Forecast for today was "foggy start and clearing later" so after another latish breakfast we headed into Bourton etc to pick up the bikes. Plan today was to do the "Southern Route" which is about 30k all up but with "a very long steep hill" to start. Undeterred, we sat out at about 10 and the hill wasn't that bad - better check with Elizabeth again on that - and when we got to the top we were rewarded with a lovely view of ............fog!
However, easy cycling along the ridge and when we reached Farmington we rested with a long chat to a guy doing his gardening. Off then to Northleach where there is a beautiful church (St Peter and Paul's) otherwise known as "The Wool Church" as it was built on the wealth of the 14th century wool industry or as "The Cathedral of the Cotswolds" due to the size. Morning Tea at a lovely cafe in town and then on to Sherbourne, a National Trust village which is in original condition (as if EVERYTHING around here isn't!!!)
On to Windrush and then down from the ridge to run along the Windrush River and took a drinks break at the "Fox Inn" enjoying a Ginger Beer on the riverbank and feeding the ducks. More chatting to locals
Back to Bourton for the again well-deserved coffee and scones before returning the bikes at about 4.30.
Best day's cycling we've had anywhere we reckon - just perfect weather, beautiful scenery, terrific little villages and pubs, lovely people, plenty of time, good roads - couldn't get much better that that!! Just SO glad we were blessed with such good weather for the two days.
Just to finish off a great couple of days, we decided to miss the "Lamb Inn" restaurant tonight and booked into a little restaurant in Bourton etc "The Appletree restaurant" and it was just terrific - Elizabeh had a beautiful steak and kidney pie and I had duck - that and a bottle of good Chilean wine all for 33 pound - great value and just lovely people and top service.
Trivia: Lots of celebrities live around here - "Lofty" from the East-enders, David Cameron, Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear etc
Cap report: all still good
Tuesday 30 September 2014
Monday 29 September 2014
2014 - day 23 (Great Rissington and around)
Today was a day when one "dream" was realised - cycling through the beautiful Cotswolds - and with a bit of luck, we'll enjoy a repeat episode tomorrow.
The "all clear" weather forecast of a few days ago was replaced with "unsettled" on the BBC weather report this morning but we set out with optimism this morning - after having to wait until 8.30 for breakfast at the hotel (that must be a record for breakfasts).
Only 5 minute drive into Bourton-on-the-water where we had arranged to pick up the bikes. That was all OK except for "Oh, the boss is away so you will not be able to call on assistance" so they loaded us up with spare tubes, a pump and full tool-kit and sent us off with the map.
The weather was a bit cloudy with light fog but generally OK and quite warm. No problems finding the little roads with the expected hedgerows and views across rolling hills with sheep, cattle and crops with occasional forests. Idyllic country and conditions for riding really. Unlike France, the English villages tend to be in the valleys adjacent to little rivers but it just means you have to climb OUT of the village rather than UP to it. Generally these were gradual long climbs but occasionally it would mean a quite steep climb.
Went through Lower Slaughter (just georgeous and yes, there is an Upper Slaughter), Standing Stones and stopped at Guiting Power for a coffee and cake break (well deserved) - ran into a couple from Woodgate (Ian and Eleanor) doing a drive through the area!! Made a "navigation error" leaving Guiting Power but soon realised it and went back for directions from the Post Office.
You could go mad with the camera - just idyllic "post card" scenes all along the way so I found when I got back that I didn't have that many photos as the "post card" scenes became the norm - the ones I've got are typical of the countryside and the villages though.
We arrived back in Bourton-on-the-water about 4.00, having stopped in Cold Aston (3 miles out) to put on the wet weather gear as the rain was all around us - but somehow we missed it! Stopped at the tea rooms for the best scones/coffee (yes, well deserved again), returned the bikes and the 5 minute run back to The Lamb Inn - think dinner tonight will be pretty big!
This is fantastic cycling country - certainly the occasional big hill but generally undulating and with today's mild temperature and (mostly) fine weatherand just magnificent scenery both natural and man-made, it would be very hard to beat. (better check Elizabeth's version when we get back!!!!!)
Trivia: A major Bomber Command air-base - Little Rissington - was situated close to here and the crews used The Lamb Inn as a "watering hole" - unfortunately one Wellington crashed just at the back of the Inn on return from a raid - pieces of the aircraft including a propeller are on display.
Cap report: not used at all today so all safe and sound
The "all clear" weather forecast of a few days ago was replaced with "unsettled" on the BBC weather report this morning but we set out with optimism this morning - after having to wait until 8.30 for breakfast at the hotel (that must be a record for breakfasts).
Only 5 minute drive into Bourton-on-the-water where we had arranged to pick up the bikes. That was all OK except for "Oh, the boss is away so you will not be able to call on assistance" so they loaded us up with spare tubes, a pump and full tool-kit and sent us off with the map.
The weather was a bit cloudy with light fog but generally OK and quite warm. No problems finding the little roads with the expected hedgerows and views across rolling hills with sheep, cattle and crops with occasional forests. Idyllic country and conditions for riding really. Unlike France, the English villages tend to be in the valleys adjacent to little rivers but it just means you have to climb OUT of the village rather than UP to it. Generally these were gradual long climbs but occasionally it would mean a quite steep climb.
Went through Lower Slaughter (just georgeous and yes, there is an Upper Slaughter), Standing Stones and stopped at Guiting Power for a coffee and cake break (well deserved) - ran into a couple from Woodgate (Ian and Eleanor) doing a drive through the area!! Made a "navigation error" leaving Guiting Power but soon realised it and went back for directions from the Post Office.
You could go mad with the camera - just idyllic "post card" scenes all along the way so I found when I got back that I didn't have that many photos as the "post card" scenes became the norm - the ones I've got are typical of the countryside and the villages though.
We arrived back in Bourton-on-the-water about 4.00, having stopped in Cold Aston (3 miles out) to put on the wet weather gear as the rain was all around us - but somehow we missed it! Stopped at the tea rooms for the best scones/coffee (yes, well deserved again), returned the bikes and the 5 minute run back to The Lamb Inn - think dinner tonight will be pretty big!
This is fantastic cycling country - certainly the occasional big hill but generally undulating and with today's mild temperature and (mostly) fine weatherand just magnificent scenery both natural and man-made, it would be very hard to beat. (better check Elizabeth's version when we get back!!!!!)
Trivia: A major Bomber Command air-base - Little Rissington - was situated close to here and the crews used The Lamb Inn as a "watering hole" - unfortunately one Wellington crashed just at the back of the Inn on return from a raid - pieces of the aircraft including a propeller are on display.
Cap report: not used at all today so all safe and sound
Sunday 28 September 2014
2014 - Day 22 (Llangyndir to Great Rissington)
No doubt about it - we are back in the heart of England, staying in the middle of the Cotswolds with the typical villages, pub, lanes, farms and georgeous scenery.
Said farewell to the Thomsons by about 9.30 after a terrific breakfast cooked by Paul and set off East to the Midlands via such wonderfully English places such as Ross-on-Wye, Tewkesbury, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Bourton-on-Water where we will begin our cycles over the next couple of days.
Great drive across - got slightly trapped in Ross but found our way out. We are driving Jenny's Skoda (Geoff take note) which is lovely to drive and effortless on the highway. Stopped in Tewkesbury where we found a lovely little cafe for cakes and REALLY GOOD flat white. There is a picture on facebook I took especially for Steve Case - shows a possible future use for the Triumph Steve - in the window of the local funeral director!
Also stopped in beautiful Stow etc again a great place to wander around - found a great market to do some shopping.
Through the lanes into Great rissington which could not be more typical "Cotswolds" if it tried. We went to the harvest festival service at the local church - very interesting with no recognition of visitors or anything - some looked like characters straight out of The Vicar of Dibley!! It was a bit off-putting.Bell ringers actually rang the bells from the centre of the church and they had a choir, ancient organist but actully sounded qiute good.
Trivia: The church in Stow is only 800 years old and replaced one which stood on the same site for the previous 200 years!!
Cap report: why ask????
Said farewell to the Thomsons by about 9.30 after a terrific breakfast cooked by Paul and set off East to the Midlands via such wonderfully English places such as Ross-on-Wye, Tewkesbury, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Bourton-on-Water where we will begin our cycles over the next couple of days.
Great drive across - got slightly trapped in Ross but found our way out. We are driving Jenny's Skoda (Geoff take note) which is lovely to drive and effortless on the highway. Stopped in Tewkesbury where we found a lovely little cafe for cakes and REALLY GOOD flat white. There is a picture on facebook I took especially for Steve Case - shows a possible future use for the Triumph Steve - in the window of the local funeral director!
Also stopped in beautiful Stow etc again a great place to wander around - found a great market to do some shopping.
Through the lanes into Great rissington which could not be more typical "Cotswolds" if it tried. We went to the harvest festival service at the local church - very interesting with no recognition of visitors or anything - some looked like characters straight out of The Vicar of Dibley!! It was a bit off-putting.Bell ringers actually rang the bells from the centre of the church and they had a choir, ancient organist but actully sounded qiute good.
Trivia: The church in Stow is only 800 years old and replaced one which stood on the same site for the previous 200 years!!
Cap report: why ask????
Saturday 27 September 2014
2014 - Day 21 (Llangindir)
"Rest day" today - just a catch-up day with washing, re-organising packing (see below) and taking a walk around this beautiful Welsh village which has both a River and a canal flowing though it.
My suitcase had decided enough was enough after being dragged across too many cobbled streets in the last few weeks and the extendable handle for dragging it along locked in the "out" position and refused to go back in. Jenny had an unused damaged suitcase stored away ready to dispose of and offered it as a replacement until we get home and can get a new one - an offer I readily accepted so the re-packing process was done this morning while Elizabeth, Jenny, Paul and Helen headed off to do the shopping.
This afternoon we headed out for a walk along the canal pathway and through the village of Llangindir. Co-incidentally we came across the British Hillman Imp club on their annual rally stopped at the local pub - now not too any of you would know that Elizabeth was the proud owner of an Imp just after we were married so she was able to re-acquaint with an Imp! We should probably have hung on to hers as the guys were telling us that the Australian Imps are highly sought after to import back into the UK as they are generally rust-free unlike their UK counterparts.
We've put some photos of Llangindir on Facebook for those who haven't seen our photos of it before-it is just the most geogeous little village in typical hilly green Welsh countryside with sheep on the hillsides and little farm-houses covering the hillsides. Picture-perfect and just typically Welsh - just need a male choir to start singing!!!
