Christmas in Switzerland!

I was worried there wasn’t going to be any snow in Interlaken itself given it’s only about 600m above sea level... but it was absolutely covered and the snow was bucketing down! Matt and I stayed in a place called the City Oberland, smack bang in the middle of the town. Right above a Latino bar which was a bit worrying – though I think given it was winter there wasn’t too much noise... I could imagine in Summer it would be quite loud. Mum had booked a Riverhouse which was great for all of us... Somewhere to lounge around and we took it in turns to cook dinner which was handy. First afternoon we organised our ski lessons and ski hire.... really straight forward, only shame was that we were staying about 30mins from the ski fields (Grindelwald) but at the same time it was good to be based in Interlaken for the shops etc .

First day of skiing I found very frustrating and painful! It took me pretty much the whole day just to learn how to stop properly! And the boots I got were way too tight on my foot... right length but I’ve obviously got a very fat foot! Lost all feeling in my toes after about 15 mins!! Not good! I was definitely the slowest learner out of the group... (Which even though we booked group lessons ended up being just us which was pretty cool)... Tash was better than she thought she was but lacked the patience of climbing back up the 3m hill to go down again... cause we were beginner beginners we didn’t get a lift .

I thought that when I took my boots off that afternoon my toes were going to be blue... but they weren’t which was a good thing I spose...

Next day was much better... Had exchanged my boots for a wider pair... and while it was still painful, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad... And we got a lift today (one of those rope ones where you just hold onto)!! We spent half the morning revising what we had learnt the day before... and there were a ‘couple more runs for Tracey’ before we were allowed down the proper beginner slope... he was very concerned about my stopping ability!!!.. Once we got going down the main slope everything we’d learnt came together and it was a lot more fun. I did manage to fall almost every run... and it was amazing how quickly our instructor could move when we were in trouble!... I found when the proper stopping method didn’t work, falling onto your bum did... I think there was a bit of a running joke going between the instructors and the lift operators about whether or not I would make it down the run (particularly that last steep bit) without falling... By the end of the third day I had really got the hang of it... but a lot can be said for doing some fitness preparation before going.... my legs had absolutely nothing left in them by the end....

First day of lessons there were 6 of us... then 4... then Belinda had a cold and she couldn’t continue just as she was really getting the hang of it ! So on day 3 there were 3... Matt was a bit more capable than I... though he was the first to manage to stack it getting onto the lift.... and Troy.... you’re just a show off!

It was sooo nice to relax the next day, Christmas eve... just wandered around town... had coffee (it was near closing time in this bakery and they had leftover croissants they had to get rid of for free.. it was sooooo hard to polish them off!!)... Kurt and Shreya had arrived the night before and Matt and Troy ended up taking them up to Grindelwald to show them around and sort out ski gear.... the 4 of them were keen for a Christmas Day ski... the rest of us just followed up on the train for lunch... it was great having the White Christmas... In the snow... gorgeous views.. snowball fights.... but overall it didn’t feel particularly ‘Christmassy’ but it was great having most of the family around. Didn’t realise just how much I was missing everyone!

We went to a restaurant in Interlaken for our Christmas Dinner.... Belinda and I ended up sharing a 3 course fondue... 1st course cheese. mmm... 2nd course was meat.. this was a bit too much to be honest... just dropped bits of meat into oil to cook... so was really heavy on the stomach... but 3rd course, of course, was chocolate!.... yummmeee.. Matt and Troy are of course quite used to all us McLeods by now... but hopefully we didn’t scare Shreya off too much!!

Boxing Day again was really relaxing... late brekkie... pack the bags... lunch.... dinner.... Bit of souvenir shopping... and lots of chilling!!

Unfortunately from here we split up a bit... Matt had to come back to the UK to work... and Kurt and Shreya were heading to Berlin for New Years... I was flying to Cologne where I would meet back with the rest of the crew who were travelling by train.

Kurt and I were both flying from Zurich about the same time and we had a couple of hours in Zurich which was nice though it was very very quiet...

Just as Kurt’s plane took off it started snowing quite heavily... my plane was about ½ hour delayed but thankfully we did get going and got to Cologne without a hitch....

