Oslo - where the Vikings once ruled

All night long, we were lulled with a muted rythmic rumble. Turns out that there is a very regular tram line that runs under our window. They run every 2 minutes during the day and not much less even into the wee hours of the morning.  The triple glazing must be excellent, as we are not disturbed at all. In fact, it is quite soothing.

Well Oslo is a bit of a surprise. Brunch this morning is fabulous coffee (oh, how I have missed you) and the lightest, plumpest cinnamon scrolls that look like a double carrick knot. Its cool but not cold and without any breeze.  As we sit enjoying our food, we here sirens and then a protest march in the near distance.  Great. Not. I guess that being a little on edge is becoming the new norm for travellers. Don't worry. Not close enough to cause any concern.

The public transport is amazing. This morning Donna got out the guide book and spent an hour or so cross referencing the transport map and the locational map to identify which trams and buses would get us to places such as the Opera House, the main railway station and the Vikingskipsene - our major destination for today.
And before we go any further, I just want to note that Donna has absolutely NO sense of direction.  Google maps sending us the long way around or not (as it does), she still has no natural sense of direction. Thankfully, I do! And thankfully Donna is a whiz at working out the connections.

We pick up the bus outside our building.  This is the former main Post Office - a beautiful building that covers an entire city block, it now houses apartments, shops, offices etc.  The bus stop is on one stage of the block and the tram stop on the other side of the building. So the bus stop is at the front door and the tram at the back!  On to Bus no 30 we head out. 
We have not been able to find out how or where to buy a ticket and are hoping that we can buy them on the bus. And yes we can, but only with cash, which I had bought prior to leaving Australia. But the bus driver could not make the change needed and so told us to sit directly behind him in case an inspector got on.  Everyone just boards the buses, you do not need to show your ticket, there is no tapping and I am guessing that there would be plenty of locals who ride the transport for free, taking a chance on not seeing an inspector who can demand to see your paper ticket or your electronic ticket on your phone.

A 21 minute bus trip through part of the historic areas, past a number of the embassies and consulates and through (obviously well-to-do) residential areas and eventually into some rural settings, takes us up into one of the ridges and finally to the Vikingskipsene. You can recognise it by all tourist buses parked outside! And yet there are not too many people here.  As we go in, once Donna has divested herself of her backpack and bought our entry tickets at a very reasonable AUD $33 for the two of us, we learn that this morning there were three cruise ship groups in and they had to hold people waiting outside because the museum had reached capacity.

THIS is a museum and a half.  The building is quite austere, painted all white inside.  This allows the pitch-black of the Viking ships to stand out in stark contrast. Each of the three main ships is housed in a wing off the small foyer, entry desk and souvenir shop.
They are mind-blowing!

Obviously restored, these three boats were only discovered in the 20th century. But all were built in the first century AD. The level of detail and care taken with construction and decoration of not only these main vessels, but all the artefacts found buried with them talk of the pride of the Vikings. 

As we learn more about our earliest ancestors, we learn more of the prowess and skill they had. 
No longer can we believe anything that we knew of the barbaric thugs we knew of as children.  These are sophisticated people with complex class structures and a true sense of adventure.  We sit through a really well done visual presentation of Viking history that showed the peoples they had dealt with across the globe as well as highlighting the natural features of their home lands.  I comment to Donna, that I wonder who was that first brave person who thought to build a boat and launch into the treacherous northern waters. I would have had heart attack after heart attack if it were me in one of the slight (looking) boats as it tossed and heaved in the swell depicted.


The Norwegians are obviously proud of their Viking heritage - and rightly so!!

Our wander back in history done, we catch yet another bus where the driver cannot make the change (and yet it appears to be a common event as we were not the only tourists to be caught out). We quiz him on where to buy the tickets and he says online (been there, tried that one unsuccessfully) or many shops such as 7-eleven - yes, the same chain as at home!  (Small world). We make our way down to the very modern Opera House and nearby find the main tourist office and the Olso Sentralstasion and in the harbour close to the Opera House are two enormous cruise ships. 


While there, Donna went in to the tourist office to purchase bus tickets for tomorrow and we see some unique art pieces. The 'trees' are found in the children's play area and the 'foot' sculpture (which looks totally different in side view as the space between the toes and the body of the foot is open) is on the concourse.

