Europe 2007

Has it really come to this? The twilight of Nick and Lisa's Excellent Adventure, and the imminent return to gloomy,gloomy Melbourne (we still love you melbourne, really.)

Tomorrow we fly out of prague, and into a maelstrom of uncertainty, i.e. not one, but two london airports. What better place to spend a thursday in the midst of a critical terror alert! So much fun we're doing it twice.

Enough of tomorrow though, there's some catching up to be done...

Rome
Wow. Walking into Rome was like entering a theme park for history buffs. The city-scape is made up of iconic ruins such as the colosseum, the forum, and the pantheon. They're all right there, in the CBD. It's something else. Something else that's something else in Rome is most definitely the food. If we don't come back 10kg's heavier, put it down to the walking and the food in London. Rome did it's best to leave us gibbering obese diabetics, and we enjoyed every minute. The Pizza, Pasta, Coffee, Pastries and Gelato are as good as everyone says, and a little better. Yummo. Four days in Rome flew by, helped by the astoundingly beautiful weather. 25-30 degrees every day, and we didn't see a cloud.

At the Trevi Fountain

Gelato

Prague and Cesky Krumlov

The View from our Hostel

The Czech republic hasn't put on quite the same show for us weather wise, but made up for it by serving up $2 Steins of Pilsner and Cesky Krumlov.

A quick summary:
Prague - Two days in beautiful prague have been the perfect transition back to Melbourne life after the Exotic wonders of Italy. Prague is not that dis-similar to Melbourne, it feels very new, despite the old buildings, and the weather has been patchy and unpredictable at best. It's a very different place from what we were expecting, and occaisionly underwhelming due to the mass of tourist-y areas, but there's plenty to offer here. The highlights in Prague have been:
- a comprehensive Salvador Dali exhibit in the Town square

Prague Square by Night

- a stroll up to Prague Castle for some amazing views
- massive steaks at an argentinian steakhouse, surrounded by exotic animals (including Piranhas, Iguana and a very gullible Toucan)

Bratwurst and Pilsner..mmmm..yummy

Cesky Krumlov - Up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday for a 3 hour bus ride to Cesky Krumlov a UNESCO protected town near the border of Austria, right out of a fairytale. 150 kms on a cramped bus, and would you believe, it was worth every bit.

Beautiful Cesky

The first point of order in town was to hire a canoe for a dose of nature. The safety course for the canoe consisted with showing us where the oars were, which end of the boat was the front, and where to find our complimentary bottle of rum (it's true!). We chose a scenic 15km route downriver to the next town, which we were told would be an easy cruise. It may be for most people, but some sore muscles today would disagree! The problem may be that rather than pointing the boat straight ahead and taking the direct route, we zigzagged the entire way, probably doubling distance travelled. Not to mention a slightly embarassing incident which left Nick with a sore left buttock and slightly soggy... The highlight of the trip was possibly a stop at a makeshift canoers pub on the side of the river, which served among other things Beer, Jagermeister and Absinthe!

Paddle Paddle Paddle

The Makeshift Canoers Pub

Having worked up a hunger, we headed to the Piazza Cafe for a magnificent feast of Pancakes, Savoury and Sweet. One of the best meals ever. After Lunch, there was a little time left for a stroll around the village, followed by another 3 hours on a bus, this time with an ill-tempered driver, and an ambient temperature of what seemed like 60 degrees.

Mmmmm....Blueberry Pancakes and Espresso

And now alas, for the Final Ciao of European Sojourn 2007. It's been a blast, thanks everyone for reading, and hope to see you all soon.

Nick and Lisa xx