backpack banter 1
DESCRIPTION
In the first edition of Backpack Banter we look at two famous destinations in the heart of Europe along with an interview from two travellers of the world, Agness and Cez.TRANSCRIPT
BackpackBanter
The
WeekenderEdition
Three Cities. Three Weekends.
How much can you get out a two
day trip in...
Budapest
Berlin
and Barcelona
TOOTSIE TRAVEL FOR ALL YOU TRAVEL NEEDS
CALL: 0800 777 5555 OR EMAIL:
For something that bit different
CONTENT
Budapest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p3-4
Berlin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p5-6
Contact Information
Travel tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . p7-8
Photos provided by
Peter Diamond
Owan Cook
Thomas Kearns
Angela Brown
Agness Walewinder
www.travelblog.com
A Weekend in Budapest
Budapest has it all to offer the young traveller and with
direct flights from Edinburgh there’s no excuse not to
savour the city’s delights.
When you arrive in the largest city in Eastern Europe
for the first time there is definitely something to grab
everyone’s attention.
Budapest was founded in 1873 through the joining of
Buda, Pest and Old Buda, with the famous Danube
River running between Buda and Pest. And it is the per-
fect East meets West city with its gritty, romantic, bo-
hemian culture and atmosphere means it is the perfect
getaway that ticks all the boxes.
From St. Stephens Basilica to a pub-crawl of the ruin
bars the city has something to offer everyone. One of the
best ways to get around is to rent a bike or get an open
top bus tour. Another thing to prepare for is the sheer
size of the place however something quite reassuring is
the number of grass parks around the city centre, includ-
ing City Park which plays host to one of the famous ther-
mal baths.
Budapest is a spa city with thermal springs bubbling up
from the deep and with a bathing culture dating back to
Roman times. And thermal baths are one of the best fea-
tures of Budapest and taking a dip in one of the historic
baths should be on every visitor’s to-do-list. It’s a fun and
pleasant way to relax after touring the city and the ther-
mal water’s healing power is an added benefit if you’re
trying to cure a hangover.
There are six baths which are placed all around the city.
All are equal in quality but going on size, the grandest
surely has to be Gellert or Szechenyi. These baths hold
15 indoor pools, three outdoor pools and 10 saunas and
steam rooms.
If you visit during the summertime be sure to get to
Szechenyi on a Saturday night where the biggest bath
turns into the biggest party in Budapest. Locals and trav-
ellers from all over the world come together from 10pm
till 3am to dance and drink in a truly unique experience.
There is an endless amount of attractions to visit in Bu-
dapest but the highlights might include the tallest monu-
ment in the city, Heroes’ Square, Parliament building,
Royal Palace and Margret Island, which is an island, situ-
ated on the Danube.
Perhaps the best
way to see these at-
tractions is to take a
walking tour of the
city. The free walk-
ing tour is highly
recommended as it
covers most of the
main attractions. Re-
member to tip the
students who take
the tour as they give
3
Budapest
Szimpla Kert Parliament building
great insight into Hungarian
culture, traditions and history.
Accommodation in the Pest
side of the city is the most con-
venient as most of the nightlife
and good pubs are situated
there. There are many hostels
for travellers but none have a
friendlier atmosphere than
Come On Inn hostel in the Old
Jewish quarter. A bed in a dorm
for three nights will cost £35pp
however a studio apartment for
two would cost £120. The hos-
tel has everything you would
need and more, providing a
real family atmosphere for the
guests.
For travellers willing to spend a little bit more Hotel
Budapest Center offers a luxury double room for three
nights for £200. Guests can enjoy their breakfast in the
comfort of their own room or in the stylish dining
lounge before setting off for the day. The location is just
200 metres from the Astoria or Franciscan Square metro
lines.
Eating in a foreign country can be daunting for some
people but experiencing Hungarian food gives you a real
flavour of Hungarian culture. If you are on a budget and
looking for a cheap authentic valuable meal then visit the
Blue Rose restaurant situated round the corner from the
famous Szimpla Kert ruin bar. Order the Hungarian set
menu for four courses including bread and Goulash
soup – Eastern Europe cuisine – Sopska salad, grilled
pork with chips and Hungarian ice cream, all for the
equivalent of £7.20.
For travellers want-
ing something extra
special, go to Zeller
Bistro, ranked the
number one Hun-
garian restaurant in
Budapest.