We're taking the Thomsons to dinner at the "Red Lion" tonight so that will be our first of hopefully numerous pub dinners over the next week. Tomorrow we head to Great Rissington to start our Cotswold ride (3 days) and then to Cornwall\Devon. Checked out the weather forecast this morning (tablets and wi-fi are wonderful) and it is for cloudy skies, no rain, light winds, 20 degrees maximums for the next week - should be ideal cycling weather!!!
Elizabeth's cold is almost gone so all good. It has been just great to have these couple of days with Jenny and Paul and Helen and catch up with them and have a little break from the rigours of travel.
Trivia: There are less than 100 Hillman Imps left runnning in Great Britain. They were fist produced in Scotland in 1963.
Cap report: all 3 safe and sound!
My suitcase had decided enough was enough after being dragged across too many cobbled streets in the last few weeks and the extendable handle for dragging it along locked in the "out" position and refused to go back in. Jenny had an unused damaged suitcase stored away ready to dispose of and offered it as a replacement until we get home and can get a new one - an offer I readily accepted so the re-packing process was done this morning while Elizabeth, Jenny, Paul and Helen headed off to do the shopping.
This afternoon we headed out for a walk along the canal pathway and through the village of Llangindir. Co-incidentally we came across the British Hillman Imp club on their annual rally stopped at the local pub - now not too any of you would know that Elizabeth was the proud owner of an Imp just after we were married so she was able to re-acquaint with an Imp! We should probably have hung on to hers as the guys were telling us that the Australian Imps are highly sought after to import back into the UK as they are generally rust-free unlike their UK counterparts.
We've put some photos of Llangindir on Facebook for those who haven't seen our photos of it before-it is just the most geogeous little village in typical hilly green Welsh countryside with sheep on the hillsides and little farm-houses covering the hillsides. Picture-perfect and just typically Welsh - just need a male choir to start singing!!!
We're taking the Thomsons to dinner at the "Red Lion" tonight so that will be our first of hopefully numerous pub dinners over the next week. Tomorrow we head to Great Rissington to start our Cotswold ride (3 days) and then to Cornwall\Devon. Checked out the weather forecast this morning (tablets and wi-fi are wonderful) and it is for cloudy skies, no rain, light winds, 20 degrees maximums for the next week - should be ideal cycling weather!!!
Elizabeth's cold is almost gone so all good. It has been just great to have these couple of days with Jenny and Paul and Helen and catch up with them and have a little break from the rigours of travel.
Trivia: There are less than 100 Hillman Imps left runnning in Great Britain. They were fist produced in Scotland in 1963.
Cap report: all 3 safe and sound!
Friday 26 September 2014
2014- Day 20 (Llangyndir)
Had a fascinating and relaxing day today- Paul and Jenny took us to the Welsh National Museum at St Fagan's just outside Cardiff. We had planned to visit this museum last time we were here but it rained and as it is an "outdoors" museum we could not go. Paul has just bought a new little Mercedes so we had a very comfortable ride along the very complex road system from Llangyndir (not far from Abergavenny - as in the song) to Cardiff.
The museum is an amazing set-up. Back in the 40's they had the idea of collecting genuine examples of the way Welsh people have lived, worked and relaxed throughout history and putting at all in one display - as it turned out the Earl of whatever donated his estate at St Fagans to the state in 1948 so they had the ideal location. Since then they have identified buildings from all over Wales which represent typical homes of various periods both urban and rural, carefully dismantled them, numbered every piece and then re-constructed them on the estate. All are fully furnished with either their original furniture or genuine furniture from the era.
Just a fascinating day. Each house or building (such as a tannery,Woollen Mill, churches, blacksmiths, pottery, bakery etc) has a warden who can give the whole history of the building, who owned it, when and where it was originally built, how it was built and so on. There are about 60 buildings on site with another half dozen being constructed. A set of terrace houses which were built in the 1700's and occupied until the 1980's were each furnished in the different styles of each period across that time with the addition of water supply, kitchens, bathrooms etc over that time - fascinating. Elizabeth is not swapping beds with any of them!!
Pictures on facebook!
One of the best parts of the day was lunch - they served the most beautiful crispy roasted potatoes with Welsh butter and salad - never tasted potato like that!!! I also achieved one of the aims of the trip - to replace my Welsh woollen cap that the moths had eaten. They had some genuine Welsh wool ones in the shop there so got one so now my head can stay warm in winter again!
Trivia: All museums in Wales are free to enter - this one is funded by the National Lottery.
Cap report: I now have one more to look after! Losses - nil.
The museum is an amazing set-up. Back in the 40's they had the idea of collecting genuine examples of the way Welsh people have lived, worked and relaxed throughout history and putting at all in one display - as it turned out the Earl of whatever donated his estate at St Fagans to the state in 1948 so they had the ideal location. Since then they have identified buildings from all over Wales which represent typical homes of various periods both urban and rural, carefully dismantled them, numbered every piece and then re-constructed them on the estate. All are fully furnished with either their original furniture or genuine furniture from the era.
Just a fascinating day. Each house or building (such as a tannery,Woollen Mill, churches, blacksmiths, pottery, bakery etc) has a warden who can give the whole history of the building, who owned it, when and where it was originally built, how it was built and so on. There are about 60 buildings on site with another half dozen being constructed. A set of terrace houses which were built in the 1700's and occupied until the 1980's were each furnished in the different styles of each period across that time with the addition of water supply, kitchens, bathrooms etc over that time - fascinating. Elizabeth is not swapping beds with any of them!!
Pictures on facebook!
One of the best parts of the day was lunch - they served the most beautiful crispy roasted potatoes with Welsh butter and salad - never tasted potato like that!!! I also achieved one of the aims of the trip - to replace my Welsh woollen cap that the moths had eaten. They had some genuine Welsh wool ones in the shop there so got one so now my head can stay warm in winter again!
Trivia: All museums in Wales are free to enter - this one is funded by the National Lottery.
Cap report: I now have one more to look after! Losses - nil.
Thursday 25 September 2014
2014-Day 19 (Lille to LLangindir)
Two trains, a London taxi, a coach and two cars - that's what it took to get us from Lille to Wales today!
Early start as for some reason the ticket for the Eurostar said we had to be at the station 45 minutes before departure time - which was 9.30 from Lille Europe Station. Found out why when we got there - full security, passport checks etc and British immigration forms/questioning to be done.
Good trip to London through beautiful French countryside, under the channel and across southern England into London. Decided that with all suitcases, backpacks etc the underground from St Pancras to Victoria might be a bit too much of a challenge, we opted for a cab so had a nice chatty trip across London seeing the horse guards on their way to Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Hyde Park, Sloane Square etc and got to Victoria Coach terminal in time for a quick coffee/morning tea before boarding the coach for Cardiff.
M-4 coach trip past Heathrow, Windsor, Stonehenge, Bristol, across the Severn Estuary bridge and into Cardiff train station which is right next to the impressive Millenium Stadium. Really scenic trip which I appreciated all the more as someone else was driving! Straight to the platform where the train to Ebw Vale was waiting - a cute little diesel 3-carriage train which took us up the valley through little Welsh villages which used to be mining villages with a huge steel mill at Ebw Vale - now gone so they are mostly dormitory villages for Cardiff workers. Really beautiful trip.
Met at the station by Jenny, Paul and Helen who had two cars - one for the luggage and one for us!! Quick visit to Costa Coffee and then on to LLanindir for a beautiful dinner, wine from the Wachau Valley and lots of laughs. Great finish to a long day. Haven't really got a clue about tomorrow as yet but may visit the Welsh National Museum - tomorrow's blog will tell the tale!
Quick note on last night in Lille - another beautiful French dinner with the required Foie gras and as we were heading home a huge crowd had gathered in the square - turned out it was the first day of "0" week for their Uni students and the French "Masterchef" personalities put on a free meal for about 5000 people - all good fun with bands playing, crowd surfing etc - good way for us to finish a great few days in beautiful Lille.
Trivia: nil today - except perhaps that British coaches are not all that comfortable!!
cap report: went close to a loss last night - went back to the restaurant to search for it after realising it wasn't on my head half way back to the hotel - no sign of it - turned up in Elizabeth's shopping bag (bought a nice top from Paris!!!!!) so cap is safe unlike the mastercard.
Early start as for some reason the ticket for the Eurostar said we had to be at the station 45 minutes before departure time - which was 9.30 from Lille Europe Station. Found out why when we got there - full security, passport checks etc and British immigration forms/questioning to be done.
Good trip to London through beautiful French countryside, under the channel and across southern England into London. Decided that with all suitcases, backpacks etc the underground from St Pancras to Victoria might be a bit too much of a challenge, we opted for a cab so had a nice chatty trip across London seeing the horse guards on their way to Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Hyde Park, Sloane Square etc and got to Victoria Coach terminal in time for a quick coffee/morning tea before boarding the coach for Cardiff.
M-4 coach trip past Heathrow, Windsor, Stonehenge, Bristol, across the Severn Estuary bridge and into Cardiff train station which is right next to the impressive Millenium Stadium. Really scenic trip which I appreciated all the more as someone else was driving! Straight to the platform where the train to Ebw Vale was waiting - a cute little diesel 3-carriage train which took us up the valley through little Welsh villages which used to be mining villages with a huge steel mill at Ebw Vale - now gone so they are mostly dormitory villages for Cardiff workers. Really beautiful trip.
Met at the station by Jenny, Paul and Helen who had two cars - one for the luggage and one for us!! Quick visit to Costa Coffee and then on to LLanindir for a beautiful dinner, wine from the Wachau Valley and lots of laughs. Great finish to a long day. Haven't really got a clue about tomorrow as yet but may visit the Welsh National Museum - tomorrow's blog will tell the tale!
Quick note on last night in Lille - another beautiful French dinner with the required Foie gras and as we were heading home a huge crowd had gathered in the square - turned out it was the first day of "0" week for their Uni students and the French "Masterchef" personalities put on a free meal for about 5000 people - all good fun with bands playing, crowd surfing etc - good way for us to finish a great few days in beautiful Lille.
Trivia: nil today - except perhaps that British coaches are not all that comfortable!!
cap report: went close to a loss last night - went back to the restaurant to search for it after realising it wasn't on my head half way back to the hotel - no sign of it - turned up in Elizabeth's shopping bag (bought a nice top from Paris!!!!!) so cap is safe unlike the mastercard.
Wednesday 24 September 2014
2014- Day 18 (Lille)
.....and an even more memorable day!!!!
Had to do a bit of research last night after getting back from dinner - where we discovered the cafe with the best Foie Gras in Lille - absolutely the best flavour the senses can experience I think!
Maps available have been terrible and not showing where we wanted to get today i.e. Villers Bretoneaux and if possible, Fromelles where there are significant Australian memorials. So with the help of Google and a couple of asterisks on the hopeless road map, we set off in hope down the A1 towards Amiens.
