Prague; Wednesday, 11 April, 2001

So here I was. For the first time in more than 10 years I was getting ready to go on holiday and for the first time it wasn't with family it was with friends. I still couldn't quite believe what had started out as a bit of a drunken joke in a pub a couple of days after Christmas was actually happening.

After a short delay (1 hour) we were off and only 95 minutes later the plane landed in Prague. A quick exit from the plane and straight through immigration to arrive at the baggage belts just in time to see our luggage coming up (barely 10 mins from the plane touching the runway). Straight through customs and into a waiting taxi through the outskirts or Prague (at somewhere approaching 80 mph!) to the hotel. In less than 45 minutes I had got from the air to the hotel!.

It was already 11pm so we decided on a quiet evening and went to the bar at the end of the street where we drunk ourselves silly (The Czech's operate a brilliant system where they keep a tab on your table of how many beers you have had and charge at the end). After about 4 pints each we asked for the bill that came to about £4 (you couldn't get one round of drinks for that in even the cheapest student bar in the UK) and promptly tipped the bar man about £6 as we still weren't used to the currency, though it would explain why we got such good service the next time we went in...

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Prague; Thursday, 12 April, 2001

First day in a new city and the temptation was just to do everything at once.

Firstly we had a look at the guide books and then we walked into town.

First stop was the old town square and with it the world famous astronomical clock.

Next stop was the powder tower just slightly back from the old town square. This was the first of many spiral staircases to the top of towers. From here you can get commanding views of the centre or Prague and out to the outskirts of the city.

After a spot of lunch in a cafe near the old town square we continued to wander around the city before heading back to the hotel for a rest.

That evening we wandered back into town for a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel

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Prague; Friday, 13 April, 2001

We decided to visit the castle today and this required one of the most picturesque crossing of a river in Europe.

The Charles Bridge quite rightly features in almost all holiday brochures, guide books and literature about Prague. From it you climb the castle hill to reach the complex on the top with its breathtaking views of the city and its spectacular architecture, The cathedral, Palaces and towers.

Once again another spiral staircase challenges us but we defeated it. The tower of the cathedral has the longest set of stairs in the city over 400 with tourists in large numbers going up and down all the time it's the scariest of the climbs but the view from the top is worth it!.

After the cathedral and the tower we looked at some of the other sites in the castle complex but there was no way that we were going to get them all done in one day so it is good that the tickets are valid for 3!.

By the time we had left the castle it was early evening so we wandered back into town over a different bridge so that we could see the Charles bridge from the side.

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Prague; Saturday, 14 April, 2001

Back to the castle for a second day.

This time to see the Royal Palaces and to stroll in the grounds.

The size of the castle is such that you can not hope to do it in less that 2 days really.

After the castle we wandered back into town for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

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Prague; Sunday, 15 April, 2001

First stop for the day was the funicular railway up to the Hunger Wall.

At the top not only stunning views but also the mirror maze and a scaled down version of the Eiffel Tower. From here a walk leads down through the park land to the bottom of the hill.

Next stop was the Zizka Monument on the top of Zizkov hill. At one time used as the tomb for communist leaders now left empty but a spectacular structure. Again spectacular views of the city can be seen.

Then it was a walk back across the city to the hill that the Metronome now stands on. This was previously where a bust of Stalin had sat staring down at the people of Prague but since the collapse of communism has been replaced with something more tasteful. Again spectacular views of the city make the climb up the side of the hill worth it!

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Prague; Monday, 16 April, 2001

One of the more peculiar attractions of Prague is the television tower.

Originally planed to block the corrupting influences of capitalist television from West Germany reaching the country its building was only completed after the fall of communism.

It does though offer some of the best views of the city from the highest vantage point with the advantage that it's lifts rather than stairs that take you to the top.

After the TV Tower it was time to wander back into town and a wander round the Jewish quarter of the city

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Prague; Tuesday, 17 April, 2001

For those of you who are of a morbid fascination then the trip to Kutna Hora and more importantly the small town of Sedlec that lies just outside the city are a must.

In the town a small church was such a popular place to be interred when you died that after a while the number of bodies started to get out of hand. In the end 40,000 sets of remains were filling up the chapel and it was decided that something should be done.

This something turned out to be making decorations out of the bones. From piles of skulls to a coat of alms and even a chandelier made out of at least one of every bone in the human body!

After that we had a quick look around the city of Kutna Hora before heading back to the train station and the train back to Prague

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Prague; Wednesday, 18 April, 2001

After nearly a week in Prague it was sad to be leaving and as I watched the houses and shops whizz past from the taxi I though how nice it would be to come back again.....

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Prague; Saturday, 23 June, 2001

...After getting back from Prague I met up with some friends from University (my ex-flatmates) in Brighton and chatted about my trip. I showed them my photos and watched as they started to drool. (Especially over the price of beer). We popped into Pizza Hut for a bite to eat and talked about it a bit more. At this point we remembered that there was an STA travel shop at the bottom of the road and so within a couple of hours I again was on my way back....

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Dublin; Saturday, 18 August, 2001

As I landed in Dublin for my first ever tip by myself I found that it was going to be a "soft" day (i.e. pissing it down).

After catching the airport bus into town I visited the tourist information centre and booked myself onto a musical pub crawl for the evening. I then set about heading out of town to my hotel.

In the process I was passed by about 20 buses that I only later discovered stopped right outside the hotel and would have saved me an absolute soaking!

That evening I caught the bus back into town and went the the Temple Bar area to join the pub crawl.

A really fun evening involving several pints of Guinness 3 pubs and lots of music.

By the time I came out of the last pub the rain had stopped a warm breeze was blowing and the weather looked fare for the rest of the trip.

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Dublin; Sunday, 19 August, 2001

When you only have 2 days in which to cram the whole of Dublin into your itinerary there is no time for lying in and waiting around. First task of the morning go on one of the open top bus tours. These are useful for a number of reasons

1. They give you an idea where places are in the city and if they are hop on hop off let you get round the city easily

2. They always give you an easy to read map with all the key tourist points marked out

3. They always have money off vouchers for the attractions you want to visit!

First stop of the morning Trinity College and the Dublin Experience a 45 minute Audio/Visual presentation of the history of the island of Ireland. Following this a quick walk across the quad to the long library and the Book of Kells.

After this it's back onto the bus and off to a lunchtime visit to the Old Jameson's distillery. An interesting tour of how Irish whisky is produced topped off with a tasting session.

quick walk back across the Liffy and up the hill to the Guinness factory for a look round their museum and a free pint of Guinness. All in all a very alcoholic afternoon.

Back to the hotel to quickly recover (and drop off the souvenirs) before setting out again for the Dublin Ghost bus tour. An interesting and informative bus tour of the most haunted spots in Dublin

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Dublin; Monday, 20 August, 2001

1 Day down and just a couple of hours left until the flight back home required yet more rush sightseeing.

A look round the Dublinia Exhibition followed by a look around St Patrick's Cathedral. After that just time for a quick look round the museum of Irish music and the wax works and then back onto the airport bus for the flight home and a well deserved rest (and admitting to my boss who had only just come of holiday that I had handed my notice in 2 weeks earlier!!)

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Prague; Saturday, 20 October, 2001

And here we go again.

I am proud to have officially opened the summer season in Prague and here I was back for the very last week before the clocks went back and the winter season officially started.

This time even the flight wasn't as delayed and once again I found myself in the bar at the end of the road the hotel was in with the same barman on duty!

The only difference this time was different traveling companions

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Prague; Sunday, 21 October, 2001

With the problem of not knowing your way round a foreign city already disposed of back in April it's off to a brisk start with as many towers as possible in the first day to get a good a view as possible of the city and also to have a look in some of the more spectacular churches that I hadn't managed to on the first occasion.

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Prague; Monday, 22 October, 2001

After having completed most of the towers in the centre of town (including the tall one in the cathedral in the castle we headed for the TV tower. This time with the weather a bit clearer the views were even more spectacular than before.

Then in the evening off on a ghost tour of Prague

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Prague; Tuesday, 23 October, 2001

More sightseeing and coffee! From the hill in Zizkov near the hotel the views were even more spectacular with some foliage on the trees.

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Prague; Wednesday, 24 October, 2001

Off for another bit of Morbid fascination looking at the bones (all I did was show some pictures and then everybody is an instant gore monster!). After that we went in and had a better look at Kutna Hora and St Barbara's Cathedral.

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Prague; Thursday, 25 October, 2001

Up another tower, this time at the end of the Charles bridge and then a wander through the lanes running away from the bridge towards the old town square.

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Prague; Friday, 26 October, 2001

Visit to Vysehrad that I hadn't managed to do on the first trip.

The small town on the top of a hill just outside the city centre has the Cemetery for all the famous artists and musicians who have lived and died in the city.

Then back to the centre for the final tower the one housing the astronomical clock. Though some of the fun of climbing hundreds of steps has been removed because they stuck a lift in!. Spectacular views over the old town square though!.

Down then into the cellars of the town hall which are cavernous in the extreme before finally emerging back into the old town square for another coffee.

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Prague; Saturday, 27 October, 2001

This time as the taxi pulled away I felt that I had finally done justice to the city. I had finally seen all there was to see. I would still like to come back but not for a few years.

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Edinburgh; Tuesday, 18 December, 2001

From the moment that I left the terminal building at Edinburgh I was aware that I had probably not packed enough warm clothing. It was rather cold. The sky was so clear and so blue that the only two things it could be were a baking day in the Mediterranean or a freezing day in the Arctic

I caught the airport bus into town and arrived just gone midday with more that an hour before I could check in I caught one of the open toped buses to see the city and foolishly decided to sit upstairs (in fact all the times I used open top buses I sit upstairs no matter what the weather - I think I need help!)

Stunning views of the centre of Edinburgh, the castle, the royal mile and the palace of Hollyrood. By the time the tour was complete I could check in at the hotel.

I then wandered around the city looking at some of the sights and then visited the Scottish Whisky Heritage centre. An interesting tour of how Scotch whisky is distilled (as opposed to Irish whisky - see Dublin you're probably thinking I have an alcohol problem by now) which starts with a small tasting session and finished with a slightly larger tasting session and the discovery of what is my Water of Life - Highland Park whisky.

Back to the hotel to freshen up and then back to the castle to go on the Adam Lyle (Deceased) Ghost tour (with Jumpaoooters). A fun and irreverent tour of the old town with a few grisly ghost stories checked in for good measure.

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Edinburgh; Wednesday, 19 December, 2001

First on the list of things to do in Edinburgh must really be the castle. So at 10 o'clock sharp I was almost at the head of the queue for tickets (just behind an American couple and ahead of a small Japanese tour party).

The castle itself is quite breathtaking and amazingly still partly in use.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around the castle I left and started to walk down the royal mile about 50 yards to the Camera Obscurer for a more novel tour or Edinburgh and a museum of optical illusion.

Then a little further down to the main church in Edinburgh for a quick look around.

After that back to the hotel to drop off the souvenirs and then back out.

After a quick climb up the Sir Walter Scott Monument for a breathtaking view of Edinburgh and a quick go on the Ferris wheel that had been erected next to it in time for Christmas it was time to wander back up to the castle to go on the Mercat tour of the ghosts of Edinburgh which ended up in the vaults beneath the south bridge of Edinburgh.

The vaults are creepy and when you have had someone telling you ghost stories for the previous hour it doesn't take much to make you feel freaked out!

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Edinburgh; Thursday, 20 December, 2001

Final half day in Edinburgh and I couldn't leave without seeing one of the most spectacular pieces of engineering in the UK the Forth rail bridge.

A quick train ride to North Queensferry takes you over the bridge and then a quick wander down from the station to the sealife centre and you can see the bridge up close.

After that train back into Edinburgh and time to visit the Edinburgh dungeon a wax work chamber of horrors part of a chain that also have museums in London and York.

Then up towards the royal mile and to the dynamic earth exhibition an interesting and well presented tour of the creation and shaping of the planet.

After that there was just time to pick up my luggage before heading back to the airport and the plane home.

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Bath; Friday, 08 March, 2002

I'm not going to go into the horror story of the start of my trip to Bath here. To view that go to the Hall of Horrors. Suffice to say that thanks to the booking agents at nearly 9pm on a wet Friday I was left stranded in the middle of a city I had never been to before with no hotel and a train ticket that wasn't valid until Sunday evening! Thankfully the Francis hotel had spaces (at double the cost I was originally expecting to pay!)

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Bath; Saturday, 09 March, 2002

There are two major important sights in Bath. The baths and the Abbey.

The baths themselves are impressive and the Abbey is a very light and impressive building

However there is a problem to Bath. There is a lot to see that it outside and when it is raining permanently for the weekend it does reduce what there is to do.

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Bath; Sunday, 10 March, 2002

In an attempt to hide from the showers I looked around as many of the museums as possible.

Then in a break in the showers I took my chances to look at the royal circus and royal crescent two spectacular Georgian terraces.

Just after I had finished photographing the crescent the skies decided to open again and this time did not stop

The only option is to try some of the bus tours of Bath. They all have slightly different routes, different commentaries at least a covered downstairs and last about an hour each so you can fill up quite a lot of time going round the city in the dry!

I am sure that Bath itself is a lovely city but as I had had such a bad start to the holiday combined with the weather I didn't enjoy my trip as much as I could have.

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Budapest; Wednesday, 27 March, 2002

The day had started so well that it was almost inevitable that something would go wrong. At least it was something spectacular. Got to the airport early, had a nice lunch in Garfunkles overlooking the check in point and then deposited the baggage with BA. Strolled down to arrivals and had a nice cup of coffee and then wandered up through passport control and security into the duty free shop.

5 minutes before boarding was supposed to start wandered to the gate waited a few minutes and then boarded. So far so good. It was about this time in an office a few miles away that the backup air traffic control computer decided it would be a good time to crash!!

After an hour sitting on the tarmac we finally started to roll to then sit in a plane jam and take another 45 minutes before we finally rolled down the runway. On the positive side though, BA kept apologizing for the delay and had an extra round of drinks!.

The plane finally arrived in Budapest about 75 minutes late but it was quick through immigration and shortly afterwards we were in an airport minibus on the way to the hotel.

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Budapest; Thursday, 28 March, 2002

Budapest is not as an attractive city as Prague is. Thanks to it's history large swathes of it have been leveled every 40 years through war or revolution so there are not so many historic buildings.

However it's physical geography makes it a spectacular city. Running through the middle is the Danube to one side the flat levels of Pest to the other side the Buda hills rising dramatically up.

So of course when your in a new city on a hot day what better to do then climb up to the top of the hill with the castle on it and then when you have finished descend that hill and climb the other hill with the liberty monument on the top of it!

It's amazing how much of a city you can see without actually paying to go into anything. By the time we had finished a late dinner the last bus and metro had gone so it was a 4 mile walk back to the hotel.

Thankfully the hotel was in Pest so at least the walk was on the flat

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Budapest; Friday, 29 March, 2002

One of the most useful inventions is the Budapest Card.

The card (approx. £15) gives 3 days of unlimited travel on the buses, metro, trams trolley buses and cog wheel railway (see Monday), free entry to some 60 museums plus discounts to others.

In this way on one day we made the card pay for itself by visiting as many museums in the castle area as possible including the museum of modern art and the national museum.

This was then followed in the evening by one of the more bizarre meal. We had come all the way from the UK to Budapest to have.... An Indian! to be precise a meal at Govinda a Hare Krishna vegetarian restaurant. No menu you all get the same meal but the price is amazing

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Budapest; Saturday, 30 March, 2002

Back to the castle for a second day (now where have I done that before?) to look at the cathedral (A cathedral in a castle complex on the top of a hill overlooking a major river surely there can be no other place like it in the world!!), the Fisherman's Bastion and the caves.

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Budapest; Sunday, 31 March, 2002

Easter Sunday so do as all the residents of Budapest are doing and head to the main park with the Zoo.

Fronted by hero's square (now the Hungarian skateboarding capital) the park is a large open space with several museums and metro stations in it.

The zoo itself is interesting if only in seeing what zoo's in the UK were like 30 odd years ago. If your concerned about animal rights then perhaps this is not the best place to go!

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Budapest; Monday, 01 April, 2002

Budapest has an eclectic collection of transportation.

One of the strangest is the Cog Wheel railway which runs up the side of the Buda Hills. At the top you can either admire the views or travel on the Children's railway.

The railway was built by the communist equivalent of the scouts and was and still is run almost exclusively by children (only the train drivers are adults).

The journey through the Buda hills takes about an hour and you can see some of the spectacular Hungarian countryside.

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Budapest; Tuesday, 02 April, 2002

When the communist regime fell in Hungary the remnant of it were quickly ripped down. This included all the statues that had littered the city.

Instead of melting them down or sending them for scrap instead they decided to place them in a park just on the outskirts of the city.

The park itself is most bizarre almost in the middle of nowhere is this large patch of land with over 30 monuments sitting there.

On a misty or overcast evening it would probably creep most people out but as a pure kitsch tourist site it is well worth a visit.

After that we went back into town and went to the top of St Stephen's Basilica for stunning views of Pest.

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Budapest; Wednesday, 03 April, 2002

As we waited for the airport minibus to go back to the airport it was nice to note that the glorious weather that we had enjoyed since day one was just changing. Budapest may not be as beautiful a city as Prague but it has it's own charms that still makes it one of the best cities in the world

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Nottingham; Thursday, 06 June, 2002

Considering what had happened the last time I went away on Holiday in the UK (Bath) things had gone so wrong I was a little apprehensive about this trip.

In the end I need not have been as everything went perfectly. It started well and got better. Midland main line, the rail operator between London and Nottingham, have invented a new type of ticket a First Class Apex. It was about £5 more expensive than a standard class ticket but upgraded me to first class luxury.

As soon as I had boarded and before the train had even left I had already been served one cup of complementary tea (in china cups!) this was followed by several top-ups, free snack and a glass of a particularly pleasant white wine (all free!).

In addition to all that the first class seats are particularly comfortable so that by the time I arrived in Nottingham it was a strain to pull myself away from the seat (I would happily have had another couple of glasses of wine and spent the night asleep in the seat).

the hotel was about 45 meters from the station!

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Nottingham; Friday, 07 June, 2002

Nottingham is dominated by the castle that stands on the hill.

Castle is probably not the best word to use to describe it as it is more a mansion house, the original castle having been leveled after the civil war.

With a large museum, grounds that give a spectacular view of the city and surrounding area (on a good day you can see 4 counties) an expansive art gallery (at the time showing an Andy Warhol Exhibition) and tours of the caves passages under the castle it can happily fill up several hours.

After I had finished the castle I decided to go and visit the impressive building of Southwall Minster in the small town of Southwall about 12 miles from Nottingham but linked with a regular and reliable bus service.

The Minster is quite frankly spectacular. After having a wander round the Minster and the town it was back on the bus to Nottingham.

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Nottingham; Saturday, 08 June, 2002

After a quick wander round the canal area near the hotel I decided to visit a couple of the museums in Nottingham.

The first was the galleries of justice. This interesting and enjoyable museum is arranged into 2 areas. The first part of the exhibition in the old police station looks at crime, detection and arrest. The second part of the exhibition based in the old magistrates court looks at trial, justice and punishment.

Acting out the scenes with participation from the visitors you get a real feel of what it is like to be arrested, tried and jailed in various time periods. Well worth a visit.

After that I looked around the nearby parish church for Nottingham. A large traditional looking church with large windows and a peaceful relaxing feel.

In the late afternoon I strolled over to the Robin Hood experience a dark ride/exhibition on Nottingham's most famous son. I'm sure that it must be good for young children but I found it boring and not engaging.

In the late afternoon I strolled over to the Robin Hood experience a dark ride/exhibition on Nottingham's most famous son. I'm sure that it must be good for young children but I found it boring and not engaging.

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Nottingham; Sunday, 09 June, 2002

Nottingham has a lot to offer in terms of museums, attractions and things to do and you really need more than 2 and a half days.

In the end there were several things I didn't get to see as I ran out of time. However the Windmill just outside the city is interesting in so much as being able to view the insides of a working windmill whilst it is in action.

The Angel Row gallery has a collection of modern art that may not be to everybody's taste but is worth a visit and finally I visited the caves of Nottingham.

Nottingham is built on sandstone and as such has had caves dug out underneath it from almost the first day humans occupied the area. More bizarrely the caves are entered from inside the shopping centre!

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Hay-on-Wye; Friday, 05 July, 2002

After a long journey down the motorway from London stopping for a traffic jam virtually every other junction we arrived at the hotel after 5 hours, thankfully just in time for dinner.

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Hay-on-Wye; Saturday, 06 July, 2002

Off to Hay, the home of the second hand book.

There is a lot to see in Hay in the way of bookshops but if you're not into books then it's perhaps not the best place in the world.

However there are lots of other sights in the surrounding areas including lots of castles and forts.

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Hay-on-Wye; Sunday, 07 July, 2002

Back into the car for the drive home but via Worcester and a glorious meal at a pub on the outskirts of Bromsgrove next to the canal.

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Lincoln; Friday, 19 July, 2002

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel I decided wander up into town and I do mean up. Lincoln is on a hill and all the sites are at the top. There is only one suburban location with steeper hills and that's San Francisco!!.

Still the sites are worth it from the top the stunning cathedral that has been on the site since the 11th century and the castle.

After having a wander around I wandered back to the hotel (mercifully down hill) and then realized that the ghost walk I was going on left from the top!!!

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Lincoln; Saturday, 20 July, 2002

Aim of today to cram in as much as possible into a short a space of time as possible as the weather was not good.

First site of the day was looking at Lincoln from the Guide Friday bus, views of the city, get your bearings and discount vouchers to a number of sites.

After returning to the cathedral I went on one of the daily tours of the roof of the cathedral.

Not for the faint hearted clambering up the spiral staircases into the original oak beamed roof cavities of the cathedral before stepping out onto the roof (thankfully just after a hefty shower rather than during) for views of the surrounding area that are unrivaled by any other.

Then a wander across the square to the castle to look around the remains of the castle, the towers and the Magna Carta exhibition.

just in time back onto the Guide Friday bus as one of the heaviest thunder storms decides to deposit itself on the city.

After another whip round the city there is enough time (and some sun) to look round the remains of the Medieval Bishops Palace before retiring for food and bed

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Lincoln; Sunday, 21 July, 2002

New day and no showers means that there is more time to look around more of the museums and sites of the city.

In addition to that I discovered the bus service that drives you up the side of the hill rather than having to walk up!!.

At the top of the hill behind the castle is the lawns visitors centre, the former mental hospital of the city, is now a collection of museums, a glasshouse to the memory of one of the cities most famous sons Sir Joseph Banks. He sailed with Captain Cook to Australia as a botanist and discovered and named many of the plants he found there.

When he came back to the UK he help in the founding of Kew Gardens and Kew themselves donated many of the species for the glasshouse.

After the Lawns visitor centre onto the museum of Lincolnshire life. Set in an old army barracks this museum looks at life in Lincolnshire in the 19th century and then has a museum dedicated to the army regiment who were based there before they were merged with another regiment and left. The final part of the museum is dedicated to transport of all types including a small display to one of Lincoln's most important transport inventions the Tank. On certain Sundays (including the day I visited) many of the steam machines are put through their paces.

After the museum of Lincolnshire life I moved onto the Usher gallery a very odd museum that is mostly made up of the items bequested to the city by James Usher on his death. An ecliptic collection of china, coins, watches and grandfather clocks but still interesting.

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Lincoln; Monday, 22 July, 2002

Just time before my train back home to have a look around the inside of the Cathedral from the ground rather than the rafters. Regular tours of the cathedral are conducted and give an interesting insight into parts of the cathedral and stories that you would otherwise not have found out about.

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Cork; Monday, 12 August, 2002

If you get a clear day the flight over to Ireland is spectacular and sitting on the left hand side I got an unparalleled view of where I had been only a couple of months earlier. Being able to trace the route from London to mid-Wales accurately as we flew to the north of the M4, the Severn bridges and over Abergavenny.

Cork airport itself, when you arrive is very small and the planes do what can only be described as parallel parking to fit into the spaces available for them. Having said that getting through the airport is very quick it's about 300 yards from plane to taxi or bus!

As I had just missed the hourly bus (there are two buses an hour into town within 5 minutes of each other!) I caught a taxi to the hotel.

The taxi driver was very friendly and welcoming and apologies for the traffic which is quite bad, not helped by a fiendish one way system that requires you to swap sides of the river at times!

I checked into the hotel and then popped out for a bite to eat before returning for a quick drink in the bar before bed

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Cork; Tuesday, 13 August, 2002

Tuesday was my day for doing Cork.

The city itself is not full of tourist attractions. It has a large number of churches that would keep a churchaholic happy for a couple of weeks but there are only two worth visiting if you have limited time. In addition to that there are not many museums and in the end only spending one day in Cork there was only two attractions that I did not see, the Crawford Art Gallery and the Cork city museum. In addition a tour of the Beamish Crawford brewery would have been interesting but the site was closed for repairs at the time.

First on the itinerary for the day was the Guide Friday tour of the city. This takes you round the whole of the city centre and out to the city Gaol which was my first stop.

The Gaol, which closed to prisoners in 1923 has an interesting audio guided exhibition on the prisons use and the conditions it's inmates were kept in. After it was a prison it had another life as the headquarters of RTE (the state broadcaster) in Cork and from it's walls the first radio broadcasts in the city were transmitted. There is a museum to RTE radio and the role the Gaol played in it in addition to the Gaol museum.

Next stop, about 3/4 of a mile back down the hill is St. Ann's Shandon and it's bells. This imposing church is made of the two types of stone found in Cork and two sides of the building are in the Red of the Sandstone and the other two sides in the grey of the Limestone. In addition to being a striking building you can also climb the tower (red rag to a bull for me) and part way up ring the famous Shandon bells.

Next stop about 50 yards away is the butter museum but before I popped in there I had a wonderful lunch in the little cafe at the front of the Shandon Craft Centre.

The butter museum is in the site of the former butter market. Cork was the centre of a highly lucrative and important butter industry. The small museum ends with a video presentation on the importance and quality of Irish butter and is in no way a marketing campaign by Kerrygold the Irish state dairy products company!.

After that I wandered over to look at St. Fin Barrs Cathedral which is an interesting (if not slightly brutal looking) cathedral.

From there I went to the Cork vision centre. Set in a old disused church this exhibition centre includes a scale model of the whole of the Lee valley from before it reaches Cork, through the city and out to the sea to Cobh. The centre also has a video presentation on the history and development of Cork.

That evening I went on a very interesting literary tour of Cork that walks round the centre of the city pointing out it's literary connections and ends with a pint of Beamish in a pub opposite the brewery.

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Cork; Wednesday, 14 August, 2002

Up bright and early to do two places today. Blarney and Midleton.

Blarney castle is most well known for it's famous stone that if you kiss you will supposedly get the "gift of the gab". The castle itself is slightly disappointing after all the hype there is very limited signage and it is expensive.

If you do want to go it is best to go early. I got the 08:45 bus from Cork that got me to Blarney just before 09:15, just 15 minutes after the castle had opened and managed to just walk up to the stone and kiss it. By the time I left at 10:30 the queue was already over an Hour!.

After getting back into Cork I set back out again the other side of the city to Midleton.

Midleton is the home to almost all the Irish Whiskeys (Bushmills -distilled in Antrim, Ulster - is the only whiskey not distilled in Midleton). In 1987 a new distillery was opened next to the originally distillery and in 1992 the old distillery was opened as a visitors centre.

The tour lasts about 60 minutes and is very interesting looking at the whole production and looking at where it was actually done. At the end of the tour 4 volunteers are asked for. If you like whiskey I would advise you to be standing at the front with your hand in the air on the "I" of "I would like 4 volunteers".

You get to taste all 4 of the main Irish distillers brands (Jamesons, Paddys, Powers and Bushmills) a Scotch and a Bourbon to compare. The rest of the tour party get a glass of Jamesons.

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Cork; Thursday, 15 August, 2002

Thursday and it must be Kinsale.

This pretty harbour town about 45 minutes from Cork is well worth a visit. One of the most strategic ports until it started silting up.

As tour guides of the town will tell you Kinsale has a large part to play in why English and not Spanish is not the language of such a large number of people. The best way to get an idea of the town is to go on the walking tour that takes you round the old medieval centre of the town and gives you a full history of the site.

After the walking tour I had a look around the small museum that is in the town showing artifacts from the history of the town. Then in the afternoon I went on the Roadrunners bus tour of the town and surrounding area.

The tour is very interesting taking you out to the Atlantic coast at Garretstown and the Old head of Kinsale, back past the Charles fort the defended the harbour entrance for spectacular views of the town before finally returning to the town.

Before leaving I had a look around the Desmond Castle and Wine museum. The castle itself was used as a prison and the display depicts life in the castle when it was a prison. The wine museum charts Kinsale's relationship with the wine industry.

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Cork; Friday, 16 August, 2002

Friday and It's Cobh (pronounced Cove).

This is now the main port on this side of the Island of Ireland. During the 19th and early 20th century over 2,000,000 people left Cobh and Ireland seeking a better life in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. Nearly 1/2 of all the people who emigrated for Ireland left through Cobh.

Cobh has also played a key part in two of the biggest maritime disasters of the 20th century. Cobh was the last point at which the Titanic put anchor before setting off to its destiny in the North Atlantic. The last passengers to join the ill fated voyage did so at Cobh and the pilot man who guided the ship out of the harbour was the last person to leave the ship whilst it was still seaworthy.

Cobh was also heavily involved with the rescue and brining ashore of bodies from the sinking of the Lucitania less than 20 miles off the coast. The large ship was sunk by a German torpedo during the First World War.

The Titanic trail walking tour takes you round the town and shows you the main locations that are connected with both the incidents. This well presented and interesting tour is well worth it, not only for the content but also for the views of the town and harbour that you get. There is a complementary 1/2 of Guinness at the top of the hill and the tour ends in the Titanic bar with a complementary Tea/Coffee. The bar in one of it's many incarnations was the offices of the White Star Line and it was from that building that over 100 people left to travel on the Titanic.

After that I visited the Queenstown story (one of the other names that the town has had) which details the emigration from the port and also looks at the Titanic and Lucitania disasters.

After that I went on a boat tour of the harbour which gives you excellent views of the town.

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Cork; Saturday, 17 August, 2002

After two days of sunshine (and for the second year on the trot getting sunburned in Ireland) the weather broke and I got the bus out to the airport in a prolonged drizzle.

Cloud cover meant that I saw virtually nothing until about Oxford but I did get a very good view of Heathrow airport and my work place from 28,000ft.

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Glasgow; Wednesday, 23 October, 2002

Travelling straight from work to Heathrow and then onto the plane meant that I was looking forward to getting food (that's why I had paid a few pounds less to travel from a convenient airport with a flag carrier!!).

As soon as the plane had leveled off the cabin crew were down with dinner. This was followed by drinks. Once people had finished they came down and cleared up at the same time as the pilot announced that we were about to start our decent into Glasgow!!.

From the airport I got the air bus into the city centre and from there a taxi to the hotel.

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Glasgow; Thursday, 24 October, 2002

With a dubious weather forecast for the day and a bad forecast for Friday I though that it might be sensible to see as much as possible out doors today.

I went straight to George square to get the sightseeing bus. After going round the East and West routes I went back to the Cathedral and had a look around what is an odd cathedral in so much as it has a lower floor that starts halfway along the cathedral.

After the cathedral I visited the St Mungo's museum of religion which is quite interesting considering the scope for boredom and preaching that such a museum could present.

After that I wandered over to the Necropolis on the hill behind the cathedral. The city of the dead gives stunning views over the east of the city.

After that it was back into the city and onto the riverside tour to see what there was to offer down on the Clyde.

The Tall ships exhibition details the history of navigation and ship building on the Clyde and after that you can explore the only remaining Clyde tall ship in the UK. From there it was back into the city centre and onto the museum of modern art.

This interesting museum has a range of exhibits (paintings, photos, sculpture and "installation's"). Most disturbing of all was the exhibition of photographs from Henri Cartier-Bresson. Exactly the same one I had seen in Budapest, I was convinced I was being followed.

After that back out to the riverside to the Glasgow Science Centre. This comprises the Science mall museum, Imax cinema and Glasgow Tower. Sadly the Glasgow tower which rises 300 feet over the city giving spectacular views was out of service (and has been since one side sunk by 1/4 inch back in March).

The science mall museum is a very interesting and totally interactive exhibition presenting science in an easy to understand and fun way. After visiting the museum I took in two films in the Imax cinema before walking back to the train station to get the train back into the centre and then a taxi back to the hotel.

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Glasgow; Friday, 25 October, 2002

With a gentle drizzle in the sky I set out for the second day with the knowledge this morning that the sightseeing buses actually stop outside the hotel and I don't need to go into town to pick it up.

Went through to the other side of the city to visit the Kelvinhall museum and art gallery.

This is a large collection on a range of subjects, Archaeology, Natural History and art that has been granted to the city. The building itself is impressive and only slightly dwarfed by the structure of the university that faces it across the river.

Across the road from the museum is the Glasgow museum of transport that charts the changes in transport across Glasgow through the 20th century including a small display to the Locherby disaster.

After that back onto the tour bus and over to the other side of the city to the Providends Lordship, the oldest building in the city. The display inside gives some insight into the history of the city and the relationship of the building to the neighboring cathedral.

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Edinburgh; Friday, 01 November, 2002

Less than 11 months later and possibly 10 degrees warmer the flight from Gatwick landed early to empty us onto the wet (correction very wet) tarmac of Edinburgh airport at 9pm on a Friday evening at the end of the wettest and windiest week for several years.

Surprised more than anything that we had made it thanks to the almost complete shut down of the rail network at the beginning of the week and it still being crippled at times I thought I would still have been sitting in a train wondering how I was going to catch a flight I had missed.

After negotiating the airport in about 3 minutes we found ourselves on the airport bus heading into the centre of the city with a gentle drizzle slowing starting to stop.

No matter what weather you approach Edinburgh in you cannot help but to be totally breath taken by the scene that greets you as you turn into princes street and see the castle towering over you. However at almost 10pm after having come straight from work all that was on my mind was bed!

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Edinburgh; Saturday, 02 November, 2002

Depending on which forecast on which day you had listened to the weekend was either going to be cold and wet, warm and wet, sunny with showers or heavy rain. In the end it turned out to be gray and overcast (not predicted) until the early evening when the heavy rain arrived to be replaced on Sunday with sunshine and no showers (also not predicted).

Visiting Edinburgh the obvious place to start is either by hiring a taxi or get some climbing equipment to scale the hill up to the old town. Failing that it makes for an energetic morning stroll up to the castle.

Seeing as the castle is so old and the repair work that goes on inside it only matched by the nearby Forth bridge every time you visit there will be another new bit to see and a bit you saw before that you cant access this time.

After the views that you can get from the top of the castle the next best viewing point is 247 steps up the inside of the Scott monument. So this appeared to be the next best move for us. After a short climb (about 10 mins if you are unfit and have to stand panting on each landing for a couple of mins) up to the top you get a wonderful view over the whole of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth.

Last time I came by the time I had got to the top it was already dusk and all you could see was the castle floodlight this time there was much more to see.(through the gloom and murk of an overcast day).

After climbing back down (and spending about 5 minutes to get your balance back after the spiral staircases) it was lunchtime and after that a quick trip to the Edinburgh dungeon.

From there back up the hill to the Camera Obscura and then the Whisky heritage centre.

Finally (in the heavy rain now) back to the hotel to deposit off souvenirs before dinner in a Thai restaurant and drinks in the hotel bar.

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Edinburgh; Sunday, 03 November, 2002

When it was finally decommissioned in 1997 the former Royal Yacht Britannia had many suggestions made as to its future. One was to scuttle it (this came from the royal family - probably to stop the peasant's from seeing it!)

Thankfully the decision was made to turn it into an exhibition and so it returned to the port where it was made and is now a permanent exhibition in Leath harbour just on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

The exhibition is easily reached with buses, even on a Sunday, every 10 minutes. After a short exhibition on the history of the yacht you leave the quay side building and take an audio guided tour round the yacht.

It's an interesting experience and an insight into royal life (and how the other 0.0002% live). To do the ship justice you need a couple of hours to look round the whole of the exhibition and the yacht (though if you don't want to part with large sums of money skip through the gift shop quickly).

After Britannia there was just enough time for a quick coffee and some souvenir hunting before it was time to leave the city again. I have the strange feeling though that I might well be back again very soon....

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St Helier; Saturday, 30 November, 2002

After a very hearty breakfast (with full silver service!!) it was time to hit the island (in a light drizzle).

First on the itinerary for the day (because it was the closest) was The occupation museum near the centre of town.

The museum itself is slightly disappointing given that its main elements appear to be a 40 minute rather elderly video on the occupation and a display of German uniforms.

the Occupation museum I had quick wander up to the top of the cliffs to have a look down on the town and over the the Elizabeth castle (Sadly closed for the winter) and then wandered back into the town centre to go to the Jersey Museum.

The museum starts with a 12 minute presentation on the history of the island that gives a good background to start exploring the rest of the collection of the museum. The museum itself mostly focuses on the older history (pre-WWII) and the geography/geology of the island.

After the museum it was time to hop on a bus and visit Gorey on the East Coast of the island and one of the best preserved Castles

Mont Orgueil castle is still pretty well intact in many places and offers some stunning views over the small harbour town of Gorey.

After Gorey there was just enough time to zip back into St Hellier and visit the Occupation Tapestry - Put together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the island at the end of WWII - and the Maritime museum.

Both are almost new and very well presented museums that use a range of different mediums to put their message across with the Maritime Museum being very Hand-on.

After that I had a quick wander (in the dwindling light) round the harbour to get a better view of the Elizabeth castle which in situated on a piece of headland that is only connected to the mainland during low tide. After that I quickly popped back to Gorey to get some shots of the castle floodlight and to have dinner in a nice fish restaurant I had spotted before returning back to St Hellier.

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St Helier; Sunday, 01 December, 2002

Sundays in December without a car are not a good idea on Jersey.

I looked at the map and found lots of places I would like to visit, then I consulted the bus timetable and found that you couldn't get to any of them.

The only place that I could get to was Jersey Zoo so I went out there and was very impressed.

The last time I had visited a Zoo was in Budapest and there the animals were in tiny cages and showing serious signs of mental health problems.

In Jersey the two zoo's couldn't have been more different. Large enclosures gave the animals lots of space to move around in and there were no animals rooted to the spot rocking backwards and forwards that there had been in Budapest.

The zoo has a recommended walking route that allows you to see all the animals and consequently doesn't make it feel as busy as some other zoos do.

Jersey zoo is possibly the only zoo in the world that has Dodo's... If only on top of the pillars into the car park.

After the Zoo it was time to return back into St Hellier, Check out of the hotel and get a cab back to the airport and home.

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Paris; Friday, 21 March, 2003

There are some distinct advantages to working in SW London. One is having Heathrow on your doorstep and the other is having trains that run direct to Waterloo for the Eurostar.

Trip to Paris was a birthday treat arranged by my Girlfriend, so I had no idea what to expect when we got to the hotel (later than if I had followed her idea of asking in the station where the hotel was rather than just going out of the station and trying to find it from there).

The hotel was beautiful. Not very obvious from the street and only a small but very comfortable room, but the part that made it special was the view. From the balcony you could look out over the rooftops to the dome of Sacré Cœur floodlight in glory, looking over the city

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Paris; Saturday, 22 March, 2003

Early start to the day leaving the hotel and walking to the Metro station to get the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. Being out in Paris that early on a Saturday morning you feel as though you have the city to yourself. There are no tourists, virtually no locals and almost no traffic on the roads, a light mist made the Eiffel Tower stand out even more.

After spending nearly 40 minutes admiring it from afar we walked over and waited for the lifts to open to go up it. The views from the top are spectacular taking the whole of the city you can see all the world famous monuments that Paris has to offer including the Arc de Triomphe and Notre-Dame. After spending a couple of hours up the tower we descended and boarded one of the tourist boats to view Paris from the Seine passing the Louvre, Notre Dame and Musee d'Orsay.

The boat returned us to the base of the Eiffel Tower so we caught the RER to Notre-Dame and then sat in a little street cafe to have lunch. Afterwards we walked round the cathedral and then back across the Seine towards the centre of the city. We quickly looked round the outside of the Pompidou Centre before catching the metro back over the river to the Luxembourg Gardens.

After spending some time relaxing in the gardens we walked back towards the Patheon and then, with the sun starting to set went back to the hotel. After a quick refresh, and allowing the sun to set, we walked up to the base of the hill that the Sacré Cœur is on and after taking some photos found a small restaurant off to one side.

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Paris; Sunday, 23 March, 2003

Sunday was going to be a rush day as the train left that evening to take us back. In an attempt to see as much as possible we boarded one of the open top tour buses that go round the city.

The bus took in the Opera house, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Patheon, Musee d'Orday, Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower (from a number of angels). After a quick pit stop for lunch in a cafe behind the Madeleine we went back to Sacré Cœur to see it in daylight and have a look round the area, including looking at all the painters working away. We took a touristy land train on a tour round the area and down the hill to look at the Moulin Rouge. When returned to the top of the hill we found an exhibition of Dali's work was on display in a little gallery so we spent some time looking around that before finally wandering back down the hill towards the Gare du Nord and home.

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Swakopmund; Saturday, 12 April, 2003

A day of firsts today... First time I have flown from Terminal 4, first time I have flown on a 747, first time I have left Europe.

By 11:00pm we had crossed the Mediterranean and were over the continent. Partly because of the size of the seat (that's economy class for you) and partly the excitement that each second I was travelling further south, further from home than I had ever been before, I couldn't sleep.

But that was OK as I managed to re-watch the Lord of the rings - The two towers which BA was playing as one of the in-flight movies!

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Swakopmund; Sunday, 13 April, 2003

2am saw a slightly more interesting experience, the plane suddenly, over the middle of the Sahara, hitting turbulence, or something similar, and then rapidly moving several hundred feet down in a very short amount of time!, 5:00 and as we fly over Swakopmund (only another 12 hours till I reach it!) breakfast/plastic is served.

Shortly before 6:30 (7:30 local time) and nearly 30 mins early we touch down in Cape Town and I take my first steps on African soil. After an hours wait to get through immigration (I was at the back of a plane and that was the 3rd 747 to come down in 10 mins so there were a lot of people) I emerged into the airport and went to see if I could check in for my connecting flight to Walvis Bay. With an infuriatingly long amount of time to wait until my next flight, but not long enough to risk leaving the airport and seeing the sights of Cape Town, I took a seat and proceeded to have a considerably more pleasant breakfast in the airport.

By 2pm my flight to Walvis was ready to board and for the second time that day I had to change my watch to remove the hour that I had added arriving in Cape Town. During the summer in the UK (winter in Namibia) the two countries are both on the same time zone (GMT+1) then when the clocks in the UK go back an hour at the end of summer, the clocks in Namibia go forward and hour as they start summer so for 6 months of the year the two countries are 2 hours apart. Confused yet? not as bad as when you have to keep changing your clock in the same day, by the time the plane left Cape Town (26 hours after leaving home) I was thoroughly confused on not only the time but the day as well!

The flight from Cape Town runs up the coast line all the way to Walvis. On one side of the plane is the desert on the other, the Atlantic it makes for a beautiful, if not slightly eerie landscape. The whole way we were battling against headwinds and approached Walvis 25 minutes late. We descended towards the airfield and then re-circled as the plane was buffeted by winds, we came back round, descended, got within a couple of hundred feet of the ground before sharply pulling back up again and recirlcling before another attempt. The pilot decided this time to come in high and then descended steeply just before the runway. To say that it was scary was an understatement and by the time we had stopped you could see the dents in every arm rest down the length of the plane where people had been gripping them!

