• 35 I'm really glad I took the trip
    Jun 1 2022

    Nothing good will ever happen to you if you never leave your house. 如果你永远不出门,好事决不会发生在你身上。

    Before my evening flight back to Barcelona, I also booked several cooking classes making pizza, tiramisu and pasta, as well as a walking tour in downtown Rome. Luckily, the classes connected seamlessly. I had a full schedule and I made several friends who I still keep in touch with till this day.

    在回去巴塞罗那的晚上班机之前,我在罗马市区预定了几堂制作Pizza、提拉米苏、和意大利面的课程,还有一个在市中心的徒步之旅,幸运的是这些课程都连接的天衣无缝呢,让我一整天都行程滿滿的,而且还交了几个至今我们还保持联系的朋友。

    That was the end of my journey in Europe. I had so many beautiful memories and had seen most of the cities I was eager to visit. I had met the people I wanted to meet and also got together with some friends before I went back to Taiwan. 

    这就是我在欧洲旅行的终点了。我拥有好多美丽的回忆,还看到了许多我曾经渴望拜访的城市。在我回台湾前还见了许多我一直想见又和一些朋友重逢。

    After I got back to Taiwan, I had some quality time with my family and then I was figuring out where I would like to go after I had some much-needed rest. Then the pandemic hit. A lot of my friends in Europe were suffering from the sudden change in their lives and restrictions on things that previously seemed normal. I only talked to a few of my hosts briefly however they seemed quite low and there was a point at which it felt like the world was ending. At this time, a lot of people in Europe and other countries died from this horrible disease and many more were stuck on their computers and within their homes for weeks on end. 

    回到台湾后,我和家人共度了一些美好的优质时光,然后在我充分休息正要计划着下一站要去哪里的时候,新冠肺炎的大流行蔓延各地。我在欧洲的朋友都因为这个在他们生命中的突然转变和生活受到的限制而受苦着。我仅仅和几个曾经接待过我的沙发主人说话,然而他们都心情低落也感觉世界好像就要灭绝了。因为在那个时候,在欧洲和许多国家有许多人死于这个可怕的疾病,还有许多人待在家里被电脑给困住不知道多久了。

    Now in hindsight, I am really glad I took the trip. I really am. Though it was hard and I was exhausted from the trip, I followed my heart, and I didn’t waste time. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to create so many beautiful stories to tell. I saw so many beautiful sights and scenery however I was most interested in the people who lived there. At this point, I don’t know when the world will be normal and safe to travel again. It’s very possible that we will have to continue to travel with caution and socially distance from people we meet from now on. Back when I was traveling, these ideas never crossed my mind. 

    现在我回头看,我真的很高兴那时我启程了。虽然路途很辛苦,我也精疲力竭,但我一路跟随着我的心所以也没有浪费时间。不然我就不会有机会制造和说这么多美丽的故事。我看到了许多美丽的风景,然而我最有兴趣的还是住在那里的人。此刻,我并不清楚何时这个世界会回归正常并能够再度旅行。也很有可能从此之后,我们必须要继续小心的旅行着并保持社交距离。而这些是我在旅行的时候,从来没有想过的。

    I was used to flying all the time, and I even created a brand for myself called Fly with Lily. However, the train made it so easy to travel to nearby countries. The eurail ticket was also a money saver too and I took 56 rides with a two month pass, which came to around 900 euros. 

    我以前总是不停的到处飞,我甚至开创了一个品牌叫做「和Lily一起飞」。然而,这个火车旅行让我们可以更方便的到邻近的国家去旅行。环欧火车的通票也非常的划算,让我省了不少钱,在两个月的旅程中,我用900欧元搭乘了56趟火车,和横跨了10个国家呢。

    At the end of my journey, I saw how far I had come from when I first thought about the idea of traveling around Europe by train. These thoughts developed after a conversation with my good English friend in Barcelona, Greg, who suggested that train travel was a great way to leave a smaller carbon footprint than flights and was more environmentally friendly. He had lived in Sweden for almost twenty years and even shared that some Northern Europeans advocated “Flight Shame”.  He jokingly told me that maybe I should stop encouraging people to “fly” since I was building

