And a lot of grey.
This was the view from our hotel window. These are apartment blocks. That is people live in these
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Hong Kong Pictures
And a lot of grey.
This was the view from our hotel window. These are apartment blocks. That is people live in these
Sat 31-Jul-2010 - W're back
Erin kindly picked us up from the airport.
Gonna have a shower and a snooze.
Bye for now.
zzzzzzzzzzzz
Gonna have a shower and a snooze.
Bye for now.
zzzzzzzzzzzz
Friday 30-JUL-2010 Last Day
Well it is our last day of holiday. I write from the departure lounge at Hong Kong airport. It is 11pm and they have anounced that the flight is delayed due to maintenance.
Today we checked out of our hotel and brought the bags to Central station where we checked them through to Brisbane. This was intended to save time and it probably did but it seemed like everything took forever. So it was not until around 1pm that we started to be tourists as opposed to pack horses.
In fact it seemed like today was one of those days where everything took much longer than normal.
Anyway we finaly made it to the tram and then to the top. The view was spectacular. Mind you we did not pay the extra HKD25 to go up to the official viewing platform.
When it was time to come down, we decided to go on the nuimber 15 bus. When we first arrived at the bus stop there were three of them but Chris had lost his pass and Megan was nowhere to be found. By the time Megan and the pass had been located there were no busses. Then we waited and waited and waited.
Then a mini bus arrived and there were not enough seats. Finally a number 15. Then it was peak hour so it tok for ages. Finally we made it to the station at around 6pm. By now kids were hungry and temperamental. Megan wanted to go to a market. I did not realise how much she needed to go shopping. Anyway we hopped on a train and went to ??? Markets.
I took the kids to Maccas while Megan went to find the market.
Anyway there was a huge improvement in her demenour.
What I learned today.
If a woman seems a bit distant. Take her shopping.
Finally it was a race against time back to Central, board the airport express and off to the terminal to wait for our delayed plane.
And soon back home. Ahh. What a wonderful 5 weeks.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday 29-July-2010 The Land Between Tour
Well we fly out tomorrow.
Tday we did The New territories The land between tour
http://www.viator.com/tours/Hong-Kong/New-Territories-of-Hong-Kong-The-Land-Between-Tour/d14-3675TLB
This necessitated an early start. Something that we are not so good at but for which I was glad of. The tour was apparantly originally put together by the government tourist board but is now run by Grayline. Our guide was an expat Pom and was both knowledgable and freindly.
One stop involved looking at a temple complex. This had temples for Buddists, Confusionists and ???. As part of the funeral process, people would buy paper replicas of things that they want tin the after life. These are amazing detailed and much larger than I expected. Huses about 1.2m tall, apparantly paper cars are about a meter long although we did not see any cars. Even a model maid. An interesting concept made even more interesting when one thinks about the other end. Person A dies one year and goes to the after life with a 486 whereas someone else dies more recently and takes a netbook with them. Nw Person A is stuck for eternity with Windows 3.11.
The tour included an undocumented stop off in a almst deserted fishing village. Apparantly the younger set do not care much for a lack of running water and toilets and opt for a city life. Mind you it seems to apply also to enough of the parents too as she pointed out several houses, and commented that the owners lived in the UK.
The tour also included lunch and that was great. It was fun to sit round the table with the other members of the the ourist group and chat about what we had seen.
After the tour, Megan took Marcus, Dan and Jemma back to the hotel for a swim. Chris and I took the MTR (train) to Sham Shui Po station in search of deals on electronic goods. When we arrived, we discovered the "market" that we had been told about covered many streets. Some of which cars had all but given up trying to navigate because the stall holders and people had taken over then street. We saw lots of half dismantled computers and airconditioners. In the end we were a bit scared to buy anything as I think one would need to get the vibe of the place to know whether you were buying new or used masquerading as new or just plain used. There were also streets of clothes so we may be directed to return tomorrow on our way to the airport.
Tday we did The New territories The land between tour
http://www.viator.com/tours/Hong-Kong/New-Territories-of-Hong-Kong-The-Land-Between-Tour/d14-3675TLB
This necessitated an early start. Something that we are not so good at but for which I was glad of. The tour was apparantly originally put together by the government tourist board but is now run by Grayline. Our guide was an expat Pom and was both knowledgable and freindly.
One stop involved looking at a temple complex. This had temples for Buddists, Confusionists and ???. As part of the funeral process, people would buy paper replicas of things that they want tin the after life. These are amazing detailed and much larger than I expected. Huses about 1.2m tall, apparantly paper cars are about a meter long although we did not see any cars. Even a model maid. An interesting concept made even more interesting when one thinks about the other end. Person A dies one year and goes to the after life with a 486 whereas someone else dies more recently and takes a netbook with them. Nw Person A is stuck for eternity with Windows 3.11.
The tour included an undocumented stop off in a almst deserted fishing village. Apparantly the younger set do not care much for a lack of running water and toilets and opt for a city life. Mind you it seems to apply also to enough of the parents too as she pointed out several houses, and commented that the owners lived in the UK.
The tour also included lunch and that was great. It was fun to sit round the table with the other members of the the ourist group and chat about what we had seen.
After the tour, Megan took Marcus, Dan and Jemma back to the hotel for a swim. Chris and I took the MTR (train) to Sham Shui Po station in search of deals on electronic goods. When we arrived, we discovered the "market" that we had been told about covered many streets. Some of which cars had all but given up trying to navigate because the stall holders and people had taken over then street. We saw lots of half dismantled computers and airconditioners. In the end we were a bit scared to buy anything as I think one would need to get the vibe of the place to know whether you were buying new or used masquerading as new or just plain used. There were also streets of clothes so we may be directed to return tomorrow on our way to the airport.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday 28-July-2010 HongKong
In Hongkong.
Great value for money hotel. Megan,Jemma and I are on the 25th floor. The boys are on the 22nd floor.
Could not connect to the hotel wifi but someone has an unsecured wifi so I am using that.
Slept in. Missed Breakfast becuase the hotel stope serving breakfast at 10am.
Went and bought OJ & Yoghurt at 7-11
Back to hotel room to eat.
And fall alsleep again - Jet lag.
Went out.
It rained. A lot.
Like standing in a shower with a hair dryer. It is hot and very humid.
Lunch at Maccas (what a disgrace but it reenergised everyone)
One of the things that is noticable here is lots of staff. Maccas had more than in Brisbane ad our 3star 25 story hotel has people who open the door for you and carry your bags. Mind you the view is of other 25 story apartment blocks and literally hundreds of window rattler airconditioners. And if you want to do some home renovatins on the 20th floor then just strap on some baboo scaffholding and get on with it.
The metro stations have a glass wall between you and the train and the train lines up with sliding doors like on a lift.
Went to Kowloon to see a big shopping centre. Then had a very nice dinner at a chinese restraunt. Took some finding. The Bloomin Italians seem to have invaded here as well as Zurich and Paris. We then went to watch the nightly laser light show that takes place but it was cancelled due to the rain.
Took the ferry back from Kawloon to Hong Kong Island and then a double deckker tram to North Point where our hotel is.
In Soho London we were about 100m from china town. You would'nt believe it but here in Hong Kong, we seem to have landed right in the middle of china town.
:)
Great value for money hotel. Megan,Jemma and I are on the 25th floor. The boys are on the 22nd floor.
Could not connect to the hotel wifi but someone has an unsecured wifi so I am using that.
Slept in. Missed Breakfast becuase the hotel stope serving breakfast at 10am.
Went and bought OJ & Yoghurt at 7-11
Back to hotel room to eat.
And fall alsleep again - Jet lag.
Went out.
It rained. A lot.
Like standing in a shower with a hair dryer. It is hot and very humid.
Lunch at Maccas (what a disgrace but it reenergised everyone)
One of the things that is noticable here is lots of staff. Maccas had more than in Brisbane ad our 3star 25 story hotel has people who open the door for you and carry your bags. Mind you the view is of other 25 story apartment blocks and literally hundreds of window rattler airconditioners. And if you want to do some home renovatins on the 20th floor then just strap on some baboo scaffholding and get on with it.
The metro stations have a glass wall between you and the train and the train lines up with sliding doors like on a lift.
Went to Kowloon to see a big shopping centre. Then had a very nice dinner at a chinese restraunt. Took some finding. The Bloomin Italians seem to have invaded here as well as Zurich and Paris. We then went to watch the nightly laser light show that takes place but it was cancelled due to the rain.
Took the ferry back from Kawloon to Hong Kong Island and then a double deckker tram to North Point where our hotel is.
In Soho London we were about 100m from china town. You would'nt believe it but here in Hong Kong, we seem to have landed right in the middle of china town.
:)
MONDAY 26-JUL-2010 FLY ZURICH - HONG KONG
After yesterdays power tourism experience, we took it easy. At 9:30 draging ourselves out of bed and attending the hotel cafe for a very nice and welcome breakfast. Dan is still under the weather. I investigate delaying our flight by 24 hrs. The hotel rooms are available but Swiss [air] want $AU100 per passenger to re book plus because there are only business class seats available, we would have to pay even more to upgrade to business cass. I wonder if the travel insurance will cover it?. Instead settled for paying for one more night with one room. This gives Dan somewhere to sleep and a base for the rest of us.
Dan has come back to life. Around 2pm, we wander out and grab a bite to eat at the railway station.
Took a train to ??? Its the Mt Cootha of Zurich. When we get to the railway station at the top station we find a childrens playground and a cafe and lots of signs for various walks. We play in the playground and look at the view then choose the shortest walk. 10minutes to the peak. On the way we pass a communications tower that looks like a small version of the canberra tower complete with observation deck with windows. At the top we discover the Swiss army apparantly on exercise along with another tower that is open and several restraunts and a hotel. We have observed two thin (about 4mm diameter) black wires that came out of one of the camoflaged tents these extend up the tower. We also observe four uniformed soldiers guarding the tower with Ice cream sundaes. The tower is constructed of about 400mm RHS and looks to me to be about 40m to the observation deck. There is a staircase that winds its way up. Remembering that being a tourists means to find tall things and climb them, and so up we go. At the observation deck, we meet another four guards this time with guns and two microwave terminals manufactured by Thales. We enjoy the view. There are some picturesque views of villages. The hand rail is about 1.1m high and all that is stopping us from toppling off. Somewhat scary in a safe kind of way. A nice relaxing experience but one wonders whether all the people below eating ice cream sundays worry about falling camcorders. The sign reminds us that we are at the highest place in Zurich.
