Today we got the Eurostar from Brussels to London, arriving in London at around 12:30. We got the tube to Old Street, where we met Sarah, a family friend who is living in London. She gave us the keys to her place, and we went back to drop our bags off.

With our bags out of the way, we got the tube back in to Covent Garden, where we had drinks at the White Lion – the first pub we drank in when we arrived in London three months ago. After a few hours, we walked to West End, to The Queen’s Theater, where we saw Les Miserables, which was excellent.

October 8 – Day 86

Today we planned to meet a relative of mine and be shown some family history. We met Elaine at Euston Station, and got a train to Watford, where we met Alwin. They drove us to The Grove, which is now an exclusive hotel, but was once the home of an Earl. We then went and looked at the house where my relatives had lived, which was interesting.

We looked around a bit more before coming to The Stables. It is now a restaurant, and we stopped for a delicious lunch. We drove on after lunch, and visited the church where the graves of some of the family are. After that, Alwin dropped us back at Watford, where we got a train back to Euston.

We said goodbye to Elaine, and headed to Harrod’s for a look around. We didn’t stay long, but got some cupcakes for dessert

We slowly headed back to Sarah’s place, stopping off along the way at Oxford St, and a pub or two. We had dinner with Sarah and her brother, Ken, which was really fun. It was nice to see people we know.

October 9 – Day 87

Today we planned to go to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard, but slept in, and didn’t think we’d make it. Once we woke up, we rushed to the train and went to Charing Cross. From there, we started walking to the palace, but stopped when we saw a police motorcade heading towards us.

We soon saw most of The Royal Family, including The Queen, go past on their way to a church service – very exciting!

We kept walking down The Mall, and saw the changing of the cavalry, which was also fun. We continued walking down to the palace, but found out that the changing of the guard wasn’t happening today. The guards must get tired on these days

From the palace, we walked through Green park and had a pub lunch, before heading to Lord’s for a tour of the ground. The tour was good, but the guide was a bit annoying. We were still glad to see it.

After the tour, we met Sarah and Ken to see Annie Get Your Gun. It was pretty different from Les Mis, but we had a good time.

October 10 – Day 88

Today we went to Portobello Road to see the markets. It was packed, but we looked around for a few hours. We were carrying enough by now that we didn’t want to buy anything more. We kept exploring for the rest of the day, but were pretty relaxed.

After dinner we went to our friend’s place for a party.

October 11 – Day 89

After packing our bags, we went to Brick Lane, stopping at markets along the way. After a delicious lunch, we had a few drinks before heading back to Sarah’s to get our bags, and head to Heathrow.

We flew to Bangkok and stayed for two nights, before continuing back to Sydney.

We arrived in Brussels a little bit late, after missing our train from Amsterdam. When we got to our accommodation, there was no-one there (I had said we would arrive in the morning). 20 minutes later, we were let in to the beautiful B&B we stayed in.

We dropped our bags, then headed to the centre of town, a ten minute walk. We were both reminded of Paris walking through the streets, it is a beautiful city. We soon found a cafe for drinks and a very late lunch.

We kept walking to the centre of town, to Markt Platz, which is very beautiful. I soon spotted a beer shop (proudly stocking 250 beers), and procured some room beers. We stopped in another cafe that offered beer tasting, including some crazy Belgian fruit beers, before a cheap dinner of Greek food.

It did not take long for me to decide that the beers of Belgium are my favourite of all the countries we visited in Europe. The strength and variety of the flavours and styles makes it an unmissable country for any beer geek. The most incredible thing is that after a day of tasting, drinking beers between 6% and 11% ABV, you feel fine the next day

October 4 – Day 82

Today we planned to do a walking tour of Brussels, but couldn’t find anyone offering one. We then thought we’d do a bus tour, but the Brussels Marathon meant that there were a lot of closed streets, and they were only stopping at about a quarter of the stops. Instead, we bought a little tourist book, and walked around by ourselves.

We had a look at Manakin Pis, the little peeing boy. There are numerous legends about him, and why he is eternally peeing. When we visited he was wearing one of his 800+ outfits, which is incredible. We decided to go and see the rest of the collection in the museum at the King’s House.

After that, we headed to Delirium Cafe, which is truly incredible. They  hold the Guinness World Record for the most beers available – 2004. I set out to taste the best, working through a few Grand Cru’s, and plenty of other Belgians. The cafe itself is amazing. Every surface is covered in Beer paraphernalia. The entire roof is covered in serving trays, and all of the light comes from beer signs, as far as I could tell. A must see for anyone who likes beer at all.

After a thorough sampling of their Bible-esque menu, we continued on Simone’s tour of Brussels. We stopped at St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a Palace, Gardens and the Clock. After all that walking we were ready for more drinks, so we stopped at a bar for drinks, where we met the craziest American of the past three months (he had plenty of competition), then headed off to dinner. Brussels in a day

October 5 – Day 83

Today we headed to Brugge, laughing all the way at quotes from ‘In Brugge’. When we arrived, it was raining, but we decided to walk anyway. We went in and out of chocolate shops all the way to the centre of town, also stopping for the best hot chocolate I have ever had. A bowl of steaming milk, into which you drop a chocolate cup full of chocolate bits. Delicious.

By this stage it was pouring, so a canal cruise didn’t look very appealing. We spotted a bus tour going past, and ran and got on. It showed us all the places we would go for the rest of the day.

First, I climbed the 366 steps of The Belfry tower in the main square. Even in the rain, the views were excellent, and I was lucky enough to be at the top when the 29 tonnes of bells started to ring. It was deafeningly enjoyable.

After climbing down, I went to a beer shop I had spotted from the tour. As soon as I walked in the door, I saw something very special on the counter – beers from St Sixtus in Westvleteren (the abbey that produces the ‘best beer in the world’. They only had the 8 in stock (the Blonde), but I got a bottle. This is against the wishes of the Abbey, but I was worried about missing out. Hopefully the beer gods forgive me.

