You don't mess with Blue Steel

Our trip to Germany didn't start particularly smoothly. I'd spent the few days before our flight trying to contact Lufthansa in order to change our return flight. Sadly the customer service team isn't available over the weekend. We turned up at the airport on Monday morning, still unsure when we would be coming back. It wasn't a miserable morning, but there was a little fog around. As such, most flights were delayed. Not ours. Ours was cancelled. So off to the Lufthansa desk we went, only to be told we could be booked in later that evening.

There was a moment of disbelief, during which I am told I gave the assistant "The Look". I then advised I was already waiting for Lufthansa and guess what - we got checked in and put on the next flight out, which was delayed, but not cancelled. 

I'm told "The Look" was fearsome - the type you got off a parent or teacher when you just knew you were in trouble. I must have picked that up from my mother, but at least it got us on a flight!

We did have a few hours hanging around the airport, before we could take off, but soon we had arrived in Frankfurt, ready to be collected by my sister.  She drove us back to Ramstein. Her husband was away at work, but she showed us around the house and it gave us time to settle in.
My sister clearly picked up a few habits from either our mum, who loves having guests, or just being in Germany; she had left each of us with a bowl of chocolates and sweets on the bedside table.

No complaints. I have quite the sweet tooth!

The terracotta warriors have taken to the waters

The wedding ceremony was being held in the afternoon, so as Friday morning rolled around, Rich and I had plenty of time for exploring. I took Rich to Bregenz; it is a very short train journey from Dornbirn and was where I had spent the latter half of my year abroad.
We visited the Festspielhaus to take a look at the opera set this year and I told him about James Bond. He couldn't recall the scenes in question from the film, so it didn't mean all that much to him.
The current opera for the Chinese-inspired set is Puccini's Turandot, the opera from which the famous Nessum dorma comes. Perhaps one day I will visit the Bregenzer Festspiel. It would probably appeal to my sister.
On a far less touristy note, but to my own amusement, wishbone lake (not an official name) was still present and still surrounded by chairs.
It doesn't look like anybody has tried to rearrange the furniture recently.
From the Festspielhaus we walked towards the harbour along the lakeside. I was pleased to see that Beach Bar had been erected that week, even if we had missed snow by just a few days. It's not summer in Bregenz without the Beach Bar! I enjoyed regaling Rich with many stories of the town.
We perused the town centre, which quite honestly has not changed. At least, not that I noticed. We stopped for an al fresco lunch at San Guiseppe. Here we spotted our first beagle of the trip. After lunch I insisted that we get an ice-cream, because it was warm and sunny, but mostly because ice-cream in Bregenz is amazing and it's so cheap! Austria isn't famed for ice-cream, but it does border Italy, so perhaps they take some gelato tips.
We had no real direction and simply ambled around with our ice-creams. This wandering did however take us past both of the schools, at which I had worked, which naturally led to more reminiscing.
Since it was sunny and warm we had quite a pleasant morning. Bregenz though - still quaint, still picturesque, still really, rather boring!

We're punctual not polite, now get off the train

Preface

It had been 4 and a half years since I was last in Vorarlberg. Old timers may remember that I did my assistantship with the British Council here during my year abroad. I returned for a long weekend as a friend was getting married. In some ways I'd forgotten everything, in some ways I remembered everything.

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Even I have to admit that I was incredibly grumpy for our early morning flight to Zürich; it's something about being early, tiredness, lack of food and well, just too many people. However, despite my grumpiness, we did in fact make our flight.

I had tried to pre-book our train tickets, but neither OBB nor SBB gave return options on their sites, which meant that we had to queue up and buy in person. Lo and behold, the return is an option! Rich perused the suggested route and was perturbed by the quick changes. Of course here in the UK, one could never imagine having just 2 minutes to change trains and that not being an issue. Over in Switzerland and Austria, it's pretty normal. Most of the time, your change is a walk across the platform. Rich did point out later that the announcements don't have any of the niceties you might find on a British train such as the below, so maybe they save a few seconds that way...

• "Please ensure to take all your belongings with you." 
• "We wish you a safe and pleasant onward journey"
• "Thank you for travelling with XXX"

We arrived at our destination of Dornbirn without too much fuss, but finding the hotel was a whole different story, given that neither of us brought a map, directions, or had even written down the address. Helpful right? So we wandered around based on Rich's estimations from memory until my cranky side kicked off and I demanded that he purchase an internet booster for his phone. We had turned a 350 yard walk into a 15-20 minute search. This was at least quickly rectified and we checked into our hotel Harry's Home before deciding lunch was a great idea.

We strolled towards the centre, where as I remember most of the shops, bars and restaurants could be found. Walking around, you can see the mountains poking their heads above the buildings, the recent snows still visible on the peaks. It's stunning really. We settled on a café called 21, which I'm fairly certain Rich chose because somebody sitting outside had dogs with them. The menu was fairly limited. I made the mistake of ordering schwarze Tee; I did also specifically ask for milk, but this was so far from a good British cuppa and no amount of sugar could take away the bitterness. The waitress also disappeared for a substantial period of time, so getting the bill to be able to pay and leave, was far too much hassle. We eventually went back to the hotel for a nap.

In the evening Raffi and Vera had arranged for the English speakers to meet up for dinner and essentially get to know each other before the wedding. They had booked a table at Bierlokal (sorry your location might be blacklisted) and I’d sneakily checked out the location over lunch so I knew where to go, even though I’d been once before. Dinner was lovely; there were 3 others from English-speaking corners of the globe and a few others, who could speak pretty damn good English. Rich was relieved that he would be able to talk to people. Secretly me too, as I'm not sure my German would hold up to a non-work related conversation these days. After some tasty food and a number of drinks (gespritzter Weisswein, nothing too strong!) we did go back to the hotel in the end for some well anticipated sleep, 

All in a day!

Pest : Sorry, how many horses?

