Prague (Czech Republic) & Vienna (Austria) - 11th to 14th September 2005

11th September 2005 - We explored Prague during the day. Photos of Charles Bridge. Its construction was commissioned by Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and began in 1357.

It's also where INXS filmed the video to Never Tear Us Apart. Check it out on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZZGwENyUNs










In the evening Richard really wanted to see the torture museum we had previously seen advertised. When we got there, I found out there were two exhibitions the other being a live spider and scorpion display.

Richard was extremely disappointed with the torture museum. He tells me there were only four torture instruments and a lot of pictures.

The spider exhibition was excellent. It is the largest in Europe. Every type of bird eating spider you can imagine. These things are big and hairy. They get fed mice once a week and crickets as snacks for the rest of the week. They have 4 fungs which are constantly moving even when they are docile. That's the bit that creeped me out a little.



If anyone is interested this is the address where the Spider exhibition can be found

Mostecka 21
Mala Strana
Prague 1
Czech Republic

And a website refering to it is:

http://www.allpraha.com/?page=resourcedetail&category=100113&resource=21446&resourcename=Spider%20Exhibition

12th September - Caught midday train back to Vienna.

13th September - Explore more of Vienna. I was well and truely over paying for the use of a toliet. Need I say more?










VIEW FROM HOTEL ROOM IN VIENNA


14th September - It's a sad day. We had breakfast at the Hotel and caught a train to the airport. We didn't have the right ticket! This was the first time in Europe we came across ticket inspectors. Unlike the inspectors in Melbourne, they let you buy a ticket from them. This is the end of our trip and the end of my blog.

Salzburg (Austria) & Prague (Czech Republic) - 9th - 10th September 2005

9TH SEPTEMBER 2005 - SALZBURG




In 1965 Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg starring Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music. Everyone knows the words to "My Favorite Things" and "Do-Re-Mi"!!!




Locals were really friendly and helpful. Posed for photos in the Gnome garden. I THINK THESE TWO WERE SEPERATED AT BIRTH??

We walked through all the manicured gardens made famous by the Sound of Music, the street and of course the churches and grave yard. Climbed Fortress only to find admission costs too expensive.







Salzburg is well set up for tourists. It was like a festival was going on, big groups of people singing, big tents full of food stalls. We also spotted a couple of Aussie blokes walking around with beer in their hands. They stick out like sore thumbs in foreign countries.

10TH SEPTEMBER 2005 - PRAGUE



Prague but not without missing the train. This is apparently my fault because I woke up complaining that I was tired. This left Rich disorientated and we ended up at the wrong train station. Then he wouldn't talk to me. So there we were sitting on the lawn outside the Belvedere Palace. Some old fella come out shaking his hand at us after over half an hour of sitting there. I assumed he was asking us to move.

The train trip was beautiful, although I have to admit I slept a fair part of the way. At the train station in Prague we haggled for accommodation. Well Richard did. I just stood there, overwhelmed. What's happening? Suddenly we were surrounded by people trying to sell us their accommodation. Here we met Hana who took us to her apartment that she rents out. She was very helpful, telling us about communism and the fact the travel for the residents of the Czech Republic was out of the question until 16 years ago when communism ended. She also advised to only use banks to obtain the Czech currency. The apartment was a couple of kilometres out of Prague. However it was close to a shopping centre which we had to walk through to get to the train station attached.

Pictures of our apartment and surrounding area can be found at:
http://www.praguecheapflats.com/html05/ing/07_jicinska2.htm

During the evening we went into Prague and explored.

Vienna (Austria) & Budapest (Hungry) - 6th, 7th & 8th September 2005

6th September 2005 - Fly to Vienna, explore town by night including St Stephen's Cathedral, the Haas House, the Graben with the Statue of the Holy Trinity, The Church of St Peter, The State Opera Building and St Michael's Tract.

