Planning: Trip Across 6 Countries In Central Europe

READ MORE FROM THIS TRIP:

1. Planning: Trip Across 6 Countries In Central Europe
2. Prague: My perspective of this medieval city
3. Budapest: City of the hot springs with beautiful architectures
4. Vienna: This is what it feels like walking in a Palace except it is as big as a city
5. Lucerne: Best panoramic views of the city from Mt. Pilatus
6. Zermatt: Meeting Matterhorn
7. Interlaken: Gateway to Jungfraujoch
8. Milan: My first exposure in Italy

Europe is one region of the world I haven't been to excluding Iceland in late 2017, so starting sometime in late 2018, I decided to plan a trip to Europe.

After many hours of research and countless revisions, the final plan was complete. I planned this trip to visit 6 central European countries in a circular loop starting in Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and then finally back to Germany.

It was extremely difficult to allocate the right amount of time for each city. No matter who I asked for opinions, everyone would all say "This place needs at least X days to explore. Stop making the trip so packed" However, I stuck with my plan as I was determined to see them all!

Frankfurt
Frankfurt was more so just a connecting stop during this trip, but surprisingly my stay at the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel was fantastic. The hotel was very clean, and there were a lot of facilities including a night bar with multiple pool tables. The layout also gave me a modern feel, but I found it hilarious that the hotel was gigantic and made me feel like walking in a maze on my way to the room.

Prague
As the capital of the Czech Republic, its historic architecture attracts numerous tourists each year. One could choose to sit in the old town square having some of the best beer in the country or walk on the 14th-century Charles Bridge are enough reasons to visit. Last but not least, you wouldn't want to miss the Astronomical Clock dating back to the 15th century.

Budapest
Budapest consists of two cities: Buda and Pest, joined together and separated by Europe's second-longest river, the Danube. Head to the Buda Castle and enjoy the panoramic view of the city, join the Parliament Building tour, embrace Hungarian food, and certainly, don't forget to experience in one of Budapest's famous baths.

Vienna
In the world capital of music, imperial-like architectures can be found everywhere you go, and you don't want to miss Belvedere Palace and Schonbrunn Palace. Don't forget to attend one of the classical music concerts in the Musikverein, State Opera, or Symphonic Orchestra before you leave the city.

Zurich
Unsurprisingly, the financial center of Switzerland demonstrates why it's one of the most expensive cities in the country, with many high-end luxury brand stores on both sides of the streets. However, don't let the surface of its wealth scare you away. Look beyond that, and the city is a gateway to anywhere in the country.

Lucerne
Not only do tourists love the most iconic site located in the center of the city, The Chapel Bridge, but it's also surrounded by spectacular scenery from any angle regardless of how you view it. Additionally, three nearby mountains, Rigi, Pilatus, and Titlis are all part of the Swiss Alps, and they're definitely the most popular activity for a day trip from the city.

Zermatt
The mighty Matterhorn alone should give you all the reasons you need to pay a visit here. Moreover, the area is one of the premier destinations for winter activities such as skiing and snowboarding in the Swiss Alps. While you are here, consider visiting 5-Seenweg, Glacier Paradise, and Gornergrat. Staying up in the mountains overnight is even better!

Interlaken
This town is a gateway to the Jungfrau region and sits between the two emerald-colored Lakes Thun and Brienz. The area is a paradise for mountaineers because of its numerous hiking trails and magnificent views of the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Paragliding, one of the most popular activities here, allows you to overlook Lakes Thun and Brienz from the sky.

Milan
If you're a fashion lover, you have to visit the Quadrilatero della Moda. As a photographer, there's nothing better than visiting the most iconic Duomo di Milano while embracing its culture. If you're a foodie, then the local spaghetti and pizza are something you don't want to miss, and they certainly live up to the hype and do not disappoint.

Transportation
It's very convenient to travel by train in Europe. Eurail Pass and Swiss Pass allow you to take an unlimited amount of rides except for a few scenarios in Europe and Switzerland respectively. Before you decide to buy a pass, the two factors you should consider are time and frequency of the use.

Moreover, there are a lot of options in Switzerland's rail pass such as Swiss Travel Pass, Swiss Travel Pass Flex, and Swiss Half Fare Card. To find out which one suits you the best, you should list the itinerary entirely and calculate the cost of each individual segment to see the differences.

