Organize your Own Trip

Video from Austria

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:32:00 +0000

This short footage shows our experiences in our trip to Austria on April 2.005. Austria...

Sazburg, Austria

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:15:00 +0000

In the past, I did a comment about hostels being good or bad to spend a night. Today I talk about Salzburg. Youth Hostels in Austria are really good. I've been three times in Salzburg and I always booked at the same hostel: Familiengästehaus Salzburg.

This Youth Hostel is situated in the very city center. The price is a bargain, above all if you book a room for four, €18 (per person, per night) and breakfast buffet included!!. Besides, this place is only 5 minutes walking from visiting the historic landmarks of the city. May not mistake if you visit this beautiful city, this is your best choice...

Contact details

SALZBURG
Josef-Preis-Allee 18 / 5020 SALZBURG
TEL 0043-662-842 670 FAX 0043-662-841 101
E-MAIL: salzburg@jfgh.at

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Touristic flight over Santander

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:09:00 +0000

Did you know you can fly over Santander? Thanks to a company called Hélice aviación. They offer 3 different routes through a light aircraft, Cessna 172H:

Route #1 Western Cantabrian coast. This flight takes about 30 minutes and comprise the city of Santander and the seaside little towns from Liencres to Suances.

Route #2 Eastern Cantabrian Coast. This trip, which also takes 30 minutes, goes through Santander city and the seaside towns of the Western Coast such as Ajo, Noja, Santoña and Laredo, among others.

Route #3 Western Coast and Picos de Europa (Peaks of Europe). This flight takes one hour and comprise the Western Coast and after gaining altitude tacks to the south in order to fly over the main peaks of the range.

The price depends on how many people go. This light aircraft can hold up to 4 people, pilot included. Obviously, the most affordable flight is achieved with a group of three, who would pay €80 each in route #1 and #2, and €130 in route #3.

Undoubtfully, this is a kind of experience to enjoy the region and the landscape...

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Santillana del Mar and snacking

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:37:00 +0000

Santillana del Mar is the most beautiful town in Spain. This Cantabrian little town is one the most visited and has no waste at all.

It is notable for its XII century Colegiata de santa Juliana, a real gem from the Romanic architecture. The town of Santillana is full of hotels and shops with regional souveniers. Also remarkable are the museum and Altamira's Caves where you can admire the palaeolithic cave paintings. Although the original cave remains closed to the general public, it is possible to visit an accurate replica of it.

Since I was a child, I use to taste a glass of milk with a typical cake or cheesecake you can buy in a shop, called Casa Quevedo. To get there, just go straight on the main street to the Colegiata. When you can see it at the background, there is a basin with a roof in the middle of the street (look at the picture down) and then, at your right, is Casa Quevedo. There, you can order a glass of fresh milk with a cake for just 1,50 €. Definitely, the best place to have a snack...

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Climbing to the Breithorn 4.164 m. (13.658 feet) Alpine Style

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:51:00 +0000

The climbing to the Breithorn is one of the most astonishing experiences you can do in

Switzerland

. To be honest, it was our first complete day in Zermatt and we decided to go up to the viewpoint of Klein Matterhorn Paradise (3.883 m. 12.739 ft.). To get to this point you need to take three different cable cars from the village of Zermatt (1.620 m. 5.315 ft.). The first one is the typical small cable car, which gets you to Furi station (1.864 m. 6.115 ft.).

From Furi you take a really big cable car, even bigger than a school bus, which gets you to the following station, i.e. Trockener Steg (2.939 m. 9.642,39 ft.). The second choice from Furi is to take the cable car to Schwarzsee paradise (2.432 m. 7.979 ft).

There is another big cable car to be taken, from Trockener to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (3.883 m. 12.739 ft.). From here you take a lift and then some stairs to the highest viewpoint of Europe. You can feel the altitude and you are advised to move slowly…

You can see in the up picture, the marvelous sight from the viewpoint of Klein Matterhorn (3.883 m. 12.739 ft.)... On the left side of the cross, glorious Matterhorn (or Cervino 4.478 m. 14.691,60 ft.) shows its western side.

