Sep 2008

We left Switzerland for Salzburg, Austria the day before the national holiday (not intentionally, but that was how things worked out). We had really enjoyed Zurich, and it seemed like a great place to live in, if you could afford it I guess. Now it was time to enter the home of the Sound of Music, and Mozart’s birthplace (although we read that he hated the place and couldn’t wait to leave). We crossed into Austria past snow-capped mountains, and the housing style changed once again to very rustic cottages, with sharply inclined roofs so the snow doesn’t settle too often. We arrived with an hour to spare before the hostel opened for afternoon check-in, and headed to a nearby park through the industrial side of town to relax underneath a tree. Our hostel was a very tidy place, where we shared a three-bedroom room with our own shower, which we were very happy with.

Still feeling the heat in the late afternoon, we left the hostel to walk towards the river and the old town. Our first stop was a brewery just out of the old town ‘Weissbierbrauerei’, which looked completely dead at the entrance and through the inside until we entered the bustling and lively garden at the back. Immediately branding ourselves as tourists through our poor German, we were offered the English menu, which proved to be great entertainment as one section translated to ‘Pickled food makes you happy’. Testing this theory, we ordered some (and were happy). I asked the waiter to get me a beer you would try if you normally hated beer, and he brought over one that was actually pretty good, as were the others.

From there it was off to the old town, past the Mirabell gardens (where the Von Trapp kiddies danced around the statue, although I had to be told as I wouldn’t have otherwise remembered). Along the river to the old town, which was another maze of high-walled narrow streets, with horse-drawn carriages (which provide a very unappealing stench to the streets of the city), statues of Mozart, museums, artists, buskers… We found a reasonably priced traditional foodhouse just out of the main square, where the boys got their first and much anticipated batch of sauerkraut. The skies darkened, but no rain came, as we walked back to the hostel via the river, where teens had congregated for a few drinks and music on a Thursday night, and we pondered Andrew's comment that one of his favourite things about travelling was seeing how the rest of the world lived their lives.

Wanting to get an early start for our one full day in the city, we mapped out the places to see, including some of the token Sound of Music sites, but definitely choosing to ditch the long guided tour… We instead hired bikes for the day, which was a great move as it is an incredibly bikeable city. The first stop was Hellbrunn Palace, about 4km out of the centre, which was a very easy riverside bike. The palace was built by a bishop in the 17th Century, and boasts expansive gardens and many sculptures and fountains. It is also now home to the Sound of Music pavilion which was gifted to the palace, and is now locked due to an elderly woman breaking her hip while recreating Liezl’s scene (so the story goes). We climbed to the lookout over the area, and then left the palace to bike towards the lake and pick up picnic supplies along the way. Loading up our bike baskets with food (my bike ‘Hercules’, didn’t live up to the power of the name it was branded with), we passed people swimming in the narrow blue chilly waters of some smaller rivers on our way. Biking around the lake (which is the one they also used in the film that the children fall into at the back of the house), we biked past their house to a nearby park for lunch.

After biking back into the old town, and visiting the grand Dom Cathedral adorned with beautiful paintings on the roof and walls, we walked up to the huge towering fortress of Festung Hohensalzburg for a view over the city. After visiting the museum and getting a bit of history about the area, we visiting the staterooms richly decorated with gold trimmings. Josh also got to have a play with a marionette string puppet... those awful things had a museum dedicated to them. The rattle of thunder quashed our chance to visit the observation deck, as they didn’t want to electrocute the tourists… so it was instead off to Nonnberg Abbey (yet another Sound of Music site), which was a beautiful old church set on the side of a hill overlooking the other side of Salzburg. A very quite and peaceful place, we were basically the only ones there. Then after a beer at a beergarden with a great view over some of the old town, we headed back down the hill. The bells in the square ring every hour, so after waiting for them to sound, we visited St Paul’s, passing through the cemetery into the Cathedral. This was the first one we’d been to that had an organist playing, which made our visit very memorable.

Once we’d biked back to the hostel, we got a recommendation for a dinner place from the hostel worker, and jumped back on our bikes to ride down the riverside to a beer garden. A place with casual service, nice beer, and when we finally pounced on a table, we were able to order some food – Austrian staples of schnitzel, dumplings and bretzels… We’d managed to secure a table under cover without realising, and were joined by two others when the first few drops of rain arrived with the distant sound of more thunder. Later, flashes of lightning began before the rain came pouring down by the bucketload and all the patrons were rushing for cover.

Dinner was over, and the rain was not yet easing so we moved inside for warmth, tried some strudel (which was delicious and encased in a soft baked dough rather than pastry), and had a few more drinks. More rain, hours of lightning, and once it had passed midnight we realised it wasn’t looking like easing at all, and maybe we were going to have to make a run (or a bike) for it. Riding in the pouring rain, the boys discarded their shirts while I layered up, and we were in hysterics as we saturated ourselves, the rain driving into us in the pitch-black night. Andy’s bike had no mudguard, so he arrived back with a stripe of thorough saturation down the middle from back to front… and we were all just plain wet, though we did find it damn hilarious. It was time for showers, then sleep.

