Austria, Czech Republic and Germany

The second half of my trip consisted of visitng Vienna, Prague, Munich and Frankfurt again.
We left Budapest early and arrived in Vienna at 11am, with a 3 hour break for lunch before we did a city tour which included a bus ride and walking around these beautiful cobblestone streets.
Once again Lisa, Jenny and I teamed together to go on an expedition to the Wiener Christkindmarkt (Vienna Christmas Market). We found it after walking about 20minutes and spent an hour wandering around these huge markets. We all tried Lagos (which seemed to be what everyone was eating ) Deep friend bread. Need i say anymore. Neither of us could finish it and all felt a bit yuck after it. I also tried warm spiced apple punch, which unfortunately i didn't really enjoy either, however it is a traditional drink at christmas markets in Europe, so i figured i might as well try.
We walked back to the main square in Vienna and i was on the search for St Peters Cathedral. I stumbled across this church last year and it was such a beautiful little church which had a big impact on me. This time i was lucky enough to share it with some new friends. After filling our stomachs we had our city tour which was good for me, as last year i did do a cycling tour of the city but my lack of ability to ride a bike took over my listening ability to learn about the city.
We left the city and headed to our hotel which was about 20 minutes drive out of the city. There was an optional excursion tonight of a Vienna Waltz Show. I had done this last year and Jenny didn't go either along with everyone else so we enjoyed a dinner and beer and a relaxing night in the hotel room.
A couple of us didn't do an optional excursion of Schonbrun Palace (i did this last year) so Jenny and I had a sleep in and caught a tram into the city which was a 40 minute ride where we met the rest of the tour group and Eszter took afew of us to Swarovski. None of us came out empty handed ...
Afterwards we headed off to Prague, where we just stayed in and had dinner.
We had two optional tours in Prague, a city tour and medieval Prague. The tours were quite good apart from the fact that our tour guide wasn't the best. I would love to go back to this city as it looked so interesting full of history and stunning buildings and bridges. In the Medieval tour of Prague we visited the old castle where inside the chuch it was still about 4 degrees so we could see our breath.
The next morning was spent driving to Munich. We arrived in the city and got a city orientation drive from Eszter and on the way we saw the old Olympic Arena and the BMW headquarters which looked like a spaceship.
We got dropped in the middle of the city and got a couple of hours free time so the three muskateers (Lisa, Jenny and I) climed a tower to over look the city, this is the most popular place for proposals in Munich and you could see why with the lovely view, however it took us about 10 minutes to get our breath back after climbing 290 steps. After exploring some more and having more hot chocolate we headed back to the bus where we left for our hotel. We relaxed for an hour or so before a couple of us headed out for dinner to a restaurant that our tour director had advised was great for German cuisine.
We didnt have much luck finding it so we walked into the city where we managed to find another branch of St. Augustine's. So we filled our stomachs with amazing German beer and food. After dinner, we walked off our dinner before a good sleep.
Our final day on the bus saw us leaving for Frankfurt. We had a break in Nordlingen. A beautiful medievel village where we all felt like one of the locals. Once again, a hot chocolate was on order (i have to defend myself for having so many hot chocolates.It has been SO cold. 0 degrees during the day most days so i need something to warm me up!)
We ventured on to Rothenburg. This is such a magical town on the Romantic Road. Such breathtaking architecture with the wonderfull feeling of magic in the air like a fairy tale movie. Mum had advised that i tried a Schneeballen (Snowball) These are pastry balls coated with various icings and toppings. These looked so delicious but my tastebuds did not say the same, they were quite sickly sweet (and that's saying something, that i can't stomach a desert) Jenny and i climbed up a tower to overlook the city which was an experience in itself with the staircase almost a climb it was so steep and skinny.
Leaving for Frankfurt i was quite emotional thinking that it was my last time on the bus, i had gotten used to spending so much time with these people they have become a second family to me.
Unfortunatly, during most drives this tour we had sour cream (fog) so we didn't get to see too much of the (apparently) beautiful fields, wineries and farmlands.
We had a dinner ready for us in Frankfurt and enjoyed each others company and said our goodbyes.
The next morning i caught a cab with Al, Elaine and Nagumi. The taxi driver was going 160km an hour! When we got out of the car we basically all kissed the ground.
Due to fog in London all flights were either delayed or cancelled. 3 hours later we took off for Heathrow. Landing in what looked like clouds we finnaly made it!!