In the picture down, the attractive Breithorn (4.164 m. 13.658 feet) attracts you, be tempted by the climbing... To be honest, when you are there, watching at a hell of a view, you suffer a kind of euphoria, which compels you to go up... up!

The adventure began in the bar behind the viewpoint. We took a break and left towards Gobba di Rollin to go round the glacier and to face the Breithorn. In the picture down, at the background is Gobba di Rollin (3.899 m. 12.759 ft.), in Italy. From there, it’s possible to go down to Breuil-Cervinia (2.050 m. 6.726 ft.), in Val D’Aosta.

Down, the glacier which has to be avoided to face the Breithorn…

The ascent begins… the Matterhorn on the right. On the left, the Klein Matterhorn viewpoint…

This part of the ascent was easy…

A break for some chocolates…

It becomes harder and harder... we follow the track left by the skis all the time…

In the down picture, we go beyond the rocky line that we saw so far from the beginning of the ascent… (see the following picture)

…the rocky line, up to the right…

Moments of crisis…, Nacho gave up, he had problems with his boots… I started to go down with him, but in the last minute I get back to go up and to catch up with Daniele… we were so close to the summit..., about 15 minutes…

We can see the other side, the valley of Zermatt, Nikolaital…

One step left to the glory…

Breithorn summit 4.164 m. (13.658 feet) over the see level. Luigi...

and Daniele... On the left at background, the Matterhorn remains almost at the same level of us…!!

A breath-taking sight... weather is beautiful...

Klein Matterhorn down there… (on the left).

Having a look down… a giant slide…!

Breithorn (on the left) and Klein Matterhorn (on the right) from the station of Rotenboden (2.815 m 9.236 ft). We got it!!!

The little village of Zermatt ..., the mountains…, german language and a very cute church… the better place for your honey moon!

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The Hadrian’s Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:12:00 +0000

In my last trip to the United Kingdom, I went from England to Scotland by car through the M-6 and A-74 roads. The former frontier of the Roman Empire is just in the border between England and Scotland.

This frontier marked physically the frontier of the Empire in the Roman province of Britannia and it was known as the Hadrian’s Wall, the most heavily fortified border in the Roman Empire. Nowadays, it is possible to visit some ruins. The wall is entirely in England and south of the border with Scotland by some miles (15-70 mi). Although there are signs to the Wall, we took our time because the access has to be made through country roads. Actually, you really are in the middle of the countryside…

As I said before, there are only some pieces or debris of the old Wall so, you can go to several places along the border to visit them. Anyway, it is an interesting visit from the cultural point of view…

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Trip to the South Pole

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:29:00 +0000

Hey! That’s not a joke. It’s absolutely true. A trip to the very Geographic South Pole can be organized. Actually, I have found an agency, here in Spain, that makes that for you… A trip to the South Pole is very attractive, but requires a bunch of permissions, equipment, etc… You only need to have savings for the sum of thirty one thousand eight hundred Euro (€31.800). The agency's name is ‘Mundo Explora’ and they’re specialized in providing exotic tours to the most remote places of the planet.

I’m determined to save money in my next trips in order to take this challenge. On their website you can see the trip organized day by day. It is a dream to emulate the achievements of Amundsen, Scott or Shackelton, but also to behold the beauties of Antarctica such as Aurora Australis (Southern Lights)… A dream that can be true!

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Wilder Kaiser-Hintersteiner See

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:48:00 +0000

The best attraction in Austria is to enjoy its mountains and countless lakes. One exciting excursion is Wilder Kaiser at the foot of the majestic Kaiser Mountain in the Tirol Region.

To get to here take the road 178 from Sankt Johann in Tirol to Kufstein. Then we take the exit to Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser and we just follow the road to the Hintersteiner See. The first thing you can see is the parking lot and the restaurant. We didn’t pay the parking because the access was free. It’s a big advantage travelling on a low season as April.

