Dale & Sheryl - On Tour: July 2007

So as you’re all probably well aware, especially those of you currently living in the UK, summer is a total disaster. Quite literally!

June was a real wet one for Britain while we were away but just as it seemed we might’ve brought some half decent weather back with us, July has been completely mad too. Some areas of the country, including parts of my home town Sheffield, have been under some serious levels of water.

We haven’t been directly affected but last week as we briefly passed through London we saw some quite unbelievable flash flooding. That included seeing two cars and a bus caught up in water levels almost touching their doors. Later that day, elsewhere I believe, there were people climbing out of their sunroofs to escape going completely under!

With this being officially the wettest June and July in the UK ever, I’m expecting some serious catch up heat wave action over the coming two months.

Upon our return from backpacking the sun was still making an appearance on the south coast where we are so we took advantage by going on some country walks with John & Angie. That included going to Hambledon Hill, an old Roman settlement and a bloody big hill. These countryside strolls do make you thirsty though, so of course there were customary visits to the country pubs.

We had already decided that before we’d started looking for work again we’d pay the rellies up north a visit (that is my Dad in Sheffield, and my other Grandparents in the village of Brompton-on-Swale in North Yorkshire).

We arrived in Sheffield last Friday night (an hour and a half late I might add!) after traveling all day on the coach from Bournemouth. We had a quiet one on the Friday and on the Saturday went out for a drink and a meal at a pub called…The Norton!

My Dad had decided that on the Sunday he’d save us a train journey and take us up to North Yorkshire and we thought it might be nice to swing by York for some lunch on the way through. I don’t even need to tell you that of course it rained, but York’s a lovely little town and well worth seeing if you get the chance.

We then had five nights with my Grandparents in the village. On Monday we went to the Beamish Museum - an open air museum with entire towns, villages and farms rebuilt to their original state to represent life in 1913. The workers all dress in the original style clothing and go about their tasks as people would’ve in that era. Quite different and very interesting! The photos below of the ‘Angel of the North’ are of Britain’s largest monument – an angel made of steel with a wingspan of 54m and a height of 20m (plus 20m underground).

On Wednesday we went to the Catterick Races. Attending the meets at the nearby racecourse, within walking distance, has become something of a hobby for my Grandparents up north and we had a pretty cool day. Sheryl and I gave a bit back to the bookies but not much more than a tenner and my Grand-dad had worked his charm on the lady on the front gate to get us in for free which was a saving and a half! Oh yeah, and there were no silly hats.

By late Friday night we were in London where we stayed with Phil and Cheryl. On the Saturday we popped to Camden Markets and had lunch with Simone, an Aussie girl we’d met last year on our trip through Europe (Fi - hopefully we can catch up with you next time then. In the meantime don’t work too hard!).

On Saturday evening we went to the famous Hampstead area of London for a pub walk. It’s a walk and not a crawl as during our two and a half hour trip through the old streets we only had two drink stops, but nevertheless it was nice to see another part of the capital.

We got back to Bournemouth this afternoon but as for tomorrow, well, it’s job hunting time!

(Left: The Norton pub in Sheffield...Right: The streets of York)

(Left: Sheryl outside an old teddy bear shop...Right: The York Minster)

(The Angel of the North monument...it's bloody big ya know!)

(The Beamish open air musem in County Durham)

(Gotta love those old school ads)

(Life as it was back in 1913...a trip down memory lane for my Grandparents!)

(Life down mill...I couldn't help but think of the Four Yorkshireman sketch from Monty Python when I was down there, for anyone who's seen it!)

On our final day with Anna, in Bratislava, the girls headed off for a spot of shopping while I hit an Irish bar called the Dubliner for a couple of pints of Staropramen, as you do.

In the evening we had a nice meal over a glass of celebratory bubbles and headed off to an inviting looking cocktail bar called Greenwich, located down a small side street. The bartenders in this place were some of the best I’ve ever seen. Before you knew it you had a cocktail menu in front of you at the bar while their drink making skills, and showmanship, were top class. Bravo guys!

The funny thing was we had to eventually call it a night because we had all run out of Slovakian korunas, their currency, and being our final night didn’t want to make any further withdrawals in a currency we’re unlikely to ever need again. But that was fine, we’d had another good night out.