At CHF12 for the cheapest item (a simple sunday) on the menu, we decide on ice cream at the railway station. The sacrifices one makes (6x12=72 compare with 6x3=18CHF). If I had been sans kids, I would have paid for the sundae.
Then take the kids on the ferry ride that Megan and I took on the first day. This being Switserland, there are clocks everywhere. We looked at a flower clock. This clock is about 5m in diameter. The hands are normal but the clock face is made of plants. The numbers have been grown.
Took a tram back toward central station and went in search of a Fondu restraunt. Finally found one. I thought Switzerland was the home of fondu given that it is big on cheese and chocolate. The kiwi guy in the fondu restraunt explains that cheese fondu is traditional but that chocolate fondu is a modern adaptation. We had a very nice cheese fondu but way over priced. Also only bread, potatoe and some dried meats to put in it. All up I think we do an alltogether better deal on our verandah.
Quickly walk back to the hotel. Finish packing. I took advantage of havig booked the room and had a shower. As did Megan. As I write this, I am on the plane. Had a half sleep, the best I could manage with my knees in my face. Still feel reasonably fresh.
As we went to leave the hotel and walk the short distance to the railway station, it started ti rain. I mean absolutely bucket down. Bags unpacked as we searched for raincoats. Marcu's had one of those plastic ones and one arm had pretty much been ripped off. He retrieved it from the rubbish bin in the room.
Train (of course) to the airport.
Chis is coughing a lot. At the airport went in search of a chemist. No luck so bought a little chocolate instead. Finally we see a chemist and purchase cough medicine in the form of pills.
Through the various checks and pretty much strait onto the plane.
I have the window seat and Dan is beside me in the isle seat. The in flight entertainent system has a control box under the seat infront of me that reduces the space available for my feet to 1/3. There is one box per two seats. So I end up with my feet half jammed under the seat in front of me and half under the seat infront of Dan.
....Time passes.....
So here we are at 37000 feet about 4 hrs to our destination. we should arive at about 5pm. Just after we got on, they got us to close the blinds on the windows so the plane is dark and most people are asleep. I snuck a peak outside and it is bright sunshine. Now I am told that to minimise jet lag, one should set ones watch to the destination time. My watch therefore says that it is 1:20pm in honkong and in my book that means sunshine and so I want the blinds open hwever I suspect that would be seen as a threat to the good order of the plane. Megan is half asleep in the window seat beside me. Across the isle, Jemma is sleeping across two seats. Dan is on the floor. Marcus had been on the floor but he and Chris are now messing around with the in flight entertainment.
What I would really like to do is open the blinds and have a coffee. I guess that if they keep the blinds closed then at 3pm, I can try a mid afternoon nap. Ah the coffee arrives. Not bad actually. I have had some pretty terrible coffee in Europe. No wonder starbucks gave up in Australia but are alive and well in Europe.
Megan is watching a movie. It would be nice if one could set my entertainment to clone Megans viewing. That way we could enjoy the same movie at the same time and laugh together.
SWITZERLAND GENERALISATIONS
The scenery is beautiful.
The people are friendly and speak English.
I suspect that they retain their independance & Neutrality.
They have a different power plug to the rest of Europe.
They still use their own currency.
We stayed in the Hotel Montanna. 5min walk from main station. Very handy. I would stay again.
Dan has come back to life. Around 2pm, we wander out and grab a bite to eat at the railway station.
Took a train to ??? Its the Mt Cootha of Zurich. When we get to the railway station at the top station we find a childrens playground and a cafe and lots of signs for various walks. We play in the playground and look at the view then choose the shortest walk. 10minutes to the peak. On the way we pass a communications tower that looks like a small version of the canberra tower complete with observation deck with windows. At the top we discover the Swiss army apparantly on exercise along with another tower that is open and several restraunts and a hotel. We have observed two thin (about 4mm diameter) black wires that came out of one of the camoflaged tents these extend up the tower. We also observe four uniformed soldiers guarding the tower with Ice cream sundaes. The tower is constructed of about 400mm RHS and looks to me to be about 40m to the observation deck. There is a staircase that winds its way up. Remembering that being a tourists means to find tall things and climb them, and so up we go. At the observation deck, we meet another four guards this time with guns and two microwave terminals manufactured by Thales. We enjoy the view. There are some picturesque views of villages. The hand rail is about 1.1m high and all that is stopping us from toppling off. Somewhat scary in a safe kind of way. A nice relaxing experience but one wonders whether all the people below eating ice cream sundays worry about falling camcorders. The sign reminds us that we are at the highest place in Zurich.
At CHF12 for the cheapest item (a simple sunday) on the menu, we decide on ice cream at the railway station. The sacrifices one makes (6x12=72 compare with 6x3=18CHF). If I had been sans kids, I would have paid for the sundae.
Then take the kids on the ferry ride that Megan and I took on the first day. This being Switserland, there are clocks everywhere. We looked at a flower clock. This clock is about 5m in diameter. The hands are normal but the clock face is made of plants. The numbers have been grown.
Took a tram back toward central station and went in search of a Fondu restraunt. Finally found one. I thought Switzerland was the home of fondu given that it is big on cheese and chocolate. The kiwi guy in the fondu restraunt explains that cheese fondu is traditional but that chocolate fondu is a modern adaptation. We had a very nice cheese fondu but way over priced. Also only bread, potatoe and some dried meats to put in it. All up I think we do an alltogether better deal on our verandah.
Quickly walk back to the hotel. Finish packing. I took advantage of havig booked the room and had a shower. As did Megan. As I write this, I am on the plane. Had a half sleep, the best I could manage with my knees in my face. Still feel reasonably fresh.
As we went to leave the hotel and walk the short distance to the railway station, it started ti rain. I mean absolutely bucket down. Bags unpacked as we searched for raincoats. Marcu's had one of those plastic ones and one arm had pretty much been ripped off. He retrieved it from the rubbish bin in the room.
Train (of course) to the airport.
Chis is coughing a lot. At the airport went in search of a chemist. No luck so bought a little chocolate instead. Finally we see a chemist and purchase cough medicine in the form of pills.
Through the various checks and pretty much strait onto the plane.
I have the window seat and Dan is beside me in the isle seat. The in flight entertainent system has a control box under the seat infront of me that reduces the space available for my feet to 1/3. There is one box per two seats. So I end up with my feet half jammed under the seat in front of me and half under the seat infront of Dan.
....Time passes.....
So here we are at 37000 feet about 4 hrs to our destination. we should arive at about 5pm. Just after we got on, they got us to close the blinds on the windows so the plane is dark and most people are asleep. I snuck a peak outside and it is bright sunshine. Now I am told that to minimise jet lag, one should set ones watch to the destination time. My watch therefore says that it is 1:20pm in honkong and in my book that means sunshine and so I want the blinds open hwever I suspect that would be seen as a threat to the good order of the plane. Megan is half asleep in the window seat beside me. Across the isle, Jemma is sleeping across two seats. Dan is on the floor. Marcus had been on the floor but he and Chris are now messing around with the in flight entertainment.
What I would really like to do is open the blinds and have a coffee. I guess that if they keep the blinds closed then at 3pm, I can try a mid afternoon nap. Ah the coffee arrives. Not bad actually. I have had some pretty terrible coffee in Europe. No wonder starbucks gave up in Australia but are alive and well in Europe.
Megan is watching a movie. It would be nice if one could set my entertainment to clone Megans viewing. That way we could enjoy the same movie at the same time and laugh together.
SWITZERLAND GENERALISATIONS
The scenery is beautiful.
The people are friendly and speak English.
I suspect that they retain their independance & Neutrality.
They have a different power plug to the rest of Europe.
They still use their own currency.
We stayed in the Hotel Montanna. 5min walk from main station. Very handy. I would stay again.
SUNDAY 25-JUL-2010 JUNGFRAULOCH
This is summer!
5am rise and shine
6am Depart Zurich by train
7:04 Bern
8:05 Interlaken Ost
8:30 Lauterbrunnen
9:30 Klein Scheidegg
No real breakfast because the hotel cafe is not open at 5:30am.
The last train is a rack railway that rises through a tunnel to the top. Along the way it makes two 5 minute stops and we all de train and wander through the tunnel to some giant viewing windows that are set into the side of the mountain. The views are spectacular as is the engineering that has gone into this whole system. On the train we watch a video telling us it was started in the late 1800's as a tourist development. There are pictures of miners using pnumatic jack hammers to literally jackhammer their way into the mountain. With 500000 tourists per year it is probably profitable in its own right although I cant help but wonder if there was/is a military motivation for the complex.
10:30am
At the top there is a multi story visitor complex with several restraunts and more of those spectaclar views. Megan wisely suggests that we have a picnic to re energise us. This turns out to be our last meal as there are things to do that keep us from eating. We sneak into the "self serve" restraunt and start cutting up bread rolls and criossants. To give oursleves some legitimacy, I purchase three hot chocolates and a Macadamia and Chocolate thing that the fellow in the cafe insists is home made and contains no chemicals. It tasts good too. Over here it seems a hot chocolate means a cup of hot milk and a sashet of chocolate. I get two chocolate and one Ovaltine. There is universal agreement that the chocolate is better than the Ovaltine.
Then we start the walk to the "Snow play area". We leave the cafe area through two doors and walk down a long tunnel eventually exiting onto the snow covered side of the mountain. We throw the obligitory snow ball at each other. We observe that we can do various activities and so tickets are purchased. We all start with tubing. You sit in a tube that is a car tube in a cover so that it has a bottom then you slide track that winds its way down the hill. Its fast and fun and out of control and half the time you are going backwards. Marcus moved onto snow boarding and quickly regaind those skills he had developed in Australia. Chris, Dan and Jemma don skis and get in some skiing. Later Chris trys snow boarding and megan and I and Jemma try tobogganing. Tobogganing is fast and fun and has only marginally more control than tubing.
In the middle of all this Dan gets sick and vomits into the snow. He spends the rest of the afternoon sitting on a tube surrounded by our bags. He drinks some more water and throws it up sometime later too.
