The Mixed Bag of Berlin

On the Thursday our flight left for Berlin just after lunch so we had to get up and straight on the vaporetto to the Piazzale Roma where we could catch a bus to Marco Polo airport. The vaporetto is Venice's version of a bus - a bit like a ferry only slight smaller. We got to see a bit more of Venice from the water and avoid the confusing and difficult walk back to the piazza.


We had a good long wait for our flight but after several coffees, some dodgy looking airport food and a few episodes of Seinfeld on the laptop, we were finally boarding and on our way. We flew with Easyjet - a very cheap airline that charges a bit more for checked luggage. They were ok but the seats are not designated so we had a hard time trying to get a seat together as everyone poured in. It wasn't a very long flight, though we joked that the pilot was a bit of a cowboy as we spent much of the flight flying at strange angles, shuddering through pockets of turbulence and the landing was pretty bumpy. We made our way from Schoenefeld Airport to Markisches Museum after a few line changes on the metro, and checked in to the accommodation we had really been looking forward to - 3 nights at the Novotel Berlin Mitte. Filling out the forms, David wrote our reason for stay as 'honeymoon' and was promptly given a note for two free cocktails at the bar by the general manager of the hotel. Score! When we went into our beautiful room with a view of the city we found another surprise - a letter of congratulations, some beer and bottled water, and a platter or fruit, chocolates and cheesecake. Wow! They really made us feel special.


In the evening we walked to a fabulous area recommended by the manager for a night out. There were a few bars and pubs in a pretty square and over to the side was a park lined on one side with restaurants and on the other with a canal. It felt like Venice again! There were deckchairs and fairy lights and soft electro music was playing - the staple music of Germany. We shared one meal to be frugal and it was enormous! Weiner schnitzel with potato salad and greens - quite traditional food.


On Friday we went on an excellent walking tour to see the city and learn a bit of history. The guide worked on tips and asked only to be paid what we felt the tour was worth to us. Some gave a few coins, some gave several notes. We went for somewhere in the middle! The tour took us past a section of the Berlin wall, the museum island, the Holocaust memorial, the Lustgarten, and some amazing buildings of political and religious importance as well as the fuhrerbunker where Hitler is said to have commited suicide - this is now simply a carpark with no real significance so as not to glorify or make a shrine of the area.



In the evening we went on a search for a cool nightclub as Berlin is well known for its nightlife as well as its history. We passed by Club 25 which had a huge line and a cover charge to match, and couldn't find the trendy Kiki Blowfeld we had set out to find. Finally we ended up at a tiny outdoor bar chatting with some very amusing French tourists and later, some German punks who repeatedly burst into chanting metal songs but were very funny and friendly.


On Saturday we went to Berlin's gallery of modern art. It is in an old converted railway station and we thought it had some of the most interesting contemporary art we had seen on the trip (along with some very weird and extreme post modern "art"!). David was especially taken with the enormous Andy Warhols.




In the evening we went to the coolest club we had ever seen. It was called 'Tresor' and was held in a giant warehouse with a very industrial, construction site look. The music was more electro of course, leaning towards the techno progressive side. Downstairs was the hardest, most thumping music I've ever heard in what appeared to be a cave with a blinding strobe light. It was certainly an experience but we didn't stay in that room for very long! Upstairs was more melodic and had a really impressive set up of lights suspended from the ceiling and imbedded in the floor. We couldn't believe how long it took for the club to get full and the music to get interesting. In Germany the party only really starts at about 3am! On our way out we had the interesting and amusing experience of a misunderstanding that showed how naive we were. A funky looking guy in bright yellow glasses asked to speak to David. David gave a friendly reply with a detailed explanation of how to get to the downstairs toilet. Apparently that was not what he was after! After some discussion we realised drugs were the topic and not a wee. We said we were sorry but we don't have any drugs. Finally it was made clear that the guy was offering US drugs! Feeling quite stupid we politely declined and quickly left to go home to bed. A unique experience to end the night and our stay in Berlin!

My Favourite Italian City: Venice

Having our tour guide show us around on Monday was a great start to our stay in Venice. He gave us a walking tour with some interesting history and information about the current physical state of the city (it is sinking substancially). He also took us to a lace shop where different techniques were demonstrated and explained. We bought one tablecloth that was on the more economical side (they go up to 26,000 euro, ours was 40). It is lacework on Irish linen and should last forever.


We also got to see a demonstration of glass blowing which was of course the famous Murano glass. It was intruiging and very beautiful but not very affordable.


We went to the extraordinarily beautiful San Marco Basilica which is covered in gold and glass mosaic, and is sadly sinking badly - the floors have shifted so badly that they appear to ripple in peaks and troughs.


