Bratislava & Hungary

 

(27/6/15) Auf wiedersehen Vienna, and Danke; we are off to Budapest in Hungary (Michael's mothership! Or should I say fathership?!) But, on our way, we visit Bratislava! Cute little markets with the most delicious smelling dried fruits and spices!! It's a pity we would never get it back through customs in Aus, but it might be a good project for Bush School or OSHC! Michael also tasted some local food - not sure what it was called, but it was basically a massive deep fried onion/potato cake, topped with cheese and cream: very oily and very filling. I'm trying to give my stomach a break, so I didn't attempt one myself. 

After perusing the markets and having a bite to eat, we were back on the bus and off to Hungary! We saw the freedom statue erected by the Soviets when they "liberated" Hungary from the Nazis (which isn't so much about freedom as we later discovered) and then visited the Royal Palace on the River Danube - so pretty. 

(28/6/15) The following day we walked to the shoe memorial on the edge of the river, which shows "statues" of shoes in the place where Jewish innocents were shot and then fell into the river. It was very sad - some of the shoes were men's, some were women's, and some were children's. We had prepared ourselves for this part of the trip - knowing that Hungary would be a somewhat depressing part of the tour because of their history. 

We then walked down to the "House of Terror" - this was a building used not only as Nazi headquarters but also as a prison and place of torture after World War II when the Soviet Union was in power in Hungary. The building is now a type of museum, set up for people to walk through and watch video footage from survivors and see artefacts which remain from that period. It was a very sobering visit, and we spent over two hours there and still didn't get through every single piece of information. Although it was sad, it was an important visit for us to learn about the terrible history of Hungary, and amazing to realise how close Michael's grandparents were to being a part of such a horrible past. 

From this museum, we went to have something to eat and try to relax... I had a delicious lentil soup and Michael had traditional paprika chicken with Hungarian dumplings (nokedli). We walked from there to the thermal baths, which was awesome. The inside bath was a bit icky, but the outdoor bath was fabulous - a beautiful 38 degrees. It was very relaxing and calming after a not so cheerful day. 

Budapest really was a lovely place to visit; although it is a place drenched in sadness through history, it was still a beautiful place to visit. 

Just outside of our hostel there was a market set into an alleyway, which is where we spent the rest of the afternoon until dinnertime. We even found an elderly man, way down the back of the markets, who had a stamp stall. This set a little flutter in our hearts... thinking of you, Les. <3

Michael tried another traditional Hungarian dish for dinner (I think it was some kind of duck?) and I tried a drink called "Hey Honey" which was a cocktail of Hungarian liquor. We bought a traditional dessert, which I can't actually remember the name of, but my best description is that it was a hollow spiral of pastry (about the size that would wind around your arm) and then sprinkled with cinnamon or crushed walnut. After grabbing a couple of souvenirs, to try and finish off our forints, (our magnet collection is steadily growing!!!) we made our way back to the hostel and spent the night chatting with some of our tour group buddies until we all fell asleep. 

Our next stop will, unfortunately, not be too cheerful again... but once again, it will be a lesson in history, and, I assume, something we will never forget. 

Until then. xo 

Vienna

(25/6/15) Guten tag! Here we are in Austria! Do, re,  mi... Home to Mozart, the original place croissants were invented (NOT FRANCE!)

Can you imagine Freud and a bunch of other famous composers heading down to the coffee shop to have a drink and a chat? Did you know that Austria is where schnapps and red bull was invented? Did you know that they were the first place in the world to elect a female ruler: empress  Maria Theresa, who had sixteen children and saved hundreds of thousands of lives because she decided it would be better NOT to fully immerse babies in freezing cold water in winter to be baptised! 

The first night we went for a traditional Austrian meal - the soup was amaaazzziiinnngggg - and then headed back to the hostel to get changed for, dun dun dun dunnnnnnn, Prater Park!!!!! Basically the coolest place ever: roller coasters, rides, side shows, toys, food, dodgem cars, a race track, PURE AWESOMENESS!!!!! I went on rides until I could ride no more, and everyone had a total blast!!! I put a video on Facebook if anyone cares to watch it ^.^ 

 (26/6/15) The following day we headed back off to the Summer Palace (Schönbrunn Palace) and took a tour through the rooms. I wasn't allowed to take any photos, but I was at one point standing in the room where Mozart performed his very first private so very, at the tender age of six years old, after which he apparently jumped on the empress' lap and gave her a kiss! Such history!!!!!!!! I'm trying to soak it all in. 

