Day 27 - Venice

Our second day trip running was a visit to the sinking city of Venice, we arrived via the worlds least comfortable night train from Vienna at around 9am. We strolled across town to Saint Mark’s square, the most famous square in Venice and there we were just 4 in a massive horde of tourists, locals seemed almost nonexistent.

We started with a Gondola journey in true Venetian fashion, despite me saying to Mick “you can go to Venice without taking a Gondola, just watch me”. However we got it for a fairly ok 80 euro, and I was quite happy to see Venice from the Canals. The boat was 11 metres long but the helmsman seemed almost too happy to just bang around corners keeping the entire gunwale just inches from contact with the cold stone.

After the Gondola we got some food before bailing up the coast to a park where we chilled, chatted, and eventually I ended up swimming for about 30 seconds in the sea, which was a really really awful idea, but meh you only live twice.

After that we decided to visit the famous Saint Mark’s basilica where we took the free English tour, which I very nearly slept through, needless to say I am wrecked. The church is truly beautiful though, despite the sinking floor creating a stone wave effect.

Day 26 - Vienna

We decided to take a day trip to the Capital of Austria Vienna in between our Eastern Europe and Italian legs. It was a welcome change to once again be back in the Euro zone, however what we weren’t welcoming was any change, because prices were back to their EU extortion.

We strolled the gorgeous streets and saw some general sights, including the wonderful church on Stephen’s Platz, and various other things, before heading to try find a tour. Initially we went into the Jewish Welcome and Israeli tourism centre; they were helpful but useless and directed us to the tourist information centre proper. Once there we talked to the girl at the desk, who was far too banterous, and recommended us a bus tour around the capital.

The bus was playing Mozart between bits of tourist info and made for a good trip, Colman got me on for child because I am 15 (lolwut) and because of that I saved 7 euro, which was all too banterous. The bus tour showed us various sites including the biggest intercity bungee jump in Europe, the temptation was evident.

After that we got lost in a sports store for like 5 hours. It had a golf sim, putting green, climbing walls, table tennis, roller blades and various other distracting activities. We basically got food and then headed for our train.

Our train was going pretty well, we were 4 in a 6 man compartment watching shooter, however once the other two (an antibanterous old Austrian couple) got in, it was real shit. An uncomfortable 10 hours or so followed.

Day 25 - Fooking Starvin

Our final day in Hungary started with disaster, we headed out to the tourist information recommended water park, and it was catering for a slightly younger target audience, despite the trek, we made a decision to bail and go to the one we had originally had in mind. Once back in town we decided to hit the “house of terror” first.

This is a museum dedicated to the persecution, torture and execution of Hungarians under the Nazi and Soviet regimes from 1944-1945 then 1945-1989. The exhibit was interesting; however by the end we agreed that the histories of the entire eastern bloc were much of muchness in the 20^th century.

Mick wasn’t feeling his best so he didn’t join us for the second water park. We knew this was a trek out of town, but we weren’t sure how much of one. Needless to say, we were in for an experience. We got the metro to the end of the line, switched to another train and started getting that a mammoth 14 stops. However it didn’t really stop at stations, in fact to quote Colman “this isn’t a stop, it’s just a place where the doors open”.

But eventually we reached the infamous “stop 14” where we dismounted onto a deserted “platform” in the middle of fooking nowhere. We then rang our taxi number and he arrived, explained it was a fixed rate to the park and took off on the world’s smallest paved road which went through various floods and over a mountain. It was looking bleak until there stretching out in front of us... was not the water park, but the huge Hungaroring formula one circuit, where just the week before Filipe Massa had been involved in a 125 mph crash.

My day was made, but the water park was icing on an already far too sweet cake. Rain earlier meant the place was empty, but the weather had improved. Over 1 mile of slides, and needless to say, we hit every one, and a lot more than once. Perfect.

We headed back to Budapest and started packing for our 4am get up.

Day 24 - Even more Hungary

Hungary day 2 was my first real active day in Budapest, I was well rested and well pumped to see the city. Our free tour was at 2, so we started with some light shopping. Bantered around in H&M and Pull & Bear. After that we headed to the apartment for lunch and tried to reach our tour. We were late of course so when a low chain blocked our way we simply jumped it, before the fat Hungarian guard tried to kick us out of the British Embassy for being terrorists...