Tickets bought, we head turn for the apartment searching as we go for a restaurant and find ourselves at the Cafe Cathedral in front of the Cathedral where we order Baked Salmon - Fresh Norwegian salmon with fennel salad with dill, orange and apple.  Served with potatoes, asparagus and white wine sauce and (the best ever) Fish Soup - Our famous creamy fish soup with shrimps, salmon and vegetables. Served with bread.

Finished with a cheese plate, a pinot grigio and pear cider. Oh what a night, and a meal.

Another day dawns soon and bed beckons.  Chat soon all.

On the recommendation of locals

Hotel Internazionale in Domodossola - it was nice knowing you, but we hope that we never have to see you again. The rain has stopped and the air is so clean and clear. There is plenty of water still around - some of the waterfalls are still running, but most have dwindled away by this morning. There are however, still plenty of clouds snaking through the valleys. And those big fluffy cottontails just don't want to leave. Even though they have emptied their watery loads, they love these mountains and now frame them beautifully against the clear blue sky.

So we're off on the road to . . . Milano - yet again, ughggh. Thankfully this time we are skirting around the northern edges. We seem to be doing the groundhog day thing again, and we are feeling a little crazy (hehe hoho haha) and so here are some of the songs that remind us of Milano as we head across the motorway to the north:
I Can't Take my Hands off you, I Put a Spell on You, Ring A Ring A Rosie, Route 66, Devil Gate Drive, Highway to Hell and finally Under my Skin!

We are not un-happy as we turn on to yet another motorway and head for Venezia. But its not too far down the road when again we are caught in a Milano special - a traffic jam. But wait, far far ahead, we see a thick column of black billowing smoke. Hhm - something major going on up there. We hear a siren and along comes the fire tender, screaming up the highway verge - just as well - there was nowhere for any of the other cars to go. It takes us the better part of ¾ hour to reach the source - a truck fire. Poor bastard. Luckily the driver has been able to disengage the prime mover and move it away slightly. Plumes of acrid black smoke were followed by the lingering white smoke that showed no signs of abating. Looked like it might have been car parts or maybe even crushed cars in the back of the pantech, but we will never know - they were too charred and still smoking heavily (obviously no-one had told them that smoking is bad for their health - ha ha). Once passed, it is open those engines baby and lets keep moving!

We start to get sneak previews of regional villages appearing beyond the boundaries of the motorway guard rails. Lots of church clock towers and the gelati colours of painted houses under their terracotta tiled hats. Very picturesque. We rush through the outskirts of Brescia - separated from the busy life that is apparent by the motorway walls. There are big marble factories in lines along the roadways with the mountain sides raped of their precious innards in the distance beyond them. Life here looks very industrious. And in the centre distance, the domes of Brescia, while on the hills surrounding the city there is the Via Musei which was built atop the earlier Roman forum. Brescia was also once known for it's high quality furniture industry.

At the base of the peninsula into Lago Garda, ran a Roman road connecting the cities of Verona and Brescia and Sirmione was a stop for travelers with a number of mansions built there. Today, Sirmione is at first glance flat and touristy. Dry and uninteresting. BUT once we got down to the peninsula that joins the mainland and could first smell and then see the water, all that changed. We enter the peninsula through a residential area that has palatial homes and a road divided by trees and garden beds. It is amazing how much cooler it is when you get off the autostrada and under some trees. Its not long before we get down on the waterfront, past one of the marinas with millions of dollars at rest, waiting for some elusive breeze and their keen weekend sailor owners. Here come the hotels. Not one, not two, not even twenty - more like 200! But do you think we can find Hotel Le Paül? Kate assures us that we "have arrived at our destination" but we can't see it anywhere. Takes us a little while to work out that the street numbers are at the high end where we are, whereas we need no. 26. Oh, be quiet, the street numbering is far from great!

Hotel Le Paül seems a bit special at first with lots of spa-type promos in windowed boxes and even in the lift - you know the sort, the perfect beauty of a well aligned back with the stones tracing the spine, or the oil-sprayed, liposuctioned and sculptured body that suggestively poses the massage services. Hmmm. What have we got ourselves in for? A lovely relaxing massage? No - they are not at the hotel, but at another centre in town. Bugger, oh well. Our room overlooks the pool where there is a man lying legs askew on a sun lounge below us. The room is comfortable enough, but hey, we are not here for the room. I enquire as to dinner only to be told that the restaurant is full for the night! There are a whole heap of scout leaders here, so maybe we should blame them!

