tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2009-11-21:/MokoFeed2009-11-21T10:31:49+01:00tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2008-07-16:/2008/07/16/double-rations-at-eight-bells-4454637/owlsfan2008-07-16T09:01:53+02:002008-07-16T09:01:53+02:00 <p>So here we are at the final day, all packed up but not ready to come home. We had a thunderstorm on sunday night, thunder rolling around the hills, lightning flashes and heavy rain and as such monday dawned as the first bad day, cloud and more rain off and on. However I still had a chance to explore the Tivoli gardens which are pretty with statues, trees and flowerbeds as well as a lake. There is also some forest over the back and it looked as if there were trails, but without knowing where they led, or how long they would last, with the weather as it was I decided to leave it for another time.<br> Weather perfect yesterday in the mid twenties, and I wandered up to the castle. The views were amazing, with the city and its churches spread out in front and the hills and mountains distantly. The castle itself feels a bit touristy, and their 'virtual tour' was a little strange. It is a 3D presentation where you wear glasses and a headset for the commentary, but halfway through the two parts went out of sync and so you got a picture through one eye and a completely different one in the other! The cheapest trip you'll ever get.<br> Have found that I am now completely relaxed, typical that it's just as I leave, and in the afternoon I took my book, drank some coffee and ate some ice cream.<br> Going back to sunday night I got chatting to some australian girls in my room who said they'd found a great restaurant and so I thought I'd join them. It turned out they were desperate for an indian and so I ate in the same place I had at lunch - luckilly the servers were different and lets say I won't need to eat curry for a while. Went to the skeleton bar for more cocktails afterwards.<br> And then yesterday I ran into an aussie girl I'd met in Zagreb, who'd just arrived - its honestly not that small a city! And in the evening had some more cocktails with other australian girls and two american guys.<br> Will have another wander out before I have to bus it to the airport, but already I can hear the four double rings signalling the end of my watch. So that's it, another trip over, but stay tuned for more! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2008/07/16/double-rations-at-eight-bells-4454637/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2008-07-13:/2008/07/13/chance-meetings-4442031/owlsfan2008-07-13T14:46:14+02:002008-07-13T14:46:14+02:00 <p>So I'm in my final city, Ljubljana, and I've learned how to say it as well! It really is very pretty, with its small river, several bridges, trees and flowers and bars and cafe's next to it all. It's pretty small as well and doesn't take long before you get into the outskirts.<br> My train from Zagreb was delayed on the way here, however it meant that I got chatting to a Romanian girl who was travelling to meet a friend, after staying with a friend in Zagreb and then staying with a friend in Belgrade - she seemed to have friends all over eastern europe!<br> Have had some lovely pizza while here and last night was out with a swedish, american and australian guy along with a finnish girl, had two for one cocktails in a skeleton bar where they have skeletons behind glass cases on the wall, before having beers elsewhere and then going to a club called Bacchus, which was ok. A good night though.<br> Visited the market yesterday, which has an array of fruits and vegetables, apples, cabbages, strawberries, asparagus, figs and onions, as well as clothes and antiques. It is right next to the cathedral and so you feel that it must have been here for centuries, and by the look of the swarthy men and bent old ladies you wonder if they've been there for centuries as well.<br> The cathedral is painted all over and the organ and other sculptures are all gilded. It's incredibly beautiful. And the old town hall is also quite pretty.<br> Today I found a piece of roman wall dating from 15AD from the old settlement of Emona which stood here, before going to the history museum which contained lots of artifacts as well as a hoard of coins found five years ago and was pretty interesting.<br> Between the two I happened across a couple of Swiss girls who I had met in the Zagreb hostel, who were just about to have something to eat, so I joined them and it turned out to be curry which was pretty tasty. The weather has turned a little today for the first time, only in terms of the fact that it hasn't been blanket sun, but it is still pretty warm. I hope to visit the castle in the next couple of days and will bring my final post after that. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2008/07/13/chance-meetings-4442031/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2008-07-11:/2008/07/11/the-emptying-of-leeds-4433025/owlsfan2008-07-11T08:45:55+02:002008-07-11T08:45:55+02:00 <p>I'm just about starting to get used to the relaxed atmosphere of Zagreb, so alien to to Londoners, however I leave today. I've done a couple of museums here which were quite interesting, the archeology musuem had a great exhibit on egypt, canopic jars, books of the dead, as well as a real mummy on display and an etruscan linen book containing 1200 words - which is apparently a lot.<br> I visited an art gallery which was ok, but the cathedral was lovely. Its ceiling is painted with stars on a blue background, and it has three huge candelabra and long stained glass windows. There is an glass casket at the back behind the altar containing a saint at which people were praying and staring in rapture.<br> The best museum is the Zagreb museum, explaining that the it didn't come into being until 1094 when the King of Hungary created the bishipric of Zagreb. Originally there were two cities, each on one of its hills and separated only by a small stream. It wasn't until the 1850's that the old and the new were merged to create the city of Zagreb as it is now.<br> There seem to be lots more people from Leeds here, or people studying in Leeds, and as such I'm sure the place must be empty. For the last three afternoons I've been sitting under the bamboo awning chatting with various people from various countries about various things, and with a couple of beers as well.<br> We've then normally gone out to a live music bar which is right in the middle of a local park, amazing location but a little pricey. A good time had though and last night I didn't get back until 2. Two nights ago we went in search of a place called Tolkein's house which was supposed to be decorated in a lord of the rings style, but when we found it it was closed (apparantly only for a week) and that it had moved. We found the new location but it was not decorated at all so we went elsewhere. All very disappointing but at least the fellowship didn't break. See you in Ljublana. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2008/07/11/the-emptying-of-leeds-4433025/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2008-07-08:/2008/07/08/a-tale-of-two-cities-4420508/owlsfan2008-07-08T16:43:23+02:002008-07-08T16:43:23+02:00 <p>I'm in Zagreb now, trying to get the hang of this keyboard which has it's y and z switched among other things. I left you on the morning of the 4th and went up to buy my ticket here. The decor of the international ticket centre has not changed, with wooden columns all over the place, however you now have to take a ticket and wait to be called. It was on 120 when I arrived, I had ticket 171! It took over an hour, and strangely a return trip was cheaper than a single, will try to offload the return to anyone here.<br> Met up with the south african (who had just passed exams), an american (who was celebrating independance), and two sheffielders (not wednesdayites - but celebrating having money again after camping in slovenia where there were no cash machines or change centres). We all had goulash soup for dinner, the meat was really tender, and then went back to the rooftop bar.<br> Had a few beers discussing how much better clubs are in europe than in england, then when at midnight the non brits left, we stayed on until 3am - yes another late night!<br> So much so, and having to get a 6am train the following day, I chilled on the 5th. Got chatting to some americans who seemed ok until they started going on about how great guns are, and then to another american who had just downloaded doctor who! Fantastic, so got to see the last episode which was pretty good.<br> Train down was ok, had a large guy snoring in my compartment who turned out to be from Zagreb and been to a wedding in budapest. As we arrived he said "Welcome to my city" in a thick accent.<br> Zagreb is a lovely place, very chilled out, lots of outside cafes and bars, and reminds me at times of bratislava, prague and vienna. The weather has been very hot, upwards of 30 degrees but yesterday got chatting to a scottish couple who were heading to a lake, so we had a swim and a bit of a sun bathe. A swedish guy had come with us and when we said goodbye to the scots we had a walk around ourselves and got chatting to a couple of spanish girls who were lost. We tagged along with them and went for pizza as well. Strangely they were interested in seeing my poems.<br> Anyway, will tell you more about zagreb later in the week and leave it there before you get bored!! Or jealous. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2008/07/08/a-tale-of-two-cities-4420508/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2008-07-04:/2008/07/04/late-nights-and-renovations-4402143/owlsfan2008-07-04T10:33:41+02:002008-07-04T10:33:41+02:00 <p>Just after I finished my last post, I got chatting to a scottish girl in the hostel who was looking for food and to see some of the city, so what could I do but oblige to act as tour guide. We wandered over towards the river, and saw my first sight of it since last year and it was every bit as good as I remembered. Had a nice al fresco meal of chicken and potatoes in a piquant sauce.<br> It turned out that she was here for a couple of days before going on to Romania for a month to teach kids and was part of a bigger group organised by universities in Scotland. So afterwards we met up with the rest of the group who had already been here a day, another five girls and a guy. We found a nice little bar near the river which was serving Carlsberg. With the weather being fairly stifling, I could quite easily have done John Mills, but didn't. Got to bed at 1.30am.<br> So to yesterday, got out about mid morning and went back over to Buda to see the fishermans bastion, but was so disappointed. They are doing renovation work and there is netting covering most of it and blocks and dust all over the floor. Had to console myself with some blackcurrant ice cream. Wandered over to the castle though and to the Hungarian National Gallery, full of hungarian art from 19th and 20th century, nothing special but lots of portraits and lots of country scenes giving a sense of the hungarian folk way of life.