I got holidays for 3 weeks in December and I took a flight on Friday 8th December to Brussels early in the morning. I spent 3 days in Brussels with my friend Sarka and her boyfriend. After arriving at the airport I took a bus to the city center and the journey took quite a long time. The first evening we had dinner in the restaurant Au Soleil D'Afrique which I had already visited once in 2015. This time I ordered a chicken in palm oil with rice. On Saturday we visited Bruges which is a beautiful historical city with cobbled lanes and picturesque bridges.

We spent some hours walking in the city and admiring the architecture. The city looked like a fairy-tale. It wasn't snowing but it was very cold outside. My friends did some shopping for Christmas and then we returned to Brussels.
On Sunday it started to snow and in the evening we went to a party to Sarka's friends. We had fun, we got food and drinks and then we returned home because I had to get up early on Monday morning 11th December because I had to travel to Eindhoven in order to catch my flight to Malaga. I took Uber to the bus station where I travelled by Flixbus to Eindhoven. There was a very heavy snowstorm when I got to the airport and approximately half of flight were cancelled. There was another flight to Malaga which was supposed to be departing around 20 minutes before my flight and it was also cancelled. I waited a long time and I was getting ready to return to Brussels but finally my flight was only delayed by one hour. I made a booking in the Casa Al Sur Hostel because I couldn't find a host on couchsurfing. I was supposed to check-in by 10pm and I arrived a few minutes late but it wasn't a problem. The staff was very friendly and let me in. I made tea in the kitchen and then I turned on heating and I went to sleep. The bed was very comfortable. When I got up on Tuesday I went to visit the city. The hostel was located in the city center. I walked to the beach and it was warm, in the sun it was around 18°C. Then I climbed up the hill towards the Gibraltar castle and on the way back I visited Alcazaba which is a fortress.

My friend Thomas from Paris joined me in the evening and we visited tapas restaurant together. We tasted many different kinds of food including octopus, shrimps, squid, pork and beef. Then we had a dessert and we went to an Arabic tearoom to drink some tea. On Wednesday morning we visited the city center of Malaga. Thomas hired a car but it was towed during the night because he parked on some forbidden place. We had to take a taxi there and the fine was 80 Eur.
Thomas booked accommodation for the rest of the our trip. We travelled to Ronda on Wednesday 13th December where we stayed in the hotel Parador de Ronda where we had impressive view overlooking a gorgeous abyss.

There was a tapas restaurant nearby where we had dinner. Then we watched some movie online.
As we stayed in 4-star hotels which were luxurious we had usually comfort there. We also had a good choice of food for breakfast there. We spent only one night in Ronda and then we travelled to Cadiz on Thursday 14th December where we spent one night in the Hotel La Catedral.

We weren't lucky with the weather in Cadiz because it was raining heavily when we visited the city. I had already visited Cadiz once before in 2012. We also met Raul who had hosted me in Cadiz before and then he also visited me in Prague. We joined him for dinner in the tapas restaurant.

I took a flight to Venice Treviso on Monday 20th November at 15:35. We flew above Dolomite mountains with snow. When we were arriving to the airport I watched sunset from the plane. Then I found a bus which took me to the city center. I stayed with my friend Maurizio in the hotel Gardena above canal. We had a well furnished room. We went to walk around the city and we had dinner in a restaurant where I ordered spaghetti with cuttlefish. The following day it was a nice weather, sunny but not warm. We had a breakfast in a hotel and we walked to the St. Mark's Square.

Then we walked around the city, admiring architecture and watching gondolas. Maurizio bought me a carnival mask on a square in Venice and I wore it for some time. 

We spent a good time together and then we had dinner in a restaurant where I ordered pizza with seafood. Then we went to a train station and Maurizio went to Milan while I went to Verona. I stayed with my friend Giamba from couchsurfing. I had met him in Prague before around 7 years ago. It was already late evening when I got to his place. Giamba had to go to work on Wednesday and I woke up late but we met for lunch and we went to the restaurant Locanda Lo Speziale. I had chicken with potatoes and pumpkin, it was very tasty. Giamba had to return to his work at the university and I went to visit the city. I walked to Arena and afterwards to the city center. I visited Casa di Giulietta which is not particularly interesting and then I walked to Tomba di Giulietta. 

In the evening I went to a couchsurfing meeting in the bar Osteria Ai Preti. There were many people but I didn't know anybody there. I spent some hours there and I talked to several people and then someone accompanied me back home. 

