Berlin...

After Amsterdam it was onwards to the old city of Berlin...

The first day I arrived in Berlin and was determined to get out and see a few things as early as possible so I went for a walk with a nice Canadian fellow I met named Adam. Unfortunately Adam had lost his passport about a week earlier and so was stuck in Berlin until they could resolve it and issue him a new one.

Note-to-self DON'T LOSE PASSPORT, although I must say he probably could have lost his passport in a much worse city with a much shittier hostel. Anyway I diverge... we went for a walk and headed over toward the old book burning square where the nazis destroyed a tonne of books and any other publications that were anti-nazi. Pretty cool to get to a place where major events like that had occured. Along the way we also got to pass the Berliner Dome (which is the biggest protestant church in Europe, I believe) and we walked across what they called museum island passed several galleries and museums, Berlin has something like over 60 museums. After walking past musuem island we made our way past the old Humboldt University where Einstein was a lecturer and Karl Marx was also at one point a student.

The Berliner Dome

Humboldt University (Einstein used to teach here; also Karl Marx was once a student here)

After getting a feel for the city it was time to get back and meet a few more people from the hostel and organise a cheap dinner, which the majority of the time in Berlin was Doner Kebabs because they have the biggest turkish population outside of Turkey. There were seriously kebab stores EVERYWHERE haha.

The following day I went for another walk to get out and see a few more things, walked down the "Under de Linden" (which translates to under the lime trees) main strip up toward the Bradenburg Gate where Napoleon, Hitler and a number of other historically significant figures had had passed through the famous colomns of the gate, naturally I had to have a beer while I was there (in Germany you can walk up and down the streets drinking, it's not illegal because the Nazis used to oppress smoking and drinking, so it's implied that your freedom shouldn't be impeached haha. Pretty cool right? Hence many of my photos I took advantage of this and had a beer while strolling around haha.

Me with a Beer at the Bradenburg Gate

I then made my way over to the Topography of Terror located near a remaining western section of the Berlin Wall. It was pretty informative and had a lot of information in trelation to the Nazis, Hitler, the Gestabo and the other secret nazi police. The building itself is located where the old secret nazi police headquarters was. And just outside was a section of the Berlin wall with a mini history. I got a few snaps of the wall and then made my way over to checkpoint charlie.

The original sign still standing at Checkpoint Charlie

After a pretty good day out and about I made my way back and hit the pubcrawl later that night, plenty of german beer, dancing and partying is a good combination for an excellent night. Unfortunately the following morning I woke up feeling sick and have been feeling pretty crappy since. I had originally planned to stay for five nights but extended my stay another two nights because there is alot to do in Berlin, and being sick sort of slowed up my ability to get out and see things, plus after the first two days of pretty good weather the rain was here again.. honestly I've had enough rain... I'd be happy if I didn't see rain for 6 months.

Over the next few days I made my way to the German History Museum and the Alte Museum to see a few of the sights despite the rain and feeling like crap. I also paid a visit to the chemist so hopefully this medicine does something and gets rid of this crappy cold/flu quickly. The history museum was really interesting because I had no idea about the history of Germany and had little knowledge of the first or second world wars so it was pretty informative, plus they had heaps of history prior to that, it was basically a summary of the last 2000 years of Germany as a nation.

Anti Aircraft Gun used during WWII

The Alte Museum was mainly Italian antiquties that were plundered centuries ago, still quite cool to see however. That night I went out with Janina and Julia two very nice German girls that were in my dorm room, we made our way past the TV (Communist) Tower to a club and then caught and elevator to the 12th floor of this building, it was pretty cool, panoramic views of the city and it was gernerally an excellent atmosphere (despite only playing electro music), after dancing the night away I walked with the girls home and we crashed buggered from a long night.

This item from the Alte Museum has the oldest known latin inscription..

Janina donning the fabled Splendour Hat

The next day I decided to make my way to the east side gallery and what better way to do it than by walking and drinking a few brews as we go. Jack (a nice aussie bloke), Adam and I made our way over to the longest strip of the wall, we stumbled on a Youth African Art Market at the end of the wall and went in and had a look around, they had sand and a volleyball court, it would have been perfect for a nice hot day, however that's not what it was haha, so after a quick beer by the river at this "beach" we made our way along the wall and there are some seriously awesome graffiti art on this stretch. (Photos should be on facebook)

Banksy in Berlin

The following day I caught the trams around a little and got some snaps of the TV Tower and Alexanderplatz and found one of Banksy's art works not too far from the hostel (apparently they are all over the world, usually a depiction of a Rat). That esentially sums up my 7 days in Berlin, hopefully I'll fell better in Prague and the weather will clear up before I get to Croatia!!!

TV Tower (I think they said 368metres tall.. as you can see the top is in the clouds lol)

Amsterdam..

