THE

AUSTRIAN

ADVENTURE

“To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one's self.... And to venture in the highest is precisely to be conscious of one's self.”

 THEY SAY THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES STARTS WITH A SINGLE STEP…

SO I FIGURED WHY NOT DOCUMENT ALL THOSE STEPS INBETWEEN.

I TEND TO GET LOST IN MY OWN THOUGHTS AND RAMBLINGS SO EXPECT A HIGH AMOUNT OF PHOTOGRAPHY WITH AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF NONSENSE THROWN IN…BUT NONSENSE IS THE FUN PART RIGHT?

SO WHERE DO I BEGIN…

CHAPTER ONE

- THE FIRST STEP -

AFTER SPENDING THE PAST YEAR TRAVELLING, CAMPING, HIKING AND DOCUMENTING ALL OF THE ABOVE

I WAS FEELING LOST AND UNSURE OF WHAT THE FUTURE HAD IN STORE FOR ME.

SO I DECIDED TO APPLY FOR A CONTENT CREATOR ROLE IN AUSTRIA ASSUMING I WOULDN’T GET IT,

WHY WOULD I? I ONLY TAKE PICTURES EH.

WELL I GUESS THEY SAW SOMETHING IN ME THAT I CURRENTLY DON’T SEE AS I GOT OFFERED THE ROLE A FEW WEEKS LATER.

THIS IS MY JOURNEY HOPEFULLY FINDING THAT PART OF MY STORYTELLING THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO SEE BUT ME.

SO I PACKED MY BAGS, FILLED MY CAR AND SET OFF FOR AUSTRIA.

THIS WOULD BE THE LONGEST JOURNEY I’D EVER TAKEN AND ALSO THE FURTHEST DISTANCE I’D EVER DRIVEN SO I WAS IN FOR A LONG FEW DAYS OF TRAVEL.

I PLANNED TO DRIVE DOWN TO FOLKESTONE AND GET THE 30 MINUTE EURO TUNNEL TO CALAIS AND THEN DRIVE THROUGH FRANCE, PASSING THROUGH SWITZERLAND AND EVENTUALLY ENDING UP IN AUSTRIA.

THE JOURNEY TURNED OUT TO BE REALLY EASY I TURNED UP TO THE CHANNEL TUNNEL AND MANAGED TO BOARD 3 HOURS EARLY SO THAT MEANT I COULD DRIVE FOR A LOT LONGER ONCE I HIT FRANCE.

ON THE FIRST DAY I DROVE FOR ALMOST 10 HOURS DRIVING THROUGH ALMOST EVERY KIND OF WEATHER YOU COULD IMAGINE I MANAGED TO GET HALF WAY ACROSS FRANCE BEFORE STOPPING IN A REST PLACE FOR THE NIGHT SLEEPING IN THE BACK OF MY CAR WHICH WAS NOW FILLED TO THE ROOF WITH BAGS/CAMERAS AND ANY OTHER USELESS STUFF I THOUGHT I WOULD NEED WHILE IN AUSTRIA, SO ITS SAFE TO SAY I DIDNT GET MUCH SLEEP.

I WOKE UP REALLY EARLY SO THOUGHT ID GET DRIVING AS SOON AS I COULD BUT NEEDED TO FILL UP MY TANK SO STOPPED AT THE NEXT SERVICE STATION IN FRANCE.

I WAS GREETED BY A FAMILY OF WHITE STORKS IN THE CARPARK WHICH WAS A HIGHLIGHT OF THE DRIVE, I PROBABLY SPENT AN HOUR SITTING WATCHING THEM PLAY AROUND.

IT WAS STILL EARLY AND I KNEW I STILL HAD A TONNE OF DRIVING AHEAD OF ME AND I WANTED TO TRY TO MAKE IT THROUGH SWITZERLAND BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY, SO I HEADED OFF ON THE ROAD AGAIN FOR THE LONGEST PART YET I WOULD CROSS THE BORDER FROM FRANCE TO SWITZERLAND AND GO THROUGH ZURICH AND A QUICK STOP OFF BEFORE CROSSING THE AUSTRIAN BORDER HAD TO BE DONE AS I HAD BARELY TAKEN ANY PHOTOS ON MY JOURNEY SO FAR.

IT WASNT LONG BEFORE ID CROSSED THE AUSTRIAN BORDER.

I DECIDED TO TAKE A BREAK NOW I WAS IN AUSTRIA AND IT WAS GETTING LATE SO I STOPPED IN A VILLAGE CALLED SIBERTAL WHERE I WOULD SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT SQUASHED IN THE BACK OF THE CAR.

IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE I SPENT ALOT OF THE NIGHT WALKING AROUND TAKING PHOTOS.

AS I GOT WRAPPED UP FOR THE NIGHT INBETWEEN THE BAGS AND THE SNACKS, I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST TASTE OF AUSTRIAS EVENING THUNDERSTORMS, AS I WATCHED THE CLOUDS ROLL IN OVER THE TOWERING PEAKS BEHIND I WAS AMAZED AT THE FACT THAT 30 MINUTES BEFORE IT WAS 32 DEGREES AND BLUE SKIES.

SO AS I SETTLED IN FOR A NOISY RAIN FILLED NIGHT I GOT READY FOR THE SMALLEST AND LAST PART OF MY JOURNEY IN THE MORNING WHERE I WOULD ARRIVE AT MY LOCATION FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS.

SO THAT WAS MY ‘SINGLE STEP’

AND THAT IS ALSO WHERE THIS CHAPTER ENDS

…

THANKYOU FOR READING IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR

YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE CASUAL UPDATES ON MY SUMMER HERE, OR TUNE IN FOR FOLLOWING CHAPTERS AS MY STORY/ADVENTURE CONTINUES.