Our first nights sleep was… interesting. We fell into a deep sleep to start with, it was so good…but then, 5am a rooster decided it was time to start the day, and then not to be outdone another joined in, louder and more determined to announce the arrival of the new day to all. We tossed and turned and thought up all the interesting and yummy recipes we could use the roosters for, and then we came to learn that 7am is a very busy time for the Venice airport. How do we know this? Well, our camp site was RIGHT next to the airport and there were planes taking off every five minutes or so. It really did sound as if they were about to run over you, or land on you. It was rather off putting. So, our day began.

A bus took us into Venice where we head off towards San Marco, along the way stopping to take in the sights of all the little canals and the tourist shops that primarily sell one of two things: glass or masks. These stores are every where!

San Marco is an amazing big square which the basilica (a big catholic church in layman’s terms) is located. We waited in the sweltering heat to get into this church; it’s free so it’s worth it. While standing in this line we noticed that you were not allowed in if you were wearing shorts or a singlet, so as Chris was wearing shorts we were worried that he may not get in, but we needn’t have been, for it was me they targeted. Apparently the dress I was wearing was showing too much skin and was inappropriate. Of course. It’s the first time I’ve worn a dress in years and I’m told I’m inappropriate. They didn’t turn us away though; instead we had to pay a euro for a huge paper napkin to cover my shoulders. Very appealing. We weren’t meant to take photos in here, but we tempted fate and did so, taking some blurry pics in secret.

We then ventured into the square where we both tried a new profession as “pigeon whispering” We stood in the middle of the square with our arms outstretched and pigeons from all around the area would fly in and settle around you, and some of the more gutsy, ballsy ones would perch themselves on your arms. We had a bit of fun doing this for awhile, despite the fact that pigeons are referred to as ‘flying rats’ here in UK/Europe.

It was getting warm now but we trudged on to visit the Rialto Bridge, which gives you great views of the Grand Canal. It is LOADED with tourists here, so packed that you can’t bring yourself to stay too long, other wise you go a bit crazy with the pushing and shoving that goes on, all the tourists vying for the ‘top spot’ for a shot.

After all this we couldn’t take the heat/tourists much longer and made our way back to the camp site for a swim. The water was sooooo good, it was so refreshing to just leap into the cool water, we spent awhile just bobbing about, relaxing before leaping into the spa for a while, then hop out and read by the pool before heading to the camp site restaurant that do really nice meals. A nice way to end a very busy, full on day!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 19, 2009 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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They say you should be careful what you wish for and now I know that that saying is really really true. I was woken by Chris grabbing me by the shoulders in order to wake me, this really really startled me, I awoke breathing crazily in shock/fear (it wasn’t the nicest way to be woken) and all I could hear was this crazy wind/rain/thunder and it was all so loud. Chris apologized for waking me in such a rude manner but said that he was going out to close up our window flap as the rain was beating in on us (I was sleeping through this) I said in a very groggy, confused manner “okay” and tried to get my head around what was going on. We were in the middle of the craziest, wildest, scariest storm I’ve ever be in.

The wind was blowing in this crazy way, there was rain just lashing down, thunder rumbling and cracking just above us and the lightening! Oh my goodness, it was so crazy, beautiful, terrifying! Normally I’m one of the first ones to be ripping open the curtains, standing on the verandah loving every moment of the storm and being disappointed when it’s over… but this one had me curled up in a little ball in Chris’ bed, wearing my thongs and actually whimpering and gripping Chris when the thunder rolled and lightening cracked. Every thing was a hundred times worse in a tent though, I felt so vulnerable and little and a ‘target’ in the tent. Then we looked down and noticed that it had begun to flood our tent. Now I was getting a little panicky, all our stuff was on the ground, our backpacks, our electrics, every thing. Luckily we had a few little bricks propping up our wooden floor so it ran under us, but I was watching it rise a bit by bit by bit, making me more and more nervous. Finally exhaustion caught up with me and I feel asleep (Chris was by now snoring away with his ear plugs in, bless him, dead to the world) however, I was awoken again when the storm started up again, just as crazy and mad.