After departing Bruges I made my way to Amsterdam for a five night stay before moving on to Berlin. On arrival to Amsterdam I walked in to the flying pig uptown hostel and went to check in. After a hectic struggle up like 40 steps to the 3rd floor with my massive pack on my back I walked up to my room, and sure enough the two girls that were in there were high. haha Well at least I knew I was in the right city haha. Since I arrived in the afternoon I didn't get a chance to head out that day, so instead made the effort to get down to the red light district and get it out of the way.

The "red light" girls line the streets everywhere.. and there are many that you would certainly pay for lol however they are very expensive. After roaming through the area and seeing the windows and walking past the countless "coffee shops" it was pretty obvious to me that the dutch culture is a very open and tolerant one, well at least moderately tolerant of the dumb partying tourists.

After having a few drinks with some nice English blokes I also met Daniel, the Danish-Israeli, who showed me the Burger Bar, this place is essentially the "white castle" of Amsterdam, they served the best burger and fries I've had in my whole life. =D

"The White Castle"

The I am Amsterdam sign

The following day I made my way along to the free walking tour and met Saunder (A Belgium born and US citizen who lives and studys in Belgium), Caitlyn and Erika (Two Canadians), we got to walk around and see a few sights of the city, sadly the main buildings like the central palace and one of the museums was closed off for refurbishments so it wasn't possible to get any spectacular photos because of the annoying scaffolding.

However here's where Napoleons half-wit brother King Louis (who was unfamiliar with Dutch) declared to the population (while giving a speech at top of the royal palace) that he was the "rabbit of holland" rather than the "king of holland" so hence was a bit of a laughing stock haha.

Top of the Royal Palace where Louis declared himself a rabbit (Sadly the rest was covered in horrid scaffolding)

We also saw the smallest house in Amsterdam (which is located next to the widest canal bridge [there are over 200 bridges!!]) it was absolutely tiny, apparently only a few metres tall and a few small rooms housing a single resident. Apparently this house was built because previously in history you paid more tax for the size of your house, I guess this guy wanted to stick it to the man by still living centrally and paying minimal tax haha..

Tiny House (Shotty not living here..)

On the broadest canal bridge in Amsterdam

After the walking tour we made the most of the day and decided why not jump on a canal cruise aswell, we made our way through the canals of Amsterdam getting to see some more of the great city before we sailed out into the harbour. There were heaps and heaps of ships, boats and sailboats littering the water as the Sailing 2010 festival was being held over the weekend in Amsterdam. Anja (from germany) and her partner joined the rest of us for the cruise and then we all decided it was cheapest if we all make our way to the supermarket and grab something to whip up in the hostel kitchen for tea. Which was great! It only cost us about 2 or 3 euros each.

After getting out and seeing a bit of the city the previous day I had a bit more of an understanding of the layout and the way things run, but it's still confusing haha. Not to mention the thousands of cyclists everywhere, and they have right on way, NOT PEDESTRIANS so you've got to keep your eyes peeled or you may end up flattend like a pancake. I met up with another few cool people who were chilling out at the hostel and we decided we'd make our way down to the nearby Vondel Park to have lunch, it was beautiful, greenery like you've never seen and it takes a whole 20-25 mins to walk from one side to the other on foot! All over the place people were lying in the grass, eating lunch, and just generally having a good time. There were various statues, ponds and the softest grass, it felt like walking on pillows, no wonder everyone just lays in the grass. =)

Vondel Park (everyone just laying in the grass)

Vondel Park

One of the many many "Coffee shops"

I met up with a couple of nice english fellow sthe next day, Mike and Adam, we had a pretty good day and ended up watching the Liverpool football match that night with a few hoegarden beers before we made our way to one of the many local coffee shops, we certainly had a good night, eventually making our way back to the hostel where we made dinner and ate it very very quickly haha. One of the coolest things I've ever seen though was this chilled out cat sitting inside the smoking area at the coffee shop we stopped at, I've dubbed him "stoner cat" because even when we went to pet him or anything he'd just yawn.. roll over and go back to sleep haha Gingy also had some fun...

Stoner Cat

Gingy having a spliff..

After a good night meeting a few cool people I thought it was time I organise the redlight crawl, which goes through the redlight area again, but stopping at the local night spots, (eg. pubs and clubs) in the area. Meeting up with Erika and Caitlyn again Saunder and I spent the night in good company and had alot of fun and laughs along the way. I got chatting with an Irish fellow who was running the tour (I bought him a drink and scored more free drinks) and a few more Canadians and we basically just partied the night away. All in all well worth the 15 euros, especially since i got about 6 free drinks! (on top of the standard 6 that were free upon entry to each place) We said our goodbyes to the girls and hit the hay.

