Berlin: Vast and evolving

Day 5

It was a pleasant four hour journey on the train through the German countryside to the capital of Germany. I got to experience the blindingly fast 'intercity' trains firsthand, eyeing off the 250kph reading displayed on the screen from my seat. Sadly the trains would only become increasingly slower as I journeyed further into the shroud that is Eastern Europe. It was to be a memorable occasion in one other way as well. I slowly became aware of the serene sensation one gets when staring out of a carriage into the blurred landscape. My thoughts would start drifting ever deeper as if I had no cares  or worries to occupy my mind. It was to be the first time of several occasions where id experience this emotion and Id come to relish the relaxation it brought with it.

   

The recently opened Berlin main station was a huge modern complex consisting of several levels and was a prime example of the cities ambitions for the future. I didn't spend long admiring it though as I had more pressing matters at hand such as finding where id be sleeping for the next four nights. Much to my surprise upon entering my dorm there were three girls from Aus staying in my room and two of them were from Launceston! The cliche 'its a small world' began to take on a whole new meaning. Having ditched my enormously large backpack I walked to the Potsdamer Platz. It is essentially a large square of vacant land (which there was a great deal of post ww2) that has seen extensive development on it i.e high rise buildings. The Sony complex located there has a cool design and contains a cinema which I was to divulge in frequently. Standing there under the glass roof gave me a sense of what the 'new' Berlin encapsulated whilst on the ground level remnants of the Berlin wall served as a grim reminder of the past. All around the city you can find the boundary line on the ground of where the wall once lay.

 Day 6

In the reviews I had read of this particular hostel they had mentioned that the breakfast quite good and they weren't wrong. The whole upstairs floor contained an large array of breakfast food some familiar some not so much. Plastic cheese, bread and salami/ham seem to be the standard fare around much of Europe. I left feeling rather full upon beginning the short walk down the road to the Jewish Museum. Berlin is well known for having a large array of excellent museums and the Jewish museum turned out to be no exception.

                            

It was unusual in that the architecture and design of the rooms complemented the content on display. So instead of being bombarded with information it gave the viewer its own personal interpretation. Thought provoking spaces such as the 'Garden of Exile' where works of art in themselves and although simple provided a thought provoking space for some quiet contemplation. Another such space was a tower filled with 10 000 iron faces to symbolise those affected by the Holocaust. Four hours later I left having high expectations for what else Berlin had to offer. The next museum I visited definitely lived up to, if not exceeded those expectations.

The Pergamon Museum was a fourty five minute walk away located on what is called the 'Museum Island'. I thought it was impressive on the eye from the outside but it was nothing compared to the interior. Inside it contained no less then three huge reconstructed buildings from the ancient world. Interestingly the Pergamon altar which hails from Greece and from which the museum is named after, appears to have a reference to it in the bible: Revelation 2:12-13: "In Pergamos where Satan's Throne is". You can appreciate this statement more when you see the 'battle of the gods' depicted on the frieze around the outside of the structure. The other main attraction was the Ishtar Gate, one of the inner city gates in ancient Babylon. It was constructed of blue glazed tiles with alternating rows of bas-relief dragons and aurochs.The sheer size of the wall was jaw dropping and to think it was only an 'inner gate'...

                         

I made my way back towards the Potsdamer Platz passing on the way the 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe'. I didn't really know  how to interpret the memorial, finding the stone blocks made for a somewhat confusing arrangement. This was in part due to the fact it was so large, foreboding and didn't have any readily accessible information for the passer by. Scale was once again used to great affect and seemed to be a common element seen throughout city. I finished the day off with a visit to the cinema to watch the final installment in the Bourne series.

                    

Day 7

The sound of my alarm woke me up early in what was a time more suitable to a school morning. Having been fueled for another day I set out in the chilly Berlin air towards the German parliament, aka the Reichstag. I arrived to find only a very small queue to the building, thus successfully avoiding the 2 hour waits I had been warned about. After passing through some rather tight security I hopped on a lift to the top where a huge glass dome had been constructed a few years ago. Around the base of the dome was a series of images explaining the history of the Reichstag. After the history lesson I walked up the ramp to the top of the dome and admired the excellent view of the Berlin skyline.

                             

Another nearby monument and also one of the main symbols of Berlin is the Brandenburg Gate. I chilled here and did some people watching until 11am when it was time to go on a free walking tour of the city! Sipping on my second hot chocolate from nearby Starbucks I watched as the large group of people that had gathered for the tour were divided up several times. Firstly into those who spoke Spanish, then French and finally the vast majority who remained wanting an English guide. Coincidently i was placed with Aussie named Andrew who knew nearly everything there is to know about Berlin and its history. Having lived in the city for eight years and doing a masters degree in German history may have had something to do with it. For the next approximately four hours we walked around the city getting insightful and often humorous information delivered to us in an interesting way. Andrew's vast knowledge was inspiring and his enthusiasm for the city clearly evident. Just before the tour ended, he retold the final gripping moments before the Berlin walls collapse with great enthusiasm. As the guides and the tour company worked on a tips basis I gave him the few remaining euros in pocket in what would of easily been worth 20 or more in other cities. My impression of Berlin was vastly enhanced as a result and I left with a desire to visit this ever changing city again in the future.

I spent the rest of my afternoon at the nearby Egyptian Museum, another of the museums on the island. The artifacts included a good range of sculptures and busts and some curious looking pages from the 'book of the dead'. A very famous piece, the vividly coloured bust of Queen Nefertiti was also on display. There's something about artifacts that are very old and well preserved that makes them fascinating! I had another quiet evening in front of a cinema screen, this time it was a enjoyable yet silly Grind house flick.