Websites information for rail passes and the time table of the train:

1. https://www.swiss-pass.ch/
2. https://www.omio.com

In my case, time is everything to me, so I even opt to take flights here and there to maximize the amount of time I get.

Apps to download in Switzerland
SBB Mobile: The app can store the ticket and the travel pass, but you're supposed to bring a physical copy of travel pass still. The app shows the departure and arrival time, departure and arrival platform, and how to change the train if needed.

MeteoSwiss: The app predicts the weather within Switzerland with high accuracy. However, you should use this as a supplement only when you arrive places like Zermatt and Jungfrau regions. In these areas, there will be LiveCam almost everywhere, so you can absolutely look at the status of each attraction before heading up to the mountain.

Cost
Here are the charts for my major expenses during this trip. The total hotel cost is shown in the chart below, but transportation and hotel costs were split between my friend and me.

Have you been to any of these cities? I'm excited to hear about your experience! Stay tuned for the next episode of this series.

One of the world's most well-known waterfalls: Iguazú Falls

There are three waterfalls that are in completely different leagues of their own worldwide: Iguazú Falls, Victoria Falls, and Niagara Falls. If you ever have an opportunity to visit one of them, you will realize no other word than magnificent can better describe them.

I decided to take a trip to visit Iguazú Falls during Memorial Day weekend. The waterfall is a UNESCO World Heritage, and it is also one of the widest falls on earth.

My friend and I took uber and a taxi from our hotel, Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, to the park on the Argentina side. I would recommend having someone who is capable of speaking both languages Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (Argentina) to be safe. Remember to bring your VISAs and passport because you will be crossing the border.

Iguazú Falls is a transcontinental waterfall between Argentina and Brazil. Each side has its pros and cons. The Devil's Throat, most commonly known and the highest point of the waterfall, is from Argentina side, however, the Brazilian side provides a great panorama view of the waterfall.  

The view at the Devil's Throat was breathtaking and its flow rate was intense. The flow was so strong, that it caused so much mist constantly. My camera almost got wet and damaged, and it would be a disaster if I had to purchase another new camera.

If you are interested in visiting the Devil's Throat, you'll have to enter through the Argentina side. Note that the park is enormous, so it may take up your entire day if you prefer sightseeing slowly. Normally, people would spend a day in Argentina and another day in Brazil to completely explore the waterfalls.

• Orange route - Devil's Throat, approximately 2 hours
• Blue route - Upper Trail, approximately 2 hours
• Yellow route - Lower Circuit, approximately 1.5 hours
• Red route - San Martin Island, connected from the yellow route, approximately 2 hours
• Brown route - Macuco Trail, approximately 3 hours
• Green route - Green Trail Trilha Verde, approximately 15 minutes

I recommended going to the Devil's Throat and Lower Circuit first because they present a different perspective of the fall compared to the Brazilian side instead. Note that Devil's Throat may actually take up a lot longer than 2 hours especially during peak season because you have to take the train there, and the park is very crowded.

Within the park, you may see a lot of Coatis, a type of raccoon, but BE WARNED that they are very aggressive towards food and drink especially at the train station food stand. Please do not feed them randomly just because you want to take a picture with them.

After you finish visiting the Devil's Throat, I recommend stopping at Cataratas Station, because you can then head to the Lower Trail and visit some of the other waterfalls. There are only two ways to get to the Lower Trail, and both ways starting at the Cataratas Station: walk through Green Trail or take the train but it only stops there on the way back from the Devil's Throat.

When you initially enter the park, you may consider finding out the timing of the boat to San Martin Island first and plan your schedule accordingly. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to visit there as I arrived at the park in the early afternoon. The parks closed around 6pm, but the last boat stopped operating around 3pm.

The bottom line is, visiting Iguazu Fall over a long weekend was definitely worthwhile even with the little amount of time I spent there. I enjoyed my time in the park and got to witness one of the most spectacular waterfalls in front of me. It allowed me to relax and not worry about all the work I left behind, and I felt like I was truly living in that moment!

Eye-catching attractions in Rio de Janeiro

As a travel enthusiast, I always want to visit Brazil because of the most iconic attraction, Christ the Redeemer, from Rio de Janeiro. I swear to god that whenever people talk about Brazil, this picture would show up everywhere on the internet! Not only it's a gigantic statue (125' height) of Jesus Christ, the platform of where the statue also allows you to overlook entire Rio, surrounding sea and jungle. The view was absolutely mindblowing.

