Visiting the Toblerone mountain

Am now in Switzerland after a wonderful week skiing. I was blessed this year to have excellent room mates, my group was generally fun and was part of an exciting social group where every night was a fun night.
The highlight though was definitely skiing alongside the glacier on grands montets. We started at  3300m, definitely the highest starting point I have skied from. The views from the top were stunning. The start was very steep, thin and bumpy. The actual run was more off piste than piste, the snow being knee height at many points on the way. A massive challenge, with group members losing skis in the snow when they fell. Luckily my skis could take a lot of tension (which isn't normally a good thing) so the few times I fell I kept my skis. Surprisingly I skied much better in these conditions. Maybe it was due to the softness of the snow, knowing it didn't hurt at all.
Overall the skiing this week has been tough. I have skied deep snow, moguls, ice, grass andin low visibility, but hopefully I have improved and become a better skier. Although I still have a little fear still about falling, especially on the harder snow/ice.
Now am sitting in a hotel in Brig, Switzerland. I have spent the day in the resort town of  Zermatt. Made famous for the first deaths of mountain climbers on its most famous mountain, the Matterhorn. What a stunner it is. I can see why Toblerone chose this mountain as it's logo. I even went to the spot where the Toblerone view is based from. Although it is not the tallest mountain in the alps, it is much more impressive than Mont Blanc. This is due to its interesting shape and the fact it looks more stand alone. Up close it is obvious why the Matterhorn is so hard to climb.
The whole Valley as a whole would be great to hike in summer. It is a nine day trip. The ski area looks more impressive than chamonix With higher runs. There is even summer skiing. and you can ski to Italy.
Was quite expensive to get to Zermatt though. You can not drive there as it has a no car policy so you have to take a train. This train has beautiful views the whole way, so is just about worth the cost.
Better go to bed now. Of to Bern tomorrow,  the capital of Switzerland.

Joshua

Merry Christmas from Chamonix

So here I am on Christmas Day just chilling out after brunch. Has been an interesting few days.
This year, opposed to last I have some fun roommates more my age, so the social aspect of the trip has been a lot better. We share our costs which makes things so much more manageable. The apre ski I went to yesterday afternoon was so much fun. With all of us dancing on chairs and tables to a Swedish band playing covers.
We also had an all centre Christmas dinner where we had gifts, traditional French Christmas food and random Carol singing. The bar provided us with gifts too. Generally junk, but some got lucky and got a nice beanie.
The skiing has been interesting. Not much base snow left on parts of the run, and so have to avoid stones and plants. Hopefully today it snows as the slopes desperately need it. This has been a challenge for me as I am in group that was already going to be a challenge. But I have survived. Keeping up just with the group I am in. Done some off piste for the first time and done some pretty difficult mogul runs. Done some good falling. But nothing unexpected there. The only issue with the group is that I don't get enough technique work as everyone else is much more advanced than I am.
Just heard snow rumours...... excellent
Merry Christmas all. Hope you all are able to reflect back on a good year. I can say my year has been amazing!!!!!

Another holiday, another blog

This evening I am in Geneva, Switzerland. I am here for one reason, it was phenomenally cheaper to fly on Friday then it was on Saturday. And why was I flying. Well I am of to Chamonix again to ski over Christmas, and the package starts on Saturday. Being based in Sweden, almost everyone I know has gone home or away for Christmas, and sadly Sanne is away travelling South East Asia, so can't celebrate with her.  So it is a chance to go do something I have learnt to do while living in Europe, which I love.
So while I ski there will only be a couple of blogs. The true writing will start in the second half of the winter break. I am travelling from Chamonix to the Matterhorn, Berne, Lucerne, Zurich Liechtenstein and finally Munich.
I am a little excited for this whirlwind tour. I have only once been to Switzerland previously. That was Geneva and I found it boring. Hence I haven't bothered doing much here this evening but eat. But Switzerland is meant to be about the mountains and cute towns. Swiss people have told me to not judge the country by the two major cities as they are fake and don't represent the country at all. So here we are. A weeks time I will be testing that theory. Fingers crossed that the theory becomes fact..
But first, the reason I came this way in the first place. The skiing. Hooray.
So not writing again until Christmas. Which reminds me, I am missing a swedish tradition again this year. ...... Kalle Unka.