Fortunately as we approached Amiens, road signs started to mention Villers Bretoneaux so we arrived there after about 1.5 hour trip - our side of the A1 moved along quite well but the Northern lanes (all 6 of them) were just a carpark. Into the centre of the village where Australian symbols are everywhere - the school is called the Victoria School, kangaroos and koalas everywhere and we had a coffee at the melbourne bar! Got directions from the cafe owner to the memorial which is a few k out of town. It is the official Australian war memorial for the first war and was opened in 1938, just in time to be damaged in the second - many shell marks still left on the tower and other parts of the structures.
It sits on a hill (Hill 640 in the first war) which the Australians captured in the defence of Villers Br. Have a look at the photos on facebook - it is a magnificent structure, beautifully laid out and maintained. More impact for me than the Lone Pine memorial at Gallipoli. You are overwhelmed by the impact of the whole experience - so glad we made it here and it just makes you so thankful that we've had the fortune and priviledge of living a full life into at least our 60's - row after row of soldiers in their teens, 20's, some in 30's and even 40's who never made it home.
There is a lovely museum back in the village which has the most extraordinary collection of photographs of Australlian soldiers as well as the usual collection of artifacts such as uniforms, rifles, machine guns, etc. Even found a framed photo and information on the "Childers Canon" which is displayed outside the Childers Council Chambrs.
We decided to have a go at getting to Fromelles - again with fairly vague directions but thought if we exited the motorway around Sedin we might strike it lucky - there were no roadsigns to Fromelle on the A1 as we headed south. Quite by accident we came across a tourist information office in Sedin where a very pleasant assistant gave us directions (and a half decent map) through a series of villages to get to Fromelles which we did. Again, beautiful memorials - another Australian cemetery this time without headstones as none could be identified. This was the infamous Somme (River) area where thousands of lives were lost in numerous fruitless attempts to cut off the German supply lines. A beautiful bronze of Sgt Simon Fraser who ventured into "no-man's land" repeatedly to rescue the injured and retieve personal items from the dead to return home. He was eventually killed.
With directions from the museum staff, we found our way to the A25 and back into Lille - the car was due at 4.00 and we parked it at 4.05 - pretty pleased with that!!
Great day - got to where we wanted (with our fair share of luck) and experienced the unique impact of seeing these sites and realising how lucky we are to have missed the horrors of wars such as this - what these young Australians went through is beyond our imagination but at least there are beautiful and inspiring memorials which are maintained in pristine condition.
Trivia: In 2007 five mass graves were discovered where the Germans had buried the victims of the battle - a new cemetery has been built in the heart of Fromelles where 250 have been re-buried following DNA testing and more is still being carried out..
Cap: looks like it will make it to the UK (where we head on the Eurostar in the morning!!)
Cheers all - next blog from the UK!!
Had to do a bit of research last night after getting back from dinner - where we discovered the cafe with the best Foie Gras in Lille - absolutely the best flavour the senses can experience I think!
Maps available have been terrible and not showing where we wanted to get today i.e. Villers Bretoneaux and if possible, Fromelles where there are significant Australian memorials. So with the help of Google and a couple of asterisks on the hopeless road map, we set off in hope down the A1 towards Amiens.
Fortunately as we approached Amiens, road signs started to mention Villers Bretoneaux so we arrived there after about 1.5 hour trip - our side of the A1 moved along quite well but the Northern lanes (all 6 of them) were just a carpark. Into the centre of the village where Australian symbols are everywhere - the school is called the Victoria School, kangaroos and koalas everywhere and we had a coffee at the melbourne bar! Got directions from the cafe owner to the memorial which is a few k out of town. It is the official Australian war memorial for the first war and was opened in 1938, just in time to be damaged in the second - many shell marks still left on the tower and other parts of the structures.
It sits on a hill (Hill 640 in the first war) which the Australians captured in the defence of Villers Br. Have a look at the photos on facebook - it is a magnificent structure, beautifully laid out and maintained. More impact for me than the Lone Pine memorial at Gallipoli. You are overwhelmed by the impact of the whole experience - so glad we made it here and it just makes you so thankful that we've had the fortune and priviledge of living a full life into at least our 60's - row after row of soldiers in their teens, 20's, some in 30's and even 40's who never made it home.
There is a lovely museum back in the village which has the most extraordinary collection of photographs of Australlian soldiers as well as the usual collection of artifacts such as uniforms, rifles, machine guns, etc. Even found a framed photo and information on the "Childers Canon" which is displayed outside the Childers Council Chambrs.
We decided to have a go at getting to Fromelles - again with fairly vague directions but thought if we exited the motorway around Sedin we might strike it lucky - there were no roadsigns to Fromelle on the A1 as we headed south. Quite by accident we came across a tourist information office in Sedin where a very pleasant assistant gave us directions (and a half decent map) through a series of villages to get to Fromelles which we did. Again, beautiful memorials - another Australian cemetery this time without headstones as none could be identified. This was the infamous Somme (River) area where thousands of lives were lost in numerous fruitless attempts to cut off the German supply lines. A beautiful bronze of Sgt Simon Fraser who ventured into "no-man's land" repeatedly to rescue the injured and retieve personal items from the dead to return home. He was eventually killed.
With directions from the museum staff, we found our way to the A25 and back into Lille - the car was due at 4.00 and we parked it at 4.05 - pretty pleased with that!!
Great day - got to where we wanted (with our fair share of luck) and experienced the unique impact of seeing these sites and realising how lucky we are to have missed the horrors of wars such as this - what these young Australians went through is beyond our imagination but at least there are beautiful and inspiring memorials which are maintained in pristine condition.
Trivia: In 2007 five mass graves were discovered where the Germans had buried the victims of the battle - a new cemetery has been built in the heart of Fromelles where 250 have been re-buried following DNA testing and more is still being carried out..
Cap: looks like it will make it to the UK (where we head on the Eurostar in the morning!!)
Cheers all - next blog from the UK!!
Tuesday 23 September 2014
2014 - Day 17 (Lille)
A memorable day - it is impossible not to be effected by the sight of thousands of graves set in neat rows in so many sites. To think that this whole area was completely devastated between 1914-1918 is also incredible.
Collected the hire-car fom Lille station at 9 (no GPS - "zey are too unreliable") so had to find our way out in the heavy traffic, trying to find signs to Ypres which was our target for the day. Maps were hopeless but with a mixture of good luck and good navigation (!!!) we were happy to start seeing road signs with "Ieper" (Ypres to you) - about 30k North.
Got there without drama and parked - walked into the town centre. Lovely town centre with a huge "Cloth hall" at the centre. This magnificent building (cloth production was once big in Ypes) was totally destroyed in the war, rebuilt and is now the site of the "In Flanders Field" museum. Spent ages there going through the brilliantly presented exhibits, some with vision of the objects on display being dug up from the mud and water.
Wanted to get to the huge Tyne Cot cemetery (largest British/Commonwealth war cemetery in the world) which is circa 11 k North. Found it with the help of a lovely fellow doing the lawns at the Irish cemetery nearer town - there is a vistor centre at Tyne Cot which is also very moving. To see so many graves really hits home - it is a beautifully designed and constructed area - on a hill in the middle of farmland "in Flanders field". What is quite surprising is the number of cemeteries - they are located everywhere - along the roadside, in the middle of villages - just everywhere. Not surprising when you realise that in the Ypres area alone, more than 10 million lives were lost in the 4 years of war. The battles for Passchendaele accounted for huge numbers of Australian lives. No one ever gained the upper hand. Under the huge cross at Tyne Cot are the remains of a German bunker captured by the Australians in 1917.
The entire town of Ypres was detroyed by shelling - the Cathedral and the Cloth hall totally destroyed and the inhabitants had abandoned the town by May 1915.
Got back home circa 5 - bit of trouble navigating back to the car park but we made it. Planning to get to Villers-Bretonneux and possibly Fromelles tomorrow so we'll see how it goes. Certainly glad we've added this to our trip - an extraordinary experience and incredibly moving.
Off for some more Foi Gras tonight!!
Trivia: None of what we saw and learnt about today was trivial - the numbers are just mind-blowing and how it all happened and then continued just defies human understanding.
cap: still can't manage a new one!
Collected the hire-car fom Lille station at 9 (no GPS - "zey are too unreliable") so had to find our way out in the heavy traffic, trying to find signs to Ypres which was our target for the day. Maps were hopeless but with a mixture of good luck and good navigation (!!!) we were happy to start seeing road signs with "Ieper" (Ypres to you) - about 30k North.
Got there without drama and parked - walked into the town centre. Lovely town centre with a huge "Cloth hall" at the centre. This magnificent building (cloth production was once big in Ypes) was totally destroyed in the war, rebuilt and is now the site of the "In Flanders Field" museum. Spent ages there going through the brilliantly presented exhibits, some with vision of the objects on display being dug up from the mud and water.
Wanted to get to the huge Tyne Cot cemetery (largest British/Commonwealth war cemetery in the world) which is circa 11 k North. Found it with the help of a lovely fellow doing the lawns at the Irish cemetery nearer town - there is a vistor centre at Tyne Cot which is also very moving. To see so many graves really hits home - it is a beautifully designed and constructed area - on a hill in the middle of farmland "in Flanders field". What is quite surprising is the number of cemeteries - they are located everywhere - along the roadside, in the middle of villages - just everywhere. Not surprising when you realise that in the Ypres area alone, more than 10 million lives were lost in the 4 years of war. The battles for Passchendaele accounted for huge numbers of Australian lives. No one ever gained the upper hand. Under the huge cross at Tyne Cot are the remains of a German bunker captured by the Australians in 1917.
The entire town of Ypres was detroyed by shelling - the Cathedral and the Cloth hall totally destroyed and the inhabitants had abandoned the town by May 1915.
Got back home circa 5 - bit of trouble navigating back to the car park but we made it. Planning to get to Villers-Bretonneux and possibly Fromelles tomorrow so we'll see how it goes. Certainly glad we've added this to our trip - an extraordinary experience and incredibly moving.
Off for some more Foi Gras tonight!!
Trivia: None of what we saw and learnt about today was trivial - the numbers are just mind-blowing and how it all happened and then continued just defies human understanding.
cap: still can't manage a new one!
Monday 22 September 2014
2014 -Day 16 (Brussells to Lille)
A tale of two cities - the plan was to spend a bit of time in each of these cities today but that plan was thwarted by the trains again-
Had a look around Brussells this mornning - the centre of town is actually quite beautiful with amazing 15th cenury buildings surrounding both the square and the nearby Grasmarkt where our (good) hotel was situated. The rest of Brussells is ordinary to say the least - dirty, smelly, chaotic and just plain ugly. Having looked around the "good" bits, we headed for the railway station to get tickets to Lille.
