Prague Czech Republic

So many travellers have raved about Prague so we decided to add it to our 'to-see' list, and now that we have seen the city we agree that it is beautiful. There are so many old buildings, it wasnt bombed in WWII so heaps of buildings are still standing and although it has become a tourist destination the city still seems very authentic unlike other major cities we have visited. The buildings are very flat and square- to deal with the snow, again the streets are cobbled with heaps of trams. Up high on a hill overlooking the city is Prague castle- can see in photo- this also very impressive. Although it is very cold here, the colours of autumn are very powerful too, the parks all look so sweet. Yesterday we stumbled across a park with native birds- owls and HUGE eagles- whose keepers were giving small displays. The owls were so so cute. We also saw red squirells in the park. Emma wore thongs and everyone kept pointing at her feet- yeah pretty crazy move- she couldnt feel them all day.
The hostel we are staying in is absolutely amazing. We have spent both mornings and nights jumping between the sauna and indoor swimming pool. A great big room, and heaps of other travellers. On Sunday we met some fun auzzies and last night we met two American triplets who were really interesting. Oh, and the free breakfast is very good. We have decided to stop sneaking on trams in the cities- yesterday we were caught by inspectors, would have been hit with big fine but we pleaded ignorance and whinged about out wallets being stolen- lucky.
Well, today we are off to Berlin. We only have ONE week left with Eurail! We are going to Berlin and Amsterdam, and maybe a day to Copenhagen. We have had to cross off Krakow and Budapest from our list... oh well. Ok, thats all for now... off to 'Ah Berlin'.

Zeograb Croatia

Yay for Croatia. After 4 days on a train we wanted to kiss the floor of the youth hostel. Actually we wanted to have a drink- or two. It was the best hostel weve stayed in. We met some Brazillians there and drank with them and other travellers. We went out and it turned out to be one of my favourite nights of the trip. The nightclub we went to was so much fun and we just danced till 4am, the photos give u an idea. Haha. But we accidently raided someones pizza in the hostel fridge when got back- but lets keep that secret. Today we enjoyed scrambled eggs and some Oprah- good day. Hah, no we also have been exploring the streets. It is a beautiful city. Everyone seems happy. Small streets and cosy cafes. It was top of 10 degrees today- COLD! Tonight we are getting train to Prague... hopefully we wake up in Prague! Love jess xoxo p.s. heard my postcards from Spain finally arrived

Bulgaria

We left Athens on Tuesday getting the overnight train to the top of Greece. The plan was 2 day trains through Bulgaria and Serbia then another night train to Croatia. BUT the Bulgarians held us at border for ages checking passports so we were over an hour late and missed second train. 8 hour for the next.
Bulgaria is obviously a very poor country, it is colourless and barren and everything is rundown- makes me appreciate Oz. They still use donkey and carts and the small villages look very self sufficent- so many goats and donkeys. We didnt want to be in Sofia (capital)as the country seemed very scary- cold and dark- even the police scare us! BUT 8 hours is a long time to wait so we risked our bags in lockers and got a tram around the city. Not much too see. One good thing is we bought lunch, went bowling and got loads of groceries for only 5€ very cheap.
Finally at 10pm we got the nighttrain to Beograd in Serbia. So we thought. We woke in the morning at Bulgas... this is on the other side of Bulgaria on the very eastern border of Europe! We got on wrong train in opposite direction! So after another wait we got a day train back to Sofia and night train to Beograd and finally day train to Zeograb in Croatia. It was pretty scary going pass borders at night, the police fully raided train- crawl through roof and everything.
We didnt know the language, and cannot understand their signs, there is no English people, and everyone was rude- so we were so glad to be out of the Bulg- 4 days later! Pretty funny but we admit.

