Friday 22 June 2012
We caught a couple of planes today, we didn’t really want to. We flew to Perth, we’ve been there before. It’s got horrible things like work, gym (oh dear god no), diets, responsibility, more work, lawns, gardens, etc. But it’s also got our house, my bike, lots of space, a cupboard to put things in and most importantly most of our mates.
I’ve looked at my work email 3 times on holidays and just deleted stuff. I don’t want to know what’s there.
I still don’t really want to be home, there is way too much world out there to have to spend time at work.
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Fat Bottom Girls
Thursday 21 June 2012
“Bicycle. Bicycle. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike.” As sung by Freddy.
We went for a bicycle ride today. Cubes had to work in the morning, so the rest of us slobbed around. Then we headed out of town on the deadly treadlies. Unfortunately they only had three helmets, so The Albatross rode hat free. Probably the wisest as there was a high chance that I would stack the bike as I only ride a bike one a year on Rotto.
Cubes had a destination in mind, down some back roads, past some Gasthuas’ to a place to have lunch (and a beer of course). We kept on coming across the last hill we had to ride up, I think there was a bit of CEF (closely followed by SEF). Anyways, we got to a lovely Gasthaus just as the first enormous drops of rain started falling. They had an outdoor area under some laserlite and grape vines, so that seemed the best place to sit.
The lovely lady that runs the place tried to encourage us to sit inside and to put the bikes undercover, particularly went it started to hail. Oh, did it hail, and big ones too. It was quite lovely sitting outside listening to the hail bang loudly on the roof. The hills disappeared rapidly behind the incoming clouds.
Cubes and The Albatross donned bike helmets to get our dinner when the lady bought them out so she didn’t get hailed upon.
Having decided the storm was past, we jumped back on the bikes. My seat was rather soaked and it was really squishy getting back on it. Next stop was into town, Bruck an der Mur, for a coffee. We timed it well and got there just as it started raining again. Mind you we were really close to some lightning and a huge clap of thunder that scared the daylights out of me, I squawked loudly.
A quick ride up a hill to look at some water running down the hill, it is supposed to be all feng shui and healing. I don’t think we fully appreciated it as we all washed the sunscreen off our arms.
A dash down the hill and we were at the train station. Yep, we weren’t riding the 20km home but catching the train .Good thing too as it started to hail and rain.
Managed to miss getting wet on the short cycle from the train to home. We were quite lucky.
Dinner was delicious, Cubes made a rather smashing risotto, washed down with some lovely Austrian wine.
“Bicycle. Bicycle. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike.” As sung by Freddy.
We went for a bicycle ride today. Cubes had to work in the morning, so the rest of us slobbed around. Then we headed out of town on the deadly treadlies. Unfortunately they only had three helmets, so The Albatross rode hat free. Probably the wisest as there was a high chance that I would stack the bike as I only ride a bike one a year on Rotto.
Cubes had a destination in mind, down some back roads, past some Gasthuas’ to a place to have lunch (and a beer of course). We kept on coming across the last hill we had to ride up, I think there was a bit of CEF (closely followed by SEF). Anyways, we got to a lovely Gasthaus just as the first enormous drops of rain started falling. They had an outdoor area under some laserlite and grape vines, so that seemed the best place to sit.
The lovely lady that runs the place tried to encourage us to sit inside and to put the bikes undercover, particularly went it started to hail. Oh, did it hail, and big ones too. It was quite lovely sitting outside listening to the hail bang loudly on the roof. The hills disappeared rapidly behind the incoming clouds.
Cubes and The Albatross donned bike helmets to get our dinner when the lady bought them out so she didn’t get hailed upon.
Having decided the storm was past, we jumped back on the bikes. My seat was rather soaked and it was really squishy getting back on it. Next stop was into town, Bruck an der Mur, for a coffee. We timed it well and got there just as it started raining again. Mind you we were really close to some lightning and a huge clap of thunder that scared the daylights out of me, I squawked loudly.
