We were so excited to start the French leg of our journey – bread, cheese, wine, pastries and the freedom of a car for the first time in almost 3 months – wouldn’t you be excited?!

It took us a solid 9 hours to get to Lyon, but the trains were comfortable and we had plenty to distract us what with all our snacks, books, music and card games! Not to mention that train wasn’t even full so we were able to stretch out and relax…  Life’s little luxuries.

Once we got to Lyon and dropped our bags off at our accommodation, Roisin (who has thankfully become the official restaurant picker of the trip) found this delicious little Japanese restaurant just a few corners away. They had a huge selection of sushi and other delicious treats (gyros are quickly becoming one of our favourite food groups). We enjoyed the excellent, friendly service, plenty of wine (yay French wine!) and even helped sing a round of happy birthday to someone at the table behind us while we watched the masters prepare our food.

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After having thoroughly enjoyed our meals last night and even treated ourselves to a sneaky lie in (who are these new and revitalised people??) it was time to run a few errands this morning – like do our washing (we were all a bit stinky after the Oktoberfest experience, which I am sure is really no stretch of the imagination). Once everything was smelling lemony fresh again it was time to explore Lyon – the 3rd largest city in France! Our hotel concierge advised us to go down the street and catch the bus into town. Now I am not entirely sure what made us believe her, as she has only an hour or so earlier lead us up a garden path while trying to find a laundromat, but clearly we had not learnt our lesson. We waited ages at the bus stop, and when the bus finally did arrive and we navigated ourselves to the correct location we realised it would have been super easy to just catch the metro (perhaps we were not that new and revitalised after all). Once in the centre of Lyon, all our negative thoughts fell away as we walked around this diverse city filled with outstanding museums, a dynamic cultural life, a thriving university, fantastic shopping and some of the most fabulous gastronomic experiences in France.

We walked by the striking Opéra de Lyon and ended up on the banks of the Saône river, where we managed to catch the end of the Marché de l’artisanat et des métiers d’art and meandered through the mix of stalls by sculptors, painters, jewellers, fashion designers, poets and musicians. Starting to get a bit hangry, we headed towards our chosen lunch spot but for the life of us we could not find it (which was very confusing – we thought we had found it but it had a different name, not really sure why we just assumed it was the same restaurant, might have been our starving brains eating away at our sense of logic). However, we did find ourselves in a square full of other options, so we just chose one and sat down. To our good fortune, we did love our meals, but as we stood and turned to leave at the end of our meal, we spotted the EXACT venue we wanted to eat at originally. I think we must have lost our collective peripheral vision (or perhaps all our sense).

Continuing our exploration of Lyon we heading towards the main square of Lyon, Place Bellecour (which is also one of Europe’s largest public squares). As we turned the corner, instead of having an unobstructed view of the enormous and gravel-strewn 17th century square, we were met with barriers, booths, and a race track all set up for the World Skate Cross series 2016. Now don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely no idea what that means, but apparently roller skating is a big thing and this is where the best skaters challenge each other for the World Champion title. We were very curious so ventured past the barriers and into the square where we watched people zip around the obstacle course track, a man dressed in a Rollerman suit (which I just learnt was a thing) and the learners slowly stumble around an arena surrounded by inflatable plastic. It was weird, wonderful and unique, I have a new and confused appreciation for roller skating.

Taking a leaf out of the skaters book, we decided to roll instead of walk up to see the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière. The one downside was a bizarre man yelling crazily at one of the funicular conductors (not exactly sure what about) to a point where his young daughter started to cry and the crowd of people waiting in line stared on in horror. We felt absolutely terrible for this little girl, and made up a back story for them. It went something  along the lines of a divorced dad who only gets to see his daughter ever second weekend, the daughter does not really love leaving mum to go and see him, perhaps money troubles, he tried to plan a nice day with her but nothing went to plan and resulted at him abusing a stranger and her standing alone crying…. Not sure how far off we were. As the funicular moved further up the hill, that was getting steeper ever second, we could not have been happier with our choice. We exited our compartment and walked up the steps to see the Basilique crowning the hill. Not only is it a superb example of French architecture, but the position affords it stunning city panoramas from its terrace. Apparently on a clear day one can see all the way to Mont Blanc. We took a bunch of photos but couldn’t go inside the main part of the church as mass had started, so we ventured down into the lower section which was in itself quite stunning.

Our plan for dinner had been to take Roisin out to dinner to celebrate her birthday. Of course we did celebrate on her actual birthday, but we were at Oktoberfest and we wanted to have a meal which was actually about her birthday. So we all got a bit dolled up, picked a nice restaurant and stepped outside. Not a moment later we stepped back inside the hotel covered in rain. It was a bit of a bummer but we decided to cancel our original plan as the restaurant was quite a walk away, and headed to a pizza place just down the road (which we chose really because it was the only place open) and really had a lovely evening full of laughter (even though we were slightly overdressed) and planned to make a special dinner destination during our road trip.

We arrived in Munich and it was like we had some how also caught a train to winter. It was cold and raining and confusing. After almost 3 months of sunshine and a tan to prove it (even Roisin had a lovely glow). I think we had forgotten that winter existed. We trudged along on the tram to our hostel, which took the longest time thanks to the traffic, but once we arrived we were pretty amazed by what we found. Located slightly out of town, was ‘The Tent’ and it really was just that – a field lined with trees and fairy lights, a cafeteria, a check in cabin, bathroom stalls, a campfire, a volleyball net, two-man tents and three large marquee type tents set up. It honestly felt like we hard arrived for our adult version of school camp. Time to crack out the torch, midnight snacks and horror stories! We lined up to check in, receive our 3 blankets each (we could collect more if we wished once we had experienced the temperature inside the tent/marquee, and I made full use of this option) and our wrist-bands that had the address of the accommodation and phone number on it (this will prove to be handy later on).

We threw our things in the tent and ran off to catch the tram and head back into town as we had a dinner date with Mel and Kane. We met them at a classic Bavarian pub and spent the next few hours hugging, kissing, drinking, eating and chatting to our hearts content, we had a lot to catch up on! We decided to head into Oktoberfest with them and some of their friends tomorrow, so we turned in for an early-ish night and to prepare.

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Now I have never really bee a huge beer drinker, but I must say that I do prefer beer overseas to in Australia (which is probably a mind-set more than anything, but it might just be me growing up). Never-the-less, I was a bit concerned I may not like Oktoberfest, but having see most of the town out in their traditional outfits last night and the excitement that seemed to be bubbling around the town, the enthusiasm was contagious and I soon forgot any worries I may have had. We woke up full of excitement and anticipation, enjoyed breakfast at our cafeteria (where you paid for whatever you took which was a nice way to organise it) and got dressed in our traditional garb. It is safe to say we were now brimming with enthusiasm!!

Honestly, I don’t think I expected anything more from Oktoberfest than a field full of beer tents in which people consume beer after beer (and admittedly, there was quite a few people doing just that), but I was overwhelmed to see that it is so much more than that. First and foremost, it really is an overwhelming experience, the 40 hectare grounds are  turned into a big funfair with loads of amusement rides, haunted houses, games and carnival food. I really felt like I could have been in a theme park anywhere in the world (other than the lederhosen that is)!! The smells, colours, sights and sounds meant that for the first half an hour we walked around in a daze, gawking at all the different things that you could ride, eat and drink, as well as the myriad of costumes people were wearing, and taking far too many photos. It was lovely to see that there was also lots of children and families running around, as well as some of the most darling elderly couples you have ever seen in your life. Then we turned into crazed children, consumed by the energy that was flowing around us. It might sounds ludicrous but it was actually incredible. Max and I decided to go on the Olympic Rings roller coaster (for some unknown reason) but once the car started moving I realized that it was not a good idea at all. I was terrified and my tummy turned and twisted, and I am pretty sure Max and I squealed a LOT more than anyone else. Luckily we hadn’t had any beer before the ride. We clambered off and then made our way to the meeting point to find Mel, Kane and the boys, deciding to dive right into one of the beer tents.

Once inside the tent I found the Oktoberfest I had been imagining. There was rows and rows of benches where you take a seat and order the beer. Each of the 14 big tents belong to one of the famous breweries (Augustiner, Hofbräu, Paulaner or Löwenbräu) and they each have a specific brew for the occasion. Some of the bigger tents hold 10,000 people and about 6.5 million liters of beer (or 13.736.947 pints!) are consumed in the 16/17 days of the festival. In the short space of time we were walking to our table, we watched a guy climb on top of a table, under the applause of his mates, down a litre of beer in less than thirty seconds, and then be dragged off the table and escorted out be security – could only get better from here right??

We sat down at one of the benches and ordered a round of drinks. We chatted and got to know each other, shared some pretzels and I was berated for forgetting to bring the playing card (apparently Max and Roisin had asked me about it when we left our accommodation and I had said that I had them.. I still do not remember this conversation occurring AT ALL, so who knows where my head was while it was happening). It is fair to say that it was hard to take it all in – the  music, cheering, clinking of glasses, the decorations, the impressive strength of the beer wenches, the weird and wonderful moving funny hats (roast chickens mostly), the giant trays or giant pretzels, the gingerbread-love-heart necklaces (lebkuchen), ladies selling the lebkuchen as badges/necklaces/earrings/anything personalised, the smell of quintessential Bavarian food and beer, the outfits (which were surprisingly tasteful – we learnt that only “stupid tourists” wear the short/skanky versions we see back home) … the list goes on but it is even overwhelming thinking back on it!

We quickly discovered that we could not keep up with the boys and their drinking as by the time we moved to the next tent, we were three beers down and shortly after were throwing up in the toilets. Roisin, Mel and I headed outside to chow down on some chips, otherwise I think we would have headed home to bed, (at Oktoberfest eating is 100% not cheating) and met an absolutely lovely (and smashed) couple on their honeymoon. They were great fun and she eventually lead him back to their group of friends with a bribe of chicken. Once we were full (and much happier and more alert) we headed back into the tent to join the others and in the 30 minutes – an hour that we were gone, the mood had changed (it seemed like the strength of the beer, and the speed with which we had consumed it, was starting to affect even the boys). The evening continued on till about 10pm and was a compilation of tears, arguments, broken  steins, misconstrued comments, table dancing, free wine (from the angry man behind Roisin), the best schnitzel I have ever had, a plate of boiled potatoes, singing-a-longs and laughter. We somehow managed to get split up, Roisin and I went home, Max ended up taking a taxi home (thank goodness for that wrist band because who knows what our address was), Mel ended up staying with the boys and Kane lost his costume, went on some rides and assuming Mel went home with us, ended up at his apartment alone. The exact sequence and order of any of the above events is anyone’s guess.

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“Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Rosh…. Happy birthday tooooooo yoooooooou”

Today was Roisin’s birthday, and to celebrate we were heading back into Oktoberfest, but we decided to have a slower start (for the best I think, no need to get to Oktoberfest by 9am. Although one of our bunk-mates had a different idea. He had arrived about the same time as us yesterday, had immediately changed into his lederhosen and had headed into Oktoberfest. On the way back from dinner with Mel and Kane we ran into him and his pals on the tram and they were all sufficiently intoxicated. Then the next morning he was up at 6am going back into the festival. Spoilers – it was day 5 before he changed out of his lederhosen!!). So we relaxed and swapped stories about last nights antics before heading into town to have lunch and catch up with Isaac, who was also in town for Oktoberfest. We headed back to the festival grounds and enjoyed walking around, going on rides and eating chocolate covered strawberries (mmm) until we met up with Mel, Kayne and the boys in the late afternoon and ventured inside a new beer tent. It was a bit busier than yesterday given it was later in the evening, so we split up into boys and girls and shared tables with some others. All of the tents seemed to have a slightly different atmosphere….but no matter what that was, there was always a lot of singing!! We played a few rounds of cards, and enjoyed a few steins, before we decided to venture over and join the boys who were participating in the stand-on-the-benches-and-swing-you-steins sing-a-long. Now if there’s one song we heard about a thousand times (probably not even an exaggeration) it is “Ein Proist”. I swear it rang out of each tent every 20 minutes or so in an honest effort to help revellers get nice and lubricated. The song starts out repeating Ein Prosit (Eyn Pro-zit) Der Gemütlichkeit (Dare Gay-mute-lich-kite)! I was very curious as to what I was pretending to sing-a-long to every 20 minutes, so I did some google-ing. Apparently you can’t translate Gemütlichkeit directly into English (it’s one of those uniquely German words like Doppelgänger) the best English translation is “coziness”or “good cheer”. But Gemütlichkeit goes a step further and encapsulates a feeling of belonging, social acceptance and leaving your troubles at the door. Whenever Ein Prosit is played you’re obliged to stand up with your beer and sway along to the tune, toast with everyone at the table and chug. I’ve got to say that although the main purpose of the song is probably to encourage more drinking, whenever the song came on it really did make the tent feel more “cozy” as strangers turned to each other, smiled, swayed and clinked their glasses together.

