InterRail - Part 5

Our next stop carried on into the fringes of Eastern Europe, in Zagreb the capital of Croatia is where we made our first stop. The accomodation was very different compared to past hotels or hostels as we had a flat in a villa which was self contained, included all facilities and on first appearances it seemed great! Zagreb overall was probably the least exciting destination but saying that it was rather relaxing, we spent alot of time walking around much like in the other cities but found there to be less attractions, either that or we just couldn't find them! However, we did visit an art gallery of what I believe was contemporary art but having searched online I'm still not sure of the name. One place I am sure of the name is the Croatian Museum of Naive Art, a pleasant enough collection of art but a not so pleasant curator who criticized our lack of Croatian language skills! We also ventured into the Natural History Museum to wander down halls filled with taxidermy followed by a walk round the Botanical Gardens, encountering some kind of mysterious giant pale turtle barging around in the pond, but I think if properly planned a trip to Zagreb would be much more eventful than ours! During the time we spent in the villa itself, we watched much Murder She Wrote (with Croatian subtitles, the best way to watch it of course) and drank some kind of flavoured spirits with a series of own cooked meals. We did make a habit of walking around as much as we could, throughout both the old town and the new town, meandering around various streets and shops with a visit to a Croatian church too. When we did actually attempt to make use of public transport, we ended up being thrown off a tram due to ticket confusion! However, we still managed to make it outside the city centre to enjoy some sunbathing by a river on the outskirts.

As we made our way to the city of Split, situated on the Dalmation coast, we enjoyed the Croatian landscape and at that point were very ready to be moving on. Since our hostel trouble or lack there of in Ljubljana, we learnt to book ahead and luckily ended up in a great little hostel right in the centre of the city, not only that but it was inside the Diocletian's Palace which is the oldest and most beautfiul architecture in Split. Chris and I shared a room and the girls had another down the hall, the hostel was small but well kept and as I said the location was brillant! Despite one day of heavy rain, we enjoyed some very high temperatures during our week long stay and walking along the coast in the afternoon always provided some very picturesque sights. We went for a swim on one occasion but I ripped my shorts in a very inconvenient place, so had to walk back through the town in a towel! Another dilemma took place on Marjan hill which is the densely wooded park that overlooks the city and it was here that I lost my wallet leading to me cancelling my cards, not ideal! Despite that, I really enjoyed our stay which included a visit to the slightly unstable church tower within the palace, a tour around the basements of the palace which features a market place, a day trip to the out of season town of Supetar on the nearby Brac Island and general wandering around the ideallic surroundings. There was also some kind of boat festival on at the time, which would have been great if we were interested in boats though it did bring even more life into the promenades!

Images by K.L.V.

InterRail - Part 2

To Switzerland! Or so we thought, as we very nearly boarded a train to Beaune, France instead of Bern, Switzerland due to a slip of pronunciation and an incorrect ticket! However, that was soon rectified and we were speeding our way to the next destination, upon which I  caught glimpses of snow and the first I'd seen for a long time. I don't recall any rain during our first day in Bern but it was indeed rather cold, thankfully our hostel wasn't too far away from the Old Town meaning it wasn't too far from the train station either. Our unimaginatively named 'Bern Youth Hostel' was fairly simple but had the advantage of five bed and mixed sex bedooms so we were able to remain together, also being situated beside the river Aar made for a pleasant view. I do remember thinking that Bern was rather small for a capital city but it was certainly scenic and as the temperature rose during our stay, walking around was made more enjoyable. We visited and scaled the Münster of Bern, a cathedral which dates from 1421, and our climb up 254 steps was rewarded with spectacular views of the city. Bundesplatz is quite a fun little attraction too, simply a plaza in the Old City but incorporates a very entertaining jet fountain which we ran through most nights! Perhaps one of the more questionable sights in Bern is the bear pit, which as the name suggests is a pit like enclosure that houses a couple bears, the bear being a symbol of the city. Though historic, the pits don't really meet the levels of modern zoos and you'd think with no lack of green areas bordering the river, a new enclosure would be created and hopefully it will. An immense discovery I made in Bern, though I have a feeling we possibly tried it in France, was squeezable hazelnut chocolate spread, whatever brand it was - it was so tasty! Maybe not quite so delectable was the mango or lychee vodka we brought back to our hostel, tasted slightly more like I imagined perfume does but at least it did the trick..

