Hotel lobby, Bergen, Norway, 3.20pm
Up here in good old Scando, it's like going back in time three weeks. The weather is back to being (at an absolute stretch) 17 degrees, the first wave of tulips and daffodils are just happening and I've had to put my new purple Budapest Tshirt back in the bottom of my suitcase. Was beginning to regret (again) bringing my ski jacket when I got a little bit sunburnt in Prague, then I was out at 6.45am in Bør in -1 degree yesterday morning, praising the wise and intelligent people in my life (ie Mum) for making me bring it. More thanks to Nicola as well, had the beanie on all day yesterday. Although to be honest, once it goes on it doesn't come off - I give new meaning to the term hat hair.
So where am I and what have I been doing? Well you'll be pleased to know that I'm younger looking and more intelligent due to all the salmon I've been throwing down! Started the Salmon Fest of '09 on Tuesday night in Oslo with a salmon and cucumber sandwich from 7-11 - and before any of you freak out, no I didn't get food poisoning. 7-11 is a godsend to travellers, they are always open and always have food and it's cheaper (generally) than going to a restaurant or cafe and sitting down for a meal.
Oslo was pretty, I didn't realize that it, and Norway, had such a small population. Or that they were completely povo till they discovered oil in the North Sea in 1969.
There are only about 550 000 people in Oslo, 250 000 in Bergen where I am now and it's the second largest city in Norway. At least it makes it easy to get around the cities and our hotels have always been in great locations. Oslo is quite pretty, wrapped around the Oslofjord, pretty little boats and wharf area. Their city hall, I'm afraid to say, is the ugliest building I've ever had the misfortune of being forced to go into and spend eons listening to descriptions of the whole place. We had an included city tour with a local guide and she was great, we saw some nice bits and pieces and then I guess they consider the city hall to be a bit spesh, but someone really should've let Edvard Munch loose in there and done more gloomy, crazy looking works (like 'The Scream', which I saw).
The best part of the city tour though, was going through the Vigeland Statue Park. It was a lovely big space and directly through the centre was a bridge, fountain and monolith, all designed by Mr Vigeland. He had a lovely simple style, we're not talking Michaelangelo type stuff, and all the works in the gardens were on the theme of the circle of life. I just missed my Contiki friends who would've happily posed AS the statues in lots of photos with me!
After the city tour, a few of us hopped on a ferry across the harbour to visit the Vikingskipshuset. Oh yeah, Viking ships! They found three in burial mounds in about 1905, completely covered in mud which meant they were incredibly well-preserved, especially one which had been used to bury a queen. They were so cool, exactly what I wanted to see!
We left Oslo that afternoon and drove to Bø (pronounced BURR, I am never learning Norwegian, too hard). After a very short night there (wake up call at 5.30am - ow, that hurt), we headed for Bergen. First stop was a quick photo stop at Heddal Stayvkirke, a stave church. Most of them (all over Norway) were built about 700 years ago, without nails. The Heddal one was amazing, very creepy looking, like I can imagine the Salem witch trials happening in.
After that we had the most incredible drive across Norway, past rivers, lakes, FROZEN lakes, until we ended up deep in the snow and above the tree line. It was so beautiful and exactly how you think Norway will look. Meanwhile the weather was perfect, COLD, but clear blue skies. Saw a few people heading out for a spot of cross country skiing. Stopped by a frozen lake for lunch and by frozen I mean you couldn't actually see the lake because it was frozen then covered in snow. It's the end of April and I'm guessing if they're lucky, that lake will unfreeze for maybe two months of the year. Crazy.
Stopped to take photos at a couple of waterfalls in the afternoon, took a quick ferry ride across a fjord, arrived in Bergen in the evening. Really long day, but incredible scenery. Took a gazillion photos out the bus windows all day, have been going through them today and deleting all the blurry ones, ones with trees in the way, ones with reflections off the glass in them. I did get a couple of good ones though!
Today we had a city tour of Bergen, bit of a waste, honestly. The city isn't that big and we could quite easily have taken ourselves to see the best bits. Never mind! Afterwards I STUPIDLY went into a shop called Ting. After about 5 minutes, the two girls with me suddenly realized what was going on and were like 'Nicola! What are you buying? How MUCH have you got there?!' Yeah, it was verging on ugly. I had stupidly realized this morning that I had way too much Norwegian cash on me for the short amount of time we have left in Norway, so was thinking I'd either spend it or I'd have to change it to Swedish dosh next week. Instead, I found the Best Shop In The World and decided to spend a lot there! To the point where I now have to go to the supermarket to do budget dinner and lunch for tomorrow! And I now have about 80 kroner left, for emergencies. 80 kroner is enough for a 7-11 sandwich, ie not much. But the stuff in Ting was FANTASTIC. Loved it loved it loved it. Oh and on the plus side, I can get some of the money back when I leave Norway, tax money, squee!
Tomorrow we're off to do our ferry ride on the Sognefjord, it's the longest, deepest and narrowest fjord in the world. Oh and I almost forgot! The position of the sun in the sky here is totally noticeable. It's up seriously early in the morning and doesn't set till after 9pm, wish I was here in July for some midnight sun action!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I Am Lilac
Hotel in Frederikshavn, 9.18 am
Time whips by too quickly and suddenly you haven't heard about Prague or Copenhagen or how old everyone on my Scandinavian tour is! Fun times! Keep reading!
Back in the day, I was in Prague. Actually it's a week ago now, but of course it feels like a month. The afternoon I arrived I went to the main post office to offload another 3kgs back to the parentals. That was fun. First I needed a box, then I had to tie it up with string (apparently the Czech Rep. aren't quite into the 21st century and our love of sticky tape), then I had to fill in a declaration form that was in Czech and French. So with my three words of French I filled in as much as I could, followed by the post dude asking me things in Czech and me just replying yes. I may well have told him it contained a homemade bomb and some child porn, but he seemed okay about that anyway and took my money. I guess now I just have to wait and see if and when it turns up! The excitement! Mystery! Suspense!
Prague is beautiful, as beautiful as you think it will be. What I wasn't prepared for, was sharing such a beautiful city with everyone from Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Easter holidays had brought all the Europeans out and they were soaking up the sun all over Prague. I had to queue for half an hour to get into St Vitus' Cathedral in the middle of a pack of 15 year old Italian students. Fun times. 15 year olds are appalling in every language.
Prague Castle was great and the area down the hill around St Miklaus' was also pretty cool. The Charles Bridge is very pretty, but it was lined with art/jewellery stalls and jammed with tourists. The Old Town Square was incredibly pretty too, but the middle part was full of ye olden Prague market stalls selling Stuff and food and beer. On the plus side - yay beer and sausages! And trdlo! Which is the dough cooked on a stick and dipped in cinnamon and sugar that I missed out on trying in Budapest. Not bad at all! Sadly on the two days I was there the Jewish Museum and main synagogue were closed for Jewish holidays, which was a shame because I'd heard such great things about the museum and how moving it was. Instead I went to the Mucha Museum - wonderful! Such beautiful and illustrative work. Went a bit crazy in the gift shop. Stupid notepads!
I had been hoping to see, somewhere anywhere, some lilacs on this trip too. They're my favourite flower and I can only buy them (expensively) for one month a year in Australia. Seeing that I'm on The Continent in spring, I thought I should get a chance to see them for an extra month this year. Sadly, nowhere. Until I was waiting to take the tram to the train station to leave Prague, the tram stop that I'd been at twice a day for three days in a row, when I focussed on what was across the road. Lilacs! Bushes and bushes of them! In flower! Right there! On the side of the road like a weed! And from there until half way out to the airport I saw them EVERYWHERE. Clearly they're not a big deal and quite common in Prague, not as rare as in Australia. I guess I just couldn't see the lilacs for the lilacs!
It was raining when I left Prague, which suited me fine, cooler for suitcase schleppage, plus I was pretty excited about heading up to Scandinavia finally. It was one of the areas I was most excited about visiting, even when I arrived in Portugal I just wanted to skip forward to this part of my trip! So I left rainy Prague and arrived under an endless blue sky in Copenhagen. Stunning.
Made my way into the city and was walking through their central city area towards my hostel thinking 'Oh yeah, this is fantastic! I am going to LOVE this!'. And I did! The city is small and very walkable, the people are ALL attractive, they have little hot dog vans everywhere which are the bomb, there are more bicycles than people so it's all enviro-friendly, Nyhavn is the most picturesque thing I've ever seen and their ice cream is just divine. On the downside they are crazy drunks, but their English is so good they can carry on normal conversations or abuse while alcoholically impaired.
