Europe, Post 12: A grand time in the Grand Duchy

Picking up from where we left off in Tennenbronn, Germany...

Due to a series of unanswered phone calls, indecipherable German voice mail greetings, and a phone number we were given that was lacking a digit or two, we were unable to meet with friends on Sunday morning as per our intended plan. So, mid morning, we set off from the Black Forest en route to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – a small country bordered by Belgium, France and Germany, and with a population of less than half a million. Click here and scroll down to the Language section - unreal!! That evening, we would be meeting up with some friends of a friend who live in a small village outside of Luxembourg City.

It took quite a few hours of driving to get from Tennenbronn in Germany to the little village of Hollenfels in Luxembourg, where our accommodation that night would be at a Hostelling International youth hostel. On the way, we had our only car trouble of the trip, which came to our attention in the form of a constant flapping sound of uncertain but slightly-worrying origin.

After pulling over at a servo somewhere in France, Ben discovered that the protective plastic “underbelly” under the front of the car had torn away from some of its screws and was hanging down and flapping like an unhinged jaw in the crosswinds. We believe this has absolutely no connection whatsoever to the Black Forest back-tracking that took place the previous day and is documented in Europe Post 10. Anyhow, it was obviously not an important part of our car, as I'm told it is not always on cars in Australia, and since returning to England Ben has torn the entire thing off and thrown it out and nothing bad has happened. :) On this particular day though, he managed to push it back into place and it stayed put for the time being.

Luxembourg is a very nice country – pleasant countryside, green hills and mountains, freshly ploughed brown fields, charming houses, and – the thing that struck us the most – dozens of people out for their afternoon “constitutional”! It was amazing – we would just be driving along a country lane surrounded by fields, then we would come across a corner where a few cars were parked, and scattered along the nearby roadside would be people out walking their dog or just enjoying a leisurely stroll. Very random but a fantastic hobby for an entire country to adopt!!

Once we found our hostel, which simply said “Chateau” rather than the hostel name on our paperwork, there was no sign of anyone around. Actually, that statement applies to the entire village. The hostel was at the edge of the town and was absolutely enormous – it was a long, mansion-like building, four or so storeys high and probably containing a couple hundred dorm rooms – but it was as deserted as the large castle perched on the side of the hill immediately behind it.

After a brief exploration of the town, during which we attempted to find the visitor centre some signs were pointing to – an endeavour we were quite unsuccessful in, despite even finding the bus parking area for it – we called Francisco and Elaine and arranged to be at their place around 5pm. We drove there at a leisurely pace, stopping to take photos of the countryside, as we were quite early.

Much to their surprise, we found their place relatively easily despite their street not being on GPS maps yet as it is a new development. They had only moved in a month earlier and many of the houses around theirs were still being built. So, introductions ensued and a thoroughly enjoyable few hours followed! Elaine is Irish and Franscisco is Spanish, and they have been married for about 5 years. We had dinner with them, and lots of entertaining conversation, and overall had such a lovely time that we've already organised our next visit... we're staying with them on Saturday night in just over two week's time, when we'll be on our way across to Austria to go snowboarding with Matt and Kat!! :D

Afterwards, we rushed back to our hostel to check in before the 9pm cut-off, and were quite relieved to find someone there this time. Then, not only did our beds end up costing less than our original quote, but we also ended up having a four-bed dorm to ourselves! It didn't take long before we came to the realisation that this may have had something to do with the fact that we appeared to have the entire hostel to ourselves!! During our stay there, we did not see a single other person except for the guy who checked us in and the girl who served breakfast. The shower rooms were spotless and empty. I walked up to the third floor to get mobile reception to send a text message – no one in sight. The echoing halls stretched on forever and I think our room was number four hundred and something, but we did not see any evidence of a single other person there!! It was quite a bizarre feeling. I started feeling like we were unknowing victims of some reality TV gag...

