Visit to Budapest
Alina started to work in Romania not so long time ago. To see each other, we agreed to meet for a weekend on the half-way, in Budapest.
The weather there was very sunny with blue sky, so we could enjoy walking in
the streets like in the summer time. We followed the same approach like in the
other cities we had visited: we took a map with sight „tags“ at the
information office and walked about the city to see everything important 
. We also had lunch at the Danube river. We stuffed
ourselves pretty well with Goulash soup and grilled meat specialities.
Parliament n Budapest
Our hotel was in another city district, but it was relatively easy to get there by a tram and a city train. We were happy that we had a pool there we could enjoy to dive in after the long day. Generally, the hotel had been a good choice, even with considering the distance from the city centre.
On Sunday we walked in the other part of the city to see the rest of the
important sights. We also did some shopping, Alina bought clothes, I bought a
full backpack of wine bottles and palinka 
.
I liked the city and I think I will return there to see more of it some day.
Bremen, Soltau and Hamburg
Just before I was leaving Lithuania me and Alina decided to take advantage of cheap Ryanair flights and flew to visit Germany (concretely Bremen, Soltau and Hamburg) for a few days.
St. Peter's Cathedral in Bremen
We were flying from Kaunas to Bremen, so we started the sightseeing there.
The city centre was very nice, lot of historical buildings to see, fast food
each five meters 
and crowds of tourists everywhere.
From Bremen we took a train to Soltau, where we had planned to visit an amusement park. The accommodation was situated just next to the park, it was very comfortable. Together with the accommodation we bought two-day tickets to the park.
Rollercoaster in Heide-Park
The park was simply amazing, especially themes of the park's parts and the
nature there. On the first we tried more than a half of attractions and left
everything for the next day. Unfortunately the whole day on the shining Sun
caused me sunstroke and bad Kebab and centrifuge were a no-go for my stomach.
During the next day I was feeling so sick, that we left the park sooner
(missing a lot of attractions 
) and went to Hamburg. I was so glad when I laid
down to the bed in hostel.
In the morning I felt a little better so we hit the streets. Our first stop was the famous district Reeperbahn and the Beatles museum there. From there we moved to Hamburg Zoo and Aquarium. It was the best zoo I have ever seen.
Town Hall in Hamburg
Sadly, we did not have so much time to see Hamburg thoroughly, maybe next time…
Short stop in Tampere
Thanks to a cheap flight from Ryanair we could extend our holiday in Riga
with a short trip to Tampere. We arrived quite late, so we went directly to
hotel. I was puzzled when they did not have any reservation for us, but then it
came to me, that we are in a different one 
! It was another we checked while searching for
accommodation. I felt quite stupid for the rest of the day because of that
mistake.
The Mango hotel was not so far from the centre. The room was
furnished with an antique furniture, it looked very good. Early morning we went
for a breakfast. The food was really good, we spend there almost an hour (I had
to try everything .
We walked in the city in the same way like we had done in Riga before –
using map with points of interest. We also stopped in the souvenirs shop. I was
very surprised that in the Christmas souvenir shop in the middle of Tampere
there was a collection of merchandise with Czech „Krteček“ .
Hämeenkatu, Tampere's main street
We came to Tampere not only to see the city, but also to visit the
Särkänniemi amusement park. Just to see some of the roller coasters made my
stomach sick. We tried some of them, but not the „Vertigo“, it was too
crazy. Look at the pictures, it is the one, where the people are mostly upside
down . We visited also some easier attractions and ate
lunch. I also had to buy candy cane , because I had not had it for a long time.
Dolphinarium in Särkänniemi amusement park
In the evening we went to catch a bus back to the airport. To catch,
literally. Buses in Finland do not stop on the stations unless you stay on the
edge of the side walk waving. Our bus was going behind the another one and
almost did not bother to stop, maybe because the driver thought everybody wants
to the first one. But thanks to Alina (and her running and waving) the bus
picked us up .
The rest of the trip was quite tiring, we had to wait for several hours in Riga for the bus back to Vilnius. We arrived in the morning. At home we fell asleep and slept almost till the evening.
Holiday in Riga and Jurmala
Last week we went for a short holiday. Our first destination was Riga, the capital of Latvia and Jurmala, the seaside town nearby. We took an early morning „Eurolines Lux“ bus. It was very comfortable with lot of space, I could sleep relatively fine during the journey.
