Astypalea

Astypalea is also known as the butterfly island of the Aegean Sea and I would also go so far as to call it Isle of Goat, as I have never seen so many free goats running in one place.

Unlike Santorini which was already making strides into the tourist season, Astypalea was as good as empty and that meant, secluded beaches, first rate restaurant service, cheap prices, easy parking and lots of attention from street cats.

The island reminded me somewhat of Australia in that its landscape was rugged and red, the shrubbery dry and the roads empty and rough. We rented our first 4WD and scaled the entire island for off road beaches and white churches on hills. There was always another road to trail and there was never a guarantee we’d make it because many roads were fenced off or too rough. We spent most days at the beach or exploring the local town on the west wing of the island. The local town circles up to a castle, one that is more so a ruin even visible from the other end of the island. It is the main tourist attraction and has fallen victim to many earth quakes over the years. It was here where we crossed paths with an elderly couple that told us their trip to Astypalea marked their 50th official Greek Island visit.

It’s places like these, that i would recommend in a heartbeat because i feel they are untouched. They are the treasures that aren’t on the front cover of Greek Island travel books. They are stumbled upon – and that makes it all the more precious.

Sunset in Naxos

A short stop between Santorini and Astypalea, in Naxos we got our Greek Sunset. After arriving in the late afternoon we had several hours to kill before our midnight ferry to Astypalea. So we found ourselves a nice taverna and ate traditional Greek food and a pizza.

Santorini

Last week Patrick and I set off to the Greek islands with no idea what to expect other than churches with blue domes. Currently, we are on-route to Naxos with Blue Star Ferries and I felt inspired to take the time to write sometime for my blog which has been neglected for far too long.

Early on our hosts told us to rent some kind of vehicle to tour the island. However, only until we saw how far reaching the island truly was, did we decide on an ATV. Lucky for us, the off season goes until the end of May which meant for 32€ a day (instead of 45€) we could explore every nook of the island, go off road and follow our own schedule. The ATV provided a level freedom which I think is ideal for Santorini and I would definitely recommend it over cars, as parking, petrol and the experience is second to none.

Pyrgos was our home for the last several days and whilst it wasn’t the capital of the island, it was very central. Not overly touristy and laced with over-priced souvenir stores, it was quaint, almost forgotten as the capital had since become the cliff side town of Fira. With a view over the entire island, Pyrgos is rich in history, beautiful tavernas, antique stores and stay cats. It was perfect for us. Its narrow alley ways and perfectly potted succulents made it a lovely place to come home to after a day of exploring the island.

Beaches are especially special to Patrick who has grown up in a German village far from the ocean – so exploring the shores was definitely on our agenda. The famous black beach of Perissa is definitely worth a visit – not only because of the laid back vibes and vibrant promenade, but the small back pebbles act as a free foot massage and don’t stick to you like sand does. We also joined the crowd who ignored the caution signs at Red Beach and perched ourselves neatly under the mammoth cliffs. In recent years, the risk of landslides at the Red Beach have doubled and this is evident on the shores, where every five meters of beach has fallen victim to a landslide that has been zoned off. I enjoyed my time here but found myself walking at an unsettling pace while we scaled the clearly unstable cliff to safety. The final beach we explored was for cliff divers. Tucked away under the cliffs of Oia, the water here was crystal clear and a prime destination for those looking for a bit of an adrenaline rush. To reach this secret swimming spot, we marched down (and later back up) the 220 steps behind Oia to Ammoudi Bay, walked through a line of waterfront restaurants and then trailed a dusty path under the cliffs until we could dive into what was in that moment – epic.

Our ATV allowed us to cruise up the mountain on the South-East side of the island for Sunset. There’s a monastery up there and numerous small chapels along the way. We also hiked along the ridge at one point to watch the planes land at the airport below. The highlight for me was managing to make it to the top of Skaros Rock in my poorly planned attire (a dress and flip-flops).

Whilst we spent every day exploring and cruised around the entire island on our ATV, I’m still leaving with the feeling that there’s so much more we could have explored. Thank you Santorini for the beautifully unique villages, friendly hospitality, incredible food and most of all that unforgettable view.

