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Kraak caravanersai
  • Rhonda Kraak

Kraak caravanersai

Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 2, 2023
    Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Istanbul

    September 3, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    One of the things I like about travel is the self-discovery. Discovering that you are lazy and are nowhere near as fit as you needed to be. Discovery that you really do need glasses and can't guess at Turkish words. Then the discovery that peace of mind and happiness are fleeting creatures and may only appear a few times during the day despite the stunning architecture,  sunsets and culinary delights. And lastly, the discovery that Eric has not learned sufficient Turkish, which was his mandate. We have been calling people donkey snakes instead of saying Thank you. 😵 the puzzled looks made sense.

    In Dubai we managed to get all 4 of us into Merhaba airport lounge for our 5 hour layover. Hot breakfast, showers and as the coffee wasn't up to certain group standards: G&T's with no ice and no measuring at 8:28am went down better than expected. We all slept well on next flight ✈️

    You can't help but fall in love with Istanbul that it has evolved with so many different cultures and civilizations building on top of each other, which may account for the very steep hills we walk up. We're staying in a 200-YEAR-OLD European style apartment with gorgeous views of the Bosphorous. Very squeaky floors and a ghost that I had to have a chat to in Bill's room.

    Everyone seems to my be quite tolerant of each other's driving, reversing and dangerous moped rally driving despite a lot of beeping and no one took offense at Eric's offensive Turkish.

    We booked a Hammam in an ancient bath house and  it was extremely cleansing being scrubbed head to toe with no water pressured into places unwanted. The oils and water splashing and attention, pampering were wonderful and we floated home down and up the hills and my bath attendant had to lead my by the hand to our sunbeds where we drank tea with dried fruits and slept.

    Lots of cats. You'd think more than could be loved but not here in Turkiye. They love their street pets. And I'm guessing no mice.  There are also sea chooks which look like seagulls but are the size of chooks. At least their waste disposal is obvious when the large amount is falling from the sky.

    The locals are extremely friendly and hospitable. Shopping for bargains is quite difficult as they are in a recession and haggling seems greedy. I would really love to buy a carpet but I'm not sure my haggling skills are sufficient as I have no idea how much a reasonable price is. We'll have to use the plane to fly home.

    Sewage infrastructure. My pet hate. You can expect some issues with the infrastructure having three thousand years of civilization messing with the pipes . Our first night  in Galata went without water but did not go without Eric having to use the toilet before the water came back on at 3:00 a.m. I'll leave it there....

    Now that we have acclimatized culturally we take on the big historic sites. More to come!

    Galata Tower
    Istanbul archaeological museum
    Aya Sophia
    Blue Mosque
    Basilica Cistern for the civil engineers 🔨    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Basilica Cistern & Hagia Sophia

    September 6, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Roman Emporer Justinian reputedly had a personality complex and had built monstrous architectural marvels like Hagia Sophia and a massive underground water cistern which kept the city of Constantinople in fresh water for a long time. This was in the 6th century. and both still standing after 1700 odd years. Travelling with three engineers we had to visit 😂

    Hagia Sophia been a mosque since 2020 so we dressed conservatively. Rach and I got a lecture from Eric for trying to find a way upstairs 😕 the tour guide told us there was treasure.

    The cistern was not used for centuries and was stumbled across in 1980's?? How could you miss it like ...

    What I really liked about the Roman empire is their resourcefullness in using old columns and chunks of marble from other sites to build the cistern columns, hence the two Medusa heads that were chucked under two columns.

    Got a bit excited by all the bling at the Grand Bazaar so no photos taken.

    Video included of the call to prayer 5-6 times a day. I actually quite liked it.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Cappadocia

    September 7, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    After a very early and bumpy start at the airport we managed to get boarding passes with the correctly sized bar codes. This left little time for food and coffee so some panic and grumpiness ensued.

    A HORSE WITH NO NAME
    Goréme was our stop and the geographical sites we saw from the comfort of our dusty ATV's was very impressive for our geotech Rach.

    Rhonda only fell down the rocky slope 3 times, kids are hoping the biggest fall was captured on the GoPro.

    Eric's helmet made a great rest for the GoPro . Very fun, dusty experience. Our mouths were cleansed of dirt at a Roop top bar serving cold Efes.

