Monita and I spent six nights completing the Iceland ring road with our good friends Brook and Brittany who had come to Europe from Melbourne.

One word to describe Iceland would be raw. All the words to describe the beauty just don't do it justice. Neither do photos, it has to be experienced first hand. It was the country at the top of my bucket list. 

May 2016

Adjusting to the hustle of London we managed to figure out the tubes, start working and even moved into our own place.

June 2016

Slowly we fell in love with the London we had dreamed about. Our first Europe trip, Amsterdam. We got to stay and explore with good friends from back home - Pete & Leah. It would not be the last time we saw them.

July 2016

The English summer was amazing, explored more of London and met the deer of Richmond Park. Our next trip was Berlin. Saw Pete & Leah again, plus two of my closest brothers from home.

August 2016

August was a busy month. Our first trip was Paris, it was short and sweet so we will be back. Also saw our first bit of the UK outside of London - spending a weekend with Steph & Dan in Bristol. Exploring our neighborhood is always a treat with all the awesome cars everywhere.

September 2016

Another massive month. We did two week long trips. Firstly we went to Oktoberfest in Munich via Vienna and went to Prague before going back to London. Then we spent a week lounging on a yacht sailing the Greek seas.

October 2016

The first of October started at the end of the sail holiday in Athens. A very underrated city, we loved it. The warmth had started to go as Autumn in London set in. We ventured to the North East to Broadway Market which was way too tasty.

November 2016

We spent all of November in London. We made the most of Autumn and prepared for winter. The spirit of Christmas really made up for the cold (which wasn't that cold anyway).

December 2016

The famous Christmas markets of Europe saw us heading to Bruges for the weekend. Our first Christmas away from home meant we went to Chamonix in the French Alps for a little snowboarding trip.

January 2017

An impressive fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle saw us welcome in the New Year with new friends. We also rented a car and explored more of England - this time it was the Cotswold's ticking off Oxford on the way.

February 2017

Craving more snow we headed to Kaprun in Austria and stayed with Pete & Leah once again. We also spent half a day in Salzburg before flying to London. More sun meant exploring Portobello Road during the week when things are a little quieter.

March 2017

Another month spent in London. Explored the south east and visited The Royal Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Ate some delicious ceviche in Chelsea and cruised the River Thames on a river bus.

April 2017

April was epic. We went to Iceland with good friends Brook & Brit for a week. It's a trip I'll never forget as it's where we got engaged! It was good showing friends around our 'home'.

May 2017

The end of April and start of May we spent a week in Morocco - it also was epic. Through the Travel Talk tour we met some amazing people to share an amazing expierience with.

£200k gold-vinyl 458 Spider owned by kickboxing world champion Riyadh Al-Azzawi

£350k Aventador SV owned by Saudi billionaire Turki bin Abdullah

Seen down Brick Lane, East London

Defender by Twisted Automotive

Defender by Kahn Design

Seen in Bankside, South East London

Classic London Black Cab

“Why London? The weather sucks”

“It’s cold and rains all the time there”

Although there have been some cold days, it’s nothing layering up couldn’t fix. And there’s probably been more rain in New Zealand over summer then there has been here in winter. 

With winter almost over I thought I’d do a little recap. We welcomed winter playing in the last of the autumn leaves, checking out all things Christmas; Harrods, Winter Wonderland, Kew Gardens. I caught up with street artist and good friend Nil, Monita and I explored markets and visited the Tate Modern. Saw a bit of snow and Monita spent a day at the Covent Garden academy of flowers learning about floristry.

Salzburg to Kaprun

The first alarm went off at 3am, followed by 3:30. Two 5 minute snoozes after that I finally had the courage to get up and shower. An early start was no exaggeration.

I had booked a minicab (not a proper taxi and cheaper) through minicabit.com and our driver had arrived at 4:15, 5 minutes early. It was then an hour drive through the darkness to Gatwick for our 7am flight

We slept basically the entire flight and arrived into Salzburg somewhat rested. Grabbed the rental and headed an hour an a half south to Kaprun. After 30 minutes or so on the motorway we started going through (literally, so many tunnels) the mountains and the snow started to fall!

Pete and Leah welcomed us at the Dorf Chalets. Where they are staying and working over the snow season. We got on our gear and walked to gondola in town that took us up to the Maiskogel ski field. It had been snowing the last couple of days and still continued. Riding was 10/10. Monita and I headed down to the Tauern Spa to relax the body.