Next we walked through a beautiful garden, into the stunning ‘Houses of God’, which were built for the poor. They surround a beautiful courtyard – definitely worth a visit.

From there, we went back to the train station, and back to Brussels. Naturally, we headed back to the Delirium Cafe for more research.

October 6 – Day 84

Today, I made the pilgrimage to Westvleteren, which will hopefully have cleansed me of my sins yesterday. Westvleteren is not an easy place to get to. Here is what we did, and what you should do:

Getting to Westvleteren (Home of St Sixtus Brewery)

First, we bought return tickets to Poperinge Train Station (~35 EUR per person). On the platform, we called up the belbus company that will take you from the station to St Sixtus (about 8km). They said the bus would be waiting when we arrived (around 11:30).

We got off the train, and sure enough, the bus was there waiting for us. 15 minutes later, we were at the Abbey. We told the driver we would be waiting at 3 to get the bus back to the station (BIG MISTAKE). The Abbey is actually not very appealing, and you can’t see much. Across the road is the cafe where you can get the beers though.

I sampled the range (8, 10 and 12). Each beer is better than the last, and the 12 is truly outstanding. It really is the best beer I have ever tasted. I had a few more of them.

It was pouring with rain, and we soon gave up walking around their gardens, and headed back for a few more beers.

It turned out it was a beer purchasing day at the abbey, and I can confirm that they have a pad of paper with people’s vehicle registration, as well as their order, and the time they will arrive. Amazing.

IMPORTANT TIP:

If you ask the belbus driver to come back and get you, they will NOT do it. We were pretty confident that the driver had understood us, but evidently not. You cannot make a reservation with a driver, you need to do it over the phone. This was a very expensive mistake for us.

After asking around, we eventually got a phone number for a taxi. We were told that this was very unusual, but I had no idea how bad it would be. The bus cost 3.20 Euro for both of us, I thought a taxi might be 10-15 Euro. It actually has to travel to St Sixtus from another town, and they have a fixed rate to take people from the abbey to the train station. The driver said 45 Euro when we got in – I couldn’t believe it, so we called the taxi company to confirm, and were told it was 40 Euro – for an 8km ride. Had we known, we would have hitchhiked with one of the cars at the abbey picking up their beers.

If you plan to get the belbus, make sure you book the return trip when you call, there is absolutely no other way of getting back to the train station.

We were back in Brussels by about 7pm, where we had dinner and headed back home to pack. I had an excellent day, even if it  was a bit expensive. I would consider hiring a car with GPS to get there (if you have a non drinker with you). Apparently it is much quicker, and probably doesn’t cost that much more if there are 2+ people going.

I loved Belgium, it was one of my favourite places of the trip. I hope to go back one day soon

We arrived in rainy Amsterdam at about 6pm, after a long train trip from Berlin. We had a little walk around, then had overpriced drinks in a little pub nearby. After dinner, we walked through the infamous Red Light District, and were shocked and amazed. Wow.

After a few more drinks at the hostel we called it a night.

September 30 – Day 78

This morning we did the free New Europe tour of Amsterdam, which gave us a lot of the history of the city, as well as places to explore more. After the tour, we went to the Anne Frank House, which was very interesting. I haven’t read the book, but it sounds like an amazing story.

Walking back to the centre of town, I was lucky to spot the Beer Temple, a newly opened pub (the first American pub in Europe or something). They have an incredible range of good American craft beers. I was ready for a change from the European beers (as good as they are) and enjoyed some hugely over-hopped IPAs.

After dinner, we headed back to the Red Light District for a live show, which is exactly what it sounds like. It was crazy!

On the walking tour we heard about how the Red Light District is being shut down by the conservative government. Girls windows are being turned into fashion displays, and the Coffeeshops are slowly being closed down. I wonder what the new plan for tourism is – they haven’t had to do anything for a very long time!

October 1 – Day 79

We started today with a visit to the Sex Museum, which is pretty tame compared to a walk around the Red Light District.

We then set off for Heineken, to do the ‘Heineken Experience’ – (Meet the beer, share the magic: Marketing Gold). It was actually a really good tour. I wasn’t overly keen on doing another mega-brewery tour, but it is worth it. You get to see more than you do at some of the other tours. As a bonus, I think my two free beers turned into about 8 – if you pour your own, it doesn’t count, so Simone and I both did that.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around Amsterdam drinking and relaxing.

October 2 – Day 80

After getting tickets for our train tomorrow, we went to Amsterdam Zoo, which was a nice break. Simone had fun After that we went to the Beer Temple again, where I had fun! We drank for a few hours, and relaxed the day away.

We went back to the Red Light District one last time, and visited the Erotic Museum. We’ve seen lots of these museums. It wasn’t very different from the others.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city, and a great place if you want to smoke. If I was going back, I wouldn’t stay as long, or I would go with a different mindset – not trying to ’see things’. It is a very relaxed place

After a recovery sleep-in after an afternoon/night at Oktoberfest, we headed to the train station to go to Berlin. The train is new and fast (~160km/h). We should be in Berlin by 6pm.

After finding our way to the hostel, we had dinner at the restaurant next door, then went to bed. I didn’t even have a beer.

September 26 – Day 74

Today we did a free walking tour with ‘New Europe’. It started at the Brandenburg Gate, the only surviving Berlin gate. From here we could see the Hotel Adlon, one of Berlin’s top hotels, Embassies, and banks.

We walked through the gate to the Holocaust Memorial – the one with thousands of concrete pillars. It is a strange memorial. It is certainly not something that anyone nearby can miss, which was part of the idea behind the design I think. Someone asked if there were any problems with graffiti, and the guide said they used a special paint that means paint can be wiped straight off. He also said that people eventually realised that this paint was produced by the same company that produced the pellets to be used in the gas chambers, which caused outrage when people found out. Apparently very few German companies survived the war without working with (or at least not opposing) the Nazis.

