Wednesday 31 July 2013

An ode to Han and Amy...


Before I start this post I will just like to inform you that I am currently sun bathing on Italy.

So a mere four days ago our number decreased to just two as Han and Amy went home.  Leaving Jess and I to venture on for another 10 days as we make our way down to Croatia. You see, Jess and I like to think we are experienced travellers and we can do this with our eyes closed... Oh boy where we wrong.  The minute we departed ways and became a twosome everything went wrong.  So here is my ode to Han and Amy for making the first 10 days a pretty smooth operation. Here is what has gone wrong without them:

1) We had to change route as we wanted to avoid protesting in Sofia so we went West instead of East from Budapest.
2) We manged to book the worst hostel ever in Bratislava.  It did not have a sign so we spent an hour looking for it. There was no one there to check us in or out. And our room hadn't been cleaned.
3) When trying to get to the old town we got the wrong bus and ended up further out of town so had to go into the Hilton Hotel to ask for directions and ended up spending lots on a taxi.
4) We got to Vienna with the intention on leaving that evening on a night train. The night train was booked. We were stranded.  Though we managed to find a nice hostel to stay in and then had to get a train and a bus the next day.
5) The hostel in Venice didn't respond to our email regarding transfer. So they made us wait an hour before they picked us up. In a thunder storm. Best moment of my life.


So as you can see a lot of things have not gone to plan. And we find the best way to deal with it is to laugh and grin and bear it - it is all rather funny. From this experience we have learnt that planning is over rated.  Live in the moment and go with the flow.

Love EuroRuch xxx

P.S. I forgot to add that I sat in chewing gum at Bratislava station and got it all over shorts. Sexy.

Friday 26 July 2013

What not to do when inter-railing...


As it is our last day as a foursome (Han and Amy head home and Jess and I make our way down to Croatia) I thought I would blog - though I am mainly
blogging because we are a tad to hungover to move. This post is on what not to do when inter-railing.

1) Send an 'I love Berlin' postcard from the Aushwitz post office.
2) Insist you have lost your bumbag with all your money init but then find it in your bag the third time you search through it.
3) Leave your pyjamas in Prague.
4) Leave your inter-rail pass on the train.
5) Ask what is veggie on the menu - the waiter will just suggest: fish, chicken, apple pie and fish.
6) Trying to use the Birth of the Royal Baby as a legit reason that you deserve a discount.
7) Eat paneer in Prague.
8) Get on the tram before working out what direction you want to go in.
9) Spend all your change so you have to beg in the metro station.
10) Include Sofia in your route.  They will start protesting and you will have to find an alternative way to get to Croatia.
11) Do shisha with some Norwigeon men and end up puking in the streets of Budapest.

Unfortunately all of these things have happened to us. They may not be ideal situations but they have been entertaining.

Love EuroRuch xxx

Tuesday 23 July 2013

How not to use the metro in Prague...


If you don't know me, I am often one to burst in to song. I can't sing. Sometimes I sing original songs about what I am doing at the moment, such as looking for olives in the supermarket.  I like to think I am the star of a musical. So in Prague I founded The Song For All Occasions: Take Two. I am going to share a bit of it with you before sharing the oh so classy meaning behind it.

It is to the tune of the Conga and inspired by the Train Line Advert.

It goes:

Choo choo  choo
Begging on the Train Line
Choo choo choo give me a Corona

If you haven't guessed I ended up begging on the metro in Prague.

We were on our way to the main station to get our first night trian. We pooled all our change together.  We were 1 ckr short. What do you do? As head of logistics it was my duty to make sure we had the money.  And I failed. It was  time to right my wrong...
Instead of choosing the lets go break a note by buying crisps amd getting change method,  I choose the begging approach.

I scooped out the potential targets.  First I asked 2 girls. They rejected my desperate plea. Then I chose a nice man. He looked friendly. He didn't understand my need, as instead of asking for 1 ckr I was asking for 1 corona.  Alchoalhic.  After some more sweet talking he gave the crazy tourist with a massive backpack some money and we were able to buy our ticket and get the night train to Krakow! Logistical success right there.





Saturday 20 July 2013

Short girl problems and the effects they have on your inter-rail experience...


