Austrian Adventures

Destination: Vienna, Austria

As I write this I am currently on the train to Salzburg, watching the beautiful Austrian countryside zoom past.

The last 2 days we have spent in Vienna, the capital city of Austria. With a warm welcome, literally 24 degrees we were super excited to find our hostel, drop our bags and explore. Our first touristy adventure would involve exploring the remains of a World War II tower and hopefully climb it. However much to our disappointment when we arrived we noticed that they had turned it into an Aquarium and we were not paying some ridiculous amount to enter. By this time the weather had rapidly changed as Lindsay had forecast and the wind had picked up. We headed back through the city, had a little shop, stopped for dinner at Vapiano’s (our favorite pasta place), and of course ice cream on the way home.

For our second and final day in Vienna it was pouring with rain, which restricted what we could do. We headed into the city and lost each other in Forever 21. Lindsay, Emily and myself soon found each other but were still missing Sarrah. After searching the 3 levels of this massive store over 4 times, there was still no sign of Sarrah. What were we to do? We headed to McDonalds to use the WIFI to see if we could get into contact with her, no luck! So we made the mutual decision to head back to the hostel in the pouring rain to see if she had gone back. Although the seriousness of the situation we still managed to see the funny side, with Lindsay wearing her scarfe as a head cover and me accidently crashing multiple times into other patrons with my umbrella.

Arriving back to the hostel looking like drowned rats we find Sarrah. Shortly after we leave again and purchase a ticket for a bus tour so we could see the top tourist destinations of Vienna.  12 euro, multiple destinations and one long nap later and the tour was complete, yes I accidently fell asleep and saw approximately 3 of the top destinations. We went out for hot chocolate and headed back for the hostel to recuperate after our long tiring day in the rain.

Later that evening we went out for dinner at an old Viennese restaurant where we all indulged in a true Austrian meal, schnitzel and Pommes – delicious! Of course a quick ice cream stop on the way back to the hostel for our last night in Vienna.

Which puts me back here right now writing my blog post on the 2-hour journey to Salzburg, where hopefully the hills will be alive with the sound of music.

Destination: Salzburg, Austria

WARNING: This post is purely based upon themes and music as seen in the motion picture; The Sound of Music, featuring the one and only Julie Andrews.

The hills are alive with the sound of Salzburg.

Yes, you guessed correctly, the last few days we have been in Salzburg, Austria and what more to say than I LOVE this city. As I write this post, we are yet again in transit, this time to Munich, Germany with our favourite train company, DB Bahn (I joke, never travel with this company).

Our affair with Salzburg began by of course singing our entire way to the hostel. There is just something about the air in Salzburg that makes you want to instantly scream ‘The hills are alive, with the sound of music’. We drop our luggage, take advantage of the WIFI briefly and set off again on foot, exploring where we would be staying for the next two nights.  We take a short walking tour through the old town, over the bridges and to the peak of the fortress, where we were treated with amazing views of the city. Salzburg is definitely a picturesque city surrounded by majestic mountains that reach across the skyline and beautiful old buildings that create and help attain its old world charm and atmosphere.

We soon head back to the hostel to write journal entries, post cards and relax before dinner. Now dinner, well let me just say food in general, has become a topic of discussion that is raised multiple times throughout the day and always appears to be one of our biggest challenges of day-to-day life. Just deciding where to go and what to order all within a tight student travel budget is a challenge in itself. Much to our pleasure we find a cute little café/restaurant, My Indigo, which catered for all of our needs. We fill our bellies and make the short walk back to the hostel, sit down and watch the regular screening of ‘The Sound of Music’.  Singing the entire way through the movie I am certain we managed to annoy every single other guest that was in the TV room also watching the well-known classic.

Soon it was bedtime where some of us thought it would be a great time to play practical jokes by removing the ladder to my top bunk bed whilst I was asleep. This became quite the issue when it came to 2AM in the morning and with one almighty full bladder. I don’t think I have ever tried or thought of so many creative ways to get off an unusually high bunk bed in my life. You will all be glad to know that I pushed through, just! Watch out Mackie, you’re next.

We all wake up the next morning bursting with excitement it was the day we had all been waiting for; the Sound of Music tour. We were booked through Panorama tours that collected us from our hostel and dropped us off at the Sound of Music coach, where our tour would begin.  In case we weren’t sure which bus to catch we needn’t have worried as the bus was appropriately decorated, there was no mistake as to which tour we were going on.

We board the bus, and are soon to notice that we are the youngest bar approximately two people one of whom was a baby. We are quickly introduced to our flamboyant tour guide Garry, who we liked to call Gazza, and Manfred the bus driver. We shortly depart for the first destination; Leopoldskron Palace, where the famous scene where the children and Maria capsize into the lake takes place.  We took lots photos, attempted to climb the exact trees the children climbed, but failed due to the fact that apparently over years trees do grow.

