Dogs on trains . . .

The Scandic Crown Hotel in Göteborg is huge.  Seven floors and 338 rooms.  So breakfast is a frenetic, noisy affair.  It is surprising to see the number of Swedish families staying here.  We guess that they come in for a weekend in the City.  We had missed out on the pancakes yesterday and were determined to have some this morning.  Got down to the buffet breakfast about 9 am and true to form, plenty of food.  No pancakes.  Doesn't help when there is a male sports team there and some of those 'growing boys' were taking 6 pancakes or more - each!  We could see however that the staff were in the process of refilling and so, waited at a nearby table.  By the time more were delivered there was a queue waiting with 11 people ahead of us.  Thankfully the boys had had theirs and we managed to get two each this time.  Lovely crepe style pancakes, not the stodgier fatter ones.  Maple syrup, cream and jam did the trick!

We had not bought a ticket for Copenhagen as there is a train every hour - even on a Sunday - from Göteborg.  A short walk to the station and Donna goes from the Tourist Office, to the booking Office to the local Pressbyrån convenience store where she was told it was cheapest place to buy them.  Cost us the princely sum of $83.10 for each ticket - for a journey of 3 hours 38 minutes.

It is interesting to journey by train because it allows you to do a few things.  You can watch the scenery and compare how it changes over distances.  You can people watch - and in this instance, also dog watch.  Yep, we were accompanied by six dogs at various points along the journey an in this one carriage alone in this train of 13 carriages!  Once seated with their owners, they were all well behaved, but the gauntlet was thrown down by two as others passed them.  Takes a bit of getting used to.

The land between Göteborg and Copenhagen is flat.  Much of it is under crops, and there are plenty of wind turbines being farmed as well.  We see corn and strawberries, wheat and hay, just-ploughed fields, and others lying fallow.
There is the North Sea coastline, locks and canals and channels.
And dotted right along the coastline there are lots of caravan and camping areas, small hamlets that appear to be holiday homes, parklands and well serviced beach areas - everything that you would expect coastal areas to have.


We cross a bridge that is 8 kms long that crosses the Øresund Strait that is the border between Sweden and Denmark. It's hard to get photos between the pillars, but we manage a few.  And as we near Denmark there is a sight that I've only seen once before in northern Scotland - a sea-bound wind farm.  


Obviously in this area of the Strait, the coastline is well protected - otherwise you would have to question the investment in significant rail infrastructure that hugs the coast - and I mean hugs it.  There are times when there is nothing between the train line and the water other than about a 20 metre strip of sandy grasses.

We needed to be on our wits as this train does not terminate at Copenhagen.  Needn't have worried as there were lots of people getting out here.

The Station is a beautiful piece of engineering with exposed iron beams supporting a predominantly glass domed roof.

It sits across the road from the Tivoli Gardens and our taxi driver insists that even if you do not want to partake of the amusement rides, that it is worth a visit for the gardens.  We'll see.

Our hotel (hostel) is a little way from the railway station - too far to walk with the luggage in tow on cobblestones, but it is very central to much of what we want to see.  Copenhagen is one of those cities where you could spend a year and still not see all that is on offer.  The driver gives us tips on where to eat and see and take tours.  It sure helps to chat to the locals.

And finally, we have access to a full laundry.
We were starting to get sick of recycling our clothes after airing, and of washing smalls in

bathroom sinks. Donna makes four trips to make sure that everything in our suitcases is washed and dried - what a trooper!

So tonight we rest because tomorrow we hit the ground walking again.  It has done my poor feet a world of good having a quieter day today without too much cobblestone pounding.

Ciao.  See you all soon!

Bison, what bison?

After breakfast this morning we checked out of the lovely Hotel Skeppsholmen and ordered a taxi for the railway station.  We have decided to take the train rather than plane between Stockholm and Göteborg (Gothenburg) so that we have a chance to see some of the countryside.  It seems to be quite a big deal to rent a car anywhere in Scandinavia if you want to return the car to a different destination from where you hired it.


Travelling to Göteborg  from Stockholm,we saw a few different kinds of landscapes. 
On our way from the east coast, we enjoy approximately 4 hours of lakes and forests, Swedish small towns and farmlands hastily completing harvesting and tilling before the colder weather sets in.  

