Jess Hits Europe by Coach

Our coach journey from Prague to Bratislava was 4 hours...we saw the most amazing sunset, we didn't really know much about the Czech Republic but the coach definately took us the scenic route, we drove through all the valleys and through small villages.....it really was the nicest coach journey so far.

When we arrived it was raining which we didn't enjoy with our shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops - we arrived at 12 noon and by 2 o'clock it was sunny and really hot and it stayed that way.

We spent most of the time relaxing in the centre, it is a city but it is really small and feels more like a town. It really is a beautiful place.

We spent one day sat by the river just relaxing...

There is a castle, but unfortunately it was closed...I think it reopens quite soon.

The hostel we were staying in was really nice, it was in an old building very near to the centre. They had instruments in the common area, so there was usually someone playing the guitar or piano....and everyone was really friendly. There was a live Jazz night put on in the bar with local band playing, they were really really good and now we want to join a jazz band...

We met loads of interesting people and one has decided to join us on our travels to Budapest...

We love Bratislava and Slovakia so we recommend that everyone goes if they are travelling Europe....there is a mountain range called the Tatras on the border with Poland that we really wanted to visit, but unfortunately we haven't had time...we will go one day though.

Slovakia is under-rated.....

We arrived in Prague with the belief that they used Euros....we were wrong. They use Czech Crowns which can be really confusing, there are about 30 to the pound so we thought everything was really expensive at first until we realised everything is actually really cheap....we had to try and get change so that we could get on the metro, the man in the shop thought Rachel was asking him for money which was amusing - for me, more so than Rach.

Not so many people in Prague speak English, although you aren't ever too far from someone who can help - the language is also really hard to read, speak and hear so it was a bit daunting at first, but we tried our hardest.

Prague is a really pretty city so we spent most of the time wandering around seeing all the sights - we also realised that we didn't have very much money anymore....so we had to seriously budget, luckily we were in Prague, it is under 1 pound for a beer, and under 5 pounds for a meal out.

We went to the Prague castle, it is massive and up about 250 steps which was a work out for us...but from the top you can get a brilliant view of the city and if you are lucky you might see the President of the Czech Republic.

In the main square is the Astronomical Clock, we still aren't too sure what it actually does, but it is really pretty and loads of people gather around it in the evening....we went, but think we missed the action because it was still.....

It was really really hot so we decided to get a peddle boat on the river, it was loads of fun. It was pretty cheap - about 6 pounds for an hour and it can fit up to 4 people.

We went out to a few bars in the centre, there is a huge club which is open in the daytimes too and has free internet access. We didn't go, but it is meant to be really good. The bars we went to were quite small, but they were all nice and there was a good mix of locals and travellers....they also taught us to drink absinthe the real way, the locals call it the green fairy....it is green and it is strong, but basically the same as any shot - they call it a lesson though.

Then we went to Bratislava.......

Luckily our hostel was really easy to get to from the station, because the U-bahn and S-bahn system can be really confusing if you arent used to it...

The first thing I noticed about Berlin was that everything is so big there it is crazy...the streets are really wide and they are never really busy unlike Amsterdam.

There is so much to do there and loads to see...there is so much history. We went up the Reichstag on the first day, it is free and definatley worth waiting in the que for, you can walk all the way to the top and get a brilliant view of the city. then in the afternoon we went to the Pergamon museum, it was 8 euro, but 4 for students so it worked out pretty cheap - you get a audio guide which tells you all about the different exhibitions.

We went on the free tour - again - it is also pretty long but it is really really interesting...there is so much history within the city so they dont really have to pad it out with boring things to fill the time. Definatley worth the painful feet...

We went to the Jewish museum, which was really interesting, we completley lost track of time and lost our friends that we went in with...whoops.

The Hamburger Bahnhof is a modern and contemporary art gallery, a bit like the Tate, it has loads of Andy Warhol and it is massive so there is loads to look at, it is free on Thursdays between 2 and 6, but otherwise it is 8 Euro, 4 for students.

