I am currently in Germany and I must say I miss Switzerland. Interlaken was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. This cute mountain town was a much-needed break in our journey; although there were tourists we didn’t see them. We stayed at the Alp Lodge hostel in Interlaken, which has been one of my favorites to date. Our stay included a free breakfast; every morning I would eat breakfast out on the balcony with one of the best views I have ever seen. I might sound repetitive, but honestly the views were unreal! On the first day we took a boat ride on Lake Thun; which happened to be free with our Eurorail pass. This two and a half hour cruise gave us spectacular views of not only the lake, but the gorgeous mountains around us. On the second day we took a 20 minute train ride to see the Trummelbach falls, which were located inside of a mountain. There was an admissions fee, but it was worth every penny. The falls were phenomenal! I can’t even describe the beauty of Switzerland and pictures don’t do it justice at all. On the third day, we took a very leisurely hike in Interlaken. Although our stay in Switzerland wasn’t filled with anything very glamorous, it was one of my favorite countries. I must say I fell in love with the quiet mountain life and the breathtaking views that were everywhere you looked.
Tag Archives: train
Geneva, Switzerland
Unfortunately, since we were unable to get on our original train to Geneva, we only had a day and a half in this city. We arrived on a Sunday and everything was closed, so we took that opportunity to just relax by the lake. Lake Geneva is absolutely stunning, the water is crystal clear and contains several different shades of blues and greens. There was a beach/grassy area near the lake where we spent practically all day just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. It was a much needed brake during our journey……after all there are only so many old buildings one can look at before they all start to blur together.
Rome, Italy
Rome, Italy was not what I expected. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the famous city. It was dirty and noisy to say the least. We stayed at Hostel Downtown near the train station, which wasn’t the nicest or the worst hostel. Seeing the sights like the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain were great, but the large number of crowds and people trying to sell you stuff made me uncomfortable. I am glad we went, because now I can say I have been to these famous places, but I don’t have any desire to revisit Rome in the future. However the gelato was amazing!
Vienna, Austria
After visiting the beautiful city of Prague we took an overnight train to Vienna, Austria. This was defiantly a change of pace for us. The train ride was not pleasant at all, none of us got very much sleep, but we arrived safely none the less. We arrived in Vienna very early in the morning. Since we were not able to check into our hostel until later that afternoon, we got to explore the city without any tourists around. This was an excellent chance to see the city in a different light, without any other tourists around, because they sure did show up that afternoon. During the first day we just wondered around touring the city as we went. On the second day we went to the Schonbrunn Palace, which was my favorite spot in Vienna. The gardens at the Palace were free so we spent several hours just exploring them and soaking up the sun shine. We were able to have an authentic Austrian meal as well that afternoon at a place our hostel recommended; it was delicious! I must say our adventures are becoming centered around food a little bit 😉
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague was a gorgeous city. We only spent one night in this beautiful city. We did all of the touristy stuff of course, like the Charles bridge and the palace, but my favorite part was just strolling along the side streets. We wondered lots of side streets, which were so cute. The red roofs which Prague is known for aren’t done justice by the pictures. It is something that can’t be captured with a photo, even though I took a billion photos. I have a felling that all of my travels will not be done justice by photos, but I will try my best to take some that are worthy of these gorgeous cities I will be visiting.
Day 1 Wroclaw, Poland
So after leaving London at 4am in the morning to catch a flight to Wroclaw, Poland, I can officially say that my 26 day journey around Europe has begun. I am so excited to be in Poland, because not only is it a unique country to visit, but it is where my family is from. My great grandparents are from Poland and my grandfather always talks about his Polish roots. He is always talking about Polish food and Polish vocabulary. I can speak very little Polish because of him, but it was not nearly enough to communicate with the native speakers here. After we landed in Poland we took a taxi to our hostel. The taxi ride was a little bit unusual to say the least. The scenery on the way to our hostel was very sketchy and it had me worried at first. When we arrived at our hostel it looked even sketchier. The front and the main stair well was very dirty and run down looking. But when we got to our hostel, which is located on the second floor, it looked so nice! The hostel looks clean and modern. There is a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and the beds are clean with fresh sheets and amazing mattresses. In addition to that the people who work at the hostel were very friendly and very helpful. After we checked in to the hostel we went exploring! We first visited the main square in Wroclaw, the market square. It was so pretty with colorful buildings and unique architecture. We walked around for quite a while, Wroclaw has tons of bridges and very scenic rivers, which made it nice just to wonder around. We also visited the National museum because there is free admission on Saturdays! Free is my favorite word lol. For dinner we had some traditional Polish food. We went to the grocery store and bought rolls, perogies, and kielbasa. I cooked it up for us back at the hostel. We each had a huge plate full of food and it only costed up $1.60 a piece! That is one thing I love about it here……it is cheep! Tomorrow is yet another day to explore this fascinating city…..I can’t wait to see what this trip has in store for us!
Backpacking Across Europe!
After months of planning my traveling companions and I departed at 4 am for a 26 day journey across Europe. I have never done anything like this in my life, but I am excited and ready to enjoy every second of it. Over the next 26 days we will be traveling to 8 different countries and visiting 11 different cities along the way. I will be trying my best to post in every city to keep you updated on where we are and what we are doing. A train pass, camera and a back pack is all I have to my name for the next month, but it will be a unique experience that I know I will never forget. Packing was hard, but I brought as little as possible. I have never done this before so I don’t know if I am doing it right, but thats part of the journey, the ups and the downs are all part of the experience and I am excited to get started. I am sure it will be exhausting and thrilling, but I also know I will love every second of it!
Transportation
So the transportation system in London is quite different. It was a little confusing at first, but honestly it has been quite easy and user friendly. I bought an oster card, which is a card that you pre load money onto it in order to use the public transportation. The red buses that London is so famous for are really nothing special once you rode on them, particulary at rush hour. The tube and busses are framed full of people at rush hour, but it is not too bad because you only have to wait about 2 minutes for the next ride. But after a the first few days I can navigate my way around the city with easy.
southerner2londoner 