Day 2

Up early, downed breakfest, gear up and back on the hill. Pete and Leah worked and joined up later in the day. Monita and I took it slow and played amongst the trees. After lunch leah headed back and the three of us headed back up for a few more runs. Back to the chalets and dinner was serverd, thanks Leah! After a few drinks, Cards Against Humanity and some wax-on wax-off we called it a night.

The Dorf Chalets

Pete sold this to me as 'Austrian L&P'

Nick wax job rook

Day 3

Another day of riding. This time we headed to the Kitzstienhorn. A glacier ski area, 10 mins bus ride from the village of Kaprun. Sitting at 3203m high, the snow conditions are epic. With powder stashes still to be found days after it last snowed. On piste, off piste, snow parks and epic views. A place I'll never forget. Didn't take my camera but got a few snaps on my phone.

The view from 3203m

Day 4

Kaprun to Salzburg

We started the day early as we were due to fly out of Salzburg back to London just after 2pm. Before we left Kaprun I got a few photos of Pete & Leah, to celebrate 10 years together! We said our goodbyes and headed back to Salzburg via Zell Am See. Once we got to Salzburg we parked up and explored the old town, grabbed some lunch and made tracks to the airport.

Until we meet again Kaprun.

Lake Zell thinly covered. Not safe to walk on at all

Exploring Salzburg

Another European city, another lock bridge

This place rivals In-n-Out!

The Cotswolds was another trip to explore more of England. They are an area in the UK designated AONB (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty). And it also ended the dry patch of not being behind a wheel! A whole 7 months of not driving. It was so nice to have the freedom to go wherever we wanted too. As I write this I have planned an epic week long road trip to tick off a few more must-dos. 

We booked a car through Avis and planned to pick it up from Heathrow. Once we got there to finalise it and the get car, we failed the identity check and they wouldn’t let us rent a car at all. The admin/process in this country is a real pain in the ass - but identity fraud in a country of 53 million can’t be taken lightly. So we had to rent through Europcar, for three times the price - ouch!

We got on the road later than expected and headed west to Oxford. The city that famous for its University. Rightly so though, it is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Being a city university, it does not have a main campus; instead, all the buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city center. So by going into Oxford, you also visit the university. Some very famous minds have studied (not all exclusively) at Oxford - Stephen Hawking, Oscar Wilde, J. R. R. Tolkien, Einstein, Hugh Grant and Rowan Atkinson to name a few.

After grabbing a bite to eat we hit the road, Cotswolds bound. Our first village stop was The Great Tew. Slight of the main road, if you didn’t know it was there, you never would. With the daylight running out we made the last stop at a village called Stow-on-the-Wold, one of the bigger villages in the Cotswolds. We then headed to the Airbnb in Adlestrop, had a much needed nap then headed out to dinner at the local Pub. Best lemon meringue pie. Ever. 

The city of Oxford, which revolves around its prestigious university

Radcliffe Camera, the science library

Our first village to visit, The Great Tew

Stow-on-the-Wold. These places have funny names

A delicious dinner in the coolest pub, and the best lemon meringue pie to ever grace my lips

Day 2

We managed to pull ourselves out of bed relatively early to make the most of the Sunday. We de-iced the car, a bitter cold morning it was. Our first stop was a village called Lower Slaughter. It is so quintessential and so very British. It has been inhabited for over 1000 years. The River Eyes runs through the village and also north to Upper Slaughter. It was early and we had the village seemingly to ourselves.

Next we headed to to Bourton-on-the-Water. Had brunch and then carried on to Bibury. A very cool little village that attracts a lot of tourists. Defintely the busiest village after Stow-on-the-Wold. The last stop was Broadway Tower. It is considered a folly because it is a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose. We went via Daylesford Organic Farm. Basically Ponsonby in the middle of nowhere. 

As the light began to fall we started heading back to Heathrow to drop of the car. Another part of England done.

The start of a beautiful day to explore the Cotswolds

Quaint Airbnb

Lower Slaughter

Upper Slaughter

Bourton-on-the-Water

Re-fueling

Bibury

Daylesford Organic Farm

Broadway Tower

Hogmanay, the Scots word for the last day of the year. This is where we spent our first New Years Eve in Europe. After a day to recover in London from a snowboarding trip in Chamonix we were up before dawn and caught the train from Euston station all the way up through London and into the heart of Edinburgh. The majority of people traveling from outside of Scotland come to Hogmanay mainly for the street party and fireworks on NYE. But Hogmanay has many traditions and is deeply rooted in Scottish culture. 

