Edinburgh: Yeah! You weren't expecting that were you!!

When we headed back to the room on the day our visa got rejected we had some big decisions to make. Do we cut China out altogether and fly around it via South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and on to Vietnam? Do we hold out attempting to get a visa until Mongolia? Only for the option to get rejected and revert to option A. Or catch a flight back home and get a visa in our home country where we don't need a residence permit. This option seemed like the only fesable one.

Firstly, we had a look into London, but you need an appointment at the Visa Application Centre and there were none for the next week or so. Add this to the lack of direct flights and this option was quickly ruled out. Secondly, we looked at Manchester but again, the lack of flights were an issue. Our last hope, was Edinburgh, all the way up in chilly Scotland. There were plenty of appointments for the day after we would arrive and a couple of seats available on a flight from Budapest, so we went for it. Also, being the other end of the country we couldn't be lured by the temptations of home. A quick search for accommodation brought up two beds in a hostel right on the Royal Mile for the next week, all in all an opportunity we couldn't miss.

After an easy flight to Edinburgh we arrived late afternoon, we were hit by the coldest temperatures we'd experienced in our entire time away. We hopped on the bus which took us to Waverly Bridge, slightly put out that we were driving on the left side of the road. First port of call was to find an Internet cafe to redo our visa forms and make sure we had everything ready to get the application sorted the next day. With all that done, we decided to skip cooking after a stressful couple of days and have some home comforts for dinner. We hunted down the nearest Fish and Chip shop.

Our appointment was booked for 10 am so we woke early, and wolfed down some Shreddies in preparation. We thought we had the directions right for the application centre but headed a mile in the wrong direction downhill before we realised. We eventually made it rather hot and sweaty and burst into a room we expected to be full. It was quite the opposite. It was absolutely dead, so we got straight in and sat down with an advisor. We were full of hope until the lady told us it that there systems were down and they didn't know when they would be back up and running again. We handed all our documentation over anyway, hopeful that we'd be successful. We were told to phone back the next day to see if our application had been processed. We left the centre rather nervous with almost an entire week to spend in Edinburgh. The next day, after a quick phone call, we were told to report back on Monday to find out the news!

I'll put now that I'm not going to cover every day and just give a brief summary. We saw Edinburgh Castle, climbed to Arthur's Seat, which is a hill in Holyrood Park and caught up on some shopping and preparations for later in the trip. We also enjoyed the famous deep fried Mars Bar that is now part of Scottish cuisine. With all due respect to Edinburgh and the UK we really didn't want to be there and were thoroughly disappointed to miss out on our 2 stops in Romania. Fortunately we did manage to recuperate some money from Hostels and Transport in order to help fund the diversion. In many ways it was probably a good thing that we headed for Edinburgh and not Romania, as the day we were due to leave the train station we were leaving from was making international news. It had been overrun by immigrants and had been, for a period of time closed down with all the trains delayed.

Monday came around faster than expected and we were up sharp again to face the music. We walked in to nothing but clear space once more and were seated immediately. All she did was say how much we owed, we paid and that was that, all the worrying for nothing. And we were finally the proud owners of 2 freshly minted Chinese Double Entry Visas valid for 6 months. We took a couple of snaps brandishing said visas infront of Edinburgh Castle and relaxed for the rest of the day.

With all that palava over and done with, the next day we caught a late evening flight down to Gatwick (only 25 miles or so to home sweet home! But why would we want to go there!!) in order to pick up a connecting flight to Athens for 5:30 on Wednesday morning and rejoin our planned itinerary.

All in all we've got to say the trip was definitely worth it, disappointing to say we had to come back to the UK but worth it just to get a much needed Chinese Visa. 

