So I'm on holidays at the moment having a break in Eurostan; didn't really get to explore much of Leipzig or Halle outside of the Games Convention, but after that I went to Dresden for a couple days. Dresden was neat - always wanted to go there as it is mentioned a lot in the WW2 histories. The tour was a bit depressing - all these beautiful old buildings that are there are basically reconstructions, almost all of them having an amazing history of being build hundreds of years ago, then their story ends with sentences like "burned down in 1945" or "was bombed in 1945".

http://trog.qgl.org/up/dresden.jpg

Then it was off to Greece for a few days exploring Athens. I was pretty stoked about finally going to Greece; I was an Ancient History nerd in high school and have always enjoyed Greek history so was looking forward to checking out the Acropolis and some of the other bits and pieces of history.

I arrived at night and was greeted with a pretty spectacular view from the roof of my hotel - there was a bar up the top that overlooked the Acropolis, which is nicely illuminated at night. Went wandering up there the next morning - the rest of Athens is, sadly, a bit of a s***hole. It was hot as balls in the middle of summer, there's people everywhere, roads appear to exist solely to a) make drivers miserable and b) give miserable drivers a chance to take out frustration trying to nail pedestrians. So that was disappointing.

http://trog.qgl.org/up/acropolis_night.jpg

The Acropolis though is amazing; its pretty much the highest thing for miles around so you get a great view looking down on the rest of the mismatched bizarre-ville that is Athens. The Parthenon and everything else up there is pretty spectacular and it's awesome to reflect upon the history of the place - although sort of depressing reading a lot of the things about it ("...was destroyed when the Persians invaded, then was rebuilt, then was destroyed 20 years later when some other jerks invaded, then was rebuilt again, etc..").

http://trog.qgl.org/up/acropolis.jpg

After that I was looking at my map and saw this epic hill that I thought might be fun to check out - the map sort of implied that there was a cable car or something but it was lies and I ended up walking up the thing - good fun but s*** it was hot. Great view at the end of it though.

http://trog.qgl.org/up/dave_on_hill.jpg

Also checked out the TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS which has to be written in caps because it's such a cool name for a place.

http://trog.qgl.org/up/temple_of_zeus.jpg

After Athens I met up with a bunch of mates - we'd rented a sail boat for a week to go sailing around the islands. I was sort of expecting this to be a nice, relaxing tranquil affair sailing around lush tropical islands and golden sandy beaches, but that's not how the Greek Islands work. Unfortunately we arrived just in time for s***ty weather for sailing - it was wayyyy too windy.

I'd never been sailing before so was surprised that too much wind is actually bad for sailing! We had a massive big night before we left and I was hungover as hell and had 3 hours sleep - then spent about 5 hours in massive rolling seas, the end of which had me puking my guts out over the side of the boat wishing I was dead and wondering why the hell I thought this would be a good idea.

Fortunately after that point it calmed down a bit and we never had any trips as bad as that (plus I was hitting the motion sickness pills before every trip). We sailed around a bunch of the islands - I need to check the order and names but we spent a couple nights in Kythnos because of the bad weather (which was nice, but a bit on the small/quiet side), then hit up Serifos, then Mykonos (the party island, which was crazy), then Naxos, then Paros. Occasionally we'd stop and find a cool place to swim.

http://trog.qgl.org/up/mykanos.jpg

Aside from the wind the weather was f***ing spectacular; we had nice hot days with heaps of sun, much to the enjoyment of everyone I was traveling with - they're all Aussies now living in Europe so seeing the sun is something that happens a few times a year for them now. As a Queenslander I was a bit blase about the sun though; everyone else was diving for the decks to try and get their bronze on and I was cowering under my giant hat and layers of sunscreen.

The sailing part of it was surprisingly complicated - even though we had our own skipper, a hilarious Kiwi bloke called Alan who did most of the hard work and corrected all the mistakes made by us useless landlubbers (definitely including me). I'd actually never been on a boat before (aside from ferry things) until a couple weeks earlier for a fishing trip for a mate's bucks party and it was on a motor boat dealie. The regular process of finding a free berth in a marina and docking is surprisingly tricky - not to mention dangerous and risky when you're dealing with a boat worth half a million euro. No wonder everyone moved to cars.

http://trog.qgl.org/up/dave_on_boat.jpg

By the end of it when we were back on land, almost all of us had amazing boat-induced motion weirdness going on - sitting down you'd feel like you were constantly bobbing up and down. The last night in Athens after I'd been off the boat for like 16 hours, I woke up in the middle of the night, got up to hit the loo and almost fell over the room was swinging around so crazily. Alcohol may have contributed here, but it was a very weird effect. I guess you get used to it if you're sailing regularly...(?)

