Vienna; The Everlasting Capital of Culture

After just one hour on the road from Bratislava, we had travelled between two of the closest capital cities on the planet and, in doing so, had ventured through a Narnian wardrobe, from East to West, into the opulence and grandeur of Vienna. As is the enemy of every intrepid traveller, time was always against us; and so the anticipation of adventuring into another illustrious capital, experiencing another culture, and hopelessly attempting yet another language meant we were quickly out of our hostel in exploration.

Unlike the narrow and unruly streets that branched through Bratislava's Old Town; Vienna is an almost boundless place with broad, open roads, grand, sweeping courtyards and magnificent, ubiquitous gardens that naturally accentuated the tranquil summer days we were enjoying in the city. In every direction we took, Vienna's cultural empire of wealth and aristocracy was on show in numerous impressive forms. Most notably were the enormous 17th century baroque style buildings, low lying in design and constituting some of the most impressive theatres, museums, palaces and even public libraries we'd ever seen. A perfect illustration of such structures was Hofburg Palace, an elegant and magisterial building steeped in Austrian history (and current residence to the Austrian President!). It arches around an expansive courtyard which opens onto Vienna's Heroes' Square; a great plaza surrounded by immaculately kept lawns and centrepieced by an emphatic equestrian statue of one of Austria's most heralded military leaders. 

Hofburg Palace and Heroes Square

A safe and salutary aura always seemed present whilst walking through the city's open aired streets and salubrious parks, and it was no surprise that Vienna is so often regarded as one of the most liveable places in the world. We continued to admire the most spectacular sights of Vienna, and non more so than the Austrian Parliament building. It exuded a majestic authority, with an ancient Greek styled exterior and a spectacular fountain dominating the front of the edifice; both of which were adorned with seraphic, marble sculptures and statues, and completed with a delicately applied soupcon of gold.  

Quite a Houses of Parliament... 

Sundays are a rather peculiar experience in Vienna. Every shop, supermarket and majority of restaurants close their doors this time every week; and the city empties with all but tumble weed blowing across the deserted streets. Therefore, as a Sunday happened to be our second and final day in Vienna, we'd decided to take advantage of this and sightsee our way through to the centre of the city and to Stephansdom (St. Steven's Cathedral), the 900 year old, Gothic jewel to Austria's crowning city. It is a towering, yet confined structure with breathtaking attention to detail in the design and construction of its lofty arches, hexagonal turrets, intricately carved spires and its steep, tiled mosaic roof. 

Stephansdom

A typical Viennese public park with the side of the Burg Theatre in the background. 

Despite the phenomenal sights we were visiting; the intense, near 40°C heat of that day slowed us to a languorous state - and so we decided to take cover in the indoor coolness of the Burg Theatre, which was mercifully open for tours. Recommended to me by my Aunt and Uncle, the Burg theatre is an abundance of cultural history and world significance, having premièred Mozart operas and Beethoven symphonies over 200 years ago; although it is more internationally renowned now as a non - musical, German speaking theatre. 

The Main Auditorium 

The actual interior design and architecture of the theatre is almost as famous as its past performers. Although it only boasted a modest capacity compared to modern venues, the main auditorium was memorising. Rows of comfortable, red velvet seats stretched across the room and the steep, rising balconies horseshoed around the stage, focusing intimately onto the prestigious platform on which we were standing. Then, rising up either side to the entrances of the main auditorium, were two extravagantly decorated, imperial marble staircases, laden with red carpets and embellished with regal archways, rising marble pillars, lavish crystal chandeliers, and the heads and busts of the famous actors and playwrights associated with the Burg. Equally as impressive were the ceiling frescos awning the grand staircases, with each panel illustrating intrinsic stages of the history and development of theatre; from its conception in ancient Greece, to the pre-eminence of Shakespeare and beyond.

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life.

The fervent excitement of the Euro 2012 final later that night had steadily increased as the day drew on and, having been culturally satiated with the fascinating tour of the Burg theatre, we eagerly anticipated an evening of great promise. We ate earlier than usual in a restaurant just outside our hostel and after an amazing meal we headed up town towards a trusty Irish pub, Charlie P's, to watch Spain annihilate Italy in the final!  

With picturesque landscapes, colourful parks and the content, happy locals contributing to a near Utopian atmosphere and society; Vienna was a wonderful surprise on our trip, and one we would be keen to revisit. 

