What is in your bucket list? Mine is to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in 3 countries.
“One day, I will travel far and wide, and have 3 meals in a day in different countries.” That was what I told myself when I was younger.
Lo and behold, I recently found myself having a French dinner in the North of France, after completing a day of travel from Germany through the Netherlands. – Trevellers Bucket List #3
Breakfast in Cologne, Germany
The funny thing is that this could not have happened if I had booked my trip properly. I was in Bonn, Germany and was supposed to leave in the middle of the night for France with Flixbus. However, I booked my bus on the following day instead. A rookie mistake.
When morning came, I dragged my sleepy body up to get ready and leave. It was a torture to wake up at 6am, such an ungodly hour. I grabbed a German sandwich, which Valentin prepared for me, and went off to Cologne to take my bus.
Lunch in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
During this period, I visited Amsterdam every single month. Be it to visit friends, party, flights or exploring, Amsterdam was always on my list. No doubt, I love the city of Amsterdam. The strong waft of marijuana once you leave the train, plane or bus, it reminds me that I am indeed, in the Netherlands.
I arrived in Amsterdam’s Sloterdijk station. This is a great place, if you are looking for a place to stay and the city centre is too expensive. I remember spending 2 nights in Amsterdam Sloterdijk during King’s Day.
Every train that arrives in Amsterdam Sloterdijk goes to Amsterdam Centraal station. It only takes 6 minutes to be in the centre. You can plan it via the Official NS Train Website.
In Amsterdam centre, you can find food EVERYWHERE, especially the Dutch/Belgian fries (patat or frites). My favourite topping sauce (saus) is with curry ketchup (without mayonnaise).
Dinner in Lille, France
I could have had dinner in Paris and skipped Lille, but that was probably too cliché. Instead, I went to Lille to meet Alex instead, to party and leave for Paris the next day.
So I arrived in Lille, France at night. I met with Alex and we went for dinner at night. We met his other professor friends and went to Ô! concert restaurant for dinner in the city centre of Lille. It was a quiet night, so we thought we could have dinner, grab a beer along Rue de Solferino (the party street), chat and rest. They had to teach the next day, and I had a train to catch for Paris the next.
But of course, nothing happens the way we want it to. It turned out to be a crazy insane night.
So, before I move on, you must understand that Rue de Solferino is the party place to be when you are in Lille. The craziest days are Thursdays to Saturdays. Wednesdays are generally quiet days. And lucky me visited on Wednesday, which means no party day. Or so we thought.
We went bar hopping for beers and drinks, checking out the limited bars that were open. And suddenly, we realized that their university booked a club for the students to party in.
Oh, that changed things.
We entered the club, bought a few Bombay Sapphires and started partying away! We even had sparkles to play with in the club. Soon, it was jam-packed with students and other professors. We danced till the club closed and had to return. It was also then, where I saw people peeing on the streets because they were too drunk to find a toilet.
Grabbed some sandwiches for supper and headed back to rest. You see, my morning train departed at 8am but we arrived back at 6am. The other professors were all suited up and having their breakfast while we stumbled into the area drunk. I set a reminder to wake up…
Obviously it did not happen. I only woke up 20min after my train departed! Thank God that there are many other options for travels. I took a blablacar before heading to Paris a few hours later.
A mistake in my booking with Flixbus turned into an unforgettable night. I had some other adventures on Flixbus too, like driving to Vienna, Austria from Dusseldorf, Germany with Vivian. Oh, maybe I’ll that story another time.
Learn how I spent just 100€ to travel 3 countries and 8 cities!
Trevellers is my way to change the world. Through my stories, tips and lessons learnt, I truly hope to inspire you to get out of your comfort zone, see the world and see who you truly are. Travel is more than just taking a selfie at beautiful destinations. Travel is an adventure, where you can truly become who you are, give you the time to reflect and grow to become the person you’ve always dreamt of.
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