It was time to return the rental car to Zurich, which had been great for making our way through Switzerland, and it was going to be all trains from here on in. Thankfully the Eurail passes we’d won would start to come in very useful, and we thought we would definitely have struggled to go as far as we planned to without them. After a quick trip to Konstanz to book tickets for our future trip from Salzburg to Munich (reserving tickets can take a bloody long time in a queue…), we were on the road to Zurich. We were staying that night with a couchsurfing couple, Urs and Rahel, but not meeting them until after 8pm, and so we arrived at 2pm and dropped our bags off at the station lockers, passing some great wee clothing and design shops we decided we had to go back to.

We walked from the station towards the river on the old side of the city, and stopped in a platz for coffee (and a beer for Josh which later killed all of his energy). Zurich was yet another great biking city, although we saw a few bikes that had been taken advantage of and tossed into the river. Another very hot day, and we were slightly tempted by Movenpick until we saw the prices (although apparently EVERYTHING is expensive in Zurich). The place is filled with tonnes of great shops, restaurants and bars on the old side. We then crossed to the new side, and walked the Bahnhofstrasse (the rich street of the city, lined with fancy pants shopping and designer stores), but did a loop around the river back to the old town for a cold drink before dinner.

Sitting down at a quirky old bar with an old rocker-type host with long grey hair and John Lennon glasses, we ordered some drinks (for once in my life, the beers were much better than the wine to me, note to self not to order a glass of rose in Switzerland) before searching for a dinner spot. We were in the mood for something simple and quick, since we didn’t want to arrive at our hosts too late, and ended up at the spaghetti factory for a bottle of wine and some easy pasta, which was reliably tasty.

We caught a tram to Oerlikon, where our hosts lived 10-15mins out of the centre, after having to change a note for some ticket coins and spending it on the most expensive Sprite we’d ever had to buy. Our hosts Urs and Rahel lived in a beautiful new apartment, and were extremely welcoming, sitting down with us and chatting for a few hours before we all retreated for the night.

The next morning we had a bit of a late start, once again (we must stop sleeping in, but we had started to get tired on the odd occasion…), and Andy got called into a work meeting for three hours or so, so we sadly had to leave him back at the apartment and venture into the city, where he planned to join us later. Stocking ourselves up with yummy breads and supplies for a picnic in the park, Josh and I caught a tram into the city and rediscovered all the wee design stores we’d passed the day before. Although there was some great stuff, nothing completely took our fancy.

We then tried to hire some bikes from the station but they’d run out, and a rude teller sent us on a bit of a wild goose chase (we think…) to find some, but after fruitless searching we ended up catching a tram to Zuirchhorn Park. Locals basked in the sun while we enjoyed a relaxing picnic beneath the trees. People had set up bbqs, were playing games of soccer, and lazing around by the lake. We walked towards the Chinese Gardens, but weren’t compelled to pay to enter them, but thought the Chinese Takeaway out front was a funny wee addition. I also got my first experience of the bizarre ‘funnel’ toilets the boys had experienced in Bern, which is a huge stainless steel funnel toilet bowl that also becomes the sink you wash your hands over? Odd.

Andy had finished his meeting by now and was on his way to meet us. The boys decided to jump into the lake while I read my book on the grass, which they said was a lovely wee dip in very warm water. It seems like I do this a bit, but I had had a chest cold for the past few days, and didn’t think swimming was the best thing for it. We then walked the river route back to the centre, on our way to organise things for dinner. A swan-filled lake with pedal boats (some with great slides off the back of them), and bar-lined lake banks. We also decided since it was our last day in Switzerland we had to make the most of Swiss chocolate, and found the famous Sprüngli chocolate shop on Bahnhofstrasse to taste some delights. Delights they were indeed – mouthwatering dark nougats, truffles, and strange burger-shaped delicate meringue things.

Off to pick up some bbq supplies (via yet another beautiful church), and then it was back to Urs and Rahel’s for dinner. Finally a real bbq with the familiar smoky smell… Andy had made some delicious homemade burger patties, we whipped up a few yummy salads, and Urs cooked up a great bbq while we all enjoyed a few beers in the sun on the balcony. Some of the dinner conversation was centred around the question of what New Zealand cuisine is like, and we were again finding it hard to explain that apart from the hangi, what else is there… We seem to be a mixture of little bits from everyone else (but we do cook a damn good bbq).

