Im not quite back from Portugal yet, but we are not doing anything tomorrow and we are all done with sight seeing tonight, so why not.
Lisbon:
Lisbon is a great city - its really spectacular. Despite their need for millions (not quite) of statues and monuments, there really are other things to do there. We visited the Lisbon castle, and took a lot of cool pictures of the surrounding area. There were a lot of good buildings built for the ´98 Expo, and we went on some gondolas and into the Oceanarium. I might update a few more things when I remember them. We did so much walking between Amsterdam and Lisbon... my legs hurt! One day we were out walking up the hills of Lisbon for about 10 hours.
In Lisbon we met some cool people at our hostel (one of the 10 best in the world, according to Hostelworld - Lisbon Lounge). It was probably the best Ive been in so far. But we met a pair of girls from the Faroe Islands (part of Denmark, between Scotland and Iceland) - they were real fun, and we also met a girl from Washington. We went out to dinner a few times and shared some stories. I think there is so much to do in the area of Lisbon and south Portugal that I have to come back sometime.
Porto: There is so much construction going on here in Porto. They are finishing up their metro stations at the moment. One line is completely done, and NOBODY uses it. its so creepy. It feels like we are walking through some abandoned tunnels.. There is not so much to see here in relation to Lisbon, but we went to the beach today for a few hours- windy but nice. I have a sunburn across my back from where I didnt reach but thought I did.. kinda funny when I dont lay down or take a shower. We saw some big cathedral here, Sé, and we also visited a pretty large tower. We went to a museum about Port wine... and it kinda sucked. my tourbook said it was free and had free tastings. it cost 2€ and didnt have anything to drink there. We learned more about Port wine on their computers at the museum than from any of their post ups.
Last night I went to Inside Man with Stuart (a movie). It was good, but I fell asleep during it and I dont get it. Ill have to watch it again.
Tonight we are going to Scary Movie 4. Its going to be bad, but hopefully there will be a lot of laughs.
Tomorrow Stuarts friends are coming into town and we are going to go to Frühlingsfest and have a few liters of the good german beer. Can´t wait.
I am going to start booking some hostels and plane flight to Krakow. I am also looking to start visiting more of Germany during this semester now that I know my class schedule. I kinda avoided it last semester.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Back from Amsterdam!
I know this is a bit late, but Im in Portugal now writing it. Ok - so Amsterdam was probably one of my favorite cities in Europe. Wow, surprise there. But there is really no place like it in Europe or the Americas. Going from Morocco, and then three days later to Amsterdam, it was really a fun change of pace to see the two cultures back-to-back.
In Amsterdam (im censoring a lot of this trip of course... why not - Stuart`s line is that we didnt do anything there that was illegal in Amsterdam.. I guess Ill go with that too), we went to the Heineken Experience Brewery - it was a really well put together museum. It went through the history of the brand, it had some cool "rides" like the bottle ride. CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK :). it was entertaining. When you buy your 10€ ticket, you end up getting .75 liters of Heineken along with a 5€ bottle opener. More than paid for itself.
We went to the Van Gogh museum. I thought it was a really interesting museum, but the way that it was laid out really made it hard to really look at the work without being hasseled by people.
We also went to the Anne Frank Huis. It was hard to really get it in my mind that the wide spread fear of Nazis was so close - that we were in the same house that people hid in for so long and later died in concentration camps. Personally it is still hard to believe.
I am definitely going back to Amsterdam. The city in general is amazing. The canals and the designs of the buildings, along with the Dutch people really make it one of the most welcoming cities I´ve been to.
In Amsterdam (im censoring a lot of this trip of course... why not - Stuart`s line is that we didnt do anything there that was illegal in Amsterdam.. I guess Ill go with that too), we went to the Heineken Experience Brewery - it was a really well put together museum. It went through the history of the brand, it had some cool "rides" like the bottle ride. CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK :). it was entertaining. When you buy your 10€ ticket, you end up getting .75 liters of Heineken along with a 5€ bottle opener. More than paid for itself.
We went to the Van Gogh museum. I thought it was a really interesting museum, but the way that it was laid out really made it hard to really look at the work without being hasseled by people.
We also went to the Anne Frank Huis. It was hard to really get it in my mind that the wide spread fear of Nazis was so close - that we were in the same house that people hid in for so long and later died in concentration camps. Personally it is still hard to believe.
