Hallstatt

by Miss Penny Black

Our trip to Hallstatt was supposed to be two trains then a short ferry ride. When we got to Salzburg train station our first train had been cancelled.

How annoying.

Luke managed to work out which train and platform we needed to get to and soon we were on our way.

The countryside between Salzburg and Hallstatt is supposedly Austria’s Lake District – not such huge mountains as the Alps and lots of lakes and rivers between gentle green hills.

It was indeed green but it’s no Cumbria;-)

The trains weren’t very crowded, although we managed to sit right by a woman who talked loudly and non-stop for the whole first half of the journey.

On the second train trip we had a bunch of teenage girls sit at the table across the aisle and they managed to be quieter than the woman on the previous train.

After a couple of hours we reached the ferry landing. It’s possible to get to Hallstatt by bus and road but it’s more fun to go by train then take the short ferry ride over.

It also provides a water view of this fairytale-like hamlet.

We were very lucky with the weather too.

We had booked one night at a lovely hotel called the Seehotel Grüner Baum, right on the waterfront. It was our one really fancy hotel for the trip (well, that we’d planned in advance) and so we were really looking forward to it.

The view from the water is lovely and very quiet but when you get off the ferry the number of tourists is quite astonishing.

Fortunately our hotel was right by the ferry landing and on the waterfront so we went down to their restaurant area and had a drink in the shade.

We had a cocktail called a Hugo, apparently popular in this region.

We spent a couple of hours waiting for the crowds to die down a bit – not a hardship with this view!

Then we took a walk through town. The square outside the hotel was extremely picturesque.

The front of the hotel is the orange building on the right.

Many of the building were covered with stunning climbing roses.

After a walk around town, down some of the back alleys and along the main street, we checked into our room at precisely 3pm, very keen for a shower and change of clothes.

A lovely bathroom but the shortest shower screen I’ve ever seen, water went everywhere.

The view from our balcony was pretty spectacular

Refreshed, we walked to the viewing point which is crowded all day. We got there at about 5:30pm when it was relatively quiet.

If you’ve only seen one picture of Hallstatt, it’ll be something like this.

We walked back through the graveyard, where graves are rented for a few years at a time. If no one pays you get dug up and your skull moved to the charnel house. The graves were probably the best-maintained I’ve ever seen.

All had very neat and colourful flower gardens on top.

There are two churches in the centre of the village, the one higher up offers an excellent view from the path around the outside.

We had a drink before dinner and soaked up the peace and quiet of the lake, while at the same time watching the staff of the hotel work with the constant flow of tourists wandering in without bookings and expecting a table. Also we noticed a cat had been asleep in a palm pot the whole time we had been sitting right by it.

I had fish caught from the lake for my dinner. There are only two people licenced to fish from the lake to protect their stocks, which is reassuring, what with the complete disregard for fish numbers in most other places. I know the risotto doesn’t look amazing but it was delicious!

Luke had the pork, which looked much more appetising.

We asked if we could take a bottle of Prosecco and our desserts up to our balcony and were told ‘you can take whatever you want!’ So we did.

Our balcony neighbours were all out but being very quiet, and so were we, except for when I took the cage off the Prosecco and let it sit and then the cork popped all by itself, making us both jump.

Goodnight, Hallstatt!

9Jun2023

Zürich to St Moritz

by Miss Penny Black

Before breakfast we did a quick run to the supermarket for lunch and snack supplies. I don’t know what food on Swiss trains is like, but if it’s any more expensive than supermarket food we don’t need it.

We packed our bags and headed to the station early, keen to try to get seats on the best side of each train.

Our journey from Zurich to St Moritz is in two parts and for the first half Luke had read that it was best to sit on the left, for the second half on the right.

We managed excellent seats for the first half, having four to ourselves. The first section of the trip was along the side of Lake Zug. It reminded me a lot of the train to Interlaken. Bike paths, parks, people on stand up paddle boards and sailing on the lake. It all looked very idyllic but the lady in the hostel told me the water was around 14 degrees at the moment.

Then the train headed into farmland and alongside a milky aqua lake surround by high peaks.

We changed trains at Chur and got to sit on the right side but facing backwards. Fortunately the girl who was sitting across from us got off only a few stops along and we could move across.

There is a more expensive and luxurious train but why bother when the normal trains are spotless and have huge windows?

This is the third ever UNESCO protected train route and the rails were laid over 100 years ago.

If you’re reading this because you’re planning on going to St Moritz by train, work out where your hotel is. The walk from the station to some of the hotels is up a steep hill. There is a bus that meets the train at the second last stop and then goes much further up the hill. We would’ve saved ourselves quite a slog.

