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Euro Winter
  • Jarrod Dietz
dec. 2023 – feb. 2024

Euro Winter

En 71-dags äventyr från Jarrod Läs mer
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  • Jarrod DietzEuro WinterResenär

    Milan Round 2

    10 januari 2024, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Because I had seen Milan many months ago, I wasn't overly fussed to explore much of the city and instead chose to spend time planning the next parts of my trip. Eventually, though, my parents and I decided to go to Duomo. Although I had already seen it, I was keen to see the other parts that were not open when I went. On our way, we stopped by the Sforzesco Castle, the Parco Sempione, and saw the Arco della Pace, the latter of which I didn't see in my first visit to the city. Though, it was much nicer to visit without huge crowds. When we arrived at the duomo, however, we faced the same fate that I suffered upon my first time in Milan. Every Wednesday, the museum and other cathedral are closed, and you can only see the duomo. Although the main attraction, I had seen it last time I was in Milan and so figure there was no point going again. While my parents explored the cathedral, I walked around and did some window shopping before catching up with them and finding somewhere to eat. We found a pasta restaurant I had gone to upon my first visit and recommended we try it. It was a seafood restaurant and it was amazing. Even better than the first time I went. After this, we once again returned to complete some travel planning, this time being far more productive. Due to a somewhat early train trip, we headed to bed early.Läs mer

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    Lake Como Train

    11 januari 2024, Italien ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    Although today was little more than a travel day, it was one of the more interesting that I have had during my travels. This was because I would be able to finally visit Lake Como, something I missed in the first part of my trip due to financial constraints. Even still, I would just be seeing it via a train ride, and we wouldn't have any opportunity to stop and smell the roses. Nonetheless, it still made for a very exciting train ride and a nice travel day. After a few hours of taking photos and completing journals, we arrived at the small little town of Tirano. We arrived just as a lot of restaurants were beginning to close for the Italian ciesta, so rushed for a quick feed. After this, it was early afternoon, and so began to see what the small town had on offer. A part from a nice man-made river running through it, with the typical clear and light blue water from the alps, there wasn't a lot on offer. We walked to see a small cathedral that was built on the location in which the virgin Mary appeared to Mario Omodei, and although not looking like much from the outside, was spectacularly detailed on the inside. Every inch of the walls and rooves contained the statue or sculpture of an angel, a priest, a Saint, or some other religious figure. The patterns and detail that the cathedral contained made it one of the most shocking and surprising that I had seen. This was about it for our afternoon, we walked back along the river and had a drink in the afternoon before hitting the shops for some groceries and parking up for the night.Läs mer

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    Birthday on the Benina

    12 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ -6 °C

    My 26th birthday would be spent in a very special way as we would cross the border from Italy to Switzerland and begin our journey through the alps. This started by catching a train along Lake Como before ascending through the snow-covered mountains of Europe. This was incredible. We got to watch the landscape change from green and vibrant to the smothering white that engulfed all the trees, rocks, grasses, and mountains. Before long, the only sight within our grasp was the very tips of trees and the endless white that sparkled as the sunlight hit it. This was personified when we approached the highest altitude of our trip and came across a "reservoir." This was a water source during the summer, with one side emptying to the Mediterranean and the other entering into the black sea. However, at this time of year, it appeared as little more than an ice desert, seeming devoid of life. To our surprise, as we continued along the frozen lake, we began to see kite-snowboarders, utilising the power of the wind to propel themselves through the snow. It was an interesting way to snowboard and not something I had ever seen before. It did look very fun, though. Shortly after this, we approached a location in which we could stop for some photos and soak up the magnificent view at one of the highest altitudes I had experienced on my travels. 2091m above sea level. I believe the only time I've been higher was when I completed Bobotov kuk and the Serengeti. We then continued our travels through the rugged mountains weaving through the valleys and crossing mountain paths until we arrived at the station of St Moritz. Unfortunately, we only had about 2 hours on the train, but it wasn't particularly comfortable, so by the end, I was happy to be able to stretch my legs. This meant that when we arrived and looked over the lake at St Moritz, we gathered the courage to complete the walk to the hostel as opposed to a bus, which would have been easy to catch. Although this meant that we had to drag our bags, it hardly took away from the beautiful landscape that lay ahead of us. The mountains that surround the city provide a perfect backdrop to the alpine town, the ice lake, the beautifully frozen trees, and the occasional semi frozen river. These rivers gave an insight into exactly how clear the waters are. Capturing melting ice from the mountain, there is little opportunity for pollution, and so they remain crystal clear. The air was so brisk when we arrived at St Moritz that even the trees had developed a layer of frozen ice on its branches, as though replacing its leaves for the winter. This white facade to go with the snow-covered paths, lakes, and mountains meant that it encapsulates the ski town perfectly. After about an hour of walking, due mostly to us enjoying the scenery, we arrived at our hostel just an hour before we could check in. As such, we dropped our bags and backtracked along the river to get a better view of what the town had on offer. We saw people playing, walking their dogs, and ice skating on the frozen river, showing how they transformed the space during winter. We learnt later that they even host horse racing and polo events on the lake during winter. The cold didn't stop the locals from enjoying Gluhwein, hot chocolate, or a coffee outside and soaking up as much of the sun as possible, while it was still in the sky. After we endeavoured onto the frozen lake and enjoyed a warm drink ourselves, it was quickly getting cold as the sun's strength dwindled. As such, we headed to the supermarket to get some groceries for the next couple of days before going back to the accommodation. We enjoyed some drinks to finish off a great birthday and rest while we defrosted in the rooms.Läs mer

