This is paradise, I don't want to leave

What an amazing week we have had here. It's Saturday night now, just gone 9 and Eurovision is on - in German but still... This is the second year we have watched it, must break the habit next year! As you have probably gathered, lots of these ramblings are written after consumption of alcohol and tonight's is no exception!

This place is absolutely heaven, the walks are amazing, the people are so friendly, we feel like we've been here for ages and Agnes and Claudia have taken us under their wings and have really looked after us.

We visited Innsbruck on Wednesday, a compact little town set in the valley with impressive peaks towering above it and pretty impressive architect designed funicular stations. It was damn hot, the type of heat which drains your energy and signals a storm.





Austrians adorn their houses with lovely pictures or tromp l'oeil. Shop signs are both quirky and gorgeous, designed in cast iron.





After a long day exploring we got back to the apartment to be met by Agnes carrying two plates of delectable chocolate cake. Now it would be rude not to indulge wouldn't it.




Thursday dawned bright and very hot. We set off on our highest, and longest, walk yet. Backpack sorted with: sandwiches, cereal bars, drinks, jumpers and waterproofs. Off we went, up, up, up and up, past the girl with a broken nose who had fallen off her mountain bike and had to be airlifted to hospital.


Past the capercaillie, a very elusive bird which previous guests, ornithologists, came to find but couldn't, a bird which Claudia has never seen, but which we strolled nonchalantly past.


Past the quirky wood carvings along the ski run, complete with recordings of children's voices.


Past the tree houses where bears hide from the wolves, cos everyone knows wolves can't climb ladders.




Past the grass hung on wooden poles to dry.


Higher and higher, past the lake.


Higher and past the tree line.



Up to the Rosskogelhutte where we stopped for a beer, sitting outside admiring the spectacular view. Suddenly black clouds appeared obscuring the mountain tops, then the ski run, then us.... Thunder and lightning quickly followed. There were four cyclists up there and two nordic walkers.


We all quickly made our way inside. A quick conflab, then the picnic was forgotten and we feasted on Kasspatzin mit rostwiebel und salat which is basically macaroni cheese with onions, covered in dried onions and garnished with spring onions. With salad. Very nice it was too! The restaurant owner closed the door, served the beers then followed them up with a free schnapps!





Some time later .....

The sun emerged again, so did we, and we set off, a little further up the mountain.

Eventually we reached the top and were rewarded for our efforts with some beautiful gentians.





Yesterday was THE PERFECT DAY and, for those of you who have been asking, we had our Heidi moment! I forgot to pack my costume and Jim's leiderhosen was a bit reminiscent of Borat so we stuck to shorts and T-shirts! It was a beautiful hot day and we set off to walk around a mountain, rather than up one, through pine woods, glades and meadows full to bursting with flowers.





Insects were chattering, the cuckoo was calling, bees were buzzing and there were clouds of butterflies.


The views were stunning, great big birds of prey hovered overhead.


Water was gurgling, the pine smelt sublime.


All the uphill bits didn't seem so bad!


Our sandwiches hit the spot.


Perfect.


In all honesty I could stay here.

Today we went to a wedding - well we didn't actually go to the wedding but Claudia is in a marching band and they were playing at one of their members wedding, so we went to watch. The church was set on a hill just outside the village, what an idyllic spot.



All good things must come to an end and once again, we've packed. We're heading for Salzburg tomorrow, somewhat reluctantly. Anyway it's 10.30 now and Eurovision is halfway through, can't think anyone will beat Englebert!!

Thanks for continuing to read, see you in Salzburg.

- Posted using BlogPress from Annie & Jim's I-pad

Location:Blasius-Hueber-Weg, Oberperfuss, Austria

Zurich and beyond

I took over the driving as we left the Chateau de Chillon but it got a bit scary heading into Zurich. Looking for the hotel meant driving along streets with trams coming from every direction. I kept my nerve until I turned onto a street where there were no other cars, just trams. It just didn't seem right! Anyway Jim took over, he couldn't wait, sat there biting his nails and making comments which weren't really helpful.

