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Lauterbrunnen!
Saturday, August 14th, 2010 /

Lauterbrunnen!

Lauterbrunnen! Goodbye Alps. If ever you’re in Europe and have an itch to do some extreme sports, this is the place you want to be! Paragliding, skydiving, hang-gliding, canyoning, white water rafting, ect. Activities at your fingertips, and a landscape perfect for all of them. You can even take a 3 hour cable car/train ride to the “top of Europe” for breathtaking views, on top of a glacier. This place is truly a land of brilliant adventures. Amazing as it sounds, none of these extreme sports fit into our tight budget. The cheapest option coming in somewhere around 480Swiss francs. It was not an easy decision though. We both have been wanting to skydive, and we’ve read that free falling over the Alps can be a life changing experience, BUT, we decided to put it off for another great location..possibly New Zealand (anybody interested?).

New friends!

SO Brad and I basically spent our time hiking (FREE!)! But we saw some beautiful views! It was hilarious because anytime we happened to look up…we saw people falling from the sky! Helicopters zooming back and forth dropping people out of them! Cool! We met a guy that went to University of Florida whose tent was pitched next to ours…which by the way..the campsite there is really awesome! So anyway we explored and had a few drinks with him the first night!

Our delicious dinner!!

Besides the scenery…the highlight of Lauterbrunnen was our dinner that last night! FONDUE and Rosti! We found a little restaurant with a great view and even treated ourselves to a drink as well! While we were waiting for our food.. we noticed a couple sitting across from us trying to take photos of themselves…so we offered to take one for them! Then we found out they were from Massachusetts too!! Then we found out they are from the North Shore!! Craziness! THEN…we found out they are doing a house exchange! I thought that was super super cool! I immediately wanted to comment.. “oh like in that movie The Holiday!” But didn’t want to sound silly…but when we asked how they got started with that…they said well… first we saw it in that movie…The Holiday! haha! So we continued to chat about that when our delicious food arrived! The fondue came with tons of herbs and spices that you could dress it up with, and bread and potatoes to dip! The Rosti was unbelievable too! So that was Lauterbrunnen…pretty uneventful BUT REALLY nice! We can see why the Busabout uses that as a sort of middle point!

Busabout!

Speaking of Busabout…we started it the next morning for our first time! We got special VIP looking passes and the bus was FULL of Kiwis and Aussies! We were the ONLY Americans! Haha but it was nice because everyone spoke English…the guide was really cool and informative, AND all the movies were in English WOO HOO!

Category: Camping, Central Europe, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland  Tags: , ,  One Comment
Dubrovnik!!
Friday, May 14th, 2010 /

To get to the camp site we had to make a 5km trek around the harbor and up a hill. When we arrived we found that it was outrageously priced; no view, no good ground to set up and they cramed us in with all the auto campers. So instead of spending the money we headed towards the beach and figured we’d camp out there. Most of the beaches in Croatia had little to no sand and this was one was no exception. The copacabana beach lacked the glamour of the NYC night club it was named after but it seemed to be a good spot to bed down for the night. Chels and I formed some grooves in the pebbles and ate some bread while we watched the sunset. The best part of the night came soon after the sun had fallen and half our bottle of wine had been drank. In the middle of our converstation we both happened to catch a shooting star!

We slept about as good as you can and had the sound of the waves to lull us back to sleep after any interruption during the night. The rest of the day was spent doing absolutely nothing! We lounged on the beach from sunrise to sunset, taking a coffee break about mid day to write some postcards and a walk to the market around dinner time. Unfortunately this market had no Vegemite, which we would later run completely out of.

We changed locations on the beach for the second night because we figured if security saw us they might think we were making a habbit of this and ask us to leave. Our new spot was probably the rockiest spot on the beach which made it tough to find a groove. I was afraid that if I wiggled around to much it might not turn out to good for my backside. By the time we woke up the next morning we were ready for a night in a hostel.

