Post by missbrianne on Oct 19, 2005 22:08:50 GMT -5
Hi Guys!. I got back almost two months ago now but with having to find a house and starting university in a brand new city I haven’t really had the time to update you all on my trip!.
Firstly thanks to EVERYONE on this site you were so helpful before I left with my silly pre-trip jitters and my constant questions about nearly everything under the sun! Our trip went off without any major hitches which was wonderful and I am already planning the next trip, talk about catchin the travel bug hey?!
A quick recap-
We left on the 22nd of June and we were able to make it to
London
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Dublin
Paris
Barcelona
Venice
Zagreb
Budapest
Cesky Krumluv
Prague
Krakow
Berlin
Amsterdam
Frankfurt
On August 10th the boyfriend came home and I continued with my youth group to
Winterberg
Cologne
Frankfurt
On August 24th I FINALLY got home.
I must say that I was ready to stay in Europe forever and ever and ever until Richard left me with the youth group. Then I knew I was definitely ready to come home.
The highlights of our trip were:
Dublin-
We took a tour with Over The Top Tours which I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend. It’s inexpensive as far as a guided tour goes and gets you out of the city to a variety of sites. The buses are also very small about 14 people and the guide was a BLAST!. We even made some friends. It only cost us 24 Euro for a full day from 9am till 6pm! The Guinness Storehouse. I expected it to be sort of dull but it was a lot of fun and that pint o’ Guinness at 11 in the morning sure does a girl good.! Hehe
Barcelona-
The guidebook gave us the impression that there wasn’t very much to do and that it was a dirty and crime filled city. WE HAD AN AWESOME TIME HERE!. Park Guell is a must see and the beaches were awesome. And you just have to try the food. Barcelona is such a fantastically relaxed city that we felt like we were on vacation while we were away.
Zagreb-
Unfortunately in Zagreb we made our accommodation bookings privately as it was the only option still available to up. We ended up paying 60 Euro a night and the place was infested with bugs and when it rained there were puddles ON THE INSIDE. Just to warn you the agency was called Evistas and when we tried to contact them regarding this they did not reply.
Prague-
In Prague we stayed at the Cybulskiego Guest House and it was immaculate. The room was huge and clean and we only shared the kitchen with four other people who we never even saw!. We even had our own bathroom and the price couldn’t be beat. The old lady who runs the place barely spoke a word of English but when we showed up at six in the morning after the night train from Prague she let us sleep on her couch and shower. It was the kindness most spectacular thing I have ever experienced. This place was seriously amazing- the bathroom was bigger than some of the rooms we had stayed in.
Amsterdam-
I could go on and on and on about this city but in short it is amazing. The red-light district was a wee bit disappointing for me but the botanical gardens, the rijksmuseum and the historisch museum more than made up for that. AND THE CANDY!. There is candy EVERYWHERE!
Heh- and I was even trying to keep it short!. Sorry but I do hope some of my experiences help!.
Also does anyone else feel strangly empty now that they're back? This trip managed to consume nearly a year of my life with planning and earning money and finally being there and now.... it's strange.
Firstly thanks to EVERYONE on this site you were so helpful before I left with my silly pre-trip jitters and my constant questions about nearly everything under the sun! Our trip went off without any major hitches which was wonderful and I am already planning the next trip, talk about catchin the travel bug hey?!
A quick recap-
We left on the 22nd of June and we were able to make it to
London
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Dublin
Paris
Barcelona
Venice
Zagreb
Budapest
Cesky Krumluv
Prague
Krakow
Berlin
Amsterdam
Frankfurt
On August 10th the boyfriend came home and I continued with my youth group to
Winterberg
Cologne
Frankfurt
On August 24th I FINALLY got home.
I must say that I was ready to stay in Europe forever and ever and ever until Richard left me with the youth group. Then I knew I was definitely ready to come home.
The highlights of our trip were:
Dublin-
We took a tour with Over The Top Tours which I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend. It’s inexpensive as far as a guided tour goes and gets you out of the city to a variety of sites. The buses are also very small about 14 people and the guide was a BLAST!. We even made some friends. It only cost us 24 Euro for a full day from 9am till 6pm! The Guinness Storehouse. I expected it to be sort of dull but it was a lot of fun and that pint o’ Guinness at 11 in the morning sure does a girl good.! Hehe
Barcelona-
The guidebook gave us the impression that there wasn’t very much to do and that it was a dirty and crime filled city. WE HAD AN AWESOME TIME HERE!. Park Guell is a must see and the beaches were awesome. And you just have to try the food. Barcelona is such a fantastically relaxed city that we felt like we were on vacation while we were away.
Zagreb-
Unfortunately in Zagreb we made our accommodation bookings privately as it was the only option still available to up. We ended up paying 60 Euro a night and the place was infested with bugs and when it rained there were puddles ON THE INSIDE. Just to warn you the agency was called Evistas and when we tried to contact them regarding this they did not reply.
Prague-
In Prague we stayed at the Cybulskiego Guest House and it was immaculate. The room was huge and clean and we only shared the kitchen with four other people who we never even saw!. We even had our own bathroom and the price couldn’t be beat. The old lady who runs the place barely spoke a word of English but when we showed up at six in the morning after the night train from Prague she let us sleep on her couch and shower. It was the kindness most spectacular thing I have ever experienced. This place was seriously amazing- the bathroom was bigger than some of the rooms we had stayed in.
Amsterdam-
I could go on and on and on about this city but in short it is amazing. The red-light district was a wee bit disappointing for me but the botanical gardens, the rijksmuseum and the historisch museum more than made up for that. AND THE CANDY!. There is candy EVERYWHERE!
Heh- and I was even trying to keep it short!. Sorry but I do hope some of my experiences help!.
Also does anyone else feel strangly empty now that they're back? This trip managed to consume nearly a year of my life with planning and earning money and finally being there and now.... it's strange.