View Larger Map

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The most famous castle of Scotland

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:17:00 +0000

That is the Eilean Donan Castle. In Scotland there are a bunch of castles, but this one is worth to be visited. It is located on the West coast of Scotland, just before the bridge that allow the access to the magnificent island of Skye in the inner Hebrides.

We went from Ullapool, in the North, to Skye and this castle was on our route. It is a quiet place and we had enough time to get some rest after lunch. There is a restaurant and some shops to buy souvenirs. It's the perfect stop before going to the island of skye...

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Video from Roccaraso

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:18:00 +0000

I have just uploaded another video from our last trip to the Winter Resort of Roccaraso. On this one you can see Daniele recording live from the snowboard...

Skiing at the Apennines

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:54:00 +0000

Only 200 Km (125 miles) from Rome you can find the biggest winter resort of the Apennines. This place have nothing to envy the Alps for. I have been there with my friend Daniele after Easter Sunday and we found tons of snow, something really weird to find in central and southern Spain on late March. In fact, weather was cold and we even skied throughout the blizzard...

We established our base camp on a little mountain town called Campo di Giove, located 17 Km (10.54 mi miles) away of Sulmona in the Italian region of Abruzzo, which is famous for its confetti, a kind of m&m's chocolates which with they make beautiful flowering shapes.

Once again, I get surprised by the rough landscapes you can find in Italay out of the Alps. We enjoyed spectacular views such as the Gran Sasso (great stone) with 2,914 m. the highest summit of the Apennines and others like Majella group (Monte Amaro 2,793 m.). Large beech forests and some firm represent zonal vegetation in the area.

Campo di Giove is a unique place to get some rest. It is quiet, small but full of local color... From there, we went every day to Roccaraso. There is a direct access from Campo di Giove to Roccaraso, but its closed in Winter due to snow. So we had to go round about 30 Km. through mountain roads to get there.

All the trails are really exciting and you can find all different levels of them, blue, red or black.Ski pass is about €26-€32 a day. And ski and boots rental is about €15 a day.

Here are the photos and videos:

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Krakow April 2.005

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Yesterday, April 2nd we commemorated the death of John Paul II, the pope who has filled an important part of our lifes. In the beginning of that year 2.005, I started to plan my trip I wanted to make after the Holy Week, in mid April. On November 2.004 I visited the Südtirol, a region in the North of Italy which was lost by the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I. I got pretty shocked about the Alpine landscapes, so then, I was determined to visit Austria and get a good knowledge of the Alps on my following trip.

While planning my route to central Europe, I noticed that the capital of Moravia, i.e., Brnö is relatively near Krakow, so I felt so keen of going there, as well as Wadowice, the birthplace of John Paul II. And that is how we set our visit to Poland, approximately on April 7-8th of 2.005.

After the Holy Week of that year, the pope John Paul II died. It was on Saturday April 2nd about 09.00 pm. I was deeply affected by the death of John Paul II and my feelings were conflicting. In one hand I felt the lost of a father, and in the other hand I felt the Christian truth that Karol Wojtyła had finally reached the Eternity. Under these circumstances, I didn't feel very happy of going abroad. But we felt his presence everywhere... In every catholic church of Bavaria an Austria there were portraits of him and the flags of the Vatican fluttered from the most distinguished buildings of the cities we visited. From hostel to hostel we followed the news about the ceremonies and the impact of his death on the public opinion.

Although my trip mates and me were so keen to know about Austria we only thought about getting to Krakow and Wadowice, which were providentially added to our route, three months before, on April 7th and, above all, April 8th, the day of John Paul II's funeral...
When we reached Krakow on the evening of April 7th the streets were crowded... We first went to the Wawel Castle Cathedral. Then, we went to the Archiepiscopal Palace, which was totally sealed off. The following day we watched the pope's funeral through a big screen installed at the plaza behind the Archiepiscopal Palace. Then, we went to Wadowice where we met a lot of people.