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    7 mins
  • 34 Last stop in Eurail journey
    May 30 2022
    Not all who wander are lost. 並不是所有的流浪者都是迷失。 Luka came to pick me up at a station near him called Latina. It was about one hour train ride from Rome. As soon as we got in his car, he handed me his phone and asked me to be his DJ. I played music I liked from his phone and I introduced him to a few Taiwanese bands I like, for example Mayday and F.I.R. Luka loved receiving guests and learning English and cultures from couchsurfers. I could also see Luka was indeed very serious about his learning. Every day he spent one hour reading aloud from his book. He was also very keen to speak with me every day to practice his spoken English, and showed me all the scenic places around his town. Luka來到了離他家最近的車站叫Latina來接我,差不多是離羅馬大約一個小時的火車車程吧。當我一踏進入到他的車里,Luka立刻把他的手機交給我,並且要我做他的音樂DJ。我就播放了幾個我喜歡的台灣樂團像是五月天還有飛兒樂團。Luka非常喜愛接待沙發客,因為他可以借此學習英文還有不同國家的文化。我也感覺到Luka相當認真在學習英語。每天,他都會花一個小時一邊讀書,一邊大聲的念英語。當我待在那裡的時候,他也每天非常積極的和我練習英文,並且帶我去幾個離他家近的景點。 Luka was a photographer and a fitness instructor. He lived by the beach and had a very healthy lifestyle. He gave me his spare room where I could listen to the ocean and wake up to say hello to the beach in the morning. Luka是一個攝影師兼健身教練。他住在海邊並擁有一個非常健康的生活型態。他給我休息的客房讓我每天早晨都能看到海並聽到海浪聲。 I cooked for Luka almost every night that I stayed with him, and introduced him to lots of different kinds of Asian food. Luka had an open mind for food too. It was just very nice to be able to show him new food and try new recipes. Luka had a fully equipped kitchen and he didn’t mind doing the dishes afterwards. After his fitness class, Luka would take me to the nearby beach towns to have coffee and give me tours here and there. Before meeting Luka, I had only seen big cities in Italy like Rome, Milan and Florence. However, the small town was tranquill and lovely too, especially when walking and enjoying it with a local. 當我住在Luka家時,我幾乎每晚都會煮飯給Luka吃,而且為他介紹各種不同的亞洲食物。Luka非常願意嘗試各種不同的食物。Luka有一個設備非常齊全的廚房,而且也不介意飯後洗碗。他上完健身課後,會帶我到附近的海濱小城去喝咖啡還有到處逛逛。在遇見Luka之前,我只有去過在意大利像是羅馬、米蘭還有佛羅倫薩這樣的大城市。然而在意大利的小城鎮更是寧靜又可愛,特別是可以和一個當地人四處走走的時候。 One morning after working on the computer, I cried in front of Luka because I felt the uncertainty of the future and it scared me too. I was stressed out. I knew I was going back to Taiwan, but I didn’t know what I would do there. It also felt like my travel life was ending, too. Luka was so lovely, didn’t mind me crying and encouraged me with his own story. He said he could relate a lot to my situation. Just like me, Luka had chosen not to get an office job and became self-employed. However, sometimes this lifestyle had its own downsides and sacrifices too. 有天早上在電腦前工作完畢之後,忽然感到對未來的不確定性,害怕的我,竟然在Luka面前哭了。我感覺壓力好大。因為我要回台灣了,但是我並不清楚我回台灣要做什麼,甚至我也感覺到我的旅遊生涯要結束了。Luka人好好,並不介意我在他面前哭而且也用他的故事鼓勵我。他說對我的情況他十分能夠體會,因為就像我一樣,Luka也選擇放棄他在辦公室前的工作然後變成一個自由職業者。然而這樣的生活型態的確有他的缺點和犧牲。 In the afternoon, Luka wanted to cheer me up and took me to an organic farm where he often purchased his groceries from. He told me he used to sell eggs from the farm and saw the unhappy chickens in the cage. He became really unhappy too. At that point he made a change in his career and pursued what his heart told him to. He was a lot happier. Also now, he only ate eggs from free-range chickens on organic farms. 下午時,由於Luka想要讓我開心一點,他就帶我到附近他常購買農產品的有機農場。他告訴我他以前在農場販賣雞蛋,並且看著籠子里非常不開心的雞。他也漸漸地變得越來越不開心。所以在那一刻他就決定要轉變他的職業,然後追求他心嚮往的事情。他現在變得比較開心了,而且他也只吃在這些自由放牧養雞場所生產的雞蛋。 He told me this while pointing out the chickens in the farm...
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    7 mins
  • 34 I’m exhausted! Taking a break in beautiful Dubrovnik
    May 29 2022

    Life is too short to worry about stupid things. Have fun, regret nothing and never let anyone bring you down.人生苦短,不必擔心愚蠢的事情。玩得開心,不要後悔,不要讓任何人把你打倒。

    Due to the bus being delayed, the three hour ride turned into a six hour ride. I arrived in Dubrovnik in the evening and had to find my apartment lugging my suitcases across the old town. I was immediately impressed, though. The old town was complete and I could find an entrance to a 16th century stone wall. Along the way I discovered that they contained the old buildings and churches very well.