Day 8

I was at of a bit of loss at what to do today as id done most of what I'd set out to do before coming here. After tossing up a few ideas in my head I decided id take a look at the final museum on 'the island' before going on another walking tour! Despite Berlin's attractions being relatively far away from one another I persisted in walking everywhere I went. This way I got to see more of the city and its people. I adopted the practice of not using public transportation as much as possible throughout my travels. On my wanderings I managed to spot a very rare and fast super car, which for all you car buffs was a Ferrari Enzo. Very cool.

The Bode Museum was somewhat of a disappointment especially when compared to the other two on the island. It contained some sculptures and Byzantine art but neither held any real interest to me. The interior of the building however was quite grand with marble floors and staircases while the exterior's architecture had a Byzantine look about it. I walked into old east Berlin briefly but didn't find it very exciting visually with the exception of the gigantic T.V tower, the second tallest structure in Europe  which somehow finds its way into almost every photograph you take.

                           

Back at the Starbucks meeting point I joined a small group that was to make up the Third Reich tour. This one wasn't free but I knew that combined with my interest in WW2 it would be would be well worth the price of admission. Andrew's expertise was once again on hand to provide me with insightful information about the buildings and structures we looked at. So brisk was our walking pace at one stage that we managed to leave behind an elderly couple on the tour who then proceeded to turn back. Embarrassingly he was so caught up with answering questions he only realised after having been told by another member of the tour! We came across quite a few memorials to various people who died during the war such as the Soviet soldiers and those killed in concentration camps. Some in my mind did justice to there memory while others were not to the level that would seem appropriate. It is good however to have something rather then nothing. One building we were shown they were doing filming for a film by Tom Cruise based on the events of an assassination attempt on Hitler's life. Andrew then relayed the story of how he had given Tom a tour of the city. Once the discussion had ended we walked for a while before stopping while our guide went into a library to return some books. Seemed like he must be pressed for time and rightly so, as it so happened this was his last tour in order for him to be able to concentrate more on his studies. The last place our little group visited was the location of Hitler's Bunker, the place where he committed suicide. Unfortunately there was no going inside as it was destroyed by the Soviets after they had stormed the capital. I felt a tinge of sadness as the tour concluded but felt privileged that I got to hear perhaps the last tour he'd ever do.

Day 9

I got my breakfast fill one final time before catching a bus to the main train station leaving me a chance to explore it in more detail. One thing I noticed was that the majority of food takeaway outlets you find scattered throughout most cities seemed to be all in the train station as opposed to in the city itself. Maybe the Germans don't want to appear to be selling out? Anyhow I wasn't hungry so it didn't matter and all I needed was a bottle of water to see me through the stunningly picturesque train ride to Prague!

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First stop, Cologne

My planned two month journey commenced early in the morning of October 2nd. The previous evening there had been a birthday so it was not until late that night that i managed to get some much needed sleep. The sound of my alarm at half past 3 gave me a sense of excitement in anticipation of what lay in front of me. After finishing packing i through on my bag and left the house in the direction of the bus stop. I would have to catch no less then 3 buses to get to Victoria stn, where i would then catch a train to Gatwick Airport. Thankfully all went smoothly and i managed to catch all the buses in time. It was a rather uneventful and short flight to Germany.

These trains have some pace to them.

As i stepped out of the plane i thought to myself, at last I've made it! To understand the significance of this statement you would need to have known that both my brother and sister were lucky enough to have been to Germany as children. This left me being slightly envious at their good fortune in contrast to what i maybe thought at the time was a case of me being abandoned. However that was a long time ago and now i had long since realised that with Independence comes certain freedom's. Therefore i made the decision to wait for my cousin to return from his extensive trip down under before i began my journey.

An imposing sight that you can see from almost anywhere in Cologne.

My initial encounter with the German rail system was indeed a positive one. The platforms themselves spoke a great deal about the efficiency, cleanliness and reliability that i had heard about. The trains themselves were very quiet and combined with the simple, plain colour scheme impressed me enough to give them the tick over the London underground offerings. Another feature of the Deutch bahn is the lack of turnstiles that grace every train station you'll find in London. I thought to myself at the time, what do they try to achieve through this method? Surely it gives the commuter an invitation to avoid fare's combined with the lack of signage warning of the consequences of such behaviour. My curiosity later lead me to ask Tobias what the deal was. His response expressed the same confusion i felt, but it could be a variety of reasons.

Tall and Gothic in nature

Having navigated the Hauptbahnhof, i stood waiting in anticipation of Tobias's arrival. Just outside the station i could spy the huge towering Cathedral that dominates the view of the city from just about any vantage point. We set off together in the direction of his flat, a mere 5 min walk. He had come on his pushbike, which soon became apparent was by far the best and easiest way of getting around. Luckily for me he had a spare bike which i was more then happy to make use of. I was pretty trashed so i spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on sleep. Once Tobias was back from work we set off for a nearby Italian place to eat. After downing some pizza we met up with some of Tobias's friends, a couple who lived in a flat just above where we were eating. The couple had a small baby and the father's occupation was quite peculiar as he was apparently a neuro surgeon. He took the both of us through where the baby was sleeping up a ladder to the roof. It was surprising how few high rise buildings there were, apparently this was nothing was allowed to be built in close proximity to the Cathedral. The rest of the night Tobias acted as my tour guide, showing me around the sights whilst letting me know everything about everything. It was quite impressive how he could recall seemingly endless amounts of info on pretty much anything.

