Ljubljana, Slovenia

Thursday 25th March 2015:

The third and final city on our Contiki holiday that neither of us had previously visited, Ljubljana provided the only rain we had seen so far on the journey. Our accommodation for the one night stay was at a former bank, now transformed into the modern day Hostel Tresor. Each room has a currency theme, our room being the German Mark.

A reasonably compact city, we wandered the historic streets and took in the sights of the River Ljubljanica, triple bridge and Ljubljana Castle. The triple bridge started out as a single bridge but became so congested with horses and carriages, an additional two pedestrian bridges were constructed, one either side.

Highlights:

- First rain of our overseas adventure

- Accommodation at Hostel Tresor, a former bank

- River Ljubljanica

- Triple bridge

- Ljubljana Castle

- Fresh milk vending machine

Budapest, Hungary

Tuesday 24th March 2015:

Another city that was new to both of us, Budapest was without doubt one of our favourite cities so far - very underrated as a tourist destination and referred to as "Paris of the east". Following a stopover in Slovakia for lunch, our introduction to Budapest came on the afternoon of arrival, with a trip up to Fisherman's Bastion with its stunning outlook across the city.



The evening glow of Budapest's countless landmarks along the Danube River provided a sensational backdrop for our river cruise dinner. Here we indulged on Hungarian salami, cabbage rolls and goulash.



One of Budapest's most recognisable landmarks is the Chain Bridge. Notably, the lion statues on the bridge are missing tongues, and when the designer, János Marschalkó, realised he is said to have been so embarrassed that he jumped off the bridge to his death.



We spent the rest of the afternoon at Szèchenyi Bath, the oldest and largest thermal baths in Europe.

Being in constant close proximity to other people and confined to a coach for a large portion of our trip, Brendan became sick so we didn't manage to see everything, although we definitely want to return.

Highlights:
- Saw snow on the side of the road on the drive
- Fisherman's Bastion with panoramic outlook across the city
- River cruise for dinner, saw all major buildings along the Danube River
- Hungarian salami, cabbage rolls, goulash
- Chain Bridge
- Szèchenyi Bath, the oldest and largest in Europe
- Hero Square
- Internet in Hungary seems very unreliable











***DISCLAIMER: Do not read the following paragraph if you have a weak stomach

Previously in Vienna, we were joined by one guy in particular who seemed like he wasn't quite all there... After the river cruise, the majority of the group went out to experience Budapest's nightlife. We woke the next morning to learn that this particular individual had spent the night harassing the girls on our tour, before eventually returning to the hostel. There, he managed to vomit outside the elevators in the hostel lobby as well as all through the bathroom in his SHARED room. If that wasn't enough, he also managed to shit himself plus get it on the walls. Apparently it was that bad, the cleaners took a photo of it because even they had never seen anything like it. It became known as Poodapest amongst the group***

Krakow, Poland

Sunday 22nd March 2015: 

Due to the route of the tour, we leave Austria to head back through Czech Republic, bound for Poland. The first city that neither of us have ever been to, we also benefited from a hotel upgrade at the Ibis Budget. 

Prior to arriving at the hotel, we went deep underground into the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which also houses a huge, stunning chapel 101m underground. Our tour lasted for approximately 3 hours taking us 135m deep, yet in that time we saw only 1% of the entire mines 327m depth, with shafts meandering for 300 kilometres. 

We ended the evening wandering into Europe's largest medieval town square, and saw the trumpeter who plays from the window of St. Mary's Basilica every hour. It was also the city where being abroad finally felt real. At McDonald's, we were handed apple pies, and given an entire spiel in Polish. Met with a blank expression from Brendan, the employee translated it to "be careful, they are hot".

The next day, we made the journey to Auchwitz, located about an hour out of the city centre.  This was the largest concentration camp from the holocaust running from 1940-44. It was chilling and surreal to be standing in the grounds where an estimated 1.3 million people were "liquidated", and to walk through the gates ironically inscribed with "work sets you free".  

Highlights: 

- Wieliczka Salt Mine, with huge chapel 101m underground

- Europe's largest medieval town square, UNESCO World Heritage listed 

- Wawel castle and dragon

- Cloth Hall, historically a major international trade centre

- Auchwitz

- Ate and made pierogi, a Polish style of dumpling

- Drank vodka with apple juice

Vienna, Austria

Friday 20th March 2015: 

We departed for Vienna, Austria with a stop in the Czech village of Kutna Hora. We viewed Sedlec Ossuary, a church heavily decorated with human bones, boasting a chandelier that features every bone from the human body. We arrived in Vienna late in the afternoon and strolled around the area surrounding the hostel  to get our own dinner. Later on we headed out to Roo Bar, an "Australian" bar despite the only visible Aussie beverage being VB. 

