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Europe 2022
  • Martine Nyhof
  • Martine Nyhof

Europe 2022

A 63-day adventure by Martine Read more
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  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Gruyeres

    September 5, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Sorry, do you recognize that name? You say cheese? YES! Next stop was a medieval town where Gruyeres cheese originated! We went into the castle and I was just amazed at the article dating back before the 1600s. Like. That's more than 200 years before Canada was even founded. Then after we had lunch. How can you not have a cheesy lunch when in Gruyeres. YUM. Piet wasn't too impressed because it spoiled dinner but it was SOOO good.Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Horses!

    September 6, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I know...it's been a long day. Next stop - Horse Farm! So a little back story, Natasha is a jumping horse back rider and owns a horse and lives at the barn. How amazing!! She had a lesson this afternoon so it was nice to just see like...60 horses 😱

    To cap off the day we drove up to one of the tallest mountains in the range (not the alps) and we could France!!! 🤩 Beautiful spot    Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Scoot Scoot!

    September 6, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    SO FUN!! Natasha and I took a cable car up to the top and walked half way down and then took scooters for the bottom half!!! Amazing views the entire time and what a great way to get down 😎 (you wanna see some speed you wanna see some real speed - if you know you know)Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Suspension Bridge!

    September 6, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    On our way back home, we stopped by a HUGE suspension bridge about 150m high from the ground! Yet again, beautiful views and just a different way of seeing Switzerland. The views never get old😍

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Hut Hike Day 1

    September 7, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    (can you see the sweat and how tomatoes red my face is) Today I hiked up to the Blüemlisalphütte SAC from Kandersteg! I hiked over 1600m of elevation in 13km :) Long story short I could have taken a cable car up to the lake and cut things down but...my pride of not cheating and my university budget had me walking the extra couple km and about 600 more meters of elevation 😎 getting to the top was AMAZING! Such great views. I did it in record timing because I knew there was a storm rolling in just about when I was going to get to the hut. Luckily it was an hour and a half later but it came in full swing. We got hail, snow, rain, thunderstorms, lightning...the whole 9 yards. At one point the hut closed all of its doors and was not allowing anyone outside because it was too dangerous!!Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Hut Hike Day 2

    September 8, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    I got up in the morning, had some breakfast, and hit the hills (another cheap moment - I packed all my food - dinner and breakfast - because you could eat at the hut for 40 Swiss Frank's?!?!? Same amount as staying Blüemlisalphütte SAC the night!!! I think not!) Sleeping was good. I could hear the storm outside going bonkers with rain and wind.bLuckily there weren't many guests that night because there was only a divider between every 2 beds so if there were more people I could've been spooning a stranger...but that wasn't the case luckily. Today was easy peasy because it was all downhill and only 7km. Before heading out, I stood at the edge of the glacier!!! How cool 😝 I met this other solo hiker which was great...until I realized we hike at very much different paces. Anyways I committed to hiking together for the leg but after we parted I was zooming!Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    108 km with 6km elevation Race

    September 9, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Go Ellie Cookson! Just wow. Incredible. What a day. Ellie Cookson is the niece of Kim and Piet and she competed in the UTMB Wild Strobel Crans Montana 108km race. We were the support squad supporting her through her 17hr race. What a journey. We met her at pit stops in Kandersteg (43km), Adelboden (59km), and Lenk (78km). She was leading for over half the race and finished 4th!! What a super star 🤩 (we look pretty Canadian eh?)Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Goodbye Switzerland😭

    September 10, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Welp, after an AMAZING week in Switzerland, it's time to head to Italy! Switzerland was amazing, truly one of my highlights. I was so ready for the outdoors, hiking, and enjoying the spectacular views. Tough leaving but all travellers have been raving about is Italy, so I've got some good things coming! I will come back to you Switzerland 😩🤩Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Welcome to Florence

    September 10, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    And now I'm in Florence! After some go go go action in Switzerland, it's now a change of pace to the small town, laid back Florence. The canal that goes right through the city is beautiful! To catch the sunset, I walked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (learning this was a VERY popular place to watch the sunset on a Saturday evening!) There was a street performer so I joined the crowd to sit and watch the sunset on the steps! Quite lovely! And of course I had to cap it off with a pizza! (I'm constantly shocked by how cheap food is - 3 euros for a bottle of wine and 9 euros for a pizza is considered expensive!) - treated myself with an Aperol Spritz 😉 (thanks to Anne and Bridget I know what it is!)Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Church Hostel

    September 11, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    So my first night in Florence I'm staying at a hostel that is literally located in a giant old church! Super cool idea...hostel had great vibes and was right along the canal so fantastic location! Super neatRead more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Roaming the Steets

    September 11, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Walk walk walk! Florence is such a walkable city and so cute! The streets are all very small and narrow and the canal down the center is fabulous. I didn't even have to use Google maps to find all the ancient buildings. They say Florence is the city of art and I believe it! Many statues and the outside of the building are so detailed with various designs. You also can't walk around the streets without being surrounded by markets. And leather galore! It's hard not to just go "oh maybe just this one".Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Chill Day

    September 12, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    After a lot of go go go action packed a couple of days/weeks, I took a more laid back day, exploring the less touristy side of Florence (basically the other side of the canal. I wandered through some gardens, Sat under a tree and read my book (book review coming soon!) 😁 I went to a lunch spot recommended by some fellow travellers and it was DELICIOUS! The panini was so good and the woman working was so friendly and kind. I found Florence to be very touristy and there were SO many places to eat so having this good recommendation really helped me navigate through the tourist traps! Finished off the day chilling out on the roof top Terrance of the hostel, sipping on a glass of wine. Classy ✨ insider: I find after some time, a little alone time is good. So this day was a perfect buffer :)Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Florence to La Spezia!

