Chocolat

This morning started with a sleep in, courtesy of constant rain.
While the rain has been forecast, our luck to date has brought predominantly clear weather.  Today, our luck ran out.


Yesterday we stopped at the local Netto store - a convenience store across the road from the hostel and bought some staples to see us through breakfast.  The breakfast available here is very basic for the cost.  As we ate today, we are planning the rest of the day.  The weather is bleak and has cooled considerably


There is still a lot to see, so we decide to purchase one of the Hop On Hop Off bus tickets.  There is a stop right outside the hostel, but the street is very congested and is in a state of road-building.
When the bus arrives, there is a large delivery truck blocking the end of the road and it eventually falls to the polis (police) to move it on so that traffic, including our bus, can traverse the street.

Copenhagen is congested with traffic at all times of the day, and when you add the one real constant - bicycles, and the significant road works currently being undertaken, it is slow going through the City.
In the inclement weather, we ride for a full circuit on the bus, getting an idea of what we can still achieve in the time we have.  Normally a 90 minute trip, it takes almost 2 hours to complete.

The tour presents the many faces of Copenhagen - the proud, old history of the Danish kingdom, the strong military life that accompanies this.  The alternate lifestyles and the growing striking architecture of  a modern city.

There are lots of statues celebrating and commemorating important personage and notable events. Then there are the quirky, including, notes Donna, "the only bike that doesn't actually work!"

One full circuit done, we arrive back at the hostel street, this time to find it blocked by an ambulance. Even when one of the paramedics appears after about 8 minutes waiting, he was in no real hurry to make space for the now impatient traffic jam.

We have agreed that we will hop off here and walk back into the City area and go to the Guinness World Record attraction.  I was hoping that we might find reference to Maryborough's 'Most People on a Pub Crawl' record, but no such luck.  In fact, we are decidely underwhelmed by this 'attraction'. It is tired, dusty, very 1970s and with many mistakes in translations etc.

However, once outside and just across the street, our spirits are lifted when we find the Hotel Chocolat and its Café with the motto 'It's all about Cocoa'!  A cold chocolate drink - mine blood orange based and Donna's, mint, and some chocolates soon cheered us up.

Back outside, the drizzle is setting in again and as the early evening light is creeping in, we return to the relative comfort of our room, we set about planning the stops we will make from the Hop On Hop Off bus tomorrow to maximise our time left in Copenhagen.  We plan to visit a different part of the City than where we have concentrated thus far.

Moving house can be cathartic

Being on holidays means that you can don't need to watch the clock.
We rise later today and enjoy breakfast on our own.
I get chatting with the hotel owner. Turns out that he has operated the hotel since the death of his father in 1975 and he had followed his father into the hotel business. The building is a former farm and only dates back to the 1870's - so quite new by European standards.

Before going over to Steph and Felix's we head back up the hill to visit the Burg Hohenrechberg ruins. Only they aren't. Ruins that is. Well, there are some parts in ruin, but there is a great part of it that is not in ruin, and more is being restored.Driving up from below, the runious side is more evident, but when you get up to the site, you immediately see how much has escaped damage, and is being restored.

A castle on this site dates back to the 13th Century, with what is now standing built between 1599 and 1648.  This was a prime defensive spot with views across the surrounding territories for hundreds of kms. 


The remains are in remarkably good condition, a testament to good materials and great workmanship - and with none of today's modern tools!
The defensive tower with it's hoarding still stands, complete with gun slits, cannon portals and murder holes!  How barbaric we can be when we feel threatened. The timbers holding the tower roof are all original and remind Michael of the tower roofs of the great cathedrals across Europe. Whole trees are used in

the support poles and even the bracing.  Where parts of the castle are missing, etchings show how it would have been in operation - the kitchen must have been a sight to behold! There are pieces of fancy masonry showing that even back then, we ladies like to have pretty things to show our status!

Back at Steph and Felix's, the packing for the move continues. They are super excited at the moment as today the kitchen starts to be fitted. Many months ago Steph asked me whether she should get a steam oven and of course I said yes!

