BUDAPEST 14th-16th July

When my friends and I were planning out our interrailing route and throwing in suggestions of destinations that had been recommended to us, one of the most highly recommended cities was, in fact, Budapest. This I didn't quite understand during our planning session, however, now that I have been, I'm completely clued in!

After a horrifically long 16-hour train journey, with only 5 seats between 9 of us (do not trust the Croatians with seat bookings) the feeling of arriving at our hostel was just overwhelming relief. We stayed in the 'Hi-5' hostel, which was extremely warm and welcoming (although somewhat a downgrade from our experience in Hvar!). The staff were all young and fun and they provided us with pre-drink games, after which they escorted us to a popular club.

On our first day there we visited the beautiful Matthias Church on top of Castle Hill which had the most breathtaking views. We saw the change over of the guards which provided us with some amusement. We also discovered that everything in Budapest is so darn CHEAP! Buying alcohol from the corner shops would normally be a sorrow trip for our purses, but in this city you could buy four beers for the equivalent to less than £4!! It was a ball. In the evening, we went with our hostel to a club called 'Morrisons' which was very bizarre! It was like being inside a deserted warehouse, but was a lot of fun!

One of, if not the, largest attractions to the city is their stunning outdoor and indoor spa baths which we took a trip to on our second day. There are a few in Budapest but by far the most popular are the Szechenyi baths. Even in weather of 32 degrees as it was for us, the heated outdoor pools were jam packed with tourists in bikinis and swimming trunks. The decor was beautiful, very Roman-esque. It is not a place to be missed if you plan to visit Budapest. We knew that in the evening we wanted to go to one of the 'ruin' bars called Szimpla, so we managed to convince our whole hostel to go there - a big advantage of interrailing as a large group! It was such a cool place, although the music was a little strange and the toilets were a state! We stayed to have a few more drinks then moved on to another club called Instant, which incidentally was directly opposite from our hostel - probably a good thing as one or two of us had to go back a little earlier than the others...

And yet again, Budapest is a city which you just can't miss.

HVAR 8th-12th July

The early morning ferry from Split over to the island of Hvar gave a few of us a dodgy tummy but it was an easy and cheap ride. The walk from the dock to our hostel - the Villa Skansi - only took about 10 minutes but that was still enough for us all to collapse on the sofas inside away from the scorching outdoor heat, fully aware of other backpackers looking at us in disgust - we were a pile of sweat and stank of a 7 hour train journey with no shower. Our hostel was lovely - could easily have been mistaken for a posh hotel from the bar area, until we were taken to our room - but in all honesty, we literally were only there for about 4 hours each night!

We had planned for Hvar to be our beach and party destination of the trip and that it certainly was! During the day we strolled down to the beautiful rocky beaches where the scenery (including the people) was gorgeous. Pizza was on the lunch menu everyday. It was the nicest tasting slice of cheesey, tomatoey goodness we'd eaten all holiday, not to mention the cheapest at around 20 kuna each! (It takes a while to get used to the constant switching of currencies...) We had the opportunity to go on a boat ride during the day, where a man would have taken us to another beautiful island and we could have thrown ourselves off a cliff (dramatic language inspired by my near hospital trip in Slovenia), however we decided against this as a couple of members of our group suffered from severe motion sickness, and the beach was a perfectly chilled out and free day trip anyway!!

Each evening our hostel provided us with a free bar crawl with pre-drinks beforehand. I think this is what made Hvar what it was for us, as we had heard that other friends of ours, who decided to stay in an apartment, did not have such a fun experience as we had. The Skansi had 2 reps - Tom 1 and Tom 2 - who escorted us to the bars each night, making sure no one was at all sober and handing round free shots and jager bombs. Each night we would end up on a totally different island, solely dedicated to one massive beach club called Carpe Diem. There were a number of other recommended clubs around but we found this to be just too much of a good night to miss at all!

Due to the hospitality of our hostel in Hvar, we all made so many new friends, some of whom we still keep in contact with occasionally. For me, Hvar was one of the peaks in my journey. The nightlife was amazing and the days were so chilled out. Don't get me wrong, why would I have gone interrailing had I not enjoyed seeing a few sights?! But the break in the middle from constant walking was bliss, and also gave any blisters a chance to heal. Again, definitely a recommended stop for backpackers who like a few drinks and a good dance!