We separated from the boys again to go enjoy the other huge part of this event – the food (the boys were idiots for not joining us). We love our chicken, schnitzel and potatoes! Food is such a big part of the festival that around half a million roast chickens are consumed every year, plus hundreds of thousands of grilled ham hocks, sausages (especially the Bavarian white sausages called weisswurst) steckerlfisch (fish grilled on a stick), piglings and other meat dishes – Oktoberfest is a meat lover’s heaven. There is an even entire tent dedicated to grilled oxen. When our bellies were full we returned to the boys and it seemed like the tent had collectively had 5 more beers and were now all immensely intoxicated. Within 5 seconds Mel was almost punched in the face by a passing fist (as it glided on to hit another person in the face). We saw two fights, were accosted by boys and had beer spilt everywhere. We broke up these joyous activities by practising our ‘resting bitch faces’ to fend off the boys, and practically falling over laughing at the fact that my best version of this face was basically a grimace and then a fit of giggles. #Oktoberfest.

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Today we needed a break. All of the revelry of Oktoberfest was too much excitement for us! We headed off to explore the side of Munich that wasn’t centered around liquid gold.

We hopped on a tram and headed to the Eisbach, a small channel of the Isar River that runs through Munich’s big, central park, where river surfing began. Apparently surfers have been flocking to this river since the 1970s, but let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart. We stood with about 20+ others and watched the mad-men work their magic. They had to be ready to ride from the moment they hit the water, and it was fascinating to watch how each of the surfers tackled the challenge differently. A part of me thought they were crazy, the water looked ice-cold, and about a thousand times I thought one of them was going to whack their heads on the rock that lined the river.

We went to a nearby Italian restaurant for lunch which was terrific. The food was great, but the best part was the waitress – this lovely old Italian lady who must have thought that we were more than a little bit batty. She took great care explaining the “menu of the day” to us, and became somewhat confused herself when we still didn’t seem to understand the third go round. She was very chatty and started telling us all about Munich and Oktoberfest. She mentioned how the security was much greater this year, and that was putting some of the local off, as well as there being less people attending so far this year in general. I also enjoyed the little arguements she was having with her husband behind the bar!

Given it was a beautiful day, we headed off into the sprawling Englische Garten (English Garden) –  one of the largest urban parks in the world. We strolled around the paths, dark with stands of mature oak and maple, before we emerging into a sunlit meadows of lush grass. We could not help but find a spot where we bask in the sunshine for an hour or two. Despite the size of the park, everything felt like it was in close proximity (in a good way). The cyclists, walkers, joggers, musicians, dogs, ducks, students and soccer players all happily sharing this network of paths and fields. After a nap, some soduko and a touch of reading, the heat had begun to disappear from the sun and we headed back to the hostel for a rest before dinner. Roisin had found another place for us to try (got to love tripadvisor) and after we had finished scrolling through Facebook, we headed back into town to check out Burgers Hamburgerei. It would not be an exaggeration to say that these were some of the most delicious burgers I have had the pleasure of tasting. With toppings such as caramelised onions, gorgonzola cheese, halloumi, guacamole, a huge range of sauces, sweet potato fries and their own home brew of beer we were in culinary heaven. Once we had fully taken the time to savour our delicious meals, we headed out to a traditional basement level pub to meet up with Meg and her pals (yay another coincidence that we were in the same place, same time). The pub had a terrific vibe with a live band and people spilling out the doors, all laughing and generally being merry together.

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This morning the girls decided it was about time they learnt a bit more about what made Munich.. well Munich so to speak. As they joined a Sanderman’s tour and wandered off to see the top landmarks and discover the stories behind them, such as the Glockenspiel, the Hofbräuhaus and the Frauenkirche, I went on an adventure of my own – to the Nymphenburg Palace. I had wanted to visit this stunning palace on my last visit to Munich but ran out of time, so I was looking forward to not only seeing this magnificent summer residence to the birth of the long-awaited heir to the throne, Max Emanuel, but also to loose myself amongst the immense grounds. The interior decoration of the main palace really seemed to represent the variety of  styles from the different royals who lived behind the walls, ranging from Baroque and Rococo to Neoclassicism. My favourite room was probably the light-filled Great Hall in the centre of the palace because of the lively ceiling fresco. You could just picture the type of parties and people that were once entertained in this room. One of the most unique rooms was the Gallery ofBeauties, where you can find 36 paintings of beautiful women (or women that King Ludwig I of Bavaria found beautiful) from all sections of society. Next I ventured through the former Riding Stables of the palace and the Porcelain Museum where you can find the most important court carriages, sleighs, equestrian collections and some of the most beautiful porcelain figures I have ever seen. Certainly wouldn’t have wanted to knock anything over in there! Time to explore the gardens..

The first thing that struck me was how well the design of the garden and the architecture of the palace fitted together. The original Baroque garden, with the large fountain and central canal bordered by avenues of flowers were simply stunning and were home to all kinds of birdlife. I loved seeing all sorts of people strolling the grounds freely, those all kitted out in Bavarian clothing as well as those clearly on their weekly run. They had a real community feel to them. The last thing I wanted to see before I went to meet the girls for lunch was some of the Pavilions that are symmetrically dotted around the park. I visited both the Amalienburg and Badenburg Palaces. They were both very impressive, especially given their small size. The Amalienburg was an exquisite creation with beautiful paintings and carvings and each room was unique in design such as the Hall of Mirrors, the Blue Cabinet and Bedroom, the Yellow Room, the Hunting Room and the Indian Cabinet. The Badenburg was equally as breath-taking, with a large Banquet Hall that took up two storeys and had impressive artwork, the Electors’ Apartments that had beautiful Chinese wall paper and a pretty stunning bathing pavilion.

I took my time leaving the beautiful grounds of the Nymphenburg Palace, exploring some of the extensive forest-like park, dominated by a central-axial canal and divided by numerous avenues and perspective axes. It had a very different feel to the gardens directly in front of the palace, with natural-looking design elements, a selection of trees and shrubs arranged to grow as nature intended, meadows with moulded surface levels and artfully contoured woodland borders, lakes and brooks with banks and islands shaped true to nature, and elegantly winding paths. I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland.

Back in the real world I ventured off to meet up with the girls which proved to be only somewhat more stressful than expected with tram delays that no one seemed to explain (even the locals looked pretty dumbfounded…and angry). Unfortunately the girls hadn’t loved their guide this time, so after a look around the markets, we decided to head to a beer hall to eat and drink some of the afternoon away. Leaving the pub we found ourselves suddenly surrounded by drunken Italians. This might seem like I weird sentiment, but we had been warned about the influx of Italians at Oktoberfest this weekend because of a public holiday in Italy, we just didn’t think it would be so noticeable. Unfortunately for us they were mostly ludicrously drunk and threw drunken comments at us left right and centre. Off-putting at the best of times, no less so when coming form someone in a 3pm drunken stopper (no judgement of course). We were not exactly sure what to do with the rest of our afternoon/evening, and decided on heading into Oktoberfest to go on the rides and eat the food. Sort of be a tourist of the festival!

It’s a whole different experience wandering around sober in the afternoon (maybe in part because it seems like everyone else is roaring drunk). It was wonderfully hilarious. Everyone was just having a great time and the atmosphere was as electric as ever. From the families and the elderly, to the drunken masses, everyone was having a ball! We went on a few fun rides and roller coasters, enjoyed some delicious chocolate covered strawberries and Max went on a ridiculously terrifying upside-down-spin-around crazy ride while Roisin and I watched safely from the ground. From there, we headed to the old-fashioned Ferris Wheel which has been an Oktoberfest institution for decades and as it turns out, is the best way to get an overview of the entire fun fair and all fourteen beer tents. I loved the old-fashioned cars of the Ferris Wheel (and I felt much more comfortable just going round and round at a leisurely pace, instead of being turned upside down at an insane speed!). Although Roisin still didn’t love the heights (granted for the first go around, we did keep stopping every few moments and we were in a car with a few VERY inebriated men who seemed to think it was a grand idea to rock the car around…), it was impressive to catch a glimpse of the hoards of people strolling around the grounds and we were very glad we had the opportunity to explore during the week when you had a bit more space to stumble around.

I must say that my favourite part of our afternoon, hands down, was the people watching. We saw a group of 8 guys, walking two-by-two, just fall over. For no reason. On top of each other in a pile! They then struggled for ages trying to get up, not being able to reason out a strategy and continuing to fall over on top of each other. The most fascinating area of Oktoberfest was probably the stretch of grass on a hill we found where everyone obviously goes to pass out (or have a sneaky rest). I’m glad we didn’t know about this one our first day, or this might have been where we ended up! Here we found plenty of “beer corpses” (people sleeping while sitting/lying down – a much better spot that on the sidewalks, or the streets, that we later saw people sleeping in), loads of people doing the old head-nod, people eating, kissing and one guy lying flat on his back – totally out of it – with his friends sitting in a semi-circle around him. Initially we all thought “what terrific friends this guys has, all looing after him”, however as we got closer we saw that they were pulling out clumps of grass and covering him in it! About 10 minutes later when we walked back down the hill  he had a nice little mound of grass forming on his belly. We had to admit that they were still pretty great friends, I mean, they could have simply left him to fend for himself, and instead they will now have a great story they can all share! Grass stains are not that bad!

For dinner tonight we decided not to venture too far from our beds and found a Greek restaurant around the corner with excellent reviews. We were not disappointed in the slightest. It was a great little place, where the waiters were hilarious, honestly don’t know if they spoke a word of German or very much English so most of the time we used gestures. The food was delicious, the gave us free ouzo and dessert, the chef and owner both came out shook everyone’s hands and made polite conversations (although again with us it was mainly gestures and agreeable noises) and it didn’t even cost a fortune! A lovely last meal in Germany – despite the lack of Bavarian cuisine.

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We were quite sad to say goodbye to Munich, especially while it was surrounded by the atmosphere of Oktoberfest, but we might not have been able to handle too many more litres of beer. I thought I would sign off with some of our tips for anyone wanting to visit Adult Disneyland i.e. Oktoberfest:

1. It’s a marathon, not a sprint — you’ll be drinking all day, so there’s no need to rush it. Pace yourself. Those liters of beer are strong. Damn strong.
2. Hydrate: Drink a lot of water while you’re there (don’t forget you are also using up some energy with all that singing, dancing and swaying  you are doing).
3. Go DURING the week if you can!! You don’t have to worry about getting a table early, you certainly do not need to get there at 8am and it is much easier to “just wing it” (not to mention there are less people in general – lining up for food, rides and toilets).
4. Eating is not cheating. It is the only way to survive. Yes the food is cheaper outside the tents, but you know what? It is not THAT expensive inside, it is delicious, you will be able to keep your table, AAANNNDD you might not even want to go home at 4pm after throwing up in the toilet. #goals.
5. Go on the rides! They are a blast! … but go BEFORE the beer.
6. Learn the language. Right, so I know that German isn’t really one of those languages you can pick up easily over night, but if you learn a few common phrases it always helps! (it might even help you get on the servers’ good side).
7. I would say get a costume – you certainly don’t need one, but hey! It’s a fun addition to the atmosphere, most people in Munich are wearing them – not just at the festival, but all around town – and if you go to an op shop you can get something for next-to-nothing!
8. Last but not least, even if you don’t like beer, I would say Oktoberfest is something you should experience at least once, because there really is no way to completely describe the vibe of Munich during Oktoberfest without seeing it for yourself. It really is just that. An experience.

I have quite a soft spot for Berlin. When I visited when I was 18, I was blown away by the combo of glamour and grit, vibrant culture, cutting-edge architecture, fabulous food, intense parties and tangible history. I never intended on actually going to Berlin but I was so glad I took the advice of other travellers and headed over, and now this was going to be my third time there!

Our train ride to Berlin was a bit of a bust. Initially we were quite happy, we were all in nice compartments and it was supposed to be the shortest journey (four hours) and we even had wifi, but halfway through we were stopped and didn’t move for another two hours. And the internet stopped working. There was a poor guy in Max and Sinéad’s compartment that was loosing his mind because he was catching a train to see his girlfriend, who he had not seen in months and the delay was causing him to miss his connecting train. The whole thing was a bit of a disaster, not for us really we were fine, but for a considerable number of the other patrons on the train (we were just happy that we had snacks). When we arrived, we caught the bus to our hostel, checked in and dropped off our bags so we could go and hunt down some dinner. Roisin had seen a burger place near our hostel while we were on the bus, so we headed back up the road and enjoyed some very delicious burgers and fries (they had so many options that it was ridiculous, vegan, vegetarian and meats galore) and headed to bed for an early night.

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As the girls went off early in the morning for a perfect introduction to the wonderful Berlin (a Sandermans Tour, who would have guessed), I slept in a little longer and then headed off on an explore of my own. This time in Berlin I was really looking forward to just walking the streets and exploring the abundance of space, street art, cultural expression and vast swathes of green. After wandering around aimlessly and people watching, I headed over to check out some of the traditional Bavarian clothes – dirndl or lederhosen – that were in all of the department stores to see if any were appropriate for us to buy for Oktoberfest. Some were absolutely beautiful, but they were all a bit pricey for us. At the same time, the girls were learning about a booming turn-of-the-century metropolis left destitute by the First World War, a city that then led the way in avant-garde art, music and literature throughout the Golden Twenties before Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and a capital that was divided for occupation by the Allies after World War II (with the jagged scar of the Berlin Wall cutting through the center of the city) and its path to unification. Seriously how can one not love learning about Berlin?

