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Published: September 3rd 2007
Hello hello hello!!! Prepare yourself, it's a big one...with LOTS of photos!!
We are now safely back in London and on a proper English keyboard (so any spelling errors are just my own this time!)
Sorry I have been so slack with keeping this thing up to date but it just ended up being a little time consuming when you have to pay to use the internet. So where did we leave you last? Paris I think? When we had snails for lunch... 😊
Well since then we have been to a lot more places and taken a lot more photos!!!
First up after Paris was the glorious Belgium!! We stopped in Bruges and extended our stay from two to four nights after our first afternoon there. After a look around the old medieval town on our first afternoon, and a fair tasting of the Belgian fries (with heaps of different sauces), waffles, and beers (they have 680(!) different varieties of beer each with its own unique glass!!!!); we spent the next day cycling to Holland!! We hired bikes and rode to a small town called Sluis, which is about an hour by bike and is the
first town over the Dutch border. On the way we stopped in a small town in Belgium called Damme which was very small and cute where we sampled yet another quality Belgian beer before continuing through to Sluis. Once in Sluis we had a wander around the pretty town and got some cheap and very delicious mussels for lunch. We then got back on our bikes and rode from Holland back through Belgium and up to the North Sea where we lay on what was surprisingly a very nice beach. Who would've thought hey...nice beaches in Belgium?!?!
The next day we caught a half hour train to another town close by called Ghent. Very cool place and would be great place at night with lots of bars etc. So to continue with the theme of our Belgian trip (drinking beer - we made a pact not to taste the same beer twice) after walking around the picturesque old town, we visited a bar on the river which had the most variety of bottled beers in Ghent...and spent quite a while there. So basically our time in Belgium was spent drinking beer, riding bikes, drinking more beer, eating fries, drinking
some more beer, going to the beach, drinking even more beer...oh yeah, and we did take in some sights along the way too. (See photos).
From Belgium we travelled to Amsterdam...crazy crazy Amsterdam!! The weekend we arrived, was the Gay Pride Festival. So, on top of the already bizarre sights you're guaranteed to see in Amsterdam, the first people we saw was a couple of really hot, buff and tanned men in short white hotpants and midriff sailor tops with sailor hats; a group of five or six 40-50 year old men dressed as cops in leather outfits with arseless pants...and so on.
Yes, Amsterdam is seriously one out of this world place. The marijuana is legal, the mushrooms are not...however there are still shops selling mushrooms, but not under some fancy name, but 'Mushroom Land' etc. ?!?! It must be absolute heaven for potheads or just people who love taking drugs in general...if not, a couple of days is plenty to see what you need to see.
We spent the first day on a bike and boat tour which gave us a good orientation of the city. When we were standing there waiting for the tour
guide to start, an Aussie guy introduced himself to James. He said his name was also James and I thought he looked so familiar...turns out to be James Burgess for those who know him (for those who don't...a good friend of my friend's and someone who was at all the same parties I went to in the good ol' party times of Year 10 and 11!!!). How bizarre is that?!?! I had been waiting to see someone I knew in a random place...and it happened!
So we went out that night checking out the sights of Amsterdam, and what an interesting night!! When we went to have a look down 'skinny lane' in the red light district (the street where the good looking prostitutes are - like FHM models - and is a lane only the width of about two people passing each other sideways), Jimmy was accosted by one the prostitutes who was standing by her door. She had a whip in her hand and as Jimmy was having a good look around 😉 she stuck her whip out and coat-hangered him around his neck, then grabbed his t-shirt by the neck and tried to drag him in
to her dirty little room!! Aaaaagh!! We were laughing, but she was seriously trying to pull him in and he had both hands on the door frame trying to stay out. He finally got out of it and as he was walking away, she gave him an almighty spank on the arse with her whip as he walked away!! (Freebie hey?!?! Haha!)
