EUROPEAN BACKPACKING TRIP!

Right before our trip, Rob and I went out with his friends from school for a last 'do', and someone happened to step on my foot with her stiletto heel. My foot instantly swelled and turned black, and so we went to the hospital. The doctor said it wasn't broken, but would take a lot of ice and time up in the air to take the swelling down. I was pretty upset because this was just a couple of days before we were due to leave for Europe. Luckily, by the time we hit Rome, it was still pretty sore and swollen, but I was able to limp around for the first day, which was great!

ROME

Our first day we spent in Rome, we walked all day despite my sore foot and the 34 degree weather. After the cold and rainy year in Scotland, heat and sun were very welcome. We started at the Colosseum and then headed to the ruins of the Roman forum (which we saw from a hill nearby to avoid paying the very expensive 16 pounds a person to walk amongst them). We walked past the Quirinal palaces (alternate residence of the pope) on the way to the beautiful, but crowded Trevi Fountain. After a pit-stop here for gelato, we made our way through the quaint alleyways to the Spanish steps and then on to a park for a nap in the shade and a rest for my foot. Feeling refreshed, we headed to the lovely Piazza Navona, which was crowded with bustling cafes and street vendors selling their wares. Nearby we found the impression Pantheon church and then grabbed our first Italian pizza in a tiny inexpensive restaurant we found in one of the alleyways.

After a restless night in our cramped and non-air conditioned hostel (apparently the Romans feel that its appropriate to collect garbage and recycling at 2 in the morning!), we set off for the Vatican city. It was another scorching day with temperatures of at least 35 degrees and full-on sun. Luckily, the line to get through security at the impressive St. Peter's Basilica wasn't overly long. Having been to Rome before, I was prepared for the sights, but Rob was suitably impressed by the vast and ornate Basilica. It was quite easy to imagine the Pope addressing the crowds from the balcony. From here we explored the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel. It was a beautiful as I had remembered and as packed to the brim as well. You can't help but be awed by the beautiful paintings and the fact that Michelangelo laid on his back for hours and hours to complete the fabulous ceiling. From the Vatican we wandered back to the hostel, grabbed our packs and headed to the Termini station to wait for our late night train to Venice.

VENICE

We arrived in Venice during the dark, and we decided that we'd walk to find our hostel rather than taking the recommended and direct (but expensive) 5 min water taxi. Almost 40 minutes later, after getting turned around and repeatedly lost in the narrow alleyways due to our lack of a decent map, we finally found it!

My first impression of Venice (as Rob had been there before) was that it is magical. It was even better than I imagined it would be. Beautiful ageing houses floating on a lagoon, surrounded by narrow canals. Tiny bridges cross over the canals and lead to a maze of cobbled alleyways, some of which are packed with tiny shops selling famous Venetian glass objects, ornate masks and other trinkets. Fresh fish markets and fruit and vegetable stands can be found all over the city with produce brought in daily by boat. Although cars are not permitted (they wouldn't have any place to drive anyways), the Venetians still find themselves caught in rush hour traffic, but on the waterways! Boats, water-taxis, water buses and gondolas crowd the canals, rushing around each other with inches to spare...it really is a sight to see!

We walked all around, to the Rialto bridge, St. Mark's Square (where we fed the pigeons), and took a wonderful (but still expensive after we bargained the driver down) gondola ride through the local canals and onto the Grand canal. We then grabbed another gelato, sat on a dock and watched the bustle on the Grand canal. I would definitely recommend a trip to Venice- it is a very beautiful and romantic place!

VIENNA

After a tight squeeze into a cabin with 6 adults and one child on an overnight train, we arrived in Vienna, Austria. Our hostels seemed to be getting better and better as went along- this time in a 6 bed, roomy and air-conditioned!!! room, just steps from the main train station. We spent the day exploring the large but architecturally beautiful Vienna. The first thing we noticed was how clean the city was! The city has a very grand feel to it, with massive, beautiful buildings and culture everywhere...easy to see how it's the culture capital of Europe. it was here that we had the most massive Weinerschnitzle dinner for 5 Euro! Was fabulous, but way too much food. Vienna was beautiful and it gave me my first opportunity to brush up on my German.

HALLSTATT

We woke to a gray and rainy and significantly cooler day and took the morning train which would through stunning mountain scenery to a tiny Austrian village in the Salzgammergamut area called Hallstatt. Hallstatt is nestled at the base of a beautiful mountain range and on the shores of a crystal clear alpine lake. The house are style in a traditional south German manor with large wooden balconies filled to the brim with flower boxes. We took a short boat ride from the platform to across the lake and spent roughly two hours exploring. We had schnitzel at a traditional restaurant served by a great big bear of a man wearing lederhosen. Hallstatt is stunning and we would recommend a visit!

