Our last day in Latvia

Because today is Sunday in Riga the shops don’t open till 10 or 11 so we decide to have a sleep in and a late breakfast, and what a breakfast it was. Our bodies packed with plenty of goodness we hit the tourist trail, first stop the former KGB building not to far from our hotel . On entering this place of shame I could feel the terror that this place bought to the Lativian people, to see the way humans can treat other humans was so shocking. And to think all this only ended in 1991 the torture and brutality I cannot bear to think about, I left this place shocked and disgusted as i walk the streets of Riga in silence . Later on we go to the Latvian museum of occupation 1944-1991 and hear more stories of this countries plight and listen to some of the survivors stories, just terrible. We pull the pin and head home for a short nanna nap before having drinks at 5.30 followed by a beautiful meal.

River canal Riga 

WADDA near the freedom monument 

Entrance to execution room at KGB headquarters

Saturday in Riga

After a hearty breakfast we hit the streets of an arctic downtown Riga armed with a trusty map and lots of faith, we are market bound. The Riga market is the largest in the Baltic’s it is also housed in 5 old Zeppelin hangers, fresh food was just everywhere. We head for Riga old town not to far away but get sidetracked by a big red bus, 15 euros later we all clambered aboard to be out of the biting wind . One hour later we return to the starting point after a very interesting trip, as WADDA ambles behind the twisted sisters who are armed with the trusty map they hatch another plan. Let’s catch the bus again because we’ve spotted some shops selling junk ,lap number 2 is identical to lap number 1 except we jump ship half way around. While we walk these beautiful streets of Riga WADDA is studying the architecture of the art nouveau period he is impressed, I smell trouble brewing sister 2 has handed the map to sister one. I make some inquiries but I am assured that all is well on the front line, we head back to the hotel for a 5 minute break then head off in a different direction. Yep you guessed it more rain and under the rules of art nouveau no verandas , we withstand this onslaught of this shit weather and push on.  One thing I’d like to say about Riga this is not a polished city but is an honest city and it’s citizens are very friendly , I think I hear the dinner bell so I go see ya........WADDA

Munich to Riga

Up early again this morning ,this time to swap countries as the family roadshow continues its big push through Northern Europe. Leaving Munich on the 0935 plane to  Riga in Latvia traveling with Baltic Air, a new plane so I felt a bit safer. Not knowing what to expect flying into Riga after leaving Germany ,it wasn’t long in a taxi from the airport to the city that a shudder ran through my body. The run down buildings on the outskirts of the city looked a little bit depressing , as the cab raced closer to the city things started to improve. You must remember that the soviets only left here about 30 years ago so all the renewing Is still taking place . So whilst here we intend to visit some of the old Riga, as we leave the Tallinn hotel the rain and sleet start to fall. One of our great discoveries on this trip is railway food so we head to the Riga station right opposite, and once again the station food is fantastic and  the service is slow but very very cheap along with their beer . Whilst the rain continues to tumble down we declare stumps and head to the lounge for a drink no photos today account inclement weather............ WADDA.                WHOA STOP THE PRESS the rain has stopped and the sky has cleared its now 6 pm we accelerate out the front door like a dog shot in the a..e to check out this historical city. Let me say we are not disappointed it has not got all the bells and whistles of a lot other European cities I’ve visited but this old city it’s just devine. The rough edges are soon forgotten as we master the traffic and language. We return to our hotel to plot tomorrow’s turn of events over some local beer and local food. Just took a few happy snaps whilst out walking.

