Wed 29 Jul – Sat 1 Aug 2015

We arrived in Milan with just enough time to to shower and freshen up before heading out to the World Expo! We had been really excited for this (perhaps Natalie more than Matt). This year’s expo was all about food; sustainable food production and feeding the planet in the future. We took the 50 minute underground from our hotel and arrived around 8pm (this was after we got on the wrong underground as the line split at some point). We purchased an evening ticket as it was only 5 euros vs a full day ticket was 27 euros! We didn’t really know what to expect but we were hoping to eat a lot of food from around the world. Two major failings – firstly Canada was not represented at the expo, Canada what’s up with that? And secondly, there wasn’t as much food to eat as we were hoping. Oh, a third failing might be that the exhibitions were a little bit boring. One awesome bonus – we headed over to Brazil to see what food they had on offer and there was a table with lots of food on it so we helped ourselves (as others were doing). The sign said happy hour so we thought that meant free. We gouged a bit – then a man came over and said it was 6 euros to eat from the buffet. Well we had already had our fill so we just snuck away! Overall we were glad we got to experience it.

We got up a bit early the next morning in time for the included breakfast – Prague this was not. There were loads of jams and spreads but the only ‘food’ was prepackaged croissants and crackers. We spent the rest of the day looking for a new workaway and trying to sort our lives out – money is running tight now so some careful soul searching and planning was needed. We did leave the hotel for a few hours – went to the grocery store for some breakfast food and then stopped at the number one restaurant in Sesto San Giavani (the neighborhood we were staying in). We had the most amazing meat and cheese board with hot homemade bread. Matt had a taster selection of 4 beers and Natalie had some homemade red wine. Yum-yum.  We came home and watched Bad Neighbors.

On Friday we woke up and headed into the city of Milan. It was a beautiful day! The heat wave had seemed to have broken and it was perfect weather for city sightseeing. Our first stop was the Duomo. We wandered around the outside taking lots of pictures. We decided we better go for lunch before we got too hungry. Natalie found a recommended lunch time spot near the church. We shared a panini and a big salad and had cappuccinos! We headed back to the Duomo to go inside but we were not properly dressed – we forgot that arms and legs needed to be covered. So we popped into the shopping arcade and spent some time in a bookstore. After that we headed to the castle and park.

On Saturday drove to a little village, Moltrasio, on Lake Como. Muse recorded “The Resistance” here in their own recording studio. Unfortunately it was overcast and a bit cooler so we didn’t go for a swim but we did have pizza for lunch!

Then we headed off towards Tuscany for our next workaway experience!

Tues 28 Jul – Wed 29 Jul 2015

After checking out of the campsite in Venice we laid by the pool for the morning and early afternoon. We drove to the outskirts of Verona and arrived at a very nice highway-side hotel. It had a large king sized bed and air conditioning. Our original plan was to stay outside of the city and take the bus in, but the parking was so cheap we drove to the city centre for a wonder-around at night.

What a beautiful and romantic city! We were too hungry by the time we arrived and decided to have dinner next to the Roman arena – bit a of a tourist rip off – yet another travel lesson learned…don’t let yourself get too hungry and if the view is amazing, the food is probably overpriced!

We headed off to see all of the main sights – Juliet’s house (which was closed), a fancy square, a pretty bridge and to climb above the amphitheater. We headed back to the hotel around 11pm for a nice quiet sleep. The next morning we drove back into the city to rub Juliet’s boob (hehe) and to see some more sights before we had to leave for Milan.

Closest we got to a gondola ride was at the campsite

Glamping

Cool dude all in yellow

Sun 26 Jul – Mon 27 Jul 2015

We arrived at our camping village just outside of Venice around 8pm on Saturday evening. After a long wait to check in we had a our first taste of Italian pizza, mmmmm in the restaurant by the pool! Our tent was like an army tent and had a light and plug socket and a locking door. There was a bunk bed and separate single bed – it was more like ‘glamping’ really.

When we woke on Sunday morning we got ready and headed into Venice. It was a 15 minute walk to the bus stop but it came almost immediately. We tried to buy a ticket but the bus driver told us to buy when in Venice so we didn’t. We stopped for a bite to eat and split a pizza, salad, coke and a coffee. With our poor, yet free map from the camping village we went through the city, along all of the canals.

We stumbled upon a lady folding some paper outside of an old church. She told us there was a concert on later in the evening and it was only 5 euros for students! It was called Vivaldi vs Handel and was being preformed on period instruments in a 12th century church. We continued on towards the Rialto Bridge (which was under restoration) and St. Mark’s Square. We decided that we wanted to go to the concert so we headed back through the twists and turns of Venice and luckily found the church. The concert was amazing – we had been looking for a classical music concert since Prague and it didn’t disappoint – there was even an opera singer!

