Vienna

On the weekend I took the night train with friends to Vienna for some Christmas markets and a tour of the city.

I've never taken the night train before and it was really really good. I highly recommend it as a way to travel. You can book rooms with beds for 2, 3 or 6 people (we were 4) on the train and can sleep on the way. Our train left Switzerland around 10:30pm and arrived in Vienna just before 8am. You arrived in town just in time to start the day. Sleeping in the car was very comfortable, they wake you up before your stop and bring you some breakfast (hot drink and a small bun). The noise of the train didn't keep me awake and you just need to be lucky that no one in your room snores.

Here's a picture of our room, it was pretty tiny and the high beds had no barrier to stop you from falling down!

The train car had a whole line of beds and there were several cars with beds. You could also travel on this train sitting but you wouldn't save a lot.

We arrived in Vienna and everyone met up and we headed out to the explore the city. First stop was Schloss Schonbrunn which had these strange lion/woman statues in front of the building. Check out her claws on her front paws.

As we arrived there was a huge number of tour buses dumping people in front of the castle, it was amazing to see how many people were showing up! We went in to buy tickets and had to buy a slightly more expensive ticket (which lets you see more of the palace) to get in right away, otherwise there was a two hour wait! In front of the palace was a huge Christmas market.

Poor lion is really getting it from Hercules.

After our palace tour we wandered through the huge grounds. They weren't as big as Versailles, but still pretty big.

Here's a nice view looking back over the palace and the grounds and towards the city of Vienna.

 While we  were in Vienna we were instructed to try Sachertorte, a chocolate cake invented at one of the fancy hotels. The place we went for our cake was Aida, a chain of cafes which had a huge eating area and only a tiny tiny washroom where they charged you for entry and there was a huge line. So I can't really recommend this place. The cake was ok, the cafe ambience was crap.

Also, all over Vienna they sold newspapers with these bag things. It was based on the honor system. I guess it was a way for them to sell papers without having lots of large boxes taking up lots of space.

In the main cathedral downtown we joined the mob of people entering. They had the place lit up and it looked a bit like being underwater.

Then it was back out and walking around the streets with all the Christmas lights and huge crowds.

Later on Saturday night we went to the Christmas market at city hall. It was incredibly packed, you could barely move. It felt like March of the Penguins, and was certainly warmer than wandering around on the streets! However, we didn't stick around since you couldn't even see anything because of the crowds.

Instead we went to a concert in this hall. It was very pretty but the concert was clearly for tourists. They played something like the top-40 of classical music and had some waltzing dancers to entertain the crowd at the slow parts. It was good though, and frankly I'm usually rather bored at concerts unless I really know the music because I've played it, or I know the people really well. During the concert I felt a bit like the end of the movie Amadeus, where he is playing at cheaper halls for the public (instead of the Emperor). Just like in the movie, people would sing along with their favourite songs and half-stand up to get a better look when something happened on stage. So the concert was a bit of industrial tourism but a lovely night.

In the evening we stayed at Hostel Ruthensteiner which was in walking distance of our train station (there are several in Vienna) and I note it here as a recommendation and for my memory. It was nice, cheap and had lots of helpful hostel features (like free wifi, nice kitchen, patio).

The next day I went to see the Spanish Riding School performance. Again, definitely industrial tourism but I'm glad I went. The building was beautiful and the stallions were really well trained.

They had about 14 horses doing all the special on ground and above ground dressage movements, much of which I've never seen before.

Then it was visits to museums and dinner. In Vienna they haven't banned smoking yet in restaurants so we had to pass a place because of the stink, it's been a very very very long time since I've been in a restaurant with smoking allowed.

Our night train back to Switzerland was almost as perfect as the starting journey except for the rail accident in Hungary. Half of our sleeper train had to be rerouted and arrived late. However, in the station in Vienna we were able to board our half of the train and go to sleep. I was asleep when the train pulled out of the station and slept very well the entire trip. The night train is much nicer than flying, we were able to have a nice Sunday evening in Vienna without having to rush to catch our flight early. So right now I have stars in my eyes regarding night trains and plan to do more trips by train rather than flight.

Hiking and Davos Cross Country Skiing

On the weekend the weather wasn't so great, but no snow has fallen! Currently in Davos there are several thousand people participating in this cross country ski training week. They do exercises and attend classes and then they ski around in circles on the tiny cross country ski piste that exists. As we were hiking up the other side of the valley we could watch them going around in circles. What a shame, apparently there are 100's of kilometers of trails going up all the long valleys.

I haven't hiked in a while so it was a lot of work to go up the mountain! It was definitely strange to be hiking in December! Last May we were hiking in snow but it was dry (and cold) this time. We were lucky to be above the clouds that hung over Davos for the day.

Skiing on a strip of snow

There is no snow in Davos and yet the ski slopes are open (one run per mountain). The snow machines have been running and there are now a few runs open with entirely artificial snow. I went up (the skiing wasn't that great) because I wanted pictures of ski runs between the brown grass.

It was definitely strange to ski on, sometimes the run was only 2m wide as it traversed along the mountain.

Off in the distance was a huge run, looking very strange as it snaked down the hill beside the train line. This was the train I had ridden down once with stairs inside the train.

The skiing wasn't great, but the weather was beautiful. I'm looking forward to hiking in the mountains this weekend. It is funny to see people in town - either with their hiking clothes or their ski gear.

Next weekend is the cross country world cup races. I'm not sure exactly what snow they will be skiing on. Apparently there is a small cross country track, perhaps they will ski in circles.