Reflections  on water

Waddas new friendDinner of fish and purple potato 

Off to do some castle hunting

On the go early today because we are castle hunting not to far out of Munich maybe 100 ks or so up in the lower alps, today we will visit the Schloss Linderhof  and the Neuschwanstein castle. As we float down the autobahn in the slow lane of course I reflect on my 4 days in the German city of Munich, this easy going city of 1.3 million people is not without it’s problems but all in all it was a great city to spend some time. Now the first castle of the day was the Lindenhof situated at the foot of the alps, to me this king was not traveling to flash and  this would be the poverty pack for a not so rich king. Now Neuschwanstein it was a different story this bloke had more than a few bob , the hard upbringing by his parents made him a bit of a loner. So he moved out of home and built his own little palace just over the valley from mum and dad, and the sad bit he only lived in it for about 130 days he died at 40 years of age . The countryside up here is beautiful and the weather yesterday was 27 today in the foothills of the alps maybe 10 c , must go up early tomorrow to catch a flight to Latvia.......WADDA

The kids house 

The castle hunters

Waddas morning tea

Change of plan

We were all heading  to Neuschwanstein castle today but due to some transportation difficulties we’ve had to swap the days around, German alps today for me and the castle tomorrow. We leave the hotel at 0745 for a quick coffee at the station  WADDA will be catching a train for a 90 minute trip to Garmisch, this is the beginning of a my day alone in the Alps. I’m heading to catch a cog train up to Zugspitze the highest mountain in Germany, it stands some 3000 metres above sea level. As usual the German rail system is at its utmost best because this branch line train tops 160 kph and I’m there in a blink of an eye. At Garmisch I clamber aboard the cog train for the first 2000 metres then hop onto a cable car going straight to the top, and I’m not disappointed what a view from the top of Germany. The day is crystal clear but the wind strong so I stay well back clutching the back wall, I find the strength to stagger to the handrail and peek over for a quick look. The trip back down is even more spectacular because this is another cable car dropping down over 2000 metres on a bit of cable. When I opened my eyes the journey had already begun I notice a young woman looking at me and smiling ,I couldn’t see anything funny. She said everything was okay it’s all new and they were still testing it and nothing had broken yet, I flicked the iPad around taking what I could and kept looking straight ahead. At the cable car arrival point called Eibsee I’m the last man out and when i turned around to see where I’d just come from a shudder ran through my spine, WADDA has seen the last of the alps for awhile, but the Jungfrau in Switzerland will forever be my favourite mountain. I saunter back the Vi Vadi in time to wash that fresh mountain air out of my system and replace it with a nice cold German beer it’s time to go see ya........ WADDA

WADDA at the top

Lake Eibsee

Day one in Munich

After an early night where ready for a full day pounding the cobblestoned streets of Munich, and there are some rules regarding pedestrians. Most  of the footpaths are divided 2 thirds for the deadly treadle and one third for pedestrians and don’t forget it , because king of the footpaths over here are cyclists. We struggle with there rules for a while then fall into line with the rest of the foots loggers , and it seems to work ok. After a couple of laps on the blue bus we head to the Marienplatz a long  and crowded shopping and eating strip, WADDA tackles an apple strudel and runny custard just beautiful. Around the corner is a place called Viktualienmarkt that sells lots of food and beers and more trinkets , sister one feins a dunny break and heads for our hotel while sister two and WADDA keep pounding the pavement. I believe sister one will be sleeping when we arrive back at the hotel, yes I’m right again. Just a heads up on the next few days, tomorrow we all head for an all day trip to the beautiful Neuschwanstein castle. The following  day the sisters head of on the romantic road tour and you won’t believe that WADDA is going up Germany’s highest mountain some 3000 metres up ALONE .........WADDA

THE BAGEI BEAUTIES 

JUST LOOKING 

THE ROSES OF MUNICH 

St Moritz to Munich

Our short overnight stay at St Moritz was part of our big plan for the Glacier Express experience , the slow and beautiful trip through the Swiss alps was worth every cent. One thing I’ve learnt about the Swiss they know how to tackle engineering problems also how to run a railway, how they’ve managed this sort of construction is unbelievable. The Jungfrau is over 11000 feet and St Moritz over 6000 feet above sea level it’s seems near on impossible to transport people to these lofty heights. Our train departed at 1102 headed for Chur some 2 hours down the mountain where we board another train to Lindau headed for Munich,just clipping the edge of Lichtenstein also Austria. This cross country trip through the ever changing landscape of Germany was somewhat boring compared with the high alps of Switzerland, some hours later we arrive at Munich’s main station. The breathing heaving mass of people on there way home brought me back to reality, no this is not Switzerland. An uneasy calm crept over me as we scurried to our hotel. I said to the sisters we won’t wander these streets tonight , an Italian restaurant below the hotel was a sure bet for dinner. Another big day planned for tomorrow so I’m off....... WADDA