I would like to share this footage as a remembrance of that indelible days we lived in Poland on April 2.005. You can find below the slide with some of our photos, too.

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The Aran Islands

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:21:00 +0000

The Aran Islands (Oileáin Árann, in Gaelic) are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. The name of the three islands, from the West to the East are:

Inishmore (Árainn Mhór or Inis Mór) which means what it is, the largest island.
Inishmaan (Inis Meáin or Inis Meadhóin) means the middle (and second-largest) island.
Inisheer (Inis Oírr or Inis Oirthir) the most eastern (and the smallest) island.

Inishmore, the largest island, is the main tourist attraction of all three islands. The access to the islands is made only through motorboats and ferries. There is a ferry port at Rossaveal, which is on the West of the city of Galway. If you arrive at Rossaveal by car be careful on the Galway area, because the traffic is intense during the working hours. We arrived just ten minutes before departure... However, there is another less-known choice. On the far side of Galway Bay, there is another enbarkment, in Doolin, near the famous Cliffs of Moher.

You can spent a perfect day at Inishmore. There are a lot of activities available. Once your boat ties up you can rent a bike for just €10 a day. After crossing Kilronan (the bigest city in the island) it is possible to choose several routes. We follow the road to the Dún Aonghasa prehistoric fort. We left our bikes in a parking and after visiting the ruins we went to the spectacular cliffs of the island.

Then, we took the typical Irish beer and went to buy an original pullover from the islands (very expensive to be honest). we spent the rest of the day biking through the Island. If I am correct, we came back at 17.00 to Rossaveal and went to the Cliffs of Moher.

The other islands can be also visited, but it is better to book in hostel to have plenty of time...
The Aran Islands are a kind of remote place, so unique. If you are travelling through Ireland do not hesitate to visit them.

Click here for more information.

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Tomintoul, Highland Youth Hostel

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:47:00 +0000

We chose this lost village in the middle of the Highlands before going to the Aberdeen airport. After a long day, driving a bunch of miles, we arrived at Tomintoul. Our plan was to get some rest, to spend a night there and leaving very early at dawn, in order to take the flight to Ireland.

Tomintoul is a little village of what we felt like ‘nowhere’ and it is near a ski resort near Balmoral, the royal residence, summer retreat of Queen Elizabeth II.

The advantage of travelling on April is that you find very few people, so you have plenty of room at hostels. We just met an Englishman in the morning who gave us useful infotmation about biking in the area...

In this region of green landscapes and pure nature you can find lots of sheeps. The Scottish sheep is really genuine. The following day while driving down to Balmoral, we found a warning signed, which was really funny: SHEEPS!

Tomintoul Youth Hostel is quite small and particularly our room. There was two bunk beds and no room for anything else. But it was nice for sleeping one night. There were also a comfortable living-room with a kitchen and two roomy bathrooms for men and women. I made a very interesting discover in the shower. If you wanted hot water you had to pull down a string hanging in the ceiling, just before getting inside, something really weird, if you are not used to do that... So, some of us got a cold shower...

This is the adress:

Tomintoul
Main Street, Tomintoul, Ballindalloch, Banffshire, AB37 9EX
Hostel Tel: 01807 580 364
Central Bookings: 0870 1 55 32 55
E-mail: reservations@syha.org.uk

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Hostel at Davos Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:45:00 +0000

This little Swiss town is a kind of lost spot in the Alps. Or at least, that is my feeling upon viewing. The first time I've ever heard of Davos was on TV, while watching on CNN a special report about the World Economic Forum. The snowing landscape I saw and, above all, after realizing I was going to cross the border to Austria helped me to determine to spend a night on this town.
This choice was great.

