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Verona, Italy, May 2017

May 18, 2017 / terry

12 May 2017 – Prague to Verona

We flew from Prague to Verona, in Italy, on Czech Airlines. It is a short flight of around an hour and a half on a small turbo prop aircraft, comfortable enough and cheap enough to make the much longer trip on either a bus or train out of the question. The highlight of the trip was the flight over the Alps, when the cloud cleared for a section and we got a clear view of the magnificent scenery below. With the plane flying at a relatively low 20,000ft, we were effectively only 10,00ft above the mountains and ski fields and small towns were easily seen.

From Verona Airport we caught an airport shuttle for only 6€ that dropped us off at the Porta Nuovo Train Station, which was in itself only a 300m walk to the Piccolo Hotel. We stayed here on our last visit in 2012 and it proved comfortable enough at a budget price. We were far too early for check in, however, and left our baggage before heading into the city centre.

As we followed the roads, everything was familiar because we had given the city a pretty good going over on the last visit. In hindsight, we could have just got on a train and headed north to Bolzano because we didn’t have much left to see in Verona but the chance to re-visit the beautiful Piazza Bra and the magnificent ancient Roman Arena was too tempting. Part of of our mission was to top up our Italian Vodaphone cards. We had figured that it could be easily done at either the airport or the train station but surprisingly, there was no sign of any such facility. The station had a Wind outlet but nothing else.

Finding a Vodaphone outlet proved to be a major challenge which resulted in us walking a total of 7.5kms in a day. Unlike Australia, where mobile phone outlets are everywhere, in Italy they are hidden places that must be hunted down. Of course one can always Google it, unless of course you are trying to recharge. You can always log onto a free public network but then Google says it is not secure enough and won’t respond.

Along the way, we enjoyed the visual splendour of the lovely Piazza Bra, a huge open square that is dominated by the enormous Roman amphitheatre that is still in use today. To the right of the arena is a large public building built in neo-classical style and on this occasion it was the site of a massed schools choir event. Hundreds of students in school uniform sang their little hearts to the delight of a large amassed crowd.

With prices hitting ridiculous levels around the Piazza Bra we took to the back streets to find an affordable lunch. After rejecting many menus as too expensive or too fancy, we finally found a cute little lunch bar with a good range of paninis on sale and some cold beer on offer. The proprietor was a very jolly chap who welcomed us in and described the ingredients of each available pannini in great detail. It was fairly obvious that his English did not extend much further than the ingredient names but he was keen to try and when he found out we were Australian we became very much flavour of the month. He managed to convey in a mix of English and Italian (which we can sort of follow) that he had a sister in Australia and some friends who had given him a memento. From his wallet he produced his most prized possession, a gold kangaroo pin. We had a great time with the added bonus of tasty food and cold beer.

After much walking we finally located the Vodaphone outlet and stood in a queue for another half hour before we managed to get some more data and call credits. It should not be that hard.

We settled in for a relaxing afternoon at the Hotel Piccolo and to watch the rain settle in. We had already made the commitment to stay in for dinner, with the hotel offering a decent pizza restaurant. A pre-dinner beer at the bar seemed a good idea but we waited around in vain for someone to appear. A number of vending machines containing snacks graced the lobby and it seems the hotel has moved to a “serve yourself” mode of operation. There was a fridge containing beer so we helped ourselves and Christine went behind the bar to source a couple of glasses. More people arrived and we indicated the best way to go. By this time we had discovered that the hotel did not open its restaurant but the menu on offer referred to one at an affiliated hotel and a shuttle bus would run. This was hardly an ideal thing but we took the option anyway and got bussed off to a pleasant place with good food at reasonable prices. However, it was staff by one cook and two wait staff who literally ran through the area in order to keep up service. What is wrong with paying staff for goodness sake?

13 May Verona to Bolzano

The next morning we slept in late, had breakfast, which mercifully was not out of a vending machine, and hoisted our packs on our backs to march back to the rail station. The train to Balzano follows a beautiful mountain pass featuring picturesque small villages and numerous castles on the rocky cliffs. The only significant city along the journey was Trento, where the train seemed to fill with young University age students. We must be getting a certain amount of travel burnout because the scenery would normally have been a highlight of the trip but by now the sight of towering mountains, crumbling forts and castles and the occasional Roman ruin is just par for the course. What a sad state of affairs.

The train arrived on time in Bolzano or Bozen as it is also called. This part of Italy is the South Tyrol region and is mainly German speaking, having been ceded to Italy from Austria after World War I and everything and everywhere has two names. Rob and Yvette were there again to greet us and we threw the luggage into the Peugeot with French number plates and off we all went, headed for life in the mountains in Nova Levante (or Welschoffen as the majority German speaking population prefer).

Prague, Czech Republic, 2017

May 13, 2017 / terry

Prague 8-11 May 2017

Prague has long been on our bucket list, having read that it is incredibly beautiful, full of history, crammed full of first class cuisine, the best beer in the World and much lower costs than most other European cities. All of the above is true. This is a city that uses up all the superlatives in very short order.

We arrived from Passau on the Flixbus at around 6pm and had to find a way across town to the other side of the river and the apartment we had rented for our four day stay. Despite being part of the EU, the Czech Republic does not operate on the Euro and has Czech Koruna (or Crown) as its currency with around 17 to the Aussie dollar. We decided to cash some Australian notes at the bus station, even after we had read all the warning signs about scammers giving you Hungarian notes instead of Czech and the prevalence of counterfeit currency. An official changer gave us a good rate then it was off to find a taxi.

The driver didn’t seem to have a meter and wanted a flat 400Kc for the ride. We weren’t in a position to argue though and he gave us quite running commentary of the sights, the problems with the Social Democrat Government, the traffic problems and lots more besides. He explained that our address was only a hundred metres or so from the US Embassy so the car would get checked over for bombs, even though he had been up that street three times previously that day.

Once the car had cleared the inspection, we were dropped off in a tiny one lane cobbled road outside number 8 Vlašská to await the arrival of Michal, our host. We had said we would be there at 7pm and were half an hour early but had no Czech phone SIM to ring him. By 7:10, we were getting cold and irritable so Christine prevailed on a restaurant across the road to ring for us. Michal had thought we were getting to the bus station at 7pm so he apologised and hurried over. He proved to be a very helpful young man and he showed us around the gorgeous one bedroom apartment. The apartment is in The House of Three Swallows, on the ground floor of an ancient building and had a beautiful vaulted ceiling in the kitchen and wonderful carved and decorated open beams in the sitting room.

Central Prague is roughly divided into four areas, Old Town, New Town, Castle District and ours, the Mala Strada or Little District. The surrounding streets and lane ways were simply charming, crammed full of interesting shops, wine bars, beers halls and restaurants. A few blocks away was the main tourist drag (where prices rose accordingly) which was constantly filled with walking tours and guides carrying flags on sticks. Our street was quieter but there was still a steady parade going past our front windows. Our closest big attraction was the beautiful Charles Bridge, built in the 15^th Century. These days it is a walking bridge, covered with people, artists, street theatre and the like. Several beggars had regular spots on the bridge and stayed hunched over in a position reminiscent of Yoga’s “Child Pose” but I suspect it was a way of hiding their full bellies from view.

The walk across the Charles Bridge produces amazing views of the Vitava River and across to the Old Town. Each end of the bridge is guarded by a beautiful stone fort that rises majestically up and is topped by a sharp spire. The city is often nicknamed “City of a Hundred Spires” and that is certainly the impression, with multiple towers and spires being visible in most directions. The ability to build stable ten storey towers in the 11^th Century is quite an impressive feat.

Charles Bridge

The Little Quarter or Mala Strada is flanked on one side by a huge parkland that would make for perfect strolling grounds amid the huge shady trees if it weren’t for one major problem. It rises almost vertically up the side of a very large hill. At the peak of the hill is the Petrin Tower, a copy of the Eiffel Tower built in 1891. It rises 382 metres above the hill and has two viewing platforms. We climbed up through the parklands, using a complex series of switchback walkways, learning later that there is a funicular railway that achieves the same end. Once there, we continued the torture by climbing the Petrin Tower (and paying quite a bit for the privilege) but the views at the top were actually worth the money and the aching legs.

Little Quarter and Petrin Tower

The other flank of the Little Quarter is taken up with the Castle Precinct, dominated by the enormous Prague Castle, the World’s largest castle complex. We walked down the opposite side through the sprawling monastery complex towards the castle area. However, the weather had taken a turn for the worse so we abandoned plans to check out the castle and began to navigate the numerous flights of steps and alleyways heading in the general direction of home. Occasional glimpses of the Stars and Stripes heralding the US Embassy kept us on a general path and we were rather pleased with ourselves when we emerged right at the head of our little street. Along the way, of course, we had to stop for a beer and a bite to eat. A fabulous candle lit dungeon provided an excellent refuge from the now heavy rain and we were served up with delicious sausage, hot mustard and crumbed fried camembert cheese. A half litre of excellent draft beer cost us a whopping $A1.60 each. Another day, we went back to this little gem and were rewarded with marvellous goulash and slow cooked pork with dumplings and sauerkraut. The Czechs really know how to cook good cold weather food.

The following day was fine, although cold with a forecast maximum of 9 degrees. We rugged up and walked across Charles Bridge to the Old Town. It is very hard to find the words to describe the beauty of the Old Town and its incredible Town Square. Walking progress is slow at times because there is so much to stop and look at. Almost every building has something special about it and everything is different. Thousands of statues adorn the plazas or cling to the outside of the many majestic buildings. Intricate designs are etched into the plastered exterior walls, baring the underlying stone and producing some amazing effects. Many fine mosaics decorate the faces of churches and civic buildings, often using small cubes of glass to produce the designs. So much of the finery in other cities dates from the 18^th Century but here it shows off how advanced the culture was as far back as the 12^th Century.

On the walls of the Town Hall tower is a famous astronomical clock which simultaneously shows the time in normal 24 hour time as well as complex movements of the sun and moon along with time on the old Bohemian timescale. Given that the original clock was manufactured in 1410 it is a remarkable mechanism.

The Old Town

The sheer concentration of well maintained ancient buildings is down to the fact that Prague survived World War II largely unscathed. In fact, there was probably more damage and neglect arising from the years of communism and Soviet domination than anything else. Evidence of ongoing restoration and repair work is everywhere but, equally, there is plenty left to do. The beautiful city is not quite in the same state of maintenance as Turin or Milan but the hordes of tourists are bringing in the dollars and things will change rapidly. The Czech Republic has a strong economy with the lowest rate of unemployment in the EU so big public works are part of the way of life.

After wandering the Old Town and the adjoining Jewish quarter, we hopped onto a tram without really knowing where it was going. We had bought a three day pass to the public transport system and so far hadn’t used it so a jaunt on the trams seemed like a good idea. It is a great way to cover big parts of the city. The tram stops display very good maps of the city and the tram lines so the only hard part is figuring out which way the trams were headed. Only once did we get it wrong and then it was just a matter of getting off and swapping sides. Some of the trams are ultra modern jobs while others are rattling remnants of the communist era. We roamed around on one tram somewhere up behind the castle until we spied a large supermarket and a post office, both on our list, and jumped off. Our chores complete, we consulted the map, chose a tram number and were very pleased when we managed to get off only a couple of hundred metres from home.

On our last full day in Prague, the weather was fine and the temperature up to a warming 15 degrees so we climbed the dreaded hill once more to Prague Castle. We found the main entrance gates into what looked to be a somewhat uninspiring courtyard, a series of large mostly 18^th and 19^th Century buildings well adorned with carvings and statues but not particularly special. Once through the security checks on the gate and inside the enclosure, things changed quickly. The castle as such is really an enormous complex of buildings of all ages, fortifications, plazas chapels and totally dominated by the massive St Vitus Cathedral. We have said it a few times before in Europe but this is the most impressive church yet for us. Much of the building dates from the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in the 14^th Century and is an amazing example of a gothic cathedral with beautiful stained glass work and majestic supporting columns. We spent more time here than we usually do in the churches. We spent even more time outside just viewing the building’s finery from all angles. It is truly inspiring.

We had followed the advice of the guide books and arrived at the castle early, giving ourselves time to move around and explore the huge grounds in relative peace before the big crowds arrived. As we worked our way back to the entrance, the going got harder with a sea of people and selfie sticks coming at us. We pushed through and skirted around the castle into the palace gardens to wander amongst the many fine trees planted there. It proved most informative because we had wondered at many of the trees we had seen so far on our travels and the botanical garden section managed to name most of the ones we had encountered to date.

Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral

From the castle we caught a tram back down the hill to our apartment for a bite to eat, finding a great little deli to buy some rolls and mortadella. Then it was off back across Charles Bridge to a funny little shop called Prague Dolls that specialsed in Miska Dolls, the nesting kind. They had sets of dolls featuring AFL teams so we bought one of the West Coast Eagles, with Priddis, Gaff, Shuey, Sheed and Mastin. We got a set for Rob too and a Dockers one for Yvette. We realise that a set of AFL dolls is a pretty weird memento of Prague but they were so cute we couldn’t resist.

The New Town

Then we headed into the New Town area. Even though some of the buildings in the New Town are still many hundreds of years old, the newer influences are all there, with a few glass and steel jobs and quite a few bland and boring 1950s and 60s boxes. What is impressive are a couple of huge wide open boulevards, intersecting the streets and opening up the city with some lovely vistas. The best known of these is Wenceslaus Square, not really a square as such but long avenue largely closed to vehicles. One end was crowded with people around a free concert to promote Cancer Awareness.

