Eurotrippin’

So its been a while since I updated this blog. The last time I touched this page was around September; and over the past year (and a bit) I’ve gone from teaching four year olds how to ‘pizza’, to working in a Popcorn shop, cafe, smoothie shop, to working the daily grind that is 9-5/ Monday-Friday. I’ve been in my job nearly a year now and so I figured I should use the last of my holidays up and get back on a flight somewhere- Europe.

I tossed up Asia, South America, and allsorts before considering the fact that there is so much of Europe that I either have only seen as an 8 year old child, or not seen at all and so, a very last minute interail pass was booked followed by a one-way flight to Amsterdam.

As you may well know I’m crap at the writing bit so most of this blog is filling in the gaps of all these pictures (from what I can remember). Europe has been one of the best adventures for me yet, and it’s reminded me why I love solo travelling so much. I’ve learnt loads and seen loads, so it won’t be my last visit.

Amsterdam – Berlin – Prague – Budapest – Vienna – Venice – London

 

AMSTERDAM

Believe it or not I was actually reading a map here (100% not true, complete poser tourist shot) Let’s just say that the Dam was a wavy experience, after I met some locals in the first bar I found they showed me how to get to the street art capital of Amsterdam: NDSM. The pride parade brought quite the street party  and unfortunately due to a bucket’s worth of jagers and loads of beer I’ve not got much to show for it but awful drunken selfies.

BERLIN

Roar

Roar

Berlin came next, the graffiti capital of Europe, this also may be my favourite city to date. The sheer culture and history behind the wall left me wishing that I’d spent longer there. On the alternative tour I took, my hippy guide brought knowledge on the history of street art, east and west Berlin rivalry and the kreuzberg rave scene that came with the 90’s. The following images are just some of the amazing artwork I found on the first day.

JE SEMAIS MON COEUR COMME UNE PETITE MIE DE PAIN –
What that means I have no idea.

Anne Frank

The monkey represents stupid tourists with big cameras (me)

Roar

idk

http://www.elbocho.net/tag/little-lucy/

Following the street art I spent the afternoon at an illusive rooftop bar, at the end of a car park on the 7th floor of a shopping mall where we watched the sun set. Berlin was a treat.

Sunset in Berlin

Live music at the rooftop bar

Sunset from Klunkerkranich

PRAGUE

Prague brought cheap beer, narrow streets, good food, and even good’er people. I drank beer in a puma’s residence (the animal- nothing to do with a cougar), saw the John Lennon wall, ate family meals with my hostel friends and had even squeezed in some crazy nights out. Infact I had so much fun in Prague that I managed to miss 3 trains just to stay at the pride parade/and primarily finish the keg that we’d decided to purchase in the early afternoon of my departure day (stupid, I know). 2 nights out, 1 day of partying, a beautiful city, an all nighter til the 5 am train and it was time to Czech out.

What’s a night out without 52 family selfies on your phone?

Being a tourist and taking a photo of EVERYTHING

John Lennon’s own wall

Edgy shot of a signpost

John Lennon’s own pub

Caught this guy in the act, painting on the only legal graffiti wall in Prague.

Wasn’t smiling like this 2 hours later when I looked like a lobster

At this point I’d almost certainly missed my first train, but I’d also had the best time, met the most amazing people and danced in the street all afternoon. It’s safe to say it’s not the last time I’ll see some of these faces. Shout out to H1H for making my prague!

BUDAPEST

Arriving in Hungary following a drunken 7 hour sleep on my train from Czech, Sziget festival began; and I had no idea what I was in for. Having no hostel booked, I chose to go for the popular and famously crazy option of checking in to a party hostel, and there certainly was no other way to describe that place. Whether it be the antics, 9am gin and tonics, hanging upside down and chugging wine on a party bus, or the sheer craziness of Grandio, it certainly lives up to its rep. And that was just the hostel, Sziget festival brought The Lumineers, Sum 41, Years & Years, Sia, The Neighbourhood, Hardwell, as well as some heavy DnB nights in a Colosseum made solely of wooden pallets. I’m quite confident in saying I’ll be back soon, and probably still be in for a surprise.

Black and White for an hour while The Neighbourhood killed their set

Me and Brandon with our Irish friends

Can’t get away from Newcastle really can you.. Marriott friends over in Budapest.

Selfie with hostel friends!

Selfie with dutch friends

Magic door

Finally we wound down, the festival having left us worse for wear. We lay in the public baths and watched the Olympics, most chilled day.

VIENNA | VENICE

These two cities (Although extremely far apart) fall into the same leg of the journey. With a job to come home to and a last minute booking of my flight, my only option was to fly from Venice, pooor me. So the next 32 hours following Budapest was spent primarily on public transport (including, boats, trains, buses, planes and of course tired feet). Although I was on my way home I still managed to squeeze in just under a day at each of these beautiful cities. So just when you thought you hadn’t seen many pictures of buildings, this is where Austria and Italy come in.

