The route through Europe

Well, this is a post about our intended route through Europe and our plans. I will try and make it as detailed as possible. Just to clarify a few things- this route will only act as a guideline for me and Chris. We're probably not going to end up sticking with it 100% as I’m sure we're going to make new plans along the way. What's the fun in travelling if everything is organized? We're going to decide things as we go along. There are obviously cities we absolutely must visit and these have been cited on the map. Another thing to note is that Chris will begin his journey in Athens (the blue line). He will then obviously head to London and then eventually meet up with me in London. As a result I’ve marked two starting points on the map, one for Chris in Athens and the other one in London for both of us. As most of you would have guessed by now, we're going to be inter-railing. That means we're mostly going to be travelling via trains (with the Eurail pass). We might need to fly to certain cities since we cannot get there via train and all this is marked on the map. The map itself is below. I suggest you click it to enlarge it so that you can view it in greater detail. Below the map, I’ll be describing the route. Brace yourself.

Okay then, let's get started then shall we. Now that you've hopefully managed to get the map open and had a look, obviously the journey begins in London. We aim to spend on average, at least 3 days in each city. We've also allowed 1 day of travel for each city we visit (if that makes any sense). Basically, it works out on average, 4 days a city including travel time. Of course, this is not always guaranteed as we may end up liking a city so much that we might actually spend a whole week there... *cough* Amsterdam *cough*. And obviously there are going to be some places where we won't be requiring 4 days, ie. Monaco (mainly because we probably won't be able to afford it, I mean c'mon, the only cars you see people drive there are Ferrari's and Lamborghini’s, but hey at least we could say we've done it).

I will be arriving in London in the early morning on 29th of November. We won't be spending any time looking around in London. Reason for this is: A) Chris would have been staying there for 3 odd months and will probably be depressed with life in general (London has a way of doing this to you, trust me)... and B) There's no point me spending time in London, I lived there for 15 years and I’ve pretty much seen everything. I do intend of visiting family and friends before I leave to go back to Sydney, so I’m guessing we might be able to squeeze in 2-3 free days in London at the end of our trip. Anyways, that aside- We'll be leaving London on the 30th, our Eurostar tickets will be booked in advanced and we'll arrive in Paris on the same day. The train itself goes like 300 MPH (OK maybe not THAT fast but it goes fast OKAY). From Paris, we're most likely going straight to Belgium. In Belgium, we're going to check out Brussels, Antwerp and the medieval town of Bruges. We could possibly check out Luxembourg before we head out to Belgium (as you notice in the map), but we're not sure yet. We'll decide this when we're in Paris, since we're thinking of visiting the WW1 trench warfare site of no-man's land in Somme which is on the way to Luxembourg (Battle of The Somme for all you history nerds out there).

Next stop AMSTERDAM. We're planning to spend 4 days here. There's a lot to see and do there so we might end up spending some more time. Our calculation has given us 10 free days minimum which will act as a leeway so we can afford to spend more time at a place if we need to. After Amsterdam, we're going to Copenhagen via Hamburg. The train itself takes this route so we might even decide to spend a day in Hamburg before we reach Copenhagen. We are most likely going to spend between 2-3 days in Copenhagen before we head off to northern Scandinavia.

This is where it gets interesting. Stockholm is a place we're definitely going to visit and most likely going to spend around 2-3 days there. Another thing we want to do is go up north to the town of Kiruna. Most of you probably have never heard of this town before, I know I didn't. This town has the famous Ice Hotel, a hotel made entirely out of ice and is only up during winter. We're thinking of spending a night there, just as an experience. After Kiruna, we're heading to Trommso. Now, both of us have decided that we absolutely MUST go and see the Aurora Borealis, commonly referred to as The Northern Lights. Apparently, Trommso in Norway is the best place on Earth to go and see the Aurora (it's directly in the middle of the Aurora itself, geographically anyways). Trommso itself has a lot to see and do and not only does it have the Aurora, it's also got the Midnight Sun and the Polar Night (where it is night the ENTIRE day). This in itself will be an amazing experience. From Trommso we're heading to Bergen, which has some of the most beautiful Fjords in Norway. Trondheim in between will be a stop-over to stretch our legs. Bergen to Oslo is supposedly the most amazing train trip you will ever experience, so we're doing that. We're going to spend around 2-3 days in Oslo itself. Another thing I forgot to mention is Helsinki. Helsinki is a possible side route for us. We might take the ferry there as our Eurail passes offer us 1 free ferry crossing. We might use it on Stockholm --> Helsinki. I have also mapped St. Petersburg as another possible route we might take but this is highly unlikely seeing as there are Visa restrictions entering Russia. We do not- I repeat, WE DO NOT want to get stranded in Russia.