Athens Greece

Athens really is amazing. We have just spent a full day sightseeing and are both exhausted. I have always been excited about seeing Rome and one day the Ancient Egyptian and Mayan temples but Athens really blew us away!
In the centre of the extremely populated Athens is the Acropolis, this is a huge plateau above the city that was the heart of ancient Greece and (although under some reconstruction) still has original temples standing. We hiked up the hill from East, passing two remains of huge theatres and entered through the Beule Gate as the ancient Greeks did. There were amazing temples and a 360 view of Athens and the coast. We then went to Agora museum; the statues, pottery, jewellery and coins were all so detailed and I cannot believe they had the ability to create these hundreds of years BC, they were amazing people.
We then walked through ancient Agora with more temples and ruins, and on to the Plaka area for some window shopping and a browse through the flea markets.
I am in awe at the world they created for themselves so long ago, you cant help but imagine life as it was for them and I am very glad to have seen it!
Tomorrow we head to Croatia, this will take almost 2 days, we will pass up Greece and through Bulgaria and Serbia, which will be cool so see. Today it was a top of 4 degrees in Croatia... so will be pulling out our thermals!! Till then

Update

So we ended up spending a full week in Kalamata. Basically just laying on the chairs in the sun and swimming in the sea (and eating more Greek salads). On Friday night we went out in town, we went to the opening of a new nightclub and met some locals who showed us some other clubs, turned out to be such a crazy fun night, and even in Greece we ended it at the local kebab shop- oh dear.
We woke on Saturday to rain, we were happy to sleep all day in the tent (not feeling the best) then the campsite lady offered us a van (seedy rat infested but waterproof) for the night and we happily accepted. Sunday we planned to move on but a perfect sunny morning tempted us to stay one more day. After baking in morning sun, the afternoon brought more clouds and we spent evening in town- drinking hot chocolate watching people in the rain. Actually so heavy the streets were flooding and we were SO lucky to have the van that night our poor tent would not have washed away (with us in it).
Monday morning we set off, it was cloudy but as we walked to the bus stop a storm whipped up that I would liken to a cylone, it was like someone tipping buckets of water on you, the ocean was crazy, trees were horizontal and I was lucky I had my pack on my back to stop me blowing away! It stopped when we reached the bus top, but it was so crazy we couldnt stop laughing.
We arrived in Athens last night- we are in a hostel- its pretty cloudy today but will do some sightseeing anyway, so till next time xo

Kalamata Greece

We have found PARADISE!!!!!
Ill start from the beginning; Sunday we went to Bari to find that the 8pm ferry to Greece was NOT running that day and had to wait till next day, there was no camping or hostels in bari, only expensive hotels so we got on an overnight train for some free sleep, we went to the top of Italy and back to coast in a compartment with an fat old man that wouldnt stop snoring- so annoying! But hey free sleep.
Next day we went to Ancona and jumped on the 'Olympia Palace' ferry to Greece. But with restaurants, bars, a cinema and shopping centre it really is what i would call a cruise ship! We indulged in some old shool Bruce Willis movie and BBC world news, oh and the beatiful views. Being a 22hour trip we also indulged in the free sleep (on the floor of a tv room- carpeted- what luxury!). We arrived in Patra and got another train to Kalamata on the very south of Greece.
And we love what we see!! We are camping opposite the beach. The weather is PERFECT. The people are the friendliest yet. We have spent our days laying on deck chairs on the beach, although there are pebbles on the beach the water is so clear that u can see your toes and the ocean floor when swimming. Look at some pics- heaven. The sunsets are also beautiful, the sun turns a bright red just before it disappears for the night. There are loads of resturants on the beach, today I had the best Greek salad ever, mmm!!
This afternoon these guys taught us how to play Raquette which is like tennis/ ping pong on the beach which was fun. We also will desperately look for some snorkels tonight so we can spend tomoz exploring ocean... this really is part of our holiday that we love!!
I better shut up now... till next time! xoxo

Sorrento Italy

We finished up in Rome, the Vatican museum was amazing and the Sistene chapel with Michelangelos Last Judgement was so fantastic to see. On Saturday we got a train to Sorrento we saved money by not reserving seats but had to stand for over two hours between carraiages with other riff raff, it was very crowded and hot. When we arrived in Naples we made our way through the city to the wrong destination. We arrived at Naples hostel but wanted Sorrento camping, so had to backtrack, get another train and arrive late at night. We ended up getting a lift with a midget policeman to camping, so so random.
Anyway, Sorrento is beautiful. It looks down on the Bay of Naples, a huge bay half way down the boot of Italy, you can see Mt Vesuvius and the islands Capri and Ischa and I have never seen water so clear before, like a picturesque movie set.
Yesterday we went for a walk along the cliffs and were disappointed to find that to them a beach means cliffs and ocean not sand, so (after baking on some Roman ruins on cliffs with too many flies) we ended up laying by our pool at campsite which was nice anyway.
Today is very warm again, we are back in Naples and waiting for a train to Bari which has a port on the other side of Italy, tonight we getting overnight ferry to Greece. I cant stand the internet place I am in, guy next to me smoking into my face, it so crowded and smeels like baby poo, so ready to get back to station...lol
Fingers crossed the beautiful weather stays strong and we find some treasure places in Greece... xo

