Tuesday 22nd November 2022
Decision day again. We are not getting any better at these.

After much deliberation, we decided to move on from our comfortable little apartment in Wilderswil. The light snow falls each night have increased the white on the snow-capped mountains and it is getting more and more beautiful everyday. The temperature is pretty cold and damp most of they.

Before we leave the area we drive to the small village of Lauterbrunnen.
“When it comes to quintessential alpine villages in Switzerland, Lauterbrunnen really hits the mark. Dotted with chalet-style houses and surrounded by green fields and towering, snow-capped mountains, there is surely no village in Switzerland that is more picturesque. On arrival in the village, one of the first things you will notice are the huge rock faces surrounding the town. Nestled in a valley, the village sits surrounded by these huge cliff faces from which 72 waterfalls spill over. Each morning you wake to the soothing sounds of water rushing over the rocks. The Lauterbrunnen waterfalls are a real feature of the town and are a tourist attraction in their own right. The region’s three well-known mountains – Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau – can all be seen from the village, with Lauterbrunnen the main gateway to the Jungfrau.”

We enjoy a walk from the village into the valley, passed the Staubbach waterfall and continue for another 3km before turning back. We see an amazing glacier, a high village, beautiful green pastures on the farms and the most magnificent sheer cliff and snow-capped mountains. It was a morning of true beauty. We then returned to the car and drove to Interlaken where we looked at the Catholic Church and Castle Church, both these buildings were magnificent.

We then drove along the southern edge of Lake Thun, where we enjoyed the picturesque views of the little villages, the lake and the beautiful snow-capped mountains. It truly is a magical place. We headed to Thun and then further around the Lake to Oberhofen. We decided to have another walk around the lake to Oberhofen Castle. Another magnificent building, with picturesque gardens on the beautiful Thunersee (Lake Thun). Another wonderful afternoon spent in beautiful Switzerland.

Well its 4pm and over time for us to be on our way to our new home. We have to travel north to Bern, which we have un=fortunately run out of time to visit. It is a bit problematic as no cars are allowed ion the town, so we decide to give it a miss. Our next stop is at Evian Les Bains which is in France and located on Lac Léman. “Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman) is a crescent-shaped lake shared between France and Switzerland, and overlooked by the Alps. Geneva, the Swiss city at its southern tip, is a diplomatic hub with luxury shops and a cobbled old town. On the southern, French side, is the spa town and resort of Évian-les-Bains. The chic, palm-studded Swiss Riviera stretches along the north shore from Lausanne to Montreux.”  We didn’t realise that this is where Evian water comes from. Apparently they produce 6 million bottles of water a day and have committed to only using recycled plastic for their water bottles by 2025. We will explore a little here tomorrow before heading on to who knows where.

We will keep you posted soon.

Monday 21st November 2022
The plan was to be at the tourist information as early as possible as they open at 8am. Unfortunately I didn’t wake until 8.20am, so not the start we were after. Oops!

After a little more research we were finally parked at Interlaken Ost and on our way at 11am. A bit later than we were hoping for. Oh well.

The first part of the hike was a lovely, easy walk through Interlaken, a nice little town with many beautiful buildings, a river, church and snow-capped mountains inn every direction. It truly was beautiful.

Stage two was the start of the hike up to Harderkulm which was to an altitude of 1323m from Interlaken at 580m. Eek! I had forgotten that we had to climb at least 753m and it started up, up and up straight away. We have been taking it easy at Benny’s for the last week, with a couple of city and forest walks but not much else since our waterfall walk at Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia. The last decent hike up to elevation was back at Orebic in Croatia on 2nd November. Way too long ago. It is amazing how quickly your fitness deserts you. I am definitely out of practise and I suffered most of the way up which was for about 2.5 hours. As always when I am having a struggle, it makes it very difficult for David as well. He has to continually wait for me. He also gives me the option to return to the bottom and catch the train up. The train cost was ludicrous (13 CHF each, each way, so 52 CHF – which is about 82AUD) which always makes me struggle to quit. One day it will happen but at this stage I would prefer to struggle a little, or in today’s case – a lot. Apart from the pain, it was a lovely hike, albeit, up, up and up some more. Followed by some more up, up and up again. It was interesting to see that we were passed by about 5 people, which is unusual. David kept catching them, then had to wait for me to catch up, so we really never passed anyone today. The views of Interlaken and the snow-capped mountains were spectacular.