Once the Nordic region is out of the way, we're most likely taking a flight to Berlin. Flights are generally cheap nowadays and from our research, becoming even more popular than inter-railing. This is mainly due to those cheap airlines, Jetstar and the like. Berlin is going to be amazing. It's a given. And if all goes to plan it is probably where we are most likely going to end up for Christmas. Christmas in Berlin. You can forget waking up to your neighbours BBQ on Christmas day; we're going to have a lot of snow, a feast and Christmas with the Germans. I'm scared. Now, once we've spent 3-4 days in Berlin, we're hiring a car. It doesn't cost much and we're probably going to get something that is small, compact, oh... and fast. The German Autobahn (motorway/freeway) has no speed limit. From Berlin to Munich, we're road-tripping it on the Autobahn. It's probable that we will spend around 2 days in Munich. Once Munich is finished, we're inter-railing to Prague. Prague is a city that is on my top 5 list. I'm sure it is for Chris as well because it's supposed to be amazing. Oh... if we are lucky, New Years will be in Prague. I can't even imagine how much fun that is going to be. Once we are done with Prague, it's time for Austria. Vienna is a city we're going to check out, and we're allowing around 2 days to go skiing somewhere in Austria. Apparently, according to the Good Weekend magazine (yes I actually read this), Hotel Sacher in Vienna has the most amazing chocolate cake you will EVER eat. Zagreb in Croatia could be a potential side-stop if we have time. Croatia is apparently the hottest destination in Europe at the moment so we could check it out. Venice though, is our next stop.

We're probably allowing a week and a half to finish off Italy. Venice, Florence, Naples, Rome and finally Milan. In that order. We are definitely going to see the Vatican City and the Coliseum. Check out the art in Florence and queue for what is apparently the best pizza in the world (located in Naples) at the Da Michele Café. Oh, and before I forgot. Harry’s Bar in Venice has a drink called a Bellini. Apparently it’s some sort of legendary drink invented in the 1930’s. We're trying that for sure. After we're done there, it's time for Switzerland. Bern, Zurich and then Geneva. Next we're hitting up southern France. Nice (pronounced NIECE, not NICE Chris) and the Côte d'Azur region are probably the places we're going to spend a few days. I can tell you that the trip from Geneva to Nice is going to be an experience in itself. It goes right through the French Alps. Once we're done in Nice, we're thinking of checking out Monaco. This is probably a side trip, but we only need a day there. I don't think we can afford more than 24 hours in Monte Carlo. Toulouse is the final stop in the Southern France region. After Toulouse we're finishing off Spain, spending 3 days in Barcelona and 3 in Madrid. Tapas-hopping is definitely on our agenda when we are in Spain. Chocolateria San Gines in Madrid serves the best hot chocolate known to mankind (Good Weekend magazine again, don't hate). We'll probably fly back to London and hopefully have a few days in London to relax (visit some friends and family) and get ready for the journey back home to Sydney.

So that's it. That's the plan and it's just a rough guide for us. Like I said, backpacking is no fun if everything is layed out in front of us. We're just using this guide/route to help us map our time and get a rough idea of what we want to do in Europe. Later.

Tickets confirmed

Hola! Well, this is my first post so I might as well give a quick hello to everyone on both sides of the equator; to everyone there in England and to friends and family of Chris in South Africa- I hope that this blog helps you keep well informed on our adventure.

Now that the formalities are out of the way... time for some news! I just booked my ticket yesterday and the good news is that I recieved my ticket today. It's an e-ticket, i'm sure everything is "e-" nowadays but yeah, it's all booked, confirmed and as Chris mentioned: locked in! Hopefully you would have read the plan posted by Chris on the previous post. He's going alot earlier than I am (see: countdown on the right)- so he's going to be updating this blog more frequently than me (from now until I get to London). However, when the time draws nearer for both of us to leave, we'll be keeping you updated on the planning and preperation until we depart. If you wanted to know, here are some flight times for you all to look at:

Chris (to London):
Leave Sydney: 5th June 2008 at 16:55pm
Arriving London: 6th June 2008 at 6:40am

Chris (to Greece):
Departing London: 6th June 2008 at 11:45am
Arriving Athens: 6th June 2008 at 17:40pm

Chris (to London):
Departing Athens: 11th August 2008 at 14:45pm
Departing London: 11th August 2008 at 16:40pm

Chris would be meeting me in London around november time. Still waiting on getting a confirmation on his return flight home to Sydney. We'll post it up once we get any confirmation. Chris will however, be flying back out to Sydney on the same day as me though. I can just picture both of us reaching Heathrow airport, ready to go back home after one crazy adventure and saying to each other "well mate, see you on the other-side" haha, and then get on our seperate planes. Who's going to get there first Chris! Anyways, here's my flight info:

Rishi (to London):
Departing Syndey: 29th November 2008 at 03:50pm
Arriving London: 30th November 2008 at 05:00am

Rishi (to Sydney):
Departing London: 12th February 2009 at 21:30pm
Arriving Sydney: 14th February 2009 at 07:00am

Well that's it. Confirmed. Only thing left to purchase now is the Eurail ticket. For those of you who don't know, a Eurail ticket is a train ticket that is valid for upto 15 days to use within 2 months. It works pretty much anywhere in Europe and it apparently works out alot cheaper than buying every train trip individually. These would most likely be booked at a later date. After speaking to Chris, the Eurostar ticket- that is the train from London Kings Cross Station (yes the station in Harry Potter) to Paris will be booked one week before I arrive in London. From my experience, mainly from my trip to London last xmas, Eurostar tickets need to be booked in advance. But I think we're both pretty much well organized, got everything in order for the Europe trip and i'm sure Chris is set for Greece too.

