Austria and Switzerland

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Dearest readers,

We meet again! Whats cracking at your end?

We arrived in Salzberg at a rather empty and ambiguous station. To find our way out of the building we had to hone our "choose your own adventure" skills. Once we got out we had to catch two buses to our accommodation. Upon entering the accommodation we were greeted by the ever money saving functional piece - a kitchen... equipped with a fridge!! The time is now upon us where we lose daylight at about 5pm and as we were quite a way from town we decided that it was time to get our Masterchef on (Nick was Dani). The following morning we had major plans to get into Old Town. The accommodations landlady advised us that we were just a small way off the map and it would only be a short walk into town. Equipped with this information and joined with lovely weather we headed off on our short journey. After about 40 minutes were were slightly concerned as to where we were. You see... we walked exactly the way she said but still could not see any of the street signs on our map. We finally got the courage to ask someone where we were and to show us on the map to where she pointed out our exact location - back at the edge of the map. Thankfully that lady had the smarts and we were in Old Town within 15 minutes. As part of our big plan we had decided that we were going to check out Old Town and then head to New Town where we would get a tour through the Bavarian Alps. We were very excited to find that a tour company picked up from Old Town which meant we had more time to check out the views from the Castle and eat Mozart chocolate (he wasnt just good at music). We went to book the tour but they didnt take card, so we promised to return later. On our way back we adventured up to the Castle and found that if you walked just past it there were some magnificent views of the mountains around Salzberg. We took lots of happy snaps and busted a move back to the booking venue. When we got back we were advised that she would try her best to get a spot for us. I'm sorry, pardon? I would have thought that you could have mentioned this earlier, or at least mentioned that we had to come straight back with the money to ensure a spot. Thankfully she used her most solemn voice to procure us some seats and get them to collect us from the Old Town. Entirely frustrated with the inefficienies of man (or in this case woman) we angrily ate our Mozart chocolates. We were then collected and taken to the part of New Town (the gorgeous Mirabellgarten) where the tour was to begin. Our tour driver came to collect us and would you believe it - thank goodness we had a reservation - because we were the only ones on a tour. Talk about lucky!! The tour took 4 hours and we drove up and around the mountains stopping once at the Konigssee National Park. The stop off was for an hour, which was entirely unnecessary. You get off the bus, walk to the closed down town and walk up a small hill to a lookout. Dont get me wrong, it was very pretty, but we didnt need to be there for so long. Along the drive we went past Hitlers bunker and his 50th birthday present - a house atop of a mountain (which apparently he hated because he is afraid of heights). The tour driver took us to another stop, but this was much more uneventful and thankfully we were back in the car within 5 minutes... to begin our descent back into Salzberg. I would like to thank the Greyline Bus company for the most expensive waste of time.

Early the next morning we ventured back to the ambiguous rail station to catch the next train to Innsbruck. That day was sadly a long one as I wasnt feeling too well with my ears still and we went to the hospital 😞. I am pleased to report though I paid 50euro to find out that there is nothing wrong with me, I suddenly have amazing hearing and can hear all the muscles moving in my ear canal. Win!
The following day we were as excited as jumping beans as we were going to get the cable car up the Tirol Mountains for a picnic! Very excitedly we took in the glorious weather and hastily procured some cheese, chocolate and wine and made our way to the cable car only to find that it was shut for renovations. Nein!!!!!!!!!! With our plans being foiled, we reluctantly checked out the very few sights in Innsbruck, took some photos, drank some coffee and went to the Imperial Gardens for our picnic. It was a delightful picnic - but it would have been so much better higher above sea level. After our picnic (Phillip said that the brie was the best - I preferred the cheddar) we donned our rebellious shoes and we climbed a fence onto the sandy area and we watched some 13 year olds drink beer and the sun go down.

