On the road to Tyrol, Austria we stopped by the Swarovski
Crystal Museum. It was one of those things i was not really interested in i was
just going cos all my friends on Contiki were but it turned out to be really
cool! It’s not just a bunch of fancy things made of Crystals it’s a trippy
museum of lights and weird creative things.
The first thing about Tyrol i notice is it is beautiful are
similar to Switzerland, very picturesque. Again similar to Switzerland we
happen to have arrived on the day of a local festival (Markfest) and festivities
are well under way. Before heading out to the festival Kyle and i sneak off for
a Schnitzel dinner, i had no idea Schnitzel originally comes from Austria and
they serve it with cranberry sauce. Tastes good but i mean once you’ve had the
Birk Schnitzel not much else compares. That’s the first thing im doing when i
get home, going to the Birkenhead Tavern for a Birk Sauce Schnitty.
After dinner we head in with our Contiki group to join in
with the local celebration. The festival is just a couple of bar lined streets
roped off and lined with bbq stalls, kids toy stalls, people in traditional lederhosen (picture below)
and of course plenty of drink stands. We
start by trying the local made Schnapps... It was gross tasted like a really
strong Vodka shot to me. I think there were alot nicer flavoured ones but after
that first one i wasn’t willing to test anymore! So next drink stand we stop at
they are offering a free large vibrator with every six drinks purchased so of
course our tour manager (Lucian - Pommy Contiki tour guide of 7 years) has to get one. He eventually convinces Drew to buy the six drinks
so he can have this Vibrator that he used to stir everyone’s drinks and
basically chase around any of the more prudish of us! Last stop for the night
we find a pub which has built an outdoor bar and dj deck out the front for the night that is
packed and playing all the popular songs at the moment. So as everyone’s getting
pretty messy, dancing (jumping) on wooden tables until they
break, making towers of mini jaeger shot bottles, bar staff on the bar dancing,
it all of a sudden it starts to pour down with rain. It’s still hot as in
30 + degrees but its pouring and most people stopped dancing and ran for shelter... for a second then run
back out and continue dancing in the rain! It was so cool everyone is drenched not caring about looking like drowned rats,
drunk and dancing oh and Holly is now topless dancing around in her bra! Hahaha
was definitely an experience i won’t forget! European's know how to party!
Day 2 Tyrol, Austria: This morning Kyle has headed off on a
mountain bike tour with some of the more athletic of our Contiki while I stayed
behind and enjoyed evil WIFI. (our tour manager Lucian hates WIFI) Lucky i didn’t
go because Kyle said the ride was hard work and alot of uphill riding to the
top of a mountain and then sped back down the other side through the Austrian
countryside. As soon as Kyle returns we are off again to a paragliding place
for Kyle to brave jumping off a big fat mountain. (I’m not keen on near death
or hard work experiences on my holiday if you haven’t gathered) He said it was
worth every penny of the 120 Euro it costs if anyone is interested in giving it a go.
That afternoon Me, Kyle, Kat, Benn, Michael and Clint head
to a local Trout farm to do some Trout fishing. It was really fun for 9.40 Euro
each you get a rod, bucket, bait of corn kernels (so i even baited my own hook!)
and fish killing stick ( :(
) and head to the pond to catch some delicious Trout! How it works: you can
catch as many as you like and once your done you return your bucket full of
fish and receive a ticket to have one fish per person cooked up and served to
you with chips and salad! Unfortunately for us after about 5-6 minutes of
fishing it began to pour down with rain and hail (mind you it still wasn’t very
cold weather about 20 degrees, just wet!) so the only people who managed to
actually catch a fish in that time were Kat and Kyle but we still all got our
ticket when we returned our bucket and gear and had a fresh trout for lunch
each. It was really delicious i'd do it again for sure!
Dinner that night was just in the hotel and we got an early
night for once. Phew.. Till next time!
- K
Playing with the lights in Swarovski
One of the floor's lights up with crystals as you walk on it in Swarovski! Of course Kyle had to try running away to trick it.
Swarovski crystal and fairy light Jellyfish
You could get lost in here!
View from inside a mirror ball at Swarovski
A typical Tyrolean house
Kyle Paragliding over some Austrian Mountains (you have to imagine the mountains they were there just not in the pictures...)
Kat's victory shot after paragliding :)
Kyle found his way out of his parasail eventually
Some expert Trout fisherman at work...
The fruits of a hard 5-6 minutes work fishing!
Yeah buddy de-boned that Trout myself! (Thanks to Sam for the step by step instruction)
Sneaky photo of a local in Traditional Lederhosen on his way to Markfest
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