Situated in the
Pest side of the city
Zeller offers main
courses from the
equivalent of £6 and
still provides great value for money. The only downside
is that it is so good you need to make a reservation.
Once your stomach is lined it’s time to hit some of the
bars. The seventh and eighth districts of the city are
loaded with pubs, mainly the famous ‘ruin bars’ which
are essentially bars and nightclubs in derelict tenement
houses and factory buildings. They have a vintage feel to
them but there is no specific design and certainly no
rules.
There are always groups on pub-crawls of the ruin bars
and it is probably the easiest way to get around most of
them, as they can be quite difficult to find without a
guide. They will usually end the night in the ruin night-
club “Instant” where travellers will swap stories and swig
on a cold one.
Jet2 fly direct from Edinburgh – a Thursday to Sunday
return flight will set you back £214pp including hand lug-
gage, with the flight times being generous so you have as
much time in Hungary as possible.
The Szechenyi baths
4
Sopska salad
A Backpacking Scot in Berlin
There is really no excuse not to travel to one of the
most accessible and affordable cities Europe has to offer.
Berlin delivers on every aspect of culture, seeped in its
historic oppressive past; modern Berlin is quite the paral-
lel.
There is an absolute vibrancy about Berlin that is quite
unique, unsure whether it spans the whole of Germany;
the liberal, staunch atmosphere grabs you from the
Schnitzel to the Spree.
From fun to fascinating Berlin provides an endless
amount of culture and zest. Start you trip to the capital
by getting a tour of the city, some of the free tours pro-
vided are first class but I would recommend hiring a bicy-
cle for the a day and viewing it that way, as it enables you
to be in charge. The roads are extremely bike friendly
and it is the perfect vehicle for exploring and getting to
and from all the main attractions.
Visit the Unter den Linden as soon as you can to get fa-
miliarised with the main boulevard and to see Berlin’s
most important and historical buildings. Here you will
find an array of museums, Cathedrals, War Memorials,
Embassies, and the famous Brandenburg Gate.
Food in Berlin can be found cheap and cheerful. Spe-
cialities such as the Bratwurst and Currywurst can be lo-
cated at thousands of food stalls across the city,
accompanied with chips and hardly ever stretching 5
euros. Another excellent attraction for food is the Burger-
miester Café where you will find the best burger and
chips in Berlin for less than 4 euros. An ideal stop here
would be during summer on the way back from a day
spent at the Badeschiff, a floating outdoor swimming
pool situated on the river Spree. A bizzare concept for
people who only know the river Clyde, but one that ulti-
mately leaves you amazed and slightly jealous our Scot-
5
Berlin
tish weather hinders opportunities such as that.
Other must see attractions include the Memorial of the
Berlin Wall and the poignant Holocaust Memorial,
which acts as a reminder to the not so distant, devastat-
ing history these parts possess. Both are extremely mov-
ing and could take up hours of your time, yet both are
free, providing cost effective rich cultural trips.
If you are in Berlin over a weekend definitely visit the
Mauerpark on the Sunday afternoon for a exceptional ex-
perience. The park is transformed into a sort of mini fes-
tival with a massive flea market, street performers,
musicians, and many beer and food stalls available. If you
look around on a summer Sunday you will see scores of
families and groups of friends having their own barbe-
ques on the grass enjoying the atmosphere. Best of all
though is the ‘Bearpit Karaoke’ at the amphitheatre on
the hillside of the park. Members of the public take up
the challenge of singing their song while the public audi-
ence either laugh at them or join in, it truly is a great way
to spend your Sunday and did I mention it is free?
When it comes to clubbing Berlin provides quite the
selection, especially for the techno lover who won’t leave
the nightclub till sunrise. Renowned for its strict door
policy Berghain is perhaps the most infamous with a sup-
posedly ‘anything goes’ rule once you get inside. Other
major clubs like Tresor, situated in an abandoned power
station, possess a different type of pounding energy and
Watergate also holds the special attraction to clubbers as
it sits floating on the river Spree. Entry fee to these
nightclubs usually range between the 10 and 20 euro
bracket depending on who is performing on the night.