<br> Had a lunch of pizza and beer back in Pest in a lovely italian place with pasta makers and books surrounding the walls, before meeting the girls in the hostel again. Should just point out that they're not all in my hostel, two are in the hostel I first stayed at last year, and the least said about that the better. A south african guy in the hostel also came with us.<br> Went out for something to eat, but most places we found were too expensive, so ended up in a cheap chinese place where the woman barks at you if you don't make up your mind within three seconds, and then warmed it up in the microwave - decidedly dodgy but everyones stomachs seem ok today.<br> Wandered again and found a great little bar, authentically hungarian, big wooden tables, smoky atmosphere, big bear of a guy behind the bar and cheap beer at only 270HUF, and even only 350HUF for a Dreher, my first since being back and it was gorgeous!!<br> Then found a cool club at the top of a tower block, had to climb stairs to get there and you wonder if there is anything actually there. But then you find the bar with red lighting and upstairs again is a roof terrace where you can see over Budapest. Had a little dance as well and celebrated the turn of the day as it is now my birthday (well it took me an hour and a half to realise it was the 4th!)<br> Another late night, 2.30 this time, so been chilling all morning with some coffee, breakfast and MTV. The girls are heading off too Romania today, and I probably need to buy my train ticket, so that's it for now. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2008/07/04/late-nights-and-renovations-4402143/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2008-07-02:/2008/07/02/tri-city-tour-budapest-reunions-4394788/owlsfan2008-07-02T18:32:22+02:002008-07-02T18:32:22+02:00 <p>Well, I've made it here OK and weather is gorgeous, 28 centigrade according to the pilot and it was raining as I left London - so its all good!<br> I was supposed to get a driver from the airport, but none showed, I was looking forward to some proper treatment aswell. After several attempts I phoned the hostel to be told that there was a problem with the driver, so had to get an airport transfer instead. It turned out to be ten forints cheaper, so I've saved myself about tuppence there.<br> The airport is one of those long, low white buildings with a balcony looking out over the runways and looks rather old fashioned. The trip in to Budapest was good, getting to see some of the outskirts for the first time.<br> There were some huge appartment blocks (about two dozen) that looked like cereal boxes, some interesting looking churches and a football stadium, but then the hills of Buda loomed and everything was much more familiar. The hostel was just as I remembered it and it felt like deja vu or a waking dream to be back here again after about 400 days! Strange.<br> Already got chatting to a couple of young lads in my room who are from York, and interestingly they're going down to Serbia next week for the music festival. They were there last year as well. And I've been sharing travel stories for the last hour or so. They seem likely to be up for some nights out so that will be good. Haven't been outside yet, so will have to do that soon, but I'm here, it's started and I'm excited! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2008/07/02/tri-city-tour-budapest-reunions-4394788/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-24:/2007/05/24/bluebirds_over~2325722/owlsfan2007-05-24T12:59:12+02:002007-05-24T12:59:12+02:00 <p>Well, I'm back in England now and it is all over. The concert I went to in Vienna was quite wonderful, aria's from Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Die Fleidermaus, along with other famous works by Mozart and Strauss. The singers were wonderful, the ballet dancers excellent and musicians fantastic. There were ten of them and they played without a conductor which was pretty impressive. I'm sure the percussionist must have had dreams of being in a rock band (maybe he is as well) by the way he twiddled his drumsticks.<br> The compere was however the star of the show. He sung a couple of aria's himself, and appeared in the first half dressed as a character from The Magic Flute. According to the girls he looked a little like Brad Pitt, albeit with Boris Becker's voice - better than the other way around I suppose. But second half he appeared in a tux and all the women's hearts around me skipped at least one beat!<br> So that was my final night, the next day was spent catching up on photographs and a final meal, two huge Vienna Schnitzel with fries, to the extent I couldn't eat it all, and a final beer and then to the bus. It only took twenty two hours to get back to London and the slowest bit was coming through the suburbs south of the city. Got to see the white cliffs at Dover for the first time in many years and they are actually quite spectactular. Still had time to chat to a couple of people on the bus, a Lithuanian girl (who seemed disappointed that I hadn't visited her country - maybe next time) and an irish guy.<br> So here endeth the lesson...I hope those who have followed me around have enjoyed it, and maybe inspired you to visit the places yourselves...And stick around, I'm sure the next adventure won't be too far away! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/24/bluebirds_over~2325722/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-20:/2007/05/20/budapest_reunions_and_viennese_waltzes~2303049/owlsfan2007-05-20T17:00:24+02:002007-05-20T17:11:19+02:00 <p>Had a very strange time in Budapest second time around, as I ran into some of the people I met in Romania. First I was shopping for socks in the shopping centre (Marks & Sparks of course - quality counts) and a New Zealand lady I had met in Brasov suddenly walked up to me! Then later I ran into the aussies I met in Sighisoara. Ended up having a couple of beers in a bar, then went back to their hostel with some cans and got chatting to other people, including a German girl with a scottish accent because her boyfriend was scottish. How odd!<br> Anyway, it got to about 4.30am and I didn't fancy trying to get back to my own hostel, so just kipped down on an empty bed there, before crawling back for breakfast at 9.30. Two days later I saw someone else I had met from a distance, then later at the station while purchasing my ticket for Vienna, I ran into one of the guys from my night out, along with someone else we had both met in Sighisoara, and they had seen the same person that I saw earlier that day. Budapest is actually a large place, although it may not sound it!<br> I have fallen in love with it though, and decided that alongside London and Amsterdam, it is a city in which you can do nothing for weeks and not let it bother you. I also met some quite a few english people in the hostel, including a couple of girls from Maidenhead, and spent one day with them rediscovering Buda. I found that whereas with the american girls who liked to eat ice cream at about 3 in the afternoon, these girls preferred to sit down with tea and cakes, and were even considering buying their own tea set when they returned home!<br> So onto my final stop, Vienna. As soon as I set foot in the place I knew that I was back in western europe, the shops are the same as anywhere you would find in England, France or Canada, and immediately I was missing the eastern climes. It reminds me a little of something across between Prague, with its tourists, and Dresden with its beautiful buildings.<br> I've visited the picture gallery at the academy of fine arts. They had one great painting by Hieronymous Bosch of the Last Judgment. The demon creatures were very imaginative. The picture gallery at the Kunsthistoriches contains some great Breughals, and another by Furini with the same model as that I saw in Prague. They have whole rooms dedicated to Titian and Veronnese and even a couple of english paintings.<br> Unfortunately the Third Man museum was closed when I went past, but the Mozart House was great. It is the only house in which he lived which is still standing and was where he wrote The Marriage of Figaro. You get a free audioguide, and they have paintings of the people with whom he was associated. An excellent bit is a holographic summary of The Magic Flute with music, and you get to walk around his old apartment. They don't know what each room was used for, but it doesn't stop them speculating.<br> Met an american girl here who has been studying opera in London. On Friday I went to a free organ concert in one of the churches, and tonight am going to see the Vienna Imperial Orchestra playing Mozart and Strauss. A bargain at 28 euro.<br> I have been eating more schnitzel and also another dish of fried chicken with onion, salt and pepper and sauted potatoes all mixed up together. It was delicious. Obviously Vienna is known for its cafes, but a lot of the well known ones are a little posh for my budget, that doesn't mean I haven't been drinking the stuff, only in the cheaper more standard places, and watching the world go by.<br> The architecture of the palaces is incredible, and the gardens beautifully laid out, but I get the feeling that I might have appreciated it more if I had come before Hungary and Romania. I will briefly go back to football here for a second, as I watched the FA cup final in an irish bar, the actually bar having come from a pub in Cork! Man Utd were robbed by Chelsea, but then Wembley wouldn't be Wembley without a dodgy goal line decision, would it?<br> Ok, so I'll finish with the pieces of music for this week.</p> <p>Vienna - Ultravox<br> Harry Lime Theme - Anton Karas<br> Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - W A Mozart </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/20/budapest_reunions_and_viennese_waltzes~2303049/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-14:/2007/05/14/off_the_beaten_track~2266422/owlsfan2007-05-14T10:08:25+02:002007-05-14T10:08:25+02:00 <p>I've managed to keep my blog football free so far, but as a proud Sheffield Wednesday fan who's side almost scraped into the playoffs following a terrific run of results at the end of the season, I was delighted to see both West Ham and Wigan win yesterday to consign the Blades back to Championship football.<br> I was therefore expecting to read today that Neil Warnock would be saying something along the lines of "he was disappointed to go down but then everyone expected them to at the start of the season, and to take it to the last game...yadda yadda yadda"<br> But to read that he's blaming it on Liverpool and Man Utd fielding weakened teams against their rivals, and then the board claiming it was all to do with West Ham not being docked points, all sounds a bit like sour grapes to me. I'm wondering whether it would have been mentioned if they had managed to gain a point at home to Wigan and stayed up?<br> Sorry guys, its all about winning games in football, and you didn't win enough of them to stay up. Just look at it this way, you've got two more opportunities to beat us next season...or not! