Well, as may of you will know I have recently returned from my Europe tour. Sixteen days, seven countries, thirteen cities and about fifty South Americans all crammed into a pig sty of a tour bus. And here, I will attempt to write down everything that happened, bu bare with me I am still to collect all of my thought from this trip, and it is going to be very difficult to try and sum up everything that happened in those 16 days - every day was an adventure. And no amount of words or photos can truly express just how incredible it was.
To begin with, here is a bit of background information: my Rotary District (1800) had their Europatour about a month ago, and didn't actually inform us newbies about the Europatour so when we arrived in January all places were full. This therefore meant that we had to try and go with another district which ended up being Bremen district. Also, it turns out the reason that Bremen had free places was that they divided their group into two - the English speakers and the Spanish speakers - meaning that Grace (Australian), Adam (American) and I (New Zealand) were thrown into a bus of around fifty South Americans coming from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile and other Spanish speaking places. However, while at first we thought we were doomed, this turned out to only be a problem some of the time - everyone was so warm, welcoming and loving as South Americans are, and boy do they know how to have a good time...and make a mess. Within minutes on the bus the music was on full volume, and M&Ms were flying around our heads.
DAY ONE: LEAVING, SPEYER, STRASBOURG On that first day, I had to make it from Bienenbuttel, my village to Bremen. This meant waking up at 4.30 am to drive to Luneburg and catch my train from Luneburg to Hannover and then another train from Hannover to Bremen to meet and board the bus at 8. What a sleepless way to start a sleepless trip! Grace and I are really close as we are the only ones who truly understand Kiwi/Aussie life, so we were thrilled to have each other to cling to as we boarded the 'Party Bus'. We set off on our way (stopping at a few other places to pick up others on the way.) The drive to France was very long. We made several 'Pit Stops' along the way - petrol stations/cafe/corner shops with chips, icecream and chocolate bars, which we began to eagerly look forward to. We decided to take a detour along the way at a German city near the border called Speyer - a city famous for its huge Cathedral. We stopped there for an hour, where Grace and I paraded around wearing our National flags as capes, and bought chocolate milkshakes. Then, it was back on the road and to France. When we arrived in Strasbourg, it was around 6pm. We were given our rooms - Grace and I were together with the poor only English speaker from Bremen district on our trip, Sarah, and headed back downstairs for dinner. It turned out, that dinner was actually about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. Along the way, we spotted by the river a mystery animal - it was about the size and shape of a beaver, and was right by the waters edge, however it had more of an otter tail but was far too fat to be an otter. Ideas anyone? But yes, we got to the restaurant where we were served Onion tart - 'Perfect!' we thought, as it was just something light and tasty after a day of junk food. However, then the SECOND course came out (Mum's Casserole, I SWEAR, and mashed potato) followed by the THIRD course, layered icecream. Its safe to say we were pretty stuffed that night.
DAY TWO: STRASBOURG The next morning we had an amazing breakfast - a buffet of bread, croissants, muesli and a selection of meats and cheeses. I had muesli, that you could add things such as dried fruits yourself, as well as a croissant (however I passed on the nutella that came in a 5kg jar and was served using a ladle). Then, we had free time until 3. Grace, Sarah and I head off, first going into a few shops before meeting up with some others from the group that sort of announced that we were coming with them but they didn't know where to. We wandered around the gorgeous cobbled streets for a while, before stumbling across a beautiful scene in front of the river with old houses lining the street and a bridge in the background. It was a beautiful day with warm sun and not a breath of wind, and the river was like glass. Slowly, the group drifted apart and it was just Sarah, Grace and I again. We went into chocolate stores and other shops before heading to the world famous Cathedral - and god it was stunning. It was so big I couldn't fit the whole thing into my camera frame, and with the sun where it was it was very hard to take photos. However, we did get some, and then decided to enjoy the sun by sitting down outside a restaurant in front of the Cathedral, in the sun and order banana and Nutella crepes - and they were to die for. It