We weren’t alone, our awesome friends from Dunedin had come up as well. After we had checked into our accommodation we made our way back into the city and ate and drank the night away. Pub, fancy cocktail bar, catching the torchlight procession, ending in a seafood coma. 

Our eats - King George IV / The Dome / Mussell Inn

Looking for a place to hydrate because all the good ones were full :(

Outside the Dome

Inside the Dome!

The tourchlight procession

Day 2

New Year’s Eve day. We thought we better do some sightseeing so we headed up to the Castle first thing in the morning. The trick here is to get your ticket online, then print it at the kiosk as you enter the Castle grounds. And if you get there at 9:30am when it open you won’t have to wait at all. It was super windy and cold up on the hill and we opted to join a free walking tour that covered all the basics. But there are self-guided audio tours for the super keen. It will also our first Airbnb experience where breakfast was included! Our host was super nice, as was her place. Easily the best experience so far.

After bearing the cold wind for long enough we parted ways with our friends and headed across town for some lunch via Calton Hill. Our host had recommended a place for brunch/lunch, they were fully booked but had a sister restaurant across town. We were lucky and managed to get the last table! 2 proper courses for £10. And it was amazing. We then headed back to the Airbnb where I snored for a solid 30 minutes (probably could have slept all the way into the new year) before we got ready to head out again. We met up at a pub where we awaited Alyx and Jay-z’s Kiwi and Aussie duo they befriended in Barcelona. Also by absolute chance, an old friend from back home in Hamilton was in the same pub having a drink. We headed into the street party, shuffled around and got crammed in like cattle.

Our eats - Educated Flea / Three Birds / The Black Cat

The shops here have funny names

Edinburgh castle ft. Wind

Fireworks for the coming evening!

Mary Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI in this room in 1566

Edinburgh Castle’s Great Hall. Painting is of Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Royal North British Dragoons (the Scots Greys), who single-handedly captured the eagle and standard of the French 45th infantry at Waterloo on 18 June 1815

Much Cashmere for sale in Edinburgh

Calton Hill

NYE CREW

Cheeky game of Uno to see the year out

Day 3

We found a spot for the fireworks, talked to some people, drank, then tried to find a toilet. Not an easy feat when there's tens of thousands trying to do the same. Eventually, we walked home, KFC in hand. Hello 2017. Technically as soon as it hit midnight it was Day 3 for us.

After a sleep-in and breakfast at the Airbnb we went for a walk up to Brunstfield and then up to Morningside. Nothing was really open but there were a couple of cafes open. We came across Salt Cafe and had some lunch there, more mussels! That was it for the day really, we headed back, had a bit of a rest then it was back on the train to London.

Our eats - Salt Cafe

Without a doubt one of the best firework displays I've seen!

The streets alive with character

The morning after

More funny shop names

Saying goodbye to our Airbnb :(

Day 1

Our first Christmas away from our families, and our first white Christmas. Too guarantee a white Christmas we headed to Chaomnix. An amazing resort village nestled in the French Alps, at the base of Mont Blanc. For those of you who don’t know, its the second highest mountain in Europe and the first recorded ascent was in 1786! 

Chamonix is in a junction of France, Italy and Switzerland. The easiest was for us to get there was to fly into Geneva (Switzerland) and then take a transfer into Chamonix. We arrived into Geneva just after lunch, but because we had to wait an hour for another group to arrive we didn’t reach Chamonix until almost 4pm. We got dropped off at our Airbnb, met the host then headed into town to grab supplies and look around. In Chamonix, accommodation providers should give you a public transport ticket that lets you use the buses and trains for free, sweet! It was getting late so we found the closest ‘supermarket’, but it was below average. We should have walked a little further to the Carrefour at the start of the village. We headed back to the Mazot (traditional chalet), skyped the family in NZ since it was Christmas there and got some sleep for the big day ahead snowboarding.

It's a long post covering 5 days, enjoy!

Flying into a misty Geneva

The turn off for Courmayeur approaching. it is a small Italian town accessed via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. A tunnel that runs through the mountains and connects two countries.

Our 'key' to the Mazot!