Here is a photo I took with the poster because the weather was ridiculously cloudy when I was there, it blocked the entire view among the statue itself. But I promise you that if you visit on a sunny day, this is the exact view you should expect to see.

On the other hand, this is what I saw instead...such awful weather when I was there...Check the weather before you go.

Tips: I strongly recommend taking a round-trip van transportation to see Christ the Redeemer because it may take you AT LEAST 30 minutes to wait for an Uber afterward since most likely they would have to drive up to the mountain. You can find the van transportation information here.

The next attraction would be Sugarloaf Mountain. No, it's not the same Sugarloaf in Maine or Maryland in the States! Here you can take a cable car to the peak of the mountain, and there is two stops total, so make sure you also visit the last one, which is the peak.

There is a helicopter tour at the platform of the first stop, and the tour flies every day from 9am until sunset. In hindsight, I would love to visit here during the day. I thought the view was underwhelming at night because there weren't enough lights in the city compared to other cities I have been to.

Don't get me wrong though. It was still absolutely worth to visit, but I just had a very high expectation that's probably different than some of you. If you have enough time, helicopter tour route 3 (there are 7 different routes) will even fly you over to see Christ the Redeemer from the sky. That would be awesome!

Last but not least, have you seen countless of pictures showing that someone was holding on a dangerous cliff-edge drop!? Well, check it out Pedra do Telegrafo if you have extra time in Rio, but note that there will be a hike so leave yourself enough time. Or you can choose to visit one of the most famous beaches, Copacabana beach, which is not too far from the Sugarloaf Mountain.

8 Must See Highlights in Death Valley National Park

I fell in love with astrophotography as of late, so I decided to research into parks within the States recommended for stargazing. Even though stargazing at night was where Death Valley originally caught my interest at first, I ended up liking a lot of spots within the park just as much. You can expect very little to non-existing light pollution at night in the park, so prepare yourself for a stargazing feast under the starry night.

The main reason I chose Death Valley was because there is a direct flight between Vegas and Philly. The park is roughly 2 hours drive from Vegas, which isn't so terrible if I want to make a weekend trip after work on Friday!

Here are the top 8 must-see highlights from my trip with 1 honorable mention that unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to make a stop at, Devil's Golf Course.

1. Dante's View
2. Zabriskie Point
3. Golden Canyon
4. Artists Palette
5. Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
6. Badwater Basin
7. Racetrack Playa
8. Ubehebe Crater

The first point of interest I would recommend is Dante's View. Standing atop the mountain hill here allows you to capture the entire view of the valley as well as the Badwater Basin, and it's the lowest point in all of North America with a record of 282 ft. below sea level.

Did you know a shot of Dante's View was used to recreate an overlooking sight of the spaceport town Mos Eisley on the fictional planet Tatooine in the film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope?

Next up, the Zabriskie Point! This was definitely my favorite spot in the park. Not only did the valley have a unique landscape of erosion, but it also offered multi-colors badlands with stunning rock formations.

Did I mention that Zabriskie Point is also one of the most famous sunrises or sunset photo spots? During both sunrise and sunset, the sunlight brings out the contrast and enhances the color variance that mother nature grants us daily.

Since Zabriskie Point was only a few minutes from The Inn at Death Valley, I also came here to stargaze at night.

Here is the Red Cathedral at the end of 3 miles hike

When I reached the Golden Canyon, I realized I had plenty of spare time before sunset, so I decided to take a hike in the canyon (which was roughly 3 miles one way.) Unfortunately, nature would prove me underestimating its might yet again, as I found myself slightly dehydrated and sunburnt due to the lack of shades throughout the hike, so you should certainly come here well prepared.

Artists Palette was located on Artist Drive, which was a small loop. Its vibrant colors looked absolutely surreal, and it would look even better at sunset (if you are not impressed with this stunning view already)!

Mysterious spot on Artist Drive

This mysterious spot cannot be found on the map because it didn't have an official name. However, the view was just as good as Artists Palette but in a different way.

Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, is essentially a giant salt flat. I found it interesting that there is a sign suggesting people not to walk on it after 10am because of how hot it is in this area!