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/14/off_the_beaten_track~2266422/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-13:/2007/05/13/birthplace_of_a_legend~2260305/owlsfan2007-05-13T08:24:26+02:002007-05-13T08:24:26+02:00 <p>Sighisoara is famous for being the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, and the house in which he grew up for his first four years still remains. A pretty butter yellow on the outside, inside it is now a pricey restaurant, but it is possible to access the upper landing where a bust of the man himself stands, and a dracula related frieze has been painted onto the wall.<br> The museum of Sighisoara is housed in the clock tower, but contains no information on the impaler. Instead it houses pottery and other objects from the history of the town, although its difficult to tell their importance as the descriptions are in Romanian. It does allow you access to the top of the tower however, and you can see the inner works of the clock, as the cogs go round, and the view from the outside is fantastic. You can see the green hills and valleys all around, as the river winds itself through and small red roofed houses encroach onto the lower slopes.<br> Interestingly, the bust of the man who concieved the idea of the museum shows him with exactly the same hairstyle as Gary Oldman's Dracula. Spooky!<br> There isn't really much else to see here, the town is quiet, and if you sit in one of the local's beer gardens you could began to believe that the last thirty years have never taken place. However, that is part of its charm and the charm of Romania as a whole. Although you can't understand what any of the museums are about, or that you have to wait twenty minutes to make a reservation on a train which is arriving in thirty minutes, I think I will miss it a little. Eventually it will catch up with the west I'm sure, but hopefully not too quickly, and not before I return either! I am now in Budapest again after taking a night train and had a compartment all to myself.<br> The closest thing to vampires I found out here are the bloodsucking insects, and the receptionist at the Sighisoara hostel, who on one drunken evening came on to four of us within five minutes. If she was young and good looking I don't think that we would've minded.<br> Dracula doesn't seem to be here after all, but maybe on reading this blog he has travelled to Whitby or London and will await me there, or maybe there is another twist.<br> I have discovered a poem which suggests that the origin of the ashes played for in Cricket by England and Australia may come from a different source to that of a burnt bail:</p> <p>There once was a man called Vlad<br> Who in a cape would often be clad<br> When he began biting necks<br> The locals were vexed<br> But when Van Helsing turned up they were glad, were glad<br> When Van Helsing returned with the urn, the urn<br> When Van Helsing returned with the urn.</p> <p>But then again, maybe some things are meant to be shrouded in the mists of myth and fiction. Here are three songs for this week.</p> <p>Welcome to Paradise - Green Day<br> Nothing Ever Happens - Del Amitri<br> 0345:No Sleep - The Cardigans </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/13/birthplace_of_a_legend~2260305/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-11:/2007/05/11/refuge_in_the_hills~2250373/owlsfan2007-05-11T10:55:07+02:002007-05-11T10:55:07+02:00 <p>I always thought that I could probably live in any city, but then I hadn't counted on Bucharest. It is I think the only place to which I've travelled in which I could not find a redeeming feature. It is dusty, dirty and noisy.<br> The half finished roads are flanked by broken pavements, and thats the pavements you can see. The rest are covered in parked cars, forcing you into the road. Road works and other digging is going on everywhere. Drivers sit on their car horns while the traffic police breathe through their whistles and everywhere flies and dandelion spores float through the air.<br> The park in the centre is like the large back garden of a house where no one has been in residence for fifty years. The stone walls are crumbling, the lake is full of leaves and the patches of grass are overgrown. The ruins of the old palace built by Vlad Tepes in the 1400's are indistinguishable from the new ruins a street away, and the narrow streets are full of closed shops or bargain shops full of second hand clothes and books.<br> Piata Urinii is a huge circle of unkempt grass, a fountain in the middle spues out dirty water, while around the outside horrible tower blocks loom up atopped with advertising hoardings no where near as tasteful as the ones in Piccadilly Circus. Down the Boulevard Urinii are more disgusting tower blocks with closed up shops and rusting satellite dishes while at the end is the piece de resistance of the Palace of Parliament. An ugly ediface which makes Rome's 'Wedding Cake' look like a Da Vinci masterpiece.<br> The best part was the hostel in which I stayed, where the breakfast ingredients of bread, cheese, coffee and jam where left out on the kitchen table until the following mornings breakfast because they had no fridge!<br> After two nights I needed to get back to the refuge of hills of Transylvania and headed to Sighisoara, the birth place of Vlad. Here, the hostel is clean, but roadworks are still abound and the place is full of Gypsies. But at least I've been able to play some pool and ping pong, while drinking beer with a few aussies. Not much here, but at least its better than Bucharest. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/11/refuge_in_the_hills~2250373/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-07:/2007/05/07/kickin_back~2226673/owlsfan2007-05-07T15:43:53+02:002007-05-07T15:43:53+02:00 <p>Did very little in my next few days in Brasov. Generally just chilled out at the hostel or in the town with people. I did find somewhere for some proper Romanian food however, and went there two days running, once myself then the second time with others because I'd recommended it.<br> On both occaisions I started with the beef soup which was delicious, full of meat and vegetables. I'm not sure what they had in the stock but it really tasted good. Then for main courses I had sausages in bakes beans, which was kinda like a cassoulet and very french. The sausages were meaty and the beans were big.<br> The second meal was chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce, with polenta. This was also tasty but nothing particularly regional about it I don't think. I was also convinced into having a Romanian aperitif, which came in an earthenware little cup with a handle, and was hot. I was drunk on the fumes before I started drinking!<br> I also managed to find somewhere serving a Dracula pizza, although it was a bit disappointing. It didn't come dripping with blood, or even with a picture of a vampire on it. It had a few bits of ham and pepperoni. It was nice though and the crust at a bit of bite to it.<br> Am now in Bucharest, and at first glance seems to be full of roadworks and empty buildings with glassless windows, but I'm sure there are nice parts. Maybe.<br> Am no closer to finding the vampyre but maybe in the capital I'll have some luck. Now to this weeks songs.</p> <p>Theme from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Nerf Herder<br> Castles In The Air - B*Witched<br> Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2 </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/07/kickin_back~2226673/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-04:/2007/05/04/3_may_not_bistritz~2208327/owlsfan2007-05-04T11:09:29+02:002007-05-04T11:09:29+02:00 <p>"Left Budapest 11.35pm 30th April. Supposed to leave at 11.15pm but the further east you go the less punctual the trains appear to be. What are they like in China?<br> Budapest seems a nice place, from what I saw on the train and from walking some of the streets. A little wet perhaps"</p> <p>I hope its not too plaguristic, what I've just written but I'm sure I've changed enough! But here I am in Romania, Transylvania, and Brasov to be exact. After spending nights in a hotel room with three girls I went to spending a night in a cramped compartment with three romanian lads.<br> Managed to snatch some sleep but was awake soon after dawn with a view of an incredible landscape. Tree covered hills with villages nestling in the valleys and on the lower slopes. The buildings and barns looked a little dilapidated, but I'm sure that they were inhabited.<br> Barely saw any motor cars, mostly horses and carts, while others tended to their large allotment style plots of land, either by hand or by horse. It is a little like going back in time, and if any of you have read and remember my first entry, the total opposite to the scarring of motorways and street lights that I saw in England.<br> Brasov is a lovely place, nestled up next to the mountains. On my first morning I got chatting to an aussie girl, Hannah, who was travelling alone, so we went up the cable car together to the mountain above Brasov. It was a little like something out of Where Eagles Dare, and even had a telephone where you wind a handle to say you're ready to go up or down.<br> The view was extraordinary. You look down below to Brasov mapped out with its red roofs and then beyond to a huge flat plain and way in the distance more mountains. Then behind are even higher peaks and snow capped. It is a little like being in the Rockies, but very different, and I have been told, almost Alpine.<br> Got chatting to a welsh couple from Newport that evening and yesterday the four of us took a day trip out. First to Bran Castle, which is advertised as Dracula's Pad, but he was never anywhere near the place. It was a little disappointing as I expected it to be perched further up in the mountains.<br> In the late 19th century it was home to Queen Maria, and it is still furnished in a similar style, with wooden tables and chests, and rugs on the floor. It is pretty though, turrets and a bell tower, and windy wooden stairs that go up down and around to various levels. There's even a secret stair. The views are again incredible from the balconies.<br> From there we went back to Rasnov which has a 13th century fortress and is much higher up. The path up the mountain twists and turns, and at one point you have to climb over a tree in the path. I don't think they worry too much about public safety around here. There's not much to see inside apart from the gift shops and musuem in Romanian, but the swords, rifles and crossbows are nice. A couple of donkeys also appeared at one point. But once again the views are lovely.<br> Have not really tried any local food yet, but the local beer is excellent. The chocolate is also very good and they even have cherry jaffa cakes here. The last two evenings have been spent around the kitchen table (always the best place) chatting to various different people from around the world.