Thursday 30th August

It was a matter of waking up and not waking up everyone else. Fail. Complete fail. I kept waking up all damn night and having cat naps. One hour I'd wake up and then flip over and check my phone thinking that it's time to get up. I woke up at midnight thinking it was 5am. How wrong I was. It was every hour and it got to the pony where I thought I slept enough and it's time to check worldclock.com for the actual time. But I sucked it up and just continued without bothering because who would honestly do that. It got to 5.30, I got up and had a shower at 6. I didn't want to risk sleeping in. So I got up and woke everyone again like I did every hour before that. Seriously not my fault if the rooms 100 degrees Celsius and there's 9 people in a room. I got up and left. Didn't even take the sheets off my bed (I'm a bad ass, I know) because if I did everyone would have killed me. So it's either I die or I confuse the cleaner in thinking someone is still sleeping in that bed. And what will the hostel even do? Nothing. They can't. So I checked online how to get to the hostel and the bus to the airport and everything in between that I didn't do before. I'm glad I did because I would have been screwed otherwise.

So I got to south Brussels station and looked for the bus. For 20 minutes I was going around in circles looking for my bus to the airport. Nothing. I asked a cleaner, she had no idea (probably something to do with cleaners revenge) and then I asked the info desk and he pointed to the opposite end. So I found a chemist and they pointed me in the same direction as the info guy. So cleaners hate me. Cheer up, it's your job to clean the sheets, don't see why I needed to take them off because you have a shit system of not knowing who is in what bed. Anyways I went to the bus and it's €13 (on top of the £70, so about $125). I got there and there was a guy with a sign saying €13 shuttle to airport. I thought yes...I know that. He said to go in the shuttle, I said I am. But we had different idea. He meant his taxi was €13, I knew that it wasn't possible because he'd charge me more or find a whole lot of people to go. So I just left it and got onto the bus without a worry. Made it in time to the airport too. Actually I went to grab food as I hadn't gotten any all day and one place was just rolls and at 9am that's not what you want. Then there was a cafe with one girl working and about 30 customers in line. No joke. The line moved so slow and I just didn't bother. I went and grabbed some baked goods at the almost 7/11 thing there.

I went through the gates and I thought my flight was boarding so I lined up and yeah...it wasn't. I almost got onto a flight to Pisa. Please, I'm not going there again! It was pretty fun to sit in the waiting area because the seats there are more roomy than the Ryanair seats. I didn't know until the other week after I booked my flight, but there are no allocated seats, that's extra. So everyone pushes to get seats and there was an Italian family next to me with a fucking devil child trying to push to get in front of me. Hell no bitches. I just pushed my way back (because I'm also Italian in a sense, and Italians are good at pushing in). I got to the gate and the Italian family was then left so far behind because of their pram. Suck it bitches. They were actually on the same metro as me later on. So...did all that pushing help? No.

The flight was interesting. Take off seemed super fast and very steep. When we landed I gripped the seat so hard like never before. No joke. It was great once we landed because the onboard manager hit a button and on came trumpets saying we landed. Dear god. Like when we got onboard there was classical music playing. That's no lie. So it's a little weird. I got a cheeseburger onboard the flight and out came a weird looking open hamburger in a box that was microwaved. Mmmm. €5 well spent.

So once we landed I just got my bag and walked out of the airport. The choice was to declare something or not...so I didn't. Wasn't sure if the food I had was a danger or anything because of how tight Australian regulations are. I'm so used to having everything declared. But I just walked out. No passport check or anything. Not sure what to do in those situated except run like fuck.

I got the metro and it was really easy and new. Very new. The actual trains were all new and the stations were simple but modern. So I didn't know what to expect, I thought this place was poor. And it is. Don't get me wrong but this is just a great way to suck you into the beauty of the country. It's an old county and very poor, especially now as well. But it's got a lot of charm. I'll get to the charm thing later on. But it's a city and the only city I've seen in Europe with old charm in a new era. On the metro insane no high rise buildings and pretty much farms and old homes. Like nothing I've seen.

I went to walk up from the metro to the hostel and first thing I saw as I got out was a wall which looked like an old ruin and a street which has been newly fixed. It's odd but I walked up too far and the map seemed to fool me. The city of Porto is a lot smaller than it is on a map and it's very walkable because you can't really get around due to the narrow streets and hills.

I went to my room and it was actually nice. The hostel here is nice. But the people again are mainly from other places that don't speak English so that's fantastic. I got advice on where to go and what to see and the grit desk was so helpful. And I set off and walked around. Got heaps of photos of the place and then came back in time to go onto a free walking tour.

I saw the inside of the cathedral and can safely say it was one of the most impressive I've seen. Blue tiles and gold and just amazing. So having all this written down for me by the hostel was great because I came to Porto with no information about it and hoped it'd give me something and it really has.

The tour was great, Pancho tours, and we had Grace as our guide. We gave us the run down of what Portuguese men are like, romantic, dramatic and tragic. I guess that's every wog though but she gave us a good understanding. The great thing is these tours aren't about going to a monument you could see in your own time. It's about them stating where they are and giving you tips to go. But they're all about local tips and what goes in locally, what to try and buy and see and watch. It's great because you get a locals expertise and it's fantastic. So at the end of the tour when Grace wrapped up, she again said what the Portuguese are like, romantic, tragic and dramatic and just as she said that a feather fluttered down. It gave a great feeling to it.

During the tour I met a girl from Uruguay and she kept saying she couldn't understand my English. Oh god. No one has ever said that to me during this whole trip. I felt like the biggest Aussie bogan alive. Then I felt like the only Aussie as I was the only one in the hostel and tour. Actually during check in they thought I was from the UK. Wrongo.

We found out how Port wine started, in Porto and that it was created by accident and by a priest, of course. But there are three different types and I never knew that. You'd think that after having an alcoholic mother I would have been told all this. Nope. There's white, which is good with light meals. There's the brown, better with dark chocolate and cheese. Then there is the ruby and that's a desert Port. And as you can tell I forgot all the names because that Port tasting was during the first trip of my pub crawl.

So the pub crawl started at 11.30, I had dinner with three others from the tour right after it. We paid €6 and got a massive meal and beer. It was insane and good quality, even though the pork chops I got tasted like KFC. But by the time I got back to the hostel I only had enough time to change and shit and not shower. Eh. Might explain why I never picked up?

So we went to the tasting and only a few of us were there. Then after a whole group came but they missed the tasting but I missed out on sleep. So after that we went to an outdoor bar and I was with these two guys from Amsterdam. Then we went to a shitty bar. Then we went a club where I saw a male or female who looked like a guy and probably was but he had boobs, a bald head and massive pearl earrings. So I freaked out naturally. Then we went to an indie place and guess what!!! They played Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap. An Aussie group! I was so excited about it and decided it was time to go and leave the night on a high. I was drunk though. I only paid €12 and got about 6 drinks and then paid no entry fees. The guys from Amsterdam got me several beers and I was like its time to go now. So I stumbled home and at 6am I was txting Stef random shit and that means I was awake for over 25 hours because I got up at 5.30, went to bed at 6, but there is a one hour time difference. So is like I was awake from 4.30am to 6am. Fantastic!

Wednesday 29th August

I got up this morning without a cock in my face. Pretty sure that meant I was already on a better start than yesterday morning. However I was gong to see a museum but thought against it and called Stef. I haven't talked to her properly in so long, probably since London almost 2 months ago. Sure I message her, but it's not the same. So I just chilled and spoke to her all the while I was getting hungry. So Auraya and I then decided to check out the tour, yesterday's tour would have been €10 but today's is €8.50 and I had hoped it was the same tour guide. Nope. It was an old guy, not Fernando like Tripadvisor had. Seriously I couldn't understand half his "jokes" so now I see why the free tours are better. They really have to push themselves to impress you with information and entertainment and they run for generally 3 hours. And they're free, but they work from tips. It's actually pretty good because you can give as much or as little as you'd like, but I go for about €10 each time. Seriously I would love to set up something similar at home. But that's just something I've been thinking of today, eat pray love moment.

So the tour seemed a waste and I went to have a nap for a few minutes but ended up sleeping for about 30 minutes and woke up all confused. I went down stairs and called mum whilst my head stopped spinning. Great to know everything at home is good and my dog is still as lazy as when I left him. I then grabbed some fries with beauonayes. Worst. Shit. Ever. I thought I was eating fries with vomit. I could have died, honesty. So I just kept eating it because of how hungry I was.

I walked up to the Royal Park. Oh actually I forgot to mention, yesterday I saw a rat chase a bird. I was walking by a park and heard something in the bush, so the Aussie in me was thinking crap it's a snake! So I looked and there was a rat running after a bird. It reminded me of The Simpsons when Bart made a rat-pigeon. Yeah so I went to the Royal Park and saw in the bushes there a Turkish guy making out with another Turkish girl. Then suddenly there was another girl next to them and he walked out with his arms around both. They're Muslim. Um wtf mate? Well done but don't get their heads chopped off or anything.

The Royal Palace was free and amazingly beautiful. A lot wasn't open to the public but regardless it was great to see. There was no information about what the rooms were but there were numbers, so I assume you had to get an audio guide to find out, which I never saw anywhere. But still worth it.

