Great Britain (30 August to 5 September 2016)
The trip from Slovenia to Great Britain was quick
and easy although up very early at 4.30am Slovenian time (3.30am GB time). Lucky for us our friend Keith picked us up
from the airport saving us a train/tube trip to Ruislip where he and Aida
live. Ruislip is a little town although
busy and their house is very cute lined up along with the
others on the street all built around 1930.
Britain is all about catching up with friends and
family so we spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and sitting outside in
the beautiful "end of summer" weather that they are currently
having. A nice BBQ at home for dinner
and a really nice evening.
We were also meeting Lucy (from our Antarctic trip)
in London to say hello the following evening so caught the train in, spent a
couple of hours in St James Park relaxing and catching up on the last few
months. London was super busy with people everywhere - the weather is still
great and everyone was out enjoying it, particularly in the park. We ended up quite close to Buckingham Palace
so took a few evening shots before departing home.
Our last day in Ruislip was more catching up with
Keith and Aida and a super yummy home cooked roast meal. So nice to be in a proper home and enjoying
time with people we have known for more than a few days! Very grateful for the hospitality and
generosity.
The following day we were transferring to Newark so
Keith kindly escorted us to Kings Cross Station where our train was departing
from. 90 minutes later we were in Newark
and being picked up by Lesley's niece Sandie and her husband Brian. The idea was to surprise Lesley's sister for
her 75th birthday and Aunty Win (95th birthday). The cat somewhat got out of the bag though
and Elaine, albeit still surprised, had cottoned on to something going on.
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| Gary & Lesley with Lesley's sister Elaine (Birthday girl) and husband Ken |
We spent 4 nights/5 days in Newark and didn’t get up
to too much other than spending time with the family, which is exactly what we
went for. We managed a visit around to
Aunty Win’s house before the “big party” which was fabulous as she had no idea
we were coming and was really surprised – best of all we had her to ourselves
for a couple of hours which was unlikely to happen at the 95th
birthday party. Had a nice family dinner
on our last night with Elaine & Ken’s direct family (Stephen, Em, Hope,
Honour, Sandie & Brian) and then had to start getting used to saying
goodbye which is never (and it wasn’t) a good thing.
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| Elaine, Ken, Sandie (daugher) & husband Brian |
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| Fabulous Aunty Win - looking amazing for 95! |
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| Stephen (Elaine & Ken's son) with Em (wife), Honour & Hope |
It was absolutely fabulous to catch up with the
family – apart from the two young girls (now 12 and 9) no-one has really
altered at all. Elaine and Aunty Win
(whose big celebrations it was – 75 and 95 respectively) look and act no
different to that when we were there 9 years ago. It’s so fulfilling to see them, and to know
that they are all well. We promised to
be back to Aunty Win’s 100th birthday if not before!
Back in London for our last night before departing
Great Britain we went to see “Beautiful” which is a musical based on Carole
King’s life and it was nothing short of absolutely fantastic. Great sets, super cast and amazing voices –
it’s also a great story and we had a wonderful night.
The
Netherlands (6-13 September 2016)
We travelled on the Eurostar (train) and arrived in
Rotterdam around 4pm (after a quick transit in Brussels and also losing an hour
on the way). Rotterdam is The
Netherland’s second largest city (after Amsterdam) and is full of all sorts of
amazing architecture and buildings that defy gravity. Apparently most of Rotterdam was levelled
during WWII and today’s cityscape is the result of that.
The following morning we headed out in beautiful
sunshine on our way to Kinderdijk. It’s
a village about 15kms from Rotterdam and is known for its 18th
century windmills (the first built in 1728).
The mills are effectively the water management network made up of 19
windmills and more recently 3 pumping stations, plus dikes and reservoirs that
control the flooding in the polder (low-lying land). (40% of The Netherlands is below sea level –
up to a maximum of almost 7m below).
After arriving on a very relaxing waterbus we
wandered into the Unesco Heritage Site (1997) and watched a video on the
history before venturing out amongst the windmills. The area is made up of multiple waterways,
footpaths and bike trails – all making the walk (or ride) very easy. Two of the windmills are also museums so we
got to go inside them and climb the entirety of one. Inside they are quite amazing – the one we
spent the most time in used to be owned by a family that lived there with 13
children! (a lot of bed sharing in this Mill)
The area is the largest concentration of old
windmills in The Netherlands and is quite simply beautiful. Very flat, edged with working farms and
paddocks and of course waterways. The
pure number of windmills in close proximity really makes the views special.