7th September 2005 - Vienna, Our hotel has contential breakfast. Yippee, my first decent cup of tea since Australia. The tea in Greece was terrible. I gave up after the first week. I had one cuppa and it tasted like weetbix and milk. Visit the Palace Schloss Belvedere, the Hundertwasser House including the toliet of modern art (one expensive leak in the loo!). Lots and lots of walking - my feet need a holiday

PHOTOS OF PALACE SCHLOSS BELVEDERE









8th September 2005 - Budapest. The pest was a real pest. It was a city. The highlight for Richard was the bank dealers. They were almost the only good looking women in the country! Buda, the old town was the highlight, especially the Fisherman's Bastion. Lots more walking, however, there was a Funicular Railway that can take you up to Buda. They charge a fortune for a 50 metre, also vertical trip. Money goes a long way in Budapest as long as you are careful not to get ripped off. One place tried to charge us 800 wiggle woggles for a bottle of water which is $5 Aust. I called the Hungrian currency wiggle woggles in figgle foggle land because 20 Euro was about 4,600 figgle foogles or 3,800 if exchanged at the railway station and not the bank. CRAZY!!!

31st August to 6th September 2005

31st August - We are leaving Santorini today. Over 8 hours in the ferry back home. I'm glad I saw Santorini and it's volcano but I will not be going back any time soon. Apart from the villages, it is a very barren place, not trees grow in the volcanic soil.

1st September - We will now spent some time with Richard's family until the 6th September. After that we are heading to Vienna, Prague and Budapest.

Bye for now

Santorini - Greece - 30th August 2005

Today Richard swam at Kamari beach.

Kamari is a beach resort situated 10 kms southeast of Fira, the capital of Santorini. It is one of the more developed resorts on the Eastern coastline of Santorini. The beach at Kamari is almost 5 kms long. It is a black sandy beach with countless bars and restaurants along the seafront. A frequent bus service links Kamari to Fira (the capital). We took the bus so that Richard could have a swim.

He complained the water was dirty. The air planes full of tourist kept coming overhead every 5 minutes....So serene...not!



We went to Oia in the evening to watch the sunset. Oia, pronounced ‘Ia’, is the most famous of all villages of Santorini. It is known throughout the world for its quiet life and fantastic sunset, and is certainly the most beautiful and picturesque village of Santorini.

The village is also situated on top of an impressive cliff and offers a spectacular view over the volcano of Palia and Nea Kameni and the island of Thirassia.
Oia is situated on the north of the island, 11 km away from Fira.

It is a traditional village with charming houses in narrow streets, blue domed churches, and sun-bathed verandas. Its streets have plenty of tourist shops, taverns, cafés, and other shops.

If there was 1 million tourist in Fira yesterday, there were 2 million tourists watching the sunset in Oia today. Oia is a nicer village and the sunset is better here.

PHOTO OF SUNSET



BLUE DOMED CHURCH (I POKED MY FACE INTO THIS PHOTO, SO DID SOME OF THE OTHER TOURISTS)



HERE IS A PHOTO OF ME IN SANTORINI GETTING FRIENDLY WITH ONE OF THE LOCALS



We were planning to go to another island called Tinos but the price to get there was unbelievably high. One of the travel agents in Santorini got nasty with us. The lady who served us, would not tell us the price and Richard had asked several times, they printed up the tickets and then told us the price. I told Richard there is no way we are paying that much and we proceded to walk out. The owner of travel agent got angry, telling us he had already printed the tickets and we had to take them. We were not falling for that one and kept walking. We could hear him cursing us down the street.

Santorini - Greece - 29th August 2005

Santorini here we come.



After over 8 hours on a ferry I am sad to say (sorry donna) that Santorini is very disappointing. People kept telling me to book accommodation ahead (most of these people had never been overseas). We have not booked any accommodation in advance in Greece. We have had no problems what so ever getting accommodation even though August is the peak period. The problem with booking accommodation ahead is that they require (more often than not) a credit card payment up front. As one tourist said to me, you get to the place and it can be not what they advertised, in other words you have paid for a dump and trying to get your money back is almost impossible.