was at this point where I realised how blissfully happy I was there. I loved it. Sadly, the crepe didn't hang around for long and we were on our way again, wandering in and out of souvenir stores before settling down at another restaurant with one thing on our minds - snails. I, Emma Ferner, can honestly say I have eaten not one but THREE snails. AND I have photographic and digital evidence to prove it. They weren't amazing - just very oily and garlicy, however I think it was mostly the thought of what I was eating that made me stop at three. To finish off our meal we then went to a gelato trailer and bought Stratacella Gelato - vanilla with chocolate pieces through it: Simple yet very satisfying! We then slowly headed back to the hotel, only stopping to buy a macaroon each: chocolate, of course and gosh it was not what I was expecting! I always thought macaroons were like two pieces of meringue biscuit glued together with icing, but inside the biscuit is actually soft and fluffy and moussy - it was divine! We then all met back at the hotel before heading off for the boat tour. When they had first said boat tour, I had images of being our on the choppy sea with a cold sea breeze and salt spray blowing everywhere, but boy was I wrong. The tour was in big, long boats that sailed along the river through the city. It was good, but I found the boat too crowded, and wished that the boat had been open roofed instead of glass. I felt like I was in a green house, and there was no way to take nice photos. After the tour we had more free time until 7.30 when we were meeting at the restaurant again, so Grace and I set off on a mission to find H&M, the clothes store as while my city Luneburg has one, her city does not and she had never been. We eventually found it in a shopping centre, and was immensely disappointed with their selection - nothing like Germany at all. We then headed back to the main shopping streets in search of 'afternoon tea' (we wanted baguettes as we were in France, but had to settle for chocolate croissants) and I managed to find dark chocolate peanut M&Ms at a small french supermarket. I repeat, dark chocolate peanut M&Ms. Then, we had dinner at the restaurant again. However, we had learnt from our lesson and knew not to eat all of the first course as there would still be more courses to come - surprisingly easy it turned out, as the first course was raw mince pressed into flat round disks and grated carrot covered in a really unsavoury dressing. the main course was half of a chicken each, yes, half of a chicken sitting on sourkraut (also not to my taste!) and dessert was a delicious cake filled with cream cheese, cream, fruit and other delicious things. That evening, we were pooped and went to bed 'early' - I think at around 1 or 2...
DAY THREE: LUZERN The next day we left to go to Luzern, Switzerland. On the way, we stopped at a modern architecture museum and had a tour. While I didn't understand a lot of what the woman was saying (it was in German), I did understand and appreciate what we were being shown thanks to studying modern architecture in Art History for half a year. The day was gorgeous and we had lunch at the cafe there, sitting outside in the sun. We made it to Luzern at around 2pm, and had 3 hours to wander around the city. Words cannot describe how truly beautiful this city is - mountains in the background, with a glass smooth lake laid in front of them with a stunning clear blue sky above. It was scorching, and I got sunburnt (as only I would.) We wandered around the 'shopping street' for a bit, but as we did not have the correct currency and everything is VERY overpriced, we chose to appreciate the view and landscape instead. We walked along the waterside where we witnessed a swan steal a biscuit from a toddler's hand and then proceed to take full ownership of the toddler's mother's bag chasing anyone who came near it away, before settling down in a park in front of the water for a bit. We then headed the other way, Grace and I still parading around in our national flags. We met up with the rest of the group and drove to the youth hostel we were staying in that night. Shockingly, the youth hostel was excellent. Very modern, very clean, and even more stylish than the hotel in France. And the food was great - for dinner there was a salad buffet, Italian pizza and icecream and fresh fruit salad. As it was a youth hostel, you could also make noise thankfully (the South Americans struggled to match the Strasbourg Hotel's volume rules and the hotel had complained to Rotary). The only problem with the youth hostel was that there was one shower to twelve people per section - not useful. However, we worked it all out and we all got our showers (after which I was doused in after sun gel.) That night as we could make as much noise as possible we all stayed up until about 4am, and Grace and I demolished a packet of Timtams.
