EuroQuest: Day 11 - German Scout Camp/Cologne

Hi everyone! So it was our last day at the Scout Camp so after we cleaned up and packed our bags we were faced with the challenge of finding our way back to the train station. We decided it would be a great idea to walk through the woods to get back into town and it didn't take us long to realised we were lost after the path we were following disappeared. Jenny then took the lead and led us on 'Jennys Magical Mystery Hobbit Tour' which eventually got us back on the track and to the train station.

As we were waiting for the train to arrive the heavens opened for the first time on the trip and at first it was so nice because in most places it was around 30 degrees but then it got heavier and it turned into a mad scramble to find shelter. Our rain jackets were at the bottom of our bags because we didn't think we would need them so made makeshift shelters using our bag covers - well we are Girl Guides after all!

After several train journeys including as usual a sprint to the train after we realised we were waiting on the wrong platform we finally arrived in Cologne. There were so many shops in the station! There was a whole shop selling different things all made out of jelly sweets which looked amazing! I was very tempted to buy something but I didn't think it would still be in one piece by the time I got home! We then wandered into a clothes shop which had loads of really nice but cheap clothes and shoes! I got a dress and a top (which I'm still waiting for the weather to improve to wear) and Hayley found these shoes which were amazing and they were so cheap she had to get them!!

After our little shopping break we headed to a restaurant to get some food because we were so hungry after a day of travelling. The restaurant was primarily pork and had an amazing interior design. As the two veggies on the trip Evie and me decided that we would both order a macaroni cheese from the snacks menu and then share a portion of chips and some hash browns as we assumed being from the snack menu it would be small portions but oh how we were wrong! I don't think I've ever felt so full and neither of us could finish it all!

We then headed to the hostel and it was so nice! I was sharing a room with Frances, Evie and Hayley and as we got to the room we found the door literally wouldn't open. We were pushing against it with all our force but it would budge. Some guys in the room next to ours came out to see what all the noise was and apparently we were opening the door all wrong because you had to do something first with the key. Our room so so nice (once we finally got in!). We had a balcony and a proper walk in shower! This meant we could wash stuff and hang it over the balcony to properly dry rather than just hanging it over the bars on the bunk beds!

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out here:
The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent at the Scout Camp in the Harz Mountains and in Cologne as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.

SCOUT CAMP VIDEO: COMING SOON

COLOGNE VIDEO: COMING SOON

EuroQuest: Day 10 - German Scout Camp

Hi everyone! So after a busy day of travelling we were allowed a wonderful lie in after our first night at the scout camp... well we had breakfast at 10 which is probably the latest time we've had to get up on the whole trip! After breakfast we set out on a walk into the nearest town which was a lot further away than we thought! On the way we noticed there was a lot of statues of witches and goblins which is apparently something to do with the myths and legends of the Harz mountains which I thought it was really cute!

We stopped into a shop on the way to the town to buy some lunch and it was so cheap! I picked up some deodorant and lemonade for only €1.50 (strange combination I know but I forgot to put the lid on my deodorant when we were travelling the day before so all my clothes smelt great but with none left I didn't!) To add to the 'Dragon Fruit' capri sun we had earlier on we found another amazingly strange one called 'Fairy Drink' which was really sweet!

After we finished eating our lunch and drinking our Fairy Drinks we headed through the town back up to the mountains to find the cable car that would take us up to the top of the mountains. It was obviously a popular thing to head up to the top of the mountains and then mountain bike down them because so many people in were taking their bikes up on the cars which had special hooks on the back to hang your bikes onto, although they were just hanging there so I would've been so scared that they would've just fallen off!

There wasn't really much at the top except routes to walk back down! We did stop in a little shop which was selling a lot of memorabilia related to these myths and more importantly they sold ice cream which we noticed by the giant magnum situated right outside!