Ah day 2 of our city break. It really was a jam-packed few days and they really do merit individual posts!
We stuck to the Pest side of the river and had a rather easier morning, starting with a trip to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. In case you weren't aware, thermal baths are outrageously popular in Hungary and there are a number dotted around, each with a different selling point. Széchenyi is (I believe) the biggest. The façade of the once-grandiose building is crumbling and the paint is peeling. The place probably hasn't ever been renovated. If you pay for a cabin, expect it to be small. It's essentially a cupboard. Based on first impressions, I was beginning to think the place was heavily overrated. Outside there are 3 thermal pools, as well as a number of various pools, saunas and steam rooms inside.
You might see some old men playing chess, half immersed in the warm water. You might see old ladies attempting aqua-aerobics around other visitors. You might see a young couple or friends floating around the jacuzzi bubbles. It's a very soothing and very relaxing place and it's easy to see why the Hungarians go on a regular basis.
After freshening up back at the hotel, we continued out day choosing to amble up Váci Utca. This is a pedestrian street full of shops, cafés and tattoo or massage parlours. I'll be frank - it's not worth seeking out for the shopping unless you are particularly interested in touristy tat. For upmarket shopping, you'd be better off near the Opera House. However, we did find a pleasant café, in which to lunch on Hungarian food. The weather remained beautiful, despite being mid-November and this enabled us to eat outside. I noticed lots of places have blankets for outside diners, so it must be encouraged whenever the sun is shining.

Országház

From Váci Utca, we moved across to the river and took the tram up to the Parliament buildings (Országház) If you want a quick fix on sightseeing, without the legwork, definitely take that tram (Number 2 perhaps) for the whole route. You get to see nearly all of the famous landmarks, as long as you get a good window seat!
The Parliament Buildings, as you might expect, are impressive. There are peaks of Christianity in the odd statue of Saints hidden in some of the alcoves. It's quite the work of art. By the time we walked around the outside, the sun was setting, which cast the buildings in a soft glow. There are an awful lot of statues of horses dotted around as well.

Matthias Church in sunset

We mused around in the twilight passing a handful of memorials. The one to the left here peaked my interest, but I have to say, I have no idea what it was for.

From there, we made our way towards St. Stephen's Basilica. We had seen it in passing the night before, but you missed the grandeur in the dark. Entry is free to the basilica, although you can pay to go up to the balcony. Essentially you pay for a panorama. I'm sure it's a great view, but you can get (superior) panoramas for free across the river up the hills. Save your pennies. If you do want to splash out, go to an organ concert and buy a ticket for a memorable event.
I'm a sucker for churches, temples and all religious places of worship. I love the sanctity. Inside the Basilica there is some beautiful artwork. Towards the back, in rooms behind the alter, they keep a relic of St Stephen (Szent Istvan) who was supposedly the first King of Hungary. You can press a button to light up the relic for a few moments in order to see it so as to preserve it from constant light. I'm not fussed about relics. I don't see why that's more of an attraction than the basilica ceiling!
Having completed our sightseeing for the day and dusk falling more rapidy, we sought out a "cat café". They have 10 cats wandering around the café for you to pet, stroke, play with (cats willing). The cats mostly aren't that willing and want to sleep, but you can buy some cat treats, which does attract more attention for the cats!
The cats are all very placid from what I saw, but one to avoid if you have any allergies.

Our final evening was rounded off by exploring the ruin bars dotted around Pest. Our favourite was El Lato, which is run by volunteers and often does goodwill work in the area. They have an "alternative" playlist, just in case European Pop isn't your thing.
For great cocktails, dip into the tiny Pharma bar. You can probably only fit 8-10 people in the bar, but they do make an incredible selection of cocktails

Buda - an awful lot of walking

Determined to fit in as much as possible in to our short trip as well as on a budget, I had lots of things planned.

Liberty Statue

Shortly after breakfast, we marched over the river to Buda towards Gellert Hill. The goal obviously to see the Liberty Statue and the Citadella at the top. There are many paths through the park up to the top; don't be fooled, none are shorter or less steep, but they will all get you to the top. Eventually, which is worth it.
You get a beautiful view over the city from the top, especially if it's a lovely day. For mid-November, it was rather warm and sunny!
We posed for a few photos, before aiming to stroll down Gellert Hill, this time on the other side.

Garden of Philosphy

This didn't go quite as well as we hoped, as we found ourselves wandering around a little aimlessly until we stumbled across  the "Garden of Philosphy" by Nando Wagner, featuring bronze statues of 8 famous philosophers or religious figures. It sits in a quiet park, almost totally overlooked by tourists, but the tranquillity only suits theme of the installation.

Upon getting our bearings again down by the river, we followed the promenade up towards Castle Hill. We took the funicular up; we'd already tackled one hill that morning, two seemed like a big ask! It brings you out right atop Castle Hill with the National Museum and the Palace to your left. We didn't go inside either of these, although I'm sure they have their merits. Perhaps with a longer stay or on a rainy day. We continued however, to circle the gardens and the castle walls, taking in yet more panoramic views over Budapest, as well as the sporadic entertainment of street performers. It did get quite crowded along the castle walls, which involved fighting/waiting patiently for a good photo opportunity.

Turret on Fisherman's Bastion

Coming back around the far (quieter) side of the castle, we came back out by the funicular and made our way past the theatre and museums deeper into Castle District.
Over lunch we planned our day before stumbling upon Matthias Church before we knew it. We bought our tickets first, strolled the Fisherman's Bastion before entry as we'd just noted a large tour group ahead of us.
Beautiful as the Bastion is, it's mostly just walls with the odd turret, merely hosting further stunning views of the city. That said, there was a wedding photo shoot taking place, so it must make an impressive backdrop for you wedding photos.
Having explored the Bastion, we entered the Church. Despite the tourists, it is serene inside and beautifully decorated. You can also make your way upstairs to the balconies for some museum exhibits and a bit of history.
Although there are many "attractions" in guidebooks and marked on maps within the Castle District, not a lot of it is worth seeing. We ambled around quite a bit before settling on the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth takes you underground and into the maze of natural caves below the hill and is set up to tell the story of Count Dracula. The displays are quite dated, but it is entertaining and educational enough. There is the option to tackle pitch black and explore a small part of the caves with only a rope to guide you. A large part of me wanted to do that, but then a small part was relieved when my fiancé refused. We cheated; we followed the rope around the caves using smartphones as a torch as well. I am intrigued as to how Vlad the Impaler became the legend we know today; he has a very interesting story growing up as a political hostage.
We moved on from the Labyrinth, we again strolled past the Matthias Church on our way to Faust Wine Cellar, where we had booked a wine tasting.  If you are ever in Budapest, DEFINITELY go to Faust wine cellar. It is small and really rather difficult to find, but worth it. It is small, which makes it intimate, having only a handful of tables. It is run by a husband and wife duo, who are very welcoming. For the wine-tasting you can try 5 local wines, and get some breads on the side, complete with full tasting notes and assistance from the hosts. They go into lots of details on the wines. At the end you can have another glass of your preferred wine. We spent hours here sipping our wines, before realising we should probably find some dinner.
Buda is much quieter in the evening than Pest so we crossed Chain Bridge (not worth further mention) and wandered around until we found somewhere just off St Stephen`s Square after following a beagle. Oh yeah, everyone in Budapest seems to have a dog.

