Not alot going on at the mo

Well since I've been back (which feels like ages ... I feel like I've never been away) I haven't done much in preparation for next year.

I went to the doctors to take my last vaccination for my European trip ... hang on! Haven't you just done that trip? Well yes but I didn't have time to have all three Hep B injections so I've had the final one last Friday. The plus side is I don't need anymore vaccinations until I come home next September for my Sisters wedding (I've had all my jabs for Canada, USA, New Zealand and Fiji).

I've also had a look at visa requirements for the world; It's quite good being British as, allot of countries, don't require you to have a visa ... bonus. I shall get these visa things sorted early next year.

So really I'm just chilling until next Jan when things will start to ramp up again ... until then

Toodle Pip!

Polar Opposites

Okay,

So I'm back home ... I've had a good nights sleep, unpacked all my stuff, answered emails and had a bath.

On reflection the last three weeks had gone so quickly; I cannot believe where the time has gone. Also what I cannot believe is where I've been ... Romania - Did I dream that I was at the top of Mount Tampa in Brasov?

In the final days of my trip I was ready to come home; I remember thinking, I had enough of the snoring, rubbish breakfasts, cheesy feet, meal times, messy dorms, slow trains and keeping my world possessions in a small 65ltr backpack. I also missed home things, my DvD collection, driving and friends and family. However, now home, I wish I was out there again ... not sure where, but out somewhere new looking around the grounds of a palace, getting lost in a city, seeing the world outside a window or maybe bathing in 35oc spring waters. It's weird how you always miss the things you don't have.

During my trip I thought allot (well lets face it, I had a lot of time to think on all those trains) about my 'world trip'. It became apparent that I'm not sure I could do 18 months of continuous travel; in fact, towards the end of my trip I had decided to scrap the whole idea and break it down to 2/3 week holidays instead.

You see there were two main problems I encountered on my trip; company and privacy.

As I said earlier, meal times were an annoyance and I was fed up with staring at an empty chair. However it wasn't just that, I had no one to share my experiences with ... you can only explain a certain amount through text, speech and pictures to people; you can't really share smells, temperatures, noises or on the spot 'it was funny at the time' moments. Plus it would have been great to talk to someone on the train trips, or when I was waking into town. I did miss this allot.

The other thing I missed was abit of privacy. A total polar opposite to the point above and it's quite weird; you're on your own but there is always someone around ... sometimes the only privacy I got was in the bathroom getting ready for the day. This can be solved though by, occasionally, staying in a single room however this does eat into your cash flow.

Speaking of cash I bet your wondering how much this trip cost me; well I reckon, over 21 days I had spent around £1,300 (this includes £300 on my Inter rail ticket). This means I spent on average around £60 a day which is waaaay too much. However if you remove the presents I bought, the swimming trunks and my souvenirs (around £150) it comes to £54 per day; this is still too high and I should be looking at around £40/ £45 in Berlin / Vienna and £35 in Budapest / Brasov. However I thought I was quite good with my money ... I'm not sure how I'm going to cut that down.

Which then leads me onto my next question;

- Have I been on holiday or have I been travelling?
- What is the difference?

I suppose travelling is being away for a long period of time and being careful with your money; whereas a holiday is possibly staying within one, or a couple, of locations. Or it could be booking onto an organised trip ... therefore I would say my trip has been a 'travelling holiday' ... i.e. abit of both.

What about my equipment?

Well I have to say I used 98% of my stuff and, apart from a headset for my netbook (oh and a secondary phone I had to take as Orange STILL haven't unlocked my phone to allow foreign sims) I would take it all again. However, if I was to do the world tour, there would be a couple of additional items I would want to take; milk of magnesia, swimming trunks and a trip pod for my camera.

Would I inter-rail again?

You bet-ya! I think its probably the best way to see Europe; the process maybe a bit ancient but it works. Actually I've already planned another three - trips:

If I'm loaded - Scandinavia finishing in St Petersburg
If I'm okay for money - Southern France and Spain
If I'm poor - Hungary / Romania / Bulgaria etc

However if there was one piece of advice I would give others who fancy inter-railing it would be that patients isn't a virtue ... it's a necessity. Leave plenty of time to catch your trains and to get to, and from, the hostels. Also don't rush around ... spend some time wandering in a park, getting lost around the city (by far my favourite thing to do) and watching people in a train station.

So how to round this last european thread off (sob) ... ummm I know. This last three weeks has gone very quickly, there have been some downsides; I've missed having someone around to talk to and I'm not sure I could do 18 months travel. However I have had a brilliant brilliant time and I wished I was back in Europe somewhere, anywhere. I've now got some serious thinking to do ... do I go for my world tour and just go for as long as I feel like? Do I just do '3 week travelling holidays' and find a new job?

I guess fate might have a little part to play in my decision, but there are two catalysts that could decide for me. For now this Otter is no longer around the world...










... he is home.

Final Day

MP3 track of the day - Breaking of the Fellowship - Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings Soundtrack)

Waking up at 9ish on Monday morning I got ready and went down for my final breakfast ... only to find breakfast finished at 9am and I missed it (no bread and cornflakes ... damn!). Still the hot chocolate machine was still working so I had a quick cup and headed out.

Today I was feeling much better, I left all my possessions in the luggage room at the hostel and only took a bottle of water with me. I decided that today was going to be a very lazy day; I spent the first couple of hours in one of Brussels central parks (unlike Vienna / Berlin, there aren't that many) just siting, thinking and watching other people.

After a while I decided to walked into the center of Brussels (purchasing a Belgium waffle on my way ... job done!); for the first time in my trip it was raining ... not allot and actually it was quite nice to have the change. For 2 1/2 weeks I had very hot weather with temperatures in the high 20's low 30's; for the final week I've had temperatures around 14 / 16 ... for me, the weather for my trip couldn't of been better.

Once in the center I bought 'The Times' (at the cost of £3) and sat in one of Brussels most expensive shopping streets, in a cafe, with a coke. I sat their and read my paper whilst watching people going about their business ... in a strange way it was bliss.

Once I thought I'd been their long enough I went and walked around the city to places I hadn't see yet; a few churches (one with urinals along the sides ... why?) and to the palace; it was around 1:30pm and so I decided to go to Pizza Hut for lunch. For the first time in three days I managed to eat my whole lunch (a small Pizza) without any problems.

My final act was to go present shopping; I had already decided that Belgium chocolates would be on the list and so I spent a while going to many different chocolate shops looking at all the different sizes, shapes and colours of many different chocolates ... the smell was fantastic. I eventually decided that the first chocolate shop I went to was the best; it was a square room with white walls. In the middle was a massive square display case with the members of staff in the middle; in the display case were thousands of individual chocolates of all different shapes and sizes.

I got a really helpfully guy who spoke perfect English; I said I wanted to get my parents some chocolates but didn't know what was what ... he then suggested a complete mix and asked if they liked white, milk, dark etc. It was great; watching him move swiftly from each side of the display cabinet picking one truffle here, two there ... it seemed he took allot of thought over which ones to choose.

After that I decided to buy myself a small box and then I left. Finally I then headed to another chocolate shop and bought some boxes of chocs for family and work.

With all this chocolate (and the time being 4pm) I decided to head back to the hostel, pick up my stuff, and head to the train station. I waited in the Euro star lounge for a while but it went very quickly.

On board I was starving and so I bought a bacon and cheese melt, packed of crisps and a chocolate bar ... lovely. Once in London St. Pancras I thought my sightseeing had ended but no. I had been to St. Pancras many times before but I had never seen the statue of the man and woman kissing goodbye on the first floor of the station ... Also there was a statue of a man in a coat, hat and a bag surrounded by poetry on the floor ... next time in London spend a little bit of time in St Pancras and have a look; the man and woman kissing goodbye is one of the best monuments I've seen this trip.

The trip home was pretty uneventful and when I got home (via taxi so the whole trip was done using public transport) I was greeted by my parents and brother, even though it was 1am.

So that's it ... but there is another post that I'm going to type up now ... basically my thoughts of my experience so stay turned for 'polar opposites'.

Toodle Pip!