This time I wasn’t able to fall asleep nice and easy as the tent opposite us, which was occupied by a single girl, decided to have a ‘party’ all night she had had an English man in her tent, they’d been talking, and judging by their conversation, were young, but they were harmless. But THEN. Two more INCREDIBLY annoying, drunk American guys joined their ‘party’ and began talking VERY VERY loudly, and about complete crap. I tossed, I turned, I realized I had a full bladder and had to face the storm, I found our rain coats and ran to the loo, I could hear this silly American talking his crap even 100meters away and over the incredibly loud rain, I went back to the tent and heard the next tent over, some girls who couldn’t speak English (bless them) going “SHHHHHH” loudly, but this American was oblivious to this. He wasn’t only loud, he loved to use the F word, Gordon Ramsey style, and his conversation was crap. I kid you not, these are just some of them: “Justin Timberlake is like the f-ing bomb. He can do f-ing everything. F-ing singing, f-ing dancing, f-ing acting, f-ing dating the hottest f-ing women, he is seriously like the hottest male f-ing bomb man” and “I look like f-ing John Belushi, I look like f-ing Sam wise f-ing gamgy from the f-ing Lord of the rings man” and my favorite “toy story is the f-ing best, it’s like a f-ing kid story but adults get it you know man? And honey I shrunk the kids, what’s up with that? That’s the f-ing bomb, I f-ing love love love that movie” This is the point where I got up and shined my torch into their tent and said in a very p-off voice “could you PLEASE try to keep it down, you are keeping people awake” There was dead silence before a very quiet “yes” and to their credit they were much much quieter, but I was still unable to fall asleep after this.. And then the rooster started. The bloody rooster. Then the planes started, and then I got up. Crabby.

So, after this we hung around the camp site for the morning, just taking it easy, having a lazy breakfast, and just trying to wake up. We caught one of the later buses into Venice where we wondered about, just taking in the sights, sounds and smells and relaxing by the grand canal in a little quiet spot and did some people watching (my favorite past time)

written by  Chris and Emily on June 20, 2009 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Before checking out though we brought an international phone card so that we could both call home quickly, it all seemed quite straight forward, swipe your card, dial the number, talk. Easy. Well, it wasn’t. I swiped the card, I waited for the dial tone, nothing. I tried again and again and again, I tried phone after phone after phone, none of which worked. I finally got a phone to work but ended up speaking to some Italian person who sounded just as confused as I was. Finally, after 20 minutes of trying I was able to get through to my parents for a very very quick chat to say that we were alive and well and where we were next headed, before ringing off and RUNNING to the bus that was waiting for us.

We found that the train station had luggage hold, so we dumped our bags here for a small fortune before heading off to see the city of Venice for the last time. We spent hours just walking, looking, observing, and sitting. It was nice and as it wasn’t toooooo hot it was bearable for us.

We hopped on our train at 9.30pm, another sleeper train that was meant to hold 6 in our cabin but we were pleasantly surprised to find it only contained ourselves and one other (a single New Yorker who was travelling by herself) we chatted for a small time before becoming so exhausted we fell into what we thought would be a deep sleep…

written by  Chris and Emily on June 21, 2009 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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At 3am we woke with a start as our carriage door was knocked upon quite harshly and a gruff voice saying “passports” We sat up groggily and fumbled for these in the dark. A very serious, stern looking man watched on as we did this and then, upon receiving them checked them very carefully, before handing them back just as gruffly. We had entered Slovenia on our way through. We began to settle ourselves back down but there was a commotion happening next door to us. Being slightly nosy and curious I peeked out our door. The carriage of Columbians next to us were being told by a VERY stern looking woman “luggage, you get off train” (to be said in your best Russian accent) The passengers were asking why, but the passport checker could not tell them, so the carriage attendant went to talk to them, and he was just as unforgiving/unsympathetic and said very simply “you do not have the right visa, you must take your luggage and get off at the next station” Well, there was a bit of a kafuffle, which is understandable, but they got off at the next station, some god forsaken small station in the middle of nowhere with their luggage at 3.30 in the morning. Not a nice time for them I imagine. This of course, caused for me to go “oh god, oh god, oh god, PLEASE let us have everything right… did we need visas?!?!” After a time we settled ourselves back down for the night, or so we thought. 4am comes and we are now visited by customs, with huge bloody great big Alsatians asking us if we have anything to declare. “No” we shake our heads, they ask for our passports, then leave. 5am, we are now entering Croatia, “Passports” says one, we hand them to them once more, they scan it, leave. 6am we are entering Hungary and once more it is “passports” but this time the man smiles and is pleasant saying “good morning” I wasn’t convinced that the day was off to a flying start, but I smiled none the less and agreed with him “good morning” then there was just one more passport check, where we were, what it was for, I’m not sure, but a lot of people saw our not so becoming passport photos that day. I think they identified with me and thought me as one of their own there for abit as my passport picture is horrendous! I look like a very stern prison escapee. My stern face in that shot would fit right in with their team of passport checkers; they couldn’t crack a smile if there life depended on it! The first lot of passport checkers had no sense of humor either. After sitting bolt up right and handing the man my passport I commented “well, I look nothing like that photo now” as my hair was everywhere, my face crinkled with bed creases, my eyes all blurry and puffy… actually, it was probably a far better look than my actual passport photo…

Tired and feeling disorientated we got off the train in Budapest and made our way to our hostel where we fell onto the beds thankful to have made it finally. We lay there for a time, Chris falling into a deep nap, omitting small snores from time to time (he only snores when very tired, it had been a long night) I played about on the p.c for a time before we made our way into the city centre which is all of a 5 min walk away to check out the city and see what was about.

