Previous Articles
Seilpark
While I didn’t have the money to indulge in any of the more EXTREME adventures on offer in Interlarken, I did sign up to the Seilpark. SeilPark is a high ropes course, set 20 to 30 meters in the trees of a swiss national park.
Being a fairly confident climber from doing heaps of indoor, I had no problems with the course, my rope handling and climbing skills coming back to me quickly. The equipment was top notch so I could put full faith into the harness, often leaning way out over drops that others found vertigo inducing. Probably the most enjoyable of the courses was the flying fox course which consisted almost entirely of zip lines, but the park offered paths of varying degrees of difficulty so everyone could get involved.
I went with Owen and Coops (a driver and guide from Busabout) and Renee one of my mates from the bus. Renee struggled through, but did a great job considering she was terrified of heights.
At one point in the day I was asked by the staff to pretend to have an accident on the highest course, let myself drop and they would send one of the new girls to save me as training. I accepted and then proceeded to hang suspended for around half an hour while the staff got her stuff together, hooked me up to a pulley and lowered me down. As I ran off as soon as I hit the bottom she wasn’t too impressed and when I went up to congratulate and thank her she ripped me to pieces saying that “some people just can’t make it and need help getting down, its nothing to be ashamed off”. I couldn’t explain to her so I let it slide. It wasn’t until later that she met up with her boss that she came over and apologised. All good fun!
A great, cheap day out in Interlarken, well worth checking out.
Trummelbach Falls
One of the most amazing things I saw while staying in Lauterbrunnen was the Trummelbach Falls. Situated just a few minutes walk from our camping grounds, the Trummelbach falls are a series of Glacial fed falls which cascade through a mountain, accessible by tunnelling and an underground elevator.
The place is amazing, the sound of around 20,000 litres of water a second smashing through the mountain is intense and everywhere you look sunlight through the mist makes little rainbows. I walked out of the falls feeling renewed, like nature had given me a strange little awakening, filling my lungs with icy air and coating my skin with pure glacial water that dripped down the neck of my jacket and tickled my spine.
Photos cant capture the majesty of this place, but I gave it a try anyway.
Lauterbrunnen
First of all, let me apologise for the lack of updates to the site. Not only have I been on and off the grid more than I would like to say, but I have also been dealing with a good dose of the Swine Flu. It knocked me about for nearly a week, I lost around 5 kilos and has made my time in London fairly boring. That said, I’m back on track to catch up before I head to the States. I hope to be on a reasonable posting schedule once I hit the land of the free.
Today I’d like to introduce you to one of my most favourite places I’ve encountered on this adventure: Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is a tiny town of the area of Interlarken in Switzerland. Situated in a valley this primarily agricultural area with a population of around 3000 is also popular with Extreme Sports fans. Base Jumping, Cayoning, Sky Diving, White Water Rafting: you name it, there are some crazy Swiss doing it.
The camping grounds we stayed at were called Camping Jungfrau. Being surrounded by around 17 waterfalls gave the grounds this surreal beauty. Their sound coated the night in a comforting clatter of white noise while during the day they provided a never ending changing background to everything we did.
Apart from one day of recovery after a big night at the Bomb Shelter the rest of my days were spent wandering the town and hiking the area. With my new friends we organised a great BBQ, I cooked up a storm most nights at the hostel kitchen and enjoyed a beautiful Schnitzel from the camping grounds restaurant. There was so much to do in Lauterbrunnen, and the surrounding Interlarken I can’t even start to describe. I definitely have to go back. The valley calls me like a siren’s song.
Battaglia dei Fiori
In Ventimiglia, once every two years a pretty amazing festival is held: La Battaglia dei Fiori or in english, the Battle of Flowers. This festival is an celebration of the Spring where the communities that make up Ventimiglia compete to create the best most extravgant float to be judged during a parade. These floats are made almost entirely out of flowers. One person told me there can be as many as 80,000 flowers on a float, but from the looks of them I would guess more.
The floats parade around the town on two days. The first is a night parade, with dancing, music and food. Everything culminates in a fireworks spectacular while the floats are repaired and touched up ready for the following day. The daytime parade is where the meat of the competition happens. Float girls climb aboard their communities entries, bands fire up, dancers and entertainers pour out onto the street. I have never felt such a happy, excited crowd. The parade loops around the town two or three times, at which point everyone in the parade starts showering the crowd in flowers. Hundreds and hundreds of flowers. With this the parade degenerates into a massive flurry of thrown flowers with the audience getting in on the game and having a good time.