How's your backyard?

The French know how to live. Circa €3 mil (not our Mazot)

Chamonix town

Day 2

Christmas day! We got up early-ish, got stuck into some presents and breakfast before heading to La Flégère. It was our closest resort, a mere 5 mins on the bus. At the base is a 20 something person gondola that takes you up to the resort, no crazy mountain access road to navigate! It was over 12 months since either of us had been on the snow, so after a long day, it was straight home to hot showers and hot food. 

Here you can see a bit of the Mer de Glace (between the mountains). It is France's largest glacier at 7km long.

Home sweet home!

Day 3

Another day on the mountain. The weather was amazing, almost bluebird! Unfortunately due to the changing in climates there was a serious lack of snow in the valley, but it was still amazing to be on the snow over Christmas. I left my camera behind but got a few snaps from the evening. It was hard not too, being surrounded by such beauty.

First light

Home after a long day of riding

If you look closely you'll see the Montenvers Railway. A train that goes from Chamonix to the Mer de Glace.

The backyard at night

Day 4

Our last full day in Chamonix, and our last day on the mountain. Again I left the camera behind but we came down after lunch so we could go do some touristy things. One thing to note, the buses are not as frequent as London, so you really have to plan around the timetables. By the time we showered and headed back to the bus that would take us to either the Aiguille du midi (more on that later) or the Mer de Glace. The Mer de Glace is a glacier that is accessed by an alpine train, and once there you can go into an ice cave. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do either as we just run out of time. So we walked around Chamonix, had a look at some shops and then I looked at the map to see where we could see the sunset from. As I looked up I saw a gondola traversing between two peaks, looking back at the map it was only 15 min walk to the base of the Le Brévent resort. It was just after three, but we paid for a sightseeing pass and went to the top. The sunset was amazing, but our frozen feet weren't! 

Some parts of the town don't see sun in the winter..

Climbing our way up to Le Brévent

Views from the Gondola, not bad

What better way to watch the sun set

Day 5

After messaging some friends who had been to Chamonix we decided we would go up the Aiguille du midi instead of going to the glacier. It is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif and sits at 3842m above sea level. It’s most impressive as there is a cable car that will take you to the summit from Chamonix. It’s the closest you’ll get to Mont Blanc without actually climbing it! The amount of engineering that would have taken to put it together is beyond impressive. There are two cable cars, you can see the first one from the base, but the second is very hard to see with the naked eye! The views are incredible, as is the cold. There is a newly built attraction called, ‘Step into the void’ which is a glass cage with 1000m drop underneath! The line for it was long, and you get walked in, have a few photos (taken by the staff) then moved along. We didn’t get to take in the view, not the best when we lined up in -12 degrees! We headed back down, Monita had her last Nutella waffle and as we arrived at the Mazot our transfer had arrived. Back to Geneva, then back to London. Christmas 2016 done.

Walking to the bus stop through our backyard forest

Rugged up because minus 7

Good luck swimming

Can you feel you feet? Neither can I

The first cable car that goes just over the peak

The second one that literally dissapears against the mountain and stops at the top

Mont Blanc to the right

Waiting in minus 12°

Monita is nuts for Nutella

Before we booked this trip, I thought we could just hop on a train and cruise into Bruges (which is in Belgium) since it’s almost on the coast. But turns out even if you fly or take the Eurostar you still have to go via Brussels, then another train to Bruges. We ended up flying since we got good flights from Heathrow (30mins on the tube for us) but it’s probably better to take the Eurostar from Kings Cross which only takes two hours then another hour to Bruges on another train. We arrived fairly late and decided to walk to our Airbnb. This worked as one of the most photographed spots in the town, was absolutely void of anyone, the water was still and the buildings were beautifully lit. The next morning it was far from tranquil.

Day 2

We started the morning with breakfast at a spot we passed the night before called Sanseveria Bagelsalon. Good bagels, good vibes, would recommend. Over breakfast we decided to do a boat tour around the canals. We went with a company called Canal Boat Ride, it was about €8 each and took about half an hour. Was good to see the town from another view, but the tour guide was a bit meh. We then carried on walking around the town and exploring the quiet streets away from the tourists, popping into a few shops then headed out of the town for some French fries (they’re a big deal in Belgium) at a spot called De Bosrand. They were good, but not worth the 20 minute walk in the cold! It was then back into Bruges to have hot chocolates (Bruges best), waffles and to wonder the Christmas markets. We finished the night off with a couple of drinks at Café Rose Red. It had been recommended to us by a friend and our Airbnb and it didn’t disappoint!

