Travelling Worm

A bookworm's travelogue

Tag: travel

  • Chur, oldest city in Switzerland

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    If you have the chance, follow in this worm’s illustrious footsteps and visit the historic town of Chur in Switzerland. It’s one and a half hours by train from Zurich. Chur lays claim to being the oldest settlement in Switzerland, tracing its history as far back as 3500-3900 BCE.

    The book I’m in

    Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham. A good who-dunnit investigated by a flawed psychologist, a cop, and an ex-cop. This worm is eating through the book with great enjoyment.

    Recommended restaurants

    We popped in for coffee and cake at Cafe Maron, near the Chur train station. The fare was delicious, the service was friendly, and the cafe was brimming with people.

    For lunch, we chose Vanessa’s Kitchen Fusion Bistro. Highly recommended for the quality of the food and the service.

    Travel tips

    Walk the streets of the old town. If golf is your cup of tea, do the Urban Golf Parcours in Chur. Urban golfers use soft balls, to avoid hurting people and damaging property. It’s a good way to see the city.

    The photos

    Me hanging out with a beautiful woman at a historic building in Chur:

    Until 1887, night watchmen used to roam the streets of Chur, calling out the hours of the evening watch. The placards on this building tell the story:

    The town hall (rathaus), with its medieval arches:

    A close-up of the entrance to the town hall:

    The opposite entrance of the town hall:

    The arched roof of a marketplace next to the town hall, currently a shelter for bicycles.

    Street scenes in the old town:

    The Cathedral of the Assumption is a place of beauty and quiet:

    A modern sticker on a mailbox, bringing the ugly to the sublime:

    The clock tower in Martinsplatz:

    At midday, the clock bell chimes the hour:

    The 2D room at Vanessa’s Kitchen Fusion Bistro, where we stopped for an excellent lunch:

    More street scenes:

    An imposing statue graces the square at the head office of the Graubünden Cantonal Bank — a man on stilts:

    The train journey from Zurich to Chur is worth a few pictures too. For much of the journey, the train travels along the banks of the lakes: Zurichsee, Obersee, and Walensee. Here’s one of the lakes in a less-than-sunny mood, with snow-bedecked peaks peeking out of the cloud:

    The smudging is the rain on the train window. Here are more snow-bedecked peaks, in a sunnier mood:

    I’ve remarked on the green felt effect of the Swiss countryside in earlier posts. Here’s more of it:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • From Zurich to Como

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Me and the TC made the three-and-a-half hour drive from Zurich in Switzerland to Como in Italy. The drive is lovely. The town of Como was a bit of a disappointment.

    The book I’m in

    Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham. A good who-dunnit investigated by a flawed psychologist, a cop, and an ex-cop. This worm is eating through the book with great enjoyment.

    Recommended restaurant

    Ristorante in Teatro, Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, Como. Great service and tasty gluten free food for those who need it.

    Travel tips

    Parking in Como is a nightmare. If you can, take public transport and avoid the stress.

    The photos

    Alas, dear reader, there’s no picture of yours truly in these photographs. Another disappointment, I know. However, here are a few mountains help to sweeten the blow.

    On the road from Zurich to Como, near Giornico:

    A street scene in the town of Como:

    The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta towers over a town square:

    Behind the cathedral is the Ristorante in Teatro, which offers good food with a view:

    The Como waterfront, on the south end of Lake Como:

    A view of the lake from the waterfront:

    Driving back through Switzerland, this worm was struck again and again by the greenness of everything. The towns appear to be positioned on a covering of green felt:

    On the banks of Lake Lucerne, a roof reaches out over the road to protect cars from avalanches and rock falls:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Lucerne’s covered bridges and painted buildings

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Me and the TC spent a rainy day in lovely Lucerne. We strolled across the city’s two covered bridges, the Spreuer Bridge and the Chapel Bridge. We dodged raindrops to admire the city streets with their painted buildings and cobblestones.

    The book I’m in

    Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham. A good who-dunnit investigated by a flawed psychologist, a cop, and an ex-cop. This worm is eating through the book with great enjoyment.

    Travel tips

    If you hire a car, make it a small one. Especially if it has proximity-warning beepers. The roads are narrow, and the spiralling paths into and out of parking garages are a nightmare.