Meeting up with the girls after their tour at the burning of the books memorial, you could see how much they loved their guide and gushed about how seamlessly she weaved in and out of Berlin’s messy, complicated and fascinating history. They chatted all the way to lunch about the tour as well as their thoughts on the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (I personally love this memorial because one really is able to interpret it in a myriad of different ways, which I think makes you able to connect with the piece). We stopped at this cute little restaurant for lunch and enjoyed a delicious mushroom risotto before heading off to explore the Berlin Zoo.

I felt like a giant kid as we skipped on into the zoo and proceeded to run around for the next few hours. We were extra excited because Berlin’s zoo holds a triple record as Germany’s oldest, most species-rich and most popular animal park. It was established in 1844 under King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who not only donated the land but also pheasants and other animals from the royal family’s private reserve on the Pfaueninsel. It did not even come close to disappointing, with more than 18,600 animals representing 1500 species, including orangutans, koalas, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, elephants and penguins. Not only that, but all the enclosures were wonderful and designed to resemble their natural habitat. We even got to play in the “petting” part of the zoo, feeding some of the goats and miniature ponies with the handfuls of food we got for about 20 cents. It was awesome.

Tonight we had dinner at Madami – Mom’s vietnamese kitchen, which was right near our hostel and had great ratings on trip advisor. Everything we ordered was delicious and it was nice to get some veggies in us. Despite the fact that the place was super busy, the service was still amazing and I could not recommend it more!

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Yesterday I had explained to the girls how all the scouting I had done for costumes had really only turned up some costly options (which we weren’t loving), so this morning we decided to head out to the biggest second hand store in Berlin and see if we couldn’t find some tract (“traditional attire”) or even something we could fashion! We had a ball exploring the 5 floors of clothes and ended up with some really fab options (with the immense help of Sinéad, our shopping and fashion expert – I honestly don’t think we would have ended up with such great outfits without her). With our shopping done we had a full day planned of heading off into town, seeing some museums and grabbing some lunch, but as we stepped outside we were drenched by an epic downpour and as we rushed back to the underground we realised we would have to review our plans. We decided to head back to the hostel for lunch (there was a bar with a restaurant downstairs and we knew it would be warm) and watched some of the AFL on the big screen TV while we filled our tummies and waited for the rain to die down.

In the afternoon Roisin went to off to the Jewish museum while Max and Sinéad decided to stay in at hostel and rest, and I went for a walk around town. We met back at the hostel after about two hours and all headed out together to walk the Berlin Wall. Only about 2km of the Berlin Wall still stands as a symbol of the triumph of freedom over oppression. The longest, best-preserved and  most interesting stretch is the 1.3km-long section called East Side Gallery because of the many murals painted by international artists in 1990 and again in 2009 – this is where we were headed. On our way, we happened across an epic rowing regatta, leaned against the railings of the water and watched for a while as hundred of people cheered on the athletes. It was hard not to get caught up in the excitement and atmosphere – there was a variety of different teams and tents, food stalls and beer stands as well as a huge stage where medals were being awarded.

Once at the East Side Gallery we took our time walking up and down one of the most potent symbol remaining of the Cold War that divided not only this city but the world and now is the world’s largest open-air mural collection. We admired the 100+ paintings by local and international artists, that showed a mix of political statements, drug-induced musings and truly artistic visions (some of them however we had no idea what they were). I think it remains quite a powerful statement, so I was saddened to see that a substantial portion of the wall had been graffitied and others sectioned off in an effort to avoid this from happening.

I was really excited to take the girls to Burgermeister for dinner. It is probably the most interesting burger joints I have ever encountered – located in an old public toilet in Berlin, extraordinary location (in one of the busiest nightlife areas), open until early in the morning, cultural melting point for Berliners from all layers of society and most importantly the burgers are crazy delicious!! In fact locals have been quoted saying ‘It is our shining beacon of burger love in the darkness of a long Kreuzberg night’. The only potential negative is that there is always a line, but it’s worth the wait. Once we got our food we secured a lovely section of cement that we could sit on just outside the restaurant and dug into our burgers, cheese covered fries and beers. It was amazing (I am getting hungry just writing about it). It was also somewhat comical as we were interrupted by some mice hanging out in the grass nearby and a passerby who meowed at us while walking with his wife and baby and drinking a beer. Berlin certainly is a unique place! We were planning on going to have a drink tonight as Berlin is also known for its nightlife and Caitlin (Sinead’s friend) had arrived, but we were all tired and poor Sinéad was staring to come down with that awful bug so Roisin and I decided to go out and have one drink while the others went home. We tried to find what was supposed to be this cute little bar, but could not find it to save our lives and ended up walking our way around a super creepy park  (which granted probably wasn’t creepy during the day), but that did mean that we stumbled across this adorable little bar called Scotch & Sofa. The staff is super friendly and attentive,  the cocktails were good bang for the buck and the atmosphere was great. We enjoyed our long island iced tea and took in the coziness, great lighting, comfortable sofa chairs, cool/quirky bar area, clashing wallpaper and the 50s television sets.

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This morning was filled with catch ups and food, which is always a terrific way to spend a morning! We were very excited to be able to have breakfast with Megan – a pal from work who had been gallivanting around Europe for the past few months, and it was just wonderful to be able to swap both our best travel stories and horror travel stories. Not long after we finished gas bagging, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch finding out all about Caitlin’s last few weeks in Greece.

For one last day in Berlin we wanted to do something a little bit out of the ordinary (well I did and the other girls agreed to follow suit, although they may have regretted it later). I really wanted to explore one area of ‘Abandoned Berlin’ (the phrase used to describe one of the myriad of locations that have been left abandoned throughout the city), but we had been discussing for over a week about which place might be best to go and explore given our level of adventure is not the highest going around and the increased security at some of the more ‘popular’ sites. We weren’t strapped for choice though as Berlin is a treasure trove for derelict buildings and interesting abandoned locations. Among them: an old East German amusement park with a rusting Ferris wheel, a graffiti-covered beer factory, a crumbling NSA spy station, a rotting Iraqi embassy and a haunted zombie hospital. Berlin is, of course, not the only city in the world with places like these, however because of its history (maybe because of the economical change after the fall of the Berlin Wall, maybe because of the Second World War, but most likely each place has a more unique reason and its own hidden history), there seems to be a disproportionate amount of World War II sites, Cold War military installations, crumbling factories and the like. We ended up deciding on the abandoned maternity and children’s hospital called Säuglings-Kinderkrankenhaus Weißensee. Apparently it was the first municipal one of its kind in Prussia, and had its own cow facilities and dairy, now left vandalised and weathered. Now I am a big ol’ scaredy-cat so I could not possibly say that I wasn’t afraid of jumping through a hole we found in the fence and stumbling over the overgrown trees and plants but once we were there, I was really more excited than anything else (while the girls seemed more nervous). We walked cautiously through the empty and graffitied rooms, over bulk shattered glass, past rooms filled with toilet-seat covers, crumbling walls, creaking floorboards, fluttering curtains, up damaged staircases and past hanging cables and flaking pieces of paint. I couldn’t help but imagine the building as it was in its heyday.

Feeling like sufficient explorers (rather than in depth ones) we ran off back to the main street and headed on to our next adventure of the day. Sinéad and Caitlin returned to the hostel to do some planning for the next leg of their journey as we were leaving them together in Berlin, Roisin headed off to another museum and I went on another wander around this terrific city.

By the time we were all ready for dinner, Sinéad was feeling sufficiently awful (its so nice that when you travel/live in such close proximity you can share lovely things like horrific colds with each other). So we endeavoured to find something close and indoors to eat. Accidentally meandering the long way around (it wasn’t that long but when you are sick it seemed like the hike from hell),  we made it to a lovely traditional German pub, where we all enjoyed a hearty last meal together for the time being, and toasted to our scheduled reunion in Amsterdam.

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Bismarck and Marx, Einstein and Hitler, JFK, Bowie and about a billion more people have all shaped – and been shaped by – Berlin. I really do love this city where history stares you in the face at every turn. This is a city that staged a revolution, was headquartered by Nazis, bombed to bits, divided in two and finally reunited – and that was just in the 20th century! And yet.. a part of Berlin still feels to me like a charming and unpretentious international village with its citizens passionately feasting on the smorgasbord of life, never taking things – or the city itself – too seriously. There’s nothing static about Berlin: it’s unpredictable, unpretentious and irresistible. And I promise – if you love it, it loves you back.

So after we managed to survive the most ridiculous train trip ever (barely), somehow survived the confusion of the closed offices/coin-only ticket machines/killer lines at the train station and navigated our way to the hostel we were about to collapse. We threw our bags down and found some food at a restaurant that was literally at the doorstep of the hostel, and then retired for the evening, so we would be ready to face the day tomorrow (after stumbling around for what felt like a year to find a bottle of water)(but that’s probably the fever talking).

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As Roisin was starting to feel better but I was feeling worse, we were really half a team for our time in Prague, but we still tried to make the most of our time in this beautiful city! Our first day in the Golden City, the City of a Thousand Spires, we decided (as we have done in a lot of the cities so far) to have a solid orientation with a Sandermans tour. Our guide was a hoot. She started by regaling us with stories about herself, her family and their past to help make the history a bit more relatable and perhaps even a bit easier to understand. She explained how she was a “true Czechoslovakian” as her family was a real melting pot of both sides as well as having lived in both countries throughout her life. She was bubbly and enthusiastic and although she was a bit all-over-the-shop, I quite liked the energy she brought to the tour. As she walked us past the Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the Charles Bridge, the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Old New Synagogue, the Old Jewish Quarter, Wenceslas Square, the Opera house and much more she also walked us through well over 1,000 years of history. We heard tales about the Good King Wenceslas, Jan Palach – the young man who lit himself on fire as a protest to the oppressions of communism, the much loved King Charles the 4th, some of David Cerny’s most “talked about” pieces and the Golem that still roams around the attic of the Synagogue. She also told us some stories that were a bit more out of the ordinary such as how most churches in Prague have been repurposed (into museums, dance clubs and even strip clubs) because only about 11% of the population attend religious ceremonies and that on Easter Monday, the tradition is that the women give the men a hand-painted egg and alcohol while the men whip the women (weird). My favourite story however was about the origin of the Astronomical Clock. The designer/clockmaster Hanus, also called Jan of Ruze, was rumoured to be designing an even better clock for another city in Europe. When Prague Councillors found this out, they became jealous and blinded him so he could not finish it. Later he allegedly damaged the astronomical clock in revenge, and nobody was able to repair it. Mostly this was my favourite story as Max ruined the ending, surmising that this was in fact a tall tale, told for centuries, which was meant to be revealed in an impressive way later in the tour. Our tour guide was more than a little embarrassed.

Unfortunately throughout our tour, we started to notice the increasing amount of bumps in our day, or bits, bed bug bites it seemed, to be more precise. Max in particular was finding more every five minutes and was starting to scratch with more vigour, however Roisin had a few as well.

After the tour finished we were all starving and needed to sit down and recuperate. We found a great little cafe and with the help of quinoa, pumpkin soup and a salad with all kinds of “super foods” we managed to build up enough strength and enthusiasm to tackle our next tour of the day – the Prague Castle Tour. While we were waiting to be divided into groups and allocated a guide, a very drunk/confused/rude (I promise it was very difficult to tell and hard not to speculate) man started walking or stumbling slowly into the middle of our group and then appeared to fall onto/grab at one of the guides backpacks and then tried to run away still clutching onto him at the bag. The other guides started yelling and him and he let go and wandered away. It was just odd really. After all the guides collected themselves they turned to us, laughed, and said “Now everyone, that’s a real life example of why we like to remind you to watch your bags while walking around Prague”.

Our guide for this tour was David, and its fair to say we pretty much loved him right off the bat! He was engaging and charismatic and clearly had nothing but love for the city that he now calls home (originally from America). We did not waste any time, jumping straight on a tram that would take us directly up to the Castle. It is fair to say that Prague Castle dominates both the skyline and the history of the Czech capital. After we were through the minimal security and inside the Castle grounds, you could see why this, the world’s largest medieval castle (according to the Guinness World Records: 570m long, an average of 128m wide and covering a total area bigger than seven football fields), continues to awe, inspire and draw crowds with its dozens of hidden corners, historic buildings, museums, galleries and surprises. Looking at parts on the area separately, you could think as a whole it would be a bit of an eyesore with all the contrasting styles from generations of architects beginning in the 9th century, however the products is remarkably harmonious.

David told us stories about how the large square (II square) is a popular place for movies sets, however rarely for films set in Prague. It has been transformed into London, Paris and even Moscow. Some films he mentioned were Van Helsing, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Dungeons and Dragons and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Although I would love to, I cannot remember specifically what they paid to use the square. However I’m sure David said that it was in the millions for a day, specifically for a scene in Mission Impossible which mostly involved Tom Cruise walking across the square. We took great pleasure the next time we crossed this million dollar square. David also told us interesting stories about the Czech president (as well as the embarrassment quite a few Czech people feel in regards to his antics, for example stealing a jewel encrusted pen in front of a room full of cameras and reports) and his residence.

