We started a tradition when I arrived in Austria of visiting Reiters Supreme spa resort at the end of each year. In winter, snow falls softly, all outside is quiet and the trees are tinged with frost… time to get some R&R!
Reiters Supreme is a 5-star plus resort located in Southern Burgenland in Austria with a spa area that makes you want to throw your clothes off in joy, a dining experience that destroys any plan of a pre-Christmas diet and beds that just make you want to… sleep.
When you think Austria, you probably think immediately of beer. Which is the right connection to make, but what you might not realise is that Austria also has a flourishing wine industry. Grüner Veltliner is the dominant white grape, producing dry whites, but there are multitudes of other varieties, from red to white to sweet to dry and beyond.
Doing things like spending the weekend in Italy seems almost effortless when you live in Austria. With the weather cooling down we decided to visit a friend who currently lives in the small Italian town of Cittadella. I had never heard of it before (and neither had anyone else from what I could tell), but Cittadella is a charming, walled Italian town, in the vicinity of other charming little-known Italian towns, and only a stone’s throw from Venice.
Foreward
In 2011, I officially caught the travel bug. My first solo adventure started in Egypt and took me through the Middle East and into Europe for four months. During that trip, I was lucky enough to be able to travel through one of the most amazing countries I have visited so far – Syria. Fast forward to a couple of months ago, I wrote a travel story for a competition, and my entry was included in their recently published book. I thought it might be an interesting read for some – so here it is!
(you can visit http://www.stringybarkstories.net for more info on this competition)
Being landlocked in Austria can sometimes give me a hint of cabin-fever, however it’s reassuring to know that if I really need to get to the coast for some salty, sea air, it’s only a couple of hours away… and as an added bonus… it’s in Italy.
I was never very excited about visiting Germany.
But then we went to Hamburg. Hamburg is definitely a city I could visit again. Seafood, salt air and the chance to see the Lion King… winning!
On my parents’ recent visit, I was very excited to take them on my ‘ Free Wolfsberg City Walking Tour’ (ice cream tips accepted). The town is small enough that you can get around it, but big enough to be interesting, with beautiful, scenic views. In fact I was so excited, that I think I went a bit overboard, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to show your folks all the good parts of where you live!
Paris – the romantic capital of the world, right?
Sorry, not for this chick!
It’s not like I had an especially bad time in Paris the first time I was there, it just wasn’t overly memorable compared to all the other amazing cities I’d seen.
When the opportunity came up to go there again, just for the weekend, I originally baulked at the idea. See, I guess I’ve become part-European. I thought to myself, it seems like a lot of hard work, driving 10 minutes to the airport to go to Paris just for two nights. Of course, I soon realised my mistake – any opportunity to do these things shouldn’t be passed up – who knows how long I’ll be here!
My recent trip to Australia for our wedding almost felt more like a working holiday than an actual holiday, due to the large amounts of somewhat boring (though essential) tasks that had to be undertaken, interspersed with crazy, emotional drinking sessions.
Through my travelling adventures, and now living in Austria, I’ve spent a lot of time on aeroplanes, and not just short trips, but the long, nasty, boring 20+ hour ones. However, I’ve come to love them, or at least if not love, I’ve learnt to tolerate.
What you have to do, is acknowledge that it’s 15-24 hours out of your life, and then get over it. Use it to catch up on reading, movies, listening to music – just let it go by as easily as possible. Realise that it’s going to be long, it’s going to be boring, and by the end, you’re going to feel like crap. But at least you’re one of the lucky ones – with the opportunity and money to fly for that long.
So here’s my top 10 tips for long-haul flights: Continue reading
an aussie in austria 