Around 3pm, we hand back the skiis and make our way inside. I take Dan back to the visitors centre and get him to lie and sleep on the floor of the self serve restraunt. I then go inserch of the rest of them and find Jemma sitting in the tunnel at an intersection where there is an elevator to the Sphinx. This is an observation tower another 100m further up on the peak of the mountain. Megan is up so Up I go but she was coming down as I went up so I missed her. The Sphinx was fogged in so I came back down and eventually located everyone having hot cocolate in the cafe with Dan sleeping on the floor beside them.
We then went and had a look at the ice palace. This is a set of tunnels dug this time in snow / ice and inside these tunnels are ice carvings. Freezing of course. Found a door to the outside. The weather has closed in. Took a quick photo. The wind blew and we Slid around grabbing for the rope at the side of the path. Gave up and retreated to the relative warmth of the tunnels.
At around 5:30 we hopped on the rack train to begin our journey home. After we come out of the tunnel, we are greated by more of the picture postcard scenery. There is just so much of that that one can take. More train changing as we get to progressivly bigger and faster trains. In one, Dan indicates he is going to be sick again. I struggle with a toilet door but cant get it open so Dan explodes on the floor. Lucilly its mostly water. The rest of the family move upstairs while I clean up the mess. It turns out this is a first class carrige and we only have second class tickets but we are too stuffed to move. A ticket inspector arrives and establishes that a nearby group of Asians also has second class tickets and they seem to have lost the ability to speak english and are not getting that they need to pay an upgrade fee. I send marcus off to find Megan who has all our cash. A second ticket inspector arrives from the other direction. I decide on the opposite approach to the Asian crowd and retain my ability to speak english and explain that we just established that it was first class and that I guess we will have to pay an upgrade fee. Marcus arrives back with the money and the fellow just wanders off and says make sure you are in second class next time. The first ticket collector then seems to give up on the Asians but makes them move to second class. We figure that we will just stay put as we are only 10 minutes out of Bern anyway.
Finaly around 10pm snuggled up in bed absolutely stuffed.
And all that snow fun in a pair of KT26's
Sunday, July 25, 2010
SATURDAY 24-JUL-2010 FLY LONDON TO ZURICH
Awoke early. Very early. Especially early for the family- 5am. Put Wicked on my ipod to try to gee them along. Amazingly good getting ready and out of the room. Chris and Dan managed the big lugage into the lift and out into the lobby. We established that a cab would cost the best part of 75GBP so decided to stick with the existing plan of taking the train.
Trailed our bags down the lane to Picadilly circus for the last time.
There various family members managed to have a melt down and bounce off each other. Separately, Megan was looking after Jemma who had thrown up. Probably mainly due to tiredness.
At Picadilly Circus, recharged some Oyster cards and a nice lady at the gate pointed us to the right platform. Mostly escallators so bag transfer reasonably easy. Took the tube on the Bakerloo line to Paddington. At Padington, everyone pitched in and we had the bags off the train in double quick time in the smoothest operation. It is so nice when everyone cooperates like a well oiled machine. Then bought Heathrow express tickets for GBP36. So the "To Airport" had cost us about GBP40.
Trailed our bags down the lane to Picadilly circus for the last time.
There various family members managed to have a melt down and bounce off each other. Separately, Megan was looking after Jemma who had thrown up. Probably mainly due to tiredness.
At Picadilly Circus, recharged some Oyster cards and a nice lady at the gate pointed us to the right platform. Mostly escallators so bag transfer reasonably easy. Took the tube on the Bakerloo line to Paddington. At Padington, everyone pitched in and we had the bags off the train in double quick time in the smoothest operation. It is so nice when everyone cooperates like a well oiled machine. Then bought Heathrow express tickets for GBP36. So the "To Airport" had cost us about GBP40.
As we sat on the train waiting to depart Paddington, Jemma indicated she was about to throw up again. A paper bag was quickly emptied of the crissants it contained and pushed in front of her. I then detrained with a paper bag of vomit in search of a bin. The paper aspect meaning that I was working against the clock. Not a bin to be seen, a legacy of the war against terror. So I presented my self and my ticking time bomb to two rail staff standing oyutsde a first class carrige. One of them ducked inside and returned with a plastic bag into which the fast deteriorating paper bag and its evil contents was placed. He confirmed that there were no bins and graciously relived me of my problem.
At Heathrow another smooth operation to get the bags off the tran. I would take them off the bag rack and pass them to Marus who was standing in the doorway who would pass them out of the train to Chris who moved them to the back of the platform.
Sitting here at Heathrow, there is a granny at a nearby table who has just pulled out an ipod and earphones and a middle aged couple who appear to be traveling with her have just commented "well you arn't going to be much good for conversation".
We are travelling on Swiss LX317 due to depart at 8:50. It is now 8:50 and the monitors still shows "please wait".
Sitting here at Heathrow, there is a granny at a nearby table who has just pulled out an ipod and earphones and a middle aged couple who appear to be traveling with her have just commented "well you arn't going to be much good for conversation".
We are travelling on Swiss LX317 due to depart at 8:50. It is now 8:50 and the monitors still shows "please wait".
...
Time passes
...
Finally we arrive Zurich. The frindly people at the railway office sell us a 3 day ticket to pretty much everywhere. We also discover that our hotel is 5 minutes walk from the main city railway station. Take the train to the city. Walk to the hotel. Deposit bags. It is 3pm and we are starving so its back to the railway station for Breakfast and lunch in the form a a Kabab for SF10.
Marcus and Jemma have a sleep while Megan, Frank, Chris and Dan do a ferry ride.
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Earlyish bed because tomorrow we take a train to Jungfraujoch railway station at 3,454 m (11,332 ft). Compare with Mount Kosciuszko at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft). I am not sure how high Jungfraujoch the hill is but I suspect that it is even higher than the railway station. Bob you should bring some rope and go climbing here. Apparantly other notable mountains nearby at the Eiger and the Matterhorn. You could climb those too.
Friday 23-JUL-2010 LEGOLAND
Today (Friday) was chosen for our big trip to Legoland because we have to get up early Saturday morning to catch a train and a plane so we did not want a late night out. This meant that all other nights could be filled with visits to theatres. We took the tube from Picadilly Circus to Paddington where we purchased tickets to Windsor. Changed trains at Slough. Arrived Windsor.
Double Decker bus to Lego land.
Lego land is a bit like Sea world or Dream world. Not really as many rides though. We seem to have come on a good day. Not too crowded. Cloudy but no rain. Incidentilly the last day of school before their summer holidays.
Double Decker bus to Lego land.
Lego land is a bit like Sea world or Dream world. Not really as many rides though. We seem to have come on a good day. Not too crowded. Cloudy but no rain. Incidentilly the last day of school before their summer holidays.
Now before going, I had looked on the internet at the prices and discovered that I could buy tickets at half price from a web site called buyagift.co.uk. Pretty much every time I try to save money it turns into a pile of poo and ends up costing me more or is an incredible waste of time. So with my self printed half price entry tickets in hand, I tentatively approached the gate fully expecting that there would be some problem like you could only walk on the left hand side of half the paths and were only allowed to try every second ride and that they would only be valid between 3:06 and 3:07pm. However they were accepted by the smiling girl at the gate and in we went. I had to sit down and pinch myself.
We went in search of lego workshops. Major disapointment as that section closed for refirmishment. Found some lego to construct and build some cars and raced them down a short track. This was expanded when we integrated the video camera into one of the cars. While we were doing this, Megan found and registered us to do some Lego Mindstorms workshops.
Went and looked at mini land. Some very creative people have created replicas of various icons from around the world. Mostly UK and Europe. Amazingly detailed Big Ben. Some of the buildings are several meters high. There is a railway with model trains on about a 100mm gauge. Many lakes and cannals with boats pulled along by an underwater tow rope. Also a few vehicles which appear to move autonomously along "roads" within the mini city.
Megan had sensibly brought the makings of a picnic lunch and so we sat on the grass along with a number of other families at the side of mini land and had a picnic.
Went and looked at mini land. Some very creative people have created replicas of various icons from around the world. Mostly UK and Europe. Amazingly detailed Big Ben. Some of the buildings are several meters high. There is a railway with model trains on about a 100mm gauge. Many lakes and cannals with boats pulled along by an underwater tow rope. Also a few vehicles which appear to move autonomously along "roads" within the mini city.
Megan had sensibly brought the makings of a picnic lunch and so we sat on the grass along with a number of other families at the side of mini land and had a picnic.
After the rides closed at 6pm, all 10000 visitors jammed into the Legoland shop so that tired kids and desparate parents could trip over each other in the rush to buy some momento to remind them of their trip to Legoland. A tee shirt was purchased. Chris wanted it but the largest size available will only just fit him and so was suggested that he wear it for a few weeks then hand it down to Dan. This caused a melt down which seemed quite fair since it appeared that every family present needed a melt down.
Then we all sat at the bus stop and waited for ages for a bus to arrive. When it finally arrived we all cramed on. There were people sitting on the steps to the top level and people standing in the aisles. There was a huge traffic jam on the road so we moved slowly. Screaming kids were placated and passed between family memebers spread around the bus so occasionally someone would tap you on the shoulder, pass you a kid and point at someone further down the buss and with various nods and winks and gasps as the bus lurched and you had to quickly decide how to off load the baby in time to grab the pole to save your self from burying your head in someones lap.
It appeared that the bus driver abandoned the route back to widsor on the freeway and took some country roads as we took quite a different route home. Much longer but given the almost stationary traffic on the freeway probably much faster.
Thursday 22-July-2010 MARCUS BIRTHDAY
Thursday 22-July-2010 MARCUS BIRTHDAY
St Pauls
Old Bailey
Tower of London
Double decker bus ride
Wicked
Well today started with the breakfast special in the Picadilly youth hostel then there was a short distraction while we attempted to book accomodation in Zurich. From youth hostel in London to a Delux room in the Best Western in Zurich. The kids won't know themselves and my wallet won't know it's self.
Megan and the kids left first while I did some research into accomodation in Hong Kong. They went and had a look at the outside of St Pauls and the Old Bailey.