After our stroll through the square, we found ourselves gawking up at St. Vitus Cathedral, a majestic Gothic masterpiece which took centuries to finish. Its many treasures included a 14th-century mosaic above the Golden Gate, the ornate Chapel of St Wenceslas, the baroque organ, the art nouveau stained glass which caused the light to stream into the Cathedral in a beautiful array of colours and the Bohemian crown jewels (kept securely in a chapel locked with seven locks). The church itself is another example of contrasting styles/eras of craftsmanship. The western facade looks impressively gothic, but the doorway dates only from 1953, the foundation stone was laid in 1344, renaissance and baroque details were added over the following centuries, and it was not until 1861 that a concerted effort was made to finish the cathedral. It is a symbol of pride for the Czech Republic, not only because of its grandiose and stunning architecture but also because of the amount of time and work it required to become the breathtaking building it is today.

Germ-lock against Max’s bed bugs

We moved further into the Castle district as David told us more stories about the history of the culminating in the 20th century with the forgotten genius of Jože Plečnik. He really brought to life the legendary court of Rudolf II, the nightmares of Kafka and the very real struggles of the Velvet Revolution. Max’s favourite part of the tour seemed to be playing a game with David where she would try to find the five stars that were hidden around the Castle that were similar to the ones we saw on the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk on Charles Bridge (which David said he usually reserves for when he has children on his tour).   Our last stop inside the castle district was the Golden Lane, an alley which runs along the northern wall of the castle. Its tiny and colourful cottages were built in the 16th century for the sharpshooters of the castle guard, but were later used by goldsmiths and then by artists, including writer Franz Kafka. It was so picturesque, but was absolutely littered with people because it had just turned 5pm meaning entrance was free, so we decided to come back after the tour finished to have our own little photoshoot. We finally wandered beyond the castle gates through picturesque Hradčany to see the best views of the city.

Here are a few “happy snaps” from our photoshoot as we wandered back through the Castle.

After our exploring we sat for a while in Wenceslas’ Vineyard, between the southern slope between the support wall of the Old Castle Stairs and the upper scenic overlook ledge path, where we enjoyed the terrific views, home made chips and some of the most delicious wine – burčák (a fizzy, sweet, pale-yellow, partially fermented wine). We headed back down to the old town square to have some dinner which was nice but very weird portion sizes. Rosh and I enjoyed a very delicious 4 pieces of pasta.

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This morning after a bit of a sleep in, we started by dropping off some washing, thrilling! Next step was an adventure to find some delicious coffee (for Sinéad and Rosh) and headed to EMA Espresso Bar. It was a great little place with a fun vibe going from super busy to empty and back within ten minutes. It was filled with a wide range of people from foodies, bloggers, foreign hipsters to curious travellers like us, families and business men. The girls reported the coffee was delicious and then we were on our way. We strolled around some of the streets of Prague we had not yet explored, loving the maze of cobbled lanes and hidden courtyards that beckon you to explore a little further. After marvelling at the Powder Tower, we ventured towards Charles Bridge and found a tiny little gingerbread store along the way and couldn’t resist the smell and ended up buying a little Gingerbread man to munch on along the way.

Our main plan for the day was to seek out just a few of the abundance of statues found in Prague. Some are symbolic, some are contemporary or abstract and some even date back to the communist era but the ones we wanted to find are simply odd and leave you thinking…what on earth?! The first one we found was ‘Piss’ (yes, this is the actual name of the sculpture). On a small plaza where the Kafka Museum is situated, one can see two men peeing into a bronze basin in the shape of the Czech Republic (so the men appear to be urinating into the country). Controversial or just amazing? What was also cool is that visitors can interrupt them peeing by sending a text to a number, and the living statue then moves and ‘writes’ the text of the message, before carrying on as before. So. Weird.

Before we headed to our next statue, we needed to grab some lunch. After wandering around aimlessly, being unable to either find, or decide on a restaurant, we eventually found ourselves a riverside restaurant. The service was subpar and the food was a little bit odd (I had an actual slab of risotto) but the view was stunning.

Our next stop was to find the Giant Alien Bronze Babies located in the beautiful Kampa Park. This didn’t end up being a very difficult feat as these giant babies sure do stand out as well as being more than a little bit creepy with their smushed mechanical faces. Lastly we headed to the John Lennon wall, where an image of Lennon was painted along with political graffiti and Beatles lyrics after his murder as Lennon became a pacifist hero for many young Czechs. With a guitarist playing in the background we walked up and down the wall, taking in the Lennon images, peace messages and inconsequential tourist graffiti.

We needed to run back to the laundromat in order to pick up the laundry (the lady in the laundromat seemed a bit like she might throw the clothes in the river if we were not back at precisely 4pm) and then went to have a rest. Dinner tonight we went to a vegetarian restaurant and enjoyed some delicious food before crashing for the night.

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Today was going to be a great day – Sinéad’s birthday! We tried to leave the entire day up to her, but as she was happy to do most anything, it actually made it a bit tricky to spoil her and do everything that she wanted to (the silly thing). We awoke and yelled many happy birthday wishes up to her bunk (our random room-mate joined in too). The first thing she wanted to do was go back to EMA Espresso Bar for another coffee and I enjoyed a delicious juice. We then headed off to get her a train ticket for tomorrow so that we don’t almost leave her at the train station like last time. We had a lovely morning strolling through unexpected gardens, past cute cafes, ancient chapels and old-fashioned bars until we found a pub for lunch where we ate delicious burgers and nachos. After piles of food and beer we were walking around, trying to decide what to do next when we stumbled across the Prague Sex Toy Museum and decided it would be a bit of a laugh to check it out. It was so bizarre!! Apparently it was the first museum in the world devoted to sexual gadgets with three floors housing more than 200 objects and mechanical appliances on display. The weirdest part by far was the cinema with old erotic films, where we sat perplexed and amused, wondering whether or not it was appropriate to giggle, especially at the weird elevator/circus music that was playing in the background. After we were thoroughly bamboozled, Max and I retired for a small siesta while Rosh and Sinéad went birthday shopping. We re-grouped for a special birthday dinner and headed off to Estrella, a unique vegetarian restaurant. Fortunately we secured a table (only because someone was leaving just as we arrived) and settled in. Our waitress was absolutely adorable, very attentive, caring about our choices and gave us free appetisers. Unfortunately I ordered a very spicy soup and couldn’t eat any of it, but everyone else’s food, as well as the wine, was delicious. It was a lovely evening filled with stories and laughter and afterwards Max and Sinéad went out for a drink or three while Rosh and I headed home to ensure we continued to get better.

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Despite being unwell, it was still a lovely time in Prague, with its romantic streets, soaring towers, 14th-century stone bridge, a hilltop castle, great beer/wine and a lovely, lazy river! Prague’s diverse history – from the heart of medieval Bohemia, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and the oppression, under both the Nazis and the Communists – really makes it a captivating city. Throwing a bit of their wit and weirdness into the mix with their odd statues and a 1950s nuclear bunker hidden beneath a city-centre hotel, I look forward to coming back at some point to explore their award winning Christmas markets!

Budapest was probably the place I had been most excited to visit. I had heard so many lovely thing and I was looking forward to exploring it for myself. I am happy to say I was not even close to disappointed. I was bowled over by this sad but confident city whose history seemed too complex to comprehend, by a beautiful but impenetrable language and by a treasure trove of architecture (I even loved the rickety trams).

** Also do not be alarmed if you do not see Roisin in many of these photos (as most of our friends were), we did not have a huge fight and kick her out of the group. She was however sick the whole time (actually really quite sick – fever, rash, pain, crazy cough – even got a doctor to come to the hostel. The doctor was quite funny though, with colourful nails, bulk amount of rings, seemingly minimal concept of hand hygiene and not super detailed with her diagnosis of “virus and rash”) we were in Budapest, so saw Budapest mostly from the window of our room. However not a total loss – more reason to go back and see more of not only Budapest, but Hungry as a whole! **

We arrived in Budapest late in the afternoon. We caught the train from Zagreb and the views along the way were stunning! There were adorable little villages and homes along bodies of water. We had rigorous security checks – our passports were scrutinized about three times and the train was stopped at the border as they checked various parts of the train including the over head compartments and bathrooms. We decided to take a taxi to our accommodation (after sitting on a train all day it was far too difficult to figure out the public transport and currency exchange with all our bags in tow) and our driver pointed out some of the sites as we made our short trip. Other than not being sure if we paid the right amount or perhaps 10,000 too much we made it unscathed and it was a pretty lovely place. The rooms were large and the owners seemed nice! My only grumble would be that my bed squeaked something chronic and I knew it would keep me up (more so because I would be worried about keeping everyone else up with all my tossing and turning). We were starving so we went to dinner at the closest restaurant which was perhaps a poor decision, half of the food was okay and half was pretty rubbish.

After dinner Sinead and I decided to go for a bit of a stroll. We walked to Margaret bridge at the end of our street and through one of the little gardens. Without meaning to, we ended up walking down to the next bridge and back along the other bank of the river passed Parliament House. Everything was lit up and it looked stunning! Almost fake. Our stroll only served to make me more excited to explore properly tomorrow.

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We woke bright and early for a big day full of adventure. Our first stop was the Eclectic-style Parliament building. We had read online that it could be tricky to get tickets, so we said goodbye to Roisin, popped into the supermarket to grab some breakfast and we were on our way! The lovely lady behind the counter at Parliament gave us all student prices and we secured a spot for the second tour of the day. As we now had a small chunk of time to kill, we went outside to have our own little “photo shoot” with this impressive structure. Designed in 1902, the building is sort of a blend of architectural styles – neo-Gothic, neo-Romanesque, neo-Baroque – and it works! We even managed to sneak in a viewing of the changing of the guards (and they managed to sneak into our photos).

The tour itself was quite interesting. Our guide was James Bond-esque with a suit, tie and scar under his eye. Given the size and active parliamentary use of the building, we only ventured into the North wing seeing just a handful of the 691 sumptuously decorated rooms. The ones we did see included the main staircase and landing; the Domed Hall, where the Crown of St Stephen , the nation’s most important national icon, is on display; the Loge Hall; and the Congress Hall, where the House of Lords of the one-time bicameral assembly sat until 1944. My favourite part of the tour would have to be in the Domed Hall where, even after we had been told multiple times to stay away from the guards because they swing their swords, a woman was almost hit with the guard’s blade! The guard was visibly frustrated at the woman, and the look o her face was one of pure horror – despite that fact that she had ignored our guides instructions, comments from people around her and the guard trying to subtly imply he was about to swing the sword. Crazy.

Our next stop was the Basilica of St Stephen. On our walk to the Basilica we stumbled across Szabadság tér or ‘Liberty Square’. It was a lovely park surrounded by some beautiful and significant buildings, including the U.S. Embassy (which was fortress-like, cut off from the square by high metal fencing and concrete blocks), the former Stock Exchange recently and the Hungarian National Bank (founded in 1924). It also had two playgrounds, a monument that seemed to have protest statements surrounding it, and a the coolest fountain ever. It was sort of a rectangle in design, the sides created by pillars of water streaming into the air. BUT because of sensors, as you approach or back away from a section of the fountain, those pillars turn off and on!

After we had all the fun we could playing magicians in the fountain, we continued on to the Basilica. This neoclassical cathedral was built over half a century and completed in 1905. The interior is quite grand and spacious with beautiful detailing, but seemed rather dark and gloomy (with minimal natural light). The most unique aspect was most certainly the mummified right hand of St Stephen (an object of great devotion) kept in the treasury. We then took a trip up the 364 steps to the dome’s observation deck for beautiful, panoramic views of Budapest. Now – time for lunch!

We ventured over to the Jewish quarter which we were told was now a “foodie” part of town where we enjoyed delicious bagels with salad and met Roisin for a coffee at My Little Melbourne Coffee and Brew Bar (the girls have been hunting for good coffee). It was a very homely place, not much more than a hole in the wall with some seating outside, smelling of coffees, croissants and other yummy things. With our tummies full we headed off for a walking tour to get a bit more of an orientation and some history surrounding this city! Now we have done quite a few “free walking tours” on this adventure so far and have liked them all, however this one was terrible (granted it was a different company than we had used in the past). Our guide was 20 minutes late, had a terrible voice for tour giving (it was very soft) and was not very detailed in her stories. Aside from this we did get to see some interesting things. We went back past the Basilica and through Liberty Square where she explained to us what the protest statements were about. The monument is a Soviet army memorial , the last of its type still standing in the city, which portrays the Hungarian’s as innocent in the happenings of WWII. The people of Hungry have been actively protesting this monument since its erection, and continue to do so. Walking past the Parliament building and onto the banks of the Danube we stopped at ‘Shoes on the Danube’ – a monument to Hungarian Jews shot and thrown into the Danube by members of the fascist Arrow Cross Party in 1944. It’s a simple but poignant display of 60 pairs of old-style boots and shoes in cast iron, tossed higgledy-piggledy on the bank of the river.

We then crossed the Chain Bridge – the oldest and arguably the most beautiful bridge over the Danube. When it opened in 1849, it was unique for two reasons: it was the first permanent dry link between Buda and Pest, and the aristocracy, previously exempt from all taxation, had to pay the toll. Once we crossed over to Buda, our guide took us to see Castle Hill. She showed us the Royal Palace, Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. Deciding to come back and explore Castle Hill properly another time (let’s face it, we were buggered) we took a moment to watch the odd man with his falcon (weird) and then went back to the hostel to find Roisin and find some dinner.

After dinner Sinéad, Max and I went back along the Danube to have a drink at a bar we saw that looked like fun, and it was! There were fairy lights, hammocks and live music. It was a great place to sit and watch the world (as well as the Danube) float by.

