On Sunday I got the train from Trier to Wasserbillig, right on the border, and then the bus over to Echternach. This was a lovely town with a lively market going on in the centre and a great river through town (the german border) which was perfect for a walk along. I met Kevin in the afternoon and went with his family for dinner at a restaurant in Beaufort.
On Friday I wanted to leave Hiedelberg for Trier. Most of the trains werent operating due to a train driver strike, but lukily the 2 trains I needed were going, although they were packed full with drunk old german men singing and dancing trying to pick up old german ladies.
The trip from Mainz along the Rhine river to Koblenz was really nice with lots of hills and castles - the perfect place for a weekend of cycling. I arrived in Trier about 1400h and had lunch at the palace gardens. I also visited the Jesuit church which used to be the throne room for the roman emperors when they were in town. In the evening I met Raphael and after cooking up a great meal we headed to the Panic Club party for the night.
On Saturaday, Raphael, his girlfriend Julie, his housemate Julia, and I took the tourist train around town. It was a popular town being the oldest north of the Alps. Every construction site keeps getting shut down when they inevitably dig up some more roman ruins. We relaxed away the afternoon with a few beers in the plaza.
On Wednesday 3 Oct it was a public holiday in Germany to celebrate the reunification of east and west. I left Stuttgart and took the train to Bad Wildbad in the middle of the northern part of the Black Forest. It was a nice place with rolling hills and the sun shining in the resort town of Bad Wildbad. There was a huge queue for the fernicular up to Sommerberg so I walked up instead. It would be a nice place to go walking for a couple of days, but I didnt have time so just got to the top and back down again. Then I got the train to Karlsruhe. It had a huge zoo in the middle of town and on the other side another big palace. It had some nice gardens too full of people enjoying the sun, and even an old steam train driving around. In the evening I caught the train over to Hiedelberg which turned out to be really back on the tourist trail. Walked from the train station along the longest shopping street I have come across in a little university town and found a pub with a spare bed.
On Thursday I explored Hiedelberg. It is famous for a huge castle up on the hill overlooking town, so I went up there. It was nice enough but couldnt get inside. I walked up the hill on the opposite side of the valley for a view across town and went to have a beer at one of the terraces in town. In the evening I went out for a few drinks with some Americans, which turned out like any night out with Americans.
On Sunday 30 Sept I jumped on the ICE train from Munich to Stuttgart. I met Christoph at the railway station. First stop was the top of the railway station tower for a view over the city. Contrary to what people from Munich say, it was a very nice town set up in the valley. The World Cycling Championships were being held this week, with the Men's grand final just underway, so we headed up and saw them all wizz past, but didnt hang around to see them do all 200 laps. In the evening I went for a walk around the centre of town. The Schlossplatz and the many gardens in town were really nice to lay on the grass and enjoy a beer.
On Monday I went for a walk out of Stuttgart to the 3 lakes area, Pfaffersee, Neuersee, and Barensee. I came across the little castle of Barenschlossle where everyone was enjoying a coffee in the sun. I also enjoyed the sun as it was the first sun since a whole rainy week in Munich. I continued on to Solitude Castle but it was closed on Mondays, however it was nice enough from the outside. Afterwards I got the bus and old tram up to the TV Tower which is one of the most famous landmarks in Stuttgart. From the top of the 150m tower I had a great view over the entire region of Stuttgart and the black forest.
On Tuesday I took the train out to Ludwigsberg to visit a big palace there. The tour was in German so didnt understand too much, but like all the other palaces there were plenty of fancy rooms, paintings and furniture. One interesting fact was how the Queen went to the toilet. Apparently they didnt have toilet paper back then and you werent allowed to wipe, so after doing her business in a bucket so simply sprayed on some perfume and that was it.
In the afternoon I headed back into town and visited the Mercedes Benz museum. Stuttgart is the headquarters of Merc and Porshe so there were plenty of cars here to see. In the evening I went with Christoph to the Kellar Klub to see a local band do their last performance before going on tour around Australia.
On Tuesday 25 Oct I got the train from Luzern to Zurich and onto St Margarthen. Here I had a look around town but it was rainy and not much to see. I got the train over to Bregenz in Austria which was a much more interesting place and the rain started to ease up. Lots of old buildings and would have been nice to sit outside for a beer if the sun was out. It is on the shores of Lake Konstance so went for a walk along there, before stocking up on some beers and getting the train up to Munich. I arrived at about 1700 and found the campsite at Thirkichen (Thai Chicken). The place was full of thousands of campers, but the tents all looked like they had been demolished... sleeping bags all in big piles in the rain and tents destroyed, all under a heavy layer of beer bottles. I found a spare spot and put up my $17 tent in the rain, threw my bag inside and headed into the Oktoberfest. Met up with Catt and we made our way to the Lowenbrau beer tent for a couple of beers. Not too big a night since all the tents close at 10:30. The partying continued back at the campsite, and I discovered that my tent was not the most waterproof one around.