Our bagel spot for breakfast - Sanseveria Bagelsalon

Tintin! Created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi

Exploring the quaint quiet strees on the fringe of the old town.

Markt - The main area for the Christmas markets.

The Old Chocolate House - The best hot chocolate's we ever did have.

Day 3

Another early start, but this time we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise that bought pockets of warmth, and long drawn shadows. Again, a very quiet time as we walked (in the wrong direction) to a bike hire place. Missing the time for a bike tour, we settled for a ‘free’ walking tour around the old town. Meeting in the Markt, we made our way around and got clued up on the history of Bruges and the role it played in the early days of Belgium. A bit more wondering some shops, eating more frites and one last hit of hot chocolate before we headed back to get our bags and make our way back to Brussels for our flight home. 

Early morning de(light)

A very homely style breakfast at The Gulliver Tree - an awesome spot with a cosy living room atmosphere.

Mr Walking Tour man.

More hot chocolate!

Goodbye Bruges.

All the last minute work to do!

Checking out the theatre the day before.

Testing out the seats

Last minute checks on the dinner venue

Day 2 - heading back to the theater

The Pelican - where the event gets it name

Stage practice

Pre-presentation, post pre-celebratory drinks nap

The teams from accross EMEA before the event kicked off!

In the morning we managed to get up super early and headed straight to the Acropolis. We had gotten there before the gates opened, so we watched the city wake the in the glow of the sunrise, again from Areopagus Hill. As soon as it hit 8am we headed into the Acropolis and did a self-guided walking tour thanks to the free Rick Steves’ app. We had beat the crowds, and the heat before heading back to the Airbnb. We checked out, dropped our bags at a locker and continued exploring the city. Our last stop was the Panathenaic Stadium. An incredible stadium made completely of Marble. It has had a few refurbs since the 6th century BC. There is a small museum which holds all the previous torches from previous modern Olympic games, and it was also the first venue for the first modern Olympics in 1896. Pretty amazing history!

It was then time to head to the airport, the end had come for our Greek adventure. Until next time..

Enjoy

Our epic Airbnb

The Acropolis by night from Areopagus Hill

The Steps of Plaka, so much life!

The Acropolis from Areopagus Hill again, the next morning

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre that still gets used today

Left: Propylaea, or gateway into the complex
Right: Temple of Athena Nike, where the name of the brand came from

The Erechtheion is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.

The Parthenon, such a beauty!

The steps of Plaka in the morning

The Panathenaic Stadium, the first site of the modern day Olympics

Small museum that has torches from previous Olympics!

We arrived to the station in Munich very early, thinking we had a train booked to Prague. However, we didn’t realise that we were actually going to be travelling by bus. But it turns out the bus from Munich to Prague is faster. And our bus had a toilet, Wi-fi, and a vending machine! After a rest and a much need shower we headed out for food, and to get our bearings around Prague. The old town and the city centre is well maintained and colourful. There are gothic churches, and a historic bridge known as Charles Bridge decorated with baroque-style statues. We crossed this bridge and headed up the hill to the Prague Castle. It’s the largest ancient castle in the world, taking up almost 7 hectares! It is more of a complex than one building, we got some nice views of the city. We headed back into the Old Town and seeked out a good cocktail bar. We went to Black Angel’s, which was rated one of the top bars in the world. It was an experience that I highly recommend, unfortunately, no photo taking is allowed!

Pilsner Urquell - Brewed since 1842 and the worlds first-ever blond lager.

Streets of the Old Town

Charles Bridge in the background

Walking up to the Castle

The Castle itself!

Originally, this gorge was utilized just as a barrier for protection for the Prague Castle, but under Rudolf II’s reign, deer were moved here. They were hunted to provide the kitchens of the castle with meat and for entertainment. This is how the title “Jelení příkop” or “Deer’s Dike” originated.