My Sister and Brother-in-law met me at the airport and drove me back through the desert, through Walvis Bay (The second city of Namibia), back into the desert and on into Swakopmund. That evening, as was to be the case on most evenings, I was treated to a spectacular sunset over the Atlantic.

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Swakopmund; Monday, 14 April, 2003

This is the life, just sitting out on a balcony overlooking the South Atlantic with a slight breeze making the warm sun all that more pleasant.

After sitting out for a few hours my Sister took me Quad biking out in the desert.

After riding over the dunes for 45 minutes you ride up the side of a dune, come to the top and shimmering in the late afternoon sun is the Atlantic, so peaceful, so empty.

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Swakopmund; Tuesday, 15 April, 2003

Time today to just look round the town myself, I looked in the museums that the town has to offer, the Aquarium with its collection of local marine wildlife and models of the coastline of Namibia showing that within a couple of hundred meters of the coast the see plunges to tremendous depths.

Then a short walk back along the beach having a quick paddle to the centre of town and a quick look in on the Krystal Gallery which shows you some of the rocks, minerals and semiprecious stones that Namibia has in abundance, including the largest single piece of Quartz ever extracted (something over 14 Tons!!).

Then after a quick lunch break the Swakopmund museum which gives a potted history of the region, The older parts of the museum mostly ignore anything that happened prior to the Germans arriving but in the newer exhibitions is starting to address this with very good displays including audiovisual presentations on the history, culture and developments of the tribes who lived in the area prior to white settlers. The museum then looks at the period when it was a South African protectorate (after 1918 - 1990). Another exhibition extolls the virtues of Uranium and nuclear power.. The only problem is the exhibition is paid for and has been put up by the nearby Uranium mine.... not that I am saying there is a clash of interests...

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Swakopmund; Wednesday, 16 April, 2003

Very early start today as we have to be in Walvis bay by 7:45 to go Kayaking with dolphins and seals. After an hours drive round the coast, past the salt pans and over the desert we reach the spit of land that forms the outer part of the natural harbour at Walvis Bay.

The land is 10 Km from the main land but the drive is over 40Km.

After offloading the kayaks and a very quick guide to how to use them we set off into the water and row out into the bay. The dolphins and seals swim up close to the kayaks with the seals themselves leaping over them (and splashing the occupants!) The seals obviously enjoy the chance to play and rush out from the coast to swim alongside the Kayaks.

After about 2 hours we pull up onto a sand bank for a quick tea break before going back into the sea for another hour before setting back off home.

This evening we watched from the balcony as a massive electrical storm raged at sea, with lightning streaking across the sky.

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Swakopmund; Thursday, 17 April, 2003

Last nights storm took a slightly different turn during the night and the winds came across from the desert, subsequently the whole of the town has a slight surplus of sand that has blown in!

Today was the start of a 6 day, 5 night safari. The safari itself started the previous day in Windhoek but all they had done was to drive down to Swakopmund and then do Quad Biking or Parachuting. After a roadside lunch stop and a chance to meet the other people on the safari we set off to head up the coast to Cape Cross.

Cape Cross has a seal colony on it.... Approximately 250,000 seals... That's 250,000 large, slightly slimy fish eating aquatic mammals... all living together in a very small space. To say that the smell is strong would be an understatement. Despite the smell it is still a spectacular sight to see that number of seals up close.

After Cape Cross we drive towards Spitzkoff, a mountain in the middle of the desert where we set up camp for the night. It is the only point on the trip where we will really camp in the wild as the other campsites will have running water and other amenities, tonight the only light is from the fire. The stars are so clear and then with the moon rose. By pure chance it was a full moon and a completely clear sky. It was amazing how bright it was. The light that the moon gave off was enough to be able to easily see everything without needing a torch!

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Swakopmund; Friday, 18 April, 2003

Setting off from Spitskoff we drive round to the side of the mountain to go to the Bushmans pass, a clamber up the side of the mountain (at least they provide you with a chain to hang onto) to see spectacular views over the desert and to view what remains of some 2000 year old paintings, which have sadly been vandalized and stolen over the years.

After descending from Bushmans paradise we get back on the road and start the journey north. Unfortunately on the way we hit a very bad patch of road and the bolt holding the toe-bar onto the back of the van sheers off, so its a quick running repair before we set back off. We drift down into Uis on the last gasps of the tank and stop for a short pit stop before setting back off.

After about 50 mins we stop for lunch and then set off again, but stop again as funny sounds start coming from the van. After an inconclusive diagnosis (it could possibly be a slow puncture) we continue on to our camp site for the night, set up camp and then get back into the van to go to Twyfelfontein to see the 2000 year old paintings and 5000 year old carvings on the rocks. After Twyfelfontein we drive to the burnt mountain to view a bizarre black/brown mountain in the middle of a yellowy, red desert area.

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Swakopmund; Saturday, 19 April, 2003

The plan for the morning is to visit the petrified forest, which we do. Trees that were washed onto the plain many thousands of years ago then covered by the desert and perfectly preserved as rocks before being uncovered again when the sands moved away. After the petrified forest we drive to the town of Khorixas for a quick stop before setting off to Outjo.

Then 30 Km from Khorixas disaster strikes and smoke starts pouring from the wheel that has been making funny sounds. The original plan was that a maintenance person from the safari company would meet us at 11 in Outjo. By 11 we were all sitting at the edge of the road 110Km away. After about 3 hours wait the replacement minibus with maintenance man arrives to see what they can do.

The decision is to transfer us to a minibus for the rest of the day and see if the van can be fixed and so at just before 4pm, over 3 hours late we arrived in Outjo to restock on supplies and have a (very) late lunch!

After Outjo we drove to Etosha National Park where we were to spend the next day and a half. We drove from the gate to the camp site and saw a few giraffe in the distance, a wildebeest and lots of springbok!!

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Swakopmund; Sunday, 20 April, 2003

A full day in Etosha with a game drive before breakfast, a drive across the park to the middle camp for lunch and then a drive across the remainder of the park to the evening campsite.

Unfortunately, for us but not for everybody else, there had recently been heavy rains so all the really big animals, the Cats, elephants, Rhinos etc. had all vanished into the parts of the park that you cannot get to.

Instead we were left with some of the smaller, but still spectacular animals. The Giraffe, Zebra, Springbok, Onyx, Eland, Warthog, Kudu and many more.

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Swakopmund; Monday, 21 April, 2003

Another game drive before breakfast. This time in the van which had been repaired and delivered late last night to the camp.

After breakfast we drive through the park to the exit and then drive on towards Lake Guines a spectacular freshwater lake at the bottom of a deep chasm.

The lake was brilliantly blue. The other interesting thing is that nobody has ever been able to find the bottom of the lake!!

After a quick afternoon stop in Otjiwarongo we moved on to our final campsite at Waterbergplateau.

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Swakopmund; Tuesday, 22 April, 2003

A very, very early start to climb to the top of Waterbergplateau so that we could watch sunrise over the hills. It was a spectacular sight watching the colour slowly appear across the sky and then across the landscape.

After clambering back down and breakfast we packed up camp for the final time before setting off to the town of Okahandja and the craft market to pick up a couple of souvenirs before finally setting off on the short drive back to Windhoek.

We had a quick drink in the safaris headquarters and then I was transferred to the Hotel I had booked for the evening. I didn't know it at the time but the Windhoek Country Club is THE hotel in Namibia. I realized this when I found that I wasn't able to dine in the restaurant because I didn't have a shirt or tie!

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Swakopmund; Wednesday, 23 April, 2003

After a very, very comfortable sleep on a mattress, for the first time in 6 days I left the hotel and got the courtesy minibus to Eros airport and then my flight back to Walvis Bay.

The flight was delayed by 30 minutes as we waited for the president to leave the airport.

The flight was in a very small 16 seater plane (8 seats down each side) in which the only staff were the pilot and copilot. You were handed lunch at the gate and you could hear all the noises from the cockpit, including as we approached Walvis Bay "WARNING BELOW 300, WARNING", not for the faint-hearted!

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Swakopmund; Thursday, 24 April, 2003

Final full day in Namibia and my Sister took me out to the Camel farm in the desert to go camel riding.

I have never ridden any animal before and after experiencing a camel trotting across the desert I don't think I ever want to again (I also think that for a short while after I could have easily passed as a soprano and was probably infertile for several days)

It defiantly did something to my bladder as I kept needing to go to the toilet every couple of hours for the next 36 hours (which considering most of that was on a long haul flight was OK because it meant I kept moving around to avoid getting DVT).

After the Camel farm we visited the Snake park next to my sisters office to view some of the creature, including dangerous ones, that I could have come across whilst I was out in the desert. I was so glad I saw all the snakes, and scorpions after I had come back!

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Swakopmund; Friday, 25 April, 2003

And so my time in Africa was coming to an end. I was picked up from my Sisters flat and driven to the airport to catch the (uneventful) flight back to Cape Town where I had a 5 hour wait before my flight to the UK.

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Weymouth; Friday, 11 July, 2003

Was going down to Weymouth to see a mate and then, as he had never seen his town as a tourist, do all the sights.

Train was on time throughout its long journey. It's less than 150 miles from London to Weymouth but it takes nearly three hours to do the journey.

Needless to say after such a long journey the only obvious thing to do after I had dropped my stuff off was to go to the pub and as the train hadn't got in until nearly 5pm stay there until closing time!

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Weymouth; Saturday, 12 July, 2003

Saturday dawned gloriously. Almost perfectly clear blue skies and the sea looking tourist brochure blue!

First location of the morning was Portland Island. The island is actually connected to the main land by a spit of land but impassible in bad weather.

We got the open top bus all the way to the very end of the island to Portland Bill where the lighthouse and the furthest part of Dorset are

From the Bill you can look across the sea deep into Devon. On a gloriously sunny day the area was peaceful, tranquil and serene. On a wet or gloomy day I gather the best you would be able to come up with is suicide inducing.

We did want to look in the lighthouse museum, but being Saturday it was closed (and that about sums up all there is to know about the state of the Island!!). After visiting the Bill we hopped back on the bus to the Portland Heights hotel.

The hotel is on one of the highest points of the island facing back to the main land and affords spectacular views over the sea, Portland and Weymouth harbours and the thin strip of land that separates them Chesil Beach. After taking in the views we walked down the side of the hill into the main town Fontswell and through to Portland Castle on the other side.

The castle, originally built for Henry VIII, is in amazingly good condition and served as one of the principle forts on the south coast. It was used right up to the end of W.W.II and many of the USA D-day landing craft left from in front of it. An interesting and informative audio tour takes you round the site.

After a spot of lunch it was back on the bus into, and out of the town centre to the country park, about a mile north of the centre up the coast. Inside the park we had a quick look round Model World that has scale models depicting various areas of Dorset.

After that we had a quick round of pitch and put (or not so quick if you take 20 shots a hole and keep loosing the balls!). Then it was onto the land train and back into the centre of town, and a well deserved pint!

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Weymouth; Sunday, 13 July, 2003

Sunday dawned, if anything, even brighter than Saturday.

First stop of the morning was the Northe Fort. High on a hill overlooking the port and the town this imposing and very large fort makes for an excellent visitors attraction.

With tons of exhibits in virtually all the rooms in the fort which spans three levels from the basements to the battlements. After spending a couple of hours exploring it we moved back down the hill to the Brewers Quay complex.

A former brewery, it has now been turned into a shopping arcade and home to two museums.

The Timewalk takes you through the history of Weymouth in the company of a talking cat. My initial reaction was that it might be quite kiddyish and to some extent it is but the information and presentation style are such that you forget very quickly that it's coming from a talking cat. The tour ends with a short exhibition on how beer was brewed on the site followed, for adults only, by a tasting of some of the original brews.

After the timewalk there was just enough time to visit the Weymouth Museum. This small museum shows through artifacts (and no talking cats) the history and development of Weymouth and the surrounding areas.

After that there was just time to grab my stuff and get back on the train for another long journey back!

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Douglas; Friday, 25 July, 2003

This trip started with me completing the full set of London airports. The flight from London City airport is strange as you take off from land recovered from the docks, the runway surrounded on both sides and at the end by water and then take off over the sky scrapers and tower blocks of Docklands and SE London. It does however prepare you for the landing at Isle of Man international airport (the only airport on the island) where the runway virtually starts in the sea, you are certainly very, very low before you see the end of the runway appear.

This trip started with me completing the full set of London airports. The flight from London City airport is strange as you take off from land recovered from the docks, the runway surrounded on both sides and at the end by water and then take off over the sky scrapers and tower blocks of Docklands and SE London. It does however prepare you for the landing at Isle of Man international airport (the only airport on the island) where the runway virtually starts in the sea, you are certainly very, very low before you see the end of the runway appear.

The ride by horse tram is slow and sedate, a comment of the speed of life and most definitely aimed at tourists. The electric tram, although looking like it is aimed at tourists, is one of the main transport links on the island. On a nice warm summers afternoon sitting in an open sided carriage as it winds its way up the cliffs leading out of Douglas it is very pleasant, but I couldn't imagine commuting in it. The less than 10 mile journey to Ramsey takes 75 minutes, not good if you're in a hurry, but it is worth it as the scenery is spectacular and as you travel up towards Ramsey, tracks clinging to the sides of the cliffs you can clearly make out the coast of the mainland. From one spot you can make out the very south of Scotland, the north west coast of England and the north coast of Wales.

Ramsey is a very pretty little harbour town in the north of the island and well worth looking around, though as I arrived in the early evening there was not much open to look at. After spending a couple of hours in the town (including dinner) I wandered back to the station and caught the last tram back into Douglas.

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Douglas; Saturday, 26 July, 2003

For an island that is at the forefront of banking and finance (UK Tax haven!!) it is amazing how much of the island is set in a different age, not only do horses still pull the trams on the seafront, and the carriages on the electric railway to Ramsey date from the latter half of the 19th century, but the main southern railway is still run by steam trains!. On the first departure of the day heading south, unfortunately I had chosen the weekend that had been designated "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" weekend so there were lots and lots of people!. The ride through the countryside to the southern town of Castletown is well worth it thought.

Castletown is the former capital of the island and it shows in the number of historic and important buildings. The most imposing and obvious being the thing that gives the town its name, the castle. Castle Rushen is still in very good condition and it is very easy to imagine how people live in it. The signage is clear and you get a good idea of the different uses that the castle has been put to through its life. From the top of the castle you get spectacular views over the local area, the port and other buildings.

After looking round the castle I had a quick look round the town before getting on the bus to Peel. One of the major problems with the transport on the Isle of Man (and in many other places, Jersey & Guernsey to name two more) is that everything operates out of the capital and very little goes across. There are just three buses a day that link Castletown in the south east with Peel in the North west. The journey takes little over 30 mins with a direct bus but nearly 2 hours if you have to go into Douglas and back out again. So I decided to split my day by going to Peel in the middle part of the day, and getting the mid afternoon bus back to Castletown.

The main attraction in Peel is its castle. In contrast to Castle Rushen Peel castle is most definitely a ruin. Large fragments of building still exist and it is easy to imagine what the place looked like in its heyday. The castle's importance is brought home when you stand on the western side overlooking the sea and can clearly make out the mountains of Eastern Ireland directly across from you and in the distance to the north the coast of Scotland. Once I had looked round the castle it was time to get the bus back into Castletown.

Arriving back in castletown I had enough time to look around the nautical museum that details the link between the island and the sea. The museum is very interesting and made even more so by the enthusiastic staff. Members of staff will happily show people round and give you so much more information about each exhibit than the signs could possibly hope to.

After visiting the nautical museum there was just enough time to pop into the old grammar school that now houses a small exhibition giving the background to the town and its role in the history and development of the island. After the museum it was back to the train station and on the return to Douglas. The railway itself, was when I visited, undergoing major repair work with all the trains ending at Castletown and buses replacing them through to the normal terminus of Port Erin down in the south west corner of the island. Consequently they had by the afternoon brought out more of the carriages that they were not using to make the train longer so it was a much more comfortable journey back to Douglas.

After a brief stop in Douglas it was onto the bus and back out to Peel to look round the town and harbour and for evening meal. It was well worth the revisit. With Peel being on the west coast the sun setting behind the ruins of the castle whilst sitting on the beach makes for an excellent end to the evening (especially if you have a very pleasant Chinese dinner in your stomach!)

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Douglas; Sunday, 27 July, 2003

Sunday, to work off the previous evenings Chinese involved going up the 2036 feet to the top of the islands only mountain Snaefell.

Unfortunately I am a lazy git so I got the mountain railway that climbs to the top from the town of Laxey where it connects with the electric railway.

The ride up makes for spectacular views over large parts of the island and when you get to the top the views are supposedly so good that you can see England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland as well as Man. Unfortunately on the day I went up there was a sea mist a cloud cover so I didn't see that much (including the bird mess that was on the stone pillar I am photographed next to!!)

The main feature of Laxey, at the base of Snaefell is the water wheel. Built to help pump the mines clear of water it is visible over a large area and from the top viewing platforms provides very good views over the surrounding area. 3 mines trails of varying length's and difficulties take you round the site, showing you the ruins of buildings that were involved in the mining process and how the site worked.

After Laxey it was back onto the bus into Douglas and then back out the other side to the South western town of Port Erin. This is where the southern railway is supposed to finish when it is working properly. I hopped on the shuttle service up to Port St Mary the next town along the coast and had a look around, as there was not much to see I went back to Port Erin and had a look round. The town is quite pretty but it's most distinguishable feature is its beach and bay that look exactly how a small bay should look with a wide sandy beach leading into a clear blue sea.

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Douglas; Monday, 28 July, 2003

No time to do anything on the Island before catching the plane other than cow spotting. Like so many other places, the Isle of Man was having its own Cow Parade and across the whole of the island a large herd of concrete cows have been released. My favourite was one in the airport, but unfortunately in the security area so you weren't allowed to photograph it. The one shown was on the seafront in Douglas

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St Helier; Thursday, 31 July, 2003

Coming back to island in the summer seamed a good idea to compare what was available then and what is available during summer season. The most noticeable part was the fact that it is possible to get round the airport by public transport! After checking in at the hotel I had a wander round the area that the Hotel is in and then went into town to purchase a multiday bus ticket and to have a quick wander

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St Helier; Friday, 01 August, 2003

First full day and after breakfast the first stop was La Houge Bie. This is the largest Neolithic passage grave in the Channel Islands and one of the largest in Western Europe. The grave itself is about 40 Yards long and you have to duck down to walk along the entrance corridor to reach the main tomb. Above the massive mound built to cover the grave is a 12th Century church which was erected in an attempt to turn a pagan site into a Christian site. The site also boasts an interesting Geological and Archaeological museum detailing the history and geology of the islands (which are only about 8,000 years old!) and the site itself. The site also has the scars of the islands occupation during the Second World War with trenched all around the site that the Germans had built. Some of them have been reopened and carry an exhibition on the building of the German fortifications on the islands. They also have a room of Photographs and a guide which tells you what happened to the people featured, needless to say virtually none of them made it to 1945.

A quick trip back into St Hellier and then back out again (one of the major problems with the buses on the island is that you almost never go from one part of the island to the other without changing in St Hellier) to the North East part of the island to Groznes. The castle at Groznes is in ruins, in fact all that remains are the entrance archway and some low walls. However, you can still imagine the importance of the site located on the North East tip of the island with clear views over to Alderny, Herm, Sark and Guernsey. Walking along the coastal path you keep coming across a reminder of a more recent period when the site was of strategic importance, all along the cost the remains of German Watchtowers, gun emplacements and bunkers, some with swastikas still carved into them, remind you that not so long ago Jersey was the front line. From the top of the coastal path you can look down the whole sweep of the single bay that forms the east coast to the south east corner of Jersey and Corbiere lighthouse.

After another trip back into St Hellier it was back out again this time to the afore mentioned Corbiere. The views from the South Easter tip are just as spectacular as those from the North Eastern. If not made all the more notable by the fact I could look directly back at the point I had been standing on less than 2 hours previously.

Corbiere lighthouse is built on a causeway that takes a good 10 minutes to cross. Thankfully as the tide had only just cleared going out it meant that I had a long time to wander over and have a look. You are not allowed into the lighthouse as it is still in use but you can get spectacular views back over the jagged rocks to the cliffs on the mainland.

After Corbiere it was a short hop on the bus to St Brelards Bay which is one of the most attractive bays on the whole of the island. Finally it was time to get back on the bus and back into St Hellier

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St Helier; Saturday, 02 August, 2003

Saturday morning and another Early start, this time so that I could walk along the northern cliff path from Rozel, in the very North West corner of the island to Bon Nuite Bay, almost in the centre of the north coast. The walk itself is only about 6 miles but as it goes up and down the cliffs all the way along is quite strenuous and takes just over 3 hours. After 1 hour (and the easy part) you reach Bouley Bay which is an attractive bay, more importantly it has a nice cafe that stocks lots of cold drinks!! After leaving Bouley you climb again back onto the cliff walk and continue on for 4 more miles before finally descending into Bon Nuite Bay (another welcome cafe stop) from there busses take you back into St Hellier.

Finally getting back into St Hellier I just had enough time to take the last land train tour of the day round the parish of St Hellier. This takes in the whole of the town including the centre, the harbour and the beaches.

After that I caught a bus along the coast to St Aubins to take in the town. It is far prettier than St Hellier. Again it has a off shore defense, this time a fort (not open to the public) and picturesque beaches.

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St Helier; Sunday, 03 August, 2003

Sunday is not a good day to try and visit remote parts of the island as even during summer the busses are less regular. In the morning I decided to visit the Elizabeth castle. This was the main defense for St Hellier, but is actually situated 1 mile off the coast. During low tide a causeway links you to the mainland but a high tide you have to get a DWUK (Part boat part 4x4) over to the castle slipway.

The castle itself is well preserved having served the town from the early days right up until it was finally vacated by the Germans at the end of WWII. The site is well signed with lots of information and three museums located in various parts of the barracks.

After the castle I came back into town and caught the land train along the coast to St Aubins. The train runs along the original route of the Islands main railway that closed in the early 1930s. The driver gives an interesting and informative commentary on the history of the area, the coast and Jersey in general.

After returning to St Hellier I caught the bus out to the Jersey War Tunnels. These were built originally to be a hospital for German soldiers during the war but served very little role as they were completed close to the end of the war. Having said that they did come at the cost of many hundreds if not thousands of lives of those, usually slave laborer's, forced to construct it. The tunnels now tell the story of the islands occupation from the build up to War in the early days of the 1930s through war and occupation to the eventual liberation of the islands in 1945. Outside the tunnels the site also includes a garden of reflection in which bare facts of the human cost of war are outlined.

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St Peter Port; Thursday, 07 August, 2003

The only advantage of getting an early flight out is that you do get a large part of the day to do exploring. With the 9:40 flight touching down on-time and getting to the hotel a little after 11am, I had a full afternoon to start exploring Guernsey. First stop is the bus station to buy a multi-ride ticket, 50 journeys for £10 (20p each). Then it was off on the bus to the Little Chapel. This is a very kitsch attraction, built during the 1920's & 30's entirely out of broken pottery and china. A short walk from the chapel is something considerably less kitsch but from a similar era... The German underground hospital.

The fact that there is almost nothing here only adds to the sense of foreboding and menace that exists in the tunnels. Built, like its counterpart in Jersey, using slave labor many of whom died in its construction. Unlike Jersey's this has not been restored more than necessary. Water drips from the ceilings, beds and other metalwork rusts and the old tracks used to haul the carts loaded with debris from the construction are still visible. Also visible are several tunnels only partly excavated before the end of the war. The final thing that adds to the sense of menace is the temperature. No matter what the weather is like outside, its always 15°C inside.

After 45 minutes in there it is almost refreshing to step out into what is fast becoming the hottest day on the island ever (only to be beaten the following day and then again on the Saturday!) Next stop is the German Occupation museum located near the airport. Unfortunately this requires you to travel all the way into St Peter Port and then back out again!.

The museum is located down a little side street. The museum gives a well presented oversight to the war and how it affected the residents of Guernsey. The museum has lots of information but suffers slightly from the look that it hasn't been updated since the early 80's with some of the information signs needing a bit of repair.

After the museum it was time to hop back on the bus. Guernsey busses have been designed to criss cross the island, centering on St Peter Port. However one route (Route 7/7A) goes round the outside of the island (7 - Clockwise, 7A Anti-clockwise) giving invaluable links to most parts of the island. From the museum its about 35 minutes by bus to the North west coast of the island and the Rousse martello tower.

One of the many martello towers built around the island this has been turned into a small display of what life would have been like when it was in use at the time of the Napolionic wars. Wax works within the tower show how cramped life would have been like and the nearby magazine store has information boards giving a background to the Rousse tower and the martello towers in general. After a quick wander round the site and the nearby beach it's time to hop back on the bus, complete the clockwise loop and head back into St Peter Port

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St Peter Port; Friday, 08 August, 2003

First stop for the morning is Cobo bay, purely as this is where I need to change buses from the one that runs past the hotel to the 7A on the west coast. The bay itself is very pleasant with a wide sandy beach and beautiful scenery.

Fort Grey down almost at the bottom of the west coast resembles a cup and saucer and is home to the islands maritime museum. The museum details the maritime history of the island. It also focuses quite heavily on the accidents and shipwrecks that have occurred off the adjacent treacherously rocky western coast.

After Fort Grey its off round to the North East cost to Pembrook bay where the remains of several passage graves are, along with stunning views back over this very flat end of the island. Then it was back into town and on to Sausmarez Manor. This is a Manor house set in several acres of land just outside St Peter Port. The house itself is closed to the public most of the time, but you can wander round the grounds, visit the lakes or take in the tropical garden and sculpture trail. Then it was back onto the bus and out to Grand Rocquez on the west coast.

The fort here has been heavily reinforced during the German occupation and is interesting to look at to see the differences in style between the 18th century brick and stone work and the 20th century concrete!

Back down the coast to the southern most town of Pleinmont and another spectacular bay. This time you can look up almost half the length of the island seeing all the headlands come in and out along with also being able to see the island of Lihou.

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St Peter Port; Saturday, 09 August, 2003

It's a Saturday so it must be another chance to stupidly expend vast amounts of energy. Had I known that today was going to be the hottest day on the islands ever, and that there would be no wind, not even a sea breeze, I might have reconsidered the idea of cycling round Sark.

However I didn't know and so at 7:45 I was standing on the Quay side at St Peter Port ready to board the milk boat to Sark. The first sailing of the day is at 8:30, but as it is very popular they have two boats do it. The first one leaves once its full so we set off by 8:10.

After arriving on the island you have the interesting prospect of climbing up the hill to the village that is located at the top, its about 500 feet but the climb takes less than 1/2 mile so you can imagine how steep it is.

After collecting and paying for the hire bike I set off to the south of the island and then proceeded to visit all other parts of the island, rapidly coming to the conclusion that there is not that much to see on Sark. There are no really beautiful bays or interesting beaches, just lots of ferns and gravel paths!

Still I managed to keep cycling up until it was time to drop the bike off and get the ferry back to St Peter Port.

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St Peter Port; Sunday, 10 August, 2003

First stop of the morning was Castle Cornet. The site is quite large and has 4 museums housed in various parts that look at different aspects of the military. At 11am one of the guides runs a tour round the whole of the site that ends up back at the noon day gun shortly before it is fired.

After Castle Cornet I wandered down the coast road to the La Vallette underground museum. This is housed in yet more tunnels dug for the Germans by prisoners, this time for housing fuel storage tanks for refueling U-boats, this is an eclectic collection of posters, signs, memorabilia, paraphernalia, vehicles, uniforms and medals from both sides. There is little in the way of signange to tell you what the things are, but most speak for themselves.

After that it was a short walk further on and up the side of the cliff to Fort George. Originally it was built to supersede Castle Cornet but has in time come to be the less important of the two. Most of the buildings are still there but are currently sealed awaiting the site to be properly developed into a tourist attraction, but for good views out over the bay and St Peter Port it is a good site.

Then it was back into town and up to the Museum and Art gallery to look around. The museum gives an in-depth guide to the history of the islands, from their geological creation 8000 years ago (prior to that they had just been large hills on the landscape of France prior to the bay of San Marlo forming), through their development at the hands of humans, their changes of ownership between France and England, their occupation and liberation during WWII up to the modern day. The gallery also contains some of the art works that the state owns.

Then it was back down the hill to the town and pick up the bus to the second town of the island, St Sampson. Located just outside the town in Vale castle. From the road Vale castle, looks as though it is spectacular, unfortunately once you go inside you realize that the outside walls is virtually all that exists of the site. You can still make out where dividing walls once went, but apart from the odd small slab of stonework it is only the outside walls that have remained.

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St Peter Port; Monday, 11 August, 2003

Monday was a much more sedate day. Getting the 10:30 sailing from St Peter Port to Herm. The crossing takes about 20 minutes and once there Herm is a beautiful island.

Unlike Sark, Herm has been very strict with the motor transport. 1 tractor and a couple of quad bikes to empty the plentiful bins around the island. Even the kids have to give up their bikes by the time they get to 16! The island is very small (less than a mile long by 3/4 mile wide) but as most people head for the beaches on the East coast you can very quickly find yourself in absolute peace a quite overlooking the white sand dune beaches of the north coast or looking back onto the main bays from the South cliffs path. To walk the whole way round the island takes little over 2 hours if you walk fast, but it is well worth gently strolling to get a better view of the island.

After getting a late afternoon sailing back to St Peter Port, and a quick shower, it was time to visit the German Naval Headquarters, that open on Monday evenings from 7-9.

Built during the war to house the Naval intelligence for the German forces, this site is unique in not only giving you an idea of how the average German soldier spent their time at work, but because most of the details and information came from interviews with the officer who oversaw the construction and running of the site throughout the war. There is a short video presentation that includes part of those interviews and he (sadly now deceased) walks you round the site reminiscing on where things were and how the headquarters operated, especially once the islands had become isolated after D-day.

Finishing off the day I decided to get the bus from near the German Naval Headquarters back to Grand Rocquez on the west coast to watch the sunset. Unfortunately for me, the sea mists had different ideas and by the time I got there the sun couldn't be seen and all there was, was a light grey mist!

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Calais; Saturday, 25 October, 2003

Leaving from my friends in Worthing at 7:00 on a Saturday morning for a sailing from Dover just 60 miles away at 10:30 would seam to be perfectly doable. If it wasn't for the actions of the highways agency it would have been a very quick trip but in the end we went on a 35 mile diversion round a closed 3 mile stretch of road! We finally got to Dover with just minutes to spare but thankfully made it onto the ferry. The crossing was very smooth with a clear blue sky and almost millpond still water. The highlight of the journey possibly being the race that our Captain and the Captain of the rival Sea France ferry were having, we won! Once in Calais it takes about 10 minutes before you actually get out of the ferry terminal and onto the main roads. Plenty of time for my friend who was driving to adapt to the fact that she had never driven on the right before!

After wandering around some back roads for a while we eventually came across the hypermarket and proceeded to spend the next 2 hours overfilling a large trolley.

Once the greed over cheap booze had abated we drove back into Calais itself and went for a meal on the sea front, during which the wind started to rise from bracing to gale!

After the meal we wandered back into the main part of the town itself and had a quick look around before it was time to return to the car and take the ferry back, this time with a considerable swell that caused a little bit of rolling and a 20 minute delay to the crossing. The journey back from Dover, going all the way back up to the M25 on the motorway and then back down again, took considerably less time than going in a straight line had in the morning!

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Norfolk; Tuesday, 28 October, 2003

After leaving London at the end of the rush hour we made good time up to Norwich, reaching the hotel a little after 11pm. Though this was too late as the room had been double booked some time before so we had to set off again to the hotel room that we had been given by the hotel, at their expense, at the Wensum Valley Golf course.

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Norfolk; Wednesday, 29 October, 2003

After going back into Norwich and checking back into the hotel it was time to explore the city.

First stop was the cathedral and its grounds and then onto the castle.

From the top of the hill that the castle is on you get a clear view over the whole of the city and the multitude of spires and towers that dot the city.

After a brief lunch in the Adam and Eve pub round the back of the cathedral it was into the car and off through the Norfolk countryside heading, originally to the Neolithic Grimes Graves.

Unfortunately we were beaten by the early sunset and missed the last tour so we carried on the short distance into Kings Lynn and had a look around the town.

After that it was back into the car and back across the fens towards Norwich.

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Norfolk; Thursday, 30 October, 2003

A Day spent exploring the broads.

After setting off from Norwich we headed across towards the North East corner of the county.

First stop was near Ludham where we caught the Electric Eel boat into the Dykes and side canals of the broads. The channels are so thin that the boat was constantly being filled by reads as we brushed past them.

After that it was back into the car and onto West Somerton where we stopped to take in the broads and some of the windmills.

After lunch just north of Horsey we headed up to the coast at Sea Palling and had a look at the coast and dunes there, then it was back down to Horsey to look at one of the large open expanses of water on the broads.

Finally back into the car and heading back home via Lowerstoft and Cambridge.

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York; Saturday, 20 December, 2003

After an trouble free journey up (I expecting the worst using the trains the Saturday before Christmas) I arrived in York about 5pm and quickly checked into the hotel. After that I wandered out into the city to have a look around at one of the UK's oldest cities in the dark. First stop was the Minster and after that I wandered round the lanes and alleyways for a short while before joining onto one of the countless ghost walks that cross the city.

As you walk round the city you can quickly loose count of all the various boards advertising ghost walks. In the height of summer there must be hundreds of people wandering round the city after dark on a ghost walk. In the depths of winter there were still at least 3 an evening!

For the Saturday evening I joined the Ghost Hunt from the top of the Shambles (the most photographed street in York). After the walk was over I quickly had a bite to eat and then went back to the hotel to prepare for a long day ahead!

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York; Sunday, 21 December, 2003

Sunday dawned bright, clear and cold over the city so the obvious thing to do was to warm up with a quick walk. The biggest site (in terms of scale) in the city are the old medieval city walls. Despite the best efforts of the English Civil War, The Georgians, The Victorians and the 20th Century massive sections of the walls still remain intact. There are three major sections that you can walk round totaling almost 2 miles in circumference.

So with the sun barely up in the sky (It was the shortest day of the year) I started on Section 1 of the wall. The main reason to begin with was to visit the museum located in one of the former gate house (or Bars as they are called in York) - Micklegate Bar. Unfortunately, despite York tourism web site insisting that it was open, it was closed so I carried on walking round the walls until they met the river Ouse at the site of the old castle.

After a quick stop for coffee it was time to step back a couple of centuries more from the Medieval walls to the Viking history that has made York (or Jorvik as the Vikings knew it) world famous.

The Jorvik Viking centre is a combination of a museum and a dark ride that tries to explain something about how the Vikings lived when they settled in York and to show off some of the finds that they have made over the city.

After the Jorvik centre, as it was freezing cold, I decided to pop into the York Dungeon. The Dungeon is laid out in a similar way to the Edinburgh dungeon and still reflects the grizzly and murky world of the past, but from a Yorkshire view!

After a quick stop for lunch I rejoined the walls to walk round section 3 stopping part way along to visit the Richard III museum in Monks Bar. The museum is a strange mix of information. Part of it is about the Bar and the walls (including the fact that it still has a working portcullis.) The remainder of the museum is set out like a trial explaining the murky history over Richard III and the allegation that he had his two nephews (the actual king and prince of Wales) imprisoned and killed in the Tower of London so that he could assume the throne. After listening to the arguments for and against you can vote yourself as to whether you think the original "Tricky Dicky" is guilty or innocent.

I finished walking round the walls to Bootham Bar including spectacular views of the back of the Minster. After that I had a quick wander round the grounds of the Yorkshire museum and gardens to view the remains of St. Mary's Abbey which was destroyed after the Reformation.

Then it was back to the walls to complete section 2 of the walls from the site of the Old Castle round to the back of town.

Next stop was the Art Gallery, I'm not into art massively and this collection is not massively spectacular but it is housed in a warm building out of the, by now, bitingly cold wind!

After a quick stop at the hotel to rest my feet and to have a quick bite to eat it was time to set off for another ghost walk. This time starting from the Jorvik Viking Centre.

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York; Monday, 22 December, 2003

After an exceptionally comfortable night with the heating on full blast it was almost inevitable that I would wake to the sight of snow covering the ground. Overnight winter had made it's way to Yorkshire and had left a good inch of snow on most things. Still it makes for good photos.

Taking a slower than usual pace as the roads were like and ice rink I walked over to the Minster to look round. The Minster is the largest medieval building this side of the Alps and has more Medieval stained glass in its windows then the rest of the UK combined. There is a lot to see at the Minster but not if you are on a limited budget. To see everything that the Minster has to offer you have to pay £8.50 which is a lot for a big church!!

In addition to the Minster itself you can also view the undercroft and crypts which house not only the treasury of the Minster but also the remains of the original Roman base that was situated on the same space where the Minster now stands. The display also explains about the other two cathedrals that have existed on the site over the last 2000 years. The current Minster was started in 1245 but before that there had been a Norman Cathedral and another before that. Just outside the Minster you can see one of the columns from the Roman site that the archaeologists found lying on its side (unfortunately, as any local will tell you they got it wrong and it is upside down with the top concreted into the pavement!)

The final thing you can pay to do is to climb all 275 steps to the roof and get the spectacular view over the city.

After the Minster, and a well earned hot chocolate to warm up, I wandered over to Clifford's Tower. This is all that remains of the original castle and is now just a shell, apart from two spiral staircases that allow you to access the top of the tower to walk round. The tower itself is set on top of a high bailey so the views from the top, not being quite as good as those from the Minster are still spectacular.

After Clifford's tower I walked over to the castle museum. Set in the old Women's and Debtor's prisons the museum was started in the 1930's by a local doctor who noted that the rural way of life was disappearing but wasn't being noted down. To stop it from being lost he started collecting everyday artifacts to preserve the history of the way of life. The museum itself has grown so large that it has two mock up of streets inside which put the artifacts in the surroundings they would have fitted in.

The museum also has the cells of the old prison in it and you can visit the cell that the famous highway man Dick Turpin stayed in prior to his execution!

After the museum it was time for some refreshment and this came in the form of the York Brewery. Set up in 1996 this is a "Micro-brewery" set in a small building within the city walls. The brewery only produces a small amount of beer that mostly goes to the local area (although one of the large supermarket chains had just brought up their entire production of one type of beer!). The tour of the brewery includes a tasting of two of the beers that they brew.

Now happily insulated against the cold I walked back over to the other side of the city to visit the Yorkshire Museum. This is another bizarrely mixed museum pulling together artifacts from the cities and counties past but in no particular order, so that you get the whole of the Roman and Viking history and then leap back into prehistory and the dinosaurs!

Just enough time to grab some food before another Ghost Walk. This time leaving from outside the Minster.

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York; Tuesday, 23 December, 2003

Thankfully overnight the temperature had risen again and by dawn all the snow was gone. On my way to the station to drop off my luggage I had a further wander round the ruins of the Abbey of St. Mary's.

After leaving my luggage at the left luggage office I wandered round the side of the station to the York Model Railway. Set in a former tea room this massive layout can quite happily while away the time waiting for your train.

After visiting the model railway it was time to visit the real thing at the National Railway Museum. As York was formerly one of the principle towns building trains in the country it was only fitting that the museum to British Rail should open in one of their former workshops (they don't explain how many people were made redundant when the workshop closed!) The museum charts the history of the train in the UK with full size examples of trains and carriages. It also includes a couple of examples of foreign trains such as the Japanese bullet train.

After visiting the Railway Museum it was time to go back to the station and get the train home, thankfully not a museum piece!

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Barcelona; Tuesday, 20 January, 2004

After an exceptionally sweet breakfast (honey coated croissants with jam!) and solid tar for coffee we set out on our first day in Barcelona. First stop was just across the Ramblas to have a look at the Palau Güell one of the many buildings that Gaudí built. Just from the outside it is obvious that Gaudí had an entirely different approach to architecture.

Next stop was a wander through the old town to the Cathedral. Inside the main tower of the cathedral a lift has been installed so that you can reach the roof easily and it is worth it. There are some stunning views available over the whole of the city.

After the Cathedral and a quick pause for coffee we followed on of the walks in the Time Out guidebook that took us round the main Modanistas buildings. After the walk we had a late lunch and then went out to the Sagrada Familia.

The Sagrada Familia was started over 100 years ago and its still not built! Nowadays the main columns and the towers are up and things are progressing fast enough that it may even be finished by 2017! The views from the towers are spectacular, but not for the faint hearted!

Finally for the day we headed over to one of the most famous Gaudí buildings the Casa Milà. From the bizarre and peculiar roof we watched the sunset.

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Barcelona; Wednesday, 21 January, 2004

After a long night dealing with an upset stomach it was time for a quiet day. First stop was the Block of Discorde. Three Modanista buildings in the same block that are so different to each other that they clash against each other.

After that it was the tube and bus out to Parc Güell another one of Gaudí's masterpieces for a pleasent afternoon in the sun, before finally heading back into town and out to the airport.

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Berlin; Thursday, 19 February, 2004

After a very short journey from the airport, navigated totally in German (to my own amazement) I arrived at hotel more by chance than plan in so much as I looked out of the window just before the bus stop and spotted it sliding into view!

After unpacking and getting settled in I set out for an evening in the German capital. First stop was the Brandenburg gate, probably the most famous site in the whole of the city if not one of the most recognisable sights in Europe.

The gate itself is mammoth. Until you see it in person it is very difficult to get a full idea of quite how large it actually is. It puts most other structures to shame and certainly eclipses both Marble Arch in London and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

The gate is made all the more impressive by its recent restoration and looks as though it could have been installed only a few weeks ago not a couple of hundred years!

After the gate I walked the short distance to the Reichstag. Left destroyed after someone burnt it to the ground in 1933 which allowed the Nazis to seize power in German (let your own ideas in here as to who was responsible but I know where my money lies) the former seat of German power was repaired after the war but didn't serve as the parliament of Germany until a couple of years ago after Berlin was once again declared capital and the Reichstag was completely refurbished and rebuilt. The original dome has been replaced with a new glass structure that allows you to see over large parts of the city as well as down into the debating chamber.

After the Reichstag I decided to call it an evening and went for dinner. One thing that is noticeable in major international cities is how difficult it is to find local restaurants. It is very difficult to eat Spanish in Barcelona, it is hard to find Hungarian in Budapest and its almost impossible to find German in Berlin. After much hunting I had to have an Itallian-German cross of a Three Wurst Pizza!

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Berlin; Friday, 20 February, 2004

After a gorgeous breakfast in the hotels breakfast room, which is on the top floor of the building overlooking the local area, it was time to head out for a full day. With a clear blue sky and freezing temperatures I stated by visiting the Jewish museum.

Located in a specially built building that is designed to look like a twisted and damaged Star of David this museum attempts to tell the history of Jews in Germany. Their history, culture, fight for equality and the attempt by the Nazi's to wipe them out. The museum pulls no punches and does not make pleasant reading for anyone when you see the numbers of people persecuted, not just during WWII. It is a very sobering museum, not least of all because of the images and stories of people who died purely because of their religion and one groups hatred of it.

After visiting the museum I went back into the centre of the city and visited the Gendarmenmark. Here are the Opera House and the German and French Cathedrals that latter two exactly matching each other. The French Cathedral itself is being repaired but I could still go inside and climb the tower to get views over the whole of the area.

