Eurotour - take two

So here comes the second part of my whirlwind adventure around Europe. I am sorry it is tardy but I have found myself to be very busy lately, trying to visit exchange student friends and in general sorting out my life. So we were up to Austria, Vienna in fact.

So our bus pulled up into the city centre of Vienna and our guides said 'Welcome to Vienna everyone, now get off the bus and we'll pick you up in a few hours". So here we were, we had just arrived in Vienna and we were being let loose in this foreign city. I thought it was a bit odd but we did as we were told and started exploring the city. It was late so nothing was open so we wandered around until we found a cafe. We had the best ice cream there, it was truly was amazing. So didn't need it though . . Oh well when in . . Vienna right? So after we 'explored' we met back at the bus and headed for the hostel where we were staying. It was a fair distance from the city but that reeeally didn't matter as we were grounded for those two nights due to a few silly exchange students taking advantage of the freedom the guides gave us. Let's just say we had one less exchange student when we got to Vienna. So we spent the night just cooped up in out hotel. But we managed to entertain ourselves as usual so it was ok.

Our hotel/hostel

God?

The next day we were released from the hostel and piled onto the bus for our day in Vienna. We went to the famous yellow Schonbrunn Palace and the rain just added to the excitement. It was a beautiful palace, more simply decorated then most Royal residences but I really loved it. I saw the room where a 6 year old Mozart first performed which was really cool. After having lost one exchange student in the palace, we had a guided tour of the city on our bus. We saw the UN headquarters, the Grecian style Parlinment and many other sights. We were then released and we looked for a place that served Viennese food as we wanted authentic. We were successful.

Schonbrunn Palace

Me and another exchange student Nae with the Palace

Kunst street or art street. An artist designed some amazing apartments!

Me with my apple strudel

Me and Laura with what we thought were yummy cookies.

Ok so if you are in Vienna, NEVER fall for the trick of these cookies. They look amazing and seem cute saying 'Ich liebe dich' but no! Just say no. One bite and you are severely dissappointed as me and Laura found out. It is like cardboard and paper, yes I ate the paper by mistake. And it was about $NZ12! So I was very very upset to say the least. Never again.

After that day was over, our time in Vienna was up. A short stop like all the others. But my overral impression of Vienna was ok, it wasn't anything too special. I think the fact that we were grounded and that it was raining put a bad feeling over the place, bit unfair but thats life.

Next stop Italy! It was a gorgeous drive through Austria and northern Italy, it was so odd to see mountains higher than 170m as we see in Denmark.

Drive from Vienna to Lido de Jesolo. Close to Italian border.

Northern Italy is so beautiful and it feels like the real Italy. It was so hot when we arrived in Lido de Jesolo which is a cute touristy town on the beach an hour from Venice. We were staying right next to the beach so it felt like we were on a holiday and having a break from the busy chaos we were used to.

Our hotel, yes HOTEL in Lido.

The next day was our day trip to Venice! It's one of those cities that you always hear about but you never think actually exists as you (or maybe just me) think it's a figment of the world's imagination. But no, it exists. And it has to be one of the most romantic and charming cities I have ever been to.

So the day started well with the weather being nothing less than perfect, sunny and hot. A funny thing happened as as we were waiting for our boat to arrive to take us to Venice, we bumped into the Austrian Rotary Exchange kids! They were on their way home from their Eurotour and it's just so funny how even in Venice Italy you can bump into people you know. Small world just like in good old NZ.

So anyway our boat arrived and I saw the name of it, all aboard the 'Il Doge'. Oh that fills me with confidence as I board it!

Catherine and I.

'Il doge'

I'm on a boat . .

Jacob, me and Mich on the boat to Venice.

We arrived after about 35 minutes on the boat and I was entranced by Venice as soon as I stepped off the Il Doge. It was so beautiful! We had to have a gondola ride and even though a little pricey it is one of those must do's.

Kristy-Lee and I.

Our 'driver'

Me on a gondola :)

The Cathedral

Beautiful Venice.

After the gondola ride which was so amazing and beautiful, we were let loose to get lost in the canals of Venice. We had some Italian pizza for lunch then just headed where the wind took us. There is something about just wandering around a foreign city and getting lost in it's beauty and history that i just love. It feels like you are experiencing the real place. Here are some photos from our day as they are better at explaining what we did than I am :)

Mmm Pizza.

St Marks Square

We found some interesting souvenirs. . .

Going back to Lido :(

So our day in Venice had been one of my favourite, it is one of the most amazing places to visit. I'll gave to go back as soon as it is financially possible which may not be too soon . .

The next day we had a free day in Lido so we went to a local market which was really fun. I bought some very odd looking dried fruit, to this day I am not sure what it was but it was good. Then I bought some other small gifts which I hope the people like :).

In Lido they had these 2 and 6 person bikes like the crocodile bikes they have in Wellington but just not . . crocodiles. We hired them and were trying to find a laundromat but never found one so we just biked back to the hire place with our huge bag of washing in the front. Classy.

Lido on a bike

We also went to the beach . . so warm!

This is me, like my new tan?

We went biking twice haha

And we got a free panda some child left behind!

Our time in Lido had come to an end and it had been a great few days just relaxing by the beach and visiting Venice. Next stop was San Remo for the night which isn't even worth talking about, tacky and sorta cute former 1970's resort town. Not cool.

