Finding our accommodation in our 'mountainside town' proved very difficult thanks to some very ambiguous directions (or as she called them, "constructions") from our Russian-Austrian host Evgenija in Hall in Tirol, a medieval town about 15km east of Innsbruck. We checked into our room, where pink satin covers and girls clothes seemed to indicate we had kicked out our host's daughter from her regular bedroom, awkward. That evening we walked back into town and expl...

We arrived in Innsbruck on the 11th via an amazingly scenic train ride from Zurich through Lichtenstein and the mountains that surround the city of Innsbruck. We had no idea that the austrian landscape was as naturally beautiful as that of Switzerland with all it's mountainside towns and crystal clear lakes, but as we sped through tunnels of mountain rock and shot out into scenic villages, we were amazed! We spent just 2 nights in the city of Innsbruck, as we wa...

We arrived in Zurich just in time for five days of warm Autumn weather. Lucky for us we staying with nat's cousin Emma, her partner Chris and their 4 month old son Oliver, in the 3rd floor apartment overlooking Lake Zurich. With private access to the lake, we divided our time here between relaxing by the lake with a beer, exploring the city, walking the local woods, seeing the new Batman, making cheese fondue and eating some of the best chocolate of our lives (co...

Hello from Switzerland! As we began to descend into Basel on our Easyjet flight, we were reminded how much we both love this beautiful, scenic country, even if it is crazy expensive! The bus took us to the bahnof train station and just two blocks walk later we were at our YMCA hostel, which became top 2 best hostels we've ever stayed in. The kitchen was enormous and immaculate, with sensor cooktops, 2 sinks and every kind of pot and pan you could ever need. The...

The morning of the 31st of August found us on our way to Madrid to meet up with Cherie 'Flamenco' Morgan and celebrate a very special occasion... the 25th anniversary of the day Natalie 'Raelene' Blackledge bounded into this world. We arrived in Madrid around lunch time and after checking into our very nice and centrally located hostel, we headed off to Parque del Retiro, voted one of the most beautiful parks in Europe, with a pinic of cheeses, salami & chor...