After we unload the car at the hotel, we head down towards the old town. Despite the main tourist season being officially over, there are still plenty of people and groups on buses moving through here. We park just back from the waterside and head further down the peninsula on foot. At this point there is quite a heavy covering of trees and we don't see very far up the street. At the end of the road, we finally get our first glimpse of what Rosaria was getting excited about - a small walled city complete with Castle just inside the bridge through the gate. Helen goes very quiet. Took us a while before we realised that she had not seen a walled town before - LET ALONE A CASTLE!!!! And the place is absolutely crawling!

A quick stop at a local cafe called The Bounty for a snack before we go exploring, and Helen is as happy as a pig in mud. Finally she gets someone to make an iced coffee - Australian style, on milk and not just on ice. It looks and tastes so good that after a while I order one as well. The service however is terrible - all the wait staff are disdainful of the tourists. Pity, because the food was tasty.

And so over to the Castle. The Sirmione Castle (also called the Rocca Scalgera) sits on Lago di Garda. The castle was constructed in fits and starts from the 13th Century - yep, about 800 years ago. It has unusual crenellations - probably the most decorative that we have seen in our travels to date. And yet this was a defensive working castle, built to protect the town from attack from across the Lake. The castle was built by a rich family from Verona to show off their wealth. The castle is said to be one of the best, if not possibly, the best preserved castle in all of Italy. Its ideal location on the peninsula has offered the castle the protection that it has needed over the years. Michael and Helen climb the donjon - the sightseeing tower for fantastic views of the walled ravelins that bring the lake into the castle as well as out over the roofs of the town to the lake itself. It really is quite a view and for Helen, a new challenged conquered. There are about 150 steps up - firstly to the battlements on the wall and then up inside the tower through the two rooms that once would have housed the noble family.

Back on ground level, Public Art abounds in Sirmione at the moment. There are a mob of bright Meerkats in the main square that takes our fancy and I made sure I got a photo of Helen 'doing the meerkat!' Later in the afternoon when we are wandering the back streets of Sirmione, we see this 'Kiss ... Please' sign in a very picturesque corner looking out of the Lake and Michael and I are compelled to obey! Its also nice to see that i this old old town, where the locals have such beautiful places to sit and chatter, that modern technology keeps them connected to a much busier place beyond te walls.

Those back streets hold amazing jewels shining on the shores of the Lake. There is Church, lots of upmarket shops that obviously cater to the well-to-do tourists who come to enjoy the spa waters as well as the fantastic setting, gelateria after gelateria all vying for the trade - most sell a good variety and at this time of the year, the cones are piled high as people enjoy not only the weather but also exotic ice cream flavours. We follow suit and take our cones out across the plaza to the ferry mooring point. The late afternoon is beautiful. There is a soft breeze wafting off the water that tempers the warmth of the slowly dipping sun. The water glistens, broken only by the occasional ferry or fishing boat that cuts across our view. Children and adults alike feed ducks off the pier and the flags of the nearby marina wave in the breeze. Ah, what better can there be to do than enjoy a fresh ice cream in a crisp cone by the water - nothing I suspect.

We hear before we see a number of rally cars arrive. Hels gets excited. Michael and I don't!! We must be such bores to not get excited by cars - she can't wait to get home to her bright green Ford GTP - something XR or Z or Y or whatever. Ah - my friend the petrol-head! Michael is however interested in the Jaguar 4 that parks down near the water.

And after an afternoon exploring the town, we head back to the hotel where we are given directions to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The Ristorante Erica is as busy as. They cater to groups and there is a bus group of Italian pensioners off to one side as we enter. Despite being busy though, our waiters are pleasant and helpful. Michael began with Polpo caldo con patate (warm octopus salad with potatoes). Helen and I forgo entrees. For Mains we order:
Luccio de Garda alla piccole verdure (Lake Garda pike with vegetables) Michael
Trancio di salmone alla griglia (Grilled salmon steak) Helen
Medaglioni di filetto di maiale al pepe rosa e pinoli (Medallions of pork fillet with pink peppercorns and pine kernels) Maria
To share we also order Patate rosolate (browned potatoes) and Verdure alla griglia (grilled vegetables).

