Friends, Smiles and a Lotta' Miles.

Ireland is just so darn green

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Fri, 8 May 2009 00:57:00 GMT

Hey!!

Just a very short one from Killarney, County Kerry. Vee and I are driving round twisty lanes and cobble stone streets, its the best fun being on the road and cruising to Irish Radio which happens to be the best in the world!

My favourite things so far has been visiting the Dingle Peninsula which is surrounded by crazy cliffs and huge waves that spray over their edges. Vee is loving his black vitamins and I am enjoying just snuggling up in big coats, beanies and gloves. Sorry its short, internet time running out and the opperators are from the gestapo.

Love from Ireland, sear and vee xox

No1. from Ireland!

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Tue, 5 May 2009 05:48:00 GMT

Greetings from Ireland! (it's Chris again)

Man it was good to touch down in an english speeking nation again and not only that, Dublin is an amazingly friendly city. Very touristy in some places but with good reason as the sites are worth seeing. Sear and I didn't try to pack in as much as Holland but did enjoy the guiness storehouse (which is more like a museam as they're celebrating the 250th year) and trinity college were the two main ones for me. Also while Sarah went and checked out ancient literature i got stuck in music shops playing basses and guitars getting my fix as it were.

I bought a cheap guitar to take on the road. The traditional musos here are really good, great to listen to while enjoying a pint of the black stuff I say. Apparently we ended up in the party central of town again, Temple Bar; the doof doof runs early into the morning...every morning - tourism doesn't sleep you see?! Don't worry, i didn't pike early every night, ha ha.

It was good to pick up the car and start the driving tour of the country, we got up to Derry today. derry is a really cool medievil town in northern ireland with a rich and turbulent history. The catholic/prodestant conflict has definately left it's mark here for ever but the charm of this town remains.

The weather is what is to be expected in Ireland and we are loving it, wet, sun or otherwise.

Catchya

Amsterdam

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Fri, 1 May 2009 01:16:00 GMT

Ran into a rather lovely person at the airport in Amsterdam on Monday and we proceeded to catch a train into our first city together as fellow travellers! Cool hostel, lots of Australian music (usually the last thing you want to hear in a new country) and great free breakfast (Musli! Yes!) Bit tired that night but the next day was jampacked with cruising along canals, learning how to dodge bikes and seeing some cool peices at the Rijkes Museum. The next day was possibly one of the best of in the whole trip, we trained it out to Den Haag and hired some retro bikes and cruised around the city's parks, beaches and fairs going on for the Queens Birthday celebrations. Writing this from queens birthday as we speak, Amsterdam has gone crazy! Everyone is wearing orange and is dancing and drinking in the streets like it is the best day of their lives! The coolest moment was seeing one of many huge boats out on the canals bursting with dancing A'dammers in pirate suits to house music, smoke machines, DJ- crazy! We also had a pretty lovely picnic near a windmill this arvo and vee had way more chocolate than me, hehe.

A small piece from chris -

Oma really wanted us to go to Den Haag and at first I wasn't sure but after all the stuff we got through on the first day, there couldn't have been a better scene change. Sarah and I had a great time cycling through the city and coast.

We are staying in central amsterdam, I've never come across so much weed in my life - it's everywhere. The people seem very ready do have a good time and on the queen's birthday the whole place just comes alive. Boats on the canal packed with people with dance music, stalls on the street selling random junk and cafes with drinks and food on the street to top you up on the way. The archecture is amzing, both Amsterdam and Den Haag are rather different but both beautiful in their own right.

So this is chris vt's 1st contribution from the trip. I must say holidays are so good when you don't take them very ofen!

Lake Bled

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:13:00 GMT

Brrr. The Jackets came out for this place. Lake Bled is near the Julian Alps and spring took a little while to get here. Covered in as many layers as we could wear we trotted from our accomodation ( a very cute mountain villa) down to the centre of town. Bled is pretty famous for adventure sports, almost everything you could imagine doing is available! There is also obvisouly the Lake which hosts the world rowing championships pretty often and is pretty darn beautifull. My Camera got a serious workout. In summer its a pretty touristy place and you can kind of feel it when you walk around town, the Slovenians there depend on the industry, population 2000 residents plus 4500 available beds!Typicallly european, locals who work in tourist towns also happen to be the rudest around, but you learn not to take offence they are like it to everyone! The best thing in Eastern Europe is going for Hot chocolate, and getting just that, a cup of hot melted chocolate. Tess would love it! Went out for really lovely meals here, would make dad proud, I had fish both nights! On the second day I went for a bike ride around the lake, took a little boat trip out to an island in the middle of the lake where you ring a bell, make a wish and apparently it comes true. haha they have a lot of those over here! Also the ammount of times the bell rings is the ammount of children you are going to have apparently- five for me! Argh!

Lucy, Amanda and I went for a walk in the arvo to the castle overlooking the whole town and it took a bit of efffort because it was pretty steep. From the top we had the most amazing views of the Alps, and a bit of blue sky too! We took the goat track option on the way back down which turned into a bit of an adventure because of the rain and steep muddy path. So many wildflowers about, it was just beautifull.

