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Published: July 13th 2006
I love St Johan
How could you not love this place?Been a little while since I have updated this thing and unfortunatly the internet cafe that I am at wont let me plug in my card reader so one more update with no pictures. GRRRRRRRRR
So I got on the bus in Munich and was going to spend 2 nights in this small little place called St Johan in Tirol in Austria and when the tour guide asked the bus who was getting off there I was the only person to put up a hand. This is going to be interesting. So I get off the bus and check in and I had a 3 bed apartment all to myself. The reason I stopped here was that it is a HUGE outdoor sport place. On the bus down they played a video showing all the activities that you could do there and I knew I was going to be in the right place. My first day there I booked in to go Paragliding and it was one of the most amazing things that I have ever done. Have you ever looked up in the sky and wondered why birds are always flying? Now I know! We went up to the
Im nuts about mountain
Now this is my kind of view. top of a ski hill and after a quick safety discussion we waited for the right wind and then 4 steps later we were flying! I have been skydiving before and that is 100% adrenalyn but this was a totally different experience. The paragliding chutes are designed to keep you up in the air longer and they do the job perfectly. We would be slowly floating down then all of a sudden we would hit a thermal and then go right back up into the sky. Several times we were well above the spot that we launched from. About 20 minutes later we start coming down and he asks if I want to try some acrobatics, HELL YEAH I DO!! Next thing I know he is whipping us almost upside down a couple of hundred feet above the ground and it was incredible!! Once we were on the ground I couldnt stop smiling for about 5 hours, not a bad way to spend the day. That night a TopDeck bus tour group came through and I found out the many reasons why busabout rocks! I met 2 girls from Canada and they were saying that the second they got on
Fun little slide
Now this was fun the bus they realized they had made a mistake. They basically hated everyone on the bus and everyone on the bus hated them, not the best way to spend a month in Europe. When I told them about Busabout they were so jealous, they had even thought of just getting off the bus and training it around but they couldnt afford to do that so they were stuck with these people for another 3 or 4 weeks. I LOVE YOU BUSABOUT!!!
The next day I rented a bike for the day and was headed out to a lake when I bumped into 4 Australian girls from the TopDeck tour that were headed the same way so I decided to slow down the pace a bit and hang out with them for the day, and what a day it turned out to be. The ride was actually really challenging in parts and these girl were not in the best of shape so pretty much every hill was walked up, oh well more time to chat! We finally made it to the lake and jumped in for a quick dip, mmmmm slimy river water! Back on the bikes and we tried
Ski lift in the winter?
The view just gets better and better! to find another way back and that was a big mistake. We eventually got so lost that one of the girls took a cab back half way home and after being given the wrong directions by a COP of all people the rest of us decided to split a cab back. Nice quiet night watching some more world cup action and it was a nice quiet night in bed with my ipod and the journal for me.
The next day I went for a quick walk around town and grabbed some food for the bus. The thing about hopping off at the optional stops is that when you get on the bus there is the risk that you wont know anyone which can make for a really boring bus ride. As Im on my way back to the hostel I noticed that the bus was already there and on my way past the guide I noticed a familiar face. When I was in Bruges doing a walking tour I met this Australian girl by the name of Sarah and we ended up bumping into eachother again in Amsterdam. She was getting off busabout after Amsterdam to do her own
Pretty peak
Pretty peak if you ask me, shame to jump off it. thing so I thought I wouldnt see her again. WRONG!! Ended up in Venice and bumping into her meant I had a new travellnig partner for the next couple of days, YAY I love travelling partners! First 2 minutes in the camping hostel in Venice I run into Natala and Kate from Perth and surprise surprise, they are already drinking! Couple of bottles of vodka between us all and a GREAT game of "never have I ever" (I will accept bribes not to put the details of that game on the website) later we had a campsite party of about 10-15 people and then it was off to the hostel bar for one heck of a night! All I have to say is what the heck was up with DJ Mullet with the glow in the dark earings, you brought that on yourself Sarah!