We finally made it to Harderkulm at 1323m above sea level at about 1.40pm. We were surprised at how many tourists were at the top, most having taken the train. After enjoying the view, taking a few pictures we found a seat to have our packed lunch. We then went in. to the restaurant and had a hot drink (5.80 CHF) and some hot chips (9.50 CHF) – we had to ignore the prices as we knew it would be expensive, as Switzerland is but it is hard to cope with. I just tell DB to close his eyes and ignore. So it was 21.10 CHF which is 33.80AUD. Ouch!! After enjoying our snack and a little warmth we headed on our way.

Stage three was another climb, shortened a little due to my tardiness and the time. We got on our way at about 2.30pm, sunset was 4.51pm and last light was 5.24pm, so the clock was definitely ticking. We had another 252m elevation to 1585m at Wannachnubil lookout which was a 360° view. it was spectacular. I managed this climb a little better, aided by a stop to talk to an Irish man and Swiss woman along the way. We were in snow for sections of this stage but it was okay, the mud was more slippery than the snow. At Wannachnubil we enjoyed the beautiful view for 10 or 15 minutes then continued on our way. We had to return back the same way for a bit which was down 40m and back up to 1652m, our highest point today.

Stage four was the trip back down from 1652m to Goldswil at 638m and by this time it was 4pm, So we had to get a wriggle on. It was quite steep, with slippery mud, loose leaves and rocks and a little snow. We enjoyed the views of Thunsee, Brienzersee, the snow-capped mountains and the city of Interlaken along the way. It was hard going and took us about 2 hours to get down to Goldswil. Lucky we always pack our head torches as by now it was very dark. We then had 30mins of city walking to the car at Interlaken. I wanted to see the city at night, so my wish was answered today, even though it wasn’t planned. It was very pretty. Only 15.50 CHF for parking. So a not too expensive day but we won’t tell David the total cost even though he knows how much it is, he prefers not to be reminded.

We arrive home totally exhausted with very sore knees from the constant downhill slog and very tired legs. Lucky we have a reheat for dinner tonight. We enjoy our beautiful apartment for tonight and need to plan tomorrow’s adventure or travels. Not sure where to yet!

Sunday 20th November 2022
Today David had planned a big hike so we were up and on our way about 9ish. Not too early because with it 0°C overnight and only just 3°C at this time we had to be careful of the ice/snow but also aware of not starting too late. So off we headed from our elevation of about 650m above sea level at Wilderswil to Grindelwald at 1050m. As we went the temperature outside kept dropping until it was 1.5°· on our arrival. The plan was to catch a cable car from Grindelwald Grand to Mannlichen at 2200m and walk to Kleine Scheidegg 2061m on the Panoramaweg which when he researched last night the hiking trail was open. Unfortunately when we arrived at the station the cable car to Mannlichen was closed and so was the trail. We would have still done the hike both ways if just the cable car was closed but it was not to be today. We could have caught the train to Kleine Scheidegg and hiked on the only open trail for about 45mins up to Eigergletscher 2333m but it was a touch expensive for such a short walk 64CHF each so about 200AUD. I was also a little apprehensive about snow as I forgot to bring Benny’s pole. Then the fallback plan to Schynige Platte for about a 4-5 hour hike, the train for this was also closed. David was very disappointed as he had spent so much time researching and all plans failed.

So instead we enjoyed a drive around the Brienzersee (Lake) near Interlaken. This was a beautiful drive mostly on the lake’s edge with narrow roads, beautiful views and amazing snow-capped mountain peaks in every direction. It was a beautiful afternoon. Unfortunately no walking today but maybe tomorrow. The temperature once we came back to lake level was about 6°C which was quite pleasant in the sunshine and a bit fresh in the shade. We are feeling pretty happy as we have still avoided rain so far. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. The forecast is for a little snow here overnight.

