Krysti's Big Adventure!: August 2015

Ahoyhoy. I'm off on my first Contiki trip early tomorrow morning heading to France so I thought I should do a very quick update so I don't get too behind.
Well the girls weekend in Dublin was SO great! I love that city so much! It was so so sad to leave. 3 days there was definitely not long enough so I will certainly be back. Dublin had such a great atmosphere, it has a vibe to it and the people are so sociable and friendly which really adds to the culture. Not to mention the Irish accents- phwoar!

My friends and I arrived at different times, Sarah was already there when I arrived early evening. We had hired out an AirB&B house to ourselves in a quaint suburb called Stoneybatter (say that in an Irish accent hehe). We got snacks and a couple of drinks each while we waited for Carrie to arrive and then we all went to a local pub to be sure, to be sure (I'm not even sorry). That was pretty much us for the first night.

On Saturday we walked into the centre of town and had a cooked breakfast. I of course got the full Irish, which was amazing. We then went into the famous Temple Bar which had live Irish music playing and was packed with people drinking at that time of the day already! So we decided to join them and I had my first ever Irish coffee at 11 am in the morning!

Feeling invigorated we then passed by a giant Irish souvenir store which we went pretty nuts in... we all bought matching Green Ireland t-shirts as well as badges, a mini leprechaun soft-toy/keyring etc. All of us were already wearing green t-shirts so that just added to our craziness. Although there was a big rugby game on- Ireland vs Scotland so there were heaps of people walking around sporting Irish gear (and there were even a few kilts) so I'm sure we just fitted right in.....

In the afternoon we joined a free 3 hour walking tour which was cool and interesting to hear the abysmal history of the country. We covered a bit of ground and saw the castle, the historical university and the library which holds the most books in the world! Following that we were pretty exhausted so just decided to have a few drinks at home and we later got takeaways for dinner.

Sunday we all donned our matching shirts and headed back to town. We started with a delightful second breakfast at a chocolate cafe before heading to the Guinness Brewery- which is something I've been looking forward to for years! That was such a great way to spend 4 hours, it was definitely a highlight of the trip. We got to explore the storehouse and learn how it was made- it was about 7 floors and ended at a bar on the top with an excellent view over Dublin.
We went to Guinness Academy where we learned how to pour the perfect pint and got a certificate for it. Then of course we got to drink it and- best Guinness I've ever had! Definitely something in the water in Ireland! We sat in a big room with a live Irish band and there were Irish dancers performing. They even came up and grabbed us to join in a big group dance at one stage which was fun but a bit of a workout! Leg flailing is quite an effort. We probably stayed in that room for a whole hour cause it was so enjoyable! I bought a cool Irish Guinness t-shirt and Guinness fudge- the souvenir store was amazing, I wanted to buy everything.
After the brewery there was a horse and carriage waiting outside so we decided to be fancy and ride back to town that way- it was so awesome! We finished at a pub with a meal and a couple of pints. The dinner was so amazing- beef and Guinness stew- omg!

Our final half day on Monday we explored a bit more of town and had nice coffee and scones and found an epic Disney store where we had fun posing with the characters. Sarah and I bought the same t-shirt again- a Star Wars one because it was so cool! I shouldn't be buying anything as my suitcase is already a kg overweight but I can't help myseeeelf.
We then went to the library by the castle as it had a recommended exhibition there and after we had a super lunch at their cafe. We had such a good food weekend.
Sadly we had to head back to the house and pack our suitcases. Of course we left some time to spare to have a final pint of Guinness at the pub before we headed to the airport. So our short time in Dublin was wicked and I can't wait to come back and to explore the rest of Ireland as well.

But next stop- London! It's my third time here in less than a year- feeling very spoilt! As soon as I arrived in Carrie's neighborhood I saw a fox within minutes- I love them! On Tuesday I ticked off something I hadn't yet done and always wanted to do- go to Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross! I met Sarah there after she had finished work and we waited in line for about 40 minutes because it was so popular- but it was so worth the wait! I can't believe they actually employ someone as a 'wind maker'. There's a guy who wraps the scarf around your neck and then holds it waiting for the photographer to say go and the guy whips it out so it creates wind and looks like you're moving! So funny! So that was a lot of fun and I love my photo. After that we had a steak and ale cornish pasty for lunch and then headed to Camden Town. We walked around there for a while and explored some shops and a bit of the market before ending up at the World's End pub. When Sarah had to go back to work I headed home and met Carrie and we made a nice home made dinner before heading out with her flatmate and his friends to a local open-mic night in Tooting. I was so surprised with the talent there- I thought it would be average at best, but I was really blown away. Every single singer and musician was extremely talented- they should be famous. So that was a really enjoyable night.

On Wednesday I headed to Trafalgar and I couldn't help but get another pasty for lunch (it's the closest thing to a NZ pie- which I miss very much). I then went to the London National Gallery which is a top art museum, but I was a bit of a snob in there, as after the Louvre in Paris or the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican City- everything else seems mediocre! No, they had a few cool bits in there. Mostly I enjoyed the really old stuff from 12-15th Century. I only stayed for about an hour and then wandered to Covent Garden and then over the Thames and down South Bank. I ended up in the Tate Modern museum which I actually enjoyed a lot more. Apparently I love abstract art haha- I never knew. There was some really random stuff in there.
After that I ended up at Borough Market and had a pint while I waited for Carrie and Sarah to meet me after they finished work. We then headed to Jamie Oliver's at London Bridge for some drinks and a nice dinner and dessert. Sarah gave me a surprise present- the coolest little fox toy! I love it. :)

So today is my last day here and I'm going to head back to Borough Market as it's supposed to be a foodies paradise- I'm going for the paella! And then I'm going to do the Sandeman's walking tour of London, which will be good to brush up on the history as well as seeing my favourite places again like Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace etc.
Meeting with the girls again later on for my last night and then off to France tomorrow! Exciting times. Only about a month to go now before I'm home again~ time is flying.

