Chester and North Wales

Sorry about the large gap between blogs. This last week has really been an R and R after our hectic schedule on mainland Europe. We have caught up with washing, had numerous visits to mum and dad who seem to be fine apart from the normal aches and pains you get when you are in your 90’s (apparently), done some shopping and visited Chirk Castle which was really interesting, made more so by a guide with an amazing sense of humour. The castle is one of a few built by Edward 1^st in the 13^th century along the border between England and Wales. The exterior is basically original but there has been extensive work done inside over the years and also in the grounds.

We also went to Llangollen which is my favourite place at the moment (Janice).  It just looks like one of those amazing villages you see on TV about England – so picturesque.

Brian’s mum & dad celebrated their 67^th wedding anniversary yesterday, and his dad was quite emotional that he had both his children present.  The other good thing is that we’ll be here for his dad’s 90^th birthday as well in September.  Photos – us with Mum and Dad and Brian with sister Pauline.

Had lunch with Pauline today and did some shopping. Off to Scotland later in the week.

Copenhagen and travel to Manchester

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen as the song goes. Well it truly is….. once you get there that is. This was to be our longest train journey but turned out to be much longer than either of us expected.

The Berlin to Copenhagen express limped into Hamburg railway station 90 minutes late with an electrical problem. The problem took another half an hour to fix so we were 2 hours late to start with.
Part of our journey involved crossing over the Baltic Sea by ferry. The train actually drives onto the ferry and then we all get out for the journey. The ferry has 4 levels. The bottom level is for trains and trucks, the next is for cars, the next has restaurants, shops, duty free and currency exchange and the top level has 2 lounge bars and outdoor seating and tables. We arrived at the ferry terminal just after one ferry had left so we had to wait for the next one.

We thoroughly enjoyed the ferry trip which was very smooth. It takes only 45 minutes before being loaded back onto the train and continuing our journey on Danish soil. By which time we were 2.5 hours late. As our train was to return to Berlin that day, someone had the bright idea of offloading the passengers 2 hours short of Copenhagen and transferring us onto a regional train. They also transported the passengers from Copenhagen by regional train to this station where they could board the express back to Berlin.

Two hours by express resulted in 2.75 hours on a regional train that stopped at every station. Our scheduled arrival at Copenhagen had been 1.45pm and we got there at 5.15pm, just in time to join rush hour travellers as we tried to locate the metro train to our hotel. We ended up having to stand but luckily it was only 3 stops.
Eventual arrival at the Copenhagen Hilton was magnificent and that was another day gone.
The following day we booked for a bus and river cruise of Copenhagen. We did the bus tour in the morning and saw some amazing places. The Little Mermaid, the symbol of Copenhagen as shown on all references to this city.

 

Princess Mary was not at home so we photographed her winter palace.

 

King Frederick’s Church has the third largest dome in Europe after St Peters in Rome and St Pauls in London..

 

After lunch we boarded the open topped boat just as it started to rain. Out came the ponchos and what was a great tour was made a bit miserable due to the weather. The temperature dropped too which didn’t help. We were so glad to get back on board the bus back to the railway station. At the station the rain had got heavy and there was a thunder storm just before we boarded our train. We sat for a little while and then there was an announcement in Danish which we didn’t understand and everyone started to get off the train. We found someone who spoke English and he said the railway overhead power lines had been struck by lightening and we would have to catch a later train. Eventually we got back to our hotel after a very interesting day.

The following morning, after an enjoyable breakfast, we arrived at the airport to catch our SAS flight to Manchester. We spent up in the duty free and sat waiting for our departure gate to come up on the board. It was apparently late and then suddenly came up CANCELLED. A rush to the inquiry desk to find out what was happening and we were told that we were all being moved to other flights. SAS only has one direct flight a day to Manchester. We were told we were flying SAS to Dublin and connecting with an Aer Lingus flight to Manchester arriving at 3pm instead of 9.30am. Our cases would be checked in right through. Annoying but at least we were going to be getting to Manchester that day. A phone call to Mum and Dad and the car hire company to let them know what was happening.

An uneventful trip to Dublin but more drama when we got there. We had arrived at Terminal 3 and our Aer Lingus flight was to depart from Terminal 2. We were carrying our duty free alcohol and customs told us that if we left Terminal 3, we wouldn’t be allowed to take our bottles onto the next plane as liquids over 100ml could not be carried. They suggested we contacted Aer Lingus to see if someone could come over from Terminal 2 to pick up the alcohol and take it through for us. We phoned Aer Lingus but they said they weren’t allowed to do this. Frustration. (Adele, Glenis, Kent – I now know how you felt).

