K M Cheng-Travel Journal: Malaysia (Pre Covid 19 - Reminisce My Good Old Days - Top 100 European Cities & I)

Over the last weekend, a travel video caught my attention ! A young western travel blogger had highlighted, through his last few years of travelling in Europe, the Top 100 European cities considered as his favorites which were worth exploring & visiting if you are heading to Europe in your first or future visit ! I was so mesmerised by the commentary & description in his travel video & started to jog down the 100 Top European Cities he had visited & asked KM, how many of these Top 100 Best European Cities you had left behind your footprints in these countries ? The answer is 58 ! A consolation score for an Asian retiree traveller & a beginner when I made my 1st visit to London in May 2009 (flying Air Asia) & subsequent visits (2010>2012, 2014, 2017 & 2019, average stay of 30 days for each free & easy trip & 14 days for package tours) .... those were my Good Old Days ! Now that we have the Covid-19 pandemic (since March 2020 & not out of the woods yet), many would ask when will be our "Freedom Day" so that everyone can fly & shine again ! But many also asked - KM, you are 71 going on to 72 next year May, do you still have the mental, physical & spiritual strength to do another Europe trip or visit another corner of the earth after the Covid-19 episode is over ? My answer is at this age, I am living from moment to moment, if I still have a window of opportunity of making hay while the sun shines & posses a "Marco Polo" spirit, why not !

The Top 100 European Cities highlighted in this travel videos are: (listing my 58 Top European Cities I had visited in my world of traveling)

London, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
Lisbon, Portugal
Tallinn, Estonia
Venice, Italy
Rome, Italy
Vatican City
Zurich, Switzerland
Lucerne, Switzerland
Prague, Czech Republic
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Barcelona, Spain
Toledo, Spain
Cordoba, Spain
Granada, Spain
Munich, Germany
Salzburg, Austria
Innsbruck, Austria
Vienna, Austria
Bratislava, Slovakia
Paris, France
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Luxemburg City
Brussels, Belgium
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Copenhagen, Denmark
Stockholm, Sweden
Helsinki, Finland
Oslo, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Dublin, Ireland
Warsaw, Poland
Wroclaw, Poland
Krakow, Poland
St Petersburg, Russia
Moscow, Russia
San Marino
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Zagreb, Croatia
Riga, Latvia
Vilnius, Lithuania
Budapest, Hungary
Kotor, Montenegro
Brasov, Romania
Bucharest, Romania
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Athens, Greece
Istanbul, Turkey
Berlin, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Seville, Spain
Madrid, Spain
Bern, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland
Pisa, Italy
Florence, Italy

My Yet to Visit Top 42 European Cities:

Valletta, Malta
Milan, Italy
Bologna, Italy
Naples, Italy
Positano, Italy
Palermo, Italy
Catania, Italy
Grindelward, Switzerland
Zermatt, Switzerland
Ronda, Spain
Obidos, Portugal
Porto, Portugal
Cologne, Germany
Rothenburg, Germany
Berchtesgaden, Germany
Hallstatt, Austria
Etretat, France
Colmar, France
Lyon, France
Odessa, Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukranine
Carcassonne, France
Lviv, Ukraine
The Hague, Netherlands
Bruges, Belgium
Malmo, Switzerland
Gothenburg, Sweden
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Rovaniemi, Finland
Floyen, Norway
Alesund, Norway
Tromso, Norway
Reykjavik, Iceland
Gdansk, Poland
Verona, Italy
Rovinj, Croatia
Minsk, Belarus
Belgrade, Serbia
Tbilisi, Georgia
Hamburg, Germany
Valencia, Spain
Siena, Italy

A brief autobiography of my travelling LIFE in Europe - Over the retirement years (since May 2006), I had made 7 visits to Europe (5 free & easy & 2 package tours) + 2 visits to Turkey. Each country in Europe has its distinctive character & flavour ! Thanks to Air Asia (Rm793 one way), MAS (Malaysian Airlines) & Qatar Airlines (Rm2,343 return) for offering an economical airfare flying me direct from Kuala Lumpur to London & Paris ! Also thanks to Hostelworld for allowing me to book a budget dorm bed in each of the cities I visited. For overland travelling within the Europe Schengen Zone, I used a 30 days Eurolines bus pass (Euro$340) starting from London or Paris & managed to visit major capital cities & nearby places in Europe continent (over 40 countries) to realise my dream of seeing the major UNESCO World Heritage sites, monumental & iconic sights, ancient cities, world class museums, grand palaces, canals, old castles, snowy mountains, scenic lakes, observing the western cafe culture, enjoying street food, fish & chips, taking fjord cruise, walking the beautiful beech resorts, weekend visits to farmers & old bazaar markets, timing my visits during the springtime, overnight stays in national parks, cave hotels etc ! No doubt, travel can expand your mind, broaden your perspectives & help you create lasting memories & relationships ! Given another chance, I will love to visit Europe one more time like my Good Old Days of yesterday !

