Munich: A day all about clothes

After the great shopping spree of Oxford Street, London, we were literally busting to spend our euros and shop these wondrous European stores.

With Croatia sailing only a few days away, this cold only mean one thing. Bikinis.

And shorts, and dresses, and singlets.

I went into H&M with a rough shopping list:

-        Black shorts

-        Beach bag

-        White bikini top

-        Black bikini top

-        Coloured bikini

But H&M just had so much stock; so many bathers in different colours and styles, and they were so cheap!

Hi mum, I went shopping, again!

With the change room limit at six items per customer, I literally visited the change rooms four times in the first H&M, and twice in the next.

Similar to London, Munich had several H&M stores in close proximity to each other – handy, but also dangerous.

So what did we end up with? I came out with my black shorts, a beach bag, and enough bikinis for every day of the week!

My purchases

Livi's purchases

Ash’s purchases

With Croatia sailing as well as the increasingly warmer weather in mind, I wanted some new summer threads. After two and a half months of the same clothes, I hated everything in my backpack!

I got all of my purchases for around $150 AUD – maybe $180 after our stop at the second H&M…

Let's take our new clothes out to lunch

Having bought these exciting new clothes, we were conscious that the zips on our bags were threatening to burst, and we could barely lift our ridiculously heavy packs.

It was time to send shit home.

It was a sign; our hostel was conveniently located opposite a post office. We walked straight in, picked up the largest size international box we could find, and began to fill it.

Blonde moment: Instead of purchasing the boxes, taking them back to the hostel, filling them and bringing them back to the post office, we walked into the building with plastic bags full of clothes and shoes and sleeping bags, and packed them on the store floor.

Definitely an oversight. 

But it meant my backpack was now 7-10kg lighter, having sent home most of my winter clothing and items I wasn’t using. I sent home:

-        My bulky Zara knit jumper

-        Tracksuit pants

-        3 long-sleeve tops

-        4 t-shirts

-        My sleeping bag, which I was yet to use

-        Winter scarves

-        Travel clothesline I hadn’t used

-        Small souvenirs too heavy to carry around

We each sent a box home, thinking the cardboard was going to explode on the trip back to Australia. Ash’s package definitely struggled – we needed extra packing tape to close it up!

Knowing we would need to send our winter clothes home at some stage we had emailed around to shipping companies for quotes to send 10-15kg to Australia. These all came back quite pricey, and from what we had heard from friends and family who had travelled in the past, we were going to be looking at a hefty fee.

And now for the price. I actually thought I would be paying €180-200 to send my package home. To my surprise, it only cost €42 to send 7-10kg back to Australia, plus the cost of the box (around €5). Can I get a hallelujah!

We sent our stuff home through DHL, and were promised our packages would arrive home in the short time of two weeks.

Sure enough, they did. And I wake up to a picture of my sisters with my opened package, wearing all my new clothes.

Sneaky buggers

It’s an offence to open someone else’s mail, right?!

Postman Nikki

Gruenau Forest and Forrest Gump

Soccer, or football as it’s called over here, is a pain in my royal ass.

With plans to be in Munich for the weekend, the final of the Champions League soccer tournament dictated that was not going to happen.

The best soccer teams from all the leagues are thrown into this tournament, and turns out we had actually been watching it all throughout our trip (go Barcelona!). But it also turns out the final was to be played in Munich on the weekend we were supposed to be there, and it just happened to be Chelsea FC against the Munich team, Bayern Munich.

You trying to tell us something Munich?

Almost every hostel and cheap hotel was booked out for the weekend, and no way were we going to pay €200 each for a 40 person dorm room.

Time to change our plans.

We sat with the help of two fantastic Busabout guides, Joel and Carley until 2am rearranging this whole leg of our trip due to the bloody Champions League. It meant that our plans for the next few destinations would also change because we would be delayed in getting to Munich until after the weekend. After a few stressful hours we were back on track and happy with our compromise. Thank God for Joel and Carley.

True the soccer was a pain in my butt, but it meant we got to visit the Austrian town of Gruenau. And Gruenau turned out to be great.

Just chillen in the forest

All three of us were sick, tired and needing a few days out, and Gruenau delivered on the R & R.

We stayed at ‘The TreeHouse’, which is essentially a huge house up in the forest and the trees. It is run by a man named Gerhard, with his two pet dogs and pet cat. Gerhard is a retired chef, so he prepared home cooked meals for us each night and day. A home cooked meal?! Is this heaven?!