    因為巴士延遲,本來三個小時的行程變成了六個小時,我抵達了杜布羅夫尼克已是傍晚,卻得拖著我的行李橫跨舊城區,但我馬上就被驚艷了。舊城非常的完整,我還能找到16世紀古城牆的入口。沿路我發現他們非常完整地保存了舊建築和教堂。

    After I arrived at my apartment, I cooked myself a healthy meal and felt content and got ready for bed. The next day, I woke up to this idyllic harbor view from my window. I also booked a walking tour from Airbnb experience.

    在我抵達了我的公寓之後,我給自己煮了美味又健康的一餐,然後感覺十分的滿足地準備要就寢了。隔天,我醒來看到窗外風光明媚的海港景色。這天,我也在airbnb體驗中定了一個徒步之旅。

    Kresmir was my guide that day. I met him at the entrance of the old town. I was the only guest. Kresmir ran a farm and airbnb business in the suburbs of Dubrovnik, and occasionally ran guided tours for the tourists in town.

    Kresmir是我那天的嚮導。我在舊城的門口和他見面。當天我是唯一的客人。Kresmir在杜布羅夫尼克郊區經營一個農場還有airbnb的民宿生意,他只有偶爾會來城中給遊客作導覽。

    He told me many stories about Dubrovnik and we walked around every corner of the old town. I think when you arrive in a new place, hiring a guide could be a very rewarding experience. If I were walking alone by myself, I would miss so many details related to architecture. Some people might think it’s not important, however, I would not make a connection quickly with a place where I only stay for a short time. He was very nice. After the guided tour he even invited me to white coffee in a cosy coffee house.

    他告訴我許多有關杜布羅夫尼克的故事,然後,我們走遍了舊城的每個大街小巷。我認為當你抵達了一個新地方,雇傭導遊是一個非常會讓你收穫頗豐的經驗。如果我是一個人走的話,我一定會錯過許多關於建築物的許多細節。有些人可能覺得這不是太重要,然而如果我只是在一個地方待短短的時間,我是不可能可以很快的與一個地方產生連接的。Kresmir人非常的友善,帶我逛完之後,帶我到一家非常溫馨的咖啡屋請我喝當地有名的白咖啡。

    It was the right decision to do the tour because after that, it rained for two days in Dubrovnik. It finally cleared up on the day I was leaving for Italy. However, I also regained the strength I needed to keep going. I was ready for my next stop in Italy.

    後來說明瞭我定了這個徒步之旅是一個正確的決定,因為之後在杜布羅夫尼克整整下了兩天雨。在我要前往去意大利的那天,終於放晴了。然而,我已休息足夠,準備好繼續前行到我在意大利的下一站。

    Stay tuned…there’s much more to come!

    In the next episode I’ll be sharing a story that happened in Italy.

    敬請期待,還有好多故事呢!

    下一集我會和你分享我在意大利發生的有趣故事。

    從我的英語旅行英語訓練營摘錄(購物)