Davos is the perfect place to get some rest and visit the Grison region. We went on the morning to the Tarasp Castle and on the evening we croosed to Italy and to Austria. On the season we travelled throughout the Alps, April, there were some roads blocked off... Once the thaw starts, the Swiss avoid accidents because of possible avalanches. As long as you are in Switzerland and need "to go to the other side" you just take a train with your car in order to save the obstacle. Davos is surrounded by mountains and offers you whatever you can ask to a peaceful and modern town, such as winter sport facilities, hiking or just getting some rest at the hotel...

The youth hostel of Davos is really good. It belongs to the Youth Hostel Network. We booked an en suite room for four with bunk beds. Breakfast was included in the price (€26 per person per night) and it was a really generous buffet. But pay attention on time, because the Swiss are very strict on punctuality. Breakfast ended at 9:00 and they looked really nervous at 9:01 if you were still taking food at the buffet. Something really nice for us was to find a letter sticked at the main entrance door with the instructions to go in, as we arrived too late that evening...

The adress is:

Davos Youth palace Horlaubenstrasse 27
7260 Davos (GR)
Phone: +41 (0)81 410 19 20
Fax: +41 (0)81 410 19 21
davos@youthhostel.ch

The Trailer From Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:18:00 +0000

This is a trailer from our trip to Ireland in April 2006. Actually, that trip took us around England, Scotland and Irleand for a whole week...

Schloss Neuschwanstein Bavaria

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:25:00 +0000

This Castle is located in Germany at the Austrian border. The little town at its feet is Füssen and, near there, we can find die romantische Straße, the famous Romantic Road. To be honest this is a spectacular place which must be visited and gives you thousands of outdoor activities:

Visiting the Castle. From Füssen you can go by car and parking at the bottom of Neuschwanstein. From the parking lot you can walk or take a tourist ride, which get you to the Castle’s main entrance. Keep in mind there are big slopes in this area. It is free to visit the Castle’s Courtyard, but you have to pay for visiting the rest of it.

I consider quite interesting going to the bridge, from which you can see one of the most beautiful views of Neuschwanstein and the area. That’s the Marien Brücke and it is clearly signposted on the road. Don’t miss to go to this bridge. It takes 20 minutes, but it’s worth the effort, really. The view is amazing…

However, there is another privileged view… the climbing to the Hornburg. The Hornburg is one of the Bavarian pre-Alp summits of the region and it’s a very easy excursion and affordable by anybody. In this area the Alps emerge from the Bavarian plain, so you will find steep slopes. As difficult as it may look, it only takes about 30 minutes to get to the top. The prize is a magnificent view…

Just before the climb to the Hornburg you can see a giant slide on the hillside and a cable car to the highest peak.

It's worth the experience to rent a bike and ride along the bicycle path to the Alpensee, which is the lake behind Neuschwanstein Castle. In Germany, it’s very common to rent bikes. In Füssen you can rent bikes in the train station and it cost about €10 a day.

A few tips regarding accommodation: No problem. This is a tourist area and you can easily find an economic place to sleep and have breakfast. We found a room for €18 per person per night at House L.A. run by an amusing Turkish guy, which gave us a room from which you could even see Schloss Neuschwanstein. He asked me to contact him directly next time, as he is charged 10% for renting his rooms by Hostelworld. So, here is the address and contact information:

House L.A. -West Welfenstraße 39 Füssen, Germany T. +49 (0)8362-607366 F. +49 (0)8362-38534 E-mail: swirinoyo@lycos.de

And this is the video...

The Cliffs of Moher

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:23:00 +0000

The Cliffs of Moher are one of the most remarkable tourist attractions of Ireland. They are located on the West Coast of Ireland and it is really a breathtaking place. I strongly recommend you to visit this place while sunset. From the Cliffs you have an almost complete view of the Galway Bay and, above all, the majestic Aran islands.We spend the night in a village called Kinvara, 45 minutes from the Cliffs. The youth hostel was pretty shabby and my friend Daniele came to call it "il pollaio", something like henhouse...