DAY FOUR: CAVES AND RAPALLO The next day we were up early, around 7 am. The breakfast was even better than Strasbourg - Swiss Bircher Muesli (two types!!) and I was a wee piggy and ate lots of both. For some reason I am rather obsessed with muesli now - I even buy it instead of icecream at the supermarket. I love it! We then set off to go to the Holloch caves - a series of caves that go over 3km deep into the ground. We first drove to the small village there which was stunning and nestled in the mountains, before being geared up in helmets. The cave was really interesting - pitch black, very cold but even in the summer remaining a constant 3 degrees. We had a moment where our guide made us sit down, turn off our headlights and be dead silent. There was nothingness. No light, no sound, nothing. No matter how long we were given for our eyes to adjust, there was simply nothing for them to adjust to - no light source whatsoever. To then finish off our cave experience, we had lunch in the cave in a small 'room' lit with Gothic looking candles - interesting to say the least! We then set off for Italy and Rapallo. We made our first pit stop in Italy. It was raining, cold and very not what I was expecting. We went to the bathrooms only to find that none were usable - all of them were not flushed, very full and there was even urine and feces on the floor - it was shocking. We then went and bought some food, only to be introduced to something we would soon become very used to and aware of - Italy doesn't do small portions. I bought a 'piece' of foccaccia bread that was honestly the size of an A4 piece of paper, and Grace bought a piece of pizza that was even bigger - needless to say we did not finish our purchases. Driving through this area of Italy was not what I had been expecting at all, and along with the bad weather and bathroom experience, my view on Italy was rather tainted. Everything was very run down, but not in a beautiful way as you see on movies. More in a very poor, almost ghetto way with weeds sprouting everywhere and a constant smell of rotting. We arrived in our town Rapallo, which was by the sea much to every ones delight - however it was still cold and raining. We then went to our hotel and rooms and came back down for dinner - lasagna, followed by pork, butter fried potato and gravy, followed by chocolate gelatin puddings (the puddings weren't nice at all actually). Then, as the South Americans are rather stubborn and had their heart set on going to the beach, we went to the beach. It was cold, dark and salty but they were happy, even though Emma was freezing! Only one of them swam that night. We were home by 11, and asleep by 2.
DAY FIVE: GENEVA This day was meant to be our beach day, so naturally it was raining. Instead, we all caught a train to the city of Geneva where we could do a bit of shopping. First, we took some photos but got so soaked that we desperately sought out shelter in McDonalds (I feel I should point out that I was a good girl and did NOT order McDonalds, however this was purely because I was still full from the bag of Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms I ate about an hour earlier). Grace and I were terrified and paranoid the whole time - people kept drilling into us how common pick-pocketing is in Italy - every person brushing past was a threat, every person approaching was too. Grace and I desperately wanted to go to H&M (many grumbles from the boys). However, once we got there, we ended up spending a staggering three hours in the BOYS changing room, as all of them decided to do a bit of shopping. One boy in particular was a true 'diva', asking for my help to find him shorts with buttons on the back pockets, as he only liked shorts with buttons on the back pockets even though we had already told him his ass looked fine in the shorts he was wearing. So yes, three hours later and we emerged from H&M, the boys heavily laiden with purchases - pants, shirts, underwear, everything. Grace and I found it hilarious! We then returned to Rapallo and went and bought gelato before dinner (our parents would be shocked, I know!). Dinner was: Spaghetti with a creamy garlicy sauce, Deep fried onion rings, prawns and chips followed by even more gelato. My gosh do the Italians like to eat. We then all went down to the beach again (in the rain, yes) where we hung out for about an hour before heading back to the hotel in time for curfew (in Italy it is actually illegal for teenagers to be out after 12am). That night was another early night, with Grace and I sleeping at around 2.
DAY SIX: PISA AND FLORENCE We headed off for Pisa early the following day. It was cloudy and not particularly warm - whoever said Italy was a gorgeous sunny paradise lied. My first impression of Pisa was shock and horror. I never knew that Italy had so many illegal black immigrants before going to Pisa. As our bus was not allowed in the city, there was a carpark just for the tour buses to park in while waiting for their passengers to return. This carpark was seething with black immigrants all laiden with illegal products such as sunglasses, feaux handbags and bracelets, and as soon as our bus stopped moving, they surrounded the bus. It was terrifying. I refused to speak to these men no matter how many of them shouted "Just look here Miss, won't you even LOOK?" and kept my head down and walked on. The only problem is that the men simply follow you, calling out to you or simply walking alongside you until you get so unnerved that you buy something. The only implication with THAT technique is that buying off these men can actually get you arrested as they are illegal immigrants. Note to future travellers to Pisa: Don't buy things off the scary black men. So my first impression on Pisa was yet again tainted with not so nice memories. However, once we reached the citadel all of that went away. The buildings were stunning, and the sun came out for a brief 5 minutes simply for me to take some great photos. And the tower really is leaning quite badly! Grace and I took the typical Pisa tourist photos before wandering off to buy souvenirs, pins and gelato (of course). We then ran into the boys that were desperately seeking two more people so that they had the right numbers to hire one of those 4-6 person tandem bike cart things. Of course we went along with them, but once seated in the middle of the cart between two South American boys with two more seated in the front with BOTH in charge of steering and all FOUR in charge of the speed, I think Grace and I were both having second thoughts. And I think its fair to say that was an experience we will never forget. The man in charge of the bikes obviously could read the boys like an open book, clearly stating that they were NOT to race one another in the carts. Needless to say, as we got around the corner from the man, the race broke out with boys leaping out from the bike here and there to run alongside the bikes, pushing them and making them go even faster. Pisa went by in a blur, and all I can really remember from the rest of that ride was driving on the wrong side of the road, driving in the bus lane (and having a bus drive up behind us) and getting lost. Very very lost. However, we made it back in one piece thankfully, and had only picked up one extra boy along the way who was clinging to the back of our bike. We then made our way back through the closing in sea of black men and into the safety of our bus. Before realising we desperately needed to go to the bathroom, dragging one of the boys along with us to act as our body guard. Sounds silly, but it wasn't. We then set off for Florence. Once we finally arrived (after a well deserved and needed nap on the bus), we went up to our rooms. Grace, Sarah and I decided to eagerly take advantage of the laundry facilities and put a load on. Gosh it felt good to get some clean clothes. Dinner that night was Pasta (surprise surprise), meat with chips and fruit salad. That evening, Grace and I demolished a packet of Tim Tams dipped in Nutella.