Barcelona

Barcelona is a difficult city to describe after only being there for four days. It’s a place i wish i could spend more time in my life. It reminded me a bit of Berlin, in a sense that it’s overwhelming, its big,  and it’s very much ‘underground’ in that it takes time to appreciate the city for what it really holds. We spent the first few days strolling around the city, getting our bearings right before we realised taxis were the cheapest most efficient way of getting anywhere and they had air conditioning – which is a gift in the heatwave we have battled through. The first day we went up on of the mountains near the water and sat for two hours looking down over Barcelona. We felt a breeze there, and cherished the time as much as we could. It was beautiful as you could see everything. We found a secluded spot between the trees and chilled, there was even a fire in the distance in one of the high rise buildings which we helplessly watched burn from the other side of the city. We later met up with Brodie’s younger sister Jamie who happened to be in Barcelona the same time as us with her friend Zoe, so we went out for Tapas and Sangria and enjoyed the night running around the city together 🙂 The next day we did a walking tour around the city and went to the Picasso museum which was also awesome. Overall, what i found to be the most incredible in Barcelona was the architecture. Antoni Gaudi and his masterpieces are scattered all over the city, and we visited many of them. Park Güell is beautiful at sunset. It’s a place that looks over the entire city like the hill from the first day but a different vantage point. Unfortunately, in the last year the city has started milking it as a tourist destination and has started charging an entry fee of 8 euros. Its fair, but unfortunate. Apart from Park Güell, the most iconic, impressive piece of architecture i have ever seen was the Sagrada Familia which is Gaudis masterpiece. Its simply indescribable…  To imagine how much of his life he dedicated to this building, which is still to this day no where near finished is astounding… (there are some pictures below but it just doesn’t do it justice) The building is huge it literally towers above you and the highest points that have been completed today will be doubled in height by the middle tower which will reach 170m in heigh and should be completed by 2026. We spent a morning at the beach, which was awesome, until Brodie got a wee-bit sunburnt and couldn’t sit down anymore normally 🙂 The beaches in Barcelona are relatively new and were only built for the 1992 Olympics, where they imported all the sand from Egypt… This was awesome, when you look at the sand, especially in the water it glitters like little pieces of gold which i thought was very cool. Our hostel was hilarious and the people very helpful, always giving us free drinks and shots 🙂 Overall, my time in Barcelona was special because i know i will go back in the future and know my way around enough to experience it on a new level. Four days is not enough for a city like Barcelona… it has too much to give.

Arles

It was only a day, and it was a very very hot day. But it was enjoyable. Arles is a relatively small Frech town, inland between Marseille and Nimes. Its known for its beautiful old buildings and sweet atmosphere. Brodie and I, being the fair skinned people we are, have found the sweltering heatwave we have found ourselves in on our travels to be a struggle on more than a few occasions. Arles was one of those, with over forty degrees we strolled the streets of the city, exploring the buildings and cafe houses, but theres only so much the human body can stand in those conditions. In the afternoon we went for a well deserved swim in the hotel pool and relaxed before dinner. For dinner we went to a lovely restaurant in the old town where i ate (almost) an entire wheel of french cheese. It was also a struggle to say the least, but delicious. We drank a lot of wine and fumbled our way back home where i tried to learn Spanish drunk – it didn’t work haha

Here are a few photos from our day in Arles 🙂

A night in a bubble in France

I would write a description but i think these pictures pretty much sum it all up.

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Cassis

Yesterday, Brodie and I took a relatively short bus trip to the neighbouring town of Marseille, Cassis, and it was oh so beautiful. The bus trip in itself was epic. Marseille and many cities in Southern France seem to be surrounded by huge mountains, so to get to Cassis we had to drive up the winding roads into the mountains which look down over Marseille and back down into Cassis. It was one of those roads where i wished i was driving a convertible with my music blasting and my hair blowing in the wind. But a well air-conditioned bus also wasn’t too bad, so i shouldn’t complain. Initially we had no idea what to expect other than canals with crystal blue water, but the town itself and the castle on top of the hill were also super gorgeous. The pebbled beaches, with the multicoloured umbrellas reminded me of Mediterranean beaches. I used my french to find us the tourist office and from there we took a beautiful boat tour around the Calanques, had a huge lunch and hiked around the canals ourselves all afternoon, jumping in the water and swimming around exploring. Stupidly i wore thongs (flip flops), because its just ridiculously hot and converse are exhausting but this proved to be a challenge climbing and slipping over all the rocks. Was entertaining though for a while, and i never truly owned myself like some people did. We were lucky enough to find our way back to bus stop without a map in the late afternoon, which im quite proud of and we took the beautiful bus trip back just as the sun was shinning over Marseille. All in all an awesome day 🙂

