AUSTRIA

 The concept of being in two countries in one day still amazes me. Germany for breakfast then Austria for lunch.  We arrived in Salzburg and drove to the Danube River where we parked up and cooked delicious homemade baked beans with speck. We then spent the afternoon in Salzburg walking through the streets that once inspired Mozart and set the scene for the sound of music. We strolled past stunning baroque churches and monuments before trekking up the mountain to Festung Hohensalzburg, a fortress settled high above the town with incredible views of the city. We spent hours just winding through small arches, hidden crevices and chambers before back down into the town.

While we hunted for a skate park in Salzburg we stumbled upon an antique shop selling bikes and we impulsively bought two vintage fold down bikes to cruise around on for the rest of our journey. That night we drove to Linz, half way between Salzburg and Vienna where we spent the night. The next morning we woke in Linz and decided to head into the city to test out our new bikes. We discovered a food market near the center of town and bought some produce before riding through the streets of Linz. We rode, admiring the juxtaposition between new and old, from the Neuer Dom, a neo-gothic cathedral located near shopping streets and modern architecture.

We then headed to the skate park situated on the water where we enjoyed some lunch before resting in the sunshine for the afternoon while Matt skated. We spent the afternoon driving through the gorgeous Danube valley heading to Vienna. We found a campsite located just outside the city where we stayed and cooked for the evening. Our first day in Vienna was magnificent; the sun was shining as we headed on the underground into the city where we walked past and stopped to admire the Rathaus (town hall) and Hofburg Palace.

We kept walking through the streets soaking up stunning Vienna before venturing towards Naschmarkt, a huge food and flee market, where we collected some fresh Turkish pide, dips and olives and devoured them in a nearby urban garden. The afternoon we spent at Schloss Schonbrunn, a enormous Unesco world heritage Palace with vast striking gardens including the oldest zoo in the world Tiergarten as well as a maze and rose garden. We walked all afternoon taking solace in the shade as the sun was blazing hot and draining our energy. We headed back to the campsite in the afternoon, grabbed our towels and rode our bikes around the corner to a shaded spot on the Danube River to cool off with a swim. We relaxed in the shade before journeying back to the campsite where we cooked a refreshing Vietnamese chicken, mango and vermicelli salad before crashing for the night.

 We woke the next morning after barely sleeping at all due to the heat and mosquito combination making our camping conditions intolerable so we decided to have a relaxing Sunday was in order. We caught the underground to Prater Park where we spent the morning walking around the rides and gardens. Our afternoon was then spent lying by the river with a few refreshing Gosser Radlers (half lemonade, half beer- some may know as Shandy) and watched the world go by. Hard life isn’t it?

Day three in Vienna was spent at Shopping City Sud, a huge shopping center just south of the city. We spent the morning shopping and escaping the forty-degree heat. After lunchtime we left the center and headed to Graz, Austria’s second largest city. We arrived in Graz in time for an early dinner and we made Greek wraps with pickled eggplant and feta- DELCIOUS! After dinner we went for a ride into the city and found a bar under a bridge by the Mur River. The bar looked like a beachside club, with sand, lounge chairs and an amazing DJ. We spent the night drinking raspberry wine spritzers whilst watching the world go by.

 The following morning we woke to another beautifully sunny yet extremely hot day, we rode around Graz starting the morning with breakfast at the farmers market in the center. We moved on to the center square at Hauptplatz to admire the town hall before riding onward to Schlossberg a fantastic viewpoint of the city that can be accessed by a lift (for only one euro!) through the center of the mountain. Graz is another city that blends a perfect mix of history with modern architecture that Matt and I find so alluring.

 

The afternoon we drove towards Italy stumbling upon the beautiful Worthersee, a bright blue lake with abackdrop of high snowy alpine ranges. The picturesque water was beckoning us from our boiling hot car so we detoured for a swim. The water was so incredible we decided we had to stay, finding a campsite with access to the water where we spent the afternoon swimming and fishing into the night. The following morning we woke and swam off the jetty in the lake again before heading through the breathtaking Alpine Region into Italy. 

GERMANY- PART 2

Our welcome to Berlin was a dreary one, with grey skies and scattered rain; our outlook towards our latest stop was bleak. However, Kermit was in need of a new water pump so we soldiered on to find a Volkswagen dealership and booked in for two days time. After our long six-hour journey, energy was dwindling so we made our way to a campsite to recharge and research for our next few days in Berlin. The next morning we woke to some sun and a new sunny disposition followed. We headed into town, parked the car, and began our walk into Mitte. After a few minutes walk we stumbled upon our first part of the Berlin Wall at the Topographie des Terrors, where we began our history lesson for the day, learning about the end of World War II and the building of the wall in 1945. We continued into the city to Mauer Park flee market at Potsdamer Platz, after stopping off for a currywurst, where we strolled through looking at the trinkets and jewelry.

