Well just got off an eight hour long bus trip from Barcelona to Madrid. Not the best way to spend a day when your on a trip, but unfortunately no night buses run that route, so a day had to be wasted. None the less since I have said everything that needs to be said about today I will update my days in Barcelona.
Definitely did NOT have the typical Barcelona experience. Which is obviously lots of beach and lots of drinking since it is pretty much the party capital of Europe. I got rain on both my full days in the city so that crossed the beach aspect of the trip off the list. With that said it did mean more time in the streets. I got to walk through La Rambla multiple times, seeing different vendors and street acts every time. Very talented Reggie groups and dance groups doing big shows during the evening. Many Catalan artists with their paintings or other works of art also line the streets. Stopped in one of Barcelona´s most known market the Mercat de Sant Josep/ La Boqueria. They have everything that your stomach should desire. Different smells coming from each corner, they have different food from fish, fruit, meat, candy, oils and spices and even walked by a chicken egg booth!
I was supposed to take a bike tour of the city the second night however a few hours before it would begin it started to storm outside, and it was pouring rain. The brochure said the tours go in ANY weather and that rain ponchos were available if needed. I could rock the poncho if need be but as soon as I heard the thunder outside I called them right up and changed dates to the next night. Which proved to be a good idea because the rain cleared up that afternoon in time for my tour. The tour was nice, we got to see a lot of the Catalan history, different monumental buildings, part of the beach, and the best part was of course the last stop. This was the Font Magica (fountain water show) with lots of water, lights, and music. The place was packed (just like the rest of Barcelona) and we got to see the last 5 minutes or so. I felt like a little kid gazing into the colours, I was just so impressed!
The down side of the bike tour was our guide did not stop much, so could not get a lot of the pictures I wanted. I attempted a few times while I was biking to click the camera away but after nearly stirring into poles and a few pedestrians I stopped. After the tour at around 10:30pm I rushed home because I was supposed to meet two Toronto girls I met that night. They actually stopped me in the street asking for directions in the broken Spanish that one of them spoke. Then we got to talking (in English) and found out we were both from Toronto area. They seemed really cool and we made plans for my last night in Barcelona. But did I mention that I had to change hostels for my last night? Well this new hostel was up in the friggen hills. Nice scenery and view of the city, but it is horrible to walk up! Especially after a 3 hour bike tour, 20 minute walk to the metro stop and then over 200 steps to the hostel (yes I counted). So after all of that I fell into my bed with my gyros and that is where my night ended. So no beaches of Barcelona and no clubbing of Barcelona.
Left the next morning at 5:30 to catch my bus which brought me to my new home for the next few days. Madrid seems very cool and I even got a tip from a Italian photographer I met in Barcelona about a Sunday market which has anything and everything you could want. I better practice my Spanish numbers tonight!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day 94
The last hours of Venice were nice, we got lost in the streets trying to get home for a few hours. Was not a bad thing since we got to see more to the city that we most likely would have never otherwise discovered. But in those moments it really hit me that if you are lost in Venice you are really lost. You can't get lazy and catch a bus, jump on the metro and grab a taxi because there are none. On the positive I worked off the big lasagna lunch I had.
Attempted to go to Genova with Sandy early this morning. We hung around the hostel til about 1 in the morning, which was great because we did not have to pay. When I went to get my bag from storage I actually fell over and ate the floor, luckily no one was there to see. I scraped my arm and bumped my knee, embarrassing! Not looking forward to getting into salt water with my wound in the morning.
But injured and all we arrived to train station thinking we would be able to catch our train to Genova, but to our surprise the station was closed. So we missed the train and had to sleep outside the station for the night. The quote of the night was when this homeless drunk guy came up to us and invited us to a party that night. We politely declined and then he proceeded to call us "a bunch of crappy travelers!"
Once the booth opened and we missed our train, we found out that all the other trains to Barcelona (my next stop) were full, so I could not see anymore of Italy if I wanted to go to Spain. I had to make the choice, and went for Spain. I found a cheap flight from Venice this evening and jumped on it. So I landed in Barcelona before ten this evening! Heading to bed now, tomorrow is a big day of beaches and hopefully I get some eye candy to look at while I top off my tan. Spanish boys? mhmmmm!
Attempted to go to Genova with Sandy early this morning. We hung around the hostel til about 1 in the morning, which was great because we did not have to pay. When I went to get my bag from storage I actually fell over and ate the floor, luckily no one was there to see. I scraped my arm and bumped my knee, embarrassing! Not looking forward to getting into salt water with my wound in the morning.
But injured and all we arrived to train station thinking we would be able to catch our train to Genova, but to our surprise the station was closed. So we missed the train and had to sleep outside the station for the night. The quote of the night was when this homeless drunk guy came up to us and invited us to a party that night. We politely declined and then he proceeded to call us "a bunch of crappy travelers!"
Once the booth opened and we missed our train, we found out that all the other trains to Barcelona (my next stop) were full, so I could not see anymore of Italy if I wanted to go to Spain. I had to make the choice, and went for Spain. I found a cheap flight from Venice this evening and jumped on it. So I landed in Barcelona before ten this evening! Heading to bed now, tomorrow is a big day of beaches and hopefully I get some eye candy to look at while I top off my tan. Spanish boys? mhmmmm!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
93
Venice! By far the most scenic city I visited. Just as it is shown in all the movies, canals everywhere, old buildings, tons and tons of people in the streets and the smell of pizza.
My hostel is quite the joke. It is under renovations at the moment so some of the rooms have no doors, the mattresses have reports of bed bugs, the entrance door opens into an empty cold cement basement and there is no reception desk. We have to pack up our bags everyday and place them in storage room since they claim to be doing work on the rooms during the day, however nothing seems to change when we get back in at night. The staff is very friendly, they make us free pasta dinner every night (most likely so we don't complain about the 'renovations' going on) and then take out everyone who wants to join to the dock down by a canal to have some drinks and mingle with all the other hostelers.