Bratislava; The Forgotten City

Our next two stops were only brief, spending four days split between Bratislava and Vienna and, for such a short amount of time, the impression left from each city was lasting. As Anthony had already visited both places, he led the way as myself and Tom followed but, as we soon discovered, you'd have a hard time getting lost in Bratislava.

The capital itself is tiny and is scattered with beautifully quaint squares dotted around the Old Town, often occupied by mini concert stages, street performers, bizarre statues, market stalls and a variety of different cafes and restaurants. We took a leisurely stroll through the cobbled streets and ancient gates to Bratislava Castle, the centrepiece of the city, that offered spectacular views of the medieval town and the wide, powerful Danube that runs along parallel to it. The castle itself was very impressive, with four large and immaculately clean walls painted pure white, becoming almost blinding in the searing sunshine; with four raised turrets tipped with terracotta roofs on each corner of the city's iconic landmark. It is Slovakia's most recognisable structure and, although it's legend and history is half a millennium old, it stands today as a replica, reconstructed in the 1950's after a devastating fire two hundred years ago. We explored the building, wondered the expansive grounds and relaxed on the fortresses' defensive walls that presented the aforementioned views of the river; and of Novy Most (translated as New Bridge), an intriguing, bizarre and incredibly unique structure that spanned the Danube.

Bratislava Castle

It's a massive 'cable- stayed' bridge, and has two concrete columns rising on either side of the road, adjoined at the top by a UFO shaped, glass walled building that serves as a restaurant/ viewpoint. Despite it's curious design, there is little to admire about Novy Most. The bridge's construction began in controversy, requiring the demolition of the entire Jewish quarter adjacent to the castle. It's made from ugly, bland material in the Brutalist architectural style synonymous with communist Russia, and has rather unnerving resemblance to one of the deadly Martian ships from War of the Worlds! We crossed the concrete alien on its pedestrianised tier to the opposite side of the Danube to look around the less travelled riverbank, which was full of local families and tourists relaxing and enjoying the sunshine on the grassy open spaces and artificial beaches adjacent to the river front.

Novy Most

One of Bratislava's most attractive qualities is its leisurely and relaxing pace that it's inhabitants  seemed to adopt; emphasised, no doubt, by visiting so many crowded and popular tourist destinations already on our trip. One of the nicest spots in Bratislava was a long, open boulevard in the Old Town that ran one street parallel to the river. Completely pedestrianised, it was decorated with colourful flowers and rows of continuous trees either side of the wide, cobbled pathway. It was also host to an outdoor photographic exhibition that had captured commonplace moments of everyday life from Middle Eastern places (e.g. Israel, Lebanon & Jordan). The spectacular, blown up photo prints encompassed perfectly an expansive array of human emotion; from grieving mothers, pensive rabbis, off duty soldiers relaxing and the innocence of children playing football on make shift pitches. Moving along the path, and flanked by the trees like a guard of honour, we explored craft market stalls, massive 10ft pieces of unorthodox public art sculptures and, eventually, we conceded to the searing heat of the sun and retreated to a shade covered bench. It became even too hot to move, so we were content to idly people-watch, only for a local singing show to start performing on a raised, wooden pavilion not even 20ft away. As pleasant as it was unexpected, there was an eclectic mix of voices and songs, both in English and Slovak, and was accompanied by plenty of crowd entertainment with a genial family atmosphere. 

Boulevard 

Bratislava is a remarkable place by night, abundant with simplistic, old fashioned bars and restaurants with hearty food and great beer. One particular tavern we frequented the most was conveniently situated next door to our hostel, and gives an apt illustration of a typical Bratislavan pub. The place itself was dimly lit, with the yellow glare of the lights struggling to pierce the thick ploom of cigarette smoke, suspended in the air like a Dickensian mist. We stuck out like a highlighted sentence on black and white text and seemed to be the only ones without thick facial hair, tattoos, piercings or a cigarette in our mouths. We were like characters in a Tolkien novel, sitting on heavy, stained wooden furniture, consuming dark beer served in hefty glass tankards, and enjoying the buzz of friendly chatter, interrupted only by the latest toast and the resulting smashing together of glasses. Our company that night was large and amicable. We started with meeting two fellow travelling Brits from our hostel, Sarah & Grace, and befriended a group of pleasant Bratislavans soon after. A mini bar crawl inevitably ensued and set the tone for a great evening, with the exception of some particularly angry Slovak bar staff in one of the latter pubs! 

It is a place anonymous to most prior to visiting, and is constantly in the shadow of its affluent, prodigious next door neighbour, Vienna; but you soon discover it is more than just another place visited or convenient stopover. It is a fantastic place in its own right and provided some of the most unique and pleasant experiences on our trip so far.