Joshua

Last day

Today is the last day of the trip. And both of us woke up a little lethargic knowing we were ready to head home.
However we had one more stop. Pisa, where our flight was leaving from.
So we had a last stroll and meal in Florence and thought about going into the Duomo, but had no interest in lines.
We jumped on the train to Pisa. On arrival we did what every other tourist does. Headed for the Tower. And the rumour is correct, it is leaning. I wasn't very inspired today to do the cliché pictures at the Tower. Tyler was up for photo fun though. So after a very interesting photo we took that made us laugh, I got more in the mood for taking silly photos. Again we didn't go in, not just because of the line, but why go into something that might fall one day.....
Plus there wasn't much extra to see in Pisa. There is only the Duomo there with the Tower. So we headed back to the train station where we are now chilling out awaiting our flight back to Sweden.
Been a fun trip. Seen somethings I have always wanted to see. Been to places that have surprised me in a good way and eaten lots of good food. I also have to thank Tyler for the company. We have had plenty of laughs, and with us both being pretty easy going, have managed everything we wanted to do. Hope you have enjoyed the read.
Oh, and success, Italy managed to cheer us up after our first day. However hasn't necessarily restored my faith in humanity as everything in Italy was battles, wars, family feuds etc. Lucky I teach great students. Won't take then long to restore my faith.

Joshua

The heart of the renaissance

The last full day in Italy, and to be honest I am glad to be spending a whole day in one place after three days of traveling. Of course, being someone who had shown almost no interest in art throughout his life, and hasn't studied any history of this period of time, I knew nothing about this place. Well except that it is famous from the renaissance and the David is here.
To start my journey Tyler and I did a free walking tour. This taught me some history of the area such as the civil war in Florence and the reason for all the towers in the city. He explained the significance of the churches including the dome of the Duomo. The door on the basilica was explained, but still can't believe it took 23 years to make. And of course we saw the houses of three of the Ninja turtles. Only Donatello's place of residence when in Florence was not mentioned. We finished at the church where Michaelangelo and Gallileo are buried.
Due to the interest of the first tour, we went back for the 2 tour knowing it was a different route. Unfortunately there was a much bigger group this time so felt less personal. We did learn about the medici family, the significance of the David to the city, the old bridge that even survived the war when every other Bridge was destroyed. We finished at the palace with a story about the history of gelato, apparently being a Florence thing.
On this tour we meet Julia and Laura, a couple of German girls. They were friendly and wanted to join us for the walk to Michaelangelo piazza, the look out point for the city. We were happy for the additional company as we hadn't experienced too many travelers who wished to be social on our trip. (Except an Australian guy we decided to avoid as he only talked about beer pong).
The look out point was crowded as like the rest of Florence (was actually one of the busiest tourist cities I have been too) but still charming. We took daylight pictures, and then didn't have long until night pictures.
The evening finished with a humorous evening of dinner and drinks with our new friends.
Last day tomorrow, Pisa and home!
Short and sweet post.

Joshua

The misty mountains and the Italian countryside

After an interesting night of watching the San Marino locals sing karaoke which included sailor moon and dragonball Z songs, I awoke with some excitement for the day back up in the old town.  Unfortunately that excitement dwindled when I looked out the window. All I could see was fog! Darn it.
Oh well, we were only here for a little longer, and maybe for the only time in my life so had to make the best of the situation. And oh the shenanigans!
We did the typical tourist things such as getting our passports stamped and Visiting the towers. This was after we decided the vampire and werewolf museum and the torture museums were not a priority. The towers were cool but sadly the fog wasn't lifting. So after that we walked.... sounds riveting I know.
The exciting thing about this walk was we often left the path, resulting in us climbing on rocks hanging over cliffs that were about 700m high. Yes the poor visibility and most ground inspired a bit of crazy. However, while embarking on such shenanigans, the dog lifted a little and we were able to get improved photos of the country. An epic win for the lads.
The time came though that we had to leave this delightful country as we had a car to return in Florence. So of we went.
We hadn't learnt our lesson about avoiding the toll road, so again at out avoiding it. Today was somewhat more successful as we traveled through country roads and quaint little villages. We saw mountains, rivers, valleys. It was beautiful to see Italy in such beauty. We also had the fun of driving through mountains so misty we couldn't see more then the road immediately in front of us. Our Tyler, must of been such a strain on the eyes, and all the hair pins left him with sore arms as the smart car had no power steering. Glad we got rid of the car once we arrived. It is dumb driving in Florence.
Florence is great. It is completely different to all the other Italian cities. It is clean and is full of renaissance buildings, obviously, being the home of the renaissance. As it was Halloween we decided to go for the evening, although we had no costume. But by about midnight the adventures of the day hit us and we headed home. Although I did take Tyler on a few detours just for some photos. Tyler also was in the mood for winding up Americans, so that was a fun end to the night.
Tomorrow we will check out Florence properly.

