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Published: August 10th 2006
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The Austrian Alps
...stunning view of the Alps. VIENNA
We catch a morning bus & arrive in Vienna that afternoon. Austrians speak German so we quickly freshen up on the lingo. Our hostel is called 'wombats' ! It has to be the cleanest place we've stayed. It has free internet & a bar downstairs. We arrive just in time for happy hour, so we dump our bags & head to the bar. I go a bit silly & smack way too many in the first two hours. The mood is good though. We play pool & get chatting to a mix of Aussies & Kiwis. Di drags me away for some dinner which is a good call. We settle for Pork Schnitzel which is a traditional dish - very nice - we end up eating the same thing the following night.
We go on a winnery tour the following day. There are about 12 of us & our guide is an Aussie - we're everywhere !! We travel about an hour out out of the city & then the scenary takes a bit of a change. The first winnery is a great. We go downstairs into the cellar & see all the old barrels. The temperature drops
Large Keg
...of Wine! The first stop on our Grape Grazing tour in Vienna about 10 degrees. We get a quick history lesson & then start tasting. We learn how to sniff & swirl & all the samples are quite good portions.
To get to the next spot we need to jump on some push bikes. It is really good fun riding through the vineyards & little viallages. Our next taste test is of liquors & jams. Every flavour that you could imagine plus some. The liquors were very potent & the jams are just the best. We even decide to by a few jars.
Then we ride to a local family's house where the guide cooks up a massive BBQ....sooo much meat ! Meanwhile we taste a few more wines & are each given a free bottle when we leave. To finish things off we try some home made walnut liquor. The family was still playing with the formula. I wouldn't recommend it just yet, but it definitely packed a punch.
We jump back on the bikes & head to a park for a bit of a rest. The girls laze in the sun whilst the boys play volleyball. There are two yankee lads with us & they decide to
Taste Test
Di enjoys her first glass of wine start drinking their free bottle during the break. Needless to say they were a little wobbly when we got back on the bikes.
The next stretch was a bit of a killer - uphill. We even lost a Canadian girl at one stage - she struggled ! Our reward is a long walk to some castle but half of the group opts out. It was worth it though, the views were stunning.
We have one last tasting & then call it a day. We get back home just in time for happy hour !!
We spend the next three nights in Budapest before returning to Wombats.
We arrive in the late afternoon, dump our bags & jump onto a train headed to the city. We check out the churches & generally just walk around. Di pýcks out a place she'd lýke to eat at for dinner but by the time we get there it has closed..... Our next option ýs a place called centremetres, our winnery guide raved about it & the lonley planet talked it up aswell.
We arrive pretty late but they are still serving which is great. BUT the menu is in
Vineyard
Kurt takes a break from the bike to enjoy the view German & we haven't a clue what anything means. We decide to get adventurous & both pick something at random... I guess it must work out ok sometimes but not on thýs ocassýon ! Di ends up with a vegetarian strudel & I get 2 metres of sausage put in front of me !!! Yes.... 2 metres... It was served on a 1 metre wooden board & there was 2 sauages. It was the worst thing I had ever tasted. The sausage was as skinny as your pinky finger & tasted like an old shoelace. On the side was a pile of horse raddish that burnt my sinuses, the worst mustard Ý have ever tasted & some very stale smelly thin brown bread. Di came to the rescue & swapped meals for a while, poor girl, but her's wasn't much chop either. We finished our drinks & hot tailed it.
The next day is set aside for more sights. We start at the Summer Palace & enjoy some breakfast in the garden. Afterward we check out some markets & Di falls in love with the hand made stuff. It is mostly Indians manning the stores so the bartering begins.
Castle Ruins
We hiked up to take a look at the castle....Kurt works up a sweat Di ends up with a nice handbag & a skirt. She was very proud of herself having bartered for the 1st time.
In the afternoon we are back in the city. Di has the shopping bug so leaves me at a bar while she checks out some more shops. The bar is a ripper Aussie one called Crossroads & they sell XXXX !!! Woo hooo, my 1st drop since leaving Oz. They sell it in a half litre silver can with green print. The taste is pretty familiar but on closer inspection I find it is brewed in London.....
By the time Di returns I am well on the way & have struck up a conversation with a Potuguese bloke nammed Ivo (the terrible). We eat dinner there - chicken burger & baked potatoe. Ivo follows us back to the hostel beause he needs a place to stay & then we hit the bar. It looks like turning into a huge one until I slice my big toe on the tiled stairs. It makes a bit of a mess & the cut is pretty deep. Di patches me up back in the room & we decide to call
Castle Ruins
This is the castle where King Richard (from Robin Hood era) was held captive until the English paid a ransom it a night. Probably a good thing as our bus to Salzburg leaves at 8am the next morning.
SALZBURG
We're up early & on an 8am bus to Salzburg, arriving around lunchtime. Helmut, a friend of Di's Dad, is there to meet us. We meet his wife Josie at the flat & she fusses over my cut toe. After we disinfect it & bandage it up, we hit the streets for some sightseeing. We catch a bus into town & slowy make our way to the castle, stopping in at numerous churches along the way. Helmut somehow scams us a free ride in the cable car & this saves my bung foot from the long uphill trudge. The castle is quite good, especially for the views. Helmut points out all the major sights & gives us a quick history lesson. We see where the Austrian/German border lies. After the castle we make our way to Helmet's favourite beer hall. It is a massive place with various halls, catering to every age bracket. We grab a stein from the rack, wash it at the water fountain & get amongst the local brew...yum ! The beer we drank is only
XXXX
Kurt's first XXXX since leaving Australia....he savours the moment. available within the halls & not available anywhere else. Helmut treated us to some liver cheese...I was super sceptical but it combined well with the beer. It doesn't taste like liver, & you eat it with bread & sweet mustard. We hurry home to watch the world cup final. Oh Zidane, what were you thinking.... & the cheats took the cup.
The next day Helmet has a full day planned, so we're on the road early. First stop is a little village where the song "silent night" was first performed. Just beyound the village is a river which acts as a border between Austria & Germany. We cross the border & visit a very old curch. It grounds are full of graves which you have to walk over to reach the entrance. We then visit a touristy lake & take the opportunity to have a walk in the woods. The water is so clear, & Helmet insists that it is drinkable. From our vantage point we can see where Hitler's hideout was positioned. After lunch we ascend approx 1800 metres above sea level to take in the breathtaking alps. The snow covered peaks are amazing & fill up the
entire skyline. It's made us feel very small. The air is thin but very clean.
On our last day in Salzburg we spend the morning organising ourselves before hitting the road again. We go up another mountain, this time to where the local TV tower is. It's a bit hazy so our views are a little hampered. There is a good breeze & we get chatting to a paraglider who is about to launch. Afterwards we continue onto a remote village. It is positioned on a lake & in ideal position. It is 30 degrees & most people are in the water cooling off. It can get down to minus 20 degrees in winter & villages such as this can be cut off from the main town. We visit another village a bit further along & enter an eerie grave sight. Inside a hut are piles of bones & stacked skulls. We head home & enjoy another one of Josie's lovely meals....home cooked meals are the best. We grab a bit of sleep before boarding a 2am train to Vienna.
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Jules
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Choice Bro
When will Helmut be returning to "Choice Bro Tafe"