The next day, Monday, happened to be my birthday. :) We awoke to proof that other people were alive in the town, as the town bells rang a couple hundred times at 7am!! I think Ben said he gave up counting at about 160 (I gave up once I realised they weren't striking the hour :P). Anyhow, apparently it's not a town for lazy sleep ins!!! So we went down to the breakfast room, which can be best described as... hmmm, what's the word... oh yes, EMPTY! We had the breakfast buffet and huge room full of vacant tables and chairs all to ourselves, and enjoyed some good old-fashioned Cocoa Pops (amongst other treats) before checking out and having a bit of a wander around the castle next door.

Please note that I do not condone the activities featured in the following photos. Sometimes it is just safer to take the photo so they hurry up and get down, as a reaction betraying one's true sense of alarm often serves as a further incentive for such risk taking...

After this, we set off into the capital city to follow Francisco and Elaine's advice as to what to do in Luxembourg when you've only got half a day...

In the middle of Luxembourg City, there's a beautiful valley with a narrow river, walking paths, bridges, and lots of trees and greenery. No shops or anything. It's a proper valley, bordered by cliffs or steep slopes on both sides, and at the top of those is the usual bustling city centre scene! It's a fantastic idea and very scenic and peaceful. A couple of massive old bridges carry traffic over the top of the valley. So, we mostly spent our time wandering through this valley, taking photos and just enjoying the lovely morning.

Later, we had a quick look through some nearby shops (found some amazing-looking bakery treats and some awesome Tintin ornaments but could not justify getting either!) and then set off for France for our last night of the trip.

I actually thought I was going to finish writing about the whole trip in this entry tonight, but it has taken a fair while and uploading the photos will keep me occupied for quite a while longer, so I think I'll leave you hanging for the final installment! Goodnight, and please vote on our latest poll if you haven't already!

Recent highlights...

Going to Holiday on Ice "Romanza" in Brighton on Saturday 19th with three young families of our friends... Dinner afterwards at Frankie & Benny's at the Brighton Marina...



Girls' night in London on Friday 25th... Me, Kat, Mel and Cathy (who is getting married in April) at Mel's lovely new place...



The arrival of an AWESOME parcel from home on Australia Day... SO SO sweet and thoughtful and VERY much appreciated - THANKS GUYS!!!!!

Europe, Post 11: Minding my own beeswax in the Black Forest

As we set off from the bottom of the rodelbahn in Liechtenstein for a second time late on Friday morning, this time we were truly on our way to Tennenbronn in Germany's Schwartzwald (Black Forest) region.

After a drive of about 4 hours, we were passing through areas of forest that frequently brought to mind the adventures of Hansel and Gretel. There were increasing amounts of snow as we drew closer, and many substantial clusters of tall, dark green firs or pines beside the road and on the surrounding hills and mountains. Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good photos of these gorgeous Schwartzwald scenes!

That evening we wandered around the peaceful streets of Tennenbronn in search of somewhere to eat, before deciding the restaurant in our guesthouse actually looked the most promising. Dinner was great – my meal was an unusual but tasty “Black Forest speciality” of pork with cherry cream sauce! Afterwards, to our surprise and delight, we were invited by our friendly server (the owner?) to join the group in the room next door!

From Ben's earlier enquiry as to what the gathering next door was about, we had learnt that they were a group that get together occasionally and wear traditional costumes, play music, recite poetry or stories, and learn various crafts. So, we were led to a table where, with a conversation consisting of follow-my-example gestures, laughter, and everything but a mutual language, a friendly bee keeper taught me how to make a candle using only a sheet of yellow beeswax, a piece of string, and my hands.

Along with the efforts of the few others who were likewise being taught this most precise art, mine was frequently unrolled and redone by the bee keeper with much patience and vigorous explanation, but when I had finally finished he seemed to approve. It was a lovely example of the spontaneous kindness of strangers, and the memory of that will last far longer than the very nice-smelling souvenir of the Black Forest we gained in the process. :)

(Insert overdue realisation of missing mobile phone here, and arrangements promptly made for its subsequent return to England via the backpacker who answered it, the hostel reception it was handed in to (after aforementioned backpacker apparently changed the ringtone but at least did not make any long calls to China), the small fee charged by said hostel, and the postal service.)