When I got back, Alec was sitting in the common area with his friend from another hostel and Auraya. We went for a drink to Delirium because it's probably best to go during the day than at night. Seeming as we have signs all over the hostel telling is to watch out for pick pockets there. Also signs for random things like "you have free airco don't open window" and "we have no reception here so we offer you cheaper prices. Go to our other building to check in" well...you have to check in to see that sign. Then the standard no alcohol and silent areas. But the kitchen is only open for a few hours a day. Eh just stupid things. Like it took me a while to figure what airco is, it's air-con you fools! Yeah so the bar. We went there and had four different Belgium beers. No idea what they were but one was a house beer. We met some American guys there and went with them to get more fries (I actually wanted mussels but we had no chance of that as a concert in Royal Park was about to start soon).

We walked all the way to the park, found the "concert" and sat there for a bit. I'll put this as nicely as possible, I have sloppy shits when I drink too much. And that's exactly what happened. I couldn't find the public toilets so I ran to the hostel and did a sneaky shit there. Ran back and found the guys still at the concert which was shit. Just an iBook playing weird music for a whole hour. So we left and I packed my bag and went to bed. It was only 8.30 but I need all the sleep I can get now. I'm so run down. Two months of non-stop travel takes it out of you and I still have a few weeks to go. So sleep is my best friend. I got woken up a bit but that didn't matter. I actually met some guys in my dorm who are from La Trobe, live in Essendon and go to EK leisure centre too. Amazing. I keep meeting people from Sydney and never anyone from Melbourne. So it was great to meet someone who lives nearby.

My whole sleep though I was waking up every hour and thought at midnight it was time to get up. But it wasn't 5.30am, I thought maybe someone played with my phone and I'll check worldclock.com for the actual time. I couldn't be bothered and accepted the time. Lucky, it was right anyway and I was cat napping all night.

Actually I asked Auraya to add me to Facebook when she gets the chance. Her reply was "I don't have wifi" and I thought fuck you bitch, nobody an I mean nobody declines my friend request, especially to my face. Shut down like that to my face right away. Boom.

Tuesday 28th August

So after all the emotions I figured my blog has created amongst people, it'd be nice to sleep in. We had some Aussie girls in the dorm room, which consisted of 10 people but was sort of split up anyway. But they were still loud as anything in the morning when 4 of them left and packed up all their shit. Do it the the night before you retards! So anyway, I thought yesterday there was a French couple having sex in the room as I was waiting for the damn cleaner to finish cleaning the toilet when I arrived. She asked for 2 minutes but it blew out to 15 and I needed to piss like a mofo. So when I woke up this morning I got a shock. The French guy was sleeping on the bed opposite me and sure enough I woke up to see what I thought was him naked. His back was towards me, but the light wasn't bright enough. However one of the Aussie girls walked past and said "nice!" in disgust. So maybe he was. Then he flipped over to the other side and goddamn it he was. His girlfriend was on an angle where she couldn't see him, they were head to head in an L shape, so she was playing with his hair (on his head) and there I was in total shock thinking to myself, she doesn't even know what he's done! So I had a shower, got back and saw that they were awake and he had the sheets over him and his girlfriend passed him over some undies. Really? But late I think.

So I went to check with Auraya (I found out her name, lucky!) if the 2.30pm tour would be happening, but the info desk said ask the other info building. So we didn't bother an just decided to meet at 2pm and check out the info building at 2.30pm. So in carried on my day and went for a walk to the Royal Gardens and through to the European Parliament. So I went to the Parliamentary experience and that was fantastic. Never seen so much info in a building and it's all free. You get an audio and visual guide (an iPod really) and it takes you all the way through the course of the building. It's fantastic and up-to-date so I enjoyed it. Despite not being an EU citizen, but it was great to see the history of how the EU was born and the wars which created the need for it, then how it's progressed and finally what the future might be. You could write in the computers what you'd think would improve the EU and it gets projected up. I saw a lot of "Chuck Norris".

I then went to the EU Parliament to see the actual place where parliament hearings are held and such. I had a spring in my step, a tear of joy in my eye and a flutter of butterflies in my stomach. I got to the door and a sign said that the audio guides aren't working for the week. So I went inside and asked if that meant all tours. Yep. ALL TOURS! My main reason for Brussels was for the waffles, chocolate, fries and mainly the EU and UN. I got waffles in the morning. Fries for lunch. Eh.

So I walked around and saw the Arc De Triumph. Because one in Paris isn't enough? However this was a lot nicer and larger and was placed amongst all the museums so it was good to see. I walked to the Cathedral and another monument (not to sound stupid and uncultured but it was a poll and I don't know the name nor significance of it but google will help me out eventually). I got some good views near there, as the government built some offices years ago and then by the end of it, they didn't need the offices. So they're being turned into...offices. It looks like a waste land in the middle of total architectural beauty. In the Cathedral I walked into it and around. Got my photos and was amazed by the beauty. Not the most beautiful I've seen, but still amazing. Then there was an underground section but you had to pay €1. I didn't have that, only €2. I thought maybe someone is down there and I'll pay them. Nope. Just a box up the top before you walk in. No one guarding anything at all. So I just walked in, around and out. Done. Nailed it.

I walked back to the hostel and had fries in my way there. Because French fries were invented here, frittes. I got it and also Fanta - mango and passionfruit. It was so so the Fanta. I called mum and then went to the tour and what do you know!!!! No tour. Nothing. We waited. And waited. Auraya and I gave up. I asked about maybe going to the UN to the lady working at the tourist office. She thought I meant NATO. No bitch, UN. I went back to the hostel and looked it all up. Tour was at 2.30pm but possibly not during summer as there's nothing suggesting that it's running now. Thanks tripadvisor. Then the UN is only offices and not open to the public. Much like how the EU commission isn't either and I walked past there. Brussels you've screwed me over. But the constant smell of chocolate, waffles and fries in every street makes up for it.

So I chilled a bit and did my own thing. For dinner I went to a cafe and saw more Lebos. Had a horrible salad and such just because I know I haven't eaten healthy for a while. Then just met a few people from the hostel and went out at night. There isn't too much happening, unless you're an underage kid drinking in the city square with 200 others.

Monday 27th August

When I got up this morning I had to rush a bit. I didn't realise Jay was more organized than me! So I had to shove everything into my bag. We went down for breakfast, it's €4 an all you can eat. So I made myself a sandwich for lunch. Just rolled about 5 napkins around it and threw it into my bag. Rebel. We got to the station and I had to rush to get to the ticket office so I could book my train from Lisbon to Madrid. Only because I didn't know the dates exactly and if I booked it I would have a better chance of getting the train. What if it were booked out?! I'd die. So I got that just in time and rushed for the train, and hardly anyone was onboard. Until we got to Cologne airport and then everyone thought it was a great idea to join in.

The train arrived at Brussels North station and I said bye to Jay and walked to the Hostel to check in. But you need to check into one hostel then walk to the actual one. Which is a pain. The guy behind the desk was a bit rude and slow but they are kind of French here. I walked to the hostel and opened the door to a place still being renovated. I booked it months ago and people said it was being renovated then. It looks like there is still heaps to do. Some parts have no floorboards and there's power cables exposers everywhere pretty much. The common area is just 6 beach chairs, a bookshelf with flyers and a radio that doesn't stop. But it's okay, the location is great. Right in the heart of the city square. Seeming as there aren't many hostels here, this does the trick. Just would have been nice if they finished renovating it by now, seeming as its peak season.

As soon as I got here I went for a walk around. Got photos of the Town Hall, found out I missed the famous flower carpet by a week and walked through some amazing streets and arcades. I saw waffles everywhere. I saw more chocolate shops here than anywhere in my whole life. I saw fries on every street corner. I swear this is just a big chocolate shop. I even saw an amazing middle eastern shop selling amazing looking sweets. Yum. So I gave in and got a waffle and had a good coffee for the first time in so long. All the while I was messaging Bethany. It was great.

I met an Aussie girl, forgot her name. We went for dinner then walked around the city at night looking for sights on the map we got. Couldn't find one. That map is rubbish to us. But we saw a guy pissing on the main road and also the famous Pissing Boy. The two are unrelated. We got cheap Chinese though, a drink with rice and a main dish for under €8. Fantastic.

We got back and chilled for a bit then I just crashed and went to bed. So tried from traveling. Not just during the day, but the whole thing. I could sleep for a week.

One thing I've noticed is how many Turkish and Lebos live here. They're also all over Frankfurt. I saw more there than in Berlin which surprised me. And on another note, I found out that my blog has created a lot of emotions amongst people. Some positive, some not so positive, some funny and some just want more (or less, but no one has the balls to tell me I think). All I can do is appologise to Renata and Justin, ask my mum to stop crying, let Simona know that I'm actually amazed she's reading this, tell Stef to keep up the random txts, make sure my British girls keep amazing me, get Mauri and Larry to check out my photos sometime soon and welcome my USA fans who have read more of my blog than any other country in the world, even after I say how annoying they are and I'm from Australia. Thanks everyone. I come home soon too.

Sunday 26th August

This morning when we got up Jay and I decided to check out what was on offer at Frankfurt and then check out the festival. So he's really into theatre and studied theatre, so naturally he wanted to check it out. We got there after a 15 minute walk and couldn't find the entrance to the ticketing booth so he could buy a ticket for the show tonight. Nope. Walked up. Down. Around. Nothing. Asked the age next door, they sent us to the back. We went there and security asked us what we were doing and we asked for directions to the theatre. He sent us back to where we came from. So we went back and it rained. No joke, we spent 30 minutes doing this. It wasn't a problem but just so annoying we got sent back and forth. Then we went back to get some warmer clothes at the hostel and chilled for a little.

Nick and Rosa came with us to the festival too, which was great. But it started raining and then stopped. So we got food and from there it started to pour down harder and we gave up and went back to the hostel to dry up. From there we watched more whores walking down the road with stuffed up bung legs. One guy flashed his ankle and it was infected, you could see it. Without a doubt. It was horrible. So we had a beer and chilled then went back to the festival after a few hours.