After that I walked the short distance over the river and onto museum island where a large number of the cities main museums are as well as the Berlin Cathedral. The building looks like a smaller version of St Pauls in London, only with slightly more adornments. Inside it is actually quite small, compared to other Cathedrals. The entry to the Cathedral also includes the ability to climb to the base of the dome and go out onto the roof, and as you might have guessed from reading past entries I did! After being gently flash freezed by the wind I came back down into the base of the Cathedral into the crypt where the bodies of the Prussian and German royal families are kept dating back several hundred years. All their coffins laid out in rows along the floor of the crypt is a little creepy.

After the Cathedral I came back towards the western side of the city and visited the Memorial Church. Almost totally destroyed in bombing towards the end of WWII all that remains are the base of the tower and a half broken spire. It is a sudden reminder of exactly what happened not that long ago.

After that I went over to the Potsdamer Platz. Up until the fall of the Wall this was one of the places where it was at its widest and an empty wasteland. Since the fall the area has been completely rebuilt and now looks like a mini Manhattan rather than the former site of such suffering. One of the new buildings in the headquarters of Daimler Chrysler and you can take "The fastest lift in Europe" to the top of their building to get views out over the area.

Then I went slightly further along the course of the wall to one of the other famous sights of the Cold War, Checkpoint Charlie. The original was removed shortly after the fall of the wall but in the best interests of international tourism a replica along with the original sign telling you that you are "Leaving the American sector" have been put back in.

After dinner I came back to Checkpoint Charlie to visit the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. A museum dedicated to all the attempts to try and escape East Berlin and make it to the west.

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Berlin; Saturday, 21 February, 2004

After another gorgeous breakfast it was off into another clear and cold day. First stop was the Tiergarten and the statue in the centre.

After a short climb up (nearly 300 steps!) I could look out over the whole of the Tiergarten and down to the Reichstag and Brandenburg gate.

Next stop was Alexanderplatz to go up another tower (lift this time) - the TV tower, however as the queue was already out of the door I decided to leave that to later and instead headed over to the other side of the city and a related item the Radio tower to go up that instead (If you haven't already guessed I did spend most of the holiday at least 100m up in the sky!) Located in the International Conference Centre in the Western suburbs the views from the top of the tower are spectacular if only for seeing the complexity of Berlin's motorways which all seem to intersect just below the tower. The only real problem with the Radio tower is that it is built to withstand extremes of weather and in such a way does gently sway with the wind. When it is very windy this swaying becomes slightly disturbing.

Once down on the ground it was time to go back across the city to the East Side Gallery. These are the Murals on the only major remaining section of the Berlin Wall. About 1KM of wall has been retained running along the course of the river and decorated with some of the most famous murals that were originally done on the West side of the wall!

After that I crossed the city again (by this point I realised that I had not planned today particularly well) and out to the Olympic Stadium. Built for the 1936 Olympic Games the building is a fine example of how to impress by sheer brute force. The whole site is large and brutal looking almost the same as the major Soviet buildings. The view from the top (surprise, surprise) of the clocktower however is breathtaking looking over all the woodland areas south towards Charlottenburg and the state capital of Potsdam.

Back over then to Alexanderplatz where the queue for the TV Tower still had not shortened but I did have time to look round the square that was once the international show piece of the DDR (Deutscher Democratik Republic - East Germany)

The it was back towards the hotel to visit the Story of Berlin. This multimedia exhibition tells the story of the history of the city from a small hamlet first mentioned in the 13th Century through its rise to prominence in the Prussian empire, its creation as a German capital, its role in the events that lead up to the First and Second world wars, its separation and eventual reunification.

Then, finally it was back to Alexanderplatz to the TV tower and the fortunate site of no queue so I could go up the TV Tower and see Berlin at night!

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Berlin; Sunday, 22 February, 2004

After what should have been a very pleasant holiday I made my way back to the airport where I found no record of my flight. After several minutes of running round and getting worried that I had made a major mistake I eventually found out that my flight had been canceled several weeks earlier but nobody had bothered to contact me to tell me this!

So instead of flying out of Berlin at midday I instead took advantage of the situation to visit the state capital of Potsdam, about 25Km outside of Berlin.

The city itself was almost totally destroyed during WWII but some parts still remain and the palaces out in the main park escaped totally unscathed.

As I only had a couple of hours to get out, back and visit I could only walk around and not actually go into anything but it certainly left the impression that this was a city that I would want to go back to.

After Potsdam I came back into the city and back, for the second time that day, out to the airport almost able to recite the names of the bus stops for heart!

Eventually 6 hours after I was supposed to be leaving Berlin my flight pushed back from the stand and made its way to the runway. A very very pleasant holiday but tinged with an element of anger at the airline.

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Inverness; Friday, 26 March, 2004

Time for another new experience, this time the sleeper train. It felt vaguely strange to know that in this instance falling asleep on a late night train is what I wanted to achieve rather than avoid. After a pleasant two hours sitting in the lounge car I went to my cabin and settled down for the night.

The beds are not the worlds widest and the motion of the train is a little odd, you feel yourself rolling each time it accelerates and breaks and when it goes round bends fast a leans a little you feel like you are being pulled down the bed! I did manage to get to sleep and must have been asleep by the time it got to Preston because I don't remember it stopping to pick people up.

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Inverness; Saturday, 27 March, 2004

Slight rude awakening at 3 in the morning as the train in split into 3 separate trains (mine for Inverness plus one for Fort William and one for Aberdeen) and the jolting of the trains being split and then joined to their engine woke me up, but I soon fell back to sleep.

When I finally woke up properly it was about 6:30 and in the middle of the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. The train was running about 30 minutes late after getting stuck behind a slow moving train during the night but that was OK as I wasn't in a rush and it was very pleasant to lie on a bed looking out of the cabin window over the Highlands.

The train finally pulled into Inverness at about 8:30 so I had plenty of time to drop off my bag at left luggage and then had the whole day to explore. Originally I was going to go to Culloden first off, but as I emerged from the station I noticed the bus to Fort George was parked waiting to go so I decided to visit there first.

Fort George is one of the largest and most spectacular fort built on the UK mainland. The perimeter of the walls is over 1KM and the site still has all its original buildings. There are lots of museums to explore and several small exhibitions on the use of the fort over its life. However as the fort is still used as barracks for the army there are some areas that are off limits.

After leaving the fort I managed to get a bus straight away (fortunate as they are only every 90 minutes) and went back into Inverness.

From there I picked up another bus out to Culloden and the battlefield. Culloden is he place where the Jacobite revolts of the 18th century finally died, and the site of the last battle to be fought on British Soil (though the Channel Islanders may have something to say about that and World War II) On this site almost all of the 5000 strong Jacobite army died along with about 500 Government troops. I decided to pay the small charge and look round the visitors centre before going onto the battle field itself.

The whole exhibition has a distinct bias trying to portray the incident as Scots being massacred by the English. If you look deep enough at the exhibition it does admit that there were more Scots on the Government side than on the Jacobite side and that a large number of the Jacobites were French, Irish and even English!

The battlefield itself is very bleak, just a wind-blown moor overlooked by snow-capped mountains and boggy underfoot. Every few yards there are stones with the names of the different clans from who people died in the 45 minute long battle.

After Culloden it was back on the bus and into the city centre a time for a quick wander round the outside of the Castle (it is the sheriff's court so you are not allowed inside) and then a walk along the banks of the river Ness taking in the small and slightly dingy cathedral. I walked down for north bank for about a mile and then walked across the small bridges onto the Ness Islands that sit in the middle of the river and then back onto the South bank and went back into town.

After a quick dinner in town I joined the Inverness Terror Tour for a ghost walk round the city. The tour is well presented but, unfortunately, not very many grizzly and gruesome things have happened in Inverness, so many stories that are familiar from Edinburgh were told with the omission of where they actually took place.

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Inverness; Sunday, 28 March, 2004

I had already pre-booked myself onto an all-day tour of Loch Ness and the surrounding areas so Sunday was pretty well mapped out for me. After a leisurely breakfast and checking out from the hotel, I wandered down to the Tourist Information Centre to pick up the tour bus.

The tour itself is really well presented in a funny yet informative fashion. The tour only covers about a 20 mile route so there is lots of time to talk about the area and lots of photo stops, the first being by the Ness Islands where I had been the previous evening! Next stop was at the last Lock on the Caledonian canal before it enters the River Ness and then into Loch Ness then it was on to the road that runs by the side of the Loch and a photo stop just after the start/end of the Loch.

After that there was a brief stop to buy tasteful and imaginative quality souvenirs (i.e. a stuffed Nessie and chocolate highlands cows!) and then a quick video (in the bus - it was all very high-tech!) background to some of the sightings of the elusive beastie and some of the hoaxes that they myth has sported.

Then it was onto the Loch Ness 2000 exhibition. Through several rooms of audio visual exhibitions it tries to tell the story of Loch Ness from how it was formed to the mysteries of Nessie. Of all the explanation's for it's sighting my money is on too much Whiskey!!

From there it was onto an ancient burial chamber out in the wilds before coming back to Urqhart castle and the point at which the bus part of the tour ended. After spending 90 minutes looking round the castle it was time to get a boat back along Loch Ness, up the River Ness and onto the Caledonian Canal back into Inverness.

There was just enough time, by the time I got back to Inverness for a quick dinner and then it was time to re-board the sleeper for its long journey back south.

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Cologne; Saturday, 17 April, 2004

At one point I thought we might be taxing all the way to Germany as the plane wandered round Heathrow for nearly 30 minutes before finally taking off.

Despite that I arrived at Köln-Bonn airport on time and quickly caught the bus into the city centre.

After popping into the tourist information centre to pick up a Welcome Card I took the tram out to the hotel and quickly checked in before heading back out into the city.

First stop was one of the bridges over the Rhine to the south of the centre of the city for the views of the Cathedral across the river. Then it was back over for a closer look at the Cathedral.

After a wander round the cathedral square it was time to find dinner and then head back to the hotel.

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Cologne; Sunday, 18 April, 2004

An early start to the day and off to the cathedral. As there was a service in progress I took the opportunity to climb to the top of the tower, all 507 steps, including going past the main bells of the cathedral. After taking in the views from the top I came back down halfway to where the bells are just to be met with the 11am bell which was deafening and slightly disturbing as to how much the tower shook, but its been standing for 200 years, so there is no reason for it to collapse... I hoped as I scampered back down the remaining 250 stairs to the ground.

After a short stop for Coffee and Post cards I went on the City tour aboard a luxury coach. The tour takes you round all the main parts of the city and had the added bonus of helping to improve my German listening as I managed to understand parts of the German Commentary (although partly helped by the tour guide repeating herself in perfect English!) The tour included a short stop for photos on the opposite bank to the Cathedral and a quick introduction to the city museum.

After a pause for a traditional German snack - Currywurst and Mustard - on the station concourse I was refreshed and went back to have a look inside the cathedral (as there were no services going on at the time.)

After spending some time in the Cathedral (it is larger than it looks and time seamed to slip past very fast) I came out and went for a wander round the old town including the Hay market and Fish market before settling on a nice looking restaurant on the Fish market by the banks of the Rhine for dinner.

After dinner and a wander round the old town at night (to wear off the excessive food and exceptional pleasant Kölsch) I got the tram back to the hotel.

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Cologne; Monday, 19 April, 2004

Monday was an early start to get to the Station so I could catch an early train to Aarchen, on the border with Belgium and Netherlands, once the most important city in the known world during the reign of Charlemagne (Circa 794AD).

It was Monday and Aarchen was closed... except for the Cathedral and the Cathedral's Treasury and I arrived in the city shortly after a service had started so I couldn't go into the cathedral!! Instead I had a wander round the city center which was very attractive and a look in the Cathedrals Treasury which is reckoned to be one of the most impressive in the world and includes part of the remains of Charlemagne. By then the service in the Cathedral had finished so I was able to look round the inside of the Cathedral which, despite being quite dark inside, is very impressive.

After that there was very little else to do in Aarchen so I got the train back into Cologne and caught the tram down to Bonn.

It was Monday and Bonn... You get the idea except the Cathedral is a large church without a treasury but there was one museum open.

After a quick look round the Münster I wandered over to the Beethoven house museum. The building is where the composer and musician was born and raised in and now houses the worlds largest collection on Beethoven artefacts.

After looking round the center of Bonn I decided to catch the tram to the end of line in Bad Godesberg, a spa town - hence the Bad - about 7Km south of Bonn. The town was very pretty but it was Monday and.... You get the picture.

I caught the tram back to Cologne, this time going along the course of the Rhine rather than down through Brüel as I had done coming.

After popping back to the hotel briefly to drop off guide books I wandered back into the centre of town for dinner in another restaurant in the Fish market before heading back for bed.

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Cologne; Tuesday, 20 April, 2004

After checking out of the hotel and depositing my luggage in the scarily high-tech left luggage lockers at the Hauptbahnhof, I got the tram out to the Zoo to pick up the Rhine Cable Car.

The Cable Car crosses the Rhine and from my little car I got spectacular views across the city and the Rhine including back to the Cathedral in its full glory.

After the Cable Car I popped down to the south of the city and visited the Rautenstrauch-Joset Museum which has an interesting collection of Far and Near East artefacts, all displayed in German though so it really stretched my ability (to find the right words in the dictionary!)

From there I came back into the centre of the city and visited the Römisch-Germanisches Museum which has a massive collection of remains and artefacts that have been recovered shedding light on Cologne as a Roman city in the 1st Century.

After that I had a quick lunch and then headed over to the Kölnisches Stadtmusuem - the city museum - that the bus tour on Saturday had briefly stopped at.

The museum has an interesting collection of artefacts that tell the history and culture of Cologne including its famous February Carnival. The most moving display was the aerial photograph - that was taken of the city shortly after the end of the war showing a scene of total devastation with every building, except the Cathedral, a ruin and the bridges lying shattered in the Rhine - and fragments of some of the bombs that fell on the city.

By then the time had come to head back to the airport to get my flight back to the UK.

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Geneva; Saturday, 08 May, 2004

With the alarm going off at an ungodly time and the first part of the journey to the airport conducted on a night bus in the rain this wasn't the most glamorous of starts to a holiday.

Despite another plane having "technical difficulties" and closing Gatwick's runway for 30 minutes the flight landed in Geneva on time less than 5 hours after boarding the night bus, but into the same rain! After a quick exit through the airport and a spot of late breakfast/early lunch we headed into the city on the trolley bus to drop luggage off at the Central Station (as the hotel wouldn't check us in until 3pm)

With the weather deciding to tone down to just a mild drizzle/mist we had a wander round the lake side and the old town taking in the Floral clock and Jet d'Eau - a fountain that shoots a single jet of water some 140m into the sky before it falls back into the lake (or onto unsuspecting tourists) - the town hall, with the building where the Geneva Convention was signed, and the wall of the reformation before stopping for a late lunch (yes I know with the breakfast at Gatwick, snacks on the plane, the Brunch at Geneva airport and toast before we had even left for the night bus that brings the running total to about 5 meals before 3pm but there was a lot of walking and we had been up since 4!)

After lunch we popped back to the Central station to pick up luggage and then checked into the hotel before setting back out again to visit the Cathedral.

We caught the tram back into the old town and then walked up the hill past the Russian church and the museum (diving under the cover of trees as a particularly spectacular cloud burst decided to soak Geneva) before reaching the Cathedral.

The area underneath the cathedral has been excavated and how houses an archaeological museum which gives an in-depth audio guide to the developments of the site over the last 1600 years. After visiting the archaeological museum we went into the cathedral which is a strange mixture of architectural styles with no one part matching any other part. Inside it is quite small and dark but with some very bright stained glass and the option to climb one of the towers.

After the cathedral we headed back into town to find a restaurant (I know that makes meal 6!) and the local speciality fondue. Then it was back to the hotel to rest our aching feet (and distended stomachs.)

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Geneva; Sunday, 09 May, 2004

Sunday dawned...grey and miserable with the cloud possibly looking heavier than it had the previous day.

We decided to try and spend the day doing things where we wouldn't get wet and the most obvious was to visit the fairy-tale castle of Chillon at the other end of the lake. We got the train from the main station to Montreux, which took just under the hour, and then had a quick wander round the town and down to the lake including past the statue of one of Montreux's most famous residents - Freddie Mercury, who died in the town - before stopping for an early lunch.

After lunch we got the trolley bus along the edge of the lake to Chillon and visited the castle.

The castle, although being quite compact, has lots to explore including large areas underneath the main buildings and all the original walkways. In the end we spent almost two hours wandering round the site in the dry (with the occasional dash through open courtyards avoiding the rain)

By the time we left the rain had stopped and looking down the lake towards Geneva there were just the faint signs of sunlight on the water.

We got the trolley bus back into Montreux and decided to get the cogwheel railway up to Glion, a town directly above Montreux in the mountains. The railway climbs through twisting tunnels and winding tracks up the side of the mountain reaching Glion in about 10 minutes. From there we got spectacular views over the lake and the Rhone valley.

The even quicker way down from Glion is the funicular railway which took us to the bottom of the hill in about 2 minutes and from there we caught the Trolley bus back into the centre of Montreux and the train home.

After dropping some souvenirs and guide books back at the hotel we caught the tram out to Carouge, one of Geneva's suburbs to eat in a recommended restaurant.

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Geneva; Monday, 10 May, 2004

Monday dawned a completely different day with sun and not a cloud in the sky.

After checking out of the hotel and dumping the luggage at the station we headed down to the lake and decided to take one of the ferries across to the other bank of the lake before catching another one over to the international area of the city, where the Red Cross and United Nations are based.

After having a wander round the parks near the UN we caught the tram back to the centre and got some bits for lunch before catching the bus out to a park to sit in the sun and enjoy lunch.

After lunch and with the sky still clear, just some fluffy clouds collecting around the middle of the mountains opposite, we decided to go a view Geneva from 3000 feet.

Geneva is less than 5 miles from the Franco/Swiss border and regular buses take you to the boarder post. From there it is a short walk to the base of Mont Salève and the cable car station (you didn't think we were going to climb to the top did you!)

The views from the top are spectacular with the lake and the city laid out beneath you. You can look down the lake and on the day we were there make out the city of Lausanne about halfway along the lake. Looking across Geneva we could also make out the airport and the planes taking off and landing

We walked around to the other side of the Summit and looked across to the Savoy Alps and the peak of Mont Blanc.

We walked back to the cable car station at which point we realised we only had 2 hours 50 minutes until the flight... ... 2 hours 35 by the time the cable car set off... ... 2 hours 30 by the time we realised we had just missed the bus... ... 2 hours by the time we caught the bus... ... 1 hour 30 minutes by the time we reached the station with the information that there was a train in 4 minutes and then a 25 minute gap... ... 1 hour 28 minutes by the time we grabbed the luggage and ran for the platform... ... 1 hour 26 minutes as the train pulled out with us sitting on it panting. Thankfully we arrived at the airport 5 minutes later and checked in with plenty of time to spare!

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Brussels; Friday, 18 June, 2004

Leaving London in glorious sunshine (well it was dry and only slightly grey) it was a little depressing to arrive in Brussels in what appeared to be a monsoon.

Still, it was only 10 yards from the station to the hotel so I only got soaked rather than drowned.

My original plan had been to pop into the centre of town briefly after checking in but instead popped to the bar to warm up and to sample what Belgium is famous for... Beer.

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Brussels; Saturday, 19 June, 2004

First stop of the day the main tourist office to get a Brussels card and then onto the most famous attraction in Brussels, a small statue of a young boy having a leak (well it is Belgium!)

After Le Manneken-Pis I got the open top (thankfully closed top as it decided at that point to have another small monsoon) bus for a tour of the city centre and EU district.

After that I wandered up past the Royal palace to the Palace of Justice and the views over the city. Then a short stop for lunch in the Parc du Cinquantenaire looking over the Belgium Arc de Triomphe.

After lunch it was a short trip on the Metro and Tram out into the western suburbs and the Basilique du Sacré Coeur. Modelled on it's name sake in Paris it has the dubious reputation of possibly being one of the ugliest buildings in the city (and this includes some of the monstrosities that the EU call home!)

However, it is still a very very impressive building and the views that you can get from the roof (lift, no spiral staircases) are spectacular.

After dodging another shower whilst I was inside the Basilique I went back into the city centre and to the Comic book museum.

After beer and chocolate this is probably what Belgium is most famous for. It's certainly one of it's more obvious exports with the prime example being Tintin.

The museum itself charts the history of Comic strips as well as looking at the process of writing a comic strip and transferring it to the screen as animation.

With the sky's clearing I followed the suggestion of the guide book and took one of the more scenic trips in Brussels. Down the length of the number 44 tram line to the suburb of Tervuren. The tram runs along side, and at times through the edge of one of the last bits of ancient forest in Europe.

The town itself is best described as "quaint" and most obviously home to many an EU bureaucrat, however running behind the centre of the town is a spectacular park which in the late evening sun was very pleasant.

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Brussels; Sunday, 20 June, 2004

Sunday and up early to get the train out of the city to the medieval city of Brugge (Bruges)

The city itself does look as though it has never quite left the middle ages (except for the traffic) and is an almost perfect example of a medieval city.

The best way to get a view of the city is from the top of the bell tower, and guess what - I climbed it!

After the tower the next best way to see the city is from the canals. The city is ringed by approximately 8Km of canals and along the length of them are landing stages for the tourist cruises that ply their way up and down the canals, all following exactly the same route! Though it is a pleasant way to spend 30 minutes

After the Canals and a light lunch I decided to take the guided bus tour of the city that takes you round some of the medieval back streets of the city, which would have been great if they hadn't also been trying to run a road race on the same day, so the bus kept getting diverted!

Next stop was one of the many churches in the city the church of the Holy Blood which is split into two parts an upper, very ostentatious part and the lower more refined chapel.

Next stop is Our Lady's Church which contains an original Michelangelo statue (the Madonna with child) and then on to the Cathedral to have a look round before finally going back to the station and getting the train back to Brussels.

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Brussels; Monday, 21 June, 2004

Only part of a day in Brussels as I my train back to London was booked for that evening. After dropping my luggage off at the station I caught the tram out to Heysel.

Heysel - Sadly, most famous for the disaster at the football stadium - is the site of a former World Fair, of which the only lasting exhibits are the American theatre and the Atomium, the giant structure of an atom that is one of the most famous symbols of the city.

First stop before the Atomium was the next door MiniEurope which has scale replicas of some of the most famous buildings from each of the members of the EU (or most as, of the 10 who had joined a few weeks earlier only Poland had an exhibit).

After wandering round MiniEurope and experiencing being able to stand next to the Brandenburg gate in Berlin and look across to the Sacré Cœur in Paris, the Bell Tower in Bruges and Dover Castle at the same time I walked back to the Atomium.

The Atomium, when it opened was a marvel of design with lifts and escalators disorienting you as you moved around the 8 or so spheres, each with 2 floors.

Unfortunately, today only 4 spheres are open, the displays are tired and most the escalators don't work, though the views from the top sphere are spectacular (if slightly grey from the dirt on the outside of the windows)

After the Atomium I went back into the city centre and following another suggestion in the guide book took one of the trams that rolls past all the Royal palaces for a glimpse of the most exclusive parts of the city.

Then it was back to the Cathedral for a look around. Despite looking large and imposing the inside of the cathedral is very light, with lots of it being made up of glass. Sadly, as it was a Monday and this is continental Europe, most of the exhibits inside the cathedral were closed, including the crypt which supposedly includes some original Roman remains.

After a quick pit stop at the central station I made my way back following some of the cartoons and murals painted on the buildings in the city centre back to the Gare du Midi and the Eurostar home.

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Frankfurt; Friday, 23 July, 2004

German efficiency as ever got me to the hotel far quicker that it took me to get from Work to Gatwick, even if it was a similar distance. After checking in and unpacking I wandered in towards the centre of the town, with the intention of visiting the Main Tower which has a viewing platform from where you can get views over the whole of the city. Unfortunately, as I arrived they were in the process of closing as the top of the tower was about to disappear into a very, very dark clouds.

As I walked back to the tramstop a massive electric storm raged overhead. Within seconds of getting to the stop and under some shelter the skies opened with one of the most spectacular downpours I have ever seen. Think of one of those spectacular cloud bursts that last only about a minute before calming down, except this kept it up for almost 30 minutes!

After avoiding a drenching I left the tramstop (I wasn't intending on catching a tram, but I had seen on my way out that it had a large shelter!) and walked to the Römer, the rebuilt medieval market square (flattened by the Americans - Unlike Cologne which the Brits flattened!) and a look around the Roman remains and the outside of the Cathedral.

As I got back to the hotel the clouds decided again that they we feeling full!

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Frankfurt; Saturday, 24 July, 2004

After the cloudbursts of last night it was almost fitting that Saturday should dawn with barely a cloud in the sky. First stop of the morning after Breakfast was back to the Römer and to look at one of the oldest surviving churches in the city the Alte Nikolaikirche.

From there it is a short walk past the Archaeological Gardens, some of the remains of an Roman encampment, to the cathedral. The cathedral itself is quite plain, not helped by the fact that most of it is covered in scaffolding. Despite my guidebook, written in 2002 claiming that the repairs were almost complete and that the tower would reopen (as would being able to climb to the top) later that summer!

After looking around the Cathedral I decided to chance the Main Tower again, this time it was open and, unlike the Cathedral which would have been over 300 steps, took the lift to the roof. The views over the whole of the city are stunning, and the contrasts between the modern high rise and the ancient city are clear. Despite all the damage that was inflicted on the city during the war, and subsequently as the financial capital of mainland Europe, there are still a large number of older buildings and original streets still around, along with a few small smatterings of the old city walls.

Leaving Main Tower I wandered back through the Römer and down to what gives Frankfurt am Main part of its name, the Main. The river runs right behind the historic old square and Cathedral. Regular boats tour up and down the river, so I took advantage of one to get a better view of the city and to take the weight of my feet.

From the river you can see why the towers that make up Frankfurt have given it the nickname Mainhatten. Thankfully, most of them are quite elegant so it's not too harsh on the landscape. The boat cruise lasted just over the hour after which I decided to quickly stop for a bite to eat before heading on.

The next stop was the Museum Judengasse. Located on the ground floor of the council offices this museum is built over the remains of Frankfurt's Jewish Ghetto, destroyed during W.W.II. This really interesting museum tells the history of the Jews in Frankfurt, their persecution (not just in the recent past but going back over hundreds of years), their culture and in the ruins details on daily life in the Ghetto. In addition a small exhibition at the end explains how the community has attempted to rebuild itself since 1945.

Behind the museum is the old Jewish Cemetery and on the wall surrounding it 10,000 blocks. Each block has a name on it, a date of birth, and the date an location where they died. They represent the Jewish population of Frankfurt that died between 1939 and 1945 and can't help but move you.

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Frankfurt; Sunday, 25 July, 2004

Final day in Frankfurt and after depositing my luggage at the station I caught the S-Bahn out to Höchst in the Western suburbs of Frankfurt.

The town was originally completely separate from the city that has now grown to envelope it, but it still remains a very picturesque and beautiful town with many old buildings and a pleasant riverside walk.

Leaving Höchst by tram I came back into the centre of Frankfurt and then out to the Palm garden (Palmgarten), which is Frankfurt's main lung, a large green space almost in the middle of the city.

After several hours walking around the gardens and glasshouses and relaxing in the sun it was time to get back to the station and pick up my luggage, and then off to the Airport.

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Travelling Ireland; Tuesday, 03 August, 2004

After a delayed flight into Cork, I landed into the fine rain of a typical Irish summer. Waited 20 minutes for the bus into town and then made my way from the bus station to the hotel. After checking in and grabbing a bite to eat I had a quick wander around the city before heading back to the hotel and bed.

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Travelling Ireland; Wednesday, 04 August, 2004

Wednesday was the first of two coach tours that I had booked myself onto, both run by Bus Éireann the state bus company.

Wednesday's itinerary was the Ring of Kerry, a 100+mile circle round the county taking in some of the most stunning scenery in the country. The tour itself is very well presented with the driver supplying an frequent commentary to the ride.

The first stop was Killarney. The town itself is not massively pretty and there is not a lot there, apart from the retail park which is located at the end of the bus station. However, just outside of Killarney the road rises towards the mountains and from a view point you can look down over the picturesque lakes of Killarney.

The next stop was the Kerry bog village, an open-air museum giving you an idea about how people involved in the peat industry lived in the past.

The coach then ran along side the coast on the opposite side of the Dingle bay from the Dingle Peninsular before pulling into the town of Waterville. The town's main claim to fame is that Charlie Chaplin regularly visited.

After reaching the highest point above Sneem the tour turns back inland and headed towards the town of Kenmare where we stopped for dinner. The town itself is very pretty and has quite a lot of history, just out the back of the town is an ancient stone circle.

After a stop in Kenmare we headed back towards Cork on the coach, finally arriving just before 10pm.

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Travelling Ireland; Thursday, 05 August, 2004

Second coach tour, this time to the Cliffs of Moher. First stop though was Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, located just outside Ennis (The capital of County Clare). The Folk Park is based around the well preserved castle and have a collection of "Typical Irish" houses from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The park is quite interesting, but in an attempt to make it as realistic as possible all the small cottages are burning peat and at times the smell and smoke can be overpowering.

The castle does not have that much on display inside, and what there is is obscured by the sheer number of people looking round making it feel very cramped, and on the narrow spiral staircases quite dangerous. From the top of the castle there are views over the surrounding areas.

After the castle we moved on across the Burran, a bizarre almost non-Earth like plane with strange rocks and very few living things growing across it. The Burran is littered with burial sites and the tour took a short stop at the Poulnabrone Dolmen.

After the Burran we headed over to the coast and the impressive Cliffs of Moher. These dark and precipitous cliffs mark the end of Europe, beyond lies the Atlantic and then America. Just as the left the Cliffs the sky decided to open, so the dinner stop in Lahinch was just that, dinner. There was no way anyone could have seen more!

From there the coach headed back towards Cork stopping briefly in Limerick and finally arriving back in Cork at just before 10.

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Travelling Ireland; Friday, 06 August, 2004

For the fist time I had planned a holiday that was in more than one location so Friday was spent travelling. It shouldn't have taken all day, but in the end, thanks to a massive traffic jam on the motorway outside Dublin the coach ended up taking over 6 hours rather than 4 to get up from Cork.

With my plans for the afternoon now abandoned I at least didn't have to worry about being to early to check in, so I walked from Busáras (the bus station) to the hotel. In hindsight I should have caught the bus because it was about 45 minutes walk, and almost the whole way up hill!!

After checking into the hotel and dropping my stuff off, I caught the bus back into town and caught the DART out to Howth. Howth forms a peninsula just above Dublin and from the summit of the peninsula there are spectacular views over the city and down the East coast of Ireland. After wandering around Howth for a while I caught the bus back into Dublin and grabbed a bite to eat before retreating to a not particularly comfortable but welcome bed!

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Travelling Ireland; Saturday, 07 August, 2004

Saturday morning and I caught the open top bus out to Kilmainham Jail. The Jail is only viewable by going on one of the guided tours, but are well worth waiting for as it gives a very moving insight into the state of conditions that prisoners where held in right up until the countries independence in the 1920's.

After the Jail I got the bus back into town and the DART out to Dalkey. Located almost due south of the Howth Peninsular the town is most famous for the number of castles it had. Until the building of Dún Laoghaire harbour slightly closer into Dublin the town was the main port for Dublin and so had to have protection for goods being off loaded and the main street at one point boasted 7 castles. Today only two remain, and only one of those is open to look around.

Goat castle contains an exhibition on the rise, and subsequent decline of Dalkey from a powerful port town to a quiet suburb of Dublin. The castle also offers good views from it's roof over the town and harbour.

From Dalkey I got the DART back into Dublin and caught the bus up through Phoenix Park to the Jameson's distillery, just to check that the tour was still as good as it had been when I visited in 2001, and it was!!

After a walk along the side of the Liffey I wandered through Temple Bar and had dinner before taking advantage of the late opening at the Guinness Storehouse to reassess it against my 2001 visit. It's still as good as it was and the Guinness in the Gravity bar at the top is still good. As it was so late I was able to watch sunset (if there hadn't been so much cloud it might even have been impressive!)

After finishing my free pint I wandered back into the city centre and got the bus back to the hotel.

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Travelling Ireland; Sunday, 08 August, 2004

The original plan for Sunday was to check out of the hotel, drop my bags at Busáras, and wander around Dublin until mid afternoon before getting the bus to Kilkenny. Unfortunately the Irish weather conspired against me and by 11am I was starting to get quite wet and decided to catch the midday bus.

By the time I arrived in Kilkenny at half two the summer had decided to put another appearance in so, after checking in at the hotel, I wandered around town for a bit before catching the open top bus tour of the city.

The tour itself was interesting, but very short at less than 30 minutes which for €7 was slightly expensive!

After the bus tour I popped into an Internet cafe to check my e-mail (as I was trying to plan my visit with friends to Munich at the same time!) and have a cup of coffee.

After a short time surfing I went for a wander down the river bank along side the side of the castle and its grounds before coming back through the castles grounds and back to the hotel.

After a pleasant curry for dinner I had a wander round the city in the dusk before going back to the hotel and one of the most comfortable beds, and probably one of the best nights sleep I have ever encountered.

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Travelling Ireland; Monday, 09 August, 2004

First stop on Monday was going to be St Mary's Cathedral, but it was closed for a service so I took the opportunity to wander down to the castle and booked myself onto a tour for the late afternoon.

After a stop of coffee I joined the city walking tour. The well presented tour had lots of background information, not just on Kilkenny but on the whole of Irish history.

After a short pause for lunch I visited St Canices Cathedral and tower. The cathedral itself its quite interesting, but just outside is one of the original round towers of Ireland which you can climb to get good views of the city from. The climb however is up increasingly steep ladders that, by the top, even I wasn't liking and I make a habit of going up towers needlessly (See any other trip for confirmation!!)

Next to the Cathedral is the very plane and simple St Canices Chapel which is a good place to recover your composure and make solemn promises never to climb towers that use ladders ever again!!

Next stop was the Rothe House, one of the oldest buildings in the city. The house is an original Tudor town house that was built for and by the Rothe family. A 20 minute video presentation on the house and the key exhibitions gives about as much information as the displays themselves and after the video the rest of the house is a little disappointing.

The Butler Gallery of Contemporary art is a free exhibition located in one wing of the castle. It displays contemporary art. It's worth depends on your view of contemporary art - I found it a pointless waste of space and money, but I dislike contemporary art - others may disagree.

After that it was time for my tour of the castle (or - as I am a Butler myself, but probably not related to the original owner - the families country residence as I called it) which was very well presented and took you over most of the property.

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Travelling Ireland; Tuesday, 10 August, 2004

After packing my bags, again!, I wandered up to the station and caught the Intercity Express (1 hour to go 30 miles - the Irish view of express differs to most other peoples!) to Waterford. After dropping my bags off at the station I wandered over the main bridge into the city.

First stop, just behind the tourist information centre, and in the same building, was the Waterford Treasures exhibition. This very well presented exhibition tells the history of Waterford and it's role in Irish history. With the amount of information on display and the further information available by using the free audio guide you could easily spend a whole day here.

After the exhibition I joined the walking tour of Waterford. The exceptionally well presented and very funny tour gives a further insight into the history of the city and takes you around the main sights.

The tour finishes at Reginalds Tower so I took the opportunity to visit it. The exhibition inside gives background to the tower and the role it played within the city walls. The top of the tower is currently inaccessible so you can't get, what would be good views of the city.

After a further wander around the city it was time to get the coach back into Cork.

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Travelling Ireland; Wednesday, 11 August, 2004

So for the final time this holiday I checked out of the hotel and wandered over to the bus station. Caught the bus out to the airport and got the plane home, which - like the start of the holiday - was delayed for no apparent reason!

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St Anne; Friday, 13 August, 2004

After the shortest and possibly one of the most bizarre flights (The ground crew have to seat you as access to some of the seats is by pushing the set in front of you forwards and the flight only has a pilot, no other crew!) I landed at the portacabin that is Alderney International airport.

Alderney is a very small island, with very little in the way of transport, so the only way to get from the airport to the hotel is either by taxi or by foot. Seeing that the total walking time from the airport to the hotel was 8 minutes I decided to walk.

After checking in I wandered down into St Anne's - the Island capital and the only town on the island. From there it's a five minute walk down the hill to Bray, the harbour.

After spending a little time sitting relaxing on the beach I wandered back to the hotel and then out onto the cliff path for an hour or so before heading back into town for dinner, just as the sun was setting.

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St Anne; Saturday, 14 August, 2004

After an early start I wandered back out to the cliff path and walked to the Wildlife bunker. Utilising an old German fortification the Alderney Wildlife Society has put together an exhibition on the unique flora and fauna of the island (including the unique blonde hedgehog!)

I then spent a couple of hours just gently meandering around the cliff path round the outside of the airfield which occupies a large part of the western end of the island.

At 2pm I caught the guided bus tour which went round to some of the most impressive parts of the island. The tour is conducted by the driver who gives an informative and well presented history and guide to the island (even if he is Jerseyman!)

After the bus tour I hired a bike for the rest of the afternoon and revisited many of the sights that were pointed out on the bus tour.

By about 8pm the light was fading and I was knackered so I parked the bike back at the guesthouse and went for dinner.

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St Anne; Sunday, 15 August, 2004

After an early morning wander down the hill into Bray, and the lazily catching the bus - the one and only bus on the island - back up the hill, I visited the Alderney museum.

The museum has a small and eclectic collection of artefacts related to the island, from flints and stones used by the very first settlers to the island up to the modern day, with - unsurprisingly, a large collection of items relating to the war.

The museum tells the history of the island including the murky period during WWII when it was evacuated of all the inhabitants and turned into the only concentration camp in the British Isles. Records show that definitely 1000 and maybe as many as 3000+ people died on the island during the war either as slave workers or from the conditions they were forced to live in.

After the museum I wandered back out onto the cliffs, in a very eerie mist, to the site of the Sylt concentration camp.

After wandering back into town I went down to Bray and caught the only train that runs in the whole of the Channel Islands. The former goods line from the quarry to the harbour has been reopened by a group of railway enthusiasts who run a service backwards and forwards using an old London Underground train.

It's not very quick and there are only 3 trains a day at the weekend in July and August, but it's more than any of the other islands can muster!

At the end of the line at Mannez Quarry is one of the lighthouses of the island and when the railway is running tours of the lighthouse take place. The tours show you the inside of the lighthouse and give a background to the history and workings of not only the Alderney lighthouse by lighthouses in general.

After looking around the Lighthouse and the surrounding area I got the last train of the day back to Bray.

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St Anne; Monday, 16 August, 2004

With a flight at a little after 10:30 the only task of the morning was to eat breakfast, pay the bill and then walk back to the airport. At the end of 3 days I felt that Alderney was a place that I really wanted to come back to...

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St Peter Port; Friday, 13 August, 2004

Another early arrival in Guernsey, with almost 5 hours to kill before my onward flight to Alderney. After dropping my bag off with left luggage I caught the bus out along the coast to Pleinmont and then walked along the beach to L'Eree bay and the Neolithic tomb. The area also looks out over Lithou island, and this time the causeway was open, but I decided not to risk the crossing, just in case it got covered and I missed my flight!

I caught the bus back into St Peter Port and was astounded to see both Herm and Sark. Last year they were not visible, this year you could almost make out people walking on Herm!

Then it was time to go back to the airport and catch my flight out to Alderney.

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St Peter Port; Monday, 16 August, 2004

After landing and catching a bus quickly into town I realised I was having a race with the weather which was closing in very quickly. In the end, after hiking up the side of a big hill I got to the hotel just a few seconds before an absolutely spectacular cloud burst.

After checking in, and waiting a couple of hours for the rain to stop, I ventured back out and caught the bus down to Jerbourg and walked down the cliffs and out to St Martins Point, the most South Easterly part of the island. I then followed the cliff path back along the East coast of the island taking a detour up to Doyles monument and stopping for a short break at Fermain Bay before arriving back in St Peter Port about 3 hours after leaving.

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St Peter Port; Tuesday, 17 August, 2004

Plan for Tuesday: Sandals, Beach Towel, Suntan Cream, Book, Ferry ticket to Herm, Relax

Actual Plan on Tuesday: Sandals, Beach Towel, Forget Suntan Cream and get burnt, before getting soaked in a massive downpour whilst waiting for the late ferry back, spend evening drying book out!

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St Peter Port; Wednesday, 18 August, 2004

First stop for the morning was Fort Richmond, which looks quite similar to many of the forts on Alderney. Like most of the forts in Alderney it is not open to the public and in a state of decay! Nearby is more evidence of the length of time that humans have lived on the islands with a small collection of Mehnirs standing by the side of the road.

After coming back into town and having a spot of lunch I headed off to Pleinmont and the Pleinmont observation tower. It is one of the few German observation towers that are open to the public (Wednesday only!) There is lots of information inside on the construction and use of the towers and the views from the roof are well worth the dodgy final climb up a short ladder and a large step back over the open cover you have just emerged from!

After leaving the tower I walked down the cliff path to Pezeries Point and the aptly named Fort Pezeries. All that remains of the fort is a small amount of retaining wall and one of the magazine stores.

After walking back to the bus stop at Pleinmont I decided to get the bus the long way back into town, via the North of the Island. In the end I was very glad I did as we went through one of the most spectacular storms I have ever seen. One minute the sky was clear, then full of very dark clouds and then from nowhere the wind whipped up and massive hail stones started falling. It was barely 5 seconds from the storm starting to the bus reaching the bus stop, but in that time the person waiting was absolutely soaked!

Thankfully, by the time I got back to St Peter Port the rain had stopped.

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St Peter Port; Thursday, 19 August, 2004

I had a couple of hours to kill before my flight so I left my bags at the hotel and wandered into town and out onto the pier before catching the bus up to the top of the hill that St Peter Ports is at the bottom of. The views from the top are spectacular with the whole of the North of the island laid out in front of you.

Then it was time to collect my luggage and head home.

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Weymouth; Friday, 24 September, 2004

The main purpose of this weekend was for me and a friend to go down and celebrate another friends, belated, birthday.

After a 4 hour drive along the south coast from the Eastern end of West Sussex to the Western end of Dorset, and Hampshire in between, we finally arrived in Weymouth and checked into the hotel.

We then went round our friends house and spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking and watching videos!

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Weymouth; Saturday, 25 September, 2004

Weather forecast from the BBC - Warm, Sunny and Dry; Actual weather - Wet.

After a trip into Dorchester which resulted in spending quite a lot in a bookshop and getting wet on a couple of occasions we gave up, went back to our friends house and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening drinking, eating and watching videos!

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Weymouth; Sunday, 26 September, 2004

Finally some good weather and after checking out from the hotel and picking up the rest of the party we headed off to the Dorset coast and the Isle of Purbeck.

First stop was Corfe and its castle. Once a grand and mighty castle which had withstood attack for centuries, the castle was reduced to ruin on the orders of Oliver Cromwell during the Civil War. Since then the remains have been left unchanged. They now offer a spectacular view over the Isle of Purbeck and the quite town of Corfe.

After Corfe we headed on to the coast and the picturesque and other world like resort of Swanage. A town that appears to be stuck firmly in the past, and all the better for it!

After a couple of hours in Swanage it was time to head back to Weymouth and then back home.

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Sunny Intervals Sunny
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Munich; Friday, 01 October, 2004

After an early flight and an early arrival in Munich we dropped off our bags at the hotel and headed into town to meet up with other friends who had arrived the previous evening.

As it was Munich the first stop was a Brauhaus about ¼ mile from the centre of town. After a quick refreshment break there we headed back to the centre of town and the Frauenkirche. The vast onion domed towers of the church are one of the most visible symbols of the city and after looking inside the church we took the opportunity of taking the lift to the top of the tower to get views out over the whole of the city and beyond (not that we could see that far as the weather wasn't particularly great)

From there it was a short walk to the most famous of all the beer kellers in Munich the Hofbrauhaus where we spent the rest of the evening!!

