Blogs from Germany, Europe - page 888

OK, boys and girls, lets take out our maps of Europe and review the journey so far. On the far right, you’ll find the Black Sea. Just to the left of it, you’ll see Romania. Now keep your finger going left thru Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia (if your map says Yugoslavia, throw the map out…..like the Yugo in the USA, that country does not exist anymore), Hungary, Slovakia (remember those countries that start with “SL” and end in “IA”), Czeck Republic (another reason to throw that map out is if its still shows Czechoslovakia) and finally Germany (which has been one big united country since 1990…so if the map shows 2 Germanys…again toss it out….tho I did like the East German national anthem). Right now, I’m in a city called Gorlitz which probably is not on ... read more

After an uneventful flight back to Cairo, we took solace in the knowledge that we'd only be in Egypt for a day and a half. Coming back actually proved to be fairly hassle-free, a combination of Cairo's relative laidbackness and good luck. However, our return did provide us with a couple of classic Egyptian exchanges. First, when we got to the airport, we couldn't find the bus stop. We went back inside to ask at the information desk. It went something like this: "Go outside and there's a sign for where to wait." "Actually, we were just there and didn't see it. Where exactly is it?" "Well, maybe you should ask someone." "Um, OK." Even better was the customer service at the Egypt Air office. After we checked into the hostel, we realized that some things ... read more

Düsseldorf and Sylt 10 to 11 June 2006 On the Saturday we caught the Inner City Express train from Hamburg to Düsseldorf (for a bargain €96.00), and got there by mid-afternoon. We were on our way to visit the Daniels family. Mia and Peter are long time friends of Kai’s parents. We stayed with Jens, their son, who lives in the heart of the modern and lively Düsseldorf. That evening we had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant by the Rhine, enjoying the food, drink, company and sun till 11pm. This area of recently reclaimed docks is becoming a central location for media and production companies. So it is a rather trendy and stylish place. Towards the end of the meal, Silke, Mia and Peter’s daughter joined us as well. She had just returned from ... read more

Day 4 & 5 Arrived: Hauptbahnhof Station - Munich, Germany (early morning) + Day Tour in Fussen Accommodation: Euro Youth Hostel-- www.euro-youth-hotel.de first impression = welcoming/ across the street from train station room = 6 person room shower = shared in hallway tip = get in early for the free walking tour Gone.. Go Trippin'- Munich We arrived early from our overnight train from Amsterdam. Note-- couchette or sleeper trains must be booked or reserved so plan ahead. We checked into Euro Youth, located literally steps from the train station. This was the one time we were glad we arrived early morning since the hostel offers walking tours for a small fee (tip for the guides). What a no nonsense, hassle- free and affordable way to see the city. The meeting area was located in Marienplatz ... read more

Guten tag my friends! Actually after just writing that I've experienced a blank on whether or not that really is the word for hello in German....oh well, lets just say it is! Okay, before I tell you about Berlin, I have to send out a huge sincere apology to the country of Belarus, as we completely missed it out of our blog, even though we stopped there for a night. So anyway, better tell you a bit about it, since nobody has ever heard of it, including us til we got there. Belarus used to be part of Russia, I think it was only in the 90's that it became recognised as a seperate country. Its currently run by a president who is said to be 'europes last dictator' not on the scale of hitler of ... read more