Denmark

Copenhagen

Sept 4-6th 2008

Nyhavn, Copenhagen's famous harbor.

Day 1

Copenhagen was our first stop on the Victoria and Ashley Scandinavia trip! We caught a flight from Stuttgart and arrived in Copenhagen at 1:30pm. We got off the plane and found the metro. We bought tickets and then took the next train toward our hostel. We got off at Forum station and followed the directions to our hostel. We got a little lost but people were willing to help us!! We were staying at “Sleep in Heaven” hostel, located outside the city centre. We had to pay in cash, so we had to go and get money out. We decided since we were already out, that we would just see as much as we could. We walked across the river to the main shopping district. We saw the National Museum and Christianebory. We sat in the castle’s court yard for a while then headed back to our hostel. We got money out and ate dinner at The Taco Shop. It was pretty good, but not quite as good as we hoped it would be. We walked back to the hostel, relaxed, read and then did a crossword before going to bed.

Day 2
We didn’t set an alarm because we had no specific plans. We woke up at 8:30am, got dressed and headed out in search of breakfast. We were walking toward the Tivoli centre as we thought it would be a good starting point. On the way we stopped and got bagels. It was like being in the states again; there are no bagels in Germany! We crossed Gyldenloves Bridge, passed the train station, and the town hall before coming to Tivoli. Tivoli is a large outdoor amusement park. It was closed when we got there and expensive so we didn’t really feel like waiting to go inside. Instead, we kept on walking past the Danish Design Center and NY Carlesberg Museum. After taking a quick rest we walked around the Orsteds Park. We sat on a bench and relaxed before going to the Botanical Gardens. I thought the first garden was prettier than the Botanical, so we didn’t stay as long there. Our next stop was the Royal Gardens and Rosenborg, the Royal summer house. The Royal Garden was impressive. We played cards there for a while and talked. We walk further through the city coming to Marble Church which was right in front of Amalienborg. We explored the church for a while then moved onto the castle. We walked through the castle to Amalie Haven Gardens and came out on Larsens plads which was on the water. On the other side, across the water, was a massive building, the Opera house. We walked along the water toward Kastellet, passing frined museum, St. Alban’s church, Gefion Fountain, and finally coming to the statue of the little Mermaid. We sang some songs from the movie for a while before heading toward Nyhaven harbor. After the harbor visit, we walked toward the hostel in search of food and pasted the Royal theater and Kongens statue on the way. We settled on McDonalds for our late lunch. We went back to the hostel, played mad libs, did a crossword, went online and decided it was time for dinner. We walked a ways before we settled on Pizza. After we ate, we went to see if there were any good movies playing. We made it just in time to see Wall-E, which was very cute! We walked home after the movies and went to bed.

Day 3

We woke up at 6:50am, got dressed and then checked out. It was raining which was a bummer because we had to walk to the metro station. It was early and nothing was open, so we had to wait to get breakfast. We got to the airport without any trouble. We checked in and went through security. We got something to eat and then exchanged out money. The flight was relatively on time and we were headed for Norway.

Denmark was a 3.5. Very pretty, and I'm not just talking abut the city. The people are all young and very attractive, both men and women!

Victoria and Ashley Trip!

Slovenia

Ljubljana

August 26-28th 2008

The river walk has many resturants and an open air market!

Day 7 cont.

I made it to Slovenia without any problems. I didn’t even get a stamp leaving Croatia, lame!! I arrived in Ljubljana at 10:30am. I went to the ticket office to buy my ticket in advance to go to Monaco. After I had my ticket I got a map and took a bus to the hostel. The hostel was really easy to find. I checked in and set my stuff down. I asked some questions before going to explore the city. I walked the crap out of Ljubljana!! It is an amazing city. I walked toward the castle, but didn’t go all the way up to it. Instead I sat out in front of the church and enjoyed the view. Then I walked along the river until I hit an open air market. At the market they were selling everything, from clothes, souvenirs, pottery, to gadgets and food! I got some postcards, a gadget or two and then continued to walk through the city. I had a pita for lunch, not traditional Slovenian food, but dang good! I walked some more along the river, sat and read for a while, then walked back to the hostel. It was dark by this time and I decided to stay in for the night. So I read and hung out until I went to bed.


Day 8

I had planned trip to Lake Bled for the day. I woke up well before I had to leave, so I got ready, packed a day bag and went to get some breakfast. I had a croissant and then headed to the bus station. The bus left Ljubljana at 10am and arrived in Bled by 11:15. (See bled for the rest of the post.) I left Bled at 3:30 and was back in Ljubljana by 5. I went to the hostel to take a nap before my train. I woke up at 10:30pm, read for a while, got dressed, ate some food, and watched TV until I had to leave.


Day 9

I walked to the train station at 1:15am. My train was due to leave at 2am. The train was 20+minutes late and there were a lot of people waiting to take the same train. The train was packed, but I had a seat reservation so I was able to get some sleep! We were in Italy by 5am. I got to Monaco at 3:45pm, a 13 hour train ride!!! AHHH


Ljubljana is a 5. Amazing, in the EU, on the Euro, cheap, clean, almost everyone speaks english and it's extreamly pretty. I would live there. One of my top two favorite countries in Europe!

