Vienna

Actually, I'm in Århus (it's pronounced like Orhus) already. The internet connection at my hostel at Vienna was seriously lacking so I wasn't able to make any posts during my time there.

My preconceived impression of Vienna was shaped by the misleading film about Johann Strauss II, The Great Waltz. Because of this film, to me, Vienna is about Strauss (not Mozart), goulash, the Danube (although for the last, this cartoon I watched as a child also had significant contributions). So let's get that all over with first.

Beef Goulash

With the gold Strauss statue at Staadpark

Cruising the Danube - it was such a disappointment/let down!! It was an ugly cruise, sooo not recommended!

I loved Vienna, perhaps because it was not boiling hot (it was rainy and windy), but I do love it. Vienna is a bit like Paris, with the museums and palaces, but without the crowds. And one does not need to be afraid of speaking English, because everyone speaks English gladly. It is also beautiful like Paris - the entire city is predominantly built up of ornately decorated buildings built centuries ago. Sometimes it's strange walking in streets surrounded by these stately buildings and then to walk by someone dressed up in business gear - they belong to plain high rises, not with these nice buildings. Probably the place I liked the most? (maybe after Jungfrau though) It's pretty expensive though, and it wasn't very good timing to go in July/August as all its biggest drawcards, ie the boys choir, State Opera and Spanish Riding School, are on holidays. Which is why I'll go back!!

I'm not going to write about where I went, but the unplanned adventures I had with other travellers I met along the way.

On the first day, after a long day exploring the rooms and gardens of Schloss Schonbrunn and then looking for the unique and colourful Hundertwasser-Krawinahaus, my roommate Cindy and I headed for the Rathaus for the 美食广场. We saw a big screen erected in front of the Rathaus, and after looking at some of the banners, found out it was part of the Vienna Film Festival. That night they were showing an opera. After dinner from the 美食广场 (I had Japanese food cooked by white people - it was REALLY bad - I thoroughly enjoyed the rice though, my first in weeks!), we went back to our hostel so Cindy could put on more clothes (it was very cold and windy and rainy). There were two girls (Yoko and Seyoung) in our room when we got back and we invited them to come along and watch a free opera! Walking out, it felt really good and exciting to have formed this spontaneous group. Just to have made these temporary friends to share this excursion put me on a high.

Then the next day, the same. Cindy and I went to buy tickets for a concert and met a boy at the counter. Turned out he lived at the same hostel as us! Even after we parted for our own explorations of the city, I met the boy again at the State Opera.

Yet again, on my third day in Vienna, when I took a day trip to the Wachau region for a cruise of the Danube (it has always been a dream of mine after the abovementioned movie and cartoon), I met a girl from my hostel who I recognised from the night before. The cruise itself was a disappointment because the river was a dirty yellow and the scenary of the banks was soo boring. It also rained 15 mins into our cruise. On the train back to Vienna, we met two other girls. One of them, called Laalaa, was so energetic and talkative. She was quite a character, and sometimes her eccentricity was hard to believe. Eg she has a toy Winnie The Pooh who she says is her and when she takes photos would take photos of her toy as if it were her!! The five of us had dinner together, Austrian 'specialty'(?) pork knuckles. It was advertised to be for two, so I shared with Laalaa. There was soooo much meat and fat but we finished it! However afterwards I felt 有点吃伤, cos I couldn't think, look, smell meat or any animal produce without feeling queezy for two days!

Party of Five - Meeting these girls turned an otherwise bad decision to cruise the Danube into a highlight of Vienna.

In front of the Belvedere, we're shooting Laalaa as represented by Pooh

Bubbly, loveable Laalaa taking a photo of Pooh

The pork knuckles!! Yang and Grace hardly finished half of theirs~~~

Throughout this trip, and particularly in Vienna, I've been facinated about how as I wander this world, minding my own business, we have crossed paths at this intersection, at this particular time and place. Had either of us made a different decision, or gone somewhere else or even caught a different train, our fates will not have become entwined, and I would not have experienced Jungfrau/Pilates/Vienna/Danube as I ultimately did. Was it fate that we should meet and write a small piece in each others history?

The Hills are Alive~

I'm in Salzburg!! To me, Salzburg will always be where the hills are alive, even if there are no hills here, only mountains, and Austrians don't really like The Sound of Music. The Salzburgans' other claim to fame is being the birthplace of Mozart.

