A look back on my Summer Holiday 🌞

Tomorrow I’m going back to Uni now, and it’s the perfect time to look back what I have done during my Summer Holiday.

Well, I must say, this summer is the most joyful, with a lot of things happened, and definitely the most unforgettable one so far. It marks my first summer in Germany, and quite funny, that the amount of time I travel during this summer is even a lot than my 19 years in Vietnam combined.

Sadly, it is. I never had a chance to travel when I was in Vietnam.

My parents are not fond of travelling, they prefer to stay at home and enjoy the summer inside, rather than going anywhere else and ‘endure yourself’ (gay kho khan). So, if I were to travel, I would have to do it alone, and as I wasn’t old enough, I couldn’t. So my summer back then was all about surfing the internet, liking posts from my friends travelling with their parents, went to a cafe shop with my girls, visiting the library… I never thought of travelling outside of my city back then.

The first time that I really stepped out of my comfort zone was when I got on a trip to Nha Trang and Da Nang during those last days in Vietnam before I moved to Germany.

Well, it did take a lot of courage tho. My mom kept insisting on finding a tour or just go somewhere near our city to be ‘safe’.

But I didn’t want that. I have lived in this country for 19 years and if anyone coming to Vietnam and asks me to recommend a place to travel to… I would be embarrassed. I know nothing, as I’ve never been to anywhere, outside of my city.

That’s why, I reject to stay in my city the rest of the little time I still have here, I want to travel, I want to see my country.

And it led to my 11-day trip alone.

After the trip, something sparked in me… a flame kindled, a voice, behind my head, keep telling me, go, I must go, to see the world, to walk on my legs, to see with my own eyes, to hear with my ears, to feel with my own skin…

And so, on a sunny day, absolutely beautiful, I packed my bag, hop on the train, and let the wanderlust fire in me burst out, firing, shining…

This summer, well, actually before summer a little bit :’D, I did more than I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m so proud of it.

Some places I have travelled to:

Dresden

The first trip I went alone is Dresden — a beautiful, gorgeous city just 2 hours away from my city. I had great time there and managed to test out my planning skills, and did learn a lot while being there.

I’ve learnt to pack only things that are necessary to me, learn to set up the camera to shoot myself, to plan out the sight-seeing route… You can read it here.

Erfurt

Here you can find beautiful architectures of every house you’re confronted with, it’s like, every house here has a story, a soul. Also, there’s a viewpoint that you can climb up and look down upon the city beneath you.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to explore the city due to some incidents, but will definitely come back to fulfill the trip!

Potsdam-Berlin

I’ve heard about Potsdam for a long time, about Sanssouci Palace, about the University… And this time, wow, it’s MARVELOUSSSSSS, like, the Uni itself is a castle? Like what?????????????? You’re going to study in a CASTLE?

It’s like a dream, like… I’m in Hogwarts!

The University
Apart from the two above, Potsdam is a lively cities with full of gems — especially the Hollandisches Viertel which will never disappoint you - Every corner here is worth an image.

This marks the second time I've ever been in Berlin, and the city never disappoints me. What I love about Berlin is its chaotic atmosphere, a symphony of diverse cultures, histories, and lifestyles that harmoniously blend together in a way that is uniquely captivating. Berlin is a city of creativity — Everywhere you go, you encounter arts, arts on the walls, of the unique architectures of Berlin, on the streets, and arts inside the people themselves.

It never ceases to amaze how great and diverse this city is!

Munich

This is probably one of a mile-stone for me, as it has a huge influece on myself right now.

I came here because the hostel is so cheap, only 17 dollars a night lol. That’s solely the reason why. Plus, here in this hostel, THE TENT, I like the concept of it, to make it into a camping experience that’s very suitable to make new friends, as you can spend the night together around the campfire and talk and sing and laugh.

But I’ve never thought that through conversations with my new-made friends, a new phase of me beginned.

You can read more of my trip in Munich here.

Most of them that I met are doing an inter-Europe trip, either by train or with bicycle (this, is what I’m fascinated by the most. One person I met is even riding a bicycle through Europe!). Hearing their stories, there experience, their success and fails makes me desire to achieve the same. After the trip, I decided not to use a luggage to travel anymore, especially during those short trips like this. This is the thing I learnt from my friends, as nobody I met there is carrying a luggage :’D. They just pack everything inside a backpack designed especially for hiking, put on the backpack, and go.

So, I bought one, and prepared my next trip with it.

Hiking - Bad Kösen and Brachwitz

After buying everything I needed at Decathlon, I decided to test myself out of how much I love Hiking, so that the further investment will not be a waste.

And the first trip is in Bad Kösen, and turns out to be both a disaster and a sucess.

First, is a disaster, I navigated with Google Map!!!

LOL lesson learnt: You musn’t use Google Map when going on a Hike, but an navigation app dedicated to it. Now I’m using Komoot, which is a great app both for planning your route and navigating around.

Thanks to Google Map, I got lost in the wood, managed to get out onto a highway, walked my way back to the final destination, and painfully realised that the right route has always been in front of me, but as Google Maps didn’t have any datas of it, it didn’t show me :’D.

But it’s a success, because although I was exhausted, it was so fun to wander around in the nature.

So I did the trip once again, but this time, with better preparation and a proper navigation, and was a success!

You can see how far I have trailed off here…

I will post a blog about Hiking in foreseenable future!

Hamburg

So the summer vacation is coming to an end, and it’s such a waste to stay at home during the last week. So I was wrecking my brain trying to decide whether I should go to Hamburg or to Frankfurt. The reason is both the cities lie in the region I want to study in the future, so I want to make a small investigation into the city, the region, to feel the vibe and find out if I’m suitable for the city.

And I chose Hamburg, because it’s hot as hell in the central Germany!

And I, didn’t regret it :’D

The city really amazed me by its complete unique architecture. You must see it with your own eyes, standing there, looking up at the building, admiring the iconic shapes of each building you encounter!

Also, Hamburg is a harbour city, which means it’s very near to the beach — the nearest one is just 1h30 away from Hamburg central station.

I also visited Kiel — Muthesius Kunsthochschule (Art University), the University I intended to apply to, and the beach. Well, I’m not fond of the beach here that much, as the ground is full of rock, and walking on it hurts, but I cannot deny the healing ability of the sea can bring to you, by just sitting by the side and let the onshore breeze brush your skin.

I will definitely write a post about my unforgettable experience here in Hamburg!

Some stuffs I have been up to:

Joing an art group in Berlin

Another reason to love Berlin.

I found this group on Meetup, a website to find and host an event. It’s about quick-sketching portrait which I find pretty cool. So I joined in, and the time I had there can only be described as Wonderful! Everyone there is so friendly, some even has years of experience working as an artist or a designer, from whom I talked to, I had learnt quite a bit from them. Also, after the session, we also had a bonding time together to spend the rest of Sunday. It includes eating out together, chatting, playing board games and stuffs.

Such a good experience for me, and I look forward to it every Sunday!

Getting serious on completing my Portfolio

Lately I’ve just discovered that I CAN apply for a Summer semester at some University, and the deadline to hand in Portfolio is quite near. That’s why I need to be more productive and work harder on my art.

So…

This summer has taught me a lot — of connecting with the nature and people, of exploring the world, of stepping out of the idle routine of everyday life and bringing the new fresh air into life. I really appreciate it, and as I reflect on these experiences, I realize just how much this season of growth and discovery has enriched my life.