Tobias reminiscing of his more youthful days

Day 2
Today was a public holiday, being the day Germany unified. A perfect excuse to sleep in! Brunch consisted of some delicious German bread and an assortment of cheeses, yum. We finally got outside around midday before heading to the Cologne city museum. It contained an assortment of interesting things connected with the city. We then spent a short time in the massive Gothic cathedral opposite the train station. Tobias had mean while organised for us to drive with his friends (with whom i had met last night) to some old industrial factories. We walked up what i assume was a big iron smelter, looking at all the pipes, bolts etc that made up its construction. I could appreciate how difficult it would be to understand just how it all works. The top platform was a little over 60m tall. This gave me a good view of some of the industry and mines in the far distance, a lot of which is no longer in use. We explored a little more before we headed back to the car park, snacking on some of the local fare (Currywurst) along the way. That evening we saw the Disney film, Ratatouille which was an enjoyable feel good flick.

Outer Cologne from 60m up

Day 3

Tobias had to work on Thursday but i had already organised to meet up with his father who lived in Bonn, about half an hour by train. In the morning he took me to the building where he worked and showed me around. He did a short recording of a teaser for some comedy festival, this is his main task for the Cologne radio station. I got to watch as the lady very eloquently spoke this 60 sec promo, which would be then later edited with music added etc. Afterwards i took the train to Bonn and got picked up by Klaus, an interesting man who i would describe as being typically 'German'. At his house i found a very simple and what some might describe as backward dwelling with very little evidence of any modern technology present. I accepted the offer of a second breakfast just to be polite as we discussed his work in the field of Nuclear Power safety. Christoph, Tobias's brother had come to Australia when i was quite young but he looked completely different when i saw him. He keenly showed me his cd collection and speakers which he had apparently been wanting to get for some eight years. Klaus took me in his car around some of the sights, the first a big Monastery on a hill with practising monks inside. Then we checked out the city centre of Bonn, where Beethoven lived. There was a cool sculpture of him and you could see his house in the streets. A short drive later and a hike up a hill (Oil mountain in English) and i found myself overlooking the area. Unfortunately today was a bit cloudy but Klaus was content to smoke his pipe while i took photo's of the misty hills. Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant by the Rhine, where we could watch the boats or lack there of float past. The slightly crazy Christoph took me to the train station back to Cologne and ultimately back to Tobias's place. A hotly contested game of chess ensued to finish the day.

3d statue of Beethoven in Bonn

Day 4

Today was Friday and i didn't do all that much. A notably nice breakfast at a funky cafe kicked things off. I bid farewell to my cousin before heading in the direction of the Cathedral with the goal of climbing the south tower. At the top i was rewarded with a nice view of the city and a look at the massive 24 tonne bell which apparently only gets used on special occasions. The cathedral treasury was another part of the ticket but it turned out to be slightly disappointing with mainly a collection of robes/clothes priests wore along with other ceremonial gear. I thought id ride along the Rhine just to get a feel of the place and check out a chocolate museum which was in the same direction. I looked inside but didn't go in, i slightly regretted the decision later when i found out you could drink chocolate from a stream. If only id have known! Anyhow i found my way to one of the old roman gate's found in the city where i met up with Tobias for lunch. I was directed to an outdoors shop nearby where i picked up some cheap pants and a jumper. That evening we hired a car and drove about an hour out of town to see a Ska band with whom Tobias was good friends with. It was held in a small nightclub venue with approximately 100 people turning out to see the gig. The support band and the main band were both quite good, having a really fun playing style. The only downside being that i probably inhaled more smoke in that one night then i had in my entire life! Oh and my clothes stank. I was to become quite accustomed to this though. There was an afterparty afterwards which we stayed at briefly although i must say i was relieved to be going back to a nice warm bed. The next day i would catch (run to) the train to Berlin, cutting it quite fine in the end :P On the whole i liked Cologne and had a good time hanging out with my 'super' German cousin :)

Serbian Ska band Trovaci

Venezia

Hello,
Well today was the last day of what was a fantastic camp. The traditional Italian fare awaited us one final time before everyone received an Italian farewell (lots of kisses). We set off about 10am with Dan, Alice and co in the direction of a city by the name of Venice. The trip was supposebly meant to take four hours and in that time we left the mountainous region of the Dolomites behind in exchange for a flat dry landscape. Around two hours into the trip and we'd made our way back to Verona, our place of arrival. Unfortunately i wouldn't get to see the home of Romeo and Juliet but i felt assured greater things were in store for me elsewhere. Eventually the road turned into a four lane highway and the signs for those traveling to Venice became more and more frequent. I didn't really know what to expect as far as how it would look entering the city. I think i may have even forgot that it was surrounded by a lagoon, how silly of me! I was therefore quite surprised to find how industrious the area was before getting on the long bridge that made its way to the bus/train depot. Dan and Al returned the van to the rental company while the rest of us waited on the side of the road with our luggage in the hot midday sun. A weird feeling came over me as i began to appreciate what a unique part of the world i was in. A couple of hundred meters down the Grand Canal (the main canal in Venice) lay the train station and accompanying tourist office. Along the way i spotted the entrance to my hostel, that was easy to find i thought to myself. I bid farewell to the guys and headed for the train station where i bought a map. The lady at the reception gave me another map and the pointed out the major sights, places to eat etc. My room had was quite spacious and contained four spacious beds and a shared bathroom. Opposite was a small room which had two of the oldest and dogiest computers ive ever seen/used. The reverse of the cliche 'no expense was spared' would be applicable in this instance. However i must admit i did brave the tedious slowness of the machines on a few occasions. First on the list was a visit to the local supermarket which was located back near the bus depot. I stocked up on some fruit, OJ and other assorted goods that i thought would make up a decent breakfast. After this i headed out towards the northern Cannaregio district which is the more quiet and peaceful area in Venice. It was really nice and peaceful walking through the streets and not seeing any tourists whatsoever! I got lost but i think if you come to Venice you'll soon discover its inevitable and just a part of the experience. One alleyway i came across had no less the three cats sleeping in the shade (see pic). i kept wandering in the same direction in an effort to get to the most northern part of the district. Children were playing in the streets, and having fun. Seeing the locals in their environment was a nice contrast to what i would encounter for the rest of my stay.