On top of the run in with the prostitute, we also became movie stars...NO!!! NOT those type of movie stars!! On our way back to find a bar near our hotel, we got stopped and asked if we would like to be in a movie. And yes, just like all you dirty people, my first thought was 'Oh God! It's a porno isn't it?!' so I asked and they assured us it wasn't, we were just required for a crowd scene and we would all get 35 Euro each. Hmmm...why not hey?! So we got a five minute 'Acting 101' course and we were on film. The movie is called 'Amsterdam' for all of you who want to see the backs of our head on the big screen (if it ever makes it there...and if our scene
isn't cut! Haha!). But we got our 35 Euro for about 50 minutes 'work', and that's all that matters to a backpacker hey?!
We visited the Ann Frankhaus which was really interesting for anyone who has read the book...it was so surreal to think that they lived up there (although it's nowhere near as small as I imagined!). We also went to the Heineken Factory which was a bit of fun.
Amsterdam...I don't think I'd rush back anytime soon, but it certainly is somewhere you have to see before you die.
Next stop...Berlin. Another brilliant city. So much history and some awesome architecture in the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate etc. Our first day we did yet another bike tour. Yes, we enjoyed riding bikes around Europe...they have great bike tracks so you don't have to worry about cars too much and most of the places are quite flat (which I loved!). The tour we did was a specific tour on the Third Reich and it was very interesting. Went to the Reichstag, Hitler's Bunker, old SS administration buildings, the Brandenburg Gate, Jewish Memorial, Victory Statue and heaps of other important historical places from WWII. The tour was well
worth the money lasting from 10am until 4pm, and perfectly timed before an absolute downpour of rain! That night we went on a pub crawl which was good fun. A group of us lost the group just as they were about to leave for the 'after party' club...and I think that was probably a very good thing in hindsight!! 😉 We went to some really cool places though - one where there are all different areas and one level has all sand on the ground and deck chairs, and they served drinks from bars outside...that were VW Combies!!! How cool!
We hired bikes again the next day and went to see the view from the dome in the Reichstag, then rode to the Olympic Stadium which Hitler built for the 1936 Games. Pretty impressive site. We then rode back via some of the remaining part of the Berlin Wall, and stopped at Checkpoint Charlie. We could've done with another few days in Berlin, but we'd sacrificed our final two days in Berlin for the extra two in Bruges. Oh well...
The next day we made our way to Dresden, a town not far past Berlin which was totally
destroyed by carpet bombing towards the end of the war (or apparently after the war had already been won)?? Anyway...it's bloody amazing how they have reconstructed this city. They have rebuilt all the buildings exactly as they were before the bombing, and some of it is still not complete. Our booking was lost at the hostel we were booked in at which was really annoying, until they told us they had found us somewhere (closer to town, private room instead of 8 bed dorm, breakfast included which it wasn't there, and they would drive us there and pay the difference as it was their fault)...nice one!!
We paid for a bus to take us all around the city, over the river and included guided tours of some of the main sites. We also got a paddle boat up the river to where we HAD to stop in a beer garden for some beers as it was raining. We met some cool people from the area who were very chatty...one had just come back from working in Perth and loved it. After the rain stopped we took a funicular up to a great view point for some nice pics. We
then had a look at a few old palaces over the other side of the river and finished our trip with a nice meal and a few beers at an old brewery overlooking the river and the town of Dresden.
After Dresden we went to Prague which was a load of fun as we met some great people to party with and the city is just awesome...not a let down at all. After a walking tour the first day which took us to all the major sights in the town we spent a night in the hostel bar playing some good old drinking games with our beers from the supermarket...oh, we really did do some true backpacker things I tell you!! 😊 The night ended up with a very disgraced member of the party (who told everyone she could drink them under the table) doing the magic trick of making her dinner reappear at the top of the staircase right as everyone was outside their rooms as the fire alarm had gone off (falsely)!! How embarrassing!!!!!!!!!!!!
