Travelling isn't all Pub Crawls and Exotic European Lovers:

In fact, if you're me, Europe involves exactly none of that. A more accurate representation of my travels is being exhibited by me right now: I am sitting in my room in Berlin at 1:45am wearing my 'Prague Pub Crawl' shirt (which I did not actually attend of course, I just managed to score a shirt to create the illusion that I am interested in such a pastime) and eating peach jam from the jar with a knife because of course I did not eat dinner (unless you count the vegan brownie at 5pm which tasted suspiciously of egg) because what is a balanced eating pattern? Anyhow, I don't want to accidentally arouse anybody so I will now cease talking about my irrefutable sex appeal. 

You'll have to excuse me, apparently my verbal diarroea also shows symptoms when I type, and yes I am aware that there is a backspace button but I feel as if I deleted my trademark (it is not actually a trademark, but humour me) comedy there would be no point in having a blog that is nearly (not at all) as successful as the Huffinton Post right?

Aside from my word vomit, what I would like to bring to light is what can sometimes be a disheartening reality of long term travelling. Basically, sometimes you're just going to be having a shit time. More often than not what you are or should be doing in fact is very far from shit, for example you have possibly just arrived in Budapest - a bloody awesome city - and yet you find yourself spending your first afternoon sulking in your hostel room like Debbie Downer's sister who didn't make it to SNL due to her emotional insecurity, Sooky Susie. In fairness, some situations can legitimately make even the best of us want to pack up and go home, like when you rock up in Munich alone at 4:30am after a sleepless nightbus and you realise that oh bother, you're lost, and oh bother again, you don't actually speak German. However, just when the stress begins to set in and you think you might just sit there until somebody calls the authorities in concern of your mental state and they might send you home at the expense of the government, a nice Czech stranger decides to help you out and hey presto, you reach your accommodation at 6am; just in time to seize the day! Carpe Diem! ... Or sleep until 11:30. Either of those options are completely okay. You soon have to learn to stop getting frustrated at yourself for 'wasting a day' because you're so exhausted from a constant onslaught of everything and nobody tells you before you go away that sometimes you will feel despondent for no apparent reason. When you're on a bus to a foreign country that you have never, ever explored you know you should feel absolutely elated but instead you just wish you had your two puppy dogs and a gym membership to work away the kilos that you've convinced yourself that you have gained despite walking well over 10 kilometres most days. Now this is not a 'I'm homesick!' post, and no, a few certain naysayers certainly cannot proclaim that they 'told me so'; this is simply a reality check for any potential traveller out there. Do not beat yourself up if your entire day in Prague consists of three coffees and a journal entry. A few days later you will wake up at 6am and actually manage to cross Charles Bridge and photograph the fairy tale city when it isn't tarnished by the presence of retiree tourists turned amateur photographers and their oversized cameras and hungover Euro-railers between pub crawls. Admittedly you will then grab a Starbucks and mosey on back to your hostel room, watch a film and then take a nap but hey, at least the film was an Oscar winner... So you learnt something right?

