Mount Fuji! 富士山！(8th Station up!!)

Waking up just a few hours later was surreal, but at least we were ready to go!

Thankfully, despite the freshness of the temperature outside, we were all cozy and snug inside, but layered up ready for the final trek to the ninth station.

I went to brush my teeth and the like and as soon as I stepped out of the hut, I could see people had stopped and passed out right outside the hut (no more room at the inn...). And, if I looked down below, there was a trail of lights, leading right down as far to the bottom as I could see. The night climbers were approaching, and in their HOARDS!

These were the trekkers who, for the lack of time, or for the extra energy they may have had, chose to do the hike up the mountain, non stop, start as the sun went down and never giving up until they reached base, having climbed, conquered and descended, barely stopping for breath!

I was no such climber, and was very grateful to have the chance to layer up, freshen up and get geared up to go!

The climb was dark - it was 1am, remember! But, we had headlights galore, so much so, I conserved the energy of mine! We were supposed to climb in an ordeerly fashion, one small step at a time, sometimes waiting a little - that's how busy it was!!

There were the odd over-eager climbers, often ill-attired, without a care in the world, ready to puch past, overtake, and break the rules of the climb. Everyone frowned upon these types of climbers, especially, the odd-ball who stopped to cut his nails on a rock as he waited, without a t shirt (!) for his slower friends...!

Yes, some of the climbers were too cool for school or just plain stupid, really!

I think it took us two hours to climb to the top. I didn't mind the time so much. We stopped for breaths regularly and I didn't feel any lack of oxygen (my biggest fear).

At the summit, we were to do a crater walk, as well as watch the sun come up...just wait for the next post!!!

Mount Fuji! 富士山！(Until 8th Station..!)

WOW! 

Mount Fuji really is a sight to behold. It is known worldwide for it's tall shape and is an icon in Japan. 

The mountain represents more than just a difficult hike. The mountain is, and has forever been sacred and climbing up it a pilgrimage.

Most of the climbers will begin their journey at the 5th station. You can approach the mountain from different 5th stations. We took the Subaru route.

It is very rare for hikers and climbers to start at the very bottom of the mountain (1st station), although our tour guide told us that the week before, some of the guides had got together to race to the top (from 1st station to summit!). the winner did the whole climb in 2 hours 45 minutes! Our climb was not going to be so fast!

We joined a tour and I would highly recommend this. (http://travel.willer.co.jp/willpack/fuji/?mid=536) This particular tour was Japanese and we were the only foreigners on board. You would need to speak at least some of the language to get by for this one, but there are plenty of other tours in English too.

The climbing season is just two months long. July and August are the only months without snow (mostly) and the mountain is safe to climb. All of the stations are open too and there are plenty of places to offer you (expensive) food, drinks and, oh, even the toilet trips are pricey!

But we were off! My friend had done the same climb the year before, but this was my first time and it was long overdue!

5th station was incredibly busy. Apparently, not everyone there will climb the mountain, instead, they will shop and shop and raid the stores of their quirky Mount Fuji souvenirs! By the time the bus reached fifth station, we had already made an ascent of 2300m! It hadn't taken us long to get above the clouds. The trip from Tokyo takes less than two hours if you are lucky!

I armed myself with the traditional gimmicky-but-useful-nonetheless walking stick. Mine had a flag for Nippon and oh, I forgot to mention that we were armed with Union Jack flags too on our bags...! I also packed a BIG Union Jack and that was our special treat for the summit!

We also got given a cute green carp from the guide. This was just to mark us as a group member...you could have spotted us from anywhere in any case!!!

We set off on the Subaru route. Our guide was great and he explained everything to us in so much detail. He made us stop on the route every 20 minutes to half hour. I really appreciated this higher up especially as we could get use to the altitude, not to mention eat lots more chocolate!!

Thousands and thousands of people, from all around the world make this hike each summer. Keep watching for more pictures and just see how many PEOPLE there are!!! 

