I started to plan a travel in June already some months ago, but I thought firstly that I would visit Norway because I really wanted to see the midnight sun. There were cheap flights to Lofoten which is an archipelago behind a polar circle, but I couldn't decide if I should go there and then it was too late. My plan changed when my friend Thomas from Paris proposed to visit Vienna and Bratislava and I agreed because I had never been there before. My trip started on 9th June in the morning when I took a bus to Vienna and I arrived there around noon. I walked to our hotel Mailberger Hof which is a 4* hotel. It took me around one hour to get there, I had a map and it was not difficult to find. Thomas came to Vienna by flight from Paris and he got there later than me, I had to wait for him in front of the hotel. When he came we checked in and we visited the city center. In the evening we went to a restaurant where Thomas ate Wiener schnitzel and I ate a Tartar beef steak.
On Friday morning we had a breakfast in the morning which was very tasty, I liked especially the salmon with dill but I ate also cheese and vegetables. The variety of food was very good. Then we walked along the river in the morning and then we took a tram to the Hundertwasserhaus. Thomas bought a colorful decorated lamp there. Then we went to Belvedere where we admired beautiful gardens. The weather was very sunny and quite warm. When we continued walking to the center we saw people who practiced pool surfing. Thomas wanted to buy Austrian traditional clothing so we went to shops and he bought two jackets, each of them costed around 250 Euro. In the evening we took a ferry from Vienna to Bratislava, it was around one hour ride and it was a breathtaking experience. We saw many fisherman's huts during our journey.

Our hotel in Bratislava was very close to the port. We stayed in the hotel Radisson Blu Carlton which was also a 4* hotel. We stayed there two nights but it was too hot there despite the air conditioning was on so I didn't sleep well. In the evening we crossed a bridge firstly and we found a restaurant next to it, I ate chicken and potatoes there. After the dinner we returned to the city center and we went to visit the Old Town. We ate some cake there. It was rainy on Saturday morning but then it was sunny and we went to explore the Bratislava castle and the Old Town. The Old Town was small but worth visiting.

When we walked in the center we saw that a big storm was coming, the sky suddenly turned dark. We went to the Bistro St. Germain for lunch. Thomas wasn't happy that he had to eat French food while travelling abroad but then he agreed. I ordered 'coq au vin' (chicken on wine) and we also ate baked potatoes. The food was delicious but then we ordered dessert. Thomas had a raspberry cake but I had creme brulee which had some very unpleasant burnt flavour. In the evening we walked in the city and we crossed a good part of it.
Our last day in Bratislava was sunny and warm. We went to eat the Slovak national food 'brydzové halušky' (small dumplings with sheep cheese and bacon). I usually like it very much but it wasn't very good in the restaurant, I would say it was almost mediocre.
In the afternoon I had to return to Prague and the following day I joined teambuilding organized by my company. It was next to a dam Seč and the topic was co-operative farm (the most common form of collectivization during the socialism era). We stayed in a hotel Jezerka with a wellness center. There was a swimming pool with salt water, jacuzzi and also traditional and infrared sauna. I enjoyed it a lot and also the buffet and a disco later.
I have to brieftly mention also my travel to Walldorf but it was a business trip so I won't describe it in detail. We travelled there by car with my colleague to meet our boss there who is based in Barcelona and also our German team. Walldorf is a very small city but we visited also Heidelberg and then also Nuremberg on the way back to Prague. Then I went to Slovakia for one week to visit my grandmother and I visited the Spiš Castle there in the eastern Slovakia. It is a ruin but there is a museum inside and we also saw the show called Castle run. Then we went to sulphur springs.
This year I haven't been travelling much yet but I am going to New Zealand in October for 2 weeks.

