Waiting in Dubai

So I’ve arrived on time so far to my stopover in Dubai… Massive airport, and lot’s of people.
Flight so far has been alright, first leg was stuck next to a family with a baby, but they managed to put him to sleep quite quickly and there wasn’t any problems. Food so-so.
Looking forward to finishing this last flying leg and getting to Germany where I can get myself into a comfortable ICE train and watch the countryside fly by on my way to Dresden.

Leaving!

Not long now… As I write this, it’s actually quite late and I’m really just putting off doing things that I should be doing like packing.  However, packing is terrible and I don’t really enjoy it that much.  Not looking forward to the day tomorrow.

16 hour flight to Dubai, a 4 hour stopover, a 7 hour flight to Munich, a 3 hour stopover and then a 6 hour train to Dresden.

I imagine I’m gonna be quite exhausted by the end of all of that…

Our Berlin Xmas

So I don’t really have time to do a huge update… might do that later

But it’s been ages since I updated this thing, so just wanted to share my Berlin Xmas video

Settling down in Dresden

So it’s been a while since I’ve updated.

Been to lots of places, met up with a lot of people, hard to know where to start really…

I’ve been to Amsterdam, Paris, back to Berlin, Prague and now finally Dresden. Was able to meet up with my mates Nick and Macgregor in Amsterdam, Jonno, Anna and Tam in Paris, Annie, Lisa, Sammy, Denis, Michael and Megan in Berlin. Again Annie and Lisa in Prague as well as a nice surprise of seeing Julia and Stu randomly at our hostel.

I’m now settled down in Dresden in former East Germany. I’ve started my work as a Kindergarten Teacher and I’m absolutely loving it. I have my own apartment right next to the main train station and it has a fantastic view of the town. Mellie and Anna came to visit me last weekend and we spent the weekend doing sightseeing. Did a bus tour around the town and it gave me a real insight into the city that I will call home for the next year. 95% of Dresden was destroyed in World War II and it’s amazing how much has been rebuilt and restored to create such a beautiful city.

My apartment is a short walk to the historical ‘Altstadt’ and even closer is Pragerstrasse where there is a massive amount of shops and at the moment a Spring Market where you can buy all sorts of German foods and other arts and crafts and stuff.

I’m working Monday-Friday 8.30am – 4pm. Means I usually get up a bit before 7, and leave the apartment around 7.40am to get the tram into work. The Kinder is in an area called Leuben, about 20 minutes out of the city centre. For the first 6 weeks or so I’m spending a week in each Kindergarten Group. The first week was with my Mentor Susi’s group. They are the kids with learning difficulties etc. They are such a joy to be around. The always want to hug you and stuff. Last week I was with a new group which has a mixture of kids aged 3-5. The kids are quite well behaved – it’s a lot better than what I expected. They mostly do as their told and have all their little rituals before having lunch and going to bed and stuff. They have a nap between 12-2 and most of the time actually do sleep and aren’t mucking around hardly at all.

I spose I should give an update about my travels before getting here to Dresden.

I started off by flying from Croatia back to Berlin where I stayed at James’s apartment in Kreuzberg sharing a room with the Italian Marco. I stayed there 2 nights before deciding to head off to Amsterdam and Paris with the plan to be back in Berlin 5 days later to meet Sal who had decided to stay in Croatia for a week longer.

I bought an Interrail pass and took the train to Amsterdam (about 6 hours). I spent 2 nights there at a great hostel (Stayokay Zeeburg). It was out of town a bit but we were able to get the tram in easy enough and it was a cheap taxi home when we had a big night out. I met up with Nick and Macgregor there and I managed to fit quite a lot in even though I wasn’t there very long. We took a trip to the Heinken Brewery and went on a Pub Crawl which was heaps of fun. I would have loved to have stayed longer in Amsterdam but had organised to meet up with Jonno in Paris. So I headed off to Paris on another train, and got into the same hostel where Jonno was staying. Jonno was traveling with his girlfriend Anna and her friend Tam. Our first night we found a great little French Restaurant where we all tasted snails and frogs legs. I also had some of the best duck I’ve ever eaten. We did a Free Walking Tour the next day and visited the Eifel Tower and got a great view of Paris from the top. The next day we visited the Lourve (saw the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo) and then went to the Arc de Triumph and just wandered around the city.