After walking around the grounds for a while, and checking out the rest of the palace garden, we made our way back into the city centre and had some lunch and did a spot of shopping (Michael bought a sprite, which turned out to be coke, but had a very appropriate label for him). 

From there, we met up with some of the other tour members and Joe (fantastic bus driver extraordinaire) drove us all to the Schnapps Museum!!! I only tried a couple of the testers, but they were all delicious. Except for the absinthe. That wasn't so delicious in my opinion, haha. 

After that, we head back to the hostel, grabbed some food for dinner in the street and then had a reasonably quiet evening hanging out with tour group members and having a good laugh. Safe to say that there will be some tears when saying goodbye - I've made some lovely new friends. Hard to believe that this tour is just past the halfway point now! Eep! Sent a couple of postcards to school, so keep an eye out for them, OSHCIES and BUSH BuDDIES. Love you all! Bon & Mike. xo

Verona & Venice

(23/6/15) Farewell Rome, and on to Venice - but on our way to Venice we stopped in Verona! This is where the inspiration for the story of Romeo & Juliet was born, though the story is fiction. Verona has made a balcony to attract tourists, said to be Juliet's balcony, and tourists from all over the world come to take photos at the balcony, rub the breasts in Juliet's statue, and then leave messages of love on the wall. People have also left "locks of love" as well. 

Michael and I enjoyed a free gelato (thanks Felix!) and walked through the markets and down the streets of Verona enjoying the beautiful town. It was only a short stay, but it was a lovely place, and it was good to see so many people so inspired by the idea of love, tragedy, and peace. 

After our stop in Verona, we made our way to Venice. We had a nice early night (after a delicious dinner) and then got up to catch the bus and the train in to the heart of Venice - into the island - for an amazing day. First we had a walking tour - little alleys, canals, bridges... BEAUTIFUL!!!! I could have roamed the city all day taking photos of all the amazing sights. After this it was a visit to see a lace demonstration (wow, the effort that goes into to some of these works of art!!!!)

After the lace demonstration was saw a glass demonstration, and spent some time looking at the amazing chandeliers, glass wear, and jewellery that is made here in Venice using this incredible technique. Both the lace demo and the glass demo made me realise just how precious some of these traditional a trades & skills are - this is not something we want to lose! The effort, the heart, the skill required to create these things... It's astounding! Suffice to say, we bought some gifts in both shops hahaha. 

Once the demos were over, we had our GONDOLA RIDE!!! It's another one off the bucket list, and what a great ride it was! Down the little canals and through the streets... cruising along calmly.... It was over so fast, and it was delightful. We glided past buildings whilst the gondolier (is that the correct term!?!) pointed out many historical places of interest: the house of Casanova...the house of Mozart... And many others I can't even think of right now. So amazing, and so romantic and beautiful. 

With the gondola ride over, we made our way to a recommended eatery for some lunch and were not disappointed! Seriously delicious pizza... I could not fault it. If ever there was a place for yummy pizza, this is it (oh, and the water was sweet, and the napkins were softer than Irish linen). 100% on that food outing ^.^ Thank you Venice!!! 

Tonight we have a masquerade party - after hearing about the tradition of wearing masks and all the meaning behind it, everyone on the tour bought a colourful & decorative mask to wear to a party tonight after dinner. Can't wait!! It will be sad to leave Italy; we have spent quite some time here now, and it's such a marvellous place. Thank you for all your delicious pasta, pizza, wine, and gelato, beautiful Italy. 

Pisa, Florence, & Rome

(20/6/15) Goodbye to Nice and hello to FLORENCE, but on our way there we stopped at a "bucket list" spot; the leaning tower of Pisa. I suppose it's one of those "must do" things when you're in Italy. It was interesting hearing about the cemeteries and the people who created amazing dome church and towers, but all together felt just a tad too touristy for my liking. Still, we took some snaps with our friend Archie, and then went to have our VERY FIRST TRUE ITALIAN PIZZA! Woooo!!!! How exciting! 