    The photos

    Me on the Reuss river, looking towards the Spreuer Bridge. You can’t see the bridge yet, dear reader, as it’s in front of me. The TC, bless her cotton socks, was taken with the view behind me. I photo-bombed the shot:

    Here’s the same scene, without yours truly. It’s near the Kleinwasserkraftwerk Mühlenplatz:

    The Spreuer Bridge is one of two covered bridges in Lucerne. The first half of the bridge was built in the 13th century, to connect the right bank of the river with the flour mills in the middle of the river. The rest the bridge, connecting to the left bank, was completed early in the 15th century. In 1566, the bridge was destroyed by a flood and then rebuilt: 

    A few minutes’ walk up the river is the Chapel Bridge – the oldest covered bridge in Europe, built in 1333. Yes folks, that’s 690 years ago!

    Here’s a view down the length of the bridge:

    Me again, with a view of the Reuss river from Chapel Bridge:

    Paintings hang in the triangular frames on both the Spreuer Bridge and the Chapel Bridge. Before 1993, the Chapel Bridge had a total of 147 paintings. Then in 1993, disaster struck. A fire broke out and destroyed two thirds of the paintings. Thirty of the paintings were restored, and many others were replaced with paintings that had been in storage since 1834:

    The city of Lucerne combines old and new in pleasing architectural contours:

    Many of the buildings are painted with scenes that recall the city’s history:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Switzerland’s Klausen Pass in the clouds

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    On a rainy Saturday in late September, me and the TC drove across Klausen Pass in the Swiss Alps. The pass is about one and a half to two hours’ drive from Zurich, depending on how many scenic diversions you make.

    The book I’m in

    Bleed for Me, by Michael Robotham. This worm is enjoying the book. It’s a good example of the author’s combination of believable characters caught up in a difficult situation.

    Travel tips

    It’s chilly in the Swiss Alps even in autumn. Layer up to enjoy the cold!

    The photos

    Me at the little chapel at the top of Klausen Pass:

    The chapel is the Kapelle Bruder Klaus, built in 1717. It was shrouded in mist and surrounded by streaks of snow:

    We were lucky to be in the area in September. The road is usually closed between October and May, due to the high snowfall on the pass. Me again, catching a ride on the TC’s shoe to avoid the snow pile that towered over my head:

    The Klausen Pass started out as a cattle track in the Middle Ages. In the year 1196, the track was controlled by a customs office in Bürglen. The highest point of the pass is at an elevation of 1,948 metres (6,391 feet). Now a fully-tarred road, it still offers plenty of interesting sections adorned with danger signs like this one remarking that we were approaching a Gefärliche Strecke:

    Waterfalls peeked out through the clouds:

    The views were gorgeous, of green valleys and toy-town settlements:

    Cows clanged musically as they grazed:

    When we reached the bottom of the pass, we stopped for fuel. The TC, bless her cotton socks, was entranced by the way the mountains loomed all round. “They just go pffffrrrt, straight up!” she remarked.

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Medieval festival in Zug, Switzerland

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Me and the TC are in Switzerland. Today we travelled by train from Zurich to the small town of Zug, to see the annual medieval festival hosted by the town: the Mittelalterfest Zug.

    Here’s a nicety for people who’re intrigued by words, as is the TC: We travelled to Zug by Zug. How so? The town is called Zug. In German, a train is a Zug (including the initial capital letter, as in German all nouns are capitalised.) So, to Zug by Zug!

    The book I’m in

    Death’s End, by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu. In the TC’s words (yours truly is by nature less effusive), this is a most amazing book. It’s part of the “three-body problem” series. Science fiction done right. Get a copy and read it!

    Travel tips

    Travelling by rail is pleasant, but figuring out how to buy the train tickets is complex. Give yourself plenty of time the first time you do it. Buying tickets from the vending machines at the station is the simplest option. The mobile app and website are overly complex.

