| Last Moments in Budapest | ||
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Well I've got less than an hour before heading off to the airport. Can't believe it's finally over. I fell in love with Budapest - it's a very beautiful city. I've been enjoying myself a lot here, and I must admit that it has been one of the highlights of my trip. Kinda weird because I'm here by myself and didn't think I'd enjoy it much, but it's been really good. I met a few people as well, and yeah, definitely been good experience all round. I changed my mind about how much it sucks travelling alone. It CAN be good. :) Decided to splurge on my last night and had dinner alone at a fancy restaurant by the Danube River, overlooking the Royal Palace and Chain Bridge. It was the best night ever. I saw the bridge and buildings lit up at 9PM and I just sat there enjoying my Hungarian dinner and taking my time.. absolutely beautiful. Went to thermal bath with one of my roommates yesterday afternoon. Very nice. They've got huge swimming pools outside, and it was gorgeous. The baths inside are big - they have many different baths with different temperatures too. It was a fun experience. Will write more after I get back. |
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| Back in Copenhagen | ||
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Am back in Copenhagen now. Last night together - well actually last night was the last night together for some of us. It hasn't been the happiest day for me; many of my friends stayed in Berlin. I should've thought of staying in Berlin and flying to Budapest from there. Oh well. Had dinner with the rest of the group earlier. Mexican food at an Irish pub - go figure. Anyway, back at the hostel now - free internet access so I figured I better make the most of it. Everyone is outside having drinks now. I'll join them a bit later. Hung out at the bar last night, spending last moments with the people who left in Berlin. It was fun. I didn't stay up too late though - was tired and had to pack. I was pretty sad this morning having to say goodbye to them. Never thought I would, but I was. I hate goodbyes. And there will be more goodbyes tomorrow morning. Am flying out to Budapest in the arvo, sharing a cab with Jane who's flying out to Paris. Everyone is moving on, doing their own thing. I just want to go home. |
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| Last Entry from Moscow | ||
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Well, I had fun today. But completely knackered now. Fourteen of us (everyone from our Scandi group except Nathan) went around together during free time in the morning. We went to the amusement park, checked out some statues (will have to check on names!), and visited the Church of Christ the Savior. It was completely breathtaking. After that we made our way to near the Red Square - Red Square was still closed today :( - to meet up with the rest of the group at 3. Galina, our local guide, took us into the Kremlin and we had a tour around there for a couple of hours or so. The best part was the museum. It had all these amazing stuff from the Romanoff family. Peter the Great's boots (they were HUGE - apparently he was like 2.4m tall), Catherine the Great's dresses etc. Their Faberge eggs collection, and all those cool funky stuff. We were all tired after walking around the whole day though, so we weren't that enthusiastic. In fact, most of us were enthusiastic when we found places to seat *LOL* - and Galina got a bit sulky. She thought we didn't appreciate all the stuff she was showing us. Anyways. After Kremlin we took a metro to this place which is supposed to be Moscow's "Hyde Park" where we were having our dinner. It was pretty good. Today was Jane's birthday, and we managed to get her to score Russian kiss from the bartender and the waiter *LOL*. We headed to Hard Rock Cafe for souvenir shopping after dinner, which was just down the road from our restaurant, and caught metro back to the hotel. And tonight we had a party (well, they're still having a party) in the park outside our hotel for Jane's birthday. The main stuff was of course vodka. :) I only had a sip though - vodka with iron brew(?), not bad. I'd meant to only stay for 10-15 mins but ended up staying there for over an hour. It was good fun, gossiping and stuff. And bitching about our new tour manager and driver *LOL*. Am going to have to repack my bag tonight. We're heading off to Yartsevo tomorrow afternoon for overnight stop, then on to Minsk, Belarus. Am so tired I'm just ready to go to bed. *sigh* |
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| More from Moscow | ||