Back on the bus, and off to FLORENCE! Wow, some of the buildings are sensational. You'd walk down a little side street, walk around a corner, and then suddenly BAM!!! A gigantic artwork of magnanimous proportions sitting right there! The night we got to Florence we went to a karaoke bar after dinner at the hostel (and possibly a few too many drinks, but hey at least I wasn't drinking from a BUCKET like some people were haha) and I got up to do "all about that bass" and then proceeded to drink way too much (as I do sometimes). A great night out in Florence though, and I can at least say that I've been up on stage in another country and it wasn't too bad of a show if I do say so myself hahaha. 

(21/6/15) The next morning we did a walking tour of Florence - bridges, buildings, history... It's a beautiful place, with so much to see. I tried my best not to seem too hungover (the leather demonstration was one thing I skipped - for fear of losing my breakfast hearing about how they make it). After the walking tour Michael and I split off from the group and went to get some lunch. Queue THE BEST PASTA IVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! Honestly, it was a simple ravioli with mushrooms, but this dish was STUNNING! Unforgettable, and a great start to the many pasta dishes still to be eaten here in Italy! 

After lunch we were back on the bus and driving to ROME! Another amazing place which I will surely never forget! We did a tour of the city, walking down streets, seeing musicians, some amazing historical places, and ticking some more things off the bucket list (the Colloseum being one of them!) I tell you what, we were very tired by the end of the day, but it was good to have some delicious spaghetti and carbonara and the head back to the hostel/campsite. We even braved the metro and succeeded (starting off an acapella version of our "wake up song" on the stop before we got off just to make sure everyone knew we were leaving - I'm sure the other train passengers thought we were drunk, but we were just delirious with Italian happiness and also very, very exhausted haha). 

(22/6/15) this morning we were all up super early to head off to the Vatican. Wow. Talk about art/culture/history OVERLOAD! We had an excellent guide show us around and even point out some of the amazing ways in which Michelangelo "stuck it to the man" secretly in his beautiful artwork for the pope, which I found particularly funny. It was a sensational morning. After that, we caught the train BY OURSELVES into the city centre of Rome again and had some yummy lunch, followed by even YUMMIER gelato. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm soooo delicious. Much walking around after that, trying to make up for the extra calories consumed, and then we made our way back to the hostel via the train and the bus. We have certainly conquered Italian Public Transport haha. 

The hostel here in Rome has an AWESOME pool and spa, right next to the bar, so this afternoon was a few hours of swimming and sun baking whilst our washing was on in the laundry. Ahhhhh this is the life. Can't really say I'm missing home too much at the moment, sorry guys, haha. Tonight we are having a TOGA PARTY, and then tomorrow we are off to Venice! xo 

Nice & Monaco

(18/6/15) As sad as we were to be leaving Switzerland, the sadness was short lived. This day we had breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Italy, and dinner in France! How many people can say that!!!? Truly living the high life right now ;-) (no need to mention that lunch in Italy was a picnic in the service station car park hahaha - it was still Italy!) In the afternoon we arrived in Nice. I have to say we were skeptical about going back to France - Paris was quite a let down - but Nice has definitely restored our faith in the French people and places. 

The evening of the 18th we went to a lovely restaurant to have yummy food and wine, and then moved on to a bar which not only had live music and cheap drinks, but also allowed TABLE DANCING! Suffice to say, we spent most of the night sweating our arses off, arms in the air, dancing feet on the tables. Michael and I were lucky enough to have our own room, so it was nice to have a sleep in the next morning. 

After a leisurely lie in on the 19th, we skipped the hotel breakfast and made our way down to the beach. Michael had a swim whilst I guarded our belongings and took photos (and sun baked). The beach is so weird! It's all pebbles and no sand! Smooth pebbles, some of them quite large, with different colours and patterns, giving quite a nice effect to the look of the place... and when the waves rolled out, the pebbles and rocks would make such a delightful crackling/tumbling sound, almost like soft fireworks popping as the rocks rolled out with the water. What a nice way to start the day!

From there we walked up to the markets - this was probably my favourite part of Nice. Huge fruits, colourful foods, and the nicest smelling flowers I've ever seen. Olives, sweets, tea, herbs and spices, pottery... Just the best market ever. 

We walked the entire way through, and at the very end we had some traditional food: Socca & pisalada (the Socca is like a huge flat pizza base made of chickpea and cooked/fried in salt and oil. pisalada was like a square of cold pizza, traditionally with anchovies and olives). It was the best hangover food ever - the Socca was the perfect combination of crispy and crunchy on the edge and soft and gooey in the middle - and greasy greasy! Yummmmm. 

