Day 25 - Finally Found Some Good Cooking!!

The problem with "backpacking" is food. Me and Mel always seem to struggle to agree or even find something worth the price we would like to eat. But in Florence on our first night we found the perfect place! A family run business that seemed to have been passed down through the generations. We started with a small pasta dish and moved on to a meat dish. Both dishes were amazing and it was clear that we had tried some of Italy's finest cooking, we even got bread!

Day 24 - Pisa, Tourist Trap or Home of an Amazing Italian

Before coming away I talked to my friend Jonny about travelling around Italy, and one thing I remember him saying was that you do not need more then a day in Pisa. I think he was right but I still think you can pack the day full of stuff to do. Once pretending to push over the tower, we went to look at how much it would cost to climb it. I knew it would be a lot but I was not about to pay 15 euros each to walk up a crooked tower to see an average view. Instead we paid 10 euros and got into 5 different buildings including the Cathedral, graveyard, 2 museums and a Baptistery. It turned out to be well worth the money seeing some amazing pieces of sculpture and art, learning details about the area and seeing the art of echo singing!

After doing all this we decided to buy a nice bottle of cheap wine and enjoy the comforts of the hostel, we did not realise we were about to have a history lesson and meet one of the most interesting people I have ever met. Guido, the 93 year old man we had been made to guess the age of the day before had not seemed to move in 24 hours, he just sat on the sofa watching TV. While Mel was updating facebook I decided to go and sit next to Guido and watch some TV, that is when he decided to start talking to me, in Italian! I had no idea what he was saying so I asked the guy on the desk if he would mind translating for me. At first he did not seem to want to and now I understand why as hours later it was 2am in the morning and Guido had filled me and Mel in on most of his life story, from joining the army in the second world war, hiding from the Nazis, his way with the women and his life as a tailor. It was amazing and Guido just reminded me of my Grandad, who had died 4 days earlier. I thanked the translator and Guido for that surprising but brilliant evening and the translator told me that he was happy that they had been able to cheer me up.

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Day 22/23 - From France to a Coen Brothers Movie to a Wonder of the World

It was sad to say goodbye to our mini summer break to the south of France, but it was time to return to the country we were meant to be in, Italy. And our first stop back in Italy was Genova, a city which seemed to be pretty empty but we used this chance to relax a bit and rented a pretty cheap secret hotel for around £50 and enjoyed every moment in what we called the posh Barton Fink, the room even had its own door bell!!

The next day we explored Genova and did not find much more then a founatin and part of an old wall. So onwards to Pisa and after getting lost and having to ask in a posh hotel for directions to our hostel we finally made it and was greeted by one of the nicest and friendist group of hostel staff we have had so far. Getting us settled with a glass of wine and a chance to guess the age of the owners friend who seemed to never move from the lounge (I gussed 75, turned out he was 93!), we popped out to a local restaurant for some mussel pasta, which was very yummy. We then took in the sight of the leaning tower at night which was dissappointing as they had not lit it up, so it seemed to be lost in the night. We then walked for a while and returned to the hostel hoping the tower would be better the next day.

Day 21 - Tom's Magical Mystery Tour Through the South of France

So as I have said France and Nice was a side track to conquer our problem over staying in Italy, but I decided to take Mel on one of my Magical Mystery Tours and visit two well known French towns. The first was the home of one of the biggest film festivals in the world, Cannes. It was another beautifully hot day, and again not like the flat boring cities of England, we had to climb hills to see many of the worth while sights, these included the 4 murals dedicated to the world of film painted on the sides of houses. The main area near the port that is normally used for the festival was mainly covered in red tape, builders and lorries putting something up for an event. We did though get to see most of the star's hand prints on the walkways. After posing in the corny cardboard cutout stands and a yummy ice cream we travelled onto the second stop and a totally different country!

Stepping off the train into Monaco was like walking into a aeroplane hanger, it was massive. And for some reason after that moment I hated it. Not sure why, I was in a weird mood anyway because of the last couple of days events but also I just felt so strange and totally out of place, I was wearing my new Venice T-shirt (a slant on the video game Vice City) and a pair of shorts with dirty trainers, while everyone else (including Mel) were wearing either dresses or suits. I just did not like it and that came across in my mood and once again I judged the book by the cover, because after a walk around the city, I could see it was a beautiful place. I have got to learn to give everywhere a chance!!