    5am start for Rach and Bill on a hot air balloon flight, which was canceled three times due to the weather which I'm guessing was 15 kilometer an hour winds? The landing wasn't so smooth with participants instructed to hold onto basket wall in low squat position. Balloon bumped, Heads were bumped and video footage not available of landing.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    The caves with no beer

    September 8, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Early starts and more tours. This time further south east.

    🥱

    We joined a tour heading to further south east Anatolia, guide was very suave. Kaymakli Underground city with very claustrophobic tunnels and underground chambers. Unfortunately I made the tour group wait while I thought about if I would freak. Tour guide had just told us that we need to crawl down very low roof tunnel for 10m and was one way for the rest of crawling. No turning back. At least I found a use for being short

    Shamed myself into it and all was going well until random, noisy, excitable Italian group got a bit loud, pushy and shovey so had to hide in Erics sweaty shirt and ventilate. Fear passed after thinking about poor early 200AD Christians hiding underground for years so continued on. Very impressed by wine making presses and kitchen smoke Ingenuity. Even a large ventilation shaft with a secret opening.

    Bit sad that these christians had to hide and live like that but I'm learning not to judge the past, well trying not to.

    Rach and I been avoiding drinking water as toilet scene a bit traumatising. Today at least there was flush next to step toilets but smell was unbearable. Feeling floppy and deydrated seems better choice.

    Very different ideas about alcohol out here. Only juice or salty yoghurt offered at cafes which is sad after walking 15,000 steps up hills, steps in hot hot sun developing a man's thirst. 🧑‍🦲 and eating burnt trout and burghul for lunch.

    Bought some amazing jewellery with Sultanate stone only found in Turkey and pinker than pink scarf so not all bad.

    Climbed up dusty steep hills to see early monastery and necropolis carved into the cone monoliths . Once again in hiding.

    Had a thyme flavored Margarita on a very classy rooftop despite the maitre D taking one look at our dusty straggly selves and pointing to another cafe who pointed us back to your roof top. Maitre D agreed we could stay for one drink 🤫

    It appears these bars rely on Instagram appeal and we were obviously not that.

    I had come to the conclusion that Aussies are dags when I heard a young Aussie accent, pausing between Shisha pipe puffs, to say how deadly emus are when questioned about what we thought was cassowaries. Was trés amusing.

    We were then treated to dinner at a family restaurant that gave us gifts of food. William had the traditional clay pot stew and the owner let me buy our beautiful Pink tablecloth off the table for very reasonable price. Hoping my family will forgive me by the morning but It was stunning !!! (Despite the food we dropped on it). See photos of my souvenir haul including black rose oil which is swooning material.

    In the morning we are catching a bus to Ankara which is not so touristy so could hit some language snags, then we fly to Canakkake, Gallipoli to pay our respects and, I imagine, cry and feel the loss. 🌹    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    V-Day and D-Day

    September 9, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Should I start with the Valium or the Di@rrhea??

    V-DAY
    It looked so easy on paper - catch a 3 hour bus to Ankara, hang for a bit and then fly to Canakkale (Gallipoli). Full day of travel. Bus more like 4.5 as driver liked to stop for smoke and gossip breaks. After a quick bite and some amazing chocolate roulade we had only 1.5 hours left for sightseeing and no real plan or map we ignored the warnings and jumped in first cab off the rank. Our VERY reluctant young driver argued with the other cabbies but finally agreed.

    As a revenge we careened like a Grand Prix lurching at break neck speeds (whilst texting and yelling into the phone) squealing tyres and breaking within a whisker and were deposited at a fish market inner city as the driver appeared 'confused' of our destination. (See video)

    Gone was my Turkish princess ideals of trailing silks, perfumes and artefacts as we were engulfed in a cacophony of fish market day.

    To me the Turkish definitely look Turkish but I didn't realise that we look so different as we were an object of amusement for the marketeers. We gave up trying to pantomime and ask for directions after being laughed out of a butcher and onto the sidewalk where they advanced for more Kraak sideshow. Who wants goats heads and entrails anyway ☹️ sounds gassy.

    Out in the open air I knocked on the window of a full cab in panic but the next cab was empty and the very gentlemanly driving calmed us somewhat and mended our frayed tempers as we caught bus, plane and taxi to our accommodation at Canakkale/Gallipoli, which on arrival we mistook for Fortitude Valley on a Saturday night. The Valium-resistant doof doof stopped around 1am.

    D-DAY
    Poor Will woke with a fever 39.6 and stories of a difficult night of D.