I met a very interesting Jew named Sandy. Now relax, she is the first to make all the Jewish references before anyone else. Very funny girl. She reminded me of the girl from American Pie because she starts off some stories with "This one time, at Jewish camp..." No joke. We get on great, and toured around the city today. We went over to Murano, to see some glass sculpture being made. Only two euro and we got to see the artist blow out the glass and all the steps it takes. Followed by some ice cream and another water bus (no metro, just boats) ride back to the main area of Venice.
The markets in Venice are great, all filled with glass figures and jewellery, glittery and colourful masks, and tons of leather bags. I have been good thus far with my purchases and have not made any dent in my funds but I am sure that will change before my time is up here.
My hostel is quite the joke. It is under renovations at the moment so some of the rooms have no doors, the mattresses have reports of bed bugs, the entrance door opens into an empty cold cement basement and there is no reception desk. We have to pack up our bags everyday and place them in storage room since they claim to be doing work on the rooms during the day, however nothing seems to change when we get back in at night. The staff is very friendly, they make us free pasta dinner every night (most likely so we don't complain about the 'renovations' going on) and then take out everyone who wants to join to the dock down by a canal to have some drinks and mingle with all the other hostelers.
I met a very interesting Jew named Sandy. Now relax, she is the first to make all the Jewish references before anyone else. Very funny girl. She reminded me of the girl from American Pie because she starts off some stories with "This one time, at Jewish camp..." No joke. We get on great, and toured around the city today. We went over to Murano, to see some glass sculpture being made. Only two euro and we got to see the artist blow out the glass and all the steps it takes. Followed by some ice cream and another water bus (no metro, just boats) ride back to the main area of Venice.
The markets in Venice are great, all filled with glass figures and jewellery, glittery and colourful masks, and tons of leather bags. I have been good thus far with my purchases and have not made any dent in my funds but I am sure that will change before my time is up here.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Day 92
The last day in Hvar was nice, I has such a relaxing day on the beach, and after hours in the sun headed over to MY restaurant. I say its mine because after going only twice I consider myself a regular. The way I have been traveling if I manage to go twice it really does mean I am a loyal customer. I had this delicious steak with stuffed cheese and their Croatian style of salami. Since everything is so cheap I had to spoil myself. Walking home was heartbreaking, I saw at least three Maltese. Seriously is the island of Maltese dogs. Benny you are still number one!
And now....
MOTHERRRLANNNDDDD! Made it to Italy, took an overnight ferry from Hvar to Ancona. Horrible ferry, the benches in the dinning room had dividers every second seat, so it was very tight to lay down. I had to figure out a position where my head and top half was in one set of dividers and my legs were hung over the second divider. Let's just say I did not get the best sleep last night. I arrived in Ancona port at around 8:30 in the morning. Made my way to the train station and bought my ticket for Venice. Took another 5 hours on public transportation! Such a long day. All I am wanting at the moment is a nice long shower! Let us all pray together that the hostel has warm water.
Well that is all I can really say for now, other then shower time!
And now....
MOTHERRRLANNNDDDD! Made it to Italy, took an overnight ferry from Hvar to Ancona. Horrible ferry, the benches in the dinning room had dividers every second seat, so it was very tight to lay down. I had to figure out a position where my head and top half was in one set of dividers and my legs were hung over the second divider. Let's just say I did not get the best sleep last night. I arrived in Ancona port at around 8:30 in the morning. Made my way to the train station and bought my ticket for Venice. Took another 5 hours on public transportation! Such a long day. All I am wanting at the moment is a nice long shower! Let us all pray together that the hostel has warm water.
Well that is all I can really say for now, other then shower time!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Day 90
Well I guess I will start off with the obvious. officially three months has passed by since I left home. Three months since I have had a nice plate of Pina's pasta, since I have had my bed, or seen my boyfriend! I have made it to 11 different countries in that time and have loved every minute.
The rest of Zadar was great. I gave up on the beach scene there, it was just too rocky and packed with people to enjoy. I spent the last day in the city, wondering in the endless markets they have and getting lost in the towns old small roads. I watched the famous sunset from the organ steps. Organ steps you ask? Well it is a massive organ under these steps at the end of the harbour. As the waves come and crash underneath the air pressure makes the sounds, and as the waves change so does the music. It is really neat to see, unfortunately like every other tourist attraction it gets ruined by the loud screaming children. They should enforce a quite zone, at least for the sunset hours so others can hear clearly and enjoy the music. Right next to the organ they have this huge circle that lights up in different colours to represent the sun.
Oh and I got invaded by old Croatian ladies in the park. Let me explain. I was sitting on a bench having a nice little dinner by myself when a old lady asks to sit next to me. Great, no problem. Then her friend comes over sits right in between us and they start talking very loudly. The next bench over frees up so I move. I decided to sit smack in the middle with my bags on either side of me to make it clear there was no room for anyone else. After 5 minutes of peace, a new set of old ladies pop up, gesture to me if I can move over so they can sit. I do and again they get real loud and begin their evening gossip session. Finally I see a third bench free up so I rush to that one. I like to hear the waves and read quietly in the park instead of all this loud talk. However that is just not possible here. I look up and I see another pair of old ladies walking over. I just start laughing because I know they are headed right for me! And they do, they come over and sit down to ruin my evening again. Next time I think I will lay out on the entire bench just like the bums do. No one seems to bother them because while I got interrupted three times, there were at least two bums laying on the benches who did not get annoyed once!
The next day I took the morning bus South to Spilt. Beach was not any better, this one was actually all cement. Well to be fair I would not classify it as a beach. It just looks like a bay where they used to dock boats, and now people go swimming there. After a tan session I made it to my hostel and headed out with a few friends I made. We were all leaving the next morning so we headed out to one of the clubs for the night to relax and have some drinks before we departed. Fun night- not a fun morning.