Though I am trying to be as honest as I can and not just pretend that every single day has been full of boat parties and #amazing #europe2014 #wanderlust I do honestly believe that travelling the world is rewarding in ways that cannot be communicated through my crappy photographs or sporadic attempts at being a travel blogger. Although I personally have not found that the fact that I am abroad is on my mind every second (sometimes I do wake up and think I am in Perth) of every day, occasionally a feeling crosses over you, a mixture I guess of euphoria, pride and determination to stretch this opportunity as far as it can possibly go. Usually whenever I do something that the people around me consider to be an achievement I manage to find a way to shoot these accolades down, a way to create or accentuate a flaw in the situation. I believe this just comes down to my wiring; I have enormous aspirations for my life and henceforth I never was able to consider any kind of school or work achievements up until this point worthy of much praise or celebration. However, if I take a moment to really ponder the past four months (and I can officially say four months without rounding up as of today!) I think that I should feel proud of everything that I did to get myself this far. I do not just mean everything that I did on the homefront: the hard work, the saving, sacrificing 'being 18' (though honestly this was not always an enormous loss - I tend to enjoy sitting at home with Seinfeld re-runs and a glass of Moscato) and the deciding against parts of my better judgement to just go to uni, but I mean actually navigating my way through thirteen different countries and managing to do so entirely unscathed. Thus far (touch wood) I have not been mugged, lost anything major (well one camera cord but eh life goes on), broken any part of my body, been roofied, been thrown into jail, lost my luggage or any other nightmarish travel scenario that one can come up with; plus I have only missed one bus so that isn't such a bad run. Now of course I know that I am not the only solo traveller, or female solo traveller or anything unique and special to the backpacking community, but I guess I have achieved something that I really did talk about for years. So has every single one of us on a global expedition, no matter how far, wide or long we decide to travel. I actually remember the very first time I decided I was officially going to travel the world: I was in year 10 and I told mum in the car on the way home from Cockburn Gateway (that's actually a thing, if you're not a Perth person just ignore to avoid disgust and confusion) that I did not want any money towards a car, for I was getting on a plane to explore the world! I promptly went home that day, mum's approval in tow (she probably said yes at the time because she thought it was just another passing statement) and changed my laptop background to an aeroplane taking off into the sunset and began to google Contiki tours. Cut to the end of 2012, good old Jess graduates high school with a pretty good ATAR, gets her first uni preference and doesn't even bat an eyelid, for she is on every job search engine under the sun, scouring the web for a cleaning job in the mines where she can earn "like $80,000 a year and be on the road by New Year"... Yeah... Well we all know that I did not score my planned job in the mines and five months later (March 2013) I began working at Peter Alexander, a job that I had always dreamed of but that unfortunately did not come with the mining pay packet. Regardless, by October that year my savings were going strong and I strolled down to Student Flights Rockingham, sat before my lovely friend Brogan and proclaimed "I don't know where I am going and I don't know when, I just know that I am booking something today!". Flash forward another few months, it is May 1st and I am at Perth International Airport (having moved my trip forward two months whoops), going into the unknown. Although I still feel like this actually was not all that scary, I am sure one day I will look back in bewilderment as to how nineteen year old me stepped onto that plane and subsequently navigated the world on my lonesome. Now please do not think that this was a brag disguised as a tangent, I am simply trying to reiterate and emphasise what I have said time and time again: I am nothing spectacular at all. I am not famous (one day) and I am not heinously rich (again, one day), however I am out here discovering the world. Uni can be deferred (nobody will die), money can be saved (if I can save, anybody can) and travel can be affordable (I still eat enough for two people on a daily basis and I have been drinking wine frequently). If I managed to make this dream of mine (cue Lizzie McQuire movie moment) come true then everybody can. Lame ass cliche over. 

Now seeing as I call myself a travel blogger and not an online life coach I will stop trying to be inspiring and will actually cover where I have been (briefly) since Poland. Currently I am in Berlin (I think this city will get a post of it's own once I can get all of the pictures), a city that I am in love with. Berlin is by far the coolest city I have been to so far. I was thinking about this last night, certain cities and places I would come back to in a heartbeat and others I am glad I have visited but I do not need to see again, at least not for awhile. Germany is somewhere I know that I will be itching to visit again. So far I have seen Munich, Hamburg and Berlin, yet there is so much more of this fascinating country that I wish to one day see. If I end up based in the UK I think that Berlin will be one of the first places I will return to provided EasyJet has a cheap deal. Berlin is like the poor gal's London. But more on that later. 

More photos of Germany to come when I invest in a camera cord, again. 

So after leaving Krakow (I still had Robin at this point) we headed to Bratislava, Slovakia, infamous for being featured in the film 'Eurotrip'. After a few days there we ventured into 'Whoop Whoop', otherwise known as Nitra, in country Slovakia. Now the time we spent in Nitra was certainly eventful, though for a full summation of stories you will have to ask me personally, or alternatively purchase my book, due to be published let's say circa 2025. After Slovakia we were off to Hungary, visiting Budapest, the capital. Though our hostel may as well have been located in Warsaw it was so far away (we did not realise that we were arriving at the same time as one of Europe's largest music festivals... Whoops. Here's another travel tip kids: Google what is going on in a country prior to your arrival.) it did not tarnish Budapest for me. We were only there for about four days but aside from my first sulking afternoon I had a great time. We caught up with some boys from the UK for drinks one night, riding a Ferris wheel in the heart of the city with them at 2am but somehow not managing to find one pub or nightclub to continue our drinking after we left their hostel. Another night I caught up with another Aussie girl who I had met in Kaunas, Lithuania for dinner and then some drinks at a 'Ruins' pub. I highly recommend visiting one of these pubs whilst in Budapest. They are enormous ex-communist era factory buildings, fitted out with an eclectic collection of ruins (cars, lampshades, children's bicycles... You get the drift.) amongst which sit several bars of varying themes. I also recommend eating at one of Budapest's hummus themed restaurants. Simply because I am obsessed with hummus and the food was great. Budapest was stunning, we took a walking tour of the city with Free Budapest Walking Tours and our guide, Norbit (a name that does not represent how sexy he was) was excellent. Again, I would love to visit Budapest another time! It was cheap, vibrant and aesthetically very, very pleasing. 

Modry Kostolik, Slovakia's 'Blue Cathedral' and a pretty little Slovakian street.

Mátyás Templom, Budapest. 

St Stephan's Basilica, Budapest.