Today, Felix is on leave for the next week to help with the packing.  Lunch is huge to feed the working men - leftover chicken and strawberries with veges from yesterday and Maultaschen (rolled or folded pasta bags with a hearty filling of meat, spinach, onion and soaked stale bread) and Kartoffelsalat (potato salad).

Getting ready to move to a new home provides the opportunity to cleanse the family of gathered 'stuff'! Both Steph and Felix are being very strong.  BUT, then there is Felix's Trekky memorabilia.He gladly gives up the VCR and tapes, but is having trouble letting go of his large poster.  And to his delight Niklas claims it for his bedroom. This results in a cuddle and "Mein son" being warmly exclaimed!!

I'm flaking fast and just after 2 head back to the Hotel for a sleep.  There are a lot of people having lunch in the courtyard, and even though I have no appetite, it smells wonderful.  We have booked in to have dinner here tomorrow night - so will have to curb my food intake to allow for ample indulgence!

Michael stays to help Steph and Felix fill more boxes, coming back down to the hotel just after 6 pm.
Dinner too smells amazing - but neither of us is hungry!  Plenty of people are dining which promises well for dinner tomorrow.

Canterbury Tales and family connected

The morning sunshine heralds a beautiful day ahead - well, at least for the next two hours. We amble downstairs for breakfast where we are greeted by Tim...ah, he is the relief Chef. Austin has today off and after the incredible dinners he has prepared for us, we forgive his absence. However, Tim prepares our hot breakfasts, presenting me with two gloriously poached eggs and Michael a hearty 'full English'!

With breakfast out of the way, we make our way onto the main street to watch the scheduled Rememberence Day March prior to the service. And I stress here the march and service were scheduled. It's 10:35 so I make my way to the church, while Michael heads down to the High Street in readiness for the march. I wait and wait at the church, 10:40 has passed when the march was to commence - but, there are no sounds of a band or presence of the local Constabulary. Anyhow, Michael returns just as perplexed stating that "there's nobody around for the parade?". It is somewhat of a mystery as Michael had asked at the post office earlier about details of the parade, and was told the ceremony was to commence at 10:40.... Anyhow, we entered the church and paid our respects to the fallen in our own quiet way.

We admire the church's architecture and fixtures. It is indeed a wonder at the history of many of Englands' houses of worship, and here at St Mary the Virgin is no exception. There is a list of all the Vicars, Rectors and Provosts who have ministered at this church from 1228 to the present. Within the churchs' eastern transept is a monument commemorating a family of note - the Oxinden's - the monument was erected in 1682! And in the true spirit of christianity, the Anglican Parish shares its church with the local Catholics who celebrate Mass here each Sunday.

Time is marching on so we return to the Dog Inn to get the car and head for Canterbury. Now, the Dog Inn is one of two once identical buildings that stand side by side on the road from Wingham to Canterbury - and they date back to 1286! By this time the clear skies become shrouded by clouds, and no sooner are we on our way it is evident that rain is imminent. Canterbury is only seven miles (11 kms) from Wingham and we travel along the narrow roads which ribbon through the countryside.

Arriving at Canterbury our first stop is at the ruins of Canterbury Castle, and although the rain has begun to drizzle, this does not stop us from exploring this celebrated monument. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror marched hastily through Kent to Canterbury. In October 1066, Canterbury was the first town to submit without resistence. To consolidate his power, William ordered the construction of royal castles at Dover, Canterbury and Rochester. These castles were initially built from timber upon the 'motte-and-bailey' configuration and only much later the castles were rebuilt in stone.

All that remains of the castle today is a section of the perimeter wall and the keep. However, in the 'minds-eye', one can visualise the enormity of the structure. Eventually rebuilt with three storeys and enclosed within a bastion wall, the importance of the castle diminished by becoming overshadowed by Henry II's larger fortification at Dover. Regrettably, Canterbury Castle was relegated as the a prison for the County of Kent administered by the Sheriff and in the most recent times lost a lot of its mystique when it was used as a coal store and gas works.

The rain has begun to fall in earnest, I return to the car and leave Michael to continue drooling for a while longer. Want to kow more? Click here.

