Things I Am Loving:
* Being on holidays in the first place.
* Annual Leave Loading. God bless the public service!
* Finally being in Europe. It's been a while in the planning.
* Starting to plan the next trip...
* Striking a happy Helen/Mike balance of planning, decision-making and going with the flow.
* European pillows. The big, fat square variety.
* Continental breakfasts. So civilised!
* Finding Lush shops all over the world. Being able to find them just using smell.
* Using Lush bath bombs all over the world.
* Everyone else speaking English - makes life SO much easier.
* Under-estimating the exchange rate in my favour, and having more spending money left than I thought.
* The prospect of going Birkenstock shopping in Frankfurt.
* Being able to say basic things in other languages - danke schoen!
* Looking forward to becoming one of those annoying people who have been in a city/country for 6 hours and tell lots of "Oh, when I was in [city/country], I [insert annoying travel anecdote here]" stories.
* Getting a new Mozart Loves Prague t-shirt to replace the one bought for me about 14 years ago, which has served me well but is now dying.
* Being in a place where it is normal to have a physical history more than 200 years old.
* Being in a place that, despite it's long history, is still very geographically young. The rocks are all still pointy, they haven't been around for very long!
* A fabulous, easy-to-understand public transport network.
* The option, albeit never taken, of using a mini-bar. I'm tempted to get a little fridge to have in my bedroom or under my desk at work, I love them so much.
* Drinking Belgian Beer in Belgium.
* Taking Belgian Beer from Belgium back home. Drinking Belgian Beer from Belgium at home.
* Too many other small things to count...
Things I Am NOT Loving:
* Getting motion sick on the plane and up-chucking steadily for 23 hours.
* The prospect of getting motion sick on the plane going home; upchucking for another 23 hours.
* The prospect of upchucking for 23 hours while traveling alone and my honey is still in London.
* European pillows that are neither big nor fat but are instead stupid and flat.
* SFH weather, sweating like a pig in 95% humidity for days on end.
* Not being on holidays any more; going back to a normal working life. Aaahhh!
* Being VERY sniffly while on holidays. Having a travel partner who is also very sniffly, which makes him snore like a combine harvester.
* Constantly having to buy tissues, water and hypo food.
* Constantly having to do blood tests. My fingers are starting to spontaneously bleed.
* Shared bathrooms. Don't do it - just don't.
* FRICKIN' EUROPEAN CHAIN-SMOKERS!
* Frickin' stupid and out-dated European smoking regulations. Do the words Lung and Cancer have no meaning for these people?
* Not having the free use of a washing machine. Paying hotel rates to have someone else wash my smalls. Paying hotel rates for someone else, having washed my smalls, to then put a g-string on a clothes hanger. Paying for this privilege.
* Lots of other small, annoying things that in no way come close to out-balancing the good stuff.
Lots of love, H
Monday 30 June 2008
Wien
Greetings all,
I'm feeling pretty smug - it's the End of Financial Year in Oz, and I'm on holidays! Nyer nyer!
Vienna Day #1 cont.
After faithfully blogging and sending messages home, we went to one of the Wien institutions, the American Cocktail Bar. Why the "American"? Who knows. This little bar has just turned 80 years old, and the cocktail list was very impressive. [I kept up with my keep-sake tradition, collecting cocktail menus... Everyone needs a hobby, right? To be fair, though, I did make sure that the menu I procured was pretty ratty and likely to be replaced pretty soon anyway. Promise.] We met some VERY lovely local lads who gave us lots of local hints for places to see & go. It turns out that the German & Austrian nations are not the best of friends - kinda like the Aussie-Kiwi relationship - so everyone here is rooting for Spain in the Cup final.
After a few drinks, we wandered about some more and found a cute little pub bistro for dinner. No dark beer on tap, which was a slight bummer. Since we're in the Schnitzel capital of the world (I LOVE that it's always spelled correctly here!) we had to have the cliche-ed Wiener Schnitzel for dinner, and I have to be honest here - it was pretty disappointing. NOTHING like the wonderful fare at Una's! Hopefully we'll get the chance to try again while we're here. After dinner we staggered back to the pension and continued the nightly game of "Sleep is Optional". I suspect the SFH (Stinking, Frickin' Hot) weather is still to blame.
Vienna Day #2
I'm loving this city. We spent Sunday wandering the streets and saw some amazing stuff...
We started out by walking up towards the palace & grounds to see the sights plus the Euro Cup Fan Zone. We walked past the Jewish Monument, a memorial for those lost in the Holocaust. The powerful images it represents were only slightly diminished by the wafting aroma resulting from all of the horse-drawn cart tours passing by. The smell of horse plus the standard SFH weather makes it pretty easy to locate the tour path!
We also managed to find an English-only cinema, thanks to our cocktail-loving locals. It was showing the new Roger Donaldson flick, The Bank Job, which seemed a good, air-conditioned alternative to the SFH weather!
The Fan Zone was pretty-much a yawn affair - merchandise, sponsor stands and a big mo-fo screen with a count-down to kick-off. We did a quick lap and continued on to the Museum Quarter, home of the National Library (by crikey, in an impressive building! Beats the hell out of leaky Ultimo for a library space!), the royal palaces & collections, plus the usual assortment of souvenirs, etc.
We then jumped on the metro to the Summer Palace, but we both quickly realised that this involved a lot more walking about in the sun and SFH humidity - no thanks. We headed back to the pension for a nap. After a few hours, we spent some time looking through all our maps, tour booklets & travel books to try and organise the rest of our visit time.
We walked back into the centre of town, looking for a nice place to Eat, Drink, and get football Merry, and struck gold almost immediately. A great little Indian place advertised itself as a Cocktail Bar & Restaurant, which to me indicated that they had their priorities in order! We found some seats outside in the crowd facing one of the mega-screens showing the game coverage and settled back.
2 hours, 4 cocktails and a butter chicken later (plus a partridge in a pear tree!), the score was 1-0 in favour of Spain. Again, most of the Austrians in the crowd were barracking for Spain, so just-about everybody was pretty darn happy with the result. We followed the crown into St Stephen's Square, mingled a bit with the party and headed back to bed.
Vienna Day #4
If I wanted 95% humidity, I would have stayed in Sydney...
After playing another night of Toss & Turn Olympics (no, not the fun kind!) we were both awake, showered, dressed and breakfast-ed by 8.30am which has been unheard-of so far in this trip. We headed back on the U-Bahn to the Summer Palace, and this time actually walked around having a look. The cool change finally came through (FINALLY!) and the rain was really welcome. The tour arrangement of the private rooms at the palace was pretty efficient, and we were herded through with about a gazillion other tourists.
Seeing this place, it is now pretty obvious to me why there are revolutions. Looking at the way the royal people lived over several generations, you start to dislike the smug bastards. Do they REALLY need gold gilting on every single wall? Surely the money they spent on the freakin' silver carriages COULD have been put to better use?! Plus, all of the in-breeding, political marriages and conniving could have been effort best put towards something a little more productive than more generations of in-breeders.
