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  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    1
    Day 50

    Day 50: Travel Day

    August 9, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today we travelled from Lauterbrunnen to Munich on a total of 4 trains in 8 hours. It was rough as we were so sore and stiff from rafting, but we made every train and I watched a decent amount of Netflix.

    When we got to Munich, we wanted to see how much a massage was. Turns out they are cheaper here in Europe so we decided to get one. She kicked the crap out of me.

    Before we had our massage, we grabbed salads at the restaurant just outside and they were so good. We've been eating so much pasta, sandwiches and chilli on this trip that salads were certainly a nice change!    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    1
    1
    Day 49

    Day 49: Interlaken, Switzerland

    August 8, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Today was awesome!

    We went Rafting in Interlaken and it was a lot of fun. We ended up choosing the day it chose to storm so we started rafting in the pouring rain, but it ended up being sunny the minute we pulled into the lake (which was at the end). Regardless of the rain, we all still had a lot of fun.

    We were on a boat of five so we had to do quite a few practice drills. Since our boat was lighter, we had more of a chance of flipping compared to the other two full boats. We each had to get in the water and be rescued. Since we were an odd number, I was rescued by our "Rafter Master" (not sure what they are called) and he ended up pulling me right out of the water with one arm onto my face in the boat. And then we had to rescue the other side so I ran to the front to pull in one of our boat mates and everyone else forgot to pull in Zoë. We all had a good laugh. We also all got beat. You don't realize how much of a workout Rafting can be!

    After rafting, we went back to take our showers and then went to relax in our favourite cafe. We had the best brownie and berry banana cake. When we got back to our room, our roommates had their portable rice cooker out and we're making a few servings. It was certainly one of the more interesting roommate stories that I've had on this trip.    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    21
    Day 48

    Day 48: Jungfraujoch & Lauterbrunnen

    August 7, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today we travelled to one of the largest glacier Alps in Europe, the Jungfraujoch. It was really neat (and painfully expensive), but it was totally worth it. We saw incredible views, went in the ice palace, walked in the snow and ate our lunch overlooking the glaciers.

    After we got back around 2:30, we read there was a community BBQ at the pool so I suggested we go check it out and spend some time at the pool. Turned out there wasn't much of a BBQ or people for that matter, but we enjoyed a nice afternoon nonetheless. The pool was overlooking the Staubbach Falls and the Alps. It was weird going from 0 degrees on the Jungfraujoch where we were freezing to sitting in the sun dying of heat. 12,000 feet surely makes a difference.    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    1
    12
    Day 47

    Day 47: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

    August 6, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Today it rained, rained and rained, so we went to a cafe to figure out our game plan for the day and take advantage of the Swiss chocolate (or at least I did). Zoe is all about the cappuccinos. She actually made me laugh right when I was taking a picture as she made fun of me for being so excited about my hot chocolate and cake. The blueberry cake was exactly like how my grandmother used to make it! And the bathrooms had black toilet paper. She would have loved Switzerland. <3

    After our snacks, we took on the walk to Trummelbach Falls. It had stopped raining so we were confident that we could do the 40 minute walk. It starting pouring on us half way through and we got soaked, but we heard that the Falls were a good activity for a rainy day (the falls are inside a cave). Turns out, it's only inside for a small portion so we still got rained on, but the falls were really cool. It drains from the three largest Alps in the area and the current is so strong. We met a nice lady from Wisconsin who got lost on the walk there so we walked all together and she was nice enough to take pictures for us.

    After the falls, we took the bus back as it was pouring and we were so excited to shower. Once again, one of the best showers of this trip. We then made dinner, chicken with zucchini, mushrooms and pesto pasta. It turned out really good and we have leftovers for our lunch tomorrow. We also met two girls from Oregon who we will be meeting up with in Munich and a nice couple from Washington. Seems like everyone we talk to is heading to Munich from here so we seem to be heading in the right direction. :)    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    111
    Day 46

    Day 46: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

    August 5, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    What do you do while you're in Switzerland? You hike (and eat a lot of chocolate and cheese)!