Day 20 - Our Holiday Away From Our Holiday

The whole time we have been away I have found it hard to call what we are doing something; backpacking, a life experience, inspiration? Who knows, but our few days in Nice, France can truly be called a holiday. Despite some bad news that I received the night before my family told me to continue having a good time. So after a lazy morning we dragged ourselves to the stony foot breaking beach and had a dip in the med, followed up with a walk along the pricey shops and a burger for a bite to eat. The afternoon was spent in the pretty old town, looking in the postcard and tourist shops. Then with a smoothie each, we walked the hill to the old castle taking in a pretty amazing graveyard and the sights from the top of the hill. But the day did not end there, we relaxed reading our books not watching the sea or the people walking the sea front, but our washing turning in the washer! A subway meat ball 6" was the real ending to the day and what a day it was!

Day 18 - Turin, the Hollywood of Italy?

So what do two massive film nerds do when they find out that the city they are in has a film museum? They go to maybe the best museum in the world!! Turin has the best example of a film museum I have ever come across. The museum started with an intro into the invention of moving images with a great range of brilliant examples of projectors, film equipment and early films. This section ended with a show reel of the first films and the last clip was of a steam train coming towards the camera and as it neared the screen the screen tore away and was replaced by a life-sized train coming into the audience. It was quite shocking and made sense once Mel told me that in the 1900s people literally ran from the cinema in fear of this clip and I think I know how they felt!

After this it was onto the main hall which was simply just amazing! The huge hollow inside of the dome was divided in to many areas which showed clips from different genres of film, each area dressed to match the genre, so for example the love room had a massive heart bed which you laid on and looked up at the screen to watch clips. Other parts included a display of behind the scenes photos of Marilyn Monroe, Orson Wells and Billy Wilder films, exhibits on the making of a film from script to the edit, costume department, directing, script writing and a collection of movie posters including a huge computer database of other classic posters.

The cherry on the cake was in the centre of the room, about 50 bed/seats dotted around the massive dome space, facing one of two big screens showing clips of Italian cinema and going from a space in the middle of the floor to the very top of the dome was a lift hung in the air by a few cables, which took you up to a panoramic view of the city which we didn't bother to queue for.

Day 17 - Watching the Italians

Today I learnt two things about the Italians, the first happened in Milan Station the second in the city of Turin (Torino to the Italians). As we got off the train in Milan station we had some time to kill so Mel decided to use the local rest room. As i waited outside the loos I watched two men fixing the device that stands in the way of the paying customer, till you give it a euro and its glass doors separate and allow you to enter. As I watched a mum, with 2 small children, rushed towards the gates to enter the loo and as they went to enter one of the glass doors simply exploded showering glass all over the loo entrance and one of the poor children. Furious at what had happened, and after checking the child was OK, the mother made the child drop his pants on the side of the platform and piss up the side of the wall, while a cleaner looked on completely confused by what he was seeing. She turned and yelled at the cleaner who just put his hands up in a way to say "hey I got nothing to do with this" and walked off, in which the woman grabbed her children and followed the cleaner down the platform continuing to shout at him.

The second thing happened in the centre of Turin. We had appeared to have arrived in Turin on an evening where everything seemed to be happening. In one of the squares stools had been set-up featuring themes along the lines of science, what it looked like was a massive science fair which I thought was a random but also pretty cool thing to have in a main square at 9 o clock at night. What really impressed me was the amount of people in family groups and even small groups of teenagers taking part and having fun! A bit further on in a different square a kind of food and drink event was being held, ramped full of Italians laughing, chatting and being pretty merry. From this day I learnt a lot about this race of people, they are proud, good people, who connect and get on well with each other but take no shit from anyone!

Day 16 - Goldfish Minds in the City of Canals

Day 16 - Venice

On arriving into Venice at 8.30am and after a night of very little sleep, we were awoken from our sleepy worlds by the most picturque view as we left the station, the grand canal sparkled in the sun light, the narrow main street was already busy with tourists and trade plus the sun was high in the sky delivering the perfect weather for what would turn into a great day in a beautiful city. This must be the first place that I have not judged on first looks, It looked a bit run down, but this just added to the charm making the city of canals a truly different and interesting place to be.