The next day a group of us went to a little town out of Prague called Kutna Hora which is the home
to a church which is decorated entirely with human bones (40,000 skeletons or something). Really strange...never seen one human bone outside a museum, and after this trip I've seen so many skulls close up it's not funny!! We then had a wander around the (very small town) and had a look at a stone fountain which was supposed to be great but which was very disappointing - a fountain with no water? Huh?! We did find a shop on the way which was very varied in its stock. It was a video shop that sold other things as well. In the window there were guns, knives, aftershave, porcelain dolls, army helmets, candles, and other little knick knacks. (See pic) We then went back to Prague and had a look around the markets in the Jewish Quarter and on the Charles Bridge - got a kick ass ring and funky earrings from there! We then went out to dinner and had some nice cheap beers in town before heading back to the hostel for more beers. 😉
We spent the next day in Prague going around to the things we wanted to see again; we walked up to the top
of the tower at the beginning of Charles Bridge with a brilliant view of Prague Castle over the other side of the river and then hired a paddle boat and paddled (hard work!!) around the river which was fun. That night we met another great group of people who we went out with near our hostel. Great club and great night! (Again...see pics)
We were pretty tired on our last day in Prague and all I felt like doing was going to the movies!! Weird huh...but I just felt like doing something normal again - as in not standing in a city with a map and a Lonely Planet wondering what to do next and which way to go...I just wanted to watch The Simpsons! So then, so we didn't feel too bad for not doing a touristy thing, we went over to one of the other castles in Prague and had a wander around there for a bit which was really lovely. Then...we went to the cinemas. Funny movie!! Spider pig, spider pig... Haha!!!
Next up was another small town in the Czech Republic called Cesky Krumlov. A LOT of fun here as we had a nice
small group who we had a really good time with. No massive party nights, just drinking and card games and a lot of good cheap food and drinks. Our first day wasn't very good weather and so we had a look around the town and the castle - and had a coffee when it started raining/pouring. The next day we went back to the castle so we could see the bears. (Yes, they have bears where a regular castle would have a moat!) We walked up yet ANOTHER tower for ANOTHER spectacular view and then headed back to the hostel to meet the others for a spot of rafting. Not white water rafting, but more of a river cruise in which they recommend stopping whenever you see a pilsner sign on the banks of the river. Nice one... Good fun and I didn't even fall in. Brilliant!! Fun though, especially toward the end when you pull over to some people dressed as pirates who make you cocktails from the bank...you don't even have to get out of the boat! We went out for a traditional Czech meal that night and Jimmy got a 1.5kg pork knuckle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (See before and after
shots) Geez they do some good food in some of these countries!!
From Cesky, we got the bus through to Vienna where we met up with some of the Prague crew who hadn't stopped in Cesky. We went out for a late dinner (Viennese Schnitzel of course) and a 'few' drinks. Our tour of Vienna began the next morning when we hired bikes (again) to ride around the ring road which passes by most of the major buildings in Vienna. It then started pouring and so we had a nap - I think it was all starting to catch up with us by the end!! That night we went out with a big group for dinner at a place called Centimetre. You buy the sausages by the centimetre, and can order wheelbarrows of food. We ended up getting a 5ltr shuttle of beer, a wheelbarrow of food (schnitzel, potato salad, some other salads and chips) and a sword skewered with pork chops and more schnitzel and chilli con carne, chicken wings and more chips underneath. Certainly never been served my food like that before!!! Good food too...
The next day we did the highly recommended Vienna Grape Grazing
Tour. A full day of bike riding around the Wachau wine region with tastings along the way, stops in the most beautiful little towns, jam and schnapps tasting, opportunity to swim in the Danube or play beach volleyball and even walked up to ruins of a castle where Richard the Lion Heart was imprisoned in Austria. All in all a great day, and with bottles and bottles of wine drunk on the bus trip home, we didn't arrive back at the hostel in the best way. Then of course it was happy hour at the hostel bar and so everyone changed to beer...safe to say it turned out to be a very messy night!