Things end but memories last forever

" Europe - The Cradle of Western Civilisation " - behind every travel, I am pleased to post 2 of the best pictures I had taken in each of the top 58 European cities I had visited (2009>2012 & 2014, 2017 & 2019) & for the other 42 Best Cities I have yet to visit, this will remain in my pipe dream & in the interim (international borders yet to open), perhaps the best way is to do virtual travelling via travel videos to get a glean of these marvellous cities):

1) London, England (May 2009 & 2010)

2) Edinburgh, Scotland (May 2012)

3) Lisbon, Portugal (May 2102)

4) Tallinn, Estonia (May 2009)

5) Venice, Italy (May 2012)

6) Rome, Italy (May 2010)

7) Vatican City (May 2010)

8) Zurich, Switzerland (May 2012)

9) Lucerne, Switzerland (May 2012)

10) Prague, Czech Republic (May 2009 & June 2017)

11) Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic (May 2009)

12) Barcelona, Spain (May 2011 & 2014)

13) Toledo, Spain (May 2012)

14) Cordoba, Spain (May 2012)

15) Granada, Spain (May 2012)

16) Munich, Germany (May 2014)

17) Salzburg, Austria (June 2017)

18) Innsbruck, Austria (June 2017)

19) Vienna, Austria (May 2010, 2011 & June 2017)

20) Bratislava, Slovakia (May 2010 & June 2017)

21) Paris, France (May 2009, 2012 & 2014)

22) Monte Carlo, Monaco (May 2014)

23) Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (May 2010)

24) Brussels, Belgium (May 2009 & 2010)

25) Amsterdam, Netherlands (May 2009)

26) Copenhagen, Denmark (May 2010)

27) Stockholm, Sweden (May 2011)

28) Helsinki, Finland (May 2011)

29) Oslo, Norway (May 2011)

30) Bergen, Norway (May 2011)

31) Dublin, Ireland (May 2014)

32) Warsaw, Poland (May 2010 & June 2017)

33) Wroclaw, Poland (June 2017)

34) Krakow, Poland (May 2009 & 2010 & June 2017)

35) St Petersburg, Russia (May 2009)

36) Moscow, Russia (May 2009)

37) San Marino (May 2014)

38) Ljubljana, Slovenia (May 2011 & March 2019)

39) Dubrovnik, Croatia (May 2014 & March 2019)

40) Zagreb, Croatia (May 2011 & March 2019)

41) Riga, Latvia (May 2009)

42) Vilnius, Lithuania (May 2011)

43) Budapest, Hungary (May 2009 & June 2017)

44) Kotor, Montenegro (March 2019)

45) Brasov, Romania (March 2019)

46) Bucharest, Romania (May 2010, 2014 & March 2019)

47) Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (May 2011 & March 2019)

48) Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina (March 2019)

49) Athens, Greece (May 2010)

50) Istanbul, Turkey (Sept 2008 & Nov 2018)

51) Berlin, Germany (May 2010)

52) Frankfurt, Germany (June 2017)

53) Seville, Spain (May 2012)

54) Madrid, Spain (May 2012)

55) Bern, Switzerland

56) Geneva, Switzerland (May 2102)

57) Pisa, Italy

58) Florence, Italy (May 2012)

In the meantime during this Covid-19 difficult period (with a mindset of hoping for the best & ready for the worst via vaccination), I (as a traveller) have to eat the dream, sleep the dream & dream the dream - The other 42 Top European Cities I have yet to visit are (keep in view, a useful road map for me in prioritizing a future visit to Europe) :

1) Valletta, Malta

2) Milan, Italy (Eurolines overnight bus trip from Nice (France) > Milan & a short 2-3 hrs waiting time outside of the Milan train station before heading to Florence by local train)

3) Bologna, Italy

4) Naples, Italy

5) Positano, Italy

6) Palermo, Italy

7) Catania, Italy

8) Grindelwald, Switzerland

9) Zermatt, Switzerland

10) Ronda, Spain

11) Obidos, Portugal

12) Porto, Portugal

13) Cologne, Germany (Eurolines overnight bus trip from Oslo (Norway) > Paris (France) & a short stopover in Cologne Eurolines bus station).

14) Rothenburg, Germany

15) Berchtesgaden, Germany

16) Hallstatt, Austria

17) Etretat, France

18) Colmar, France

19) Lyon, France

20) Odessa, Ukraine

21) Kyiv, Ukraine

22) Carcassonne, France

23) Lviv, Ukraine

24) Bruges, Belgium

25) Rotterdam, Netherlands (Eurolines overnight bus trip from Paris (France) > Amsterdam (Netherlands) & a short stopover in Rotterdam during one of my Eurolines bus trip when touring the Europe continent)