Shame on you people at home thinking too much of my innocent comment about a certain South American backpacker. Shame. Maybe he was cute but guess who I have at home? My Nick is just perfect for me and I love him to bits, if he dances salsa or not.
Anyway! I am in the south of Sweden at the moment in Malmo at a town which we didn't originally plan to go to. There's a story. Well...yesterday we were booked in for two long haul trains, Bergen to Oslo, Oslo to Gothemburg (Sweden). The first train fell an hour behind and so we missed our second. We had two options...1. try and sleep at the train station and catch the earliest train possible (we would have got kicked out of train station at 12) or 2. go on another train, an overnight train to somewhere else. So we took option 2 and ended up in Malmo!
Its a quirky little town on the beach...smelly disgusting beach mind you, but still a beach...its very arty and has lots of second hand shops and stuff...my kind of place.
Our plan from here though is to catch a train tonight to Northern Germany-Flemsbourg it is where Ash spent a month getting used to Germany on her exchange. So there for a night and then train to a place called Den Hague in The Netherlands, its only an hour out of Amsterdam so it will be a quick journey to get there...none of this overnight train crap! You get a bit over sitting on your bum for 12 hours at a time!!
From Amsterdam we have a week of just chilling out in Germany with Ashlea's host family...it will be so nice, home cooked meals and a mum to take care of us again...hehe
Well keep your emails and replies flowing...ur doing well!
The Adventurers
Above: Emma the Scot
Friday, July 20, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
SWEDEN AND NORWAY!!
Okay so my first impressions of Scandinavia from Copenhagen turned out to be totally wrong. The moment I stepped off the train in Stockholm I just felt like I belonged...so many cool shops, groovy sites and just a really good vibe to the place. My highlight of this trip so far has been our one night stopover at a small town called Ostersund at the top of Sweden on a huge massive lake.
It was the cutest little town, with a small port and cobblestone streets and everything. We hadn't made a booking for a place to stay so we just rocked up and immediately a nice old guy called around places for us. We ended up in a private double room with our own bathroom (very very rare on our budget) and as it was so cheap we could even afford to eat porkchops and have a drink at the pub...rather than our usual breadroll and water. So that was rather cool. Then when it was night we got all dressed up, did our hair nice and everything (also very very rare) to hit the clubs. Well no clubs (even though it was saturday night) so we just walked around in the nice weather until we met some really friendly people, also travelers and went to where they were staying. It was fun, we just talked about travels and they were from everywhere...Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain and even South America (he was a salsa dancer).
And the weather was actually decent!
After that we took a very long train down to Oslo and have been out in Oslo today in mini skirts and singlets...we even SUNBAKED in the park. Unbelievable.
Tomorrow we head to a coastal town called Bergen which has cut in fjords and apparently a lot of rain. It's my buddy Hamish's favourite haunt in Norway so it must be good!
It was the cutest little town, with a small port and cobblestone streets and everything. We hadn't made a booking for a place to stay so we just rocked up and immediately a nice old guy called around places for us. We ended up in a private double room with our own bathroom (very very rare on our budget) and as it was so cheap we could even afford to eat porkchops and have a drink at the pub...rather than our usual breadroll and water. So that was rather cool. Then when it was night we got all dressed up, did our hair nice and everything (also very very rare) to hit the clubs. Well no clubs (even though it was saturday night) so we just walked around in the nice weather until we met some really friendly people, also travelers and went to where they were staying. It was fun, we just talked about travels and they were from everywhere...Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain and even South America (he was a salsa dancer).
And the weather was actually decent!
After that we took a very long train down to Oslo and have been out in Oslo today in mini skirts and singlets...we even SUNBAKED in the park. Unbelievable.
Tomorrow we head to a coastal town called Bergen which has cut in fjords and apparently a lot of rain. It's my buddy Hamish's favourite haunt in Norway so it must be good!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!
Okay so my Dad today is officially an old fart...has turned the big 50 so congratulation Daddy, love you lots and I hope that I can get to a payphone to call you but if not my thoughts are with you and I hope you have a really great day.
Well Ash and I are in Copenhagen in Denmark and to be honest we aren't overly impressed. We were expecting you know, the usual beautiful old buildings, churches, cafes...everything we've had in the other cities we've been to. And well it's a bit ugly and kinda has no personality. There is a lot of 'alternative' people and theres a lot of harbours and that for sailing but if your not into that, there really isn't much.
Our first impression of an overnight train was a bit dodge too. We started in Bruges and got a train to Brussels where the overnight train to Hamburg, Germany began. Got on...very very cramped. In about a 1.5 x 2m little box, there were 6 of us all facing each other. So you had to fight for leg room, the seats didn't recline...yeah so not much sleep on that one. Got to Hamburg to have to wait for hours due to a German rail workers strike! Not much luck that day. When we finally were allowed to board our train to Copenhagen it was about 3 hrs late so we arrived much later in the day. But the people in our carriage were fun and we were all in the same boat...having waited for hours so it was all ok.