A balls eye view 

Typical Switzerland 

Photos

BMW 1100

The Glacier Express to St Moritz

On our only night in Brig we decided to tackle a fondue as our evening meal and what a delight it was ,with a pot of hot cheese lots of small spuds and plenty of small squares of bread and 3 long handled forks. With a very hesitant start we soon got into what we discovered to be a very yummy meal    ,and quickly polished it off. Today we caught the Glacier Express to St Moritz and the trip of about 6.30 hrs in total through some of Switzerland’s most spectacular scenery ,and was it just so amazing. This train is also called the slowest express train in Europe , on arrival at Saint Moritz the sky was clear but the air was brisk so we decided to hoof around this top end tourist town. This place is for the rich and famous and now with the snow gone it’s almost deserted, not quite a ghost town but not far from it. The lake outside our hotel is still frozen but the ice is very thin so no skating today  ,the Waldhaus Am See hotel where we are staying is a great old hotel in a great position .we are catching the train to Munich today so hoo roo.......WADDA

The lake from our pub

Snow drifts next to the tracks 

People traveling in cars on trains 

Off to Brig today

Up early today to head to our next spot on this epic holiday to a small town in the Swiss alps called Brig but I’m not leaving Interlaken without one last peek of my now well loved Jungfraujoch. You are drawn to it’s beauty like it or not , now the 9.05 to Spitz is now cancelled so we clamber aboard a bus. Our arrival in Brig goes smoothly and we head for the Victoria hotel just spitting distance from the station , a quick bag drop and the Sisters hit the shops with WADDA bringing up the rear . We check in and get ready to hit the wellness centre just out of town ,and maybe they can freshen old WADDA up a tad in the thermal pools. That might be too much to ask so perhaps I’ll just wallow about, and let them spend all their time on the Twisted Sisters . RED ALERT after 15000 odd ks this wallow pit is you guessed it CLOSED thanks for coming, feeling like I’ve been kicked in the guts we return to base to plot another plan. Nothing more we can do but declare the bar open and await tomorrow to see what unfolds, I’ll pop a few more photos on to fill up the page and bye for now.....WADDA 

Our last day in the beautiful Interlarken

Injured family

Not so injured family 

Interlaken casino 

After 4 days in beautiful Interlaken we decide to make this a day to remember,with nothing planned everything is the spur of the moment decision. 8.30 am we hit the tourist information centre for some guidance WADDA hits on the jet boat ride idea ,he gently persuades the Twisted Sisters that this could be fun. After shelling out 300 francs the sisters are convinced that the idea is also a good idea as we walk the back streets of Interlaken admiring the beautifully manicured gardens and parkland. The snow covered Jungfraujoch mountain takes this beauty to the next level and above, I’m just captivated by its sheer size and dominance it has over Interlaken. Whilst sitting on a park bench watching the world  go by some tandem para gliders begin to land before our very eyes, sister 1eyes begin twinkle I think she now has plan. As the para gliders start to land before our very eyes their idea is about to become a reality, WADDA not wanting to be part of this reckless idea is in sheer shock that my only 2 daughters could put poor old WADDA through this pain. So with my blessing I give them some advice, don’t fly with Hans Von Stacker because I’ve heard he is shit on the the landings . And for the love of god why would you strap a stranger to your back then jump off a mountain ,I must be old school . With their safe arrival back on terra ferma we head to the nearest cake shop to replenish my sugar levels. As I sit in the beautiful sunshine at the local plaza awaiting the departure for some real action in a very fast jet boat on Lake Brienz I play spot the local. With so many visitors from the Great Wall country I give up and find sanctuary in a pub, the time has come the bus is here and we head to the lake. We load aboard this red terror and hit the lake pretty soon Sinbad the sailor has the boat half underwater ,mess up hair and wet my jeans and scared me half to death. As you may see from the photos my family also took some punishment. Back on dry land we head back to our favourite eating house called PizPas for food and drinks and it now goodbye from this beautiful place called Interlaken........WADDA