There are many beautiful old buildings and bridges surrounding the city centre, and it seems quite open and spacious, you don’t get that horrible feel that screams “TOURIST TRAP!” here, it’s very pleasant. As we hadn’t planned to come here at all during our travels we didn’t know what to expect, but we have both been pleasantly surprised by the area. The city is actually divided into two sections due to the river. One side is called “Buda” and the other “Pest” in typical fashion; we are staying in the pest side, which is nice despite its name!

After a quick look about, a hit of caffeine we made our way back to the hostel where we got talking to a lovely Canadian called Janene, who is travelling about by herself for a time, we chatted for a long time and were surprised when we looked at the time and saw it was 12am, we then called it a night and went to bed FINALLY!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 22, 2009 from Budapest, Hungary
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We stopped for a quick yummy lunch, Hungarian salad and omelets and then joined the free walking tour. The tour was very good and very informative we learnt all about the history of Hungary, about how the country was formed, many invasions over the years and the most interesting and depressing history of 20th century Hungary I didn’t know that before the end of the first world war Hungary was much bigger and included parts of Austria, Romania and the Czech republic but after Hungary picked the wrong side in WW1 they were forced to give up a lot of territory. Then they picked the wrong side again in the Second World War after Hitler promised that they would get some of their lost land back. Once the Nazi’s started to round up all the Hungarian Jews and either through them into the Danube river that runs through Budapest or send them to Nazi death camps in Germany they tried to split from the Nazis and where promptly invaded and occupied by Hitler then in 1945 the Russians “liberated” them from the Nazi’s and of course occupied the country for themselves Hungary struggled under Russian cold war communism until 1990 suffering millions of it’s citizens being sent to Russian GULAGS and plunging the country into near bankruptcy a couple of times. So all in all a fairy depressing history lesson. The tour took us back across the chain bridge and back up to the castle so a hell of a lot of walking was achieved today!

After the tour finished we took Carlos who we knew from the hostel and was also doing the walking tour to see the parliament building a look for a memorial to the Jews that were drowned in the Denude in the form of lots of iron shoes by the riverbank. The Parliament was impressive and kind of like Westminster in a way with its Gothic jaggared towers. I thought it seems far too big for a country the size of Hungary but I guess Hungary used to be a lot bigger.

We went back to the hostel and I had a little bit of a snooze (Chris here by the way, we are on a train to Prague and I am catching up on the blog as Em is too tired) then decided at about 9 to go get some food. We ended up at a Chinese place and none of the staff spoke any more English than the word “chicken” so as you can imagine a great game of charades was carried out to work out what we wanted, this was followed by a dash through the rain back to the hostel and some well deserved sleep.

written by  Chris and Emily on June 23, 2009 from Budapest, Hungary
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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There were lots more rooms each with a different theme, talking about the 2 occupations in 44-45 by the Nazis and the Russians, about the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis and of the middle class by the Russians, about the gulags in Russia, the arrow cross political movement who were the Hungarian Nazi party. The last section of the museum was the basement, where they had re-created some of the cells that used to be there, the museum is in the building that used to be the headquarters of both the arrow cross and the Soviet secret police so it was the site of many people being held prisoner, tortured or even beaten to death! This gave the whole place a really eerie feeling!

Needing something more cheerful after the museum we headed up the Heroes square the nearby Turkish style bath house. Heroes square was amazing with heaps of statues represent 10 warrior looking Kings of Hungary and four horseman for the four tribes that originally settled Hungary I loved these statues and I think it’s probably my favorite monument so far.

Next to the baths, there are heaps of them all over Budapest; I think they started when the Turks invaded at some point. The place was HUGE with so many different pools of different temperatures from a chilling plunge pool at 18c to a almost to hot to get into 40c we stayed there for about 3 hours trying out lots of different baths but my fav part was whirlpool in one of the outside pools, they had strong jets sending the water around in circles and you could ride the current (with about 40 other people) for ages it was lots of fun!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 24, 2009 from Budapest, Hungary
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Back at the station (and safely avoiding the storm) we realized that there was a train leaving in a few minutes. It was a HUGE rush but we made it onto the 3pm train safe and sound and just in the nick of time.