A lady at the information counter offered a suggestion. As we were carrying 2 back packs, she suggested we loaded the alcohol into one of the bags and put it through as checked in baggage. When we got to the Aer Lingus check in, the lady there was great.  She helped us pack the bag and put it through without any charge. I was just hoping we had found sufficient packing to protect the bottles.

Manchester. Hooray! We had finally arrived. Our enthusiasm was soon curbed when we discovered that our bags hadn’t. The back pack with the bottles was there (still intact thankfully) but no cases. We weren’t the only ones. Others who had been re-routed with us from Copenhagen were missing bags also. There was a queue of people at the missing baggage counter so more time wasted waiting to be served and filling out forms. They said they would let us know when the bags had been found and deliver them to us.

We picked up the hire car (the people there were very good as the booking documentation was in my case). We have a Hyundai i30 diesel which seems quite a nice car. We drove straight away to Mum and Dad’s and had dinner there. We left about 8pm and called in to a supermarket to buy groceries before arrival at Jon’s house, where we are staying. It turns out our cases were located at Birmingham airport and were duly delivered this afternoon. We can now get stuck into the washing. Looking forward to a relaxing few days.

Amsterdam and Hamburg

We’re catching up on 2 countries in this edition. Our arrival in Amsterdam via Rotterdam led us to our quite remarkable hotel.

 

Our location was in the Red Light and Chinatown district of the city which was quite interesting. After checking in we walked around part of the city over canal bridges and some of the older areas. One of the first things you notice is the number of bicycles, far more than cars. Every railing, drainpipe or power pole has multiples of bicycles chained to them.

 

The narrow streets have footpaths no more than 2 feet wide and most of the time you are walking on the roadway as you bypass other walkers or parked bicycles. There are people everywhere which make walking around awkward.

Our only full day was spent over a late English breakfast as it was pouring with rain but at lunch time it cleared so we chanced a boat trip on the canals for about 90 minutes and then a bus trip around the city.

 

We visited a windmill that was one of many used to maintain the water levels pumping out excess water as the city is about 2 metres below sea level.We also visited a diamond museum where I had great problems extracting Janice without making what could have been very expensive purchase.

In spite of the very interesting hotel, this is probably the most disappointing city of our tour so far.

I agree with Brian re Amsterdam being a little disappointing, but going back to where he was talking about our bus & canal cruise.  What he didn’t mention is that I discovered I could still run, albeit not voluntarily.  We had a small window of time between the boat tour and our bus tour, and the boat was late leaving, so we were panicking (it wasn’t a hop on/hop off, it was a proper tour).  Anyway, we docked in the nick of time and it was all go from there.  I told Brian to run and I would try to keep him in my line of sight.  When I finally got there I got a hug from Brian saying he was impressed I made it in good time!!!  Thought of Glenis & Adele at the diamond place – their prices were really good, and I did hesitate for a moment. 

The hotel that Brian mentioned was really amazing with its 15’ ceilings and remote control for the curtains.  I found out that it was a shipping office originally.

 

We had a long day getting to Hamburg having to take 3 trains, but after settling in we went downstairs for a drink and found four other Australians who we got talking to and ended up swapping details & having a great time. 

Hamburg is a much more interesting city and the Hamburgers are very friendly. It doesn’t have a large number of very old buildings as 30% of the city was burnt in a fire in the 1800’s and then allied bombing in WW2 devastated it even more, but even so we liked the city, an interesting mixture of old and new.

 
We went on a harbour cruise which was very interesting.

 

We visited an amazing “Miniature Wonderland” in a huge warehouse which spans 4 levels, each with magnificent scenery from around the world with mountains, building, railway tracks with many train movements, vehicles and even people. The airport I could have spent hours watching as it was just like a real life airport with planes taking off and landing, taxiing, other activity around the airport such as vehicle movements etc. The lighting was also controlled giving night-time scenes. Xavier, Eamon & Fergus would have been in their element.

 

We again joined our newfound Aussie friends for dinner that evening and all of us went to bed that night slightly under the weather. Off to Copenhagen tomorrow and the longest of our rail journeys.   