I met up with the two girls I met in Budapest, Arden and Linda, and we went out for a few drinks and shots of Fisk (aka mouthwash), then on Saturday Linda and I had Mexican for lunch (yay eating what I want instead of feeling like I should eat local specialties!), followed by ice creams and sunshine on the wharf at Nyhavn.
Then I headed back to my hotel to meet the other people on my tour. Out of 24 of us, 7 of us are under 35 and the rest are all over 50. Bit different to Contiki. For instance nobody has yet mentioned the best clubs to go to and we never get offered the cheaper places to eat, just the super pricey and super touristy ones. Never mind, Scandinavia is gorgeous and for two weeks I get driven around to everywhere I wanted to go anyway. Plus they literally take your bags from your room to the bus and then bring them to your room at the next hotel - hello lazy! Of course in two weeks I won't be able to lift my suitcase, but eh! Not to worry!
So today we leave Frederikshavn on a ferry, we drive through Gothenburg, then straight over to Oslo for the night. Saturday is Fjord Day, so please think of me enviously around 8pm Saturday night (Australian time) when I'll be out on the water, being amazed. Which reminds me, I HAVE to get my photos burnt off my memory card!
Time whips by too quickly and suddenly you haven't heard about Prague or Copenhagen or how old everyone on my Scandinavian tour is! Fun times! Keep reading!
Back in the day, I was in Prague. Actually it's a week ago now, but of course it feels like a month. The afternoon I arrived I went to the main post office to offload another 3kgs back to the parentals. That was fun. First I needed a box, then I had to tie it up with string (apparently the Czech Rep. aren't quite into the 21st century and our love of sticky tape), then I had to fill in a declaration form that was in Czech and French. So with my three words of French I filled in as much as I could, followed by the post dude asking me things in Czech and me just replying yes. I may well have told him it contained a homemade bomb and some child porn, but he seemed okay about that anyway and took my money. I guess now I just have to wait and see if and when it turns up! The excitement! Mystery! Suspense!
Prague is beautiful, as beautiful as you think it will be. What I wasn't prepared for, was sharing such a beautiful city with everyone from Italy, Spain, France and Germany. Easter holidays had brought all the Europeans out and they were soaking up the sun all over Prague. I had to queue for half an hour to get into St Vitus' Cathedral in the middle of a pack of 15 year old Italian students. Fun times. 15 year olds are appalling in every language.
Prague Castle was great and the area down the hill around St Miklaus' was also pretty cool. The Charles Bridge is very pretty, but it was lined with art/jewellery stalls and jammed with tourists. The Old Town Square was incredibly pretty too, but the middle part was full of ye olden Prague market stalls selling Stuff and food and beer. On the plus side - yay beer and sausages! And trdlo! Which is the dough cooked on a stick and dipped in cinnamon and sugar that I missed out on trying in Budapest. Not bad at all! Sadly on the two days I was there the Jewish Museum and main synagogue were closed for Jewish holidays, which was a shame because I'd heard such great things about the museum and how moving it was. Instead I went to the Mucha Museum - wonderful! Such beautiful and illustrative work. Went a bit crazy in the gift shop. Stupid notepads!
I had been hoping to see, somewhere anywhere, some lilacs on this trip too. They're my favourite flower and I can only buy them (expensively) for one month a year in Australia. Seeing that I'm on The Continent in spring, I thought I should get a chance to see them for an extra month this year. Sadly, nowhere. Until I was waiting to take the tram to the train station to leave Prague, the tram stop that I'd been at twice a day for three days in a row, when I focussed on what was across the road. Lilacs! Bushes and bushes of them! In flower! Right there! On the side of the road like a weed! And from there until half way out to the airport I saw them EVERYWHERE. Clearly they're not a big deal and quite common in Prague, not as rare as in Australia. I guess I just couldn't see the lilacs for the lilacs!
It was raining when I left Prague, which suited me fine, cooler for suitcase schleppage, plus I was pretty excited about heading up to Scandinavia finally. It was one of the areas I was most excited about visiting, even when I arrived in Portugal I just wanted to skip forward to this part of my trip! So I left rainy Prague and arrived under an endless blue sky in Copenhagen. Stunning.
Made my way into the city and was walking through their central city area towards my hostel thinking 'Oh yeah, this is fantastic! I am going to LOVE this!'. And I did! The city is small and very walkable, the people are ALL attractive, they have little hot dog vans everywhere which are the bomb, there are more bicycles than people so it's all enviro-friendly, Nyhavn is the most picturesque thing I've ever seen and their ice cream is just divine. On the downside they are crazy drunks, but their English is so good they can carry on normal conversations or abuse while alcoholically impaired.
I met up with the two girls I met in Budapest, Arden and Linda, and we went out for a few drinks and shots of Fisk (aka mouthwash), then on Saturday Linda and I had Mexican for lunch (yay eating what I want instead of feeling like I should eat local specialties!), followed by ice creams and sunshine on the wharf at Nyhavn.
Then I headed back to my hotel to meet the other people on my tour. Out of 24 of us, 7 of us are under 35 and the rest are all over 50. Bit different to Contiki. For instance nobody has yet mentioned the best clubs to go to and we never get offered the cheaper places to eat, just the super pricey and super touristy ones. Never mind, Scandinavia is gorgeous and for two weeks I get driven around to everywhere I wanted to go anyway. Plus they literally take your bags from your room to the bus and then bring them to your room at the next hotel - hello lazy! Of course in two weeks I won't be able to lift my suitcase, but eh! Not to worry!
So today we leave Frederikshavn on a ferry, we drive through Gothenburg, then straight over to Oslo for the night. Saturday is Fjord Day, so please think of me enviously around 8pm Saturday night (Australian time) when I'll be out on the water, being amazed. Which reminds me, I HAVE to get my photos burnt off my memory card!
Monday, April 13, 2009
I Am Kulched
Expensive interent cafe, Mariahilferstrasse, Vienna, 11.40am
Am spending Easter here in Vienna, did lots of museums and sights on the first two days, leaving me two very relaxing days of sunshine and parks. However I have left you all a long way behind so I am here, now, to try and catch you up!
So way back in the day, when I was in Slovenia, after I arrived and stopped freaking out, I discovered that Ljubljana is one of my favourite places so far, top five for sure. The people in Slovenia are the NICEST I have come across anywhere, they are genuinely lovely and helpful and warm. Plus they ALL speak English really well.
My day of checking out Ljubljana didn't take long, the central old city part is tiny and only takes an hour to walk around. It's all centred on a river and there are some lovely bridges over it, including the famous triple bridge. Since it was Saturday the market was absolutely pumping, plus there was a Bosnian food festival on, which seemed to consist mainly of baklava and coffee. I chucked laps around the market and up and down both sides of the river, soaking it all up. Walked up the hill to the castle, took some photos of the View, gawked at a wedding party, then headed back down the hill for lunch at a bar I'd scoped out on the way past earlier.
Best coffee ever. I took a photo of it because it was so wonderfully presented, plus because I'm a tourist. Gorgeous cup and saucer, yummy little biscuit, glass of water, so civilized! And here I was thinking Slovenia would be all peasants with horses and carts (apparently that's Romania) and no teeth. Also had a big bowl of potato soup with the most delicious bread. (Best bread of my trip - Slovenia, everywhere, including my hostel.) And then I had to have another coffee to celebrate how much in love with Ljubljana I was.
I was so wrong about Slovenia, I thought it would be kind of pretty and old, but a bit backward by my oh-so-hip standards, but it is COOL. Great shops, great lifestyle, super trendy bars and cafes, and they were dressed in really interesting clothes, bit Brunswick St (the money side, not the filthy hippy side).
After lunch I headed for the Tivoli Gardens and spent a few hours reading in the sun, listening to some young guy practicing his sax and watching huge plots of daffodils wave merrily. Wonderful.
The next day I managed to arrange with Lisa (who I met in Naples) to meet and catch the bus to Lake Bled for the day. She brought along a couple of young Poms from her hostel so the four of us wandered around the lake all day, up to the castle and church, bureks and ice cream for lunch, Slovenian Snotblocks for afternoon tea! Lots of sunshine still!