Regardless, it was a truly beautiful building. We headed into the (uber extravagant) gardens to the sound of a brass band. Once we arrived at the concert stage, we saw that the performers were from the NSW Fire Brigade Band and Marching Squad. We traveled half the way around the frickin' world to hear a band from home... (Helen rolls eyes in disgust). Mind you, they were pretty entertaining. The marching girls were a little scary, though.
Lots of attention was paid to two pretty different women - Empress Sisi and Princess Maria Louise. Separated by a few hundred years, they had some pretty different stories told about them. For example, I learned that Maria Loise inherited from her father, and managed to keep an empire together despite all sorts of maneuvering. She and hubby were apparently very much in love, and much credit is given to a piece of paper found in her bible after her death, counting the years, weeks, days & hours of their marriage. The fact that they had 18 children is probably a contributing factor to the theory of a happy marriage. (It's probably easier to have a big family when you have a palace full of servants to help take care of them!) Queenie is also praised for her prudent politicking when choosing spouses for her children to advance Austria's alliances in Europe - her daughter Marie Antoinette married well (I swear, they think this was a good, motherly marriage for her to make!) and the fact that poor Marie was auctioned off at the age of 14 to a dude who ended up loosing her a head just means that she didn't pay enough attention to the lessons her mother taught her! (These Austrians are crazy.)
This contrasted by the example of Sisi, a frivolous girl who married into the royals at the age of 16. She was, by all accounts, a flighty & vain lass, who wouldn't pay attention to her wise and instructive mother-in-law, but instead became obsessed with maintaining her slender figure and flitting about Europe. (The fact that she was ignored by her workaholic and cradle-snatching husband, had few friends, had 8 kids so probably had to work damn hard to retain her pre-baby body, and wasn't even ALLOWED to have a say in raising her own children, are facts conveniently ignored.) when she did rebel, and refused to send kiddie no. 8 back to Austria for her MIL to take of the poor lad's education, they practically sent the army after her.
We did a quick lap of the formal gardens, saw the big mo-fo of a fountain, and grabbed a quick lunch. We then headed to the art nouveau metro station, M got some pictures while I got a coffee.
Back into the city, we stopped in at the Royal Crypt in a church just off the central mall. Despite all of my bolshie raving about the palace, the crypt was very moving. The crypt goes back to the early 1600s, and the obvious attention and love with which the memorials have been made and laid here is amazing. The saddest part were some of the graves for the little guys, plus the memorial for Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophie of WWI misfortune. Sophie was not a popular choice as royal wife, so when they married FF was forced to sign a document acknowledging the fact that Sophie would not be buried in the royal crypt. Good on him, he added that he wouldn't go there if she couldn't, and arranged a joint burial site for them in one of his country estates - on yer, Franz! Such a shame they ended up needing it so soon...
Afternoon tea was a Viennese coffee plus sacher torte - when in Vienna, do as the Viennese do! Mike is currently doing a walking tour showing the sights from the movie The Third Man. We're meeting up at the local brew house for dinner & beverages soon.
I'm feeling pretty smug - it's the End of Financial Year in Oz, and I'm on holidays! Nyer nyer!
Vienna Day #1 cont.
After faithfully blogging and sending messages home, we went to one of the Wien institutions, the American Cocktail Bar. Why the "American"? Who knows. This little bar has just turned 80 years old, and the cocktail list was very impressive. [I kept up with my keep-sake tradition, collecting cocktail menus... Everyone needs a hobby, right? To be fair, though, I did make sure that the menu I procured was pretty ratty and likely to be replaced pretty soon anyway. Promise.] We met some VERY lovely local lads who gave us lots of local hints for places to see & go. It turns out that the German & Austrian nations are not the best of friends - kinda like the Aussie-Kiwi relationship - so everyone here is rooting for Spain in the Cup final.
After a few drinks, we wandered about some more and found a cute little pub bistro for dinner. No dark beer on tap, which was a slight bummer. Since we're in the Schnitzel capital of the world (I LOVE that it's always spelled correctly here!) we had to have the cliche-ed Wiener Schnitzel for dinner, and I have to be honest here - it was pretty disappointing. NOTHING like the wonderful fare at Una's! Hopefully we'll get the chance to try again while we're here. After dinner we staggered back to the pension and continued the nightly game of "Sleep is Optional". I suspect the SFH (Stinking, Frickin' Hot) weather is still to blame.
Vienna Day #2
I'm loving this city. We spent Sunday wandering the streets and saw some amazing stuff...
We started out by walking up towards the palace & grounds to see the sights plus the Euro Cup Fan Zone. We walked past the Jewish Monument, a memorial for those lost in the Holocaust. The powerful images it represents were only slightly diminished by the wafting aroma resulting from all of the horse-drawn cart tours passing by. The smell of horse plus the standard SFH weather makes it pretty easy to locate the tour path!
We also managed to find an English-only cinema, thanks to our cocktail-loving locals. It was showing the new Roger Donaldson flick, The Bank Job, which seemed a good, air-conditioned alternative to the SFH weather!
The Fan Zone was pretty-much a yawn affair - merchandise, sponsor stands and a big mo-fo screen with a count-down to kick-off. We did a quick lap and continued on to the Museum Quarter, home of the National Library (by crikey, in an impressive building! Beats the hell out of leaky Ultimo for a library space!), the royal palaces & collections, plus the usual assortment of souvenirs, etc.
We then jumped on the metro to the Summer Palace, but we both quickly realised that this involved a lot more walking about in the sun and SFH humidity - no thanks. We headed back to the pension for a nap. After a few hours, we spent some time looking through all our maps, tour booklets & travel books to try and organise the rest of our visit time.
We walked back into the centre of town, looking for a nice place to Eat, Drink, and get football Merry, and struck gold almost immediately. A great little Indian place advertised itself as a Cocktail Bar & Restaurant, which to me indicated that they had their priorities in order! We found some seats outside in the crowd facing one of the mega-screens showing the game coverage and settled back.
2 hours, 4 cocktails and a butter chicken later (plus a partridge in a pear tree!), the score was 1-0 in favour of Spain. Again, most of the Austrians in the crowd were barracking for Spain, so just-about everybody was pretty darn happy with the result. We followed the crown into St Stephen's Square, mingled a bit with the party and headed back to bed.
Vienna Day #4
If I wanted 95% humidity, I would have stayed in Sydney...
After playing another night of Toss & Turn Olympics (no, not the fun kind!) we were both awake, showered, dressed and breakfast-ed by 8.30am which has been unheard-of so far in this trip. We headed back on the U-Bahn to the Summer Palace, and this time actually walked around having a look. The cool change finally came through (FINALLY!) and the rain was really welcome. The tour arrangement of the private rooms at the palace was pretty efficient, and we were herded through with about a gazillion other tourists.
Seeing this place, it is now pretty obvious to me why there are revolutions. Looking at the way the royal people lived over several generations, you start to dislike the smug bastards. Do they REALLY need gold gilting on every single wall? Surely the money they spent on the freakin' silver carriages COULD have been put to better use?! Plus, all of the in-breeding, political marriages and conniving could have been effort best put towards something a little more productive than more generations of in-breeders.