I should have known, as when we were on our way to Bruge two years ago we had decided that Brussells station was the worst organised in Europe - and it hasn't changed! Eventually found a "ticket" line (unmarked); stood in slowest line ever; got to sales person who could only sell me the ticket to the next station (Midi, where the fast trains leave from) - ticket for Lille had to be got from another window altogether; got to that office, told that no seats until the 4.17 TGV this afternoon!!
We headed for the next station (Midi) and had a look around that area of Brussells but it was just awful. Thankfully we found a terrific Greek restaurant where you were taken out to the kitchen where all their dishes were on top of a bank of stoves and you just chose what you want - brought back very happy memories of Greek food and had lamb and salad and a lasagne type dish. Later found a casual cafe where we spent the afternoon having really good coffee and reading our kindle books - very relaxing which was good.
Made our way to catch the 4.17 TGV and as usual it left right on time and is the smoothest, most comfortable and fastest of all the European trains. Arrived in Lille at 4.50 and got the cab to our hotel (Novotel) for the next three nights.
We already love Lille - it must be one of the most beautiful smaller cities in Europe. Unlike Brussells it is clean, easy to find your way around, has magnificent squares and buildings and looks prosperous. Back in France so although we wanted only a light meal tonight, HAD to start with Foi Gras (best tasting of any food) and just had omlette to follow. After last night, looking forward to early night.
Off to the WW1 battlefields/cemeteries tomorow.
Trivia:Vienna has a Euro 35 fine if you don't pick up your dog's droppings
Cap - still attached
Had a look around Brussells this mornning - the centre of town is actually quite beautiful with amazing 15th cenury buildings surrounding both the square and the nearby Grasmarkt where our (good) hotel was situated. The rest of Brussells is ordinary to say the least - dirty, smelly, chaotic and just plain ugly. Having looked around the "good" bits, we headed for the railway station to get tickets to Lille.
I should have known, as when we were on our way to Bruge two years ago we had decided that Brussells station was the worst organised in Europe - and it hasn't changed! Eventually found a "ticket" line (unmarked); stood in slowest line ever; got to sales person who could only sell me the ticket to the next station (Midi, where the fast trains leave from) - ticket for Lille had to be got from another window altogether; got to that office, told that no seats until the 4.17 TGV this afternoon!!
We headed for the next station (Midi) and had a look around that area of Brussells but it was just awful. Thankfully we found a terrific Greek restaurant where you were taken out to the kitchen where all their dishes were on top of a bank of stoves and you just chose what you want - brought back very happy memories of Greek food and had lamb and salad and a lasagne type dish. Later found a casual cafe where we spent the afternoon having really good coffee and reading our kindle books - very relaxing which was good.
Made our way to catch the 4.17 TGV and as usual it left right on time and is the smoothest, most comfortable and fastest of all the European trains. Arrived in Lille at 4.50 and got the cab to our hotel (Novotel) for the next three nights.
We already love Lille - it must be one of the most beautiful smaller cities in Europe. Unlike Brussells it is clean, easy to find your way around, has magnificent squares and buildings and looks prosperous. Back in France so although we wanted only a light meal tonight, HAD to start with Foi Gras (best tasting of any food) and just had omlette to follow. After last night, looking forward to early night.
Off to the WW1 battlefields/cemeteries tomorow.
Trivia:Vienna has a Euro 35 fine if you don't pick up your dog's droppings
Cap - still attached
2014 -day 15 (Passau to Brussells)
"Interesting" day today as some travelling days tend to be - big travel day right across Germany by train (2x trains actually) so all had to go well but.......
The boat berthed early in Passau (9.00am) but it started to rain and the unloading took quite a while as we berthed next to another criuse boat so all the luggage had to be carried(by the crew) across the other boat to the wharf. Finally caught the cab with Efti to the railway station and as our train did not leave until 1.30 we put our bags in lockers and headed into downtown Passau for a look around plus of course coffee and a bit to eat. Magnificent Cathedral there and we walked in just as mass was underway with a magnificent organ and choir - beautiful.
First problem occurred when the previous train was late and then a small one turned up at our platform - some announcements were made (in german) which even confused the locals apparently as then another train turned up and people went in every direction. We got on the second one, realised our seats were not where they should be and the train took off!! Eventually found a coductor who said we were supposed to be on the first train which was now apparently connected - we woulkd have to change at the next station - which we did after standing for about half an hour - eventually got our seats!
Changed trains at the huge Frankfurt station but that train ran quite late so we didn't get to Brussells until after 10. Terrific trip across Germany though - beautiful country with fields, valleys, mountains, cities such as Cologne etc - really enjoyed it.
More trouble in Brussells - Taxi driver at the station (10pm) said our hotel was 100m down the road - an hour later and with multiple contacts with locals who didn't have a clue, a policeman gave us the directions - booked in at 11.30 which explains why the blog is late!!!
Lovely weather today - we'll have a look around Brussells (the bits we haven't seen!!) and head for Lille
trivia: german trains do not always run on time!!
Cap: all good
The boat berthed early in Passau (9.00am) but it started to rain and the unloading took quite a while as we berthed next to another criuse boat so all the luggage had to be carried(by the crew) across the other boat to the wharf. Finally caught the cab with Efti to the railway station and as our train did not leave until 1.30 we put our bags in lockers and headed into downtown Passau for a look around plus of course coffee and a bit to eat. Magnificent Cathedral there and we walked in just as mass was underway with a magnificent organ and choir - beautiful.
First problem occurred when the previous train was late and then a small one turned up at our platform - some announcements were made (in german) which even confused the locals apparently as then another train turned up and people went in every direction. We got on the second one, realised our seats were not where they should be and the train took off!! Eventually found a coductor who said we were supposed to be on the first train which was now apparently connected - we woulkd have to change at the next station - which we did after standing for about half an hour - eventually got our seats!
Changed trains at the huge Frankfurt station but that train ran quite late so we didn't get to Brussells until after 10. Terrific trip across Germany though - beautiful country with fields, valleys, mountains, cities such as Cologne etc - really enjoyed it.
More trouble in Brussells - Taxi driver at the station (10pm) said our hotel was 100m down the road - an hour later and with multiple contacts with locals who didn't have a clue, a policeman gave us the directions - booked in at 11.30 which explains why the blog is late!!!
Lovely weather today - we'll have a look around Brussells (the bits we haven't seen!!) and head for Lille
trivia: german trains do not always run on time!!
Cap: all good
Saturday 20 September 2014
2014 - day 14 (Rossatzbach to Melk)
Very sadly our last ride today on this part of the trip - and they left the best till last!
A 42K ride today through the apparently famous Wachau Valley and it certainly lived up to the hype. Started on a foggy morning at about 9.30 and took the longer option for the day heading for Krems across a brige constructed partly by the Americans during 1945 as half had been bombed by the retreating Germans. Beautiful city.
5K into the historic village of Durstein where we climbed (on foot) the huge hill to the RuineDurstein which was the castle where they held Richard the Lionheart for three years for ransome on his return from the crusades. Very difficult climb but Elizabeth managed most of it apart from the final vertical bit to the castle itself.
Needed coffee and apple strudel after that - and then continued with the river on one side, vinyards on the other and the mountains further on - magical touring on bikeways again. Weissenkirken (White Church) was the next village where we had wine-tasting (great whites but only OK reds) - picture postcard scenery along the way, riding in 25 degrees, part cloud cover and on flat bikeways - it doesn't get much better that that!
The rest of the journey to Melk was along the side of the Danube through village after village with beautiful churches, town squares and great little spots to stop for ice-cream or coffee (tough)
Arrived here at 4.00 exactly on required schedule after what was probably the best day's riding we've done on one of these trips. Amazingly, we have not had one bad weather day (last week's trip lost two days to rain apparently) and each day has been just great in both scenery and riding conditions. Can we recommend this trip?? ABSOLUTELY!!!
Travelling day tomorrow - we arrive back in Passau at about 10.30 and then head for the station where we get the train to Brussells (about 7.5 hours) for the "battlefields" part of the trip - will be a pretty brief blog tomorrow night!
Elizabeth's cold is a little better and she managed the whole day's ride well - a couple of easier days ahead as reward!
Trivia: The monastry here in Melk was founded in 1068 - that's a while ago!
Cap report: It stayed on the boat all day so it was quite safe!
cheers all
A 42K ride today through the apparently famous Wachau Valley and it certainly lived up to the hype. Started on a foggy morning at about 9.30 and took the longer option for the day heading for Krems across a brige constructed partly by the Americans during 1945 as half had been bombed by the retreating Germans. Beautiful city.
5K into the historic village of Durstein where we climbed (on foot) the huge hill to the RuineDurstein which was the castle where they held Richard the Lionheart for three years for ransome on his return from the crusades. Very difficult climb but Elizabeth managed most of it apart from the final vertical bit to the castle itself.
Needed coffee and apple strudel after that - and then continued with the river on one side, vinyards on the other and the mountains further on - magical touring on bikeways again. Weissenkirken (White Church) was the next village where we had wine-tasting (great whites but only OK reds) - picture postcard scenery along the way, riding in 25 degrees, part cloud cover and on flat bikeways - it doesn't get much better that that!
The rest of the journey to Melk was along the side of the Danube through village after village with beautiful churches, town squares and great little spots to stop for ice-cream or coffee (tough)
Arrived here at 4.00 exactly on required schedule after what was probably the best day's riding we've done on one of these trips. Amazingly, we have not had one bad weather day (last week's trip lost two days to rain apparently) and each day has been just great in both scenery and riding conditions. Can we recommend this trip?? ABSOLUTELY!!!
Travelling day tomorrow - we arrive back in Passau at about 10.30 and then head for the station where we get the train to Brussells (about 7.5 hours) for the "battlefields" part of the trip - will be a pretty brief blog tomorrow night!
Elizabeth's cold is a little better and she managed the whole day's ride well - a couple of easier days ahead as reward!
Trivia: The monastry here in Melk was founded in 1068 - that's a while ago!
Cap report: It stayed on the boat all day so it was quite safe!
cheers all
Friday 19 September 2014
2014 - Day13 (!!!!!!) - Vienna
Today was a rest day from cycling. We were still in transit to Vienna when we headed for breakfast and saw mostly rural landscape with lots of little fishing shacks built on stilts along the river as we passed.
After breakfast we had to wait until 10.30 for the English briefing so spent time on the upper deck watching as we approached, entered and lifted in one of the biggest locks on the Danube - fascinating. Incredible how the captains navigate into such a confined space. Also found that not only the top sunroof lowers to let the ship pass under the low bridges but also the whole wheelhouse descends and disappears into the ship - will have phots of the process and some will be on facebook.