VIENNA

Belvedere, Vienna

Gardens and Surfing, an interesting afternoon

–

VENICE

The taxis don’t have wheels in Venice

The Three Gondoliers

The Three Gondoliers

I took 300+ photos in Europe, some drunken selfies, some crap camera phone pictures, and some pretty decent SLR shots (I think) this blog is more to sum up my trip in a handful of photos. Europe’s been a treat, and my next adventure isn’t far off.

Travelling on my Doorstep

Since being away I guess I have this eager, itch to get out the house and do something exciting, fun, or interesting. Maybe its me trying to recreate Canada, but whatever it is I seem to be exploring and seeing a lot more of the UK already. This weekend we booked Salmon fishing on the River Tay. We got there early, fly fished all day and topped it off with some wine, beer and raspberry vodka outside of the fishing hut with hot soup and bread rolls. From here (having caught sweet nothing) we drove up to Invergarry in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, although a beautiful drive, breathtaking skies and more than pleasant company, still no Salmon were caught. However I caught some pike, met some really interesting Scots, and I even got to watch some crushing victories in the Rugby World Cup. Maybe next time!

Having found myself in temporary possession of a fancy new SLR, I’ve taken it upon myself to give this thing ago. The following blog posts will be primarily my sh*te photography and a bit of rambling, hopefully making sense of all the amateur photos I’ve taken.

Reel hard fishing on the Tay, Friday 18th of Sept (excuse the pun)

Reflecting Water, another blue bird day

Fishing, relaxing and drinking Raspberry Vodka

Just playing with the aperture settings on my camera

 

Mossy. Wet. Autumn.

More fishing shots, we did catch I promise           

The little river running along the side of Old Aldernaig Mill

Some lengthy exposure

On a more general note, this little trip has helped me realise that you don’t need to take an 11 hour flight half way across the world (where they speak funny and are really polite) to explore and try new things. As a result of this I’ll be doing a lot more exploring in the foreseeable future.

Home before I knew it

So after posting my last update, I had a very fun winter/spring/summer

My initial plan was to leave in April, well following my amazing winter, all the amazing people i met and the sheer atmosphere of Banff and all that surrounds it; I decided to stay. 2 days before my departure I chose to re-book my flight for the 18th of August. Knowing that I was in the place of my dreams, I was content to do more travelling, explore and squeeze every ounce of fun from the Rockies.

Although it may not be a valid excuse, the reason for my absense on the blog has fallen down to the active lifestyle I chose in the Summer, following April I canoed, kayaked, fished, hiked, went cliff jumping, exploring, lake-swimming. I BBQ’d, camped and spent time with some of the best people I have ever met. Instead of explaining 7 months of fun and awesomeness, I’ve chosen some photos that best represent my time following the previous post. I’m finally home and Canada has been absolutely fantastic; the best thing about it is that it’s the beginning of my adventure, the world is literally my oyster and it’s only taken me until now to realise that, more updates to be posted soon.

Takakaw Falls, B.C

Road Trips

Me, Ossian and Jay, more Road Trips

Lake Morraine, one of my faves

Banff Skatepark, spent everyday here

Chilling by Cascade falls, with flawless views

The Falls, with my favourite people

The faces don’t even do it justice

Spending my last week camping, this is Ghost Lake

My last night in Banff, what a crowd

I saved this one until last because this was my favourite place in Banff. A lake, only reachable by boat, and enjoyed by few people in this area. Full of wildlife and calm waters. There is no doubt I will be back here in the future.

Catch Up

So it’s been ages since I posted,

I’d like to think that’s because I’ve been so busy. This season has gone sooo fast and it’s already over half way. I’ve met the best people and have had so many memorable times already. Although the weather hasn’t always been on our side and certainly hasn’t been typically ‘Canadian’, its been so much fun all the same.

Since my last post I’ve been enjoying my job more than ever. The more I teach, the more comfortable I have started to get with different ages, abilities and characters. Whether I’m teaching a 3 yr old that doesn’t talk, or an Irish bloke who I can have endless craic with, each lesson poses a new challenge. People from South Africa just absolutely loving the fact that they’re even on snow never mind skiing, and then kids from the local town who are skiing on my level!

It was great news to me to here that Mam sent out my violin, however after a month it still isn’t here. I think aside family and friends I definitely miss music the most, although I listen to it every day. Its the playing that I miss, I went from orchestra, string quartet, band practise and open mic night every week to headphones and the occasional jam with friends from the hostel. The good news is the violin is on its way meaning I can get back into some folk when it arrives! I’ve been talking to friends back home about recording, having jams and it has just made me want to play my violin so much more so I’m gonna appreciate it so much when it arrives.  Alongside the music, I realised when away for a long time you miss the weirdest things, and so far I’ve got on my list of missed things: Robinsons Squash, Beans on Toast, Fish n Chips (nothing even close here), buses that are always late (so I don’t have to be so punctual all the time), and Tesco value (the generic brands over here just aren’t the same).

