Where to find unusual plants @zo-machine-blog - Tumblr Blog

Prague

After traveling for an entire day from Budapest to Prague I arrived at my hostel just before dinner time only to find that the hostel staff actually cook the guests dinner every night! I was so happy, until I learned that it was going to be Mac and cheese. I was too tired and hungry to say no, I ate an entire bowl of creamy cheesy pasta. (I'll just say now that 3 days later and i'm still paying for it). Most of the guests set out for the 'straya day pub crawl' complete with free meat pie and a singlet. Me and another Australian girl decided to stay at the hostel and jam on an old guitar that was there. It was such a nice night, until someone requested Wonderwall...

The next day was my one full day in Prague, it was pancake Sunday too! But not until 11am but I left the hostel at 9am and missed it.

I wandered into the old town and found the Charles bridge, I took a nice boat tour around the Vltava river (Smetana's Moldau).

On a side note I'm pretty happy with myself that I have visited: The Seine, The Rhine, The beautiful Blue Danube (which was actually brown) and the Moldau.

I also visited the Prague palace and accidentally sumbled apon the changing of the guard and nearly got run over by the band.

Prague really is a beautiful city!

Later that night I joined a tour called riverside, which included free drinks at the bar before and after and free dinner (which was pizza, not helping with my little lactose problem). On the tour we made stencils and spray painted the John Lennon wall!

The tour guide said he was 60% sure it was illegal. The wall basically gets completely repainted once a week. It's actually the back wall of the Maltese embassy and back in the 70's someone spray painted a figure of John Lennon onto it, and instead of getting mad, the Maltese said 'hey, we like this, everyone come and paint whatever you want on our wall!'

After the tour was a night of fun and alcohol in the bar at the hostel!

Including a great game of 'coin flip' including soup beer as shown above!

Hidden treasure chest

I spent the morning exploring the Belvedere in Vienna with two fellow Aussies that I picked up at breakfast. It had some of the most beautiful arrive ever seem, more beautiful than in the lurve! They had a sculpture of a ‘fat house’ in the gardens a brother to the 'fat car’s that can be found in Tasmania’s MONA.

Then off to Budapest! The train was much older and more rickety than the ones I’d been on before.

It was dark when I arrived in Budapest and I found my hostel and pretty much got in bed and stayed there.

First to rise in the morning too! I had a big day planned so I got out nice and early. I ended up walking 23000 steps! First to 'shoes on the Danube’ which is basically a bunch of old shoes on the path next to the Danube River. I might have to investigate what they are there for… Then up to the Buda castle rock. I was in my way to the hospital in the rock (a WWII hospital built into the caves system beneath the castle) when I say a sign that said 'labyrinth’. Those who know me know that I just love mazes and labyrinth and getting lost and all that excitement.

I just had to go in and check it out, I paid 2000 forints entry and in I went! It was completely deserted, no other tourists were in there at all.

It was dark, had creepy music, smoke machines and it was not well signed. One section was called 'the dark maze’ and just didn’t have any light at all. My eyes didn’t even adjust it was just pitch black. If I wasn’t alone maybe I could have handled it, but there were no sounds of other people. I ran, I had to get out, it took me a while to find the exit because of the poor signs. I was so happy when I walked back up the stairs and saw the sky. Travel advice 'don’t go in creepy cave labyrinths alone!’

After that mistake I went to the hospital in the rock which is was a WWII and Hungarian civil war nuclear bunker and hospital. Now days it would be completely useless as a nuclear bunker, not with the kind of weapons that are being made.

I treated myself to Jamie’s Italian for lunch, it’s very weird going to a nice restaurant by yourself. I hope I didn’t look too lonely!

I took a really long walk around the castle hill until I came to a cave. I thought taking a tour of the cave would be fun so I paid 300 forints they they gave me an audio guide. I get inside and it’s a church, there was a church in the cave! The audioguide was all about how to love Jesus better. Maybe some warning on the outside of the cave would be nice! They probably did have a sign but it wasn’t in English.