My Pets hates about Europe

Okay this is my offical rant about europe; it maybe a small rant at the moment but please feel free to add your own 'pet hates of europe' using the comments ability:

1) ATM's - my biggest pet hate. When you are in the lovely UK and you withdraw, say £50 or £70, the ATM probably gives you a few £20's and a £10 right. No not in Europe ... everytime (EVERYTIME) I've used one it either gave me a €50 euro note or something as stupid ... in Budapest it gave me the equlivant of an £80 note ... what am I supposed to do with that (I wanted to by a bottle of water at the time).


2) Queueing - Using Mr Clarkesons words "...how hard can it be..." It's not difficult yet it seems the Europeans just cannot wait their turn.



3) Traffic lights - Okay your a pedestrian and the green man is flashing ... safe to cross? Well maybe because at the same time traffic wanting to turn across your path from an adjacent road also has a green light. You have right of way but, from what I remember, I don't think that holds that much ground in Italy.



More to Follow

I finished where I started

MP3 track of the day - Killers - show you how

So I woke up at 8:00ish again not feeling particularly well and got ready to go out ... again I only managed a small bowl of cornflakes and a piece of bread (Europeans the masters of food ... I don't think so, not if their breakfasts are anything to go by).

I then headed to the train station and went to Waterloo. Funnily enough I new my way to Wellington's Headquarters (I'd actually just missed him) and then I had to wait for the bus ... oh yes the buses in Waterloo, I had forgotten about them. One bus every 2 hours (I still can't believe it, as it's a huge tourist attraction). Anyway luckily for me there bus was due in about 30 mins so I waited and got on.

I arrived at Napoleon's Headquarters and had a look around; it didn't take as long as either the battlefield or Wellington's HQ (I realised then I probably could of done Waterloo within a day) but it was worth it and it was really interesting. When I finished I looked at the bus timetable, I had a hour and 20 mins to wait ... oh joy. So decided I'd do the same as when I visited Wellington's HQ ... I'd walk to the battlefield, probably taking the same route as the French themselves. I was really glad I did as a) history kind of came alive with the walk and b) there are quite a few monuments on the road you wouldn't see otherwise ... also lucky I managed to see the only farmhouse I didn't properly see on the first trip (Ferme la Haie Sainte).

When I got to the bus stop I only had to wait 20 mins for the bus and then I was back in central Waterloo. I decided not to stay and so, after a bottle of orange and a twix (which was a mission to eat) I got back on the train and back to Brussels.

Back in Brussels I walked around and around taking a few pics before coming back to my hostel, to get rid of my bag, and then go out again. Brussels is a weird place; I'm pretty good at navigating my way around cities but Brussels is strange ... even today I found passage ways that I hadn't found before, even though they were only 10 feet from where I was previously ... it's not very clean and a bit 'all over the place' but the cartoon art on the buildings (which I have a couple of photos ... will upload them when I'm home) is a pleasant change. I haven't decided whether I like Brussels or not.

Anyway I didn't really feel hungry and so I went to McDonald's and had a chicken nugget meal (which I struggled to finish ... it took 30 mins! What is wrong with me?) and then I came back to the hostel.

I'm off to bed now and I don't think I'll have time to post tomorrow, however stay turned ... when I'm home (Tuesday) I'll write my conclusion to my trip which I have been thinking about already.

Tomorrow I have to check out and see if I can leave my luggage here (if not I'll have to find a locker at the station) then I plan to have a very slow day involving buying a British newspaper (so I can read the F1 result) and siting in a cafe ... oh I need to get some presents as well.

Toodle Pip!

Brussels

MP3 track of the day - Breakfast at Tiffany - Deep Blue Something

Waking up after another 12hr sleep I still didn't feel perfect. I went down and had another small breakfast and then left the hostel. Leaving at 10:00am I arrived at the train station around 10:30am ... 4 hours early for my train.

I could of put all my stuff in a locker and have gone out but frankly, just even drinking some water was a bit of a mission so I found a seat and just sat there and watched the world go by. At around 1pm I knew I had to eat something but I wasn't sure I could stomach it (get it); I ummed and arr but, in the end, I decided to get a small cone of chips ... just as a tester.

I then made my way to my platform ... I didn't feel the immediate affect of the food but after a little while I felt my old self again.

I boarded the train and in no time at all we were in Brussels. I found my hostel and got ready ... again I was starting to feel poorly so I headed out into the city ...there is quite a breeze tonight so I just walked and walked eventually finding an Italian ... umm spaghetti can't go me any harm I thought. Went it arrived it was boiling hot and so I new I wasn't going to get any problems from it ... however it didn't take me long before I was struggling and I only eat a third of it. The waiter was very nice and I left a good tip as I felt abit bad.

I then decided to head back to my hostel for an early night ... Waterloo tomorrow, hopefully I'll feel better

Toodle Pip!

Feeling Rough

MP3 track of the day - Offspring: worst hang over ever

Well I woke up today at around 7:30am expecting that, after 12 hours sleep, I would feel allot better ... I didn't really; I went into the bathroom to get ready before my room mates could. Ah before I go on lets just quickly talk about my room mates; just like at the Generator Hostel in Berlin it appears that, by accident, I have chosen a hostel that caters for the younger person. I'm sharing my room with three girls who have won the 2009 gold award for the 'most messy room mates' ... when I arrived the floor was covered in shoes, clothes, make-up etc. I didn't know where to stand.

Anyway after having breakfast (which I only had a bit of fruit juice, some toast and some cereal ... umm think the hostel made some money out of me there) I got ready and headed out. It was around 9:30 when I left and, being in a delicate state, I decided to walk into the city and get some fresh air. For the first time this holiday it was cold and I had both my fleece and coat on (it's around 12oc here) which I was very glad about as if it had been hot I would of left worse; anyway after walking into the city centre I soon found the Dom.

Well you can hardly miss it ... at 157.31m high it's one of the biggest Gothic churches ever built, which then lead me to ask the question how the hell did the allies miss it in their bombing raids. 99% of Cologne was utterly destroyed during WW2 (there are some postcards with images of the destruction), pretty much all of it apart from the Dom ... there must of been strict instructions not to bomb it.

Anyway after taking a few photos (which I can't upload yet as I'm back in the internet cafe) I then looked at my guide book and went to the Cologne tower. My guide book said that you get a better view from the other side of the Rhine and so I headed across the bridge; sure enough the view was very pleasant.

After this I still wasn't feeling particularly well and so I decided that I would head back to the Dom to find a shop selling coke ... yes coke. My stomach wasn't too happy and coke is actually pretty good for an upset stomach as all it's acids usually kill whatever the problem is.

On my way there I went past the railway station and, because it was pretty cold, I went into Starbucks ( this is the first time I have been in a Starbucks) for a hot chocolate and a sit down.

Finally I then decided to head up the Dom; 533 steps to the viewing platform it was quite a struggle; I walked up 97.25m to the top. It was quite a sight but it was very cold so I didn't stay long; for me it was about being able to say I've been to the top of the Dom ... the view over the 1960's post-war buildings wasn't the most important aspect.

Once down I sat near the Dom and I felt exhausted; still in a fragile state I decided, with seeing the two main attractions, I would walk back to my hostel and have a sleep. I arrived back at around 2pm and slept until 5pm (didn't really want to sleep any longer as I won't be able to sleep tonight).

After that I left the hostel and put on my coat and hat on (yes Edd, my beanie hat ... still no one knows me around here) and headed to this internet cafe.

Not sure what I'm going to do now; I know I want to be back in bed for at least 8pm but that gives me a couple of hours to kill. Still, looking on the bright side ... not feeling very well has saved me a load of cash (although I had just ordered Valkyrie off HMV ... yes mum and Dad you can open it and watch it if it arrives home before I do). Also I should get something to eat as I've only had breakfast today, but the way I feel I don't think I could stomach it.

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow ... ummm see a recurring theme here.

Toodle Pip

27hr Train Ride

Okay so lets go back to Tuesday 29th of September...

