Berlin

Berlin really is a cool place, its like Paris, in it just has so much style. We only stayed for a few days and want to go back if we can. It was nice to see a lot of Germany aswell, because it is different to Holland, you can see so much of the repression's influence

Hitchhiking Amsterdam to Berlin

Telling people all week that we were going to try hitchhike to Berlin, we got mixed responses. Some people said we would have no problem, others thought we were crazy. We had heard from a few germans that is is quite common in their country, so we thought that maybe once we made it to the border it would get easier. We left Amsterdam around 1 in the arvo on monday, and went to a designated hitching point a short tram ride away. We found our first lift within 15 minutes, and were taken an hour towards the border, but also past the exit that we were supposed to have taken. We ended up needing to hitchhike to the next town which was a long way away to make it back onto the right highway. We made it that night to a small city called Groningen at the top of the netherlands right near the border. We got there late, and after trying to hitchhike in the dark for a while, we realised we needed a place to stay.

Not wanting to take the easy road out, we looked for a place that we could have shelter from the rain that was coming, and somewhere we might be able to actually get some. We found some uninstalled drainpipes that would keep us cosy, and managed to "sleep" for a few hours until sunrise, when we got up and started hitching again.

In the next day we made it from Groningen to Berlin by around 9 that night, we were overjoyed with the result, covering over 700ks in a bit over a day. Driving from Hamburg to Berlin was the best ride we had, as it was the first chance we had to see the AUTOBAHN. Our drive was averaging about 180ks the whole way, and also managed to clock up to 220 at one stage, just a normals day driving for him, but me and will were excited

Amsterdam - AJAX

Ajax is the soccer team based in Amsterdam. They won the league whilst we were in holland, so we went to the team presentation and celebration and it was crazy. The fans were going crazy, singing and dancing, lighting flares, pretty much just going nuts in anyway possible.

Queens day - Amsterdam

I've been back in Amsterdam for a week now, waiting for will to finish work so we can head east. We arrive in Prague on the 21st, and we are leaving Amsterdam around the 15th, which gives us a week that we will probably be spending in Germany. Queens day in Amsterdam is the biggest day of the year, the whole city turns into a festival with DJ's and bands performing day and night. The line up of artists would be comparable to any festival held in Australia, although in Amsterdam the festival is free. The majority of backpackers in this hostel Amsterdam are Australian, because of tours organized in oz that go through this hostel. It's funny hearing fresh Aussie accents, and they all just seem so foreign when they get here, it makes me realize how isolated we are at home.

Paris

Paris lived up to all my expectations and more, it was a beautiful city. The first day i arrived i walked straight to the cemetery pere la chaise to see Jim, than spent hours walking up and down the city, back and forth through the alleyways and lanes exploring all the quirky and trendy shops. The style that the parisians uphold in everything they do makes paris such a cool place, everyone is skating or drinking or painting or playing music, the creative, bohemian culture here is

what makes it so beautiful

Javea - Spain

Javea was a tourist town, a settlement set of mainly english and german, who come and stayed for the easygoing nature and weather. It was a beautiful part of the coast, and it was great to relax for a week, staying in a great house with a fantastic view. It was not very spanish in culture though, which was a little dissapointing, but it made up for it in relaxation.

Valencia

Valencia so far has been my favourite destination. The food and the people and the culture are all mixed together so well. If i ever learnt spanish, or stayed for an extended time, i would want to be here.