Regardless, it was a truly beautiful building. We headed into the (uber extravagant) gardens to the sound of a brass band. Once we arrived at the concert stage, we saw that the performers were from the NSW Fire Brigade Band and Marching Squad. We traveled half the way around the frickin' world to hear a band from home... (Helen rolls eyes in disgust). Mind you, they were pretty entertaining. The marching girls were a little scary, though.
Lots of attention was paid to two pretty different women - Empress Sisi and Princess Maria Louise. Separated by a few hundred years, they had some pretty different stories told about them. For example, I learned that Maria Loise inherited from her father, and managed to keep an empire together despite all sorts of maneuvering. She and hubby were apparently very much in love, and much credit is given to a piece of paper found in her bible after her death, counting the years, weeks, days & hours of their marriage. The fact that they had 18 children is probably a contributing factor to the theory of a happy marriage. (It's probably easier to have a big family when you have a palace full of servants to help take care of them!) Queenie is also praised for her prudent politicking when choosing spouses for her children to advance Austria's alliances in Europe - her daughter Marie Antoinette married well (I swear, they think this was a good, motherly marriage for her to make!) and the fact that poor Marie was auctioned off at the age of 14 to a dude who ended up loosing her a head just means that she didn't pay enough attention to the lessons her mother taught her! (These Austrians are crazy.)
This contrasted by the example of Sisi, a frivolous girl who married into the royals at the age of 16. She was, by all accounts, a flighty & vain lass, who wouldn't pay attention to her wise and instructive mother-in-law, but instead became obsessed with maintaining her slender figure and flitting about Europe. (The fact that she was ignored by her workaholic and cradle-snatching husband, had few friends, had 8 kids so probably had to work damn hard to retain her pre-baby body, and wasn't even ALLOWED to have a say in raising her own children, are facts conveniently ignored.) when she did rebel, and refused to send kiddie no. 8 back to Austria for her MIL to take of the poor lad's education, they practically sent the army after her.
We did a quick lap of the formal gardens, saw the big mo-fo of a fountain, and grabbed a quick lunch. We then headed to the art nouveau metro station, M got some pictures while I got a coffee.
Back into the city, we stopped in at the Royal Crypt in a church just off the central mall. Despite all of my bolshie raving about the palace, the crypt was very moving. The crypt goes back to the early 1600s, and the obvious attention and love with which the memorials have been made and laid here is amazing. The saddest part were some of the graves for the little guys, plus the memorial for Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophie of WWI misfortune. Sophie was not a popular choice as royal wife, so when they married FF was forced to sign a document acknowledging the fact that Sophie would not be buried in the royal crypt. Good on him, he added that he wouldn't go there if she couldn't, and arranged a joint burial site for them in one of his country estates - on yer, Franz! Such a shame they ended up needing it so soon...
Afternoon tea was a Viennese coffee plus sacher torte - when in Vienna, do as the Viennese do! Mike is currently doing a walking tour showing the sights from the movie The Third Man. We're meeting up at the local brew house for dinner & beverages soon.
Saturday 28 June 2008
Euro Cup Fever
Greetings all,
It's been a few days of jam-packed excitement, so here we go...
Prague day #3 was spent on a trip to St Nicholas church - wonderfully old and extravagant, then on to the Jewish Quarter for a more intensive look-see. Mike went on a tour of the old synagogues, and I went back to one of the garnet jewellry shops for a closer look.
As I was leaving the jewellry shop was when someone tried to pick-pocket stuff from my bag! I was about to cross the road when I heard one of the zippers on my bag moving, turned around and some %$@$ing chick was trying to rip me off. The outer zipper on the bag had been opened [thankfully, there wasn't anything in there apart from some free tourist maps, haha sucked in!] and she was trying to give me a little-miss-innocent face. Yeah, right. She even tried to sign-language to me that her jacket [oh-so casually held over her arm on the warmest day in 2008 - was I born yesterday?] had brushed up against my bag. As if! I was pretty shocked - you are told that this sort of thing happens but I had thought I was being careful so it wouldn't happen to me! So I chased after her for a few metres, yelling and waving my arms around - it was probably pretty funny for someone watching. I holed up in a cafe for Mike to finish his tour, and we did some more wandering. After dinner we went to the Absinthe Bar and Mike enjoyed some of the fine local product.
Now, when I'm walking around, I've started doing a kind-of swishing from side to side, trying to put any would-be thieves off. Bastards.
We really enjoyed our last day in Prague - wandering around some more in the old city, and I went on a solo expedition to try and find some baby sling fabric at local prices, for the special sling-wearers in my life. Unfortunately, the local prices included the 19% VAT, so it wasn't really worth it. [I may need to do a co-op shop when I get home.] I was pretty proud of myself for NOT getting lost and not getting robbed again. I made it back to the hotel, just in time to check [haha] out and jump on a metro train to the station [accompanied by The Ace of Spades - sometimes my i-pod has a delicious sense of timing. Like when I'm walking to work and it starts playing Queen's I've Got To Break Free] We jumped on an inter-city service to Brno, got a taxi to the airport and met up with Craig & Eva and their bus-load of wedding guests. It took about an hour to reach Lednice where we checked [haha again] into the hotel.
The only down-side to leaving Prague was that Mike now had my serious head cold - poor baby!
C & E had arranged a lovely dinner in an old wine cellar, and they kept the local wine flowing! We met some of their friends and had a really great night.
Wedding Day.
In keeping with the holiday theme of "Sleep, Nah, Who Needs It?" and with poor Mike feeling unwell, we didn't get too much rest. I'm pretty sure the wine from the night before had nothing to do with this! Mike and I wandered into Lednice in the morning and managed to find the only pharmacist in town - and god bless him, he could speak English. We loaded up on cold & flu products, did a quick stop at the local supermarket, and went back to the hotel. I managed to have a nap, and Mike had some quiet time with his book.
Then it was wedding time! We dolled up in our finery - Mike looked VERY spunky - and went to meet everyone downstairs. After wating for the thunder storm to pass, we all walked up the hill and across the road to the Lednice Chateau, an old house/castle/gorgeous old buidling & gardens. We had to wait a bit for the bride, and she arrived in a horse-drawn cart looking so happy and gorgeous I got a little teary.
The service was kinda funny - the local priest was trying to conduct the service in two langagues and bless him, he did a pretty good job. The poor man seemed embarassed about his english - but it was WAY better than my Czech! The sun came out and my heels kept slipping into the grass. Eventually I just dug them into the turf and then couldn't keep my balance! I ended up hobbling over to the path way and stood [well, more shifted-around-in-the-one-spot for a while] in the shade.
After the service I hobbled back down the hill to the hotel for the reception. I'd been warned by one of my buddies that heels and cobble-stones do not mix - she was right. I went up the elevator for a quick shoe change and, back downstairs, enjoyed heartily the champagne & finger food that was on offer until the happy coupld finished their photos, etc.
I have to say - I LOVE finger food! Even more than real food! There's just something about people offering you food from a platter, and balancing the glass of wine with the napkin, that really strikes a chord with me. There was lots of happy conversations, bubbly wine, yummy food, more wine, laughter, wine... A fab time.