December - the Drive to Interlaken

Somehow managing to miss the big Hypermarkets around Calais... we drove to our first stop of Luxembourg... going via Belgium. Was quite a nice drive (says she who didn’t do any of the driving)... Luxembourg is really pretty.... built in a steep valley, there’s gorgeous views all around. Matt wasn’t feeling too well, but we headed into town to have a look around the square... really pretty... there were some small markets with Gluwein (yum!) and there were some kids singing Christmas carols. And after a little while it started snowing... it was all just really pretty... and cause we had managed to score a spot under a heater.. not too cold!

Headed from Luxembourg the next day down to Freiburg (Black Forest) to meet back up with Mum and Tash. Another gorgeous town... markets... gluwein... snow! We stayed at a pretty typical Germnstyle hotel called the Bierhausle.... Matt picked it on recommendation (can you tell?!). Surprisingly though there wasn’t actually much of a bar in the hotel, but the restaurant served some really yummy food!

We took a day trip into the Black Forest... Stopping at Triberg where the shop-keepers were whinging that it was one of the coldest days they’d had... (typical!!) Lots of cuckoo clocks had us mesmorised for a little while but all in all the town was very quiet! We let Navman try and direct us to the next town... but it tried to take us down some small roads that you couldn’t even see anymore! There was about 2 foot of snow covering the roads – though I’m convinced they must have been more like ‘tracks’. Given the steepness of the hill off the side and the fact we were on our own, we just weren’t game enough to keep following the Navman directions so had to head back for the main roads. The views though were absolutely spectacular. So beautiful with the snow on the trees... took so many photos!

From Freiburg we headed into Switzerland and given we were a day early decided to try somewhere random... based on booking.com discounts we picked Biel-Bienne – in the watch-making valley. On the trip there we were having a few problems cleaning the windscreen which was filthy from all the grit on the roads.. and none of the service stations had washer fluid... mmm fun...


Biel-Bienne was.... wierd... there was absolutely no one about... All the markets were closed... Didn’t see any other people in the hotel.... was strange... either it was a public holiday or it’s an industrial town and everyone had headed elsewhere for Christmas... dunno! So we didn’t really do much here! Spent some time in the supermarket! And wandered til we found somewhere for dinner... Mum being very quickly onto the fondue!

From there it was a relatively short but beautiful, particularly the last leg around the lake into Interlaken, journey to where we would spend Christmas... yay!

December in London Town

Am getting so far behind in this blog that I’m just gonna have to start really summarising!!

December was a fantastic, albeit flippin cold, month! I finished up at work on the 2nd and was at Heathrow at 7am the next morning meeting Mum and Tash in the arrivals hall! Had a great time showing them... and then Belinda and Troy a couple of weeks later... around London Town. An early stop was shopping... for warm clothes!! Was great watching Tash be bemused and excited by some of the quirky English things... I’ve just got used to them all... she found the politeness of the tube drivers particularly amusing... “Mind the Gap please” is apparently a lot more polite than the Sydney version of “Stand clear”. Although I wasn’t there to witness, she was also pretty “chuffed” (yes, I do have a bit of an English accent now) that she got one of the guards at Windsor Palace to smile! Had a big splurge one day - went to Gordon Ramsays Maze restaurant - yummo!! then to Wicked at Apollo Victoria - one of the best musicals I've ever seen - it was unreal!

We also went to Belgium... my second trip but first time to Bruges. I love Belgium. Beer. Chocolate. Waffles. aaahhh.... I was a little disappointed in the Christmas markets in Bruges though. They're meant to be some of the best... but I found them to be really small... not much there at all... definitely not a patch on the Bath markets. The city itself though is really pretty. Lots of small cobbled streets, little canals.... beautiful. We didn’t have the greatest weather which was a shame

We stayed in Brussels, near the European Parliament in some serviced apartments - Thon Parnasse. It was really good value actually... a little way from Grand Place but the station was across the road and the metro was just down the street.

From there I headed back to the UK and Mum and Tash headed to Paris!

Coupla days ‘break’ at home in Elm Pak, which consisted on catching up with washing and going to Matt’s Christmas Party – which was the night before Bel and Troy arrived – so we didn’t get a lot of sleep that night – Matt slept laying down on the back seat the whole drive to the airport! – It is kinda cool driving the Landcruiser through the main streets of Londond – down Regent Street, around Trafalgar Square...

