Monday 29 October 2012

23/10 - 28/10 Paris, France


France is probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, filled with the rudest people, there are crepe stores on every street corner and just as many con artists. The landmarks are as magnificent as the baguettes and croissants, the night life is lively and the city is built on the love of hopeless romantics.

Day 1 - Check in late, dump our bags and walked our way to the Sacre Cour, we ran from cons and climbed the stairs to the top for a 360 degree view of Paris sparkling at night. From here we went to the Moulin Rouge and explored the colorful red light district.

Day 2 - Early wake ups to change hostels, rude encounters with the french and a hop on hop off bus tour booked. We went to the Arc De Triomphe, Norte Dame, The Eiffel Tower and did a sight seeing tour of Paris. After a big day of being tourists we got a feed and hit the hay at the famous St. Christopher's inn.

Day 3 - Changing hostels, crepes on the run and a visit to The Louvre to get cultured and see some of the most well known artworks in the world - including the Mona Lisa! For dinner we're off to african.

Day 4 - Late wake ups, free breakfast and a visit to Jim Morrison's grave to give some flowers and respect to one of musics greatest. On our way back
we stopped by to visit the grave of Oscar Wild before running home in the rain!

Day 5 - Free breakfast and a trek in the almost sub-zero Paris weather to buy our boyfriends Love Locks to hang on the infamous love lock bridge - made famous by the thousands of love birds wanting to leave their locks of love forever in the heart of Paris. For a late dinner we went to the Cafe Des 2 Moulins, the same cafe Amelie was filmed and made famous in!

Paris was an amazing city very worthy of experiencing but for now we're off to London town!

Wednesday 24 October 2012

21/10 - 23/10 Brugge, Belgium

Brugge is like looking at a thousand Monet paintings in real life. Everything is beautifully old and preserved, the castles and town houses look like they're bleeding into the canals and the reflection of the forrest in the water is almost as perfect as the chocolates on display in every shop window.

Day 1 - While we were booking our eurotrip we spontaneously decided that after 7 weeks of hostel living it would be a good idea to go all out in Belgium and stay in a 12 century medieval castle, and that's exactly what we were welcomed with. A lengthy walk through cornfields and paddocks brought us to a bridge over a moat to the entrance of the castle, we are met with our caretaker and taken to the top tower of the castle to our rooms! This place is definitely haunted and we're all feeling uneasy.

To get to dinner we have to walk through a pitch black forrest filled with bats, however the walk was well worth it when you are greeted with the meals we were - traditional Belgium meat cooked on the fire in front of us!

Day 2 - Buffet breakfast ft Celine dion, a medieval dining room and a view of the castles courtyard! We get ready for a day of sightseeing, catch the bus into town, had a decent feed in the picturesque town square and visited the chocolate museum to spurge on one to many Belgium chocolates. We decided to boycott the daunting forrest and have a meal of cheese and crackers in our decorative living room with champagne to farewell our brief royal lifestyle.

Off to Paris now for baguettes, snails, frogs legs and the Eiffel tower!

Tuesday 23 October 2012

15/10 - 21/10 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam is the place where all the crazies go to sell weed to tourists, everyone commutes on bikes, there's hookers on display in windows, buskers litter the streets, coffee shops don't sell coffee and the weather is always wet.

Day 1 - 16 hours stuck in a train booth and we are finally here, we hop in a taxi and make our way to our home for the week - The flying pig uptown! After dumping our bags we tram it to Damsquare to shop around and take a walk through the infamous red light district. We hurry home after our adventure to get ready for a pub crawl through Amsterdam's lively back streets!

Day 2 - Feeling weathered we drag ourselves to the square for all you can eat ribs and spent the day giggling at hookers while we explored the red light district and made a pit stop to the flower market.

Day 3 - After an early morning hostel breakfast feed we made our way to the Heineken experience tour to brew and drink some decent booze. From here we visited a local coffee shop for chill times and had a traditional Italian dinner!

Day 4- With Amsterdam's colourful culture always on display around the city we decided to visit The sex museum for laughs but not before blowing some cash at a dutch lolly shop nearby, perfect wet weather day in!

Day 5 - Once again we trekked it to all you can eat ribs for breakfast, the others spent the day bike riding while i remained sick in bed.

Day 6 - Last full day in the city that never sleeps! Had an early morning run through the red light, walked through Vondelpark and visited the world renown tattoo museum. After a big week here we stayed in and cooked a home made pasta dish at the hostel!

