A White Christmas Day

Hi everyone - hope you all had a great Christmas day - ours is just coming to an end!

What a day - it was just what you would dream of in the iconic white Christmas sense.

From Phil's perspective, this post is coming courtesy of an individual you was born and raised in Queensland with all those white Christmas images invading me for close to 50yrs while enduring sweltering hot Christmas days - but never to experience it and always wondering if it could ever live up to the hype.

Well I feel as though I can now comment from today's experience of a truly white Christmas.

The verdict - do it!

We woke this morning to look out from our hotel window to see the most wonderful scenery of magestic swiss mountains covered in snow with the most beautifull village of Sass-Fee snugly cradled within the valley of mountains - we were truly content on Christmas morning in such a setting - although in just a little way without saying a word we were just a little disappointed about one thing that was missing from this almost perfect setting.

Well - just about five minutes after we woke Louise cried out loudly with great anticipation - "I think it is snowing!!" Within another five minutes heavy snow was falling before our eyes completing a perfect Chistmas morning scene - we were indeed starting a most perfect white Chistmas day.

It is commonly stated that a picture is worth a thousand words - so perhaps the following pictures can best describe our day - we will of course provide some commentary to complete the picture (Well I will because Louise is now sleeping after a very big day!!).

Christmas morning our very own Christmas tree outside our window


Look ever so carefully - it's snowing!


Off we go for the day - lots of snow for this early in the season - even for the alps! But first we had to go shopping for some new snow boots for Louise to stop her slipping down the icy paths


Very old wooden animal shelters in the middle of the village - still in use as evidenced by the aroma


Our Christmas village


Lower end of the village


Decided to go up in a gondola to one of the lower altitude restaurants for lunch


Up and up to 2500 metres


We met some very nice people at lunch - Kate, Jamie, Mandy and Shaun (L to R)


All of us - love the one piece, Jamie

Thanks to the encouragement of our new friends we were off to the other side of the village for another gondola ride to experience something new - we are going tobogganing - apparently!!!

Before Louise knew it - we were on our way!


The mandatory group photo before setting down the mountain on those little wooden sleds- getting more nervous now!!


Not really - we can do it!!!


This about sums it up!!

This completes the picture - such great fun - we absolutley had a ball thanks to the encouragement of our new friends


So we had to have a hot wine to celebrate at an outdoor rest stop almost at the bottom of the slopes - thanks so much guys - would not have done it without your encouragement, support, lessons on the way down - the great thing about travel is meeting great new people from all over the world


I did it!! Sunset at the bottom of the toboggan run - before we went to enjoy a 5 course Christmas dinner thanks to Mum Judy who gave us some travel money as our Christmas present to make sure we had a great Christmas meal - we sure did to complete a fantastic day.


Louise emailing her mum tonight before she fell asleep after a very very big day - wearing her new snow hat - noice!!

Thinking of you all at the end of our Christmas day.

We have another full day in Saas-Fee tomorrow (26th) before we head to France and back to Germany (Frankfurt) to catch a flight to Edinburgh for New Years Eve (Hogmanay festival).

PS - because the teacher fell asleep I take all responsibility for the content of this posting - red pen is still in her pocket. I feel like a naughty boy sneaking into the kitchen to steal a biscuit!!

Regards and keep safe.

Merry Christmas!

Hello everybody - Merry Christmas!



It's Christmas Eve here in Saas-Fee (as you can tell from the unopened pressies!) - our home for the next three nights. We're in the most idyllic village surrounded by the Swiss alps. Have updated the blog (sorry - another writing marathon) to include our Austrian adventures and the journey to here. Will post again after we've had our Christmas day.

Saturday 20th

Had another quick look around Sopron and took some daylight photos. It was a real treat to be in this town – we didn’t see any other tourists and felt like we were mixing with the locals.

As Sopron is in the far west of Hungary, it wasn’t long before we crossed the border into Austria. We had a lot of distance to cover today so stuck mostly to the motorways.

We did make time, though, for a visit to beautiful Vienna. Saw the Opera House (had a mental picture of you, Mum Judy – camping out to see Pavarotti!!), the Rathaus (Town Hall), St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Schonbrunn Palace. Did some window shopping (all we could afford to do!) and had a coffee in a coffee house (the thing to do).


