Minsk to Moscow

It would have been nice to be able to say that I was traveling all the way from London to Hong Kong overland, but I am cheating between Minsk and Moscow, and flying.

I just needed to workout how to get to Minsk airport first.

A taxi to the airport is 40€ and the bus is 2€ - So bus it is.

We asked the girl in the hostel to write us a note which said something along the lines of "please can we have two tickets to the airport on the 8.25 bus, on 30th June". We had walked through the bus station numerous times on the way into the city so thought we were set.

We got to the bus station and checked all the bus stops but couldn't see where the 300E stopped. We also couldn't see the ticket office which we thought was a bit strange.

We went to see the woman at this counter. We gave her out bit of paper. She read it twice. Looked confused, shook her head and gave it back.

Минск

The main chose to go to Minsk was because it was directly between Warsaw, the last stop on my Interrail pass, and Moscow, the departure point on the Trans Siberian Trip.

I quickly discovered it is not a typical tourist destination. In fact it is not a tourist destination at all, at least for British people. First of all you need a visa, to get a visa you need a letter of invitation from a friend or relative in Belarus. (I don't have one of those) or a tourist agency (I don't have one of those either). So I got a 48 hour transit visa, this came at a cost, which meant that this was going to be an expensive 48 hours.

On trip advisor when you search for things to do in Minsk there are 27 suggestions. Compare this to my last city, Warsaw, which has 92 Suggestions and my next city, Moscow, which has 903 Suggestions.

The advantage of visiting a city with doesn't have a huge tourist industry is that no one is dictating what you see and you see the place as it actually is. Not a marketed and packaged version full of tourists.

Minsk has a feeling of space; the roads are wide and quiet, there are lots of trees and parks and there is no litter or graffiti.

Warsaw to Minsk - My first sleeper train

My first sleeper train and the first country on this trip that requires a visa. Could be interesting....

Ok... Good start, I have a ticket. Well I hope it is a ticket as I can't read a word on it and it cost me 250 zloty

The train is on the board and I see I have to go to platform 2.

Warszawa

In Warsaw we ate Pierogi and Bigos

(Dumplings and cabbage stew doesn't sound quite as good)

The Berlin - Warsaw Express

Last train journey on the Interrail pass. From Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Warszawa central.

Berlin

Berlin is vast and fascinating. I was staying in the Freidrichshain region, part of former East Germany.

Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the central station built in 2006. It is huge. Another station that is more like a shopping centre than a station. There are 5 floors inside with trains leaving from the top and bottom floors. Fact of the day... 1800 trains call at the station everyday and the daily number of passengers is estimated at 350000 per day.

Leipzig - East Germany's second largest city apparently.

I was only in Leipzig for a couple of hours on the way from Dresden to Berlin.

Leipzig' station is less like a station and more like a shopping centre.

Hotter but not as Hectic Dresden

Dresden is elegant, distinctly un touristy and the perfect antidote to Prague.

It was however, just as hot, if not hotter, well into the 30s which makes being an efficient tourist impossible. Which is why I spent most of the day asleep, under a tree in the huge (as the name suggests) Grosser Garten park. The bottom picture shows the view I had. The park had a little toy stream train that rattled past every half an hour as a well as a huge outdoor concert arena, so I was also treated to the sound of a euro rock band doing their sound check.

Hot, Hectic Prague

When I arrived at Prague Hlavni Nadr Station it was seriously hot, in fact it didn't cool down for my whole stay. Walking from the station to the Hostel I found myself searching out the shady side of the street. I really liked Prague but it was very noticeably overrun with tourists, so you had to look beyond them and seek out quieter spots.

The top of Wenceslas Square

Bratislava to Prague

Easy journey. Bratislava to Breclav, Breclav to Prague.

Except I nearly missed both trains.

At Bratislava I was happily looking for platform 10, but I could only find platforms 1-6. It turned out that the number 10 meant that there was a 10 minute delay and the train was actually due to leave from platform 1.