Well that was unexpected

Earlier this year, we booked a short city break - my only holiday of the year. Budapest was definitely a good choice.  As was staying in a 4 star hotel. Beats a hostel of my earlier travels!
I fell in love with the place very quickly and I'm left wishing we had booked a longer stay.
We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon. After a slightly worrying minibus journey from the airport, we were dropped at our hotel. We freshened up and hit the streets as we had tickets for the opera. We had a speedy dinner before the performance, just around the corner.
We had heard that the Opera House was worth a visit, so why not take in some culture at the same time? We saw Das Rheingeld by Wagner. It wasn't my first opera, as my sister is classically trained; even for me, despite my German abilities, enunciation was not great. Luckily this had English subtitles, as well as Hungarian. The production itself was nothing I've ever seen before. It was basically a post-modernist production of a story based around Odin (Donner was not translated into Thor, but I did eventually put two and two together to work this out) as well as a dwarf, some mermaids and some giants.
It was a lovely experience sitting in a box and the Opera House is indeed stunning  - opulent and intricate, gilded pillars and ceiling murals. A guided tour would probably suffice for most visitors, but if you're looking for something different, see an opera!

Sardines at the Wall Gates!

A little over a year ago, we headed to Dubrovnik. Early June. Everybody seemed to go last summer. We were hoping for a spot of sunshine. Despite being June in the Mediterranean, we mostly saw rain.
We arrived at the small Hotel Cosmopolitan. The owner is one of the chattiest people and so very friendly. He drew maps for us, gave us instructions and offered his local advice on what to see and do. He also invited us to join him for a beer to watch the football world cup.
And he has a dog, which went down well with my other half. Definitely a lovely place to stay.

Our week was pretty dominated by football; spending most evenings in a bar watching at least one match. By day, we tried to visit the sights.

We marched the city walls, which give spectacular views over the old town. The old town is essentially where all the points of interest are. It is full of alleyways, nooks and crannies. Easy to get lost momentarily, but wonderful for wandering! There are shops and restaurants tucked away, up steep steps; everything just waiting to be discovered. The only problem with so many places in the small old town, is that they relay quite heavily on using outdoor space. When the heavens open, it causes a problem! And oh did the heavens open a few times during our visit!

There is a beautiful church in the old town, which is definitely worth a visit. We bought a pass for the old town, which gets you on the bus, as well as including entry to several tourist attractions. Available for one day, 3 or a while week, it is worth the money if you aren't staying inside the old quarter itself.  Probably not so much if you don't need the bus pass as well, as to be quite frank, some of the sites aren't really worth visiting. We did in fact complete the whole collection (rain forcing us indoors more than the allure of the attraction). The aquarium is so-so and the house belonging to a Croatian author - let's be honest, the best bit is the guest book.
The nautical museum provides a wealth of information on Dubrovnik's history and is rather interesting - possibly not one for the kids.

As well as the old town, there are a whole host of boat trips that you can take. You just choose the one you like the sound of most. My partner and I opted for sea-kayaking. We were the only ones on our tour; possibly the grey skies and drizzle put others off, but we got our instructor and guide to ourselves. It wasn't too breezy so the paddling wasn't too difficult, but if you lack upper body strength completely, you may find that you start to ache very quickly. It was a great way to get out into the sea though and see the city from a  different perspective. We stopped for photo opportunities and kayaked round the nearby islands and into a beautiful natural cove - shame about the pollution really. Being the active person that I am, this was definitely a highlight of my week.

We also took the cable car up the mountain. There's not a huge amount at the top - souvenir shop and a restaurant, but you can see the cross monument and take in the views across the local area. There is a steep path you can walk, if not wanting to pay for the  cable car (not hugely budget friendly), but be warned - you do need to be quite fit to take it on!

The sun arrived in gloriousness for the last two days of our trip, coinciding with the arrival of 2 very large cruise ships. Dubrovnik is a popular stop for Mediterranean cruises and my word, don't you notice the difference when they arrive! We headed into the old quarter for our last full day and immediately saw a massive crowd by the gate nearest the bus stops. A non-moving mass of people. Upon further investigation, everybody was trying to get through the gate at once, then up the stairs to the walls just past the gate, plus the odd person trying to leave... it was chaos. Absolute madness. So we walked around the outside of the walls to the gate on the far side (there are at least 3 gates to the old town) and had no such problems anywhere else.

Dubrovnik was beautiful, but inclement weather does limit how much you can enjoy. It is not an indoor destination by any means. But if you love the sea and swimming, it will always appeal. Where else can you swim at the foot of a fort?

Wherever next

It's been a while. It's not like I've stayed in one place for the past 18 months, because I have travelled. I've simply not left the UK, though I have been the length and breadth of it.

Being so ... static has left me with a bit of an itch. Time to start planning a trip. having settled so thoroughly into adult life with responsibilities, I've realised how much harder it is to plan trips abroad and to travel. It seems to become much more about all inclusive week long trips to the beach.

I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied with that, not when there are still so many interesting places, cities and cultures to visit and explore.

Sticking with my emerging pattern of one country for every year of my life, I narrowed down my destination as somewhere I've never been before. There's so much of Europe left to explore, especially to the East, where better to go on a budget.

Watch this space. I plan to keep exploring, and there may or may not be some plane tickets at the ready.