Again I would have loved to have stayed in Paris longer (4 days really was not long enough) but was meeting Sal back in Berlin. So I got the 10 hour train early in the morning and arrived back in Berlin to meet up with Sally. We had a great more couple of weeks. Met up with Annie and Lisa, found out that Michael was coming to Berlin (and his sister too) so was able to meet up with them and then randomly while we were on a walking tour, met a guy called Denis from Melbourne. And once we got talking discovered that he was friends with my friend Sammy and that Sammy was arriving that night in Berlin as well. We organised to surprise him at the hostel and had an awesome time all together in Berlin. Was able to celebrate Sammys Bday Berlin Style going out all night to bars and nightclubs. Once everyone had left Berlin it was just Sal and I again.

Sal was heading to Lyon and the month of prepaid rent (thanks Jimbo) was about to expire so I decided on a whim that I would visit Prague to meet up with Annie and Lisa again. Sal headed off to Lyon and I stayed another night in Berlin (had a dodgy Doener Kebab) and then head off to Prague. I had all my belongings with me, a huge suitcase about 35 kilos but managed to get to Prague in one piece. After a bit of trouble finding the hostel (Sir Tobys) – absolutely awesome (would definately recommend!) I checked in and shortly after the girls arrived.

We had a great time in Prague, saw a lot of the city and hardly spent any money (such a cheap place!!!) Also randomly bumped in Jules and Stu and their entourage. Was hilarious, i had just had a nap and it was about 7pm and the girls and I decided to go out for dinner. So we got ready and went down the stairs to leave and I saw a girl and a guy in the reception area. I thought to myself wow that looks like Jules, and then Jules was like ‘Hayden?’ Was such a coincedence!

We went out that night to a bar called the Beer Factory. A fantastic concept where you are given a glass and there are beer taps on the table and it counts how much you pour. There is an electronic leader board on a big screen so you can see which table is in the lead (we managed to take the lead on a busy Saturday night – a very proud achievement and drank over 20 Litres of Beer).

Eventually we made our way back to the hostel and before I knew it, it was time to be heading off to Dresden to start work.

And that brings us to where we are now pretty much. I’ve been here for 2 weeks and having a ball. Found a cafe (where I am now) that has free Wifi, since my apartment doesn’t have the internet.

I guess I will try and keep this thing more regularly updated from now on but who know haha

Until next time

Haydo

Norway, Stockholm, Berlin, Santorini, Croatia

Chris and I had been wanted to take a trip to Norway and we managed to make it happen thanks to a Scanrail pass. The Scanrail pass (about 260 AUD) allows you 5 days of travel in a 15 day period in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. We were only planning on heading to Norway so it seemed like the best option. We didn’t really have any plans at all. Didn’t know where we wanted to go or what we wanted to see. The only thing that was a definite on the agenda was a trip above the Artic Circle to see the midnight sun (where it is daylight 24 hours a day).

We left on a Friday night on a 21 hour train trip to the very very north of Norway to a town called Narvik. After the long train trip we arrived at our hostel (shocked at the price – about 55 AUD for one night in a dorm). But nevertheless we made the most of our time in Narvik. We asked at the reception of the best place to see the Midnight Sun and were told that a trip up to the top of the mountain (which in winter is ski fields) in the funicular was the best vantage point. We were not disappointed. As can be seen from the photos (although they don’t really do it justice… what photo does), the view was absolutely outstanding. We had amazingly clear weather and it was a very strange feeling knowing that it was midnight and seeing the sun still high in the sky. It was also strange to walk back to the hostel at 1am and still see people out and about doing reasonably normal things like walking their dogs, having a drink at a café as if it were 5pm. That night I was very glad to have my sleeping mask (I don’t know how people could sleep otherwise).