A quick ride up a hill to look at some water running down the hill, it is supposed to be all feng shui and healing. I don’t think we fully appreciated it as we all washed the sunscreen off our arms.
A dash down the hill and we were at the train station. Yep, we weren’t riding the 20km home but catching the train .Good thing too as it started to hail and rain.
Managed to miss getting wet on the short cycle from the train to home. We were quite lucky.
Dinner was delicious, Cubes made a rather smashing risotto, washed down with some lovely Austrian wine.
Monday, 25 June 2012
The last Schloss
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Today we headed off to Graz, the local city and only about half an hour away. Our first target was Schloss Eggenberg. I was a bit Schlossed out but Tuna was keen and Shaz had never been (it’s a summer residence and freezing in winter apparently).
The gardens are vast lawn and shady trees with a large number of peacocks strutting around squawking, one of which caught Shaz unawares and resulted in her squawking back.
The schloss itself was really good. We were on a tour with only two other folks and our lass new what she was talking about, you could point at any painting and she would be able to describe the painting in great depth. Really impressive!
We wandered through the formal rooms on the tour and then through the art gallery on the floor below, which was not a bad collection.
It was lunch time by then so we headed into town and grabbed some Italian in a little plaza. I must also say it was belting hot and very humid, so a sit down was appreciated. Due to the heat we moved slowly afterwards, just strolling around a fantastic little city.
They have a clock tower on The Burg, overlooking the town, that Napoleon once held to ransom by threatening to destroy it if they didn’t cough up the cash. Obviously they did. This we reached by a lift inside the hill which was both very funky and delightfully frosty.
After some happy snaps we wandered back down the Russian steps (built by WW1 prisoners), Shaz grabbed a very funky BBQ for Cubes and we headed for home. Unfortunately we had a parking fine despite having a valid ticket; apparently it was a loading zone for a hotel according to a nice chap that explained it to us.
That night we went to a fantastic restaurant back in Leoben. I had a brilliant bit of duck with a wasabi spiced mashed spud and Asian vegies. Odd but brilliant. Finally the wether broke a bit during dinner with a specky lightning storm and a dribble of rain.
Today we headed off to Graz, the local city and only about half an hour away. Our first target was Schloss Eggenberg. I was a bit Schlossed out but Tuna was keen and Shaz had never been (it’s a summer residence and freezing in winter apparently).
The gardens are vast lawn and shady trees with a large number of peacocks strutting around squawking, one of which caught Shaz unawares and resulted in her squawking back.
The schloss itself was really good. We were on a tour with only two other folks and our lass new what she was talking about, you could point at any painting and she would be able to describe the painting in great depth. Really impressive!
We wandered through the formal rooms on the tour and then through the art gallery on the floor below, which was not a bad collection.
It was lunch time by then so we headed into town and grabbed some Italian in a little plaza. I must also say it was belting hot and very humid, so a sit down was appreciated. Due to the heat we moved slowly afterwards, just strolling around a fantastic little city.
They have a clock tower on The Burg, overlooking the town, that Napoleon once held to ransom by threatening to destroy it if they didn’t cough up the cash. Obviously they did. This we reached by a lift inside the hill which was both very funky and delightfully frosty.
After some happy snaps we wandered back down the Russian steps (built by WW1 prisoners), Shaz grabbed a very funky BBQ for Cubes and we headed for home. Unfortunately we had a parking fine despite having a valid ticket; apparently it was a loading zone for a hotel according to a nice chap that explained it to us.
That night we went to a fantastic restaurant back in Leoben. I had a brilliant bit of duck with a wasabi spiced mashed spud and Asian vegies. Odd but brilliant. Finally the wether broke a bit during dinner with a specky lightning storm and a dribble of rain.