DAY SEVEN: FLORENCE Florence honestly served the worst breakfast. (Honestly, I should become a breakfast critic or something, it's all I seem to take note of.) All that was there was cornflakes, Cocopops or hard croissants. (I was very disappointed with all of Europe, especially France as I have yet to anywhere eat a croissant better than the ones Mum cooks at home herself, and Mum isn't even French. All of them were hard, dry and stale, where Mum's are so fresh and delicious that you can't even put a fingertip of pressure on them without the pastry flaking away, and cutting them in half is impossible as they collapse in a delicious crumbly, buttery, flaky mess everywhere... my mouth is watering just thinking about it!) Also, the Orange juice tasted revolting, as did the Pineapple juice. Ever since being in Germany, I have gone from the girl that didn't eat breakfast in NZ to the girl that goes to bed every night looking forward to waking up so she can eat breakfast, so I was thoroughly disappointed with this turnout. Anyway, after the shocking breakfast we set off into the city. Rotary had booked for us a 'Hop on, Hop Off' bus tour around Florence, and it was perfect. You paid 20 euros for the day, and as long as you had your ticket, could get on and off the tour bus whenever you liked, as many times as you wanted. The bus drove in a large circle around all of the main tourist attractions, before returning to the train station. We stayed on the bus until we reached Michelangelo's Point, where we stayed for about an hour taking beautiful photos of the stunning view across Florence and looking at the souvenirs. We then got back on the bus on it's next circuit, and got off in the middle of the city, quite frankly in the middle of nowhere. We wandered down a maze of backstreets before naturally, the boys stopped for gelato. After a while we returned to the bus and went back to the trainstation. We wandered down the main street before stopping at an Italian place for lunch. The only problem with going to Italian Restaurants to eat is that it is incredibly rude to not finish your plate. And the Italians are very generous hosts. Grace and I cleverly ordered a small pizza for us to share, and only ate a quarter each. The rest we fed to the eagerly awaiting boys who then went and ordered two more pizzas AS WELL AS THEIR OWN MEALS to eat amongst themselves. We then set off to go and see the statue of David - we couldn't find the front entrance, so unfortunately only got to see him through the bars of the back of the museum - thankfully he was facing our way, or else all we would have seen was his bottom. We then got very very lost and stumbled across the Great Cathedral with Brunelleschi's Dome, (something I studied in Art History last year) and made our way into the Cathedral. At the door I was stopped by security and refused entrance as I had 'exposed shoulders'. Once I had made myself 'decent', I was allowed entry. The Cathedral was huge and crowded. I spotter on the wall another subject of mine in Art History, St. John Hawkwood (painting) and was still impressed that I could not all of the aspects of the painting. It really is amazing seeing something you have studied in so much detail, that has so much history behind it standing right in front of you. After the Cathedral, we got horribly lost again. And my feet hurt. And it was very hot. The boys had the map and were determined they knew where we were going - they didn't. Eventually we made our way back onto our magical Hop on bus, and as we had some time to kill, sat on it for a full two hours as it drove around the city, sitting in the open roof section with the boys entertaining themselves by throwing gummy bears at things as we drove past. Eventually we made it back to the hotel in time for dinner - this time it was pasta, half a chicken with chips and gelato. Once again, Grace and I fed the eagerly awaiting, always hungry boys. That night we didn't catch the bus into town, but wandered around the nearby streets. It was cold and quite frankly not enjoyable.
