tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15670106784177947292024-03-13T18:28:57.239-07:00Alicia's adventuresAlicia, a girl from Australia and her travels with Henry (the sugar glider) across EuropeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-37211274787059059052014-02-02T22:08:00.003-08:002014-02-02T22:08:57.540-08:003 and a half minutes of Prague<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">A travel video of Prague, Czech Republic, January 2014</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-37684607153804042922014-01-31T06:22:00.002-08:002014-01-31T06:22:28.471-08:00Berlin<span lang=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Transit is pretty boring, trains are best but bus is still best but bus is still better than plane (wifi!). Mostly I read, listen to music, watch movies <em>try</em> to connect to wifi and sometimes edit photos or write blog entries. It was night arriving into Germany so there wasn't much to look at and the police came in when we crossed the boarder to check passports. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Arriving at the station some kind person offered me a lift to the place i was staying, it was really out of his way and he sure paid a lot in taxi fare so i was super grateful. It's nice to be reminded that there are good people out there. My host was nice too and we went for a city walk after i arrived. It was a nice area and he pointed out where the Berlin wall was, supermarket etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The next morning i walked to the wall, there is some really beautiful art painted on it. There is a lot of street art in Berlin and i enjoyed just walking around the city and taking a few photos. Curry wurst is a popular fast food here and while i am open to trying new foods i was really excited to find vegetarian curry wurst (second picture). It's basically a vegetarian sausage with some curry sauce on it - nothing too extraordinary but a nice snack. Later i went into the main part of the city and saw the world clock and did some window shopping. On my way back i took some night shots of the city near the river (first picture).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">My second day i had planned to visit some museums, it was a nice way to spend a cold day and Berlin has many interesting museums. One thing i find fascinating is the evolution of what is considered beautiful. It's a shame really, what constitutes beauty these days is actually not very natural. Oh well. After some shopping and playing with new makeup i went out for a drink at a local bar.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-26180470875980516882014-01-28T07:35:00.001-08:002014-01-28T08:14:32.190-08:00Prague round 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The second day of my Prague experience was also quite enjoyable, i walked up to castle hill where i saw the guards change and enjoyed the view (first pic). Slowly i walked down the famous bridge noticing all the local people were rubbing certain parts of the statues for whatever reason. not wanting to miss out on this luck i too rubbed the feet or other parts as if i knew what was going on. After this i walked around the city, looked at shops, saw some people shooting what looked to be a Sherlock Holms movie, saw many buskers including some people playing with giant bubbles, people dressed as American Indians and many playing music. It was a nice day with lots of walking involved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">On my final day in Prague I met with someone from Couch Surfing who was also visiting the city. We couldn't find each other at first so I enjoyed McDonald's free wifi while i had a coffee. Eventually we met and decided to go to the Medieval torture museum. You know that feeling you get on the bottom of your feet when you're watching a movie and something violent and painful happens? Well that was basically the experience i had the whole time visiting this tourist-trap. It was an interesting look at the idiocy of people back then, I wont go into details of these devices but safe to say i am certainly glad i was born in this era. Next we decided to go to Petrin tower which involves walking up a large hill and then climbing a further 300 steps. But the view was nice - being able to see the whole city, river, "castle" and parks and we enjoyed some more hot wine and trdelnik (traditional pastry - second pic) on returning to the city. In the evening my host, myself and two other couch surfers went for a drink. Their story was a cute one, a couple - the girl Japanese and the boy French but since the girl spoke neither English nor French and the boy didn't know Japanese they communicated in Korean as that was the country they met. After a few drinks i yammered on for a good while in Japanese (poorly i'm sure) and we head back to the apartment. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-54832800150185029842014-01-26T11:22:00.001-08:002014-01-26T11:22:11.926-08:00Arrival in Prague<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang=""><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It's always hard to say goodbye and leaving Serbia at 6am was no different. <span class="fcg"><span class="fwb" data-ft="{"tn":";"}">Strahinja </span></span>and I rushed to the station only to be told by ticket inspectors that my ticket had not been validated (it had) and I had to pay a fine of 1,000 Dinars ($13 AUD ). Feeling a bit annoyed we travelled on to the train station. For some reason we could not find a direct train or bus to Prague so ended up having to go back to Budapest, and then buy another ticket. This meant 14hrs or so on a train (yay). <br />
