Since our last contact with you made our way to Germany thinking we had left our mechanical issues behind. The ever faithful TomTom decided to take us to Berchtesgaden on a very scenic route. Unfortunately we couldn’t see the scenery as all those following their GPS were taking the same route and had smoke streaming from their brake linings (as did we). Turns out the legendary driving of Andrew ensured we had less smoke than others newer and decidedly flasher motor homes and vehicles. Decided to stay in a very nice hotel (in the romantic suites) so all could have spa and a relaxing night. We thought we might buy some local produce in the tourist town so Jamie and Annette went into a little deli (where there were no prices on anything) as soon as we walked in they gave us a sample of their local peach schnapps. We then bought a couple of pieces of cheese a few sausages and some crispbread to have with it. Total value 47 Euro, yes that is right about $65 aussie dollars.
The weather was not the best for sightseeing Hitler’s Love Nest (also known as the Eagle’s Nest) so we decided to send Jamie and Andrew down the saltmines after Andrew confronted a German Frau (bitch) in the carpark. They spent 2 hours in the mine learning how salt was extracted from the core of the earth. We left Berchtesgaden in the drizzling rain making our way to the Rhine Valley.
The Rhine Valley was an amazing place to stay even though we only stayed one night.
There was a castle on every hill, trains running on both sides of the river, where on one side the trains ran every 5 minutes all night and barges going up and down the river full of cargo all night as well. We were parked right on the river bank. It is amazing how much the Germans use the river for transport, including tourist boats.
On to Maastrict, The Netherlands. Frank felt right as home as he crossed the border from Germany to Holland. Staying at a great park just out of town called “The Oriental”. The facilities here are the best we have struck on the trip. Indoor heated pool, (huge), amenities fantastic. Caught the bus into Maastrict, supposedly the oldest town in The Netherlands. The food was wonderful. Almost walked out of one shop into another to taste a new delicacy. Frank was delighted with his pickled herring and onion roll, then the four of us tucked into Frites with mayonnaise which was just delicious. Then we found the closest thing to a sausage roll that Jamie has seen in months, so we ate that, then what we thought was a meat pie and turned out the be a quiche (guess what is going to be first thing on the menu when Jamie gets home – yes a pie). The town was great for shoe shopping and there were sales on everywhere. The people in Holland are so friendly and it is very easy for an English speaking person as almost everyone speaks perfect English. We ended the day at a little local tavern having a few quiet ales and reflected on the past year.
More later
Love
J & A, F & A
X X X X X
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
SLOVINIA
What a surprise package the last couple of days have been. We drove into Bled and the views were stunning. The caravan park is surrounded by beautiful tall mountains that are covered in fur trees and cradled amongst them is a sapphire coloured lake. A castle overlooks the lake from a mountain top and an island sits in the lake with a beautiful white church with spire and other old beautiful buildings and fur trees. The area has an alpine feel with lovely stone cottages and trees with their leaves just turning to gold and red it is indeed picture perfect. There are wood gondolas on the lake in the shape of swans, whilst white swans float in the lake along with lots of ducks, hard not to overdo it with the camera.
We hired a couple of mountain bikes yesterday and all set off about 3.00 for a ride around the lake, just over 6 km. Annette was the dorky one with the helmet and the clip on the pants leg to stop the pants getting caught in the bike chain. (I am surprised Frank didn’t insist I have training wheels after my last effort on the bike – more about that later.) Fabulous ride, a little sore in the gluteous maximus for the oldie with the helmet but I did back up again this morning for another ride around the lake and I think another ride or two and I will be right for the Toure de France in a year or two.
NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!
We are currently sitting 6.2 klm into an 8 klm tunnel and Cal has chucked in the towel. Andrew and Frank are worrying enough for the four of us and Drew has just gone to the emergency phone to ring for help. A problem with the radiator I think. Help will be about 1 hour.
1 hour later a cute Austrian mechanic arrives with orange lights flashing and hero look about him. Andrew and Frank still vomiting, Jamie and I saying “He’s cute – better not to share that thought with the men right now!!!” It turns out to be a broken hose and voila the motor starts first go now that it is cooled down. All out of the car into the emergency bay whilst the mechanic pulls the inside of the van apart to get to the motor, he fixes the hose, follows us for a couple of klm’s to make sure we are OK then we are out of the tunnel and he has another look at the motor and hoses and then says we are right to go – no charge – unbelievable. We gave him a kiss and a koala souvenir and forced some money on him for beers and then went about rebuilding the inside of the van.