Then it was off to Budapest. Long train trip again (what happened to everything in Europe being small and close?), but STRESS-FREE which is far more important than a quick trip. Budapest is a big city and has the filth to go with it. As soon as I woke up on my first morning there I went 'What's wrong with the sunlight? Why is it kind of dim and hazy?' That would be the pollution. It was bad, really bad. It was quite a hot day too so the hazy sky and nasty yellow Danube were just horrible.
On the plus side, made some great friends in Budapest at my hostel and we all hung out for the two days we were there. We did a free walking tour of the city, followed by lunch at this outdoor kitchen kind of thing - kebabs! Sausages! Salad! BEER! The beer certainly helped clear the pollution from my lungs! Had dinner at a nice Jewish Hungarian restaurant with a bunch of their friends who were studying in Budapest, followed by shots of the local specialty at a huge bar in an abandoned building.
The next day we went to the Szechenyi Baths, thermal baths that are all kept at different temperatures. So we did nothing apart from loiter in the baths and lie in the sun. I did NOT get sunburnt! If I'd been in Australia it would've been sunscreen every 30 minutes, in Budapest, three times in four hours and not a mark on me - squee!
All three of my new Budapest Buddies are studying in Copenhagen, which means I get to see them all again this weekend. Really looking forward to that, hoping they know somewhere cheap to get a drink, think I won't be doing much drinking in Scandinavia. Much of anything in fact!
On Thursday I made my way to Vienna, met a girl in my train carriage who was actually staying at the same hostel as me, so we found it together then hung out for a couple of days too. Vienna is lovely, heaps to do, plus some really beautiful parks and gardens to relax in. Janie (from the train) and I went to the opera on Thursday night for €3, it was....an experience! Won't be racing for season tickets anytime soon, but now I can say I've been! I went on Saturday night to see the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (€5) - now that was AMAZING. And on Sunday morning I was up way too early to get into mass with the Vienna Boys' Choir (€5), so good. The mass part was all in German so I was fighting to stay awake for that, but the boys were incredible, the one who did the solo parts had a voice better than any woman I've ever heard.
Friday was Klimt Day, went to three different museums to get maximum Klimt action, certainly wasn't disappointed. Plus I saw a huge exhibition of gorgeous Art Nouveau work by Alfons Mucha. Hadn't been to a museum since Rome, so was ready to wander and appreciate more than I would've been two weeks ago.
Apart from all of that, have just been enjoying the extraordinary weather in the gardens of Schonbrunn Palace and Stadtpark, will probably head back to the hostel, make some sandwiches and go back to Stadtpark again once I finish this. Might actually go to the movies later this afternoon too, haven't been at all over here and am hanging out for some cinematic relaxation.
Tomorrow I'm off to Prague for a couple of days, really looking forward to that, still haven't met anyone who doesn't love it. Then it's up to Scandinavia, finally! Still only up to 3/4 of the way through my trip, feels like three years people!
Am spending Easter here in Vienna, did lots of museums and sights on the first two days, leaving me two very relaxing days of sunshine and parks. However I have left you all a long way behind so I am here, now, to try and catch you up!
So way back in the day, when I was in Slovenia, after I arrived and stopped freaking out, I discovered that Ljubljana is one of my favourite places so far, top five for sure. The people in Slovenia are the NICEST I have come across anywhere, they are genuinely lovely and helpful and warm. Plus they ALL speak English really well.
My day of checking out Ljubljana didn't take long, the central old city part is tiny and only takes an hour to walk around. It's all centred on a river and there are some lovely bridges over it, including the famous triple bridge. Since it was Saturday the market was absolutely pumping, plus there was a Bosnian food festival on, which seemed to consist mainly of baklava and coffee. I chucked laps around the market and up and down both sides of the river, soaking it all up. Walked up the hill to the castle, took some photos of the View, gawked at a wedding party, then headed back down the hill for lunch at a bar I'd scoped out on the way past earlier.
Best coffee ever. I took a photo of it because it was so wonderfully presented, plus because I'm a tourist. Gorgeous cup and saucer, yummy little biscuit, glass of water, so civilized! And here I was thinking Slovenia would be all peasants with horses and carts (apparently that's Romania) and no teeth. Also had a big bowl of potato soup with the most delicious bread. (Best bread of my trip - Slovenia, everywhere, including my hostel.) And then I had to have another coffee to celebrate how much in love with Ljubljana I was.
I was so wrong about Slovenia, I thought it would be kind of pretty and old, but a bit backward by my oh-so-hip standards, but it is COOL. Great shops, great lifestyle, super trendy bars and cafes, and they were dressed in really interesting clothes, bit Brunswick St (the money side, not the filthy hippy side).
After lunch I headed for the Tivoli Gardens and spent a few hours reading in the sun, listening to some young guy practicing his sax and watching huge plots of daffodils wave merrily. Wonderful.
The next day I managed to arrange with Lisa (who I met in Naples) to meet and catch the bus to Lake Bled for the day. She brought along a couple of young Poms from her hostel so the four of us wandered around the lake all day, up to the castle and church, bureks and ice cream for lunch, Slovenian Snotblocks for afternoon tea! Lots of sunshine still!
Then it was off to Budapest. Long train trip again (what happened to everything in Europe being small and close?), but STRESS-FREE which is far more important than a quick trip. Budapest is a big city and has the filth to go with it. As soon as I woke up on my first morning there I went 'What's wrong with the sunlight? Why is it kind of dim and hazy?' That would be the pollution. It was bad, really bad. It was quite a hot day too so the hazy sky and nasty yellow Danube were just horrible.
On the plus side, made some great friends in Budapest at my hostel and we all hung out for the two days we were there. We did a free walking tour of the city, followed by lunch at this outdoor kitchen kind of thing - kebabs! Sausages! Salad! BEER! The beer certainly helped clear the pollution from my lungs! Had dinner at a nice Jewish Hungarian restaurant with a bunch of their friends who were studying in Budapest, followed by shots of the local specialty at a huge bar in an abandoned building.
The next day we went to the Szechenyi Baths, thermal baths that are all kept at different temperatures. So we did nothing apart from loiter in the baths and lie in the sun. I did NOT get sunburnt! If I'd been in Australia it would've been sunscreen every 30 minutes, in Budapest, three times in four hours and not a mark on me - squee!
All three of my new Budapest Buddies are studying in Copenhagen, which means I get to see them all again this weekend. Really looking forward to that, hoping they know somewhere cheap to get a drink, think I won't be doing much drinking in Scandinavia. Much of anything in fact!
On Thursday I made my way to Vienna, met a girl in my train carriage who was actually staying at the same hostel as me, so we found it together then hung out for a couple of days too. Vienna is lovely, heaps to do, plus some really beautiful parks and gardens to relax in. Janie (from the train) and I went to the opera on Thursday night for €3, it was....an experience! Won't be racing for season tickets anytime soon, but now I can say I've been! I went on Saturday night to see the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (€5) - now that was AMAZING. And on Sunday morning I was up way too early to get into mass with the Vienna Boys' Choir (€5), so good. The mass part was all in German so I was fighting to stay awake for that, but the boys were incredible, the one who did the solo parts had a voice better than any woman I've ever heard.
Friday was Klimt Day, went to three different museums to get maximum Klimt action, certainly wasn't disappointed. Plus I saw a huge exhibition of gorgeous Art Nouveau work by Alfons Mucha. Hadn't been to a museum since Rome, so was ready to wander and appreciate more than I would've been two weeks ago.
Apart from all of that, have just been enjoying the extraordinary weather in the gardens of Schonbrunn Palace and Stadtpark, will probably head back to the hostel, make some sandwiches and go back to Stadtpark again once I finish this. Might actually go to the movies later this afternoon too, haven't been at all over here and am hanging out for some cinematic relaxation.
Tomorrow I'm off to Prague for a couple of days, really looking forward to that, still haven't met anyone who doesn't love it. Then it's up to Scandinavia, finally! Still only up to 3/4 of the way through my trip, feels like three years people!
Friday, April 3, 2009
I Am Unwinding
Vila Veselova Hostel, Ljubljana, 6.57pm
Man, what a mental day! No, actually, just stressfully uncertain. And you all know how trying that is for me, Little Miss Prepared. Today was Salzburg to Ljubljana, Slovenia and I should've known something was up yesterday when I tried to reserve a ticket.
The girl in Salzburg printed out the times of when the trains went, but couldn't reserve me a ticket. She said not to worry, with my Eurail pass I could just get on without a reservation.
