Jo Herrings Adventures

I arrived in Budapest, Hungary after a sleeper train from Krakow. The train was a delight and I would recommend this route to anyone...and it cost me £18 (booked two weeks in advance from London). The rain seemed to be following me still and the train station the hostel was close to was NOT the one I arrived into! I was such a grump on arrival. Week one was really rather tough with rubbish weather and missing home. Thank you  for all your supportive messages this week I have needed them! After taking a load off I went for a walk along the Danube River. The river runs from Germany through the city of Budapest right out to the Black Sea. The river divides the two former cities of Buda and Pest (said Pecht). Buda is the hilly posh part of town whilst Pest is the flat hub of the city. I was staying in Pest of course! Hungarian Parliament Buildings , Pest The river walk was a nice opportunity to see the city and cross the river a couple of times to take a better vantage point of t...

After a 24 hour journey from Berlin via Warsaw the city of Krakow was basking in sunshine. I found my hostel easily. nestled in a dead end street (nothing like a homely feeling!) in a huge pension. Travellers Inn was relaxed and easy. They offered a city guide with no bullshit chat about where to eat, what to avoid and what tours to take.  W ith the surprise sunshine I set of on a stroll  ( with the main aim -  Gelato!) taking in the central Market Square and the district's encircling gardens. This led me to  Wawel Palace . The first chance to enjoy a sit down on a dry seat in some heat, and my goodness did I enjoy it. During which I had the pleasure of watching a couple have their wedding photos taken...she Polish, he Scottish and as proud as punch. To me this is a picture of my European experience. East meets West and barriers really are broken.  I moved on from the palace to the Jewish Quarter which strangely was relatively untouched during the war...

After taking a night stop off in Warsaw to ensure I got a speed train for 3 hours to Krakow I was directed to platform 3. I got on and 6 hours later I am still not in Krakow. But I have had the privilege to see the beauty of the Polish countryside. It’s lush and green. The sun is shining and my mood has lifted along with it despite missing a day in a city I have been fascinated by since my early days in London.  The rail roads are simple and the trains and the children squealing out the windows remind me of Hollywood films depicting happy children departing for respite from the war.  Again I have been a cabin this time with the same space as yesterday but with 4 seats each side. No-one deared speak to me today! The farms are orderly and attempts at growing hay in the wettest summer the Poles have seen in years are well underway. It seems simple here and its definitely very appealing. I can see why my Polish friends speak so happily of life in Poland. Or maybe it’s the news ...

Berlin was so grim and the prospect of sitting inside for another day or dodging puddles was driving me batty. I went to book on the late train to Krakow and discovered it was full....so my only option to get to Krakow was to leave at 2.40pm and ask the conductor if I could possibly connect to Krakow without making a reservation. Alas the conductor waved me on without understanding my situation. So it was to Krakow via Warsaw that I set off. I found my way into a 6 seater cabin with a Warsaw Doctor  who works with an Aucklander and two Polish men all looking forward to a weekend with their families. The 7 hour train journey was their regualar Friday commute it seems. We stopped 10 minutes on and were all shuffled by a Electronic Cigarette smoking mother and her grim son for their designgated seats. As I had not reserved a seat I made a fast shuffle and was just grateful for a place to rest in the dry. We had a nice journey through rainy countryside with dilapidated ...

I arrived in Berlin mid afternoon Tuesday after seeing off my happy life in London. My friends, my job, my sister and my happy home. Shattered from the chaos I found a hostel next Alexander Platz and settled in, making a single jaunt out to replace my forgotten towel and purchase a lock to bemuse me for a while (I have it figured out now!). I had a delicious feast of Vietnamese which seemed to be prevalent in the neighbourhood and tucked up early for an Admin night (really this just meant a good nights sleep only to be woken by my pub crawling drunk room mates who had forgotten their keys). I headed out the next day for the City Walking tour which is reknowned as one of the best things to do in Berlin. Having missed the 11am group I joined a later tour (they go ever 2 hours from Starbucks by the Brandenburg Gate). My Liverpudlian (I still think this is the greatest word in the English language so I will use it in this blog as often as I can. Cameo appearances will become li...

Living in a city with such variety like London you sometimes miss the small and permanent fixtures which make the city so wonderfully rich. With its grand history through hundreds of generations London like many cities in Europe and Asia really does have more to offer than its New World cousins.  Celebrating Nic and Cam's  engagement at Vertigo, Tower 42 I was fortunate to host my old school chum Nicola and her other half Cameron over a couple of weekends in June and July. It was refreshing to notice some of the i iconic  London sites through their squeals, elbow grabs, raised eyebrows and turned heads.  Do you ever look at a Black Cab and think huh it has a Union Jack on it ?  Do you wonder why there are so many Lions around the city adorning bollards, barriers and bridges and not know the significance. Look around at the city and think relative to other cities in the world the buildings are short, and in contrast the new buildings seem so terrib...

Apologies in advance this is a very self indulgent post which I'll use to remind me about the city I call home.  But if you live or love London you'll understand why its nice to take a step back and remind yourself   of its opportunities.  One of the things I love most about living in London is the summer season. The long evenings, the abundance of activities and the parties.  This summer has been no different but feeling I need to encapsulate every moment to savour as I head off on the road of adventure.  I have had the great pleasure of enjoying some of London's best treats this year and here are a few highlights Seeing the Killers and the  Kaiser Chiefs  in Hyde Park in constant rain with my dear friend Fancino (fast followed by cocktails in teapots and fine china cups in a Soho Arts centre)  Boys finals on Court 1 at Wimbledon with my old tennis knock about mate Nic and her other half Cameron Watching my nephew Joshua adapt to city lif...

Freedom from work over the coming year has really got my mind ticking about  the things I wont miss about work , mostly to reassure myself that leaving familiarity behind is the right thing to do at this time in my life.  Here are some of my thoughts. The reason I wont miss work... My bad posture at my desk - my running style should surely improve because of it.  The air conditioned environment - that require lotions and potions to ward off the scales Fish and Chip Fridays - honestly the office smells vile for the entire afternoon - and the lifts are best avoided also! The Lifts - RMC folk understand my pain - the novelty of our lifts certainly wears off quickly Carrying an ID card to go to the loo - although this will only be replaced on my travels by the most precious thing I own - my Passport - which is larger and doesn't like getting put through the wash! Emails - constant barraging emails at work just are never as nice and interesting as personal emails...