Sand, steps and saying goodbye

Monday 16th August

Sunday was sunny and hot again so we went on the metro and another train to the beach at Roma, Lido Centro.  Walking from the train station we passed some very full beaches.  They all had about 50 feet of sand between the road and the sea, and they went straight onto the sand from the pavement.  We walked onto one part to be met by a 'Ciao' and a guy asking us for our tickets.  We left to find a 'free beach' and found it a bit further down the road.  We chilled and  sunbathed on the sand for a couple of hours, then went back to Roma for food and packing.

We went back to the Spanish Steps for the last time, after first eating down a side street.  There were two little restaurants on opposite sides of the street, both with waiters trying to get people into theirs.  We chose one and sat outside, as the waiters discussed us being 'bella English girls' not very subtley.

At one point a strange man stood next to our table in the street, looking at us.  The waiters all laughed and told 'Billy' to leave us alone, then told us he wasn't dangerous.

We went and sat on the Steps and enjoyed the warm evening whilst listening to music.  As we got up to leave, a group of people started chanting Spanish football songs and waving a Spanish flag.  People joined in and started clapping so we stayed for a while longer before finally walking back to the metro and back to our hotel.

This morning was an early one - alarms went off at 5am - and we were walking to the train station at 6 to get our bus to the airport.  We were served breakfast in a cafe by a woman who hated either her job, English people or both and waited to get on the coach.

We're in UK airspace now and should be landing in about half an hour.  It feels like the trip has gone so quickly but then looking back over everything it seems like we've been gone for ages!  All in all it's been an amazing experience and a fantastic adventure!

Stride like the rooster!

Pretending to be gladiators and getting lost in ancient Roma

Monday 16th August

Saturday dawned rainy, causing our hotel woman to apologise profusely.  Compared to Prague it was nothing, so we took jackets and got off the metro at the Colosseum.  We queued and queued and queued until we reached the ticket desks, when all queues seemed to stop meaning anything and it was more of a free for all.  There was a guy a bit ahead of us wearing what looked like a Roman toga, stripy dress affair.  We wondered if he was working or dressing up for fun.

We got in and promptly couldn't find the way into the main arena.  Eventually going through an exit we emerged into the rain.  The tour group game was on again as we dodged and tried to overtake people en masse.  For a while we couldn't figure out how to get upto the higher level of the arena, but after more walking and following confusing signs we found stairs.  It seemed to be warmer and less rainy at the top so we walked around it thoroughly.

It had mostly stopped raining by then so we headed out of the shelter of the Colosseum and over to the Roman Forum and Palantine Hill.  We walked all around the ruins and sat in the sun for a bit, listening in to English tour groups.

We ended our day by going to the Spanish Steps again to watch the world go by some more.  Before going back to our hotel we got snacks of pizza and chips from a little takeaway.

Stride like the rooster!

Spending a day with the nuns

Monday 16th August

Friday called for us to go out in 30 degree sun wearing jeans and tshirts, in order to get into the Vatican.  As we arrived we saw a huge queue snaking around the open space in front of the Basilica and joined the end.  We actually kept moving and were at security in about twenty minutes.  People were then getting turned away if they were 'innapropriately dressed', including a family who had decided to completely jump the line.

Once inside St Peter's Basilica we walked around and tried to avoid tourgroups.  Everywhere we looked there was another huge part in an alcove, or another side chapel; at one side there was a nun and a priest going into confessionals.  We had a bit of a ponder about who the Pope confesses to, and carried on.

We saw the Pope's tombs and then queued to go up the main dome.  The prices said that to walk it was €5 and for the lift up it was €7.  Looking like there were a lot of stairs we opted for the lift.  We then saw another sign further along that warned anybody who had the slightest ailments, or who wasn't an Olympic athlete, that there were 320 steps after the lift.  Turned out it is 551 steps without the lift.

After a lot of slightly concerned looks, the queue moved forward and we were herded into a lift, past families with young children whose tickets said 'on foot'.  Out of the lift we had a view of the Basilica from up high and the ant people below looked very small.

We hit the steps and strode up all 320 without too many stops.  At the top it was pretty crowded but the views were awesome.  We realised that we could describe each trip destination we had been well by it's roofs and layout - having been up something high everywhere.  Back on the ground we wandered around looking for the Sistene Chapel for a while before admitting defeat and asking a nun where it was. 

She directed us to the museum so we paid and followed more tour groups going through lots of amazingly painted rooms before eventually getting to the Sistene Chapel.  Everyone was looking around in awe and a uniformed man at the front was shushing loudly and telling everyone to be quiet.  We spent time looking around, craning our necks to see the ceiling and noting how it didn't look like there was a join of wall to ceiling - instead it just curved round.

After another quick walk around the outside of the Basilica we went back to the hotel to change into much less clothing.  We went out and over to the Castel Sant Angelo and found a market so we wandered around before going to eat - lasagne and pizza called. 

We ended our evening on the Spanish Steps watching people come and go, and getting in peoples' photos.  One man decided to tell Claire that she was clearly 'Britney Spears!' and then proceeded to sing 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' at her.