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Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
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Munich; Saturday, 02 October, 2004

Saturday morning and it was an early start to get to the Oktoberfest early so that we could get a table. Unfortunately my stomach got the best of me, and after a couple of hours at the Oktoberfest drinking only water I decided to head back to the hotel. After about an hour at the hotel (and some more water) I felt better, but decided to give any more beer a miss, so whilst my friends stayed on at the Oktoberfest I went on the short trip out of town on the S-Bahn to Dachau

Dachau itself is a pretty and small town. It should have remained just that, a pretty suburb of Munich, except for the Concentration camp which was built on it's outskirts.

Today the site of the camp has been reopened as a visitors centre. The site is free to look around, though the audio guides that help you to interpret the site cost about €3.

Despite the number of visitors to the site an eerie silence still hangs over a place where over 30,000 people died and many tens of thousands more were held before being sent to their deaths in other camps.

At the back of the site is one of the most distressing places in the whole camp the Crematorium which also includes the gas chamber marked as "Shower"

The site also includes a large museum (KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau) charting the history of the concentration camp system and the crimes that were committed within their walls.

After visiting the museum I caught the bus back into town and had a look around the pretty town centre which is in such a contrast to the bleak foreboding of the camp just 3 miles outside that you can barely believe they both exist in reality.

I then headed back to the station and back into Munich for a spot to eat before heading to bed.

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Sunny Intervals Sunny
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Munich; Sunday, 03 October, 2004

Sunday dawned clear and sunny and it was time for a trip away from Munich.

About 60 miles South West of Munich lies Füssen. The town lies at the end of the railway line, hemmed in by the Alps and just a few short miles from the Austrian border. Füssen itself is a very pretty town, but the main reason people come here is to catch the bus the 3 kilometers to the even more picturesque village of Hohenschwangau.

Hohenschwangau lies at the foot of the Alps, against a large Alpine lake and this would itself be able to draw in quite a large crowd. The fact the (Mad) King Ludwig decided to build his most spectacular castle Schloß Neuschwanstein on the side of the hill has secured the villages spot on the tourist trail.

The castle is the epitome of the "Fairy Tale" castle. In fact it is the Fairy Tale castle as Disney modeled their castle on Neuschwanstein.

If that wasn't enough there is another equally impressive castle just the other side of the village Schloß Hohenschwangau - Ludwig's childhood home.

The whole of the village exists these days to serve the massive crowds of tourists that even on a Sunday at the beginning of October are feet deep in places!

First stop is the ticket booth where you purchase your guided tours of the castles. You can choose to do just one of the castles, or like we did opt to do both which means you have a 35 minute tour of Schloß Hohenschwangau and then 2 hours after the tour at Schloß Hohenschwangau your tour at Schloß Neuschwanstein starts.

Both castles are very impressive and well worth looking around. Though the walk from the village to Schloß Neuschwanstein is lung busting and leg aching. It feels like you are climbing half way up the side of an Alp, and to some extent you are!

After visiting the two castles we headed back to the bus stop to get the bus back to the train station. Unfortunately so had about 100 other people, and as the buses were not that big we ended up walking the 3KM back to Füssen which meant that we actually saw some spectacular views which we wouldn't otherwise have got!

After waiting a short while for the train and changing once we finally got back to Munich, had a bite to eat and all fell into bed, exhausted.

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Munich; Monday, 04 October, 2004

After checking out of the hotel and dumping our bags in the lockers at Munich station we headed into the centre of town and to the Marienplatz, the main central square. Just off to one side is the Church of St Peters, an odd looking church with a completely rectangular tower that takes up the whole width of the church.

As it was tower you can climb it meant that of course, I had to climb it. From the top the views of the centre of Munich are as good as those from the top of the Frauenkirche, except from here you can see down into the Marienplatz.

After descending from the tower and watching the 11 O'clock performance of the clock on the front of the Town Hall (Nothing on the Astronomical clock in Prague!) we headed over to one of the largest buildings in the city - The Residence - The former home of the Royal family of Bavaria.

The site is enormous and would take several days to visit the whole of. Instead we just visited the exhibition on the treasures and other valuables of the collection including lots of gold and jewels.

From there we just had time to pop out to the Olympic park and climb up (or rather ascend in a speedy lift) another tower, this time the main tower at the Olympic stadium from where you can get stunning views of the Olympic Park, the City, the Alps and the next door BMW works!

After that it was time to go back to the main station, collect our luggage and head back to the airport for the plane home.

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Hanover; Friday, 05 November, 2004

To get an impression of the city I started by following the walking route around the city stopping off at the Kestner Museum. This has an eclectic collection of artefacts ranging from ancient Greece & Egypt to modern art & contemporary design. The building itself is interesting because the original building, which was badly damaged in the war has been kept but is now encased within a 1950's outer shell.

Next stop on the walking tour is the Historisches Museum, again an interesting building, because it is built around the remains of the old city walls. This is another eclectic collection with lots of royal items, as well as more modern items.

From there it was a short walk around the remainder of the walking route before heading back to the hotel.

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Hanover; Saturday, 06 November, 2004

After a leisurely breakfast the first stop of the day was the town internationally famous for it's rat problem, Hameln (Hamelin).

It's a 45 minute train ride down the S-Bhan from Hanover. The town itself is very pretty, but apart from the architecture, one museum, & a couple of churches, which were closed, there is not much else to the town (at least not on a cloudy Saturday morning in November!!) the architecture is best seen following the marked trail (which is, of course, marked out with rats painted on to the pavement.

The walk itself takes about 2 hours, and after that I was pretty well done with Hameln. I walked back to the station & caught the train back into Hanover.

After a quick stop for a spot of lunch in the Hauptbahnhof, I went on to the second town of the day Celle. The town is about 50k north of Hanover and is again famed or it's architecture.

The town is arranged around the imposing castle (Schloß Celle) which I was sadly got to just to late to go on the guided tour (the only way you are allowed to see the inside of the castle!

Instead I made do with the town itself, which again has a lot of architecture, but not much else. There is a museum in the town, and you can get joint entry to this and the castle, but again I was running out of time before the museum shut, so I didn't go in.

After looking round the town for a while I walked back to the station and caught the train back to Hanover & dinner.

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Hanover; Sunday, 07 November, 2004

Sunday in the end proved to be a bit of a disappointing day.

The plan was to go out to Braunschweig (Brunswick) about 60k from Hanover. I got there no problem, however at this point the normally reliable & dependable German transport system let me down.

The local transport in Braunschweig makes the UK's systems look the model of reliability, dependability & integration. The tram that goes to the centre of town leaves exactly 5 minutes before the train from Hanover arrives!!!

After negotiating the public transport to the city centre I got there only to find out that most of it is shut on a Sunday in autumn!! The only things that weren't shut were the churches, and they all had services on!

After spending about 90 minutes wandering round what on the face of it is an architecturally beautiful city (until you remember that it has all been completely rebuilt since it was destroyed in WWII) I waited another age for a tram back to the Hauptbahnhof & on to plan B.

Plan B involved going to Hildesheim, so I got the InterCity train which, thankfully, runs between Braunschweig & Hildesheim.

I got to Hildesheim and walked the 700m or so into the heart of the old town. Unfortunately (and I am sure you can already guess what happened) most of the city was closed because it was a Sunday!

Thankfully the Dom (cathedral) was open, along with the cloister which houses a climbing rose which is over 1000 years old!

After having all my plans for Hildesheim ruined as well I walked back to the Hauptbahnhof & caught the train back to Hanover.

As there was still a little time left before sunset, I decided to go out to the Herrenhaüser Garten a set of large formal gardens about 3Km from the city centre and spent a relaxing 45 minutes in there before they closed then I headed back to the hotel.

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Hanover; Monday, 08 November, 2004

After checking out of the hotel & leaving my bags at the left-luggage lockers I headed out to do some final sight-seeing before the flight home.

First stop was the small park behind the Rathaus. The views of the town hall from the back with a picturesque lake in front are excellent & on a clear & crisp November morning with barely a cloud in the sky they made for some beautiful photos.

From there it's a short tram ride out past the zoo to another of the city's fabulous parks the "Stadtpark" or City Park. Within a few metres into this park you can completely forget you are still in the city centre. The area is very heavily wooded, and even in late autumn, when there is barely a leaf on the trees, they still act as a buffer to the noise.

After strolling through the park for a while I headed back to the Herrenhaüser Garten and spent a couple of hours walking in them. The approach to the park is attractive itself, a 2.5K walk down a dead straight avenue lined on each side by trees.

Then it was time to head back into town, catch the train to the airport & the flight home.

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Oslo; Saturday, 18 December, 2004

After arriving from the airport & checking in to the hotel I went for a walk around the city centre. I ended up by taking a long walk around the Akershus Fortress complex taking in the beautiful sunset over the Fjord before heading back to the hotel and dinner.

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Oslo; Sunday, 19 December, 2004

After a very comfortable night's sleep and a very large and filling breakfast I headed out. As the morning was so sunny (not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of a breeze & only -2°C!!) I decided to head up into the hills (mountains) above Oslo and to the TV tower for the views.

After a beautiful ride up the side, on what must be one of the steepest and most beautiful metro rides in the world, I reached Voksenkollen and walked the remaining 15 minutes up to the tower. The climb, despite being very up hill, is well worth it, if only because it fills your lungs with lots of clean mountain air!

From the top of the tower you have spectacular views over the whole of the Oslo Fjord & surrounding area right over to the Swedish border. The only downside in the middle of winter is that the sun never rises high enough not to obscure the view of Oslo itself!

After walking back down to the metro station, I caught the train on the one last stop to the end (and top) of the line, at over 550m above the level of the fjord. The views from here are not as all round as those from the top of the TV Tower, but of the fjord are less obstructed (as there is no glass in the way!)

I caught the train back almost into the city centre & then caught the tram round to the Akershus fortress. It is in daylight as impressive as it is during the night.

After spending a little time wandering around the grounds, and by pure chance catching the changing of the guards, I went to the Norwegian Resistance Museum.

The museum is, soberingly, located in the same building that the Gestapo used to torture people in during the occupation. In the area in front is the memorial to those who were executed on that very spot. The museum tells the story of the occupation & resistance movement within Norway during WWII.

After spending a little longer in the fortress, and wandering around the grounds I headed out of the city centre to one of the major parks in Oslo, Vigeland Park. Despite the darkness the park (which is open 24 hours a day) is very tranquil & beautiful.

I had intended, after leaving the park to catch the tram back to the hotel, drop my stuff off & then go for dinner, unfortunately on arrival at the hotel I found it had been evacuated because of a fire alarm, so instead I walked down the main street to the Royal Palace & had dinner at that end of town before heading back to a now re-occupied hotel & my bed.

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Oslo; Monday, 20 December, 2004

Virtually the whole day was spent out in Bygdøy. First stop was the Norsk Folk museum, a collection of over 200 traditional buildings that have been rebuilt on the site. One of the most impressive is the Stave church, one of the few left.

Next-door to the Folk museum is the Viking ship museum. This houses the remains of 3 Viking ships which were used as burial ships and have subsequently been uncovered in archaeological digs. Two are in very good condition with the third just being the very bottom.

A short walk from the Viking ship museum are 3 further museums dedicated to ships & the sea.

The Fram museum tells the history of its key exhibit, the ship Fram, the ship that has travelled the furthest North & South on expeditions to both the North & South poles.

The Kon-Tiki Museum tells the story of Thor Heyerdahl's famous journeys. The original Kon-Tiki & Ra II ships are the key exhibits.

The Maritime museum tells the story of sea-faring and the people of Norway from the Vikings to the modern super tankers & cruise ships.

After spending almost the whole day on the Island it suddenly dawned (or more correctly dusked) on me that Tomorrow was the shortest day of the year, and that I had witnessed both the sunrise and set of the day from Bygdøy. With that thought and the chill of an early night I headed back into the city through the evening rush hour and towards a warm dinner!

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Oslo; Tuesday, 21 December, 2004

Dawn and I'm already up and about and on a day when there is snow in the air, going up the side of a mountain!! A couple off stops down the hill from Voksenkollen is Holmenkollen, home to the first purpose built ski-jump in Norway & also home to the ski museum.

The museum tells the history of skiing in all its forms (cross-country, downhill, jump) and concludes with a lift and 100 step climb to the top of the ski jump for views over the fjord and to see what a ski jumper would see before they took off. Just below the museum is the opportunity to experience what it actually feels like on the ski-simulator.

After slipping and sliding my way back down the hill to the metro stop I caught the train back towards town and then the tram back out to Vigeland Park, this time in the daylight! The statues look almost as bizarre in daylight as they do in darkness!

As I had done Vigeland Park in the daylight I also decided that I would have another look at the Royal Palace as well.

After a quick comfort break and a diversion to the tourist information centre to pick up a 24hour Oslo pass I got the metro out to the Botanical gardens. As it was so close to Christmas most of the site was shut with the exception of the zoological museum.

This is an interesting museum that mostly focuses on the natural fauna of Norway, but also has a small amount on the rest of the world.

From there I wandered over to the Reptile museum which is housed on the 4th floor of an office block almost in the centre of town. As with all reptile displays all the creatures were asleep and hiding.

Just before heading back to the hotel I took a short stop at the Cathedral. Although it is much smaller than it's counterparts in the rest of Europe, what it doesn't have in size it makes up for in decoration. The inside of the cathedral is warm and inviting (useful in a city where the winters can be very long and cold!) The ceiling is completely painted in various colours and religious images and the compact interior helps make it look very light, despite the Dark wood finish to everything.

After a brief stop in the hotel I headed back out again to the edge of Vigeland Park and to the Oslo City Museum (Oslo Bymuseet)

The museum is well laid out and has some of the information translated into English. It deals with the history of Oslo/Christiania (as it was called from 1624 until 1925!) from the earliest settlements in around 1000 up to modern day Oslo.

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Oslo; Wednesday, 22 December, 2004

Just enough time to quickly pop down to Aker Brygge to take a couple of photos of the fortress and town hall.

From there it was a short tram ride round to the historical museum for a look around.

The museum specialises in Norwegian history (naturally) and also has a collection of exhibits on Africa & South-East Asia.

Then it was back to the station to pick up my baggage & off to the airport.

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Riga; Sunday, 30 January, 2005

After an uneventful flight we arrived in Riga ahead of time and went to look for a cab into town. A very helpful lady from the cab firm told us she could get a large cab for all 6 of us if we were willing to wait about 25 mins. As she also offered to come and find us when it arrived we took her up on the offer and went for a beer.

Even in the costly bar at the airport a half liter cost only £1.20!! In the end we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the cab so we did end up rushing the beer slightly.

The hotel was in the middle of the old town, just opposite the opera house and across a nice park from the Freedom Monument and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

After getting all our luggage sorted and the rooms occupied (including discovering the interesting toilet arrangements!) we wandered into the rest of the old town.

We had a walk though some of the old squares and past St Andrew's Church, past the 'House of the Blackheads' to the Townhall and the riverside. By this time we were all feeling slightly hungry so we decided to go for dinner in a Latvian Pizza Chain!

After a very filling and full (and cheap) meal we all headed back to the hotel for a short drink in the bar and then bed.

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Riga; Monday, 31 January, 2005

After a filling breakfast we headed out of the hotel into a biting wind and nasty gritty snow. Our destination for the morning was Darzini. First to the station to get tickets. At the equivalent of £3.60 I thought it was good value for a return, until I was told that was for all 6 of us and not each!

Darzini halt is identifiable by being the first one completely in the woods since leaving Riga. On this basis they feel that it's not important to offer such luxuries as station signs so with some trepidation in case we were alighting at the wrong stop we got off the train.

Located in the woods, about 1 mile from Darzini is a memorial. The memorial is located on the site of Salaspils concentration camp. Here, during the Nazi occupation over 10,000 people died and 10,000's more were kept until they could be dispatched to the death camps to the south in Poland. Today all that remains is an empty clearing and monuments and a strange feeling loss. When I visited Dachau it was on a warm autumn afternoon with lots of other people around. At Salaspils it was snowing heavily with biting winds and the only people around were the 6 of us. I think I came closer to starting to understanding the suffering that people went through, and that was with the benefit of a thick coat, and warm hat, gloves and scarf.

The site is well worth visiting, especially during the winter, to realise what people were put through, and not that long ago. Getting to the site should be easy, but the "good signage" that the guide book boasted has corroded and rotted in the weather and only empty frames now stand giving no information.

After visiting the site and coming back into Riga we stopped for a long lunch to warm up, before heading off into a clear late afternoon for a wander around the centre of Riga and down to the completely frozen river.

We walked alongside the river until we reached the castle, by which point most of the light was gone. We then walked back towards the hotel going past the Cathedral.

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Riga; Tuesday, 01 February, 2005

The morning was spent wandering around the city taking in the sights.

One of the must see sights of the city, according to the guide book, is St Peters Church where you can get the lift up to the top of the tower for stunning views. Unfortunately the lift is currently out of order (and at the time of visiting had been for nearly a year!)

The church itself is quite interesting with displays of artwork also dotted around the aisles.

The next stop, after a lot of wandering around looking at the outsides of lots of interesting buildings, was the Cathedral.

This is an impressive building with a massive space inside, which given the lack of light in February in Northern Europe and the dark stone used is still very light and airy.

After the Cathedral we finished off our walking tour with a spot of lunch before moving onto the Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

The building is spectacular both on the outside and the inside with almost every wall covered with icons and decorations and massive candle stands dotted liberally around the place.

The final stop for the afternoon was the TV tower. Located on an island in the middle of the river it dominated the landscape (in it's full red and yellow colouring!) You can get the express lift that goes up the curved legs to the viewing platforms at the top of the tower for stunning views over the whole of the city and off towards the Baltic. Made even more spectacular by the fact that a river, wider than the Thames, Main, Danube, Rhine or any other that I have see on my trips to Europe was totally frozen solid, just a few miles from the sea!

From the TV tower we walked back into town and to a well deserved big meal and drink.

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Riga; Wednesday, 02 February, 2005

The final day in Latvia and only one stop on the agenda. The Ethonographical museum, located just outside of Riga houses a collection of typical Latvian buildings - houses, churches, halls, etc that have been moved there from all around the country. It is very similar to the Folk museum in Oslo but covers a bigger area.

After spending several hours in the park we caught the bus back into Riga for a late lunch and a drink before collecting our bags and heading for the airport.

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Cardiff; Friday, 11 February, 2005

Due to the delay leaving Paddington & speed restrictions along the line we eventually arrived in Cardiff 7 minutes late.

I walked the short distance from the station to my hotel & checked-in, just in time to avoid the spectacular downpour that started as I stepped inside the hotel!

Once the rain had stopped (or so I thought) I left the hotel to have a wander around the city centre.

I wandered up to the castle, only to find that it's not floodlit at night. I carried on wandering and eventually found myself walking down to Cardiff bay just as the rain returned (accompanied by a strong, biting & rain lashing wind)

By the time I actually got to Cardiff Bay station I was soaked and decided to get the train back, unfortunately the next train wasn't for another 50 minutes, so I got the bus back to the city centre and then went back to the hotel to dry off.

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Cardiff; Saturday, 12 February, 2005

After the rain of yesterday it was a relief to wake up to find Saturday was dry & bright. I walked from the hotel to Cardiff Queen Street station and an early train out to Caerphilly. About 10 minutes walk from the station is Caerphilly Castle. The castle is a little disappointing as it looks massive from the outside, but there is not much to see other than ruins once inside.

Despite that the site does have 2 exhibitions inside different towers. One tells the history of the site and the other the history of the inhabitation of Wales.

After leaving the castle I walked back to the station & caught the train back to Cardiff where I changed and caught another train out to Taffs Well.

From Taffs Well it's a 30 minute, uphill, walk to Castle Coch.

The castle was originally built by the Norman's but was abandoned in the 14th Century and remained ruins until it was restored & rebuilt. The outside is fairy-tale Norman castle, but inside it's all Victorian fantasy!

After spending some time looking around the castle I walked back to Taffs Well station to catch the train back to Cardiff. At Queen Street station I caught the train down to Cardiff Bay and the went for a wander around the newly rejuvenated dock areas that have been transformed from the once prosperous, the run-down & deprived docks into one of the most desirable areas to live in in the whole of Wales.

With a sudden & tremendous downpour striking I went into the Cardiff Bay visitors centre. The centre gives a background to the rejuvenation of the area along with a scale model of the whole area.

After the end of the rain I walked over to one of the old Victorian dock company buildings which now houses the Welsh Assembly education centre. The centre is well presented & gives a background to how devolved power operates in Wales.

From there I walked down to the waterside just in time to get on a boat tour of the bay including going alongside the barrage that helps to make the harbor. With the sun starting to set I caught the train back into the city centre & then back out to Caerphilly. I had a long wander around the outside of the castle which is as spectacular floodlit at night as it is during the day.

Then it was time to get the train back to Cardiff and dinner!

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Cardiff; Sunday, 13 February, 2005

First stop of the morning was Cardiff Castle. The site has been fortified since Roman times, with remains of part of the old Roman walls still visible and on display within the site.

The area was abandoned after the Romans left and it wasn't until the Norman's in the 11th Century that the site was used again. The remains of the old Norman keep are one of the main attractions

The site went through various extensions and additions over the years but the main changes were made by the Marquis of Bute and William Burges (them of Castle Coch fame) who completely refurbished the inside of the main areas of the castle.

The grounds and Norman Keep are explorable, but the inside of the main part of the castle is only viewable on a guided tour. The tours are well worth the extra small expense as they are well presented and informative.

After the castle I walked the short distance to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales.

There are lots of exhibitions and artifacts. You could very easily spend a couple of days exploring all the exhibits. One of the main ones is a gallery devoted to the history of the planet and explains the last 700,000,000 years (or so) through what has happened to the land-mass that is now Wales.

After the National Museum, I caught the bus back out to Cardiff Bay and a completely different type of museum "Techniquest" explains science through hands-on exhibits. Although it's a bit Kiddyish it is very interesting.

From the bay I caught the waterbus across the harbor to Penarth and the barrage.

After spending a short while wandering around this "quaint" Victorian seaside town I caught the bus back to Cardiff Bay for dinner (sadly the last few waterbusses had to be canceled due to very choppy waters.)

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Copenhagen; Friday, 11 March, 2005

After checking in to the hotel I caught the train out to Charlottenbourg. I had a pleasent walk around the grounds of Charlottenbourg Slot (castle) - you can only walk around the grounds as the building is now used for government offices before wandering down towards the beach and Charlottenbourg Fort.

The fort was built during the 19th century, but is now being used as a caravan park and restaurant!

I wandered back to the station and got the train back into town where I had a pleasent dinner befor going back out to the airport to meet my friends who were coming in on a later flight than me.

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Copenhagen; Saturday, 12 March, 2005

After a leisurly breakfast we set out to wander around the city centre stopping first at the Rådhuspladsen (townhall square) and then moving on down the main padestrianised street into the cenyre of the old town.

We stopped at the Rundtårn (round tower) which is a bizarre tower in which a spiral ramp takes you up the inside of the building. About halfway up was an exhibition of modern art. Towards the top the ramp ends and its onto spiral stairs for the final ascent to the viewing platform at the top which offers excellent views over the centre of the old town.

From the Rundtårn we walked the short distance onto the metro station and caught the metro out to Christianshavn.

Towards the centre of Christianshavn is the Vor Frelsers Kirke. The church is stunning inside and outside. Its defining feature is its tower (sadly closed when we visited) The stairs to the top start off inside the tower, but the last 150 or so wind around the outside of the spire!

After looking around the church we wandered over to the "free state" of Christiana. Created in 1971 when a group of young and homeless people started squatting in a dissused millitary barracks complex, the area is internationaly known as an area which has developed an more egalitarian and environmently friendly attitude than anywhere else.

After spending some time walking round Christiana we walked back to the metro station and made our way over to one of Copenhagens other well known sites - the Carlsberg factory.

The visitors centre was partly closed for refurbishment, but the important part of the tour, the free tasting, was still open.

A little later on (and slightly the worse for wear after trying several different types of brew) we walked back to the train station.

As it was a little early to have dinner, and starting to get a little cold, we decided to waste a bit of time having a play on the Copennhagen metro which has only recently opened and is completely computer controlled so that you can sit right at the very front of the train.

Once we had wasted a little time we headed back into the centre of town in search of food.

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Copenhagen; Sunday, 13 March, 2005

A later start than expected, due to delays in getting everyone together to get out of the hotel.

We walked to the station to get the train out to the top of Zealand (the name of the island that Copenhagen is on)

Helsingør (or Elsinore as it is known in English) is the location of the castle said to have inspired William Shakespeare to write Hamlet.

The castle is very interesting to look round and only hypes the Hamlet association up in one small exhibition at the start of the royal appartments.

We also looked around the chapple and the casements under the building.

After stopping for a quick coffee we went for a wander around the centre of the town and then stopped for a very late lunch/early dinner, befor stopping for a couple of drinks in a local bar befor heading back to the station and a train back to Copenhagen.

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Copenhagen; Monday, 14 March, 2005

First stop of the morning is the station to buy some tickets to Roskilde.

More famous for its annual music festival, the town itself is very pretty and has several museums and attractions. Sadly this being Monday in continental Europe all bar the Viking ship museum were closed.

The museum tells the story of five Viking ships discovered in the fjord, their last role befor being forgotten was as a barradge across one of the navigable channels.

Along with the remains of the ships, reconstructions and background information, the museum also explanes a bit about Viking life at the time.

From the museum we wandered back to the centre of town stopping off to look at the impressive cathedral and for a bite to eat.

We caught the train back to the central station and then brought some more tickets, this time to another country.

Just beyond Copenhagen airport is the start of one of Europes most impressive structures, a road and rail bridge that links Copenhagen, Denmark with Malmö, Sweden. The trains only take 35 minutes to get from the centre of Copenhagen to the centre of Malmö.

Malmö is a very nice city with several pretty squares, though its castle is not as good as its Danish counterparts.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around Malmö's streets we popped for a drink and a bite to eat befor getting on the train and travelling back to Denmark.

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Copenhagen; Tuesday, 15 March, 2005

With Spring starting to set in (i.e. the snow was now falling as rain) we set off for a walk through the city.

The first stop was at Christiansborg Slot, the former Royal palace.

Burnt to the ground twice and rebuilt into three different styles over the last 800 years, the site has left it's history in it's foundations which can be walked around to see the various former buildings.

After spending almost 2 hours submerged beneath the castle we decided to stop for a short lunch break befor heading off to walk across more of the city.

The next stop was at the impressive domed Marmorkirken (Memorial church). From there we walked the short distance to the Amailenborg Slot, the current residence for the Danish royal family.

From there it was a short walk to the Kastellet (citadel) fortress. Still used as barracks by the army there is not much to see but the building and earthworks that surround it are quite impressive, and from the ramparts you get a good view of the mermaid statue that Copenhagen is famous for (though I am not sure why as it is very small and in the middle of nowhere!)

We then walked back towards the city centre and into the grounds of Rosenborg Slot. Another royal residence, this one houses the crown jewels.

After walking through the park we carried on for two more blocks to the thee man made lakes at the Western edge of the city.

By now the rain was starting to fall quite heavily so we walked back quickly to the hotel to dry off befor heading out for dinner.

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Copenhagen; Wednesday, 16 March, 2005

And so back to the airport, and just time to experience the wonders of the end of the morning rush hour on Danish railways (i.e. lists of canceled trains and lots of delays!)

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Penzance; Monday, 04 April, 2005

I arrived at Paddington 2 1/2 hours before the departure of the sleeper. Unfortunately this coincided exactly with all the café's and restaurants closing!

Not to be outdone I instead had my fill in the first-class lounge!

The sleeper pulled out of Paddington on time at ten-to-midnight with the gentle roll of the trains motion (and two cans of Stella) letting me drift off to sleep quickly.

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Penzance; Tuesday, 05 April, 2005

Tuesday started earlier than planned. I had booked an alarm call and breakfast from the steward for 7:30, instead my alarm call was the sound of "...03:40 First Great Western service to Penzance calling at..."

After having got back to sleep I re-awoke just before 7:15 so I decided to get up and open the blind on a grey and wet Cornish morning. 20 minutes later, and with my breakfast in front of me the clouds started to clear.

By the time we arrived (20 minutes early) into Penzance the dark-clouds had all gone and the sun was fighting its way through the remaining low cloud.

I popped by the hotel to drop off my bag before heading back to the bus station to start sightseeing.

First stop of the morning was Porthcurno bay. Today a picturesque and quiet bay on the way down to Lands End, but at one time possibly the most important place on the planet (at least to the British Empire) for here, in a little hut the telegraph cables that linked and ran an Empire came ashore.

Even today with modern satellite technology the cables still come ashore here, but all the work of Porthcurno is now done elsewhere. The original buildings, and the tunnels dug to keep the service going during W.W.II, now form the Porthcurno museum of submarine telegraphy. The museum tells the story of underground telegraphy along with the history of Porthcurno. A special exhibition also explains the role that Brunels 'Great Eastern' played in the laying of the first successful transatlantic cable.

On the cliffs above Porthcurno is the Minack theatre. Built in the late 1930's (and then rebuilt after the war because of damage caused by turning the headland into a gun emplacement) the theatre is a unique sight. The stage is on the edge of the cliff with a 200ft drop beneath! The site includes a small museum to the lady who built it, Rowena Cade.

After looking around Minack and Porthcurno, I got back on the bus and continued on to its final destination at the literal 'end of the route' - Lands End. The most Westerly part of the mainland (though not the most Southerly - that accolade lies with Lizard head the other side of Penzance.) The site is not only the end of the country but also a slightly tacky theme park. In addition to the end of the country there are also several 'attractions' to keep you occupied (and out of any sudden showers that may decide to strike!)

After spending about 4 hours at the site (and missing 2 showers!) I caught the bus back into Penzance. From there I caught another bus out to Mousehole (pronounced Mousel) where I had a wander around this pretty fishing village before catching the bus back to Penzance, dinner, and a bed that didn't rock you awake!

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Penzance; Wednesday, 06 April, 2005

After a very comfortable nights sleep, and a delicious breakfast I headed out to the bus station and on to Geevor. Tin has been mined here for hundreds of years and Geevor was one of the last to close as foreign competition and falling prices made Cornish mining no longer a commercial prospect. The last mining was done on the site in 1986. The pumps were left running and the site kept maintained up until 1990 when it was finally abandoned to fall into disrepair.

Today the site has reopened as a museum to mining in Cornwall. You can wander over large sections of the site seeing how miners spent their days. The mines that closed in 1990 stretched more than 1.5KM out to see, and when the pumps were turned off started to fill with water. However, some 18th century mines have been rediscovered and one of the highlights of the museum is a short tour around a small part.

In the end I spent almost three hours wandering around the site, and I didn't see everything, but by then my feet were hurting. I caught the bus back to Penzance and then another three miles along the coast to Mazarion. From here you can normally reach the castle and monastery on St Michael's Mount, a small island just off shore connected by a causeway at low tide and a boat at other times. Unfortunately, due to the high winds the National Trust, who run the site, had closed it!

Instead I caught the bus back towards Penzance and changed onto another heading to St Ives.

The town is very pretty with stunning views around the bays from the top of the very steep town. After spending some time taking in the sights of the town I walked down to Tate St Ives.

The building it is in is architecturally stunning with lots of space created and large gallery areas. Unfortunately, they have filled it with... Art not to my personal taste, and very little of it to justify the £5.50 entrance fee! To make matters worse the staff were quite rude (the only non-pleasant people I met during the whole trip)

I left the gallery after about 25 minutes feeling slightly cheated (it should be noted that both of the Tates in London are free to look around the general collections)

I had a further wander around town before heading off to the station to catch the train back to Penzance. The line between St Ives and St Erth (where it meets the mainline to Penzance) is possibly one of the most picturesque and beautiful in the country. The line snakes around the side of the cliffs as it makes its way along the coast.

I got back into Penzance and quickly popped back to the hotel to drop my bag off, and, by fluke, miss the torrential downpour! After the rain had stopped it was time for dinner.

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Penzance; Thursday, 07 April, 2005

Early start to the day as I was catching the 9:20 flight to Tresco, one of the Isles of Scilly. After checking out of the hotel (but the landlord very kindly allowing me to leave my bags) I got a cab to the Heliport, as the only way onto Tresco is by helicopter!

The helicopter goes out over Lands End and then over the 25 or so miles of Atlantic ocean until you reach the Isles. The approach is stunning as you can see all the islands laid out before you.

I spent most of the day exploring the islands which in places resemble the Scottish highlands and in others a Mediterranean island (the Isles are directly underneath the Gulf Stream and consequently have an almost sub-tropical climate)

Dotted around the island are several ruins. Taking in all these, and walking around the edge of the island took up the whole six hours I was there before I had to go back to the heliport and catch the helicopter back to Penzance.

After walking back to the hotel to collect my bags, and having a very pleasant local fish supper, I headed back to Penzance train station and the sleeper back to London.

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Bremen; Friday, 20 May, 2005

Most of the day spent travelling. Despite having checked in the previous afternoon from home, I still arrived at Heathrow almost 2 hours before departure (I don't trust London's traffic!) Very fast through checkin, just dropping my bag off in the hope that it would follow me through Amsterdam and be reunited with me in Bremen!

Very short flight to The Netherlands, 30 minutes of walking through Schiphol airport and then almost an hours wait at the gate before boarding for the flight to Germany. After everything being so smooth and simple up to then it was almost inevitable that something would go wrong. With minutes to go before boarding was due to commence, the flight got delayed by 90 minutes due to the crew being stuck somewhere else!

30 minutes after we were supposed to have departed we are all called forward to start boarding the bus to get to the plane parked on the air-field. We sit there for a couple of minutes before being asked to come back off again as the crew are still not ready!

Eventually after a further 15 minutes we finally start boarding the bus for real and are taken to the plane. A short flight later we arrive in Bremen, 1 hour late. I caught the tram from the outside of the airport into town to my hotel, conveniently situated right next to the Hauptbahnhof.

After settling in and getting unpacked I wandered back out of the hotel and caught the tram a couple of stops back to the area around the cathedral for a quick spot of sightseeing and a spot of dinner, before heading back to the hotel and a seriously needed sleep.

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18ºC/64ºF

Bremen; Saturday, 21 May, 2005

As breakfast was being served till late, I took advantage and slept in until gone nine. After a hearty meal I headed next door to the hauptbahnhof to catch the train to Oldenburg.

The town is situated about 50Km Northwest of Bremen and is supposedly the economic and cultural centre of the region, though on a Saturday in late May it was very quiet.

The main sights of the town are the large church (Lambertkirche), the castle (Schloß), and the castle gardens (Schloßpark).

The church is not only interesting because of it's five spires, but also because the inside and outside fail to match completely. From the outside the large red brick gothic rectangular building belies the fact that inside it is a subtle, light coloured stone, round church!

The castle now houses a large museum to the history of the area, sadly all of it is in German, with no translations, or guides in any other language. The castle park, the other side of the main ring road from the castle is surprisingly quiet and tranquil. After spending a short while wandering around, I walked back to the station and caught a train to my next destination, Osnabrück, about 110Km to the south.

Osnabrück is a pleasant town, with lots of old buildings (despite the war). From the tourist information centre I followed a signed walk that takes you round most of the main sights in the town, including: The town walls and remaining gates; The town hall (Rathaus); Several of the towns many churches; and the cathedral with it's disproportionate towers.

The cathedral also houses it's treasury which contains lots of relics from the cathedrals past, as well as many of it's more valuable possessions.

After spending some time wandering around the town, I walked back to the station where I got a direct train back to Bremen, and a well deserved dinner.

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Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Bremen; Sunday, 22 May, 2005

A slightly earlier start to the day failed to materialise so I ended up getting the same train as Saturday from Bremen to Oldenburg.

From there I caught the train further North to the town of Jever. More commonly known for it's bitter tasting beer, the town has also during it's history been an important royal seat. This is shown off to it's best in the garishly pink Schloß that takes pride of place in the centre of the town.

The castle now houses an interesting museum on the history of the area, with lots of it translated into English and Dutch. The central tower of the castle supposedly offers stunning views over the gardens and surrounding areas, sadly this was closed for renovation when I visited.

The brewery, towards the back of town, offers regular tours which include a tasting session. Sadly tours (of which some are also in English) are very popular and have to be pre-booked

After wandering around town for a short while, I walked back to the station to catch the trains back to Bremen.

From there I caught the train out to Bremehaven, the large sea port that has supplied much of Bremen's wealth.

Supposedly it is worth visiting, with lots to see. But with no signage anywhere you can wander away from the station and not find anything! After nearly an hours walking, and without see anything even remotely worthy of a quick photo, I walked back to the station and caught the train back to Bremen for dinner and an early night.

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Sunny Sunny
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Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Bremen; Monday, 23 May, 2005

Monday's in continental Europe need planning. I'm sure if you've read any other entries you have seen my experiences of finding things to do on a European Monday, especially in Germany. Today was going to be different, because I had put off to today all those things that claimed they were open on Monday's!

First stop of the morning was the statue of Bremen's most famous non-visitors, the musicians of Bremen, the cockerel, cat, dog and donkey of the children's fairy tale. This also forms the starting point for a marked walk that Bremen Tourism have devised.

Next stop was the cathedral, St. Petri's. As well as the spectacular building there is also the treasury museum, the 263 stepped tower and the Lead Cellar - where bodies buried within have been completely preserved and are now on (morbid) view to the public.

I carried on following the walking tour, which takes in all the main sights and museums (as it was Monday they were all closed) of the city centre. Then it was on to the tram and out into the suburbs to the botanical gardens.

Originally started as a rhododendron park this massive site now also includes 'botanica' a green science museum and greenhouses of some of their more spectacular specimens.

The park itself is huge, I spent over three hours wandering around it, and don't think I saw it all. In late May it was especially nice as all the rhododendrons were in full bloom and scent.

After several hours at the park I wandered (or more closely staggered as my feet were sore!) back to the tram stop for the tram back to the hotel for a well earned rest and then dinner

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Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Bremen; Tuesday, 24 May, 2005

An early start today as I wanted to go to Lübeck. Originally I was thinking of spending the day in Hamburg, where you have to change trains to get to Lübeck, but there is so much to do there that I thought I would leave that for a separate holiday.

Lübeck was once one of the most important cities is Germany, a centre of trading with the rest of the world. Much of it's importance is shown in it's magnificent buildings, many of which have had to be rebuilt since the end of the war, the city being all but flattened during a bombing raid on 29th March 1942. A slightly more alarming feature is the subsidence the city suffers from. The area whole of the city is built on swampy ground and as such much of it now leans at precarious angles.

First stop of the day was the Holstentor at the entrance to the city. So famous is it that it used to grace the DM50 bill. This now contains a museum charting the history of the city and it's importance in European history.

Next stop on from there was the canal bank where I picked up one of the many ships that cruise around the rivers and canals of Lübeck. Sadly all of them only offer commentary in German.

From there I walked to the Petrikirche. Almost destroyed during the bombing it has been rebuilt, but is no longer used as a church. Instead it is used as an exhibition space, and as a viewing tower. A lift glides you up to the top of the tower for views over the whole of the city.

The traders of Lübeck decided in the 13th century that it was time for a game of one-up-man-ship against the church and local bishops. They decided to built their own church, in a similar style to the town hall, to be even bigger and more impressive than the cathedral. They succeeded. Another building almost totally destroyed on 29/03/1942 it has been rebuilt, but with a reminder of what happened. At the base of one of the towers the shattered remains of the bells have been left, exactly where they fell.

After a short stop for lunch, I headed off towards the cathedral. Yet another building brought to the ground in 1942 this has been completely rebuilt, and contains a small photographic exhibition on the bombing, the fire (started by the bombing) that caused most damage, it's ruins and rebuilding.

The centre of the city rests on an island surrounded by canals and rivers. Around the edge is a pleasant path that you can walk round. Sadly halfway round the weather decided to take a turn for the worse so I (quickly) wandered back to the city centre to pick up some souvenirs. The local speciality is marzipan, the experts can make it look like anything!

I then headed back to the station, getting on the train just as the rain picked up intensity, and headed back to Hamburg, then Bremen, and a well deserved rest.

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Sunny Slight Showers
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Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Bremen; Wednesday, 25 May, 2005

Last day in Bremen and with still a lot to visit and do. First stop of the morning, after checking out of the hotel and dropping my bags off in the left luggage lockers at the station, was a walk around the former defences of the city. The centre of the city rests on it’s own island that is totally surrounded by the river and canals. The whole of the route round, which once formed the defences, is now through parks and gardens. After spending almost two hours walking around I caught the tram out to the Focke Museum on the outskirts of town.

The museum shows the history and development of Bremen, with lots of artefacts, especially in the "Magazine" collection which appears to be their entire store of artefacts grouped together by subject and then arranged alphabetically.

After visiting the Focke Museum I caught the tram back into town and visited the Böttcherstrasse a tiny lane in the centre of the city which houses a museum and art gallery that link to each other.

The Roselius house has artifacts and items from Bremens heyday as the centre of Hanseatic trading. The Paula Becker-Modersohn exhibition is an art gallery displaying works by Paula Becker-Modersohn as well as some changing displays of modern art.

After spending a while in the museums it was time to head back to the station to pick up my bags from the luggage lockers and catch the tram out to the airport.

The journey home was relatively uneventful - if you ignore the pilot on the flight from Bremen to Amsterdam trying for a land speed record on the taxiways of Schipol airport. After warning us that it would take about 10 minutes to reach the terminal (and it having taken that long when I had flown in from Heathrow a few days earlier) he succeeded in making it from the runway to stand in about 3 minutes, overtaking several cars passing on the nearby motorway!!

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Sunny Sunny
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Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Stockholm; Wednesday, 01 June, 2005

After a good flight and a speedy run through the airport I caught the Express train to the central station and then caught the metro to the hotel.

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No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Stockholm; Thursday, 02 June, 2005

The morning started off very bright and clear, but by the time I left the hotel there were already clouds gathering I’m the sky. I caught the metro out to Kungsträdgården where all the sightseeing tour boats leave from.

I booked onto two tours. The first, lasting almost 2 hours, goes round several of the islands that make up Stockholm, under many of the bridges that join it all together and through the two locks that separate Lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea. After completing that tour I then went on another that goes along some of the back canals around the Royal palaces. It was quite thankful that I booked onto these tours. Not only were they well presented with lots of useful information about Stockholm, but they also kept my dry during several heavy down-pours.

After sending the whole of the morning at Sea level I took a bus up to one of the high points, Fjällgatan, above the city to look out across it. From here you can see several of the islands that make up Stockholm, as well as many of the main buildings in the city.

After that I walked back to the centre of town to pick up the Tram. Unlike Oslo, Stockholm only has one tram line, and here it is a tourist attraction. It runs for a couple of miles along the edge of the lake, over a bridge and onto the island that houses most of the major museums. I got off at the end stop and walked through the parkland to the Canal I had been on earlier.

After crossing the canal I continued through the parkland to Kaknästornet, the TV tower. The top two floors are open to the public as viewing platforms, with the top most one being on the roof. By now all of the clouds had disappeared and the views from the top were stunning, not only of the City and water, but also into the distance. The other amazing site was the sun. At almost 5pm it still looked like the very early afternoon, with the sun high in the sky and very short shadows.

From the top of the tower I spotted a solid row of trees running away into the distance at the other end of the parkland that the TV is built in. After checking the guidebook this turned out to be a tree-lined avenue that stretches in an almost straight line for 2Km heading away from the city. The map also showed that at the end of it was a conveniently located Metro station, so I decided to walk it. After a pleasant 60 minute walk (it was further than it looked from the base of the tower to the start of the avenue) I arrived at the metro station and caught the train back into town and onto Gamla Stan.