Saturday 19th November 2022
Today we are heading to Switzerland. We will make a short stop in the city of Basel for an exploration walk and then head to our new home for the next three nights at Wilderswil near Interlaken, Switzerland.

As we start the drive, we head to the shops for our supplies before we leave Germany as Switzerland is a lot more expensive for everything. That done, we realise we have a few more challenges along the way today as Switzerland is not part of the EU. This means – no internet, a new currency and no phones. Oops, we should have done some more planning last night. After  a stop to do some more research on the side of the road, we head to the border. No stopping here for border control. A new set of road rules, signals and challenges. Every new country has new rules, signs, lane guidance and is a really interesting experience each time. David loves the challenges.  We head to Basel to a paid parking which I reserved a spot online before we lost our service. Luckily when we arrived at the door, it just opened and we drove in, found a spot and everything was going well until we couldn’t get out. We were lucky, the girls who tail gated us in had made contact with the company to get an app to open the door. So out we go, we will deal with how we get back in later.

We walked around the town, enjoying the sights of the beautiful churches, the colourful and amazing buildings. As we were still internal-less we called in to Macca’s to use their free wifi and paid 9 CHF for a hot chocolate and small thick shake which is about 13.50AUD. A little expensive. After about 30 mins mucking around David is now up and running. Yay! It is amazing how much we rely on our modern day communication tools. We continued our walk down to the bridge over the Rhine River, watched the regatta race and then headed back to the car. We were still looking for somewhere to buy  the Autobahn Vignette so we can use the autobahns to get to Wilerswil. We were not having much luck so we decided to get on our way. With DBs internet we were able to get back in to the parking garage, pay for our parking and exit the building. Thank goodness for that.

The first service station we stopped at for the vignette had sold out and only had 2023 ones as they start on 1st December. We were then worried we may not be able to buy one. Without it our drive was going to take over 3 hours instead of under 2. We managed to buy the vignette which costs 40 Swiss francs for a year, no discount or weekly ticket. Oh well, not much choice, so pay we did. The autobahns were wide and smooth, a very pleasant drive. We unfortunately drove half the way to the mountains in the dark, missing the beautiful snow-capped peaks. Oh well, we will get to see them tomorrow. Our little apartment is lovely and I think I managed to secure the cheapest room in the area – only $400 for 3 nights, some accommodation was $4000. A little out of our price range.

Well we have managed to work through each of our new country challenges, are happily fed and enjoying the warmth of our new home. We look forward to hopefully doing some walks tomorrow. As always the closed season will present some other problems.

Friday 18th November 2022
Today we are on our way again for the next 18 days. We have hired a VW Golf this time and the loose plan so far is to travel south to Switzerland, spend a few days there, then head towards Spain and Portugal. It is about 2500km to Portugal so we might not make it that far as we are due back at Benny’s on 6th December. Wish us luck.

Well this morning the weather is putrid. In Chemnitz it started at 4°C and will not get any warmer, by 3pm it is forecast to be -3°C. So we are out of here in search of fine and warm weather. We need even more luck on this front as the forecast across Europe is rain for the next 2 weeks.

We left Ben’s at about 8.30am as we had a very big driving day. Our destination tonight is Kandern in the south west of Germany just near the Switzerland border. It is about 660km without any wrong turns. We have added me as a driver this time so I can help out with the driving as we have at least 2 or 3 long days of driving to and from Benny’s in the next couple of weeks. Eeekkkk! I am a little scared and apprehensive. I know I can do it but it isn’t my favourite thing to do. I will need to psyche myself up and it is one of the easiest places in Europe to drive on the autobahns. They are such good roads and the drivers are on the ball all the time.