For our next adventure we were then off to Switzerland. We arrived in Zurich at 4pm and as we trekked to our hostel we realised something was slightly amiss. As we stood out the front of Gregorys Hotel we realised where we had booked. We were staying in the heart of the red light district. We checked into the part of the hostel which wasnt the strip bar and ventured out for money and food with our posessions held close. In order to procure money we had to visit several banks which all refused to give us any. You would have thought that withdrawing money from the country with the highest rate of illegal banking that it would have been easy. It was also in Zurich that we recieved the reports from Nicks examiners for his thesis. I am exceptionally, exceptionally proud of his remarkable achievements. Well done Rish!!
You may, from the blog, be getting a sense of how exhausted we are at this point in the trip. It was here that we decided that we werent bothered by Zurich and that we were just going to stay in the hostel and rest. Which is what we did. Many may consider Zurich a fail, but we were getting pretty sick, pretty frequently, so we consider it a complete win.

Revitalised, light of step, glad of heart and whistling a joyous tune (which if I am whistling Nick has been instructed he MUST remain silent) we were rather pleased to catch the 4 hour train to Luzern. I was extremely excited about Luzern, as I remember it from my Contiki trip 8 years ago and it was absolutely my favourite place in Europe. When we arrived we were not disappointed. The place is just gorgeous, despite it being quite dark and overcast. Luzern is the only place (besides Ireland) which has been cloudy and overcast since we have been over here (we have been told that the weather that we have been having is exceptionally abnormal for this time of year). We found our hostel and it has to be said that this is in all honesty the most amazing place where we have stayed. Its only a backpackers, but we were in a room with a huge bed, balcony and a gorgeous view of the large lake outside. As well as this, I dont think that we have stayed anywhere so quiet either. It was a fantastic way of getting ourselves back into the swing of things. The next day we went out to see the sights of Luzern and we were again not disappointed. We wandered around the small cobbled streets as well as walking up to the Lion of Luzern as well as around to the towers along the city walls. From there we headed back to the hostel as we had big plans for our next adventure. Yep, you guessed it. A new gang. We hired ourselves some rollerblades and the Rotten Eggs went and terrorised the small area which we were able to rollerblade around.
That night we got our swiss taste buds ready and had ourselves some cheese fondue. Papah would have been over the moon - we all know how much he loves cheese. We got two different sorts and sampled them with vodka (yuck!), bread and under-cooked potatoes. It was delicious - well, you'd want it to be for how much we paid for it. Did I mention how expensive Switzerland is? It is amazing expensive, the exchange rate is similar to that of the AUD, but you pay double... for everything (except booze, thats cheap).

We then moved onto Wengen which is a small town up near the "Top of Europe" (which I'm not sure whether this is accurate) mountain Jungfraujoch. I think this story can wait though, nothing like a bit of suspense.

Love to all.
NJ&NJ&Phillip
xxx

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Comments

[Gardener]

WTF
If that young woman comes back, i'll bury her. It took me days to collect and create an artistic mountain of leaves and 5 minutes for a Aussie hoon to conquer and destroy.

[Ninja Toitle]

I'm Back
You may be wondering what I have been doing since my escape from the Dublin cell (packpack). I hooked up with the underground leprechauns and made my way to the giants causeway to swim across to Scotland (avoiding those two fighting giants). I then joined the Wallace clan and made my way to England (thanks Mel). I was told to meet a virgin called Richard who would get me a flight to America. After a month in America and undergoing a strict regime of Ninja training (thanks Chuck - nice guy, great mover); I am now ready to hunt down that pesky Wabbit and reclaim my place. Now in Europe (thanks Elios) and following the droppings. See you soon Wabbit.

[Nikita and Scotty]

Hahahahhahaha! Love you rabbit!

[Ninja Toitle]

I'm Back 2
Now in Salzburg, daylight fading fast. Met an old lady who spoke about two young foreigners who were eating chocolates and never offered her one, very in hospitable. Bought a bus ticket from nice lady, I then missed the bus (will have to get faster legs), so bunkered down in some holiday house which was owned by a man with funny mark above his lip. Hopped on train next day (hopped is not correct word– pesky wabbit). To recharge my batteries decided to have a sleep, found some nice comfy leaves, I was in heaven. Just getting comfortable, when….Bang, thrash, silly giggling. This stupid person shocked the shell out of me; if I find out who you are, you will get a quick one, two. Now fully awake, found a Brie, what’s this Philip has been here, spoke to Cheddar who said go to to Luzern. After walking on cobbled streets, Bang again… two hoons on rollerblades nearly squashed me. Spoke to Papah in fondue, he is a real cheese of a guy. He said “go Wengen young Toitle”.