    Shopping center 購物中心

    department部門

    window 櫥窗

    ON SALE 打折

    elevator 電梯

    escalator 手扶梯

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    4 mins
  • 33 The Bulkan train journey to Split turns my stomach
    May 29 2022
    At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkling. 一天結束時,你的腳應該是髒的,你的頭髮亂糟糟的,你的眼睛閃閃發光。 At that point I had already been on over 40 train rides in Europe and all of them were quite smooth, but this one to Split was a bit difficult for me. I finally had a bit of a taste of Balkan travel. Before I departed I had heard that Balkan travel could be difficult and dangerous. I thought it was about security. However, the air conditioning in the cabin was too hot and the rail tracks were so bumpy along the way which made me feel sick. I almost threw up in the middle of the journey. 旅行到這個時候,我已經在歐洲坐了超過40趟火車,一切都滿順利。但是從扎格雷布到斯普利特的這段火車對我來說有點艱辛,因為我終於瞭解到什麼是巴爾乾半島式的旅行,在我啓程前往巴爾乾半島前,我聽說巴爾乾半島的旅行會很辛苦還有危險,我原本以為一切都是和安全問題有關,然而,這段路上車廂里的空調實在太熱,還有火車軌道整條路起伏不平上上下下跳動著讓我感覺有點惡心。我在中途還差點吐了! Split is the second biggest city in Croatia, located on the coast, the last stop of the Croatian railway. The station was quite run down and small. My host, Marin, came to pick me up with his car and helped me with my suitcase which was very nice. I came to his very minimalistic apartment and he prepared his spare room for me. Marin was working in real estate in Split and had been working hard to build his business in town. He asked me some questions about Chinese investment; too bad I had no idea about real estate and couldn’t offer much help to him. I decided to cook for him the next day. 斯普利特是克羅地亞的第二大城,坐落在海岸邊,也是克羅地亞鐵路的最後一站。它的火車站非常的老舊和小。我在斯普利特的沙發主人Marin人非常的好,不僅開車來接我還幫我提行李。我來到他非常極簡的公寓里,他準備了他的空客房給我。Marin是在斯普利特的房地產公司上班,而且也在市中非常積極的建立自己的生意。他問我有關中國投資的問題,可惜我對房地產一竅不通,所以沒能幫上忙。我決定隔天給他做飯。 The next day, Marin dropped me off at the old town in the morning and I waited for my tour guide to show up. This was something else that I booked with Airbnb experience. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Split and we walked through almost every area of the old town and outside of the very famous Diocletian Palace. I enjoyed the walk-around and seeing the old sites, however, I couldn’t really connect to the stories. It happened a lot on the trips actually; I found I was more interested in chatting with and learning things from fellow travelers rather than learning about many historical details and dates. I remember how uninterested I was in school about history. Even though the teacher was really good at telling stories, I always dozed off in the class. What I learnt through traveling was that everyone has different tastes and interests in what they want to see and do. So I would not probably be hitting the shopping mall in every city, and I might feel a bit bored with the history, but hey, I was where the history had actually happened. For that I was proud. 隔天早晨,Marin把我送到舊城然後我就等我的嚮導出現。這也是我在airbnb體驗中預定的另外一個行程。導遊對於斯普利特的歷史非常的瞭解,而且我們幾乎走遍了舊城的每一個角落還有戴克里先宮殿的外圍。我很享受到處走走還有親眼看到古蹟,然而,我卻和歷史故事無法有太多的連結,其實這常常發生在我的旅行路上。我發現我對於和同行的遊客聊天比學習認識那些歷史細節還有日期還要感興趣。我記得在學校時我對歷史學科多麼地不感興趣。雖然老師很會說故事,然而我在課上卻常常睡著,這也讓我在旅行中學到每個人想要看和作的事情都有不同的品味和興趣。雖然我不會去每個城市的購物商城而且對於歷史感到無聊,但是,嘿!我現在在歷史發生的地方,這就是讓我覺得十分驕傲的事。 That evening, I cooked Tom Yum Soup (a spicy soup from Thailand) and Green Curry rice for Marin. His kitchen was not very well equipped but I managed to make them yummy with very minimal tools. Travel really made me realize how capable I was. Give me some Asian ingredients and a stove, I could perform magic! Marin was not very used to spicy food, but he managed to clean his plates and ate the whole bowl of spicy soup with his eyes both watering which I found really adorable. 那晚,我煮了泰式的宮陰湯還有綠咖喱給Marin吃。...