On Thursday Giamba worked in the morning but he was free in the afternoon. We went to the Caffeteria Fuoricorso where we had lunch. I had Cuttlefish with peas and polenta. 

We walked up the hill where we had a view on the city. We watched a sunset there. Then we crossed a bridge and we returned to the city center. We went to a Christmas market and then Chocolaterie where we drank hot chocolate with whipped cream.

I left Verona on Friday afternoon. I met Giamba before I left and we had a lunch in Locanda Lo Speziale again. I took a bus to Munich but it was more than one hour delayed. The journey took around 6 hours and we got there late, it must have been around 11pm when we arrived. We crossed Austria on the way and it was quite cold, we saw snow. My friend Christian whom I already visited in Munich before came to pick me up at the bus station. We decided to have dinner in McDonald's because it was already quite late. I ate chicken and chips.

On Saturday we went to the city center and we walked around but it was rainy. We went to a cake shop and we had dinner in an Indian restaurant. In the evening we went to a Christmas market.

We visited Neuschwanstein Castle on Sunday. It was sunny weather firstly but then it was snowing. 

The Neuschwanstein Castle is an impressive palace with many decorated rooms and paintings. 

We bought excellent sushi for lunch in the Chinese shop and we ate it at home. Then Chris accompanied me to the bus station. I took a bus to Prague and I arrived in the evening around 11pm. 

I started working in an assistance service on 15th May 2017. It was the same job as I did before at Axa. I was very busy during the summer season but I took holidays at the beginning of August and I travelled to Slovakia to visit my grandmother. It was very hot, around 35°C. I went twice to the swimming pool and I met some friends there.
Then I travelled to Krakow in Poland on 5th August and I spent 2 nights there. The ticket from Presov to Krakow was very cheap, it costed around 5 Euro. The journey took 3 hours and I arrived there in the afternoon. I walked to Rynek Glowny which is the Market Square.

I bought some clothes there in my favourite shop Tatuum. I waited for my host Soumya from couchsurfing next to the Cloth Hall. Soumya is from India and he is a PhD. student. We went to a resutaurant to eat pierogi (dumplings) and then we travelled by tram to the dorm where Soumya was staying.
On Sunday I visited the city by myself because Soumya had to work. It was rainy and it got much colder, it was only around 20°C. I went to the Wavel castle and then I visited the city center.

When I returned to the dorm Soumya cooked dinner for us, we had a chicken and rice. We watched a horror movie in the evening. I travelled to Prague on Monday. Firstly I took a bus to Ostrava. I watched a movie Gone girl which was very exciting. Then I continued travelling by train and I arrived to Prague in the evening.

On Tuesday 2nd May Shady had to travel to a hospital around 100 km south of Abu Dhabi because of his work and he took me there with him. We left Abu Dhabi in the morning and we got to the Al Gharbia hospital around 10am. We were driving next to salt flats. Shady spent around 5 hours working and I waited for him inside the hospital. Most local women wore niqabs and I wore a sleeveless T-shirt and a knee-length skirt. Few women beckoned to me but otherwise nobody paid attention to me. There was a restaurant in the hospital where people from South East Asia worked. I tried to walk outside the hospital but the temperature reached 42°C that day in the shadow and in the parking lot it was 50°C. I literally felt how my nose was burning from breathing hot air so I had to return to the air-conditionned hospital.
When Shady finished working we had a lunch in the restaurant in the hospital. We ordered rice and meat. Then we drove to the Liwa oasis. There were many palms trees and sand dunes. Shady's car got stuck in the sand and I had to push it out while it was so hot that I slightly burnt my hands when I touched it. Shady thought there was a lake in this oasis but we couldn't find it.

There was a huge sand dune which is called Moreeb dune and as I found out later it was a place fordrag races. Firstly I thought it was too dangerous but later we decided to climb up the dune, it was very steep and around 30 metres high. Our hands and feet sank into the sand but I made it to the top. 

Then we started sliding down the dune but the sand made humming sound which I found sinister and I ran down quickly. Then we drove back to Abu Dhabi and we saw herds of camels on our way.
On Wednesday I slept till noon and Shady picked me up in the afternoon and we went to the beach where we spent around 2 hours. The beach was closing at sunset and everybody had to get out of the water. Then we went to eat shawarma with French fries and it was very tasty.
On Thursday Shady took me to the beach around 1pm and he went back to work. I spent there all afternoon but I got a bad sunburn despite putting a lot of sunscreen. The sun was already very strong in Emirates in May and I spent at least 3 hours on the beach. It was around 38°C that day. I got a lot of unwanted attention on the beach as I was a single woman and I had to talk with several guys while one of them even bought me some juice. Then Shady picked me up and we went to spend my last night in Emirates in a hotel in Dubai. I had pizza with seafood for dinner, it was good but the taste was different from pizza in Europe because there put different kind of cheese. Then we went for a walk and to a beach bar Barasti. You can watch the video from the bar here. We had some drinks but we didn't stay there for a long time because it was already late.