Once we saw what we wants Jay went to the theatre and I got a badge for €4 so I could go ink a few museums. Even if I saw one it would pay itself off. Well the first was the architecture museum, then the communications as finally a massive one with pop art and art from the 1300s. But they forced me to wear my little backpack at the front. I felt like an Asian tourist doing this. And I was so tired as well from walking around. I went back and had a nap at the hostel after it though.

Then I went with the Irish guy from my room to get food, all I wanted was Turkish sweets and I got it. We went back to the hostel and "Little Miss Sunshine" was playing for the movie night. That ended and I hopped online and checked into my Ryanair flight. Hope I did it right.

But I give you two photos. One is of locks on a bridge (how original) and the other of Frankfurt's in Frankfurt!

Saturday 25th August

So last night I went to have a coffee in the common area where a German girl was sitting watching a movie. And I forgot her name. We spoke broken English and German to each other because neither could talk each others language fluently. After a while a guy from Sydney came in. Also forgot his name. But we went down to the bar gr a few beers and they kept serving them to is. €1.50 for 200mls and it was alright actually.

But now I'm hungry and need food but nothing is open. 9am I left for food. You'd think something would be open? No. Only from 10am everything opens and only Starbucks had its doors open. So I got a muffin and mango passionfruit frappe. God I love them. And now I'm sitting outside Ludwig Museum waiting for it to open like the nerd I am because NOTHING IS OPEN.

Actually I'm surprised how good Ludwig Museum was. I haven't seen pop art in Europe, or ever actually. It's something you'd expect to see on The Simpsons or maybe New York. Nothing you'd expect to see next to a large Cathedral in a smaller city like Cologne. But that's what I got. An I'm glad. But I had to rush through it at the end and I didn't get to see all the "pieces of crap" (as Home would put it) so I left but if I had an extra 30 minutes it would have been better. However who cares. I got to see Picaso and the likes, Warhol and several weird looking statues. If I knew I could have gotten photos I would have. But I needed to check in all my stuff into a locker. My bag is tiny by the way.

Also I think I've bruised the bottom of my foot. I can hardly walk and it's so damn painful that I curl up my foot every time I walk. This has happened before but I have to remember that in less than 3 weeks time I'll be with family doing nothing anyway so my foot shouldn't be a worry. And the next week, I've been told, there's nothing to do. So that's great.

I rushed from the hostel to find food and everything was closed again for lunch. It's such a joke. So I found a place and got ribs because it was all I could read that I wanted. They only had German menus and I knew what they were but I didn't want to eat anything else. They took their sweet as time to get my order but were quick to get it served. So I ate my meal, all cave man style and hurried out of there to get my bag from the hostel to get the underground to get the train in time. I missed the connecting underground train so I had five minutes at the central station to get my ICE train. I found it, got on board ad asked if it was going to Frankfurt main station. First the lady didn't know and passed me to another lady who said no, it only goes to Frankfurt airport. AWESOME. I got off, went to the next train and the same deal. I ran down to the info desk and asked the lacy there and I ended up getting the next train just 20 minutes later. Thank God.

I got onboard and the train was so empty. I went to plug my laptop into the power outlet and surprise! I found an iPod European adaptor. Nothing else, just the converter. It was fantastic. I took it and went. When I got to the hostel though I almost died. Like it was totally in the wrong part of town. In the worst area you could ever think of, in the red like district! Or maybe the best part of town. Whatever it is you feel is bad or good.

I decided to just go for a walk around and found myself in a festival. A massive festival. To which I've since discovered is the museum festival. So for €4 you can get access to heaps of different museums and such and ft pays itself off so quickly then. So I just walked around and got photos of it.

I went back to the hostel for a rest and met the guys in my room. Nick, a Canadian in America who has been in Europe for 8 months and studied how to cool in Calabria for 3 months. He's since developed a passion for Italians foods. Then Jay, a British backpacker who has done Europe on a shortstop compared to me but has done it in such interesting ways. No joke, it was slightly making me jealous of how awesome it sounded. Except when he spoke about Naples and then I wasn't as jealous because I'm never going there from everything I've ever heard. Ever. So it got to the stage where we went down to have a BBQ at the hostel, which was provided to us. But it was so cheap. I got a bacon roll. A stick of bacon pretty much. Fantastic.

That night we just chilled after dinner and talked as the prostitutes rolled by. It was great. So then before bed Jay and I were shooting using the BB gun. Oh right. I found a BB gun in my locker. As soon as I got into the hostel there was the option to pick any bed you wanted and I got the bed I wanted and the locker. As soon as I opened the locker there was a gun and also pallets. Lucky I saw the pallets because if I only saw a gun I would have died. So we were shooting at the street below for a bit before bed. Ah Frankfurt.

Friday 24th August

Yeah so this morning I was woken up by the guy sleeping above me. I thought it would have been a girl seeming as there was, what I thought, a make up bag on the bed. Turns out no. Not the case. Very awkward. But then the guy who took my pillow apologized to the guy above him. The guy above him is the pillow I took once mine was gone and I saw the guy with two pillows. Can you imagine how people will ask how my trip to Hamburg was? I'll has to say it was good, I had a Hamburger but I got my pillow stolen which wasn't the best experience. Like I give a shit. Survival of the fittest, and I got a pillow :)

I was woke up to a txt from Stef and so glad I did. She's so slow at replying and then I realised so is my entire family because I keep updating them where I am and I get no replies. Because my phone sends it to the wrong number so they never get sent! Eh. So I was once again the last one in the room and it had a shower and toilet in there amongst 8 people. So once everyone left I just took my time seeming as check out was 10 and I got up at 9 and my train didn't leave until 10.45. Good times. Had a shower, cut my toe nails (woah honestly my feet are horrible, I need to see a pediatrist when I get home straight away, but my calf muscles are amazingly strong), then left for the station.

I got my ticket and went onboard and found a seat, thinking it was free. Nope. Goddamn reservations being so confusing to me. So I sat down, turned my laptop on to watch a movie and plugged it into the power, only to be asked by a guy that I'm in his seat and I have to move. Ah the Germans. What makes me wonder is how did they get such good train services?! I'll continue on a second.

Yesterday on the tour we were asked to stand in a straight line along the pavement. No one really did and I joked that we're in Germany so I don't trust any Germans who tell me to stand in a straight line. Everyone laughed but I didn't talk anymore on the tour once I realised there were bogan Aussies on it. So I just stood around song silent farts. Remember I got up in the morning and went straight to the station and once I arrived I just checked in and went right for the tour (just in time). I bombed the hell out of the toilet later on though. Yeah so maybe Germans are good at trains because of their history of transporting people by trains. Not on the same class as this, but hey pretty similar service I guess. Just different destinations and such. I'm not being rude but did train services improve because of WWII? I know that trains were improved in India when the English arrived. So not sure if it's a good or bad thing.

I actually fell asleep on the train. I may or may not have fallen asleep on the girl next to me. Yeah girl, not lady or anything. She must have been about 17. How awkward. Not like I'll ever see her again, and if I did sleep on her shoulder, then she'll have a creepy story to tell.

Once I arrived in Köln (Cologne) I went to the hostel. It's so amazing. Double bed and it had a curtain and is completely closed off from the other seven. It's very hipster but I love it. There are Victorian chairs in the bathrooms and a homely feel. The area I'm in is hipster and I didn't know it but I'm loving it. This is such a student town that it's finally great to be around a lot more younger people. There's free coffee as well and that was what I did after bombing the toilet. I got advice in what to see so I set off to the old town and fell in love. There's the Cathedral and it's so beautiful. Probably the second most beautiful I've seen, after Berlin. The detail was impressive and they're still fixing it up from the war. Next to it is another lovers lock bridge. It seems like almost every city in Europe has one of these. I actually had a currywurst as well, which was pretty good for €2.50. Actually when I think about it, I've only eaten for €5.50 today. The whole day. Shit I might have to eat more or drink something. Or desert. It's 8pm and I'm so tired now. But as much as this city is beautiful and amazing, it's a one day or two day city at most. I'll do something in the morning then head off to Frankfurt in the afternoon as it's only one hour away.

Wherever tonight takes me, I don't know. But I'll be happy to have a coffee first.

Reoccurring themes in Europe.

As you can imagine, Europe is slowly blending in. Here is what I've realised about Europe in general and how different it is to home.

Windows are double glazed. Doesn't matter where, they're doubled glazed. The new windows are great as they actually come onwards at the top, the opposite to home where the wind from the bottom.

The backwards toilet. Omfg. This is horrible.

The bath shower thing. Not sure how people are so used to it because I find it disgusting. Not as bad as the backward toilet.

Paying for toilets. Wow okay. Woah. Chillax people. I've never seen so much piss around a city where you have to pay for a toilet.

Homeless people and beggars. Yeah most cities have them. It's amazing how they're not in some places you'd think they could do better, but in random cities you'd never expect them.

English music. It's everywhere. English is so widely spoken that it amazes me how it's a truly international language.

Hot air balloons. Not sure why, but almost every city I've been to recently has one. Hamburg, Prague, Krakow.

The power outlets charge up SO damn fast. I love it. It takes half the time to charge my laptop or phone than it does at home.

Lack of smiles. Not sure why, but not many seem to smile. Cheer up, the wars are over.

The wars! Woah. I never knew how much of a badass Hitler was. No joke, all I hear about in every country is how Hitler and Neapolitan just walked in and took over the country. Obviously one was worse than the other, but that's a different story. So when we see how each was berried, one is in a massive tomb, the other is in an unknown location. Some people get what they deserve.