<br> In terms of my search for the vampyre, I am not really much closer. There are some documents signed by Vlad Tepes in Brasnov town hall, Rasnov had an engraving of people being staked, and unless Dracula's modernised by turning himself into a helicopter rather than a bat, he's not at Bran.<br> However, and I shudder almost to think as I write, each night dogs have been barking outside and wolves howling at the almost full moon, but most horrifying of all, for the past two nights I have been bitten by something bloodsucking and therefore may only have one more night left. I have undertaken to buy some crucifixes and garlic, but I'm not sure that I'm strong enough to resist any longer. I am growing pale and my teeth are getting longer I'm sure and I have trouble getting up in the morning. What is to become of me? Will there be any more entries..? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/04/3_may_not_bistritz~2208327/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-05-04:/2007/05/04/friendships~2208206/owlsfan2007-05-04T10:50:17+02:002007-05-04T10:50:17+02:00 <p>Funny the way that friendships form<br> In the blink of an eye, over long summer warm<br> Persons thrown adversely together<br> By freak of nature, unclement weather<br> Or crafted like a work of art<br> Through time and learning of the heart<br> But which will last? And which will fail?<br> Where short story? Where long tale?<br> These are things we cannot know<br> As pace of plot runs ever slow<br> But you'll find it rushes way too fast<br> So enjoy the moment, savour to the last. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/05/04/friendships~2208206/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-30:/2007/04/30/both_sides_of_the_river~2186335/owlsfan2007-04-30T17:11:47+02:002007-04-30T17:12:36+02:00 <p>Intriguingly Budapest was actually two cities, Buda and Pest and a few years back was actually called Pest-Buda, until they decided to bring the two cities together as one. It seems to have lots of different areas to it, the narrow windy cobbled streets close to the river on the Pest side, with larger avenues as you move further away, while Buda is hilly and is home to the castle and feels a lot older as you walk around it.<br> I have been spending the weekend with Beth, Kate and Diana who have now gone on to Vienna, while I plan to head to Romania. On saturday we crossed the Danube to the Buda side and climbed up to the castle. The Fishermans Bastion, and walls are incredible. Built in a greyish white stone, with towers and statues they look like something pulled straight from Minas Tirith. You cant helping expecting to see the Pelennor Fields in front of you rather than Budapest.<br> The view is however fantastic, especially at night when the cathedrals and churches, along with the bridges are lit up. Near this is the Matthias church, burial place of King Bela and his wife. Every wall inside is decorated with frescoes which is beautiful, if a little busy, and the mainly dark reds and blues used mean that the church itself is quite dark.<br> I believe that the Buda hills could be made of limestone, and underneath the castle are caves made by water percolating through, which have since been strengthened by brick arches. You get to go down with an oil lamp because parts of it are so dark, but other areas have been lit up. The Labyrinth as it is so called has been used in the past for storgage, but was also used as a bomb shelter during the second world war.<br> Now it contains copies of the Lasceaux cave paintings, and styrofoam models of people, but it does add to the atmosphere a little, even if that wasnt the common opinion. I did manage to scare them by pretending to have my hand eaten off at one point. Just wish I had had a sleeve in which to hide it! It was a little like going into the Mines of Moria though, especially as at the beginning they had a drum like heartbeat sound playing.<br> On Sunday, we visited the Terror Museum which is excellent. It contains detailed descriptions of how the Soviet AVH (secret police in Hungary) kept them in power until the fall of the iron curtain, even after the attempted uprising in 1956. It also talks about the labour camps and the deportation of Jews by the Nazis in their short period of occupation. At the end there is a kind of wall of shame, showing the names and faces of lots of leading members who allowed atrocities to go on. Not sure I agreed with that, but there you go.<br> We also visited the St Stephens Cathedral which is again lovely, and all the more so because it is more modest. Strips of blue and red marble, with white stone in between, along with a lovely altarpiece and painted dome. From the outside it looks a little like St Pauls Cathedral.<br> The Synagogue is also very much like a church and I think is either the largest or one of the largest in Europe if not the world, the only difference is in the patterns of the decoration which incorporate the Star of David. There is also a museum which contains metalworked objects, as well as a circumcision couch. Not really a nice thing to read about.<br> Over the weekend I have started to learn about the most important things in life from the girls, namely ice cream, free lunches, shoes, oh and ice cream. I will try to take these things on as much as I can in future.<br> So this weeks three songs are as follows.</p> <p>By The Beautiful Blue Danube - R Strauss<br> Waterfall - Stone Roses<br> Three Friends - Levellers </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/30/both_sides_of_the_river~2186335/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-29:/2007/04/29/the_4am_wakeup~2180973/owlsfan2007-04-29T17:45:07+02:002007-04-29T17:45:07+02:00 <p>Got to Budapest Friday evening and will wait to tell you more about the place, but what I am about to tell you deserves an entry all to itself.<br> After chatting to my room mates until about midnight while a group of about fifty (no exaggeration) french people were partying two doors down and still going, I went to bed, looking forward to some sleep and then some sightseeing. I will clarify at this point that there were three other girls and one guy in my room, all american, the girls having been out in Guinea working for the Peace Corps, and now doing some travel in Europe.<br> At 4am I was woken by an odd sound, and being on the bottom bunk one of the girls opened the door, within a matter of seconds, water was pouring into the room and the carpet was getting soaked. None of us really knew what was going on and just sat around on our beds after ensuring that any items were placed up high.<br> A drunk frenchman suddenly appeared in the doorway and shouted, heavily accented, "Get out! Now!"<br> We gathered our most precious belongings, after a hurried dressing, for me this was shoes and small bag and stepped out into the landing. This was by now also covered in water but barring our way to the staircase was a horizontal blast of water at about shoulder height. How were we to get out? A couple of guys suddenly appeared from another room, jogged up slippily to the jet, ducked and got underneath and through. Just think of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - "The penitent man will pass".<br> Needless to say we copied them and got out onto the staircase only mildly damp, and quite pleased with ourselves. I have neglected so far to say that we were on the 4th floor, and now had to get down the stairs which had become a kind of waterslide.<br> We got down one flight only to discover that there was now a waterfall barring our way to the next landing. There was no choice but to pass through it. You can now remind yourselves of Last of the Mohicans. We were now very wet. The remainder of our journey downwards passed without incident, and we came out into the still warm air, though still dark, the street now full of what looked to be refugees from Waterworld. We were the only ones not part of a group.<br> No one really knew what was going on, as no management of the hostel were yet to arrive, and the French were still pissed. At some point the water was finally switched off and some people had ventured back to the rooms to collect larger backpacks and suitcases. They also brought down our bags, although they had let some of the girls clothes fall into the mini swimming pool, and they had been soaked.<br> Having retrieved our bags we were able to change into dry clothes, but we still wanted to find out what was going on.<br> As dawn broke, street lights went out and the French began to sober up and quieten down. Finally a manager arrived and one of the girls went to find out what was going to happen, and the result was good. We were given our money back and told that we would be given a free breakfast and put up in one of their hotels for free for the nights that we had paid for.<br> Taxis arrived and started to take some of the French away, but then they refused to return because they were picking people up who had been sitting around on the street! The situation was explained, and eventually we were taken to a nice hotel for a free buffet breakfast, but had to wait a couple of hours before getting into our room. As such I have made instant friends with these girls and am in a four bed room with them, and enjoying the sights of Budapest together as well.<br> This has also given me the idea to go to Romania tomorrow, and as the best route back is through Budapest, will come back to see more in a couple of weeks time. What a story though, eh? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/29/the_4am_wakeup~2180973/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-26:/2007/04/26/capital_of_two_countries~2164485/owlsfan2007-04-26T13:34:56+02:002007-04-26T13:34:56+02:00 <p>For any of you thinking that Bratislava may be just a small Prague, its not. It has a few windy cobbled streets and some pretty buildings but it has a much more working feel about it rather than a tourist destination.<br> It is very small, but when you consider that the Slovak Republic has only been going for about a decade, and that this was once part of Hungary, and then Czechoslovakia, up until now it has pretty much been playing second fiddle, and feels much more like a County Town. It did become capital of Hungary when the Ottomans controlled what is modern day Hungary, and many Hungarian kings were crowned here in St Martins cathedral.<br> Unusually it is an oblong shape, rather than the cruciform you would expect, and the inside is not particularly ornate, just understated, probably like the rest of the city. The side altars are hard up against the wall rather then set into their own alcoves, but they are nice, and one has a carving which is an exact copy of Da Vinci's Last Supper.<br> All the museums seemed to be staffed by women over the age of fifty, and most of them want to say hello to you, they are very friendly. The Slovak museum contained some stuff on the differences between the wine making and fruit growing south compared with the agricultural and shepherding north, including some examples of traditional clothing, and glass bottles containing agricultural scenes.