We met up outside the Tower of London. Now I was expecting a big stone tower but the Tower of London turns out to be a fortress which at various time has been effectively a palace (you know a place where royalty live) and a prison. Incidentally also inhabited by quite a number of royals. We did a quick overview guided tour and then we went and watched some medieval weapons being fired. After that we wandered through various rooms that had been inhabited by the rich and infamous. Henry the 8th used to keep his wives here before disposing of them.
St Pauls
Old Bailey
Tower of London
Double decker bus ride
Wicked
Well today started with the breakfast special in the Picadilly youth hostel then there was a short distraction while we attempted to book accomodation in Zurich. From youth hostel in London to a Delux room in the Best Western in Zurich. The kids won't know themselves and my wallet won't know it's self.
Megan and the kids left first while I did some research into accomodation in Hong Kong. They went and had a look at the outside of St Pauls and the Old Bailey.
We met up outside the Tower of London. Now I was expecting a big stone tower but the Tower of London turns out to be a fortress which at various time has been effectively a palace (you know a place where royalty live) and a prison. Incidentally also inhabited by quite a number of royals. We did a quick overview guided tour and then we went and watched some medieval weapons being fired. After that we wandered through various rooms that had been inhabited by the rich and infamous. Henry the 8th used to keep his wives here before disposing of them.
One of the highlights is to look at the Crown jewls which are housed here. Daniel enjoyed looking at Suits of Armour, guns and cannons. After viewing the Crown Jewls, megan and Jemma visited the Jewel shop but luckilly I and the credit card were not with them. When I was looking at the Crown jewles, I noted that there were quite a number of crowns. You can never have too many crowns as you will never know when you may need one or a spare.
After the Tower closed at 5:30 we nipped over and had a quick look at Tower bridge. We understood that London Bridge was out there someplace but we could not identify it amongst all the bridges crossing the river. Perhaps that is where Campbel Newman got his inspiration.
We had a desire to ride a double decker bus so after consulting maps and so on, we got on a number 15. At one stage we heard an anouncment over the PA on the bus advising us that the destination of the bus has changed. Bizzarre. You get on bus to A and somewhere someone decides that it might be nice to send us to B.
The evening program was Wicked. Well we went to see the musical called Wicked. Those of us who had seen it before in Melbourne - Megan, Marcus and I thought that the Australian verson was better. A bit tighter or sharper. Dan and Jemma were enthralled. We were on the "dress Circle" or first balcony. Interestingly at the end the doors at the end of the dress circle opened and it turned out we were at ground level. So the stalls and the stage is all below ground.
When we got home, it being Marcus's birthday, we divided the second Sasha tort that we had bought in Vienna and had been lovingly kept by Megan. We sang "Happy Brithday" and wished we had another tort. yummmm.
After the Tower closed at 5:30 we nipped over and had a quick look at Tower bridge. We understood that London Bridge was out there someplace but we could not identify it amongst all the bridges crossing the river. Perhaps that is where Campbel Newman got his inspiration.
We had a desire to ride a double decker bus so after consulting maps and so on, we got on a number 15. At one stage we heard an anouncment over the PA on the bus advising us that the destination of the bus has changed. Bizzarre. You get on bus to A and somewhere someone decides that it might be nice to send us to B.
The evening program was Wicked. Well we went to see the musical called Wicked. Those of us who had seen it before in Melbourne - Megan, Marcus and I thought that the Australian verson was better. A bit tighter or sharper. Dan and Jemma were enthralled. We were on the "dress Circle" or first balcony. Interestingly at the end the doors at the end of the dress circle opened and it turned out we were at ground level. So the stalls and the stage is all below ground.
When we got home, it being Marcus's birthday, we divided the second Sasha tort that we had bought in Vienna and had been lovingly kept by Megan. We sang "Happy Brithday" and wished we had another tort. yummmm.
Wednesday 21-July-2010 Changing of the guard
Buckingham Palace
Moving house
Cabinet war rooms
The railway children
We started today with a train ride as usual. Then we stood with the croud outside buckingham palace in the sun. A beautiful pond but no one swimming. To respectful I guess. It was hot. Sthe sun shon, the band played, the men marched the horses paraded and in they went. The band played. Half of us sat down. The band played. The band played, The band played, the men marched the horses paraded and out they came. And that my friends is the changing of the guard.
Then another change. We moved. Evicted from our Soho penthouse to the Picadilly youth hostel. I have to confess we knew when we booked that we only had three nights before we had to move due to a prior booking. The Picadilly youth hostel is at least 5 floors. Reception is on the 4th floor. We booked out an entire 6 bed dorm. For a family it is actually quite expensive because you pay per person and for 6 it really adds up.
After the move we took another train ride back into town to have a look at the Cabinet war rooms. These are the rooms that Winston Churchill and his staff and other politicians and Military comanders used to coordinate the British part of the war against Germany. Much of it was used after the war as storage but the map room was simply closed up and remain closed until 1970 something (I think) have to ckeck the date. I found it a fascinating meseum. They have restored it to the way it was in 1945. Not too much AV technology to spoil it. But enough restoration and commentary to give you an idea of what it must have been like. Smoky, operating round the clock, No flushing toilets.
Incidentally, Churchil had a second secret bunker.
It is owned by a low cost housing association who seem to see it as a liability rather than a potential money maker. Bizzarre.
It is only open two days a year and the next open day is in Sepetember. So we don't get to see it.
http://www.stadiumha.org.uk
http://www.stadiumha.org.uk/
In the evening we took the kids to see the Musical "The Railway Children" Google it.
The play is performed in the old Eurostar railway station at Waterloo. The channel tunnel as you should know, connects Brittain and France. You may also know that Brittain beat France in the battle of Waterloo. Abba sang a song about it. Some historians would suggest that it was one of the most significant naval victories of all time. Anyway just to remind the Frenchies of just how good they are, the British decided to run the track on their side of the channel tunnel to of all places Waterloo station. Eventually political correctness got the better of them and the poms built a new station at Kings Cross. So what do you do when you have a brand spanking new munti million dollar railway station complete with travelators, advertising and an atrium. Well you get those creative people in west end to install some truss and hang some black material, set up some temporary tiered seating. And put on a play.
For the kids it was a great play. Dan and Jemma were at one stage really worried that the "father" would not come home so to me they were drawn into the story very well. As well as pieces of stage that rolled along n the railway track we had a real live steam engine pulling a carrige that drove in and backed out a few times. Although "drove" is probably a bit generous. I think someone installed a electric traction system and a smoke machine or two. Megan and I really enjoyed it although Marcus rolled his eyes a bit.
Moving house
Cabinet war rooms
The railway children
We started today with a train ride as usual. Then we stood with the croud outside buckingham palace in the sun. A beautiful pond but no one swimming. To respectful I guess. It was hot. Sthe sun shon, the band played, the men marched the horses paraded and in they went. The band played. Half of us sat down. The band played. The band played, The band played, the men marched the horses paraded and out they came. And that my friends is the changing of the guard.
Then another change. We moved. Evicted from our Soho penthouse to the Picadilly youth hostel. I have to confess we knew when we booked that we only had three nights before we had to move due to a prior booking. The Picadilly youth hostel is at least 5 floors. Reception is on the 4th floor. We booked out an entire 6 bed dorm. For a family it is actually quite expensive because you pay per person and for 6 it really adds up.
After the move we took another train ride back into town to have a look at the Cabinet war rooms. These are the rooms that Winston Churchill and his staff and other politicians and Military comanders used to coordinate the British part of the war against Germany. Much of it was used after the war as storage but the map room was simply closed up and remain closed until 1970 something (I think) have to ckeck the date. I found it a fascinating meseum. They have restored it to the way it was in 1945. Not too much AV technology to spoil it. But enough restoration and commentary to give you an idea of what it must have been like. Smoky, operating round the clock, No flushing toilets.
Incidentally, Churchil had a second secret bunker.
It is owned by a low cost housing association who seem to see it as a liability rather than a potential money maker. Bizzarre.
It is only open two days a year and the next open day is in Sepetember. So we don't get to see it.
http://www.stadiumha.org.uk
http://www.stadiumha.org.uk/
In the evening we took the kids to see the Musical "The Railway Children" Google it.
The play is performed in the old Eurostar railway station at Waterloo. The channel tunnel as you should know, connects Brittain and France. You may also know that Brittain beat France in the battle of Waterloo. Abba sang a song about it. Some historians would suggest that it was one of the most significant naval victories of all time. Anyway just to remind the Frenchies of just how good they are, the British decided to run the track on their side of the channel tunnel to of all places Waterloo station. Eventually political correctness got the better of them and the poms built a new station at Kings Cross. So what do you do when you have a brand spanking new munti million dollar railway station complete with travelators, advertising and an atrium. Well you get those creative people in west end to install some truss and hang some black material, set up some temporary tiered seating. And put on a play.
For the kids it was a great play. Dan and Jemma were at one stage really worried that the "father" would not come home so to me they were drawn into the story very well. As well as pieces of stage that rolled along n the railway track we had a real live steam engine pulling a carrige that drove in and backed out a few times. Although "drove" is probably a bit generous. I think someone installed a electric traction system and a smoke machine or two. Megan and I really enjoyed it although Marcus rolled his eyes a bit.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Bicycle FAT Bicycle
Tuesday 20-JULY-2010 London
Well today has been another big day. We started by doing a 4hr tour with the Fat Tyre Bike Tours. Basically rode past various monuments and palaces. In the middle we stopped at an English Pub for lunch. This was the first time this particular pub had catered for the tour and I suspecyt that Mr Ramsay was needed because the food took forever. Sat and chatted with a Kiwi and several Americans. Had a Pommie beer. Hmm OK I guess. It was called "London Pride".
Now speaking of pride, we should point out that we are staying in Soho. We are about 50m from china town. Opposite us is a 4 story gay night club. Every second night club seems to be gay and one of the wifi SSIDs visible here is "Gay Office". As I write this it is 11:30. Way past my bed time but the street outside is alive with people.
Back to the tour and we rode past the Australian War memorial amongst other monuments. The final memorial was the one to Princess Dianna. This is basically a large sculptured concrete water course filled with fast flowing water and children. A very alive memorial and a very appropriate memorial to a wonderful person. Also on the tour we had passed Buckingham palace and observed various well dressed soldiers on horsback riding off. Tomorrow we hope to see the entire changing of the guard thing.