I don't know what to say about Salzburg, I had elevated expectations because Yang raved about how beautiful it was and how she wants to live there. It was really too hot to like anything. Although it did have some cool things like the Festung Fortress - the best preserved fortress in Europe. It was...a little town on top of a hill. I listened to a Mozart 'Concert' here and had dinner here. Nearby, there was a palace with trick fountains - incredibly fun!


And as tacky as it sounds, I went on a The Sound of Music tour.

The vines under which Maria and the kids ran under during "Do Re Mi"Standing on the steps at the end of "Do Re Mi"
The Pegasus fountain where Maria and the kids ran danced on during "Do Re Mi"Mondsee Abbey where Maria and the Captain got married. It was sooo beautiful!
The gazebo where Liesl and Rauph sang "16 going on 17"

Last but not least...

You gotta feel sorry for Austria

Mt Pilatus

On my last full day in Luzern, the clouds finally parted and I seized the opportunity to ascend Mt Pilatus. I took a boat ride to Apnachstad, where I met some old ladies from Beijing, then I boarded the steepest cograil train in the world up the mountain. At the steepest points, the degree of inclination was 48 degrees!

I don't know if it was a cultural thing, like Chinese people are too use to crowded spaces to care about personal space, but the two old ladies I met on the boat kept taking photos in the carriage. Normally that's ok, but not inside a cramped carriage already seating one extra person and when they were sitting in the middle and have to lean across someone else or stand in between a man's legs to take their photo... I felt so embarrassed! Guilt by association!

Anyways~~ the day was so clear so the view was good. It kind of made up for the lack of views up on Jungfrau. The Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau were visible from Pilatus - and they looked so close! The old ladies took lots of photos for me.

Alpine tanning...

the lakes, towns and other mountains below

If you imagine the fence out, I'm flying!!

After the first viewing platform, the old ladies and I parted ways. I went on a rather perilous journey to the highest point on Pilatus. Along the way I met two Indo boys - Al and Chris (Boom) - what is it with meeting two boys on Swiss mountains, eh?

On our way to the highest point, we saw an Alpine Ibex standing proudly on a sheer cliff-face a good 10 metres above our path.

On the way down, I walked again, trying to relive the glory of Jungfau. But I was quite disappointed by the view. The trek was so steep too, even though in the map it said the path was easy.

Sunday, rest day

The Lion of Lucerne commerates the heroism of Swiss mercenaries at Tuileries in 1792.The Chapel Bridge and Water Tower - built in the 14th century; Luzern's landmark and Switzerland's most photographed monument

We often compare Australia to Shanghai/HK/[enter Asian city], and moan how inconvenient Australia is when nothing is open by 6pm. Spare a thought for the Europeans. Not only do shops close by 6pm, it's also not open on Sunday. A big city like Paris, and even more so a small town like Luzern. I can't believe it. It's worse than Sydney. I took a walk out today, even a lot of the food shops are closed today!

I'm bored in Luzern, the weather is not so good, so I was hoping to escape to Zurich today. The hotel owner told me the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich (the equivalent of Oxford St in London) is very nice, and at the end of the street there is a lake with churches on either sides. But he couldn't guarantee shops will be open today. Then the ticket person at the train station said nothing will be open today. So no point in going. So I ended up taking another stroll through Luzern - climbed along the old city wall and the two churches/cathedrals. Both the churches/cathedrals were very nice :) But I got tired after only 3 hours. So I came home again...these have been sleepy days in cloudy Luzern.

Walking on the Old City Wall

Inside the beautifully decorated Jesuit Church. I had a really long rest in here. But I really only uploaded this photo cos I like how my legs look here ^^

An interesting fountain... Cycling with Daddy. I thought this contraption was immensely cute. The father is staring at me as I walked along with my camera aimed at them.

I want to buy a lot of expensive things here in Switzerland. Handmade, mechanical cuckoo clothes are the cutest thing ever! But start at about $A500. But that is nothing compared to an automatic Swiss watch, I have my eyes set on an Omega Constellation one. Am I deserving of such an expensive watch yet? Possibly not... The chocolates here are also good, but quite expensive. Chocolates here are not as sweet, I can even enjoy milk chocolate and caramel flavoured ones.

Difficult Journey to Accommodation in Boiling Luzern

To start off, my suitcase handle snapped off when I was getting on the bus at Bern. Lucky my dad gave me straps to bind my suitcase which now acted as substitute handles. The train trip from Bern to Luzern (pronounced Lutzen - cute French man) was smooth and incident free. At Luzern Train Station, I got on another bus that took me to my accommodation. That was when things went downhill.

