European Adventure: Part One

 

Welcome to the first part of my European Adventure! We spent three weeks travelling to 7 different cities, so there was no way I could cover everything in one post. We also managed to take nearly 1000 photos, but don't worry, I won't bombard you with all of them :P These posts will just be a summary of our adventure, but feel free to ask questions on anything you're curious about. I just thought I'd share a few snaps and a few thoughts on the most magical holiday I've had so far :)

 

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We set off for Amsterdam on a night coach leaving from London Victoria Coach station. The journey wasn't so bad, as we both slept, and it was certainly the cheapest way to do the crossing.

We spent two nights in a simple 4-bed hostel in Amsterdam. It was a central location and walking distance to all the places we wanted to go.

In Amsterdam we:

• Visited the Royal Palace
• Visited Anne Frank's house
• Walked past some very funky coffee shops!
• Spent a lot of time near the beautiful canals
• Tried to stick to our budget, Amsterdam was very expensive

 

It was wonderful to see Amsterdam in all it's glory, but I wouldn't return in a hurry. I would like to see rural Holland, but I think I've done this city now.

 

Me in front of one of the many canals, Amsterdam

 

 

From Amsterdam, we used our Interrail pass to take a long train to Berlin. We were both keen to see Berlin, as we've both studied its history in school. We ended up staying four nights instead of the original three, just because there was so much to see! In Berlin we stayed in another hostel, an 8-bed one this time. It was very modern and had a stylish bar.

In Berlin we:

 

• Visited the Reichstag (parliament) Building
• Saw the Brandenburg gate
• Visited Museuminsel
• Saw TV tower
• Visited the Berlin Wall memorial and museum
• Visited the Jewish memorial
• Visited Checkpoint Charlie
• Ate German street food (baked potato and sauerkraut - yum!)
• Visited the city's cathedral

I truly loved Berlin, even though it wasn't the prettiest of cities. It's so rich in culture, spanning decades and there is so much to see. It was so interesting to see the places we had studied in our textbooks, like the Reichstag building. We found Berlin prices very reasonable too and we enjoyed dinners in some lovely restaurants. Lawrence enjoyed the German beer too! I would go back to Berlin for a more laid back retreat. This time, we had a lot to squeeze in our allocated four days.

Berlin's cathedral

The Berlin Wall memorial

 

We spent another day on the trains to arrive in Prague. This was one of my favourite cities, as the architecture is just stunning. As Prague was fairly cheap, we stayed in a small apartment just the two of us. It was a central location, which we tried to get in every city we stayed. It saved money just to walk everywhere!

In Prague we:

 

• Went to the top of the Astronomical Clock tower just as the sun was setting, stunning. And it only cost the equivalent of £3 ($4.72) for both of us to go to the top!
• Ate lots of ice cream!
• Crossed the Charles Bridge
• Walked up all the stairs to get to Prague Castle
• Went shopping in the department stores
• Visited the John Lennon Wall. Yes, that John Lennon :P

Again, I would love to return to Prague someday. Although it has a bit of a reputation in this country for being a party destination, you can stay away from that quite easily. There is so much I'd love to learn about Prague's history. Well worth another visit.

 

The view from the top of the Astronomical Clock tower

The man himself on the John Lennon Wall. Bizarre and beautiful at the same time.

 

I think that's quite enough for Part One. I hope you've enjoyed this post. Part Two will be on Budapest and Munich, hope you like that one too!

Best wishes,