We walked some more before stopping at a terrific little bar for a beer and fried onion rings. Christine was showing signs of spitting the dummy on more walking so we got on a tram to work our way home. After around 10 stops we decided that the tram was going the wrong way but we had seen lots of interesting things and it was a simple matter to switch trams and ride back. Eventually, we did get off a little early so we could walk and scope out some eateries for later that night.

Our apartment hosts drove us to the airport, picking us up at 5.15am, and charging a fraction of what a taxi would have cost. We ended up giving both our hosts and the apartment a rave review because the place was fantastic, especially the location. Prague and The House of Three Swallows will be talked about for years to come.

House of Three Swallows
Vlašská Pension
359/8 Vlašská 118 00 Praha, Czechia

Danube Cruise and Cycle – May 2017

May 10, 2017 / terry

Danube Bike Cruise 30 April-7 May 2017

We boarded our cruise ship (river barge?) in Passau on schedule and were soon settled into a small but very well equipped cabin. The ship is beautiful and has all the latest mod-cons, although as usual on cruise boats, money is the key. We saved ourselves a bit of money by buying and economy cabin that was cheaper because it was close to the engine room and suffered from noise during night time passages. It wasn’t nearly as loud as we had been led to believe and it didn’t worry us at all. However, we spent a little more by choosing a middle deck cabin rather than the lower deck, thereby scoring a full sized picture window well above the waterline.

Vessel Notes

MV Carissimar
Length 110m Width 11.4m
Draft 7m
Decks 3
Cabins 75
Passengers 150
Speed 21 km/h

Our route will take us from Passau in Germany, through Austria, Slovakia (stopping at Bratislava), Hungary (with a stop and a turn-around in Budapest), back into Austria (with a stop in Vienna) and back to Passau. The whole trip is eight days.

At the end of the cruise we had clocked up 172km on the bikes.

Life aboard the ship was very comfortable with some terrific company. We had two other Aussie couples, Sonja and Ray from Brisbane and Jenny and Darren from Melbourne. Dining seating was arranged by language spoken and we shared a table with a lovely English couple, Heather and Phillip, from Newark near Nottingham. There was also Barb and Bob from Alberta, Canada in our little group of English speakers. Most of the other passengers were German speaking although there was also a large contingent of Dutch. The meals were generally of a high standard with breakfast being a buffet and dinner four courses with some degree of choice. The wait staff, who mostly seemed to come from various Balkan countries, had a very strict set of rules, which included not changing seats. We delighted in breaking the rules and after a while the staff came to enjoy and share in our quirky sense of humour. I had a habit of ordering the chicken when presented with a choice of meals, even when it was sweets or there was no chicken offered and eventually they responded by doing a chicken dance for us.

Like all organised tours, there were a lot of rules and timetables to comply with. We were issued with the “Yellow Document” that gave strict times that had to be adhered to at the risk of being left behind. Daily announcements seemed to run to a somewhat different schedule to the “yellow Document”. We also received a daily “Cycling Briefing” where the complexities of the day’s cycle pathway were fully explained yet never fully understood. We never actually became lost but we had a couple of close calls and managed to rescue a few fellow cyclists at times.

The main guest manager was obsessed with hygiene, not an unreasonable obsession with 150 close packed guests on one ship, but obsessive all the same. Dispensers of hand sanitizer were positioned at every door way and instructions to “sanitize your hands please” were forthcoming on each and every boarding. I saw the logic and even agreed with it but it was hard to take at times.

Each day of cycling involved around 42km, mercifully mostly on the flat. We had paid the extra for an electric assist bike. We still had to pedal but at least we could kick in the help juice when the hills appeared. The bikes were of exceptional quality and brand new. However, unlike our e-bikes at home, there was no option to stop pedalling and simply apply the throttle. Our legs had to keep moving all the time so we still suffered the same degree of soreness and chaffing that the others copped. We were supplied with a pannier bag and handle-bar bag each, along with a spare tube and repair kit (luckily we didn’t need either).

Breakfast before a riding day was a fashion lovers nightmare. There was lots of lycra on show, complete with outlined rolls of flesh that should have been disguised under more voluminous clothing. Some people, like us, didn’t possess the full gamut of the real gear that true cyclist collect. We went out in thermal underwear, with shorts and T-shirts on the outer, raincoats to keep out the bitter wind and beanies instead of helmets. We wanted to wear helmets but there was simply not room to bring them in our luggage. The boat would sell us one for $A35 but that times two is a lot for five bike rides and there was no option to rent. Helmet use is not compulsory in Germany, Austria, Slovakia or Hungary unless you are under 15 so we went without.

The riding programs varied considerably from one day to the next. Out first day’s ride was through National Park alongside the Danube, almost all on cycle paths. Every so often we had to part with 2€ each to get on a ferry to cross to the other side of the river and sometimes the lure of a coffee stop or a lunch break would see us pull over and nurse our aching backsides. The scenery was spectacular, with magnificent forests covering the hills rising steeply above the fast flowing river. The river flow was being continually added to from streams entering along the valley, some creating lovely little waterfalls beside the road. It was quite charming and rather easy going. However, 43kms still works at the body even if the path is easy and the end was always a welcome sight.

Over the course of the week, we undertook four big rides, three of them 43km long and one 37km. We spent another afternoon riding in Vienna. Of the total distance, the vast majority was on well formed bike paths with the occasional stretch of road riding. This was mostly safe and secure except for one rather nasty 5km bit in Hungary where we had cars passing us at high speed on a fairly narrow country road. Most days we had to use a ferry at some point to cross the river, involving small ramp on vessels that charged around a couple of Euros to cross. One ferry in Hungary charged a whopping three Euros and only ran once per hour. We made it in good time but as we pulled out we could see others pedalling furiously along the river bank trying in vain to make the ferry.

There were a variety of little towns and villages dotted along the course of the ride with many cafes and small restaurants. Most were not open, with May being a little early in the tourist season. However, we did enjoy stopping for coffee and some form of delicious cake. Every form of cake or strudel is available in large quantities throughout Bavaria, Austria and Hungary and it is always cheap. Beer is also cheap but having a beer half way through a long ride is not recommended. We carried a packed lunch supplied by the boat and groups of riders would usually choose a pretty spot by the side of the river to stop for a break.

The cruise visited a number of major cities and some smaller cities or larger towns along the way. Sometimes we would stop overnight but usually the ship would depart at a later point and we would awake tied up somewhere new.

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital city of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia). We rode into Bratislava from further upstream, crossing the border from Austria. On the Austrian side of the river there was a museum devoted to the Iron Curtain which featured a concrete bunker, layers of barbed wire and a system of trenches. I guess in times past most countries would have maintained some form of naval presence on the Danube but now many of the countries along its flow have open borders. We had the afternoon to explore Bratislava. The main feature is a huge castle that overlooks the city and houses many priceless art works and the Slovakian Crown jewels. The walls of the castle run down the steep hillside to be incorporated into the old part of the city, full of very beautiful buildings, stately apartment blocks and several open walking streets with shady trees down the middle. The weather was cool but good for walking and, as in all new cities, we stopped to sample the local brew and watch the passing parade. The streets seemed crisper and cleaner than most other places and everything was well organised. Bratislava created a very good impression.

Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Budapest

Budapest in Hungary was our turn-around point and we spent a whole day and most of the night there, giving the passengers a chance to really explore. There was an optional 52km ride to a nearby town but the aching muscles ruled that out and we opted instead for a bit of walking. As previous visitors to the city, some of the others picked our brains for the best way to see the city in a short space of time and I was relieved when the advice I gave turned out to be accurate. Luckily, I could go back and read earlier writings in the blog to refresh my memory. It was funny to read that I had noted an experience with an incredibly rude waiter because a lot of our friends ended up reporting similar experiences, including a waiter who yelled at people for not ordering Hungarian food and a woman in a shop who demanded that visitors to Hungary must try to speak Hungarian.

While in Budapest, we noticed with concern that we had mucked up on some of our bookings for later in the trip, booking a week in Trogir, Croatia for May instead of June. We needed access to better Internet than the boat seemed to be supplying so we decided to head out and find a cafe with good internet and have a solid session on the emails and bookings to see if we could rectify things before we started losing deposits. To do this, we needed a few Forints, the Hungarian currency but we had little other need of any, with lunch being available on the boat. I went ashore to an ATM and withdrew F1000, the minimum amount then realised half way back to the boat that I had withdrawn a whole $A4.68,probably not even enough for two coffees. The ship was docked on the Buda shore of the Danube so we crossed the famous Chain Bridge to the Pest side and wandered down a beautiful walking street. Most establishments were not yet open but we finally found one that was starting to open up. We asked if they took Euros but they said no. We explained that we only had F1000 and it appeared that that would buy us two coffees with a little change so we settled in to use their Internet. On this occasion we were lucky to find some friendly and helpful Hungarians.

Beautiful Budapest

Budapest by night is the most beautiful city we have visited, surpassing even Paris. On the Pest bank, the incredible Parliament Building under flood lights is beyond belief while on the Buda side the imposing Buda Castle and inspiring Matthais Church with adjoin Fishermens Bastion look down over the river. The Chain Bridge joins the two banks in a wonderful show of 19^th Century ironwork. To top all this off, we were entertained by a glorious display of forked lightning crackling down over the city and heralding a good dose of torrential rain. We were safely aboard the ship and dining at the time, although some of our new friends were experiencing the deluge first hand.

Vienna

Austria’s capital city was by-passed on our downstream leg but on the return journey we pulled in for an afternoon and evening, allowing passengers some time to explore or go to a concert in the evening. Once again, we had done most things on our previous visit to Vienna so were content to just take ourselves into the city on a tram and the Metro to walk for a while and visit our favourite Wurtzel Stall. This proved harder said than done and we spent nearly an hour of our time just getting away from the ship and onto the right tram, mostly due to poor directions from the briefing. A lot of us had difficulty following the Austrian guide, not so much because her English was bad but more that her way of explaining things might have worked well in German but failed to translate across.

A Wurtzell Stall in Vienna is one of our fondest memories from our last trip with tasty Bratwurst and Currywurst, wholesome German bread and good Austrian beer. I consulted a map and made my best judgement about its location, deciding that it was most likely located in Stephenplaza. After a few errors with the Metro and the trams we made our way to what we thought was the right station, emerged from the underground and there, right before us, was our Wurztle Stand. Despite that fact that we had just had a big lunch on the ship, we still managed to squeeze down the extra 1000 calories on offer at the Wurztel Stand and confirm our memory of this being so much better than anywhere else we have tried German sausage.

Vienna is a city whose history conjures up a lot of romance. Music and concerts are advertised everywhere and there is a lot of choice when it comes to performances, both classical and modern. The architecture reflects the history as the capital of one of Europe’s great empires and there are many grand buildings to be seen. However, the city is rather disjoint and has integrated the newer post war buildings rather poorly in my opinion. On the northern bank there is a cluster of new steel and glass high rise buildings which display an interesting variety of shapes and forms but on the older bank of the river the mix of old and new is not so appealing. The parks dotted throughout the city probably save it, because they provide some welcome relief to the endless stone walls and statues that adorn everything. The mix of parkland and architectural splendour comes to a head at the Hapsburg’s Imperial Palace, which remains a must see part of the city. On this trip, we did not do it justice at all, so we were very glad that we had done a good job on our first visit and could afford to have a fairly relaxed day. Tomorrow it is back on the bike.

Vác and Esztergom, Hungary

We rode the 43kms between a couple of smaller Hungarian towns, passing through a number of tiny hamlets along the river. Before setting off, we explored the main centre of Vác and discovered a delightful town square surrounded by charming buildings, all very nice but then we have now seen too many beautiful towns to count. The cycle trip was rather different however, with the small Hungarian hamlets displaying a somewhat different character to those in Austria. The houses had very steeply pitched roofs, with many being and actual A-frame structure. Blocks were larger, with gardens in front and a vegetable plot at back. It looked very comfortable. Along the river bank were numerous tiny huts, presumably for fishing camps. Each one had a fine net suspended out the front on a high tripod. We wondered at the purpose, possibly a net for gathering bait or maybe there are shrimps of some kind in the river.

As we approached the end of the ride at Esztergom we began to see the enormous dome of the Basillica of Esztergom, an enormous structure perched high on a prominent cliff alongside a fortress of considerable size. The closer we got the more the structure seemed to dominate the view. With plenty of time before the boat docked, we decided to ride up through the town to inspect the basilica and catch the view. Fortunately for us, putting the e-bikes in 1^st gear and full power makes light work of the very steep climb to the top. The heavily cobbled streets don’t help either and at one point, going up through a narrow lane to a draw bridge into the castle, it was more like serious mountain biking. The view was worth the effort and even the ride itself through the picturesque streets was thoroughly enchanting. Esztergom is a town worthy of a visit.