We decided that we should take a trip out the to Lofoten islands to see the Fjords. The receptionist recommended us a small town called Stamsund so we packed up our things and headed to the port to take a small boat to a town called Svolvaer and from Svolvaer to Stamsund. The first boat was small and rickety, it felt like a fishing boat and it was extremely loud and hot inside. The second leg was on a huge cruise ship that was like a 5 star hotel on water. The MS NORDNORGE took us from Svolvaer to Stamsund in style and we arrived at the port of Stamsund around 10.30pm (of course still in complete daylight). There was one road in the town so we started to follow it knowing we would eventually come across the youth hostel as we had been told it was only about 1km and near the petrol station. We walked for about 10 minutes and still hadn’t come across it, I was starting to think in my mind about how long it would normally take to walk 1km and was starting to get a bit worried but were reassured when we saw other backpackers travelling the other direction towards the port and they told us to keep going. After another 10 minutes Chris and I were even more worried but eventually found the petrol station and the youth hostel. We took our bags up to our room and went for a short walk around before retiring to bed. We woke up in the morning and found out that while beautiful, there really isn’t a lot to do in Stamsund. And when I say nothing I don’t mean that it’s a boring town or anything like that, but like there is actually nothing to do there. We climbed up a mountain and just chilled out on some rocks in the sun (we were experiencing some extremely good weather – something like 20-25 degrees).

Around 9.30pm we got another 5 star boat (it’s a company called Hurtigruten) to the town of Bodo. We arrived in Bodo at 2am and slept on the boat in the port until 3.30am when the boat was about to leave. We were planning on taking a train at midday and figured it wouldn’t really be worth checking into a hostel (especially when they are like 50 bucks a night). So we kind of just sat outside the train station. It’s amazing that you don’t really feel worried or anything about doing something like that because it’s so bright outside. The only problem was that it was so cold. We rugged ourselves up and waited until a bit after 6am when the train station opened. We put our bags into a locker and decided to take a walk into town to find something to eat and have a coffee. All the cafés were still closed so we ended up having a coffee at 7-11 and watching drunk people stumbling home. A drunk guy stopped to talk to us for a while, giving us advice on what we should do with our lives. He looked like he had been in a bit of an altercation with bouncers or something (his shirt was ripped) but he was like 40 years old so we just smiled and nodded and eventually he shook our hands and left.

We got the train to Trondheim (another huge journey – something like 8 or 9 hours) and found a hostel called the Interrail Center or something. We arrived there later at night and it could be only described as one word – shithouse. We were both hanging out for a shower as we hadn’t had one since Narvik. (In Stamsund you had to pay to use hot water and the previous night had been spent at the train station). They told us that the showers were actually being renovated so we couldn’t use them but could use the showers at the university about a 10 minute walk down the road (but only between 8am and 6pm) so we were destined for another night without a shower. We got up to our room (about 40 bunk beds in a huge open space with shit old mattresses covered in stains). It was full of dirty old men snoring etc. The next day we finally managed to get our showers but couldn’t stand the thought of spending another night at the hostel so we went to the tourist information centre and got the address for another hostel. This second place (Singsaker Hostel) was much much better – clean, working showers, and a nice room with only about 6 beds and only sharing with 2 other people anyway. We spend our day in Trondheim just wandering around and checking the place out. We had a great dinner and some beers at a great little microbrewery pub that brewed its own beer. The bartender was very excited to have some English speakers and told us all about the beers and which were the best ones and what he liked and how it was all made there etc. Trondheim was a fantastic city but we were still astounded that we couldn’t find any people of our own age. Everyone at the hostels seemed to be much older (like 40s or 50s) and doing things like bushwalking.

So the next day we took a train down to Oslo. We arrived at about 3pm and for the first time of our trip saw some Norwegian rain. It was really pissing down but we managed to get to our hostel relatively quickly and checked in. The rain kind of limited what we could do but we got a nice kebab for dinner and the weather cleared up a bit so we went for a walk down into the down and around the harbour.