I had a look for somewhere nice and relatively cheap to eat but couldnt really find anything that appealed to me. There are heaps of budget and slightly run down restaurants to choose from, as well as the pizza by the slice offerings everywhere you looked but they didnt look very appealing. Every 50m or so in every direction you will find a Gelati stalls were you can buy the delicious ice cream the Italians are famous for! The choice of flavours is great and the price quite reasonable to at around 1.80 Euro for two scoops or 2.50 for three. Yellow signs are on the sides of buildings on all the major paths to help direct you to the major attractions, San Marco, Rialto and the Galleria. I thought i may as well check out the famous Rialto bridge as it was in the general vicinity. Once i had criss crossed my way over bridges and through the maze of streets i found a hive of activity on the bridge itself. It provided a nice view of the Grand canal where you could see the comings and goings of the numerous water taxi's and gondolas. I decided upon having an early night and make the most of Saturday evening to see what the Venice nightlife had to offer.

Saturday was where i packed in all the must see sights in Venice. To start things off i went inside one of the many Churches you can find in Venice. There is no shortage of them that's for sure, however i was recommended four in particular by the lady at the hostel. After this i walked towards the Accademia Galleria...'Accademy of Venice is one of the most prestigious of Italy, keeping paintings of Venetian school since the Middle Age to masters of the Renaissance with masterpieces by Bellini, Tiziano, Giorgione, Tintoretto, Veronese...' Inside there were 21 rooms, all of which had interesting pieces. Around two hours of art gazing was all i could muster before i had to get outside into the sun. It was a shortish walk from here over a bridge before the tourist masses started gathering in the rush towards the main square. There was an attractive tour guide leading a huge group of around 50 people so i followed along with them in the hope they were going where i thought they were. On eventual arrival at the square i was awestruck at the size and grandeur of its appearance. The rows of grey windows on the buildings on either side and the Basilica of San Marco at the far end made for an impressive sight. It suddenly occured to me why this is where all the tourists go! I had read somewhere in our hostel about there being no eating in the square but hadnt payed much attention to it for whatever reason. it was hence a surprise to me when i got told off for attempting to eat a sandwich on a step. I sat and watched as literally hundreds of pigeons swarmed as a one entity in all directions. People everywhere were either feeding, watching or posing for photo's with these scummy birds. I decided to eat my lunch down by the water's edge to avoid any trouble before going in the the Basilica. The wait in the line wasn't too bad maybe 10-15 minutes. There were signs displayed saying that you werent allowed to bring bags into the building and that they had to be taken to a baggage hold in a street nearby. I didn't feel like leaving the queue though so i watched as other got told to line backup before it was my turn to be inspected. My not so ingenious plan was to hold onto my backpack behind my back and avoid it being spotted. This managed to get me past the initial man but a few min later i was spotted so unfortunately had to deposit my bag like everyone else :) Once i found myself inside once more i got the appreciate the amazing work that had been put into the building. The entire inside ceiling was composed of tiny gold mosaics and the scale of it was quite unlike anything id ever seen. They had a small room off to the side which was the treasury. Upstairs there was a museum and the entrance to the balcony from where you could view the whole square. After i felt id had sufficient viewing time i kept wondering through the museum, there was more interesting examples of mosaics and how they are made as well as three very old, lifelike bronze horse statues.

Afterwards i made my way to Doge's Palace, a huge tall building with a magnificent view of the entire city. The elevator took about 20 people up to the top where everyone crowded round the various vantage points. I systematically made my way around, patiently waiting for a space to present itself. It gave a great aerial perspective of the city, islands and mainland. I felt compelled to stay as long as possible due to the rather hefty cost. That evening i got to experience the Venice nightlife. I found it was as busy during the day as it was at night, San Marco square all lit up was particualry nice. Making my way back i came across several African men selling fake bags on the side of the street. This is a common occurence in the city where youll find them selling bag's, sunglasses and the like. These guys started packing up their makeshift setup and running for their lives because of what i assume must have been the police having spotted them. I followed them along and got talking to one guy who i think was from Somalia. I tried to take a photo of them but i think he was afraid i show it to the authorities as he was quite against the idea :) Another interesting situation i stumbled across was where there was a cat perched up on the flower baclony of one of the buildings. A small crowd had gathered in front of the helpless kitty until out of nowhere a few guys hopped up and promptlz rescued the kitten. The next day i went to the last of the magnificent churches youll find in Venice, one of which was in the middle of a service(it was sunday)! I wish i had gone to one of the islands instead of lazing about in the sun eating icecream. Ah well. 3 hours early to the airport as well to cap it off! To cut a long story short i got home at 2.30am with work the next day :) Travelling is certainly not routine. Next post will be about my experiences in Germany, the motherland. Watch this space...

Chair lift ride

Heya, this post will be brief as i am still a while of finishing this trip. Anyhow on the last day of camp there was another mountain to conquer. This particular mountain was quite high and required a chairlift to the top. After a steep ascent by car to the base of a hill it was discovered that the lift was out of action as it was lunch time. The chairlift ride rode us up over a hill then down again to another platform..then up the climb to the base of the mountain. The older ladies got a ride up with a friendly local in a 4 wheel drive. We all ate the local fare at a restaurant which was located about 500m up a sharp rise. I had some delicious pasta with mushroom sauce and half a strudel. It was quite chilly and windy being so high up but i was keen to tackle the 1km or so climb to the very top. A few had already set off earlier and i passed them on their way down. At the top the view showed the whole surrounding area and i got a real sense of the mountainous region. That evening there was a market in the village centre. People selling wares and food, as well as a brass band consisting of 6 blokes who were very energetic and fun. Forgot to bring my camera with me which i was spewing about afterwards. Afterwards played some cards, Chinese 500 and i won! :D That was about it for today.