On the way back down on the cable car ski lift we decided to let everyone know that we were Girl Guides by singing boom chicka boom! It's basically a mimic song so it was decided that Evie and Tash who were in the middle of the 5 cars we filled up would lead and we would all shout back. We did get some very strange looks from all the people coming up!

When we got back to the Scout camp we ran up to the top of the scout camp to quickly meet up with some German scouts who were just about to leave. We managed to do some swaps including getting some of their left over food before they left!

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out here:
The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent at the Scout Camp in the Harz Mountains as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.

SCOUT CAMP VIDEO: COMING SOON

EuroQuest: Day 9 - Prague/German Scout Camp

Hi everyone! So this was basically a full on day of travelling with 4 trains we had to catch with only minutes between  some of them! We had breakfast in the hostel and they had this adorable little pots of nutella and even though I don't like nutella (don't kill me!) I still picked one up to take home because they were so cool.

All credit for this photo to Sara!!!! 

We then embarked to catch our first train and I've never see a train so busy. The train was like the old fashioned Harry Potter style trains with individual little cabins to sit in and a long corridor connecting them all and that was where we had to sit! So we were mind our own business, singing songs and trying to do the infamous pony song sat down when some guys in one of the cabins started laughing at us and trying to join in. We'd got used to this but then he rudely opened the door from his cabin and put his burger king rubbish out in the corridor with us. Naturally, we all gave him the dirtiest look we could master up and he sheepishly opened the door again and took his rubbish back in!

Stuck in the corridor

We got off that train and onto the next one! The train was really fancy and it even had English speaking radio stations! We finally got to a really big station and went off to go get some food. Naturally we made a beeline for McDonalds and they had these really nice tasting fruit slushies in loads of different flavours. I love cirtus fruits so naturally I got the lemon one and it was so nice! On our way back to our bags we bumped into a group of German scouts who were on their way to or making their way back from a jamboree in Germany.

The German scouts we met

View from the train window

We still had two more trains to catch but because our previous trains had been late and then these ones were as well we ended up missing our connections so we had to get on different trains than had originally been planned.

In the corridor again

The pile of bags

 Finally we got to the last train station and we were greeted by the people who were in charge of the scout camp and they gave us a lift up to the camp as it was quite a way away from town up near the Harz mountains. The scout camp was a lot smaller than I had envisioned it as as far as we could see no one else was staying there! We did meet some Dutch scouts but they were a lot older than us but we did give them some of our Euro Quest badges.

Squished into the car on the way to the camp site

Tash's Niall displaying our EuroQuest badge rather nicely!

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out here:
The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent in Prague & the Scout Camp in the Harz Mountains as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.
PRAGUE VIDEO: COMING SOON

SCOUT CAMP VIDEO: COMING SOON

EuroQuest: Day 8 - Vienna/Prague

Hi everyone! So we were packing up getting ready to leave Vienna and head onto Prague and as we were waiting outside of the hostel for everyone to get there we noticed a lovely young man doing his morning exercises by the stairs. He was incredibly strong doing handstand push up and pull ups on the bars with his legs in pike... all whilst not wearing a top! (I mean it was in the high 30's!) As our leaders came out they also noticed him and whilst the rest of us were happy watching from the distance, they had no trouble in walking up to the poor guy and asking for a photo! Safe to say we were laughing the whole way to the train station. I don't really remember much from the train ride because as per usual I fell asleep!

In Prague we went out for a little explore around and we bumped into some Belgium Girl Scouts! After that we went on the hunt for some food and Marianna (the lady who showed us around Slovakia) had told us to try Langos when we were in Slovakia but we never got the chance. Luckily a stall was selling it and we all got some! I got mine with just cheese and it tasted so good although it was extremely greasy and I imagine in contained well over my daily allowance for fat and probably calories but who cares - it was delicious, although very filling so sadly I didn't finish it.

