小腳板在丹麥走天涯 leaving footprints around Denmark!
Interesting picture that was submitted to Toemail! 😀
20 樣未去歐洲前不知道的事 20 things I never know before going to Europe
Before I went to Europe for the first time, I knew very little about things going on in this continent. I know some of the things may sound really stupid not to know, but I also believe that’s how I gained my knowledge bits by bits when I traveled. This is one of the reasons why I love traveling, and why traveling is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
- Greenland is part of Denmark. It is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark!
- Differences between Nordic countries and Scandinavia! Scandinavian countries = Sweden, Norway and Denmark and Nordic = Scandinavian countries, Iceland, Finland, and three autonomous regions (Faroe Islands, Greenland and Aland Islands). *
- Super small countries in Europe: San Marion and Liechtenstein! (I heard of Vatican City, Monaco and Malta before.)
- Trains can separate into 2 or even more parts. For instance, the first bit of the train will go to city A, while the last bit will go to city B.
- Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are considered as 1 area (or country) if you are buying inter-rail/eurail pass in Europe!
- The major/easiest way to travel from city to city in Turkey is by bus, and they have wifi, free snack and drink provided on the bus! Someone will push a little trolley and come to your seat and serve you!
- After buying a train ticket, sometimes you have to reserve a seat, if not, you may end up standing in the train for your whole journey.
- Cheap airline can be really cheap! I once got a ticket from Italy to Denmark for 5EURO!
- While many food is more expensive than HK, carrots, milk and potatoes are cheaper! For example, 1 pint (568mL) of fresh milk cost only £ 0.49 (HKD5.75), while the average price of a pasta in a restaurant is around 10GBP (HKD120). [For foreign visitors’ information, 236mL of fresh milk cost at least HKD6 (£ 0.51), while a pasta with coffee or tea will cost around HKD50 (£ 4.25) during lunch time and HKD80 (£ 6.8) for dinner time.]
- Italian cuisine is more than just pasta like spaghetti and pizza! There are more like gnocchi, tortellini…you can make a Strawberry risotto, and the pasta we called Angel hair in Hong Kong is called Capellini in Italian. (If you tell them Angel hair, they may not know what it is…)
- Difference between hard water and soft water! Hard water have more minerals like Calcium, for us who are not used to drink hard water, you may end up having some hair loss problem!
- Get a free postcard in pubs in Denmark! (maybe also in other countries…)
- Send a postcard for free from Europe by writing ‘student-to-student’ instead of sticking a stamp. Couldn’t find any official info about it, but I had quite a lot of successful cases! (Send from: Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria…etc. to Japan, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the USA…etc.)
- Free university education (up to Master degree) in some Nordic countries (e.g. Denmark, Sweden)!
- Daylight saving! So time will shift 1 hr on a specific day.
- Celebrations of festival! For example, St. Patrick’s Day in March in Ireland; Mother’s Day and Red Nose Day in March and Red Poppy for Remembrance Day in Nov in the UK, Queen’s Day in May in the Netherlands…etc.
- There are little <3 (hearts) on the coins of Danish Kroner – the Danish currency.
- You can’t make snowman with any snow. Sometimes snow is too wet or too dirty for it.
- Only Asians have difference between single eyelid and double eyelids! Europeans all have double eyelids! (Why?! Life is sooo unfair!)
- Hong Kong is part of Japan to some Europeans.