When Michael finally returns, we leave the castle to find a carpark closer to the Canterbury Cathedral. After wanting me to drive through restricted areas, and us having to continually turn back, Kate and Frances eventually guide us to an available parking bay at the city walls, which is not far from the Cathedral. Feeding the ticket dispenser gives us a maximum stay of three hours and so we set off to see what we can see. Walking through the streets of Canterbury is like entering a time portal, with buildings dating from the 13th century occupied by artists, artisans and bakers displaying their wares in shop windows. Michael is enjoying the ambience as he is swept along by the imagery of his beloved Canterbury Tales.

Finally we arrive at the Cathedral precinct, and enter the precint's main portal at a cost of $13AUD each. However, the entry fee is worth every cent as the Cathedral is indeed a magnificent structure. I'll let Michael take over from here, so he can enlighten you...or put you to sleep?

I am just passionate over medieval architecture, in particular places of worship - moreso if the style is Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic or Gothic/Renaissance. At the danger of me rambling, may I recommend this link for the Canterbury Cathedral.

As with most of these monuments built before the Reformation, one has to remember that the pioneering architects/engineers designed the buildings on parchment and only aided by quadrants, line-of-sight and plum bobs! The work of the masons, sculptors, scriveners and carpenters who contributed to the Cathedrals' construction is truly mind-blowing.

The Cathedral was filled by visitors and a small company of proud volunteer guides who were most eager to answer, with enthusiasm, any question pertinent to their Cathedral. I soon discovered the knowledge which these guides possess, when I made enquiry as to one of the stained glass windows. Only several of these windows are original from the 12th century, which somehow were spared from the destructive force of the Reformation!

Fortunately, photography was permitted ( except when visiting the crypt) so the camera worked overtime snapping images of the exterior and interior. The Cathedral also boasts its own 'Compass Rose' installed into the floor of the central nave in 1988. As with most Cathedrals, at intervals throughout the day a benediction is given by a member of the clergy. Today was no exception, as a Friar (with the aid of a PA system) requested everyone to stop and listen to the benediction - a time for reflection whatever ones persuasion...yes, even for us non-believers.

We could have spent further hours here - it is such a fascinating place. It was here that Thomas Beckett was murdered, and that the first French Hugenot service was held here hundreds of years ago and continues to this day! There are amazing stained glass windows, a beautiful cloister and chapter house, a peaceful crypt where you can see the remaining pillars and wall of the Norman church that once stood on this site and dates back to 579 AD. There are tanglible links with Australia too in the form of stitched kneelers int he front row and a memorial to Lt. Col Sir George Gipps, Governor in Chief of New South Wales. And today, on Rememberence Day when we were reading in The Times this morning about the release of the records of the British Flying Aces including Major Edward Mannock VC, here we are standing in front of his memorial! Its a small, small world.

Gosh, and there was so much more - you had better check the link before I too carried away! From here you exit through the souvenir shop where we stop to buy a few small reminders - we have to be careful because we are getting very very close to our weight limits for the air trip home!

Michael wants a quick look at the City Walls so I return to the car while he makes a dash for the stairs. The walls are surprisingly intact, and yet are now a part of the modern city. Traffic enters through a number of the original gates, the Dane John gardens dating back to the 12th century and has existed in their present form since 1790 and have recently been updated to include a thematic chidren's maze. A monument now stands atop a Roman burial ground that existed before the construction of the city walls in the 3rd century and now serves as a vantage point for views across the city.

I pack away the souvenirs we bought and get some little treasures out for Anna and Gary then get in the car and programme Kate. And that is when I see a traffic warden making his way towards our car, checking wether parking tickets have expired - and in response Michael is running full pelt from the other direction. Michael manages to get here first. Just! Mind you, we still had 1 minute left on our ticket!

Its 4 pm and fast heading for dark when we leave Canterbury for Bracknell to have one last visit with Anna and Garry, Curtis and Nathan. Its a two hour drive on the M26 - one of the major ring roads around London. Traffic is heavy as we are just coming in to rush hour, but for the most part we are able to do a respectable 70 miles per hour. I have reset Kate to measure in miles - can't be bothered with all the constant calculations from km to miles and back again. Feels odd though and my perception of distance is not so good - luckily for me, 100 yards is close enough to 100 metres and I can judge that pretty well!

