Is it available in black?

Sunday 9th and Monday 10th October

These days were all about travelling. Sunday morning, grabbed some snacks at Berlin Ostbahnhof, and then got on the train at about 7.20am. Proceeded to sleep most of the way to Wien Westbahnhof, only waking to change trains at Fulda, and have some lunch (Chicken + rice, followed by Chocolate Cake) arriving at 5.34pm.

Was my last trip on my Eurail pass today, so no more first class. I like sleeping in first class trains in Germany and Austria - very comfortable!

Got the U back to Lou and Ingo’s. The second I was in the door, Lou made me dinner! Chicken Schnitzel and cranberry sauce We chatted for a little while, but I had to get my packing done, and I was really tired. Because I was so tired it took me AGES to pack. Wasn’t really co-ordinated. Had to get some sleep before I passed out. 3 nights clubbing in a row will do that to you! Poor Lou, he get’s tired and grumpy Joanne to say goodbye to. But it was great spending more time with him and Ingo and Sammy this trip. I really enjoyed it. Thanks guys, and I hope you make it to Australia next year (hint hint!).

Had to wake up at 4.30am on Monday morning. ERGH! Got to say a quick goodbye to Lou and Sammy - sorry for waking you up Lou - and then got a taxi to Westbahnhof. Had to get the 6.22am train to Budapest. Second class this time! Ergh, which reminds me, there was a HORRID man in my carriage for the first 10 minutes who decided that changing his socks and shoes was appropriate train behaviour. BLEURGH!

Arrived at Budapest at 9.08am, and just went on the internet until the Airport bus left. I wanted to make sure I got to the airport really early so that I could post some of my souveniers home, and hopefully be first in line in the check-in queue, so that I could get away with my bag being a little overweight.

So I was at the airport at 10.30am, and my plane for Malta was leaving at 1.30pm. Found the Post Office, but they had no boxes to purchase, so I could only send 3 t-shirts home in a small package. Scary thing is, they didn’t want me to fill in a Customs form. Will the t-shirts make it?

Check in started at 11.30am, and I dashed straight to the counter, but people were already there! Think they might be frequent flyers and know where to line-up. They didn’t like my bag being 28kg. Had to get it down to 25kg. Ended up carrying a few more things on the plane, but they didn’t care.

Thought I’d do some duty free shopping - found some Bacci for my relatives in Malta - and grab some airport food (why is it ALWAYS so crap?) before getting on the plane. Unfortunately, my plane was nearly an hour late out of the airport. Wish they had kept us informed of what was going on! Got to read a bit more of my book though, so no big deal.

The plane wasn’t even half full. Considering the cost of Air Malta flights, I’m not surprised! The food was the worst I’ve had on planes for a very long time, and I had the joy of blocked ears until I woke the next day.

Malta airport is a tiny place. They make you get on a bus to go about 10 metres to the airport terminal But for such a small country, it is REALLY hard to get around otherwise. Bad roads and bad drivers. Now I know why my Dad drives the way he does (just jokes Dad!!!). I saw the results of a car accident not even 2 minutes after leaving the airport!

Arrived at the hostel about an hour later - so it was about 5.30 by this time. Got myself organised in my room. It was a room for 6 girls, but thankfully, there were only 3 in total (Marianna from Italy, Leticia from France, and me). Disaster struck not long after, when my glasses fell apart. Very thankful to Leticia for helping me, and Juliet for the Swiss Army Knife! Also there seemed to be an issue getting to the washing machines, which was a concern, as I was pretty much in need of getting some washing done. Chatted in the kitchen for a while with Sally from Coogee who is going to be teaching English here, and then decided to get some food.

I’m staying in Sliema, which is quite touristy, but thankfully not too crowded at the moment, as it is getting into the off-season time. There isn’t a great range of food in my part of Sliema, so I ventured into Snoopy’s pub, and had some pasta with prawns for dinner - very good, but I want some traditional Maltese food! There was a nice older couple from Birmingham in there, who gave me some great ideas about Malta.

Ventured back to the hostel and read for a little while (that “Lunar Park” is addictive!) before falling asleep. I needed it!