mariefryer

September 28, 2015November 12, 2015

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The catch up post part 3 : Budapest

As we were wondering where to go after Vienna, we realised St Stephen’s Day (Hungary’s National Day) was coming up, and we could get to Budapest in time to experience it. St Stephen’s Day is a massive celebration in Budapest, with markets along the waterfront on the Buda side of the river, and one of the largest fireworks displays worldwide.

Markets on the river

Crowds begin to gather for the fireworks

We booked onto a dinner cruise on the Danube and had a great night. Even without the fireworks, I’d recommend this – great fun and good food.

A few slightly blurry fireworks shots

We’d originally only booked a few days in Budapest, but loved it so much we decided to extend to a week. As usual we joined a walking tour, and as usual it was great – but Budapest is one of those cities you don’t need to ‘do’ anything in particular. It is a great city to walk around with interesting buildings and views in every direction. There are great bars and restaurants and loads of areas where you can sit and people watch. Here are some of the MANY photos I took – none of them seem to quite do it justice though, it really is beautiful.

The castle from the river

Food and drink comes in giant size only

Fisherman’s Bastion

Loads of Churches

And a random selection of others

Europe

September 21, 2015November 12, 2015

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The catch up post part 2 : Bratislava

Travelling anywhere internationally as a Kiwi requires a minimum of three hours on a plane (plus 2 hours of waiting at the airport and the obligatory customs routine), so it always amazes me how easy and quick it is to travel between countries in Europe. My sister recommending Bratislava as one of her favourite spots, and at only 1 hour from Vienna on the train (and 16 Euro return) we had the perfect excuse for a a “Day trip to Slovakia!”

The weather didn’t quite play ball, and the GPS went on the blink leading to a pretty dismal start. The area around the train station in Bratislava is a little more communist-era than pretty city, and wandering aimlessly in drizzling rain wasn’t quite how we had imagined the day.

More by good luck than anything, we stumbled on the tourist centre and from there we were set. We headed into the old town and even the rain decided to hold off. Success!

The old town of Bratislava is gorgeous. It’s now clearly on the tourist map with loads of souvenir shops and the telltale signs of the English Stag-do/ Hen’s parties (1 euro shots heavily advertised) but thankfully it retains all its charm during the day.

So what do you do on a day in Bratislava?

Wander the Old Town…

Keep an eye out for Bratislava’s statues

Check out the beautiful buildings, and maybe a few shops.

Walk through Michael’s Gate and stop for Goulash at one of the many restaurants lining the streets.

Climb the hill to Bratislava Castle for a great view over the city and the old town.

Visit the Blue Church

Wave goodbye to Bratislava, and jump on the train back to Vienna.

Europe

September 14, 2015November 12, 2015

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The catch up post part 1: Vienna

Two things were inevitable when travelling for this long, a random assortment of ailments would befall us, and the blog would get neglected, sorry!

In between broken teeth, colds and migraines we’ve also explored Vienna, made a quick day trip to Bratislava, fell in love with Budapest and most recently, landed in Croatia. Here’s a quick recap of Vienna.

Vienna is such an easy and pleasant city to walk around, and up until we hit Budapest, this was leading as one of my favourite cities in Europe. Our apartment was also one street away from the main shopping street in Vienna! Luckily it was also close to a very lovely dentist fluent in English (who even recommended a dentist he knew in Wellington when I get home – small world!)

As has been the theme in most cities we’ve visited, we joined a city tour, this time on 2 wheels. Vienna is perfect for biking!

The tour started at the Austrian Art School which twice denied Adolf Hitler entry as his portfolio was not good enough. This apparently led to him giving up art and instead heading into politics. As our guide dryly noted “I think the world could have better coped with another below-average artist”.

This memorial looks like a slightly strange art installation until you learn the background. While I can’t do it justice, the key things I remember are that the walls are books representing the 65,000 Austrian Jews killed in the Holocaust. The books are placed with the spines/names on the inside so that they can’t be read, symbolizing the overwhelming number of people killed. The books are shut tight, the stories of victims’ lives cut short and stories never told. The doors are carved in the concrete but can not be opened with the emptiness inside forever. A very moving monument.