Lots of Potatoes

For some reason, apparently Switzerland has a potato surplus. Around Yverdon you can see piles and piles of potatoes stashed under the highway underpasses and filling the train cars.

Random pictures

First, more information about this man wearing the skirt of leaves. Apparently he is the wild man of the mountain, he is associated with mountain areas so it was unusual to see him in Luzern. He is ambiguous, dangerous or protective. He is shown holding a tree and it is important that the tree still have its roots.

This picture was from the city museum in Bern which I visited a few weeks ago. Also at the museum was this baby stuffed bear.

On Friday night I went to see the 3rd period of the Davos hockey team. I've been hearing about this since I arrived in Davos. Apparently the Spengler cup at Christmas time in a huge draw and a reason why the city has over 50,000 people during the Christmas season (for a town of 12,000). Anyway, I was patted down before I could enter the arena which was an odd experience, usually the places I go to (such as the Bern museum) don't have that much potential for violence.

Anyway, there was lots of shouting and drum banging and flag waving. I was told here were two songs I had to learn. Ho-ehh-ohhh- some word that starts with H in German. Or the reverse, German H word -Ho-Ehh-ohhh.

Heidelberg and EuropaPark

On the weekend I drove to Heidelberg. Automatic car. First time on the autobahn. O. M. G. There were people driving very very fast. And there was a speedlimit but that didn't seem to stop people. One thing for sure, everyone was very good about pulling over to the left after passing. No one was sitting in the right lane going too slow unlike every Canadian highway.

The weather was fantastic, which was a good thing because apparently it hadn't been that nice.

We traveled to EuropaPark. It is a large amusement park where they put in quite a bit of effort for the decorations. Each area was divided up in to the different countries of Europe and the entire park was also decorated for Halloween.

The place is supposed to have better rollercoasters than Disney in Paris which I have to agree with. However, the lines for everything (in October) were so huge that we rode on very few rides and spent most of the time in line. Our longest line was 100 min and they didn't have any fast pass system that Disney had.

The rides were pretty exciting though. Apparently this park started as the show park for roller coaster manufacturers.
They also had lots of shows and performances. We ended up at this Spanish arena which had a horse show and jousting similar to Medieval Times. What luck, I didn't even realize what I was going to see until we entered the arena.

The story was in German and in French and I understood very little of it.

However the riding was exciting and the jousting was lots of fun.

I went by England and had my picture taken at the Globe theater.

We stayed until it started getting dark because I still had lots of driving to do. As we headed out we stopped by the camping area. I guess (similar to Disney) you can rent cabins or a tipi or covered wagon to stay in if you want to skip the hotel. There was also a trailer park and we walked through it before driving home.

All in all it was a nice weekend but too much driving for me. I think I prefer Disney better, especially because of the lines. I have been told that if you go to Europapark during the week there are almost no lines so that would definitely be worth it. I won't go back on a weekend again, that's for sure.

Horse Riding - Bellinzona

A few weeks ago (while it was chilly in Davos) I met some friends in Bellinzona - the Italian part of Switzerland, and across the Alps. The ride was long and most of it was actually on a bus. For the first time I had to make sure I had a reservation to ensure I had a seat. The weather on the other side of the Alps was fantastic and warm and the descent down from the pass was steep.

We met in the city and wandered around the town. It had a totally different feel than the mountain village I had just left. Bellinzona is famous for having three castles which have been around since at least the 1st century in some form.

There is one castle in the center of the village on top of an outcrop (which for some reason wasn't carved down when the glaciers came down the valley). Initially it was good that the steep sides faced the evil Swiss to the North when the castle was in Italian hands before eventually being taken over by the Swiss. This picture is taken from the second castle. We never climbed up to the third castle.

It was a very different climate in Bellinzona, there were even palm trees!

We walked around inside and outside of the castle. At this part we walked on a grass top of a wall. Actually, it was apparently two walls. First one was built, and then they built a second wall beside it.

We walked on top of the wall and then walked under it which we were able to do because of the double walled construction.

In the courtyard we found toilets built into the wall. I guess back in the day there would be curtains across the front. The toilets just dumped out into the dry 'moat' so I wonder what the smell was back in the day.

After visiting the castles we went out to stay at an agritourism farm. We slept in the barn in the hay right beside the barn.

The owner was big into taking damaged horses from the area and rehabilitating them.

The horses were fed in the yard and ran around in the field beside.

I was one of the first riders to ride this horse which apparently came to the farm in pretty bad shape. You can really see the ribs.

We rode through the forest beside the river (using bitless bridles) at a walk and trot.

What a climate difference just a few hours away - snow in Davos and palm trees in Bellinzona just a few hours away. Again when I returned I had to book my place on the bus - there were lots of people making the journey.

Classic Luzern

The weather in Luzern was fabulous.

Once again I walked along the wooden bridge and looked at the paintings above the walkway. Once more I found the guy in the leaf skirt with the wooden stick. I'm really curious about this now but have no idea how to find out about it.

The town of Luzern has lots of paintings on the outside of the buildings, including two bats at the top of a building. Also, there is a strange bird on the left, which looks a bit like a skeleton.

The building paintings were really nice.

After a lunch on the terrace we walked along the old city wall.

High above the town, floating above the clouds, was mount Pilatus.

And again to the saddest lion.

There were tons of tourists around - lots of Japanese with lots of cameras.

The next day we went to the end of the Sertig valley and had lunch on the terrace looking back over the mountains. The weather was fantastic and sunny and we had help with our menu's.