L to R: Saunder, Anja (wearing my hat), Caitlyn, (Can't remember his name!!), Ash and Erika

The final day in Amsterdam I made my way to the Heineken brewery to get a taste of holland gold. The tour way heaps of fun and they ran us through the processes that they use and mentioned there "super secret 'A' type yeast" which makes the beer have it's distinct taste. Perhaps I should have tried to obtain it and black mail them? haha The tour basically just gave an insight into heneiken since the global brand name started. Kalea (another Canadian ahah) and Mel (Aussie from Perth who used to date Dom from Tame Impala) both managed to scored free drinks when we got to the bar where we got free drinks.. but they didn't have to give up there tokens.. well at least not at first.. then i went up with them and scored a few free beers on top of the 2 token ones... geeze girls are lucky, flirt with anyone and get anything for free haha.

Last few days in London... & Paris to Bruges

In my last few days in London I visited the National Gallery (unfortunately I couldn't take any photos of the artwork, I wasn't allowed to) and got to see a huge range of 13th to 20th century art, the marjority of the paintings surrounded John the baptist, the virgin mary and depictions of Jesus on the holy cross. Some of the artists included Raphael and Michealangelo and hundreds of other paintings and works from centuries ago, similarly to the British Museum it was impossible to see everything in one day, I spent a solid 3 or more hours wandering the wings and galleries, but it was definitely worth seeing the various influential artists over time. I did get some more photos of Trafalgar Square though, which I didn't get to snap on the first day.











One of the four HUGE lion statues surrounding the central monument






Trafalgar Square (National Gallery in the background right)





Due to the rain it wasn't really a good day to be out and about (I had actually planned to visit the main parks, Hyde Park and Green Park) but I managed to brave the rain, put on my poncho and get myself out and then back to Kings cross before I met up with Bronwyn later that night to grab dinner and another drink before I left. Just over near where Bronwyn was working. We had a great night filled with laughing and some great stories before we said our final goodbyes before made our way home again.




The next day I woke up and packed my bags in the morning (premptive for the initiation into London that my cousin James had organised for me) so that I didn't have to wake and pack after a big night and hopefully so I didn't miss the train packing in the morning. Then I made my way over to the Camden markets with Jim (Gingy also came along.. if you look closely haha) to check out what they had on offer and to check out some of the punks and there wicked coloured mo-hawks and punk style. While we wandered the markets we stumbled on a place called Cyber dog, which was basically a rave and alternative fashion store. This place had dancing girls, a DJ downstairs and everything was basically fluro or flashing! And this was a clothing shop... haha











Jimmy at Camden Markets.. (and someone else is hiding in the photo)






Cyber dog (the rave clothing store in Camden Markets - basically a club lol)





After wandering the stalls for a few hours we grabbed a bite to eat and met up with Roman (a French friend of my cousins) for a few drinks and then eventually made our way back to James's new apartment near Paddington before heading to the house party a few suburbs over. We had a great night and I met a bunch of great people before eventually making my way home to sleep and then got on the train to Paris the next day.











James and I on our night out





When I arrived in Paris unfortunately the weather had followed me and it was raining quite heavily again, I spent the night within the hostel but will definitely get back out and get some great photos when I return to Paris at the end of my trip. Once again, I met a great group of people who were friendly and we played a few drinking games before getting to bed... unfortunitely I forgot to change my phone time (but I had changed my watch!) so my alarm went off an hour after it was supposed to, consequently I missed the Bus to Bruges. Angry as I was about it I booked myself a Eurostar train from Paris to Brussels and made my way to Bruges from there. Let me tell you, the french are a complex lot, they rarely speak English! Which made it super diffcult to navigate my way around, but I managed as there were some quite nice and helpful people too even though they didn't speak English. Pointing and smiling can help you out! haha. Conincidently Rebecca (another busabouter) over heard me talking about how I had missed my busabout and then she'd said how she'd also done the same thing as me and changed her watch but not her alarm (phone time) to the correct time! We both managed to make our way over though and check in with no issues.











Bec and I (The two silly Busabouters who missed the bus!)





After arriving in Bruges (THE RAIN HAD FOLLOWED ME AGAIN!!!) I took a stroll through the cobblestone streets and got some great snaps of local windmills and the city canals. The buildings over here are amazing! The first day in Bruges was a quiet day, due to the weather but I was happy that I had arrived and managed to see a few things even with the minor set backs. The first night I tried some mussels (a great fresh local dish as Bruges is very close to the coast) and sampled a few Belgium beers for free (inclusive with dinner!).