The view from the restaurant down towards the chairlift.

Thats one sheer drop.

The view from the top. Me posing.

hmm friesian cow, it was a surreal feeling hearing the peaceful sound of their bell's

Train troubles

The traditional trip to Innsbruck was on today's agenda for those who wanted to go. It wasn't a compulsory activity as there were people who had been before and it was a 2 hour journey by car. Id been told earlier that morning that the city wasn't anything special but i wanted to check it out to say id 'done it.' Two full car loads headed out of the car park at 10am. Unfortunately for myself and five others we would be forced to catch the train as there were not enough seats for us all. What i thought would be a simple affair of buying the tickets at the station and hopping on turned out to be a bit of a calamity. On arriving at the ticket office we were abit surprised to see a long line of people. Maybe what wed been told told today about it being busy was true...four of us had eurail passes and therefore didn't have to face the prospect of waiting in line approx 5 minutes before the train was due to arrive. Pam being the seasoned traveller that she is duly exclaimed to us that we could buy our tix on the train but warned it would end up costing more. How much more she did not know. With the second's ticking by i made the decision to line up despite feeling it was a lost cause. A couple of anxious minutes later and my instincts told me to check the track and there it was! Immediately the adrenaline kicked in as i sprinted for the stairs to get to the far platform. where K. Jumping down the stairs, almost rolling my ankle, down the tunnel dodging, turning and up another flight of stairs. Phew! Made it. I looked around and there was Kay, Pam, Kyle and her parents urging me on before we hurriedly got on the nearest carriage together. Having found some seats i caught my breath as we waited for the ticket inspector to come to discuss our situation.

Pam played the role of interpreter while i sat eagerly awaiting what wed have to shell out for the journey. After a lengthy discussion she relayed to us the bad news was that it would cost Kay and i ~40 euro due to it being an international route. The lady suggested an alternative route that involved getting on another train before the border with Austria but it sounded like a hassle and we wouldn't get to Innsbruck until around 1pm. The frustrating part lay in the fact that had i had time to buy a ticket in Bressaone it would of cost a meager 8 euro! I summed up the pro's and con's and decided it wasn't worth the money. It wasn't an easy decision but i figured that it wasn't worth the money for a only few hours enjoyment. I think Kay for the most part agreed with me, either way he came with me! :P Anyhow it was a slightly abrupt and disappointing way to start the day...Our location was approx 10km down the valley from camp which left me in a dilemma as to what to do next. I forgot to mention earlier, Kay comes from Germany (see pic) and is the boyfriend of a lady from the same country who has been coming along for a few years. He spoke a little English so i could could strike up some conversation which was some comfort. Its times like that i wish i spoke another language *sigh* Kay inquired when the next train would be coming and it was over an hour away! I suggested we walk as i wasn't to keen on sitting around doing nothing. Thus began the long walk back to town in the hot midday sun. Meanwhile the crew that hadn't gone to Innsbruck (All the italian saints and a few others) were heading back to the Platzer's house for the day. The next while saw kay busily organising a way out of this mess for the both of us. On our travels we stumbled across a sign on the side of the road advertising a fair. Pr Alf had previously mentioned that today was an Italian national holiday and people celebrated all over the country by getting together, eating food and other frivolities. I wanted to check it out just for the sake of it and see what was going on. A ten minute walk up the hill later and we found quite a large group of people enjoying themselves eaintgfood, drinking and even a few kids rockclimbing. It was a short stay though as a few minutes later Kay told me Sabina was going to pick us up! Yay, good news. WE gratefully got in the big van which wound its way in the opposite direction to where we had come towards the city of Bolzano. The Platzer's house was about half an hour out of the city, perhaps a little bit smaller then Launceston in terms of size. Everyone was relieved to get out of the car as it was a really hot day. I lazed on the deck chair for a while then had a hit of table tennis with Andy before the heat took its toll and i gave up from lack of energy. There was also a few games of fuzeball had where the ball more often off the table then not. Alessandro (see pic above) enjoyed flinging himself on the flying fox while Darren and i took some pics of him in action. Lunch time was a selection of pasta together with some interesting grape juice. Everyone chilled out, some more then others (Pr Pino fell asleep on a deckchair) before we got in the cars once more to check out a local lake for a swim! As soon as i heard the plan to go swimming i regretted not remembering my board shorts, however there was no way it was going to stop me getting wet. The lake was a lot larger then i was expecting and had a couple of decent sized swimming pool just above it where the locals flocked in numbers. Along the side of the lake there were some quite large Paddle which fit about 6 people. They looked like the best way to get around and they were heaps of fun with three of them speeding around for an hour. I thought the water would be really cold but it was really nice and refreshing. Unfortunately once exiting the water i would have to deal with another problem associated with wearing wet clothes, ouch :( Every night i got the feeling when i went to bed that the days were disappearing really quick. Talking to people there I think everyone agreed it was a pretty full on week while on the other hand i think its good being occupied. Tomorrow would be the last full day before we all went our separate ways...*sigh*. Nevertheless it involved some more spectacular views and a cool ten minute ride up a chairlift. Dont forget there's lots more pic's here. Hopefully ill get to writing about Venice soon as in two weeks ill be heading off to Germany! woohoo

Castle time.