Back in town we walked around heading in the
direction of Markthal Rotterdam. It was
The Netherlands inaugural indoor food market and it hit headlines when it
opened in 2014 due to its inverted U shape design with glass walled apartments
arcing over the food hall. The ceiling
is one big vegetable mural and the stalls and shops within are amazing, full of
colourful and delicious looking morsels – everything from meats, fish, coffee,
bread, cheese and veges to desserts and drinks all in specialty shops.
Right next to the market is one of Rotterdam’s icons
– the yellow cubed houses. They were
conceived and constructed by Piet Blom (architect) in the 1970’s after being
asked to solve the dilemma of building houses on top of a pedestrian
bridge. They are quite amusing to look
at but can’t imagine very comfortable or spacious to live in!
On the way home we passed the very cute building
that the Natural History Museum resides in and a great Statue of King William
the 4th.
The next day we were on the move again as Amsterdam
beckoned. A short train ride of ~30 mins
and then after a quick info desk stop we were on a tram to our hotel. We purchased a four day travel card (buses,
trams and trains) as we are here for four nights and within 2 days it had paid
for itself.
First thing you notice in Amsterdam of course is the
canals, then the bikes… and then the leaning buildings. All of these things give Amsterdam a very
charming and quirky feel. We headed away
from the Central Station (amazing building) and down towards Dam Square. On the way you could mistakenly feel like
you’re in a part of Venice as some of the towns houses edge the canal, and all
lean on each other for support! They are
old, and date back as far as the early-mid 1600’s.
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| Central Station |
The following day we went back to Dam Square and the
Royal Palace. The square is the original
location of the dam of the River Amstel hence its name. It’s in the centre of the old town and the
Palace sits across from the 1956 National Monument – a white stone pillar in
memory of the victims of WWII. The
palace was built in 1655 as a city hall and became the royal palace of King
Louis Napoleon in 1808.
Next up was Beginhof – a former convent dating from
early 14th century. It’s a
quiet oasis in a busy place with beautiful gardens, a quaint and pretty church
surrounded by picture postcard houses, still mostly residential.
On to the Flower Market (Bloemenmarkt) and the only
floating flower market in the world (set up in 1862 in floating shops). It includes multiple florists and garden
shops and in season you can find all kinds of flowers, bulbs, seeds and
souvenirs.
On to Rembrandtplein which is a major square in
central Amsterdam and named after the famous Dutch master painter, Rembrandt
van Rijn. The square is now centred on a
great statue of the man however was originally a butter and dairy market.
The Magere Bridge (or skinny bridge) was next on the
list. This one was built in 1934 however
the first bridge on this site dated back to 1691. The original bridge was so narrow the locals
called it Magere Brug and the name has stuck.
The bridge in its place now was built to look the same as the previous,
only slightly bigger, and is for pedestrians and cyclists only (it also opens
for boat traffic regularly).
On our travels we passed the floating houses, of
which Amsterdam has ~3,000+ (and 1,700+ bridges!). We also visited the canal and saw the street
and the “Shadow Wall” where during WWII over 200 Jewish residents were forced
to leave their homes here and were murdered.
Their memorial plaques are along the river opposite the homes they used
to live in – very sad. The city is lucky
there is so much of Amsterdam left considering its location.
After walking our legs off in a rather large loop we
headed back into the centre to do a canal tour.
A 75 minute cruise through the canals getting a different perspective
and feel for the city. From the Central
Station we headed out past St Nicholas Church (1887) and then into the
labyrinth of waterways. Past the leaning
houses, storage houses, seven bridges viewing spot (you can see seven in a row
from the water), and Magere bridge. The
vibe from the water is great – very serene and quiet but a bustling life of
activity going on around you, and a never-ending number of fantastic views and
amazing buildings.