Continuing with the bicycle theme, Megan and I went to see the Queen musical "We will rock you". The kids stayed home alone and we had a night together. A very impressive show. Amazing integration of multimedia and live action. A bit wierd in that the story line is basically a psudo religeous theme worshiping the god of rock.
Well today has been another big day. We started by doing a 4hr tour with the Fat Tyre Bike Tours. Basically rode past various monuments and palaces. In the middle we stopped at an English Pub for lunch. This was the first time this particular pub had catered for the tour and I suspecyt that Mr Ramsay was needed because the food took forever. Sat and chatted with a Kiwi and several Americans. Had a Pommie beer. Hmm OK I guess. It was called "London Pride".
Now speaking of pride, we should point out that we are staying in Soho. We are about 50m from china town. Opposite us is a 4 story gay night club. Every second night club seems to be gay and one of the wifi SSIDs visible here is "Gay Office". As I write this it is 11:30. Way past my bed time but the street outside is alive with people.
Back to the tour and we rode past the Australian War memorial amongst other monuments. The final memorial was the one to Princess Dianna. This is basically a large sculptured concrete water course filled with fast flowing water and children. A very alive memorial and a very appropriate memorial to a wonderful person. Also on the tour we had passed Buckingham palace and observed various well dressed soldiers on horsback riding off. Tomorrow we hope to see the entire changing of the guard thing.
Continuing with the bicycle theme, Megan and I went to see the Queen musical "We will rock you". The kids stayed home alone and we had a night together. A very impressive show. Amazing integration of multimedia and live action. A bit wierd in that the story line is basically a psudo religeous theme worshiping the god of rock.
The Toilet Economy
A big surprise on our arrival in Berlin when I went to go to the toilet a stern German frau had her hand out for 50 euro cents. It took a while to get my head round the idea that it was worth 50 eu cents to pee. The excuse given is that this money is used to clean the toilet. Now this is brilliant. Along the lines of the carbon trading scheme.
Fast forward to London, today. After our bike ride, Chris and I needed to go to the loo. We observed and attended the Kensington park pubic toilets just across the road from Queensway station. Now unlike the German loo's no money required. However there was a lady in an office. Well???. Anyway this loo had four stalls. One had a sign apologising that it was closed, another had two men in it, another had a guy throwing up. leaving just one for normal people to use in the normal way. I had new found admiration for the German system.
Give something an economic edge, create a market, make it profitabe and private industry will refine and develop. And this is indeed the case with lots of very clean loo's at least in Berlin and Munic. The system falls down a bit in Austria and France where there is often a plate for you to leave money on or even a person standing to collect it but it does not seem to find its way so much into the cleaning department.
I can just imagine down the track when as a result of the loo based economic stimulus that there are so many of them that rather than paying a fixed 50cents that you end up barganing. The sell of course is in the unique situation that the longer the negotiation, the more you are likely to pay. This really is a market driven by desparation.
Fast forward to London, today. After our bike ride, Chris and I needed to go to the loo. We observed and attended the Kensington park pubic toilets just across the road from Queensway station. Now unlike the German loo's no money required. However there was a lady in an office. Well???. Anyway this loo had four stalls. One had a sign apologising that it was closed, another had two men in it, another had a guy throwing up. leaving just one for normal people to use in the normal way. I had new found admiration for the German system.
Give something an economic edge, create a market, make it profitabe and private industry will refine and develop. And this is indeed the case with lots of very clean loo's at least in Berlin and Munic. The system falls down a bit in Austria and France where there is often a plate for you to leave money on or even a person standing to collect it but it does not seem to find its way so much into the cleaning department.
I can just imagine down the track when as a result of the loo based economic stimulus that there are so many of them that rather than paying a fixed 50cents that you end up barganing. The sell of course is in the unique situation that the longer the negotiation, the more you are likely to pay. This really is a market driven by desparation.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
First day London town
Monday 19-JULY-2010 London
Went out in search of an English breakfast. In order to get into the groove. Found a place with a sandwich board on the footpath advertising an all day english breakfast for GBP6. In we went. Desserted. Hmm?. Two people at a table that looked like staff. I ask "Are you open" After consulting with a colleague one replies in of all thigs a french accent that no they are not open until 10am. So we went and found somewhere else. There are lots of cafes around here so it was not hard.
We did the London Eye. When you are a tourist you "do" things. It is especially importamt to seek out tall things and go up them.
In the evening we all went and saw a Musical 'Oliver'. Chris in particular was very impressed. Megan got the program (as she does) and then noted down exactly who played who and a lot of extra very important details which she will recite on request.
Actually Megan, Credt card, City of Theatre - Could be the recipe for a [very enjoyable] Family financial Crisis. The theatre tickets already meant that we did not eat out tonight. Similarly lunch was a picnic. I suspect that we will shortly buy a hat and stake out a spot on the pavement and sing Eidel Weiss.
THE TUBE
The London underground is called the tube. The trains are noticably smaller than any other trains. They run often just like other European cities.
OTHER SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS
There is much less litter around here than anywhere in either Germany, Austria or France.
You can understand other peoples conversations here.
Although they drive on the left, on the escallators there are signs that say "Stand Right".
Went out in search of an English breakfast. In order to get into the groove. Found a place with a sandwich board on the footpath advertising an all day english breakfast for GBP6. In we went. Desserted. Hmm?. Two people at a table that looked like staff. I ask "Are you open" After consulting with a colleague one replies in of all thigs a french accent that no they are not open until 10am. So we went and found somewhere else. There are lots of cafes around here so it was not hard.
We did the London Eye. When you are a tourist you "do" things. It is especially importamt to seek out tall things and go up them.
In the evening we all went and saw a Musical 'Oliver'. Chris in particular was very impressed. Megan got the program (as she does) and then noted down exactly who played who and a lot of extra very important details which she will recite on request.
Actually Megan, Credt card, City of Theatre - Could be the recipe for a [very enjoyable] Family financial Crisis. The theatre tickets already meant that we did not eat out tonight. Similarly lunch was a picnic. I suspect that we will shortly buy a hat and stake out a spot on the pavement and sing Eidel Weiss.
THE TUBE
The London underground is called the tube. The trains are noticably smaller than any other trains. They run often just like other European cities.
OTHER SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS
There is much less litter around here than anywhere in either Germany, Austria or France.
You can understand other peoples conversations here.
Although they drive on the left, on the escallators there are signs that say "Stand Right".
Monday, July 19, 2010
London Arrival
Now I was feeling a certain degree of stress about finding accomodation in London. Yesterday (Saturday) we had booked an apartment for 6 in the centre of London. We had found an apartment on a web site but the owner had said it was unavailable and had pointed us to another apartment on another web site. So we had booked it but had not heard back from them. Then we had received an email from this guy saying sorry it was not available after al. I thought that this may have been because we had booked it. Another email asking for him to check this possibility. Emails and phone messages sent to the web site and to the fellow. Yet no one was contactig us.
Spent some time looking for alternate accomodation but all the web sites showed everything full up. Resorted to making a list of phone numbers for hotels with the intention of calling them as soon as we got off the train.
As we got off the train, Marcus said my bag was ringing. By the time I had dug out my phone, it had stopped and the nuber was not shown. Luckilly Megan's phone started ringing moments later. We chatted to the man - Dan. He said to take the tube to Leicster Square and he would meet us there.
We did that and now we are ensconsed in an apartment a few hundred meters from Leicster Square. The danger is that we are surounded by theatres and cafes and we may never see Megan again as she takes in one show after another.
We have broadband here and so hopefully we can add some pictures to the blog in the next day or so.
TAIZE to LONDON
Sunday 18-July-2010
Here we are sitting on the Eurostar train from Paris to London. A trip of only two hours. Sittimg in the seat beside Marcus is a young man who had Chapel Hill on his luggage tag so Marcus introduced himself. So not only did this guy come from Brisbane but went to BGS. 6 degrees!.
We left Taize this afternoon after the usual camp clean up and final worship service.
We hopped on the local bus along with a lot of other people and traveled to Macon Lohe where we boarded the TGV to Paris. While we were at Macon Lohe several non stop TGV's came through the staton. The speed almost blew you off the platform and they were one track over. Darwin selection ala TGV.
The TGV was smooth and fast. This time we were travelling second class but it was pretty comfortable. We had a table but no power.
In Paris we had to change stations and this necessitated a trip on the Metro. The metro was packed even before we got on but with bags it seemed an imposible task to fit on but we squeezed on as the doors began to close and squash Chris or at least separate him from his backpack. There was one stop. At this stop even more people squeezed in. To minimise floorspace, I stood two pull along suitcase on top of each other. As more people pushed on, Megan collapsed in a screaming heap partially into the arms of a policeman. Finally we arrivd at Paris Norde and made our way to the Eurostar platform. This time we had to go through both a French and then an English passport control.
Now we are on the Eurostar train. We have just had dinner purchased from the dining car. Pre packaged pene bolognaise, salad, burgers, soft drink, coffee etc. Very good.
Here we are sitting on the Eurostar train from Paris to London. A trip of only two hours. Sittimg in the seat beside Marcus is a young man who had Chapel Hill on his luggage tag so Marcus introduced himself. So not only did this guy come from Brisbane but went to BGS. 6 degrees!.
We left Taize this afternoon after the usual camp clean up and final worship service.
We hopped on the local bus along with a lot of other people and traveled to Macon Lohe where we boarded the TGV to Paris. While we were at Macon Lohe several non stop TGV's came through the staton. The speed almost blew you off the platform and they were one track over. Darwin selection ala TGV.
The TGV was smooth and fast. This time we were travelling second class but it was pretty comfortable. We had a table but no power.
In Paris we had to change stations and this necessitated a trip on the Metro. The metro was packed even before we got on but with bags it seemed an imposible task to fit on but we squeezed on as the doors began to close and squash Chris or at least separate him from his backpack. There was one stop. At this stop even more people squeezed in. To minimise floorspace, I stood two pull along suitcase on top of each other. As more people pushed on, Megan collapsed in a screaming heap partially into the arms of a policeman. Finally we arrivd at Paris Norde and made our way to the Eurostar platform. This time we had to go through both a French and then an English passport control.