Turn up this morning for the 10.12 train which should go straight there. Decide that I would feel better if I had a reservation so have another crack at getting one. This time I pay E9.40 and get a ticket but still no actual seat and carriage number. Hmmf. Whatever.
The 10.12 train does not seem to be stopping in Ljubljana, in fact half the train might be headed for Serbia. That's all wrong! There's an announcement in German and then in English which says something about going to one end of the train or the other. No idea. Get on, ask a teenager and she is unsure whether it's the right one. How strange, a clueless 15 year old, they're universal. Jump off and ask some staff, am told it's the right one but I should be down the other end and at the next station I should move to the other end. Okaaaaay.
Ticket inspector comes round and he tells me that I just need to change in Villach, the train for Ljubljana will be on the other side of the same platform. Relax until I get to Villach. Train is where he said it would be! It's going to Ljubljana! I get on!
There are lots of announcements in German and/or Slovenian. Not in English. Who cares?! I am on the right train for the right city!
What is that expression about counting your chickens?
We stop in Lidernitznowhere and one man gets out of my carriage. Then the Norwegians get out. It's not my stop so I keep reading and listening to my iPod. Glance out the window. Everybody from my train is wheeling their suitcases across half a paddock and getting on a bus. WHAT?!
Call out to the last two girls getting off the train 'Excuse me, Ljubljana?' and point madly at the bus across the paddock. 'Yes.' RIGHT! Shove book and iPod into backpack and fling that over one shoulder, jacket and jumper in left hand, thump down the corridor with my thirty kilo suitcase in my right hand. Almost fall down the steep steep steep stairs and into the paddock. Hare madly across the paddock with my suitcase, but it's okay, I'm not last now and the ticket inspector did check the train to make sure no one was getting left behind.
So now I'm sitting on a bus still in Austria, I think, going I don't know where. All I can think is 'WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT? WHAT?' Sit and panic silently for awhile. Then see that we are on a highway and following all the signs to Ljubljana. Okay, it's just a bus replacing the train, will just stay on it until I get to Ljubljana. I can handle this. Ooh and now we're in Slovenia. Okay.
Bus pulls in to the station in Jesenice, I don't get off because I'm not going to Jesenice. Except again everybody except me is getting off, perhaps I should too. So we all get back on a train. It's not a nice train. It's very Eastern European or vintage Spanish. Again I sit there for a very long time, hoping I'm not catching a disease from the 1970s and thinking 'WHAT? WHAT NOW? I DON'T UNDERSTAND! NOBODY ELSE SPEAKS ENGLISH! WHAT WAS I THINKING COMING TO THIS SCARY PLACE?!' And yes, I only thought in capital letters, it was that kind of day, hence I'm quite exhausted.
Train eventually starts to move. We stop in one place we're meant to and one place we're not meant to. By this stage the timing is all off, which means my safety back up plan which I normally use of knowing when to get off based on what time the train is supposed to arrive at my station, has gone out the window. I grip my iPod and give the Slovenian countryside desperate crazy eyes instead.
The train arrives in Ljubljana! I get off the train! It's okay! I'm here! Meanwhile, tell Communism I said hello, Ljubljana train station.
Now I just have to find my hostel. Directions. Exit station by main exit and go west.
Go WEST?! GO WEST?!?!
I'm not a compass. I didn't bring a compass. And I see no helpful signs saying 'For people wanting to go west, go this way'. The most helpful thing in my head is that Pet Shop Boys song 'Go weeeest, life is peaceful there. Go weeeest, da dee da dee dumm....'
The sun! I can navigate by the sun! Good lord, my intelligence knows no bounds. Locate the sun through the hazy cloud cover and realize that 3pm in Europe on daylight savings time is not a great time to start navigating by Old Man Tracker methods. Well anyway, if I were the sun, I'd be going....that way, I think.
I go that way. Find the right street. Dance madly in celebration in my head, continue dragging my suitcase and sweating profusely in reality.
The rest of the hostel directions are all in metres. 'Go 800 metres and turn right down Persenova'. Must have left my pedometer/measuring tape/wheelie measuring thing in my other pants. Bugger. So I keep going and going and going. 800 metres feels an awful lot like 3kms with a suitcase and too many layers on.
Found the hostel! It's quite nice! Brekky is included! Laundry is cheap! Internet is free! They have a TV with shows in English with Slovenian subtitles! The supermarket is nearby and huge and EXCITING!
Am absolutely exhausted by all the uncertainty, can't wait to go out tomorrow and explore and try to buy lunch. Am having SUCH fun!
Man, what a mental day! No, actually, just stressfully uncertain. And you all know how trying that is for me, Little Miss Prepared. Today was Salzburg to Ljubljana, Slovenia and I should've known something was up yesterday when I tried to reserve a ticket.
The girl in Salzburg printed out the times of when the trains went, but couldn't reserve me a ticket. She said not to worry, with my Eurail pass I could just get on without a reservation.
Turn up this morning for the 10.12 train which should go straight there. Decide that I would feel better if I had a reservation so have another crack at getting one. This time I pay E9.40 and get a ticket but still no actual seat and carriage number. Hmmf. Whatever.
The 10.12 train does not seem to be stopping in Ljubljana, in fact half the train might be headed for Serbia. That's all wrong! There's an announcement in German and then in English which says something about going to one end of the train or the other. No idea. Get on, ask a teenager and she is unsure whether it's the right one. How strange, a clueless 15 year old, they're universal. Jump off and ask some staff, am told it's the right one but I should be down the other end and at the next station I should move to the other end. Okaaaaay.
Ticket inspector comes round and he tells me that I just need to change in Villach, the train for Ljubljana will be on the other side of the same platform. Relax until I get to Villach. Train is where he said it would be! It's going to Ljubljana! I get on!
There are lots of announcements in German and/or Slovenian. Not in English. Who cares?! I am on the right train for the right city!
What is that expression about counting your chickens?
We stop in Lidernitznowhere and one man gets out of my carriage. Then the Norwegians get out. It's not my stop so I keep reading and listening to my iPod. Glance out the window. Everybody from my train is wheeling their suitcases across half a paddock and getting on a bus. WHAT?!
Call out to the last two girls getting off the train 'Excuse me, Ljubljana?' and point madly at the bus across the paddock. 'Yes.' RIGHT! Shove book and iPod into backpack and fling that over one shoulder, jacket and jumper in left hand, thump down the corridor with my thirty kilo suitcase in my right hand. Almost fall down the steep steep steep stairs and into the paddock. Hare madly across the paddock with my suitcase, but it's okay, I'm not last now and the ticket inspector did check the train to make sure no one was getting left behind.
So now I'm sitting on a bus still in Austria, I think, going I don't know where. All I can think is 'WHAT IS GOING ON? WHAT? WHAT?' Sit and panic silently for awhile. Then see that we are on a highway and following all the signs to Ljubljana. Okay, it's just a bus replacing the train, will just stay on it until I get to Ljubljana. I can handle this. Ooh and now we're in Slovenia. Okay.
Bus pulls in to the station in Jesenice, I don't get off because I'm not going to Jesenice. Except again everybody except me is getting off, perhaps I should too. So we all get back on a train. It's not a nice train. It's very Eastern European or vintage Spanish. Again I sit there for a very long time, hoping I'm not catching a disease from the 1970s and thinking 'WHAT? WHAT NOW? I DON'T UNDERSTAND! NOBODY ELSE SPEAKS ENGLISH! WHAT WAS I THINKING COMING TO THIS SCARY PLACE?!' And yes, I only thought in capital letters, it was that kind of day, hence I'm quite exhausted.
Train eventually starts to move. We stop in one place we're meant to and one place we're not meant to. By this stage the timing is all off, which means my safety back up plan which I normally use of knowing when to get off based on what time the train is supposed to arrive at my station, has gone out the window. I grip my iPod and give the Slovenian countryside desperate crazy eyes instead.
The train arrives in Ljubljana! I get off the train! It's okay! I'm here! Meanwhile, tell Communism I said hello, Ljubljana train station.
Now I just have to find my hostel. Directions. Exit station by main exit and go west.
Go WEST?! GO WEST?!?!
I'm not a compass. I didn't bring a compass. And I see no helpful signs saying 'For people wanting to go west, go this way'. The most helpful thing in my head is that Pet Shop Boys song 'Go weeeest, life is peaceful there. Go weeeest, da dee da dee dumm....'
