Oops, it's been a while since my last post. But don't fret I didn't take a plunge into the worlds largest fjord while in Norway and haven't quite been blown off the face of the earth yet by the wind here in Denmark.
Norway was everything everyone said it would be: expensive and beautiful. Kenny rented us a car and we settled into a routine of driving - with my expert navigation skills- walks and hikes, picnics, ferry rides, and camping. Our $5 cups of coffee were enjoyed in short city stop overs and we made the most of peanutbutter and nutella sandwiches while taking in the magnificent views along the long winding roads through the country.
I have been enjoying plenty of authentic Danish's, sipping coffee and having my hair blown crazy much like the blades of the wind turbines that are scattered all over the country. I have been hanging out in Arhus, Denmark for the past couple of weeks. Getting to know the city streets, riding free (though worthless) city bikes, and contemplating life back in the States... which has been a bit unsettling. It should interesting though and I am ready to return to Portland, and rock climing.
I still have one last hurrah though and am headed to London for the weekend to meet up with my friend from my Nepal trek. She has it all planned out, I can't wait!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Half-Way to "The Top of Europe"
With some dumb luck I got to an up close and face to face encounter with the massive Eiger north face. I had a nice hike planned out, but because there is still too much snow the trail was closed. I was bummed but realized I could still get to my destination, the town Kleine Scheidegg. So not thinking and being so used to my Swiss Pass allowing me to go and do whatever I wanted I boarded a tram. The ticket man came to check the tickets so I whipped out my pass as usual. Then he told me that it is only good for half-off and I needed to purchase a ticket and he would come back and sell it to me. K. Scheideggis an extremely popular destination for Japanese tourists, it is a stop-over before boarding the train to Junfraujoch, the revolving restuarant at the top of Europe, a very expensive journey. So as they overwhelmed him with questions with their broken engrish he simply passed right by me. I felt bad and made eye contact with him as I got off, also a little worried that I might be hunted down, but he didn't seem to care... phew, because I am not even sure I had enough cash on me as it is all so expensive! I looked a little out of place in this town with crazy Japanese and many others dressed in formal attire heading to Jungfraujoch, but passed by the Japanese Tourist Office and commotion of getting aboard the train and followed the trail to the Eiger. It was so amazing, to be so close this mountain and the others surrounding it that are even higher. I loved it.
The last day of my Swiss Pass was today and was sad to leave Switzerland behind. I was even more sad to leave the greatest hosts EVER. I can't beleive how kind, fun, hostpitable and generous they were and to let me stay for so long. It was so great. Anyone who has plans to travel there must look them up. I introduced them to Couch Surfing so they now have an account Tania and Stephi in Murten, state of Fribourg. They LOVED having a guest and are excited for more to come. Also, Murten besides having these ladies is a very unique village definitely worth seeing that most probably never would. Thank you ladies so much and I can´t wait until we meet again!!
The last day of my Swiss Pass was today and was sad to leave Switzerland behind. I was even more sad to leave the greatest hosts EVER. I can't beleive how kind, fun, hostpitable and generous they were and to let me stay for so long. It was so great. Anyone who has plans to travel there must look them up. I introduced them to Couch Surfing so they now have an account Tania and Stephi in Murten, state of Fribourg. They LOVED having a guest and are excited for more to come. Also, Murten besides having these ladies is a very unique village definitely worth seeing that most probably never would. Thank you ladies so much and I can´t wait until we meet again!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A taste of France
Tania took me to the Alsace region in nearby France. It was so fun, with fairztale like cities full of colorful houses (by law no neighboring houses can be the same color), yummy bakeries, endless vinezards and the delicious cuisine that the French are oh, so proud of... along with everything else French. Did you know the Statue of Liberty was made bz a Frenchman... in FRANCE and then shipped over?? The city of Colmar is very proud of him too.