After blogging about Bran I then went out with the Kiwi guy for a couple of drinks and a chat; it was really cool as human interaction has been rather limited within this trip ... however I knew I had a long day ahead of me. After an hour or so we parted and I had my final meal in Brasov (I went to the same restaurant as the previous two nights ... I had something different though; grilled chicken with salad, a mineral water ... which was sparkling and 2 pancakes with ice cream ... all for eight pounds, bargain!).

MP3 track of the day: The Killers - Are we human or are we dancer

Waking up a 7am I got ready and headed to the train station ... buying breakfast on the way (umm ... spicy pizza) I found my platform ... however (and for some reason I understood the announcement) there was a platform change which resulted in a Chinese bloke asking me what was going on.

Anyway I was aboard the 12hr journey to Budapest. Now this has always been a bit of a mystery to me why it takes around 12hrs to get from Brasov to Budapest but something like 6 hours from Vienna to Berlin. However this mystery has been solved ... the Romanian trains go so slowly. I was discussing this in the hostel with the Spanish guys a couple of nights ago and they agreed; travelling by Romanian public transport takes hours to get anywhere ... they had hired a car because they said it was faster and sure enough, along my trip back to Budapest, I saw a car over take me ... a lorry ... a bus .... a horse and cart ... a 'yoof' on a skateboard and a little girl on roller-blades. In the end I did wonder if the train engine was powered by AA batteries ... at a platform I thought 'any minute now some Romanian train official dude will be running past with a packet of Duracell AA batteries'.

However I sat down, enjoyed the view, and began charging all my electrical equipment (which took the entire journey). We arrived at Budapest an hour late ... it was okay though as I had plenty of time to grab a McDonald's and head back for my connecting train.

My next train left Budapest at 9:45 and got to Munich at 6:15 ... I decided I would purchase a bed and get some sleep ... however you had to book these way in advance (which I didn't as I wasn't sure my AA powered train would make it on time). So I went into a 2nd class carriage and tried to get some sleep ...


... of course I got very little; sharing with four other people didn't help and one took his shoes off and a cheesy smell filled the cabin (foreigners). Anyway I arrived (late) to Munich and I bought some breakfast and got on my third and final train. This was an ICE train which was fantastic. This part of the journey I hadn't done before so I got a window seat and stared out into the foggy morning ... it was beautiful.

Alas I could stare for ever as 'cheese boy' had robbed me of some sleep ... I decided to get a power nap of 20 mins or so and then I was fine for the rest of the journey.

I couldn't wait to arrive in Cologne and it seemed weird being back at a station I was at on the 3rd day of my voyage (I had to swap trains at Cologne on my way to Berlin). I purchased my reservation for Brussels in 2 days time and headed to the underground.

I found my hostel no problem however I was very early and I couldn't go to my room to sleep. I decided to leave my luggage in the luggage room (pack-safed of course) and take my netbook up to do abit of surfing and book my Brussels Hostel and my train tickets home.

After two hours of trying to use there poxy, good for nothing, slow speed WI-FI I headed out and found this Internet cafe ... It's okay and at €2 for 80 mins quite cheap ... however the 'z' and the 'y' are mixed up on this keyboard leading to no end of problems. I went to book my hostel in Brussels but disaster ... it was all mostly booked up; in the end I had to resign to the fact that I could not stay the three nights I wanted and I could only stay two.

Therefore I booked my Euro Star as late as possible on Monday (around 8pm) for the small sum of 59 pounds (there is no pound sign on this keyboard either) and then a train ticket back to Derby, for 11 pounds, getting home just after midnight ... so in a way my tour is lasting until Tuesday.

However at the moment I am looking forwards to the end ... yes I am tired, and I've got megga 'train movement syndrome', and I'm hungry, and annoyed (probably read that thought this post) so I do feel like I want to go home ... however, after a good nights sleep I reckon I'll feel much better tomorrow!

The plan now I suppose is to check in, have a early dinner and then go to sleep ... tomorrow the Dom and hopefully a chocolate factory; I choose this over the many art museums as they give you free tasters from a chocolate fountain ... or so I read in my guide book.

Toodle Pip!

Bran

MP3 track of the day: Common People - Pulp

Today I decided to go to Bran; the castle there was used to conjure up the idea of Dracula (apparently) so I decided it was worth a look. I had to take two buses to get there but luckily an Oz couple (actually the man was originally from the UK) was trying to get to the same place so we both helped each other out.

I chatted to the guy until we reached the castle and then we parted ... it cost 12 lie to enter (£3) and it was okay.

I like the outside of buildings (I'm not really that bothered about the inside) but you couldn't really get a good viewing point of the castle. It sounds weird, it being on a hill, but the castle was surrounded by trees so no good photo opportunities.

I went around the inside of the castle and that was interesting (I learnt allot about the Romanian Royal Family pre-WW1).

After this I walked a little around Bran, though a market but then decided to go back to Brasov. I got back here around 3:30pm and decided to get ready for tomorrow. First stop was to buy some food for my journey and then pack my bags accordingly. The one thing I do like about continental trains is that they have a power supply for each person, which I plan to use to the full.

That's about it really ... I've enjoyed my time in Brasov, it's been allot more chilled than the three cities I went to before.

Now it's about 5ish; I need to withdraw a little cash as I only have 18 lie left ... thought I could manage without but na. Then I'm off to meet by room mate in a 'Irish Bar'. He's a Kiwi that's spent the last nine years in Europe ... he's bought a motorbike in Berlin and is just riding through the countryside ... how ace is that!

Toodle Pip!

P.S. As I am travelling for 26hrs or so to cologne you won't get an update tomorrow but hopefully Thursday.

Successful failure

Today has been a funny old day.



Last night I was chatting to the Spanish woman (Matti) about all different things until around 1:30m ... waking up this morning at 9:00am I was tired but I got myself up and ready. The Spanish guy's were off today so it took me a little while before I got the bathroom ... I didn't mind as it meant I could say goodbye. I also asked Matti about the market but I found out that this market was on the way to their next destination (Bucharest); dam! Still I thumbed though my guidebook and found a market within Brasov ... I thought I'd go and have a look.

Last night Matti had showed me a Transylvania box with a secret way of opening ... I was very impressed and when she said it cost her €5 I was going to find me one (though she had bought hers at another market outside of Brasov).

Once they were gone (around 11ish) I went out to the post office; I posted back the 'war stories' book I had finished reading (thanks Dad) and sent a postcard. I then went to find this market to soak up the atmosphere. The market was only 20 stalls big and most of them fruit; as you can imagine it didn't take me long to soak up the atmosphere but the thing I did notice was that the Romanian grapes that were on display were in a kind of square shape ... not in a bag, very strange.

I then returned to the Hostel and dropped of my stuff; I headed back out to do some shopping. I found those boxes Matti had said about and purchased 2 (one for a mate) ... however mine cost a little more than €5, infact mine cost around €12 ... still I didn't mind as I would of had to travel out of Brasov to find a cheaper price and the travelling, plus time, would have cost me around €10. I then went to see if I could find my parents a present but nothing really took my fancy; however walking though Brasov did give me an idea that I might follow up once home.

Again I headed back to the hostel to drop of my shopping, then out again for something to eat for lunch. On the final time of going back to my hostel I picked up my bag and went to the bus station ... my plan was to catch bus 17 out of Brasov towards Nova and the nine fingered lady (it's cave or something).

Even though Romanian's didn't believe in repairing their buildings, it would appear they have achieved the art of telepathy ... there were no, or little, bus stop signs and I didn't have a clue where I was. I got off near a wooded area and decided to have a wonder; however after a short while I decided that without a map (the tourist office was useless as it had no real maps of Brasov's surrounding area) I decided to head back to the bus. I got on the next 17 bus and asked the driver, he said 4 stops and so I waited 4 stops and got off.

Once off I headed in the direction the tourist information lady had marked. After about an hour of walking I decided I wasn't going to find this cave, however, even though road side walking wasn't what I had in mind, the views of the hills were spectacular.

It was now 3:30pm and I decided I would only get a maximum of an hour walking up some hills before I would have to turn back ... I decided it wasn't worth it so I walked back to the bus. Once back in Brasov I found a book shop that sold English books ... even though they were abit pricey (about £5 more than in the UK) I decided that, with a 24hr train journey ahead of me, I needed a book so from the limited choice I bought Stephenie Meyer's 'the twilight saga' The Host (it's about people taking over other peoples minds ... I did say the choice was limited) for £12 ... anyone read it?