Saturday, our Contiki tour manager took us into the UNESCO World Heritage listed centre of Vienna, which is encased by Ringstraße, the ring road. Vienna has been rated one of the cleanest cities in the world, they have multiple categories of recycling and discreet spikes on significant buildings to deter pigeons. Our walking tour ended at the four storey Swarovski store, native to Vienna. Further down the street, we discovered the iconic St. Stephen's Cathedral, dating back to the 12th century and well known for its colourful roof tiles. 

At lunch, we visited Figlmüller for an authentic, monster Vienna pork schnitzel before wandering to one of the city's many public bike stations to cycle around Ringstraße. After becoming lost and giving up on the bikes, we managed to make it to the coach in time to visit the Old Vienna Schnapps Museum, with a few tastings for good measure.

Highlights: 

- Roo Bar - an "Australian" bar where the only Aussie drink was VB

- Swarovski

- St. Stephen's Cathedral, the symbol of Vienna 

- Manner wafers, popular across Eastern Europe

- Ate a monster schnitzel for lunch (Figlmüller pork original) 

- Rode bikes around Ringstraße ring road, before getting lost 

- Ate apple strudel

- Old Vienna Schnapps Museum (Alt-Wiener Schnapsmuseum)

- Ate schnitzel again for dinner 

- Some people from the original group ended their tour, with several new people joining

Prague, Czech Republic

Wednesday 18th March 2015: 

Wednesday morning arrives and we head off towards the Czech Republic, with a stop over in the German village of Dresden. This village was destroyed and rebuilt in the 1990's, yet looks like an authentic Gothic town. 

Upon arrival in Prague, the first thing we noticed is the cobblestone streets and footpaths - they are everywhere! Our introduction to this city was the Castle District, Hradčany, which offers a stunning panorama over the entire city. 

We strolled across the iconic Charles Bridge, and viewed Prague's unique astronomical clock. Finishing our tour, we wandered through the old Jewish quarter, now the high-end area of town. We ended the night at The Pub, a bar where each table has taps in the middle to pour your own beer. 

Thursday we went for a 2 hour river cruise with lunch, taking in the sights. We strolled the city, after going into an Internet cafe to complete competency tests for our prospective jobs in London. We finished the day at the rooftop terrace bar of the Hotel U Prince before embarking on an evening ghost tour.

Highlights: 

- German village of Dresden

- Hradčany, the Castle District

- Charles Bridge

- Ate trldo - dough cooked over hot coals and coated in cinnamon and sugar

- Astronomical clock - the designer had his eyes cut out afterwards to prevent him from ever replicating the design

- Old Jewish quarter, today the high-end area of town home to many premium retail brands

- The Pub, bar where you pour your own beer 

- River cruise

- Ate trldo

- Ate trldo again

- Rooftop terrace bar of the Hotel U Prince

- Ghost tour

Berlin, Germany

Monday 16th March 2015:

We departed The Netherlands bound for Germany. Accommodation was at Plus Berlin hostel, which is in the former "East Berlin" (the previous communist side of Berlin that constructed the wall).

From its tumultuous past and the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1990, Berlin has come a long way. Today, at first glance Berlin has plenty of the ingredients of a large, cosmopolitan European city. When you look a little closer though, there are plenty of reminders of Berlin's past, such as the derelict buildings scattered throughout the city, and remnant sections of wall. In many areas, these give a depressing, eerie feeling.

We were taken on a guided walking tour, and one thing we found interesting is that Germany have seemingly attempted to hide key elements of its history. One major example is the bunker where Hitler took his life. This has been completely filled in and is now a very unassuming car park, with no signage or plaques to acknowledge the significance of the site. 

On Tuesday night, we visited a traditional German beer hall or Hofbräuhaus and shared a massive pork knuckle (disclaimer: we were told it isn't actually a knuckle) and each consumed a 1 litre stein of beer - Roslyn's was a radler, watered down with lemonade aka Shandy!

Highlights: 

- 3 hour walking tour of Berlin

- Drank 'Mezzo' - a German soft drink that is a cross between Fanta and Coke

- Made our own chocolate bar - milk chocolate with vanilla cookie, strawberry pieces and hazelnuts (delish!)

