German Alpine Road part 2: Salzburg, Hitler's Eagles Nest, Konigssee, Munich

On the road again, in the trusty Citroen, we headed to Salzburg.

We took the cable car up to the top of the hill which is home to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Unfortunately the day was quite foggy, so the view out over the town wasn't what it could have been. However it was still an interesting visit, with an abundance of medieval weapons, and historical stories (none of which I can remember now).

We also took time to wander around the picturesque cobbled streets, with their ornate façades, clocks and shop signs. Then off we went in search of some dinner, tracking down a little pub called Bärenwirt Seit 1663. Here we were presented with a veritable feast: the largest dumplings I've ever seen, and copious amounts of pork - naturally all accompanied by fantastic beer served in ceramic steins.

Soon the large table near us filled up with what appeared to be a work celebration of some sort. To great fanfare, a large wooden barrel of beer was brought out and tapped right there and then. A great little pub - highly recommended!

We popped over the border to Germany to Bad Reichenhall (cheaper accommodation), before setting out for Hitler's Eagles Nest the following day. I was surprised by quite how commercial this site has become. You queue for giant elevators transporting you up the mountain and suddenly you find yourself in a busy restaurant which was once a retreat for Hitler and his guests. The location was pretty amazing though, right on the border of Austria and Germany and, being so high up, you felt like you were on the top of the world. Unfortunately much of the presumably fantastic view was shrouded in fog again.

A short drive away was Königssee (translated as 'the King's lake' I believe). Surrounded by huge mountains on all sides, with incredibly clear water, the lake was stunning. No motor boats are allowed, meaning it was also very peaceful. As per tradition, once our electric-powered boat was in the middle of the lake, one of the crew took out a trumpet and played a few notes, showing off the echo off the mountains.

We hopped off on the first stop and explored around the little church and paths, before heading for a bite to eat, at the 'restaurant' of the one person with a license to fish on the lake. Here there was a simple wooden building and sheds filled with smoked fish dangling everywhere. We each ordered a fish, a piece of simple rye bread, and a beer. Simple, but packed full of flavour and delicious! A nice end to our trip.

We made our way to Munich, where Kylie and I were catching our flight from, leaving James and Susie to continue their road trip adventure. Before we left, we had time to stop off at a great brewery on the outskirts of Munich, and enjoy some great beer and pretzels. I believe it was Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, Germany's oldest brewery, and conveniently close to the airport.

German Alpine Road part 1: Budapest, Vienna

In September 2014 we flew over to Budapest to join NZ friends James and Susie for part of their European road trip.

The weather in Budapest was amazingly balmy and we enjoyed strolling around this compact city. We wandered alongside the Danube, looking at the vast Parliament buildings, and taking in the Shoes on the Danube Memorial, shoes fashioned of steel in memory of the Jews who were shot into the river during World War II.

We also visited the Jewish Quarter, and saw the Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum. The details inside the synagogue were stunning.

We clamboured up the hill to the Fisherman's Bastion, and took in the fantastic views across the city.

Before leaving Budapest, we made sure to visit one of the famous public thermal baths. We chose the Széchenyi Baths, and spent a long time bobbing about in the water. The building housing the baths was stunning - the essence of opulence.

After a couple of days there, we hit the road, headed for Austria and then through to Munich along the incredibly picturesque German Alpine Road. Next stop: Vienna!

The apartment we were staying at in Vienna had bicycles we could use. So the first afternoon we were there, off we headed on the bikes, on a scenic route into town alongside a canal. Unfortunately they were in various states of disrepair and it actually proved to be a bit more challenging than expected. Nevertheless, we had a good time on our wee adventure and managed to get a feel for the city, as well as enjoying some local beer and some massive schnitzel.

Undeterred by our experience, we decided to book a bike tour of the city, and spent a morning cycling around and learning a bit about Viennese history, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and marvelling at the impressive architecture around the city, both modern buildings, like those by the famous Hundertwasser, and distinctly older historical buidings.

Vienna has quite a reputation for its café culture, where, in many cases it's still perfectly acceptable to smoke inside café. So we made sure to check out one of the traditional, and rather opulent, options in town, where we also tried Austria's famous Sachertorte, a orangey chocolate cake.

While in Vienna, we also visited Riesenrad, the famous ferris wheel featured in the The Third Man film. The wooden compartments felt rather rickety but did offer great views over the theme park below, and part of the city.

There certainly seemed to be quite a lot of wealth in Vienna, but I also felt like something about it, a certain artistic streak, or edginess, reminded me of Berlin.

After Vienna, we continued on our journey through Austria. During the trip through to Salzburg we enjoyed watching the gentle green hills and very stereotypically Bavarian houses roll past. En route, we also chanced upon an amazing abbey, I believe it was the Melk Abbey. We managed to sneak a peek through a side door and the interior was simply stunning - I don't think I've ever seen such extravagance.

Our next stop was the rather wealthy Salzburg...

Days in Dublin

In June 2014, we went visited Dublin for a couple of days. First impressions were great as we were greeted by the most friendly border control worker I've ever come across. This theme continued during our stay, coming across very accommodating and helpful people.

We visited The Little Museum of Dublin, being led through this history of this fascinating city by a knowledgeable guide. Having not learnt that much about the history of Ireland before, I found it all really interesting - the bits I could understand that is, as I struggled a little with the guide's accent from time to time. The Kilmainham Gaol offered another interesting glimpse into Dublin's history.

Taking a break in the grounds of Trinity College

During out time there, we naturally had to visit the home of one of the city's most famous exports, Guinness. The Guinness factory was quite fun, with a bit of history, and a free pint at the end. Something that has stuck with me to this day was being taught how to drink a Guinness 'properly.' Placebo effect perhaps, but it really did seem to taste that much better in Ireland itself, and drunk using the proper technique.

