Trip overview, highlights and useless stats

Ok, it's finally over, I am back at work now, in the middle of Winter... leaving 34 degrees in Rome... to 13 Degrees in Auckland OMG it is soo COLD!...

Anyway.... the goals of my trip was to see a few of my surfers again, ok, I couldn't see them all, but I did my best....

Highlights would have to be Nantes & the Royal De Lux, that was amazing, probably one of the best weekends of my life! Thanks again Fred!, now! I just need to get married! and have some kids!! so I can take them to Nantes to see the elephant and the little giant... yes... be afraid... VERY afraid!

Favorite museum, Warsaw rising, in Poland, it had my so close to tears it wasen't funny.

Best Toilet paper, Czech Republic, omg it was GOOD!
Worsed Toilet paper, Romania (sorry guys! I was like WTF is this? we use this at xmas time for decorations)


Flights 
Auckland -> Rome (Return)                                    800€
Internal flights in Europe (mostly last minute)             1800€
Actual Spending Money                                       4000€
Budget                                                     16000€

Couchsurfed                                               72 Days

Hostel                                                    14 Days
Total Flights                                                   9
Rail Journeys                                                  11
Bus                                                             3
Car                                                             1
Hitchhiked                                                      2


Most expensive City, London
Cheapest Country, Romania
Favorite Location, Bavaria/Austria

Worsed country to be vegie in, Portugal, Best, Belgium

Fastest CS Reply Paris, 1 Request and a reply back within 30 mins 

Days of bad weather 4 out of 86

Drunk, 6 times (Sad I know)

Camera Panasonic FZ40, was amazing the battery life was unreal, it could even handle my shaking!.

Low Points, Barcelona (was depressed when I arrived), Airport at London (Customs holding me for 3 hours)


If I was going again, I wouldn't pack as many clothes as I did, and buy clothes as I needed them on the way.
Also, Icebreaker style gear is AMAZING... seriously you don't need to wash it... well worth the money


Always BOOK a hostel!! well in Barcelona anyway!, always have a backup plan, if your CSing host lets you down at the last minute (yes it happened twice!)


NEVER change your money at the airport! the prix really rip you off (lesson learn't in London)


Don't carry cheese with your carry on luggage (prix will throw it out /cry)
have your shirt hanging out at the airport (to cover your belt, my belt buckle didn't trigger the metal detector) if they see the belt, they will ask you to remove it... 


View Final Route OMG couchsurfing Europe in a larger map



Special thanks again, to everyone for  making the trip so amazing!

The end is almost near...

only 2 more sleeps to go... I am still in Wein (Vienna/Austria), spend the day with Evelyn, started off going to an south african concert, which actually wasen't too bad... dancing... beating of drums etc etc... they really forced people in the crowd to join in... Evelyn even got up and danced....

After that we went off to a Sikh temple, got to put something on my head, and sit cross legged for like 40 mins to an hour.. OMG... I am soo not used to that... legs were arching afterwards.... later... we had to be fed... (if you go to a Sikh temple you can never leave hungry) soo much Vegie food!... was amazing... but again we were cross legged... very painful for one that dosen't normally do such things...

Later... we went back off to the Danube island, the concerts were still on, Evelyn and her friend... did some rock climbing (they had some walls you could climb...) I gotta free medical test... said I am 30% body fat! pfft!.... hate to think what it would have said 1 1/2 years ago!!.... but everything else tested ok.

Anyway... I've come back to and empty apartment... Tomorrow I travel from Vienna to Rome... arrive in at 5-6pm... to spend my last night in Europe... before flying out to KL and finally Auckland.

Day 2 Wein, lets visit the island!!

Ok, I visited some man made island in the middle of the river. I am guessing it's from all the crap they dug out for the subway system? it is actually really big...  a few km's long... some parts 100-200 metres wide...

There was some free concert, with 7-8 stages all over the island, it was actually really cool, once one lot of music fades off you hit the next stage.... for the next lot. There was plenty of places to drink/eat with side shows, power company/army/fire etc etc, alot of security & police. There was even some strange camera on the back of a van.... turning around scanning people, it was huge... I am guessing it's scanner for weapons? who knows....

This is the reason why kids in europe think cows are purple!

Me Relaxed on the island....

Bar in the sky....

Cocktail anyone?

Another view

wtf... we honestly are getting totally ripped off at home... 20mbit/s is FAST for NZ

close up of the bar in the sky.... nah I didn't go up....

Random photos

This was huge.... I am guessing it was over 4km's, friend said there was like 80,000 people at the main stage last night... I came home early... 

Another view... sitting down at the main stage

Jumpin into the river! ok I missed the guy bouncing up duh!

Unterach to Wein, Austria

Ok, today has been hmm very full I guess... I am actually surprised what I have managed to fit in... I spend 1/2 the day... walking around the hills and lakes surrounding Unterach in Austria, before driving with Evelyn (my very first CS guest) to Wein for the weekend...