We watch the weather close in, pass through a few showers and gloomily watch the dropping temperature.  As we get closer, however, the wind is pushing the clouds quickly past and by the time our journey is over, the rain has cleared.


We pass by a bison farm - yes, bison!  Between Skövde and Göteborg we pass by Bisonfarmen i Gate.  This farm in West Gotaland, (Sweden) has a herd of American bison imported from the U.S. in 2004. Today there are about 125 animals in the herd. They can be seen on guided tours with tractor and prairie wagon. The Farm is located near the Forest of Hökensås. Bison Farm at Gate has 138 acres of pasture divided into seven enclosures. The animals are moved from enclosure to enclosure to meet the needs of new grass. In the wintertime, the animals are fed with hay. At the farm breeding and meat production are the main activities.



Approaching Gothenburg, we pass the two lakes Aspen and Mjörn. They are much larger with lots of small boats anchored around their shores – and are very close to the train tracks!

We also pass a Volvo factory!


Donna reckons that the carpet is a sign that we are in the right place.  The room is certainly rather luxe.  Very nice. Toochilly to go out in the night air, but we will head out nice and early tomorrow to the Haga area - one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Göteborg.

Where the mountains are high and the fjords plunge deep

As we left Bergen last night, the Captain explained in laboured English that during the night we would be calling in to the Port of Florø at 03:30 departing again at 03:40 at which time the ship's horn would sound three times. We were not to be alarmed and this would not be the emergency horn.

Horn?? what horn? Both Donna and I slept right through it as I suspect almost all the other passengers did also. We are marvelling at the lack of noise transference into the cabins - they are all well noise-insulated.

We went up for breakfast at about 8:30 am as our excursion is not until 14:00 this afternoon. A full smorgasbord is available - cereals, breads, hot food, cold food, fruits, juices, teas and coffees.  We noticed yesterday that it can become a little like pigs at the trough, so we were happy to have a later breakfast today and went up about 9 am.  Breakfast is served until 10 am.

Today is a bucket list day.  You know the photo that is iconic Norwegian fjordland on all the postcards and travel blogs that you see?  Well, today that is where we are going. 

The cruise ships cruises the length of the Geirangerfjord.  The scenery is magical - towering cliffs that plunge into the water below.  Moraine slopes, saddles, faulted and folded mountains, ice and snow caps, single farms and tiny settlements clinging to small areas of grasslands.  We ask ourselves how you could get there with all your belongings, and what would make people want to live in such isolation - it is amazing!  We pass the famous Seven Sisters Falls, but today only four are at home (falling).  We can only imagine this cascade in full flow!

We dock in Geiranger just before 2pm.  This is a village in western Norway, at the head of the beautiful Geirangerfjord with 240 permanent residents. In the summer months, up to 6 cruise liners dock here bring up to 10,000 PER DAY to visit.
We leave the ship at at 2pm. Buses are waiting to collect us - too bad that they didn't warn us that it is a mad 400 metre dash in the drizzle. There are three buses waiting - one for the English/Norwegian, one for the German/French and the last for French language groups - goes to show you how many french people are on this cruise.
 

We are exploring the Geirangerfjord and Trollstigen Route - 'the Trolls Route' one of Norway's national tourist routes and on to Molde where we again join the ship at 11:15 pm.  For those who followed our blog in Romania, this is the equivalent of the Transfagarasan Pass. There are 11 switchback hairpin bends. More about that later. We drive up out of Geiranger and look back over the village to see our ship already sailing out and two of the other three docked in view at the head of the fjord.  While the views from down within the fjord are stunning, You really can't appreciate it fully until you are above it, looking down the length.

The scenery is stunning, wondrous even. None of these photos can really do it justice. We travel for a hour and can count 7 or 8 ranges in the distance, towering over us, big sky sort of scenery.  Each time there is a photo opportunity, this is what you see!

Then we turn a bend and we are near the top of the peak, above the treeline and with lakes and tumbling streams with water so clear we can see the stones at the bottom.  Walking trails abound, little cabins where I guess people shelter in bad weather.  Many of the cabins have grassed roofs, some planted, most wild! 
The snow poles can be as high as 8 metres - thats what you call snowfall!