Budapest: Meet the parents

We had a nice departure time from Bratislava, 11:30 and only a 2 and a half hour journey time, so we were in no rush to get up and packed. Also, plenty of time to have some breakfast and pop to Tesco to do some clothes shopping for Charlotte. After a hot and sweaty walk to Bratislava bus station, we boarded the bus managing to pick, what we thought, was the only double seat left, as the bus had come all the way from Marseille in France. After everyone had got back on though there was some confusion and we think we had someone else's seat but we avoided eye contact and kept our seats. The short journey absolutely flew by and we pulled into Budapest half an hour early. We had hoped to step of the bus and bung our bags straight on to my Mum and Dad but they left us waiting for there arrival. Then all of a sudden there they were, exactly like we'd left them 2 months ago, nothing had changed. As they had arrived in Budapest a good few hours before we had, we left the directions to them and they'd even bought our metro tickets for us, bless them. After a quick rattle into town we emerged into the main square and started the hunt for our elusive hostel. Sweating it out in the blazing heat we eventually found it and were pleasantly surprised with the large private room in an apartment shared with only one other room. We dumped our things and headed out to meet the parents who had sat at a Chinese cafe while we checked in. Something we would have to get used to over the next 5 days was numerous cafe visits, but they are getting on a bit, they need their rest. First port of call was the Danube and a look at the Chain Bridge, which my parents had already been across. The view from the Pest side of the city (Budapest is 2 cities separated by the Danube, Buda on the West Bank and Pest on the east bank) towards Buda was very impressive. Buda is set on hillsides rolling down to the riverside, with castles churches and statues sitting on the hilltops. Inevitably it was time for a beer, so we chose a terrace right on the river with great views but probably high prices, and had a catch up from the past 2 months. Afterwards we split to get ready for dinner which was down a pedtrianised road near my parents hotel. It seemed like more of a bar but still we ordered our food and waited a long while before it turned up. It turned out to be really tasty and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm sure it looked good too but it was so dark with no outside lighting I couldn't see a thing. We went our separate ways for the evening as we had to be up early to go to the Chinese Consulate in the morning to try and sort out our Chinese visa.

We got our things together in the morning, confident we'd get our visa. It was a long straight walk down a leafy road into what seemed like the embassy district. A helpful police officer guided us to where we needed to be but failed to tell us that it's not open on a Friday. We left dejected but full of hope we'd get there first thing on Monday and get it sorted. We trudged back toward our hostel, dropped our things off and met up with mum and dad to get the day rolling and take our minds off the visa situation. We decided to walk along the banks of the Danube, past the sculpture "Shoes on the Danube Bank" which is in honour of Jews killed by facists during World War 2. They were told to take off their shoes, stand on the riverbank and shot so the river would carry their bodies away. We carried on to Margaret Island, enjoyed the fountain that dances to music and sat down to enjoy a drink in the shade. After the debate to rent a 4 person bike was quickly snuffed out we moved on down the island, sticking to the shaded areas. When we'd traversed the island and seen the spa and a few ruins we hopped on the bus to take us back into the city. It dropped us off at a train station which wasn't anywhere near we wanted to be but after twisting and turning through some backstreets we made it back to Basilica Square, which was right next to our hostel. It was time for another cafe break, so we sat facing the Basilica with a beer and played some cards. It was at this point I started to come over funny, so Charlotte and I went back to the room and had a nap infront of a fan to cool down. We woke up just in time to meet for dinner but I was still feeling terrible. It had been a scorching day and I'd obviously caught the sun. I stumbled out for dinner but, despite hunting down a Hungarian restaurant didn't fancy anything. Charlotte, who was also not 100% attempted a meal but could only manage a few bites. We had to call it a night and my dad had to finish of Charlottes meal. We left my parents to it and retired to recuperate.

We awoke the next morning feeling great and were keen to get out and about once more. It would have been an early start but for some slight miscommunication, it took us a good hour to find each other. We had said meet at their hotel but I found them sipping a coffee in Starbucks just around the corner from our hostel. Anyway, we made for the large central market and milled around looking at the fruit and veg stalls. We treated ourselves to some cured sausages as a snack then headed upstairs to the souvenirs stall. After picking up a few things it was time for a beer, our most expensive one of the trip to Budapest. Refreshed, we crossed the river and decided to walk up a hill to the Statue of Liberty. With Mum and Dad trailing behind, Charlotte and I reached the top with plenty of time to take a snap of them when they eventually crossed the finish line. The hill offered great views across the city. In contrast to Buda, Pest is as flat as a pancake and you could see for miles as it sprawled into the distance. With some snaps taken and our breaths caught we decided to walk down, down is always so much easier. Fortunately, there was a bar at the bottom where we could get a refreshing drink after all our exertion. While we were sat there, what seemed like a rally of Smart Cars drove past for about 20 minutes, sort of like the London to Brighton Mini run. We watched them pass and moved on just as they finished.  We headed towards the Chain Bridge which is probably Budapest's most famous site. And Charlotte's least favourite, as she's not overly keen on bridges! After walking across it, I decided I wasn't all that impressed with it, compared to the Golden Gate or the Oresund Bridge, it's just not that impressive. After somehow meeting all the Smart Cars on the other side of the river, we parted ways to rest up and scrub up for dinner. Fortunately we were fit and healthy today, so we went to the same restaurant as the night before and all managed to finish a full meal. We even managed to sneak in a couple of bowls of Goulash Soup which were delicious and a perfect starter. Afterwards we went down the riverside to take a look at the bridge and Buda side lit up. It did look very nice and was worth the walk through the dark streets. The chain bridge was slightly underwhelming again lit up with just plain white bulbs.

