We are now in Amsterdam. We arrived yesterday evening after a long train ride from Berlin. We got in, found our hostel then walked along one of the canals into the Red Light District. Amsterdam is a very nice city, a better version of Venice. The Red Light District was a bit of an eye opener!

Today we got up and cruised into town. Long gone are the days of sunshine, we now have rain and it is a lot colder. We walked around town looking at the local shops and trying some local food. We had some delicious 100 year old cheese

Tomorrow we plan to head to the Heineken factory for a tour then get some bikes and ride around. The city is dominated by bikes so is very bike friendly.

A great day in Berlin today. Got up nice and early and made the most of a free breakfast then headed to the TV Tower and Alexanderplatz Square.

We then braved the weather (exactly like NZ, sunny one minute raining the next) and walked to the Brandedeburger Tor. Which is the most famous gate from the Berlin wall. Right next to that was the German Parliament building.

We then went to the Holocaust Memorial which was very good to see but also quite freaky as well.

Next we wandered down Tier Garten to the Siegessaule, which is a golden statue.

Finally we went to the East Side Gallery, which is the longest part of the Berlin Wall still remaining. It was really cool to see, and there was some amazing artwork.

We are now chilling at a local bar which sells beer by the litre. It’s awesome!

Last night in Berlin tonight. We have a 7 hour train ride to Amsterdam tomorrow.

What a city!!  We have finally found a place that we could happily live in. Every street seems to be so old. Cobbled streets and no modern buildings. The beer is sooo cheap. Only 36 cents for half a litre and it’s delicious.

We arrived yesterday after a 5 hour train ride from Vienna. Got into a 3 bed deluxe apartment (which is awesome) and decided to chill for the rest of the day.

This morning we looked around the city which is awesome. We headed to Prague Castle first then made our way to Lennon Wall and Charles Bridge. Next we found the old Jewish part of the city and the Old City.

Off to a local pub tonight that has 35 beers on tap including chocolate beer! Last night tonight then off to Berlin tomorrow.

A casual day today. Went to Vienna Zoo with Jess this morning. It is the oldest zoo in the world so was pretty cool to see. They even had Jaguars.

We then had a look round Vienna. Another old city with lots of old buildings, which seem to all be under construction! Still got some good shots though.

Heading to Prague tomorrow morning which we are really excited about. Have heard many good things about the city.

Croatia just keeps on delivering. Plitvice Lakes National Parks was absolutely stunning. We got up nice and early and headed straight to the park to beat the crowds (up to 15000 people per day visit). Luckily we did because we hardly saw anybody on the first 5km of a walk.

The National Park is a series of lakes that all feed into each other through waterfalls like terraces. There is no swimming or fishing allowed so the water is pristine, crystal clear and full of fish!

It was very cloudy when we started but cleared up to be another great day which really showed the colours of the lakes.

A really awesome place. Definitely worth the trip and the early start. We are now in Zagreb where we have one night then we are catching the overnight train to Vienna tomorrow night.

After a wonderful time in Dubrovnik we caught the bus to Drvenik to catch the ferry to Sućuraj . Sućuraj is a very small village on the island Hvar, and is where my great grandfather was born. The ferry ride was a quick one but gave us some pretty good views.

We then looked around the village and found my grandfather’s cousin Ivan whose house we stayed in last night with his wife Mirijana and son Marko. They check there emails once every 20 days so weren’t aware that we were coming but were very welcoming.

We then went exploring in the graveyard and around to the lighthouse. It was awesome to see and experience a part of my heritage. I am very glad we went to Sućuraj.

We have arrived in Hvar now still very hot but saying in a nice place with a great view, air conditioning and 200m from the beach.

3 days in Rome and are yet to see a cloud! Absolutely scorching today. The hottest we have been so far. Went straight to the Colosseum this morning. Only 10 mins from our hostel which is awesome.

Only had to wait about 20 mins to get in so was easy! I have run out of words to describe things but would probably be my favourite thing so far….was pretty epic!

We then headed to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum which is ruins of an old palace.

Have 2 more days in Rome.

Will look around the city more tomorrow the maybe head to Naples for the day on Monday. Have managed to add the itinerary to the sidebar so that it is not buried at the bottom.

Wow! Arrived in Rome this morning to 32 degrees. Absolutely scorching for us. We weren’t allowed into our hostel till 4pm so dumped our bags and took to the streets wandering around from amazing building to amazing building. You could spend months here exploring as there is so much to see!

We saw the Giardini Piazza Vettorio then the Santa Maria Maggiore.

We ended up at the Fontana di Trevi where we both threw a coin over our shoulder to ensure our return to Rome! Was pretty cool to see but very busy and crammed. A lot of people warned us about pickpockets there so we were careful but unfortunately a 9 year old girl had her bag stolen with her ipad and camera. Pretty stink.

On the way back we stopped at the Quirinale where we got our first glimpse of St Peters!

We have 5 nights in Rome so plenty of time to explore. Will head to the Vatican tomorrow to see the pope.

After an awesome time in Venice we jumped on the train this morning and arrived in Florence at 11:30. We boosted it to our hostel dumped our bags then headed straight back to the train station to head to Pisa.

We didn’t really know what to expect apart from a building almost falling over so were pleasantly surprised. What a choice place.

We headed up the tower which was awesome. But coming down wasn’t so. I guess it is on too much of a lean because I had a massive blow out with my jandal and ended up falling down the stairs breaking my watch and possibly a toe….a very painful journey back.

Have 2 nights in Florence so have got tomorrow to look around. Hopefully will get to see the statue of David if the line isn’t too big.

Another great day on a great trip. Headed out this morning to the grand canal where we hopped on a gondola for a tour of the canals. Was quite and experience. So many other boats! Really cool to see everything from the water.

We then cruised the streets some more looking at all the local shops and street stalls and had our fair share of gelato.

Went for a wander after dinner through the streets to see some of Venice at night. We weren’t disappointed. Was pretty awesome. Even got to enjoy a lightening storm in the distance.

Off to Florence tomorrow morning and will hopefully visit Pisa tomorrow afternoon.