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Finally arriving in Prague i met my host at the train station and we went back to his house where i was able to try a traditional Czech potato soup he had made earlier. We chatted, had a drink and went to bed. The next day i started my investigations of Prague, a very beautiful city but quite touristic - with souvenir shops and money exchange at every corner (but nobody to change my Dinar into Euro!). I saw the famous Astronomical clock (first picture) in the town square, drank some hot mulled wine (second picture), bought some post cards, admired the local crafts at the Christmas stalls and took many photos. In the evening i got a city view from up the tower and then walked by the river to admire the bridges that were lit up.</span> </span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-43087483383745992272014-01-26T04:24:00.003-08:002014-01-26T04:24:47.865-08:00How to make a Serbian crêpe With Nutella, Plasma (cookie crumbs) and kikiriki (peanuts). It was so big I only ate around half of it. Delicious though...<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-26430429510952904192014-01-24T09:13:00.000-08:002014-01-24T09:13:02.881-08:00My time in Serbia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My time in Serbia started with a train ride from Budapest. While uneventful it was my first experience going to a new country via train which was kinda fun. I was greeted by an old friend whom i met in Japan on my exchange time in 2011-2012. (This blog will feature several people i met during that time.) I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with my friend who showed me around Belgrade and introduced me to many new foods including Kajmak (similar to clotted cream which we put on toast), Ajvar (paprika spread), Alva (a sweet nutty desert), Cevapcici (described on the menu as "meat fingers") and several sweets including the second photo above and a previous video i posted with a huge crepe.<br /><br />I visited several things in Belgrade including the Belgrade fortress (first photo), Military museum, an interesting cafe where i drank "Gypsy coffee" and bar where i was exposed to Serbian music. The most unique experience i had in Serbia was probably the Orthodox Christmas eve celebrations, if you happen to be curious check out the video i posted earlier with the bonfire.<br /><br />I am really quite slow with updating this blog and for that i apologize, i'm too busy having an awesome time! If you want to see more of my adventure click on one of the above links to my other frequently used social networking sites (deviantart, flickr, tumblr, youtube etc).<br /><br />Hope everyone in Australia is enjoying the summer - i'm rather cold :p<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-65390664973160465162014-01-20T02:36:00.002-08:002014-01-20T02:36:28.592-08:00Another Serbian video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Another video i made - a typical Serbian Christmas eve celebration - In Serbia they use the Orthodox calender which means Christmas eve in 2014 was on 7 January. As it says in the description:<br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"On Christmas eve in Serbia, many go to the church where branches from an Oak tree are placed. The more embers that rise into the air the more money you will have that year. The bells tolled at the stroke of midnight."</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-28160976235466029272014-01-19T09:22:00.002-08:002014-01-19T09:22:35.094-08:00A taste of Belgrade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sorry for my lack of updates, I've been busy having adventures! Here's a short video of Belgrade, Serbia. I'll post another soon and write a real entry. Ciao for now,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">-Alicia</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-32905090478426535702014-01-07T03:45:00.002-08:002014-01-07T03:45:49.087-08:00Budapest market, Hungary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">On the first day of the year not much happened. There is a belief in Hungary though, that if your first meal of the day is lentil soup you will have riches for the year. Naturally that is what i wanted to do. My host Robert asked his mother how to cook it and we went to the store to get the ingredients. I helped by chopping onion but the recipe was quite simple <a href="http://crookedtimber.org/2006/12/31/lentil-soup-for-the-new-year/" target="_blank">Lentil soup recipe</a>. Not much else happened this day, it was relaxing and preparing for the next country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The next day i decided to go to the market and get my souvenirs, Hungary is famous for a few things including paprika, embroidery and painted eggs. It was a nice day so i decided to walk across the Danube river. There is a church inside a cave so i decided to check it out and from on top it is quite a nice view. After this i went to Margaret Island and walked around before heading back to the main part of the city. By this point i was quite hungry and got some Hungarian Goulash which was quite nice. Evening fell and the city lit up once again, and i finally took the opportunity to take some photos of the Christmas lights before i left. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My final day in Budapest was super foggy, i didn't manage much before my train to Serbia so i decided to take some photos of the chain bridge in the fog. Every time i leave a country i feel like there were things i didn't get the chance to do, but that can't be helped. I enjoyed my time in Hungary and it was the perfect beginning to this trip.</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-68616136858535851022014-01-01T09:29:00.000-08:002014-01-01T09:29:42.894-08:00Spa party, Budapest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So if you look down to my very first post on this blog you'll see that I planned to come to Hungary to go to this <a href="http://www.bathsbudapest.com/budapest-bath-parties">Sparty</a> (Spa-party). It was called a New Years party but in fact it was on the 30th December - but that just meant extra partying :) <div>
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On the day i decided to walk to the Spa area because there is a famous monument (hero's square) and a large park with an ice-skating rink. Unfortunately the ice skating rink was closed :( but i walked around and took some photos of the park and had a fried pancake (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1ngos">Lángos</a>) with some hot mulled wine - perfect for a cold day. </div>
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I went back to the apartment and rested for a while, it was quite a long walk and i had a long night ahead. Later in the evening i met with another Couch Surfer from the US who was also going to the event. I tried some Hungarian alcohol that was sweetened with honey and herbs and then we had some more mulled wine before leaving.</div>
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We got there late and realized that there was a massive line! But luckily Stephanie was able to get us right in somehow, so i was very lucky. We quickly got undressed and jumped into the pool, it was freezing outside so we were keen to warm up. The water was amazing and the whole place was so beautiful with the steam from the pools and the lasers. There was a DJ and two massive baths outside, the first had a jet spa thing which was fun and the second was slightly deeper and warmer. Both were nice but i think i preferred the warmer one, it was a bit less crowded (and closer to the bar). We danced, drank and took many videos with my GoPro (sadly most photos didn't really turn out but that was to be expected). Later i will make a video and upload it, probably in a few days when i am on the train). </div>
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Overall it was a great night, we stayed until closing (3am) and then caught the tram home. I was exhausted but it was worth it, i ended up sleeping in until 4pm the next day!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-48748872970693730762013-12-30T02:44:00.002-08:002013-12-30T02:44:29.965-08:00Castle Hill and Szimpla kert, Budapest, Hungary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YKBy8Dc1sLYOA3T3bkQJy5RjplLXNV973C0Rwfg3HwKUJTGPqa7KO2nyPjTvCFajNCod5cxM70rnBSdM3z9IMtHCDjdZ3s4KVu3tcBxN7-5rzkLOPxp4XavAw9xY228VHJtIES_zpMs/s1600/budapest04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YKBy8Dc1sLYOA3T3bkQJy5RjplLXNV973C0Rwfg3HwKUJTGPqa7KO2nyPjTvCFajNCod5cxM70rnBSdM3z9IMtHCDjdZ3s4KVu3tcBxN7-5rzkLOPxp4XavAw9xY228VHJtIES_zpMs/s320/budapest04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My first morning waking in Budapest: still suffering from jet-lag so waking up super early even though i'm still exhausted. Robert and I went to the supermarket and bought some breakfast. I introduced him to vegemite which he said he liked, so i was glad. My initial plan was to get people to taste it without explaining how to eat it (thinly spread on toast with butter) and be amused by their reactions but i decided that was too mean. (If you're not familiar with it, vegemite is a salty brown paste and if you try to spread it on toast like peanut butter or eat a large amount from a spoon it tastes quite awful). After this i went for a walk, bought some gloves from a second hand store and came back. Later in the day Robert and i got coffee from a Melbourne themed cafe then walked around some shops before walking up to castle hill. To get there you cross a large bridge to the other side of the