We were there for the big Germany - Turkey football match, there is a large Turkish population in Berlin around our hostel so we were sat on the street watching the match on big screen surrounded by locals and tourists, it was loads of fun. Germany won, but the Turkish were really happy too so it was a really good atmosphere all night.

We went out to a really good bar called Cafe Zappata on Oranienburger Strabe, which has loads of other good bars on and around it....we met some really fun people there and it is a really cool place. It is an old squat, but still has a gallery above it...there is the indoor bar and then a few bars outside for the summer - we definatley recommend it for everyone - a really good night out.

All in all we love Berlin...off to Prague next :D

Well, we made it to Amsterdam...we had an interesting coach journey, we met a really funny man called Maxwell from Paris ˙- he worked at DisneyLand which we thought was amazing....he was teaching us French and we were teaching him a Birmingham accent which he loved :D

On the first night we were there we went to a few bars with a few people from the hostel we were staying in - it was really good - the night life is just like England really, and your never far away from someone from home which was a change...the bars we went to were about a 10 minute walk from our hostel in Leidesplein - there are loads of bars and cheap restaurants. You should remember though, you don¨t have to pay to get into most places, but you do have to pay to use the toilet alomost everywhere so make sure you have a few 50cents around.

The next day we went on the free tour, it was pretty long, but we learnt some good things...the weather was really nice so we spent the rest of the day in Vondelpark which is really pretty and right next to our hostel.

We went to a bar near to the Dam Square, which is near to the red light district....we were really shocked when we first saw all of the ladies, but then we just got used to them being there.

There are loads of coffeeshops all over the city and if you want to know the good ones you can probably ask at any hostel you are staying at, not that we went to any :D

Then we went to Noordwijk....a seaside town about an hour or so outside of Amsterdam - there is a pretty popular hostel there called the Flying Pig and they organise shuttle buses to take you from the city...you have to book and they get booked up pretty fast, its also quite expensive to make your own way there so make sure to book.

The hostel is really small and the staff are all really friendly, its hard to tell who is working and who is a guest...there is usually something going on in the evenings, we went to a bonfire party on the sand dunes, they are pretty small, but it was really fun because everyone gets involoved...we only stayed one night, so we missed a big beach party which would have been wicked - oh well....

We spent the whole day on the beach which was a change from the cities we have been in, it was loads of fun and would definatley recommend it there.

Next we are off to Berlin - Rachs favourite city and we cant wait :D

We have spent three nights in Bruges and it is defiantley less scary than Brussels! It is quite a small city, but there are lots of things to do...the night life isn't too great, but there are a few bars and the bar at our hostel is really good so it doesn't really matter!

It is so pretty here we have spent most of the days wandering around the city, one night we did get lost though for nearly 2 hours! I think we walked down every street in Bruges, but the one we are staying on!

Today we went on a bike ride, if you stay 2 nights at the Bauhaus hostel you get 1/2 a day free bike rental which is definatley worth doing, everyone cycles round here! It was a bit scary at first becuase we aren't used to riding on roads, but after a rew near misses and one crash (for rachel - into a wall rather than a car though) we got used to it!

We went to the chocolate museum which was very informative and there is a HUGE egg that is real chocolate! We are still unsure as to how it hasn't melted but it hasn't! You get a history of everything and a demo which includes a free piece of the nicest chocolate ever.....which of course is our favourite part!

We spent the rest of the day wandering around seeing the billions of really pretty churches that are here and wandering down the canal (we also got a boat trip around the canals which was really nice)...it really is a beautiful city so you don't really have to do much to have a really nice time because it is nice to just be here!

Tomorrow we are off to Amsterdam for 4 nights and we can't wait! the coaches are running every hour from Brussels at the moment so it is really easy to get there and it is only a 4.5 hour journey....we'll let you know how we get on!

Thanks for reading

Jess and Rach