After dropping the bags off at the hostel, we grabbed a map and started to explore. 10 minutes in and I was in awe of every turn, narrow street and canal. From this a new term was born that Mel now uses a lot on this trip, "Have you gone round your bowl again". What I mean by this is that throughout the day I would turn to Mel and say something a long the lines of, "Wow, look at that building/bridge/canal it looks amazing" in which Mel would turn to me and say, "You are joking right? we passed this canal/building/bridge like 15 minutes ago! Have you gone round your bowl again?", referencing the fact that goldfish have very short memory spans!

For most of the day we just wondered the streets till we hit a dead end, and would just turn around say "O dear" and walk the other way. The main sights in Venice were good and interesting but nothing could beat the joy of walking over a new and different canal or finding a pretty square. The most disappointing part of the day was finding out how disrespectfully other tourists are! We went for a look at the Cathedral and once we got in, after a bit of a wait, I had already had enough of the other people pushing in line and when we finally got in the crowds pushed even more! Adding to this they took pictures even though it said not too and tour group leaders shouted at their groups to speak louder then the group next to them, even though it was sign posted saying that tours were forbidden! No one looked at the church and its brilliant art work, they walked round turning suddenly snapping a picture and moving on a glazed over boredom in their eyes. We had to leave, I could not focus on what I was seeing because of now much I was being shoved and also because of how angry the other visitors were making me.

After this we returned to the streets and soon I was happy in the maze again. It was soon time for a rest and we returned to the hostel to discover our cramped 5 bed room complete with wet room in the middle of the bathroom between the toilet and sink, meaning that I could have had a shower, used the loo and brushed my teeth all at the same time! After a sleep we dined in an expensive restaurant, in which the waiters and chefs just yelled at each other, we got a front row seat because they had sat us right outside the kitchen door, but I did get to try the local cuttlefish which was very tasty. Then as the sun went to bed and the moon arrived in the sky parts of the city that had been a tiny bit disappointing in the day came alive in the evening. The squares filled with live music and even the local tacky street sellers helped to light up the sky with their floating helicopter light sticks. It was a great end to a perfect day.

Day 15 - Sleeper Train My Arse!!

Lots of travelling today, but first we finally agreed on a new route. Instead of Venice, Padora, Verona, Milan, Pisa, Florence and Rome. It is now Venice, Turin, Nice (plus maybe a day trip to Cannes), Gonavo, Pisa, Florence and Rome. Excited and a bit worried about the new plans, we boarded the train to Vienna to await our first (and hopefully last) night train to Venice. In a rush to get the train we rely on the old trusty Macdonlds takeaway and make the train by minutes. Sitting in the pitch black carriage we wait to see that we are on the right train, and once both border control and the ticket man come round we know it is safe to relax. Or as much as you can do on a train that sits at stations for hours with the bright lights blurring through the window at the early hours of the morning and a woman (not Mel) who sings while listening to her Ipod and snoores to the point that the noise becomes part of my dream! No sleep for me then!

Day 14 - A Lot of Beer, A Whole A Lot of Fun!

We finally made it to a tent for Oktober Fest at about 2pm, after 3 hours of again trying to find different routes through Italy with no luck! It took us about 10 - 15 minutes to get the nerves to sit down on a bench after circling the tent twice. Once sitting down the 4 Aussies already sitting at the 10 seater bench welcomed us into the fold shaking hands and raising their 1 litre tankers to toast us once he got our beers, and shouting the German word for cheers (poute).

By the time the second litre came it was like the group of us where long lost friends. By the end of the 2nd litre I was way on the way to tipsy land, managing not only to get lost on the way back from the toilet but also making friends with 2 different groups of Germans, one of them tried to teach me the language the other teaching me the songs and hugged me with one arm until they left.

By the time 11pm came in which by this time the Aussies had dunked their cameras in their beers, set fire to their hair and beards and flirted with each other to the point of writing "I like you" on each others hands, came I managed to have 3 litres and stop because I was feeling really gassy and decided to have some water which also turned out to sparking, they did not sell still water for some reason. Mel impressed me the most by having 4 litres beating me!

On saying good bye to our new friends (email addresses in pocket) I brought Mel one of the famous cookie hearts that had "I love you" written in German. A great day and a brilliant chance to be part of an age old festival, something I would recommend to everyone and hope one day I will do it again!!

