A real white Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone - I hope you all had a great time celebrating Christmas with your family & friends! This was my third Christmas in the northern hemisphere and I fulfilled a dream by celebrating Christmas on the slopes in Austria. It was fantastic! There was no doubt of having a real white Christmas with heavy snow falling throughout the day. Even the groomed runs resembled off-piste by the end of the day.

I joined an Oak Hall tour for the festive week. We lodged in the small village of Schlitters in the Ziller Valley, approximately a two hour drive from Munich airport. Over the five days of skiing, we ventured to three different resorts – Hochfugen - Hochzillertal, Mayrhofen & Zell am Ziller. All of the resorts were accessible via a local train which wound its way up the valley and conveniently stopped directly outside our hotel.

It was a brilliant week with great snow & great company. A highlight for me was the champagne buffet breakfast on Boxing day at the Kristall Hutte. Overall the skiing conditions were fantastic, especially considering that it is only the start of the ski season here. Following the dump of snow on Christmas day we had blue skies to enjoy the powder for the rest of our time. It was simply a winter wonderland!

Photos: View from Kristall Hutte, Hochfugen (top right); View from Zell am Ziller(top left); Austrian Skihaserl-Kaffee (Eggnog) on Christmas morning (above left); and the guys walking up Hochfugen for an off-piste run (above right).

It's beginning to look alot like...

... Christmas... everywhere you go... With only 10 days till Christmas, the fairy lights are shining, the carols are singing and preparations for Christmas are in full force. It is great to soak up the atmosphere that surrounds Christmas. Last year I visited the home of Christmas markets in Germany, so I opted to head to Paris this year. The trip to Paris was easy on the Eurostar train & the markets were fantastic!


It had been over four years since I first travelled to Paris and it was great to be back to appreciate it in a different setting. Here are some highlights:
Above: Notre Dame Cathedral by twilight; night-time shot of the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine; and Beth enjoying the best French Onion soup I have ever tasted, complete with grilled cheese toast on top!
Below: Outside the Louvre, inside the Musee D’Orsay (which holds mainly French art and is currently holding an exhibition for dedicated to the ‘Art Noveau’ a movement of art in the 20th century) and my favourite painting for the day, ‘Elephants d’Afrique’ painted by Tournemine in the 19th century.

Also, there are plenty of things happening in old London town. Below are some recent photos of the Christmas lights at Trafalgar Square; Jon Hume, the lead singer from Evermore belting a few tunes at the Institute of Contemporary Arts; & me holding his pick at the end of the night!

Anne’s last hoorah - in Stockholm!

To continue my Scandinavian exploration, I headed to Sweden over the weekend. Stockholm was and remains my favourite European city. Why is it my favourite city? Well, it is rich with history, it has plenty intriguing architecture and stunning waterways and the people are friendly and welcoming. I think, however, the main reason I like Stockholm is that it reminds me of Sydney, albeit just a tad older.

It was great to return to a place I have enjoyed before and to introduce my friend Anne to the city. It was my last weekend of travelling with Anne who is about to head back home after her four year stint in London. [Bye Anne – we’ll miss you!!]

I’m always keen to do something a little different in the cities I visit. I was pleasantly surprised by the sunny blue skies we had on the Saturday. Although it was still cool, the sun brightly shone above the old town buildings. With the days getting shorter in the northern hemisphere, it was well and truly dark by 3:30pm. With recommendations on hand, we enjoyed different aspects of this fabulous city including:

• Walking around the Old Town, looking at the architecture and drinking some glogg (Swedish mulled wine) at the Christmas markets;
• Seeing the city from a variety of viewpoints, including Monteliusvagen;
• Joining the locals for an evening of Jazz and local cider in the Old Town;
• Taking a canal tour around the Djugarden island; and
• Finally, watching a local derby ice hockey match at the Globen venue. We were close to the action with centre field seats behind each of the teams. It was an exciting match, even if we didn’t know the rules!