What should we do

With the early retirement yesterday of sister number 2 the plan for today has fallen to manure , the rule for this trip were spelt out a long time ago. Shape up or get left behind sister 2 decide to shape up thank god . Good old WADDA worked long into the evening on a activity plan which included a 1800 franc helicopter flight to the Matterhorn which I thought was a tad expensive. My preference was a FREE walking tour of Interlaken it also got voted out(I wonder why) , Grindelwald gets another chance. This small town sits at the base of the northern face of the Eiger another famous Swiss mountain and there are plenty over here ,full of fun we catch the 8.05 to Grindelwald. Arrive early to catch the gondola up to a plateau to take on a walk around on some terrorising footpath attached to the side of the mountain. This may be fun for some but I’m not sure of the others, some happy faces at the tourist information centre when they say this stuff is closed today for maintenance. Plan B is to go to St Beatus caves instead now this sounds like fun, we catch the boat at Interlaken for the short trip across the lake. The remote location we were dumped at pricked WADDAS senses I know trouble when I see it, we take the trail which is listed for mountain goats and fools only. Sister 1 sets a cracking pace right out of the blocks and WADDA and sister 2 bring up the rear. With our lungs screaming for air on this death march we continue to move forward, as we round another corner sister1 has surcumbed to blisters. That now means that the sprinter is back with the stayers and we arrive at St Beatus cave as a family unit , to WADDA caves are for bats and bears not for people and pretty soon I wished to god I never entered this cold and eerie hell hole. The fear of a cave In is on my mind constantly until sister1says she has had enough , the speed I left this place would have blown poor old St Beatus out of bed. Anyway it’s still a nice spot to visit if you are ever in Switzerland, I’m done and dusted for the day so goodbye...........WADDA

T

Outside st Beatus caves 

WO

To the top of Europe

As daylight breaks over the beautiful Interlaken WADDA is out and about walking the streets road testing his new Jack Wolfskin coat,the air is brisk  as daybreak creeps over the alps . As Interlaken is not yet awake I have all this beauty to myself, looking at these snow covered peaks as daybreaks over them is truly amazing. As breakfast nears we had better fuel our bodies for what will be probably be the the biggest day in my 68 years, this will be special . This 2 hour journey takes us on some of the steepest and most spectacular scenery you’d you would ever wish to see, I can hardly believe that this is not a dream. As we climb higher the air becomes thinner and the scenery more beautiful, looking skyward you can see our final destination it seems an impossible task. On arrival you take a few big gulps of the crisp mountain air and go WOW ,we head outside to the viewing area it’s minus 2and a fairly brisk breeze but not a cloud in the sky . So button up for this is what it’s all about and we spend about 30 minutes exposed to the elements then head for cover. We tramp around for awhile gathering a few trinkets before starting to make our way down, altitude sickness has struck down one of the Twisted Sisters so the decent will be sooner than later. The going down was just as good as going up until we reached Grindelwald a small village sandwiched between a couple of mountain ranges, sister  2 wasn’t yet ready for any more shopping so we headed home. Now I’ll never know if I liked Grindelwald or not, maybe it’s just another village .A decision will be made later regarding tomorrow’s action. That it for today good by........WADDA

Inside the ice cave on the Jungfraujoch Mountain marker

Me and them