After an early lunch we did a bus\walking tour of Vienna. Sounds snobbish, but now that we've seen all of what are considered the "great" cities of Europe we can make a judgement on which is the most beautiful overall and Vienna has to take the prize we think. The "ring-road" with its beautiful trees and just magnificent public buildings and parks with statues to Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven etc sets Vienna apart I think. We were able to find our way around it really easily in the free time given on the tour. Passed the stables for the Spanish horses and this time they were "at home" unlike last time so we got to see them.
Back on board at 5.00 for a early dinner as some are off to a concert which we decided to miss wich was just as well as Elizabeth has a bad headcold (a fair bit on board) so quiet, early night for us. Sadly said good-bye to John and Barbara who were our designated "table mates" on 22A as they stopped in Vienna to have a few days here before flying home to U.S. They were great company which worked out well as that was not the case for every table.
Tomorrow's (final!) ride is through the apparently spectacular Wachau Valley which is the big wine-growing area of Austria - sounds like a heap of fun!
Trivia: Johann Stauss was a huge hit with the ladies of Vienna and was in the habit of giving away locks of his famous black curly hair - only problem was he used to actually take it from his pet black poodle!
Cap report: beside me as I type!
After breakfast we had to wait until 10.30 for the English briefing so spent time on the upper deck watching as we approached, entered and lifted in one of the biggest locks on the Danube - fascinating. Incredible how the captains navigate into such a confined space. Also found that not only the top sunroof lowers to let the ship pass under the low bridges but also the whole wheelhouse descends and disappears into the ship - will have phots of the process and some will be on facebook.
After an early lunch we did a bus\walking tour of Vienna. Sounds snobbish, but now that we've seen all of what are considered the "great" cities of Europe we can make a judgement on which is the most beautiful overall and Vienna has to take the prize we think. The "ring-road" with its beautiful trees and just magnificent public buildings and parks with statues to Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven etc sets Vienna apart I think. We were able to find our way around it really easily in the free time given on the tour. Passed the stables for the Spanish horses and this time they were "at home" unlike last time so we got to see them.
Back on board at 5.00 for a early dinner as some are off to a concert which we decided to miss wich was just as well as Elizabeth has a bad headcold (a fair bit on board) so quiet, early night for us. Sadly said good-bye to John and Barbara who were our designated "table mates" on 22A as they stopped in Vienna to have a few days here before flying home to U.S. They were great company which worked out well as that was not the case for every table.
Tomorrow's (final!) ride is through the apparently spectacular Wachau Valley which is the big wine-growing area of Austria - sounds like a heap of fun!
Trivia: Johann Stauss was a huge hit with the ladies of Vienna and was in the habit of giving away locks of his famous black curly hair - only problem was he used to actually take it from his pet black poodle!
Cap report: beside me as I type!
Thursday 18 September 2014
2014 -Day12 (Visegrad to Esztergom)
Longest ride of the tour today - ended up being circa 63k with a town tour along the way but (again) just a great day's riding in perfect weather. Three crossings of the Danube by ferry as we went on to an island (Kisoroszi) and then looped back again.
The great thing about this trip has been the ease of cycling - pretty well dead flat on really good surfaces (mostly) and the scenery is constantly changing - but continually ending up back along the beautiful Danube.
Stopped in Zebegeny for morning tea - Lesley the tour director recommended a little cafe where we had beautiful torte and coffee (its OK - we're riding) before continuing past beautiful rural countryside to exit the island via ferry again.
Had to 'push" it to the next ferry as it left at 1.45 and you had a long wait if you missed it and we got there with a few minutes to spare.
Arrived at Esztergom after stopping at a beautiful park on the side of the river for packed lunch - got here at 3 in time to climb up to the massive basillica on top of the hill. Had to be back on the boat at 4.30 as we left port at 5 to head for Vienna where we dock at about 1.00pm tomorrow.
Hard to believe we have only one more ride on this tour - in the beautiful Wachau Valley. on Saturday. After a few days' riding, feeling terrific!
Trivia: The basillica we visited in Esztergom this afternoon is the largest church in Hungary. The painting on the Altar is considered the largest oil painting on a single canvas in the world.
Cap: still smiling!
The great thing about this trip has been the ease of cycling - pretty well dead flat on really good surfaces (mostly) and the scenery is constantly changing - but continually ending up back along the beautiful Danube.
Stopped in Zebegeny for morning tea - Lesley the tour director recommended a little cafe where we had beautiful torte and coffee (its OK - we're riding) before continuing past beautiful rural countryside to exit the island via ferry again.
Had to 'push" it to the next ferry as it left at 1.45 and you had a long wait if you missed it and we got there with a few minutes to spare.
Arrived at Esztergom after stopping at a beautiful park on the side of the river for packed lunch - got here at 3 in time to climb up to the massive basillica on top of the hill. Had to be back on the boat at 4.30 as we left port at 5 to head for Vienna where we dock at about 1.00pm tomorrow.
Hard to believe we have only one more ride on this tour - in the beautiful Wachau Valley. on Saturday. After a few days' riding, feeling terrific!
Trivia: The basillica we visited in Esztergom this afternoon is the largest church in Hungary. The painting on the Altar is considered the largest oil painting on a single canvas in the world.
Cap: still smiling!
Wednesday 17 September 2014
2014 (Day11) - Budapest
OK - missed the deadline for finishing last night's log so need to start with a report on the tour of Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) last night.
Best way to summarise is to say we've probably beeen in two of the most beautiful cities in the world in the last 24 hours. Bratislava has about 500 000 inhabitants so is nowhere near the size of Budapest (2 million) but it is BEAUTIFUL - buildings, squares, quirky statues and tree lined avenues - only there for a few hours but would love to go back for more. Wonderful riverside walks as well.
Great duck dinner on board last night as we sailed to Budapest where we berthed at about 9 this morning. Did the hop-on-hop off tour all day covering a fair bit of the city - again beautiful with some memorable buildings - St Stephen's Basillica undoubtedly one of the most beautiful churches in the world - exquisite internally, beautifully proportioned and not overdone. Boulevards best also and trees lining streets everywhere. I think it is a city seen at its best from the inside rather than looking at the vista from outside. Partly damaged in WW 2 and anti-communist uprisings but most has been well restored. Bullet damage still visible on some buildings
Curency is interesting - 1 Euro =350 Ft so you walk around with a lot of big notes. Currency is very low at the moment - I had the most beautiful lunch - grilled tuna marinated in ginger and honey with mustard salad (yep!) for 1990 Ft which equates to about $10. Everything is VERY cheap.
No riding today but a 69k ride tommorrow doing the Danube "knee" and an island so sounds like fun. The variety of the riding and scenery has surprised us (pleasantly) and he organisation/planning has been faultless - a fantastic tour.
Trivia: The river Danube is 2860km long, rises in the Black Forest (Germany) and flows nto the Black Sea and travels through 10 counries. The speed at which it flows is incredible.
Cap report: not even close to losing it!
Best way to summarise is to say we've probably beeen in two of the most beautiful cities in the world in the last 24 hours. Bratislava has about 500 000 inhabitants so is nowhere near the size of Budapest (2 million) but it is BEAUTIFUL - buildings, squares, quirky statues and tree lined avenues - only there for a few hours but would love to go back for more. Wonderful riverside walks as well.
Great duck dinner on board last night as we sailed to Budapest where we berthed at about 9 this morning. Did the hop-on-hop off tour all day covering a fair bit of the city - again beautiful with some memorable buildings - St Stephen's Basillica undoubtedly one of the most beautiful churches in the world - exquisite internally, beautifully proportioned and not overdone. Boulevards best also and trees lining streets everywhere. I think it is a city seen at its best from the inside rather than looking at the vista from outside. Partly damaged in WW 2 and anti-communist uprisings but most has been well restored. Bullet damage still visible on some buildings
Curency is interesting - 1 Euro =350 Ft so you walk around with a lot of big notes. Currency is very low at the moment - I had the most beautiful lunch - grilled tuna marinated in ginger and honey with mustard salad (yep!) for 1990 Ft which equates to about $10. Everything is VERY cheap.
No riding today but a 69k ride tommorrow doing the Danube "knee" and an island so sounds like fun. The variety of the riding and scenery has surprised us (pleasantly) and he organisation/planning has been faultless - a fantastic tour.
Trivia: The river Danube is 2860km long, rises in the Black Forest (Germany) and flows nto the Black Sea and travels through 10 counries. The speed at which it flows is incredible.
Cap report: not even close to losing it!
Tuesday 16 September 2014
2014 - day 10 (Devin to Bratislava)
Another perfect day for cycling - a bit overcast but no rain, cool, only a few hills and mostly just cruising through the Austrian countryside on specially made bikeways.
We left the Danube behind for most of the day and cycled through rich farmland for most of the time. Amazed by the bikeways. Today we cycled 45 km - every bit apart from a few through town sections was on bikeway - a lot of it built on the top of quite high banks. A couple of special bikeway bridges as well.
For lunch we stopped at the recommended "Forst-haus" where they served the biggest schnnitzels you've ever seen (we shared one and even then only just managed) along with beautiful cider. Went down well.
Through a few more beautiful little villages and we crossed into Slovakia and over a massive bridge (cycle was under) and into Bratislava which looks incredible. We are doing a tour late this afternoon but will publish this blog now and see if I get time to add more after the tour - we are having tea as soon as we get back from the tour and then the boat sets off for Buda-Pest so wi-fi may not be workng. I'll report on the Bratislava tour tomorrow if that happens.
Food on this boat is terrific - beautiful lamb last night, duck tonight and every afternoon they have a "coffee and cake" time which is not helpful to the diet at all.
Trivia: Schloss Hof, a beautiful palace we passed today was built by Prince Eugene who was a Frenchman who drove the Turks out of Austria.
Cap report - neeed I say anything?
cheeers all
We left the Danube behind for most of the day and cycled through rich farmland for most of the time. Amazed by the bikeways. Today we cycled 45 km - every bit apart from a few through town sections was on bikeway - a lot of it built on the top of quite high banks. A couple of special bikeway bridges as well.
For lunch we stopped at the recommended "Forst-haus" where they served the biggest schnnitzels you've ever seen (we shared one and even then only just managed) along with beautiful cider. Went down well.
Through a few more beautiful little villages and we crossed into Slovakia and over a massive bridge (cycle was under) and into Bratislava which looks incredible. We are doing a tour late this afternoon but will publish this blog now and see if I get time to add more after the tour - we are having tea as soon as we get back from the tour and then the boat sets off for Buda-Pest so wi-fi may not be workng. I'll report on the Bratislava tour tomorrow if that happens.