    The photos

    Me in the refreshments area of the festival, contemplating the possibility of ale and vittles:

    As we wandered around the village, we came across people transacting their medieval business, seemingly unaware that they were in a time capsule that had been projected into the 21st century. These men were testing swords before an upcoming match:

    Some of the village folk were guards, fearsome in their protection of the gateways. It was not uncommon to hear the command, “Halt”, roared out loud to stop the crowds from getting in the way when a photo was in order. This much to the amusement of said crowd, which tittered and took more photos of said fearsome guards.

    Another fearsome guard photo opp:

    Knights in armour shone in splendour under the autumn sun:

    Bands and bards roamed the lanes. It was interesting to see a band member playing the bagpipes. I’d thought these were a Celtic tradition, but evidently Switzerland did have bagpipes in the middle ages, called the Schweizer Sackpfeife. Here’s a short video of the Schellmerÿ band playing at the festival:

    A bard enchanting the crowd:

    A beggar sat quietly in the shade:

    A dark witch floated above the road surface, eerily tall and smooth of gait. Aided by a segway under his robes:

    The town of Zug has some gorgeous buildings:

    Here’s another, forming one side of a village square:

    From the sublime to the ridiculous, a nose protrudes from a building on the same square:

    Taking a stroll down the hill, we came across the Zugersee:

    The TC, bless her cotton socks, was fascinated by the plants growing in the lake, twisting and twirling into SciFi shapes, then pushing little flowers up towards the light. “Like underwater daisies”, she exclaimed:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Daintree River and Cape Tribulation

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Me and the TC recently spent a few days up in Far North Queensland. It’s a land of ancient forests, wide waterways, and tropical beaches.

    This post shows a little of our boat ride on the Daintree river and our trip on up to Cape Tribulation. Or “Cape Trib” as it’s fondly known to the locals.

    The book I’m in

    Autopsy, by Patricia Cornwall. I’m delighted to take my place inside a Kay Scarpetta novel again. Murder and mayhem ensue, cloaked in the delightful intrigues of this forensic pathologist’s family network. A good read.

    Travel tips

    Take an early-morning boat trip on the Daintree River. The Daintree River Wild Watch with Ian “Sauce” Worcester is a beautiful one. And if you do such a trip, take warm clothing. Yes, it’s the tropics, and yes it gets warm when the sun finds you. But on the river, cloaked in mist, it can be rather chilly.

    The photos

    Early morning on the Daintree River:

     As the sun came up, so did the birds, like this Sacred Kingfisher:

    A Rainbow Bee-eater, looking less than ready for the harsh light of day:

    The reflections on the still water made it hard to tell imitation from reality:

    Let’s move fifty kilometres north, to Cape Tribulation. Walking from the car park to the beach, we crossed this dark pond:

    Colorful crabs watched us from the driftwood:

    Mushrooms lit the way:

    The path opened up onto the sands of Cape Tribulation beach:

    Why the name “Cape Tribulation”? Evidently Captain Cook and his ship, the Endeavour, had a tough time in this area. The ship struck part of the Great Barrier Reef and suffered quite a bit of damage as a result. The captain and some of the crew had to trek across the land to find supplies, and found instead that making way through the thick jungle-like forest was no easy task.

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Mossman Gorge and the Daintree Rainforest

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    Mossman Gorge is part of the Daintree rainforest, a region in Far North Queensland on the north east coast of Australia. Me, the TC, and two other family members walked the Mossman Gorge circuit trail a couple of weeks ago (mid May).

    The book I’m in

    Bloody Genius, by John Sandford. A quiet tale of murder and mayhem. I’ll be happy if the TC deposits me in more of this author’s books.

    Travel tips

    The Daintree is in tropical Far North Queensland. Be prepared for the climate. Even though we were there in the cooler, dry time of year, it was still warm and humid. Take plenty of drinking water. Walk at a reasonable pace that suits you. Don’t plan to do too much in one day. Even for multi-legged folks like yours truly, it pays to take things easy.

    The photos

    Me at a clear forest pool in the Daintree rainforest:

    Report has it that the Daintree is the oldest rainforest in the world. It’s more ancient than the Amazon forest, by tens of millions of years. The Daintree survived the ice age by shrinking into small pockets which then expanded when the warmth came back. So, some of the plant species here were around when the dinosaurs called this area home.

