Bergen

SarahLeave a comment

I was supposed to arrive in Bergen via a 6.5 hour train, but my payment didn’t go through and I ended up having to pay extra to catch a flight. I guess it was worth it as it was far more comfortable, and I have a pretty good record when it comes to flying with Norwegian. The first flight I took with them, I had row 1 seats, second they showed cat videos and this time I had the emergency exit row with an empty seat next to me.

When I arrived here, I went to grab something to eat – a reindeer hot dog – then went up to the top of Fløyen which was around an hours walk. The view from the top was stunning and I could’ve taken another trail up further, but I had more walking to be done on Monday. And my legs hurt. I came back down at around 9pm, going back to the hostel.

It turned out that I picked the right day to go up Fløyen as it has just pissed it down all day. Going up in the cable car to the top of Mount Ukriken was going to be done, but I know in this weather I wouldn’t enjoy it which is a shame, especially considering the journey to get here. Instead, I started my day at a coffee place called Blom with an incredible coffee, one of the best I’ve ever had. I then went to the fish market, where it seems to be the place to buy overpriced fish, and then through Bryggen, looking through their tourist shops. There is one shop that sells stuff made from moose leather,  and another shop where you can buy a stuffed animal, starting from approximately £150 – I think that was for a squirrel. I spent a while in the shops, stopped off for a late lunch and then came back into the hostel for a cup of tea and sit down, before going out again for a walk until I decided that the weather wasn’t worth it.

I’m glad that I came to Bergen, but a shame about the weather. I’m definitely not in a rush to return as it’s a pretty small area, but one day I’d like to see the Northern Lights and I think Norway would be a pretty good choice for that. Tomorrow, I’m travelling across the country, not by plane this time, and later in the week I’m stopping off in Ireland because I can, then I’ll be returning to England on Saturday.

Stockholm

Sarah3 Comments

My flight to Stockholm not only had free wifi, but they also showed cat videos during the flight – I knew I picked the right airline. I arrived in the city mid-afternoon, and having only eaten a zinger tower burger for breakfast, I was keen to get out into the city and have something to eat. I ended up having a mandelbullar which was a cardamon and almond pastry, it tasted good but I felt as though I needed to brush my teeth straight after.

Continue reading →

Budapest (again)

Sarah1 Comment

I came back to Budapest to chill for a few days. I love the city and Budapest Bubble hostel is the best place I’ve stayed and incredibly chilled out. It took a good 8 hours to get here via bus, so the first night I did nothing.

Over the few days I went on a walking tour, ate some good food and went on a couple of nights out. I’m not really much of a partier but the nights were the highlight, the first was a standard piss up and the second I had agreed to go out for dinner and ended up at a craft beer festival until 2, and then went to a ruin bar for a bit.

I’ve been half tempted to just not even try and catch my flight out of Budapest and stay here for an extra few days, but I’m pretty sure 12 nights in the city over this trip has been more than enough.

Krakow

SarahLeave a comment

I arrived in Krakow after having a few cock-ups on the way. One of them being that I realised that I booked one night less than what I thought. After arriving, I had a walk around the old town, bought a bottle of vodka and saw the fire breathing dinosaur statue, having stopped for a zapiekanki the size of my forearm, and went back to the hostel.

Continue reading →

Wrocław

SarahLeave a comment

I arrived in Wrocław after a five hour bus ride from Berlin, which came to €8. After checking into the hostel at around half 6, I ordered dinner for 8 then went out exploring. As I was hungry,  I cashed a bit of money then went to a shop to get some fruit. It’s getting to the stage where I can tell what someone is trying to say without understanding a word, and I got a right bollocking from the jobsworth behind the till for not being able to pay with change.

One thing that I am absolutely spectacular at is getting horrendously lost, and this time on my way from the city center back to the hostel I did exactly that. The maps.me app rescued me, and I had an alright goulash for dinner Continue reading →

Berlin

Sarah2 Comments

On Thursday evening I arrived in Berlin after an six hour train ride from Amsterdam. At the start of this trip I was looking at 4 hour journeys as though they’d be horrendous, and now I find that kind of cute after having really long travel days – my longest so far has been 20 hours hostel to hostel.

It was a bit of a pain in the arse getting to the hostel, so for the evening I stayed in. Friday, I got up and was intending to do a walking tour, but there was literally around a hundred people going for the same one – I find big groups for walking tours a bit tedious and I thought that with so many people the tour would be like herding cats, so instead I went off to do my own thing. As it was my first day, I thought I’d get the standard tourist stuff done,  so I saw the Brandenburg Gate, Topography of Terror, Tiergarten, The Holocaust Memorial, Museum Island, Bebelplatz, Checkpoint Charlie and a few other places too. In the evening I met someone who was staying in the room next door to me so we took advantage of the cheap beer in the hostel bar.

Continue reading →

Paris

Sarah1 Comment

I opted for an overnight bus from Nice – a good €100 cheaper than the train and the bus was the same price as a night in a hostel. It was soul destroying – just over 13 and a half hours long. In one way, sitting on my arse and doing nothing for that long at one time kind of does sound like something I do on a regular basis,  but not confined to a bus seat.

At 10am, once I’d checked into the hostel I decided that I wasn’t messing around and had a big coffee to hopefully make up for the lack of sleep and a pan au choc aux almandes. I’ve had a few crossaints and things that resemble them, and this was one of the best. As I was staying near the Sacre Coeur I headed there, before going to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. I didn’t go in any of them as I was shattered but made plans to visit them later on.

Continue reading →