A nice little video of us with our drinking friends (remember i was drunk)

Day 13 - Film Wins Over Real History, Plus a Glimpse into the Near Drunken Future

While the rain fell for a second day in Salzburg we did one of the most disappointing museums I have ever been to, the house Mozart grew up in. The only saving grace was a documentary film about his life, that we could have rented from Lovefilm! We then caught a train back to Germany, this time to Munich, for one of the biggest festivals in the world, Oktoberfest!

At our 4 star hotel I got my first view of a TV in 2 weeks, and while Mel had a snooze I watched the last half of Transformers 2, a film fully improved by watching it in German (some how). After our small break we went in search of the festival, to check out the site and what we had in store for the next couple of days. Well I tell you this, I have never been to anything quite like it in my life! On the road into the grounds everyone walking the over way was either zig-zagging or finding it hard to balance.

As we entered we realised one thing straight off, it was like Hull fair but with out the Chavs, and just a lot nicer! The rides seemed like they had been built in the last 10 years and the smell of fresh cooking filled the air not knowing what to taste first.

On entering our first tent I was a bit speechless, hundreds of wooden benches filled the spaces and on these sat, or more likely stood, thousands of people singing and dancing to German songs waving there massive 1 litre tankers over their heads, arms round the neck of the person next to them. It was simply amazing and I could not wait to become part of it the next day. The reason we did not join in then was the fact that it is near impossible to get a seat after 5pm (it was around 6) and you can only be served at a seat. We decided to walk some more of the fair and after that go towards the city centre for some grub. Walking through the red light distirct we came across a movie themed bar where everything on the menu was named after a film. I had a "Lost in Translation" sandwich and watched the waiter try to cover me and Mel in 2 glasses of coke which he dropped onto the floor. To end this evening it was back to the hotel and 2 hours of searching for places and routes in Italy, which ended with no real solutions.

Day 12 - How a Popular Musical Can Out Rank World Famous Classical Music!!

After a pretty expensive day in Vienna we moved on to a city best known for 2 things. You would think that the most important thing it was well known for was that one of the greatest composers of all time, Mozart, was born there, but no you would be wrong! According to the postcards and posters it is more famous for an AMERICAN film made over 40 years ago, a little film that goes by the title "The Sound of Music". Yes I am talking about Salzburg. A town which we only saw in the rain but we did not let that stop us! After booking into a nice hostel, we ventured off on a tour, well a map with a walking tour drawn on it which we decided to do on our own. We took in the sights of some amazing churches, the view from the castle which was still impressive with the level of fog, a graveyard and tiny narrow shopping streets which included Mozart's birthplace. Deciding to risk the food at the hostel we returned to eat and do some washing. After a good sized plate of chips and chicken wings, we watched a couple of films, "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Mr & Mrs Smith", and managed to avoid an early night by chatting to a group of Americans. Going up to bed at 01.30 I realised that this is one of the things I loved about the travelling, meeting new people and getting lost in conversation. Lets hope the next few weeks delivers some new faces to meet, chat for a while and get lost again into the crowd never to see them again, maybe even some we will stay in contact with who knows.

Day 11 - Centre Pieces and Singing Rapists

So as normal the full day of a city started off the same, me moaning about something or other. Today it was the fact that Vienna seemed to be one big building site. Since arriving into the city at the south station all I had seen was building sites or places covered in scaffolding. As we wandered down the main high street towards the city centre I kept pointing out to Mel each site/scaffolding as we went and when arriving in the main centre, in between some amazing palaces and museums the first thing I pointed out was the scaffolding on the side of a museum. Mel not best impressed by this information told me that I should give each place some time before judging it on first impressions. She was right because by the end of the day I would have seen two sights that I would not forget in a hurry.

The first was the Palace Hofburg the home of Empress Elizabeth (Sisi), which housed an amazing collection of glasses, plates, serving platters, centre pieces and much more, with some of them dating back to the 18th century. That was only the ground floor the rest of the Palace had been broken into 2 parts, the first was an exibition on the life of Sisi and the second was the rooms that Sisi and her husband had lived in. Armed with a very good audio guide we took the best part of an afternoon to tour the building, and was blown away with the detail of some of the items.