Esztergom, Hungary

Krems, Dürnstein and Melk

Our final ride was in Austria, after a day in Vienna, when we cycled the 37km from the town of Krems to Melk. We were looking forward to a ride 6kms shorter than the usual 43km but as it turned out, we nearly did the extra distance just getting out of Krems. Krems is a pretty enough little town with the usual scattering of old churches, the odd bit of fortification and numerous 19^th Century apartment blocks. However, the ride briefing failed to give us really clear instructions for getting through Krems and onto the Danube cycle path so we spent nearly an hour wandering around looking for signs. We weren’t alone, with lots of cyclists buzzing about calling out instructions to others or calling for help. Somehow, we all made it out of town and onto the path. The day’s ride was easily the most picturesque of the cruise, taking us through the Wachau Valley, a wine growing region of some renown. Every village we passed through was gorgeous, made more by the numerous outlets offering wine tasting. Given the early hour and the fact that wine and cycling don’t mix we resisted the temptation.

The path took us through the village of Dürnstein, first mentioned in 1192 when, in the castle above the town, King Richard I of England was held captive by Leopold V, Duke of Austria after a dispute during the Third Crusade. The castle, which was damaged beyond repair by a Swedish army in the 17^th Century, is an imposing sight on the hill over the village but it is the village itself, nestled amongst the ruins of the castle’s old fortifications, that gives the true charm to the place. We actually found Dürnstein to be the most charming village we have yet encountered, a big call given the number of beautiful little hamlets we have been through so far. Unfortunately, the rest of the World shared our opinion and the narrow streets were filled with tour groups. We had been warned of this and had not attempted to ride our bikes through the village. The good thing about the tour groups was that there were lots of tour guides operating in English so we could listen in for free. There was ambience everywhere, little cottages, cute little shops, smart pensions, arched bridges etc, the place had the works. A lot of shops were selling a local version of fire water made from apricots, fermented and distilled into a 40% alcohol brew that we definitely resisted trying. Later, we were presented with a miniature bottle of the stuff by Heather and Phillip, fellow cyclists from Britain. We will be forced to try it some time.

Durnstein Castle

Summary

This cruise was one of the best experiences we have had and will remain a highlight of our lives for many years to come. Not only did we make some wonderful new friends (thank you to Phillip and Heather, Sonia and Ray, Jenni and Darren, Barb and Bob) but we proved that there was still a little bit of puff in these two old farts and managed to clock up 172kms of cycling along the Danube River. We loved the cruising lifestyle, survived the excesses of food and beverage and added enormously to our developing understanding of the heritage of European life that it so fundamental to, yet so poorly understood by Australians.

In hindsight, we were incredibly lucky with the weather given the time of year. The only rain we had was on rest days in the cities and no ride was ruined with bad weather. At times it was a bit on the chilly side but cycling in the cold is much better than the hot weather.

There were also a number of people on board who did not cycle. I confess that I would find such a cruise rather boring if I had to spend most of the time on the boat. The shore going past is interesting enough but not for eight days. Indeed, some of the cruises go right through from the Black Sea along the Danube, through the new connecting canal, into the Rhine and on to Amsterdam, taking around 20 days. I would go mad. The cycling was the key to this cruise.

We booked our tour with Rad+Reisen, an Austrian company that runs cycling tours in many parts of the World. The bikes were first class and the organisation excellent, although some of the actual daily briefings fell short of the mark. As an experience, I can only recommend it. https://en.radreisen.at/

Milan, Munich and Passau, Germany 2017

May 8, 2017 / terry

Milan 23 – 25 April 2017

We left Trisobbio today, with more than a few regrets. Life here has been wonderful and we will miss our gorgeous little village on the hill with its castle and church but it is time to move on and give the Piscicellis back their apartment. Rob and Yvette drove us to Ovada to catch the train to Genoa and we took a local train on the 1 hour 50 minute trip to Milan. Along the way, I watched the seeding operations in the wheat fields. Compared to back home in Dowerin, the process was simple, with small tractors pulling tiny seeding units across fields not much bigger than a football field. However, the land looked very productive and there were lots of them so there must be a decent yield.

The train delivered us to Milano Centrale, one of Europe’s biggest rail stations with more than 20 platforms. It took quite a bit of walking to get out of the place but we found the taxi rank with little difficulty. This was the first taxi we have used on this trip in Italy. We normally get away without them but our hotel location made it difficult to use public transport with heavy backpacks.

The taxi driver bundled us in, took the address then started driving out of the rail station into the traffic. I noticed that he was playing “Candy Crush” on his smartphone while driving so I growled something about “playing games” and he threw the phone onto the passenger seat alongside him. However, it was soon back in his hand but hidden from my view, forcing him to change gears with the wrong hand and no hands on the wheel. Christine typed out a clear instruction to cease on Google Translate and showed it to him. “No,” he said, “I need GPS.” Then he showed us the phone on Google Maps. After that, he did use two hands to drive but drove a lot faster just to show us he was still the boss of the taxi. We gave him the exact change.

Milan is one of Italy’s great cities and has numerous buildings that make you stop and stare in amazement. Overall, it lacks the grand scale open piazzas and sweeping vistas that so impressed us in Turin but the buildings are grander and more impressive. It houses many great art treasures, including da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. Getting a viewing is a long process so we skipped that, along with Michelangelo’s last unfinished sculpture but we go the idea and settled with copies.

The Duomo Cathedral is at the heart of Milan, on the site of the ancient Roman Forum. Roads radiate from here and ring roads circle it, following the lines of the various old town walls, expanded outwards as the city grew. The Duomo was the site of a church as long ago as 355AD and parts of that still remain beneath the current cathedral. Its modern form was commenced in 1386 and built in stages over the years until its final completion was commenced under Napoleon’s rule in 1805 so that Napoleon could be crowned King of Italy within the walls of the church. Work goes on well into modern times and incomplete bits are always in evidence. The effect of the many rising spires and countless sculptures clinging to the walls and battlements is simply stunning. The white stone of the facade gleams in the sunlight. No wonder the square in front is always packed with people.

Milan. The Duomo is at the bottom and Sforza Castle at top left.

The piazza of the Duomo is also home to a pigeon population to rival Venice. People purchase small packs of grain so they can be photographed covered in pigeons. However, covered in pigeons means covered in crap so it was not for me. Neither was sitting eating my lunch, as hundreds of people were doing while pigeons flew around overhead. We counted ourselves lucky to get away unscathed.

The dominant building in Milan is the Sforza Castle, the main structure of which dates from the 15^th Century. It was severely modified under Napoleon’s rule, who seemed to delight in tearing down the work of previous rulers, but restored towards the end of the 19^th Century and again after damage from bombing in WWII. Today it’s huge courtyards are open to the public and forms the focus of long walkways from the Duomo through to rambling open parklands. Many of the important museums and galleries are housed within the walls of the castle. Unlike most of the other castles we have visited so far, the Sforza Castle is built on flat land, a blessing seeing as our legs are feeling rather sore from all the walking. Indeed, all of Milan is built on flat land and used to have a huge system of canals, partly designed by Leonardo da Vinci, but only a couple remain today.

We were puzzled by the sight of very long lines of people queuing to gain entry to a small bakery in an alley near the Duomo. People also covered most of the nearby steps and walls as they sat and ate what looked like slices of a rather doughy pizza-like substance. The long lines put us off testing the food but it had to be something good, although how one store can sell pizza so much better than anyone else’s in the land of pizzas is hard to understand. A bit of research showed that this was the famous Luini Bakery, established in 1949 when Giuseppina Luini came from Puglia and began baking a type of panzerotta popular in Puglia. It is a pocket stuffed pastry filled with mozzarella cheese and tomato. No wonder it was so popular. We had sampled one at a small stall near Sforza Castle earlier without knowing what it was. Not a pizza at all but very yummy.

Milan has a lot of public transport, with an extensive Metro Underground, trams and trolley busses. Our hotel was around 5km from central Milan so we used the Metro to cross the city and trams to move within the central area. An all day pass costs 4.50€ so it was excellent value. Our hotel was on the Yellow M3 line, the latest Metro line that featured driverless trains. Sitting at the very front afforded a great view of the tunnel and approaching passing trains. Even weirder was a seat at the very rear to watch the tracks melt away into the darkness. However, in a country with youth unemployment running at in excess of 25% I think that driverless trains is something they can do without.

Our trip into the city centre on 25^th April was really relaxed and easy because it is a public holiday, not for ANZAC Day of course, but for Independence Day, representing the day that the Milan and Piedmont rebels overthrew Mussolini and the Nazis. The streets were quiet, despite the fact that most shops were open and at least half the restaurants were also closed.

Nearby our hotel was a large modern shopping mall, similar in layout to most the world over. It was really handy because it had a large supermarket that supplied all our needs. The top floor had a food hall of sorts with a range of different offerings, including a Spanish themed place that offered such a great range of tapas that we were wishing we had time to work our way through the entire menu.

The weather in Milan has been excellent, with maximums in the high teens, great for walking. From here we head over the Alps through Switzerland to Munich, where we can expect snow and temperatures only a little above zero. The bus will be warm but we have to get out at stops so it is drag out the beanie and scarf time.

Is Milan recommended? Absolutely!

Bus Trip Milan to Munich – 26 April 2017

We caught a Flixbus to Munich. The original plan was to use the Metro to cross town to Lampugnano Bus Station but fate intervened with a terrible back pain, not Christine this time, but me. I have no idea what did it but it was the same old issue, with the legs barely working and the muscles threatening to go into spasm. We know now that pain control is the only real solution and that it is a 48 hour issue if treated properly. So we caught another taxi.

The taxi driver was named Franco and was a riot, quite unlike the guy we had on arrival. He told us he knew all the ways to get around the traffic jams that the rain had created and gave a running commentary as he used back streets, changed direction and shot down bus lanes. The whole trip was very entertaining. Incredibly, it was like he jumped ahead of us to meet us in Munich, because the next guy was just the same, except for the German accent. He described in detail the upcoming important soccer match between Munich and someone that was bringing the city to a halt and ruining his night’s takings. This guy knew all about Australia because he had seen Crocodile Dundee. Both were friendly, spoke good English and were very entertaining.

The bus trip proved to be a highlight of the trip so far. We had been across the same route heading south from Frankfurt but it was at night. This time we crossed the Alps in daylight. What a drive. The early part of the drive took us through Como with its beautiful lakeside scenery. Once into Switzerland and climbing, the snow commenced and it was covering the pine trees, creating a forest of perfect Christmas trees. The snow fall was heavy enough to make everything white and fresh but didn’t create dangerous conditions on the roads. Below the snow line was a glorious carpet of green fields, quaint villages and fast flowing rivers. Scores of long waterfalls plummeted down from the towering cliffs. Higher up there were huge mountains, fairy tale snow covered hamlets and deep valleys traversed by high bridges. It was amazing and even the two Austrian women in front of us were busy with their cameras.

Crossing the Alps with Flixbus

I confess to being a little nervous about an alpine crossing in snowy conditions but the driver was very careful and at no time did I feel insecure. We reached Munich in the early evening, just in time for the peak hour rush and crawled our way into the bus station.

Munich 26-27 April 2017

Our accommodation in Munich proved a real winner. Rather than a hotel or AirBnB, we opted for a “Pension” or boarding house. This one (Mona Lisa Pension) had seven rooms in total, each with en-suite, and was attached to an Indian Restaurant called the Sitar. It was perfect, with our own secure entrance to the building, a lift facility rather than endless flights of stairs, great central heating and a wonderful location in the heart of the old part of Munich. The only thing lacking was any form of self catering, but we found a fantastic bakery with take-away coffee and piles of delicious offerings just around the corner. We also sampled the Indian fare and found it well priced and tasty.

My back improved steadily and we were able to explore the inner parts of Munich without doing our usual long haul of around 10kms a day. The Metro system helped us move a bit further afield to check out some of the history of this famous Bavarian city. One beautiful area was around the Isartor, one of the surviving medieval gates to the old walled city. Behind the restored walls is a market area that would have been an absolute feast of food if the weather had been better. The cold and steady rain put a lot of people off and the streets were quiet and more than half the stalls closed. There was little incentive to sample the beers stalls either because the thought of drinking beer outside in 5 degrees was too much. Later, at the central station, a wurztel stall did tempt us with a delicious plate of Curry Wurztel, which we would normally wash down with an ale but even the warmth inside the station didn’t tempt us. Wurztel stalls sell various types of sausage, along with a variety of sauces and a healthy serve of good German beer, usually from a small kiosk in a town square. A few standing height tables provide a space to consume the goodies and watch the passing parade while indulging in the ultimate gluttony.

Munich on a fine spring day would be wonderful. It is a shame that we have been here in such cold weather but then we have been lucky so far with an unseasonably warm spell. Furthermore, the local farmers were starting to fret, as they were in northern Italy, because even in Europe they can experience water shortages later in the summer.

Around Munich. Note the snow on the cars and the scene from the train.

We woke on our second and last morning in Munich to light snow. The cars lining the street where covered and the nearby trees had a charming white dusting. It took ages to get fully dressed to head out and around the corner to buy a coffee and a couple of rolls for breakfast but the scene along the street was delightful. As the morning wore on, the snow turned to sleet then rain. Fortunately, we did not have far to walk to enter a Metro station and get to the Central Railway Station for our train to Passau. My back had improved to the point where the backpack was not too bad and we got to the train without issue.

The train trip was only a couple of hours. The scenery just outside Munich was gorgeous with a heavier fall of snow covering the whole countryside. I am not sure how the farmers cope with snow so late in the season because there was a lot of wheat already growing and most of the canola was flowering. Hopefully, the effect of a light snow cover is not the same as a frost back in Australia. As the trip wore on, my back decided it had had enough sitting for one day and started to really hurt so I was very glad to get out at Passau, even though it meant loading the pack again and trudging through steady rain in very cold conditions.