The day was a caccophony of music, fragrance and colour and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I particularly liked the Pink Floyd float. A fairly fitting way to end my last day in this wonderful town.
Enjoy the (rather large) gallery, and there’s even a bit of fan service in there, just for Kym. The day photos were taken from a rather precarious position on a fence, from which my relative who was one of the float girls almost knocked me off with a well pitched flower. The flower battle starts on page three and the day time parade on two.
Ventimiglia
My visit to Ventimiglia started with the first ever photo of me in all my gear, and ended with a new understanding of my family and our history.
Arriving on the train from Nice (I haven’t written anything about my time in Nice mainly coz I don’t have time) I stepped onto the platform to be welcomed by my Granddad, Toto and my Mum. From that moment each day was a lesson in eating, meeting members of the family and struggling with Italian.
Much of my mum’s side of the family lives in this area of Liguria, which is only 7km’s from the French/Italian border. The City contains around 30,000 people, split down the middle by a river and is very popular with tourists wandering along the French riveria.
The city very beautiful. Portions are very old, and worked into the hills and cliffsides while modern buildings appear occasionally. Being reasonably small and dense the city retains a bit of a small town feel with everyone knowing each other and walking through the streets you can hear shouts of Ciao between the inhabitants constantly.
Moving out of the city center you can find beautiful old suburbs such as where some of my relatives lived, perched high in the mountains that surround the town.
The appearance of three intruders from Australia was quite an event. Every meal we were offered were huge and every minute of my 2 and half weeks in Ventimiglia was planned and crafted to meet someone or see something new. I ventured into mountain towns, scootered to hidden beaches, ate dinner and swam perched in a mountain cottage. I wandered markets and watched the sunset across the pebbly shore. I made new friends and loved every minute of my time in this small town. It was the true Italy, and I can’t wait to go back.
Monaco
The French riviera is home to some of the richest people in Europe and the most elite of those live in Monaco. Apart from being the 2nd smallest country in the world Monaco is also a money haven, operating with zero personal income tax. It has its own Monarchy, headed by Prince Albert II. The amount of money getting splashed around here though is ludicrous. Massive yachts line the harbour with topiary gardens adorning their decks. Caviar features on menus at 350 euro a pop. Shorts, in particular the pair I was wandering the streets in, retail for 100euro, making the $30aus (~15euro) I paid for them seem a bargin! To live in Monanco one is required to “apply” for residency. The application carries a non-refundable fee of $1,000,000 if the application is accepted or not.
Monaco also plays host to the Monaco Grandprix, a car race that closes the streets. I didn’t manage to time my trip to be in Monaco for the race, but evidence of the event was still present. Bollards were still being removed grandstands still loomed and skidmarks on corners stood in harsh relief on the bitumen.
At night Monaco transforms. Buildings light up and terraces fill with socialites enjoying the scene. The Casino comes alive and festivals dot the calendar.
All in all Monaco is a wonderful place, especially if you have a little walking around cash you don’t mind parting with. Just a quick tip to Australia’s: wear all the Billabong, Ripcurl, Roxy and Quicksilver you can. They run PREMIUM prices in Monaco, making those pair of shorts you bought on special at 15 bucks look like their worth a million dollars. I had a great time in Monaco, heading there a total of three times, once with some busabout friends, once with Mum and Nonno, and finally at night with a few of the relo’s.
Oh, and if you’re wondering… yup: that’s my Ferrari f430. Trust me.
Cinque Terre
One of the best things about busabout is the freedom it provides in finding neat little places for yourself. Each major day of travelling has an optional halfway stop. At first I was a bit reluctant to try these stops, but with every pickup along the route of people who took time out of their trip to try one all I heard was glowing praises for the small towns and tales of adventure.
So, as I was heading up to Nice, I decided to take a few days out of my travels to see Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre, Italian for “Five Lands” is on the Italian Riviera. It is a group of five small towns cut into some pretty rough coastline. Originally home to a heap of fisherman the towns now thrive on a rich tourism driven economy.
Cinque Terre single handedly changed my opinion of Italy. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life, and its people are friendly, helpful and interesting. As I decided on Cinque Terre at the last moment I had no accomodation booked, and spent much of the first day catching the train between the towns, walking with my backpack guitar and gear up and down millions of stairs looking for somewhere to stay. When I eventually did find somewhere it was in the southern most town of Riomaggiore, sharing a double bed in an apartment with one of the Busabouters I met: Chris which was a little awkward as Chris was a dude, but a little just friends spooning never hurt anyone.