I then returned again to my hostel, put my bag down, and then went to the train station to book my train ticket out of here on Wednesday. The idea was:

to leave Brasov at 9:04 and arrive in Budapest at 18:47 (Wed)
to leave Budapest at 21:05 and arrive in Munich at 06:16 (Thurs)
to leave Munich at 07:23 and arrrive in Cologne at 12:05 (Thurs)
to leave Cologne at 14:44 and arrive at Brussels at 16:35 (Thurs)

However I have decided to book 2 nights at Cologne and have a look around there. Also I have decided that I will spend another 3 nights in Brussels; there is Napoleon's HQ at Waterloo I want to look at and a Waffle with my name on it. That's right, I've decided to extend my stay to three weeks in Europe ... instead of coming home on Friday the 2nd I shall be leaving Brussels on the 6th October ... I've okayed it with work so all is well (also I have enough money so why not).

It's been a funny old day ... I didn't really do what I wanted to do when I set out but I've enjoyed it all the same (and in some ways I've done much more).

Anyway I'm off for something to eat ... I shall speak to you lot another time

Toodle Pip!

And on the 7th Day he rested

MP3 track of the day: Lady Ga-ga - Poker face

Waking up at around 9am my Spanish room mates had already gone; I decided that today would be a restful day. The morning was spent getting ready, lounging around the dorm and doing some washing.

At around 12:00 I hit the streets; arriving yesterday at night meant I hadn't seen much of Brasov but, as entered the main square, I saw just how beautiful it was. Firstly I went to the tourist office for a map and then I wondered around following my 'Rough Guides' guide book on the little bit of Brasov it had. I went to the Black Church and then onto the towers and walls of the city. Having only eaten chocolate biscuits, pastries and a few sweets yesterday I planned to make it up today. For lunch I went to a restaurant and had grilled chicken and chips for lunch; after this I headed up the mountain (forgot the name) that made Brasov look like a miniature town. I decided that I would cable car it up and walk down as I was lacking in time. The view was unbelievable; there was a viewing platform just to the left of the 'V' in the Holloywood style 'Brasov' name (see fickr photos for a picture). This to me was like the Baths in Budapest, the Reich stag in Berlin ... this I knew would be the highlight of my stay in Transylvania.

Once down I meandered through the city and eventually found the post office (for tomorrow) and other useful things. Once back at the hostel I removed my pack ... the lady in charge eventually turned up and I asked her for the code to the Internet I'm using now and also for a traditional Romanian restaurant; she was very helpful and I forgave her all my troubles of yesterday.

I arrived at the restaurant she told me about; it was down in a sella and all the staff were wearing traditional Romanian clothing ... it was very cool. Also another plus was that the guy who owned the restaurant did his own slaughtering of animals so you knew the food was fresh. A helpful waitress went through the menu with me and told me that 'Transylvania stew' was a traditional dish ... so I had that.

It was lovely and I knew I would visit there again ... possibly tomorrow.

I'm now back in at the hostel in my bed; the three Spanish guys arrived a little while back so I just had to tell them the good news that Hamilton won the Singapore GP ... yes! They didn't really follow F1 but it felt good ... they then said they were going out for something to eat and would I like to join them ... nooooo! I was a little gutted as I had already had something to eat and it would of been nice to of had some company.

Anyway the plan for tomorrow is unsure at the moment; I was going to...

1) go to the post office
2) Take a bus to a hiking area 30mins away (that the tourist office had recommended)
3) come back and go to the train station to book my ticket out of here on Wednesday

However the Spanish girl said that, as apart of their last day tomorrow, they were going to the market ... she had bought quite a nice box and I quite fancy going to a market ... might see if I can tag along.

So it's either market, or hiking (or possibly both) ... so much stuff so little time.

Toodle Pip!

Don't Judge a city by first impressions

This Post is for yesterday:

MP3 track of the day: Oasis - I'm free

At around 8:00am I left my hostel and went towards the train station; on the way I stopped off and purchased breakfast. I was sad to see Big Fish go ... but I was looking forward to moving on. 2 days in Budapest was enough ... umm maybe another day to spend in the baths.

Anyway that wasn't possible to I boarded the train and sat at a table with 2 other women opposite. The journey was around 12 hours so I planned to do a bit of reading, sight seeing and eating. After around 2 hours the women left the train, which was great as I needed to stretch my legs and I made the most of it (little did I know at the time that the 4 seater would be mine for the rest of the journey).

I watched outside as Hungary passed into Romania (I knew this had happened as we had 2 passport checks ... I thought the boarders were open). As I looked outside my window, and saw Romania pass by, I expected to see a sort of evil looking land; I was after all heading towards Transylvania and I thought the land would be a darkish green with black buildings on the mountainside ... however it wasn't like that at all. I would describe it more like Spain; the ground was a sandy, dry dirt colour with fields that were full of dead wheat plants.

Also as we went through Romania I looked at the buildings and industrial equipment that littered the sides of the train line from time to time. I came up with two conclusions, either Romania was at war (and was losing) and none of the Western world knew about it because it was hidden in the depths of the news papers due to Peter Andrea divorcing Jordan ... or Romania hadn't quite grasped the concept of the UNESCO details and the Romanian governments thought they couldn't repair any buildings within their country. Either way the track side was littered with skeletons of industrial sites, houses with fallen off plaster and train platforms that looked more like the Ben Nevis hiking trail.

Throughout the route I checked my timetable and compared it with the names of train stations which were passing ... it didn't add up. I reckon, probably because of the two passport inspections we had incurred earlier, that we were 40 mins late.

When I was around 30mins before my arrival time (20:49) I asked one of the Romanian train inspectors if we were on time or late (buy pointing at the name 'Brasov' and the time '20:42' on my train ticket). He smiled and got out a piece of paper, he wrote '20:42 +1 = 21:42'. He then smiled again, said it was okay and walked off. Great an hour late; I tried to ring my hostel to tell them that I was going to be an hour later but no answer. I tried 6 or 7 times but nothing ... I started to worry because, unlike other hostels, there were no maps or travel directions to Hostel Mara on the website. I had an address but I didn't know it was right.

The last 90 minutes of my trip wasn't very comfortable ... I tried to work out what I was going to do; I decided the best thing to do was to get a taxi as they would know the street and number of where the hostel was. On the train I had met a Romanian in Budapest ... he told me he was going to Brasov as he lived 30 mins near there. When we eventually arrived at Braslov he let me know and also showed me to the taxi ranks.

At the taxi ranks I went into the first taxi I could find ... I showed him the piece of paper with the address on; he then called over some of his taxi mates to have a discussion about it, with allot of pointing involved (odear). Finally he said 'okay that will cost 10 Lie' .... £2.50 in real money ... bargain. As we travelled through the city for a good 20 minutes he spoke quite good English; he pointed to sites and areas saying 'centre' or 'church' or 'monument'. We also talked about English football and my nerves we settled ... until we reached the place where my hostel should be.

We couldn't find it; two or three times he got out of the car and said 'moment' and went rushing off to ask someone where the place was. He tried a hotel, the police, and a couple of other people around. At this point I was out of the car trying to call the hostel (still no answer) and another bloke came up; he spoke very good English but the only thing he had to say was he didn't know the hostel but he had a room for rent ... 40 lie a night. After the 4th time of asking me (and also I could see the taxi driver was getting a bit annoyed) I gave him a firm look and said strongly 'no' ... if I couldn't find the hostel I would I say in the hotel the taxi driver had asked previously (me 1 - annoying man on the street 0). The taxi driver was getting abit annoyed at this point (he had been with me about 40 mins), but I think he looked at me, and the fact I looked a little worried, smiled and said 'it okay, it okay'. Finally the policeman returned and said he had found the hostel. The taxi driver smiled and said I go with him ... I thought £2.50 for all the taxi drivers work wasn't enough so I tried to give him double. He said 'no,no,no' smiled for the last time, shock my hand and said 'good luck' ... I think I was going to need it.