Belinda and Troy were lucky enough to get 2 of our tours (Mum and Tash got the driving tour to Windsor and the Cotswolds and the brief walking tour to Kensington) ; The first one was a driving tour around London – because it was the weekend we were able to drive them past a lot of the main sights and cause it was so early there wasn’t a lot of traffic.... Saw Buckingham Palace... Greenwich... Trafalgar Square... Westminster... etc etc

The second tour wasn't planned, but we ended up taking Belinda and Troy on a walking/pub tour of London. Started in Covent Garden with some pies and beer... then to Trafalgar Square and introduced them to the Wetherspoons chain of pubs (cheap! – don’t matter for the alcohol but the food is definitely ‘cheap’ too!)... down to Westminster and on a cruise down the Thames to Tower Hill... found another Wetherspoons!... Jumped on a bus down Oxford Street to Oxford Circus.. had a slightly disappointing meal at Garfunkels (with Coke!) and said Goodnight from there! Was a busy but fun day!

We ended up leaving the UK the same day.. Bel and Troy to London via Eurostar... and Matt and I jumped in the car to head to the Black Forest... Straight into France where they were having one of their coldest Winters in history. Woohoo!

Oktoberfest - Muenchen - Sep 09

Made a relatively late decision to head to Oktoberfest for a 4 day weekend... arrived on a Saturday.. left on a Tuesday... Flew Easyjet into Munich (ended up catching up with my cousin Michael in town which was an added bonus) then stayed at Camping Thalkirchen. We had booked through Festival Tours, which is a reasonable deal... £99 each for the 3 nights, camping and included all shuttles to and from the Festival and they ran tours out to Dachau Concentration Camp and to Andechs Monastery.

Though it was September, it got very, very cold at night... and that was really the only dampener on the whole weekend!

We did their tour out to Dachau (very moving) and Andechs Monastery (which was more about the beer they brewed there and the Pork Knuckle than the Monastery!) which was a great day out.

So Monday was our first day at the Festival... really enjoyed it actually.... lots of drinking with random people and all in all a really great day out! Spent most of the day in the Lowenbrau tent.. went on a couple of rides... roller coasters and dodgems are way more fun after a couple of steins!

Back into the Festival the next day... tried as many tents as we could [we had our backpacks with us and some of them wouldn't let us in :( ]... and actually managed to venture into 0Munich itself as well...and had a good look around town (including the permanent HB Beer Hall!.

All in all a great weekend - to be honest a lot more fun than I had expected!

Scandanavia - August 2009

What a contrast - flying into Oslo from Istanbul!! From hustle and bustle to large open spaces. I spent 10 days travelling in Scandanaiva [unfortunately Matt had to head back to the UK for work]. The first things that struck me about Norway were the open spaces, the many beautiful parks, wide streets, the fact that 97% of the population seemed to be tall, beautiful, blonde and fit!! and yet all in all Oslo probably wasn't as spectacular as I was expecting... I think that was mainly down to the fact there were a couple of drab buildings around the main part of the harbour...

A highlight of Oslo for me was definitely the Vigeland sculpture park - a huge park which contains over 200 bronze/granite sculptures.

I also visited a couple of Museums - including the Viking Ship Museum and the National Gallery which contained a few of Munch's (the artist who painted the Scream) works. Also timed my visit to the Royal Palace right on time for the changing of the guard... though you can't really miss it... a marching band walks all the way up the main street to the front of the Palace (which was no fences... you could walk right up and look through the window if ya wanted to.. and I guess if the guards let you!)

After a couple of nights in Oslo a took a train across Norway to Bergen, via the Flam Railway and a Fjord River Cruise (followed the 'Norway in a Nutshell' tour route). Should organised my trip so this was last... as it was absolutely amazing... Rushing waterfalls, mountains, clear water, quaint villages, rainbow across the Fjord... I really can't rave about it enough and I really encourage anyone who has the chance to take the time out to do this trip!

By the time I arrived in Bergen it was quite late... and it was raining (though there was a pretty good chance it would be given it rains about 265 days a year!). Bergen is a beautiful little city... loved the narrow streets, the little fish market, view from the top of the cable car... It was really nice to be able to spend a couple of days just wandering around, doing some of the walks in the mountains around the city.

View over Bergen Harbour

The Bryggen

Is Norway really that expensive? Yes and No... Some things like travel and groceries are about the same as London.... but eating out is a lot more expensive... but probably only slightly more expensive than Paris... One thing that really hurt was that I needed to do some laundry in Bergen... cost me 65Kr (about £7)! Ouch!