The TreeHouse, chillen in the trees

Real home cooked food?!

Drank from the stream, wish it was like that Boags ad

Hanging with Lorixy (Lola-Crunchy-Trixie)

There was an outdoor area where we could relax in the sun, tennis courts, and a fresh water stream running past the hostel which we could drink from. We were at the foot of the Austrian Alps, surrounded by trees and nature. Ah the serenity.

Can bird watch

There are a number of outdoor activities to try in Gruenau, such as horse riding, archery, bike rides, walks, and all day hikes to the top of the big mountain.

We got up one day and decided we wanted to walk into town. 10km later and it was probably the most exercise we’d done in two months, but it felt great to get active and breathe in the Alpine air.

Austrian Hairy Coos

But perhaps the highlight of our whole stay was watching movies on the old VHS in the lounge room with cups of tea and chocolate bars.

It was wonderful. Two months on the road and we needed a little creature comforts – no TV?? Can you blame us?? We even had many of the other guests join us with their blankets, Kit Kats and Snickers Bars.

Screening was the classic Forrest Gump. It had everyone laughing, and the three of us in tears by the end of the movie. Typical.

The next night it was the Disney classic, Monsters INC, with James P Sullivan and Mike Wazowski. 

“Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!”

Fair to say that we were three very happy girls by the end of our stay at the TreeHouse. It was amazing to unwind with some good movies, catch up on some reading, eating home cooked meals, and enjoying more real shower towels.

Gruenau was a happy accident, so maybe I should be thanking the soccer.

I watched the match in the hostel bar with the fellas, all of us leaving for Munich the next day, hoping they would win so we could join the continuing celebrations when we arrived.

But bloody Chelsea and Drogba had to win, didn’t they?

Come on Munich, what are you doing to me?!

At least the cat likes me

Run Nikki, ruuuun

Drinking coffee in Vienna

Coffee. Dressing up. Palaces. Opera.

Three of the above four are some of my favourite things. Can you guess which one isn’t?

Hint: Pavarotti was my everything.

Vienna, however is known for all of these things. It felt quite classy and aristocratic, as we walked the streets marvelling at the old buildings, expensive cars and the well-dressed citizens. As soon as we arrived we embarked on a ‘Walk and Fork’ tour, different to a usual walking tour in that we sit down and enjoy a traditional meal to conclude our outing.

We walked through the Naschmarkt – a market housing fresh foods and various restaurants – observed the State Opera House, the Monument against War and Fascism, St Stephen’s Square and cathedral, Roman ruins, the Austrian Parliament building, and a statue of Maria Theresa among many other sights. We definitely would not have seen all of these had we not done the tour.

Walk and Fork? More like Walk and Talk

Walking through the Naschmarkt

Monument against War and Fascism

Outside the cathedral

It's the Harry Potter dining hall! Jokes, it's inside the cathedral

Statue of Maria Theresa, only female ruler of the Habsburgs. She also gave birth to 16 children!

Then came the best part, dinner! We were treated to a traditional Wiener schnitzel with salad and chips, flowed by hot apple strudel. Yum, yum, get in my tum.

Huuuuuge schnitty

Another huge schnitzel, and although it was nice, it still couldn’t beat the one we had in Berlin. Sorry, Vienna.

One of my favourite things about Vienna is the coffee house culture. It is perfectly acceptable, if not expected, to get dressed up, go down to a coffee house and sit and drink coffee for hours on end.

A grand Coffee House

When we did this I thought I’d stray from my usual skinny latte and try a different Viennese coffee. I ended up ordering a ‘Schokocino’ which was a dark chocolate cappuccino with caramel topping and cream. I enjoyed it, but next time I think I’ll have a regular cappuccino.

Being adventurous

Smile and pretend you like it!

Another sight to check out in Vienna is the Schönbrunn Palace, and it is easily accessible by the metro. It was the summer palace of the old ruling family, the Habsburgs, and it has 1441 rooms. Can someone tell me why they needed that many rooms? They didn’t need a home cinema, pool or a PlayStation room. Maybe it was for all their shoes. Ok, that makes sense.



Oh, that silly old thing? It's just our summer palace

Making my grand entrance to the ball. What do you mean green jeans aren't part of the dress code?