After a few hours and after the sun had set we headed back to the hotel.

Stride like the rooster!

Buongiorno bella Italia!

Monday 16th August

We got off the night train at Roma Termini station and wandered outside, armed with only a map from Google.  We found our hotel, even though Google evidently didn't deem half the road names worthy enough to be on the map.  We found the building anyway and met a maid who told us to go up to the third floor.  A tiny lift complete with old fashioned doors and gate took us up and we checked into our room. 

The owner of the hotel was a lovely woman who gave us a map and circled everything of interest, then told us the Vatican would be closed on Saturday and Sunday because it was a big holiday in Italy.  We decided to go the next day - Friday - and see all the major monuments the afternoon we arrived.  After showers and a change of clothes we went to buy a week pass for the metro - as recommended by our hotel woman. 

With only two metro lines it was very straight forward but for some reason all the signs were painted orange.  This did not become our favourite colour.  We hopped on at our stop - Vittorio Emmanuelle (an early Italian soldier) - and hopped off at Flaminio to see the Piazza del Popolo, and then walk down to the Trevi Fountain along Via Del Corso.

We threw coins into the Trevi Fountain and sat watching the world go by for a while.  We then crossed over to the Temple Adriano, which we walked past slightly by accident on our way to the Pantheon.

The Pantheon was very impressive and not too busy so we went inside and walked around, looking up at the huge domed ceiling.

Piazza Navona was next and we sat in the sun while Claire had gelati.  One half of the square was full of artists and stalls selling pictures, the other side of the centre fountain was emptier and just had tourists walking around.  The centre fountain is said to be the most beautiful fountain in the world.

We had been told to go to Campo di Fiori but it looked a bit empty, like a market had just been packed away.  We carried on to Ponte Garibaldi, a bridge crossing the river to the old part of Roma.  It seemed very quiet and a bit deserted so we didn't stay for too long and decided it was time to eat instead.  We ate in a small restaurant which advertised it's air conditioning.  After a while it did get slightly chilly and it was nice to step out into the evening sun once we were finished. 

We jumped on the metro back to our hotel for an early night in real beds again.

Stride like the rooster!

Overnight travels

Monday 16th August

We just took off from Roma Ciampino airport, heading for Liverpool.  It's strange being in the air instead of going through countryside on a train. 

Once we got on the train to Rosenheim it was a quick hour until we arrived.  Rosenheim station was, inevitably, under construction so it was a bit of a trek to the food shops.  We found McDonalds and feasted before making our way to the platform.  Our night train was due at 9:43pm and we were ready and waiting to go. 

9:43 came...and went. 

After a short burst of impromptu dancing, much to the amusement of the other passengers on the platform, the train arrived just after 10pm.  We clambered aboard and were directed to Cabin 9 in Wagon 255.  We knocked on the door when it wouldn't open and a man let us in.  We had the top two bunks of two 3-bed high bunkbeds. 

There were two men on the bottom bunks, one was from Malaysia, the other from London.  Both were getting off at Florence.  We didn't know if anyone would join us between Rosenheim and Roma, so we settled into our bunks and soon fell asleep.  It was surprisingly comfy, with plenty of rucksack space by our heads.  We set our alarms for 8am so we could gather our belongings and be in a fit state of awakeness when we arrived in Roma.  A woman came along to give us back our passes which she'd taken when we got on the train.  She greeted us with the news that two bags had been stolen in the night and that police were on the train arresting people.  A lovely welcome into Roma.

Stride like the rooster!

New friends, sherbet and a fortress adventure

Friday 13th August

After the Mirabell Gardens we headed back to the hostel and then walked over to the Old Town across the river.  We saw Mozart's birthplace, the Old Town Hall and generally walked all around the little cobbledy streets.  We saw the Marionette Theatre which was performing the Sound of Music, but it was a bit too pricey (and a bit too much Sound of Music for one day).  Instead we walked to Residentzplatz and the fountain there.  Also a location from the film, so more photos and us going 'ooh, they did this, that and the other here!'

We had been told on the tour to go up to the Museum of Modern Art on the mountainside - but for the view, not the actual art.  We did just that and looked out over the whole of Salzburg.  It was yet another amazing view and really showed how small the city is compared to Berlin and Paris.  We ate dinner in a little historical restaurant that had part of the original 13th century wall still intact.  After eating we headed back to the hostel over the Mozart bridge (also in the film).  We went to the bar about 8pm for a quick drink before bed.

After two drinks one of the staff came in and asked if there were any native English speakers.  A load of us all went over when he explained why - he wanted us to proofread new webpages for the hostel website.  In return, we'd get vodka.  I went up to collect some pens and pages to look over.  We were soon joined by a guy travelling on his own and we went through a few pages whilst talking about our travels and England and Manchester, bonding over Primark and the nightlife there. 