The next morning Anna made for the airport while we were jumping on the next train to the Czech city of Brno. There, we transferred to bus and traveled through the countryside to the tiny town of Cesky Krumlov, via Ceski Budejovice (where they brew the real Budweiser beer!).

We were instantly impressed with Cesky Krumlov - like a mini Prague but without the hordes of tourists. It’s only a small place with a population of around 12,000 and you can easily walk from one side of the town down over the bridge and across to the other side in 10 or 15 minutes.

We had booked a double room in a little hostel called Krumlov Hostel and, again, we were not let down. For a mere €11.50 each we had a private room with an extra single bed, a couch and views of the river! Loving the VFM (Value For Money).

On our first evening there we tried the recommendation of the American lady who owned the hostel and went to a bar/restaurant called Antre that had views over looking the river. Their blackboard boasted it as ‘The best view ever’. Big call, but the food was excellent and the service surprisingly good as the Czech’s are renowned for being an unintentionally rude lot.

In the evening we had a stroll through the cobbled streets of the town, down across the bridge and up into the old town and around the clock tower area. Just like Bern, in Switzerland, this place has a pit with some bears living in it, supposedly ‘guarding the town’. At least these ones had a bit more life about them.

We were only there for two nights and one full day so we decided to do what everyone else seems to do when the weather is decent and hire a raft and drift down the Vltava River for the afternoon. I’m glad we decided to go with the inflatable raft option as while the canoes and kayaks definitely went faster, they were also prone to do a full tilt when going through some of the rapids!

We paddled downstream and out of the town and through the forest for about four hours (with refreshment stops at café/bars along the way!) before arriving at a collection point where they pick you and your vessel up and drive you back into town. We reckon we probably did the best part of about 15km’s.

That evening we went for a meal at Krčma v Šatlavské. It’s recommended by Lonely Planet and their description fits the bill pretty well – ”Pork and beef barbecue at the fireplace and wine served in rustic earthenware beakers are trademarks of this atmospheric, candle-lit cellar.”

We finished the evening with a drink at the nearby Horor Bar – a bar decorated in spooky Halloween themed props.

Cesky Krumlov definitely goes down as one of our favourites so far on the whole trip. It’s small and void of large mobs of annoying tourists (but backpacker friendly) and you get great value for money where ever you go in town. If any of you are heading to the Czech Republic, or nearby, we highly recommend a visit here. It’s only three hours south of Prague and you will not be disappointed! Transport in and around the Czech Republic is cheap as chips too, it only cost us a little over €5 each to get from Krumlov to Prague.

Which brings us to our final stop on this five week European tour – Prague. We have to say neither of us was quite taken back as we expected by the Czech capital, although the weather was pretty average for our three nights there with patchy rain constantly ruining plans. But it seemed so similar to cities we had already visited – Budapest and Bratislava in particular. I guess perhaps it didn’t match the hype that we’d read and heard about, for us anyway.

After the delight of Krumlov we had well and truly returned to tourist land upon arrival in Prague. Sometimes you just can’t escape them.

Our hostel was the worst of the whole trip. The location was the worst thing about it. They claimed to be central but that was a pretty loose term of the word as it was a solid 20-25 minute walk into town, and the hostel itself was across a motorway and in a seedy looking run down part of the city. You win some, you lose some. But don’t stay at Hostel Elf is all we can say!

Amongst seeing the sights of Prague (Staromestke and Wenceslas squares, the Charles bridge and Prague castle) one of the highlights of our stay there was a day trip to Plzen – the home of Pilsner Urquell. First brewed here in 1842, it was the world’s first lager!

The brewery tour was a tad boring, no where near as fun as the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, but tasting the unfiltered Urquell in the cellars below the brewery was pretty cool (literally…it was a nippy 10 degrees down there).

That was last Thursday and the following day we flew directly back into Bournemouth from Prague. And so concludes another venture into Europe.

Any backpacker trip wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t travel with cool people (Anna and Karen) and meet some great randoms along the way (you know who you are!). We hope to see some of you guys again in the future!

For us, it’s back to reality now and finding some more temp work to save up for another journey.

Watch out Scandinavia and Iceland…we’re eyeing you up!

Final times in Bratislava