The next day was a beautiful sunny day and we were planning to take a guided tour but missed it by about 5 minutes and couldn’t see where they had gone. We were then approached by a reporter and a photographer from the Aftenposten Newspaper (a rather large newspaper in Oslo) and they chatted to us about Oslo and Norway and how expensive it is for backpackers. We got our picture in the paper and you can see the article here. We had missed the tour so we went on a huge walk around the town and through the nice suburbs to the statue park. We got back to the hostel and were hoping that we might be able to finally meet some people of our age. We went and got a pizza and took it back to our hostel to eat it at the tables and chairs out the front hoping to spark up some conversation with anyone we could find of similar ages. We met some Aussies but they were leaving that night and just waiting around for their train. But they told us they were heading to Stockholm so we exchanged numbers and told them when we were back in Stockholm if they were still there then we would take them out somewhere. So the Aussies left and we were left by ourselves again. I spotted two young girls with a young guy sitting a few tables away so went up to them and struck up a conversation. We found out they were 2 German girls and a Swedish guy. So we had a few drinks with them at the hostel and then the Swedish guy (who was actually living in Oslo and was only staying at the hostel for a few nights before his own apartment would become available) told us that he was going to meet his friend at his friend’s house and invited us all along. So off we went to this random Swedish guys friend’s house in the city and hung out there for a bit before heading into the city.

The drinking age in Oslo is 20 to get into bars and unfortunately one of the German girls was 19 and the Swedish guy 19 as well. This made it kind of difficult to get into any bars at all. The 2 Swedish guys wanted to go to a club where they knew they could get in but it was a 100 Krona (20 AUD) cover charge (something Chris and I weren’t really willing to pay since we had to get up very early to get the train back to Stockholm). So Chris and I and the German girls went back to the hostel.

Next morning we made our way to the train station and found out that the train to Stockholm was completely booked out. So we had to go via Gothenburg. The train from Oslo to Gothenburg was having major problems and the power kept going out and train stopping for like half an hour at a time. We were worried we would miss our connection in Gothenburg even though we had allowed like 3 hours for the stopover. The train ended up being about 2 hours 45 minutes delayed and we just made the connection.

That night we met up with the Aussies from Oslo and took them to Chris’s favourite hangout ‘Tradgarden’ It was pretty ordinary weather but we had a few drinks and it was nice to relax and not have to worry about getting anymore trains or booking hostels anymore.

I spent the next week in Stockholm hanging out with Chris and some of his friends (some of them friends I knew from the last time I was in Stockholm in 2004 and went to school with Chris for a couple of weeks). So it was really fun meeting up with all them and reminiscing about the old times.

I also took a day trip to Copenhagen as I still had some travel days left on our Scanrail ticket. In Norway they don’t always notice if you haven’t actually filled in the day of travel on the ticket (you have to write it in yourself). So we had like 2 days of travel still left.

I took a night train from Stockholm to Copenhagen and immediately regretted not bringing a jumper. I had my jacket but the train was freezing cold and extremely noisy. I hardly slept at all and I arrived in Copenhagen at about 7.30 in the morning where it was a pretty miserable drizzly cold day. The day started off pretty ordinary, it was cold, I was tired, and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or see. Nothing much was open that early but I found my way to the National Museum (which was free) so I had a look around in there. I thought I should take a trip to the Carlsberg Brewery to lighten my mood. On the way I stopped for a hotdog and managed to spill tomato sauce ALL OVER my jeans. I was contemplating just going back to the station to go back to Stockholm but I persevered and managed to get the brewery. By the way to anyone wanting to visit the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen, it’s a pretty big walk from the city centre, something I had not really anticipated.. it didn’t look THAT long on the map. But I got there and before going around the brewery to have a look inside I went to this little cinema they have there which kind of shows the beer making process etc. I took a seat and slept for about 2 hours (after not sleeping on the train it was something I really needed). And I felt very refreshed after that. I took the self-guided tour around the brewery and at the end you are treated to a few free beers. This is where the day started to get better. Instead of getting the small glasses that everyone else seemed to be getting, I asked the bar tender (more out of interest than anything else) what was the strongest beer that they made at Carlsberg. He told me it was a beer with 12.4% Alcohol volume and then actually gave me a large 500ml bottle of it to try. So I had that, and then another beautiful strong Carlsberg beer and I was feeling much happier.

I wanted to take a canal tour and was running out of time in the day so decided to get the bus back. I only had a 200 crown note (like 40 AUD) and the bus driver wouldn’t take it so he let me ride for free! I then went on the canal tour and saw a great perspective of Copenhagen from the canals (I would definitely recommend it). After the canal tour I made my way back to the train station and got a train back to Stockholm.

