Saturday, 19 May 2012

East meets West with a fallen wall- Germany

So I made my way from Prague to Berlin where I stayed at the St Christopher's inn. It was an amazing hostel where one day I spent all day with friends I had planned to meet up with and then the next day spent meeting new friends. I saw a lot of things in Berlin but by far my favourite thing I saw was the East Side gallery of the Berlin wall! I had plenty of food my 2 days spent here and I highly recommend the free tour from the NewBerlin tour company, very informative and the tour guide was amazing! Next stop: Copenhagen!
Some old fashioned German currywurst (it's like bratwurst but with curry) and it was delicious!
For lunch I had some German pork goulash which was surprisingly really filling.  And I didn't even mind the heaping amounts of red cabbage in it too.
One of the many beautiful artworks at the East Side Gallery, of the Berlin Wall.  This is actually the biggest outdoor gallery in the world and really believe it!  It was such a beautiful walk with so many inspiring works of art.
This one is one of my favourite works on the gallery.  I love the use of colour and lines to form such a distinct piece of art.  And this was just a bit of it, the actual work stretched out much longer than this! 

It's time for a Northern adventure! - Denmark, Sweden

Once I said goodbye to Berlin it was off to Copenhagen and Stockholm! The 2 countries were so amazing, the people, the culture, everything I experienced in those 2 countries made such an impact on my trip.
This is the ice-cream I had in Copenhagen!  It was good but it was no Italian gelato.
I found this really great cafe in the old town of Stockholm.  It was called cafe art and you
had to walk downstairs and in this cellar like cafe and it was simply lovely.
Architecture in Copenhagen was really unique and this was one of the many examples of them. 
In Stockholm, mooses apparently are a populat tourist item, and since 
one of my closest friends love mooses I had to take a photo of one!

Monday, 14 May 2012

Czeching Prague out! - Czech Republic

After saying good bye to my friends parents in Vienna, I was off to Prague! It was a 5 hour train ride to get there, and I stayed at the Czech Inn for 3 nights. The funny thing was that the first day I was there it was 29 degrees and hot! But the next day it settled back to a regular 18. I was fortunate enough to know a friend who was staying there at the time, so I met up with her and she showed me around for the next few days. Prague was a lot smaller then I imagined (at least old Prague) but a lot more exciting, there was always something to do and all the food you can eat!
Some traditional Czech food; Pork with bread and this potato, sauerkraut, bacon mixture.
It ended up being so filling! and sadly, I think I broke out because of the pork :(
The fancy brunch I went to with my friend.  The place itself had a Victorian meets funky style
with a club and lounge in it too!  But the food was delicious!
Not to sure if its a Prague thing, but this is deep friend pineapple with honey, and whip cream.
So basically a few of my favourite foods to eat!  The deep fried part along side the warmed pineapple added a unique flavour to the dessert that I didn't expect.
One of the many types of street food I had here.  This is a "cheeseburger" or cheese in a bun.
Basically, it's a piece of deep fried cheese in a bun with lettuce and mayonnaise.
Defintely quite delicious and really flavourful and filling.


The Hills are alive... - Austria (and Hungary)

So catching the airplane in the morning from Athens I arrived in beautiful Vienna, where I was lucky enough to be able to stay at a friend's place. Now her parents were the most hospitable, sweet people I have met on this trip, and they really helped me navigate Vienna. I spent a good 5 nights there, but I did manage to make a day trip over to Budapest as well. I found Vienna to be such a lovely city with so much culture and history, and I realized along with London, Dublin and Rome that Vienna is a city I could imagine myself living in for a little while. Unfortunately, because I was so enchanted by the city, I didn't get a lot of photos on my phone (but I took plenty on my cameras). So with that disclaimer, enjoy!
Look at how the cloud formations really create depth to the statue. I've taken many photos like this on
my trip.
The backdrop of the stage of the Opera during intermission.  It was quite the sight to see!
The stage and live orchestra for the Sound of Music!  The funny thing was that everything was
in German (even the songs!) but I still manage to follow it all.  It was simply amazing! Well done actors and
musicians!


Thursday, 10 May 2012

It's all Greek to me - Greece

My next stop on my adventure was Greece! Now I must say Greece was very different to what I was getting used to back in Italy. The weather, people and language were pretty much nothing like I have been used to, yet I found it to be such a lovely place. My itinerary for Greece looked like this: arrive in Athens by plane, spend a night, then ferry off to Santorini for 4 nights before coming back and sleeping in the airport. I know it wasn't enough time to see and experience everything but I am fairly confident that I will be back some day, to explore more of the islands.
The hills in Oya (a village in Santorini)  When I think of Greece, this is what I think of.  
Did you know that the Sisterhood of Travelling pants were filmed on Santorini? and in
this particular part of the island? I actually rode a donkey to get to this village because I arrived at port just below.  The donkey ride was not what I thought it would be at all, but definitely worth the 5 euros.
Baklava.  It was so good! with so much honey, Winnie the Pooh would have day!
It's nice being on a beautiful beach, without millions of people!  Perissa beach.
I'm on a boat!  This sailing boat was my main source of transportation during one of the days I had in Santorini
Having fun in the Red Beach!  See that rock in the distance? Well, that's my rock, I have claimed it by swimming all the way there through that cold, rocky water.
My attempt at practicing some yoga during my trip.  See how lovely my form is?  
This was the view from the ferry on my way to Santorini from Athens.  The 7 1/2 hour ferry was pretty long I must say.
3 days, 8 gyros.  It was THAT good! plus it was really cheap, 2 euros and right beside my villa? 
Done deal.
Just took a photo of this on my phone for my own uses. (It came in handy)
I met up with friends one day and we rented ATVs to transport us all over the island
Now these shoes I had gotten back in Vancouver (and were fairly cheap)
They had surprisingly lasted me 2 whole months of backpacking before they finally gave up.
I sadly had to part with them in Santorini. *moment of silence*
Oh well, more room to buy new ones!
This is the path from my villa, Stelios Place (amazing, full recommendations) to the Perissa beach.
It literally took me 1 minute to get to the beach and all the food places.
Hey, that's me!  I'm smiling at you because I get to ride this wicked thing all day, all over the quiet island.
These were custom made sandals I had gotten in Athens.  The guy was so cool, he literally grabbed my foot to adjust the straps perfectly.
The view of one of the beaches in Thirissia (An island near Santorini)  I had lunch there after my tour's sailing boat had dropped us off after swimming to a hot springs