Zacopane, Poland

Ahhh I've been so lazy, it's been soooo long since I wrote a meaningful post that to write all of the cool stuff we've done mean such a long post then even Mum would fall asleep.  So since Mark isn't hear to tell me I have to put everything down I'm just going to do the absolute highlights, or my top recommendations (which usually amounts to the same thing).

Since Slovenia we've been to Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Austria, Hungary (very briefly), Czech, Slovakia and are now in Poland. So here's some info on my* favouties, in no particular order.

Bosnia

Wow, so much history, which you can really see every where you walk.  We certainly saw the ottoman influence in the shisha bars and turkish pizza shops we visited.  Also stood on the bridge where Franz Ferdinand was shot thus starting World War I.  Drove past the Holiday Inn where the foreign correspondents during the wars lived and of course saw all of the bullet holes and scars in the buildings.  But it isn't just the history that makes this place so special.  The food (this blog is written by me) is fantastic and cheap!!! The people are friendly and there's enough to do to fill a couple of days.  We also went to Mosta, again beautiful, but probably only a day trip.

Poland

I can't enthuse enough about Poland.  IT. IS. AMAZING!  And I'm not saying this because our Polish friend is sitting across from me!  However, it may be influenced by the sheep cheese toasted sandwich that I'm currently eating!!!  It's really stunning, and with most of eastern europe, really cheap. The cities we've visited (Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw) remind me a lot of Paris and Prague, but without the killer prices.

In Poznan we visited our friend Klaudyna where we were thoroughly spoilt with traditional polish food, leaving with a little hamper of home made booze and jams and polish goodies!

In Krakow Kelly and Allen joined us for much vodka!  We toured Auschwitz and Birkenau, which were moving to say the least.

In Wroclaw we went Gnome hunting which would have to be one of the coolest things we have done!

We are currently in hiking Zacopane to Mark's delight, it seems to have enough trails to keep someone busy for a couple of weeks.  Also the people are SOOO friendly.  I'd say Poland is probably going to make one of my top Euro countries!

Cesky Krumlov, Czech

This is a cool little town south of Prague where you can drink a glass of wine under a beautiful castle and kayak through forest.  Prague was great because we caught up with some friends - hi Anges and Tom -  but otherwise expensive and over touristed (and I hate to go on about how touristy a place is, but this was SERIOUSLY over touristed).

Just so you know, since everyone raves about Croatia, I've skipped it. It's cool, but not one of our top destinations. If anyone wants tips on other places we've been let me know and I'll probably overwhelm you with recommendations.

With five weeks left of holiday until we get back to celebrate my brother hitting 30 we have started talking about our highlights and top 5's.  I'll post those on our blog.  Otherwise one of thee coolest thing about this holiday has been how much I've learnt about art and architecture and European history.  I 've discovered favourite artists and galleries, seen some seriously miss-matched castles** and walked bridges and roads with histories that fill sections of massive libraries.  I guess when your mind isn't being forced to learn for the sake of work, it finds other ways to grow ?!?!

I can't wait to see what happens when we head to India

*Not necessarily Mark's for the record


**Kel on second look I have to agree with you on that random assortment of architectual styles of the castle in Krakow on second look, haven't seen such a mixed on many other buildings