The Ultimate Jet Setter

We woke up at about 8am so that we could leave at 9am to see the house of Anne Frank. We got dressed and went downstairs for our free breakfast which consisted of juice, toast or cereal. We used our map and walked to the Anne Frank House which was on Prinsengract which was about a 20-25 minute walk from our hostel, I would recommend walking as much as you can in Amsterdam as most things are nearby plus you get to see more when you walk. The Anne Frank House costs €9 or €4.50 if you are between 10-17 years, those under 10 only have to pay €0.50. You can buy tickets online and print them or buy them on the day. I would recommend purchasing your tickets in advance if you are visiting Amsterdam in the tourist season and if you are going in the afternoon or if there is a group of you. We went early in the day so there wasn't much of a queue so we didn't buy our tickets online. The House's opening times vary depending on the time of year.  Signpost The House was very in...

I was only in Amsterdam for two days, which was not enough. I loved this city very much and was not what was expected at all. There is so much more to this city than most people think. So I went with my two Californian friends, Brandon* and Steven*. We were flying from Marseille and there are not any cheap flights directly to Amsterdam so we flew to Eindhoven another place in Holland. From Eindhoven we had to get a shuttle then a two hour train to Amsterdam. We finally got to Amsterdam at around 3pm, it was quite cold during this time as you can imagine, bout 10-12 degrees. We were staying at the Flying Pig Hostel, Uptown . The rates were good and we had a recommendation from some of our friends which is why we stayed there. The workers are friendly, breakfast is included, rooms were clean and warm, there is no ensuite but that wasn't really an issue for us. The hostel is very central and next to Vondelpark. We got a tram from the Amsterdam Centraal to Ri...

Charles Bridge We woke up at 9am, got dressed and went to the Old Market Square to get some breakfast then walked to Prague Castle. It was about a 15 minute walk from the Market Square, we walked over the Charles Bridge to get to it. Ticket prices are dependent on what tour you want to go on, there is a short tour which is CZK 250=€10 or the long tour which is CZK 350=€14. There isn't much of a difference in price and if you are really interested in acrhiteure etc then I would recommend the long tour but if you are simply going because you want to cross of the sites to see in Prague then the short tour will suffice. There are also reduced prices for students, senior citizens and those aged 6-16.  There simply isn't just one building to be seen at Prague Castle, in addition there are other historical buildings such as St George's Basilica, Royal Palace and St George's Convent. After spending a couple of hours at the Castle we walked back ov...

Trdelnik We woke up at 8:45 to the sound of drilling as there were some roadworks going on outside our windows :(  Everyone got showered and dressed and we left at 10am to go to the Old Market Square, we saw the Astronomical Clock, walked around the market and had these sugary sweets called trdelnik. There were several stalls selling them. They are the most devine dessert I've ever had and the thing I miss the most about Prague. It is made out of dough and like a pretzel but with a more crispy consistency. It is made by wrapping the dough around a roll pin type device which is then rolled above hot coals to cook the dough. After it's golden brown it is then rolled in a sugar and cinnamon mix. Then you get to wat it! This has to be tried and searched for when you go to Prague as it's delicious! Trdelnik Outside the town hall there are several tour guides waiting to with umbrellas which is a sign that they are tour guides. Some are free and o...

We woke up at 7am, got dressed and packed the rest of my belongings. We checked out then walked to the Hackescher Market metro and got a train to Berlin Hauptbahnhoft. We had some time before our train to Prague so got some snacks and magazines for the journey. The train arrived at around 9am, we found our seats and sat down. This train was not as nice as the one from Dusseldorf but never mind. The journey was 4 hours long and I did some crosswords and Christine read a magazine. Next I read some of my book and fell asleep for an hour, when I woke up we were still in Germany but in Dresden at that time. It was 11am so 2 1/2 hours left on the train. I stayed awake for the rest of the journey and did my crosswords from my book and Christine was reading The Help which she said was very good. Czech Koruna Prague was a bit of a culture shock, more so than any other European country either of us had been to. It was a bit colder in Prague at 10 degrees, the language was comp...

We woke up at 9.30am and got ready. We decided to go shopping that day so we walked to Friedrichstrabe which is the main shopping street in Berlin. We went to H&M and the local department store, we were just windowing shopping as we didn't see anything worth buying. We had lunch and had a failed attempt at trying to find a beer garden that we were recommended to go to by a girl at the hostel. Unfortunately we could not find the beer garden and came across a park instead. We decided to go back to the hostel at around 3.30pm. Next we went to a home store called Butlers in Hackesher Market and got some German storyboards as a different sort of souvenir. We had no idea what they said which made it even more funny. There are some non chain and chain stores in the Hackesher Market area, we went to this independent accessories store where I got a purse. They also sold mobile phone covers, jewellery, scarves etc. We went to H&M again as well as some other shoes and clothes ...

Christine and I woke up at 9.45 and started to get ready. We walked to the Tiergarten where there was a gold statue where several former US presidents and other political figures have spoken in the past. It was very tall and grand, we then went for lunch near Alexander Platz called Schinkel-Klause . The restaurant had an outside area also and it was sunny so we sat outside. The food being taken out to people's tables looks really good so we knew that we had made the right choice in the restaurant. Christine and I both had Schnitzel which was very good, very juicy and tasty. Tiergarten  Next we went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum , its about €8 to get in if you have a student card but make sure there is an expiration date on your card. It's a bit more if you do not have a student card. The museum was very interesting and informative, I learnt a lot. There are several artifacts from the war dating back centuries. After that we walked back to our hostel and...