Stockholm

Really enjoyed my couple of days in Stockholm... wandering through the old streets of Gamla Stan...

Taking the ferry out to Drottningolm palace... past all the islands... it's a very green city...

Went the Vasa museum which contains a restored ship which sunk in Stockholm harbour in the 1600s...

Copenhagen

Copenhagen was the final leg of my trip. I took a train down from Stockholm... took about 4 or 5 hours. Like Stockholm, I enjoyed wandering around the shopping streets, visiting some of the museums...

one of my favourites of course being the Carlsberg museum...

But I also managed to get out to Fredensburg, about an hour north of Copenhagen, were Princess Mary's residence is... the grounds of Fredensburg Palace were great... lots of walking trails which was a nice way to spend the afternoon

Turkey - Aug 2009 - Part 2: Gallipoli and Istanbul

Altinkum to Gallipoli
Whilst in Altinkum, we arranged a bus, a company called Metro, up the west coast to Canakkale. Can't say we were really looking forward to the 10-hour bus ride but in the end we were pleasantly surprised. There were 4 staff on the bus... 2 drivers, a bag packer AND a waiter! Within the first hour we'd been served tea/coffee, cake, freshening wipes... couldn't believe the service! The bus did stop every couple of hours so we were able to stretch our legs... though I do believe that Kebab I had at the bus station in Izmir was my downfall!!

One thing that was quite interesting was the rearranging that had to take place in terms of who was sitting where, a solo female traveller couldn't travel next to a male, so a few couples had to split up along the way to accommodate that.

We arrived in Canakkale about 7pm, our hotel was only 100m from where the bus stopped which was great... weren't really in the mood for having to walk to far... and the bellies weren't too crash hot! It was a really busy seaside town though with a completely different atmosphere to Altinkum, menus were still written in a couple of languages, but had a much more cosmopolitan feel.

We had a wander round the town in the evening, noticing lots of reference to "18 Mart 1915" - when 3 English and French navy ships entered the Dardanelles, but were sunk by mines. 3 more were destroyed by guns from the 2 castles on either side of the passage, Canakkale being at the narrowest part of the Dardanelles. So while in Australia we recognise Anzac Day, the 18th of March is a cause for celebration in Turkey, being the start of a successful campain to defend the country from the Allies.

Gallipoli
Next day we joined a tour of the Gallipoli peninsula, visting all the main sites, Anzac Cove, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and the memorials. Our guide was great, giving insight from both sides of the battle. It was a really moving day, and I could have spent a lot longer there. I think I'm glad I visited outside of the Anzac Day services, it would be a different, though I'm sure just as special, experience.

That evening we had probably the best Turkish meal we had on our whole trip... at a little Pide and Kebap shop about 500m back from the main seafront... Great location too... the open window next to our table was straight onto a petrol station forecourt... Saw 2 lots of women ask the station attendant to use a dash of petrol to clean a mark off their leather hanbags... does that really work?!!

Canakkale to Istanbul
We tried to find some alternative transport to Istanbul... figured there must be a ferry... but the only one available was about a 5hr drive away. Glad we didn't take that option, some people who were on our Anzac Tour tried to do that, but once they got to the port, the ferry was fully booked... so ended up taking them a few days to get to Istanbul. In the end we just took another Metrobus straight from Canakkale to Istanbul.

Same deal as from Altinkum, though even fewer tourists on this route (it's a lot quicker to take a plane from Canakkale, and if you were to book in advance probably wouldn't be too much dearer than the bus)... watched a couple of Turkish movies... the acting was very poor, though apparently it was a comedy... the whole bus was in stitches a lot of the time!

We got a bit confused when the bus stopped at a random bus station on the outskirts of Istanbul... weren't quite sure how were meant to actually get into town... but after finding some people who spoke a little english, we soon found our way to the metro station. All the shop keepers try to barter for your business... I never felt hassled in Istanbul, though it's very different from everywhere else we went in Turkey where you are really left alone.

Couple of trams later we were at Sultanahment... the map I had was pretty terrible, and we weren't 100% sure we were going in the right direct so we stopped and asked a bus driver for directions... so glad I didn't listen to him... he tried to send us in the complete opposite direction! The hotel, though v basic and tiny rooms, was in an excellent location, the rooftop breakfast bar overlooked the Blue Mosque and out to the Marmara Sea - absolutely stunning!

