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GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
  • Lara Marich
  • Rudi Marich
  • Lara Marich
  • Rudi Marich

GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

A year long adventure through Europe and South East Asia - turning a crazy dream into reality. Read more
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  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Schloss Stolzenfels

    August 13, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The Rhine really is "filthy with castles" (thanks to Elaine for this quote) but this is our favourite and we have a great view of it from our apartment windows and balcony - we have loved watching the late afternoon light and sunset colours falling across this beautiful shimmering white castle.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Surfing in the river
    Dressed to kill - window display in Munich

    Overnight in Munich

    August 15, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    So... we have been planning for 2 months now, to do our first shopping in Munich (beautiful shoes, boots, hiking gear) and we made careful plans to arrive at the correct time (not Sunday or mid afternoon) so that we would have time to shop. However when we arrived, we discovered that today was a special public holiday just for Munich and EVERYTHING was closed ..... so we had to resort to the usual activities of eating and drinking ((Rudi was very happy)!Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Bassano del Grappa

    August 16, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We were so excited to return to Italy today and arriving in the old walled town of Bassano del Grappa was glorious. Our room looked straight out onto the piazza and it was a beautiful warm evening with everything bathed in golden light - we fell in love with this place immediately. It is the home of Grappa (and many other delicious food and drinks) and it left us with no other choice but to feast and drink from one end of town to the other.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Warmbad villach

    August 20, 2019 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Today we made our final preparation for the hike then spent the evening relaxing at the thermal pool shown in the photo which has been built directly over the natural spring. Swimming in this pure thermal water was so beautiful and you could see and feel the fine bubbles rising up around you -a bit like swimming in a glass of French champagne!
    We are also back in the land of the dirndl (traditional Austrian clothing) - I think the one in this photo is my all time favourite ..... unfortunately the prices do add up to over 2000 Euro (which is getting close to $4000).    Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
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    Can you make one for us Josh?

    Warmbad Villach to Feistritz an Gail

    August 21, 2019 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    24 km, 7 hours, ascent 287m, descent 208m, rating easy/moderate
    Today we hit the Alpe Adria Trail again to complete the 2nd half (after walking the first 400km last year).
    Despite our best efforts to keep the weight down in our backpacks, they still felt surprisingly heavy as we set out. We walked through Carinthia’s first nature park, followed an old Roman Road with deep cart tracks carved into the rocks and a colossal area of rock fall from Mt Dobratsch. Our accommodation tonight is in a lovely hotel with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains..... and our feet are quite sore!Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Another peak appearing out of the clouds
    1The crazy but cute resident dog

    Feistritzer Alm

    August 22, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    9.8 km, ascent 1135m, descent 0, medium rating
    We had a glorious breakfast with so many things to choose from but my favourite item was the house made butter (served on ice) with crusty bread! We then walked out the door of the hotel and immediately started our ascent of 1135m which did not ease off until we arrived at our mountain hut right on the border of Italy, Austria, and Slovenia. Everything was sitting in the clouds when we arrived (the hut sits at 1711m) and we spent the entire afternoon watching the panorama around us change minute by minute. It was a busy stopping place for walkers of all ages (and their dogs) and a noisy mix of the 3 languages - it was fantastic entertainment. We spent the afternoon and evening, eating drinking and talking. At around 6pm the fog and cloud finally lifted to reveal incredible views of the surrounding alps. Our sleeping quarters for the night was a basic wood room without power but cosy all the same.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Feistritzer Alm

    August 22, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We saw the bears .... as a photograph on the wall of the mountain hut! They now have 4 pairs in the district and this year, one was seen just outside the hut. A few years back they thought the bears were definitely heading to extinction in these areas.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical

    Valbruna

    August 23, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    14.7km, ascent 244m, descent 1123m, medium rating
    We left the hut in drizzle and fog and within 10 minutes we were in almost total whiteout on the ridge - which made navigation by markers pretty useless. We eventually managed to find a track (and not lose each other) and we started our long steep descent. Unfortunately we missed the views because of the cloud but it provided lovely cool walking conditions in the forest down to the pretty village of Valbruna, Italy.Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
    Lussari when it snows!Why have Camomile tea when you can have grappa

    Mount Lussari

    August 24, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    11.7 km, ascent 1095m, descent 0, rating medium
    Unfortunately our climb today did not deliver the jaw dropping views described in the guide book, due to very thick cloud, fog and drizzle. It did however provide lovely cool walking conditions for the long steep ascent. It was a very special moment when the fog momentarily cleared to reveal the gorgeous village of Lussari, perched on the next mountain over, just as the church bells rang across the ravine echoing off the surrounding alps. When we arrived the village was alive with day trippers who had taken the ski lift up and by 5 o’clock there was hardly a soul around - in fact we were the only people in the entire lodge/hotel. As the sun set, different mountains came into view and it was stunning. Only one month ago (in the middle of summer) they had 20 cm of snow fall here!Read more

  • GFY 12 Month Sabbatical
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    Refugio Zacchi

    August 26, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    22km, 1259 ascent, 607m descent, rating moderate
    We met a lovely couple (Thomas and Marion from Germany) at the beginning of the trail today and walked together for the rest of the day. The lake areas were beautiful and we had perfect clear weather and sunshine to enjoy the reflection of the surrounding alps in the water. The climb up to the Rifugio was quite brutal (at one stage it was difficult just to put one foot in front of the other) but we were well rewarded with the views from this beautiful cosy rifugio perched on the mountain.Read more