DAY EIGHT: JESOLO Most of the next day was spent driving - once again it was cold and cloudy and rainy. Eventually we made it to the town of Jesolo. I love this town. It reminds me a little of Akaroa - not appearance wise, but because it is a nice wee safe town on the beach with every second shop being an icecream shop, and every other shop being somewhere you can buy togs and beach toys. It was the first place in Italy we truly felt safe - no rotting smell, nice buildings not falling apart, no homeless people or black immigrants, just a really nice beach town. We were all 'greeted' by the hotel owner and her whole family, that read out the list of Rotary rules and then once we were assigned our rooms, proceeded to patrol the corridors. Within the first hour they had charged Rotary 150 Euros because some girls jumped onto a bed as there was a mouse in their room. We were delighted to see that the hotel had also put a copy of the Rotary rules in both our bedroom and bathroom, just in case we ever forgot them. Grace and I then walked through the town, buying a Frisbee and a Vortex for us to play with on the beach and knowing that as none of the boys had known what a Vortex was, that it was going to be a big hit...and probably not last an hour. We then bought some gelato before returning to the hotel and heading to the beach. It was cold, grey and drizzly, so naturally we swam. And then raced inside (much to the hotel woman's disgust) and had hot showers. Dinner was once again pasta, meat and potatoes and gelato - Grace and I politely declined the last two courses, so the whole group was abruptly told they could go out and buy their own dinner the next night (I don't think the hotel was very pleased with us). That night we went down onto the beach of course, and were too noisy coming back inside and upset the hotel.
DAY NINE: VENICE Breakfast was good - muesli. Emma was satisfied.
We set off for Venice quite early - as many people don't know, you actually have to catch a ferry to get there. The day was gorgeous, and sitting in the open top ferry reminded me so much of the days at Akaroa sitting in Ollie and Matt's boat. We arrived in Venice to find the place teeming with people. There were stalls everywhere, and the sight was truly stunning. We all headed off towards the Cathedral, as Rotary had organised a tour for us. However, once the tour began Grace and I realised that it was all in German, and that the tour guide didn't speak very good Deutsch, so we wandered off after about five minutes. We strolled around the souvenir shops before deciding that we needed lunch - and what better place to go than the internationally famous Hard Rock Cafe. The place was mental and packed full of people, but eventually Grace and I were seated. We both just ordered the famous burger and chips, and boy were they good. What better Hard Rock Cafe to come to than one of the most exclusive that you have to catch a FERRY to get to! We then walked around the souvenir shops some more, before deciding that we wanted to go on a Gondola. When we inquired how much it would be for the two of us, we were told 80 Euros everywhere we tried - a little pricey for us. However, we eventually ran into some of the boys who were also wanting to go on the Gondolas, and as the gondolier could also speak Spanish, he told us that he would give us an hour tour at a discounted price. It was perfect. As was the tour itself. You cannot truly experience Venice until you have been on the gondola. It is here where you get to run your hands through the water, sail under the bridges and explore the heart of the city. You don't truly appreciate the wonders of this place until you have had the places where both Mozart and Beethoven stay, and Casanova's chambers pointed out to you. Our gondolier told us about his life: You cannot be a gondolier unless you are a true Venetian, born and raised in the city, and you are selected to join the Academy at a young age. Only men are gondoliers. He also told us that people who are born in Venice cannot live on the mainland - it is simply too different of a lifestyle for them, and they cannot adjust. After our incredible tour we returned to the Ferry and back to our hotel in Jesolo, only to find that room service had dumped all of our belongings in Grace's suitcase, and that the owner had let herself into the rooms and searched our things, finding the boy's Swiss Army Knives they had bought in Switzerland and confiscating them as they were 'weapons'. Grace and I then went for another walk around the town and once again bought gelato (as we had a huge lunch, this was our dinner.) We then watched the boys demolish half a HUGE pizza each as well as a plate of fries and chicken nuggets each. This evening was possibly the most entertaining of all. Some of the boys decided that they needed haircuts. And that they were going to do it themselves. They had bought an electric razor, and by the time Grace and I found them, they were all crowded in a bathroom with one boy already having his hair cut like Wolverine (only temporarily of course, they decided to do each others hair roughly and jokingly before cutting it nicely). This was fantastic and hilarious until one boy dropped the razor while half way through the first cut of another boy's hair - straight down the middle of his head. The razor broke. Then things went from hilarious to side splitting. Here we had four boys, all cut looking like savages with tufts of hair everywhere, and a broken razor. They were not happy. So, they decided to pack the razor back up into the box and try and walk down to the shop and tell the shop owner that the razor didn't work and that it was faulty when they bought it. Shockingly, the shop keeper did not fall for this very convincing act by the four tufty, patchy haired boys still scattered with freshly cut hairs, and refused to give them another one. Back at the hotel, they eventually got some life back into the razor, but only about 5 seconds worth at a time before it cut out again. Needless to say it was a very long night, and we had a very grumpy hotel lady the next morning to come in and find thick black hair strewn all through one bedroom and bathroom and all through the beds.
