On the second of September, my mate Amanda (the Vidler of the page title) is off on a tour of Central and Eastern Europe all by herself (and we're all very proud of her).
From Berlin up to Poland and down through the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia too, she's promised to e-mail me to let me know how she's getting on.
Hopefully there'll be a few photos too when she get's home...
"Well I've made it without too many mishaps - taking a rucksack that weighs more than me probably wasn't one of my better ideas but I picked a decent hostel and managed to meet a load of Canadians and Australians last night which is cool cos I was getting seriously fed up speaking German all the time.
I'm off on a tour of Berlin now. So I'll catch up with you later in the week."
5/9/2000
"Have met loads of nice people in Berlin - haven't had to go anywhere on my own yet but I'm still a bit shellshocked at being over here on my 'own'. I'm off to Poland with some girls I met in the hostel tomorrow, so I'm glad I don't have to travel alone."
Note for the curious - Rocky is a chicken and Alan is a bear.
8/9/2000 The Night Train
"Caught the night train to Warsaw on Wednesday (very hairy experience) I'm cheating and travelling with two Uni students at the moment so we're getting lost together!
None of us can read a map and nobody speaks English - having said that the food is lovely and cheap, the hostels are really nice so far and we have just travelled to Kracow which really rocks - it's absolutely amazing.
Off to the concentration camps tomorrow and then on to the salt mines".
14/9/2000 Stampy Stampy
"They let me out of the saltmines eventually!
Have now found myself in Slovakia - bloody guidebooks - it's actually a beautiful city called Kosice, so I'm spending the day here - my first day on my own for two weeks.
Loved Poland and have just spent two days in Zaxcopane where we met up with some Americans and spent the time hiking for hours, riding cable cars and tobogganing down concrete slopes.
I'm probably going to be in Budapest from tomorrow onwards annd then the weekend of the 23rd I'll leave but I haven't decided where to go yet because Prague is out of bounds due to some monetary conference that they are advising people to avoid. There is a place in the South of the Czech republic that everyone says is better than Prague that I might head to."
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"I'm not looking forward to finding a job when I get back. It's not that I don't miss home it's just that I know what I have to come back to - Lauren says we have not hot water in the house - conditions is Eastern Europe are better!"
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"I had my passport stamped by evil looking people on the Polish border and in Slovakia this morning - cooooool or what?!"
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"I'm on my own now until I meet Cassie although although the girls are going to Budapest on Sunday and we should all meet up again there.
Haven't seen any decent blokes yet - probably cos I'm not looking though (yeah, right - jp).
Forgot to say in Berlin we went to the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie and Sanssouci, which is an amazing park full of palaces built by Frederik the Second to show off.
Went to Willanow palace in Warsaw when we eventually found it.
Went to St. Mary's church in Kracow and climbed into the bell tower and watched the trumpeter trumpet the hour out of the windows (very weird just us and him). Also went to Warvel cathedral and the dragon's cave.
Probably missed loads but I'm off to see more now."
Note - Lauren is a housemate and Cassie is the sister.
"Met Cassie in Budapest and we have now met up with the girls I was travelling with before. The hostel is insane - people stay there the whole day and don't go out - we went on a walking tour of Budapest and a boat trip to Margaret Island and saw Heroes Square, the parliament, fisherman's bastian, etc.
Today a load of us got together and went to the Gellert bath house - it was the most relaxing thing ever - we went from the thermal baths to the steam rooms to the plunge pools - very lazy but it has to be done in Budapest.
We're off to Lake Balathon tomorrow."
"There is in fact lots of Veggie food. Just had mushroom pancakes.
Buda is definitely the most scenic side, although the walking tour spent most of the time in Pest.. We're actually coming back for Cassie to get her flight homeso there are a few things we still want to do here. We may not even make it to Croatia now (save it for another time, I don't want to just pass thorough somewhere just to say I've been there - why not? - jp). There are still things to do here. May even go to the Ballet one night."
21/9/2000 Still Hungary
"We've arrived back in Budapest after two days in a ghost town at Lake Balaton - everything was closed for the Winter. Went on a boat trip and stayed at some mad woman's house - everyone spoke German or Hungarian there so it was fun trying to keep track.
Staying in another mad old biddies house tonight as all the hostels are booked up and hoping to move to a hostel tomorrow -