Food on this boat is terrific - beautiful lamb last night, duck tonight and every afternoon they have a "coffee and cake" time which is not helpful to the diet at all.
Trivia: Schloss Hof, a beautiful palace we passed today was built by Prince Eugene who was a Frenchman who drove the Turks out of Austria.
Cap report - neeed I say anything?
cheeers all
Monday 15 September 2014
2014 - Day 9 (Engelhartszell to Aschach)
No hills, no rain, cool, no traffic, quiet countryside along the banks of the "blue" Danube - sounds like pretty good cycling and it was.
Had to collect our numbered bikes from the 130 unloaded beside the boat this morning and register them with the tour director, collect locks, toolkits etc so it was about 9.30 by the time we got under way. Prior to that we had breakfast of course - very well presentedd and all good. On days when we cycle all day, we collect all the required ingredients from the buffet, make our rolls/sandwiches etc and then have them wrapped and packed for us to take as lunch - muesli bar, banana/fruit added.
Today as basically a ride along the paths that run on either side of the river. We had to cross twice using little ferries that charge 1.50 Euro and another 1.50 for a glass of scnapps to make the crossing more enjoyable! We're not converts to the joys of Scnapps but it's all good fun.
We met Efti our tour consultant from U-Tracks - she gets to do 2 trips per year which is pretty good. She is lovely - fell in love with one of the crew from the Greek Island cycle/sail last year - so she's heading back there after this trip.
Scenery is beautiful as you'll see from the facebook photos - very fast flowing river with hydro plants and locks along the way. VERY relaxing ride today and we were back on board at 2.00. The boat leaves here at 3.30 and we head for Devin where we arrive at 9.00 tomorrow morning and do a ride to Bratslavia (43km) - have to get the blog done before the ships leaves here as the wi-fi does not work while we are sailing!
Great start - if the rest of the ride is as good as today we'll have no complaints.
Trivia: The Abbey in Engelszll is the only Trappist Monastry in Austria - but they've been there since 1293!
Caps still good
Had to collect our numbered bikes from the 130 unloaded beside the boat this morning and register them with the tour director, collect locks, toolkits etc so it was about 9.30 by the time we got under way. Prior to that we had breakfast of course - very well presentedd and all good. On days when we cycle all day, we collect all the required ingredients from the buffet, make our rolls/sandwiches etc and then have them wrapped and packed for us to take as lunch - muesli bar, banana/fruit added.
Today as basically a ride along the paths that run on either side of the river. We had to cross twice using little ferries that charge 1.50 Euro and another 1.50 for a glass of scnapps to make the crossing more enjoyable! We're not converts to the joys of Scnapps but it's all good fun.
We met Efti our tour consultant from U-Tracks - she gets to do 2 trips per year which is pretty good. She is lovely - fell in love with one of the crew from the Greek Island cycle/sail last year - so she's heading back there after this trip.
Scenery is beautiful as you'll see from the facebook photos - very fast flowing river with hydro plants and locks along the way. VERY relaxing ride today and we were back on board at 2.00. The boat leaves here at 3.30 and we head for Devin where we arrive at 9.00 tomorrow morning and do a ride to Bratslavia (43km) - have to get the blog done before the ships leaves here as the wi-fi does not work while we are sailing!
Great start - if the rest of the ride is as good as today we'll have no complaints.
Trivia: The Abbey in Engelszll is the only Trappist Monastry in Austria - but they've been there since 1293!
Caps still good
Sunday 14 September 2014
2014 -Day 8 (Fussen to Passau)
Mostly a travel day today. Left Fussen at about 10 this morning and got here about 12.30 - easy travelling via about 5 or 6 autobahn (thankfully with sat-nav's guidance) - in the rain but we seeem to arrange the rain on our "travel" days so all good.
Driving on the autobahns is interesting - sit on 120k (legal) on cruise control - few speed signs, no police, no speed cameras andyet traffic is very well behaved - but Porsches go past VERY quickly (as do Mercs, BM's, Audis and VW's - hardly a japanese car in sight. We passed the huge BMWfactory outside Munich with thousands lined up outside (couldn't they spare just one???)
Just some thoughts on Germany:
Driving on the autobahns is interesting - sit on 120k (legal) on cruise control - few speed signs, no police, no speed cameras andyet traffic is very well behaved - but Porsches go past VERY quickly (as do Mercs, BM's, Audis and VW's - hardly a japanese car in sight. We passed the huge BMWfactory outside Munich with thousands lined up outside (couldn't they spare just one???)
Just some thoughts on Germany:
- Just as green as Ireland
- VW's seeem very popular
- Porsches areVERY fast
- The people are very friendly and happy (except today's taxi driver)
- Villages are beautifully kept - when you leave one the next steeple comes into sight.
- They have the best corn crops I've ever seen
- Everything is big - factories, power stations, roads, - Everything
- We'd love to come back
Saturday 13 September 2014
2014 - Day 7 (Friedberg-Fussen) wewe
A beautiful day - great weather, magnificent drive through Bavaria and great Bavarian dinner to finish off our drive down the "Romantic road"
Better give you a brief outline of our dinner last night - got directions to an authentic Bavarian Restaurant but sadly the centre of town was closed off so had to park the car and ask for directions. Walked for ages in the cold drizzle and evenually gave up, returned to a bar in the old part of Friedberg and ordered pizza. Bartender took pity on two soaked Aussies, put on English music so we spent the night eating pizza, drinking red wine and singing No No Nanette, Mama Mia, ABeautiful noise, Proud mary, Seasons in the sun etc etc. Not culturally appropriate but heaps of fun.
Another beautiful breakfast and set off for the last leg of the Romantic Road. No false directions, no road closures, no false signs- just a beautiful drive through magnificent scenery. We now know how correct the term "Black Forest" is and why Hansel and Gretel got lost!! - the Bavarian forests are magnificent but SO thick and huge trees - beautiful.
Stopped in Landsberg - the most beautiful and authentic of all the towns/villages we've been through on this trip. Incredibly got chatting to a Red Cross volunteer who has just returned from Brisbane where he was hopefully selling 1400 defribulators to Queensland Health!! 24 hours in the plane for a 2 hour meeting! He deserves the contract we reckon.
Gorgeous town. Bought fish\prawn rolls at the market to have for lunch.
Driving into the Bavarian Alps was just the most stunningly beautiful drive - magnificent fertile farming land with the Alps as the background- unforgettable. Arrived in Fussen and after coffee at Maccas (sorry - its consistently good) we booked in to the Hotel Fantasia (manager is Denise Wilschut's twin sister) and then we headed for the famous Schloss Neuschwanstein castle. Walked up the road instead of bus or horse carriage and did the 5.30 tour - fascinating place.
Got directions to authentic Bavarian restaurant again but this time FOUND the right one - Elizabeth had porkwith saukraut and I had baked beef with onion and potatoe and it really was very good. We shared an apple strudle - again VERY good. Bavarian food is very good but wine is ordinary.
Finished the Romantic Road - off to Passau tomorrow morning to start the Danube bike ride. Dodgy wi-fi on the boat apparently so may be off the air some days.
Trivia: Neuschwanstein was commenced by King Ludwig 11 but never finished due to his mysterious death in 1880's - it is still owned by his descendents.
Cap status: one week down and still in tact!!
cheers all
Better give you a brief outline of our dinner last night - got directions to an authentic Bavarian Restaurant but sadly the centre of town was closed off so had to park the car and ask for directions. Walked for ages in the cold drizzle and evenually gave up, returned to a bar in the old part of Friedberg and ordered pizza. Bartender took pity on two soaked Aussies, put on English music so we spent the night eating pizza, drinking red wine and singing No No Nanette, Mama Mia, ABeautiful noise, Proud mary, Seasons in the sun etc etc. Not culturally appropriate but heaps of fun.
Another beautiful breakfast and set off for the last leg of the Romantic Road. No false directions, no road closures, no false signs- just a beautiful drive through magnificent scenery. We now know how correct the term "Black Forest" is and why Hansel and Gretel got lost!! - the Bavarian forests are magnificent but SO thick and huge trees - beautiful.
Stopped in Landsberg - the most beautiful and authentic of all the towns/villages we've been through on this trip. Incredibly got chatting to a Red Cross volunteer who has just returned from Brisbane where he was hopefully selling 1400 defribulators to Queensland Health!! 24 hours in the plane for a 2 hour meeting! He deserves the contract we reckon.
Gorgeous town. Bought fish\prawn rolls at the market to have for lunch.
Driving into the Bavarian Alps was just the most stunningly beautiful drive - magnificent fertile farming land with the Alps as the background- unforgettable. Arrived in Fussen and after coffee at Maccas (sorry - its consistently good) we booked in to the Hotel Fantasia (manager is Denise Wilschut's twin sister) and then we headed for the famous Schloss Neuschwanstein castle. Walked up the road instead of bus or horse carriage and did the 5.30 tour - fascinating place.
Got directions to authentic Bavarian restaurant again but this time FOUND the right one - Elizabeth had porkwith saukraut and I had baked beef with onion and potatoe and it really was very good. We shared an apple strudle - again VERY good. Bavarian food is very good but wine is ordinary.
Finished the Romantic Road - off to Passau tomorrow morning to start the Danube bike ride. Dodgy wi-fi on the boat apparently so may be off the air some days.
Trivia: Neuschwanstein was commenced by King Ludwig 11 but never finished due to his mysterious death in 1880's - it is still owned by his descendents.
Cap status: one week down and still in tact!!
cheers all
Friday 12 September 2014
2014 - Day 6 (Rothenburg-Friedberg)
No two days are the same and travel includes amazing moments as well as the unpredictable and challenging - that sums up today.
A couple more bits re the beautiful Schwarzes Lamm hotel where we stayed last night (there will be a picture of it on facebook) - it served as the local miltary headquarters during the 30 years war in 1634 - the church across the road was consecrated in 968 - and note they rang the bells 3 times at 6.00am and full ring at 7.00am this morning! What must happen on Sunday???
Beautiful breakfast included the best minni-sausages I've ever tasted.. However, the day was bleak and raining quite steadily and we headed south using the sat-nav but it wanted to take us via the autobahn instead of the Romantc Road so we turned her off and relied on the signage which turned out to be a bit of a problem - there were roads closed everywhere (not sure why, think it was wet roadworks) and the Germans refuse to show detour signs so just had to guess directions and hopefully re-find a "Romantische Strase" sign.
