So you arrived at your destination now what? If you're anything like me then you don't really want to see everything in the first few days because you're afraid that you will have 4 months and nothing to explore anymore.
But you're also very bored sitting in your hostel or dorm room knowing that there's a whole new world outside of it.
I was never a fan of planned trips so that's a no-no from the beginning, I am telling you, all these travel agencies are ripping you off. Travelling shouldn't cost you a leg and an arm. Why would you pay for someone to show you around when you have a perfectly working map application on your phone and can cut your expenses by purchasing a metro card? But I am not here to talk about your usual time framed travelling, no, in this case there is plenty of time to discover. What do we do? Here's what I like to do:
I like to read about a destination before and while I am there so I usually know a few touristy and non-touristy cool spots worth a visit. Also, when starting an Erasmus semester, you usually have a few tasks to do. I usually do that first and after I take a walk around the zone (this works especially well when you don't have your transportation card yet and don't want to spend 2 euros on a ride). You can't really help this, but when you are walking in cinematic and popular cities there is a tourist spot on every turn and you might not even know about.
This way is so much more exciting than knowing where you are heading, like opening a surprise. You know the saying, not all who wander are lost. This is the exact way I have found the Pink street of Lisbon by looking down from a bridge :)
P.s.: This especially works in the beautifully live city of Lisbon. I can't even count how many AMAZING shows and performances I stumbled across while taking the usual walk around.
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