Oh the lovers locks. Everywhere. The first I saw was in Paris. Ever since then I've seen bridges and even monuments with locks on them. There's one in every city and I'm not exaggerating that.

Thursday 23rd August

So it's not the most likely of places to update a blog but I'm in a bar doing it because I'm just not the most social person in the world. Face it. Really.

This morning I got up in Copenhagen and tonight I sleep in Hamburg...on a stomach full of hamburger. Cliche and very me buy hey I'm on holidays. I had a Danish in Denmark yesterday and tomorrow I'll be Cologne so you catch my drift. Frankfurt and Brussels is coming up. So you know what's going to happen. I hope.

So I got up this morning alone in my room which was great because he'll I didn't have to put up with shit from anyone. It was awesome as because I didn't have to hear anyone get up and leave or interrupt my sleep or have anything ruin my time there. I did however have no one to talk to but judging by how the last two guys were the first night, it was no loss whatsoever. They didn't talk much and were super awkward. It's like all Italians as soon as I mention I'm Italian they instantly don't give a shit. I'll just say I'm 100% Aussie until they figure it out from my name that I'm not. So I went down to check out and no one was there so I left the key on the desk. Still not sure I made the ride move but it was 7am when I left. That should be fine normally, eh not like I care too much anyway. Got other shit to worry about.

I went to the station and Marie from yesterday's tour was also at the station walking towards me. Fantastic. I had a travel partner all the way to the en of the line to Hamburg. We spoke the entire trip and even though we wanted to sleep we just talked. It got to the fairy and we were on there looking at Rekordeling. $2 for a can. 33 cans as €15. That's insane for Australian prices because if you know how much one bottle costs, you'll know that a box full of cans is a steal. $80 got a box in Australia. That's just madness. So I got two and drank them onboard. Oh I love how Europe has such lax alcohol laws. We actually spoke how loose Austrian laws are (because she is Austrian) when it comes to alcohol. 13/14 years olds getting drunk and such. Not used to that shit. That's like per 1990's Australia. Not current. Even those kids go to clubs. So I guess it's like how our 17 year olds go get fake I.D's to party up and buy alcohol.

We got off the train at Hamburg where she needed to change trains to get from Copenhagen to Prague. So I have her a map of Prague seeming as I had two anyway. We said bye and I went to my hostel and ran there to get to the free tour in time. The killer was the guy behind the desk had no idea what he was doing so I had to wait and the tour guide was saying "we're leaving in a minute". Awesome. My bags ja to go into the lock up and the damn door wasn't open. Like fuck is it hard to think "let's open the door if India out your bags in that room!"? NO! Dumb shit. Then again I only paid $14 for the room.

The your guide was nice though. He's studied economic and politics and low he's a tour guide. Mmm great I feel like I've used my time wisely the past 5 years now. So obviously I'm comparing all that I have done in Copenhagen and Hamburg to Berlin. Berlin's tour was amazing despite the 37 degree heat. Copenhagen was okay but Hamburg was better. Yet the tour guides can do only so much, the history and architecture does a lot more. I can only do two more, Brussels and Madrid, s I hope they're also great. Especially Madrid. But this your was different to yesterday. It was full of Aussies and not Americans. So I had to deal with bogans from Sydney comparing how they've played footy and who. I thought screw this, so I didn't talk, hoping they'd figure I'm not from Australia. And maybe it worked. But I didn't have to put up with them so I'm happy.

I got back to the hostel after going up St Michaels, which was almost totally destroyed during WWII but is not a shell and was made into a memorial. It was the largest building for two years after construction in 1879. So there you go. The spiral was massive and I went up there, as it's the highest peak over Hamburg. Minus the fact I couldn't get 360 degree views due to scaffolding, it was still worth the €2.90. When I got to the hostel I just slept and got woken up by the Germans in my room. Eh. They ruin all the fun.

I got up and went for a hamburger because honesty everything was shut by 8pm. Nothing was open and I find that really weird because I've only seen that in Dresden and this isn't as small. So I went for a walk later and saw how beautiful this city is as sunset. I loved it. Is it home? Maybes not. But it's so beautiful that it reminded me of home and made my imagination run wild thinking what would I do if I had to run a tour in Melbourne city (don't take my ideas).

So I've decided to not go to the bar down stairs as it would make me look lonely and I went to a local bar where I looked even lonelier. Don't know where my logic is anymore. So now I've reigned back to my room to find the cunt in the bed next to me took my fucking pillow and is sleeping on two of them. Jokes on you dipshit, I slept on it before and dribbled all over it. So I took the pillow of the new guy above the asshole who took mine so it looked like he was the one. Total dipshit. Don't fuck with me.

The attached photo is from Copenhagen. Guess how I got into bed each time?

Wednesday 22nd August

This morning I was woken up several times. My alarms on my phone, sorry to the others in the room who dealt with it but I'll never see you again ever so I don't really care. Then the rain at 8.29, a minute before my initial alarm so I snoozed. Then by someone poking their head into the door saying come down for breakfast. So I did but I though wtf because I know you need to pay extra for it. I asked how does it work and he said you pay and order the day before but you can have tea or coffee. So I had tea and thought duck this I'm just going to find a bakery and hopefully have a Danish in Denmark so I can say I'm having a Danish. But I saw breakfast prices, as in three different prices! For the same damn thing. Maybe slightly it's dodgy, I don't know.

I went onto the free walking tour and discovered that where I was using free public wifi last night thinking it was in front of the Royal Danish family's residency, well I was wrong. It was in front of the old residency, over 100 years ago. So had I been there prior 1884, I would have been using the free public wifi, I think. However we went around the city and then ended up having stew, a tradition amongst the locals and originating from the sailors. Because the meat they would get would become old and rotten, they'd cover up the flavor with pepper corns, so it was filled with it and also had beetroot on top! It came with a beer and was $12. So pretty good I guess. But there were a few older American couples in the group. We didn't have to have stew but it was an option for us. They were so bitter and said no. Because it was cash only the old American guy didn't want to buy anything. He was questioning whether they'd take euros but he remembered he needed them for a taxi, so she asked the guy serving if he'd take dollars. Are you fucking serious? No like legit. That's the dumbest shit I've heard. Later on another American smashed his open palm onto a guys car as he was driving. Why? Well the car had a green light and so he gave the "friendly-double-honk-of-the-horn". The American took it as an invite to be a douchebag. Actually this morning when I was crossing the road a truck nearly ran me down when I had right of way and he didn't. I just kept walking and he honked his horn at me several times. HONEYBADGER DON'T CARE!

At the end of the tour I asked a girl of she'd be able to split a 100Kc but she couldn't. So we sat there and waited for the tour guide to leave before we left. Her name was Marie and Shea from Austria, so we hung around for a few hours doing things the tour didn't. We saw the little mermaid, a few churches and gardens which we couldn't see on the tour. But it was great to meet someone. At the guest house no one talks. It's so weird and empty. Maybe everyone is in their rod but no one is in the common area. Tonight I've just resorted to watching how I met your mother on my laptop. Also there are, oddly enough, free condoms I found in the bathroom here. So I've been taking handfuls of them at a time. This is how I save the $$$. Not that I need to use them...(that's directed at my family).

So after spending a whole day from 10.30-7.30 walking Copenhagen I came back to my room to eat a Danish. Yes. I had a Danish in Denmark. Yummy. Next up is Hamburg in the morning, I might get the early train in. Then I have Cologne and Frankfurt. Can you imagine what I'm going to do in those three places?! Just wait and see.

Tuesday 21st August

I can't keep track of the days. I honestly don't know what day it is anymore but I do know how many days I'm meant to be somewhere. The dates go over my head and the places are starting to blend. The windows in Europe and all double glazed and not many people here smile. There's a lot of young people on trains who are backpacking and so many different cars that I get distracted that I haven't seen a Commodore until I see an Opel Omega. There's very little Fords and so many cheap BMWs and Mercs. I'm not sure if I'm distracted or noticing something which reoccurs throughout Europe.

This morning I got up at 5, saw that the sun wasn't up yet so had a 15min nap. I got my things ready and left before anyone got up. Glad I left earlier. I was planning on getting the 11am train direct to Copenhagen but now that I'm onboard the train that's been delayed for 20 minutes and now a further 30 minutes to get onboard the fairy, I'm happy I got the 7.12am train. Also I didn't realise there's no restaurant onboard this train (ICE 33) and I have only had yoghurt this morning and an apple. It's noon and I'm slowly dying but lucky I got snacks at the shops. I paid €2 for four fruit and nut bars and it tastes like vomit! Mm. Pass me more.

The fairy was amazing. It was smaller than the Dover to Calais service but a lot newer and cleaner. It was amazing, the train tracks practically joined the road and we pulled into the deck alongside trucks, it was so weird to see. Then we got out and I got lunch and just watched the rest of the ride outside the deck. There's a windfall out in the middle of the sea which is one of the largest in the world. It was purely amazing, the entire experience.

The train overall was an hour late but nonetheless I wasn't too disappointed because the train was actually pretty good. It had a lot more leg room than any plane I've been on, enough for a person to comfortably walk past you. Then there was the modern fittings and information and such. It's pretty good I guess, even if I paid almost three times the amount. Then again I would have only gotten the 11am train and seen less of Copenhagen.