The second sight was a real treat and something that is in "1001 things to do before you die". While reading the map we saw that for 3 euro you could go and see the Opera standing at the back, all you had to do was arrive an hour before it started and wear trousers. So we joined the queue and managed to secure standing space at the back of the upper gallery with a pretty good view. Learning of the title of the Opera, Mel and the excited "young Owen Wilson" American next to me pointed out that "Don Giovanni" was written by Mozart. I then realised that I was at the Opera, in Vienna, watching "Don Giovanni", the closest that I would normally get to seeing this would be on a cinema screen and I would be paying around 25 pound for that, and it had little computer translators so we knew what was being said!

From this I have learnt to keep my mouth shut and wait to see what the day has in store for me!

2 Days 3 Countries

Day 9 and 10 kind of blurred into one because of the fast pace of moving 3 countries in two days! Day 9's morning consisted of us exploring more of Pest taking in a Park which included a castle that was once built of cardboard, and the locals loved it so much they built it out of stone, and Hero's square a tribute to the leaders of the Hungarian tribes throughout the centuries. Both heading to the House of Terror, we went to see a sculture I had really wanted to see, a massive hourglass (egg timer), which apparently runs for the full year and is turned every year 180 degrees to count the time of the new year. When we got there the timer was hard to find (even though it is so big) becasue of the tents, put up for some sort of fair, which covered and made it near impossible to see the time wheel. It also seemed that the wheel had stopped working as it is now September and there seemed to be more sand in the top then there did in the bottom, plus I could not see any running through the middle.

So after this dissappointment we move on to "The House of Terror", not a corny horror museum, but a building that was used by the fascist Arrow Cross Party and the communist ÁVH Party. This very impressive exhibition houses great detail about the two parties and the pain and misery they brought upon Budapest and it's people. A very unsettling tone is created by the sometimes surreal displays and the soundtrack which is chilling, eriee and creates a feeling of uneasyness. Moved by a couple of the displays and trying to read the massive log of info sheets picked up in nearly every room, we rushed round all 3 floors in like an hour, when I think it should take more like 3 to do it justice . From there we moved onto the station and after the worse burger I have ever tasted we boarded a delayed train to Bratislava.

After a lovely evening in our new fav town we decided to check out the museums of Bratislava (last time we came it was a Monday so everything was closed). As we only had the morning we had time for the one museum and so we chose the Pharmacy Museum, which turned out to have some great examples of 19th century medicine containers but was only 2 bigish rooms with the same stuff in both rooms. Luckily the ticket also got us into the Arms Museum, which was in one of the gate towers, and the view it self was worth the visit. I just want to make clear that is was not a museum of arms, as in body parts, but as in weapons, and they had a pretty impressive collection from swords to guns to cannons and armour.

And from there we ended up in Austria, in the city of Vienna, in which we broke our code of not having pizza till Italy, by dinning at a pizzeria which served the biggest pizzas I had ever seen! To finish off the night we had a couple of drinks in the Hostel bar and I tried to teach Mel about the world of WWE which she seemed to follow and quite enjoy, outting Sheamus as her favourite.

Day 8 - Buda or Pest, Which is Better?

Day 8 - Budapest

Today we explored Budapest, by foot! Seems like a nice idea but it was a long walk. We managed to get lost straight away ending up at the station that we had arrived at the previous day, the other side of the city we wanted to go to. Then I decided to take us down a back road which lead into a pretty rubbish park and had buildings that looked like they were finding it hard to stand right.

I however did then find a very pretty square for us to stop for lunch and then followed this up by taking in some churches, fountains and the National Museum.

As we travelled over the bridge to Buda, the sun became more fierce and made walking that bit harder, plus the amount of water we bought throughout the day was quite impressive. A quick wander of the castle grounds was followed up by exploring the largest church in Budapest, which featured some great tips on restoring relics.

Once crossing "The Chain" Bridge back into Pest we walked beside the Danube taking in the "Shoes on the Danube Promenade" a memorial to the murdered Jews of the 2nd World War, plus a beautiful sunset behind Buda before heading across to the largest Parliament building in Europe.

After this feet tiring day we went back to the Hostel for another home cooked meal and then the task of planning our next step. We had planned to book the following 2 nights in Vienna, but it was only now that we realised how expensive Austria was going to be and it also seemed pretty booked up, guessing that Oktober Fest had something to do with it. So in the end after 3 hours of searching we decided the best route was to go back to Bratislava (both of us were pretty happy about this) and then to do 2 nights in Vienna and only 1 in Salzberg before Munich.