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Our next day started off with a show – a fountain water show! We set off to Margaret Island – a public park in the middle of the Danube. It was a sunny morning and we sat down in front of the large fountain to enjoy our breakfast and the dazzling display of water as it danced along to the music (we even sang along when ‘Let It Go’ played. We spent a large proportion of time wandering around the park cooing at how beautiful it was, how gorgeous the flowers were, how green and lush the grass was and even how big it seemed! Along the way we found the “Petting Zoo” we were looking for. Our tour guide from yesterday had told us – “don’t be too excited, it is more like a farm than a zoo”, but as soon as we got there we knew she was wrong. It was adorable and had such a lovely variety from fallow deer, peacocks, white-cheeked pintails, mandarin ducks, Asian silkies to owls and even rabbits and ponies (okay so yes there were some farm animals, but we still had a great time). My favorite part was probably seeing the absolute glee on this one little girls face when she saw the horses. She could not contain her excitement and it was beautiful.

While Max and Sinéad went off to have a rest, I decided to cram as much of Budapest in as I could, starting at the Hungarian State Opera House. We thought we might see a show if one was on – however it was off-season, and so none were on/available while we were in town. However, one can take a tour of this gorgeous neo-Renaissance building. The tour was wonderful, our guide taking us through most of the rooms (including the theater itself) and giving us an explanation about some of the gorgeous architecture. The tour finished with a two song performance by one of the opera singers which was truly special and showcased the buildings perfect acoustics. I decided to treat myself with a delicious ice cream (in the shape of a flower mind you) as I wandered around the city – up and down some of the most expensive streets in town!

Next on the agenda was exploring the Great Market Hall or Nagycsarnok, the biggest market in Budapest. Even though it was quite touristy, it was a beautiful building and there was tones of fruit, vegetables, deli items, fish and meat. When I ventured up to the 1st floor I found seemingly endless rows of Hungarian folk costumes, dolls, painted eggs, embroidered tablecloths, carved hunting knives and other souvenirs. There was also great Hungarian treats available including foie gras, garlands of dried paprika and as many kinds of honey as you’d care to name. I treated myself to a Lángos – fried bread dough covered with chocolate and runs, and possibly one of the most rich (and at the same time delicious) things I have eaten.

I waked the few kilometers back along the bank of the Danube to meet up with Max and Sinéad for dinner. We went to Evidens Bistro which was right near the Basilica of St Stephen. They had a seasonal menu full of Hungarian dishes and huge portions so we decided to share a few dishes – crispy baked camembert, beef stew served with egg dumplings and a chicken dish with a tasty salad topped off with a local beer. It was delicious. After we couldn’t fit in any more food, Max and I headed off to the Basilica to enjoy an organ concert. The basilica was even more beautiful at night (if you could imagine that), we took our seats and were immediately disappointed as we saw an organ on stage. Surely not! Surely they would use the church organ, isn’t that half the point of having the concert in the church? That they have a huge and magnificent organ right there in the building? But alas, the organ on stage was the one they chose. Once we came to terms with our disappointment, we allowed ourselves to sit back and enjoy the excellent acoustics produced by one of Hungary’s most talented pipe organ players Kolos Kováts. We were also treated to a few flute solos by Eleonóra Krusic a famous Hungarian flute player and the stunning voice of an elderly chap, whose name I’ve no idea, but he was brilliant.

On our way back to our hostel we thought we might stop for a drink at one of the famous “ruin pubs” (a literal translations) of Budapest. They started sprouting up everywhere at the turn of the 21st century, mostly around the Jewish quarter by university students. Each of the pubs are unique in their own way, some with interconnecting courtyards, some decorated with random mannequins, an underground disco several stories up, some with a jungle of plants and some decorated like a secondhand shop with electronic devices, prehistoric toys, old bikes, and even vintage Russian cars. All this and their raved about atmospheres has made them an attraction. Unfortunately because we were so tired, we only went to the one that was closest to our hostel and the price of entry was far too expensive for one drink, so we turned around and went to bed.

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Our second last day was hectic and was our PB for walking distance of the trip so far – 21 kilometers! We started our day exploring Buda and Castle Hill, exploring Matthias Church. From the outside it is very impressive. The pointed spire and colourful tiled roof rise above the streets and there are stunning carvings above the southern entrance. Then we walked in and became speechless. As the church was turned into the cities biggest mosque during Turkish occupation and then back into a church after the Turks were expelled, the result is an odd and wonderful amalgamation of the two styles. Highlights were the remarkable stained glass windows, the detailed paintings on the walls and in the chapels and the medieval Royal tomb of King Béla III. An upper section of the church showed how some of the restorations were completed after the war.

Our next stop was Fishermen’s Bastion, a neo-gothic folly with seven white turrets that looks far too new and well-scrubbed to be medieval. It was built in 1905 as a viewing platform and named after the fishermen responsible for defending this stretch of wall. Unfortunately there is only a portion of the wall you are able to walk along, however the views of Pest and the Danube were superb.

We decided to check out the Hospital In The Rock Museum before lunch. This hospital was used extensively during the siege of Budapest in WWII and the 1956 Uprising and was built into the Castle Hill caves network. We arrived just as a tour was about to start (which was excellent as we had no idea you needed to go on a tour to see the Hospital). The first part of the tour was a video about how the hospital was built into the natural cave system and how it changed throughout the war and Uprising. We then met our tour guide and started our one-hour tour by throwing on some coats (it’s cold in the caves). We were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved the tour! Our guide was excellent and informative as she showed us the network of offices, hospital rooms, operating theatre, bathrooms and control room that were filled with original medical equipment and 100 wax figures. She explained to us how the caves were adapted to work as a hospital, and about the inhuman conditions staff had to work in while tending people wounded in the Uprising. It was pretty gritty stuff. Particularly the last stretch of tunnel which was dedicated to drawings of Hiroshima completed by children.

After we enjoyed some lunch Cafe Miró we headed off to the former Royal Palace to see the National Szchenyi Library. For some inexplicable reason the annual wine festival that was on over the weekend was blocking the entrance to the palace, it’s museums and the library. We went around with a few other stragglers, who were also confused, asking any event attendant we could find if we could just go through to the library/if there was another way around. Everyone looked at us like we were weird and seemed so confused that we would want to access the museum or library. We were told repeatedly (with confused expressions) that we could only access them if we bought a ticket to the wine festival – which I mean we probably would have done if we didn’t have 7 other things on our list of things to do today – but we didn’t want to spend the €40 on a ticket to enter a free library. We begrudgingly started to head down Castle Hill onto our next activity. We decided to venture down using the funicular (which was adorable).

While we were heading toward our next destination (the Cave Chapel) we went up a flight of stairs near the walls of the citadel to a small viewpoint. I happened to see the stairs continued and looked like they might lead up to the Royal Palace and I thought there may be a separate entrance. To Max and Sinéad’s dismay (it was hot and there were a lot of stairs and we didn’t even know if the entrance was up there) I decided to head up to see if we could get in – and we could! Yay! The Castle Museum was huge. It took us through 2000 years of the city over three floors. On the ground floor there were exhibits showcasing Budapest during the Middle Ages, with important Gothic statues of courtiers, squires and saints discovered during excavations in 1974. The first and second floors showed the history through Turkish occupation (as well as artifacts) and beyond, as well as how the Hungarian people have moved forward since the fall of communism in their country. The best part was that the museum was interactive! So as we explored we played with puzzles, pushed buttons and generally ran amuck.

The Cave Chapel was up next, located on a small hill and built into a cave in 1926. Although the video we watched at the start of the audio guided tour seemed a bit … cult-like … it was a very interesting and unique chapel, with a monastery behind it. There was also some beautiful wooden carvings inside.

Finally it was time for the Thermal Baths!! What we had been excited about for days! We were told that the reason Budapest has so many Baths because of a geological fault causing more than 30,000 cubic metres of warm to scalding (21°C to 76°C) mineral water to gushes forth each day from some 123 thermal springs. We decided to go to the Gellért Baths, which was in an Art Nouveau style and the inside almost felt like we were taking a bath in a cathedral. There was eight thermal pools ranging in temperature from 26°C to 38°C, a sauna and even a wave pool. We were actually like kids at a water park – especially when the waves came on! We were floating and jumping, riding the waves and giggling. We were clearly having too much fun because we had the whistle blown at us when we tried to jump up and touch the top of the walls of the pool (oops). We were not allowed in the hottest pool because we did not have a bathing cap (we were whistled at once more as we didn’t realize) but we did enjoy taking turns sitting underneath a stream of water massaging out some of the knots we had acquired in our necks from carrying our packs around. Before we knew it we were getting kicked out of this blissful place.

Tonight for dinner we decided to find some traditional Hungarian food. We wanted to try a variety of things and decided to share Lecsó (a mixed vegetable stew, the Hungarian ‘Ratatouille’), Pörkölt (meat stew in a thick paprika-spiced sauce), Hortobágyi Palacsinta (savory stuffed crepes) and Tokaji (dessert wine).

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We started our last day in Budapest like royalty – with breakfast at the New York Café, the Most Beautiful Café in the World. Just walking into the room caused our jaws to drop. It was like taking a step back in time, where magnificence, charm and sophistication envelopes you. The room was absolutely resplendent. There was frescoes on the ceiling, dating back to the mid 1800s and chandeliers adorning the room. Along the walls were precious Venetian lamp shades, giving off  a soft light that reflected off the gold-plated columns, creating a myriad of colours. The building itself is part of the history of Budapest and Hungarian literary life, once the official offices of the “Nyugat” magazine, the Café was often frequented by painters, actors and intellectuals. To top it all off, the kitchen is run by a 3-Michelin starred chef and our cakes (Passion fruit ganage with vanilla cream and “Dulsy” Chocolate tart with wild forest berry mousse) were to die for. We couldn’t have felt more posh. We became a bit distracted by the splendor of it all and in the end had to run in order to meet up with Roisin at the Terror museum.

The House of Terror (Terror Háza) is a museum and a monument at the former headquarters of the communist secret police (ÁVH). Personally I think it was a great museum, engrossing and evocative, focusing on the crimes and atrocities of Hungary’s fascist and Stalinist regimes. It also explained some of this building’s ghastly history including stories about those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building (the walls were apparently of double thickness to muffle the screams). Even before you enter the museum, the outside walls are lined with photos of many victims, then once inside, the tank in the central courtyard made for a jarring introduction. The reconstructed prison cells in the basement and the Perpetrators’ Gallery, featuring photographs of the turncoats, spies and torturers, were chilling. Even though a lot of the content in the museum was quite shocking, it was displayed very effectively and certainly helped me to understand these periods of Hungarian history a bit better.

Sinéad and I thought we might try out luck on another walking tour of the city with a lighter subject – the Alternative side of Budapest. It was run by the same company as the tour we took on the first day, however we were still optimistic that it would be okay. We were wrong. Our guide was 20 minutes late. In fact ALL of the guides were late. There was not a single employee there from the company to tell everyone what the situation was and that someone would be coming soon. Strangers started asking each other if they were also there for a tour, what did we think was happening, should we continue to wait around.. it was all a bit of a mess to be honest. When our guide did turn up, she had a very irritating voice and as she started to explain what the tour would be like, it seemed very different to what we had read on their website. We were hoping for a tour where we would discover the real Budapest – the amazing street art, alternative living, cultural hot spots, secrets from the 7th district, street food and in general maybe some of the lesser known areas of the city. Instead she describe it as a tour where she would show us what to do, see and where to eat and go out at night. Given we only had one night left (not to mention that was not the type of tour we wanted) we said apologised for our exit and ran for the hills. We could not have been happier as we grabbed and ice-cream and pottered home to rest up before our evening activities. Dinner this evening was pretty hearty, we all enjoyed a huge pasta dish to line our stomachs before Roisin waved us goodbye.

The main event was finally here, the reason we had decided to stay in Budapest an extra night – it was Sparty time!! If you don’t know (which I didn’t 5 months ago) Sparties combine Thermal Baths, well-known DJs playing electro, trip-hop, hip-hop, funk and trance with light, video and laser visual effects and unlimited alcohol. Initially the idea of a rave in a thermal bath both excited and worried me, especially after some of the sordid stories we had heard (and being warned not to go anywhere by ourselves/split up as we were a group of girls) but it’s been running for 20 years, so surely it wouldn’t be that bad right? We had organized to meet up with two of the girls we met on our BusAbout Sail Croatia trip and head in with them (their hostel was taking a bunch of people in as a group after having some drinks in a bar and we thought it would be a good idea to go in a bigger group/we had no idea how to get there ourselves). We arranged to meet at a ruin bar connected with one of the “party hostels” in town and decided to play some beer pong while we waited for Marley and Sarah to arrive. Halfway through the game I saw this blonde girl hurtling towards me, arms stretched out, squealing! Marley! With Sarah close behind her, they were both laughing, explaining they had been concerned they were not going to be able to find us but as they were walking towards the bar, out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a mess of curling brown hair bouncing around and knew it was me! We finished the game and started catching up rapid-fire, like only girls can do. We then start to play flip-pong, which is a weird combination of flip-cup and beer-pong with 3 players per team. It was very competitive and we were literally 1 second off beating the boy’s team. After this game we went to get another drink and ran into one of the girls we had met at both Katie’s wedding and on the walls in Montenegro! What a small world. We managed to lose Sarah and Marley as we still had to finish our drink and run to the bathroom at the same time as their big group started the walk to Széchenyi Baths. As we left the bar, we managed to join what we thought was a separate group of people also walking to the Baths, however it ended up being the same one as the girls, hooray! We only discovered this when we made our was to the front of the group and started speaking to a young guy who claimed to be the “guide”. We didn’t believe his claim (you can’t just trust any guy with lots of tattoos and piercings wearing a basketball jersey at the front of a group of young, drunk persons) and started to question him. In defiance to our line of questioning he started giving us a weird and impromptu tour of where we were walking (which to be honest was potentially more detailed than the one we had paid to go on in this city), including museums, public transport stops, restaurants and bars in the area. As we were listening intently (but also laughing at this poor guy, who was trying to prove himself, and who was probably younger than us) we spotted Marley and Sarah in the crowd ahead and ran to catch up with them. The rest of the stroll was relatively uneventful, except for when we were guided in the wrong direction, which was flooded so we couldn’t get through, and where multiple people slipped over in the grass.