We finally found the hotel in Oerlikon, a quarter of Zurich which was lovely, really busy with lots of restaurants, shops and bars. We spent the evening in an Italian restaurant eating more pizza - beats sausages any day!

On Saturday morning we jumped on a tram and hit Zurich, along with the whole population of the town, or so it seemed.








It's got really swanky shops, a gorgeous old town and the obligatory promenade next to the river. We took a picnic and watched the world stroll by. As the afternoon wound on the city became louder and the stag and hen parties came out to play, funny individually but hilarious when they came together! We left the city before it got too messy and headed back to the hotel. That night an Indian restaurant beckoned, our waitress had an impeccable English accent which we learned came from Surrey! Her family came from Sri Lanka and she spoke Tamil, German (cos she was born in Switzerland) and English. Mum did all the cooking in the restaurant and it was scrummy.

After a boiled egg Sunday breakfast we were on the road again, our next destination - Innsbruck. Actually we stayed in a village called Oberferpuss, as opposed to Unterferpuss, which is a little further down the hillside! Oh man, did we strike lucky again. We were met by a girl called Claudia, the daughter of the household, who showed us our apartment, chatted about the area, gave us a brilliant map with all the walks marked on it and offered us some advice re our stay.

We are right in the middle of the village in the most glorious countryside with beautiful scenery.


Thats us on the top floor with the brolly up.




This is the view from our balcony. The next day we met Claudia's mum, Agnes, and what a fab lady she is! Her English is not great, my German is less than that, but we got on immediately. She is so easy going, very amenable and made us feel like part of the family.

Monday saw us food shopping, finding our climbing legs on a fairly easy walk and meeting the local innkeeper! Very nice he was too - and so was his beer. I thought I'd share with you photos of some of the gorgeous meadow flowers which are everywhere.











We had one of those plotting and planning days on Tuesday, there was a lot of low cloud so it seemed the ideal opportunity to think about the last stage of our trip!! It also became a washing day, it becomes urgent when you're down to your last pair!


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Location:Blasius-Hueber-Weg,Oberperfuss,Austria

So many cities - where are we?

Since leaving Grindelwald we seem to have been on a whistle stop tour of cities, which has been grand but they can merge a bit. Our first stop was Lausanne, back in French-speaking Switzerland, on Lake Geneva. It's jaw droppingly beautiful, particularly near the lake.




We did a bit of exploring round the old city first then had lunch in Le Vaudois in the city centre, a typically Swiss restaurant serving local delicacies. I ordered crispy rosti with bacon and Jim chose a pork and cabbage sausage served with a potato and leek mix. My rosti was served in a black pan and was crispy and tasty with smoked bacon and egg on top. Jim's sausage was, 'Rose pink, about 7 inches long and 3 inches thick and looked like a bulls .....' His words, not mine. If you could have seen his face..... When he cut into it a pale liquid emerged, it was soft and soggy inside and had obviously been boiled. His potato and leek were also quite soggy. Now, I thought his meal was quite nice, but he sulked like a five year old and kept comparing it unfavourably to school dinners! After, grudgingly paying 64 Swiss francs, about £43, for said lunch we took a stroll along the waterfront.


We paid a visit to the International Olympics Committee in a glorious setting overlooking the lake. The sculptures and gardens are really lovely and everywhere is so neat and litter free.





Not quite sure what James is trying to prove.....


From Lausanne we headed to Geneva, or should I say we by-passed it, and made our way to Gaillard in France, a pretty little town, a suburb of Geneva, where the hotels are all much cheaper! The receptionist told us that many French work in Geneva because the wages are so much higher but that then pushes up house prices in the towns around the border. Switzerland is very expensive, but then the average salaries are up to three times those earned in France.

The next day we explored Gneva old town and it's glitzy shopping centres. I know it was freezing, and that colours your judgement, but it didn't seem to have any particular redeeming features, just another city.


Jim went and sat on the, 'longest bench in the world.' Hmmm, well if that's your claim to fame....