From the memorial, we walked to the old HQ of the Luftwaffe, now the Ministry of Finance. It is a huge, ugly building – not many people like it, especially since it is where the taxes are paid.

From there, we went and saw a surviving section of the wall, and continued on to Checkpoint Charlie. From there, we visited Gendarmenplatz, and St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, where two of Berlin’s 6.5 daily protests were taking place.

Next we went to the War Memorial. The building has been a memorial for many years, but to different things. It is now a large room with the statue ‘Mother and her dead son’ at its centre. It has an opening in the roof, and takes on different feelings depending on the weather. It would be amazing to see with snow falling in the room.

Next we were in the museum area, where we saw the Altes Museum and the Berliner Dom, which is very spectacular. This was where the tour finished. It was the best tour I have done so far, and I highly recommend the free ‘New Europe’ tours – I wish we had done more of them.

We decided to see an opera, as the cheap seats are only 8 Euro. It was a German one – Der Rosenkavalier. We were able to move to much better seats before it started, but couldn’t really follow the story.

On the way home, we stopped in at Marcus Brau, a small brewpub near Alexanderplatz. Their dark beer is good.

September 27 – Day 75

We started today at the ‘Topography of Terror’ museum, near Checkpoint Charlie. It goes into details about the SS and the SD, and is worth a visit.

After the free tour yesterday, we decided to do the ‘alternative city tour’ today. The same guide was taking it, so we were pretty confident it was going to be good.

The alternative tour shows a very different Berlin. We started at a building called Tacheles, a squat used manly by artists. Half of the building was torn down after it was declared structurally unsound, but the front is still used. The entire building – inside and out, top to bottom – is covered in Graffiti. I was amazed that a company could offer tours there. The OH&S laws must be a bit more relaxed in Germany.

We saw a few other squats as we walked around, and others still while exploring by ourselves. One of them is owned by a bank, but has been occupied by squatters for about 20 years. The bank sold it to another company, which was a front for Eastern European gangsters who thought they could clear it out. After a number of luxury cars were torched, the gangsters started worrying about German law, and fled. The bank bought it back again, but doesn’t know what to do. Part of the reason for the squats is that it is still not known who owns some of the sites – while ownership is being determined, it is used by whoever wants to live there.

Some squats are open for anyone to enter, others are not as open. One has a huge mural – tourist season should be hunting season. Others charge a fee, and sell things. I felt like it was intruding (especially in a huge group), and didn’t go in.

The street art was really impressive. My favourites were stencils (especially by Xoooox). I also liked the ones by Alias. We also went into some courtyards where entire walls are covered in bright murals that look like they were painted yesterday. Where it is allowed, the art is almost always good. Where it is not, it is usually the graffiti that everyone hates. I got a bit sick of looking at the less appealing pieces, but most of the things we looked at were great.

Next we walked along the East Side Gallery – the section of the wall where the famous art is. As it is 20 years since the originals were done, the artists have been invited back to touch up (or redo) their work. Most of them are now in as-new condition. We got to see a few artists painting when we were there, which was also great.

Yaam, a famous squat, is now located on the wall, near the East Side Gallery. This is one that charges to get in. Apparently they serve some of the best chicken in the city.

The tour ended across the bridge in Kreuzberg, where there is an amazing piece of art by Blu. From across the Spree, it looks like a giant pink face. Up close, you can see that it is made up of hundreds of individual human figures. It is one of the ones that artists were invited paint – there are a few in Kreuzberg. The tour was really great, it felt like we saw another side of Berlin. In Kreuzberg, we had a delicious Arabic meal before heading back to the hostel.

We decided to go out for drinks – starting at Kulturzentrum Pfefferberg, an old Brewery (under repairs now, so pretty dead), then heading to Baiz, a proper pub with cheap beers and a good (if cold) atmosphere. After a few drinks we headed back to the hostel.

September 28 – Day 76

We went to the Jewish Museum this morning, but found out that it was a Jewish holiday, and they were closed, which was a shame. We got to see the outside though, which is impressive on its own.

Next we went and saw a film about the wall. There were some interesting stories about escapes, and it was free to see, so it was worth it After, we went to Madame Tussauds, which opened in 2008. It is strange walking into a room full of people, then finding out it is actually empty.

We went into the Reichstag (German Parliament) next. The glass dome is really amazing. It provides light to the parliament floor with an array of mirrors, and also has a heat exchange system – stale air leaves the building through a huge cone in the centre, heating air to be used elsewhere. It is definitely worth the wait to get in.

From there we walked home, stopping at a bar on the river for drinks. Berlin is an amazing city. It feels very new, and everything seems to be happening now. There are no estblished norms – it feels like it is still a young city, even though it has been there for almost 1000 years.

Today we got the train to Munich, a clean, new looking Austrian train (a very welcome change). We got to our hotel, but had to wait a while before checking in. Once we had that out of our way, we headed off to Oktoberfest It is hard to describe. Most people there are wearing traditional costume, There are rides in the background, and there are huge, massive tents, bursting with people who are somewhere between tipsy and obliterated.

After wandering around for a while, looking in tents (which were all full, as it was late in the afternoon). We eventually found some space on a table with a group of tourists, and settled in for the night. We had a lot of steins, which was good fun, then went back to the hotel.

September 22 – Day 70

We decided to do a city tour, which took us to a lot of the important sites in Munich. We got off at the palace, and had a look around there at the gardens before heading back in to the centre of town. We explored a bit more on foot, and eventually stumbled upon the Hofbrauhaus, where we stopped for a drink. After another beer over the road at Augustiner, we headed back to the hotel to get ready to go out to dinner with a family friend.

She took us to an Asian restaurant a little bit out of town, which was a welcome change from the heavy meals we have been eating recently. Her daughter and grandchildren also came, which was nice. Simone and I both had a great night

September 23 – Day 71

We decided to do a trip to Dachau for the morning, and went on a tour, which I recommend. We had a great guide who showed us everything we needed to see. It is a haunting place, however much of what is there is reconstructed. Seeing the crematorium and the gas chamber (which was aparently never used) was disturbing.