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    St Moritz

    13 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☀️ -4 °C

    As we aren't the most avid skiiers, and St Mortiz is mostly a ski town, we kept our plans simple and tried to wander around the river and see what the town has to offer. What we found was that we do not have the gear capable of spending much time in the snow. We began our day with a quick body warming Gluhwein before cracking onto the river walk. Because the start of the walk is protected from the sun by the mountain, the icy path and the slight breeze was piercing through our many layers. It didn't take long until I had completely lost feeling in my toes and had to pick up the pace to try and find some sun again. About halfway through the walk, my toes began to seriously hurt, I simply didn't have the shoes capable of surviving in these alpine regions. Although I did thoroughly enjoy the walk, I enjoyed the second half more where I could soak up some rays and let myself thaw out. Luckily, the moment we began walking in the sun, my toes stopped hurting, regained feeling, and began functioning properly. Although quite weak at this time of the year, the difference the direct sunlight makes on your body is insane. As such, we completed our walk around the perimeter by ending where we started yesterday, at the train station. Here we found a cafe where we could stop for a Gluhwein and rest. After this, we began our tour of the town to see what might be on offer. Though the town centre was as small as the town itself, it had all the stores that you might expect from a luxury alpine ski town. Gucci, Prada, and all the rest lined the streets. This made our wander significantly quicker as we obviously saw no desire to pop in and have a look around. That being said, we could hardly complain as the town itself was beautiful and warranted exploring. The tiny houses with pointy rooves, unique architecture, and colours truly made the walk worth it on its own. We saw a few landmarks that the city has, mostly a couple tours, before continuing back down the hill toward our hostel. We stopped for some groceries again to keep us going as cheaply as possible before calling it a day.Läs mer

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    Glacier Express

    14 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C

    Having seen some of the most beautiful sections of the dolomite while travelling on the Benina Express, we knew that the Glacier Express was going to be next level. Instead of 2 hours, we were in for 8 hours of beautiful train travel through valleys and mountain ranges that rivalled those seen two days earlier. Though this time, we sat in luxury, a spacious, comfortable seat with audio information pieces, traditional Swiss music, a drink and food menu, all to go with some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen in my life. We started with a small ascent toward the town of Chur where we experienced some fantastic mountains and icy landscapes, we then fell in altitude slightly and regathered ourseleves at the foothills of the alps, witnessing beautiful rivers and frosted green trees. Shortly after this, we began our ascent back into the mountains. This began the highest we would peak as we approached the town of Andermatt. Funnily enough, I had friends current here skiing, and although we stopped for photos, we never ran into them. When we stopped here, we were close to our highest altitude and got some of the best views. It was honestly the closest I've ever been to having my breath literally taken out of my lungs. Whether you attribute this to the cold or the view is up to you, but I could barely believe my eyes. Seeing the skiiers and snowboarders carve down the hill while overlooking the beautiful mountains has truly given me a good enough reason to take up the sport. Not only does it look endlessly fun and thrilling, but the views you get while doing it have to be some of the best in the world. Even as we continued on the train, the endless number of slopes we passed only reinforced the fact that snowboarding gives you plenty of opportunities to see the mountains while you have fun. Perhaps on my next trip, will i give myself time to pick it up. Once we passed Andermatt, we began our descent again, though the views didn't stop until we hot the town of Brig. By this time, we were truly in the valley, and although there were still some magical rivers, the mind-blowing mountains were well and truly behind us. After 8 hours on the train, we finally arrived and witnessed the beautiful town of Zermatt for the first time. It was so quaint and amazing. Though small and simple, it had a great atmosphere, with plenty of holidayers and skiiers not too afraid of the cold to stop them from a night out. We briefly went for a walk after we dropped off our bags but were sure to not spoil too much of the town for ourselves. As such, we stopped for a famous Swiss hot chocolate and then once again passed by the supermarket for some dinner before bed.Läs mer