I only visited that youth hostel in Ireland, but I'm afraid they are not very good. In Ireland, the best choice is a Bed & Breakfast (B&B). They are Irish houses which rent you a room and give breakfast... The price is about €30 per person per night. Some places can be booked on the Internet, but the offer is so good that in fact, you can follow one of the thousand signs "B&B" and to find some room free while travelling. Besides, Irish houses are very, very comfortable. There was a music festival at that night, so we went to drink some beer while enjoying the local music... (Watch the last video. I'm sorry, it's too dark, but my camara is not that good at low illuminated places...)

Great article on Dagbladet

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:28:00 +0000

Past december 29th 2007 was released the last article of our trip to Norway on Dagbladet. This time it is titled 8 euro for a bier? To tell you the truth it was great to meet the Norwegian journalists in the airplane. On december 29th my blog was literally invaded by Norway getting over 2,000 visits thanks to the Dagbladet referral. Blogs are fashionable these days. They are an efficient channel to share information. So we are ecouraged to go on...

Norway videos

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:32:00 +0000

I have a couple of videos today from our trip to Norway past November 2007. In the first one we can see Oscar skating in platform a few seconds after leaving the aircraft...

In this one you can see the breath-taking landscape of the Lysefjord from the top of the Preikestolen.

Tønsberg Vandrerhjem

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:07:00 +0000

The hostel of Tønsberg belongs to the Norwegian Youth Hostel network. Norwegian hostels are really good, clean and very cosy, as every Norwegian home. If you are member of hostelling international can get 15% discount on the overnight price. Of course, breakfast is included and is really plentiful. Our room had four beds, in two bunk beds; it was big enough and very comfortable.

At night, you can hang out in the lively pubs of the city, which are located along the boardwalk. The pictures are not that good because it was a foggy night. Something really amazing for us was to see how people stood up at the pub’s terrace! It was really cold and very humid…!, something hard to understand for Mediterranean guys like us.

The hostel is located behind the Slottsfjellet hill, a Norwegian landmark. This place is linked with the Castilian crown. Princess Kristina, daughter of Håkon Håkonsson, one of Norway's mightiest kings, was married in 1.258 with Spanish prince Felipe brother of Alfonso X el Sabio (the Wise), king of Castille. There is a project to build a chapel to the honour of St. Olav in Covarrubias, a little town in the province of Burgos, in the North of Spain, where the princess was buried. It was a wish never fulfilled by princess Kristina. In Norway there is a Foundation dedicated to the princess and have taken the initiative to realize this 800 year old dream… Therefore, this is a very interesting place to visit. Besides, Tønsberg was our “headquarter” to go to the spectacular region of the Fjords, in the West of the country.

Tønsberg Vandrerhjem address is:

Tønsberg Vandrerhjem
Dronning Blancasgate 22,
Tønsberg
3111
Norway
Tel. +47 33312175
Fax. +47 33312176
tonsberg@hihostels.no

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The Vignette in Switzerland and Austria. Beware!

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 13:18:00 +0000

Driving abroad is full of surprises… It’s common to get some fine over there. That’s because we are not familiar with the rules of the country we are visiting. At least that’s my experience… In the case which we're dealing with, Switzerland and Austria, it’s very important that you buy the Vignette before you enter with your car in the highway. The Vignette or Vigneta is a sticker you have to put in the windshield to show you have already paid the highway. There is no toll in which you can pay the fee. This sticker can be bought in a gas station or border crossing. In Switzerland the Vignette is valid during a year and costs 30 €. In Austria you can buy the Vigneta for a shorter period of time like two weeks or a month and it’s about 10 €. If you are caught without Vignette you will pay a fine of more than 600 €. I had problems crossing the border between Slovakia and the Czech Republic which have the same system in the highways. They fined us with 1.000 Slovak Crowns… Thank goodness that was less than 30 €, now it is a funny anecdote...