From there we went to Venice the next day which is where I am writing this from!

Missing home, friends and family

xox Sear

Budapest? Hell yes!

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:02:00 GMT

Budapest felt different to the other cities I had visited in Eastern Europe. You arrive at the train station and you are hit with the sheer weight of the place. Its just huge. Walking along the sights on the Danube river was just like stepping into a 3d postcard, the weather was perfect and there is so much acivity surrounding the water. A few of us went on a bike tour for most of day two because all the sights are so spread out. Hungarys history is pretty amazing, locals tend to say they have a habit of making the wrong decisions on a regular basis. Our guide said Budapest had hosted a number of "guests" over the years that never seemed to want to leave. You can still see the bullet holes in buildings from the revolution against the soviets in the 50s which killed 80 student protesters. The whole city is littered with buildings that remain piles of rubbles and characterless blocks built in communist times on the outskirts of the city. A few people thought it was a bit run down, but everywhere there were signs of construction and a buyying culture than seemed more real than many places I have been.

Gypsyies are everywhere in Budapest, bus stations, train stations, shopping malls, markets. And if you ever find yourself needing to buy a new bra in the centre of the city youre in luck!

A few of us girls went to an awesome restaurant one night called Mezza that had the hottest wall paper I have ever seen and fitted out like the inside of a retro movie theatre. Food here is awesome and pretty cheap if you can get your head around the confusing currency! There was a fair bit I didnt get around to doing here, like going to the Budapest baths or the communist park where they placed all the old stalin statues after the curtain fell in 89. Good year that!

Sorry for the dodgy spelling throughout this whole blog site, I swear the keyboards are crazy hard over here and Im used to touchtyping at work!

Over and out

Vienna

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:11:00 GMT

Vienna!

I wish I had more time to write about this place but I promise I will add more later. We arrived when on a day when a big food and wine ffestival was being held alongside the Vienna Marathon so it was pretty busy! fter doing a breif tour taking in the sights I went to meet a friend who lives near the city called Agnes who was on exchange back home last year.

I was spoilt by the ammount of knowledge she had about the palce and she pointed out things only a local could know, we found some yellow flowers and walked around the streets with them in our hands and grabbed a really nice dinner at a restaurant near the center of the city. At night Vienna is like a city of gold especially the City Hall which is a huge gothic building that has people gasping during the day let alone at night.

Lots of artists and street clowns about too whiuch makes good people wathing at all hours. The one thing I really loved was getting around in Vienna. The metro network was so easy and I felt like a local in just a couple of days. I went to the Prater park near the Danube and took a ride on a huge ferris wheel from teh 1800's... scarier than it sounds! Went to the Belvadere Art Museum where I saw some peices by Gustav Climt, went to a day market and bartered my way towards a few pretty things and spent the afternoon in the gardens of shoonbrun (however you spell it)Pallace. I was really enjoying travelling alone actually, sometimes in the group it gets a bit hard to see the things you want to see without offending the friends you make. But when Im travelling with the,m Im not so perceptive and get lazy about knowing where I am.

We all finished the day at a traditional Austrian restaurant where Im please to report the schnitzels were pretty ace. Also reccoment Austrian Herb Lemmondade!

Goodbye for now!!

Cesky Krumlov

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Wow, this was one seriously cool little villiage on the outskirts of the czech Republic. We caught this swish train from Prague in the morning and arrived three hours later to this lovely little valley doninated by a huge creepy castle on top of some rocks. The town itself had a pretty cool history from german occupation (being part of the Sudetenland) and the crazy lords who used to rule there. Like most Czchecs they werent too religeous but concentrated on the sciences and alcemy a lot. Lots of ghosts here apparently! We wandered all the little topsy turvy streets where all the hoses were decorated with frescos from the 12th century. Had the best dinner at a vegetatarian restaurant where the owner was so nicew he gave us free dessert and tea and four courses was lest than $15 Australian. We had wine and great food on the edge of the river and when it got cold he braought out blankets and cushions for us to sit on! We only had two days here as a group and I would have loved more time to explore even though it was pretty small.

Ooh and we went to this cocktail bar at night where there were over 250 choices and each drink around $3 Euro! Value for money thats for sure, we soon found out where the majority of Europes fruit (which we havent found much of) had gone.

The light here reminds me of home, very pretty, a little chilly but all the flowers are coming out and it was just magic.

xox

Prague baby!

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:44:00 GMT

By the time we arrived in Prauge everybody in the groups spirits sky rocketed. We hoofed it through the cobble stone streets like turtles with our giant packs on ( mine is a light one at just 15kg, my friend is lugging around 22kg!). We checked into our accom which is apartments in the centre of the Old Town. We did a walking tour around the Jewish quarter, strolled across Charles Bridge which is full of artists, musicians and japanese tourists and made a wish at some lucky spot. Prague is very beautifull, and has almost been cursed by it over the years. I strolled along the Vlatva river to John Lennons Peace Wall, stopping past a spot where coupled engrave locks with their names like Dazza for Shazza 4 EVA etc on padlocks, lock them to the river gates and throw away the key. Council comes along with bolt cutters onece a month to chop them off hehe!