I am definitely going back to Amsterdam. The city in general is amazing. The canals and the designs of the buildings, along with the Dutch people really make it one of the most welcoming cities I´ve been to.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Final date on coming back to America
I bought a plane ticket to go back to San Francisco for August 28th from Copenhagen.
My school ends July 27th.
I will either purchase a plane ticket from Stuttgart to Krakow for July 28th or August 1st. I am still a little unsure of how cancelling phones and bank accounts goes here - my lease at this apartment ends july 31st, and everything will happen very quickly.
In any case, I've started to assemble my vacation out of Europe. Here it goes so far...
Stuttgart to Krakow
Krakow Poland for 2 or 3 days (Auschwitz is there)
Warsaw Poland for 2 days
Vilnius Lithuania for 2 days
Riga Latvia for 2 days
Tallinn Estonia for 2 days
Finland for 7 days (either in Helsinki, Tampere, or doing some trips in Finland) I think I might be there for my birthday. that will be a little insane. August 18th.
Stockholm for 3 days
Oslo for 2 days
Copenhagen for 3 days
Copenhagen ---- CALIFORNIA August 28th
then there are a few more days left to put in there, depending on my Krakow flight.
I will be at home for a week+, but I need to be back in SLO for school to start and everything. Need a house to live in too... hmmm
My school ends July 27th.
I will either purchase a plane ticket from Stuttgart to Krakow for July 28th or August 1st. I am still a little unsure of how cancelling phones and bank accounts goes here - my lease at this apartment ends july 31st, and everything will happen very quickly.
In any case, I've started to assemble my vacation out of Europe. Here it goes so far...
Stuttgart to Krakow
Krakow Poland for 2 or 3 days (Auschwitz is there)
Warsaw Poland for 2 days
Vilnius Lithuania for 2 days
Riga Latvia for 2 days
Tallinn Estonia for 2 days
Finland for 7 days (either in Helsinki, Tampere, or doing some trips in Finland) I think I might be there for my birthday. that will be a little insane. August 18th.
Stockholm for 3 days
Oslo for 2 days
Copenhagen for 3 days
Copenhagen ---- CALIFORNIA August 28th
then there are a few more days left to put in there, depending on my Krakow flight.
I will be at home for a week+, but I need to be back in SLO for school to start and everything. Need a house to live in too... hmmm
More World Cup Tickets!
So Jocelyn told me today that another of our applications for world cup tickets got through!
The lottery that we won was part of returned tickets that people didn't want for some reason or another. The game that we got was June 18 Spain vs. Tunisia in Stuttgart. Wow you're saying right now... but hey.. a football game in the world cup is a football game in the world cup. And we have tickets for two games. Still awesome as far as I'm concerned.
June 18. Spain vs. Tunisia
July 8. 3rd place match in Stuttgart
kick ass
The lottery that we won was part of returned tickets that people didn't want for some reason or another. The game that we got was June 18 Spain vs. Tunisia in Stuttgart. Wow you're saying right now... but hey.. a football game in the world cup is a football game in the world cup. And we have tickets for two games. Still awesome as far as I'm concerned.
June 18. Spain vs. Tunisia
July 8. 3rd place match in Stuttgart
kick ass
Morocco
Well, I'm never going back to Morocco.
We spent seven days in Morocco. We went from Tangiers to Fès, and then hired a guide to take us into the Sahara, and then to Marrakesh where we flew back to Stuttgart.
Fès was really different. I haven't visted a place like that before. The old Medina was insane. So many people living in cramped quarters where the only vehicles are donkeys. They had an awful sewer system, namely - they had two rivers. one where they got their drinking water, and the other where they threw everything away. And their solution to the foul smelling water and trash everywhere? Build a higher wall on the bridge over it so you can't see it. Wow.
Their food was also OK. We had to make sure that we were not eating any fresh vegetables or tap water. Mint tea was their favorite drink there, along with fresh squeezed orange juice. We had camel meat at some really sketch restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Tasted like cow. A little too much like cow if you know what I mean.
The people will try to rip you off in tourist areas. You have to bargain for everything. Usually we found in Turkey that they offer a price, you cut it in half and then go a little lower for something fair. Here in Morocco it wasn't even close. We would be offered carpets at an initial price of 10,000 dirhams (like 1000€), and then we were like, fuck that... who wants an ugly carpet like that for that amount of money. So then they are still there thinking you want that ugly thing, while we just say that we are not interested. They got all the way to 200€ and we still weren't budging.. They probably would have made a profit if we payed 50€ for it. And then you had to do that with everything, except dinner and lunch.