This is the original island that the town first grew up around, and it still houses the official work-place of the monarchy, as well as being a labyrinth of little streets and alleyways. After spending about 45 minutes wandering around the back lanes taking lots of photos, I decided to stop for dinner, and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Stockholm; Friday, 03 June, 2005

After buying a Stockholm Card from the hotel reception I headed out to the metro and back to the area around the Royal palaces.

The first stop of the morning was the Three Crowns Museum, located in the cellars of the current royal palace, it explains some of the background to the buildings on the site, as well as showing the ruins of the castle that burnt down in the 17th Century. From there it was a short walk up the staircase into the Royal apartments, the rooms are spectacular, not only in their opulence, but also in the fact you can see so many of the rooms that are regularly used by the Royal family for entertaining and putting up guests. The Royals themselves no longer live in the palace instead preferring a little pad out in the countryside.

After a quick stop for postcards and an early lunch I went to the Kungliga Myntkabinette, the Royal money cabinet, which houses an exhibition on Money. Not only does it trace the history of the Swedish currency, it also looks at money itself with displays of currency from Pre-Roman times to the Euro. The main part of the museum is well guided in English, but beyond the main exhibition the rest is only in Swedish.

From there it was across to one of the smallest islands, which only houses one large building. However, in the cellars beneath it are the remains of the old city walls and the area has now been turned into a museum on Medieval Stockholm. The exhibition also includes the remains of several ships which have been discovered in the channels around Stockholm during archaeological excavations.

I then caught the metro out to the back of town to visit the Vin & Sprithistoriska Museum, the museum of wine and spirit history. It traces the history of alcohol in Sweden, its manufacture and over consumption that eventually lead to the strict control methods and state control of supply. It also gives an insight into the production of the local tipple Vodka. Although the whole exhibition is in Swedish, a helpful and informative English language audio guide also takes you around, and all of the interactive elements are in both languages as well.

After leaving the museum I caught the bus back to the metro stop and then another bus out to the Västerbron Bridge. One of the longest bridges in the city, it also has stunning views over the city centre and skyline. After taking 15 minutes to walk over it, the bus back took little more than 90 seconds. That took me back to the metro and I came back over to Gamla Stan to find somewhere to eat, before heading back to the hotel.

After spending a little time digesting I headed back out again, this time to Slussen and the Katarinahissen. Built originally as a way of reaching the higher parts of the town without the need for lots of steps, the lift and walkway now provide an excellent view point over the lake and city, especially during a late evening sunset. From there I wandered back over the bridge to Gamla Stan and wandered through the narrow streets in the dusk before once again heading back tot he hotel and my welcoming bed.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Stockholm; Saturday, 04 June, 2005

Saturday morning dawned with heavy rain, settling down into prolonged drizzle. Not good for sightseeing, but no doubt welcome to the thousands who were running the Stockholm Marathon, that scuppered most of my plans. On the upside, today was the official first day of High season. 6th June (Monday) is national day, so this weekend almost everything is open and running.

To avoid the worst of the rain I took what turned out to be the very last open top tour bus of the day round the city, before transferring onto the more leisurely open top hop-on-hop-off boat. Needless to say, both firmly had their roofs up!

I got off the boat on the island of Djurgården which houses many of the city's museums. First stop was the Biological Museum housed in its own purpose built building, which looks exactly like a Norwegian Stave Church. Inside there are a couple of small exhibits, including a presentation of a Bear and her two cubs from the early 20th century shown as a happy loving family unit, mother on her hind legs, baby clasped to her chest with one had, and toddler holding her other hand, not the most natural of stances for a bear! The museum does admit that it is an example of what was being done in the early 20th century and not how they would display creatures now.

The bulk of the museum is taken up with a 360° diorama showing most of the natural birds and beasts of Sweden. Access to is is up a peculiar double spiral staircase.

From there it was a short walk to the Nordiska museum. The museum was set up to let future generations know what life was like in Sweden in the past. It runs from the 16th Century right up to today, with displays on clothing, fabrics, traditions and design. Strangely in the design section IKEA only get a couple of mentions!

After the Nordiska museum, and with the Marathon I full flow on the street outside, I headed next door to the Vasa Museum. The museum is built around the almost complete remains of the 17th Century battleship the Vasa which sunk, on it's first trip out of docks after being built. It lay on the bed of the lake until the late 1950's when it was rediscovered. From the point at which it was raised from the sea bed until it finally went on full display to the public still took nearly 30 years, with the entire wreck having to be saturated with a type of plastic to replace all the water in it. The museum tells the history of the ship, the background to the reasons why she was built and how she sunk, and the efforts that were gone to to rescue her from her grave.

From the Vasa museum I crossed back over the road, having to run between marathon runners, and walked down to Skansen.

Skansen is a folk part, similar to those in Bunratty, Oslo and Riga. Unlike those, though, it has also diversified into a semi safari-park of native animals with Wolves, Wolverines, Lynx, Bears, Elk, Seals and Bison on view. There is also a small zoo which houses some more exotic creatures including a cage full of ring-tailed lemurs that you can wander through. All made extra special as for the first time all day the sun came out and all the animals were lying out sunbathing (it also helped that it was already almost 6pm and most of the tourists and screaming babies had already gone home!)

I caught the tram back from Skansen back into town and stopped for a bite to eat, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Stockholm; Sunday, 05 June, 2005

After checking out of the hotel and dropping my bags of in the left luggage lockers at Stockholm Central Station, I headed back down to the palace to use up the remainder of my hop-on-hop-off boat ticket for the remainder of the circuit. After that I got on the open-top bus to go out to the town hall to catch the boat tour of the historic canals which was included free with the Stockholm card.

This tour again lasts about an hour, but runs round the canal that separates the 2nd largest island Kungsholmen from the other islands.

After that I went next door to the town hall and went up the tower for the stunning views over the city.

After descending the tower I went into the main entrance of the town hall to join one of the hourly guided tours that take you round some of the more important rooms of the building. The tour includes the blue room, where the banquet to honour the Noble prize winners is held every year, and the gold room with its spectacular mosaic decoration of some 19,000,000 individual tiles.

By the time I completed the tour there was just time to do a spot of souvenir shopping before heading back to the central station to pick up my luggage, and get the train back to the airport.

Weather

Heavy Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Stuttgart; Thursday, 14 July, 2005

After the fortnight from hell (Everyone I work with was under threat of redundancy) I left work safe in the knowledge that my job was safe but with far less time than I wanted to get across London and out to Stansted.

With my usual rote closed by the previous week’s terrorist attack I was planning to walk the last part to Liverpool Street station, but that was thwarted when the Metropolitan line decided it would be a good time to have a series of signal failures. I ended up wandering around the Faringdon street area until I managed to hail a cab and take the expensive route to Liverpool Street, only to find that I could probably have walked it in time as there was a 30 minute gap between trains instead of the usual 15 minutes!

With a, thankfully, uneventful train journey to Stansted I arrived to find that checkin wasn't due to open for another 25 minutes anyway! After checking in and going through a noticeably more thorough security check than usual I found a restaurant to grab a bite to eat in before heading to the gate and my flight.

The plane was almost on time leaving and managed to make up time on route to end up at Stuttgart airport 5 minutes early. Spectacularly my bag was the third one off; unfortunately the penalty for this was a missing handle! In the end it didn't make any difference as at 11:00 at night the trains are only half hourly and I had missed the previous one by 10 minutes!

Personally I'm blaming the fact I had had a stressful day in work and 7 hours of travelling for the total failure of my usually perfect sense of direction. At the hauptbahnhof I went onto the wrong platform and ended up catching the right train, in the wrong direction. I corrected that at the next station, but it still left me with a further 15 minute wait, so I didn't get to my hotel until gone midnight.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Stuttgart; Friday, 15 July, 2005

With a leisurely breakfast behind me I caught the U-Bahn into town and went to the Tourist information centre to buy a StuttCard which gives unlimited travel for three days and discounted entry to many of Stuttgart's attractions. I wandered over to the main station building and went into the station tower.

This has now been turned into an exhibition space that shows the plans for the complete redevelopment of the area over the next 10 years or so (The main plan appears to be rotating the entire station, tracks and everything else by 90°, only a small task!) Of course, as its a tower the roof has been converted into a viewing platform and offers stunning views over the city and the surrounding countryside (which is mostly made up of vineyards).

Out into the suburbs I headed for the next stop. Located about 3 miles south of the centre is the Funicular railway which takes you up (steeply) into some of the hills surrounding Stuttgart, unfortunately the trains don't go high enough to take you over the tree line so all there is to see are lots of trees!

After wandering around for a bit I caught the train back to the bottom of the hill and the tram back a couple of stops to the Marienplatz. From there another of the cities transport oddities departs. The rack railway (similar to the cog wheel railway in Budapest) again climbs steeply into the hills overlooking Stuttgart, this time going above the tree line before it reaches the town of Degerloch.

From here I caught the metro round to the TV tower to take the view from there; unfortunately the tower was shut, for four month, for repair work so I didn't go up it. Instead I caught the tram back down through the woods into the centre of town and from there out to Untertürkheim and on to Württemberg in the hills above it. Here, in days gone by, was a royal palace, which was eventually knocked down and turned into a mausoleum. However the building is partly irrelevant, though still interesting to visit. What is worth the trek are the views. From there you can see across the city, the surrounding spa towns and into the start of the Black Forest (though no Gateaux!). The views are beautiful with the deep valleys and hills covered with vineyards.

After spending some time there I went back into town and out on the tram again to some of the places it had gone past, getting off and taking in more stunning views at Eugenplatz, Geroksruhe and Weinsteige. After that I caught the Metro back into town and a bite to eat before a well earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Stuttgart; Saturday, 16 July, 2005

An early breakfast and then off on the S-Bahn to the town of Esslingen. What Stuttgart lacks in old buildings and historic content Esslingen makes up for. Formally an independent city the area has now been consumed by Stuttgart's growing suburbs and is now just part of them.

As my friend was arriving later in the day I only had a short time, but it was enough to walk around the historic centre of the town and to climb (and boy, do I mean climb!) up to the remaining fortifications of the town for stunning views over the surrounding area.

I left just after midday to catch the train back into town, where I met my friend who had dropped his stuff off at his hotel. After getting another view of the city from the top of the station tower we caught the tram out to the back of town and the natural history museum. Supposedly Germany has one of the best geological conditions for fossils to be found in and the museum proved this by the sheer number of specimens from the small to the gigantic on display.

After a leisurely late snack and a drink we wandered around town for a while before going to find a restaurant and more food and drink!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Stuttgart; Sunday, 17 July, 2005

An early start to the day to get the train out of town to Hidelberg. One of Germany’s premier seats of learning (Think Cambridge or the Sorbonne!) the city is also home to a ruined castle and spectacular scenery.

We caught the bus from the man station into town and then walked to the funicular railway station. From here most of the tourists were only going up one stop to the castle, but we decided to get tickets for all the way to the top and back down, with a stop at the castle on the return. I'm glad we did, because when we came back down again the queues to go to the top were horrendous.

The railway goes up two stops where you change from the modern sleek carriage to something more "vintage" from here its another 10 minutes or so off climbing to the top, from where there are glorious views over the whole of the valley with the Necker river meandering through it and the vineyards clinging to the side of the hill. As it was just gone midday by this point we decided to stop for an (extended) lunch at the restaurant dinging on the balcony that looked out over the valley.

After a particularly pleasant meal we headed back to the railway station and caught the funicular back down to the castle to have a look around.

After spending some time looking at the castle, and the museums inside it, we caught the funicular back down to the centre of the town and wandered (in the end ran the last 200m) back to the train home to Stuttgart, and diner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Stuttgart; Monday, 18 July, 2005

The usual ritual for the last day of a holiday in Germany, go to Hauptbahnhof, drop of bags in left luggage, go and do al the bits you haven't already done. Except today was Monday so, of course, Europe was closed. One thing that was open was Wilhelm, the city's combined zoo and botanical gardens. After spending several hours there I wandered over to the parkland behind the Messe which amongst other attractions includes a small railway which runs around the edge so you can the whole of what is quite a large park.

In the centre of the park is a small tower, which has been built out of steel steps and wires. From the top there are stunting views of the parkland and the centre of the city. Also clearly visible was the very active thunder storm which was heading in my direction. With even my a basic understanding of science I realised that standing at the top of a large metal object in the middle of an open space during a thunder storm is not particularly cleaver, so I quickly descended and just managed to get inside a café before the clouds opened and preceded to dump some of the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed onto the city.

Eventually, after about 45 minutes the rain stopped, but by then it was time to catch the U-Bahn back into the centre of town, get my bags and make my flight.

Weather

Sunny Thunder
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Helsinki; Thursday, 21 July, 2005

With my alarm going off at silly o'clock which only felt like a couple of hours after I had gone to bed (because it was!) I got up and got ready for my taxi. I had booked with 90 minutes to get to Heathrow, in the end the cab got me there in a little over 30, by which point Heathrow was still effectively shut, with only a Costas coffee shop open, not even the checkin counters or self service machines were working.

At a little after 5 the checkin desks were open, though the security desks weren't, so I still had to wait for longer to get through to the departures lounge!

Eventually, in stages I got through Heathrow and onto the flight. Bizarrely the plane had cameras on its wheels and nose and the cabin screens showed live pictures of both take off and landing.

From Helsinki airport I caught a Finnair bus into the city centre and then the metro and tram out to the hotel to checkin

After spending a little time having a shower and changing I went back out. First stop was the Olympic stadium and it's tower for the views over the city. From there I caught the tram into the town centre and had a wander round before catching a late afternoon sightseeing cruise round the islands of Helsinki.

After the cruise I continued wandering around for a while before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to the hotel early to catch up on my missing sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Helsinki; Friday, 22 July, 2005

With a massive breakfast in my belly I left the hotel to the first stop of the day, the Temppaliaukio Church has been hollowed out from the rock and is a bizarre sight, if not only for the number of tourists ignoring that it is actually a church and shouting & running around.

From there I caught the tram into the centre of town and visited the Russian orthodox Cathedral. The building is quite plane on the outside (as is standard in the Orthodox churches) but not as colourful inside as the one in Riga, again another church that was heaving with tourists, most of them the same ones from the rock church (I was obviously following the same route as many of the tour parties!)

To get out of step with the tour groups I had a wander through the market near the cathedral and stopped for a bite to eat, a raindeerbratwurst! From there I walked up to the visually stunning and skyline dominating Lutheran Cathedral. After looking around I went outside to sit on the steps briefly and ended up watching a midday performance by, I think, the Finnish army band.

With the weather starting to turn, and the temperatures dropping I popped back to the hotel to pick up my jacket. In the end I stayed at the hotel for almost 2 hours as a massive downpour took place outside. When it stopped I left the hotel and caught the tram back into town.

From the market place I caught the boat service out to the zoo and had a look around. Whilst on the ferry the sky cleared and a pleasant evening started.

Although the zoo is open until 8pm I don't think anyone told the animals as they all appeared to have gone to bed or were hiding. I saw a few, but most cages appeared to be empty! I caught the last boat back into town and went for dinner.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Helsinki; Saturday, 23 July, 2005

First stop of the morning was the Finnish Central Bank Museum. On what could be quite a dry subject, money and how the economy of a country works, this could be a really dull museum. However, they have managed to present the topic in a very clear, easy to understand and fun way, with lots of hands on exhibitions (though sadly no free gifts!) The exhibition also includes a display on all the different designs that were put forward for the Euro. It was very interesting to see what the currency could have looked like (and yes one or two of them were even more like Monopoly money than the existing design!)

From there, as the sky had changed from menacing to pleasant I went out to the Botanical gardens for a look around. The gardens, located just next to the central railway station, are very small compared to similar establishments in other places (e.g. Bremen, Stuttgart, London), but still very pleasant. At the centre is the greenhouse with the usual collection of (mostly unbearably humid) rooms.

With the weather looking like it was closing in again, I went to the Helsinki City Museum which tells the story of the history of the city, from the original small settlements, to the city's founding by King Gustav Vasa in 1550, through rule by the Swedes, then the Russians, then Civil War, World War and up to the present day.

Next stop, on the edge of town by the docks, was the Helsinki Car Museum. A disappointing museum (especially as the entrance fee is quite high) that has a collection of cars (from around Europe - not Finnish made) with very little information on them, and all parked in an underground workshop which has an overpowering smell of petrol!

As the weather had now gone through threatening, bright, cloudy, threatening and was back to bright again I took the opportunity to visit the Winter Gardens. Even smaller than the Botanical gardens, but nether the less very beautiful with the gardens laid out in what I assume is classic "English Style" - Serried ranks of the same plant! At the centre of the gardens is the Greenhouse, which, unlike the Botanical gardens, is actually comfortable to wander around in as the Humidity is set at a low level.

From there I caught the tram to the Docks area again, though this area appears to have been redeveloped into a classy residential and design business quarter. In the old cable factory are several museums, of which only two were open. The Finnish Photography museum has displays on contemporary and historic Finnish and international photography, including a couple of changing exhibitions as well as it permanent displays. The Hotel and Catering museum is interesting (despite what could be a dry topic) but is very small and does not go into much details. Though as with all Nordic countries, it does go on about the restrictions in alcohol sales and consumption from the turn of the century on to the modern day more relaxed attitude (Since neighbouring Estonia - 90 minutes away by ferry and a fraction of the price for booze - Joined the EU in 2004, and people were allowed to bring as much booze back on the ferry as they liked, the Finns have had to relax their policies and prices, otherwise everyone would be permanently crossing the Baltic with vans!)

I caught the tram back into town and, with a clear blue sky, went on one of the sightseeing cruises around the eastern islands of the archipelago. A very interesting tour, through some stunning scenery, however the second part of it was viewed from the body, rather than the deck of the boat, through a lashing rain storm that, once we had left the harbour and turned into the sea, was obviously about to hit. I know nothing much about weather - but even I could see it was a front that was moving in!

Slightly damp, but thankfully nothing worse than that, I walked back to the tram stop and caught the tram back to the hotel to change clothes, and as it was late, have a very pleasant dinner there.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Helsinki; Sunday, 24 July, 2005

Located just on the edge of town on a separate island and based around a hill is the Seurasaari open air museum of traditional buildings. The description of the setting and content is the same for Oslo, Riga, Copenhagen, Stockholm and now Helsinki, and sadly the content is on the whole the same. It's not surprising, given that all the countries have Northern European climates with long cold winters, and short warm summers, that they should have all developed similar styles of architecture. It's just the 4th in less than a year leaves you a little 'Traditional building fatigued' However, on a gloriously sunny day, in lovely parkland I could overlook that fact (though the blister now forming on the side of my foot would like to make a different statement).

Just by the access bridge to the island, next to the bus stop is the former presidential house. The building is no longer used by the president as it became synominous with it's longest inhabitant, Urho Kekkonen, the president of Finland from 1966 to 1981. When he left office he was allowed to remain in the house, and when he died in 1986 the building was converted into a museum to his memory.

After spending some time looking around I caught the bus back into the centre of town and stopped for a brief bite to eat before boarding the open-top hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus for a tour of the city.

By the time it had completed it's tour it was time to meet up with my friend from work, who is a Helsinkian and spends each summer back in her home town. She showed me some of the sights before we headed out to a café for food, then drinks, then some more drinks and then it was closing time!

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Helsinki; Monday, 25 July, 2005

It's Monday, it’s continental Europe and yes most things are closed. Thankfully not everything. The second most popular attraction in Helsinki (after the amusement park!) is Suomenlinna/Sveaborg. The name means Fortress of Finland/Fortress of Sweden and reflects the history of the region. When it was built it was called Sveaborg, as it was built by the Swedes who then rules Finland to protect the East of their empire from the Russians. In 1809 the Russians took control of Finland and ruled it for over 100 years. Eventually in 1919 Finland gained it's independence and at this point they renamed Suomenlinna (though it also kept it's Swedish name as Finland is a bi-lingual country). The armed forces continued to use the fortress up until the end of the 1970s at which point it was mostly handed back to the state to become a tourist attraction (some of the area is still used by the navy).

In 1991 it was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sights, as this is no normal fort. The fort has been created by fortifying five small islands at the sea end of the archipelago and provides a stunning entrance to the city.

The site now houses a number of museums including the Suomenlinna experience, a military museum, a museum dedicated to the first commander of the fort and the only existing Finnish submarine (The Finns are a little cagey about what happened in W.W.II, though they claim that the Russians started it with them early in 1939 and it sort of lead to an uneasy alliance with the Germans). Whatever really happened, the main outcome was that the Finns were banned from having any submarines and had to pay war reparations. All of their submarines were dismantled and disposed of except this one which was kept as a museum.

I started my visit by joining one of the two daily English language guided walks of the site, after that I had a look around the main museum and "Suomenlinna Experience" - an audio visual presentation on the construction and history of the fort. After that I brought a torch and used that to explore some of the labyrinthine tunnels and casements that run under the site. Next stop, after lunch!, was the museum dedicate to coastal defence. Then it was on to the Submarine for a look round. It is far smaller than I thought it would be. It did only have a crew of 20, but at the same time this must have been very cramped!

From there I visited the museum dedicated to the first commander of the site (though it does also have some details about one of his successors - the one who handed it over to the Russians!), and then the military museum (where they claim the blue swastikas painted onto the planes were put there in 1919 as a sign of good luck - though they did stop doing it in the early 1940's)

After that (and with yesterdays blister now formally threatening war) I wandered back down to the quay to catch the boat back to town.

As it was still relatively early I caught another of the boat sightseeing tours around some of the islands. This one focused quite heavily on... Suomenlinna!!, though I did get some stunning views of the fortress from the sea.

After the tour I headed into town to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and an appointment between Mr Blister and Mr Needle!!

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Helsinki; Tuesday, 26 July, 2005

After the customary putting of the bags into the left luggage locker at the central station (I swear I am starting to recognise makes of locker now!) I wandered round the corner to the Post Museum. This was hyped in the brochure as being better than just stamps and history and it proved to be. It explains the history of the post in Finland, but puts it in an interesting way, with lots of hands on exhibits and information screens.

Next stop, just up the road, was the Natural History Museum. Shortly to close for renovation this is another interesting museum telling the natural history of Finland with displays of the animals indigenous to Finland. There is also a section on some of the more well known animals of the rest of the world, such as tigers, lions, giraffe, zebra etc. Much of the gallery is signed in Finnish, Swedish and English (as have almost all the museums I have visited), though the section on the prehistoric wildlife of Finland is only done in Swedish and Finnish.

From there I wandered back down to the Market square to do some souvenir shopping before heading off to the national museum, which has lots and lots of information on the history of the land that now makes (or at some point has made up) Finland. The museum is massive and contains lots of information, though again a little cagey about the 1939-11945 period (another case of the Russians started it so we had to side with the Germans),, and in the little time that I had I don't think I did it full justice, but by that time I had developed museum feet and needed a sit down.

I caught the bus out to the back of town to have a look at the monument to Finland's most famous composer Sibelius. The monument is made up of several hundred stainless steel pipes which have been welded together.

From there I caught the bus back into the city centre to collect my luggage, just as the heaviest rain storm I had ever seen (and this eclipsed the one the previous week in Stuttgart!) started. In the end I had to cover myself with the jacket I had not needed all week and make a run for it from the station to the bus stop for the coach back to the airport. Naturally by the time the coach departed the rain had reduced to a light drizzle! (thankfully, or not, it picked back up again shortly after the bus left so I didn't feel too bad about the little bit of a soaking I had got!

Weather

Sunny Heavy Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Lerwick; Friday, 05 August, 2005

My trip actually started the previous evening when I took advantage of BA's on-line check-in and boarding card printing. After choosing my seats (front row on each flight) and printing by London to Aberdeen boarding card I realised that I didn't therefore have to get up at quite such a ridiculous hour to get to the airport as I could drop my bags and sail through to the gate.

The only down-side was that I did then have a two hour wait in Aberdeen with nothing to do other than read my book and drink coffee!

After landing at Sumburgh and getting the bus into Lerwick. According to the guidebooks and local publicity the service is frequent, which compared to some of the other services is true (it runs everyday for a start), compared to bus services elsewhere in the country though I wouldn't call once every couple of hours, but at random intervals, frequent!

After checking in to the hotel I wandered down to the Tourist Information centre to pick up some leaflets on things to do and then went for a walk around the coast that surrounds Lerwick.

About halfway round the walk is one of the many Archaeological sights that Shetland is rich in. Clickimin Broch is a former bronze age farm settlement which was upgraded into an Iron age fort and lasted well into the first millennium before being abandoned.

After spending some time looking around that I continued on my walk not realising the time, so by the time I got back to the hotel it was already almost 8pm. I dropped my day-bag off and went out for dinner before returning to the hotel and getting some well earned rest.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Lerwick; Saturday, 06 August, 2005

After a stunning breakfast (scrambled egg should be cooked fresh, not reheated at 33,000 feet!) I wandered down to the bus station to catch the bus to Scalloway. Up until the middle of the 19th Century this was still the capital of Shetland, but with the port at Lerwick becoming far more important the title eventually switched to leave Scalloway as an important, though sleepy town.

The most impressive sight in the area (after the generally stunning scenery) is the castle. Vacant for more than 300 years it is still in relatively good shape (the roof may have disappeared, but you can see what is supposed to have looked like when it was inhabited). You can wander around the castle grounds without a problem, but to access the castle you have to try the door. If it's locked (as it was) it's a short walk back to the Scalloway hotel to pick up the key to let yourself in! Inside there is a display on the history of the castle, and its commissioner Earl Patrick Stewart (eventually beheaded in Edinburgh for his tyrannical treatment of his tenants and residents of the Orkney and Shetland Islands). The most bizarre display, though, is on the back of the door informing you what to do if you get locked in (Better hope you have a mobile, as the walls are very thick and I don't know how loud you would have to yell to be heard!!)

I spent a little more time wandering through the town, unfortunately the museum was shut for lunch, and with the first of the day’s downpours preparing itself I decided to head back to the bus shelter and wait for the bus back into Lerwick.

After booking myself onto a sightseeing tour for the following day I headed over to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry over to the neighbouring island of Bressay. The ferry only takes about 5 minutes to do the crossing. If Lerwick was quiet then Bressay is positively asleep. This is a beautiful island with lots of gradual sloped hills rather than steep climbs. I had a wander over the northern part of the island before taking the road that runs across the middle(ish) of the island to its Eastern coast. From here a small boat takes you across the narrow channel to the smaller island of Noss.

Today Noss is a national nature reserve as it is a nesting ground for thousands of sea birds including puffins. The walk to the nesting grounds takes you around the top of the cliffs. Unfortunately, the weather conspired against me and, only about half way round, I decided to turn back as the grassy slopes were becoming very slippery and the driving rain was making it difficult to see. By the time I got back to the boat (almost completely waterlogged) the sun had decided it was time to come out to play.

I walked back across the Island to the ferry terminal and caught the ferry back to Lerwick. After changing into some drier clothing I headed back out for a well deserved bite to eat.

Weather

Light Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Lerwick; Sunday, 07 August, 2005

First stop of the morning was a massive 20 yard walk from the Hotel. Seeing I was staying at the Fort Charlotte guest house, I couldn't really not visit Fort Charlotte. Re-built by George III (The mad one) and named after his queen, this fort was built to protect the harbour at Lerwick from Dutch raids.

The site itself these days is still used by the Territorial Army as a base, so none of the buildings are open to the public, only the grounds. The views over the sound and the town are stunning.

From there I had a wander around town for a while, but on a Sunday in the Scottish Islands nothing, not even a Café is open! So after about an hour of wandering around I went back to the hotel to have a couple of cups of coffee and read a book for a while, before going for the sightseeing tour.

The tour ran round many parts of the North and West of the main island taking in many stunning views including several of the smaller western islands. About half-way round the tour stops for refreshments at a Sunday tea service (according to the driver, who is also the guide, there are many of these every Sunday across the islands). After tea the tour continued back towards Lerwick, diverting via Tingwall to go past the site of the ancient Viking parliament (or ting) and Scalloway. The only negative side to the tour was that it didn’t actually stop for people to be able to take photos; it was a just over 3 hour drive with a 45 minute stop for tea!

By the time we got back into Lerwick it was time for a small dinner (there had been quite a lot of snacky food at the tea).

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
13ºC/55ºF

Lerwick; Monday, 08 August, 2005

Off to the Viking bus station to catch the bus to the Airport. Well not completely (I still have another two days left!) On the edge of the airport archaeologists have uncovered remains of and Iron Age settlement, just a mile from the site of another settlement, and within sight of three other pre-historic farmsteads. The site at the airport is still being uncovered with more being found each year. The Old Scatness visitors centre explains what has been discovered at the site and what they hope to continue to find.

After watching an introductory visit you are taken on a tour of the site by people who have been involved in the digging, and then you are shown reconstruction's on the buildings as they think they would have looked, including a costumed guide telling you about how people would have lived. On a misty, windy, damp and chilly day, it's amazing how homely and comfortable the reconstruction's feel.

A mile further down the coast (or at the other end of the runway, which ever way you want to look at it) is Jarlshof (J pronounced as a Y). Re-discovered after ferocious storms ripped the top layers of soil off some of the site just over 100 years ago, this is a massive site with examples of buildings that were in almost constant inhabitation from the early Bronze Age, through Iron age, the Picts, Vikings and up to the 17th century. The most recent building (and the only one which was known about before the storm) is another residence of Earl Patrick Stewart (of Scalloway castle fame).

Beyond Jarlshof the land rises steeply (which makes landing at the airport interesting) to Sumburgh head, the very southern tip of the islands, before falling away as cliffs at a point where the North Sea and Atlantic meet.

The cliffs provide a home to hundreds of thousands of birds, and have now been turned into an RSPB protected nature reserve. Despite the hike up to the top of the hill, next to the lighthouse that protects the rocks, the views are stunning. All the signs said that by early August most of the birds have left, but even today there were still a few around, including those I had come to see, the Puffins.

After spending quite some time, and only realising as I turned to leave how cold I had got, I wandered back down the hill paths to Sumburgh to catch the early evening (or penultimate as it is!) bus back into Lerwick.

Weather

Misty Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Lerwick; Tuesday, 09 August, 2005

I had already pre-booked onto an afternoon boat trip around the islands looking at the sea-birds and seals, so I had a little time to kill.

I had intended on visiting the Shetland Museum. Unfortunately the museum is currently packed up into boxes pending its move early next year into new accommodation down by the harbour, so the morning was spend drinking coffee and reading the paper.

The afternoon boat trip was spectacular with stunning views of the islands, as well as views of Gannets, kitty hawks, gulls, puffins and many more varieties of birds as well as seals.

Part way through the tour, the boat pulls up into one of the many caves along the coast of Bressay and a little sub-aqua camera/robot is lowered over the side and you are shown the life that exists beneath the waves around the Shetland isles including sea anemones, urchins, jelly fish, corals and kelp.

After three hours out around Bressay and Noss we headed back to Lerwick taking in some of the bays on the outskirts of town.

Shetland has a unique history for the British Isle being the last place to cease being under the rule of the Vikings (though by the time they left in the 15th century they were more politely referred to as Danes and Norwegians!) Consequently after over 600 years of Nordic rule, and 600 years of Scottish/British (read English) rule, the islands have a strange mix of British and Nordic traditions. One of the most famous of these is the annual fire festival Up Helly Aa, where a Viking longboat is set fire to before a long night of partying and drinking commences (strangely enough the following day is a public holiday in Lerwick with everything shut!)

The history, the clothes, examples of the boats and a review of this years festivities are all shown in the Up Helly Aa exhibition, which, thankfully, is open from 7-9pm two nights a week between May and September. The museum gives a very interesting insight into one of the strangest events in the UK.

From there I wandered back into the heart of town for dinner before heading back to the hotel to start packing.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Lerwick; Wednesday, 10 August, 2005

With my bags packed, a hearty breakfast in my stomach and a cheque in the hands of the landlord I set off to the airport.

The flight to Aberdeen went fine, leaving me with nearly 3 hours to kill at Aberdeen. On a chance I asked the BA ticket desk if it were possible to swap to the flight just over an hour earlier, but was told it would cost about £190!!

So I wandered through to the departures lounge with a copy of the paper, a book and a cup of coffee. Then after 20 minutes there was an announcement that anyone booked onto my flight had to report to the BA checkin desks with urgency

Little to my knowledge several hundred miles south in London a serious industrial dispute had kicked off at the company which provides BA with its in-flight catering. The plane which was due to become my flight back was in the process of being grounded as no food could be found for it at such short notice.

Back up in Aberdeen, and after going the wrong way through security! I arrived at the checkin desk to be told I was being transferred (for free) onto the earlier flight – Lucky I hadn’t paid the £190. With my new boarding card, I went back through security and onto the gate with only 20 minutes to wait before boarding for an uneventful but early arrival into London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Gibraltar; Thursday, 18 August, 2005

After a bizarre arrival, the airport at Gibraltar is very odd, with the runway crossing the main road through Gibraltar!

A quick run through the airport, once the bags finally arrived, and then out to the bus stop and off to the hotel.

After checking in I caught the bus back into town to visit the Tourist information centre to get information on things to do. I then wandered round to one of the marinas to book onto a Dolphin tour for Friday, and then book to go scuba diving on Sunday.

I then caught the bus out to Europa Point, the end of Europe. From here the peaks of North Africa were clearly visible, just over 20 miles away, pushing their way through the sea mist. This end of Gibraltar is a strange mix of cultures. The rock reaches is height at this point with large numbers of English defence outposts all over it. To one side the coast of Spain, behind the coast of Africa and directly in front the largest Mosque on continental Europe.

After spending some time at the point I wandered back to the last Bus stop in Europe (just next to the last shop in Europe and the last lighthouse in Europe) to catch the bus back into town to grab some dinner.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Gibraltar; Friday, 19 August, 2005

After a disappointing cold shower and an equally disappointing breakfast I headed out from the hotel into the centre of town.

I had a little time to wander around the narrow lanes and alleyways of the city, many of which follow the fortifications that have turned this into one of the most protected rocks in the world before heading out to the Marina for the dolphin safari.

As we were the first tour of the morning to set off we had no idea where the dolphins would be. The skipper said that at times there could be groups of 50 to 300 common dolphins, who can swim in the wake of the boat.

However, after nearly an hour, and with our time almost up it looked as though we were going to be disappointed. Then, as we started to head back to the marina, several other safari boats from other companies appeared to be converging on a point. A small family of the much larger bottle nose dolphins (think flipper) were out. With other boats chasing around to get the best views our skipper decided to keep relatively still, and it paid off. The dolphins came right up to the boat swimming past, diving and resurfacing for about 20 minutes before they wandered off, and we headed back to the marina.

After a stop for a bit of lunch I visited the Gibraltar museum which tells the history of the rock from its creation during the Jurassic era, through its periods of rule by the Muslims, then the Spanish (briefly) then by the Muslims again (briefly) then by the Spanish again, and then since 1704 by the British. The museum is built above the remains of a 14th Century Moorish bath house, and this is probably about the best exhibit in the museum.

After spending quite some time there I caught the bus round the top of Gibraltar to the East coast. Here the rock virtually plunges into the sea, with very little land that can be used. However, there are a couple of pleasant beaches, so, as it was quite humid, I took my shoes off and had a nice paddle for some time. With the heavy cloud cover stating to leach a few drops of rain I wandered back to the bus stop and caught the bus back to the main road. There I changed onto the small minibus (think large van) that runs up the narrow winding lanes to the top of the old town, the area around the Moorish castle.

The only existing part of the castle, the tower of homage, is currently closed for restoration, but from the grounds you still get stunning views over both Gibraltar, southern Spain and Northern Morocco. You also get lots of views of Apes as the rocks most famous residents, the Barbary Apes wander free over the whole of the area.

With the clouds now looking very threatening (according to the Gibraltar tourist board, on average on 3mm of rain falls during August. I think I was about to experience all 3mm today) I headed back to the hotel, stopping off at the Trafalgar cemetery which was built to house the remains of members of the armed forces killed in battles in the area (in fact only 2 people who were injured at the battle of Trafalgar and later died of their wounds are buried there, the rest are from other battles.)

After a short break to wait out the heavy drizzle I headed back out briefly for a bite to eat, sadly, finding that by 9pm, unlike their Spanish neighbours, most Gibraltarian restaurateurs have decided to close up and go home!

Weather

Cloudy Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Gibraltar; Saturday, 20 August, 2005

As I could see it from my hotel room, the first stop of the morning really had to be the cable car. The car takes you up to almost the very top of the rock. At the top station there are viewing platforms that give stunning views over Gibraltar, Spain and Morocco. You can also borrow an electronic guide system which tells you some of the history of the rock, as well as of the region. You can also find out about the Barbary Apes that live on the top of the rock and the strange weather systems that occur (and experience) around the rock. After spending some time there (and after nearly loosing my bag to an ape!) I wandered down the hill to the spectacular St Michael's Cave.

The rock is riddled with caves and tunnels, many naturally formed. St Michael's Cave contains hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites that create stunning displays. The heart of the cave is a massive cavern, originally fitted out during W.W.II as a hospital; it now houses an auditorium for staging opera, dance and theatre.

From there it's a long, down hill, walk back along the length of the rock, past the Apes den, to the Great Siege Tunnels. These were built during the great siege of the late 18th Century, by the forerunners of the Royal Engineers, to help defend the rock from attack. They now form part of over 50Km of passages and tunnels that cover the rock, more inside the rock than there are roads on the outside!

In the same area is the Military Heritage Centre which gives a small amount of background on the history of the military on the rock, as well as containing a monument for the memory of all those who lost their lives defending the rock. From here it's a short walk further down the hill to the Gibraltar - a city under siege exhibition. This is a small collection of waxworks in a building almost destroyed during the great siege. It tells the story of what the conditions were like for the residents of the rock during the siege.

A bit further down is the entrance to the World war two tunnels which were built to defend the rock against the threat of invasion during the early years of W.W.II. The tunnels are massive and cover a large area. So large in fact that you re-emerge back up the hill by the Military history centre.

After re-wandering back down the rock past the entrance to the W.W.II tunnels and the Moorish castle, I continued down into town for a bite to eat before catching the bus to the North of the airport and the international boarder with Spain. Just across the border is the town of La Línea De La Concepción. If they ever remove the border, the only way you would be able to tell where you were would be by the increased number of Spanish number plates and the difference in pavements, apart from that Gibraltar and Spain effectively run into each other.

As is common in Southern Spain all the shops and museums were closed when I arrived for the afternoon, re-opening at 5. So I went for a wander around the town. By 5:30 none of the museums had re-opened! Either the stereotype of the relaxed approach to time is right or, more likely; they were remaining closed as a service was being held in Madrid at the time for 17 soldiers who had been killed earlier in the week in Afghanistan. With nothing much else to do in the very South of Spain, I wandered back through the boarder (past the massive Spanish flag flying at half-mast) and into Gibraltar to get some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Gibraltar; Sunday, 21 August, 2005

Not much to do in the morning as I had already arranged to have a go at Scuba Diving in the afternoon, so I needed to be near the centre of town to get to the marina on time (in addition the Gibraltan bus service on a Sunday resembles it's English counterpart - patchy at best!)

I decided to catch the bus out to Rosia, on the South West side of the rock, just before Europa Point. From there you can get good views over the site of the 100 Tonne Gun and the Parsons Lodge battery.

After spending a little time there, I wandered back into town and went to the diving company to have a go at Scuba Diving. I discovered that I can't actually do Scuba Diving (I can't equalise the pressure between inside and outside my head - something wrong with my sinuses), but it didn't really matter as the water was so murky!

However, it did take up much of the afternoon so I was in time to grab some dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Gibraltar; Monday, 22 August, 2005

Despite being my last day in Gibraltar, I had almost the whole day to do things, as my flight wasn't due out until 19:30. After leaving my luggage at the hotel I caught the bus back out to Rosia to visit the 100 Tonne gun and Parsons Lodge.

The 100 tonne gun has a commanding view over the bay and coast of Spain and, when operational, could have taken out some of the coastal communities. The gun is described as the world’s first “super gun”

From there it’s a short walk to Parsons Lodge, another of the fortresses dotted around the rock. Unfortunately this has an European attitude towards Mondays (i.e. closed)

After doing some souvenir shopping in the centre of town I went for a wander around the botanical gardens. The Alameda gardens located at the foot of the rock have a large range of plants from North Africa, the Mediterranean as well as Central and South America. The back of the park is a small wildlife park that contains animals, birds and reptiles which have been seized by Gibraltar Customs for being smuggled.

After several hours wandering around the park it was time to head back to the hotel and pick up my luggage and then head back to the airport for the flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Munich; Friday, 30 September, 2005

With a tear (crocodile) in my eyes I left work at 11 a.m. with queues starting to develop at all the service points to head off to the airport.

After an uneventful flight and connection into town I met up with my friends at the hotel.

As it was already gone 7 we headed straight into the centre of town to grab a bite to eat (and some beer).

After that we wandered round the centre of town for a bit before heading back to the hotel for some sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Munich; Saturday, 01 October, 2005

Oktoberfest Day meant an appalling 6:30 alarm call to make early breakfast and then a walk to the Oktoberfest site about 1 mile away. Despite getting there about 1 hour before the doors to the tents opened, there were still long queues.

A little before 9 the doors opened and there was a mass surge of people running to get tables. Thankfully we managed to find one. Within minutes every table (that's over 5,000 people!) was occupied and the beer started flowing.

As there are so many people hunting for seats you can either stay put for the whole day, or spend a very long time hunting a seat! My friends had decided to stay for the whole day (all 14 hours of it!!). After 2 litres of beer, half a chicken and some Bavarian Sausages I decided that I had had enough, any more and I would have been quite spectacularly ill I think! I left my friends to continue their rapid descent into alcoholic oblivion and headed back into town.

I stopped off at the hotel for a short while, to sober up a bit before heading back to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the open top sightseeing tour round Munich. Thankfully the bus had it's roof on (but no windows!) so I only got slightly damp when the rain decided to arrive part way through the tour! The tour takes in most of the main sights in the centre of Munich, lasting just over the hour.

After popping back to the hotel for a change into some drier clothes I headed back out. This time to the Schloss Nymphenburg on the Western edge of town. The castle (think more French Chateaux rather than Tower of London) is set in sumptuous grounds with a massive river/canal running through the centre powering numerous water features. The castle itself is sub-divided into several museums (which can be visited on a combined ticket.) However, today being October the 1st they had reverted to their winter times and closed at 4 p.m. so by the time I got there there wasn't much point in investing in the ticket.

I spent quite some time wandering around the grounds, which also include the city's Botanical gardens (also just closing due to the change of month!) and several pagodas/follies dotted over the park.

With the rain continuing on and off by the time I got back to the hotel I was soaked to the skin and by the time I had dried off it was too late to attempt to get back into the Oktoberfest (they stop letting people into the tents after about 7 p.m.) so I grabbed a bite to eat at the Hauptbahnhof and settled back in the hotel with a book waiting for the others (mostly because I was the only one with a key so I had to be there when they got back!)

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Munich; Sunday, 02 October, 2005

With the others nursing hangovers (what a surprise on only 14 hours of drinking!) we checked out of the hotel and made our way to the youth hostel. Unfortunately, the Youth Hostel did not want to check us in until after 2 p.m. so we left our bags in the luggage lockers and headed back through town and out to the Olympic stadium.

One of the main attractions at the Olympic stadium is the BMW museum. Unfortunately this was closed as it is undergoing massive redevelopment and isn’t expected to re open until 2007. Instead there is a small exhibition in a temporary building underneath the TV Tower.

