Krakow- Poland, October'09

I will not try and dress it up... Krakow is a depressing place. We were there just for the weekend & just about everything about the place was gloomy & depressing (even the KFC was not great!). It was in stark comparison to the sunny Greece holiday we had just had, the big difference being, that this was a 'cultural visit' & history and culture is one thing Poland is not short on.

In this respect Krakow (with Auswitz & Birkenau) is a must see destination.

The entrance to Auswitz- The writing says 'work will set you free'

Above- the square in the centre of Krakow

Above- Wawel Castle
We went out for some local fare, with mixed results....
Above- Nadia uninpressed with her Pear compote (you can see why)

Below- I am defeated, there is only so much purple cabbage a man can eat

The Wieliczka Salt mines

This sounds random, but it was actually really good. It is listed as a UNESCO world heriatge site for good reason. Our tour incorporated this with the trip to Auswitz as it is located between Krakow and Auswitz and if you get the chance definately go for a look.

The salt mines lie 180 metres below the ground, there are stairs you have to go all the way down on and then thankfully a lift for on the way back up. The main attraction in the mines are the huge halls that have been dug out by hand and intricate statues made from pure salt crytsals. One interesting thing about the mines was that the salt air is said to be very good for the lungs & they often send people down to the mines who have respirtory issues.

Auswitz and Birkenau

Auswitz & Birkenau are the most famous of the concentration camps. Auswitz is located about 1.5hrs drive from Krakow. Be prepared for a shock when you visit this place, the barbed wire fences everywhere, the gas chamber etc but the thing that made it the most real for me was a huge room all filled with human hair which the Nazis used to make jerseys from (also on display).

Above- The end of the line... lieterally. It is on these tracks that all prisoners arrived to Birkenau. The train first stops approximately 500 metres up the tracks from this photo and the healthy prisoners are taken away for work. The less suitable workers stayed on the train and were disembarked straight from this point, into the gas chambers.

Above- The memorial erected on the grounds of one of the gas chambers. The artist who designed the momument intended that its meaning be interpreted by the observer.

Above- the shooting wall- If you were lucky enough to miss the gas chamber, it is likley that you either died of exhaustion whilst working or were executed by the firing squad above.

Greece Island hopping Sept'09

Kebabs, stray dogs, naked Germans, beautiful beaches & more Australians than Australia- Greece has it all. In September we headed off on our summer holiday. The brief was simple; beaches, relaxation and most importantly guaranteed sunshine. We were away for 8 days flying into Athens and out of Mykonos, with some island hopping in between.

Athens

Athens is apparently the only place in the world where McDonalds runs at a loss, the reason for this is because their wonderful array of cheap kebabs. Their kebabs have two names. They are called Gyros if you are having them wrapped up for takeaway or Souvlakis when you go for the dining in experience.

We stayed in Athens for 2 nights (1 full day) which was just about the right amount of time. Beyond the Acropolis & museum there is not a lot else to do and it is not the nicest of cities with more stray dogs than all the dogs in NZ's SPCA combined!

The Acropolis is visible from all over Athens

Standing in front of the Parthenon

Above- The Acropolis by night

Above- The Temple of Zeus

Above- The Spectacular sights of the Acropolis were not immune to the stray dogs.

Above- Great outfits and even cooler routine outside the parliament building in Athens.


Santorini

After an 8 hour ferry from Athens we arrived to the beautiful sights of Santorini. We were staying in a place called Pirissa down the bottom end of the island which had some very handy beaches at our doorstep.

The most impressive place on the island is Oia. Situated at the top of the island where most of the pictures from below are taken. You can literally stay in a hotel sitting on the side of the island, but save you euros because these places don't come cheap!

Sunset at Oia

Above- Nadia rips into another Gyro

Donkeys were traditionally used to lug things up & down the hill in the past & it seems Santorini has not quite moved into the 20th century as they still use them!

The views from the town of Fira... you can see the still active volcano to the left

Red Beach

Our powerful motorbike taxied us all around the island, it had a top speed of 40km but unfortunately the 50cc engine only sputtered to 12km's uphill.

Naxos

We stayed on a lovely part of the island called Agga Anna which backs off on to Plaka beach. This island out of all of them definitely had the best beaches.

The temple of Apollo stands proudly at the port of Naxos.

Crystal clear waters are all part and parcel with Greece relaxing.

Agga Anna beach

Dinning beachside at Plaka beach

A classic Gyro- they cram in tomato, excessive amounts of onion, tatziki, an undefinable meat and to cap it off a few chips. It tastes amazing- look out for the gyro juice down your top though.

Mykonos

This island is well known for its nightlife which is said to be the best in Europe, it is also very gay friendly! They have some great beaches including one called 'Paradise' which sounds idyllic until you consider their is another beach called 'Super Paradise' I cant wait for 2012 when they open up 'Super Dooper Paradise'.

Above- Paradise beach... if you look really closely you can see a few nude Germans.... Why is it that its only ever the really old people who get nude?

Above- The loungers at 'Paradise', just metres from here you can see a woman gyrating on a pole to music & you can have a gyro brought to your seat- they have thought of everything those Greeks- remember though it will cost you c$30NZ per lounger to hire though.

The famous Windmills of Greece

Greece was an awesome holiday and highly recommended to anyone considering it.

Praha (Prague) August Bank Holiday 09

On the August bank holiday we headed to Prague with Nadia's sister Laura and friend Anna. Prague was great, it is a short hop from London, it is cheap, there is lots to see and do & the weather was good the whole time. Prague is well known as a Stag & Hen doo destination but I guess most of the action happens after 10pm so clearly most of this riff raff was lost on us.

We went on a good walking tour here which is the same company we have used in the past in Amsterdam, Berlin & Paris. The company is below.... http://www.newpraguetours.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Above- Prague Castle

Above-Taking in the sights from Lentenske park. Below is the Vltava River and the park in the background is Petrin Park.

Above- The Metronome on the hill at the top end of Lentenske Park represents the time wasted during Joesph Stalin's reign.

Above- Prague Castle by night and in the foreground Charles bridge.

Above- The astronomical clock- Up there with Maniken pee in Brussels and the Mermaid in Copenhagen in terms of overrated sights. This Medieval bad boy manages to conjur up 100's of people on the hour at which time four figures are set in motion. The 4 figures represent four things that were despised at the time of the clock's making; vanity, greed death and infidelity.

Above- On the steps of Wenceslas Square is where a student set him self alight in 1968 in protest of the Russian communist reforms.

Prague Castle is not really a traditional style castle, it is more like a giant church with a host of surrounding buildings. If you go there I wouldnt reccomend getting the castle tour ticket as most of the buildings are accessible without a ticket.

Above- the Jewish Cemetery, where they estimate there are 100,000 burials with over 12,000 gravestones in the space of rugby in goal area!

Anna, Laura & myself

Above- Nadia and Laura pose with the guy with no head and a little man on his shoulders.... based on a Franz Kafka short story.

Above-this huge muscular thing in the middle of the square was very prominant, I am not sure what the brown thing is beside it though.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm Pork

Easily the most interesting statue I have seen so far in our travels, although the one at the bottom of this post is pretty up there.

On Charles Bridge there are many statues, this one in particular though when stroked is supposed to bring good luck....that's if the Purrell didnt sanatise the luck as well as the dreams.

Above- I am told from a relaible source that this building is an example of cubism.

This green dude sits in the centre of the square, which is surrounded by a number of stalls offering traditional Czech food, including the giant pig on a spit shown in the photo above.

Above- Still working on what this is all about