InterRail Post #9: Just In The Dubrovnik Of Time

Dubrovnik is a sight to behold, with its stone beaches, fabulous sunset watching spots and terracotta tiled roofs of the old town. It was the part of the trip we were looking forward to the most, and it has been a nice release being able to head down to the beach everyday and relieve our feet from the miles of walking we have already done this month.

The journey to Dubrovnik took 5 hours by coach from Split, with the Adriatic sea to our right and the old houses to our left. On arrival Charles called the man at our hostel who came to pick us up 10 minutes later, with maps, directions and recommendations, we felt like we could then make the most of our time there. Arriving at the boarding house we felt glad that we had booked somewhere in Lapad, which was 20 minutes from the bustling old town, as we were 3 minutes walk from a quiet beach, got a double room for the same price as a 4 bed shared dorm and had this view:

 

This day was also Charles’ 22nd Birthday so after hitting the beach for a sunset swim we went to the main promenade for dinner, coincidently we bumped into my manager from the nursery Sarah and her friend Clare  on our search for cheap cocktails (who were holidaying in the Dubrovnik for 10 days) and enjoyed a relaxing evening drinking whilst sitting on swingy chairs, win!

Charles and birthday pancakes!

He’s got the whole sun in his hands!

There’s nothing like an early morning swim, with only you and a few brave others venturing out into the waters, this is what we did on Wednesday before heading off to the old town. We walked the walls in the blistering heat, taking in views such as this:

That’s a lot of ginger houses!

Then Charles and I found the Buza bar, overlooking the sea where you can jump from the rocks!

That evening we had planned to meet up with Sarah and Clare for dinner and ice cream in the Old Town and then headed back to the cocktail bar from Tuesday (because of the ridiculously cheap deals).

Charles, Clare, Sarah and I

Now we are on a Ferry to Bari, where we will grab dinner before getting on another overnight train to Rome, unfortunately there were no beds left only seats, so an uncomfortable nights sleep awaits us. We are unbelievably excited about Rome, that post will come in two parts as we both wanted to write about it and I have a feeling there will be lots to say!

5 Interesting things about Dubrovnik

1. Stray cats are everywhere, there are even boxes for donations for cat food. One even sat on my bag when I stopped for a rest!

2. There are some very large men in Dubrovnik, however all the weight seems to convene in their bellies making them look pregnant, this became a game of spot the pregnant man (especially on beaches).

3. If you are wondering around bus or ferry ports with luggage you will be approached several times by old women asking you if you need accommodation.

4. It has had a boom of tourism in the last few years, now being a prime holiday spot, meaning you can’t move for tourists (especially in the old town).

5. Turquoise is a common stone to Croatia, the jewellery stands are full of it, and obviously me being me I couldn’t resist buying a turquoise necklace.

Sophie

x

InterRail Post #8: Let’s Make Like A Croatian & Split

The adventure continues into the sunny coast of Croatia where the temperature during the day reaches 32 degrees! But before we got there, we had to get there!

We took an overnight train from Croatia’s capital Zagreb to Split. We had about 3 hours in Zagreb to grab dinner while waiting for our train. We got pasta from a cheap Italian restaurant (about £10 for 2 meals and drinks!) and then went for a quick look around. We found the main square, cathedral, funicular and another church before having to head back to the station.

The overnight train was an experience, I actually got a really good nights sleep, but that might be down to the fact the train ended up arriving into Split 3 hours late, so basically got a 3 hour lie in – which by this point on the trip was much appreciated! All that walking is definitely taking it’s toll!

Sophie and I have been waiting for the Croatian segment of our trip for a while for one simple reason: Beaches. And on our second day we made the most of the skin-cancer inducing weather, took a ferry to a nearby island and spent the day in the sea :)

Sophie enjoys one of the local delicacies, Burek, for a very late breakfast. Essentially a light pastry filled with pork mince, very tasty!

The awfully hot weather made stalls like this irresistible!

Sophie grabbing a cheeky cocktail… the first of a few that day…

Sophie, not content with just a cocktail, nomming a banana split… in Split (this one’s for Charlotte :p)

 

The view from the top of the town’s campanile

I’m on a beach!