I spent about 4 more days in Stockholm trying to organise myself an apartment in Berlin for when I would return. I had one that was completely perfect, deal was done and I was in the process of organising key pick up and money drop off and the woman cancelled on me. I was so bloody angry, the whole thing had been organised like a week before and then 4 days before I was due to move in, the woman cancelled saying that a friend of hers had broken up with her boyfriend and that her friend was now gonna stay in her apartment while she went away. So I found myself with nowhere to stay for 3 weeks.

I decided to keep looking for apartments, but it was difficult to find something suitable and cost effective at such short notice. As a backup I booked myself 2 nights at a hostel (Jetpak City Hostel) for when I arrived back so that I wouldn’t be completely stranded. It was the same hostel where Soda and his mates were staying so I knew I would have some company there if things didn’t work out finding an apartment. As it turns out, I didn’t find anything suitable in the end so headed to Berlin with the intention of staying a week at the hostel and then going on a trip to Greece or Spain with a friend of mine Angie from Melbourne Uni.

When I arrived back in Berlin it was about 38 degrees and nice and sunny. I arrived back at about 3pm and I knew that Soda and his mates would be arriving about 5. So I checked in and had a chat to the owner and then waited out the front of the hostel having a few beers and chatting to other people staying there. 5pm came and went and the boys still hadn’t arrived, at about 6 I was starting to wonder if they had got lost or gone to a different hostel or something. Eventually they rocked up about 7.30pm and we all moved into a great little room (with awesome aircon). Was pretty great having all 7 of us in the one room and the hostel owner was such a great guy. Out of the guys 3 of them were staying 2 nights and 3 of them 3 nights. So the next 3 4 days I was pretty much designated as tour guide for the boys, taking them out around Berlin and to some nice bars, pubs and clubs at night. The first night we went and had a nice little dinner at a restaurant near the hostel and then went and had a few drinks a nearby bar. We got up in the morning with the intention of making the 1pm New Berlin Free Tour, but the boys had a shitload of washing to do and we kind of slept in a bit so we didn’t make it. I took them out and about around Berlin and we took the 4pm walking tour. After the tour the boys were in the mood for Schnitzel so I took them to a restaurant I had been to with Cam called Schnitzel König (Schnitzel King). A place that has so many different types of Schnitzel it makes your head spin. Unfortunately for us, some huge American tour group had just been through and eaten all the XL and XXL Schnitzels so we had to make do with regular ones (which were still pretty decent size), and we also had a few beers. We then made our way to Prater, the oldest Biergarten in Berlin. As it was such a beautiful warm night the place was packed but we managed to find ourselves a table big enough for the 7 of us and had a few more drinks. After all the drinks the boys were in the mood for a bit of a dance so we made our way to one of the most trashy touristy clubs in Berlin called Sofienclub. The only reason we went there was because it was a Tuesday night and pretty much the only good clubs are open Wednesday-Sunday. It was a great night had by all and we partied long and hard and Zerno made his mark on a young German girl who was desperate to meet him again the following night. The next day I took Soda, Aaron and Robbie to Schoenefeld Airport for them to take their plane to Athens and also meet Angie who was arriving from London.

I found Julia and we waited for Angie to arrive and then went back to Julia’s place to hang out a bit. I had plans to meet up with my old German friend Natalie so I left Julia’s to meet up with her and after meeting her went back to the hostel to meet up with the boys who were on their way out to Magnet (a club on the other side of town to meet up with Zerno’s girl). It was late and I was tired but I couldn’t say no, so after a quick change of clothes and a bit of deodorant, I was back out the door with the boys on the way to this club. Again it was a really warm night and we had a lot of fun, the boys got up and sang Karaoke – Zerno’s rendition of ‘Down Under by Men at Work’ was a bloody classic and the Germans loved it.