After the concert we headed back towards St. Mark’s Square to see it lit up at night. We were going to sit at a nearby cafe where there was a quartet playing some lovely music, but it was 13 euros for a pint of beer and 9.80 for a coke.  So Matt bought a beer from a vendor for 3.50 and we sat next to the water and enjoyed the city at night. It was getting late by then and we had a bit of an intense hike to get back to catch the last bus back. Luckily we ran into a nice couple from the States who had been living in Venice and they pointed us in the right direction when we were really lost.

We spent the entire day on Monday (and Tuesday morning/early afternoon after check out) by the pool – how relaxing!

Wed 22 Jul – Sat 25 Jul 2015

A beautiful drive from Salzburg to the south of Austria on Wednesday morning was amazing. We stopped for some sandwiches at the gas station with an incredible view of the Apls. We arrived in a little town called Lebring, 30 minutes south of Graz to spend a few days with Matt’s friend Gisy (and her boyfriend Alex and their friend Karim). Her parent’s have a beautiful house in the country and we loved just having a few days to rest and relax.

We arrived in the late afternoon and went to get some groceries (including lots of beer) and hung out for the evening and watched Harry Potter 5. The next day we slept in quite a bit because we had been traveling for over a week and were quite exhausted! Once we did manage to get up we headed for the local lake. It was beautiful – so clear and really, really warm! We didn’t want to leave but a thunderstorm was on it’s way. That night we watched The Interview.

On Friday we slept in again but managed to get to the lake a bit earlier. After that we came home and got ready to go into Graz for the evening. We drove in and parked near Gisy’s apartment and stopped in for a beer. Then we went for a little guided tour of the city, stopped at a vegan cafe for dinner and then headed up the 260 steps to the top of Schlossberg to see the clock and bell tower and the city skyline at night. Then we met up with another friend and went to a little bar called the Music House. We left the city at about 1 am. Natalie did the diving as she didn’t have any alcoholic drinks. After leaving the city we drove right into a huge (and scary!) thunderstorm. The lighting was cracking right next to the car and the rain was torrential. We made it home safe and sound but quite the experience. Natalie went to bed while the others stayed up for a bit longer. Needless to say Saturday was a write off – we slept in and then got ready, packed the car, said our goodbyes and then headed off towards Italy!

Do a deer, a female deer

Weeeeeeee

I have confidence

The hills are alive

Another Mozart statue

Mon 20 Jul – Tues 21 Jul 2015

We left for Salzburg early on Monday morning as our free parking in Vienna expired at 9am. We took our time getting to the hostel. Natalie was feeling very unwell as she had about 40+ mosquito bites from sitting out the night before and had a very sore neck. Matt wasn’t in much better shape as he was dealing with a pretty bad head cold and cough. We decided to hang out at the hostel on Monday. We went and got a few groceries and had a nice home cooked meal. We watched a movie in our hostel room and went to bed early. After six days of walking through big cities in the heat we definitely needed a day off.

We were feeling a little better on Tuesday so we headed off to Salzburg to do a self guided Sound of Music tour. We drove into the city and our first stop was the Mirabell Gardens; the place where Maria and the Trapp children sing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and run through the hedge tunnel. We stopped at the cafe for a large iced coffee ice cream float. Then we drove to Leopoldskron Castle; the façade facing the lake served as one of the views on the house and the boat scene. Then it was off the see the glass pavilion at Hellbrunn Castle gardens. Not far from there, and down a bike only path, we drove to Fronburg Castle; the court and front façade facing Hellnrunner Allee served for other views on the house of the Trapp family, when Maria first arrives at the villa.

We then drove into the city and parked the car for the day to explore on foot. We ‘hiked’ up to Nonnberg Nunnery and then down by the massive fort overlooking Salzburg.  We headed down to St. Peter’s cemetery that inspired the scene at the end where the Nazis chase after the Trapp family. We tried to see the stage at which the Trapps perform during the Salzburg Festival but we were too late as there was a performance on that night.