The next day we decided to all go for the hop on hop off bus, to see the sights further out of town. We stayed on the bus until we reached Buda castle, set high up on a hill overlooking Pest and the River Danube. We strolled around the grounds, tried some free tasters of some sausages and admired the views. As ever, it was time for a beer, so we found a cafe situated opposite the impressively roofed Matthias Church, baffled by a pair of shorts a man was wearing (Long Story). Suitably refreshed we wandered down the hill slightly to Fisherman's Bastion, which was used, in the old days, by the Fishermans guild to guard that stretch of the river. Now it's just used to offer great views across he city. We hopped back on our bus with the intention of taking one of our boat trips that came with the hop on hop off bus ticket. When we got to the next stop though, the bus stopped and we were informed it was their break time, so we all had to get off and wait for the next bus to come along. When one did, we all approached it hopefull but were informed that that one was also on its break, fantastic! We then tried catching one from an associated company but that filled up so fast we had no chance. We just had to wait for our original one to start up again. Fortunately, we made our planned boat trip by the skin of our teeth. Despite the heat we sat on the open top deck to get the best views. We went upstream focusing on the Pest side of the river, with the impressive Parliament building the centre of attention. Apparently, it was based on the British Parliament building, despite dad insisting it looked nothing like it. We moved up past Margaret Island and headed down the other side of the river to focus on the Buda side, which is certainly the more impressive side. We arrived back late afternoon, so not to break routine we parted ways to freshen up for dinner. We decided to stick with a winning formula and went to the same restaurant for the 3rd night in a row. We needed an early night though, as it was Visa day the next day. How hard could it be!

We were up early and found an Internet cafe to print off everything we needed in order to get one. Then straight up the road to the application centre. We entered the building, which was rather busy, with no idea what to do. We eventually figured out we had to obtain a ticket, then wait for our number to be called. Our number was 242, when we arrived they were on 202. We stood and sat patiently for 2 hours, watching people come and go with various expressions on there faces. Eventually, mercifully, our number was called and we walked confidently into the room. The woman we had was happy to speak English, so we were even more confident of a positive outcome. She sifted through our papers and then came the brick wall. "Do you have you're residence permit". Well no, we don't live in Hungary. "Then you can't get a visa here, I'm sorry". Great, we were sure of getting one in Hungary, surely our passport is proof enough that we can be in this country legally. This had put us in a foul mood and was threatening to muck up our plans, we might have to fly round China, rather than travel through it. We walked to to a place called Heroes Square to meet my parents, where they were waiting in, surprise, surprise, a cafe! We discussed the options and decided to head to the British Embassy in Budapest in order to get some advice, maybe they could even help get us the visa in Hungary. We hopped on our bus and managed to find a stop near the embassy. After hunting it down, it was cordoned off and their was a large security guard standing outside it. Charlotte hopped the fence to try and get in but got shouted at by the burly security guard, lucky nobody got tazered! We moved round the barrier and tried to ask the security guard why it was closed but he told us that he couldn't speak in English, despite the fact he was speaking English to us. Frustrated we headed back to our hostel to consider our options. We decided to have a change of scenery for dinner and picked up a kebab with some 'delicious' microwaved chips and went to claim our second boat trip along the Danube, this time, one at night. After what was quite a long and stressful stay in Budapest we were all slightly bored on this boat trip. It was pretty much the same as the one we had been on before but did offer great views of the parliament building, the chain bridge and Buda all lit up.