We finally arrived at Széchenyi Baths – one of the biggest Thermal Baths in Europe, with dozens of thermal baths and five outdoor swimming pools (apparently if you go during the day you often see local men playing chess with floating chess boards while bathing). After queueing for a short time, we were allowed inside to buy our tickets, given a wristband with an electronic locker key and a lanyard with a plastic card on it that you can put money on and use as a bank card to allow you to leave your wallet in a locker. We put our belongings in the locker did some people watching as girls in the bathroom were ensuring their bathers (of all sort of weird and wonderful designs and colours) were flattering and making plans for the evening. Now let me prefix this by saying, yes, it was a weird and seedy experience, but it was also 10 times more hilarious than I imagined. As soon as we descend the stairs, it seemed like we were in a different world and from that point onwards, you couldn’t wipe the smile from our faces. It was just such a weird, hilarious and out of control environment that would NEVER fly in Australia. We were surrounded by semi-drunk, semi-naked people, laughing, swimming and drinking from giant plastic cups.

If it weren’t for the pumping music, the flashing lights and lasers, it would be a bit like having a beer in a hot bath, which is not unpleasant. The crowd was all young and people seemed to come from all over Europe, America and Britain (we met very few Australians). The party’s gender balance was in no way 50-50, but towards the end of the night, the phrase “sausage fest” definitely came to mind. There was so many great moments during the night, and I am impressed how many times we “misplaced” each other and managed to come back together (part of that may have been our pure determination to do so) but a few of my favourite moments were:

• Max’s excitement when we found the whirlpool
• Getting stuck in the whirlpool – there was this mini whirl pool thing which was going so fast you actually didn’t have to do a thing, however there was about 3 rows of people so that when you did want to escape it was very difficult. Max and I had to plan our escape and it took us about 3 goes around until we actually made it out, at which point someone clapped our miraculous escape!
• Sinéad was carried away (yes actually picked up and carried away) by a boy, but it was fine because Max swam after him and took her off him, carrying her back to us
• We accidentally ended up looking after a girl for a while who we had never met before, was absolutely off her face, and apparently it was her birthday. She couldn’t stand at all, and kept slipping over as we tried to help her to the bathroom
• Dancing in water is great fun

Gosh I am sure there were so many more moments, but I also think it is just one of those “you have to be there moments”. It was weird and wonderful and certainly a once in a lifetime experience, I am not sure it is something you would want to do every day! But if you’re under 30, enjoy dance music, alcohol, and water, you’ll have a good time.

 

 

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Sadly the next morning it was time for us to leave Budapest. The train ride was undoubtedly the worst train ride of my life that started with Sinéad and Max almost missing the train after a huge line and with me hanging out of our carriage so that I could show them where we were sitting. Initially I thought it was last nights antics, but turned out I was developing the lovely fever Roisin had been enjoying. So instead of reflecting on that great time, let’s take one last look at the incredible and jam-packed last 5 days and why I think it is a must for anyone going to Europe.

From our short time here, it seemed that almost everything of importance in Hungary starts or ends in Budapest. Besides the heady mix of museums and shopping streets, outdoor entertainment areas called kertek (literally ‘gardens’) and ‘ruin pubs’, numerous thermal baths in which to pamper yourself, architecture to suit all tastes and history that is just around the corner, I really think it’s the vibe of Budapest that wins you over. To put it simply, Budapest is a gem of a city.

We woke up this morning eager to start the next “chapter” of our adventure – sailing around the beautiful coast of Croatia! We made our way to the port, said goodbye to Sinéad for now, found our boat and met our guide Bryce (who just so happened to also be from the Peninsula back home). We started to meet the rest of our group as they trickled aboard and were pleasantly surprised to find they were not all 18 year olds (a small fear of ours!)! Most people were around our age and there was a great mix of people – although all 17 of us were Australians! We had two girls from Perth, an excellent group of cops and their friends from NSW, a guy from Melbourne, a girl from Adelaide, Meila (who is now living in the UK and has adopted us into her circle of friends), two hilarious girls from the South-East suburbs of Melbourne (Marley and Sarah) and two guys from the Peninsula. It’s crazy how many people actually ended up being from down our way! Max actually knew one of the boys from back home, but had not seen him properly in a very long time (they had been friends-of-friends in high-school but more recently he had worked with her sister). As such, she recognized him but couldn’t place him, and instead of helping her out, he silently looked taken aback. Max started to go red, feeling embarrassed, (she does this a lot and very easily) and everyone started to speculate. Finally he piped up and filled in the scandalous-free blanks. He still claimed she was “dead” to him, which became a catch-phrase of the trip! Someone came on the boat to introduce the crew to us and to explain the rules of the voyage before we set sail. After the formalities were over, we started chatting and getting to know each other as the engines started to rumble. Anchors away!

The boat itself wasn’t too bad. There were a few bedrooms below deck and the main deck had our dining room, bar, kitchen, bathrooms and an under-cover area with long table. Then you had the upper deck where most of the bedrooms (including ours) were situated, as well as a nice-sized open area with deck chairs. There was also a ladder where you could access the roof of the cabins – nothing up there but a good place to lie down and sun bake if the mood struck you. The bedrooms and bathrooms were quite funny. They were all bunk beds with not much space between the bottom bunk and the top as well as between the top bunk and the roof. There was no rails or ladders on the bunks (it was actually so hard to get on and off the bed – once Max was cornered there by a wasp and there was nothing you could do! No space to move at all!). You then had a small passage between the bunks and the wall, and the end of which were a few shelves. The door in the wall led to a tiny bathroom with a toilet and sink. At first we thought there were no showers other than the two downstairs, however as it turns out, the tap for the sink is on a retractable hose, and that’s your shower! It was great fun!
Our crew was a bit of a rag-tag bunch. First there was our captain Ivan who seemed young and was very quiet, I don’t think his English was very good. Then there was our bar tender, also called Ivan, who everyone loved – he acted a bit like the boat DJ as well as the bar tender and would poke fun at everyone, quite a jovial spirit. Next came Dommo, probably the best way to describe him would be the sleazy sailor. He would always slap people on the bum as they jumped into the water, once even with a saw! The nicest one of all was probably Ivana, not entirely sure what she did, bit of sailoring, but of cooking and a bit of bar tending, but she was just so lovely and quiet and occasionally would jump in the water too but would often wait till we were all out of the water first. Last but not least was our excellent Chef, but alas, I have no clue what his name was. Perhaps it was also Ivan.
I will give you a brief rundown of what each day was like and then get into the specifics. The boat would depart early each morning (generally before 7 but we were told earlier to ensure no one actually missed the boat – apparently it happens quite a lot but didn’t happen on our trip) with breakfast provided for those of us who were early risers. Then you would pop your sunnies on, grab a book and head up to the deck to relax while some music played (often beats rather than relaxing music which was odd – once Bob Marley played and some people seemed as if they might riot) as we sailed to our first stop. We would always have one swim stop, but often one either side of lunch where we could jump off the boat, or climb down the ladder into the crystal clear turquoise waters (they were actually that clear – you could see everyone’s legs under the water if you were still on the boat)! Lunch itself was an event – three course, freshly cooked meal every day starting with a first course of a garden salad. But not just any salad. It was more like one part of the salad was given to us each day! One day we had lettuce, one day we had a bowl of tomatoes, one day we had cabbage… We were really looking forward to the day we would get Feta, but alas, that day never came. While we enjoyed our interesting meals Bryce would give us some information about the island we were going to dock in. Once we arrived Bryce would take us for a bit of an orientation stroll around the island before we had some free time to discover the sites, wander the sun dappled streets, have a swim, check out the water sports or explore the shops. Then there was always an optional group dinner before a night checking out the bars and dancing the night away!

DAY 1: DUBROVNIK TO SLANO

Departing Dubrovnik harbour we took in the beauty of Eliphite Islands as we started to cruise up the coastline. We stopped not long after lunch finished for a refreshing swim stop, and cracked our the only floaty we had on the boat – a giant inflatable pizza! It wasn’t long into the swim stop before some people decided to test one of the rules of the boat – if you ring the bell at the bar, then you are buying shots for everyone on the boat. I have never seen a group of people swim faster towards the ladder of a boat. After this happened three more times in a row we thought that this might not be the “quiet” first night that we had anticipated. As we continued to sail towards Slano – where we would dock for the night – we sat around the table of the outdoor deck and got to know one another a little bit better. We swapped tales about our past and future travels as well as from back home. Once docked we had a bit of time to explore the mainland port before dinner. We decided to go for a walk and “gossip about/evaluate” our first day and the tour so far. We wandered up and down some of the small streets and even trespassed found some adorable little gardens and a cat or two. Dinner was on the boat tonight, and the crew cooked us up a delicious Croatian BBQ to celebrate our first night on tour. One person didn’t quite make it to dinner. After dinner we could here some music playing in the square and a few of us wandered off to check it out. Turns out it was a Večer dalmatinske pjesme (Evening of Dalmatian songs) – there were a variety of different groups of singers and musicians, and although we didn’t understand anything they were saying, the emotion in the music was and talent on stage was crystal clear. We sat down on the concrete (the show was on the steps of a church with most of the audience sitting in lawn chairs in front) with our legs crossed as we were swept up in the atmosphere of it all.

DAY 2: SLANO TO KORCULA

We left port early this morning which meant we got the whole morning to explore our first island Mljet, and the beautiful Mljet National Park which takes up most of the island. We hired bikes to be able to see more of this real -life island paradise. We cycled to a tiny pier where we caught a “shuttle boat” to an island in the middle of a lake where we walked around the old Roman ruins and fed an adorable donkey. We then went back to our bikes and road around the rest of the main island track, stopping once to take in some of the most picturesque, clear-blue waters I have ever seen, and once more to have a dip in one of the pine-fringed lakes where the current was so strong you would jump in on one side of the bridge, and before you would come up for air you were well and truly on the other side! The natural beauty of this island was simply stunning – rich with olive groves, vineyards and all kinds of flora and fauna. Some from our trip were so caught up in there majestic surroundings (or maybe just got distracted by a pizza) that they almost missed the boat and received a slow clap as we welcomed them back on board 20 minutes late. We had lunch on board as we sailed onwards to Korčula, the island of Marco Polo (the birthplace of this famous explore – which the island really seems to milk for all its worth with ever second shop having something to do with Marco Polo). Korčula is the sixth-largest Adriatic island, stretching nearly 47km in length and has a glorious old town with incredible stone work! After our walk through town we needed some refreshments and decided to climb up three ladders, inside a fourteenth-century tower, in order to sip some delicious cocktails while we took in the smashing views (ah Croatia, you have stolen our hearts). On recommendation, we then decided to sample some of what is arguably the best wine in Croatia, produced from their native pošip grapes. We did manage to underestimate how long this would take, mainly due to the chatty nature of our waiter who brought us home made vegetable bread, a cheese board and home grown olives. It may also have been because it was one of our new friends birthdays – Meila – and every time we toasted we insisted on singing another round of “Happy Birthday”. Either way – we were late for group dinner (although we were more than half the group..) but apparently they heard our arrival as we giggled our way towards the restaurant. Then we made our way to a weird little sunset bar where Bryce showed off his moves on one of the poles inside and we enjoyed another cocktail or two. We finished the night dancing away at Boggie Jungle – an open air club with an awesome vibe – and enjoying one of the tastiest burgers you could imagine before heading back to our boat.