Once everyone was done we stood around talking as vodka shots were poured.  The staff guy took out sachets of sherbet and introduced us to 'vodka fizzers' - emptying the sherbet into your mouth then having the vodka shot.  Slightly nervously we all did it and the reactions varied from smiles to gagging.  It was a strange taste but chasing it with our original drinks helped a lot.  Two guys started singing 'God Save The Queen' - as you do - and we went back to our table with new drinks.  Our friend from earlier came back with the two singing guys, who were also from England - and a Spanish guy called Carlos.  We all chatted and had another vodka fizzer.  We were suddenly joined by another guy who plonked himself down and proceeded to talk at us for hours and take lots of photos. 

At about midnight the barmaid came over and said it was time she cleared the bar out.  We looked around and realised we were the only group left.  We moved next door to the dining room and carried on chatting for another half hour, until the two singing guys had to leave to get their night train.  We eventually got into bed and fell asleep at about half 1 after a greatly hilarious night.

Next morning we felt a little delicate but were looking forward to going to the fortress, which we'd been told was good in the bar.  After an amazing hostel breakfast of omelette with every possible filling, we walked over the river and through the Old Town again to the fortress.  We got on a funicular railway to the top and then walked all around the museums.  As we were walking through the courtyard we met the strange guy from the bar again.  After polite conversation we made our escape and proceeded to enjoy a game of Fortress Hide and Seek.

Our train wasn't til 7pm so we wandered around Salzburg and sat in the sun in the Mirabell Gardens until it was time to get our rucksacks from the hostel.  We were set to get a train to Rosenheim then a sleeper train overnight to arrive in Roma at 9am the next day.  We ran down a platform and jumped on an earlier train to Rosenheim.  We were on our way again.

Stride like the rooster!

The hills are alive!

Thursday 12th August

Our first day in Salzburg was met with sun and warm temperatures; we had arrived in the sun at last!  We got up early, had breakfast at the hostel and went out to join the Sound of Music tour we had booked on.  There were posters all around the hostel advertising it, so I wasn't embarrassed to say I'd been on it.  (Not that I would have been anyway!)

We met the coach at 9:30am, with a huge picture of Maria and the children painted on the side.  I lost count of the amount of people taking photos of the coach as we drove past.  We set off and our tour guide - a very camp man named Peter - told us about the history of Salzburg and bits about the film and where we were going.

After a short drive, our first location was the lake where the kids fall out of the boat.  Rising above us was the mountain the film was shot on - the Untersberg.  We took photos and didn't act out falling into the lake.  Back on the coach we drove to the Hellbrunn Palais and gardens.  It was all painted yellow, a colour which would have no doubt looked awful in England, but here looked sunny and fresh.

We went into the gardens and saw it.  The gazebo from 'Sixteen Going On Seventeen' and 'Something Good'.  It was locked because an 80 year old woman had visited some years before and tried to run and jump around the benches, as in the film...she ended up breaking her hip.

 

After a few photos we went back to the coach and were told we'd be heading out of Salzburg for our next stop.  As soon as we crossed the border out of Salzburg the bar opened and the soundtrack was played.  the views were much like those from the train with amazingly clear skies above. 

After a while we saw a lake with a small town on one side.  It was Lake Fuschl and it's town.  Some shots from the start of the film, and scenes with the children's Do Re Mi picnic were filmed there.  We couldn't stop as the coach was too big but we drove around very slowly instead.  It was so beautiful, all the houses - a lot of them 'pensions' (B&Bs) or with 'zimmer frei' (Rooms available) - had lots of flowers all over the balconies.  It looked very traditionally Austrian; people in lederhosen and long dresses were walking around and the views were just incredible.  We want to retire there.  They had little poles sticking out of the roofs, so that when it snowed it would melt slowly and not avalanche and hurt someone. 

We left Lake Fuschl and drove on to Mondsee, where the wedding scene in the church was filmed.  The church was also painted yellow - an Austrian favourite apparently.  The rest of the buildings in the small town were painted all different colours; blue, pink, pale green.  We had an hour to see the church, wander and have some food.  There were two gift shops, one selling really nice lace and handcrafted cuckoo clocks, the other the tackiest of souveniers, including all sorts of Sound of Music magnets and books.

Resisting buying a singing magnet, we got back on the coach and were driven back into Salzburg. 

On arrival back we were told to go into the Mirabell Gardens and see where 'Do Re Mi' was also filmed.  It was an amazing place, with flowers and pathways leading up to the Pegasus fountain, next to the ivory covered walkway.  Up some steps was a 'dwarf garden' with about ten statues of strange looking dwarves.  We spent some time taking photos and generally walking around before seeing the steps from the end of the song montage.  More photos and then onto the rest of the garden where we found the statues at the entrance and thus took even more photos.

Stride like the rooster!

A few lines from Salzburg

Thursday 12th August

We are now in Roma, but I'll go back to arriving in Salzburg and tell about all the amazing times there first.
We arrived into Salzburg on Tuesday evening, to a station under construction.  We've decided to call this the Summer of Construction in Europe - everywhere seems to be being done up!

We found the hostel fine and checked into our room, shared with a girl from Yorkshire, on from American and two from Australia.  We got settled and had dinner at the hostel.  The evening was spent in the bar, planning the next two days.

Stride like the rooster!