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Glacial Lake and books
Tuesday 19 June 2012
We went for a drive today. Chris mentioned that there was a nice lake not too far from Leoben, so off we headed. Shaz came with us, Chris had to work. It was really pretty drive along the valley. You come to Eisenerz which has a huge iron ore mine that is slowly eating away the mountain.
From here it is a short drive to Leopoldsteiner See which is a small lake over looked by towering granite peaks.
You are allowed to go swimming in the lake, but it is a little frosty. Shaz got her feet wet, I got my toes wet, The Albatross dove in. Judging the gasping, it was rather cold. He stayed in for about 20 seconds before getting out. We sat around and chilled out before wandering back to the car.
A few minutes down the road was Admont which has a Benedictine Abbey and Library. The Library is amazing, it holds about 200,000 books that are hundreds of years old, has frescoes all over the ceiling and statues beside all the bookshelves. The Library is part of the Abbey museum which has a museum and art gallery also. So we wandered through the natural history museum which has an astonishing number of stuffed animals and bugs pinned to the walls. The art gallery was a touchy feely one and aimed at the blind and deaf. So we could play with everything. It was quite hilarious when Shaz and The Albatross were playing with small piano instrument that was bellow operated and it suddenly let out an extremely loud noise. The both squeaked, joined their hands together in front of them, turned around, dropped their heads and scuttled away.
We headed home via a windy pretty road over the hills.
We went for a drive today. Chris mentioned that there was a nice lake not too far from Leoben, so off we headed. Shaz came with us, Chris had to work. It was really pretty drive along the valley. You come to Eisenerz which has a huge iron ore mine that is slowly eating away the mountain.
From here it is a short drive to Leopoldsteiner See which is a small lake over looked by towering granite peaks.
You are allowed to go swimming in the lake, but it is a little frosty. Shaz got her feet wet, I got my toes wet, The Albatross dove in. Judging the gasping, it was rather cold. He stayed in for about 20 seconds before getting out. We sat around and chilled out before wandering back to the car.
A few minutes down the road was Admont which has a Benedictine Abbey and Library. The Library is amazing, it holds about 200,000 books that are hundreds of years old, has frescoes all over the ceiling and statues beside all the bookshelves. The Library is part of the Abbey museum which has a museum and art gallery also. So we wandered through the natural history museum which has an astonishing number of stuffed animals and bugs pinned to the walls. The art gallery was a touchy feely one and aimed at the blind and deaf. So we could play with everything. It was quite hilarious when Shaz and The Albatross were playing with small piano instrument that was bellow operated and it suddenly let out an extremely loud noise. The both squeaked, joined their hands together in front of them, turned around, dropped their heads and scuttled away.
We headed home via a windy pretty road over the hills.
Return to Leoben
Monday 18 June 2012
After a lazy start to the day we drove the few km’s to the airport and flew back to Vienna. We had about 4 hours to kill as we were meeting Thomas and Patrizia who were on a 4:30 flight from Berlin so we picked up our hire car and headed out to Podersdorf am See, a small town on a quite pretty lake. It was hot and walking around wasn’t that appealing so we called into a restaurant and had a slow lunch.
On the way back we quickly called past Carnuntum, and old roman garrison town. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go in, but we had a quick squiz over the fence at a few of the ruins (some parts reconstructed). Then it was back to quickly pick up T&P, we dropped Thomas at his car a few kilometres away, then headed to Leoben with Patrizia. It was great to be driving on good roads, with perfect drivers and a decent car (Astra diesel wagon).
Finally we hit town, dropped of Patrizia and went and found Chris and Shaz. A relaxing meal, some novelty beers (they pour the beer by dripping it into the glass, this takes so long they give you another beer while you wait) then a chat before bed. We were tired and C&S had just come back from Australia the day before so were rather jet lagged.
