Rio de Janeiro, the city of the many rocks to climb onto, the amazing views, the Copacabana-beach-morning-runs and the Ipanema sunset views. The city of the endless possibilities for activities, the beautiful beaches and crazy nightlife, where the thought of getting robbed is constantly in the back of your head, although all the beauty and excitement quickly makes you forget about those downsides, home of Christo and Sugar Loaf Mountain. Rio de Janeiro, the city I fell in love with, the very second I arrived.

Although a bit anxious about how many times I’d actually get robbed, threatened with a knife or kidnapped, I couldn’t wait to finally arrive in Rio. Together with Susi & Bobby, the English couple I met on Ilha Gande, I took a 3.5h hour bus from Angra dos Reis to Rio de Janeiro and we shared a taxi from the bus terminal “Rodoviária Novo Rio” to the center. Shortly after arriving at my Couch Surfing host Øystein’s little apartment, I found myself sitting on the couch, a glass of red wine in my hand, psychedelic music playing in the background, surrounded by the soothing smoke of some incense sticks and in the company of three great guys whom I am still so grateful to have met. Ronan & Gabriel were a Brazilian couple from Minas Gerais who also stayed at Øystein’s place, who is a fellow economics student from Norway, currently doing an internship in Rio for six months. We enjoyed each other’s company, deep talks in various languages, some delicious caipirinhas accompanying the free BBQ at a little local restaurant across the street and later went out to Lapa, the most famous party district of the city. The next morning, we decided that a refreshing 3 hour hike would be the best hangover cure, and although the ascent – which was more of a climb than a hike – was quite a challenge for our dehydrated and sleep-deprived selfs, the view from the top of “Pedra da Gávea” was more than rewarding.

My week in Rio continued to be just as great as it had started. Some tourist time with William from France (he also crashed at Øystein’s, who quickly turned out to be a very busy Couchsurfing host), visiting “Christo Redentor” and hiking up to “Pão de Açucar”, relaxing bike rides through the city and around the lagoon, watching the sunset from “Pedra do Arpoador”, free walking tour around the city center and all that always accompanied by my beloved Açai and tapioca.

Rio turned out to be one of the most amazing cities I have ever visited and I don’t think that any words, pictures or blog posts can do justice to this incredible city. You’ll simply have to see for yourself what this place has to offer, and you should schedule at least a week to do so. Since I survived my week there without getting robbed or kidnapped, I can also recommend the city with a clear conscience. I’m not saying that Rio is a super safe place and that nothing will ever happen there, but I am convinced that if you’re careful at night, you try not to be alone and you make smart decisions, the dangers and threats that everybody talks about can be minimized. Pair that with a good portion of luck and you’ll end up like me: with only good memories and in love with Rio de Janeiro.

My Rio-Highlights:

PEDRA DA GÁVEA

DO NOT underestimate that hike! It took us 1:30h from the bottom and another 1:15h to get back down but those 3 hours were most definitely some of the most exhausting minutes of my little traveler’s life. The hike includes some serious climbing and I was glad to wear some good Nikes and thankfully accepted the helping hands of my fellow hikers to get up some tricky rocks. Of course, in the end, it was all worth it and the astonishing view over the coas-t and beach-lines of Rio made up for every single drop of sweat that was shed along the way. Do take a lot of water and some snacks with you. Besides a little spring of fresh water about half way, there’s no other opportunity to get any food or drinks.

PÃO DE AÇUCAR

Will and I decided to hike up the little mountain, instead of taking the cable car. The path starts next to Praia Vermelha (which is a really cute beach to relax at after the hike) and takes about 25 minutes. It’s more or less all uphill/steps but fairly easy to manage. After that little hike, you’ll only arrive at the first hill top with the visitors platform from which you could take a second cable car to reach the actual Pão de Açucar. We decided to save the 40 Reais (EUR 10), since the view from the first point was already incredible and we still had Christ Redeemer scheduled for the next day. We didn’t regret our decision and I think it’s safe to say that you can make your trip to Pão de Açucar a low-budget one on which you don’t have to pay anything.

CHRISTO REDENTOR

From Copacabana, we took an Uber to the Visitors Platform of Christo Redentor (you can put “Estrada Redentor próximo ao 7871-8069” when using Uber), which took around 30 minutes and cost us 22 Reais in total (EUR 6). From there, the only option is to take one of the white vans provided by the company to visit Christo. It takes another 10 minutes and the ticket, which includes the entry fee, costs 28 Reais (EUR 7,50). The view from up there is absolutely amazing and I can definitely recommend going around 5pm to watch the sunset.

FREE WALKING TOUR THROUGH THE CENTRE

The free walking tour that I went on starts every day at 10:30am at the grey historic clock outside the Metro station Carioca. It was a 2,5-3h tour through the centre of Rio and our guide was really nice – she even went out to get lunch with us after the tour. Definitely recommendable!

All my countries on one wall

Free Brazilian BBQ on my first night in Rio

From the left: random lady who photobombed us, Ronan, Natya (a friend of Ronan), Øystein from Norway & Gabriel

Late-night-Copacabana-beach-strolls with Ronan & Gabriel from Brazil

Fresh corn from the street stand for EUR 1,30 as a little midnight snack

Sunset view from Pedra do Arpoador at Ipanema beach

Best Açaí with KitKat & Granola at Maria Açaí in Copacabana

With the app “BikeRio” you can get a bike from one of the countless stations all around the city and it only costs around EUR 2,70 for a whole month! My recommendation: 40 minutes bike ride along the beach from Copacabana to the city centre

VW egg van on the streets of Rio de Janeiro

Salted Cashews as a snack at Copacabana beach

My very first Brazilian Empanada: filled with shrimp