Tales from a solo travel adventuress
Ten inches of snow fell unexpectedly overnight, so this morning everything was looking very very white, the snow ploughs were busy, and the temperature had warmed up to only -7 🙂
Finland! Like Iceland, this is somewhere I have wanted to visit because it is so far from life in New Zealand that I am drawn to it like a moth to a giant freezer. I want to feel cold to my bones, stomp in snow and ice, and see what the other side of the world looks like. And it looks beautiful. It’s so cold I feel like I have been punched in the face (Helsinki was -5 when I arrived and Rovaniemi where I am now was -13 when I got here, and it will probably will be -17 tonight). There is frosty ground and snow, babies are swaddled like Michelin men in strollers, their arms out straight with all the layers they have on. Kids jump on the new ice (as do I). There is a lovely vibe here, much the same as in my favourite Scandinavian countries. The rivers and lakes are newly frozen. Dogs pick their feet up quickly on walks around town. Today I walked across the arctic circle, and met Santa. The next few days will be mostly spent outdoors and I am so looking forward to it all. The new man boots did good today, my feet are warm 🙂 Also am wearing two coats, three thermal layers and two hats in these pics, and still felt a chill :0
Yesterday in Vienna I was walking in a t shirt and sneakers, trying to find some shade because it was so warm. Today I am back in my woollen layers, hat and long coat, and it snowed as I walked from the train station to my hotel in Helsinki. Such a contrast 🙂 I have only been in Finland for a few hours but I really love the vibe here, and I am excited to start exploring tomorrow. I’ve booked a 10 day adventure tour and have my fingers and toes crossed for snow.
This morning I found a hole in my boots, and as it is going to be cold and wet (and hopefully snowy) for the next few months, I invested in a new pair that will be suitable for the winter. I must have giant feet compared to the rest of the female population in Finland, because boots don’t come in my size and I had to buy a mens pair! but at least my feet will be warm and dry. I was eyeing up a second (more feminine) pair as well, but the salesman said to me ‘I could sell them to you, but I think the ones you have are perfect, they look good, and there are nicer things you could buy yourself’. He put it so nicely that I couldn’t disagree 🙂 So I took my man boots and my huge feet to the sushi place next door, where another nice person said ‘you look tired, can I suggest a wine and some food for you?’. Yes you can!
It really is the people you meet on your travels who make your experience awesome, and I have met some really lovely people with great stories. Yesterday I met Vladan, who is Italian but lives in Vienna with his wife and their young son. He is a fine arts professor, and offers interesting walking tours of his neighborhood in Vienna. He first met his wife when he was 14 and she was 12. She had come with her parents for a holiday to Italy, and they hung out and held hands and shared their first kiss. 29 years later, his marriage had ended, they connected on Facebook, agreed to meet on a train platform in Rome, spent a weekend together and got married soon after. “That’s amazing”, I said, “what are the odds of you both being available and getting together after all that time”. He said “I know” with a big stupid smile on his face. 🙂
The benefit of having a birthday while traveling is that you get to celebrate the day in NZ time, and in Vienna local time 🙂 Two cakes for me 🙂 🙂 🙂 Life is good. In fact, after 61 days on the road and only 1 not so good morning, life is better than good. It’s great. I can’t help but recall that ratio being more often tipped the other way in the 9-5 world I have temporarily stepped out of. There really is more to life.
Today was a stunner with 24 degrees and brilliant skies. Tomorrow I fly to Helsinki where the temperature is about 21 degrees colder than this :0 🙂
I had the best day biking and wine tasting in Wachau, only an hour by train from Vienna. Gruner Veltliner and Riesling are the main varieties grown here, 95% of the vines are planted with white, and the ones I sampled were yummm. Another winning tour booked through Air BnB, and highly recommend this one it was excellent; fantastic guide and awesome people to spend the day with. I only wish I had more of an eye for detail, and had noticed that the biking was 25km long…..I do like to bike, but haven’t ridden much lately and consequently I have a sore butt and may not be able to walk tomorrow. Ha 🙂 But I will seek out more Gruner Veltliner on my travels and at home, I like it a lot.