    We raced to the only pharmacy open on a Sunday and after the difficulty of both a language barrier and the opportunity to sell lots to tourists we emerged with what turned out to be poor substitutes for Imodium. We left for our Gallipoli tour leaving Bill with lots of water and Turkish TV remote.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Troy & Pergamon

    September 11, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Troy and Pergamon only seen by the Kraaks' that weren't clutching their bellies.

    Ancient city of Troy archeologists believe they have now discovered so not a myth.

    Pergamon with her columns of marble and endless archways so beautiful in the late golden sun.Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Gallipoli - WW1

    September 11, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    History is apparently written by the victors and having a Turkish tour guide certainly fulfilled this prophecy.

    Our first stop was the large plaque with Kemal Ataturk's words to Australian mothers:

    Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Selçuk

    September 12, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Arrived late at night to this hilltop accom overlooking the village of Selcuk. Lovely pool surrounded by olive and fruit trees and breakfast on the terrace and views of Castle and really old stuff.

    Owner was Jafar from Alladin reborn but meaner. Arrogant and rude but just to me. Eric escaped his alter ego and received ingratiating smiles. But he did drive us up and down a very steep hill each day. Only would take cash tho so dodgy as I think same as Jafar.

    Pammukale and Hieropolis were worth the 7 hour return drive. Our very young 22 year old guide didnt seem to have much information and mainly talked to busdriver apart from sticking Indian 'bindi' on our foreheads while we waited for some tardy Indian couple to arrive. Very odd.

    Limestone pools I think Pammukale was? Very crowded and so hot. Hieropolis was amazing Hellenistic then Roman city. Enjoyed the theatre very much. Just would have liked the guide to impart something about it.

    Selçuk conservative and old but good food. Still weighed down wearing long clothes. No women in sight but hundreds of old men at tables playing backgammon.

    EPHESUS
    Did not disappoint. We felt like all the other archeological historic sites were preparing us for this one!! Most well preserved oldest site. As I politely requested different guide - new guide was excellent 👌

    Could feel the presence of merchants and humanity trodding on marble roads; hear the voices but apparently NOT smell the sewerage as our guide told us Roman ingenuity in taking smell away totally.

    Late visit to Sirince which is Greek village in mountains for wine tasting but was ghastly the reds we tried. Stick to beer.

    Tomorrow we head for Greece 💪    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Pythagoeion

    September 15, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Pronounced "pee-,tha-gore-rion is an idyllic seaside village on the south-eastern side of the Greek Island of Samos. It was there we discovered that naughty Rach had not learnt any Greek as was her mandate 😵. 'Opa' being the extent of her learning.

    Idyllic was needed after the rushed pace and cultural quirks. We all felt a little fragile after two weeks in such a conservative, 2nd world country experience, but there was so much to love ❤️

    The soft sea air, relaxed atmosphere and generosity towards women's attire were a balm and sweetly did we sink into Samos' bosom,. This could also be partly due to the amount of Mythos beer and Greek cuisine consumed. Resort included private beach with crystal clear waters and large swimming pool with large Greek male lifeguard that was stuck in Groundhog Day, asking us each new day if we were staying at the hotel.

    One of the less populated and young-people-free touristy islands we were surrounded by a German pensioner convention of mahogany flesh, tobacco and bright caftans. Cleanliness was a MAJOR bonus with our rooms being fully cleaned daily and new linens. This is probably due to the strict rule 'NO TOILET PAPER IN TOILET' and a small bin is supplied. 😩 At least the public toilet floors werent coveredvin water from the ritual foot washing in Turkey.

    Nothing much to report from our relaxed spot under the €3 Balinese umbrellas and sea lounges. We have changed now to Euro so meals are more like €80 compared to the $15 AUD we were paying in Turkiye; so dieting may come into effect. Eric now has Turkey belly so that's 3/5ths of the food bill down.

    Something very odd possessed me one morning and I walked cross-country to a little Greek white church, momentarily losing the track and walking through a random's property with thankfully no shots fired. The stone ruins I passed seem commonplace now.

    A kayaking tour with a strange Spaniard 'Juan': exhausted our arms for 8 klms of sea kayaking. Poor Bill had to share a 2-man with me and we mostly bickered like teenagers. The snorkelband beach lunch made up somewhat. Our beach lunch being periodically interrupted by Jordie Shaw-accented English refugee camp workers springing up out of the bush to have a swim.