I walked with the policeman across the square and there I saw the 'IH' (International Hostel) sign ... a big sight of relief. However it was on a gate which lead into a back street tunnel with no lighting; luckily the policeman had a torch on his phone and we went on. It was weird ... wooden floor boards and just a tunnel with the occasional door. I was glad to be with a policemen as it scare the **** out of me, but finally we made it to a small square and the hostel reception ... it was closed (how can a hostel reception close).

Not giving up the policeman went up the outside stairs and banged on a couple of doors. A next door neighbour came out (with a IH shirt on) and told me to come up. I said thank you to the policeman and he smiled back and said 'good luck' (I wish they would stop saying good luck ... have a nice stay or have a wonderful time but not good luck).

The next door neighbour stunk of (what I thought at the time was) drink; however he was very helpful and showed me the room and how all the security worked. I think he wanted to stay and chat for longer but I was tired so I made a sharp exit to my room. Surprisingly my room looked very clean and nothing what you would of guessed it would look like from the outside of the building. Inside there were suit cases but no people; it was 11pm and I thought this was odd ... still must all be out for a drink.

At about midnight I woke and still no one ... maybe they had been taken, and this was all that was left of there existence. About 30 minutes later they arrived and they introduced themselves; one woman and 2 men all from Spain, they seemed very nice but I didn't talk for long ... I wanted to sleep.

So far Romania did seem a very poor country; however what they lack in money they make up for in it's people ... the guy on the train, the train attendant, the policemen and of course the taxi driver!

Payday!

I love payday; there is only one thing better than payday and that's payday and the weather being sunny ... no wait there is something even better; it being payday and sunny and you're on holiday ... fantastic!

First thing I did this morning was post some stuff home; after that I was running out of money so I went in search of an ATM to withdraw ... ummm 5,000ft (£18). One word of warning; never withdraw cash from a foreign country early in the morning ... I pressed the 50,000ft button (£180) ... odear odear odear. After being alittle annoyed with myself I took at step back and realised I'd just swap it for Romanian money at an exchange place later today ... but for now it was time to head to the baths.

After hearing that a Polish girl, at my hostel, had her locker broken into at the baths I decided to leave all my credit cards and 40,000ft in my locker at the hostel (plus passport and inter rail ticket). Was this a wise idea? ... I thought about this all the way to the baths. Before I left I was given some good advice that was, if someone really wanted your stuff they were going to get it anyway, what I had to do was reduce the threat of this happening and make sure I didn't carry anything with sentimental value (hence why I upload my photos to Flickr on the same day ... can't loose my pictures). I decided that I had made a good choice; the Baths would have hundreds of people in where as the Hostel would only have 15/20 people ... and it seemed really safe ... though this didn't stop me worrying all the way to the baths.

Was the baths worth paying £26 for a pair of swimming trunks and £10 entrance fee ... hell yes. It was fantastic; set in an old building there are numerous (I went in 7) baths set at different temperatures. I went in baths ranging from 28oc to 40oc; after the 40oc I went straight into a 20oc ... core that was a shock. My favourite bath was the 38oc spar bath. I sat their, closed my eyes and emptied my mind ... I had forgotten about all the things I had left in my locker and the world in general... it was bliss and is certainly worth trying. It seemed to me that a visit to the Baths was a social event and, at that point, I wished I was travelling with someone; it would of been ace to see the hours fly by whilst chatting in the Baths to a mate.

The only problem with the baths were the amount of old people ... hundreds of them; they should have set times where they didn't bother anyone (and I have to say, some of the old people were minging ... glad they didn't go in my bath!).

An hour and a half flew buy and I decided I had soaked up (get it) as much experience as i was going to. As I approached my locker I saw a door open ... Had my locker being forced open? No it was the locker next door. This reminded me of the stuff I left in the hostel so I quickly got dressed and made my way back.

All my stuff was safe so I picked it up and ventured out for lunch and to find 'the house of terror'. The house of terror was a building used by the Nazi (and then the soviet) secret police where they tortured and killed Hungarian political opposition during the second world war and the cold war. It was very interesting (even without an audio guide) and quite thought provoking and sad. After that I hurried to the national museum and went in around 30 rooms detailing Hungary's history ... this again was very interesting but I was getting 'museumed out' and so I hurried the WW2 rooms as I knew allot about that already.

And that's about it; I've swapped 40,000 ft (£133) for 606 Romanian Lie (£132.74 ... not bad). I'm going to be uploading a couple of pics tonight and then I will find something to eat ... oh I'll also go to a 24hr supermarket and buy some stuff for the journey tomorrow.

I don't think I'll be able to 'blog' tomorrow (sorry fans) as my train leaves at 9:15am and arrives in Braslov at 8:42pm ... I am really looking forward to the train journey as the scenery should be spectacular (even though the journey is nearly 12hrs).

So my next blog will be from Romania ... toodle pip!

P.S. my cold went a couple of days ago ... I have been bitten by a few flies but that's about it. They actually itch allot so I've put some anti-septic cream on ... sorted!

Swimming Trunks

MP3 track of the day - Deep - six inch nails

I've got something quite Important to tell you. On the reception desk of my hostel there was a note saying 'English person wanted for job'. It turns out there is a company in Budapest that sell allot of electronic mining equipment to the Americans, Australians and sometimes the UK. They needed a representative to fly to these countries on a regular basis and would pay handsomely. I decided to go for the interview and got the job! So I've decided to stay here until my contract runs out (it's a 5 year contract depending how ongoing contracts go with these English speaking countries).










Only Joking!

I woke up at around 7:50am, having just had around 11 hours sleep ... bliss. Heading out at 9:00 I knew I had to be at the meeting point for the free tour by 10:30am ... so I went to a local pastry shop and purchased breakfast.

Eating breakfast over looking the River Danube and Buda Castle district I came to realise just how pretty this city can be ... before this I had been walking down tiny small streets that weren't in a great state.

Hungary certainly has a very soviet feel about it; big apartment tower blocks. At 10:30 our guide turned up; he was a Hungarian who spoke English well. I can only describe him as a young looking Patrick Swayze and he lead us around Pest (pronounced Peshted) looking at monuments and buildings. We finished at Buda Castle and I have to say this tour was very different to the one in Berlin. In Berlin you had academics who had spend numerous years researching the history of Berlin, and then spent a few months working there... there knowledge was beyond doubt fantastic and they were English so were easy to understand. Here the guy was from Budapest and his academic knowledge was not quite as good as in Berlin; English was his second language so it was difficult to understand him sometimes .... however, because he had lived through the Soviet era he brought something new to the tour, first hand experience. For example he told us when Coke and Pepsi cola was first introduced to Hungary in the 1980's his class mates made two groups; those in the Pepsi cola group (which was usually boys as it had more colours in its logo) and a coke group. Overall I think I preferred the Berlin Tours more but this one was still good.

At the end of the tour he showed us to a traditional Hungarian eating join and I had the pork ... again I wasn't impressed. I said my goodbyes, gave him a tip, and went to look around the castle; it was very impressive (which I hope my pictures show) but time was passing on and the tour had taken an hour longer than expected.

My next stop was the impressive Gellert Hill (which looking at it from below looked like a mountain). The gutting thing was that the castle was on a hill, and Gellert hill was a ... err hill. They were both on the Buda side of the Danube but didn't connect; so I had to walk all the way down from the castle just to walk all the way up Gellert Hill. When I got to the top of Gellert Hill I took a breather and opened the second bottle of water I cunningly bought from Spar the other day; however I did make a tiny mistake ... I had bought Sparkling water. Who likes sparking water? It's horrible ... if anyone does prefer sparkling water over normal bottled water please leave a message on here and explain to me why! As I was so desperate for a drink I didn't care and took a few swigs.

I did a quick tour of the top of the hill, stopping to take a picture of the Liberty monument and then headed back down. Time was not on my side; I headed to the national museum only to find there was just an hour before closing ... I decided it wasn't worth it so I will come back again tomorrow (If I have time).

I then set to with my shopping list; 1x book of pictures from Budapest, 1x postcard and a pair of swimming trunks. The book and postcard were easy but the swimming trunks. Anyone who knows we will know, like all men, I hate (really hate) shopping; I want to be able to walk in a shop and buy what I want within a few minutes, if I can't find it I'm off.