BLED 5th-7th July

Our next stop was Bled in Slovenia, notorious for its breathtaking views of Lake Bled. We stayed in the 'Jazz Hostel' which was very roomy and the owners were so welcoming, giving us all the information we needed to get to the lake and where to find the best and cheapest food etc.

We were in Bled for 2 nights but only really 1 day, however I would highly recommend being there longer! We woke early to go white water rafting on a river coming off the lake - lots of fun with the only downside being that I've come away with one massive bruise on my thigh - just in time for sunbathing in Croatia... Typical!! 

After lunch, we donned our swimming costumes and went for a dip in lake Bled which was a somewhat surreal experience. It was as though someone had place a backdrop behind us - photos do not do it justice!  The water was cold but so clean and clear and it was probably one of the highlights of my trip so far. 

Definitely would recommend those going interrailing to try to stop at Bled at some point on your way. It was possibly the most stunning place I have ever visited and will be going again at some point in my life. If you do decide to stop here, Chili's restaurant do some incredible fajitas!

VENICE 3rd-5th July

The night train from Paris to Venice was an experience to say the least. The majority of us had a very naive image in our minds of a spacious cabin with bunk beds and a little table that would cater us for the night... How wrong we were!! It was a very tight squeeze and 3 of us had to share a cabin with 3 French women who couldn't speak a word of English - I tried my best for a while but the language barrier did start to become a tad awkward! However I did manage to get some sleep, but I would recommend you to try hard NOT to sleep on the bottom bunk (I had about 10 inches of moving space). 

Venice itself is the most beautiful city. We spent our first afternoon wondering around pretty dazed by the heat and lack of a decent night sleep, but just the views from all the little bridge crossings were so cute. 

Our hostel was called venice's 'Flying Fish' which was luxury compared to our Paris hostel! There was a little living space with tea and coffee facilities and we met some really lovely people. 

Going against all travellers budgeting rules, we took out a gondola. SO glad we did! St Marc's square was very busy but quite amazing seeing as everywhere else was so compact with little stalls an suddenly it opened up into an enormous square with a beautiful cathedral. 

Venice was one of the most stunning places I have visited and thankfully didn't seem as expensive as everyone had made out; however that could just be due to us comparing prices to a city like London... I would also very much recommend the hostel we stayed at - also took us for a night out to venice's hotspot for young people on student night which was interesting! 

PARIS 1st-3rd July

As we jumped off the Eurostar at Gare de Nord in Paris, we made our way straight to the hostel we had previously booked to dump our enormous backpacks. We stayed at the Peace and Love hostel which was right by the metro line 'Juares' as well as a McDonald's (equally important). First impressions of the hostel... A little wary! As there are 9 of us, the cheapest option was to stay in the largest room for 14 people which meant we met a few other travellers however it was VERY cramped.

The evening of our arrival we took a relaxing walk along a nearby canal just to check out what was going on around where we stayed. We bought crepes for dinner and lay in the evening sun for a while with a pack of cards.

Yesterday we had an early start as we wanted to make the most of our 2 days in Paris, especially since only a couple of us had been there before. We managed to see the Notre Dame, the Arc de Triumph, the love lock bridge and have lunch under the Eiffel Tower with an evening trip to the lit up top all in one day.

Our second day in paris was when we really became aware of how careful we have to be with our belongings. We visited the Sacré coeur where I ended up having to drag my friend away from a group of young French girls who tried to block her view with clipboards so that they could try and slip their hands into her bag and nick a few euros. This happened again to another of my friends... So be aware of the pickpocketers' clipboard tricks in Paris!

All in all, Paris was a great experience. Obviously we were not there for the nightlife, however the sightseeing was a must - especially as I had never been to the city before. I also thoroughly enjoyed using a bit of my A level French during our stay! 

Interrail June 30th - 29th July

Hello!

This time next week, myself and eight other friends will have packed up our rucksacks and have begun our one month adventure across Europe - a scary, but incredible thought!

I have started this blog as a way for me to commemorate each day of my travels with my pals, as well as to give out any tips and advice that may be useful for others who are planning a trip like interrailing.

Since there is obviously a large number of us girls going, we have had to be extremely on the ball with an itinerary and booking hostels and trains where necessary - so unfortunately there won't be room for any spontaneous stops in cities along the way! However the cities we have chosen to visit we have picked out carefully from recommendations and those we thought would be the most exciting. So, here we go!

First stop will be Paris, followed by Venice, Lake Bled in Slovenia, Hvar in Croatia, Budapest, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Antwerp.

I hope you enjoy :)

Darcy