The people were nice, I'll give them that. The scenery and geology of the interior of Morocco is pretty amazing. Oases, deserts, and mountains. I really thought Turkey was a much better country, more western, and cheaper. There are a lot more sites to see in Turkey as well.
My pictures of Spain and Morocco should all be up tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow - I am going to Amsterdam for a short 3 day vacation.
I get back on the 24th, and on the 25th I go to Lisbon and Porto with stuart until the 29th. 25th of April is their national holiday, so that should be exciting.
We spent seven days in Morocco. We went from Tangiers to Fès, and then hired a guide to take us into the Sahara, and then to Marrakesh where we flew back to Stuttgart.
Fès was really different. I haven't visted a place like that before. The old Medina was insane. So many people living in cramped quarters where the only vehicles are donkeys. They had an awful sewer system, namely - they had two rivers. one where they got their drinking water, and the other where they threw everything away. And their solution to the foul smelling water and trash everywhere? Build a higher wall on the bridge over it so you can't see it. Wow.
Their food was also OK. We had to make sure that we were not eating any fresh vegetables or tap water. Mint tea was their favorite drink there, along with fresh squeezed orange juice. We had camel meat at some really sketch restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Tasted like cow. A little too much like cow if you know what I mean.
The people will try to rip you off in tourist areas. You have to bargain for everything. Usually we found in Turkey that they offer a price, you cut it in half and then go a little lower for something fair. Here in Morocco it wasn't even close. We would be offered carpets at an initial price of 10,000 dirhams (like 1000€), and then we were like, fuck that... who wants an ugly carpet like that for that amount of money. So then they are still there thinking you want that ugly thing, while we just say that we are not interested. They got all the way to 200€ and we still weren't budging.. They probably would have made a profit if we payed 50€ for it. And then you had to do that with everything, except dinner and lunch.
The people were nice, I'll give them that. The scenery and geology of the interior of Morocco is pretty amazing. Oases, deserts, and mountains. I really thought Turkey was a much better country, more western, and cheaper. There are a lot more sites to see in Turkey as well.
My pictures of Spain and Morocco should all be up tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow - I am going to Amsterdam for a short 3 day vacation.
I get back on the 24th, and on the 25th I go to Lisbon and Porto with stuart until the 29th. 25th of April is their national holiday, so that should be exciting.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Thoughts about getting back to America
I was thinking recently about when I should come back to America. I really want to visit Iceland, and they often have connections from Iceland to the states.
What I am thinking now is:
School ends July 31st.
Travel to Finland and see the Finns for about a week or so up in Tampere or Turku or Helsinki... where ever. Take a ferry to Stockholm and see Sweden again. There they have some cheaper flights to Iceland. Then stay in Iceland for a week or a few more days than a week. Then fly back to America. As far as all my luggage, I will most likely give away or throw away what I dont need, and then I will try to ship back other things. Then hopefully I can do this.
I still need to find housing next year for school, but I think Spoot is kind of on top of that... And registering for classes... hmm, I should look at that sooner or later.
What I am thinking now is:
School ends July 31st.
Travel to Finland and see the Finns for about a week or so up in Tampere or Turku or Helsinki... where ever. Take a ferry to Stockholm and see Sweden again. There they have some cheaper flights to Iceland. Then stay in Iceland for a week or a few more days than a week. Then fly back to America. As far as all my luggage, I will most likely give away or throw away what I dont need, and then I will try to ship back other things. Then hopefully I can do this.
I still need to find housing next year for school, but I think Spoot is kind of on top of that... And registering for classes... hmm, I should look at that sooner or later.
Southern Spain
Well apparently when I typed my last update, I didn´t realize what I was pressing because all the buttons on the computer here are in Spanish, so I think I deleted my post instead of saved it. Ooops.
Anyways, We arrived here a few days ago in Málaga, and that place was pretty cool. The prices weren´t bad, but it was really touristy. We had some Paella and walked around town. We visited a former Muslim Palace and fort, and then we went out to dinner and had some food. That was really all we did there. the next day we bussed to Granada. Granada was really cool. It was more of an international student town, but it still had a lot to see. We spent around 5 or 4 hours in the Alhambra, the Muslim garden and Palace.. After that there were some cathedrals which we saw. I´m not a christian person (as in i dont believe), so seeing these every city i travel to is kinda boring and repetitive. I really just have to ask myself what they could have been working on besides these churches. OH well. Anyways, I liked Granada but I probably wont go back there again. Its ok.