The next day we set off on a drive up into the mountains. On the way, we had a lot of fun choosing the “shortest route” rather than the “fastest route” on Tommy, our GPS. Each time, the selection of the shortest route was immediately followed by this warning:

"Please note: Research has shown that the 'Shortest' route is usually not as safe as the 'Quickest' route, as well as taking longer and being less fuel-efficient."

True indeed to this warning, we were led on quite an exciting wild goose chase through the middle of a snowy-floored forest of green-moss-trunked trees and piles of logs. We bumped around a maze of narrow dirt tracks covered in snow, churned up muddy patches too doubtful to drive through, and random piles of rocks strewn across the road. A great deal of reversing was done before we eventually found our way out and decided to stick to the fastest route, at least for the rest of the day!

The views up in the mountains were gorgeous - next after Liechtenstein on the "best scenery of the trip" list! Snow-covered hills, lots of trees, charming houses...

Once we reached our destination, Feldberg, we had a bit of a walk around the snowsports area, where it was snowing lightly. We had initially set off that day with the intention of going snowboarding, but unfortunately this did not eventuate – mainly due to the limited time left before the lifts closed by the time we got up there.

We then set off back down the mountain to one of the larger cities in the area, Freiburg im Breisgau. There, we happened across the town square containing the Freiburg Münster, a large medieval cathedral. We had a bit of a look around and then discovered you could climb the spiral staircase inside the clock tower, which, according to Wikipedia, has been standing there since 1330 and is 116m tall! So, we set off up the spiral metal staircase inside the tower, around and around and around, passing en route the evidence of ongoing restoration work.

After many steps, we reached a little shop near the top, where it was actually someone's job to sit far above the city all day and admit tourists! From there, it was just a few more steps until we reached a platform surrounding the tower's 16 bells, which range in weight from 80kg up to 7 tonnes - incredible!!

As you may well be able to imagine, I was extremely relaxed due to our extreme height above the city and the reassuring motion of the wind gently rocking the ancient tower, and I did not jump at all when the bells suddenly struck a quarter past as I was standing right beside them.

Some views from the tower...



Once back on dear ground, we wandered further around the city and came across an exceptionally talented man playing lively, self-composed tunes on a piano accordion. He was absolutely brilliant and, after listening for a while and watching his total absorption in his music, we ended up buying one of his CDs. A bit of a look online indicates that this guy may be somewhat famous amongst people who follow piano accordion musicians. :)

After a pleasant interlude in a bookshop, where we bought a couple more German-language books (including another Tintin), we ate dinner in one of the restaurants lining the square containing the Münster, and then headed back to Tennenbronn for our second and final night at the guesthouse.

Europe, Post 10: How to be ridiculously forgetful in 14 simple steps

Phase I (husband)

1. Leave camera charger behind in England.

2. Spend half a day looking for a new one in Brussels, Belgium. Eventually find one.

Phase II (wife)

3. Take wedding ring off to moisturise hands shortly before checking out of guesthouse in Liechtenstein. Merrily check out of guesthouse, leaving ring sitting on wooden foot of bed. To be truly ridiculously forgetful rather than just forgetful, ensure it is a particularly inconvenient guesthouse to return to – i.e. one that can only be reached by a 600m trek up the side of an icy, snow-covered mountain.

4. Realise ring has been forgotten only after driving 8 km down the mountain.

5. Call guesthouse. Communicate location of forgotten ring to lovely English-speaking lady host, who has already anticipated that the call is about a forgotten item before being told.

6. Return to foot of toboggan run. Find minimal-English-speaking husband of host loading up snowmobile trailer with toboggans. Communicate nature of forgotten item by pointing at naked ring finger. Secretly hope one can hitch-hike up the mountain on the snowmobile, retrieve ring, and travel back down on a toboggan.