- Dinner at a German Hofbräuhaus beer hall - consumed a litre of beer each plus a mammoth pork knuckle

- Night walking tour, where we were shown the former "death strip" and locations of where escape tunnels had been dug

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Saturday 14th March 2015: 

We set off from London across the English Channel, through France and Belgium to the capital of The Netherlands, Amsterdam.

The streetscape includes elegant buildings with grand architecture, extensive canals and bicycles everywhere - there are more bicycles than people in this city!

The Dutch are renowned for being fairly liberal, and it is quite odd when you walk past the ancient Catholic Church in the heart of the red light district, where there are ladies in their famous red windows across the street and a kindergarten next door. This same church is the only one in the world to have funded statues celebrating prostitution and homosexuality that are also within in the City.

Highlights:
- Walking tour of the Red Light District
- "Coffee" shops
- Cheese and clog factory (strangely, made in the same place...)
- Heineken beer factory tour
- Shooter bar, with a menu of 250+ shots

A brief overview of our journey so far

Sunday 8th March 2015 (AUS) - 9:50pm departed Sydney Airport, with a 3 hour stopover in Abu Dhabi early Monday morning.

Monday 9th March 2015 (UK) - Arrived at Heathrow Airport and caught the tube to Russell Square, where we have been staying at the Tavistock Hotel. The hotel looks like it was last updated in the 1980's, with lots of wood panelling accompanied by dark green and red furnishings. We receive a complimentary dinner at the adjoining wine bar. The food, while reasonably conventional in its ingredients, is unlike anything we have ever experienced while "eating out" - very basic presentation and very basic taste. The highlight was the dessert, with a slice of apple pie and something that can only be described as a rectangular slab of ice cream - which has clearly been freshly unwrapped from its individual serve plastic packaging.

Tuesday 10th March 2015 - Head off on the tube to take in several tourist hot spots, strolling along the River Thames past Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and to Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. We also spent 2 hours at Barclay's setting up our UK bank accounts.

Wednesday 11th March 2015 - Brendan meets with 2 recruitment agencies, the first agency is a specialist in real estate recruitment and although they don't have anything right now that is suitable, throws out the suggestion of joining them to work in recruitment. Following on from this, we head over to Knightsbridge to visit the renowned Harrods department store. It is very apparent from the homes and cars surrounding the area that this is an affluent area, highlights including several Rolls Royce's and Lamborghini's, plus countless BMW's, Audi's, Range Rover's as well as a Mercedes completely covered in Swarovski crystals.



We finish the day heading to Clapham, where we have been told lots of Aussie's live, to go "Speed Flatmating". There, people are given pink stickers if they are looking for a room, and white stickers if they have a room available. There were probably close to 100 people there, but only a handful of people who had white stickers. We exchange details with a few people, but aren't confident that anything will come of it - we will wait and see. From there, we head back to Russell Square where we meet up at a nearby pub with a few of the people from our Contiki group.

Thursday 12th March 2015 - Roslyn meets with 2 recruitment agencies. The first appointment goes well and by the end of the day, she has already got an appointment lined up with a potential employer the next day (Friday). Despite Brendan having met with them the day before, the 2nd agency suggests that because she isn't ready to work for another few weeks, they don't have anything at this time. Strangely enough, Brendan hears back from this same agency and has an interview lined up with an employer tomorrow (Friday).

We are also using the hashtags #BPRPeurotrip and #BrenAndRosDoLondon on Instagram.

Brendan & Ros

We have arrived

Welcome to our blog!

So we have arrived safe and sound in London-town, with pleasant weather thrown in as an added bonus. As Brendan's first international flight, he found the 25 hour journey looooong. He says that the worst part was around the 6 hour mark, knowing it was 4am in Australia, not even half way through the first half of the first flight and watching everyone else (including me!) sleep around him. Other than that it wasn't too bad and he was able to catch some sleep on the next flight after a brief delay on our flight from Abu Dhabi.

We got into London at 1.30pm Monday afternoon and managed to stay awake until 8pm before crashing. Brendan is constantly in awe of everything, so when we woke briefly at 1am he had to go and check outside the hotel window to make sure that we were still in London!

Our first full day in London has been spent walking around (in chilly weather with blue skies and sunshine) to some of the tourist attractions such as the Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. We also set up our blog, got our UK mobiles as well as a bank account - so much productivity!

Our UK mobile numbers are, Brendan +44 7990 430 307 and Ros +44 7990 430 301 or you can also text and call us via Viber.

We shall keep this blog updated as our adventures continue - thanks for reading!