We woke up at 9.15 and started to get ready. We went downstairs to the lobby at 10am, used the free wifi and had some tea. A good tip is to get as many tea bags as possible whenever you stay in hotels or hostels on your travels so then you just need to ask for hot water when you want some tea instead of paying for tea. That's what I did everyday on this trip for breakfast. We decided to go on a paid tour, there are several free tours you can go on but I would recommend this tour as the guide was friendly, very knowledgeable and worth the money. We used Insider Tours , there were several leaflets and information about it and other tours at the hostel so they will also be able to help you. There are also tours in other languages if English isn't your first language. The tour was €10 if you are under 26 and €12 if you are over. We went to the meeting place at Hackescher Market at 10.30 to meet the tour guide, she introduced herself and told us a bit about where we would be going o...

Weeze Station The cheapest way to get to Berlin from Marseille found was a Ryanair flight from Marseille to Dusseldorf. I went on this trip with my friend Christine* from California. Our flight took off at 9.15 and we landed at 10.45. Although Ryanair claims the airport is in Dusseldorf it is actually in a town called Weeze which is in the middle of nowhere. This was obvious when we landed at the airport, we then got a shuttle bus to the train station where we waited for about 30 minutes for a train to Dusseldorf. The train was €15.10 for a single to Dusseldorf. We got on the train at 11.45 and got to Dusseldorf at 12.52. We had booked our tickets in advance online as they were considerably cheaper than if we had booked them on the day. Dusseldorf station was very busy and there are several places to eat here. We went totally authentic and had bratwurst and currywurst, currywurst is a bratwurst with a curry sauce on top and is delicious. It was also quite cheap, the currywurst was...

Piazza del Popolo Statue at Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo On our last day in the beautiful city of Rome we had to check out of the hostel by 11am. Our flight wasn't until 5pm so we had a few hours to kill so we got the Metro to Ottaviano where we got some food. It was a simple place that had hot food such as lasagne and roast chicken as well as pizza slices and calzone. After lunch we went to the main shopping street in Rome, Piazza del Risorgimento. I thought it was average, the shops were ok. Not really much to write home about but there is an indoor market on the street which is quite good. Got some salami to take back with me. We then found ourselves at Piazza del Popolo, there is a statue there as well as a few restaurants and is a very large open space. We then took the Metro from Flamino to Termini. It was about time for our flight so we went back to the hostel to get our luggage then got the same bus from Termini as we did at the start and went to the airp...

Sliced Steak On our last full day in Rome we went to a the  Porta Portese  market in Trastevere. We got the same bus from Termini at around 11am, the market went through several long streets. They stalls are selling pretty much everything from leather bags, door handles, cassette tapes, foodstuffs to clothes and lingerie. The market is very big but one can certainly find a bargain if you look hard enough. I got a tan leather shoulder bag for €30 euros, it looked relatively new also which was surprising for a market. After shopping we went to a nearby cafe for a snack and a hot drink. We then walked from Trastevere along to the Ponte Cestio where there is a bridge which leads to an island on the river. There are more restaurants, cafes and a few churches on the island. It's quite cute but a small island within Rome. We then found ourselves at the Largo di Torre Argentina which is an outdoor cat sanctuary in Rome. We strolled around that area and back t...

Roma 26th March 2011 Coloseeum Colosseum We woke up at around 8am and left the  hostel  at about 9am as we planned to see a lot that day also. We went straight to the Colosseum, we walked from our hostel as it is in walking distance. It took approximately 15 minutes and is a nice way to see Rome. We did not purchase tickets in advance which I would highly recommend you do when you go to Rome if you are not going as part of a tour. The queues are ridiculous especially during high season. We were there in March which isn't particularly hot but it was still very busy.  There are several tour guides around the Colosseum touting for business, I would recommend a tour if you are not aware of the Ancient history as my friends and I were not so a tour would have been quite helpful. The rates are pretty reasonable but shop around and you also may be able to haggle. You could also try to tag along with the tours whilst in the Colosseum as no on...

Gelato The Pantheon  We woke up at 7.15, got showered and dressed and got breakfast at the hostel at breakfast at 8.30ish. There was 2 slices of bread, cereal, juices and hot drinks available. We took the Termini Metro to the Pantheon. It was very beautiful and historic at the same time. There are cafes, gelaterias and a few fountains around that area also. We then we walked to Piazza Navona which had 2 more fountains, a few nice restaurants and gelaterias. Then walked to Campo de Firfoni next where there was a market selling glass and metal jewellery, fruit and vegetables, gadgets and pasta. We then walked along the river to the Angels Bridge. St Peter's Square In St Peter's Basilica Next we had lunch at a nearby restaurant, Dawn* and I had a salad and bruschetta and Porter* had gnocchi. Italy is known for it's amazing food as well as wine which I will be talking about throughout the blog. I sampled some of the gnocchi, I'd never had it before....