<br> They also had a special exhibit on Jaroslav Jesek (Jerry Hedgehog in english!) who was a Slovak composer and famous in the 20s and 30s mainly for comedy revues. The museum also houses the natural history collection, and has lots of stuffed animals that look as old as those in the Natural HIstory Museum in London.<br> The old town hall contains a museum with roman and pre roman finds, as well as memorabilia relating to the old guilds, including signs, weights and measures and tankards. It also houses beautifully painted targets, complete with arrow holes! The jail is underneath, and displays the cells and pits, along with torture devices ranging from thumb crushers to spanish boots, which are iron and contain spikes to grind into your ankles.<br> The castle is tiny and there isn't a huge amount there, although the gardens outside are great places to chill on a nice day and you have fantastic views of the countryside around, including the Danube which runs to Vienna in one direction and Budapest in the other. It does have a history museum which contained a few paintings and some furniture, along with hordes of coins found from all over the roman and european countries. It also holds a replica of the Hungarian crown.<br> Have spent a lot of time in coffee shops here as there is not a huge amount to see, but it is nice to chill between the busy Prague and the likely busy Vienna. Have had some wonderful cake here as well, and some Pirogi and some more beer, this time Zlaty Bazant, which is very tasty. It is also just as cheap, if not cheaper at about 65 pence a half litre. At a couple of places you can get a discount from staying the hostel I am in, but it is so cheap that I am too embarrassed to do them out of 17 crowns!<br> Not really met too many people here, only a Canadian girl who's also studying in Europe, and an aussie couple from Tasmania. There have been some other english staying here but they have been the most monosyllabic! Strangely there seem to be lots of Italians and Spanish here.<br> If you are someone who enjoyed the shenanigans of Prague, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Bratislava, as although it has a nightlife, it doesn't have all the touristy gumph that comes with it. However if you want somewhere cheap, with an old fashioned feel, then this is the place, and I think would be an easier place to spend a few weeks than the Czech capital. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/26/capital_of_two_countries~2164485/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-25:/2007/04/25/slovak_girls~2159178/owlsfan2007-04-25T16:04:49+02:002007-04-25T16:04:49+02:00 <p>Why do all the pretty girls speak foreign languages?<br> I long to go and say hello while they eat their sandwiches.<br> If I could get to know their tongue it wouldn't be such a test.<br> For me to go and tell the Slovak girls they are the best! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/25/slovak_girls~2159178/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-22:/2007/04/22/fit_for_a_king~2138860/owlsfan2007-04-22T17:12:11+02:002007-04-22T17:17:01+02:00 <p>I'd like to start by documenting some of the food I've eaten here. The other day I had a venison goulash with dumplings which was delicious, the meat was fantastic, and all for about a fiver. I also visited another restaurant near the castle which was once frequented by Prince Charles! I had a three course meal, with aperitif, wine and coffee, and all for a little over a tenner. Expensive for Prague, but still...The pork was gorgeous as well, beautifully cooked.<br> Recently visited a couple more musuems, the history of Prague Castle, which is inside the old royal palace, with vaulted ceilings and everything. Here they hold St Wenceslas coat of mail (who is a patron of the Czechs) as well as several pre-historic artifacts. They also have grizzly remains of humans who have been buried nearby, apparantly with their hands tied and weighed down with stones in order to stop them coming back to the land of the living.<br> Also toured the Lobkowicz Palace, home of Prince's of Bohemia. The commentary on the free audio tour is actually done by the current Prince. They have some great collections of guns and crossbows, musical instruments, as well as manuscripts of Symphony's by Beethoven (the 7th prince was a patron) and works by Mozart. They have a Breughals, and two Canaletto's of 18th century London, one from the current location of Blackfriars Bridge and the other from Lambeth Palace. It made me feel quite homesick!<br> Have seen more musicians on the Charles Bridge, including a blues guitarist, and an organ grinder. Also a great puppeteer with puppet pretending to play a spanish guitar while the music plays. Its very clever. Also saw a concert by a Czech rock band called Ready Kirken, who were great. I couldn't understand a thing they were singing but the melodies and guitar licks were superb.<br> Been chatting to more americans, aussies, canadians and even a couple of finnish girls, and been given some good thoughts of Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest, so now very much looking forward to going there. Also been able to try some real Staropramen which is Prague brewed and don't think have been to bed before 1am for the last few nights, sometimes later. Even had a free BBQ last night which was good.<br> Next stop is Bratislava, but first the three pieces of music for this week.</p> <p>A Dvorak - Slavonic Dances<br> Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody<br> Ready Kirken - Druhy Ja </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/22/fit_for_a_king~2138860/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-19:/2007/04/19/on_the_threshold~2121686/owlsfan2007-04-19T16:07:07+02:002007-04-19T16:07:07+02:00 <p>Apparantly Prague means Threshold and comes from the fact that it was a visionary project to be built. Or something...History was a bit sketchy back then. Am starting to enjoy it more here now, and the crowds not getting to me in the same way as they were.<br> Its great to stroll through the cobbled streets, sometimes realising that you are walking in an area you haven't walked in before and you come across a courtyard or a fountain. The busiest place as to be the Charles Bridge (Karlovy Most) which is full of jewellery sellers, portrait painters and people. Yesterday I did see a group of musicians playing some jazzy type stuff. One opened a bottle of wine and they just passed it round, each taking a swig, before it was recorked. Then when they started playing, the double bass player had a cigarette in his mouth, as did the banjo player. They all looked throughly bored and it was actually quite comical.<br> I have visited the art galleries up at the castle, which hold some nice paintings. Titian, Veronnese, Tintoretto, as well as Dutch, German and Czech works. One fantastic one, Judith with a Sword, by Furini, where she gazes right out of the picture at you and there is such emotion in the eyes and the fact that its almost impossible to draw yourself away from it. It really is incredible.<br> The Antonin Dvorak museum is housed in the university area, which is incredibly quiet and reminded me a little of Bologna in terms of the buildings and the streets. The museum holds his viola, as well as copies of parts of his works, including the Largo from Symphony Number 9. I'm sure you're humming it already! The building itself was built as a summerhouse, and the upper room has a fresco covering it which is almost worth seeing alone.<br> The Franz Kafka museum is also fascinating. They have books and letters that he wrote which reveal a lot about the way he saw the world and saw himself. It seems he was very troubled and confused. The exhibits also have odd things here an there like mirrors and curved hangings which seem to distort reality a little. I'm not sure what his books were about, but I imagine that these were meant to be related. I will definately have to try reading some of his works.<br> Still can't get over how cheap it is here, especially beer. Have been chatting to a few americans who are studying over in Europe (England, Paris, Budapest) and now know the difference between a Freshman and a Sophomore and what they all mean. Its been bugging me for years. The hostel is also great, a little outside the centre and so it is quiet but with a great atmosphere. They have a little garden out the back and I have made friends with the kittens who live out there. They keep wanting to sit on my lap!!<br> I'll sign off now as it is likely that I am on the threshold of another night of beer. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/19/on_the_threshold~2121686/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-17:/2007/04/17/busy_busy_busy~2107573/owlsfan2007-04-17T12:13:24+02:002007-04-17T12:13:24+02:00 <p>Have made it to Prague now, and had a little wander into the main town today. I couldn't believe the number of people there! There were swarms of tour groups everywhere and it was difficult not to get caught up in the middle of them. The city's architecture is beautiful though.<br> It is also exceptionally cheap, especially beer, which is cheaper than a cup of coffee. I had a huge pizza and two beers for dinner yesterday, and it came to less than a fiver. Ridiculous. And the transport is also incredibly cheap, 280 Kc for a week. To those of you not familiar with the currency, that's less than 7 pounds, less than 10 euro. For a week! A whole week!<br> I do have to mention that I had a meal a couple of evenings ago in Berlin. It was in the Eastern part, on Karl Marx Strasse and supposedly (as far as I could tell) mainly did Alpine food. On arriving I was given my menu. I asked the girl if she spoke English (only because its a bit easier for all involved if I don't use my strangled German). Anyway, before I could say something along the lines of 'it doesn't matter' and make an attempt anyway, a look of fear spread across her face and she suddenly disappeared.<br> Re-emerging a minute later with one of the chefs who could possibly speak about ten words of english (about the same number as me in German) and between us we managed to make an order. I ended up with a nice beer, and a huge omelette thing with bacon, potatoes and onion. I have to say it was delicious. I did feel that they were so friendly and helpful that I have a slightly larger tip than usual at the end. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/17/busy_busy_busy~2107573/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-15:/2007/04/15/where_east_literally_meets_west~2094888/owlsfan2007-04-15T12:12:51+02:002007-04-15T12:34:23+02:00 <p>Checkpoint Charlie, not named after a person, but the third crossing point after Alpha and Bravo, and right in the heart of Berlin. Nothing remains of it now, however there is an interesting museum which details escapes from the GDR and attempted escapes.<br> These were by several means, including tunnels, swinging across on wires, and hiding in suitcases, bags and welding machines. Fascinating stuff. It also says that the GDR, in order to stop people getting across, fixed automatic guns with sensors fixed at three different heights, and there were also several kilometres of runs for large dogs.