第一次踏足歐洲前，對歐洲的認識可說是少之有少。可能有些事情說出來，您會覺得‘不是嗎？您連這東西也不知？’但正正因為有機會到外地闖闖，和來自不同地方的人交流，我才漸漸學會了這些書本上學不到的知識。這也是我喜歡旅行的原因，也應現了讀萬卷書不如行萬里路的道理！
- 格陵蘭是丹麥的一部份，現在是丹麥皇國裏面的一個自治國。
- Nordic 同Scandinavia這兩個字是有分別的！Scandinavia =瑞典、挪威和丹麥；而Nordic = Scandinavia、芬蘭、冰島、法羅群島、格陵蘭和奧蘭群島自治區。*
- 在歐洲裏面的超級小國：聖馬里昂(San Marion)和列支敦士登(Liechtenstein)！ （我以前只聽說過梵蒂岡，摩納哥和馬爾他。）
- 同一架火車可以分開去兩個不同的地方。前段去城市A，後段去城市B！
- 假如購買火車證歐遊，荷蘭、比利時及盧森堡是當作為同一地區的！
- 在土耳其，最容易穿梭不同城市的交通工具是巴士，而且巴士設備非常好，不但有WIFI，還提供小食及飯品！還會有專人把食物送到您的座位！
- 買了火車票不等如您有位坐，有時候要再加錢預留座位，如果沒有座位，您可能整程火車也要企！
- 廉價航空公司真的很便宜！曾經試過買一張從意大利到丹麥的機票也只是5歐元！
- 雖然很多一般食食物都比香港昂貴，但紅蘿蔔，牛奶和薯仔是非常便宜！例如：568mL的鮮牛奶只要0.49英鎊，但去餐廳吃一個意大利粉就大約要10英鎊。
- 除了和意大利粉外，意大利還有很多美食！如gnocchi、tortellini，，仲有可以有士多啤梨意大利飯！香港人叫開既天使麵，原來意大利人係無聽過呢個名既，佢地係叫Capellini!
- 水都有分硬水同軟水，硬水既礦物質豐富得多，平常不是飲慣硬水的香港人，飲得多有機會甩頭髮！
- 係丹麥既酒吧係有個扲免費名信片的！
- 想免費寄名信片可以試下係貼郵票既地方寫Student-to-student！雖然找不到官方資料，但我曾經在丹麥、德國、捷克、奧地利等國家寄過，試過寄去日本、香港、英國、美國都收到！
- 一些北歐國家是提供免費高等教育〔直到碩士〕。
- 夏令時間！係某一日深夜既時候，會多左或少左一個鐘！
- 不同的節日慶祝活動！例如，愛爾蘭在三月有St Patrick’s Day，英國在三月有Red Nose Day和母親節、還有十一月的陣亡將士紀念日，荷蘭在五月有Queen’s Day…等。
- 在丹麥貨幣 – Danish Kroner的硬幣上是有<3（心）型的圖案。
- 不是一下雪便可以堆雪人！有時雪會太濕、有時會太髒…！
- 只有亞洲人有單眼皮和雙眼皮的分別！所有歐洲人也是雙眼皮的！ （天啊！為什麼這麼不公平？）
- 有些歐洲人認為香港是日本的一部分。（不知爲什麽…）
免費名信片 Free postcards!
第一個雪球 My first snowball!
士多啤梨意大利飯 Strawberry Risotto!
會分開的火車 Train that will detach!
*Reference: http://lostinstockholm.com/2010/03/09/the-confusion-between-scandinavia-and-nordic/
—–
相關博文 Related blog articles：
3個去完要再去…再去的城市 3 cities that worth to go again…and again!
5樣女生初次獨遊異地不可不知的事 5 things girls need to know when traveling alone for the first time
3個去完要再去…再去的城市 3 cities that worth to go again…and again!
作為一個剛畢業的女生，在剛過去的3年大學生涯有幸去了大概24個國家，有些待得久一點，有些只是匆匆看一看。不能說是去過很多地方，而且也不是對所有地方都很瞭解，所以我相信不久的未來，會有更多的城市我會想再去。一般去旅遊的時候也會選未去過的，但是客觀而言，有3個城市在不知不覺間，已經俘虜了我的心。這次要倒數！
As a girl who just graduate recently, I’ve been traveling to around 24 countries throughout my 3-year-university-life. I stayed longer for some cities, but for some, I could only manage to have a glance. I couldn’t say 24 countries are a lot, and I may not have thorough understanding to each country as well, and I believe I will keep adding some other cities to the list eventually. Usually when I choose a travel destination, I like to go somewhere I never been, but frankly speaking, there are 3 cities I went to that have secretly lured my heart in some sense. This time, I have to start from the bottom to the first!