DAY TEN: JESOLO We pissed the hotel off. So they refused to restock the breakfast. Frustratingly the muesli was all gone, so I had to have a bread roll with ham. We were given the option of either going back to Venice or staying in Jesolo for the day. We all chose to stay in Jesolo as it was cold and raining and we wanted a beach day. We spent the morning playing with the Vortex on the beach, and the others all swam. Then, Grace and I went to McDonalds to try 'Italian' McDonalds. I ordered what looked really nice - a Foccaccia burger bun with salami and cheese in it. Unfortunately the picture looked much better than the product, and the actual burger wasn't very nice at all. We then went back to the hotel and decided to walk down to the laundromat and do a load of washing. While we were waiting, we decided to go to a cafe and order a hot chocolate - big mistake. Think of chocolate self saucing pudding sauce/syrup, and put that in a mug. The longer we left it, the more solid and gel like it became. It plopped and slid off the spoon on one gelatenous mass. We didn't drink it. We couldn't. We must have looked so dodgy sneakily pouring a clear fluid (water) into our mugs and stirring it, tasting it and sneakily pouring in more and more. We must have looked like alcoholics. Once our washing was done we returned to the Hotel where the boys noticed our clean washing and requested that we take them down to the laundromat to help them. Our first drama was when one boy out in a 20 Euro note into the change machine, not expecting to get tokens, NOT euro coins in return. Twenty euros worth. We then stood there instructing the boys what went where - why the new tshirt had to go in the colours, and why the stripey tshirt couldn't go in the white wash.. They then realised that it was dinner time (Grace and I weren't hungry) so we stayed at the laundromat while they went back and got dinner (Grace and I went and bought nutella and banana crepes while we were waiting). We then had to explain why the clothes had to have another spin dry, and why they couldn't just take them when they were damp, and how it would make all of their other clothes damp in their suitcase and smelly if they were to take them now. That night we went onto the beach again, and it was cold and it rained. Also, room service chose not to come into our room that day - only our room though. When we went downstairs to ask for more towels, sheets and toilet paper the woman insisted on coming upstairs to inspect our room. She then pointed to our stripped sheets on the floor, demanding to know what they were - we explained that there was sand in them and that we stripped the beds to make it easier for room service. She then demanded to know if we had taken the towels onto the beach - we hadn't, they were wet from our showers the night before. She then told us that room service only comes once a day, not twice (we tried to explain room service didn't come AT ALL), and she told us that she would bring us clean towels and toilet paper but not clean sheets (everyone elses had been changed). She then slammed our door before opening it again, and saying in English "I'm Italian, NOT stupid." and slamming it again. That night we went to bed very late, and the hotel threatened to call the police as one girl wasn't wearing shoes inside.
DAY ELEVEN: JESOLO AND VIENNA As the hotel refused to restock the breakfast, we had half a container of cornflakes and some breadrolls to squabble over for breakfast, before setting sail for Vienna. We made many Pit Stops that day. I am ashamed to say that I did not in any way eat healthily that day. I bought again the foccaccia bread toasted sandwich with cheese and ham that I had bought previously, and gosh it was delicious. There isn't a lot to tell from this day, as we drove for over 8 hours. Once we arrived in Vienna, we went straight to the Youth Hostel (once again, flawless and clean and a really really nice place.) Dinner was a help yourself buffet with delicious salads (pasta etc) and pieces of schnitzel and potato salad and rolls and Emma approved. After dinner, as the mature and grown up adults we are, we went to a Gamezone. Grace and I went on the Motorbikes ride game and played the Basketball one. We then wandered around the area, through the mall before getting Gelato (one of the boys owed us because Grace and I won a bet.) We eventually made it back to the hostel, where we met the two Europe record holders for Rubix Cubes. One boy was 15 and specialised in 'small cubes' and one was 17 and specialised in 'big cubes' - both were incredible. We watched one of them complete a normal rubix cube in 3.6 seconds.