The route is well signposted on the way up. In fact, it is a really well looked after mountain considering its ample size. There are plenty of paths for the bulldozers and they provide everything to the rest stations. We even saw a delivery of futons going up the mountain!

The paths we have (no choice) but to walk on are rugged. Mostly it is rocky, if you are lucky, there is gravel, but there are some slopes too, still with more rock....It is challenging even for the best of the hikers. However, at the start of the mountain, we are treated to some cute flowers and greenery. 

The vegetation doesn't last too long, mind and starts to slowly disappear after the 7th station.

 

PEOPLE!!!

Just a little greenery to savour...

Lovely views the whole way up!

It doesn't take too long to get to the 6th station. I think we stopped two or three times already, so we still had heaps of reserve energy and excitement in us!

What made me sad at the 6th station were the horses. (What is it about mountains and horses?? There was a donkey with our guide at Mount Bromo...)

There were some individual horses carting down the sick or the sheer lazy traveller (and their backpack!!) or there were carts to hold many passengers to be led by just one horse. It is a sad sight to see....

The route up to the other stations was mostly rocky. It was a pain to hike up, especially with the silly stick I had bought! However, not only is this a must-have souvenir, but it is also very useful on the way down!!

Our guide made us take many breaks. Some were just enough for us to drink water and others were enough for us to reach into the food bags and suddenly realise just how hungry we really were!

The trek up to 7th station was a little hard, but at this stage, I still had energy, excitement and lots and lots of chocolate! 7th station comprises of many huts, I think 4 and each has a 'shop, a toilet, and a stop off should you wish to rest your weary feet.

It wasn't long till our own hut, which was at 8th station. It was the last hut and slightly closer to the summit, something we would appreciate in the morning,  I suppose.

 

Some of the huts had messages for the climbers. Even overcome with fatigue, they will make you smile!

8th Station...but not our hut just yet!

Our giude

 As dusk fell, we slowly reached our destination for the night.
Our hut was so very welcoming indeed. Even the basic curry rice-burger combo we were served was the best meal I had ever eaten!

Our hut was decorated and signed by every visitor!

Heaven!! 8th Station

I think I almost shed a tear for reaching such a height! It was an amazing feeling, but it was nowhere near yet over.....

Happy climbers!!!

We went to bed shortly after dinner and set the alarms for just after midnight (!)

We were due to leave around 1am and still had a bit of a trek ahead of us...

Vienna, Wien - Day five....

Assumption day!!!

...which, in a catholic country, means ....BANK HOLIDAY!!! ie, everything is shut...almost everything!

We made it to the Museumsquarter in the morning and went to the Leopolds Museum. the Exhibition was mostly of his letter with his wife's sisters as well as various very personal details about his lifestyle, and thus portraying him in a very different light to the painter of gold and exuberant colours. As a long time fan, I preferred not to know such things, although, I guess it helps understand where and why he painted like he did.

Museums Quarter

There were some other exhibitions on at the museum too, making well worth the visit, although if you take a rucksack, be warned you will have to carry it on your front (uncomfortable) for 'security' reasons...It is quite a tall museum of 5 or 6 floors...but you will get to see the bggest collection of works by Egon Schiele too, so try to forget the luggage, eh!

 

We were unable to head back to the shops (probably wise really!) but Ian was able to guide us back to the restaurant for yesterday's lunch (those pancakes..!). I had no idea where it was, but all I could recognise was fashion shop opposite!

Thank goodness for Ian!

All in all, Vienna will make you happy - from park life

     to ...tram life (got to be a geek, like me!)

to a good, green perspective on things

 (Ganz Wien bleibt clean - All of Vienna will stay clean)...

 to good food (not one single meal was under par!)

Klimt

 and of course to good and great and wonderful and quirky art!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14 years ago, there was only the FLEX, now there are beach bars along the canal!
TEL AVIV  is very popular!

Awesome falafel at TEL AVIV BAR on the canal.

   

Kruder & Dorfmesiter's (& mine too!) old hangout!