Patience is a virtue

I’m pleased to say that after almost four months of [patiently?] waiting for my visa application, I have received confirmation that I am able to continue to live and work in the UK for a wee bit longer. While I did manage to kept myself occupied during the past four months, it didn't take me long to jump on a plane with my passport safely back in my hands!

Over this past weekend I spent all of 36 hours in Finland’s cosmopolitan city of Helsinki. With six layers of clothing, my winter boots and a trusty local map, I enjoyed wandering around the capital in temperatures hovering around the zero degrees. I stayed at one of the purpose-built hostels in town, chosen for its added benefit of a sauna! A morning sauna is certainly a great way to start the day.

Helsinki, with approx 600,000 residents is located on the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. It has a fascinating history with both the Swedish & Russian rulers leaving their resepctive marks in the architecture that remains in the city today.

I have included a few pictures of this site in this blog:

• Helsinki Cathedral (top left) was built in 1852 and is arguably the most photographed building in Helsinki. I enjoyed the night time view of the Cathedral while tasting some of the local cuisine in a nearby cafe.
• Above are two pictures taken near the coast, including some of the seaside architecture and an old chap returning from one of the many islands which sit fairly close to the shore.
• Suomenlinna (below) is a maritime fortress built in 1748 on six islands just off the shore. It was once used by the Finnish and Russian war ships and is now home to 850 inhabitants and a naval college. It was a quick trip out to the island for me via a 20 minute ferry. With the sun setting at 4pm, I had to quickly run around to take the pictures while there was still some light.
  

The leaves are turning...

Here are just a few pics from the weekend, in and around London.

On Saturday, I enjoyed a hike through a part of the Surrey countryside, from Holmswood to Dorking, via Leith Hill Tower, Wotton House and St John the Evangelist Church at Wotton.

Below are a few pics in London's largest ancient parkland, Hampstead Heath. The Heath is a city getaway, with woodlands, grassy hills, ponds (used by some of the braver Londoners' during the summer) and plenty of tracks to wander around. South of the Heath is Parliament Hill which boasts a stunning view of the city skyline (with Canary Wharf on the left and the city to the right).

[And yes, I still consider myself a tourist and am therefore allowed to still take photos with the more 'iconic' features of London]

Lily of Hamble

The English summer had yet another burst of life over the past weekend - it was a absolutely stunning. I had the great pleasure of enjoying the weather by sailing to the Isle of Wight, off the south of England. We spent our weekend aboard the Lily of Hamble, a 50ft Bavaria yacht. The photos below are of our boat running "goose-winged" as we entered the heads; the rest of the crew relaxing at the stern; and the Needles, a row of stacks of chalk on the western tip of the Isle of Wight.

On Friday afternoon we sailed to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. With solid winds, we had a good intro lesson in the art of sailing. The photo below is of myself behind the helm with Graham (our trusty skipper) providing expert tuition and sharing his knowledge. Amongst other things, I now understand the difference between a genoa & a jib, and also have a better idea of how to use the "head to wind" concept to find that optimal point of sail.

On Saturday & Sunday, with minimal see breeze to take us on our way, we took the opportunity to enjoy the stunning sun & relaxed onboard as we motored along. We managed a [quick!] dip in the cool waters when we dropped the anchor at lunch time. One of my highlights of the weekend, both literally & figuratively, was being winched to the top of the mast, approx 60ft high. From the top, I had a great view of the Needles & Hurst Castle, which was built in 1544 by Henry VIII to protect the western approach to the Solent (the sea which separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland). What an awesome experience! The photo above shows the fantastic view of the boat from the top... definitely not for the faint hearted!

And finally, along with the blues skies came two stunning sunsets. The first photo was taken in Yarmouth harbour and the second as we headed from Cowes to Gosport (near Portsmouth).

Life in the country

For the last official weekend in summer, we hired a car & headed north to the Peak district, located in the midlands of the UK. We stayed in the town of Edale, at an historic cotton mill. The mill was built in 1795 and was restored by the Landmark Trust in the 1970s. To the left is an obligatory photo of Beth & Anne on the deck chairs in front of the mill.

