End of eastern Europe - start of Scandi

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SATURDAY 22 AUGUST

We crossed into Croatia at around 7am or so, making it three border crossings within 12 hours. Hardly anyone was on the bus by this point - presumably they all got off during the evening somewhere. As I was asleep for most of the trip (at least napping) I guess I had missed most of that.

Arrived at Dubrovnik bus station at around 10am and headed to the Hostel International Dubrovnik as again there was no little old lady who I could get private accommodation from. Think I was lucky when I got to the HI as after I organised the room and put my bags in their luggage area, I sat out the front for a little while. A few people obviously tried to get a room after that and they were told they were booked out. At around noon I headed off to go get some food, then checked into the hostel at 1pm and had a sleep and shower.

Headed into town for a look around when the weather cooled off slightly before grabbing dinner on the way back to the hostel.

SUNDAY 23 AUGUST 2009

Very early start this morning with alarm going off at 4:30am. Got the bus from the end of the street to the main bus station; then the 5:30am airport shuttle - getting in there at 6am. Flight was at 7:50am with Germanwings who I hadn’t flown with before. Assigned seating which made for a nice change though.

Arrived into Berlin at about 10am local time. The flight was slightly delayed so by the time I then got the metro to the hostel and walked to Wombats it was about 12:45pm or so. I had arranged to meet Alex at 1pm at Brandenburg Gate but by the time I got there it was about 1:15pm or so. The marathon was on so it was absolutely packed but we found a place at a café and grabbed lunch and a drink before going for a walk down past the gate and towards the Berliner Dome. I had a bit of time so we went along to the DDR Museum which was actually kind of cool. It was made to be interactive, so there was an old Travi that you could sit in, clothes you could try on, things you could pull out, etc, so we had a good old time stuffing around with everything.

After that it was almost 5pm so we said goodbye and I headed back to the hostel to meet my group for our pre-departure meeting. I was running slightly late so I got up there after most people and found a seat at a table in time for the greeting and some of the logistical information. After that we had about an hour before we had to meet for dinner; so after a quick chat to some people on my table I headed down to collect my baggage and finally check in properly as the hostel wouldn‘t let me when I originally showed up at 1pm. After checking in and sorting out my bed and bag, it was time to meet for dinner downstairs.

There are 42 of us on the tour to start with; although we drop people off at various points and pick some others up.

For dinner we headed to a nearby German restaurant where we got soup and pork knuckle. Have to admit - not the sort of food I would usually order and I barely touched it - even though I ate quite a bit it was absolutely massive. Dinner was included though so have to make the most of it. Since a lot of people had only arrived into Berlin that day most people were keen for an early night so we all headed back to the hostel after dinner and a drink.

24 AUGUST 2009, MONDAY

Was up quite early this morning as with four of us girls in the room all needing to be at breakfast at the same time I wasn’t sure how long showers etc would take. Turned out though that two showered the night before and there was only two of us showering in the morning; so we were on time to breakfast. After that it was onto the bus (without luggage) for a driving tour of Berlin. I was tempted to skip it given I had only been in Berlin a few months previously, but thought that I should go along in case there was some useful information provided.

The driving tour ended at Checkpoint Charlie and while most of the group headed onto the walking tour, a lot of people headed off to do their own thing. I walked back to the hostel to do some washing.

Was about a 40 minute walk back, then washing took the best part of two hours. From there I basically spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city and enjoying Berlin in the sunshine. Took me some time to find an ATM, too late to get to the post office unfortunately. Also tried to find a place to buy a pair of cheap runners or walking shoes but the only place I found that was decently priced didn’t take Mastercard and it was pre-ATM. So no luck there.

Got back to the hostel at around 6pm or so and chilled for a few hours before we all met for the pub crawl and headed off. Ended up going to three pubs and a club was supposed to follow - although I ended up leaving after a while at the third pub/ bar. I was not impressed with the choice - and even though we were getting a free shot at each place - I didn’t want to hang around for too long. As it was, by the time I got back to the hostel it was a bit after midnight and a lot of people (I later discovered) got back about an hour or so later anyway (and apparently the club was even lamer than some of the bars!!).

TUESDAY 25 AUGUST 2009

Up early and showered again to make breakfast at 8am. Few hung over people this morning. Bags were on the bus and we were making our way out of Berlin by 8:30am or just after.

Not much really to report. Was kind of nice to be able just to get on a bus and not worry about where I had to get off, or needing to work out which seat I was assigned to or anything else. However, because we are carrying 42 people and all of their bags; plus we have a stack of food too; the bus is packed as many of the bags can’t fit underneath the bus so they ended up taking up some of the spare seats at the back. All good though.

Because of EU working time restrictions we have to stop regularly - so after 2.5 hrs driving we made our first stop at a servo. 15 minute break so time for toilet and stretch of legs before back on the bus. Another 2.5 hrs later we got to the ferry terminal where we all got off the bus and they set up our picnic lunch (which was quite good really) and we sat there for an hour before we could board our ferry. Then it was about two hours on the ferry. Back onto the bus for another 2 hours or so before arriving just outside of Copenhagen in a camping ground. The cabins are really nice that we are staying in - five in each; each has a small balcony, plus a small kitchen table, small kitchen and even a TV and their own bathroom.

Only about an hour or so later (after we had sorted out the bed situation which resulted in me getting a double bed and my own room - bonus!) we all met at the dinner tent. Dinner was soup and pasta and again - I am impressed with our cooks’ cooking (Timmy). It drizzled throughout dinner so after that everyone pretty much headed back to individual cabins and we ended up playing cards for a few hours before going to bed nice and early for a big day tomorrow.