It was our last night, and we decided to go into the city for a drink. Taking a detour through their neighbourhood, which is a new development, they took us to a new ‘three-dimensional garden’, which was in essence a giant metal frame covered with vines intended to completely cover the structure within five to ten years. Quite an incredible space, yet in an odd location, surrounded by apartments. Back on track to find a bar, we caught a train and then wandered the smaller of the two rivers to a bar that is a male-only Swiss bath by day, but an outdoor bar by night. Bodies were propped on landings above pools, with drinks in hand, lit by multicoloured lamps within the surrounding trees. We sat around low tables on giant cushions with a few drinks, and met one of Urs and Rahel’s previous couchsurfers Christine, and her friend Tom, who were living in Zurich. Christine was from Dresden in Germany, which was on our list of travel destinations for further down the line. She offered us a place to stay when we got there, which we will have to take her up on if it works out! We left the bar to catch a train before midnight and travelled home to the sounds of Josh trying to recite German from the free newspaper.

Driving the car to the Swiss border again, we hopped over into Konstanz, Germany to meet Brent. Denise had an early start at work, so we decided to spend the day with Brent and meet Denise for a swim in the lake a bit later. After searching out coffee and food at a cute wee restaurant with beanbags in the windows, and very ‘zen’ toilets, surrounding you with the sounds of chirping birds. We had a look through the old town, church and crypt (following a Napoleon Dynamitesque tourist, with great short denim cutoffs, and those glasses…), and then decided to drive out to the Rhinefall, the biggest waterfall in Europe.

Taking Brent along for the ride, which wasn’t a quiet trip, as he’s such a loud and energetic guy! Starting sentences then trailing off, keeping us entertained… We made a random stop in Steine am Rhine, after Brent thought that was where the waterfall was, but it ended up being a beautiful walk through a town square on a riverside, filled with immaculately detailed murals on the building exteriors.

Arriving at the waterfall, and paying a small entrance fee, we walked down a path until you’re right next to the falls, and it was incredible to see the volume of water passing by that closely. We didn’t take a boat ride out to them, but watched groups of people catching them out until they disappeared behind the cloudy mist of the water. A much-needed iceblock to cool off afterwards, and we were back in the car to go for a swim in the lake. We met Denise at the border and drove to a grassy area on the Swiss side of the lake. The water had cooled a bit, and the weather was starting to cloud over, but we all dove in, and headed home afterwards for a meal at Denise’s.

We made Denise some ANZAC biscuits (much to Brent’s approval as well…), while Denise set a pot boiling with the hugest amount of melted cheese, garlic and wine I have seen. We did the traditional thing of having tea on the side, and dipped in our breads and potatoes until we couldn’t fit any more in. Not the most summery of meals! But very tasty… Except for the piece we tried with the traditional addition of kirsch liqueur which you soak the bread in before dunking it. We didn’t quite understand you merely dip it, not drown it, and were left with very strong alcohol encased in cheese, which I couldn’t even finish a mouthful of, maybe I could wash it down with more cheese… uggghhhh… Apparently the rule is also that if you drop your bread in the fondue cheese you have to run naked around the outside of the house. Andy lost his cheese, but not his clothes, as he salvaged it – not quite legally I’m sure…

We had also made apple crumble for our hosts, but by the time it was finished, we were all shattered and had kept Denise up far too late before her early start in the morning, so we left it for them to heat up the next day, said our farewells as we were leaving the next morning, and headed off to bed.

A late weekend start, and we began with traditional bread that is only eaten on Saturdays – a huge knotted loaf with a slight sweetness to it, and some eggs provided to us with their own attire, which we massacred. The boys had bought a waterproof bag the day before, which the locals all had to put their gear into as they bobbed down the river (just like Bern…). They decided to put it to the test, and as I was still shade-hunting, I grabbed a coffee (which was the worst one I think I’ve ever had in my life!) by the river, and read a book while waiting for three heads to emerge from the water. The water wasn’t as cold as Bern, and the river was a lot wider, which meant you could choose what ‘lane’ you floated down, and the boys took a slower-moving one, although there were some pretty speedy sections in the middle.

It was then back on the road to Freiburg, Germany, which was a pretty short journey, and we arrived in the early evening. A small, quaint city, with the strange factor of small canals that run like gutters at the sides of the road throughout the centre. The information booths had just closed, and we were still without a place to sleep, so we walked off in the direction of the nearest hostel. Unsuccessful there, as it was a weekend, and a lot of people head towards the Black Forest ranges that surround the town, we decided to try our luck at the campsite (even though we didn’t have a tent), in the hope they may have a spare cabin of sorts free for three lovely New Zealanders… A fair walk away, we ended up at what we thought was the entrance to the camp, but was merely a huge grassy hill that other campers were using, as it was free land (sleeping under the stars became a possibility). Finally arriving at the campsite, we had a stroke of luck, as a family had cancelled when one of the children had become ill (lucky for us anyway), and a three person wooden hut was free for the night. Simply a wooden shack with a large mattress on the floor, it was all we were after, and we happily lugged our gear in and headed towards the Biergarten for dinner and drinks.

