Copenhagen

My first thought when I arrived in Copenhagen was that I was definitely no longer in Germany.

That was only just the start of a wonderful revelation that Copenhagen - its buildings and people - is actually rather nice and that Denmark is really the Neverland of this world: a place where you can be really really happy.

The Tivoli Gardens sum up Copenhagen and Denmark nicely really - it's the only amusement park in the world that is actually worth visiting even if the rides and screaming teenagers form a novelty that I don't quite appreciate.

But Copenhagen is more than just the Tivoli Gardens and is truly a wonderful city to walk around - whether it's the touristy Nyhavn, palaces and Stroeget.

Just remember that if you are in Copenhagen, just relax. They love to make you wait in line. But it's all good. Everything's alright even if everything isn't as cheap as Germany.

And yes the Carlsberg is pretty good here. It's not the crap export stuff.

Hamburg - Auf Wiedersehn Deutschland!

So my time in Germany is about to come to an end - yes I'll probably go through northern Germany on the night train en route to Amsterdam but in terms of stopping over in a German city to look at things, Hamburg is very much my last stop.

It means I've done all the big 4 German cities - Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne along with the likes of Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mainz, Nuremberg, Duesseldorf, Dortmund & Dresden. So pretty much all of Germany.

Hamburg is definitely up there at the top of the list of cool German cities. In fact, if only I could have my stag-do in Hamburg because it seems to be the place to do stag-dos and hen's parties judging from the number of groups I saw on Saturday afternoon. Mind you, it'd have to be done over a week before the wedding given that once you hit the nightclubs on Gross Freiheit in St Pauli, there's the Fischmarkt from 5:30am till noon on Sunday to continue the partying - there was one hen's party that I saw on Saturday afternoon still hitting the Fischmarkt as noon approached.

Gross Freiheit is part of the famous St Pauli district cut by the Reeperbahn with its infamous erotic shops. The most infamous highlight is Herbertstrasse off Davidstrasse with its stalls featuring busty prostitutes. I only saw the street on a Sunday afternoon when it was rather quiet but imagine it on a Friday or Saturday night.

So auf wiedersehn Deutschland! I've always liked you and if there was any country I would like to stay and work it's Deutschland. And now I kinda have an affinity with your national fussballmannschaft too.

Grosse Freiheit - the Beetles started out here

Herbertstrasse on a quiet Sunday morning

Speicherstadt

Anyway here are my favourite bits from Germany:

Munich

The city of beer gardens, beer halls, lederhosens and surprisingly hot summer weather - yes, you're guaranteed really scorching hot weather in Bavaria's capital with temperatures hitting the 30'C and forcing the old men to go nude at the English garden and teenagers to brave the icy cold water of the Isar River.

And no this is not the German stereotype by the way. This is not how Germany wants us to know about them or stereotype about them. After all, Bavaria is really an autonomous state on its own that never signed the national constitution like the other 15 German states as reiterated many times by award-winning tour guide, Ozzie.

Yes, if you ever go to Wombats hostel in Munich, make sure you do a tour with Ozzie - it's an experience in itself and he does do a very good and informative tour about Munich, Bavaria, Germany and the Middle East.

I've never seen Munich in hotter weather or seen more beer gardens - although was getting a bit weary of the heat especially at night when there are no fans - even if a lot of the well known buildings like the Frauenkirche and Residenz were covered in scaffolding - grr.. But Munich's always a nice place to go and get hungover on the first night..

Innsbruck & Stubai Valley

This place is beautiful.. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.. But all I can say is that I have definitely got my mountain biking fix in Europe now. By the way, got some shots of Innsbruck too.

I'm Halfway There! Time to Chill (in the middle of Tyrol!)

As of 26 June, I have symbolically reached the halfway point of my European trip - and actually more than halfway through my round-the-world trip too.

It definitely feels like I've reached the halfway. I feel I've hit a slight flat patch in terms of motivation and energy - not surprising after a month that has been like an exponential curve heading upwards and upwards with every new city and experience.

It has been one heck of a trip; one that started with a bang with one of the best decisions I've ever made yet: starting the tour in Bern after catching the train from Frankfurt that morning.

Since then, I've been to Interlaken, Lucerne, Zurich, Como, Milan, Florence, Siena, Rome, Verona, Venice, Vienna, Krakow, Oszwiecim, Warsaw, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Salzburg, Mondsee, Innsbruck & now Fulpmes, a little village in the Subital Valley in the Tyrol.

And there's still a month ago.

I guess it's apt that halfway through my trip really feels like halftime - people don't really come to Fulpmes for the nightlife so it should be a quiet two nights before going back to the bright lights of Munich.

My highlight so far? I think going to Krakow and then seeing Oszwiecim where the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps are located has been the highlight of the trip in a light or heavy hearted way. Going to see the concentration camps is an experience I'll never forget. Thankfully, the people at the hostel - guests or staff - and the experiences there certainly more than lifted the mood. Krakow itself is a pretty cool city and a pleasant bargain that still isn't too touristy just yet.

Of course there have been plenty of other great highlights.

Plenty of good kebabs too - best one for me was Mustafa's in Berlin's Hackescher Markt. There was some pretty good Asian too in Berlin I might add. Italy was definitely the best place for food - budget or premium.

Best trains? Still the Germans & Austrians although the Italian high speed trains are pretty good now. Polish trains were definitely the worst for facilities as we're the Czech trains. Although there is something romantic about being in your own cabin in a train.

Surprise of the trip? Finding out how cheap Poland is. You can live like a queen easily here if you come from
a country with a strong currency especially with beer at the supermarket sold at an equivalent of €0.80.

Anyway here are 20 of the best pictures so far. Who knows what this next month will hold - there's Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Bruges, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon still to come..