Rome

Well after a bit of drama we have made it to Rome. On Monday we left Florence but as we didnt account for the insane traffic in the city we had to catch a later train to Pisa which meant we only had a short time there before our train left for Rome. Although the leaning tower was smaller than I expected it was very cool to see!
On arrival in Rome we found that Emmas wallet was missing (prob pickpocketer from bus in Pisa). AND because my wallet was stolen in Spain she is the bank for both of us. AND because we were about to get money out for me I only had 15 cents... between the two of us. We got there just as all the banks shut and the Australian embassy shut. Damn, two girls in Rome with big bags and no money. Anyway, we went to Police station to report wallet and we there for ages, they were so nice and gave us 35€ so we could eat and get to our campsite. We just got some emergency money wired through too, and now waiting in Rome for our cards to be sent through... all works out in the end.
ANYWAY... Rome is everything I expected, yesterday was nice weather and we walked through the ancient ruins of Rome, including the Colosseum, Circo Massimo, Arco de Tito, etc. It so weird that these ruins are all smack bang in the middle of a bustling city. There is a metro stop at Colosseum and you walk out and its just there. It is really cool to think about how they used to live, right here, so long ago.
Today we we did lots more walking and saw more sites around Rome, I loved the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon (both in slideshow), but it is now raining so have come indoors. The city is so amazing because everywhere you look there is something great to see... so so much history.
Tonight we will hang at the bar in our campsite seeing as it is dismal weather, and tomorrow we will go the Vatican city, I have wanted to go to the Sistene Chapel for as long as I can remember! Anyway, hope everyone well.

Florence Italy

We arrived in Florence yesterday and it is such a beautiful city! This is up there with Paris. Our campsite is very close, we are under olive trees and the view down on the city is amazing. Last night we ate olives cheese and sundried tomatoes with panini and drank wine, quite romantic haha. We ended up going through a few bottles and talked all night to other travellers.
Today after a sleep in we woke to superb weather and have spent day walking through city. It is very classy with heaps of expensive dress stores but also has heaps of history with great old buildings and statues throughout the city piazzas. We wanted to see Michealangelos David but the line was huge for the museum, so we will save it for Sistene chapel.
Tomorrow we are goin to Pisa to see the leaning tower then on to ROME! No doubt will be a highlight of our trip!
I am sorry but i am yet to meet a travelling American that I like. Yesterday this 60yr old on the train said to us that we speak real good English for Australians. He also said that "there was this war we fought about 40 yrs ago, u girls may have heard about it, it was in Vietnam...". Oh dear.
Today we are a bit stupid and acting like weird tourists, pretending we think we are on the River Thames and looking at Big Ben, people look at us funny, haha. Maybe we are going crazy or have run out of conversation with each other...hmm.
Anyway, thats all for now, very much enjoying Italy. xoxo

Venice Italy

Venice is such an interesting city... although it seems run down and old it is so amazing that it is all on the water- we have spent all day getting lost in the tiny random streets. I had lasagne for dinner last night on a canal (mum real italian lasagne still not as good as yours!) and we looked around all the shops, very arty place. No time left. To Florence tomorrow. Amazing city. xo

Salzburg Austria

So we finished our time at Oktoberfest, ended up going 4 days, was so much fun, but I still feel a bit gross n am craving a gym class!!
Yesterday we arrrived in Salzburg in Austria, although we had to hike up a hill to our campsite it has really nice views of mountains, this is where the Sound of Music was filmed. Today we have done the touristy things in town, walked up to the Hohensalzburg fortress which overlooks the city, went into St. Peters abbey, cemetery and catacombs (tunnels and burial sites carved into the rocks in the mountains), saw Mirabell gardens, Kapitalplaz markets and where Mozart lived- all very touristy but good to see. We sat by the Zentrum river for lunch and turned out sunny so very nice.
Last time we used our tent in Switzerland we folded it up wet so when we got it out last night it stank of dead animal, so gross to sleep in. Tomorrow we up very early to make our way to Venice. Hope all well!