After the tour, we met up with our friend for an afternoon with her. We headed south from Munich on the highway, heading towards the Alps. It didn’t take long to reach them, as we were doing about 170km/h on the highway – not the autobahn! The police obviously have bigger things to worry about than a huge Merc flying down the road, piloted by a grandmother!

Our destination was Tegernsee, a beautiful town on the edge of a lake (or it may be the name of the lake itself – I’m not sure). We drove up a hill to a restaurant called Freihaus, which had a wonderfull view over the town and lake, with mountains in the background. We had a late lunch and drinks in the sun.

Next we headed back towards Munich, stopping at our friend’s house in Grunwald (a beautiful village outside Munich). After seeing her house and the area she lives in, we went back into town, had a few drinks at a pub near the town hall, and headed back to the hotel.

September 24 – Day 72

For our last day in Munich, We went to Oktoberfest. We got there at around midday, and stayed well into the night. I drank a lot of steins. We moved around a bit, chatting with people as we went. It is an amazing festival, but my wallet took a huge hit. This isn’t difficult when a stein is 8.60 Euro, and they go down so easily.

One thing I hadn’t realised is that Oktoberfest beer is brewed to a higher alcohol than standard – around 6%. I think that means that every stein has around 4-5 standard drinks (by Australian standards).

Oktoberfest is amazing.

As we only have two nights in Salzburg, we decided to get an early train. Conveniently, this also meant that the trip was an hour shorter than later ones, and we didn’t need to change trains.

We got on, and chose the wrong compartment. Shortly after leaving Prague, the two women in the compartment started eating breakfast, which I am 90% sure was cat food. It looked like cat food, and it definitely smelled like cat food. Worst of all, it sounded like cat food, as it was sucked out of the tin. As I write this, there is a mixture of milk and yoghurt on the floor, and there are a woman’s foot grindings (think Ped-Egg) on the seat next to her.

Once we had dropped our bags off, we went and did a city tour, which showed us the main sights of Salzburg. The highlights for me were Leopoldskon Palace (the house from The Sound of Music) and Hellbrun palace, another beautiful palace.

After the tour, we wandered through the old town, eventually finding our way to Augustiner Brau, a Monestary/Brewery. It wasn’t really what we were looking for but I’m sure it would be fun if you wanted that sort of thing. We ended up at Sternbrau, which was pretty good for beers and drinks.

September 20 – Day 68

We decided to do a tour to Eagle’s Nest (Hitler’s mountain retreat) this morning. Eagle’s Nest is at 5000ft, and according to the brochure, has ‘views of the towering, snowcapped peaks of the Bavarian Mountains. It was a pretty clear day in Salzburg, so we each paid our 50 Euro to go and see the view.

At the top, visibility was about 15m. You could barely see Eagle’s Nest, let alone any views. I was cranky, and thought that the tour should be run ‘weather permitting’. Not only did we waste 50 Euro, we also lost 4.5 hours.

On the way back from Eagle’s Nest we stopped in Berchtesgaden for lunch. I was amazed to discover that a little town with a population of about 10,000 had its own brewery. This made me excited about the prospects in Munich

In the afternoon, we did a Sound of Music tour – something Simone has been looking forward to since we started planning the trip. It took us around the sights in Salzburg first, including Leopoldskon Palace (the house in the movie) and Hellbrun Palace (the gazebo is there now).

Next we toured around the countryside, which was very pretty. We passed 3 lakes – Fuschl, St. Gilgen and Mondsee, where we stopped to see the cathedral, where the wedding was filmed in the movie. There was a ot happening in Mondsee, there were markets, and people everywhere.

The bus then returned to Salzburg, and Simone and I had another look at Mirabell Gardens (a song was filmed here in the movie), then decided to get the funicular up to the castle. We had a great view over the city, and watched the sunset.

Afterwards, we went to the Stieglkeller, a huge place run by the Stiegl brewery. It also had a great view (we sat in the garden), and the food and beer was good.

I would have liked to stay in Salzburg longer, there is a lot to see and do there.

Today we got a combination of metro, suburban train & two other trains (change at the border) to Prague. From the main station, we got another metro and a tram to our hostel. We checked in at about 3pm.

The hostel (Czech Inn, one of my all time favourite puns) is outstanding. It is basically a hotel. Worth a lot more than they charge.

We dropped off our bags and headed for the old town, about 2km away. Our first stop was Saint Lumila Church, which was just up the hill. It is a beautiful gothic church, and has turned black with time, which gives it a spooky look.

We kept walking, stopping at the National Museum for photos, then continuing down Wencelas Square. We turned off the square, and came to a brewpub, Novomestsky Pivovar, completely by chance. We stopped for beers and very late lunch, before continuing on to old town.

Our next stop was Powder Gate, which I climbed, and got great views. Then we walked in to the old town square, but it was getting too late to see much. We had a quick look at Tyn Church, then found a pub a little bit out of the centre for beers and a light dinner.

September 15 – Day 63

Today we decided to look around the castle and surrounding streets. We got a tram across town, and headed in to the castle. The first thing we saw was St Vitus Cathedral, an impressive Gothic church. It is huge – you can see it all around Prague. Across from the church is the Old Royal Palace. We looked at the outside, but decided that we have seen enough palaces for now, and kept walking.

Next we saw St George’s Basilica, which is a very different style to the other churches we have seen. We kept walking until we got to Golden Lane, which is full of tiny little shops, and looks like something out of a fairy tale (or Harry Potter, according to Simone).

At the end of the lane is Daliborka Tower, which was once a prison, and so contains a variety of torture devices. The worst prisoners were lowered through a small hole in the floor to a level without windows. I assume more than one people where down there at once, and imagine it would have been pretty horrible.

After stopping at a good lookout outside the gates, we went back to St Vitus Cathedral, this time going inside. It has amazing stained glass windows, and was very pretty.