There were two choices presented to us for today (Tuesday), either a nice walk to a castle on a hill (The main selling point was that it was supposedly easy going with a slight uphill towards the end)or a ride on a cable car and then a walk uphill to a restaurant etc. It was a unanimous decision that we would go check out the former option. After another early get up and downing as much meat on bread as i could stomach we started walking out of the small village of Natz. Just along the side of the road you could a sense of the scale of how many apple tree's there were in the region. They were literally everywhere you went. Darren commented how it would be cool to have a job picking apples in Tuscany during the summer. I agreed, except we were told its quite hard to that sort of work without all the right visa's and things. The track we were following wound down a small valley where there was a hotel and restuarant (pictured). Close to this was a nice lake. Pr Helmut had drove down and with him brought some remote controlled speed boats which we watched as Mickey and Miriam raced each other. It started to drizzle so we continued walking and left the kids to their fun. Another cafe conveniently popped up on our path and it was time for coffee, for those who wanted it. Despite it being midday I didn't eat here on the recommendation there would be pizza where we would end up. We made our way up a small hill and down again through a forest...It was there the road sloped downwards into a huge valley where in the middle lay a extruding cliff face. You could see a small village on top of the hill and i noticed how good a spot it was to position a castle. By this stage we'd all split up into seperate groups as people walked at a pace they found comfortable. After crossing the bridge we started the quite steep descent that we'd been dually warned about. I liked being up the front and pushing myself as on the previous days excursions. Wayne and i hiked at a steady pace until about half way up when he keenly spotted a wild deer a couple of hundred metres away. As we tried to get closer it sprinted away off the track, it was still cool to have seen a deer in its natural habitat. At the top we caught our breath and checked out the back entrance to the castle as everyone battled their way up the steep slope. As people started gathering at the top few of us went off to find food. I was pretty hungry by this stage and joined the crew while the other went on a tour of the castle. A salami pizza later and it was our turn to check out the main attraction. We waited half an hour to have the services of an English guide which would no doubt make the experience more insightful and informative. After entering the huge wooden door there was an open area with a lawn and to the left there the family's residence who actually owned the whole place! Was nice of them to open it up to the public, must be an interesting lifestyle. Ill let the pictures do the talking as my descriptive narrative is less then adequate and really does not do it justice. A couple of things that stood out were an armoury room with all sorts of medieval killing implements and a huge collection of rifles. Another of the rooms the guide showed us contained fresco's only recently discovered which were among the oldest in Europe if my memory serves me correctly. It portrayed the story of King Arthur and dated back to the 13th century. The view from the front garden was spectacular and made us all realise exactly why the fortress had never been taken by an invading force. The guide told us a story about a wizard who lived in the castle who was well known throughout the area for fixing peoples problems i.e. crops, healing animals etc. My memory is abit hazy but i think the community suspected he could talk to animals, hence accusing him of witchcraft. That ended my first visit to a castle! The first of many hopefully. We were all really tired after the walk so got a lift for the 10 minute car trip home. A yummy dinner awaited us when we got back, Lasagne if i recall correctly :) The next day would be an adventure of misfortune as i attempted to go to Innsbruck, Austria.

In more recent news...Ive started working on a new counter at work (takeaway) and now have the added responsibility of making sandwiches every morning! It has its pro's and con's, on the one hand the time goes much quicker having more stuff to do but it means getting up early every morning(6.30am). From last week i made the decision to start walking to work as well so ive had to adjust quite a bit from my usual routine. Ive got a sense of how many people there are in this city just by the amount of traffic and people i encounter in the 1 hour it takes me to get to Fortnum and Mason's. The pollution is also very noticeable and isn't very pleasant, makes me want to breathe some clean mountain air once more...Hmm tassie air and water is something that cant be matched. Well until next time, ciao.

Fun and Games

Today (Monday) was a rest day after two fairly arduous days of walking. immediately after breakfast we had a group photo of everyone that had come to camp. It was quite funny watching Wayne operate his camera with such enthusiasm. There must of been 10 camera's which wayne had to operate for the shot. Some time was killed before a huge meal of delicious spaghetti was prepared for lunch. This was apparently a tradition at camp and proved to be a good one. It was very tasty, perhaps as good or better then my dad's brew the only downside being that i wasnt more hungry having had breakfast only two hours beforehand. A short while after lunch we gathered in front of the pensione for what was to be a cryptic quiz based on the area we were located. Sabina read out our names in groups of 2 or 3 and we set off with the sheet of clues in search of what would turn out to be elusive answers. I got paired with a lady from Germany called Elly. Her testimony was an inspiration, being strong in the lord despite being isolated from fellowship and also traveling to camp for the second successive year at the age of 85! We got few the first few questions ok, but it started to get quite hard as we walked towards the nearby town of Natz. The clues were really obscure and required a very keen eye and a good ability to understand what the person was thinking when they wrote it. Most people found it difficult and after much wondering about everyone started to help each other out and trade answers. The rain started to drizzle so everyone made their way back to the main building where we had our meals and held the meetings. That afternoon before dinner a game of soccer was organised for those who were interested. There was a small enclosed field which was on the way to where we were staying that was perfect. Quite a few balls got booted over the high rope fence this was soon solved by getting the goalies to throw the ball instead. After half an hour non stop we were all quite tired and some young teenagers had gathered outside on the grass. Theo from Wales spoke some German to the leading guy and he agreed we could play for another 5 minutes. We headed back for some well earned foodand another night of fellowship. Quite a good day overall...tomorrow we would head for a nearby castle! cya