<br> There are two major chunks of wall left, one just down from C.C. which is where the former SS building stood. There is now an exhibit on this (in German) as well as an exhibit on the Nuremburg Trials, along with transcripts of some of the evidence that was given. The Judges summing up was quite funny.<br> The other piece of wall runs along by the Spree, and is known as the East Side Gallery because it has been painted with different murals. Its amazing to think that it has been almost 18 years since the wall was opened, and to see it now as a piece of art where once it stood for all that was against freedom is quite strange.<br> Stranger still is the site of Hitlers bunker. It is now a car park and small garden for some blocks of flats which surround the area. I think it is a fitting response that shows that life goes on and the only memorial to the fact that he spent his last hours there is a sign which states that the bunker used to be there.<br> I have also visited the German History museum which stretches from Celtic times up to the present day and is huge. It is very informative and I think I now have an understanding of its history, as well as the reasons for the 1st World War, which up until now I've struggled to fathom. I spent at least 4 hours in there and still skipped a lot!<br> They have several museums here and I have only been to one other, which contained lots of Botticelli's and Lippi's, some Holbeins, and more by Lucas Cranach as mentioned before. It is also huge. Interestingly, Cranach also did some woodcuts for one of Martin Luther's works.<br> The weather here has been glorious, and I have tasted some local Bratwurst and Berliner Beer which is very tasty. I think I prefer what was East Berlin, to West Berlin, as it has more character. There are areas to sit outside and have a coffee or a beer, as well as restaurants. One part reminds me a little of Hoxton / Shoreditch and at times you could be sitting by the Thames.<br> In contrast the long Ku'Damm in the West is much like Brompton Road, with lots of expensive department stores and restaurants. The transport system is excellent also and I have even ridden the U2! Potsdamer Platz is the place to hang out though really, as it was in the 20's. There are cafe's, bars and cinemas. I even went to the cinema yesterday and it is cheap and comfy. They also come out with ice creams just before the main feature, like the old days back in UK!<br> I plan to leave here tomorrow and head to Czech Rep and Prague and into the true East of Europe. But to anyone who wonders whether Germany is worth visiting, I would tell them in no uncertain terms, Ja, Ist Gut!<br> I finish with more songs for this week.</p> <p>Journey of the Sorcerer - The Eagles<br> Take My Breath Away - Berlin<br> One - U2 </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/15/where_east_literally_meets_west~2094888/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-12:/2007/04/12/don_t_panic~2080499/owlsfan2007-04-12T20:01:10+02:002007-04-12T20:01:10+02:00 <p>Greetings from Berlin. Am currently writing to you from the Heart of Gold - that is the hostel and not the spaceship - but that is where it gets its name. To those of you uninitiated, the Heart of Gold is the spaceship from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, but none of the people working here have two heads and I haven't confirmed whether any of them are manically depressive either.<br> Anyway, speaking of hostels, the one I stayed in in Dresden was a former Communist Party training centre, and judging from the friendliness of the staff, they may have been there at the time. I did have a two bed room to myself though, nice for the privacy but not for meeting people unfortunately.<br> Therefore I toured the museums, which are comprehensive and numerous. The art gallery contains many Dutch and Italian works by the likes of Canaletto (lots of Venice, but also some of Dresden), Titian, Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer, as well as a large collection of German artist Jacob Cranach. A pair of humerous paintings by him depict Hercules killing a group of pygmies who try to attack him!<br> The 'Rustkammer' as it is so called is full of swords, axes, armour, pistols, longbows and bolts, as well as a model of two knights jousting on horseback. Fascinating, but a little one dimensional unless you like weapons.<br> Also visited their green vault collection which houses ornate works of art made from gold, jewels as well as natural products including shells, carved cherry stones which you have to view under a microscope, and cutlery with handles made from coral. All very odd. It also contains a 42 carat green diamond which gets its colour from nuclear radiation.<br> Dresden is a pretty place, and the broad sweep of the Elbe make it a stunning location. Unfortunately it is full of tourists, and although the buildings may look old, they are in fact quite new. Obviously there are reasons for this, but I'm not sure of the thinking behind rebuilding faithfully buildings that had been destroyed.<br> Anyway, not quite so much beauty in Berlin, but it does have a nice buzz about it. The narrow Spree winds its way up and down through the city, and on a nice day you can sit and have a coffee by its side. The Brandenburg gate is an icon, and has seen a lot in its 200 year history, from originally being part of the customs wall, to being in the death strip of the Berlin Wall and inbetween being looted by Napoleon and vitually destroyed in the war. Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Platz are interesting areas, and the Tiergarten is a nice place to wander.<br> Met an Irish guy here who has lived in Germany a couple of times, but has never picked up the language! Also got chatting to a German girl who had come to do a test for a job. She'd never heard of the book that inspired this hostel, but regarding her test I told her not to panic! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/12/don_t_panic~2080499/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-08:/2007/04/08/wind_farm~2053924/owlsfan2007-04-08T14:27:35+02:002007-04-08T14:27:35+02:00 <p>Single, double, triple swipe<br> Blades swish and cut through the air<br> Almost silent<br> Almost whispered on the air they slice into ribbons<br> And waves radiating out.</p> <p>Both, starkly they stand, and<br> Like a field of uncultivated flowering tulips<br> Heads shimmering and sheening, stalks proud and high over the landscape<br> Spinning and turning in their pride over all they survey.</p> <p>Rotating, rotating<br> Constantly, never ending<br> In their blading in the fields and meadows<br> Silver giants<br> Devouring the sky and the horizon<br> Chomping and digging<br> Biting into the fields and the valleys.</p> <p>Power full they stand and yet powerless<br> As still wind bites back<br> Now breathless, gasping, fish-out-of-watering<br> Drowned in the dry hot sun<br> Dizzying no longer and waiting<br> Waiting<br> For a whisper on the breeze to break the silence<br> And a breath to feed their sharpened lungs.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/08/wind_farm~2053924/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-08:/2007/04/08/the_flattened_city~2053898/owlsfan2007-04-08T14:18:55+02:002007-04-08T14:18:55+02:00 <p>I have now made a short hop within Saxony and am in Dresden, the city flattened by Allied bombs at the end of the Second World War, but before that, I will take you back to Leipzig for a few moments.<br> As it was Easter, a mock medieval market was being held outside the old town hall in the area where the market traders historically used to meet.<br> It was full of tudor style market stalls and people in period costume selling all sorts of things. Leather pouches and leather bound books, crystals and even linen shirts and jerkins. I would have quite happily bought myself a costume if I wasn't continuing mz travels!<br> They were also selling food and ale in the centre, and a man was playing a kind of bagpipes but the back was made of leather. I'm not sure what the instrument was called though. Speaking of live music, it doesn't seem to matter where you walk in Leipzig, you will hear some classical music somewhere, and on Good Friday a five piece brass band were playing opera tunes, baroque, jazz and stuff from musicals to a wide audience - in the freezing cold - and they were still eating ice creams. There are ice cream parlours almost everywhere and I noticed the same in Bremen. It must be popular over here.<br> I also visited the contemporary history museum which tells a little of the story of the division and reunification of Germany. Again, most of it is in German, but it contains pass books, posters, photographs, machinery and a few videos. And you kind of get the idea of what went on. There is footage of the creation of the Berlin wall, as well as the demolition of old buildings by the GDR to make space for new ones.<br> On the last day I got chatting to a couple of girls in my dorm, a Swiss girl who was, rather oddly, carrying a trombone around with her which she had found somewhere, but could not play it! Also a canadian girl, and I took her for a candlelit dinner - no joke, but it wasn't like that. It was just a shame she was from Calgary, the home of the Flames and local rivals to the Oilers. Ha, ha. Anyway, we both agreed that it was nice to be able to eat with someone else for a change.<br> I did enjoy Leipzig, it has great architecture, even some of the shopping malls are within beautiful old buildings, and you could be in Italy or the Burlington Arcade in London. And it has a bustle to the place without being too busy. Dresden is just as pretty, but it is very touristy - they are everywhere! And the old and the new parts are quite separate to the extent that you know that wherever you look it is a tourist and not a local.<br> But, the buildings are beautiful, mostly rebuilt but I think faithfully. I have visited the three main churches, the Kreuzkirche who's inside has been left unfinished, giving it a rough look, but it is quite effective and judging from the organ music doesn't affect the acoustics. You can easily see what was left after its destruction as the bases of pillars are in a different stone to that of the new work.<br> The Frauenkirche seems to be the church to see, judging from the queues which are about twenty metres long! But very ornate inside with a beautifully carved altarpiece and painted dome ceiling. It is a round church that looks to have been partly decorated in marble but it is just too full of people, much like the Sistene Chapel, and although you can sit down, it is not easy to relax.<br> Much nicer is the Hofkirche which is the Catholic Cathedral. Again mostly destroyed in the bombing and rebuilt, but it is beautiful. Not painted inside, but there are a few paintings on the walls, (it being Easter I noticed the stations of the cross which are individual paintings), and carved confessional boxes. It feels much more peaceful within and a lovely place to sit out of the cold and relax.