Bled

August 27th 2008

Itsn't it just breath taking?

Day 8 cont.

The ride from Ljubljana to Bled was short and nice. Once in Bled I headed straight for the lake! It was absolutely breath taking! I sat outside for a while, reading and getting some sun. I had some Ice cream that was delicious. Then I went for a little walk around the lake. At around 1pm, I decided to go into the recreational lake area. It is a section of the lake that has lockers, a food court, diving board, slide, docks, and grass to lie on. It was the prefect place to enjoy the lake and play in the water. I paid to get in, put my stuff in the locker and found a spot on the grass. It took me a long time to actually go into the water! I finally got the nerve to dive in and swim out to a dock. On the dock I enjoyed the sun and talked to some fellow travelers. They were Irish. After 30 minutes we decided to head back to shore. Once again it took me some time to get into the water! I didn’t really swim much after that. I just hung out and talk to the life guard for a while. Then I read and ate some French fries. I finally decided to leave at around 3pm. I walked back to the bus and caught the 3:30pm one. I had the most amazing time that day. I will definitely go back and I suggest everyone visit Slovenia.

Lake Bled is a 5. Its extremely pretty and relaxing. I wouldn't mind living there either!

Croatia

Zagreb

August 24-26th 2008

You are looking at the train station! Isn't it pretty!

Day 5 cont.

I arrived in Zagreb at 1:30pm. I could have taken a tram to the hostel, but I didn’t have a map and didn’t feel like getting lost. So I took a taxi instead. It was a 20min taxi ride and it gave me a chance to see a lot of the city. I checked in, got settled, and went for a walk to find food. I didn’t want to go too far, but everything was closed because it was Sunday so I didn’t really have a choice. I found a grocery store and bought some stuff for later, you know just in case snacks. I settled on pizza for dinner and took a tram back to the hostel to eat it. At the hostel I watched Scrubs and ate my dinner. Then I read for a while and then went to bed.


Day 6

I woke up early, dressed and then walked to the tram station. I bought a ticket and took the number 2 tram to downtown. I ate breakfast at a bakery then walked around the city. I went to Zrinjevac Park, Stross Mayerov trg, Tomis Lavov trg, and ended up at the train station. I checked times for trains to the coast, but there weren’t any. So I explored the city more. I went to the Botanical Gardens, the National Theater House, Marulicev trg, and then back toward the big square. I walked to St. Francis Cathedral and sat out front and read for a while. I visited another church up the road and sat and read again. I then had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. After lunch I took that tram to Zrtava, a big white round building! I read there for a while, and then walked back to the square. I got ice-cream, sat on a bench and ate it. I took the tram back to the hostel and hung out there for the rest of the night.


Day 7

For this being my vacation I haven’t really slept all that much. I got up early, went to the train station, bought breakfast and then caught an earlier train to Ljubljana.

Croatia was a 3.5, a lot prettier and nicer than Serbia, but without the flare that Serbia had!

Serbia

Belgrade

August 22-24th 2008

View from the Citadel.

Day 3 cont.

The bus from Sarajevo dropped us off at Belgrade bus station at 10pm. We had no Serbian Dinar so we got some money out, and then hailed a taxi. The plan was for me to go to her hostel and see if there were any cancellations. See I had booked a hostel for the next night but not tonight; because I was suppose to take an overnight bus, not the earlier one. When we got there the guy told us there were no rooms available so he called around and found a place for me to stay for the night. I took another taxi my hostel and my friend came with me, for moral support! I checked in dropped my stuff off, and then we went for a walk. We walked halfway toward her hostel and then parted for the night, with a plan to meet up the next day at 10am. I went back to the hostel and went to bed.

Day 4

I woke up, got dressed, left my keys, and took a cab to my pre-booked hostel. I checked in, dropped off my stuff and went to meet my friend. We had breakfast at McDonalds, before we walked around the city. We walked all day with a few things on our list of things to do. We went to Republic Square, had a drink in the bohemian quarter, and then at lunch at a nice restaurant. After our late lunch we walked back to my hostel to ask about a movie theater in English. We figured out the times, made a plan to meet back at my hostel and then walk to the movie theater in 2 hours. The walk to the movie theater wasn’t long and we were there 30min before the movie started. We bought our tickets and went for a walk. We took some pictures of the Parliament building and then headed back to the theater. After the movies we walked back toward our hostels, parted ways, promised to keep in touch and said good bye. Back at my hostel I went to bed.


Day 5

I woke up at 5:20am, got dressed, and had the hostel lady call a taxi for me. I arrived at the train station early, so I got some breakfast then sat on the train. In my cabin a German, Austrian, and Portuguese sat with me. We talked for a long time and laughed which made the ride go by quickly. I got off in Zagreb and they continued on!

Serbia was a 3.5. A lot more impressive, and bigger than I thought it would be.