We had seen all that we wanted to see at the castle, so we walked down picturesque Nerodova, stopping for drinks on the way. This is part of the Lesser Town, an area in Prague that is the most untouched. We stopped for beers on the way down the hill, then continued to the Lesser Town Square.

From the Square, we crossed the Charles Bridge, which dates back to 1357. I climbed the tower on the other side, which gives great views back towards the castle, and over Prague. We stopped at a pub for lunch, then explored old town a bit more. I spotted a tourist information place, so we went in to get timetables for trains to Plzen. While we were there, I found a Monastery/Brewery for beers and dinner, so we got on the tram, back to the castle side.

The place we went to is called Klasterni Pivovar Strahov, it is well worth stopping in if you have a chance. My favourite beer was the descriptively named ‘Amber’, which was delicious. Simone also ordered the first beer of her life, a ‘Dark’, and drank most of it. I was very impressed.

After sampling their range, we went back to the hostel for a few more drinks while listening to a band playing. We have an early start tomorrow so were back in the room by about 10.

September 16 – Day 64

Today was a beer day. We started with an 8 am train to Plzen, arriving at about 10:40. Once we arrived, we went straight to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, only to find that the first English tour wasn’t until 12:45.

We walked into the middle of town, and found the Brewing Museum, which was interesting, but a bit monotonous. There was lots of old brewing equipment which was interesting, but a lot of the general information I had heard before. If you already know about beer, the museum is not really worth it.

After the museum, we walked into the main square, where there is a beautiful gothic church, boasting the tallest tower in the Czech Republic. After climbing the tower, it was time to head back to the brewery for the tour.

The tour starts with the packaging facility- a huge building run by about 30 people. Its main purpose is bottling – 60,000 half litre bottles of beer are bottled every hour. The packaging plant also has the area for cans of beer, as well as cases. It is impressive.

From the packaging plant, we went to the brewhouse, where the copper kettles are. The smell was delicious. Everything is clean and shiny, and gave some ideas for the brewery/garage at home:)

Next we went to the cellars, where the beer used to be stored at low temperature to clear. Now it is only for tours – but they still keep it at 7 degrees. In the cellars we saw barrels of open-fermenting beer, then got to taste some (straight from the barrel, unfiltered). It was delicious, much better than the bright version they sell as a finished product.

Tasting the beer was the end of the tour, but we had some tokens for free beers, so we went to the restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we got the train back to Prague, arriving at about 6pm.

We went back to the hostel, and I found a dinner spot, Pivovasky Dum – another brewpub. They have an impressive range of unfiltered, unpasteurised Czech beers – lots of different ones. I had a few of them – the blueberry and coffee beers are both excellent, and the ‘pale’ is also great. Their goulash is delicious!

After dinner, we got back on the tram to the hostel, from where I am writing this. Today was a huge beer day – I think I had 12 or 14. Simone was very patient, but reminded me that it is not long until the Sound of Music Tour, which I am ecstatic about. It is also not long until Oktoberfest

September 17 – Day 65

Today was a relaxed day. We explored the New Town for a little while, before crossing a bridge and catching the funicular up Petrin Hill. On top of the hill there are remains of the Hunger Wall, an old fortification of the area around the castle.

We also climbed the Petrin Observation Tower, which is styled like the Eiffel Tower. It was a bit rainy, but we still had quite a good view over Prague.

Next we headed in to the main square and found U Medvidku a brewpub I had read good things about. The food was good, the same style of Czech food found in most places. The beer was delicious – I had one of theirs first (Oldgott Barique), then tried a Bud Super Strong, which lives up to its name (I think it is over 7% ABV).

I think we might have just shopped and looked around the city for the rest of the day.

September 18 – Day 66

We had an early start to a busy day today. First, I booked a beer tasting session for tonight, and we headed to the main train station to go to Karlstejn.

The train took about 45 minutes. Karlstejn is famous for its castle, which is very beautiful. We walked through the town and up the hill, and could hear drums and horns. We hurried the rest of the way, thinking there may have been a changing of the guard. It turned out to be a medieval themed wedding taking place, which was great for a laugh

We took a tour through part of the castle – the Imperial Apartments, and the smaller tower. I wouldn’t recommend it – it was expensive, and not really worth it. Walking around the grounds of the Castle was more interesting, and gave amazing views.

After the castle, we headed back to Prague, and did some washing, before heading to the old town for my beer tasting session. Unsurprisingly, I had tasted most of them, but there were a few (Pivovasky Dum Banana beer, and a dark lager) that were new to me. I would have preferred to just buy beers and taste them, but we didn’t have a fridge.

Next we had dinner in some markets, before heading back to U Medvidku for more research. The standout was Primator Double beer, a massive beer, at 10.5% alcohol, and with a starting gravity of 24 degrees (compared to 10 – 12 degrees for a normal Czech beer) – I need to figure out how this converts to our gravity scale. I imagine it is over 1.100 though, a big beer in most peoples book. I couldn’t believe it came in a 500ml bottle. It was delicious, of course, but you definitely get more than a hint of alcohol taste.

We headed back to the hostel to pack, as we have an early train tomorrow.

Today we got the train from Zagreb to Vienna, via the Semmeringbahn, which has a reputation as being very scenic. It was, but was not as impressive as other trips we have taken.

Once in Vienna, we found our way to the place we are staying, which turned out to be a private apartment, which is excellent. We dropped our bags and walked through the Museum Quarter to the city centre, had a look around (some shopping for Simone), bought some supplies, and headed back to the apartment.

It is good to be able to have meals at ‘home’, something we have not been able to do for a while.

September 10 – Day 58

Today we had a late start, before heading off towards the city centre to explore more. It started pouring with rain on the way, so we ducked into the Museum Quarter. I saw a design exhibition which I thought might be interesting, so we went in for a look. It turned out to be very artsy design (ie not functional), but there were some interesting pieces.