<br> I plan to visit the museums tomorrow, so will end with this weeks three pieces of music. And this time in honour of Leipzig I have gone classical.</p> <p>JS Bach - St Matthew Passion<br> R Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, op 54<br> F Mendellsohn - Incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/08/the_flattened_city~2053898/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-04:/2007/04/04/a_donkey_a_dog_a_cat_and_a_cockerel~2032879/owlsfan2007-04-04T16:21:12+02:002007-04-04T16:21:12+02:00 <p>I am now on my German leg of this tour, and I started in Bremen which is in the north west. The centre of the town is fantastic, a huge open cobbled square and standing within it is Bremen's oldest parish church, the town hall and the cathedral which are all massive and really quite imposing.<br> The church, dedicated to the Virgin, is built on the original site of a church from the 11th century, but this one only dates back to the 14th century. It is built of brick, with a brick vaulted roof, but a new nave built in the 16th century seems to be have a plaster roof. When I entered, I was accosted by an elderly lady speaking to me in nothing but German. When she finally asked Sprechen sie Deutsch? I was confidently able to answer Nein.<br> The cathedral is a lot more ornate, and painted in colours of green, yellow and red, but apparantly this was only done at the beginning of the 20th century. Just shows that you can't believe everything you see these days, even in a cathedral. It also has some lovely carvings and paintings, but I didn't know what of as everything is written in German.<br> Bremen is also famous for the town musicians, as mentioned in the title which come from a Grimm brothers fairy tale which you'll have to look up to find out more, but there is a statue of them outside the town hall. There are some lovely areas to walk in Bremen, both along the Weser river which runs south of the old city and was in constant use when Bremen was a port, despite being so far inland. You can also walk along the old moat which runs north of the old city, along the old route of the city walls. There is a path either side and some lovely parkland in which to sit and watch.<br> There are also some old medieval style streets, very narrow and a bit like Shambles in York, with cobbled streets and houses close together. But they mostly contain gift shops and eateries, although one does house a Glockenspiel at the top, a triangular arrangement of bells which ring a tune for about ten minutes three times a day. Lots of people come to watch.<br> But the heart of the place is the huge square and there are plenty of cafes and bistros where people can drink Beck's (which is brewed in Bremen). I got chatting to a Japanese guy at the hostel who is studying photography in Maidstone and we sat there one evening. I had some Schitzel and beer and have to say that it went down very well indeed.<br> There also appear to be plenty of other things to see in Bremen and around, and you could quite easily base yourself there for a week without getting bored. On the way there on the train I got chatting to a girl from Bremerhaven (other photography student - this time in Essen) who recommended that I come to Leipzig. So here I am and it is also lovely.<br> It has a great chilled out feel to it, with some more old and imposing buildings. It is also the first time that I have been in the old 'East' and today visited the former HQ of the Stasi, the GDR secret police, in this area. It has been kept just as it was in 1989 with the same cream walls and yellow linoleum on the floor and odd musty but pungent smell. Here they have a collection of badges, medals, clothing, letter opening machines, copiers, phone tappers and tape recorders and cameras along with loads of other stuff which was being used day to day by the Stasi, Almost hard to comprehend that it was still going on only 18 years ago. They also had a drawing which I have seen in the history books, of the profiles of Stalin, Lenin, Marx and Engels all together.<br> However Leipzig is also known for music, and was the home of Bach for twenty years before he died as leader of the Church of St Thomas Choir School. The museum is very nice, all in German of course, but for the price of entry you get a free audio guide which also plays you bits and pieces of music along the way, as well as a comparison between a Clavichord, a Harpsichord and a Hammer Piano. It is located right opposite where Bach lived and worked with his family, and outside the church there is a statue of him.<br> Weather is still bright, but it has turned very cold again here but I suppose it is still only April. I am in Leipzig for a couple more days so will have further reports shortly </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/04/a_donkey_a_dog_a_cat_and_a_cockerel~2032879/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-04-01:/2007/04/01/auf_wiedersehn_amsterdam~2014812/owlsfan2007-04-01T17:18:36+02:002007-04-01T17:18:36+02:00 <p>It was with a heavy heart that I left Amsterdam and I will miss the canals and cafes, the cobbles and cigars...I could go on! Apart from drinking the odd glass of Heineken and the odd cup of coffee, I did manage to see a few of the other sights as well.<br> The Rijksmuseum was enjoyable, although its a shame that only its main exhibits are currently on display. Having said that, the 'Nightwatch' is probably worth the entrance fee alone, a great painting that almost leaps of the canvas at you. They also have plent of other Rembrandts which are also lovely and interesting to see the way he would scratch into them to create the image of points of light.<br> They have about four Vermeer's as well, not the one made famous by the film, but still very nice and very peaceful to look at. There are plenty of other dutch works, along with some Delftware originally made for William and Mary.<br> The Neuwe Kirk is no longer used as a Church except for coronations, and now holds exhibitions. Its a shame, because it would be nice to enjoy the interior in itself as there are some stained glass windows and a wonderfully carved pulpit, as well as monuments to two heroes of the Dutch navy (one of who is buried there) and the other who was the last Dutch man to inflict a defeat upon the British Navy. At the time they had an exhibit on Istanbul, including examples of Koran's, clothes, weapons, furniture and the whole place had rugs all over the floor. Interesting, but I would rather have seen the church alone.<br> I also paid a visit to the Red Light District, of course, and how strange a place it is. You first notice that the streets seem to become a little more cramped, but there are still plenty of bars and shops around and only the odd DVD shop betrays the fact that the area is different. However, stray down the wrong road and suddenly tap, tap on the window and women are trying to grab your attention wearing nothing but their underwear. Its almost quite comical really, but you don't know where to look. In typical english fashion I kept my upper lip firmly stiffened!!<br> I have to say that most of them weren't even particularly attractive and easily the wrong side of forty. I can only think that the empty windows normally displayed something a little better! Just as bazaar is the Sexmuseum which contains several photographs, drawings and sculptures of nude men and women, usually having sex or just about to.<br> They also have a tableu of a brothel and some other stuff about fetishes and the like. I have to say that it seemed much more like a giant 3D porn magazine to me, but worth seeing I suppose and once again quite comical.<br> Got chatting to a Canadian in the hostel who's father is dutch and his mother has dutch parents and he's going to be staying with family for a while before travelling himself. He was quite impressed with my knowledge of Canadian culture!<br> Did some more people watching and noticed the large amounts of jewellry and cigars on display also. It seems that the Dutch do like their pastries and fatty foods betrayed by fried chips with huge dollops of mayonnaise, but it is tasty.<br> I will finish with three more songs to round of this week.</p> <p>Roxanne - The Police<br> Dear Diary - The Moody Blues<br> Fly on the Wings of Love - Olsen Brothers </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/04/01/auf_wiedersehn_amsterdam~2014812/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-03-28:/2007/03/28/venice_of_the_north~1991438/owlsfan2007-03-28T14:29:19+02:002007-03-28T14:29:19+02:00 <p>Ah Amsterdam. I have only been here a few days but I could quite easily stay here for weeks. It has the feel of somewhere in Italy or Spain but the great thing is that they speak English. There is very much a laid back feel to the place, probably because most people ride bicycles, but even the car drivers don't seen to be in a huge hurry.<br> There are plenty of canalside cafes, bars and restaurants and although the place is packed with tourists, it is also possible to not have to go too far before finding yourself in a much quieter area. Yesterday I sat in Dam Square, the main central square, and drank a coffee while watching everyone go by - very nice.<br> Visited the Stedijk Museum yesterday, or what at least what they are currently showing. They are renovating the orignal building, like they are with the Rijksmuseum as well, and are in a couple of floors of a tower block near the station. They only really had modern stuff in there, but it was quite interesting. There were a couple of videos which had been filmed in London, and I recognised the areas instantly, one due to a pub.<br> Have also visited the Anne Frank House which was very moving. I'm not claustrophobic, or the type to believe that buildings can soak up emotions, but as soon as I walked behind the moving bookcase and up the narrow stairway into the 'Annexe', an odd impression of the fear and unknowing of what was going to happen, crept over me. It is amazing what is possible in the pursuit of just staying alive.<br> When I came out I sat by the canal for a few moments, a tear in my eye, and recovered. It was luck I had my sunglasses on so none of the schoolchildren around me could see!<br> Got chatting to a couple of guys from the French Alps, apparantly it is cold most of the year, one of them was a postman. Also met a group of Danish girls in the bar the other night who were on a school trip. They're probably what we would call sixth formers. I would have given my eye teeth to come to Amsterdam at that age, as I'm sure would most of my fellow classmates. The odd thing was that they were even given a choice as to where they wanted to go and Amsterdam came in at three. Dublin was second, which you may think normal, but Scotland was first! Mad. The only reason they came here was because it was cheaper to get to than the other two. They also burst into song a couple of times at the sound of a Danish eurovision song. I can't imagine any english schoolgirls singing along with Love Shine a Light.