I met up with Angie the next day to take the walking tour again so she wouldn’t have to go by herself and also with the intention of going to a travel agency to book a trip somewhere (we still hadn’t decided at that stage.) Angie wasn’t feeling great at the start of the tour, so we left after about 10 minutes and went and got something to eat and drink with the intention of trying to catch up with the tour later on. I don’t know how but we somehow managed to leapfrog them, so Angie was lucky enough to get her own private tour by me based on my knowledge of 2 previous walking tours (one just 2 days prior). We stopped for a drink at the halfway point of the tour and eventually the tour group caught up after us. We rejoined the tour and afterwards went to the Pergamon Museum (free on Thursdays after 6). We spent a bit of time there and then made our way to Prenzlauer Berg to meet up with Cam and a bunch of his friends for a going away dinner. We had dinner at a restaurant called November. Probably the worst service I have ever had a restaurant. The waiter was extremely rude and some people had to wait over 90 minutes for their food. Some food didn’t even come out until nearly everyone else was finished. The waiter was a complete arsehole and even gave Cam a telling off for bringing so many people to the restaurant saying that the kitchen couldn’t handle it. A bit ridiculous really considering we were only a group of about 15 and the place was pretty much empty except for us. Anyway I’m hoping that a search engine will pick this up for anyone who googles “November Restaurant Prenzlauer Berg Berlin”. Anyway after an ordinary dinner we went to a cocktail bar where the service was amazing and the drinks were cheap.

The next day I met Angie in the city at Hackescher Markt and we made our way to Alexanderplatz to check out the last minute travel agencies to see where we could get a holiday too. Our preference was Greece and after about an hour we had managed to book ourselves a one-week trip to Santorini (billed as one of the most stunning islands in all of Greece). We were flying out of Munich airport on Monday the 23rd July and returning on the 30th. This meant we would have to get a train down to Munich but the travel agency was able to set us up with a deal so that we got a return ticket Munich to Berlin for only 10 Euro. This was exciting because it also meant that we would be able to spend half a day in Munich and hopefully see my old exchange brother Jan.

That evening I met up with James and Sally at the hospital in Berlin where James was getting further treatment and diagnosis on his leg after his trip to Paris. We went out afterwards for dinner and then I met up with Julia and Angie to go out for some drinks. Julia was leading a tour group that night (it’s what she does for a job in Berlin, takes Contiki groups on pub crawls around Berlin), so Angie and I tagged along. We had a Shisha in a cool little bar and when Julia was ready to move on we weren’t completely finished so stayed behind a bit longer. In the bar we met some random Danish guys and sat and chatted with them for about an hour and then we went to the end point of the tour at Sofienclub. We couldn’t find Julia anywhere and I tried to ring her but her phone was off. This was quite annoying as we had planned to go the special 1am sale of the last Harry Potter book all together. Angie and I hung out the front of the club for a while and when it was obvious that we had lost Julia we started to walk down the street to the bookstore. Amazingly we bumped into Julia making her way back to the train station after she had spent an hour looking for us. So now that we were all back together again we went to Dussmann to get the last ever Harry Potter.

Sunday Angie and I left early in the morning for Munich. Our train was delayed but we rolled into Munich about 2.30pm. We found our hostel which was right next to the train station (good as we would have to get a train to the airport at 4am on Monday morning for our 6am flight) and then we headed into town where we met Jan at Marienplatz. Jan then took us for a walk around and we went to the Englischer Garten (the largest inner city park in the world – bigger than New Yorks Central Park). In the Englischer Garten we had a beer at the Chinese Beer Garden (3rd largest in Munich) and listened to traditional German Oompa Music while drinking our 1Litre beers in the sunshine. After that we went to a traditional German Cellar to have a traditional German meal (a huge pork knuckle with cabbage and dumplings) and also sunk down another 1 Litre of beer. Stumbled back to our hostel and woke up at 3.30am to get the S-Bahn out to the airport.

We arrived in Santorini at about 10am and it was already probably about 35 degrees. We jumped on a bus that took us to our hotel called Dagris Villa. It was pretty close to the airport, about a 20min walk out of town. The hotel was pretty much brand new. The owner told us that we were the first people to stay in our room and she was so nice. She brought us some food for the kitchen and told us all about the island and what we could do. She said there was a bus into the town of Kamari or that we could just walk. We decided to walk as the buses seemed to be rather infrequent and kind of just ran when they felt like it. We got into town and plonked ourselves down on the beach on a couple of deck chairs. We stupidly hadn’t worn any sunscreen and both got a bit burnt on our shoulders. We investigated the possibility of hiring a Motobike (4 wheeler) and decided to hire one for the middle 4 days we would be in Santorini so that we could see the island.