A chocolate museum and applauding a clock

Monday 9th August

We're on our second train of the day - technically our third, but second part of our journey - trundling along between Ceske Budejovice and Linz.  The views are amazing; miles and miles of fields and hills, trees, the odd house and sunny blue skies up above.  We have about an hour left on this train, then a forty minute wait at Linz before another hour long journey to Salzburg.  We're currently passing through forests of huge tall trees on each side.  This train might be slow, but the views are definitely worth it!

We got off our earlier train in plenty of time to get on this one.  As we pulled out of the station we had a quick nosey around our carriage and saw the guys from our compartment before sat behind us.  We said hi and all laughed, probably a bit too much for the hilarity of the situation.  It seemed to amuse our fellow passengers too, who shared nervous laughter.

Now back to Prague and yesterday.  I got out of bed, saw no rain and clear(ish) skies and decided it would be a good day.  After breakfast we got the tram to Wenceslas Square with the intention of buying new shoes in H&M.  However with the sun shining we decided they would survive and to save our money.  We had a wander in the sunshine instead, and walking into the old town again.  We were able to admire the buildings more in the sun so we were finally able to see and enjoy Prague.

We went to the Choco-Story - a chocolate museum which smelt amazing and the taster were yummy.  The shop next door, 'Rock Candy' sold all sorts of chocolate and rock.  Strawberries dipped in chocolate and a cup of drinking chocolate were ordered.  We saw lots of shops selling Russian dolls, some very expensive and fancy.  Then we came across Russian dolls with a difference...football teams!  They even had Stoke City! 

We walked around the square for a while, people watching and buying souveniers.  After a quick drink stop we joined the crowd in front of the astronomical clock. 

People started standing there a good twenty minutes before anything was going to happen; we strolled over with about five minutes to go.  We stood and watched to see the clock people move - mostly I wanted a replica for my room.  At the end everyone clapped and then went about their days again.

We spent a pleasant few hours wandering around the streets, going down any that looked interesting.  A quick nip back to the hotel to check today's journey details and then we headed out to Wenceslas Square again for the evening.  It was a lot busier by now and we walked up one side and down the other until we saw signs for 'Prague's biggest and best Irish pub'.  We followed the signs down the main road, off a street and round a corner and found 'Rocky O'Reilly's'.  It was cool, fairly quiet but serving food and cheap drinks.  It was just a lovely day of wandering in the sun, finished with relaxing in a busy square.

We've just crossed the Czech/Austria border.  This time there was actually an announcement, not just a wait for a text message.  The youth hostel is only a ten minute walk from the station so hopefully we should find it ok.  Sound of Music tour tomorrow - Claire thinks it will be all old biddys.  I said perhaps, and I kindof hope so too.

Stride like the rooster!

Language confusion and rail replacement in the Czech Republic

Monday 9th August

On a very rickety train so that's the reason my writing is messy. 
We got up half an hour late this morning so wolfed down breakfast and got to the train station just in time.  The train was already at the platform and looked worringly old and rusty, but we got on sortof excitedly.  The excitement heightened when we discovered the carriages were split into compartments, as in Harry Potter, with red leather bench seats. 

We found an empty one and got settled.  Two guys who were also going to Ceske Budejovice came along and joined us, and we chatted on the way to Olbramovice.  We couldn't figure out what language they spoke to each other, and assumed it was Czech.  At one point the ticket woman came along, so we showed her our passes and the guys showed her their tickets.  She spoke a lot of Czech to them very fast, and they nodded and agreed.  When she left we looked at the guys, waiting for a translation.  They laughed and said 'no idea what she said'.  We decided we'd just follow everyone else if anything happened.  At Obramovice people started getting off and then the woman came back along the corridor and shouted at us to 'change! autobus!'.  We followed everyone walking off the train and across the tracks to a convoy of rail replacement buses.

From a sign at the station we decided that the tracks were being redone.  They had started this project in August 2009 and planned to finish by 2013.  The bus only took us to the next station - Sudemerice u Tabora - and then we got on another train.  Again, after crossing the tracks, we found a compartment and all got settled once again.  We're running ten minutes late so we may be running to the next train at Ceske Budejovice.

I'll have to write the rest of Prague later, as this train is far too jumpy.

Stride like the rooster! 

Rain in a city in which we spent a lot of time confused and laughing

Saturday 7th August

I'm writing this in our hotel room, sheltering from the rain that started at 11am and ended 20 minutes ago at 6pm.  Absolutely chucked it down allll day - so much so that we had to buy full body rain manc in very attractive pink and turquoise plastic.

