Monday, 26 March 2012

Mamma Currie Travelganza 2012 Part 1

27th February Day 1: After weeks of counting down, the day was finally here! Up early with our backpacks in tow we walked to the hire car place to pick up our beast for the next 16 days. The car was an Opal Astra Turbo Diesel, we took off straight away as we needed to visit the Russian embassy to apply for our tourist visas before picking mum up from the airport just after lunch.


The drive from Innsbruck to Munich was loads of fun, we felt really free, like we could go anywhere we liked for the first time in months. Marc also got to drive on the German Autobahn for the very first time (no speed limit!), it was sensational the little car first got up to 180km! We were giggling like little kids as that was the fastest we had ever been, next Marc got her up to 200km! Traveling so fast next thing we knew the trip was over and we were in Munich, Marc was stoked he said it was kind of like going on your own personal roller coaster. After the embassy we made our way to the airport to pick up mum, after finding her we made our way into Munich. So good to see mum again, it had been about 12 months since we last saw her in Canada and was so good to be reunited.

That afternoon we made our way back to the hostel to check into our room and go for a quick walk around Munich. Our quick walk turned into quite the opposite we walked around most of downtown Munich; Frauenkirche - Catherdral of Our Blessed Lady, Marienplatz, Victuals Market and climbed 'Alter Peter' for a great view of downtown munich. By this stage is was dinner time so we made our way to the Augustiner Keller shared a meat plate, salad and drank some delicious beer. Mum was very tired after her flight so after dinner we had some night caps and had an early night.

Day 2: A big day planned for sightseeing we had a pretty early start and made our way out to Nymphenburg Palace. The weather was a little colder and wet then the previous day but it did not concern us too much. We walked around the grounds which were still all boarded up for winter then headed inside for a look at the palace. The palace was all very grand, we got too see some of the bedrooms, the gallery of beauties and the insane carriages and sleighs of King Ludwig 2nd. It was interesting touring around with Marc and mum; mum liked to absorb as much knowledge as possible where Marc likes to breeze through all the displays and use his catch phrase when we have been somewhere too long 'Seen it' which basically means time to move on. Unfortunately we were a little rushed (not because of Marc) as we wanted to get to the glockenspiel by 12 and only had 1.5hrs to check out the palace but still had a good time.






In true 'Currie' style we ran 30 min late to meet our friend Baran but made it just in time to see the Glockenspiel, mum enjoyed the show but it was no 3D movie! Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat, some delicious leberkase in a roll and then Baran toured us around to some more of the sights; Odeonsplatz, Residence Palace, Standing wave (mum loved!) and the backwards clock. 
A little cold and tired by this stage we dropped into the Hofbrauhaus to purchase a souvenir maß, then onto Lowenbrau haus for another maß but this time stopping to sample some beer. Now everyone was much warmer, a little happier (after all the beer) and a bit heavier as Marc had pocketed an extra maß! We ventured back to the Augustiner Keller for our last maß for the collection. By this stage we were all a little drunk and Marc asked the server if we could take a maß home for free in which she replied no. However as we were leaving Marc pocketed another maß but not wanting to get in trouble I made a fast walk for the exit leaving Marc and mum to deal with the waitress who was calling them back to the table. Cool as a cucumber mum turned around to see the waitress holding our bags full of glasses Marc had left behind!
For dinner we grabbed a quick bite to eat, dropped off our loot at the hostel and then headed out to Kunstpark an old industrial park that had been turned into a nightclub district. Unfortunately we had arrived way too early as the clubs did not open till 10 and we had arrived at 9! With not much else open on the Tuesday night we headed back to the train station and hung out at Hungry Jacks until 10. It was hard work keeping motivated to stay out once we stopped, Marc and Mum recharged on red bull and some post mix coke while we waited for 10 o'clock to arrive. Poor mum was very tired and was struggling to stay awake especially after such a huge day and getting used to the time difference. The time finally arrived and we headed back to the clubs, being a Tuesday night only a handful of places were open, but you take what you can when your traveling and make the most of it which we did. We all had an awesome night and danced our little butts off until about 2 in the morning when we finally made the decision to call it a night especially with another big day planned for day 3.
Day 3: After a little sleep in we were all up and checked out of the hostel around 9am; after a quick stop at the Russian embassy to drop off our payment and application, another quick stop at Munich Harley Davidson, we left Munich and visited Dachau. Hungover and tired Marc opted to stay in the car having already visited the site, so mum and I went for a look. I think mum enjoyed Dachau but found it extremely sad, seeing it a second time was not too bad for me as I actually got to learn a little more about it again. 