All I can say, after what I have seen so far of Bavaria & Austria & Transylvian, is Why to Europeans come to NZ? honestly, you have NZ here in your own backyard, the only noticeable difference, everyone speaks german, and the trees are TINY, but the landscape is amazing....

View of the lake at Unterach, there are actually 2 lakes, with a river flowing from one into the other, proably only 10km's appart..

View from Evelyns studio unit, truly breathtaking...

I went on a walk, up around the hills taking a few snaps along the way, it is very much like home, except the houses are pretty well much all the same kinda design, and the trees... are small...

Another view of the lake

Hey whos that?

would you believe a deer darted past just as we were leaving town at lunch time.... was like no time to take the shot... was like wizz... would be no way in hell you could avoid it if your car was close... 

Restaurant, pretty well just down the bottom from Evelyns place, really nice food.

Yet another view this is from another location, as we were driving back to Wein

Yet another shot.... everything is like a postcard

Lake again...

yeah yeah yeah another of the lake

Wein or Vienna... first looks...

Heart of Vienna/Wein

Another in Vienna/Wein

Had to take a picture of this

Evelyn took me to this powerplant, it recycles everyones rubbish... burns it I guess.... to produce power... some artist, made it look pretty...

Another shot of the building...

Anyway the weather was fine.... I was making my way back to Evelyns place, she's gone out dancing... and left me to find my own way home!! eeep! I knew the metro station started with an "R" and was on the red line!! there were however! 2 "R"'s on the red line, hell they both sound the same to me, I started off travelling to one.... and crossed the river... was like I can't remember any of this... wtf... must be the other one.... anyway.... changed to the underground going the other way....went to the end of the line.... came out at the "R" station... and was like WTF... this dosen't look ANYTHING like what I remember going into....

I walked around for a bit, and noticed another "U" sign a little bit more up the road... 100-150 metres I guess... that was the one I went into.... from there I had to retrace my steps back to her appartment.... I made it! to my surprise!...

Anyway, at the moment, I am working on getting back to Rome....I am planing on going back on the 26th, so I can spend atleast another full day there... shopping!! spending the last of my Euros... and packing my backpack... believe I can fit another 4-7kgs worth of stuff in... altho carrying that to the airport will be a hassle... hmm o'well I will sort that problem out in a couple of days...

Newenstien castle

Ok, this is the castle, of fantasy, it is unfinished, and alot more impressive on the outside than inside, I actually thought it was small inside....

Still here are some of the amazing photos

from the photos it actually looks alot bigger than it actually is, altho it is still unfinished, (probably will never be finished)

view from the hill I climbed... it's magic

There was thunder/lightning... and the sun comes out... seriously this is just like home

lucky I am not scared of heights... just spiders and snakes ;-)

Another view of another castle in the distance

Another  postcard shot

another Postcard shot, the climb up to this spot, was well worth it, it didn't take to long, ok there was a little climbing... but nothing too hard

Me playing with the timer settings on my camera

Picture of ludwig's castle he grew up in

Epic shot! shame I am not smiling

Another shot trying to show the drop... I am guessing 100 metres down...

Zoom of one of the towers

Inside it wasen't that impressive... and rather small

Amazing floor, ok you were not ment to take photos in here, I just took a few quick snaps while no one was looking... no flash or course

Inside

Yet another image

forgive my photo work, it was quick snaps while no one was looking... the ceiling was amazing, but you could sense it wasen't finished

Art work, really didn't appear to be polished, still very good tho

Amazing views from every window,  truly magic spot to build a castle

The kitchen... actually was pretty modern for its time...

Munich, Surfs up!

What do you expect from a land locked city.... Surfing... Surfing on a River, WTF... anyway, I found the spot on the map, my friends said, yeah there will be people there... sure enough,  6-8 surfers were there to ride the waves of this river... it was pretty cool, and well organised.

Heres a short video, should give an idea

Pic of a person surfing! Radu! check out these waves!!

Munich, wo ist die nächste Kneipe?

I arrived in Munich, followed Ilja & Annas directions to there place (My Couchsurfing hosts for the next few days), both of them stayed with me in NZ, while on there honeymoon. away, it was a 10 min walk, in semi wet rainy conditions.... but it was nice to be out of the bus...

I was very tempted but I probably would FAIL

altho I did spot this spelling mistake in the german Museum

Munich has a clock tower very much like the one in Prague... with the moving puppets... petty cool, but after seeing one, you are not really interested in seeing another.

Street stalls, ok nothing really exciting here, alot of fruit/vegie stalls

Some really nice buildings...

Finally! I found the golden Rivet (ok it's an inside joke) 

Tower in the centre square

Yet another tower

Another building/statue

Fountain... damn I really don't know the names of these things... I just snap a ton of photos....

 Another shot of the building, you could spend alot of time, just looking at the detail, and the work that has gone into the faces, and statues on it...

Yet another shot