Czech Republic

On the 4th of October we checked out of A&O Hostel and caught a train to Salzburg where a mini van was waiting to drive us to Cesky Krumlov.

Cesky Krumlov is a small town just over the boarder of Austria and an hour South of Prague. We stayed at Hostel 99 which was located in town just across the river. We stayed 2 nights and spent most of our time wondering around the town's small lane ways and visting the main sites including the Castle and the Brewery which is still in operation.

During the summer the hostel offers River Booze cruises which consists of a raft that floats down the river stopping by various pubs and bars. Unfortunately we arrived during the off season but the town was still extremely quaint and beautiful.

On the 7th we caught a Student Agency bus to Prague. This bus company is awesome! Every seat has it's own small tv screen which plays various english movies and tv shows. They also offer free hot beverages and various cheap snacks.

Once we arrived in Prague we headed to The Mad Hostel where we stayed for 3 nights. The hostel is very small and has a family feel to it. Sleeping only 40 people and putting on $2 dinner every night, they make it extremely easy to meet people and have a good time! Each night 2 of the staff members organise a bar and club to go to after dinner.

Our first night there we had the family dinner which was baked potatoes (delicious) and then after a few games of beer pong we headed to the first bar of the night which had 2 for 1 5 Euro cocktails. The cocktails were really nice but the the bar was underground and had a lot of smokers which made it very stuffy and not very enjoyable. After an hour or so we headed to another bar which was rock themed, playing ACDC and the likes. Once again it was underground and full of smokers so we didn't have the most enjoyable time. After a couple of drinks and a dance we decided to call it a night.

The next day we did a walking tour of the Castle, Cathedral and John Lennon's wall. It was great to hear some of the history of Prague and seeing all the main sights. Afterwards we headed to the mains sqaure where we snacked on some roasted ham and bratwurtz. That night we headed out again but I don't remember where.

The following day we travelled out of Prague to see the Bone Church. Inside there are walls and Chandeliers made of bones, from the bodies of soldiers from world war two. Afterwards we headed to the town's local brewery where we had some drinks and dinner. I was really tired that night so decided to stay in and have an early night before heading to Berlin the following day.

I thought Prague was a really beautiful town and would love to go back in the summer time when the beer gardens are open and the temperature is a bit more friendly :)

Oktoberfest - Munich

On the 30th of September we caught a train from Salzburg to Munich (approx 1.5 hrs) where we stayed at A&O Hostel for Oktoberfest. That evening we met with friends and wondered the streets of Munich in search for Lederhosen's and Dirndl's for the following day's festivites.

First Time entering the HB Tent

Our Table in the HB Tent

The Band inside the HB Tent

We got up quite early to get prepared and head to the festival to make sure we got a spot in one of the tents for the day. Being a Tuesday the festival wasn't as busy as it is on the weekends so we easily got a spot with some other friends we met traveling. We spent most of the day in the Hofbrauhaus (HB) Tent where a few too many beers and food were consumed including spare ribs, half chicken's, pretezels and the infamous pork knuckle. There was also a lot of standing on chairs with singing and dancing. We often had people stand on our table, dancing and spilling beer everywhere. You aren't allowed to stand on the tables so these people we quickly assorted out by security. At around 7pm we decided to was time to leave the tent and try out some of the amazing rides. There was a roller coaster in the shape of Olypmic Rings that the boy's went on.

The Olympic Rings Rollercoaster

After that we headed to the Hacker Tent for some more beer and dancing. I liked the beer and atmosphere a lot more in the Hacker tent, the crowd seemed younger and the tent was decorated really well. At 9pm we realised we had ran out of money and that it was time to head home (probably a good thing!).

Inside the Hacker Tent

The next morning we shook out our sore heads and headed to the train station where our tour of Dachau Concentration Camp was departing. Dachau was the first concerntration camp in Germany and only hosted male prisoners. It was very interesting to learn the Nazi's first started these camps for communists and anyone who did not agree with they way Hitler wanted to run the country. Then they went a step further to try and create the country they wanted, they sent emigrants, homeless, poor, homosexual and Jehovah's witnesses to this camp and then eventually the crusade began on jewish people.

The camp was run by the SS who first made the prisoners do slave labour which included building the houses that the prisoners slept in. During this time the Red Cross would visit to ensure the prisoners were being treated fairly and each time the camp passed the test. The general public believed these camps were helping these people, teaching them labour skills, to help them work towards their freedom.

Cremation / Gas Chamber

Soon enough the camp was over following with prisoners. Each day many would die from starvation and disease. The SS would leave their bodies to rot and if a prisoner died inside, it would be another prisoners job to take them out for role call so the SS could mark the prisoner off as dead.

The Prisoners bed where up to 500 people would sleep at a time

It is still very surreal for me to believe that these events really occurred and that the human race are capable of such events but I am glad that Germany have kept these camps as a reminder that nothing like this should ever occur again.

That afternoon we headed back to the festival for some dinner before having an early night in preparation for another big day at Oktoberfest.

Pork Knuckle Roll - A hit with the boys

Dozens of Pork Knuckles

Thursday was Germany's Bank Holiday, a national holiday that celebrates the reunion of East and West Germany. Being a public holiday meant many German people had packed into the festival and by 12pm it was hard to get a seat even at the outdoor beer gardens. We ended up finding a spot to some nice German people at the Augustiner Beer Garden. Thankfully the sun came out for most of the afternoon so it wasn't too cold and eventually the beer also helped us to warm up! That evening we decided to give it a shot to get into one of the tents but at each tent were at least 50 people waiting to get in so we decided to call it a day.