The next day I went into Munich to see some sights around town. The centre was quite nice and some big churches and plenty of beer halls around. I caught up with Catt and headed to the roudiest beer tent we could find. The beer tents were very impressive with thousands of people all dancing on the tables. All the locals were dressed in their maid outfits and ledderhosen, and the beer ladies did a good job delivering 8 steins of beer through the drunken crowd. We quickly met some more Aussies and partied on until the tent closed down. Being my birthday, this was too early to finish up with the partying. I headed back to Thai Chicken and along with some more Aussies, we started our new party... security quickly put an end to that but we resumed in the dryness of the toilet block. A busload of Italians turned up almost immediately and started cooking up a huge feed of pasta, and made sure that any girls wanting to go to the toilet were forced to join the party.
On Thursday I visited the Residence Museum which was the old palace for the local kings. It was full of fancy rooms, gold plates and paintings of kings. Called into a couple of the beer tents but decided to not have a huge night.
Friday I visited the Dacau concentration camp just outside of the city. This was the first concentration camp set up my the Nazi's and the only one that operated for the entire duration of their rule. A chilling place with several of the rooms having been reconstructed and the crematorium open for visiting. I then headed back to Oktoberfest but it was too late to get in on a Friday night... all the tents were full and had huge queues. Instead I checked out some of the rides around... one ride was pulling 6Gs and not the sort of thing I would want to be doing after a few drinks. The most popular ride was just an escalator that people had to jump on to get to the top of a slide, but after many drinks they would jump on and end up going head first. This drew a huge crowd and provided entertainment for hours.
On Saturday we knew it would be busy, so along with another few Aussies from the campsite we headed in at 9am. We were worried that all the tents looked full already, with enormous queues, but we quickly found out that the front doors never get opened on the weekend, so we headed round the back and got ourselves a table and a few litres of beer. Unlucky for everyone waiting the whole day at the front door.
On Tuesday we were hoping to head up to the mountains, but the weather had turned terrible with rain so Nadine and myself opted to go on a cruise on the Thunersee. This was very enjoyable passing little villages along the way. The rain eased a little so we got off at the far end of the lake and walked through Interlaken and to the Brienzersee. Returned to Thun to have the traditional swiss dish of Racelette for dinner. This is melting bits of cheese under a special grill and then serving them on potatoes and bacon, etc. Banana, potato, bacon and cheese turned out to be a pretty good comination.
On Wednesday the sky had cleared so I went to the train station only to find that the trains where running 20 minutes late, when I finally got to Spiez to connecting train had also gone, so with a spare hour to waste I checked out the local cast on the lake, then caught the train up to Erlenbach. From here the cablecar went up to the top of Stockhorn. Great views out over much of Switzerland. Walked down to Oberstockenalp, then around Oberstockensee, Vorderstocken and to Chrindi. Took an adventurous route back up to the summit via Chummli.
Thursday the weather was perfect so I got the train over to Grindelwald, and the cablecar just short of First, at Schreckfeld. Walked up to First where there were thousands of old tourists having lunch in the sun, so had to escape quickly. Great views out to Grosse Scheidegg, Wetterhorn and Mettenberg. Got to Backalpsee for the postcard pictures of the lake and the snow capped mountains like a mirror image. Continued up to the summit of Faulhorn (2686m) which offered the most amazing views to the Eiger, Monc and Jungfrau, many other mountains, the lakes to Thun and the middle lands of CH. Walked back to Grindelwald via Bussalp.
On Friday I went for a bike ride with Nadine from Thun up to a nearby lake. We were hoping we would be able to get to the lake, but it was still ina pretty natural state and surrounded by mud and reids. Nice ride back through the forrest. In the evening went over to Murten and met up with another of Nadine's mates. We went for a cruise on the lake to Neachatel which was quite enjoyable with a bottle of champagne, some snacks of salami and dips, sitting on the roof looking out to the alps as the sun was setting. We called past Bern on the way home for some drinks in a cool bar that had been setup in an old gym... complete with basketball hoop still intact.
On Saturday I got the train back to Luzern, but had to jump off in Meiringen for a quick trek given the weather was perfect again. Took 4 cablecars up through Hasliberg to get to the AlpenTower (Planplatten). Great views to titlis and Eiger, also jumping point for skydivers. Walked down through Gummenalp and Hasliberg Reuti to meiringen to get the train back over the Brünigpass to Luzern.
On Sunday I visited the school fete where Timo was hanging out then visited Christine in Zurich with Kurt. Went for a walk by the lake before returning to Luzern.
Today the weather was again perfect so took the train up to Engleberg, and then the cablecar up to Trübsee. Had a magnificent walk up to Jachpass, around the ridge to Schaftal, Tannalp, Tannensee, Melchsee-Frutt and down to Stöckalp and got the PostAuto back to Luzern. Tomorrow catching the train up to Münich for Oktoberfest.