We arrived in Praha hlavni nadanri train station yesterday at 3:30pm to a rather overcast afternoon.  After getting off the train we and all the other interrailers went to the map of the station down some steps, as we couldn't see a clear exit.  The station appeared to be three floors, the top being the platforms and then below ground were the information centres and shops.  There was a red dot on the key to show where we were on the map, but no red dot on the map itself.  This was both hilarious and strange.  We wandered around for a bit and just as we thought we would have to live in the station until our train out of Prague, we found the international ticket desk.  Whereas everywhere else so far had had a nice desk with uniformed employees and computers, Prague had three men in jeans and t-shirts sat at tables.  Our conversation with the ticket desk man went something like this:

Us:  Hi, we're interrailing...
Him:  Hahahahaha.
Us:  Erm, yeah ok.  So we were wondering if we need any reservations on any of these trains to Salzburg? (show man journey details)
Him:  Hahahahaha no.
Us:  Oh, ok, thank you.  Do you have a map of Prague we could buy?
Him:  Hahaha yes, here you go.
Us:  Thank you.  Oh, can we get one of those maps of the tram system as well?
Him:  No, not from here.
Us:  Oh, erm, ok, where from?
Him: Hahaha *points into the far distance in no particular direction*
Us:  Thanks... *scurry off*

We managed to buy tram tickets from the tourist information point and found the tram to our hotel.  Arriving at our room on the third floor was lovely.  Finding a fridge, hairdryer, free towels and a kettle in the room was pure luxury!  We got unpacked, showered and ate before an early night ready for the rest of apparently hilarious Prague.

This morning, after having our lovely free breakfast, we headed out to discover Prague.  Overcast and grey skies greeted us, but we pressed on towards the old town.  Although we had planned to go straight over Charles Bridge and up to the castle, we kept getting distracted by the amazing architecture and shops.  We found a chocolate museum we decided to return to later or tomorrow.
After wandering around in awe we got to Charles Bridge just as it began to rain.  Being all English we chuckled at everyone panicking and buying umbrellas in the slight drizzle.  However by the time we got across the bridge it was definitely raining and we took shelter in a little baguette cafe.  We struck out again towards the castle in the rain, determined not to waste our day.

We traipsed  towards the castle gardens before realising we were at the wrong side to be able to get into the castle.  After more traipsing we followed a load of people up a load of steps to the castle at the top.  The view from the top was well worth the climb, but with it raining even more we ended up taking cover in a cafe bistro.  Unfortunately it began to rain even more heavily so we decided to make a run for it into the castle.  We ran through the rain, took some photos then ran between shelters around the outside of the castle.  The rain clearly wasn't going to stop so we hot-footed it down the hill, buying pink and turqoise rain macs on the way.
Laughing at ourselves and the situation kept us going until we got to a Starbucks where we bought traim tickets and sheltered again with hot chocolates.

Next, we got on a completely pointless tram and then had to walk because the one we wanted wasn't running for the part of the city we were in.  We finally found the stop and with soggy feet and dripping hair (but our senses of humour still intact) and soon arrived back at the hotel.  Hot showers were immediately in order, followed by a quick pop next door in our pyjamas for 20czk (80p) pizza slices.  We're now back in our room and have planned which tram to get tomorrow to go to Wenceslas Square.  Firstly to look at the marvel that it is, and secondly to go to H&M and replace our ruined shoes from today.  Let's hope for sunny skies!

(I forgot earlier but as we were waiting to cross a road to get to Charles Bridge a load of approaching cars were all honking.  We had no idea why but as they got nearer we saw they had ribbons on - part of a wedding procession.  Everyone waiting to cross the road clapped and waved and some people even took photos.  The people in the cars, including the bride and groom were all waving at us and it was very sweet and cheerful.)

Stride like the rooster!

A day of people-watching and a German theatre experience

Friday 6th August

On the train to Prague - it's out longest journey so far, being five hours and the longest either of us have spent on transport in Europe.  It's alright so far, nothing too exciting has happened.  We keep slowing to almost a standstill and then going again.

Yesterday was bright and sunny and we began our day with the Tier Gardens, to see the Victory tower.  However from quite far away we could see that it was covered in scaffolding.  Bit of a disappointment but we carried on to Museum Island, where there are four museums all next to each other. Beforehand we found a little outdoor theatre and, after some deliberation, decided to treat ourselves to the performance last night - 'Julia and Romeo'.  As we bought tickets the woman asked us 'You do know it's in German?'  We said that yes, we had assumed as much but that we knew the story very well. 

With our tickets bought we walked around the museum island for a while, had pizza and sat in deckchairs by the river.  We had some frozen yoghurt from a street stall and ate it sat on the steps on the Bode Museum, watching a photo shoot with a man in a suit with a trombone.  No idea who he was but I'm going to keep my eyes open for a CD of the guy.

The play was awesome - completely in German but we knew what was happening (most of the time).  There were a few times when everyone would laugh and we joined in, not knowing what was funny.  The theatre was really cool, all wooden and fairy lights.  The stage lights in the dark attracted fireflies which flew around the theatre the whole night.  I'd go see it again in an instant if I could.  All in all Berlin was interesting; lots of modern buildings that looked like spaceships next to the old architecture.  The history was really interesting, especially the information about the Wall.

Three hours left of this train journey now, so excited for Prague and the strange money!  Can't believe the trip's already halfway through - it feels really fast and also like we've been away and done so much for ages.

Stride like the rooster!

Being history geeks and surviving a bike of danger

Thursday 5th August

So we arrived in Berlin in the grey, cloudy afternoon.  The train station is huge - literally five floors with escalators everywhere.  We found an information point and talked to a very unhelpful man for a while before giving up and walking away.  As we did so we realised that he was a policeman, not a station employee.  First lesson in Berlin learnt.  We did then find the train information point and reserved seats for our 5 hour train to Prague.