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    7 mins
  • 31 The most beautiful Christmas market is in Croatia
    May 28 2022
    Own a little, see a lot. 擁有少一點,看到很多。 On the way to Zagreb in Croatia, I quickly visited Vienna in Austria because it was only two hours from Bratislava by train. It really amazed me how close these countries were physically and yet they have totally different vibes and cultures. I rented Lime, which is a small electric scooter that was quite popular on the streets in Europe and you could rent it on your mobile app with a few taps, and I quickly moved around Vienna. After a few hours of roaming around, I realized that to my own surprise I didn’t like Vienna very much. Maybe it was because I felt it was more expensive and crowded compared to Bratislava and Budapest, or perhaps because it had been overrated and over romanticised by the old me. It was probably also because I was expecting to see my Taiwanese friend Christine again, who happened to have a tour around town, however she couldn’t meet up with me because of  some issues with her group. I was a bit disappointed. 在去克羅地亞首都扎格雷布的時候,我快速的拜訪了一下奧地利的首都維也納因為從我在的布拉提斯拉瓦只要搭兩個小時的火車就到了。讓我驚訝的是,這些國家如此地相近,然而他們有著截然不同的氣氛和文化。到了維也納後,我租了一台小電動車叫Lime,可以讓我快速的移動在維也納的市中心。沒幾個小時之後,我竟然驚訝的發覺到,我不太喜歡維也納這個城市。或許是因為我感覺這個城市和我剛去的布拉提斯拉瓦還有布達佩斯比起來貴上了許多。這有可能是因為被以前的我高估和浪漫過度了。也有可能是本來想要再見到我的台灣朋友Christine,然而她在帶團發生了一些問題,而無法見面,讓我有點失望。 I was very happy to hop on my train to get to my next city, Zagreb in Croatia. It’s about a 6-hour train ride to Zagreb and the seat was very comfortable. I had received news that my original host, Alex, couldn’t receive me due to a high fever. However, at that point, I still couldn’t find any host. So I asked if Alex was feeling better and suggested that we could take care of each other if I stayed there. Alex heard about my situation and agreed to host me even though he was still a bit under the weather. 所以我非常開心地可以搭上火車前往我下一個城市,在克羅地亞的扎格雷布。大概從維也納需要六個小時,然後座位非常的舒適。我接到消息說原本我的沙發主Alex因為高燒而無法接待我,然而一直到快到了扎格雷布,我仍然找不到其他可以接待我的人,所以我又鼓起勇氣問Alex是否感覺好多了,或許我到了可以彼此互相照顧。雖然Alex還是有點不舒服,但聽到我的狀況後,就同意接待我。 Alex was from France and was working in Zagreb on the construction of and design of luxurious cars. He had been staying at home for a few days so was happy to greet me. His home was very modern and cozy. He used to live in Japan for many years, so when he heard I was going to make some gyoza and soup for him, his face lit up. Alex是來自法國然而他是來扎格雷布來設計奢華的跑車。他(因為身體不適)一個人關在家裡好幾天,所以看到我非常的開心,他的公寓也非常的時髦和溫暖。他曾經住在日本好幾年,所以他聽到我會作煎餃還有湯給他喝,他整個人就精神了起來。 The next day I went to buy groceries for gyoza and soup. It was lovely to shop in the local supermarket because you had a taste of how locals live. The weather in the Balkans was sunnier and the people seemed more friendly compared to the last few cities I visited in central and easten Europe. You should see how people were still welcoming when allowing me to use toilets in their restaurants, stores and even at an evening gala which I wasn’t invited to and only passed by. This was different from my experiences in cities like Budapest where you had to pay or become a customer to use it, which I totally respect. However, they just smiled a lot more. 隔天,我就去採買煎餃和湯的材料。在當地的超市消費非常的好玩,因為你可以感受到當地人是如何生活的。在巴爾乾半島的氣候陽光普照,所以這裡的人感覺起來也比我上幾個在中歐還有東歐旅遊的城市還要友善。你應該要看看人們是怎麼歡迎我使用他們的洗手間的,無論是在商店、餐廳、甚至是一個我並未受到邀請,而只是路過的一個豪華舞會都會很親切地讓我用他們的洗手間。這個經驗和我在布達佩斯感受的完全不同,因為在布達佩斯上廁所除非你是顧客,不然就是要錢。雖然我也很尊重每個城市不一樣的文化,然而,在扎格雷布,那裡的人笑容就是比較多。 I booked a history and photography tour in downtown Zagreb on Airbnb ...