7. Call guesthouse again and receive joyfully the news that the ring has been located.

8. Endeavour to give phone to husband of host so that his wife can explain the situation. Experience extreme difficulty doing so. Discovering that amateur German-speaking ability disappears when needed most, try explaining via English and gestures to minimal-English-speaking husband of host that one does not need to borrow his phone, nor be given the phone number of the guesthouse. One simply wants him to hold the phone to his ear and say hello. Eventually realise one does know a relevant basic German sentence, “sie sprechen mit ihr Frau”, and this does the trick instantly!

9. Husband of host communicates that he will go up the mountain on his snowmobile with its trailer load of toboggans, collect the ring, and bring it back with him in 20 minutes when he comes down to get the next load.

10. Experience joyful reunion with ring.

Phase III (husband)

11. Leave mobile phone behind in Munich, Germany. To be truly ridiculously forgetful rather than just forgetful, ensure it is left in the only room on the entire trip that was shared with six (or indeed any) backpackers.

12. Leave Munich, drive out of Germany into Liechtenstein, spend day and night in Liechtenstein, leave Liechtenstein (all of Phase II occurs here), drive back into Germany to Tennenbronn in the Black Forest, check into guesthouse, relax, wander the streets, eat tea, make a beeswax candle, etc etc.

13. Ensure wife feels guilty about Phase II.

14. Only then, notice absence of mobile phone...

Europe, Post 9: Munich and lovely Liechtenstein

After some shopping in Prague on Wednesday morning, we set off for Munich, where we had plans to meet up with... three Aussies!!!

A few days before leaving England, we had found out that Rachael B (working as an au pair in Switzerland; see first blog post from October 2007) and her two younger brothers (over from Australia to visit her) would be travelling through Europe around the same time as us, and our paths were going to overlap in Munich!

En route to Munich, we saw lots more beautiful snow...

We arrived in Munich at about 5pm, which was also when Rach and crew had expected to arrive, but due to the crowds and waiting around they encountered during their visit to Neuschwanstein Castle, they got into Munich on the train around 7pm. After not too much trouble, we found the street corner they were waiting on, got introduced to Matt and Nathan, and then all five of us bundled into our car and set off to find somewhere legal to park.

We didn't have long with them as they were taking an overnight train to Berlin, but we had a very pleasant few hours wandering around the city centre, watching ice skaters, drinking glühwein/punsch to keep warm, and laughing at strange pizzeria ladies who refused to sell two pizzas to five people. Eventually we ended up having tea at Burger King.

Ben said afterwards that it was just so nice to be able to completely relax and talk freely – not having to worry about speaking slowly and clearly, speaking another language, toning down our Strine, etc! :)

That night we stayed at the same youth hostel we had stayed at in June 2006 with Jim, Jenny, Merity, Fraser, Ash and Tish: the Easy Palace City Hostel in Munich. We were in an 8-bed dorm (on opposites sides of the room to each other because that's where the free beds were) - the only night of the trip when we stayed in a dorm that actually had other people in it (twice we had a 4-bed dorm to ourselves)! Apart from some people crashing in at 2am, the person below Ben snoring extremely violently, and some others leaving even earlier than us, it wasn't too bad!

We awoke at 6:30am and quietly got ready to leave. The reason we were up and going so early was because we had plans to drive to Liechtenstein and go snowboarding that day!

We had breakfast at Maccas somewhere in Germany because I wanted pancakes, but they didn't even sell them! Thankfully this marked the end of our brief foray into eating at American-style fast food joints in Europe (three times in less than 24 hours – there was another Maccas moment I didn't mention!).

The scenery as we got closer to Liechtenstein was absolutely stunning. We could see the Alps, blue in the distance, with generous smatterings of snow and fir trees. The strangest feeling on this drive was at times not knowing which country we were in out of three or four possibilities – Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or Liechtenstein!!