DAY TWELVE: VIENNA Hostels do gooood breakfast, Once again, I was faced with the option of TWO forms of bircher muesli to choose from - naturally, I chose both. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day and all. We then set off in our trusty bus to a castle that was lived in by the King of France and his wife and children. The castle was very very grand and impressive - especially the gardens. However, I didn't fancy the colour - bright yellow/orange... Then, we were driven into town and given free rein until 6pm. Grace and I walked through a massive market that supposedly had 'every international food you could dream of' - we did NOT find: Cadbury, meat pies or sausage rolls, the three things we are foaming at the mouth for. We then went to the Trainstation to meet an exchange friend of mine - Jess, who is from Blenheim and living in Linz, near Vienna for the year. We came over on the plane together, and became very close friends especially in LA where we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios. Grace and I made our way through a rather scary marijuana protest before making it to the station and getting McDonalds while waiting for Jess. It was so nice to see a familiar Kiwi face and to hear that ridiculous accent again. It was also comforting to see that I wasn't the only one 'enjoying their exchange' and quite frankly, piling on the pounds! Jess took us to the main street of Vienna where we saw the Cathedral and souvenir shops, and had a look at some other shops as well. She then took us to the Australian Bar, where Grace was disgusted at the fact that there was fried grasshoppers and kangaroo steak on the menu - apparently they do Not eat that.. who knew? Grace was also disappointed to find out that the people that worked there aren't actually Australian, however she cheered up when she got to write her name on the wall. Personally, I enjoyed the fact that Vegemite on Toast was on the menu. We then went and got Starbucks, as Jess and I were shocked that Grace had never tried it. We also then discovered that Vienna is a very big place and that it is very easy to get lost, even when you have a map. Thankfully, we eventually found our way back to the bus in time. We had organised that Jess was going to come back and stay at the Hostel with us, and it was great introducing her to everyone. That night the Rotex decided that we were going clubbing. We took the S-Bahn (street train, like a tram) to the area of the 'club', and it was raining. We walked down some stairs to a very dodgy looking area by the river, that Jess informed us was one of the most dangerous places in Vienna. The three of us wanted out of there, but everyone insisted that we would be fine. We made it through the groups of stoned people and into the 'club' that reminded me of a basement. Or a dungeon. It was dark, cold and damp. The music was absolutely dreadful and there wasn't a single song to sing along to. And, as the icing on the cake, standing around the 'dance floor' were at least 7 middle aged men, staring at us and drinking. Grace, Jess and I wanted more than just to get out of there.And to make things worse, the longer we stayed there, more middle aged men kept arriving and just watching us. At one point one of the boys from our group told us to go with him and he took us to the other side of the club, as he had been listening to two men talking about us and did not like what he was hearing. The time to leave could not come slow enough, but eventually it was time to go. It was at this point where the group somehow got split in two - we were in a group of about 13 people (and the only sober ones) and the rest of the group was with the Rotex who actually knew how we were getting home. Our group made our way to the S-Bahn hoping to catch it back to where we came from, only to find out that they don't operate at 1 in the morning. No buses were operating either, and to make matters worse, people kept wandering off without telling anyone. It was cold, raining and terrifying. Eventually we decided to take taxis, but even they turned out to be dodgy - splitting up and taking different routes down dark side streets. Even the boys were getting uncomfortable. Finally we made it back to the hostel. We were all very tired and short tempered and went to bed shortly after that.
DAY THIRTEEN: PRAGUE We left Jess that morning at the hostel after my amazing breakfast of double bircher muesli again. Within two hours we were in the Czech Republic, and pulling up to our next activity - Jungle Park. This was, in all honesty Adrenaline Forest by Spencer Park, but in the Czech Republic. You had a harness with two Carabinas attached, as well as your own personal flying fox that you hooked onto the wire you were wanting to travel across. Of course we also had helmets, as we were doing obstacles about 4 metres in the air amongst the trees. However, where I have always struggled a bit with the challenges at Adrenaline Forest, I found Jungle Park very easy - in fact, I might even say I was one of the better ones at it. Once we finally completed the obstacle course, we had lunch there - hot dogs and currywurst, with complimentary beer from Rotary (I wasn't too pleased about this, as some of you may not know but I despise beer.) We then lay on the grass for a while before setting on our way again towards Prague. We arrived just in time for dinner to Emma's delight. However, the dinner wasn't too flash, so I made up for it with dessert (also not too flash, but hey, it was dessert!) We were then told after our exhausting day that we were once again going clubbing. To the biggest club in Europe. Four stories tall, each with a different theme and music style and one floor made completely of ice - even the glasses you drank from were made of ice. We thought we would spend most of our time in the 'Dance' storey, but it turned out that we actually preferred the 'Oldies' floor -- it played music such as Greece Medley, YMCA, "Material Girls" and "I Want to Dance with Somebody" - much better music to sing and dance to! We got home very late that night, and were absolutely exhausted.