Now we are on the Eurostar train. We have just had dinner purchased from the dining car. Pre packaged pene bolognaise, salad, burgers, soft drink, coffee etc. Very good.
Well actually I had to post this from our apartment because just as I went to post it, we enetred the channel tunnel and no mobile service and no wifi. How old fashioned is that.
Taize Reflection
Sunday 18-July-2010
I really enjoyed Taise. In a way, it was just like a church camp. Each afternoon there was a drama / skit presentation. The theme was the prodigal son. In the Taize version, the younger son goes to Las Vagas and blows his inheritance and then hitch hikes home. In the morning, the kids would go off in age based groups and the adults would listen to a presentation by one of the 'brothers' on the same theme as the kids and the drama. All very synchronised.
I enjoyed listening to the brother who presented to the adults. There was a certain frankness and also a light sense of humour that appealed to me. As an example, he had an aside when he talked about the 'celebration' that the father had at the return of the younger son, he noted that there are other 'celebrations' mentioned in the bible. For example when the lost sheep is found or when the woman found her lost coin. In the case of the lost sheep, he said words to the effect that 'Sheep are stupid animas' do we know anyone who has a party when they locate a sheep. I think I have waited years for someone to say that. Whenever I hear this reading that is exactly what I think. Then when it came to the woman who celebrated after finding a lost coin. Well the party would have cost more than the value of the coin!. So I guess they are just party people. Any excuse for a party.
We had some great discussions in our adult small group. We had people from Russia (500km north of Moscow), Poland, Neatherlands, America and ?. This brought a real diversity to the discussion. One lady talked about the rosary in a way that was of great interest to me. There are 20 beads on the rosary and each is on a different aspect of christs life and ministry (Hope I got this right. Catholics pease chip in here). When you pray by your self, your prayer tends to be quite narrow but praying the rosary forces you to consider and reflect on a broad range of topics.
Another interesting reflection is to consider that the younger son was frced by his own stuipidity to a point of total devistation. At this point he comes to his senses. The analogy is that when a person is totally devistaed that they are broken and God can enter through the cracks. It is unlikely that we are ever likely to be so low that we are forced to a point so low that we cry out to God. But it is at that time that we are open to God to enter. So the challenge to us is how do we make ourselves open to God without the situation of failure. Obviously we are not talking set your self up for total failure here (although as I write this well.... I guess someone might..?) But how do you get into the head space to allow God into you?
Another random thought - In a way the service was very simple and no hype. Yet 1000 people amny of them young people. Now I am all for a bit of Hype but I also really enjoyed these services. It gave time to think and refect. There was a confidence in God present. At the same time as I think about it, no collection meant that there was no feeling of 'they have their hand out' or 'how much money do they want?'
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Taize1
The bus drops us IN Taize. Now I had been expecting that we would be one of half a dozen die hard Taize style worship fans and that we would share some stone cells in a 13 cetury monistary. Any person who has ever attended a church camp, would recognise arriving at Taize. People everywhere. I wonder what the bus driver thinks of this.
Anyway the office is closed so we wander around while we wait for it to reopen. It is hot. And dusty. And big. There are buildings, dormitories, huge tents filled with benches. Eventually I find the church building and there is a choir practice in progress. (More on Taize services later). Its cool inside so I stand and watch for a while.
When the office re opens, we introduce ourselves. "Did you book?"... "Ahhh your the Australians". A young person is collared by the man at the counter to do the induction. A bit like entering a building site. What happens when and where and safety and wot not. we (I that is, Megan presumably already knew) that we were attending the Family program. This is called Olinda and is in a little town called Amuegny 1km up the road. A young french kid who looked about 13 arrived in a van to take us and our luggage up there. Very necessary as Megans case in particular weighs about 300kg. Upon arrival we are given a room key and directions to our room.
Taize is somewhat spartan. The UC camp sites we know strive for comfort, luxury and all the mod cons. Taise is ... well .... somewhat basic. Those who get excited each year about the "live simply so others can simply live" thing would enjoy it :). Even the cutlery is basic. A single bowl thing also serves as a cup. I feel like a refugee lining up for my rations. :) OK we do get a plate and a tray but the only cutlery is a spoon. In good church camp fashion, you end up on a roster and when you are washingup, there is a distinct advantage in less. The less stuff the faster it is done and as a parent, there is less for little kids to drop. No dishwashing machines here. I have to confess that I could do with a good coffee right now however not even an instant coffee is obtainable. Well there is a shop to give those who need a retail fix where you can buy softdrinks, crepes, ice cream, phone & internet cards, alcohol (by the glass). But it is only open for short times and it is a km from here.
Anyway the office is closed so we wander around while we wait for it to reopen. It is hot. And dusty. And big. There are buildings, dormitories, huge tents filled with benches. Eventually I find the church building and there is a choir practice in progress. (More on Taize services later). Its cool inside so I stand and watch for a while.
When the office re opens, we introduce ourselves. "Did you book?"... "Ahhh your the Australians". A young person is collared by the man at the counter to do the induction. A bit like entering a building site. What happens when and where and safety and wot not. we (I that is, Megan presumably already knew) that we were attending the Family program. This is called Olinda and is in a little town called Amuegny 1km up the road. A young french kid who looked about 13 arrived in a van to take us and our luggage up there. Very necessary as Megans case in particular weighs about 300kg. Upon arrival we are given a room key and directions to our room.
Taize is somewhat spartan. The UC camp sites we know strive for comfort, luxury and all the mod cons. Taise is ... well .... somewhat basic. Those who get excited each year about the "live simply so others can simply live" thing would enjoy it :). Even the cutlery is basic. A single bowl thing also serves as a cup. I feel like a refugee lining up for my rations. :) OK we do get a plate and a tray but the only cutlery is a spoon. In good church camp fashion, you end up on a roster and when you are washingup, there is a distinct advantage in less. The less stuff the faster it is done and as a parent, there is less for little kids to drop. No dishwashing machines here. I have to confess that I could do with a good coffee right now however not even an instant coffee is obtainable. Well there is a shop to give those who need a retail fix where you can buy softdrinks, crepes, ice cream, phone & internet cards, alcohol (by the glass). But it is only open for short times and it is a km from here.
The program for the day is pretty simple.
7:15 rise and shine and walk 1km to Taise.
8:15 Prayer in Taise. Walk back to The family program 'Olinda'
9:15 Breakfast
10:00- 12:00 All together bit. In a Hocker. Followed by small groups.
12:20 Prayer at Taise. After another 1km walk.
1:15pm Lunch followed by free time
4:00pm Snack.
4:30-6:30pm Meeting in the tent again.
7:00pm Dinner
8:30pm Prayer at Taise. Surrounded by more of those 1km walks.
10ish Beddy bys.
OK so youve skipped most of the above onto some detail.
There are people from all over the place here. You have to get used to hearing stuff in other languages and waiting for people to translate. In the tent most of the stuff at the front is in English but there are three posts each with a cluster of speakers at the top pointing down. Each has microphone. So all the French cluster around one post, the Germans around another post and the Polish around the third. As stuff happens out front, it is translated in real time to allow the non english speakers to follow it. It can work really well because it forces speakers at the front to stop to allow the translations to complete. That gives people like me time to consider what was just said before they continue. It also ensures that they do'nt waffle as every word really means about five words of delay.
Prayer at Taise is held in their church. It has subdued lighting and a orange and red theme. There are lots of candles out the front. I am more than a bit worried that I have entered some 1960's alternative buddist sect or something and the moonies will arrive at any instant in rolls royces (or citrones since we are in france). I relax when I note that the floor is marked out in white GAF into places to sit and places to walk (and not sit). On the inside, the place looks like a number of sheds pushed together with electric roller doors between them. The doors allow the space to be adjusted to suit the size of the congregation and also to separate language areas so the english translation can occur in one area simultaneously the German in another and so on. The service it's self is pretty simple. Some chorus's/ chants that are repeated a number of times. Almost all in languages that I do not understand. I end up looking forward to the solitary English song. There are usually some short prayers during and between the songs. There will be a bible reading and about 10 minutes of silence. Then prayers for others and a couple more songs. No sermon Hallelujia Haaarrllelujia Halleloooojia
People make comment on how far we have come. Somehow Australia has convinced both its self and the rest of the world that we are a long way away. In a way that is true however some people we have met at Taise have traveled a long way by car. We took the plane. 9hrs to Hong Kong then 13 hrs to Europe. With inflight movies, food food and more food. Compare this to a Russian couple I was speaking with. They come from 500km North of Moscow. Yep thats NORTH of Moscow. They drove. With kids. And before they even started they had to take a 11hr train ride to St petersburg just to get Visas. We are not far away when you think of it in terms of time and effort. And another couple with kids. 24hrs on the bus from Poland. At least the bus breaks down once each direction so they can get out and stretch their legs (for 4 or 5 hours).
7:15 rise and shine and walk 1km to Taise.
8:15 Prayer in Taise. Walk back to The family program 'Olinda'
9:15 Breakfast
10:00- 12:00 All together bit. In a Hocker. Followed by small groups.
12:20 Prayer at Taise. After another 1km walk.
1:15pm Lunch followed by free time
4:00pm Snack.
4:30-6:30pm Meeting in the tent again.
7:00pm Dinner
8:30pm Prayer at Taise. Surrounded by more of those 1km walks.
10ish Beddy bys.
OK so youve skipped most of the above onto some detail.
There are people from all over the place here. You have to get used to hearing stuff in other languages and waiting for people to translate. In the tent most of the stuff at the front is in English but there are three posts each with a cluster of speakers at the top pointing down. Each has microphone. So all the French cluster around one post, the Germans around another post and the Polish around the third. As stuff happens out front, it is translated in real time to allow the non english speakers to follow it. It can work really well because it forces speakers at the front to stop to allow the translations to complete. That gives people like me time to consider what was just said before they continue. It also ensures that they do'nt waffle as every word really means about five words of delay.