3rd place: 巴塞隆拿（西班牙）Barcelona (Spain)
巴塞隆拿是一個充滿驚喜的地方，只要您花一點時間細心感受，仔細觀看，會發現這個城市充滿不同的建築，而且是在其他地方看不到的！Gaudi的建築，跟一般在歐洲看到的哥德式或羅馬式建築很不一樣！除了出名的Sagrada Familia(聖家堂), Casa Batllo(巴特婁之家), Casa Mila(米拉之家)，隨便在街上停一停細看，也能發現有趣的建築。
初初很擔心小偷的問題，後來發現小心一點，也沒有大問題（其實有時候是香港比較太平）。而很多當地的西班牙人其實也很友善，且非常樂於助人。位於沒海岸線上的巴塞隆拿，只需步行一會便來到長長的沙灘，一邊看著海灘，一邊享受Sangria和Jamon、Paella（西班牙火腿、西班牙海鮮飯）等美食，還有甚麼不喜歡這個城市的理由呢？
Barcelona is a place full of surprise! If you spend some time to feel the city, and look around carefully, you will find the cities are full of different architecture that you can find nowhere in the world! The famous Gaudi architecture is so different from the typical gothic or roman architecture we usually find across Europe. Other than the cliché Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, if you stop in the middle of a random street in Barcelona, you may find some interesting architecture too!
At first I worry a lot about pick-pocketing. But later on I realize if you have all those ‘safety precautions’, there are not much problem. (Probably it’s just because where I come from, Hong Kong, is too peaceful and safe.) Spanish people are very friendly as well, they help us as much as they can whenever we ask for anything! Also as a city along the coastline, beach can be reached within walking distance. You can enjoy the beautiful view with some Spanish delicacy like Sangria, Jamon and Paella, or maybe a siesta on the beach as well…! I just can‘t think of any reason not to like this city anymore…!
2nd place:威尼斯（意大利）Venice (Italy)
長長的貢多拉船，狹窄的運河交錯，令這個意大利水都充滿特色。
遇上神祕、詭異的威尼斯嘉年華（Carnevale Di Venezia），更令當地的景緻更具色彩！看著來自世界各地的旅客也前來慕名而來，穿上浪漫華麗的服飾、戴上手工精巧的面具，興高采烈地遊走在這個意大利的小鎮中。
除了感受威尼斯的氣氛外，來到意大利，當然也要一嚐各式各樣的意大利美食，意大利粉、Pizza、Gelato（軟雪糕）、Tiramisu想起也滋味無窮！
The long and romantic Gondola ride, and the narrow canal around the whole water village, just because of these, they are already making Venice unique!
If you came to Venice at the right time, you may come across the mysterious and glamorous Mardi Gras – Carnevale Di Venezia! Visitors from all over the world come to this little city just to celebrate the carnival! They hide their faces behind the mask and wear enchanting costumes, from walking among tiny streets and bridges to showcasing their fascinating look at San Marco Square, this is definitely one of the most beautiful and breathtaking carnival you can ever been!
Other than the beautiful scenery and magnificent carnival, you can’t leave the city without enjoying Italian cuisine, pasta, pizza, gelato, tiramisu…etc. There’s no way that I am not coming back to this city again!
1st place: 塔斯曼尼亞（澳洲）Tasmania (Australia)
可能是來自一個大城市，我比較喜歡去一些充滿自然美的地方，而還沒有太多污染的塔斯曼尼亞便是我的首選！
由森林景色到沿海景緻，塔斯曼尼亞讓人忘卻繁囂的生活，回到大自然的懷抱中，親親特有的澳洲小動物，享受這個世界的美好！景點雖然沒有在大城市旅遊這麼方便，但在人煙倜密的大都市或旅遊城市，要找一個無污染的地方，又談何容易呢？
Maybe because I am coming from a big city called Hong Kong, I love to go to some relaxing place to enjoy the nature and life during my trips. Thus the UNPOLLUTED Tasmania becomes my first choice out of all the cities I ever traveled to!