Day 7 - First Contact

Every day has had it's challenges but on this day it was the biggest one so far, it was time to mingle and make friends! I knew it was coming but I was not ready for it. We arrived into Budapest (The pest side) to a massive station with no signs and little help on where to go. After what seemed like an age we made it to the hostel (Homemade Hostel) and was greeted with the worst kind of greeting, "Did you get my email?". The silly website had double booked us, so we had no where to sleep! The owner of the hostel felt so bad that he paid the deposit for another hostel and told us to come back the next day for our second night in Budapest. He also told us to come back that evening for a free dinner and to take part in a "Homemade Pub Crawl", we agreed to this and set off for Paprika (the hostel for that night). Paprika was a nice enough place, but built for the more party at heart, and the fact that two cats were laid on our beds when we arrived is not a promising start.

Getting out of the 70's themed pub crawl that Paprika was holding, we decided to go for the free meal at "Homemade", but not the pub crawl. We arrived and sat quietly for a while untill a couple of Australians asked us some questions and we became more chatty. Before we knew it, it was 2 O' clock in the morning after an impressive crawl through some great bars, chatting to some cool people and we even arrived back to Paprika after the wild themed pub crawl!

Day 6 - Tom's First Magical Mystery Tour

Since beginning this trip, my body has decided that 8.00am is the right time to wake and be ready for a full day of exploring. In this hostel the doors decided that 8.00am was the perfect time to get up. All you could hear all over the building was the random slamming of doors, I felt sorry for the people in dorms.

Today was the day I decided in a way to take control, and use the very helpful map (all places of interest marked on a helpful key) to try and see most of the buildings. As everything was closed (it was Monday) we got to see most of the building/churches/statues and slowly I really began to fall for the beautiful city and it's historic buildings. This, I think, is what I should of felt in Prague but due to the influx of people over the years Prague feels a bit too touristy. Mel informed me that Bratislava is going the way of Prague, and I began to worry for this town. And while we ate dinner it was made clear that the drunks of England had already made a claim on the city by hearing the wonderfully clear cries of a London man, "IM GOING TO KILL YOU ALL".

All day Mel had talked of trying the local drink, "Kofola", their own type of Cola. Excited to try it we brought a bottle and both took a sip. OK, imagine Asda Smart Price Coke totally flat then triple the amount of sugar and the taste of cough medicine and you have the pretty bad flavour of Kofola. Mel straight away made it clear that one sip was enough, but me being stubborn, I forced the whole bottle down my trap, by the end it was not so bad, but I do not think my teeth will be so forgiving.

Other highlights of the day included, the waitress giving Mel a whole kitchen roll to herself and eating the last 2 panda versions of percy pigs!

Day 5 - The Party Types?

Cuba! That was the theme of the room we had in Bratislava, a lovely room decorated in the colours and photos of that country's history. I would say that it was the first party hostel we had visited and straight off the mark I think the owner (or that is the impression I got) realised that we were not really the party type. As he served us when we arrived, and after telling us everything, he looked up at us with red puffy eyes and said "Do I look high?" in answer to that me and Mel looked at each other smiled worryingly at each other and did not have anything to say. We then went up to the room and could see from the window that everyone else who was new to the hostel went straight to the outside bar and was offered a free shot, which did not happen to us!

After a nice relax and trying to watch maybe one of the only TVs we would get in a Hostel (which just gave out static on every channel) our next step was a wander into the old town. We had been told by the 'high' owner of the hostel, very dramatically, that the old town was ok but to never go to a certain section of the map, and he circled it and put a massive cross through the middle. When I asked why we could not enter that area, thinking it have something to do with crime and dodgy types, he responded by saying that it was just that it was a bit shit and boring to look at!! So while walking toward the old town (opposite direction to the 'black forest' he had forbidden us to enter), we took more advice from the hostel pothead and we ate at a rather nice and pretty cheap restaurtant called "The Flagship". Filled up by the traditional pasty pies I had and loads of pickled cabbage for Mel we decided to venture back to the Hostel, to get a drink and see if they would offer us our free shot, with no luck on the free shot!