When you hop off the ferry there are hundreds of people with signs above their heads advertising their hotels. SEE PICTURE



They take you to their hotel by bus and you get to view the room before you accept it. The Port of Santorini was crazy. But this system works well thoughout Europe an it ensures you don't get ripped off.

On Santorini we stayed in Fira. I have never seen a more tourist infested place in my life. All the photos you see on postcards in Santorini have been touched up. It is the most overrated place I have ever seen. It does not feel like Greece because there are so many English speaking tourists. I had one yank tell me "Get out of my photo". They are so rude here. We saw the sunset in Fira today with about a million other tourists, that was the highlight.

Pireaus - Greece - 27th and 28th August 2005

27th - Lazy day back in Pireaus staying with Richard's Mum. Dinner with Richard's friend Harry. They met during army service which is compulsory in Greece for boys. Hit the Flea Market for sourveigns.



28th - Another Lazy day in Pireaus. The soccer was on tonight. Pireaus' team won and the whole place went mad. The Greeks are crazy for soccer.

Volos - Greece - 26th August 2005

Today we leave Volos. However we cannot get a train back to Athens until 5pm. So we checkout at midday, Richard went for a swim while I sat at the beach bar for about 2 hours, then we went out for lunch to a traditional restaurant. The dishes at restarants/taverns vary depending on the region of Greece you are in. For example, Ouzo is big in Volos.

BEACH BAR IN VOLOS



6 hour train trip to Athens was not fun. Someone had blocked the toilet on the train by putting toilet paper in the toilet (you have to put your paper in the bin and not the toilet in Greece - Yuk). All this urine and god knows what else was in the bowl while the train was rocking from side to side. It was disgusting. I thought I was going to be sick. This is not as bad as having to use a squat with no toliet paper. I have had to use a squat several times so far including one in Meteora and Santorini too. A couple of times a day someone comes in to hose them down as there is no flush.
Yukky Pooh!

Pilion Region - Greece - 25th August 2005

Today we explored the surrounding areas of Volos by bus. I didn't have any breakfast and got very motion sick in the bus. However, it was worth it as we went to this very nice village called Makrinitsa which is part of the Pilion region. After a lot of moaning about how sick I was feeling we sat down for traditional Greek cakes and iced chocolate. Not a very healthy breakfast! PICTURE OF WHERE WE HAD BREAKFAST



Richard took another bus trip while I had a siesta.

Then in the early evening we took yet another bus trip to Kala Nera in the Pilion region. Richard swam in his undies! hahaha! Really nice, relaxing, peaceful place. Richard thought it would have been nice to get a hotel room there for a couple of days. Maybe another time.

LOOK CLOSELY AT THE GIRL NEXT TO THE SNOKEL FLIPPERS - ZOOM IN BOYS!!!

Volos - Greece - 24th August 2005

24th August - We leave Salonica for Volos. Again we use the Lonely Planet book for accommodation advice and stay at Hotel Jason with a balcony overlooking the main road. PHOTO TAKEN ON BALCONY OF HOTEL JASON



Finally Richard gets to go for a swim. He was getting really shitty with Salonica because the swimming beach was about 16kms away by bus. Volos is fairly quiet by day but come 9-10pm at night the whole place comes alive. There are Taverns for about 1km. SEE PHOTO



There are a lot of students in Volos as there is a university here. Our hotel room came with a balcony so when we got tired of walking at night we bought drinks at the kiosk and retired to our balcony to watch people walk by.

The kiosks here are like milk bars. Except there are no rules in Greece on what they can sell. Kids can buy alcohol, cigarettes and porn from the kiosk if they like. Nobody really gets drunk here as I have been told it is not socially acceptable (unlike Australia). The teenagers here are also well behaved despite the fact that they have access to pretty much anything they like.

Thessaloniki (Salconica) - Greece - 23rd August 2005

Salonica also known as Thessaloniki. There really isn't much here...It is just one busy city like Melbourne with too many cars. I am currently in the an internet cafe and the bloke next to me is scratching his privates.....I know it's disgusting but I had to share that with you all. The internet is cheap here. $2.50 per hr as opposed to $6 per hr on the island.