A quick trip home and a change of clothes we are head
back into the city to see what Amsterdam is famous for – it’s red light
district. While in Rome… we went to a
sex/strip show. Don’t need to elaborate
as I’m sure imaginations are running wild – however it is fair to say although
very ‘x’ rated it was tastefully done.
Obviously also extremely popular as when we came out (around 10.30pm)
the queue to get in was out the door and down the road!
We had a quiet wine at the bar across the road from
our hotel to finish off our amazing day.
The following day we were off again. This time to a part of the city a little
further out…
Albert Cuyp market – this street market began
trading in 1904 and with over 300 stalls and some of the cheapest pricing in
Amsterdam is also very busy. They sell
everything from fruit, veges, fish, cheese and spices to clothes, cosmetics and
bedding.
Then to the Rijksmuseum. It’s Amsterdam’s premier art treasure trove
housing Van Gogh and Rembrandts amongst hundreds of other extremely talented
artists from the 17th and 18th centuries and beyond. We easily spent a couple of hours in here and
some of the paintings and portraits are something else. Rembrandts’ The Night
Watch takes pride of place. It’s amazing
how these artists put little treasures and secrets into their paintings as well
– keeps you guessing the whole time.
Before we left we went to see the 17th century dolls houses –
these were wealthy women’s dolls houses and are unbelievable.
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| Van Gogh - self portrait |
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| Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' |
Our final full day here we visited Anne Frank’s
house. The area around the house is very
typical Amsterdam with the lovely houses and canals and close to the very large
Westerkerk (1631 Protestant Church).
Inside the museum, which is extremely well thought
out, it takes you through the life of Anne and her family and friends - before
war broke out and life afterwards. Of
course the famous part of this life was their hiding place at 263 Prinsengracht
and Anne’s diary. The building is
exactly as it was however now completely empty.
Otto Frank (Anne’s father) who was the only one of eight to survive the
war (he was in the infirmary when they were liberated so destined to survive…
perhaps to publish Anne’s diary?) insisted that the place remain empty to
symbolise the void left behind by the millions of people who were deported and
never returned. Anne, who wanted to be a
famous writer, ended up being exactly that when her father had the diary
published for the first time in 1947 and it has since been translated into 70
different languages. Anne’s father
committed the rest of his life to combating discrimination and prejudice; he
died aged 91 in 1980.
The space they lived in seems large enough, maybe
for a couple of people – eight however would have been extremely cramped and
with no light or noise allowed, particularly during the day, it is a wonder any
of them retained their sanity. It is
extremely sad and brought back all the other awful things human beings have
done – Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia – not to mention countless other examples. To top off the very sad story of their lives
Anne and her sister died of Typhus a month after their father was liberated
from Auschwitz in January 1945. The
concentration camp they were in was not liberated until April of that
year. The entire visit was very powerful
and emotional.
After the Anne Frank visit we wandered a little more
through the suburb of Jordaan, which is now one of Amsterdam's most desirable
addresses. The neighbourhood is
peppered with 17th and 18th century merchant houses intermingled with cafes. In
the evening we ventured out again to enjoy our last night of Amsterdam night
life.
On the way to finding somewhere for dinner we passed
by Oude Kerk (old church), which is Amsterdam's oldest building and oldest
parish church. Founded in 1213 and
consecrated in 1306 the church, dedicated to St Nicholas is in the heart of the
city and Red Light district.
After a nice, casual and cheerful Italian dinner we
headed into the Red Light district and our new favourite pub for a couple more
drinks - perfectly located to watch the people go by and watch the girls at
work - all behind glass windows selling themselves. For the most part they are quite beautiful and most do not come
from The Netherlands. From our seats it's
all very above board and a great way to lose time! A quick trip to one of the districts museums (more about art
than anything else, including some drawings by John Lennon) and then we were on
our way home.
The next day we were on a train to Maastricht. We arrived late in the afternoon so our sightseeing was limited
to Market Square (where City Hall resides). Already we are in awe of the buildings and
square in a city that has 1650 listed historic buildings.
The following day we had decided to do the “self
guided” walking tour set off just after 9am. There is a lot to see in Maastricht –
this is some (not all) of what we saw. First stop was the actual tourist
office building (Dinghuis 1475). Originally the attic was a prison and
the tower was used as a lookout to alert locals of fire - it has amazing wooden
framing in the old outside wall of the building.
