The Cambridge Weekender

A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of meeting up with some friends in the famous university town of Cambridge. Only an hour and a half by coach from London, it made for a nice little get away from the countries capital. 

Cambridge is really picturesque especially around the university colleges. There is lots of open space and pretty manicured gardens. It's full of history which makes for an interesting walk around town.

I didn't get to see everything but my highlight was definitely Kings College Chapel and it's surrounding grounds.

Oh, and I learnt all about punting (boat in shallow water pushed along by giant pole) which is something I'd never seen before. Next time i'll have to get involved. 

It's my last week in London before I head to Australia for some summer sun.

I'll try to post again before the new year.

B xxx

Kings College Chapel

Clare College, Cambridge

Clare College, Cambridge

Punting along River Cam

7 things that suck about backpacking

Travelling is amazing, it opens the mind and frees the soul. We all know that but there are downsides, particularly if you're backpacking. 

Like, you may think you'd like backpacking but, you could be wrong.

1. Looking like a hobo.

Fashionistas, you can cross backpacking off the list. There is no room in your bag to fabulous. Putting on clean underwear is a glamourous as it gets. No room for the beauty products you use usually in your bag. Hair care goes out the window. Blair and Serena would be disgusted.

2. The physical act of carrying a backpack on your back.

Didn't think about that one did you? Well yes, that big ass bag has to go on your back. You have to haul it on trains, buses, up and down hills. Betcha he didn't have that six pack when he started his holiday.

3. Being lost.

It's the true beauty of being in a foreign country. No one to help, no phone that works, no one that speaka's your language,  horrible things start running through your head: 'if I got stabbed right now, no one would know'. Okay, maybe that's just me being paranoid but seriously, getting lost is so annoying. 

4. Laundry Day.

image taken from http://www.elkiebrown.com

Your life starts to revolve around when you're next going to be able to do your laundry. Having such a small amount of stuff with you means you're on a very small rotation circle with outfits. You can feel it creeping up on you. You think about it everyday; laundry anxiety I call it. Eventually it becomes to much and you have to find a laundrette (or as the Germans would say 'wash salon'). 

5. Fast Food.

There is only so much take away one person can handle until they start craving a home cooked meal. Not something I was that fussed about before but experience has taught me it's crucial that the hostel you're staying at has a kitchen. Although, I do enjoy a cheeky cheeseburger almost every time I pass a McDonalds. 

6. WIFI.

I can sniff out free wifi a mile off. It's like a sixth sense. 

7. THE 'SHARED BATHROOM'.

There's that moment of relief when you've booked a hostel with a share bathroom and it's not filthy. YAYYY! Small victories people, although my flip flops stay firmly flapping on my feet as I try not to kill myself slipping around the shower in sandals. 

Round Up

I've been to Europe a few times but this was my first official 'eurotrip' sans parents, self funded.
I've learnt so much, not just about travelling but also about myself and my limits. I really enjoyed planning the whole trip and getting to experience it play out. I also know how to improve for next time. 

A lot of people choose to take eurotrips with tour groups like Contiki or Bus About. This is a great way to get a taste of a lot of places without having to worry about what time your train leaves or how to get to the airport. I think if it's your first time in Europe, it's definitely the way to go.

There is nothing more rewarding however than going on a self guided journey across the continent. Choose to stay longer if you love it or leave if it doesn't tickle your fancy. The freedom of travelling without the constraints of other people is a beautiful thing.

Here are some stats.

Duration of trip: 1 month

Countries visited: 7

Cities visited:  11

Most expensive beer: €10.95 in Paris, round the corner from the eiffel tower (DUH). 

Best place for a good time: They don't call it Amsterdamage for nothing.

Skateboarding: The skate scene is massive in The Netherlands, the indoor parks that we visited were packed. Germany also has a big scene that's a lil more laid back.

Most expensive city: Zurich, by a mile.

Cheapest: Germany overall was pretty cheap. 

Prettiest: Paris then Vienna but I'm biased, I want to be a Parisian. 

I pretty much looked exactly like this for a solid 4 weeks

Zurich

Zurich is a beautiful city there's no doubt about it; it's obvious to see why it features on so many of the worlds most liveable cities list. It's easy to navigate, the people are lovely and the airport is 10 minutes by train. The only thing that boggles my mind is IT'S SO GOD DAMN EXPENSIVE.

All that fresh air has had a serious effect on the cost of living. To put it in perspective, a meal for two at McDonalds (the go to cheap place to eat for poor backpackers) was 20 CHF (AU$25, £14).

People had said it was expensive and I was kinda thinking 'yeah whatever', people say London is expensive and I don't think it is, you just live within your means. But getting to Zurich was a wake up call; actually having to make sure you had enough money to eat. 

The weather was pretty bad whilst we were there (until the day we left of course when it was glorious and we had to bust out the sunglasses) but we managed to do a self guided walking tour around the city centre. 

We wanted to go on a day trip to the Alps and some of the amazing natural wonders around Zurich but because the weather was so bad we decided against it.

I don't feel like I really got to experience Zurich to the fullest but I think to do that, you have to have some decent money behind you.

Like Norway (somewhere I want to go but can't afford), my return to Switzerland will be put on hold until I've got a decent full time job that could support the kind of magical trip I would want to have there.

Excuse the pics. It was raining the whole time and my lens got wet.

B xoxox

From here you're meant to be able to see the Alps but it was too cloudy

Vienna Series

Vienna is the kinda place where pictures start becoming redundant. You just can't capture the beauty of it (not with my mid range digital anyway).