Dubrovnik is not an easy town to walk around, it is spread out long ways and we refuse to pay for public transport; so we spent the morning walking around trying to find accommodation with free internet. The youth hostel was a ripp off (becoming a trend), so we ended up hitting up this villa that our new friend Long Hii (who we met on the beach and helped fix his sandal) had told us about. When we arrived the owner told us that he had accidentally overbooked the room but he could place a mattress on the floor for one of us. Instead of being mad, we were pumped to be in a position to negotiate, two for one. After some rest and a much needed shower, we took a long walk to Dubrovnik’s Old City.

The walk was well worth it. The old city is in great condition, even after being bombed only 10 years ago! Restaurants and shops line the stone streets along with a church here and there. We decided to grab a drink at this bar called Buzo, perfectly located on the water. Finishing up our tour of the old city with a seat on a bench on the port, where we ran into Long Hii. We grabbed a bite to eat on the walk back and the night ended shortly after.

Category: Beaches, Camping, Cities, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Eastern Europe, Hostels  Tags: , , , , ,  One Comment
Travels with Klaus and Hter
Wednesday, May 05th, 2010 /


After a lovely day at the park, we returned with Klaus and Hter to Senj…first stopping a very cute and quaint little restaurant and watermill down the road! It was really beautiful and they caught all their fish fresh before serving it to you…very cool! I didn’t even get anything to eat, but they gave me a free tank top for a souvenir! :)

After another night in Senj, Brad and I had planned to find our own way to Zadar, but Klaus came up to us and offered to keep driving us, as they were heading south too! We happily tagged along, because not only was it a free ride, but it was great company! Zadar was really really nice! It had an awesome harbor and promenade with lots of cute cafe’s! We spotted an awesome yacht and were temped to try and find some work :) But apparently Zadar is known for its amazing sunsets..which we sadly didn’t see..even Alfred Hitchcock wrote about them! But really were mostly excited because this one nice cafe had FREE internet!! ahh we were so excited, cus at this point, were still anxiously awaiting for an email about Samantha’s baby…boy..girl…was it here yet?! Still no news, and on we went to Sibenik

Sibenik the city…may or may not have been nice…but we did not find out! The camping site was way outside the city and the bus had stopped running from the campsite! But the campsite was actually a HUGE development of hotels, sporting activities, clubs and more! We again, saw a beautiful sunset like we have every night in Croatia *so lucky!!* and walked around to find some live music in one of the hotels! When we made our way back to our tent, Klaus and Hter had broken out their wine and chocolate and we sat and had great conversation with them all night! After the first bottle of wine, out came some German beer and champagne! They were truly so kind and generous to us!! And we just loved hearing all their stories and learning about the German music and culture! Before we left the next morning, we took a picture with them…or as Klaus says “I must make a picture”!

After Sibenik, we made a quick stop over in Trogir, which was a beautiful old little town on the coast! We all loved it!!! They had some castles and pretty churches there, but i really like all the big wooden boats! We were also lucky enough to catch some traditionally Croatian music and dance right by the water! After some sightseeing, we ran into the fresh food markets, and had to buy some fruit and bread! We also grabbed some fast food…a cheeseburger…which was AMAZING and HUGE!! Brad and I shared it and were full! Half of it is still bigger than two cheeseburgers from McDonalds! It comes with tomatoes and cucumbers too which really add a nice touch! For some reason, i thought my Oma and Grandad would have really liked the Trogir!

Then we were off to Split, where we sadly parted ways with Klaus and Hter…only after eating some of their delicious strawberries they just bought in Trogir! We were so thankful for them, and will always remember them…hopefully even find them again when we are in Germany! We found a small family run hostel there, which was very clean, had a full kitchen, and satellite TV and free internet! SO nice and the son was super nice and helpful! Of course…i jump straight online to find out that KYLIE was born!!!! Brad couldn’t stop smiling and we walked down to the promenade to celebrate with a bottle of wine by the water! There were tons of kids around, so of course we just couldn’t stop talking and smiling about what Kylie will be like when we meet her! The promenade was great! Nice benches and plants everywhere with an awesome view of the ocean! We really liked it, but there was no camping, and we were ready for some beach time on the islands anyway, so decided to move on the Hvar in the morning!