The Stokstraat quarter was a highlight with houses
dated 1669 and 1739 etc.
We broke out into Onze Lieve Vrouweplein square
which is graced by the towering Basilica of our Lady. The church, which almost looks like a castle from the front, is
imposing and dates from before 1000 AD. It is beautiful and overlooks a pretty cafe filled square. The back is just as impressive flanked by a 1786 guardhouse and
private residence, also 17th century.
From here it was onto the Onze Lieve Vrouwewal city
wall.
The wall was part of the first medieval wall around
the city, built in 1229. This side of the
city looks across the Muese River to the other side of Maastricht (Wyck
district). A little further
around is Helpoort (Hell's Gate). The oldest city gate in the Netherlands you can still see the
scars of time and centuries of use left within it.
Passing over the Jeker River you come to a pretty
row of houses with red and white shutters. The former Faliezusters-klooster (cloister) dates from 1647 and
the nuns lived here accordance with the rules of life of the Franciscan monks
that lived in the large monastery behind the cloister.
Next was Lang Grachtje - an extension of the first
city wall also built in 1229 before we headed through the student and
university district. Eventually we
arrived at Henric van Veldekeplein square where a bronze statue of the first
Dutch poet is surrounded by absolutely magnificent buildings being St Servatius
(Basilica) and The Church of St John. The front of these is framed by the huge Vrijthof square. We headed into the 1633 Church of
St John, which was originally built as a
baptistery for St Servaas, and climbed up the 70m tower.
After our birds eye view we had to venture a little
further out of the city (2km) to Fort Sint Pieter. The fort is connected with underground tunnels and dates from
around 1700. Largely intact, with
some parts restored, exploring the fort was great with hidden rooms, wells and
communication openings and is in a beautiful area looking over the city.
Next into the St
Pietersberg Caves (underground tunnels)
- our guide led us in to a labyrinth of tunnels (originally started by the
Romans) that once comprised more than 20,000 corridors and covered 230km in
length (today ~80km remains) The tunnels were used during WWII to hide and
protect a large part of the Netherlands national treasures including Rembrandts’ The Night Watch that we had just seen in the Rijksmuseum. The caves were a bit of fun - art on
the walls, fresh (11 degrees) and for 100 metres or so without light (a bit of
an experiment/game that the guide played with us) to experience the pitch
black. Coming
back out into the sunlight was a bit like a sauna - into 30+ degrees!
Back to St Servatius which had already existed
around 530AD in the form of a small crypt church. Work on the huge church we
see now began around 950AD. It is the only
church in The Netherlands built over the tomb of a saint, that being St
Servatius. He was the first
Bishop of Maastricht and the patron saint of the city - he died in 384AD.
The Basilica is breath-taking. So many sites within including the Sacristy, Cloister Garden, a 6,650kg
bell, Treasury (as well as gold and silver includes St Servatius burial
clothing), the Alters, Organ, Royal Entrance and much more. It is quite simply stunning. There is even a labyrinth in tiles on the floor which start from
the four corners of the earth and reach Celestial Jerusalem only via St
Servatius.
Maastricht is a little off the beaten track and
close to the border with Germany but is well worth a visit. There is so much history here that has been preserved and they
are set on ensuring that it stays that way. Beautiful city.
On the way to our exit the following day (train
station) we stopped to catch a glimpse of the famous Stone Bridge, St
Serbaasbrug (named after St Servatius). Built in 1275 after the original wooden bridge erected here in ~50AD collapsed.
What we will remember about The Netherlands:
Windmills
Canals
The Bridges
Beautiful buildings
Leaning houses
Red lights
Trams
The distinctive smell of Marijuana
Germany – South West (14-19 September 2016)
Time to cross the border into Germany. We went by train (actually 3) from Maastricht (Netherlands) to
Aachen (Germany) and from there were collected by a local guy we had found on a
car sharing website who was to drive us the ~5 hours or so to Bamberg.
Heading to Bamberg turned out to be a great
decision. Another place off
the major tourist routes Bamberg was a really authentic and cute town. Unesco preserved it is full of beautifully preserved historic
buildings, palaces and churches. Here for only one night we went straight out to explore - doing
our own version of a walking tour.
