Our year of travel hasn't gone quite
according to plan - but all the highlights have been
there. The economic crisis hit early in the year which
limited the last minute trips we might otherwise have done.
China and Tibet
View
of the Potala Palace in Lhasa
Our trip
to China was one of the highlight of this years travelling.
We'd planned the trip with Journeys
Worldwide, a Brisbane-based firm we went to Libya with,
several years ago. The main goal of the trip was to see
the total
solar eclipse at Hangzhou but, sadly, totality was
obscured by beligerant and complete cloud cover from the
viewing location. Conversly, we throughly enjoyed our few
days in Chengdu and the trip
to Lhasa. Both were unforgetable parts of the trip
so, I would love to return to both on any subsequent
trip to China.
Switzerland
Marktplatz
during Morgenstreich at Basels Fasnacht
The year did start well with our usual visit
to Morgenstreich as part of the BaselFasnacht
celebrations. Basler Fasnacht has become an annual
event in The Mark Travel Calendar and I've now been for
the last 6 or 7 years from the 9 or so years I've been
living in Switzerland.
We also visited the Abbey
at Saint Maurice which was a fascinating guided tour
through the oldest Abbey north of the Alps. Originally
a Roman fortified position, owing to its strategic location,
the Abbey was founded by Saint Maurice - who was martyred
by the Romans for refusing to accept the divinity of the
Roman Emporer on account of his Christian faith.
Main
square in Neuchâtel during the Wine Growers Festival
The Neuchâtel
Fêtes des Vendanges was a heady mix of wine festival
and street party. Local wine from local producers flowed
from stalls throughout the city all weekend. Guggenmusik
bands roamed the city throughout Saturday night, stopping
only for the impressive and equally noisy fireworks display
over the lake. Naturally enough, drink driving is not encouraged
- but the fun fayre does boast an excellent array of rides
including a set of don't-dodgem cars.
New Zealand
My trip to New
Zealand and Hawkes
Bay in particular was sadly short but equally enjoyable.
The city of Napier was extensivly rebuilt in the Art Deco
style in a two year period after a devastating eartquake
in 1931. We had a most enjoyable walking
tour of Napier with the Art Deco Trust. Hawkes Bay
is well known as a wine
producing region - so an enjoyable Bay
Tours & Charters through several of the vineyards
was a most amenable way to spend the afternoon. The Gannet
Colony at Cape Kidnappers provided not only close access
to the Gannets - in several colonies - and sweeping views
across the cliffs of the Bay back looking back to Napier.
Austria
The
exterior of the Abbey at Melk
Our sadly short visit
to Austria took us to both Vienna and
to Melk. I've
been hoping to visit the Abbey at Melk for a number of
years now- but simply didn't get round to it. It's architectural
significance is not in dispute and the repute of its library
is immortalised in Umbero Ecos fantastic novel "The
Name of the Rose." We enjoyed our visit
to a Hueriger in Grinzing in spite of it having the
appearance of a "Leicester Square Experience." While Vienna
is always great to visit for its extensive history.
From this trip, I was also pleased to discover the
Hotel
Romischer Kaiser, Vienna (Annagasse
16, Vienna A-1010)
which is a fantastically decorated Baroque style hotel
in central Vienna.
2009 - in retrospect
16th January 2009
Our year of travel hasn't gone quite according to plan - but all the highlights have been there. The economic crisis hit early in the year which limited the last minute trips we might otherwise have done.
China and Tibet
Our trip to China was one of the highlight of this years travelling. We'd planned the trip with Journeys Worldwide, a Brisbane-based firm we went to Libya with, several years ago. The main goal of the trip was to see the total solar eclipse at Hangzhou but, sadly, totality was obscured by beligerant and complete cloud cover from the viewing location. Conversly, we throughly enjoyed our few days in Chengdu and the trip to Lhasa. Both were unforgetable parts of the trip so, I would love to return to both on any subsequent trip to China.
Switzerland
The year did start well with our usual visit to Morgenstreich as part of the Basel Fasnacht celebrations. Basler Fasnacht has become an annual event in The Mark Travel Calendar and I've now been for the last 6 or 7 years from the 9 or so years I've been living in Switzerland.
We also visited the Abbey at Saint Maurice which was a fascinating guided tour through the oldest Abbey north of the Alps. Originally a Roman fortified position, owing to its strategic location, the Abbey was founded by Saint Maurice - who was martyred by the Romans for refusing to accept the divinity of the Roman Emporer on account of his Christian faith.
The Neuchâtel Fêtes des Vendanges was a heady mix of wine festival and street party. Local wine from local producers flowed from stalls throughout the city all weekend. Guggenmusik bands roamed the city throughout Saturday night, stopping only for the impressive and equally noisy fireworks display over the lake. Naturally enough, drink driving is not encouraged - but the fun fayre does boast an excellent array of rides including a set of don't-dodgem cars.
New Zealand
My trip to New Zealand and Hawkes Bay in particular was sadly short but equally enjoyable. The city of Napier was extensivly rebuilt in the Art Deco style in a two year period after a devastating eartquake in 1931. We had a most enjoyable walking tour of Napier with the Art Deco Trust. Hawkes Bay is well known as a wine producing region - so an enjoyable Bay Tours & Charters through several of the vineyards was a most amenable way to spend the afternoon. The Gannet Colony at Cape Kidnappers provided not only close access to the Gannets - in several colonies - and sweeping views across the cliffs of the Bay back looking back to Napier.
Austria
Our sadly short visit to Austria took us to both Vienna and to Melk. I've been hoping to visit the Abbey at Melk for a number of years now- but simply didn't get round to it. It's architectural significance is not in dispute and the repute of its library is immortalised in Umbero Ecos fantastic novel "The Name of the Rose." We enjoyed our visit to a Hueriger in Grinzing in spite of it having the appearance of a "Leicester Square Experience." While Vienna is always great to visit for its extensive history. From this trip, I was also pleased to discover the Hotel Romischer Kaiser, Vienna (Annagasse 16, Vienna A-1010) which is a fantastically decorated Baroque style hotel in central Vienna.
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