We decided to book a cheap RyanAir flight to Brussels instead of taking the train (mistake numero uno). Because our flight was at 8:00 am and we had to check in by 6:00 am we decided just to spend the night at the airport. We weren't the only ones with this idea, all sorts of folks ended up waiting for early flights like this. Alex and I had prepared well, buying cheese, bread and apples to sustain us through the night. Around 8:00 pm we decided to eat, and Alex went to wash the apples. I took out the bread and cheese and went to reach for my leatherman in my small bag. To my horror, it was gone! The knife was the least of my worries because all of my ID (including my passport), our ... read more

We left Budapest and took the train to Vienna, spent one quiet night there before heading straight to Innsbruck to meet our Oktoberfest buddy Andy. Even though our train was an hour late, Andy was there to meet us at the station and walk us to his flat. He had a business meeting so our first night in Innsbruck was pretty uneventful. The next day (friday), Andy got off work early and took us on a walking tour of downtown Innsbruck. It's a beautiful city, much like Whistler village but without the touristy tackiness. Andy was already excited for the christmas season because all through the town people set up booths that sell hot wine, egg nog, roasted chestnuts and other christmasy stuff. The whole downtown turns into a giant, slightly tipsy christmas market halfway through ... read more

Our two-day whirlwind tour of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, was a success. Due to our usual dodgy planning, we showed up without a hostel booked and had a chance to see the sights with our packs on as we walked to every hostel in town. We did eventually find a nice little place and just relaxed for the night. We were looking for something to do on day 2 when we heard that the local hockey team was playing that night. Two Canadians go all the way across the world to experience new cultures and the best thing they can come up with is a hockey game? This was definately a Slovakian experience though. They love their hockey here NEARLY as much as we do back home. It was about $8 CAD for corner seats ... read more

We finally made it. This is what I'd been looking forward to since the beginning of the trip. The mecca for all beer aficionados: Oktoberfest! Due to our usual lack of preparation the train from Paris to Munich was sold out by the time we got there so we had to hop on a late afternoon run instead. Predictibly that train was late getting to the connection in Stuttgart so we were even further delayed. After finally arriving in Munich we figured out the tram system and made it to our campsite at about 2:00am. We set the tent up in the dark (surprisingly well actually) and finally retired for the night. Having slept in the next morning, we didn't make it down to the Theresienwiesn (festival grounds) until about noon. Wow what a spectacle! It's ... read more

Hello all, We have made it to Paris now but we'll leave that for another entry and talk about our stay in Nice all the way down in the French Riviera. After running into some Aussie blokes that we had previously met in Spain and now crossed paths with in Marseille, it was decided we should coordinate our stay in Nice. We got into the St. Exupery Villa which is continually voted as one of the top hostels in the world and for good reason. They had a cheap bar and meeting area in a converted chapel where their in-house chefs would prepare reasonably priced pizzas and dinner specials every night. They even did your dishes for you after you were done. That's high class. The first day there we headed off to Monaco which we ... read more