When Eva & Craig arrived back, there was the ritual humiliation of Catching the Bouquet. I normally don't DO this sort of thing, but this time I thought, What the hell?, and wouldn't you know it... I caught it! Mike went a VERY interesting colour, and much joking followed.
Dinner was great, as was the beverage accompaniment. We shared a table with Patrick & Ann who we had met the night before, as well as John & Pauline, all from London. The speeches were funny, and we were completely full by the time we left.
For the first time in ages, and probably thanks to the copious amount of wine and ex-Soviet flu tablets, we had a really good night of sleep!
Day... Whatever We're Up To
Today we got up fairly early, packed up our stuff and left Lednice. Craig & Eva saw us off [they are SO in love it's really cute!], we caught a tiny-and-shaky train to Breclav and then on to Vienna. We DID have some Austrian police storm the train at the border - probably looking for football holigans - but it was pretty clear training to Vienna. We found a post office, sent our wedding clothes home, jumped on the metro, settled into our pension, and now we're out and about checking out Vienna [less funny when you;re not in Czech].
The Euro Cup final is being held here tomorrow, and the whole city is buzzing. There are about 15 gazillion people in supporters' gear wandering about, all of the bars are jam-packed with people singing rousing songs [mostly in German - maybe the Spaniards are arriving tomorrow], lots of police. Everyone seems so happy and excited, it's a good time to be here.
We have a half-plan of finding one of the Fan Zones tomorrow to watch the game, but only time will tell if this works out...
Lots of love to all, we miss you!
H
It's been a few days of jam-packed excitement, so here we go...
Prague day #3 was spent on a trip to St Nicholas church - wonderfully old and extravagant, then on to the Jewish Quarter for a more intensive look-see. Mike went on a tour of the old synagogues, and I went back to one of the garnet jewellry shops for a closer look.
As I was leaving the jewellry shop was when someone tried to pick-pocket stuff from my bag! I was about to cross the road when I heard one of the zippers on my bag moving, turned around and some %$@$ing chick was trying to rip me off. The outer zipper on the bag had been opened [thankfully, there wasn't anything in there apart from some free tourist maps, haha sucked in!] and she was trying to give me a little-miss-innocent face. Yeah, right. She even tried to sign-language to me that her jacket [oh-so casually held over her arm on the warmest day in 2008 - was I born yesterday?] had brushed up against my bag. As if! I was pretty shocked - you are told that this sort of thing happens but I had thought I was being careful so it wouldn't happen to me! So I chased after her for a few metres, yelling and waving my arms around - it was probably pretty funny for someone watching. I holed up in a cafe for Mike to finish his tour, and we did some more wandering. After dinner we went to the Absinthe Bar and Mike enjoyed some of the fine local product.
Now, when I'm walking around, I've started doing a kind-of swishing from side to side, trying to put any would-be thieves off. Bastards.
We really enjoyed our last day in Prague - wandering around some more in the old city, and I went on a solo expedition to try and find some baby sling fabric at local prices, for the special sling-wearers in my life. Unfortunately, the local prices included the 19% VAT, so it wasn't really worth it. [I may need to do a co-op shop when I get home.] I was pretty proud of myself for NOT getting lost and not getting robbed again. I made it back to the hotel, just in time to check [haha] out and jump on a metro train to the station [accompanied by The Ace of Spades - sometimes my i-pod has a delicious sense of timing. Like when I'm walking to work and it starts playing Queen's I've Got To Break Free] We jumped on an inter-city service to Brno, got a taxi to the airport and met up with Craig & Eva and their bus-load of wedding guests. It took about an hour to reach Lednice where we checked [haha again] into the hotel.
The only down-side to leaving Prague was that Mike now had my serious head cold - poor baby!
C & E had arranged a lovely dinner in an old wine cellar, and they kept the local wine flowing! We met some of their friends and had a really great night.
Wedding Day.
In keeping with the holiday theme of "Sleep, Nah, Who Needs It?" and with poor Mike feeling unwell, we didn't get too much rest. I'm pretty sure the wine from the night before had nothing to do with this! Mike and I wandered into Lednice in the morning and managed to find the only pharmacist in town - and god bless him, he could speak English. We loaded up on cold & flu products, did a quick stop at the local supermarket, and went back to the hotel. I managed to have a nap, and Mike had some quiet time with his book.
Then it was wedding time! We dolled up in our finery - Mike looked VERY spunky - and went to meet everyone downstairs. After wating for the thunder storm to pass, we all walked up the hill and across the road to the Lednice Chateau, an old house/castle/gorgeous old buidling & gardens. We had to wait a bit for the bride, and she arrived in a horse-drawn cart looking so happy and gorgeous I got a little teary.
The service was kinda funny - the local priest was trying to conduct the service in two langagues and bless him, he did a pretty good job. The poor man seemed embarassed about his english - but it was WAY better than my Czech! The sun came out and my heels kept slipping into the grass. Eventually I just dug them into the turf and then couldn't keep my balance! I ended up hobbling over to the path way and stood [well, more shifted-around-in-the-one-spot for a while] in the shade.
After the service I hobbled back down the hill to the hotel for the reception. I'd been warned by one of my buddies that heels and cobble-stones do not mix - she was right. I went up the elevator for a quick shoe change and, back downstairs, enjoyed heartily the champagne & finger food that was on offer until the happy coupld finished their photos, etc.
I have to say - I LOVE finger food! Even more than real food! There's just something about people offering you food from a platter, and balancing the glass of wine with the napkin, that really strikes a chord with me. There was lots of happy conversations, bubbly wine, yummy food, more wine, laughter, wine... A fab time.
When Eva & Craig arrived back, there was the ritual humiliation of Catching the Bouquet. I normally don't DO this sort of thing, but this time I thought, What the hell?, and wouldn't you know it... I caught it! Mike went a VERY interesting colour, and much joking followed.
Dinner was great, as was the beverage accompaniment. We shared a table with Patrick & Ann who we had met the night before, as well as John & Pauline, all from London. The speeches were funny, and we were completely full by the time we left.
For the first time in ages, and probably thanks to the copious amount of wine and ex-Soviet flu tablets, we had a really good night of sleep!
Day... Whatever We're Up To
Today we got up fairly early, packed up our stuff and left Lednice. Craig & Eva saw us off [they are SO in love it's really cute!], we caught a tiny-and-shaky train to Breclav and then on to Vienna. We DID have some Austrian police storm the train at the border - probably looking for football holigans - but it was pretty clear training to Vienna. We found a post office, sent our wedding clothes home, jumped on the metro, settled into our pension, and now we're out and about checking out Vienna [less funny when you;re not in Czech].
The Euro Cup final is being held here tomorrow, and the whole city is buzzing. There are about 15 gazillion people in supporters' gear wandering about, all of the bars are jam-packed with people singing rousing songs [mostly in German - maybe the Spaniards are arriving tomorrow], lots of police. Everyone seems so happy and excited, it's a good time to be here.
We have a half-plan of finding one of the Fan Zones tomorrow to watch the game, but only time will tell if this works out...
Lots of love to all, we miss you!