Our favourite activity of the day though, was a gondola ride. It was incredibly special and romantic. It is not surprising that in the high season most gondolas have at least one proposal a week take place on them! It was Lolly and Manu's wish that we should take this ride. Thank you so much for the wonderful wedding gift of that experience guys!


On Tuesday the tour group departed for Austria and we moved from the cabins in the campsite half an hour outside the city, to the little hotel we had booked not far from San Marco's Basilica. Thank goodness! Back to being on our own again and guaranteed double rooms. Unlike the hotel tour, the 'club' tour means that the accommodation is multishare and there is lots of time spent in close quarters. The cheapest tours go for a long time. We joined on day 8 of a 26 day tour and got off as scheduled on our 12th day. Not a moment too soon! We have never heard so much cattiness and insanity! The group was mostly very young and some drinking from as early as 10am and all on the prowl for a romance of a few days (or minutes!) so you can imagine how awful it became. It was even more diappointing to encounter some cultural insensitivity and even racism on the tour. Still it was nice to meet a few sweet people who we will stay in contact with - thankfully it's not all bad! We are especially touched by Catherine's offer for us to come and stay with her on her father's dairy farm in Victoria!

(Left to right - Chantelle, Me, Catherine)

Venice is really incredible and very large. It spans over something like 113 islands separated by small canals with the exception of the Grande Canal, which is rather like a highway. Maps are virtually useless as there is a tradition of meddling with street signs, particularly those pointing to major tourist attractions such as the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. In the past it was simply a tradition of mischief and was punishable by death (is a prank really worth that?) but now it is usually a case of shop owners trying to misdirect you past their business. The best way to discover Venice is to wander into the heart of it and get lost. You can always get a water taxi back to where you need to be, and chances are you will eventually end up at San Marco square with its incredible basilica, the campanile, and the walk down to the water between the columns of St George (the dragon slayer) and St Mark (symbolised by a winged dragon). From there you can catch a vaporetto for 6.50 Euros all the way pack to Piazzale Roma, the only part of Venice where there are any motor vehicles. Buses there will take you to the mainland hotels and the aeroporto. In our case however we were staying right in the heart of Venice, and the tiny map provided by Topdeck for sightseeing did not help us. It took us over an hour to get to the Grande Canal and we still had a long way to go. We sought some advice from locals twice which did get us nearer but we kept coming back to the same square with no luck. We had been walking for 3 hours up and down laneways, stairs and bridges with our heavy packs, were frustrated, with sore feet and empty tummies, and to add insult to injury, one of the sacred pigeons (yes that is how they are viewed, if you chase them or hurt them you can be arrested) had done a sacred poop on my head which ran down and left a sacred runny mark on my shirt. We were hot and sweaty, I felt disgusting and was nearly in tears. Then we saw a tiny entrance under a building which led to an alleyway in complete darkness. On the other side of that alley was another tiny square with the same name as the one we had been in - Campiello San Zulian. We had finally found the hotel! After managing to get our luggage up to the third floor (no elevators in Venice!) we found that our room was actually really comfortable, nicely decorated and very clean. It had a nice big bathroom, a lounge, desk, queen bed and a television. After the accommodation we were in on the tour it was absolute luxury! It also had a great view of the square that we had been sitting in, trying to figure out where we were.


We sat down for a minute to catch our breath after all those stairs and hours of trudging over bridges and promptly fell asleep for a good 40 minutes. We forced ourselves to get up though, as we only had a limited time to enjoy the city before we would be packing for the flight to Berlin in two days. We walked around more appreciatively, feeling light and unburdened without our luggage. It was a pleasant surprise to find that our hotel was only a few streets away from San Marco Square and Basilica. I had booked a cheap two nights through www.easytobook.com so for 69 euros a night with breakfast included we had scored a bit of a bargain for such an excellent location. We walked around the square, down to the water and back, and then headed to the opposite side of the hotel where the famous Rialto bridge was only a few minutes walk. The bridge is quite iconic and lined with many market stalls.


We loved the venetian masks and felt extremely tempted to buy some but the expense couldn't quite fit into our budget, and it would have been very hard to get them home safely. We bought a few little gifts but stuck to our budget because we thought food in Venice would be very expensive. We were not wrong. When eating in Venice there are a few rules. First of all, drink plenty of water before hand so you don't need to order it as you will be charged. Ask if "coperto" (cover), and "servizio", service charge are included, and check the cost of suggested extras like bread, coffee etc. When choosing a restaurant check the prices on the menu and make sure you see the drinks menu as well. Often the food seems reasonably priced but the drink prices are phenomenal. Other warning signs are when a restaurant has flags above the menu to indicate every possible language (no) or pictures of the food (big no). Aim for places that are a bit less touristy and you will get better priced food and often a bit better quality. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are near a major tourist attraction or can see even a glimpse of water you will be paying more for the location. We wandered around for ages trying to be clever and steer clear of tourist areas. In the end we settled on a cute little restaurant where we had mussels, air dried beef with rocket and parmesan, gorgonzola gnocchi and whole sea bass filleted for us at the table. In the end it still cost a painful amount and walking back we found that we had walked in a large loop and put ourselves very close to San Marco Square again! We enjoyed the evening though. It was especially beautiful to see some of Venice by night.


