on the way to somewhere
..you're only lost if you know where you're going..
Easter in Graubünden
Apr 10th
Graubünden is to date, my favourite place in the world. After spending time in Stuttgart, it was time for us to see some more of Jess’ family in Switzerland. We would be staying with Roberto and Rachel, who had visited Jess’ family in Australia when they were around our age.
We arrived by train into Chur via Zurich. The ride into Chur was very exciting for us. Firstly the lakes amazed us, followed shortly by the mountains. As the time to our arrival became closer, we seemed to climb higher and higher into the mountains and before we knew it we had arrived in the charming little town.
Meeting us at the train platform was Roberto, whom Jess spotted from the train. Jess was 8 when she last saw Roberto in person, but she was sure it was him. Jess was re-acquainted with Roberto, and I was introduced to another member of my new family. We were driven back to Roberto and Rachel’s house, which is in a small village called Domat/Ems. I was introduced to Rachel and the both of us met their two beautiful girls, Sara and Dania. Lunch was waiting for us, and I looked out of their living room window for the first time. From this point on, looking out of their windows towards the mountains became a regular occurrence for me.
When Roberto and Rachel visited Australia it was Easter, so it was only fitting that we spent Easter with them too. Our original intentions were to stay the long weekend until Easter Monday and then leave, however we ended up staying until the following Friday, not only because we loved the area, but the people too.
We spent Good Friday at Tschappina, a ski field that their family frequents. In typical Switzerland style, we were both amazed. We were pulled up via a T-bar lift similar to that at Hammarbybacken, but this one just seemed to go forever. It saw us snowboarding down the slopes for a good 20 minutes before having to take the lift back up. The powder was deep and both Jess and I had a really great day. On the way home we were introduced to Roberto’s parents, sister and the younger generations too.
Saturday we were treated to yet another amazing day. Jess and I took the train with Roberto and Rachel from Chur to Arosa. It was a very scenic ride that gave us an even better idea of what Graubünden encompasses. Arosa is a popular place for skiers and snowboarders, but it is so much more than a ski field. We took the scenic walk up the mountain, taking in the views and the environment. Afterwards we caught the cable car to the Weisshorn summit, some 2657m above sea level. This was an experience in itself as neither Jess nor I had been in a cable car this large (able to carry 100 people!), however the view at the top was incredible.
Easter Sunday was really fun for us. While we weren’t with the family that we usually see on this day, we certainly weren’t without family. We started the day watching the girls run around the backyard looking for eggs, and then began our festive feast at the dinner table with the worlds’ greatest view by our side. I was in heaven! Later in the day we walked to Roberto’s sisters’ house again to catch up with the whole family one last time, and then to Roberto’s parents’ place to look at some photos and talk about our family back home.
We finished off Easter with a visit to the thermal bath at Bad Ragaz on Easter Monday. It was cold outside, but with the sun shining and the warm water, it was a really relaxing day. It was another one of many opportunities we had to get to know the family.
Roberto and Rachel treated us to a great time and we both really appreciate it. I could write all day about everything else that we did but I’m guessing most people have already skipped the text to look for the photos.
Honestly though, I loved staying in Domat/Ems for the week. As I have mentioned a few times before, Jess and I are finding more and more that we aren’t really the city type, so it has been great to spend some time in a quieter place. Not only is the environment amazing, the people seem to be in tune with the life that I want to lead. Riding your bike to the shops is perfectly normal here, along with spending your days outdoors, regardless of the weather. Mountain biking trails are probably a maximum of 5 minutes ride from anywhere in Domat/Ems, and there are more than enough ski fields nearby.
The kids here walk to school, unless they live further away and then they can ride a bike; in fact you aren’t allowed to drive them to or from school at all. This is perfectly normal to the residents, not “insane” like it would be at home in Australia. The people are smart too – most of them would know at least four languages. I can’t think of another way to describe this region other than “healthy”. It just made me so happy to walk out on the street and see the kids all playing, many of them riding their unicycles.
We leave with a lot of really great memories – ones that I would like to think that we won’t forget any time soon. We have not only been able to get to know family, I feel as though we’ve made some great friends. From the day we arrived, Jess and I were amazed by how alike we are as people to Roberto and Rachel.
Our return to Graubünden will be sooner rather than later, I’m sure. In the meantime however – ciao, tschüss, a revair and goodbye!
Beautiful Porsches and Parks in Stuttgart
Apr 4th
For me, our trip to Stuttgart was about three things; killing some time between our stay in Amsterdam and arrival in Domat/Ems (Switzerland), breaking up the potentially long journey between the two cities, and the Porsche Museum. However, from the moment we walked out of the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof I had a feeling the short stay we had planned was going to turn into something more than I had intended.