Caught the ferry to Hvar in the morning. Boat ride was NOT fun, and I will remember not to drink the night before I have to be on a ferry. Learned my lesson. The one good thing about the trip was across from me was a family holding a little Maltese puppy! I ended up staring at this little puppy for quite a while, I even got some weird looks from the mother a few times (she was probably thinking I was a little crazy).
Regardless of who thought I was crazy or not I made it Hvar island. I am currently sitting in a cafe shop enjoying some free Internet, sipping on a cold sprite as the sun goes down. A note about Hvar- Extremely windy!
The rest of Zadar was great. I gave up on the beach scene there, it was just too rocky and packed with people to enjoy. I spent the last day in the city, wondering in the endless markets they have and getting lost in the towns old small roads. I watched the famous sunset from the organ steps. Organ steps you ask? Well it is a massive organ under these steps at the end of the harbour. As the waves come and crash underneath the air pressure makes the sounds, and as the waves change so does the music. It is really neat to see, unfortunately like every other tourist attraction it gets ruined by the loud screaming children. They should enforce a quite zone, at least for the sunset hours so others can hear clearly and enjoy the music. Right next to the organ they have this huge circle that lights up in different colours to represent the sun.
Oh and I got invaded by old Croatian ladies in the park. Let me explain. I was sitting on a bench having a nice little dinner by myself when a old lady asks to sit next to me. Great, no problem. Then her friend comes over sits right in between us and they start talking very loudly. The next bench over frees up so I move. I decided to sit smack in the middle with my bags on either side of me to make it clear there was no room for anyone else. After 5 minutes of peace, a new set of old ladies pop up, gesture to me if I can move over so they can sit. I do and again they get real loud and begin their evening gossip session. Finally I see a third bench free up so I rush to that one. I like to hear the waves and read quietly in the park instead of all this loud talk. However that is just not possible here. I look up and I see another pair of old ladies walking over. I just start laughing because I know they are headed right for me! And they do, they come over and sit down to ruin my evening again. Next time I think I will lay out on the entire bench just like the bums do. No one seems to bother them because while I got interrupted three times, there were at least two bums laying on the benches who did not get annoyed once!
The next day I took the morning bus South to Spilt. Beach was not any better, this one was actually all cement. Well to be fair I would not classify it as a beach. It just looks like a bay where they used to dock boats, and now people go swimming there. After a tan session I made it to my hostel and headed out with a few friends I made. We were all leaving the next morning so we headed out to one of the clubs for the night to relax and have some drinks before we departed. Fun night- not a fun morning.
Caught the ferry to Hvar in the morning. Boat ride was NOT fun, and I will remember not to drink the night before I have to be on a ferry. Learned my lesson. The one good thing about the trip was across from me was a family holding a little Maltese puppy! I ended up staring at this little puppy for quite a while, I even got some weird looks from the mother a few times (she was probably thinking I was a little crazy).
Regardless of who thought I was crazy or not I made it Hvar island. I am currently sitting in a cafe shop enjoying some free Internet, sipping on a cold sprite as the sun goes down. A note about Hvar- Extremely windy!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 87
Editors note:
The guards were sorta right, sorta wrong. It is 90 days but not including UK or Croatia since they are not in that same act. Therefore the clock is ticking on Spain and Portugal, which is fine I just be home sooner. Shows how much I know. Embarrassing!
The guards were sorta right, sorta wrong. It is 90 days but not including UK or Croatia since they are not in that same act. Therefore the clock is ticking on Spain and Portugal, which is fine I just be home sooner. Shows how much I know. Embarrassing!
Day 87
My travels to Croatia were a little scary. Remember that first blog way back in April where I told the customs in the UK the wrong dates and they denied me entry for a few moments til we sorted everything out? Well that came back to bite me in the ass. The border of Slovakia and Croatia they have border police for the trains. So they came on and looked at everyones passport. He came to mine and could not understand that special stamp I got in the UK. So he took me off the train and brought me to two other guards standing on the side. They got close into my face and were asking what it was and refused to give me my stamp to let me in! They told me I only had a few more days in Europe since it would be three months in very soon, I attempted to explain to them that the stamp meant I had three months just in the UK and six months in the EU. After getting yelled at in Croatian/ broken english a bit more they let me back on the train and off I went. I don't understand why the guards don't know their own laws. And all because my mom gave me the bright idea to go to Croatia!
THe train ride was not completely horrible, I met this great Austrian lady half way through. Susan was her name and she is a DJ and also does some event planning in Vienna. We got to talking, and after the passport scare she sort of took me under her wing. Once getting to Croatia, she gave me some info on beaches and spots to be (she vacations in Croatia a lot). Then I found out she was heading to one, so we took a bus together where she was meeting her family. It was just before midnight before we got in so they gave me a ride to the center of the town so I could find a hostel. It is great how generous people can be!
So this brings me to the coast of Zadar, where I spent the day on the beach, doing absolutely nothing. I could do this for a while...
THe train ride was not completely horrible, I met this great Austrian lady half way through. Susan was her name and she is a DJ and also does some event planning in Vienna. We got to talking, and after the passport scare she sort of took me under her wing. Once getting to Croatia, she gave me some info on beaches and spots to be (she vacations in Croatia a lot). Then I found out she was heading to one, so we took a bus together where she was meeting her family. It was just before midnight before we got in so they gave me a ride to the center of the town so I could find a hostel. It is great how generous people can be!
So this brings me to the coast of Zadar, where I spent the day on the beach, doing absolutely nothing. I could do this for a while...
Day 85
Finally arrived to Lake Achensee, very beautiful. I am in the middle of a huge lake and surrounded by the fjord of the Alps - need I say anymore?
