Legenstein Bad Gleichenberg

... stairs behind me and decided to take the risk, no way I wanted to tackle those stairs with my bag and I wasn’t feeling particularly well. I thought “At least if I get stuck, I can nap until someone sets me free.” I fantasized about snoozing in the elevator, head on my bag, and snapped to as the door began to close... on me.

Got to my room. Opened the door and was greeted with a stench of cigarettes, and something ...

... and had some very memorable experiences with some very special people :) It was also fun to share some family history with Warren, and for him to see where my family comes from. Yay for family!

Thanks for reading,
Emy (& Warren)


*You know you are a backpacker when: The feeling of finally doing laundry is on par with the excitement of opening presents on Christmas.

** Warren does not actually own or love leather pants.

... heard a loud BONG! It was the church bell in the church right behind us! Unfortunately, the bell went off EVERY fifteen minutes and it was so loud-I don’t know how the people in that town deal with it. Needless to say, we did not get a very good night’s sleep; even with earplugs it was so loud and while I didn’t wake up to every ringing, I definitely woke up to plenty. We had an early start as well but once we were on the road we were okay.

... in waterball (or smthg?) and the there was the welcome-party for the team. That gathering on the square developed to a immense party with people singing hymn and anthems as well as drinking beers and shots.

The next day i got up "early", which means 7; I didnot get up before 10 for some weeks, so it was hard work to open my eyes.. After 2 strong coffees and cereals i checked out ...

... this is a must if you want to see the real life of the locals. There are people selling fruit, sausages, cheese, bread, flowers... it's really lively and it's worth a visit although you don't buy anything.
Then we walk through Burgasse to the Cathedral (pompous, as all cathedrals are) and Graz Castle, which is austere but it has nice gardens and you can go up to the castle's tower. The characteristic thing of the ...

... we dan eindelijk in Wenen. Sudbahnhof wel te verstaan. Daar waar geen metros rijden, en al zeker midden in de nacht niet. Gelukkig woont Paola tegenwoordig in het Prater, en was mijn fiets niet gejat (jaja, Wenen heeft toch zn voordelen).

Of ik nog naar Salzburg ga is bij dezen een Grote Vraag geworden. Ik wil eerst dat de baas van OEBB aan mij persoonlijk belooft dat dit NOOIT MEER gebeurt (ow, en geld terug bij vertraging zou ook niet verkeerd zijn..)

... 5 crazy bruce springsteen fans from Italy in a tour bus!! We had really greal loves, singing and discussing 2 Music of Bruce the whole time.. :D They dropped me at Maribor, where from after 10 minutes i continued my way to zagreb with a cuople from Czech. The last lift has been a nice man from Zagreb, who briefed me about some important things to know about Croatia as well as Zagreb itself.
My host, Tomislav has not ...

Hi there!

Well, welcome everybody! This will be my blog about my hitchhiking trip down the balkan. I´ll leave on Monday, 6th of July, right after i received my Netbook. I want to take this with me to enter w-lan in bigger cities and to be unindependant from internet-cafes ;) Furthermore i can save most of the money i´d have spent for maps and information sheets. www makes it possible, hehe

I want to be back somewhen in the ...

... Turning onto the road the Gps told us we were only 2kms from the campsite!!!Feeling lucky we walked back to the campsite passing little homes with their vegie patches being tended by ladies. What was amazing too was that so many people young and old rode pushbikes including very old women doing the shopping. Back at camp I tested my element with a cup of tea made by boiling the water and was chuffed as this would both save gas and give me an extra element to cook with ...

... had a different quality to it than the air in Graz. I honestly wish I could have bottled up the air to take back to the US, but I wasn't quite sure how I would declare that at Customs...but now, after this trip, I'm ready for some shut eye. Still, all things considered, this trip was a great experience and plenty of exercise!