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Posts tagged ‘Europe’

Jul 19

Swarovski Kristallwelten

Swarovski is synonymous with Austria, the crystal manufacturer dates back to 1895. The factory (yes, with a shop) is not far from the Fritznerhof, the lure of a shopping opportunity is too strong.

Actually, it’s not all shopping. Kristallwelten (Crystal World), which is no doubt a marketing ploy to ensure you do end up in the gift shop, is a stunning exhibition of crystal art. It starts at the entrance; a Giants head with sparkling crystal eyes. There are 13 dazzling chambers, each designed by world famous artists and designers. The list includes Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

Of course, the experience culminates in a shopping extravaganza of Swarovski crystal products. Yes, purchases were made and we may drop in again when we have my Sister join us.

Swarovski Exhibition
Swarovski Exhibition
Swarovski Exhibition
Swarovski Exhibition
Swarovski Exhibition

Jul 18

Schnitzel & Strudel

Once again, we notice an undescribable change as soon we cross the border into Austria. In each country, there are subtle differences at first, but as you drive further they become more obvious.

In Austria, it’s the colourful flowers adorning every Window box and I mean every Window box. The architecture shifts, as does the quality of building materials between Slovenia to Austria. It’s probably taking it too far to say the grass seems more green and lush and the cows a bit fatter!

One again, we’ve not organised any accommodation, happy to keep winging it.  We stop in Klagenfurt around 5pm, only to quickly discover this could be an expensive town.  Our budget does not seem sufficient; welcome to Western Europe! We’ve noticed the prices slowly increasing the further west we travel.

We are keen to stay on budget and with a few hours of light still remaining, we decide to continue and look for a Zimmer/Gasthof along the way.

The rolling hillside is patchworked with crops and grazing cattle and surrounded by snow capped mountains; it makes you want to start singing: “the hills are alive…”  As we drive, we watch the colours of the landscape change; shadows stretch across highlights of hues of gold, from the sun dipping behind the mountain peaks.

We are well out in the countryside, with not much around in the way of towns. We come across a few Gasthof’s, only to discover they don’t all do accommodation, some are just restaurants. We found one that looked hopeful, but they didn’t answer – must have been busy at the time (photo should explain).

Finally we find Gasthof Groblacher. It’s in a beautiful spot and whilst our stay is short, we do get up for an early morning stroll. And chat with a few locals on the way.

Too busy to answer the door!
Chatting with the locals

The next stop is Heiligenblut, a village near the southern gateway to the Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse (Austria loves a tongue twister); it’s the most famous mountain road in Austria. It runs north/south through some spectacular mountains up to the Grossglockner; at just under 3,800 meters its the highest peak in Austria.

I discovered a new website; tiscover.com, a booking engine for Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland; from hotels to farm stays. We decided to give it a go and book what looks like your typical Austrian alps chalet.

tiscover.com pays off; we find ourselves half way up the mountainside overlooking Heiligenblut in a lovely Chalet. The owners are only expecting one other booking so whilst it was a shared bathroom, we each had our own floor, so no sharing.

We are a reasonable way up the mountain and the road is somewhat treacherous, not something we want to tackle in the dark. Lucky for us, just a 100m stroll away is a little gasthof serving dinner. Don is looking forward to schnitzel and strudel.

Communicating is somewhat of a challenge.  Don did German at school, but clearly should have paid more attention.  I get a glass of apple juice rather than a cider in our first attempt at ordering drinks. Schnitzel? Not so hard to get across. Not long after we order, we can hear some heavy pounding from the kitchen. It should be a tender piece of veal.

Luckily we had decided to share, as it was certainly enough to feed two. More importantly, it left room for that apple strudel. The restaurant is renowned in the area for its wild game (sorry to all those vegetarians), so we took home some smoked elk sausage/salami to try.

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The next day we take our time to drive the 48km Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse. We detour up to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe visitors centre. Taking a hike for about an hour up the Gamsgrubenweg, a trail leading onto the Pasterze glacier. The first part is a series of old mining tunnels with historical highlights along the way.

At Edelweissspitze, the highest point on the road, we stop for a hot chocolate. It seems a bit strange to be sipping hot chocolate in the middle of summer and be surrounded by snow capped mountains.  It’s also a chilly 9º Celsius.

The road has 36 switch-backs and an altitude ascent of 2,504 meters (yes, I looked that up). It’s a motorbike paradise (though not for you Graham Hemingway) and a perverse obsession for cyclists (looking in pain), both of which we see plenty. It is a spectacular drive, through some of the most beautiful majestic landscape we have ever seen.

