Another year and another adventure has passed. In some respects Eurotrip 2.0 was better than last year and in others it wasn't. It's definitely hard to compare the two considering last year we had no expectations whilst this year there was a slight pressure to eclipse it. Firstly, I'd say that no matter where you go for how long it's a privilige to travel and see a completely different life, that in itself is an adventure and certainly something I'll carry on doing for life.
There were certainly more twists and turns in this trip than last, for example being stuck in a little place called Chambery was possibly the lowest point of the trip yet it was just one of those obstacles that life throws at you, how were we to know that Italian rail workers would be on strike when we wanted to go to Milan. Yet, the setbacks simply make the comebacks that little better, even when we couldn't find a night out in Milan every other place made up for it namely, Budapest and Krakow.
No matter how hard it rains or if you're too stubborn to pay 30 euros for a room there's always something to look forward to, for example bathing in hot springs in Budapest or a tram crawl in Krakow or even going to watch Hertha Berlin at the Olympic stadium even if the standard of football wasn't the best. All I know is that I'll never be bored of travelling and I'll never give up exploring.
On a side note, I'd just like to say that if some ofmy youtube videos reach over 100 or if this blog reaches 3000 views then I shall release an exclusive clip of Chris Loftus in his drunken state that will reveal a side that we've all known was there but for some of you have never seen it.
The plans for next year are plentiful, another Eurotrip? Or possibly a visit to the Far East, everyone rages about Thailand and Vietnam and after a few friends have been it's definitely a possibility. Plus, I've always wanted to do Camp America as you get the opportunity to travel after, even if it means I go solo and meet random people to go travelling with. Beyond that, the Northern lights, Machu Picchu and Amazon rainforest are just three places I want to go the latter most importantly because who knows how long it will be there.
I know I ramble on about hopes and dreams of travelling afar and a part of mean wishes I could just be a travel writer, but I'd like to just take a minute out of the mayhem in my head and dedicate this post to Thomas Browne an old school friend from little school who tragically lost his life whilst I was away. It's scary that someone your own age can be snatched away like that and my heart and thoughts go out to all his family and those around him. I know the pain and heartache of losing those around you and although it comes to us all, he was certainly too young to leave us.
So, if you're ever sat there complaining how you can't get abroad and enjoy the sun then just take a minute and think how lucky we are to just experience the familiar surroundings about us.
Thanks for reading and keep posted for next summers adventure.
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Friday, 12 August 2011
Back to Delerium
Brussels was the one place I wanted to go on the whole trip, not for the fantastic sights or great people but simply because of the beer. Having worked in a beer restaurant and tasted so many different beers it's no surprise that I wanted to visit here, home to Delerium Tremens cafe with 2004 different beers. However, unlike my counterparts I knew what 10% can do and so when they started ordering in the pints I simply sat back and watched the drama unfold.
We got to Brussels pretty late so we just caned the bar and stumbled back to the hostel which was literally 5 minutes away fortunately. Although the hostel was far from quiet due to a certain Phil Crawley spewing up his guts all over his bedsheets which I duly cleaned up for him whilst I writhed in pain in bed. True friendship.
The next full day took us until about 3 to rise due to griminal hangovers but we managed to fit in a visit to The Atonium, Brussels most famous modern attraction and a European landmark. It really is immense in its whole architechure as it really is just a giant atom with exhibitions and a restaurant in each little ball atom thingy, yeah I flopped chemistry, evidently. We took a little walk around the surrounding areas and attempted to find Tutankhamun as some poster said he was in town, but to no avail we couldn't find any sign of him.
The last night of Brussels and of Eurotrip 2.0 was spent inevitably in the Delerium cafe but this time we spent time in each floor and funnily enough the Brussels bar crawl bounced in, thank god we didn't go in it, I'm sure you can guess why. Midway through the night we ventured to Grand Place, a nice prestigious open square to spark up Carneys Monte Cristo cigar to mark the trip and show just how far we come. It was rather fitting that since he bought it in Brussels a month prior to the trip that it return there to be smoked by each of us and enjoyed thoroughly just like Eurotrip 2.0
Again, the night ended with someone throwing up, this time it was Chris Loftus and Leo Chen, check out the youtube page for an exclusive video of the former struggling in the toilet. Considering there was one other girl in our room who must have hated us for our antics and one big Purple Aki next door who complained, we were thankful that neither kicked off once more.