After spending a little time at the museum we caught the lift up to the top of the TV tower for wonderful views of about 100 yards before the rain and murk obscured everything. After spending a little time here we caught the lift back down to ground level and had lunch in the café at the bottom.

After a large lunch we headed back to the Youth Hostel. After taking 25 minutes to complete the check in process and paying lots of additional "Extras and surcharges" we were able to pick up our sheets and covers to make our beds. Normally I wouldn't mind, but knowing that in two nights time I will have all this pre-done for 5 Euros a night less!

After spending a little time settling in we headed back into town for some dinner in the Ratskeller (the main city restaurant underneath the Town hall). After a particularly filling meal we headed back to the hostel, played table football for a short while before turning in for the day.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Munich; Monday, 03 October, 2005

An early start for the morning and off to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the train over the border into Salzburg in Austria.

Just outside of Salzburg is Schloss Hellbrunn. This is a pretty standard castle set in extensive grounds. What make it different are the water features. All around the gardens are different fountains and concealed jets that are designed to soak the unaware and drench the uninitiated. Designed as a talking point and "whimsy" by its owner over 400 years ago they are still in working order and soaking tourists every 30 minutes!

From the Castle we caught the bus back into town for a spot of late lunch before taking the funicular railway up to the Hohensalburg Fortress on a hefty slab of rock overlooking the city with stunning views of the country side and the town (or at least they should have been stunning if it wasn't for the fine mist and drizzle which was at that point settling in for the rest of the day.)

After spending some time in the fortress we headed back down on the funicular into town, did a spot of souvenir shopping and stopped for some dinner before catching the trolley bus back to the Hauptbahnhof and the train back to Munich.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Munich; Tuesday, 04 October, 2005

My friends had to catch the 7 a.m. flight back to Gatwick, so at something horrible AM they left the hostel, hours before breakfast was ready and into the morning drizzle. By the time I got up nearly 4 hours later (to another stunning breakfast) the drizzle had stopped and there were the odd blue patch in the sky.

I packed my bags, stripped my bunk and checked out of the hostel, took my bags to the Hauptbahnhof and stashed them in the Luggage lockers before heading off for the day in Regensburg.

After catching the bus from the station right into the heart of the old town, I spent some hours wandering around the medieval streets, squares and bridges of the city. Once one of the most important cities in the region it fell into hard times in the 1600's and only really started to recover with the coming of new technology industries from the 1970s onwards. Consequently the city was untouched by most of the wars of the last 400 years, including escaping W.W.II without any damage, and consequently escaping the 1950's 60's and 70's rebuilds that have blighted many other European cities.

There are a large number of ancient buildings, churches and other structures dotted around the city including parts of the old Roman city walls. After visiting several of the churches and having a look around the outside of many of the other buildings (sadly most buildings only allow you to look round on guided tours, which after October 1st are infrequent!) I wandered out to the palace at the back of town. This again is a place where you can only look round on a tour but you can get an idea of the splendour from looking at the outside of the building.

After stopping for a late lunch in the cafe at the palace I headed back into the centre of town, and with too many early starts and late nights starting to take its toll, headed back to the station and the train back to Munich.

I retrieved my bags from the luggage lockers and walked the short distance to the third hotel of the stay and checked in.

Dotted around the edge of the city centre are three of the old gates to the city. After having settled in at the hotel this is where I headed to. I spent some time wandering around the centre of Munich taking photos of the gates and lots of the architecture and sights of the city. With a quickly scoffed bratwurst from the Hauptbahnhof in my stomach I headed back to the hotel and a very comfortable nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Munich; Wednesday, 05 October, 2005

With more breakfast than was probably wise inside me I headed off to the Hauptbahnhof and the train out to the northern suburb of Freising. Originally an independent and important city of its own right the area has now been swallowed up by the ever expanding Munich. On the top of a small hill, overlooking the rest of the area is the cathedral. At the time of visiting the body of the cathedral was closed for renovation, but the main attraction is the stunning crypt which shows how they used to hold cathedrals up with a forest of different shaped pillars, many carved.

After spending some time wandering around the cathedral area, taking in the views of the area I headed back to the station and caught the train back to Munich. From there I headed off to Augsburg, about 60KM to the North West of Munich. I paid the excess and travelled in considerable comfort on the sleek and shiny ICE train that connects the two cities (the train itself has barely started. Between Munich and Augsburg the train takes a little over 30 minutes, over the following 7 hours or so it travels North West towards Stuttgart, Hidelburg and Frankfurt before turning Eastwards and travelling through Hildesheim and Brunswick before finally reaching Berlin (and strangely all the stops sounded familiar!) in the mid-evening).

Augsburg can trace it's history back to before Roman times, but it is them that have shaped the city with many remains of them still visible. To get a good view of the city I climbed the 269 steps of the Perlachturm which looks out over the whole of the city. From here you can see spire upon spire. The city is dotted with churches and cathedrals.

After all that climbing I stopped for lunch before heading off to the Dom Mariä Heimsuchung towards the north of the town. The cathedral is spectacular in size, yet is light and airy with lots of windows. Outside of the cathedral is a display of some of the Roman remains of the city.

I caught the tram one stop further north to the house where Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang's dad) was born. The house is now a museum dedicated to the musician, but when I visited was closed for the year! I caught the tram back to the centre of the town and walked the short distance to the Römisch museum which houses yet more of the Roman artefacts discovered in the city.

After spending some time looking at, in some cases, very, very large artefacts, I headed further away from the centre to the Basilika of St Ulrich and Afra which is the most visually stunning and prominent of the city's churches. Inside the church it is quite dark and simple, but the crypt contains the remains of the two saints who have given their name to the church.

With most of the main sights done, my feet hurting, and a train back to Munich due in less than 20 minutes, I caught the bus back to the centre of town and the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof.

After stopping by at the hotel to drop off my bag and use the internet to check in for my flight, I headed back out to spend a couple of hours wandering around Munich taking in many of the sights I had not previously seen, and in the process taking more photos that I think I have ever done before.

Stops included the Glyptothek and Propyläen at Königsplatz which resemble ancient Greek or Roman temples. From there I went out to the University and to the Siegestor. Originally built to honour the Bavarian army during the Napoleonic wars it was damaged during W.W.II and, when repaired, rededicated with the new words "Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Kriege zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend (Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, calling for peace).

From there I wandered into the area around Odeonplatz and the Residence taking lots more photos before heading round to the Marienplatz to take some final photos before heading back to the hotel and and god nights sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Munich; Thursday, 06 October, 2005

After another massive breakfast I checked out and headed out to the airport to catch the plane… to Work!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
19ºC/66ºF

Vienna; Friday, 18 November, 2005

After having landed and got through the airport, I caught the train into the centre of town. From there I caught the U-Bahn out to Gasometer (and yes that means exactly the same in English) where the hotel is located. The gasometers in question are of the Austrian brick built variety and not the decaying steel structures so favoured by British Gas!

I walked the short distance to the hotel and after checking in and settling in I headed back into town.

First stop was the cathedral in the very centre of the old town. From there I walked around the centre for a while before ending up at the Hofburg, the imperial palace, which covers a massive site in the centre of town and shows how powerful the city once was.

Attracted by its lights I wandered over to the Rathaus, which, despite it still being over 6 weeks until Christmas was fully decked out with the Christmas market in full swing. This being central Europe of course meant that people were wandering round with large mugs of hot wine, so not to feel left out…

After spending about an hour wandering through the stalls I hopped on one of the trams that run around the ring road that encircles the centre of the city. The tram offers about the cheapest sightseeing tour taking in most of the main sites in the centre.

With the effect of the hot wine wearing off, and the effects of the cold night starting to be felt I headed back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Vienna; Saturday, 19 November, 2005

With more chicken pate and cheese inside me than is really sensible I headed out from the hotel to the U-Bahn station to catch the train into town. First stop, as with last night was the cathedral, though this time to actually go in rather than just to take photos of the outside!

Inside the cathedral is quite dark, and heaving with tourists, apart from that the inside is not particularly spectacular. However, the roof is and a lift whisks you up the North tower to the big bell and from the viewing platforms on the outside of the tower stunning views of not only the centre of Vienna, but also of the beautiful mosaic tiled roof. Easily beating the similar roof on the Cathedral in Budapest (You would never have guessed Austria and Hungary were once the same country!)

Descending back into the comparative darkness (and warmth!) of the Cathedral I had a bit more of a look around before having a brief wander through town. Last night I had gone round the outside of the town on the tram in the dark so, with a heavy snow shower starting, I decided a nice warm, dry tram ride was probably best. 25 minutes and one full lap later the blizzard had subsided to a few flakes in the wind so I got off at the stop connecting with U1 underground line and caught the train out to the Vienna International Centre and Donaupark (Danube Park).

In one corner of the park is the Donauturm (Danube Tower) this was my next stop. The express lift whisks you to the viewing platforms at the top of the tower from where there are stunning views of not only Vienna, but the now almost dead straight course of the Danube and the next bout of weather. Descending two floors from the viewing platform, you can exit the warmth of the tower and go out onto the open observation platform for an even better view.

I walked back up the stairs to the café to grab a bit to eat and watch the world go by (literally, as the café rotates taking just under 30 minutes to do a full lap of the tower. Lunch was made even more pleasant by the knowledge that I was not only missing another even heavier and longer snow shower, but also being able to see that this was the last weather front going through and the remainder of the afternoon looked dry (and cold!).

From the Donauturm I walked on to the U6 & S-Bahn station further north of the tower and caught the S-Bahn round to the Prata. The area has been a fairground area for centuries and since the 19th Century has been home to the Riesenrad (Ferris wheel). The largest fixed site observation wheel in the world right up until London smashed the record with the London Eye Millennium wheel in 2000!

From the original wooden carriages you get a spectacular (if slightly vertigo inducing) view over Vienna. A total turn takes about 20 minutes and with the wheel stopping every time a carriage gets to the bottom to unload and load you get plenty of time to experience the views (and the wind shake!) at the top. After descending, I had a wander around the park. With the light rapidly fading I headed back to the hotel to defrost and drop off my bag before heading back out for the evening.

First stop was back to Prata to get some shots of the Ferris wheel lit up, and then I caught the train down to the Südbahnhof to check the times and prices for going to Slovakia later in the trip. As I was leaving the station I spotted another of the many palace complexes in the city, Belvedere, so I stopped for a while to take some pictures before catching the tram round to the Rathaus to do a spot of early Christmas shopping (and a spot of late Glühwein drinking!)

With most of the market closed down by 9:15, I made my way back to the hotel.

Weather

Light Snow Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Vienna; Sunday, 20 November, 2005

It has taken then a while, but in 2000, the Austrians unveiled their first monument to commemorate the (specifically Viennese) victims of the Holocaust. Located in front of the Jewish museum on Jüdenplatz it's made up of a "library" of books, each one with its spine turned in and the pages showing. Around the base are the names of the concentration camps where the Jews of Vienna died (Both Dachau (See Munich) and Salaspils (see Riga) are mentioned along with the more infamous Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Treblinka.

The Jewish museum itself tells the story of an earlier attempt by the citizens of Vienna to remove the population, back in 1420-1421. Along with reconstructions of what the Jewish area had been like before the expulsions and slaughtering the museum also houses the ruined foundations of the Synagogue, which was all but destroyed in 1421. The museum ends with a small room dedicated to the late Simon Wiesenthal (he died a few weeks before my visit) the Nazi-hunter and honorary citizen of Vienna.

From there I spent some time wandering through some of the squares and small lanes that make up the centre of the old town before catching the tram back out to Schloß Belvedere to have a look around. In the daylight the palaces (there are two of them one at the top and the other at the bottom of a slight hill!) are even more spectacular than they are at night. The palaces themselves hold large art collections, which according to all the guidebooks are well worth seeing. As I am not a massive fan of art, and as the entrance, charges are quite steep, I decided not to. In front of the top palace there was another of the small Christmas markets that spring up around Vienna like a fungal infection, and so at just about midday, with a light snow shower taking place I settled down to my first Glühwein of the day…

I had a long wander around the grounds of the castles before walking through some back streets to Karlsplatz, home of the Karlskirche (Charles Church). The building is stunning from the outside with its massive dome. Inside it’s more stunning with the whole of the dome painted in frescos. At present, they are being restored (and have been for a few years). However, instead of this restricting the views it provides a spectacular chance to view them up close as you can take the works elevator to the dome to view the frescos up close. You can also climb the last few flights of scaffolding stairs to the very top of the lantern, designed to bathe the church in light if it was not under scaffolding inside, but now offering spectacular views of the centre of Vienna.

Next door to the Karlskirche is the Wien Museum, which tells the history of Vienna from its original days as a prehistoric settlement up to the end of the Habsburg Empire at the end of the First World War. An interesting museum made all the better by being free on a Sunday.

On the other side of the city centre, about a 1/4 of a mile north of the cathedral, underneath a café!, are some of the remains of the Roman city preserved to see with Hypocausts and floors still intact.

After all that, and with the light fading, I decided to head back to the hotel for a brief rest, and to thaw out again before heading back into town for the evening.

The Haus der Musik is located in the offices of the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) this is a fascinating museum, which not only takes in the history of the Philharmonic Orchestra (Which, lets fact it, if your not into the music could be quite dull) but also the whole science of sound. I spent nearly 2 hours in the museum behaving, as they expect you to, as a child hitting every button and trying every computer screen. The museum explains how we hear, how we interpret and how we can be fooled into misinterpreting sounds. You can create your own music track using the base sounds of life, and conduct an orchestra in time (or at least attempt to!)

After spending more time than I though I ever would in a museum dedicated to music, I emerged back into the night and a heavy sleet shower so I hunted for warmth, and beer, in a local restaurant. I had my first Wiener schnitzel of the holiday before eventually admitting defeat to the weather (but with a litre of beer inside me to give me some internal anti-freeze) and headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Light Snow Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Vienna; Monday, 21 November, 2005

You would have though that with a stunning (and rambling) palace in the very centre of Vienna, and another palace in sumptuous grounds in the then outskirts of the city (Belvedere) the Habsburgs would be content. Sadly, No. To get away from it all in those long summer months (and you thought global warming was a 21st century problem!) they built themselves an even bigger, even more impressive, even more sumptuous palace out of the city in Schönbrunn (now part of the city itself!).

The palace itself is larger than any of their other residences, with the audio guided tour of just the first floor taking nearly 1 hour to complete (and there are four floors to this place). The tour itself is very interesting and gives you a glimpse into how the people who ran Europe (of course, at this point the Brits were content in just running the rest of the world!) lived.

As with any self-respecting royal dynasty the palace is set in acres of land with a spectacular sloping garden that leads from the back of the palace to a Gloriette on a hill above it over half a mile away that looks down over stunning vistas of the palace and the city.

The grounds also contain several Mazes, one in the real impossible to see through, get lost for 20 minutes hedge type, and two mazes that follow a singe path winding to the middle. After spending nearly an hours in the mazes I wandered next door to the Tiergarten and the Zoo. Originally, the menagerie that accompanied the palace of any self respecting emperor, this was turned into a zoo at an early stage and claims to be the world oldest zoo.

Next door to the zoo is the palm house, and opposite that the desert house that effectively act as the zoos botanical gardens.

After spending quite some time in the zoo and greenhouses I walked back through the parkland and climb the path to the top of the Gloriette to view not only the palace and city, but also the bank of snow that was heading directly towards me fast!

Having staggered back through a blizzard (OK it was a bit windy and the snow lasted for about 3 minutes, but why spoil a good story!) to the palace, and resisted the temptation of a mug of Glühwein at another Christmas market that had sprung up in front of the palace, I caught the U-Bahn back into town and went to the Habsburgs town house come offices in the Hofburg.

With less than an hour until the state apartments closed for the evening, I decided just to visit the Treasury (which was bizarrely open an hour later than the rest of the complex.) As befits the family that once ran most of central and eastern Europe they had a significant collection of "precious things" that are most definitely not for the touching. After having coughed up the €8 to get in and the €2 for the Audio guide (and the €0.50 per item for the cloakroom!) I felt that there better be some good stuff to warrant the cost. I wasn't disappointed. Even if you are not a fan of jewellery or fine robes, or gold and precious metals you cannot help but be impressed by the sheer quantity of the stuff on display (and this is only the stuff that was left to the state, when the Habsburgs renounced the throne and allowed Austria to become a republic in 1918 they had already shipped most of their personal stuff to Switzerland (so it's them who started that little trick!) so that they could continue to support themselves in the lifestyle that being the Austro-Hungarian empire allows you). In the end I had to run around the ecclesiastical section (no great loss in my mind as once you've see one chalice and a set of robes, you've seen them all!) just so I didn’t get locked in.

With a serious (and possibly fatal) case of museum legs setting in I headed off in hunt of somewhere to eat. Unfortunately, as I wasn't particularly hungry and felt like a wander it took over an hour and about two laps of the city centre before I decided on a restaurant.

With a good meal inside me, and the metro station just feet away I staggered back to the train and back to the hotel to see if I had remembered to pack a spare set of legs and two spare hips.

Weather

Light Sleet Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Vienna; Tuesday, 22 November, 2005

Sadly, I hadn’t packed spare limbs (I'm getting so forgetful these days - I blame the booze!) so with slightly aching legs I treated them to a nice hours rest as I caught the train out of Vienna, in fact out of Austria all together and into country 11 of the year - Slovakia. The capital Bratislava is just over 60Km from Vienna - it's so close in fact that most of the cheap airlines fly here and offer onwards shuttle links to Vienna rather than land in the city itself - and has only really been a capital in it's own sense since the split of Czechoslovakia in the early 1990's. Before then it was joined with the Czech Republic, and before that part of the Austrian and Holy Roman empires since Charlemagne (see Aachen, Cologne). Now it’s the vibrant capital of an independent Slovakia, and advertising itself as cheaper and better than it's more famous rival Prague.

Unfortunately, the similarities with Prague are limited. True it has a castle on a hill that overlooks a river (the Danube no less), but the castle looks as all the guidebooks describe it 'Like an upturned bed' and the views across the river are not of a Bohemian old town with church spires and city gate houses. Instead, it is of a Soviet era housing estate with all the aesthetic charm that several billion tonnes of concrete can muster.

Whilst the castle is not the most beautiful of objects from the outside, inside there is lots to see with a museum that covers two floors of the five floors of the massive complex. The museum is a strange collection of exhibitions, showing the best of the art from the nations collection, a collection of the state silver, war and weaponry and an exhibition on "Becoming a woman" in Slovak tradition. All of the exhibitions are displayed in both Slovak and English so it is easy to work out what is what.

In the cloister off the courtyard of the main building is another museum, which shows the best from the state collection of treasures from the pre-historic through to the early middle ages.

Around the back of the castle is another museum, which tells the history and importance of music within Slovak culture and life and of their most famous recent musical son Jan Albrecht.

Looking round all this took nearly 4 hours in the end and cost the grand total of 140Sk (£2.80, €4.20) and I had changed up €40 just in case!! I walked down the steps from the castle and into the town to have a look around.

The town itself is very compact, not suffers from a massive bypass and major crossing of the Danube running right past the historic centre.

I spent a while wandering around the town, including having a look inside the very dark and dingy cathedral, and trying to find ways of spending €35 worth of a currency that only one country uses. In the end, after spending about an hour walking around I decided to head back to the station to catch the train home, and change my money back in the same exchange shop I had used a few hours earlier!

After arriving back in Vienna I went back to the Christmas market by the Rathaus to do some more Christmas shopping (and have some more Glühwein - honest this was a shopping trip rather than an alcoholics cover story) before having a wander around the back streets behind the Hofburg and the Opera looking for a restaurant.

With another Wiener Schnitzel inside me, and with my feet threatening all out industrial action I headed back to the hotel to pack and get some serious sleep.

Weather

Heavy Snow Light Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Vienna; Wednesday, 23 November, 2005

With my bag neatly stowed in the left luggage locker at Wein Mitte station I caught the tram out to Schwedenplatz to pick up the city bus to the Hofburg, a slightly roundabout way, but the guidebooks went on about catching the bus through the centre up all the little lanes, and then through the Hofburg itself.

I got off just in time to find a film crew blocking access to the palace so I had to walk around the side to get access. The main body of the palace is now a massive museum split into three exhibitions. The first one is the imperial silver collection, which is actually the imperial tableware exhibition, and they had a lot of it! The second and main exhibition is dedicated to 'Sisi' Empress Elizabeth, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph (he died in 1916, she was assassinated in 1895) Whilst she was alive she was an eccentric who shunned her public duties, once she died she became a legend and fated as a "fairy-tale Princess" (not that in any way this sounds like our own Princess... No that would be tantamount to treason!)

The final part of the exhibition is of the state (winter) apartments of Franz Joseph and Elizabeth - not to be confused with their summer apartments out at Schönbrunn! For one of the most powerful people in the world the Emperors apartments are quite Spartan, Sisi's slightly more flamboyant with the first bathroom and water closet installed in the palace.

After spending several hours in the palace I wandered down into one of the courtyards to have a quick lunch in the café before catching the tram round to the Stadtpark which runs in a small space between the Ring (the central ring road) and the River Wein and has statues to some of the most famous composers in Austrian history.

With the light starting to fade, I headed back to Wein Mitte and picked up my bags to head back to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
0ºC/32ºF

Zurich; Monday, 19 December, 2005

Having landed at 10:30 and managed to get to the centre of town by 11:30 it was a little early to go to the hotel; instead, I dumped my bags in the left luggage lockers and headed off into town. I wandered down some of the little alleyways and lanes that run down the east bank side of the river before reaching the Großmünster. The Großmünster stands out in the city as it has two towers, rather than the single spires that the rest of the churches have. It also allows you to climb one of the towers for stunning views over the city.

After spending some time here, I caught the tram out to the end of the Rack Railway and caught that up into the hills overlooking the city. The views of the city, although slightly obscured by the trees, are still spectacular and the ride up is interesting if only for seeing the angle that you can get a non-cable car to go up! I wandered down through the woods and after a twenty-minute walk, I arrived one station back down the line. At this point, as it was now back into residential areas, I caught the rack railway back down to the base station and the tram back into town.

I took the tram up to the university, which is perched on the side of the hill overlooking the city centre, again with stunning views.

By now, it was coming up for 3pm and time to check into the hotel. I collected my luggage from the lockers and caught the S-Bahn out to the station nearest to the hotel (only afterwards did I find out that I could actually have stayed on the tram as it stopped closer!)

After settling into the hotel, I caught the tram back into town and hand a wander in the twig light through the city centre, stopping at one of the Christmas markets to sample the Glühwine!

With sufficient quantities of hot wine and sausage inside me, I headed back to the hotel as my body decided to remind me that I had been up since 4am and it would quite like to catch up on its rest!

Weather

Cloudy Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Zurich; Tuesday, 20 December, 2005

First stop of the morning was the impressive Swiss National Museum in a castle looking building next to the Hauptbahnhof. The museum houses a massive collection on the history of Switzerland and the region. Unfortunately, much of the museum is closed off as it undergoes renovation work that is expected to last until 2014!

I caught the tram out to the Rigiblick Seilbahn and caught the funicular up to the top. From there I got stunning views over the city and across to the mountains on the other side of the lake, or I would have done if there had not been a mist over the whole of the area!

Back down part way into town and off the tram at the University to visit the Zoological and Paleontological museums. Both are in the same building and both are presented in a very interesting and hands-on way.

Near to the centre of town is a museum dedicated to the history of man and evolution. Kulturama presents its exhibits in a timeline starting with the earliest known forms of life and progressing through the various stages of human evolution until modern man. The museum also looks at what makes humans what they are from conception to old age with details on all the inside bits that make you tick.

From the museum, I caught the tram out to the Stadtgarden in the west of town. Here in two greenhouses is a collection of plants and, more bizarrely, free flying birds in the temperate house.

After a while here I caught the trolley bus back across town to the Botanical gardens and another set of greenhouses (though in this case they are more large plastic domes) here there is an even greater number of plants, trees and succulents in a Savannah, Tropical and Sub Tropical dome.

Leaving the botanical gardens I wandered back to the hotel to drop stuff off before heading back out to town for dinner.

After dinner, I went back via the Rigiblick Seilbahn to get late night views over the city, before heading back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Zurich; Wednesday, 21 December, 2005

The sight that should dominate the skyline around the city (when it is not covered by clouds) is the summit of the Uetilberg. At nearly 900m, it towers over the surrounding landscape. This being Switzerland they built a railway to almost the summit. After a very spectacular journey winding up the side of the mountain I completed the last 10 minutes on foot and came out at the Hotel Uto Kulm which marks the summit of the mountain. To make it that bit taller an observation tower has been built which takes you through the magical 900m mark. However, the tower made no difference as the levels of murk from the snow clouds were the same at 860 and 900m!

Running from just before the hotel and out along the ridge to the Cable car at Felsenegg is a "Planetweg". At the start is a model of the sun at 1:1billion scale. Then, on the same scale, the planets are set out along the walk. Mercury, Venus and Earth before you reach the hotel Mars just behind the hotel and Jupiter a little further on. Trying to get your head round the distances involved is not helped when Pluto is just beyond the cable car station - over 5KM away!

The walk along the ridge is pleasant giving views (once you come down a little from the top of the mountain and come below the murk level) over the lake and back to Zurich. The signs all describe it as an easy and flat walk; this is a new definition of flat, which actually means, "rolling". The walk took about 90 minutes and at the end, you are rewarded with a stunning descent in the cable car down into the town of Aldiswil.

From here, I caught the train further south, along the line of one of the many mountain rivers to the town of Sihlbrugg and from there on to the town of Zug, in the next canton.

Zug lies on the banks of the Zueger See (Lake Zug) and has stunning views across it to the mountains on the other side. The old town is quite pretty, but apart from that, there is not much else, so after a while I wandered back to the station and caught the train back to Zurich. It is only at this point I realised how far I had travelled. From Zug the train took nearly 30 minutes, stopping only once, to make the journey back to the city centre.

As I arrived back into the city, I noticed that the clouds had started to lift, and so took a chance and caught the train back up to Uetilberg. By the time I got there the clouds had all lifted, but it also being the 21st of December, the light was rapidly starting to fade, so whilst I got some stunning views, I only managed to take some dingy photos! I wandered back down to the train station and stopped in the restaurant there to have some dinner before catching the train back down into the city.

After having a look around the large Christmas market on the station concourse, I caught the tram back to the hotel to rest my, by now, thoroughly weary legs!

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Zurich; Thursday, 22 December, 2005

Normally at this point in a trip, I would say something fatuous like "Early start this morning to get to..." Thankfully this is Switzerland so I knew full well that going to Schaffhausen in the very north of the country (or about 50Km north of Zürich) would take less than an hour, the 10:14 train would run, and to time, and that I wouldn't have to rush, so…

Not a particularly early start to the day as I went to the Northern Swiss town of Schaffhausen. Nestling on the German border on the main line from Zürich (in fact many of the trains start even further south in Milano) to Stuttgart Schaffhausen has the dubious privilege of being the only Swiss town bombed during W.W.II. The Americans apologised profusely that they had mistaken the town for southern Germany. It did not stop them bombing it a few years later though. Of course, it could have had something to do with the large and very profitable arms industry, which was at work in the area! Today Schaffhausen is a quiet, pretty town nestling on the banks of the Rhine (See also Bonn, Köln) the main attraction in the city centre is the Munot. Built by forced labour in the 16th century it has an (almost) unique spiral ramp leading to the top (see also Copenhagen - despite the Swiss claiming that they are the only ones to have them in Europe!) and stunning views out over the town.

Downstream (45 minutes walk, or 10 minutes on the Trolley bus if you are feeling lazy, like me!) in the town of Neuhaussen is the main tourist pull of the area, the Rhine Falls. Described as the largest waterfalls in Europe they crash down a 23m (69ft) drop. I know that does not come even close to Victoria, Angel or Niagara falls - but it is still very impressive, and very, very noisy. The area has three walking routes clearly marked out that let you take in the best views. The longest walk, which I took, takes you across a railway bridge just yards up stream of the falls, into the grounds of Schloß Laufen and from there you can pay 1Fr to descend steps to a viewing platform so close to the falls that you can almost touch them (though doing so would probably rip your hand off!)

The walk continues along the bank of the Rhine for about another Kilometre, by which time the Rhine is back to being a peaceful and tranquil river, you can hardly imagine that just up stream is such awesome power. The walk continues over a bridge and back on the other side of the river to Neuhaussen and the falls again.

Just opposite the falls, I stopped for a very pleasant late lunch in a restaurant overlooking the falls before catching the trolley bus back to Schaffhausen and the train on to Winterthur.

Winterthur (or as it is known to most Brits - Churchill) has given its name to one of the worlds largest insurance groups. The town itself is quite modern with not much in the way of pretty streets or fabulous architecture. The city does house many museums and galleries. As time was short, I only visited one - the photography museum that shows regularly changing exhibitions of famous Swiss and non-Swiss photographers.

I caught the train from Winterthur back to Zürich, just in time to catch the Lichterfest. This Christmas tradition happens just once a year at 6pm on the 22nd of December. Hundreds of candles are light and set down into the river to float down stream through the city centre. The scene is beautiful, and finally put me in to a Christmas mood.

After watching the candles floating down into the distance and spending some time wandering around another of the Christmas markets (with obligatory glass of Glühwine) I wandered back to the hotel to pack my bags and get some rest.

Weather

Cloudy Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Zurich; Friday, 23 December, 2005

Cut and paste job from most other trips - checkout - station - drop bags - final day etc. etc! And that will teach me to write the first part the night before! Instead of the effortless wander through I, instead, had to go via the airport, as there were no free lockers at the station.

I came back to a station on the edge of town so that I could catch the tram the couple stops to the anthropological museum at the university's suburban campus at Irchel. Unfortunately, the museum had closed for the Christmas break so; instead, I wandered back through the parkland to the previous tram stop to catch the tram back into town.

That got one stop before it ground to a halt. My German is not perfect, but from the announcement it sounded much as if a tram up ahead had broken down and that we should all get off the tram, get one in another direction, then change to a bus, then etc, etc. Eventually, 60 minutes after having arrived there from the airport I was back at the same station!

I caught the train back into town, and, finding out that that line was working, caught the tram out to the zoo.

And so, I found myself at zoo/animal park number 6 of the year! Zürich zoo is one of the more spacious ones that I have seen, and includes amongst its exhibits a reconstruction of a Madagascan rainforest.

Having spent almost 4 hours inside the zoo (and partly thankful that the museum was closed, as I would never have got to see the entire zoo), I caught the tram back into town. At this point, I realised that my luggage was actually at the airport, and I had not needed to come back to the Hauptbahnhof, and caught the train out to the airport.

And it was 2 minutes late!

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Berlin; Thursday, 16 February, 2006

Today was always going to be a long day, I had not realised it was going to be so long! After a seamless journey to and through the airport, I was sat on the plane in a good seat 10 minutes before it was due to depart with what looked like all passengers boarded. Then came the announcement that we were going to have to wait for a few minutes, as there was a technical fault on the plane. The fault turned out to be a complete lack of radar following a near miss with a lightning bolt on the planes journey into Gatwick.

After 40 minutes sat on the plane the pilot announced that the fault was not going to be repairable on the spot and that a replacement plane was about to set off from Stansted to take us. So, at a point where we should have been some 30,000 feet over Holland the whole plane were traipsing back into the departures lounge at Gatwick with no idea when, or if, we were going to get away.

At 10am they called for passengers to contact the ground agents desk, to be handed a food voucher and the news that the new departure time was about 11. At 11, this became 12. At just before 12 they flashed up a gate number and instantly put it to final call. Needless to say there was a small stampede of Berlin bound easyJet customers heading towards the gate. So, at 12:15, 3 hours and 50 minutes after we were due to depart (and conveniently for easyJet 10 minutes before they would have had to pay every single one of us £150 for the delay) the doors were closed and the pre-flight announcements started.

Just over 90 minutes later and 3 hours 30 minutes later than originally planed, the plane landed in Berlin with my plans for the day in pieces (I had planned to go to Potsdam for the afternoon, but once again Berlin, Potsdam and airlines mixed in a bad way - see 2004!) Instead I caught the bus and U-Bahn to the hotel and checked in, then headed into the centre of Berlin to have a wander around for a couple of hours, taking in the main sights - the Brandenburg gate, Reichstag and memorial church before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to the hotel for some very needed sleep!

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Berlin; Friday, 17 February, 2006

Another earlish start as I had to get to Berlin Zoologischer Garten station for my train to Dresden by nine. The major drawback with the hotel is the distance from it to the centre of Berlin.

I left just over an hour to make it; in the end, it took only a little over 35 minutes. The (long) train journey was uneventful and through particularly un-spectacular scenery! At almost midday, the train pulled in, on time, into Dresden Hauptbahnhof.

After a quick stop for a bite to eat, I caught the tram out to the suburbs to the "Blue wonder" a spectacular bridge across the Elbe. Here two funicular railways lead up into the hills above. One is the conventional type, the other hangs from a rail above! At the top of the Schwebebahn (the hanging one), you can visit the machine room where you are shown (in German) the machinery in action, as well as some background history. From the top of the station, there are spectacular views over the whole of the region, and from here, you can understand why Dresden was - before the Americans (and the British) flattened it at the end of W.W. II - called the Florence of the north with all the spires and domes.

I caught the tram back into town and visited the Frauenkirche, the most famous building in the city. All but part of one wall was destroyed in the bombing raids of 1945 and afterwards was left by the communist government as a reminder of (Western, Capitalist) aggression. Following reunification it was decided to rebuild the church to it's former glory. Work was finally completed during 2005 and the rededication ceremony took place less than 4 months before my visit. Unfortunately, as it is such a spectacular building it is being used a lot for concerts and other services, so I was unable to see inside. However, the dome has a viewing platform and this was open.

The views from the top are amazing, not only of the surrounding countryside, but also of the city itself. Dresden still bares the scars of W.W.II, and of over 40 years of communism, but they are working fast to remove them!

Just down from the Frauenkirche is the river Elbe, and running next to it at about second floor level is a terrace you can walk along. From here, you can get good views of many of the other spectacular buildings of Dresden. One of these is the Zwinger. Only 3/4 completed before the money ran out it is still an impressive palace to view.

I wandered round the city centre for about another 30 minutes, then the sun went down and it was time to head back to the station for the long journey back to Berlin, and the almost as long journey back to the hotel!

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Berlin; Saturday, 18 February, 2006

Yet another early start to get to the station, today Leipzig - birthplace of the 1989 revolution that ended Germany's partition and home to the hated Stasi and their many, many files!

After another, frankly boring train journey across flat land with not much on it I arrived at Leipzig Hauptbahnhof - supposedly the largest terminal station in Europe - but being partisan I think Waterloo is bigger (it's certainly got more working platforms and a nicer clock.)

First stop was to head out to the outskirts of town to visit the Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the battle of nations.) It's possibly about the ugliest monument ever built combining the very worst that concrete and communism can do, yet it was built in 1913 for which there can be no excuse! The one advantage is that, as it dominates the skyline, you can get great views from the top. If you have not already guessed by this point, this is exactly where I headed.

Leaving the monument behind me, I headed back into town to visit the museum in the „Runden Ecke" (Round Corner) which was originally the home of the Stasi. It was here on a night in 1989 that the crowds stormed the building. They discovered that the secret police were desperately trying to shred all the information that they had painstakingly collected over the previous 40 years. Almost every person had a file, and in them were reports from neighbours, friends and colleagues who had been on the payroll of the Stasi to give them information. The museum tells the history of the secret police as well as showing some of the ways that they obtained their information.

After spending some time in the museum, I had a wander around the town. It is not as beautiful as Dresden, in fact with the works going on to rebuild the city and build new infrastructure now the place looks a mess! However, there are several impressive buildings and quite a lot to look at.

Having spent about 2 hours wandering around the city centre I stopped for a bite to eat and then, with the light starting to fade, headed back to the Hauptbahnhof for the equally long and tedious journey back to Berlin, made considerably more pleasant by having treated myself to first class on the ICE!

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Berlin; Sunday, 19 February, 2006

Its Sunday, I am in Berlin and I have already been messed up by an airline this holiday, so it must be time to visit Potsdam. Except this time, it is planned and I do get to go into the palaces.

First stop is Schloß Sanssouci built as a get away for the king from everyone except his closest friends this is a small and quite homely palace. It's only got about 12 rooms and covers just one floor. The guided tour is interesting, but only in German. Thankfully, you can read a paper translation to each room.

From there it was a stiff 15-minute walk, through the park, to the Neues Palais, the one I visited last time. This is slightly more impressive as it has over 200 rooms. However, you only get to see a few of them on the guided tour you are taken around on. Once again, it is in German only with written translations. However, it is well worth it as one of the final rooms, the Marble hall is spectacular. Two stories high, covering half the width of the palace it is simply breathtaking. The only drawback is that in the case of both palaces you have to wear silly slipper things over your shoes!

I caught the bus back into Potsdam and the train back into Berlin with enough time to visit yet another palace (or at least part of one). Schloß Charlottenburg was one of the city centre palaces for the royal family. It has been built in stages, and the part I went to see was the new wing. This is another spectacular palace with lots of over elaborate decoration and proof that some people really did have too much money! An audio guide takes you around the palace, which lasts about 1 hour.

On the way back from Schloß Charlottenburg, I got off the train at Potsdamer Platz. I was amazed at how much had changed in less than two years since I had last been. I decided that it needed more time to look at and would come back tomorrow. From Potsdamer Platz I wandered onto Checkpoint Charlie to do some tacky souvenir shopping before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back over to Berlin Zoo.

On the main road by Berlin Zoo is the Europa centre, a 20 storey building which, from the 20th floor, commands stunning views over the city centre. On a clear night, as tonight was, the views are excellent, from the Radio tower in the west, across to the TV tower in the east and further. The top floor also, conveniently, has a bar attached!

After spending some significant time up here, I got the lift back down and made my way back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Berlin; Monday, 20 February, 2006

A day spent exploring Berlin's civilian life in both W.W. II and the cold war that followed. First stop of the morning was a metro station to the north of the city centre.

Gesundbrunnen is one of the deepest metro stations on the network and when it was built, there was a lot of spare space. At the time, it was used for storage, but in the early 1930's the German government decided to convert the space into a bunker for use by the civilian population. Of the over 200 bunkers built in the city this is one of the very few that still exist, let alone are open. The only reason this is one can be visited (on guided tours only, two on Monday and two on Saturday in English) is because it was for the civilian population. Any bunkers linked to the Nazi party have either been destroyed or sealed and their locations hidden to prevent them becoming shrines to the less desirable elements of society.

The tour, which lasted almost 2 hours, showed the kind of environment that the increasingly desperate citizens of Berlin would have lived in. By the end of the war Berlin was the most bombed German city (many others have titles for the most destruction - Dresden - or the most killed, but Berlin had the greatest physical number of bombs dropped on it.) Some of the descriptions of what life would have been like are horrifying, and at one point, the tour guide explains that with bad planning cubicles, rather than curtains had been fitted in the toilets. At the end of the war, with the Russians advancing, and fears (some justified) that the average Berliner would be raped, murdered or taken as slave labour, many hundreds of people committed suicide in them where they could not be seen.

The tour concludes with a look at some artefacts that have been found not only in this bunker, but at some of the others, including a very rusted, very broken, but still instantly recognisable enigma machine.

With a quick stop en-route for a bite to eat, I headed to Anhalter Bahnhof. Once a major station all that now remains is a small part of the front facade. Even the railway line has gone. Next to where the tracks should have been, is another of the Berlin civilian bunkers. This one has three stories above ground and several more below. Once again, in German style it has no sympathy for the people who lived through the war in Germany. German thinking on the subject appears to be that as they were the initial aggressors, no non-persecuted Germans should get any sympathy. The fact the Hitler only came to power with less than 42% of the vote; orchestrated an elaborate coup with the Reichstag fire; brought destruction on a massive scale to large parts of 'his country' (nobody has ever been able to explain to me how an Austrian managed to become the most powerful man in Germany!); and at the end turned on his own people persecuting them for 'failing him' by wanting it all to end, doesn’t appear to affect the thinking. Consequently, very few of the bunkers are open and all the museums ignore the last few weeks of the war and leap straight to the Armistice and rebuilding

The top two floors have been turned into a Chamber of Horrors type attraction with people that jump out at you. Only the first basement floor has some information on artefacts found in the bunker and aerial views of the area from pre war to post wall.

I caught the bus back into the central area of the city and visited the site of the city palace. Although badly bombed, and burnt out the building was still in good shape at the end of the war, and could have been repaired. However, it lay in exactly the place where the East German government wanted to build their „Palast der Republik" (Palace of the Republic) and parade ground. The palace was the seat of power of East Germany. The parade ground was for glorifying the wondrous leaders (Imagine lots of troops marching, people with candles, and senior members of the communist party standing on a balcony looking down benevolently on their admiring subjects - whilst ensuring that the secret police were keeping tabs on anyone who might pose a threat to them or not share the same ideals.) Today the Palace faces the same fate after considerably less life than the 200+ year old palace it replaced. 16 years after the wall fell and with all the asbestos that was in it removed it is now being pulled down to be replaced, most likely, by a rebuild of the original royal palace!

From here, I walked the short distance to Alexanderplatz and went up the TV tower in daylight - without a queue. Whilst there I stopped for a very late lunch/very early dinner in the revolving café taking in the views of east and west. After lunchinner (as I am calling it!) I went back to the area around Zoo to visit the Story of Berlin. When I originally visited it in 2004, I had done so late in the evening and missed the tour that comes with the entrance price. This time, as it fitted in so well with the day I was not going to miss it. After all, it is not everyday you get to look around a nuclear bunker! The tour takes you around the Kurfüstendam bunker. The bunker is still maintained so, should the worse ever happen, it can be brought back into use within a couple of minutes! In a very small place over 3,000 people would cram - almost certainly living for their last few days as their is only enough air, food and water for 14 days, not long enough for the radiation to have decreased to a level that won’t kill you!

After the tour, and a quick look again around the museum, I headed back to Zoo to catch the 200 bus. The 100 bus takes in all the historic sights of Berlin, the 200 takes in the modern including the area around Potsdamer Platz that I wanted to look at, but couldn't today because the viewing platform was closed! After taking in all the sights, I got off the bus at Alexanderplatz and made my way back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Berlin; Tuesday, 21 February, 2006

After having checked out from the hotel and dropped my luggage at Freidrichstraß station, I caught the S1 out to the end of the line at Orienburg. From there it was a 20-minute walk north from the town centre to the small village of Sachsenhausen.

This quiet town was the home to Northern Germany’s main Concentration camp during the Second World War, and after the war, the Soviets used it as a “Special Camp” for dealing with their prisoners. The site was the “model camp” and it was from here that the entire concentration camp system across the Nazi occupied lands was run. From here, decisions were made that effected people in camps from Salaspils near Riga in the North through Dachau near Munich to Auschwitz in Poland and many more. Even today, a sense of Evil pervades the place and on a bitterly cold and windy February morning, it was even more so.

The site has a visitor’s centre that has recently been built. From here, you can hire very comprehensive audio guides, which take you around the only parts of the site that are remaining and help to put into context some of the things that happened here and tell the stories of some of the prisoners, some who survived, and many who did not.

I headed back into town and out to Potsdamer Platz where I visited once again the Panorama lift in the Daimler-Chrysler building for the views over the area. From the top, I confirmed for my own eyes how many changes there had been in the two years since I had last stood there. From the acres and acres of what was death strip, there is now just one empty space, which is being built upon, and a long green strip running down the centre of one of the roads as a reminder to where the wall used to run.