We soon depart the lake and were headed for the point where we would acknowledge the fact that we were sixteen going on seventeen. You guessed it, we were gazelle leaping towards the Gazebo and Salzburg really embraced the moment by queuing the rain. We were informed at the Gazebo, which is now placed in Hellbrun, that this particular Gazebo was created for purely the outside shots throughout the movie. The gazebo with the scene between Leisel and Rolf was actually filmed at the 20^th Century fox studios in California. This however did not dampened our spirits nor rain on our parade, we insisted on singing at the top of our lungs and leaping around the outside.

Next stop: Fronburgs, the Trapp family residence where Maria was filmed during her song, ‘I have confidence’.  We kept on moving and were headed for the hills that were definitely alive with the sound of music, well the sound of our angelic voices.

Driving through the countryside, blaring the Sound of music soundtrack was definitely an experience I personally will never forget. Not only for the fact of the breath taking scenery but for the pure reason that we were the only ones actually singing on the bus, but we didn’t care.

We enter the Lake District, which is located in the Province of Salzburg. This area will hopefully be my future home, once I have earnt my millions. We stopped at various locations where the opening credits of the film were shot. The atmosphere was phenomenal, and the views overwhelming.

Back on the bus and we were headed for one of our last stops, Mondsee where we would see the church where Captain Von Trapp and Maria were married. We travelled along the romantic road, as referred to by Gazza and continued our repertoire of Sound of music hits. We arrive in Mondsee, where we stopped by the cute little café, Conditorei for Austria’s best crisp apple strudel with vanilla sauce.

 After this we moseyed on up to The Mondsee Church.  The exterior of this church was beautiful yet the inside had a creepy feel. This however did not at all deter from the ultimate Sound of Music experience. Little bit of insider’s information for the die-hard fans like myself; The real Captain Von Trapp and Maria were not actually married in the Mondsee church, they were married in the abbey that Maria was apart of in the beginning of the film. You will notice that they are not the same church.

We board the bus once again and are headed back for the city, of course filling the coach with the sound of music. The tour was over but we still had one more stop to make before our Sound of Music experience would be complete, the Pegasus Fountain and Mirabell Gardens. Now for those of you wondering these two destinations were filmed during the song Do Re Mi. We of course were overwhelmed with excitement and reinacted the entire scene. From running around the fountain, through the luscious green hedges and jumping up and down the infamous stairs that are captured at the end of the scene. Our tour was finally complete but we still managed to sing/whistle the soundtrack the entire way back to our hostel.

This tour was unbelievable and definitely an experience I will never forget. Maybe next time Julie Andrews will be the tour guide? I can only hope right?

Next thing you know it was back to the hostel for a little relaxation session before Lindsay, Emily and myself decided to go on a hike around mount Kapuzinerberg. Insert song ‘Climb Every Mountain’ here. This hike was an experience in itself and we can all officially say that we climbed an alp in Austria (in the rain). The walk itself was simply breath taking providing us with amazing views of the city and beautiful greenery. Although hiking we still managed to amuse ourselves by attempting to take multiple jumping action shots, getting slightly lost, taking forbidden routes, stopping at every bench for core exercises and wearing the most appropriate hiking gear (Mackie).  We make it back to the hostel safely and head out for dinner, again at My Indigo, definitely a favourite.  Then before you know it we are yet again back at the hostel packing and getting ready to set off in the morning for our next destination, Munich.

 Anyways that is all for now so be sure to keep posted for the next German instalment.

As always,

From somewhere in Europe with love,

Holly xx

Prague

2^nd Destination: Prague, Czech Republic

Touchdown, we arrive safely without any hassle into Prague airport. Lindsay and I were lucky enough to be upgraded to first class during the flight; well that’s what we lead the girls to believe anyway. We collected our bags and were headed for the bus only to realize that the shop to buy tickets was closed, excellent.

We finally make it into the city, only to find we were walking in the completely wrong direction to our hostel. I stopped a stranger to ask if they had any idea as to what direction we needed to be heading in. Turns out he was Australian, and I ever so rudely referred to him as ‘it’, oops! After our running with the Australian we had all come to the conclusion that we as a nation are taking over Europe. We are lucky to go anywhere without running into at least 7 Australians. Luckily enough ‘it’ pointed us in the right direction and soon enough we found our hostel, Hostel Orange.

As it was late we all dropped our bags, ducked into the city to grab some dinner, returned to the hostel and watched some pay TV, hello Disney channel.

The next day in Prague was mostly spent getting our bearings, wandering the streets and partaking in a free walking tour of all the top tourist destinations. We really discovered the true Prague, if that is possible? In my opinion, Prague is a very old/beautiful town, the street performers added to the vibe of the city, and it’s old buildings and eerie streets contributed to its medieval ambience.

Mackie was sick for most of Prague and spent a lot of her time in the hostel, which wasn’t so much of downer considering our hostel was amazing! Meanwhile Lindsay and I spent our time relaxing in the sun on the roof terrace, the heat of the sun was definitely something we had not felt on our bodies in a long time. Later that evening Lindsay and I found it appropriate to interpret all the different kinds of dinosaurs, why not?