Passau 28-29 April 2017

The rain destroyed our plans to walk to our accommodation, a trip of only about 1km, and we took a taxi. The driver dropped us at the entrance to Passau University and indicated that our address was somewhere within. After a bit of searching and help from students, we located our lodgings, a room in an apartment through AirBnB. This part of the University was once a monastery and we were lodging with the director of the student accommodation. We had a small room on the fourth floor (no lift) and the use of bathroom and kitchen. It was not ideal but it was cheap and central, two things that all other accommodation wasn’t. The worst thing was the smell. We couldn’t really identify it but it was definitely a stale food type smell, maybe the result of cooking in a closed environment over the cold season. It wasn’t the smell from “Jerry” the cat that seemed to revel in scratching all guests’ baggage and legs but I could have happily turned Jerry into stale food given the choice. He seemed to be the true owner of the property and was one of those repulsive cats.

Despite the rain, we spent a couple of hours wandering the charming streets of Passau. The city is located on the junction of the Danube, Ilz and Inn Rivers. It has a population of around 50,000, of which students comprise a significant proportion at 12,000. Passau has a rich history dating back into medieval times and was an important part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire. The streets are lined with beautiful buildings and shops full of charm and character. A couple of modern shopping malls take up the centre of the city but don’t detract. In the cold and wet weather, they provided us with a safe haven to dry off and seek some food for lunch.

Our second day in Passau was beautiful. For a start, the other occupiers of our accommodation were away in Prague for the day. Almost as good was the weather, with a cessation to the endless rain and a rise in temperature from a very chilly 5 to a bearable 12 degrees. We still set forth in long-uns and full length thermal underwear but at least the coats came off at times during the day. The worst part was entering a shopping centre, where they insisted on maintaining a steady 25 degrees. We were doing the full strip tease when only metres inside the doors.

Our final day in Passau was largely one of waiting for the cruise boat. In the morning, we found it at Dock 13 as expected and probably the most convenient location for our lodgings. Walking across town with our backpacks would not be difficult. However, we were not able to leave our luggage until 2pm and were unable to board until 4pm. Fortunately, Andreas our accommodation host allowed us to leave our luggage with him while we did other things.

Around Passau

The city was hosting a huge festival which was organised around a massive street parade featuring groups from the surrounding areas in traditional dress. We bagged ourselves a great vantage point and watched for an hour as group after group of marching bands, village groups and other organisations filed past, interspersed with magnificent horse team pulling carts loaded with people. Most of the men seemed to be drinking copious amounts of beer. There was much clapping and cheering and the whole spectacle was both entertaining and quite moving.

Any way you look at it, Passau is a very beautiful city, small enough to walk around the central old part and soak up the ambience and yet big enough to have a lot of features. Once the rain cleared and we were able to have a decent look at the city, its true beauty became apparent. Rows of quaint 18^th Century houses interspersed with 16^th and even 15^th Century remnants of fortifications and larger buildings create a wonderfully “toy town” atmosphere. It really is a delightful place to walk around. It is easy to get lost for a short while, given the random pattern of the streets and alleyways, but then it doesn’t take long to get ones bearings because a few minutes walking will bring you into contact with either the Danube or the Inn Rivers and a chance to re-establish a location.

With the weather taking a very optimistic turn for the better, we look forward to our time on the forthcoming Danube River cruise. Ours is the first cycling cruise of the year and so we knew we were taking a risk with the weather but it looks as though we may have made a good decision. Time will tell.

Piedmont and Liguria, Italy 1-24 April 2017

April 24, 2017 / terry

During our time staying at Trisobbio, we took a few trips away to explore nearby centres in Piedmont and neighbouring Liguria. We were very lucky to have Rob and Yvette to drive us around and to share the wonderful experiences.

Genoa (11^th April 2017)

We took the train from Ovada down to Genoa for the day. The trip only takes around 45 minutes on a comfortable local train, all of which seem to leave exactly on time, quite unlike our previous experiences with Italian trains. Genoa has a population of around a million people across the wider metropolitan area. It is one of the main economic centres in Italy and a very busy port. Its maritime origins go back to medieval times when it was a major trading nation and held considerable naval power over large areas of the Mediterranean.

We explored the maritime history of Genoa with a visit to the Museum de Mare down at the old port. We toured five floors of exhibits, the best of which was a full sized reproduction of a Genovese Galley from the 16^th Century that we could walk around in. The size was impressive but the conditions for the mainly slave crew of rowers must have been horrific. Another excellent exhibit was one featuring Genoa’s role as a point of embarkation for departing immigrants during the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries. The exhibit was presented as the insides of a steamer, with all the walls being made of steel (complete with lots of rivets), sounds of the ship at work and the steady hum of the steam driven engines producing a very life-like feel. We wandered around in the cramped dormitories, stood on the bridge and watched as the crowds lined up at the immigration authorities in their new lands. Well worth the visit.

Around Genoa

The best part of Genoa is just walking the streets. This is so often the case in European cities, where there is ample opportunity to simply soak up the atmosphere. We wandered the length of the beautiful Via XX Settembre, stopping mid-way at the fresh produce markets to soak up the incredible display of fruit, vegetables, fish, cheese and pasta. Meat was also on sale but displays of meat in Italy have failed to impress, with very few good cuts on display. We had an excellent lunch at a sidewalk cafe on the Via Garibaldi, choosing from an appetising selection of sandwiches with a choice of three Italian breads and sides washed down with a lovely beer. The owner proved to be French rather than Italian and very chatty and jovial. The port area also had many attractions and we enjoyed simply wandering the docks and admiring the boats, as we always do. There were cruising yachts from all parts of the World making me yearn to have the courage to cross oceans and explore the seas. Christine just said an emphatic “No!”

Turin (14-17 April 2017)

The four of us spent the Easter weekend in Turin, Italy’s 6^th largest city and situated around 150kms to the north-west of Trisobbio. Italy’s excellent system of high speed autostradas made the trip quick but did feature some delightful piazzas and walking streets, But then, it seems everywhere in Italy is full of great townscapes. Turin, however, exceeds all others that we have seen so far and rivals many of the great cities of Europe. A direct comparison with Paris is obviously impossible but Turin is a true showcase of Italian and French architecture. The city was captured by Napoleon in 1800 and held for the next 14 years, during which time he redesigned the layout, knocking down the old city walls and replacing them with a series of wide avenues lined with elegant colonnaded buildings and graceful bridges, flanked by majestic statues.

Turin Sights

We had a magnificent apartment through AirBnB right in the heart of the city, overlooking a small piazza. Unfortunately, there was no parking attached and it took a bit of work to find a place, eventually leaving the car some 2.5kms away where street parking was free. Since we did not have need of the car during our stay and it came to no harm, the move proved a success. The car was definitely not needed, with the city well serviced by trams, busses and a metro system.

During the day, we tended to go our own ways and explore the wonders of the city. Christine and I had a fabulous trip up a local mountain on a special tram, driven by a rack and pinion system, that rose 450m in a 3.5km journey from Sassi to Superga, where an excellent view of the city below was to be had. We had hoped for great views of the snow covered Alps in the distance but the visibility was poor and a cloud bank covered the mountains. However, the following day, we climbed (on foot) another local hill to a large church and were rewarded with incredible views of the mountains and snow beyond.

At night we came together to find somewhere to eat. One meal was at a local Pizzareia, where we had the most amazing standard of food and service at amazingly low prices. Christine and I shared a pizza, Rob had a pizza while Yvette ordered a seafood spaghetti. We all eyed off Yvette’s dish, as she scoffed down lashings of prawns, squid and the like.

We expected the city to be mostly in shut-down mode due to the Easter weekend but, surprisingly, Good Friday is not a holiday in Italy, at least not in Northern Italy. Things certainly got quiet on Easter Sunday and the piazzas and walking streets of Turin filled with family groups, making the most of the fine and warm weather.

Unfortunately, there was a pall cast on the trip to Turin. One night, Rob and Yvette went out to meet the owner of the house they will rent in Nova Levante. During a meal together, Yvette had her bag stolen, despite taking precautions to safe guard it. Pick-pocketing and bag snatching is a big problem in Italy, particularly in Rome and Naples but we didn’t quite expect it in Turin. She lost a few Euros, her prescription sunglasses and her mobile phone. The good news was that she didn’t have her passport or credit cards with her. However, Rob and Yvette had to make a couple of trips to the police station to make a report and get the necessary police report to make an insurance claim.

Cinque Terre and La Spezia (19-20 April 2017)

The Cinque Terre is a collection of five villages, Monterosso, Vernazza, Cornigilia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, set along the Italian Riveria, south of Genoa. Each one clings precariously to the cliffs surrounding a tiny bay or landing point, except for Cornigula, which is set higher on the hills away from the sea. The stretch of coastline is a declared UNESCO World Heritage site and attracts huge crowds of tourists every year.

The drive from Trisobbio was along the Autostrada, a rather unpleasant trip in heavy traffic. From Genoa south, most of the road was down to two lanes, with trucks occupying the slow lane. The fast lane was a nominal 130km/hr but most cars were sitting on around 110. However, a few were doing 150 or so and this meant a constant swapping of lanes to get behind trucks then pass them and so on. Once near Monterosso, we left the Autostrada to sit on a narrow twisting winding road to the tiny port. We were very happy to get out of the car. Poor Rob bore the brunt of it, having suffered about two hours of total concentration.

To be honest, Monterosso was a bit of a disappointment initially. I felt it was just a bit of a seaside village and didn’t quite fit my visions of quaint little stone houses. Later, however, our impressions rose somewhat after we had explored the charming alleys and backstreets, and it was easy to see why it had such a seductive charm.

From Monterosso, we got on a ferry to hop from one village to another. This is the best way to view the villages because the sight of each one from the sea is quite stunning and certainly justifies all the postcard pictures. Venazzo from the sea was simply perfect. A restaurant carved out of a towering cliff sported a balcony hanging out over the water with a handful of tables set with white linen. The ferry nosed in to the rocky pier, rising and falling gently in the low swells and exchanged passengers before setting off to the next village. We got off at the last village, Riomaggiore, to start our exploration by land. Rob and Yvette went their own way, having made several previous trips to the Cinque Terre and having a couple of places and walks (more like climbs) they wanted to check out.

Cinque Terre

Walking around the villages is more a case of climbing around. Steps are everywhere and forming even regular sized steps has never been a priority. Christine’s short legs were a distinct disadvantage. Beautiful alleyways, corners, cafes and balconies create perfect scenes. The crowds were bigger than any we have so far encountered and I shuddered to think what it would be like here in June or July.

To get back to Monterosso, we bought an all day rail pass. The train line from Genoa to La Spezia hugs the coastline, spending around 70% of the time going through tunnels, so it provides a service to the four coastal villages. Before the rail line was built, the villages relied totally on small boat access. Unfortunately, the day we were there the train service proved unreliable and the advertised every 30 minutes proved to be an hour long wait for the first train to access Manarola.

Cinque Terre

Our clear favourite was Venazzo, mainly because it clung so beautifully to the cliffs. The walk down from the train station to the water’s edge was a picture. We chatted to another Australian couple who were staying in Venazzo for four days and loving it, although they did comment how expensive things were. We stopped for a wine and tapas and paid 12€ when it would have cost 7€ elsewhere. Monterosso was a lot cheaper. At one place we ordered a pot of tea for two but the woman came out with two pots of tea. We drank several cups each and when I went to pay, she asked for 2€ total.

Eventually, the day ran out and we caught up with Rob and Yvette back at Monterosso. From there, we drove to La Spezia, a large town south of the Cinque Terre, where we had organised an AirBnB apartment for the night. Rob phoned ahead to say we were on our way but was horrified to find that we were actually booked for the next night, all our mistake. We had come to the Cinque Terre on the wrong day. Fortunately, the host was very helpful and the apartment was available. We could have been liable for a financial penalty but all was sorted without loss.

La Spezia is a naval town with a large naval base still in use. A surprising number of warships were in evidence, as well as extensive marina complexes, container freight facilities and passenger liner port. While not as pretty as many other places, the city was pleasant enough and certainly provided an interesting stroll along the waterfront. Rob was keen to take us out of town and up the hills to a favourite restaurant called Il Paradiso del Golfo. Unfortunately, on arrival we found it closed, due to their irregular hours over the Easter break. However, the view was worth the drive. The restaurant was set high on a hill overlooking the whole bay with a glorious backdrop of snow covered mountains. The snow was on the melt, but there was still plenty on the far peaks and in the steeper valleys.

We found a pizzareia close to the apartment and had excellent pizzas at very cheap prices. The place had a healthy crowd of local diners, attracted by the prospect of watching the soccer on their big screen. It was fun.

Around La Spezia

On our way out of town, we stopped at a tiny seaside hamlet called Le Grazie before climbing back into the hills to Il Paradiso del Golfo again. This time, it was open. We were not disappointed. For 10€ a head, we enjoyed a six course seafood extravaganza, with a wonderful fish fillet in oil, an amazing octopus salad, some kind of prawn dish with a fantastic sauce served up in a scallop shell, battered fish , smoked salmon crepes and a dish featuring spelt in squid ink. There wasn’t one thing that wasn’t perfection. This would be the best value meal ever, especially considering the amazing view one could have while dining.