We have had an Angel in Turkey and now we have one in Austria.
Love J,A and F,A
We hired a couple of mountain bikes yesterday and all set off about 3.00 for a ride around the lake, just over 6 km. Annette was the dorky one with the helmet and the clip on the pants leg to stop the pants getting caught in the bike chain. (I am surprised Frank didn’t insist I have training wheels after my last effort on the bike – more about that later.) Fabulous ride, a little sore in the gluteous maximus for the oldie with the helmet but I did back up again this morning for another ride around the lake and I think another ride or two and I will be right for the Toure de France in a year or two.
NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!
We are currently sitting 6.2 klm into an 8 klm tunnel and Cal has chucked in the towel. Andrew and Frank are worrying enough for the four of us and Drew has just gone to the emergency phone to ring for help. A problem with the radiator I think. Help will be about 1 hour.
1 hour later a cute Austrian mechanic arrives with orange lights flashing and hero look about him. Andrew and Frank still vomiting, Jamie and I saying “He’s cute – better not to share that thought with the men right now!!!” It turns out to be a broken hose and voila the motor starts first go now that it is cooled down. All out of the car into the emergency bay whilst the mechanic pulls the inside of the van apart to get to the motor, he fixes the hose, follows us for a couple of klm’s to make sure we are OK then we are out of the tunnel and he has another look at the motor and hoses and then says we are right to go – no charge – unbelievable. We gave him a kiss and a koala souvenir and forced some money on him for beers and then went about rebuilding the inside of the van.
We have had an Angel in Turkey and now we have one in Austria.
Love J,A and F,A
Thursday, September 23, 2010
CROATIA, SLOVINIA, TOO RELAXED TO WRITE
Today we have a new guest writer on the blog. The Griffo's Old took the reins of the blog as "rent" for staying in Cal.
We are all agreed that Croatia is now our favourite country. The scenery is breathtaking, Croatia is covered in woods and forests, with steep rugged grey mountains running the length of the coast. The food is very tasty and inexpensive, coffee is as good as we have had anywhere and the weather has been sunny. Leaving Italy we caught an overnight ferry from Ancona to Split and the Adriatic Sea was as smooth as a millpond. Split was a treat with it old historic centre and great vegetable and flower markets. We did some great shopping, bought Italian leather sandals and a Genuine Panama hat for Frank. On to Hvar the next day catching a ferry from a small town on the coast over to the Island of Hvar. The drive to the main town from the ferry port was 75 klm and the road was very narrow, twisting and turning and no guard rails and about a thousand foot drop to our death. We got to the main town and all decided there was no way we were going to drive that road again so caught the ferry from the town of Hvar on to Dubrovnik. A six hour ferry ride which was very relaxing and a restaurant that served the best steak we have all eaten in a long time. Dubrovnik lived up to its reputation of one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia, we climbed about a million steps in Dubrovnik and walked the wall which surrounded the town. We all felt really great the next day and surprised that we had no ill effects from the workout on the steps, however, the next day a couple of us felt like we had been hit by a bus - everything ached.
A big drive from Dubrovnik to Sibenik just north of Split. A fantastic campground/resort, named Solaris Sibernik. Situated on the coast in natural surroundings covering 7.5 ha. After a big drive we decided to stay 2 nights, J & A ran into Amy and Mat, a young couple they had met in Paris. We all sat around at the bar and watched the sunset. Also gave the restaurants a good workout – yum!
On to Slovinia. Quite a climb to get onto the motorway (Cal is doing an awesome job ) and another big day for Andrew driving. We arrived in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovinia. After a great dinner last night at the restaurant at the campground 6 km from the city centre we had a few laughs trying to all get ready for bed at the same time and still keep some semblance of dignity and modesty. It was really cold last night and nobody was prepared to brave the cold whilst the other got their jammies on so it was a free for all. As I said lots of laughs, just as well we are all family. We have spent the morning walking through the old city, had breakfast in town at a cafebar. It had the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen but we resisted the urge and had toasted ham, cheese, egg and lettuce rolls and coffee instead. We had heard it was a beautiful city and it is. Very easy to walk around this town it is really pedestrian friendly. There are designated bike tracks all the way into the city from the outer areas and they are well used. I have never seen so many cafes in a city, the river which runs through the city has cafes all the way along each side. We are just arriving in Bled so must be away, more later.