The Mysterious Land of Romania

Knackered

Our time in Romania began two countries previous, leaving Istanbul late at night on board the Bosphorus Express service; a 23 hour train journey that turned out to be an experience that we'll never forget. The journey was steeped in a cruel irony. We found it perplexing how a 23 hour trip, travelling seemingly slower than a tortoise on crutches and stopping for on the tracks for hours at a time, could've been labelled as an express service. The route was also exclusive to the famous Orient Express, although the days of luxury and comfort have long since been vanquished. Instead, unfriendly, miserable and unreasonable conductors prowl the trains corridors; eager to cause you grief and complication at the first opportunity. However, our fellow passengers provided some level solace, of which we reciprocated and, in the end, plenty of stories were swapped and good friendships formed. After almost an entire day spent travelling, on two buses and two very dated trains, through the entire length of Bulgaria, we arrived at our destination with hunger, thirst and exhaustion all battling it out to be satisfied first.

Casual

Bucharest is a fascinating place and, as we had just one full day there, we were determined to make the most of it - although Mother nature did its best to cripple us, this time with blistering 40°C heat! The city's main focal point is the gargantuan People's Palace, a phenomenal building (and the 2nd biggest in the world) that we found easy to admire but, after learning of it's history, difficult to like. It's construction was ordered by Romania's communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu in the early 80's and, thirty years on, it is only just approaching completion. It's name couldn't be less appropriate. Costing a total of almost €4 billion it almost bankrupt the country and the building plans themselves required the demolition of almost a quarter of the city, with houses, churches and the city's entire market district wiped out. From the locals we spoke to, although it serves a purpose as government offices now, it still acts as a constant reminder of their turbulent past and the sacrifice thousands of residents had to make by forced relocation... so much for the people's palace. Nevertheless, it still remains a remarkable building, with the sheer scale of it difficult to truly comprehend. On a tour of the palace, it's interior has been lavished with tonnes of marble, thousands of chandeliers, ornate oak doors and hand stitched carpets and we ascended several stories to the roof where we gained a stunning panoramic view of the city. As beautiful as it comes across, however, at the end of the tour we both found it challenging to overcome the astronomical price tag and what could have been achieved instead.

People's Palace and the view from the roof

Later that evening we participated in a free walking tour given by a friendly, knowledgeable and passionate Romanian. We discovered Bucharest's rather hidden Old Town and, in stark contrast to what we'd seen so far, was small, quaint and full of character & intrigue, scattered with beautiful centuries old Orthodox churches, historical houses and streets layered with fantastic bars and restaurants. It offered a real insight into Romania's fascinating history, both during communism and long before it - from the Roman Empire founding the country to their most famous historical figure, Vlad the Impaler (aka Dracula). 

Romania's national theatre.

Bucharest, and it's old town in particular, was equally as appealing during the evening. The aforementioned restaurants, bars and pubs were thriving, a variety of street performers lined the streets entertaining the masses and we even stumbled upon a crowded Euro 2012 fanzone after having meal, staying for a while to enjoy the latest match. The searing heat of the day had transformed into extreme humidity at night, intensifying our exhaustion but quelled mercifully by our hostel's air conditioning, a rare bonus of which we took full advantage.  

Hollywood?

The following day we left Bucharest with a touch of melancholy, feeling touched by such a surprisingly impressive and intriguing city. However, such feelings were rapidly reversed by the excitement of our next stop, Brasov, Romania's cultural and historical home and situated within the magnificent and breathtaking Carpathian mountains. Arriving around midday and eager once more to make the most our day,  we took to the mountain that towered over the city and climbed. Consisting mostly of narrow, worn in paths, the ascent was long and tiring and brilliant fun! The hillside was steep and layered with massive trees all within close proximation; their snaking roots rising slightly from the earth and of which we utilised to 'scramble' up the mountainside. Exhausted and with limited water, we had reached the summit running seemingly on adrenaline alone and none more so than when misjudging the steepness of a few of the 'scrambles' between paths. The climb up became more challenging, but retreating back to the path we'd started from was a far more treacherous option! Regardless of our methods, the decision to scale the mountain was rewarded with some absolutely incredible views of the city below and the mountains that continued beyond the horizon. 