We then had seats booked to see a Marionette puppet show as that is one of the things Prague is famous for and it was definitely an experience of a life time! Not being a huge fan of puppets, Vici, Tash and myself sat towards the back of the theatre. It started and it was all very strange! We could see the puppeteers hands which I'm pretty sure were supposed to be hidden and the female puppets all had the breast out on show! Every time we saw a hand or an arm suddenly come into view we found it very hard to suppress a giggle! It probably didn't help that we had no idea what was going on as obviously none of it was in English and we hadn't thought to search a synopsis before hand! It all ended rather abruptly with one of the puppeteers dropping her puppet by accident and then proceeding to make her way onto the small stage to retrieve it before saying something we couldn't understand and bowing!

After that we were very doubtful to what the next show we had booked to see would hold. This was a show being put on by the Black Light Theatre and it was safe to say this was one of the best shows I've seen! It was so cleverly done; they wore all black and the stage was pitch black so you couldn't see them at all when suddenly these luminous shapes appeared and they looked like the were floating. There was an underwater scene at one point and they were moving the fish in such a way that it really looked like they were swimming! If you ever get the chance you should defiantly go see a show!

After that eventful day we headed back to our hostel which again had a lovely balcony area but this second floor was much closer to the ceiling than the one Hungary I could barely stand up! We had plenty of beds though so I got a whole bunk bed to myself which came in handy as a make shift washing line!

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out here:
The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent in Vienna & Prague as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.
VIENNA VIDEO: COMING SOON

PRAGUE VIDEO: COMING SOON

EuroQuest: Day 7 - Vienna

Hi everyone! So I was the first one up as I wanted to have a shower in the morning and I stumbled out of essentially the draw with a mattress and in into the bathroom. As I was getting undressed I caught sight of this little brown mark on the side of my rib. My first thought was 'Oh great - a tic!' so I had a quick look but it was kind of hard to see. It didn't really look like a tic (from the pictures I'd seen) and none of us had got one yet. It was still there after my shower so I showed it to the people in my room but none of us thought it was a tic but we called Sheila round to double check! I'm sure you've guessed now that it was in fact a tic and oh my god it didn't want to come out! Sheila had this card which safely pulls tics out but it took a fair few tries before it was out!

After I was rid of my little visitor we headed outside to go and find a tram to take us to the Haus der Musik or the House of Music in English! Vici went up to this really fancy tram to ask where we could get a normal one to take us but the 2 men that had hired this tram to take them around the city offered us a lift there! Perks of being Girl Guides I guess! The journey there was so funny! The drivers assistant was supposed to be giving commentary as we drove around but he handed the microphone to Fran who gave a wonderful if slightly inaccurate commentary which had us all in stitches!

The tram

The House of Music was so gorgeous just on the outside and as we walked in we could hear this wonderful piano music drifting through the hallway. We assumed it was speakers with pre-recorded music on but as he entered the main hall we saw it was another tourist playing this amazing grand piano! It turned out anyone cold have a go playing it if they wanted too!

House of Music

Piano music

There were so many strange interactive things to do once we were inside including a very odd room where weird music was playing and you had to dance around to make images appear on the screen. The best thing though was in one room you could virtually conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra by standing in front of a screen and sort of like a Wii you moved your baton to conduct them! If you are ever in Vienna this is definitely a place you have to go to!

Having a go conducting

Some sculptures near the enterance

A giant drum

After that we caught another tram to Prater Park which is a sort of theme park but more with rides you would see at fairs or carnivals just on a much bigger scale! We were all given a couple of tokens to go on some rides and off we went! One ride that caught my eye looked very similar to 'Air' at Alton Towers which I had ridden a couple of years ago and loved! However when we got on I noticed it was very different to Air! Instead of being strapped in you had to step into what basically was a cage without a back and we were there like okay they'll put a back on in a minute because some of it involves us going with out backs to the floor so we might fall out. But did they... oh no! The only thing stopping you from falling was your ability to hold on! We were kind of relieved we survived when it finally came to an end!

Prater Park

House of Horrors 

The terrifying ride!

Off we go!