Istanbul
Given we only had a short time in Istanbul after checking in we were straight back out and off to see Topkapi Palace - again, glad we didn't listen to some of the stall holders along the way who tried to tell us it was closed. The Palace was really amazing - particularly due to it's location at the point where the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea all meet.

From there we just started to wander, down to Sirkeci and Eminonu and stumbled across a 10TL cruise which took us along the Bosphorus, under the suspension bridge and back again. It was quite a rocky ride, though we had timed it right on sunset so had magnificent views. We noticed that all the cargo ships had stopped coming through... maybe cause it was peak hour and there were lots of passenger ferries criss-crossing?

Day 2 in Istanbul we tried to squish as much sight-seeing in as possible... Blue Mosque.... Grand Bazaar... but from there we ended up wandering into the local markets where the Bazaar stall holders have mini auctions for goods and the locals are shopping for head scarves etc... found that area a lot more exciting that inside the actual bazaar itself, which was so stifling hot!... Aquaduct... and many stops for drinks and ice-creams along the way.

For dinner we went to an area our hotel recommended, Kumkapi, where there's a whole strip of restaurants overlooking a marina. It's predominantly seafood... pick your fish off a tray... all really really tasty and great to have a change from all the Pide we'd been eating... only problem was the damn cats... they were abolsutely everywhere... wandering around the tables. At one point I dropped my cardigan down next to my legs and jumped a mile cause I thought a cat was walking in between my legs!.... aah... hate cats!

After a couple of very quick days in Istanbul... Matt and I went separate ways... Matt back to the UK for work.. hehe... and I went on to Scandinavia for a bit of a whirlwind tour.

Turkey - August 2009 - Part 1: Altinkum

With Morocco ‘shelved’ for now, we made a last minute change to our holiday plans and headed to Turkey. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with some of Matt’s family in Altinkum, near Bodrum on Turkey’s Aegean Coast.

Most would probably cringe at the thought of travelling to a place in Turkey where there is a ‘Little Britain’ café, prices are advertised in Pounds, all the pubs are decorated in Football memorabilia and chip butties are more the norm than pide or kebap… and I have to say, I have been one of those people who have criticised the way English people have effectively ‘taken over’ parts of the Spanish, Portugese, Turkish and other Southern European coastlines. But having now lived in the UK for a while and spent some time in what felt like a “English-fide” town in Turkey, I have come round a bit.

England isn’t like Australia where only a relatively short drive from any of the capital cities will get you to beachside towns with large resorts and generally good weather, and still be in the same country, same language, same food. I mean I love to get out and experience new cultures and cuisine, but that’s a very different holiday. Not the same as being able to spend a week catching up on the sun, sleep and relaxation that you’ve missed out on by being couped up in the office for the past 6 months.

We landed in Turkey, pasty white and exhausted… 5 days in Altinkum was exactly what we needed. The time flew, even though we really didn’t do too much! The apartment was walking distance from the beach and the shops and markets so generally we had lazy mornings, eventually get to the beach have wander round and then dinner in the evenings. Very nice and chilled out!

We did hire a car and take a day trip out to Pamukkale – couple of hours inland from Altinkum. An area of white cascading terraces, made of terratine which is deposited by the spring water that cascades down the side of the mountain. The area surrounding this was very brown, not a lot of vegetation, so it made the area even more of a contrast.
There was an area where you could swim in the hot springs, but it was SO packed and you had to pay extra for a wristband that allowed you into the water… Just sitting in the water on the terraces was great!

We had lunch in a village nearby. It was our first ‘proper’ Turkish meal… Kofte and Gozmele (savoury pancakes)… yum! And so cheap! It was also great to just sit there for a while and watch people go about their day. One group were having fun weighing themselves on scales used for weighing seeds/herbs. Some of them would have been worth quite a lot!

We also visited a circus while in Altinkum. A bit random, but well worth the £3 or so entrance fee. It was surprisingly fun (despite bad backs from the plastic stools!), particularly the girl doing the acrobatics hanging from ribbons off the roof.

In the end our time at Altinkum ended all too quickly, though we were ready to move on to the next leg of our Turkish holiday.