Stopped at a beautiful little bakery in Schillingsfurst - absolutely beautiful tarts and great coffee for 7 Euro - that's $10 (only get two cups of coffee for that at Sexie Coffe). Took a while (see road closures above) to get to Nordlingen which is another fully walled medieval city. Raining quite steadily so checked out the shops (beautiiful again) and found a cafe which turned out to be a training centre for kids with disabilities - amazing guy in charge and they looked aftter us with hot chocolate and bagles for lunch - very happy and special group and we really enjoyed having lunch with them.
Paradoxically the next stop was a town called Rain which was also beautiful. All these towns and villages are quite similar. The architecture is typically German of course but they are all perfectly maintained, painted in bright colours. The countryside reminds us of France - lots of different crops here (corn, sunflower, lucern, canola) but no grapevines as yet. Being in Bavaria, we've also been going through numerous beautiful forests - always very green of course. Cyclists please note - this would be a fabulous area to cycle - country is undulating and there are cycle tracks everywhere. Strangely none of the cyclists we saw today looked all that cheerul!!
Although wet all day today, it didn't really matter as we were either in the car or just wandering from shop to shop (or cafe) and we'd prefer rain this week rather than next and the forecast for next week is good with the rain supposedly finishing tomorrow (Saturday) Just to cap off the "road challenged" day, the sat-nav would not recognise the address of the "Park Ambiente" hotel where we are staying tonight and then roads in the town of Friedberg are closed for today until Sunday for a huge marathon - the information centre was closed (????) - found girl in a shop who happily gave us directions and eventually arrived. Rewarded with the biggest "suite" we've been in, beautifully decoated and appointed. Bliss.
Off to a Bavarian Restaurant recommended by the very pleasant owner here so hopefully it will be good.
Absolutely everyone we've met today in bakery, cafes, shops etc have been absolutely delightful - people made the day!
Trivia: The "Romantic Road" was a concept created after WW11 to provide a trip away for the American and British toops occupying Germany when on leave.
Cap report; still good but fairly wet tonight!
cheers all
A couple more bits re the beautiful Schwarzes Lamm hotel where we stayed last night (there will be a picture of it on facebook) - it served as the local miltary headquarters during the 30 years war in 1634 - the church across the road was consecrated in 968 - and note they rang the bells 3 times at 6.00am and full ring at 7.00am this morning! What must happen on Sunday???
Beautiful breakfast included the best minni-sausages I've ever tasted.. However, the day was bleak and raining quite steadily and we headed south using the sat-nav but it wanted to take us via the autobahn instead of the Romantc Road so we turned her off and relied on the signage which turned out to be a bit of a problem - there were roads closed everywhere (not sure why, think it was wet roadworks) and the Germans refuse to show detour signs so just had to guess directions and hopefully re-find a "Romantische Strase" sign.
Stopped at a beautiful little bakery in Schillingsfurst - absolutely beautiful tarts and great coffee for 7 Euro - that's $10 (only get two cups of coffee for that at Sexie Coffe). Took a while (see road closures above) to get to Nordlingen which is another fully walled medieval city. Raining quite steadily so checked out the shops (beautiiful again) and found a cafe which turned out to be a training centre for kids with disabilities - amazing guy in charge and they looked aftter us with hot chocolate and bagles for lunch - very happy and special group and we really enjoyed having lunch with them.
Paradoxically the next stop was a town called Rain which was also beautiful. All these towns and villages are quite similar. The architecture is typically German of course but they are all perfectly maintained, painted in bright colours. The countryside reminds us of France - lots of different crops here (corn, sunflower, lucern, canola) but no grapevines as yet. Being in Bavaria, we've also been going through numerous beautiful forests - always very green of course. Cyclists please note - this would be a fabulous area to cycle - country is undulating and there are cycle tracks everywhere. Strangely none of the cyclists we saw today looked all that cheerul!!
Although wet all day today, it didn't really matter as we were either in the car or just wandering from shop to shop (or cafe) and we'd prefer rain this week rather than next and the forecast for next week is good with the rain supposedly finishing tomorrow (Saturday) Just to cap off the "road challenged" day, the sat-nav would not recognise the address of the "Park Ambiente" hotel where we are staying tonight and then roads in the town of Friedberg are closed for today until Sunday for a huge marathon - the information centre was closed (????) - found girl in a shop who happily gave us directions and eventually arrived. Rewarded with the biggest "suite" we've been in, beautifully decoated and appointed. Bliss.
Off to a Bavarian Restaurant recommended by the very pleasant owner here so hopefully it will be good.
Absolutely everyone we've met today in bakery, cafes, shops etc have been absolutely delightful - people made the day!
Trivia: The "Romantic Road" was a concept created after WW11 to provide a trip away for the American and British toops occupying Germany when on leave.
Cap report; still good but fairly wet tonight!
cheers all
Thursday 11 September 2014
2014 - Day5 (Stuttgart to Rothenburg)
Driving in Germany is interesting - more on that later.
Picked up the hire-car from the airport after a beautiful breakfast at the hotel. Following the directions to the car (an Opel Senator which is a bit like our Passat) was the first big challenge and then had to have the sat-nav changed to English at the workshop. Headed for the north of Stuttgart to visit the Porsche factory and museum. Incredible building in its own right and the displays of every Porshe model plus other inventions of Ferdinand Porsche (including VW) is brilliantly presented. As a good Grandfather, I bought Tommy a Porsche.
Traffic through Stuttgart was terrible - volume is mind-blowing and thank goodness we have the sat-nav as the road system is terribly complex. Headed off for Rothenburg and trip was spent going from one auto-bahn to the next. Mostly 120kph limit but I think I was the slowest car on the roads today in spite of 120kph on cruise control. Most amazing impession was that the right hand lane is a nose-to-tail line of trucks - only a few B-doubles but we've just never seen soo many trucks!
About half way here we struck a huge storm on the auto-bahn - had to pull off in a slip lane with other vehicles for a while. Got here about 3 and after booking in to our hotel which is just beautiful and just 2 mins out of Rothenburg. Rothenburg is almost too typical German village to be true - all just beautiful with georgeous shops - their bear shop is incredible along with craft shops and myriads of bars and restaurants. Middle Ages city wall surrounds it all and we walked around part of it.
Another amazing day. Our hotel (Schwarzes Lamm) has been in the same family since the 1700's and their food tonight was just beautful - Pork for me, trout for Elizabeth and Apple strudel for sweets - apple trudel is nothing like we've ever had before!
Another day on the "romatic road" to look forward to tomorrow!!
Tivia: Ferdinand Porsche invented the first motorised fire engine as well as the first 4-wheel drive system.
Cap Report - still OK which is sad because a new Porsche cap would be cool!
Picked up the hire-car from the airport after a beautiful breakfast at the hotel. Following the directions to the car (an Opel Senator which is a bit like our Passat) was the first big challenge and then had to have the sat-nav changed to English at the workshop. Headed for the north of Stuttgart to visit the Porsche factory and museum. Incredible building in its own right and the displays of every Porshe model plus other inventions of Ferdinand Porsche (including VW) is brilliantly presented. As a good Grandfather, I bought Tommy a Porsche.
Traffic through Stuttgart was terrible - volume is mind-blowing and thank goodness we have the sat-nav as the road system is terribly complex. Headed off for Rothenburg and trip was spent going from one auto-bahn to the next. Mostly 120kph limit but I think I was the slowest car on the roads today in spite of 120kph on cruise control. Most amazing impession was that the right hand lane is a nose-to-tail line of trucks - only a few B-doubles but we've just never seen soo many trucks!
About half way here we struck a huge storm on the auto-bahn - had to pull off in a slip lane with other vehicles for a while. Got here about 3 and after booking in to our hotel which is just beautiful and just 2 mins out of Rothenburg. Rothenburg is almost too typical German village to be true - all just beautiful with georgeous shops - their bear shop is incredible along with craft shops and myriads of bars and restaurants. Middle Ages city wall surrounds it all and we walked around part of it.
Another amazing day. Our hotel (Schwarzes Lamm) has been in the same family since the 1700's and their food tonight was just beautful - Pork for me, trout for Elizabeth and Apple strudel for sweets - apple trudel is nothing like we've ever had before!
Another day on the "romatic road" to look forward to tomorrow!!
Tivia: Ferdinand Porsche invented the first motorised fire engine as well as the first 4-wheel drive system.
Cap Report - still OK which is sad because a new Porsche cap would be cool!
2014-day 4 (Milan to Stuttgart)
HUGE walking day today - saw some incredible things and finished off by flying over the Alps to Germany.
After booking out of the Genius hotel we headed to the centre of Milan and checked out the oldest shopping mall in the world - an amazing building housing such retailers as Prada, YSL, LV. At 10.30 we met nearby to start the city walking tour (NOT free) which took us back into the mall then to the Duomo - one of the most amazing buildings in the world - built entirely of marbel inside and out. Huge stained glass windows add to the beauty of the all-marbel interior - absolutely stunning.
Past La Scala and then on to the castle on which the Kremlin was based. Last visit was to see Leonardo Da Vinci's "The last Supper" - an amazing work painted on the entire end wall of what was a monastry's refectory so what you see in reproducions does just not prepare you for the reality. Also stunning!!
After a "recovery" lunch we headed back to La Scala to tour the interior - absolutely beautiful recently rebuilt following a fire. Interesting museum with exhibits such as List's piano.
Back to collect our luggage from the hotel, then to the train station to catch the Milpensa Express out to the airport. Small concern when the electricity cut out at departure time and we were about 20 mins late getting away. This added too the delays/bad orgaisation at Malpensa Airport meant we had a short wait for the flight to Suttgart.
Flew with "German Wings" which was fine but quite hilarious - the pre-flight safety briefing by the hostesses was so typically "Germanic" it would have warranted a Monty Python sketch. Typically German though, we landed on time at 9.20 and then just had a two minute walk to the hotel. Reason this log is a day late is that the hotel wanted 15 Euro for wi-fi just for one night - even the receptionist was embarrased!
Crashed after huge day!
Trivia: Prada paid circa 4 million Eros rent for the annual lease in the Milan mall
Cap report: still in tact!
Cheers all
After booking out of the Genius hotel we headed to the centre of Milan and checked out the oldest shopping mall in the world - an amazing building housing such retailers as Prada, YSL, LV. At 10.30 we met nearby to start the city walking tour (NOT free) which took us back into the mall then to the Duomo - one of the most amazing buildings in the world - built entirely of marbel inside and out. Huge stained glass windows add to the beauty of the all-marbel interior - absolutely stunning.
Past La Scala and then on to the castle on which the Kremlin was based. Last visit was to see Leonardo Da Vinci's "The last Supper" - an amazing work painted on the entire end wall of what was a monastry's refectory so what you see in reproducions does just not prepare you for the reality. Also stunning!!