I have one week in England before heading over to Madrid for my next bit of my tour.

Thank you to those who have been keeping in contact with me. I really appreciate it!
Love Nicole xx



Charles Bridge- Prague



Lisa, Jenny and I eating Lagos

Eszter the tour director and I

Mustafa the bus driver and I

Snowballs in Rothenburg



Rothenburg





Rothenburg



Germany, Poland and Hungary

Months ago I had decided to do a couple of tours, one around central Europe and one in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. This blog is the first three countries I visited on my central Europe tour, Germany, Poland and Hungary.



A map of where my travels for the next two weeks are



I left Heathrow on the 6^th of November, bound for Frankfurt, Germany. I arrived and sought out the train station to catch the train and then taxi to my hotel where my tour was starting. I managed to get on the right train and then jumped into a taxi (which was a Mercedes) to the hotel. I was absolutely exhausted and was pleased to find out that I wasn’t sharing with anyone in the room. Yes! We had a meet and greet at night and it seemed most people were quite nice. 4 other Australians, 8 Americans, 1 Japanese, 4 Indians and me! Our tour guide Eszter is from Budapest, Hungary and our bus driver Mustava is from Turkey but has lived in Germany for many years.

Travel began on the first day where we drove 575km from Frankfurt to Berlin plus a stop in Weimar. Weimar was a lovely small town where there were not many tourists so you really felt like one of the locals. I started chatting to a lady named Lisa from the tour group whom I walked around with. We explored a bit before having a hot chocolate and a desert of a jam doughnut and boy it was lovely!

Berlin greeted Lisa and i with an amazing Christmas shop and dinner at Hard Rock Café, a few local beers later and full stomachs on free deserts. A great start to the trip.

The next day in Berlin saw us on a city tour with a local guide which included a stop at the Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate. In the free time which was the whole afternoon, Lisa and I caught a tram around the city and walked about 7km to explore a little more. We went back to the Berlin Wall (or what is left of it), checkpoint charlie and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. A couple of k’s away is the Holocaust Memorial. Thousands of plain concrete blocks built in memory of the Jews that were killed in World War II. We stumbled along a Holocaust Memorial underground. This was the first proper glimpse of just how horrible it was back then. 

Berlin to Warsaw was a very long bus ride as well, covering 590km in a day...a long day. We had a nice lunch break in Poznan. This town is a lovely, un-touristy place to visit. Lucky for us, it was National Airforce Day, so chefs were cutting up a huge cake in the shape of an F14 for the public. The main square looked like a movie set as there was not many people around. I guess travelling at this time of year is wise (despite the weather) as there are not too many tourists around.

We had a full day in Warsaw and in a way i felt like i was home as i came here last year on my travels with Lisa(My cousin). I visited a few of the shops i went into last time with her and loved every minute of it. This time i did go into the Jewish Uprising Museum of Warsaw though which was well worth it. Yet another taste of what was to come the next day.

Warsaw to Krakow was a day i was so looking forward to as today we visited Jasna Gora Monestry-Poland''s largest Pilgramidge Place, where we got taken around by a nun, we arrived in the middle of a mass so it was quite an experience. After this, we stopped at Birkenau. Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. The sheer size of this concentration an extermination camp is unbelievable. You can almost feel the peoples spirits surrounding you when you enter the gates, tyring to make you understand and see what happened to them. Unfortunately we didnt spend too long here as we were on the way to Auschwitz.