For our final day in Prague we went on a tour of the castle, which is meant to be the largest in the world, according to our tour guide, George. The tour castle of course did not have a dull moment as we always find ways to make our own fun. Whether it be posing in the middle of the guards (Lindsay), sitting down on the ground at any chance possible (Genna), or posing for a photo in a reflective mirror because it made our legs look skinny only to later realize that security guards were behind the window laughing at us.

After the Prague castle tour we indulged in our first Czech beer at one of the locals and then continued on to find a pub that would provide us with a Czech feast and a half for less than 10 Euro each (literally a feast, Buffalo wings, fried onion rings, 3 x roll of lamb roast, 1 x schnitzel, beef goulash, 3 beers, wine and soft drink). With full bellies we rolled out of the restaurant and went in search for ice cream. Before finding anywhere we yet again passed street performers where I thought it would be a great opportunity to show off my interpretive dancing skills in front of them, I personally believe that the crowd and band thoroughly appreciated/enjoyed my performance.

We finally found the perfect ice cream store got a small cone each and sat under the star light and watched multiples of street performers in the old square, the perfect way to end a short but sweet trip to the capital of the Czech Republic.

That again is all  for now, next stop Vienna. 

From Prague with love

Holly xx

Amsterdam

Current Destination: In transit to Vienna

Now before I start with this post I have one important thing to mention, I have finished my entire nursing placement in Sweden, hooray!

As I write this I am currently on a five-hour bus ride to Vienna watching beautiful green fields zoom past. Before you all think how boring, let me inform you about this bus; it has mini televisions providing games (no battleships), TV episodes of friends and multiples of movies, a host, free tea, coffee and hot chocolate, leather reclining seats and snacks. Plus I have a blog to update.

Aim: 4 Countries in 17 days

First Destination: Amsterdam, Netherlands

To begin Amsterdam was VERY uneventful; nothing happened and was very boring, do not go there. We have come to the conclusion that Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe, therefore ‘what happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam’.

We all sat at the station with our seven bags of luggage (as we were all sending suitcases back home to Australia) contemplating how we would exactly entertain ourselves over the next 15 hours whilst we sat on a train to Amsterdam. Our trip wasn’t off to the greatest of starts when Genna, Sarrah and myself boarded the wrong cabin and thought we had struck gold with beds. But no, we were soon informed that we were in the wrong cabin that would later detach and end at another destination in a country we didn’t want to be in! After finding our correct seats our next struggle was how we would exactly fit our luggage in this small, seated cabin that we had to share with other passengers.  We managed to successfully take up the entire cabin with our luggage and left little room for ourselves on the seats. Meanwhile Lindsay and Emily were living large as they had purchased tickets that allowed for them to have beds. I have come to the conclusion that buying a seated ticket on a 15-hour train trip was a big rookie mistake on my behalf.

[train ride to Amsterdam]

After 15 hours we had arrived, tired but extremely excited. Our first mission was to find the post office so we could halve the amount of luggage we would be carrying and then find our hostel. Let me tell you lugging over 30 kilos of luggage over two suitcases around on cobble stone pathways and hundreds of tourists is not fun, I have calluses.

After this we roamed around the city exploring what Amsterdam had to offer. The sun was shining and even had a little warmth to it something all of us were definitely not used to! The rest of the afternoon was rather chilled; we got a bottle of wine and headed for the park. Later that evening we had decided to go on a pub-crawl. For 19 Euro we were spoilt with a t-shirt, unlimited vodka and a free drink of choice on entry to every one of the bars/clubs we entered.

The pub-crawl of course was filled with multiple hilarious moments, some of the highlights involve; our new British friends, our dance moves, doing the worm in the middle of a dance circle (later resulting in the worst bruises on my knees), ordering 2 large quarter pounder meals at McDonalds and 2 Mc Flurries for Emily and myself, only to later want to order another large meal once we had finished.  Plenty more happened but I will not go into it right now.

As for the rest of Amsterdam we mostly spent our time wandering the beautiful streets, exploring the canals and being watched whilst we slept by the creeper in the bunk next to Lindsay.  This creeper did not leave the hostel for the entire 4 days we were there, nor did she change, wash or sleep. Amsterdam has created millions of memories some of which involve Little O learning to swim, Lindsay learning what it feels like to lose a child and then the sweet relief knowing that Little O had survived. We all experienced the famous red light district where Emily stated that she thought she was too much of a prude to be walking through the area.

On our last day in Amsterdam we all went our separate ways. Lindsay and myself went on a little day trip to the Keukenhof Gardens, an area where over 7 million bulbs of tulips were planted. The gardens were beautiful but did result in me suffering allergies for the rest of the afternoon, oops! Anyways our affair with Amsterdam was coming to an end and we were headed for the airport, next stop Prague.

My advice for you, go to Amsterdam, you will fall in love with this beautiful city as I did.

Anyways, once again I bid you farewell.

From Amsterdam with love

Holly xxx