The sun! I can navigate by the sun! Good lord, my intelligence knows no bounds. Locate the sun through the hazy cloud cover and realize that 3pm in Europe on daylight savings time is not a great time to start navigating by Old Man Tracker methods. Well anyway, if I were the sun, I'd be going....that way, I think.
I go that way. Find the right street. Dance madly in celebration in my head, continue dragging my suitcase and sweating profusely in reality.
The rest of the hostel directions are all in metres. 'Go 800 metres and turn right down Persenova'. Must have left my pedometer/measuring tape/wheelie measuring thing in my other pants. Bugger. So I keep going and going and going. 800 metres feels an awful lot like 3kms with a suitcase and too many layers on.
Found the hostel! It's quite nice! Brekky is included! Laundry is cheap! Internet is free! They have a TV with shows in English with Slovenian subtitles! The supermarket is nearby and huge and EXCITING!
Am absolutely exhausted by all the uncertainty, can't wait to go out tomorrow and explore and try to buy lunch. Am having SUCH fun!
Monday, March 30, 2009
I Am Snowblind
Smoky but cheap internet cafe on Gabelsbergerstra§e (yes you read that right) in Salzburg, 5.05pm
Too much snow! Too much excitement! It's WONDERFUL!
When last we spoke I was whingeing about the Italian transportation system, but I can safely say that I've left that well and truly behind and am now into the super organized and disturbingly efficient neck of the woods - Switzerland and Austria.
My train trip from Rome to Zurich (especially after Milan) was spectacular. I'd been having such a lovely time in Borghese Park in Rome, wallowing in the sunshine on Wednesday, that to be trundling along through the Gotthard Tunnel and right up there in the Alpine goodness of still-very-snowy Switzerland was just crazy! When we got quite high up and there was snow alongside the train I was practically licking the windows I was so thrilled. And the lakes! The lakes in Switzerland are stunning! Was almost relieved to arrive in Zurich because I was worn out with all the widened eyes and accelerated heartbeat.
Zurich was as opposite to Naples as it is possible to be. I was in Naples on Tuesday and 48 hours later I was in Zurich. One is the filthiest and dodgiest city I've ever seen. The other was clean and tidy and pretty and civilized. It was quite a bit colder though and threatening rain all weekend.
My lovely friend Sharon came over from London for a long weekend with me, so Thurs was craziness at the station trying to work out which train went to the airport so that I could meet her. (Useful word for anyone needing an airport in a German-speaking country: flughafen. Clearly.) Met her, fond reunion after not seeing one another for a year and a half, followed by a lovely bowl of pasta (better than anything I had in Italy) and a bottle of vino.
On Friday we headed for Lucerne, to swan about on the lake. Wow! Stunning! (I'm so sorry, after two and a half months of wow factors I've run out of adjectives.) It was like being in a postcard, like, do places like that actually exist? Apparently! We took a boat over to Vitznau and spent three hours next to the lake, in the sun, eating lunch and Swiss chocolate, dozing, taking photos, listening to absolutely nothing. Superb.
Caught the boat across to Beckenreid, but it was getting later and colder by this stage so we only jumped off for 5 minutes for some photos, then back across the lake to Lucerne.
Saturday we visited the Rhine Falls, largest waterfalls in Europe. I should point out that Europe isn't known for its waterfalls and its largest are certainly not quite on par with Niagara or Iguazu or the ones in Africa I can never remember the name of. Unfortunately it was also raining and we also saw the falls from the train and thought they must be a preview of the Larger and More Spectacular falls. So the falls were very pretty and it was a nice little excursion, but not quite as out-of-this-world as we thought they might be.
Went for a little wander round the shops back in Zurich, had to decide between buying a lovely new handbag or spending a night in Hotel Fox in Copenhagen. I'm going for the hotel. And for dinner - FONDUE! Yes, we fondid in Switzerland! The place we went was recommended by my guide book and it was certainly authentic - from the dark wood, dim lighting and Ye Anciente Cooke who made our bubbling pot of cheese. I've never had the real deal fondue before and it's....boozy! We just had bread to dunk and it was so rich. Afterwards our waitress said when she does it at home, she does it with water not wine. Did we get that option?! Slept well that night though!
Sunday EVERYTHING was shut. An excellent day to check out the Banhofstra§e, one of the world's most expensive shopping streets. So window shopped our way down to the river and back, checking out a few churches along the way. Walked to the gardens, lolled about there, wandered through their hothouses. It was so quiet because everything was shut, very old school Sunday vibe. Put Sharon back on the train to the flughafen and then went and packed for my train trip today.
Again today - SNOW! Somewhere between Switzerland and Innsbruck it all looked like cookies 'n' cream ice cream, all white with black bits (trees, rocks, etc). Arrived in Salzburg just before 4pm and made my way to my hostel, salivating over the snow on the hill where the castle appears to be and all the filthy snow on the ground around cars, bins, rooves, etc. SNOW! My trip is so awesome - I've got all three of my favourite things: gin and tonics, Barcelona and snow!
Speaking of my favourite things....! Oh yes! I am in THAT town where THAT movie was filmed and I'm going on THAT tour! The hills certainly are alive with the sound of strangled out of tune music!
SNOW!
PS Top two places in Europe for coffee (in my opinion): Portugal and Switzerland.
Too much snow! Too much excitement! It's WONDERFUL!
When last we spoke I was whingeing about the Italian transportation system, but I can safely say that I've left that well and truly behind and am now into the super organized and disturbingly efficient neck of the woods - Switzerland and Austria.
My train trip from Rome to Zurich (especially after Milan) was spectacular. I'd been having such a lovely time in Borghese Park in Rome, wallowing in the sunshine on Wednesday, that to be trundling along through the Gotthard Tunnel and right up there in the Alpine goodness of still-very-snowy Switzerland was just crazy! When we got quite high up and there was snow alongside the train I was practically licking the windows I was so thrilled. And the lakes! The lakes in Switzerland are stunning! Was almost relieved to arrive in Zurich because I was worn out with all the widened eyes and accelerated heartbeat.
Zurich was as opposite to Naples as it is possible to be. I was in Naples on Tuesday and 48 hours later I was in Zurich. One is the filthiest and dodgiest city I've ever seen. The other was clean and tidy and pretty and civilized. It was quite a bit colder though and threatening rain all weekend.
My lovely friend Sharon came over from London for a long weekend with me, so Thurs was craziness at the station trying to work out which train went to the airport so that I could meet her. (Useful word for anyone needing an airport in a German-speaking country: flughafen. Clearly.) Met her, fond reunion after not seeing one another for a year and a half, followed by a lovely bowl of pasta (better than anything I had in Italy) and a bottle of vino.
On Friday we headed for Lucerne, to swan about on the lake. Wow! Stunning! (I'm so sorry, after two and a half months of wow factors I've run out of adjectives.) It was like being in a postcard, like, do places like that actually exist? Apparently! We took a boat over to Vitznau and spent three hours next to the lake, in the sun, eating lunch and Swiss chocolate, dozing, taking photos, listening to absolutely nothing. Superb.
Caught the boat across to Beckenreid, but it was getting later and colder by this stage so we only jumped off for 5 minutes for some photos, then back across the lake to Lucerne.
Saturday we visited the Rhine Falls, largest waterfalls in Europe. I should point out that Europe isn't known for its waterfalls and its largest are certainly not quite on par with Niagara or Iguazu or the ones in Africa I can never remember the name of. Unfortunately it was also raining and we also saw the falls from the train and thought they must be a preview of the Larger and More Spectacular falls. So the falls were very pretty and it was a nice little excursion, but not quite as out-of-this-world as we thought they might be.
Went for a little wander round the shops back in Zurich, had to decide between buying a lovely new handbag or spending a night in Hotel Fox in Copenhagen. I'm going for the hotel. And for dinner - FONDUE! Yes, we fondid in Switzerland! The place we went was recommended by my guide book and it was certainly authentic - from the dark wood, dim lighting and Ye Anciente Cooke who made our bubbling pot of cheese. I've never had the real deal fondue before and it's....boozy! We just had bread to dunk and it was so rich. Afterwards our waitress said when she does it at home, she does it with water not wine. Did we get that option?! Slept well that night though!
Sunday EVERYTHING was shut. An excellent day to check out the Banhofstra§e, one of the world's most expensive shopping streets. So window shopped our way down to the river and back, checking out a few churches along the way. Walked to the gardens, lolled about there, wandered through their hothouses. It was so quiet because everything was shut, very old school Sunday vibe. Put Sharon back on the train to the flughafen and then went and packed for my train trip today.