Then we walked past Mozart’s birth house (we didn’t try to sneak in this time!) and then headed to Residenzplatz to see the fountain and where Maria crossed the square when leaving the convent and singing ‘I have confidence in me’. We stopped for a break to hear the Glockenspiel, then walked over the bridge and ‘hiked’ up to another smaller, abandoned fort to get an amazing view of the city! We crossed over the Mozart Bridge; featured during the ‘Do-Re-Mi’ song and then back to our car and hostel for a quick bite and bed. Another fabulous day in an amazing city but we were certainly looking forward to some down time with friends in the Austrian countryside…

St Stephen’s Church – Mozart got married here

Mozart’s house

View from Mozart’s game room

Strauss

Beethoven

Fountain…we’re coming!!

Mozart

Ol blue eyes

Sat 18 – Sun 19 Jul 2015

On Saturday we got up with some reluctance given the previous night’s escapades. We didn’t have to check out until noon – such luxury – so we took our time getting on the road. We drove to Vienna and hung out at the hostel, made noodles for dinner, did laundry and Natalie finally got the Skype date with her sister after 3 months of trying to arrange a good time to catch up!

For 40 euros a night in the outskirts of Vienna you get a top or bottom bunk in a room of 8 with an en-suite. Prague was definitely a good deal and Vienna was expensive! We woke up early on Sunday to try and make a 10:30am walking tour in the city center. We were running a bit late and then Natalie realised she forgot the camera so we had to go back to the hostel. After officially missing the walking tour we headed to the tourist information centre to see if we could find out about concerts and free things to do. The information guy said that there were no free walking tours of Vienna but Natalie had found a website that said there were. So we headed off to the meeting place for a 1pm tour. Well I guess that website was wrong! There was no tour so we started off doing our own self-guided tour. It was a balmy 38 degrees by the time we headed off.

Our first stop was Mozart’s house. We poked our head in to see and noticed that the staff were not watching so we snuck in and saved 20+euros. Turns out that when you buy a ticket you get an audio guide – we were the only two visitors without one so we looked suspicious and were asked to show our tickets. Natalie played the innocent and said we lost them and we got away with it. The house was fascinating though! Then we went to a free classical music concert at the Haus der Musik. A violinist and a pianist played Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Kreisler (20th Century Austrian violinist and composer). After that we continued on our exploration – saw a few famous buildings and then spotted a huge fountain that was giving off some spray. We sat at the edge with our feet in it for quite a while. We continued walking to the Museumplatz for dinner. We finished the tour (for the most part) and then went to the Rathausplatz for the showing of the 1982 Frank Sinatra America Tour as part of the Vienna film festival. What a wonderful day and night in Vienna! The only unfortunate thing was that we didn’t get to learn a lot about the city’s history or significance of the architecture but we certainly saw and did a lot of amazing things for very little money.

Little dough things cooked over coals

Charles Bridge

Czech dinner

City of Prague cooling off the tourists!

A beer with a view

Pickled cheese!

Comic book themed bar

Karlovy Lazne club

Crazy room in the nightclub

Thurs 16 Jul – Fri 17Jul 2015

We had a late arrival (about 10pm) on Wednesday night to our hotel in Prague. It was our longest drive yet – about 5.5 hours. Our hotel was in Prague 5 – next to an underground station and had free parking. For around 40 euros a night had a room with air conditioning, king size bed, a marbled en-suite and buffet breakfast and super fast internet! We relished in the luxury, watched some TV and went to bed.

On Thursday we woke to the most amazing breakfast and filled up on it so we wouldn’t need to eat lunch. We found a barber so Matt could get his bread trimmed but he was full so we arranged to come back later in the evening. We took the underground to the Old Town Square to meet our free walking tour. It was a great tour that lasted 3.5 hours. We asked our tour guide for suggestions of places to eat so we had dinner at the Olympia. Natalie had a traditional Czech dish of beef in a creamy vegetable sauce with dumplings and Matt had goulash with roasted veg. Matt tired the local beer and Natalie had a homemade elderberry lemonade. Delicious Czech food! Then we went to have Matt’s beard trimmed and then stopped by the local Tesco (yes that’s right, our usual grocer in the UK has locations in Prague) – a rather strange experience but we got some Tesco brand peanut butter. We’ve been collecting peanut butter as we couldn’t find any in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. We then went back to the hotel to change and go out for a few beers. Unfortunately, the recommended place to go have a beer was really just the docks along the river when you were meant to bring your own beer. There were a couple of really creepy boat bars but all in all we weren’t feeling it so we went home to bed.