The amazing thing about Granada was that we met up with Teemu and Janne there. I heard from Krister that the two were somewhere in Spain, and that was it. As we were getting off the bus to get to our hostel, I was like... wtf... isnt that Teemu?? Two tall blond Finns among Spaniards... Iknow its easy to spot them, but still it was pretty coincidental. As it turns out, they were staying with a Finnish friend of theirs and they told us about a party they were having on Friday night. It was pretty fun to go there. We all were hungover the next day, and we took a late train to Seville.
Since there is sunlight until 9pm over here, we still walked around Seville that night, and then yesterday the Semana Santa started. This is an Easter ceremony in Spain where people dress up in KKK-like uniforms and perform the Passion of the Christ through the city streets. It was really interesting to watch, but they do this for about 12 hours a day for a week. Kinda loses its novelty after... 5 minutes. So I stayed in last night because I didnt want to see the black uniforms in the night. Kinda dark eh. anyways, its interesting, but I think I would rather be in Seville during bullfight season. I am not really a fan of Christian processions that block up all the traffic in the city. Ok.. so the city. Seville is my favorite city I think so far. I will have to come back here during some other time though to get a better picture of the city. Barcelona is a close second. I do like Mallorca more though, but just because its an island in the Med, and the prices are cheaper.
Ok so we are about to take a bus to the port city of Tarifa. We will spend the rest of the day there and then tomorrow we are going to Morocco. I will hopefully be able to update in Morocco, but if not ill write some stuff down, because Im sure we will have a lot of stories.
Travelling with different people really changes your perception of a city, and a country. Some people travel together better than others... it´s just the way it is.
SO UPDATES:
I have added some more vacations to my vacation list.
April 18: Get back from Morocco
April 18-20: Frühlingsfest in Stuttgart
April 21-24: Amsterdam
April 25-29: Lisbon and Porto, Portugal
May 1: School Starts
May 7: going to Formula 1 Race: Nürburgring ( i think thats how you spell it. dont know for sure)
May 9-14: Rijeka, Croatian coast
I need to look at my school calendar for holidays, and then I can add a few more.
Anyways, We arrived here a few days ago in Málaga, and that place was pretty cool. The prices weren´t bad, but it was really touristy. We had some Paella and walked around town. We visited a former Muslim Palace and fort, and then we went out to dinner and had some food. That was really all we did there. the next day we bussed to Granada. Granada was really cool. It was more of an international student town, but it still had a lot to see. We spent around 5 or 4 hours in the Alhambra, the Muslim garden and Palace.. After that there were some cathedrals which we saw. I´m not a christian person (as in i dont believe), so seeing these every city i travel to is kinda boring and repetitive. I really just have to ask myself what they could have been working on besides these churches. OH well. Anyways, I liked Granada but I probably wont go back there again. Its ok.
The amazing thing about Granada was that we met up with Teemu and Janne there. I heard from Krister that the two were somewhere in Spain, and that was it. As we were getting off the bus to get to our hostel, I was like... wtf... isnt that Teemu?? Two tall blond Finns among Spaniards... Iknow its easy to spot them, but still it was pretty coincidental. As it turns out, they were staying with a Finnish friend of theirs and they told us about a party they were having on Friday night. It was pretty fun to go there. We all were hungover the next day, and we took a late train to Seville.
Since there is sunlight until 9pm over here, we still walked around Seville that night, and then yesterday the Semana Santa started. This is an Easter ceremony in Spain where people dress up in KKK-like uniforms and perform the Passion of the Christ through the city streets. It was really interesting to watch, but they do this for about 12 hours a day for a week. Kinda loses its novelty after... 5 minutes. So I stayed in last night because I didnt want to see the black uniforms in the night. Kinda dark eh. anyways, its interesting, but I think I would rather be in Seville during bullfight season. I am not really a fan of Christian processions that block up all the traffic in the city. Ok.. so the city. Seville is my favorite city I think so far. I will have to come back here during some other time though to get a better picture of the city. Barcelona is a close second. I do like Mallorca more though, but just because its an island in the Med, and the prices are cheaper.