Sadly, we were rudely awaken to check out at 11am and so spent the whole day sitting in the sun eating, drinking and waiting for the sad flight back. Homesickness is all mental and I can genuinely say that given the money, I would have carried on travelling, but this has been another amazing trip with people who I consider brothers and next year will definitely be a step up to conquer the wider world.
Watch this space.x
We got to Brussels pretty late so we just caned the bar and stumbled back to the hostel which was literally 5 minutes away fortunately. Although the hostel was far from quiet due to a certain Phil Crawley spewing up his guts all over his bedsheets which I duly cleaned up for him whilst I writhed in pain in bed. True friendship.
The next full day took us until about 3 to rise due to griminal hangovers but we managed to fit in a visit to The Atonium, Brussels most famous modern attraction and a European landmark. It really is immense in its whole architechure as it really is just a giant atom with exhibitions and a restaurant in each little ball atom thingy, yeah I flopped chemistry, evidently. We took a little walk around the surrounding areas and attempted to find Tutankhamun as some poster said he was in town, but to no avail we couldn't find any sign of him.
The last night of Brussels and of Eurotrip 2.0 was spent inevitably in the Delerium cafe but this time we spent time in each floor and funnily enough the Brussels bar crawl bounced in, thank god we didn't go in it, I'm sure you can guess why. Midway through the night we ventured to Grand Place, a nice prestigious open square to spark up Carneys Monte Cristo cigar to mark the trip and show just how far we come. It was rather fitting that since he bought it in Brussels a month prior to the trip that it return there to be smoked by each of us and enjoyed thoroughly just like Eurotrip 2.0
Again, the night ended with someone throwing up, this time it was Chris Loftus and Leo Chen, check out the youtube page for an exclusive video of the former struggling in the toilet. Considering there was one other girl in our room who must have hated us for our antics and one big Purple Aki next door who complained, we were thankful that neither kicked off once more.
Sadly, we were rudely awaken to check out at 11am and so spent the whole day sitting in the sun eating, drinking and waiting for the sad flight back. Homesickness is all mental and I can genuinely say that given the money, I would have carried on travelling, but this has been another amazing trip with people who I consider brothers and next year will definitely be a step up to conquer the wider world.
Watch this space.x
Monday, 8 August 2011
That green haazzeee
After being destroyed from the pub crawl it was a miracle that we all rose at 8am to catch our 9:30am train here to Amsterdam, already we've experienced the best sweets on offer (appropriately changed for our younger readers). Again, once we stepped off the tram to our hostel... the Geordies were there and then once we stepped into KFC after our first round of sweets... the Geordies were there, somehow us bumping into them seems like no coincidence. I think it's safe to say that everyone's enjoying the dam considering everyone's still tucked up in bed. Leo on the other hand has had another hiccup, losing his bank card and drivers license and uni card... he really is challenging Victor here.
As for the two and a half days spent in Amsterdam, they truly were just complete bliss chilled out with our sweets whilst Britain riots and stock markets fall we were just sitting back and enjoying the laughs, hard to beat. Apart from Leo who had to go and sort out his bank card we had all visited Amsterdam before and so we never really made it to see anything other than sweets. A few of the hazy highlights I can recall include:
- Carney realising that Richard Gere loves his ladies of the night due to all of his films having some sort of connection to them
- Shaun, our Geordie friend demonstrating the finest arm curl/stretch the world has ever seen whilst on sweets and of course sleeping with one eye half open
- Phil having to prove ownership of his backpack by revealing he has a book called Sophie's World to which the whole group fell into fits of laughter in response
- Eating twice my body weight after visiting KFC, Maccies and Burger King all at least twice along with FEBO and their devilishly convenient coin operated food dispensers, also in the frame was New York Pizza slice and countless kebab houses, Amsterdams finest cuisine definitely.
Amsterdam is a beauitful place and no not just for the sweets, plenty of history is there and there's a host of different people there to meet. Despite not visiting anything remotely touristy apart from the coffeehouses it is a place that I recommend everyone goes especially anyone who is 18 or over because new laws come in prohibiting sweets to tourists next year, get there quick.