    We unfortunately did not see Pythagoras,' cave as we felt we may have seen enough for the time being.

    Tomorrow we fly to Thessalonica and leave our beach reverie behind 😭    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Thessaloniki

    September 19, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Seems strange that we chose to leave our beautiful beach sojourn and spend a day and night in the thriving metropolis of Thessalonia. Think it had something to do with direct flight prices to Rome.

    Very nice penthouse on 7th floor in the city with a one person lift with manual door. Eric (wash boy) was on point and pushed 2 loads through the machine 😒 phew !!

    Rach felt like cheesecake so we headed out into the heat and traffic and filled our stomachs and then watched NRL updates on YouTube on a BIG COUCH!!! (We'd forgotten the comfort) We drank the gifted bottle of yeasty/vinegary rosé. Can't say we're a fan but maybe didn't try the right Greek wines??

    Dinner was loud and confusing and I thought I'd made friends with a spunky little waitress that tricked us into some horrible €12 fake limoncello and solvent. The Sheesha pipe did nothing to quell the queasiness and we left the young 'uns to enjoy coughing into their Sheesha with the hoarde of other 20 year olds.

    Made the mistake of waking to a message at 2:30am and learnt of my dear Uncle Ted's passing. Only managed to return to sleep only after some Vitamin V's.

    Grief is a funny thing and I've learnt not to impose any expectations. It's like an army grey mist descends and makes everything heavier. Our plan was to tour the city briefly and visit the old 200 AD churches built which were a welcome relief from the heat and dark enough to hide tears. One in particular had a big underground crypt but all too familiarly my shorts and bare arms were scolded and the Icons and gold mosaics were closing in.

    BEWARE THE FEISTY GREEK gynaíka

    Checking into foreign airports has turned into a battle between me (fighting for my family's lives and boarding passes) and these feisty young female desk clerks that claim they cannot accept our proffered papers until I insist and they call in the more senior clerks for a yelled exchange before they violently punch the keyboard and begrudgingly give us our passes.

    RYANAIR

    This day in particular we got a masked, gloved Attila that even scoffed at our passport sleeves and forced me to defend Eric's sweatiness.

    Then the metal on my shorts set off the alarm in security and nothing would do but for another feisty to pat me down roughly in full view, no dignity offered.

    Only the nice perfumes and duty free bottles could calm me with their solidity and we boarded our dodgy flight for Roma plus a few bottles.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Rome: city of seat-less toilets

    September 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Bumpy start to arrival with the Ryanair plane loudly crashing onto the runway. No one battered an eyelid so must be the usual. Actually we couldn't bat an eyelid as we were leaning down and our eyelids crashed also into the seat in front. We did think we saw some young fella board with the passengers dressed as a pilot.

    The eternal city with it's ruins and riches; saints and sinners at our feet at 5pm and who would be staying at our hotel but the bride and groom themselves, our newlyweds Lach and Jess. The gifted champagne and whiskey flowed and the stories talked over each other as we frenetically relayed them.

    Dinner was a fantastico affair of crusty bread, wine, pasta and oxen tails and the tablecloth would have needed to be chucked. Messy these pasta dishes!

    Toilets - why remove every seat? Who has the hamstring-dang strength after walking all day? Felt like Magnums backpackers in Airlie Beach. 😩

    And then we walked... Seriously been questioning why cobblestones? What started as a cute, quaint path style has turned into a treacherous, rock hopping affair with blisters to match.

    And we walked... We walked up roman roads and down underground colosseums pits and museums and totally exhausted ourselves cramming into our mouths the heart of Roma.

    Pantheon was huge and a lot of testaments (and testes) to those that shaped the city, multiple statues included 🫣

    Colosseum was next. Eric managed a 'Are you not entertained" on the arena floor and then was entertained the whole way home by my whinging about my feet.

    Very sad that the Melbourne storm were not able to crush the Panthers as we followed the score. Was too far to walk to one of the many Irish pubs and our friend super Simon to watch the game. Glad we didn't waste the unblistered part of my feet in doing so. We came across super Simon after exiting the Colosseum and finding the first pizza shop overcrowded and hot. Nothing quite so special as seeing the cool, dark, restorative interior of an Irish pub when you're tired, thirsty and hungry. Pints went down in gladiator shaming time.

    More to follow after beer and burgers and of course.. potatoes    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Forum & Villa Borghese

    September 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Kind of expecting to see half of Italy as a quarry such is the extent of stone monstrosities.