Windmill located along one of the canals






The Beer Sampler (Leffe, Hooegarden, and Bellevue (a cherry beer))


Today (my second day in Bruges) I made my way to the central Markt (or market) and had a look at some of the key architectural structures in the centre of town and made my way past the chocolate and beer shops, not to mention the pancake, crepe and waffle stores! Got some great snaps of the bell tower, the church, the central square and town hall, all littered with magnificent statues! (I'll upload them later on)I've just come back from lunch and and sampling another 11% dark beer, all of them have been fantastic! I plan to make my way over to the chocolate museum shortly to sample a few choccies!

London Day 2 (12th Aug)

Hello my little gingerbread lovers,

After Bron showed me around on my first day I got a feel for the London central area, aswell Wendy and her housemate Natalie have both been really helpful with transport and finding my way around and with what I should get out and see. The public transport system over here is excellent.. I think the longest I've waited at a train platform is 3 minutes (It may have been less time than that!).

Anyway.. back to my day - I started my second day with the goal of making my way to the British Museum but I wanted to see a bit of the town along the way. So what better way than by foot, you don't really see any of the city travelling via the Underground. Plus with the museum only 20-30 minutes walk from where I'm based in Kings Cross it seemed silly not too.

So Gingy jumped in my pack, eager for his first day out on the town. The walk was great, I got a chance to check out the housing in central London which is pretty spectacular, Brisbane Town Hall probably isn't as old as half of the residences here! After the walk I was standing at the front gate of the British Museum and my jaw dropped, my first thought was "now that is a museum." And it's free admission, though they ask for a donation. (However, being a poor Aussie backpacker I didn't make a contribution! I felt the rich Italian, Swiss and French tourists could donate for me haha)

Gingy and I at the Main Entrance to the British Museum

Everyone was out the front getting snapshots so I took a photo for an Asian tourist and got her to return the favour. "I love Gingy!" I believe were her exact words as soon as I pulled out my little friend, I'm thinking I've chosen the right travel companion. haha

Once inside the museum seemed to go on forever, I spent a solid 5 hours walking around looking at the Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Asian and countless other exhibits on display throughout the museum. I was lucky enough to get to see priceless artifacts from amazing Greek and Roman statues of Venus (or Aphrodite depending on which civilisation crafted it) to a room full of mummies and scripts from the Egyptian book of the dead. There were even mummified cats and a crocodile! Maybe when oscar isn't with us any longer we'll have to get him mummified...

Cat mummified in bronze coffin (you can see the head of the mummified croc at the bottom left)

Script from the Book of the Dead (Within this particular text is a spell used to prepare people for their transition into the afterlife)

I even managed to see the Rosetta Stone (which helped decifer the mystery of the Egyptian hieroglyphs) and The Lindow Man, so there we go I'm seeing things I learnt about in school, and physically seeing it makes you appreciate it that much more.

The Lindow Man

Gingy and I with the "Rosetta Stone" on display in the Age of Enlightenment display of the Museum

The Real Rosetta Stone (Encased in glass)

After a solid day in the museum I was buggered, but made plans to meet up with James Hargrave (aka "Jimmy" to the girls in Europe haha) for dinner and a drink at a local Irish pub in the Kings Cross area. We got ourselves a mixed grill and the evening turned into a night of laughter and stories as another 3 or 4 pints digested, we made our way home and used caution because we noticed an interesting sign warning us to do so (see below haha), then we said our goodbyes and James made his way back to Paddington. We've scheduled to meet up on Saturday and make our way to the Camden Markets before a house warming for a few friends James met in his travels on Busabout. Maybe this'll be a glimpse into the upcoming 3 months of fun and the friendly people I could meet along the way!

Look out he's everywhere and ready to strike you down...

James and I out front of O'neils Pub

Made It.....

Hi All,

After a long flight we finally made it to London yesterday morning =)

A stopover in Brunei and another in Dubai resulted in over 20 hours on a plane/in transit and that is plenty for me for now! Thankfully I won't be flying again until my return trip home!

The first day I hit the ground running, after getting off the plane at 0630hrs I caught the Underground to Kings Cross where I'm staying while in London. Despite having not rested while on the plane I managed to power on and make the first day count.

Bronwyn and I in London (Picadilly Circus)

Picadilly Circus Fountain (Feat. Statue of Anteros)

 Firstly I organised to meet up with Bronwyn at St. Pancras/Kings Cross Station before we made our way to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and then across to Southbank (near the London Eye) for a pint, a meal and a catch up. Got some great photos along the way! What a legendary way to start the trip =)

Trafalgar Sq. Fountain

On the footbridge to Southbank (London Eye far left, Big Ben far right)

After lunch we made our way to St Pauls Cathedral (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married). It's a beautiful Church, hell of a climb to the top though, Bronny and I were buggered by the time we got up there.  But it was defiinitely worth it for the views and the beautiful artwork inside.

St Pauls Cathedral

Inside the dome of St Pauls