Thursday, 12 July 2007
Blog: Nearly Halfway!
Dear all,
I am now in Graz, the capital of Styria- almost at the half way point in my voyage.
I have walked well over a thousand miles so far, and it has taken
me just over two months to get to this stage. I am averaging around 16 miles a day.
It has been tough going over the Alps. I didn't rest properly after the epic crossing at
nearly 2000km at Glattjoch and I had a couple of feverish nights, tormented by nightmares of travelling up and down and
around hills and valleys.
There are some lovely people in Austria, without whom I would have got lost many times in the mountains. What seems a short distance
on the map is a long way when you have to climb up a steep slope!
I enormously enjoyed the fantastic walking and stunning views that I've had over the last few days. It's been unseasonally cold in
Austria lately, which meant that when I was crossing my second range of Alps, reaching a height of 1700m, the rain was actually turning to sleet. As you will see in the pictures, some mountains are snow capped.
Physically, I'm OK, if generally tired and weary. My feet are hardened and my legs are strong, but my stomach is having some trouble with the vinegar soaked food in Austria.
In a few days time I'll be passing into Slovenia and then Hungary, with different cuisine and culture. With these new languages, my
fanastic German won't be such a great help there but hopefully I'll be able to communicate enough to carry on.
Hope you are all well, and don't forget to visit the website to see the photos.
http://london2istanbul.blogspot.com/
You can still sponsor me, if you haven't done so already- I still have over 1000 miles to go, with a range
of different (linguistic and canine) challenges.
All the best,
Paul
I am now in Graz, the capital of Styria- almost at the half way point in my voyage.
I have walked well over a thousand miles so far, and it has taken
me just over two months to get to this stage. I am averaging around 16 miles a day.
It has been tough going over the Alps. I didn't rest properly after the epic crossing at
nearly 2000km at Glattjoch and I had a couple of feverish nights, tormented by nightmares of travelling up and down and
around hills and valleys.
There are some lovely people in Austria, without whom I would have got lost many times in the mountains. What seems a short distance
on the map is a long way when you have to climb up a steep slope!
I enormously enjoyed the fantastic walking and stunning views that I've had over the last few days. It's been unseasonally cold in
Austria lately, which meant that when I was crossing my second range of Alps, reaching a height of 1700m, the rain was actually turning to sleet. As you will see in the pictures, some mountains are snow capped.
Physically, I'm OK, if generally tired and weary. My feet are hardened and my legs are strong, but my stomach is having some trouble with the vinegar soaked food in Austria.
In a few days time I'll be passing into Slovenia and then Hungary, with different cuisine and culture. With these new languages, my
fanastic German won't be such a great help there but hopefully I'll be able to communicate enough to carry on.
Hope you are all well, and don't forget to visit the website to see the photos.
http://london2istanbul.blogspot.com/
You can still sponsor me, if you haven't done so already- I still have over 1000 miles to go, with a range
of different (linguistic and canine) challenges.
You can chose which charity you would like to support.
To make a donation to the The British Heart Foundation please visit:
http://www.bhf.org.uk/sponsor
To make a donation to Europa Nostra please visit:
http://www.justgiving.com
All the best,
Paul
Thursday, 5 July 2007
Blog: Grüss Gott from the top of the world
Although I'm dead on my feet, I had to taken advantage of the internet access in the very modern youth hostel in Oberwölz. Today, I reached the highest point of my walk: 1,988 metres. It was a long hard climb to the top of Glattjoch, not helped by the fact that I took the wrong turning at the beginning. At the top of the Alps, it was freezing cold, and snow covered some of the neighbouring peaks.
I'm enjoying the Austrian scenery immensely. It is amazing walking country, that anyone would enjoy. The walks along the river valleys are virtually flat but very picturesque. Austrians are friendly and many speak really good English. The ones that don't wear silly hats with feathers in them.
No USB technology in JHAs, but in Graz I'll download all the latest pictures of me and mountains.
all the best,
Paul in Oberwolz, Stiermark, Austria.
I'm enjoying the Austrian scenery immensely. It is amazing walking country, that anyone would enjoy. The walks along the river valleys are virtually flat but very picturesque. Austrians are friendly and many speak really good English. The ones that don't wear silly hats with feathers in them.
No USB technology in JHAs, but in Graz I'll download all the latest pictures of me and mountains.
all the best,
Paul in Oberwolz, Stiermark, Austria.
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