lech am alberg (the austrian alps!)

Lech is a beautiful little village up in the Austrian alps – “gemütlich” as my dad would say (which means a combination of cozy, atmospheric etc in German– you can imagine from the photos I’m sure). All the shops, restaurants and hotels are owned by locals, so it as a distinctly Austrian feel – yes, even lederhosen for the waiters! We are here for the week skiing with the Green family. The mountains are spectacular in the sunshine – just like the chocolate boxes, though presumably this is where they got the idea for the pictures from in the first place!

We are aiming for no crutches or fractures by the end of the week and after 3 days… so far so good!

trains...

It’s been a while since I traveled on a countrylink train but I’m sure they have nothing on the European trains. We have seen a lot of the countryside out the train window – sometimes at speeds over 300km/hr. After leaving the south of France, we took a train up to Zurich (via my old home of Geneva). We stayed the night there, window-shopping only in the very expensive Bahnhofstrasse, though Greg did get a souvenir spoon!

Then another train the next day up into the mountains to meet the Green family for some alpine fun!

montpellier - le sud de la France

Though you'd think we are used to large distances, living in Australia, it still takes time to travel across Europe, so we decided to stop off in the South of France on the way from Spain to Austria (to meet stef's family). Travelling by train is the most efficient (cost and time-wise) and so we took a scenic route across Spain and up to Montpellier. This is a town of students - and they are everywhere! There are some interesting sites, including the bridges, cathedrals and plazas common to many European cities. One of the best things about this town though is the pastries! Tarte au citron and tarte au framboise were particular favourites to be eaten with strong french coffee.

Just in case we were homesick, we even found an "Australian cafe" serving Fosters and VB on tap and offering a beach party in a few weeks (I can only imagine the goosebumps, since the temperature doesn't get much above 10 degrees during the day!)

cordoba - southern spain

Cordoba has a fascinating history, first settled in 164 a.d. It was the centre of the Moorish empire in Spain for centuries, before being conquered by Christian armies in 1236. Its architecture therefore reflects this mix. The Mezquita was an impressive Mosque, until it was converted into a towering cathedral.

We spent several days meandering through its white-washed streets of the old town, eating tapas and paella while staying in Hostel Baghdad (you can see Greg in its courtyard). We tried eating an orange from one of the city's abundant groves - and discovered why the locals leave most of
them on the trees (they taste more like lemons).

granada

Granada is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. Set high in the mountains of Andalucia, the influence of its Moorish history is evident in its architecture and food. Our highlight was the visit to the Alhambra, an impressive complex begun in the thirteenth century which towers over the city. We enjoyed its magnificent views and elaborately decorated halls. A Moroccan dinner in the Arab quarter concluded an excellent day.

hola barcelona!

Barcelona is a city brimming with art, culture and paella. We enjoyed all of these and more, staying near La Rambla and venturing to the Picasso exhibition and Montjuic castle to survey the vista.

a singapore sling

We enjoyed an extended stop-over in Singapore to spend time with the lovely Kath and Craig Harris. They showed us around their city, including a few local watering holes. Kath has a regular gig at one of the big Singapore hotels - and we joined the regular Sunday night crowd to hear her sing.

welome to our blog

Welcome to our blog, and the start of our overseas adventures!

We hope you enjoy reading about our travels, thoughts and reflections as well as seeing pictures of our journey through Europe.

Dip in and out of our blog - and please leave a comment if you visit!

g + s