After this we walked along the shopping mall and picked up a few souvenirs and some drinks. The weather was somewhere between 28 - 32 Celsius (in other words; glorious). We walked back to the hotel for a bit of a relax and a shower before jumping on the bus for Monaco! 

On our way we stopped off at Fragord (sp?) a French parfum factory. SO AWESOME! It is one of the oldest and most exclusive perfume factories in the world, and WOW did some of these scents smell amazing. Not only did we get to see how the soaps and perfumes were made, but we also had lots of SMELLING to do! .......and we definitely didn't leave empty handed, much to Michael's dismay (and to the detriment of the bank account, haha - WHEN IN FRANCE!) 

After this, our visit to Monaco. Now, I must say, I didn't do much enjoy this visit. The story of Monaco is this; a bunch of jerks dressed up as monks, pretended to be tired, weary monks who needed a place to sleep, and a monastery let them in for the night to eat and sleep. Meanwhile, once inside, the jerks pulled out a bunch of swords, killed all the monks, put up a big fence, closed up the gates, and claimed it as their own. Then they turned the monastery into a castle, called themselves a royal family, turned Monaco into a principality, and became royal jerks. I mean, I understand that every place has a history, but these guys have statues outside of their castle of guys dressed up as monks, pulling out their swords! Talk about jerkishness. Meanwhile, everyone in Monaco is driving around in a Porsche or a Ferrari and it costs about $200 for a meal, and the "prince of Monaco" decides who gets to be a citizen. Apparently Michael Jackson and Arnold Swartzanegger even tried to become citizens and the prince turned them down. EXCLUSIVE. 

ANYWAY, we found the cheapest pizza dinner we could find, and then blew some money at the casino, which was all good fun. A lot of our tour group spent some time "car watching". We didn't take our camera, so we don't have any pics, but I'm not really too sad about that. Who needs photos of a bunch of rich people, eh?! Nonetheless, it was a fun afternoon and evening, and then we went back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow; ITALY!!!!! 

Switzerland

(16/6/15) I simply will not have the words to explain the beauty of this place. We stayed in a little village called Lauterbrunnen Valley. 

When we stepped off the bus we were hit with a burst of crisp, fresh air. The cliffs and mountains on either side of the valley had waterfalls cascading down to the lush greenery below. The houses are all traditional and quaint - you won't see any high rises or office buildings in Switzerland. From our hostel we could hear sheep and goats roaming in the hills, each of them with their own tinkling bell, which had the beautiful effect of wind chimes in the air each time they moved. Gorgeous planters of flowers blossomed in each window sill of the houses and the businesses that lined the streets, and at the very front of our hostel a freezing cold river ran past where people would put their drinks - as it was colder than a fridge! 

The first night we had a pyjama party in the bar at the hostel. It was a strange thing moving from a loud, noisy, beer and cider and dancing filled bar to step outside to the serenity and extreme picturesque surroundings of the Swiss Alps and the valley. 

We had a full day to enjoy Switzerland on Wednesday, so what was the first thing we decided to do? Fly 12000feet into the air in a helicopter and then JUMP OUT!!! That's right, we went skydiving over the Swiss Alps. Could there be a better place to do such a thing!? I think not!! It was truly the most awesome experience: thrilling, beautiful, and awe inspiring all at once - and the fact that we did it together made it so much more special. We were even waving to one another as the parachutes opened and we floated past the gorgeous waterfalls and mountains. Truly sensational. 

After that we hiked up behind one of the waterfalls - Archie came along for the trip - and had a packed picnic lunch looking out over the valley. We went into the Main Street of the village after that, and Michael had a U-boot (pronounced "you boat") which was a little submarine of schnapps submerged in beer! I also had a hot chocolate with schnapps, which was lovely. Michael and I went to look at the shops, and Michaels honeymoon present was purchased: a gorgeous Swiss watch! He is now the official time keeper of the trip ^.^ 

After that we went back to the hostel and out our feet, AND a few ciders and beers, into the river (our feet only lasted ten seconds in there before it became too painful from the cold) and had some drinks before dinner was served (mmmmm potato rosti and apple strudel) and the off to bed after a loooong and exciting day! 

We were so sad the be leaving the next day, but the clouds cleared away and rewarded us with a lovely view of the mountains as we drove away on our way to Italy. Goodbye Switzerland - we adore you!!!!! See you when we retire ;-)