I'm now in my place of birth, that being London (it took 19 years to come to terms with, but after considering all the perks associated with a UK passport I am finally at peace). I indulged in being immersed in the English language as I sat on the tube on my way from Heathrow. Announcements were in English, signs were in English, conversations were in English! For the first time in 3 months I wasn't saying danke, gracias, merci or cam on. Not to say that many peoplethe countries I have been to don't speak flawless English, but to be in a country where it is the first language was a truly weird feeling.
We departed from Antwerp on the train, heading for the less-well-known city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the sister city of the well-known capital. I did this mainly on advice from many Dutch travellers who I met. All told me that Amsterdam is NOT the whole of the Netherlands.
Loui, Hugo and I were all happy we took the advice as I discovered through hindsight that Rotterdam was a great alternative to Amsterdam, mainly due to the lack of massive hordes of tourists. Rotterdam was full of new architecture, mainly due to the fact that it was bombed flat in WWII. The streets were filled with public art pieces, including a massive santa with a not-so-discreet butt-plug that must have been at least 2-3m long.
Our hostel in Rotterdam also happened to have a kitchen. The first kitchen for what must have been a month. So it was off to the supermarket to plan what to cook. Funnily enough, our excitement was short lived and from memory I think all our meals were at least semi pre-made due to exhaustion or possibly just laziness. The next day Loui finally decided it was time to take the plunge and buy an acoustic guitar for his travels. Apparently he tricked the guy at the shop into selling him a € 70 guitar for € 40 which he was openly pleased about. Consequently, the rest of the afternoon was spent by a little canal, listening to mellow tunes played on the guitar with the occasional sing-a-long.
After a few chilled days in Rotterdam, it was on the the famous capital. I booked a different hostel to the boys as I needed an extra night due to transport reasons. Loui and Hugo's hostel turned out to be a Christian hostel. The irony that stemmed from this was the fact that it was smack bang in the middle of the Red Light District and a short 10 metre walk would present to you a transexual dancing in a doorway. It was proven from the outset...Amsterdam was a confronting and contradictory place.
"I amsterdam"
After a few fun days in Amsterdam it was time to head to Prague to once again reunite with the boys (with the addition of Loui who wasn't present in Lisbon. After the nomadic lifestyle, it was nice to take a step back and settle in for a while, and what a city to do it in. Our first full day began with a hang out in the park where we were approached by police who asked for our ID. Only Margz and I could produce any but we were curious as to what we had done wrong. Apparently the park we were in was not meant for sitting on the grass?
The apartment itself was somewhat of a shoebox. Two people in each bed with one on the couch and a shower that didn't drain. On the other hand we did have a kitchen and a supermarket, pub and fruit shop were all within about 10 seconds walk. While in Prague we slowly ticked all the touristy spots off the list including of course Prague castle.
Prague from Prague Castle
"The shoebox"
One night while Haz and Loui went to a Jazz band, Margz, Connor, Dave and I headed to the "Cross Club"to some bands play, one was Kiwi and the other Maltese. The Cross Club was possibly the coolest designed club I have seen. Apparently it was made using only recycled materials. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera but the boys went again and hopefully took some photos. Other highlights from our time in Prague included Nic's pancake experiments, sing-a-longs, some laziness and cheap beer.
Prague by night
I decided to leave the free accomodation in Prague to visit what is now one of my favourite cities; the German capital of Berlin. If you love modern history, it is close to paradise. I spent the few days in Berlin indulging in the city's rich history, particularly from the rise of Hitler to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Much to Hugo's dismay who didn't get time to visit Berlin, it is also the most graffitied city I have ever been to. (but not that crappy graffiti like in Australia, this is legitimate graffiti) My first day consisted mostly of a free walking tour which lasted 4 hours and had so much history it was hard to believe the guy could remember it all. I asked him how many years he had been doing the tours for and he responded by saying
"Ahhhh...I did my first tour last week"
"Oh"
Other highlights for Berlin included a visit to Sauschenhausen Concentration Camp which was eye opening and in my opinion should be compulsory to all as both a learning experience and a deterrent to opting for violence. I also enjoyed the East Side Gallery - a 500m stretch of the old Berlin wall which still stands and is covered in murals promoting peace and unity - the Holocaust Memorial and the Museum of Terror.
A few Berlin snaps:
As part of my RTW flight, I had a flight from Paris to London which was going to cost money to cancel. Time for another 14 hour bus trip. I arrived in Paris, found a McDonalds to seek refuge and waited till it was time to go to the airport. Then, of course, the plane was delayed.
I met my cousin Chris at Liverpool st in London's East and headed out to Hackney. Chris has bought a house that's about 10 minutes walk to where the 2012 Olympic Games will be held...can I come back and stay in 2012?