We got to the tour anyway and started walking around the city guided by our native tour guide. Her English wasn’t great, the route wasn’t perfect, and her style involved too much lecture. Because of this the tour was really lacking. What was humerous however was the horsemen on top of the castle hill. Every year local students touch the horses balls for good luck in their sex lives. Because of this the statue has gone green as copper does, but the balls remain gold. Lol.

After the tour we decided it was time to experience the baths. Several pools and saunas in once facility made it fairly expensive at 12 euro for 2 hours, but really worth it for health and fitness reasons. I guess I was the only one disappointed there were no really cold pools. Most were around 38 Celsius, with saunas as hot as 100 Celsius. I’m not very heat resistant, so I bailed on the hot ones, the others tried em out, didn’t last long. We finished the trip with some lengths before messing around in the 38 degree outdoor pool.

Thunder and lightning rolled in, so we bailed on the two hour mark. On our way home however we passed the victory monument, in the back ground lighting flashed every few seconds but it was dry right at that moment. It has to be one of the most impressive things I have ever seen.

That night we ate in TGI Fridays, needless to say I destroyed free refills.

Day 23 - If your Hungary, eat.

We arrived in Budapest early on the morning of whatever day that was, let’s face it, days and dates have become an absolute mash of cheese. I arrived wrecked because of our pre soviet era train from Prague. So after our Hungarian neighbours gave us a tour, and we hit the grocery store I went to bed.

I basically did nothing else that day, the others tried fruitlessly to hit the baths and they walked around aimlessly in the heat.

We ate out in a very cheap but very nice Italian, I had like loads of food and two drinks for once. Heaven is cheaper.

Day 22

We pretty much didn't wake up this morning, based on the staying up late we were dead the next morning. So we were well late, we then didn't leave for ages while we showered and chilled in the hostel, which made us feel kinda bad cause we were meant to get the hell out of dodge.

Eventually we mustered up the strength to get out, we just walked around aimlessly, we finally saw the astronomical clock tick, and tock and do some other stuff that wasn't that great. But we were glad we finally saw it.

We then bantered across Charles Bridge to climb up to the castle, when we realised the extortianate rate for water and shit we bailed back down, but then we got ambushed by some lad selling concert tickets. So we ended up going to see some works by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven performed by String Quintet, which was bant.

We then bailed on to the world's worst night train, we were in a room with two Americans, who were banterous, and after an hilarious first few minutes we started to try get some sleep. The problem was with the window closed it was far too hot, with it open it was raining, really cold, really loud and kept closing. Eventually Colman just jammed the curtain in the window bant.

Day 21, banter...

The Czechs are famous for very little, but anything they are famous for is pretty shit. Charles' bridge for example, is little more than a cobbled bridge that is far longer than it should be, the astronomical clock, is hardly out of this world and the beer is nothing on Munich. However the city of Prague is very beautiful and today we decided we wanted to tour it.

We had to get up far too early and try and book our train to Hungary, before trying to find our way to the city centre for our tour. Eventually we sorted it out, and ended up on my third "new Europe" tour. Our tour guide was a young girl from Worchester and was far too enthusiastic, cringy doesn't quite cover it. However soon we got around the cringe and began to banter back with her. By the end of the tour I feel we kinda dominated the group a little which may have been unfortunate for any others on the tour.

Our hosteler had recomended us some night clubs, including one which was 5 floors with 5 different kinds of music. The biggest night club in central Europe. When we told our tour guide this she kinda laughed at us and said "its good if you like 14 year old Italians" and tried to persaude us to join her pub crawl.

We switched hostels in the afternoon and got food, me and mick decided to get some sleep while the other two went boating again. Boring boring boring.

We began to get ready to go out, and some German guys from across the courtyard invited us to theres, we kinda didn't go. We got dressed up, went out, saw the bridge and the clock at night before entering the club. In the club we met a lot of people, in fact we did the old classic where we met someone who knew someone we knew, he also recognised us because he had been in our hostel in Berlin. (Colman has a stripe in his hair). Basically the 5 floors were really cool, but we just spent all our time in the chillout zone at the top. Banter.

We cruised home at 4am, and here I am.