Monday, February 14, 2011

A few days in Innsbruck

Hello all. This is Ron for the first time writing. From all the positive feedback we have received I do believe that I have some big shoes to fill.

I will start off where Robin left off. We drove from Lichtenstein and enjoyed the beautiful views surrounding us. There were mountains everywhere we looked. We arrived in Innsbruck, Austria just after 4pm at the Best Western Hotel. We checked in and oriented ourselves with our surroundings. One thing we immediately noticed was the overwhelming smell of smoke in our "non smoking" hotel room. Even with the window left open it was still quite formidable. We decided that evening to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was a very limited menu but Robin and I both enjoyed our steak. After that we went back to our hotel room to call it an early night.

Friday morning came and this was what we had been waiting for (at least me). Today we were going to go skiing! We had looked into getting the hotel shuttle to bring us to one of the 10 local mountains, but upon finding out that we would have to leave at 8:45am we quickly dismissed that idea. We came to the conclusion that we had after all rented a car, so why not drive ourselves. With the help of our GPS we made it to the mountain at 11am. Axamer Lizum was the name of the mountain we had decided to ski. It was where the majority if not all of the skiing for the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics was held. This added a certain level of intensity to the matter. We were both excited and headed over to the rental shop to get our necessary gear. That is when I made a very poor judgment call and rented a snowboard... not really one of my strong suits but I figured I would try it anyways. After getting to the top of the hill and realizing what they call an easy run is a sheer drop off that winds down the mountain for up to 7 kilometers I soon realized that this was not the most opportune moment to be trying snowboarding for the third time. After 3 runs and having what felt like my tailbone hitting me in the chin I decided it was time to get back down the hill and go to what comes most naturally to me: skis. There was still a problem I was faced with though. I was 1500meters up at this point and needed to get to the bottom to exchange for skis. This is when I developed a sort of new style of snowboarding. You sit down on the board like a toboggan with your feet out and you can reach blisteringly fast speeds. It almost made me reconsider my choice to trade.
After getting fitted with skis I joined up with Robin to explore the rest of the mountain. We did a number of runs and really enjoyed it. Right before lunch I felt that I had one more run in me. So I took of on the Olympic downhill run. What an experience! I have never felt that kind of speed before on skis in my life. It was amazing. After that I joined Robin for lunch and a beer in the Olympic chalet overlooking the entire mountain at the highest peak. It was a spectacular view.
Friday evening after our skiing adventure was not overly eventful. We decided to go to the wellness center at the hotel after skiing but were unsure of the appropriate attire. We thought since it was Europe maybe we go nude, however we did not entirely know the social norm and did not think to look it up on google. We then saw the smallest little heading in our hotel guide book in our room saying that bathrobes and slippers are available at the front desk. Problem solved. Afterwards we went out for dinner to a Mexican, Chinese, Austrian restaurant. Kind of a weird combination but it was quite good. We went back to the hotel and watched some movies after a long day out.

Saturday morning we slept in and missed breakfast. We had anticipated that would happen and were ok with that. We decided to drive to the downtown core and see the beautiful city square and town of Innsbruck. It was your typical European city square with little shops, vendors, and of course creepy mimes and human statues in the streets. We walked around for quite some time taking it all in and looking at the shops. One of the things that I found odd was that there were a few souvenir shops which only sold schnapps and various other booze that looked like it was made in somebodies bath tub.
After we had seen enough of the downtown we decided to go check out the Olympic ski jumping stadium. It was quite a site to see. We got taken up to the top in a gondola and got to see the view. Lucky for you in case anyone of you are wondering about the specifications of ski jumping I am properly informed and educated in this area. The inrun (which is the approach ramp of a ski jump) features a plastic track. During the summer it is lubricated with water, and during winter it is covered with 30cm of hard packed snow. The inrun is 98 meters long and has a slope of 35degrees. Within 4 seconds of the start the skier reaches speeds well over 90 kph. The skis they wear have special saftey bindings and measure up too 3 meters long depending on the height of the athlete. So that`s all I know about ski jumping, and was largely learned from the billboard that I read and then took a picture of so I could record the information. There was a very large restaurant at the top which had quite the view of the not only the ski jump hill but also the entire city.
After we rode the gondola down we drove back to our hotel. From there we spent the rest of the afternoon on foot shopping.