To sum up the city, 7/11. Everywhere. It's everywhere. Probably just as much as Melbourne. Less maccas than Prague. But canals and biles like Amsterdam. A red London phone box. English is widely spoken. They have a metro but no trams like Paris (sort of). There is a modern city mixed with an old city much like Melbourne. Ad the royal residency had wifi! Oh and so does most of the buses and trains. Again maccas has the worst wifi connection, none of them worked. I had to hang outside the palace.

So I'm just chilling on my bed because there's nothing to do and I'm actually tired. The best thing is, the beds a double bed so it's amazingly comfortable. Totally worth the price.

Actually there was one guy at the hostel who is American and studies in Spain. However he speaks Spanish with an American accent and it confused the hell out of me. He said he's studying economics (like I said earlier) but he was so stupid. He asked me how Australia is filled with convicts and such. He spoke so damn slow and he even almost walked out of the hostel to a club without any shoes on. I said to a Canadian guy how dumb the American is and he completely denied it. I won't use that against you Canada, I promise!

Also the guest house I'm in, the first person to talk to me was some old guy. Don't even know they let in older people, I thought it was like hostels with an age limit. Anyways so he was crapping on about how he knows the owner and how coffee is more important than people think because of how the beans are roasted, the water which has calcium in it and such and how Italians don't care about that. How tea has to be 70 degrees (and his was in a soup bowl) and that tea houses are suddenly becoming popular. He said how people should go for tours around cities with local friends. SHUT THE FUCK UP. If I had a friend here do you think I would be paying to stay here? No. Do I give a shit about coffee brewing? No! I don't even make coffees at work correct half the time because the idiots who drink it don't know what coffee even is. "I'll have a latte without froth but put chocolate on top, make it soy, caramel shot, extra strong and extra hot, oh did I mention 4 sugars?" HONEYBADGER DON'T GIVE A SHIT! So I just said I'm going to have a nap now and left. Oh he also explained how he was homeless in Lisbon for a week but made friends with the consulate guy yet has friends in Lisbon. Makes no sense. First I should tour with friends like you do, then you're homeless where you have friends. I see. I see.

Monday 20th August

The last thing I expected was to see a couple going for it in the hostel. But sure as anything it did and it happened in the bunk I was in. I got back, they stopped and I said "no carry on", walked out and composed myself. I walked back in and climbed to my bunk where I felt everything and heard it all. Worst shit of my life. I had no idea what to do, so I was messaging mum over viber so I could get my mind off it. I txt Stef, Mel and nothing! Mum was the last resort, I know she would have freaked out but I was the one who had to see it!

I got about 3 hours sleep and went back into the city. I got off at Teirgarten and walked down the old Royal Hunting grounds and saw the Victory Pole. It was fantastic. I walked to see Reichtag because I've heard so much about it for so long. Like how it doesn't have a heating system, it uses heat from other natural sources to heat the building. Over to the Gates again for photos since the stage was gone. Over to the museums where there was a massive wait so I just went to the DDR museum which mum was telling me about. It was good but a little small and focused on the average lives of those in the eastern block. For €4 it was worth it. I then made my way to the Berlin Wall, the east side gallery. That was fantastic. So many pairings were redone recently so it's just great to see it. There is such a contrast from one side of the wall to the other, it's just great.

At 5pm I went back to the hostel where a few people were leaving and so we said goodbye to them and I tried to nap. Seriously my undies dried from where I washed them last night. Actually I washed them in the sink and just left them around my bunk to dry. It seems like it didn't deter the people under me from fucking. They were stone dry by the afternoon.

I also saw some fantastic news, I'm really looking forward to going home now because there's one friend I want to see so badly. I haven't talked to them in months and couldn't. Now they're home and I can't wait to hug them.

The hostel was empty so we just went for some sushi and went back to eat it in the hostel. It was good actually €6 and it was made fresh and was pretty big. The only people left were about less than half from previous nights. There was one room with 6 beds but only 2 filled. So we just chatted and went to sleep at 11.30pm. I had to sleep to get up early.

Sunday 19th August

This morning I got up late, something like 10.30 and it was surprisingly early compared to some others. But I slept in because it's a Sunday and where I'm staying not much is actually open. The supermarket was closed next door and the other large one around the corner was closed as well. My only option was to walk around the area and hunt down something that was open. All I came by was a bakery and I got breakfast from there. I was going to do my laundry but I figured I wouldn't have enough time because I mentioned to one of the guys in the hostel, Jeremy, that I wanted to go into the city and see a few things. He suggested the free city tour he's doing later on. So I left the washing and such for the tour. Figured it'll get done eventually, even though I'm down to my last pair of undies.

I destructively remember that whilst in Prague I saw that Sunday in Berlin was going to be hot. Oh no. It said 32, it got to 37, their hottest day in years apparently. But I am thankful I was still in Berlin despite walking around for 3.5 hours in the blistering heat. But it was nothing like the hottest days we get in Melbourne. This was like a hot day, not one of the hottest. Make sense? Hope so because I can't draw a diagram. All I'm saying is, if 37 is their hottest then welcome to STRAYA, where everything wants you to die. Actually one of the guys in the hostel said he'd never come to Australia because of how dangerous it is. I just laughed. He also said he misses his friends and family but has been gone for a few days, he's from Sweden. Poor guy, I'm staying to feel like that too though. Actually there was an American who was gone for 3 days and was home sick. That's impressive.

Okay so the tour! We got to the Brandenburg Gate and there was an enclosed section for the Olympic gold medallists of Germany. Whether they were there, I wouldn't know because this was a temporary type seating area and it was a bit closed off. However that's where the tour started and where my view of the gates were obstructed. It was all free and to be honest the tour guide was fantastic. For 3.5 hours you'd expect to pay a steep price but most people gave €10 at the end. But then again, 25 people and €10 each, per day. That's a pretty good profit there.

On the tour we started with the Hotel Alderbad where MJ was showing off Blanket years ago and had him hanging from the window. The most expensive room is €15,000 a night and breakfast is an extra €41.50. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, got 800 years of history there, went to the street and saw the cobble which go through the streets to show where the Berlin Wall once stood, all throughout the city. It takes up to 2 days by bike to go around the entire length. We saw the holocost memorial next to the gate and it was a lot more impressive than in pictures. I was very pleased and impressed. We walked to the Tax Office which was built during the era of Hitler's reign. However we then walked to a car park in the middle of a residential area. We didn't know what it was, but we were told that underneath us is the bunker Hilter hid and committed suicide. There were two other Aussies in the group and one from Belgium who worked in Melbourne. It was great to actually meet other people from Melbourne. It was great. We saw where Einstein taught and where 20,000 books got burnt. We saw memorials, shown where the museums are, given history of how the French were invited to Berlin and its influence on the city today. It was a fantastic tour.

Later on I went to get my ticket to Copenhagen. I saw online it was €49 but that was weeks ago. I paid €135 and for my return ticket it was €81. Oh joy. Like I said to the lady serving, if I must pay it then I have no choice and pay it. But still, holy crap! I'll have to book my tickets earlier I think. What false hope I got back in Prague.

Some people in the hostel wanted to go for dinner so we went to a nearby Thai place. It was pretty alright, nothing special. But we had a nice waiter. He got nasty at the end when we had to pay and he was just being a total wanker when he said credit only. So he grabbed one of the cards on the table and put the whole amount for 7 people's meals onto it. The poor guy was freaking out his credit card got charged for all our meals. We had to figure how to pay him back with cash. When we asked the waiter for changer he said he had none. Totally bullshit. But to be fair he wasn't German.

After dinner we were talking around the table and found out that two others were studying economics as well seems like all the economists got out.

Saturday 18th August

Yesterday marked the exact middle of my trip and so far in actually really please with how everything is going. Sure the Germans keep taking tips from the change they never give me back and sure Dresden smelt like a nice waft of something I left in Renata's grandmothers toilet for almost 5 days, but I'm actually happy with how things are going. I could do with some more sleep but I'll do that eventually.

For breakfast the hostel recommended the restaurant downstairs for €6.50 and you get a "large plate" with any drink. I got offered tea or coffee (I would have liked orange juice but that's cool) and I wasn't expecting cheese, ham, egg and bread to be a large breakfast. I just ate the fruit when I couldn't stomach the ham anymore. The bread was great though but it's not to me. All I want is a croissant, fruit and yoghurt and I'm good to go. Maybe I'll just buy that in the mornings.

I got back to the hostel and people were floating about and still asleep at 10am so I just took off and went into Berlin Andreaplatz. As soon as I got off the underground I saw the TV tower. West Berlin's answer to looking stronger than East. Also I saw a massive line out the front to get in from the front door. Screw that. I just walked in and saw the ticket machine inside was a lot emptier so I got my ticket in 2 minutes compared to the idiots in the sun for a lot longer than that! The problem is that there are a lot of people waning to get through. So because of that the wait I've got is 1 hour and 15 minutes. So I went for a walk and saw a few interesting buildings. I overheard a guy giving friends a tour in English too. Also there are gypsies here and lucky Paris prepared me for it. However once I got back to the TV tower, those buying tickets from 1pm will need to wait 2 and a half hours. Insanity.

I got McDonald's after the tower because I got out by 2.30 and I didn't want a full meal so I got a McRib. Loving life pretty much. As I was eating though there was a gypsy who walked in and gave me a note asking for money. The hell? I just threw it back at him.

After I walked down to Karl Marx Allee to see the architecture and it was pretty amazing but a bee got stuck to my tshirt. It wouldn't come off as I spent about 5 minutes trying to push it when a guy looked at me and said to just flick it away. So I did. Seriously I was worried it'd come back and sting me.

I continued to walk around the area and just went to churches and different buildings. I overheard your guides all throughout so that's pretty awesome. In my photos I got some of a bar that is on wheels and the people peddle it while drinking. It was actually a funny sight.

