Entries about history

We went and saw Vyšehrad (a pretty park in the south of the city), Wenceslas Square, the Old Town (where the clock models were being replaced), the famous Charles Bridge, followed by a walk to the top of Prague Castle (the biggest castle in the world, where the national cathedral is located, along with the home of the Czech President). We then walked over to "Stalin square", the Czech Parliament and the riverside. After the sightseeing we went to Tesco to buy some snacks for the next few days. It was rather nice to be able to buy a lot of the same stuff I can at home whilst away, and was made comical when Marketa exclaimed "Wait! Use my clubcard!"

On the second day, Marketa had class, so I walked round and saw the few bits we had not seen the first day, such as the Jewish Ghetto. In the evening I met with Marketa's friend Milan, whom I also knew from Bremen and with his friends, we visited a pub where you poured your own Beer!

By Friday it had warmed up considerably (T-shirts and ice cream weather!), and we went to the lovely town of Český Krumlov in the south of the country, not far from the Austrian border. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and has a lovely castle looking over the town in the Bohemian Forest. The town was so much different to Prague, and gave me a really good insight into the Czech Republic as a whole, rather than just Prague. Taking the train back to Prague via České Budějovice (home of Budweiser) I packed the rest of my things for the long coach journey the following day to Warsaw.

What originally had been a simple journey on the train from Luton, became rather annoying, as the Thameslink line through Central London was being shut all day, and so I had to get off at St. Pancras and use the underground to reach London Bridge - further lengthening my journey. However all went well and I arrived at Gatwick in plenty of time. The flight itself was rather great, and as I reached the Alps, the clouds disappeared - giving me an excellent view out of the window of the Alps, the Croatian coast, and Albania before reaching the blazingly sunny Greek capital. When I arrived, my friend Marianna, whom I had met in Bremen some months ago collected me from the Airport with her boyfriend, and they took me to their house and then to a lovely café in the port area of Piraeus. I then went in the evening to the hotel room they had booked - and as Greece has a crisis, this was exceptionally cheap. From here we walked around the centre of the capital - which looked lovely lit up.

The next day was exceptionally sunny and so warm for March (despite the locals wearing thick Arctic coats). And we walked around the city seeing the Parliament, the Olympic stadium, some Greek ruins and the Acropolis Museum (which for me was free, as I am an EU student). We then went back to the house and had a meal together, before going into the nightlife centre of Athens for the evening.

The day after we went to the Acropolis, which again was free for me, where some stunning views are seen from the top. After which, we went to the University area, where the buildings are ridiculously grand, and very nice.

The trip was really very good, and I am so glad I went to see the city. And there is less than a week before the big trip - Prague/Warsaw/Lviv/Kiev. I hope you are all having as much fun as me!

Reichstag

Brandenburg Gate

We began by visiting the German Parliament and the Brandenburg Gate, before heading down towards the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie.

On the following day, me and Mum went over to Oranienburg to explore the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

On the final day we went to Berlin Zoo to see Knut and the panda, before making our way to Bernauerstraße and the Olympic Stadium.

Berlin Wall

Olympiastadion

One of Kayleigh's highlights being the trip to KiK, where they were having a sale, meaning T-shirts were for sale for just 50 cents!