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Second day in Moscow, we've seen more things. I've only got about 15 mins left so probably won't be able to write much here. Took a metro to town today. Had a "Moscow underground" tour. They've got pretty impressive metro stations here, and some of them still have decorations back from the communism time. They're supposedly gonna be taken down sometime soon, so we took plenty of pics. Then we went to Military Museum - which was, well, not too bad, but it got tiring after a while. We had free time after that, and a big group of us went to have lunch at the Underground shopping mall. We then checked out the Gum shopping mall (famous because during communism time only politicians and their families are allowed to shop there). Red Square has been closed since yesterday, some Russian day celebration or something - sucks. We took pictures by the barriers - not bad. Although I wish we could've actually gone into the Red Square. Oh well. We took a few crazy snaps in front of Bolshoi Theatre afterwards and went back to meet up the rest of the group for a visit to the Revolutionary Museum. Learned heaps of interesting facts about Russian history. Then we went for dinner and to Moscow circus. It was awesome. Caught a metro back to the hotel afterwards. Had a shower, and here I am. Not much time left so better go. |
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| Moscow | ||
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Wow, we really are moving up in this world. Our hotel in Moscow actually has internet cafe, and a bathtub! I finally will be able to have my bath tonight - after 20 something days. So, anyway, am in Moscow now. Been sightseeing this arvo, but mostly on the coach. Will do more tomorrow. Staying here for 3 nights. Moscow is BIG. I personally don't think it's as impressive as St.Petersburg, but Red Square is pretty cool. Am a bit scared though, have had a lot of warnings from the local guide. Pickpockets, people being taken by police into their cars etc. I think I'm gonna stick with a big group of people tomorrow and the day after. After 3 nights in St.Petersburg, we moved on to Novgorod yesterday. It was only an overnight stop, and I was glad. There was practically nothing to see there. An ugly, small town. Been learning a lot about Russian history these past few days. Interesting stuff. After a visit to the Siege Memorial in St.Petersburg the other day, I was just very glad I hadn't been born and lived in Russia (especially back then). -45 degrees winter, with rations of 150gr of bread per day, and 14 hours work everyday, etc etc. And even hearing stories about how people live here these days makes me appreciate what I've got more. The weather has been good too. It feels weird being able to walk around in just a layer of short sleeve t-shirt. It was 22 degrees here this afternoon. Lovely. Oh, another thing that's worth a mention is a visit to the "black market boutique" the other day. A very dodgy place, with massive stacks of pirate CD's (and DVD's in another building of same sort) sorted in alphabetical order. I got myself 2 U2 CD's for 3 euros each and a Troy DVD (very excited to see Troy on DVD) for 5 euros. Have I mentioned here that I don't really like most of the new people on the group? They're loud, wild party animals and some of them use swear words at least 3 times in every sentence, just for the hell of it. Not my kind of people really. It made me appreciate my old group a lot more. We haven't been mingling really well. We're just two very different groups of people. But anyway, I like the 14 people from my old group who are still here. Better go now. Can't think of anything else to write about, although I'm sure there's a lot. |
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| St.Petersburg | ||
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Am in Russia now!! We were held up for about 2.5 hrs at the border yesterday (it's apparently quite normal to stay for that long there), and I was having a problem with my visa (they'd somehow put my nationality as Australian, and not being able to read Russian, how was I supposed to know? Doh). Anyway, we got to St.Petersburg in the arvo. It's an absolutely gorgeous city. Just beautiful. I was starting to have doubts about my decision to come to Russia, but it's all gone now after seeing the beautiful city. It just blew me away. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The hotels and toilets may be dodgy, but I suppose it's worth it. Went to folklore show yesterday, been sightseeing today, and will go to ballet tonight. Can't write much, only 20 mins left and still lots to do. Will update as much as I can. |
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| In Helsinki | ||
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Man haven't written here for ages. I'm currently in Helsinki, but I've only got 3 mins left so I won't write much. It's a nice city, been walking around today. Nice to be back to civilisation after spending over a week out in the woods in Norway. Went to visit Nordkapp the other day to see the midnight sun - really cool. Then went to Santa's house in Rovaniemi, Finland 2 days ago. The weather has been really cold. It was snowing the other day when we were in Andalsnes. Off to St. Petersburg tomorrow, and will travel around Russia, Belarus and Poland for 9 days. Only 20 days left on my trip. I miss home!!! Will write more details when I get back (I'm keeping a travel journal!!) |
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| In Stockholm | ||