First night Jessica and I arrived at Jenbach train station with no hostel booked and basically no direction other than we want to be by the lake. We asked some bus mechanics where the station was and the pointed to a bus stop. No actual bus station in town so we annoyed them again by asking when the bus would come and if they could help us read the schedule. After much confusion we figured out we missed the last bus of the day. Great, stuck at a shady train stop all night! Finally, I think after looking pathetic enough, one of the guys offered us a ride to town. We accepted and after locating a knife and screw driver (just in case) we got a ride into town.
First night we walked around for a bit and could not find a single hostel. We soon realized no hostel, because there are no youths around! All old couples and families, so the places was filled with hotels and bed and breakfast type places. We ended up taking a hotel for the night - the lady gave us a deal for 25 euro per person for the night. With a really good breakfast by the way.
The next morning Jessica and I ventured to the bottom of the lake by an 8 euro bus ride! Crazy expensive! We walked around... again... finding a place to stay. We found one but it was only for one night and I was planing on staying two. Jessica accepted, and I just got up said a quick bye and walked off. I did not think that was enough time to enjoy the place and was tired of rushing through the towns/cities because she has to be home at a certain time. Especially after all that time and money to get there. So this was for the best, and within seconds I dropped that extra weight and was on my own again!
I found a bed and breakfast, rented a bike and toured through the towns. Taking tons of pictures of the mountains, hills, and waters. The atmosphere of the town is very relaxed. Everyone is intense mountain bikers or hikers. There were a few moments when I was walking on the walking paths that I felt like the Tour De France was going by me. So even though I did not see the real thing, I got close enough in Austria.
My last day in town I was trying to figure out how to actually get out of the secluded area. I went downstairs and asked the young girls that work there. (family business, the grandmother runs the show tho) After going on the computer with them and talking for a bit, their sweet little grandmother brought us puddling! She handed me one too, like I was one of her own- very nice. Vanilla and chocolate swirl!
First night Jessica and I arrived at Jenbach train station with no hostel booked and basically no direction other than we want to be by the lake. We asked some bus mechanics where the station was and the pointed to a bus stop. No actual bus station in town so we annoyed them again by asking when the bus would come and if they could help us read the schedule. After much confusion we figured out we missed the last bus of the day. Great, stuck at a shady train stop all night! Finally, I think after looking pathetic enough, one of the guys offered us a ride to town. We accepted and after locating a knife and screw driver (just in case) we got a ride into town.
First night we walked around for a bit and could not find a single hostel. We soon realized no hostel, because there are no youths around! All old couples and families, so the places was filled with hotels and bed and breakfast type places. We ended up taking a hotel for the night - the lady gave us a deal for 25 euro per person for the night. With a really good breakfast by the way.
The next morning Jessica and I ventured to the bottom of the lake by an 8 euro bus ride! Crazy expensive! We walked around... again... finding a place to stay. We found one but it was only for one night and I was planing on staying two. Jessica accepted, and I just got up said a quick bye and walked off. I did not think that was enough time to enjoy the place and was tired of rushing through the towns/cities because she has to be home at a certain time. Especially after all that time and money to get there. So this was for the best, and within seconds I dropped that extra weight and was on my own again!
I found a bed and breakfast, rented a bike and toured through the towns. Taking tons of pictures of the mountains, hills, and waters. The atmosphere of the town is very relaxed. Everyone is intense mountain bikers or hikers. There were a few moments when I was walking on the walking paths that I felt like the Tour De France was going by me. So even though I did not see the real thing, I got close enough in Austria.
My last day in town I was trying to figure out how to actually get out of the secluded area. I went downstairs and asked the young girls that work there. (family business, the grandmother runs the show tho) After going on the computer with them and talking for a bit, their sweet little grandmother brought us puddling! She handed me one too, like I was one of her own- very nice. Vanilla and chocolate swirl!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Day 82
Well what a day. Visited a few sights around Vienna and did a little shopping today. I found this amazing sort of house and home store which carried all these cool pieces and unique pieces of art or furniture. I even found this mid sized silver sea turtle! Of course I bought it, best 15 euros ever spent. After a day in the city we came back to the hostel with some wine and dinner and ate over looking the view of the city. Even made another friend with this four year old Austrian boy. We played a shooting game which was loads of fun because no matter how many times I shot this little guy he just kept getting up again! So there was me running around like a fool for about 20 minutes as the parents laughed and watched us. Cool little kid.
So that was today, we got our train ticket worked out and will be hanging out in the country side of Austria for a few days. After that Jessica and I will be splitting up (thank-god). I am going nuts, we are not very good travel mates. And I will just leave it at that! (Don't worry, gossip will come when I get back) So I will be off to either Tuscany or Venice soon after Austria, where I will be rocking it alone doing my thanngg! xo
So that was today, we got our train ticket worked out and will be hanging out in the country side of Austria for a few days. After that Jessica and I will be splitting up (thank-god). I am going nuts, we are not very good travel mates. And I will just leave it at that! (Don't worry, gossip will come when I get back) So I will be off to either Tuscany or Venice soon after Austria, where I will be rocking it alone doing my thanngg! xo
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 81
Last evening in Prague was great. We went to the main square in the old town to come across a big festival happening. With blues music playing, food stands, and people everywhere. Including a large number of drunk bums. When we first entered we noticed two of them on the ground rolling around fighting. These two bums turned out to be great entertainment for Jessica and myself and after about an hour watching them I promised Jessica I would include them in my blog.