After Greece it was on to Italy. I arrived early afternoon and spent most of the first day just recovering from Greece. Next day did some of the usual tourist things like Trevi fountain and Colusseum (which was probably the highlight of Rome for me). No photos available yet! That night I met some Aussie girls in a random bar and we got s***faced and I lost track of the next day.

Then it was on to Pompei! I was pretty stoked about this, having heard good things from all sorts of people. Got up at some bulls*** hour of the morning to get the fast train down there and arrived pretty soon after 9am. It was another scorcher and I spent about 3 hours walking around these amazing ruins of this whole ancient Roman town before getting absolutely exhausted and having to call it quits. There were a lot of other tourists wandering around but every now and then you'd hit up some section of the city and you'd be totally alone, in this weird ghost town that is thousands of years old. Very cool.

I debated going up Vesuvius - but decided I didn't have enough time for the tour. While it was a hot sunny day it was also very hazy so I figured the view would be average - could barely even see the mountain. So I decided to head back a little early, which turned out to be a terrible idea - my train was late getting to Naples, I missed my connecting train to Rome, and was stuck in the s***ty Naples train station for hours. All I'd heard for weeks before was 'be careful in Naples train station because of all the felons', but I didn't have any problems or really even see too many sketchy people. I DID however see this rail worker dude that was the spitting image of Vin Deisel. I would have taken a photo of him but he was terrifyingly huge and carrying heavy blunt objects whilst scurrying around underneath trains, so I didn't think it would be a good idea.

Bummed around Rome a bit more then headed off to Geneva, Switzerland (where I am now). Had a bit of a poke around here for the weekend; its a nice place but nothing really amazing to see - the weather sucked for the first couple days, rainy and cold - beautiful today though a bit on the chilly side.

Spent almost all day today inside at the PC trying to plan my next chunks of trip and just generally having a day off. Tomorrow looks like I'm off to Nice in the south of France to check out some more of the laughable European beaches at the tail end of their summer, then its on to Paris a few days later which I'm really looking forward to. 2 weeks later I'm off to Munich for Oktoberfest which should be a little on the fun side too.

Anyway, hope all is well back on the other side of the world. Will try and update again when I have some more downtime but I'll be back on hand in a couple weeks anyway, although still from this side of the planet.

Are you making it to London this time at all?

^^ ditto? I leave in 2 weeks. Having leaving drinks at the moose bar bond street if your keen.

I am but not in the next 2 weeks. Dammit! I was looking forward to meeting you euro-side, will just have to wait til you're back in Bris.

i am glad you werent beaten to death by bouncers in Mykonos

We actually had a bit of a quiet one in Mykonos - we'd had a few big ones the nights before and everyone was exhausted by the time we got there - which was a bit funny because everyone soooooooooo wanted to make sure we got there. It was pretty crazy! As we were leaving we walked past this gay bar that had like hundreds of guys standing out the front - really weird to just be walking through such a massive collection of people drinking that were all dudes!

Drinks on Mykonos are f*** off expensive too so it was probably better we didn't have a massive one there. We had a fan-f***ing-tastic meal though, all of us agreed it was one of the best feasts we ever had in this really nice restaurant. Definitely a cool island to visit.

Are you hitting Ireland at all trog?

or Munich, I am in Munich from 18th till 23rd, drinking beer :D

EDIT: it helps when you actually read stuff ;) I'll PM you my mob, drop me a text if you're in Munich when I am...

last edited by HeardY at 06:44:13 16/Sep/08

wicked!

did you check out that greek nightclub, Lesbos?