After my attempt to settle down in Senegal last year when I had to return to Prague due to my leg injury I  looked for a job from October till December. I went to 30 job interviews and I had no luck with finding a job, but when I was just about to give up my effort and take a chance in another country I was offered a job by a personnal agency in a big German IT company. I accepted the job and I started working at the beginning of January.
Due to my new job I was too busy to travel this year, I went only to Italy for one week and then I was in Bratislava and Vienna. I also travelled to Walldorf on a business trip for 3 days. In this article I am going to describe my trip in Italy. It all started when my friend Kynsley who lives in New Zealand came to Europe in March. Firstly he was in Prague during Easter and then he travelled to other countries in Europe. We planned to meet in Italy in April. I bought a flight ticket for 16th April to Milan where I stayed with Michele from couchsurfing who I had met once in Prague 5 years ago. It took 2 hours to get to his place from the airport. I spent one night at his place, he and his wife cooked dinner for me and we talked about our travels. On Sunday I went to the city with Michele and his friend Maurizio, they showed me around but we didn't have much time because my train to Genoa was leaving at 2pm. It was cold and rainy and we went to eat in McDonald's. My impression was that Milan didn't have many tourist places to visit.
In Genoa I walked to the hotel, it took me around 20 minutes from the train station. We stayed at the Albergo Fiera Mare. We had a private room and the hotel was empty, there were no other guests. The woman who worked there was Polish and she spoke only Italian. I understood her but Kynsley didn't speak Italian. The hotel was shabby and the furniture was old, but it was adequate for the price. Breakfast was also included but it was really poor, we got only one chocolate croissant and espresso. I don't drink coffee so I asked for black tea the other day.
We walked on the beach in the evening and then we went to a Chinese restaurant where we had rice and grilled seafood. On Monday we went to visit the city and we walked to the port. It was a sunny day, the temperature was about 20°C. We ate in the Chinese restaurant again and in the evening we went to an Indian restaurant where I ordered chicken with curry. On Tuesday we took a train to Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre. We were supposed to stay in a hotel Luciano but the guy at the reception desk told us that he had another room for us somewhere else with a private bathroom close to the sea so we took it. The room was well equipped and clean. We went to the sea but we didn't swim there because the water had only around  16°C. I saw people swimming but I didn't feel like it because it was too windy and the air temperature was only slightly above 20°C. We went hiking from Riomaggiore to Manarola. We had wonderful view on the hills and the sea and it was much warmer than below because there was no wind.

 



When we got to Manarola I bought a pancake for dinner. Then we returned to Riomaggiore by train. On Wednesday morning we went to Monterosso by train but there we separated because Kynsley wanted to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza and then to Corniglia. I took a train from Monterosso to Vernazza but I didn't have a valid ticket. I got caught but I escaped. It was like slapstick when I was running like a ferret around the train station and people were laughing and pointing at me. It was quite a shame.
I waited for Kynsley in Vernazza and then we hiked together to Corniglia because I didn't want to take a train again. We met at the port and we took photos there. It was very hot up the mountain. When we got to Riomaggiore we bought fried seafood there.
On Thursday we travelled to Pisa. We stayed in the Academy House Pisa Centrale. It was an appartement with more rooms and the staff wasn't there so we had to wait around half an hour until the girl arrived. She was from Albania and she was very sympathatic. She gave us tips what to visit there and we went to explore the city. Pisa is quite small and we crossed the city center quickly. We went to the Leaning tower and we saw lots of people there taking photos while they 'supported' the tower. We walked to the top, but it was uncomfortable to walk there because the stairs were steep and uneven. The ticket costed 18 Eur per person which was quite a lot but I think it was worth it. There was a stunning view from the top.

After visiting the tower we had dinner in a restaurant in the city center. I ordered spaghetti bolognese. On Friday morning we travelled to Florence by train. We stayed one night in the Bed & Bed Cassia. The room was clean and the staff was friendly. We could also take some food and make tea or coffee whenever we wanted. We had one afternoon to visit the city but it was sufficient, we saw most of the historical places. Florence has wonderful architecture. I had to leave very early on Saturday morning because I had to take a bus to Milan. I ate in a fastfood there at the train station and then I took a bus to the airport. I had a beautiful view on Austrian Alpes with snow. I arrived in Prague in the evening but it was rainy and 8°C here. My trip to Tuscany left good impression and remarkable memories.