If you haven't gathered from the title of this post I am what I like to call a short girl.  If you don't know what this means, let me explain - I am a girl and I stand a mere 5.1 feet from the ground, thus I am a short girl. Being short has its benefits,  such as when it rains you are the last to get wet so have more time to run for cover. However we short girls also suffer from what I like to call short girl problems. Whilst inter-railing I have experienced some of these problems - which if you haven't guessed already, I am going to share with you along with some solutions I have thought of...

1) You can't put your bag on the over head baggage shelf as it is too high.

2) You can't get your bag down from the over head baggage shelf.

3) Your feet don't reach the floor when you use the loo on the train as the loo is too high off the floor.

4) It is a struggle to get on to the top bunk when there is no ladder.

5) Your short legs can't walk as quick as your leggy friends and you often fall behind.

6) When standing,  your friends who are all sitting on bar stools are still taller than you - they get to sit, you have to stand, where is the justice in that?

7) You have to stand on your tip toes when ordering food from fast food / alcohol joints.

So as you can see being short is rather problematic, but never fear as here are some solutions I have devised to help other short girls  out there.




1) Carry a step-ladder with you every where you go.
2) Ask a nice tall man, preferably one with a beautiful accent, to help you.
3) Get over it.

I hope my solutions are of use to others suffering short girl problems.

That is all for now as we are pulling into Prague...

Love EuroRuch xxx



Friday 19 July 2013

How not to socialise in Berlin...


One of the things I love about travelling is that you get to meet people from all walks of life and from every corner of the globe. As someone who is not shy and rather loud, I like to think I do this well. Last night we went to the open air  cinema in Berlin (Freiluftkino Kreuzberg - I recommend you all go) to watch The Beasts of the Southern Wild. It was the most amazing thing ever.  Anyway after that, we went to the ' Electro-beats' night at our hostel bar... Here we started a game of pool (nb: not snooker) - Tom and I vs Tomford and Jess. I perfected the skill of not hitting the ball. Some Aussies and a South African man came to give me tips and be my
very own cheer squad. I soon improved and managed to get two balls in a row. So as you can imagine we spent the evening with these lovely people playing pool and drinking beer - what a hoot. So here is a list of things to not do when playing pool and drinking beer with fellow travellers:

1) Don't tell an Aussie you love Neighbours and think it is the best show ever.

2) Don't decide you can't be friends with a girl you just met based on the fact that they don't like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings - then inform her of this.

3) Don't turn your 'Desi Diva' on when your team mate tells you they don't want you to take the most vital shot of the game and then react by taking your shot and hitting the security guard with the cue which you then throw on the floor instead of passing it to the next player like a kind lovely person.

4) Don't get drunk and then scare your new friend by getting tongue-tied and instead of saying 'we have similar personality traits in regards to that' you say 'you're my type of guy...'

I hope my adventures are some what of an interest to you.

Peace out

EuroRuch xxx

Thursday 18 July 2013

#geographersontour


So I know I haven't blogged in forever as I have been busy enjoying the sun and what not. However, I am now in Berlin - day 2 of 3 weeks interailing through Eastern Europe. And so I was thinking my blog will temporarily become a travel blog, documenting the things I do and the things I learn about life on my glorious European Adventure...

This post is entitled '#geographers on tour' for 2 simple reasons. 1) I dislike #ing on any other media form but twitter...this is my attempt at irony. 2) We are geographers and we are on a tour of Europe.
A nice and simple explanation by a simpleton.


So during my first day this is what I have learnt about travelling/life/stuff:
1) Prudent packing can be achieved by those with a terrible case of over-packing syndrome.
2) Early morning flights are not fun,  regardless of how much cheaper they may be.
3) I am thankful that my skin tolerates the sun to a significant amount.  4) Bike tours are always more fun than walking ones - just imagine all the fun you can have riding a bike through a European city and singing songs from The Sound of Music -a hybrid of Victoria Pendleton and Maria can be achieved.

Here is just a selection of important life lessons I have learnt during the short time I have been on the continent. Make sure you keep a look out for my future blog posts to find out what is going down in Europe!

Love EuroRuch xx

Amy Lockwood: Earplugs are  gods gift to the world.
Hannah White: Beers should only be drunk in litres!