Onwards to Brussels, keep watching.x
The Geordies are following us....
I haven't forgotten about this blog it's only that since Krakow everything has pretty much been a blur. Firstly, we had to make our way to Berlin which involved a 05:30am change but which later on turned out to be 08:30am and so after travelling for a full 24 hours from hostel to hostel we were well and truly knocked out for the night.
Having completed the same walking tour in Berlin to see the historical monuments on offer we ventured to Magnet club in the heart of east Berlin, where we met our Geordie friends. I don't think I've explained this possibly but we met some Geordies in Budapest... and then Krakow... and then Berlin... and now Amsterdam. Fate seems to like playing with us both as we keep on bumping into each other throughout Europe, wierd. Anyway, we spent the night there representing the best shapes of the land, the second day was spent moving hostels as we were unable to get to Hamburg so an extra two nights were forced upon us in Berlin, oh no.
This gave us a great chance to explore a bit more of Berlin and our new hostel was in the best location possible, a nice little park with plenty of cheap places to eat where everyone and I mean everyone carried a drink about, no matter if they were going to work, do the laundry or pick up the kids everyone carries a drink around, not a bad place to be at. Our final day and night consisted of us going to watch Hertha Berlin vs FC Nuremburg at the Olympic Stadium. Tickets were only 17 euros and despite having a track around the pitch the atmosphere was incredible and so were both fans, however the standard of football wasn't great so everyone focused upon drinking and a fat bratwurst. After watching Hertha Berlin go 1-0 we went straight to the pub crawl to revisit so old haunts of last years ventures. The highlight of the night was seeing Seline, our tour guide from last year, of course she was extremely hesitant when 6 scousers approached her all knowing her name, it sounds wierd yes but she was a great tour guide as Gary and Victor may recall and so we only too eager to sing her praises. The night was epic and messy with Breakfast Unfortunately making their first true appearance and demanding parties upon every dancefloor and the crowd loved it.
Berlin was great to us and it's definitely up there with Barcelona as somewhere to live later on in life, let's see how Amsterdam matches up. Keep watching.x
Having completed the same walking tour in Berlin to see the historical monuments on offer we ventured to Magnet club in the heart of east Berlin, where we met our Geordie friends. I don't think I've explained this possibly but we met some Geordies in Budapest... and then Krakow... and then Berlin... and now Amsterdam. Fate seems to like playing with us both as we keep on bumping into each other throughout Europe, wierd. Anyway, we spent the night there representing the best shapes of the land, the second day was spent moving hostels as we were unable to get to Hamburg so an extra two nights were forced upon us in Berlin, oh no.
This gave us a great chance to explore a bit more of Berlin and our new hostel was in the best location possible, a nice little park with plenty of cheap places to eat where everyone and I mean everyone carried a drink about, no matter if they were going to work, do the laundry or pick up the kids everyone carries a drink around, not a bad place to be at. Our final day and night consisted of us going to watch Hertha Berlin vs FC Nuremburg at the Olympic Stadium. Tickets were only 17 euros and despite having a track around the pitch the atmosphere was incredible and so were both fans, however the standard of football wasn't great so everyone focused upon drinking and a fat bratwurst. After watching Hertha Berlin go 1-0 we went straight to the pub crawl to revisit so old haunts of last years ventures. The highlight of the night was seeing Seline, our tour guide from last year, of course she was extremely hesitant when 6 scousers approached her all knowing her name, it sounds wierd yes but she was a great tour guide as Gary and Victor may recall and so we only too eager to sing her praises. The night was epic and messy with Breakfast Unfortunately making their first true appearance and demanding parties upon every dancefloor and the crowd loved it.
Berlin was great to us and it's definitely up there with Barcelona as somewhere to live later on in life, let's see how Amsterdam matches up. Keep watching.x
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Tony Soprano & Tram Crawls
The plan was to stay in Krakow for only two nights, but after the first night we realised what an amazing place this is and that another night is required. Krakow has been pretty impressive, it's smaller than Warsaw but has so much to offer. The stereotype of Poland as an eastern european country doesn't count for anything, instead we've found it's one of the friendliest cities with a great atmosphere and cheap cheap prices. The vlog will show just how much you can get for your moneys worth.