After a quick run in with the cops they stopped and sat down on near by bench and this is where we noticed the older guy was bleeding pretty badly from his head. His girlfriend and even the guy he just fought (we will call the younger guy red pants since that was his only piece of clothing he was wearing) were helping him with some very bad first aid skills. They continued to help him and would occasionally break into small little arguments. We honestly could not stop watching them, and we were not the only ones wasting time to see them! A few other benches were laughing every time we would. Funny to see how at first two drunks were fighting and then 10 minutes later red pants his holding a towel on the face he just cut. The last bit of the show was red pants running over to help another homeless guy with his bag! This old man was struggling to take off his backpack so he literally runs over and helps him take it off and places it on the bench for him. Turns out he is sort of a gentleman? At that moment the laughs from the benches grew and I think he started to notice people were watching him. Whatever the case... if you are traveling on a budget, travel tip in Prague is watching the bums in Old Town Square!!
Once we finished up with Prague we took a bus to Budapest in Hungary. Ended up being less than 24 hours in the city but we still got to see a lot of it. We arrived that evening around 5 pm, found a place to stay for the night from this really sweet Hungarian lady, then walked around town. The parliament building is probably the nicest one I have seen. Almost every street has flowers or gardens, the locals are welcoming and the money is really annoying to convert. I went to the cash point to take out some money and I got a 10 000 bill. Really annoying to find out that 10 000 huff is around 40 Canadian? I knew the currency was poor, but not to that extent! Need to start doing my research BEFORE I enter the country.
We boarded a bus this afternoon for Vienna. I got yelled by the guy on the bus because of Jessica! She tried to lean her seat back when the handle fell off, so she just placed it back on and changed seats. No one reacted. Of course when I notice my radio is not working and I moved seats the handle fell off again. Well this time someone noticed and got up. He came up and asked what the handle on the floor was, so I told him and then asked him to wait a second before I picked it up since my hands were full from moving my stuff to the new seat. Then he proceeds to ask if that's why I moved because I broke the seat (no - the radio was broken), and why did I not pick it up (I couldn't - my hands were full as I said before), and where the handle came from (I told him it was to move the seat back - you think he would know since he works on these buses daily)! Crazy man. Getting yelled at is bad enough never mind when it wasn't even my fault (Jessica!). I decided it would be best NOT to say anything back since he would probably kick me off the bus, so I clipped the handle back on the chair said sorry and sat back with my working radio, reclined seat and enjoyed the ride to Austria.
Which brings me to midnight in Vienna on the computer listening to a rainstorm just outside. The hostel here has an amazing view of the city. We are pretty high up looking down on all of Vienna, and with the lightening lighting up the sky it is really a sight to see.
After a quick run in with the cops they stopped and sat down on near by bench and this is where we noticed the older guy was bleeding pretty badly from his head. His girlfriend and even the guy he just fought (we will call the younger guy red pants since that was his only piece of clothing he was wearing) were helping him with some very bad first aid skills. They continued to help him and would occasionally break into small little arguments. We honestly could not stop watching them, and we were not the only ones wasting time to see them! A few other benches were laughing every time we would. Funny to see how at first two drunks were fighting and then 10 minutes later red pants his holding a towel on the face he just cut. The last bit of the show was red pants running over to help another homeless guy with his bag! This old man was struggling to take off his backpack so he literally runs over and helps him take it off and places it on the bench for him. Turns out he is sort of a gentleman? At that moment the laughs from the benches grew and I think he started to notice people were watching him. Whatever the case... if you are traveling on a budget, travel tip in Prague is watching the bums in Old Town Square!!
Once we finished up with Prague we took a bus to Budapest in Hungary. Ended up being less than 24 hours in the city but we still got to see a lot of it. We arrived that evening around 5 pm, found a place to stay for the night from this really sweet Hungarian lady, then walked around town. The parliament building is probably the nicest one I have seen. Almost every street has flowers or gardens, the locals are welcoming and the money is really annoying to convert. I went to the cash point to take out some money and I got a 10 000 bill. Really annoying to find out that 10 000 huff is around 40 Canadian? I knew the currency was poor, but not to that extent! Need to start doing my research BEFORE I enter the country.
We boarded a bus this afternoon for Vienna. I got yelled by the guy on the bus because of Jessica! She tried to lean her seat back when the handle fell off, so she just placed it back on and changed seats. No one reacted. Of course when I notice my radio is not working and I moved seats the handle fell off again. Well this time someone noticed and got up. He came up and asked what the handle on the floor was, so I told him and then asked him to wait a second before I picked it up since my hands were full from moving my stuff to the new seat. Then he proceeds to ask if that's why I moved because I broke the seat (no - the radio was broken), and why did I not pick it up (I couldn't - my hands were full as I said before), and where the handle came from (I told him it was to move the seat back - you think he would know since he works on these buses daily)! Crazy man. Getting yelled at is bad enough never mind when it wasn't even my fault (Jessica!). I decided it would be best NOT to say anything back since he would probably kick me off the bus, so I clipped the handle back on the chair said sorry and sat back with my working radio, reclined seat and enjoyed the ride to Austria.
Which brings me to midnight in Vienna on the computer listening to a rainstorm just outside. The hostel here has an amazing view of the city. We are pretty high up looking down on all of Vienna, and with the lightening lighting up the sky it is really a sight to see.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day 78
Last day in Germany was very interesting. We visited a concentration camp just on the outskirts of Berlin. The most chilling feeling is walking into one of the buildings where prisoners had to live. Unfortunately I was really sick that day, and with the heat and the walking could not see the entire camp, but I did see enough. I think it would have been too depressing to walk through the entire grounds anyways.
That night Jessica and I headed on a night bus to Prague. Which was not that bad except for the part where I could not fall asleep. I would of liked to been rested when we arrived into Czech Republic but unfortunately was not. We headed to the hostel to get our room but when we arrived the lady at reception said we could not check in til past 1pm. On about an hour sleep that just does not work for me especially since part of the reason we picked that hotel was because we contacted them and told them we would arrive at 7 in the morning. After a few word exchanges with her she not only gave us our room but even upgraded us to a private room. More proof that a little attitude goes a long way, we finally got our room, dropped our bags and collapsed on the bed.