Again today - SNOW! Somewhere between Switzerland and Innsbruck it all looked like cookies 'n' cream ice cream, all white with black bits (trees, rocks, etc). Arrived in Salzburg just before 4pm and made my way to my hostel, salivating over the snow on the hill where the castle appears to be and all the filthy snow on the ground around cars, bins, rooves, etc. SNOW! My trip is so awesome - I've got all three of my favourite things: gin and tonics, Barcelona and snow!
Speaking of my favourite things....! Oh yes! I am in THAT town where THAT movie was filmed and I'm going on THAT tour! The hills certainly are alive with the sound of strangled out of tune music!
SNOW!
PS Top two places in Europe for coffee (in my opinion): Portugal and Switzerland.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I Am Going Already
Hostel laundry/internet cafe, Rome, 4.35pm.
Apparently Italy has had enough of me and is making life difficult in an effort to get rid of me sooner rather than later!
I decided yesterday to catch the bus from Napoli to Amalfi, then work my way back up the coast, stopping in Positano and Sorrento. Lovely. Caught the bus to Amalfi without drama, unless you count the super twisty cliff roads and the driver chatting to his mate with both hands off the wheel Italian-style. I stopped watching where we were going because it wasn't worth the panic-induced wrinkles.
The coast was absolutely gorgeous, Amalfi was pretty and lovely and the weather was perfect. However I am firstly - me, and secondly - a whinging Aussie. Therefore let's ignore the gorgeousness of it all and go back to how the Italian transport system hates me!
I missed the first bus that I planned to catch to Positano because I was in the wrong place. Hmmf. I'll have lunch in Amalfi then and gelati in Positano.
Back with plenty of time to spare to catch the bus, get on what I (and my two new Aussie friends Amy and Jerome) think is the right bus. Two teenage locals are trying to tell us that we have to walk somewhere to get to Positano. Riiiiiiight. On the bus then. It's PACKED with stinky Italian teenagers so we're standing up. The Amalfi Coast road is not the place to be standing up on a bus. Squee.
Then we stop. Somewhere. We still don't know where, but everybody got off and started walking, so we followed. Apparently there was a landslide in the tunnel so it's impassable. Knowing Italy it probably happened six years ago. So down we go into this stunning little cove and village and around the cliffs and then up again. By this stage the hill has thinned the crowd out and we're not sure where to go so my two new friends see a sign and decide that's the way to go. I KNOW, in the way that only a Marshall KNOWS that it's the wrong way. But I've only just met them and I don't want to be the pushy smug knowitall so I follow up ALLLLLLLL the stairs and hills. Eventually they realise we've gone the wrong way and we ask some locals who point us in the right direction. Walking down a little street we see the connecting bus - YAY. We look back down at where we are going and by the time we get to the bus - there is no bus. When is the next bus? Ummm an hour and a half away, we think.
Luckily we'd only just met so we all had plenty of stories to swap and the spot we got stuck waiting was BEAUTIFUL (no gelati though). We all agreed that if we had to wait for a bus for half our lifetimes, that was the place to do it. Of course it's Italy, so the bus turned up in two hours. On to Positano then.
Positano was very pretty too, but there appeared to be a lot more money around, flashier and shinier restaurants and lots of renovations happening. We had a quick coffee, grabbed some postcards, were back to wait for the bus in under an hour.
TWO HOURS LATER, the sun had gone down, it was really cold and there were about fifty people waiting for the bus. We were not impressed.
Unsurprisingly the bus turned up, every seat already filled, but with the prospect of no bus for another two hours - if ever - all fifty of us GOT ON. I think the favourite part of those at the back of the queue to get on was the COMPLETELY EMPTY bus that rocked up behind the packed one and refused to let anyone get on. I am not this person, I swear, but all the waiting and the cold and the needing to pee brought it out - I may have flipped the bird at the driver as he drove off in spacious, non-fatal emptiness.
I was one of the last to get on the bus and was literally in the back door space with my head in Jerome's armpit and hanging on for dear life around every bend and cliff edge with one twisted arm and cramping left foot. Jerome and I quickly became friends with the Canadians also sharing the door space and we all tried not to freak out when we could smell something burning. Probably the brakes.
It was around this point that I decided that that particular bus trip, getting on a bus with 99 other people on a twisting road in the evening, had gone straight into my top three Most Stupid and Dangerous Things Done While Travelling list. Never mind eating from street vendors in Thailand, don't get on a bus with 99 other people in Positano!
Luckily half the bus got off half way to Positano and we all got seats, which was actually more vomity than hanging on with one hand and my head in someone's armpit. When we finally arrived at the train station in Sorrento we hopped straight on a train and back to Naples.
And then TODAY. Got myself to the station with plenty of time for my train trip back to Rome. I have a Eurail pass, I could catch the slow train at 10.22 for free. Five minutes before the train was due to leave they put up on the screen which platform it was leaving from. 3PG. 3Pwhatnow?? I go madly dashing for where I think platform three is. Yeah it's not going from there and I now have ONE MINUTE to not just get on the train, but FIND it. At this point an old dude in a train jacket stopped me and asked where I was going. He grabbed my suitcase and took me downstairs (of course PG means DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BOWELS OF NAPOLI TRAIN HELL) only to discover that I'd missed it. He then dragged me back to the ticket office and went in and got me a seat on the 10.39 train.
The 10.39 train is the fast one, if I use my Eurail pass I can book a seat for €20. The girl only charged me €15 and the old guy took me to the right platform and made sure I knew what carriage and seat I was in. By this stage I knew that I'd have to tip him so I whipped out €5 and his response was 'No, ten.' BASTARD. Of course being the polite non-trouble maker that I am, I just squinted and flickered one eyelid before handing it over, shook his hand, said thank you and tried not to stare at the place where the other twenty of his teeth should have been. Seethed until I got on the train and then had to let it go. It's in the past, it's happened, no more help from toothy old dudes at stations!
On the plus side, got a nice train and fantastically quick trip to Rome and no hassles once I got here. Am currently getting more washing done - never mind paying toothless men for services rendered, my own filthiness is making me poor! Also on the plus side, made four new friends in Naples in with all the bus drama and am having lunch with Romeka, awesome American, tomorrow here in Rome. Yay for random strangers WITH teeth!
Apparently Italy has had enough of me and is making life difficult in an effort to get rid of me sooner rather than later!
I decided yesterday to catch the bus from Napoli to Amalfi, then work my way back up the coast, stopping in Positano and Sorrento. Lovely. Caught the bus to Amalfi without drama, unless you count the super twisty cliff roads and the driver chatting to his mate with both hands off the wheel Italian-style. I stopped watching where we were going because it wasn't worth the panic-induced wrinkles.
The coast was absolutely gorgeous, Amalfi was pretty and lovely and the weather was perfect. However I am firstly - me, and secondly - a whinging Aussie. Therefore let's ignore the gorgeousness of it all and go back to how the Italian transport system hates me!
I missed the first bus that I planned to catch to Positano because I was in the wrong place. Hmmf. I'll have lunch in Amalfi then and gelati in Positano.
Back with plenty of time to spare to catch the bus, get on what I (and my two new Aussie friends Amy and Jerome) think is the right bus. Two teenage locals are trying to tell us that we have to walk somewhere to get to Positano. Riiiiiiight. On the bus then. It's PACKED with stinky Italian teenagers so we're standing up. The Amalfi Coast road is not the place to be standing up on a bus. Squee.
Then we stop. Somewhere. We still don't know where, but everybody got off and started walking, so we followed. Apparently there was a landslide in the tunnel so it's impassable. Knowing Italy it probably happened six years ago. So down we go into this stunning little cove and village and around the cliffs and then up again. By this stage the hill has thinned the crowd out and we're not sure where to go so my two new friends see a sign and decide that's the way to go. I KNOW, in the way that only a Marshall KNOWS that it's the wrong way. But I've only just met them and I don't want to be the pushy smug knowitall so I follow up ALLLLLLLL the stairs and hills. Eventually they realise we've gone the wrong way and we ask some locals who point us in the right direction. Walking down a little street we see the connecting bus - YAY. We look back down at where we are going and by the time we get to the bus - there is no bus. When is the next bus? Ummm an hour and a half away, we think.