The next day we headed into town and just aimlessly wandered around Venice. They have an amazing system of boat busses and considering a gondola costs about $100 Canadian that was a bit out of our budgets we just got a day pass for the busses and spent about 10 hours on them. I really
Pretty clouds
Perfect weather for a perfect day. miss the ocean :-( The next couple of days we pretty much saw just about everything there was to see. Sarah did some INSANE window shopping and I just walked around taking pictures of everything, which should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me. Sarah had a craving for a beach so we went on a hunt for one. We eventually found one on the Island of Lido and I was a HUGE fan of this place. It only took about 5 seconds on the sand to realize the draw of this beach. Can you say "HOLY TOPLESS WOMEN BATMAN!!" Once we got there Sarah realized that she was too hot in her t-shirt and wanted to put on a tanktop. What was really funny was that although she was still wearing a rather conservative bra she felt really uncomfortable taking her shirt off in public even though there were about 50 topless women within a 1 minute walk. The only downside of a topless beach is that although there are some amazingly beautiful women working on getting rid of their tan lines there were some women there that really shouldnt have been doing that. Nothing kills the
Little tacky?
This place just reeked of touristy Austria. apetite like an 80 year old topless woman. And if a naked granny wasnt enough to turn the stomach I think there was a Spedo (budgie smugglers for you Aussies) festival in town! For some reason the European men LOVE their Speedos. How these guys think they look good in them is completely beyond me. Nothing like the oozing machismo! Friends shouldnt let friends wear Speedos. From there we headed out to check out a few museums and do some more wandering. Eventually ended up back at the hostel and there was a toga party at the bar that night. I have never seen so many people hook up in my life. Every couple of minutes 2 people would go off "for a walk" and then about 5-10 minutes come back to the bar just to leave again about half an hour later for "another walk" sometime with a different person from the first "walk", nothing like a hostel hookup. "Mommy, whos my daddy" "I dont know honey, I went backpacking through Europe and forgot to pack my morals"
The next day I thought I had lost Little Mikka but he eventually turned up at the hostel bar. Whew
My kind of urban sprawl
Just a little different than Calgary. that was a close one. Lost Sarah as she took off to Croatia and ended up in Rome meeting up with a few familiar faces from previous travels. Its funny how everywhere I go I keep bumping into people I know and even some people that I dont know but they know either me or Little Mikka, that little guy is getting quite the reputation. Bumped into Marie-Ange from previous cities and ended up hanging out with her that night and wow could that woman dance (I hope you read this)
Everyone I talked to had had something stolen out of their bags or pick pocketed on a bus so I was super paranoid in Rome but it all worked out in the end.
Next day I had to check out of the room that I was in so I could check back into another room that night so I put my bags in storage and would have to be back by 11pm to check back in...more on that later. I went down to check some email and this girl sits down next to me and asks if I have a pen and if I miss steak too
and instantly found a new travel buddy for that day. Brandy from Kamloops quickly made her way into my top 10 favorite travel people yet! I have always said that I am going to marry a woman whos father owns a brewery, well she is a Molson rep in Kamloops, thats close enough. She had broken her camera the day before so I became her personal photographer for the day and it was one of the best days of the trip. From the hostel we headed over to St Peters and I had to buy her an early birthday present of a scarf so that she could get into the church. Ended up down in the crypt where they have a bunch of the popes burried and found the tomb of Pope John Paul II! We didnt even know it was going to be there. I love randomly stumbling into things like that. From there we just randomly spend the next couple of hours wandering and eventually bumped into the Spanish steps, a super cool chill out spot in downtown Rome. We found a bottle of wine and she whipped up the most amazing cheese and tomato bunwiches I have
Gotta love tourists