I get off the bus, and I see across the street a sign post that corresponds with the street name I'm searching for. It points to a large flight of stairs. Before I continue, I should point out that my suitcase is 30kg and I also have a 10kg backpack on my shoulders. With the dark memory of getting my suitcase through the Paris Metro still clear in my head, I refuse to carry my suitcase up or down any flight of stairs. Back to scenario: thinking there must be a mistake, although the sight of the stairs did stir some memory of hotel reviews which referred to a large set of stairs, I walked up and down the street I was on. But in the end, I was resigned to accept my destination laid at the end of those stairs.

Around about that point, a lady walks by me and offers her help (oh kind Swiss people). She directs me to a drive way a little further down the road, which will also lead to my accommodation. So I dragged my suitcase up that driveway - it was uphill and even without stairs, it was very tiring! But it was a dead end road! There was a path at the end, which does in fact lead to my accommodation, but the gate to it was locked!! So it was back to square one.

I remember from the website, it said they can come pick guests up from the train station if we called them. So I called them. Ring Ring. Ring Ring. No one picks up. By this point, I had been offered help by another lady (oh kind Swiss people) who directed me to the same driveway. I was on some isolated little road with not a lot of passer-bys (the two ladies being the only ones) so there was no random man I can ask to carry my suitcase for me. I was also without a lift. So I did what every damsel in distress would do, I relied on my own two hands and dragged my 40kgs up a giant flight of stairs.

It was not as bad as I expected. Each step was not too high, and the entire flight of stairs was broken up into a series of smaller ones, so I could rest in between. At the end of the stairs, of course was Pension Panorama (which btw one of the ladies had said was a "fine place with a beautiful view"), but the damn entrance wasn't anywhere in sight!! There was only another small path of more stairs (the same path that was rendered inacessible from the driveway). I asked some people who were seated on a bench at the end of the stairs if they knew where the entrance would be, they didn't know but guessed that path. Hot, tired and stressed, I was choking back tears when I asked them to look after my suitcase while I looked for an entrance

Interestingly, the pension owner had left a note for me on his letter box and the key to my room in the letter box (it was not even locked). The fact the note was printed but the room number written in suggests this is the common procedure for this establishment.

Finally I got to my room. I had booked a single room with shared bathroom. But I got a double bed with ensuite (somehow the toilet is still outside, but whatever) for the first two nights (I think they overbooked). I get my own shower, a balcony with a full-frontal view of Mt Pilatus and the Luzern town, a plate of fruit, a fridge, tea and kettle, something to dry my clothes on, sofas... This must be God's reward or compensation for the ordeal I had to go through in reaching here.

(the flight of the stairs that lead to my accommodation. This was not the flight I carried my suitcase up - thank God for that! But it gives a good indication of how high I live)

The view from my balcony - Mt Pilatus

Despite the room, this Pension is hardly the best I've stayed at. That honourable position is currently held by Pension Marthahaus in Bern. I've had a poke around, and the shared facilities here doesn't look too optimistic. I also read on a notice outside the breakfast room that they don't have a reception (WTF?!?) and the only time they can be seen is at breakfast. Otherwise you have to ring the doorbell outside to talk to them via intercome! The breakfast this morning was lackluster, including stale bread and what I believe to be powdered milk.

The owner is...nice? He offered to put out Vegemite tomorrow morning cos I "fancied" it. He let me have most of the fruit platter even though it wasn't meant for me. He also let me have this big room for an extra night - on the note it said this is my room for the first night only and then I have to change. That said, he did do what I consider to be totally inappropriate for any hotel operator. He came into my room uninvited to take TWO NECTURINES from my fruit platter (cos he said "Just have half the plate, and leave the rest for the other people" and later, "I'll come get the fruit"). 这种行为太小气了吧？

Is it right for a hotel operator or worker to walk into someone's room like this?

I found it to absolutely usurp my privacy. I was given prior notice of 30secs of his arrival, and I even went to get the plate and bring it to him, so he wouldn't have to come in. But NO! He still ENTERED my room. Why can't he just wait at the door? It would mean a whole world of difference even though he would still see that my suitcase was lying in the middle of the room, my stuff was just lying around, and most embarrassingly, my washing (ie my undies and socks) were just on the clothes dryer right next to the door. Then I thought he would go, but no, he walked on to my balcony and to look at whether it was raining. It was a really uncomfortable exprience and I feel he should just give me this room for the entirety of my stay without any extra charge.