 

Belgium

The rail trip to Brussels was quite uneventful but on arrival, the “short walk” to the hotel turned out to be almost one kilometre with cases in tow. The directions given at the station were most confusing so we had to resort to the Satnav to find our way. The hotel was very plush and definitely upmarket but surprisingly the rooms were very small. Being an older hotel it was probably not designed for king size beds so it left little room to move around. It was very hot inside the hotel and the air-conditioning in our room did not seem to be working. We inquired at reception and were told they did not switch the air-conditioning on until July.

 

The lounge bar (above) and dining room were very plush and the service and meals excellent.

Our first day we wandered around the old part of the city and had a coffee in Grande Place with its magnificent old buildings. See below.

 

Our second day we boarded a coach for a day trip to Gent and Bruges, two medieval towns in the Flanders part of Belgium. We learned quite a bit about the history of Belgium and its various rulers over the centuries. Unfortunately we had fine drizzle in the afternoon so we ended up a bit damp. Can’t complain as we haven’t experienced much rain so far but the temperatures are dropping the further north we travel. Some photos of Gent and Bruges below.

The Halles Tower or Belfry at Bruges has a lean of about 1 metre as you can see from the photo below.

Of the 7 rail journeys that we are undertaking, only 2 required pre booking. When we arrived in Brussels we tried to book our journey on to Amsterdam for the 14^th only to discover that all trains to Amsterdam that day were fully booked requiring some alterations to our plans. We could not stay an extra night as hotels had been booked so we did a slight detour and travelled from Brussels to Rotterdam and then Rotterdam to Amsterdam which only added about an hour to the journey.  

Luxembourg

We’ve just had our first day in Luxembourg which was interesting. As with many European cities and towns, they start off with a castle that the town evolves around. Luxembourg Castle had a reputation as being one of the most impregnable yet was still overrun by the French, Italians, Germans, Spanish and Austrians. The high city walls are still in place.

 

 We asked the receptionist where we might go for dinner (they didn’t do dinner at our hotel) and she told us to go to Em’s which has good reports.  We found it and looked at the menu outside, and to our horror we saw “horse steaks, veal head, pigs feet & tripe” – we didn’t stay & read any more !!!  We ended up at another hotel nearby and had mushroom risotto and grilled fish (boring in comparison, but lovely).  We won’t ask again.  The photo of Brian below is him praying the food will be okay !!!

 

First impression of Luxembourg was that it was sleezy but after we went for a walk over the bridge we discovered a town that resembled Paris with its Louis Vitton, Cartier, Rolex and other brand shops.  They didn’t invite you to go in as there were suited men just inside the door waiting to accost you the minute you walked in.

 

This was our ‘day off’ as we are here for 3 days.  We thought we would get our laundry up to date and just ‘chill’.  We’ve read books & I’ve updated my diary, and we walked 1.5 hours this morning just so we could find the tourist information office and see about tours. 

 

Today was our tour day and in the morning we did the hop on/hop off bus which was mildly interesting, and then the little train ride in the afternoon was amazing.  It was a train which ran on the road, albeit very slowly.  It went down in to the old part of Luxembourg outside the walls of the city.  It’s a city that’s built on so many levels. Below is the cathedral of Notre Dame (there is another one in Paris)

You can see from the picture above, some of the old fortifications.

Off to Brussels tomorrow.

Heidelberg

Our next adventure takes us to Heidelberg. The train journey from Zurich involved changing trains at Stuttgart. Our hotel was situated in the old part of the city, not quite as plush as what we had experienced to date, but with heaps of character and opposite a market square with many narrow streets running off and all very old buildings. So many things to see, all within walking distance. The hotel had an excellent restaurant which we frequented for all meals, mostly at outdoor tables.

 

Our tour of the city took us along both sides of the Neckar River which runs through Heidelberg. Although not in flood, the water level was above normal and fast flowing. The highlight was a visit to Heidelberg castle which is an amazing building and steeped in history.

 

 

One of the past owners of the castle loved his wine and commissioned a number of large barrels to be constructed. He started a trend and nobles competed against each other for the largest barrel. This one would keep us going for a few years.

Today we had planned a boat trip on the Neckar but the weather had different ideas and we woke up to heavy rain and thunder, the first rain of our trip so far apart from a short heavy shower in Singapore. We therefore decided to make for Luxembourg earlier than planned and arrived here late afternoon. On the way we travelled alongside the Rhine which was definitely in flood and we saw many low lying buildings with water half way up the walls.