DAY FOURTEEN: PRAGUE This day, it was raining. And while the hotel DID have muesli, it wasn't as nice as other places I had tried. We went into town in our bus, and met up with two tour guides. We were split into two groups, and told that we were going to be doing a four hour tour of Prague, on foot in the rain. Needless to say there were more mumbles and groans than cheers of joy. We set off, clad in rain jackets and wielding umbrellas and froze our arses off. Unfortunately we couldn't appreciate what our lovely tour guide was showing us as we were all so miserable. We went to many churches and down the main streets, but yet again Grace and I had difficulties as the tour was all in German. Eventually, the tour was over and we had four hours to kill before dinner. Grace and I went straight to McDonalds to use the bathroom, use their free wifi and eat a sundae. Then, as I had gotten Grace addicted to Starbucks, we went to Starbucks and used their Internet as well. We then walked around many souvenir shops as well as many clothes stores like H&M before yet again returning to McDonalds to take refuge in the warmth. That day Grace and I bought dark fake tan, as it was payback time for Mauricio, our friend who had over the duration of the tour managed to paint our hair green and draw on us with permanent markers. On our faces. While we were asleep. We were so exhausted that. while we were given 'free time' and a curfew of 12am, all of us went straight back to the hotel after dinner (around 7.30pm) and to bed. Before this, however, Grace, Mauricio and I had some Czech coins that we needed to use up, meaning that we all treated ourselves to a luxurious ten or so minutes on the massage chairs! While we went to sleep at about 9, Grace and I had our alarm set for 3am. It was revenge time. Let's just say that the next day, Mauricio looked like he had maybe seen a bit too much sun and that he truly fit in with the South Americans and their skin colour.
DAY FIFTEEN: DRESDEN Spirits were low this day, as it was our last full day together. We drove from Prague to Germany, and arrived in Dresden at around 12pm. Grace and I had our hearts set on Subway for lunch, and walked 45 minutes down a very long main road until we found it. Dresden was beautiful - the view of the city from the bridge was stunning - churches and spires everywhere. Once we finally found Subway and had eaten, it ws time to head back to the main part of the city where the group was meeting to watch a documentary about the famous 'Frauenkirche' or 'Women's Church'. After that, we actually had a tour of the church. It was gorgeous. We then had more free time, and as it was raining Grace and I headed to a cafe, before doing some souvenir shopping. Then, it was time for dinner - not so impressive this time, even though it was catered by the hostel. Dinner was meat cooked in casserole sauce, glutenous potato balls (I don't know what they're called, but its like potato but mashed and sticky and with gelatin and rolled into large balls) and sauerkraut. Not Emma's favourite! That night as it was our last night, we sat in a bedroom talking for hours before heading off to McDonalds at 3am.
DAY SIXTEEN: HOME. Everyone was grim. Grace and I were even more so, as we found out that the bus was not, in fact stopping in Hannover as had been stated on the original form, but stopping at Bremen or Oldenburg. Thus meaning that we had to take two hours worth of trains home, at 5pm after a week with a total of around 12 hours sleep. We were driving for the whole day, and people were barely talking - just sitting there, trying to absorb what had just happened in the past 2 weeks and wishing that it didn't have to end. We arrived at Bremen at 5pm, and tears began to be shed. Everywhere you turned someone was wanting a hug, and it was incredible to believe that I was crying over saying goodbye to people I had met a mere 16 days ago - before that we were complete strangers. I arrived home at 7pm tired, sick and downhearted at the thought that in a day, my life would return to normal...Emma would have to go back to school.
I have kept in very close touch with everyone from Bremen since then, hence partly why this post has taken so long to write. For the past three weeks following Europatour, Grace and I have travelled to Bremen to visit everyone, and we were even invited to their District Rotex weekend in Esens last weekend, where we got to meet the other half of the district (English speakers!) and even after that one weekend, I have come out with some more good friends. All of our friends are going home in a month, so Grace and I are going to Bremen at least once, maybe even twice more to say our farewells. We still don't know what to say or how to say it. These people because our family within two weeks, where before we were strangers. The thought now, of them not being here is not a nice one. Everyone was just so incredible to us - welcoming us into their district with wide open arms and making us part of their amazing family.
I will never forget these two weeks, or the amazing people I had the chance to experience it with.
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