Love from all of us.
J & A and F & A
We are all agreed that Croatia is now our favourite country. The scenery is breathtaking, Croatia is covered in woods and forests, with steep rugged grey mountains running the length of the coast. The food is very tasty and inexpensive, coffee is as good as we have had anywhere and the weather has been sunny. Leaving Italy we caught an overnight ferry from Ancona to Split and the Adriatic Sea was as smooth as a millpond. Split was a treat with it old historic centre and great vegetable and flower markets. We did some great shopping, bought Italian leather sandals and a Genuine Panama hat for Frank. On to Hvar the next day catching a ferry from a small town on the coast over to the Island of Hvar. The drive to the main town from the ferry port was 75 klm and the road was very narrow, twisting and turning and no guard rails and about a thousand foot drop to our death. We got to the main town and all decided there was no way we were going to drive that road again so caught the ferry from the town of Hvar on to Dubrovnik. A six hour ferry ride which was very relaxing and a restaurant that served the best steak we have all eaten in a long time. Dubrovnik lived up to its reputation of one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia, we climbed about a million steps in Dubrovnik and walked the wall which surrounded the town. We all felt really great the next day and surprised that we had no ill effects from the workout on the steps, however, the next day a couple of us felt like we had been hit by a bus - everything ached.
A big drive from Dubrovnik to Sibenik just north of Split. A fantastic campground/resort, named Solaris Sibernik. Situated on the coast in natural surroundings covering 7.5 ha. After a big drive we decided to stay 2 nights, J & A ran into Amy and Mat, a young couple they had met in Paris. We all sat around at the bar and watched the sunset. Also gave the restaurants a good workout – yum!
On to Slovinia. Quite a climb to get onto the motorway (Cal is doing an awesome job ) and another big day for Andrew driving. We arrived in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovinia. After a great dinner last night at the restaurant at the campground 6 km from the city centre we had a few laughs trying to all get ready for bed at the same time and still keep some semblance of dignity and modesty. It was really cold last night and nobody was prepared to brave the cold whilst the other got their jammies on so it was a free for all. As I said lots of laughs, just as well we are all family. We have spent the morning walking through the old city, had breakfast in town at a cafebar. It had the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen but we resisted the urge and had toasted ham, cheese, egg and lettuce rolls and coffee instead. We had heard it was a beautiful city and it is. Very easy to walk around this town it is really pedestrian friendly. There are designated bike tracks all the way into the city from the outer areas and they are well used. I have never seen so many cafes in a city, the river which runs through the city has cafes all the way along each side. We are just arriving in Bled so must be away, more later.
Love from all of us.
J & A and F & A
Friday, September 17, 2010
The last of Italy...
After our last blog you left us sitting at the pool at Villa Capanne sipping local wine and eating amazing local produce. Since then our holiday has progressed nicely. We picked up our hire car (Upgraded to a beautiful, and speedy Alfa Romeo), took several day trips to some beautiful local towns and regions, played some golf, enjoyed beautiful food and wine at the villa and had an incredible lunch at a local restaurant called Il Covone that we’ll remember for years to come. Recently we’ve had one problem with our adventure that, although hasn’t really required a mention, has been a massive pain in the bum. Cal has run out of gas (butane), which has meant that cooking was a challenge. This has been really quite hard to rectify as it’s apparently illegal to fill gas bottles in Europe, but no-one can provide us with a British gas bottle that will fit our mate Cal. More on this later.
One of our day trips was to the wonderful town of Deruta which is famous for its outstanding locally produced ceramic goods. We arrived at one of the factory outlets which prompted a fury of spending from all of us. We’ll deal with the extra baggage charges later. Our next day trip was to Cortona, which some of you will know from a concert that Andre Reau held there in the town square. This is an absolutely stunning hilltop town that is exactly the sort of town you imagine when you think of the best of Italy. In Cortona we wandered the streets found some beautiful little art galleries.