During our relaxing weekend we visited the town Chesterfield, famous for the “crooked spire”. The girls bought a variety of goodies from the markets and cooked an end-of-summer BBQ feast, including a scrumptious dessert – fondly named the “Edale mess”, composed of jam roly-poly, sweetened cream & summer berries – yum!

On Sunday, we joined a few locals for a horse ride through the rolling hills. It was a popular area for mountain bike riders. In the 2 hour ride, we must have past about 30 bikers, many of whom were doing it tough! In the afternoon, we visited Chatsworth House, the home of the Dukes of Devonshire. The house & its extensive grounds have been used in several movies, including The Duchess (Keira Knighlty) as well as Pride and Prejudice (ie, Mr Darcy’s Pemberley residence). We had plenty of time to enjoy the grounds & get lost in the maze (honestly one of the hardest mazes I’ve ever done!). After searching through the house & all of the relics, I'm pleased to say that I did eventually find Mr Darcy! :)

We finished off our weekend on Monday at the a agricultural show in the town of Hope. We had a few hours of breathing in the fresh air, watching the sheep dog trials & horse dressage, looking at the craft stores and of course eating some of the local produce. The photo on the right is my favourite photo from the trip. I was brought up with the competition of “How many jelly beans are in the jar”… well, this is the country version – “How many balloons fit into a tractor?” Classic!

Long summer days

It has been a wee while since I have typed a blog... a testament to the great summer we have had in London. OK, so it hasn't quite been the "BBQ summer" that some weather forecasters were predicting, but it has been pretty close! I have had plenty of opportunity to enjoy various outdoor activities, brunches, picnics, BBQs & parties in the long summer days.


This blog has a few photos from my shenanigans:
* Top: A night of random open-air theatre along Southbank, near the National Theatre. The night time shot is taken next to the River Thames, with St Pauls Cathedral in the background.
* Above: Enjoying an summer evening picnic at Fulham Palace while watching a performance of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Nights Dream".
* Below: Some pics from a Saturday walk in a Wivenhoe, Essex (about an hour north of London)
* Further below: A pic of Victoria's Victoria sponge taken at a friend's traditional English Coronation garden party!

On the road again... part four

We finished our summer holiday with a few days in the somewhat cooler climate of Southern Germany. We flew into Euro-Basel airport (which borders France and Switzerland, depending on which exit you walk out of) and then connected to the German rail only a few miles away. Our journey took us through the lush Black Forest, along the border of Austria and up to Munich. Places we visited on our journey included:

*Titisee – This town is home to plenty of adventure activities for all seasons with plenty of water activities on the small lake and walking in the surrounding forest.

*Triberg – There were two “places of interest” here, being the Triberg Waterfalls & the world’s largest cuckoo clock. To paint the scene, we had walked 50 minutes in pouring rain to reach the magnificent wonder of the cuckoos. We could only laugh in embarrassment that we visited the place after watching three ill-fated birds appear briefly and return to their sad enclosure. Perhaps it would have been more exciting at midday… but probably not! I rarely deter people from travelling, but I recommend leaving this place off the “to see” list.

* Fussen – We travelled on five different trains to reach the quaint town of Fussen, located only 3 miles from the Austrian border. Located in the hills nearby are two famous castles. We had great views of Hohenschewangau castle as we explored the exterior & interior of the fairytale Neuschwanstein castle. The castle has apparently appeared in many movies and was inspiration for the Disneyland castles.

* Munich – Our final destination was Munich, the third largest city in Germany. It was a shock to the system to be back in a city with plenty of buzzing activity & people. The photos are of the new city hall tower at Marienplatz, the Theresienwiese (a large open ground which holds of the official Oktoberfest festivities) and the Bavarian statue which oversees the festivities.

Well, this is the end of blog on my summer holiday. In a nut shell, it was a BRILLIANT holiday with plenty of unique experiences that I will be able to reminisce on for a long time to come. I am now back to reality and am looking forward to the next adventure, where ever that may be!