As for the first night we found our first pub crawl... which turned out to be a tram crawl... We had a power hour in the first bar with shots and pints getting thrown around for a full 60 minutes. Then we descended onto a two carriage tram which circled Krakow for an hour or two, it had an onboard disco and smoke machine and with 100 people crammed together we all learnt to make some friends. The night ended up back in the same bar but it opened up a club floor upstairs so that we could teach the Polish what real shapes look like.
After the dirtiest of hangovers we simple ate the cheapest Maccies 4 quid for a large meal (best way to gauge the value of the currency). We ended the night by going to Pod beer restaurant, where the portions were huge and the prices outrageously small. Here, we met no other than Tony Soprano ok maybe not actually him but the Canadian version, he was a sight to behold and easily commanded the attention of every single waitress in the house having saluted Carney for his half chicken and Officers platter shout, he bid us fair well to go and sort some business...
Being on the Eurotrip I wasn't really planning on visiting Auschwitz, but since we were so close it had to be done. None of us were really prepared for it, the camp itself was split into three but we were only allowed to visit two. First, we visited the actual camps, Auswitchz-Birkenau itself and the iconic gates where the trains took everyone through, it was a pretty harrowing sight in all fairness to see how vast it was and just what people suffered. The second site itself Auswitchz 1 included the museum which put everything into context. Each building contained a different topic and some of them really hit home of the suffering of those there. We were allowed to enter one of the gas chambers which just gave me the worst chills throughout my body, to see the room where so many people died was just spine chilling, especially to see nail marks on the wall where they had tried to scratch their way out, for me I couldn't stay in there long with the whole silence of the building eating away at me. The worst thing for me personally was seeing the belongings of all those lost piled up, with countless shoes and glasses all on display, even infants clothings stacked so high it's impossible to estimate. Although it was a pretty somber moment it's something that I urge everyone to do in their lifetime to realise some of the worlds atrocities and give us a greater perspective of ourselves considering what those people endured.
Onwards with Eurotrip and we now march back to Berlin for a great return after last years antics. Another sleeper train... with no reservations and a change at 5am, never a dull journey in Eurotrip.
Keep watching.x
As for the first night we found our first pub crawl... which turned out to be a tram crawl... We had a power hour in the first bar with shots and pints getting thrown around for a full 60 minutes. Then we descended onto a two carriage tram which circled Krakow for an hour or two, it had an onboard disco and smoke machine and with 100 people crammed together we all learnt to make some friends. The night ended up back in the same bar but it opened up a club floor upstairs so that we could teach the Polish what real shapes look like.
After the dirtiest of hangovers we simple ate the cheapest Maccies 4 quid for a large meal (best way to gauge the value of the currency). We ended the night by going to Pod beer restaurant, where the portions were huge and the prices outrageously small. Here, we met no other than Tony Soprano ok maybe not actually him but the Canadian version, he was a sight to behold and easily commanded the attention of every single waitress in the house having saluted Carney for his half chicken and Officers platter shout, he bid us fair well to go and sort some business...
Being on the Eurotrip I wasn't really planning on visiting Auschwitz, but since we were so close it had to be done. None of us were really prepared for it, the camp itself was split into three but we were only allowed to visit two. First, we visited the actual camps, Auswitchz-Birkenau itself and the iconic gates where the trains took everyone through, it was a pretty harrowing sight in all fairness to see how vast it was and just what people suffered. The second site itself Auswitchz 1 included the museum which put everything into context. Each building contained a different topic and some of them really hit home of the suffering of those there. We were allowed to enter one of the gas chambers which just gave me the worst chills throughout my body, to see the room where so many people died was just spine chilling, especially to see nail marks on the wall where they had tried to scratch their way out, for me I couldn't stay in there long with the whole silence of the building eating away at me. The worst thing for me personally was seeing the belongings of all those lost piled up, with countless shoes and glasses all on display, even infants clothings stacked so high it's impossible to estimate. Although it was a pretty somber moment it's something that I urge everyone to do in their lifetime to realise some of the worlds atrocities and give us a greater perspective of ourselves considering what those people endured.
Onwards with Eurotrip and we now march back to Berlin for a great return after last years antics. Another sleeper train... with no reservations and a change at 5am, never a dull journey in Eurotrip.
Keep watching.x
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