Europe Fall 2007

In 3 weeks we visited Whistler, Frankfurt, Prague, Munich, Florence, The Cinque Terra, Pisa, Bordeaux, Paris, Rome, Paris, Toronto and Niagara on the Lake as well a 2 weddings, a RWC game. Countless churches, museums, points of interest, cheap hotels, pubs, train stations, airports, Internet cafes, restaurants and even managed to run into people from Vancouver, my old boss from Australia and a guy from Narrabri i have not seen in over 13 years. So with 700+ photos it was hard to limit them to 20, but here goes.....

In front of the Bohemian National Museum in the New Town Square, Prague.

Above the Old Town Square in Prague.

Nikkers with the Presidential Guard at Prague Castle, home of the Czech President. They did not look as mean as the French Army guys wondering around Paris with automatic machine guns.

OKTOBERFEST!

Nikkers in the Lowenbrau tent about 10am, first drinks are at noon. We got there at 9am and there were no seats left inside.

At Neuschwanstein, 2 hours out of Munich in the alps was the home of King Ludvig II of Bavaria. It was the castle that Walt Disney saw and based his design for Sleeping Beauty`s Castle.

The view from the castle towards Fussen.

Part II

Prost!

Having a couple with some of the locals at our table. From the left was a guy that was born in Montreal, Phil from Frankfurt and a young guy how sounded like he learnt English from watching Borat, so we called him, Borat.

After a those couple.

Florence and The Domo in the background.

Me and Davo. At over 5m tall it is an amazing proportionate, incredibly detailed sculpture from one piece of marble about 550 years old. You could see the veins in his hands and the tendons in the back of his knee, though it must have been winter!

Riomaggiore, in the Cinque Terra was our home for 2 nights is the first of the "Five Lands". Not exactly the weather i was expecting for the Mediterranean but still better than Vancouver. A 9km hike links the 5 villages which with lunch took us 5 hours.

Around the point from Riomaggiore we hiked to the next point and village Manorola.

One of many great view's looking back at Manorola and at left centre you can see the trail. The hillside was terraced all the way with olive trees and grape vines. Between the third (Cornigila) and forth (Vernazza) towns the trail we hike was the only way too Vernazza up until 20 years ago, it happened to be the longest and hardest section.

The Fifth and last town, Montorosso is the biggest, most developed and commercial of the five was where I cooled off my feet, i can now say i have been in the Pacific and the Mediterranean!

In Vancouver people lay on the ground and ask for money, in Rome they dress up as Spartans, pose with tourist and make a nice little earning.

Part III

Trevi Fountain which is huge, probably four stories high with amazing marble sculptures, only about 2-3 hundred years old.

Nikkers and I standing in the smallest country in the world and in front of St Peters Basilica.

Some guy in a toga and a Land Rover, he must of been famous by all the cheering we heard!

Naughty, Naughty! A photo of Nikkers and I in the Sistine Chapel. The line up was non existent but it took 1.5hrs to walk through all the museums to get to the Chapel. An amazing room with incredible paintings that on the roof apparently depicts the bible in pictures. Photo were not permitted in there but after an hour and a half we earned it. Of all the photos we took inside, non of them really came out that well....Spooky!

Hanging out by the Colosseum. An amazing, massive building finished in 80AD that housed everything from Gladiator fights with each other and wild beasts to naval battles. It turned out that it was too small so they made smaller boats and a larger stadium somewhere else to amuse themselves by. Animals from the far reaches of the empire, such as bears and tigers were hauled up to the floor by mechanical lifts(immediately in front of me would have been the floor, the ruins in front were rooms and cages that housed the animals and gladiators beneath the floor, across was the stadium seating) to fight gladiators in the arena that was decorated to duplicate the animals natural environment. Apparently at the lunch break, criminals were thrown in naked to fight the animals.

A cool shot at night!

Yes its true! After a nice picnic on a hill beside the Colosseum at dusk and a few bottles wine, i finally broke her down and she said yes!

Nikkers at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was crappy all day but by the time we got to the top the skies had cleared.

On our last night in Europe and nearly three weeks away and a day of more museams and churches and the big hunk of steel behind us, it was time for a dinner and a beer!

Canada Day 2007 - Juan de Fuca Trail

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail on the west coast of Vancouver Island, we hike 20km from Sombrio Beach (Jordan River) to Botanical Beach (Port Renfrew).

First we had to catch the ferry to Victoria on a Friday night of a long weekend. Here we are looking East through Active Passage, a narrow pass between 2 Gulf Islands where the ferries usually pass. You can see the ferry above the navigation light on the left under the clouds building up over Vancouver.

Sunset looking West over Vancouver Island.

Sombrio Beach at the start of our trail, this is where we will spend our last night.

At the start of Day 1, 13kms to go.

We only got one photo of the mud and this shot does not give it justice. The distance obviously did not take into account of climbing up and down muddy ravines which made it harder than we imagined. At one point one of our group was up to her waist in mud. It took us 7hrs to hike 13kms......a long 13kms!

Nearing the end of day one. Most of the trail we followed the coast through muddy rainforest with with glimpses of the coast. Behind you can the Juan de Fuca straight and Islands.

Nikkers and Stef near the end of Day 1, 2 very tired hikers at this point.

The start of Day 2, a massive tree on the trail.

Lunch on Day 2.

After the severe storms last Fall we saw many trees blown over. Here Jessie and I check out the root ball of this one, the biggest of the most recent that have fallen. Notice the boards that we are standing on, these continued until the end. Day 2 and the remaining 7kms we a breeze after the previous day of hell through 13kms of mud. This hike is the closest thing to the Kokoda Track that I will experience.

Nikkers and I taking a break.

Made it! Here at Botanical Beach Nikkers and I check out a the rock pools and marine life that gave this beach its name. Hundreds of pools can be explored at low tide and it was great to finish the hike and wash the mud from our boots.

These little green creatures were everywhere in these pools and Nikkers was fascinated by them, some of them the diameter of your hand.

One of the bigger green thingies in a pool by the ocean.

Camp on Day 2 back at Sombrio Beach and Canada Day. As we were having breakfast in the morning we spotted a pod of about 15 Orca cruising by about 200m of shore. My first sighting a Killer Whale.

After hiking 20kms, setting up camp, dinner, dishes and a few drinks for Canada Day we tackled some charades which turned out to be quite funny!

A cool photo of us by the fire with Brad on guitar, we amused our selves by singing limericks about Juan de Fuca and why the hell he would make a hike in all that mud.

My lateset thing....

Climbing! I did not think i would like it as much i have. Though when you are outside, exercising, in remote locations laying around in the sun, what is not to like? Its largely mental but also physical but you do have to be fit. The best thing is that there is no referees.

Being built for rugby is of no real advantage when you are hanging on by your finger tips.

But first you need to set up an anchor, leaning the ropes as they say from Gibbons.

Thanks for the shoes!

Poor Beth having a real struggle belaying me as i take a rest. The taught rope behind Beth is the anchor to keep her on the ground if i fall.

Ahh that's better!