We visited an old prison this morning that was holding prisoners until 1989. It was so povo....The prisoners in Australia get it really good compared to this thing...concrete and barbed wire...nothing more.

My legs are really killing me from all the walking we have been doing. I left Richard to go for a walk in the afternoon. Once he was gone I took off to the shops. The street our hotel is on has the best cheap clothes shopping in town and the lonely planet book leads me to believe it could be the best in Greece. I didn't buy anything as the clothes were mainly cheap and nasty. The ones I did try on made me look like a Greek tramp! The girls here are all skinny and good looking. As they get older, they get fatter and uglier. There is a god!!!!

Tonight we went out for dinner and bought our next lot of train tickets. Tomorrow we are off to Volos. There is a beach there and Richard can swim, which will make him happy ;-)

Meteora - Greece -22nd August 2005

Meteora - As it turns out, there are buses and taxi's going up to the Monestaries. You are still required to climb about 300 steps per Monestary but that is nothing compared to the trekking Richard was assuming we would have to do.

We took a taxi up. The taxi driver was born in Melbourne (being the third biggest greek capital) and had been back and forward from Greece to Melbourne just like Richard over his life time. He was telling us he lived in Burwood near Kmart. It is a small world.

The monestaries were amazing....how the hell they got all that stuff up those cliffs to build the monestries is beyond me.









Just after 1pm we left Meteora for Salonica. We arrived in Salonica at about 4pm and walked to another Motel recommended by the Lonely Planet book.

After siesta we went for a walk in the evening. Richard was disappointed with Salonica. We walked along the waterside and it is quite polluted. It is also a lot cooler here, which I am pleased with, however Richard likes the warmer weather for swimming. The traffic congestion is also bad in Salonica.

Meteora - Greece - 21st August 2005

Train trip to Meteora. Get on the train and I have to order someone to move out of my allocated seat. I think he was an ex prisoner as he had a code tattooed on his hand. He had a broken foot. I could not have given a sh*t. It's a 4 and 1/2 hour train trip and it was my seat!!!!

Then some women comes to me and it turns out her seat number is the same as mine. Once again, I could not give a sh*t, first in, first served. My seat and I told her that too!!!

Then further down the line we cop a stinky old man and god did he smell...He sat there for about an hour. I had my hand over my nose the whole way!

Meteora wa awesome. Richard read through the lonely planet book, we took one of the hotels that they recommended overlooking the rocks and the monestries. We opened the doors to the balcony of the room and there the rocks were in all their glory! I hope my photos turn out well. I bought 2 books with all the pictures just in case they didn't. VIEW FROM HOTEL SEE PHOTO ATTACHED



Richard took me up a foot path to climb the rocks thinking it was the only way up there and almost killed me. I'm not very fit...It's not walking here, it is more like trekking...Not a hobby I will be taking up I assure you!

Athens & Pireaus - Greece - 19th and 20th of August

19th August - Travelled into Athens for Honey Dumplings that Richard's uncle had recommended we try.....yummy!

20th August - Richard went for a swim while I sat my lazy arse at the beach bar! hehehe! Ordered an ice chocolate and it cost me 4.30 Euros which is like over $7Aust. It is expensive here! Stretched the ice chocolate out for 2 hours. I guess the price covers the use of the seat and umbrella.

Athens - Greece - 16th, 17th & 18th August 2005

16th August 2005 - We leave Poros, ferry back to Pireaus, the port of Athens. went for a walk down the Mikrolimino, more cafes and restaurants than you can imagine.

17th August 2005 - In morning Richard took me shopping for clothes to make me look more like a greek girl and less like a tourist. I feel like a bit of a clown in the new clothes but I notice that other women are wearing similar outfits.