Will write and let you know of Prague and its expensive tomorrow!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 25, 2009 from Vienna, Austria
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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As our train was now running an hour and a half late, we got into Prague at 10.30pm, and not only did we get in later but the train just stopped at some random station that was NOT the one we were meant to get off at. It was as if the driver just went “You know what? I’m beat, this is a good a place than any, I’m going to just call it a night at this station” I am thankful that this station was in Prague, but it still was NOT the station we were told it’d go to, and we did not have instructions on how to get to our hostel from here… things weren’t looking bright. We got off the train along with everyone else (who looked just as perplexed as us) and we went off to see what we could do about getting to our hostel. We looked about, avoided the huge puddles that smelt of nothing but urine (SOOOOOO gross, and smelly!!!) but could not see anything that suggested an easy way to move on, so we went and lined up in the information line, only to be told by the harsh woman in a gruff voice “not help you, he will” and pointed to a shady looking character who lurked near the counter wearing an official looking uniform. I have to say, I didn’t like the ‘feel’ he gave off, it was a little creepy, but we went and spoke to him regardless, asking him to show us on the map where our hostel was, we were happy to walk it… He shook his head and said “not on map, you will need to take taxi, it is far” and walked us to a taxi man, who, once told where we were going, through our bags into the back of his dodgy looking beat up automobile, opened the rusty, creaky doors for us and ushered us in. Chris and I were looking at one another, not sure, not feeling this was right, but going with it… The man took off at the speed of sound, our heads jerking back and me clinging to the door as we whipped around a corner. We fumbled for our seat belts, only to find there was no connecting clicky bit. In the dark Chris jabbed himself on something sharp down the side of the seat (no side effects as yet to anything, we hope it was nothing serious…) We drive past a dodgy looking part of town and my spirits were sinking further and further… then we hear it “tap tap tap tap, bang, bang” and I think “s#*t, this mans car is falling apart as we drive, and it’s on my side, I’m going to fall out of the bloody car, the door’s falling off or something!” and then it happens again, this time louder and Chris and I look at one another with serious “OH MY GOD” faces, thinking “we’re being shot at!!” but then, up in the sky, colors of red, blue and yellow are exploding, and we realize that for some reason, the dodgy part of town are letting off fire works (probably stolen and have to get rid of the evidence… sorry to be so cynical) Happy to be wrong in this instance we both breathed a sigh of relief and 2 minutes later pulled up at our hostel… and the cabbie asked for what was 70 Australian dollars for a whole 4 minute cab ride.

We were FURIOUS, not just at him but also at ourselves. We KNEW we shouldn’t have got in, but we did. We really have to learn to follow our instincts more. We gave him the money we had and then became even more angry as he made a big ‘show’ of trying to find the correct change for us as he claimed in broken English “I not have enough” and then short changed us. Bloody bloody BLOODY rude man!!! We were more than just a little angry. We left him in a furious state, at him, at one another and at ourselves. Not a nice start.

We climbed into bed and slept for a solid time before awaking this morning, where we then heard the news of Michael Jacksons death. I’m not a fan of the man really, I like a few of his songs and will admit that I thought he was quite a talented dancer, but the news didn’t shock me some how. Anyhow, it was an ice breaker for all of us in our dorm, we all got chatting and it was nice to meet the others!

We then went on a free walking tour of the old Prague city with an American guide named Ben. He reminded me of Chris Rock, the manner in which we spoke and the sound of his voice. He was very informative, funny and made history fun. Prague is an amazing old city with such history and charm. I have to say that back in the day I wouldn’t have gone to war against the Prague lot, they were crafty, ballsy fighters!

During WW2 there was news that the Germans were coming. They (the Prague lot) knew they couldn’t out number them or stop them easily, but came up with a quick “make -do –buy- us some –time” plan. They took down all the town signs and road markings that lead to the towns and cities and replaced them with another, a sign that read “Dubcek” So then, the Germans made their way into the towns, the Prague lot fleeing before hand the best they could, and the Germans were radioing one another “so, I’m in Dubcek where are you?” And the other would be saying “but we’re in Dubcek.” and the conversation would go on “well, you can’t be. Where are you? We’re by a river” “but we’re by the river, we can’t see you…” it caused HUGE confusion for the Germans all being at the same town, on the same road as one another but not being able to find one another. I thought it was a very funny, very bright plan by the Praguarians! Then as time went on and Prague went under the communist law there was a time when it was decided that the Prague radio tower must be brought down as it was informing the citizens of too much, so off a few soldiers went to do so. However, word had got out and a call was made for every man who was able, to go and defend this tower. So, picking up many many a lethal kitchen utensil the Prague people went off to the tower, where they defended it the best they could, in the end, the communists were holed up in the basement of the tower.