Joshua

Remembrance and the oldest Republic

Today was again quite calm when compared to my days in Rome. But is one that will stick in my mind for a while to come. First was the trip to the Canadian war graves at Moro River. As you will remember from yesterdays blog, I was in the town of Ortona, an important Battlefield from WWII, and a place of significance for Canadians due to the involvement of Canadian troops. The grave we went to contained 1350 dead Canadian soldiers. But of more significance to me there was 42 NZ soldiers. Note anyone who knows me knows I am pretty intolerant to the idea of war, and with the exception of Gallipoli and Auschwitz (not a battle sight), I don't go to places for its war history. However, when it so happens I am at a war grave I will pay my respects. So no matter the time it takes I will always acknowledge every NZ by stopping at the grave and reading it and allowing the dead a moment of my time. It is the least I can do for the sacrifice they made. These are my countrymen and although I don't live in NZ, it is my home unquestionably, and this will never change.
After Tyler and I had finished, our journey began to San Marino. We decided to avoid the till motorway and take the coastal road. This was horribly slow with little view of the Adriatic. Instead it was a collection of towns that just moulded into one long line of dated buildings that seemed to go on forever. Eventually we could not stand the Italian drivers, the unnecessary traffic lights and the low speed limits so took the financial hit and jumped on the highway, and boy was this faster and I got to see the coast!!!
We eventually got to San Marino, the world's oldest Republic that has a constitution from 1253 that is still in use today. And what a worthwhile trip. If you get to Italy and don't visit San Marino also, you have truely missed out. Although located fully inside Italy, this country is nothing like Italy to look at. First it is clean! The Old Town was like stepping into a fairytale. Stunning. And being on top of a mountain, the views are incredible. Definitely one of the best Urban areas I have been to in Europe. And I have only seen the old town area in dusk and nightfall. What added to the charm was the clouds that would sweep over the town, and feeling the dew on the face as the cloud drifted around me. For once I am excited to get up early to see all I can before we have to head to Florence. I will miss the charm of this place.

Joshua

The battle for Ortona

Today was my easy day on my trip. It was the day where we made a detour that was very important to Tyler due to its military significance. Ortona was the sight of some of the most intense and ferocious battles in world war 2. This was a small Adriatic coastal town that the Nazis used as defensive line against the a attack of the allies. Much of the city was flattened and many lives lost. The battle was also remarkable due to the amount of hand to hand combat, at times seeming more like a medieval wall. To defend, the Nazis intentionally blew up buildings to cause the allies to move where the Nazis wanted them, and built lots of tunnels to move from place to place. However, the allies liberated the town, not that there was much to return too.
In the museum, I also learnt a lot of nz troops died in a nearby town trying to take another strategic point. This will make the graveyard visit more significant to me. Oh, and the lady at the museum had the nz style poppy, so got me one to wear on ANZAC day.
Obviously I missed a key part to the trip, the car ride in our smart car. What a funny car that is. Not much longer than me! Tyler did the driving today, and you could almost see the horror in his eyes driving in Rome. Luckily we got on the motorway quite quickly. The country side in Italy is stunning. A complete contrast to the cities the are dirty with generally unfriendly folk. If it weren't for Rome's history it would have been given the same judgement as the other cities I have been to in Italy.
Tomorrow we are of to San Marino. We are taking the coastal route to avoid the excessive tolls they have here. Cost twenty euros today and is meant to cost another twenty tomorrow. Cars are not the way to go here!

Sorry about the photos today. Hardly took any. The first is a view from the car. The second the castle in Ortona