That’s it for this edition. Keep tuned.

p.s. note from me – Heidelberg was the most amazing place – I could have stayed for ages just looking at places.  You didn’t have to move as it was all around you.  And if anyone wants to contact us we are still getting emails on brianandjanice@bigpond.com and briandw47@bigpond.com

I’m telling you this as you can’t reply to the blogs which is a shame, but apparently people have been trying, and of course we’re not getting them.

My turn to write this episode as Switzerland is my favourite country. Our rail journey from Milan was truly amazing. From the armchair comfort of our 1^st Class carriage the electric train was almost silent as we glided along the shores of Lake Como and Lake Lugano before climbing into the mountains. Our journey over the Alps took in some spectacular scenery swishing past tiny villages and through numerous tunnels. Summer has started late here so the mountains are still snow covered. The houses gradually took on the typical Swiss chalet style. On arrival at Zurich Central, I was lifting the cases off the overhead rack and one slipped and came crashing down on the bridge of my nose so I am now sporting a large red blotch between my eyes. “Typical” can I hear you say?

The information on our hotel stated that it was “just over the road from the railway station”. However, it turned out this was a suburban station not Central so we had an extra 6 minute train ride to get there.

On our first day we explored Zurich. Although it has many old buildings, it lacks the history and character of Milan. We experienced a ferry boat ride on Lake Zurich and took a cable car up into the hills where we found a pleasant restaurant and sipped a wine (or 2) while taking in the fabulous view of the lake and Zurich city.

Yesterday we hired a car which was booked for us by the hotel. We requested a small manual to be delivered to the hotel at 9am. We turned up to reception to pick up the key and were advised that we had been upgraded. We walked out to find a top of the range Audi A4 with more gadgets than you can poke a stick at. After first getting in the wrong side (as you do), we sat in the car for 10 minutes before I was forced to go back into the hotel to find someone who could show us how to start it. Embarrassing. We were soon on our way and in the first half hour Janice aged 5 years as I came to grips with driving an unfamiliar car in heavy city traffic on a different side of the road. Luckily Swiss drivers are very forgiving.

We were on our way to Fanas, the small village up in the Alps where I worked for a month on a community service project digging a milk pipeline in 1966. Our journey after leaving the city was mostly on motorways and at one point my bum got very hot. It turned out that Janice, whilst fiddling with the air conditioner controls, had accidentally switched on the drivers seat heating.

It took about 2 hours to reach the village and there were many parts that were familiar but after nearly 50 years there also had been many changes. I was disappointed to learn that the milk pipeline which dozens of volunteers over 3 years had put in thousands of hours to construct had fallen into disrepair and had ceased to operate about 15 years ago. Picture of Brian at Fanas above.

 

View from village of Fanas above. We then travelled to Grusch, Landquart and the city of Chur which were places I had visited whilst working here. As the principality of Liechtenstein was so close we decided to drive through it on our return journey and take the country roads back to Zurich which took longer than expected as the recent heavy rains had damaged a number of the mountain roads and we were frequently confronted with road works where part of the roadway had collapsed. Nevertheless it was a memorable experience with spectacular scenery.

 Picture above of churches in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Next stop  Heidelberg.

Days 1,2 and 3

Well, we’ve had a few interesting moments since we left home.  Arrived Singapore on time, great people at hotel, too hot (of course).  Visited Chinatown and bought nothing (no need to as we’re going back on way home).  In the afternoon we visited Sentosa Island which is a mini Disneyland.  Overnight plane to Milan arriving at 8am & Brian’s just told me that in 45 hours we had 4 hours’ sleep, but slept very well last night in a beautiful bed.  Pictures below of Cable Car to Sentosa Island and pink dolphin.

Caught hop on hop off bus yesterday around Milan and visited some interesting places.  It’s nothing at all like Rome – very modern in comparison and everyone seems to have designer dogs !!  One daschund even had a frilly skirt !!!!  The bar at our hotel is amazing.  We were given a voucher for a free drink on our first night and when we went in to the bar there was all this amazing food on the counter and we could help ourselves to that.  Didn’t need dinner afterwards, and the people there in the bar area were all Australian so the barman thought he might change his nationality to fit in.  People all amazing.

Today we booked a trip to Como and Bellagio – Bellagio had to be favourite, it’s an amazing place, and I bought my first gift for someone back home.  People live up in these high hills, goodness only knows how they get there.  Did a 2 hour boat trip and then we caught a ferry back to coach.  Photos below of Duomo Cathedral in central Milan and Swiss Alps taken from boat trip on Lake Como.

 

That's it for now. Off to Zurich tomorrow.