Onwards and upwards from Hungary we stopped by in Austria, spending three days in Vienna. I would have loved to see more of Austria but probably would go back in the winter time and explore the skiing region, or alternatively venture out to Salzburg. However, Austria was extremely expensive, especially compared to the Eastern European countries and their prices which I was generally very content with! Vienna is a stunning city, though probably is best visited if you are rich. I felt very, very shabbily dressed the entire time that I was in the city because everybody else there seemed to be wearing money; a luxury to which I am not privy. I am a backpacker, I wear what smells the least of sweat and doesn't have a kebab stain down the front of it. 

The Austrian parliament building, Vienna. 

Me eating a street falafel, the most affordable meal in town. 

Alas, after three expensive days in Vienna, Robin and I escaped to the Czech Republic, with her spending the first two days in Brno with extended family before meeting me up in Prague. Sadly, Prague was our final destination as a travelling duo after somehow spending three weeks going from randoms in a hostel to really great friends. So aside from a sad farewell at the end of our few days in Prague (probably sadder for her because I got vegemite out of the situation... Joking!), I really enjoyed Prague. I would not suggest however visiting during the summer months due to the influx of tourists mentioned earlier. All European cities are busy in the summer to an extent, though Prague without a doubt was the craziest I have seen so far. Prague is also where I purchased a new camera and therefore the quality of my photographs changes substantially at this point. Well I at least hope that they do. So with that, I will cease rattling on and allow the photographs to do the talking. 

New camera yay!

I had a grand old time at The Absintherie, sampling a Absinthe strawberry daiquiri, Absinthe icecream and an Absinthe slushy. No I did not see any fairies. 

On our last day in Prague we hired a swan paddle boat and paddled down the Vltava River.

Evidently I cannot take a nice photo to save my life, but this is the best we got as we parted ways. 

Feel free to comment/like/share! 

I Can't Think of a Better Title than 'Denmark':

It is hard to believe that the two weeks I spent in Denmark have been and gone. In fact, as I type this post my stay in Stockholm is also over; I am typing from Arlanda Airport, en route to Tallinn, Estonia. The past few weeks have been extremely busy for me - in a few hours I will have been in three different countries in four days (four if you count my current layover)! Nevertheless, Denmark was a spectacular experience and henceforth is well-deserving of a blog post filled with accolades.

Lucy, Taylah and myself. The girls also were in Denmark, though both left before me. 

Taylah's birthday cake, kindly cooked by Mie's mother.

 From what I can gather, most Australian people (or at least my peers) do not know a great deal about the Scandinavian country, apart from the fact that good old Princess Mary shacked up with a hot Danish prince and now lives there. Admittedly I actually think that is a bloody awesome story and am really proud as an Aussie of Mary Donaldson from Tassie, a stunning and graceful representation of all women from Down Under (there was absolutely no underlying sarcasm in that statement...).

Anyway, a slight rundown on the country seems appropriate here, so: Denmark is located south of Sweden and Norway and is actually composed of many different islands, though Zealand, Jutland and Funen are said to be the main three. Copenhagen, the nation's capital, is located on Zealand. The people speak Danish (duh) and the main currency is the Danish Kroner, not the Euro. Denmark is also actually famous for many things aside from making an Aussie royalty including Hans Christian Anderson, Lego, Royal Copenhagen and  Pandora.

I am fortunate enough to have a close friend, Mie, who lives in Denmark, just a 25 minute drive outside of Copenhagen. Her family were beyond hospitable, hosting me for two whole weeks. They fed me for the duration of my stay, going to the effort of introducing me to some traditional Danish foods such as: Koldskål, Frikadeller, Islakage and Sild. Spending an extended amount of time living with a local family was an invaluable experience. The family put out breakfast almost daily and thus I was in a state of total euphoria; Brie cheese, jam, rye bread, soft-boiled eggs and muesli are standard to the Danish, but a total treat to me. Almost as good as my weetbix and banana or vegemite on toast... Almost (I'm currently suffering from pretty major vegemite withdrawals and unfortunately I highly doubt Estonia, Latvia or any other of my upcoming European destinations will be able to alleviate this for me. They also patiently attempted to teach me, an ignorant speaker of just English, some basic Danish phrases and showed me a large part of Denmark, most of which I never would have seen otherwise.

All four of us the night before Taylah's 19th birthday, which we celebrated by having a breakfast buffet. 

The first night I spent in the city Mie took me out to experience some Copenhagen nightlife and we ended up in a club, Hornsleth (which was actually for over 23s) and to me embodied the European underground punk/modern rock scene; with some pretty questionable artwork - such as giant phalluses- adorning the walls. It is always fascinating to experience another city after dark, and Copenhagen certainly did not disappoint. The Danes LOVE to drink and they LOVE to party. Somebody actually said to me that the Danish are the (much classier) Australians of Scandinavia, and this observation seems fitting. 