Luckily we'd only just met so we all had plenty of stories to swap and the spot we got stuck waiting was BEAUTIFUL (no gelati though). We all agreed that if we had to wait for a bus for half our lifetimes, that was the place to do it. Of course it's Italy, so the bus turned up in two hours. On to Positano then.
Positano was very pretty too, but there appeared to be a lot more money around, flashier and shinier restaurants and lots of renovations happening. We had a quick coffee, grabbed some postcards, were back to wait for the bus in under an hour.
TWO HOURS LATER, the sun had gone down, it was really cold and there were about fifty people waiting for the bus. We were not impressed.
Unsurprisingly the bus turned up, every seat already filled, but with the prospect of no bus for another two hours - if ever - all fifty of us GOT ON. I think the favourite part of those at the back of the queue to get on was the COMPLETELY EMPTY bus that rocked up behind the packed one and refused to let anyone get on. I am not this person, I swear, but all the waiting and the cold and the needing to pee brought it out - I may have flipped the bird at the driver as he drove off in spacious, non-fatal emptiness.
I was one of the last to get on the bus and was literally in the back door space with my head in Jerome's armpit and hanging on for dear life around every bend and cliff edge with one twisted arm and cramping left foot. Jerome and I quickly became friends with the Canadians also sharing the door space and we all tried not to freak out when we could smell something burning. Probably the brakes.
It was around this point that I decided that that particular bus trip, getting on a bus with 99 other people on a twisting road in the evening, had gone straight into my top three Most Stupid and Dangerous Things Done While Travelling list. Never mind eating from street vendors in Thailand, don't get on a bus with 99 other people in Positano!
Luckily half the bus got off half way to Positano and we all got seats, which was actually more vomity than hanging on with one hand and my head in someone's armpit. When we finally arrived at the train station in Sorrento we hopped straight on a train and back to Naples.
And then TODAY. Got myself to the station with plenty of time for my train trip back to Rome. I have a Eurail pass, I could catch the slow train at 10.22 for free. Five minutes before the train was due to leave they put up on the screen which platform it was leaving from. 3PG. 3Pwhatnow?? I go madly dashing for where I think platform three is. Yeah it's not going from there and I now have ONE MINUTE to not just get on the train, but FIND it. At this point an old dude in a train jacket stopped me and asked where I was going. He grabbed my suitcase and took me downstairs (of course PG means DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BOWELS OF NAPOLI TRAIN HELL) only to discover that I'd missed it. He then dragged me back to the ticket office and went in and got me a seat on the 10.39 train.
The 10.39 train is the fast one, if I use my Eurail pass I can book a seat for €20. The girl only charged me €15 and the old guy took me to the right platform and made sure I knew what carriage and seat I was in. By this stage I knew that I'd have to tip him so I whipped out €5 and his response was 'No, ten.' BASTARD. Of course being the polite non-trouble maker that I am, I just squinted and flickered one eyelid before handing it over, shook his hand, said thank you and tried not to stare at the place where the other twenty of his teeth should have been. Seethed until I got on the train and then had to let it go. It's in the past, it's happened, no more help from toothy old dudes at stations!
On the plus side, got a nice train and fantastically quick trip to Rome and no hassles once I got here. Am currently getting more washing done - never mind paying toothless men for services rendered, my own filthiness is making me poor! Also on the plus side, made four new friends in Naples in with all the bus drama and am having lunch with Romeka, awesome American, tomorrow here in Rome. Yay for random strangers WITH teeth!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
I Am A Contikian - Part 2
And I'm back!
After Nice it was on to Italy! Amedeo, our guide, was Italian so he was beyond excited to get to his part of the world. We spent the day training it from one village of the Cinque Terre to the next, visiting three in total. Oh yeah, this was my Half Way Day, exactly half way through my trip, and Monterosa, our first Cinque Terre stop, came up trumps with The Perfect Lunch.
My three closest friends Dana, Carl, Meredith and I managed to leave the rest of the group behind and stopped for lunch at a little restaurant on the beachfront road. So we sat there, staring at the Mediterranean, in the sunshine, practically getting run over by cars, eating pizzas and bruschetta and unable to have a conversation that didn't turn into 'God this is amazing, could it get any better than this?'. Superb.
Our other two stops in the Cinque Terre were also beautiful, especially because we were all a bit tired and enjoyed just sprawling in the sun, watching people's washing flapping in the breeze and trying to work out if the tourist department organises fishermen to come sailing in once an hour so the tourists can take photos.
We stayed in Pisa that night so the next morning we headed straight for the Leaning Tower. It was pretty funny, such a familiar building and we walked around a corner and there it was and all we could say was 'Oh!'. Spent an hour trying to get the photos right!
And then YAY! Florence! Before I got to Florence I probably wouldn't have described it like that, but it's now right up there with Seville for me. It's just a bit dirty and completely lacking in trees or greenery of any kind in the main part of town, but there are the most gorgeous buildings and piazzas and the Duomo and Cathedral - WOW! I'd never really heard about them or seen pictures so to walk out of a narrow street and have that immense white, green and red marble building in front of you is fairly incredible. I went to the Accademia that afternoon to see Michaelangelo's 'David', and again it was walk around a corner and 'OH!'. It's big, really big, I had no idea. Carl, Dana, Meredith and I visited a few more places, got gelatis, soaked up the fabulousness of it all before we had to head off to the hotel.
The next day we had a leather factory visit, plus a walking tour of the city, which was really great, some seriously cool statue action. Then we headed for the epic Duomo climb. We decided to do that first and work up an appetite for lunch, rather than lunch first and a heavy climb afterwards. We're so smart. It was a tough climb, but completely worth it. Spectacular views, so many photos! Back down to street level for lunch, then we went to the Boboli Gardens to enjoy some green action. Technically I paid $20AUD to get into the gardens - CRAZY!RIPOFF! - but we had such a good time that I think it was totally worth it. We essentially made our way through the gardens taking photos of each of us imitating the statues. Very mature.
That night we had a traditional Tuscan meal up in the 'iyyys' around Florence. By this stage we had started to shamelessly imitate Amedeo's accent so 'hills' became 'iyyys'. He also had a wonderful way of using 'eventually' and 'opportunities' all the time, and everything was a 'joy for the eyes/nose/palate', or it was 'an essperience' or it was 'just WOW!'. We loved it.
So dinner up in the iyyys was great, I think we got served sliced roasted pork at 80%of our meals, but this was by far the best of all the sliced pig products we got! And instead of dessert we got fantastic biscotti to dunk in dessert wine - hello!
And the next day (are you getting the crazy Contiki pace? I barely had enough time to shower and dry my hair each day) we stopped in San Gimignano on the way to Rome. It's the most well-preserved medieval village in all Europe with 11 towers that were initially about showing off who had the most money. We climbed the only open one and got the full on perfect 'Under The Tuscan Sky' type view. I took lots of photos and I do expect you all to HATE ME. Then we visited the cathedral which was covered in frescoes, very impressive and useful to see before visiting the Sistine Chapel. Of course because we're a bit immature, Jesus on the cross on the back wall in his lovely crisp Calvin Klein's did give us a round of the sniggers. Who knew CK was so vintage??
Being the foodies that we are, we then spotted a gelateria which won the world title in 07/08 and 08/09 so we were in there like a shot. And damn, that was some good gelati! I had cherry and coconut and it is by far the best that I have ever tasted. Tuscan sunshine, rustic village, world's best gelati, I'm done!
Next stop, final stop, ROME! We arrived at about 4.30pm and sprinted out of the bus and Amedeo, in his home city, whizzed us through some of the biggest and best sights, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Santa Maria del Popolo and a few extra interesting bits along the way. My new favourite thing is crossing the road in Italy too, I'm desperate to do it the Amedeo way though, with The Hand. March out into oncoming traffi and hold out one hand in an imperious stop sign and keep going. Love it. Walk like you mean it is my current motto.
Anyway Rome, threw coins in the Trevi the Roman way, stood in awe under the hole in the dome of the Pantheon as evening fell, pastapastapasta for dinner. Unsurprisingly, I slept extremely well that night!
Next day was a guided tour of the Forum and Colosseum - oh no wait, you need to hear the FUN part where 45 Contikians tried to get on the Roman Metro at peak hour, including a train switch. Amedeo told us to use our elbows or whatever was necessary - squee! Ended up with half the group on one train and the rest on the next train, followed by a power walk ON THE ROAD to meet our guide because we were running late. Still not sure how this was easier than us all getting on our pink bus, but never mind!