"This one for your wife... no, husband!"

I'm well aware that this is a late entry and my trip to Marrakech was never fully documented. Equally, I didn't actually finish my travel journey either, but it is working as a memory aid!

So the day after the waterfalls, we took the shuttle bus into Marrakech city centre. Using my trusty guidebook, I had a plan. Strolling through the cyber park, purely as way to our destination. It's not an impressive park, but scattered around there are screens from which you can supposedly use the internet. Failed to see one in working order though. Perhaps they didn't like the heat.
Our first stop was Jardin Marjorelle, with its homage to Yves Saint-Lauren. This is a beautifully shady and therefore cool oasis in the summer. Putting this in the afternoon would have been a better idea, giving the option to shelter from the heat.
It is in fact a beautiful garden, striking blue features stand out from amongst the greenery. Although you're never far away from another tourist, it feels incredibly peaceful and so far removed from the rest of the crowded, busy city. I could have stayed for hours, if it weren't for the tummy rumblings. We left the gardens and found ourselves a wonderful Italian ice-cream parlour called Dino's. No idea any more where that is, but the banana split ice-cream was amazing. Well worth the elevenses stop.
Post ice-cream we followed the roads back towards the souks, past the far side of the Koutoubia gardens, home to the landmark minaret.
We never did make it into those gardens or to the minaret, but something in the back of my mind says we might not have been allowed anyway. Still, we got to admire from afar.
From there we made our way to Bab Agnau, which is one of the gates in the city's walls. It's a smaller gate, which a cannon sitting just to the left. There might be a reason for its location, equally there may not be.
The gate lead us into the medina, but away from the depths of the souks. There were a number of open shop fronts selling and making their wares. My pretend husband had his heart set of a hand-crafted wooden chess piece. We watched the artisan carpenter make some extra pieces. He seemed so delighted by the purchase and the French that he made us a necklace each with a chess piece. It's impressive how quickly he made something that is rather intricate.
By this point it was most definitely lunch time. We graced a small rooftop restaurant with our presence. Sitting in the shade, we had a great view of the city. You can really tell apart the affluent areas even when all you can see is roof top.

There's a monkey on my head

Marrakech. It's a place that's been on my hit list for a while now. It notched up a tick next to continent number 5 - Africa.

It's difficult to explain my first impressions. I'd been so hazy on what I expected that simply drinking in the crazy traffic the yo-yo scenery (palm trees, desert shrubbery, pristine golf greens, shabby house, extravagent new villas) it seems to be a place of extremes. The journey from the airport to the hotel allowed plenty of watching as we were staying far out in the Palmeraies in a rather nice hotel. Makes a change from the usual hostelling!
It took a day to get settled in, soaking up some of the beautiful sunshine (playing chess by the pool) for us to make the most of our trip. And by make the most of, I definitely stayed up to watch Andy Murray in the US open final. Shame I fell asleep 2 games from the end!
The following day we booked ourselves onto an excursion to the Ouzoud waterfalls. This was quite the drive away from our hotel, but we shared the trip with a German couple. We hired a guide once we arrived, who took us on a walking tour up to the top and around the whole falls and pools. The guide loved that my boyfriend and I both speak French and tried to conduct the tour in French, ignoring the poor German couple! I've never tried French > German interpreting before, so that was a new experience.

It was a hot day and I wish I'd had swimwear so I could take a dive into the pools as many people were. However the scenery was beautiful and it was followed by a delicious goat tagine lunch overlooking the falls. On the way back to the car, we finally found the wild monkeys we'd heard about. I got to feed them! One jumped on my head which wasn't quite so cool. So whilst the German lady and I were cooing over wild monkeys, the men were backing away, obediently taking photos and waiting with hand sanitiser.
The day was rounded off by the driver forgetting his phone and rushing back down to the restaurant and the car being double parked. So not the smoothest end to the day but a very nice trip indeed. Summarised perhaps by a quote from the guide "In Winter the falls are bigger because there's more water". Logical.

Finn McCool was a bit half-hearted really

I'm told flying into Belfast City is quite something with the runway being so close to the waterfront. Or something. It was pitch black when my plane was landing so I guess I shall never know.
This trip is in that grey area of abroad, with Northern Ireland being part of the UK (I now have the full set!), but it felt like a proper weekend getaway. With the rather large exception that it wasn't a weekend. It was short and compact. Amazingly it didn't rain. Just as well, given that I'd insisted upon visiting Giant's Causeway. It's N.I's most notable tourist attraction, I couldn't miss it. So we started the day with a solid breakfast before heading cross-country at moderate pace (new drivers aren't allowed to drive at over 45mph. Ever. How stupid) But we made it, handed our parking fees over and strolled down to the Causeway.
My first though was definitely "I love the sea!" It's in my blood. I have to love it. There's just something about the smell of the sea breeze. It's refreshing, tiring, and well... salty. I love it. I think I repeated the aforementioned thought numerous times. It probably got a bit boring for my companion.
My second thought was possibly "Wow. I wanna climb that big pile of rocks!" That was a recurring thought. It was the causeway. There are many, many rocks to be climbing. And while many people may marvel at the unique shape and formation of the causeway, the order of the day for all the but the old lady with a walking stick, seemed to be simply climb to the top of a pile of rocks and pose for a photo. Guess that's the inner child coming out of all of us.
After soaking up the view, climbing our little hearts out and meandering back to the car park on a less that direct route, we headed a little East towards Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge. The views are actually better here than at the causeway. The rope bridge is shorter than I had expected. We crossed over to the little island (if that's what you would call it) where there was a smidgen of commotion going on. There were whispers between visitors "Did you see the proposal?" which all became clear after rounding a corner and hearing a young Australian woman shout excitedly down the phone "Mom, we just got engaged!" Of course there was lots of fussing and photographs. I just wanted to know whether he'd actually proposed on the bridge. You can't deny that it's a picturesque setting for a proposal. Crossing back again was held up by an elderly couple trying to recreate a photo from the 1930's of his dad on the same bridge. Very sweet, but I do think they probably should have mastered using a camera before the attempt.
Our day was rounded off by heading back into Belfast, settling into the hotel. By settling in, I do in fact mean sampling the cocktails in the bar and a 3 course meal in the restaurant. (TIP: try a Kiwi meanie from the Fitzwilliam Hotel bar. It was delicious) Staying in a beautiful hotel certainly makes a difference to staying in a hostel.
The next morning was spent taking advantage of the hotel's amenities and breakfast before check-out. The rest of the day was spent ambling around the city centre. I'll be quite honest, we didn't really take in a didn't any sights. I lie, we walked past a few things - perhaps city hall? It was just a nice, slow amble around town, interrupted by stopping for coffee and a bagel. Belfast is quite small and I'm not actually sure what there is to do there. I saw a giant fish installation by the river and the giant lady with a hoop. To be quite frank and just a little bit un-PC, from the side you cannot tell that it's a hoop and it just looks like she's doing a "Heil, Hitler". It has quite the nice message behind it though. The day was concluded by a long, if early dinner at Made In Belfast, complete with staff meeting on the other side of the room. The pudding was amazing and the décor was delightfully quirky.
That made up all of my little trip and before I knew it I was back at the airport (in the dark again) waiting for my flight home. I'm still thinking about how much I love the sea :)

