April 17
So today was meant to be the day I went home. My flight was due to leave Brussels at 10, Scott and Amy were meant to meet me at the train station, we were all meant to then go to a football match then have dinner and I would catch a train home in time for the Oztley run organized for Dan's presence in the country. None of this became a reality. The Oztley run has been postponed, Dan will miss it and a bunch of my friends are still stuck around various parts of Europe.
It was a massive mish to actually get to the hostel. At Amsterdam Central Station I couldn't figure out how to buy a ticket to where I wanted. After about half an hour of looking purposely confused and no one approaching me to help, I finally asked someone. It was a 20 min metro ride out of the city and had to wait about half an hour under a bridge for the hostel shuttle that I wasn't convinced was coming...yeah not sketchy at all.
So I got to 'Lucky Lake Hostel' at about 4 and was absolutely amazed with it. It's a caravan park, but it's a hostel. Since I was here on my own I also made a point of talking to people. I met these 2 gay guys from Alaska who are a bit hilarious. They overuse the words "right" and "totally" all the time, it's so American.
So I got to 'Lucky Lake Hostel' at about 4 and was absolutely amazed with it. It's a caravan park, but it's a hostel. Since I was here on my own I also made a point of talking to people. I met these 2 gay guys from Alaska who are a bit hilarious. They overuse the words "right" and "totally" all the time, it's so American.
Not much actually happened today, I pretty much spent the day relaxing. I went for a walk to the lake (!), read on the hammock, and after my 2 cheese toasties for dinner I just hung around the common area chatting wih the people who came and went, mostly other staff who were off duty as they all live on site. All of whom were smoking weed, hey it's Amsterdam, would you expect any less?
The thing I love about this hostel is it reminds me of home a bit. The cool, brisk air feels like when you wake up camping in spring, the sun is out but it's a bit cold. But you don't mind because it's going to be a warm day. I had leftovers of a chap called Laurie and Irish Rob made me a hot dog. Seriously, how good is the hostel culture of some places!
The thing I love about this hostel is it reminds me of home a bit. The cool, brisk air feels like when you wake up camping in spring, the sun is out but it's a bit cold. But you don't mind because it's going to be a warm day. I had leftovers of a chap called Laurie and Irish Rob made me a hot dog. Seriously, how good is the hostel culture of some places!
April 18
So today I actually went in to town. I started with the New Europe walking tour starting at Dam square, first stop: The Red Light District, which was originally developed around the Old Church (Oude Kerk). Outside the church there was this hilarious hand on boob statue/plaque on the ground. Apparently the city it removed it at one point and the locals got upset so they put it back! The tour then went on to the oldest Buddhist temple in Europe, completed in 2000! Onward past the Niewe Kerk (New Church), Begijnhof (which is a well-preserved sanctuary for Cathlic nun-like women), the Dampkring (New Europe's favourite coffee shop) and ended at the Anne Frank House Museum. After the tour, since I had nothing better to do and no one to meet I had lunch with the guide and others from the tour and this dish sausage and mashed potato dish. I met a girl called Shannon who is being a nanny in Paris and enjoyed talking with the guide who was from Brisbane. Yay! A familiar accent! I had a pretty chilled out night - just relaxed at the hostel (something most people there are used to) and just chatted with everyone. Had an easy dinner then laid on the hammock for ages before bed. But not before checking my current adventure status.
At this time I was still tossing up whether or not to try and get a train home, just wait for a flight, or make my way literally from one side of the continent to the other for Anzac Day in Gallipoli. I have a flight to catch Saturday morning from London to Istanbul but that's another story right there!
"Serbia is practically a suburb or Turkey, we can walk from there!"
April 19
The ash cloud saga continues! After breakfast I got back on that hammock for quite a while, it's seriously the best thing ever.I spoke to mum and dad on the phone for about 25 mins, thankfully they paid for it and we decided to wait to go back to London. After this I went in to town, walked around a bit but didn't see or do much. After the walking tour there really wasn't a whole lot of sights left to see. So I just took in the culture. I made some tea and relaxed some more - an increasing trend which I am enjoying more and more here. I've been reading the news and they are hoping to open some of the airspace tomorow so I'm hopeful I'll get home and back out to Turkey.