We disembarked and walked in the direction of our respective hotels, reluctant to welcome the departure day. I would say it was harder parting with my parents this time round, we know we won't see them again for a good 2 years. Whereas as when we left originally we knew we had the Budapest break coming up. But, it was also lovely to have some company on our trip, even if they did break up our routine!! (That's a joke mum and dad)

James and Charlotte

Ooohhhhhhhhh Vienna!!!

With Bratislava right on the border of Austria and only an hour and a half coach ride to Vienna, we thought we'd take the opportunity to head there for a day trip.

We stumbled off the coach, into drizzle and the coldest temperature we had experienced in months at the brand new Central Station with no clue in which direction to head in. Unfortunately the "central" station isn't particularly central to all the sights of Vienna. We started in a random direction, using Charlotte's very vague knowledge of Vienna, as she had been there before on a school trip. Halfway down a long straight road we heard a "clop, clop, clop" of horse hoofs and were then overtaken by two pony and traps, we were definitely heading in the right direction. After a couple of turns we had made it, and stumbled across Vienna opera house which seemed to be the centre of everything. To make the most of the short time we had in the city, we thought we'd sell out and buy some tickets for the sightseeing bus, which follows a set route and visits most of the sights. After shelling out our €50 we headed for the pick up point of just outside the Opera House. Bearing in mind the miserable weather it was probably a smart decision to take the bus and not walk everything, save freezing and getting soaked. We got on the main circular route and did one complete loop, in order to get our bearings. We toyed with the idea of changing routes and hopping on the one that went out of town and through the countryside but seeing as this took 2 hours to go full circle and if we got off we faced a long wait, we decided against it and stuck with the city centre. After completing our loop we got off at stop number 3, which is the huge Hofburg Palace, located in the centre of Vienna, not far from the opera house. We walked into the grounds, thankful that the rain had now abated. We strolled through the grounds and bumped into what seemed like a food festival out the back, but not fancying German sausage we carried on through and out the rear entrance. Something that caught our eye on the way round was a large building with columns and statues outside that looked decidedly Greek. We made the short walk along the Ringstraße, which is a ring road around the centre of Vienna, and found the building in question. Rather surprisingly it turned out to be the Parliament Building  and was completely different from all the other buildings around it. After a couple of snaps we headed to the local Spar to pick up some food for lunch and sat on a bench to eat it.

With full bellies we decided to walk down what was called "shopping street" on our "hop on, hop off" bus map with the hope we'd find a pin badge but there was a serious lack of souvenir shops so we were left disappointed. We were almost at a point where we were struggling for things to do but after a quick trip to a toilet at Hofburg Palace we found a new area to explore. Firstly there was a small square outside the palace which Charlotte recognised from her previous visit. It had some open excavations of Roman buildings right in the centre and a huge gate that led through to the palace gardens. After following a road down we hit what seemed like the real shopping area, wide pedestrianised boulevards flanked by designer shops, coffee houses and souvenir stalls. This seemed to be where everybody was, horde of people doing their Tuesday shopping. We managed to pick up a badge here, albeit the most expensive one we'd got so far and also went into a chocolate shop and treated ourselves to a bar of chocolate each. One with cocoa beans from Madagascar and one from Venezuela. After walking up and down the streets and taking some snaps of the buildings and churches around it was time to start heading back towards the station.

We just had enough time to head to get to Stadtpark, which is the city park of Vienna. In it are numerous monuments to different people. Most notably, a gilded bronze statue of composer Johann Strauss II and a statue of another composer, Franz Schubert.

Fortunately, our bus pass included a route that went via the central station. So we picked that line up at the opera house and followed it round. We had planned to get off at Schönbrunn Palace for half an hour but due to the rush hour traffic it took us a lot longer to get there than we thought. With our coach departing soon, we didn't fancy risking getting stuck in Vienna, so we just had a quick peek as we passed it on the bus. We got to the central station with just enough time to pick up some food for the journey and some Austrian beer to go with dinner before we headed back to Bratislava.

We really enjoyed our short time in Vienna and both agreed we could have done with a good few days there in order to see all of the city and not feel rushed. It was still a nice excursion from Bratislava, with the 2 cities being so close it didn't make for a really long day like our trip to Luxembourg was.

James and Charlotte