My travelling adventures...

I am not quite sure about the similarities of sigulda and switzerland... - i suppose it was a bit hilly (cf to 'moutainy' in Switzerland)... but it was really pretty - very natural with lots of forests etc. Found the tourist office to ask about what to do there and she suggested this cable car, then walk to these caves and then onto the castle thru the national park - sounded good.  Am glad i teamed up with this american guy as we did the cable car thing ok, but then the walk - well we got a bit lost in the forest, followed some latvian signposts and ended up in the middle of this (corn?) field with the grass higher than my head!!! - it is no wonder they make so many horror films about them as they are pretty eerie and the grass whispers as you walk thru it (which i definitely wouldn't have done on my own but as it was it was the highlight of the day!)... anyway we went round in a few circles and somehow ended up bypassing the caves but made it to the castle and then they had a sculpture garden which was pretty good too (another highlight! :)  ). 
The american guy - Dave - told me about how his step-brother prosposed to his wife in Neushaunstein Castle (cant remember how to spell it) on one of the balconies - apparently everyone cheered and clapped when she said yes and they reckon it was just like a fairytale (isnt that sweet!) - little bedtime story for you ;)
I went to an organ concert tonight in the Dome Cathedral which was pretty good - they played music that was written in the 15+16th centuries...
anyhow last day tomorrow - last chance to find the hot chocolate! :)  And then my flight back to the uk in the evening where my uncle and probably my mum(!) will be picking me up...
Later!

howdy! Well it is now 9pm in Riga and it is showing absolutely no signs of getting dark - bright blue sky out there! Last night on the bus from Warsaw it was like forever twilight, a permanent sunset in the horizon that was very pretty. Altho it wasnt as bad as I was expecting, I didnt get much sleep on the bus so am pretty shattered now. They even had a movie on the bus - babys big day out or something like that not a brilliant movie but was pretty funny as it had been dubbed over in polish - but the guy just spoke monotone (yep just one guy talking for everyone!) - was bizarre...
Oh - that is right - on my way to catch the night bus - feeling nice and fresh as just had my shower, new skirt as well (!!!) and my bus turns up... Choosing between the doors (it was a banana bus) went for the last ones (people were taking ages to get off and on) - and I am getting on and without warning (no beeping like on the trams) the doors close! There am I with my big backpack hanging half out of the door - I couldn't budge (it reminded me of the roman umbrella scenario)... - I give it a couple of goes and start laughing cos I cant move. 2 people end up trying to prise the doors apart and yanking me thru (the driver is completely oblivious) - I am glad they did cos it was a good 5minutes at least before the next stop - so would've been a while letting my backpack catch the breeze! - All ok - backpack and I are both unscathed! 
I just took it easy today after my bus ride and went to Jurmala - the Latvian seaside.  It was nice - brownish water, but nice white sand and calm waters and very popular local hangout!  They have these little aluminium type change rooms every 50m or so - at first I thought they were big on beach advertising til i saw a few people do the superman routine.
And I do like Riga - reminds me of Russia - has heaps of their yummy foods - including my favouritist cookies ever (that I first tried from om a stall in russia) - altho it is all pending their hot chocolate - so long as they have it 'russian style' so that it is thick enough your spoon stands upright - then it'll be all good! I haven't had that much of a look round Riga yet as went straight to the beach. It was just when i was going trying to find a restaurant that was open (not sure how i picked the ones that all happened to be closed) that I wandered the streets - some of which were very desolute but had some brilliant buildings. Dont completely feel safe when going down the backstreets etc - but not sure whether it is really cos it is, or if it is just a bad rep preceding it...
Anyway back to Poland... I liked Warsaw better than Krakow - it felt more 'real,' more historical (altho most of it was rebuilt after the war)... and it had a gorgeous park with the palace on the water which was nice... - and red squirrels!!! I thought the best thing about Krakow was Auschwitz (can you say it was 'good'??) - Auschwitz was really interesting... I did a tour (3.5hrs long!!) which was worthwhile as you found out a couple of bits you wouldn't have read or might've missed from the exhibits. I also got time to go round a bit by myself which was good as you can take your time and appreciate it all a bit more... it was incredible the things that happened, what people thought, and the risks people took to make documents and take photos just to be able to let people know what was going on in the camps... When you went into the courtyard with 'Death wall' you didnt need to be told that that was one of the worse areas - the air felt heavier there, as if the dispair was lingering... You saw the 90x90cm standing cells where 4 men used to have to stand for 3 nights (work as normal during the day) as punishment - which could have even been sharing their bread with someone that was sick... and of course i thought of the movie Life is beautiful - particularly when going thru the barracks...
Am going to go to Sigulda tomorrow - "the switzerland of Lativa" - and then do a bit of Riga touring and hopefully finding a good cup of hot chocolate! And that is all for now folks!
Later gators!

