BONUS BLOG

My mother is very upset that she won't be able to read any more blogs when I get home. I have told her I'll write letters, but apparently that is not the same. To make her happy, I have decided to write an extra blog about my bestest bits of the last five weeks.

There are far too many things to pick a bestest bit from, I actually don't think I can. We have visited places that we have wanted to see for so long and couldn't believe it when we were actually there. Auchwitz, CERN and the Vatican are perfect examples of this. We have seen some beautiful sights, such as the view from the top of the castle in Prague and the train journey through the Alps. My favourite sight tho is something so simple. When we were on the night train from Malmo to Berlin on Emmjays birthday and I had called her and was a bit upset that I wasn't there, Katie and I waited for the train to board the ferry and we went up on deck. It was pitch black and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We could see millions of stars so clearly and it was unbelievable. I have never seen a night sky like that. That has to be my favourite sight.

We have eaten some amazing food on this trip as well. From Chip God in Amsterdam, the flaming Absynthe soaked kebab in Krakow and Diam ice creams in Malmo; to the all the beautiful food we ate in Italy (especially the lemon sorbet), all the beers we have tasted (especially in the Carlsberg factory and on the Munich Beer Hall tour) and the Pom bear salad we created for ourselves in Budapest. We have been so lucky that we haven't starved!

There have been times we didn't think we would make it home, like on the Polish death train when all the riot police got on, or when we arrived in Krakow and the taxi driver tried to overtake the tram. Public transport has been an experience, trams that looked like they belonged on The Warriors and bikes that try to run you over.

Some things have been really big for me, and really stick out in my mind. Going to the opera in Vienna was unreal, and it wasn't just any opera, it was Carmen. I don't have any words for how made up I was that night. Going to the East Side Gallery in Berlin was also an amazing experience for me. It's a part of history I find so fascinating and to actually be there at the wall was mindblowing. Seeing Michaelangelos David was fantastic too, the scale of it was ridiculous and it was so impressive. Also going to Anne Franks house was really moving, again it's something I find so interesting and I just couldn't get my head round the fact we were actually in her actual hiding place.

We have had some rather amusing times on this trip as well. The cricket scenario in Prague still makes us laugh now. Dee genuinely thought she was going to die. Finding ourselves in the quiet carriage on the way to Copenhagen, and realising we are not cut out for silence also makes us howl. But the one thing that gets us every time is thinking back to being on the train Krakow, after missing our first connection and finally being on a train, and the drinks man coming round and Katie asking for water. He asked if she wanted gas or no gas (fizzy water or still) but Katie didn't understand, so instead of showing her he just shouted in her face 'GAS OR NO GAS!' The look on her face was amazing, she was terrified. We cried for a good hour after and every time we have been to buy water since we ask Katie 'GAS OR NO GAS?!' This will never get old.

There are so many things I have left out that I have loved, but my thumbs are tired so I cannot type anymore. I think my ultimate favourite thing about this trip (and please excuse the cheese) is doing all these things with Dee, Katie and Sarah. We have had the most unbelievable five weeks together and the scale of what we have done and seen probably won't hit us until we are at home and come across a flyer or a ticket from somewhere and it all floods back. Yes we have all had our quite moments or our tired moments or our snappy moments but we have still just got on with it and experienced some fantastic things that we will always remember. I cannot wait for us to get together when we are home and go through all our pictures and remember all the things we have done. Infact, I can't wait for us to still be doing that in years to come.