There is endless day life, night life, colours, history, modernity and constant excitement and calm in this city.

In short, we love Vienna!

Vienna, Wien - Day four

We ventured onto the sub way today, or the U-Bahn ( pronounced Ooh) and headed down to Karlsplatz. The morning's goal was Schloss Belvededere, home to the main Klimt exhibition (this summer, there are many exhibitions on to mark 150th birthday of Gustav Klimt).

Taking a tram is much easier!

 Schloss Belvedere is located near Sud Bahnhof and there are trams that go there. We decided to walk however and I had forgotten it was one big hill that we had to climb!

Schloss Belvedere

 

We walked along the road, uphill as the heat of the sun followed us. We have been lucky to enjoy warm summer days here this August.

Schloss Belvedere is A small and lovely castle in two parts, upper and lower. There are some nice waterfalls and statues to see, nit to mention the exhibitions inside. This summer, you need to brave the crowds, but on a regular day/ year, there is no problem getting in and around to see everything.

We walked through the back streets and found ourselves near the Ring street and, quite unexpectedly hit the Naschmarkt (the flea Market). There are some great coffee shops and bars surrounding the markets ( some the same from over a decade ago), many new. They a refurbishing the whole area and sorting out the plumbing to make the Market not just permanent, but healthy too!

What left me salivating were the fruit and vegetable stalls and the stuffed olives!!

The Secession (and some cars)

Back towards the Ring street, we saw the Secession and popped inside the shop (always the best part of most museums!). We collected a few books and posters and then decided to pop into see the Frieze.

Exhibition leaflet

Beethovan's Frieze, by Klimt is something I have never seen before and as part of the 150 celebrations, they have created a platform for visitors to view up close and personal. It was an experience that really moved me. In all my time in Vienna, I had never seen it, so to be able to do so up close, was unique. It is Klimt's presentation of Richard Wagner's interpretation of Beethovan's 9th symphony.

The details within the frieze are stunning, from pearl eyes of the evil monster to hidden ghosts in the faces of the people. (I was mesmerised by middle and apparent evil section of it where the hostile forces take over!) 

Choir of angels (poster)

From the Ring street, we wondered over to the shopping street of Maria Hilfer Strasse. By this point, we were already knackered, but we pushed through to check out the fashions.

Then through the seventh district, we walked on to find a restaurant highly recommended by a friend. Sadly, when we did discover it, we couldn't eat there as they specialised in Veal (Wiener Schnitzel is more often than not served with chicken, unless otherwise stated....here it was a rare case of it being stated) and there was literally nothing vegetarian on the menu! Luckily we could still enjoy some wine....(Gaswirtschaftschilling - for the record, the food looked pretty damn good!)

Burggasse also proved to be a great shopping street, but as everything was shut, we have vowed to return tomorrow!

We basically travelled on foot from Karlskirche through to Schloss Belvedere and then back to the Ring street and up to Burggasse. For the record, it wasn't a painful route. I am not good with bearings, but my husband was on it and was able to navigate us back through the city. We had bought a travel pass for the day (around 6 euros, equating to three journies on the tram or metro, but we were hard pushed to use just 4 euros worth...just goes to show how small Vienna is if you walk around, plus it is well worth it! There are also electronic bikes available for hire in many places...

 For the record, it wasn't a painful route. I am not good with bearings, but my husband was on it and was able to navigate us back through the city. We had bought a travel pass for the day (around 6 euros, equating to three journeys on the tram or metro, but we were hard pushed to use just 4 euros worth...just goes to show how small Vienna is if you walk around, plus it is well worth it! There are also electronic bikes available for hire in many places...

http://www.gabarage.at/

We stumbled across an amazing recycled shop with bags, stools, even jewellery, all made from disused products! I was in my element!

http://www.gabarage.at/

We also came across an amazing restaurant with the best spinach pancakes I have ever tucked into! So, while it was a long and tiring day for the feet, it was stimulating for the brain as well as the belly! 

Sweet dreams tonight, Vienna!