    Me, dwarfed by a tall tree covered in vines:

    Speaking of dinosaurs, look who’s looking down from above!

    That particular descendant of the dinosaurs is a King Parrot, one of the 430 species of birds found in this region.

    The Mossman Gorge circuit track offers a lovely way to experience the rainforest. The track is well maintained, and fine to do without a guide. This map of the area shows the car park on the right. From the car park, we caught the shuttle bus to the start of the trail:

    A note from a cautious caterpillar: Heed the warnings! We saw one person being taken out by ambulance after slipping on the rocks, and another person requesting help from the paramedics.

    Warnings aside, being in the Daintree forest is a beautiful, restful experience. This photo captures the timeless atmosphere. Shafts of light filtered by greenery. Tall forest giants. Leaves and vines intertwined in huge variety.

    I did get a crick in my neck from all that looking up at giants. Down at my level, though, there’s a lot going on too. Mmmm mushrooms. I wonder… which side of the mushroom should I nibble on?

    Back at the car park, Skull-face the Spider awaited us:

    Yes, the spider really was that big. It’s a Giant Golden Orb Weaver. If the TC walked into this spider’s web, the spider would cover her entire face! Still, it’s relatively harmless to humans. Yours truly, however, kept well away.

    Zooming in with the camera to take a closer look. The little spiders on the web weren’t actually all that little, until seen next to Skull-face:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Cairns in tropical northern Australia

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    This worm and the TC spent a few days in Far North Queensland, where the sun is warm and the sea is calm. When it’s not holding a storm party, that is. Let me show you around the lovely town of Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

    The book I’m in

    Moonraker’s Bride by Madeleine Brent. A good yarn written in this author’s inimitable style. Yours truly is always happy when the TC puts me in one of Madeleine’s books. Madeleine Brent is the alter ego of Peter O’Donnell, best known for the Modesty Blaise series.

    Recommended restaurant

    The Chambers, Spence Street, Cairns City. Excellent food in a comfortable ambience.

    The photos

    Me with Ray, guardian of the Great Barrier Reef.

    Ray is a life-size sting ray, part of an imposing sculpture on the Cairns Esplanade. It’s titled Reef Guardian (Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef), by Brian Robinson:

    Beyond the sculpture, the bay of Cairns presents an ever-changing vista. At low tide, it’s a mud flat with mangroves popping up here and there:

    In the distance is a Black-necked Stalk, stalking (that’s right, stalking) the shallows for a bite to eat. Here’s a closeup view of the rather lugubrious character:

    Needless to say, I stayed well out of sight. That beak, those eyes!

    The TC, bless her cotton socks, was captivated by the tranquility of the scene. She doesn’t look like food to a stalk. Here she is, captured on film in a rare unguarded moment:

    Along the bay runs the Cairns Esplanade, where Cairns folk and visitors take the air. One corner of the Esplanade is the favourite haunt of a couple of pelicans:

    The Cairns Esplanade Lagoon, a gently-sloping series of pools, leads the eye down into the Coral Sea. If you zoom into the picture, you’ll see Jonathan the seagull and his pals swooping above the Esplanade Lagoon. Perhaps they’re mimicking the frozen flight of fish that swoops there too:

    Trees and grass in the middle of the Esplanade offer relief from the tropical sun. This flowering tree caught my eye because the flowers grow on stalks low down on the trunk and quite separate from the canopy of leaves:

    This is the flower:

    And another view of the flowering branches low on the trunk:

    On one side of the Esplanade lies the Coral Sea. On the other side, enticing eateries and shops line the road beyond the green sward:

    Cairns is a town of wide avenues with some interesting architecture. An example is the Cairns Post building, established in 1882 as home to the Cairns Post news corporation. The building is currently for sale, so now’s your chance to hop in if you have an eye for architecture and a few million dollars to spare:

    The next photo shows a building erected in 1910 for the Adelaide Steamship Company:

    Here’s a closeup of the central gable, showing the building’s name spelled out in relief below a sculpture of a company ship:

    An alleyway in the city centre:

    Let’s finish the story with a return to nature and its oddities. These weird-looking mushrooms, which the TC, bless her soul, spotted just off the Esplanade, are Veiled Lady Mushrooms:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Kurri Kurri Kookaburra and murals

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    A couple of weeks ago, this worm visited the little town of Kurri Kurri. It’s an intriguing place, springing from a history of coal mining and now re-imagining itself as an artists haven.

