tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330353782024-03-07T20:14:44.582+11:00Rogue States of MindThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-81432077550835525212009-10-03T17:33:00.002+10:002009-10-03T17:53:00.556+10:00Lair of the Cave PenguinThe Catch-22 with writing a travel blog is that, when you're busy doing interesting things, you're busy doing interesting things and hence not updating the blog. The only time you have time to sit and write is when you have nothing to write about (''Phew, that's some catch-22'')Halong Bay was stunning and I think just the pure fact I escaped what was rapidly become my least favorite city ever The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-65162033311599575032009-09-28T14:09:00.003+10:002009-09-28T14:19:21.155+10:00Hello HanoiDay 3Theme song: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...If you've ever had a panic attack, you'll dread the sensation of even feeling slightly stressed. The tightness in your chest, the inability to think coherantly, the desire to run into open space away from people - being unable to remember a four-digit code you used sucessfully two days earlier.I still can't remember my pin and thinking about it just makes me startThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-52522698595411152722009-09-25T20:34:00.002+10:002009-09-25T23:35:50.673+10:00On the road againDay 1:Theme Song - Barber's Son (Jack London)Stepped out of my house and straight into East Berlin - the driver ran over gutters, brushed side mirrors and made various illegal and life-threatening moves in an attempt to get me to my bus 2 minutes earlier than it would have otherwise taken. Dissapointingly (or perhaps for the best) the bus driver seemed aware of Australian road rules and was bent The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-37452662680059460052009-04-15T13:26:00.001+10:002009-04-15T13:27:44.044+10:00New BlogHello peoples,My new blog is 'clear as mud' at http://mudpuddle-net.blogspot.com/ I'll leave this one up for any travel-ly stuff I might do in the future.The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-40504251882801736602008-03-25T08:52:00.004+11:002009-09-25T21:08:13.961+10:00While the Egyptians were building the pyramid, look what was happening in the UK...Finally got out of London for a day (and paid through the teeth to do so) - we went to Sailsbury Cathedral and Stonehenge.The Cathedral is gorgeous and, of course, has a great story attached. It was originally built ontop of a hill called Old Sarum but unfortunatly, the army had already baggsied the best bit with water and shelter and a view so the clergy had to constantly negotiate with the armyThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-70424063924814943002007-09-13T03:12:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:05:08.902+10:00Scots Trip Pt FourAlrighty, so we last left our intrepid adventurers on the banks of Loch Ness...We'd already paid for a cruise on loch ness and so, after consuming a few £1 specials at the bar, we wandered down and jumped onboard. The cruise was run by a 'marine biologist' and had I been more sober (or more drunk) I may have questioned that a little more. And it was also an occasion that a physics guru would haveThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-64856992784993276122007-09-07T03:30:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:05:30.367+10:00Scottish Trip continued (or Part Three)After washing our faces in the water of the wee people (that sounds really, really bad), we ended up at Fort Augustus, one of three major Forts the British built to keep law and order in the Highlands. It doesn't actually exist in any real sense now but there are a few pubs and a pretty good hostel (even if the staffing needs a bit of help).Oh, and I almost forgot the distillery tour. Visited The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-350359675159195612007-09-05T03:26:00.002+10:002009-09-25T21:08:55.152+10:00Part TwoOk, I'm doing this of memory now since I've forgotten my notebook...So, Day Two. Started in Oban, we began our trek up the Great Glen, which is a huge valley with four substantial lochs in it (the most famous being the northernmost Loch Ness). We stopped in a small town to get lunch and then had a picnic at my favorite loch, Loch Garry (ok, it's not spelt that way but thats how it sounds :o)I The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-16850988318878732122007-08-31T23:59:00.001+10:002007-09-01T00:13:21.763+10:00Haggis Tour (part one)Ok, only have fifteen minutes to descibe six days of Scotland... hmmm... will see how we go...First of, for those who don't know, Glasgow and Edinburgh are in the central belt of Scotland (the lowlands) while everything north of the mountain range is called the Highlands (the majority of Scotland's land area but minority of population). Don't know why I think that's an important fact to know but The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-31924158517013102912007-07-05T23:39:00.003+10:002009-09-25T21:09:34.944+10:00Mitchell Library BluesI've joined the library, I'm known by face at the pub across the river from work and I have a bank card - I guess I'm now an official alien.My birthday was pretty uneventful, except for calls from Saurabh n Mum, but the weeked should be great - am heading to London to have a BBQ with a few randoms and then we're going to see 'Wicked --the musical' at the theatre. Exciting! I'm looking forward toThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-74970194389746253992007-06-29T03:54:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:06:57.958+10:00Life at the GSCOk, well I have found a place to live and it may be old and smell of strange people but it's now my home (sigh). Finally got my work uniform today so feel like an actual staff member now but they still don't have my bank account details or anything else so I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to get paid....Workwise, it's pretty similar to Q except they've instigated a 'learning module' policy The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-45312504025299362552007-06-22T23:57:00.000+10:002007-06-23T00:01:26.219+10:00Crazy times...Well, still havent found a place to live. Maybe I'm being too picky - all I really want is a place with internet, a front entrance that locks and is clean. Preferably with a window. Apparently, those places are few and far between... maybe I'll up my ante a little, which may involve getting a bar job as well.As a result, I don't really have anything interesting to write. I've been too busy tryingThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-31404225280037766422007-06-20T23:59:00.000+10:002007-06-21T00:12:00.422+10:00Classy GlasgowMan, trying to think of titles for these things is hard.... normally I leave the subject heading blank so that the bulk of the email/post/thing is like a secret and then you read it and wham, your