[CENTRAL MACEDONIA] Budget and Itinerary

WEDNESDAY: 30 August 2017

Ryanair (Paphos - Thessaloniki) - 42.00
Airbnb (2 Nights) - 35.00
78 (One-Way) - 2.00
2elve (Strawberry Slushee) - 1.00
Brothers in Law (Beef Steak w/ Fries & Water + Oreo Cheese Cake) - 23.80

EUR103.80

[THESSALONIKI] All Chill Here in Thess

When you tell people that you are going to Greece, they are quick to conjure images of the blue and white houses of Santorini or the Parthenon in Athens. This is the default set of imagery that one associates with this country. And then I thought, hey, why not Thessaloniki? Thessalo-what? Thessaloniki is in the northern part of Greece, not far away from the Macedonian border. In fact, the region is called Central Macedonia. Are you confused yet? So am I, but let’s discuss further.

[PAPHOS] Budget and Itinerary

TUESDAY: 29 August 2017

Convenience Store (Snacks) - 4.00
Intercity (Limassol - Paphos) - 4.00
Airbnb (1 Night) - 14.00
618 (Karavella - Harbour) - 1.50
Entrance Fee (Archaeological Area) - 4.50
Solemio (Penne Carbonara w/Coke x2 + Vanilla Shake) - 19.50
603 (Harbour - Karavella) - 1.50

EUR49.00

[PAPHOS] Beach, Love, Mosaics

Once upon a time Titan Cronus and his father Uranus had a big fight, and the son thought it’d be fun to castrate daddy as a form of revenge. Aww, family love. Long story short, something fell from the sky into the sea that day and the beach bums of Paphos be like, “ZOMFG IS THAT WHAT WE THINK IT IS???!!!” But shit was just about to get real when from the severed genitals of the sky god arose a beautiful goddess called Aphrodite. Google “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli for visuals.

[LIMASSOL] Budget and Itinerary

MONDAY: 28 August 2017

Intercity (Larnaca - Limassol) - 4.00
Airbnb (1 Night) - 26.00
Starbucks (Choco Chip + Sugar Donuts x2) - 7.60
Bus 30 (One Way) - 1.50
Coffee Gallery (Bolognese + Coke) - 10.80

EUR49.90

Estimate of EUR1 = PhP59.50

TOTAL – PhP2,969.05

[LIMASSOL] Beaching in Cyprus, Part II

Limassol is halfway between Larnaca and Paphos. All three cities are connected by Intercity buses that cost EUR4 (~PHP240) one-way. The travel time is usually an hour and a half depending on traffic. In our case, we arrived 10 minutes earlier. Limassol is the second largest town in Cyprus after Nicosia. Even so, the population is a mere 200,000, which means there is enough beach for everybody. As for me, my expectation is simple: Beach again. Yes, we came to Cyprus to beach, and beach we will.

Game of Thrones (HBO): Season 7/Episode 7

7.7 The Dragon and the Wolf

As the grand meeting finally comes into fruition, so do unwanted reunions: Cersei and Tyrion; Euron and Theon; The Mountain and the Hound. As the wight emerges from his box and lunges at Cersei, they all realize that the threat is real. She eventually agrees to the truce and pledges her troops but has a totally different plan in mind, which upon Jamie’s discovery prompts him to abandon her once and for all. In Winterfell, Petyr Baelish’s crimes catch up with him as the Stark siblings reveal that they are the ones playing him all along. After Sansa comes up with a guilty verdict, Arya finishes him off with a quick dagger slash to the throat. Theon manages to rally his remaining men and vows to rescue Yara from Euron. Sam arrives in Winterfell, meets Bran, and they put two and two together regarding Jon Snow’s true lineage. The dead army arrives at the wall. The Night King, saddled on now blue fire-breathing Viserion’s back, attacks the wall, causing it to entirely collapse. Tormund and his gang flee as the undead march south undeterred.

[LARNACA] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 26 August 2017

easyJet (Berlin - Larnaca) - 85.84
Airbnb (2 Nights) - 32.00
425 (One-Way) - 1.50
Convenience Store (Water 1.5L + Strawberry Slushee) - 2.40

EUR121.74

[LARNACA] Beaching in Cyprus, Part I

Philippine passport holders who have a valid multiple-entry Schengen visa can visit Cyprus using that visa as a substitute. This rule is applied in most countries in the Balkans that are not part of the Schengen agreement. However, some of them require that the visa should’ve already been used to enter the Schengen territory at least once, so it might be a better idea to simply toss Cyprus to the end of your Eurotrip itinerary, just to be sure. From here, you can catch a one-hour flight to Tel Aviv in Israel, a visa-free country for us.

[BRANDENBURG] Budget and Itinerary (2)

ESTIMATES

Ryanair (Riga - Berlin) - 67.73
AXA (Schengen Low Cost) - 57.00
German Embassy (Schengen Visa) - 60.00
University of Potsdam (Summer German Course) - 470.00
University of Potsdam (Accommodation) - 280.00
Food Allowance (EUR10 x 25 Days) - 250.00

EUR1,184.73

[POTSDAM] German at Uni Potsdam

Potsdam was more like an accident. When I left Germany last April, I still had a serious Berlin hangover. Needless to say, I really wanted to go back. The thing is, my financial situation was kind of unpredictable and I wasn’t able to commit to a summer comeback fast enough to secure a slot at either Humboldt or FU. I visited Potsdam while I was still based in Berlin so I thought hey, why not Uni Potsdam? It's just an hour away and even connected to Berlin's Metro. And so I submitted an application.

Atomic Blonde

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Berlin, 1989. As the world prepares to bear witness to the historic fall of the wall and the country’s eventual reunification, top-level MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is dispatched to retrieve a list that will expose the identities of all active agents in the field. She is tracked and ambushed by the KGB right after landing at Tempelhof, prompting her to believe that there must be a double agent sabotaging the mission. She is welcomed by David Percival (James McAvoy), a hedonistic agent who has been stationed in the city for the last decade or so. She is also persistently stalked by mysterious photographer Delphine Lasalle (Sofia Boutella) who warns her about her partner. Broughton is well aware that she is operating in a world of friendly faces that will betray her in the blink of an eye. Unwilling to trust anyone, she must find that list and cross over to West Berlin before it’s too late.

Game of Thrones (HBO): Season 7/Episode 6

7.6 Beyond the Wall

Arya confronts Sansa about the letter she was forced to write ages ago in King’s Landing. Jon Snow and friends reminisce about the connections they have as they tread the perilous path north of the wall. The Hound sees the same mountain in his vision and warns everyone that they are near. They find their way to a White Walker convoy, carry out an ambush, and successfully capture one of the enemies. Sensing an upcoming larger attack, Jon orders Gendry to rush back to Eastwatch to send a raven to Daenerys informing her about their predicament. As the gang is cornered and all hope seems lost, she arrives to save the day, but loses one of her dragons to the Night King’s spear. Left behind, Jon Snow is rescued by Uncle Benjen. He finally agrees to bend the knee, while she vows revenge for what happened to one of her children. As the White Walkers haul the dragon’s carcass off the icy waters, one touch from the Night King reanimates him. Waking up from temporary death, his eyes now glow bright blue.

[UUSIMAA] Budget and Itinerary

FRIDAY: 18 August 2017

Air Berlin (Berlin - Helsinki - Berlin) - 123.65
Airbnb (3 Nights) - 84.00
HSL (Region Ticket/One-Way) - 5.00
K-Market (Water 1.5L) - 1.19

EUR213.84