First up was the former fisherman's district, now
affectionately known as Little Venice. It's characterised by half-timbered buildings that seemingly
prop each other up (and keep everything standing) surrounded by pretty tiny
gardens.
The houses are mainly from the Middle Ages and it's
extremely picturesque and postcard perfect.
Next was a short walk up the hill past some amazing
buildings and residences to St Michael's monastery. The former Benedictine monastery was founded in 1015 and it
holds pride of place on St Michael's hill overlooking the city. Unfortunately for us a large part of the building was under
renovation, but you can't complain when people and cities are trying to retain
their history.
Into “Domplatz” and what a square. Surrounded by the New Residence (Palace 1698), The Cathedral and
hidden behind the Rose Gardens. The buildings are
imposing and quite unreal.
The Cathedral was founded in 1004 by Emperor Henry II
and took 8 years to finish. It was partially
destroyed by fire in 1081 and a new cathedral completed in 1111. It received its final and present Romanesque form in the 13th
century.
It contains many exhibits and treasures, the most
important of which are the papal tomb of Clemens II (the only Vatican approved
burial place north of the Alps) and the statue of the Bamberg Horseman. The identity of the horseman is still unknown (however may be
the emperor Conrad III); it dates to the second quarter of the 13th century. The statue serves as a symbol of the town of Bamberg.
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| Old Pub 1405 |
From here it was down the hill again to the Old Town
Hall.
This building is quite curious - according to legend
the bishop of Bamberg did not grant the citizens any land for the construction
of a town hall. In response the
people rammed stakes into the River Regnitz to create an artificial island on
which the town hall was built. It's an impressive
building and with beautiful frescoes painted on one side and consists of three
different types of architecture. The views in both directions down the river are like something
out of a story book - the whole town is very pretty.
Next day we were back up to the Cathedral, New Residence and
this time got to go in to see the Rose Gardens. Very pretty and well-kept as well as having great views down
into the small town and up to the Monastery also.
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| St Michael's Monastery |
Bamberg is beautiful and is another small place that should be
on travellers’ lists - there is something about the small towns that is
extremely endearing unlike that of the big bustling cities.
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| Old Pub 1405 |
Off to Munich our train ride was supposed to go like
this - Bamberg to Munich ~2 hours. Due to power failures on some train lines it actually went like this - Train Bamberg to
Florsheim, wait 90 minutes, Bus Florsheim to Vach, Train Vach to Nuermberg and
then Train Nuremberg to Munich - we finally arrived just after 7pm 6
hours after we started.
Day 1 Munich - walking tour. These really are the best way to get to see a few things and
work out what you want to do more of, if anything. We headed into Marienplatz - the main central square for our
starting point. Again there were a
heap of things to see on this tour, and lots of info, but a few of the
highlights...
Neues Rathaus - the 1908 new town hall was the first
to greet us. Actually we got the
first view when we emerged from the subway and "wow" is the only word
to describe this building. It is home to the
world famous Glockenspiel clock which plays three times a day with 43 bells the
32 life sized figures re-enacting two stories from the 16th century.
St Peters church - the oldest church in the city. The current reconstructed church was consecrated in 1368 however
there has been a church on this site since the 8th century. In the early 17th century a 91m spire was added. We returned to this site after the walking tour to climb the
tower (303 steps) and get some amazing views of the city and Marienplatz
square.
On to Viktualienmark - Munich's fresh food market
which developed from the original farmers market. We saw only a tiny piece of this, including the mandatory bier
garden, but the actual market covers a space of 22,000 square metres and houses
140 stalls.
Next was the Old Town Hall, which is actually the
new town hall in terms of years as it was completely rebuilt after WWII (only 1
in 10 buildings avoided some form of damage from the war) and some Butchers
Shops alongside that were 700 years old, with some still in the same families. Pretty cool!
We passed by Hofbrauhaus, which is a world famous
beer hall that began its life in 1589, founded by the Duke of Bavaria. Then walking up the most expensive street in Munich we came to the
Opera House and The Royal Residence, which is the largest city palace in
Germany.