We had an awesome first 2 days, just relaxing at the beach and having cocktails and beautiful dinners by the water. On the third day we picked up our bike in the morning and took a trip to Fira (the capital), it was a boiling hot day – 45 degrees but it was nice cruising around on the bike and we stopped at a nice sheltered quite beach and had a swim. We then drove up to Oia to see one of the most fantastic scenic views in all of Greece.

The next day we spent again relaxing at the beach and hanging out in Kamari. The day after that we got back on the bike and took a huge trip around the island to Perissa and to the Red Beach where the sand is red. We also found an amazing view from the lighthouse and were able to take some awesome photos there.

As the next day was the last day with the bike, and Angie didn’t feel like riding around anymore, I once again took the bike up to Oia and walked around the town there. It was the most amazing walkway through the hills, made completely of marble with the stone white houses and shops all around you.

Sunday morning we had to return the bike and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. Monday morning we left for Munich and then got a train back up to Berlin where I met up with James and Sal again at James’s apartment.

On Tuesday morning the three of us went into the city so that James and Sal could get haircuts and then had a walk around, but it was completely freezing and started to rain so we went back to James’s apartment and then went out for dinner to a nice indian restaurant a bit later on. Wednesday morning Michele arrived and Sal and I met her at the Airport. We took her back to James’s apartment and the girls then went out to have a look around Berlin and James and I went to the hospital to pick up films and talk to the doctor. We all met back at James’s place a bit later and went out for dinner and a few drinks.

Another early morning saw Sally, Michele and I leaving for Croatia on a plane from Berlin. We arrived in Split and after battling with a very bitchy rude information desk lady, got the bus into the town of Split and then bought tickets to get the catamaran to Bol on the island of Brac. We were met at the port by Nikola (the apartment owner’s son) who drove us to our apartment and then took us into the cellar for a drink. We tried some traditional Croatian beer and wine and also some herb schnapps. After that Nikola took us to the supermarket where we bought some more drinks for that evening. We had our drinks on our balcony that night and woke up with a few sore heads in the morning.

We headed down to the beach to a place called the horn. A huge long horn-like piece of beach not far from our apartment. We chilled out here for most of the day, had a swim and then went back to our apartment to make some dinner. It was a bit stormy and started to rain a bit but we wanted to go out. We went down to where we had seen a cocktail bar earlier that day to find it closed because of the bad weather. Disappointed we walked back the other way to towards the port where we found a cocktail bar that was open and had plenty of people there. It was here that we met our new best Croatian friends Dado and Sanela. We had a few drinks with them and then went with them to a Disco that was hilariously empty. Sal and Shel were pretty retarded and spinning and dancing on the dance floor all by themselves. We had a few more drinks here before heading back to our apartment with a promise to meet the Croatian couple the next morning at 11am.

In the morning Dado and Sanela took us to an amazing beach that we probably would never have found otherwise and we hung out with them on the beach for most of the day. Dado then drove us back to our apartment to shower and get changed before dinner and then picked us up at 8 to go have some pizza and drinks and then go back to his apartment. We went back to his apartment and were drinking and having a great time, but the landlord who lives next door cracked the shits at us for being too noisy (I blame Sally’s giggles) so we left and went had a drink at another cocktail bar in the city.

Again we met the Croats at the beach the next day and just relaxed and had a swim. This day (Sunday) was the national holiday for the islands of Brac and Hvar, so there was a MAJOR party atmosphere in the town. Dado and Sanela came to our apartment for a few drinks and then we went out to have some traditional Croatian lamb. Dado bought about a kilo and a half of the most amazing lamb and the idea is that you pretty much just eat it with your hands straight off the bone, no plates, no knives and forks, just you and the meat sitting around.

I have never had such amazing lamb as the lamb we had that night and I was so full it pretty much put me to sleep. We went back to our apartment as the weather was starting to get a bit cold and windy and one more beer finished me off and put me to sleep.

If anyone read all of that you deserve a medal

An Update

So I have been neglecting this thing for a while, not through choice but because I have just been so busy.

Again I don’t have a lot of time right now but since I last made an entry I’ve visited Chris in Sweden and we took a trip to Norway.  Saw the midnight sun and lots of beautiful scenery.  After the Norway trip, I spent a bit more time in Stockholm with Chris before heading back to Berlin where I stayed at a sweet hostel called Jetpak City Hostel and met up with Soda and some of his mates from Australia.  Had a great couple of days with them and then Angie arrived and had more Berlin fun with her.