    Very thankful to Rick Steeve for his free podcasts allowing us to do our own free tour of forum.

    FRIDAY

    We said bon voyage to the honeymooners today before Eric and kids set out to see the wealthiest museum, art gallery and safe harbouring for ... the Vatican and I went to find the other Van Gogh in the city.

    The 80,000 steps we took yesterday have had an impact on my poor feet and I limped 10m before hailing a cab. Nightmare driver yelling and remonstrating at noone in particular and then cursing all in our path.

    Villa Borghese my destination was sold out for the day so after checking my maps I limped to the National Gallery which I have to say for the size of the magnificent structure had very few paintings . Maybe Eric and the kids were seeing all the 'procured' art instead. Vincent and Cezanne didn't fail me though and even a Pollock to shock.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Under a Tuscan Sun and Valium Haze

    September 23, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Oscar Wilde - Ravenna

    "Where flower and fruit to purple radiance blow,
    And like bright lamps the fabled apples glow.
    Full Spring it was—and by rich flowering vines,
    Dark olive-groves and noble forest-pines,
    I rode at will; the moist glad air was sweet,
    The white road rang beneath my horse’s feet,
    And musing on Ravenna’s ancient name,
    I watched the day till, marked with wounds of flame,
    The turquoise sky to burnished gold was turned."

    Okay so maybe we tasted a few honeyed wines and pushed our nostrils deep into the scented bushels but Tuscany certainly surpassed on all accounts.

    Driving to Tuscany.... in a manual left drive sardine can certainly didn't surpass anything. We scraped through medieval horse lanes, swerving to avoid "senza traffico" zones, performing 10 point turns in dead end lanes and white knuckled we wove up and down the oldest, steepest city centre in abject silence and horror, the stone walls just inches from our white Munst-like faces. The valium was reached for and calm was briefly restored.

    Our 15th century bnb was reached. Ghosts from old and war torn spirits could not be reasoned with and Eric was moved to sleep on 'that' side of the bed.

    San Gimignano has slept in a time warp since 1348 when the black plague took most of the town, and then shocked awake by Operation Axis that rubbled all but 7 towers.

    Now the streets throng with busloaded tourists and glamour filled shops and long queues for the worlds best and world record gelato.

    I'm hoping I can make use of at least one of the 1,000 quintessential photos taken for some artworks.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Pilgrims Progressed

    September 24, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Sun-screened, shod and hatted our two pilgrims (minus colosseum-blistered Rhonda) set off earlyish as the church bells pealed 11am on the Via Francgenzio. The plan was to follow in the hire car and meet for wine and cheese along the way.

    With most venues closed after summer and being Sunday a mad dash was made to find vituals in the stone village of Gambassi Terme. After an hour of patchy internet and getting lost we finally found where the whole village was lunching, purchasing local goats cheeses, salamis, prosciutto, fresh pané and olives.

    Using our combined google map locations we bumped down dirt roads and, wouldn't you know it, landed at the best winery in the region 😇🥳

    Our parched pilgrims probably should have watered first but accepted the situation with equinimity and entered the tasting with gusto. And what a taste there was Gorgeous Bianco's, Chianti's, stickies and even the Grappa was brought out to Eric's delight.

    With the use of Google translate and lots of arm waving we made new friends and discovered Casaneuvas winery had been in the family since the 1100s and they were really good at parting tasters with their money. Lots of spent euros later we picnicked and prattled and were treated to espresso by our new friends/business partners 🤑😲

    The pilgrimage over we bumped over to our medieval castle like accommodation for a chilly swim and prosecco in the gardens, then wearing our travelling best we dined at the swanky onsite trattoria on boar lasagne, truffle ravioli and tasty pici. Was too excellent to photograph and too slopey due to the old flooring.

    Tomorrow we head on a highway full of lunatic drivers to Milano.

    Ciao Ciao!!    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Milan without the gloss

    Sep 25–26, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We were late leaving our medieval palace as busy stuffing our faces with delicious pastries. OMG!!! Still warm from the oven 🤪

    First big mistakes made by me. Eric did a marvellous job negotiating the crazy drivers and Autobahn speeds. I lost my money card at the lunch stop probably as was throwing a tantie 😒 but did not realize till much later. (I emailed cafe and they found it and chopped it up for me) 😱

    Mistake 2: It must have been a late night when I booked our accom in Milan. My recollection was 2 minutes walk from the Central train station in the city but instead found ourselves 25 minutes out in a very strange, dodgy area in a big black coloured hotel. Next door were a huge dilapidated ghetto style building that didn't appear very old. 😩

    Decided was safest to stay in our rooms and play 500 (card game) and drink our purchased wine. Bit of a scuffle ensued a few times with bickering over levels of poured wine and kitty hogging.