We got an S-bahn to the road the hostel was off and found it alright.  We checked in and wandered around after unpacking a bit in our dorm.  The hostel is so nice, new and full of young people.  It has a bar, a gamesroom, an outdoor seating area and a rooftop terrace.  It's been awesome staying here - Salzburg's hostel has a high standard to meet!

We had walked past a food place on the way from the station to the hostel so we went back for some tea.  It turned out to be a healthy food place, and the soy bolognese wasn't quite as yummy as I was hoping.  We had a very early night as we were shattered, so after a cocktail we headed upstairs to bed.  We met a guy staying in our room but he left in the night while we slept.  The other roommate is an Irish girl a bit older then me who leaves on Friday.  We had another girl arrive late last night as us three were going to sleep and decide to have a very long shower and potter about for two hours before finally going to bed.

Yesterday was bright and warm and we headed out to see Berlin - thankful that it wasn't raining.  We went to the Brandenburg Gate first, which was massively impressive.  As always, we took lots of photos and walked around looking at people in old army costumes waving flags.  We found the fun bikes we had been told about and risked our lives for €1.  The bike was like eight bike seats sat around a centre circle which you held onto for dear life.  We were swerving around anything and everything in our way, which was fun when we were on the pedestrian area - more scary when we went onto the road and got shouted at by a van driver who nearly hit us.  Our steering man found this hilarious and continued along the road, swerving infront of various vehicles.  After surviving the bike of danger we walked through the Gate to the Riechstag.  It was very cool seeing it and remembering bits from History lessons about it.  (Geeky, I know) 

There was a huge queue to go in so although it was free we decided to give it a miss.  Instead we went to the Memorial for victims of the Holocaust where lots of big slabs of granite were arranged in different sizes to commemorate the victims. 

After wandering around them we went to find Checkpoint Charlie and came across a part of the Berlin Wall which is still standing.  Walking along was weird, thinking that not too long ago it divided people on either side.  Leading up to Checkpoint Charlie was a load of information about the Wall and it falling.  We learnt about all the people who had tried to escape from East to West and had been shot, and that the Wall's path was marked in the street and roads with different coloured stones.  Checkpoint Charlie was cool to see, if a bit mad with people trying to cross the road with traffic still going.

In the morning before we went to the Brandenburg Gate we also went on a boat trip around the River Spree.  It was useful to then know more about the places we were going to.  We seemed to find some sort of high view point in each place we visited and with the maps we had we were able to get a decent idea of the layout and size of the city. 

After Checkpoint Charlie we went back to the hostel and got changed for the evening.  We had heard about the TV tower during the boat trip, and kept seeing it during the day, so we decided to go up it.  We arrived, got tickets and a wait time of an hour, and went to find some food.  A nearby cafe offered schnitzel and chips so we stopped there.  I had schnitzel, which although sounded very German, was essentially meat in breadcrumbs.  It was good though, and great to attempt to order.

When it was time to go up the tower we went in and got in a lift which took us up 203 feet in 40 seconds.  The view was amazing and we found the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and the Cathedral all looking very small.

We headed back to the hostel to sleep, ready for a final day in Berlin seeing everything else.

Stride like the rooster!

Irish pub times and a very quiet town

Tuesday 3rd August

On the ICE train from Hannover to Berlin now, one and a half hours in a lovely big, comfy seat.  We're going quite slowly at the moment - hopefully we'll pick up speed soon.  Oldenburg was great; quaint and quiet - though this was mainly due to everything being closed on Sundays and the castle being shut on Monday.  Veronika met us off the train and we went to her apartment.  After getting settled we went to the Irish pub where Veronika works for her friends' leaving drinks.  The whole of the pub was completely covered in Irish posters, banners and memorabilia.  Irish songs were playing and the drinks were cheap.

(We are now travelling at 191 km/h - goodtimes)

We didn't stay too long in the pub as everyone was either tired or hungover from the night before.  Sven, the guy who was leaving, was very chatty and very drunk, and everyone else was really nice too.  One older man was a bit creepy - he was a pub regular that everyone else warned us against.  He showed us photos of his 'best, best, best friends' from Manchester and told Veronika he was looking for a daughter-in-law.  Needless to say we made excuses and got away from his drunkeness.

Yesterday we had a lie in and then went into the city centre.  We wandered around the shops, saw the castle and walked through the gardens.  All the buildings were painted in pastel colours which made the town look really pretty.  The buildings all had amazing roofs and gables, all different shapes and decorations.
In the evening we went to a cocktail bar where drinks were €4, and had a couple while talking and planning for Veronika to come visit us in England.

This morning we just got up and went to the station.  We said goodbye to Veronika and got into the most packed carriage in the history of train travel.  Luckily most people got off after half an hour so the rest of the journey was fine.
The train we're on now should get to Berlin about 3:30pm then we need to find the S-Bahn to get to our hostel.  The hostel website said it's cocktail night tonight, which could be fun.

Stride like the rooster!

