Schnitzel, orchestra and Schnapps in Vienna!

Okay, so this is another two countries in one post post! We start in Slovakia, somewhere that I imagined to look like a dodge eastern European country, but Bratislava was so beautiful! It was another stop that was just for an hour or so while we had lunch, but like always we had a walking tour and once I had finished my lunch I had a wonder around the centre city, which was so different from what I thought it'd be! I seriously want to go back for longer so I can properly see the place!

Statues like this were all over the streets!

We left Slovakia and entered into Austria, and ohmygod that place is insane! We had the usual driving tour, and then stopped off at the Palace and surrounding gardens (which were so immaculate I was certain they were fake...)

We then went back to the campsite and set up the soaking wet tents (which dried up pretty quickly because it was so dam hot!). After dinner me and Phoebe walked to the local petrol station to get a cheeky ice-cream before we got onto the bus and went to an amusement park! It was more like a permanent carnival and the rides were amazing (if not slightly expensive... it was pay per ride.) There was a La Familia race on the go karts that had everyone showing their competitive side, so much so that they needed to have a second race to determine who was the fastest. I only went on one ride, but it was amazing! It was one of those ones that are basically swings on really long chains that spins round and goes up this massive pole.

I know, yet another incredible explanation, but all that matters was that it was magical, from the top we could see over all of Vienna at night, flying through the air with a 360degree view of the illuminated churches and streets, the carnival beneath us. Literally the only words that come to mind are magical, breath taking, and unforgettable. Because we were high up in the air we weren't allowed to take photos so you'll just have to use your imagination!

The palace!

The team getting their game faces on for the race

This was the ride we went on. Understandably we had to take our jandals off...

The next day was a full day in Vienna, and god it was amazing! Although our original plan of hiring bikes didn't go to plan, we ended up having the most incredible and hilarious day! We walked around and saw all the sights, and invented our own tour of Vienna: The statue tour.

Basically this means that you find statues (and they were everywhere) and copy them and take a photo of it. It was hilarious and made for a very interesting and different kind of tour of the city!

Sneaky photography, behind the bush with the flowers is scaffolding..

Trying to keep cool while being tourists is tough...

We all got schnitzel for lunch which was a must in Vienna, and then after a quick look through some shops (which was pointless because they were all full of winter clothes..) we then went to a schnapps museum!! We got a tour by the grandson of the guy who invented proper Austrian schnapps (and he was hilarious!) and then we all got to try some of the schnapps! They said they we could have 3 shots each, and me being a good girl only had the three (a butterscotch, an apple strudel one, and an orange liqueur one that had flakes of gold in it that they add to champagne for the ultra classy people of Vienna) and they were actually quite nice!

Luuuuunch!

Schnapps!!

We then went back to camp and got all dolled up for the orchestra! I was so excited to see an orchestra in Vienna! Those of us that went looked a million bucks! And the show was amazing, there was the orchestra, opera singers, ballet dancers, free champagne and the best people to be there with! It was the most amazing day and night, and Vienna surpassed my expectations by miles! On the way back to the campsite the bus had music playing and we were all singing along and it was amazing!

The classy half of La Familia

And that was Vienna! Absolutely stunning!

Next stop: Prague!!

Visiting Dracula in a Labyrinth in Budapest

Sadly my house in Budapest wasn't a hidden treasure chest. It was a tent that had most definitely seen better days...

But that didn't stop me having the most incredible time, and doing things I never thought I'd ever do..

After the usual driving tour (all I remember is that Budapest was once two cities, Buda and Pest, and then they were combined), and set-up of the campsite, with the addition of playing on the swings in the campsite and amusing ourselves with a tennis ball and a field, and also meeting the four new additions to La Familia! We then headed to some of the local bars for a couple of hours, but it wasn't a late night for most of us as the air mattresses were now deflated before we got to bed, so too often we slept basically on the floor..

The next morning we had a bit of a sleep in (8am!) and a lazy start, and then headed into the city, and straight to the labyrinth, which I found terrifying.. Now you may know that I hate the dark, and this place was once a prison that held Vlad Tepes, or more commonly knows as Dracula (!!). Basically it was all these underground stone corridors with freaky looking doors, and wax figures. Not creepy at all aye? Now I did the stupid thing of telling the boys that we went with how much I hate the dark, so they took it upon themselves to scare me every chance they got... Worst of all however was the darkness maze. Literally a “maze” that was pitch black, like it felt like you were walking with your eyes closed the whole time. While the others wandered around with their arms out trying to find their way through the room, I held onto the rope that guided you through it, and I didn't let go for a second, despite everyone telling me to (there was not a chance I was going to let go of that rope.) By the end of the maze my eyes were leaking and I seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.. Thankfully we didn't go through it again, and instead wandered through the rest of the labyrinth and then finally went back out into the daylight.

We walked down to the river, got some lunch, and then into the markets, where we were sprayed with a water-gun by some butchers which was interesting! We then walked to the shopping street, and I manages to restrain myself! Then the weirdest thing happened. That morning it had beed the usual hot weather, and when we left the shops, it absolutely poured with rain, like we were in it for all of two minutes (before we took refuge in McDonalds) and we were soaked to the bone. This was all fine, until we remembered that as usual, we hadn't put the waterproof covers on our tents. There was nothing we could do at that point but hope that our passports and souvenirs were somewhere in the bottom of our bags so they wouldn't get soaked. Once the rain cleared we headed back to the campsite, scared about what state our things would be in. Thankfully Kiki was our knight in shining armour and has spent half an hour putting all the flys on all of our tents while it was pouring with rain. This meant that while everyone was soaked, our clothes and belongings were reasonably dry. We all promised to by Kiki a few rounds of drinks to say thanks, however I'm not too sure if this actually happened.. 

Nothing but class from the Aussies, here we have Marcel washing his feet  in a fountain. 

Under this pond thing there was apparently a club... Europe is weird..

That night we all got dressed up (and by that I mean i put on our last clean clothes and the tiniest bit of makeup because I couldn't be bothered, and i'd looked worse so I thought i'd roll with it). We then all headed into the city and to a traditional Hungarian meal. The food was really good, but it took 2 hours to arrive which made for 30 very hungry, bordering on hangry tourists..

After our meal most of us went back to camp, after a quick stop at an ice-cream shop of course.

My Hungarian meal, it was really good!!!

And that was Budapest! A lot less running around than at the start of the tour, but by that stage we were all so tired that it just didn't appeal in the heat.

Next stop on the tour – Bratislava (Slovakia), and Vienna (Austria)!!!