Global Nomads

16/10/2024

We went on a boat! Our last day here so we hopped on the tour boat for some sightseeing. As the boat leaves there is an hourly fountain show to send you off! Finished with a walk through town, the buildings are just so pretty!

15/10/2024

Today we drove up mountains! The Grossglocker highway is the highest paved road in Austria at 2571m (about 8500 feet). I definitely felt like I was driving in an episode of top gear with a 12% grade, with parts steeper. We didn’t drive the whole length but did make it to the highest point. It’s incredible to literally be at the same level as the surrounding peaks of the mountains around you, although it was pretty windy and chilly up there. Quick stop for a hot chocolate to warm up and some apple strudel!

14/10/2024

We checked in to our next stop in Zell am see. Not a hotel a 2 bedroom apartment on the lake. Originally we had planned not to rent a car and changed that plan, had I known I would have booked somewhere further from town. But despite the road and railway in front of us you can’t fault the view and we have a washing machine a big couch and TV to relax for a few days. Took a drive to the other side of the lake and up the mountain for a birds eye view of the apartment and surrounding mountains and then on to Aldi!

13/10/2024

An early start and 2 trains 🚆 and some gorgeous scenery later we made it to our next stop in Austria. And…..there’s a washing machine for laundry!!!!!! Whhhoooooo!

13/10/2024

We’re back! Going to be posting every day for the next few days until you catch up with us to our current location in Italy!

After some issues at our initial hotel choice in lake wörthersee we moved to this hotel and so wish we had stayed here from the get go! The hotel was built in the 1960’s and they have embraced the vibe with the decor and furnishings. Cannot fault anything from the friendly staff to the super clean room, the view and we chose the half board option and the food was amazing! Lots of Authentic Austrian dishes and more than you could ever eat!

21/09/2024

So after 4 rainy days, and I’m not complaining as we missed the horrible floods in other parts of Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic, we finally got a nice day to get out on the lake! We rode the 10 euro all day ferry for about 3 hours visiting Velden and Krumpendorf. Time to enjoy some more strudel and a coffee whilst James opted for an ice cream sundae. Of course had to have the obligatory Aperol Spritz on the return journey!

20/09/2024

So I think for the second time ever we have left a hotel early due to things just not being right. If you want the full low down you can read the Google review. Shortly after posting this the manager contacted us and basically called James a liar saying he hadn’t asked for shower gel or a kettle but if we wanted to leave he wouldn’t charge us for the last 2 nights due to the inconvenience. We find a new hotel and leave as it’s pretty clear he doesn’t want to try and rectify any of the issues and pretty much says he wants the throw us out. Upon leaving he then charges us for the last 2 nights and then backtracks saying he never said he’d do that. He has then called the new hotel we are at the tell them we are clearly troublemakers! Very disappointing and unprofessional to say the least.

★☆☆☆☆ "We are early retired and travel full time so spend our lives in hotels, serviced apartments and airbnb type accommodations and where we can we like to support independent businesses. Having just had 3 stellar stays in Amsterdam, Prague and Vienna we were looking forward to a relaxin...

20/09/2024

So today was a first….I ate a fish with its head on! I have eaten a lot of fish in my 51 years but this specimen caught in Lake Wörthersee right next to us was delicious. We enjoyed the lake view and topped the meal off with crème brûlée for me and cheesecake for James.

19/09/2024

A VERY cold, wet and windy day in Vienna for our travel day ahead. Severe weather alerts issued so not sure how much fun our lake stay will be! Yes we saw quite a lot of snow on the journey too!

17/09/2024

A culture day yesterday with a visit to one of the many museums in Vienna. TBH the cafe was the main draw! (See pic 5). The buildings were constructed in the mid 1700’s to be museums and the architecture of these and the entire city is truly breathtaking. We enjoyed strolling the art, Egyptian and Roman exhibitions while taking in the painting “Babbel”. I don’t pretend to know about art but we saw it! The last few pics were on a stroll around the city and this is the beautiful city hall with a fair in place atm.

Rest day today before a travel day!

16/09/2024

Part 2 Horse and carriage ride and gardens. Instead of walking all 400 acres of the gardens we decided on a more leisurely option and rode in a horse and carriage to enjoy things! We e did take a stroll around too and enjoyed the views of the Gloriette or the elevated gateway that is erected to enhance the appearance of the palace.