Pancakes, chainsaw juggling and visiting Anne Frank

Sunday 1st August

We're on the second train of the day, from Hilversum to Osnabruck, crossing into Germany.  The reservation system is all out of order so everyone's just sat anywhere.  There's a fair amount of legroom on these trains - more so than in England!  It's a bit strange thinking that a week ago we were in London and now we're heading to our third destination.  We have a nice view of quaint Netherlands houses at the moment and listening to 'Train' whilst on one was just too cheesy to not do.

Back to yesterday and Anne Frank's house.  It was strange walking around the rooms with pictures of how they used to look, and the moveable bookcase was completely goose-bump making.  Overall it was good and interesting, and a definite must see if you have read Anne's diary. 

Afterwards we walked down the road to the Pancake Bakery, as recommended by Claire.  The pancakes were amazing, huge and with a massive list of fillings.  We both had lemon and sugar, mine with bananas and Claires with ice cream.  Mmmm...we've eaten a LOT of crepes and pancakes so far this trip.
As the weather was still a bit miserable we went back to the hotel to change and drop off what we'd bought, before going to Leidesplein on another tram.

As we got off we immediately saw a man playing an accordian at a bus stop, a busking area, some stalls selling bracelets and paintings, and a DJ behind a mixing desk in H&M.  We then saw a guy throw a bicycle up and catch it on his chin before juggling with a chainsaw, a machete and and an orange.  After wandering around for a relaxing while we headed to Dam Square for the last time to get some food.  We found a shop selling the 'best chips in the Netherlands' so I tried some with mayonaisse - the traditional condiment.  They were yummy, a bit salty for my liking but a decent amount for a couple of euros.  We walked back through the Red Light District and had lots of sleep ready for trains today.

We're nearly into Germany now, crossing the border at Bad Bentheim.  We're staying with Veronika in Oldenburg and I'm so looking forward to seeing her.  I'm expecting Oldenburg to be small and pretty and quiet.  It'll be good to have someone to show us bits and we might get a few cheeky drinks in along the way...

Stride like the rooster!

Mistaken identity and a chat with a fireman

Saturday 31st July

Yesterday we woke up to bright sunshine and the bells of the nearby clock tower - which chime every fifteen minutes between about 7am and 9pm.  After breakfast we went to Centraal Station and bought 48 hour tram passes.  This involved another ticket and waiting (thankfully only about ten minutes) for our number.  Armed with our passes and a rough idea of the tram system we got on one to the Vondelpark.  Claire was eager to show me this place, as she had been before.  After getting a tram partway there we were walking along when we came to a fire station with an engine and some firemen sat outside.  A woman and child were up the extendable ladder with one of the men, looking at the view of Amsterdam.  We didn't know if it was something anyone could do, but asked and were told we could go up next.  From the top we could see for miles and make out where out hotel was.  The ladder was slightly shaky but fun all the same, and the fireman told us a bit of fire info about Amsterdam - for example they average a fire a week.  It was a pleasantly random detour in our day.

We carried on to the Vondelpark, found the big I amsterdam sculpture and joined people taking pictures of it, in it and on it.  A group of guys were stood looking moody, like they were having their photo taken for a CD cover or something similar.  The park was fairly small with stalls and a cafe around a play area and a lage sortof pool of water that people were sat around. 

I had seen a film museum in the Vondelpark on the map and wanted to find it.  After pondering the map as we sat in the sun, we came to the realisation that we were infact not even in the Vondelpark.  We were in a small park next to it.  Claire's world was shattered at this realisation; I found it quite funny.  We walked across to the actual Vondelpark and it was like a smaller Central Park.  Lots of paths, grassy areas and statues.  We found the film museum and were tempted to go and see 'Casablanca' in Dutch but decided against it in favour of the sun and the Rijkmuseum.

At the Rijkmuesum we saw a lot of Rembrants, including his 'The Night Watch', which usefully came with sheets of information about who everybody in it was.  After walking around we left to get some food and found a little Italian-looking place across the road.  Pizza and spaghetti bolognese were ordered and we wolfed them down.  We got a tram to Dam Square where we got some chocolates and then walked back to the hotel through the Red Light District.  However it was still early evening so not much was going on.  We got changed and went out again a bit later.  This time we saw some women and were much more impressed with the atmosphere.  We walked through to Newmarkt where we ended the evening with a couple of glasses of lovely rose wine.

Today wasn't particularly sunny - more blustery and misty - but we headed out nonetheless.  We walked down to the 'Blumenmarkt' (flower market) and were able to see it in the morning before the tourists all descended.  Along the market was a shop which cheerfully proclaimed that it is only 147 days until Christmas.

It was very tempting to buy a load of flowers as they all looked so colourful and pretty, but we carried on past to get a traim to Westerkerk and Anne Frank's house.  With time to kill we went for some yummy bagels and then went on up the tower at Westerkerk with a guide who told us about the history of the area, and that students get free public transport for ten years!  Definitely an idea to propose in England!
The view from the top was amazing, albeit slightly misty, and we spent a while there taking photos and looking out over the city.  It had started to drizzle again when we had descended, so we took cover in a nearby bar and waited to go into Anne Frank's house.  it was a good job we had booked tickets online a few weeks ago because people were queueing down the road and around the corner.