Day 4 - Prague "It feels like Disneyland"

Day 4 - Prague

After a rough start to Prague, we both woke with positive thoughts and decided to throw our selves into the stag do city and see as much as we could. We were luckily graced with wonderful weather, a bright blue sky with little cloud and no wind. A beautiful start which made us both think that maybe the city was not as rough as it looked, that was until we saw the passed out drunk in the middle of the road with two police offiers standing round him! On into the city and there is so much to see in ways of pretty buildings and tourist shops that it is hard to decide which way to look. Once making it to the old square and taking a minute to look at the tribute to the death of 3 hockey stars, we look at the clock and something hits me, it feels so fake. Not the clock, but the city as a whole. I turn to Mel and tell her that the feeling I get from the city is weird, and she informs me on what she was thinking, "it feels like we are in DisneyLand". She had hit the nail on the head, it was like being in Epcot, it was like they had got the old Praha covered it with loads of colour, pumped out sweet smells and had joyful band music playing. Nothing wrong with that it just felt weird and not real!

Next stop, through more narrow streets selling Russian Dolls, Wooden Toys and Puppets, we came across Charles Bridge and our crossing point for the Castle. I was a little surprised (not sure why) at how it seemed to get even busier once joining the slow following traffic of people on to the bridge. An interesting walkway with its statues and plaques to touch for good luck, but I was happy to get off of it and continue the adventure of this strange city. On this side we took in the Lennon Wall, the outside of the Castle (more of a palace) and its lovely gardens, the small Effiel Tower and finally the Mirror maze (in which both of us did not really understand what everyone was finding quite so hilarious). After a short trip down the hill side in a cable car we moved on to a dusk look of the Jewish Quarter, trying to avoid the marathon runners! Watching part of the Marathon and an interesting visual show projected on to the side of the clock tower we ended the day.

One other thing I thing I have learnt, is why so many people drink in this city. Over the two days in Prague all I wanted was Coke, but everytime we ate it was cheaper to have a beer, which simply felt weird as neither of us normally drink alcohol with our main evening meals never mind with sandwiches at lunch time!

Day 3 - Prague - All I Want is a Coke!!

Mel opts out and takes the stairs and I enter the lift, with the landlord, thinking as I enter that I may have made a mistake. If Mel had come in the lift it would have been a mental squeeze, if i had to guess I would say it was about 6 feet by 3 feet wide. On the way up we say nothing to each other and all I can hear is the sounds of the 17th century lift trying with all its powers to get us to the top! And that was my first look at the hostel (more like apartment) we stayed in, when I asked Mel to decribe it, she compared it to the apartament building from the horror film Rec! It was very old school!

Leaving the building to explore Prague for the first time, we both felt very unsure and to be totally honest the true realisation of the fact that 50 days is a long time was starting to settle in and we both felt a little home sick. After a wander around the city and another night of 'lets find something to eat' (this time though there is plenty to choose from) we some across a lovely place with live music. The waiter (a big stocky guy with a skin head) looked at me when I tried to have a coke, and simply said "Really? You want beer, I get you beer", even though he was the nicest guy I felt bullied into drinking. I knew it was a drinking city but I never knew it would be forced! Lovely beer though after all that!

Extra bonus in this blog, something I wrote on our first train trip of Europe:

On the train now and even though we are the only 2 English people in the very small 6 person carriage we have managed to have a laugh with the other passangers over the fact that the women doing the announcements had trouble speaking in English and had to pause and sigh angryly at the fact she was having problems speaking in English.

No Food But Lots of Animals

Day 2 - Berlin

Every summer the day before I went back to school my mum took me to the best place in the world, the only place that made me forget that it was a sad day because summer was coming to an end, and Mel made me feel 10 again by saying that we could go to the biggest one in Europe! I'm talking of the Zoo. I love the Zoo and was so excited and the fact that it was the biggest in Europe was just so cool. Before that though we soaked ourselves in more history of the city taking in another part of the wall, The East Side Gallery, a section of the wall covered in graffiti, expressing the need to be free. There were some great examples along the wall, but many have been ruined by the graffti placed on top by the new generation. It was very inspiring and truly touched a creative part of me.

So onwards to the Zoo! And what a Zoo, everything you could ask for including bushbabies, at least 7 types of wild cat, hippos, a panda, lots of monkeys, apes and a Rhino having a poo! Happy with the days animal viewing we moved on to the Victory Column and then another lengthy walk of Berlin to find food. I have two problems with Berlin, 1 - The cars! It is mental, the cars seem to just think that it is ok to run people over when it is a green crossing man for the people crossing the road! And 2 - the lack of places to eat at a good price, we walked for an hour looking for food in the tourist stops until we had enough and decided that the golden M would have to do as it was now 8 o clock and we where starving and our feet hurt so much. O yer and we got to see Check Point Charlie again without the actors and gypsies. Overall I liked Berlin and would visit again in the future.