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    Zermatt

    15 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ 🌫 -3 °C

    As is quite typical with some of these ski villages, there isn't a lot to explore if you don't plan to go up the mountains. Though it would have been good to take the cable cars up to see the views, these were well over 100 aud, and we didn't see the justification. Not only this but a lot of the famous walks are far too difficult and dangerous during winter and our gear is nowhere near suitable to the conditions. As such, our day started quite lazily, but the day was so beautiful that we forced ourselves outside to try and capture the Matterhorn from the town. Unfortunately, although still a decent day, the conditions up the hills were not nice enough, and clouds had blocked our view. We could see portions and a minor outline, but not quite the full thing. The second photo shows our initial sighting. It was disappointing, but we had remained hopeful that it might clear up. As such, we wandered along the river that splits the town in half and watched the beautifully blue water curve around the ice covered rocks in a flurry that cuminates in tiny waterfalls scattered through the waterway. The water was so clear you could easily see the bottom. I'm convinced that if you dropped a book into the water, you could still quite easily read it. We then explored some of the older parts of town, where some buildings appear to have never been renovated since their construction. These tiny wood huts were built on concrete slabs 2m high to combat the thick snow that clearly falls here throughout the winters. So simple and cold looking, it was great that they kept these parts of the town to get a good idea of how life would have been many years ago. Whether they are in use or simply there for the history, I am unsure, but it was great nonetheless. We then explored the town church and saw some of the main street we briefly explored yesterday. After this, we stopped for some breakfast and enjoyed a coffee before heading back to the hostel to chill and get some respite from the cold. Like I said, we had already explored most of the town, and therefore, there wasn't a lot else to do, so we waited for the museum to open later in the day. As we sat in our accommodation, we watched the weather turn bad with dark, thick clouds covering the town with quite heavy snow. Although normally quite a happy experience, we were sure this would impede our view of the Matterhorn that we still held hope of seeing. As things worsened and worsened, we all but abandoned hope and began our journey to the museum. The cost, like many things in Switzerland, did deter us in the end and decided to enjoy a nice hot chocolate instead. We did this until just before sunset, when we began our journey to a viewpoint. By this point, we had expected nothing more than a view of the city lights in the night sky. But as we began our walk, the skies opened up at the perfect time, and there we stood in the awe of the Matterhorn and all its glory. Our first glimpse saw the top smoking as the sun began to melt away the snow on its peak. We fastened pace up the steep hill in case this was just a brief break in the weather. But when we arrived, the clouds had almost completely left the sky, and we had been gifted with a truly magnificent view of one of the most iconic mountains in Europe and the world. We could not believe our luck. To make things better, the longer we stayed, the clearer the skies got. Eventually the the Matterhorn stopped smoking, and the skies became completely glassy, just a perfect gradient of the different shades of blue that nature is capable of creating. I must have taken hundreds of photos. Picking just a few is surprisingly difficult, but I couldn't help myself. We stayed watching for what must have been close to an hour before the cold eventually got to us, and we had to begin the journey back down the hill. Words can't describe the site, and photos can hardly do it justice, but it was a highlight of my trip so far.Läs mer

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    Interlaken

    16 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Today, we would be leaving Zermatt, after an extraordinary last day, and travelling to Interlaken. Finally, and sadly, we would be leaving the snowy alps to adventure into the lake-side town of interlaken. Though still cold, but without snow, it was a welcome return to some climates we were more suited to. We arrived early in the afternoon, after a beautiful few train trips out of the alps, along the Thunersee Lake, and through some very cute little towns. Once we arrived, we began our walk to our accommodation and admired the beautiful canal system that runs through the town, showing off the incredibly clear water and adorable alpine houses that situated themselves right against the river. Despite being winter, some of the plants were fighting to keep the towns colour and vibrancy. Grass remained green, and even some flowers were showing colour against all the odds. Once we left our bags at the accommodation, we went exploring. We found a cute little cafe where we could enjoy a drink, but then found ourselves in between the lunch and dinner times, where most restaurants close. As a result, we continued to explore and read some of the information pieces about the town before heading to the supermarket and collecting some groceries for the next couple of days. We were still in Switzerland after all. It was a relaxing afternoon once we got back, we enjoyed an easy meal and some beers before having an early night.Läs mer

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    Lake Brienzersee

    17 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Interlaken is quite a small town, and we quickly discovered that we had managed to explore most of it yesterday afternoon, and so figured we would catch a bus to Lake Brienzersee, and enjoy the long walk back. Due to being the low season, when we got off the bus to explore the suburb along the lake, it felt more like a ghost town than anything else. We wandered around to see some of the parks that ran along the perimeter of the lake and got some photos before eventually beginning the walk back into the centre of interlaken. The walk back was amazing, and we wandered from the Brienzersee to the river Aare that runs through the town. Eventually, we arrived in the parts of town that we didn't explore yesterday that included a Japanese garden, a couple of churches, and a very old looking law school. As such, we deviated from the river and explored this part of town. Although iced over with the Koi fish frozen in place, the Japanese garden was still very nice to see and made for a nice photo with the church in the background. After this, we began to explore the churches. Both were quite modern relative to the outside and had beautiful stained glass mosaic windows that lit up the church in an amazing display of colours. We then continued our walk through the park and the main centre of Interlaken before arriving back home after a decent stint of walking. We chose to rest for the rest of the day and recover for our travel day tomorrow.Läs mer

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    Bern

    18 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    After a short trip to Bern from Interlaken, we arrived too early to check into our accommodation. So, we went exploring. This started with the parliament building. An incredibly impressive building with an even nicer view of the old city. After this, we walked across the Aare river to see the Einstein Museum. Although not entering, it was still a cool building with an interesting statue, Welttelegrafen-Denkmal, commemorating the importance of communication and remembrance out the front. We then continued our walk back across the river to see the main attraction of the old town. The city has three roads that date back as late as the 12th century when the city was first formed. This is reflected in the simplistic design of the buildings. Long rows of connected buildings, normally around 3 levels high, that would once have accommodated the whole city. The building facade, on the ground level, contained the stalls or markets that held up society in the city of Bern. The architecture is similar to the Hassmann style of architecture in Paris. The long, straight roads, with a single and constant duplex that lines the road, goes for hundreds of metres and only ends at the Nydeggkirche protestant church where the city reaches the river. Nowadays, a bridge exists in which you can cross and see the city from the hill. For today, though, we simply returned the way we came and saw the main cathedral of the city on our way back to the accommodation. The cathedral was quite impressive but quite dark and undergoing considerable renovations. Unfortunately, this meant that we could not see the main attraction of the cathedral. The roof is covered with over 100 faces, with articulate detail that makes the view incredible. We did not see any of this, but we also didn't pay any money to enter, so we can't really complain. After this, we stopped by the famous Zytglogge clock tower on our way home.Läs mer