The best time to visit here would be sunset because the salt flats were facing west, which makes it another popular sunset spot. consider walking further inside if you want to avoid the crowd. The further inside you get, the easier you can find some interesting hexagon-shaped formation of salt flat on the ground.

The last activity of the day was viewing sunset at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes before stargazing at Zabriskie Point at night. In hindsight, I should have arrived earlier, so I could walk far past the tourists and avoid tons of footprints to find a spot filled with a beautiful pattern of hills.

And I finally understood how it felt when one walks in a desert. Each step I took required so much more effort because there was an equal force on the opposite direction from the sand.

Teakettle Junction, on the way to Racetrack Playa

The next morning, I spent 6 hours round trip to visit Racetrack Playa, which is a dry lake feature with moving rocks. The drive was not fun at all because I had to drive a high clearance vehicle with four-wheel drive to be safe. And it was probably better to get there for sunset or stargaze at night as I was not impressed with what I saw during the daylight hours, quite dull and boring.

Ubehebe Crater is a volcanic crater on the way to the racetrack. Everyone should visit here at the very least, and whether to drive another 2-hours from here to the racetrack is your choice (I don't think it's worth it unless you are going there for sunset, stargaze at night, or you are a photographer). Be aware that the wind was very strong here.

Death Valley was one hell of a national park to visit because of much incomparable landscape it provided for photo shooting and hiking opportunity. However, the temperature here was also unrivaled to any other park, which held the highest record of 134 degrees F. Best suggestion? DO NOT COME HERE DURING SUMMER!

View more photos of Death Valley, click here

Will you be interested to come to Death Valley and see all of these phenomenal landscapes?

Let me know in the comment below and follow me on Facebook to see what I'm up for the next journey.

Cherry Blossom in Washington DC

Every April, travelers all over the world were thrilled for this one event: Cherry Blossom!

Today, I'd love to share my hanami, cherry blossom viewing, experience in Washington DC with you.

At first I didn't even know cherry blossom could have white color. Here they were, I was able to capture three different colors behind me in the first picture!

When I walked through cherry trees one after another one, some pink flowers started to fall, but they were just like dancing in front of me. I couldn't think of any other word better than romantic to describe this particular moment.

Tidal Basin by far was the best cherry blossom spot in DC because it was such a great spot to have a picnic and there were tons of cherry blossom surrounding the lake. I was able to find a lot of good angles for photo shooting with the Washington Monument or Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the background.

Be aware that this area was filled with full of tourists after 10am, and the traffic started to get worse as each hour went on until the end of the day. I would recommend to get there early in the morning and come back for the sunset.

Little did I know, there were two other variety of pink 5-petal flowers blooming almost at the same time as Cherry Blossom. First one was Plum, and it grew directly on the branches themselves, which flowers didn't have any stem. Second one was Peach. Its flowers usually came in pairs and have short stems. Unlike the Cherry Blossom pictures you see throughout this article, they had long stems and always formed multiple-flower clusters.

The US national park service will announce the date of peak bloom forecasts annually. 

Since the flower is heavily depending on the weather, the peak-bloom date may change from week to week. If you are not flexible with the time, I would wait until the last few days before making a reservation whether it's a hotel stay, flight, or transportation. 

You can check the peak bloom status here

I chose to stay at JW Marriott Washington DC because it's close to a lot of points of interest including Tidal Basin, White House, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and National Gallery of Art, etc.

The hotel lounge didn't open on the weekend, but it had a decent restaurant, Avenue Grill, on the lower floor inside the hotel. I didn't find the property particularly attracted other than its location, but I would suggest to find a stay within the area in the picture shown above.

I spent some time in Georgetown, but the town itself wasn't that special to me. However, the national gallery of art was fantastic on the other hand. It had so many collections, and they were all from many different era. One day wasn't even enough to see half of them.

If you were also interested in high end restaurants, I would recommend three of them, but you needed to make a reservation ahead of time during cherry blossom season.

1. Sushi Taro: 1 star Michelin high-end sushi spot
2. Little Serow: Weekly innovative set menu of Northern Thailand specialties
3. Farmers Fishers Bakers: Farm-inspired American food with great weekend buffet brunch 

Overall, my experience here was amazing. The city consisted of some upscale city vibe while retaining many historical sites. The street were spacious, and the area was unbelievably clean.

