Amsterdam & Rotterdam

Note to self: Don't visit Amsterdam alone ever again.

As a female I 110% did not feel safe staying in shared hostel accommodation on my own in Amsterdam.  When I was in London earlier in the year it was perfectly fine, but Amsterdam is an entirely different kettle of fish.  From a Belgian guy with a questionable understanding of English who asked me whether I was Christian, married and why I was so far from home, among other things, and then woke me up at 2am demanding I call an ambulance, to a lad from Latvia who insisted on sharing his life story with me and was insulted when I refused his invitation to go for a walk with him at 11pm. Oh Amsterdam...

Despite the chaos of my accommodation I managed to enjoy my daytime adventures.  On Saturday I took the train to Rotterdam.  The Rotterdam train station itself is modern and pretty fancy.  Outside the station is a sight you become accustomed to shortly after arriving in the Netherlands.  Bicycles.  Lots and lots of bicycles.

From the train station it is a short walk to the Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp).  I love animals.  And I love zoos.  This zoo in particular was pretty massive and had so many exhibits I spent hours there.  From polar bears to wolves, lions and otters, elephants and zebra, an aquarium and an amazon globe full of butterflies, Rotterdam Zoo has something for everyone. And also these cute inquisitive little guys.

I particularly enjoyed watching the elephants.  One little mischief maker was intent on annoying his much larger pals.

After a day of walking around the zoo I was absolutely exhausted so was understandably unimpressed by my less than courteous roommates.

On Sunday I went and joined the queue at the Anne Frank House bright and early so I could avoid the bulk of the crowds.  Compared to my experience at Auschwitz, the Anne Frank house left me feeling underwhelmed.  It was interesting to see where the Frank family and their friends went into hiding after reading Anne's published diary when I was at school.  However I found the lack of furnishings in the rooms meant it was difficult to truly appreciate 8 people living undetected in such a space.  The inclusion of a store and cafe as part of the museum commercialised the entire experience and made it seem as though nowadays Anne's hardship has turned into a money making venture, as opposed to education and the acknowledgement of the suffering of Jews during the war.  All in all I was pretty disappointed with my visit to a place I'd been wanting to see since I finished reading Anne's diary.

Following my visit to the Anne Frank house I walked to the Rijksmuseum.  This is the national museum of the Netherlands located at the museum square, close to the Van Gogh museum and the I Amsterdam sign.  This was a wonderful wet day activity as the museum is enormous so took a long time to walk around viewing the exhibits.

I concluded my Sunday by wandering around the shopping district and canals before heading to a burger bar for dinner.

Overall my experiences in Amsterdam were enjoyable.  I much preferred exploring the city with friends while on Topdeck than going it alone.  If any females are planning solo travel to Amsterdam, do your research into a safe hostel or splurge on your own suite in a hotel so you can guarantee a good nights rest.

Galway

Solo travel is fantastic.  Seeing new places is great.  Combining the two together and you're in for a wonderful time.

On Sunday I caught the train to Galway for a wee little day excursion.  I haven't seen much of Ireland despite having been here for around 7 weeks, but Galway is by far my favourite place so far.  The weather was spectacular, the cathedral is beautiful, the stores and waterfront are great areas to explore.  I even went to an aquarium which was more like a glorified pet store as it lacked turtles, sharks or anything more exciting than seahorses.  And to add to the excitement of a solo adventure to Galway, while I was there Ireland played France in their last pool match of the Rugby World Cup.  The pub I watched it in called The Skeff was packed; standing room only which made for a great viewing atmosphere.

There are a few places I want to go back to in Galway, so I will be making a return trip.  Mostly to try some more of the cafes and restaurants the city has to offer. Food will forever have my heart.

Weekend Adventures

What a whirlwind the end of September - start of October has been!

On Friday 25 September I departed Dublin airport at some ungodly hour of the morning headed for Edinburgh, Scotland.  Such an awesome city with a cool vibe.  From Arthur's Seat, to Edinburgh castle, all the old buildings, pubs and monuments, Edinburgh has a lot to offer.  Not to mention A CAT CAFE!! Highlight of my weekend.  I'd love to go back at some point and see other parts of Scotland as well.

The Scott Monument - 287 steps to the top.  Built in the 1840's.

Edinburgh castle

Haggis - was actually really nice much to my surprise

Life advice outside the World's End pub

Arthur's seat - the mini mountain right in Edinburgh.

  Cat cafe. Need I say more?


October 1 the UL Wolves went to the greyhounds.  It was a fun night. Always good to put a cheeky few euro on a dog so you can yell at something as they come down the straight.  I literally know nothing about dogs so picked off their names and had zero luck.  Probably not the best technique available.