Enough said :)

Next stop, more sun and sea in Dubrovnik!

It’s My Party & I’ll Split If I Want To

It was almost three years to the day that this blog started, and what a three years they have been. On my 22nd birthday, it seems very apt that I am spending 5 hours on a bus in Croatia from Split to Dubrovnik, because my life as a 21-year-old was dominated by travel.

It all started on my 21st birthday last year when my job sent me to Amsterdam for the day. Waking up at 3am has it’s obvious downsides, but it was a great day visiting one of the largest broadcasting tradeshows in the world. I even got a birthday shout-out on the plane, thanks to my colleagues who persuaded an air hostess to do the honours. I got back to Guildford at 10pm where my housemates were waiting for me with cake and presents :) Not your traditional 21st birthday, but certainly setting a trend for the next year of my life…

I’ve done a lot of travelling, all thanks to my placement year at Sony that saw me working in Switzerland for most of the year. In a typical week I would fly out of Heathrow first thing Monday morning and return on Friday evening… in total flying on over 80 planes! I also took the opportunity to spend a weekend in Amsterdam with some friends instead of flying home. Some weekends I opted to stay out in Switzerland, and that allowed me to make a couple of day trips to Milan, since it was only an hour away by train. I also spent a weekend in a hotel overlooking Lake Como with Charlotte, something I would never have been able to do before.

And that’s the other travelling tale of the last year… I have taken the train to Weymouth for the weekend several times to see Charlotte. Now you can start to see how travelling has shaped my year: Flying to Switzerland on Monday, back on Friday, then going to Weymouth on Saturday, back to Guildford on Sunday then back to Switzerland on Monday… And that’s before you mention Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the boat trips…It’s been a hectic year, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!

Having a 9-to-5 really takes up more time than you think, especially after 2 years at uni when you got used to a timetable with enough space in it for long lunches and late nights out without worrying about getting on the 7:45am train. But then add on to that job the flying, the packing and being away from home and you no longer have time to do the little things: laundry, buying stamps, etc. I’m looking forward to the next year at uni resembling some sort of normality… It’s the middle of September and I’m yet to sleep in the same bed for more than 2 weeks at a time! It’s been a different year, but I’ve still been able to stick to my new years resolution of being true to yourself…

My life has changed, but I’m still the same person. I’m doing what I try to do best: living life to the full by taking every chance. After all we only regret the things we don’t do, the chances we didn’t take and the choices we hid from - for fear of doing the wrong thing… stop making excuses and do it!

And that’s the reason behind this InterRail trip. Do it while you can. And so far it’s been unbelievable; so many cultures, landscapes and people! I recommend anyone to do it, you won’t regret it! (It’s funny how as I write this, the bus we are on is driving along a coastal road – cliffs to my left and the blue waters of the Adriatic sea to the right, the small terracotta roofs of the local shops and houses reflecting the glorious sunshine beaming down from an endless blue sky)

So now you can see why I might not have written in this blog as much as i would otherwise like to! But by far the best thing I did this year was buy a new camera – capturing the experiences so I can remember them for years to come :) Who knows what I’ll be dong in a years time, but if it’s anything like the last year, it’s really not even worth guessing!

InterRail Post #7: When Hungary strikes…

I’m writing this post on the six and a half hour train from Budapest to Zagreb, before taking an overnight train to Split in Croatia.

We have spent the past three days in the Hungarian capital of Budapest and what a tasty few days it has been, taking recommendations for restaurants and local foods from our guide book and fellow travellers meaning it’s been the best city for food so far. The only downside to these restaurants is that people are still allowed to smoke indoors in Budapest, meaning your lovely roast duck is tainted somewhat by the smell of four people smoking in close proximity.

On our first night we went out with the four other people in our dorm room for drinks and shisha, which was good because we weren’t going to wake anyone up coming back late at night.

 

(Rio, Tom, Charles, Beth and I)

The next day, carrying on the tradition we took a free tour, exploring sights around Buda and Pest such as St Stephens Basilica, Deak Square, churches and the fisherman’s bastion.