H
Tuesday 24 June 2008
Day 11
Hi all, we're still in Prague, and it is truly a beautiful city. Again, we didn't get much sleep last night, so the morning started at a leisurely pace again. A quick breakfast in the hotel, then a trip to Marks & Spencers and Tesco for a few basics. [I didn't get it a Tesco's, okay?!]
We started a walking tour from the top of Wenceslas Square, hearing more about the history of Prague and the Czeck Republic. Lots of interesting facts, like... the area known as New Town (as compared to Old Town) was actually founded in the 14th Century? Jeez, these Czechs have a well-developed sense of irony. Also, in honour of her upcoming visit, we learned that the name Condeleeza translates to two Czeck words meaning "to lick" and an area of the female body. Many here consider this to be very apt, as they protest the proposed opening of a US military base here.
We've been wandering about in the Old Town centre (actually VERY old, from the 9th century) and the Jewish Quarter, home of the old jewish ghetto, 7 synagogues and a 12-deep cemetary. We'll probably spend more time there tomorrow.
The plan for tonight is to wander about the centre of town some more, grab some dinner and head to the Absinth Palace. Blue flames all around tonight.
We started a walking tour from the top of Wenceslas Square, hearing more about the history of Prague and the Czeck Republic. Lots of interesting facts, like... the area known as New Town (as compared to Old Town) was actually founded in the 14th Century? Jeez, these Czechs have a well-developed sense of irony. Also, in honour of her upcoming visit, we learned that the name Condeleeza translates to two Czeck words meaning "to lick" and an area of the female body. Many here consider this to be very apt, as they protest the proposed opening of a US military base here.
We've been wandering about in the Old Town centre (actually VERY old, from the 9th century) and the Jewish Quarter, home of the old jewish ghetto, 7 synagogues and a 12-deep cemetary. We'll probably spend more time there tomorrow.
The plan for tonight is to wander about the centre of town some more, grab some dinner and head to the Absinth Palace. Blue flames all around tonight.
Monday 23 June 2008
Prague the Brave
Day 10
(I know this may be a little disjointed - sorry! If I wait until I've caught up, you'll never hear from me!)
Today was our first full day in Prague. M hadn't had a great night's sleep, so we took it easy this morning and make a slow start. We enjoyed our hotel breakfast and got going.
It took a little while to find an open ticket window - we wanted to get the 3-day-All-In-One metro travel ticket, so it took a little wandering about. Finally found one, and the odd little sales guy had some basic English which made life so much easier. We caught the tram up the hill to the Prague Castle (and surrounds), grabbed the audio tour thingies (after being stuck in a queue behind U.S. pensioners - what IS it with these people? How can they be so deliberately dumb?) and set off.
The Cathedral was AMAZING. I'm not normally a church kind of person - too many lost hours in school - but this place was astounding. Lots of little chapels off the main church dedicated to "one of the most important saints in Czech history" - all of them - and the most eye-popping tomb of the lot was only about 4 tonnes of silver. Crikey.
Interesting Lesson From History - Don't Be An Over-Interfering Mother-In-Law.
Queen Ludmilla was married to the first Catholic king of the Czech empire, and took her own conversion pretty seriously. When hubby died, she kept pretty active in state politics & religion, and took over the education and religious instruction of her young grandson Wenceslas (who whould later be remembered by having his own Christmas carol and be killed by his brother - you win some, you lose some.) This didn't sit too weel with her young pagan daughter-in-law, the new Queen. After a few years of the Dowager Lumdilla throwing her weight around, Queenie was so pissed off that she send assassins to get rid of Ludmilla. She was choked with her own rosary beads! The lesson in this is - sometimes, it's important to know when to stop. I hope this story warms the heart of all daughters-in-law who have ever had to grit their teeth and smile. (Mind you, I've never had to do that myself, having been blessed with a lovely MIL - Hi Joy!)
The Castle grounds are massive, and include the Cathedral, Presidential Palace, other random palaces for nobility, and few towers & ramparts, a quirky little place called Golden Lane [full of tourist shops] and a cross-bow gallery. M was the most accomplished person to take on the cross-bow challenge, just as one would expect from such a spunky lad.
The funniest part was the Hats Through History display, showing various military millenry throughout Europe and time - kinda funny.
Duinner was at a cute little bistro full of locals, the only bummer being the lack of smoke-free dining spaces. Again, chain-smoking locals making their presence felt.
Sweet dreams, all!
(I know this may be a little disjointed - sorry! If I wait until I've caught up, you'll never hear from me!)
Today was our first full day in Prague. M hadn't had a great night's sleep, so we took it easy this morning and make a slow start. We enjoyed our hotel breakfast and got going.
It took a little while to find an open ticket window - we wanted to get the 3-day-All-In-One metro travel ticket, so it took a little wandering about. Finally found one, and the odd little sales guy had some basic English which made life so much easier. We caught the tram up the hill to the Prague Castle (and surrounds), grabbed the audio tour thingies (after being stuck in a queue behind U.S. pensioners - what IS it with these people? How can they be so deliberately dumb?) and set off.
The Cathedral was AMAZING. I'm not normally a church kind of person - too many lost hours in school - but this place was astounding. Lots of little chapels off the main church dedicated to "one of the most important saints in Czech history" - all of them - and the most eye-popping tomb of the lot was only about 4 tonnes of silver. Crikey.
Interesting Lesson From History - Don't Be An Over-Interfering Mother-In-Law.
Queen Ludmilla was married to the first Catholic king of the Czech empire, and took her own conversion pretty seriously. When hubby died, she kept pretty active in state politics & religion, and took over the education and religious instruction of her young grandson Wenceslas (who whould later be remembered by having his own Christmas carol and be killed by his brother - you win some, you lose some.) This didn't sit too weel with her young pagan daughter-in-law, the new Queen. After a few years of the Dowager Lumdilla throwing her weight around, Queenie was so pissed off that she send assassins to get rid of Ludmilla. She was choked with her own rosary beads! The lesson in this is - sometimes, it's important to know when to stop. I hope this story warms the heart of all daughters-in-law who have ever had to grit their teeth and smile. (Mind you, I've never had to do that myself, having been blessed with a lovely MIL - Hi Joy!)
The Castle grounds are massive, and include the Cathedral, Presidential Palace, other random palaces for nobility, and few towers & ramparts, a quirky little place called Golden Lane [full of tourist shops] and a cross-bow gallery. M was the most accomplished person to take on the cross-bow challenge, just as one would expect from such a spunky lad.
The funniest part was the Hats Through History display, showing various military millenry throughout Europe and time - kinda funny.
Duinner was at a cute little bistro full of locals, the only bummer being the lack of smoke-free dining spaces. Again, chain-smoking locals making their presence felt.
Sweet dreams, all!
Retro Post
Hi guys,
It's been far too long - my apologies! This will be the retro post, containing all the time-up-until now...
Day 1 - Fri 13th-Sat 14th
We FINALLY left Sydney on Friday night, after spending too many hours in the Qantas lounge. The food was great (a little too good - see later) but things did start to wane after 4 hours.