city and walk up a lot of steps. But the steep journey is worth it, the view is amazing (first photo: view of the Parliament building and the Danube river)</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">. Robert told me a story about a statue of a horse, it has giant golden testicles and students often rub them to get good luck before their exams. You have to actually climb onto the horse to be able to reach it and i wasn't too game. But apparently it works. We went back to the apartment and i had a bit of a nap before we met some other couch surfers at a famous bar called Szimpla kert. It's a really interesting place, with many crazy things on the walls from a giant ear to a light up switch board that activates different things in the room. There is also various kinds of furniture including a dentists chair and a car. The whole place has a really fun vibe and good music. Later we went to a club and went dancing. Outside there are these people dressed as clowns who's whole job is to keep the people outside lining up (or leaving) quiet. They "shhh" you if you talk too loudly. After an exhausting (but fun) day, i fell asleep quite quickly. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-36546195437189592022013-12-28T04:39:00.002-08:002013-12-28T04:40:03.170-08:00Arrival in Budapest!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After about 20 hours in the air, i arrived at my first destination, Budapest, Hungary. I had arranged accommodation through couch surfing and my host met me at a Mcdonalds near his apartment. I caught a bus and subway, and found the place really easily. Robert, my host, was quite friendly. He told me tales of his couch surfing adventures and travels across the globe. Later in the evening we took a walk through the city and i got to see the Christmas markets which were very beautiful with illuminations. For dinner i was invited to his co-workers dinner party and i had the opportunity to taste some traditional Hungarian food and drinks. By the end of the night i was so exhausted i could've fell asleep at the party. But it was a fantastic first day in Hungary and another reason i love couch surfing. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-61444126747220917322013-12-20T22:57:00.002-08:002013-12-21T03:13:46.336-08:00A Summer Christmas<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This year I had decided to spend Christmas with my Dad, who lives in NSW (a few hours from Sydney). It was to be my last stop before leaving on my European adventure and i was excited to be close to the beach this year. On my arrival I went to go snorkeling with my brother and his girlfriend as it was an especially hot day (44c/111f). I made a short video with my GoPro of some of the local wildlife including sand rays, crabs, and some water spouting coral.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /> Have a look if you're interested :)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-64109892132683128752013-12-11T05:56:00.001-08:002013-12-11T05:56:19.156-08:00What to buy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARa07hjsOdnAL6TQCI20JSHRSbK5AsAWYXogKkADsjSIRjnukJVpymkQhIsRE2TCmCcC7kYSHH17RQplRh_c3qiibwehb_dnSm8spXP-RvylDb0NkoArNi9Q8_VkGBxFp_Yfo6XaXw30/s1600/1230054_558997070843650_1051992868_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARa07hjsOdnAL6TQCI20JSHRSbK5AsAWYXogKkADsjSIRjnukJVpymkQhIsRE2TCmCcC7kYSHH17RQplRh_c3qiibwehb_dnSm8spXP-RvylDb0NkoArNi9Q8_VkGBxFp_Yfo6XaXw30/s320/1230054_558997070843650_1051992868_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you’re from
Australia and travelled overseas or have been here from somewhere else you
might know that it’s a pretty expensive country. When I first went to Japan I
was surprised with the cost of things, it was much cheaper than I expected! So
now that I’m planning a trip to snowy Europe I have to decide what I want to
buy while I’m here and what I’ll get when I arrive. I don’t want to spend a lot
on thermal clothing here if it is significantly cheaper over there. I went onto
the tripadvisor Budapest travel forum the advice I was given was to buy there
rather than here, so that’s what I’ve decided to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Some things I already
own like good quality hiking shoes and a knitted hat but most other things I
probably won’t buy in Australia, most things I will need should be available
there, I hope :p That being said, one thing I am definitely bringing with me is
a big jar of vegemite. One thing I love doing is seeing people’s reactions to
trying it for the first time. <span lang="EN-AU"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For my birthday (17<sup>th</sup>
December) I received some fabulous gifts from my lovely friends,
including some travel items I had originally planned to buy for myself (luggage
tag, travel diary etc). A few things I knew
would probably easier to buy here like personal items but apart from that I won't get much else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So that’s it for now, I’m
getting excited and a bit nervous about my trip as it is only 2 weeks away now.