The next day we said good-bye to our friends and Munich and travelled to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic via Salzburg.

Vienna + Salzburg, Austria

We arrived in Vienna on the 24th of September and stayed for 3 nights at Do Step Inn Hostel. Vienna is a great city for shopping and architecture. We saw many beautiful cathedrals, parks and did a lot of retail window shopping.

One of Vienna's Main Streets

Take-away Hot Gog Stands are found on every corner

Inside one of the Cathedrals

One night we headed to the Travel Shack, an Australian bar in Vienna, hoping to do a pub crawl. Due to it being low season they no longer do the crawls so we had a couple of drinks and then headed to Flex Night Club. Wednesday night is "Indie" night, there were a lot of young people there and the music wasn't great so we had a couple of drinks and headed home.

Overall we had a fun time exploring Vienna, especially going to Figmuller for a giant pork schnitzel!

The Famous Figmuller Pork Schnitzel

Then we travelled South to Salzburg, the famous home of the 1965's movie, The Sound Of Music. Salzburg is a beautiful town. Unfortunately the sun didn't come out for us once on our 3 night stay but we still had the pleasure of wondering around Salzburg's windy streets and walking along the river.

The Salzach River that runs through the centre of Salzburg

On our last day I did the Sound Of Music Tour, which consists of a tour bus that drives you around to the main scenes where the movie was filmed. We went to one of the mansions where the house scenes were filmed, drove past the other mansion where the front of the house and garden scenes were filmed (the people that own the property have banned busses driving down their lane way but you can bike ride down it). We saw the lane way where they ride their bicycles and climb the trees. The gazebo that "I am sixteen..." was filmed - The Gazebo has been removed from it's original position which was in the backyard of one of the mansions because too many people trespassed on to the mansions property just to get a photo in front of it. It is now located in a public park. We also drove to Mondsee, where the church is located that Maria got married in.

One of Mansion's that the Von Trapp's house was filmed at - also the river that the children and Maria fell in

The "I am Sixteen..." Gazebo

The laneway to the other Von Trapp's Mansion - Which the children cycled up and climbed trees in

The Other Mansion that we weren't allowed to visit

The Church Maria got married in

The Fountain the children and Maria marched around 

The Garden Maria and the Children ran through

We didn't go to the nunnery where Maria served time but you can go there in your own time, it is located in the centre of Salzburg and is where the real nunnery that Maria Von Trapp stayed. The Sound Of Music is actually based on a true story of a man with 5 children who's wife passed away from disease. Less than a year later, Mr Von Trapp went to the nunnery for help. This is where he found Maria who looked after the children and eventually became his wife. They really were singers and travelled around Europe preforming for many people. During World War 2 the family were requested to play for Hitler but they refused. Prior to this the eldest Von Trapp boy was a doctor and was requested to work for Hilter but he also refused. The family wanted to avoid conflict with the Nazi's so they relocated to America but were denied access due to lack of money. They travelled back to Western Europe where they toured around singing until they made enough money to move to America. Eventually they were allowed to live in America and here they still live today in Vermont, running a Holiday Lodge.

Michael at the Augstiner Brewery

That night we went for dinner at the Augustiner Brewery in preparation for Oktoberfest which was our next destination.

I really liked Salzburg and wish I could see it again on a summer's day as I think it would be a lot prettier!

Switzerland + France

Geneva

On the 19th of September we flew from Budapest to Geneva where we spent the night at a hostel and explored the city.

Driving from Geneva to Chamonix

The following day we rented a car and drove to Chamonix, France to meet my parents who hired an apartment for the weekend. 

Chamonix is a small ski town in the French alps, located 2 hours west of Geneva. It is known for its extreme ski runs, hiking and it's cable car that takes you to the top of Mount-Blanc.

View from our Apartment's Balcony in Chamonix

The apartment we stayed in was very extremely warm and cozy. The balcony backed on to the towns gushing river which also overlooked the surrounding mountain slopes. 

Chamonix Cable Car to Mount Blanc

The following day we went in the cable car to the top of the mountain - over 4000 meters above sea level. It was very cold at the top with many glaciers and snow slopes surrounding the main building where the cable car stopped.

View from the top of Mount Blanc

Afterwards we went hiking around the edge of the mountain. It took roughly 3 hours and was quite strenuous although very peaceful and beautiful! At the end of the walk there was a train which took us back into town where we soaked up the last bit of sunlight while enjoying a well deserved beer.

Hiking Trail around Mount Blanc

After-Hike Beers at Moo Bar

The following day we did a trip to Annecy, a larger town located a couple of hours from Chamonix. The town was very beautiful with many small cobbled streets selling market food and there was also a river, lined with restaurants and Ice cream shops. As it was a Sunday many families were out having long lunches, enjoying the last of the summer sun.

Annecy, France

The Market and Cafes along the river in Annecy, France

That afternoon I said goodbye to my Parents who had to be in Geneva to begin their tour of Switzerland. Then we headed back to Chamonix for one more night and in the morning drove to Zurich. The drive took roughly 3 hours and was very straight forward once we got on the freeway. 

Zurich, Switerland

That night we caught an overnight train to Vienna so we got to spend the afternoon exploring.