As we arrived in Liechtenstein and began winding our way up a steep, narrow road zigzagging up the side of a mountain en route to our guesthouse for that night and then the ski fields, we could not stop raving about the absolutely breath-taking views. It was the most spectacular scenery we saw on the entire trip.

We think that the valley we were looking down into, surrounded by the snow-covered mountain ranges of the Alps, was basically the entire country of Liechtenstein. The charming houses had colourful window shutters and snow on their roofs, a river wound its way through the towns in the bottom of the valley, and the blue and white mountains were all around us! I can't describe it adequately, so here are some photos I took of the views that day and the next...

When the GPS told us we were about 1km from our guesthouse, it became apparent that we could not drive any closer to it. “Rodelbahn”, said the warning sign at the foot of what looked like a narrow road disappearing up the mountain to where our guesthouse presumably was. One quick flip through our aforementioned German dictionary later, we realised that “rodelbahn” meant... TOBOGGAN RUN!!!

Well, it turned out that reaching our guest house involved a 600m trek up the side of the mountain on slippery, icy snow... And leaving it required a winding, 1km downhill run on a small wooden toboggan (rodel)!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Our initial trudge up the mountain was a bit tiring, for me at least, but my new brown boots did quite a good job of only slipping slightly and occasionally, rather than plummeting me over the edge of the mountain. The gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and quaint houses scattered across the hills below were also a nice distraction from physical exertion!

Once we reached our beautiful, quaint guesthouse, perched at the top of the toboggan run and looking out over a valley, thick snow all over the ground, we discovered that it also seemed to be location of the local toboggan club! They had a shed full of toboggans, a podium for place-getters in toboggan races, and people coming and going all day on toboggans!

We were curious as to how we would get all our luggage up the mountain, but the lady of the house took Ben down in her car, which had snow chains on, and transported it all up that way. After checking into our room, we discovered that the chair lifts at the ski fields on top of the mountain were closed due to the windy conditions. Unfortunately, this put an end to our much-anticipated day of snowboarding in the Alps.

However, we decided to drive up to the ski resort, Malbun, and have a look around. Obviously this required getting down the mountain via the rodelbahn, which was thoroughly awesome fun and went a little way towards making us feel better about not getting to go boarding! Ben was at the front and did most of the steering and braking, while I was the camerawoman capturing part of the run so that you could all share in the fun. Hope you enjoy it!

When we got to Malbun, we could see there were some T-bars in operation on the beginner slopes, but we decided it was not worth buying half-day passes for that. It was extremely windy at the top of the mountain, almost pushing me over a couple of times, and the big gusts would whip up flecks of snow from the ground that stung the little areas of our faces that were exposed.

Anyway, we had a look through one of the shops at the resort, where I quite enjoyed the antics of a mechanical accordion-playing beaver but did not end up taking him home. I also needed a belt to hold up my ski pants and stop the bottoms of them trailing in the muddy slush, but since the shop didn't have any, I've ended up with a pair of red floral braces instead – quite a unique souvenir!!

Later in the day, we tobogganed down the mountain again from our guesthouse and explored the capital city, Vaduz. We didn't see too much; just ate some chocolate cake and looked through some shops.

Back up the mountain, Ben did an extra solo toboggan run as I could not bear to walk up the hill again – the price you pay for each adrenalin-filled, over-too-quickly descent via rodel!

That evening we had tea in the restaurant at our guesthouse.

In the morning (Friday), we ate breakfast at the guesthouse and I enjoyed making use of an available guitar for awhile. When it was time to leave, we discovered that our luggage would be transported down to our car on a trailer pulled by a snowmobile, which Ben got to ride on with the man of the house! The snowmobile was how, at frequent intervals, all the toboggans found their way from the shed at the bottom of the hill back up to the guesthouse. Anyway, this meant that I got to do a solo toboggan run down to our car. :)

Then, we set off to the Black Forest (Schwartzwald) in Germany...