As well the usual city exploring we managed to time our visit with the Vienna Music Film Festival, so of course we had to “soak up the atmosphere” (read: eat pretzels as big as our heads, indulge in the local beer, cocktails and range of skrummy foods!). This might have been my favourite spot in Vienna!

Europe

August 21, 2015December 6, 2015

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5 surprises hiking in Austria

After almost a month in Italy and having consumed our body weights in pizza, pasta and wine, it was time for something new. So without a lot of thought, we booked a week hiking in the Wachau Valley, Austria.

About an hour from Vienna is the town of Krems on the Danube river, the first of many cute towns we would visit on this hike. Rather than carrying our packs (call us lazy if you will), we opted for the glamping route, joining the Eurohike self-guided “Walking in Wachau” tour. They organised the accommodation and transported our bags from location to location and provided detailed maps of where we were to walk.

5 surprises of hiking in Austria

Now when I think of Austria, I picture cute little towns (normally covered by snow) and a peaceful, safe place. So there were a few surprises on our trip.

It can get to 36C in Austria and this will make your hike ever so slightly more difficult. Spending most of our lives in cities where 36C does nothappen, and humidity isn’t an issue either, to say we were unprepared for how much harder this makes hiking is an understatement. The heat wave we’d felt in Italy continued for our week in the Wachau, with temperatures reaching 36C or higher every day. A lot of water was needed, plenty of ‘photo breaks’ and the cold beer at the end of each day never tasted so good!
Heat waves will allow normally small and manageable wasp colonies to nest for longer, causing an unprecedented outbreak. I’ve never been stung by a wasp or a bee and that’s something I’d like to continue throughout my life if possible. Put simply, wasps freak me out. A lot. Whilst the Austrians might be able to sit outside and enjoy a glass of beer and a meal whilst a million wasps swarm around them, I can not. And when a wasp decides to take a drink in my half full beer I am officially done and it is time to go inside and firmly shut all doors and windows.
One tree looks much like another. Now I’m not blaming Eurohike entirely (I’ll admit following directions isn’t exactly a strong suit) but it appears trees can grow and change very quickly, and that on a small black and white photo, one tree is not always completely distinguishable from another. This may have led us (ok me) to miss a turn off and as a result a few hours of bush whacking through the Austrian hillside.
Austria has snakes. On our first day as we hiked a forest road we saw some interesting roadkill. “That looks like a snake”…. “Surely Austria doesn’t have snakes, maybe it’s a lizard and you just can’t see the feet as they are underneath?” (said hopefully). That night a quick Google search delivered the bad news. Not just any snakes, but a plethora of different snakes including one of the most poisonous inhabit this little bit of paradise. Still, it’s unlikely we’ll see a live one right? On the last day of walking (thankfully after that incident of bush-whacking) I was off in my own little dreamword, meandering down a track when less than a metre away sat a coiled snake. I’d like to say I was calm and collected, but no. I screamed, the snake left quickly, and I spent the rest of the day following carefully in Scott’s footprints. Thankfully no more snakes seen.
The Wachau is beautiful. From the quaint little towns we stopped at each night, to the green vineyards we strolled through, the deer spotted along the way, and even the seriously steep hills we climbed, this area is gorgeous. And at each town we found friendly hotel staff, great meals and a pint to refresh us – perfect.

Looking refreshed and ready to start, on our first day in Krems

Isn’t the view amazing? (I need to rest, let’s take some photos)

A castle fit for a king (King Richard I was held captive here)

Transport across the Danube

Let’s start early today I want to see the moon and the vines

Weißenkirchen

We’ve just climbed a massive hill, how bout we climb this thing?

Yup the view’s pretty impressive

To Spitz

Final day, final hill, final castle

We made it!