London - definitely a grower

London is still not one of my favourite places. Even so I get an overwhelming feeling that I'm going to end up there, particularly given that my trips there are becoming exponentially more frequent!. It's probably very good that my latest trip to the capital was in fact very pleasant.
First of all, life is so much easier with an oyster card. And cheaper. One less thing to complain about.
Secondly, I didn't get lost. I went one stop in the wrong direction on the tube, but that's of little consequence.
Thirdly, despite all the riots (and I did go to an area that was affected by riots), it doesn't look like London was recently bombed during WW3. Nope it's all fixed up.
This really isn't fair. I want to continue hating London, but the city gave me nothing to complain about. For once. No, I shall have to be content with an amazing concert and a wonderful afternoon with friends. Might leave it on my list for a while yet ;)

Lederhosen at Oktoberfest are not practical

The highlight of my little holiday is without a shadow of a doubt, Oktoberfest. The real deal, not Rocktoberfest that we have at my uni, or the copy that Sherbrooke have every year. Oh no the real, world renowned festival of beer. The one in September.
Raffi was insistent that we go in traditonal dress. As a girl that means I should have worn a dirndl. I wasn't game. a) I didn't know of anyone with one b) I definitely wasn't going to buy one. Instead I borrowed some lederhosen. very much cue feeling like a pratt for a very long time, pretty much until sufficient beer had been consumed. It was very easy to pick out the foreigners. They were they ones not in traditional dress.
Finding it involved following some people from the train station, in such clothing (very easy to spot). Hey presto we made it to what very much looked like a fairground at first. We made our way to a tent and sat down at a table. Not a very hip table mind you. There was a couple, minimum age of 60 sat opposite. The woman was drinking coffee. Far too civilised for Oktoberfest! A Canadian guy was later seated at our table. He was on his own and clearly sparked the interest of the aforementioned couple so that Raffi and I had to act as interpretors for his life story/their questions. The table over was hosting far more English speakers so we made a sly shift onto their table.

This hat seemed to be being passed around. I think it looked best on me. It may have belonged to the only other Brit I found all day! That's a Maß in my hand. There's lots of clinking of these glasses, especially when singing along to the live bands playing what I can only assume is traditional/Bavarian/folk music. Being my sociable self, I was befriending anybody and everybody so Raffi, the Canadian (may or may not have been called Brad - I forget) and 2 German guys, decided to change tents for a livelier one. The thing about Oktoberfest is that you need a seat at a table to get served and these tables are often reserved and if not, fill up easily. The idea being that you find a table and stay there all day long.

Our solution to this? We ambushed a table that a company had reserved for its staff. There weren't many of the staff there yet you see and they didn't seem to mind. I think they liked my lederhosen. By this time it was getting towards evening, everybody was a little bit merry and there came a point where it suddenly seemed socially unacceptable to be sitting down. Everybody was standing on the benches, singing, stamping, clinking glasses and having a jolly old time. Sitting down was at your own peril really. If your head is lower than someone's glass/foot/hand you will end up covered in beer, stomped on and possibly getting an accidental left-hook to the chops. Really, it's for your own safety that you stomp and sing along with everyone else!
Somewhere among all the joviality, we lost our table to the employees of the company it was reserved for (probably fair) and I found a group of Australians on an extended trip around Europe (anglophone radar in full swing) We joined the throngs of people not at tables, simply milling around, dancing to goodness knows what music. It was so packed, that it would be an absolute miracle if anyone was able to a) catch the attention on a waiter/waitress to order anything and b) anything ordered actually reached it's intended recipiant.
Either way, we forsook our places in the tent and went outside to explore the fairground bit. I dragged anyone and everyone on any rides that took our fancy. So most of them. Being majorly overpriced didn't seem to deter anybody. We rounded the night off with an ungainly helter-skelter, takeaway, lost wanderings around Munich and finally a snooze on the floor in the train station before catching a very early morning train back to Bregenz.
So Oktoberfest...
Was it as I expected? Not quite.
Was it good? Oh definitely.
Would I wear lederhosen again? Never. Going to the bathroom has never been such a pain.
Was it expensive? Naturaly, but entirely worth it.
Would I recommend going? As the travel expert that I am (ha!) I insist that everybody, particularly anyone who speaks/learns/likes German goes at least once in his/her lifetime.
It is AMAZING. 

Bin wieder da!!