Auschwitz as a camp doesnt actually look too bad, with brick buildings. However, the deeper you delve, the more you see how horrible it was. 1 300 000 people died here as a result of the Nazi's. Auschwitz concentration camp was originally built as a work camp (however the Nazi's had no intention of ever letting people out) So the presence of seeing atrocious living conditions isnt as bad as expected, although there is 1 gas chamber there which could fit up to 20thousand people at one time and kill them all in 2 hours. Birkenau has 7. So you can start to imagine just how easy it was to kill so many people in one go. At the Auschwitz Museum, you see suitcases with peoples name on them, shoes, hairbrushes, cooking utencils and shoe polish. These poor people legitimatly thought that they were just moving cities, so they bought everything that was vaulable to them. At Auschwitz you also saw 2 tonnes of hair that had been shaved off the jewish people. Back in the day, the hair was valuable and made them money so they kept it all. 7 tonnes was found, 2 tonnes is now out on display. We also visited the gas chamber which i must say was a sickening experience.

We all left Auchwitz in silence. Trying to understand and take in what we had just experienced...

Krakow is a bright, lively city with beautiful architecture. We explored around the city on a tour and in the afternoon visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Quite amazing and certainly something i would recommend everyone to do if they ever visit Krakow.

We travelled Krakow to Budapest via Slovakia. 3 countries in a day! This day mainly consisted of driving around the Tatra Mountains and a lunch stop at a ski resort.

In Budapest we arrived at night and went straight for a cruise down the Danube to see Budapest by night. It was spectacular.....but FREEZING. haha. Most of us spent the time inside the boat as it was just far too cold.

The next day a city tour was included which gave us the history and took us to special historical spots around this beautiful city. After the tour Lisa and i were in each others company once again and we high tailed it to the large inside markets to have a look, then onto some small christmas markets before heading to St Stephens Cathedral. This was quite a stunning church which has a mummified hand in there of someone of high importance to them related to the church.

When i told mum i was going to Budapest the first thing she recommended doing was going to the thermal spa's here, so Lisa and i took ourselves for a 2 hour swim in the outdoor spas. 5 degrees outside, 38 in the water. It was so amazing with an old building surrounding us. Very special and i would go back for sure. Budapest is one place i would love to come back to in the future.

So far this trip has been fantastic, and i am making the most of every moment, basically not having enough time to breathe, but it is well worth it.

I will do another blog when i get back to England with the rest of this trip.

Love you all <3



In Weimer



Berlin Wall










Birkenau

Budapest

Rivercruise down the Danube



Suitcases of victims in Auschwitz















Warsaw

Lisa from the tour group and I

And so it begins

The last couple of days at home are abit of a blur filled with family, friends, laughs,cake and a few tears here and there. I had a family lunch on Saturday which was lovely and Sunday Josh ad i decided to go to Dreamworld to try and take our minds of the imminent farewell.
I had dry eyes the whole time at the airport until i started going down the escalators.....after customs mum, dad, uncle stephen and josh all stood on the balcony waving to me and thats when the floods started. All they were doing was watching me crying.
I pulled myself together and boarded the plane where i had no one next to me to Dubai, until my second flight to Heathrow where it was a full flight. I got a little sleep on the 14 hour flight and actually felt okay which is a change.
After waiting for my bags for a while i walked out to a huge cuddle from Nanna and Dandar (Joan and Mick)...my english grandparents.
I arrived in at 11:30am so i stayed awake as long as i could, until it hit me about 7pm and then it was bed time for me.
This week i havn't been up to too much, just sorting out bank accounts, sim cards and nation insurance numbers, as well as exploring a couple of shopping centres haha.
It was my birthday yesterday and over here it is Guy Fawkes Day, which invoves fireworks and bonfires! No bonfires here but we did go out for dinner for my birthday and lit about 20 fireworks (not all at once) in the backyard. It was quite an experience!
 The hospitality of Joan and Mick has been amazing and i really don't know what i would have done without them in the times i needed a cuddle or a warm cup of tea. It has made being away from family and friends a much smoother process then it would have been without them.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday messages :-)