Last but certainly not least, October 2 I went for an excursion to Wales that lasted less than 24 hours! But all for good cause as the All Blacks were taking on Georgia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.  What an atmosphere.  All day you could feel the excitement wandering around the city as anticipation built for that evenings match.  The pubs were full of supporters.  Millennium Stadium itself is huge, and with the roof closed the atmosphere inside was electrifying.  Despite some uncharacteristic missed kicks from Dan Carter and some painful dropped balls from the likes of Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand came away with the win which was celebrated late into the night by the supporters, many of whom had adopted the All Blacks or Georgia for the evening but were from all over the world.

Topdeck - Day 12 to Day 24

VIENNA - BRATISLAVA - BUDAPEST - KRAKOW - AUSCHWITZ - PRAGUE - BERLIN - AMSTERDAM - LONDON

The last half of the Spirit of Europe Topdeck trip is an absolute whirlwind of culture mingled with physical exhaustion and a little too much alcohol.  Some of my favourite stops on the tour were during this part of the trip.  They were made particularly favourable due to the cheapness of travelling to most of the countries in the Eastern Bloc.

DAY TWELVE: Slept the majority of the drive from Venice to Vienna, Austria.  Upon arrival we walked around the summer palace gardens of Schonbrunn palace.  Scorching hot weather.  After a brief driving tour we checked into Wombats hostel Vienna and continued to sweat due to the lack of proper air-conditioning.  Went to the theme park, Prater.  Had an amazing time riding roller coasters and various other rides, especially 'exstasy'.  There were no lines which allowed us to go on a handful of rides in the few hours we were scheduled to spend at the park.

Schonbrunn palace

DAY THIRTEEN:  Sweated balls all night and woke up unrested.  Had a really relaxed day looking at a few stores, having lunch and lying in the park under a shady tree.  The location of many of Vienna's historic buildings is extremely central.   This meant that we saw many of the churches, museums and palaces in the central area despite putting in very little effort to actively seek them.  It was such a novelty to have no sense of urgency to see heaps of things in the short time we have in each city.  For dinner we went to a restaurant that offered 1 metre of ribs.  I personally went for the 30cm option and still felt extremely full as it was a massive serving.  In the evening we attended a classical music concert.  It wasn't really my cup of tea, but I could still appreciate how talented the musicians are.

DAY FOURTEEN:  Yet another travel day, this time via Bratislava headed to Budapest.  Again we had three meals in three different countries.  Breakfast in Austria, lunch in Slovakia and dinner in Hungary.  Bratislava was really nice.  I enjoyed being in a less bustling place than some of our other destinations, even if it was just for a short lunch stop.
Budapest is an impressive city with a lot to offer.  I will definitely be returning to spend more time exploring.  The views over the city were amazing!  One down point is the strange currency which meant it was difficult to know whether what you were purchasing was priced reasonably.  Budapest offers something for everyone, including some unique bars like Szimplakert for the quirky types.

Overlooking Budapest

DAY FIFTEEN:  A full on day in Budapest barely scratched the surface on what we could have done in this city.  Early in the morning we went to the House of Terror, a museum dedicated to Hungary's war history.  The museum is housed in the building which was once used to imprison, torture and kill hundreds of people opposed to various regimes Hungary was subject to throughout the countries history.  The intense video in the lift down to the basement makes this museum worth visiting, without considering all the other informative exhibits.  After lunch we relaxed in the thermal spa, Szechenyi Bath.  The bath boasts 18 public pools of varying temperatures, both indoor and outdoor.  After the amount of walking we had done in the previous days our bodies were in dire need of a relaxing soak.  Outside the parliament building on the waterfront there is a moving tribute to people who were shot on the river bank before their bodies were dumped in the river.  One highlight of Budapest was the beer bike we hired in the late afternoon.  It seated 13 passengers and we pedalled our way down one of the main streets, around the major memorial monument and into the park, all while consuming plenty of beer.

Shoes on the river bank

DAY SIXTEEN:  By day sixteen I had well and truly perfected the art of sleeping on the coach on route to the next destination.  The road to Krakow allowed us to have another 3 countries, 3 meals day with breakfast in Hungary, lunch in Slovakia and dinner in Poland.  Otherwise the day was mostly uneventful.