On Friday morning we made our way to the castle and walked around the grounds. Then we went to a monastery where they brew beer, as recommended by the barber. It looked out over the city and had incredible views. We sat at the restaurant and had some drinks for a few hours and waited out a much needed thunderstorm. In Berlin the weather was rainy and low 20s. In Prague it was low 30s which made it a bit tough for walking around. After a peaceful afternoon we headed to the Old Town for dinner (another recommendation by the tour guide and it was excellent!). Then we met up with our pub crawl to experience Prague on a Friday night. What an experience. There was an hour of unlimited beer, wine, vodka and absinthe shots at the first bar. We then went to two comic themed bars and finished at the largest dance club in central Europe with four floors of different music and an ice bar. We loved the ice bar – it was the coolest experience – highly recommended. Unfortunately, Natalie had a bit too much wine earlier on in the evening and we had to leave earlier than hoped for but we didn’t get home until 4am, so overall we had a great night out in Prague!

Brandenburg Gate

Where Michael Jackson hung his baby from a window

Where the Berlin Wall used to stand

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

1 of 3 sections of the Berlin Wall still standing

Checkpoint Charlie

Pub crawl

B Flat Jazz club

The Vampires

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Sun 12 Jul – Wed 15 Jul 2015

Fri 3 Jul – Sat 11 Jul 2015

After leaving Amsterdam we drove around looking for gas for the car that didn’t cost 20-30 cents more per liter then it should (turns out that at certain times of the day they make it more expensive!)

It was a four hour drive from Amsterdam to Hannover and we stopped at a rest area for a picnic. We met our hosts, Hendrick and Christine at their tango studio in Hannover at around 6.30-7pm. We changed our clothes and jumped right into helping them renovate it. We filled cracks and scrapped a sign from the front window. They had already renovated one side that they had been using for a few years but now someone else was renting it from them (the Tango company) so they leased next door for more space.

We met another workaway couple, Nate and Phoebe – Canadians from Alberta, who arrived at the studio later in the evening. We left the studio around 11 and drove to Raspberry Hill in E…. where we would be staying. We arrived around midnight and were given a quick introduction to the place. We would be staying in the converted barn where they host tango workshops and retreats.

Hendrick informed us that we would be a doing a little bit of work in the morning and to be ready for 9am. There was no hot water in the converted bar and we were too tired to lug our stuff over to the main house so we had a very, very quick cold shower and went to bed

On Saturday we were up and ready for work. Matt and Natalie swept and weeded the sidewalk while Nate and Phoebe mowed the lawn. We had bread, cheese and a tomato and cucumber salad for lunch. Then we went in search of a place to swim. After spending around 60 euros to get to our destination we decided that we didn’t want to drive anywhere. So in the blazing heat (about 38 degrees) and at around 2.30pm we set off looking for a swimming hole. We found one but it didn’t look too appealing so we decided not to risk it! Nobody wanted swimmer’s itch! So we walked back and had a cold bath in the big jacuzzi tub in our room. Hendrick and Christine had friends visiting so we had a nice BBQ of sausages and a potato salad with lots of different veg in it as well as grilled bread and fish and fresh strawberries for dessert. On Sunday we slept in and then just hung out at the house and then had ‘lupper’ of gnocchi and salad around 4pm with the guests. We had a brownie for dessert and watched the second Harry Potter movie.

The next day we were up and ready for work for 9am. We were told that our project for the week would be to demolish a concrete wall in the courtyard where they used to store manure and to weed the brick courtyard to pressure wash and then put down new sand. We worked until 12.30 and then stopped for a lunch of sausages and a different potato and veggie salad. The four of us took turns working with Hendrick on the wall and switching between that and the weeding until 3pm. We started watching the Tudors TV series on Monday night.

The days followed a similar routine. They made our main meal for lunch and we made our own dinner in the evenings as they often traveled to give tango lessons. On Tuesday we had rice and tomato sauce with cheesey grilled zucchini for lunch. After work at 3pm we would do a bit of relaxing/working out/showering. On Tuesday night we watched the third Harry Potter movie. On Wednesday we got halfway down the wall and most of the courtyard weeded. We had rice and meatless chili for lunch with a mixed lettuce salad. We watched the sequel to 300 – it was so awful we almost turned it off!
On Thursday we had squash risotto for lunch and watched the fourth Harry Potter. Friday was our last day of work so we had amazing homemade pizza for lunch as a celebration! After work the four workawayers walked through the little village and up to the forest where the Brother’s Grimm were inspired to write Snow White. We didn’t see any dwarfs though. We had a little picnic and then walked back home and played a game of Rummy.