From forest to seaside, Tasmania is a place that will let you forget all your troubles and stress. Enjoying birds singing and the cute Australian animals instead of noise made by cars and party music, looking at trees and the sea instead of flashy advertisement signs… Even though traveling is not as convenient as you can do in big cities (like going around every sightseeing spots with metro or on foot), living in this overpopulated world nowadays, can you imagine how difficult it would be to find an unpolluted place?
相關旅遊資訊 Related Traveling information ：Barcelona Turisme, Venice Tourism, Discover Tasmania
相關博文 Related blog article：5樣女生初次獨遊異地不可不知的事 5 things girls need to know when traveling alone for the first time
芬蘭 – 白色的童話國 FINLAND – the white fairyland
第一次來歐洲是因為到丹麥留學，留學期間當然也不忘到其他歐洲國家旅遊一下！第一站我就去了芬蘭，本來想碰碰運氣看北極光，雖然最後也看不到，但是芬蘭的白色世界也很與別不同和非常漂亮！
The first time I stepped into Europe is because I was studying abroad in Denmark, when I was sooooo far away from home, of course I did travel to some other European countries. Finland is my first destination because I really would like to see Aurora (the northern light). Even though I couldn’t see it in the end, the snowy world of Finland is really special and very beautiful!
一來到芬蘭就看見了Moomin, 不要以為Moomin是日本的，其實是芬蘭的！
One of the first things I see in Finland – Moomin, many people thought Moomin comes from Japan, but it’s created by Finland actually!
二月的芬蘭到處也是白色的，讓我感到好像去了Narnia的白色皇國！四周沒有太多人，只是白濛濛的樣子，很寧靜，很和平的樣子。
Febuary in Finland, everything is white, feel like i went to the kingdom of Narnia! You can hardly find anyone around, very quiet, yet very peaceful…!
難得來到這個這麼冷的地方，當然也要順道來一來北極圈，跟聖誕老人打招呼！
Traveling all the way to the north, for sure we dropped by the Arctic circle and say hi to Santa Claus!
這個應該就是聖誕老人的reindeer吧！很可愛！
I guess this is Santa Claus’s reindeer, sooo cute!
也可以一試坐雪撬！看！雪撬犬多可愛！
you can also try to have a husky ride! See! they are sooo cute!
這些就是從香港寄來給聖誕老人的信了！
These are letters for the Santa Claus from Hong Kong!
用lego堆的聖誕老人！
Santa Claus by LEGO!
到了Helsinki的Orthodox Cathedral Uspenski!
This is the Orthodox Cathedral Uspenski in Helsinki!
Helsinki的港口都結冰了！
It’s so cold that the Helsinki Harbour are all covered with ice now!
The Plaza of the Senate！很漂亮啊！
The very pretty Plaza of the Senate!
