Saddle sore but loving it

OK so firstly I must apologise for the delay in creating my first blog entry from overseas. Honestly, I have found it very difficult to get enough time on a PC to actually type anything lengthy. Those who are on facebook would have seen my status updates here & there, which I can do quickly, but I finally found some time tonight to sit down and give you a more detailed update of my adventures... I'm also uploading some photos to facebook as I type so be sure to check them out if you're interested (but the wi-fi connection here is frustratingly slow!!). I’m writing from Munich on my brand new netbook, recently purchased in Switzerland and complete with German keyboard, which is taking some getting used to! It’s a qwertz keyboard instead of qwerty, and all the punctuation is in different places! But it does have some funky characters which are fun to use, like ö, é, ä and ü.



So, it all began in Holland, with a crash course in ''The Beautiful Game'' on day one. It was somewhat surreal to spend 27 hours travelling and suddenly be thrust into a small local pub in the tiny country town of Cabauw, amongst a sea of orange. I felt a hundred pairs of curious eyes burning into me as I walked in, as in a small town like that everyone knows everyone - so an alien newcomer stands out like a sore thumb. It was said that I came as a bit of a good luck charm and Netherlands won the game from Japan, progressing them to the next round of the World Cup comp. Next up was Australia vs Ghana, but funnily enough I was the only one interested!.. I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying an impromptu Dutch language lesson over copious amounts of beer, then eventually it was time to go home for dinner and I fell asleep on the couch by about 10:30pm, even though it was still light outside! Apparently the trick to avoiding jetlag is to stay awake as long as possible on the first day instead of napping, so I'm happy to say I managed to avoid the dreaded lag and woke up the next morning around 7am feeling pretty good, if not slightly hungover...


As tempting as it is to give you a detailed day by day run-down of my trip to date, if I tried to do that I'd be here all night, so I'll have to focus on the edited highlights package... So I had a lovely few weeks staying with Miriam & Remco in their little village of Lopik, near Utrecht. We did excursions to various parts of Holland including the UNESCO world heritage listed windmill site of Kinderdijk, spent a weekend in the historic 11th century town of Marken where Miriam grew up & her parents still live, we went south to Maastricht and Valkenburg, visited Rotterdam and Utrecht, and west to the capital city of Den Haag and the gorgeous beach at Scheveningen to watch the sun set over the ocean while sipping on champagne cocktails. We did a day trip into Belgium (following the footsteps of my ancestors) to the city of Antwerp for some stereotypical Belgian treats - beer, chocolate, waffles with strawberries & cream and Flemmish frites (yum!!). I also got to see some of the other quaint little towns near Lopik, including the town where Miriam & Remco will be married in September, Montfort, and swam in the local river near Lopik on a hot & sunny afternoon. On the way home one day we saw a group of hot air balloons floating in the evening sky against the backdrop of a magical sunset, just hovering there like giant bubbles. We kept putting off a visit to Amsterdam (not counting my inbound flight) as it was so hot, and unfortunately ran out of time before I had to leave for my Busabout adventure, but I'm headed back to Holland in September so we will do the Amsterdam thing then. A huge thank you to Miriam and Remco for having me stay – I’m missing you guys but will be back before you know it.


Some of my most memorable experiences have been gastronomical, including the Flemmish frites with mayonnaise, curry ketchup & finely chopped onion, bitte balls, strawberry Vlaai (a delicious sweet pie), fresh white asparagus with butter sauce and served with ham, potatoes & boiled egg, fresh cherries from the local farm, and of course Rösti in Switzerland, but more about that later... Other experiences have been of a more adventurous nature, including the afternoon I decided to borrow Miriam's bike and ride from Lopik to Cabauw, along a narrow path past traditional Dutch houses - a wonderful ride but as it was about 20 years since I'd last ridden a bike, I was a bit wobbly, and much to my dismay I ended up taking what I'm calling a ''Dutch Baptism'' - in other words I hit a bump in the path, fell off the bike and went head first into the murky canal!! Thankfully the only injury I suffered was a big dent to my pride, but I came home laughing (and dripping wet) and several showers later I no longer smelt of canal water and cow manure. I was told not to feel too bad, as ‘almost every Dutch person has fallen into a canal at some stage in their life’, although usually after consuming large amounts of alchohol, and I couldn’t use that excuse!


Eventually it was time to pack up my backpack again and leave Miriam & Remco's place for a few months of travelling around Europe with Busabout. I had a couple of nights in Paris, including watching the Germany vs Spain match with about 50,000 other people on a big screen at the base of the Eiffel Tower, and climbed it afterwards (for the second time in my life) to gaze at the pretty lights of Paris from above. Then it was off to Switzerland, starting with the incredible medieval capital city of Bern - the highlight (apart from the remarkable architecture) being the gorgeous crystal clear river which flows at an impressively fast pace; the local favourite pastime is walking a few km's up the river, then jumping in to the icy glacial water and floating back down to where you started - pure heaven on a hot summer’s day!