The tour company had booked us into the Hotel Arte. The staff at reception were lovely and our package for our seven night bike tour includes baggage transport and breakfast every day. The first two nights are in St Moritz, which is just as well as we’ve both only ridden electric bikes once and that was five years ago.

Our room has an Egyptian theme, including a 3D (ish) frieze of the pyramids, which had an LED strip to light it up so… that’s a thing. I’d love to see some of the other rooms!

We checked in and then decided, after looking at the menu of the downstairs hotel, that we could afford their very cheapest item, a margarita pizza. So we booked a table then went out for a walk.

On the way up from the station we passed a strip of boutiques – Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes etc. Every store in our part of town is the very height of luxury and the people walking around the extremely clean and perfectly landscaped streets are dressed in clothing that probably costs more than our entire holiday.

Behind the shopping area is a hill with some beautiful houses. Here’s one that’s brand new.

There’s a real mix of modern and traditional but they all use wood, stone or are decorated like Wes Anderson hotels.

The tower below leans more than the one in Pisa, although it is shorter so it’s harder to tell.

Is it possible for a place to be too clean? It kind of feels like a Disney set of Switzerland.

I can’t tell if we’re out of season or if there’s always no one about in summer. There is a lot of construction and renovation work being done, which makes sense I guess. Can’t do it in Winter!

After a mooch around we went back to the room and got changed for dinner. The restaurant is in the same building. The interior was all wood and they do pizza and also Swiss food like fondue and schnitzel. We had one drink each (the wine was $18 for 100 mls! The beer was 300ml and $14) neither was of particularly exceptional quality. The pizza, which we shared ($30) was mediocre and nowhere near as good as the ones we bought at the supermarket in England and cooked in the oven at our apartment. Even the bain-marie pizza from the coop the other day was much better quality.

The restaurant was also boiling hot and we both felt we would be happier eating picnics in our rooms from now on. I did Google why food is so expensive here and it seems to boil down to ‘because they can’. The supermarket food is cheaper now because Aldi and Lidl (German chains) were allowed in. Thank goodness!

It did occur to me that the exceptionally pristine environment of Switzerland, both in the cities and in the countryside, is at least partially to thank for these high prices. We can barely afford to be here and we make reasonable money – Switzerland will never be accessible to most holidaymakers. I have mixed feelings about this but I’ll enjoy it while I’m here and, to be honest, this will probably be our last visit.

Luke being disgusted by the prices and the quality of the pizza. The staff were lovely and friendly though, and didn’t charge us the $10 the menu threatened for sharing a dish and needing two side plates.

After dinner we continued watching Ghosts and then slept very well, overlooked by pharaohs and in our very cosy beds!

31Aug2018

Blenheim Palace

by Miss Penny Black

I wanted to visit at least one grand house while in England and they don’t come much grander than Blenheim. Built in the 17th century by the Marlborough family, it is a vast building with extensive gardens and over 9000 acres of grounds. It is the only non-royal or non-episcopal palace in England and a UNESCO-listed building.

We arrived a little earlier than the building opened (the grounds open at 9, the building at 10:30) so we had a look around the gift shop.

Compared to the gift shops that spawn alongside Australian attractions, English gift shops of the National Trust variety are models of elegance and good taste. They sell hand-dyed silk scarves, embroidered cushions and cashmere cardigans – all at fairly outrageous prices, of course. There’s also mugs and tea towels but even these are fairly understated.

We availed ourselves of the ‘free’ (included in the somewhat steep entry price – although if you catch the bus there rather than drive you get 30% off which isn’t bad) audio guide and set around the interior. Well, some of it. As the Duke was in residence all the upstairs tours were not available. Still, what we saw was quite grand.

There was an exhibition of modern art sensitively interspersed between the historical artifacts. Did I say sensitively? I meant hideously. Despite this I managed to find a few angles that didn’t include all the bright blue paintings and statues.

As the palace was Winston Churchill’s birthplace there was an exhibition of his work and achievements that was very informative. I particularly enjoyed seeing his paintings.

We took a walk by the lake and rose garden on one side of the palace. The roses weren’t in their best condition but the few that were still out had a beautiful perfume.

Last, a walk to the pleasure gardens, which didn’t seem to actually have any gardens. There was a large playground and a butterfly house. As is always the case, the butterfly house was uncomfortably hot but also full of gorgeous butterflies that I could’ve spent all day photographing.

We lazily caught the 50p train back to the palace rather than walk, then headed out to the village of Woodstock, that sits right by one of the gates. The village is very pretty and full of tea shops and pubs. Below is the Bear Inn, which must look absolutely magnificent in autumn.

A good day out from Oxford, Blenheim is certainly interesting if you like history and old houses and whatnot. Googling the current Lord Marlborough was also very interesting – something of a jailbird whose father did not trust him not to squander the family fortune and so left a board of trustees to oversee his management of the estate. Apparently he was known for driving too fast around the local area in a pink sports car.