    If you’re anything like the TC, bless her cotton socks, you’ll be asking, “Why two words?” Why is the town not called just “Kurri”? Towns and cities in Australia often have names that repeat the same word twice. The pattern comes from the Aboriginal languages that repeat a word to emphasize or strengthen the meaning of the word. In the local Minyung language, “kurri-kurri” means “the beginning” or “the first”.

    The book I’m in

    The Ones We Choose, by Julie Clark. A tale of genetics, romance, and tangled lives. Highly recommended.

    The photos

    Me with the Kurri Kurri Kookaburra:

    This Kookaburra is huge. If it were alive, I’d be taking shelter rather than posing in full view of that eye and that beak. Instead, I was happy to let the bird photo bomb me, as it’s a sculpture.

    In fact, this bird is a little like myself in that the representation is more magnificent than the original form.

    Here’s another view of the Kurri Kurri Kookaburra. The artist is one Chris Fussell. The sculpture was erected in 2009:

    Not far away from the big bird is the Kurri Kurri hotel, first opened in 1904. It’s a typical Australian hotel, in that its primary business is as a pub and restaurant, not accommodation. (The word “hotel” traps many a weary, unwary traveller just arrived in Oz.) It’s a lovely old building, with wrap-around verandas and frilly cast-iron railings:

    On a wall to the right of the hotel in the above picture is one of the murals that the town has recently become known for.

    More paintings liven up a utilitarian building in the town centre:

    The next mural fits right in with the business whose wall it adorns:

    If you look closely at the above mural (the one on the right), you’ll spot a Kookaburra on a pile of tyres. There are more than 60 murals in and around Kurri Kurri. Rumour has it that every mural includes a Kookaburra somewhere.

    Some of the wall decorations are of a bleaker nature, though still artistically and historically interesting:

    That’s all for today, folks.

  • Newcastle, New South Wales

    This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

    Today’s travel notes

    This week marked my first visit to Newcastle, famed as the largest coal-exporting city in the world. Now, dear reader, you’d be justified in thinking that I’m talking about the Newcastle in north-east England. Nay, not so, this Newcastle is on the eastern coast of New South Wales, Australia.

    I greatly enjoyed my short visit to this harbour city, and my pleasant encounters with Novocastrians.

    The book I’m in

    Tragaron’s Daughter, by Madeleine Brent. A well-written, fast-moving romance and thriller combined.

    Recommended restaurant

    One Penny Black, 196 Hunter St, Newcastle. Highly recommended. Friendly service. Tasty fresh food in good quantity.

    The photos

    Me in front of the pavilion of the Newcastle Ocean Baths, a grand Art Deco building from the 1920s:

    In the above photo, I’m on the southern side of the pavilion. Take a stroll with me around the building. Go slowly now — I may have more legs than you, but they’re shorter than yours.

    The pavilion and baths were to be closed for renovation just three days after our visit. This worm felt privileged to see them in their current state, and hopes to see the renovated version soon. A somewhat whimsical sign under the pavilion predicted the upcoming upheaval:

    Behind the pavilion are the baths themselves, open to the sea and sky, with tiered seating at one end:

    Behind the tiered seating hides an intriguing little dome, complete with an intriguing little internal staircase:

    The next picture shows the pavilion again, viewed from the northern side this time:

    Moving south from the baths, you can stroll along Newcastle beach, bounded by a terraced headland:

    Moving inland, you’ll probably encounter tram or two. Big brother, in shape at least, to yours truly:

    This worm steered clear of lurking Corellas. Crafty characters they are, with one eye always open for a tasty morsel:

    The streets of Newcastle are well worth a wander, for their varied architecture:

    This building is a good advertisement for the architectural offices that inhabit it:

    To end on a slightly political note, I’ll share this photo demonstrating nuclear free sentiments. No doubt the statement expressed here is in response to a recent state government announcement that Newcastle is one of three sites under consideration for a nuclear submarine base:

    That’s all for today, folks.