City BackPackers Hostel (Stockholm, Sweden)

Great hostel, once you find it (our own fault, we arrived late at night and forgot to bring a map; we only had written directions). Rooms were very clean and secure (each room had its own door code). The rooms had lockers (bring your own lock), and comfortable beds. The kitchen area was good and free pasta kept the crowds happy (on more than one occasion I saw some guys tucking into a plate of plain pasta with no sauce). The free Internet was great; they had six computers available, meaning you were able to get on the computer whenever you wanted. Bathrooms were clean and plentiful (although the showers only had curtains, no lockable doors).

The only problem we had while we were there was the fact that the dryer wasn’t working, so we couldn’t do any washing. Overall a great place to stay, and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it.

Hostel The Globe Centre (Amsterdam, The Nederlands)

I stayed here in September, and the rest of the reviews on the internet about this place are right. If it’s just a bed that you want a bed, then it’s bearable. We were in a 24-bed dorm, it was us (two females) and the rest were 20 year old males, all very noisy and messy. The room was crowded (absolutely nothing like the pictures available on the internet, don’t be fooled) and messy. The sheets were hard to sleep in, they kept coming off, but I did see a cleaner changing them one morning, so I can say that they were clean. Bathrooms were bearable, definitely not “pretty,” but they did the job.

Compared to the many hostels I have stayed in, this one does not rank high, due to the factors mentioned above, but it was a bed and we never felt unsafe in the hostel. That said, I would not choose to stay here again.

107 days to Christmas

Europe ~ The Nederlands ~ Amsterdam & The Hague

107 days to Christmas is what the sign in Amsterdam’s Christmas Shop read. And to think I wasn’t counting! Amsterdam is a lot of fun, in some ways the town reminds me a lot of Surfers Paradise, probably very similar to what Queenland is like during schoolies time. We’ve been staying in a hostel in the middle of the red light district, 24 people in our room. We are the only females, the rest are mainly 20 year old English schoolboys. And they act it. Although one of the boys had us in stitches the other night – whilst he was getting ready to go out he pulled an iron out of his bag and proceeded to iron his shirt. Guys back home have a lot to learn from the Europeans!

Wandering around the streets is a lot of fun – you never know what to expect. There are always a few unsavioury guys hanging around the front of our hostel, always trying to sell us some ‘fun’. Tash says it reminds her of back home in St. Kilda. Next door to our hostel we have signs promising ‘live sex show’ and ‘fun girls’, whilst only a couple more doors on there are girls wearing next to nothing waving at men through their windows. Of course, there are coffee shops all over the place, most are tiny little cafe style shops, proudly displaying their green and white sticker that claim they are a registered, government endorsed coffee shop, legally allowed to sell marijuana and other cannabis related items. Each has their own menu of what they sell – almost none of the shops sell alcohol as well.

Plenty of other things have kept us busy, in particular, the hunt for good food. Amsterdam has lots of food, unfortunately not all of it is very delicious. We’ve been rather impressed with the fries stores – you get a ‘cone’ of fries, and then a choice of sauces. Some places have up to 30 sauces, quite impressive. And I am [proud/disgusted/surprised/forced] to admit that I have now eaten my first burger from a vending machine. FEBO, a fast food chain all over Amsterdam (possibly all over the Nederlands, I’m not sure), specialises in its burger vending machines. The burger wasn’t too bad, tasted a bit better than McD’s, to tell the truth.

Hmm, what burger should I get from the vending machine? (answer: none!)

We spent the better part of two days visiting friends in Den Haag (The Hague). It was great to see a different part of the world from a locals point of view, there’s so much you miss just being a visitor. Maureen and Michael, who are avid travelers, showed us many of the sights, including the Escher museum (fantastic), the cute town of Delft and the beach in Den Haag (very interesting, a whole heap of restaurants are temporarily set up for the summer, along the beach front, and are taken down at the end of summer). Whilst in Delft I tried the national food of pickled herrings, and convinced Maureen to as well. Not really my favourite food… Maureen also took us to see a panorama painting, which was fantastic. We stood in the middle of a 1880’s painting that went all the way around us, made you feel like you were in the painting itself.

Mmm, pickled herrings with onion

Well, we’ve just arrived in Stockholm, so we’re now getting ready to take on the Vikings. Hope every-ones looking after themselves,
luv bobs

Station Hostel for Backpackers (Cologne, Germany)

We stayed here in September, found it to be a FANTASTIC hostel. The hostel provided free internet on computers out in the lobby/common room. Beds were all single beds, not bunk beds, a nice change of pace. Most of the rooms (during our stay we stayed in three different rooms) were nice and spacious, some had couches, tables, and so forth. Breakfast was available all day (not free, but reasonably priced). The rooms and all common areas felt clean, and appeared to be cleaned regularly.

However, the showers/toilets smelled a bit (we ended up using the bigger bathroom in the middle of the floor, a bit more privacy, and it didn’t smell). The hostel really is next to the train station, so there’s a fair bit of noise – if you are a light sleeper, bring earplugs. The luggage storage is down a flight, the rooms are up at least two flights, and the kitchen is up two flights, over a floor and down a different flight of stairs. You’ll get fit… Anyway, the high and the low of it is that we enjoyed this place. The single beds were great.

Karlsruhe Youth Hostel (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany)

We rocked up in town at 10:30 pm to snatch the last two beds after a rotten time trying to find a hostel in the area. The hostel was clean and efficient. The showers worked ok, though they were not particularly “pretty” showers (they reminded me of a prison camp). But they worked, which is what counts. Everyone was already in bed by 11 p.m., and all up by about 6 or 7 am, which was a bit of a shock for us. Breakfast (included) was great, a big selection with cereals, yogurts, breads and cheeses. Overall, it’s a nice clean hostel, with a bit of a sterile feel to it. You must be a member of Hostelling International to stay at this hostel.