But my next rant or blog whatever you want to call it will be about Monaco, Avignon anf the rest of Eurotour if my stamina holds out.

Keep warm in NZ! Summer has finally come to Denmark. For the meantime. . .

Lucy x

The beginning of the most amazing 18 days of my life

So it begins. I have put this off for about a week now as I have been in fear of having to write about my amazing, unbelievable and unforgettable 18 days touring Europe with 50 other cool as exchange students. Where do I even start? Let's start from the very beginning, a very good place to start :)

So on May 20th the sun rose and the time had finally come for Eurotour, 8 countries in 18 days on a bus. We were all so excited but it all seemed so surreal until I was crossing the first of what would be many borders into Germany. It's funny as one of the most commonly questions asked was, "what country are we in now?" only because we crossed so many borders in such a short space of time it was difficult to know sometimes . . something you would never experience in New Zealand which I love. Only in Europe (well not really but you get it!).

Berlin was the first stop and so after about 7 hours on a bus, we arrived in the overwhelmingly green German capital. We were staying just outside the city in what looked like an orphanage but what we were told was a youth hostel, it was ok although the bathrooms a little feral. The first night we took the good old Berlin metro to the city and soaked up our new surroundings by walking the streets. It is an interesting city with a great mix of old and new, something for everyone to enjoy.

Our hostel

A group of my cool as exchange friends getting the metro.

Milly and I in the city.

In Berlin I saw this! Wooo All Blacks!

My girlies being awesome.

The next day which was our only full day in Berlin we had a short bus tour in the morning and 'got our bearings' as my mother would say. We saw sections of the Berlin wall, the Jewish Memorial, the famous TV tower, the Berlin Cathedral, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate just to name a few. After the bus tour we were released into Berlin Zentrum so naturally we went and ate, the local cuisine of course. After a hearty lunch of bretzel and currywurst we walked around to see the sights Berlin had to offer.

Me and the Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Cathedral

Us having our German feast

Best cookie cutter ever.

Jewish Memorial, such a special and peaceful place in the heart of chaos.

After a lovely day and a half in Berlin, it was time to press onto the Czech Republic! A country shrouded in mystery (for me at least) and the country with one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Prague. It was a long drive through Germany, mostly spent in a half awake half asleep state by most. But as we crossed the border we immediately noticed how different it was, even the colour of the sky and trees. We visited Theresienstadt which is a concentration camp not far from Prague. it was an old fortress which was reused during WW2 by the Gestapo to hold political prisoners. Although it wasn't used as a death camp, many were shot there and died of the awful living conditions. It was a moving experience to say the least. It was so cold although it was around 30deg and quiet. You couldn't help but think what those walls had seen. It was a place I had always wanted to visit so it was special to be there. The stark and quiet atmosphere was somewhat ruined by our lovely guides hilarious accent. You see, even when someone is speaking about the most horrific of things, it is very hard to keep a straight face when the guide has the most hilarious accent I have every heard in my life. It was so hard not to burst out laughing but out of self control and respect, I held it in and laughed SO much inside my head!

Czech countryside.

Entry to Concentration Camp.

An eerie similarity to Auschwitz, 'work makes you free'.

After what was a somewhat emotional visit to Terezin, we continued to our destination of Prague. As we hit the outskirts of the city, I spotted a beacon of light SLASH it was a sign for IKEA! By this point my foreign IKEA count was up to 2, it was added to along the rest of Eurotour too, so exciting :).

We got to our hotel (yes how upper class of us!) and settled into our amazingly luxurious rooms. That night we wanted to make the most of our short stay in Prague so a group of us took the bus and metro to the city, it was a bit of a challenge as none of us spoke Czech and no one in Prague spoke English so we had to be super skilled exchange students with maps in hand. We had a nice stroll around the city and had some amazing cake and scrambled to get home before our 1am curfew.

The next day all 55 of us took the metro into the beautiful city of Prague and walked up to the area where the palace and cathedral are. Breathtakingly beautiful is all I can say. Everyone says that but it is so true. I have fallen for another city.

Not just the city was beautiful . .

Laura and I with the Cathedral

Pretty huh?

We had free time that afternoon and just roamed the charming streets and looked high and low to eat only authentic Czech food. It was so much fun, I really am so lucky not just to have toured Europe but to be with such amazing people. I believe in the family of the exchange student and totally love them all!

My friend Michy and I with an awesome car.

Haha just curious!

Laura, Michy and I. Love you guys so much.

Me with the amazing view.

That night as we made our way back to the hotel, we had the funniest experience on the metro! So we just innocently hopped onto the train and then scores of crazy screaming people came into the station and into the train and started cheering for the Czech Republic. They had flags, scarves and face paint it was insanity. We later found out that the Czech Republic had just won in ice hockey to Russia for the first time in 20 years or so so town was going off! They were chanting and rocking the carriages it was so fun. We tried to join in which half worked but we had a blast even if we didn't know what the chant was on about!

The next morning we woke up nice and early as usual and piled back on the bus and headed for the hills in Austria. I was hoping they would be alive with the sound of music . . but I'll fill you in on the next 3 stops in my next blog. So stay tuned kids!

Jeg savner I men jeg har det sjovt

x