Check out this view of Pest taken by Buda Castle

We then walked 45mins back to Pest for dinner and ended having some yummy Goulash (which was totally worth the walk)

And Charles got a bit too happy about the triple chocolate cake

 

And I forgot to mention the awesomness that is Truro Rudi, who’d have thought that cottage cheese covered in chocolate could be so delicious?

 

Yesterday we visited the public baths, which apparently no trip to Budapest is complete without. The baths are spread out over a massive ornate building, all being different temperatures, some outside even had rapids and bubble pools. The steam rooms reached 55 degrees and there was even an 18 degree pool to dip in afterwards, which only Charles had the guts to do. Once you get over the fact that there are hairy men everywhere in not a lot of clothing the baths are really relaxing and refreshing.

Oh and one last thing, Langos, deep fried pizza dough covered with sour cream, cheese and onions, need I say more?

5 Interesting things about Budapest:

1. The yellow metro line is the oldest in the world (that explains why it’s three carriages long, shaky and very loud alarms ring every time the doors open

2. The city is split into two districts: Buda and Pest, by the river Danube.

3. The man who created the telephone exchange was from Budapest, he used the word ‘hallo’ when answering the phone, meaning ‘can you hear me’? Where our hello comes from.

4. The man who invented the Rubiks cube was Hungarian, he still lives in Budapest today and walks around with a tiny dog.

5. If you say ‘thank you’ in a bar when paying for your drink it means you want the barman to keep the change.

 

We have looked at the weather forecast for Spilt, 32 degress, clear and sunny, beach here we come!

Till next time!

Sophie

x

InterRail Post #6: Ohhhhhhh Vienna!

Next stop after Prague was Vienna, Austria’s beautiful capital! Charlotte was still with us and we had a laugh exploring. Our hostel was right next to a famous market in Vienna called the Nashmarkt, which is a great place to wonder in an get cheap pasties and falafel for breakfast!

The weather was great in Vienna and we got so hot we had to find a lido to chill out in. Next to the summer palace is a large public baths, perfect. One of my work mates from Sony just happened to be in Vienna at the same time as us, so we met up and went to a great steakhouse! After two weeks of walking around, the meat cravings were definitely setting in.

One thing that we haven’t really mentioned yet is that in Berlin we met two girls who were staying in our hostel, and it turned out that they were also travelling on to Prague and Vienna! So we met up with them in Prague for some traditional food, and then we met again in Vienna since they were staying in the same hostel! The words world and small come to mind!

 

Our hostel had a really nice bar and one night we ended up in a cool little group of travellers, two of them had even just graduated from the University of Surrey! It really is true what they say about small worlds and friendly people :)

Vienna has many drinking stations situated all over the city centre and the locals are very proud that Vienna has some of the best water in Europe as it comes directly from the Alps to the city in pipes. The tap water here is better than mineral water.

Sophie eying up the local hotties from her specially designed vantage point, St Stephens church.

No trip to Vienna is complete without a trip to the Opera at the Staatsoper! You can queue on the night for standing tickets for as little as €3 so it would be rude not to! Another thing ticked off the list!

Charlotte’s face after she got left behind by the metro train while trying to run down the train and get on a less crowded carriage, calling the now infamous words “why get on this door when you can get on…”

Next stop, Budapest!

InterRail Post #5: Bridge over the river Danube…

I don’t write blogs. So this could be interesting!

I am a blonde female known as Charlotte, graduated from Surrey uni in Dance and Culture and have flown out to join Charles and Sophos on their InterRail trip. Some of you who read this might know me, but for the many that don’t, here is the low down. We have all been friends since the first year of uni, I am training to become a teacher, I love the arts and pancakes. These two amazing people are my best friends who I cherish and love so much. When I realised that I would be able to join them on their trip of a lifetime, I literally jumped at the chance.

Flying out from Gatwick and arriving in Prague was the easy part, getting to the hostel however…not so much. After walking around in circles, I finally found the right street and saw Charlesies and Sophos waiting for me. We decided to dump our luggage in digs and head on out to explore the drinking areas of Prague, finding an Irish pub (yes, typical Prague pub here guys).