Frank and Andrew started Sunday with a game of golf on the Antognolla golf course which was a lovely start to the day, regardless of the score. Unfortunately the condition of the course was quite deceiving, from a distance it looked spectacular, but up close was obviously over watered and had too many bunkers. Even though Andrew did get a birdy, it wasn’t our best game. Lunch started with a drive through some amazing Umbrian farm land towards our restaurant. Lunch consisted of the best wines that Umbria has to offer, along with 6 courses of possibly some of the best food we’ve ever eaten.
On Monday it was time to move on. We left the wonderful Villa Capanne with heavy hearts. This was truly a wonderful part of our adventure, and a level of luxury that we’ll probably never see again. We left for Urbino in the midmorning and reached the town just in time for lunch which was enjoyed at a little cafe in one of the many side streets of this town. The town is another of Italy’s hilltop treasures which is heavily occupied by the students of the local university. It’s amazing to see such an old town so heavily populated with such a young, progressive population. Tuesday was spent in the wonderful Republic of San Marino. Although the drive half way up the massive mountain top city/country of San Marino was quite a challenge, the view and experience was well worth it. We finally found a car park for Cal right next to the gondola ride which takes you up to the top of the mountain and made our way up to see one of the smallest countries in the world. After seeing it’s location, it’s little wonder that these people have insisted on independence from anyone else. It really is on top of the world. We enjoyed an amazing 3 course lunch at a great little restaurant, and made our way back down to start our journey to Ancona en route to Croatia!
The next day we made it to Ancona by about 1:00pm which gave us plenty of time to hang around before our 8:30pm departure time. On boarding the ship, we headed straight for the bar to have a couple of last beers within Italy to calm the nerves of our more jittery travellers. Leaving Italy for the last time this trip was a fairly sobering idea. Although we met some incredibly rude people, and sometimes the “Italian way” can be incredibly infuriating, it’s still been one of the most beautiful countries we’ve been to. It’s all about the passion, the food, the wine and of course the way you look in Italy. Yes, it’s one of the most pretentious countries on the planet, but because of this, it’s also one of the most beautiful. Love it or hate it, it’s the worlds super power in both style, and most importantly, coffee.... Anyway, back to the boat. After a couple of beers, we had dinner, and a fairly early night ready to wake to our next part in the adventure.... CROATIA!
On arrival in Split, it took little time for us to realise that although this town is well known for its transport hub status, it’s definitely a place to visit in its own rite. We saw some amazing local markets with some very interesting foods, some incredibly talented buskers and yes, of course, more really old buildings. After leaving Split toward Dubrovnik we very quickly realised why the coast of Croatia has such an amazing reputation. You could compare this coast line with that of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The turquoise water is lined by white cliffs hundreds of metres high. We nervously drove Cal around the cliffs to a beautiful little sea side town where we’ve stopped for the night. After a swim in the ocean, and a few beers and wines (stocked up from Italy) for happy hour, we’re ready to start it all again tomorrow. Please, can this time in our lives never end....
A&J&A&F xoxoxox
One of our day trips was to the wonderful town of Deruta which is famous for its outstanding locally produced ceramic goods. We arrived at one of the factory outlets which prompted a fury of spending from all of us. We’ll deal with the extra baggage charges later. Our next day trip was to Cortona, which some of you will know from a concert that Andre Reau held there in the town square. This is an absolutely stunning hilltop town that is exactly the sort of town you imagine when you think of the best of Italy. In Cortona we wandered the streets found some beautiful little art galleries.
Frank and Andrew started Sunday with a game of golf on the Antognolla golf course which was a lovely start to the day, regardless of the score. Unfortunately the condition of the course was quite deceiving, from a distance it looked spectacular, but up close was obviously over watered and had too many bunkers. Even though Andrew did get a birdy, it wasn’t our best game. Lunch started with a drive through some amazing Umbrian farm land towards our restaurant. Lunch consisted of the best wines that Umbria has to offer, along with 6 courses of possibly some of the best food we’ve ever eaten.
