Krakow

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Arcturi

Wow… we are in Poland now!  Arrived yesterday afternoon and caught the bus into town (although we got off too early and had to walk a fair way, but was cool to see the town a bit on the way) then checked into our hostel.  At the start of the bus ride near the airport it all seemed dreary and grey, the houses were like concrete cubes with windows and I guess reflect the Soviet communist domination after the war.  The old town though is fantastic – beautiful buildings and atmosphere.  We are staying between the old town and Kazimierz (the old Jewish quarter) only a couple of hundred metres from Wawel Castle so we’re right in the middle of it. Continue reading →

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Jane Austen & Bath

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Arcturi

Went to church this morning with Mum and Dad, then on to Bath where I went to the Jane Austen museum and then Bath Abbey and Sally Lunn’s refreshment house.  Bath is amazing – original Georgian architecture the same as it would have been when Jane Austen was living there.  The museum was really good, there was a guy in costume at the door to greet visitors and at the end there was a shop with all sort of things including various “I heart Mr Darcy” merchandise. Continue reading →

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Getting there – Sydney & Singapore

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Arcturi

Well despite all my lists and planning I was still in a rush to get out the door on time on Thursday, but I made it ok and have only forgotten one minor little thing.  I thought for a while there I’d left my main credit card behind but I found that today so all is well. Continue reading →

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Where is my bag?

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Arcturi

My pack with all my stuff in didn’t turn up at Heathrow 🙁  Am waiting for them to contact me, the guy I spoke to this morning thinks it will have gone to the transit area instead of out to our carousel to be collected, if this is the case then they’ll find it and courier it to me, hopefully it arrives before we leave for Poland on Tuesday morning as it has my down jacket and all my warm clothes in it.  All I have is the one set of clothes I was wearing, my down socks and raincoat and sachets of shampoo etc.

Off to go out and about, will hopefully update later today on how everything else went!

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w00t for traveling light

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Arcturi

Packed most of my stuff tonight to try it out, and my main pack is only 13 or 14kg!  The pack itself is about 4kg so I’m pretty pleased with that effort, and some of it will be offloaded when I get to Mum and Dad’s too.

Happiness, yay!

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8 Days to Go!

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Arcturi

Wow, can’t believe I’ll be leaving next Thursday!  I’m starting to get excited…

I’ve been pretty busy in the last couple of weeks – got my International Driving Permit, some Euros and Swiss Francs, a road map of Europe (plastic even, so we can still use it in the rain!), a phrase book for all the Western European languages, tonight I went and picked up some tools from Dad’s workshop that he wants me to bring and last night I went to the supermarket for the things Mum wants me to bring! Continue reading →

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Austria & Slovenia

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Arcturi

Apparently I get to decide the itinerary after we leave Reece’s family behind in Hamburg 😀  This is a great deal because so far Reece has been the one to book flights and look up places to stay – he can carry on doing that and I get the fun part!

So after we spend some time with Simone in Switzerland, I’ve decided I want to head across via Innsbruck to Salzburg, and then down to Ljubljana (see if you can work out how to pronounce that!).  My current flatmate, Kim, says she loved Salzburg and has friends who went to Ljubljana and really liked it too, so it sounds like I’ve made some good choices. Continue reading →

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Time waits for no one

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Arcturi

Sus has a random quote thing on her blog, this is what was there today:

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.— Souza Continue reading →

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New Destination: Kraków, Poland

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Arcturi

Reece was checking out some prices on Easyjet so we’ve decided to go to Kraków, Poland, for the three days that we’ve got free the first week.  It’s only costing $140 return each (handluggage only though!) and apparently is one of the cheapest places in Europe for food etc.  Rick Steves (travel guru with fantastic website) says “The top stop in Poland is Kraków.  And enjoying a drink on its marvelous main market square, you’ll know why.  The biggest square in medieval Europe remains one of Europe’s most gasp-worthy public spaces…  Kraków is the Boston of Poland: a captivating old-fashioned city buzzing with history, intriguing sights, colorful eateries, and college students.”   Continue reading →

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Insurance payout + end-of-winter sales = goodness

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Arcturi

Ok, so I haven’t bought a digital camera yet.  I have, however, taken advantage of the sales on all over the place and bought some winter clothing so that I’ve got a nice warm yet light little wardrobe that all works together.  I was planning to buy a down jacket and a merino top but it kind of grew into more!  I want to wear it all now, but am making myself wait… Continue reading →

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