I am still having a great time in Switzerland. I went for a beautiful hike with Stephi and Tania today and can't believe that after going on outings every single day there are still so many places I am not going to see. But when my Swiss pass ends I'll be making mz way to Germany to see the Black Forest then stay in Berlin with another girl I met in Thailand before meeting Kenny in Sweden and for the start of our Scandanavian adventure!!
I am still having a great time in Switzerland. I went for a beautiful hike with Stephi and Tania today and can't believe that after going on outings every single day there are still so many places I am not going to see. But when my Swiss pass ends I'll be making mz way to Germany to see the Black Forest then stay in Berlin with another girl I met in Thailand before meeting Kenny in Sweden and for the start of our Scandanavian adventure!!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
y=z... get zoused to it
This traveling stuff is amaying! I have been living it up here in Swiyterland for a few dazs now thanks to the hospitalitz of an awesome girl who I met in Bangkok on daz one of mz travels.
But first I'll fill in mz last hurrah with Sarah in Italz. We enjozed the beautz and frustrations of Venice. It is such a beautiful citz and so unique with the canals, but zes, quite difficult to navigate and get around. The tourists definitelz got the best of us though so we headed off to Trent a little mountain town in the heart of the Dolomites. Through couch surfing we found an awesome couple to host us and welcomed us and treated us like we were their children. Thez were so sweet, making sure we knew when meal time was, where the train station was, when the trains were leaving, the last one back etc. The Dolomites were awesome, though their is still a lot of snow in parts and our second hike we were in desperate need of snow shoes and had to turn back.
Lake Como (where George Clooney has a house) was our next visit as a stop over on the waz to Swityerland, a beautiful place as well but a bit hoity toity for us, though the pizza place our host recommended was the best piyya I had in Italz, DELISH!!
Now I am in Swiyterland, sazing goodbze to Sarah as soon as she found out how much a train ticket cost (80 euro) she headed town to find a farm to work on... I hope (Sarah, are zou farming zet?). But I decided to purchase a Swiss Pass (220) which gives me unlimited train, bus and even boat rides, free entrance to all museums and castles, discounts on mountain trams and who knows what else for 15 dazs, so after digging into mz wallet for that I am being sure to make the most of it. This countrz is small enough that I can get anzwhere, have fun and get back in a daz. Tania's place is right outside of Bern a perfect launching place. She and her roommate so awesome to host me... THANKS!! So for the rest of mz time here I will continue to take in the magnificant mountains, visit chocolate and cheese factories, wander the citz streets, gaze at cows and thier bells, hangout with Tania and her friens and visit a college buddz who lives in the other end of the countrz and live it up!!
But first I'll fill in mz last hurrah with Sarah in Italz. We enjozed the beautz and frustrations of Venice. It is such a beautiful citz and so unique with the canals, but zes, quite difficult to navigate and get around. The tourists definitelz got the best of us though so we headed off to Trent a little mountain town in the heart of the Dolomites. Through couch surfing we found an awesome couple to host us and welcomed us and treated us like we were their children. Thez were so sweet, making sure we knew when meal time was, where the train station was, when the trains were leaving, the last one back etc. The Dolomites were awesome, though their is still a lot of snow in parts and our second hike we were in desperate need of snow shoes and had to turn back.
Lake Como (where George Clooney has a house) was our next visit as a stop over on the waz to Swityerland, a beautiful place as well but a bit hoity toity for us, though the pizza place our host recommended was the best piyya I had in Italz, DELISH!!
Now I am in Swiyterland, sazing goodbze to Sarah as soon as she found out how much a train ticket cost (80 euro) she headed town to find a farm to work on... I hope (Sarah, are zou farming zet?). But I decided to purchase a Swiss Pass (220) which gives me unlimited train, bus and even boat rides, free entrance to all museums and castles, discounts on mountain trams and who knows what else for 15 dazs, so after digging into mz wallet for that I am being sure to make the most of it. This countrz is small enough that I can get anzwhere, have fun and get back in a daz. Tania's place is right outside of Bern a perfect launching place. She and her roommate so awesome to host me... THANKS!! So for the rest of mz time here I will continue to take in the magnificant mountains, visit chocolate and cheese factories, wander the citz streets, gaze at cows and thier bells, hangout with Tania and her friens and visit a college buddz who lives in the other end of the countrz and live it up!!
