It's all Greek to me ...

So, you last left me in Vienna, a city of great beauty, unexpected heat and lovely buildings!! I met up with my friend Christoph, and we had a great night out, partying with Austrian students!! On the Thursday, I wandered around the former Royal Palace, definitely a sight to see!! After the traditional Vienna Schnitzel, I headed to bed very early, as I had foolishly booked a 6am flight to Athens the next day!!

I eventually arrived in Athens later on the Friday, to discover I agreed with most people's assessment - leave ASAP!! The Acropolis is duly impressive, but the rest of the city is rundown and unpleasant feeling. However, I then headed to Santorini on Saturday, which was just beautiful!! Black beaches, high cliffs, volcanoes, and all those lovely little blue and white churches you see in photos - definitely what I wanted from a Greek island!! I was alone, again, as my poor friend Anika has collapsed a disc in her back, but after some periods of loneliness, I met some great American girls, and we went on a volcanoe tour, and saw the sunset in a beautiful location with our Greek guide - photos next week!!

I then headed to Mykonos, for more traditional beaches and Eurotrash - drinks and umbrellas on the beach, very relaxing and very touristy!!

Now I am in Venice, after having to walk for about 2 hours from near the airport, after storms brought down trees, cancelled music festivals and blocked roads!! I love this city, so pretty, so warm, nice people, great water ...

Anyway, Germany, then home soon - yay!!

Another reason to hate Dubya ...

So, my crazy 3 weeks of travel has begun!! On Sunday, I got to spend 7 hours at Leeds airport, while they fixed 'technical difficulties' in our plane - this included time when we actually boarded the plane, flew for 20 minutes, then had to return!! So I finally arrived in Prague at 11pm, rather than 3pm as originally planned! After successfully negotiating bus, train and tram to my hostel, I chilled in the bar, chatting to fellow travellers (I love feeling so worldly - 'oh, yeah, you should definitely go to Budapest ... I love Berlin ... Spain is great!).

Monday morning I went bright eyed and bushy tailed to Prague Castle, one of the most beautiful in the world. Well, I wouldn't know, because it was closed for Monday and Tuesday, the 2 days I was in Prague. Why, you ask? Because bloody George W. Bush was visiting!! So, yeah, not happy Jan!!

Anyway, I had a great day - I went to St Nicholas Church, a crazy Baroque thing of gold and beauty, walked across the Charles Bridge, went on a boat tour, read some Czech authors, and finished off the night with a performance in a church by the Prague Brass Ensemble and organ - really great!!

Tuesday was warmer and sunnier - I went back to Charles Bridge and climbed the tower for great views. I then finally chose a Babushka doll (I love those things!!), then went to the Mucha exhibition - such great art!! After a relaxed lunch, I wandered back to the hostel, bought some fruit, then found my way to the correct train station to say farewell to Prague, and head to Vienna!!

That's where I am now - the 30 degree heat has caught me by surprise, but it is pleasant to be warm - although being in a landlocked country means no beach, alas!! I met up with Christoph, who I met in Denmark and is Austrian, and we went to lunch, then out to the cemetary - as one does!!! We saw Beethoven's grave - quite cool!! Then we wandered around Stephensplatz, seeing the great church, and then I saw all the lovely buildings on the Ring road - architecture is lovely here!!

No photos, sorry, no way of uploading them - but I'll bore you all with them in a couple of weeks!!

Athens on Friday - bring on more countries, I say!!

Another day, another country left ...

After a whirlwind few weeks of last Dutch experiences, I have left the Hague!

My flatmate Mike and I had a joint party last Saturday night, (to celebrate his birthday and my leaving) which was well attended and highly enjoyable! And no police were called (a rarity in Dutch parties), so all was well!! This photo is of him in his 'birthday boa and hat' - we convinced him to buy accessories when we spent the day in Rotterdam - it was quite fun to dress him up!!


My last day at the Tribunal was busy but nice - my team took me out for lunch, and gave me a farewell bear and book, and then I left the building - quite sad, after having spent 5 months there, but refreshing to have no responsibilities for the next few weeks!!


A nice canal view on the walk to work


The Tribunal in all its glory!!

Me and the sign!

So after sending 3 boxes of clothes, dvds, books and shoes home to Australia, I have embarked on my final three weeks in Europe. I flew this morning into Liverpool, travelling to Leeds to see Charlotte and her family. On Sunday I will fly to Prague for 2 days, then Tuesday evening train to Vienna. After catching up with my Austrian friend Christoph, I will fly to Athens, where my friend Anika will join me for a week on the Greek islands in the sun!! On the 15th I fly to Venice for the weekend, seeing my friend Diego, then to two parts of Germany, Stuttgart and Hamburg, to catch up with Anna and Marte!

So it will be a busy three weeks, of seeing people I became close to in Denmark, and seeing places I have wanted to see!! On the 21st, I leave Hamburg to fly back to Sydney - yay!! So I'll be home from the 23rd of June.

E-mail is the best way to contact me over the next few weeks, but looking forward to catching up with all you Aussies!!