We climbed the acropolis. Richard did not enjoy it. It cost us 12 euro each ($20 Aust). It is not as spectacular as the pictures make it out to be. All the pictures on the postcards do not show the metal bars holding the stones up. Makes you wonder how many more years the poor old thing can stand. The marble and stone steps were very slippery and not surprisingly I had a fall. I'm carrying a bit of extra padding at the moment so it didn't really hurt! ha! At the foot of the acropolis we tried to buy a can of drink. The bloke wanted 2 euro for a can with a suggested selling price of 0.65 cents. So I gave him the f-bomb and said - "that's f#$%ed" and kept walking. They really do try to rip off tourists. Can't take me anywhere! ha!

After Siesta in the afternoon we went to an outdoor cinema on top of one of the buildings and saw Hitch. The outdoor cinemas are much better than ours in Australia.

18th August 2005 - Richard swam at Votsalakia beach in Pireaus (near home) while I sat at the beach bar sipping my peach iced tea. Ahhh this is the life!

Tonight we going via bus to the trendy seaside suburb of Glyfada. Bye for now

Poros Island - Greece -13th, 14th, 15th August 2005

Nothing interesting...just a bit of swimming, more food and sleeping.

Tonight being the 15th is Richard's Mums names day so we are going to have a big celebration tonight with even more food. We have eaten very little today in preparation

RICHARD'S MUM


We are heading back to athens tomorrow (16th)

We are aware that there has been a big plane crash in Athens....I was hoping nobody would see it on the news...therefore my mum wouldn't worry...but my sister has already sent me a message to make sure we are alright. Please don't worry mum!!!!!

12th August 2005

Today we went to the local beach. Richard in particular likes this because there is a bit of nude sun baking going on. He has suggested on occasions that I join in - I have so far declined.



For the first time in two weeks that I have been in Greece I have got a bit too much sun on one arm. One arm only sun burnt looks rather strange. I don't know how I am managed it. Prior to today Richard likened me to one of his butt cheeks! While his bottom is white the rest of him is a beautiful dark tan.

Gotta go, Richard is getting impatient!

11 August 2005

Today we went over to the main land by boat for a meal at Richard's mums husband's relatives.

10th August 2005

Today we went to Spetses, another island, by flying dolphin (fast boat). I have now seen all islands in the Saronic Gulf.



ME, ACCIDENT PRONE, NEVER!

My left foot has been really unlucky in 2005. First it was fractured. Today, I got my toe stuck underneath the ramp getting onto on the boat. Richard told me specifically to watch my step. Poor Richard is trying really hard to look after me. However, I AM MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

I took the skin off the top of my toe. The captain bandaged my toe. I was really impressed by the first class service.

Poros Island - Greece - 8th & 9th August 2005

8th August
Richard's Dad came to the island and we went out to dinner. We went to a restaurant that both Richard and I have been to and did not enjoy. I could cook better food! Anyway, we ordered watermelon for dessert. We had been sitting there for some time waiting, waiting. Suddenly a motor bike turns up at the restaurant with a water melon on the back. 5 minutes lated we get served our water melon.

Now imagine if I had have ordered LAMB instead

9th August
Swimming at Askeli Beach. On the 6th (saturday) we came to a Tavern here with Richard's brother. They played the very worst 80's music...some of it I had never heard before it was that bad! The beer and the company however were good. We also got free promotional T-shirts.

Poros Island - Greece - 6th & 7th August 2005

More Poros

Today we hired a Motor Bike. Normally I would be quite weary riding on the back of one but Richard has a Motor Cycle Licence in Australia and I trust him. The Motor Bike is the best form of air conditioning!





On the 6th we went to Russian Bay to swim. The Lonely Planet book claims this is the best beach on the island. It's a good beach but it is not the best.

On the 7th we went to the Monestary on the top of one of the mountains on Poros.


The mountains are covered with Pine Trees, I'm not sure if Pine trees are native to Greece or not. Then we went swimming at the beach at Hotel Serene. This is my favourite beach on the island. It is a private beach (maybe it belongs to the hotel?). I'm not sure we are suppposed to be on it. You have to go through the Hotel Foyer, down the elevator, through a tunnel on the cliff side to get to it. It is Heaven!