The drive back north to Trisobbio was better with the traffic generally lighter but it was still nice to drive around the bend and see our little village of Trisobbio on the hill with its castle nestled on top. It really has come to feel like home. Our return from the Cinque Terre marked the end of our stay with the Piscicellis, baring a couple of days to catch up on washing etc. From here we head off to Milan and then to Germany for a while. Unfortunately, the wonderful spring weather that we have been enjoying is destined to come to an end, with heavy snow forecast for Munich and Passau. It will be an adventure, but not too much of a drama I hope.

Trisobbio, Piedmont, Italy 1-24 April 2017

April 24, 2017 / terry

Rob and Yvette met us at Ovada train station in their leased Peugeot. After all the planning and travelling it was a bit of a “pinch yourself moment” to actually catch up with the Piscicellis in Italy. Rob drove us along the twisting road to the tiny village of Trisobbio, our home for the next three weeks. Trisobbio is in the Province of Alessandria in the region of Piedmont, very close to the border with Liguria, and is one of a number of similar hilltop villages in the area. Each one seems to have a church and a castle at the summit, with a collection of houses clinging to the sides of the hill.. The hills were covered with fruit trees, most in glorious springtime flowering mode, and grape vines. Houses were numerous though well spaced. In places the road reached a switchback, presenting a wonderful vista across the farmlands to the distant mountains.

The first sight of the cluster of buildings on the hill with the battlements of the small castle poking out on top was a scene from a fairy tale movie. As Rob manoeuvred the car through the narrow roads and alleys of the village to our apartment I was glad that he was the one driving, especially with the left hand drive. I find that the fine judgement is not there when I get in a left hand drive car but Rob seems to have the gift.

We unloaded our gear and familiarised ourselves with the apartment. Ours is on the second storey, the bottom floor being used by the owners and the top one being another apartment for rent. Our apartment is wonderful, with comfortable facilities, two bedrooms and a good kitchen. Best of all are the views. I found myself spending quite a bit of time just standing at a window and looking out at the complex roof lines and jumble of courtyards of the neighbouring houses or beyond to the rolling hills and patches of forest. The owners, a very welcoming and friendly family, retain the downstairs apartment for times when family members return to Trissobio for a visit (they live in Genoa now).

An aerial view of Trisobbio showing our apartment

Rob and Yvette had had a few weeks to get to know their surrounds so were able to point out the various features around and take us on drives to the nearby villages. It is easy to become blasé about the magnificent scenery, the opulence of the church interiors and the magic of the many medieval castles that adorn the landscape. The area is very hilly, with the northern end of the Apennines rising in the distance. Some years, we would be graced with the sight of snow in the distance but the snow did not come this year, which is a shame but at the same time we have been blessed with some much warmer than normal spring weather. Most days are a pleasant 20 degrees with the occasional cooler rainy day. It is only ever a couple of kilometres between villages and each one seems to have its own unique features and charm.

A hiking trail of sorts connects the five closest castles, although it looks like it could do with a bit of maintenance to counter the rapid spring growth. On one occasion, Christine and I set out to walk the 3.5 kilometres to nearby Cremolino. It proved to be a hard slog because we had to climb a hill that proved to be higher than all the others around. The views were staggering but the thighs were sore for a few days.

Around Trisobbio

The main industries around the area are all agricultural in nature, with grape growing being the most obvious, along with apples, pears, strawberries and other fruit and vegetables. The region has long been renown for the quality of its produce and it show through in the vegetables, all of which seem to have much more flavour than back home. Livestock still remains absent from the scene, with the exception of horses, which is quite strange because there are a few meat processing places around. Meat and fish is generally expensive, while fruit and vegetables are cheap by Australian standards. The real work these days is in the cities, with Ovada having a scattering of light industry and small businesses. Both Genoa and Turin are large manufacturing centres and the drift to these cities for work has led to the rural population decline over the years.

Rob and Yvette drove us to many nearby villages and town, all of which were a delight to explore. We also love to visit the Tre Castelli Winery at Montaldo Bormida, only a couple of kilometres down the road. Here you could taste a variety of local wines and purchase them for ridiculous prices, between 3.10€ and 5.50€ a bottle. We loved the Rose, the Chardonnay and a dry red made from Dolcetto grapes. Actually, we liked everything and became good customers, doing our best to consume enough to keep us going back.

Shopping in Trisobbio itself is limited, with a “Bar” that sells coffee and a few drinks, a small bakery and general store that is really only good for a few emergencies, a pharmacy (every village seems to have one), an excellent restaurant and pizzeria, a post office and a hairdresser. All our real supplies come from Ovada, where a number of different supermarkets provide most things we want. We made occasional trips to the local bar for delicious coffees, where a great cappuccino costs a whole $A2.

Views of Trisobbio

Trisobbio has one amazing restaurant called Antio Torchio Trisobbio that serves a variety of Italian dishes and a great selection of wood fired pizzas. It is set in a 8^th Century Palace that just drips with ambience. Cipriani is a very amiable host and the food is excellent. Even better is the price, with us paying 66€ for four people, which included a bottle of red and a bottle of wine.

Another real bonus is the ready availability of excellent wine at crazy prices. Nearby is the Tre Castelli Cantina that sells an amazingly good selection of wines ranging between 2.5€ and 5€. We did not taste a bad one and we sampled many. The owner is very accommodating and spent a lot of time with us even though we were very small customers in the scheme of things. The Piedmont Region is famous for its wines and locally Dolcetta and Barbarossa grapes are mostly grown for reds with the. Chardonnays also feature, although they are often bottled as “Frizzante” with a light carbonation. It makes for a very pleasant drink. At another winery in Revolta Bormida, we saw a local come in with his 10 litre plastic jerry can and fill it up from a fuel type bowser. It cost him 1.60€ a litre, only slightly dearer than the fuel he used to drive to the winery.

A couple of days after we arrived, Christine began to experience some very painful and debilitating spasms in her lower back. She had been feeling some soreness since all the physical work in Vietnam but this was much worse. I am the one who usually causes a problem with back pain so we were carrying four tablets with enough power to get me by in case of an attack so we started using these for Christine to get her through a night. Rob drove us in to Ovada where she was seen by the emergency department, X-rayed and pronounced free of any skeletal damage. We sort of knew that anyway and just wanted a script for decent pain killers. The best we managed was some Tramadol, which did little to help. On the plus side, we did not have to pay due to a reciprocal health agreement between Italy and Australia. The spasms persisted so we tried the local visiting doctor, who comes to the village once a week. He pronounced the Tramadol useless, gave a script for what we wanted, took our 50€ and waved us on our way. Given a couple of pain free days, Christine’s back soon came good (or at least better). It needed to come good because there was no way I was going to carry both backpacks.

Football days were a source of some frustration. With no telecast we were reliant on the Internet. Rob has a subscription for live feeds but the Internet in Trissobio is very intermittent and so the picture kept freezing or failing altogether, usually just at the crucial moment. We tried running from the wireless router, using the phones and a combination of the above. Somehow, we managed to scrape by but it was always an effort.

Around Piedmont

We explored the nearby towns and villages with Rob and Yvette. A car is essential in this part of the World and without it one would be reliant on the infrequent local bus. A motorbike would be useful in the warmer weather, giving good access to the narrow streets of the villages and making finding parking in the towns easier. Although we saw quite a few cyclists, the very hilly nature of the region rules a bicycle out for me.

The villages perched on a hilltop were the most interesting, because all the houses were forced to crush together in an interesting jumble of stone walls, archways and cobbled laneways. Most had a castle of sorts to add to the interest and all had had a prominent church spire. From Trisobbio, it was possible to look out and see the neighbouring castles of Carpeneto and Morsasco. One can picture the local Lord standing on a balcony in times past glaring across the divide and hurling insults at the Lord across the way.

Churches, churches and more churches. Every village has one and some have two.

The population of these villages has fallen steadily, peaking in 1901 at 1200 people in the case of our village but it does appear that the decline has slow or begun to reverse. Morsasco has a number of modern apartment blocks attached to it, built at a discreet distance so as to not disrupt the charm of the castled centre. In my biased opinion, Trisobbio was the prettiest of the surrounding villages, resembling a fairytale Camelot when viewed from some angles.

Ovada

Ovada was our “go to” location for shopping and train connections. Also, it was a convenient entrance location to the Autostrada so we seemd to head for Ovada at least every second day. As the driver, Rob got to know his way around Ovada very well whereas I just sat in the back and watch the shops go by. In itself, it was an interesting enough town with its bevy of beautiful churches, two rivers, some gorgeous cobbled streets and vibrant markets. It is easy to become blasé and we did, tending to ignore just how pretty Ovada was.

Gavi

Gavi, a fortress town a little further away, was quite a bit bigger and was overlooked by a huge fort dating back to the 14^th Century. A narrow winding road took us up to near the summit where a small door gave access to the castle itself. Unfortunately, the tour times did not suit so we decided to come back on another occasion. Besides, we had seen a restaurant in the town offering a two course meal with wine and coffee for 10€ so a second trip was definitely indicated. On this occasion we contented ourselves with a beautiful gelato in the town square.

On our return, we paid our 5€ for the tour of the fortress and joined a small group. Unfortunately, the guide only spoke Italian but there was sufficient signage in French and English to keep us foreigners happy and informed. The fort had origins dating back to 900AD but the main structures were built in the 1600s and strengthened throughout the 1700s. I have no real understanding of how anyone could attack such an impenetrable bastion an hope to succeed but history shows that it changed hands many times between French, Austrian, Genovese and Sardinian control. In each case, surrender on the order of a nearby load seemed to be the case rather than actual invasion. The fort was used as an internment camp for prisoners of war during both World Wars. In WWII, it housed allied prisoners who had tried unsuccessfully to escape from other camps. One guy, Jack Pringle, managed a famous escape only to be caught again within sight of the border with Switzerland. You can’t help bad luck.

Fort Gavi

The restaurant with the 10€ (A$14) meal proved a real gem. We had a good choice of dishes and enjoyed some very good local Gavi white wine. Given that we were supplied with lashings of excellent bread and good salads as side dishes it went down a real treat and we left with very full stomachs. Where in Australia could you manage that?

Acqui Terme

Acqui Terme is a larger town about 15 kilometres from Trisobbio. Its main claim to fame (and the a marbled edifice. During the Winter, the spring produces clouds of steam that drift throughout the town. The locals come with plastic bottles to take the water, believing it to be good for their health. We visited Acqui Terme on a Tuesday, when street markets occupied several of the main thoroughfares. These markets sported an amazing array of clothing and shoe stalls, all selling quality Italian made goods at crazy prices. Whole racks of coats, shirts and pants were just priced at 5€ each. A beautiful pair of all leather hiking boots caught my attention at 60€ (A$84) a real bargain for Italian made boots. I could have spent some serious money here but the big problem is space. We simply do not have the room to carry any more stuff with us and shipping goods back to Perth is both time consuming and expensive.

We went into one of the many churches in Acqui Terme, a rather plain affair on the outside, but amazingly rich and opulent on the inside. The many supporting columns were made from a gorgeous apricot coloured marble and gold leaf adorned the ornamentation on the pulpit. The sheer magnificence of all the churches we have been into is beyond belief. Centuries of work and collected artistry are on display, the value of which probably can’t be assessed in pure dollar terms.

Alessandria

Alessandria is the capital city of Piedmont and is around 40km north of our village. With a population of just under 100,000, it is not a big city by most standards. A high speed “Autostrada” makes the trip from Ovada north a quick one. We visited on a Monday to take advantage of the markets in the Piazza de Garibaldi, a town square surrounded by colonnaded buildings dating back about a Century or so. The market sold mostly clothes and many cheap buys were on offer. We browsed for a while before wandering through the older parts of the town. Perhaps we are becoming immune to the sight of narrow streets lines with old buildings because we found the city interesting but unspectacular. We stopped off for a 10€ meal at a restaurant, again rather unspectacular by our demanding standards, and headed out of town. Along the way, we saw and followed a series of signs to a citadel, which proved to be worth a visit. It was a large 18^th Century fort with an expansive internal courtyard and it was easy to picture the cavalry troops parading and drilling within its walls. During the turbulent times of the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, it was of supreme importance and changed hands frequently, being attacked by the French, Spanish, Austrians, Russians and almost everyone else.

Sezzadio

Another place we explored was Sezzadio, about 20km north of Trisobbio, to check out a large church Rob and Yvette had seen on a previous drive. The church itself proved to be a bit of a disappointment, very imposing from the outside but quite plain by Italian standards inside. A smaller chapel at the rear was packed with families attending a Palm Sunday service. Everyone carried an olive branch and I wondered if this was because there is a distinct lack of palms in the area. I “confess” to being rather ignorant of church ceremonials.

On the outskirts of Sezzadio, Yvette spied a turn-in to an abbey so we investigated. It turned out to be an old abbey turned into a reception centre. One part of it was an ancient vestibule and crypt dating back to the 8^th Century. The mosaic floor in the crypt was beautiful considering its age and the frescoes covering the walls were fantastic. At some point, all the frescoes were plastered over and the removal of this is only partly completed.

The rest of the abbey is in various states of repair, from crumbling to fully restored. The property was purchased by a family back in about 1980 and the main building was restored to a beautiful condition. We were lucky enough to be allowed to look through the interior and the owner seemed to welcome us as either long lost friends or prospective clients because he speared no effort at explaining things, rather surprising really given that he was awaiting the arrival of 100 guests for a conference. Outside, the grounds were a picture, with beautiful lawns, numerous marquees, shady trees, a pond, swimming pool (rather empty at this time of year) and lashings of ambience.

