http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Susin/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Susin en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 06:01:20 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 06:01:20 +0000 Everyone says how amazing New Zealand is but until you're there it's hard to imagine just how spectacular it could be. We didn't have much time off and were worried about having to rush through but in five days we saw so much I am really happy with how well we got to see the South Island.Day OneWell this was really day 2 as we arrived in Christchurch the night before but since we didn't land ti http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-351954.html The final pitstop before heading back to Sydney was Hamilton Island for Dave and Jeri's wedding. Such a beautiful place it was a shame we couldn't stay longer. Hamilton Island is pure paradise we spent two and a half lazy days in a gorgeous hotel room with a view of palm trees and beaches. The wedding was lovely and the reception was held on a boat that sailed around the Whitsundays for four or http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Hamilton-Island/blog-305469.html After a year of being away returning home to Australia was both sad and exhilerating. I loved France so much but there really is something about returning home that makes you feel like you belong somewhere. The only problem about being home is getting sucked into the day to day routine of life. I returned home in January yet here I am posting this blog 8 months later. Why bother you ask Now t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/South-Australia/Adelaide/blog-305471.html I guess this one's just for me really. As the last few hours are slipping away I find myself hanging on tightly to those things that have stood out above everything else here in Strasbourg favourite restaurants cafs beautiful walking spots. In the name of keeping my memories alive I have taken photos of all my favourite places in Strasbourg so as to never forget those small things that captur http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/Strasbourg/blog-227977.html Merry Christmas to everyone that I haven't yet had the chance to contact I hope you had a fantastic day Once again the Australians came together to celebrate the festivities by having an orphans Christmas for all of us still in Strasbourg. Although calling it an orphans Christmas doesn't seem as fitting as it did earlier in the year when we planned it because we've all spent so much time to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/Strasbourg/blog-226839.html After all the amazing places I've been fortunate enough to visit this year I think I would have to rate Prague one of the highest. I haven't walked around with my mouth gaping like that since I was in Venice. When I first arrived it seemed like just another European city with maybe slightly different looking buildings but as I got further and further into the heart of it all I was more and more http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-226819.html The fact that Strasbourg is on the edge of France makes it so much easier to pop out of the country for the day. Germany is only a 10 minute drive away and Switzerland is only just over an hour away by train. So the other day just for something different Laura Lizette Ben and I decided to take that train over to Switzerland and check out Basel the little city near the SwissFrench border. A http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/North-West/Basel/blog-205073.html Well it's official the countdown has begun. Two months from now I'll be arriving back in Australia. I'm so torn between being excited to get back earning money again and finishing my degree and being incredibly sad to be leaving this beautiful city that has so quickly become my home. I keep trying to tell myself that two months is still a long time but my subconsciousness is already preparing http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/Strasbourg/blog-218191.html I can't believe I was dreading going back to uni I had so much fun during the summer holidays that I didn't want them to end but now that Irsquom back at uni Irsquom really enjoying myself and am glad to be back. Although it was great spending lazy days wandering around Strasbourg and occasionally popping off to different European cities having a schedule to follow once again is actually a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/Strasbourg/blog-205071.html Although technically there are a few weeks left it seems as though summer is well and truly over. The leaves on the trees are starting to change colour we havenrsquot had a warm day in weeks and itrsquos starting to rain more and more. And even though I did spend quite some time travelling around during the summer holidays it was nice to be able to come back ldquohomerdquo to Strasbour http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/blog-199108.html There were two things I really wanted to see this year while in France one being the Toulouse Lautrec museum in Albi the other being the castle at Montsgur where many Cathars spent their last days. I was so eager to see both places that I was prepared to go and find them on my own but luckily for me JB offered to take me on a road trip across France to see them.As it happens both Albi and Mon http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Midi-Pyr-n-es/blog-197642.html When in Rome do as the Romans do Kristian and I pondered about this saying the whole time we spent in Rome looking around us wondering what exactly it was that the Romans do to inspire such a saying. It turns out thanks to Kristianrsquos posttravel research that it was just some discussion among priests about proper fasting behaviour in Italyrsquos different cities that inspired our mode http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-189517.html What can I say I fell in love with Venice the second I saw it from the aeroplane window. I couldnrsquot even see the canals at that stage just beautiful fields. And unlike flying over other rural areas Venicersquos fields looked like a multicoloured patchwork quilt with fields of grapevines punctuating the flatter fields giving it amazing texture. Really I donrsquot even know if the fie http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-188509.html Ever since I left sunny warm Strasbourg Irsquove wondered how Europe has the nerve to call this season wersquore in lsquosummerrsquo. For the majority of the time I was in Hamburg the rain was absolutely bucketing down and it was freezing cold. I then left Hamburg to meet my family in London and for seven days London was cold and rainy. The problem with London though is that there seemed http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-188314.html Oh my god I forgot to learn German Irsquove become so accustomed to understanding at least some of whatrsquos going on around me and being able to communicate my wants and needs in French that I totally forgot what it would feel like to all of a sudden be in a country that speaks a language of which I am completely unfamiliar. And even though I donrsquot speak a word of Dutch travelling to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/District-of-Hamburg/Hamburg/blog-188318.html After London and on our way to Paris the family made a two night stopover at Euro Disney. Something I wasnrsquot overly looking forward to because I was just anxious to get to Paris but wersquod booked in to an expensive hotel with a pool so Irsquod pictured myself by the pool for two days sipping cocktails enjoying the luxurious rooms and waiting for the kiddyland part of the holiday http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Marne-la-Vall-e/blog-188319.html Strasbourg has changed so much since I arrived. Itrsquos incredible to think that I arrived here in the cold bare winter and now just over three months later itrsquos spring. The whole place is green there are flowers everywhere itrsquos just so beautiful.To be honest I really didnrsquot want the warm weather to arrive. I know that sounds strange because everyone knows how much I h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/Strasbourg/blog-152498.html To put it bluntly Rotterdam kicks Amsterdamrsquos butt. Itrsquos a beautiful clean city with some really amazing modern architecture. After having visited there I really canrsquot understand why everyone raves about Amsterdam so much and hardly anyone talks about Rotterdam.I was invited to go there on a roadtrip just last weekend with four French guys JB Greg Olivier and Mathieu. It wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/South-Holland/Rotterdam/blog-153893.html Once upon a time in July 2002 two young girls met in Paris at Alliane Franaise. Karolina and Susin two international students one from the Czech Republic one from Australia became friends. This is the story of the reunion five years laterhellip.Yes it finally happened. My first reunion with one of my friends that I met while overseas oh so many lifetimes ago. Karolina and I have kept e http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-169087.html Last weekend Laura Kristian Lizette and I went on an excursion to Colmar. It's JB's hometown so he offered to show us around and then take us out to see the wine district so we made a whole day of it.I thought that after having seen the beautiful cobblestone streets and old German architecture of Petite France in Strasbourg that I couldnrsquot ever see anything as pretty again. Turns out I was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Alsace/blog-170940.html