All yummy - and it is nice to taste the local foods. So we head back through the haze that are clouds of midges with me scratching my head to the hotel. Tomorrow will be a big day - through Verona for a little while before we hit Venice.

Bratislava - old & new, controlled & free

Standing at the Novỳ Most (New Bridge) near the city wall and the Castle, and looking back towards Austria, you look down the bridge at the UFO Tower. Michael makes the comment that it could easily be one of the Martians out of War of the Worlds, standing tall above everything around it and ready to annihilate the local community. Interesting parallel really, given the City’s past history!

There is a real dichotomy between old and recent and new here. Bratislava must have once been a beautiful city – there is plenty of evidence from the days of the Hapsburgs and the earlier Moravian empire in the grand old buildings. The main civic buildings including the Hlavné námestie (Old Town Hall and square), Academia Istropolitana (University), Michalska Brána (Michael’s Gate) and RedutaPalace that houses the State symphony are wonderful examples of baroque and rococo architecture set in wide avenues that do them justice. And the back streets are filled with beautiful examples of architecture where beauty was a given. Facades are grand with stunning entrance doorways, balconies and window treatments.

And there is even a dignified presence to the architecture of the 20th century with the Slovenské Národné Múzeum (Slovak National Museum) occupying a number of art deco styled buildings complete with majestic foyers. But much of this is tired and battling to retain its dignity. Balconies are corroded with the reinforcing steel exposed as though it is a new piece of street art. Graffiti is found on the lower reaches of many buildings, and much of the inner city is covered with grime. Inside the museum, the carpet is water stained and very threadbare, the walls are grimy, but the exhibits in the Natural histories building we went in to are as good as you would expect in any museum of its nature. The dioramas, complete with stuffed animals must have been truly awe-inspiring when they were first installed. Oh, but the toilet paper is definitely something left over from the Socialist times – it is thin, scratchy and a very drab grey – not something to encourage one to sit and ponder!

And then there are the structures of the Socialist period – built for form and purpose but missing any sense of beauty. These are boxy modular and boring and accentuated by a drabness that only reinforces that they were not designed to be anything other than functional. At the time of their construction, they must have been a real blight on the dignified splendour of the City. And there is evidence that these too have not been maintained. As we pass under the bridges over the Danube on a cruise this afternoon, the level of rust in the structure is quite alarming. As are the timber walkways that form the pedestrian and cycle crossings!

But all along the riverfront there are massive construction projects – aimed no doubt at the upper-end tourist market in the way of hotels and apartments. Funny though, that the monument and its wide plaza are complete way before any of the buildings – perhaps one little piece of beauty and connection with the past are needed to encourage acceptance by the locals!

The Danube River cuts the City in two. At this point it is almost a kilometre wide and fast flowing. The commercial craft reflects much of the tiredness of the City, but the sleek cruise craft are a different story. The Danube is one of the major waterways in Europe and there are a multitude of companies that carry their trade of wealthy foreigners in and out of the City. And as Bratislava is a compact city, moorings are in scarce supply close to the centre, so the boats are tethered to each other – 3 across! And it is on the riverbanks that we find a new class of accommodation – the Botel – floating hotels housed in former river cruisers, holding fast against the very strong current. There are five bridges across the Danube connecting the split halves of the City. Only one, the most recent, has any style about it. The others are all about function!

References to the people’s struggles are found in the monuments erected throughout the city. Slovakia sits in the centre of Europe, with the great Cyrillic races to the east and the empires of Rome and later France to the west. But the Slavic peoples have called this part of the wrld home since the early days AD. In the 9th Century the great empire of Moravia was founded but only lasted a few hundred years when the Maygars overtook and it became part of the greater Polish empire. From then, fuedal landlords built castles and 'influenced' the surrounding areas. But Slovakia still nominally belonged to Poland. Agh - bugger it - suffice to say, the people of Slovakia have come under the rule of many influences . If you want to read more (it is fascinating, just too convoluted to explain here) then click this link! And so we can start to understand their pride in their relatively recent independence - in fact one of the important statues can be found in SNP námestie (Slovak National Uprising Square) where even today, locals gather in times of celebration and protest.