Hofburg Palace

Parliament (Statue is the goddess Athena)

Burgtheater

Too many fairy lights for my camera to handle clearly (City Hall)

Hofburg Palace

Post Prague delightfulness in Vienna

Our second day in Prague was an improvement. We did a great tour,  the best we've experienced so far, and saw all of the beautiful sights.

However, no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't let myself love Prague. It's beautiful don't get me wrong(especially in the old historic town protected by UNESCO) but if it wasn't for the heritage city centre, I don't think Prague offers a great deal.

Other people on our tour also experienced some horrible crimes (well, minor offences according to Czech Policie). One man was pushed to the ground and his passport stolen. Another woman had her handbag taken whilst she tried on shoes.

I felt unsafe in Prague almost all the time. 

Walking around the train station, shady characters eyed us off and would walk so close it was a complete invasion of personal space. 

I'm sure there are a plethora (BOOM WORD OF THE DAY) of people who have been to Prague and had no problems at all but after trying hard to give it a chance to impress me… I was disappointed. 

Vienna on the other hand was an absolute breath of fresh air. Personally, I think architecturally it's equally as impressive as Prague. Vienna is calm compared to the other European cities we've visited. It's amazing at night, all lit up with fairy lights, awakening my christmas spirit with all the winter markets.

Today we wound our way through the Swiss Alps to Zurich. The journey here alone has sold me already. It took over nine hours on the train but it was worth it for the views. Tomorrow we shall investigate the city and play in the snow.

Bianca

xxxoxox

PRAGUE SERIES

St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle

Church of Our Lady Before Týn AND SOME LIGHTS

St Nicholas Church

We ate lunch in a dark medieval cellar

Charles Bridge and Prague Castle up on the hill

Stairs to Charles Bridge

How to get scammed in Prague...

Off to an annoying start in Prague. This trip had been going suspiciously smoothly so it's only expected that something would go wrong eventually.

Today we were off to a late start after a nice long sleep in. First port of call was a cash point to get some Koruna in our wallets.

After withdrawing some money, a man approached me and asked if I could change some bills for him. So I gave him 2 X 1000 bills in exchange for 4 X 500 bills.  He was very appreciative and went on his way.

It wasn't until I was in HnM trying to buy something that the cashier told me what I thought was 500 Kourno was not accepted currency in the Czech Republic.

A quick dash to the closest currency exchange confirmed that I'd been given a bunch of worthless Belarusian Ruble. This scam artist clearly identified me as an ignorant tourist and preyed on my inexperience with Czech currency.

We spent two and a half hours at the police station making a statement and getting a police report. In the scheme of things, I know it's not a lot of money (about AU$105, £61) but it's the bloody principal! I was so nice and polite to this man… I even told the bastard to have a nice day. Well I take it back. I hope he has a horrible day.

Let's all take a moment to send some bad juju his way.

I know the next three days I'll be walking around Prague like a character in Law and Order seeing if I recognise him. I'm pretty good with faces and was able to remember a few key details (short, medium build, pale, green checked shirt, dark jeans… keep an eye out). I suggested to the police that they check the cameras at the cash point, at which point I was told to only speak when spoken to.

Tomorrow we've booked a six hour tour that covers all the key sights around Prague and surrounding areas. It will be a great way to see to city (widen my search area).

More fool me anyway. That will teach me to be nice. I'll never give anyone change again.

You live, you learn, what can I say.

Prague 1, Bianca 0

xxoxox

NOT KORUNA.  next stop Belarus??

Berlin Series

East Side Gallery

Deutscher Bundestag

BIG BUBBLES

Bradenburg Gate

Germany- The cool kid of Europe

Apologies. Bad wifi kept me from you.

We had a great five days in Hamburg. It is such a beautiful city and not what I expected at all (starting to realise no where is really what I expect). For all the travelling I've done, I never  had much interest in going to Germany. I don't know why but it was never on the top of my list. This time, I scheduled Hamburg into the itinerary to visit a friend of mine who lives there. Then I thought we should check out Berlin too.

We arrived in Hamburg to find that our hostel was located right smack bang in the middle of the red light district (Reeperbahn). Not good for a weekend away... I actually had enough of all that in Amsterdam. Luckily, not too far from our hostel was St Pauli, the hipster/punk area. Super cool boutiques, second hand shops, record stores (Vinyl is big in GER) and everything in between. 

It's just a cool place. I'd describe it as gritty. It's great because there are nearly NO tourists, it's cheap, it's shameless in it's ugliness and vibrant in its beauty. It feels a bit like Brooklyn, NYC. Just the vibe and some of the architecture. It has this  'IDGAF' attitude but where it's pretty it's stunning. The city centre is positioned off of a great lake and at night the city lights reflect of the water. Spectacular.

The weather has started to turn. It's the kind of 'eyes watering, nose tap dripping' kind of cold.

And its only getting worse.

One day I will be able to afford to travel in summer… one day.

Berlin is like Hamburg but on steroids. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Berlin was hosting the world graffiti championships or something. The street art is BEYOND anything I have ever seen anywhere in the world. I think the whole 'cool, industrial vs urban vs alternative' must be a Germany wide thing. Germany definitely has the most street cred out of any european country I have visited so far.

Props to Germany, the cool kid of Europe.

B xoxox

Winterdom Fair in Hamburg

Hamburg is the 2nd largest port in Europe

Schmalzkuchen. Life ruiner.