broken in 2 cos of this jolly internet...
hmmm anyway my couple of days in Binz by the beach was nice... it reminded me of the little resort in dirty dancing as it had the same clean family fun type of atmosphere, so it wasnt the best place to be by yourself (it was a primary school group in the backpackers, altho i had a lady sharing the dorm with me) but it was nice to relax on the beach, and it had really nice national park nearby with good forest/beach cliff top walks... Hitler had a 2km house/workers retreat built there (which is now a series of different museums) - he certainly liked the pretty spots in Germany (the Bavarian alps was one of his fav.s apparently...).
Am visiting Auchwitz concentration camp tomorrow... and then off to warsaw the next day... and then the night bus the day after to Riga - not that looking forward to the night bus anymore - way prefer to sleep lying down!) - and then in a week i will be back in the UK - how time flies ;)

how are you going? this will be my 3rd attempt at writing this...  - free internet has its downside...
Anyway have arrived in Krakow (obviously) - the 2nd night train from berlin to here was good - was in a 6-bunk room (I of course had one of the top bunks) - shared with a german couple and 2 kroean girls all of whom were about the same age so it was prety fun... the first night train from Munich to berlin I was in a harry potter type train compartment sqished in with 5 others - not that great for sleeping... and it was pretty hot (where's the a/c on these trains?!) - so glad didnt do the trans-siberian in summer...
Think partly due to expectations, and recovering from the night train, I thought Munich was only OK... but I really liked Berlin (It was a lot friendlier and easier to get around than I was expecting)... went to Neuschwanstein Castle from Munich - definitely sleeping beauty's castle - it was amazing! - and in true fairy-tale style i got a horse and buggy ride back down the hill... In Berlin I went to the checkpoint charlie museum which i thought was really interesting - amazing what people went thru etc, all their stories... there was a group of 68yr old+ that dug a tunnel high enough so that their wives wouldnt have to bend (partly did it as people said they wouldn't be able to dig the tunnel at all cos of their age)...

hey!  went to berchtesgaden today - back in germany - as you do while in austria!!! - but it was beautiful! - found a 2nd lake Mckenzie - Lake Hintersee - water was crystal clear and nice and chilly too - which was ok as it has gotten up to mid 20s - mind you everyone (locals) still wear long pants and shirts like it is winter! - crazy!  And went to a nazi documentation museum and saw Hitlers bunker - freaky stuff they thought (and did!)...  hmmm not a lot else- ohh i saw 3 nuns riding bikes today thru the austrian countryside  - thought that was pretty good!

;) howdy! how is everyone - these jolly keyboards- can never find the punctuation... hmmm well what i have been up to... today i went tot he worlds largest accessible ice caves - bit of a climb, and then had to go int his zoomy little gongolda thingy...-but they were amazing... had 700 steps to climbs so altho it was 0degrees it wasnt that chilly!! and it was so pretty and sparkly inside due to the ice crystals forming (apparently it is only like this in May and June so i times it well!)... am in salzburg at the moment by the way... watched the sound of mucis last night at the backpackers... and did my own tour round salzburg of some of the movie's sights - but yep it all still looks pretty much like the movie!
had a great time in innsbruck - the guided alpine walks were amazing- they pick you up in a bus and take you to places you wouldn't get to with public transport to begin the hike and it goes most of the day - and all for free - bargain!!! saw some snow that was red due to the sand been blown in from the sahara! and did the sunrise hike as well (nice 4,30am start for that one - worth it tho!!)
going to berchtesgaden for a little day trip tomorrow (germany - bavarian alps - meant to be really pretty), and then off to munich the next day - should be great atmosphere with the world cup  - even here it is pretty good - they have big screens in the parks where you can chomp on your bratwurst and watch the game...  and after munich, the night train to berlin which should be fun - arrive at 5am - eek! - and then Rugen island in northern germany for a bit of a beach break! - then it'll be in about a weeks time i will be hitting poland!
ohhhh - and blue skies all the way now!! has been brilliant!!!! - hope they keep up as ive lost my rain jacket (travelling hazard i suppose!)
anyway later gators!

