Working East

Panorama of one of Budapest's magnificent turkish baths

Buda Castle's gardens

We hope the pictures that precede this post have been keeping you all satisfied and up to date with what we have been busying ourselves with while in the UK. It has been a very long time since we wrote for the blog, but with a six hour bus trip from Wroclaw to Warsaw the opportunity seemed right.

Where do we start? It is hard to choose a starting point as there is so much to tell about what we have been up to and we will do our best to keep it short, sharp and simple. The best place would be to start with the end of our working holiday and the start of another adventure on a different continent. The last few weeks before we left London for Europe were spent as the rest of our time in London was, being very busy, tired and always ready for a surprise, good or bad.

One of James' flat whites

James finished his time at Kaffeine and was very sad to have to leave. He regrets not throwing himself at the opportunity to be the head barista at one of Europe’s best cafes sooner, but is proud of what he has accomplished and has definitely learnt enough to set him on his way in hospitality. Antoinette was very happy to finish her last placement, which was at one of her favourite workplaces, so she is no longer on a short, complex and ever changing leash of agents, workplaces and time sheets.

So far we have visited Venice, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and are now in Poland. There have been more highlights than troubles and we have very fond memories from most of the cities we have visited. Europe as a whole is a fascinating place. So much history and significance in such a small area of the planet make it one of the most interesting places to visit. For us some of the smaller cities, the ones people do not visit because it is not a capital city, have been our favourites. It is difficult to choose only a couple of activites and sights that sum up our experience so far but we will try any way.

One of many shots from Outlook

For James the Outlook Music Festival in Pula, Croatia, was a fantastic experience. Great music, great sound systems and a great crew of people made this festival the best one he has been to while abroad, even though the weather tried to make things unbearable. For Antoinette she says her favourite thing has not happened yet, just another excuse to keep traveling, but she has enjoyed the different food each country offers as we take a break from eating picnic style dinners once in each city to try and taste some local food.

LANGOS!

On that note, the food has been as varied as the people we meet. Some spicy, some bland and some just very, very unappealing. The street food is often better than what is offered in restaurants and we have tried to steer clear of anywhere with menus in English and found some absolute gems in doing so. Eastern European food is treating James well, but seeing most of it is either wrapped in cabbage, stuffed with meat, deep fried or all of the above, Antoinette has had to forgo some of the local specialties (with the exception of Hungary’s Langos – deep fried dough pizza, smothered in garlic, sour cream and local cheese). Coffee, however, is also pretty good, when James has whole beans to make an aeropress in the morning, but there are not many specialty coffee places to speak of.

Battle damage at Buda Castle

There have been lots of smiles on this trip, but there have also been more somber moments, the most poignant being a visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau in South Western Poland. There are also small, but somehow constant, reminders of the events that shaped Eastern Europe in the latter half of last century that seem somehow at home in their current context. The ruins of several anti-aircraft towers remain in Vienna and their concrete bodies soar above the natural and architectural beauty Vienna is known for. It is difficult to imagine a place so rich in history still catching up with the world after emerging from communist and soviet rule in the late 80s, but that is how it feels to us, especially in the smaller towns and cities.

We have a lot more to go and much more to see. We are almost at the end of our time in Poland, with Warsaw being our final stop before Germany, and then onwards through the Netherlands, France, Scotland and back to London to say goodbye to a city that, at times, feels more like home than Perth.

‘Till next time.

Antoinette & James.