As for the flight, all I can say is - SEVEN SICK BAGS. I was so ill, the Qantas staff ended up asking me if I wanted to sleep in the staff area. I would sleep for a while, wake up, puke for a bit, cry, then fall asleep again. Not much fun. Things were better for a while after we landed in Bangkok, until we had to walk past the smokers' lounge (aka Cancer Club) then the horrible pattern recommenced.
The less said about this time in my life, the better. We finally landed in London (puke bag number 8 as we taxied to the terminal - even the guy travelling with a wife in a wheelchair and four kids was giving me sympathy looks), took forever to clear customs and were met by Grant. This wonderful man drove us all the way to his house and left me alone so I could get some sleep. I was feeling pretty seedy, so I just said a brief hello to Cath and fell asleep.
After a few hours, we ate a wonderful lunch (have I mentioned that Grant & Cath are fabulous hosts?), then Mike and I went for a wander. We got a lift to the local station and caught the train to London central. Lots of Mike making little happy noises. We stopped in the Covent Garden area, did a quick lap of the London Transport Museum, saw a nude bike ride (more riders but less colour than the Sydney version we've been involved with), wandered around and went to a local Lush shop - the first time the smell has ever been too strong for a die-hard ike me. Then we met G&C in Chiswick, near where Mike used to live. Lovely pub dinner, home again home again, jiggety jig.
In this time, more blood tests performed than in the whole rest of my life, or so it felt! Fell into a blissful sleep with a snnffle and start of a cold...
Day 2
London tourist day. We made an early start - both still jet-lagged! - and went in search of an English breakfast. No luck here (everyone else had the sense to sleep in!), but we did find a place that promised "Antipodean coffee". Tasted pretty good, too! We made it to Buck Palace and saw the Changing of the Guard - a bunch of dudes march in, yell at another buncgh of dudes already there for a bit, then the old dudes march out. Very Pomp & Circumstance, but pretty cool. From there, we wandered through St James's Park to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street. There was a Normandy Landing memorial parade happening, so the streets were pretty full of veterans and security guards. Stupid George stupid W stpid was due in town, so most of the areas close to No 10 were locked down.
We saw the Horse Guards on duty - the horses were huge, but very tolerant of the hordes of tourists! Then we hopped on a red double-deckered bus tour and saw some of the sights. As with most old cities (I'm guessing!), there are HEAPS of stories to be told about this part of the world.
We stopped off at the Tower of London after crossing Tower Bridge. Fromt he outside, it looks like a pile of rocks on a hill - whoop de doop. But I was amazed when we went inside and saw all the amazing stuff that is actually there! We were shown around by an actual Beefeater (and yes, Goodies fans, they do eat beef). We checked out the crown jewels and I personally want to put any of the Cullinar diamonds on my Christmas wish list.
Back on the bus, we hopped off near Cleopatra's Needle, the oldest monument in London. It's only been in England for the last few hundred years, but it's about a gazillion years old. We walked across Jubilee Bridge and jumped on the London Eye - a whopping great big Ferris Wheel that takes about 20 minutes to do one full revolution. The view was, as you would expect, pretty amazing. Seeing the sun set over the houses of arliament was also pretty cool.
We then hot-footed it back to Covent Garden and met up with Mike's mates. Craig and Eva were there, and it was grat to finally meet them. They'de had their civil wedding ceremony the day before, so they were still all a-glow and giving each other goofy grins. Also making an appearance were Peter and Mark, some of Mike's London mates.
Mark gave us a lift back to Hanwell, with his GPS giving us an interesting tour of the back streets of west London - perhaps it was dizzy? Another night of being sound asleep...
It's been far too long - my apologies! This will be the retro post, containing all the time-up-until now...
Day 1 - Fri 13th-Sat 14th
We FINALLY left Sydney on Friday night, after spending too many hours in the Qantas lounge. The food was great (a little too good - see later) but things did start to wane after 4 hours.
As for the flight, all I can say is - SEVEN SICK BAGS. I was so ill, the Qantas staff ended up asking me if I wanted to sleep in the staff area. I would sleep for a while, wake up, puke for a bit, cry, then fall asleep again. Not much fun. Things were better for a while after we landed in Bangkok, until we had to walk past the smokers' lounge (aka Cancer Club) then the horrible pattern recommenced.
The less said about this time in my life, the better. We finally landed in London (puke bag number 8 as we taxied to the terminal - even the guy travelling with a wife in a wheelchair and four kids was giving me sympathy looks), took forever to clear customs and were met by Grant. This wonderful man drove us all the way to his house and left me alone so I could get some sleep. I was feeling pretty seedy, so I just said a brief hello to Cath and fell asleep.
After a few hours, we ate a wonderful lunch (have I mentioned that Grant & Cath are fabulous hosts?), then Mike and I went for a wander. We got a lift to the local station and caught the train to London central. Lots of Mike making little happy noises. We stopped in the Covent Garden area, did a quick lap of the London Transport Museum, saw a nude bike ride (more riders but less colour than the Sydney version we've been involved with), wandered around and went to a local Lush shop - the first time the smell has ever been too strong for a die-hard ike me. Then we met G&C in Chiswick, near where Mike used to live. Lovely pub dinner, home again home again, jiggety jig.
In this time, more blood tests performed than in the whole rest of my life, or so it felt! Fell into a blissful sleep with a snnffle and start of a cold...
Day 2
London tourist day. We made an early start - both still jet-lagged! - and went in search of an English breakfast. No luck here (everyone else had the sense to sleep in!), but we did find a place that promised "Antipodean coffee". Tasted pretty good, too! We made it to Buck Palace and saw the Changing of the Guard - a bunch of dudes march in, yell at another buncgh of dudes already there for a bit, then the old dudes march out. Very Pomp & Circumstance, but pretty cool. From there, we wandered through St James's Park to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street. There was a Normandy Landing memorial parade happening, so the streets were pretty full of veterans and security guards. Stupid George stupid W stpid was due in town, so most of the areas close to No 10 were locked down.
We saw the Horse Guards on duty - the horses were huge, but very tolerant of the hordes of tourists! Then we hopped on a red double-deckered bus tour and saw some of the sights. As with most old cities (I'm guessing!), there are HEAPS of stories to be told about this part of the world.
We stopped off at the Tower of London after crossing Tower Bridge. Fromt he outside, it looks like a pile of rocks on a hill - whoop de doop. But I was amazed when we went inside and saw all the amazing stuff that is actually there! We were shown around by an actual Beefeater (and yes, Goodies fans, they do eat beef). We checked out the crown jewels and I personally want to put any of the Cullinar diamonds on my Christmas wish list.
Back on the bus, we hopped off near Cleopatra's Needle, the oldest monument in London. It's only been in England for the last few hundred years, but it's about a gazillion years old. We walked across Jubilee Bridge and jumped on the London Eye - a whopping great big Ferris Wheel that takes about 20 minutes to do one full revolution. The view was, as you would expect, pretty amazing. Seeing the sun set over the houses of arliament was also pretty cool.
We then hot-footed it back to Covent Garden and met up with Mike's mates. Craig and Eva were there, and it was grat to finally meet them. They'de had their civil wedding ceremony the day before, so they were still all a-glow and giving each other goofy grins. Also making an appearance were Peter and Mark, some of Mike's London mates.
