mjölk & honung: Postcard diaries

28 & 29 July: Verona & Venice/Venezia

Drove to Verona. Setting/inspiration of tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Saw balcony and famous woman statue, then on road again to Venice. Past the Apenine Mountains, Tuscany.

Goodbye Romeo and Juliet, hello or buongiorno the love of my life Venice! As my Lonely Planet guide says, this city with it's canals, little walking avenues, hundreds of little bridges connecting the 117 small islands and Venetian masks is truly an enchanting place. After getting dropped by bus in Piazzale Roma, Allira guided us all to St Mark Square, home of the St Marks Basilica - portraying Byzantine architecture at its best with a lot of Middle Eastern influence. On the way we crossed the famous Rialto Bridge, crossing the main canal. Walked along Promenade with my sun umbrella and a jumping yet very content heart, marveling at the colourful architecture and enjoying being by real water again. Went to lace demonstration and got a bit carried away with purchases in the shop.

Went on Gondola ride which was lovely. That arvo got lost in streets - something recommended by anyone who has been. Just got bus back in time after running down canal then in front of the bus so that it let me on!

Back to campsite for a swim and Toga party that night! Met lovely girl Caro from Columbia and talked by the pool for a couple of hours about faith and relationships. Have to add that I danced on tables again in my toga (sheet) outfit. Brilliant.

V&V photos here

30th & 31st July: Vienna/Wien, Austria
Intro to the more grungey (but very cool grunge) Eastern-ish side of Europe. PHOTOS

Sights of the day:
Schonbrunn and Hoffburg Palaces. Beautiful gardens, statues, buildings and even Zoos!

The Museum Quarter, specifically The Leopald Museum. Modern and Contemporary art work previously privately owned by Rudolf & Elisabeth Leopald. Featuring the likes of Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Anton Kolig and interior design/furniture including Art Nouveau and Wiener Wekstatte furniture.

The Lomo shop in the MQ with Kate and Woody. Love love LOVE. Want a HOLGA. Right. Now.

Cute little Bauhaus cafe.

Schnapps Museum. Three shots of Butterscotch, Hazelnut and the special one with gold in it went down well! Wasn't quite game for the chilli one...

1st August: Munich, Germany & Mauthausen concentration camp
Travelled to Munich via Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Stopped to reflect on the horrors of WW2 at what was the largest concentration camp in the German-controlled Europe. It was one of the last to be liberated by the Western Allies or Soviet Union. Labelled a "grade three" camp ie. the toughest. Fascinating and horrific history and even more fascinating to actually be there and stand where so many innocent people died. Walked down the stairs of death - so bizarre because it is actually such a beautiful place and extremely hard to imagine what it would have been like 60 odd years ago. Not so beautiful.

Arriving in Munich, capital of Bavaria was a bit of a relief after such a chilling yet humbling experience. Walked around the city via Marienplatz, Church of our Lady, the Glockenspiel and the old Town Hall before hitting the Hauptbrahaus where litres of beer consumed and many sausages & pretzels eaten. There was even a traditional Oompah band. Bit cute.
(the end to the night was interesting though... poor James drank a bit too much (i.e FOUR jugs) and needed carrying home. He was fine though don't worry - I made sure he was put in the recovery position and he was out like a light. The next morning he was up 6am SHARP rearing for the day ahead...typical)

Photos

2nd & 3rd August: Prague/Praha, Czech Republic:

Praha: the city of a thousand spires. The city, the golden city, has to be one of my favourites to date. Situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia and capital of Czech Republic. A city with such recent history with the Wenceslas Square having housed Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution.

Such varied and well-maintained buildings with architecture ranging from Art Nouveau, Baroque, Renaissance, Cubist, Gothic, Neo-classical and Ultra modern.

PHOTOS

It's got a bit of everything - a gorgeous river with views either side, hills (on which the Hradcany Castle sits), cheap drinks (Mojito's a big fave), great traditional food (all very hearty), great shops, gorgeous character-filled yet understated architecture, the Astronomical Clock, lovely grass areas, jazz musicians (performing on St Charles Bridge), the Old Jewish Quarter, the Powder Tower, the Tyne Church, hand made puppets, trams... even a little island in the middle of the river with Brazil nut trees (of which Dan and I discovered whilst having a wee nap on the grass)!!

On the second night at the campsite we had a pass-the-parcel game for Mike's birthday. Was pouring with rain, so the 45+ of us managed to squish in the cook tent and celebrate in absolute style. Fun being a kid again.