Later on at 5.30, after 6 hours in the city I went back to the hostel and had a nap. Not that it helped but just chilled and had dinner with the guys here and we went out later on near by.

Friday 17th August

I guess I just had my first Eat Pray Love moment. I'm onboard my train to Berlin from Dresden and its similar to yesterday's train. Except it's full of booths and I have no idea how the hell to use these trains. I thought that the "reserved" signs at the door meant they were reserved. Apparently not, so now I'm in the aisle looking at the lady who is reading Eat Pray Love. I knew this would happen, didn't think I'd have a moment so early in my solo travels!

So last night I decided that I would go back to the hotel and have a 20 minute nap and then go out, see the town lit up at night and try a bar. I woke up at 12.30am and thought nothing of it. I got up again at 6.30am and hit snooze. I got up at 8.30am and realised what had happened! Who cares, it was the best sleep of my life. No joke. After a month and a half of sharing rooms with people, I found the perfect opportunity to sleep in my own bed with myself only in the room. It was fantastic. You don't realise what you take for granted until it happens. Like it was the first sleep I didn't hear people farting while dreaming, snoring, moaning, having intense sex or body slamming the bed just to flip and and shaking the entire room in the process.

I had breakfast by myself at the Hilton and it was the best I've had in all of Europe so far. It had actual bacon, real orange juice with pulp, croissants, warm muffins, sweets, fruits, meats, fish, anything you could think of.

I went back to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden art exhibition). I saw the most amazing thing which I'm annoyed I couldn't get a photo of. I saw Raphael's "The Sistine Madonna" which feature the mother of Jesus holding Christ and underneath the famous Cherubs. If anyone knows my mum, they will know that she LOVES cherubs. I felt slightly guilty I saw the painting an my mum didn't because I guarantee as much as I loved seeing it, she would have loved it a hell of a lot more than me. But these are the things I must go through during my journey around Europe.

AGH finally got a seat. But I feel like I'm going to have a Eurotrip "mi scuzie" moment on here. All men and we keep going into tunnels. At the end of the trip the guy next to me spike English and helped me out a bit which is so great. He said he was part of the senate and he was on his way to Hamburg for the 25th year anniversary of the Hamburg - Dresden relationship. Maybe a politician?

I finally found my way onto the metro. It was pretty easy, like the Paris metro I guess. But lucky I'm good with my memory. I got to the right station and then got lost on my way to the hostel. SWEET AS BRO. After 30 minutes of roaming the streets like a cheap whore I found my hostel. The first thing I did was update Facebook photos and chat to some rather awkward guy. Very awkward. Not sure if he's bullshiting but he said his friends dad is the CEO of the ANZ.

I went for a nap and decided that 8pm was a good time for dinner. So I found a little place and a German guy asked if anyone was at my table and I said no that he could join. We spoke a bit his English wasn't the best and well my German is crap. I haven't used it since year 11 which was nearly 6 years ago now.

Last night the people at the hostel decided to go out, so we just pre drank and talked for like 2 hours ubtil someone pointed out that it's 1am maybe it's time to make a move. I got back at 5am, the progressively woken up during the night.

Thursday 16th August

This morning I slept in a little and had my final breakfast in Prague. Well meal actually. I figured I'll eat big then and have a light lunch then a normal dinner. We checked out of the hotel, after I flooded the shower (due to a build up of hair and God knows what else in the drainage) and they walked me to the station. Renata and I made up after all because it wasn't worth it. Like she said, we can continue this back at home and not worry about it now. It's not worth it.

I was going to carry my bag, until I realised with my laptop inside it's easily got to be nearing 20kg now. I used to carry 4.5kg in high school and that was a bitch, carrying 4x that isn't a great idea. So I just decided to wheel it along and hope to God the wheels don't fall off! The pavement in Prague is beautiful but very bumpy so you can see why. After our goodbye I set myself onboard and I was sad to leave behind all my previous travel partners and set out on my own now. I felt like bursting into tears because I felt not only alone, but lonely. It took a few txts between Stef and I to chill me out but I'm glad I'm doing this. I need to break out of my comfort zone.

Onboard the train there were two people sitting in front of me. A fat boy and his mother. Seriously she was stroking his head and he was purring like a cat. Freaks. As I was boarding there was a lady behind me who kept smacking her bag into the back of my feet. I gave her the death look the entire train and she didn't even apologize. The best part was when I found out she was Canadian and she had to pay an extra €22 because she got the wrong ticket. SUCK IT BITCH.

I decided to just walk to the Hilton with my bag as it was within easy walking distance from the station. I sounded like a horse with my bag being wheeled and people honestly moved out of the way thinking I was a horse, thanks guys. Then I found the Hilton and far out was it awkward. The staff looked at me like "is he seriously coming in here with those clothes and that bright blue backpack with a superman name tag on it?" and my answer in my head was "yeah mate. STRAYA CUNT". The concierge loved my phallet (phone wallet) which I got off eBay. He asked where I got it from and he loved it but as soon as I said eBay he said he doesn't trust online shopping. Whatever. I got to my room and I spent something like an hour in there having a cup of tea, checking the tv, reading the hotel info and looking at the mini bar then trying the bed. I decided to have a shower and then go for a walk. So I did and I'm glad I did.

Dresden is beautiful but it's also suffered extensive damage from WWII. It's a constant reminder of what happened to the city and how it was destroyed. Only in 2005 was the church of our lady reopened after the dome was destroyed in 1945. You can clearly see the blackened buildings from the fires and the newly erected buildings after from their cleaner colours. It's sad to see a part of history gone but glad to see it has been restored to some degree. The city is very walk-able. So it's no problem if you don't want to use the trams.

I went to the art exhibition at about 7pm as it was closing at 9pm and things were starting to shut. I was told that they couldn't give me a ticket to the whole exhibition so to come back tomorrow. I went for another walk to see if anything else was open, but due to the Dresden Festival, a lot of things were shut and a lot of the city was being transformed into a market for the festival so there wasn't much to do.

Something I should have done was brush up on my German before I got to Germany. I should have realised that before when I was on Contiki, but those tours really keep you separated from the real places. So when I went to Italy I went to a stop off which everyone spoke English. I didn't have the challenge of needing to translate what I wanted into hand movements or explaining myself, or better yet using the native language I know. I know very little Germany and Italian but I know enough to get me by. Luckily there are those who speak basic English at bars and restaurants (which I don't always expect but they do anyway). I guess as much as I love seeing a global world where we can speak multiple languages in order to able to understand foreign customers to take their money easier, I do wish it wasn't the case sometimes. I came to Dresden because it's a small beautiful city on the way to Berlin, but here people are speaking English. But you see I could have used the German I know but I can't be bothered. I'm not a local, I'll look stupid. If I speak your language you'll expect more when I can't say anymore. Also it helps, like how Asians say "no English" and walk away with murder. I can do the same shit in Europe. I ordered at a little vegetarian cafe near the town and I knew what I wanted from reading the German menu on the list out the front. But I just went along and got the English menu so they knew I didn't speak any German. I still ordered the same thing I saw in the German menu out the front that I also saw in the English.

I got a mango dessert as well thinking it's just mangos and maybe a little something else on the side. No it was mango in a fuck load of cream. I've never needed to use the toilets in all or Europe so badly. I found free wifi near the hotel as well but it was slow and hardly worked anyway. When it came to the Hilton it was €9 just for the Internet. No way am I paying that much for 24 hours. I'm not even in Dresden for 24 hours! Like I paid $100, give me free Internet!

I decided to walk around the city, cross the river and then go to the hotel for a nap to go out later on.

Wednesday 15th August

Things were okay between all of us today, so we skyped with Justin’s parents and such and then went to the Sex Machine Museum. I was kindly reminded by Renata that I owed them for the fine I got, so I offered to pay forlunch, once we got the bill and it was satisfactory. We finally found the Museum, it’s pretty well hidden I guess, it looked different on the map I saw, but then again…
It was great to see all the interesting machines, but so sad I couldn’t see them in use. But some of them you wouldn’t want to see in use because of how feral they looked. Also the diagrams gave nothing to the imagination.

We went for lunch and I wasn't hungry seeming as I had a large breakfast with Renata. They had donuts and such so we just cut them in half and shared. So for lunch Renata and I only wanted something light. Justin wanted a pizza. So we found a place and I ordered a sandwich and the guy serving us made a fuss how the kitchen can't do it at all because it's breakfast, even if it does say all day breakfast. So I got a salad and he rolled his eyes. Mate. STRAYA CUNT. I'll bite your face. I paid for lunch, like I said, to settle the debt between us.

Later I went to the station to grab y train ticket for tomorrow. It was €32 online and it came with the restriction that if I missed mu train I'd lose €15. At the station it was only €23 and I could get any train for a month. It was great. So my walk there consisted of going almost the right way. To a building I thought was the main station but was the national museum. To get to the station I needed to walk down a four lane highway with a footpath only 20cm wide. No joke. I was shitting myself when these girls were walking towards me but they ended up walking on the road before I did. Cheers.

Later on I decided to just go for a walk to a local bar and I did. I got a beer for 30Kc ($1.50) and it was horrible. I downed it and left. It looked like the only beer they had anyways. But I got to see the TV tower all lit up at night. I was right under it and it was amazing.