After resorting to my preferred drink of wine for the entire trip, now I was in Germany there was apparently no excuse for not joining in on the local tradition (even the fact that I hated the stuff wasn’t enough). I ended up trying a pale Weiss Bier (or white beer), which I actually managed to finish. Let’s not point out that the boys overtook me severely, and I ended up resorting back to wine, but we had a great night in the gardens before retreating to the cabin for sleep.

The next morning, we decided to go for an early walk through the hills that border the famous Black Forest in Germany, and ended up climbing the steep tracks, trying to decipher German signs, and starting to understand how easily tourists get lost on the tracks in New Zealand if they don’t know the language. A very well-used route, we encountered many walkers along the track, as well as the odd snake, a dead mole… A lookout awaited us at the end of our path, although you couldn’t see much as the foliage had outgrown the area and there were many tall trees in the way.

Instead, we picked the stairs so that we could get to a more desirable view, climbing 289 steps to the bottom of a man-made tower, and then another few hundred up a metal and tree-trunk circular structure, which became dizzying at the top; the structure swayed in the wind with the movement. After taking in some fantastic panoramic views, we climbed back down, and headed into the old town for lunch. Following music we could hear in the distance, we arrived at a beer garden (the Sunday tradition in Germany, if not every day…), with a live horn band playing some tunes. Becoming the token tourists who have to order from the English menu, we ordered some beer garden favourites (Weisswurst) with the most amazing honey mustards we’d tried, and our love for Bretzels began…yum.

After walking the old town and getting caught in a rainstorm, our jandals slipping on the cobblestones, we found an outdoor café to have a coffee and share some Black Forest cake in the home of the Black Forest. Chocolately, cherry goodness…

We were searching for a place to stay that night, and had received a reply to our couchsurfing request for Konstanz, Germany from a girl Denise who didn’t live in Konstanz, but a short drive from there in a rural area called Berg (on the Swiss side of the border). Since we had a car, it was no problem being a little out of the centre, so we hopped back on the road to her place. A shortish drive later, we arrived in Berg to the familiar smell of rural farmland we hadn’t had in a while. Denise lived in her family home with her sister, and her boyfriend Brent from Australia was also there when we arrived. After spending a lot of time in Germany he was finding so many similarities between us, and getting used to speaking English again with people who share (somewhat) of a similar sense of humour.

Approaching dinner time, we jumped in the car and drove to Konstanz for some food, and our first glimpse at the giant lake. As we parked on the Swiss side, and were dining on the German side, Josh took the opportunity to do the old jumping photo, side to side across the border. We sad down to some drinks and a Mexican meal, before a beer (for the ones that could fit it in - not me!) at a beer garden by the lake before heading home for the night.

At this point I’d had a bit of a side affect from a medication I was taking when my wisdom teeth played up in France. Josh’s sister had also had the same side affect, but we had all thought it was so rare that it couldn’t happen to two people on the same trip, but yes… It was a sensitivity to light, and since I’d spent all day in the sun in Bern (all lathered up in sunscreen which became redundant), my hands and toes were bright red, stung like hell, and if I so much as came into contact with sun, would burn like crazy. And it was so sunny…

Daniel decided to take the day off work to show us around, and the poor boys put up with me on our day in the city, with me shade-searching, wrapping my hands around cool bottles of water, and generally looking like a freak. Our first stop was the border control so that Josh could get his passport stamped and play tourist, and then we bought some goodies for a picnic in the (shady) park. A quick stroll to the old town, and we wandered the cobblestoned streets before crossing the Rhine river on foot and returning by boat. Basel has very clever little wooden ferries that are attached by ropes to wires running the width of the river. The boat is driven by the tow of the river, and crosses from side to side during the day. Very cool.

An outdoor summer bar on the other side of the river was sadly closed, so we instead climbed up to the top of the Munster Cathedral tower, winding up narrow staircases until we reached the pinnacle. Taking in the sweeping views of the city on either side of the river, a few obligatory snapshots, and then we navigated our way back down to the square. Josh decided to cheer up the burnt invalid by delivering me with a lovely sunflower from the markets outside the bright red Rathaus, which stood in stark contrast to the clear blue sky.

We crossed back over the river, and the boys were in search of a beer, which we found at another riverside bar open during summer. It was getting towards evening, and so we bought some ingredients to make homemade pizzas, and met Daniel’s girlfriend who joined us for dinner. She was very impressed that we managed to get Daniel eating some greens by adding rocket to a margherita pizza. After debating whether to go out, or not to go out, it was easier to stay in and we were all a bit exhausted, but the others did manage a stroll to the nearest bar for a drink or two.