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    7 mins
  • 31 How I evaluate a good trip?
    May 27 2022
    ​​A journey is best measured with friends, rather than miles. 旅行最好是用朋友數而不是英里數來衡量。   Unlike the physical beauty of Budapest, downtown Bratislava was an eclectic mix of really old architecture, run down Brutalist architecture and some ultra-modern buildings. I walked to the old town where there was a Christmas market going on and it was full of people. The vibe there was very cozy and relaxing, with tempting smells of cooked meat and warm honey wine drifting through the cold, winter air. I bought a chicken burger and a cup of honey wine to enjoy by myself. I saw another guy was also eating and drinking by himself so I asked him where he was from. It turned out he was also from out of town and was there for an exhibition. Mauro was an engineer from Italy. After finishing, he left but 10 minutes later he texted me and invited me for coffee. One of the most enjoyable parts of travelling solo is opportunities like this to meet new and interesting friends. I am sure that I would not have met Mauro or many other new people had I been travelling in a group with others I already knew. We had a lovely afternoon chatting at a modern coffee house in the old town. He left for his flight back so I stayed at the coffee shop catching up with my good friend in Barcelona online. 布拉提斯拉瓦和實質上美麗的布達佩斯不同的是它的市中心是非常老舊的建築和超級前衛的大樓綜合體。我走路到舊城看到有一個正在進行中且充滿人潮的聖誕市集。氣氛非常的溫暖而且放鬆,還有許多誘人的烤肉香和溫暖甜甜的蜂蜜酒在寒冷的冬日空氣中漂浮著。我買了一個雞肉漢堡,還有一杯蜂蜜酒一個人享受著,我看到一個男生一個人一邊喝著和吃著東西,所以我就問他是從哪裡來的。原來他也不是來自斯洛伐克而是來這裡參展。Mauro是一位來自意大利的工程師。吃完飯後,他就離開了,然而10分鐘後我收到他的簡訊的邀請去喝咖啡。其實獨自一人旅行最有趣的地方就是像這樣可以認識新的又有趣的朋友。我很肯定的如果我是和一大群認識的人一起來的話,我就不會認識Mauro還有其他的新朋友。我們一起在舊城一家非常時髦的咖啡廳一起聊天度過愉快的下午,之後他離開趕搭回家的班機,我則留下來在線上和在巴塞羅那的好朋友敘敘舊。   After that I met up with Pablo who I had hosted as a couchsurfer when I was in Barcelona and who was then in Bratislava on a working holiday. I love friends who travel because we always manage to meet in different locations or cities, and we never know where we will meet next. Pablo was from Argentina and was young and passionate about traveling. He inspired me by being very strategic about his travels too. Either he would take his mom or girlfriend on a nice holiday, or he would couchsurf and work to save up money. He was always on the road. I believe traveling doesn’t have to be expensive or a luxury for a rich few. Over these years, I have experienced both a luxurious travel lifestyle and also budget travels. I think both of these experiences are nice to have so long as you’re experiencing new cultures, new foods and meeting new friends. That always broadens your horizon in a way nothing else can. 在此之後,我和曾經在巴塞羅那接待的沙發客Pablo見面,那時的他正在布拉提斯拉瓦打工度假。我喜歡愛旅行的朋友因為我們總是可以在不同的場所和城市見面,而且我們都不知道何時會再見面。年輕的Pablo來自阿根廷,非常熱衷旅行。他非常有策略的旅行方式也非常的啓發我。有時他會帶上他的媽媽或女朋友去好好地度假,有時他會用沙發從浪的方式和一邊工作來省錢,就讓他可以一直旅行。我相信旅行不需要很貴也不是給一些有錢人家的奢侈品。在這幾年間,我體驗過豪華的旅行生活型態和便宜的旅行,但我認為兩種體驗都非常好,只要你能從中體驗到新的文化、食物和認識新朋友,因為沒有什麼比的上這些事情更能幫助你打開你的視野。   Pablo was so lovely as I remembered and he invited me to try some special local hot tea, which contained 63% alcohol. We walked around the Christmas market and visited his favorite local art museum. He also took me to the hostel where he worked and it was really unique, and reminded me of Berk’s place. As it was, Pablo also knew about Berk who was very famous for his friendliness in Bratislava. I felt really lucky to be his guest. 就像我記憶中的一樣,Pablo非常的好,見面之後立刻邀請我喝一種當地特有的「熱茶」,裡面有63%酒精。我們在聖誕市集附近走走還參觀了他最喜歡的博物館。他也帶我去他工作的青年旅捨,那個青年旅捨感覺非常的獨特,讓我想起了Berk的住所...