Our first full day in Praha (as the locals would say) consisted of a whole lot of walking and tradition. We went on a walking tour with our guide Michael, who showed us the astrological clock – apparently famous across the world as when it chimes on the hour, 12 apostles rotate around in an opening and other figures come to life. Awesome sights were seen and a whole lot of history was learnt. The last theatre that Mozart himself played at is in Prague!!! I thought that was awesome being very much into music and all.

Charles Bridge was an uber attraction of the day as we have a photo of Charles on Charles Bridge. It was a blooming beautiful structure with hand carved stone statues guarding the edges. One being [INSERT ACTUAL NAME] where there were three rubbing points where you could: a) make a wish b) improve your fertility c) get bad luck.

Alice and Kirsty were in Prague and I had heard about them from the guys time in Berlin so was quite looking forward to meeting them. We all met up for a traditional Czech dinner of Svičková, which was a little like mushed up beef and dumplings.

As a three, we decided to take a romantic trip on the pedalos along the river Danube. This gave us wonderful views and we were able to explore around little islands in the middle of the river and relax on the water. A great way to start the day before a castle tour…trekking up the long path to the castle. It was just stunning, the views from up the top of the grounds were phenomenal, a breathtaking panorama of the amazing city which we had been ambling around for days. The castle grounds were vast and the buildings were beautifully made with intricate designs.

Find Sophie…

Charles exploring the climbing walls in Prague…need I say more, apart from yummy!

Us exploring around the lost islands where we bumped into a few massive barcode babies (Charles wanted this one up)…

Took a gander at the John Lennon wall, promoting peace and unity…(and love)

Taking a trip up the funicular railway and not getting so lost in a mirror maze…apart from Soph who got lost in her own reflection!

Charles and I ended up in The PUB where we were sat at a table with pour your owns. Soph and I ended up eating Ice Creams. The street market was awesome and sold lots of unusual items. Charles with the pretty wooden flowers…

 

Prague: Do yourself a favour and Czech it out!

 

Thanks for putting up with me and my awkward style of writing.

Love Charlotte xxx

InterRail Post #3: You think it’s wall over…

Sophie again, writing about our stay on our third stop: Berlin.

Probably our favourite city so far because it’s steeped in history and there is a real ‘feel’ for the place that we didn’t get with the other two. We wandered around the city on our own on Monday seeing such sights as the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust memorial and the Reichstag Parliment Building. We took the amazing free sandermans tour on Tuesday, learning loads about German history, Hitler and the Berlin wall. Louie, our tour guide was probably the best so far, making loads of jokes about David Hasselhof and rabbid dogs (very amusing) making the history seem not so grim and definitely worth a large tip.

A cousin of mine Gregory has a friend called Thorsten who lives in Berlin so I got in contact with his girlfriend Norina via the wonderful world of Facebook to see if we could meet up during our sojourn in Berlin. On Tuesday evening we were taken out for dinner at the Augustiner restaurant where Charles ate his own weight in pork and the Strudel made you stop and take a moment to adore it. We spent the rest of the trip meeting up with them for lunch and dinners, even going to the top of the Humboldt box for cocktails. A lovely, generous couple who were great fun to spend time with!

(Charles abusing the Holocaust memorial)

(The iconic Brandenburg Gate)

(Us with Norina and the amass of pork)

(Cocktails are good at any time of the day, this being the first of four I had that day)

(Norina and I at the top of the Humboldt box)

(Panorama from the top of the Humboldt box)

(Charles promoting world peace at the East Side Gallery)

 

5 Interesting things about Berlin:

1. Michael Jackson hung his baby from a window at the Hotel Adlon, opposite the Brandenburg Gate. Said hotel also costs you €15,000 to stay in for one night, without breakfast.

2. The fall of the Berlin wall arose because of one Man’s failure to turn up to a very important meeting and the unfortunate use of the word ‘immediately’.

3. If you are caught jay walking by the police you could be fined €5.

4. The green men to cross the street in east Berlin are larger and walk with an arm out and the red man stands with his arms out to his sides much like a crucifix. This is not the case in west Berlin where they favour the normal green and red men.

5. If you order a hot chocolate in a cafe you will have to stir the chocolate with the milk yourself.

Sophie

x