Ange and I then went to Santorini for a week which was totally awesome, really awesome hot weather and beautiful landscapes.  Got a pretty good tan and am looking forward to spending some more time at the beach in Croatia.

Video of Norway

Have been meaning to write a blog explaining what we got up to in Norway but haven’t found the time yet

In the meantime here’s a video

Auf Wiedersehen Berlin, Hej Stockholm

Tuesday the 26th I had a lovely last night in Berlin with James and Cam. We had another dinner at San Marco’s followed by a drink at a nice little bar (although weird photos on the wall) in Prenzlauer Berg. Was the last night that all three of us would be together in Berlin and it was great that we were able to make it happen.

I woke up at 7am the next day to get ready to fly to Stockholm. My bags were already packed, just had a few things to do before I left. Woke James up (sorry mate) and left the house a bit before 8. Managed to get myself to the U-Bahn at Hermannplatz and ride it all the way across to the other side of the city. Then got on a bus which took me to Tegel Airport. From there I was able to check in without having to wait and buy some cheap alcohol before departing for Stockholm. The flight was a little delayed but only about 10 minutes. Had a very quick (1hour and 10minutes) flight.

Flight highlight. Little kid walking down the aisle towards the bathroom just stops right next to me and POWER SPEWS right down the aisle. Was freaken hilarious, then the kid started crying and it wasn’t so hilarious anymore. I was just so happy he didn’t get any on me. Could have been a very different story if he had decided to turn his head to the left.

Again Air Berlin delivered the goods. Had a spare seat next to me (on a nearly full flight) got a seat in row 4 (means you get off the plane a hell of a lot quicker when you land) and also in true Air Berlin style you get free drinks (non alcoholic) and a sandwich. I was stoked. What kind of budget airline gives you free apple juice and a sandwich? I’ll tell you who does, Air Berlin.

I arrived at Stockholm at about midday into the waiting arms of my great Swedish mate Chris and we got the Arlanda Express train into the centre of town. His apartment was then only a short 5-10 minute walk from the central station. I’m staying with him at the moment and we are leaving on a trip up north tomorrow for about 10 days. When we get back to Stockholm i’ll have about a week to just hang out and then I’m on my way back to Berlin.

Don’t know how much internet access i’ll have up in Norway, not sure yet if I will take my laptop with me. Might be nice to have a break from it, but then again it could prove valuable when it comes to booking hostels and stuff (there aren’t that many up there and it’s a busy time of year.)

I’m also trying to organise myself an apartment in Berlin for when I get back there so it would be good to keep searching when we’re having down time.

Anyway last night Chris invited some friends over and we had a few drinks (I really drank way too much) and then we headed out to the most famous club in Stockholm. Chris’ cousin’s boyfriend works there so we were able to get in for free. Still a beer costs about 13 bucks and because I was so wasted I didn’t really think twice about it. In Norway it’s even more expensive so I think I might have to be more careful. Anyway the night is a bit of a blur, but it definitely reminded me why I love Sweden so much. All the beautiful people everywhere and apparently if you’re Australian, you’re in with a chance. Haven’t really had the opportunity to try it out yet haha.

Anyway big day tomorrow, gearing up for the train trip. Gonna get some sleep now.

Photos

I have added a Photos page so you can have a look at my photo albums.

Enjoy

Olympiastadion

Today I visited the Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium), a sports stadium in Berlin.

The current Olympiastadion surrounded by the massive Olympischer Platz was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics. During World War II these buildings suffered little damage. After the war, the United Kingdom military occupation used it as its headquarters until 1994.

Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, the Olympiastadion has a strong footballing tradition. Historically, it’s the ground of club Hertha BSC of Berlin. It was also used for 3 matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It hosted six matches, including the final, in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was renovated for that reason. The German Cup final match is held each year at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

I took a self guided audio tour around the place (which explains why I’m wearing headphones in a lot of the photos). Was really interesting, and I found it amazing how you can pretty much just walk in. You buy a ticket for 3 euros and then BAM you’re pretty much inside the stadium. There’s hardly any security or anything around and you could probably walk into the middle of the pitch if you wanted to. Although I wasn’t game enough to try.