Ok so we are about to take a bus to the port city of Tarifa. We will spend the rest of the day there and then tomorrow we are going to Morocco. I will hopefully be able to update in Morocco, but if not ill write some stuff down, because Im sure we will have a lot of stories.
Travelling with different people really changes your perception of a city, and a country. Some people travel together better than others... it´s just the way it is.
SO UPDATES:
I have added some more vacations to my vacation list.
April 18: Get back from Morocco
April 18-20: Frühlingsfest in Stuttgart
April 21-24: Amsterdam
April 25-29: Lisbon and Porto, Portugal
May 1: School Starts
May 7: going to Formula 1 Race: Nürburgring ( i think thats how you spell it. dont know for sure)
May 9-14: Rijeka, Croatian coast
I need to look at my school calendar for holidays, and then I can add a few more.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Turkey
Ok, So on the subject of not knowing of what to expect from a country, lets talk about Turkey.
I brought 2 rolls of toilet paper with me, along with some anti diarrhea medicine. That's just how uncertain I was.
ok. so here was the trip.
Me, JP, JP's little brother Andrew, Lillan, Chris, and Hugo started all out together in Istanbul. We spent a few days there seeing the sites. At first the weather was crappy.. kind of drizzly at night. Then it cleared up. Istanbul seems like San Francisco but not as rich or liberal (but more muslim eh). It is really a nice city. The enitre Aegean cost of Turkey is probably Central California to Southern California weather. It was really nice to feel climate like back at home after being in Stuttgart freezing my ass off for a few months.
After a few days, everyone but me and Chris went off to Athens. Then they did their thing.
So Chris and I booked a tour to
Selchuk (free day)
day trip to Ephesus
day trip to Pergamon
Pamukkale and Heriopolis
Antalya free day
day trip to Termessos
Selchuk was a cool town. Not really touristy compared to Kushadasi in the port. It was a great place to start day trips though. We were there on the 29th of March, the day of the total eclipse over Antalya. It was said that between 1 and 2 million people came to Antalya just for the eclipse. We were in Selchuk, not far away, so we barely missed being in the total eclipse area, but it got as dark as sunset there, and then after a while it got bright again. It was pretty cool even though we werent in totality. The turkish kids there were kind of stupid. They wanted to see the eclipse so they would burn something under a shard of glass and then look though the glass at the eclipse. Wouldn't be surprised if 100 Turkish kids became blind that day.
Ephesus was really nice. The weather was perfect for the rest of the trip after this, and we got a lot of good photos because its still the low season and there aren't many tourists there.
Pergamon was nice too. Both Chris and I have been to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and we knew what the Alter of Zeus looked like before we went to the actual site. That was really key for us I think. Right now its a a field of stones with some trees in it. The theatre there in Pergamon was really neat too.
Pamukkale was kind of a let down I think. It was invaded by German tourists and the site was so destroyed by earthquakes and stone thieves (to make other buildings later in time) that there wasn't all that much to see. The natural springs there were kind of cool, but they limited what tourists could go into, and the water wasn't that warm, and the thing kind of hurt my feet. waaaah. I know. The hotel we stayed at in Pamukkale was the best... they had a cool pool, but they didn't have hot water for some reason.
Antalya was pretty sweet too. Very big recent tourist boom made that city what it is today. (thank the Germans for that one too) - its got some nice things, not insanely touristy like Istanbul, but the geography and climate, and people really make me want to go back.
We took a day trip to Termessos - that was probably my favorite tourist trip to ruins for the entire vacation in Turkey. It was only discovered again in the 20th century, and most of it hasn't been excavated yet. The theatre view of breathtaking for lack of a better description, and it was really just amazing to be able to walk through the forest of small trees and shrubbery that grew since it was abandoned centuries ago. The city is located over 1000meters above sea level near Antalya.. They were a rugged group of people up there. Alexander the Great couldn't conquer them, and the Romans had to compromise with them and make them an independent ally rather than a province or subject city. The photos are really cool. (I ran out of batteries so some of the photos were pretty much like turn camera on shoot and shut off before it automatically turned off on its own. Ill see how they look when I put them up.)
As far as visiting Turkey again, I think 100% that I will. There is really just so much to see there that it takes more than one trip. We really only saw a small part of the country, but from what we saw we were more than impressed.
Next - Spain for a few days, then Morocco. I will be back April 18th.