Louise enjoying the sights of Vienna



Phil outside St Stephen's Cathedral - Vienna

Off again – bound for our home for the next three nights – Salzburg. Phil did a sterling job of negotiating the roads in quite heavy rain. Arrived safely just after dark and, after checking in to our hotel, set off on foot to explore Salzburg. Our hotel is in the new town – about a ten minute walk across the river from the old town where most of the main attractions are located. Had a bit of a look around before finding a restaurant and enjoying some great local food. (We’re sure we don’t need to tell you - of course we also checked out one of the many Christmas markets!).

Sunday 21st

Not to be deterred by the rain, we donned our wet weather gear and had a brilliant day in Salzburg. Our first stop was Mozart’s birthplace – a beautiful house down one of the cobbled laneways. Next we visited the Residenzplatz where we discovered the work of contemporary local artist – Johanna Kopp (check out her website http://www.johanna-kopp.at/). Were particularly taken by her impressions of Salzburg. Checked out the Cathedral and then the beautiful St Peterskirche. The cemetery behind St Peterskirche (the inspiration for the scene in the Sound of Music where the Von Trapps hid - you remember... that scene with Rolf!) leads to the Catacombs – literally dug into the side of the cliff face – accessed via a very steep, carved set of stairs.


The churchyard behind St Peterskirche - catacombs to the right and Fortress on the hill behind

From there we climbed the massive hill (more stairs!!) to reach the Fortress – the beautiful hilltop castle that dominates the town – where the many archbishop-princes who have ruled Salzburg have lived over the years. Parts of it date as far back as 1077. Spent a couple of hours thoroughly enjoying all this structure has to offer – fabulous architecture from throughout the ages, a museum housing a vast collection of items salvaged from the region, state rooms – even a marionette museum (you can guess which Sound of Music song Louise started singing when she saw the puppets - you didn't know she could yodel, did you? (that's because she can't!!).


Phil discovered a hidden talent - puppeteering!


View over Salzburg from the Fortress - see how high we climbed?

Made our way back down the hill to find the Nonnberg Abbey where the Sound of Music first finds Maria and where Maria and Georg were married in real life – more singing by Louise!!

In the evening, we caught the funicular back up the hill to the Fortress (no need to do the stairs twice in one day!) for a fabulous concert featuring Mozart, Schubert and Vivaldi. Beautiful chamber music – strings (including harp) and flute - in an awesome setting – a lovely way to end the day.

Louise just after the concert in the Fortress

Monday 22nd

Decided to take a drive in the country to admire the beautiful scenery of the Austrian lakes district.

We weren’t too far out of Salzburg before we were into picturesque alpine villages covered by thick snow. Stopped and explored a few to sample the local coffee and hot chocolate!















Louise couldn’t resist a play in the snow by the roadside – then endured wet pants for the rest of the day!! (Thank goodness for heated seats in the car!).

Something magic about Christmas time in the snow - Louise only got me once with a snowball!!


Of course I had to retaliate!

Were absolutely taken by Hallstatt – a beautiful village that clings to the side of a mountain and overlooks a massive lake. Lingered for a while here. The scenery around this village is breathtaking.

The lakeside village of Hallstatt

Made our way back to Salzburg for a last evening wander – this time exploring the new town. Discovered hidden laneways, churches, and walked through the Schloss Mirabell gardens (to the relief of the residents of Salzburg, Louise resisted singing Sound of Music songs on this occasion...). Climbed a hill to a deserted churchyard to be rewarded with a magnificent view over the rooftops of Salzburg. While we were up there, church bells throughout the town started ringing – adding to the atmosphere (or heralding our departure??). A lovely end to our time in this beautiful city.

Tuesday 23rd

Today we made our way across Austria – heading in the direction of our Christmas destination – Switzerland. Our aim was to reach Feldkirch – on the far western border of Austria (almost in Liechtenstein) by nightfall – allowing time for a few stops on the way.

Our first stop was the beautiful village of Rattenberg. We spotted the ruined castle and church spires from the road and couldn’t resist taking a closer look. Really glad we stopped.

Christmas tree in the town square at Rattenberg

Next stop – Innsbruck. This beautiful city in the Tirol region (everything you expect Austrian scenery to be) is nestled at the foot of the surrounding snow-covered alps. Spent a couple of hours wandering the medieval section of the town and finished our Christmas shopping.

Phil captures the magic of the River Inn flowing from the alps past the Old Town of Innsbruck



Phil - Innsbruck

Back in the car for the final leg of our trek across Austria. The scenery was absolutely amazing – one main road through the centre of the alps – massive snow-covered mountains on either side – and heaps of tunnels (one was 10km long!). Arrived in Feldkirch as planned – our last stop in Austria. Tomorrow – through Liechtenstein to Saas-Fee in Switzerland for a three day Christmas break!!