    September 13, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    It is impossible to travel without some hiccups in getting to the destination 😂 you can only be adaptable and roll with the punches. My first train to Pisa was about 15 min delayed off the tracks so of course I missed the connection to La Spezia. So...rerouted...took a little detour, and made another connection and here I am! In La Spezia! So excited to be here, being on the coast/near water is my happy place :) I'm also super stoked with the hostel I'm staying at, already seems very social and the women working at reception sat me down for a good 20 min and gave me all the recommendations for the next 2 and a half days!!! I haven't had that kind of kindness at any hostel I've stayed at, so great! It's also right on the water so it's a perfect location and about a 10 min bus to Cinque Terre!!!Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Nerd alert!

    September 13, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Another book review!! So after reading some historical fiction, I needed a lighter read...so The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo was perfect!!! Omg, what a good book. I hadn't known anything about the book before starting it but it was amazing right from the get-go. What a strong, feminine lead with so much character influencing quotes and inspiration. The story really shows how confidence and asking for what you want can go a long way. Very inspiring and makes you question your assumptions.

    Accepting recommendations for my next read 😜    Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Lerici

    September 13, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Yet again, hit the ground running! Because I dropped into the hostel at around 3, I was recommended to go to a neighbouring town called Lerici! It is beautiful. A hill side town, all colourful buildings, LOTS of boats and mountains in the distance 😍 love love loveRead more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Cinque Terre: Corniglia - Manarola Hike

    September 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    When people say it's picture perfect, it really is picture perfect. Wow! I spent my day with Julianne :) she's such a cool person, worked in Mexico for 6 months and Hawaii for a year!

    We started our day off early because the weather man said we were expecting rain (never trust the weather man!) Our hike was phenomenal with perfect views. We got to see the water and hike through vineyards. It was HOT. I was drenched in sweat so I was ready for a swim when we got to Manarola!

    (Also met a Canadian guy from Hamilton on the trail! Small world!)    Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Manarola

    September 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    This is the post card picture town called Manarola :) if you see pictures from Cinque Terre, I bet it's of this town! The houses are literally built on cliffs and everything is either up or down hill! So great to stop and have lunch :) we also SWAM! It was a fairytale. The water was perfect temp (just a tad refreshing) and so blue, surrounded by magnificent cliffs and ocean.Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Monterosso to View Point

    September 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Next Hike! We hiked to a viewpoint that you could see all 5 Cinque Terre towns from! So cool and so great to overlook the coast. So beautiful. Love love love! While we were hiking there were only older people walking! Good on them, we so were impressed!Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Levanto

    September 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    To cap off this magnificent day, we finished off in Levanto! Levanto is not technically part of the 5 Cinque Terre towns so it is way less touristy and many locals but very similar to Cinque Terre. Everyone says "the only sand beach is in Monterosso" BUT, heres the hidden gem. There was nobody on the beach and it was in this alcove so the water was so calm (quite choppy in Monterosso). We really came out on-top. What a day and great to spend it with Jules

    Ps: is drizzled a tad on our way here but nowhere close to the 90% chance thunderstorms they had been calling for. ALWAYS WINNING!!    Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Porto Venere

    September 15, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    The views never get old! This was such a lovely find. It is along the same coast as Cinque Terre but a lot less touristy and natural. The cliffs are beautiful and the colour of the rocks and formations are just fascinating!

    On the bus ride, I ran into some fellow hostel mates and spent the morning wandering about with Jacopo from Italy :)

    Also, yet again, the weatherman was calling for rain and thunderstorms. Definitely some overcast BUT still what a day it's been and so happy I have not let the weather deviate from any plans!    Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler
    1

    Arcipelago Spezzio

    September 15, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Always a sucker for ferry boat rides :)) hehe. Took a boat from Porto Venere over to the Archipelago Spezzio. Wow. Again. Stunning views and magnificent cliffs!! I hiked around the whole island in just under 2 hours and the views were fantastic. I also kinda just stumbled upon this MASSIVE pot hole! Was huge!Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Last Night at Grand Hostel

    September 15, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Wow! I absolutely loved this hostel. It was so social and everyone staying there were such genuine and good people. For our last night, we went to the beer garden and had live Italian indie music! So fun and such a good way to end off my time in La Spezia ❤️ (sad Google maps did us dirty and said that gelato places were still open)Read more

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Rome!

    September 16, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Welp, here I am in Rome! The city everyone has been RAVING about! I ran over to the Colosseum in the evening and the sky was filled with beautiful colours!

  • Martine NyhofEurope 2022Traveler

    Free Walking Tour in the morning

    September 17, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    I started off this morning with a free walking tour. As Rome is so large and filled with so many destination spots, I thought a walking tour would be a good start! Met some cool people on the walk and learned about some pretty ancient Roman tales.Read more

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