The Dolomites

The night before it was decided the visit to the dolomites would happen today(Sunday) as quite a few people were going home early. After an early breakfast everyone gathered in the car park and soon after the train of vehicles departed for what would be an approximately 2 hour journey. After an hour or so the road winded upwards and I was surprised to see how many cyclists were tackling the long and steep slope. Along the way there were also several villages, with quite a few buildings advertising ski/snowboard hire. The carpark at the top was filled to the brim, showing it was a popular tourist spot. The topic of conversation was not surprisingly, where was matt and nicki’s car?!? They had got lost again..This didnt deter most people from doing there own thing. All around us there were peaks which looked spectacular. The nearest one to us had cable car with 2 person gondolas stretching up the extremely steep rock face. this peak had a opening in the middle in which could be seen a small hut, which i identified as being a restaurant like that of yesterday's walk. Everyone broke off into small groups and i found myself with about 8 other's on a walk up to the top. Some creativity by Dan, saw us bush bashing our way to the right track when the wrong path was chosen. About ten minutes in, the gradient really kicked in and we all found ourselves spread out on the mountain side out and walking our own pace. I pushed on at just below my limit and concentrated on getting into a good rhythm. The combination of the hot sun and hard effort made me regret having worn trousers that day despite being told it would be cold at such a high altitude. The view was fantastic from where the hut was situated and after admiring it for several minutes a strudel was next on my agenda. While siting down and waiting to be served i spotted several people climbing the rock face. It made for an impressive sight. The walk back was both good and bad. Walking down hill is much harder on your knees and joints but with my new grippy walking shoes i had fun sliding down the loose gravel. I got close to some mountain goats which i thought was pretty neat. Not something you see every day! Some much needed rest was had on the way back in the car with the desire to catch up on sleep not working it seems. When we were nearing the bottom of the mountain we got slowed by some traffic. We saw some police at the intersection and Sabina got out to see what was going on. It turned out there was a parade happening on the street and that the road would be shut for approx 20 min. We stood with the rest of the crowd and watched as the locals dressed in traditional dress walked by. The highlight was when 3 blokes who had these huge whips cracked them non stop for a minute. The noise they made was terrific! After the evening meeting Pr Alf told us that it would be an easier the next day as everyone looked/felt tired. This was good news as far as i was concerned, i felt trashed. Still an early night once again evaded me but thats the way it is sometimes...Until next time, Cya!

Italian Camp: Climbing Mountains

Hi again,

The next day we got picked up at 8.45am from our Pensione. Walking down the staircase from our room there was several stuffed animals lining the walls including a huge turkey. Several other people mentioned seeing the same thing so it must be a tradition in that area. I hopped into the car feeling a bit tired from the reduced sleep time. It turned out this was to be the trend for the next week :) For breakfast i was expecting a typical affair with the usual assortment of toast and cereal. Therefore i was quite surprised when i found a table covered in assorted sliced meats with cheese as well. I was slightly apprehensive about digging into meat on white bread so early in the day. I ended up eating it though evenly though it felt slightly 'wrong'...at least for the first few days. Luckily there was a supplement of rye break and honey/cranberry jam as an alternative. I might add that after a few days, not surprisingly visitors including myself were going to the shop and buying cereal, yoghurt etc :P. Around 10am we all assembled into the carpark and found a seat for a journey to a village approximately 45 minutes drive away. Most of us headed off in the direction of the end of the valley which ended in what appeared like a steep slope (see pic). We wound our way up the side of the hill which was extremley picturesque. There was a stream of water on the left hand side and a waterfall about half way up. When we reached the top we went down into another valley where there was a small village set on the hill (see pic). Everyone sat down at the local restuarant, eager to taste the local cuisine. The most popular dish was probably strudel, which you can get everywhere in the region and another dish consisting of pancakes chopped up with jam. Pretty good food on the whole, walking an hour up a hill makes it much more satisfying as well an excuse to lash out. A few decided to keep walking in the direction of a waterfall close by while the rest of us made our way back down the slope. I got to chat with Antonio which was fun, interesting how much you an communicate with a mixture of very basic Italian and English vocab! Once back in the village everyone chilled in the restaurant for a while before we snaked our way back to the pensione in the cars. Dinner was a three course meal once again, and the same feeling of having eaten too much sunk in. For something different we had our evening meeting outside round a campfire set against a stunning backdrop. Matt was asked to lead choruses by Pr Alf which led to some funny moments where he didn't have a clue what was going on. Pr Pino was due to give the talk when we came to the realisation there was no light for him to read his bible! Luckily someone had a headlight handy so all was ok in the end. Following the talk came an extended period of spontaneous items from couple's or groups. Some did so willingfully while others had to be given a little persuasion from the audience i.e. cheers and clapping to get themselves in the limelight. The enjoyable night was concluded by most people heading up into Natz for the customary evening 'chocolata' (hot chocolate). Tommorow we head into the BIG mountains, the dolomites...Please leave comments, thanks! Also have lots more pictures here: Photobucket

Italian Camp

Hello everyone,
It's been over a week since i got back from Italy and now i've finally got the chance to sit down and make a record of what happened and my thoughts along the way. So here goes...