Mark gave us a lift back to Hanwell, with his GPS giving us an interesting tour of the back streets of west London - perhaps it was dizzy? Another night of being sound asleep...
Friday 13 June 2008
Still Here...
Yes it's true, we're still here!! By now we should have been sitting in the Qantas lounge enjoying a quiet ale and a snack before boarding. But they had other ideas!!!
It all started this morning when Helen received a call from the airline saying that our flight had been delayed by three and a half hours! (They couldn't tell us why either?) So now it's just a case of waiting for the cab to arrive at the later time of 1600 for a 2030 flight.
What I want to know is - what would happen when we rock up to the Check in Desk at Sydney Airport and say "since you've made us wait, how about an upgrade?" You all realise that this means less time at the other end for sightseeing, I have a list a mile long of places to visit, eg Paddington, Marylebone, Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross etc also Helen wants to go shopping at Lush in Covent Garden so I guess that means I'll just have to amuse myself at the London Transport Museum...
M
It all started this morning when Helen received a call from the airline saying that our flight had been delayed by three and a half hours! (They couldn't tell us why either?) So now it's just a case of waiting for the cab to arrive at the later time of 1600 for a 2030 flight.
What I want to know is - what would happen when we rock up to the Check in Desk at Sydney Airport and say "since you've made us wait, how about an upgrade?" You all realise that this means less time at the other end for sightseeing, I have a list a mile long of places to visit, eg Paddington, Marylebone, Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross etc also Helen wants to go shopping at Lush in Covent Garden so I guess that means I'll just have to amuse myself at the London Transport Museum...
M
Thursday 12 June 2008
Leaving, On A Jet Plane
Hello all, I've been off work this week, and I could really get used to this life! Waking up without the alarm, wandering around the house in my jammies, ding house work because I feel like it, not because I have to... ah, the freedom! Plus the knowledge that I'm not only being paid to enjoy this luxury, but I'M GETTING PAID EXTRA TO STAY AT HOME!! Heavens bless the public service, is all I can say! Leave loading is truly a gift from the goddesses.
We're received a number of questions from family, friends & loved ones about our travel plans - here are some of the answers:
Q: What time are you flying out?
A: Our flight leaves at 1700, Friday, (Sydney time). We'll be enjoying the wonderful Qantas club before our flight.
Q: How are you getting to the airport?
A: Taxi. When two people are travelling, it's actually cheaper than going by rail. Plus, they pick you up at your door!
Q: How long is your flight?
A: 23 hours flying time, but only 14 hours in clock time. We arrive at about 7am Saturday, London time.
Q: Are you excited? You must be excited!
A: Yes, we are. Heck, Yes!
Q: Has Mike already been to all the places you're visiting?
A: Yes, except for Heidelberg. It's good, though, that the two places we're staying for the longest, Prague and Vienna, he hasn't spent much time in.
Q: What the heck is a Belgian Dip? Is your dad really from Bruge?
A: These are references to one of my all-time favourite movies series, the Austin Powers films. In one scene, Dr Evil is having a frothy milk drink and gets froth all over his nose. He calls this a Belgian Dip. In another scene, he offers Mini Me some belgian chocolates, saying, "They're from Bruge - that's where daddy [himself] is from". Yes, it's a little weird to be making such a specific reference, but dammit, it's my blog!
Q: Why Belgium?
A: We're big fans of Belgian beer & chocolate. I'm really hoping to be able to find a drink of one of my favourite cherry beers, the Boon Kriek - it's like drinking liquid silk. You say Why, I say Why Not?
Q: How can we contact you while you're away?
A: Although we will have our phones with us, that you can just dial the regular number to be connected, the international roaming rates are REALLY expensive. Email is best. SMS if you need to.
Q: Do you have a letter from you doctor to be able to travel with your insulin? Are you taking spares?
A: Yes and Yes. We have our travelling-with-a-diabetic routine down pat by now, so it's all sorted. I even got this cute little sharps container to take travelling - it snips the needle part off the syringe so you only have a tiny amount of contaminated waste - fabulous! It looks like a little hole-punch, and it should be really easy to carry.
Lots still to do before departure tomorrow! We're compiling all of the copies-of-everything sheets for people to hold for us and to take as backup... more complicated than you may think.
One more sleep to go...
We're received a number of questions from family, friends & loved ones about our travel plans - here are some of the answers:
Q: What time are you flying out?
A: Our flight leaves at 1700, Friday, (Sydney time). We'll be enjoying the wonderful Qantas club before our flight.
Q: How are you getting to the airport?
A: Taxi. When two people are travelling, it's actually cheaper than going by rail. Plus, they pick you up at your door!
Q: How long is your flight?
A: 23 hours flying time, but only 14 hours in clock time. We arrive at about 7am Saturday, London time.
Q: Are you excited? You must be excited!
A: Yes, we are. Heck, Yes!
Q: Has Mike already been to all the places you're visiting?
A: Yes, except for Heidelberg. It's good, though, that the two places we're staying for the longest, Prague and Vienna, he hasn't spent much time in.
Q: What the heck is a Belgian Dip? Is your dad really from Bruge?
A: These are references to one of my all-time favourite movies series, the Austin Powers films. In one scene, Dr Evil is having a frothy milk drink and gets froth all over his nose. He calls this a Belgian Dip. In another scene, he offers Mini Me some belgian chocolates, saying, "They're from Bruge - that's where daddy [himself] is from". Yes, it's a little weird to be making such a specific reference, but dammit, it's my blog!
Q: Why Belgium?
A: We're big fans of Belgian beer & chocolate. I'm really hoping to be able to find a drink of one of my favourite cherry beers, the Boon Kriek - it's like drinking liquid silk. You say Why, I say Why Not?
Q: How can we contact you while you're away?
A: Although we will have our phones with us, that you can just dial the regular number to be connected, the international roaming rates are REALLY expensive. Email is best. SMS if you need to.
Q: Do you have a letter from you doctor to be able to travel with your insulin? Are you taking spares?
A: Yes and Yes. We have our travelling-with-a-diabetic routine down pat by now, so it's all sorted. I even got this cute little sharps container to take travelling - it snips the needle part off the syringe so you only have a tiny amount of contaminated waste - fabulous! It looks like a little hole-punch, and it should be really easy to carry.
Lots still to do before departure tomorrow! We're compiling all of the copies-of-everything sheets for people to hold for us and to take as backup... more complicated than you may think.
One more sleep to go...
Thursday 5 June 2008
Hi ho, off to Prague we go
Greetings gentle reader, and welcome back to the Helen & Mike travel extravaganza. We're off on another whirlwind trip, and it's going to be so much fun I can hardly say.
The basic itinerary is:
Sydney
London
York
Brussels
Kirchlengern (near Hannover)
Prague
Lednice (In the south of the Czech Republic, site of the wedding that is the point of this trip!)
Vienna
Heidelberg
Frankfurt
London
Back home to Sydney for Helen - Mike is staying in London for a few extra days with another side trip to York.