DAY SEVENTEEN:  A full on day of exploration.  We got up early to avoid the lines for the Krakow Salt Mines.  The underground cathedral was unbelievable and made the trip worthwhile on its own.  I could have lived without riding the rickety elevator to the surface, but I survived the experience so now harm done. Schindler's Factory on which the film is based is now converted into a museum.  I personally expected more from the museum that focussed more on the war as a whole and less on the actions of Schindler in saving his factory workers.  We explored a little in the less desirable areas of town, the former Jewish ghetto and the square where the flea markets are held.  Krakow's main square is great.  The markets are fantastic, there are plenty of food options and historic buildings.

DAY EIGHTEEN:  The travel day to Prague took us via Auschwitz the concentration camp.  Holy shit.  I will write a separate post about Auschwitz in an attempt to do justice to how powerful this place is.  It was quite late by the time we arrived in Prague so we went to dinner and then directly to the 5 story night club.  Each floor was a different theme, including an ice bar, RnB floor, oldies and a chill out floor.

DAY NINETEEN:  Got in bed when the sun was up and slept until 10:30am.  After breakfast we caught the tram into the central area, when we finally got the correct tram.  After the previous night we were too shattered to do more than wander around a few stores, markets and the square.  Not long after dinner I was more than ready for a power nap so we caught the tram back to the hostel.  For dinner a group of us went to a medieval themed restaurant where a show was provided while we ate.  The show involved fire, live snakes, sword fights, dancing and singing.

DAY TWENTY:  Our departure from Prague was delayed slightly by a few group members who failed to wake up in time for the bus.  On route to Berlin we stopped at Dresden for lunch, a city which was 90% destroyed during WWII.  The buildings reflected the damage through smoke blackened stones salvaged from the destroyed buildings which were incorporated in the newly built structures alongside new white stones.  Once we arrived in Berlin we did a quick driving tour before having dinner and heading upstairs to the rooftop bar of Wombats, Berlin.

Church of Our Lady, Dresden. The black part on the left is the original brick.

DAY TWENTY ONE:  A great guide took us on a walking tour of Berlin starting at the Reichstag building, taking in the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler's bunker which is little more than a carpark nowadays, Brandenburg gate and finally ending at Checkpoint Charlie.  Following the walking tour we trained to the East Side Gallery.  Some talented people created those murals on the remains of the Berlin wall.  I think it's awesome that something with such a deep negative history has been turned into something beautiful, vibrant and positive.  Once back in central Berlin we designed our own chocolate flavour at Bunte schokowelt! My white chocolate combined with raspberry, strawberry and lemon pieces was delightful.

DAY TWENTY TWO:  Slept a good 90% of the drive to Amsterdam.  We went to a farm where they made cheese and clogs.  The leader of the demonstration was more than a little eccentric.  Perhaps he had been living in Amsterdam a little too long.  Once we reached Amsterdam city we proceeded to the red light district which in itself is an experience, seeing all the girls standing in their windows attempting to entice people into their rooms.  The sex show was more than a little traumatising.  I never thought I would sit and watch people have sex on a stage, and I will never look at a vivid marker, candle or banana in the same way again.

DAY TWENTY THREE:  Amsterdam is such a cool, relaxed city... until people get on their bicycles and start getting rowdy with the bells.  In the morning we joined the mad cyclists with a guided tour run by Mike's Bikes, taking in the I Amsterdam sign, Vondelpark, past the Anne Frank house and the bench from 'that scene' in The Fault in Our Stars. (Watch the movie. You will cry.) For the rest of the day we wandered around the streets and participated in a spot of souvenir shopping.  Dinner tonight took place on a canal ferry.  We then celebrated our last night together with too many body shots considering it was a Monday!

DAY TWENTY FOUR:  Finally the time had arrived to return to London, via Bruges (Belgium).  Bruges was really cute and had great waffles, as one would expect from Belgium.  Many of the souvenir stores had the Smurfs memorabilia as the cartoon originated in Belgium.  As per usual it was raining when we arrived in the UK.  Saying goodbye to the travelling crew was kinda sad. We had been in each others back pockets for the past 24 days following the same routine, so the idea of waking up without a pre planned breakfast time or time when the bags must be put on the coach was strange.

AND WE MADE IT! What a full on 24 days. Such a whirlwind.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in the same bed for more than 2 nights and not having to repack my suitcase quite so often.  Can't wait to go back and explore some of my favourite spots in greater depth.  This trip has barely finished and I'm already planning the next one!

Topdeck - Day 1 to Day 6

LONDON - PARIS - SWISS ALPS - FRENCH RIVIERA

Europe's alright ae.  This post will give a bit of a rundown of the first few days of my 24 day Topdeck tour.

DAY ONE: After an early start at Wombats London and a quick introduction to our travelling group and the group leader Felix we set off across the English Channel headed for Paris, France.  A good time later we arrived at the Generator hostel.  The rooftop bar provided some great views and delicious mint mojitos.