Anyway, as the weather was so miserable, rainy and foggy, David started the driving as they also drive so fast. Unfortunately, there also wasn’t much to see as therein kept coming down. I wasn’t keen to start driving now and David also wasn’t keen for me to start either, so he was a trojan and just kept on driving. On and on and on we went. 100, 200, 300, 400km, theism just kept ticking on by, the weather stayed the same and my amazing husband just kept on going. At about 2.30pm the weather cleared a little, the rain stopped for a bit, so it was time. I bit the bullet and had a drive. The aim was for about 30mins just to give me a little introduction to autobahn driving. I was a little nervous as some of the cars today have been driving in excess of 160kmh. It is tricky being on the other side of the car, driving manual and amongst the fast drivers but I managed ok. Painfully after about 10mins there was a traffic jam caused by an earlier accident, so the next 30-40 mins was a continuous stop, start, in 1st and 2nd gear at between 5 and 15kmh,. So the speed was no longer a problem and I got heaps of gear changing practice. The traffic jam finally ended and I drove for about another 30mins. It is a little stressful but I managed to get up to about 120kmh which is pretty fast for me. David then took over and drove the last hour to our little apartment in Kandern. The scenery as we continued towards Kandern was beautiful green farmland with amazing autumn colours in the forest. It was beautiful. Kandern is a little suburb off the main road. The further in we got, the less likely we thought our host would speak any English, but lucky us, he has a son who lives near Brisbane and his English was really good.

Time to make some plans for tomorrow. Hope all is well at home. Take care. Lots of love from us!

Friday 11th November to Friday 18th November 2022
We have had a lovely week with Benny. A quick trip to Berlin for the weekend, a lot of rest, a couple of Benny’s performances, a few walks in the forest and some good food. We have really enjoyed our time here.

A quick review of what we have done.

Friday 11th November
I enjoyed a studio performance of Benny plus 5 other dancers (Sascha, Roberto, Valeria, Savanna and Livia). It was very good and also unusual being so close to them. The audience sat around the outside edge of the studio, so we were very close. We could see them breathing and it was really good to see Benny dance again.

Saturday 12th November and Sunday 13th November – A weekend in Berlin
We enjoyed a quiet morning and a sleep in whilst Benny went to work, then we all headed on the train to Berlin mid afternoon. We arrived about 5.30pm, checked in to our hotel and headed straight to Friedrichstadt Palast to see a spectacular show. It was called ARISE Grand Show. It was amazing – singing, dance, trapeze artists and the most spectacular costumes. It truly was and amazing night at an incredible venue. After the show we had a couple of kebabs for dinner and then ventured back to our hotel for the night.

After a lovely hotel breakfast we headed out on Sunday morning to the Berlin Zoo. We were quite impressed with this zoo. When you are overseas you are never really sure what you will see. They had an incredible number of animals that looked very healthy. We walked all day and saw big and small animals, lots of birds, then at the latter stage of the day we headed in to the Aquarium which we thought would just be fish but it was reptiles, amphibians, lizards, insects and also fish.

“The Berlin Zoological Garden is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers 35 hectares and is located in Berlin’s Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,200 animals, the zoo presents one of the most comprehensive collections of species in the world.”

David thinks they probably count their ants. Anyway, it was a very impressive zoo and we enjoyed a full day there in the cold. We were lucky though it didn’t rain.

We then headed to a German Bierhaus for dinner where Benny and I enjoyed a Hachser (Pork Knuckle) and David had a chicken and potato dish. I managed to swap my sauerkraut for slaw which was just cold cabbage and vinegar. We prolonged dinner as our bus home wasn’t until 9pm. Our 6.30pm bus we had planned to catch was cancelled. So a very big day out as we didn’t get home until 1am. Poor Benny still has to go to work tomorrow.

Monday 14th November 2022
We had another rest day to recover from our weekend in Berlin. In the afternoon we went for a walk around Kuchwald Forest which is about a 10min walk from Ben’s place. As this is our only opportunity to go out for dinner with Benny this week, we went to a very nice Chinese Restaurant – pork buns, whole perch fish, Sichuan pork and Peking duck. It was a lovely meal.

Tuesday 15th November 2022
We enjoyed another quiet morning and then in the afternoon we went for a walk with Benny in the other direction this time to another Forrest called Zeisigwald Forest, also only about 15mins from his house. It was a lovely walk through autumn leaves and we saw an enormous void from a bomb in the war and walked to a lovely lookout.

We then headed home for a quick dinner and went to watch Benny’s studio performance again. This time David came also. It was very good and as always I understood it a little better this time.