Category: Camping, Cities, Croatia, Eastern Europe  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment
Plitvice National Park!!
Saturday, May 01st, 2010 /

Not much sleep in Senj, I wish it was excitement keeping us awake but it was the wind blowing our tent around. There was hardly any grass at the site (mostly rocks) so our spikes made it about a half inch into the ground, which lasted about 2 minutes when the wind started howling. We would find out later that this particular valley is known for its wind lol. We shook off the sleepiness with a cup of coffee, generously offered up by our new travel mates. Their names are Klaus and Hetier (spelling sorry) and i am not positive of their age but we know they are retired and they are from Deutschland (and i feel sooooo uneducated because i saw Deutsche on some travel books and thought it was the Dutch way of saying Dutch, and i was upset…thinking i should have known that…being part Dutch and all! Well then i found out Deutsche is how the Germans say German and Deutschland is Germany!!… so embarrassed!) Klaus traveled the U.S 50 years ago and we enjoyed sharing stories with each other!

So we got to know each other a bit more before we took off towards Plitvice! Our seats were at their makeshift kitchen table in the back of there van, comfortable and free! The park is approximately 100km away from Senj offering up some of great views of the Croatian Islands and Adriatic Sea as we traveled along the windy roads up and over the mountains. Approaching the park the land was very flat and mostly and ripe with tall pine trees and herds of sheep. Lucky enough there is a camp site 8km away from the park and we set up tent there in the mid afternoon. We had a nice nap, then woke up with a shower and a trip to the market. After dinner we enjoyed some good old American drinking games with our cheap,1L Croatian Beer and watched the sunset. Just the two of us played circle of death, which is definitely a group game, but it ended up being so fun with lots of singing and laughter involved!

We woke up early, as we usually do when camping and packed everything up so we could leave right from the park. Klaus offered us a ride back…so nice!! So we accepted! The sun was shinning bright, we had arrived at the park free of charge and got a student discount for our entry tickets.

The day had started off great and was about to get better. As soon as we walked in we could see the largest waterfall in the park, which is about 78meters high with offshoots shooting in every direction falling to the turquoise blue lake below. The natural bridges made of split logs rest right on top of the waters surface. They coexist perfectly with the parks landscape, not disturbing any views and more importantly any ecosystems. The treasures of the park kept coming as we were able to walk right up to a collection of waterfalls, which led is into a series of tunnels and pitch black caves. After finishing up with the first half of the park we hopped on the ferry boat to take us to the next half. Although the pictures may all seem similar, each falls had a different look and feel. The flow of water in an unstoppable force, something to admire and respect, a reoccurring theme of Plitvice. Our hike ended with a walk through the forest. The leaves on the trees seemed lime green and their trunks were covered with an awesome dark green moss which. The surface area of the park is over 270 square km and we covered nearly all of it. Not trying to sound cliché but it is impossible to justly describe the beauty of Plitvice National Park, you just have to see it. This was a dream made reality for us, a definite must for any nature lover with proper means!

Category: Camping, Croatia, Eastern Europe, National Parks  Tags: , , ,  2 Comments
Rab!! … and a fun night in Senj
Saturday, May 01st, 2010 /

This morning, we took a catamaran to an island called Rab, as recommended by the receptionist at the hostel! It was looking like a promising day, but the second we arrived, a crazy storm started brewing, and before we knew it, it was pouring down rain! It was our first time having to use our trash bags over our packs! The campsite was a Looonnnggg walk away, and in the rain with crazy wind…it was not fun! We went into a hotel and were told its only 500 meters more….then walked FOREVER and asked a random little hut on the side of the beach and were told…only 500 meters more! WHAT?! that wasn’t the first time we heard 500 meters either!

BUT when we arrived, the campsite was very very cool! It had everything…tons of restaurants, cafes, a market, a bakery, a playground, mini golf, ping pong tables and it was right on the beach with beautiful sunsets!! People definitely lived there permanently! But it actually reminded me of the caravan park i would go to with Oma and Grandad! So brought back good nostalgic memories! Too bad though…a lot of the things were still closed…apparently the whole island opens up on May 1st…so we were a few day shy!