My last day in Dubai was Friday 5th May. We got up late and we had our breakfast around noon in Belad Al Sham restaurant. We ordered Damascus breakfast with makdous (oil-cured eggplans), youghurt cheese Labneh, olives, eggs, cucumber and hummus. Then we went to the beach near Burj Al Arab where we spent some hours. I swam in the sea but my sunburn got even worse than before.

Then Shady took me to the airport because my flight to Prague was departing in the evening. I was very thirsty and I drank a lot of water and mango juice on the way to the airport. The flight took around 7 hours and we got dinner on the plane, it was rice and meat and also a cake. We also got some drinks. It was a comfortable journey but it was hot on the plane.

On Monday 1st May in the morning we went to visit Abu Dhabi. Firstly Shady took me to Emirates palace which is a luxurious hotel. We entered and admired its grandiose lobby and spiral staircase.

We couldn't enter firstly because Shady was wearing shorts and the guards didn't let us in. He had to go home to change. I also wore revealing clothes but it wasn't a problem.

Although it was a hot day the sky was cloudy. We went to visit Umm Al Emarat Park with a botanic garden. Then we spent some hours on the beach, the water was around 27°C. We should have hurried up because my flight from Dubai was departing after 7pm but Shadi told me that we had enough time to visit also Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the country made of marble stone and gold. It was decorated with carpets and huge chandeliers. You can watch the video here.

Unfortunately we lost too much time while visiting the mosque and it was 5pm when we left. Shady still thought that we would make it on time but we got stuck in a traffic jam in Dubai. I saw sunset from the highway at Burj Al Arab and the panorama of skyscrapers which make Dubai's skyline impressive. I phoned my mother and told her that I was going to miss my flight. We arrived at the airport more than one hour after my flight departed. I wouldn't really mind missing my flight and prolonging holidays but the problem was that I was supposed to start a new job in Prague the following day and I didn't know if the new employer was willing to wait for my return. As they were willling to wait for me my start date at a new job was postponed by two weeks. 

When we got to the airport it was evident that there was nothing we could do and we left. I didn't want to take another flight the following day so I bought later another flight ticket for Friday afternoon.

We had to go back to Abu Dhabi but before we went for dinner in Dubai to the Yemeni Zam Zam restaurant. We ordered fish and rice and the food was juicy and very tasty. We returned to Abu Dhabi late at night and on Tuesday Shady took me on a desert trip to Liwa oasis. 

On April 30th was my birthday. I had to figure out how to get from Muscat to Nizwa that day so I posted in the group on facebook the night before if anybody was travelling that way and could take me. Prem from India replied to me that he was going the same way and he would pick me up from my host's place in the morning. I offered to pay him but he refused because he had a fuel card from the company. We left Muscat around 9am and we had to hurry to Nizwa because I had to continue travelling to UAE the same day. We drove there 2 hours and I admired the landscape, the road was surrounded by mountains which were dry and without vegetation. You can watch the video here.
When we arrived in Nizwa we went immediately to visit the fort. Nizwa fort is one of the oldest forts in Oman. It was built in 1650's while its underlying structure goes back to the 12th century.



The fort is fascinating with a great view on palm plantations and mountains. When I walked there remembered the game Prince of Persia.                                                 