Just before dinner I got on the computer and was researching potential restaurants for the nights dinner. I found a very nice Italian restaurant with great reviews so Robin and I decided to go there. We walked for about 10 minutes to the restaurant and upon getting there realized that there was no restaurant. The review I had read was outdated. At this time we did not realize it, but it was a good thing we did not find this restaurant because where we ended up going was fantastic. After wandering for another 20 minutes with our hunger increasing we finally decided to settle on a Austrian style restaurant. It was a basement tavern with old barn board style tables. The service was very prompt and friendly. I decided since we were in Austria I would order the pork schnitzel. What I did not at the time realize, or maybe it was lost in the translation of the menu to English, is that the pork they were giving me was from a dinosaur. It was huge! I had never seen anything that big before. The other impressive thing was the value. We really enjoyed our dinner there, and when the waiter brought the bill he also presented us with complimentary shots of cherry schnapps. All in all it was a good experience.

After a leisurely walk back to the hotel, we went upstairs to watch some movies and hang out together. We decided to get up the next morning at 8:30am so we could be on the road before 10am for the drive back. However due to an alarm clock operator error on my part I set the alarm for pm. We were fortunate though because Robin was up at 9am. Probably due to the fact that I was snoring, but that is an entirely different hot topic.
We went down to the hotel and had the breakfast spread. Although there was a lot of fresh fruit, pastries, cereals, it just is not the same as at home. The bacon is not the same, it is just fried pieces of ham, the eggs are always cold and in large scrambled lumps, and I have yet to find an English muffin in Europe. With that said we still enjoyed our breakfast and hit the road.

On the way home we were fortunate to be going through Germany. Now many of you that know me may be aware that I have a passion for cars and trucks, more specifically fast cars and loud trucks. This drive home meant that I would fulfill one of my life dreams and get to drive on the Autobahn. Now a common misconception is that all of Germany`s highways are unrestricted, when in reality only portions of the highway have no speed limit. Needless to say we took full advantage of it. It was a win win for both of us because Robin does not enjoy road trips and being in the car for long periods of time, so me being able to cruise at high speed was in her best interest. On the other end of the spectrum I love driving and road trips, and I especially like having no speed limits. We really pushed our Bmw quite hard. It was brand new with only 5000km on it when we got it, but rest assured the 2000 km we accumulated were probably the hardest it has seen, and may be the hardest it will see for awhile.

We arrived home in Maastricht at 6pm safe and sound. We were tired from our trip, but also enriched by the experience. It is good to be home and back in the swing of things. We still miss Canada and our home there, but our home here is also growing on us.
Well that is it for now. Until next weekend when we have more adventures to update you on.
R&R

 On the chair lift up the hill
 Started the day off with a big mistake.... A snowboard
 Robin about to drop into one of the runs
 One of the views from up top. (not even the highest run)
 Robin waving for dramatic effect
 Now this is the way it was intended to be!
 The stop for the Olympic gondola, and the highest run on the mountain
 Robin in the Olympic restaurant
 Having some pastries in the street
 Posing, that`s what tourist do right
 Just about to trek up to the ski jump
 From the top of the ski jump area just outside the restaurant
 The view of the city
 From the inrun. 35degrees does not sound like much, but it is steep
On the way home. Maxed out. Thats one less item on the bucket list