So it was pretty miserable as it did NOT stop raining for a day and a half straight! We pretty much hung out in the tent and at one of the cafes all day..played cards, did a lot of sewing, read our lonely planet book…luckily, on the 3rd day we were there, it was nice enough to walk around the town. The Romans had some old establishments there, and they actually let u walk in them and explore. We climbed to the top of an old lookout point, and had a beautiful view of the city! Then we stumbled upon this amazing trail that winds through the woods, and it was so nice! And we had been so good the last few days with not eating out, so we decided to go out for some cevap…mmmhhm Meat again!

Of course, on the day we leave, it is absolutely gorgeous outside with not a cloud in the sky!! Luckily our bus wasn’t leaving until 4, so we found ourselves a big rock on the coast and soaked up the sun! It was sooo nice! I loved that rock…i think it was just because it wasn’t raining…but we made a nice lunch on it…und a really comfortable groove to lay on! Didn’t want to leave, but we had made a firm decision to go to Plitvice lakes national park…even though it was going to cost us some money!! So we caught our bus to a town called Senj! It was cool because the bus had to go on the ferry, and i had never really done that before…0o the things that excite me!

When we got to our campsite in Senj, it was straight rocks!! AND we found out a bus wasnt leaving to go to Plitvice for 4 more days!! Ahhhh we did not want to stay in Senj for 4 days….so we were planning on making the walk (we later found out…yeah right…we could NOT have done it!) and camping along the way! As we enjoyed the sunset, we suddenly head music and looked behind us to see an older man playing the accordion! How cool! Before we knew it, everyone from the campsite was gathered around and we were being force-fed (although we were not objecting) homemade Italian wine, champagne, Italian cake!! Everyone was singing or humming along..It was Great!! It was hilarious trying to communicate with everyone…we even broke out our language book as this Italian man was trying to speak French to us! Phew…that was hard! The accordion player, Klaus, spoke English too and when we said USA everyone immediately thought California!! It was awesome…everyone was so nice! Then these two younger kids who were backpacking from northern Germany joined us, and luckily spoke wonderful English! It was nice to be able to communicate again, and they brought up in conversation that we were trying to head to Plitvice to Klaus, and he offered us a ride with them!!!! It was the best news ever!! It was a pretty late night for everyone, but eventually we go to bed…excited for what was ahead of us!

Category: Beaches, Camping, Croatia, Eastern Europe, Islands, Rab  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
Beautiful Sorrento and the almalfi coast!
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 /

Everybody talks about the Almalfi coast, and how beautiful it is, so we decided to go for it! We were warned of the CRAZY bus driver and that you shouldn’t go if you get car sick…so we were crossing our fingers for Brad! But 0o0o0o it was the most beautiful drive!! I couldn’t stop taking pictures! Brad got a little bit queezy and i was even worried about myself because these roads were TINY…and you would do a complete U-turn basically on these windy roads and think you were either going to fall off the side, or hit one of the poor small cars trying to come the other direction.The first stop was at a small town called Positano, and it was lovely! Crazy how steep everything was and all the homes were just on the edge of the hill! But definitely helped keep people in shape there! Then the next stop was Almalfi, and it was a really cute little town! We got some Gelato (of course)…Brad got Pistachio because of Cassie’s reccommendation, and I got this Banana Kiwi flavor and it was AmAzInG!! We ate it on the the beach….which was surprisingly comfortable. It looks really rocky but the rocks are so so smooth…we couldnt stop feeling them! We actually ended up taking a little nap too cus it was nice to lay down…as you can see we had our packs so got tired easily!

We actually had booked a hostel in Almalfi (we learned after not booking in Naples), but decided to go back to Sorrento since it was a free ride back, and the camping was a wayyy cheaper option! And i just have to blog about this TV show that we saw when we got a bite to eat! It was the funniest thing! At first we thought it was a show to deetermine if the person was a male or female because they were showing all these transsexuals, crossdressers, people in bondage, and then kind of normal looking people. Next thing we know they are standing up singing and waving their hands back and forth in unison, and then next thing we know it is like Ninja Warrior, and the list goes on! We couldnt stop watching and still do not know what the point of the show was…it was great!

Category: Almalfi, Beaches, Camping, Italy, Western Europe  Tags: , , ,  4 Comments
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