I wandered a couple of streets across to have a look at the “Topographies of terror” exhibition at the last remaining chunk of un-preserved wall. The outdoor exhibition (there has been a very long running saga over getting a proper museum built!) tells the history of the Third Reich, war, building of the wall and the events that took place on the Eastern side of it. There is also an exhibition on the Nuremburg war crimes trials.

I wandered back through the streets to the opera house on Babelplatz. Once called Opernplatz it was here, on the night of May 10th 1933, that the Nazis burnt the books from the library of Magnus Hirschfeld. Being a Jewish, homosexual, Social democrat he was pretty much top of the list of people the Nazis wanted to get rid of. Today a memorial to the event is in the square. One of the paving stones has been replaced by a large pane of glass, which looks down into a space with lots of empty shelves, symbolising the destroyed library.

I had wanted to do one final thing before leaving Berlin and climb the Reichstag dome in daylight. Unfortunately, when I got there the queue was too long, so I walked back along the riverside to Freidrichstraß station, collected my luggage and headed back out to Schönefeld and the flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Antwerp; Friday, 03 March, 2006

After an exceptionally pleasant journey on the Eurostar, I checked into the hotel and then wandered into the centre of the city to have a look around.

After about an hour of wandering, I stopped off for a bite to eat before spending a little longer looking around the city, before heading back to the hotel to sample some of Belgium's finest exports (beer) and then a stagger back to bed.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Antwerp; Saturday, 04 March, 2006

After one of the most comfortable nights sleep I had had in a very long time, and a breakfast that should have kept me fed for the whole week, I set out from the hotel to the Tram stop one away from the hotel. This was the nearest one with an automatic ticket machine to buy a three-day Flanders city card (unlimited travel in Antwerp, , Ghent and several other cities and towns for just €10). Having brought the card I then found out, as I boarded the tram, that the company was running a free weekend and you did not have to buy tickets - D'Oh!

I caught the tram back to the Centre of town and had a wander around the Groenplaats, Handschoesmarkt and Grotemarkt in the daylight before going to have a look at the Cathedral. Described as the largest Gothic Cathedral in the Low Countries (possibly even more tenuous than Cologne's 'Largest cathedral north of the Alps' title).

The cathedral is in the process of being repaired, with most of the work complete. Inside it is very light despite the forest of pillars. The cathedral has seven aisles, which create a massive sense of space. There are several paintings dotted around the church including a few by Rubens (even I have heard of him!).

After spending some time in the Cathedral I caught the tram one stop further, underneath the river Scheldt to the left bank. From here there are stunning views of the Antwerp skyline with the Cathedral and the Steen (the remains of a 13th century gatehouse) showing its great history. From here, I walked back to the other side of the river using the St Annatunnel. The pedestrian tunnel links the old city with the left bank and is accessed at each end from either a massive lift (enough space to easily take the 80 person maximum load) or a series of ancient clanking wooden escalators.

The exit from the tunnel on the city side is by the side of the old docks and above them run the South Terrace all the way to the Steen. The views in all directions are great and on a bright sunny day, it was a pleasant walk. The Steen itself is now a Nautical themed museum, but still looks as though it would more be at home somewhere in the 1290's.

After a spot of lunch on the Groenplaats, I wandered back to the central station and caught the bus out to Middelheim. Here there is a large park, which also includes the open-air sculpture park. The park is free to look around, but you can pay for an audio guide, which takes you around the park, and is well worth it as it explains about many of the key works and, some background to the history of the site and some of the details about creating different types of sculpture. The full audio tour takes about 2 hours, longer if you look at each individual piece of work. As it was such a nice afternoon, I took the longer walk back to the tram stop, caught the tram back into town, and then back to the hotel to rest my feet for a short while.

Once the sun had started to set I ventured back out to the right bank to get some more pictures of the Antwerp skyline, by night. If anything, the view is more spectacular at night than it is during the day, though it would be even better if the Steen were floodlight. After taking a few photos, I walked back through the St Annatunnel back to the old city and went for dinner in the Grotemarkt before heading back to the hotel and the welcoming thought of my bed!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Antwerp; Sunday, 05 March, 2006

After breakfast, I headed for the central station and out to Ghent. The city is sandwiched (on the railway at least) between Antwerp and and between Brussels and Bruges, and it does appear to loose out a little bit to it's prettier and more famous rival, which is a bit of a shame as the city is very attractive.

Arriving at Sint Pieters station it is a 2KM walk (or 10-minute tram ride!) to the centre of the old town. Here it matches Bruges measure for measure. Medieval markets and squares, matched; couple of large impressive churches, matched; bell tower with commanding views over the city, assumed matched but as the belfry doesn’t open till April I can’t completely confirm that; Canal system with tourist boats plying their trade, match (though Ghent’s waterways are fewer in number). In fact, Ghent trumps Bruges because it has a proper castle (proper as in defensive walls, turrets, spiral staircases, battlements, crenulations - the whole A-typical medieval castle get up)

It was here that I stopped first. The castle was originally built partly to protect the city from the outside, but also to protect the rulers from the citizens of Ghent! Over the centuries, its use changed into a prison and courthouse (and general torture chamber!) then into cotton factories before finally falling into ruin, then being rebuilt into its modern reincarnation as a tourist attraction. A guided route takes you around the castle with its many winding staircases and odd hidden rooms telling you some of the history of the castle. In a couple of rooms, a small exhibition is on display showing the development and use of torture that went on in the castle.

From there I walked back to the Korenmarkt and visited St Nicholas church, which is currently being repaired, so you can only see half of it. What you can see is a very light and bright church with lots of gold and paintings. From there I walked the short distance onwards to the Cathedral. This is a slightly darker church inside with less natural light, and again partway through being repaired.

After a pause for some lunch and a wander along some of the waterways, I just had time to do the tourist thing and go for a 40-minute boat tour of the rivers and canals of Ghent. There are several different companies that run services, with many offering departures every 10 minutes, (Though this would be at the height of summer, on what had started as a snowy day in March it was closer to one departure an hour). After boarding the open boat I did think I might have made a bad choice as pulling up on the opposite bank was a ‘bateaux mouch’ type boat, totally enclosed and heated. In the end with the sun out, and virtually no wind it was so warm and pleasant that I failed to spot that even in early March in Northern Europe, you can still catch the sun! The other advantage with the smaller boat was that it could navigate through the much smaller bridges away from the centre of town, and consequently you get to see far more than you would do on a larger enclosed boat.

After another short wander through the city streets, and over several of the bridges, I decided to head back to the train station and back to Antwerp.

By the time I arrived back in Antwerp it was just starting to get dark, but enough light to see that the snow showers had never really stopped during the day. Feeling needlessly smug, I wandered into the centre of the old town for dinner before heading back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Heavy Snow Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Antwerp; Monday, 06 March, 2006

With a large breakfast inside me, I left the hotel and headed back to the central station to store my bags before attempting to find things to do in a European city, which is not a national capital, on a Monday out of season!

So, that will be the zoo then! Well today not, to begin with at least. 8% of Belgium’s GDP comes from the diamond industry (that's just behind Chocolate, Tintin, Fictional detectives with silly moustaches and despotic central African regimes!) The international home of diamonds is Antwerp. It is through here that most diamonds will pass at least once during their transition from ground to jewellery or industrial cutting machine. Just in front on the Centraal station, and located in the same building as the Diamond High Council is the Diamond museum.

The museum presents a down to earth and interesting expose of the worlds most lusted after gem. With an audio guide instead of lots of multi-lingual information boards the museum tells the history of diamond, from its creation 2 billion years ago, through its importance in the past, up to the modern methods of creating spectacular gem stones (as well as creating diamond itself) and the way diamonds are mined and traded today. It is a fascinating museum, which I spent almost two hours looking round (that is about 90 minutes longer than I thought it would take). On each floor of the three-floor museum there are also displays of some spectacular examples of the jewellers art. The only down side (if there is one) is a feeling that despite all that the museums shows it still shines through that the diamond industry is a bit of a protectionist monopoly!!

Just across the square from the diamond museum (a square that is currently being dug up, as is most of Antwerp to build a new cross city underground mainline railway link) is Aquatopia, the cities modern aquarium, and, as it was currently snowing hard gritty snow (think hail stones only much smaller and much more painful!) I though this would be an ideal time to seek shelter there.

From initial looks, it could come across as a bit childish with its talking octopus (so from 'Diamonds are for ever' to 'Octopussy' in one easy step!) But the information on the displays is written for an adult audience (or at least the English translation is) There are lots of displays, but the most spectacular is left for last as you walk through a tunnel surrounded on all sides by fish and sharks.

By the time I exited the aquarium the sun was out and the snow was long gone, so in line with many previous visits that have gone before it, it's time for the last attraction of the holiday, the Zoo, conveniently located next to the central station (just up from the Diamond museum and 2 minutes walk from Aquatopia).

The zoo fits all the usual patterns, except that the animals all appeared, if you can apply human emotions to animals, to be depressed. The great apes and chimps were all sitting down staring. One of the chimps was sitting, holding its knees close to its chest. Without having access to the internet, or a clear grasp of Flemish there was no way of knowing whether it was because they had just been fed, or if Antwerp zoo specialises in traumatised animals, but I wandered round the zoo with a very unsettling feeling that not all was right.

Having dodged into the zoo shop to avoid another heavy snow shower I went back to the station, caught the tram out to the Groenplaats, and did a spot of souvenir shopping before heading back to the station, to start my long journey home.

Weather

Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Reykjavik; Monday, 03 April, 2006

Keflavik airport is stuck out on a peninsular at the end of Iceland, 45 minutes coach ride from Reykjavik. Thankfully, the FlyBus meets each flight and takes you into the Bus terminal in the city centre. From there free transfers took us onto our hotel where we checked in, dropped off all our stuff and headed straight back out again.

Iceland is a very unstable country, not democratically (it has the worlds oldest parliament after all), just geologically. Each year the island has over 300,000 earthquakes. Consequently, there are very few tall buildings in the city. So with those facts what do we do… Head for the tallest church in the city and get the lift to the top of its tower.

From the top of the Hallgrimskirkja the views over the city and the surrounding land are spectacular. There are mountains surrounding on most side, and where there are not mountains there are fjords. We could have spent longer up there, but the viewing platform is also the bell tower and you are standing right underneath bells that can be heard across most of Reykjavik, so we beat a hasty retreat as 12:45 rang out (strangely the tower is closed 11:30-12:30!)

After stopping to grab some sandwiches from a local supermarket, we started walking down the hill into the centre of town, accompanied by a small blizzard! By the time we reached the city centre we resembled snowmen and were a little chilly, so we headed into the first museum we could find, the Culture house. The museum has displays of the original copies of the Icelandic Sagas, as well as a small display of items from the national museum.

With the weather still not improving, we caught the bus back to the hotel for a short while to warm up and dry out. About an hour later, the sky had cleared so we wandered the short distance from the hotel to the Perlan. Originally, the storage tanks for the city’s geothermal hot water they have now been converted into a restaurant and museum to the Icelandic Sagas. The museum uses wax works and an audio guide to tell you the history of the beginnings of Iceland from its settlement in the 10th century through its full conversion to Christianity (it happened one afternoon following a debate in the parliament) though to the beginning of its subjugation under the other various Scandinavian powers.

The museum is inside the Perlan, but you can also go up to the roof of the building to take in the views over the city. After spending some time here we wandered back to the hotel to drop stuff off, before heading back into town for a very pleasant (if horrendously expensive) dinner.

Weather

Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Reykjavik; Tuesday, 04 April, 2006

After popping in briefly to the town hall to look at a small exhibition of Icelandic photography and having a quick wander up to look at the rather plain and stumpy Catholic Cathedral we stopped for an early lunch and postcards.

The reason was because at midday we had to be back at the hotel to be picked up for our afternoon coach tour round the “Golden Circle” a route that takes you North East from the city through some of the most geologically active areas of the island.

The first stop on the tour was the Allþing, the site of the first parliament. Chosen for its natural acoustics and easy of access from the rest of the country, the first settlers would not have been aware of the areas spectacular geological secret. The whole space (and it is a couple of Kilometres across and runs the length of the island) is a fault line. It is where the tectonic plates that Europe and North America rest on are pulling apart, constantly creating new land. It is physically possible (because we did it) to drive from North America to Europe in about 5 minutes!

Moving on from the Allþing we drove along a small road that follows the same course it has done since settlers travelling from the east of the island to the Allþing over 1000 years ago used it. We went past the Geysers at Geysir to head on the short distance to the waterfalls at Gullfoss.

Whilst they may not be the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, they are certainly spectacular. The water pours over them into a deep canyon sending spray all around and, in winter, covering the sides of the canyon with bizarre ice formations.

From the falls, the bus headed back to the Geysers at Geysir. Whilst the largest geyser is not that active any longer there is one, Strokkur, which blows every 5 minutes or so, making it the most active geyser in the world. It is also the one with the least health and safety nannying so you can wander right up to within a few feet of it to watch it go off.

The whole area around is covered with bubbling pools and thermal springs, some about body temperature, some hot enough to boil you alive. You can walk right past the edge of them and see their bizarre colour, feel the warmth coming off them (and when its snowing it’s a strange sensation) and marvel and the truly revolting smell!

Having watched Strokkur go a couple of times we headed back to the coach, via the café and a warming cup of coffee, and continued on stopping at a volcano crater at Kerið before heading onto the horticultural centre of Iceland at Hveragerði. The town is covered with greenhouses, growing most of the fruit and veg for the country, all powered by the geothermal springs that surface under the town.

From there we were taken back to Reykjavik, just in time for dinner.

Weather

Light Snow Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Reykjavik; Wednesday, 05 April, 2006

First stop of the morning was the museum of Modern Art, which was showing an exhibition of broken bits of metal (see all previous comments regarding modern art!). From there it is a short bus ride (Ok 10 minute walk, but I was feeling lazy) to the National museum.

Recently refurbished the museum tells the history of the Island from its settlement in the 10th century through to the modern day. The museum is set out in a chronological order and has all the information in English as well as Icelandic. After a stop for lunch, we headed out the opposite side of the city to the Asmundur Sveinsson sculpture museum.

The museum is located in the uniquely designed house that he left to the nation after his death and contains many of his works, as well as more modern sculpture in the grounds.

From there it was back into town and on to the Reykjavik photography museum before grabbing an early dinner.

The reason for the early dinner was that we were supposed to be going on a Northern lights tour that evening. Unfortunately, a hour before we were supposed to be picked up we were called to say that the cloud was too heavy and they had to postpone the tour till tomorrow.

Weather

Light Snow Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-5ºC/23ºF

Reykjavik; Thursday, 06 April, 2006

After an early breakfast we waited for collection for another tour. This time a full day tour, and this time the transport wasn’t a coach.

A little after 8:30 a very large, very comfortable, off-roader turned up to take us on our tour of the south coast.

After taking in the geothermal springs that run Reykjavik and stopping for lunch supplies, we started driving along the edge of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier stopping at the front end of the glacier just where the ice melts into a small lake and river. We then drove back along the edge to the Seljalandfoss waterfall

After spending some time at these spectacular falls, we carried on along the coast to the small island of Dyrhólaey where we got stunning views over the glaciers, mountains and the lava beach. From the top of the island we drove across the causeway back onto the mainland and then onto the lava beach. Standing on the beach surrounded by very black sand, black sand dunes and a stunning sea is one of the most bizarre experiences I have had.

From there we continued on to Skógafoss another spectacular waterfall, this time with the sun light just right for it to create rainbows over the pool at the bottom.

With the sky still clear, we headed back into Reykjavik for a spot of dinner before being picked up for the delayed Northern lights tour.

Sadly, the Northern lights stop being visible a few days after we went, and on the day we went they were very weak. After a couple of hours of driving in the dark in a luxury coach, pulling randomly over to the side of the road every now and then to check we finally saw faint green stuff that looked like clouds in the sky, too weak to be photoed, but still an experience.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was 1am and we knew that we had to be up early tomorrow to get the flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Reykjavik; Friday, 07 April, 2006

After an early breakfast and checkout, we were picked up by cab at a little after 7:30. A few minutes later (in fact the entire time we were in the cab was covered by “Angels” by Robbie Williams on the radio, the ride was that short) and £8!!, we arrived at the bus terminal to catch the FlyBus back to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Worcester; Thursday, 27 April, 2006

The second and final day of the annual trade fare for the profession so I found myself being sent to Birmingham the Thursday before the bank holiday weekend, with too much time owing to me to even think about. All the parameters I felt for a nice long weekend in the "Welsh Marshes" the area of land running along the English/Welsh border dating back to a time long before the Welsh were conned into giving up their independence.

With the fair finished in the National Exhibition centre at Birmingham International, I caught the train back to Birmingham New Street to pick up the luggage I had left there that morning before catching the train across the West Midlands to Worcester.

After having arrived and checked into the B&B I headed out into the warm glow of a glorious late spring evening (safe in the knowledge, courtesy of the BBC, that this was the only nice day of the weekend and the rest would be cold and wet!)

I wandered around by the Cathedral and the river (Severn) for a while, taking fare too many photos, before heading into the centre of town for a bite to eat.

With the light fading and a heavy day planned for Friday, I headed back to the hotel and the comfortable looking bed.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Worcester; Friday, 28 April, 2006

Following a delicious and filling breakfast, I headed out from the B&B to Foregate street station to catch the train to Craven Arms on the English/Welsh borders, home to one of the best examples of the Marshes castles - Stokesay.

The castle is situated in a beautiful location surrounded on most sides by hills, but, thankfully, barely a mile from a railway station (though you do have to change trains in Hereford and wait 30 minutes!)

I spent nearly two hours looking around the castle and the neighbouring Norman chapel. With a filling lunch (and a slice English Heritage cake) inside me I wandered back to the station to catch the train one stop back down the line to Ludlow.

Ludlow is normally held up as the perfect example of a "quaint" English town with hundreds of medieval (looking at least) buildings, spoiled slightly by the travelling fairground which had set up in the town centre.

Ludlow church stands out for miles because of its sheer scale. Easily matching many smaller cathedrals in size and splendour, it is only one of the "Great Churches" of England (Division 1 to York Minster's Premier League!).

The main feature of the town is the ruins of the castle. Once the seat of power for much of the region and home to the courts it fell into ruin and is now a perfect example of what a ruined castle should look like!

With lots of random passageways and spiral staircases leading to different levels that you can get to and lots more staircases appearing a couple of floors up with no way of being reached the castle could easily provide hours of hide and seek fun! From the top of the tallest tower the views over the town are only beaten by those that must be visible from the tower of the church. The countryside that Ludlow nestles in is a spectacular landscape of rolling hills and river valleys with a different landscape whichever direction you look.

Having spent a long time exploring the castle I wandered back through the town taking in all the "Olde Worlde Charm" before making my way back to the station to spend 20 minutes waiting for the train in some beautifully warm early evening spring sunshine.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Worcester; Saturday, 29 April, 2006

I had a busy day planned for Saturday and so, after another hearty breakfast, headed off to the bus station to catch the bus to Witley.

Witley Court was once one of the finest houses in the country, and home in its time to the seventh wealthiest person in the land (and given that was the height of the Victorian period the 7th wealthiest person in the world). The mansion that existed on the site was massively expanded and elaborated upon and turned into a magnificent residence.

The family sold the house in the 1920's before disaster struck in 1937. A fire beneath the ballroom spread out of control and gutted one whole side of the building. With the insurance not coming even vaguely close to the repair costs the house was abandoned and left to rot. In the 1970's it was protected by the government and is now in the stewardship of English Heritage who are conserving the building in the state it is now in, an empty shell of a building, but still massively impressive.

The grounds have been returned to some of their former splendour and the fountains, once the talking point of the house are back in service, with the main one shooting water over 100 feet into the air every hour during weekends (alternate hours at other times).

Having spent almost three hours looking around the house and gardens I wandered back to the road to wait for the bus back into Worcester. From the bus station, I walked back to Foregate street station and caught the train south to Gloucester.

I had in my mind a far prettier and "quainter" city than what confronted me. The area around the historic docks and the cathedral are very pleasant, but the rest of the city is quite bland and looks like any other UK provincial city.

Having looked around the docks and the Cathedral I wandered back to the station slightly disappointed with the city and caught the train back to Worcester.

The train back from Gloucester terminated at Shrub Hill station so I wandered back to the B&B walking alongside the Canal for a way, which, with its refurbished and new bridges, and in the warm evening sun was very pleasant.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Worcester; Sunday, 30 April, 2006

The Malvern Hills is one of the wealthiest areas in the country; large mansions line the streets, originally built to house the doctors and visitors who came to the area in the Victorian era to take the water cure. It is also one of the most beautiful places in England with the rounded tops of the hills visible for miles around, and miles around visible from the top of the hills.

Just to make it that little bit more perfect some of the best bits of the hills are directly above the town of Great Malvern (centre of the Victorian water cure craze), which has it’s own station and regular trains from Worcester (as well as Birmingham, Nottingham, London and Oxford). So, at a little before 10:45 I found myself leaving the station and following the signs for the town centre and the hills. The guidebooks state that the quickest way to the top of the hills is the short but steep route up past St Anne's Well. The guidebooks were 50% right, just over an hour later, with my legs, thighs and back in agony I reached the summit at Worcestershire beacon. (I suppose I should add that this is the highest point on the hills at a little over 1300 feet, and I did stop to take quite a few photos, oh, and for about 10 minutes in the Tourist Information Centre to pick up a map, not forgetting the 15-minute refreshment stop at St Anne's Well café!)

Even on a dull grey day with the cloud seeming to be only a few feet above the top of the hills, the views are simply breathtaking. Whilst most of Great Malvern itself is hidden by the hills, the surrounding countryside is stunning, a patchwork of fields, hedgerows and villages. Just visible on the horizon was Worcester, and if I had been on the top of a different hill Hereford should also have been visible.

I started a slow descent back down the hill to Great Malvern, taking nearly 40 minutes to come back down. In the town I visited the small but very interesting museum which tells the history of the area. Up in the hills there is evidence of a large pre-Roman settlement and the museum itself is in the former gatehouse of the priory set during William the Conquerors reign. The museum goes on to explain about the history of the priory, the rise of the Water cure and Great Malvern's role in the modern age (Radar was developed in the area during World War II and its also the home to Morgan cars - The whole of the British owned and built motor industry. Somehow fitting given this was the week that the French owned Peugeot had announced that they were closing their plant down the road in Coventry!)

Having looked around the Priory church (the only other part of the priory to have survived the reformation) and had a spot of lunch I headed back to the station to catch the train on into Hereford.

On first impressions, Hereford looked even more disappointing than Gloucester with the 1/2 mile walk from the station down the side of the bleak ring road into a dreary semi-pedestrianised shopping road. Then you come across the "Old House" a fine example of a 17th Century building still standing in its original location, surrounded by some of the worst that the 20th Century can throw at it (both in terms of architecture and the uniformity of Debenhams, Next, McDonalds, Mobile Phone shop, Starbucks that is the modern British high street). It houses a free museum, which shows what life in the 17th century would have been like for someone living there.

From there I walked to the Cathedral, supposedly very impressive on the inside despite its Victorian makeover on the outside. It is also home to the Mappa Mundi exhibition and Chained Library. Unfortunately, this being Sunday everything closed at 3:30 and I got to the Cathedral at 3:35! Instead I went for a wander around the rest of the city crossing over the river Wye (as in Ross-On- and Hay-On- [Y-Gelli]) and wandering past the site of the former castle (now just a park). It was at this point that I spotted the sign to the "Cider Museum". So on the grounds purely of research I wandered over to have a look.

The museum is housed in the former works of the local Cider company (which has new warehouses just down the road) and has displays on the history of Cider (and Perry) and how it is made. The second part of the museum takes you through the process of making Cider Champaign, the company’s speciality. It is all very interesting made even more by the very friendly and helpful staff... and the free tasting of some of their "stronger" products at the end.

I staggered back to the centre of Hereford and decided it would probably be wise to counteract the alcoholic apple based products with an early diner before heading back to the station and the train back to Worcester.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Worcester; Monday, 01 May, 2006

This part of the country was once a web of railway lines, most of which has closed. One such line, which re-opened as a heritage line (i.e. Using steam trains), is the Severn Valley Railway which runs from Kidderminster (a convenient 25 minute train ride from Worcester) to Bridgenorth in Shropshire.

Having gone there on a whim I was lucky to find that, as it was the Bank Holiday, they were running a regular service, with a train leaving less than 30 minutes late.

The line passes through some spectacular countryside running along side the Severn for most of the way (hence the name). Bridgenorth at the end of the line is a pretty town on the Severn with, what looks like an ancient stone bridge and one of the oldest funicular railways in the country. All the guidebooks and the leaflets on the train go on about it, so its a little disappointing to find out that the entire journey takes about 30 seconds and goes about 100 foot!

I headed back to the station and caught the return steam train back to Kidderminster, and from there the train back into Worcester.

Finally, after 4 days and having stayed right next door to it I decided it was time to visit the Cathedral. The building is impressive with lots of stained glass and its compliment of royalty (King John of Robin Hood, Magna Carta and Poll Tax fame and King Henry VIII's older brother Arthur who died aged 16). The tower of the cathedral, which dominates the skyline, is also open to the public and after the 236-step climb offers stunning views over the surrounding countryside. With the visibility even better than yesterday I could clearly see Worcestershire beacon, the highest point on the Malverns where I had been the previous day.

I descended from the tower and finished off wandering around the Cathedral before heading outside to have a wander around the grounds and along the riverside path. I walked back into the centre of the city and had a little time left to visit the Greyfriars house, one of the few preserved Tudor houses still in the city. The house is now run by the National trust and gives an example of what the place may have looked like in Tudor times, (they very clearly say that the house has been refurbished not restored!)

With less than an hour before my train, I walked back to the B&B to pick up my luggage and then walk back along the canal to Worcester Shrub Hill station and the train back to London.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Eastern Lowlands; Thursday, 04 May, 2006

After finishing a late shift at work I headed up to London to catch the sleeper train up to Edinburgh. Having arrived at Euston with more than an hour to spare, I made use of the first class lounge (and attempted to consume my own body weight in free snacks and coffee!) before the sleeper was available for boarding.

Just before 11 I got into my cabin and decided to go straight to bed, at 11:45 just as I was drifting off the train puled away from Euston and I knew when I woke up I would be in Edinburgh…

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Eastern Lowlands; Friday, 05 May, 2006

07:17 The train should, by now, be sitting in Edinburgh Waverley station, I should have had breakfast, and I should be about to get out of the train, leave my bags at the left luggage and head off to St Andrews for the day. Unfortunately the train is stuck next to some pretty fields between Stafford and Crewe some 5 hours from Edinburgh having broken down at about 2am! There is no food on the train (that would be taken on at Carlisle at about 5am!) and we now have to wait for engineers to come out and take the broken engine off the front of the train, release the breaks, stick another engine on the back, reverse us into Stafford, change onto a normal train and go on up to Edinburgh. Estimated arrival time now midday - nearly 5 hours late. Still at least they have coffee!

08:00 and things take a turn for the worse! The engine has run out of juice so there is no more hot water for tea or coffee! Still no sign of this replacement engine.

09:40 we have been loaded onto coaches for a 4-5 hour road journey to Edinburgh, still no food or drink!

11:30 a 45 minute stop at services at Charnock Richard between Liverpool and Blackpool means I can finally buy some breakfast and have a comfort stop, but it now means arrival into Edinburgh is not expected before 3:30, 8 hours later than originally planned.

12:30 M6, Lake District, at least the journey is through some of the prettiest scenery in England.

13:25 More than 10 hours after we should have done so on the train, we finally cross the English/Scottish border at Gretna Green.

16:25 Almost 9 hours to the minute after we were supposed to arrive, the coach pulled to a halt on the side of the road on the Waverley bridge. Having spoken to the ScotRail duty manager and getting lots of abject apologies I headed over to my hotel to check in.

I had a big plan of things I was going to do, unfortunately a large proportion of this worked on the basis of the sleeper actually reaching Edinburgh, so with glorious weather still in control I headed off to the edge of the city to climb to the top if Arthur's seat, the highest point in the city.

The views from the top on a beautiful clear spring day are spectacular. Stretching from the Forth Bridge across the Firth of Forth to the Southern Highlands. After spending almost half an hour taking in the views I walked back down (taking longer than the climb up!) to the city centre for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Eastern Lowlands; Saturday, 06 May, 2006

With more grease than is health flowing around my veins I walked up the hill to the Royal mile and back down the other side to reach Waverley station to catch the train out to the Kingdom of Fife.

St Andrews is best know for its golf course, but it was once one of the most important cities in the country, represented by its magnificent Cathedral and castle (both now ruined)

The Cathedral is situated on the coast with, from the top of the tower, stunning views over the town and bay. From the cathedral its a short walk along the coast to the Castle. One of the key features of the castle are the siege tunnels, built underneath the castle in the 1500's. After scrabbling around underground for a while, and looking around the castle I wandered back to the bus station to catch the bus back to the train station and the train back towards Edinburgh.

Having changed in Inverkeithing I caught the train out to Dunfermline (another town that has claimed to be the former capital of Scotland). The towns most famous sight is the ruined palace and abbey (the abbey itself is not actually ruined). The abbey is most well known for its famous resident. Buried beneath the lectern are the remains of King Robert the Bruce.

Having looked around the abbey and the palace I walked the short distance back to the station and caught the train back to Edinburgh. After a short comfort stop and opportunity to drop some of my junk off at the hotel I headed back out for a spot of dinner before making my way to the Mercat Cross to take in one of the rapidly expanding ghost tours of Edinburgh.

This one is run by Mercat tours (the same people who did the underground Edinburgh tour that I went on in 2001). This is again and interesting and lively tour that goes into the vaults of the South Bridge, but also into one of Edinburgh's more stately graveyards.

With a busy day planned for Sunday, and with the time already gone 11pm I headed back to the hotel to pack for the following morning, and to get some well deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Eastern Lowlands; Sunday, 07 May, 2006

With my luggage checked into the left luggage office in Waverley I boarded the train to another city which was once the most important in Scotland, Stirling. There is a saying that the person who controlled Stirling controlled Scotland, and its easy to see why. Its castle perched on top of a rocky outcrop (and looking the spitting image of Edinburgh in positioning and style) commands stunning views over the surrounding countryside from the Highlands to the Lowlands (or at least does when it's not raining, which face it, in Scotland, is not that many days of the year!)

First stop of the morning was the open-top bus tour. Useful for two reasons, one to get to the Wallace monument on the outskirts of town, which would be quite a hike without, and the other to get to the castle without having to expend any of your own energy climbing the very steep hill!

The Wallace monument is Scotland's national monument, to the man (immortalised on screen by Mel Gibson as Braveheart) who helped, temporarily, to kick the English out of Scotland. The monument is on the top of a big hill which you can climb up (taking about 10 minutes), or you can cheat and catch the free minibus to the top (about 90 seconds!). From the base of the monument you can climb up the spiral staircase (240+ stairs) to the top for, what I was reliably informed are on a clear day, stunning views over Stirling and across from Edinburgh to the Highlands. Unfortunately today it was a struggle to see the car park let alone Stirling or beyond.

On the way up at three internal floors are displays on the story of William Wallace, An exhibition called the "Hall of Heroes" dedicated to the famous Scotsmen of ages past (note, all men, no women - though they are the original selection made during the less enlightened Victorian era. The final exhibition tells the story of the building of the monument.

Having descended back down all to the base of the monument and then on down to the car park I had just enough time to down half a litre of water before the bus turned up. I caught the bus back into town and on up to the castle. Before visiting the castle I stopped off and four other attractions located in the same area. The Mar’s Wark is the remains of a fine house that was built near the castle. It is now in complete ruins and contains part of the graveyard of my next stop the Holy Rude Kirk. The church was the site of the Coronation of the then 13 month old James to become James VI of Scotland. It and Westminster Abbey (Where James was later crowned James I of Britain in 1604 bringing the English and Scottish crowns together) are the only two existing, working churches which have witnessed coronations.

Next door to the church is the old prison. This now houses a museum telling the story of life in prison during the initially enlightened Victoria times (Elizabeth Fry etc.) through to the more barbaric times at the end of the century. The museum also has a display on what life is like in a current Scottish jail, the Maximum security Shorts on the outskirts of Glasgow.

The Argyll’s Lodging house up the hill towards the castle is a preserved example of what a 17th century Wealthy Scots town house would have looked like. Having spent some time there I finally came back to the top of the hill and to Stirling castle.

The castle is very very similar to Edinburgh, but on a more manageable scale (though I only just got to see everything in the 2 hours I had before closing time, and that was without the audio guide) The castle also houses a number of displays and museums, the most interesting of which is on the great kitchens.

With weary feet I headed back down the hill to the station stopping for a spot of dinner before getting the 7 O'clock train back to Edinburgh.

I arrived in Edinburgh a little after 8, too late to do anything, but too early to get my luggage and go to the lounge for the sleeper. After an hour of wandering around town taking some more photos I headed back to the station, picked up my belongings and wandered over to the lounge for some tea before boarding the sleeper, hoping that when I woke up, this time I would actually be at my destination and not in a pretty field less than 200 miles from Edinburgh.

Weather

Heavy Rain Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Eastern Lowlands; Monday, 08 May, 2006

00:30 I have decided that First ScotRail has a new corporate theme, “Oops we did it again.” I’ve been sitting in the sleeper lounge for nearly 4 hours. 2 hours ago, they announced, “due to over running engineering works on the West Coast main line the sleeper had been cancelled.”

Despite repeated assurances that coaches were on their way to take people down to London, or the carriages being made ready to sleep in Edinburgh overnight and catch the train down in the morning, nothing has appeared.

01:00 and I have just got into a hotel room for a couple of hours sleep. I’m staying in a four star hotel overlooking Princes street, the Scott monument and the castle, but I don’t really care because I have to get up in 4 hours to get the train back down to London.

05:30 With the sun starting to break through the clouds I’m standing on Waverley station 300+ miles north of where I should be at this point in time, about to catch the first train of the morning down to London, a disappointing and tiring end to what should have been a relaxing short break!

10:40 And just to top it off the engineering works on the East Coast main line overnight overran so the train was 40 minutes late into Kings Cross!

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Kraków; Wednesday, 31 May, 2006

Following a range of problems (mostly all caused by the pope!) it ended up with me and my friends booked into different hotels, about 250 meters apart on the same road on the outskirts of town, so after a short taxi ride from the airport we split up outside my hotel to check in and dump stuff off.

A little later, we met up again, and after a short attempt to work out how to purchase tickets for the tram we caught one into town, stopping on the edge of the old town for lunch.

From lunch, we walked up the side of the old town to the central station, and more importantly, the tourist information centre, where we purchased Kraków cards for the following three days, and yet more tram tickets to see us through.

We then spent the next two hours or so wandering round the streets of the old town. There is a lot to see in Kraków, around every corner there is another small church or medieval square. The centre of the old town is the massive market square, which dwarfs all other similar places in other cities.

We stopped for a brief beer break just off from the market square before walking round the last part of the old town perimeter to the castle. There we picked up the tram back to the hotel to drop stuff off before heading back out a little later for dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Kraków; Thursday, 01 June, 2006

I met up with my friends at their hotel before we caught the tram into town. We wandered over to the north of the old town and to the main entrance to the old city, the Barbican and Florianska gate. These impressive structures were built to protect the city from the various groups that wished to take over this part of Poland (The Russians, The Prussians, The Germans, The Austrians, The Swedes...) The buildings are still impressive today (if only slightly dampened by the fact they were pretty well rebuilt from ruin in the 1840's.

After the Barbican and gate we headed south down the main street towards the market square for a brief coffee stop, before wandering over to the tower of the old town hall (in fact it is the only part of the old town hall that still exists.) The tower has several different levels each of which has a different display, on level one it's remains of the old town hall, level two has some of the costumes that the burghers of old Kraków would have worn in the 14th Century. The third level has photos of the centre of Kraków taken at different times between the 1840's and 1930's. The top level has three viewing windows from which you can look over most of the city.

The next stop, after a pause for lunch, was the old Jewish quarter at Kazmierz. The area was emptied by the Nazi's during the war moving all the residents to the Ghetto in another part of the city, but the area remained almost intact as the Nazi's were going to turn it into a museum of "Vanished Races". The main destruction that did take place is evident at the Remuh cemetery. One of the walls is made of the fragments of tombstones, which were destroyed when the Nazi's tried to get rid of the cemetery. Today, some of the stones have been restored, but much of the site, despite being full, is open space with no stones to mark who lies there.

From the Remuh cemetery and synagogue, we walked on down to the old synagogue. This was one of the first to be built in the area in the 15th century. It no longer serves as a Synagogue, but instead holds a museum to the history and culture of Judaism. It some detail it explains the different customs and traditions as well as the festivals and beliefs of the Jewish faith.

After pausing for a short stop at a café in the Jewish quarter, we finished walking through the area, before catching the tram out to Salwator on the tram, and from there walked the short distance to the Kosciuszko Mound. The mound is man made, at the base are the buildings of a fort that the Austrians built in their attempt to turn Kraków into a fortress, above is the original mound, covered in grass, with its paths leading to the top. From the top of the mound you have stunning views over the city and the surrounding countryside.

After spending some time on the top of the mound we descended to the base, caught the bus back to the Salwator tram depot and the tram back into town for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Kraków; Friday, 02 June, 2006

First stop of the morning was a museum to the North West of the city centre. It was billed as being about the history of Kraków from 1939 to the 1950's. I was expecting quite a bit on the war, but it is almost the whole of the museum, and makes for a very sobering and depressing museum. Not helped by the fact the museum history ends with the suffering people suffered after the war under Soviet control. The museum is housed in the building that, during the war, was the headquarters of the Gestapo. You can go into the small block that was used as cells to hold prisoners in. It is a thought provoking, but very emotionally draining experience as you realise that many of the markings and scratchings made on the walls were the last words that people wrote before they were either executed or died under torture minutes later.

From the museum we walked back to the centre of town and stopped for an early lunch, before heading off to the happier surroundings of the university (though it was from here that the Nazi's rounded up and deported nearly 200 professors, doctors and lecturers in 1940, many of them died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp outside Berlin before international pressure finally forced the Nazi's to cave in and release them). The university buildings were built in the 15th century and are spectacular, set around a central courtyard with a gallery stretching around the first floor. Entrance to the university museum is on a guided tour only and we were lucky enough to get there in time to take the last English tour of the day. The tour takes in the stunning old library and treasuries of the University. One room on the tour is dedicated to the former student Nicolas Copernicus, who went on to change the whole concept of the universe (the phrase that the Poles like to use is that he stopped the sun and moved the earth!)

After the college we had a wander around the centre of the old town taking in a number of the different churches that are everywhere in the city centre. After looking around the Franciscan and Dominican churches, we headed to the domed church of Saints Peter and Paul and the neighbouring church of St Andrew before heading back to the market square for an afternoon beer pause before taking in the cathedral church of St Mary.

The church is spectacular with a beautiful painted ceiling and the largest alter piece in the world. However, you can only see a part of the church as the remainder is partitioned off for prayer only (though some tourists had snuck in that way, avoiding the entrance charge, and were taking photos (also forbidden) and were getting a telling off from the church staff!)

Churched out we caught the tram back to our hotels for a short break before heading back out to town and dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Kraków; Saturday, 03 June, 2006

Recipe for an Eastern/Central European capital: Take one river, place hill by the side of it. On top of hill erect large castle/palace complex with a big cathedral and lots of buildings, Leave to stand for several hundred years, occasionally extended and rebuilding bits, result a Prague, Budapest, Bratislava or in this case Kraków.

The castle has stunning views over the city centre from it's ramparts and is packed with interesting buildings and museums. First stop of the morning is the display of Oriental treasures that the castles kings seized. Then it was onto the massive treasury and armoury absolutely bristling with weaponry and gold.

After having a short wander around the grounds we went to the "Lost Wawel" exhibition that shows many of the bits of the old castle that have been lost over time as new buildings are built over the top. The exhibition also has a computer walk through of what the original settlement on the castle hill with its church and small buildings might have looked like.

From there we descended the 136 steps into the hill that the castle stands on. Underneath there is a quite large complex of caves, at the end of which lives a fire breathing dragon (though in its current form the terrible lizard is made of copper and its breath is powered by town gas!

After having walked back up to the entrance of the castle we were just in time for our timed entry slot into the State rooms. There is a large collection of rooms in the castle, and about 20 of them are on display to wander round. The rooms are all richly furnished with lots of paintings and tapestries, and beautifully carved ceilings.

After stopping for a bite to eat in the centre of town we walked the short distance to the railway station and caught the train out to Wieliczka. The town sits right above a massive seam of rock salt, and into this, for centuries, people have dug to extract the salt. The mines now cover a massive area and descend to over 300 meters deep. Over the years the miners carved elaborate caverns, in most cases to extract the salt, but in other locations to create chapels and caverns.

The mine is now open to the public to go on guided tours, these start by descending 380 steps to the first level of the mine 64 metres below the surface (by the end of the tour we had descended another 71 meters to level 3 at 135 meters below.)

Along the way we walked along over 2KM of passageways leading into many stunning caverns. The most impressive of which housed a full church, carved from salt over 40 years it's the size of a decent cathedral and all the fixtures within it, including the chandeliers, are made from salt.

The tour ends with an optional, but free, 50 minute or so guided walk around the museum which tells the history of the extraction of salt, shows examples of salt crystals and how they form, and includes more impressive caverns and tunnels.

The tour ends, thankfully, with the express lift to the surface. It takes just a couple of seconds to re-ascend the 135 meters that you have just taken 3 hours descending. We walked back to the station and caught the train back to Kraków and dinner (with no salt!).

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Kraków; Sunday, 04 June, 2006

Up early this morning to head to the station and the train to the small town of Oswiecim, some 65KM west of Kraków for a day trip by myself. The town has had a relatively important past, once being the seat of power for the region, but it’s more recent history has put it more firmly on the map than possibly any other town on the planet. It is more commonly known by the German-ification of its name – Auschwitz.

Auschwitz itself is many camps spread over a massive distance, but the two that most people know about are Auschwitz I on the outskirts of the town and Auschwitz II – Birkenau about 3KM North West of the original. The Poles originally built the first camp as an army barracks in the 1920’s but was requisitioned by the SS after they invaded in 1939. The second camp was built by camp prisoners and opened by 1941. By 1944, at its height the camp was killing thousands of, mostly, Jews each day. Walking around the sites and looking at the size you can start to get a grasp of the size of what happened here.

Both sites are now part of a UNESCO world heritage site and form part of a free museum, however, to appreciate the sites more it is recommended to take a tour, which run at least twice daily in English and other languages. I joined the 11am tour which started with a 15 minute film taken by the red army soldiers when they liberated the camps in January 1945. Some of the images of the living are possibly more horrific than the images of dead bodies. Due to the number of people visiting for the English tour five separate groups were taken round, starting in different places. My tour group started by boarding the bus to Birkenau.

The first thing that strikes you about the camp is its sheer size. Almost as far as you can see are sentry points and barbed wire (today without the electricity that ran through it). The next site is probably the most famous, the “Gate of Death” watch tower with its train line passing underneath it. The guide takes about 90 minutes to walk you around a small portion of the site, showing the horrific conditions that camp prisoners were kept in, not just physical but also mental with the random violence and death that was inflicted.