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    Snowy Surprise

    19 januari 2024, Schweiz ⋅ ⛅ -1 °C

    Today, we had awoken to discover a considerable amount of snow had fallen and covered large parts of the city. We had not noticed throughout the night, but it was evident as soon as we walked out the door. As such, we backtracked our steps from yesterday to some degree to see how different the city looks under a vale of white. This meant wandering through the parliament building and the old town, all the way to the Nydeggkirche protestant church. However, this time, we figured we would continue to the other side of the river and see the rose garden. We figured that despite being too cold for roses, it would still look nice with the snow and would have great views of the now white city. As we crossed the river, we also wandered through the BärenPark, or the bear park. During every other season, you can sit and watch bears wander around their enclosures, like a zoo in the city centre. But, because it was winter, they were all in hibernation and so were not visible. As we continued up the hill, we were disappointed to learn that the main walkway to the rose garden was closed. This is likely due to a slip risk during the cold winters. We did, however, find another way to access it and walked toward the garden. It was too nice to miss. The white trees enclosing the path and snow-covered surfaces made for a blissful tunnel to a beautiful park. The views of the city did not disappoint. We spent some time wandering around the park before heading back into town for a lunch reservation we had made. After almost a couple weeks in Switzerland, we had still not tried fondue (due to costs), and given I would be leaving today to head to Geneva, and eventually Madeira, it was our last chance to try it. It was a nice experience, but as someone who isn't obsessed with cheese, it did become a bit much after a while. We stuffed ourselves with as much cheese and bread as we could physically handle, to get our moneys worth, before going back to the room to chill. After a while, it was time for me to head off and catch my train to Geneva. I said goodbye to my parents for a couple of weeks and boarded by train to Geneva. Luckily, it wasn't too long, and eventually, I arrived. After looking lost, a nice guy began to converse with me and even offered me a place to stay on his couch surfing house. Unfortunately, I had already paid plenty of money for a hostel in the city and so he kindly showed me how to get there and said bye. After I checked in, I grabbed my tablet and headed to the bar for a drink, and watched AFCON. I didn't know it, but this began a series of events that I came to regret endlessly. A nice Venezuelan girl then came and sat with me, and we had a few drinks before we also met an Irish girl. They convinced me to go out somehow, despite not being able to afford clubs in Switzerland and having an early flight the next day. You can guess where this went. I spent a lot of money, didn't have a lot of fun, and lost plenty of sleep I so desperately looked forward to.Läs mer

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    Madeira

    20 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    My plans for Madeira had been somewhat squandered by the fact that my Australian driver's license had expired about a month ago. A lot of the rental car companies I contacted said that I would not be able to rent a car without a physical, up-to-date license. This was very sad, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. I woke up early, got the bus to the airport, got on my flight to Lisbon, waited around for a couple of hours, and then boarded to Madeira. The flight leaving Geneva provided one of the most beautiful scenes I had ever seen. I was glued to the window as we flew away from Lake Leman, over the alps, and toward the Mediterranean. Eventually, though, I did arrive in Madeira, and I had to taxi to my accommodation in Porto da Cruz. It is a small, coastal town, but it is supposed to be very beautiful and a great hostel. After some time, I arrived, dropped off my things, and went to the main area where I met a German and a Dutch girl. They also did not have a car but were mostly staying around the hostel, doing surfing lessons and local walks. So I was once again on my own to try and find a car.Läs mer