Also adding negative points, he asked for upfront payment and charges 4% surcharge on credit cards.

The Oger, Monk and Virgin

The lady at my accommodation said, "You're in Switzerland, so you must go." She's referring to the Swiss Alps. The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (Oger, Monk and Virgin, respectively) form a massive wall that overlook the Bernese Oberland and is considered one of the most emblematic images of the Swiss Alps. The Jungfrau is the tallest of the trio at 3454 m above sea level. On a clear day, you can see as far as the Black Forrest in Germany and Mt Vosges in France, "but you MUST have very good weather to go!" the hotel lady warns.

On the day I arrive in Bern, it rained up there, but the next morning when I checked the weather on the website, it said it was slightly cloudy and visibility was good. So I quickly gathered my stuff and set out on the journey. It took about 4 hours and 4 different trains to get to the top of the mountain. Luckily the ascent required no climbing, as the entire journey was serviced by the aforementioned trains.

On the train from Interlaken to Klein Scheilegg, I met met two guys who became my travel buddies for the rest of the day. I thought they were Japanese and they thought I was Korean. All we missed was a Japanese to think someone was Chinese to complete the trifecta.

One of the mountain trains that took us up

(^I like this pic AND I totally dig this guy)

The view from Klein Schleigg, about half way up

When we finally got to the top of Jungfrau, we were greeted with a scenery of complete whiteness. It was shrouded in clouds we couldn't see further than 20m in front of us. Sometimes the clouds parted and the peak of Jungfrau would appear for a fleeting moment (at that moment, the Chinese tourists would yell "出来了出来了" and start snapping photos).

The peak of Jungfrau behind the cloudsOn top of windy Switzerland
A group picture inside the Ice Palace
Jumping in the snow - don't know what mountain peak is behind us

It was quite disappointing to be honest to not be able to see the Alps at the summit, but regardless, I don't regret this CHF137 trip. Even though I saw nothing but whiteness at the top, the sceneary just a bit further down hill was unbelievably magnificent! On the way downhill, my travel buddies and I got off the train to trek part of the way down [at my insistance and after I noted they were letting the Korean team down for not getting off (they wanted to rest on the train) :P] and take in the scenary. I've never seen anything like it. Words are not enough to describe it and neither are photos in accurately depicting the true beauty of this place. One must personally see it to truly appreciate it. So..I think the money spent was worth it even just for that - the view mid-hill.

A nice view on the way down

The valley of Grindelwald, all the houses are very cute, one day I'd like to own one of them

After the trek, it was the perfect excuse for us to replenish our energy with a fattening bowl of melted cheese and wine accompanied by bread cubes, potatoes and pickled vegies.

Beautiful Bern

Bern was suppose to be my rest city. It's about middle of my trip, and I allocated two days to lounge about and refuel for the second half of my trip. But I didn't do any of that, it's quite impossible. Bern is a beautiful city full of medieval charm. Its Old Town is its city centre and is UNESCO World Heritage Listed. It has a beautiful light aqua coloured river (Aare) that snakes its way around the city and is so clean and unpolluted that locals jump in and let the current carry them along. It also has one of the longest street dedicated to shopping. It's hard to believe it's the capital of Switzerland!

I can't say there were a lot of sites around town, just a clock (it's like a giant cuckoo clock, I read in a travel book it entertains passerbys for 4 minutes every hour. So, with a bunch of Japanese pensioners, I waited for the show one day. But instead of ringing for 4 minutes consecutively, it rings for about 5 seconds every minute. Fail!), the Bern History Museum (there's a good Einstein exhibition inside - Bern is the place where he came up with the famous E=mc² equation!), Einstein's house, the Bear Park (because Bern is named after a bear which the founder of the city had killed), the Cathedral, a rose garden (which is quite a spendid place and gives a spectacular panorama of the city, but you have to pay a price to get there - climb a steep hill)...and I think that's about it.

The whole bear family. The father bear is on the other side of the fence, because father bears have no paternal feelings and might kill the cubs. But from the looks of this, they're really curious to get to know each other!

The beautiful Rose Garden. The best bit - it's free but you lose weight :)

I was just really obsessed about River Aare. On the last day, I lived out my obsession and sat on the bank with my feet in the water. The current was really strong and the water very cold! The coolness seem to go straight into my bones and joints. Within a few minutes my feet were pink from the coldness.