That afternoon we headed to grab a free tour of the city. However it did not last that long since our guide was extremely detailed and after about 15 minutes in the hot sun we ditched our group and ventured on our own. We crossed the Charles Bridge, hung out in a park by the water, pasted by the John Lennon wall, and tested our some sweet segways. Which are the coolest things ever but for 50 euro an hour it just was not in our budgets. We signed up for a pub crawl that night which was lots of fun. Stayed out all night and then slept most of today. Which brings me to the computer at 4 in the afternoon catching up on my blog and looking at tickets for our next leg. Overall Prague is yet another beautiful city in Europe. Enjoyed our time here AND the best part of Prague.... WE GOT FREE MCDONALDS COUPONS. Which is where we are headed at the moment.... two for one baby.
That night Jessica and I headed on a night bus to Prague. Which was not that bad except for the part where I could not fall asleep. I would of liked to been rested when we arrived into Czech Republic but unfortunately was not. We headed to the hostel to get our room but when we arrived the lady at reception said we could not check in til past 1pm. On about an hour sleep that just does not work for me especially since part of the reason we picked that hotel was because we contacted them and told them we would arrive at 7 in the morning. After a few word exchanges with her she not only gave us our room but even upgraded us to a private room. More proof that a little attitude goes a long way, we finally got our room, dropped our bags and collapsed on the bed.
That afternoon we headed to grab a free tour of the city. However it did not last that long since our guide was extremely detailed and after about 15 minutes in the hot sun we ditched our group and ventured on our own. We crossed the Charles Bridge, hung out in a park by the water, pasted by the John Lennon wall, and tested our some sweet segways. Which are the coolest things ever but for 50 euro an hour it just was not in our budgets. We signed up for a pub crawl that night which was lots of fun. Stayed out all night and then slept most of today. Which brings me to the computer at 4 in the afternoon catching up on my blog and looking at tickets for our next leg. Overall Prague is yet another beautiful city in Europe. Enjoyed our time here AND the best part of Prague.... WE GOT FREE MCDONALDS COUPONS. Which is where we are headed at the moment.... two for one baby.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 75
Hallo! That is German not a spelling mistake.
Made it to Berlin in one piece. Very hard for me to say bye to Amsterdam but we had to get the trip started.
Berlin is one interesting city with tons of historic stories and memories of the wars. We took a tour of the city this morning which was nearly 4 hours of walking in 36 degree weather! Very hot day, but well worth it. Unfortunately a lot of the old buildings were ruined during the bombings of the city at the end of the second world war so it was a lot of "this is where this happened" instead of actually pointing to the building we were discussing. We went through the headquarters of the Nazis, where Hitler lived, where Hitler killed himself, the Berlin wall, the holocaust memorial, the famous spot where university students burned tons of Jewish books, and others.
I found the spot where Hitler killed himself to be interesting, and even in the heat got the chills just thinking about it. He was underground in his bunker with his newly wed wife when he finally realised the Russians were close and he would NOT win the war. After him and his wife committed suicide they ordered their bodies to be burned. Today the spot of his bunker is an old parking lot, and where the bodies were burned are now beside a big garbage bin. Personally I think that is the best memorial for him.
After the city tour we ventured to another part of the Berlin wall called the East Side Gallery. The U-ban (metro) ride was fun, I made a friend with a little boy on the trip. He was sitting straight across from me looking completely bored, so I started to make faces at him. At first he was hesitant to make one back but he looked at his dad who wasn´t paying attention and then happily flashed his tongue at me! We went back and forth for a little bit until a German lad joined in with these crazy eye tricks. Jessica joined in shortly after then the little boys dad popped his head up smiling. Haha these little moments on the trip seem to entertain me the most. The little boy kept waving at me as I got off at our stop, he is probably thinking ´Oh those crazy Americans!´
Anyways we finally got to the Berlin wall, which is protected by law because to artists have graffiti all over it. It was really neat to see all different parts of the wall with all these amazing designs and strong messages of peace. After 10 min of walking the wall we saw about 10 police trucks rushing to the end of the street we were headed. So naturally we questioned if continuing would be smart. We noticed enough people walking from that direction calm and unpaniced so we continued, and within minutes this giant group of people were marching on the street. They had a few different cars blasting music and people were dancing and drinking beer as they marched through with police escort. We got handed a paper but German is not my thing. Jessica took some German in high school and read something about standing up for your right, and then some stuff about pop music? So whatever that march was about it was a pleasant surprise.
Tonight is our last night in Berlin, tomorrow we check out and then take an overnight bus to Czech Republic! I have heard Prague is beautiful so with that said I will let you all know how it goes in a few days time!
Auf wiederson!!
Made it to Berlin in one piece. Very hard for me to say bye to Amsterdam but we had to get the trip started.
Berlin is one interesting city with tons of historic stories and memories of the wars. We took a tour of the city this morning which was nearly 4 hours of walking in 36 degree weather! Very hot day, but well worth it. Unfortunately a lot of the old buildings were ruined during the bombings of the city at the end of the second world war so it was a lot of "this is where this happened" instead of actually pointing to the building we were discussing. We went through the headquarters of the Nazis, where Hitler lived, where Hitler killed himself, the Berlin wall, the holocaust memorial, the famous spot where university students burned tons of Jewish books, and others.
I found the spot where Hitler killed himself to be interesting, and even in the heat got the chills just thinking about it. He was underground in his bunker with his newly wed wife when he finally realised the Russians were close and he would NOT win the war. After him and his wife committed suicide they ordered their bodies to be burned. Today the spot of his bunker is an old parking lot, and where the bodies were burned are now beside a big garbage bin. Personally I think that is the best memorial for him.