I've been in London a week now, as I slowly tick the tourist must-dos off the list. Janelle was kind enough to take me and Hugo down to Stonehenge (apparently payback for carrying Hugo's bag, and I also got my first steak in 2 months!). Stonehenge was an unusual experience as a main road cuts through about 200m away from the site. The audio tour instructed me to "listen to the sounds as you walk around this mystical site" - all I could hear were trucks.
I can't list all the things I have done here as it would get boring but a visit to the famous flower market in Columbia Road the other day was hilarious as people heckled in British accents about the quality of plant they were buying. A visit to the house where I was born didn't bring back memories, probably because I was two weeks old, but was interesting all the same. One thing I have noticed about the British: they seem to have basically gone around the whole world, taken the coolest artefacts from around the world, brought them back and stuck them in their museums. For example, I stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum this morning and when I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum I discovered it had over 4 million artefacts from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Pacific.
I think my subconscious has already made a decision that I'll come back to London to live. As the guidebooks say, London really is like a country in itself although I do look forward to experiencing more of the UK. My plan is to head to Bath and also up to Edinburgh and possibly the Outer Hebrides. It's a tough life, I'll tell you now!
"I amsterdam"
After a few fun days in Amsterdam it was time to head to Prague to once again reunite with the boys (with the addition of Loui who wasn't present in Lisbon. After the nomadic lifestyle, it was nice to take a step back and settle in for a while, and what a city to do it in. Our first full day began with a hang out in the park where we were approached by police who asked for our ID. Only Margz and I could produce any but we were curious as to what we had done wrong. Apparently the park we were in was not meant for sitting on the grass?
The apartment itself was somewhat of a shoebox. Two people in each bed with one on the couch and a shower that didn't drain. On the other hand we did have a kitchen and a supermarket, pub and fruit shop were all within about 10 seconds walk. While in Prague we slowly ticked all the touristy spots off the list including of course Prague castle.
Prague from Prague Castle
"The shoebox"
One night while Haz and Loui went to a Jazz band, Margz, Connor, Dave and I headed to the "Cross Club"to some bands play, one was Kiwi and the other Maltese. The Cross Club was possibly the coolest designed club I have seen. Apparently it was made using only recycled materials. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera but the boys went again and hopefully took some photos. Other highlights from our time in Prague included Nic's pancake experiments, sing-a-longs, some laziness and cheap beer.
Prague by night
I decided to leave the free accomodation in Prague to visit what is now one of my favourite cities; the German capital of Berlin. If you love modern history, it is close to paradise. I spent the few days in Berlin indulging in the city's rich history, particularly from the rise of Hitler to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Much to Hugo's dismay who didn't get time to visit Berlin, it is also the most graffitied city I have ever been to. (but not that crappy graffiti like in Australia, this is legitimate graffiti) My first day consisted mostly of a free walking tour which lasted 4 hours and had so much history it was hard to believe the guy could remember it all. I asked him how many years he had been doing the tours for and he responded by saying
"Ahhhh...I did my first tour last week"
"Oh"
Other highlights for Berlin included a visit to Sauschenhausen Concentration Camp which was eye opening and in my opinion should be compulsory to all as both a learning experience and a deterrent to opting for violence. I also enjoyed the East Side Gallery - a 500m stretch of the old Berlin wall which still stands and is covered in murals promoting peace and unity - the Holocaust Memorial and the Museum of Terror.
A few Berlin snaps:
As part of my RTW flight, I had a flight from Paris to London which was going to cost money to cancel. Time for another 14 hour bus trip. I arrived in Paris, found a McDonalds to seek refuge and waited till it was time to go to the airport. Then, of course, the plane was delayed.
I met my cousin Chris at Liverpool st in London's East and headed out to Hackney. Chris has bought a house that's about 10 minutes walk to where the 2012 Olympic Games will be held...can I come back and stay in 2012?
I've been in London a week now, as I slowly tick the tourist must-dos off the list. Janelle was kind enough to take me and Hugo down to Stonehenge (apparently payback for carrying Hugo's bag, and I also got my first steak in 2 months!). Stonehenge was an unusual experience as a main road cuts through about 200m away from the site. The audio tour instructed me to "listen to the sounds as you walk around this mystical site" - all I could hear were trucks.
I can't list all the things I have done here as it would get boring but a visit to the famous flower market in Columbia Road the other day was hilarious as people heckled in British accents about the quality of plant they were buying. A visit to the house where I was born didn't bring back memories, probably because I was two weeks old, but was interesting all the same. One thing I have noticed about the British: they seem to have basically gone around the whole world, taken the coolest artefacts from around the world, brought them back and stuck them in their museums. For example, I stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum this morning and when I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum I discovered it had over 4 million artefacts from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Pacific.
I think my subconscious has already made a decision that I'll come back to London to live. As the guidebooks say, London really is like a country in itself although I do look forward to experiencing more of the UK. My plan is to head to Bath and also up to Edinburgh and possibly the Outer Hebrides. It's a tough life, I'll tell you now!
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