 

DAY 3: KORCULA TO HVAR

We departed Korčula early in the morning with an extra floaty on board! Yay! After enjoying two swim stops in the crystal clear Adriatic, we glided on into Hvar’s hub and busiest destination, Hvar Town. We needed to get a “shuttle boat” into port as the boats are not allowed to dock until the evening. Our driver could not have been more casual, smoking and talking on his phone, occasionally touching the wheel, as we bounced up and down on the water towards land. We explored the small bay town, with ornamented Gothic palaces and traffic-free winding marble streets, surrounded by 13th-century walls. We walked through the main square and market stalls, marveling over the wide variety of souvenirs made with Lavender (grown on Hvar), before we found a great spot to sit in the port and people watch/check out all the stunning yachts. After our seafood dinner, the three of us left the group and made our way to Hulahula Bar to meet up with Katie and Tim who had started their honeymoon with some of their family in Hvar! We walked past some of the most stunning hotels I have even seen, as well as a man who, while trying to get into a boat, missed and fell into the water! We were startled, but a bunch of his friends started laughing and began to help him out. We shared two cocktails while we waited for Katie and Tim. One was delicious and we enjoyed it while sitting on the sun lounges and the other we grabbed a free cabana and sipped on the strongest cocktail ever. Luckily Katie, Tim and a few others we had met at the wedding showed up and helped us finish it, otherwise we might still be sitting there now! We had a great time chatting and were kicked out when the bar closed at about 10.45. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Kiva Bar (stopping along the way to pose with a weird bin – see photo below) to try and rejoin our group. Alas, we could only find a smattering of them and kept loosing the ones we did find. The bar was cut in half by a little alleyway, so there was stacks of people both in the bar and spilling out onto the street! The music was great, so we stayed dancing for a while but there was so many people that not long after Max went off to get some air, Rosh and I decided to find her. What we found was at first confusing, and then wonderful. Max was sitting on a stool chatting with what appeared to be a nice couple. We saddled on up to her and they explained that the husband of the pair had accidentally purchased the giant bottle of Moët inside of the normal size, and there was no way they would be able to drink it all. They had seen Max, who had been standing next to their table, waiting to see us when we came out, and they invited her to join them! Then they invited us! They were such a nice couple – from America, in their early 30’s – and we had a great old chat over the champagne. After they had one, maybe two, glasses each they got up to leave and offered us the rest of the bottle. We tried to say no/offer to pay but they were insistent, and floated off into the night. We were so shocked! Followed by frustration thy we hadn’t taken down their names. We enjoyed the rest of the champagne as we sat watching the town lights glisten over the harbour.

DAY 4: HVAR TO STARI GRAD

This morning we stumbled out of our cabins to find an additional two floatys on the deck, covered with towels and sun chairs, remembering that we had this brilliant idea last night. The boat next to us was clearly showing off with it’s PILES of floats, so we had to take two.. It was only fair.. But they also had to be covered so no one would see. Not really sure that the chairs had done an adequate job of covering them, but they were still there! Needless to say the group was thrilled and the floats were a hit at our refreshing swim stop enroute to Stari Grad. Oh, and Max was now fondly described by the rest of the boat as “not as innocent as she looks”. Stari Grad, on the Hvar’s north coast, was a quieter, more cultured and stylish affair than Hvar Town. Before dinner we went for a stroll along the waterfront promenade and I enjoyed an ice cream while Rosh and Meila had a coffee. Dinner was a real treat. We were taken inland to an ancient vineyard belonging to the best wine makers on the island of Hvar. It was beautiful, rustic and charming. We sat and were treated to a wine tasting of the finest quality plus a traditional Peka BBQ grill – all local produce grown at the vineyard. We laughed and ate our fill as the sun set over the Stari Grad plain. We were also invited to explore some of the property and saw some of their horses, donkeys and geese. It was a very special evening in such a unique and local setting. It was almost perfect until Max almost threw her phone in the harbour waters. We had returned to the boat after dinner, but not yet feeling hungry we headed back along the waterfront to explore a bit more of the town. We wandered up, down and around some of the cobbled streets finding quaint art galleries and either a church or a restaurant around every turn. We then decided to sit on the dock, feet hanging down, outside a cafe with free wifi (where we had been that afternoon). Chatting happily and kicking our feet, we did not notice at all as someone snuck up behind Rosh and grabbed her phone! Rosh squealed and grabbed it back, I squealed and hunched over and, for some reason, Max went to throw her phone into the water. For safety maybe? She does not even know why this was her reaction. We all turned to see two of the girls from our boat pissing themselves laughing. Once they had realized Max hadn’t ACTUALLY thrown her phone into the water. They gave us some juicy figs they had just bought from the market up the road and everyone was friends again. It was mostly a quiet night on the boat tonight, as we were warned by Bryce that tomorrow was a fun night out, and so far we had been doing it wrong. Being far too enthusiastic on and quiet nights and dying on the deck on the “big nights”. Most except two listened to him. The night for them ended try to seduce some of the boat staff on the back deck.

DAY 5: STARI GRAD TO MAKARSKA

Today we hit the seaside resort of Makarska, playground of locals and tourists alike, famous for its long pebble beach, wicked water sports, awesome shopping, stunning sunsets and the palm fringed promenade framed by the lofty heights of the Biokovo Mountains. A spectacular natural setting. Bryce first took us into the town square where we met Mario – the handsome owner of the local costume shop, where we could get a discount on a Pirate costume for the infamous BusAbout Pirate party tomorrow night. Then we wandered into the gorgeous riviera town, only making it to the end of the dock before we were stopped by a man with a camera and a man with a microphone. He asked if anyone could spare a moment to be filmed. Straight away, seemingly without any forethought, everyone turned and said in unison “Max!”. Looking somewhat confused she said yes and was taken a few meters away to sit on a bench and look at her phone while the guy with the microphone spoke in Croatian and walked towards her. Her star moment was to smile and look up and him when he sat down next to her and said “hello”. Max was flawless in her portrayal of girl sitting on a bench. However microphone guy mucked up his line and had to go back to the start, while all 17 of us watched on in confusion, Bryce excitedly taking pictures. Our tour continued until we reached the town’s long pebbly beach, where we were left to our own devices. A bunch of us headed to one of the inflatable water playgrounds. I was quite anxious about participating at first but am I glad I did! It was a bunch of fun, everyone fell off, slipping and sliding all over the place. It was hilarious and only slightly painful. The hardest part was getting back up after you fell off! After we were all exhausted, we sat back on the beach to dry off for a tick before heading off to see if we could find somewhere we could go parasailing. Along the way we ran into some girls we knew from home who were doing the boat tour but from Split-to-Split! It was lovely to see them and we knew we would see them again the next two nights, so that was great! We found the parasailing place and myself, Max and two of the cops decided to go on! We picked the second highest height and jumped on the boat with about 10 or 12 other people. Max and I were second last. About halfway through, the instructor came around and asked if we were happy to go to the highest point because that’s “what everyone else was doing”. I started to get nervous but also excited. I wasn’t sure about the fact that there was only one clip either side holding you in, but everyone else had landed back safely on the boat. The cops had gone before us which gave me more confidence, and they looked thrilled. When it was our turn we were hooked up, and then sat on the platform at the back of the boat with the parachute flowing behind us. As the boat began to pick up speed we lifted up off the boat! At first it was scary, and then it was great! We had such a spectacular view over the water, the mountains and the town, it was stunning! We did get a few more butterflies when the parachute “jumps” a little bit when you reach the end of the length of rope connection you to the boat. Oh and whenever Max thought it would be a great idea to look down. Walking back through the markets we purchased the final accessories we needed for the Pirate Party and then headed back to the boat to meet for dinner. We went back to the town square where I enjoyed my first chicken parma since leaving home at a traditional tavern. Max suffered through a pasta with prawns, that had been covered in sauce, but had not yet been peeled. It was a struggle. After eating our fill we went back to the boat to change our clothes before we headed into town to enjoy a few drinks and a dance. It was a super fun venue! Our final destination was Club Deep, an ex. WW2 weapons depot built in to a cave that has now become one of the island’s hottest clubs – from war base to party central. It is fondly called “the Cave Rave”.

DAY 6: MAKARSKA TO OMIS

Another chilled morning was required after last nights antics. We stopped in at Pucisca for a refreshing swim in, yet again, more stunning water. We made the mistake of ordering a sandwich when we got off the boat, not realising how close we were to lunch time or how huge the sandwich would be. This made the three course lunch was even more of a struggle than usual to finish. Our next stop was the Pirate town of Omis. Omis is a small town and harbour, situated in the mouth of a river, surrounded with massive gorges. It is know as a Pirate town because in the past Omis was notorious for Pirates, whose ships were a centuries-long symbol of retaliation, courage and strength. They left evidence of their power in the ancient town with stone fortresses. Bryce told us we could go on a “small hike” with him up to the stunning fortress that once protected the island and its pirate people and we would be rewarded with magnificent panoramic views of Dalmatia. What he didn’t tell us was that this “small hike” was more of a scramble. There were steps up for maybe a quarter of it, if you were being generous, but most of the 45 minute experience was climbing up rocks and trying not to slide down slippery/rocky slopes. Meila made it in thongs. Which was remarkable. The views from the top were incredible and almost seemed fake. It was definitely worth the effort, but it certainly wasn’t what we had expected. We made our scramble back down to the bottom and started to dress up for our Pirate Party and Captain’s dinner!

DAY 7: OMIS TO SPLIT

Today was our last day of sailing, and our last day of swim stops, so we tried to soak in every last luscious drop of this experience. Our last port was Split – Croatia’s second largest city. We sailed in, gawking at the dramatic coastal mountains and the turquoise waters which helped distract from the dozens of shabby high-rise apartment blocks that filled the suburbs. From the outset it is clearly not the fantasy land that Dubrovnik is, but that almost made it more intriguing. Bryce helped us navigate our way through the maze of shops, restaurants and bars that were thriving amid the atmospheric old walls. Then he gave us some tips on things to see and do in the city and sent us on our merry way. We explored the stunning Diocletian’s Palace (a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the world’s most impressive Roman monuments), the winding streets and the underground bazaar that was filled with jewelry stands and art stalls. We enjoyed a hearty dinner on the Riva waterfront and while we were wandering back to the boat we stumbled across a parade/show of some kind. Earlier in the evening we had commented on the amount of people that were wearing togas but hadn’t thought anything of it. Now while we were watching it we had absolutely no idea what was happening. To be honest I’m still not really sure what it was about, but Bryce said it had something to do with the history and settlement of the island mixed with Roman mythology. There was a lady on stage who seemed like she was telling a story/narrating what was happening, and then there was the parade itself. It seemed to be divided into sections like the gods, the Demi gods, the humans (but the rich ones with nice robes) and then the slaves. There were horses and everyone was dressed up. Whatever it was, it looked very impressive. Then the slaves stopped in front of the stage and seemed to start playing soccer. It was at this point that we left to continue back to the boat as it was starting to get more confusing rather than anything else. The evenings activities started with cocktails in a bucket at a hostel bar (which I promise was nice than it sounded). We sat around the tables on the stools on the street, gossiping and people watching (both on the street and through the windows above is). After a few hours we headed to Inbox bar which was epic. Another outdoor bar, lights in the trees, a giant stage, fresh air rushing around you, fun music and space to dance (at least to start with). It was a really fun place to celebrate our final night together in style.

DAY 8: SPLIT

This morning we woke up early and said goodbye to our fellow pirates and trip mates. Another fond farewell to a great bunch of people we had stronger connections with than one would have planned. Onto the next adventure.

~ Montenegro day trip ~

We decided to do something a little bit out of the box with one of our days in Dubrovnik, take a day tour to minuscule Montenegro! We had heard lots of good things recently from people who had been – majestic mountains, breathtaking beaches, spectacular scenery and larger-than-life locals. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to see most of it, but we were excited to see a snapshot of what Montenegro had to offer! Up bright and early to catch our mini-van transfer, we met our tour guide and driver (many questions were raised throughout the day about their relationship) and our tour mates (who really didn’t speak at all throughout the whole day..a little strange) and we were on our way! 
Our trip started relaxing (and trying very hard not to nap) in the van, and taking in the views of the beautiful Župa Dubrovacka valley and the Konavle region as we approached the border to Montenegro. Our guide told us some stories about some of the little islands we past on our drive including a botanical garden island which mostly consists of a national park and a quarantine island where they used to make sailers stay for 40 days before they could come to mainland Croatia to ensure no diseases were spread. 

The boarder crossing occurred without a hitch and the picturesque views continued. Our first stop was the charming Persat – a tiny, old, waterfront town on the Bay of Kotor that used to be a rich and powerful place. Despite only one main street, our guide told us there are still 16 churches and 17 formerly grand palazzos one could explore. Persat looked like an adorable place, with some of the towns buildings in ruins sprouting vines and wild figs and others were new/renovated. However, we did not really get a chance to wander around Persat as its most famous landmarks aren’t on land at all, but are the peculiarly picturesque islets of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. 
We jumped on a little boat and took off towards Our Lady of the Rocks (about a 5 minute trip). It is an artificial island built by fisherman who would sink old and seized ships loaded with rocks. According to a legend, the islet was made over centuries to house a church, in order to keep an ancient oath local fishermen made when they found the icon of Madonna and Child on a rock in the sea after being shipwrecked. The church is now dedicated to the Holly Mother of God, protector of sailors and fishermen. The entire point of going to the islet was to visit the 17th-century Baroque-style church and the museum attached (it’s most famous pieces being artwork by a local artist and an embroidery made over 30 years by a woman from Kotor out of golden and silver fibers as well as her own hair!), but unfortunately because of the amount of tours trying to get in we couldn’t in our time frame. This was very frustrating and seemed utterly ridiculous but we did have a nice time walking around the islet instead.