And back the easy way, by boat

Europe

August 16, 2015November 12, 2015

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Venice to Rome

For 2 weeks my mum joined us for a whirlwind tour of Italy’s many sights – Venice, Florence, Sienna and Rome. With so much to see, it was a busy trip, so here are just a few of the highlights.

The Venetian lanes and canals

Arriving in Venice is breathtaking. All of sudden there are houses rising right out of the water, and tiny alleyways need to be navigated, along with plenty of bridges. We arrived by train and opted to walk the 2 km to our accommodation. Even with heavy bags and crossing over 10 bridges in 36C heat, the walk was a great entry to the city. Buzzing crowds and little shops, bars and restaurants everywhere.

Over the next few days we got lost plenty of times, found countless eateries and shops and marveled at the gondoliers drifting slowly down the canals.

Free Walking tour Venice

Free walking tours continued to be a hit, with a 3 hour tour of Venice taking us off the tourist path and providing some insights into the history of Venice, and the residents. We found Marco Polo’s house, learned about the beautiful Venetian masks seen in all the stores, and saw the thinnest house/ island in Venice, all the while entertained by our incredibly knowledgeable guide.

Murano

There’s no denying that Murano is touristy, however a visit is still a great way to spent an afternoon. The main canal is lined with glass shops offering the option to purchase anything from small trinkets and jewelry through to massive intricate chandeliers – we opted for the former! We’d read mixed reviews of the many tours of Murano, so instead chose to catch the ferry and meander ourselves – and it was a great idea. We weren’t hassled to buy anywhere, met friendly shop keepers and with few people around it made for a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Venice.

St Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace

The Doge’s were the rulers of Venice and their incredible residence is right in the heart of Venice, at St Mark’s Square. We opted for a skip the line tour, which was another great win. Walking past all the people queuing in the heat and going straight in was worth it alone, and the commentary was pretty interesting too.

The palace is connected to the Dungeon by the Bridge of Sighs one of the most photographed spots in Venice.

These two look at home in the Dungeon…

Rugby in an Irish Pub in Florence

We arrived in Florence all of 2 hours before the All Blacks were due to kick off against South Africa, and weren’t that hopeful of being able to watch the game. But of course every city has an Irish pub, and Irish pubs tend to play live rugby, and we were in luck. Finnegan’s was just around the corner from our apartment! A very pleasant afternoon spent watching the ABs win over a few ice cold Magners.

Wandering Sienna

A few days in Sienna gave us plenty of time to experience the relaxed side of Italy – shopping, eating and drinking featured heavily! We arrived just before the Palio, the horse race which sees the Sienna districts compete by racing around the Piazza Del Compo in the centre of town (below). Fiercely competitive neighbours in each district hung flags of their area around creating a carnival feel.

We also visited the Duomo di Sienna, a beautiful cathedral in town which also houses an old library with ornately decorated books, and the accompanying museum.

Tuscany wine tour

No visit to Tuscany would be complete without visiting some vineyards. We opted for a full day tour encompassing the beautiful towns of San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Montalcino, as well as visiting two vineyards for copious tastings of delicious wines.

Italian cooking class

The host at our Sienna accommodation recommended a wonderful cooking class in the home of an Italian Contessa. The home and host were both beautiful, and the meal was fantastic. A feast of 6 courses had us rolling back to our accommodation many hours later.

The Vatican

We took a 3 hour tour covering the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica. The art work is incredible and hearing about how long much of it took to do, and the hidden stories in many of the pieces is fascinating. The area at the front of the Basilica is also beautiful and at night is far less crowded than during the day, making for some great photos.

A note on Airbnb: For most of the trip we found our accommodation through Airbnb and stayed at some great apartments with lovely hosts that shared information about their local neighbourhoods. In Florence we had a 4th floor apartment looking directly out at the cathedral, in Sienna our apartment included hidden tunnels that used to connect the whole city, and in Rome we had a wonderful home less than 10 minutes walk from the Vatican. A great way to stay and really experience a city.