On Wednesday morning we quickly had our free breakfast (and snuck a few portions of cream cheese) and headed to a deli to buy provisions for lunch - bread rolls, sundried tomatoes and the most fresh, moist roast beef ever. We made our way to the Peggy Gugenheim museum and paid the slightly pricey entrance fee. It was worth it. Althought it is not large, this gallery contains some incredible and very recogniseable art from the last 100 years including works by Chagall, Dali, Pollock, Picasso, and many others. The gorgeous building which is right on the Grande Canal and has stunning gardens full of sculptures, was the home of Peggy Gugenheim. She collected the artworks (many as gifts) during her years of being a muse for modern artists, many of whom were her lovers. We both found the art inspiring and want to try to paint a bit again when we get home. It was really fabulous.


Afterwards we went to the Vivaldi museum which showcases stringed and wind instruments, some as old as 1000 years. The setting is really something special - an old cathedral with altars, crucifixes, statues and confessional booths still in place. Vivaldi's music plays through the building, and some instruments are so unusual they are more like surrealist sculptures. We had our economical but very enjoyable picnic by the water and watched the gondolas and vaporettos go by and pass under the Pont d'ell Accademiae. David said it was another special moment of the trip that he never wanted to forget.


We sat and talked about the picnic we had when he proposed to me back in December, and the things we have loved about the trip so far, and the things we are still looking forward to when we go home. We shopped a little more but tried not to buy anything when we realised how much we had spent already without even considering dinner. Europe is not a cheap place to travel and the longer we are here the more our budget becomes an issue. Still we enjoyed the walk back and the beautiful views of the bridges and canals. In the afternoon we went for one of the popular Spritz Al Bitter drinks in the Campo San Marghereta.



It was a long, hot walk and the drinks were cold, but I couldn't enjoy the intensely bitter taste of the campari in the cocktail. We took our time going back over the lovely Rialto bridge and bought a pizza as an affordable dinner back in the room and finished the last of the Ouzo we had bought in Greece as we packed for Berlin. We could hear the music from San Marco Square in the distance, mingled with the sounds of a classical orchestra playing to great applause in one of the nearby music museums. It was a lovely ending to our time in Venice.

The Beautiful Balkans

On Thursday we had another long drive but a particularly beautiful one.


From Albania we crossed the border into Montenegro where we had a quick lunch and a look around. The cheapest option was a burger and chips - they came in the burger!


This is the coastal end of Serbian country which extends up into the mountains. We watched a semi fictional movie called The Hunting Game on the coach, which was an excellent film and gave us a little more insight into conflicts in the area of Montenegro and Sarajevo. As we continued along the coastline and crossed the border into Croatia the landscape became more and more stunning. Luckily we had gotten up early to score ourselves a coveted spot up the front of the bus which gave us a really good view. It was hard to believe that the area was torn apart by war as recently as 15 years ago. As we finally got close to Dubrovnik we were shown the positions up on the mountain that they were bombed from. They were shelled and shot at for months despite the fact that the beautiful city is a UNESCO World Heritage protected site and preserved as it has been for hundreds and hundreds of years.


Photos of Dubrovnik from the air show all the shiny new orange tiled roofs - this is because so many were burned or blown up. You can see some of the bullet holes in the walls although many have been repaired. We were staying outside of the old city and up on the hill. Walking into the hostel we had a wonderful impression - a stone eating hall, archways laden with grapevines, and views down to the sea.


Unfortunately our rooms were another story - hot little cupboards with ratty rugs to cover the breaks in the floorboards and malfunctioning air conditioning! On the upside they were twin share which meant David and I could be together, though we were in end to end twin beds which were fixed to the wall which meant no cuddling. Still, it was a place to sleep and we headed into the town. We walked around and quickly lost the majority of our group, but were fortunate enough to find ourselves with two lovely girls called Chantelle and Catherine who are Aussies teaching in England, and two sisters, Alana and Nadia, who are originally from Croatia and know the local language. They were able to show us around really well as they recently spent a month with family in Dubrovnik. They gave us a good tour and showed us some of the nicer bars and pubs. We ended up with the whole group again at the Latino Club which was very cool with a light up floor and giant cocktails for sharing with lots of long bendy straws.


We had a pretty late night but with some prompting from David we got up in the morning and headed back into the city. There aren't any cars and the streets are shiny white stone. The buildings and stairs and walls are mostly white too which gives the city a dazzling appearance in the sun.