Joshua

V is for Vatican

No this is not a sequel to a movie of the same day. Instead it is a continuation of my time in Rome.
We begin right after the conclusion of the previous post, when we decided to have a quick drink as not to seem lame in our own heads. A quick drink meant 4 hours. In this time we sat for a while at Trevi fountain, roamed the streets of Rome and ended in a bar called Trinity college where baseball, American football and football was watched. Whoa we are wild!
Monday was a later start as our Vatican time was pre booked, in order to skip the lines. So instead of tubing there we decided to walk and take in some more sights on the way. The best of these was the Pantheon. I have known this is famous, but like most things in Rome I couldn't remember our never had looked at what they look like. So to my amazement, the Pantheon was a little rough on the edges on the exterior, kinda like Rome on general. What was also interesting is why people think it is famous. Tyler knew the inscription on the front of the building, where I knew about the hole in the middle. This hole is called the occulus and it fills the centre of the dome (the dome was the first of its kind and was the inspiration behind other domed buildings such at St Peters basilica). Another feat of Roman engineering brilliance, just think of the symmetry of the building and the election of the columns that were made a one piece, not multiple pieces like most columns. And Raphael is buried here. Remarkably it celebrated 1400 years as a Christian Church having originally being a Temple for all Gods (pan).
After our speedy visit of a place that deserved more time we headed for our Vatican tour.
Now this was a three hour journey basically marveling at the grandeur and opulence of the Vatican. Every hallway is beautiful, tapestries everywhere. There were exhibitions about boat development in different countries, and so NZ is represented by a waka. Surprisingly there was thousands of pieces of pagan items that were either gifts or taken. One such exhibition was ancient Egypt. The art work throughout shows changes in culture over time, ending with contemporary art, which no offence to my artist friends, is not very good
If I had a child and they brought me work of that quality I may not even put it on my fridge let alone ask for it to be displayed at the Vatican.
The whole reason for the visit is to see the Pope's personal Chapel and the place cardinals get locked inside when deciding on a new Pope. This of course is the Sistine chapel. The painting is everything that people say it is. One of the most impressive pieces of work I have ever seen. And this done by Michaelangelo the sculpture. For those that don't know, the roof is the story of creation until the flood, with the famous man and Adam touching being the centre panel. It depicts prophets on the sides as well as other important people from the old testament. Then the altar wall is the last judgement seen and wow! You can see all his work in three parts - the back half that was done first.  Michaelangelo was not happy with it, so the front half is painted in a different way. Lastly the wall was done at the end of the renaissance and the start of the baroque eras many years after the roof was done. At this point Michaelangelo had lost his faith in mankind due to what was happening in the world at the time, so his incredible painting is darker. A man is holding what is the outer part of man, the skin and the face on the skin is Michaelangelo's. After his death, clothes were painted onto most of the bodies as the cardinals had begun to think differently about the appropriateness of nudity.
A nice visit. Was shattered after. There is certainly a lot of people crammed into this small country.
To finish the day Tyler and I visited Augustus' mausoleum and then chilled out on the Spanish steps.
Tomorrow is a morning in Rome before we drive out to Ortona.
Sad to go from such a grand old lady of a city, but excited to see what the rest of the week brings.

Joshua

An audience with the Pope

As we arrive in Rome I realised my stomach has settled. I am two hours of flying away from Auschwitz. The hostel was easy to find, but this was one of the few positives. Without the good location this place would be terrible. There is no common area at the place. This to me is a key to a good hostel. C'est la vie.
Having been up since 5am and the day we have had, we decide pizza and gelato is all we need before calling it a night.
First day in Rome and we get up early, it is free to visit the Vatican museums on the last Sunday of the month. But alas, thousands of other tourists share this same plan resulting in the biggest line I have ever seen to get into a place. So a new plan is formulated. I tell Tyler I would like to walk around an entire country in a day. Of course a day is a stretch, is more like an hour. On our journey we approach St. Peter's square. Something is going on, but what.....
It is Sunday, so of course it is mass. So we decide to go to mass although it's in Italian. That's right I went to mass at the home of mass! And what's more, the Pope was home, so he took it. Pretty exciting stuff. After a while, the lack of understanding got to me, so we left to see the other sights Rome has to offer.
So when in Rome where does one head next? How about the Colosseum. So Tyler and I head in that direction taking photos of anything that looked older than our countries. At the Colosseum we book our tour and then head off to Palatino Hill and the roman forum. Like Athens I got pretty excited. Pillars and archways are pretty exciting, and Rome has some sweet archways. Like Athens there are lots of temples to the God's. The same God's but with roman names. And of course the emperors were important, and everything they built had their name on it. So lots of Titus, Augustus, Nero, Caesar, Constantine.
Finally, it is your time which we only just make on time. This is due to cutting time fine to spend more time in the forum and then not finding the way out. We ended up running about a km and arriving just as the tour is leaving. So if I look sweaty in the photos, you will no why...... plus I am a little unfit a present.
The tour was great. We got to go to the third level which others do not get to do. The irony being we paid more to go to seats that were saved for the lower classes of Roman society. It is a very impressive structure, which if made in modern days would most likely have failed to last as long as it has. The saddest part about the Colosseum is that after the fall of the Empire, it was shut down as there was no politician who wished to pay for the events. This lead to looting of marble, stones and metals. The reason for all the holes is the extraction of metal used to help support the structure. The are no seats in the arena anymore as these were usually marble and so used for other purpose, and most of the statues are gone (maybe Skopje took them, haha).
Obviously not another crowning moment for mankind, as this was the home for the killings of man and animals for sport, but the architecture is something to behold.
Another tick off my bucket list, and the ancient part of Rome has not failed to impress. I walk in this area wondering what it would have been like 1700 years ago, the seeming splendour of the Empire. Would it seem impressive, or would I just think it common sight, or would I be more rebellious and just see it a glorification of some emperor who would likely be assassinated.....