Freedom monument in Riga
In Riga we took a map of sightseeing trip and decided to walk around and
visit all points of interest that were picked there. It took us couple hours to
see everything. I liked the parks the most, because it was a lot of shade in
them providing us a shelter from the burning Sun .
When we had enough of Riga, we proceeded by train to our accommodation in Jurmala. The train, despite its look from the distance, was renovated nicely with comfortable seats (Czech Railways, take an example, please). It started to rain heavily just when we were arriving to our destination. I am glad Alina had had an idea to buy new raincoats for the trip, they came very handy. We came to the camp, checked in, had dinner and fell asleep early, because it was an exhausting day.
Sunset in Jurmala
Next day we decided to take an 8 km walk on the beach to Majori, Jurmala's city centre. The weather was again very warm, but wind and sea was cooling us a little. In the centre we found a not so expensive restaurant (although the prices were high everywhere) where we had a lunch and beer. We walked in the centre for some time and then took a bus back to the camp.
From Jurmala we continued to Tampere in Finland, but about that later…
Recent amount of traveling
I have not written anything here for quite some time, because I was quite
busy. First I had to pass all my exams. I did not put so much effort into
studying, but in the end, everything went all right. The only „glitch“ was
the big project team exam. The teachers were really slow, we spent there over
6 and half hours. After that, we were so tired we could not resist the mark we
got. Maybe it was the point . My parents came for me directly after my last exam.
We packed all my stuff and my bike to the car and headed back to Czech Republic.
It was a very long journey.
I planned to stay in the Czech Republic for one week. I was working during
the day and meeting my friends in the evening. It was exhausting , but I finally could taste good Czech beer. When
the week was over, I packed my things again and took a bus to Lithuania.
So now I am relaxing here in Vilnius, working a little, trying to study and having fun.
Back to Lithuania (for a while)
I finally found some time to write another blog entry. I wanted to make another trip before I finish my studies in Denmark, so two weeks ago me and Alina went to Lithuania together.
We flew from Copenhagen to Riga, where we stayed couple hours. We just walked
around the city, but deliberately avoided the old town, because we are planning
to visit it again during the summer. Then we took a bus to Vilnius. Our first
action there was visiting Čili Pica, where I tasted a good meal again
(really exceptional comparing to Danish „food“) .
Vilnius
The time I was there was working time, I needed to prepare for my exams and Alina was finishing her thesis. But it did not mean we could not have fun. We went to play bowling, visit the cinema (see my Caroline blog entry). We also visited Visaginas, Alina's home town, for two days. I also walked a lot around the Vilnius city centre and surroundings. You can take a look at the pictures (first few are from Riga).
I did not want to go back to Denmark so much, but I had to finish my exams.
Trip to Skagen
My week of exploring Denmark continued on Wednesday. Our plan was to go to Skagen, the northernmost point of Denmark, and then to Ålborg on the way back. The journey lasted five hours and we had to change train twice. The last train is operated by a private company, so our InterRail tickets were useless for that.
We planned to arrive to Skagen, take a bus to the mentioned point of interest and then go back. Unfortunately, there was a typical Danish surprise – the buses are going only in summer time (no comment). So instead of sparing time by taking a bus, we walked over four kilometres to get there.
The northernmost point of Denmark
On the way we stopped at the old lighthouse and climbed all its stairs up. The view was beautiful, you can see a lot of pictures in the gallery.
I found Skagen very interesting and could recommend a visit. It was a pity, that we did not have time to see anything from Ålborg (except the train station), maybe some day else…
Legoland
I could not be in Denmark without visiting the Legoland at least once. And I also liked to play with lego very much, when I was a child. On Tuesday me and Alina got up early morning and took a train to Vejle and then bus to Billund get there. The weather was quite good in the beginning and we were glad for that.
Model of Frederikshavn
After seeing many models, some of them amazing and magnificent, we started to
enjoy the rides. In the park there are small and big roller coasters and many
other smaller attractions like boat cruises, small trains, 4d cinema (that was
really cool ) and water splash attractions. We left the latter
for the end, because we did not want to walk around the park in wet clothes.
Since we were in Denmark, it had to rain at least once per day like in a rain
forest. After a while of walking in the rain we were wet anyway, so we did not
mind at all being splashed. But before the water attractions we tried the
attraction „Power Builder“, from which you can see the picture here. It
worked really simple: you come, select „difficulty“ from wild to wildest,
select some moves that a robotic arm should do with you and go to sit there and
enjoy. We chose the wildest difficulty and selected the moves that seemed quite
normal. After sitting we quickly realized that it maybe seemed normal on the
screen, but in the real it was more crazy that we had imagined, so instead of
screaming we laughed the whole time because of that surprise . If there had not been such long queue, we would
have gone again for sure.