Conclusion

Trisobbio is off the beaten path for most foreign tourists, although the immediate region enjoys the patronage of Italians in the know. It is a superb food and wine region with wonderful views. We have dearly loved our time here and despite our almost complete lack of language skills have enjoyed the welcoming attitude of the locals. A highlight for us was going down to the local shop and communicating with the lovely woman who runs it via a series of hand signals and gestures, with a smattering of Italian and English words thrown in. Life in the more remote small villages obviously has its down sides for the locals but we found the experience here to be everything we had hoped for.

Frankfurt, Germany – March 2017

April 3, 2017 / terry

Moscow, Russia 27 March 2017

All in all, we had a bad day. It started off OK with a taxi out to Saigon Airport without the usual fight over the fare. We found the check-in for Aeroflot to Moscow only to find the line stretched halfway to Hanoi. Christine had to restrain me after I blocked access to a Russian family running up the line. “We are with our friends,” they claimed, pointing to a couple who had actually reached the line to the counter. “I growled but got the recall from the wife and just stood around looking like an angry Aussie in a sea of Russians.

The flight itself went well, taking off on schedule. The plane was comfortable and we were well catered for in the food department, with two full three course meals and an icecream over the 10 hour flight. Aeroflot plays it safe with alcohol, serving a wine with a meal only and not dishing out loads of free vodka, in fact no spirits at all either free or paying. Perhaps experience has dictated this policy. We watched three new release movies each, more than we usually watch in ten years. A regular check of the flight map suggested that we were taking a zig-zag route to avoid some of the higher mountains to avoid turbulence, a wise move because every time we did get close the turbulence started to cut in. However, as the flight wore on, the deviations started to count and we arrived in Moscow 45 minutes behind schedule.

Exiting the plane gave us around 5 minutes to get to the Frankfurt flight, although I figured it would be unlikely that our luggage would follow. We hit the transfer desk in a state of panic to be told that our flight would go tomorrow. We looked down at our T Shirt and shorts, and across to the windows and the outside world of zero degrees and piles of snow. “It’s OK,” we were assured. “We give you hotel in airport and meals.”

Armed with vouchers for accommodation and meals, we sat down for a while to regroup and log on to the airport Internet so we could inform the Ibis Hotel in Frankfurt that we were no-shows. While we were getting organised, we heard “Last Call for Frankfurt” announced. We hot footed it to Gate 6 and explained the situation. Sure enough, our plane was waiting. However, on checking the documents, it appeared that the deed was done and our luggage had been withdrawn for tomorrow’s flight.

While walking past all the duty free shops in the airport, we figured we would make up for the lack of access to wine in Vietnam over the past two weeks and buy a bottle of duty free Italian wine to drink in the hotel. We didn’t have any Roubles but we managed to use Euros so the deal was done. The room wasn’t available until 10pm so we decided to sit and have a beer in a bar to kill the time and relax. As I took my backpack off, the bottle of wine somehow released itself and crashed to the floor, leaving a large puddle of blood coloured issue to run between the chairs and tables. I’m not sure who was more pissed off, me or the cleaning lady.

As we booked into the hotel, we met another couple who had the same experience as us , being rescheduled for a flight they could have made, except theirs was from Romania and going on to England. We also saw a large group of angry Norway bound passengers who were having to accept that not everyone would even get home tomorrow. I think this will be our one and only Aeroflot experience.

We woke to a spectacular sight. The airport was carpeted with more snow and a light fall continued. In truth, this is the first actual snow fall we have ever seen, our previous encounters with snow being after the event rather than during. The sight of all the ice covered planes was sobering, recalling all those “airtime disaster” docos we have seen that involve ice on the wings. There was no need for worry as the plane visited the de-icing team before take-off and we hit the skies shiny clean and covered in anti-freeze solution.

Snow and ice at Moscow Airport

Frankfurt, Germany 28 March 2017

The arrival into Frankfurt was amazing. The airport is one of the World’s biggest and there were planes, terminals and runway everywhere. Landing on one of the four runways is a bit surreal because one looks out the window at the neighbouring runway flashing by, producing the feeling that the plane is about to miss its landing. Just controlling the taxiing aircraft would be a major job in itself, let alone the take-offs and landings. We taxied around for ages before finally finding our spot to park.

Processing through immigration was very slow, mostly because almost everyone bar us on the plane was Russian and the immigration police spent quite a long time interviewing each person. It was quite fascinating watching them engage people in seemingly casual conversation yet continue to probe about the nature of the visit to the EU. When we finally got to the front, the process was quick with a question about where we were visiting then a cheerful “Have a nice visit.”

We picked up our bags, relieved to see them after the missed flight debacle in Moscow and headed for customs. An ATM just before customs gave us the chance to stock up on Euros, so we took advantage then marched through into Germany, out the front door and straight on to the Terminal 1 transfer bus. Easy! Oh Oh! Christine found she had left a backpack at the ATM, on the other side of the Customs Barrier. I ran through to the door but it could not be accessed in reverse. Images of the bomb squad surrounding the bag ran through our heads before we managed to locate a very nice woman who had the power to take Christine behind the scenes. She emerged victorious, although the fact that the bag was still sitting unattended did upset the helpful woman a tad. It seems it should have been detected by the three customs guys we saw chatting together about 15 metres away.

With all bags in our possession, we re-boarded the shuttle bus, found Terminal 1, found the S-Bahn train to Frankfurt Central then navigated the 700m out of the station and down the road to the Ibis Hotel. The room afforded excellent views across the city and the Main River and the Ibis is very well located to explore the delights of this very pretty city. All around us is an amazing blend of 19^th Century German grandeur and post war utilitarian box architecture. Trams glide across the nearby bridge and people move around with ease on the relatively empty pavements. The city is open enough to provide many excellent vistas, especially further along the river in the main shopping areas where numerous medieval buildings and some glorious churches add character. Most of the medieval buildings are either recreations or reconstructions of the originals, the city being largely destroyed during WWII. These provide a welcome relief from the bland structures of post war development. The more modern sky-scrapers are generally spectacular, and spaced far enough apart to be able to be fully appreciated, with some amazing glass and steel creations. Frankfurt is Germany’s only true high rise city, housing 14 or the 15 sky scrapers in the country.

Frankfurt views. The railway station is one Europe’s largest. The views of the River are from our hotel room.

The weather was perfect, with daytime temperatures in the low 20s, which actually represented unseasonable heat with the daily average maximum for March being around 11°C and the record at 24.7°C. The local population obviously believed in the average because we were the only ones walking in shorts and T-shirt. The rest had jackets, scarves and even beanies. We covered more than 10km of walking each day and just soaked up the visual delights of Frankfurt, as well as the food and drink (goes without saying). Along the way we booked a bus to Genoa, not because we love bus travel, but because the trip was 62€ as against 270€ for the train and over 300€ for a flight.

Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew

Christine found a Birkenstock shop and showed signs of lapsing into a shopping panic before settling down and buying only one pair. We bought some classy thongs from a Croc store and shopped for nibbles in Aldi, which proved to be a bit of a disappointment with fewer choices and lower stock levels than back home in Australia. The clear skies also allowed for a fantastic ever-changing mural in the sky produced by the endless jet-trails as the continual parade of aircraft from all parts of the globe flew far overhead. There are at least eight flights visible at any one time and another two or three local aircraft taking off or landing at Frankfurt Airport.

Note the ever present criss-crossing jet trails.

Frankfurt is very cosmopolitan, with 25% of residents being foreign nationals and 40% from a migrant background. These statistics are certainly reflected in the food on offer, with every type of cuisine being readily available in restaurants and street stalls. Besides the obligatory frankfurt sausage and beer lunch, we ate a few Turkish meals, including a pizza that had decidedly eastern flavours, and sushi. Korean restaurants were also common, with Frankfurt being home to Europe’s largest Korean community.

No stay in Frankfurt would be complete without a frankfurt.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Frankfurt, a delightful and restful city. From here it is a bus trip south to Italy.

Bussing South – 31 March 2017

A Eurolines coach took us from Frankfurt to Munich, via Nuremburg and along seemingly endless motorways. The Germans definitely know how to build these things and how to drive fast on them. The route took us through a large area of forested hills, interspersed with farm lands, light industry, tiny hamlets and the occasional larger town. The villages looked like Lego towns, with quaint little churches and steeply pitched roof lines on the houses. Spring is only just showing itself and most trees are still bare of leaves, giving the forests a stark appearance, except where the pines dominated. The pasture fields were lush and a gorgeous shade of green while preparations are underway for seeding of various crops. Strangely, there was a complete lack of livestock in the areas we drove through.

Travelling to Frankfurt Genoa with views of Nuremburg.

The bus was modern and very comfortable, with a toilet, wifi connection, 240v power outlets and lots of leg room. We were happy about that because the total length of the journey would involve some 17 hours.

The bus left the motorway for a stop in Nuremburg and picked its way through very heavy traffic to the bus station. Nuremburg looks very interesting, with a large walled city forming the core of the central city, still very much intact. It could be worth a visit.

We reached Munich just before 7pm, giving us a three and a half hour wait for the connecting bus to Genoa. One option was to check the bags into a locker and explore the city centre but night was falling so we just opted for dinner at a bus station kebab shop. We tried to buy a couple of beers but were told that we could not buy them if dining in, only with take-aways. It seems that street drinking is the only acceptable way to go. Instead, we were forced to pay 2 euros for a small bottle of mineral water.

Our experience so far suggests that bus ports in Europe are a poor cousin to the train stations, lacking in facilities such as seats and displaying large amounts of rubbish, ugly puddles of various body fluids and groups of very strange looking people. It was like we had already left Germany, with most people speaking a language of Balkan origin. We seemed to be the only people on the bus or at the bus port that weren’t smoking and a pall of cigarette smoke hung over the place. As people prepared to board a bus, they furiously chain smoked to stock up, usually in company with the driver.

The night drive from Munich to Milan was better than we thought it would be and we both managed to get quite a lot of sleep. For some strange reason, we only had one driver so he stopped every hour and a half for a nap, which was a good thing, but added to the length of the trip. It would have been better to have done this part of the trip in daylight because it took us over the Alps, through Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein and into Italy. At times the view out the window showed the lights of a town far below us, sometimes almost straight below us, suggesting a sheer drop on one side. Perhaps it was better that we couldn’t see. Sometimes, the bus stopped at a roadhouse, a good chance to stretch the legs. Unfortunately, hitting the cold air turned our thoughts to the toilet and all the places seemed to charge exorbitant fees for toilets. They ranged from .50€ to 1€ (75c to 1.25) and over the course of the trip we racked up a bill of around 6€ just for going to the toilet. This was crazy seeing as there was a toilet on the bus but somehow the urge never took us while actually moving.

Once in Milan, and facing the final couple of hours, the driver suddenly singled us out as going to Genoa, rather than the final destination of Nice and made us swap to another bus. This one was full to overflowing and we had to squeeze our way to the back seat. The route took us across the Po River floodplain, with beautiful views to the snow covered Alps in the distance, before winding up and over the Ligurian Appenines to Genoa. When we bought our ticket we were offered two drop off points in Genoa and we opted for Via Fanti d’Italia because it was next to the main rail station. Instead, we were ejected, after much protesting, at the Piazza del Vittoria. So we loaded up our packs and walked the streets before finding someone whole direct us to Brignole Station. Fortunately, it was not as far as we had feared and we made it in one piece, purchased tickets for Ovada and got ourselves an Italian Vodaphone SIM card. Then it was onto the train for the last hour and a bit of our long journey.

As promised, Rob and Yvette were at the station to greet us and introduce us to Trisobbio, our home for the next three weeks or so. After so much preparation and high expectations, it was wonderful to finally join the Piscicellis and commence the Italian part of our trip.

Project Vietnam – Phong Nha – March 2017

March 26, 2017 / terry

9 March 2017 – Perth to Saigon via Kuala Lumpur

An early flight on Air Asia saw us heading off to Kuala Lumpur and a 2 hour stop over before going on to Ho Chi Minh City. Ahead of us was a two week sting on a Project Vietnam work site in Phuong Nha, a small town in the mountains inland of Dong Hoi on the Central Coast. We looked forward to a comfortable flight because we had been granted an extra seat for the small payment of $24. However, when we boarded the plane we found that there were so few passengers that we could have easily had as many seats as we wanted without paying the extra. It was a 300 seat aircraft and I estimate there were about 120 passengers. So nice to be flying outside of school holiday times.

We passed the time with watching movies, reading, snoozing and eating the tiny little meals that they serve you. The flight across from KL to Ho Chi Minh City was a bit of a sardine tin squeeze but fortunately it was a shade under two hours. The luxury of a pre-booked car at the airport got us into the Saigon traffic jams quickly and easily and the next 45 minutes was spent being surrounded by motorbikes. I really don’t understand why we rarely see any form of collision but somehow all the vehicles avoid actual contact. Later, we did notice that a lot of the young back packers around had serious bandages on legs and arms, signs of less fortunate experiences on motorbikes. With so much at stake and the state of the hospital services here, it defeats me why the young people do it yet they continue to think they can manage like a local. The fact is that most can’t.