Wednesday 16th November 2022
Today, the weather had turned quite miserable, so we spent a lovely day at Benny’s just chatting quietly. It was a great day. He headed off to the theatre at about 5pm and we joined him at 7pm and watch a triple bill called Wellen Flimmern. All 3 dances were amazing. Benny was in the first and last dance. They were all so good. It was lovely to be watching him dance again. We then headed home for a late dinner.

Thursday 17th November 2022
Today we had planned to be on our way again, but we hadn’t had a chance to organise where, the weather was ordinary and we decided to stay one more day with Ben. He worked all morning and then for an hour or so in the afternoon. So we did some planning, booked a car, enjoyed some time in the afternoon with Ben, and he cooked a lovely meal of prawn and pork dumplings and Korean potatoes for us for dinner. It was a lovely day again. We will be on our way tomorrow.

Thursday 10th November 2022
Well it is time to head to Benny in Chemnitz today. I am really looking forward to seeing him again. It will be a very long day, we are travelling all the way to Dresden on one bus and then a train from there to Ben in Chemnitz. Total time on the bus is from 8.35am until 9pm.

Zagreb – Maribor, Slovenia – Vienna, Austria – Prague, Czech Republic – Dresden to  Chemnitz Germany.

It was a very pleasant day. We were pretty comfortable, had our food, book and laptops. So we just sailed through the day. We had a couple of stops at borders where there was different protocol at each one. The first being crossing from Croatia to Slovenia. We all hopped out of the bus on the Croatian side of the border (a white line), showed our passports to a policeman in a booth, who stamped the passport, then we walked over the line and waited for the rest of the passengers to do the same. The bus then drove over the same line and we climbed back on. The bus driver then drove 100m, we all climbed out again and did exactly the same thing for our entry in to Slovenia. Lined up, police stamped our passport and then climbed back upon the bus. As we exited Slovenia a police got on the, asked us to hold up our passport so they could see everyone had one and that was it. At the Austrian, Czech and German borders we just drove straight through without stopping. We enjoyed some lovely scenery and a very restful day. I did a lot of reading and David did a lot of sleeping.

We arrived at Dresden a little late but with enough time to catch the 9.52pm train from Dresden to Chemnitz. Masks are still required on German public transport, so we put these on for the next hour and a bit to Ben. He met us at the station at about 11pm and we walked  about a km to his home. We had a chat for a bit, then went off to bed for a wonderful sleep.

It was a very big day and we are really looking forward to spending some time with Benny.

Sorry for the delay – We have been at Ben’s for a few days with a quick trip to Berlin in the middle and have been very time poor. Hope you are all well.

Wednesday 9th November 2022
Today we are on our way to Zagreb. We had a lovely stay at Plitvice and an amazing walk yesterday. As we leave the area we enjoy the beautiful country views and the country style homes. As we drive along the temperature drops down as low as 7°C, eek, winter is on its way. On the way to Zagreb we stop at the beautiful little town of Rastoke. It was a town of waterfalls and both David and I were a little weary and saturated with waterfalls from yesterday that we almost didn’t walk through this little village. That would have been very disappointing, as it was the most beautiful little village with waterfalls weaving their way through, under and around the houses. It was extraordinary and most enchanting. I loved it and it was a lovely hour spent meandering our way through the houses and waterfalls.

We then continued on our way to Zagreb, arriving at about 2.30pm to check in to our great little apartment near the bus station for our early departure tomorrow. We then returned our car to the other end of town. From here we went on a App guided walk through the town and saw many of the old buildings, museums, the cathedral and the restaurant strip. Here we enjoyed a traditional Croatian meal of štrukli at the little cafe called “La Struk”, David had a cheese one and I had a roasted red pepper one. It was very nice, a little like a lasagne with very thin pasta sheets filled with cheese, topped with pouring cream and cheese, then baked. We finished the day off with a gelato on the walk back to our apartment. A little 5km walk around town and a great time sightseeing on our last night in Croatia.

“Rastoke is a village, located in the Town of Slunj, known for the Slunjčica River, which flows into the Korana River at Rastoke. At Rastoke, similar natural phenomena are occurring as at the Plitvice Lakes.