Though Bern was a charming destination on it's own, it also acted as a base for our travels around Switzerland. On two very different day trips, we explored both the country's largest city of Zurich and the town of Interlaken which is nestled between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. During our trip to Interlaken, it started to get considerably warmer in Switzerland which may have slightly warped my expectations of the country but really let this town shine as the picturesque haven that it was. With  it's chalky light blue waters and swiss alp backdrop, Interlaken is definitely one of the most beautiful places I've been to. Shortly after arrival we headed for a not so typically Swiss chinese lunch, the chopsticks from which are still in my kitchen cupboard today! Following that, we decided on an attempt to walk off our meal with a stroll over the bridge and out of Interlaken, the views of both the town and surrounding lakes at a slightly higher elevation were spectacular! We made our way up a winding path to the ruins of Goldswil which consisted of a tower and surrounding graveyard where we relaxed in the sun for some time! Our walk came to an end waiting for the train at Ringgenberg station.

The weather in Zurich was just as cheerful and after gazing upon the huge unmissable blue fairy suspsended over us within the train station, we spent the majority of the day just walking around the city and noticing how expensive the stores appeared to be, though anything was expensive on our budget! The main attraction that we enjoyed that day was a boat trip out on the glistening waters of lake Zurich, though before that we did see quite a curious man painted gold and surrounded by Swiss souvenirs and clocks! As we walked over the bridge and back up past the river Limmat, we noticed many of the boats were adorned with large and brightly coloured cows placed on display! Upon further reading, this is part of an international public art exhibit which began in Zurich in 1998 and thanks to art director Walter Knapp and has featured in cities all over the world since. As a last stop before we caught our train home, we made use of an internet cafe and bizarrely an episode of Lazy Town was playing despite no evidence of children!

Photos by K.L.V.

InterRail - Part 1

Thanks to the desperate desire of a holiday and browsing through heaps of nostalgic photos, I decided to blog about my InterRail journey around  Europe in 2007. Though really the main reason for this post was the realisation that I was starting to forget little segments of the trip, something I really don't want to continue doing and despite planning to write about it shortly after returning, I only managed a couple weeks worth and now have no idea where that is! Anyway, it was the first extended absence from home but luckily I had the company of friends - Hannah, Katie, Rachael and Chris to be exact! Our first non UK destination was Cherbourg, France and to be honest I remember very little of it, except the sickness of my travel companions on the ferry from Portsmouth, and now all I think of is walking through the perpetual grey! There may well be more to Cherbourg than grey but seeing as the majority of my memory is drawn from the photo above, I doubt my opinion will change anytime soon. Instead of hanging around in Cherbourg, we journeyed straight to Paris and to our marvellous 'Hotel Lorraine' which, despite the less than luxurious interior and rickety lift, is conveniently located right next to Gare de L'Est and therefore made innercity travel very simple. Whilst booking, there was the promise of internet access and breakfast but in reality all that was on offer was a man who greeted us in nothing but a thong in our hallway! Of course we visited such places as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and Notre Dame as is the duty of a visitor in Paris, with the occasional barrier jumping on the Metro to get between the destinations! During the one day that there was sun, we ventured down to the river Seine and witnessed people dressed in Venetian masquerade mingle through the crowds. One of the most intriguing attractions of Paris was the Catacombs, it's interesting history, eerie atmosphere and walls of bones certainly made for a change of scenery from the usually impolite crowds on the surface. It was in Paris that I tried Horse meat for the first time, that I know of anyway, and I wasn't a huge fan of the taste but luckily I was only trying a bite of another's meal! Foolishly I'd only brought with me one memory card, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking but I was also photographing in Paris at the highest pixel quality, resulting in many deleted files to make room later in the trip! Due to that, I was left with mostly generic imagery but here is a handful anyway.

After our wet but enjoyable march around Paris and the sights, we headed to Dijon for the next few days with no real itinerary and to be honest not many plans at all, turning up without a hotel booked and fortunately it didn't take too long to locate one! Hotel Chateaubriand was suitable enough, the room Chris and I shared had been recently redecorated but what is highlighted in my mind when I think of Dijon is of course the mustard, which was as you can imagine plentiful! Mustard aside, Dijon also had statues of rather unusual subject matter, in particular giant Wellington Boots and a Polar bear. During our stay we  meandered through  the streets and came across an antiques fair but unlike in Paris, we spent a considerable amount of time relaxing and one occasion drinking some rather unpleasant cooking wine by mistake! Finally, who could forget the Owl Trail of Dijon!

Photos by K.L.V.