For travellers looking for a quieter affair Berlin offers
some very distinctive bars. The Weinerei bar on
Fehrbelliner Street is more of a social experiment than a
public house. On entry you hire a 100ml glass for 2
euros, and then participate in an extraordinary experi-
ence. You are allowed to drink as much wine as you wish,
but you have to keep in mind how much you are drink-
ing because at the end they ask you to pay for how much
you have taken. Therefore no one is monitoring or polic-
ing your intake, so it's more of an honesty policy. There
is also a buffet of food that goes by the same rules.
For accommodation I would look no further than St.
Christopher’s Inn situated on Rosa-Luxemburg Street in
the Mitte area of the city. Three nights in a 12 bed dorm
on a weekend will cost £60 but it is well worth it if you
want to meet other groups of travellers. The hostel has a
bar which provides food and stay here entitles you to
25% off the price.
Return flights with EasyJet from Glasgow vary through-
out the year but rarely exceed £150 with hand luggage.
6
Holocaust Memorial
Bearpit karaoke
7
Travel
Adventurous friends Agness and
Cez from Poland call themselves
‘Etrampers’, a phrase they
coined to describe the lifestyle
they have chosen. Combining
a shoestring budget of travel-
ling the world with their on-
line content about all of their
experiences.
What made you want to travel?
Cez: In my case travel bug has a name
– Agness – don’t get me wrong, she
did not bite me. She just convinced
me to go with her to France, Italy,
Spain and Egypt. That’s when I
started to think about travelling
more. Not a long time later I decided that I
had enough of my 9-5 job, steady-Eddie life
and I was in a need of real adventure.
That’s when the bug matured and there
was no way back…
Agness: Travelling has always been in my
blood. I wanted to explore the world
since I was a little kid, but I could
not afford it. When I went to the
university and got my first part-
time job, I
was able
to save some money and then my real adven-
tures started. My first real travel journey was
in August 2011 when I set off to China for 10
months and made me realize travelling is my
real passion.
How long have you been travelling for?
Since August 2011.
What has been your favourite place to visit?
Cez: Truly difficult question for anyone who
travels. There were so many memorable expe-
riences, of which many could be described as
the most memorable, that I don’t believe I
could list them all on my own blog. Neverthe-
less, I think one comes first to my mind when
asked such question. It’s the visit to Zhangjia-
jie in China that made me awestruck. Imag-
ine walking on a man-made balcony situated
near the top of 800-metre high vertical cliff.
Now, take into consideration that I have a
considerable fear of heights. Then, suddenly,
My foot slips into a hole… I fell only half a
metre because it was too small for my body,
fortunately. Yes, it was hard for me to breathe
for another few minutes.
Agness: For me it’s been every minute spent
in Lhasa, the capital city in Tibet.
When people heard the first sen-
tence, they always ask “What was
8
Tips
with
Agness Walewinder
so special about Lhasa?” During my whole
stay in Lhasa I felt like it was my place on
Earth. I felt so connected with everything sur-
rounding me and really would like to settle
down here in the future when Tibet eventu-
ally gets entirely free. I am interested in Bud-
dhism religion, the scenery was just incredible
and people are so hospitable.
How do you finance your world travels?
Unfortunately we were not born in rich fami-
lies, we don’t get any financial support from
anyone and we never had any possessions we
could sell to travel the world either. How do
we do it then? It’s simple – we work our a***s
off in every single country we travel to. We
were full-time English teachers in China, web
designers and photographers in Cambodia
and who knows what else we can do in the fu-
ture! We also control our limited budget by
never buying too many clothes, rarely party-
ing, always cycling or walking instead of using
cabs and local transport and sleeping in dead-
cheap hostels. Nevertheless, travelling on the
cheap doesn’t mean we don’t treat ourselves
with some good food or won’t go to do some
amazing activities. It rarely happens, but
it does happen. The most important to us
is to keep the balance. That’s our main
rule – “if you spend too much
one day, make sure you spend less the
day after”. In this way, we can slowly
travel all 7 continents without
(hopefully) any debts!
What advice would you give
anyone thinking of travelling
the world?
If travelling has been your
dream, make it come true
as soon as possible. Leave
your comfort zone and
make it your priority. If "PLAN A" does-
n't work out don't worry, you
still have 25 letters left!
You can keep up to date
with Agness and Cez on
their travelling adventures
by visiting their Etramping
website.
Don’t miss out on next months special edition on...
Island Hopping
the ones to see and the ones to avoid