Europe 2009

For the most part we traveled by train and stayed in apartments. The aim was to book places that were near the city centre, but not too close, had an internet connection, and a washing machine!

For the most part that worked out ok . . . . . . .

Here is a map of the trip

View Europe in a larger map

London Hotel - Umi Hotel

The location was great - right near Kensington Gardens (94 & 148 buses). The hotel was a bit average for the price and the breakfast was SHOCKING! We had 4 breakfasts there - I had the fruit salad 3 times, I'm pretty sure all were from the same stock made at least 3 days earlier!

For some reason at the time of booking I didn't think internet or washing machines were important, so this place didn't have either included. I think you could use the internet in the foyer for about £3 for 15 minutes (or something equally extravagant!)

Wien Apartment - Belvedere

The location information on the website is for the office, not the actual apartments, although they are quite close to each other. The apartment we stayed in did not feature in any of the photos, but was quite similar and of good quality. We did request an apartment with a washing machine, however this did not work out. Also - there is no internet, but we knew that when we booked.

Praha Apartment - Marys

Great apartment, great location. Away from the main city, but surrounded by loads of good bars and restaurants - especially Pasticka - fabulous steak!
The internet stopped working for a couple of days, but once we reported the fault, they fixed it quite quickly. We went out for dinner on the first night with the washing machine loaded - when we got back 2 hours later the washing machine was STILL going - perhaps not that unusual for a front loader. Unfortunately, a sock had become jammed in the door and the temperature was up too high so everything was a darker shade of gray when the cycle finally finished!

Berlin Apartment

Again, this apartment was in a great location, just north of Berlin Mitte, and surrounded by loads of bars and restaurants. We went in search of traditional German fare and found AlpenStueck - the restaurant was great, the service fantastic, the traditional fare - ok, but overall brilliant! The menus were in German only, but the staff were happy to translate!

The apartment was run by a couple of dudes who had either an internet radio station or were music producers, and had an office on the floor above the apartment. The internet connection was great, but the advertised washing machine was no where to be seen. Apparently, the washing machine room was broken into, so if we wanted to bring our washing up to their office they would do it for us . . . . . needless to say, we didn't take a pile of our dirty undies up for them to wash!

Paris Apartment - Residences Paris

This was the first apartment we booked, so making sure we had the internet or a washing machine wasn't high on my list of priorities. The location was fantastic and it was definitely worth paying extra for the location. The internet connection was good, but only allowed one device connected at a time - so 2 iPhones and a netbook were never going to play well! There was a laundromat 2 doors down, which was perfect - popped the washing on and went in search of breakfast croissants and pain o chocolat.

Arles - Gite

I debated for ages about booking this place. On Google maps it looked pretty close to the train line but the reviews all said "very peaceful". Turns out it was VERY close to the train line - at times it was kinda like we were in a New York movie with the subway barreling past the apartment window! This is a bit of an exaggeration, but the trains were a bit annoying on occasion, and the bugs meant we couldn't have the door or windows open.

Oh yeah - and it was down a secluded dirt road just around the corner from a larger-ish looking penitentiary!

The website said laundry machine, there was laundry power and pegs in the cupboard, but no washing machine!!! The owners didn't speak English so we never got around to asking - just crossed our fingers and hoped there would be a washing machine in Barcelona (and Reid started recycling his undies!)

Barcelona - Friendly Rentals

This apartment was FANTASTIC! High speed internet, a washing machine, a full kitchen, air conditioning, and on Google street view was still under development - so BRAND NEW!

Plus the location was amazing - heaps of bars, restaurants, and great shops on our street, plus not too far from the city. We arrived on 23 June - the day before Sant Joan's day. All night there were celebrations and fireworks. 24 June (Sant Joan's day) was a public holiday - both days all the shops and restaurants were closed so we were pretty hard pressed to find much to eat!!