Oh, and for those of you who are trying to subscribe to the blog: I know we mentioned that you should subscribe to keep updated, well there's a slight problem... (typically) Niether of us can figure out how to do it so my advice to you is bookmark the blog and check it on a regular basis!

That's it for now. I'll be posting up our itenerary for Europe in my next post. This includes a map of Europe with our intended route and pretty much our entire plan for the trip. It is a rough guide, we're not going to be following it exactly, but atleast everyone will have a better idea of where we are going and what we plan on doing.

Talk to you guys later.

Rishi

Lock it in Eddy!

First of all, I would like to inform anyone who will be looking at this blog regularly to subcribe to it. This way you will receive email alerts whenever this blog is updated! The wonders of technology never cease to amaze!

As the slightly annoying gameshow hosts Jeremy Maggs (SA) and Eddie McGuire (Aus) of Who Wants to be a Millionaire made famous, our trip to Europe is "Locked in! Final Answer! No more life lines available!" As of this morning, with the conclusion of most of our ticket purchases, everything has been set in relative stone. Think of it as spongy, jelly like stone that can be moved around a lot because invariably the internal mechanics of the trip will be altered on the fly. However this adds an element of adventure and fun to the experience that would otherwise be slightly less apparent.

At the moment, both Rishi and I are fervently working hard to save up as much money as possible before we leave. We have organised a budget based on the experiences of friends, the cliche 'Lonely Planet' travel guide (the ' Europe on a Shoe String' edition to be exact. Sorry I'm an ancient historian. Referencing my sources comes second nature. I had to physically stop myself putting in the date and place of publication. I CANT HELP IT!) and also our own research. We certainly feel that we are on top of the research aspect of the trip, as we have eagerly exploited the opportunity to procrastinate with university assignments. Our friends may be thinking that Rishi and I have turned into the biggest cheapskates in Sydney, but every $100 we save is another day in Europe (roughly speaking). So every dollar is 1% of a day! So excuse me if we feel we can't afford a movie ticket!

Other than that there is not much to report. I am currently waiting on an equipment list from the Mitrou Archaeological Project which should arrive this month. We both bought our packs from Kathmandu not too long ago, taking advantage of their Easter specials to grab really high quality packs for good prices. Another niggly bit of the trip that need to be completed soon is our Eurail passes which will allow us to travel on the major train lines running all over the EU. A really important missing puzzle piece right now is my application for a job in the UK. I will be going through an agency which one of my good school friends (Jasha) used for his trip to London called 'Overseas Working Holidays'. The agency specialise in placing Aussie travellers in pubs all over the UK for short and long term work. The advantage of doing this is that I will have a job confirmed before I even touch down in London, saving me both extraordinary time and money (although to be honest I will be working for the absolute minimum wage in England).

Well I think I have ranted on quite enough. You can tell I am already getting excited and can't wait to get started. Rishi will post soon concerning the specifics of our proposed travel route and also details concerning our tickets.

Only 50 days to go!

Chris

Welcome!

Welcome everyone to the communication center for our adventures in Europe later this year. We have chosen to use a blog for obvious reasons, not least of which being that it is much easier to manage than masses of emails. Yes, we are lazy. This blog will be updated by Rishi and myself regularly, bringing you updates on our movements, adventures, plans and general shenanigans (which are inevitable).

For those of you who aren't sure of what exactly is going on, I am heading over to Greece on the 5th of June for 9 weeks in order to participate in the Field School with the University of Tennessee and the Mitrou Archaelogical Project. Following the fulfillment of that dream, I will be heading to the UK to do some pub work for about 3-4 months while I await the arrival of Rishi on the 29th of November. We will then proceed to systematically destroy Western Europe one city at a time. We return to Sydney on the 14th of February, so everyone had better show some love!

So please check back regularly, especially following the 5th of June, as I shall be updating as often as humanely possible. Feel free to comment as it will be the only way we will b able to keep up with events back home! Besides. If you dont, you'll make us SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD Pandas.

Chris

PS> There is a 97% probability that I will be asking the quesion 'Hey Rishi, where's my passport?' hence the url of this blog :D. You can't accuse me of not being honest!