On Saturday we slept in a bit and then drove about 30 minutes away to visit Marienburg Castle. Unfortunately it was closed for a special function but we got to walk around the outside. Then we drove to Hannover and did a little shopping and had dinner at the mall with Nate and Phoebe. Then we went to a tango party! It was very hot in the studio but there were about 30 couples all dancing the tango it was really cool to watch. We left at about 10.30 to drive back home. On the way we went to stop for gas as it was on 1.44 euros per litre but by the time we pulled it turned 11pm and then price went up to 1.50. We didn’t fill up – just drove away – how crazy! On Sunday morning we got up and Hendrick made us an amazing cappuccino. We packed up and said our goodbyes and drove east towards Berlin.

We’re in Amsterdam

Bikes!

Stumpled upon an art agllery

Aw a man in a little boat playing the horn

A glasses museum

Begijnhof

Ann Frank house

A bit of music decoration

Red Light distrcit

How they get stuff up to the top floors…

…beaucse the stairs are too steep!

Mon 29 Jun – Fri 3 Jul 2015

After having a better sleep on the last night of the festival, we were feeling a bit more refreshed and excited to hit the road for Amsterdam! We packed up the campsite and re-packed the car. This is becoming an art that we are mastering. After sitting in festival traffic for an hour or so we found a McDonald’s for lunch and then headed off towards Holland. We found our hostel with no problems and unpacked the car for the next four nights. 

We then went in search of a park and ride just outside of the city centre. This would only cost us about 10 euros for the four days as opposed to 25 euros a day in the city centre. We were pretty exhausted from the festival so we had a quiet night – catching up on blogging, laundry, etc.

The next day we slept in and then went on a free walking tour of the city. We stopped for a frappuccino and hot dog for lunch then headed to a cheese shop and bought a small selection of Dutch cheese (taste/texture like gouda). Then we headed south to the foodhall. Natalie thought this was  market where we could get fruit & veg, etc. but it turns out it was just a a food hall (as the name implied) but we had coupons for free canvas tote bags so the 30 minute walk wasn’t a total waste.

So then we had to stop at a real supermarket to get food for our stay. We were on the third floor of the hostel and it was boiling in our room so the most we could manage was a salad and bread. That night we walked around the neighborhood where our hostel was to see the city at night.

On Wednesday we went to rent bikes. We biked back to the car because we forgot a few things like a new book for Matt, the faux pro, etc. Then we biked to hostel to change into something cooler and packed our picnic lunch that we made the night before. We biked to Vondelpark which was very near our hostel and had a Canada Day picnic complete with a Keith’s beer (saved for over a year for a special occasion!)

We went for a bike ride around the park and stopped at a bench to watch the world go by. We saw so many different kinds of bikes it was unbelievable really. Everyone had their own twist. Some with baby seats on the back or the front (or both), some with baskets, creates and wooden carts attached. People riding in their suits or summer dresses and some walking their dogs whilst riding!

We went back to the hostel for dinner (more salad and bread – too hot to cook in the little hostel kitchen!!) The we biked over to the Anne Frank museum but didn’t get a chance to visit because the line up was too long (over an hour wait and it was getting late).

We biked around the city looking for a jazz bar (got lost several times) and finally found it but there was no live jazz on as previously advertised so we went to a cafe to hear some live jazz. It was an amazing band – they were so enthusiastic!

On Thursday we went in search for an American bookstore so Natalie could get a book in English for when she finished her current book. We then went to the Begijnhof which was an area for single or widowed women who wanted to live like nuns but not take monastic vows. The city still rents the flats to only women. We then went to the flower market but it turned out that they just sold flower bulbs and not actual bunches of flowers so it was just a sea of brown bulbs and other tourist souvenirs – rather disappointing. For lunch we had fries from a little takeaway place that our guide book recommended called Vleminckx, which had been opened since 1879-ish.

After lunch we biked to the sex museum in the Red Light district because we were in Amsterdam after all. Not overly educational – more cheesy than anything. Most of the displays really needed updating and modernising. The most interesting collection was pronographic photos from the 1870s to 1960s – some early ones taken in photographer’s studios and all! Those loose Victorians – how shocking!

Then we biked back to the hostel to pack our bags to leave the next day and then headed out again for dinner at a steakhouse called Chicanos. Nice and cheap and just for tourists.

After dinner we to the Red Light district to see all of the prostitutes in their little windows. Our tour guide, on the first day, said that they have around 15 customers a day and charge around 50 euros per 15 minutes. They rent their space from city real estate agents and they have to pay income tax on their earnings.

The next day we biked over to the bike rental place to return our bikes, then we got the tram to our car. We drove to the hostel and parked it up and reloaded her then it was off to Hannover to meet our next workaway hosts.