Charles Bridge, manic with tourists

Church of Our Lady before Týn

Day 2

Our plan for the day was a walking tour around the Old Town. We got up and headed to get some breakfast at Café Louvre. A Parisian style café dating from 1902. It was interesting, not the best breakfast I’ve had, maybe just not my style, but it rates very highly. We then met Monita’s friends that were over from Toronto in the Old Town Square and started our walking tour.  It was one of the many ‘free’ ones on offer. Our guide was very very knowledgeable, I enjoyed the tour but some stops were an information overload. But without the tour we wouldn’t have known about the deep Jewish history in the town, so after the walking tour we did self-guided tour around Prague Jewish Town and visited Synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetry. A very sobering experience. After enough walking we headed back to our Airbnb for a bit of rest. That evening we had dinner and some more drinks with our Toronto friends.

Jan Hus - a Czech priest and philosopher

Pinkas Synagogue - second oldest surviving synagogue in Prague. The walls are lined with names of Czech Jewish victims of the Shoah (holocaust)

Old Jewish Cemetry - largest Jewish cemetery in Europe

Day 3

Our last day in Prague, and the end of our week long trip that started in Vienna. We checked out of our Airbnb and headed to breakfast at Můj šálek kávy which rates very highly. Unfortunately, we missed the breakfast cut off time and had to settle for lunch, but it was so good. We then strolled up Vitkov hill the Žižkov district. At the head of the hill is the National Monument in Vitkov. The Monument also includes the Ceremonial Hall, an exhibition entitled Crossroads of Czech and Czechoslovak Statehood, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and other exhibition halls. It stands very tall and has an awesome viewing platform, with epic 360 degree views of the city. It was so quiet we were the only people up there! After being out of the Old Town and touristy area we went towards Prague 2 and into Vršovice, apparently an up and coming hip area. We found a small café called Kavárna Šlágr that was super cheap and super tasty! One last spot to tick of the list was the John Lennon wall. Although he had nothing to do with the area, it all started when the youth would write their grievances against the communist regime of Gustáv Husák in the form of Lennon’s lyrics. Today the wall represents love and peace and draws crowds of tourists daily. With a bit of time left before we needed to be at the airport, we headed to The Tavern for dinner. Hands down one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. 

National Monument in Vitkov

The best views!

Kavárna Šlágr Cafe

The famous John lennon wall

Vienna, Austria’s capital. A capital steeped in artistic and intellectualy history. It was our first stop of a three city weeklong Oktoberfest trip. Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Frued all called Vienna home at some point. The architecture and schnitzel are also highlights. The three of us, Monita, Leah and myself arrived Wednesday night, with Monita on a later flight. We got to our Airbnb and headed to bed after a long day. 

Rising early, we headed to Ulrich for breakfast, a trendy spot where you needed a reservation. Reservation, for breakfast. First for everything I guess, but they kindly gave us a spot inside. We walked into the center of the city area and met Pete and Leah outside St. Stehpen’s Cathedral. The current state of the impressive gothic style church was completed in the late 1400’s. And the original site had a church that was consecrated in 1147. The five of us wondered the streets of the city. We walked through parks and dodged the midday sun. The afternoon was spent in the park with a few drinks, many laughs which followed into the evening.

Day 2

We took a gamble on how we spent Thursday, luckily it was worth it. We did a full day bike tour with Vienna Explorer. It was 25km of biking through the Wachau Valley, Austria’s most famous wine region. A train took us west an hour were we started riding alongside the Danube River. It was such a nice change to be out of the city and in the countryside. Monita and I even climbed a hill in the town Durnstein to check out a ruined castle. We made it back down just in time for lunch, caught our breath, then carried on our tour. It’s fair to say we earned all the wine we drank, and on the train journey back to Vienna was a quiet sleepy one. 

Day 3

We had most of the day in Vienna before taking the train to Munich that evening. After we checked out, we dropped out bags at the station and headed to Schönbrunn Palace. An absolutely stupid huge palace with 1441 rooms. And it was used as a summer palace for the Habsburg monarchs. The gardens surround the palace are impressive to say the least, covering a square kilometer! Again we wondered the streets and found the Hundertwasserhaus. An apartment house built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. We than grabbed some lunch and boarded the train for Munich. Link at the end.

Day 2 - Bath

Steph and Dan had an event on during the day so we hopped on the train and went and checked out Bath for the day. Bath was an important part that the Roman’s occupied during the Roman conquest of Britain a long, long time ago. It is a beautiful town with amazing 18th-centuary Georgian architecture. Honey coloured Bath stone is used extensively throughout the town. And it's cool to see new buildings built in the old style. We checked out a historic site known as the Roman Baths and did the audio tour (pro-tip: bring headphones so you don’t have to hold the phone-like device to your head). The town center is very walkable, so much that we must have looped back a few times going to different spots. Around 5 o’clock we headed back to Bristol then headed out for the evening with Steph and Dan.