I had a look at around the square and found a 'H&M' store ... nope, then I went to the 'America clothes' store ... nope. I was already abit mad; I decided that I would head back to the hostel and ask there. However on my way back I saw a nike shop; it had swimming trunks ... £68! no thank you.

Back at the hostel the lady did point me too a shopping centre; unfortunately it was about 30mins walk away. Further more I had to go to the other end of Pest to reserve my train seat to Brasov in two days time. After an hour and a half I had got my train ticket and walked to the shopping centre. I could of got the tram there but I had no idea how to buy a ticket ... all the newpaper stalls were closed and the machine just said "... put money in here and press button..." how much money? Tired, hungry (not the country) I went in and found a sports shop ... no actual sports equipment just clothes and trainers (this is what I hate about some sports shops throughout the world ... they label themselves as sports shops but don't sell sports stuff).

Anyway just then I found another Nike store, went in and found a pair of, quite tight, short swimming shorts for 7,980ft (£26) ... they were a little expensive but I didn't care at that point ... I bought them and off I went back to my hostel.

Being fed up of Hungarian food I decided that there must be a Pizza Hut, in Budapest, with my name on it ... and so it came to pass.

Tomorrow I plan to visit the baths (however I will not be taking much stuff with me as a Polish girl from the hostel had her lock smashed at the baths today) and walk around the northern park and then back into the main part of Pest for a look around the national museum and the House of Terror.

Until then Toodle Pip!

Buda is bit of a Pest

MP3 track of the day: shut up and drive - Rhianna

Right lets skip back 24 hrs. So I had just finished my blog and I said I was going out into Vienna at night ... and this I did. I know I keep using the word beautiful but there isn't any other word to describe Vienna. Both in the day and at night the city is amazing and I wish I had another 2 days there (ummm ... a recurring theme here). It's one of those cities which I could of spent the whole 3 weeks at, and still on the last day found a new courtyard or monument. So I went around looking at all the attractions at night; I have to say this was one of my best ideas so far. I walked for an hour just looking at all the buildings and monuments with lights all over them. On my way back I stopped at a Pizzeria for a Margaretta and a couple of cokes; bonus is it came to €10.

Oh my way back to the hostel I thought about my eating and drinking ... I was having good meals and, finally, starting to eat abit more fruit. The only thing that was letting me down was the fizzy drinks; at home I very rarely drink fizzy drinks, and abroad it's so easy to just say 'coke'. From now on, very few fizzy drinks.

Well another early start was made today ... not because I really had to, my train from Vienna to Budapest didn't leave until 11:50, no it was because I had to vacate my room before 9am. I was sad to leave the relative comfort of being able to leave all my stuff where I wanted ... however I had missed not meeting anyone. At 9:00am I was at the train station, I had nearly three hours to kill. First I used the last of my Euros on breakfast (2x pan-oh-chocolate and a bottle of orange). Then I read abit more of my book (which I'm getting near the end now; will have to post it home and try to purchase another book in Budapest).

Finally the train arrived and I got on. I sat in my carriage with 4 other people (a mum and dad and their son, plus quite an attractive young woman). I spent the whole time either 'window sightseeing' or reading my book.



Once in Budapest I set to finding my hostel ... However I new I needed the bus so I needed to withdraw some money. It took me a while to locate an ATM; after which I withdrew 20,000 Forint (ha ... look who's rich) which is actually around £70 (300 forint to £1) ... brilliantly the ATM gave me 2x 10,000 notes and so I withdrew another 1,000 as I new the bus wouldn't accept the equivalent of a 30 pound note. I then had to get some change so I bought a bottle of Fanta (doh!) and headed for the bus stop. Looking at the bus made me realise that I was now located in a not so affluent part of Europe (I think the bus had been used in Napoleon's withdraw from Moscow). Being in a less affluent area did put my guard right up; however I didn't have to worry as most people are very friendly, and its also good practice for Romania, China and south east Asia (China and south east Asia are not apart of this trip you understand). It wasn't too difficult to locate the hostel and finally I was in front of a big wooden door. My Hostel (called 'Big Fish') was number 8 on the button thing, so I pressed it. I was welcomed buy a nice lady into a courtyard; we went up some stairs and then into this apartment. The hostel is only two dorms with 12 beds each (currently it has about 5 men and 5 women in); she runs it along with her boyfriend and it has a pleasant 'family run' feeling.

I dumped by bags and went straight out for a walk (the lady also gave me a map and a few pointers). It is so hot here ... you wouldn't think it was nearly October. Remembering what I had decided about fizzy drinks I went to find a super market (Spar to the rescue) and I purchased 6x bottles of water, some chocolate and some sucky sweets (as I had now ran out of the one's I'd bought in the UK).

After dropping these off I went to find the restaurant recommend by 'Big Fish' (In a T-shirt at 6pm at night). I had traditional Goulash and a coke (doh!) followed by a Hungarian chocolate cake and a drink of Orange Juice. I have to say that Hungary won't win any awards for food from me ... the Goulash was okay (I had it before in Prague and it was different there and better) and the chocolate cake was horrible. To top it all off I think I got overcharged by 600 forints ... I was a little mad until I realised that 600 forints was £2.

I got back to my hostel and checked my money situation; out of the 21,000 forints I withdrew earlier I have just over half left. I had spend £35 on 3 nights bed, a meal, 6x bottles of water, chocolate and some sweets. Budapest maybe very hot and may not have worked it's charm on me yet ... but boy was it cheap!

Just like in Berlin there is a free tour around the city (tip basis) so I think I'll join that tomorrow. I also would like to purchase some swimming trunks as I would like to go to the famous baths the day after. However for now it's 8:30pm and I'm off to sleep. I've got a possible 12hrs to sleep and I'm not going to miss this opportunity ... I'm knackered.

Toodle Pip!

Got to love the Chinese

MP3 Track of the Day: Loose yourself - Eminem

Having had a late night last night I woke up around 8:15 and got out around 9 ish; my first destination of the day was the famous giant wheel of Vienna. Buying a take-away breakfast (2x pan-o-choclate and a bottle of coke) at a shop in the tube station, I then boarded my train, I'm now a complete natural to this Austria public transport lark. I got to the park and it wasn't hard to miss the wheel.

I went in and looked at the prices ... €8.50! Still the way I look at it is this; its world famous and I may never come back to Vienna, so I reluctantly handed across my money and went into a small 'museum'. I use the word 'museum' in the vaguest possible sense; it was eight carriages arranged in a circle. In each carriage were some poorly painted, and designed, models showing the history of the area. Now I'm not bad with history but when I saw a carriage about life in Vienna in the Roman times situated between one about WW2 and another about 18th Vienna I got quite worried. Giving the museum the time it was worth (about 2 minutes 37 seconds) I went to get on the wheel ... but wait!

Next was one of those annoying camera things where you peer through a fake window looking stupid, and then a PC changes it so it's looks like you are peering out one of the carriages of the wheel. I could have one of these fake pictures, in a rubbish cardboard booklet, for €9.50 ... I don't think I would of bothered even if it was free; it wouldn't of been worth the extra weight.

So finally I got on the wheel and there was only me and one other person... great. I got my camera out and started taking pictures; being behind a lens all the time sometimes mean you miss the most important aspect of travelling ... the experience. So after a while of shooting I put down my camera and just stared out of the window trying to soak it all it. It was an okay sight with .... what; we are coming down already!. 15 minutes is all I had on the wheel (I know this because the carriages were numbered and I timed it once I was down) with about 4 minutes at the top. Slightly annoyed I got out and, oh look a shop selling you wheel tea-towels, wheel models etc ... I got out of there as quick as I could.

Next I went into the park, I found a bench and looked back at the wheel sadly. Here is one of Vienna's most well known monuments and it had been destroyed by commercialism ... I felt the wheel was an annoyance to the owners and all they wanted to do was sell you cheap objects and fake photos ... there was no experience. Would I do it again? No I would not; however if I knew this was what it was like beforehand would I of bothered ... yeah probably.