The reason we were in Dublin at that specific time was to go along to a Jack White concert, one of Kylie's favourite artists. Unfortunately the weather turned on us a bit and it was decidedly damp, but nevertheless enjoyable.

All in all we found Dublin to be really nice place to go for a few days - easy to get around, lovely people, and some great food as well.

Turkey: Istanbul, May 2014

Looking back over the photos, it's hard to believe how much we saw in Turkey, and how many different places we visited, so I'm going to split this into a couple of posts

We started off in Istanbul. Here we of course visited the must-see sights of the Blue Mosque (although it took several attempts until we managed to time it right and actually be able to go inside), and the Hagia Sophia, both of which were stunning. The scale of the blue mosque is particularly impressive, while the history of the Hagia Sophia, which began life as a Christian basilica, before becoming a mosque and nowadays a museum, was very interesting.

Perhaps slightly less known is the Basilica Cistern, a cistern underneath the city dating from the sixth century, built as a water filtration system for the palace. It is surprisingly vast, and the way the colonnades are lit up from below means you get the eerie feeling of being in a sunken city.

We took a ferry across to the Eastern (or 'Asian') side of the city. The ferry provided us with fantastic views all around the city, and made us realise its vastness, and just how many mosques were dotted around the place. We were hunting for a market we'd read about but Trip Advisor led us astray and we never did find it, but it was nice to see a different (quieter) part of the city.

Other sites we visited included the Galata tower, which gave us nice views across the city. I don't think of myself as afraid of heights, but the unstable railing and thin and unstable stone viewing platform, which sloped distinctly away from the building, had me flattened against the tower itself and unable to move very far. Nice views, and not actually that high, but not recommended for those unsure of heights!

One of our first nights here, while walking around the centre of the city, in the Taksim square area, we stumbled across a huge parade of excitable football fans: the local Fenerbahçe team had won the Turkish league, and fans were out celebrating. I'm not sure if these things normally turn rowdy, but there was certainly a huge police presence, waiting and watching in full riot gear. There were even trucks with water cannons to the side, although we didn't see any of it used.

Fenerbahçe fans

During our time in Istanbul we didn't have the best of weather, with quite a bit of rain, meaning we had to hole in up in a number of cafes from time to time. This was the perfect excuse to have yet another cup of Turkish tea or coffee. Tea was served strong and black in dainty class cups, and you were provided with several sugar cubes to add at your leisure. The coffee was also strong and served in small cups, with a distinctively grainy texture at the bottom which is a little difficult to avoid. 

We also tried some great food. On our first evening here, we visited a great little restaurant right near our airbnb apartment. We were sat right next to the huge grill and enjoyed many delicious grilled meats and vegetables, and tasty bread. 

Another night we sought out a fantastic little hole in the wall place Kylie had heard about on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations for a super tasty kebab. Other grilled meaty delights included kokoreç and cağ. We also tried a 'wet burger,' whose soggy buns don't look particularly appealing, but in reality, the tasty, saucy, garlicky, tomato-ey meatiness was just delectable.

cağ

Traditional Turkish breakfasts are a lavish affair, with mountains of fresh bread, boiled eggs, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, creamy yoghurt, honey, and white cheeses. A great way to start the day.

All in all we had an enjoyable time in Istanbul, but I think I had heard such amazing things, that it would have been virtually impossible to live up to those expectations. 

On we travelled, next stop Ephesus.

October 2013: good times in Paris

We jumped on the Eurostar and popped up on the other side of the channel for a four day stay in Paris.

We were staying in an airbnb studio apartment in Le Marais, near the Canal St. Martin. Overlooking a beautiful church and near to a lot of nice cafes and restaurants, it was nice to stay in a less touristy area of the city. To get in the spirit of things we started our trip with an apéritif of delicious red wine and Comté, bought for a bargain at the local supermarket.

That evening we went for a wander down to the canal itself, which was very picturesque. After much trip advisor consultation, walking around, and negotiation, we finally settled on a place for dinner full of French classics. We enjoyed foie gras, crème brûlée, duck, and snails.

To fuel up for the day of touristing, we visited the Richard Lenoir market, also known as the Marché Bastille, which was full of foodie delights.

Keeping with the market theme, we spent a good half a day visiting the nooks and crannies of the vast flea market Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen, apparently the biggest flea market in the world.

Heading up to visit the Sacré Cœur and explore the Montmartre area a fierce storm lashed us with rain and wind, breaking an umbrella and thoroughly drenching us. I still own the tacky purple ‘I love Paris’ umbrella we had to buy as a replacement.

In search of a good photo spot, we trekked across to Montparnasse Tower, a tall office building with a roof terrace open to the public which offers fantastic views across the city.

Although I had been to Paris a couple of times before I had sadly never quite had the time or stamina to visit the vast and daunting Louvre. Although I feel like we only skimmed the surface of all there is to see at the Louvre, what we did see we really enjoyed.

Exhausted, we took refuge in the neighbouring Tuileries gardens. Plonking ourselves on a nearby bench we enjoyed watching local children set model yachts afloat in the water fountains.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, a stroll along the Seine led us to the Notre Dame cathedral. Although I’ve seen it quite a number of times now I still find it impressive.

We queued for a couple of hours to visit the Paris catacombs. Admittedly the idea of the catacombs doesn’t sound particularly appealing, but the extent of the warren-like tunnels, the quantity of bones and the history of the site made for a really interesting visit. The city’s graveyards were proving a risk to public health, and the catacombs were built below the city streets, in former quarries, to provide a practical place to store these bones and corpses.

Before bidding ‘à la prochaine’ to Paris, we were sure to squeeze in another few French culinary classics, like these sumptuous macaroons, and a pistachio and chocolate swirl to enjoy beside the canal.