From Vienna, James and I made our own way to Hungary to visit the capital city of Budapest. Awesome, awesome, awesome place. Can't really explain why I loved it so much, I just did. Everything about it is quite impressive, the old architecture, Heroes Square, the thermal baths, beautiful Buda with the castle and magnificent hills. Really great place, I would highly recommend people visit Budapest. We did (yes, you guessed it) another bike tour which was quite informative...huge hill to get up to the
Castle in Buda though...I swear my bike needed more gears!! We had three American girls on our tour and just me & Jimmy and they were so rude, they kept walking off and taking photos while the guy was telling us stuff and asking the most ridiculous questions!! We felt so bad for our poor guide...in the end he just spoke to me & James. We walked up to the Citadella after the bike tour (which was a bad move as I didn't realise quite how many stairs there were after my ginormous hill climb!! (Ok, the hill to the castle wasn't that big, I'd just been used to the flatness of all other European countries!) We stopped for some drinks that evening at a cute little place on the river where they had little Balinese style huts where you sat on the floor while eating your dinner/having your drink.
We went to the thermal baths the next day...the most famous in Budapest which are called the Gellert Baths. They are so old and beautiful inside. We had a very relaxing day by the pools and experimented in all of the hot baths, wave pools, Jimmy even went in
this steam room where it was about 100 degrees Celsius and then came out and jumped in a small 8 degrees Celsius pool!!! Hmmm...very invigorating!! I passed... We also visited the old Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion, part of the old city walls, where Jimmy tamed a falcon!! We went out for a nice meal that night at a recommended restaurant. We ordered a Hungarian platter for two, but it could easily have fed at least four if not five people!!!
Back to Vienna to spend one more night before catching the bus to Salzburg, we hired our city bikes again and visited the church, got a Viennese coffee and visited Schloss Schonbrunn, the Versailles of the Austrian Empire. Beautiful gardens, but we didn't go inside.
Last stop on our trip (tear!) was Salzburg. Yes, where the hills are alive with the Sound of Music!! The afternoon we arrived we visited the owner of Red Bull's own private hangar where he displays his contraptions (cars, helicopters, aeroplanes, flying machines), has a ridiculously expensive restaurant and bar, and displays modern art exhibitions - very cool the one that was there, by Mexican artists. One of them did his
whole pieces of art from human hair!!??!! We came back and had a short walk through the old streets and walked back through the Mirabell Gardens (where they run around the fountain etc. in Do Re Me...haha!!) which was right near our hostel.
The next day we made our own way to the largest Ice Caves in the world. Amazing scenery as you're walking up towards the caves and spectacular (and pretty damn cold) inside. It took all day to get there and back!! That night we went to a beer garden where you have to rinse your own glasses and the beer is poured straight from the wooden barrel.
On our second last day, we walked around the old town and I took James on a mini Sound of Music tour going to the Nonnberg Abbey, the horse fountain at Residenzplatz, and then finally to Hellbrunn where they have the gazebo displayed in the gardens. 😉 Not only that though (it wasn't the only reason we went there), the palace has what is known as the Trick Fountains. The Archbishop who built the palace built a garden with waterworks that squirted his guests from everywhere when they
least expected it...even from their seats while they were eating dinner!! Cheeky bastard! Got a little bit wet but it was a lot of fun. We then walked around the massive gardens of the palace and looked inside at a few of the rooms. That pretty much ended our sightseeing of Europe for the time being, as the next day it rained most of the day, so I watched the Sound of Music in the morning (they showed it at the hostel every morning at 10am) and we just wandered aimlessly around for the afternoon until it was time to catch the bus to the airport. It felt strange thinking it was over.
So back in England and being put up again at the marvellous Burl Hostel in Croydon. Even transfers from the airport at midnight on Wednesday night!!! How good are they?!?! Looking madly for jobs, and once that is sorted, will be looking for a place to live in a not too scary area of London, with hopefully not lunatic housemates!! Wish us luck!! Jimmy's onto his second job today...worked 14hrs Friday for a furniture removalist company and is off to working for a landscaper today. I'm
lagging behind...hopefully I get some calls this week!!
Love to you all! I will update you again shortly on the work and house situation, hopefully all positive in the not too distant future. Loz & Jimmy xx
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Adrienne
non-member comment
Wow
Hey guys, I am sooo jealous i think i say it everytime ha ha! But seriously u've had an amazing trip seeing heaps of diff things....I can't wait to travel but can't decide if i should do a Europe contiki tour be or packpacking like u guys? I really miss yas honestly i do!!! Stay safe and hope you find a job very soon :) xoxoxoxoxox