Sex, drugs and piano accordions

The unpredictable nature of travel is what we love and what we keep coming back for. After our downer in Paris we were back up on top of the world in Amsterdam. What a picturesque city we had landed in. The canals were lined with rows of quaint little buildings that resembled something out of a cartoon- like a little gingerbread village.
Our little guesthouse was gorgeous and the owner- Greg was so lovely and helpful. We would definitely recommend staying at "Helmers inn" for anyone travelling here.

Amsterdam is cold! Really cold! The winds were icy and although we loved riding our bikes all round the city our hands and face froze. On several occasions I swear my bike was moving backwards while I was still pedalling forward because of the ridiculous wind!
Yet somehow this city suits the cold weather. It would have been even better if it was snowing.
We began our history lessons here as well, visiting Anne Frank's house of hiding. What a sad story this little girl's family went through- and to think it happened to so, so many! It gave us a snapshot of how terribly different life was only that short time ago. We also tried our hand at the cultured activity of visiting the Van Gogh museum which showcased hundreds of pieces of his art.
Nights are when Amsterdam come alive! Strolling down the streets we found pastry stands filled with delicious Dutch donuts and pancakes, amongst "coffee shops" where people sat in clouds of smoke smiling quietly and how could we forget the red lit windows with girls on show, tapping the glass enticing all the males that walked passed to come in.

And then there was Berlin. What a city! Little bit of old, little bit of new. Little bit of techno little bit of curry wurst......actually a lot of curry wurst. Ha ha! These German sausages sprinkled with curry powder had us at hello.
Our hostel was AMAZING- thank you jimmy- you were right!! The circus hostel is the best hostel we have ever stayed in. Funky place with a great cafe, friendly and helpful staff and to top it off- pictures of Hasselhoff in the bar and elevator!
Beneath the funky streets and happy faces of Berlin lay a dark history which we explored on a fantastic walking tour- Brewers walking tour. Our guide was Victoria and she was so cool. I reckon we both fell in love with her ;) she told us amazing stories about the history of Berlin through both world wars. We explored the desperate times of the German people after World War One and how Hitler rose to power. We strolled the streets where parts of the Berlin wall still stand. One of the most impressive memorials we have seen was the memorial for the murdered Jews. Here lay over 1000 blocks of concrete, all different. The artist wants you to take away your own meaning of this memorial and we both felt that the blocks represented the uniqueness of each person that was killed, rather than labelling them as the 'Jews' and the fact that we could walk between the blocks made us feel a sense of coldness, darkness and isolation. Can u see how cultured we are getting ;)
Our tour guide let us know about the check point Charlie tourist trap when we got there. Unfortunately most of it is fake and was not the actually checkpoint at all. They have set it up for tourists to come and take pictures of the fake military soldiers 'guarding' the entrance from east and west Berlin. But get this, the soldiers are not even in the German military, not even close. They are male strippers and porn stars who are paid by the government to be there to take tourists money for photos. Nice! Although some of the girls who were with us didn't think this was such a bad thing :)
We leave Germany and continue our history trail in Krakow. The temperature is getting colder as we go.....but we are keeping our fingers crossed for some snow in Poland.
Love to all xx