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Relying once again on tiscover, I’ve booked us into Gasthof Fritznerhof, just outside of Innsbruck.  Again, we do well.  Arriving late in the afternoon at a charming Inn; window boxes are of course adorned in colour and our friendly host shows us a large comfortable room. There is an added bonus; by coincidence, tonight the gasthof is hosting the annual Musikkapelle Fritzens Sommer Konzert! In english, that simply means the Fritzens summer music concert.

We join the locals at long tables set-up in the garden and enjoy an evening of Austrian folk music and dancing. Even though we could communicate very little with our neighbours, we could still participate in the traditional Schnapps drinking with them! The atmosphere was fun and friendly, it was lovely to see so many young people participating.

 

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Jul 16

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Ljubljana

It’s Sunday and early afternoon when we arrive in Ljubljana. We haven’t organised anywhere to stay in advance our of arrival, but first priority is lunch.  Lunch with WiFi; as this will also allow us to search accommodation options online.

Lunch, by the way, was excellent.   I had a spelt pasta with trout and Don had gnocchi with rabbit.

After lunch we check out a youth hostel nearby – a room was €45 with shared bathroom.  I am not all that keen to share a bathroom, but at least we have a fall back option if nothing better turns up.  After several other options come in well beyond our budget, we check out a new apartment renovation, even with the offer of ‘a good deal’, it’s still €75 per night plus €15 per day for parking.  A couple of blocks further out is Penzion Pod Lippo.  And from the moment Damien greets us, I know this is the place.  He shows us a clean spacious room and can offer us free parking as well; for €58 per night.

The location is in the heart of the University precinct, so there are plenty of cafés, bars and reasonable restaurants.  It’s only a 10 minute walk into the centre of the old town.  The Pod Lippo staff could not have been more helpful with providing information on what to do and see, and organising a laundry service. They provide desktop computers in your room, plus in a small kitchenette area.  After working off a tablet, a keyboard and mouse is a welcome change.

We do the usual tourist thing and check out the old town. More out of guilt for our recent lack of visiting castles, monasteries or churches, we thought we had better check-out Ljubljana’s castle. Well, what a surprise it is.

Perched above the city, we take the inclinator up and arrive amongst the foundations of the castle. The restoration of old with the integration of new has been done seamlessly.   Materials including timbers, stainless steel and wire blend with ancient stone foundations. Amongst the well preserved history, modern function spaces and art exhibitions inhabit century old dining rooms, entertaining halls and underground bunkers.

Ljubljana dates back to prehistoric times and during the 1st Century AD the Romans built the city of Emona, the foundations of which still exist today. ‘iEmona’ is an interactive display showcasing the historic city. It’s located in an underground walkway and is another example of how well this city presents it’s history using modern technology. The fact that it’s free is also impressive!

Ljubljana is a beautiful city; still somewhat of a hidden gem, but tourists are now flocking there, as its one of the better preserved old towns in Europe.

The highlight of our stay was dinner with Helen and Rod, friends from Melbourne. We had been traveling in the vicinity of each other for weeks, never managing to coordinate the same destination at the same time, until Ljubljana. When you are on the road for this long, it’s a treat to see a familiar face and have a conversation with people you know.

It was a wonderful catch-up and we enjoyed a superb meal at Julija; where much wine and food was consumed – until they closed and politely threw us out. Probably a good thing, as we may have ordered another bottle of wine!

 

 

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Lake Bled. & Lake Bohinj
On our way to Austria we detour via Lake Bled and Bohinj. They are both about 50km north west of Ljubljana.

At Lake Bohinj I open the car door to be met with a blast of cool air, so fresh you can taste and smell it. The humidity was building below, on the lake and it looks like a summer storm is brewing, but here we are surrounded by Slovenia’s alps and the temperature is refreshing. We take a 30min trek up to Savica Waterfall, supposedly one of the most spectacular in Slovenia, mmm… guess they don’t have many!

Lake Bled, is busy with holiday makers; canoeing, swimming, baking on the shore. Renowned for its picturesque island and yep, they built a church on it! And of course, looking over the lake is a Castle. We did go up to the castle, decided the view from afar was better than the view atop. After Ljubliana’s castle experience we didn’t think anything could out-do it, so we skipped the tour.

Coincidentally, we run into Helen and Rod and again bid farewell, both confessing to slow starts and sore heads that morning!