Before that though, Mie took me around her area to a few of her close friend's houses. Danish high school students were graduating the week that I arrived, meaning that they were ready to party, and I really mean party. It is a Danish tradition that all graduates wear sailor's caps, which they mark in different ways over the course of the week to symbolise various achievements; skinny-dipping, partying until dawn, and kissing somebody of the same gender, all amongst other 'accomplishments' if you know what I am getting at... The students hire out trucks in their graduating classes and drive from home to home, drinking alcohol and eating delicious food all provided by their proud and adoring parents. The whole thing was just bloody awesome, and I personally vote that Australia adopts the same tradition and that I get to graduate again in order to pioneer the whole thing. 

An example of a graduate truck.

I spent the some of my stay exploring Copenhagen; one of my favourite parts being Christiania, an autonomous Danish commune full of independence, love, sharing, happiness and lots and lots of dope. Think the movie 'Wanderlust' starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, only on a much larger scale. The commune is separate from the EU (this is denoted by a 'you are now entering the EU' sign at the exit gate), meaning that they are exempt from paying taxes; therefore their existence is controversial. Regardless, Christiania is a part of modern Danish culture, and according to Mie and many other locals they will not be going anywhere for a very long time. I also sailed Copenhagen's picturesque Nyhavn Canals, climbed the spiral 'Church of our Saviour' for a terrifying view of the city, explored Stroget, the World's longest pedestrian shopping strip, sampled expensive but divine Danish coffee and visited Mary at the royal residence, though I don't think she was home. 

'You are now entering the EU.'

Artwork from the entrance to Chritiania.

Totally irrelevant but the cute French Bulldog I found deserves to be featured.

Nyhavn.

Me bravely climbing the 'Church of our Saviour'.

 The rest of the time I was shown the rest of Denmark, travelling to Roskilde where a world famous festival is held annually. The Rolling Stones played this year, and I am gutted that I missed out. I also visited Mie's Grandmother's quaint summerhouse in Gilleleje, and spent some time in Slettestrand (on Jutland) with the family for a part of her parent's holiday as a present to her brother. At Slettestrand I went mountain biking for the first time, accompanied by Sporty Spice Mie and her father, both of whom had a significant amount of mountain biking experience in comparison to me. The track they took me on was 22km long, and I think it took me about 21km to actually get the hang of the whole thing; this may be due to the fact that I walked a great deal of the track. Whilst I am not a quitter I am also not a mountain biker. I was in indescribable pain. The bike seat felt like it was so far up my ass that we probably will not see it until next Tuesday. My nose was running, my shorts were getting caught and I was getting harassed by flies. I fell off of the bike numerous times, at one point forgetting to break as I flew into the rugged shrubbery, eventually coming to a crashing holt when my bike hit a root or a badger or the body of another mountain biking rookie. Inevitably, the experience was rather unpleasant for me though I am very glad to now be able to say that I have mountain biked through Northern Denmark. 

Part of my Jutland trip that I did actually thoroughly enjoy was the trip to Skagen, Denmark's northern most point and where the North and Baltic Seas meet. The foodie/coffee lover in me also would like to mention CaféVelo, where I treated myself not once, but twice in the space of an hour, to a choco-mint latte and a tuna sandwich for lunch. I feel like 'tuna sand which' is a giant unjust description of this sandwich,  but do not stress; the Instagrammar in me saw the photogenic potential of the meal and snapped a picture so that it could be remembered by both myself and my legion of
loyal readers (the book 'The Secret' says that if you talk about something in a positive regard even if it is untrue then the universe will act to ensure that it does come true. Or something along those lines.).

The beach at Mie's grandmother's summer house.

Mie's darling mother (photo cred to Mie here).

Choco-mint latte. Delicious.

The tuna sandwich.

Overall, Denmark was a remarkable experience. I felt so welcomed in the country and I sincerely hope that I can return one day, hopefully to go out for a rosé or twelve with Mary. Oh! I actually forgot to mention that a guy who sold me a slushie had met Mary; his daughter is in the same class at school as her daughter. Hopefully he let's Mary know that he ran into two Aussie girls (my friend Taylah was with me at the time) who were extremely excited to be just one degree of separation from our crown princess. Anyway, back to Denmark. Though the prices in places are insane (that's $candinavia for you) and the summer seemingly just three days long it is a completely wonderful, charming and incredibly joyful country - Denmark is said to be the happiest nation in the world - that I would glowingly recommend to anybody heading to Northern Europe. 

A Copenhagen street.

Domed cathedral just behind the royal residence. 

Me picking some wild strawberries just near Mie's home.