of the road trip..

i’ve just got home from a two-week road trip around europe covering germany, czech, austria, switzerland, france and the netherlands..it gets very tiring moving from one country to another but the time are very well spent..i wouldn’t be sharing much of my travel experiences but i’m gonna share some useful lessons i learn from this super amazing trip..

1) having a clean, nice and comfortable hotel room really helps your mind and body to rest after a long journey..cleanliness helps you to stay healthy (other than food) throughout the journey and trust me this is very crucial in a much anticipated trip as you don’t want to ruin the trip by catching up with cold or getting sick from the bed bugs..secondly, a well ventilated room helps you with the laundry..you don’t want to be carrying too many clothes that will either add up your luggages or needing you to bring along huge luggage that will slow down your mobility..hence, a nice hotel room with a private bathroom and well ventilated room allows you to do some washings of your socks, underwears, light t-shirts, shawls etc and therefore, allows you to re-use the clothes..thus, extra luggages are needless..travel light is also highly possible..

2) oh i’m not done with the importance of having a proper accommodations for your trip..some budget accommodations are cheap for a reason..that you will have to pay extra for the linens, towels, toiletries etc..and therefore there’s a need for you to use some space in your luggage for such necessities..i think you’ll get much peace of mind if you don’t have to worry about bringing your own towels, blanket etc and keep them smelly throughout the journey because you can rarely dry them before packing them again..if you leave it to the hotel room, they change the towels and linens every day and again, more space in your luggage!

3) some sense of responsibility and courtesy are highly needed..when you’re the one not driving and you’re as physically able as your driving friend, it’s good and helpful if you can keep awake throughout the journey and create conversations to keep the driver awake and sane..sometimes GPS drives you lost and therefore, leaving it all up to the driver wouldn’t be helpful or beneficial to anyone of you as it will involve more cost for fuel and it will consume a lot of emotional tensions..

4) communicate the goals and intentions of the trip..therefore none of your wants will be disappointed..it’s important too that you do not create a rigid rule such that everyone must go to the same place at the same time within the same time allocation..come on, everyone has different needs and being too rigid with movements will only burn the excitement of group traveling..

5) understand your partner and control your material wants..you see some of us travel because we have the chance to and not necessarily fully capable in terms of financial allocations..things offered in some places might look flashy and shiny and highly tempting..if you keep desiring to getting more when you know you cannot afford spending your money on such things, you’ll only keep disappointing yourself..the purpose of traveling is to see beyond what shops have to offer and thus, enjoy the places, enjoy the food, enjoy the company, and enjoy the experience itself better..

and because i’ve just had a road trip with some excellent companies, excellent accommodations, good foods, and less on unnecessary spendings, i wake up this morning feeling disoriented, losing the sense of time as my head is still on the road, looking forward to the next destinations and experience..

alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah..Godwillingly, He’ll allow me to travel His world again..ameen..i’ll write more on tips on public transportations in europe soon..i’ Allah..

walking around the city of Berlin..

prague by night time..this was taken from charles’ bridge..

schonbrunn..the park is so huge, and it was so hot that we almost gave up looking for this side of the park..

this was taken when we took a cable car ride to start hiking the alps..what lofer has to offer is really underrated..lofer is such a gem..

this is a cave..a deep and cold cave with a natural waterfall..and this too, is in lofer, austria..

a quick drop by in Zurich just to see its lake..it’s a full moon, and unfortunately our camera couldn’t do justice to its beauty..

the city of salzburg..as for this one, it’s really overrated..

luzern..it was just a fortress with a minaret and we couldn’t have guessed that it would be magical if we climb..and this is the surprise we’ve got..the surprise could not get any better..we love simply love this..

my husband really loves this place..i’m glad i could be around to places he loves 🙂

volendam..a little north from the city center and this comes as a surprise for us too..the setting of this small fishing village is extraordinary..the houses look like as if they’re in a filming studio..and the plus point being, everyone speaks english..anddd, the fish and chips are the best i’ve had so far..fresh from the fishermen!

the weather was not permitting when we were in amsterdam but the weed industry really surprises us..we saw a man carrying two marijuana trees in his bike..a couple smoking weed just outside their balcony sharing the smell with us, and a boat planting several trees on top of the boat..such a unique town..

madurodam – you see, it’s important to let the kids understand how things work and the purpose of each creations..here they get to learn first hand how things work and what they can do as a part of a bigger system..adults are allowed to learn too..of course..

this is our view from the balcony of our Austrian hotel..the sun set..