You’ve heard the expression “short but sweet.” Well, it can certainly be used to describe the little river Slunjčica. Although only 6.5 kilometres long, this river has created some of the most spectacular landscapes in Croatia. The spot where it merges with the river Korana, Rastoke, is characterised by a natural symphony of 23 waterfalls and numerous rapids, where water roars, ripples, and celebrates life. Even the name of this small village near the town of Slunj suggests that water here flows in great quantity, as it comes from the word rastakati, which means “to pour out”. Many call this area “mini-Plitvice”, partly because Rastoke is only about 30 km away from the world-famous national park, and partly because the geological makeup of the two water systems is identical, much like the vegetation and typical karst formations, such as tufa deposits or underground water flows. The enchanting landscape is complemented by the spoon-like water mills typical of the area, whose wheels giggle happily as Slunjčica tickles them. Numerous legends were created in the quiet, green-blue oasis, the most well-known one relating to Rastoke fairies.
The Town of Fairies and Spectacular Scenery
These timid forest creatures have lived in the Rastoke area since ancient times, and are mostly active at night, as they usually avoid people. According to folk tales, while the mills were grinding corn and wheat, and the millers were telling stories around the pale light of the oil lamp, the fairies would take their horses, which were resting for their return home. In the early morning hours, when the stars were ending their night swim and the first sunrays caressing the blades of grass and the crystal-clear water, these forest imps would return the animals to the stables with braided manes and all out of breath and sweaty from the night out on the green hills. Although there are no more horses at Rastoke, the fairies are still here. Their favourite gathering spot is a waterfall by the name of Fairy’s Hair (Vilina kosa), whose silver water fits perfectly with the silver hair of the Rastoke fairies.”

Monday 7th November 2022
Today is just a drive day to the Plitvice Lakes National Park with a couple of side trips along the way. Unfortunately we have to delete Zadar from our itinerary as we are running out of time. We got away just before 10am and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine as we drove along. Our first stop was the Serbian Monastery at the northern end of the Krka National Parl. This is usually open for tours in the summer time, but today we could just walk through the grounds and go in the church. We were shown in the church by one of the four or five monks who live there. As you enter the church the first thing you notice is the smell of incense. It was very different inside, every wall was covered with a painting, there were chandelier type incense laps and it was quite small inside.

We then headed to the Roman Forum Arena also located in the National Park. The amphitheatre located in the former Roman military camp Burnum is the only military theatre in Croatia. Excavations and archeological works are still ongoing there – the amphitheatre is excavated and reconstructed. It was built at the beginning of the 1st century AD.

That was it for our stops today, we continued on to Plitvice Lakes National Park. As we drove the temperature dropped down as low as 7°C. Eek! Here comes the cold. As we continued out of the mountain area it went up again to about 11°. As we drove along I noticed many abandoned houses in disrepair, I was thinking maybe they had fled during the war. As it turned out, I was correct – many Serbs left their homes and haven’t returned. Apparently an incident at the Plitvice Lakes, Croatia, at Easter time in 1991, marked the beginning of the Croatian Homeland War.

We arrived at the Plitvice Lakes National Park and went straight to the office for information. We were hoping to do a walk this afternoon but unfortunately the ticket office closes at 1pm and we didn’t arrive until 1.20pm. Oh well! Looks like we get a rest instead. We found out our information for our walk tomorrow, headed to get some groceries and arrived at our accomodation at about 2.30pm. It was quite cool here as well, so we decided to just have a lazy afternoon.

“The Krka Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Archangel Michael, located near the river Krka, 3 kilometres east of Kistanje, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. It is the best known monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Croatia and it is officially protected as part of the Krka National Park. The monastery was built on top of a Roman site, and Roman burial catacombs exist beneath a part of the church. The Romanesque belfry suggest that the Orthodox monastery was previously home to a Catholic church, as the style was uncommon in other Serbian Orthodox churches of the time. The Orthodox monastery was built in 1577. Other monastery buildings (18th–19th century), the church, and the belfry are situated around a rectangular cloister with arcades.”

Record post time today – 5.41pm. Rest time for me now.