On the road again... part three

In Rome we boarded the “Legend of the Seas” for a 12 day cruise around the Mediterranean Sea. It was a great way to see the region & to have some dedicated relaxation time. Our cruise docked at several ports along the way. Below is a quick summary of the ports & the local sites:

Athens, Greece
Our first port of call was Athens, the capital of Greece and home of the first modern Olympic Games. The highlight of our city tour was the Acropolis of Athens, including the Parthenon, the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus and the Propylaea.

Mykonos, Greece
Mykonos is a charming village of white houses with typically blue coloured doors and window frames. With a maze of narrow streets originally constructed to confuse attacking pirates, the town is now a perfect spot to confuse unsuspecting tourists. Once successfully through town, we had a peaceful day enjoying the sun & swimming in the warm sea temperatures.

Rhodes, Greece
The ship docked near the medieval Old Town of Rhodes where the Colossus of Rhodes (a statue of the Greek god Helios considered one of the seven ancient wonders of the world) once stood. After enjoying another dip in the sea we had a chance to wander through the World Heritage Site.

Kusadasi, Turkey
Kusadasi is a resort town on Turkey’s coast. From here it was a short drive to Ephesus for our “Biblical Ephesus” tour. The trip included a visit to the Basilica of St John and the house of the Virgin Mary, as well as a biblical lunch. Each menu item was referenced to a meal in the bible – great concept, but I’m glad I don’t have to eat what they did on a regular basis! The definite highlight of the day was visiting the ancient city of Ephesus. The photos include the 44,000 capacity open theatre and the public water closets. If you are thinking that the marble would have been cold to sit on in the winter days, don’t worry… they had slaves to warm them up before you attended to business!

Alexandria, Egypt
Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt & is a popular Egyptian summer destination. We travelled in an escorted convoy for 2½ hours to visit the only ancient wonder of the world still in existence – the Pyramids of Giza. The largest pyramid is believed to be built around 2500BC for King Khufu. In front of the pyramids was the impressive Great Sphinx of Giza. Our tour also included a trip to see the first Egyptian Pyramid of Djoser and the ancient city of Memphis where we had a closer look at the Egyption hieroglyphs.
Corfu, Greece
Our last point of call was on the Greek island of Corfu. We had pleasant walk through town to see the old & new forts as well as admire some of the architecture.

In terms of relaxation, we had four days during our trip that were sea days. During this time we had plenty of opportunity to unwind in the pool & spa, read books, win the occasional key chain in trivia, enjoy the company of fellow travellers and eat to our hearts content – 110% relaxation!

The photo on the right is of an active volcano on Stromboli, a small island near Sicily, which we passed on our final day. Check out the smoke coming out the top!

A final novelty factor on the boat was to see what creature our room attendant would create each day…

On the road again... part two

Approx 60km south of Naples is the Amalfi Coast, a stretch of the Italian coastline renown for its ruggedness, beauty & picturesque towns. This is definitely a must for anyone travelling in this area! We chose to hike along 40km of the coastline, from Ravello to Positano, on an organised 5 day trip through Intrepid Travel. The best part was that our luggage was transferred to the next hotel for us, so we were able to just enjoy the coastline on foot with our day packs and a set of local walking instructions leading the way.










The track was pretty impressive – but definitely not recommended for the faint hearted or those who don’t like walking up/down stairs! I loved the serenity of the countryside, the sheer cliffs that drop into the sea, the little towns nestled in the valleys and the numerous vineyards & lemon tree orchids which hung to the hillsides.








After our Amalfi experience we caught a ferry from Positano via Carpi Island and Sorrento back to Naples and then a train to Rome, the capital of Italy. Our challenge was to visit all of the sites of Rome in an afternoon - & I think we did a pretty good job in the end! I can not remember how many churches we went into, but each one in itself is pretty impressive. I could have spent all day just looking at intricacies and individual beauties of these places of worship. Below are some photos of a few of the Rome sites… inside the dome of St Peter’s Cathedral, the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.