By David Press on
1/16/2011 3:11 AM
 With our journey in Czech Republic sadly over with, we ventured our way via overnight train (thankfully with a bed this time) into Poland. Krakow (pronounced Krakov) was our destination and having heard so much about the place from friends, we were pretty excited.
The city is one of central/eastern Europe's more beautiful cities, largely due to the fact it was largely untouched from the air raids of WW2. Unfortunately the Soviet Union thought it a great idea to industrialise the city in an attempt to remove the threats of uprisings, however that idea failed. The major downside being that the whopping big steel plant resulted in massive pollution and acid rain which wreaked havoc with the old buildings and health of the city's inhabitants. Thankfully that's all in the past and now Krakow is back to...
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By Jess Williamson on
1/6/2011 2:37 AM
 After a tip off from one of Dave's mates we headed to a town called Cesky Krumlov, 3 hours south of Prague. When we got there, what looked like an easy short walk to the hostel, turned into a long frustrating adventure (as Dave put it, not sure if 'Adventure' was what I was looking for at that time of night). Dave was adamant he knew where he was going, so who was I to question. The route took us slightly cross country (not what the map said) and resulted in me slipping in the thick 20cm plus snow and down a small hill with my backpack on. Dave thought this was hilarious especially as I couldn't get up. Anyway freezing cold and a while later we found the hostel thanks to a tip off from a local. So to recover and thaw out we enjoyed a few drinks by the fire and a lovely meal at the restaraunt, adjoining our hostel – Hostel...
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By Jess Williamson on
1/2/2011 11:39 PM
 First of all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone back home and fellow travellers. I hope the new decade has started well for everyone and you all brought in the new year with a bang. Thinking of you all back home over the last few weeks and missing you all. I cant believe we have been away for 3 months already.
So after a long overnight 15 hour train ride from Belgium we arrived in Prague. We always swear whilst on the train that we will never ever do overnight trains again, but being suckers for punishment we always go back on that statement. The overnight train was definitely an experience. As we left booking tickets till the final minutes all that was left was seated tickets in a cabin of six. Dave and I had to two middle seats nestled in amongst a chain smoker, some horrible body odour and someone who liked to stretch out over two seats when sleeping. So 4 hours later that we were meant to, extremely over tired and starving, we arrived at Praha Central Station a tad grumpy. ...
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By David Press on
12/22/2010 12:08 AM
 Well we've been moving around like crazy of late and apart from barely contacting anyone, we've also not written any blogs. My apologies for the lack of updates, but sometimes having fun just gets in the way.
Having spent some time in Amsterdam, we caught the supposed direct train to Brussels, which turned into a nightmare. A disruption on our line meant we ended up making 5 connections on what was meant to be a short and direct train ride. Eventually we made it into Brussels and caught up an with old mate Woollard. Noel was in town checking out some work prospects and through some late planning managed to book into the same hotel as us.
A nice meal was had in down town Brussels before heading to bed...Noel was feeling under the weather and Jess and I pretty exhausted after our stressful travel...
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By David Press on
12/8/2010 3:06 AM
 Having travelled through some of Germany's most beautiful regions, we hopped on an Intercity Express train to Amsterdam which was made all the more pleasant by the company on board. We met a young German musician who travels the world playing the trombone and studies in Rotterdam. He was a real gentlemen and the conversations made the time fly past. Before we knew it we were in Amsterdam with a myriad of expectations running through our heads. For what is often touted as a seedy city, the greeting was pretty pleasant. Maybe it's the canals or the buildings, I'm not sure to be honest, but the city is quite beautiful and definitely worth adding to any Euro Trip itinerary.
After much persuasion I convinced Jess to stay on board a boat rather than a traditional hostel. Threats were abundant on the walk to...
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By Jess Williamson on
12/7/2010 1:52 AM
The land of the beer!! Well so they claim. Having travelled through Europe there seems to be a lot of European cities that try claim this. Random fact Number 1: In Munich it is legal to drink a stein of beer and still go to work .... slightly scary!
When we first arrived at our hostel, I was slightly put off as nestled between strip clubs, casino's and seedy sex shops was our hostel. Interesting location but it seemed this was the place for all hostels and in hindsight was reasonably good location (Not for that reason).
First on the itinery was the Free Sandeman Walking Tour in Munich which are run thoughout Europe in various cities, and rely on tips (If you think its worth it) as payment. Excellent way to get your bearings in a new...
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By David Press on
11/24/2010 7:57 PM
Having finished our stay in Vienna we couldn't see how anything could possibly top what where we had just had the pleasure of staying, and to be honest we still haven't topped it, but the rest of Austria has proven to be just as good. We took a short train ride to north west to Salzburg only to find out that we were visiting the picturesque region in which the Sound of Music was filmed. Now if I sound slightly dismayed by the fact, it might have something to do with the fact our hostel played it every morning and Jess didn't stop talking about it. It did however mean we were guaranteed some pretty amazing scenery.
Our stay was only short so we got to it pretty quickly with a stroll around the tight walking lanes in the main part of the city. The city is surrounded by hills and has a crystal clear, albeit extremely...
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By David Press on
11/24/2010 1:00 AM
 During a recent discussion with a fellow traveller the topic of first impressions of people and cities came up. The common quote, “you only get one first impression” was thrown about and a conclusion made that, like people, our first impression of a city is often the one that lasts. Our arrival in Vienna, Austria is a testament to that, we arrived, judged our new place of temporary abode and have been sentenced to a life of love for what is my favourite city in Europe (thus far at least).
On arrival I did my best to get us lost yet again (I have no idea what has happened to my sense of direction) and were saved by a very friendly and helpful info/security guard at the train station. Our tickets purchased for us (we did pay though) and we were on our way into the main part of the Vienna. It took...
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By Jess Williamson on
11/12/2010 3:59 PM
 Well I must first apologise for the lack of updates recently. We have been way to busy playing tourist and partying that havent had spare sec to write a blog.
So last post was Ljubljana .....We were really stoked when we went to the train station in Ljubljana and found there was a special on all tickets to Budapest (Half price in fact). However half way through the trip we were questioning our decision when we were told to get off the train and board a bus. (It was meant to be a no transfer, direct train to Budapest). As we didnt understand any of the language, we just followed the pack, boarding one bus then another., getting quite frustrated and annoyed. Anyway we eventually ended up on an even older rackety train which took us to Budapest. And to make the trip even better the teenagers in front of us were listening to Justin Beiber a few decibels too loud. Just the music you want after the terrible travel day we had. ...
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By David Press on
11/5/2010 3:27 AM
 Well it's been a while since I posted on our travel blog, but I can't say I'm too sorry for that, as it really has been a case of the two of us being far too busy having a great time doing things slightly more exciting than typing away on our trust travel laptop (which on that note is an Asus 1005...it's absolutely perfect for travel).
After a few days in Zagreb in the awful hostel we were stuck with, we caught the train north east to the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. We lodged in at the Celica Hostel after a quick walk from the train station, having read some great reviews on Hostel World and the trusty Lonely Planet. This hostel is not your run of the mill youth hostel, it is a former military prison renovated for hostel use, with each private room decorated by a different local artist. Additionally the location is the heart of the alternative and arts district of Ljubljana. Celica hostel has become a tourist destination of its own and hosts functions and lunches almost daily, along with tours of the cells/rooms that are vacant. The atmosphere is brilliant all day long and breakfast is a handy bonus every morning. ...
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