    Dinner was just plain weird.

    So no stomping on bull testicle in Milan square, no window gazing at flashy things, no Milanese food 😥

    Early to bed as early start as need to travel back into city to catch train into the mountains.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    St Saphorin, Switzerland

    Sep 26–28, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Lovely Saint-Saphorin nestles between the lake and the vineyards. It boasts charming alleys and a Gothic church, which was built around 1530.

    The history of Saint-Saphorin goes back to Roman times. The village possesses a boundary marker whose inscription dates back to 47 A.D. In those days, Saint-Saphorin was often called Glerula.

    We swam in the very cold Lake Genéva, Bill making use of the diving board.

    The villa boasts a very grand German piano and a library of old sheet music and Rach soothed us with some Beethoven. We the spent 3 hours staring out at the view and gorging ourselves on Swiss cheese which unfortunately led to a very small dinner affair with the chilled local wine left unopened and Rach and Rhonda needing to lie down.

    Bill had to be brought in to close the 1.5m large timber shutters to allow a sleep-in. Such a large windowed villa that dates back to 1400's. No spirits made themselves know to my profound relief.

    Wine tasting tomorrow.

    Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the present vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monks planted the vines.    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Glorious death by Swiss dairy

    September 28, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After a bit of a late night playing prince and pauper with our new addition, Rach's Swiss exchange schoolmate, 'Swiss' we left in a sleek big black SCOTT work van to scale the heights of the alps and smell the Edelweiss. Gruyére our destination where we savoured the cheese and over-caffineated on the laden trays of Callier chocolate slabs and truffles we were obliged to sample. Then we scaled Gruyére castle and village as well as Jaun pass and back down the mountain at break neck speeds.

    Dinner was a very cheery, cheesy affair with the 5 flatmates and 2 x families white wine added as much to the fondue as to our glasses. We kept mum of any lactose intolerances. The Aussie fondue 🫕 pot thickened and filled with bread and apple due to our total lack of skill. We were teased of punishments that would have been imposed had we been seriously fonduing.

    The Swiss excel in their hospitality and generosity and we slept warm and snug for another day of adventure 😱    Read more

  • Rhonda KraakKraak caravanersaiTraveler

    Caves , Castles and Kasse

    September 30, 2023 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    We are staying in a lovely huge apartment in Bern with 5 generous flatmates but it does not seem cramped.

    Away in the big black van for more adventures we went and drove to the border with France to see an engineering milling feat which was well received by my 3. From a warm sunny day outside the temp dropped to maybe 10 degrees: 30 metres into the belly of the earth. We learnt that the medieval Swiss ate 850gms of bread a day and not much else 😵

    Then we peered over the edge of Swiss Grand Canyon - very deep Ruinaulta and marveled at the stone walls.

    Friday night saw us boarding an impossibly cramped train full of Friborg ice hockey fanatics as we sardined to the big stadium for some violence on ice. The drums, dancing and chanting were loud but intoxicating and we joined in as best we could wishing we could transport such a crowd for the upcoming NRL final.

    We begged respite for Sunday and lazily slept in. Then went to view the city of Bern, but didn't get far past an Irish Pub where we sessioned with 3 x Brisbanites and ruminated about where to watch the Broncos win on Sunday, sports bars all with afternoon opens. The publican was approached and said he would open early if we had 20 people. A very lame attempt was made to collar Swiss passes by with no success and we accepted our destiny of watching on Eric's ipad and made our unsteady way home up very steep hills 😅.

    If we didn't think it possible to eat more cheese we were wrong with on our arrival home a 'Raclette' party was in swing. The last round was Schnapps-covered and very nice but I could only watch having pulled out of the serving way earlier and had to lay on the couch to stop the cheese and gherkins coming out my ears.

    In a cheese fog we slept fitfully interrupted by stomach rumblings, visions of running Broncs and thoughts of packing for the long flight home.    Read more

    Trip end
    October 3, 2023
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