Friday, May 1, 2009
After much stressing about heading to Venice with no plans and no place to stay and reading that it is so important to book hostels ahead of time, I managed to find a place so no sleeping on the streets, or should I say canals for me. I am meeting up with my old coworker Sarah from the bakery, it's going to be great!
I bid farewell to the parents and will head to Venice to test my canal smarts. It was great to be here and be spoiled by them. Though, I think I was just the tour guide they needed. We succesfully did the Cinque Terre (five cities) trek on the coast, surrounded amazing scenery, full of vineyards and plenty of gelato and wine to keep us going. We stopped in Pisa on our way to Florence to try and push the leaning tower straight, but once you lay eyes on it are laughing too hard to make an attempt. It is such a funny spectacle! The pictures are no exaggeration, it is completely leaning!!
Florence was a fun city to spend our days in. Everything is centrally located and it is easy to walk wherever you want, wandering narrow, curved streets to take a different route every time. We had our fill of pasta and pizza and after one scoop of gelato that put a Ben and Jerry's pint to shame... I was (I didn't think it was possible for me) gelato-ed out, I should never have finished the entire serving. But not having to make the gelato run every day left us plenty of time to see all the sites and hit up a few stops outside the city as well, Il Chianti - the wine country and the old capital of Tuscany Sienna, and an awesome little village San Gigagnamo... so there was no chance of getting museum-ed out in the city too. We managed to convince my mom to get an a bike and managed to get her from being afraid of bikes, to loving bikes, to HATING bikes in a matter of 2 days. We finished out Italy by going to an amazing classical music performance last night... so good! It was also a celebration of my parents 36th anniversary. Congrats old farts!! Kidding, hope you made it home safe and thanks for everything!
Gotta train to catch!
I bid farewell to the parents and will head to Venice to test my canal smarts. It was great to be here and be spoiled by them. Though, I think I was just the tour guide they needed. We succesfully did the Cinque Terre (five cities) trek on the coast, surrounded amazing scenery, full of vineyards and plenty of gelato and wine to keep us going. We stopped in Pisa on our way to Florence to try and push the leaning tower straight, but once you lay eyes on it are laughing too hard to make an attempt. It is such a funny spectacle! The pictures are no exaggeration, it is completely leaning!!
Florence was a fun city to spend our days in. Everything is centrally located and it is easy to walk wherever you want, wandering narrow, curved streets to take a different route every time. We had our fill of pasta and pizza and after one scoop of gelato that put a Ben and Jerry's pint to shame... I was (I didn't think it was possible for me) gelato-ed out, I should never have finished the entire serving. But not having to make the gelato run every day left us plenty of time to see all the sites and hit up a few stops outside the city as well, Il Chianti - the wine country and the old capital of Tuscany Sienna, and an awesome little village San Gigagnamo... so there was no chance of getting museum-ed out in the city too. We managed to convince my mom to get an a bike and managed to get her from being afraid of bikes, to loving bikes, to HATING bikes in a matter of 2 days. We finished out Italy by going to an amazing classical music performance last night... so good! It was also a celebration of my parents 36th anniversary. Congrats old farts!! Kidding, hope you made it home safe and thanks for everything!
Gotta train to catch!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Time Flies!
It has been an amazing week finishing up my Tour de Austria.