The Holocaust Memorial was next, we mandered through the tall blocks and paid our respect to those who lost their lives during Hitler’s tyranny. Then on to Brandenberg Tor and the Reichstag and the surrounding gardens. By late lunch we had covered most of the main tourist attractions in Mitte, so we headed for some food. We endured an hour-long wait at a kebab house called Mustafas in Kreuzeberg, for what could be the BEST kebab in Berlin and possibly the world. The afternoon was spent at an indoor skate park before driving to the Volkswagen dealership where we slept for the night in camouflage. 

The following morning we said our farewells to Kermit at 6am and left him to be fixed and caught the underground into town. From there we walked through the city eventually deciding to head towards the Markethalle (food markets) that was a mere hour walk away, passing some beautiful attractions on the way.  Once we arrived at the Markethalle, which was very underwhelming, we sat down and recovered with a beverage before walking back. We enjoyed a long lazy lunch of traditional spatzle and schnitzel with Berliner beer and Riesling in a restaurant near Mauler Park before heading to pick up Kermit.  We cooked in the camper and hung out for the night waiting for the exclusive Berghain, Berlin’s largest and most famous nightclub, to open.  Once a power plant, the huge building now houses the most exclusive hipster clubs, Panorama Bar and Berghain.  To enter the building you must fit into a certain category- typically German hipster. So no dresses or heels. No looking too good. No Asians or tourists of any kind. The list goes on. So clad with combat boots and jeans we headed for the entrance, only to wait 45 minutes. Once the doors finally opened, we were denied entry, and so was half of the line. Alas, we would not give up that easily! We went back to Kermit, changed our clothes and messed our hair up a bit and went again, this time with success. After paying our twelve-euro entrance we headed in to discover that Berghain wasn’t open just Panorama Bar. We enjoyed a few drinks and danced to the sounds of the European techno before calling it a night at some hour of the morning. The next morning we left Berlin, headed towards Dresden.

We arrived in Dresden on a stunning day to be shocked by the hidden gem of a town. Although not feeling quite up to touristy activities after our big night, we headed to the skate park for the afternoon where I lay in the sun and napped while matt skated. We then bought some groceries and headed to a campsite for a much-needed shower and to wash our clothes. The next morning we ventured out into the town, walking through the charming streets of Dresden, which was once home to the Saxony Royalty. The streets are lined with awe-inspiring Baroque architecture and little cafes. We spent the day enjoy the sights, stopping for another traditional German feast before heading to Bamberg for the night.

The following morning in Bamberg was spent walking around the small cobblestone streets until lunchtime before heading towards Munich. 

The afternoon we spent at Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site- the first of Hitler’s concentration camps. It was an eerie place, after studying so much about World War two and the holocaust, to walk through the Roll Call Square where the 30 000 prisoners once stood was overwhelming. I was left speechless and appalled, seeing the reconstructed living conditions of the prisoners and hearing accounts of the torture endured within the fences. This camp wasn’t even a death camp, with only a small gas chamber and crematorium, yet still over 30 000 prisoners deceased within the 12 years of its existence. After the chilling experience at the camp, we drove into Munich to sleep for the night.

The next morning we woke to beautiful sunshine and began our explorations in Munich. Mid-morning we walked through the city to Marienplatz, the main town square. There we gazed upon the stunning neo-gothic Neues Rathaus (Town Hall) before walking to St Peters church to climb the 306 steps for a 360 degree view of Munich.

After our climb up St Peter, we had earnt some lunch. Lunch-time was spent walking through the Viktualienmarkt, the central food market, for some local delicacies such as smoked bratwurst and apfel strudel while looking upon the fascinating international produce and spices stalls.

The afternoon we visited the Englischer Garten, the worlds largest urban park for a stroll through the stunning greenery. Admist the trees lies the Eisbach river and an unsuspecting little gem, a man made wave crated from the rapids that local surfers shred. We sat and enjoyed the spectacle before heading to Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden, to which we enjoyed a pint of local beer and a pork hock with mustard for dinner. We left Munich that night and stayed at a truck stop with views of the Bavarian Alps in the distance.

The next morning we woke to beautiful sunny skies, made some breakfast and drove to a close by skate park in the little town of Holzkirchen. Then we headed to a ski field at Blombergbahn and caught a chair lift up the summit to ride a 1.3km toboggan down through the fir trees.  After our exhilarating ride we drove to Fussen in the Bavarian Alps to view the Schloss Neuschwanstein, a castle built for King Ludwig II and the same castle that the Disneyland castle was fashioned after. Although due to poor weather we didn’t walk up for a view inside, rather admired from a distance. 

In the afternoon, we headed to Berchtesgaden, a stunning town near the border of Austria, surrounded by Alpine Ranges with snowy peaks, even in summer. We slept at a campsite near the foothills of the mountains in a pristine location and enjoyed stillness and tranquility of the Alps.  On our last day in Germany, we spent the morning at Konigssee Lake, Germany’s clearest Lake and caught a boat across to St. Barthaloma. The untouched landscape and immaculate water made for an unforgettable experience, especially when the boat captain stopped at the Echowand and played the Flugelhorn into the high Alpine ranges where it ricocheted and echoed through the valley. We then drove to Hitler’s Retreat on the mountain above Berchtesgaden for a view over the gorge before heading to Austria for the afternoon.