Europe

August 9, 2015September 21, 2015

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On the hunt for Mr Clooney

Lake Como has one very well known resident and almost every travel guide you read mentions that George Clooney has a house in Bellagio. In fact the first restaurant we visited even had a mini shrine to George, with pictures of him and his house in a cabinet! Unfortunately, although we spotted the house, we didn’t get to meet the man himself, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time in Como.

The town of Como is at the base of Lake Como, Italy, and easily reached via train from Milan. It’s a small town – easy to walk around in a day with a beautiful cathedral, and many quaint streets.

The highlight of Como though is getting out on the water and visiting the many little towns dotted around the lake. We caught the slow ferry up to Bellagio, which takes just over 2 hours and stops at close to 20 little towns on the way.

Bellagio is the most touristy and busy of the lakeside villages, but still very pretty. Loads of restaurants dot the waterfront, but the alleyways leading up the hill house more authentic restaurants and little shops.

An easy walk along the waterfront from Como takes you to the Funicular, the easiest way to get up the hill to the town of Brunate. There’s not a lot there aside from tourist shops, but there is a walk another 1.5KM up the hill to the light-house for a stunning view.

On our final day we visited the small village of Lenno – hoping to see inside the Villa del Balbianello, a stunning house that featured in Casino Royale. Unfortunately, the villa wasn’t open the day we went – so we meandered through the little town instead.

Europe

July 28, 2015September 21, 2015

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Summer in Courmayeur

Most well known as a ski destination, we weren’t really sure what to expect visiting Courmayeur in summer. Information online was scarce and if anything we expected a sleepy small town with some good hikes.

Our journey to get there saw us through 4 countries, from Morocco to Geneva, Switzerland, then a shuttle bus through to France and into Italy via the incredibly impressive Mt Blanc tunnel. By the looks of the signs you can be waiting here for over an hour to get through, but we sailed through after only a short stop, so all in all it was an incredibly simple trip. And awaiting us was a great surprise.

Courmayeur is a bustling and beautiful town. Set with the mountains as a stunning backdrop, the pedestrianised main street is lined with quaint shops and an abundance of hiking and outdoor shops. Happily for us, there are also loads of restaurants and bars.

Visiting in early July was perfect, with a temperate climate (high 20’s) just right for walking and for sitting outside with a glass of wine (or two).

Courmayeur is on the Tour Mt Blanc hike, and although we weren’t game for a full week of hiking around the mountain, we were able to attempt two days covering sections of it – venturing in both directions for a few hours before retracing our steps back home.

The hikes are steep (in both directions) jumping from 1,200 metres to 1,900 metres in about 3 hours, and on very rocky paths. On one we climbed up following the gondola path.

The views are incredible, down to Courmayeur and into the mountains, and loads of pretty butterflies and plants, also known as excuses to stop and catch my breath!

My favourite walk was to Bertone hut – where we stopped for lunch with the gorgeous mountain range as our outlook. Even though it must be the peak of the hiking season, neither of the walks we did felt too crowded.

What else is there to do in Mt Blanc?

Spend a day wandering the village. Stop for a coffee in the morning at one of the many coffee shops and watch the world go by for a bit. Then meander through the shops. If you need high quality hiking gear, every brand is well represented here. A lazy lunch in the sun can take you through most of the afternoon, and if you still have room, or just need to cool down a bit, try one of the many gelato shops. Finally take an outside table in the main street for a glass of wine or the local drink Aperol Spritzer, and be served and array of complementary nibbles as you people watch some more.

Climb Mt Blanc. Ok, let’s be honest – not many of us could do that without coming to serious harm, but the next best thing is the new cable car at Mt Helbronner. The cable car costs 50 Euro, and is well worth it. Getting there is an easy 5KM walk from the centre of town, and after a short wait for tickets you’re bundled into a large glass orb. The gondola travels so quickly your ears pop, but it is incredibly graceful – feeling like you are floating up the mountain. Our cabin was almost full which felt a bit uncomfortable before we began, but as soon as the doors closed everyone spread out and took in the views. As the gondola climbs it rotates a full 360 degrees so no matter where you stand you will at one point look up to the mountain, and at one point look down to Courmayeur.