Incredible views

Through fear of collapsing on the way back down, we took mercy on our aching feet and took to the funicular to the bottom, ready to discover the delights of the city's old town. Brasov has a distinctly medieval feel about it, with small castle forts, moats and towers spread throughout and surrounded by the old defensive wall encircling the majority of the city. Once again we partook in a free walking tour which was equally as fascinating as our one in Bucharest. It added substance and history to the city's weird and wonderful buildings and landmarks and, as we wondered down cobbled narrow streets or around the base of dense mountainous forests, it felt like you could've been anywhere in the world, such is Brasov's uniqueness. 

Top; Town Hall, Middle & Bottom; Churches.

We departed in a swirl of dark clouds, thunder and lightening on the evening of our second day, destined for Budapest on our second, and thankfully much shorter, overnight train (Just 10 hours this time!).


When planning our trip back during winter, Romania was essentially just the big gap between Istanbul and Budapest, two of the places we were desperate to see. However, having entered the country knowing nothing about it, Romania was such a pleasant surprise with a fascinating history, stunning landscapes, great beer and delightful residents.

It's not Budapest, it's Buda and Pest.

Budapest split by the Danube

We arrived into Budapest early morning after a thankfully uneventful night train that had departed Brasov the previous evening. It was yet another sun soaked cloudless day that, as Brits, we had barely become accustomed to even after a fairly steady three weeks of it. We were to stay in Budapest for almost five days and, as we were meeting our friend Anthony 36 hours in, we rationed our time to avoid things deemed unmissable (of which there turned out to be quite a few). Fortunately, our hostel was located in the heart of Budapest's thriving city centre, so we utilised this to good effect and meandered through the old town admiring the beautiful buildings and relaxing by the edge of the enormous Danube river that divides the city into its two halves, Buda and Pest. On the Buda side, Gellert Hill and the city's castle district both reign majestically over the Danube and the flatter half, Pest; which is home to the tourists, administrative/ political areas and, our personal favourite, the Student bars and pubs!

Gellert Hill and Liberty Statue

We decided to climb at least a part of Gellert hill and, other than the beautiful view it offered, we witnessed a street hustler dispose of some American tourists a total of around $300! We were just as confident as they were that their choices were correct - only for us to leave feeling just as bewildered but with a thicker wallet and with our ego's intact.

Both of us on Gellert Hill

Then, later that day, we casually stumbled across the latest Die Hard movie set. The streets had been closed off and crowds had gathered to watch Hollywood at its finest; filming a car chase and smashing up polystyrene monuments with armoured army trucks! We even caught a glimpse of Bruce Willis.....'s body double! 

A Good Day to Die Hard

Our second day was hampered immediately by our weather karma, who'd obviously deemed that three fantastic weeks was the limit we'd pushed too far. The heavens opened and the rain was torrential. However, determined not to spend the whole day confined to our hostel we decided to go somewhere 'close' which, in retrospect, was a rather foolish thing to do. Soaked from head to toe within five minutes from leaving, with me literally pouring water out of my shoes, we took shelter in a secluded hidden church that had been crafted into the rock of Gellert hill (overlooking the river). The church was quite beautiful inside and interesting, as it was historically important to the city's relatively recent past; although by means of providing shelter from the storm its lasting impression maybe somewhat inflated. 

(L to R) Patrick, Gyula, Tom, Ant & Kieran 

Our first full day after Ant had joined us was also accompanied by two locals from Budapest, Gyula and Patrick. I had become friends with Gyula at University whilst he studied an Erasmus semester earlier this year in Leeds and, having kindly offered up a day to act as our tour guide, showed us round the city's spectacular landmarks and buildings. As Gyula lead us round the beautiful city streets, we gained a fascinating insight into the city's communist past, alongside how it is to live in Budapest currently and the struggles still faced by a democracy still in its relative infancy. 

The Castle district 

Our whistle stop tour had some truly stunning sights including; The Chain Bridge, The Castle District, Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. However, their Houses of Parliament ranks clearly above the rest and must certainly be one of the most beautiful buildings in all of Europe, looking more like a Gothic cathedral than a place of politics. Its in a similar style and majesty to Britain's own, with its main difference being a stunning dome that is the centre point of the building's architecture which is then surrounded by numerous spires, all in complete symmetry with each other.

Houses of Parliament

At night, Budapest really came to life. There are a countless number of pubs, bars and restaurants all bustling with tourists and locals and creating a wonderfully friendly and cosmopolitan atmosphere. People were easy to talk with, service in restaurants was always friendly and polite, beer was tasty and cheap... all contributing factors to some fantastic evenings spent in the city. Budapest's student area was particularly fantastic as it was littered with 'ruin' pubs, places that look run down and abandoned, but go inside and there are many rooms and open spaces soaked in character and that were incredibly intriguing.