SALZBURG

We finally arrived in Salzburg in the evening-it was, of course, raining. The hostel though was the best so far. We were in in a 6 bed room, fully outfitted with electronic lockers and a sink, many washrooms and showers, an Internet room, restaurant and bar. We had a couple of pints at happy hour that evening with an American guy named Mike that we met. We had an early night but promised to meet Mike the next evening for happy hour again. We awoke to rain again, but headed out anyways to check out the sights. Salzburg is famous for it was the location for the Sound of Music. The Austrians know very little about the film and seem to resent it as the basis of their tourism. However, we did walk through the square that Maria and the children danced around the wedding church. Although Salzburg is beautiful, I must admit we were a bit disappointed with the city. Apart from certain 'Sound of Music' locations, there is not much to see. The rain continued all day- so we headed back to our hostel and met Mike for happy hour. We met some travellers from Florida, Colorado and Oakville and after a few steins, we headed to a packed Irish bar. We had a fabulous time, but one too many drinks... needless to say, our morning train to Munich wasn't that pleasant! Lol. However, although hungover, I did notice the absolutely fabulous country scenery on the outskirts of Salzburg. I've would definitely return some day to explore the hills, valleys and mountains on bikes. Gorgeous!

MUNICH

We arrived in Munich just before noon, dropped off our stuff and took a much needed nap in the lobby (as our room wasn't ready yet). Roughly an hour later, we headed out to explore the town. Munich is the capital of Bavaria and it is a beautiful city. Flowers hanging from wooden balconies, pristine streets and beautiful traditional German architecture. We wandered around the city for awhile before heading for the world's most famous beer house- the Hofbrauhaus. It is a fabulous place- seats hundreds of people. It's a huge building with long wooden tables and benches everywhere, packed with people ordering the massive Steins (2 points worth) and listening to traditional German music played by musicians in their lederhosen. Although still feeling kinda queasy, we had to order a beer from the Hofbrauhaus! The atmosphere was great and we could imagine what it would be like at Oktoberfest! The following morning, we took a day trip to the oldest medieval still standing and functioning town in Europe- Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg is stunning! We felt as if we had stepped right into a fairy tale. The town in surrounded by an ancient wall with 7 towers outside of which a moat used to lie. Inside are beautiful old houses, colourfully painted, with flower boxes hanging from every window, cobbled streets and a really quaint feel. We spent a couple of hours wandering about a taking in the scenery. Rothenburg is also famous for the Christmas shops filled with hand-made nutcrackers, and beautiful cuckoo clocks. I could have spent hours in there! After our great day trip we headed back to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner and a pint we could truly enjoy. It was the perfect end of our time in Munich.
FUSSEN

We set off in the morning on another rainy and foggy day for the southern Bavarian town- Fussen. Fussen is set in the mountains and is, according to a kind German man we met on the train, 800 m above Munich's altitude. The journey to Fussen was forgettable as the surrounding countryside was covered by fog, and so we could see very little. After 3 train changes, we arrived in Fussen and headed straight for our hostel to unload our luggage. Shorty after, we took a short city bus ride to the nearby town, Schwangau, where king Ludwig II of Bavaria, built two fairy tale castles in the mountains-the most famous of which is Neuschwanstein (which Disney modelled their theme park castle after). We trudged in the pouring rain up the mountain side ( a good 20 minute walk uphill) to the castle, where we waited roughly 45 minutes outside in the pouring rain and freezing temperatures for our tour to start. By this time, we were drenched from head to toe. Apparently bringing rain pants and rubber boots would have been a good idea. Finally our tour number was called and were entered the castle. Built in the 1860s, it took over 17 years to complete 1/3rd and Kind Ludwig only lived in it for 132 days before he was declared insane, deposed and murdered. Shortly thereafter, work on the castle halted and it was opened to the public, and so only 14 rooms were fully completed. We were able to see all the completed rooms and they were stunning! Sumptuously decorated with vivid colours on all of the walls and ceilings, beautiful chandeliers with gems made to look like king's crown, etc. It was close to, if not the most fabulously decorated castle I've ever seen. We were not disappointed! However, we were upset to find the fog had settled in even more after out tour and so the great view of the castle and mountainside we were supposed to be able to see from the bridge over the gaping canyon, were completely obstructed from view. We then walked down the mountain to find that our bus would be another hour; we had been told that Fussen is a mere 4 km from Schwangau, and so we decided to walk rather than wait. I'm not sure I regret anything more! If we thought we were wet before...the pathway led into the vast surrounding forest and we followed the numerous straight forward signs for a while. Soon though we came to an area where the path and surrounding land was covered in water. Rob insisted I jump on his back to save my feet getting wet and would carry me over. After arguing over it a bit, I relented and he piggy-backed me across. I was very grateful but not long after it began to rain even harder, so by now both our shoes and socks and jeans were soaked straight through anyways. From here, it went from bad to worse! Though the scenery was spectacular, we came to find that many intersections where signs were posted, the signs to Fussen would point in all different directions. We hiked for ages, up and down hills and over only to find that we had been walking in circles all along. Frustrated and soaked and fearing we'd spend the night in a Bavarian forest, we took a chance on an unlikely road. Shortly thereafter, we found civilization only to realize that we were no longer in Germany, but in Austria! Luckily, we were only a 20 minute walk from the border. We arrived at our hostel looking like drowned rats. the owners looked at us in concern and showed us where to dry our clothes. As our only warm clothes were wet, we had to put on shorts and t-shirts to head out for dinner, but we did find the famous Geschnitzletes that I was after!
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN

Once again, it was raining when we woke up, so we had breakfast and then boarded the train for Friedrichshafen. It was just our luck that on the journey out of Fussen, we were on a train that split into two separate directions halfway through our journey, but unbeknownst to us! We ended up going 1 hour in the opposite direction...hours later and a little annoyed, we finally arrived in Friedrichshafen. The first thing we noticed was that we were the youngest couple in the area! Friedrichshafen is on the banks of Lake Constance- or the Bodensee as it's known in Germany- and it's the place where Germans retreat to for a relaxing holiday...sort of like the German cottage country. We spent our time riding the bikes we rented from our hotel around a part of the lake and to a little town, similar in looks to Rothenburg, called Meersburg. There were waterside cafes and hotels everywhere, kids swimming off paddle boats in the aquamarine blue water. It was our first sunny day though and hot, so naturally we got a little burnt. It was a great change of pace from all of the cities. It also marked the beginning of a more relaxing part of our trip.
LUCERNE

We arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland and it was absolutely down pouring- again! Record flooding had been report all across Europe...the most rain in 50 years...and it figures that we were there for it! We headed straight for our hostel to do some laundry and wait out the rain. By 5 pm the rain had stopped so we grabbed our camera, sunscreen (b/c it was now 27 degrees and sunny) and headed for the mountains. Lucerne is set in a valley by Lake Lucerne and is surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains. We spent 3 hours climbing one to catch breathtaking views of the surrounding scenery. We took some fabulous pictures! After the hike we took another half an hour to explore the old town and walk the famous wooden tower bridge, then picked up some dinner at the grocery store and sat by the lake to enjoy it. The city itself was not much to see, but the surrounding scenery was definitely worth the stop!
INTERLAKEN

The train ride on the Global Panoramic was breathtaking! We arrived in Interlaken to the sun peaking b/w the clouds, and we could see the surrounding mountain! Interlaken is situated between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, both of which have water as blue as the Caribbean. We arrive at our hostel, dropped our bags and head out to explore... We had planned on renting mountain bikes and taking the many trails, but we soon realized that renting an ATV for 4 hours was only 5 CHF more, and we could cover so much more ground. We grabbed our helmets and were off. We were able to drive on any road a car could, and so we zipped up into the mountains. The scenery was fabulous and even though it started to rain slightly, we barely noticed because we enjoyed ourselves so much. That night we cooked our own dinner at the hostel and went to sleep. The following morning, the sun was shining and the clouds were gone so we grabbed our day packs and hiking map and head for the mountains again. Interlaken is the outdoor adventure centre of Switzerland and is situated in a region called the Bernese Oberland, which boasts the best scenery in Swiztzerland- it is definitely true! People come here to parasail, hang-glide, skydive, bungee-jump, white-water raft, atv, bike and hike. As we were on the poor scale, we opted for hiking, and we are happy we did! We took a gondola ride about halfway up one of the neighbouring mountains, and hiked to the 2900m summit by foot. The views from the top were the best we've ever seen. Snow-capped mountains with glaciers that could be seen at the top, vast forests, flower-filled meadows, crystal clear mountain lakes and waterfalls, and traditional Swiss chalets dotting the mountain sides with cows nearby ringing their bells. If that wasn't paradise, we don't know what is! We decided to be adventurous and hike down the mountain instead of taking the gondola. After an 8 hour round trip, we hopped on the train from Grimelwald and headed back to Interlaken for dinner and then bed! Needless to say, our calves felt like rocks the next day! However, our time in Interlaken was by far, the highlight of our trip!
GENEVA

We got to Geneva around 1pm and it was stinking hot. We decided we had enough of cities, so for our last day we went to the beach, swam and suntanned. It was a great afternoon! In this part of Switzerland, everyone speaks French ( I supposed b/c it's so close to the border). We could tell instantly that everyone was French because of two indicators: 1) They were all dressed to the nines and 2) They were all very rude. We found Geneva to be cramped, dirty, with rude people and slimy men...so we were happy to be there for only one day. We are very excited to get home to being around our friendly and personal-space conscious Canadians!

NEWCASTLE

We flew from Geneva to Barcelona, then on to Newcastle and spent a great day and a half with Ian and Maria, who graciously took care of us (boy we love being pampered) and provided us the space to re-organize our baggage!!! Tomorrow they are kindly driving us down to Manchester for our flight home!
We have loved our time in Scotland and our backpacking tour, but it has made us realize one thing- how much we love living in Canada!!! It truly is the best place in the world to live...and we are proud to be Canadian! Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to check up on us aand read our often lengthy blog postings...lol. We can't wait to see you when we get home! xxx Sarah and Rob