I`d always known Bregenz was small. Still, it came as a bit of a surprise that within such a short space of time (I`d literally dumped my stuff at my friend`s and gone for ice-cream) I saw students, a former colleague and boys from the Marianum.
How I've missed ice-cream by the Bodensee. Proper ice-cream. Mmm.
The day after I arrived was my birthday (I'm telling everyone that I'm 19 now that I'm back at uni) so Raffi and I went to Europa park. It`s probable that I am the worst person ever on a road trip because I pretty much slept  the whole way there and on the way back too. Raffi insisted on the biggest fastest rollercoasters (damn straight) and I forced him onto the water rides and the ridiculously awful things, that were possibly supposed to be scary.
In true birthday style it was rounded off by a few EMK friends coming round for drinks and then heading out to Paschanga for a legendary Long Island Iced Tea für Erwachsene. They ought to be legendary by now, I've blogged about them enough. There were a few other people we knew also there, including a few that I'd played touch rugby with that once. Out of sheer laziness, I hadn't been speaking any German which lead to some hilarious moments. Well hilarious for myself and anybody who knew that I understood everything being said about me. The priceless moment when I finally turned round and said "Ich KANN Deutsch..." Brilliant. Proof that some Brits really can communicate in other languages without repeating ourselves more slowly and louder, with more and more gesticulations.
Whilst being in the general kind of area, I took a trip to Stuttgart to visit my lovely friend Laura. What's a few hours on a train and €40 when I get to see one of my favourite people? It was a rather cold, grey day, on top of being a Sunday which severely limits possible activities. We had a traditional German lunch (more to this cuisine than sausages you know) although I must admit I have no idea what most of what I ate was...
We went for a wander. Cue the following display of superior intellect :
"ooh, that looks a bit Welsh!" In my defence, from the angle where I was standing, the writing was upside-down. We met up with some other people (not really clear on who they were. I did however enjoy their Scottish accents) and mooched round a flea market where we spotted a colossal electric Donald Duck. We debated over its possible purpose. Apparently it waved and the eyes lit up. I sent some things flying on one stall and decided it would be better to keep a safe distance and not end up paying for ivory carvings. We followed this root around with some lovely hot chocolate, a brief visit to Laura's flat before I headed back to Bregenz. My overwhelming impression of Stuttgart is now overshadowed by my own ineptitude.
I rounded off my time in Bregenz (before Oktoberfest - keep your eyes peeled for a post) with a list of errands. A not-so-quick to the bank gave me a nice shiny sum of money, rather than it being held hostage. To make sure they didn't keep it captive again, I closed the account. This was followed by a trip to the school, where I fortunately found all the staff getting ready for an afternoon meeting. I therefore greeted everybody nicely, said hi to all the teachers and picked up my from so that nobody tries to claim back that well-appreciated ERASMUS grant, which I no longer have. Being just round the corner, I nipped up to the Marianum. This wasn't very exciting. I didn't have any post and nobody was around. Boring. However, it was ever so nice to make a trip back, even if I spoke hardly any German.

Top of the Morning to ya!

It`s actually a few months since my trip to Dublin now, but this post has been months in the making. Despite being such a short distance away, that weekend my very first trip to the Emerald Isle. It's funny, I assumed that had something to do with grass being green and there being lots of countryside in Ireland, but almost everything is green. Buses are green. I'm surprised phone boxes aren't green. Actually, I don't remember seeing any phone boxes so who knows what colour they are.
I got very excited upon our arrival, because signs are all in Gaelic as well. Obviously I prefer the Scottish variety, but still... We waited around for a bus, made our way to the hostel and moved in to our dorm, where our nostrils were instantly greeted by Man-smell. Clearly we were not in a single sex dorm. Clarification was later demanded as to whether we meant B.O or fart by man-smell. We're not certain.
Lauren and I went for a wander to find ourselves some alcohol and a bit of food for dinner. I say a bit, we did also have the €5 beer and burger at the hostel. Before long we were all dolled up and ready to hit the town armed with directions to Temple Bar (we didn't get there) and the helpful words "when you see the big pointy thing you know you're home."
We got a little disheartened by the cost of things. Entry, a single drink, a round.. it all seemed extortionate. Seemed is the wrong word. It IS expensive. We found a bar called Dandelion doing a deal - 3 Jaegerbombs for €10. aka 3 shots of Jaegermeister and a small can of knock-off red bull. Maybe it was real red bull. Who knows. We stuck to those. Somewhere in among our drinks, whilst wondering where to go, I asked a guy where he suggested. His suggestion was that we joined him and his friends. So we did. They were quite the nice group of Irish lads. They bought us all drinks and managed to get us free entry to the club. Although I'd earlier joked that the only way to have a cheap night in Dublin would be to find a group of guys, it hadn't actually been our plan! We went for food. Laura and Lauren made a beeline for McDonald's. I followed still chatting to some of the guys and one of them decided I needed a Happy meal. We then spent 2 hours in McDonalds with 2 of these guys before finally getting a taxi home. I spent a grand total of €15. Sadly, my shoes ruined my feet.
I assumed we would be the last ones sneaking into the dorm room. We weren't. A very very drunk young Irish boy strolled in around 7.30 who obviously wasn't in the mood to sleep as he started talking to everyone, opening the curtains and poking my mattress from his bunk underneath. Not the best night in a hostel.
Sunday morning! Finally time to start our sightseeing.
Traipsing round in some lovely sunshine was all very wonderful and we had took in a fair few sights: the castle (not really a castle and vaguely resembles Balamory on crack), some churches, some ruins, a park... but by the time we hit the Guinness Storehouse, my feet were dying. As the storehouse is indoors I decided wandering around barefoot would be perfectly safe and give my poor tootsies a break. One word of warning to anyone out there: you will end up looking like a third world child who has never seen a pair of shoes in his or her life. On the bright side I am now certified to pull the perfect pint of Guinness. That`s a certificate to whip out if I ever want a bartending job...
Oh well, from bar tending to bar-hopping. Not that we did that, but we did make it to Temple Bar this time round. Somehow we picked up a group of Americans. After the bars closed we headed back to our hostel armed with beer and the Americans and took over the games room in the basement. Cue some crazy version of ping pong (it would make sense to call it Beer Pong if such a thing did not already exist) which we played for hours. How many things I would have loved to quote yet can`t quite remember!
Our last day before our flight was much less touristy, although we did pay a visit to Trinity College. We spent most of the day shopping for Laura`s graduation outfit.
A fleeting visit to a city that definitely deserves much more time. I want to visit a distillery, some of the quirky museums (including the leprechaun one, I don`t care how awful it turns out to be!) and the things outside the city centre. Perhaps take in some of the green, that isn`t a bus. Just nobody tell Izzie (remember, the one from China) just how much I liked Dublin, I`ll never hear the end of it!