Saturday, February 12, 2011

A few days in Lucerne, Switzerland


Monday marked the 7th of February, which meant a few things: Maastricht rent was due, I started a new course at school, and it was time to visit the Alps!  We made the executive decision that it was more beneficial to gain “cultural capital” by skipping a day of school (meaning we could go away for a whole week – remember I only have classes on Mondays and Thursdays with an online class on Wednesdays) than to stay at ‘home’ at do some readings and attend a lecture that probably won’t apply to my future career (…still unsure what that might be!)
Ron picked up our rental car – a BMW! – and then packed up the car and picked me up at the university after my class was done at 1pm.  (BMW’s are really a dime a dozen here and not nearly as exciting as they are at home, but Ron was still pretty pumped to say that he drove a BMW on the Autobahn.)  We then made the 6 hr drive through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France to Switzerland.  I think visiting 5 countries in one day was first for both of us!  We arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland around 7:30pm and checked into our very “Swiss”-looking hotel.  We were met by an elderly gentleman outside the back of the hotel where we pulled our car up.  He didn’t speak of lick of English, or any other language we knew how to say a few words in, and his stature and mannerisms reminded us uncannily of Manuel from the British sit-com, Faulty Towers.  He looked totally out of place and was unable to converse with customers, just like Manuel, but we made us smile every time he brought our car around.  We decided to splurge a bit and go for a 4 ½ star hotel, which proved a worthy expense.  Our hotel was an old mansion with unique rooms and décor rather than cookie-cutter Ho-Jo’s that we’re used to at home.  I’m guessing that whenever the hotel was made, either the builders employed to make the hotel were super short, or Swiss people are short in general – because Ron was too tall to stand under the doorframe without hitting his head! (See picture below.)  We had a quiet dinner at the hotel restaurant and then called it a night.
Tuesday we awoke to a beautiful view of the Swiss Alps outside our hotel window!  Probably the most magnificent hotel view I’ve ever seen!  We embarked on the town where Ron bought a Swiss army knife (how many people can say they actually bought their Swiss army knife in Switzerland?!) and I found a Starbucks to quench my insatiable desire for a good cup of tea, which is apparently non-existent in Europe.  We were quite surprised at the cost of everything in Lucerne.  My cup of tea at Starbucks was 4.90CHF (Swiss Franks), which are on par with the Canadian dollar, and lunch at a Subway equivalent cost 30CHF!  It took a while to grasp the fact that people would pay 15 bucks for a sandwich and drink at a fast food restaurant, but once we wrapped our heads around the fact that everything costs more in Switzerland, it was easier to bite the bullet and get on with our adventures.  We hopped on a ferry (more like an afternoon cruise) around Lake Luzern and took in the stunning scenery.  We enjoyed a glass of wine and were able to get a seat next to the window for the first hour of the cruise then went outside to the patio benches for the next hour and a half.  The ferry was essentially a dining room on water – they host buffet lunches and dinners and, since our cruise was in the afternoon, an array of desserts and cakes. 
After the ferry cruise we headed back to the hotel where I had a rest while Ron did some homework.  He was hoping to get on Skype and chat with a few of you back home, but the Internet was down.  For dinner, we went down to the lake and crossed a gangplank to a docked ship-turned-restaurant where we had the best fondue I’ve ever had!  The restaurant boasted 50 different combinations of cheeses and the waitress cooked our fondue in front of us.  We almost changed our mind about our dinner selection when we saw the mountain of grated cheese she was throwing in the pot (along with white wine, garlic, nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper, and sherry); but we forged ahead and ended up scraping the bottom of the caldron because we felt we couldn’t waste a single ounce of cheesy goodness after tasting it.  After dinner, we went to a bar called the Roadhouse, at the suggestion of our Lonely Planet Switzerland guidebook.  However, either we were too early or went on the wrong night, because it simply wasn’t everything we hoped for.  They did, however, play some good tunes from the 1970’s, but after one drink we were ready to head back to the hotel.
Wednesday morning, Ron woke up early and took the car to the slopes.  He was easily able to rent equipment and spent the day skiing the Swiss Alps.  I spent the day relaxing; I went (again, mostly window) shopping, had another good cup of tea at Starbucks, went for a 5km run by the lake in the 11+ degree sunny weather, and attended my online lecture from the comfort of our hotel room.  Ron injured his toe when he ‘yard-saled’ on the slopes, so we found a restaurant that was close to our hotel for dinner so we didn’t have to walk too far.  I later performed minor surgery on his toe by drilling a small hole through the nail bed to drain the blood and the pressure (sorry to members of the Enns family who are probably just regaining consciousness after passing out while reading the bit about Ron’s toe) and the next morning Ron’s feet were feeling back to normal. 
We got up early on Thursday and drove from Lucerne, Switzerland to Vaduz, Lichtenstein where we had bought a take-out lunch from a café.  Lichtenstein is one of the only countries named after the family who founded it.  The entire country has a population of 35,000 and an area of 160km2.  It wasn’t that different from Switzerland, so we kept driving and arrived in Innsbruck, Austria by mid-afternoon.  Although it seems abrupt, I’ll stop the post here and give you a chance to digest our Switzerland adventures before posting about Austria. 

 The stunning view from our hotel room in Lucerne
 Ron's about 5 inches too tall for the door
 Our typical "Swiss" hotel
 Robin having a glass of wine on the Lake Luzern ferry cruise
Scenery from the ferry cruise 
Ron taking in the scenery (actual candid show, not posed) 
Trying to be artistic in Switzerland 
 Ron on the ferry cruise benches
 If it's 12+ degrees in the middle of winter and I'm on a boat looking at the Alps, I don't really even care that this is the face I'm making while staring into the sun to get a self-portrait
 I figured it out though...once Ron's head was able to give my eyes some shade
 I get distracted and can't aim the camera right when he kisses me...oh well!
 Awaiting fondue
 Loving the fondue
 Ron's view on his ski day
Ron's view while skiing
 Not a bad "road trip" view, eh?
 Walking around Vaduz, Lichtenstein...trying to figure this country out
   We decided it wasn't all that special, but enjoyed that we got our passports stamped!         