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    Maritimao

    21 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Upon a recommendation of a friend, I was told that I have to go to a Nacional game. One of the local Madeiran football teams. I was in luck, too, as they were playing today in Funchal, the capital of the island. The difficulty lay in getting there without a car, but for now, I would spend the morning calling Sarah and planning Central America, exploring the local area around Porto da Cruz, and talking to the people in my hostel. They were nice enough to help me plan to get to Funchal. I planned my trip horribly as I arrived on a Saturday, and Sunday and Mondays have much less availability of public transport. Nonetheless, there was one bus that left to Funchal in the afternoon and should get me to the stadium just in time to get a seat. They did warn that they are incredibly unreliable, though. Although i was excited, I was also apprehensive about the whole ordeal, I was hoping the bus would arrive, tickets were available, and I'd be able to get an expensive taxi home. Yet, had I stayed at the hostel, I would have done nothing. So I journeyed up the hill, sweating considerably by the time I arrived, and sat around waiting for my bus. I waited close to half an hour, and just as I abandoned hope and began to walk back, it arrived. I figured this was some form of sign, and so I got on. I had about a 30-minute walk to the stadium, but it was nice as I got to explore the city of Funchal as I went. As i walked, i wandered past a rental car company that seemed legit but maybe dodgy enough to not care that I only have a digital license. When I spoke to the lady, she said that it would be fine and that I could grab a car tomorrow from Machico. It's a huge relief and very good news. When I got to the stadium, though, I received some horrible news. They had sold out of tickets. I spent 2 hours getting there, and would have to pay 40 euros to return empty-handed. I was gutted, and so, unsure what to do, I sat around and pondered by bleak situation. Then, out of nowhere, a man came up to me and asked if I wanted a ticket. Though I was once again skeptacle, I said that I sure do, and he offered me one for 50 euros. Although I would be wasting a lot of money by not going, I wasn't willing to double down and pay 50 euros for a ticket. When I said no thank you, he offered me the ticket for 10 euros. I was slightly confused by this. He was either very nice, horrible at bartering, or was planning to rob me. But given how much I had invested in this ordeal, I figured why not try my luck. Eventually, he got me in the stadium and sat with me, saving the day for me. He then explained the situation at Maritimao (the football team) and that he is an ambassador for the club. He said that this is a very important game for the club because the only 2 Madeiran teams were playing (making it a derby), in the final game of the season, with the teams being 3rd and 4th respectively. No wonder tickets had sold out. So, although I was at the Nacional game, it was in the stadium of the other maderian team, Mairitmao, and thus, they were my team for today. The atmosphere was incredible, and although the game started slow, Maritimao scored an incredible goal at about the 30th minute, sending the stadium into raptures. Just before the second half, maritimao scored another goal to make it 2-0. But Nacional clawed one back and started to dominate the second half. It seemed only a matter of time before they equalised. But against the run of play, Mairitimao scored a third at the very end, and the crowd went CRAZY. It was so much fun and one of the greatest experiences in my whole trip. Flares went off, the stadium was shaking, players ran into the crowd, the fans ran into the pitch, and the chants rang around the whole stadium, nearly blowing my eardrums. It was incredible, and I was so thankful to Luis for letting me experience it for just 10 euros. Even as I left, the friendly nature of Madeira only continued as a young girl walked with my back to the city centre. She tried to get me to go to a rave with her, but given the day I had, I was not really up for it, so I passed and began my journey home with an incredibly expensive taxi.Läs mer

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    Airero -> Ruivo

    22 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The main hike of Madeira, Pico de Airero to Pico de Ruivo, which takes about 8 hours there and back, was my main target for today. This is probably the one time that not having a car, kind of worked in my favour. Because I had to taxi there and back. I didn't have to complete the return trip of the hike and instead could simply do the trip one way and taxi home from Pico Ruivo. Meaning it would take 4 hours instead of 8. That being said, I did extend the walk significantly. When I arrived, however, much like yesterday, I was faced with a hell of an issue that nearly ruined the whole day and cost me a lot of time and money. After about 45 minutes and a 40 euro taxi, I walked to the beginning of the hike and found that it had been closed off. But given how much i had already invested, I could hardly back out. There were still some people completing the trail, and so i figured maybe it was just a complete at your own risk type of deal and jumped the tape, and started the journey. I figured people wouldn't be on the track if you couldn't get all, or at least most, of the way through. Not long after, I had started as I walked along a ridgeline from one mountain to another, I was nearly blown clean off the mountain. The winds were extreme, and I wondered if maybe that was why it was closed. This was also the part of the journey that is notoriously narrow and gives it the name stairway to heaven. Holding on for dear life as I crossed the Ridge, fighting the wind and my slightly shaky knees, I composed myself enough to make it across. The rest of the walk was mostly out of the wind, and so the enjoyment was considerably higher. Because it was closed, it was also very quiet. This, plus the unbelievable beauty, thrilling walk, and unique landscapes that the trail holds, made it one of my favourite hikes I've ever completed. Although starting off quite steep and treaterous, creating the best views but also adding a bit of stress into the mix. It didn't last long, however, and I began to traverse the mountain faces and even walking through tunnels that extended for a hundred metres. Although pitch black and quite dodgy, it was also quite cool. This part of the walk also became much more green with birds and other animals. It is, however, also where the walk began to become much more difficult. There were lots of ups and downs, and the stairs started to become painful. This is also the section of the trek where I found the reason that it had been closed. There was a landslide that took out a portion of the trek. But, it was only about 20m of path, and given its an 11km walk, it seems like overkill to close the whole thing just for this reason. Not to mention, it wasn't hard to traverse. You simply grabbed onto some tree roots and lowered yourself around the path. Nonetheless, I managed it and continued to the final part of the main hike. This was my favourite part of the hike. The trees, after years of being battered by the extreme winds, died, turned white, and bent to conform with the winds power. The result is a green and lush landscape with the white skeletons of trees creating an eary and interesting contrast to the rest of the landscape. It was really cool to walk through and under, and I had some great photo opportunities as a result. Sadly, this was the end of the walk, and I arrived at the other end of the hike that had been closed. This is where I made a bit of a mistake. Instead of walking to the Ruivo peak, I accidently headed toward the exit and only realised by the time I arrived. As such, I had to backtrack about 5km to finish the hike and see the peak before returning again to the end of the hike. Although it was gutting, I felt I had to see the peak after all the walking I had done, and I don't regret it. I still had a bit of energy and couldn't miss out knowing I mightn't ever return. It was an incredible hike and a really massive highlight of my trip so far. This made my first two days in madeira some of the best i had ever had. So far, so good. When I finally reached the end, a second time, I enjoyed a big meal and a beer and began to scout a taxi home. I apparently got very lucky and called the last taxi in Madeira. When he arrived, a couple of girls had no choice but to jump in with me and complete my journey before starting their own. When I arrived back at the hostel, I showered, relaxed, and met the new girl in my dorm, MJ. We went downstairs and sat with everyone for pizza night and enjoyed our first Poncha. The traditional drink of Madeira. And it is strong. Very lemony but still very nice. We drank and watched the AFCON until it was late enough to head to bed.Läs mer