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Jul 14

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Zagreb

Croatia’s capital is often overlooked on the tourist route; most people limit their travels to the Croatian coastline and islands.  As far as beautiful cities in this part of the world go, it’s overshadowed by neighbouring Slovenia’s capital – Ljubljana.

Nonetheless, we decided to give Zagreb a visit and we are pleasantly surprised by what we discovered.  Yes, you do need to limit your exploration to the historic parts of town.

Ignore the ugly socialist architecture surrounding the city and you will find an inner sanctuary with charming buildings designed with Austro-Hungarian influence.  Trams run through the centre, down wide promenading streets with ornate buildings, surrounded by lush public gardens.  This is a city that has lived through grand times and deserves a better reputation.

We lucked-out, finding Rose &  Margaret Apartments in the center of town.  We stayed in a stylish studio for three nights at a reasonable price.

My first objective during our visit was a haircut. I,who has religiously been for a cut & colour every 6 weeks, has subjected my hair to sun, salt and cheap shampoo for the last 4 months.

I am also trying to convince myself that my hair is going ‘blond’ from all the sun and salt, rather than ‘reality grey’. What were previous blonde highlights are now more like streaks of silver.  At this rate, I could be totally grey by the time I get home!  Sorry Suzanne (my hairdresser in Melbourne), you’re going to have a big job on your hands when I return.

I’ve given up on trying to keep the grey at bay, but a trim to rid me of split ends and tidy it up would be ideal. Picking a salon is based on one that looks reasonable and can speak some english.

Having someone wash your hair and massage your scalp, is one of life’s little pleasures. After a conditioning treatment, cut and blow dry, for AUS$40, my hair feels in a much healthier state. That’s no doubt the cheapest haircut I’ve had in a long time. Still trying to convince myself it’s blonde!

Sporting my new ‘do’, we head off to explore the city. Don steers us towards a brewery for a local beer tasting and then we go in search of a boutique wine bar that I had read about. Sherry’s Coffee & wine Lab, served an excellent selection of wines, accompanied by a fabulous tasting plate of prosciutto carved fresh off the bone, with olives and cheese. We also sampled their excellent coffee, something this part of the world lacks a lot of.

The public squares, of which there are plenty, are lined with cafés and bars.  People watching is an offical pastime in Zagreb.  Even though it’s summer and we are told many leave the city, it’s still a buzz with people filling the numerous street places to drink, eat and watch.

One of the things that struck us about Zagreb is the number of book and CD shops. We are seeing a massive decline in both, with major retailers around the world closing their doors, yet there is a bookstore on every block and CD stores to match. The other dominating retailers are shoes, there are shoe shops everywhere.

Saturday: the centre of town turns into a lively market. It’s a sensory overload; a colourful array of fruit and vegetables accompanied by the delicate smells of freshly cut flowers greet us.

Walk down stairs and you are met with the pungent smell of maturing cheeses and fresh meats. There is also a seafood market with a vast array of water dwelling creatures, some I didn’t even recognise.

The experience conjures up a menu of delicious dishes, inspiring my imagination to cook a gastronomical feast with all the fresh ingredients available. Alas, the inspiration did not turn into a meal!

We throw ourselves into Zagreb nightlife on Saturday night. Joining the throngs of people sitting, sipping and seducing (I needed another word that started with s), along the café/bar lined promenades. We prop ourselves on a bar stool and people watch for a while.

Zagreb/Croatia is a bit of a paradox; this is a country with an unemployment rate of around 18%, the average income is equivalent to A$12k per year, yet there are plenty of people of all ages, out and about spending money.

Retail does not seem to be suffering. Prices are reasonable with the CPI (cappuccino price index for those who have forgotten) between AUS$2-$3, the WCC (wine consumption cost) at AUS$3-4 a glass.

All in all, Zagreb was well worth a visit.

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Jul 9

Plitvice Lakes

This is one of the most magnificent natural sites we have seen and an impressive, well organised national park.

We arrived in the late afternoon. The weather is good, but the forecast for tomorrow is not.  We decide to see as much as we can today.  A shuttle takes us to the top of the upper lake system and it’s a fairly easy 2 hour ramble back down.  

A wooden footbridge allows you to navigate around and across the twelve turquoise lakes.   The water is an amazing colour, so clear you can see the abundance of fish happily swimming in each of the lakes.

As you descend, the lakes cascade down through the valley.  Natural dams have formed as a result of the rich minerals, resulting in waterfalls.  The water gushing through the rock face, rather than over it.

The next day the rain came in, which is unfortunate as we could have spent at least another day exploring the lower system.

It is definitely on the ‘revisit list’.

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