Are you hitting Ireland at all trog?

or Munich, I am in Munich from 18th till 23rd, drinking beer :D

EDIT: it helps when you actually read stuff ;) I'll PM you my mob, drop me a text if you're in Munich when I am...last edited by HeardY at 06:44:13 16/Sep/08

heh I just hit you up on FB :) Damn, I'm in Munich the week after !!@#

Probably not going to Ireland again on this trip - though that remains to be seen. I will be doing other little trips though so maybe our paths will cross!

The thing I can remember most about Athens is sadly all the stray dogs roaming the streets. With that said, one of the best nights of my Euro Trip was in Athens, our Hotel also had a Courtyard on the roof with a very similar view to yours. Some good people and a few bottles of wine it's a pretty awesom city at night.

I think Santorini was the best island, concidering there's still an active Volcano there!

The thing I can remember most about Athens is sadly all the stray dogs roaming the streets. With that said, one of the best nights of my Euro Trip was in Athens, our Hotel also had a Courtyard on the roof with a very similar view to yours. Some good people and a few bottles of wine it's a pretty awesom city at night.

I think Santorini was the best island, concidering there's still an active Volcano there!

Yeh I'd heard a lot about the dogs - there were a few but not as many as I was expecting from what I'd be told, so maybe they've taken steps to get rid of some of them. Still s***loads of them around, and cats.

The other memory I have of athens is from our hotel from the last night, which was on the same block as where all the African prostitutes worked. They were everywhere and noisy as hell, it was crazy seeing them ply their trade on all the cars that cruised by.

Yeh would have loved to have gone to Santorini but a few of the guys I was with had already been so it wasn't on the todo list. Next time for sure though.

Mykonos (the party island, which was crazy)

isnt that the gay island?

I debated going up Vesuvius - but decided I didn't have enough time for the tour.

It's a massive walk up that volcano but the view is really good.

Mykonos (the party island, which was crazy)

isnt that the gay island?

yep (see above)

trog you rich bastard :(

Trog, let us know when you're in UK - I'm here on sabbatical until January :) Rented an old gothic house in North Yorkshire but am also travelling down south for the work component.

Heading to Paris for a week but not until 2nd week of October.

If you get a chance, you should go to Chamonix in France and Zermatt in Switzerland. Snow should be great at both despite just coming out of *summer*

Man, sounds like you're having an awesome time.

Also I know you're on holidays and all but one of the guys here is having trouble with one of the ads so if you don't mind putting a day aside to fix it that would be great.

8-)

Trog, let us know when you're in UK - I'm here on sabbatical until January :) Rented an old gothic house in North Yorkshire but am also travelling down south for the work component.

Heading to Paris for a week but not until 2nd week of October.

If you get a chance, you should go to Chamonix in France and Zermatt in Switzerland. Snow should be great at both despite just coming out of *summer*

Sweet dude! I think I'll still be in Paris then - I leave around 10th or 12th or something so if you're there then def. should meet up for a beer - otherwise I'll track ya down in the UK!

Cool - we're there 7th-11th. Staying at Disneyland but will be spending 2 or 3 days in Paris. Should see if Heardy can swing a trip over - flights were like 1 pound each.

I am in!

....if I can get time off work, actually if I have a job, hahah! f***ing Lehman Bro's and Merill Lynch both gawn!!

I might only be able to jag the Thurs/Fri off work but I'll see tomorrow.

sup trix!

love your work trog

Greece looks sweet.

trog while you're online can you ban some nubs? thx.

looks like an awesome trip mate, living it up

I've pm'd you my number for London drinking.

sounds like ur having a f***ing ball mate.. living the dream!

you have a missus don't you? i'm guessing thats why there are no shennanigan stories!

my mates went through europe and said they literally had to fight off hot as f*** women due to their australian accent

also

By the end of it when we were back on land, almost all of us had amazing boat-induced motion weirdness going on - sitting down you'd feel like you were constantly bobbing up and down. The last night in Athens after I'd been off the boat for like 16 hours, I woke up in the middle of the night, got up to hit the loo and almost fell over the room was swinging around so crazily. Alcohol may have contributed here, but it was a very weird effect. I guess you get used to it if you're sailing regularly...(?)

lol yes, its called getting your sea feet! i still get that sometimes after even a whole day on a boat

what about amsterdam? I think its my favorite place in europe so far which is why I'm living here now heh

everytime i get a popup on qgl it's ok because trog gets to party in europe :)