Last but not least, cherry blossom was beautiful. Every second here was well worth it!

Would you come to DC for Cherry Blossom next year?

Let me know in the comment below and follow me on Facebook to see what I'm up for next journey.

3 Amazing Hotels You Need to Check out In Turkey (Especially for Photographer)

What image comes to you when you think of the country, Turkey?

Maybe it's the colorful hot-air balloon rising above the ravine, the splendid Hagia Sophia decorated with mosaic and marble pillars, or the diverse culture and architecture spread around the country.

Well, I am here for all of them (read the full adventure here).

But today, I'd love to show you the hotels that I stayed during the trip. All three of them are fairly inexpensive given their values provided, and each of them has its own highlights.

1. Hotel Arcadia Blue (My rating: ★★★★☆)

Room type: Standard Room Sea View, $119/night

Hotel Arcadia Blue is located in the Sultanahmet district, which is known as the old city.

One of the best highlights of staying at this property is that it allows you to take a panoramic shot of both The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia museum directly from your room. You are able to open the windows completely to set up your tripod and capture the architectures from various angles.

(There is a balcony area outside the restaurant on the 9th floor, but they don't allow you to use the tripod there)

The hotel is also close to a number of historical sites, including Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, etc.

Things I don't like about this hotel:

1. The shower area can't be closed completely
2. The air conditioner is a bit weak. I felt pretty hot inside my room even I set the temperature to the lowest possible. The problem might just be my room though.

It's at convenient location that offers great photography spots. The reservation also includes free breakfast buffet as well.

You can also arrange airport transportation with the hotel. It is a lot cheaper compared to local taxi. Price for one way: IST - 25€ up to 4 people; ISL and SAW - 50€ up to 4 people.

2. Goreme Kaya Hotel (My rating: ★★★★☆)

Room type: Standard Room, $34/night

Want to know what living in a cave hotel looks like? Yes, that's what this hotel is about.

If you are here for a hot-air balloon ride in Cappadocia (Goreme), I can't suggest Goreme Kaya Hotel more than enough because of three reasons:

1. Price was ridiculously cheap ($34 per night)
2. Stunning landscape outside of hotel
3. Amazing breakfast buffet

The room is big enough for a family in my opinion although I was by myself. Again, I don't like the fact that the shower room door can't be completely closed, but other than that, it's pretty comfortable.

It was also very warm inside without having to turn on the heater.

What I like about this hotel is that you don't sacrifice quality for the unbeatable price.

Definitely an affordable lifetime experience that you don't want to miss!

(You can arrange airport transportation with hotel directly)

3. St Regis Istanbul (My rating: ★★★★★)

Room type: Deluxe Guest room with Macka Park view, used free night certificate

On my last day of this trip, I decided to use one of my free night certificate from Marriott, which I got it from the Marriott credit cards. 

I choose St Regis Istanbul because I am a Titanium member with Marriott, so it comes with a wonderful breakfast, which is buffet style.

Their staff were very detail-oriented and proactive at initiating conversions. One of them saw that I like apple tea at check-in, and he offered to bring a pot of tea to my room later.

The bathroom alone was larger than my bedroom in the apartment...I only wished that the toilet was actually closer to the shower room because it was completely separated by a door. 

I also loved the double sinks set up even though I didn't need the second one, but it just added a luxury feeling, doesn't it?

It also has an eyebrow-raising breakfast buffet that offers food choices more than you can expect. There are a lot of options!

There is a restaurant on site, Wolfgang Puck's Spago, and it has a stunning views of Macka Park and the Bosporus. The restaurant operates from 3pm to 2am daily. Reservation is required.

The onsite gym has many equipment as well. Price of SPA is within my expected ranges. I was surprised that they have a sauna room however!

Overall, I enjoy my stay here because the staffs were so thoughtful and paid attention on small details on what I needed. For instance, they knew I like photography because they saw that I carried a camera and tripod around. And they showed me how to get around the sites quickly and provided few tips on best timing of visiting.

The entire property is very clean and neat. Even if you decide to pay with cash instead of redeeming a room, the price is still fairly affordable.

View more photos of each hotel, click here

Which hotel would you like to try out? 

Let me know in the comment below and follow me on Facebook to see what I'm up for next journey.