My days were spent wandering the gorgeous towns, taking in the amazing architecture and walking the hike that winds along the coast between towns. When I wasn’t walking I was at the beach in Vernazza, which had crystal clear water and was great for swimming.
I can’t recommend enough a stop at Cinque Terre. I wish I could have stayed there forever.
For Kym
One thing I really enjoy when in another country is getting a taste for the local television. Some countries TV is fairly boring: I’m looking at you Germany, while others such as Japan have an awesome absolutely crazy television experience. I love Japanese TV.
Italy however provides probably the most enjoyable viewing. For the guys at least. Every TV show is filled with gorgeous girls. Announcers, stage props, question holders, football interviewers, they are everywhere. There is some form of genius at work in the studios of Television Italia. Whom ever came up with the concept of gorgeous blondes reading out a list of words on a game show is a champion among men.
Oh, and to my buddy Kym: Happy Birthday, and enjoy the photos.
Pisa
I hate to say it, but Pisa was the first time I felt a little disappointed on my trip. Hey, seeing the leaning tower was cool. One of those “I’m in Italy, I’ve gotta see it” sorta things, but over all a trip out to Pisa is pretty much a non-event. Pisa is a fairly small town, with not much going for it really apart from the tower, something I think it leans on so heavily that the burden it carries of keeping the town alive may be the cause of its imbalance in the first place. Probably the most exciting thing I spotted in Pisa are the Italian answer to Twisties: Fonzies! I tried hitting a packet against a nearby jukebox, but it didn’t seem to fix it.
I ended up seeing the tower twice actually; once on a day trip with Allen and Jen, just before they left, and again as a sight seeing stop as part of our busabout leg from Florence to Cinque Terre. If you’re wandering where my “Holding Up The Tower” shot is well sorry to disappoint you: that’s not how the s-dawg rolls. It is jumping photos or nothing; and in this case you get nothing.
Get out ya seat and…
I have this developed this strange compulsion while on this trip to get jumping photos at major highlights of my adventure. I hate normal, posed, stare down the camera photos; mainly due to the fact I am pretty rough looking, and the less I appear in photos the better. Jumping photos however provide a great substitute. First of all they put me in the photo, something which helps to show “I was there” and second of all; they are relatively interesting. They also give bystanders something to laugh at, particularly when the photographer is no good at capturing the jump. A good jumping photo can take up to 5 shots to get, but you’ve got someone handy with a camera and it can be done in one. Most failed jump shots end up with the jumper just off the ground, stretched out like a board, toes pointed south and arms all akimbo. The requirement of having a decent photographer on your side is a bit of a restriction of the jump photo. It is almost impossible to get a jumping shot on your own.
For the busabouters, my jumping shots have provided a great amount of entertainment, and those skeptical at first of the brilliance of the jump shot are soon turned. Most of my mates on the bus have at least one jumping photo of their own in their collection.
Some tips for taking jumping photos:
- Fast Shutter Speed: Set your camera to a fast shutter speed, or if you have a “sports” mode set it to that.
- Bright Days: Jumping photos look best of bright days. A good shadow can make a jump look ten times higher than it actually is.
- Focus: Get your photographer to focus lock on you before the jump. Most cameras will take a photo almost instantly after focus is achieved. On most cameras this involves positioning the subject in the center of the frame, pressing the shutter down half way, listening for a beep and a visual indicator in the display and then, while holding the shutter button down half way, recomposing the shot.
- Countdowns: Confirm on a count down before starting. 3,2,1,JUMP or 1,2,JUMP etc. The is nothing worse than confirming a countdown from a few hundred meters away.
- Choose your backdrop: Sometimes you want people to see the background, rather than the jump. Most “sightseeing” stops are great jumping locales.
- Get Creative: Don’t just jump straight up and down, I’ve found my preferred jumping position to be arms out running man style and knees up. An overly dramatic contorsion will give the jump energy and usually looks pretty rocking.
- The More People The Better: Get a group involved. Jumping photos are about sharing the fun.
I’ve had a few people say they enjoy the jumping photos that are appearing on the site, so I have created a gallery which I will keep updated with the latest jumping shots. Keep checking back on it, I’ll have it linked in the footer, to see the latest jump shots. Enjoy!