Phil the publisher - organising the blog in Feldkirch

Wednesday 24th

Left Feldkirch reasonably early for us (9am - well... it's hard to get up before 8 when it's dark and cold!!). First stop - Liechtenstein's capital - Vaduz, which is dominated by a Gothic castle where the monarch lives. Had a bit of a look around before setting off again in the direction of Saas-Fee.

As Liechtenstein is only 25km long and 6km wide, it wasn't long before we crossed the border into Switzerland. Climbed and climbed and climbed the alps bound for our destination. Some of those roads are amazingly winding - hairpin bend after hairpin bend.


You can just see the winding roads in this photo

We were almost at the top of a very high peak - sailing along quite nicely - when our sat nav - in her polite robotic fashion said... 'in 30 meters turn left and board the ferry'(!!). In unision - we both replied ever so eloquently... 'What????'

Obedient as ever, we continued and found ourselves in a queue to board a car train which ferries all vehicular traffic through a 15.4 kilometer long tunnel. We now know that this is the Furka Base Tunnel which links two towns at approximately 1500m above sea level. This was quite an experience!!


In the queue for the car train

Once through the peak we descended to the town of Brig and then climbed up and up again to the village of Saas-Fee. The scenery was absolutely awesome. Thick, thick snow each side of the road and on all roof-tops.

As Saas-Fee is a car free village, all cars must be parked in the parking station and the rest of the journey from there to the village and one's accommodation can be undertaken by walking, by electric taxi, or by a courtesy electric car generally offered by each individual hotel (including ours). As we'd been in the car for most of the day and have become quite addicted to exercise, we elected to walk. This was very silly - repeat... very silly! No map - a maze of chalets and hotels connected by icy windy paths... our wheelie suitcases becoming bogged at every turn. At one stage we contemplated using them as toboggans! To our relief (it was getting dark and a tad cool!!), we eventually found our way to our hotel.

Recovered from our ordeal and tackled the pathways again to explore a little. We're going to love it here! It's got a great atmosphere - skiers, snowboarders, people like us just wanting to enjoy the location. Shops were open until 6:30ish tonight - restaurants are open and everything opens again tomorrow afternoon (Christmas Day). We've booked Christmas dinner in our hotel restaurant, which looks great.

Mum Judy - we returned from our walk to find your Christmas card on the door of our room - what a brilliant surprise!! Thank you so much for that - it's a really special thing to do. Louise shed a tear or two... It's displayed in our room - reminding us of home. And as promised Christmas dinner is on you - thanks. Love you!

Mel, the fizz is - quite literally - on ice (or rather snow). No self-respecting Hawk would contemplate Christmas without it!

So - stay tuned for our Christmas Day post. Thank you for following our journey and for your comments - it's great to have that contact and we really look forward to reading them.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas day. Thinking of you all. With lots of love...

Cesky Krumlov... to Budapest and Sopron

Hi Everyone! Thanks for your patience and sorry for the delay (especially you Mum Judy - we know you check every day!!). Internet access is not always easy. Afraid this instalment will be a big one!! Want to take this opportunity to thank our friends Brad and Ben for lending us their baby laptop - thanks so much - it's fabulous! If only the internet access was as convenient everywhere!!

Tuesday 16th

Said goodbye to Cesky Krumlov and set off on a ‘driving day’ to Budapest. Our sat nav took us on a wonderful journey which included a blend of tiny minor roads through snow covered Czech villages and some major roads which helped us to make up some time. Before long we crossed the border into Austria, which meant a new currency was required to purchase a ‘vignette’- a pre-paid sticker for the windscreen that allows travel on the motorways.

Cut across the top of Austria, sat nav has a distinct dislike for major roads, but we saw some great countryside and Phil had a driving break to run through the snow – pity it was in a non pedestrian ski slope – but Louise said I could do it!!

Phil - naughtily running through the snow in the 'No pedestrians!' area!!

Finally we entered Hungary – another currency, another ‘vignette’ and new road signs to conquer – at least Hungarian road signs have more vowels than those in the Czech Republic – Louise has truly become the queen of road sign languages!!

Arrived in Budapest just as it was getting dark. Depended on our trusty sat nav to take us through the peak hour traffic and right to the door of our hotel – another Art’otel (this one dedicated to the work of artist Donald Sultan) – on the banks of the Danube, on the ‘Buda’ side of the river. The view from our room was awesome. We looked straight across to ‘Pest’, including the Parliament building (apparently modeled on London’s Westminster), the dome and spires of St Istvan Basilica and the beautiful Chain Bridge.