Vienna is back in my good books today – courier drivers stopped for me on pedestrian crossings (!!), the sun was out in force and the temperature rocketed to 24 degrees, and I was on a hunt for art and beauty. I have seen the film ‘Woman in Gold’ and was curious about the art of Gustav Klimt. The Belvedere Palace is where the paintings in this film were kept originally before being returned to their owner (and now on display in New York); and they still have several Klimt paintings on display. The most famous of these is ‘The Kiss’, which is so so beautiful I come back to it four times just to make sure I’ve seen it enough. Gold leaf and other precious metals are used in the painting (which is huge), and it literally stops you in your steps. Klimt is most famous apparently for his gold period, but there are many other stunning examples of his work here. This painting though is a stunner. I can understand why (rightly or wrongly) the museum wanted to keep the painting of Adele Bloch-bauer, because together these two paintings would be quite the drawcard. There’s a lot to see at the Belvedere – highly recommend booking a ticket online for the upper gallery where ‘The Kiss’ is housed, you have to select a time slot to go in, and based on the crowds I encountered today you wouldn’t want to rock up only to find it is sold out. The Palace is also set out in similar style to Versailles in France, so apart from the art, it is a gorgeous setting. I definitely found the beauty I was after (and more cake), and had a happy day wandering in this pretty city. Check out the film if you haven’t seen it, pretty sure I watched it online back in NZ. Oh and the soundtrack for today is Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing 🙂
Happiest of birthday wishes to my favourite person in the world, love you Jen, you’re the best daughter I could want, look forward to celebrating both our birthdays with you somewhere exciting next year xx
Or give me your food 🙂 Miss this little guy, he is a great travel companion. He’d be allowed to come with me on the train and into cafes, bars and shops here but he would also have to wear a muzzle…..which would be as popular as a visit to the V.E.T. Good thing he’s well looked after at home.
It takes a lot to get me in a bad mood, but today I struck more rude and unhelpful people than I have ever encountered, one after another; including some who refused to serve me (or look at me) when my German failed me and I spoke in English. Consequently, my visit to Vienna starts off on the wrong foot. Luckily this is a city known for its delicious cake (a well-known bad mood remedy), and after two pieces I am less grumpy and my expectations are adjusted. Travel can test your patience and understanding, and one bad morning out of 56 days is not so bad.
Vienna is where the Habsburgs ruled their empire for hundreds of years. It’s also the birthplace of the artist Gustav Klimt (see the movie Woman in Gold with Helen Mirren, they’re a bit touchy about it here), and Friedrich Hundertwasser (who moved to NZ and built the fancy loos in Kawakawa); Sigmund Freud; musicians Brahms, Schubert, Mahler, Strauss (Mozart and Beethoven lived here too); and at one stage Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and Freud all lived within a few blocks of each other. The Baroque buildings are so ornate they look like fancy wedding cakes covered in royal icing, with a bronze statue put on top for decoration.
I’m staying a little bit out of the city centre in Leopoldstat, in a vintage apartment tucked behind a Hasidic synagogue. It is nice to be away from the designer stores and tourists (and the rude people), and to experience a slice of life as a local. There is a bar just across the street where a cluster of older men sit each night to share a beer and a laugh; the cake shop to the right has the best torte; and I have Ultravox on the stereo playing Oh Vienna 🙂
The sun was out again today, so I put on my walking shoes and headed across the river to Prague castle. From a distance it looks like a huge fortress on the hill, and up close that’s exactly what it is; with the castle, cathedral and a small medieval village inside. Highly recommend a visit if you are here. The cathedral is beautiful AND (it was another good day for learning), the Habsburgs and Good King Wenceslas are buried inside. You know, the dude from the Christmas carol, who was actually a 9th century duke of Bohemia, which this country was once a part of long long ago, ruled by the Habsburgs. Now I’ve got that song trotting around in my head. Sigh.