We see more of the same, not same scenery.  I think that the blog would crash if I tried to load too many more photos!  There was four hours of driving through this scenery and we never bored of the changing views. One minute we were in drizzle, then sunshine and again into rain. This region is also a big cropping area for Norway, growing apples and pears, the best strawberries and raspberries (supposedly) as well as heaps of other berries.  There was evidence of recent grass cutting for winter hay also.


There is a ferry crossing at a quaint little village - and another to come later tonight as we near Molde. Finally we reach Trollstigen, 'the Trolls Road', the only permanent road in to Geiranger. 
There is another road but it is closed from November to May each year.  Even this road can be treacherous! 

There is a lookout above the road and we pulled in to the rest/tourist area at Stigrøra, 858 metres above sea level, to allow people off to take photos.  The road twists through eleven hairpin bends and an impressive bridge carries the road across the Stigfossen waterfall. The road is carved into the mountain and supported by stone walls. The walk out to the lookout is made of steel for the first 150m or so, and is quite slippery, so I don't venture out, but Donna did and she brought back some stunning

photos.  From here, we drive down those 11 hairpins. There is a woman sitting, window side who is terrified of the steep turns and the precipitous drops. Her 'friends' kept making comments about it.  Really?  Grow up (and these were Aussies). Still, if she had any sense, she would have moved to an inside seat and given up the window - there were plenty of seats free, so it wasn't like there was a reason to hog the window.

When we reach the bottom of the Trollstigen,we have a coffee break and served lovely fresh open rolls with cheese, tomato and cucumber or cheese and meat and cream filled folded waffles that are soooo good. One of those people near us on the bus is complaining about this dinner and is horrified to be told that this is a coffee break (it is after 6 pm by now) and that dinner will be served in Molde at 9:30 pm. I think that they are normally in bed by then!  We ate quickly so we could escape outside and get some photos of the plentiful trolls. Donna even found a friend!!

From here, we are back on the bus and headed toward Molde. We are now in hunting lands and there could be no doubt given the deer heads on one of the local buildings - I only managed to get half of them in the shot as we drove by.

Another ferry crossing (cheaper than bridges) and a few more hours of jaw breaking scenery and we reach the end of our day tour in Molde, Norway's town of roses.

We are booked in for a cod dinner served on a bed of mashed potato with julienned vegetables and a sweet apple, cream and cinnamon crumble for dessert. It was a delicious way to end a stunning day.  The Kong Harald pulls in at 10:45 pm and departs at 11:15. It was too late to blog last night!

The rain is not only in Spain

So again I am sitting down to write the blog.  Just like every other day on this trip.

As we arrived in Christchurch, so we come back.  The weather here at the moment is damp and cool.  Today was a top of 17⁰ but the wind made it feel much cooler.  Summer here, it seems, is about as warm as winter back home!  We are told that after New Year it

actually got into the mid 30's.  I know I was looking forward to the cooler weather here before we left, but now, I'm craving the warmer weather back home.  Just as well we are leaving tomorrow.  We began our day down at the bus terminus getting ready to travel up to Mt Cavendish via the Christchurch Gondola.  En-route we see more and more of the public art offerings that artists were asked to contribute straight after the 2011 earthquake when the Art Gallery was damaged.  There are all sorts of offerings from raspy graffiti styled works to extravagant offerings that have contemporary themes.

It was brunch time and the offerings were pretty slim.  We settled on Japanese - Pork and Garlic Chive dumplings and Chicken Yatsu to share.  Really fresh and prepared in front of our eyes.  Yummy as!

We had checked out the bus times and finish our meal just in time to get the bus as it pulls in to the bay.  The Bus Terminus is fairly newly finished and really well laid out.  All buses pull in to a bay meaning that no matter what the weather, passengers get to board in the dry.  Seems to work like a dream with 13 gates available and buses coming and going literally every couple of minutes.

We have had to plan our day a bit better as we are now relying on public transport.  The bus to Lyttelton ends up at the Christchurch Gondola station - very convenient and takes about 20 minutes from the centre of town. Its interesting to have the opportunity to travel through the suburbs and get a bit of an overview to life in the Christchurch residential areas.