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    São Lourenço

    23 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    This morning consisted of little more than relaxing and recovering from my hike. But once midday hit, I figured it was time to get the day going. As I had packed my things to grab my rental car and complete the Sao Lourenco hike to the East, MJ had arrived in the room. I invited her to join me, and we headed off to grab the car. A quick coffee break meant that we missed the guy at the car rental and had to kill time for an hour while he had lunch. As such, we wandered the town of Machico some more and bought a deck of playing cards to kill time. Eventually, it was time, and we picked up the car and headed to San Lourenco for the hike. Because it was much later in the day, the track was much quieter and much nicer as a result. It was quite a long walk, but MJ and I chatted for hours and stopped for a quick swim, ensuring that time went by a bit quicker. The walk was incredible, traversing and zig zagging from cliff face to cliff face looking vertically down for 100m+ into the Pacific ocean. It was unbelievable and made you realise how secluded we were on this little island in the middle of nowhere. As we approached the final stage of the walk, we noticed that this had also been closed off. You can see from one of the photos the amount of the land that had been lost into the ocean at the final ascent to the top. Providing quite a thin pathway to get through. But, once again, we weren't going to back down. We continued up and were rewarded handsomely with an incredible view. 360 degrees of ocean and beautifully green landscapes. We spent quite a bit of time up here embracing the experience. It was only when we realised there was no one else within sight that we started to head back, beginning our race with the sun to get back to the car before it was pitch black. It was as we went down that we began to see how much damage the landslide (or landslides) had caused. We could see where the path once stood. Pieces of timber once creating a smooth and gradual incline, now lie in a huge ditch at the bottom of the hill. Remediation will take a long time and will likely be expensive. As we were then forced to climb our way down, we understood why it would be closed. We were fine, but other tourists mightn't be so lucky. We were probably 15 minutes from the car when it became pitch black. This meant that we got to watch a beautiful sunset, but now provided a much higher chance of falling right at the end. We did make it, however. We had planned a to picnic at sunset, but our dawdle through the hike meant that this was no longer an option. Instead, we went to the viewpoint that was on the way home and saw it during the night before heading home. When we arrived, we were too lazy and hungry to make anything, so we went next door for a feed and some poncha. A quick and easy meal that was quite cheap, too. It was quite an early night after this as we needed to recover from a big day.Läs mer

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    25 Fontes

    24 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    I was once again due for a pretty large walk today, making it three from three in Madeira. I was tired but the island was too beautiful and there were too many nice walks for me to waste any time. Today, I was teaming up with a couple of German students from the hostel to complete the 25 fountains walk. We had planned the hike on Monday night as we watched Ghana get knocked out of the AFCON in incredibly dramatic fashion. As such, we headed off at about 10am and drove toward the Western part of the island. Although the hike was quite chill, the steep and long descent at the very beginning was something we knew we were not going to enjoy on the way back. Nonetheless, we were greeted by some cows that welcomed us on our hike. This was very different from the other hikes I had done. Whereas Pico Airero was mountainous with incredible views of island, and San Lourenco was grasslands with steep cliffs and ocean views, this hike was mostly flat, in the valley, and showed off some of the most beautiful waterfalls the island has to offer. It was significantly cooler as a result and thus was a welcome change. Although it's winter, it's still comfortably into the 20 degrees, and so can get hot when walking in direct sunlight. This was shaded, and had plenty of cold water spraying to cool you down. Although the walk was beautiful, once we started to see some of the waterfalls, it got even better. Sadly, much like the other walks, this had a section that was closed off. Luckily, we could continue around it quite easily, but it was disappointing to miss one of the waterfalls. The first waterfall we saw was the main one and was quite busy. Although I have heard you can swim, the number of people getting photos, and the small amount of space available, I decided against it and we continued to the next waterfall which was going to be much quieter. Sadly, we couldn't swim here, however. Surprisingly, the second waterfall was even bigger than the main waterfall, and I actually thought it was more impressive. I suppose the fact you can swim there brings more tourists in summer. Nonetheless, we didn't stay for too long, just got some photos and began the journey back to the car. This was unfortunate as the hike ended on the hardest part of the track. Soemthing I wish was reversed, but sadly, this wasn't an option. We did eventually make it back yo the car, and we could head off. I dropped the girls back to their accommodation in Porto Moniz and headed back to the hostel to chill. When I arrived, MJ had just finished work and suggested we make a curry for dinner. As we were in quite a small town, we were restricted by the ingredients we could include but made it work. By the time we cooked, ate, and cleaned, everyone else had gone to bed. We decided to stay up a bit and watch a documentary before heading to bed.Läs mer

