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Showing posts from August, 2016

Interrail 2016: HVAR

Agreed by all, the train to Split from Zagreb was beautiful but unpleasant at the same time. With mountainous vistas, cliff drop-offs and fields of evergreens, the view from the train was picturesque but the carriages rocked from side to side as we travelled up and down the mountains, causing a lot of travel sickness. Six hours on, we arrived in Split, with most of the group not too excited at the prospect of boat travel to top it off. We arrived in perfect time to make the 3pm crossing to Hvar but unfortunately ferry tickets were sold out, which meant an unplanned three hours in Split. Whilst the rest of the group chilled in a cafe (and recovered from travel nausea), I ventured into the town, walking down the palm tree-lined promenade and glancing into the lives of wealthy yacht owners. I even spoilt myself with a chocolate ice cream.  Finally, it was time to get the ferry across. We had high hopes for a smooth boat trip, with incredible views of the Croatian islands an

Interrail 2016: ZAGREB

What a wet and dreary 24 hours in Zagreb. We arrived before noon, giving us most of the day to see Croatia's capital city. However, as the train from Ljubljana progressed, it became more and more apparent that we wouldn't be seeing the sunny, humid weather that Croatia is known for in Zagreb. Instead, heavy downfalls of rain plummeted across the city, meaning the streets were practically empty of people except for hardcore tourists making the most of their visit.  Another issue arose when I learnt that my bank was denying me from getting money out. I had little euros left and needed to pay for our first hostel in Croatia. Panicking, we went to the hostel anyway and thankfully found out that we could pay for our night's accommodation in euros. Thank you, Hostel Chic! After hanging our sodden clothes on the end of our beds, we set out into the centre dressed in every waterproof covering possible. Before long, we caved from the rain for a bit and headed into the f

Interrail 2016: LJUBLJANA

From the picturesque mountains of Bled, we got the coach to Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital city. I'll be honest- none of us knew that much about the place at all. Ljubljana is a place that I only learnt about from Interrail planning; little is heard about it from the city where I come from. Ljubljana prides itself on being '2016's Greenest City' and you can immediately determine why: recycling bins are everywhere. Probably not the reason you'd set out to visit a city but significant to Slovenia all the same. As we got our coach to the city at mid-afternoon, we first checked out the kitchen to start planning for dinner. Well, I can safely say that the kitchen at the hostel was almost unusable. It was so, so small. Always check to ensure that the kitchen is actually a kitchen when booking hostels. As cooking was no longer an option, it was time for yet another picnic meal. Courtesy of Spar Supermarket, I had a slice of pizza and a Milka bar. Nutritiou

Interrail 2016: LAKE BLED

Our longest journey by far turned out to be well worth the pain. Although it was nine hours long and we waited for the wrong bus in Bled for over an hour, we had a Harry Potter compartment and we arrived at our destination- Lake Bled, Slovenia. What a place. We lobbed our bags into the lockers at our hostel and immediately went on the hunt for a restaurant to eat at (nine hours of travelling can certainly work up an appetite). Pizzeria Rustica served us enormous pizzas and also some pizza-burgers, which are basically burgers with pizza dough for bread. According to my friends, pizza-burgers are something that should be brought to our hometown.  As it was relatively late by the time we had finished, we only had time to walk to the lake itself before getting to bed. On arrival, we had been asked by the hostel whether we were there more for the night life or nature. Considering the fact that we were deprived of at least 20 hours sleep, we went for nature, rejecting the

Interrail 2016: BUDAPEST

Despite arriving relatively early in Budapest, the overbearing heat that suddenly hit us prevented any fast movement. Of the cities we have been to so far, Budapest has the most unique culture, with its abundant numbers of markets and quite religious population (Budapest is home to the most populous Christian community in Central Europe and has the largest Calvinist population on Earth). Once we had acclimatised (slightly), we set out for lunch. Similarly to Vienna, everywhere was just... Shut. Perhaps as a result of its religious background, many of the shops in Budapest are closed on Sundays or, if not completely shut, chances are that  the store will close at 2pm. The people of Budapest must be the most forward of thinkers; no 11pm nip to Budgens on a Sunday for lunch for the following day. That meant that it was time for another cafe visit, which had water vapour fans to cool its visitors. Eventually, we began to see the sights of Budapest. Beginning with a walk around th

Interrail 2016: VIENNA

With less than 24 hours in Austria, we knew that we'd have to make every minute count in the country's capital city. After quickly leaving our bags in our hostel room, we walked into the Museum Quartier, which is home to some very, very grand buildings. The Quartier leads to the shopping centre of Vienna, where we visited Tchibo to buy some essentials (British Tchibos, I miss you) and wandered around.  Vienna is well-known for its cafes, so we found a place that had stunning looking cakes and settled down in some plush seats. Despite the 27 degree Celsius temperatures, I went for a hot chocolate and Austria's famous chocolate torte, which has apricot jam added to it. I can't say that I was the biggest fan of the apricot addition but the cake as a whole was delicious. It seems to be a recurring thing that we find some great amusement in the bathrooms of our Interrailing countries. On our trip to the cafe's bathrooms, we were alarmed to find that the

Interrail 2016: PRAGUE

So far our most humid location, Prague proved to be as close to a hot day at Disneyland Paris as it comes. We arrived at our hostel, dropped our bags off and quickly headed into the centre as, once again, we only really had a day and a half to spare. Prior to our arrival, I hadn't heard much about the Czech Republic's capital city but now I can confirm that it deserves much more hype than it receives.  Once we had wandered about the high streets, up to Wenceslas Square, we came across the most fairytale of markets, selling Russian Nesting Dolls and pins. This was situated right next to the renowned Astronomical Clock, which, on the hour, presents a short display of the Seven Deadly Sins to a usually huge crowd. Beside this is Old Town Square, which was simply beautiful, with colourful buildings of intricate architecture. Afterwards, we walked to arguably the central focal point of Prague- Charles Bridge. This crosses Prague's large river and connects the castle