After visting the fort we met Rommel from couchsurfing. He was from Philippines but he worked in Oman. Prem had to go back to Muscat because of his job but I went to Rommel's flat. We talked and he prepared rice and chicken, it was very tasty. He had two cats. I wanted to visit the city but he didn't want to go out because the temperature reached 38°C that day. It was around 15:30 when we went out to look for a bus which would take me to UAE. We went to several bus ticket offices but everywhere we were told that there were no bus from Nizwa to UAE and I would have to go back to Muscat. I couldn't afford going back because I didn't have enough time so I decided to hitch-hike to UAE. Rommel was strongly against it and recommended me to take a bus to Muscat. I waited until he left and then I went to the road and hitch-hiked. Drivers were obviously not used to seeing hitch-hikers in this part of the world, two of them stopped and asked me for money to take me to Emirates which I refused. Finally a guy Youssef stopped and took me around 10 km to a highway. He was nice and he told me to be careful because when it was dark people became bad. He asked me why I didn't take a private car with a driver to UAE and I told him that I had no money. Then he gave me 5 Omani Rials which is nearly 11 Eur and dropped me on a highway. I got a lot of attention there and soon after a couple stopped and asked me where I need to go. They said they were going to Bahla which was around 30km far away but it was on the way to Emirates so they took me. The couple was around my age but they didn't speak English much and they didn't pay any attention to me. There was loud music playing in the car and I didn't even attempt to talk to them as they showed absolutely no interest in me. They stopped in Bahla and while I was just dragging out my suitcase of the car another driver pulled over. His name was Ahmed and he was 27 from Badiya. He said he was going to Emirates for work. He took me Al Ain which is on the border. He was apparently very delighted about his hitch-hiker but he didn't speak English well therefore he used a translator in his phone. He was typing while the car was speeding on the highway. We were driving over 100 km/h and several times I was scared that we would drive out of the road. I just prayed that we didn't crash. We drove through a storm and then Ahmed stopped to buy me a cup of a tea and a thin pancake with cheese. I heard strange noise from the back of the car and he showed me a box with two small rabbits. He told me their mother was killed by a cat and he was going to give them as a present for his small son.

We crossed the border and Ahmed said that he would continue driving to Abu Dhabi the following day because he wanted to stop overnight in Al Ain to visit his family there. I was invited too but I couldn't stay because I had to continue to Abu Dhabi the same day. There was a bus after 9pm and it costed 25 dirhams. I got to Abu Dhabi at 23:30 and I sent SMS to my host Shady from Palestine. I waited in front of a shopping mall and he picked me up there. 

We went to the sea and we took photos with the buildings illuminated at night.

Then we went home and I went to sleep soon because I was tired after spending all day travelling.

Before coming to Oman I had done research about places to visit and Wadi Shab was definitely one of them. I couldn't figure out how to get there as I couldn't find any bus going there from Muscat. The only possibility seemed to be renting a car which I couldn't do because I haven't driven since I got my driving licence and that's been 7 years already. Another option would be renting a car with a driver which was too expensive. Therefore I posted in a group of facebook for the people from Muscat and I asked if anybody wanted to go there with me and I could pay for fuel costs. I found a Pakistani guy Sam who lived in Muscat since many years. We arranged a meeting on 29th April at a shopping mall, I hitchhiked there, two girls took me firstly but I was upset because we wasted a lot of time when they tried explaining me that it wasn't reasonable to go to Wadi Shab at this time because it was too hot and already around noon. Finally they dropped me at a road where another guy took me to the shopping mall and he called Sam who came to pick me up. We went inside the mall because he wanted to buy a swimsuit but I was wearing sleeveless T-shirt and short skirt and someone came to tell us that I was inappropriately dressed. At the entrance to the mall there were pictures warning tourists against inappropriate dress code but I had no other clothes with me so I couldn't change.

Then we drove towards Wadi Shab but it was a long way, it took more than one hour to get there. We passed Tropics of Cancer while driving in the mountains. We didn't manage to find the Binmah Sinkole therefore we went directly to the Wadi Shab. We took a boat which took us across the river.

Then we had to walk nearly for one hour on the rocks along the riverside to amazing natural pools with a turquoise water colour. It was already 4pm when we got there and the last boat was going back at 6:30pm so we didn't have so much time to spend there. I enjoyed swimming in these pools and the water temperature was very pleasant. Then I swam into the cave with a waterfall, there was a rope which could be used to climb the waterfall and jump in the pool but I wasn't courageous enough to do that. 

After spening amazing 2 hours in Wadi Shab we had to hurry back to the river in order to catch the last boat and we arrived there just in time. It was sunset when we got to the car and we heard a muslim prayer Allahu Akbar sang by Muezzin. You can see the video with this prayer here.

Then we drove back to Muscat and we stopped in the mountains above the city to take some photos. We had a great view on the city with all the lights. 

Then Sam took me to a local restaurant where we had delicious dinner, we ordered soup and also rice with lamb and salad. 

After dinner Sam took me to my host's place and I had to ask my host Harout if I could stay for one more night at his place and he agreed. I got to his home around 11pm and when I announced him that my birthday would be coming in a few hours he baked a cake with honey for me and we ate it together.