芬蘭旅遊相關資訊 Related information for Traveling to Finland ：VisitFinland.com
英國留學相關資訊 Related information for Study Abroad in Enland：EF Education First 英國留學
5個旅遊或留學前的收拾小秘密 5 secrets when packing for traveling or study abroad trips
很多人在留學或旅遊前也有一個大難題，究竟要帶什麽？帶多了就好像笨了，忘記了一些東西又很不方便。但是與其給你一個packing list，不如讓我跟你分享我5個收拾留學或旅遊物品的秘密！
1. 電器轉換器/拖板
最小要帶2個轉換器，萬一一個壞了，還有一個後備！假如2個也壞了，那…你真的唔好彩，下一次不要再到這間店買轉換器吧！
[from http://www.solentcables.co.uk]
2. Layering的學問
特別是女生，layering可以讓你帶小一點衣服！本來女生就是有很多衣服，不同場合有不同的需要。但現在的天氣又變化莫測，時凍時熱，準備一些簡單薄薄的深色長袖T恤及leggings，加上夏天也能穿的短袖T恤及短褲，減小所需要帶的衣服。
3. 衣架/掠衫繩
帶備最少一個衣架，主要是沖涼後可以把毛巾掛起來，不用擔心要掛在骯髒的地方。
特別給準備長時間旅遊的你：帶備一條掠衫繩，需要在旅館洗衣服後也不需要擔心沒地方掠乾。
[from: http://www.go-travelproducts.com/]
即使我是去留學或是住酒店，我也出發時也會帶備一條旅遊毛巾，這些旅遊毛巾比一般的貴一點，但假如你經常去旅行，也是一個值得的投資！
旅遊毛巾的好處是：輕、快乾、打開是大條，收起來是很小！
[from: http://www.go-travelproducts.com/]
千萬不要不要不要帶旅遊書！(除非你的行李有很多位或沒有超重的危機…)
現在在網上容易找到資料，假如你已一早為旅行進行計劃，那可以為所需的版面影印（請留意版權問題，我是從來也不看旅遊書的）或在網上列印相關的資料！假如你沒有為旅行進行計劃，那就去到以後去Tourist Information Centre或是旅店問問別人吧！
P.S. 上述介紹的產品沒有任何廣告成分，純粹是筆者以往的心得，圖片也是來自官方網站（假如你不喜歡我使用你的圖片，歡迎與我聯絡）。假如有其他好介紹或心得，歡迎分享！
It’s very common that we feel stressed before traveling or studying abroad, we worry about what we should pack along. If we bring too much, we may feel a bit stupid to bring along things we don’t need. If we forgot about some important stuff, it may create some inconvenience. Rather than sharing a packing list which you can easily find online, let me share with you 5 secrets I have when I am packing for my traveling or study abroad trips.
1. Socket adaptor/ extensions
Bring at least 2 socket adaptors with you! In case one of them is broken/not working, there’s one more to charge your gadgets! What if both of them are broken…?! Then I would say, sorry, you are so unlucky, maybe you should buy your adaptor somewhere else next time! 😛
Especially for the ones who are going to study abroad: Bring an extension cord with 3-4 sockets! This is very useful for lazy people, so you don’t have to un-plug, and plug, and un-plug your charger every day!
[from http://www.kenable.co.uk/]
Sounds abstract, what layering? It’s about how you prepare your clothing For girls in particular, wear with layers can help you reduce the amount of clothing you need to bring! Preparing different occasions with different outfits, girls always need many different kinds of clothes. In addition to climate change, it’s hard to forecast how the weather be like, prepare some long sleeves t-shirt and leggings in black or some other dark colors so you can wear them underneath your summer t-shirt and shorts!
3. Clothes Hanger/Clothes line
Bring at least one clothes hanger with you, so you don’t have to worry where you can put to dry your shower towel!
Especially for the ones who are going to travel for a long time: Buy/Prepare a clothes line, so you don’t have to worry where to dry your clothes in case you have to wash some of them in your hostel later on.
4. Travel towel
No matter study abroad or traveling, I always bring along a travel towel with me, this kind of travel towel is slightly more expensive than the usual ones. But if you always travel around, it’s something worth to invest!
Advantages of travel towel: Light-weight, quick-dry, big enough when you open it and small enough when you fold it!
5. Guide book
Never Never Never bring a guide book/travel book! (Unless you have a lot of space and weight limit for your luggage…)
It’s easy to look for travel information online nowadays! If you always plan well for your travel, maybe you can photocopy the pages you need for your travel (please aware of the issue of copyright, to be honest I never really read a travel book) or you can print the information online! If you are not planning to plan your trip, then why don’t you just go to the Tourist Information Centre or Hostel to ask for suggestions and your way after you arrive!
P.S. The products introduced above are not advertisements, they are just sharing that I have my travels. Photos of the products are from the official website (Please let me know if you do not want me to use the picture.) If you have any other recommendations or packing secrets, please share!
購買旅行用品相關網站 Related website about buying travel products：Go Travel, Muji
留學計劃相關網站 Related website about studying abroad：EF Education First 留學計劃
相關博文 Related blog article：5 tips to save money when studying abroad