The tour was really great and really really informative. Our room mates were on this tour too, so, after this we all went over the Charles Bridge where we rubbed the lady statue that is meant to bring good luck, before going for a cheap lunch. The girls from Glasgow were all lovely and it was nice to meet them and have a chat before they caught there train to Munich that afternoon.

We went to the train station to book our next lot of train tickets to Krakow (Poland) and then JUMPED into the pool. It was SOOO hot today. Sweltering, sticky hot. The pool was so nice and refreshing! But, then as we swam in the (indoor) pool, a thunderstorm started and it POURED down once more. Typical Eastern Europe weather we’ve come to know.

Deciding to have a quiet night in as we have to move on tomorrow, we thought we’d make use of our ‘free welcome drink card’ that we received when we arrived, for the pub next door. We honestly thought to have the one and then be back to pack and sleep, but it didn’t work out that way.

We met a hilarious Australian bloke named Jack, who had us in stitches all night with his funny stories and quick wit and from here our new group of friends grew, meeting another beautiful Australian girl Bonnie and an amazingly gorgeous British lass Izzy. We had a lovely night, laughing, dancing, chatting, playing cards and drinking way too much beer, but it was FUN and it was just what we needed after our bad start to Prague!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 26, 2009 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We spent all day on the train again giving us a chance to relax and try to catch up on some well needed sleep, but with the seats not being so great, nor the carriage being so clean, we had trouble drifting off to nap.

After arriving, checking in (and finding that I didn’t have a bed for the night and would have to sleep on a mattress on the floor!) we head out to discover the beauty of the town centre, and it is not only beautiful, but it is also wonderful!

Cobbled streets, old churches and buildings surrounding the town square, little sparrows darting about in the sun set, old horse carriages the only mode of transport allowed in the square centre, and people relaxed and happy lazing about the many cafes that line the streets. It is so relaxed, I am so happy we came here!!

We walked about for a time before coming back and realizing that not only do WE smell from the lack of shower facilities all day, but our clothes also do and are need in of a wash. Thank goodness the hostel offers free laundry services!! (normally cost 10 Euros a load… that’s $20 Aus) so we whacked a large load on… and waited 4 hours for it to get done… and even then it was wet when we pulled it out! I just couldn’t be bothered waiting any longer, it was now 1am! Not caring any longer we stumbled into our dorm room and settled down for a nights sleep in one creaky bunk and musty mattress on the floor.

written by  Chris and Emily on June 27, 2009 from Krakow, Poland
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We went onto the castle that wasn’t as big or as impressive as I thought it might be, but I was told it didn’t have to be as it was situated on a hill and therefore it had its own natural defense, it didn’t need such huge walls etc.

We watched as a procession of police cars, limousines, and armed looking vehicles hurtled through the streets past us. I don’t know who was in the car but obviously someone vaguely popular and important I imagine. We walked through parks and watched as a plane flew low over head and we moved on to the shopping centre where we brought some essential summer clothing. We only have warm stuff and believe me; Europe does NOT require anything remotely warm this time of year, toooo hot here!

After a little shop we decided that as we haven’t had our hair cut in 6 months or more, we should really get it done. Both of us have long, straw like locks at the moment that is driving us mad. So, finding a hair dresser we went in and managed, through a lengthy game of charades to convey what we would like to have happen to our locks. Chris came away saying his hair dresser had been brutal on him and very very rough while I came away with my hair looking a tad shorter than I’d hoped, but lucky to have it at all as they were going to give me a fringe… noooo thank you! They were nice enough though and it was cheap so we shouldn’t really complain too much! Normally you’d get a cuppa and a mag while getting your hair done, they don’t do that here in Poland, and I didn’t ask as I thought the game of charades might take too long.

After dinner in a swanky traditional Polish food restaurant we made our way back to the hostel where, when watching the news, we discovered that the little plane we’d seen flying about the park we’d walked in early, had crashed and quite literally, burnt. Wow. So glad we weren’t there!! Very sorry for the pilot’s family, it’s awful news.

Have booked ourselves in for a tour of Aulswitch tomorrow. It will be hard emotionally on the both of us, but worth it I imagine. Will let you know!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 28, 2009 from Krakow, Poland
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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