As I sat in the park eating my pan-o-chocolate and drinking my coke (reminds me of a mates breakfast, except he has a Mars bar) conkers were falling from the trees and groups of infant school children were going around picking them up ... the leaves were falling to the ground and the whole area seemed perfect. I could of stayed there longer but I had to get to my next attraction ... the Imperial Summer Palace of Schonbrunn.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, Vienna gives you another all inspiring sight. The Imperial Palace was beautiful, and so where it's gardens. Just before going in, I stopped at a bench to re-apply my suncream ... again the weather has been beautiful, at least in the high 20's and I was worried about being burnt (like at the Yorkshire three peaks ... actually I was getting really good at making sure I applied my suncream every few hours); anyway as I applied my suncream a bus load (they always arrive in big buses don't they) of Chinese tourists were leaving ... one saw me, smiled and pointed at the sun and then took a picture of me applying sun cream to my arm. These Chinese will take photos of everything, do they not get sun burnt ... a European and I looked at each other with utter confusion. I bet you didn't know I was the latest Vienna tourist attraction.

Anyway I didn't go into the palace as I'm not really that bothered looking at cups, tables and paintings ... no I wanted to look at the gardens; the fountains, the trees, the flowers and the monuments. Another bonus was that the gardens were free (well I think they were free ... put it this way, I didn't buy a ticket) and so beautiful. It's hard to describe so I've put a load of pictures on Flickr; the fountain of Neptune and the summer house thing were lovely. It's difficult to describe the size of the palace ... It took me a good 15 minutes to walk half way (I reckon you could put Derby City Centre in the grounds. When spending time in one of the wooded areas (as I did allot to get some shade) you would eventually find a bench; some had people lying on reading a book ... I though to myself that this most be the best way to spend a day, chilling in the shade, with all this beauty around, reading a book.

I had only planned on being there 2 hours at most but 4 hours later I was ready to leave. 4 hours and all I had spent was €2.50 on a bottle of Pepsi ... bargain (not the Pepsi, that's quite expensive, what I mean is the cost for a days entertainment).

When I arrived back in the city centre I had one more area to visit. This area was the Jewish area; this was dominated by a monument for the Austrian Jewish community through the holocaust (this was located on the Vienna Ghetto site). 64,000 Austrian Jews died under Nazi rule ... 64,000! I think it was a very good memorial ... its a stone box, with a locked door at one end (I didn't take any photos as I didn't think it was right).

Afterwards it was around 4:30pm and I decided to head back to my hostel. I know it's early but I want to upload my photos to Flickr, write this blog and do abit of washing before 8ish. Then I plan to go back out ... I missed seeing Berlin at night (probably because I was so far out of the city centre) and I want to see the Holfburg Illuminated. I won't be taking my camera ... too much time already behind lens and I want to soak up the experience.

I have €18 left; I don't want to withdraw anymore Euro's as Hungary and Romania don't use Euros (a slight oversight on my part). I will need at least €4.50 to get to the train station tomorrow, €2.50 for breakfast, so that leaves me around €11.00 ... umm take-away pizza it's looking like.

Toodle Pip

P.S. It looks like I have 'man cold' ... I'm bearing up okay (eat a whole banana today to get my fruit count up). However, some women believe men make a big deal of, what they call a 'common cold'. There is nothing common about the cold men get love ... it's totally different to what you women have to put up with (a little sniffle) and I have evidence to prove it. Click here and it will explain all (sound needed).

One week gone

MP3 track of the day: Zaide - Mozart

Sleeping in I got out onto the streets at about 9:30am and decided to walk towards the city centre ... I had fair idea of where it was because I went through the city, on the tram, yesterday. Once I hit the outskirts of the city I went exploring and it wasn't long before I hit the first fantastic part of the city; I was at 'Rathaus Platz' which is stunning. It's a park with three buildings on three of it's sides ... the city hall , the Burgtheatre parlament and the Universiat. It was such a stunning area I spent a good few hours just wondering around all the buildings ... but it didn't stop there.

Next was the Hofburg, then the Maria Theresien Platz and then Stephansplatz ... the city is so beautiful I would say it's the 2nd most beautiful city in Europe (only just beaten by Prague ... and that's only because all the stuff is so concentrated in Prague).

On my way to Stephansplatz I went past a drinks shop; today was as sunny and as hot as in Berlin (must of been high 20's) and so I got a bottle of sprite and a bottle of water. I also purchased a banana (the reason I went for a banana is that I've read you have to be careful with foreign fruit that you don't buy fruit you can't peel as it would of been washed in their water ... not sure if I believe that or not) to keep my sis happy. I had a bit of trouble opening it up; eventually I won the battle of wills but half of it escaped onto the street ... it was like someone was willing me not to eat fruit. I picked up the half and put it in the bin, the other half of the banana was very nice and I will hopefully be repeating the same action tomorrow (without dropping half you understand).

The thing I love about Vienna is all the parks followed by the grand buildings; It's fantastic to walk through the park and then be greeted by this huge, and impressive, structure ... Vienna has a big Imperial feel about it which I like. After lunch (McDonald's I'm afraid) I went to the Soviet war memorial and then the Beladere place and gardens. I can't being to describe how beautiful the house, the gardens and the fountains were (check my Flickr account out ... click on the link). Tomorrow I want to have ago on the famous 'big wheel' (which my dad reminded my off) and then 'tube it' to the other side of the city to Schunbrunn and finally finishing in the Jewish part of the city centre.

After this I was tired of sightseeing and so I went for a long walk (an hour to be precise) towards the train station I was leaving from on Wednesday. With help from my trusty map I got there no problem and purchased my seat reservation for my train to Budapest. I love this inter-rail ticket ... for £300 most trains are free within 20 countries of the EU, for 21 days. All I have to pay for is to reserve my seat (which is mostly compulsory). So for example; Berlin - Vienna €4 ... Vienna - Budapest €3.50 ... brilliant.

Anyway after purchasing my €3.50 reservation to Budapest I then decided to follow the route I would be taking on Wednesday to the train station (basically it's tram D to Volkstheatre, and then tube U3 to Westbanhof). I've got the 'travelling' aspect of my journey well sown up ... I used the underground and tram system with no problems, trains are fine and so is navigating my way around a city that I have only been in for a couple of hours. I've always been good at navigating; I put this down to when I was child. I would sit in the front of the car when my Dad would drive and I would follow our journey on a map ... sometimes suggesting different routes to take.

The one thing that was worrying me was my spending; I didn't feel I had been very 'traveller, student tight' with my budget; sure my three nights in Germany only cost €26.00 (and my Budapest hostel costs even less) but still, over the seven days (has it really been seven days already) I had spent €340 (average of €48); I checked my 'budget' guide book and it said an average cost, per day in Belgium was €35, Germany €40 and Austria €50 (combine average of €42) so I am a little over ... hopefully I'll put that right later on in the trip.

Well that's it from me. Vienna is so beautiful and I would recommend it as much as Berlin (they are both excellent, but for very different reasons). I would recommend anyone planning a small break away ( 2 weeks) to spend a week in Berlin and then travel to Vienna for a week ... you won't regret it.

I'm off to bed ... I've got a bit of a sniffle; because of my lack of fruit I'm not getting a cold ... will take some vitamin tablets tonight (yes I have everything).

toodle Pip!

Chocolate or Chips

MP3 track of the day: Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol



Waking up at 6am to catch a 8:35 train wasn't the best start to a day. Getting to the station at 8:00am gave me half an hour to find my platform ... I was sad to say goodbye to Berlin.

Everyone in the UK seems to have this impression that European trains are a lot better than UK ones ... I certainly had this impression too; and after my first train experience it certainly seemed that way. However the train to Vienna, via Prague, is a little different. Firstly, when I went to board the train, I had to find coach 259. Ummm 257, 258 ... 260. odear, odear, odear.

After waiting until the next stop me, and an equally confused American couple, had to follow a slightly annoyed train Stewart. It turns out 259 is after the dining cart (263) on it's own ... this seems a little odd (and still does) however what was odder is the fact that this coach seems to be full of Americans. Maybe it's a German custom to put all English (and I use the term English, in regards to the Americans, very very loosely) speaking people together? We will never know, all I do know is that I'm in a coach full of American tourists and my MP3 battery is running low.