I brought 2 rolls of toilet paper with me, along with some anti diarrhea medicine. That's just how uncertain I was.
ok. so here was the trip.
Me, JP, JP's little brother Andrew, Lillan, Chris, and Hugo started all out together in Istanbul. We spent a few days there seeing the sites. At first the weather was crappy.. kind of drizzly at night. Then it cleared up. Istanbul seems like San Francisco but not as rich or liberal (but more muslim eh). It is really a nice city. The enitre Aegean cost of Turkey is probably Central California to Southern California weather. It was really nice to feel climate like back at home after being in Stuttgart freezing my ass off for a few months.
After a few days, everyone but me and Chris went off to Athens. Then they did their thing.
So Chris and I booked a tour to
Selchuk (free day)
day trip to Ephesus
day trip to Pergamon
Pamukkale and Heriopolis
Antalya free day
day trip to Termessos
Selchuk was a cool town. Not really touristy compared to Kushadasi in the port. It was a great place to start day trips though. We were there on the 29th of March, the day of the total eclipse over Antalya. It was said that between 1 and 2 million people came to Antalya just for the eclipse. We were in Selchuk, not far away, so we barely missed being in the total eclipse area, but it got as dark as sunset there, and then after a while it got bright again. It was pretty cool even though we werent in totality. The turkish kids there were kind of stupid. They wanted to see the eclipse so they would burn something under a shard of glass and then look though the glass at the eclipse. Wouldn't be surprised if 100 Turkish kids became blind that day.
Ephesus was really nice. The weather was perfect for the rest of the trip after this, and we got a lot of good photos because its still the low season and there aren't many tourists there.
Pergamon was nice too. Both Chris and I have been to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and we knew what the Alter of Zeus looked like before we went to the actual site. That was really key for us I think. Right now its a a field of stones with some trees in it. The theatre there in Pergamon was really neat too.
Pamukkale was kind of a let down I think. It was invaded by German tourists and the site was so destroyed by earthquakes and stone thieves (to make other buildings later in time) that there wasn't all that much to see. The natural springs there were kind of cool, but they limited what tourists could go into, and the water wasn't that warm, and the thing kind of hurt my feet. waaaah. I know. The hotel we stayed at in Pamukkale was the best... they had a cool pool, but they didn't have hot water for some reason.
Antalya was pretty sweet too. Very big recent tourist boom made that city what it is today. (thank the Germans for that one too) - its got some nice things, not insanely touristy like Istanbul, but the geography and climate, and people really make me want to go back.
We took a day trip to Termessos - that was probably my favorite tourist trip to ruins for the entire vacation in Turkey. It was only discovered again in the 20th century, and most of it hasn't been excavated yet. The theatre view of breathtaking for lack of a better description, and it was really just amazing to be able to walk through the forest of small trees and shrubbery that grew since it was abandoned centuries ago. The city is located over 1000meters above sea level near Antalya.. They were a rugged group of people up there. Alexander the Great couldn't conquer them, and the Romans had to compromise with them and make them an independent ally rather than a province or subject city. The photos are really cool. (I ran out of batteries so some of the photos were pretty much like turn camera on shoot and shut off before it automatically turned off on its own. Ill see how they look when I put them up.)
As far as visiting Turkey again, I think 100% that I will. There is really just so much to see there that it takes more than one trip. We really only saw a small part of the country, but from what we saw we were more than impressed.
Next - Spain for a few days, then Morocco. I will be back April 18th.
Zagreb
OK... Zagreb. I have to admit I had no idea what this place would be like before I went. I mean... All I know of Croatia is they have a certain type of sausage that I can't spell.
But - Zagreb was a really nice capital also. The weather there when we went was really nice. Just a shirt and pants weather. We took two walking tours throught he city and saw a lot of cool buildings and sites. The hostel we stayed at was sttttrange. It was way out of town next to a building that was either barren or being built. Not sure. The busses there were ridiculous. About 5 of 20 bus stops actually had the bus stop name on the signs. Otherwise they just had "bus stop" in croatian on signs. So when we were looking for our hostel, we kinda missed it by like 7 stops, and then we took another bus backwards and missed it by 1. Then we had to find that place. It was pretty hard to get there in the dark. Once we figured that part out, it really wasn't all too hard.
Would I go back to Croatia? Maybe for 1/2 day in Croatia and then 1/2 day in Bratislava again or somewhere in Slovenia. Who knows.
