365 Days, 26 Countries and 40 Passport Stamps Pt. 2
- Keegan Tudehope
- Jan 22, 2017
- 6 min read
With over six months in the books and many new places, faces and experiences we looked forward to even more time exploring Europe in the Summer. Being a teacher really worked in our favour as a 6 week break in July/ August meant we could make the most of the sunshine and extended daylight hours. Ellie took time off work and we were set to explore 8 new countries and return just in time for the start of the new school year.
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For those who are unaware, the English school year operates differently to ours in Australia to match the summer time in the Northern Hemisphere. In order to travel and save money during this time we moved out of our flat in Brixton. Not paying rent and moving out meant we had to pack up and store some extra stuff at some friends places. Luckily, Ellie's cousin Kelsie and good friend Charlotte helped us out immensely, allowing us to save around 1200 pound on rent ($2400AUD at the time).
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First up on the summer holiday was Germany and a week driving the fairy tale route, which visits many castles and places associated with old fables, such as Snow White's house and many more. Ellie and I even stayed in Repunzel's castle and lived like a King and Queen. Amsterdam, which is a beautiful city with its canals and countryside was our next stop. The city is vibrant, full of excitement with its bikes, coffee shops and canals. The countryside in comparison is relaxed, green and pretty, a part of the Netherlands that is probably overlooked by revelers. Next up, sailing the coast of Croatia, which is simply stunning. It was 7 days on a sail boat in some of the most beautiful coastal landscapes in the world. We then visited Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a beautiful place that’s becoming quite touristy after Hamish and Andy, from the radio, jumped off a bridge in Mostar, a city we visited. This country was interesting as it was involved in a war as recently as 1995. Visual evidence of this is still apparent on many buildings and in the economy of the country. Our travels continued to Budapest, Hungary via Serbia for a few hours. Serbia had some really nice government buildings, however, the rest was pretty run down. Budapest is a nice old city split by a river, one side is called Buda and the other Pest. We really enjoyed this city in particular being there for St Stephen's day, which is the day for national celebration. From Budapest we went to Austria and it was another beautiful country, particularly Salzburg where The Sound of Music was filmed. We then went on to Prague in the Czech Republic, which is another nice city with some amazing old buildings and interesting history. We decided it was a pretty good idea to jump out of a plane here and skydive, without telling my mum of course. It was a real treat, a big adrenaline rush as you can imagine. The last stop on the summer trip was Krakow, Poland, where we visited the Auschwitz concentration camp. It was an indescribable experience that revealed a lot of the dark, twisted ideals of the Nazis and the importance of honouring those who died there. Krakow, itself was one of my favourite cities with a nice old town and very laid back and relaxed atmosphere. A good way to end six weeks of travelling and as a bonus we had Elliot, my brother join us for the last two weeks of it.
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These pictures are: canoeing in Germany, Ellie and her cousin in Amsterdam, coastal Croatia, Mostar Bridge, post skydive in Prague and Budapest views from the citadel.
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Elliot had joined us in Budapest, Austria, Prague, Krakow and was now joining us in London to live. Although, we had moved prior to leaving so we were on the lookout for a place to move into. We all planned to live with Rachael and Xavier, friends we had met on our trip to Turkey earlier in the year, as well as their friend Tickets. Fortunately, while we were away Rachael was able to find a place in Battersea, so when we got back we moved straight in. Thanks again to Rach.
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I wasn't in London long as I was very spoilt for my birthday earlier in the year with tickets to see the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS in Stockholm. Which meant, my next trip was to Sweden and I was able to see my favourite band the live in concert for the first time. It was great to be able to travel with my brother and to see the Chilli's while Ellie opted to allow us the opportunity. Thanks again to El.
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After this boy's trip we joined back up with Ellie and some other friends and headed to Oktoberfest in Germany. As you can imagine, I really enjoyed my time there. I had maybe one or two beers over the two days at the festival... You can see all things involved in a beer festival in my Oktoberfest video below.
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In the latter part of October, Ellie and I did a trip the United States with Rach and Xav to get in before Trump became president. Only kidding. We went because it's only a 6 hour flight to New York, which is quite the contrast from the 15 hours it takes to get to California from Brisbane. We all had a great time in Boston, New York and Washington. I was lucky enough to get onto the court at Bostons 20,000 seat arena- the stadium for my favourite NBA team, and get a photo at center court while the players warmed up around me. This was all thanks to the legendary Morgan, a friend through a friend, who works for the team. She also arranged for all of us getting our hands on a championship trophy from the 1986 Celtics. Even without these awesome experiences, I really liked Boston and would recommend it to anyone who ever visits New York as its not far away. New York has a big reputation and it lives up to it. The city has a great vibe and there is plenty to do there. Washington was the surprise packet, with a limited time there, I loved seeing all the monuments, museums and the White House, another recommendation if you ever get the chance.
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A few weekends after, Ellie and I visited Italy for the second time, as we went to Lecco and stayed the night on Lake Como, which is a beautiful place. We then drove around part of the lake before heading for a night in Milan. The Cathedral in Milan called Duomo is one of the nicest churches I have seen in my life, it has immaculate detail and is remarkable in size. I think one of the biggest in the world.
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We had some more travels in November with another trip with Rach and Xav, this time to Ireland. We had fantastic weather the whole time as we drove around the country. We flew into Dublin, drove to Belfast, around the north coast to Donegal, down the west coast to Galway and Killarney with a few places on the way, then on to Cork before returning to Dublin and then heading home. The countryside of Ireland is beautiful and green, the coast, in particular the Cliffs of Moher are amazing and the Guinness is pretty nice too. It was easily one of our favourite places of the year.
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Christmas came quickly and we headed north to Norway to guarantee a ‘White Christmas’, rather than just having a winter Christmas . We went with our Aussie friends living in London, who were also without family around this time so it was nice to be together. We called it our orphan Christmas in the Snow, which is much different to the sweltering heat we have in Queensland. Among highlights of building a snowman, a fjords tour, husky sledding and overindulging on food, drink and rum balls, we were blessed with the sighting of the northern lights on Christmas night, big thanks to Santa.
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Ellie and I continued on to Finland and Estonia over the Christmas period before having New Years in Iceland. We rushed through Helsinki, the capital of Finland and were neither impressed, nor disappointed by it. Ellie did upstage me on the ice skating rink though. Helsinki was also a great access point to ferry to Tallin for a day as it only takes 2 hours. Ellie and I both loved the medieval old town, the relaxed atmosphere and some traditional pigs ears at lunch to get into the culture a little. We didn't fight over them that's for sure.
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The final destination of our winter trip was Iceland and what an end to the year it was. It is an absolutely incredible country with such different weather and landscapes that are very intriguing. From a glacier hike, black beach walk, walk under frozen waterfalls, watching exploding geysirs, swimming in geothermal spas and taking in with awe the northern lights, Iceland did not disappoint. Neither did our Luxary getaway with G &T Weekends, taking the worry out of organising and cash counting and simply being able to relax and just enjoy the friendly company, fantastic food, endless drinks, amazing villa and everything else Icelandic.
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