After a "recovery" lunch we headed back to La Scala to tour the interior - absolutely beautiful recently rebuilt following a fire. Interesting museum with exhibits such as List's piano.
Back to collect our luggage from the hotel, then to the train station to catch the Milpensa Express out to the airport. Small concern when the electricity cut out at departure time and we were about 20 mins late getting away. This added too the delays/bad orgaisation at Malpensa Airport meant we had a short wait for the flight to Suttgart.
Flew with "German Wings" which was fine but quite hilarious - the pre-flight safety briefing by the hostesses was so typically "Germanic" it would have warranted a Monty Python sketch. Typically German though, we landed on time at 9.20 and then just had a two minute walk to the hotel. Reason this log is a day late is that the hotel wanted 15 Euro for wi-fi just for one night - even the receptionist was embarrased!
Crashed after huge day!
Trivia: Prada paid circa 4 million Eros rent for the annual lease in the Milan mall
Cap report: still in tact!
Cheers all
Tuesday 9 September 2014
2014 - Day 3 (Milan-Como)
Some days are special - and today was one of those. Didn't know what to expect really but we'd booked a day tour to Como/Lake Como/Bellagio so headed for the bus to leave at 8.30.
Drove up the highway to Como and had time to wander around there for a while. Very old (Roman) town with beautiful Duomo (Cathedral) in the centre of town. Lousy service at the cafe in town square so left and had ice-cream instead and gathered at the water-front to catch the tour boat.
The lake is just spectacular with massive mountains surounding and magnificent villas lining the shore seemingly all aroung the lake. Like nothing seen before! Owned by poor people such as Versace, Berliscone, George Clooney. Magnificent gardens to go with them.
Arrived at Bellagio, a village at the tip of the land at the junction of the two arms of the lake and had a couple of hours to have lunch and go shopping. Bellagio is probably the prettiest village we've visited. Set on the steep hillside on the lake's edge, the shops were beautiful and we enjoyed a really good lunch. Elizabeth purchased an Italian leather hand-bag that was on her "must get" list for the trip so that has been done - very nice too. A few presents and by then time too head back for a short ferry ride back to Cardenabbia where the bus met us for the return trip down an incredibly narrow, twisting road along the lake's edge before joining the highway back to Milan's traffic jams.
Beautiful day finished with a great (HUGE) dinner at "Andry's" the restaurant recommended by the hotel manager and as usally happens, the recommendation was spot-on.
Bit of rain on the way home but nothing tonight. Doing walking tour of Milan including visiting "The Last Supper" so hope it stays fine!
Trivia: Como is the birthplace of Volta - the inventor of the battery. Museums to him everywhere.
Cap report: all good
Pictures of Como, Villas, Bellagio on facebook!
Drove up the highway to Como and had time to wander around there for a while. Very old (Roman) town with beautiful Duomo (Cathedral) in the centre of town. Lousy service at the cafe in town square so left and had ice-cream instead and gathered at the water-front to catch the tour boat.
The lake is just spectacular with massive mountains surounding and magnificent villas lining the shore seemingly all aroung the lake. Like nothing seen before! Owned by poor people such as Versace, Berliscone, George Clooney. Magnificent gardens to go with them.
Arrived at Bellagio, a village at the tip of the land at the junction of the two arms of the lake and had a couple of hours to have lunch and go shopping. Bellagio is probably the prettiest village we've visited. Set on the steep hillside on the lake's edge, the shops were beautiful and we enjoyed a really good lunch. Elizabeth purchased an Italian leather hand-bag that was on her "must get" list for the trip so that has been done - very nice too. A few presents and by then time too head back for a short ferry ride back to Cardenabbia where the bus met us for the return trip down an incredibly narrow, twisting road along the lake's edge before joining the highway back to Milan's traffic jams.
Beautiful day finished with a great (HUGE) dinner at "Andry's" the restaurant recommended by the hotel manager and as usally happens, the recommendation was spot-on.
Bit of rain on the way home but nothing tonight. Doing walking tour of Milan including visiting "The Last Supper" so hope it stays fine!
Trivia: Como is the birthplace of Volta - the inventor of the battery. Museums to him everywhere.
Cap report: all good
Pictures of Como, Villas, Bellagio on facebook!
Monday 8 September 2014
2014-day2
Elizabeth's summary of day 2 - an awful lot of sitting and and awful lot off walking! Explanation:-
If 8 and a half hours in the plane sounded like a lot on Sunday - try 12 and a half from Hong Kong to Milan! HK airport never ceases to amaze with the immense size and numbers of people. We pre-booked the lounge at the airport as we had 6 hours stop-over so enjoyed a shower, beer, dinner etc for a few hours before the plane left at 1.00AM. I actually slept for 7 hours which was great but Elizabeth didn't do quite so well but not too bad. Knee and tooth OK!! 12.5 hours sitting is still a lot thus part of the summary above. Flying into Milan is one of the most beautiful sights when flying and it was further enhanced by clouds with the snow-covered Alps emerging above the cloud cover. Beautiful and spectacular.
The "walking" part of the above summary came next. Train easly caught from Malpensa into Milan (26 minutes) with "10 minute walk" to the Genius Hotel - except we had two incorrect directions from locals and spent an hour and a half with our luggage "exploring" bits of Milan we didn't really want to. Finally found/off-loaded lugggage and then (exhausted) set off for our usual "hop-on-hop-off" tour to get an overview of the place.
Impressions of Milan? - magnificent buildings and monuments and hopeless traffic. Growing on us. Didn't realise that the Monza GP was on this past weekend. Papers are full of it and apparently Ferrari didn't do so well - following appeared in local paper:
"Crisi Ferrari - Un disastro completo, inammisibile, delorosso" - get the picture??
The buildings are really beautiful - the Duomo quite magnificent and HUGE with beautiful parks and gardens everywhere. Going for the walking tour on Wednesday so will see more then.
Tonight lovely local cafe for fish/salad tea with local Chianti - beautiful./ Early night to get back into "equilibrium" - we hope. Off to Lake Como and Bellagio tomorrow for day tour.
Some pictures onto facebook I hope - learning that one.
Trivia: The "Castello Sforzesco" in the centre of Milan looks VERY similar to the Kremlin - no accident as the architect of the Kremlin actually copied it!
Ian's Cap count: still in tact but was returned by waiter from "Cafe Dante" as we were leaving without it!
Cheers all - hopefully some photos on facebook!
If 8 and a half hours in the plane sounded like a lot on Sunday - try 12 and a half from Hong Kong to Milan! HK airport never ceases to amaze with the immense size and numbers of people. We pre-booked the lounge at the airport as we had 6 hours stop-over so enjoyed a shower, beer, dinner etc for a few hours before the plane left at 1.00AM. I actually slept for 7 hours which was great but Elizabeth didn't do quite so well but not too bad. Knee and tooth OK!! 12.5 hours sitting is still a lot thus part of the summary above. Flying into Milan is one of the most beautiful sights when flying and it was further enhanced by clouds with the snow-covered Alps emerging above the cloud cover. Beautiful and spectacular.
The "walking" part of the above summary came next. Train easly caught from Malpensa into Milan (26 minutes) with "10 minute walk" to the Genius Hotel - except we had two incorrect directions from locals and spent an hour and a half with our luggage "exploring" bits of Milan we didn't really want to. Finally found/off-loaded lugggage and then (exhausted) set off for our usual "hop-on-hop-off" tour to get an overview of the place.
Impressions of Milan? - magnificent buildings and monuments and hopeless traffic. Growing on us. Didn't realise that the Monza GP was on this past weekend. Papers are full of it and apparently Ferrari didn't do so well - following appeared in local paper:
"Crisi Ferrari - Un disastro completo, inammisibile, delorosso" - get the picture??
The buildings are really beautiful - the Duomo quite magnificent and HUGE with beautiful parks and gardens everywhere. Going for the walking tour on Wednesday so will see more then.
Tonight lovely local cafe for fish/salad tea with local Chianti - beautiful./ Early night to get back into "equilibrium" - we hope. Off to Lake Como and Bellagio tomorrow for day tour.
Some pictures onto facebook I hope - learning that one.
Trivia: The "Castello Sforzesco" in the centre of Milan looks VERY similar to the Kremlin - no accident as the architect of the Kremlin actually copied it!
Ian's Cap count: still in tact but was returned by waiter from "Cafe Dante" as we were leaving without it!
Cheers all - hopefully some photos on facebook!
Sunday 7 September 2014
2014-DAY 1
How do you make an 8.5 hour plane flight with a stopover in Cairns sound the least bit exciting? You can't really. very nice, comfortable flight though with Cathay - regular attention with food, drinks etc and saw a couple of good movies - I watched The railway man and The other woman - very different but enjoyable and Elizabeth watched the Pianist which apparently wasn't all that thrilling.
Started off early with taxi ride to the airport and after the usual "hanging around"time we left exactly on time. Got to Cairns where we had hoped to meet Elizabeth's sister Ruth but we weren't allowed out of the departure area so we spoke bby mobile phone looking through the duty-free window! Also spoke with Claire, Jessie and Tom as they were still asleep when we left this morning.
HK airport is as overwhelming as ever - we are in the "Plaza" lounge which is a good place to spend the 6 hour stopover - booked in for showers at 9.00 so should be refreshed for the long overnight haul to Milan - next blog will be from there tomorrow ight. Not much planned for there tomorrow as recovery will have priority.
No "Trivia" in this blog - will start that tomorrow. Another regular update this trip will be "Ian's cap status" as each trip includes rgular loss of caps and the need for replacements! Today's Status report- all in tact but almost lost one at the coffeee stop on the way down yesterday.
Cheers all - no facebook pictures yet - nothing to show as yet.
Started off early with taxi ride to the airport and after the usual "hanging around"time we left exactly on time. Got to Cairns where we had hoped to meet Elizabeth's sister Ruth but we weren't allowed out of the departure area so we spoke bby mobile phone looking through the duty-free window! Also spoke with Claire, Jessie and Tom as they were still asleep when we left this morning.
HK airport is as overwhelming as ever - we are in the "Plaza" lounge which is a good place to spend the 6 hour stopover - booked in for showers at 9.00 so should be refreshed for the long overnight haul to Milan - next blog will be from there tomorrow ight. Not much planned for there tomorrow as recovery will have priority.
No "Trivia" in this blog - will start that tomorrow. Another regular update this trip will be "Ian's cap status" as each trip includes rgular loss of caps and the need for replacements! Today's Status report- all in tact but almost lost one at the coffeee stop on the way down yesterday.
Cheers all - no facebook pictures yet - nothing to show as yet.
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