After a lazy start to the day we drove the few km’s to the airport and flew back to Vienna. We had about 4 hours to kill as we were meeting Thomas and Patrizia who were on a 4:30 flight from Berlin so we picked up our hire car and headed out to Podersdorf am See, a small town on a quite pretty lake. It was hot and walking around wasn’t that appealing so we called into a restaurant and had a slow lunch.
On the way back we quickly called past Carnuntum, and old roman garrison town. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go in, but we had a quick squiz over the fence at a few of the ruins (some parts reconstructed). Then it was back to quickly pick up T&P, we dropped Thomas at his car a few kilometres away, then headed to Leoben with Patrizia. It was great to be driving on good roads, with perfect drivers and a decent car (Astra diesel wagon).
Finally we hit town, dropped of Patrizia and went and found Chris and Shaz. A relaxing meal, some novelty beers (they pour the beer by dripping it into the glass, this takes so long they give you another beer while you wait) then a chat before bed. We were tired and C&S had just come back from Australia the day before so were rather jet lagged.
Lazy Sunday Afternoon
Sunday 17 June 2012
Today we spent a relaxing afternoon around Casa Grecho.
The Albatross had said he would get up early and help Paul do some work in the vegie patch. The alarm went off at 7am, The Albatross stayed in bed. Eventually he got out at around 9am and went to help. As it is so hot they didn’t stay out there too long and when finished when for a dip in the pool to cool off.
We didn’t do much today, but enjoyed it. It was good to relax and spend some time with the Grech’s.
The Albatross was keen to try pheasant, and you can buy it from the local supermarket in Bucharest! How awesome is that.
Today we spent a relaxing afternoon around Casa Grecho.
The Albatross had said he would get up early and help Paul do some work in the vegie patch. The alarm went off at 7am, The Albatross stayed in bed. Eventually he got out at around 9am and went to help. As it is so hot they didn’t stay out there too long and when finished when for a dip in the pool to cool off.
We didn’t do much today, but enjoyed it. It was good to relax and spend some time with the Grech’s.
The Albatross was keen to try pheasant, and you can buy it from the local supermarket in Bucharest! How awesome is that.
Big bonkers Bookers
Saturday 16 June 2012
Happy Birthday Mum!
We thought that we should have a look at Bucharest as we’re staying on the outskirts of town. So after a big fry up for breaky we headed in. Our first stop was Ceausescu’s infamous presidential palace; the second largest building in the world (behind the Pentagon). It’s huge and dominates the landscape.
We were lucky and able to book a tour leaving in half an hours’ time so the wait wasn’t too long. The part we saw seemed to consist of huge hall after huge hall, all smothered in marble and dripping with massive crystal chandeliers and gold trim. It still isn’t finished inside apparently but other sections are already starting to look a bit shabby and the grounds are in desperate need of some attention. It’ll be fascinating to see what it looks like in another 20 years time.
After our tour we strolled down one of the grand boulevards that were created (Ceausescu bulldozed 1/6th of the city to put them in) looking for lunch with very little success. We eventually found a place and had a plate of pasta. We then went around the corner into an old section of town and found huge roads of restaurants, very frustrating.
The old section of Bucharest is rather charming, with a strange mix of architectural styles from all over Europe. We decided to just stroll around for a while.
We then headed back to Casa Grecho …
… for a swim in the now clean swimming pool. This was a welcome relief after a hot sticky day. We wandered down the road to a little restaurant/pub for a nice simple meal. Delicious.
Happy Birthday Mum!
We thought that we should have a look at Bucharest as we’re staying on the outskirts of town. So after a big fry up for breaky we headed in. Our first stop was Ceausescu’s infamous presidential palace; the second largest building in the world (behind the Pentagon). It’s huge and dominates the landscape.
We were lucky and able to book a tour leaving in half an hours’ time so the wait wasn’t too long. The part we saw seemed to consist of huge hall after huge hall, all smothered in marble and dripping with massive crystal chandeliers and gold trim. It still isn’t finished inside apparently but other sections are already starting to look a bit shabby and the grounds are in desperate need of some attention. It’ll be fascinating to see what it looks like in another 20 years time.
