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27 Mar A Visit To Linz, Austria
As we traveled through the Austrian countryside on our Westbahn train, we had no idea what to expect from Linz. Would it look like Salzburg (the only reference of an Austrian city we had)? Would it be almost as chaotic as Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve? Don’t ever go to Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve. Would it have a traditional feel like Munich, with a “who wore their Lederhosen best”? Well, it only took an hour and a bit to get to Linz, so we would shortly find out. We then heard the familiar sound of an Austrian woman shouting at us over the intercom: “Nächster Halt…Linz,” so we packed up our gear, and stepped off the train into freezing...
26 Mar Vienna: An Austrian City Of Contrasts
Sometimes you arrive in a city, and it immediately sweeps you off your pleather boots. You get this weird buzz under your skin; it’s like you’ve been there before – maybe in a past life – and all 43 muscles in your face suddenly jump into a frenzy. “Why can’t I help but smile?” you ask yourself, “why do I look like a cheese douche, smiling at nothing?” This was the case with Vienna, possibly the most contradictory city in Austria. On the one hand, you get the modern, chic bustle any major city gives off – pristinely-manicured women, hustling through the U-Bahn, and a cosmopolitan flair exuding similar traits to that of London (or New York, I would imagine)....
19 Mar How Quitting Your 9-To-5 Leads To Planning A 7-To-9
It’s been 3 weeks since we left sunny South Africa, and based on popular beliefs, new habits should have formed by now. The get-up-early-to-get-cracking-with-the-day routine of everyday life should be all but a distant memory. On the contrary, we are on a very strict schedule – those who know me will understand my need for structure (and my love for schedules). Sure, we’re no longer waking up to an annoying alarm, but rather allowing our natural sleep cycle to function on its own; and leaving our house doesn’t involve long, painful sessions in the morning traffic; but our get-up-early-and-get-to-work habit definitely hasn’t gone anywhere. When planning our journey, we spent a lot of time referencing the Godfather of creative sabbaticals,...
13 Mar 127 Things To Pack When Taking A Sabbatical
Leading up to our departure, we obviously had to get rid of, *ahem, throw away and sell* a lot of our stuff. When crossing borders, every last gram is precious. With a baggage allowance of 30kg each, and hand luggage allowance of 7kg each, Steve and I were faced with quite a feat – how to compress and diminish our entire lives into 74kg. That’s like one person. An average height, average weight human that needed to eat all our belongings, and hop on-board with us. Phew. For those of you who know me well, I am a little bit of a clothing collector…ok ok, clothing hoarder. I own(ed) 7 watches, multiple pairs of boots, tons of dresses, and all the...