Whooee!
We will of course be making extensive use of the European public transport network. The type that runs on rails, that is. Mike is super-experienced at this sort of thing, so he's been in charge of booking transport. I have a thing for looking at hotels online, so I've been the Accommodation Girl Friday.
Trip highlights/aims include:
* Qantas club. The best part is when they come around and bring you drinks.
* Visiting Lush shops in London. Everyone needs a hobby, okay?!?
* Visiting a curry house in Brick Lane. It gives H&M something to talk about over their frequent curry dinners at home.
* Visiting the Mallard steam Locomotive. It's like cat nip for train geeks.
* Seeing Grant & Cath again, hopefully hanging with them a bit in London.
* Drinking LOTS of beer in Belgium.
* Eating LOTS of chocolate in Belgium.
* Looking at LOTS of lace in Belgium, possibly collecting pictures/books for Helen's mum.
* Visiting Bruge, saying "That's where daddy's from" at least fifteen times (Austin Powers reference) and having a Belgian Dip - dunking my nose in a big frothy white hot chocolate. Photos to follow, I promise.
* Visiting Claudia, Christophe and kids, finally getting to meet them in person.
* Learning how to pronounce "Kirchlengern" properly, learning if there should be an umlaut in there somewhere.
* Birkenstock shopping. I am SO loving the exchange rate at the moment.
* Staying on Wenceslas Square in Prague, exploring the Old Town.
* Sling shopping in Prague - it's sale time, didn't you know?
* Visiting castles - Really looking forward to this part, maybe it's the result of all those fairy tales as a child, where the fair maiden is rescued by the handsome prince. Maybe it will have dungeons! And a tower! And a dragon! And a moat! Cool!
* Meeting Craig and Eva, hopefully before we front up at their wedding. It's only been the once that I've had to the "Hi, I'm Helen, nice to meet you, have a nice wedding, better go since the bride's just arrived" conversation, but I suppose that worked out okay.
* Eating LOTS of yummy tortes in Vienna.
* Eating LOTS of yummy schnitzel in Vienna.
* Wandering around LOTS in Vienna.
* Going to somewhere as unexpected as Heidelberg and just checking it out.
* Coming home, chilling out, then getting my ass to the gym to work off the beer, chocolates, wedding cake, tortes & schnitzel. Trying to achieve this BEFORE I have to see my dietician again, mostly to avoid that disappointed look you get when people really WISH they could tell you off, but know it's pretty pointless.
Post-trip aims include:
* Becoming an aunty for the fourth time, organising a baby shower for my sister before said niece/nephew arrives. She hasn't had one before (a baby shower, that is), so this seems like as good a time as any.
* Getting a damn clothes dryer. A girl's got to have goals, hasn't she?
Anyway, that's the plan. I still have to survive one more day at work - roster day, so I'll probably be running around like a mad woman and end up looking like I've stuck my finger in a power socket, my hair standing out from my head in every which direction. Then it's a long weekend here in Oz (hooray! DVD fest!) and I get a whole week to relax, intend to do housework but probably won't actually do it until the last minute (as Shakespeare said, Know Thyself), pack my bag, unpack my bag because I need the stuff I've packed, re-pack my bag, wait for pay day, go and buy more stuff to take, try to stuff all things into my bag, have to re-pack and take half the stuff out... This could go on for quite some time... Catch up with friends before we go, etc. etc.
More to follow, and I hope we all enjoy the trip!
H&M
The basic itinerary is:
Sydney
London
York
Brussels
Kirchlengern (near Hannover)
Prague
Lednice (In the south of the Czech Republic, site of the wedding that is the point of this trip!)
Vienna
Heidelberg
Frankfurt
London
Back home to Sydney for Helen - Mike is staying in London for a few extra days with another side trip to York.
Whooee!
We will of course be making extensive use of the European public transport network. The type that runs on rails, that is. Mike is super-experienced at this sort of thing, so he's been in charge of booking transport. I have a thing for looking at hotels online, so I've been the Accommodation Girl Friday.
Trip highlights/aims include:
* Qantas club. The best part is when they come around and bring you drinks.
* Visiting Lush shops in London. Everyone needs a hobby, okay?!?
* Visiting a curry house in Brick Lane. It gives H&M something to talk about over their frequent curry dinners at home.
* Visiting the Mallard steam Locomotive. It's like cat nip for train geeks.
* Seeing Grant & Cath again, hopefully hanging with them a bit in London.
* Drinking LOTS of beer in Belgium.
* Eating LOTS of chocolate in Belgium.
* Looking at LOTS of lace in Belgium, possibly collecting pictures/books for Helen's mum.
* Visiting Bruge, saying "That's where daddy's from" at least fifteen times (Austin Powers reference) and having a Belgian Dip - dunking my nose in a big frothy white hot chocolate. Photos to follow, I promise.
* Visiting Claudia, Christophe and kids, finally getting to meet them in person.
* Learning how to pronounce "Kirchlengern" properly, learning if there should be an umlaut in there somewhere.
* Birkenstock shopping. I am SO loving the exchange rate at the moment.
* Staying on Wenceslas Square in Prague, exploring the Old Town.
* Sling shopping in Prague - it's sale time, didn't you know?
* Visiting castles - Really looking forward to this part, maybe it's the result of all those fairy tales as a child, where the fair maiden is rescued by the handsome prince. Maybe it will have dungeons! And a tower! And a dragon! And a moat! Cool!
* Meeting Craig and Eva, hopefully before we front up at their wedding. It's only been the once that I've had to the "Hi, I'm Helen, nice to meet you, have a nice wedding, better go since the bride's just arrived" conversation, but I suppose that worked out okay.
* Eating LOTS of yummy tortes in Vienna.
* Eating LOTS of yummy schnitzel in Vienna.
* Wandering around LOTS in Vienna.
* Going to somewhere as unexpected as Heidelberg and just checking it out.
* Coming home, chilling out, then getting my ass to the gym to work off the beer, chocolates, wedding cake, tortes & schnitzel. Trying to achieve this BEFORE I have to see my dietician again, mostly to avoid that disappointed look you get when people really WISH they could tell you off, but know it's pretty pointless.
Post-trip aims include:
* Becoming an aunty for the fourth time, organising a baby shower for my sister before said niece/nephew arrives. She hasn't had one before (a baby shower, that is), so this seems like as good a time as any.
* Getting a damn clothes dryer. A girl's got to have goals, hasn't she?
Anyway, that's the plan. I still have to survive one more day at work - roster day, so I'll probably be running around like a mad woman and end up looking like I've stuck my finger in a power socket, my hair standing out from my head in every which direction. Then it's a long weekend here in Oz (hooray! DVD fest!) and I get a whole week to relax, intend to do housework but probably won't actually do it until the last minute (as Shakespeare said, Know Thyself), pack my bag, unpack my bag because I need the stuff I've packed, re-pack my bag, wait for pay day, go and buy more stuff to take, try to stuff all things into my bag, have to re-pack and take half the stuff out... This could go on for quite some time... Catch up with friends before we go, etc. etc.
More to follow, and I hope we all enjoy the trip!
H&M
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