We didn’t actually go inside the palace but the building was huge. We walked through the gardens and around numerous fountains, and weren’t even close to seeing it all. It just kept on going. From what I hear through, we probably should have gone inside!

Getting lost in Burke's Backyard

I dare you to spear tackle me in

The hostel we stayed in was also one of our best yet. The Wombats City Hostel at the Naschmarkt was clean, modern, and had one hell of a bar. Although we often missed happy hour, cocktails were discounted for most of the night, and the usual highlight of the night was the Jager train. It was five Jager-bombs for €10 or something ridiculous, and the bar would be full from beginning to end lined up with drinks.

Looks can be deceiving

Round One

Round Two. What do you mean we have to catch the bus tomorrow?

So I guess you’ve realised that I’m not into opera having avoided writing about it. But the State Opera House in Vienna, Staatsoper, is impressive and one of the busiest in the world. Those not wanting to pay the large sum to be seated at the opera can opt for cheaper standing tickets. Worth checking out if that’s what you’re into!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Vienna, although the three of us were sick with colds for most of it, and were so tired one day we went straight to bed without dinner, trying to convince the sweet young boys in our room to bring us Maccas. Also try to be aware of public holidays, as nothing is open! We found this out the hard way, but our bank accounts probably thanked us for it. More money to spend on my coffee habit.

Nik-spresso

Cesky Krumlov: Haven’t heard of it? Neither had I

When we were planning our trip from Australia both Ash and Liv had heard from friends that we should stop off in the hidden gem, Cesky Krumlov. I had never even heard of the place.

But as we travelled the Busabout loops, more and more people encouraged us to go there and ensured that we would love it.

And they weren’t wrong.

Cesky is a small town in the Czech Republic, and really is a hidden gem. It would have only taken us 15 minutes to walk from one side of the main town to the other, but it was so lovely and peaceful after some time in the bigger cities.  The few tourists who were there seemed to respect this chilled atmosphere and just keep to themselves.

I can see your butt

There is a castle with expansive gardens and excellent views of the city, there is a pretty river running through the city with restaurants overlooking the water, and there is the best crepe restaurant ever invented.

Seriously. We ate there twice.

A nice savoury crepe to begin with – something like cheese, tomato and spinach – followed by a sweet dessert crepe of raspberries and sugar. Divine.

Perfection

And now for dessert! Pour a little sugar on me

It also has the worst gingerbread shop ever. We’re talking teeth-shattering gingerbread. Gingerbread so hard that if you threw it on the ground and beat it with a hammer it would not break, let alone with our precious teeth. It went straight in the bin. Although it did have a redeeming gingerbread cake; always, always choose the soft gingerbread!

After a few big days in Prague we were looking forward to taking some time out in Cesky to recharge the batteries, and it was perfect for this.

Although it turns out our hostel was haunted. Again. 

Great, another bloody haunted hostel.

Keen to have a few restful nights, the three of us actively avoided hearing the story of the haunting. But we couldn’t help overhearing and people couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

From what I heard, it has something to do with a Monk who hung himself from one of the rafters on the top floor of the building.

We were staying on the top floor.

And I just happened to pick the bed directly below that particular rafter. Unlucky pal.

The scene of the crime

Then I overhear that there have been numerous sightings of the ghost, sitting on the beams above the beds, staring down at the guests.

Holy shit, ok I’m not sleeping tonight.

I knew not to look up at the rafters, but I just couldn’t help myself. I knew that the banging of doors and bouncing of clotheslines above our beds was just our friend Glynn messing with our heads.

But I couldn’t help scaring myself into insomnia.

Who you gonna call?

By the end of our stay we were all safe and hadn’t had any ghost sightings. However another fella who came in on the Busabout coach with us apparently lay awake in bed all night busting to use the bathroom, but was too scared to get out of bed.

So we weren’t the only scardy cats.

This hostel also happened to be one of the best we had stayed in. Hostel 99 gave us our first single beds since London, and our first real shower towels! If you have travelled with a microfiber towel you will share in my jubilation. Microfiber towels are the devil!

So now I was taking pics just hoping the ghost would appear in one of them

Sign should read: Beware, ghosts

At some point during our stay the three of us just sat, wrapped up in our towels, just because we could. This is one of the backpacking luxuries, so it’s a real treat when we get a real towel.

I’m ditching my microfiber towel the first chance I get!