Prayer at Taise is held in their church. It has subdued lighting and a orange and red theme. There are lots of candles out the front. I am more than a bit worried that I have entered some 1960's alternative buddist sect or something and the moonies will arrive at any instant in rolls royces (or citrones since we are in france). I relax when I note that the floor is marked out in white GAF into places to sit and places to walk (and not sit). On the inside, the place looks like a number of sheds pushed together with electric roller doors between them. The doors allow the space to be adjusted to suit the size of the congregation and also to separate language areas so the english translation can occur in one area simultaneously the German in another and so on. The service it's self is pretty simple. Some chorus's/ chants that are repeated a number of times. Almost all in languages that I do not understand. I end up looking forward to the solitary English song. There are usually some short prayers during and between the songs. There will be a bible reading and about 10 minutes of silence. Then prayers for others and a couple more songs. No sermon Hallelujia Haaarrllelujia Halleloooojia
People make comment on how far we have come. Somehow Australia has convinced both its self and the rest of the world that we are a long way away. In a way that is true however some people we have met at Taise have traveled a long way by car. We took the plane. 9hrs to Hong Kong then 13 hrs to Europe. With inflight movies, food food and more food. Compare this to a Russian couple I was speaking with. They come from 500km North of Moscow. Yep thats NORTH of Moscow. They drove. With kids. And before they even started they had to take a 11hr train ride to St petersburg just to get Visas. We are not far away when you think of it in terms of time and effort. And another couple with kids. 24hrs on the bus from Poland. At least the bus breaks down once each direction so they can get out and stretch their legs (for 4 or 5 hours).
I can hear a sound like a kettle boiling.
I investigate.
It is a kettle boiling. Balanced on the edge of the sink and plugged into the shaving power point.
Whose is this I wonder. I wander outside and another Polish couple with kids and a tent confess to being the owners. I fall on my knees and beg for cofee. It is dutifully produced along with peanuts. We sit around the table and share stories and most importatly swap addresses. Now I have somewhere to stay in Poland. Maybe too they will come to Brisbane one day and we can host them.
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Frank
Frank
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Gettig to Taize
Wednesday 14-May-2010
Its Bastille Day so we are leaving town. Got up very very early. At 6am the feellow arrived at the flat to get the key and return our deposit. We had 45 minutes to make our train. Wheels wabbling as we dragged our suitcases to the subway we ran only to discover that our metro tickets were no longer valid. As I approached the window, tman inside said "Don't speak english" and closed the window and disappeard into a side room. Tried the vending machine but it only took coins and who knows hat ticket we needed and we still needed that man to open the gate so we coud get our bags through.
Wherewas the Germans have a very simple system with ticket inspectors and fine to enforce through fear the holding of a valid ticket, the French have a turnstyle with a extra full body height gate piece to stp you jumping over the turn style and this makes it very hard to get bags through.
Gave up. Marcus and I ran back to a hotel we had passed and comdeered two taxis. Drove back picked up the rest of the family and the mountain of luggage. Full speed to the trtain station. Arrived in the nick of time.
Found our patform and boarded the train. TGV first class this time. (Only because it was a 18eu special upgrade from second class for the entire family).
We had to cange trains. Interestingly at some deserted railway station in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Who do we chat to on the platform but some more Aussies.
Then on to Maccon (I think) then a couple of hours wait. Then a bus to Taize.
And the rest will have to wait till after lunch.
Bye
Its Bastille Day so we are leaving town. Got up very very early. At 6am the feellow arrived at the flat to get the key and return our deposit. We had 45 minutes to make our train. Wheels wabbling as we dragged our suitcases to the subway we ran only to discover that our metro tickets were no longer valid. As I approached the window, tman inside said "Don't speak english" and closed the window and disappeard into a side room. Tried the vending machine but it only took coins and who knows hat ticket we needed and we still needed that man to open the gate so we coud get our bags through.
Wherewas the Germans have a very simple system with ticket inspectors and fine to enforce through fear the holding of a valid ticket, the French have a turnstyle with a extra full body height gate piece to stp you jumping over the turn style and this makes it very hard to get bags through.
Gave up. Marcus and I ran back to a hotel we had passed and comdeered two taxis. Drove back picked up the rest of the family and the mountain of luggage. Full speed to the trtain station. Arrived in the nick of time.
Found our patform and boarded the train. TGV first class this time. (Only because it was a 18eu special upgrade from second class for the entire family).
We had to cange trains. Interestingly at some deserted railway station in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Who do we chat to on the platform but some more Aussies.
Then on to Maccon (I think) then a couple of hours wait. Then a bus to Taize.
And the rest will have to wait till after lunch.
Bye
Eiffel Tower
Tuesday 13-July-2010
Today we achieved a near miracle. We arrived at the Eiffel tower 9:10am. Megan got in the queue for the North Tower pillar and I went to the queue for the East pilar. Sent Megan a text saing come to the east pillar queue. Then a second text saying "run" as the queue was growing by the second. Megan joined us and we waited patiently for 40 minutes before purchaisng tickets. Then a bit longer and we entered the elevator. We rode the elevator to the second level and immediatly joined the queue for the elevators to the top level. This proved to be another good choice as this queue too seemed to grow by the second.
As expected the third level gave us a great view of the city. We could see the Arch we cant spell and the little people on top of it with the aid of a couple of euros in the telescope. We could also see the art gallery thats too big and the river Sein?. Amazingly in this modern age, te viewing gallery is only surrounded by 200mm mesh so you can feel the wind. There are signs warning you to not put your hands or camera through. As with most signs in France, they were basically ignored as we all put our cameras through to get a closer shot of some monument on the horizon. Jemma contributed by allowing the wind to take her sunglasses through and deposit them on soemone far below and she to burst into tears.
Took the elevator back to the second level. Bought ice cream and a coffee. Just because we could. Then took the stairs down to level one. Its fun to wrap around inside that hude steel structure.
As I write this, we are sitting at the first level having a picnic. It is more spaceous and there are fewer people than at the other levels. There are toilets, cafes and a cinema showing a history of the tower. Included in this history is a shot of someone loosing their glasses only to have them fall neatly onto someone at a lower level. We are sitting at a table. Nearby is a fountain. We look over the edge and see absolutely huge queues. I guess some people will be queuing for 3 or 4 hours. The astute amongst us can see the wheels that drive the elevators and a microwve dish bolted to the side of the tower.
Remember for next time
Buy tickets on the net and forward to cell phone (no need to print)
Come early
Bring picnic
If no kids, do take stairs esp if there is a queue for the elevator.
Today we achieved a near miracle. We arrived at the Eiffel tower 9:10am. Megan got in the queue for the North Tower pillar and I went to the queue for the East pilar. Sent Megan a text saing come to the east pillar queue. Then a second text saying "run" as the queue was growing by the second. Megan joined us and we waited patiently for 40 minutes before purchaisng tickets. Then a bit longer and we entered the elevator. We rode the elevator to the second level and immediatly joined the queue for the elevators to the top level. This proved to be another good choice as this queue too seemed to grow by the second.
As expected the third level gave us a great view of the city. We could see the Arch we cant spell and the little people on top of it with the aid of a couple of euros in the telescope. We could also see the art gallery thats too big and the river Sein?. Amazingly in this modern age, te viewing gallery is only surrounded by 200mm mesh so you can feel the wind. There are signs warning you to not put your hands or camera through. As with most signs in France, they were basically ignored as we all put our cameras through to get a closer shot of some monument on the horizon. Jemma contributed by allowing the wind to take her sunglasses through and deposit them on soemone far below and she to burst into tears.
Took the elevator back to the second level. Bought ice cream and a coffee. Just because we could. Then took the stairs down to level one. Its fun to wrap around inside that hude steel structure.
As I write this, we are sitting at the first level having a picnic. It is more spaceous and there are fewer people than at the other levels. There are toilets, cafes and a cinema showing a history of the tower. Included in this history is a shot of someone loosing their glasses only to have them fall neatly onto someone at a lower level. We are sitting at a table. Nearby is a fountain. We look over the edge and see absolutely huge queues. I guess some people will be queuing for 3 or 4 hours. The astute amongst us can see the wheels that drive the elevators and a microwve dish bolted to the side of the tower.
Remember for next time
Buy tickets on the net and forward to cell phone (no need to print)
Come early
Bring picnic
If no kids, do take stairs esp if there is a queue for the elevator.
The Lourve
Monday 12th July 2010
No matter how hard we try, we do not seem to get out of the apartment before about 11am. Today as we finally made it out we firstly went in search of an internet cafe with aprinter to buy tickets to the lourve and the Eiffel Tower. After a long walk, we found one. Gave up on the Louvre web site. The Eiffel tower web site was much better but there were no tickets left to pre book. The frustrating thing was that I learned that I could have bought the tickets and forwarded them to my cell phone thus negating the need for a printer.
Took the train to the Louvre. A short walk then we stood in the longest queue. However it moved fast and soon we entered through that glass pyramid that forms the entrance to the Lourve. They hax an X-ray machine scanning bags so I gave marcus the bag with lunch and particularly the knife in it but it all went through no problems. Now as art galeries go, the Lourve is huge and I mean absolutely huge. We were there for an afternoon but you really need several half days to wander through it. I don't think I could stand a whole day in one hit looking at paintings of long dead people. Mind you for those who like such things, there are a lot of bare breasts. There is one painting of a topless woman leading the charge in some battle. maybe we need to spice up our parlimentary buildings with a few such pictures.
After the lourve we walked toward the Arc de Triomphe. Exhaustion caused us to stop for dinner. After diner we continued on our quest. When we arrived, we discovered that you can climb it for just a few euros. So up we went. We are seeing a pattern here that in Paris, you big tall things that you go up or into. The view just on sun set was great. We could see back to the lourve and off to the side was the yet to be climbed eiffel tower.
No matter how hard we try, we do not seem to get out of the apartment before about 11am. Today as we finally made it out we firstly went in search of an internet cafe with aprinter to buy tickets to the lourve and the Eiffel Tower. After a long walk, we found one. Gave up on the Louvre web site. The Eiffel tower web site was much better but there were no tickets left to pre book. The frustrating thing was that I learned that I could have bought the tickets and forwarded them to my cell phone thus negating the need for a printer.
Took the train to the Louvre. A short walk then we stood in the longest queue. However it moved fast and soon we entered through that glass pyramid that forms the entrance to the Lourve. They hax an X-ray machine scanning bags so I gave marcus the bag with lunch and particularly the knife in it but it all went through no problems. Now as art galeries go, the Lourve is huge and I mean absolutely huge. We were there for an afternoon but you really need several half days to wander through it. I don't think I could stand a whole day in one hit looking at paintings of long dead people. Mind you for those who like such things, there are a lot of bare breasts. There is one painting of a topless woman leading the charge in some battle. maybe we need to spice up our parlimentary buildings with a few such pictures.