By the sea, local jewellers sell necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets made of coral and stone. I bought a turquoise bracelet which was supposed to be my only souvenier from Dubrovnik but was shortly followed by some cheapy cute earrings in a little shop, and then I somehow ended up with a pair of wedge heels, and then the best purchase of all, a 'Dubrovnik Charm', a local design of a silver ball covered with little stones on a long chain that has long been associated with the region. What can I say, our sailing days were incredibly cheap and David encouraged me! His only desires were some beer and ice cream which he enjoyed very much. We also managed to fit in a lunch amongst all the retail therapy (whoops!) of local seafood - calamari, fish in a tomato and mussel filled sauce, potato slices with olives and some soft polenta. Our tour leader had advised that in Dubrovnik there are no essential galleries or museums to see, rather the walled city itself is the museum. We wandered for hours and really took in the sights. After all the walking we opted for a quiter night, so while many of the group went off for round two of bucket size cocktails, we shared a local pizza and a bottle of wine and watched cartoons on the laptop before bed.

The next day we headed for Zadar in the north of Croatia. The drive was beautiful again, with rolling hills, water views, and lots of green scrubby bushland as we went through the country of Bosnia Herzegovena. It was quite surreal driving through that area - the signs to Sarajevo still have bullet holes. In the afternoon we got to the walled city of Zadar. Our hostel was outside of town and the absolute pits - mouldy, smelly, full of mosquitoes and with only 2 toilets and showers for about 40 people. We dropped off our gear and went into the city as soon as possible! At least we had a room together again, though it was bunkbeds. In Zadar we walked through the local markets, posted a few postcards home, and photographed the Roman ruins inside as well as the ancient Donut Cathedral (which has absolutely nothing to do with doughnuts!).


Our favourite thing though, and the feature that Zadar is most famous for, was the Ocean Organ. It is the only instrument in the world played by the ocean! The waves lapping at the steps on the shore forces pressure into the pipes producing haunting sounds. We expected something sticking out of the water but in fact it is in the ground and you can't see it until you are standing on top of it. It was much louder than we had anticipated, and I thought it had a beautiful effect.


We then had dinner with a few members of the group and the coach driver. It was a great restaurant called Bruschetta just a street or two back from the water. We ordered steaks- mine had truffle oil.


We rose early on Sunday for the very long drive to Venice - a trip of over 11 hours! Thankfully we had one long stop on the way - the spectacular Postojna Caves in the country of Slovenia. The countryside was amazing. It looked like a postcard - green rolling hills, meadows and fields, pine forests, log houses, rushing streams...


The caves we visited are the largest underground network in the world - they span over 27 kilometres. We even got to travel through some of the caverns via underground railroad carriages. It was very cold and dark inside.


We carried on to Venice and arrived in time for dinner at our accommodation followed by a toga party at the local bar.

No Expectations

On Wednesday we loaded our gear back on the coach and travelled to a place that we had not really had any preconcieved ideas or expectations of what it would look or feel like. Picture an old man walking along the side of a dusty road. He is leading a cow along with a piece of rope and has picked up a stick to wave the flies away. He sees a busload of foreigners and is so pleased he shows his one toothed smile and waves the stick up and down, stopping to watch the tourists. The roads are so dusty the air becomes virtually unbreathable. It is so bumpy that the driver jokes about the free massage being provided. The fields are dotted with miliary bunkers enough to contain the entire population, placed there by a dictator so insane that he had five engineers design them and then tested them by bombing them with the designers inside. The one to survive got to build all the bunkers for the country. The houses are few and far between. As you get closer to the city there are some communist design flats that are grey and falling apart. At every stop the shopkeepers are delighted to see euros and accept them despite the fact that the currency is actually the Lekk.At the side of the road you can buy 'msh' from tiny stalls - fresh raw meat to cook for the day, as refrigerators are rare. Speed limits are a suggestion, overtaking with a safe distance of about half a second is some kind of local sport. Houses are lived in unfinished because if they are incomplete you never have to pay taxes on them.


Mercedes are everywhere - not because of wealth but because they are the only cars that can handle the road and easy to steal in Germany and get over the border if you nicely bribe the patrol guards with one for themselves. An alternative mode of transport is the horse and cart.


The only way into town includes a wooden bridge over rocky waters that could fall apart at any moment. The driver sweats and gets a cheer for succesfully getting the passengers to the other side alive. This is our trip into Albania.

A local guide showed us around the city of Tirana, and it is quite fascinating - the mayor decided to combat the dreary look of ex communist structures by allowing local school children to design the paintwork for them. Hence the rainbow building, the pyjama building, the green arrows building, the wedding cake building, the washing lines building and many others.


Just outside the town, at the foot of the mountain was our hotel. Albania's poor economy allowed us a night in the beautiful Chateau Linza, where David and I got to have our own room with a bath, a king size bed, a balcony and a stunning view.