Tuesday 14th August

This morning I woke up and stayed in bed for a few minutes, then decided to use the bathroom, when Renata said ‘what the hell I was going in there’ and because I hear that a lot from Alicia on the mornings we both get up at the same time, my natural reaction was to just ignore her. I was sitting on the toilet when suddenly Justin woke up and decided he needed to use the bathroom too, so he went downstairs to the public bathroom, but along the way took the key out of the power box next to the door, which meant I was left in the dark. I thought Renata had taken off with him too, but she was still in bed, which made me think why the hell would she get so annoyed? I finished up, in the dark, put my card in and then decided it was the best opportunity to now take a nice long hot shower. Once I finished up, they both went into the bathroom and I took my key out of the power box and this time left them both in the dark. I got breakfast by myself, they sat at the table behind me and said nothing, then I went up to the room, grabbed my things and left to go to the Prague Castle.

So having vented all that, I went to the Prague Castle. I got directions off the lady at reception who gave me a map but didn’t give me which stop to get off at for the Castle itself. She told me the interchange, but that’s all. Not the most helpful. I was looking out for people on the tram who might know, so I thought the tourist Asians might, but no, they got off well before then. I thought maybe the Italian tourists would know! But no, they stayed on. I heard two girls talking English next to me, asking each other when do they get off, so I asked if they’re also going to the Castle and they said yes, but they don’t know where to get off at. I was in the same boat, but once I saw there were buses all along the road and a tram stop ahead, I thought it had to be it and they felt the same. We got off the tram and started talking, both are from Auckland. It was fantastic, I could share some stuff with them. We went around the Castle together for several hours and it was great.

The Castle is said to be the largest in all or Europe, but unfortunately it’s not all open to the public because it is still official residency. So we walked around as much as possible, without going to all the exhibitions because that would have taken an entire day. We got Trdlo which is like a hollow donut, covered in sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. It was pretty good and seeming as it was 2pm and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, it was great. The two girls decided they would go to the Jewish district but I had my eyes on going up to the tower which looked like the Eiffel Tower. The girls said because Prague calls themselves little Paris, they built that shortly after the actual Eiffel Tower. Along the walk back to the tram we saw two couples taking wedding photos. One of the brides only covered the bare essentials. It was like she had only a white bra and undies and the rest was just a see-thru material mimicking a dress. Obviously she married the guy for his money. The other couple was more conservative. After that, I left the girls and went to the tower.

It was a pretty hard walk, like it was rather warm and I only had so much water on me. I made it to the top and realized how much it doesn’t look like the Eiffel Tower up close, but it was still a pretty good place to get views of Prague. I sat down to catch my breath and thought it was time to go back down, but then thought to myself, I’ve walked all the way up here, why would I just go down? So I went to line up to enter the top of the tower. It was nowhere near as large as the actual Eiffel Tower, but still worth a shot, as it was on a pretty large hill. It was 55Kc, so I gave a 100Kc note but the lady at the desk said only coins. Lady, I only have notes, what the hell is wrong with you? Want me to pay you in monopoly money? I said to her, ‘well then it’s either Euros or Visa’ and she took the note I had and gave me the correct change. Now…the tower had Wifi ;)

I reached the middle and it was pretty good, the walk was easy, but there are two sets of stairs, one going up and one going down. Yes, simple right!? NO. WRONG. These idiots were going all over the damn joint and people going up had to move for the morons going down as well. The stairs aren’t even wide enough to fit two people at the one time. At the top though the views were spectacular. I got photos of it, but decided not to spend too long as you could actually feel the tower swaying. Yes, swaying enough to make you feel it and see it in the shadow below. So I went down the stairs pointing down! Woah! Who would have thought!? I then went to get a drink as it said frappe on the chalk board, but the lady in the café said it’s only coffee. Eh…okay. I got myself an icetea because that seemed like the safest option.

I walked back to the old town and decided to go over Charles Bridge. I now understand why it’s so famous. It’s really beautiful with so many sculptures right along it. There are stalls set up along the way and so many interesting and beautiful things to see. I got a few photos, but it seemed like everyone wanted me to get photos of them in it. No one was willing to just stop and let others take a photo. At one point I was about to grab some Asian lady’s hand and push her out of the way because she kept getting in my way. Maybe I should have. Oh well, next time.

Afterwards I walked along the banks of the city, via the Jewish district and towards the Hotel. I got lazy but and got the tram over. Once I got back to the hotel I just had a rest because I was so tired, I had been in the sun all day and I got a headache from it. So I just laid on the bed, Renata and Justin walked in and then out and I went for dinner eventually. As I went for dinner I thought I’ll walk to the top of the hill next to the hotel because it has monument and should have views of the city. How right I was. It looked like it was a 5 -10 minute walk up and back, no. It was about 20 minutes each way, but worth every minute of it. The park was FILLED with people rollerblading. Like 80’s style rollerblading which you thought would never be back in fashion but is in Eastern Europe. It was pretty cool to see actually. So I got photos, watched the view for as long as I could, then went down to get myself dinner. It went to Yes Burger, just up the road and they had Duff Beer! So I got that and a burger with fries, but it was going to take 30 minutes. I decided to just wait.

I checked my phone and Renata txt me saying she’s over at the bar next to the Hotel, to go over if I’d like. I thought well I have 30 minutes to kill, why not. I went there and Renata knew she needed to give me time off which I’m glad she did. But I could only stay for 10 minutes as my burger was going to be ready soon. They got a Bloody Mary each, I had a sip and just left. How is that a drink? It’s horrible. It’s like someone diluted tomato sauce and said here, try this! I got my burger then went up to the room, ate it and went to sleep later on.

Monday 13th August

I got up at 3am so I could hurry up and quickly use the bathroom, have a drink and then put my last minute things into my bag before getting into the taxi. I just made it in time, just. We got into the taxi and along the way to the airport it was full of fog everywhere. There was practically no visibility along the way. When we arrived there was only a handful of people in the airport, two of them had their heads down and looked asleep and there was one security guard. The board sign go to terminal two but there was no information about that. I realized that there were two women walking out of the restricted area and I asked them where terminal two was, they just said to follow them. Seriously it was so cold outside and the walk was probably 10 minutes long, but we got there. It was an empty hanger with no one inside…again. But free WiFi!!! I tried to just rest and close my eyes, when we waited for almost an hour on the seats and finally were able to go through security. I beeped of course, so I got a FULL pat down by some massively scary looking Polish guy. I had to even remove my shoes for it, but then I thought maybe it was my earring that made the machine beep. No, when I said that they laughed. I was free to carry on. Thanks guys, thanks.

We sat waiting and waiting and waiting to get called onto the flight. It was meant to board at 5.15am and by 5.20 we were told that we needed to wait for another 20 minutes because of the bad weather conditions. It didn’t occur to me that the fog had caused so much of an issue, because we needed to actually get onto this flight to get our connecting flight. Thank God they finally let us onto the bus to board the plane, but when we did there was a really loud, annoying and obnoxious  American lady who was asking her son if he checked the seat they were sitting on after she got up, in case they forgot something. She was blaming him for not checking the seat because she was on the phone. Mind you, she said all this out loud whilst on the bus and we were waiting to board our overdue flight. As she asked the staff at the airport the doors closed and the staff said there was nothing left behind…with a shrug of the shoulders. Ha, excellent.

Now the first flight was only 30 minutes. I was freaking out! Justin only had enough time to listen to two songs on his iPod and we just managed to get a drink and snack. But then there was the next flight we had to race for. We finally landed and ran for it to get to the next plane, which was flashing ‘final call’. We just made it in time and I asked them if my bag would also get onboard, they said that it should, but I didn’t feel like they were confident about it. We got onto the bus and the just as we got on the doors closed and it took off. Just made it! Thank God for that! I was joking about how the American lady was probably still on the plane checking her seat if she left anything behind.
This flight was about an hour. Right at the start as the plane was taxiing the runway, the pilot slammed the brakes on. Okay I’m fine with flying but don’t do that shit to me! This isn’t a fucking video game! We arrived at Prague airport and it was bigger than Krakow, but again there was nothing stopping us from taking anything into the country. No baggage checks, nothing. Not even a stamp in my passport! What is this!? Damn it Central / Eastern Europe!

We got AAA taxis because I read that they were decent and well priced. I’m pretty sure that the taxi driver took us along the scenic route along the way to the hotel because there clearly was no need to drive in and around the city just to get to the hotel. He stopped the meter as he got onto the traffic jammed highway near the hotel though, but still, I don’t think I needed to pay any extra regardless. It came to 705Kc but he gave me back 300Kc change, which was nice, but maybe he wanted a tip? I didn’t tip him. Seriously I gave you 1000Kc, take the right change from that. He didn’t get my bag out of the car for any of us after that.
We got into the Three Crowns Hotel and it was actually really nice inside, very modern and clean. It looked like it was just renovated, given that the front building has to be over 100 years old and the courtyard is pretty damn new. The courtyard had almost a resort type feeling with the deck and trees and such. We got there at 9.30am and we weren’t able to check in until 2pm. I sat for 30 minutes until I decided that I’d like to go for a walk to the Old Town, because it isn’t far from the hotel at all. Renata and Justin declined and I went by myself. I’m glad I did, I saw so much while I was in there. I got lunch for $6, soup, a drink and dumplings. It was far too much for me to eat, but I used the cafes WiFi like no tomorrow. I made my way back to the hotel and found out that they were just sitting in the place for most of the day, having drinks and they went nearby for lunch. I think I did the right thing, regardless.

We got up to the room, which was amazing. I got photos of the shower and sent them to Mum because it was honestly the most amazing thing. The shower is a waterfall showerhead, so it’s from the ceiling and has a massive head so it was amazing. The side was glass and the bottom was floating timbers. Fantastic! I think I spent about 30 minutes in it because after not having an actual shower since Amsterdam, two weeks is a long time to not have a good shower. Squatting in a half size bathtub with a handle is not a shower! Also it was an actual toilet in this place. Not the toilets in Poland where you get to see what you’ve just done before flushing.