Next: a tour of the Cotswolds!

15Aug2018

Here Comes The Planet 73 – Rome (2018)

by Thorn

As we’ve both been to Rome before, this time we opted to check out some of the spots we’ve skipped during past trips. We sought out the Quartiere Coppedèo neighbourhood for its unique architecture, the modern art museum and finally the Castel Sant’Angelo, which along with some great views over Rome has some very cool old weaponry on display.

Also, we muse on the timing of church bells over Rome!

Read Amanda’s entry about this part of our trip!

9Jul2018

Architecture, Art and Ancient History in Rome

by Miss Penny Black

Our first full day in Rome was up to me to program so I set the alarm for 6:30 so we could get out and about before the city was too hot. Even though it only officially has climbed to 32 degrees it feels much hotter when the sun is radiating off buildings and cobblestones.

First stop was a place I’d found on Pinterest in one of those articles that claims to know ‘secret’ things to do. How secret something can be when it’s the first article Pinterest shows me about Rome… well, I have my doubts.

Quartiere Coppedèo

Our Airbnb apartment was in a location that I’m pretty sure locals would call ‘the arse end of Termini’, the main train station. Despite being almost across the road, the station is almost a kilometre long and we have to walk the full length of it to reach the entrance.

The place were we visiting was a 45 minute walk past the north end of Termini and when we got there we found that we, rather happily, had it all to ourselves (apart from and old guy washing his car using water from the fountain), possibly because it was 8am on a Sunday.

It was gob-smacking.

Please note there is a chandelier in the archway.

I really like interesting architecture and Quartiere Coppedèo was an astonishing mix of Art Nouveau, ancient, medieval, Spanish, and baroque elements.

Essentially it is four buildings around an intersection with a fountain in the middle. Each building is distinctly different from its neighbours and each is in excellent condition and contains details, both small and large, that are entrancing.

Delicate frescos, wrought iron gates featuring animals and insects, crowns and swords and Viking ships!

Absolutely marvellous.

The National Gallery of Modern Art

I felt like seeing a bit of art to break up all the history and architecture.

Once again we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The lion sculptures out the front were lovely.

There were some classics inside, a Klimt, Monet and Chagalls etc. My favourite was this painting.

Such a gaze!

Now have a guess what this artwork is made from.

Go on.

Acacia thorns! The mind boggles.

Next we walked to the Castel San Angelo, which I had walked past the last two times I’d been to Rome but hadn’t thought to visit until I read surfnslide’s blog .

On the way we stopped for a drink outside a very grand building that I had to google and turned out to be the Supreme Court.

Even for a court this was pretty grand. Apparently locals call or ‘the bad palace’. I’m not sure if it’s a comment on the architecture or the clientele.

The Castel!

The Castel is one of the oldest and most complete buildings in Rome. It was begun as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian and his family but became a refuge for popes, who decorated it in the style to which they immediately became accustomed.

We get it, the church has all the money.

Pope bed!

Every window seemed to have a view of St Peter’s.

Great views could be had from the roof.

But then there’s great views from everywhere in Rome, really.

Next we walked to the Tavestere district for lunch. I found a little sandwich shop called ‘Donkey Punch’ (I will always be a sucker for a weird name) and I had a salad with pork and Luke had a sandwich with pork. Roast pork is a specialty of the region and the shop also did a great range of pickled and marinated salad ingredients.

What a menu! All their sandwiches were named after rock bands.

By this time our feet were getting a bit tired. We wandered around Travastere a bit and admired the lovely architecture. The peach and salmon buildings reminded me of Bologna.

It was definitely time for a classic Roman afternoon drink – an Aperol Spritz.

We strongly considered taking a taxi home but decided to walk and break up the last few kilometres with bar stops and gelato.

Amazingly, we managed to walk past the gelateria we visited on our tour last time. We’d gone along for a free tour advertised on the Couchsurfing site and the guy took us to Punto Gelato, who do excellent, and unusual, icecream flavours. No beer this time but I did see pine and also salsa! We were more conservative – I had one scoop each of fig and peach sorbets and they were outstanding.

Luke got pineapple and coffee which is a weird combo.

Next stop was an Irish bar and it was nice to not feel apologetic when speaking english to the bar staff. We were also given free daiquiri samples because they made too much.

Apparently it was the world’s best. It was certainly good, but… best?

Who gives out these awards anyhow?

On the last leg we passed this … building. I guess there’s a building under there? Can you imagine this level of growth being acceptable where you live?

We finished our big day out in Rome with a meal at the restaurant closest to our apartment, sitting outside in the warm night air, listening to a guy on the piano accordion.