After the city tour we ventured to another part of the Berlin wall called the East Side Gallery. The U-ban (metro) ride was fun, I made a friend with a little boy on the trip. He was sitting straight across from me looking completely bored, so I started to make faces at him. At first he was hesitant to make one back but he looked at his dad who wasn´t paying attention and then happily flashed his tongue at me! We went back and forth for a little bit until a German lad joined in with these crazy eye tricks. Jessica joined in shortly after then the little boys dad popped his head up smiling. Haha these little moments on the trip seem to entertain me the most. The little boy kept waving at me as I got off at our stop, he is probably thinking ´Oh those crazy Americans!´
Anyways we finally got to the Berlin wall, which is protected by law because to artists have graffiti all over it. It was really neat to see all different parts of the wall with all these amazing designs and strong messages of peace. After 10 min of walking the wall we saw about 10 police trucks rushing to the end of the street we were headed. So naturally we questioned if continuing would be smart. We noticed enough people walking from that direction calm and unpaniced so we continued, and within minutes this giant group of people were marching on the street. They had a few different cars blasting music and people were dancing and drinking beer as they marched through with police escort. We got handed a paper but German is not my thing. Jessica took some German in high school and read something about standing up for your right, and then some stuff about pop music? So whatever that march was about it was a pleasant surprise.
Tonight is our last night in Berlin, tomorrow we check out and then take an overnight bus to Czech Republic! I have heard Prague is beautiful so with that said I will let you all know how it goes in a few days time!
Auf wiederson!!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Day 72
Well the boys in orange got it done last night! I could not fall asleep til after 2 since car horns and screaming fans kept going on for that long! It was so much fun to watch in the pub, and see everyone dressed in orange filling up the tube line and walking the streets. Now the hard part is to figure out if we stay in the Netherlands or head to Germany in a few days. I still have 2 more nights in Amsterdam and will definitely have had my fill by then so either Jessica and myself move to another part of the Netherlands or move on as planned. I keep getting mixed reviews... any suggestions??
Today was an awesome day, I took advantage of the free city tour. It took about three and a half hours to walk the major parts of the city. Our tour guide Joe was a funny guy and made the tour extremely interesting. He took us through the Red Light District, Dams Square, Dutch East India Company, a few churches, The Royal Palace and more. He described how Marijuana is illegal in the country but not a criminal offence. The Dutch seem to have an unwritten rule that consists of three points... if you are not hurting anybody, you are discrete about it, and it is good for business (coffee shops make good money of the tourists), then the police will ignore it. So even though it is illegal as long as you have less then 30 grams on you, you will not get a ticket. Too funny.
Moving on from all that nonsense that I don't take part in we also had some history lessons on World War II, their golden age, and about how big of a bike city it is! Cool to learn all the interesting things of Amsterdam and that is not all about the sex and drugs. Joe told us that no one owns a nice bike in Amsterdam because the local young lads of the community think it is funny when they are drunk to steal the bikes and toss them in the rivers to see a big splash and laugh about it. Because of this about once a year the government takes them all out of the rivers and brings them to shops to fix them and sell them back to everyone. There was even a study conducted and they figured out about every 16th bike a Dutch owns in Amsterdam is one they have owned from before. Kinda crazy to think about it.
AHHH Jessica just walked in! My travel buddy from the States has arrived! So exciting. I now I have a friend for the next little bit. Well until our money runs out! I better be off, I have not seen her since last year when we met in Peru so we have lots of catching up to do!
Today was an awesome day, I took advantage of the free city tour. It took about three and a half hours to walk the major parts of the city. Our tour guide Joe was a funny guy and made the tour extremely interesting. He took us through the Red Light District, Dams Square, Dutch East India Company, a few churches, The Royal Palace and more. He described how Marijuana is illegal in the country but not a criminal offence. The Dutch seem to have an unwritten rule that consists of three points... if you are not hurting anybody, you are discrete about it, and it is good for business (coffee shops make good money of the tourists), then the police will ignore it. So even though it is illegal as long as you have less then 30 grams on you, you will not get a ticket. Too funny.
Moving on from all that nonsense that I don't take part in we also had some history lessons on World War II, their golden age, and about how big of a bike city it is! Cool to learn all the interesting things of Amsterdam and that is not all about the sex and drugs. Joe told us that no one owns a nice bike in Amsterdam because the local young lads of the community think it is funny when they are drunk to steal the bikes and toss them in the rivers to see a big splash and laugh about it. Because of this about once a year the government takes them all out of the rivers and brings them to shops to fix them and sell them back to everyone. There was even a study conducted and they figured out about every 16th bike a Dutch owns in Amsterdam is one they have owned from before. Kinda crazy to think about it.
AHHH Jessica just walked in! My travel buddy from the States has arrived! So exciting. I now I have a friend for the next little bit. Well until our money runs out! I better be off, I have not seen her since last year when we met in Peru so we have lots of catching up to do!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Day 70
Yes, you are going to hear more. Okay just to prove you wrong mom I won't go on that much more. I will just end by saying I got out of Athens. It was the longest day ever, but after a 60 euro fine on the metro for having the wrong ticket (I will still be calling the office to argue it) and losing my reservation with the airline and having to get another ticket I am... out! And in the Netherlands!
The flight went well, I had the entire row to myself so I got to lay down, relax and catch some zzz's. Even had the best meal on the flight. I caught the train from the airport to the main part of the city and upon walking to my hostel I got this feeling that Amsterdam would be a much better city to explore.
Not sure if it was the strong smell of weed I instantly smelled once I hit open air. Or how the streets are covered in orange flags for the football match tomorrow. Or how beautiful the streets are with rivers flowing all throughout the city and colourful flower shops in most corners. Either way it is a small city with lots to see. I walked over to grab some groceries and passed by my first prostitutes in windows. You see it on the movies all the time but it still sort of freaked me out at first. Like what is going on here? Oh right I am in Amsterdam. I guess I only expected it in the red light district but clearly I was wrong. The girls even smile at you while walking by making it extremely awkward... should be an interesting few days here.