Now as well as being a very proud people, the Slovakians are very artistic. They have a well developed and respected musical industry and during the summer, as in many European cities, there are concerts in the streets. Michael lucked upon these two opera singers practicing! We have video, but it is too large to load here, so you will just have to wait to see it!! The authorities are re-invigorating the city centre – with fountains, extended pedestrianised area and lots of street art - both whimsical and modern abstract. And the people respond, using these areas with vigour. There are those eating at cafes, playing in the square, performers in the street and others just people watching - like the Japanese tourists who were delighted when passing Franciscan monks acknowledged them!

Statues hold a special place in Bratislava and there are four in particular that have become some of the most photographed sights of the City! The are Paparazzi, Men at work and The Watcher and Man tipping his hat.
And then there is the lonely figure of a flower seller - sitting patiently and waiting for people to buy her posies.

And so we take our leave of Bratislava, a little disappointed that a lot of buildings are not open due to major restoration works underway. This includes Bratislavský hrad high above the City and for which it is famous, and the Clare Church and Abbey.

Bacharach - the other one!

No, its not Burt, it the other one, the town on the Rhine River between Koblenz and Bingen!
And so our journey down the Rhine continues. We woke to the tolling of the bell of St Peterskirche (which is literally a spit away) this morning. The sun is bright and you can really see the age on the buildings this morning - in fact, the Altes Haus that is the oldest building dating back to the 1300s and where we had had dinner in 2006 now looks a little forlorn. Can't imagine that it will stay that way for too long though, I mean, it has the prime position in the town and certainly looks structurally sound.

So we are eating our breakfast downstairs and I am looking out the window and what do I see walking past? A Pub Crawl t-shirt - you have gotta be kidding me!! Michael raced out to see if it was a Maryborough one, but no - it was from Milan (so it was probably something quite inane like a buck's party or something). The guy was a way ahead so he didn't get to talk to him, but it sure got my pulse racing for the morning.

In 2006 we left too early in the morning to do any of the local buildings and when Michael and I came through in December, everything was closed up tight as a drum - and it was the middle of the night too. So I am determined today to see a little more of this amazing small medieval town. St Peterskirche will be open at 10 am so we hang around with me uploading yesterdays blog. Once the doors are open, we wander over. While this church is a monument, it is also a local church for the parish and very obviously well cared for. The pastor or one of his flock is in the church when we arrive and is opening windows and putting up the 'no-access' ropes. He smiles pleasantly and bids us good morning and then disappears up a stairway where in a few moments I see him walk along a gallery to the organ. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but good loud organ music in a church always does it to me. The gooseflesh comes in and the hairs rise and I get all emotional. Sigh, but in a nice way.

The church is painted beautifully inside with an incredible amount of attention to detail. And this highlights the considerable amount of remaining medieval frescoes still on the walls. It is nice to see that down through the ages here, someone made sure that the works of old were appreciated - so often we see evidence of them painted over by later generations. Anyway, the day is marching and so must we.

Above the town amidst the grape vines stands a viewing platform in one of the original Sentry Towers. Bacharach is a walled city and one of the best examples of a fortified town remaining on the Middle Rhine. In fact all of its 14 towers remain to their original height and you can walk around most of the wall. The walk up to the tower is steep through the vineyards, but Michael goes and gets some amazing views of the town with the Rhine in the background. That done, we prepare to leave the town for points further south.

We turn back out on to the main road and leave a fairtale world behind us as we join the mad rush, marvelling at the amount of traffic there is on the River. Hardly a moment goes by without at least two barges in view plus the cruise boats and speedboats and other small boats battling against the strong current to gain ground (or water!) on their journey up this mighty river.

We are headed for Castle Sooneck. It sits high on a rocky outcrop with commanding views of the Rhine River - and of the busy quarry next door to it - which was where much of the stone was mined to build the castle. We visited this impressive castle in 2006 but were too early for the tours - while today we are not! It's amazingly cheap to have a guided tour (albeit in German) at €2.60 each. In the 30 minutes we have to wait until the next tour, we look around the battlements and again I am amazed at how narrow the fire steps (platform) are that they archers had to work from in defending the castle. There is barely enough room to kneel at the arrow slits.