So much to do, so many people to catch up with yet so little time. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0Adelaide SA, Australia-34.928621199999988 138.5999594-36.593689699999985 136.0181724 -33.263552699999991 141.18174639999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-72309964097438794332013-11-27T12:50:00.000-08:002013-11-26T20:04:13.042-08:00Spontaneous international travel is difficult...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So i've been wanting to go to Europe at the end of this year for a long time, but I didn't really put it into action until
recently. While that sounds fine in theory it’s been difficult to organise visas
and things related. Today I had a visa interview and realised I wouldn't
be able to get my passport back if I sent it in today, so now I'm trying to
find another way to do it. I'm still going to Europe as planned, but whether or
not I will be able to get a working holiday visa in the UK is still undetermined.
But never fear, I have back up plans in place ;)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-82849874837046650912013-11-24T20:43:00.003-08:002013-11-24T21:01:28.804-08:00 Souvenirs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So I've been studying for exams and researching my trip the last week, nothing too exciting and the other day I found some shot glasses! I plan to give them to my Couch surfing hosts as thank you presents :) </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1567010678417794729.post-5507121899313136432013-11-19T00:48:00.000-08:002013-11-19T01:04:37.035-08:00My adventures begin<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNzWUHe6g040HV2sT5EBtJucdbmkhdjA3-8CHu-8U-_Lcy6y74VfH5fyqHEv9EKh-mTuhvxzguPwzAHOOlx8WiozdCMcRwU5JCII2Di8OOiFWgFwdxyBsSgw0_Au000N96hxpAohU1gE/s1600/Szechenyi-Bath-Party-Budapest-Summer-Sandor-Fegyverneky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNzWUHe6g040HV2sT5EBtJucdbmkhdjA3-8CHu-8U-_Lcy6y74VfH5fyqHEv9EKh-mTuhvxzguPwzAHOOlx8WiozdCMcRwU5JCII2Di8OOiFWgFwdxyBsSgw0_Au000N96hxpAohU1gE/s320/Szechenyi-Bath-Party-Budapest-Summer-Sandor-Fegyverneky.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I had decided a while back that </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> wanted to visit Europe. I</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">d been to Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Canada and the US so it was time for something different. I was due to graduate November 2013 so </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> thought new years eve would be a fun adventure. But what to do? I wanted something unique, not to just get drunk at a club (</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> can do that at home) so </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> researched and came up with a thermal bath party <a href="http://www.bathsbudapest.com/budapest-bath-parties"> Szechenyi bath parties Budapest</a>. After looking at some pictures </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> was sold, how many people can say they have done this on NYE? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After attending a Europe travel expo </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> booked the tickets for the party on the 30th December and organised to visit a travel agent. Usually </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> book flights online but </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> thought a big adventure to a country </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> don</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">t know anybody in might be aided by someone who was more knowledgeable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I also decided that a short holiday wasn'</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">t something </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> wanted. No </span>Contiki<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> 2 week visit would satisfy my desire, </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> like to get to know a place better and move at my own pace. The next plan was to get a working holiday visa, my initial thought was to go somewhere more exotic but my lack of foreign language skills lead me to end up in England. So 2 months travelling through Europe and end up with a few months in England - this way </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> can make short trips on the weekends. I</span>'ve<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> applied for the visa interview later this month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">A lot of people have been asking me, "</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">how can you afford this</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">?</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">?</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">" Especially since I am a student and took a Disneyland holiday earlier this year. Well to be honest It</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">s hard, I saved up a lot in the first half of the year and took a student loan. Also </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> plan to use <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.org/">Couch Surfing</a> to save on accommodation costs. If you</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">re not familiar with this basically the idea is you stay on people</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">s couches in the area for free. It</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'s a great way to meet local people and get a perspective that isn</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'t so </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">touristy. E</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">veryone i</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'ve met using Couch Surfing has been really friendly and awesome people. </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Those not familiar with it wonder if it is safe, but the system is quite regulated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So now here I am, still at the planning phase but counting down to December 26 when </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> leave Sydney. Stay tuned!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11646603313566315952noreply@blogger.com0Adelaide SA, Australia-34.928621199999988 138.5999594-36.593689699999985 136.0181724 -33.263552699999991 141.18174639999998