The Christchurch Gondola has a route that rises 445 m above the base station over a route of 1 km - almost fully vertically up (or so it seems to me).  Not for the faint-hearted and by the time we actually reached the summit, I was starting to feel it!  Still, the views are certainly worth the little bit of acrophobia felt.


You look out over the Mount Cavendish Scenic Reserve, Lyttelton Scenic Reserve, Mount Pleasant Scenic Reserve and Tauhinu-Korokio Scenic Reserve down over Lyttelton Harbour and across to Otamahua (Quail) Island.  Down over Christchurch city and out to the Pacific Ocean.  It truly is quite a vista.

Michael indulges his sweet tooth with a Cookies n Cream cheesecake while I enjoyed a date scone with my coffee.
Following this little sustenance, Michael set out to walk one of the trails while I explored the Time Tunnel that explained the history of the region. Their souvenir shop was surprisingly affordable - too bad that I have already bought my fill.

The Canterbury Plains are stunning and we are told that on a clear day you can see across to the Southern Alps, but not today.  As we are leaving, the gondola operator tells us that yesterday the weather was so bad that you could not see Christchurch until after the fog lifted about 4 pm, so I guess it is better that we came today.

We followed our trip up the Mountain with a foot trip through the streets of Christchurch finding more of the artworks and some new buildings that are brave and bold in timber and metal and now limited to 6 stories to limit future problems with any more seismic activity.  Buildings now are rated for earthquakes and although we are only on the second floor, I'm grateful the Ramada has a A1 rating! 

The famous Container Mall has been all but totally dismantled now that the inner city Malls are again taking shape.  It is interesting as when you ask where the City Centre is, the common response is that it is changing day by day.

The last remnants of the Chinese New Year celebrations are still up - you need to understand the incredible number of Chinese people who came to New Zealand when gold was discovered.  And as we have found during our stay, NZ is a very popular destination for Chinese tourists these days.



Our last stop for the afternoon was the Transitional Cathedral otherwise known as the Cardboard Cathedral.  The Evensong Service was underway and so I sat in, allowing the choister boy voices to lift my spirit into the cavernous void above us. 

I calculate that the seating as set out can accommodate about 340 people - significantly less than the 1,000 that the former Anglican Cathedral could house. 
Although this building is 'temporary', there is definitely a feel of persistence and permanence. 

After the service, we are told that the decision has just taken to re-build the former Cathedral, although there is not yet an appeal underway.

And nearby is probably the most poignant art installation, the 185 Empty Chairs memorial dedicated to the number of lives lost in the 2011 earthquake.


Back to the hotel just a few blocks away - they have a combined washing machine / dryer so we can do all our washing before we leave for home. It is getting darker now and much cooler. Time to be indoors.

And now, if only the broader weather patterns will behave themselves - we arrived on the coat tails of TC Gita.  Not at all interested in being blown home by TC Hola currently out in the Pacific - or any other one that our home messages are warning of.

Friendly locals give us lots of tips

Anne at the Mossburn Railway Hotel had suggested the trip to Doubtful Sound and when we went over for a nip after returning from Milford Sound yesterday, we shared a table briefly with Gerard.  He is a former dairy farmer, who now drives livestock trucks and in his other life shows dogs with his wife and loves to surprise her with little getaways - like to see the Lupins in bloom.  A real diamond in the rough! He and Michael got talking about planes.  And all of a sudden, the rest of our trip could be planned around any number of air museums. Gerard also had a number of other suggestions like routes to follow. Unfortunately, we won't have enough time to do it all!



So this morning we head off from Mossburn and head south towards Invercargill planning a couple of stops in between.  The landscape has changed quite a bit - it has mellowed from the big rocky hills to more mature, weathered and flattened lush farmlands.  Sure there are still hills in the background, but the are rounded and rolling. The 'long white cloud' is still visible and now I get the meaning for New Zealanders

- each day starts and ends with the cloud.  Its like it wraps the landscape daily, keeping it secure for the new day's dawning. 

I make a quick toilet stop in Lumsden where Michael spies my namesake street!

The views are more pastoral with everything that comes with that - roadside mailboxes, cattle underpasses between milking shed and pastures, amazing fir tree hedges that provide windbreaks to the fields. Field after field of swedes grown as feed for the sheep. And those delightful bucolic smells.