After the lourve we walked toward the Arc de Triomphe. Exhaustion caused us to stop for dinner. After diner we continued on our quest. When we arrived, we discovered that you can climb it for just a few euros. So up we went. We are seeing a pattern here that in Paris, you big tall things that you go up or into. The view just on sun set was great. We could see back to the lourve and off to the side was the yet to be climbed eiffel tower.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Train nightmare
Over the years I had heard many good stories about the European sleeper trains. So when we looked at how we would travel from Vienna to Paris we looked at air travel and the sleeper train. Well we did the sleeper train and I reckon it can be accurately be described as a nightmare. Having had so many good experiences with European trains this bad experience was a real surprise.
We had a great trip from Vienna to Munich on the "rail jet". Spent another comfortable night in Munich at Manfred and Birgit's house. On Saturday in Munic, we took the train back to central where we did a bit of rearranging in our bags at the storage lockers. Then we hired bicycles and rode to the English Gardens.
THE TRAIN
We got on board and easily found our room. This room has 6 bunk beds. On each, neatly folded was a sheet sleeping bag and a blanket. The first thing we noticed was the heat. It was hot and stuffy which we took as maybe the air conditioning has not been switched on yet. Someone had opened a window in the corridoor and this provided some relief. We made our beds and Dan did his usual job of plugging in the cameras to recharge. Initially there was mains power but it came and went and was mostly gone. I brought this to the attention of the service lady in our carrige who waved it away saying the electricity does not reach this far.
After a while, the air conditioning came on in the rest of the carrige but not in our room. I spoke to the service lady in our carrige who spoke no english and communicated that the air conditioning was not working. She was not happy with this second interruption and reluctantly came into our room and put her hand up to the grill and insisted that it was working. Which is wasn't. You could just feel a trickle of cold air leaking past the fan but that was it. The fan was npt working. For a while we put up with the stuffy heat and eventually I opened the window in the corridor which because of the speed caused a very loud howling noise.
As our service lady spent her time in her own little room, only emerging when the train was at a station, I went in search of another person. I found a person who spoke English in the next carrige who again waved my complaint away. She said that it will come back on at the next station. Well indeed it did for about 5 to 10 minutes. The fan started. Our room got cool. Nirvana. But then it went off again and never came back on. I managed to get the window in our room open and we found having it open about a cm gave a tolerable balance between noise and temperature.
Eventually we arrived in Paris. By this time I was feeling quite ill. Presumably due in no small part due to the heat and lack of sleep. We could not find a maxi taxi so we took two taxis to our apartment. After a sleep and a shower I feel much better. However a sleeper train will from now on be only considered as a last resort.
We had a great trip from Vienna to Munich on the "rail jet". Spent another comfortable night in Munich at Manfred and Birgit's house. On Saturday in Munic, we took the train back to central where we did a bit of rearranging in our bags at the storage lockers. Then we hired bicycles and rode to the English Gardens.
THE TRAIN
We got on board and easily found our room. This room has 6 bunk beds. On each, neatly folded was a sheet sleeping bag and a blanket. The first thing we noticed was the heat. It was hot and stuffy which we took as maybe the air conditioning has not been switched on yet. Someone had opened a window in the corridoor and this provided some relief. We made our beds and Dan did his usual job of plugging in the cameras to recharge. Initially there was mains power but it came and went and was mostly gone. I brought this to the attention of the service lady in our carrige who waved it away saying the electricity does not reach this far.
After a while, the air conditioning came on in the rest of the carrige but not in our room. I spoke to the service lady in our carrige who spoke no english and communicated that the air conditioning was not working. She was not happy with this second interruption and reluctantly came into our room and put her hand up to the grill and insisted that it was working. Which is wasn't. You could just feel a trickle of cold air leaking past the fan but that was it. The fan was npt working. For a while we put up with the stuffy heat and eventually I opened the window in the corridor which because of the speed caused a very loud howling noise.
As our service lady spent her time in her own little room, only emerging when the train was at a station, I went in search of another person. I found a person who spoke English in the next carrige who again waved my complaint away. She said that it will come back on at the next station. Well indeed it did for about 5 to 10 minutes. The fan started. Our room got cool. Nirvana. But then it went off again and never came back on. I managed to get the window in our room open and we found having it open about a cm gave a tolerable balance between noise and temperature.
Eventually we arrived in Paris. By this time I was feeling quite ill. Presumably due in no small part due to the heat and lack of sleep. We could not find a maxi taxi so we took two taxis to our apartment. After a sleep and a shower I feel much better. However a sleeper train will from now on be only considered as a last resort.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Travel Vienna Munich Paris
A small technical hitch seems to make it hard to put the photos up.
We left Vienna yesterday (Friday 9-JULY-2010) and took the "Rail Jet" to Munich. We arrived in Munich at about 8:30pm and placed our bags in lockers. We kept a change of clothes in our day/back packs. We had dinner at the central railway station. At eu120 it was the most expensive dinner we have eaten by far. Mind you it was also the first steak I had had. Normally we eat for less than eu10 per person but this was eu20 per person ouch!.
We had asked Manfred and Birgit if we could bunk down for one more night at their place. They are in Italy but phoned their daughter Julia who met us at the door. It is so wonderful meeting these relaxed and flexible people.
This morning we made use of their internet conenction to book accomodation in Paris. Today we are going into central Munich again to be tourists. Then tonght we take an overnight sleeper train to Paris. A faster trip would have been to take the tgv but I wanted to try the sleeper.
We left Vienna yesterday (Friday 9-JULY-2010) and took the "Rail Jet" to Munich. We arrived in Munich at about 8:30pm and placed our bags in lockers. We kept a change of clothes in our day/back packs. We had dinner at the central railway station. At eu120 it was the most expensive dinner we have eaten by far. Mind you it was also the first steak I had had. Normally we eat for less than eu10 per person but this was eu20 per person ouch!.
We had asked Manfred and Birgit if we could bunk down for one more night at their place. They are in Italy but phoned their daughter Julia who met us at the door. It is so wonderful meeting these relaxed and flexible people.
This morning we made use of their internet conenction to book accomodation in Paris. Today we are going into central Munich again to be tourists. Then tonght we take an overnight sleeper train to Paris. A faster trip would have been to take the tgv but I wanted to try the sleeper.
Vienna
Vienna is known for classical music – Salzburg has Mozart but Vienna has Beethoven, Haydn & Strauss.
Vienna is also noted for palaces. They are everywhere.
We began to ascend the spiral staircase to view Beethoven's flat on the fourth floor. I just loved the way that nothing is straight and you wind around even at ground level.
This is the view looking down on the courtyard. Many old buildings have these sort of vertical shafts. I assume that was to get light and air in before the invention of electric light and air conditioning.
I was going to remove the sign from the photo bit the sign said please don't touch so in good Austrian fashion, I did not touch the sign. Have to photo shop it out.
Vienna is full of grand old buildings and palaces. This is the Sacher Hotel home of the famous Sacher Torte.
Vienna is full of grand old buildings and palaces. This is the Sacher Hotel home of the famous Sacher Torte.
Another good use for a grand old building is to hang a dirty great screen on.
And if you are wondering what you use to project this picture check out the projector below.
You can just see the tangle of cooling pipes.
One of the great draw cards of Vienna.
(Tasted pretty good too)
This makes me think we can increase the tourist draw to Brisbane by building a palace and designing the famous Oxley Torte. I think we may start by just repackaging a Sara-Lee frozen chocolate pudding in a wooden box and selling it for $50. Not quite sure how we will get it listed in Lonely Planet but I am sure we deserve a government grant to help.
This is the back door of the Schonbraunn palace. I am sure that there are plenty of views of the front door on the net.
The back yard
Strolling around the back yard looking for somewhere to sit. All the lawns have neat little signs saying keep off the grass. Which given that you seem to be able to buy bongs in the shops could be taken two ways.
However do as I did and take a chair from one table to another and the head waiter will immediately spring forward to have you move it out of the isle as this must be kept clear for the waiters.
Tomato sauce toothpaste?
We hired this car for a dash to the country to see Marcus's final performance. How can someone take such a cool car and plaster this sort of stuff over it. Just as well that I had had a practice in Mel's mini back in Brisbane At least it looked like a mini should.
Anyway it still managed a smooth 160km/h on the autobahn and would have gone faster except for my conservative nature. (It was night time and I have limited experience driving on the wrong side of the road)
Free Bikes available in Vienna. You have to register and if you loose it, you are up for eu600. There are pick up and drop off points all over the city. The first hour is free but if you have it longer you have to pay a few euros. You can keep it free by checking in and out and restarting the clock.
As with Germany, you do not need a helmet.
Helmets being a slight impediment I believe in stopping Brisbane developing a similar system.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Last BGS concert
Tonight we went to see Marcus's last performance on the Europe tour. We had missed yesterdays performance due to late trains traffic and so on and we nearly missed tonights performance too. After trying several car hire companies, we ended up with a mini that looks like an advertising bilboard from one of those all you can drive for $33 type of companies although when you actualy hire it, the real cost is eu100 once you include tyres and insurance and an engine.
The BGS tour were performing at
Schubertlinde Restraunt
Badstrasse 4
Grunbach am schneeberg
It is about 70km outside of Vienna.
Having the car was only the first challenge. Time was the second. Luckilly the Austrians have a connection with "Dr Who" and we were able to make up a little time by approaching the speed of light on the autobahn.
We arrived in the nick of time, 8pm. Everyone else had eaten. Peter Ingram held the show and met us at the door and dispaced some locals from their table. We managed to clink and munch our way through the various performances. While we are on it, the food was great.
There were performances by locals and BGS students and soem combined performaces too. I understand that there had been a workshop held in the afternoon where these combined performances were put together. It really was a fun night. Megan says the performance was musically "excellent and their performance improvement as a result of the two weeks of intense performances and rehersals was noticable". They were dog tired and I think that this being the last performance and being in an informal atmosphere meant that the boys could have real fun running on adrenalin.
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