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Am in Stockholm now. LOVE this city. It's absolutely beautiful, and the weather's been gorgeous too, although a bit chilly. Went to the Vasa Museum earlier - the 400yo warship - cool stuff, pretty impressive. Don't have time to write much now. We're going to dinner later, then to the ice bar.. which is supposed to be pretty cool. Everything's made of ice, including the glass and stuff. Campsite is pretty dodgy, but will have to get used to it I suppose. Heading to Oslo tomorrow. |
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| Copenhagen | ||
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So am in Copenhagen right now. Arrived yesterday, met up with the group last night. It's been alright so far, except for the fact that our hostel is in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing to do/eat, so after the meeting yesterday I just had a shower and went to bed. Am currently in the city. It's 8.20PM right now, and the bus is not picking us up until 10. Been walking around so much today, I'm so tired. But it hasn't been a bad day. The weather's been lovely, and I've seen quite a few stuff. Too bad it's Sunday and most of the shops and stuff are closed. This place called Nyhavn was just beautiful... with the colourful houses, and boats and stuff. I sat there for a good half an hour (or more) just taking it all in, while the others went to the Carlsberg Brewery - I couldn't be bothered since I don't drink beer. Ran into a couple of girls from the tour at Nyhavn so I just walked with them afterwards. Can't believe they're not picking us up a little earlier... 10PM is just too late. Although it doesn't get dark until around 10 here, apparently. I wonder what it's like in Norway.. with midnight sun and stuff. Now am actually more excited about the trip, having made a couple of friends and stuff. Still missing home though. OK well that's it for now I guess. I've written a lot in my paper journal so far, it's gonna take me ages to type it all up when I get back. We're going to Stockholm tomorrow. Looking forward to it actually. Heard it's beautiful. |
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| In London | ||
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In London now.. It's my third day here. Leaving for Copenhagen tomorrow. Been pretty lazy.. well, have done quite a bit of sightseeing but since I have been here last year I'm not that motivated. Also, I feel like I'm coming down with a cold or something so I haven't been feeling my best. Going to go home and have a rest after this. I'm at an internet cafe just around the corner from Liza's apartment. Went to Tower of London yesterday. Had late lunch at a cafe by the Tower Bridge. To St. Paul's cathedral and Notting Hill today. Saw "the Blue Door" (from the movie) but apparently it's been painted black now. Will have to keep it short. Not much time left. I'll try to write more from Copenhagen. |
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| Still in Paris | ||
| Going to keep this short. Went to Versailles and zent up the Eiffel tower a couple of days ago. Sacre Coeur yesterday. Les Deux Magots cafe this morning - the hot chocolate is divine.... am going to d'Orsay later today. Don't feel like writing much now... | ||
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| More from Paris | ||
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Went to the Louvre today. Was going to go to Versailles but the weather has been crap. It's been raining all day and it's freezing cold outside. BTW my cousin GG is here so I moved from the hostel to the place that he4d booked. Much nicer hotel at Gare de Lyon. A bit far though. Had a nice time at Louvre today. Actually got to spend as much time as I'd like to see everything I wanted. We're going to Versailles tomorrow - hopefully. Haven't even gone up the Eiffel Tower yet!!!!!!! Hope the weather will be better tomorrow. |
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| In Paris | ||
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First day and people already pissed me off. The hostel said they did not have a bed for me and made me go to the other place. The worst thing is that I'll have to move again tmr. Am bored and lonely now. Just been walking around Latin Quarter. Seen the Pantheon. Some creep was trying to pick me up. Can't be bothered to type much now... French keyboard sucks. |
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| Quick Update from Singapore | ||
In Singapore now... about 2 more hours before my next flight to Paris. Bored. Tired. And there's another 13 hours flight to go...  Can't wait to get to Paris. Checked out the weather forecast - looks like it's gonna be raining tomorrow (and the rest of the week) though. Doh. Oh well. We'll see how it goes. I'll go grab something to eat. |
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| Another Test | ||
 Test |
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| Testing | ||
| Testing | ||
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