Marseille

Marseille, blown away would be the perfect way to describe it. Being in such a rush coming from Southside Festival, Brodie and I had hardly any time to check the weather and plan what we were actually doing. We woke up on our first morning to the perfect summer day. We strolled the streets, got ourselves lost, bought ourselves a punnet of strawberries and sat by the port and watched the ships. We walked more in one day than I think I have ever walked unintentionally. Around midday, after some delicious breakfast crepes and orange juice we powered up the biggest hill in Marseille, to the Notre-Dame de la Garde, which had a view of the entire city and the islands off it. Afterwards we walked around the labyrinth of back streets down to the water and then headed to the beaches outside the heart of the city. Most people sat on the rocks and jumped into the crystal blue water, diving around with the seagulls amongst the rocks. Brodie and I went to a beach where we lay under a sun where we normally would have burnt instantly. We chilled for an hour, trying to decipher the French being spoken around us, went for a swim and begun one of the nicest seaside walks of my life. It took about an hour and a half to walk back to the Hostel, but we had the most epic views and past the most beautiful beaches. Arriving back, with happy hearts and sore legs we decided to grab burgers at the Hard Rock Café around the corner from the Hostel. My burger the ‘Hockey Beef and Bacon Burger’ cost a small fortune but was honestly one of the best burgers I have ever eaten and since I’d spent hardly any money all day, I delighted in my purchase. Tired but content, we are very very happy in Marseille.

Gute Zeit

Saturday was the Gute Zeit festival in Konstanz at the Hörnle Stadion and the perfect word to describe it was awesome. It has only been in the past weeks or so where the weather has transitioned from Spring to Summer and that Saturday afternoon the sun was just perfect. It wasn’t aggressive like it is in Australia, nor was it too hot. It was simply the perfect temperature, with that breeze that continuously reminds you how great it really is ha-ha. I went with my german housemates and our friends, so i was the only girl in the group but it was enjoyable nonetheless. My music taste changes so much when im in Germany and this was the perfect festival to dance around to my music. Here i listen to minimalistic techno and electro which i sometimes find strange considering how much i love The National and Foals. Its so different and i just embrace it now 🙂 I think i associate it with my experiences and freedom in Berlin and it just lifts me up. This was the first year for the festival and as a consequence, it wasn’t overly crowded. You could get such good snackage food, drinks and wurst and there were never any queues which just made the experience that much more enjoyable. There were two stages, a little one amongst the trees and nature and then a bigger one which totally went off at night. We bought the water pistols we bought on amazon and ran around squirting people and each other. I also danced so much i got a stitch. So all in all – Successful day. Es war echt ne gute Zeit ❤

Here are some photos of my with my friends and a photo of the festival  🙂 I also filmed heaps on my goPro haha

Pfahlbauten und Affenberg in Salem

Last week I thought to myself, what does it mean to settle in to a place, and is that necessarily a good thing? To settle in, in my eyes, means to no longer feel like a tourist, which has definitely started to happen to me. Today was special for me, because I got to feel like a tourist once again, and I loved every minute of it.

My friend Lisanne and I joined in on a University planned trip to the Pfahlbauten on the Bodensee and the Affenberg in Salem. The Pfahlbauten are reconstructed houses built in the 1920s, which replicate those from 3000BC. This was by far one of the coolest places I have ever experienced. I already am in love with history so to walk in the same place that was alive with civilisation over 5000 years ago was simply incredible. The museum was also super cool and interactive, and all-round an awesome visit. Afterwards we had lunch on the lake and I fed some ducks so much of my pretzel they got greedy and started edging too close for my comfort so I bailed before they could get aggressive. From there, we went to the Monkey Mountain (Affenberg) in Salem. Before toady, I had experienced monkeys only once in my life, in Bali. And to my dismay, they were thieving little shits, cute nonetheless, but cunning. But these monkeys… angels. So cute, and polite. We fed them popcorn provided by the keepers walked around the gardens for a few hours.

Here are some photos from my day.