Five On Friday

From the midst of a dreary February day in England I thought I'd share 5 of my favourite cities I've visited for this week's 'Five on Friday'. Travelling is one of my favourite things, but it's a love I'm not currently able to indulge with Thesisville. So sat at my desk, dreaming of places afar old and new, I thought I'd indulge myself and share some quick snapshots of places I love with you today. 

1. Berlin

Yes - I'm highly predictable! Many apologies to all of you who have read numerous witterings on Berlin in my little internet space. Berlin is the city I feel most at home in. I think a bit of my heart permanently resides there. It's relaxed, exciting, old, new and million other juxtapositions all in one

2. Budapest

For some reason my PhD has taken me to this magnificent city a few times now, a summer school in July 2012 for 2 weeks when it was 40 degrees and over, and then a conference in Winter 2012 when it was -10 degrees. Both times it was beautiful, again like Berlin it's packed full of history and yet going under development, the architecture is stunning and it's just a wonderful place to be. It's getting a bit touristy I think, I noticed the difference between January 2008 when I first visited, but I'd still highly recommend a visit.

3. Dresden

Dresden is getting quite a bad reputation at the moment with all of the anti-immigration marches and Pegida and all the rest, and this Saxon city certainly has its issues. It was my closest city on my year abroad and I fell in love with it. There's a nice relaxed student culture and the history is fascinating, I very much condemn the bombings that killed so many people and destroyed the original city (they were still finding cellars full of bodies when I was there that had been buried for 60 years), but the old town of Dresden today feels largely peaceful (well it did in 2011 when I was last there). It's a lovely city in the summer to just meander, eat ice cream and cake and drink beer. There's some amazing surrounding countryside to explore as well.

4. Edinburgh

I've only ever been to Edinburgh during the Fringe so it was full of life, loud and exciting. I imagine it's equally beautiful when the Fringe isn't on - I want to go back and see. The city's great, lots going on, lovely buildings and last time I went I nearly made it to the top of Arthur's Seat before my fear of heights overcame me (it was extremely windy in my defence). C and I both agree that we could see ourselves living here, who knows, maybe life might take us that way.

5. Melbourne

I loved all three of the Australian cities we were lucky enough to visit last Christmas: Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, but I particularly enjoyed Melbourne.We had a wonderful few days in the city centre, exploring the smaller winding streets with their little shops, as well as taking a boat trip and going out to the Mornington Peninsula for some wine tasting. We were lucky enough to go to Philip Island where we saw the penguins as well as visited a koala sanctuary. The wonderful Australian wildlife was definitely a highlight :)

I am joining in Five on Friday, taking five minutes from our day to enjoy five things.  Please go and visit the other people who are also blogging about Five on Friday this week.

Amy from Love Made My Home

Helen from Woollybluebells

Gina from Fan My Flame

Joanne from A Whole Plot of Love 

Debbie from Saylor Street Cottage 

Rosie from Corners Of My Mind
Lil from House With Hearts