Schloss Laufen

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:16:00 +0000

Another incredible place… This one is smaller than that Scottish castle I spoke of, but it is located in a privileged place. It is the Rheinfalls or Rhine falls in the Swiss city of Dachsen. It’s interesting that this place is usually really crowded, but very few know it’s possible to sleep, right there!, at the Laufen Castle, and the price is a real bargain! When I was there in April 2007, the place was empty. There were two people more, as well as ourselves. Home Alone… Basel international airport is a good chance to go to this place and is served by many low cost companies. It takes hardly an hour by car. This castle belongs to the Swiss Youth Hostels. Youth Hostels in Switzerland are high level accommodation. They’re cheap, very clean and have a generous breakfast. 20 meter (65 ft) out of the castle you can watch the Rheinfalls. Of course, from the room’s window you can hear the roaring falls. I beg your pardon? How much it cost? A room for four persons (with comfortable bunk beds…) just 21.4 € each (. So..., is Switzerland that expensive?

Preikestolen Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:15:00 +0000

Once we left the Lauvvik-Oanes ferry, we took the A13 heading to Strand and passing next to the new bridge Forsand-Oanes. By this road you can see at once the deviation to the right to Preikestolen. This way goes up to the Youth Hostel P reikestolhytta. Here, there is a parking lot. We arrived at 10.00 and we were alone. From here, we started hiking. The climbing to Preikestolen is not that difficult, but it requires a little effort. There are some steep slopes on the path which vary from gravel to rocks and wooden paths. On the wooden paths we were to be extra careful because of dew presence. Finding the way to the top is not difficult; the way is signed with red T’s on the rocks or trees. Everybody can manage this climbing, and this is much easier if you are in a good shape.
It takes 2 hours and the views are breath-taking, Stavanger’s bay, deep valleys, lakes and of course the Lysefjord. It’s worth climbing for. The first image of the big rock is this one:

The pass to the platform is no problem and the best way to experience this place is to lay on the floor and look down, right into the fjord!! As it could be expected it’s very windy up here and seems colder. To take one of the best views of Preikestolen and the Lysefjord you have to go round from the platform following the red T’s. You’ll get pictures like this one:

Descent is really tough, above all through the rocks. I was not in a good shape, so I was stiff all over the following day. Enjoy our pictures!!

Mission accomplished! Preikestolen I

noreply@blogger.com (Luis Castañón Zalama) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 09:34:00 +0000

Each travel has a kind of gravitational center and everything must revolve around it. Ours was the climbing to Preikestolen, also known as the Pulpit and… we got it!! That was a spectacular day, totally clear, blue skies in November! and in one of the most rainy places on Earth. The lowest temperature was 43 F (6 C). Ironically, in Madrid on that day the temperature was bellow 41 F (5 C). But it was very, very windy on that big rock. So windy that it seemed colder… From the top to the Lysefjord there is a vertical fall of 1981 f. (604 m). This is the most astonishing, shocking landscape I have yet contemplated on this planet.

Our excursion began at 6.30 a.m. at the 21^st floor of the Rica Forum Hotel in Stavanger, the petrol capital of Norway. As I wrote before, it was really tough to find an affordable accommodation in the area. But, finally I found this amazing bargain. The Rica Forum Hotel is a glass tower 21 stories tall, located on the outskirts of Stavanger. We slept on the 18^th floor and from our room we overlooked the bay and the city. The restaurant is at the top, so we went to the 21^st floor to have breakfast. Breakfast is really good here. Lots of fresh fruit, eggs and ham. Chess, juice, yogurts and desserts, bread, milk, coffe, tea… Anyway, anything you can expect from a five stars buffet. To be honest we didn’t have breakfast, we just had lunch… thank goodness! the day was going to be really tough, as far as physical effort is concern.

From Stavanger there are two routes to go to Høllesli, from where we started hiking. In both routes a ferry is needed. One of them is Stavanger-Tau which is 45 minutes long, and the other one Lauvvik-Oanes which takes just 8 minutes crossing the Høgsfjord. Evidently, the second route is faster and cheaper (about €10), so we left very early to Lauvvik. Taking a ferry with your car is exciting because you can leave your car and enjoying the cruise on deck…