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Weekend (at home) in Maastricht

Hello All,
It's Sunday evening which, according to Mama Joyce, means time for another blog post.
Thursday I had an exam for my "Globalization and Transferability" course worth 100%.  I studied hard both on my own and with the other Canadians, and I feel pretty good about it.  Ron met me at the university after the exam and we went out in the Market Square area for a nice dinner.  We then met up with the rest of my classmates (both Canadian and Dutch) to celebrate being done our January course and one of the girl's birthdays.  We had a few drinks at a place called "Kiwi" and it was nice to show off my handsome husband to all the Dutch students.  (I am the ONLY one married in my program in Holland and they all seem to think we're pretty young.)  We then rode our bikes to the next place and went dancing, except Ron and I found it very crowded (and I tend to get pushy on the dance floor if someone is "all up in my space" - ask Heather and Katelynn about going out during our Halifax days.  Actually, I probably learned this behaviour from Heather...but I digress.)
Friday we spent the day hanging around our apartment then went out for a date night dinner in the downtown area.  We found a place featuring Latin food that we quite enjoyed and would return to.  We had heard about a bar called "Take 5" that ended up being right next door to our dinner spot, so we checked it out for one drink, but neither Ron or I were feeling it, so we headed home on our bikes.
Saturday we met up with Jeff (one of the other Canadians) and Goga (his roommate from Georgia...not Georgia, U.S., but rather Georgia the country).  We wanted to explore the Fort in Maastricht, but found out it's only open in the summer months.  Instead, we opted for a self-guided walking tour with the help of a brochure that Jeff picked up at the tourist information building.  It ended up being more of a non-guided walking tour, but we got to explore all the nooks and crannies of our beautiful town.  The downtown area is split in half by a canal and we explored the West side, which both Ron and me as well as Jeff live on.  Downtown Maastricht is covered in windy cobblestone streets that form more of a maze than a grid, but the walking tour made us familiar with parts of town we hadn't had a chance (or reason) to discover yet.  We also found a cathedral that had been converted to a 3-storey bookstore, which was a pretty cool use of the building, if you ask me.  We bought a Lonely Planet book on Switzerland in preparation for the upcoming week.  We spent Saturday night in and watched the documentary, Freakonomics, (based on the popular book) and both enjoyed it.
Today we went to the St. Pietersberg caves on the South West side of the city and embarked on a group tour.  The tour was in Dutch but the guide translated a few things into English for us.  The "kazematten" (underground tunnels) are a labyrinth of underground passageways that took almost constant work for a few centuries.  The tunnels are dug out of soft limestone and consist of 8,000 passageways measuring over 80km in length.  Maastricht has had a strong appeal to foreign rulers thanks to its stragetic position alongside the Meuse and, because of this, the city has been attacked on numerous occasions throughout the centuries.  The passageways served as a place of refuge for the inhabitants of Maastricht during wartime where they stayed for months at a time and had become so civilized as to build wells, a bakery, and a hospital ward inside the caves.  At other times, battles took place inside the caves (including a huge explosion in 1794 which created a huge undergound dome and an unwelcome visit by Napoleon.)  Many walls had intricate charcoal drawings depicting various subjects.  At one point in the tour, the guide told everyone to put their right hand on the wall and she would walk forward with the lantern without us following her.  She walked for about a minute or two as we stayed holding onto the wall in the pitch black.  You couldn't even see your own hand in front of your face.  We then had to find her by following the wall in a line in the darkness until we could see the light.  (Thankfully, she picked an area of the caves where it went straight for a bit...otherwise we would still be stuck in the tunnels and you wouldn't have this blog post to read!)
It's now Sunday night with means a new episode of Top Gear and homework.  Ron and I are both trying to work ahead a bit tonight as tomorrow we are driving to Switzerland for a vacation!
More to come probably mid-week from Switzerland.
Love,
Robin and Ron
 Some of the cobblestone streets and old buildings in Maastricht
 An everyday sight in Maastricht
 Ron sitting in a window well of an old building
 Climbed the steps up this wall to see a beautiful view of the city


 It's Holland people, everything's under water
 Still "self-guiding" on our walking tour
 Goga, Robin and Jeff on the streets of Maastricht
 Save a horse, ride a cannon?
 Bookstore in a cathedral = awesome!
 Hydrating before going into the caves
 Waiting for the tour to start
 Creepy entrance to the labyrinth (complete with creepy orange-haired tour guide)
 Underground passageways
 A map of the tunnels 
 More tunnels to give you an idea - all of these were with flash on, we couldn't see much without a lantern right in front of us
 Charcoal drawings on the cave walls
More charcoal drawings on the cave walls