26 AUGUST 2009, WEDNESDAY

No need to pack bags this morning, and breakfast was at 8am so there was a bit of a sleep in this morning. By 9am we had washed up from breakfast and were on the coach for our driving tour of Copenhagen, Denmark. First stop was the area known as Christiania, which is essentially a ‘new society’ formed in the early 1970s by a group of hippies and political activists. It is one of the ‘most-visited’ sights in the city. We were dropped at one of the gates and followed Heather (our tour guide) through. Photos not allowed. We didn’t have much time on the walk through, but there was art all over the walls of the buildings, some interesting cabling, some eccentric shops and cafes and clubs and galleries too. Was a shame we couldn’t have spent more time there really as it looked quite interesting; although I am not sure how welcoming there are to tourists. I did note on the way out though that they themselves run guided walking tours. From there we headed to the statue of the Little Mermaid which is right on the waterfront just beyond the Gefion Fountain. The Little Mermaid statue was quite underwhelming and not that interesting - the Disney movie of the same name is largely based on the tale of Denmark’s Little Mermaid - although the Disney movie has a happy ending unlike the real story!! Matt (the bus driver) jumped across to give her a kiss and we all got photos. Apparently she is one of the most vandalised women and statues around - she’s been decapitated several times and had paint thrown all over her, etc.

Driving tour only, a few of us headed towards Amailenborg Palace to see the changing of the guards at midday. Since we had a bit of time to kill we wandered through Holmens Kirk - a rather large cathedral not far away. Then it was back to see the changing of the guards which was largely unimpressive and without as much pompous as the London Buckingham Palace version.

From there three of us headed off on a bit of a wander, past the harbour with its colourful buildings, through the cobbled streets and pedestrianised area. Grabbed a salad at a little café and ate it in the main square, washed it down with a pastry from a local bakery (unfortunately it wasn’t a Danish pastry though!!!).

Then it was onto the National Museum which not only was free but was absolutely huge. Spent a good hour and a half there, although could have spent a lot longer. They only touched on the Vikings in their prehistoric section which was surprising, I thought that they would have probably had a separate exhibition on them or something.

Headed off on a bit of a walk to Our Saviours Church which not only has an unusual spire and 400 steps to climb, but also some great views over the city. Most of it was quite steep but indoors which was fine. I got out onto the initial viewing platform, but when I realised that the rest of the climb was going to be on the outside of the spire I decided not to keep going, although the other girls did. I wasn’t the only one as well, a couple of Belgium guys came up a short time after we did and one stayed next to me trying to move as little as possible while his mate legged it to the top. Anyway, both the two girls, and his friend ended up not seeing us on the way down as we had edged around to the other side to take some photos. You would think that before climbing down that they might check thoroughly? Appears not. Anyway his mate called him, he said his goodbyes and went down. I decided to wait another five minutes in case they were still at the top - about five minutes later they arrived having climbed back up the stairs!! Oh well - good exercise??

From there we wandered back past Christianborg Palace and various musuems, etc; all of which were now closed for the day. Angela decided to get a train back to the campsite as she was out of money and didn’t want to get any more out; Jess and I decided to grab some dinner at a local restauarant. Had a bit of trouble finding an authentic Danish restauarant though - we ended up going with an all you can eat Greek one!! Random. Quite decent food though, although it wasn’t particularly cheap - as a lot of things in Scandinavia. After that it was a bit of souvenir shopping before heading back to the bus pick up point. Managed to buy a trashy English celebrity magazine to read for the bus the next day too.

All of the others had been planning on meeting at 7pm at Hard Rock Café to go into Tivoli Amusement Park; I had decided the day before to pass on that because of the cost. Anyway, turns out that everyone had rethought that and decided not to go inside (entrance fee alone was going to be ten euros - plus rides on top of that) so everyone pretty much ended up getting the 10pm Top Deck bus home. I had a bit of a head ache and after packing my bag in preparation for the next morning headed straight to bed.

THURSDAY 27 AUGUST 2009

Up bright and early so that I could shower and struggle to squish my sleeping bag back into my bag. Fun times. Once we were all packed we had to clean up the cabin, which meant removing the rubbish, washing any dishes we had used, putting chairs on the tables, sweeping and mopping. Mopping though is difficult without a mop. But then; it appeared that most people didn’t have a mop, so in the end we made do with water from the shower and a broom as it was only really the bath room that was a bit messy - wet floor plus shoes equals a bit of mud. Amazing that.

Then it was onto breakfast and then the bus. Some of the boys had to push start the bus as it appears to be having some troubles. Then it was an hours drive to the ferry terminal. Then a very short ferry crossing (20-30 minutes) where everyone rushed to spend the last of their Danish kronas; before getting back onto the bus for about another 5 hours until we stopped for lunch - which was baked potatoes, salads and fruit. Only a quick lunch stop today though before it was back onto the bus for another few hours. This time we got to watch a movie (About a boy). We stopped at a large outdoor shopping complex with the first ever IKEA just outside of Stockholm for a quick mandatory driver rest break. While all of us went and found toilets and grabbed drinks and/or money, the crew went into the supermarket and stocked up on some more food - while we are carrying a lot; with 42 of us we also go through a lot of food - even things like cereals etc. Then it was about another hour until we got to our campsite just outside of Stockholm. Cabins we are staying in are not quite as nice - no bathroom in each cabin - but still quite reasonable. Toilet block very close by. Dinner - which was chicken schnitzel with mash and veg was at 8pm so had a beer on the porches before that. We even got dessert tonight too! Then it was a run through of tomorrow’s plans (we lose 11 people tomorrow) before a few more drinks and a relaxing evening at the campsite.

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