For once in my life, I arrived in a new country with my travel plans were entirely in someone else’s hands. And we really did jump into the deep end at the start of this trip… literally, at least. Continue reading
Tag: Places Travelled
A Festival of Life: Mexico’s Day of the Dead
Through a combination of wonderful timing, the kindness of strangers and miraculous good luck, I spent most of my latest trip in a graveyard. Continue reading
Hostel Blues, Bratislava
I’m going to say it: best hostel I’ve ever visited. Yep.
The location is pretty ideal. Essentially just twenty minutes walk from almost everything in Bratislava, you can’t really get lost. The hostel is also right next to a huge Tescos, and a tram stop if you don’t feel like walking anywhere. Continue reading
Bratislava on a Budget
If I’m going to be honest, I was a little bit wary about going to Bratislava as lots of people gave me a look when I said I was going to spend three nights there. And okay, it is a very small and quiet city, but I really, really enjoyed my time there. Continue reading
Maverick Hostel

Image taken from Maverick Hostel’s website.
I booked Maverick on the recommendation of a fellow traveller and I’m so glad I did. I was visiting Budapest, and I wanted to find somewhere centrally located, and with a good atmosphere, and luckily this was just the place. Continue reading
3 days in Budapest
Budapest has easily just risen to one of my top five European cities to visit. It is so vibrant and traveller-friendly, plus there is something for everyone. There are museums galore, beautiful parks and architecture, fun nightlife and tasty traditional food – it’s great!
Everything you need to know about taking the Bucharest – Budapest overnight train.

My three berth cabin with the middle bed folded down to create a day sofa.
You must reserve your place on the overnight train between Bucharest and Budapest, and there are several options. There are seats, a money-saving 6 berth cabin, or 1, 2 and 3 bed compartments. Out of these I’d definitely say don’t get a seat (you’ll get little to no sleep) and recommend the bed compartments. These are more secure, and they have access to more facilities, compared to the 6 berth cabins.
Bucharest – Budapest: the Train sleepover

The view: officially one of the best things about the overnight train.
This was my first ever experience on a sleeper train. I’ve travelled via boat, tuk tuk, camel, I’ve even hitched a ride on the back of an open lorry in Sri Lanka, but this was definitely very different to all of them and not what I was expecting!
5 days in Bucharest, part 2
Without realising, I’ve managed to time my trip with the Bucharest Music and Film festival. The lovely friend I’m staying with, Andreea, plays in an orchestra, so naturally we’ve been to a few shows, which was so much fun. The first event we went to was an open air concert, featuring a full orchestra playing famous film soundtracks live. The second event was a night full of famous Romanian pop songs, which Andreea played in. I literally had no clue what was happening at any point, but I was surrounded by new friends and it was hilarious so it was all good, and after we stayed out in the Old Town til the early hours (I’m feeling the consequences of that now). Continue reading
5 days in Bucharest, part 1
I’ve officially started my adventure round Europe! It was a long start too – I got up in England at 4am and finally crashed out at my friend’s house in Bucharest around midnight. Continue reading