Our trip to the Porsche Museum did not disappoint. While I was only going because Jase wanted to visit, I did enjoy the day. The museum was really well done. Aesthetically, the building itself and overall design and layout of the displays looked amazing. Of course the cars were also nice to look at, but I really appreciated the blend of technical information and history behind the company and the people. It was very inspiring to read the story of Ferdinand Porsche and his son Ferry, how both of them had dreams that they were going to see through to the end. Their determination and passion came through in all the work Porsche has done.
The two great surprises of Stuttgart for me were the shopping mall and the parks. For some reason I envisaged Stuttgart to be a small town, nothing really to do other than go visit one building with lots of Porsches inside or another with a lot of Mercedes. I was happily proven wrong when we spent the day walking around a huge shopping district and then sat in the adjacent park on luscious green grass, soaking up the rays of sunshine that filtered through the clouds. After our visit to the Porsche Museum we once again spent some time in the outdoors, exploring a fantastic park that included an amazing playground – one which would certainly have been pulled down or at least made ‘more safe’ if in Australia.
I guess it is always the way, but it has taken me these two months to really find myself as a traveller. In the beginning I struggled with what we were doing and the concept of what the typical Aussie backpacker is ‘meant’ to do while travelling. While this trip has always been about seeing the sites for me, it has also confirmed the type of people Jase and I are. So regardless of whether or not it is the ‘thing to do’, we have been most happy on this trip spending time in the great outdoors – even if that is just a small park to the side of the city.
As we leave Stuttgart and enter the final month of our European trip I am happy with what has been and what is to come. Visiting family and friends and spending a bit more time off the beaten track will truly be a special, and a more ‘us’, way of ending our trip.
Phoenix and Two Door Cinema Club at Paradiso
Mar 30th
Last Friday night in Amsterdam Jess and I were privvy to something pretty cool. We had booked tickets to see Phoenix months ago when we were still in Australia. This was a concert that we definitely wanted to see!
In true Jess and Jase style, we arrived at the venue, Paradiso earlier than needed. Entering the main concert hall we were very impressed – Paradiso is housed in an old church that was built in the 19th century, and while it has been refurbished to be suitable for concerts, it still retains a lot of it’s former charm.
Since we were there early we took prime position at the front of the stage and before long the support act, Two Door Cinema Club played. We stumbled across them well before we bought the tickets to the concert, and when we found out they were the support act it was a sweet little bonus. It was great to hear them live and see a solid performance out of them.
Phoenix followed up with an absolutely phenomenal show. To me, everything was perfect. The music was spot on, their “act” was top quality, and the light show just sealed the deal. To sound as good as their album while playing in front of a few hundred people is something they should be proud of. Much screaming, clapping and whistling saw Phoenix return to the stage for one of the longest encores I’ve seen. Initially vocalist Thomas Mars and guitarist Christian Mazzalai returned to play a few very touching covers, before Thomas told everyone that it was their bass player – Deck D’Arcy’s birthday. The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him and then the full band put on the second half of their show.
Special mention goes out to their drummer Thomas Hedlund who looked as though he was putting every last bit of his energy into the show. His intensity on the drums was just another reason why this was one of the best concerts I have been to.
Backpacking in Amsterdam
Mar 29th
We leave Amsterdam after a decent 7 day stay. It has been everything we had expected and everything we hadn’t. In the same city, we have been out of our comfort zone, relaxed, exhausted and surprised.
We arrived by coach from Brussels and immediately made our way to the hostel, Hotel My Home. I can’t understand the differences between the name hostels and hotels anywhere in this world, but for the sake of this post it’s a hostel. Our dorm was probably the most average one we had stayed in so far, but everything was clean so it was fine.
To kick off our time in Amsterdam we walked down to Westerpark. Westerpark is a decent sized park on (as the name suggests) the western side of Amsterdam. On the walk we passed numerous coffeeshops, restaurants, bars, supermarkets and most importantly bike shops. As it turns out, I don’t think we could have stayed in a better location. It was central to just about everything.
The first part of our stay was spent fulfilling the almost mandatory objectives that a backpacker has in Amsterdam. On our first night we went to a coffeeshop, bought the things that you buy at a coffeeshop and then retired to our dorm. As you can imagine it was an early night for us and probably the best sleep I have ever had in a hostel. The second night we went on a pub crawl, and long story short the next day was even worse than my Warsaw hangover experience for the both of us. Later on in the week we visited the sex museum for a lot of laughs and a bit of a shock, followed by the red-light district to check out the girls, and a few men dressed up as girls. Hilarity ensued.
That was it – we had ticked everything off of the list aside from Anne Frank’s house. We thought about going, but to be honest it feels as though we are in Holocaust information overload right now.
Doing the usual backpacker thing was fun, but what made our stay better was seeing and doing as the locals. We visited Westerpark a few times, and yesterday we visited Vondelpark too. We would just walk for a bit, then sit down and watch the thousands of people ride past on bicycles, families playing on the grass, dogs playing until they fight eachother and then playing again, and all of the other things that happen when you take the time to sit and watch. It was relaxing, but it was interesting too.