It's getting too dark to see to write now in our room, as we have no light, so more tomorrow.

Stride like the rooster!

Canals, bikes and scaffolding

Friday 30th July

We arrived into Amsterdam Centraal station yesterday at quarter to three on a sunny afternoon.  We went to the international ticket poart of the station to ask whether we needed any reservations to go to Oldenburg.  We took a ticket and waited for our number to be called, much like in a shoe-shop or Argos.  There were lots of people sat around with rucksacks waiting and watching on woman in particular who apparently needed a 15 minute break for every 15 minutes she worked.  After an hour of waiting we got to a desk and the woman told us to take a different route out of Amsterdam - it turned out the train we wanted wasn't running on Sunday.  We then headed out to find the hotel.  Leaving the station we immediately saw a multi-storey car park - for bikes.  Hundreds and hundreds of bikes were parked everywhere!  We managed to avoid being hit by trams, bikes, cars and buses and got to the hotel.  We got our key to room 19 on the fifth floor and decided that we should be on the first floor by Rome.

We walked to Dam Square and saw the impressive Royal Palace completely covered in scaffolding.  There were, however, lots of people around and a 5-a-side football pitch set up for a Homeless Cup.  We wandered around and had some pizza before heading back to our hotel.

Stride like the rooster!

Fancy travelling and an encounter with a pirate

Thursday 29th July

Sat on the comfiest train in the world - the Thalys from Paris to Amsterdam Centraal.  We were the first people in our carriage and our first thoughts were 'This is it, we've made it, we're famous!'  and then 'If this is 2nd class, what's 1st class like??!'  The seats are huge, red and all cushioned.  We just passed into Belgium, with everyone getting texts at the same time from their phone companies.  Another two and a bit hours and then the Amsterdam adventure starts!

But back to yesterday and the surreal land of Disney.

We were on a train there at 8am, in the ticket queue by 9am and waiting for the park to open at 10am.  We started off on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, then went round the rest of the park, including a terrifying experience on the Thunder Mountain rollercoaster.  We met Pluto walking around and then stood in shock at the huge queues to meet the princesses Belle and Cinderella.  We left at 5:30pm after meeting Jack Sparrow - a fitting end to a brilliant but surreal day!

We packed all our stuff back into our rucksacks and found the train to get on this morning without too much trouble.  Bring on Amsterdam!

Stride like the rooster!

Seeing the sights and a surprise in a metro station

Tuesday 27th July

Today we managed to see pretty much all of this beautiful city - everywhere we wanted to anyway.  We allowed ourselves a lie in until 9am and then got up and made our way down the road to the metro station.  We metroed to the Bastille, where Claire was my history guide and told me all about everything that happened to cause the storming of the Bastille, the event itself and the consequences and aftermath.

We then strolled down to the Notre Dame, marveled at the huge queues of people to go in and took photos of the amazing architecture.  I wanted to go to the Shakespeare and Co bookshop so we got directed there by an informative French guide.  Full of old books and little bookshelves everywhere, the shop even had a wooden shelf ladder that was 'not to be removed from the French literature section'.

Luxembourg Palace and Gardens were next - Claire's choice.  It was a pleasant surprise but the gravelly paths gave us a not quite pleasant foot exfoliation.

We then metroed to le Tour Eiffel.  Claire thought we had arrived directly underneath it, until she realised it was just the underside of a bridge.  We walked around a corner, past lots of men selling miniature Eiffel towers '5 for €1', and saw it, rising above the trees.  The queues were huge so we sat on the grass infront of it for a while.  As we sat, several girls came over and asked if we'd take photos of them and then another girl asked if we could tell her how to get to the Champs Elysees.  We decided we either looked nice and helpful or very touristy and English.

Walking around the streets to get to the Arc de Triomphe ourselves was fun, as we got some free cherries from a French man who sold us some fruit from his 'fruits et legumes' stall.  With cherry stained hands we stood slightly nervously at the edge of the massive roundabout and watched as thousands of cars all swerved around each other.

We set off down the Champs Elysees, aiming to walk all the way down to the Louvre.  We popped into Louis Vuitton and had a gander at all the tourists, and the few people actually buying things.  Carrying on down the Champs Elysees, we seemed to be on the restaurant and hotel side.  This was good as we weren't tempted by shops, but we did want to eat everything we saw or smelt.  As time was getting on, we jumped on a metro to take us to the Louvre from halfway down the Champs Elysees. 

It was still fairly busy but we managed to act out the end of 'The Da Vinci Code' and Tom Hanks' deep thoughts at the pyramid.  A brilliant part of the day was when we got off the metro at the Louvre station and there was a little orchestra playing jolly music.  People were watching and clapping, and one old lady was actually stood conducting them.  She clearly wasn't part of the group, as they carried on without her onto the next song.

An early night was needed, as Claire's plans for us the next day involved an early morning, lots of sugary sweet brightness and thousands of children.  We were going to Disneyland.

Stride like the rooster!