unfortunately, COVID-19 came and canceled both my plan and the contest itself. This is the first time in Eurovision’s 64-year history that it has been canceled, and will hopefully be the last. At present, it looks likely that the 2021 contest will still be hosted in Europe’s largest seaport, but nothing is confirmed yet.
Belgium
During the summer I spend in Amsterdam, I went on several day trips to neighboring Belgium. I particularly enjoyed the few hours I spend in the Flemish city of Bruges, where I returned for an overnight stay many years later. I’ve recently discovered that there is an annual jazz festival taking place in Bruges; Jazz Brugge is due from 13 to 15 November 2020. Perhaps a good opportunity for a third visit!
Italy
I admit that Italy is one of my favorite countries in Europe and in the world. The mouth-watering food, the Mediterranean climate and the beauty of the Italian cities are amongst the many reasons why I am so in love with this boot-shaped European country.
Over the years, I have been to Italy many times, and I recently promised myself I’d try to visit at least once a year, even for only a long weekend. Not long enough to improve my rusty Italian, but sufficient for a shakerato (iced coffee served in a martini glass, prepared by shaking together a shot of espresso with ice cubes and syrup), an Aperol spritz and a gelato. Unfortunately, it looks unlikely that I travel to Italy (or anywhere else for that matter) this summer, so I will simply find solace in my memories from my last year’s trip to the Eternal City.
Check out my posts ‘Summer in Rome: top 7 tips‘, ‘Summer in Florence: top 7 tips‘ and ‘Summer in Verona: top 7 tips‘.
Vatican City
The Vatican City, an independent country as well as the smallest in the world, is located in the heart of the Italian capital. It is the official residence of the Pope, and home of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also home to a population of about 1,000, as well as to a number of museums and ecclesiastical buildings. Of those, St Peter’s Basilica and the Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel) are the most visited. The latter is famous for its paintings and frescoes, and in particular Michelangelo’s Last Judgement. Overall, the Vatican houses the world’s largest art collection, with over 60,000 works (including works by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini).
Spain
My friend Alba, whom I first met in Prague, lives in Barcelona, on the coast of northeastern Spain. So far, I have visited Alba and the capital of Catalonia twice, whilst I’ve been to Spain four times in total (I’ve also been to the southern region of Andalusia and the Balearic island of Ibiza). Next on my list of places to visit are Madrid as well as the northern part of the country.
In fact, I’ve recently found out about the San Sebastián International Film Festival, a renowned festival held in the city of Donostia (also known as San Sebastián), in the Basque Country. This year, it is scheduled to take place from 18 to 26 September. Had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, I might have already bought my tickets. Even though the festival has not been canceled, I think I will probably wait for another year to attend.
Monaco
A few years ago, I traveled to the French and the Italian Riviera. My journey started in Nice on the south coast of France and from there I continued to Liguria and the northwestern coast of Italy all the way to Genoa and the picture-perfect Cinque Terre. On my way from Nice towards Italy, I stopped at Monaco, the second-smallest country in the world after the Vatican City. I only stayed there for a few hours before I continued to the French town of Menton. With a population of almost 40,000 inhabitants, Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world. Located 13 km east of Nice, the principality borders only France, yet Italy is just 15 km away. The country’s coastline is less than 4 km, which makes it the world’s shortest coastline.
Switzerland
Although I have been to Switzerland quite a few times, I have never spent the night there. This land-locked country often serves as the gateway to the French ski resorts (in fact, some resorts are so close that most overseas visitors fly to Geneva and then cross the border into France) or to the German city of Freiburg. Switzerland may be most famous for chocolate, watches and army knives, but it is also home to quite a few jazz festivals that I would like to attend someday.
Officially supported by the City of New Orleans, Ascona Jazz Festival takes place in Ascona, a beautiful town lying on the Swiss shores of Lake Maggiore in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. All the concerts are open-air and the admission costs CHF 20 (£16-17). This year, it was scheduled from 25 June to 4 July, but has now been canceled.
Lugano Estival Jazz is a free-to-attend jazz festival, scheduled from 9 to 11 July. All the concerts are open-air and take place in Piazza della Riforma, in Lugano. Lying on the shore of the lake of the same name, Lugano is the ninth-largest town in Switzerland, as well as the largest in Ticino.
Last but not least, the Montreux Jazz Festival is held annually in early July in Montreux, a town lying on the shores of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It is the second-largest annual jazz festival in the world (after the Montreal International Jazz Festival). Unfortunately, it has been canceled this year.
Turkey
Apparently, I was far from the only medical student who repeatedly took advantage of the opportunity to travel and study abroad. My friend Maria, however, preferred the warmer countries of Portugal and Turkey, whilst I opted for the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and later the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, I did not manage to visit her in Porto, and up to this day I am still to set foot in Portugal. I did, nonetheless, visit her in Istanbul.
After a 15-hour coach trip from Thessaloniki, I arrived in one of the busiest and most vibrant cities I’ve ever been to. I only stayed there for a weekend, which was certainly not enough to explore the largest city in Europe. Once known as Byzantium and more recently as Constantinople, Istanbul is actually a transcontinental city; the Bosphorus strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean, also separates the city into its European and Asian sides. The former is home to Istanbul’s commercial and historical center, whilst the latter is home to about a third of the city’s 15 million inhabitants.
Ireland
Even though I’ve lived in the UK for 12 years now, I have only visited neighboring Ireland only once. This was to attend a medical conference in Sligo, a coastal town in the west of Ireland (but in the northwest of the Republic of Ireland). To get there, I flew to Dublin, where I spent a few hours before taking the train to Sligo (the journey from the Irish capital to Sligo takes about 3 hours). Sligo has a strong connection to music, arts and literature. The renowned Irish poet W.B. Yeats spent his childhood summer holidays there, whereas several members of the Irish boyband Westlife were born in Sligo.
United Kingdom
I first visited London and the UK when I was in my teens (you guessed right: with my grandmother, as well as with my mother). A few years later, I spent a semester studying in Cardiff, in Wales, and this was when I decided to move to the UK once I’d graduate from medical school. Having lived in West Yorkshire for over 8 years, I moved to London about 3 years ago. The British capital is my favorite city in the world, and I am glad that I can now call it home. Not only is London a very beautiful city, but it is also full of interesting places to visit and explore. In fact, one of the things I absolutely adore about London is the abundance of cultural events taking place here.
To get an idea about the cultural events and festivals in London, check out my post ‘20 Festivals in London in 2020‘.
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Keep well and stay safe!
Alex
(the London-based Traveling Psychiatrist)