Day 3 - Bristol

We took our time getting up in the morning and had a good hearty cooked breakfast before heading out around Bristol with Steph and Dan. We headed first to Stokes Croft and checked out the street art. The Mild Mild West by Banksy is down the main road too. It is quite an alty area compared to Clifton where Dan took us next. We grabbed some ciders and sat in the park looking over to the Clifton Suspension Bridge. It is rather impressive. Dan and I threw a Frisbee round before we all walked across the bridge. After a quick stop for a burger we headed down to the city docks and walked around, checked out one last Banksy (‘Girl with the Pierced Eardrum’) before heading back to the station and making our way back to London.  

Bonjour. Paris, our first taste of France. And also our first Eurostar experience. After work we met at King’s Cross St Pancras station, got some food and snacks from M&S and waited to board our train. It was seamless, we arrived in Paris before we knew it. And the best part was that we didn’t have to spend an hour getting in from the airport, we were already there! We jumped onto another train (thank you citymapper) and headed to our Airbnb. We were met by our hosts’ friend who looks after the listing. She didn’t speak any English, but we figured out everything in the end!

Day 2

We didn’t realise until after we had booked, is that Paris becomes very quiet over August, and a lot of small businesses and shops are closed. And even cafes don’t open until 10am. With only the weekend I had pre-planned our days but we still didn’t get up in time to go to the first café I had scoped out and instead grabbed some pastries from a café that was close to where we would then do our bike tour. It was with the same company that we had done a tour with in Berlin. Although this one wasn’t as long, our Aussie guide was a well of knowledge. After the tour we headed back to the Airbnb and freshened up before heading back out to go up the Eiffel Tower. As cliché as it is, it’s definitely worth doing. The view is breathtaking and shows how dense Paris is, even though it is 15 times smaller than London. After the tower we headed north west to Montmartre to see the sunset from the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. Unfortunately, I hadn’t done enough homework as the Dome which you can climb had already closed, about an hour before the sun was due to set! We managed to find a spot to see the Eiffel Tower and made do. But the area of Montmarte had a beauty to it, sitting on the hill, the cobble stone streets and lively atmosphere. We stopped in for a dinner then headed to the Champs-Élysées as I wanted to get a photo of the Arc de Triomphe lit up at night. We then headed back to the Eiffel Tower to also get a photo of it at night, and I must say, it’s something else. It was nearly 1am and there were people everywhere. Even a band had been playing and people were dancing and having a good time. It was time to head back for some much needed sleep.

Day 3

We took our time getting up and headed for breakfast at Holybelly. One of my favourite breakfasts I’ve ever had. And probably the most expensive, it was €50 for both of us! Food doesn’t come cheap in Paris, considering there are over 100 Michelin Star restaurants there. We then walked the streets, somewhat lost, somewhat heading in the right direction. We went to the Lourve and took typical touristy photos. We didn’t go in and see any of the museums on such a short trip. Then we carried on walking and went and checked our Notre Dame, again just admired it from the outside before we had one of Paris’ best gelatos. With the temps hitting 30 degrees, it was well needed! With a bit of time left, we got together a picnic dinner and headed down to the Tower with some Champagne and chilled out. The next thing we knew we were back on our way to London. 

Au Revoir.

• Seeing the last residence of Freddie Mercury and the 'shrine' on the wall at the back of the house
• Checking out the Nomadic Garden just over from Brick Lane
• Portobello Road Market and seeing the deer of Richmond park
• Finally seeing a sunset without any buildings in the way up at Primrose Hill!
  
  Enjoy.

We left London on Friday evening again, making our way to Gatwick airport from work. It was a late depart and an even later arrival. We landed at Schönefeld airport. By the time we got out and got the train to our Airbnb it was 1am! 

The main reason for this trip was to hang out with some of my closest friends I made 14 years ago. Pete & Leah had moved on from Amsterdam to Berlin, Danny & Sheena had crossed the Atlantic from Vancouver and Jeremy & Brittany had come from Australia via Hawaii. Although we didn’t spend a full week with them, it was an unreal feeling hanging out with lifelong friends on the other side of the world.