<br> Weather here is glorious, which probably makes the place seem even better and still so much more here to see. Maybe I'll just go and have a nice coffee somewhere instead. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/03/28/venice_of_the_north~1991438/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-03-25:/2007/03/25/this_could_be_anywhere~1973062/owlsfan2007-03-25T18:01:35+02:002007-03-26T19:07:15+02:00 <p>The title is a little harsh I have to say, but you may understand if you know your song titles and if you realise that I am in Rotterdam. My original intention was to go straight to Amsterdam on my arrival in Holland, however the boat was late leaving and even later getting in, so not wanting to get there really late, I decided to stay in Rotterdam for a few days.<br> It is quite a nice place, although large amounts of it remind me a little of Holloway Road, or Kentish Town in London. Lots of asian run shops selling fruit and veg, with people hanging around outside. I have also seen plenty of 'coffeshops<br> all over the place, with names like SkyHigh, and Pluto but you can usually smell them before you see them! There is also a large more upmarket shopping area which could actually be anywhere as most of the shops are what you would see in the UK, apart from C&A which is still going here, and there are McDonalds and Burger Kings everywhere!<br> However the nicest part is by the River Maas which is huge, much wider than the Thames. There is also the harbour which contains many modern yachts as well as more old fashioned rigged sail boats. I imagine that some are avaliable for hiring.<br> There are plenty of what you would consider Dutch looking houses here, and everywhere you can find stalls selling real potato fries which come with huge dollops of mayonnaise which they call fritesauce, as if you wouldn't use it with anything else. It is quite tasty though and I think I prefer it with mayonnaise that I do with ketchup.<br> The Van Bomerins museum is very interesting, containing several excellent works of art, including Breughals Tower of Babel, along with some Rembrandt van Rijns, Dali's, a couple of Rodin's, a Monet, a Canaletto, a Titian (not as good as Bacchus & Ariadne), Tintoretto along with some good modern art. There was a great chalk drawing of Ophelia at Night by Iris van ? which was lovely.<br> I also visited the Maritime Museum and learned that Rotterdam was original famous for its herring industry until they were overfished. They also held some maps made by the Dutch East India company which had been found in Corpus Christie in Oxford - I don't know how we let them have them back! Ha ha.<br> Another pretty part is Delfshaven, just outside Rotterdam itself which was the former port of Delft, and the location from which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to England before picking up the Mayflower. It also has a working windmill where they seemed to be selling either bread or flour (as far as I could tell from the Dutch)!<br> Haven't really been out much as there isn't really anywhere you feel comfortable going as a tourist, especially on your own. I have had a couple of beers in the hostel bar though, and the other night I watched the Holland Romania game with a bunch of Romanians who have come out here to work. It was a bit like something out of Auf Wiedersehn Pet. Rubbish game though.<br> Any of you who read the last blog will know that I gave out three songs at the end of each week to tie in with the events that have taken place. Being a traditionalist and not being able to think of anything different, I will do so again. So tying in this and Dublin, here goes.</p> <p>I Drove All Night - Roy Orbison<br> Toss The Feathers - The Corrs<br> Rotterdam - The Beautiful South </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/03/25/this_could_be_anywhere~1973062/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:easteur.blog.co.uk,2007-03-20:/2007/03/20/prologue_st_paddys_weekend~1940916/owlsfan2007-03-20T17:31:55+01:002007-03-20T17:31:55+01:00 <p>This blog will be charting my journey across Eastern Europe will will start on 22 March, however I was in Dublin last weekend and I couldn't resist using it as a prologue to this trip.<br> I travelled there with my friend who's birthday happens to be 17 March, so what better way to celebrate it but in the emerald isle itself. We stayed overnight at his parents on the Friday, then left Reading at 4.15am in order to get the ferry from Holyhead. It was still dark and the dawn only arrived as we neared Birmingham. As I looked at the now brightening landscape around me of gashes of tarmac through the countryside and fields of street lights blocking out the stars above I couldn't help feeling that it was such a shame what had become of the natural beauty of our country. I know that it could never possibly be restored to its original state, a state which I've never known myself - but I suppose this is progress.<br> We continued north and passed through some small villages near Chester. Worringly I saw signposts for firstly Poole, and then for Stamford Bridge before realising it wasn't the football ground but just battlesite. Not long after and we had passed into Wales, signified not only by the unreadable signs but also by the roadside cafe's sporting red dragons. Arrived in Holyhead at 8.15 and you could tell that you were in Wales, grey skies, grey stone buildings and a sense that you were in the middle of nowhere.<br> We were ushered onto the ferry by men in green hats (not at all touristy) and looked for the deck. Unfortunately it was one of those new catamarans, and there was no deck. However I still looked at of the windows as the rugged and rainswept coastline receded into the distance and suddenly there was nothing around but water.<br> My friend took a nap and within two hours we had come within my first sight of the Irish coast. Dun Laoghaire harbour protruded into the sea and to the right were the masts of yachts which I later found out belonged to the Royal St George club. Its nice to see there's still a little bit of England left here!<br> We were met by my friends sister and took the windy coastal path to her flat. I saw a man skimming stones while his dogs swam in the sea, then later two people swimming. They must have been mad. At this point I was looking forward to a shower and sinking some Guinness, however unbeknownst to me something different had been organised - an expedition amongst the Wicklow Mountains! I didn't really have much choice in the matter but most annoying was the fact that I had clothed myself for time in the pub, flat shoes and a thin shirt. At least I had a waterproof jacket.<br> Anyway, we went down to Bray, south of Dublin, which reminded me a little of something across between Brean (north of Weston Super Mare) and Scarborough. There was a funfair on the promenade to celebrate St Patricks Day, and people were walking around with green hats and shamrocks stencilled onto their cheeks. The girls were wearing green tights and I noticed that a lot of twenty something girls were alone with their mothers.<br> The first peak at the south of Bray beach had a huge cross on it, and we ascended this hill for views out into the Irish sea and back inland towards the Wicklow mountains. We walked along near the windy and weatherbeaten coast until we were in sight of Greystones. Then we headed back inland and towards another peak. To get there we had to climb over barbed wire fences, locate paths through gorse fields and then ascended the peak which was made up of a jigsaw of loose rocks, much like a giant dry-stone wall. I slid and slipped my way up in my totally incorrect shoes, before almost being blown off by the strong winds at the top.<br> Finally got to have some Guinness back in Bray, at a Porterhouse, like the one in Maiden Lane, London, and it was the best pint off the stuff I'd ever had! I had to wait the customary half hour for it to be pulled, meanwhile I picked up the rugby results from an Irish girl at the bar, who seemed to find my optomism over Englands chances amusing. We were losing to Wales at the time though.<br> We sat outside, despite the weather, and listened to some Irish reels being played by some guitarists and fiddlers and for the first time it felt like I was in Ireland.<br> The next day I was able to get to Dublin itself for the first time, passing Lansdowne Road on the way which is still intact. I was surprised at the small size of the Liffey as we walked alongside, it is about half the size of the Thames, and it was even windier which I didn't think was possible. As we passed James Joyce House I smelt the brewery for the first time, and soon it came into sight with its chimneys belching out. We were heading for the jail where the leaders of the Easter rising were executed, which has actually been closed since 1924. It was a very interesting tour, and gives a good taste of the political history of the country as it held only political prisoners towards the end of its life.<br> It was very cold and dark and the size of the cells were about the same as that of the Ottawa Jail Hostel. The only difference being that these cells supposedly held one inmate only, whereas the Ottawa one held six hostellers in bunk beds. Theres something wrong there I'm sure!<br> The new wing has also been used more recently for music videos and films. Michael Collins and In The Name Of The Father were filmed here, and I recognised instantly that it was also used for the original The Italian Job.<br> Back out and this time we wandered briefly through the cobbled streets of the Temple Bar area full of pubs and gift shops, though we didn't stop for a pint, before heading back to Dun Laoghaire for the return ferry. Unfortunately the weather conditions dictated that our ferry had been cancelled and we had to make our way back across town to Dublin port in order to get a ferry there. Here we had a real taste of Ireland.<br> On enquiring of where we could get a bus to the port we were told that because the ferry's had been cancelled the bus had also been cancelled, but there was still a ferry and that we should hurry to get there. Eh? No ferry, no bus, but there's a ferry! We took a taxi to find the driver listen to a Christy Moore tape. What can you say!<br> Despite the fact that everyone wanting to get out of Dublin wanted the same ferry, we managed to get on and returned to Holyhead at 1am and got to London at 5.30am - knackered!! On the way back we hit sleet which came at us like the starfield screen saver.<br> I will have to go back to Dublin again to see it properly and get more of a taste of the Craic, but now it's eastwards only. Rather fittingly my friends sister had a copy of Dracula in her bookcase (at least that's the only way I can think of tying this part of the blog to the rest of it).<br> I just wonder where I'll be on 3 May - Bistritz perhaps? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://easteur.blog.co.uk/2007/03/20/prologue_st_paddys_weekend~1940916/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>