We hopped back in the minivan and continued our scenic drive to Kotor. Wedged between brooding mountains with limestone cliffs and a corner of the Adriatic Sea bay, Kotor is called a ria, a submerged river canyon. We parked in the modern part of town and walked the short distance to meet our local tour guide just outside the fortifications of the old town. Our guide was very nice and well informed. He took us around the Middle-Ages maze of museums, churches, cafe-strewn squares and Venetian palaces. He took us inside St. Nicholas, a Serbian Orthodox Church, which is one of the more recently built churches, built in 1909. Our tour finished up near the entrance to the old city walls. Kotor’s fortifications started to head up St John’s Mountain in the 9th century and were completed by the 14th century. The ascent totals 1200m via 1350 steps to a height of 260m above sea level; the views from up here are said to be glorious. Our guide told us we could climb them at our own risk (comforting) and that we were only allowed to climb up to the Church of our Lady of Remedy, or our Lady of Health, (about one third of the way up St John’s Mountain) because otherwise we would not make it back to the bus. He said we were lucky it was cooler weather today (36 degrees) because last week it was 47+ and no one was allowed to climb the wall…

We decided to give it a crack and the ticket-seller wished us luck as we ventured up (again … comforting …). The walls varied in width as they zig-zagged on their way up the hill – in some places they were just a couple of metres wide and in others the path widened out into a terrace. The path was made up of rough cobbles so we thought the easiest place to walk would be along the steps at the side. We did have to keep jumping on and off onto the slope next to the steps though to make room for people coming down. We had seen lots of people slip on the cobbles if they tried to come down on the slope. Thankfully the views were stunning, the perfect excuse for me to stop and take some photos when my legs started protesting about the climb. The complete hike would certainly not be for the faint of heart, as the section we climbed certainly made us sweaty, and I’m glad I chose runners this morning! Once we made it to the church we stopped to catch our breath and to take in the views down onto the red roofs of Kotor below, the cruise ship in the harbour and across the whole Bay of Kotor. It was stunning and more than worth the energy expended! 

We had a little bit of time left to explore this delightful city on our own – it seemed to be a place where the past coexists with the present; its cobblestones ring with the sound of children playing, lines of laundry flutter from wrought-iron balconies, and hundreds of cats – the descendants of seafaring felines – loll in marble laneways. The cats of Kotor are actually so ubiquitous, they’ve become a prominent symbol of the city. Some say the official symbol of Kotor! It is now certainly one of my favourite old cities. 
Our afternoon stop was Budva – the country’s most-visited destination. We walked along a strip of bars and clubs that all seemed to have weird and wonderful themes as we made our way towards the beach. We found lots of people lying on the pebbled shore, enjoying the sunshine, as well as hoards of boats and yachts in the marina. We then had a delicious seaside lunch at one of the restaurants alone the beach promenade before we wandered towards Budva’s best feature and star attraction – the Stari Grad (Old Town). It was much smaller than that of Kotor, but its atmosphere still rings true with marbled streets and Venetian walls rising from the clear waters below. Much of it was ruined by two earthquakes in 1979 but it has since been completely rebuilt and now houses more shops, bars and restaurants than residences. While we explored we gained an unwanted tag-along. A weird middle-aged man in his underwear. Thankfully we found salvation in a church – you need clothes to go in there – allowing us to escape our unwanted friend. The rest of Budva was less impressive – pretty much shiny and new with rampant development. 

We made one more “view stop” before heading back to Dubrovnik – the Sveti Stefan islet and 5-star resort. One of the most expensive resorts in the world, it is an Adriatic playground for the rich and famous. It consists of 50 rooms, cottages and suites including 8 grand suites at the Villa Miločer. One could really only dream of staying here, so we took some lovely panoramic photos and jumped back in the mini-van. 

On the way back to Dubrovnik our drive was broken up by a short ferry trip (lasting approximately 7 minutes and consisted mostly of us trying to guess whether or not our tour guide and mini-van driver were dating or just flirting like crazy) across the Bay of Kotor and enjoy a scenic drive along the coastal roads of Montenegro. All-in-all a fabulous taster, but we certainly all walked away saying we need to come back and see more!

After finding our accommodation, finding Sinéad at her accommodation (we were adopting her for the next leg of our journey and her and her friend had left their Sail Croatia boat early because it was awful – note do not go on the cheapest of the Sail Croatia boats, we found that your budget is what determines your age bracket on these boats) and helping our new pal Meila out with her accommodation we were ready for lunch (finally – it had seemingly been a very long day already)! We found this delicious little cafe – BEPA! – on recommendation from Bryce that made Eggs Benedict and had avocado! We hadn’t seen either of these things since leaving home! And it was actually really nice! After we secured our bus ticket to Zagreb for the next day we split up for a while – Roisin and Sinéad went to have a rest and properly check into our hostel, Max and Meila went to find some chocolate crepes and I went exploring!

I first went to explore a little bit more around the Diocletain Palace, which is actually not a palace/museum but the imposing Roman ruins that make up the city, covered with beautiful vines and flowers. The lustrous white marble creates a labyrinth of hidden passageways and courtyards, some deserted and eerie, others thumping with music from bars and cafes, while the local residents hang out their washing overhead, kids play football amid the ancient walls, and grannies sit in their windows watching the action below.

Next I went to see Split’s octagonal Ancient Roman cathedral – the Cathedral of St Domnius. The exterior of the building is encircled by an original colonnade of 24 columns and a tall Romanesque belfry with (for some reason) two lion figures at its base. The interior of the cathedral is domed and has an impressive frieze running high up on the walls but potentially the most impressive part is the large wooden entrance doors, beautifully carved with scenes from the life of Christ. The next room was the small treasury, which was rich in reliquaries, icons, church robes, illuminated manuscripts and documents in Glagolitic script. Lastly I was directed towards the Cathedral crypt, which was an eerily quiet and cool chapel.

Wanting a slightly different perspective, I decided to climb up the belfry for views over the old town’s rooftops and I’m so glad I did.

The most curious thing in Split was probably the towering statue of Gregory of Nin, a medieval Croatian bishop who fought for the right to use the local Croatian language in church services. With his pointed hat, topped with a small cross, robes and his stance, he looks rather like a wizard! People also love to rub his big toe for good luck, so I jumped on the bandwagon too, it can’t hurt right?

For dinner we decided to meet up with two of the boys from our tour (Roisin decided to stay at the hostel as she wasn’t feeling too well) and head up to Marjan hill for a sunset dinner. Marjan hill or park is a hilly nature reserve that offers trails through fragrant pine forests to scenic lookouts, medieval chapels and cave dwellings. We found an adorable restaurant overlooking the town and the water, with heart-shaped cushions on the chairs and enjoyed some delicious wine and food as the sun set over Split. The only hiccup was, when posing for a very “candid” photo, Sinéad’s phone fell from her pocket down a flight of stairs. Maybe she too had rubbed Gregory of Nin’s big toe, for her phone landed in the only patch of dirty in sight and had but the tiniest of dints in the frame of the phone! Not even a scratch to be seen on the screen!

Early in the morning we jumped on a bus and made our way to the capital city – Zagreb. We were not too sure what to except from Zagreb – was it just going to be somewhere we needed to go to get out of Croatia or would we love it? It ended up in our favor as we we all pleasantly surprised by how much we loved Zagreb! Zagreb had culture, art, music, architecture, gastronomy and everything you could want!

We arrived about lunch time, and after dropping our bags off at our hostel, we headed into town to enjoy some lunch. Our first choice – Nishta, a delicious vegetarian restaurant that Sinéad had been raving about – was unfortunately closed, so we decided to try Ivica i Marica. This restaurant was inspired by Hansel and Gretel, with the cake shop made to look like a gingerbread house and the waiters clad in traditional costumes. The only downside was that we were hungry and ordered way too much food, at least it was delicious. We tried the štrukli (baked cheese dumplings) and paprika cream cheese which were amazing.

We decided to do our own little walking tour with our afternoon. We started at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (formerly knows as St Stephen’s). It was an imposing building with its twin spires soaring over the city. It dates back to the 13th century but was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1880 and has been under reconstruction since the turn of the 20th century. Inside was decorated with beautiful baroque marble and the buildings next to the cathedral were adorable. Our next stop was Trg Bana Jelačića, the main square of Zagreb, surrounded by lovely buildings, cafes and fruit and flower sellers. Still feeling unwell, Roisin left us here and we continued on up Tkalčićeva – a pretty, colourful street lined with bars and cafes – until we reached the Stone Gate. The Stone Gate is a medieval remnant which turned into a shrine with engravings of thanks and praise to the Virgin after a fire that engulfed the rest of the wooden gate, left this section, with a painting of the Virgin and Child, untouched. We finished our stroll at St Mark’s Church which was really striking. It has a beautiful and colourful tiled roof constructed in 1880, and has the medieval coat of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia on one side, and the emblem of Zagreb on the other. Outside the church, there were Croatian men and women in traditional dress scattered around who were there to help promote tourism in Zagreb and answer any questions may have. Everyone feeling pretty buggered after a big week and long day of travel we headed back to our hostel for an early night.

Our next day in Zagreb started with lots of rain, being drenched with a puddle of water when a car drove past and with a trip to the train station to organise our Eurail passes (leaving Roisin at home again). After an eternity of the men going back and forth between the counter, trying to figure out our passes for us (they were super lovely about it) we tried again to go Nistha (the veggie restaurant). We were actually devastated when we found it was closed. With our heads hanging low, we trudged along in the rain and went into the next open and indoor restaurant we found. It turned out to be delicious and fancy with the menus being on an iPad! Feeling like new women, with our full bellies, we begin our tourist portion of the day.

We started by climbing up the steps to the Dolac Market – Zagreb’s colourful fruit and vegetable market. We didn’t have high hopes that it would be bustling with people given the rain had just stopped, but there was still a few stalls braving the weather selling meat, dairy, flowers, fruit and veggies as well as handmade ornaments. We continued on to the Lotrščak Tower via the funicular, one of the shortest in the world! The view from the top of the tower was stunning, although the spiral staircase was somewhat dizzying. We also got to see the canon, which for the last hundred years, has been fired at noon allegedly to commemorate one day in the mid-15th century, when the cannon was fired at noon at the Turks, who were camped across the Sava River. On its way down, the cannonball happened to hit a rooster, which was blown to bits – according to legend, this was so demoralising for the Turks that they decided not to attack the city. (A less fanciful explanation is that the cannon shot allows churches to synchronise their clocks.)

We then ventured across the road to the fascinating Museum of Broken Relationships. This was a terrific and quirky museum, home to to donations from all around the world that represent different parts/meanings of relationships. It certainly hit on a range of emotions, from a vinyl record that was played during a teen- age breakup forty years ago to a stun gun that never got to be used.

 

 

Now that the rain had gone, it seemed like the perfect time to explore the “Art Park”. After years of neglect, this park, formerly known as disorderly and fit for junkies, is now a unique part of the city thanks to well known regional names from the world of street art. We had a ball exploring some of the art and playing on the swing and playground equipment (even though I did happen to somehow fall off the swing … coordination goals). It seemed like such a great initiative! Our decision to then explore the weird and slightly creepy tunnel we found may have been questionable, but there were other people in there, and we made it out – so all’s well that ends well!

 

Before heading back to see how Roisin was faring, we wandered around the lower town and ate some market-fresh strawberries and raspberries in an adorable gazebo in the middle of a park. Our excellent day in Xagreb was topped off by a $7 trip to the cinema to see Suicide Squad, giant popcorn and the discovery of cinema “love seats”. I’m not even sure I can put my finger on what made our short time in Zagreb so good, maybe it was just the vibe of the place, but we certainly look back on it fondly and giggled pretty much the whole day through!

Such a nice way to end our stint in Croatia. As a whole, this country was always buzzing and exuberant, with just the right balance of tradition and modernity. I already know I have to go back, there are lots more corners of this country I want to explore!

I would say the best way to describe Athens is it is a city of contrasts. Ancient and modern, with equal measures of grunge and grace. I was quite unwell in Athens and had a few well deserved/needed rest days, so I cannot tell you much. However I will tell you what I can! 
We were fortunate that our first night back in Athens just so happened to be the August Moon Festival. Every August on the night of the full moon, musical performances are held at key historic venues, including the Acropolis, the Roman Agora and other sites around Greece. So after we enjoyed far too much dinner (we always seem to over order/over estimate our hunger) we headed off in search of some fun! After a fell down a slippery cobbled street and grazed both my knees (how old am I? 12?) we saw some great street performers with a variety of different puppets and then we found live music in the gardens outside the the Acropolis Museum! We stood for a while and enjoyed the music (we could not see a thing because of the crowds) and did some serious people watching! There was every type of person – singles, couples, families, kids running around, elderly people sipping wine while sitting on the grass! It was all happening! After a while we ventured inside the museum because it was free! The Greeks really know how to celebrate a full moon! 

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The next two days I spent mainly in bed while the girls explored the Acropolis, Prathenon, Ancient Agora, National Archeological Museum and more and Max went off to explore Italy.  

On our last night we just had the cutest night ever. We decided to go to one of the outdoor cinemas – Cine Thisio. We stopped at one of the many restaurants along our walked and picked up some take-away burgers (half the price because we did not eat there!) and some wine and headed into the theatre which was adorable. It is the oldest open-air theatre in Athens (1935), compete with a view of the Acropolis. It is even decorated in a lovely old, garden-style. We watched “The Secret Life of Pets” and it was just the most adorable night of the trip! Except for saying goodbye to Bronwyn. That sucked. Ah making new friends is hard!