The lake is very beautiful and the jet d'eau impressive.

Following our sense of disappointment we thought about moving on the next day but agreed to give Geneva another try, admittedly it was a bank holiday- Ascension Day, and it was very quiet. Oh, and the sun was shining. It was like a different place. We took a tour round the Palace des Nations, the United Nations are located in a beautiful old art deco building and it was fascinating and so interesting. The corridors, and various committee rooms display art works donated by member countries of the UN.











We spent the afternoon people watching and eating sublime ice-cream in Carouge, built by the King of Sardinia for Catholics and Jews. It's got low Italianate houses and quirky shops which house independent fashion designers, jewellery designers and artists. A pleasant way to fill an afternoon.







Friday, 18th May - a brilliant diversion on the way to Zurich, we looked round the Chateau de Chillon, a mediaeval castle. We were like kids running up and down stairs, along corridors, hiding behind great big chests! It is a great place with stunning views across Lake Geneva to the Alps.

Next stop - Zurich.




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Location:Blasius-Hueber-Weg, Oberperfuss, Austria

Reminiscences - resulting in statistics!

We've started reminiscing already, and we're not even home yet! The more stuff you remember, the more homesick you get - for that particular country! We've already agreed our next holiday will be back to Thailand, onto Laos and finally Vietnam, the feeling that we have unfinished business there won't go away. If you remember, those of you who were concentrating, and could give a damm, we didn't get to central Thailand or Vietnam because of flooding. I feel we are going to have to work hard and save our pennies again, trips like these can't be done in two weeks!!

Anyway bring on the statistics:

1. Number of flights taken - 9

Quantas - 4
BA - 1
Air Asia - 1
Bangkok Airways - 3

Best flight award goes to:
Bangkok Airways
Flying from Bangkok to Chaing Mai, Chaing Mai to Bangkok, Bangkok to Cambodia - the food was pre-booked and very tasty, there was loads of room and the flight attendants were calm and gracious. Lovely!

Worst flight award goes to:
BA
Flying from LA to Heathrow - it was cramped, the food was inedible and the trolley dollies were surly and unhelpful.

2. Number of ferries - 10

This is my worst nightmare, but the number of times I vomited - 0 and that statistic numbers some of my proudest moments!

3. Number of sightseeing/transport boat trips (excluding Sydney harbour) - 18

Best trip - whale watching in New Zealand or getting soaked on Milford Sound in New Zealand or rafting on the Colorado river in Nevada, too hard to choose, loved them all.

4. Number of border crossings (not counting flying into different countries) - 9

Obviously the borders between European countries are open and free flowing, this does not stop us averting our eyes from the border patrols who are stopping cars to search them. (If you could see our car you would know why we don't want to unpack it, a place for everything and everything in it's place!)

5. Number of beds slept in - 102 (approximately!)

Most have been surprisingly comfortable, the bed in Trump Towers in Las Vegas takes first prize for size and comfort. The hard, single beds in the hostel in the Taman Negara in Malaysia were the worst, mind you we still slept, but recognised we could never make true backpackers!!

6. Funniest moments

- Being stranded on the monorail in Malaka in Malaysia and being rescued by La Bomba - and making the next days papers!
- Jim being stopped for speeding in Australia and being shouted at by the 'nice' policeman
- Forcing Italian drivers to give way to us coming off the ferry
- Jim being called 'Sir James' in Malaysia
- Jim's 'butch' haircut in German speaking Switzerland...... (I'm walking several paces behind him now, I don't want to cramp his style!)
- Me being accosted by ping pong show touts in Bangkok to the horror of the gay Irish couple walking behind us who were horrified, put their arms round me and kept saying, 'that's so wrong!'
- Arriving at the hotel in Singapore and staring in disbelief at the grown men marching up and down the swimming pool. I thought there was some weird ritual going on until one of them told me they were the New Zealand veterans hockey team 'cooling down' after their defeat to England! Hmmmm!
- Facing up to a 7 foot emu in Australia, luckily it backed down first!
- The girl on the tram in Melbourne who kept talking about the 'chicken disc' to the bemusement of her mates. We finally worked out she meant check in desk. Thank God for pelvic floor exercises!!
- Listening, disbelievingly, to the American guy who didn't know if you needed a passport to travel from Australia to the US!