We stayed at the iPeace Hotel in the Pham Ngu Lao district, or “Backpacker Street”. It has been 5 years since our last visit and little has changed. There are definitely more tourists but the chaotic streets and pushy street vendors are still a feature. The cheap eats and beer are still available but the variety has increased, with more western food and pizza type things invading the scene. Across in the central park, a big new shopping mall and modern food hall has opened, a far cry from the old Ben Thanh Markets where Asia’s most aggressive sellers still ply their trade.

With bags dumped and our thirst driving us, we hit the streets, only to discover Brendon, Roger and Anne-Marie in the Bee Saigon Restaurant. They were to head off to Phuong Nha the next day so we spent some time catching up and downing a few beers, some excellent chilli squid and a plate of amazing tempura vegetables. A trio of young German girls provided further entertainment before we returned to the hotel to crash for the night.

Our day in Saigon was mostly spent just wandering the streets, seeking the odd refreshment, buying some SIMS for our phones and relaxing. We continued to run into Aussies, including a couple from Bruce Rock, so proving that the World is a rather small place after all. A trip to the Ben Thanh Markets was the usual run of the sales girls, “I have shirt for you Mista. We have shirts. How many you want? Etc etc”. We were actually looking for a cheap Chinese fitness watch, like the $22 one I am wearing. Christine has a nice Garmin job on her wrist but somewhere in an airport transit it vanished. It was probably ripped off while putting on a backpack. However, it seems that the “FitBit” craze has yet to hit Vietnam and there was not a fitness band to be seen anywhere.

For our airport transfer we used an airport taxi service again, this time organised by the hotel. We paid them and were given a voucher for the driver. “Pay no more,” said the hotel girl. The said taxi arrived at the appointed time of 6:15 am and we set off, having a limited conversation on broken English. The driver was incredibly skilful, he had to be or he would have killed a great many people the way he drove. For some reason, we took a maze of back streets and alley ways, quickly being swallowed up by the teeming masses of life away from the tourist areas. One tends to forget just how many very poor people there still are in the big cities. The car came to a grinding halt and a plastic bag appeared through the window. The driver grinned and we set off again as he explained that he had diverted to pick up his breakfast from his “good wife”.

Approaching the airport, he asked us if we would pay the toll for him as a way of tipping him. This was a bit rude because we had already paid the toll in our fare but since the 30,000d ($1.80) was not going to break the bank we agreed. The cheeky guy then proceeded to park outside the airport control and walk us into the domestic area, meaning he got to pocket both the toll supplied to him through our fare and the “tip” we had given him. It’s called enterprise.

Arriving at Dong Hoi

The flight to Dong Hoi was uneventful, if one discounts the extremely violent landing that had the aircraft slewing sideways for a while. There was much gripping of seats and many white faces, even though most passengers were of an oriental colouring. However, we all survived and our little group of six PVI participants were met by a driver and we were soon off into the mountain area. Here the mountains are not high, but very spectacular, being more in the nature of rugged heavily weathered limestone pinnacles called Karsts. Our destination, Phong Nha, is nestled on the banks of the Song River deep within the mountain system. The limestone system house a number of cave systems, the largest of which was discovered as late as 2004 and has proved to be the World’s longest cave system, clocking in at a little over 35km long.

The town is basically a one street affair, between the mountains and the river. The single street houses a great many small hotels and guest houses, along with the usual collection of restaurants and bars. However, the incredible beauty of the town’s location provides a completely different aspect. The surrounding karsts loom over the village and in the morning, charming mists thread their way between the peaks.

The caving attracts backpackers, which in turn downgrades the cuisine on offer from delightful local to “Western and chips”. However, if one is discerning, some good little eateries can still be found. The PVI contingent of around 33 was booked in at the Paradise Hotel, a newly refurbished but basic establishment. The staff proved very accommodating and the rooms were basic but clean and comfortable. We spent much of the weekend catching up with friends from past projects and getting to know the newcomers. A fair bit of effort was also put into sampling the food and beverage of the surrounds.

Around Phong Nha

The PVI Project

Our work centres around a small school in the hamlet of Thanh Binh, about 7 kms down river from Phong Nha. The original plan involved the demolition of the two room school, which is very prone to flooding and the building of a replacement. However, the project has proven much bigger than anticipated, with the new structure now being a two storey building on an upraised platform. This will need a lot of work before it is ready for our team and a lot more money than we anticipated. Hence, the plan has now changed into a two or even three year plan. This year, PVI will pay for the major formwork and structure to first storey level and next year aim at completing the rest. Meanwhile, we will renovate the old structure using our extensive labour resources so that it can be used over the next three years or so while the new school is being built. As a team, we are good at renovation, which in this case will involve lots of scraping, painting and cleaning along with the installation of ceilings and a full electrical upgrade.

Because we have a large team of 35, we have also agreed to renovate the kindergarten at another nearby school. It is basically in good repair but could do with a damn good lick of paint. Later in the project, we took on yet another job, repainting a block of four classrooms at a primary school a kilometre of so from our main job.

Each day, both teams pile into a couple of mini buses and bump our way across a winding mud filled road to the work site. The road generally follows the Song River, which provides rich growing opportunities along a narrow flood plain. Numerous houses are strung out along its length, surprisingly modern and well constructed. Remnants of the old bamboo and woven grass structures can still be seen but new structures abound. The area is strongly Catholic and we pass several huge churches, one with an incredible blend of traditional and an oriental architectures. Beyond the road, the country generally rises steeply into forested mountains with few houses. Once on site, we are pretty much stuck out there for the day.

We work hard, have plenty of laughs, and somehow manage to communicate with the teachers and local construction workers. The kids are relentless with their waving and calling out “Hellooo”. There are just so many times one can reply. You can be engrossed in a task to find a child at your elbow who will announce their presence with a “hello”. This will be followed a few minutes later by another greeting, then another and so on. The children who used to come around the kindergarten site were lovely and even joined in the work at ties, painting and using the “Gerni”. The local security man was far less tolerant of children. He would chase them around with a stick, sometimes dabbed in paint. The children fled in all directions when he appeared. The kids up at the primary school were different. They seemed to act in a pack and mobbed us on several occasions. Their demands for money were the first I have ever heard from children in Vietnam. The staff at the kindergarten were wonderful, full of good cheer and laughter. They often worked with us and liked to cook us some little treats for afternoon tea. Up at the Primary School, the children were still in attendance while we worked and so the teachers were still busy, yet they seemed more distant than the kindy staff.

After work, most people head for the comfort of a warm shower before moving around the town to shop for supplies, find a place to catch a drink or sometimes just find solitude with a book for a bit. We had a few favourite little establishments where we would have a beer and chips or spring rolls. Our favourite haunt was the Tuan Ngoc Restaurant, named after the couple who own it. The food was enjoyable but the most pleasure came from talking with them and learning a little about life in Phong Nha. Tuan had been raised here and Ngoc had come from nearby Dong Hoi. Tuan work overseas in Taiwan, Thailand, Kuwait and Qatar to raise enough money to start a restaurant. Both speak good English and expressed the gratitude of the local people for the work that PVI is doing in the district. I was horrified when Tuan told me that flooding is an annual occurrence, with five floods coming through last year, two in October and three in December. They get a little warning, with around a day and a half of rain being enough to cause flooding. Last year, he cleared out the restaurant, moving everything to a multi-storey hotel across the road. The floods filled the restaurant to a height of about 1.5m. He cleaned up, brought everything back, put out the open sign, then the next lot came. The resilience of the people is amazing.

As the evening wears on, people head out to eat in small groups, although one time twenty of us descended on a small place that probably only catered for four or five. The panic was on and it looked like an episode of “My Kitchen Rules” as a young girl ran around trying to keep up with orders and the Aussie demand for a beer supply. They handled the episode remarkably well and the food tasted great. There were certainly plenty of smiles at the generous tips that were thrown around.

After dinner, the more adventurous ones on the team head down to the “Backpackers”, the Easy Tiger Pub, where beers are double the price of a restaurant but Happy Hour offers 2 for the price of of 1. Some go to dance, some (like us) go to dance by proxy, and others go to listen to the music, which is average but buoyed up by one of our team members playing on a drum with great finesse. We always went home before the headache stage arrived but some, both young and not so young, failed in this regard and occasionally over-indulged.

The work went well enough to be able to afford time off on the middle weekend. Most went caving, completing two or three caves over two days. We had done three of the caves last year on a visit here from Hue so we elected to head to Mooc Springs for a swim. A strong stream of clean and clear water issues forth from the base of a cliff face, suggesting the presence of yet another un-explored cave system within. The first part of the springs opens into a good sized pool that has been developed for swimming. The stream flow is strong so wearing of life vests is compulsory. A suspension bridge hangs across the pool at a height of around 4 metres but the middle part of the bridge is missing, meaning that one has to jump. A surrounding net ensures that being swept downstream on surfacing is prevented. I climbed up to have a go and to my absolute dismay, Christine followed. Somehow, she managed to negotiate the suspension bridge, a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that the foot rungs were spaced about two feet apart. I was even more amazed when she made the jump after only a small hesitation. This action signified the end to around 5 long standing phobias. Next up – skydiving! Because I was in the water, I couldn’t video the event so she opted to take another jump, followed by yet another when I found my video effort had failed. Truly an achievement.

Views of Mooc Springs

Click here for Video of Christine Jumping

The work went well, completing more than we set out to do. We left three schools with bright and fresh buildings and the work on the new flood-proof school is well advanced. The completion of the new building and its fitting out will form a large part of next year’s project. Everyone seems enthusiastic about the prospect of more work in Phong Nha, such is the friendliness of the people, the importance of the work and the exceptional beauty of the area.

View of the Song River from the work site.

Dong Hoi

At the end of our time in Phong Nha, we opted to spend a night in Dong Hoi, from where we would catch a flight back to Saigon. Dong Hoi is a small city of around 100,000 people situated on the mouth of the Song River. The ocean side sports some glorious white sand beaches and the locals hope to develop a tourist resort industry. The city itself is mostly low-lying, quiet and relaxed. Little of old Vietnam remains. The city was levelled by the US in 1965, with the only four structures remaining being a church bell tower, two gates to the old walled citadel and a clock tower.

Dong Hoi Views

We stayed at the Nam Long Hotel near the river front. The area provides a good variety of eateries and even a little night-life at the nearby Buffalo Bar. We walked the length of the foreshore to the local markets but the smells and odours of the vibrant wet market had us moving on before long. Dong Hoi is unspectacular but a lovely little spot to rest up and take it easy without the hustle and bustle of either Hanoi or Saigon. Quite a few tourists were using it as a base to visit the caves at Phong Nha but it would be more economical to stay in Phong Nha itself.

Saigon

Our final days of the trip in Vietnam were spent back in Ho Chi Minh City at the Bee Saigon Hotel in Phạm Ngũ Lão. It is impossible to get sick of the attractions of the “backpacker” part of this bustling city. The street vendors, the bars, eateries and market stalls add a colour and vibrancy that almost rivals Hanoi. Unfortunately, for us it is the only part of Saigon that is exciting. The rest is just hot, busy and unremarkable by Asian standards.

Tomorrow, our European adventure begins, with a flight to Frankfurt in Germany via Moscow. The excitement is building.

Melbourne–Australian Open Tennis

January 20, 2017 / terry

13-20 January 2017

We headed off to Melbourne once again for a week of sport, sight seeing and fine dining. This time, we had the company of of Ron and Jo, who were making their first trip to the AO despite being regular visitors to Melbourne itself.

We scored a really wonderful Air BnB apartment in East Melbourne right on Victoria Parade and less than a kilometre from the MCG, making the walk to the cricket and tennis a snap. The apartment was on the ground floor which meant we had a neat little courtyard and no awful wait time for the lifts. The block used to be the Victoria Brewery but only the old shell remained, the rest being rebuilt as units collectively called the Tribeca Apartments. An IGA, liquor store and several little eateries and takeaways filled out the ground floor so supplies were always on hand. More great eateries were across the other side of Victoria Parade and not far down the road in adjoining Richmond. With frequent trams at the doorstep, the location was ideal.

The apartment itself was spacious and very well appointed, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen was fully equipped and there were good stocks of ingredients, giving us the option of eating in or dining out. The only down side was the very soft mattress. With the current state of my back, I keep finding myself paying for a bed and sleeping on the floor. The cushions from the sofa made a very firm and comfortable bed on the floor of our room. I had to do the same last year in another Air BnB in Melbourne.

We managed to find a couple of gems in the local dining scene, including the Aviary, a small pub about a kilometre down Victoria Parade in Richmond. It served a great range of amazing meals at very affordable prices. Ron and Jo also took us into China Town for some belly filling yum char in Little Bourke Street. The waist line didn’t take too much of a battering though because we made sure we did lots of walking.

On the Sunday night before the tennis got underway, Christine, Ron and I headed down to the MCG for a One Day International cricket match against Pakistan. At a little under 40,000, it was the smallest crowd we have experienced there but the mob just below us more than made up for it. We had seats in the front row of the first tier and beneath us was the main Pakistan supporter area. It was a riot of colour, chanting and flags, the spectacle enhanced by the fact that they were on top of Australia throughout. It was very entertaining and it was sporting of us Aussies to let them have an occasional win.