^hah

damn trog thats all just f***in awesome. highly motivating to get mah ass to yew-rope.

sounds fun man, moar photos!

i always wonder how ppl plan such epic adventures.. do you just keep it loose and plan as you go, plan the first couple weeks then take it from there, or plan the whole thing? then theres figuring out where the f*** to go..

you get a map of the world on your wall and start throwing darts at it

San Fermin fest for the win

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1324/n6053282019117701905up8.jpg
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jock (homo) photo killed the thread, gw mate :\

hmm, i want to go back to australia for christmas but the cheapest flight ive found was 2300 euros :( ((((( wtf happened to the aussie dollar

f*** going back for xmas, i never have in 7years. its just one day. go back before or after.

i always wonder how ppl plan such epic adventures.. do you just keep it loose and plan as you go, plan the first couple weeks then take it from there, or plan the whole thing? then theres figuring out where the f*** to go..

transports easy... hotels sell out over summer. i always do an itinerary and book the hostel in advance (3months+)

myhostelworld.com you just have to put down like £2 deposit.

yeah its the only time I can get off by the end of this year .... and one of the best places to escape a s***ty winter :)

yer the bulls running is the best thing ever. happy I did it this year, heading back next year for sure!

yeah i just did 3 weeks travelling through spain, you just do a rough itinerary... in terms of where you're going and how long you stay... then you let the rest sort it self out.

ill be in the uk in dec - jan

staying in a place between liverpool and manchester... heading to scotland for 3 days for a wedding in some big castle or something then i dunno where im gunna end up

shuld be funnn

jock (homo) photo killed the thread, gw mate :\

so you wouldn't like this one then?

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/4673/n6053282019117577689rn2.th.jpg

last edited by spidz at 21:32:55 17/Sep/08

just for you deeps

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yer the bulls running is the best thing ever. happy I did it this year, heading back next year for sure!

backpacker.co.uk paid me to go to take photos for them. awsome trip.

staying in a place between liverpool and manchester

hmm, small town then!

Dammit Troggles, Im on a Eurotrip at the moment... Started in london, got myself all the way down to Gibralter, from there went along the cote de azur to italy, didn't spend anywhere as much time as i would have liked in italy due to getting hassled by the police and my car got towed and i got a radiator leak.. so i headed north and im currently enjoying the mountains in Austria.. plan to head east tomorrow asfar as berchtesgaden and check out the Eagles nest and then from there who knows!

s*** i totally forgot abotuj the eagles nest in austia :/ went to klagenfurt, gratz and vienna though

still, as far as know amsterdams my pick out of euroland

i'm heading to Mexico on sunday for 3 weeks but if your stll around i'm sure we could arrange a qgl meet in amsterdam.. even if its only 3 ppl
lol

sounds like ur having a f***ing ball mate.. living the dream!

you have a missus don't you? i'm guessing thats why there are no shennanigan stories!

haha, no, no missus atm. There have been shenanigans.

i always wonder how ppl plan such epic adventures.. do you just keep it loose and plan as you go, plan the first couple weeks then take it from there, or plan the whole thing? then theres figuring out where the f*** to go..

Well, all my last trips and this one I just rock up here and book hotels and flights and stuff as I go.

I'm a bit over doing it this way now - it was fun the first couple of times but now I feel like I'm spending half my time finding hotels and wondering where the f*** to go next. I had nothing planned after the first week of being in Leipzig for the Games Convention (and the 1 week in Greece) and everything else has just been spur of the moment. It's also more expensive to do it this way - but not sooooo much more that you'd care if you value your freedom.

The freedom part is great - its nice just being able to go "hey, I think I'll go to Rome" or if you meet some cool people and want to hang out with them some more you can change plans at a moment's notice. But I think my next OS trip after this will be much better organised so I don't have to think about things.

Boxhead: saw that on FB - I was actually originally planning to be in Austria now; turns out you are there and another one of my mates right now. So bad call coming to south of France (in Nice atm). Damn, I was really looking forward to Austria but decided to skip it cuz it was a pain in the ass getting there from Geneva (which is weird because you can practically f***ing walk there).

I want to see shenanigans photos.

chescher(sp) ?