We went for a nap and Justin and Renata decided to made it a sleep, they were gone for like 4 hours. I was chilling on my laptop just updating things for it, like my Facebook photos and such. For dinner we just settled on going to the restaurant down stairs and having a meal there. It was pretty good actually. After that we just chilled in the hotel room.

Sunday 12th August

Today was literally our day of rest. The sun wasn’t shining and the weather was just as bad, if not worse than yesterday. It really puts a dampener on what you have planned and also your emotions, just based on the fact if there are clouds or not. Renata decided to visit her grandmother before we left for Prague and I joked that she should buy a bus ticket. Justin and I decided to just go to Galeria and I was ready to update a few photos to Facebook and then just check over a few things before we left for tomorrow. We said to Renata that we will meet up with her later on at Galeria and to just message me when you’re on your way. We kind of had a miscommunication issue here, but Justin got annoyed Renata was about 15 minutes later than what she said would be. Not to worry though, because we weren’t even planning on that much for today because of the Coke Festival later.

We needed to find an internet café so that we could print off our boarding passes. Like Renata said, years ago when she went down Florenca Street there were a lot more internet cafes, lucky if there’s about one there now. We walked through an ally where there was a DJ playing and people spray painting the wall, it had to have been the weirdest thing to see on a Sunday afternoon. Goddamn hipsters. Go be productive and do something else, like clean up the horse shit on the street. Just a thought.

Renata then returned to her grandmothers and Justin and I returned to the apartment so we could rest up and just chill before we head off to see Snoop Dog and Placebo for the concert. But I wasn’t exactly feeling it, I just wanted to only see The Killers out of them all. Placebo is okay, I’m sure I saw them at Green Day in 2006 and they were that bad that it put me off their music for a while. However it kept raining and it got heavier, and being an outdoor concert it wasn’t the most perfect conditions. We just decided that we’d skip it anyway, we would leave the concert on a high note with The Killers.

We went into the city for dinner once it cleared up from the rain, because there wouldn’t be any mud along the way there, unlike at Coke. I think about half the people there had gum boots on, just for the first day. It had rained a little but that’s a little extreme of a precaution. Anyways, we decided to get Mexican down in the Old Town and the girls were wearing Mexican dress, as in their stomachs were exposed as they were serving us. Shame about their faces though, like it doesn’t hurt to fucking smile for once Poland. Renata and I went for the margarita because if you ordered the large one for 35zl you get a photo of yourself on the wall. We got the drink but no photo. What a waste of a drink!

Along the way back home we needed to book a taxi for the morning and we settled on getting picked up at 3.30am because the first flight is scheduled at 6am, so if we got there just after 4am then that would be ample time. Only I’m going to check in luggage, so they’re just bringing carry on, for 3 nights, that’s all you really need. Renata tried calling up taxis, but they wouldn’t connect, so I suggested along the way to the bus back home, we can ask at the taxi rank if we can book them for the morning. Whilst in the process of that, the bus pulled up and Renata was walking back. Justin and I thought she was going to get her ticket from the bus driver, but she suddenly went to the ticket machine and as soon as she did, the bus was ready to leave and I was about to hop off to stay with her. Justin had other plans, he went onto the bus, blocking my exit so I was stuck onboard. I txt Renata to wait, because as we took off I saw she was throwing her arms about. I ran back from the other bus stop and I got her two messages to just go home, after all that. I think she was thankful though, but Justin stayed on and went over to the apartment. It was only a 10 minute difference, but still the thought was there. All we did when we got back was watch some of the Olympics closing ceremony and then Justin wanted to stay up all night, I wanted to sleep. So my trusty little earplugs and eye mask came in handy.

Just quickly. One thing I will miss about Poland is the guy who does the voice overs on all English speaking movies and TV shows. It's the same guy, no subtitles and he is so monotoned that it makes everything boring. You can just hear the English just enough to know what's going on, but this guy does the voice overs for EVERY damn movie and TV show.

Saturday 11th August

This morning I got up late and then we decided to see if the restaurant across the road was open. At 12.30 it was closed, by 1.15 the metal door was open but the other door wasn’t and by 2 it was closed…so we went for Bear Grills. See we needed to conserve as much energy as we could because of the Coke Live Festival. We obviously had a snack in the morning but then we went for our lunch (I guess you can call it) at about 2.30pm. Straight after that we went back up to the apartment because we needed to either get there at the grounds from 4pm. We woke up at 6.30pm…meh.

We went to get the bus but as soon as we got onboard there wasn’t a ticket machine, so we had no idea what to do. The bus drivers don’t speak any English and we just felt like it was best to just relax on the bus and not worry about it then. So we were almost at out stop when all of a sudden Renata said “they’re checking tickets!!!”. Ha! Fantastic. I hit the stop button but it was too late for us because they already approached me asking for my ticket. I played dumb and asked for English. Renata, Justin and I all got off the bus with the three ticket inspectors who actually spoke fluent English. Renata suddenly decided not to talk in Polish because she knew that would make it worse for us. They said we will be fined 120zl and that it was an on the spot fine. I said but I don’t have that cash on me, so Renata said she did and I questioned if she really did, but the inspectors laughed. I wanted to see proof that they actually were ticket inspectors and not scam artists, so they gave us a talk about how one wants to come work in Australia, yet he thought we were Americans. Not impressed…I’m actually more offended. So once we got talking I asked the inspectors if we get some paperwork saying we’ve been fined. He then said we could pay the official price, or we could pay the unofficial price of half that. It took me a second to realize what he was on about. Goddamn crooked Polish ticket inspectors. They pocketed the money themselves. I probably should have said official, so that way I would have got it in the mail and not paid it. Even after that I was still a little shook, until I realized we only paid a $17 fine. Well I sure as hell don’t care because that’s still cheaper than a fine in Melbourne of $184. Call me crazy but for $17 they made that fuss?

So we just decided to walk to the Coke Festival as it was nearby anyway. We got inside and it was alright, nothing special. The line up isn’t fantastic this year and I heard it’s the final year anyway so it doesn’t bother me if I only go for the one day, rather than both like we paid for. But we only paid $60 for the ticket and after all the lineup was announced I only wanted to really see The Killers. Every other band and such really doesn’t interest me, Snoop Dogg isn’t my type of music and The Roots and Placebo aren’t either. But it was great to go to my first silent disco, even if the music was shit. It was good to also be walking on the ground of an old airport, because there was heaps of monuments and such around. The food was interesting because it didn’t actually smell all that appealing, like a hotdog was a massive bun with two sausages within and then like a salad mix inside.

The Killers came on and I’ve waited so many years to see them, and the first time I do is in Poland. It occurred to me that I also haven’t been to any day festivals inside of Australia, but I have now in Poland and New Zealand. But after so long all I wanted to hear was Mr Brightside because of all the songs The Killers could have played, this is the one with the most meaning, it reminds me of Stef. Stef and I dubbed this as our song when it came out and every time we hear we instantly look at each other. I txt her saying I hope you’re not asleep or at work because The Killers are up soon and I’m going to call you if our song comes on. Towards the end it came on and sure as anything I called her up. I didn’t even know if she heard it because my phone doesn’t tell me if the caller has answered the call. But I then hanged up and recorded some of it, messaged Stef again and said you should be here with me.

Friday 10th August

So it's finally hit me that within a few days time I will be alone and have only myself left for the rest of my holiday, that for half of my time in Europe I'll have been with friends and the other half I won't be. But I'll start and end my trip with family and that's all you need. By the end of this trip I’ll have done a contiki with 49 people for three weeks, been with Renata and Justin for a total of just over 5 weeks, traveled with Alicia for over 4 weeks, traveled solo for just under 4 weeks, be with family for a little over 2 weeks in total and then camp with Nicole for 3 nights. I’ve seen friends along the way who are also traveling around Europe and some who live in Europe. These are the things that make me realize how much fun I’m actually having on my trip and no matter what I’ll always remember everything. If my mind fails me I have my blog and if my blog fails me I have my photos and videos.

All I did today was book my accommodation for Porto, Lisbon, Madrid, some for research for Barcelona and then booked my flight into Porto from Brussels and my flight out from Barcelona to Zurich. I decided to just remove the days I was planning on spending in Nice and just fly to family because I can’t be bothered with traveling for an extra few days just to see some water. I was in Nice for a day, which was enough for me for now. Later in life I can do that and I can do it right.

There wasn’t a lot of exciting things to do today because I just wanted to get all my bookings done, but I felt rather tired and unwell because of my nose and cough. It might be that I do have something and I haven’t gone to the doctor for it yet, but I really can’t be bothered. So I got the keys off Justin and went back to the apartment and had a nap. I got up and felt heaps better, but still a little tired, so I went back to see Renata and Justin in Galeria. I asked at the train station a question to the lady at the info desk, who I thought spoke English, apparently she didn’t, so lucky for me I had Renata to translate everything. So it turns out I can get savings tickets but only online and I can also buy a EUrail ticket. But I’d rather stay away from it because if that ticket gets lost or stolen then it costs several hundreds of dollars and I’d rather not lose something important like that. It’s not like a lost passport which will just cost $100 to replace; these are about $500 at the least. Afterwards we went for a walk around to some sights and up on a hilltop which overlooked the entire city, which was pretty amazing. Seeing the city yesterday during the day was awesome, seeing it at night all lit up was amazing.