Day 219: Lucerne: Mt Pilatus

September 22, 2016

Today I went to the Swiss Alps. And it was magical.

It was probably the most expensive mountain I've ever been on though, being 80Franc for the whole day, but man, did I make a day of it!

The trip started at 8am with a train ride to the town at the base of the mountain, and then a 45degree train ride up the side of the mountain. The views just got more and more stunning.

At the top, I spent about 6 hours doing various hikes along peak ridges and across to other nearby mountains, enjoying some of the most spectacular scenery. It was a little bit cloudy for part of the day, but it cleared a few times, and you could see the whole Lake area, and other peaks in the Alps.

The way down was by cable cars, and some of the sections were actually really quite steep, more like planned falling than gracefully being carried down the mountain.

I finished the day with a Swiss traditional meal of cheese fondue. Much wine-ier than I expected, but delicious with some fresh bread!

Tomorrow, a chill day before a nightbus xx

Day 218: Lucerne: Exploring the City

September 21, 2016

Today I did a self guided walking tour of the city, to a heap of different sites.

It was so pretty. And most of the buildings are almost 500 years old!!!

The highlight was probably in one of the ramparts in the old city wall, overlooking the whole city.

Tomorrow, Mt Pilatus xx

Day 217: Lucerne: Organising

September 20, 2016

Today I arrived in Lucerne. The night bus was probably one of the worst organised things I've ever seen though.

The driver had a very thick russian accent and only spoke French the whole time. This wouldn't have been too bad if there weren't 3 different cities along the way that sound like Lucerne!!! But I got here alright.

I spent the day trying to catch up on some blogs, and cooking some food for the next few days, because I am coming down with a bit of a cold. There is only internet on the ground floor though and I'm on level 3, so it might take a while.

I did venture out a few times, and I can tell I'm going to love it here. So much history!! Too bad it's so expensive.

Tomorrow, a self guided walking tour xx

Day 216: Munich: Walking Tours and Exploring

September 19, 2016

Today I finally got to see some of Munich, outside of the park where the beer tents are.

I didn't know very much about the history of Munich, but some of the buildings we saw survived the war, and were over a thousand years old. A lot were rebuilt, and are even in the process of still being built though.

The guide knew some amazing history of the area, which I would never have even noticed. My favourite was Marienplatz with the Rathaus Glockenspeil clock, even though it is super touristy and honestly a little bit of a boring thing to watch. The fact it's actually about a royal wedding and the plague made it better.

I saw so many things, and spent the afternoon just wandering around the city, and tonight I have a nightbus again.

I also tried really hard to get into the BMW factory tour, but it had been booked out for the last 3 months for the Oktoberfest period, so I just had a quick look around the area instead.

Tomorrow, Switzerland

Day 215: Munich: Oktoberfest Day 2

September 18, 2016

Today we did things slightly differently.

The weather was still wet and cold, but we got there early, and had a look though some of the other tents. There was a chicken tent, with thousands of chickens roasting, an oxen tent, with a huge cow on the spit, and there were rides just everywhere.

It really is too bad it wasn't better weather, because the tall chair ride looked like it would have given a great view over Munich.

We left early so that Kate could get home, and I just checked out some of the city before going back for an early night.

Tomorrow, actually seeing Munich xx

Day 214: Munich: Oktoberfest Day 1

September 17, 2016

OKTOBERFEST PHOTOS COMING TONIGHT

Today was a huge day. It started with a huge parade with all of the breweries, and didn't end until almost midnight.

The "tents" are enormous, and the beers are huge, and everyone was dressed up!! It was amazing!!!

We met people from all over the globe, spending most of our time in the HB tent, but we also went and did some singalong stuff in a wine tent, which was awesome.

Tomorrow, more of the same! xx

Day 213: Munich: Aussie Friends

September 16, 2016

Today I got to meet up with my friend from Australia, Kate! She will likely be appearing in a few different locations as she is studying in Spain and likes to get away for weekends.

We met up at the station and immediately got to finding some Trachten for Oktoberfest, and even through they were the second cheapest ones available, I'm pretty pleased with how they look.

All of the buildings in central Munich are just amazing though. Even the factory outlet store we were shopping in was all masonry and old and beautiful.

After the shopping spree, we went to where we will be staying the next couple of nights with some of Kate's family friends. Their house is amazing, and right next to Schloss Nymphenburg.

The palace is French style and huge, but the gardens around are just as amazing, with lake houses, and intricate arches. We didn't see the deer, but apparently they live there.

Tomorrow, Oktoberfest xx

Day 212: Berlin: The Wall and Bad Planning

September 15, 2016

Today I was going to start off with me not realising I needed my passport to get into the Reichstag Dome. I tried using the photocopied version from my phone, but no dice.

Not a total loss though, it meant I could walk back through the main strip of Berlin (Karl-Liebknecht-Straße), and along the River Spree.

It was a really beautiful walk with just so many picturesque locations.

The walk was to the East Side Gallery area where there is a 1.3km stretch of Berlin Wall which has been graffitied and painted on, preserved still. It sits just along the river, and at the moment, one side is all professional murals, while the other has one section of refugee stories, and the rest is decades of graffiti. I liked it all.

I am just chilling for a couple of hours before my nightbus. I really am not quite back into the swing of this travel thing yet!

Tomorrow, Munich xx

Day 211: Berlin: Long Flights and Walking Tours

September 14, 2016

Off to a good start, I forgot to save the post I just made, so I'm going to re-type it all out. OOPS!!

But I have arrived in Berlin, Germany, starting off the European leg of my trip.

The flights were okay (or as okay as sitting upright next to strangers for the best part of 30 hours can be) but luckily I don't feel too jetlagged, so hopefully I sleep alright tonight!

I pre-booked a walking tour around Berlin because I knew I would just want to sleep today otherwise, and it was a good plan, because I saw so many amazing things! There are kind of two categories to what I saw today.

The first was amazing historical buildings including Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag Building (Parliament) and Museum Island.

The other category was war related, such as the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, and the blank car park where Hitler's bunker where he died was.

Bonus was also seeing the hotel Michael Jackson dangled his son blanket from.

Tomorrow, more Berlin, and a nightbus xx

Day 210: California: Home Again

August 2, 2016

I have been keeping this a secret until my arrival back home, but I AM HEADED BACK HOME!!

It is a surprise for my Dad's 50th Birthday as well as my anniversary with the very understanding boyfriend. I have had a great time in the US and Canada, but I am looking forward to going home for a while.

Had a little bit of trouble returning the van when they tried to charge me $2,000 for extra milage, but it turned out to actually only be $71. Always double check before signing things.