The weather is very ordinary. Today while exploring the city we got rained on pretty much the whole time and its wet and a bit miserable. Bearable but a bit like Ballarat weather at the moment. ITS MEANT TO BE SUMMER! lol
Tomorrow we catch the train to Stockholm, Sweden to spend 2 nights there. Hope its a bit more interesting than here.
Love you all and I'd love if you could keep me in touch with some local news and stuff..the only Aussie news I've heard is that a lady in Melbourne almost died due to a bikini wax..how odd.
Well Ash and I are in Copenhagen in Denmark and to be honest we aren't overly impressed. We were expecting you know, the usual beautiful old buildings, churches, cafes...everything we've had in the other cities we've been to. And well it's a bit ugly and kinda has no personality. There is a lot of 'alternative' people and theres a lot of harbours and that for sailing but if your not into that, there really isn't much.
Our first impression of an overnight train was a bit dodge too. We started in Bruges and got a train to Brussels where the overnight train to Hamburg, Germany began. Got on...very very cramped. In about a 1.5 x 2m little box, there were 6 of us all facing each other. So you had to fight for leg room, the seats didn't recline...yeah so not much sleep on that one. Got to Hamburg to have to wait for hours due to a German rail workers strike! Not much luck that day. When we finally were allowed to board our train to Copenhagen it was about 3 hrs late so we arrived much later in the day. But the people in our carriage were fun and we were all in the same boat...having waited for hours so it was all ok.
The weather is very ordinary. Today while exploring the city we got rained on pretty much the whole time and its wet and a bit miserable. Bearable but a bit like Ballarat weather at the moment. ITS MEANT TO BE SUMMER! lol
Tomorrow we catch the train to Stockholm, Sweden to spend 2 nights there. Hope its a bit more interesting than here.
Love you all and I'd love if you could keep me in touch with some local news and stuff..the only Aussie news I've heard is that a lady in Melbourne almost died due to a bikini wax..how odd.
Monday, July 9, 2007
BRUSSELS AND BRUGES IN BELGIUM!!!
Okay...Brussels was so nice...big old churches...huge monument to molecular science called The Atonium (what the)...great kebab shop
Yeah you guys all know I love my kebabs and these were the best I've ever tasted, packed full and so yummy..reasonably priced too which helps...they also gave us free lollipops because we came back the next day.
We trained it to Bruges today which is about an hour out of Brussels and is a young hip town, lots of romantic little canals and parks to sit and ponder...its actually warm and sunny for a change. Haven't been able to wear shorts since Paris so it was really nice today.
We have decided to go from here straight to Denmark to do the top Scandinavian countries (Sweden and Norway) and then back down to Holland and down again through Germany to the cheap, hot and lovely Greece, Italy and Spain!! Can't wait for the sun and the beach. Very yummy.
Hopefully everyone should recieve their postcards soon...if not something is wrong with African post.
Well keep emailing me, wanna keep up with all the news and goss.
Love Em
Yeah you guys all know I love my kebabs and these were the best I've ever tasted, packed full and so yummy..reasonably priced too which helps...they also gave us free lollipops because we came back the next day.
We trained it to Bruges today which is about an hour out of Brussels and is a young hip town, lots of romantic little canals and parks to sit and ponder...its actually warm and sunny for a change. Haven't been able to wear shorts since Paris so it was really nice today.
We have decided to go from here straight to Denmark to do the top Scandinavian countries (Sweden and Norway) and then back down to Holland and down again through Germany to the cheap, hot and lovely Greece, Italy and Spain!! Can't wait for the sun and the beach. Very yummy.
Hopefully everyone should recieve their postcards soon...if not something is wrong with African post.
Well keep emailing me, wanna keep up with all the news and goss.
Love Em
Thursday, July 5, 2007
LUXENBOURG!!
Our Eurail passes give us free rides all over Europe in the countries that we chose. The train ride yesterday from Paris to here was so luxurious and comfy..may have nodded off a few times, thats how nice it was.
We walked three kms to our youth hostel from the station. Took ages and was very tiring and hard, up and hown hills and stairs, you name it. The hostel is very big and new. Kinda lacking in people our age to talk to though as most people are actually old or part of a primary school camp group. So yeah, hostel good, but no atmosphere.
Ash is having a good birthday today and thanks everyone for the well wishes and virtual hugs emailed to her. We're trying to scrimp on our budgets today to be able to afford tea and a cocktail out somewhere nice. Luxembourg food is just as expensive as Paris with even a simple pasta costing around 25AUD..drinks even more. Oh my gosh, I had a quarter pounder meal the other day and it was 8 EURO, u need to double that to get to aussie, unbeleiveable.
A phtot through a window of some beautiful European diamond jewellery. Hint hint everyone, heheSo I have worked out the photo thing and hope to add a few to previous posts each time I come on, so keep looking down the pageat previous posts.