The peace wall is still hippie central but has kind of been reuined by taggers with no artistic talent much like the Berlin wall. People also chip away pieces. Kind of defies the message.

Last night we went out for traditional cuisine before heading up near Prauge Castle to a beer garden to drink the night away. Very Pretty view and lots of silly locals. Drivers here are very angry, you cant walk anywhere without getting abused. Apparently the ticket collectors on PT are former public servants from the communist days here.

Apparently Prague as a place to live is pretty corrupt- lots of financial crime and a buerocracy that tries to charge a price for simply breathing the air here. But it is still beautifull and being a tourist is bliss.

Today I woke up to rain- the first time on the whole trip! Kind of sucks because I had all these things planned but I got a lot done anyhow. Went to Prague Castle, trawled through some vintage stores, went to the Frank Kafca museum, went to a couple of cathedrals and here I am! Hoping to do a Ghost tour tonight (one of the most haunted cities in Europe I hear but it could just be a marketing ploy!)

Goodbye for now!

Sear

Krakow Poland

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:06:00 GMT

Began a tour with Intrepid a couple days ago and we hit an overnight train from Berlin to Poland. I was sad to leave Germany but happy I saw as many of the sights as I could. So! Six people squished in a sleeping compartment for 12 hours! Very rocky and I kept thyinking wed got on the wrong train and were headed for Russia! When we arrived in Krakow it was very early and it took me a little while to realise how special this place is. It's a medieval town near Wawel Castle which was the house of Polish Kings since the 12th Century. The castle itself was freakin huge. But inside was nothing short of gory, the tapestries, paintings and ornaments all dipicted scenes of war at sea or land, killing triators or just looking triumphant. There was one hall where 25 carved heads with different expressions hung from the high ceilings! The old town of Krakow is full of churches (its the catholic centre of eastern Europe and birthplace of plenty of popes!) cobbles streets, funky markets and lots of beautifull bars and restaurants. Went to one on Tuesday that Tess would love, everything was pink and purple, chandeliers and puffy seats.

Like Berlin, this place loves dogs! they can go in restaurants, trains, trams and shops. Though the drinking aint so liberal as the German capital. There are street performers everywhere, singers, clowns, artists, florists.

Today was a different experience. About 10 of us caught an early bus out to the Auschwich concentration camps. IT was an experience Illl never forget. We were shown pretty much everywhere by our guide, the barrack rooms were prisoners slept, the railroads that brought them in, their discarded possesions found by the russians upon liberation. Blankets, combs, shoes, suitcases, dolls. There was even a room full of cut off hair taken from women before they entered the gas chambers. We couldnt look at that room very long. Then we were shown inside the gas chambers. The air was so heavy. The most ironic and sad thing was that the day we were there- it was beautifull, the sky was blue, grass a perfect green and flowers popping up everywhere- especially at Auschwich 2 which was the biggest camp run by the Nazis. Cant imagine how different it would have been less than 70 years ago.

On other things! Polish food is beautifull, they LOVE dumplings of the potato kind, sweets, kebabs, sausages and thick soups. Im trying to steal a recipie for one I love. There are nuns and priests evereywhere here and the mingle with a huge student population which are very hip indeed. I leave for Prauge tomorrow which has been a place ive dreamt of sicne a little girl. 6.30am train though wont be pretty!

au reviour!

Sear bear

Berlin

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:47:00 GMT

Wow Im so sorry it's been a while since my last entry. My time in London was absolutely amazing. I met so many lovelly travellers, drank many english pints (they are so much bigger in the uk I swear!) saw a lot of sights and actually got tired of the ammount of art, monuments and museums at y fingertips.

Im in Berlin at the moment and have to admit my short stay has been a bit mixed. Had an awesome flight and taxid to my hotel which is very cute in a faulty towers kind of way. I swear Im attracting spiral staircases every where I go! Had an awesome sleep and thought i was doing opkay but the london sniffle I had in the Uk has turned into something more like a running waterfall today which has made sightseeing a little tricky. Saw the Brandenberg Gate, Jewish memorial, climbed the Reichstag (after waiting in line for three hours with a soggy hanky.) Just waöled along the river spree which is dotted with lots of old style markets that the locals go to, stopping off for more hankies along the way.....

Also went to the Permagon Muesum where I saw the Ichtar Gate from Bablylon 500 bc! German food is very salty, my language is not too bad. Hope you are still reading!

xox sniffly sear

London calling

sarah-leary-and-chris-vt — Mon, 6 Apr 2009 17:27:00 GMT

I've arrirrived and I love London!

Everything is so beautifull, It's such a georgous vibrant city and everyone seems to know it! Went for a trip on the London Eye yesterday with bronte, martin and lis. I never realised it would go so damn high. View was amazing, and getting on and off was hell funny could you pretty much have to run out the door because the wheel doesn't stop. Had a couplde of pints and eventually got myself back to my hostel (very cute by the way) Got lost in Covent Garden but got to Bloomsbury 30 minutes later with the help from some hip looking drunk french ladies.

Im ready for my first full day in London now!