Day 1 - Walls, Check Points and Gypsies

Day 1 - Berlin

3.00am the alarm went off and after a night sleep of about 3 hours, because of excitement from the both of us, I was up and ready to face the now daunting task of touring Europe for 50 days. On the car trip to the station my stomach felt like it was going to do a backflip up my throat and cartwheel out my mouth, but Mel seemed so calm!! After a quick check in and a lovely breakfast at Frankie & Bennies Deli, we where in the air and after what seemed like a quick flight, which I slept through and managed to drool all over Mel, we landed in Berlin. Arriving at 9.30am and from the time we got into the room, 9.30pm, it was none stop!

Our first view of Berlin, was from it's underground, a vibe of old, strongly mixed with new technology, snake like trains with televisions sharing the newest news and culture reports travel through the tired and worn looking underground. On finding the Hostel and realising that Mel had picked well, we ventured off into the city ignoring the helpful receptionist on the front desk telling us to take the U trains (tube) and instead decided to walk. I do wonder sometimes why me and Mel insist on walking EVERYWHERE!

Is it the fact we think we will miss something or the more realistic idea that we (more me) are tight with the cash, who knows! Let's just say that Berlin is big and very well spred out. But I'm glad we walked because of the things we saw and learnt. Like on the way to Check Point Charlie and finding a part of the Berlin wall which had been turned into an outside museum about the terrors that have plagued the city since the Nazi party rising to power all the way up to the fall of the Berlin wall. After this we continued on to Check Point Charlie to find it ruined by 2 out of work actors dressed as american soldiers manning the checkpoint. It just felt wrong with them there so we moved on quickly to get a bite to eat but that was also ruined by gypsies begging for change and not giving up! We buckled and gave in offering the 1/4 of a can of Coke that we had, which she took and tipped the contents onto the street. She then managed to get a friend and follow us halfway to our next stop! After a long walk taking in the sites of Berlin we ended up at the Sony centre, an impressive complex of shops, museums, cinemas and get ready for this..... A LEGOLAND! After Mel offering (sign of true love? I think so!) to pay for the mental price of the place, I realised that it would not be worth it and had 20 minutes in the shop instead. The next couple of hours was taken up by an impressive film museum on the history of German cinema and a walk along the star road, which had a brilliant holagram viewer thing! We finished off the day, and our tired feet, with another big walk taking in the holocaust tribute, Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island, and TV Tower, before tucking into an over priced sausage and some very lovely potato salad. Holding in a wee, no loo at the restaurant, the walk back to the hostel was powered by the fact we would be able to lay down and rest.

The Beginning of a Beautiful Trip...

Tomorrow morning is the start of something new (to quote High School Musical) and exciting! Mel and Me will be getting up really early in the morning, is there any point in sleeping?, and getting on a flight to Germany, Berlin to start our 50 day back packing adventure around Europe! Something that has been in the pipeline now for over a year and the last part of our mega year of 2011. You ask "How has it been mega??", well it started off with attending two weddings, a brilliant holiday to the south of France with Mel's parents (including a lego muesum!), the quiting of both of our jobs, the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, V Festival in Essex, the moving from York to Essex and Leeds Festival. So many highlights and memories from both, but here is a few; getting well over excited by a Robbie Williams tribue act, reliving 2005 at V Fest (Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs, Acrtic Monkeys), seeing a grown man pretend to be the last of the magic dragons (his dog was amazing), watching a good album played to its fullist and also being an impressive show, lego museum!, leaving the world of house sharing in York, nearly going home on the first night of Leeds (before the music even started), going to Scarborough on the day when the rest of the UK was on it's hottist day and Scarborough was covered in damp, cold, thick fog!, discovering an internet hit and the world of Flamenco dancing, sitting watching the sun set over the vineyards of France, having spent all of these times with the beautiful and brilliant Melissa Kennedy!

And now we both hope to add to this list by grabbing our Interrail passes and travelling some of the wonderful countries of the west of Europe. Both of us hope to blog every now and again to let people know about how it is going, the places we have seen, the people that we meet and trouble of taking too many trains!! Watch this Page!

Tomx