Castle Sooneck is now owned by the State through the equivalent of the National Trust. Built in the 12th century to help protect the lands of the Abbey near Aachen, it was later a robber-baron castle before being seized by the king, later destroyed and then re-built. It has been rebuilt and now is furnished with 18th and 19th century furniture and fittings from its earlier times and that of nearby castles. Very impressive - although I still cant believe that these people were short enough to sleep in the beds they had! There is a fascinating collection of paintings of this area, the castles along the Rhine and other estates of the Abbey. And as the guide is only giving the tour in German, it is all we can do to catch the names of some of them! The furniture is amazing - including beautifully handcrafted inlays. And there is a chandelier that weighs 600 kgs - that much we all understood! But once again we cant take photos - just one in the courtard looking up before we go in!

One of the women on the tour has her dog with her - well, if you can call it that. They cant even be called 'toy' dogs any more as these are tiny - really tiny. It is little more that the size of her two hands together and she and it look quite ridiculous. I was very surprised when the tour guide didn't tell her to leave it outside - especially when they make us all put these huge felt scuffs on to walk on the parquetry floors. Now THEY (the floors that is) were amazing! All perfect, and with a different pattern formed depending on which way you looked (thanks to the artisans aligning the timber grain perfectly). And nary a nail in sight. Anyway, they cleverly do not need to employ a cleaner as we all did our bit by polishing those floors with all our slipping and sliding! I am happy to have been able to get inside and have a look.

Its now just a short drive to Bingen where the Nahe River joins the Rhine. There are a number of really noticeable landmarks here such as Mäuseturm (the Mouse Tower) that sits in the middle of the Rhine to warn sailors of a bad pool to the Klopp Castle high in the centre of town with its foundations that date back to the Roman habitation of the city of Bingium 2000 years ago. And the best way to view them all is to catch the vehicular ferry across the busy Rhine to the town of Rüdesheim am Rhein and take a trip up the hill behind the town to the Niederwalddenkmal - the Niederwald National Monument erected in 1883. But first we have to dodge opposing traffic - not once, but twice - firstly on the vehicle ferry dodging the surprisingly fast barges, and then on the other shore, in the car we have to dodge the frequent trains. Sheesh - life does not have to be so busy (tee he he - as we are finding out!)

The Niederwald National Monument was built to commemorate the formation of the new German empire in 1871. Because of its size, expense and popularity, the monument that features a victorious Germania has often been cited as the most important national monument of Imperial Germany. The last time we saw this, it was under a blanket of snow and in the early hours (as we were then really anxious to be with Steph that day for Christmas) and we could not see a road up to it. Still, even then when it was indistinct, it look impressive and today it is certainly more so up close.

We have a light lunch here while enjoying the view (just schnitzel and frites - nothing special) and watching the cable car coming up from the valley.

And now we are out of time. We are meeting Steph and some of her friends for dinner at the Shaba Thai Restaurant in Stuttgart and have just short of a 3 hour drive ahead of us. I initially tell Kate to plan a route that does not follow the autobahn - but after just a short drive down the road change my mind. The autobahn gets very busy ear the exits to major cities - but then it might just be that it is the afternoon peak hour too! And I am to forever wonder whether the non-autobhan routes might have actually been faster! The roads around Heillbron particularly are a mess as there are major roadworks her too.
Anyway, we find the restaurant just minutes before Steph gets there but spend about 10 minutes trying to find a parking spot. Then right on 6:30 pm, a whole lot of cars leave (can the work hours really be this late??) and we are now parked nice and close to the restaurant.

The food is fabulous and the company even better! Thanks so much for your fun company Tania and Katy and Steph (oh and of course you too Deitmar!).
Our menu choices are mainly left to the girls (who meet regularly for Thai food) and we share:

a selection of Entrees including satay chicken, green papaya salad, glass noodle salad, money bags, spring rolls, seafood salad

and a selection of hot Main dishes that included a red curry and coconut whole fish, massuman curry, pad thai, rice, duck with ginger - all very very good.
But the best of the night was the very refreshing lemongrass (non-alcoholic) drink we had. Michael and I had two each it was so quenching!
(Now, don't complain - I fully expected their menu to be fully online so I didn't write it all down).
Felix joined us after his appointment at the university was done.

By the time we get home to Steph and Felix's place (with both of them passing us at speed on the autobahn!) it is after 11 pm and we all head for bed fairly quickly.