Joshua

Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp

We woke up at 5am at hotel Connect Skavsta already ready for our school holiday travel. However a detour was being taken today, we would not arrive in Rome for another 14 hours.
We deliberately took a flight that had an 8 hour lay over in Krakow. One of the Eastern European cities used for stag parties. But instead of heading to the city, we headed west to Auschwitz - Birkenau.
This is the first place travelers mention when they mention Poland. A horrible thing to associate with a country, but unavoidable. Those that have been tend to talk about it with emotion. To me it had always seemed like the worse place imaginable, stepping into hell on earth.
The aura about the place is incredible. Ten kilometres away Tyler and I started feeling sick in our stomachs just thinking about what we might be walking into.
We approach, and there it is staring back at us, like every photo I have associated with the place, the train tracks heading through the death gate. The emotions suddenly heighten and I have not even entered. A symbol of whats wrong with mankind.
But you can't arrive and not go in. So we do. The train track continues down the middle of the camp, leading up where the most efficient gas chambers were situated. To the left and right were ruins and remains of the barracks people lived in. A place that held 90000 at any one time. A place nearly 2 million people lost their lives. I tread carefully, making sure not to deviate off track, as many grass areas were where ashes had been scattered.
The living conditions were horrendous. Tiny. Places where disease ran rampant. As if these people didn't have enough reasons to fear death. Gassing, hangings, shootings, doctors who did strange experiments, phenol injections to the heart.......
For the first hour it didn't seem real. I mentioned to Tyler that I was almost disappointed in myself as I don't think I was really taking in the magnitude of what I was seeing. My history was not enough. There was something missing. That was until the 'sauna'. A place people were herded into, disinfected and where they lost their dignity and their identity. People became numbers. Insignificant.
At the end of the sauna everything got very real. There were photos of people who had died there. Stories of families that lost everything. One story mentioned a man who came back to Poland after the liberation and found 1 of 178 relatives. Suddenly I started imagining life here. Working on conditions that were unfit for man. And you worked everyday until you were deemed useless. Like cattle you are then shipped of to die. If you were unlucky, you didn't even get to work. You instead stepped of a train where a doctor judged you and could send you straight to the gas chambers. Being lucky would involve kitchen work or perhaps labouring. Some jobs to me seemed worse than death. Cleaning your own people out of the gas chambers and into incinerators. Failure to comply would result in death. The only reason death wasn't better was because death had no hope.
This is a visit that will stick with me for the rest of my life. A reminder of what mankind is capable of....... horrendous, unforgettable, unforgivable atrocities. I was thankful to have gone, but won't return in a hurry.
I really hope that this place, as evil as it is, is used as a reminder of things that should never happen again, however I lack the faith to truely believe this will be the case, especially when you look at the history of man since WWII. As a species we are a disgrace.
After four hours of immersing me in the worst of mankind, I find myself needing to find some goodness in man, Rome I am counting on you!
My apologies for the nature of this post, but as you can tell, was a pretty tough day. I promise for a more uplifting tomorrow.
Joshua

Welcome Back

Hey everyone. This is the second trip I am blogging about. I enjoyed doing the first one as it has allowed me to look back at the trip and remember a few details that I may have forgotten.

This trip I am heading away to Italy for the school break. I will be with Tyler Heffernan, a friend and colleague of mine. Our trip starts with a day trip to Krakow only to visit Auschwitz. From there, we are back in a plane to Rome. We go Rome/Vatican --> Ortona --> San Marino --> Florence --> Pisa.

I am excited about this trip, but also apprehensive. When I first moved to Europe, there were two cities I had to visit before I would consider going back home to NZ. One was Athens, which some of you know, I went to in July. And the other city was Rome. So come the end of the holidays, my goals have been met. However, having travelled Europe as much as I have now, I have a new goal....to finish Europe. So another exciting part of this trip is I visit 2 new countries, Vatican City and San Marino.

Like I said, I am also apprehensive. Having wanted to visit this city since university, my expectations are obviously pretty high. I have been to Italy a few times, and have always been disappointed. Naples is a terrible city, Milan is a terrible city, and Venice has one nice spot, the rest of it......again terrible. My hope is that this trip won't follow the same trend. From what I hear, it shouldn't, and it has amazing old stuff which I love (like Athens which I thought was amazing, but many travelers seem to dislike).

So anyway, I will be trying to update this blog daily - sharing news of my hostels, the tourist attractions, Italians, pizza, gelato, pasta and general tomfoolery.

Hope you enjoy, and hey to any Pavlovians who may be following the journey!