    So that's exactly what we did today. We took the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and hiked our way to Allmendhubel. The hike was challenging at times, but it turned out to be a really nice one. We had a gorgeous view of the Alps and saw plenty of cows. Apparently Switzerland has the happiest cows in the world.

    When we got to Allmendhubel, we hung around in the Flower Park and were waiting to take the last cable car down to Mürren. The waitress said it would warn us when to get on, but it didn't, so we missed it and had to walk to 45 minutes down. It wasn't too bad. When we got to Mürren, we took the cable car down to Stechelberg and bussed it back to Lauterbrunnen.

    Thank god we made it back in time to eat a cheese fondue. We wouldn't have wanted the cheese to go bad. ;) It turned out to be so good. It's a mixture of cheeses that they serve with bread, potatoes, chives, onions, garlic and mushrooms. We devoured the whole thing and I got a Swiss hot chocolate and a mini chocolate bar which were amazing too. Thank god I don't live in Switzerland. It would be very bad for my health and my wallet.    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    111
    Day 45

    Day 45: Zurich, Switzerland

    August 4, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The first thing that came out of people's mouths when we asked them how they liked Switzerland was "its expensive". We knew it was going to be more expensive, but we really weren't expecting THAT expensive. To give you a good idea, it costs $9 CAD for a small coffee at Starbucks and $33 for a bottle of contact solution. If you want a Big Mac trio at McDonalds, you're looking at $20 CAD, but at least a Swiss Army Knife is cheap.

    After our minor lapse of shock, we took the scenic route to the Zurich Zoo. Zurich is actually really nice and the zoo was a lot of fun. We saw monkeys so up close. We saw gorillas, elephants, sloths (!!) and more. It was a nice way to spend the day and we even got to see a Seal show.

    On our way to our hostel from Zurich, we had to take three separate trains, but we made every one of them and was able to make the check in before 10 pm (woot).

    Zoe compared our running from station to station to make our 4 minute transfer time to suiting up for mission impossible. It must be funny to watch us run with our big backpacks on our backs, small backpacks on our front and two reusable bags full of food. We think we're running fast, but we look like two penguins.

    As for our hostel, it's really nice and cozy and our view is incredible. We've got a waterfall right outside our window.

    I heard that visiting Switzerland was my grandmother's dream. I'll try my best to see the most for the both of us. <3    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    Day 44

    Day 44: Innsbruck, Austria

    August 3, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Everywhere you walk in Innsbruck you can see the mountains. It looks like the view is always out of a calendar.

    Today we took the Hungerburg Funicular up to the Hafelekar which is 7,400 ft up. We took pictures, enjoyed the view and met a bad ass two year old who's climbed the mountain with her mom over 75 times (according to the mom).

    We took a walk through the city and saw the famous Golden Roof and Triumphal Arch. Before we did any of it, we also grabbed breakfast at The Breakfast Club. It was priced really well for Austria and was really good! We were laughing because their breakfasts are 1/3 of the size of Canadian ones (but their menus make them sound so much bigger).

    For dinner, we wanted to try authentic Austrian food before heading to Switzerland. We found a good place on Trip Advisor and walked all the way there to find out it's closed for summer break until the 10th of August. We ended up going to a random restaurant to have Schnitzel and potato salad. It turned out to be really good.

    When we got back, we threw in our laundry and started packing for the next day. Whenever we learn how to use a machine we switch places and have to learn again. No one was there to help us with these machines unfortunately and google translate was no help. We ended up having our clothes in the dryer for three hours. Thankfully we hung the clothesline in the backyard to hang up the stuff that didn't.

    Note to self (and future backpackers) = clothesline and clothes pins are essential while backpacking.    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    Day 43

    Day 43: Innsbruck, Austria

    August 2, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today was such a good day.