Next stop was magical Lauterbrünnen, the gateway to the Swiss Alps. 10 mins from more famously known Interlaken, it is a thrill-seekers paradise, with popular activities such as sky-diving, para-gliding and base-jumping, none of which I had the money or the guts to participate in. Instead, I decided to take the opportunity to get in some trek-training (which was long overdue – my strict training regime had somewhat come off the rails in Holland, with all the great food & beer!). I settled on a walk from Lauterbrünnen up to the car-free town of Mürren, which the lady at reception suggested was ‘mildly challenging, the first part is steep and then it levels out’ – well I now wonder if she has ever actually done the walk, as it turns out it was a 3 hour hike straight uphill at an angle of what felt like about 70 degrees! But all the huffing & puffing was well worthwhile once we finally reached the top of the trail – the view from Mürren was spectacular! Stretched out before me, the Alps glistened in the midday sun like the sweat running down my forehead. It was like looking at a gigantic postcard, I have never before witnessed the majesty of nature to that extent.


Unfortunately our plans to take the cable car up to Shilthorn, a snow-capped peak at around 3000m, were foiled by bad weather and the view was shrouded by fog, so we had some lunch then descended the mountain, this time by train & cable car rather than on foot, and headed back to our picturesque campsite to recover from the day’s efforts. I managed to make up for all the calories burned hiking by gorging myself with quite heavy dinners – Swiss rösti (which is basically a giant hash brown – a fried grated potato patty and served with bacon, egg, cheese and onion) and of course the traditional cheese fondue the next night, absolutely delicious but very filling and as much as I love cheese, I felt sick by the end of it! The next day we took it a bit easier, with a half hour walk to nearby Trümmelbach Falls – a spectacular series of waterfalls which have carved their way through the side of a mountain over the last few million years, creating an incredible world of cave tunnels and icy falls with fabulous views out over the valley.


Then it was on to Lucerne, apparently the world’s 6th most visited city (?!), famous for it’s particularly Swiss architecture and scenery. After some sightseeing and shopping (bought my netbook), we spent the rest of the time lazing on a beach by the lake, soaking up the sun and just enjoying the chance to take some time out from the constant pace of travelling.


A few days later it was time to move on to Munich. I did a bike tour of the city in sweltering heat, but probably dropped a few kilos sweating it out – which helped prepare for all the beer and bratwurst ahead! We had a huge night on our first night there, including some time at the Hoffbrauhaus, arguably the world’s most famous beer hall (which was really just a giant sweat box full of drunken Aussies, but the oompah band created great atmosphere), and woke up the next day nursing a very sore head. We went to the former concentration camp at Dachau, near Munich, and were totally humbled by what we saw – standing in the old gas chamber brought tears to my eyes and I will never forget the experience, the horrific conditions that tens of thousands of prisoners suffered through (and the tens of thousands more who weren’t lucky enough to survive) will stay close to my heart for a long time yet.


So that pretty much brings you up to date. It’s actually the following day now and I’m typing this on the bus to Innsbruck – next stop Austrian Alps for more hiking. I am staying a week in Innsbruck and it will be really nice to stay in the one place for more than a few days, as so far it’s been three days here and three days there, except for the fabulous few weeks I had in Holland. I’m getting used to living out of a backpack, and getting better at packing it well. I’ve met some fantastic people on Busabout and it’s quite funny how you seem to go your separate ways and then cross paths again a few days later in a different city. It’s been a great way to travel and I need to thank my brother-in-law Adam for suggesting it in the first place. It’s very good value and an easy way to travel as they pick you up right outside your hostel and drop you off at the next one, so all the planning is taken care of and you can focus on enjoying yourself. It’s also been nice to just stare out the bus window and watch the scenery go by, as spending so much time in big cities can get tiresome so seeing the smaller country towns and rural areas along the way makes a nice change from concrete jungles.


Well this has turned into a bit of a novel so I’ll sign off now. Congratulations if you’re actually still reading – you must really care a lot about me and what I’m up to, either that or you’re bludging at work or have nothing better to do! Thanks for subscribing and stay tuned for more updates as the adventure unfolds. I’ve uploaded my photos from Holland to facebook now, so check them out, and I will upload the next batch of the first few Busabout stops soon. I’ve also updated my ‘cities visited’ map on my facebook profile – total of 84 cities in 14 countries now, and counting!


Until next time – vaarwel, au revoir and auf wiedersehen.


Megs xo


(PS – I’m now in Innsbruck, Austria and have internet connection so I’m uploading this then going straight to bed, ready for a big day’s hiking tomorrow... I really need to hike every day to get myself back in shape for the Himalayas!)