I just love the random folk. ever had! We were going to head back to the hostel so I could check back in before reception closed and thats when we found out that the metro closed at like 9pm...UH-OH!! Luckilly we bumped into a local that spoke perfect English (thanks Rose!) and she told us that we would have to walk to the train station and catch a bus from there. A mad dash through downtown Rome and we eventually got on the bus but the closer we got to the hostel my watch kept getting faster. We got off the one bus and had to transfer to another one but by this point it was after 11pm :-( We bumped into Izzy, my beautiful Scottish friend and a friend of hers waiting for the bus and we decided to catch a cab. At this point Brandy didnt have accomodation booked because she was supposed to be off to Sardinia that day but my company just couldnt be missed, and I didnt know if I could get a room or not. We thought we would be sleeping on the streets that night. When we got to the campground the security guy wouldnt let us in. I
Flowers everywhere
Mom you would love this place. told him I had a reservation but he couldnt find me on the list so eventually I sweet talked my way into getting a room for the night, who can say no to me?!??!?! Next morning I walked Brandy to the train station and started the most insane power tourist marathon of the trip. Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Panthenon and I still got back to the hostel before it closed, YAY ME!!! I was planning on having a nice quiet night with my journal and my ipod so I went to check some emails really quick and on the way there I bumped into like 10 people I knew including Trav, Lee, and Mikey...so much for a quiet night. Next thing you know this girl breaks the lamp pole with an impromptu stipper move and we pretty much knew it was going to get crazy! The details of that night are going to be kept quiet to protect the innocent and the VERY VERY VERY not innocent! (you know who you are)
Next morning I forgot to set the alarm so I missed the bus so I had to catch the train to
Why bike when you can van cab?
Like a twisted game of tetris. Florence and Im actually glad I did. The train was SUPER fast and there was TONS of legroom, quite a change from the bus. Not only was it faster and more comfortable but I ended up meeting Dao from near DC and I found myself another travel buddy for the day, YAY!! She checked into her hostel and it was pretty dodgy but when we went to mine they handed us both ice cold beers, Im going to like this place. We went out for a quick wander and went to a museum of sorts that I had no idea what it was but ended up being pretty fun. Ended up trying to hunt down a voice in the park (dont ask) and then headed up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset. We were going to grab some dinner then I kept bumping into people from my travels. Its awesome, Im like a celebrity over here. Met up with the two crazy Auzzies that are stalking me Im sure!! Its one thing to bump into other people that are doing Busabout but just as we were off the second time to find some dinner we bumped into Stephanie, a
Nice hills
Im a huge fan of these hills...now which ones am I talking about? girl I met on a wine tour in Vienna. She wasnt doing busabout, just another random traveller. Stephanie and her friends had to go back to their hostel to change and grab some food so we arranged to meet up at a bar at 11pm. So we finally left Daos place after she had dropped off her camera at around midnight and when we got to the bar there wasnt anyone we knew. Had a few quick drinks then went for a walk and ended up bumping into Steph and her friends on a random bridge. I always thought that things like that only happened in movies but now I know different. We went back to the bar and if you take nothing else from my blog ladies its that you should NEVER TRUST ITALIAN MEN!! I thought the guys back home were pretty forward and forceful with the women but they are in a completely different league as these guys. I have never seen women be treated like pieces of meat like that in my life!!! Some really weird dance moves and a couple of stories that I cant put on the blog later we all took off so
mmmmm wine
Vineyards everywhere!! I walked the ladies home and snuck into my bed for a good sleep.
Today I went to go check out the Galleria dell' Accademia to take a peek at Michelangelo's statue of David. There was a 90 minute wait to get in but it was worth every second!! I didnt know how big the thing is but its HUGE! Not to mention it was one of the most lifelike statues that I have ever seen. Even down to the veins under the skin not a single detail was missed. There is a reason its the most famous statue on earth!!
Well that pretty much brings me to where I am right now, 2 hours in an internet cafe is never fun but every once in a while it has to be done. Im off to do laundry tonight so dont expect any insane stories from tonight. Just a nice quiet night with my journal and my ipod...to be continued...
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dan
non-member comment
Wow
Hey Man that's some crazy things happening. I can't believe i have come up to the one year mark since my adventures in Europe. Can't wait to go back. Viva lil Mikka.