    We took the train from Salzburg to Innsbruck and got to our Airbnb around 3 pm. We settled in and then took the bus to Swarovski Kristallwenten and it was the coolest thing in the world. We walked through the coolest museum ever, saw the worlds largest cut diamond, went through the labyrinth and I went in the play park while Zoe stretched outside. The play park was for adults (too) and had trampolines, slides and rope spider webs. It was actually pretty cool.

    To finish off the night, we stayed for the outdoor showing of Burlesque. Can't believe I never saw that movie before because it was sooo good and it was so fun to watch it outdoors. If only we were staying in Innsbruck longer and could go to every movie showing.

    To get back, we had to walk 30 minutes to the train station, take a train and then walk another 25 minutes home. We didn't want to miss the train as it was the last one of the night so we asked the restaurant employees to call us a cab to the train station. Turns out she was headed our way so they offered us a lift. They were so nice and gave us tips on what to do on our last day in Innsbruck. They were angels.

    This is one of those posts where I wish I could add 50 pictures.    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    Day 42

    Day 42: St. Wolfgang, Austria

    August 1, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today, our plan was to take the earliest bus to St. Gilgen and grab the ferry to St. Wolfgang to then hike up Scafbergbahn (1,783 meters). People told us it would take us three hours and then we'd go swimming in the lakes for a bit before heading back for our 7:30 Marionette show of The Sound of Music. It didn't quite go as planned.

    We grabbed the earliest bus (with our new friend Anna from Sweden) and got to start hiking at 10 am. This hike was the more difficult hike I've ever done. At 1:30, we got to the first train station and Zoe decided to take the train back down. I didn't want to quit so Anna and I kept going to the top and we finally made it at around 3 o'clock.

    Took us five hours, but the view was incredible and I was so happy when I made it. Anna and I ate our lunches, walked around and took in the view from every angle. When we went to go get train tickets to get back down, the next available one was at 4:25. No time for swimming. :(

    Zoe ended up heading back early so she could shower before the show. Anna and I had to make every next transport on time or I wouldn't make it back to the show. We ended up having 5 minutes to run to the ferry and then 15 minutes to run through the town of St. Gilgen to grab the bus. I originally wanted to take a quick shower myself, but there was no time and I took the bus straight to the show, getting there just on time to freshen up quick and meet Zoe.

    Needless to say it was right down to the wire in terms of me making it on time, but I'm always last minute so nothing new there! The show was actually really cool and it was a fun way to see the Sound of Music for the first time!

    We then grabbed McDonalds and "walked" back. Zoe took us the longest way possible so I actually hailed a taxi with 1 km left because the 25 minute walk was already at 45 minutes and I was exhausted and so excited for a shower. That shower turned out to be the best one ever.    Read more

  • celiajohnstonEurope Trip 2017
    Day 41

    Day 41: Salzburg, Austria

    July 31, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today consisted of food shopping, visiting the Mirabell Gardens and the House of Nature/Science Museum, seeing the house where Mozart was born, walking around the city and then taking a "short cut" which turned into a pretty steep hike with really nice views.

    As we were walking through town, I saw cute postcards with Dutch writing so I asked this guy to translate a few (turned into all of them) and he spent a good thirty minutes explaining them all. Turns out a lot of them are funny in Dutch, but it doesn't translate well in English.

    Our "short cut" through the park ended up being a really steep 3-4 km hike, but we ended up having really nice views. I thought I stepped in poison ivy by accident so I showered right away when we got back while having a slight heart attack, but then I googled it and it turned out it wasn't poison ivy... so all is good. :)

    We also met all 8 of our new roommates tonight. They are all super nice. Two are from Brazil, three from Minnesota, one from Sweden and Zoe met the last girl, but I didn't so I'll have to get back to that one.

    For supper, I ended up making chilli for the first time and it didn't turn out so bad! I consider it a success and we will for sure make more before our trip is over. #proud    Read more

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