The good news is! Since my last post, my best mate Jack and I have decided that when the season ends we’re gonna do some backpacking. So after alot of talk about possible ideas we have finally set a date to go out and travel Vancouver Island for two weeks. I feel that while I’m in Canada I need to make the most of this experience and through Vancouver Island I’m gonna get some surfing in and hopefully catch some big fish. The only sad thing about Vancouver Island is that it’ll nearly be my adventure over; as after there it’s time to come back to reality. But that thought is at the back of my mind for now, and all I’m doing is trying to make the most of my time here.

I’m gonna follow this post up with some pics of the past few months so keep your eyes peeled, I definitely think that’s enough talking for now though so I’ll leave it there! Seee ya

Views, Wildlife and Good Times

The Real Rockies.

I figured I’ve been here a while now, and its time I traveled around the area to see the real gems of the Rockies. On the ‘ambassadors tour’ this morning I came across the real Banff. The photos below are a select few from the beauties I’ve seen on my journey so far.

Early Sunrise behind Mt Rundle

Bow River, backed by the Fairways

An Elk roaming the National Park

Lake Vermilion (Known for the lost village at its pit)

Dynastar boys on the 6-man chair

The ridges around Lake Louise

Happy Holidays

Happy New Year.

Back with another update, its been a little bit over a month now.

I’m starting to finally get a rough daily routine, and since I passed my level 1 I’ve had loads of lessons! I can almost say that I have a variety of meals on my nightly menu too, but not quite yet; generally bolognese and chilli con carne seem to be cropping up a little too much so that needs to change, but for now I’m still loving it. Christmas was awesome! I made it to the hill on Christmas Day (although a little hungover) to see the hundreds of Santa’s skiing about out of control, and then back to the hostel where we tucked into the biggest Christmas dinner I have ever seen (lasted 22 of us for 2 days of sandwiches). Finally followed by afew pre-bedtime beers. Working New Years Day didn’t stop the party on NYE, it made work a struggle’ but it’s not the first time we’ll be working with a hangover and definitely not the last.

The scenery over here is still never failing to amaze me, every morning that same view changes just a little and it makes me realise why I’m here. Just a heads up, none of my photos do this place justice, the mountains are nothing short of perfect. Since my last post, I’ve started teaching, and I’ve had everything from 3 year old’s who don’t speak, to adults who’ve never seen snow before and are so grateful just to be around it. Since my first lesson I’ve came on loads, and am a lot more confident teaching a variation of clients with different ages/abilities. Today I had a 6 and 7 yr old brother and sister who requested me for another 4 hours next week because they had so much fun, hearing that they were ‘glad they met me’ has made my day.

It’s been pretty fun toning down the accent which i was convinced was ‘mild’ for kids and randoms who “can’t understand a word I say”. But even still, I’ve met some amazing people and I’m having great fun, with a range of ages, backgrounds and nationalities there’s a big mix of us in the hostel and everyone gets on great. I’m still struggling to understand how I’ve spent more than a month here and not tried ribs yet, but I’m making up for it on poutine, the wonderful (but ever so nasty) Canadian delicacy which finds its way into every cafe, restaurant and even McDonalds. Having only been here a month, I have already learn’t so much, and can see myself changing for the better. This is definitely the best thing I have done, so if you’ve even considered getting away somewhere to try something new, just do it.

That’s it for now though, I’ll follow up with some pictures in the coming days.

Snaps

Training with the EA crew

View from Spirit Chair

View from the ‘Office’

SKI

Professional Ski Instructor

Having been here just over 3 weeks now, I’m really starting to warm to Banff. I’ve already had so many good times and managed to fit it all in to such a small time space. As of Yesterday I am officially a professional ski instructor, having passed my Level 1 and been offered a job at the small but mighty Mt Norquay; I am settled in to my permanent (but basic) accommodation! Its safe to say we have taken advantage of the local scene here with a different event for each day of the week; karaoke (NEVER fail to make a fool of myself here), pool tournaments, open mics, cheap wings, pasta and much much more.

On a work front, I shadowed my first lesson today and absolutely loved it, I learn’t that ski instructing isn’t always just snowplow, some people just want a guide and in that case I’m getting paid to freeski! It’s early days but so far I am having the time of my life. Although small, the Mountain has so much to offer in terms of terrain and seeing the improvements of my skiing is an absolute pleasure. This beer/ice hockey loving town is warming to me extremely quickly, and although I have never consumed more alcohol and exercise in such a short period of time, some how the fresh mountain air makes it all manageable. This is definitely one of the few jobs that you can work with a hangover.

There’s been talks of trying different resorts and doing some proper sightseeing now that I’m settled, but for now I’m quite content with the deer, elk and caribou wandering the streets like locals.

Banff is the place to be.

First Entry

With such an odd time difference between the UK and the wonderful Rocky Mountains, I decided the best way to share my experience over here with family and friends would be through a blog.

Over the next 4 months I will be teaching skiing in the middle of Banff National Park, known for its breathtaking landscapes and beautiful wildlife. Through New-Found Horizons, I will be filling you in on my experiences and general life out here.

Expect snow.