We went for dinner in one of the restaurants on site and I think it was Sara and Evie ordered this drink which they had no idea what it was but when it came out it was in such giant glasses everyone was a bit taken back! After trying a little bit it turned out to be this really nice fruit flavoured drink that if my memory serves me correctly was kind of sparkling, Emii and I got one each! I really wish I could remember what it was called because it's something I would love to have again!

Yum!

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out below. The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent in Vienna as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.

VIENNA VIDEO: COMING SOON

I hope you enjoyed reading this and feel free to leave any comments!

EuroQuest: Day 1 - Zagreb

Hi everyone! If you didn't already know this summer I have spent 2 weeks travelling around Europe which I was able to do through Girl Guiding (you can read more about how I got to do this and some background info and stuff HERE) and I thought I would tell you about what we got up to!

So the first place we went to was Zagreb in Croatia! On Wednesday 24th we all met up in London as we had a really early flight to Zagreb in the morning, so we thought it was best to stay in a hotel nearby that night. I shared a room with Emii and Frances and it turns out we are the most indecisive people ever! There was a single bed and a double and we couldn't decided who was sleeping where. After almost an hour we decided there was only one way to solve it - each of us wrote down our name and it went into a hat. As soon as this was done we went straight to bed because we had to be up super early.

Our flight was from Heathrow and in the airport we noticed a TARDIS and a Dalek (as you do) so of course after we had eaten we all rushed to get photos and the TARDIS turned out to be a photo booth but unfortunately it wasn't working so we just had photos outside it!

The TARDIS in the middle of Heathrow Airport

The flight was alright, but as soon as we walked off we were met with a gust of hot air. Now, England had been having a heat wave when we left but it was nothing compared to Croatia where I think it was in the high 20's/ low 30's.

We then went to find our hostel which was called the Fulir Hostel and it was actually really nice! I had never stayed in a hostel before and to be honest I was expecting the worst! We all stayed in a room of 10 in bunk beds and the room had a little en suit with a shower and there was a communal bath room there as well so it was pretty good!

The hostel we were staying in

We then went for a little explore around the various market stalls and I was surprised by how cheap everything was! The main price difference that I noticed was that a bottle of Heineken was being sold at the equivalent of just under £1.

As we were explore we met a man busking on some stairs close to where we were staying and he began to serenade us with the few English songs he knew before one of my leaders happily accompanied him as a backing vocalist!

Everyone joining in with Giovanni Furlan

As a group we had a look around the church that was close to where we were staying and I absolutely loved the architecture, especially the detailing on the door way! It was so cool inside that we just wanted to stay there to avoid the heat that was waiting to greet us as soon as we stepped outside again.

The detail on the entrance to the church

We then went off in our own two groups of 5 to explore the city ourselves. And the first thing we did was to go get ice cream - I like to think we have our priorities sorted! Then we basically went for a walk, nipped into a couple of shops including an art shop where the sold ink along with a whole manner of art utensils for literally pennies. We stopped in a park to enjoy the sun and walked through several others on the way back which had gorgeous fountains where many people were dipping their feet in as an attempt to cool off!

Cooling fountains

We then went to a really nice restaurant where I had a huge margarita pizza but throughout the meal there was a fly buzzing around! The amount of times that we attempted to catch the fly in bottles, glasses and whatever else was on the table but alas we failed.

Not the restaurant we went to but the place next door!!

We ended our first day there by going on a little adventure on a Noddy train which did a little tour around the city, which was nice. When we got back we decided to do the Pony Song in the middle of the square and by the end we were absolutely melting. The Pony Song is one of those camp fire songs that we do as Guides and Rangers but for most of us, we had never heard it until the selection weekend!

The noddy train

If you want to see more I filmed a bit of what we were doing so you can check that out here:
The video is a montage of several clips and pictures throughout the time we spent in Zagreb as apposed to these blog posts which a split by day.

ZAGREB VIDEO: COMING SOON

I hope you enjoyed reading this and feel free to leave any comments!