In the afternoon we hit the road again and made our way back to Innsbruck first stopping at Garmisch Partenkirchen. We attempted to take mum to 'Partnach Gorge' but unfortunately it was closed as it was too dangerous with falling ice and the warmer temperatures. Instead we had a walk around the old town then met up with our friends Jim and Kati for dinner. Great to catch up with our friends but mum got a little sick (probably jet lag finally catching up with her), so we had a quiet night and drove back to Innsbruck. 

Day 4: Great to be able to show mum our little apartment in Innsbruck and be at home so we could kick back and relax a little. Had a very slow day as mum was still not feeling the best. Went for a snowboard at Patscherkofel, a great mountain to ease the legs back into ridding.

Day 5: All feeling refreshed and recharged we hit the road and headed to Ischgl for the day. 1.5 hours and 20 tunnels later we had arrived. The first gondola was a little slow but once at the top we had a great time, in the morning the snow was a little icy and hard but by the afternoon the snow had softened and we had a lovely time ridding the back bowls. A pretty big day mum did an awesome job keeping up and going everywhere we went. That afternoon we stopped for an 'Apres ski' schnapps and beer before heading back to Innsbruck.




Day 6: Tourist day in Innsbruck checked out the sites; Golden Roof, St James Cathedral, Old Town and The Inn Bridge.


For lunch we went for a hike up the mountain to a place called 'Planotzenhof', not really knowing exactly were it was we stopped at the first place we found but after asking for directions found we had not even gone half way and had a bit further to go to get there. It felt like an hour later we finally arrived. 'Planotzenhof' was a lovely old farm house on the top of a hill with amazing views looking over Innsbruck and a fantastic winter garden that we got to enjoy while we ate our lunch. For lunch we shared three plates, Wiener Schnitzel, Kase Spaetzle and a meat plate. The food was fantastic and well worth the hike up there (even though I did complain a lot along the way!). With full stomachs the walk back down was much nicer especially going the right way. On the way back we stopped off again in Innsbruck to find mum some new shoes to replace her old faithfuls that were falling apart. Luckily we found shoes in the first store we went into, then made our way home. On the way we stumbled into an art show looking for some Innsbruck 'Art work' we did not find anything but managed to get interviewed because we were from Australia, the interviewer was young and nervous but did a good job. Hopefully we will never see the footage as I think I was bossing mum around a bit in the interview he he.











Day 7: We hit the road again, this time heading to the Arlberg area and a place called Lech. The drive was really cool, loads of tunnels again but this time the tunnels were much older, one after another as we followed the mountain valley into Lech. There had been over 3 meters of snow during winter and you could see all the snow towering beside you on the drive in. Our day at Lech was another fantastic huge day; The scenery was stunning and the terrain was fun; no fresh snow but the warmer conditions helped soften up the existing snow. For lunch we stopped at a restaurant and had a bite to eat, it was a little pricey but the most expensive thing on the receipt was mums 10.50euro whisky sour, one of the best drinks she ever had but a bit more then she was expecting to pay. That afternoon the team was exhausted but we managed to find our way back to the car and safely back to Innsbruck.
Day 8: The old leg muscles were a bit tired so we had another rest day so not to over do it. The weather had turned a little crappy as well so better fun to play tourist any way. We made our way to Hall in Tirol an old fortress and town only 20 min down the road. We enjoyed walking around the old town but unfortunately nothing was open, not too sure if it was a Monday, lunchtime or bad weather thing but everything was closed, we even struggled to find somewhere to eat. There was a bakery open so we stopped to warm up and enjoyed some pastries. After lunch we continued walking around and looked at more closed shops and even a closed museum. All in all it was a nice cold walk but great to get back to the warm car. On the way home we stopped in at Harley Davidson, but that too was closed!
Day 9: Last day in Innsbruck we headed to St Anton, unfortunately the weather was still overcast so the light was super flat. We had a little bit of fun ridding the mountain but over all the snow was hard and icy. Loosing interest fast we decided to head to the highest peak to see if we could get above the clouds. We made our way to the gondola and after a little wait were on our way to the top. After a long ride through the clouds next thing we knew we were on top of the world with blue skies and endless sunshine it was amazing, actually everyone in the gondola went 'WOW' when we passed through the cloud. At the top we took a hundred photos then stopped in at the restaurant for some lunch. Everyones spirits had been lifted and we did not want to leave. After lunch we took the second tiny gondola even higher to a crazy look out point, a hundred more photos we thought it might be a good idea to do some more ridding before the day was over. There had been some fresh snow overnight and we managed to find a couple of fresh tracks which mum even managed to do! At the higher altitude the snow was amazing ad we had a little bit of fun at the top before heading back to reality underneath the clouds :( 


















The end of the day we had a walk around the village before heading home; after a couple of souvenir purchases we actually found a figurine that looked exactly like my dad, not able to pass up such a perfect replica mum purchased mini dad to take home.

Back in Innsbruck we stopped in at the harley store one last time and luckily this time it was open.