Next... TURKEY!
But - Zagreb was a really nice capital also. The weather there when we went was really nice. Just a shirt and pants weather. We took two walking tours throught he city and saw a lot of cool buildings and sites. The hostel we stayed at was sttttrange. It was way out of town next to a building that was either barren or being built. Not sure. The busses there were ridiculous. About 5 of 20 bus stops actually had the bus stop name on the signs. Otherwise they just had "bus stop" in croatian on signs. So when we were looking for our hostel, we kinda missed it by like 7 stops, and then we took another bus backwards and missed it by 1. Then we had to find that place. It was pretty hard to get there in the dark. Once we figured that part out, it really wasn't all too hard.
Would I go back to Croatia? Maybe for 1/2 day in Croatia and then 1/2 day in Bratislava again or somewhere in Slovenia. Who knows.
Next... TURKEY!
Bratislava
Bratislava - If you haven't seen Eurotrip, just imagine what kind of city a capital of a country with a name like "Bratislava" would look like.
Next... Zagreb.
joking...
I really actually liked Bratislava. The old town part was pretty well put together, the Castle was OK..... and it looked like a pretty cool small riverside chill out in the summer. On the other hand, when you get out of the old town, you really see how much Bratislava was constrained by communism. Check my photos for proof. Bratislava was actually more expensive than Zagreb I think - it might just be that they hike it up for tourism, and outside of the touristy old town its dirt cheap. In any case, I wasn't about to be kidnapped by some ex-communist man with a thing for iron fists.... wait that came out wrong.
changing subjects......
ZAGREB
Next... Zagreb.
joking...
I really actually liked Bratislava. The old town part was pretty well put together, the Castle was OK..... and it looked like a pretty cool small riverside chill out in the summer. On the other hand, when you get out of the old town, you really see how much Bratislava was constrained by communism. Check my photos for proof. Bratislava was actually more expensive than Zagreb I think - it might just be that they hike it up for tourism, and outside of the touristy old town its dirt cheap. In any case, I wasn't about to be kidnapped by some ex-communist man with a thing for iron fists.... wait that came out wrong.
changing subjects......
ZAGREB
Prague
Ok I'm back from Turkey and I'm finally going to update about the trips. These next three might be a bit short but thats what happens when you pile up "work"
Ok - So Prague was probably my favorite city from Prague, Bratislava, and Zagreb. The city was surprisingly clean and most all of the buildings appeared as if they were freshly painted. If it wasn't so ridiculously cold, it would have been a much better trip. Prague is definitely a city that I am looking forward to going to again. The food and beer there was really cheap, and it wasn't half bad either. The hostel we stayed at was supposed to be a party hostel, but apparently that is the exact opposite when you stay during low season. We were probably one of the few groups at the hostel who wasn't living there for an indefinite amount of time. (they were kind of crazy too...) We (me, stuart, and ryan) met up with Alex for his final goodbye of us before he went back to Canada to get a real job. We had a few good nights in Prague... 1kilo of chicken wings, side of potatos and cheesy gravy stuff and a liter of beer for like €6. that was probably my favorite part of the trip. Heh.
Absinth. If you don't buy the real stuff you just get pretty drunk (140 Proof) pretty fast for pretty cheap. Eh - not that I'm complaining or anything.
Next.... Bratislava
Ok - So Prague was probably my favorite city from Prague, Bratislava, and Zagreb. The city was surprisingly clean and most all of the buildings appeared as if they were freshly painted. If it wasn't so ridiculously cold, it would have been a much better trip. Prague is definitely a city that I am looking forward to going to again. The food and beer there was really cheap, and it wasn't half bad either. The hostel we stayed at was supposed to be a party hostel, but apparently that is the exact opposite when you stay during low season. We were probably one of the few groups at the hostel who wasn't living there for an indefinite amount of time. (they were kind of crazy too...) We (me, stuart, and ryan) met up with Alex for his final goodbye of us before he went back to Canada to get a real job. We had a few good nights in Prague... 1kilo of chicken wings, side of potatos and cheesy gravy stuff and a liter of beer for like €6. that was probably my favorite part of the trip. Heh.
Absinth. If you don't buy the real stuff you just get pretty drunk (140 Proof) pretty fast for pretty cheap. Eh - not that I'm complaining or anything.
Next.... Bratislava
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