We arrive at their house in Binfield just after 6:15. There is great excitement all round - Anna has kept her job (when all 6000 were given notices re planned redundencies for 1500 and no assurances), they have sold their house to a cash buyer and their offer on the house of their dreams just up the road has been accepted - all in the space of about 3 days! We took the champers!! Gary has picked up McDonalds for the boys and once they are settled upstairs, we order Chinese and spend a couple of hours sharing it and the stories of our respective highs since we last saw them in June. It has been lovely sharing a bit of time with them this year. Its heading for 10 pm when we finally say our goodbyes for the year and head off.

Our trip back to Wingham is much quieter than the trip over. We are able to travel at a constant speed and make the trip in about an hour and a half - even if it is in and out of light rain!

In a place out of time?

Ah yes, that glass walled shower on view for all the room to see was interesting to say the least! Breakfast at the motel was expensive to say the least so Michael took a walk to the train station and came back with great coffees and pastries. Graz like many other cities is having road works done so we dodge them to get across the river and closer to the old city that we want to see.

Parking is not too much of a problem here - while there is no street parking nearby, there are plenty of parking stations that have been located underground. And these parking stations are like none others we have come across - spotlessly clean, very well lit, plenty of space with the spots marked by a sensored pad on the ground, piped music etc etc etc! And affordable!

They are all located at the peripheries of the main tourist areas, which makes it easy to get to things to have a look. The city sits in a valley and up the slopes of a steep hill that is crowned by the Schlossberg (castle hill). We will finish our time here with a trip up to there. But we start down in the main square, which is just around the corner from the car park. The tourist office here has put out an excellent brochure that is divided into three walks through the old city allowing you to tailor your time.

We begin our stroll in the Hauptplatz (main square) near the town hall with its domes, statues and clock. In the Square in front of the town hall there is a market place with permanent stalls selling souvenirs, food, flowers and newspapers. They are set all close together so that along with the modern settings, you still get the atmosphere of the markets places of old. There is the Archduke Johann fountain just outside the town hall. All around the sqaure (on the outer sides of the tram lines) there are a number of buildings with amazing facades of stucco or sgraffito high on their walls (including the amazing 'Painted House') and with arcades from the streets into inner courtyards. Many of the facades date back to the early 1700s!

Around behind the town hall lies the Landhaus - a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance that looks like it should be sited in Venice. Turns out that it was designed by a northern Italian architect so no wonder it looks like it does. Not only is the facade beautiful, the inner courtyard with its lamps and wells and its arched porticos is just as stunning. The Styrian parliament (the State that Graz is capital of) sits here.

From here we head up. The streets are not too steep, but the cobblestones are painful - how I hate them. And no, even after almost a year, my feet have not grown accustomed to them! And to add insult to my injury, we enter into a medieval courtyard where the cobbles are made from river stones that are laid on their edges - ouch ouch ouch! We see the Glockenspiel and buildings that have operated as various enterprises for hundreds of years, including a bakery with an amazing carved and inlaid timber store front.

I pass the shop of a tailoress who is selling traditional clothes. There are hand knitted jumpers and cardigans on a rack out the front and I can't resist buying a special little girl a special little one. It will come in very handy - no not in Darwin, in Kapooka! We heard from Antony this morning that he has been promoted to the rank of Bombadier and is being transferred to Kapooka near Wagga Wagga on the New South Wales / Victoria border as of early January as a Cadet Instructor! Anyway, back to Graz - this seamstress must be pretty good, there are three couples in there buying clothes - all Austrians!