The tennis was the best we have attended, in part due to the weather which was mostly mild. We stuck to the outside courts in the main, with Show Court 2 providing a lot of Aussie action and some top class matches. Ron and Jo managed to score a couple of free tickets into Rod Laver Arena when Roger Federer was playing so they were happy. It was three days of great tennis and a fantastic atmosphere. The venue seems to get bigger and better every year and it is good to see that the facilities for the spectators is constantly being upgraded. Security is tight on entry but there are non of the ridiculous bans on bringing in your own food that seems so common in Perth. Go Melbourne, the sporting capital of Australia. When one thinks that $114 buys three days of top World class tennis it makes some of the other event costs seem ridiculous.

On the Tuesday, we caught up with our “daughter” Azba after work and travelled with her on the train down to Mornington. She and Mike have a beautiful place there, shared with Pickle, the real owner. After only a few minutes with Pickle, I was sold on Miniature Dachshunds as a breed. She is possibly a little indulged but rightly so.

Azba took us out to breakfast in Mornington Village, complete with a walk along the pier. It is a relaxed spot and the food at a little vegetarian cafe was sensational. We visited the Mornington Peninsula years ago and always said it was worth a re-visit but now we have marked it down for a serious exploration some time. (We have a few places on that list and it keeps getting longer).

Our trip to Melbourne lived up to all expectations once again, enhanced this year because we had the company of Ron and Jo. The morning we left was the day that the horror occurred in Bourke St, with so many people being injured or killed by a rogue driver. Ron and Jo were only a few streets away at the time whereas we had caught an earlier flight. A sad sign of the times I’m afraid.

Nanning, Hanoi and Phu Ly – China to Vietnam

August 31, 2016 / terry

Nanning is a modest Chinese city at with a population of a mere 8.5 million, around the same as Singapore. It has a decidedly tropical climate and is situated in a large basin amid surrounding mountains. Situated on a picturesque river, the city is quite pretty, sporting the usual array of high rise buildings. Traffic is bad, with many cars and a lot of motorbikes, which tend to park all over the footpath in places and make walking difficult. E-bikes are less common than further north for some reason. A subway system is currently under construction and should ease some of the traffic issues.

The long train trip from Shanghai was comfortable enough, although I had to put up with a small boy behind who liked to slam the footstool (which was attached to the back of my seat) and another young man who liked to put his feet against the back of my seat and push. The scenery was more reminiscent of Vietnam, with small rice paddies on terraced hillsides and lots of small hamlets dotting the countryside. The regular appearance of a smoke spewing coal fired power station burning vast amounts of Queensland coal kept the atmosphere grey and clogged. Our arrival at Nanning Dong Railway Station was quite late, around 10pm and with another 40 minutes of driving into the city centre ahead of us we took the rare step of using one of those private car services.

The Vienna Hotel

One job we had to do while in Nanning was to pick up the train tickets to Hanoi, something one can only do in Nanning and Guilin. We had pre-booked them online through www.chinatripadvisor.com but still needed the tickets in hand. We showed a taxi driver the address but it didn’t register too well so he rang and sorted it out with them. After negotiating many traffic jams, he stopped and pointed to a shabby high rise and indicated that the journey was done. We paid and got out to search further, trying a number of places before being directed around the side alley to the rear of the building, through a security gate and into a small and very smelly lift, along with more people than the lift was ever designed to carry. Our destination was Room 1616 so we sailed up to floor 16 of the 32 and got out, followed a dimly lit and grubby corridor for a bit to Room 1616. Luckily, the door was open and two girls sat at desks, both beaming at our sudden appearance. They produced the tickets and all appeared in order but the whole thing was quite creepy.

View from our window

We wandered the fashion area of the city for a while and decided to do Japanese for lunch, having come across a nice looking sushi restaurant. Negotiating the menu was almost impossible, with no less than three waitresses pointing at things and trying very hard to communicate without luck. It took 10 minutes to order two beers with the girl writing down 1 every time we indicated that we wanted one each. When they did come, two ice cold mugs of Asahi, we noted with dismay that the bill still had a 1 on it. Finally, we realised that one bottle served two mugs. Of course, this meant that we were entitled to another. Choosing the sushi flavours was harder. Google Translate kept popping up things like “golden lady bent pipes” so we gave up and just pointed and hoped. Each order came out as two pieces of sushi arranged like a work of art on the plate, artistically plated with amazing dressings and delicate toppings. It was a shame to disturb them but the taste was sensational. We ordered another round. One waitress persisted with us and hovered a lot and when Christine produced a little kangaroo keyring for her she was beside herself and rushed off to show the others what the crazy Americans had given her.

All around our hotel is market country, with wonderful vegetable markets and seafood displays. The usual pungent odour of wet markets is absent and wandering around and looking is a delight. Most of the seafood is sold live, including the crabs, prawns and lobsters, all existing in large troughs with recirculating filtered water. When I see a large live coral reef fish like a coral trout swimming in a tank far inland in Southern China, I find myself wondering just how many people and how much effort has been involved in getting it there. One hopes that the poor village fisherman who caught it in the first place was well compensated.

The street food in Nanning is excellent and we made a habit of buying out and eating in. Our favourite was a large flat pancake type thing with a few spicy toppings, much like a pizza without the cheese. One stall sold these but then used them as a wrap around lettuce, chicken or other less identifiable ingredients. They were delicious in any form. One night we went to a small eatery in a lane near the hotel and picked out what we thought was a single pork dish. Instead we received a big plate of roast duck, a claypot of pork belly in a rich onion sauce, a huge plate of delicious greens and two bowls of rice. We felt obliged to eat it all, much to the delight of the owners and the other diners. One gets used to having an audience during a meal.

Farewell to China.

Getting onto the train to Vietnam was a long drawn out affair. Nanning Station is near a street where subway excavations are going on so the taxi ride was slow. Access through the usual security screening was also slow, made more so after they found a knife in Christine’s backpack, the same knife that has been through countless other screenings but this time it was confiscated. Then we sat around Waiting Room 2 before eventually re-reading the main board and moving to Waiting Room 3. Finally, we boarded the train at 6pm, along with what looked like several hundred other people. We shared our 4 sleeper compartment with a Vietnamese girl and her father, both returning from a business trip to China. Nga Mi spoke excellent English and was obviously gifted that way because she could also speak Chinese and a smattering of some other languages. She entertained us with stories of her time in China, including the year she had spent living there to learn the language. She now works for her father, who has a business selling and supplying equipment for presentations and shows.

We all settled down to sleep quite early, knowing that we would be woken before midnight for border formalities. The first stop came around 11 pm (Vietnam time) and it was a matter of taking all luggage and our passports off for Chinese immigration to exit us from China. Then the train sat around for ages, before moving off once more and then stopping at the Vietnamese Immigration and Customs about an hour later. These processes were a lot quicker than they could have been, because most of the other passengers had left the train earlier in China and only one carriage of passengers remained for the crossing.

Once through and in Vietnam, the train rattled on and continued south towards Hanoi. This was not one of the ultra fast, smooth and quiet bullet trains that we had been using in China. This was the old type of compartment carriage with a single diesel locomotive. The carriages jolted and banged along the tracks but we had very little trouble getting back to sleep and even had to be woken by the guard as we approached Hanoi. The track finishes 10 km short of Hanoi itself at Gia Lam because that is as far as the Chinese standard gauge goes, the rest of Vietnam using a narrower gauge rail.

Fortunately, we had done our homework on taxis from Gia Lam and we steadfastly refused the demands for 300,000VND to take us into the Old Quarter of Hanoi, holding out for the 100,000VND we knew it was worth. Of course, it wasn’t a real taxi anyway, it was just a young guy with some stickers on his car and a great sob story about he is studying law and his grandfather is still working to support him. He looked so forlorn at being beaten down to 100,000VND that we gave him 200,000VND anyway and let him drive off with a smile.

By the time we arrived at the 3B Hotel in Hanoi, it was barely 6am and the night staff were still clearing away their floor mattresses so we dumped our bags and went off to join the early bird crowd exercising around Hoan Kiem Lake. This is a sight to behold, hundreds of people of all ages performing all manner of exercise routines, some to music, some in groups and others just doing their thing. A few pelotons of the brightly coloured lycra set rode bicycles, one of the few times of the day it would be possible on the normally crowded roads. We contented ourselves with a brisk circuit of the lake, enough to shake off the train journey.

Dawn around Hoan Kiem

Back at the hotel, we had a spot of breakfast, actually feeling hungry for the first time in weeks because we had not had any food on the train. Somehow, I think we had plenty of reserves. The 3B Hotel is a small boutique hotel that we have not used before, but our usual stay in Hanoi has changed ownership and gone a direction we don’t like. This one seems wonderful, with very chatty and friendly staff, who happily made some arrangements for us to use the hotel as a transit point and then arranged a car for us to head south to Phu Ly, where we had spent time some years back working on building projects with Project Vietnam. The main reason for going was to catch up with our young friend, Van Quynh. The drive south showed the developments that have taken place since our last visit, back in 2013, with a fast efficient expressway replacing much of the old Highway 1.

We booked into the Hoa Binh Hotel, which felt strangely empty without all the other PVI members there with us. The weather was hot and humid, hardly conducive to wandering around on foot much but we went for a short walk and found the town has changed considerably in the last few years, with an abundance of electronics stores and a definite air of prosperity. There were a lot of cheery “hellos” on the streets and smiling faces, a far cry from our first visit when we were stared at or even avoided.

The Bia Hoi (Beer Hoi) in Phu Ly, an old friend.

Van arrived later on her scooter, a modern beautiful young woman who has grown and developed so much from when we first met her as a young student. Now she displays a strength and confidence that has taken her to a position of manager at her work. We were thrilled for her when she told us that she was now expecting and she looks very much the healthy mother to be. She took us to one of her favourite coffee places, where we revisited the excellence of really good Vietnamese coffee over ice with condensed milk. It is unbeatable.

Phu Ly is famous for its flowers and Van brought some for Christine..

Travelling around Phu Ly with Van is a great experience. We sampled some wonderful street food and had an amazing breakfast called Bánh cuốn chả, a dish made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of cooked seasoned ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and minced shallots with the dipping sauce which is fish sauce called nước mắm. and a vinegar based beef soup, not our usual breakfast fare but it really worked. The version we had was a true Phu Ly speciality. We felt honoured.

Ah! Street food in Phu Ly

We visited Van’s parents’ restaurant, the one that the PVI members used to call “The Rice Restaurant” and everyone was pleased to see us. It was also a chance to meet Van’s husband, a very nice young man who works as a policeman in Phu Ly. He is the cook in the family and jumped in to help cook up a wonderful meal of fried rice, beef, quail eggs and delicious slices of fresh coconut. He had to eat and run, however, as he was on night shift so we headed out with Van to eat a little more in the form of Bahn Xeo, wonderful crispy pancake sliced and rolled with lettuce inside a rice paper sheet. They are very tasty. We strolled through the streets down to a large lake, Hồ Chùa Bầu which is the site of a large Buddhist Temple. In the lingering heat, the shores are a popular spot to seek some cooling air and we sat outside at an excellent coffee shop and had some delicious smoothies, finally leaving feeling very full indeed and catching a taxi back to Van’s restaurant. She and her husband have their own house in Phu Ly but she tends to stay with her parents on nights that her husband works.

Our two days in Phu Ly were wonderful, bring back many fond memories of our projects there with PVI. Even better was the time spent with Van, who was an excellent guide to her home town. Wandering around a foreign city with a local guide really adds an extra dimension to the experience. With Van’s baby due in April next year, we have an excellent excuse to make sure we return.

We caught the train back to Hanoi, a pleasant trip of a little over an hour. Van came to see us off, bringing with her some amazing baguettes (Bánh mì) filled with sliced vegetables and fine slices of pork in a spicy sauce. They were amazing, but then we have come to expect the amazing when it comes to food in Vietnam.

The famous restaurant at 69 Ma May St, Hanoi, now the Blue Butterfly

Our final couple of days in Hanoi were wet, very wet at times, with persistent tropical rain soaking everything and spoiling the night markets. At least it was warm and we found ourselves without a raincoat or umbrella. Ignoring the many offers to sell us something, we just put up with the downpour and walked the streets while getting soaked through. Along the way, we managed to catch up with another friend from previous visits, a man named Qyngh who works at a souvenir stall on Beer Hoi Corner. He works hard to support his family and we always like to catch up with him.

We love catching up with Qyngh.

An early morning drive out to Hanoi Airport gave us a scare when we realised after setting out that the hotel still had our passports. Fortunately, the driver understood the problem and managed to turn around in time, the early hour helping with light traffic and we retrieved the passports with enough time left to make the flight. It did give us a scare to think of the consequences of reaching the airport without a passport. It is the stuff of nightmares.

A seven hour layover in Kuala Lumpur was too much for us so we organised a room at the Tune Hotel, a budget location attached to KLIA2. It is joined to the massive Gateway Shopping Plaza by a covered walkway, which takes some finding but provides easy access to an almost endless variety of shops and eateries. We booked at night but checked out at 10pm but at $62 it was money well spent and we got on a midnight plane feeling relaxed and refreshed instead of exhausted and grumpy.

The final boarding

Another indulgence was a couple of tickets on Air Asia’s Premium Lie Down Seats, a Business Class-Like seat that gives full flat out accommodation at a fraction of the cost of other airlines. It meant we slept the whole way to Perth in comfort. Landing in Perth at 5:45am was a bit of a shock with a 4 degree temperature but our back neighbour Julie was there to pick us up, a great end to a fabulous month. TIme to see the family!

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