During our time in central Amsterdam we were able to check out a few local bike stores as well. I love the utilitarian bikes they ride over here. Bikes are a sport for some, but they are a mode of transport to almost everyone. We also had the chance to visit a sauna called Sauna De Keiser, on the recommendation of a travel website aimed more at those looking for something different. It was different alright – it certainly took us out of our comfort zone, but it was a great experience and was actually really good for our skin after being outdoors in a winter that our bodies aren’t used to.
On the weekend, we moved to a hotel a bit further out from the city. It was more expensive than the hostel, but unfortunately we couldn’t find any rooms for the weekend at any other reputable hostels. It’s amazing how you are treated sometimes when you rock up at a hotel with a backpack, despite paying the same nightly rate as the guy that arrived in a Mercedes taxi. Our stay was ok – the bonus was that we had some more privacy, but it didn’t feel as homely as the hostel did, and we certainly weren’t as welcome. Who would have thought that we would both end up feeling more comfortable in an old hostel, as opposed to an almost brand new “dutch design hotel”.
It’s one of the many suprises that we had while in Amsterdam.
Jess and I are both fairly liberal people I suppose and maybe we view the city differently to many others. In the lead up to our trip many people talked up Amsterdam as if it was the sort of place you to go get laid, take drugs and go home. In a city where marijuana is decriminalized and prostitution is legal – it can just sound like a party town. While you could party here all year round, there is nothing stopping you from doing the same in at least half of the other cities we have visited.
While many people do head to Amsterdam to have some fun, we found it incredibly safe. The city is clean, the people appear healthy and the country as a whole appears to us as a very intelligent one. Apparently the sale of marijuana brings in $4 billion a year through tourism to Amsterdam, and I’d imagine a fairly reasonable amount from the prostitution too. Aside from the regular whiff of a tourist smoking a joint, this city is as normal as every other city. If anything, the major differences are in my eyes positive ones.
With all that said, it’s been a bit of a long 7 days and we are both happy to be moving on. Amsterdam leaves us with many memories, but it’s not a place we feel the need to return to any time soon. Not without a bike anyway!
Brussels: Beer, piss and other surprises
Mar 23rd
Before arriving in Brussels we had been told by many that Brussels was a boring city and to avoid it at all costs. People made it sound like a ghost town. Being the capital of the European Union, websites and our guide book made it sound like a city where business and politics take place, and not much else.
Nevertheless, travelling through Brussels was the cheapest way for us to get to Amsterdam from Rome, so we thought we would spend a few nights there to check it out. What we didn’t realise is that the accommodation prices would just about negate any savings we made from the cheap flight. In the end we stayed at a place called Hotel de Fierlant for €69 per night. This was the cheapest we could find aside from staying in a place with permanent bed bugs or an hour away by bus.
We arrived by coach from Charleroi airport at Gare du Midi station in Brussels around 7pm and began to look for clues as to where we were heading. Our walk to the hotel was only short but wasn’t through the classiest of areas. At times we didn’t feel welcome but we never really felt unsafe.
We checked in, opened the windows to cool the place off (the hotel was always boiling), and spent the night planning any miscellaneous accommodation for the rest of the trip. We retired to the TV, watched Police Academy (the first movie we have seen in English since Singapore) and went to sleep.
The next day we tried to check out all of the local sights. We dropped by Grand Place, a square surrounded by (as the name suggests), very grand buildings. We spent a while in the centre just talking and looking around, constantly finding architectural details worth making a big deal about. Once we were done we walked through the shopping district, including St. Hubert’s Gallery, just taking our time and seeing what was popular in Belgium.
We had some hot chips in a square nearby, watching a skateboarder and some people do parkour (similar to freerunning). We spent the rest of the day doing more of the same – walking, sightseeing and relaxing.
On the way back to our hotel we wanted to see the Mannekin Pis, Brussel’s most famous statue. It’s basically just a boy pissing, and the locals love him. As we were walking in his direction we found a bunch of men all dressed up in royal looking costumes, all chanting and playing drums and trumpets. They walked us and everyone else who was following down to the Mannekin Pis, where he was wearing the same costume as them. Before long the little boy was pissing beer into cups that the locals were gladly drinking. It was one of those things that happen only by chance, so it was great that we stumbled across it.
The day after we had planned a relax in the park but it was raining. Instead we checked out a few of the local beers in some of Brussels’ pubs. It gave us some time once again to just catch up and talk about everything. Life goals, friends and family back home and abroad, and of course the travel we are yet to do.
We returned to the hotel, found some directions for our hostel in Amsterdam, and packed our bags ready for the early morning we had today.
I don’t know if this city knows what it wants to be. As I mentioned, it has a reputation to be a boring city due to it’s political history, however the population that we saw appeared to be quite young. The city is dirty in a way similar to that of Paris and, like Berlin, it appears that it was planned for a much higher population than currently lives there – many buildings are vacant, with some completely vandalised.
All up though, we enjoyed ourselves in Brussels, I just doubt we will return in the near future due to the price of accommodation.