Staying in tonight, way too much money to go out every night here. Besides the football game is on tomorrow night and hopefully the Dutch footballers can get'er done again!! Let's go Orange!
The flight went well, I had the entire row to myself so I got to lay down, relax and catch some zzz's. Even had the best meal on the flight. I caught the train from the airport to the main part of the city and upon walking to my hostel I got this feeling that Amsterdam would be a much better city to explore.
Not sure if it was the strong smell of weed I instantly smelled once I hit open air. Or how the streets are covered in orange flags for the football match tomorrow. Or how beautiful the streets are with rivers flowing all throughout the city and colourful flower shops in most corners. Either way it is a small city with lots to see. I walked over to grab some groceries and passed by my first prostitutes in windows. You see it on the movies all the time but it still sort of freaked me out at first. Like what is going on here? Oh right I am in Amsterdam. I guess I only expected it in the red light district but clearly I was wrong. The girls even smile at you while walking by making it extremely awkward... should be an interesting few days here.
Staying in tonight, way too much money to go out every night here. Besides the football game is on tomorrow night and hopefully the Dutch footballers can get'er done again!! Let's go Orange!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Day 69
Dirty. Boring. Sketchy. Yes, those are the words to describe Athens. The streets all smell of urine, tons of homeless drunk bums on the curbs plus you get the odd hooker in the mix. This is the first city where I generally feel unsafe. Not sure if it is due to their economic situation at the moment but either way I don't think I would ever come back to Athens. After the Acropolis there is not much else to see. I find the city just does not have any atmosphere to it, no charm to remember. Plus the locals are so rude, at least the ones I have encountered. So a big thumb down to Athens.
I did manage to motivate myself a bit yesterday and see some of the city. I ventured about a 15 min walk to the Acropolis. Which is something to see. Very cool and I suggest to anyone in Greece to at least make it to Athens for half a day to see it. Then get out as fast as possible!
Which is exactly what I am trying to do. Booked a flight to Amsterdam for tomorrow morning. Which means another night at the Athens airport. Which is fine by me, I don't mind at all to hang around in an airport. Call me crazy but people watching is a favourite past time of mine.
So it is just before 2:00 here in Athens, I am off to grab some breakfast/lunch and then attempt to make it to the rescue centre. Not sure if I have already mentioned this but Archelon has a rescue centre for any injured sea turtles. So it will kill some time to see the centre and should be interesting to see the turtles in some light! Then off to the airport I go. After 7 weeks in Greece it is time to move on, it has been some great times. Good-bye Mousaka, Raki, Gyros and the crystal clear beaches!! You will be greatly missed!
I did manage to motivate myself a bit yesterday and see some of the city. I ventured about a 15 min walk to the Acropolis. Which is something to see. Very cool and I suggest to anyone in Greece to at least make it to Athens for half a day to see it. Then get out as fast as possible!
Which is exactly what I am trying to do. Booked a flight to Amsterdam for tomorrow morning. Which means another night at the Athens airport. Which is fine by me, I don't mind at all to hang around in an airport. Call me crazy but people watching is a favourite past time of mine.
So it is just before 2:00 here in Athens, I am off to grab some breakfast/lunch and then attempt to make it to the rescue centre. Not sure if I have already mentioned this but Archelon has a rescue centre for any injured sea turtles. So it will kill some time to see the centre and should be interesting to see the turtles in some light! Then off to the airport I go. After 7 weeks in Greece it is time to move on, it has been some great times. Good-bye Mousaka, Raki, Gyros and the crystal clear beaches!! You will be greatly missed!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Day 68
Currently in Athens, arrived here at 4 in the morning off the overnight ferry from Ios. And at the moment I am knackered! Three nights in Ios will do that to anyone. I stayed at a hostel called Far Out Camping, which is basically a huge party resort. The rooms pretty much look like a dog kennel, on a larger scale of course. It was tons of fun, especially for Canada Day! I met all these great Canadian people and the hostel set up a party for the day. Well really all they did was put red and white balloons up and then decided to boost up all the prices of drinks..bastards!
Regardless a beach/pool party is always fun, and I must say Canadians know how to make it a good time. We even had a huge performance of drunk, loud, crazy Canadians signing Oh Canada a few times, which explains why I have no voice left. It was so funny to see all the proud Canadians in Greece showing their pride. The daytime party was much more fun then it was heading out at night. My night out consisted of nearly getting hit by a car (not my fault he started backing up the car without looking), cutting my foot on some glass, getting a drunk bartender who couldn't count to 6 and therefore hassled me out of an extra 3 euro, and the topper of the night was getting puked on in a bar. Thankfully just my leg and not much else!
All in all I must say even with all that happened that it was the best Canada Day I have ever. Truly an epic time. I just feel bad for all the other nationalities who had to put up with us for 24 hours. No I lied, I feel bad for everyone else who has to go through 4th of July tomorrow with any Americans on the island...you can't get any worse then that!
Regardless a beach/pool party is always fun, and I must say Canadians know how to make it a good time. We even had a huge performance of drunk, loud, crazy Canadians signing Oh Canada a few times, which explains why I have no voice left. It was so funny to see all the proud Canadians in Greece showing their pride. The daytime party was much more fun then it was heading out at night. My night out consisted of nearly getting hit by a car (not my fault he started backing up the car without looking), cutting my foot on some glass, getting a drunk bartender who couldn't count to 6 and therefore hassled me out of an extra 3 euro, and the topper of the night was getting puked on in a bar. Thankfully just my leg and not much else!
All in all I must say even with all that happened that it was the best Canada Day I have ever. Truly an epic time. I just feel bad for all the other nationalities who had to put up with us for 24 hours. No I lied, I feel bad for everyone else who has to go through 4th of July tomorrow with any Americans on the island...you can't get any worse then that!
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