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    7 mins
  • 29 A cool and strange experience in Slovakia
    May 26 2022
    Open your hearts and find your wild. 打開你的心扉,去尋找你的世界。(/去撒你的野。) I loved couchsurfing those days when I was traveling around Europe, seeing different kinds of lifestyles and being inspired by what I saw around me. 在歐洲旅遊的時候,我很喜歡沙發衝浪,因為我能看到不同的生活型態而被啓發。 I had been very interested in Slovakia because one of my good friends in Barcelona, Lenka, was from there. It was a strange thing for me actually that whenever I met new friends and made a connection, I fantasized about visiting their country soon. It didn’t often take long to happen over the past few years and Slovakia was one such case. 因為我在巴塞羅那的一個好朋友Lenka是來自斯洛伐克,所以我變得對斯洛伐克很感興趣,奇怪的是,只要我有機會認識新朋友和有了連結,我就會幻想自己很快地去拜訪他們的國家。通常都不會花太久的時間發生。斯洛伐克就是其中一個例子。 When I visit a new country, I often start with their big cities. The reason being that it is usually easier to travel inside the capital where the transportation is much more comprehensive. 通常當我參觀一個新的國家,我會從他們的大城市開始,原因是大城市通常都有比較發達的交通,這樣比較容易在裡頭旅行。 I arrived in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, in the evening and went to Berk’s house. Before I arrived, I’d seen photos of Berk’s place and it looked like a very trendy bar. I wondered what awaited me. Berk greeted me at the front door, and his place was in the basement of a modern service apartment, with a really dark passage down. Then I saw a very trendy bar-like space, with some bohemian decorations and some quirky and retro posters. Berk told me he was actually hired two years ago as a receptionist of this interesting hostel, and what I saw was actually the reception of the hostel. The owner decided to transform the building into a service apartment but Berk remained as one of the keepers of the building and has the basement as his living space. 所以我在傍晚抵達了斯洛伐克的首都,布拉提斯拉瓦,然後我前往Berk的住所。在我抵達之前,我就有看到Berk的住所的照片,看起來像是一個非常時髦的酒吧。所以我納悶有什麼在等著我。Berk在前門等我,他的家在一個非常時髦的酒店式公寓的地下室,通往地下室的地道非常的漆黑。然後,我看到了一個非常時髦像酒吧的空間,有著波西米亞風的裝飾還有一些古怪又復古的海報,原來我看到的是一個青年旅捨,Berk告訴我其實他是兩年前的時候被雇傭做這家旅社的前台,然而這個大樓的擁有者決定把大樓改裝成酒店式公寓,然而Berk仍然還是幫忙管理的人員之一,所以他現在就住在這個地下室。 Berk seemed very outgoing. Immediately I met several friends of his and went to a gathering to play some instruments. This was my first introduction to a jam session, where you pick an instrument and just go along with what everyone was playing. People there played the guitar, ukulele, trembline, african drums, and hand pan. I picked up something that I didn’t know the name for, just enjoying the music and playing with the beat. It was a really relaxing evening with this self-made concert! Afterwards we went for some vegan food together in a bar and it was really nice to feel like a local there. On the way home, Berk was sharing the stories behind why he had moved to Slovakia from Turkey and how hopeless he felt about the political, social and religious situation back in Turkey. Although it was a bit difficult for me to pitch in anything, it was very interesting for me to know how Berk felt about it. I’m usually quite indifferent towards politics and religion. Maybe it was because of where I was from, where everyone was really free to make their own choices and I felt grateful for that freedom. Berk看起來非常的外向。我立刻就見了他的好幾個朋友然後還到了一個聚會去玩了些樂器,這是我第一次接觸到即興演奏,你可以拾起一個樂器然後就跟著大家一起演奏。那裡有人玩吉他,有人玩烏克麗麗、鈴鼓、非洲鼓、手碟。我撿起了我並不清楚名字的樂器,然後只是一邊享受音樂和跟著節奏玩。真的是一個非常放鬆的大家讓各司其職的音樂會。之後我們去一個酒吧享受全素的食物,讓我感覺真的好像是一個當地人。在我回家的路上,Berk就分享他為何會從土耳其搬到斯洛伐克,還有他對於土耳其的政治、社會、宗教的情形有多麼的絕望。聽到他的故事我覺得很有意思,但因為我通常對政治還有宗教的話題都相當漠不關心,所以我感覺要說些什麼參與討論有點困難,...