Oh and before I go on, when I finally made it to my coach I found, what appeared to be, the only German couple had taken my seat .... a quote from sir Clarkson would be required at this point; however, on reflection, as I was still in Germany, I think tact is the best cause of action here.

2 hours into my journey I moved to single window seat with, most importantly, a power supply ... time to re-charge all my toys (I swear the train went slower as a result).

The scenery, when I started the journey, started off being a mix of urban and agricultural and this has now changed to become rivers and hills. The weather is great and so I settled down to a bit of reading and 'window sightseeing' (not at the same time you understand). I then headed to the dining cart (ohhh). Realising so far I hadn't been that adventurous with my food, I went for Goulash soup for my lunch ... It was ace, sitting there eating my soup and watching the world go by. I saw another couple order chocolate pancakes and I decided, in Vienna I would have to have one. Then it dawned on me ... I hadn't had any chocolate for the whole of my trip so far (unheard off for me); also no chips either .... something will have to be done.

After this I headed back to my seat to continue with my charging, reading and 'window sightseeing'. Then 10 hours flew by and I was soon in Vienna; I stepped out and my initial thought was "... what have I done? I had left Berlin behind for this..." however after I got on the tram (which I did all by myself) I went through the main parts of Vienna and soon my fear disappeared and excitement took it's place.

I arrived at my hostel which is a lovely old building with its own courtyard (will try to take a pic tomorrow). After dumping my stuff I headed to a local bar for some food. Keeping with the 'adventurous food' theme I ordered pork Schnitzel (port or veal in breadcrumbs), a chocolate pancake for pudding and 2x cokes ... my first 2 course meal of the trip.

I'm now relaxing in my hostel (before I have to start doing my washing) writing this message. The only weird thing is the room feels like it's moving ... I know it's weird but it does. However it's just dawned on me that it's probably me who is moving ... I've spend 10 hours on a train and I still feel that I'm on one ... anyone else herd of this or am I just weird?

Looking forward to tomorrow

Toodle Pip!

Berlin Day two

Well before I start to tell you about 'Berlin day two' ... lets go back 24hrs.

It's 8pm last night and I have just finished posting my blog on here. I have a couple of things left to do ...

• Most importantly book my hostel for Vienna
• Check my emails
• Upload all 36 pics I had taken that day to Flickr

Now my mum will tell you that if I've planned to do something I will do it come hell or high water. However yesterday, for some reason, the Internet kept failing after 5 mins ... I kept trying to get my hostel booked but as I got to the payment form it just died ... each time. Looking to the window, and thinking of throwing my netbook through it, I'd finally finished doing all the tasks ... after 4hours (the time as now 1am)... I'd had no tea; (which after reading my sisters email I might get into trouble) I snuck into my room, put my stuff away (without waking anyone ... or at least I thought so), and went to sleep alittle annoyed.

MP3 track of the day: Band of Brothers suite 2

At 8am the sun was shining through the windows and I got up and got ready; all my room mates were still asleep. I had a shower and got dressed and they were ALL still asleep. I went and had my break fast and they were all still asleep. It was 10am and I was ready for the off and they were just stirring (why bother going travelling?). Anyway I went on the underground and followed the same route I would have to take tomorrow for my train to Vienna (so I knew where to go).

Once in Berlin I went around the central park for the first hour; I just wandered in and out and around and it was beautiful ... oh one thing I forgot to mention is the weather. Both days have been scorching hot and it's been lovely here ... it's just like summer. Anyway as I was saying, it was beautiful and I could of stayed in the park all day. However I went out and through the Brandenburg Gate and walked all the way down the main high street ... I then just wondered through the city (which is ace ... getting lost in a city is so much fun) for another hour finding a subway (the fast food place) to have something to eat. Due to the lack of food yesterday I made an effort to make sure I pigged out ... 12" sub for me please ( sis - I had lettuce with it). I don't know what it is but, so far, Ive never really felt hungry; but i know that I do have to eat so, like I said, an effort was made.

It was around 12:30 and the 'Third Reich' tour was to start at 1pm ... so I went back to the Brandenburg Gate. The tour wasn't with the same guy as yesterday, it was with another history graduate from Glasgow. Again she really knew her stuff and the tour was excellent. We did some of the sites I did yesterday (Hitlers bunkers etc) but we also went to the SS HQ (or the site of it) and others like that ... I cannot recommend these tours enough, they are so good and unfortunately this company don't run tours in Vienna. :(

After this I headed back to the hostel as I new I had to get ready for tomorrow. I went back to my room and packed ready for a 6:00am start (I bet my room mates can't wait for me to leave). When I was in their I met another guy called 'T' (I think) from Stuggard. The funny thing was when I said I came from the Midlands in the UK, he asked if it was Derby ... It turns out his company have contracts with JCB.

Anyway in my dorm there are 8 people: me, Nick (South Korea), 'T' (Germany), Jessy (Oz), a couple (South America), a Chinese girl and someone else ... It's weird to think that almost all the corners of the globe are in one room ... getting along when political nations cannot ... there is something brilliant about backpacking and sharing a room in a hostel as it brings people together (now that's an idea for the next world leader summit ... let them stay in a dorm).

Still my next stop will be in an individual room. I need to do some washing (So I need somewhere to hang my washing) and all my electrical goodies are out of juice ... I need the security to recharge them.

Well I think that's it from me ... I wish I was staying another two days in Berlin, I've fallen in love with this city and urge you all to go ... what are you waiting for?

Toodle Pip!

P.S. Sorry if my spelling isn't up to scratch ... the PC is having a hard time keeping up with my typing ... also, as shown above, sometimes not all goes to plan and I could be in a rush.

Berlin Day one

Mp3 track of the day: Du Hast by Rammstein



Before I go on ... I now know why my hostel is call 'the generator'. It's marketed to the young and all it's rooms are named after generator parts; for example the food place is called 'the engine room' there is also room called the 'turbine' (which I am situated in at the moment) ... it's all abit weird with it's metal floors and furniture.

Anyway today has been ace; I did go on the free tour and it's was brilliant. Our guide, Paulo, is originally from Bath and studied archeology and history in Durham ... his main subject area was architecture and the history of Berlin in the 20th Century ... and boy did it show. We went to the Brandenburg gate, Reich stag, the Holocaust memorial, Hitlers death site, part of the Berlin wall and many many more places. When I say it's free that is quite true ... the guide doesn't get paid, but he does accept tips for a good job (one way to get around tax I suppose) and he was so good I gave €10 which seemed to be the average amount each person was giving him ... 26 people quids in!

The holocaust memorial is a very strange design with 2,711 (or something like that) pillars in lines ... It gets deeper the further you walk in. Some say each stone represents graves or concentrations camps. Others say it's a bar chart of death i.e. the stones are the highest in the middle (the height of the 3rd Reich's power). In contrast Hitler's death place isn't remembered at all ... it's a car park. This was deliberate of the German government to show it's turned a new direction.

There are so many great buildings, re-built after WW2, that were first erected hundreds of years before. There are three main squares (which I have forgotten their names) which these brilliant and mighty buildings are situated. One square is where the famous 'burning of books' occurred. There is an excellent memorial to this; it's a glass square in the floor which, when you peer into it, you can see book shelves with no books on. The room is sealed with no way in ... this is to represent the loss of knowledge that is impossible to get back. There is also the famous quote written into the floor

"... When one starts burning books, they end up burning people..." or something like that. Very true!

Loads of pics of Flickr

Berlin is ace ... there is so much to do in a fairly compact area in the east part. I love this city, so much so I thought of staying an extra day. However I decided against it as time was short ... But I am looking forward to tomorrow and I would love to come back here (though I would prefer to stay nearer the city centre).

Tomorrow the plan is to get up really early and head into Berlin; I plan to get lost around the city until 12pm in which I will have lunch. At 1pm is a Third Reich tour run buy the same company as today's tour (sadly though I don't think it's the same bloke). It's €12 but should be worth it ... hang on, this trip seems to have a strong military theme so far, ah well.

Toodle Pip