New addition to the John Lennon wall in Prague (yes, it's legal and yes the 'O' in Zoe is a cats face) #pragueriverside (at John Lennon Wall)

#pragueriverside

Budapest! #budacastle 🏰 (at Budapest, Hungary)

#budacastle

Ooh ooh Vienna!

Oh oh oh ohhhh Vienna! It was over so very long a go-o-o-o oh oh ohhhh viennaaaaa.

Vienna is a beautiful city! After my ridiculous nearly 10 hour train, train, train, bus, train, train journey from Switzerland (was supposed to be train, train) I arrived at my hostel alive, hungry and tired.

The wombat hostel! I had my 4 bed room to myself which was nice! I used my free drink voucher at the bar and was sitting awkwardly when a Brazilian guy invited me over to drink with him and some other lone backpackers. It turns out it was his birthday, we finished a bottle of champagne between the 4 of us.

The next day was my only full day in Vienna so I had to make the most of it! I went to the butterfly house, Mozart’s house, the Vienna zoo and schönbrunn gardens and the technology museum! (A bit of a full day maybe)

You will have to asked me personally about these adventures!

After my exhausting day I had dinner alone in a little restaurant in the naschmarkt (veggie risotto). The waiter discovered I was from Australia and asked me if I had a kangaroo….

My hostel had a stand up comedy and open mic night! The comedian was pretty good for an amatuer (yes he spoke English). And afterwards I ended up having a drink with him and another Australian, many jokes were made.

Travelling alone is different to travelling with friends, you actually meet and talk to other people instead of ignoring them. If I didn’t intetact with anyone at the hostel I would have spent my two days in Vienna without talking to another human!

Joining the dots

One last day in Kestenholz, it was raining miserably so we didn't do much, just a walk in the forest in the morning (with Gayus), a musical visitor with trumpet duet serenades and cheese fondue for dinner (not for me)

So said goodbye to kestenholz and Robert and Claudia. On our last morning Claudia cooked roesti one more time for us, I will definitely be attempting to cook that when I get home! I said goodbye to Michael as well and started what was supposed to be a simple 8 hour train ride to Vienna. The train couldn't make the whole journey because of avalanche risks so I had to catch a different train to a station and hour away and then another train for another hour. After this we were all herded onto a bus for yet another hour. The bus ride through the mountains was very pretty. Then finally the train that would actually take me to Vienna and then a metro train in Vienna to my hostel.

The schmetterlinghaus in Vienna! (Butterfly house) #vienna #schmetterling (at Schmetterlinghaus Hofburg)

#vienna #schmetterling

Washing humour

I washed some clothes and hung them out over night in Robert and Claudia's house.

The next morning Claudia kindly folded my clothes and put them on the coffee table for me.

Robert said to me, 'Zoë, Claudia is very sorry she thinks she lost some of your socks' I looked and saw two odd socks sitting on the table unpaired....

Apparently Claudia had spent the morning searching the laundry and washing machine for their pairs!

Little did she know, I just like to wear odd socks!

The farmers son

Our two last days of skiing went very quickly! I finally skiied down the front of eterolla(an advanced slope), which means I successfully completed every slope on the Les Collons/ Thyon area! The very last day we got skiing nice and early before we had to return our skiis around midday, the slopes were perfect for our last day. It's going to be strange not skiing....

Two night before we left there was quite a lot of snow on our balcony so Michael and I decided to make another snowman!

Robert and Claudia's car couldn't fit Michael Simon and I in it so we were sent home on the bus and train (luggage packed into the car of course)!

We got back around 5pm went home and straightened ourselves up and were promptly ushered in the car and taken to one of Roberts freinds 60th birthday party! It was in a proper venue with restaurant cooked meals(which were amazing) next to the tables was a open area with about 6 or 7 foosball tables! It turns out I'm ok at foosball and Michael is terrible!

After a few glasses of wine everyone started singing traditional Swiss folk tunes (with piano), including one called 'the farmers son' which had dance moves. Michael was instructed to play along on the trumpet! We added a bit of Australian tradition in by playing/singing Waltzing Matilda. We left at about half past midnight but I'm sure the party continued into the night.