On Monday it was time to move on. We left the wonderful Villa Capanne with heavy hearts. This was truly a wonderful part of our adventure, and a level of luxury that we’ll probably never see again. We left for Urbino in the midmorning and reached the town just in time for lunch which was enjoyed at a little cafe in one of the many side streets of this town. The town is another of Italy’s hilltop treasures which is heavily occupied by the students of the local university. It’s amazing to see such an old town so heavily populated with such a young, progressive population. Tuesday was spent in the wonderful Republic of San Marino. Although the drive half way up the massive mountain top city/country of San Marino was quite a challenge, the view and experience was well worth it. We finally found a car park for Cal right next to the gondola ride which takes you up to the top of the mountain and made our way up to see one of the smallest countries in the world. After seeing it’s location, it’s little wonder that these people have insisted on independence from anyone else. It really is on top of the world. We enjoyed an amazing 3 course lunch at a great little restaurant, and made our way back down to start our journey to Ancona en route to Croatia!
The next day we made it to Ancona by about 1:00pm which gave us plenty of time to hang around before our 8:30pm departure time. On boarding the ship, we headed straight for the bar to have a couple of last beers within Italy to calm the nerves of our more jittery travellers. Leaving Italy for the last time this trip was a fairly sobering idea. Although we met some incredibly rude people, and sometimes the “Italian way” can be incredibly infuriating, it’s still been one of the most beautiful countries we’ve been to. It’s all about the passion, the food, the wine and of course the way you look in Italy. Yes, it’s one of the most pretentious countries on the planet, but because of this, it’s also one of the most beautiful. Love it or hate it, it’s the worlds super power in both style, and most importantly, coffee.... Anyway, back to the boat. After a couple of beers, we had dinner, and a fairly early night ready to wake to our next part in the adventure.... CROATIA!
On arrival in Split, it took little time for us to realise that although this town is well known for its transport hub status, it’s definitely a place to visit in its own rite. We saw some amazing local markets with some very interesting foods, some incredibly talented buskers and yes, of course, more really old buildings. After leaving Split toward Dubrovnik we very quickly realised why the coast of Croatia has such an amazing reputation. You could compare this coast line with that of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The turquoise water is lined by white cliffs hundreds of metres high. We nervously drove Cal around the cliffs to a beautiful little sea side town where we’ve stopped for the night. After a swim in the ocean, and a few beers and wines (stocked up from Italy) for happy hour, we’re ready to start it all again tomorrow. Please, can this time in our lives never end....
A&J&A&F xoxoxox
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The best part of Italy....
It’s again been a few days since we’ve written. We do apologise, but there has been good reason for our tardiness. First we’ll start from leaving Visp. We left just before lunch thinking that it should be a quick 1 hour drive to Lake Maggiore via the train tunnel going from Brig into Italy. Unfortunately big Cal didn’t fit into the train which meant we had a 7 hour drive almost back to Mont Blanc to get back to the side of pizza and insane driving. On arrival to Lake Maggiore, we found a camping ground in Arona, right on the shore of the lake which gave us brilliant views. The next day we took a ferry from Arona to Stresa which takes about an hour each way and gives an amazing view of the lake and the three islands just off Stresa. Stresa itself is a beautiful little town with winding streets that can take an entire day to explore. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of seafood, pasta and wine in the square of the town.
The next few days were spent doing shopping trips to outlets surrounding Milan, and relaxing around the shores of one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. It was great to get some relaxing in before picking up Mum and Dad Griffo and making the big trip down to the Villa.
On Monday we made our way to Malpensa Airport in Milan to pick up our new travel partners. We were both SO excited to see Mum and Dad Griffo, give them a big hug, and start the new chapter of our adventure with two great travellers. Once they made their way through Italian Customs (We won’t say what Frank thought of Customs as he might not be welcomed back into the country) we started the big drive down towards Perugia and Villa Capanne which has the reputation of being heaven on earth and carried the burden of exceptionally high expectations from both of us. Due to delay in Customs, and some heavy traffic, we spent the first night with all four of us in Cal parked in a truck stop on the highway with a refrigeration truck next to us revving all night long. What a great welcome for Frank and Annette!