The first planned stop is at the Croydon Aviation Heritage Museum at Mandeville.  The GPS takes us via an unplanned detour - as they sometimes have want to do. Funnily, it detoured about 1.6 kms from the museum! Travelled an extra 40 kms!!
Once back on the highway we turn one last corner to then view the museum.

The Croydon Aviation Heritage Museum is a homage to the biplane with not one, not two, not three but FOUR tiger moths!

(Michael)  This a 'flying' museum, with each of the exhibits bearing an airworthy clearance. However, there are a couple of the exhibits which are undergoing restoration to full airworthiness. 

The museum demands thorough investigation to fully appreciate the decades of effort injected to maintain this caliber of excellence. The aircraft are dutifully maintained and the flying hours carefully husbanded. The care and attention taken gives the impression that the aircraft have just emerged from the factory floor. Most of the aircraft are a representation from the De Havilland and Auster stables. Albeit, there are aircraft from contemporary eras as well, such as an Aermacchi M-346 and a Pitts S-2A two seater. Other aircraft from specialised interests includes a reproduction of the 1910 Pither monoplane, whereby making its inaugral and only flight in 2010. The other is a homebuilt, an Williams Mk4 Microlight constructed and flown in 1991. 

Visitors are given a treat of gaining access to the maintenance hanger where repairs, reconstructions and complete rebuilds are effected. Upon entering this hanger, the aroma of wood, sawdust and glue is like a sweet smelling bouquet. As I was standing in awe, I noticed at one end of the hanger a recognisable cigar shaped fuselage of a typical monocoque construction and the familiar De Havilland rudder. I enquired from one of the fuse techs as to the identity of this mystery work in progress. A mystery in progress indeed, as the tech said that they are in the process of building a replica De Havilland DH 88 Comet racer. I stood in absolute silence, as it was further revealed the project is expected to be completed in five years. This time frame is dependent upon sourcing the original Gypsy 6R engines. Apparently, attention to detail is paramount.

Recovering sufficiently, I left the hanger and made my way to the museum and my Maria.

I must admit - I was truly p*ssed off when Michael asked whether he could go up on a flight only to be told no, there was no flying today. They are working on a restoration for an owner that wants it asap. They advertise flights available and are obviously happy to forgo not a small flying fee. One would think that any aficionado would understand a visitor from afar, a yearning and make it possible. Not a good leaving feeling guys.


From here it is a short drive to the next town of Gore.  The Gore Visitor Centre and Museum is a homage to the history of the area with some very interesting displays. It centres on the every day with home and commerce exhibitions filled with the familiar and not so known items.  Not dissimilar to our Brennan and Geraghty's Museum at home.  There is a section devoted the the local history of Scouting - another parallel with our home lives and how the movement featured in the advertising for the local cereal brand!

This centre is also the home of the Hokonui Moonshine Museum that explains the links with Scotland (more than once we have drawn parallels with Scotland in the scenery down here) and Scottish settlers - with the stills and the whiskey recipes that they brought with them and the ingenious ways they beat the temperance movement during the 50 odd years of prohibition.  Very interesting and the wee dram sampled at the end while not as smooth as its aged cousins from the motherland was definitely very drinkable!

A quick trip across the road to the Eastern Southland Gallery was a real eye opener. No photos obviously as it is an art gallery.  There are three displays - the John Money Wing and Ralph Hotere Gallery and in the temporary space is an exhibition of Rod Eales works.  John Money was the patron of both the artists and his amazing collection of artefacts - mainly carvings - from across the world is stunning.

The it is on to Invercargill for the night and tomorrow.  We are booked in to the historic Victoria Railway Hotel that once upon a time sat across the street from the railway station that is now a YMCA centre.  We venture into town looking for a dinner restaurant. The town is tired and a little grubby with lots of vacant commercial shops.  The local Council is busy replacing stormwater in the CBD, again links with home lol.

In the end we settle on a Pinch of Spice - an Indian restaurant that turned out to be a great choice.  It was spotless, the service very attentive and the food wonderfully tasty.

We began with a Tandoor tasting plate of chicken, lamb kabob, fish and prawns and followed that with Chicken Chettinad and Beef Rogan Josh served with Basmati rice and a roti and a paratha.  Delicious!

Off to plan the next couple of days now - our time is flying by!