We woke somewhat early, and although the weather wasn’t in our favour we headed straight for breakfast. We then walked around the city and checked out the sites. We stopped in at the DDR Museum. The museum focuses on showing the history of East Berlin after the wall had gone up. It was pretty interactive, and a good way to dodge the rain. The history in the city is immense. I felt so grateful for the life my generation in New Zealand has grown up in. One thought that came to me often was, the people will eventually overcome. 

We then headed to the Airbnb for a quick rest then headed to catch up with the crew. It wasn’t since Jeremy’s wedding two years ago since we were all together. All the feels. We went out to a bar to watch Germany clinch the victory over Italy in the UEFA EURO Quarter-final. To say the bar was on edge is an understatement! We went out to boogie and that was the night.

Day 2

We made our best effort to crawl out of bed to get down to the bike tour company. The weather was looking really good and we were excited to see a lot of the city on bike. Our bike tour was almost five hours with a company called Fat Tire Tours. It was hands down the best thing to do in Berlin. Our guide was Irish, but had a wealth of knowledge, we both learnt so much. We saw where the Nazi book burnings took place, famous buildings, high rise flats from the soviet era, Checkpoint Charlie (and the best explanation of the Berlin Wall), the Berlin Wall, The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Victory Column, we biked through the Tiergarten and saw the Reichstag. After a massive day we headed back to see the crew and caught up over delicious and cheap Vietnamese food. 

Day 3

We took the Monday off from work to get a long weekend. The rest of the crew departed, all in different directions. We headed to breakfast before heading to the East Side Gallery. It’s the international memorial for freedom. It’s a 1.3km long section of the wall. One section was showcasing stories of people affected by the war in Syria, some of which, were absolutely heartbreaking. We then queued for almost an hour for Germany’s best Kebab. It was pretty good! We then made our way over to the Berlin Cathedral and took a tour inside. It was spectacular, the detail in everything was on another level. We also got to go up to the dome and get a good view of the city. It was then time to start the journey back to the Airbnb to gather our stuff, then say goodbye to Berlin and head home. 

Amsterdam, our first weekend getaway in Europe. Our first work > airport mission and our first EasyJet experience. The commute to the airport was almost a disaster and the flights were delayed on both ends, but at least the weekend was good. 

We left Gatwick airport just after 8pm and arrived in Amsterdam an hour later. We trained to Central Station in the city where we were greeted by my friends Pete and Leah are on a Workaway helping turn a boat into a home. Their hosts were kind enough to let us stay on their sailing boat for the weekend. They doubled us on their bikes, made it to the boat and crashed for the night.

We had planned on getting up really early to make it down to the I AMSTERDAM sign in front of Rijks Museum before the crowds arrived. We then went to pick up some rental bikes for Monita and myself. Getting around Amsterdam by a bike is hands down the only way. But you have to be careful because over half the city are also on bikes. It gets pretty hectic and we did witness one solid crash. The rain was on and off so we dodged that when we could. Once we had our bikes we took a ferry across to NDSM Wharf. It’s a cool spot that’s being reutilised in this modern day. Read about it more here. We found a cool spot for to have a drink before heading back to the boat for some lunch.

One of my favourite things about Amsterdam is the freshly squeezed orange juice that you can get at the supermarket. You grab an empty bottle, press down on a lever and this contraption will feed and squeeze fresh juice into the bottle. Sadly I was too excited to take photos of it, but a lot of orange juice was consumed on this trip.

After a shower and nap we headed out into the city for a night out. It was everything that Amsterdam nightlife is known for. Enough said.

Day 2

A slower start to the day but we forced ourselves up. We headed to the Foodhallen for lunch, we got their early and had to wait but the food was good! It’s an Indoor Food Hall in the West of the city. The area reminded me a lot of Lower Haight in San Fran. Would love to come back and stay in this area. Pete and Leah headed home and Monita and I checked out the Open Gardens Day. An event that happens once a year where around 25 canal houses open their private gardens for the public to see. In a city surrounded by canals and urban housing, it’s amazing to see the hidden green of the city. That took a couple of hours then we headed to the Anne Frank house. The line to get in would have taken over an hour to get in, so we’ll have to come back and tick a few more things off the list. We met Pete and Leah at the NEMO building before doing another quick walk around the city. Then we caught the train and flew back to London. Weekend over.