Early the next day we made our way to the Villa. This place is absolutely incredible.... Frank and Annette are lucky enough to have two wonderful friends that own this piece of paradise in Umbria. To try and describe this place seems to be a futile task, but we’ll try. On driving through the front gate of the golf course that the villa sits above, the surrounding area changes from the rugged Italian country side to a perfectly manicured landscape scattered with several hundred year old olive trees. Once you weave your way through the golf course and up the hill, you arrive at Villa Capanne. The MOST beautiful house we have ever seen. A perfectly restored old Italian villa has all the charm of a traditional villa, but all of the comforts of a 5 star hotel. Every aspect of the villa has been finished to an exceptionally high standard ensuring the ultimate in luxury at the same time keeping its original charm making it’s guests feel like they’re arriving back home even as they enter for the first time. Once you finally get your head around the inside of the house, you walk out to the back yard where the infinity pool looks over the entire golf course, and castle sitting on the opposite hill. The garden surrounding the villa is full of lavender bushes, fig trees and an assortment of herbs as well as perfectly maintained lawns kept to its high standard by the full time gardener. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! We’re so very very lucky to be allowed to stay here and will never EVER forget this experience. We will of course upload photos of this amazing place, but must warn that they could never do it justice. See the website at http://www.villacapanne.com/.
Yesterday we took a day trip to Assisi, which is the home of Italy’s, and Franks patron saint, St Francis. To visit this brilliant town with Mum and Dad Griffo has been one of the highlights of the entire trip, and something we’ve been looking forward to since planning the trip back in Australia. We walked around the town for a few hours taking in the beautiful streets and churches. Once we arrived back to the villa, we enjoyed yet another night of happy hour and dinner on the terrace overlooking the most incredible view on the planet. What a life we lead during this brilliant adventure.
A&J xoxo
The next few days were spent doing shopping trips to outlets surrounding Milan, and relaxing around the shores of one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. It was great to get some relaxing in before picking up Mum and Dad Griffo and making the big trip down to the Villa.
On Monday we made our way to Malpensa Airport in Milan to pick up our new travel partners. We were both SO excited to see Mum and Dad Griffo, give them a big hug, and start the new chapter of our adventure with two great travellers. Once they made their way through Italian Customs (We won’t say what Frank thought of Customs as he might not be welcomed back into the country) we started the big drive down towards Perugia and Villa Capanne which has the reputation of being heaven on earth and carried the burden of exceptionally high expectations from both of us. Due to delay in Customs, and some heavy traffic, we spent the first night with all four of us in Cal parked in a truck stop on the highway with a refrigeration truck next to us revving all night long. What a great welcome for Frank and Annette!
Early the next day we made our way to the Villa. This place is absolutely incredible.... Frank and Annette are lucky enough to have two wonderful friends that own this piece of paradise in Umbria. To try and describe this place seems to be a futile task, but we’ll try. On driving through the front gate of the golf course that the villa sits above, the surrounding area changes from the rugged Italian country side to a perfectly manicured landscape scattered with several hundred year old olive trees. Once you weave your way through the golf course and up the hill, you arrive at Villa Capanne. The MOST beautiful house we have ever seen. A perfectly restored old Italian villa has all the charm of a traditional villa, but all of the comforts of a 5 star hotel. Every aspect of the villa has been finished to an exceptionally high standard ensuring the ultimate in luxury at the same time keeping its original charm making it’s guests feel like they’re arriving back home even as they enter for the first time. Once you finally get your head around the inside of the house, you walk out to the back yard where the infinity pool looks over the entire golf course, and castle sitting on the opposite hill. The garden surrounding the villa is full of lavender bushes, fig trees and an assortment of herbs as well as perfectly maintained lawns kept to its high standard by the full time gardener. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! We’re so very very lucky to be allowed to stay here and will never EVER forget this experience. We will of course upload photos of this amazing place, but must warn that they could never do it justice. See the website at http://www.villacapanne.com/.
Yesterday we took a day trip to Assisi, which is the home of Italy’s, and Franks patron saint, St Francis. To visit this brilliant town with Mum and Dad Griffo has been one of the highlights of the entire trip, and something we’ve been looking forward to since planning the trip back in Australia. We walked around the town for a few hours taking in the beautiful streets and churches. Once we arrived back to the villa, we enjoyed yet another night of happy hour and dinner on the terrace overlooking the most incredible view on the planet. What a life we lead during this brilliant adventure.
A&J xoxo
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Alpine Memories
“The last two days have been so spectacular, they deserve their own blog.” This was Jamie’s reaction to the last two days that we’ve spent in Visp, Switzerland. This will be a fairly short post due to the fact that we only posted a couple of days ago, but we’ve both been so overwhelmed by the last couple of days, that we’ve had to put it into words.