On Friday I got an early train down to Laussane. The locals made sure you never forgot that this is the Olympic capital, whatever that means. I guess it is just the home of the IOC. Visited the cathedral where a bloke was giving the new organ a run for its money, the chateau and the nice tribunal buildings overlooking the lake to France. Saw the last remaining watch tower and climbed up to the sauvabelin viewing tower. Nice pedestrian streets to have lunch and some people watching. I headed to Vevey in the evening to stay for a couple of nights since it was a smaller town and closer to the lake and mountains, however couldnt find any nightlife in town.
Saturday morning i went over to the Chillon castle. This was built back in the 1400's and mostly used by the bernese. It was situated in a great spot next to steep mountains and on a rock in the middle of the lake. Checked out the torture chambers, duke's bedroom, and a pole where some guy was chained to for 4 years.
In the afternoon took the bus up to the village of Jongny, and continued p the hillto the top of Mont Pelerin (1086m). Didnt bother going up the tower on the top, but returned down through the vineyards with great views to the mountains across the lake and to France. In the evening a group of young Americans turned up at the hostel. They just moved to Lugarno to complete their entire 4 year uni course there. They had a bit much sambuka and cointreau so I helped them finish it off. We then piled in to their van and drove over to laussane in search of some nightlife. We hit up a few bars and had a good time onthe dancefloor. Unfortunately Lacie overdid herself a little, and after releiving herself on the front steps of the Swiss Supreme Court, decided it would be best to drop here off back at the hostel. The CHF 255 taxi ride home turned out to be pretty expensive, but glad she was willing enough to pay most of it, and I figured that most of the cost must be from her making a mess out the window anyway.
On Sunday I went for a walk up the gorge from Montreaux all the way through the forest to Les Avants. I continued up from here to Sunloup, and then returned to Montreaux from the other side.
Monday it was time to get traveling again. i took the golden pass Panoramic train through Montreaux, Montbovon, Chateau D'Oex, Saanen and Gstaad. i jumped out at Gstaad for walk up to Eggli mountain. Returned in a rush to catch the train from Saanen back through Zweisimmen, Spiez and to Thun to visit Nadine.
On Thursday in Fribourg it was time to explore this old university town. There was a big old cathedral which was impressive enough, little medievil alleyways and some huge bridges over the river. Walked through the university with its old buildings, down through the old town and around the old city wall. Walked up the hill, over a huge bridge, nice little church with good view over the city. Had to wait till 11pm until Lara could let me back in, but wasn't much to see around town at night.
On Monday morning I took the train over to Bern. The main square, parliament building, cathedral and several other landmarks where all wrapped up in scaffolding in preparation for the hosting of the big soccer competition in town next year. Nevertheless, the buildings in town were very nice built out of greet stone, with arches over all the streets so you can walk anywhere in town without getting wet in the rain. There were some great fountains in town made with big statues, my favorite of course being the soldier in the middle of eating a small child. Checked out the bear pits where the bears where busy rolling on their backs catching grapes that people where throwing down to them. Went to visit Toby and Severin at their place close to the centre. We headed out to a little bar by the name of paradisili. It was set up in an old farm barn. Monday nights were jam sessions which attracted the best musicians in town who were giving some asesome tunes without any pressure to perform. Plenty of people from the crowd were bringing along their own instruments to join in. We retired to a little bar downtown once the music slowed up.
The next day I explored the rest of Bern... more cool fountains, the rose garden overlooking the old city and river, and plenty of green buildings. Went for a walk up the town hill, Gurtenwald where their was a viewing tower on the top. Went down the other side to Gurtendörfli, Kehrsatz and back to town along the River Aare.
On Wednesday I went out to Murten, an ancient town on the shores of the Murtensee. It had the old town wall and fortresses still intact, and very pretty old buildings. Went for a walk from town around the lake and up the Mont Vully hill on the other side. This was a strategic military position in the world war and had plenty of old bunkers and thinks to explore. It was also over in the french side of the country so I practiced my bonjours and then got back to the german speaking side. Relaxed by the lake until 10pm then caught the train down to Fribourg and stayed on campus at the local university. Unfortunately most the students were away on holidays, but still had a good time.
On Friday 7 Sept I went over to Zurich to drop off the clothes I'd borrowed. Went for a walk along the Limmat as far as Höngg. There was a big swimming area in the river but was a bit too cold for anyone to brave a dip. Took the tram back through the centre of town to Triemli for another walk up Uetliberg. Back down the bottom took the tram from Albisguetli to the gold coast for a walk along the lake foreshores at sunset. Went for a tram ride out to Oerlikon for something to do then went back to Luzern.
The next day we went to the neighbourhood soccer competition. Everyone was dressed in their team colours and taking the event quite seriously. Timo captained his team to victory and I enjoyed a bratwurst. In the afternoon we went to see Eliane perform at the church, followed be a great dinner with many courses at a nearby restaurant. Finished the night with a party of someones birthday.... could have been Eliane's friends parents or something like this.
On Sunday despite being a nice sunny day I had to spend a few hours planning out the holidays for the upcoming months. In the afternoon went for a bike ride along the lake lake through Horw, Hergiswil and out to Stans. In town I caught the tail end of a local festival and street parade. Everone was dressed in their traditional costumes with plenty of alphorns and flag twirling.