7. Most poignant or moving moments

- Visiting the Killing Fields, Cambodia
- Watching the toddlers playing, and living, on the rubbish heaps in Cambodia
- Saying good-bye to Liam and Alex after Christmas
- Floating on an underground river, looking at the twinkling glow worms listening to Jenna singing
- Realising how many people are reading these inane offerings - I thank you all.

Sorry there are no photos to go with this blog, but they are now uploaded onto a 'cloud.' Let's hope I can retrieve them when I need to give that talk to the Great Ouseburn W.I.













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Location:Rue René Cassin, Gaillard, France

Can I be in love yet again?

Now if these countries were men.... some are a bit smooth, not really my taste. Some are a bit rough round the edges - getting better. Some are rugged, smooth where necessary but with unexpected depths, now that's more like it! Fantasies I know.


There are jaw dropping waterfalls everywhere, in fact the scenery in the Swiss Alps is very like the Southern Alps in New Zealand, stunning and brooding.
We drove to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and walked alongside the river passing fields of bell-ringing cows. It was another very hot day, 28 degrees and we had a little paddle in the icy river.


We were heading for the Trummelbach Falls, ten glacier waterfalls which corkscrew down the inside of the mountain. You go up the inside of the mountain in a lift and emerge at the top, walking down hundreds of steps, admiring the waterfalls as you go, until you reach the bottom. It was freezing inside and we got very wet but it was pretty spectacular and incredibly loud!






Anyway we dried off quickly and carried on to Stechelberg to the cable car station. We got on the first of four cable cars which took us on a very steep route over the valley's west wall to a tiny hamlet called Gimmelwald. We transferred to the next cable car which took us to the car-free (obviously) village of Murren from where the valley floor is 800m - straight down. The next cable car took us right into the snowy peaks to Birg at 2677m. Our last transfer was incredible, an almost vertical ride up to Schilthorn, at 2970m high it overlooks the much higher peaks of the Eiger, Jungfrau, etc. There is a viewing platform, from where you can see as far as the black forest in Germany, and a revolving restaurant, the whole thing appears in the Bond movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service which we will obviously have to watch when we get home!


The temperature went from 28 degrees to 8!













On the return journey we left the cable car at Murren, walked through the village and got a cliff top train to Grutschalp. As you get off the train the cable car is just ready to leave which took us back down to Lauterbrunnen. The Swiss efficiency and punctuality is pretty amazing, there's none of the disorganisation and chaos that we experienced in Italy. It's all so calm and ordered and amazingly friendly.


The weather turned on Saturday and the day was cold and rainy. We decided to have a look at Lucerne which is so pretty but the weather didn't do it justice. Or should I say we got so wet and uncomfortable that we didn't do it justice.








Sunday was still cold but dry and we explored Interlaken which again, is very lovely but very touristy, coaches full of Japanese and American tourists. We spent a pleasant hour watching the paragliders. Jim had his hair cut, or shaved.....





It was Mothers Day so I was given a beautiful pink rose in a shop. Nice touch!


Monday, 14th May. Day 249 of our trip.

Bratwurst for tea - yumm! The lovely lady who owns the apartment building, and speaks German, but very little English, has just been to collect her local taxes - 3.60 Swiss Francs per person per night.

Whilst we were out walking, in bright sunlight and thick snow, I remembered that SATs started today, how lucky am I that I'm here and not at work!! I know that Angela and Lynsey will have done an amazing job preparing the kids. Good luck Year 6 at Mill Hill CP School - you'll be brilliant!

Good luck to Alex too, his first exam was today. We thought about him, can't believe he can concentrate for 3 and a quarter hours! We're just on our way out, to a bar where there is wi-fi, so we can plot the next few days, and have a little drink of course.

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Location:Grindelwald, Jungfrau Region, Switzerland