There are two gondolas (both which rotate) to take you all the way to the highest point (opening this summer is the option to continue over the mountain through to Chamonix). By now you’ve climbed up to 3,500 metres in only a short period of time, and may need to sit down for a moment. Luckily there is a very good cafe up here. There are also a number of viewing platforms to take it all in. Be warned the temperature up here is quite a bit different from down at Courmayer – on the day we went it was almost 30C at the base, and perhaps 5C at the top!

As if the gondola and view wasn’t enough, you can also catch the lift at the top platform down to the -3 floor. From here you walk along a long underground tunnel and pop up on a glacier. Signs warn you enter at your own risk, but most were happy to frolic on here for a few photos – and the more appropriately dressed looked set to embark on expeditions.

Head across to Chamonix

Scott’s birthday happens to fall on Bastille Day, so the chance to head to France for the day was ideal. Chamonix put on a stunning day, and even a parade to make us feel welcome.

A 30 minute bus trip will have you from Courmayeur through to Chamonix, and you get to see the Mt Blanc tunnel too. Chamonix is a much bigger than Courmayeur but still doable in a day. Loads of shops and restaurants and of course places to view the mountains. We opted for a more rustic cable car and for only 16 Euros reached Plan Pratz where we sat on loungers in the sun with a beer and watched paragliders play with the mountains in the background.

Europe

July 22, 2015August 21, 2015

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Sleeping under the stars

Whilst travelling on your own offers freedom and the opportunity to do exactly what you want, when you want; travelling on a tour like our Intrepid Morocco adventure allowed us to see so much in such a short period of time. And gave us the opportunity to see things that would have been pretty tough, or pretty scary to do on our own. At one point we were less than 10KM from the Algerian border! Here’s the final installment of the Morocco trip.

Sahara

As we neared the desert the temperatures continued to rise and our poor van struggled to keep us cool. But slowly the scenery began to change – the greenery was left behind and camels appeared on the side of the road. Then we saw them – rolling sand dunes stretching out ahead of us – and a group of camels, patiently waiting for us.

A quick stop to pack our overnight bags with the minimum necessities (plus a few smuggled bottles of wine) and a lesson from Abdullah on how to tie our headscarfs so we would look the part, and we were off to meet our camels.

We set off on convoy and slowly civilisation was left behind until all that remained around us were dunes and a slow setting sun, casting a beautiful light and long camel shadows beside us.

Now camels are pretty incredibly animals, able to walk for long distances in the heat, and over rolling sand dunes – but they are anything but comfortable! After an hour of riding we were ready to jump off and explore our camp for the night.

The camp consisted of tents surrounding an open area with a table for dinner and room to relax. Our camel guides transformed into chefs and produced an amazing feed of couscous and tagine and we chilled out with our wines as the heat slowly left, sun faded, and stars began to shine. We opted to take our mats outside and slept at the base of the nearest dune under the stars. An early start saw a few of us climb up the dune to watch the sun rise before we climbed onto our camels and headed back.

Atlas Mountains

An unexpected surprise of the trip (probably should have read the trip notes more) were the many opportunities for walking in the countryside of Morocco. We stayed at a number of local home-stays (Auberges) giving us the chance to explore.

The Atlas Mountains provided a beautiful backdrop for an afternoon stroll, before we wandered through a local village providing a curiosity for all the local children.

Another night we stayed near the base of Mt Toubkal, the highest peak in Northern Africa. We walked for about an hour up the hills to get to our base, and from there chose from a range of walks to explore the area. Our walk wandered through the countryside, and a small village where a young boy was bawling his eyes out.. Our guide questioned his nearby sister and he was on the way home at the end of term with a poor school report to give his parents!

And finally we stayed in the Todgha Gorge at a lovely spot with a pool. Another guide took us for a wander that lead through the vegetable gardens of the village, showed the complex aqueducts and lead us through the massive gorge.