Next we went on a city tour, which showed us a lot of Vienna, and gave us an idea of what we wanted to see. I think the bus tours are worth it, even if they are a bit expensive. They are a good way to get a feel for a city,

We then found a brewpub that had been recommended to me, The 1516 Brewing Company. We stayed for lunch of schnitzel and a few beers, which were delicious. My favourite was their IPA, which you can’t miss if you are in Vienna and like beer.

After a sampling of the beer menu, we continued on to Stephansdom, the church in the centre of Vienna. We looked around inside before going up the belltower, which has great views over the city.

We walked through the Hofburg, stopping at the Mozart monument, back to the apartment for some room beers and a rest. Then we found a local restaurant for dinner, which had delicious food (and delicious beer – Villacher Dunkel).

September 11 – Day 59

We started the day at the Hofburg again, this time we looked at the Silberkammer (Imperial Silver Collection) which is massive, the Sisi Museum, and the Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments). We are both a little bit surprised by how similar all the palaces are. Someone obviously found a formula that works, as we can fairly accurately guess what the next room will be everywhere we go. Even so, they are still impressive.

We headed to another brewpub for lunch – 7 Stern Brau. We both had spinach gnocci, which is apparently an Austrian dish. It was delicious, and the beers were great. I also enjoyed the beer vending machine as we left.

We went back to the apartment for more clothes (back in jeans weather now), before walking back to the Haus der Musik, a museum dedicated to music and sound. There were some fun interactive exhibits, I made a lot of noise which was fun.

Afterwards, we went to a little cafe for cakes, which is something you do in Vienna. After that, we headed back for room beers and a night in.

September 12 – Day 60

Today we decided to head to Schonbrunn, to see the palace there. The gardens were stunning, it is one of the nicest palaces we have seen so far. We came in at the back of the palace, and walked past the fountain and up the hill to the Gloriette, which gave a great view back at the palace. Afterwards, we headed back to the palace to look inside. When we got there it was swarming with people, so rather than a repeat of our day at the Vatican (ie being pushed through museums and spat out the end), we left the palace, and headed into Vienna again.

We went to have a look at the west of the city, starting at Parliament, a greek style building, and the Hofburgtheater.

Next we went to City Hall, which is a beautiful Gothic building. Sadly, it had a circus set up on its doorstep, so we couldn’t get a very good look at it. Up close it looked great though. We continued walking to Votivkirche, a church that looked great from afar, but is actually in need of a lot of restoration (which appears to be happening very slowly).

We had a few hours before the tour of the Staatsoper (the Opera House) started. Since 1516 is right near Staatsoper, we went there for lunch again, and further sampling of beer.

The tour of Staatsoper was great. It was quite quick, but took us backstage, then to the front row, then up higher for a view from above and a look in the intermission rooms. It is a very impressive building, I really enjoyed it. It is expensive to go and see a show, so the tour was a good way to get a look inside.

After some room beers (the range of beers necessitates many room beers here) we headed out to Naschmarkt (The Night Market). I hadn’t realised how much focus there was on food (there is nothing else) so we found a place for dinner before heading back to the apartment.

September 13 – Day 61

Today we did a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. We started from Vienna opera house, from where we were taken to the international bus terminal, and told which bus to get on. At this point we were regretting paying for a ‘tour’. There was no guide, and it wasn’t looking promising.

After waiting for 45 minutes or so at the bus terminal, we got on our one to Bratislava. I think one person on the bus was not part of the tour, the rest (~25 of us) were. By 9:15 we were off the bus, and were met by our guide for the city tour.

The city tour was very interesting, and took us to a lot of interesting places. I have found that in each city we visit, I am surprised by the importance of that city in world history. It may be partly due to the guides living in (and loving) the cities, but it was still amazing to hear about how important Bratislava was in the past (how it was a thriving city, while Budapest had only 3000 inhabitants).

The tour started with St Martins Dom, a church in the old town of Bratislava. From there we walked to a Holocaust memorial, and saw one of the narrowest free standing houses in Europe. The old town is quite beautiful, however there are many houses that have not been restored after communist rule. We were told that the locals are not proud of these houses, but they are interesting for us to see.

Next we walked to a square with ‘a very special fountain’. It has three tiers – one for birds to drink from (on top), one for people to drink from, and one for dogs to drink from. One day each year, it runs with white wine. The guide said it was just for people, but I can’t see how they stop the birds (or dogs) from drinking it!

After seeing a statue of Andy Warhol (who was proud of his Slovak roots), we walked down the promenade, which was previously a moat. It has a really nice feel, until you get to the American Embassy – you can’t miss the massive fence. I couldn’t spot any other embassies – if they were in the same area, they certainly don’t stand out.

We walked past the ‘man at work’ statue – a peeping tom in a manhole – and then the paparazzi statue, who is leaning around the corner of a building. The next stop was a palace, which we didn’t see much of, but had an impressive façade.

Next we walked through Turm Gate, an old entrance to the city, where the centre point of the city is. They have a ring showing distances to cities around the world, where we found out that we were 15,914 km from home – Sydney is further away than the South Pole from Bratislava!

Through the gate, we saw the square where the witches were burned, after the trial of having a stone tied around their neck and thrown in the water. If they sunk, they were innocent (but drowned). If they struggled on the surface, they were witches, and were burned. If you were accused, you didn’t really have a chance of surviving.

Next we saw a cannonball that had been implanted in the wall of a house, in order to claim money from the government. When Napoleon was told he could not stay in the town (after the behaviour of his army the last time), they attacked the city, apparantly doing more damage than World War II did. The government said that anyone whose house was hit by a cannonball would be compensated, so people went and collected the balls that landed in the city, and embedded them in the walls of their houses.

Next we had a delicious three course lunch, and I tasted Zlaty Bazant, a delicious Slovak beer. The tour ended here – we were told which buses we could get back to Vienna. After lunch we climbed up to the castle, which is undergoing fairly serious repairs. There were good views over the river (The Danube, which seems to be everywhere) towards the ‘new town’ of Bratislava – typical Eastern European housing blocks.