As it began to get dark we boarded the bus for a night tour taking in the major city monuments. The Eiffel Tower literally sparkles with lights which looked absolutely beautiful.

DAY TWO: The coach dropped us at the Louvre where we proceed to take photos outside of the Louvre pyramid.  The lines were insane so we didn't proceed inside, instead heading across the Love Lock bridge (which no longer holds the millions of love locks) to Notre Dame Cathedral.  The lines were super long so we didn't go inside and instead took the underground towards the Arc de Triomphe.  Had some absolutely amazing macaroons from Laduree.  We then climbed the Arc de Triomphe and took in the phenomenal views available from the top.  It's really cool how there are no modern buildings or skyscrapers close to the central area so your view is not obscured in any direction.  Of course we visited the Eiffel tower again before doing a bike tour of the major monuments.  I hadn't eaten enough throughout the day and had to get the tour to stop because I couldn't see where I was biking and almost fainted.  But besides that it was fab.  The full on day continued with a picnic under the Eiffel tower where I ate frog legs! We then went to a cabaret show which was mostly like a strip club, complete with a carousel of motorbikes ridden by topless girls.  I had anticipated more can-can than we witnessed, but it was a pretty fun night regardless.

DAY THREE:  Switzerland.  The Swiss Alps looks like a postcard or a computer generated image.  I really want to return in the winter.  The drive from Paris to Lauterbrunnen was ridiculously long.  We had a red and white party at the hostel bar where everyone drank too many sperm shots and just alcohol in general.  My cabin mates were 2 Kiwis and a girl from the Gold Coast, Emily.  While standing in the snow melt stream one of the Kiwis managed to make Emily sit in the water which sent the rest of us into fits of laughter.

DAY FOUR: Train to the summit of Jungfrau.  More incredible postcard perfect scenery.  At the top of the mountain I did a zipline which was super fun and provided a different angle to view the mountains from.  The gopro footage turned out great.  Everything in Switzerland is ridiculously expensive which is the only negative thing about it!

DAY FIVE:  Woke up and had breakfast in Switzerland.  Stopped for lunch in Italy.  Dinner in Nice, France.  3 meals, 3 countries, 1 day.  Once in Nice we took a walk down to the beach which has neither Waverley's black sand or regular white sand, but instead stones which hurt your feet and make climbing in and out of the ocean an issue.  After dinner we went to a pub called Wayne's Bar which had a live band and awesome Long Island Ice Tea.  After a few too many beverages and sweating so much it was beyond ridiculous we headed back to the beach for a cheeky night time dip.

DAY SIX:  Nice is a lovely relaxed place.  All morning we soaked up the sun at the beach and enjoyed the water.  I ticked off another "to do in France" item and had snails for lunch.  They were so covered in garlic sauce you couldn't taste the actual flesh, but the texture was comparable to overcooked mussels.  Monaco was the next stop on the itinerary.  Visiting for the evening made me feel like a peasant. I have never seen so many flash cars in one place.  The casinos charged an arm and a leg (16 euro) for a cocktail, which was nothing compared to the bets some people were throwing down on various tables.

The next blog update will cover my adventures in Italy!

LONDON

Arrived at the Wombat's City Hostel around 11pm on Wednesday 29 July. Crashed out to sleep as soon as I climbed into my bunk.

The view from the hostel

In the morning I walked down to the river Thames and went onto the HMS Belfast which was actually surprisingly interesting.  The ship has been turned into a floating museum, so you can see what the ship looked like when it was operating as a war vessel while also having the opportunity to read about some of the histories and stories associated with the ship. The boiler and engine rooms which sit below the surface of the water were quite claustrophobic, and if you aren't good with ladders then this is not an activity for you.

I then went up the tower bridge and shocked a terrified lady by walking across the glass floor as if it was a normal floor.  The poor women hadn't even stepped foot on the glass and was already shaking like a leaf.  The view from the bridge is pretty cool, even though the Wanganui river is probably a lot cleaner than the Thames.  The tour price includes seeing the mechanics behind lifting the bridge as well.

In the evening I participated in a pub crawl which started in the basement bar of the hostel.  The participants were mainly Australians which I guess is to expected when the name of your hostel is Wombats.

Friday the 31st I ticked off most of the big bucket list London locations; Buckingham Palace, the St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben/Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey.  I also managed to get my head around the London public transport system which is far less complicated than I had imagined so I was able to avoid walking for miles to reach these destinations.