Ait Benhaddou

By now we had seen so many ancient sites, we were getting a little hard to impress. That is until we headed to Ait Benhaddou. The site is now a UNESCO protected site and thankfully any modernisation of it is not allowed. Apparently when it is high season, the area can feel quite touristy with many of the little buildings re-purposed as shops and loads of day-tripping tourists from the surrounding area. Thankfully for us, it was Ramadan, and almost completely empty – we were free to roam around it on our own.

The site has been the base for many movies including Gladiator, and the owner of our Auberge was named ‘Action’ as he had been an extra in so many famous movies. He also put on an incredibly amusing couscous cooking demonstration.

Essaouira

As the heat in many parts of Morocco soared past 35C we all looked forward to Essaouira, the beach town of Morocco. This laid back town provided the perfect spot to relax, with markets to stroll around, a beach, and port as well as many interesting laneways and the first opportunity for us all to head out for a few drinks at a bar. A few good nights out were had here!

Marrakesh

Our final stop on the tour and time to say our goodbyes to our new friends. Our final dinner was a feast in the open air markets in the central square. Surrounded by snake charmers, monkeys, women ready to strike with henna pens and general chaos – it was the perfect way to end the trip.

Africa

July 18, 2015August 21, 2015

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Fantastic Fes

Fes is known to be a city full of artisans and we had been promised a tour of some of the best during our visit. But first, it was time to feast. As soon as we had arrived, we were taken into the Medina to Restaurant Dar Hatim, a small family run restaurant to try a local specialty – pastilla. Our guide explained this as chicken pie with sugar and cinnamon which didn’t sound that appealing! But once we got there, we were served the most amazingly tasty feast. Salads, breads, lentils, vegetables, and the most delicious chicken pies -thankfully not sweet at all.

It was made all the more incredible when you consider it was Ramadan and the chefs making our meals had not eaten or drunk anything since 2.30 AM – they couldn’t even taste the food to ensure the flavours were right.

Fes is home to over a million people, and not even the locals know their way through all the windy lanes – no amount of detailed maps would help us navigate this without getting lost. So wisely, Intrepid gave us a local guide for the day. We started at the Royal Palace.

According to our guide the palace grounds are incredible even including a golf course behind these walls. Unfortunately, although we knocked, there was no invitation in to view.

As well as wandering the streets we were treated to many behind the scenes tours, starting at the mosaic workshops where we saw them labouring over intricate tables and fountains.

This was followed by the tannery, where workers cured leather in large vats of liquid and dyes. We were warned about the smells and even given mint leaves to put under our noses to block it out – and we were a couple of floors above the vats. Can only imagine the smell for the poor men who work in these every day.

You can find anything you want in the medina and although we probably only saw a fraction of it, it was mind-blowing.

Grains, spices and vegetables

Fish and Meat

Soaps

Lanterns

Africa

July 16, 2015August 16, 2015

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Roman ruins in Morocco

Every few hours as we drove around Morocco our guide stopped to show us a hidden gem. On our way to Fes we winded down a small road, and came to the ruins of Volubilis. The Romans built this city in 3BC, and it had been part of the kingdom of Mauretania. At a later stage it was also the capital of Morocco.

The ruins are now recognised by UNESCO and significant work has been done to restore the area.

Starting at the bottom of the hill were smaller houses for the poorer people and shared bathing areas with running water.

Closer to the top of the hill are the larger houses of the more affluent members of the city, which contained ornate mosaics, columned atriums, running water and heating and cooling systems.

Many of the mosaics still exist, and by throwing a handful of water on them, our guide showed the brightness of the original tiles that covered the floors.

Africa

But first let's travel

About the Author

mariefryer

The catch up post part 3 : Budapest

The catch up post part 2 : Bratislava

The catch up post part 1: Vienna

5 surprises hiking in Austria

Venice to Rome

On the hunt for Mr Clooney

Summer in Courmayeur

Sleeping under the stars

Fantastic Fes

Roman ruins in Morocco