Still having a great time, missing everyone.
PARIS
OMG Paris is absolutely amazingly beautiful! Had a fabulous 4 days exploring the many sites and just chilling out in the City of luuuuuurve.
Saw all the touristy things...climbed the Eiffel Tower, did the Louvre, sunbaked in Versaille, walked around and round the sex district looking for Moulin Rouge (eventually found it), Sacre Couer everything! Am trying very hard to put a photo of me on here but computers here are kinda in German or something and I don`t understand them! We`ll see how I go.
I also ate a snail the night Ashes family took us out for tea for her birthday...see photo. It was very chewy, only tasted like the garlic sauce it was in, but i did get a crunchy bit which was very very offputting!!
Today Ash and I caught the train to Luxembourg and have only arrived about 30minutes ago. First impressions are very good, the hostel is very huge and modern, internet still expensive. Its Ashleas bday tomorrow so we`re going to do something special.
Also a big shout out to my Daddy back in Ballarat who turns the big 50 on the 12th of this month. Love you Daddy...wish I was there to give you a big hug.
Ok Î`ll post again soon.
Love yas
Sunday, July 1, 2007
A DELAY
Okay...so for those of you who haven't heard, I may have been a bit of a ditz and lost my passport temporarily in Africa. Yep, stuck in Tanzania, having to leave the tour group and making Ash come along with me (of course).
It was so scary at the beginning when I realised it was missing...just packing for the final day's driving to the Kenya border and it wasn't where I left it. After a massive panic and maybe a bit of a cry (being stuck in Africa not my ideal lifestyle choice) we sort of sat down and went back over where I'd last had it out and everything. Our awesome tourguide Sami called the place that I thought to ask if they'd found anything-no luck. This was quite late at night and we were to be leaving early in the morning. We were thinking up plans to sneak me over the border to the Australian Embassy but then decided to take the safer option and report it missing to the police. Early in the morning the next day Sharon (Ashlea's Mum), Sami and I went to the police station to make a report but Sami thought he'd try the place one more time. This time they found it...totally unknown why they couldn't find it the night before.
They lady was really nice and helpful, being an Aussie helped as well I think. She organised for it to be flown up with an African postal service that afternoon. We said our goodbyes to everyone on the truck and were for the first time alone without anyone to guide us. We had to cancel our flights that were supposed to be for that night, book accommodation and find cheap food. African time being African time the passport's departure was delayed to the night, then to the morning and then later in the morning. Eventually (about 15 minutes before Ash and I were going to give up and cancel our flights once again) it arrived and we were on our way.
SO at this present moment I am sitting in an internet cafe below my apartment (yep APARTMENT) in Paris. I am so tired as it is 9.27pm now and I have been awake since 7am yesterday...planes are so uncomfy to sleep in!
Today we went to the Eiffel Tower, up on the lift and down on the stairs, to Arc de Triumph, to some famous shopping strip um...Elyees Mt Parness or something....WOW GUYS, round and round and round and round on the underground rail networks and yeah, can't wait for bed. But this city is so beautiful and romantic, it really is...couples everywhere.
What an adventure!
It was so scary at the beginning when I realised it was missing...just packing for the final day's driving to the Kenya border and it wasn't where I left it. After a massive panic and maybe a bit of a cry (being stuck in Africa not my ideal lifestyle choice) we sort of sat down and went back over where I'd last had it out and everything. Our awesome tourguide Sami called the place that I thought to ask if they'd found anything-no luck. This was quite late at night and we were to be leaving early in the morning. We were thinking up plans to sneak me over the border to the Australian Embassy but then decided to take the safer option and report it missing to the police. Early in the morning the next day Sharon (Ashlea's Mum), Sami and I went to the police station to make a report but Sami thought he'd try the place one more time. This time they found it...totally unknown why they couldn't find it the night before.
They lady was really nice and helpful, being an Aussie helped as well I think. She organised for it to be flown up with an African postal service that afternoon. We said our goodbyes to everyone on the truck and were for the first time alone without anyone to guide us. We had to cancel our flights that were supposed to be for that night, book accommodation and find cheap food. African time being African time the passport's departure was delayed to the night, then to the morning and then later in the morning. Eventually (about 15 minutes before Ash and I were going to give up and cancel our flights once again) it arrived and we were on our way.
SO at this present moment I am sitting in an internet cafe below my apartment (yep APARTMENT) in Paris. I am so tired as it is 9.27pm now and I have been awake since 7am yesterday...planes are so uncomfy to sleep in!
Today we went to the Eiffel Tower, up on the lift and down on the stairs, to Arc de Triumph, to some famous shopping strip um...Elyees Mt Parness or something....WOW GUYS, round and round and round and round on the underground rail networks and yeah, can't wait for bed. But this city is so beautiful and romantic, it really is...couples everywhere.
What an adventure!
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