Being haunted by hostels!

Hi!

Yes the lonely ghost of Vienna... To me his accent sounded rather British, almost like a Yorkshireman...

After staying in the third hostel in a row I decided to post a few words about our hostel experiences.

Our little hearts are still longing to return to the amazingly funky Travellers' Hostel in Prague. Imagine a place where all the wonderfully weird, arty kids hang out and you get the picture...
Where else can you find lockers which are painted in screaming reds, greens and yellows; where else do you wake up at 5.30am because somebody in the bar area is playing the "Greatest Hits of the Early 90ies" (think Ace of Base...) on full volume and where else could you smuggle all your homeless friends in and offer them one of the empty beds, without anyone really noticing.

Oh beloved Travellers' Hostel! It might have seemed weird to people that we travel around Europe praying for its cities but in this place we were certainly not the only ones with an interesting story.

We talked to many, many people, trying to prove that Christians can be fun, certainly making our point by drinking beer with them and playing endless hours of chess..

And Chris (the fat one) singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the breakfast table made certainly not just me almost cry into my cornflakes. Our guys' amazing voices surely moved a few hearts.

The hostel in Vienna was as different from our first hostel experience as you can get. While the hostel in Prague was beautifully creative and vibrant this place gave you the impression that you had to leave your soul and creativity at the reception desk. Colourless, organised, family-friendly...

But I also have to mention that my German soul loved the cleanliness and efficiency, with which this place was run. People had to be at the breakfast table on time (That will teach them German/Austrian punctuality! Ha!) and the showers finally had dividers.

Now we are in Budapest in our third (and last) hostel, which reminds me a bit of a doll house. It's almost as if we stepped into a scene of "Alice in Wonderland". Those cute lockers and apple green coloured beds... We have to see what the evening will bring. Hopefully we can connect here better with the backpacking community than in Vienna.

So I hope the lonely ghost of Vienna will sleep well although I have the strange feeling that he may have taken a train and moved south to haunt another hostel... (especially after coming face to face with a very uncooperative door).

Sleep well everyone!