Prague - 13/05

Mainland Europe - Day 18
Berlin --> Prague

Our foray into booking accommodation ahead worked well in Berlin so we attempted this once again in Prague. However, we arrived at our hostel, which was supposed to be a 10 minute walk to the Old Town, to find it was more like a 10 minute drive. So we ditched it and did our usual tramp around town looking for a good location and price. We ended up in a nice hotel, 100 metres from the Old Town Square which was cheaper then most of the hostels.

Yvonne had some not too pleasant memories of Prague from a working holiday some 14 years earlier, so the 25% patriotic Czech part of me wanted to show her that it was actually an amazing place, even though I'd never been there myself. After our two nights in Prague I think Yvonne and I had met somewhere in the middle. Prague as a city is simply stunning. Beautiful buildings, streets, castles, churches, bridges and to top it off delicious beer.

However, the locals really let it down. Two nights in a row we looked for the fun and we just couldn't find it. We went to two restaurants and seven bars and we couldn't buy a decent conversation. The bar staff were polite, but had no banter in them, which was better then some of the locals who were simply rude. It wasn't all bad, we made our our fun of course, but it did put a damper on things. It dawned on me later that maybe that's why the hostels are actually more expensive then the hotels, because you're more likely to meet some non-locals :)

All in all Prague was beautiful but not nearly as much fun as we've had in some other places.

Berlin - 11/05

Mainland Europe - Day 16
The Rhine Valley --> Gosler --> Berlin

Berlin is big and busy.

The fact that we didn't get taken out by a tram on our arrival, or departure was a miracle. For the first time we actually booked our accommodation before hand. Well, I called a backpackers when we were about an hour from the city, purely so we would have somewhere to drive to when we arrived.

We arrived about noon and immediately found ourselves on a four hour walking tour ... exhausting but good to see all the sights and get some history too. I think we got fooled into the "Nerd Tour" as our new five minute friends consisted of a bunch of Canadian 20 year old students. We bumped into them later in the pub. To make us feel even older, while Dave was slaughtering them at pool I did my bit to boost the longevity of their beer money and bought them a few drinks.

After all that activity in one day (driving, walking, drinking ... I know ... it is a hard life) we felt we deserved a day off. Plus the weather was shit so we had a day of sleeping, eating, reading, e-mailing and back-to-back episodes of Underbelly on the laptop.

We squeezed in some WW2 education before hitting the road again this morning. We are just about to arrive into Prague so gotta dash and do my navigating duties. Most of you know I have a bit of history in this town. I worked here for 3 months about 14 years ago ... will be a trip down (good but mostly bad) memory lane ... should be interesting.

The Rhine Valley - 08/05

Mainland Europe - Day 13 (1000 kms)
Rotterdam --> The Rhine Valley

When we crossed the border from Holland into Germany it was almost as if every car found an extra gear that had been kept in reserve. I'm still not 100% sure about the speed limits, but on the big three lane motorways most people sat on about 150kms. At one point I was getting sick of people flying past us so I decided to see what Pete (the Rover we borrowed from Yvonne's Dad) could do. With sweaty hands and heart a-pumping we hit 190kms. But alas, we were still overtaken by two Mercedes and a Porsche. The Porsche literally flew past us, it scared the shit out of me and we never did more then 150kms after that.

Needless to say, doing these sorts of speeds we reached our destination, The Rhine Valley, very quickly. We were going off a two line reference in our lonely planet book that mentioned a castle in a town along the Rhine River that was actually a hostel (first photo). It took a bit of guess work, but we found it and booked in for two nights.

We spent the next day driving up one side of the river and down the other. There were probably something like 20 castles scattered along the river side. Apparently in years gone by boats had to pay a toll to each castle they passed. These days most of them are museums or hotels and you pay to enter them not pass them.

The Rhine was gorgeous, not what I was expecting of Germany at all. Probably the most beautiful place I've seen so far.

Amsterdam - 05/05

Mainland Europe - Day 10
Amsterdam

Amsterdam was always high on the list of places to visit. The infamous party town lived up to expectations and more.

We were lucky enough to have some partners in crime for our time in The Dam. Sylvia (relo of Dave's) and her partner Mark were up for the adventure too.

We managed to score a cheap hotel in a good location and off we set. Instead of driving, we left the car in Rotterdam and got the train.

The centre of town comprises of two nightlife hotspots.
The Red Light District was described as the 'Unconventional' side in my guide book. Lots of wares on display, of all dimensions and vintages. Fun to take a look.

The 'Conventional' side has heaps of bars, clubs and of course the infamous coffee shops. Things have gone a little strange however, as Holland has followed Ireland and Oz in banning all tobacco smoking in pubs, restaurants etc. Cannabis is not considered a tobacco, so people are free to buy and smoke cannabis in coffee shops but they cannot smoke a fag.....Weird.

We went out the first night and had lots of fun, the next day we decided to join the masses on bikes and do a city cycle tour. However our Dutch tour guide was funny for all the wrong reasons. He wasn't very forthcoming with the information and he seemed to have a smart ass comment for everyone who passed. If only we could understand Dutch!! Perhaps from Amsterdam's 'Unconventional' school of tour guides!!!

All in all we loved Amsterdam. I can understand why it is so popular with Stag and Hen nights. It's perfect for a group weekend away.

Den Haag - 03/05

Mainland Europe - Day 8
Rotterdam --> Den Haag

We didn't just call upon my grandfather's second wife's cousin's son for free accommodation in Holland. We also stayed at my grandfather's second wife's cousins house. That's not grandfather's second wife's cousin's son's mother, but her sister, Ester. Thanks Ester xxx.

Ester lives in Den Haag, about 25 minutes from Rotterdam. Den Haag is where all the political stuff goes down in Holland. Where the Queen lives and where all the politicians do their yibber-yabber. We didn't arrive until quite late, but Ester was very nice and took us on a late night tour of the city. It was beautiful.

Rotterdam - 02/05

Mainland Europe - Day 7
Gent --> Middelbourg --> Rotterdam

After a great nights sleep in a somewhat creepy B&B, we made an early start determined to reach Rotterdam by nightfall. On our travels we saw our first Dutch windmill. Pop quiz - Who knows the difference between a Belgium and a Dutch windmill? Answer - in Belgium the entire windmill rotates to face the wind, where in Holland only the top part rotates. This is an educational trip too.

We hit Rotterdam about 3pm, took in the city for a hour or two and then, with a lot of help for the Tourist Information lady, made our way to Hillegersberg. A suburb on the outskirts of Rotterdam where my adopted little brother Matt lives. I say adopted little brother because it's easier then saying ... my grandfather's second wife's cousin's son. Matt had the luck (good or bad) of sleeping on a mattress in my bedroom for six months about 10 years ago, so he owned me a night or two on his couch :)

Matt was a great host. We went for dinner, got a bit drunk, slept in the next day and then went into Rotterdam again, this time armed with Matt as a tour guide. The sites were great but I have to say my favourite discovery was Albert Heijn brand paprika chips. A 200 gram packet for on 50 cents (that's Euro, so a bit less then $1 aussie). So nice and so cheap!!

Gent - 01/05

Mainland Europe - Day 6
Brugge --> Gent

Our last day in Belgium was spent driving to Gent and looking for some accommodation. Now this really shouldn't have been a difficult task, however, Yvonne and I were both feeling a bit dusty from the night before, and it was well into the afternoon by the time we left Brugge. After only an hour on the road I was ready for second sleeps. Thus, we stopped at Gent, had a quick look around, found a B&B, and were back in bed by 5pm. A very short day, much like this post.

Gent was gorgeous of course.