Holy Mount Hua Shan 華山

Near the city of Xi'an lies Mount Hua, one of the five great mountains of China and an important place for Taoism.  Once ranked as one of the most dangerous hikes in the world, the government has expanded trails, added cable cars, and closed some of the more dangerous parts.  That being said, each year some people die on the mountain because it is still dangerous and the number of people on it is incredible.  Eva and I took the route of taking the cable car to the West Peak and then completing the 5 peak circuit and going down the North Peak.

Taking the cable car to the West Peak.

A crane covered in Toaist prayers.

Getting ready for the plank walk.

Hanging on to avoid the 1000 meter drop.

The Taoist temple at the end of the plank.

A human traffic jam.

Basically China.

So many more stairs.

Waiting for our bullet train back to Xi'an.

The End of the Silk Road

Working as a teacher of course comes with the perks of school holidays.  We had a week break for Easter this year and decided to go to Mainland China.  We made our first stop at the city of Xi'an. Xi'an was the capital of the Chinese empire during the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and early Tang dynasties (1100 BC until about 900 AD). Xi'an remained an important city even after the capital moved as the end of the trade routes connection China to the West.  The center of Xi'an is surrounded by a massive city wall which covers several kilometers of track.  It is possible to rent a bicycle and make the full circuit around the city.

Xi'an has a large Muslim quarter with street food worth making the trip just for eating.

Making dumplings.

Full on dumplings, Eva needs something refreshing.

Of course, most tourists come to Xi'an to see one thing, the famous Terracotta Warriors.  Discovered in just 1976, the Terracotta Army is a bit outside of Xi'an.  Still an active archaeological site, the work is being done to slowly uncover the figures and painstakingly put them back piece by piece.

The Bell Tower in Central Xi'an.

A New Start in Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong on the last day of the official celebration of the Chinese New Year.  It was the start of the year of the rooster.  Our first stop in Hong Kong was an AirBnB in what we would find out was an infamous building called Chung King Mansion.  Located in Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side, this placed sucked. The room would have made Harry Potter feel claustrophobic. It made our very first impression of Hong Kong interesting to say the least.

The year of the Rooster.

Our first Chinese meal.

Literally the entire room.

After 4 days we moved out to the New Territories and a place to stay a million times better than what we had.  We also started our new jobs as English Teachers in a local kindergarten.  It is a new challenge for sure! So far, I thoroughly enjoy it.

We are living in the New Territories now.  Much closer to the Chinese border than downtown Hong Kong.  There are some advantages. 1.) The air is clean and it seems the quality of life is a bit better. 2.) It's significantly cheaper but the salaries for English teachers aren't lower. 3.) It is only about 50 minutes by train to Hong Kong Island.  This has still given us some time to explore the area and see some of Hong Kong.

Our home in Fanling.

Sunday funday in Central.  All the domestic workers come and camp on the streets.

Chicken feet.

Dim Sum for lunch.

An Austrian Christmas

After a year long trip in Africa (and a little Europe) we came home, at least for one of us, to relax with Eva's family in Austria.  Oh man, what a relief not to be carrying a backpack for a while.  Of course the flip side of that was that now I had to carry a hat, gloves, and a winter coat everywhere.  We spent half the time in Bergl (South-Eastern Austria) and half in Vienna.  In between meeting up with people, looking for a job in Hong Kong, celebrating the festivities, looking at schooling, and non-stop eating, we had a busy two months.

The Prater in Vienna.

Willkommen zum Geisterschloss.

When you play men versus women there tends to be one side that wins.

At least someone is happy.

Lucas, Eva's student from Chile, came to celebrate Christmas in Bergl.

Christmas football.

Too tired to move.

Little David the star child.

Doug came to visit for the New Year's.  And he brought some friends!

New Year's Eve beer on the Ubahn.

Walking on the frozen Danube.

Playing with my birthday present.