View of the Chain Bridge and the Danube from our room... noice...

Spent the evening wandering across the vast Danube via the Chain Bridge to explore the “Pest’ area. The city lights were breathtaking. As we explored the city streets, we stumbled across – you guessed it – a Christmas market! Of course we had to dive in. It may seem as though we’re addicted to these festive gatherings – and to an extent we are – but we’ve found that they’re a great way to mix with the local people, admire traditional arts and crafts and sample the local food. Every single one is different. On this occasion, we got to watch (and Louise couldn’t resist joining in with) some traditional Hungarian dancing (by the way - people were invited to join in - she didn't make a complete fool of herself!! Phil wants to add 'mostly children, though'....!). The market settings are always beautiful, too – typically in a town square surrounded by beautiful architecture. We hope you’re proud of the fact that we didn’t attempt to drive through this one!!

Wednesday 17th

Had a wonderful day exploring Budapest. This is one place we’d love to spend more time. Focused our morning on the ‘Buda’ area. Caught the funicular up a steep hill to check out ‘Varhegy’ (Castle Hill) and the ‘Kiralyi Palota’ (Royal Palace) which is massive – and very beautiful. It houses the Hungarian National Gallery which we explored at length. We saw some fabulous Hungarian art ranging from the early medieval period to the present time. The pieces we found particularly amazing were wood carvings (essentially items from churches including statues and altar screens) from the 14th Century. The fact that these have survived – beautifully preserved – all this time is astounding.




















Louise outside the Hungarian National Gallery

View to 'Pest' from the Royal Palace area

Continued to enjoy the area around the castle including the beautiful Matthias Church, the Fisherman’s Bastion and lovely streets and buildings in general.

Phil at the Fisherman's Bastion

Spent the rest of the day in ‘Pest’. Mastered yet another Metro system to make our way out to Heroe’s Square to see a magnificent monument. Wandered some more to see the Hungarian State Opera House and the Basilica – absolutely amazing buildings.















Heroe's Square

Had a fabulous meal in a great restaurant we just stumbled across. Enjoyed the company of our host Andrea, whose family has owned the restaurant for 70 years – beautiful food and great atmosphere – a must for anyone visiting Budapest.

Thursday 18th

Keeping Budapest as our base, we headed off for a drive in the Hungarian countryside – hugging the Danube to visit an area known as the Danube Bend. There are a few charming villages along the way - we chose to spend time in Szentendre and Esztergom.

Szentendre, which used to be an artists’ colony, has a beautiful old town square and lots of little shops, galleries and cafes. We spent a lovely couple of hours exploring this beautiful village – particularly enjoyed the local pottery (and had to buy some!!).

Szentendre - Louise after a visit to a potter's gallery!

Esztergom was another delight. It has Hungary’s largest church – Esztergom Basilica. It’s also right across the river from Slovakia! We resisted the urge to drive across the bridge and ‘collect a country’ (but we did take photos!)!!

Esztergom - you can just see see the dome of the Basilica in the mist

Friday 19th

Tore ourselves away from Budapest. It’s a fascinating city. Louise loved it when she visited 18 years ago, but - with a little more time to explore this time – she loved it even more. This city definitely goes on the ‘must return’ list.

Headed off across the Hungarian countryside again to our next destination – Sopron. Once again, the sat nav took us on some minor roads so we got to see lots of smaller towns and villages.

Sopron is a beautiful Hungarian walled town with a Gothic centre. We resisted the urge to drive through the tiny town centre (and – yes – the Christmas market), parked the car and walked the cobbled streets to find our hotel. Although the area inside the city wall is tiny, it’s a maze of streets and alleys. We knew we wouldn’t be able to navigate our way to the hotel without a map (which we didn’t have), so we took the sat nav for a walk with us! Imagine this... two people wandering the deserted laneways... a distant churchbell rings... the only other sound you can hear is our footsteps on the cobble stones and then suddently a robotic voice says very loudly 'in 50 meters turn right'. Where was the volume switch for the sat nav??? We couldn't find it so had to muffle her under Phil’s scarf - very classy! She got us there, though – a beautiful old building built in the 1500s.















Sopron town square Christmas market by day...















...and by night... Where's that mulled wine stall??

Spent the afternoon and evening exploring Sopron (including the Christmas market – in the old town square) and ended up in a great basement restaurant enjoying the company of some locals. We all managed to overcome the language barrier to have a really fun time. Turned down the invitation to go to a concert with them – we’ve got another driving day tomorrow – bound for Salzburg.