The morning of Friday the tenth of August was a special day for me for two reasons. The first was that it was my birthday (I turned 19)! The second and slightly more obvious was it was the day i would head off on a day long journey to a little town in the north of Italy. To set the scene i shall give a little background information. Nicki, Matt, Maddie, Jo and Chigga had all flown out of London the previous night to go to the camp. They were only staying until Monday evening due to work commitments however i was planning to stay for the whole duration (a week). So anyway i got up reasonably early and made a few last minute preparations for the trip. I gave myself heaps of time to get there as i was trying to be as organized as possible... just the way i am i think :) After about an hour and a half i made it to Stansted Airport and went straight to the check in line. The lady on the desk informed me that my luggage was too large for the conveyor belt and that id have to take it elsewhere. In my ignorance though i walked off and only later realised i should of picked up my bag! For a brief moment i thought i might not see my luggage again but that was quickly quelled as being paranoia. I headed for the travellex office and collected some cold hard cash (euro's) for which would hopefully last the next ten days id be adventuring. After killing some time reading some magazines i checked my watch and decided i should make my way to the security queue, which i might add was massive. After what was probably half an hour i found myself at the departure gate and eventually on the plane and ready to go. To pass the time i responded to a couple of b'day txt's and quietly chuckled as i read my b'day card from my pez that had arrived a couple of days earlier (you have to read my bro's comment). About half way through the flight the window seat i had acquired provided some spectacular views of what i assume was the Austrian Alps. The huge peaks covered in snow and gigantic valleys gave me a real sense of perspective i.e. how small the hills are in Hobart amongst other things. The houses and landscape just prior to landing showed off the rows of tree's neatly aligned and trimmed. That as well as the typical orange coloured roof's of the houses are what stuck in my mind in regards to the landscape. I was surprised to find out how small the airport was where i landed, having thought that nowhere could top what tassie has to offer. A 45 minute bus ride later and i found myself at Verona train station. I was abit nervous about the whole train business. Luckily the ticket machine was in English and so buying a ticket was no drama's. Finding the right platform was another issue though. After going onto some random platform i asked (hand signal's mostly) a local where my train would be leaving from. He turned out to be really helpful and quickly got me going on my way. Problem overcome! I found myself a seat after double checking the train was actually going where i wanted to go and proceeded to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. After leaving Verona we winded our way up into this huge valley. The scenery stayed pretty consistent throughout the 2 hour trip but the different houses, farms etc littered all over the mountain kept me engrossed. It amazed me how they built houses in places that look totally inaccessible and impossible to get to! Upon arrival i set off in the direction of the town of Bressaone hoping to find a bus to Natz. I got as far as the bus depot which was completely empty and decided it was probably safer/easier to get picked up. Pastor Helmut and Antonio picked me up and we had a basic conversation with his limited English. After saying hello to everyone and downing a delicious meal we had a brief chorus session and a few testimonies. It was fun singing in Italian even when on occasions you didnt know what you were singing. I started to recall as well all those number's i learnt in High School! That evening I got a lift a few km's down the road to the next village where my accomodation was. I was sharing a room with a guy from Sydney who's been living in London the last few years called Darren. At 1.30am in the morning he arrived at last after travelling up from Verona airport by car. Much to his and my surpise we discovered that the two single beds was in fact one large bed with two single sheets! lol, anyway there wasnt much we could do about it so went to sleep. Thus ended the first day of my travel's. Stay tuned for more updates...
In the mean time, check out all the pic's ive taken here.

Day in Greenwich

Hey there,
Hasn't been much to report the last couple of weeks, hence the lack of a blog update. I worked on Saturday last week so the weekend went by quite quickly. Probably the highlight was seeing a couple of recent film releases, Transformers and The Simpsons Movie. I enjoyed both of them, the former for its excellent special effects with the opening scene in particular having a huge 'wow' factor. The Simpson's was good to, although it did feel alot like a long drawn out episode. I got asked by Dan on Sunday to give a talk at the house meeting this week. I managed to scrape something together on the Wednesday, still scribbling my thoughts down on the 20 min bus ride to Dan and Alice's place. Worked out well in the end, Praise the Lord.

Today i had the day off work so it was suggested i check out Greenwich. Matt had already been previously with Laura and Sam a week ago so could fill me in on how to get there. This morning i told Nicki my plans and she decided to come with me, so her, Maddie and Jo came too. We had the choice of either getting there by train or boat, in the end we opted for the train as Matt had been somewhat 'underwhelmed' by the 55 min journey along the Thames. After 20 min we got off and followed the signs to a Huge park. It was there where the maritime museum and royal obsevatory were located. The museum was packed full of lots of things all to do with ships, from early explorers to the history of passenger vessels. The most interesting exhibits were of a selection of small models war ships and a brief history of passenger ships, culminating in the 'Grand Princess' released in 1998.

We headed for a cafe and got some drinks, maddie's icecream unfortunately fell on the ground. By this stage she was getting quite tired, having stayed up late the night before. Eventually we made our way up the hill in the centre of the park to the Observatory. In the main court yard area there was the prime meridian line layed out on the ground. The tourist's seemed quite keen to take photographs of themselves on the line :) The view from the hill was pretty cool as you could see some sky rise buildings and the huge 02 Arena, not to mention the historic buildings in the park. We wandered through some of the buildings before we heard over a speakerphone that a guided tour would be starting shortly in the main courtyard. It was quite interesting hearing about the history of the place and the people that lived there. By the sounds of it there live's were not the most exciting, getting paid 100 pounds a year to map the stars every single night. Definitely not my idea of fun! According to the guide in the 17th century there was a 20 000 pound reward declared(3million in today's money) for whoever could build an accurate way of keeping the time aboard a ship. The idea of this was, that if you knew the time relative to GMT then you could calculate the latitude of the ship and that combined with a longitude value could be used to calculate the ship's position. Anyway, there were various problems associated with using ordinary clocks such as the movement back and forth of the ship and temperature etc. This one man set about designing a clock which could overcome these problems. He dedicated his whole life to finding a solution to this problem and winning the prize money... it wasn't until the fourth design that he made that he managed to convince the panel of judges that he was worthy of the reward(you can see each of them working on display). The irony was that when he finally got the money he'd worked so far for, he died 3 years later! I thought that was quite funny and made me wonder what was motivating him to complete this machine, the money, fame or maybe a chance to make difference in the world. Forty five minutes later and we were ready to go home, Maddie had in the mean time fallen asleep. We had a quick stop at a art and crafty market where Nicki found a watch she liked. Lasagna for tea, the perfect way to finish a good day out! Hope you like the pics. Cya, gad