Saturday the 1st of August (Aaron's 25th birthday) I had a pretty chill day packing and preparing to depart for my topdeck tour the next day.  Rode the London eye in the evening as the sun was setting which provided some fantastic views.  The pod next to the one I was riding in only had 3 people, a couple and someone serving wine.  As expected when they reached the top of the wheel the man dropped to one knee and proposed.  It was quite adorable.

Ready for a full on 24 day topdeck tour!

TOMORROWLAND

It would literally be impossible for me to do justice to Tomorrowland 2015 by merely using words to describe my experience.  But I'll give it a go.

Incredible. Insane. Just indescribable.  If you have never attended the Tomorrowland festival in Boom, Belgium I highly recommend you go.  The entire weekend is absolutely mind-blowing, from the campsites, to Dreamville, the music, lights, fireworks and the food.  That pizza was love in every mouthful. No words are big enough to describe the magic, wonder and excitement of Tomorrowland.

I can't pick one particular highlight, but Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, David Guetta and Steve Aoki all spring to mind as having been amazing sets.

We met some pretty cool people despite the language barrier.  New Zealanders should really start learning languages outside of English because most of the rest of the world is at least bilingual.  It is amazing how music can bring together people from all over the globe who you have a fantastic weekend with and then sadly have to return to your normal lives after four nights of insanity.

I have thrown together a few gopro clips I took during the day at the festival because I didn't take my gopro at night. I was far too focused on jumping around and enjoying the atmosphere to stand with a camera.

On another note, after walking round with a New Zealand flag for 4 days and having people yell "AUSTRALIA!!!" while pointing at us, I am firmly all for the flag change now.

Tomorrowland was phenomenal. I would return again next year and every year after that if I could.

Oldenburg

Yesterday we ventured to Oldenburg for a late lunch and a little bit of shopping.  Again I was shocked by the speed of drivers on the autobahn.

We had lunch at a gourmet burger place called Hans Im Glück.  The interior was set up to look like you were sitting in a forest with floor to ceiling tree trunks.  It is very strange to see people with their dogs inside a restaurant or even clothing stores, but apparently that is normal.  I can't imagine taking Richie into the city and having him sit under the table while I eat my lunch and then dragging him from store to store.
I really enjoyed Zara and could have spent a lot more money in there on clothing.  In Europe you can wear their preppy style clothes without looking like a twit.  Much of what they sell would look out of place in New Zealand unless you were off to watch the polo.  Kiwis dress a lot more casually.  Other stores we visited included H & M, NewYorker and Mango.

Tomorrowland is fast approaching and I am very excited about my upcoming adventures in Belgium. Hopefully the weather is a lot hotter there than here.  The overcast days Germany has to offer are not what summer is all about.

Hans Im Glück - Oldenburg

I MADE IT

After a ridiculous number of hours spent in various airports and on planes I have crossed the globe from New Zealand to Germany.  I am excited for the adventures ahead of me, particularly my Topdeck tour and Tomorrowland in Belgium.

So far this journey I have learnt:

1.) US customs are intense, even if you're only in the country on route to somewhere else
2.) All long flights seem to have at least one screaming child
3.) Aeroplane toilets are scary
4.) The in flight breakfast is usually pretty average
5.) Pack sleeping pills if you plan on getting any sleep on the plane
6.) German drivers are nuts

I'll keep this blog up to date, more as a diary to myself than anything else :)

Making friends... but people scare me

In six days I depart New Zealand headed for Europe.  I am extremely nervous and excited for this huge adventure.  Not only will I have the opportunity to tick off some of the big bucket list destinations and events, I will have the chance to meet a variety of new people.

This is the part of my trip which excites me the most but also makes me anxious.  Sometimes I am socially awkward.  In our relationship, Aaron often takes the pressure off of me by talking so much it doesn't matter if I'm silent.  But Aaron won't be there to talk on my behalf which makes me rather nervous.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who walks into a crowded room and suddenly gets anxious when I don't recognise a single face.  No one is paying me any attention, yet I still feel like all eyes are on me.  Do they think I'm some weird loner? Are they judging my outfit? Is my hair a mess? Do I have something in my teeth?

To repel the idea I'm a loner I usually take out my phone and open an app just to close it again.  Yes, see that people who haven't even noticed I'm by myself... I do have friends.  I'm on my phone pretending to text them right now!  I might even flick on the front camera to reassure myself that my face looks acceptable.

I know it's silly and I really do hate being anxious around people, but I can't help myself.  People scare me, but I love people.  It's a pretty complicated mindset.

Hopefully this trip helps me throw away my insecurities and open up to the idea of making new friends.