Me & Alina on the „Power Builder“
We visited and tried everything and we went home. At first we were freezing at the bus stop, so it was really pleasing to sit inside the warm bus. We were very lucky with the train, fortunately we came to the platform in the same minute it arrived.
Except the weather, I enjoyed the trip very much, it was worth seeing so many lego bricks and try the attractions.
Visit to Helsingør
Last Friday I wanted to use one day of my InterRail ticket for Denmark. After some considerations I picked Helsingør like a target. I got up early morning and took the train to Copenhagen, where I needed to change to a regional train doing all the way to Helsingør and stopping everywhere. Fortunately, the whole journey took me less than three hours.
After I got off the train, I went to see the city centre and buy something
to eat. Since it was holiday, it was almost impossible to find some open shop
there. The only shops open were the ones with wine and liquor because of the
Swedish people taking the ferry and buying cheaper alcohol. They even accepted
Swedish crowns . Anyway, in a while I found an open bakery and
bought some sweet stuff.
Kronborg castle
My next stop was the Kronborg castle. I bought the ticket and took two guided tours in English, one in the casemates (dungeon) and one in the castle chambers. I also went to see the chapel and fortifications around the castle.
On the way back I stopped in Roskilde to visit my friends. I did not stay long, because I had a train to catch. It was a nice relaxing trip.
Barcelona
The holiday in the Czech Republic were short, I wanted it to be longer. But I did not have to wait for long. In one week after I returned to Denmark, me and my friends headed together to Barcelona. We took a Ryanair flight from Århus to Girona. Everything went well, just the price 90 kr. for the airport bus was, like always in Denmark, very disappointing.
After arriving to Girona we rented a car for one day. It took quite some time to overcome all the paperwork, but in the end we got the keys. Our destination for the first day was Montserrat mountain and the monastery there. After some misunderstandings and swearing because of the dumb GPS, we found our way to the lower station of the train going uphill. The ride by the train was spectacular, very nice views along the whole way. On the top it was even more beautiful (just see the pictures), I don't understand how they could build something so big so high. We walked around the place for almost two hours. Unfortunately, we did not visit the museum, because it was closing when we arrived.
Montserrat
When we had enough of great views, we took the train back down and went to
Barcelona. The timing was the „best“ we could choose. We arrived to the city
15 minutes before a start of a Barcelona home football match. I have never
seen so big traffic jam before. The funny thing was, that after the match
started, the streets were totally empty, no cars, no people . Everybody was watching the match in the pub or at
home. We found our hostel quite easily, put our things there and went to visit
closest Burger King for a dinner .
On the next day after waking up and having a big breakfast at the hostel we hit the streets. Our first destination was Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona stadium. I am not so big fan of football, but seeing the stadium for 100 000 people (more than half of Odense), was amazing. From the stadium we went to the Montjuïc hill to see a lot of parks, Olympic stadium and a castle. In order to see everything, we climbed the hill up and down like three times. I was quite exhausted after that. In the evening we moved to another hostel in the city centre. It was not so nice as the first one, but everything was in the walking distance from it.
Overview of Barcelona
We reserved the third day to see the Gaudi's buildings. We saw lot of them and also visited La Pedrera (with its strange roof) and of course the famous Sagrada Familia. From there we moved to the Park Güell, the park that contains lot of Gaudi's buildings. Everything was really nice, including the weather, that was very warm.
Desination for the last day was Arc de Triomf and the Old Town. We were quite tired of walking after previous days, so we just saw the most famous places (according to the guide) and went to the marina and beach. The temperature of the sea was not exactly for swimming, but we stayed on the beach for a while. When the weather started to be windy and cold, we went back to the centre and sat down to the pub.
Arc de Triomf
The rest of the time in Barcelona was just a long waiting for a bus to the airport. We did not have a hostel for that night, because the bus departed at 3.15. The journey back was full of waiting for something. Since midnight we were waiting at the bus station, but at quarter past one the security closed the lobby and we had to wait another two hours outside. Then we waited another two hours for the flight and then half an hour for the train to Odense. I arrived to my dormitory at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
Despite the complicated journey back, I liked the trip very much. Barcelona is a great living city. For sure it was not my last visit there.