Yesterday started with some pretty ordinary weather that called a halt to our expedition to one of Switzerland’s largest glaciers. Instead, we purchased a two day rail/bus pass which at an expensive $100 each, definitely needed to provide some brilliant services to give some satisfaction. We left that morning to see Sass Fee which is a small ski resort that offers all year round skiing, and beautiful scenery. The bus trip alone to our destination was absolutely stunning. When you see the work that has been put into the roads that service these towns, you can understand why it costs so much to get public transport. They have to pay for these incredible winding and tunnelling roads somehow. The town itself is completely free of conventional cars, which are traded for electric run taxi’s which are no doubt priced to encourage people to walk. This alone, has a calming effect on the entire town giving it an old school feel and essentially turning it into a complete pedestrian zone. We finished the day with a beer in a local cafe, and returning to Cal for a lovely dinner of bangers and mash (sausages purchased in France, 15 minutes away).
With a massive day planned for today, we woke up at a very impressive 6:30am; earliest we’ve been up in months! We made our way up to Zermatt which is a similar sort of town to the one we saw yesterday, but more famous because of the towering monster lurking above the town called Mattahorn. This was to play second fiddle today, as the original plan was for Andrew to do some midsummer skiing on one of the few all year round ski fields in Switzerland. Unfortunately due to some dodgy alpine weather early this morning, skiing was wiped off the cards. To make up for this disappointment we decided we’d take the cable car up as far as it would go (highest cable car in Europe). At about 11:30 the weather cleared up beautifully so we boarded the cable car for the hour long ride. After a couple of bumps which had Jamie clinging to the ceiling, we made our way to the top of Klein Mattahorn, 3882 metres above sea level. The view from here was just incredible. We could see into Switzerland, France and Italy all covered in beautiful snow. It’s just too hard to describe the feeling you get when you’re this far above the rest of the world. Jamie said that it’s one of her most memorable moments of travelling so far. This is what it’s all about.
A&J xoxo
PS - Only a few days till we see Mum and Dad Griffo!!!
Yesterday started with some pretty ordinary weather that called a halt to our expedition to one of Switzerland’s largest glaciers. Instead, we purchased a two day rail/bus pass which at an expensive $100 each, definitely needed to provide some brilliant services to give some satisfaction. We left that morning to see Sass Fee which is a small ski resort that offers all year round skiing, and beautiful scenery. The bus trip alone to our destination was absolutely stunning. When you see the work that has been put into the roads that service these towns, you can understand why it costs so much to get public transport. They have to pay for these incredible winding and tunnelling roads somehow. The town itself is completely free of conventional cars, which are traded for electric run taxi’s which are no doubt priced to encourage people to walk. This alone, has a calming effect on the entire town giving it an old school feel and essentially turning it into a complete pedestrian zone. We finished the day with a beer in a local cafe, and returning to Cal for a lovely dinner of bangers and mash (sausages purchased in France, 15 minutes away).
With a massive day planned for today, we woke up at a very impressive 6:30am; earliest we’ve been up in months! We made our way up to Zermatt which is a similar sort of town to the one we saw yesterday, but more famous because of the towering monster lurking above the town called Mattahorn. This was to play second fiddle today, as the original plan was for Andrew to do some midsummer skiing on one of the few all year round ski fields in Switzerland. Unfortunately due to some dodgy alpine weather early this morning, skiing was wiped off the cards. To make up for this disappointment we decided we’d take the cable car up as far as it would go (highest cable car in Europe). At about 11:30 the weather cleared up beautifully so we boarded the cable car for the hour long ride. After a couple of bumps which had Jamie clinging to the ceiling, we made our way to the top of Klein Mattahorn, 3882 metres above sea level. The view from here was just incredible. We could see into Switzerland, France and Italy all covered in beautiful snow. It’s just too hard to describe the feeling you get when you’re this far above the rest of the world. Jamie said that it’s one of her most memorable moments of travelling so far. This is what it’s all about.
A&J xoxo
PS - Only a few days till we see Mum and Dad Griffo!!!
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About Us
- Andrew and Jamie Griffioen
- Andrew and Jamie are a married couple from Brisbane, Australia. We have embarked on an overseas adventure for 6 months leaving in April and returning in October. We plan to cover the UK and a lot of Europe. To see more details, check out our posts below.