First off was a day on the slopes for some spring skiing. The slopes and surrounding mountains were beautiful and I'm so glad I got in an Austrian ski day. That same day I headed off to Prague with former helper on the farm who was visiting the farm for Easter but lives and works in Prague. Prague was as everyone says, a beautiful and cultured city. The architecture everywhere you look is so amazing, also it's cheap and easy to get around using public transportation. Only complaints were that the local people weren't the friendliest and I wasn't the biggest fan of the cuisine and they rave about their beer, "the worlds best!"... it's obvious they haven't had any Oregon microbrews. Gili was so great to let me stay with her and giving me some insiders tips.
After a quick stop over in Vienna, just to see the main square I boarded a train to Salzburg. When I arrived it was late at night and all I could see were the lights on the hillsides lighting up the castles and the cathedrals within the city. I checked into a hostel that was showing the Sound of Music and though I've never seen it didn't bother and headed to bed. I awoke the next morning to see that the hills were indeed alive. I can definitely see why a movie was set there, it was such a nice town. I had a day there and could have spent more time doing a tour of the surrounding area but was eager for my trip to Innsbruck, a mountain town further to the west. I made arrangements for couch surfing with a guy who promised to show me some great hiking one day and had an extra mountain bike for me to ride the next.
So I boarded another train (thank god for the Vortiels card which gives those of us under 26 half price fares!), and was lucky to be sought out at the busy train station by my host. Innsbruck, like Salzburg is surrounded by mountains. But here they right at the edge of to town, bigger and there are more. As was promised we took a hike and mountain biked straight up into the mountains. It was really great to see how active the locals are here. It seems that everyone who lives here age 5-95 takes advantage of the trails they can access from their houses in all the villages and hike the way up to the restuarants for refreshing beers and traditional knudel dishes.
I am waiting to board another train Italy bound! Austria has been great and I actually may not be done with it yet. If things work out right, I am considering meeting up with my host from Graz in her hometown of Bad Ischle and then possibly seeing Hohe Tauren National Park... we'll see time is going by so fast.
First off was a day on the slopes for some spring skiing. The slopes and surrounding mountains were beautiful and I'm so glad I got in an Austrian ski day. That same day I headed off to Prague with former helper on the farm who was visiting the farm for Easter but lives and works in Prague. Prague was as everyone says, a beautiful and cultured city. The architecture everywhere you look is so amazing, also it's cheap and easy to get around using public transportation. Only complaints were that the local people weren't the friendliest and I wasn't the biggest fan of the cuisine and they rave about their beer, "the worlds best!"... it's obvious they haven't had any Oregon microbrews. Gili was so great to let me stay with her and giving me some insiders tips.
After a quick stop over in Vienna, just to see the main square I boarded a train to Salzburg. When I arrived it was late at night and all I could see were the lights on the hillsides lighting up the castles and the cathedrals within the city. I checked into a hostel that was showing the Sound of Music and though I've never seen it didn't bother and headed to bed. I awoke the next morning to see that the hills were indeed alive. I can definitely see why a movie was set there, it was such a nice town. I had a day there and could have spent more time doing a tour of the surrounding area but was eager for my trip to Innsbruck, a mountain town further to the west. I made arrangements for couch surfing with a guy who promised to show me some great hiking one day and had an extra mountain bike for me to ride the next.
So I boarded another train (thank god for the Vortiels card which gives those of us under 26 half price fares!), and was lucky to be sought out at the busy train station by my host. Innsbruck, like Salzburg is surrounded by mountains. But here they right at the edge of to town, bigger and there are more. As was promised we took a hike and mountain biked straight up into the mountains. It was really great to see how active the locals are here. It seems that everyone who lives here age 5-95 takes advantage of the trails they can access from their houses in all the villages and hike the way up to the restuarants for refreshing beers and traditional knudel dishes.
I am waiting to board another train Italy bound! Austria has been great and I actually may not be done with it yet. If things work out right, I am considering meeting up with my host from Graz in her hometown of Bad Ischle and then possibly seeing Hohe Tauren National Park... we'll see time is going by so fast.
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