After the castle, we got back on the bus to Vienna. As we crossed the border back into Austria, we were surrounded by wind farms, which must have hundreds, maybe thousands of wind turbines, basically as far as you can see. I wondered why Australia is so far behind in sustainable energy. I’m sure there are reasons, but I can’t think of many better places for solar power farms.

We decided to go and see Schatzkammer, the royal jewels, once we got back to Vienna. On the way, we saw a parade, and found a big festival that looked like it was celebrating the produce of all the different regions of Austria. It was like a classy version of our Easter Show.

We went and saw Schatzkammer, which included a number of very large jewels, and was pretty impressive. We were both pretty tired, so we headed back to the apartment for room drinks and to pack for the train to Prague.

I am happy to be in proper beer country now. I had 15 room beers, as well as a few more in pubs, a few of which were really delicious, and none of which were bad. My favourite styles so far are Dunkles, Pale Bock, Zwickl and Weissbier. The Marzens, as well as the typical lager selection, are not quite as interesting.

Today we got the train from Budapest to Zagreb, then another one from Zagreb to Split. As we departed Budapest at 6am, it was an early start. It was made earlier by the fact that the alarm was set for the wrong timezone. We woke up an hour early, at 3:30 am. On the way out the door, we met a few guys coming back from a night on the town. This would have been a much better strategy for us I think..

The trains took all day, we got into Split at about 9pm.

We had to wait for a few hours in Zagreb, but not long enough to do anything. I made the most of my time by sampling a range of Croatian beers.

The train from Zagreb to Split is quite new I think, and only stopped at a few places along the way. It is a bit of a rollercoaster though, with banked turns and lots of weaving up and down mountains. I had heard that it could induce motion sickness – Simone didn’t really enjoy it. It is like a 5 hour rollercoaster that never gets to the good bit.

The scenery from the train makes it all worthwhile though. Through valleys and over mountains (probably just hills in Europe, mountains to Aussies though), you get some really great views over the countryside.

We arrived in Spit and navigated to our hostel, which was in the old town area.

September 01 – Day 49

Today we explored the streets of Split, mainly around the palace (which is now the ‘Old Town’). I also climbed St. Dominus Bell Tower, which gives a great view over Split.

We also walked around to the beach, which as with every other beach we have been to was completely packed. Everyone says Australians are spoiled with beaches, it is definitely true.

We also saw the fish market and the green market while wandering around, but neither is very exciting (unless you want fish or fruit & veggies).

September 02 – Day 50

After wandering around Split for the morning, we got the ferry to Hvar around lunchtime (this took about an hour).

We checked in, and had the best room in the place – complete with a nice big balcony overlooking the Pakleni islands.

Our hostel was a little walk out from the centre of town, so we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and walking, and watching people on beautiful yachts in the marina. We have decided that a yacht would be an alright way to travel around

September 03 – Day 51

Today we hired a little boat to go exploring around the islands. We had a really good time, one of the best days of the trip so far. We spent the day island hopping, dropping the anchor in little coves, jumping off the boat and laying in the sun. We haven’t had many relaxing days so far, but this one made up for it!

We normally stopped about 3m from the shore, but the water was really deep (8-10 I think). Even at that depth, you can see fish swimming right at the bottom.

The only thing that could have made the day better was a ladder to get back in the boat. Each time we swam, there was a conversation about the best way for me to get Simone back onboard. Neither of us were able to do it with any dignity.

September 04 – Day 52

We spent this morning in a cafe near the marina having breakfast and drinks, before getting on the ferry back to Split. After arriving, we had half an hour to get on the bus to Dubrovnik, so didn’t do anything else in Split.

The bus to Dubrovnik took around 5 hours, but was very scenic. It felt like five hours of postcard shots, I would even go as far as recommending the 2:30 bus in your itinerary if possible – you get about 3 hours of sunsets, and lots of photos.

September 05 – Day 53

This morning we walked around the city walls. After about 7 minutes, the clouds above us turned into a massive storm, and we got rained (poured) on for the 2km walk. The views were excellent, and the clouds actually added to the scenery (if you felt very optimistic).

We were both soaked to the bone, so headed back to the hostel for a change of clothes. Dry, we headed off for drinks and food at a pub, before wandering the streets of the old town. We also looked back at the old town from outside one of the gates, which looked great when it was lit up.

Dubrovnik is very beautiful, until the loads of cruise ship passengers arrive, and you need to squeeze past people wherever you go. I wouldn’t recommend staying for longer than 1-2 nights.

September 06 – Day 54

We decided that we didn’t need as much time in Dubrovnik as we have, so we decided to spend a day travelling through the newest country in the world, Montenegro. We booked tickets on a nice cheap tour that seems to cover a lot of sights.

Next we went to War Photos Limited, an exhibition of various war photos. There is a level devoted to The Homeland War, and another one that I think changes. It was really interesting, but there were a lot of very disturbing photos. We spent quite a few hours there, it is a must see in Dubrovnik.

We had a drink, then a walk around the inside boundry of the city walls, stopping at Buža and Buža II – Buža means ‘hole’. These are little places outside the city walls overlooking the sea, are very overpriced, but are must see (even if just for one beer).

We were walking through the back streets and saw some cricket on the TV in an Irish pub, so ended up spending a few hours watching the England/Australia one day match, which was good fun (in a pub full of Aussies).

That was pretty much it for the day. Dubrovnik is a good place to relax, but I don’t think there is really that much to see.

September 07 – Day 55

We were picked up at 8am for our day trip to Montenegro, and were in the country soon after – the beauty of travel in Europe!

We travelled around the beautiful Bay of Kotor, with a photo stop on the way, until we reached the town of Kotor. It is a walled town – the tour guide said that it was established by aristocrat traders who felt they needed defence from the outside. It is full of palaces, restaurants, lots of banks, and churches. Also, you can see the walls stretching up the mountain face – something I would have loved to explore more if we had more time. We were only in Kotor for about an hour, before continuing on to Budva.