even just the name makes you smile... - was very pretty place surrounded by moutains... went for a walks up thru the hills - gorgeous and saw 2 little otters!!!! - they were sqawking letting their mates know i was on my way!
meant to say about the wildflowers - they were stunning in Switzerland... at Bregenz there arent may - but hopeful in the austrian alps where i am about to head off to now they will be everywhere there too...
Still not that summery - about 15 degrees but finally have blue skies - yipppeee! Rented a bike the other day and got about 1/4 way round lake constance - very nice... (then caught a ferry back which took nearly as long as the ride! but it was good to see the lake from a different perspective... - from Bregnz it looks never-ending but out in the middle you can see it closed in by all the mountains...)
Anyway the shop is about to close so I'll be off!

Well had a grand time in the Black Forest - its mystical enchanment was only disturbed by the presence of the occassional rubbish bin that reminded me that i wasnt the first person to go thru there... I saw a couple of bambis with their mum (that was at Schauinsland which is a bit touristy with the cable car up  - into the snow again - but no one walks down like me and sees the deer!), 3 billy goats gruff (complete with bells round their necks - saw them in Switzerland too!) and the most awesome-est slugs ever - so big and fat i reckon they eat little sparrows for breakkie!!!  I did a grand walk thru the forest catching the train between a couple of towns - even that was brilliant - saw cute little gingerbread houses! - and went up Mt Felburg (caught the cable car the last 2kms) - and it was winter up there - 6" of snow - and snowed for me too! Oh - and didn't end up being the only one at the B&B which was good...- had yummy breakkie with pumpernickel bread, and fresh fruit! (and other stuff)...
Switzerland - Interlaken is gorgeous - nestled between 2 lakes, as we went thru I was disappointed I hadn't decided to stay there... then we got to my little village - just like a dab of paint in the coutryside - yep scenery like this can't be real, it has to be painted!!! - at least when the skies are blue anyhow - like they were when i arrived... I went up to Junghaujoch - the highest ralway station in Europe - cost a small fortune but everyone said it was amazing - unfortunately the clouds came with me to 3454m so didn't see much at all... but went for a walk out in the 50-80km/hr winds and snow and felt like an artic explorer- was glad i'd decided to wear my thermals! well time is a-running out - so that all folks!!! :)

hey! still raining in case you were wondering... and have just realised i booked my munich backpackers for a month ago (may instead of june) - so with the world cup it will be fun finding somewhere - might not stay there after all...  have got a few night train trips planned now (munich to berlin, berlin to krakow and overnight bus to riga from warsaw) - looking forward to them!
had an awesome walk in the black forest the other day... i was the only one staying at the backpackers - kind of a bit eerie having this huge place to yourself... anyway, caught the bus to my walking destination - and as i was starting in one 'town' and walking to another i asked whether i would be able to find the bus stop at the next town (thinking it might be a big one) - he cracked up laughing and said i would have no problem - perhaps it was due to the fact that the 2 restaurants and 3 shops are all clustered around it i wasnt able to miss it... anyway he dropped me off in the middle of a cloud - couldnt see too far ahead of me - managed to find a local to point me in the direciton of the walking track... as i began i was thinking how id love to come back in winter and see the snow everywhere - well be careful what you wish for - for what happens next but it begins to snow - yep S N O W!!!! unbelievable - meant to be nearly summer... - there was snow on the ground in a lot of places... and i could see deer tracks too!... went to a couple of lakes and thru the heathlands and forest areas - it was all very nice - albeit a bit chilly at times!!! and as i was the only one at the backpackers i was glad i had booked for a b and b in freiburg - cos again everything was booked up... - i am actaully staying at a little town outside of it (about 1/2 hr) and if you blinked youd miss it - bit it is very nice and quaint... - and yet again the only person there!!! oh well - get special treatment i suppose - and they leave gummi bears on my pillow!
well that is all for now... !