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    Rest day

    25 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After 3 big days of hiking, I was incredibly excited to give myself a break and do nothing. A part from a quick wander to the beach, some travel planning, reading, and journalling, I achieved next to nothing.Läs mer

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    Santana

    26 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    I had hiked myself to exhaustion and so chose to do the more touristy activities, and this included the town of Santana. They are known for their tiny, traditional huts that have been converted into shops and markets nowadays. It was about midday by the time I started my journey, and I didn't need to spend more than a couple of hours in Santana. Although cool, it didn't feel particularly authentic, and it was more of just a tourist trap if anything. They sold some cool stuff, but it was expensive simply because they sold them out of their little huts. There was one hut that you could walk through and see how they used to live as it hadn't been altered in decades. This was the most interesting part of the trip, and the coffee liquor upon entry was an added bonus. All free, too. After this, I headed back to Machico to chill out as I very much like the little town. I had a swim and a drink before going back to the hostel in Porto da Cruz.Läs mer

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    AFCON

    27 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Although the last couple of days had been lazy, I was still quite low on enthusiasm and chose to dodge the hikes again today. MJ and I had decided to go camping in a couple of days, so I figured I would embrace civilisation while I still could. As such, I found a couple of nice spots around town to read my book. It was quite a rough day today, and the waves were in full force. This meant I found a nice spot to watch the waves crash against the rocks and watch the surfers. I also had to check out of the hostel and stay in a hotel for the night while I waited for our camping to kick off. After all this, I went back to the hostel for pizza night, where I hung around with everyone, enjoyed some pizza, and watched the AFCON. It was a very chilled day but a very nice day. It was a dramatic day in the AFCON, as Namibia lost to Angola with a player on each team getting sent off, causing a huge upset.Läs mer

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    Camping Catastrophe

    28 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    I started my day by extending the rental of my car in Machico, going for a swim, and then picking up MJ after her surf. We attempted to go and pick up our camping gear, but oddly enough, his opening hours had about a 6 hour gap in the middle of the day. As such, we planned to come back at 7pm when his hours started again. Until then, we wandered around the town of Ribeira Brava and got a great feed at a restaurant that a friend recommended. After this, when we went back to collect the gear, the man said that he was closed and would not allow us in for an appointment. Why we need an appointment to collect camping gear is beyond me, and why he wouldn't just give them to us when we arrived was confusing. He was likely just an angry old man trying to teach us a lesson. He had stated in an email to arrive for your appointment from 7:30 - 10:00, without staying in the am. Given these were his exact opening hours (excluding the gap in the middle of the day), we figured we could come any time. Regardless, he was being difficult and refused to help us. As such, it was nearly 8pm, and we were stranded. MJ was a bit torn up by the whole ordeal, but I was sure things would be fine. We wouldn't be able to camp but we could find some alternatives. Mj managed to find a great little cabin that was not camping, but the next best thing. Despite being 8pm, the owner was super friendly and was very nice to allow us to check in. It was a super cute place to stay that even came with a cat that stayed in our room every night. We arrived, made an easy dinner, and had a couple of drinks before we crashed.Läs mer

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    Seixal Road Tripping

    29 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After last night's ordeal, we did very little this morning and instead chose to sleep in, chill in bed, and explore the area around the cabin. There was a beautiful little stream that runs right next to our room and even a beach further upstream. Eventually, we went to get some breakfast before going on a road trip through the western part of the island. We had originally planned to do a hike, but MJ and I were both short on energy, so we conceded and decided to have a chilled day. The road trip was really cool as we saw some of the greatest nature that was visible from the road in Madeira, and it made for a very cool road trip. We ended the journey by popping into Seixal, another small coastal town with some beautiful sea pools where the waves crash into the walls and rush into the (somewhat) unaffected natural pools. We stopped here and had a quick snack before deciding to go for a swim. MJ wanted a photo in the pool, so she went first, but the waves were still very rough, and as she went to enter a wave came over the wall and rushed toward her. She was knocked back to the stairs, and although she avoided any harm, we decided against a second attempt at entering. The waves were crazy rough today, but we thought that this area was protected enough to avoid a lot of the swell. Clearly not. After this, we went back to the room and made some dinner before putting on a movie and heading to bed.Läs mer

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    Canyoning

    30 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today was my last full day in Madeira. To make it special, MJ and I decided to try something a bit more exciting than a hike. Unfortunately, this meant that we would miss the enchanted forest hike in Madeira, which we were very keen for, but the weather just wasn't quite what we needed it to be for the full experience. Plus, I had done many hikes in Madeira and was keen for something new. The experience meant that we could go and explore some of the hidden or unknown sections of the island and try canyoning. Although I had done it many years ago, I was curious to see what it was like in Madeira. In hindsight, a bigger waterfall to do the canyoning would have made the experience great, but we still very much enjoyed repelling down waterfalls, cliff jumping, and occasionally sliding into the water below. Given that it was winter, the water was very cold, but it didn't stop us from enioying the experience. We repelled down about 4 waterfalls, did a couple of cliff jumps, and completed a rock slide. The river we were walking through and exploring was beautiful and felt incredibly untouched. We were the only ones who booked the tour, so we had the whole area to ourselves and had so much fun. Although it only lasted a few hours, we felt like we got some good value. Once it was done, we headed to a couple of viewpoints on our way home, mostly due tk being lost, but got a nice view of Porto da Cruz, where we had spent the last week. Seeing it from this perspective, you realised how small of a town it really was. We enjoyed the view for a while before heading back to the cabin and enjoyed our final night before I left Madeira.Läs mer