4th & 5th August: Berlin, Germany via Dresden, Germany

Drezzy.
800 years old. Quaint. Love the main cathedral that was re-built using the original blocks that remained after the whole place was wiped out by bombs combined with new ones. Quick stop, but long enough for a good coffee by the square with good friends ie. James, Helen, Carl, Dan & Fox.

Berlin.

"Third Reich" walking tour of the city centre this morning. Went to Brandenburg Gates, place where Hitler committed suicide, Reichstag, Ku'Dam, Victory monument, Checkpoint Charlie etc. Took a quick visit to the East Side Gallery also - love the graffiti art!! Is on the East, so the art work has been done since the fall of the Berlin Wall and they change all the time from varying artists.

Quick facts:
1st: there were actually two Berlin walls.
2nd fact: the first "wall" was built in 57 hours! And that was the whole stretch of the wall! 57 hours!
3rd fact: the wall developed over the years so that by the end it was impossible to cross from East to West.

Berlin campsite held some fun for us. Firstly, the showers. They were brilliant. A lot of pressure. Then the punch party that night. Theme: anything but clothes. Wrapping paper, glad wrap (won't go into that one), plates (?), tea towels, rubbish bags, country flags, newspaper, masking tape, even our backpacks for goodness' sake!! That wasn't it though. Being towards the end of the trip, a prizegiving was necessary. I'm proud to say that I won "most cultured woman" (James receiving "most cultured man" among about 4 others. We were even matching!) as well as "best lylo blower". I wore my medals and held my trophies (road cone) with pride. Very hilarious night.

Take a look at the photos for a snippet of it all. HERE.

6th & 7th August: Amsterdam, Netherlands

V.similar to Prague. Love it. Very very relaxed although slightly hectic with all the cyclists pretty much owning the road. Could get seriously dominated in this place! Luckily on our bike tour we didn't visit the busy areas...

There is so much more to it than just the prostitutes (who stand in the windows and aren't as "dirty" as I suspected - another one of those bizarre things, because the scene is mixed with such beauty & character) and the "coffee shops" ie. weed providers that it is typically well known for. I felt like everyone was just totally relaxed and had great style, wearing what they wanted to wear (maybe it was the weed?!). Some fantastic shopping - quirky leather boots from Koos, a silk skirt and a sweet dress shirt thingime were purchased with much joy that day.

The place is actually sinking - so too are the houses. Funny wonkiness in the area gives it a quirky feel.

That evening was the last (tear) evening us Top Deck tour were together before the journey back to London. On the cards was a farewell dinner at a Chinese floating restaurant followed by a FUN River Cruise. Take a look at the photos and you can see the fun factor in the air.

8th August & 9th: London, England
Bus trip & ferry back to London. Pretty sombre mood held by all Top Deck members. Said our goodbyes to Rory & Ollie - two of the crew who had facilitated such a great trip for us. Hugged everyone at the Generator Hostel when back in London. James and I made our way to the Russell Square hostel where we stayed for the next two nights.

Visited Camden markets the next day with James, Fox, Dan and Johnny. Had delicious tea and explored the incredible and lively markets. A really good way to end the trip. Said goodbye to Allira also - such a great Tour Leader. Thank you!! The sunday night I felt so low though - so strange to think I was to be on my lonesome the next day.

BUT Life goes on. Just like Egyptian nights.

Photos

Highlights of Top Deck Tour

James to the left with little kids...

James. So random, so extreme. Cannot describe. Purely just James (pictured to the left...so random). Loved the laughing fits we had. "I LOVE it" or "I just say whatever's on my mind OK" or "eewww" or "I'm going to get up at 6am SHARRRP for a swim" or "Daaanyooo!" or "they have such great fahhhshion"...
Fox hitting a parking meter on our bike tour of Paris whilst turning round to talk to me. & the fact no one helped him up because we were all laughing so much.
Not putting the fly on our tent. So much more practical.
Flapping the dishes. Such a work out. The new, cool way to dry dishes.
Discovering Prague.
Blowing up an air bed in Avignon.
The Canal cruise in Amsterdam.
The punch party in Berlin.
The architecture in the second half of the trip esp. (understated beauty & character)
The graffiti art (in the second half of the trip too). Love a bit of grunge & expression.
The wasps at every lunch break on the bus trips. Man, were they annoying.
Discovering the meaning behind the paintings in the Vatican City.
The bus trips and the interesting sleeping positions (as shown above)