Cruising

It seems that being at sea makes it incredibly difficult to connect to the internet, thus causing problems on the blogging front. But never fear, I have been writing about my experiences as the days went by so I can share them with you now I'm back. You simply have to pretend that I've only just gone away, ok? Brilliant.

I should probably start off with pointing out how cruising (if you haven't already guessed) wouldn't usually be my first choice for a getaway, owing to the restraints on time for exploring and the excessive amount of organised fun. However when my grandad asked if we'd like to go away with him, I was hardly going to turn down the chance for some quality family time, let alone a free trip to five places I've never visited before.

The Aurora! My temporary home :)

After an extremely early get up we finally arrived in Southampton to set sail at 4.30. I've quickly had to adjust to the importance of promptuity during sea travel. Not just for sailaways but also for on board activities and meal times; my fashionably late-ness isn't so fashionable on here it seems. 

The average age of the passengers is probably around late 40s/early 50s, so as you can imagine, me, Rach and Josh are in a bit of a minority (Rach being 19 and Josh, 17). We're trying to convince Josh to give the kids club a go, though maybe calling it the 'kids' club isn't the best persuasive tactic we could use... Luckily we are all quite introverted at some level and get on pretty well, so really I have no quarms about whether or not we meet other passengers. Usually I love to make friends and get to know other people's back stories etc, but since everyone on this ship is English and rather posh, I'm happy spending time in the company of my own family :)

Our first three days have been at sea, the majority of our time being consumed by swimming, sunbathing and eating far too much. Unlimited buffets are both a blessing and a curse (specifically on my waistline). At first I found it quite difficult to relax, as I'm not particularly good at doing nothing, but it's fair to say I'm starting to appreciate the break from the madness that is London. I've also enjoyed being able to catch up on recent film releases, since I haven't really seen many in the past two years.

Why are we all so fit?

Tomorrow is our first port day, I'm itching to get off and explore! First stop, Madiera.

Siegburg, Cologne and Bonn

Since Friday I've been staying with my friend Mani, who I met in Cusco, in a city called Siegburg which lies between Cologne and Bonn and having an absolute whale of a time. Not only has it been great to see Mani again and be back on the road, I'm also loving the feeling of knowing exactly what I'm doing (sort of). Although my first big adventure was exciting in that I was constantly learning and having to figure out how to do this thing called 'backpacking', it's nice not to worry about the little things that bothered me last time.

Despite having had only two hours sleep in the airport lounge the night before, as soon as Mani came to pick my up from the airport we headed out into Siegburg. I'm just so hardcore. After wandering around the centre and climbing up to the Convent at the top of the hill to see the pretty view (still being hardcore obv.) and sleeping in the afternoon, we headed out to a lake in a nearby town called Hennef, where we had beers and cake and bubbles and music to celebrate Mani's friend's birthday in the sunshine :)

On Saturday we visited Cologne. En route to the Cathedral we wandered across this really cool bridge which was COVERED in love -locks (I think that's what they're called...) There's literally thousands and apparently they're getting so heavy specialist people are starting to worry about damage to the bridge. I love it though!

We then climbed the Cathedral which was FLIPPING high, something stupid like 523 steps. But it was totally worth it, the view was really something! The inside was kinda cool too, you could see the huge bell and all the graffiti on the walls which has been there for years. Usually I'd be apposed to drawing on the walls of a church but I think it gave it character in a weird way. You could see the thousands of names of those who'd visited the church in the past and I personally love to think about where those people are now... does Ole still love Christina? How did Dave's 'eurotrip with the lads' end? I suppose I just like to let my mind wander.

That night we went to see Die Ärtze with two of Mani's friends. IT. WAS. AWESOME. I seriously recommend you check this band out.

I reeeeeeeeally hope this wasn't a real tattoo...

We decided to have a lazy Sunday, which consisted entirely of eating McDonalds, drinking beer, swimming and drinking more beer. Oh and a party in the kitchen where Mani and I learned to catch popcorn in our mouths and I tried and failed a juggling apples.

Today was my first day as a lone ranger as Mani had to go to work. I spent my time getting lost in the centre of Bonn - I'm telling you that city is like a maze, I kept on going round and round in circles. I bought some wool to make a headscarf with to give myself something to do on the train (its like 12 hours long tonight, which admittedly, I would have been ecstatic with in South America, I've just gotta get back into the swing of things!)

I leave Mani's at like 9 o'clock tonight for the station and then it's off to Poland, which is a new country for me which is all very exciting. I'm also meeting up with Mitch, Josie and Steve once I reach Krakow, which suggests to me that tomorrow could be a rather messy catch-up night.

Prague Day 3: Pedalos and The Bohemia Jazz Festival

Since our two previous nights had been rather heavy we decided that we'd take our last day in Prague a bit easier, so we wandered down to the Danube and hired pedalos. (They're easy enough to find, just look for the island in the middle of the river, the bridge is near to Goethe Institut on the city centre side.)

Walking down the river we saw a girl stand on one foot, put her foot over her head onto her shoulder and the smile through the arch it created to pose for a photo. Since it made such an impressive photo, Aimee and Ben decided that they would also give it a go.

The weather was lovely so after a heading to a cafe for some refreshments, we decided to have a dip in the water. Coming off the end of the island in the middle is a little beachy area, where there were people sunbathing, but no one actually swimming. However as there were no signs to say no swimming, we went in anyway. Little did I know that this would prove to be the end of my supposed 'water-proof' camera. After being in the river for about half a minute, Ben decided it would be a fantastic idea to tackle me into the water and the pressure somehow managed to water log my camera for the second year in a row. Though this time at least I got three days worth of pictures, last year it broke half way through the first day in the Mediterranean Sea.

It just so happens that we managed to be in Prague for the beginnings of the Bohemia Jazz Festival, which tours all around the Czech Republic throughout July-August. After our walking tour on the first day, we had already learned that the term 'Bohemia' had actually originated in Prague and along with a lot of the influences for this style of music. There were acts from all over the world and although we only briefly got to see one of the acts called 'The Baker Suite' (from Australia) it was pretty cool to enjoy the atmosphere that the festival had created.

One of our holiday traditions is that on our last night in each city/country, we go out for a traditional meal and sample some of the local cuisine. Having no idea about anything to do with czech food or where is good to eat, we just picked a place close to our hostel that said 'Traditional Local Food' on the outside and hoped for the best. I tried venison for the first time, which was in a curry type sauce with an assortment of dumplings and it was DELICIOUS. The Czech really do know how to make a hearty meal. However be warned about the sneaky waitresses, who told us that bread and sauces were free but then decided to charge four out of the seven of us for using them! The cheeky so and so.

After dinner we all headed out to the city centre, where the Jazz Festival was coming to a close for the day. Tom bought a CD of The Baker Suite and managed to meet the band in person, getting his CD signed of course. We then headed of to one of Prague's underground jazz bars. I don't think I've ever felt so cool. The band were pretty good and they were clearly having a really great time whilst performing, which for me makes all the difference when watching a live act.