We continue to walk up and come to the Cathedral built in 1438 - 1464 and the close by Mausoleum. Neither are open so all we can so is admire them from outside. In the architectural gems of the surrounding areas there is a Jesuit College and the 'Old' university that was founded in 1585. There are more squares with statues and more churches including the Parish Church that is a nice mix of old and new. We are now winding our way back down to the main square through narrow pedestrian streets filled with narrow shops selling all many of goods from sporting equipment to jewellery, from confectionary to eye glasses. People walk or ride pushbikes here - though not too many of them are riding uphill, just a couple of very fit young men - most people get off and push their bikes!

Now its time for lunch. Well, I'm not sure what you call the meal that covers both lunch and dinner - lunner? Kind of like brunch at the other end of the day. Anyway, whatever it is, we are having it now. We walk away from the main square looking for somewhere that takes our fancy and we find the Keller Restaurant through an alleyway and a courtyard. We are hungry, but boy, these meals are huge!
Entrees:
Champignon gebacken mit Sauce Tartare (Deep fried champignons with Tartare sauce) Michael
Emmentaler gebacken mit Preiselbeeren (Deep fried Emmentaler cheese with Cranberries) Maria
Mains:
Gemischter Grillteller mit Reis, Bratkartoffeln und feinem Gemüse (Mixed grill with rice, pan-fried potatoes and vegetables) Michael
Fiakergulasch mit Ei, Gurkerl, Würstl, Servietterknödel (Beef goulash Fiacre style with egg, gherkin, sausage, white bread dumplings) MariaWe had been eyeing off the breaded apple slices for dessert, but the meals are so big that we can't finish either of them, so there is definitely no room for desserts! Our hunger pangs put away, we head back out into the afternoon sun to head towards the Schlossberg high on the hill overlooking the city. There are three ways you can get up there - on foot up the hundreds of steps, using the funicular or via a lift that goes up through the centre of the mountain - our preferred choice today. For the tiny sum of €2.80 we both get return tickets!

Now this has been my eagerly awaited highlight of the day. The clocktower that sits high above the city and is visible from almost every part of it is the best known symbol of Graz. Trouble is that the clock's hands are back to front with the small hand showing the minutes and the large hand, the hour! And while we don't have time to climb all the way to the castle, we do spend some time at the clocktower, admiring the scene over the rooftops of Graz and the Mur River. The hoarding around the top of the tower was erected as a lookout for the fire brigade. And then there is the bell tower just a little further up the hill that Michael dashes up to see.

But dont think for a minute that Graz is trapped in some time warp. Just as the old city shines, there are a number of very futuristic buildings that have been commissioned. Most notable are the Kunsthaus Graz built in 2003 to host exhibitions, and the Mursinel - a floating structure in the Mur River connected to the banks by two weaving footbridges. It houses a restaurant and an amphitheatre. They sit shoulder to shoulder with the architecture of times long past, complementing rather than competing with them. And their wierd shapes seem very much at home amongst the myriad of towers that were there long before them.

And so our time has come to leave Graz and head for Munich. We have a four hour drive ahead of us which means that we won't get there until after 8 pm. As we are leaving the city, the afternoon light is fading fast. Gosh, it wasn't all that many weeks ago that it was light until the late hours of the night!

As we travel across Austria we are heading back into the land of the high snow capped mountains (and yes, they have already had snowfalls high on the peaks)! For quite some time we are actually travelling throug the mountains in a series of tunnels - the longest being 8.3 kms long is the longest we have travelled on our trip. When we see the last breath of the sun gently washing the wispy clouds with a soft rosy hue, and the mountain tops gleaming in that last light of the day, with small villages burrowing down for the cool night in the valleys below (it is now 4°C), I understand why my Dad loved this part of the world so much and kept coming back.

We are travelling the motorways and as soon as we reach Germany, just past the city of Salzburg, the speed limit free Autobahn sees the traffic take off in a frenzy of fast paced racing. Honestly, some of the cars are travelling well in excess of 200 kph - in the dark. Not us though. We keep to a much more sedate 120 kph! We make good time and hit Motel One in Putzbrunn just outside the main centre of Munich about 8:20 pm. Oh for a bed. On checking in, the receptionist Consuela, remembers us from our last stay here in July - now THAT is what you call great customer relations! She does say however that friendly guests make it easy to remember them!! Ain't she sweet.