That night we headed to one of the beer houses,
Augustiner Braustuben. Augustiner is the
oldest independent brewery in Munich and began its life in 1294. It is also the only remaining family owned Beer
Haus. The beer hall was a lot of fun.
Effectively you just find an empty seat at a table and ask if you can
sit. They say that the people you sit
next to become your best friends and that is not so far from the truth. We met a couple of American lads and a lovely
4-some from Switzerland, who have invited us to look them up when we are over
their way. There is lots of happiness,
singing, drinking and “prosting” (saying cheers) to be had and the evening was
great. Big 1 litre steins are what most
drink out of and of course half of the patrons are dressed in local Bavarian
outfits – all adding to the atmosphere and sense of fun. We may not officially be at Oktoberfest yet
(it opens tomorrow at 12 noon) but it most certainly feels like we are here.
Oktoberfest official opening…we went out in the rain
into the centre of the old town to watch the official parade that leads to the
Oktoberfest venue to officially open the festival. As soon as we got there we could see horses
and carts with music drumming its way around town. We followed one of the carts and soon came to
the area where they were all merging from the different districts and being
marshalled into lines ready to get started.
It was like Germany’s version of Rio’s carnival.
Even in the terrible weather everyone was festive
and the parade was fantastic. The most
majestic and beautiful horses (mainly Clydesdales) that we’ve ever seen and
they were absolutely huge. The floats they
were pulling were colourfully decorated and carrying people drinking the relevant
breweries beer in large 1L steins. We
even saw a couple of wine floats! Each
brewery has its own contingent of floats and it seems the larger the brewery
the more they have. They also each have
their own musicians – drums, flutes and a multitude of other instruments all
playing traditional Bavarian festive music.
It was quite something and really good to see (even though it was very
wet and only 13 degrees!)
After a quick lunch and now in the Bavarian spirit we
went shopping for our own traditional Bavarian beer fest outfits, so we will
look the part and fit right in tomorrow when we venture to the festival.
The rest of the very wet and cold afternoon was
spent indoors – a great excuse to catch up on notes and photos and then watched
the movie “Hotel Rwanda”, something we have wanted to do again since we were
there. We both found it far more
reaching emotionally after having been there.
Oktoberfest day it was still raining and temperature
was around 14 degrees so our rain jackets had to become part of our outfits
(whether they worked or not!). We headed
out around 2pm and within about 15 minutes were at the entrance to the
festival.
Wow – what a huge carnival. Easter show on major steroids with some of
the usual attractions and rides but a huge amount of ones we hadn’t seen
before. We wandered around and watched
the mad people having lots of fun (mad due to some of the heights of these rides!)
before making our way to Hoffbrauhaus Beer Tent.
Walking in (which was a bit lucky) was another wow
moment. The tent was absolutely huge and
there were thousands inside – most in traditional dress/costume including the
lovely ladies serving the 1L steins of beer to the thirsty. These steins are extremely heavy and filled
with beer are even heavier – the most we saw one lady carrying was 10 which was
quite unbelievable (something tells us they have done this before!).
It was a real party vibe with a band, lots of
singing and lots of “prosting” and a great day was had. You meet all sorts of people from all walks
of life who are all out to have the same good time. Gary’s second time while Lesley thought it
was just fantastic to actually be here and witness it all first hand.
Dinner consisted of half a chicken and a huge pork
hock inside the tent (can’t believe they actually manage to serve food as well)
and both were really good. You can also
buy all sorts of things being sold by people walking around the tent – chips,
cheese, huge pretzels, souvenirs and much more.
On our way out (by now it was dark) we went for a
ride on the supersized Ferris wheel and got amazing birds eye views of the
carnival. The lights make everything
look more magical. Given the weather
it’s pretty impressive that everyone still goes out to enjoy it… can only
imagine what it’s like when the sun is shining.
We both had a fantastic night.
We left Munich the following day at 9.18am by bus –
a bus that literally looked and felt like an aeroplane with a vending machine
for drinks and food, wi-fi and so much leg room it was quite odd. Certainly not complaining though and even
somewhat looking forward to a very comfortable few hours.
What we will remember about Germany so far (as we
will be back later):
Beer
Rain
Bamberg – amazing town with amazing buildings
Fantastic underground
Beer
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