But I digress, Hostel 99 was excellent and Cesky absolutely wonderful. It is definitely worth checking out for a little break from the bigger party cities, and to recharge the batteries for the next stops. And don’t tell everyone about it like I am, it’s a secret!

Ghost whisperer,

Nikki

Prague: Sun and Bones

Prague gave us our first real warm weather of the trip. Finally we could wear the shorts and dresses we had been lugging around for the past two months.

We had our first gelati of the season, and our first brush with sunburn.

In a singlet and shorts! And it's the gelati that's frozen and not me!

In a dress in Prague. In a dress? What is this madness?!

But this weather was short lived, as the next day it was raining and cold again. Noooooo!

For our last day in Prague we took a tour to Kutná Hora, where there is a chapel entirely decorated with human bone.

There were bones everywhere. A coat of arms made from arms, walls and towers made from skulls, and even a bone chandelier.

The chapel wasn’t what I was expecting, and I’m not entirely sure I liked it. Our tour guide assured us that this was a respectable resting place; that the people whose remains lined the chapel saw it as an honourable place. But I still felt weird about it.

Our guide took us to some other surrounding churches and statues in Kutná Hora, however we found it to be a pretty lack-lustre tour. Unless you were dying to see the bone chapel, it probably wasn’t worth the 600 crowns (around $30), or the day we could have spent further exploring Prague.

Overall, Prague was one of our favourite cities and I would recommend everyone visit. It was relatively easy to get around (unless you had been on a pub crawl), it was extremely cheap (unless you were on a pub crawl) and it was just generally beautiful (even if you were on a pub crawl).

Cheers Prague, thanks for having us

I would definitely love to come back to Prague, and I think it will hold a special place in each of our hearts.

Yours in humerus,

Nikki

Prague Pub Crawl: A night we will be talking about for years to come

The Prague Pub Crawl was potentially one of the most fun nights out I’ve had in my life. I stayed out all night, drank way too much Red Bull, and spent all of my money.

But it was so worth it.

Planning on doing a different pub crawl all together, we ended up joining fellow Busabouters on ‘The Prague Pub Crawl’.

And I’m so glad we did.

At the first bar we were given countless free shots, ending with a half shot of Absinthe. Wowee.

Crawl with me?

I ain't crawling in this dress. Piggy-back?

Happy after numerous shots, the second bar was full of loud music and silly dancing. It was also full of Contiki travellers passing out on the floor. But finally a pub crawl we could dance on!

We're sexy and we know it

The third bar was the calm before the storm, and that’s when the Red Bull started.

It’s also when the Wolf Pack started.

We met two fellow Busabout travellers, Glynn and David, two other lone wolves who we accepted into our group of lone wolves (after watching the Hangover, clearly).

And we're the five best friends that anyone could have

And finally, the highlight of our night.

The Five Story Club.

Each floor was set up and decorated differently, with its own musical genre. The retro floor had a huge light up dance floor, and the R & B floor had a huge pit for the dance floor with the DJ up on a podium.

It was so much fun.

From the windooowww, to the waaalll

Busabout!!

We danced for hours on the floor and on the bar. We spent all our money, scooping up our left over change and dumping it onto the bar for more shots. We drank stolen vodka straight from the bottle.

It was awesome!

We never wanted it to end, so when 5am rolled around and the club closed, we reluctantly started the walk home.

Turns out we were walking in the wrong direction.

I think we walked for an hour before deciding we were lost in Prague. With only the name of our hostel and no street address, we hoped a cab would be able to take us home.

But it only got us more lost and cost us a fortune.

Logging onto a random wifi network I quickly googled the address of the hostel before asking for directions. This led us to hop on a tram, hoping it would take us back into the city centre.

We must have missed our stop because half an hour later we were still on the tram and almost in the forest.

Off this tram and onto another back to where we came from. At the first sight of a cab we jumped off and prayed we knew where our hostel was.

Look out as far into the distance as you can in this picture. That's about where we ended up

When he pulled out the Melways (or Prague equivalent) I was discouraged. It felt like we were in that cab for an eternity!

So when we pulled up outside our hostel just before 8am I was so relieved. I actually didn’t think we would ever make it back.

Therefore this night will forever be known as the Prague Pub Crawl – the night we formed the Wolf Pack, the night we went to the Five Story Club, the night we drank vodka from the bottle, and the night (morning) we go lost in Prague.

Take me back!

Red Bull really does give you wings, but so does vodka,

Nikki