16/09/2024

Part 1 - Palace interior. Building commenced in 1569 when the 400 acre site was used as a hunting lodge and later in the early 1700’s used as the summer residence of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Dynasty ended in 1916 with the death of the final family member and remains now under the oversight of the Republic of Austria. Stunning preserved interiors are a sight to behold with tapestries and paintings depicting the family members and sights of the times. Beautiful Chinese artwork and impressive ceiling frescos will take your breath away. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and seepics in part 2 for the horse and a carriage ride around the world derful gardens.

15/09/2024

We left Prague behind and headed to our next stop in Vienna where, upon check in, despite being on a points stay and having a free room, the upgrade gods had looked down on us and we were given the Penthouse Royal Suite! A stunning room with a separate bedroom and living area, dressing room and huge bathroom. Oh and did I mention the wrap around balcony with views over the city! Our Hilton diamond status also got us free breakfast and access to the executive lounge for evening drinks and nibbles! We are grateful for all the amazing benefits we have been able to enjoy from travel and points hacking.

15/09/2024

Today’s travel tip! So many showers in hotels and airbnbs do not have shelves so I picked up these removable suction hooks on Amazon and can attach them to any glass or tile area and hang up our loofah squishies and razor.

10/09/2024

A Quick Look at our hotel while we were in Prague. We used points for this stay and with our Hilton status were upgraded to the executive floor and this gave us a little more room and access to the executive lounge, providing drinks and evening nibbles! A nice hotel well located with easy access to the main sites!

07/09/2024

A long post, I have a lot to say about today, and more pics than I usually try to post at once but there was A LOT to see! I also wanted to include some type of “insta v reality” pics to show how crazy busy things were.

The castle complex was built around the year 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the house of Premyslides. The complex is huge comprising of a number of buildings including the cathedral and 2 palaces as well as Golden Lane which was essentially trades people cottages where people still lived up until til around the 1950’s. The Cathedrals are indeed stunningly beautiful and well worth a visit.

Now to the not so good parts. Despite getting there as soon as the complex opened it is rammed with people. We’ve been to many over touristed places filled with people and I knew what to expect but this was something else…..I was literally physically pushed out of the way not once but twice by groups of tourists. It’s truly beautiful but I wish they would limit entrance numbers or we could just act like civil human beings! 😂

Anyway lunch at the same place as yesterday in the main square and we tried some Czech Goulash and a cider! Thought we’d check out the animated astronomical clock with about 2000 of my closest friends too, a couple more people did their best to knock me over here again! Time for a rest!

07/09/2024

Afternoon on the Vitava river, enjoying the sights, a gin and tonic and a some respite from the crazy crowds! A quick stop in a local square afterwards to try a Chimney cake (a kind of heavy dough filled with your choice of very unhealthy but delicious filling). I managed about a third of mine and, despite throwing a fair bit down his shirt, James managed all of his. We both decided they were delicious!

06/09/2024

I realized I hadn’t shared how we traveled to Prague in Czechia. We took the overnight sleeper train, operated by European Sleeper, from Amsterdam to Prague. Travel is meant to be an adventure and this night was!

Firstly the positives….the bedding was nice and we got to our destination (eventually). There were also beautiful views as we left Berlin and made our way alongside the river Elbe. OK sorry that’s all I’ve got that’s positive! The train arrived in to Amsterdam from Brussels an hour late and eventually we did arrive in to Prague, the next day, some 3 hours late having picked up further delays overnight. The carriages (train cars) used were built in the late 1950’s and despite some kind of refurb were sadly very poorly maintained, blinds were broken, chipped armrests and unsewn seat covers. I could live with that if it had been clean!

Upon boarding at 11.40pm the beds were not made up ready to go and we had to walk several cars to find another attendant who radioed our attendant as we couldn’t find him and then wait another half an hour before the he finally arrived and unlocked the drop down bunks and we could go to bed. The one working toilet must surely be a health hazard, it was really unpleasantly dirty, and count yourself lucky you don’t have smell o vision! 😂 unless “eau de urine” is your thing!

There was a small breakfast box provided but no other updates to service or food or water for the remainder of the journey. There is no cafe car available.

Anyway we finally got here and that’s the main thing!