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    Adeus Madeira

    31 januari 2024, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We had an early morning today to allow me time to drop MJ back to the hostel and get myself to the airport before my 11am flight. The last week and a bit with MJ have been great, and we got along very well from the very first day. So saying goodbye was quite sad, but I'm glad I had someone to enjoy Madeira with. After dropping her off, I headed to the airport, returned the hire car, and waited for my (delayed) flight. Regardless, I arrived in Lisbon at about 2pm and checked into my hotel straight away. I purposely picked a hotel near the airport and the bus station so that I didn't have to travel far to get to Cordoba. This did, however, mean that there was little in the area in terms of tourist attractions. I could hardly care as I only had the one full day in Lisbon and planned to use it to relax. As such, the rest of the day simply included grocery shopping and watching netflix.Läs mer

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    Travel Day

    2 februari 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I was due quite a long travel day today, and it all kicked off at about 6:45 am when I had to leave my hotel and head to the bus station. My bus then left at 7:30, and went for about 8 hours and had me arriving at 3 pm in Seville. Unfortunately, unknown to me, there is a time difference between the two cities, and so I missed my train by almost an hour. Another 20 euros later (40 euros total), I finally got on the right train and arrived in Cordoba 45 mins later. After a quick walk, I arrived to reunite with my family near the centre of cordoba and enjoyed a nice catch-up drink on the balcony, overlooking the busy street below. This ended over 10 hours of travel, and so resulted in an early night. Sadly, before I went to bed, I watched Australia get knocked out of the Asian cup by South Korea. A shit end to a quite shit day.Läs mer

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  • Jarrod DietzEuro WinterResenär

    Cordoba Cathedral/Mosque

    3 februari 2024, Spanien ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I had seen very little of Cordoba, but from my brief walk to the hotel, I knew it was going to be a beautiful city. As such, my parents walked me around some of the nicer parts of town where we saw some Roman ruins, the roman bridge, some nice gardens and courtyards, and got a sneak peak to the world famous patios of Cordoba. Eventually, though, we arrived at the main attraction. The cathedral / mosque that has existed from the 6th Century AD when the construction of the cathedral was completed. Then, the Moroccan and Muslim ruler crossed the straight of Gibraltar and converted it into a mosque for many centuries. Again, though, the Christians regained control of the region and reconverted the monument into a cathedral in the 13th century. Despite the changing of control, the building still reflected each time period, and instead of consuming the previous building, they instead expanded on it. This meant that there are clear and distinctive periods and cultural influences from the religions throughout the structure. As you enter the historical site, the main design is that of a mosque, with arches and pillars very prominent, Islamic chandeliers, and the typical detailed Islamic scripture engraved into the walls, as is seen in the alhambre. This is also reflected in the outside courtyard, that although having the orange trees that you find in a lot of monasteries, the outside structure reflects a more Islamic style. As you proceed through the structure, you find the main naive of the monument where the Christian influence takes centre stage and steps up the grandure significantly. Built during the later centuries, the large centre structure dwarfs the rest of the site, with an enourmas roof, a huge altar that expands to the ceiling, and choir stalls that lay in the background to provide the best viewing of the rest of the transept. After some time for admiration, we continued to wander around the site and eventually had completed a lap and headed for the exit. This was easily one of the more impressive cathedrals I had seen. Containing the grandure you may expect from a large Spanish cathedral, but with the unique traits you might associate with a mosque. Both styles seemed to blend in a stylistic fashion that ensured there was a clear distinction between the styles without feeling invasive or uncomfortable. As we headed out we walked around the exterior, and, much like the courtyard, the outer walls of the building are much more reflective of an Islamic style. Many of the original walls have been restored, but some remained original, and so you could see a before and after effect. After this, we headed to try some tapas. Although I have spent quite a bit of time in Spain before, because I was on my own, I never got to properly experience tapas. As such, with the family, we got a nice assortment of tapas, including squid, croquettes, potatoes, red peppers, and a collection of seafood. It was very nice and great to have a variety of Spanish dishes all at once. Once we enjoyed this and a drink, we moved on. We then continued to the famous Roman bridge that was once the main entrance to the city. This area also has a heavily restored version of the main gate. This was cool to see, but the dirty and limited water in the river made for difficulties in getting a great photo. Nonetheless, it was interesting to walk along. Our final site for the day was supposed to be the patios of Cordoba, yet when we arrived, all we found were empty streets and closed doors. It was a Saturday, but apparently, we had missed them. This was disappointing as it was one of the main attractions of Cordoba, but we had no option other than to move on. We stopped for a quick drink before continuing to one of the patios we knew was open. This was very crowded and a bit overdone, but it was on the way home, so we figured it was worth a visit. This was the end of the day and as such we then situated ourselves on the balcony, and in typical Spanish fashion, watched the world go by.Läs mer

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