For dinner last night (the 21st) we had fondue which before now I thought was a chocolate fountain. Basically, there is a pot of soup on the table with a flame under it so it boils lightly. On your plate you have raw meat (we had venison and chicken) and you spear the meat and put it in the soup to cook. You end up eating very slowly because you have to wait for each individual piece of meat to cook, but it is delicious (yes I know I usually don't eat meat but I have been eating meat in Switzerland as a courtesy to Robert and Claudia)

Skiing again!

Today (the 18th of Jan) some of the ski lifts were open again! But not trabanta which is the one we catch from the bottom on the hill next to the chalet. So to get up the mountain we have to go to the Les masses slope and ski down a fair way to the Les masses chair lift. Unfortunately Les masses starts up hill from the chalet, which when you have skis is a lot of work. I decided instead of going up the slope, I would go cross country to get to half way down Les masses. This was a huuuuge mistake, I underestimated how much it had snowed over the last few days. Carrying my skis, I ended up crawling through 70 cm of fresh powdered snow. I saw a dip in the snow which I thought might be a shallower route, it was not. The next thing I knew my leg sunk through an extra 70 cm of snow and I was up to my neck in soft powdery snow. Of course I was no where near the slope yet and I was in danger of losing my skis in the snow. Michael had chosen a more sensible route and was waiting on the ski slope watching me and yelling words of encouragement, (they didn't help at the time) I thought I was going to be stuck there until the snow melted. Eventually I got out of the ditch and crawled across to the ski slope. I was drenched in sweat on the inside of my jacket and covered in snow on the outside. My ski goggles were fogged up and the slope was narrow, I did NOT enjoy Les masses at all.

Once we got up to Thyon the slopes were covered in powder snow and when we skiied we glided through.

the para-alpine skiing world cup was supposed to run over the last few days in veysonnaz but a few days were put on hold due to the weather. Today they were up and running again, Michael and I met of the athletes on the Australian team!

Below is Gayus being cute.

Our snowman after two days of non stop snow and wind... ⛄

Zu viel schnee (day 10 and 11)

Too much snow.

So today and yesterday the chair lifts have all been closed due to high wind speeds and too much snow.

Here is a list of things we have done whilst not skiing (not in order)

Built a snow man

Built a snow bar (complete with beers)

Did lots of snow shoveling

Slid down the slopes on plastic bags

Climbed the side of a hill in 50cm deep snow

Slid down the side of a hill in 50cm deep snow

Hid in the igloo the people before us built

Gone on long walks in the snow with Gayus

Taken the bus to Thyon to get crepes

Rode the sled back home from Thyon in a blizzard

Fell off the sled in a blizzard (multiple times)

More snow shoveling

Played spoons (the card game)

Played bullshit (the card game) (I won)

Made snow angels

Ate lots of chocolate

Watched star wars episodes IV, V, VI and I (Will be continuing this)

Complained of being bored

Checked the weather

Checked the weather again

Checked the ski lift status

Said 'omg there is so much snow'

Drank lots of wine

Day 9 Mont Fort

Because if been forgetting to put the dates in… This was yesterday the 15th of jan!

It was a massive day, we skiied across 2 valleys to the highest mountain in the area (Mont fort) which is 3330m high.

The view from the top made the other mountains look so small

To get to mont fort you have to go up and down the valleys on various T-bars and chair lifts (including one with a plastic sheild you can pull down to keep the snow off) and then in two enourmace cable cars that can fit 100 or so people in them. As you go up they swing a fair bit, it made me feel a little ill! I didn’t ski down because it’s an unprepared black run, I took the cable car back down. Michael, Zak and Simon skiied/snowboarded down though, they said it was quite rough! The trip home from there was 21km, my favourite part was the slope from tortin which is a super long easy slope, so relaxing!

This was the last sunny day forecast for our trip :(

Claudia decided to remake the dish that Michael and I cooked last week! It was even better than Michael’s version, possibly due to the extra würze sauce Michael added for her…

Poor Michael hurt his hip a little bit in the T-bar crash and skiing a return trip of more than 40km was not what it needed! We went to bed quite early (with pain killers for Michael) and I started my education on the star wars movies. I’ve never actually sat through and entire star wars movie before. Of course we started with episode IV a new hope, but… We fell asleep half an hour in, oops!