Chain Bridge

Our experience of Budapest is virtually second to none. The city itself is fascinating and beautiful, the locals are kind and welcoming, the weather was mostly spectacular and many friends were made on the way. We both say we'd go back in a heartbeat and I personally cannot recommend Budapest highly enough!

Istanbul; The Gateway between East and West

There are some cities that are large to be impressive (i.e. New York with its ever increasingly tall skyscrapers), but Istanbul has to be measured on a much more gargantuan scale. The city stretches over two continents and is divided into three main hubs; all of which are connected by huge suspension bridges crossing the mighty Bosphorous river that powers through the city. No matter how much we'd read about the mammoth size, population and culture of the city as a whole, nothing could have properly prepared us, first hand, for the incredible few days that lay ahead. 

Everything about our stay seemed to be a new level of intensity when compared with our previous stopovers. The airport transfer, for example, bordered on near suicide as our driver seemed to fancy himself as some sort of stunt driver, descending boldly through the steep, confined streets that weaved unpredictably through urban Istanbul. Hairpin bends, blind corners and increasingly narrow gaps were only seen as greater challenges for our driver - who commanded the mini bus fearlessly to our hostel. Having evaded the clutches of the death mobile, a new apprehension took hold... We'd been dropped off, late at night, in the middle of Istanbul - only for our driver to be as lost as we were in regard to where our hostel was. We tried to decipher where we were but with no avail, so resorted to the 'oh sod it' strategy and chanced a small side street, only to find our hostel had been round the corner the entire time.

Our hostel was brilliant, Ali, the owner, was friendly and welcoming, with a sarcastic sense of humor that a Brit would be proud of. Whilst we were there, we befriended a fellow Englishman, whose journey of cycling from Kent to Australia was somewhat more ambitious than our relativity meagre one month, but equally as inspiring to throw more caution into the wind when next travelling.

Hagia Sophia

Inside the Blue Mosque

The main attractions of Istanbul are their Mosques. They dominated the skyline of the city in both their number and their size and was an unusual experience jumping from the home of the Catholic church to a predominantly Muslim city in just a flight. We visited a couple of mosques including the Blue Mosque, one of the biggest in the city. It was decorated beautifully on the inside, but with a surprising simplicity about it. There are no statues or altars or fresco's or paintings... just ornately painted walls and carpeted floors; it was in huge contrast to Christian places of worship, but just as impressive and sacred. One of the most unexpected surprises during our stay was enjoying the harmonious prayers that we're amplified by speakers from the mosques across the city.   

The climate there was incredibly hot and was only intensified by the sheer volume of people that over crowed the ascending narrow alleys and streets; with flows of people staggering along in each direction due to prospective customers stopping and surveying almost everything imaginable. At the summit of the old town lay the Grand Bazaar, an enormous indoor market place where haggling is expected and accepted and where a successfully negotiated chess board was purchased - a vital investment for our daunting 22 hour train journey to Bucharest to come.

The only reprieve from the furnace of the city's streets was the popular Bosphorous river tour that sailed the parts of the river that lined the city itself. At a decent pace it took an hour to travel just to one end, which illustrates further the vastness of the city's reach and gave us a true sense of how magnificent this place really was. 

A view to eat for

At night, we frequented the popular rooftop restaurants and sat on their terrace, with spectacular panoramic views of the city and the widening mouth of the Bosphorous in the background. Of course, no trip to Istanbul is complete without smoking some Shisha! (hookha/ waterpipe) 

Enjoying the hubbly bubbly

For us both, Istanbul was on a different level to anywhere we'd been before. We arrived with some trepidation, especially when being driven through the outskirts of the city, with the radio playing the type of music you'd associate with middle eastern set spy films! (Spy Game came straight to mind). We left, on the other hand, with our initial apprehensions extinguished by the charm and majesty that Istanbul exuded so naturally.  

At dusk

We went to Rome, but we didn't see the Pope

Rome got of to a fantastic start simply because we'd gotten into the main station (after visiting Florence) and met up with our Uni friend, Oliver. After a somewhat stressful journey for all of us, we headed straight for the closest bar showing England's opening game against France and nursed home the €5 pint throughout the whole match. We then ventured rather sporadically on the metro and buses towards the outskirts of the city, struggling with broken Italian to find where the hell we where staying. After a long day travelling, an early night was certainly required, especially in preparation for the Eternal city the following day.