I had just under an hour to wait at Breclav which you would have thought would be enough time to realise that my train was standing ready to depart on platform 1B. Not platform 1 where I was relaxing in the sun. Luckily I worked out my error with three minutes to spare and made the train.

You would have thought I would have got the hang of this train catching business by now. I hope I get better in time for the Trans Mongolian.

As soon as we arrived in Prague, the train driver got out his bucket of soapy water and cleaned his windscreen.

Bratislava - Little Big City

Just to be clear from the start...

I am starting to wish i had given myself more time to explore eastern Europe. Bratislava has a real charm about it. It is a small city (i walked peactically everywhere) yet there is lots to see and do.

Goodbye Budapest

Budapest Keleti Station

Budapest - Officially now my favourite city outside London. (Sorry Edinburgh)

Budapest is a truly beautiful city. Everyone should visit.

I am staying in district VII, which includes the Jewish quarter. Parts of it look really run down, deralict in parts, but despite this the area feels really safe.

Vienna to Budapest

After hearing lots of rumors about the flooding of the Danube I thought I had better contact the hostel in Budapest to check that it was still advisable to visit. This is the hilarious reply I got.

A Grey Day in Vienna

In contrast to the sunshine and heat in Amsterdam and Munich, I explored Vienna on a grey and wet day. I don't know if it was just the weather, but I didn't really love Vienna. It seemed a bit soul less. Hundreds of tourists and tour groups didn't help.  I only spent one full day in the city so maybe I am not being fair. Having said that, the architecture is amazing you just need to remember to look up to above all the shop fronts and the Museum Quarter is stunning.

Disaster Day (It wasn't really that bad)

My room mate wakes me up at 5am. I then fall back into a deep sleep and end up leaving late for the station. This hostel was really expensive but breakfast was included so I intended to get my moneys worth. The sun is already blazing at 10 am, I run all the way to the station with my 16 kilo backpack and arrive a sweaty mess. At this point I also start to regret having so much food at breakfast. I arrive at the station with minutes to spare.

I love Munich

Karlzplatz, Marienplatz, Odeonsplatz.

Olympic Park Munich

Loved the Olympic park and could have spent all day here. Considering the Munich Olympics were in 1972, the park and Olympic buildings didn't look dated at all. Was not expecting to see a couple of nudists trying to get an all over tan though.

Amsterdam to Munich

I left my lovely hostel near the Bijlimer Arena at 9am and got to my horrible and expensive hostel in Munich at 7pm.

A long day spent mostly on one of these ICE trains. I love that the driver is waving at me

More Amsterdam

Vondelpark where I spent the last hours of the sunshine

Amsterdam

Today I arrived in Amsterdam. I immediately made my way to the canal rings, and walked and walked and walked. Will brave the rest of Amsterdam tomorrow.

Den Haag (The Hague)

I really liked The Hague. It had a very calm feel to it, the restaurants were full of locals and the trains full of commuters rather than tourists. There were lots of independent shops and private art galleries to mooch around and the place just had a really pleasant feel about it. 

Brussels to Rotterdam

There are massive signs at Brussels Midi Station and someone seems to know my route

More Brussels

We took Owen to see Mannekin-Pis, he was dressed up yesterday, today he was naked. (The statue that is, not Owen)

Brussels

First day of the trip and I have acted like a proper tourist; walked for miles, ticked off every historic landmark and took far too many photos.  I also stood for hours in the cold to welcome Owen into The Grand Place after he cycled 395 miles from London via Amsterdam, and raise £3000 for Help for Heros. An amazing achievement! Other friends and family waited with champagne, we had a can of coke and a banana for him. Oh.. and a beautiful 'well done' banner that my goddaughter had made.

Grand-Place, Town Hall, St Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Galeries Saint Hubert, Mont des Arts, Place Royal...