Day 7 - Early morning wake up to pack up, check out and make our way to the Anne Frank Haus to view one of the original hiding spots used by the jewish Frank family during the time of the holocaust.

See you later Amsterdam, you were a party that never stopped but now we are off to Brugge, Belgium to indulge in chocolates and waffles!!!


Tuesday 16 October 2012

12/10-14/10 Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark is one of the most beautiful places in the world, even the locals look like they just walked off the runway. The town is made up of high-class shops to small quaint boutiques and cafes, there are subtle castles lurking around and streets that look like postcards.

Day 1 - Get to our hostel and the streets are littered with people, it's culture day here and everyone is in full blown party mode! We climbed the stairs to our matchbox rooms, got ready and got a feed while watching the festivities happen out front of our window!

Day 2 - Up early for a bite to eat in the picturesque town square! We then shopped around, played in the Disney house and went on a walking adventure to find the royal palace and princess Mary. After taking a detour through a park we found ourselves in a military quarter, looking like something out of a medieval movie we took photos and explored around to find the famous mermaid statue on the water! On our way back to the hostel we found a Riley's museum and made a pit stop to check out all the freaks and geeks of the world!

After a big day and feeling exhausted we decided to hit up the famous amusement park Tivoli for a fun way to say goodbye to Copenhagen! We scaled huge rollercoasters, gawked at patrons dressed in full halloween gear
and lived like kids for a few hours before hitting the hay to get ready for a 16hr train trip to the crazy city of Amsterdam!!


Friday 12 October 2012

11/10 - 12/10 Hamburg, Germany.


Being in Hamburg isn't much different to being in the cross, hookers litter the street, there are more nightclubs and bars then shops, drinks are cheap and they even have a coke sign hanging above the city life.

Day 1 - Check into our hotel, kiez bude which until recently use to be a brothel. The inside still looks like a whore house, with overly decorative coloured wallpaper, glittered carpet, leopard print couches, snaps of nude girls all over the walls and paddles not so subtly hanging in reception, which also doubles for a bar. We get ready for a night out, have a feed, drink too much and run a muck around the city until the wee hours.

Day 2 - Waking up to a knock at the door and a screaming German man telling us to check out. Feeling weathered we dragged ourselves out half dressed and to breakfast, Copenhagen here we come!

Thursday 11 October 2012

06/10 - 11/10 Berlin, Germany.

Few things about berlin; it's like Newtown on steroids, the city never sleeps, the people are colourful freaks to say the least, the history of the place is endless and bribes go along way when you find yourself in trouble.

Day 1 - Welcomed at the train station by a girl in full battle getup and a sword, crazies and nutters litter the place. After being rejected by every cab because our bags are too big we finally find ourselves at our hostel and I'm feeling sick so I call it a night and rested easy, the others hit the town.

Day 2 - Wake up early and grabbed a feed with Benji, from here we hit up Berlin's vintage flea markets and indulged in lollies and curry wurst while we spent our dollars on fur and vintage jewelry. Feeling exhausted we had an afternoon nap, woke up late and had an Italian dinner.

Day 3 - Early wake up, bagels and a walking sight seeing tour. We explore museum island, walk along side the Berlin wall, mazed through Jewish/holocaust memorials and were given an on the run history lesson of Berlin! On our way home we catch a feed and some drinks!

Day 4 - Our daily mission is to break into Berlin's infamous abandoned theme park. 3 trains, a walk in a haunted forrest and a DIY break in job and we find ourselves on the other side. We explore the broken down rides, hide from security and walk a rickety train track through darkened tunnels and around ferris wheels. It wasn't until we decided to climb a rollercoaster track that security finally caught on, Saxby bribes them €20 to avoid the German police and we get escorted to a bucket next to a 7ft fence and are asked to jump over and leave. To have a fitting end to the day we hop on a pub crawl, sink too many shots and dance to Ramstein in berlins underground.

Day 5 - Feeling weathered, shopped around the city, felt classy in the national gallery and found the other pieces of the Berlin wall that still remain standing.

Day 6 - Check out and travel to Berlin HBF to catch a train to Hamburg - a simple task that has quickly turned into a 4 hr wait, a missed train, 2 delays, 2 tickets and we've learnt the hard way the cheapest option is never the easiest one. Get me to Hamburg!!!