Colosseum and Forum were okay, I was actually a little bit underwhelmed by them, maybe because they're familiar and what you expect to see in Rome, felt a bit like I was ticking a box on a list. Moving on to the Vatican City then. Now that WAS impressive! Amedeo wasn't allowed in with us, but he told us what to see so I led on and we managed to see almost everything he told us to. And in his words, it was just WOW! We actually went underneath St Peter's Basilica to see the tombs of the Popes and the exit from that led you directly up into the middle of St Peter's and man, what an entry! If you've been there you'll know how huge and magnificent it all is.
We had our farewell dinner that night, then we all went to a couple of bars, but it was almost impossible to get a drink and when they then cost me $16AUD, it wasn't worth it, so we did what had become our routine and a bunch of us hung out in my hotel room. Said our farewells because my closest friends were going home the next morning and the next day I said goodbye to Reiko and then, once again, it was Team Nicola!
Amedeo had scribbled all over my map of Rome so I went and visited a bunch of spectacular churches, walked EVERYWHERE, had some quiet time in Borghese Park, before heading back to the hotel for a nap, shortly followed by ten and a half hours of blissful and uninterrupted sleep! Think I need a post-Contiki holiday!
And now, I'm in Naples, scummy dirty Naples. Went to Pompeii yesterday, better than Rome and ran into another Contikian, today I went to a couple of churches in Naples without getting mugged and tomorrow I'm going down to the town of Amalfi and then back along the gorgeous Amalfi coast. Today is Sunday and I've essentially spent the day Sunday-style, am about to have a cup of tea and whack a DVD on.
Thanks for your attention, I know this was HUGE, I seriously left so much out! Like the vomit, everyone's favourite! Next blog will be sooner and smaller...
After Nice it was on to Italy! Amedeo, our guide, was Italian so he was beyond excited to get to his part of the world. We spent the day training it from one village of the Cinque Terre to the next, visiting three in total. Oh yeah, this was my Half Way Day, exactly half way through my trip, and Monterosa, our first Cinque Terre stop, came up trumps with The Perfect Lunch.
My three closest friends Dana, Carl, Meredith and I managed to leave the rest of the group behind and stopped for lunch at a little restaurant on the beachfront road. So we sat there, staring at the Mediterranean, in the sunshine, practically getting run over by cars, eating pizzas and bruschetta and unable to have a conversation that didn't turn into 'God this is amazing, could it get any better than this?'. Superb.
Our other two stops in the Cinque Terre were also beautiful, especially because we were all a bit tired and enjoyed just sprawling in the sun, watching people's washing flapping in the breeze and trying to work out if the tourist department organises fishermen to come sailing in once an hour so the tourists can take photos.
We stayed in Pisa that night so the next morning we headed straight for the Leaning Tower. It was pretty funny, such a familiar building and we walked around a corner and there it was and all we could say was 'Oh!'. Spent an hour trying to get the photos right!
And then YAY! Florence! Before I got to Florence I probably wouldn't have described it like that, but it's now right up there with Seville for me. It's just a bit dirty and completely lacking in trees or greenery of any kind in the main part of town, but there are the most gorgeous buildings and piazzas and the Duomo and Cathedral - WOW! I'd never really heard about them or seen pictures so to walk out of a narrow street and have that immense white, green and red marble building in front of you is fairly incredible. I went to the Accademia that afternoon to see Michaelangelo's 'David', and again it was walk around a corner and 'OH!'. It's big, really big, I had no idea. Carl, Dana, Meredith and I visited a few more places, got gelatis, soaked up the fabulousness of it all before we had to head off to the hotel.
The next day we had a leather factory visit, plus a walking tour of the city, which was really great, some seriously cool statue action. Then we headed for the epic Duomo climb. We decided to do that first and work up an appetite for lunch, rather than lunch first and a heavy climb afterwards. We're so smart. It was a tough climb, but completely worth it. Spectacular views, so many photos! Back down to street level for lunch, then we went to the Boboli Gardens to enjoy some green action. Technically I paid $20AUD to get into the gardens - CRAZY!RIPOFF! - but we had such a good time that I think it was totally worth it. We essentially made our way through the gardens taking photos of each of us imitating the statues. Very mature.
That night we had a traditional Tuscan meal up in the 'iyyys' around Florence. By this stage we had started to shamelessly imitate Amedeo's accent so 'hills' became 'iyyys'. He also had a wonderful way of using 'eventually' and 'opportunities' all the time, and everything was a 'joy for the eyes/nose/palate', or it was 'an essperience' or it was 'just WOW!'. We loved it.
So dinner up in the iyyys was great, I think we got served sliced roasted pork at 80%of our meals, but this was by far the best of all the sliced pig products we got! And instead of dessert we got fantastic biscotti to dunk in dessert wine - hello!
And the next day (are you getting the crazy Contiki pace? I barely had enough time to shower and dry my hair each day) we stopped in San Gimignano on the way to Rome. It's the most well-preserved medieval village in all Europe with 11 towers that were initially about showing off who had the most money. We climbed the only open one and got the full on perfect 'Under The Tuscan Sky' type view. I took lots of photos and I do expect you all to HATE ME. Then we visited the cathedral which was covered in frescoes, very impressive and useful to see before visiting the Sistine Chapel. Of course because we're a bit immature, Jesus on the cross on the back wall in his lovely crisp Calvin Klein's did give us a round of the sniggers. Who knew CK was so vintage??
Being the foodies that we are, we then spotted a gelateria which won the world title in 07/08 and 08/09 so we were in there like a shot. And damn, that was some good gelati! I had cherry and coconut and it is by far the best that I have ever tasted. Tuscan sunshine, rustic village, world's best gelati, I'm done!
Next stop, final stop, ROME! We arrived at about 4.30pm and sprinted out of the bus and Amedeo, in his home city, whizzed us through some of the biggest and best sights, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Santa Maria del Popolo and a few extra interesting bits along the way. My new favourite thing is crossing the road in Italy too, I'm desperate to do it the Amedeo way though, with The Hand. March out into oncoming traffi and hold out one hand in an imperious stop sign and keep going. Love it. Walk like you mean it is my current motto.
Anyway Rome, threw coins in the Trevi the Roman way, stood in awe under the hole in the dome of the Pantheon as evening fell, pastapastapasta for dinner. Unsurprisingly, I slept extremely well that night!
Next day was a guided tour of the Forum and Colosseum - oh no wait, you need to hear the FUN part where 45 Contikians tried to get on the Roman Metro at peak hour, including a train switch. Amedeo told us to use our elbows or whatever was necessary - squee! Ended up with half the group on one train and the rest on the next train, followed by a power walk ON THE ROAD to meet our guide because we were running late. Still not sure how this was easier than us all getting on our pink bus, but never mind!
Colosseum and Forum were okay, I was actually a little bit underwhelmed by them, maybe because they're familiar and what you expect to see in Rome, felt a bit like I was ticking a box on a list. Moving on to the Vatican City then. Now that WAS impressive! Amedeo wasn't allowed in with us, but he told us what to see so I led on and we managed to see almost everything he told us to. And in his words, it was just WOW! We actually went underneath St Peter's Basilica to see the tombs of the Popes and the exit from that led you directly up into the middle of St Peter's and man, what an entry! If you've been there you'll know how huge and magnificent it all is.
We had our farewell dinner that night, then we all went to a couple of bars, but it was almost impossible to get a drink and when they then cost me $16AUD, it wasn't worth it, so we did what had become our routine and a bunch of us hung out in my hotel room. Said our farewells because my closest friends were going home the next morning and the next day I said goodbye to Reiko and then, once again, it was Team Nicola!
Amedeo had scribbled all over my map of Rome so I went and visited a bunch of spectacular churches, walked EVERYWHERE, had some quiet time in Borghese Park, before heading back to the hotel for a nap, shortly followed by ten and a half hours of blissful and uninterrupted sleep! Think I need a post-Contiki holiday!
And now, I'm in Naples, scummy dirty Naples. Went to Pompeii yesterday, better than Rome and ran into another Contikian, today I went to a couple of churches in Naples without getting mugged and tomorrow I'm going down to the town of Amalfi and then back along the gorgeous Amalfi coast. Today is Sunday and I've essentially spent the day Sunday-style, am about to have a cup of tea and whack a DVD on.
Thanks for your attention, I know this was HUGE, I seriously left so much out! Like the vomit, everyone's favourite! Next blog will be sooner and smaller...
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