hit by the stunning simplicity and wittyness of my writing.Can you tell I'm drinking at the moment?Actually, just had my first Fosters. Apparently its ok to drink overseas - although I never really saw The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-87554256126321361982007-06-15T17:56:00.002+10:002009-09-25T21:10:01.666+10:00Paris and beyondWell, after loving Barcelona I wasn't sure what I'd think of Paris... two very different cities in a lot of ways (well thats what I would have assumed anyway, yet to really decide if thats true or not, to some extent - in the words of Paul Kelly - 'every fucking city's just the same')But I had one of those great moments when you realise where you are and how bloody cool it is that I am able to doThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-42447805973089717782007-06-13T21:42:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:10:23.836+10:00Big Ships and Briliant HousesI may be showing my ignorance here, but I'd never actually heard of Antoni Gaudi until I got to Barcelona... I've been missing out! He designed some of the coolest buildings I've ever seen along with a church (The Sacrada Familia) that he worked on for 45 years designing and will still take another 25 years to finish building.The Picasso museum was pretty cool too. I really like Barcelona, its The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-52889413982974362202007-06-10T23:11:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:10:58.331+10:00Spanish is just like Italian (in the same way that chicken is just like beef)I've left the green fields of Germany and arrived in a balmy, coastal metropolis. First impressions of Barcelona are that its easy to get around. Thats about all I've done, only just arrived at the hostel since leaving Frankfurt at 5am (!!!).Germany was fantastic. Beer, sausages, good mates... what more could a girl want? And just in case anyone is interested in seeing the Heidelburg Castle (withThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-65993182960951474912007-06-01T18:43:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:11:28.710+10:00Frankfurt, Elly and Sex on the BeachNow I bet people are reading my blog!!To start with a more somber topic, I visited the site of the Gestapo yesterday - there is a big open air gallery/museum which describes what the area was like from the 1910s onwards. There are some pretty confronting photos of political prisoners being shot and public hangings that the Nazi party put on to disuade any opposition. They were big on arresting The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-9871272069872194362007-05-30T23:38:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:11:55.923+10:00All Alone in Big, Bad BerlinAs JFK once famously said "Ich bein ein Berliner" (which actually means I am a jelly donut, known as a Berliner... what he should have said was Ich bein Berliner... but hey, its the sentiment that counts...)I managed to score a lift to Berlin (thank you Mark, the best tour leader EVER) and am joining the Topdeck mob for a pub crawl later tonight. Until then, I have been entertaining myself on The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-11310437192781001652007-05-27T00:03:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:12:21.516+10:00KrakowKrakow is in southern Poland, the second largest city in the country. I'd never heard of it before this trip so I assume the majority of my avid audience hasn't either.The story goes that a Dragon once lived on the hill here, along with a man named Mr Krak. They got along swimmingly and eventually the people built a castle on the hill that they lived on and named the city after Mr Krak.... as youThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-40140028360101256612007-05-25T00:26:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:12:49.235+10:00Well, I'm now in gorgeous, hot Budapest. It's a really pretty city, and we're staying in a hostel just down the road from the markets which has been handy...We left Vienna yesterday - this photo is actually from the Butterfly House in Vienna which was a part of the Imperial Palace.We got to Budapest in the afternoon and spent it trying to avoid roadworks. Unsuccessfully. Eventually, we made it toThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-31364576505392040682007-05-22T21:33:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:13:11.593+10:00Wiena (try saying it with a V and a german accent...)Well, I now officially a backpacker sell-out because I joined my Topdeck Tour on Saturday. So far so good, everyone has been really friendly and lovely. And drunk... but apparently thats just what people do in Venice so thats ok.We managed to get from Venice to Vienna in about 7 hours, which is pretty good, so we made it to the Shoburg (?) place, one of the homes of the Hapsburgs (a family which The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-1514866029879799782007-05-17T02:39:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:13:34.715+10:00Bloody computersOk, I have been trying for the last week to post photos. But it doesn't seem to work. Either they wont load, or the page wont display.... ARRRGGGHHH!Anyway, I'm in relaxing Bologna right now. It's got a huge student population, as well as being a fairly wealthy city in a region reknown for it's food, so it's a nice spot. On top of that, it's known as the Red Capital of a country which has the The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-62924882968701611142007-05-16T07:27:00.000+10:002007-05-16T07:28:49.267+10:00Just a quickie, to let you know I'm alive. My credit is about to run out... will try tommorrow although I have to fit in Assisi and Bologna so will see how we go Love you all a JustThe First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-17796589298793209222007-05-13T23:25:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:17:14.541+10:00UffitziI'm having a lot of problems with these computers - they like to do random punctuation, I can't attach my memory stick and they wont accept CD's so I have no idea if if the 5 euros I just spent were actually buying a disk with my photos on it or a table coaster...Anyway, went to the Uffitzi today which is THE museum in Florence (apparently). And it was free because it's culture week or something The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33035378.post-4064361544441855762007-05-12T23:12:00.001+10:002009-09-25T21:17:48.205+10:00PisaSublimely ridiculous.That pretty much is how I'd describe the leaning tower and it's surrounding environment - I spent a good while just sitting on the grass watching it. And the people posing around it. Briliant.There is something about that tower that I love. I'm not sure whether it's the fact people continued to build it taller despite it leaning, tried to correct it and inevitably made it The First Vienna Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530605269085376317noreply@blogger.com0