Budva has a small old town, but it didn’t seem as well looked after, and there wasn’t much to see in there. We went into the Citadel, which gave pretty good water views, had some lunch, and looked at the beaches (not the one you need to pay to get into though – ridiculous!. According to the tour guide, Budva is now home to a number of Russian millionaires, and the marina did not fail to disappoint

Simone and I (as well as a few others on the tour) would have preferred to stay longer in Kotor, as Budva didn’t really seem too exciting. There were lots of things to do in Kotor that we didn’t have time for (and a bit of sitting around waiting in Budva).

Montenegro is definitely worth a day trip from Dubrovnik, especially if you are staying there for a few nights.

On the way back, my camera broke, and started overexposing every shot. It seems to be an issue for Casio Exilim cameras. There is no quick fix, it needs to be repaired. It had only done ~4000 shots in two years, so it is pretty disappointing. Buying a new camera became a top priority.

September 08 – Day 56

Today we flew to Zagreb from Dubrovnik – less than an hour in the air. As always, it seemed to take the whole day. Croatian Airlines do an airport transfer to Zagreb bus station, where we got a tram to Knaternikov Square, and walked to our hostel. We ended up checking in at about 4pm.

My top priority was a new camera – a Panasonic DMC-TZ7. I had thought about getting it before I left, but was convinced that my camera was perfectly fine (which it was). I asked the first camera shop I saw if they sold Panasonic – they didn’t, but told me the address of where to go. I think the salesman must have thought it was his lucky day when I walked in and bought it with no convincing whatsoever.

Next, we needed to reserve our train ticket to go to Vienna. We found the agent for the train company, and did that, and then it was about 7pm, so had dinner and drinks, and went back to the hostel.

We were told by a few people that Zagreb wasn’t worth staying around for, but I think it would have been good to stay for at least a day or two.

Simone and I both liked Croatia, it is very pretty. I haven’t written much about it here, mainly because we had quite a relaxed time, and there weren’t as many things to list down

Today we got the train from Brasov to Budapest, which took up most of the day. When we arrived, we needed to get a trolley bus to our hostel. The driver didn’t speak any English, and it didn’t seem like you could buy tickets from him. He eventually told us to just get on, and we made it to our stop without being checked for tickets.

It was a long, uneventful day.

August 28 – Day 45

Simone was feeling sick today, so I just explored Pest a bit, but didn’t go in to anything. I walked to the basilica, then on to the centre of town. Next I saw the Synagogue, and kept walking until I reached the Danube.

From the Pest side, there are great views of the Castle District and Gellert Hill (both of which are on the Buda side).

I went back to the hostel to see how Simone was going, and she felt up to a hungarian lunch, so we went to a local restaurant. I had a delicious meal – Chicken with Spinach and Ewes cheese.

In the afternoon I wandered a little bit more, exploring the streets. Budapest (Pest, at least) is a great city to explore on foot. There are lots of beautiful old buildings, particularly on and around Andrassy Ut.

August 29 – Day 46

Simone felt a bit better today, so we started the day with a city tour. The bus was packed and the audio didn’t really work, so we got off at the castle district stop for a break and a look around.

The most impressive feature of the castle district is The Fisherman’s Bastion, which looks like a limestone castle. It’s a real shame about the Hilton hotel on Castle Hill – it is very ugly, and really stands out. The huge panels of gold reflective glass don’t really fit with the rest of the architecture of the area.

Next we went and had a look at the palace, which is also in the castle district, and had some more of the delicious spiral bread we had in Bran. Castle hill offers great views over the Pest side of the city, including the Parliament building, my favourite piece of architecture in the city.

Next we headed to Gellert Hill, which is next to Castle Hill, also overlooking the city. The weather was turning bad pretty quickly, so we headed into the Citadel, and found the waxworks museum. There wasn’t much to see in the waxworks, but the museum is located in a WWII bunker, which was in spookily original and seemingly untouched condition. After looking at some very graphic photos in the cells of the bunker, we were ready for some fresh air. The Citadel also offers some great views over the city, but it is not really worth paying to go in (in my opinion).

We headed back into the middle of town, and found out that Budapest dies at midday on Saturday. Everything was closed or closing, including the City Market, which we were hoping to see. Luckily, we were able to find a place where we could make our train reservations. Simone wasn’t feeling too good, so we spent the rest of the day at the hostel, then drinks and dinner.

August 30 – Day 47

Simone felt sick again today, and is now on antibiotics fighting a sinus infection. I left her sleeping (after adequate care was given), and explored the rest of Andrassy Ut. It is a great street to walk along, it is lined with trees, and has lots of interesting things to see.

I had a quick look at the Opera House, before heading to the House of Terror, which I had heard was a must see. It is now a museum, but was the HQ of the Hungarian Nazis, followed by the communist terror organisations, the AVO and the AVH.

Walking into the exhibition, there is a tank on display, with a huge wall of faces behind it. The faces are of victims of the various occupiers of the building – this sent shivers down my spine. You start on the top floor, and work your way through the exhibition to the cellar, which was very spooky. Seeing the torture rooms and the tiny punishment cell, in the gloomy light was horrible, but nothing compared to what it would have been like.

Towards the end of the exhibition is The Hall of Tears, a large dark room full of crosses, with the names of victims on the walls. It was very moving, and although I know very little of Hungary’s history, or involvement in war, I could only stay for a minute before moving on. The final hallway, towards the exit, is covered in names and faces of the victimisers, many of whom are still alive.

For me, the House of Terror was the highlight in Budapest. I am not normally one for museums, but it is so well presented, and so horrific that it should be missed.

After the House of Terror, I kept walking to the city park, and Hosok Tere, where the tomb of the unknown soldier is. After looking around the square, I headed back along Andrassy Ut, towards the hostel. On the way back I got some supplies for the train, then we packed and went to bed in preparation for our 4:30am start.