April 20
Due to the reletively unsuccessful nature of my trip in to town yesterday, I decided to have a relaxing day at the hostel.
I had a book and I had my iPod and I had a hammock and the days were sunny - what more c ould I want? At some point during the day I hired a bike from the hostel and rode to this nearby town called Abcoude. I had to ride along the highway and the cross over on a bridge but was worth it. This tiny town was really cool and had a population of only about 6400. I explored the town, saw some small churches then rode through it to a park on a small lake where I ate a picnic lunch. Came back a few hours later and the rest of the afternoon was my own!
I had a book and I had my iPod and I had a hammock and the days were sunny - what more c ould I want? At some point during the day I hired a bike from the hostel and rode to this nearby town called Abcoude. I had to ride along the highway and the cross over on a bridge but was worth it. This tiny town was really cool and had a population of only about 6400. I explored the town, saw some small churches then rode through it to a park on a small lake where I ate a picnic lunch. Came back a few hours later and the rest of the afternoon was my own!April 21
Success! I checked my British Airways flight this morning and to my surprise it had not been cancelled. T his was very good news. I was scheduled on a flight back to London tomorrow afternoon, but this turned out to be a much larger task than I first envisaged. But we'll get to that. I ambled back in to town the only way I knew how...slowly and made my way to the Heineken brewery by 1pm. This was by far the coolest brewery I'd been to, and I'd been to a few. It started off with a history of the beer of course including labels, bottle shapes and significant people then showed us a replica of what the vats in a factory would look like with people giving out sample of what it tastes like at each stage. We then moved into a modern looking room where a guy taught us all how to drink a Heineken properly, but what I was thinking was "free beer!" After this there was an interactive video where we were taken on a journey from 
the perspective of the ingredients from start to finish of the brewing process. This including a slight spraying, extreme heat and a rocking floor - very cool! The last thing was they had all these pods for you to lay in and watch their ads over the years and then of course, ended in the bar.
After the brewery I walked over the Anne Frank House and was going to go in but decided not to. Why you ask? Well..... I was really tired, and it had been an expensive day already and there was a really long line and I thought I was going to come back with Mitch, Evan and Steve (which I didn't). Yeah maybe I should have just gone in.
When I got back to the hostel I took some photos of the most amazing hostel I'd ever stayed in and started saying 
goodbyes and thankyous to all the staff who had all been so friendly and helpful over the past 5 days. As I was only booking one night at a time my bed had been taken for this night, so I decided to treat my self to a caravan which was double the price (still only €37 but you know...). It was really cute and cosy and loved having my own room for the last night of my wild adventure riding the magma. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.
goodbyes and thankyous to all the staff who had all been so friendly and helpful over the past 5 days. As I was only booking one night at a time my bed had been taken for this night, so I decided to treat my self to a caravan which was double the price (still only €37 but you know...). It was really cute and cosy and loved having my own room for the last night of my wild adventure riding the magma. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.April 22
Today I checked out of the best hostel in the world and began my long journey home to Leeds. This included the hostel shuttle to the metro station - train to Amsterdam Central - train to Brussels - train to Brussels airport - plane to London - 2 underground trains to Kings Cross to get a train to Leeds and finally, a cab to the Eldon where Kayt, Emma, Mitch and Evan were waiting for the winner of the Amazing Race! This is because Ana/Amber and Chris/Josh were also coming back today from their volcano extended adventures. Ana and Amber got stranded in Greece - when their flights were cancelled they got a ferry to Crete indefinitely, 
and as for Chris and Josh they got a bus to Copenhagen... yeah this volcano really ruined everything didn't it...
As Team Number 1 in the Amazing Race my prize was a celebratory Irish Car Bomb with Mitch and Evan. Half a pint of Guinness with a shot of Baileys in it and then bomb a shot of whiskey, so good! We walked home later that night for one nights sleep before heading off the next adventure with Kayt: Anzac Day adventures in Turkey!
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