After our tour we strolled down one of the grand boulevards that were created (Ceausescu bulldozed 1/6th of the city to put them in) looking for lunch with very little success. We eventually found a place and had a plate of pasta. We then went around the corner into an old section of town and found huge roads of restaurants, very frustrating.
The old section of Bucharest is rather charming, with a strange mix of architectural styles from all over Europe. We decided to just stroll around for a while.
We then headed back to Casa Grecho …
… for a swim in the now clean swimming pool. This was a welcome relief after a hot sticky day. We wandered down the road to a little restaurant/pub for a nice simple meal. Delicious.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Vlad’s Pad (aka Drac’s Shack)
Friday 15 June 2012
As we’d failed with driving the Transfagarasian Road we thought we would attempt it again today. Also along the road Poienari Citadel, Vlad’s Pad or the ‘real’ dracula’s castle, perched high up a hill on a rock. There are 1480 steps to walk up first before you get to the top.
Next a short way up the road is Lake Vidraru and the giant hydroelectric dam. Quite spectacular.
We had a chat here. Do we continue? Do we turn around? Whilst technically on the Transfagarasian Road it isn’t the fun part. The next part around the lake is windy and would be open, it still isn’t the fun part. The fun part is higher up right near the pass and the tunnel. So we decided to turn around and head down and back to Bucharest.
So it was driving along roads that are lined with houses, small town, slow trucks, slow cars and the odd horse and cart, oh also the cyclist riding the wrong way along the road. Finally we got the to the dual lane divided freeway. This was another of Ceausescu’s constructions for Romania, it is good, the speed limit is 130km/hr, but our shitbox little car can’t do that speed (although the speedo goes up to 170). We managed to squeeze out about 115km/hr without fear that the car will break apart.
Finally back in Bucharest and to Casa Grecho.
The pool has been filled, but not swimmable yet as they are waiting on the pool man to arrive. He was due to arrive a few hours ago, but oh well, he might arrive at some time. He did eventually arrive and played around with stuff for about an hour, chucked some white stuff in the pool and left. Then the pool went green, completely green, top to bottom. Hmmmm, hopefully there is chlorine in there somewhere and it clears up.
A few refreshing ales with the Grech household and a lovely dinner. All is good.
As we’d failed with driving the Transfagarasian Road we thought we would attempt it again today. Also along the road Poienari Citadel, Vlad’s Pad or the ‘real’ dracula’s castle, perched high up a hill on a rock. There are 1480 steps to walk up first before you get to the top.
Next a short way up the road is Lake Vidraru and the giant hydroelectric dam. Quite spectacular.
We had a chat here. Do we continue? Do we turn around? Whilst technically on the Transfagarasian Road it isn’t the fun part. The next part around the lake is windy and would be open, it still isn’t the fun part. The fun part is higher up right near the pass and the tunnel. So we decided to turn around and head down and back to Bucharest.
So it was driving along roads that are lined with houses, small town, slow trucks, slow cars and the odd horse and cart, oh also the cyclist riding the wrong way along the road. Finally we got the to the dual lane divided freeway. This was another of Ceausescu’s constructions for Romania, it is good, the speed limit is 130km/hr, but our shitbox little car can’t do that speed (although the speedo goes up to 170). We managed to squeeze out about 115km/hr without fear that the car will break apart.
Finally back in Bucharest and to Casa Grecho.
The pool has been filled, but not swimmable yet as they are waiting on the pool man to arrive. He was due to arrive a few hours ago, but oh well, he might arrive at some time. He did eventually arrive and played around with stuff for about an hour, chucked some white stuff in the pool and left. Then the pool went green, completely green, top to bottom. Hmmmm, hopefully there is chlorine in there somewhere and it clears up.
A few refreshing ales with the Grech household and a lovely dinner. All is good.
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