Dublin:

Temple Bar

Irish coffee!

Chocolate dolphins- not fish

Pretty Dublin- flowers everywhere

Leprechaun friend!

How we roll

This pub is called bad Ass!!

Dublin Castle

Beef and Guinness stew!

London:

Camden Town

Tate Modern art

Mr Fox

Best tip jar everr

Medieval Square

Hello! I'm pretty tired after many many busy days! So since my last post I did a day tour to Auschwitz and the Birkenau concentration camp. It was a good lesson and something to see as it was only 70 years ago which is unbelievable. But I have to say I found it very touristy- probably just that time of year and perhaps the tour guide contributed to that. Not really sure- just because I expected to go there and cry or be very moved at least but it hardly even felt real or there was no chance to feel that way. Maybe if you go by yourself it would be a bit different. But I'm glad I went, aside from being 38 degrees (which the tour guide said because of the humidity the real temperature is actually 45 degrees!) Well NO wonder I've been absolutely dying lately haha. The whole two weeks east has been a heatwave with no relief- and they don't do air conditioning here...

Anyway- after that I did a 3 hour walking tour of Old Town and then finished the day with a nice beer and Perogi in the famous Medieval Square. Even though that was the most expensive place to eat and drink (I thought I'd splash out)- it still cost me only $10 NZD for both. Incredible.

Salt Mines

The next day I did a trip to the ancient Salt Mines which is Poland's number one attraction. It was really cool down there, the whole thing goes 1000 feet underground but we went only 3 floors which was 200 ish feet and that was big enough! I really enjoyed the tour and that was before I found out that practically everyone important and famous had been there too- even Benedict Cumberbatch (last year) and JRR Tolkien! After that I joined a food and drink tour which was very delicious! We tried so many new things and learned about Polish traditions. I had herring, lard on bread, 3 shots of vodka, pickles, meats etc. I was very full and satisfied. Afterwards the tour guide invited us all for a beer so we spent a couple of hours outside at a cool beer garden in the Jewish Quarter which was incredibly cheap.

There I found out that the tour guide is actually famous in NZ! Well- I knew who he was anyway. At the start of the tour I straight away noticed he had the 'one ring to rule them all' elvish script around his arm and I said' nice tattoo! I have the same one! So obviously we got talking and then he said I'll show you something cool later. So I brought that up again while we were having beers and he didn't say anything, just found something on his phone and showed it to me- and it was an article that I instantly recognised- my mouth fell open and I said "Oh my god THAT'S YOU!"

Ol' Town margaritas

So he was all over our media because he was this guy from Poland that was a die hard LOTR fan and he was in Wellington trying to attract attention as he wanted to be in The Hobbit, so he dressed as an orc in the streets.
It's such a small world and so funny that I met him! Of course I got a picture taken with him- he's a legend!
I also made a friend from France on the tour who was also in Krakow by herself and after that we went back to Old Town and found a nice spot to have a frozen margarita in the Medieval Square.

The next day was a long bus ride to Prague via Wroclaw, another big Polish city. It took about 9 hours in total to get there. After I settled into my new accommation- which is right in town, it's so perfect, I just wandered around, saw some cool stuff, got lost- the usual!

My first proper day in Prague I started with my first starbucks since I went to London in April mmm, and I also had a traditional Czech donut for breakfast, super healthy. The old town square there is absolutely breathtaking- I can't get enough of the architecture! And it's such a huge hub, a real thriving environment packed with people, food, entertainment, it's really cool. I came across a train caddy thing that was doing one hour rides around the main sights of Prague. I decided that would be a great way to start off and see what's around, so jumped on.
After that I did a 3 hour walking tour which was great, also for the history lessons, and then I did a 4 hour pub and pivo (beer) tour. Very big day! It was nice hanging out with people for the evening. We tried three kinds of Czech beer in three different traditional pubs. I was very keen to try the beer as I heard it's the best in the world, and they also claim it to be- but I thought that simply can't be true after living in Germany where in my opinion it is absolute liquid gold and the very best! And, I can now contribute to the argument- nope Germany wins! Czech beer is still very nice though (and at only 1 Euro a pint who could complain?!)
At the final beer place everyone decided to have dinner as well and I got very delicious slow cooked beef cheeks in dark beer and crispy potato cakes mmm.

Amazing architecture

Oh yeah also a random guy in the street during the day (that I went up to cause he was holding a snake- which I patted) asked where I was from and when I said NZ and he goes KIWI- and he looks straight at my feet and says "Where are your jandals??" hahaha I just found that so funny so I had to share.

My last full day here I walked around in the morning and then did a tour of the largest castle in the world in the afternoon. I really loved the St. Vivus Catherdral, and the castle was very impressive. The view over Prague from the top of the hill was really incredible, as was walking back over the famous Charles Bridge. Very enjoyable time here! I finished off with another delicious pub meal and beer and fought my way home through the crowds of people everywhere. I must say due to the heat and throngs of people I don't think I would ever come back to Europe in summer again!

But yes I have a had such a great two weeks of solo travel- I've seen so many amazing things in such a short time- it's unreal!

This afternoon I'm off to Dublin and I'm very excited to meet up with my friends. Hooray no more wining and dining alone! It is also going to be a high of 18 degrees- so I'll be complaining of the cold next! Catch you later from the UK :)