As Rome was the only place either one of us had been too, it was a case of retracing the majority of my steps but with friends rather than family. Through map and memory, we managed to navigate Rome's winding intricate network of millennia old roads and pathways with relative ease - taking in all the major sites at a leisurely pace.
But this is as far as I write for one blog only. Oli has kindly taken over my blogging duty for Rome and the differences between a Science and Arts students writing is glaring...  If I had it my way he'd be writing the rest too!

For me, arriving in Rome was more a 'Trial by sweaty Italian' rather than one of fire, but pulling into the Termini stop and seeing two familiar faces made this experience much more soothing. It was, however, a hectic experience. One quickly learns that the etiquette of the Roman roads is more of a dog-eat-dog inclination, or perhaps more aptly 'Bus-eat-car-eat-moped-eat-pedestrian'. Crossing a semi-busy road was somewhat of an achievement, one that was regularly rewarded with a coffee, some form of pastry or delicious gelato, whilst the thrill of dodging an on-coming bus added greatly to this sense of accomplishment.

Pantheon; Rome's oldest church

The sights of Rome almost speak for themselves: the grandiose, and aptly named, Colosseum, the surprisingly vast yet intricate Vatican, and the superstitious beauty of the Trevi Fountain. The most astounding aspect of Rome was the somewhat contradictory nature of having vast amount of hidden gems. Around every corner and up each set of marble stairs there would be a decadent church, monastery, cafe, building, sculpture, obelisk, fountain and the like. 

Italy's most modern 'old' monument

Discovering these treasures gave Rome a greater element of surprise and etched these 'new' (yet vastly old) places into our collective memory, providing us with some of the most memorable moments of our trip; such as the almost gory sounding church-on-a-church-on-a-church that was the Basilica di San Clemente. Seeing such well known pieces of art and paintings also made this Roman adventure even more memorable. Seeing first hand the work of Raphael and his School of Athens or a genuine Da Vinci enabled each of us three to tick some goals off of our life lists.

Besides the actual experience of attending these galleries and churches, the main pastime we undertook was the necessary mode of transport that any aspiring young Ranulph Fiennes must do, walking. Rome is quite noticeably small compared to other cities which gave us the gusto to say that we could conquer her length and breadth. And to a degree we did, as we would walk some 7 hours per day until our feet had literally bled. It was only then that we would be defeated by the narrow, winding roads of this ancient religious city.

But take this with a pinch of salt, we took our fair share of rest stops; sitting on the steps of a newly discovered basilica, iced teas at hand, drinking in the beauty that Rome offered so readily. It was here where I have some of my fondest memories of the trip as they gave us time to talk, reflect upon what we'd seen, share even more stories and plan the remainder of the day (often trying to find a course of action that saved our feet from even more agony). Of course we could also do our fair share of people watching, trying to decipher the accents of many other site see'ers (many of which turned out to be Australian) and observing the near misses that many a moped would encounter in front of our eyes. 

Fozzy bear is hiding somewhere in there

Perhaps my favourite comedy moment of the entire trip was the stalking of a man and his family around the ancient Colosseum who sounded remarkably like Fozzy Bear from the Muppets; a short reprieve from the osmotic effect of soaking up some of the worlds greatest culture. (If you're unfamiliar with Fozzy, imagine a man talking like this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P6ds11QzWA) 


The coffee was incredible, the wine was cheap and our accommodation was a community of like-minded, sweaty people. Apart from Key gaining 20 stone in the space of 30 seconds and managing to break his steel framed bead, the Rastafarian's talking in their booming voices at 1 o'clock or eating some local salami that smelled like warm prawns, the accommodation was amazing. Our tent was quaint, the facilities were clean and the football was on a flatscreen television outside, what more could three students ask for?

When in Rome... they form a 90's boy band

We met some friends in the last few days but they became fleeting acquaintances where names were rarely exchanged and contact information was never mentioned. But there were always a few laughs to be had and stories to be swapped of home, Rome and the world.
The goodbye between myself and Key/Tom was emotional as it brought back our earlier departure from university life. Yet their adventure was nearing it's rotund middle section whilst life back home was grasping at my proverbial cuff. I saw them off on their adventure to Istanbul before waiting for 5 hours for my flight, LOOOOOOONG!

Just a quick update on our progress in 'real time'... We've spent the last couple of days in Istanbul and are heading up to Bucharest tomorrow evening (via a 21 hour train journey!). Keep checking the blog for Istanbul... it should be a good one!