Prague to Cesky Krumlov

Friday

While the snow cleared overnight, there was still a lovely soft covering on the ground and the rooftops for our daylight exploration of the Cathedral area around our hotel. The view over Prague from the Cathedral grounds was quite breathtaking. We enjoyed a walk through the Cathedral itself before wandering through the cemetery to find Dvorak's grave.


Phil exploring the statues in the Cathedral park


Louise and her snowman (with nut shell hat and stick pipe!!)


View over Prague from the Cathedral park

We enjoyed looking at the magnificent architecture on our walk along the Vltava River through the Nove Mesto (New Town). As we approached the Charles Bridge and the Stare Mesto (Old Town), the streetscape changed. The buildings became even more magnificent and the streets narrowed to become cobbled laneways, which - of course - we explored at length! The Old Town square was buzzing - crowds of people were enjoying the views of the Tyn Church, the Old Town Hall and the Christmas market! We decided to return to this beautiful place for an evening visit and continued with our exploration of the city.


At the Old Town square in Prague

We wandered through the old Jewish Quarter before crossing the Vltava and walking up a (quite large!!) hill through parkland to Prague Castle. Spent ages exploring the castle grounds and visiting St Vitus Cathedral before heading back down the other side of the hill through Mala Strana (Little Quarter) - intriguing cobbled streets and beautiful houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries.


The Jewish Quarter


St Vitus Cathedral in the grounds of Prague Castle

Strolled across the Charles Bridge (with all the other tourists!) towards the Church of St Salvator where we had tickets for an evening concert. Soaking up the atmosphere of the beautiful 17th century church while listening to a string quartet was a very relaxing way to spend an evening. We listened to some of Louise's favourite's - Bach's 'Air', Pachabel's 'Canon' (you know how much I love this one, Mum) and Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'.


View of Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge


Louise about to enter St Salvator Church (in the background) for the concert

This really is a fabulous time to visit this part of the world, as Christmas is truly celebrated in a big way. The Christmas markets are full of people. Decorations and lights adorn most buildings - everyone gets into the spirit of the season. We did our bit by eating our way around the Christmas market in the Old Town square - sausages, local cakes, mulled wine...yum! Made our way back to the hotel for a much needed sleep - we just about walked our feet off today!!

Saturday

Back into our trusty car for the drive south towards Cesky Krumlov. Stopped in the small town of Kutna Hora to visit Sedlec Ossuary - the crypt of a church which is completely decorated with human bones! It's estimated that the bones of approximately 40 000 people have been used to construct the decorations and displays which include four pyramids, a coat of arms and a chandelier! An awesome sight.


Phil under the chandelier made of bones

Spent the afternoon travelling along tiny, winding roads - passing through little Czech villages - on our way to Cesky Krumlov. Reached our destination just as it was getting dark. Cesky Krumlov is a truly beautiful place. The old town nestles at the foot of the castle on the Vltava River. It features Renaissance and Baroque buildings and tiny cobbled laneways.With the help of the local police (but that's another story - not a good idea to drive into the town square while the Christmas markets are on - but the sat nav said to!!) we navigated the laneways to find our hotel at the foot of the castle.

Enjoyed a delightful (and freezing!!) evening stroll and sampled a couple of the local establishments before retiring for the night. Lots of exploring to do tomorrow!

Monday



Words can't describe the beauty of Cesky Krumlov - so we took heaps of photos!! The prettiest part of the town is quite small and very easy to thoroughly cover on foot - which we did. We spent most of the day generally wandering down the numerous narrow, cobbled lanes. The town is full of galleries, interesting shops, cafes and bars. With the help of a guidebook we were able to identify those buildings of most historical significance (they all looked pretty amazing to us!!).


The well-worn stairs leading to St Vitus' Church - Cesky Krumlov


The cobbled lanes of Cesky Krumlov

Other highlights of the day included a visit to the Eggenberg Brewery (the local beer) and a wonderful couple of hours exploring Cesky Krumlov castle. We climbed the 162 steps - up the spiral staircase - to the top of the castle tower and were rewarded with a fabulous view and an opportunity to take - yes - more photos!!


Guess who's just been to the Eggenberg Brewery shop?


View from the castle tower

Oh and... we're sure we don't need to tell you... but, of course we were compelled to sample more of the local food before calling it a night.

Tomorrow - the drive to Budapest for four days in Hungary!