Austria, this one's for you :)

Once again, I'm back home with little to do. So, let's reflect:

Apparently I'm going to learn how to say 'hiccup' wherever I go. It's Schluckauf in German. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I hiccup on a regular basis, honestly it doesn't! Unlike at Sherbrooke, I can't quite think of any useless vocab that I've picked up. Well perhaps I won't use Einwurf on a regular basis. How disappointing. I like useless vocabulary.

Austria and I most certainly had our differences at the start. All my hopes of Austria clinging to that mythical German efficiency were well and truly dashed. I've complained about the lack of organisation far too often, even for my own liking. I can now add my bank's failure to transfer money to this list. However, I did enjoy my time in Vorarlberg. (Spell check wants to 'correct' this to Marlborough. Where is the link??)

It made me appreciate the smell of rain and just how picturesque rolling fog and wispy mist actually is. i realise just how random that sounds. As small as Bregenz is and as much of a city girl as I am, even I had to appreciate that it was beautiful place to live. I'm going to miss sitting by the lake enjoying the sunshine, not that Bregenz is perpetually sunshine, mind you. Already my tan is fading. After all the time I spent defending the British weather, it's now clear that I was simply deluding myself and it really does rain as much as everyone thinks.

There are not as many quotations which sum up this semester, although there have been plenty of humorous things said. It seems to work on the basis of songs instead. Haddaway's what is love? and Culcha Candela's Monsta to name but a few. I love songs that make you think of a particular person or place. Musical memories - simply the best. (I apologise already for that :S )

I'm not going to waffle about meeting rather wonderful people. Mostly because of the statistics regarding views in Austria. I'm not one for inflating anyone's egos. Therefore, everyone I met in Austria is distinctly average. :)

This semester I confirmed that I definitely don't want to be a teacher. I learnt that I'm ever so slightly dependant on my laptop and that I would make a rubbish interpreter since I forget English vocabulary on a regular basis.

Yet again I wasn't quite ready to leave. This is the thing with only doing 4 months somewhere. Just when you've finally settled in, it's practically time to leave again. On a slightly related topic, this month is the first full month I'll be spending in the UK since last July, so maybe I'll have the same attitude in September when I have to go back to uni. Who knows. However, this is the end of my year abroad. Bring on 4th year (and hopefully more travels :D )

Calypso didn't ruin my life then

Opting not to spend my last full day actually in Austria, I made a quick trip to Liechtenstein, purely for the novelty value.
What is there to say about that tiny little state? It seems that the nation comprised of avid stamp collectors. At least, there were stamp collections everywhere, on postcards, even on the floor of the main street. Quite the sign that there's not much going on there. They also seem to have a slight identity crisis, selling far too many souvenirs and things that are for Switzerland.
I thought Vorarlberg had a range of architecture, but Liechtenstein wins hands down for the pure craziness of some of the buildings.
The odd thing was the groups of athletes and East Asian tourists wandering around. Turns out that every 2 years the small states of Europe (less than 1,000,000 inhabitants) have their own Games and these just so happened to be taking place in Liechtenstein last week.  Well that explains the athletes at least.
Wednesday, being my last night, was not to be a dull one. The evening started by going for dinner with Maral and then for a few drinks. As well as Thursday/Friday being a national holiday, there seemed to be some big event going on across town so it was very, very busy! Later, Raffi joined us. Maral went home at a fairly reasonable time and Raffi and I continued the partying. We had our last Long Island Ice Tea für Erwachsene before heading to Calypso. I happily danced the night away, although it was very weird seeing the sun come up and then walking home in daylight.
The late night meant I was rather tired on Thursday so lugging my belongings on and off various modes of transport was not so much fun, especially with my hand luggage weighing in at over 20kg :S I was extremely grateful for the various people who helped me with them.
And so that was it, the end of my time in Austria. Auf Wiedersehen Oesterreich, cheers for the lovely send off. Heellllllooooo bonnie England.

Back to being a student bum

I just rounded off my teaching assistantship with a 1st class, doing ordinal numbers and realising I have absolutely no idea how to spell eighth or twelfth. Spellcheck is being put to good use right about now.
There hasn't been much taking up my last weekend, with the slightly large exception of our grill party and me being studious. The grill party started off with Helen and I trying to find an open supermarket. Once successful, she was then ID'd for beer. That's 16. When she handed over her driving license the young man at the till proceeded to ask "really??" in the most disbelieving manner imaginable. I found it hilarious!
We made our to the beach where we found Jesse being a model boy scout (although apparently he never was one) and building up a fire. Everybody slowly arrived in pairs pretty much and food was grilled, burnt and munched. Stones were skimmed/thrown. There was posing in front of the sunset. It was all really rather lovely.
Once it started to go dark we all made our way to Jesse's house, where we changed into white t-shirts (if need be) and wrote all over each other. Standard leaver's practice! You can see them in this photo >> as well as the game we were playing. I have no idea, it was like taboo, but not. I wasn't very good at it. Other events of the evening include playing the piano (we are quite the musical group) and waffling.
After sleeping a little on the floor, I helped Kieran take his stuff to the station, by which point I think most people had gone to get the first train home. I then wobbled home.
After listening to 'The Duck Song', with which at least half of 6bc seemed to be obsessed, my classes were nothing out of the ordinary. I spent the rest of the day in the glorious sunshine, down by the lake. I was actually really productive and it was nice to take regular breaks cooling down by taking a little paddle in the lake. My inability to apply sun cream evenly has yet again been brought to light. So although my tan is coming along nicely, I have random little pink patches. Darn British skin...
I got very restless last night though and needed to go outside. At first I went for a walk, but it was dark so I didn't stray too far. Then I went back outside and ended up sat with some of the boys from the Marianum. And a French girl. No idea what she was doing here. They all got told to come inside eventually (lol), but I stayed outside. Not because I'm badass, but because I don't have rules like they do. This time I just lay on the grass, observing the stars. They seem brighter here. I guess that's to do with less pollution. I still can't find Orion though. The Plough is the most obvious constellation here. At least to my eyes.  It was nice to stare at the night sky, headphones in and just soaking up the beauty of it all.
It's probably good that I wasn't in work until 11.50 today as I stayed up pretty late. However I'm fairly certain my neighbours were pulling an all-nighter studying. It was time to use my ear plugs.
I don't quite know what to do with myself this afternoon...