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    6 mins
  • 29 A lone journey in Budapest
    May 23 2022
    If you never go you’ll never know. 如果你不去,你永遠不會知道。 The original plan was interrupted and changed as a result of Palli’s sudden visit. I dropped my plans to visit Berlin and some cities in Poland however it was well worth it. Even though he was no longer by my side, his kindness and sweetness would always stay in my heart. I was grateful to have met him on my journey. 原本的計劃因為冰島的Palli突然的來訪而中斷了。雖然放棄了去參觀柏林還有一些波蘭的城市,然而卻很值得。他已經不在我的身旁,但他的好和貼心會一直長存在我心中。我非常感謝在我的旅程中遇見他。 It was definitely nice to get together with Palli however saying goodbye to him left me feeling sad and emotionally drained. I asked Rikke, my friend in Copenhagen, if I could stay with her one more night to recover my energy. I asked to cook for her to thank her for her kindness the other day too. Rikke was so sweet and prepared chicken and vegetables for both of us and I cooked beef dumplings that evening. We also watched a documentary about Peru, where I had visited that May, and shared some wine together. My soul really needed this space and time to recharge and recover. As I grew as a traveler, I learned to be independent but also knew when to depend on others too. 可以和Palli聚在一起的確是很棒,然而說再見也讓我感覺傷心還有留下我在情感中感覺枯竭。我問我在哥本哈根的朋友Rikke是否可以再讓我和她一起住一晚上去恢復我的能量。我想要為她煮飯,並且謝謝她幾天前的接待。Rikke好貼心,為我們倆準備了雞肉和蔬菜而我則是在那一晚做牛肉餃子。因為我五月才去了一趟秘魯,所以我們一起看了一部有關秘魯的紀錄片,一邊共享一些紅酒。我的靈魂的確需要這個空間和時間去充電還有恢復。隨著旅行一直在成長,我不僅學會了獨立,也學會知道什麼時候應該要仰賴別人。 I decided to take a cheap flight to Budapest the next day, so I could skip a day on the train. My host in Budapest was very nice and offered to pick me up at the airport. Though he charged a small fee (25 euros), I thought it was pretty fair. The host, Peter, lived a semi-retired life by trading in the morning and doing airbnb business on the side. In his free time, he was interested in energy healing work, so he also offered Reiki and massage to his friends. He also ran a tour business, so I was happy to support and I bought a tour bus ticket and also a ticket to the famous hot spring from him. After all, he gave me a private bedroom to stay in his beautiful apartment in downtown Budapest. That was very generous and sweet, and he also cooked breakfast for me the next morning. 我決定隔天要搭廉價的航空去布達佩斯,這樣我就可以省掉好幾天坐火車的時間。我在布達佩斯的沙發主人非常的好,他還提供了來機場接我。雖然他收一點小小的費用(25歐元),我覺得也是很公道。Peter是我的沙發主,他是一個借著白天在炒股,一邊經營民宿過著半退休的生活。在他的空閒時間,他對能量醫療的工作非常感興趣,所以他也對他的朋友提供靈氣和按摩的服務。他也經營一個旅行事業,所以我也非常高興可以支持他,我從他那邊買了一張巴士券還有一張去他們那邊最有名的溫泉門票。畢竟,他讓我在他市中心美麗的公寓中的私人房間住兩晚。我覺得他非常的慷慨和貼心,甚至隔天還做了早餐給我吃。 Budapest was big and extremely beautiful. It was right to get the bus ticket because I could navigate around the city quickly. When I’m traveling, I usually don’t really care too much about checking out the sights. I like to wander and absorb the energy of the city and love seeing where fate takes me. The food was also very inexpensive in Budapest and I especially enjoyed the pastries a lot.  I had a huge sweet bread roll called trdelnik for 3 euros and a croissant with pistachio paste for 2.5 euros. Trdelnik is very popular in different countries in Central Europe and the warmth, sugar and flavour are perfect on a cold winter day. 布達佩斯很大而且也非常的美。買巴士票券是正確的,因為這樣我就可以快速的在城市中導覽。當我在旅行的時候,我真的不是非常在意要去看哪些景點。我喜歡到處亂走,然後吸收整個城市的能量,然後也看看命運會帶我去哪裡。在布達佩斯的食物也非常的便宜,我特別喜歡他們的糕點。我花了3歐元吃了一個好大的叫trdelnik的甜麵包卷,還用2.5歐吃一個夾著開心果醬的可頌麵包。Trdelnik是在中歐許多不同國家非常熱門的一種麵包,它的熱氣、糖霜還有口味非常適合在寒冷的冬天里享用。 I didn’t know if it was because I was alone or ...
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    7 mins