Day 8

Still sunny! Robert stopped skiing because he was having too much pain after the accident. Thankfully we convinced him to see a doctor in Thyon. We spent the day skiing as usual, and made our way across to the next valley for the first time. Les chotte is in the next valley and has some amazing views from the top of the chair lift.

The restaurant there has an ice tunnel you walk through to get in. Because the lifts close at 4:30 we needed to be back in Thyon before the lifts closed or we would be stuck in the wrong valley over night. It turned out we had less time that we thought, it came to a point where Michael had to put snow in my tea to cool it down so that I could drink it quicker!

The track back to our valley is quite flat so you have to take the T-bar lift up to a higher point and fang it down the hill to get enough speed! We were in such a hurry so I skiied straight down the slope and swore a lot, I don't think I've ever skiied that fast! We made it to the T-bar back to Thyon at 4:15. When we got back to the chalet we found out that Robert has broken 1 maybe 3 ribs at the back. I cannot believe he skiied the day before!

On top of the world! At the top of Greppon Blanc! #skiing #switzerland #freezingmybuttoff (at Greppon Blanc (bergstopp i Schweiz, Hérens District))

#freezingmybuttoff #skiing #switzerland

Day 7 taking it easy

After the crash and illness we knew this day we were going to take it easy.

Michael and I woke early to walk Gayus as we thought Robert might not be up to it. Turns out he'd already left! We went for a walk anyway. Robert was much better today and wanted to go skiing of course.

The crash didn't stop us doing the back of eterlloa, veysonnaz and bear piste the 3 red runs of Les Collons. Because it was a Saturday there were many more people on the slopes than during the week. This means the slopes were not as nice and were worn down to the icy layer below the soft snow. In some patches the loose snow piles together into huge mogels. This makes skiing down the steep parts of bear piste and veysonnaz a bit more of a thrill ride. Some parts, you slide across the ice uncontrollably and other parts your skis get bogged in a pile of powdery snow. At one point I skiied a little too fast into a power heap and took flight! Thankfully I landed upright, was a good bit of fun though.

Simon stayed in bed all day with a high fever and couldn't join us at the pizzeria for dinner. I of course can't eat pizza so I had pasta arrabiata (it was delicious). After a beer and a wine I was feeling quite adventurous and on the walk home Michael pulled my by the arm down the slope back to the chalet. My ski jacket pasted the test of becoming the bottom of a sled!

Steep slopes and T-bar crashes (day 6)

It was quite an eventful day! In good ways and in bad (spolier: everyone is OK!)

Weather: sunny and cold!

Slopes: back of eterlloa, bear piste, veysonnaz, sporting, trabanta.

I started the day again with a walk in the Forrest with Michael, Simon, Robert, Lilian and Gayus (the dog). I had a good roll around in the soft snow which is always fun.

This day I did all of the big slopes! (Except for the front of eterlloa) and I didn’t use snow plough at all. I finally understand how they all do it! I had so much fun today because I wasn’t scared or too slow!

View from the top of eterlloa.

We had the chance to catch a cable car with two adorable doggos! 🐕

(photos of course)

And had a good beer half way down!

Right at the very end of the day, I was waiting at the top of sporting for Michael and Robert to come up the T-bar and they never came.

Half way up the T-bar lift at a crossing, a snowboarder was going to fast and collided with them both! Michael’s skis got damaged and Robert took most of the impact. Meanwhile I was waiting for them and had no idea what had happened. Eventually I skiied back down and started to go home because the lifts had stopped. Luckily Robert only had a mild concussion and some nasty bruises. I of course prescribed ice, paracetamol and a night off the alcohol.

More misfortune struck at about 9 o'clock when Michael and I heard someone violently throwing up in the bathroom. Simon has gastro with a high fever, hydrolyte and paracetamol for him! Nurse Zoe was very busy.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Where to find unusual plants