Wish I'd stolen the inflatable parrot..

I forsook my Friday afternoon habit last week despite the beautiful weather. Well, I took my essay down to the lake rather than a newspaper. It was productive. I wrote a whole section!
Saturday was a rather mixed up day. I did say I would go to Feldkirch with the other assistants as there was some sort of medieval market thing going on. However, I got entirely distracted by hunting down things for a Hawaiian party, which ultimately took me to Switzerland. I did however find a lei, so all was not lost. I also bought a new top, something I was later very happy about after I proceeded to spill food down my front. Why I'm telling the world this little fact is quite beyond me!
The Hawaiian party was sort of Hawaiian. The mass of flowers, inflatable parrots and men in Hawaiian shirts didn't really make the brass bands playing 'Waving Flag' by whichever numpty released it, or the Full Monty and more Hawaiian. It was however quite enjoyable. Raffi and I went for a few drinks in town afterwards. The were no stag do's this time but what I presume was some sort of hen night, as they were all dressed as dwarves (I think...).
Sunday was devoted to lesson planning. There may have been other goings on but my memory serves me not.
So I began my last week in Blumenstrasse. My classes have all gone nicely this week. Even the Wednesday that usual drive me crazy we nice. Although I think they enjoyed the activity I'd set for them. It involved watching the Big Bang Theory and very little talking. Plus I was offering sweets and chocolate.
I got roped into playing volleyball at the Marianum on Monday. While this was actually a lot of fun, clearly my technique needs improving or I should only use a soft ball.  I have a gargantuan bruise on my hand./thumb/wrist. It's not that obvious thanks to covering it in arnica gel asap but it's been pretty sore. (To be honest, the only reason I know it's there is because it hurt) Or I could just blame Christoph and Jürgen for being the ones to ask if I would play in the first place. That's a much better way of looking at it right? Definitely nothing to do with poor skills, even after I attempted to kick the ball and I ended up on the floor. Smooth.

After we finally stopped playing (it was pretty late) I realised I had some stuff to prepare for the next day and spent ages fretting about how to provide a vocab list for this picture >>>
Normally I just give explanations of new vocab in English but I had to provide translations this time. Correctly finding out what a ruff/ bodice/etc. is in German without the help of a German speaker? Stressful.
The class went OK though.
I went to my last house group on Tuesday. We had pizza and I took chocolate. It was really nice. Plus they gave a German bible which they had all signed as a present. Aren't they lovely! It was kinda strange saying bye though.
On Wednesday after more sunbathing (it was a frequent activity at the start of the week) we went for a few drinks at beach bar. Evening by the lake is pretty :)
Yesterday seems to have been erased from my memory banks. This probably means I did very little of actual interest. Oh no wait, I went up the Pfänder!! This was quite the lovely thing to do whilst it was still sunny. Sadly, it was clouding over on my descent and I did get caught in the rain. Better than the fact that I was quite loudly singing along to my iPod whenever I thought there was no-one in earshot. Mostly this worked, apart from when I didn't spot a man sitting in his car. He laughed at me and said at least I wasn't bad at singing. Tiny bit embarrassing, perhaps??
Today the rain persuaded me to be a little more productive. As much as I enjoy sitting in the sunshine with my essay, it's not the best way to get it written. I went to the library again. I'm around 2/3 of the way through my essay, and I got given a supervisor yesterday. I'm a wonderful student :D
Oh and I finally booked a flight home.

Donner and Blitzen ♫ dasher and dancer and...

I've discovered the library. Not that I'm a bookworm, but it is incredibly helpful for researching my essay. After a few days hiding in the politics section so I could open a window and enjoy the sun (if it was there, it mostly hasn't been) I discovered the Kuppelsaal. It's pretty :) This made a much better revision spot until I got chased out yesterday by people setting up mics and repeating "testing. eins. zwei. drei. testing." Of course there has been some teaching involved too. Nothing too exciting. 

I'm a little distracted. There's a thunderstorm going on at the moment. The rolling peals of thunder are immense and the lightening bolts are ever so slightly mesmerising. I opened my window and sat on my windowsill for a while. Little bit cold to stay there for too long. It was absolutely gorgeous today as well. I did some work outside, soaking up some rays. It was after I opted to sit in the big basket swing thing that work got put to one side. Much better to just lie, swing and enjoy the good weather no?
Last Friday provided a brief dry spell, long enough that I was able to carry out my tradition of reading a foreign paper by the lake. Some random guy started talking to me. He thought I was French. He ranted at me about how much better Austria is than France. I jumped at the chance to run away, meet Jesse and get my camera back. There's some interesting photos!!
We had a barbecue. How lovely :) Afterwards Raffi and  I went out. I came home with drawings on my arms. This has something to do with running into a bachelor party. The ink was kinda stubborn. The next day was also very lazy, but in the evening I set off in the pouring rain for Bludenz. There was some confusion over the plan, which resulted in me sitting unnecessarily in Feldkirch for a while. By the time I arrived it wasn't long until the last train again so I opted to just stay over. This involved catching the end of The Life of Brian in German (I've never seen this before) and being told off for not taking up enough of the bed.
After a good lunch and a bit of a gossip about the Vampire diaries finale, I made my way home. I ran into Xan at the station so he came to get his coat which had been sitting in my room since the police brought it round. My tiredness was making me anti-social so I spent the rest of the day as a recluse, maybe watching some TV. That is until my epic skype sesh with the Sherby ladies. We might be in 4 different time zones and have microphone difficulties, but we had a 3 hour catch up and it was amazing.
Which brings me to this week. Very few of the teachers seemed to know I was there this week so lots of my lessons have been cancelled or simply unable to be found. I could moan about turning up early to sit and around doing nothing but I won't. Especially when in the 4 classes I had today, I've done about 15 minutes of actual work. More time to work on my essay sitting in the sunshine :) or on facebook chat. One of the guys here told me to spend less time on that. Oops. I've also munched my way though a LOT of chocolate. It helps me study :D