The tour ends at the end of the railway track, almost a kilometre from the watchtower, where two of the four gas chambers/ crematoriums were located. They were blown up the retreating SS just days before the camp was liberated, but the remains have been left as they were found. Today, between the sites of the ruins, and directly at the end of the railway tracks is the memorial to the Holocaust. Its words, written in most of the languages of people who died at the site possibly make the most moving testament to the site – “For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe. Auschwitz – Birkenau 1940-1945”

The tour is taken back on the bus to Auschwitz I where the tour continues. The first part of the tour takes you through the background to the site, and the history of its creation before walking underneath the famous cynical gate sign “Arbeit Macht Frei” – “Work makes you free” and into the camp. Unlike Birkenau where most of the buildings have gone almost all the buildings remained at Auschwitz. Many of the buildings have been turned into memorials for each nationality or group who were killed at both parts of the camps (along with Jews the Nazis also tried to wipe out Gypsies and Homosexuals as well as killing many thousands of Poles, Hungarians, French and other nationalities). Several have also been turned into museums to explain what conditions the people held here suffered.

The tour then goes to some of the blocks that house what the SS hoarded. Anything that was of use was kept. In one room a pile of luggage, in another shoes, a mangled pile of glasses and, possibly the most distressing, human hair, mostly from the victims of the gas chambers which was cut off to be sent to Germany for turning into textiles.

The final two stops on the tour are the cell block and finally the gas chamber/crematorium. This is the only one of the five built at Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau which survived. It was used from 1940 up until the opening of the four larger complexes at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1941, but still lead to the deaths of countless thousands of people. One room was the “Shower room” and then next door was the crematorium. Despite being a gutted space it still gives out a feeling of utter evil, standing in a space where thousands of people died in an almost mechanical fashion gives you a completely different view on life, and the importance of it.

The visit is possibly one of the most distressing and emotionally upsetting places I have ever been to, but at the same time is such an important place for people to go to.

Emotionally drained I caught the train back to Kraków to meet back up with my friends for dinner before heading back to the hotel to pack

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
16ºC/61ºF

Kraków; Monday, 05 June, 2006

After a good night’s sleep, that I feared I might not get after yesterdays emotion, and a quick breakfast it was time to check out of the hotel, meet up with my friends and catch a cab back to the airport.

Weather

Heavy Showers No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Madrid; Friday, 09 June, 2006

After leaving beautiful sunny skies at work at lunchtime and zipping down to Gatwick, I arrived in Madrid 25 minutes late, because of a damaged wheel on the plane, into a massive thunderstorm with torrential rain. After having negotiated my way through the airport, which took almost an hour, I picked up the metro towards the city centre. My hotel was conveniently located about 10 minutes walk from the metro station at the end of the line from the airport. Unfortunately, 5 days earlier they had closed part of the line to build a new station, so I had to change twice and cart my luggage up and down several flights of stairs.

By the time I had checked into the hotel and was settled in it was almost 9:30 (nearly 3 hours since I had landed!) Just as I was about to head out into the city centre (Madrid is an evening place, dinner starts at 10pm) the next torrential downpour started with yet more thunder, so I held out for a bit longer.

With the weather stable, for a short while, I walked to the metro and caught the train down to Opera. I had a short wander around some of the streets before ending up at the Royal Palace, gardens and the Cathedral.

Having spent some time taking photos, and with it rapidly approaching Midnight, and another massive thunderstorm approaching from the mountains (the lightning was already streaking across the sky) I hopped back onto the Metro and back to the hotel, getting back just a couple of minutes before another spectacular cloud burst!

Weather

No Data Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Madrid; Saturday, 10 June, 2006

After the thunder of yesterday, the air was much less humid and uncomfortable this morning. I headed back out to the Royal Palace, this time to look around the inside. The palace is massive, and only a proportion of it is open to the public, but it still is a large amount to see. In addition to the 25 or so staterooms (including the spectacular royal chapel with its domed and painted roof), there is also the royal pharmacy and the royal armoury that can be looked around. There is also a temporary exhibition space which, when I went, was showing an exhibition of religious paintings.

Next door to the Palace is the mighty Cathedral. There has been a church on this site since the 11th Century, so it's slightly odd to realise that the cathedral was only completed in 1981 and wasn't consecrated (properly made into a Cathedral once all its building debts have been paid off) by the Pope until 1993.

From the outside, the building looks much older than the inside (though it did take them over 100 years to build, so that could explain!). Inside it resembles a typical cathedral, except one that has been scrubbed clean. All the stonework is still light and new and the stained glass is all very modern.

I walked back to the other side of the square in front of the palace and caught the Madrid Vision bus. This open-top hop-on-hop-off guide bus runs on two routes around the city. The historic Madrid route starts by the palace and then it meets with the modern Madrid route about halfway around. Each route takes about 1 hour 15 minutes, and in the late afternoon sun is a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours (and an opportunity to top up the sunburn!)

Having completed both tours I got off at Plaza Mayor, the biggest of the squares in the city, and had a wander, before stopping for a late afternoon bite to eat (by the time I sat down it was already long gone 4) and a bit to drink. After spending longer than I had thought I would there, and only leaving to avoid the large group of very drunken English football fans who had just staggered into the café after England's opening World cup match (and post match celebratory drinks!).

I wandered up the road to Plaza de la Puerta del Sol, a small square currently mostly taken up by holes for the refurbishment of the line 3 metro, where the statue of Madrid, a bear and a strawberry bush, is located. I then walked the short distance back down to the Plaza de la Villa to have look around, as it had looked very pretty from the top of the bus.

I caught the bus back round, from the Plaza de la Villa, to Atocha station, partially just to check to make sure they had left luggage lockers for Monday, and also to check how often, and at what times, the trains to Toledo were, just in case I wanted to go there on Monday.

Having checked all that, and with the time already heading towards 8pm I headed back to the hotel to drop stuff off before heading back out again to track down some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Madrid; Sunday, 11 June, 2006

After another plentiful breakfast, I headed out into the pleasant morning sun, with a light breeze, making 19 feel very pleasant, knowing full well that it was rapidly going to rise from there.

First stop of the morning was the museum of the city (Museo de la Ciudad). The museum tells the history of the development and building of the city, with lots of very big models of individual buildings, and of city areas. There are also exhibitions dedicated to the development of the Metro in Madrid, the history of EMT (The Madrid bus company), Telefonica (The national phone company) as well as exhibitions on Bajaras airport, the national nuclear industry, Gas Natural and Phillips (I didn’t think they even were Spanish).

From there I headed south to the Royal National Mint, and after getting through security (they didn't speak any English, I only spoke pleasantries in Spanish, it was all down to International sign language and common sense!) visited the museum. The museum tells the history of money from its earliest (and strange) forms, through the Greeks, Romans and other settlers is Hispania up to modern day, tracing the development of the Pesos, Euro and other nationalities currencies (cue the obligatory 100,000,000,000 Mark note circa 1930 Germany).

A quick zip across town took me to the Templo de Debod. A genuine 2,200 year old Egyptian temple, that was shipped brick by brick (carvings still intact) to Spain in the 1950's. The temple is bizarre looking totally out of place, and at the same time fitting into its surroundings in a large park. Inside there is still lots of the original 2000 year old carvings to be seen as well as a small exhibition on where the temple came from.

I then walked, what turned out to be quite a long way, along the road to the Museo de America, museum of the Americas. The museum traces the history and culture of the Spanish speaking American nations (Mexico south, ignore Brazil and a few other small ones.) The museum is packed with exhibits, but I only got there (after the extended walk) with 45 minutes to go before it closed (most museums shut down by 2 or 3pm on a Sunday) so I only managed to get a brief glance over most of the exhibits.

I walked back part way, giving up when I spotted the Metro station. I caught the Metro back over to Plaza Mayor for a late lunch, before heading most of the way back (I only realised what I was doing after I switched auto pilot off as I sat down in a cafe in Plaza Mayor) to go on the Teleférico.

This is a cable car (of sorts) that links the massive Casa de Campo park with the almost centre of Madrid. The park houses the Zoo Aquarium and the theme park, but the main reason was just for the ride, which offers stunning views over both the park and the city. The journey itself takes over 10 minutes and covers nearly 2.5Km

After some time at the Casa de Campo, I caught the cable car back to the parkland on the city side, and stopped there for a while, before wandering back to the square in front of the royal palace for a very leisurely dinner, and to watch the sun go down over the mountains. After a sunset stroll through the park, and with very weary feet I wandered back to the Metro station and caught the metro back to the hotel and a bucket of cold water to stand my feet in!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Madrid; Monday, 12 June, 2006

After checking out of the hotel, I caught the metro over to Atocha station to put my bags into left luggage. Unfortunately, I was a couple of minutes late getting up so I didn’t get to the station in time to catch the train to Toledo and there was a 90 minute wait until the next train.

I decided, rather than wait around at the station, I would catch the tube back up to Colon and from there visit the wax museum.

The museum is similar to wax museums the world over, large number of ancient historical figures (recognised a few), famous historical Spanish figures (only recognised a couple – and only from pictures in other places like the royal palace), current famous Spaniards (very few recognised) and other famous people (recognised most). There is also the chamber of horrors and the crime gallery.

After spending nearly an hour in the wax museum, I caught the train back to Atocha, brought my tickets to Toledo and went to catch the train. In March 2004, Atocha became indelibly linked to terrorism when a series of bombs exploded on trains killing nearly 200 and injuring thousands. Today there are no physical signs of the damage, but access to the long distance and high-speed trains is now through airport style security putting your bags through a scanner people being randomly stopped.

The guidebooks all seamed to be a little confused over how to get to Toledo. The Lonely Planet says that there are only 5 trains a day and they take over 90 minutes. The footprint guide says there are trains every 2 hours or so and take about 90 minutes. In reality, there are trains every 90 minutes and they take 30 minutes (quite a difference when you only have a couple of hours before you have to get to the airport.) The confusion probably stems from the fact that Toledo is now on the Ave network of high-speed trains. Consequently, 30 minutes after leaving Madrid and 70 KM away the train pulled into Toledo station.

The station itself is some way away from the centre of the town (both horizontally and, more painfully, vertically) It took about 30 minutes to walk to the centre of the old town (though this did include several short water stops, lots of photo breaks and a short stop at a kiosk to pick up more water.

The city, once the capital of Spain, is stunning. With most of its medieval fortifications and walls still in place. On a hot summers day the heat and sunlight is reduced with canvas cloths hanging over the narrow passageways and lanes.

The most imposing structure in the city is the Cathedral, taking up a massive space from the outside, and seemingly even bigger inside. The inside is richly decorated with lots of sculptures, paintings and gold. Just off to one side of the main body of the cathedral is the cloister with its beautiful and tranquil garden and next to that is the treasury with even more gold!

After having spent some time in the cathedral, and about an hour wandering around the streets of the old town, it was time to wander back to the station and to catch the train back to Madrid. I picked up my luggage hopped on the metro and started the journey back to the airport taking in the Metro, replacement bus, Metro, bus route to Terminal 4 direct (which in the end was a lot faster than the journey in had been.)

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Luxembourg; Friday, 23 June, 2006

Fartoearly O'clock: UK: After spending most of the night trying to fend off the particularly viscous mosquito in my bedroom I blundered through the shower, forced two slices of toast down my throat and headed out into the early morning mist, trying to remember how I got up at this time of the morning for three years when I had worked on the other side of London!

After a trouble free journey to Waterloo (quite an achievement for Southern and South West Trains) I checked in for the Eurostar and settled down in the departures lounge with a large coffee.

9am BST/10am CEST and I am speeding my way across France, by 11am I am in Brussels, Belgium and then at a little before 14:15 I cross my third boarder and into my fourth country of the day.

After checking into the hotel, I headed out into the city, only to find out at this point that June 23rd is Luxembourg day and everyone is on Holiday and in town to watch parades. All the shops are shut and most of the city centre is deserted, which makes it a perfect time to wander around the streets of the pedestrianised centre, which I assume would normally be heaving.

After spending a couple of hours wandering around, including stopping off in the Cathedral, which was mostly closed in preparation for a celebration mass that evening, I managed to find a little café in a nice sun trap and stopped for a bite to eat and a small drink.

I continued walking around town for a while before heading back (past most of the Army, Police, Fire and Ambulance services marching past the Hôtel del Ville) to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Luxembourg; Saturday, 24 June, 2006

I caught the bus into the centre of town and after stopping off at the Post Office to buy some stamps and a shop to buy some postcards I walked to the Place de la Constitution to pick up the open-top hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus.

The bus takes in large parts of the city centre as well as the European area (where several parts of the EU as well as the European Court of Justice are based) and the new banking district. Unfortunately, there are lots of works going on in the centre of the city so it doesn't take in the Royal Palace, the centre of the old town, the main entrance to the Cathedral or the site of the old fortress (the Bock)!

Getting back to place de la Constitution I picked up the Pétrusse Express, a land train that descends the steep lanes down into the floor of the gorge, before taking in many of the sights down there, as well as rising back up to the remains of the Bock.

On getting back to the Place de la Constitution, I wandered down some of the side streets in the old town and found myself at the Musée d'histoire de la Ville Luxembourg (The city history museum). The museum tells the history of the city from Roman times through years of un-inhabitation and then from its formal founding in 963 through to the modern day, though a large part of the museum was closed whilst they re-aligned the displays!

I walked down the hill from the museum, past the Bock and down into the gorge floor once again. After spending quite some time walking around the the Grund area (as the floor of the Gorge in the city centre is called) I caught the bus back to the station (which coincidentally meant I did not have to climb back up!) where I stopped for a very very late lunch. I caught the bus back out to the Bock and had a wander around the remains before descending down into the casemates below.

Luxembourg has often been described as the Gibraltar of the North. Up until the 19th Century, when most of the fortifications were demolished as Luxembourg gained its independence, the whole city was fortified with massive walls lining the sides of the Gorge and Kilometre and kilometre of tunnels dug into the soft rock. Today most of the tunnels have been destroyed, but nearly 17Km still exist and a small proportion of these are open underneath the Bock.

From the openings there are stunning views over the city and the surrounding landscape making it obvious how difficult it would be to attack the city. The tunnels don't just go along at a level they go along on multiple levels and there are lots of times when you think you may have reached the end of a tunnel only to discover a spiral staircase in a corner heading either up or down. The tour ends with you emerging onto a lower level of the bridge that the Bock stands beside.

I caught the bus back to the hotel to drop my bag and empty water bottles off before heading back out to grab some dinner.

After dinner I headed back out to the Bock in time to watch the sun go down over the fortifications.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Luxembourg; Sunday, 25 June, 2006

After breakfast I wandered over to the station to catch the train North from the city centre to Ettelbruck and from there onto Diekirch. Unfortunately, most of the sights in Diekirch had just closed for lunch when I arrived, so after about 40 minutes of wandering around the town and along the river I wandered back to the station and caught the bus on to Vianden.

The main draw of the town is its Château. Left to fall into ruins over many centuries it has now been fully restored from ruins to what it looked like in its heyday. It sits on a large rocky outcrop over the town dominating the skyline and ensuring a long and exhausting climb to the top…

…Unless you are a lazy git like me, in which case you can catch the chair lift (Télésiège) to the top of the neighbouring hill, which also has stunning views over the town, the Château and the surrounding countryside. It is also then all down hill to the Château!

After looking around the Château and stopping for a brief Ice cream, I walked back down into town following the line of the former fortifications, which are now, also, in ruin.

With the sky darkening rapidly, and rumbles echoing around the valley I walked back to the bus station in time to catch the bus back to Diekirch. The bus arrived in the nick of time as a few minutes later the thunderstorm unleashed all it had with torrential rain, massive bolts of lightning, hail and a fierce wind. It was still going when the bus got to Diekirch so I stayed on the bus to the end of the line at Ettelbruck. Here I waited for the storm, which by now had been going on unabated for nearly an hour, to stop. As it showed on sign of doing so I caught the bus on to Echternach about 50 minutes away on the Luxembourg/German border.

By the time the bus arrive in Echternach the rain had stopped, the storm had passed, the roads had returned to being roads rather than raging torrents, and the sun was out.

I spent a little time wandering around the town before finding myself at the Basilica. The church, and attached abbey dominate the rest of the town. It contains the remains of the founder of the Abbey. The Abbey was founded in 698 by St Willibrord, an Anglo-Saxon missionary who came to the area from the North East of England (no one seams to be able to agree on whether it was Yorkshire or Northumbria he came from!)

After looking around the basilica and the remaining part of town (steadfastly avoiding the "Folk Festival" which was taking place in the grounds of the abbey and appeared to involve Morris dancers! I wandered back towards the bus station, but stopped for some dinner in one of the restaurants that line the pedestrianised main street.

Feeling rather full, I staggered the short distance back to the bus station in time to flop down into a seat on the bus back to Luxembourg, the hotel and my bed.

Weather

Sunny Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Luxembourg; Monday, 26 June, 2006

After checking out and dumping my luggage in the left luggage lockers at the station (now where have I done that before...?) I caught the train back out to Ettelbruck and picked up the bus to Bourscheid. The only attraction in Bourscheid is the Château, which is located about half way down the hill, about a kilometre out of the centre of town. Unfortunately, that information was not readily available so I spent the best part of 40 minutes wandering around the town before finally checking the guidebook again to discover the simple line "Set below the village"

The Château looks in good shape from the outside, but inside is a shell. There are excellent views of the valley and the river from the top of the main tower, and a small exhibition of archaeological remains on the first floor of the only surviving building. Bizarrely enough the top two floors have an exhibition on photographs of Ireland which took me a little by surprise.

After walking back up (and I do mean up) the hill to the bus stop I caught the bus back to Ettelbruck and from there on to Dillingen on the road to Echternach. I'd gone there as it was the closest I could get to the remains of the Château at Beaufort by public transport at that time of day (or so I thought, it transpired that there were semi-regular busses from Echternach!) In a disastrous case of misreading I saw the walking plan to get to the castle but didn’t spot that the path changes colour part way. Instead of a 5K round walk with a stop at the castle it transpired (by the time I got back) that it was 5K there and another 5K back. After an hours walking, with no Château in sight I turned back, convinced I had gone the wrong way and rushing to ensure that I caught the bus to ensure I got back to Luxembourg in time to get the train to Liege.

I got back to the bus stop in plenty of time and looked at the map at which point I spotted my mistake, and the fact that about two further bends around the path I would have come across the Château!

The bus whisked me on to Echternach where I caught the express back to Luxembourg in time to pick up some food for the train, my luggage and a ticket to Liege. By the time I collapsed into the seat on the train I was exhausted, and the blister on my left foot felt alarmingly large!

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Belgium; Monday, 26 June, 2006

After two and a half hours slumped in the train seat my blistered foot had cheered up, though my back was now wishing to register its complaints. Thankfully of the three stations in central Liege the train stopped at all of them so I was able to stay on it right the way round to Gare du Palais.

I walked the short distance from the station to the hotel and checked in before collapsing onto my bed for a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Belgium; Tuesday, 27 June, 2006

With a hearty breakfast inside me, I headed off to the station to catch the train to Maastricht. So at a little after 10:30 I entered country number five for the week (though I don't know if you can really count France as at no point did I go through it at anything less than 100KmpH!

I had a bit of a wander around the centre of the city before wandering down to the Mass to catch a boat tour along the river. The tour includes a stop about halfway along to take a tour of the caves at St Pietersburg. The caves have been formed by the mining of the limestone since the Roman times. Today the total number of passageways total over 200Km. The tour of the caves is only in Dutch and I understand precisely no Dutch. Even so it was still very interesting, and it doesn't take a genius to understand what is probably being said.

After the tour of the caves, I walked back to the mooring point to catch the remainder of the boat tour, getting back into central Maastricht almost three hours after setting out.

Before catching the boat I had popped into the tourist information centre and picked up a leaflet about walking around the city, and I now followed this self guided tour taking in most of the city sights including its fortifications, some of which are the oldest examples of such in the whole of the Netherlands. The tour also stops at the magnificent Basilica of our Lady which is more stunning for its outside, which looks almost castle like.

After spending nearly 3 hours wandering around the city centre and the fortifications (including a short stop for a late lunch!) I walked back to the station and caught the train back to Liege.

After popping back into the hotel to swap the Netherlands guidebooks for the Belgium guidebooks I headed back out again to take in some of the sights of Liege, whilst the rest of the population were safely indoors watching the world cup football!

The best way to see Liege is from the Citadel (or the remains of) which sits high on a hill overlooking the city centre and surrounding countryside. The views are spectacular, the only down side is to reach it you have to climb up. The easiest and least lung-bustingly painful is to take the Montagne de Bueren, a set of 373 steps that ascend up the side of the hill, steeply.

Having taken in the views (and recovered the ability to breath) I wandered back down and finished off by having a walk around the centre of the city before stopping in a little restaurant on the same square as the hotel for a spot to eat, retreating to bed just as the football fans all came spilling out flags waiving and car horns beeping (for the next 90 minutes!!)

Weather

Light Rain Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Belgium; Wednesday, 28 June, 2006

I checked out of the hotel and for the second time within three days took my bags to the luggage lockers at the station. From the station I caught the train back towards Luxembourg, this time getting off at Coo, about 55Km south east of Liege.

The main attraction in Coo is the waterfall, which is quite spectacular. Then to add to this attraction they added a chairlift which takes you up over the river into the hills above for stunning views of the area. This has then be much elaborated on and the area is now a theme park with rides and a small animal park, all of which can be seen with a day pass or by paying individually for each attraction by itself. In the end I decided the chairlift was enough for me (and at €6 quite expensive!)

After spending some time at the top station of the chairlift and stopping for a bite to eat in the fun park I wandered back to the station to catch the train back to Liege.

My original plan had been to get back into Liege about 3:45, which would have given me about an hour and a half's sightseeing time before I needed to pick up my luggage and catch the train to Brussels. Unfortunately this was without "An Incident involving the police at Liege Gare du Palais" which meant that I didn’t get to the station until almost 4:30, just enough time to have a look around the Cathedral before heading back to the station.

Thankfully I had built enough time in for getting back to Brussels to catch the last Eurostar of the day, because all the trains were still in chaos, trains kept changing platform with only a couple of minutes notice and trains would go from being on time to very late in a couple of seconds. In the end the train left almost a quarter of an hour late, not enough to have any major effect on making the connection in Brussels, but the constant appearing then disappearing from departure screens, and the regular platform changes were enough to give my heart a strong work out!

I arrived at Midi at the same time as checkin was opening, so was able to sail through and flop into a seat in the bar with a large beer, awaiting the call to board for the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Estonia; Friday, 21 July, 2006

I was catching the same flight to Helsinki as I had last year. Last time I had got up at the crack of pre-dawn, paid a considerable amount for a taxi that then proceeded to get me to Heathrow faster that is legal and had to wait around for checkin to open. My options this year were do the same, or pay just a little bit more and stay in a hotel by the airport. So at 05:30 (2 hours later than last year) I found myself with luggage standing at a bus stop just a mile from the airport terminal.

After a very quick trip through the airport (The restaurant I got breakfast in was working slowly so I had to run to the gate!) I settled down onto the plane for the first leg of my journey.

By 10:30 UK time (12:30 in Helsinki) I was sitting in my second departure lounge of the day with a nearly 2 hour wait for the flight to Tallinn.

After one of the shortest flights I have ever been on (only beaten by Guernsey to Alderney) I landed in Tallinn, zipped through the airport and got a cab to the hotel.

After checking in I wandered into town and up into the medieval old town on Toompea hill. Dotted along the edge at regular intervals are platforms that look over the rest of the city for stunning views.

Having wandered around the old town for over an hour I walked down into the lower part of the old town, to the town hall square and sought out a restaurant for dinner, before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Estonia; Saturday, 22 July, 2006

Sadly my early night didn't have much effect as by midnight I had gone down with some kind of bug as was making regular trips to the small room. I struggled down to a late breakfast and by 11:00 felt better enough to head out into town.

First stop, once again was the old town, pausing at the Kiek in de Kök which houses a museum telling some of the history of Tallinn. From there I wandered slightly further up the hill to the Russian Orthodox cathedral of Alexander Nevsky. Much like the cathedrals in Riga and Helsinki, it is spectacularly decorated with more gold and bling than a South London gangster.

I walked back down the hill to the town hall. The building is the only Gothic town hall in Northern Europe and has been extensively restored over the last 50 years. The cellar is open as a museum on the history of the original building of the town hall, the next floors up are those used for public functions, and finally the attic has a display on the renovation.

After a brief pause for a spot of lunch I climbed the steps to the top of the town hall tower, from where there are stunning views of the city centre.

I had a short wander around the old town before heading over to the Occupation museum which tells the history of Estonia during it's occupation, first by the Nazi's and then by the USSR up to 21st August 1991 when, with an attempted coup going on in Moscow, it gained its independence once again.

From there I walked along the base of Toompea hill to the opposite end of the old town to visit a small part of the city wall that you can still climb up the towers and get to. From there I followed the walls round to the Miini muuseum which houses a display of the mines which have been dredged up (or carefully brought up in some cases) off the coast of Estonia, many used to form a barrier between Finland, Estonia and Russia over the last 100 years or so.

After looking around the museum I decided to head back to the hotel, as I was starting to feel quite ill again. I kicked off my shoes and lay back on the bed to watch a little bit of TV to see if I would feel better after a short while. 4 hours late I woke up feeling better than I had done all day, so I headed back into town for a late dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Estonia; Sunday, 23 July, 2006

After breakfast I caught the tram round to "Fat Margaret" gate on the city walls, which is home to the maritime museum. The museum houses the usual exhibitions of model ships and details about Estonia's sailing past. The most impressive part of the museum is actually the roof from where you get stunning views over the city.

Next stop was St Olaf's Church. Once it's spire made it the tallest building in Europe. Today the top 30m or so of the spire have gone, and it’s been eclipsed by a lot of other buildings, but it's still impressive, as are the views from the top of it tower (after an interesting climb up the narrow and crumbling spiral staircase inside where you regularly meet people going in the opposite direction!

I wandered back through the old town to the bus station and picked up the bus out to the TV tower, about 4KM outside of the city centre in Pirita. From it’s viewing platform at 170m odd the views are stunning, with, on what was a very clear afternoon, the southern coast of Finland just visible in the distance. The TV tower is sighted just a couple of hundred meters from the botanical gardens and it was here I headed to next.

The gardens cover a large area, but, as was quite obvious from the TV tower, are mostly landscaped open spaces (given that the place spends quite a lot of the time under snow it’s hardly surprising). In the centre of the gardens are the greenhouses which all radiate off a new palmhouse in the centre.

Having spent not that long looking around I wandered back to the bus stop and caught the bus part of the way back to the ruins of St Bridget's Convent. The shell of the main building has survived almost intact with just the roof, windows and the entire inside missing! The rest of the site is mostly foundations.

I caught the bus back into the centre of town and went on one of the different hop-on-hop-off tours that run around the city.

When it got back into the city centre I caught the tram back to the hotel to drop stuff off and have a quick rest before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Estonia; Monday, 24 July, 2006

Most of the morning was spent taking in the sights of Tallinn and the surrounding countryside from the top decks of three different hop-on-hop-off busses. Tallinn city tour run three routes; one around the city centre, one out South West to the zoo and folk park and one out North West to the TV Tower, Botanical gardens and St Bridget Covent ruins, and it was all free with the Tallinn card so I made sure I got my moneys worth.

After a brief pause for a very late lunch I walked through the old town to the city museum which tells the history of the development of Tallinn from its founding through until the present day. The top floor of the exhibition focuses on, naturally, the period 1939-1991 when the country was occupied by the Soviets, then the Nazis then the Soviets again!

Just up the street from the city museum are the remains of a Dominican monastery. From the outside all you can see is a pretty standard looking small church in good repair, but this forms just one side of an inner courtyard, the remainder being made up of the remains of the monastery. One museum lets you look around the courtyard and ground floor level, another, for an additional entrance fee, the first floor of one of the buildings.

Having looked around these, and the nearby St Nicholas Orthodox church which is a really plain church on the outside, but a little gregarious inside! I caught the tram back to the hotel for a short rest before heading back into town for dinner and a wander through the streets at sort of dusk. By 10pm the light has started to go from the sky, and though it does get dark it doesn't get truly dark, at this time of year there is always a little bit of light in the sky. I was hoping to get some photos of the city from the top of Toompea hill. Unfortunately, the glorious weather of the day appeared to be giving way, rapidly, to a sea mist that was pouring in off of the Baltic making the whole place just grey, and slightly damp, so I headed back to the hotel for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Estonia; Tuesday, 25 July, 2006

My concerns the previous evening about the weather were partly about not getting photos, but also quite heavily about the fact that I had booked to go on a three hour bike tour of the city! Thankfully I didn't need to worry as a quick look out of the curtains showed another glorious day and the temperature in the room hinted that it was likely to be warmer than yesterday.

After liberally covering myself, clothing, bag and hotel room in sun tan cream I headed into town. The tour was booked for midday, meet at 11:45, so with just over an hour to go until the meeting time I had a wander around the old town and stopped at the Holy Spirit Church which had been highlighted in the guidebook as worth visiting. The church is quite plane on the outside, but inside is an example of what happens if you give a wood carver enough time, money, wood and the use of his own discretion!

Having stopped to pick up some water for the trip I wandered to the meeting point for the Bike tour. The tour covers about 15-20KM mostly around the North West of the old town, taking in the old prison, a detour to the only submarine in Estonia and the flea market near the station before ending up back in the old town.

I had an extended very late lunch in the city centre before heading back to the hotel for a quick shower. I headed back into town, had a wander and then a very light dinner, given than lunch had been less then 3 hours before.

I caught the tram out to the end of the line at Kadriorg and walked the short distance to the beach. I stopped at the monument to a Russian ship which had gone down in the early part of the 20th Century and then walked a little further down the coast towards Pirita. From here there are stunning views back over the city centre with the spires of the churches and cathedrals of old Tallinn to one side and the gleaming columns of the 21st century Tallinn to the other.

The scene was made all the more picturesque as the sun was now just starting to descend beneath the horizon, disappearing beneath the Baltic throwing amazing shadows over everything.

With the sun set, but light still in the sky for nearly another hour I walked to the bus stop and caught the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Estonia; Wednesday, 26 July, 2006

Finishing breakfast I quickly packed my bag and ordered a cab to the airport for my flight back to Helsinki.

It looked like everyone else had rushed as well. By 11:20 we were all buckled up, the doors had closed and the engines were about to start up. By 11:40, the time we were supposed to be pushing back in Tallinn we were making our final approach to Helsinki, 25 minutes early.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Helsinki; Wednesday, 26 July, 2006

After catching the bus from the airport and checking in to the hotel I caught the tram into town and out to the fish market. There I went on the canal cruise again, which last year had been mostly seen from behind glass during a spectacular rain storm. Thankfully this year the weather co-operated. After that I wandered over to the station to pick up my pre-booked tickets for Turku on Thursday and Tampere on Friday.

After a short stop for postcards I wandered back to the fish market and caught the evening dinner cruise round the archipelago. This 2 1/2 hour tour goes round many more of the islands whilst at the same time you get served a three course meal (drinks extra as I found out at the end!)

At the end of the tour I caught the tram back to the hotel for a well earned sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Helsinki; Thursday, 27 July, 2006

A relatively early start to the day so that I could get to the station in time to catch the mid-morning train to Turku. Turku was the capital of Finland up until 1812 when it was moved to Helsinki, as Turku was considered to close to Sweden for the new Russian rulers of Finland, having captured the country from the Swedes three years earlier. It still has many of the markings of the capital with a mighty fortress and the nations main Cathedral.

After an event free if slow (2 hours to go a little over 160Km) journey I arrived in Turku and headed to the tourist information centre to buy a Turku card, having already worked out from the guidebook that the attractions I wanted to visit would cost more combined before I even added on travel costs. I caught the bus out of the centre of town, down river to the port to visit the maritime museum.

The museum is based in two buildings and three ships on the riverside. It contains all the usual models and exhibits on maritime life, most in Finnish and Swedish only. After looking around the museum and ships, and a quick lunch in the café, I walked the short distance down the road to the castle.

Originally built on a small island less than 800 years ago the land has risen so much that it's now several hundred meters inland and surrounded by grass rather than water (Southern Finland is rising by about 3mm a year or 3 meters a millennium, and with the entrance to the Baltic down to a narrow channel between Denmark and Sweden it is highly likely that in the future it will be possible to walk from Tallinn to Helsinki - though as it will take a few thousand years the ferry companies don't need to worry about their profits yet!)

The castle is a massive structure, that I was surprised to find in such good repair, until I found out on one of the exhibits that it was gutted by fire in the 18th Century, left to crumble from then on, then flattened during W.W.II before being completely rebuilt post war! There is masses to see with lots of random exhibitions dotted around the site, like a massive treasury stretching the whole of one side of the main building, the royal apartments, the archaeology of the town and, bizarrely, a museum on vandalism, modern culture and, squeezed into pride of place, Lordi the 2006 Finnish Eurovision winners (Hard Rock, Halleluiah?)

After looking around the castle I caught the bus back into town and wandered up to the Handicrafts museum. The museum is a folk park of traditional houses showing what life was like in the past. Unlike other parks (Riga, Skansen in Stockholm, Bygdøy in Oslo or Seurasaari in Helsinki) this isn't a collection of buildings brought together from around the nation. These buildings are in the same locations they were built on at the end of the 18th early 19th centuries. It was the only area to survive a massive fire that destroyed the rest of Turku in 1827 and after the city was rebuilt was scheduled for demolition. By the middle of the twentieth century nothing had happened so in 1940 the nation decided to preserve the area as a historical time capsule.

After looking around the museum I walked through (or more importantly up and over) the neighbouring park to the Cathedral. The Cathedral is an imposing building that is visible from most of the city (except those hidden by the massive hill in the middle of the park!) and is the key Cathedral in the country.

Having looked round the cathedral I wandered along the river back into the centre of town in time to catch the bus back to the station, grab a bite to eat in the café and make the mid-evening train back to Helsinki (another 2 hours!)

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Helsinki; Friday, 28 July, 2006

Another early start this morning, again to get to the station, though this time the destination was Tamperer (or as Ryanair like to call it, Helsinki as they are less than 200Km from each other).

First stop of the afternoon, because by the time I got to Tampere and walked through the city to it, it had gone 12, was the viewing tower towards the north of the city centre. The tower has now spawned a theme park beneath it, but the views from the top more than make up for the hoards of screaming children.

From there I walked back across the city to the Pyynikki ridge. At the top of the ridge is another, much older, viewing tower, and a café that serves "the best doughnuts in Tampere". After taking in the views I headed back into town to the spy museum.

The museum explains a little about espionage, especially during the cold war period, and displays some of the devices that have been used by spies.

From there I walked to the lake-side market and picked up the ferry to Viikinsaari an island in the lake which is owned by the city for recreation. It is very peaceful and quiet. I spent nearly an hour walking around the paths of the island and, apart from around the landing stage, barely met another person. The last ferry of the day back was at 1730 which left me just enough time for a quick bite to eat and then back to the station to catch the train back to Helsinki.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Helsinki; Saturday, 29 July, 2006

lf I had thought the previous two mornings were early starts, they were nothing in comparison to Saturday. My alarm screeched into life at 5am and after staggering through the shower and getting dressed I wandered down to reception and had to get myself let out of the hotel. Then it was a brisk walk to the station where I picked up the Finnair bus to the airport. There I checked in for a flight to Rovaniemi.

Rovaniemi is the northern most international airport in Finland, the city is the capital of Finnish Lapland, and, more importantly, the airport is located at 66° 34’ 0” North or to put it less scientifically just north of the Artic Circle.

I got a taxi into the centre of Rovaniemi, which, thanks to the early start, was totally deserted as it was still only 9:30 on a Saturday morning. I wandered through the city centre for a while before reaching the church. The church itself is not particularly spectacular, though there are some interesting murals inside, but the whole city is remarkable for that fact that 60 years ago it was completely levelled by the retreating Germans, every building destroyed, the railway trashed and the roads impassable. Today you would assume that nothing had happened in the city as, apart from one small monument near the station, there are no reminders.

I walked back through the city centre, popping into the tourist information centre to see what there was to do in the city, before heading onto the Arktikum. This is a museum dedicated to the Artic, the Sami people who live across the region and to Rovaniemi itself. The museum is very interesting with lots of displays (all with English translations) and is a spectacular building itself stretching out along a glass arch towards the lake side.

After looking around the museum I walked back to the centre of town and caught the sightseeing train that goes round the city showing you the main sights. By the time it dropped me back in the city centre there was just enough time to walk to the bus station to catch the hourly bus to Santa’s Village. Not normally somewhere I would go, but as it is the site of the Arctic circle it was worth going out to.

So I found myself boarding a bus and asking for a “Single to the Artic Circle, Please” (and it’s not every day you get to say that!) The bus stops at Santa’s village which has to be one of Europe’s greatest tack-fests. I have never seen so many shops selling so much kitsch in such a small space before! However, running through the centre of the site is a large white line with the important sign painted on it, displaying itself to be 66° 32’ 35” or the Artic Circle, cue lots of pictures being taken of standing on circle, straddling circle etc. etc.

From the Artic circle it’s only about 2Km to the airport, and as I only had 90 minutes until I needed to check-in I decided it would probably be easier to walk there, rather than wait for the bus into town and come back out again. I got back to Helsinki at a little after 7pm and, after stopping back at the hotel to drop my stuff off, I headed out for some dinner.

By the time I had finished dinner it was rapidly approaching 11pm, and dusk (which is about as dark as it gets at this time of the year) was already in the sky. I decided to catch the ferry out to Suomenlinna, which runs until about 2am. The views from the ferry both heading out, and coming back as I stayed on it and came straight back, are spectacular with the strangest of lights in the sky making for some spectacular pictures.

I managed to catch the last tram of the evening back from the fish market back to the opera house and then walked the short distance back to the hotel and some much needed rest.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Helsinki; Sunday, 30 July, 2006

After a proper breakfast I packed my bags and check out from the hotel. I left my bags in the lockers at the station and headed back out to Suomenlinna. Although I had visited it last year for a day, and last night for a few minutes, there were still some areas of the island that I hadn’t looked around, and as I only had a couple of hours before my flight home, I though it would be a good way of using up time.

I caught the same ferry as last night back over to Suomenlinna and wandered around the church and fortifications on the same island, which took more than an hour, then it was time to head back to the ferry, back to the station and off to the airport and the plane home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Kirkwall; Friday, 04 August, 2006

I left the house at 7pm, knowing that I had 23 hours worth of travelling ahead of me, and I wasn't even leaving the country (though the Scots may have something to say on that)

I arrived at Euston with plenty of time, so I relaxed in the sleeper lounge, well aware that the last time I did this it all ended horribly (see Eastern Lowlands).

The train started to board at 20:30, 45 minutes before it was due to depart. I walked down to the train, checked into my cabin and then went and sat in the lounge.

At 21:15 the train left Euston and at a little after 23:00 it passed through Stafford and spectacularly failed to break down! Safe in the knowledge that I had gotten further North than last time I went to bed to get some rest.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Kirkwall; Saturday, 05 August, 2006

I briefly woke up and realised that I was in Edinburgh as the train jolted a couple of times and then promptly accelerated away in the opposite direction to the one it arrived in!

By 7am I was up and the train was north of Dalwhinnie, ahead of time, and not noticeably broken! After a filling and leisurely breakfast eaten in bed it was time to get up and disembark at Inverness.

My train North from Inverness left at 10:39, so after buying the ticket, I had a wander around Inverness for a while before coming back to the station for a leisurely cup of tea and then boarded the train.

It's just over 150 miles north from Inverness to Thurso, which is as far North as you can go on a train in the UK, but as the line winds its way around the highlands, up to and then away from the coast it takes just a couple of minute short of 4 hours to reach Thurso.

On exiting the station the free Taxi to the ferry at John O'Groats was waiting so I loaded my bags and continued heading North. At 3pm I reached the most northerly point on the Mainland. April 2004 to August 2006 is one of the slowest Lands End to John O'Groats journeys, but then I hadn't really been planning to do that 2 years ago!

After spending nearly an hour kicking my heals at the UK's most northerly tourist trap the ferry arrived to take me yet further north to the southern tip of the southern most Orkney island, South Ronaldsway. The crossing was uneventful if slightly choppy and consequently we were a couple of minutes late into harbour (the only delay so far on my journey!) But that didn't matter as there was plenty of time for the connection with the bus.

The bus sped me yet further North over the Churchill Barrages, designed to protect the natural harbour that is formed by the Orkney Islands and the navy that was based there from everyone else, to Kirkwall. Then it was the matter of a short walk through the city centre and, at a little after 6pm, 23 hours after leaving home, and almost constantly travelling north I collapsed onto my hotel bed.

After unpacking and recovering myself with a cup of tea I headed back out to the town centre to have a brief wander around before stopping for a bite to eat and then back to the hotel to sleep in a non-rocking bed!

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Kirkwall; Sunday, 06 August, 2006

With a full breakfast inside me I headed out into a bright Orcadian morning (which was surprising as 30 minutes earlier it had been bucketing it down!) and wandered the short distance through the town centre to the Cathedral. I wasn't visiting the cathedral today, instead it was the place from where I was to be picked up for the Wildabout Orkney tour of Stone age and Iron age settlements.

The full-day tour was very interesting and well presented. First stop of the morning was the Unstan chambered cairn. From there it was a short drive to Maeshowe, possibly the most impressive burial mound in Northern Europe. The tomb is at the centre of a massive network of stone age sacred sites with two stone circles lying in a processional route towards it. Inside are carved runes from both the time of creation and later when the Vikings used it. The site itself dates back to approximately 3100BC making it older than the pharaohs pyramids in Egypt.

From there it was on to the Standing stones of Stenness. Originally a 12 stone circle there are now just 5 remaining, but the whole place has an air of mystique around it and I couldn't help feeling totally relaxed and de-stressed whilst in the centre of the circle. It was a short drive from there to the standing stones hotel where we had a spot of lunch before driving back past Stenness to the ring of Brodgar.

This is an even more impressive stone circle. Today 27 stones remain, but when it was built it would have had about 60 stones. From there we travelled onto Skara Brae on the coast.

Like Jarlsholf (see Shetland Islands) this Neolithic village laid under sand and earth for centuries before being revealed following a massive storm ripped off the covering land. Unlike Jarlshof, Skara Brae appears to have been abandoned about 2500BC and is consequently perfectly preserved. You can get a feeling of how the people of the time lived, in an almost subterranean life.

The land that Skara Brae now stands on is part of the Skaill estate, and the old house can also be visited.

Final stop of the tour was the Broch of Gurness on the North coast of the main island (Skara Brae being on the South). By the time Gurness was in use it was 300BC and times had moved on. No longer the small farming community leading their life with not much more than nature to fear. Gurness is a fortress with the villagers living around the central Broch that would defend the village when it was attacked from the sea. It is very clear to see that in the nearly 3000 years that separate them the standard of living for the inhabitants of Orkney had gone decidedly down hill.

At the end of a long, exhausting, but thoroughly enjoyable day I was dropped back at the cathedral in Kirkwall and walked back to the hotel to drop by bag off, before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Kirkwall; Monday, 07 August, 2006

One of the things that first planted the seeds of the idea of visiting the Orkneys into my mind is my liking for Highland Park whiskey. The distillery proudly boasts to be the “Northern most Scotch whiskey distillery” (though that crown will fall in three years time once the distillery in Shetland opens!). Its home is on a hill on the outskirts of Kirkwall, and it was to here that I travelled first this morning.

The key point about the location of the distillery that I had forgotten to take into account was the phrase "on a hill", which, given that Kirkwall is at sea level for some reason involving it being a port or something similar, would involve climbing said hill. But despite that I reached the distillery in time to join one of the half hourly tours. Unfortunately, at the time of visiting they weren't distilling. It meant that many of the smells that you could expect aren't there, but it also means you can hear the tour guide. The tour is very similar to those that I have been on at the Old Jameson’s distillery in Dublin, the Old Middleton distillery near Cork and the Scottish Whiskey heritage society in Edinburgh. The key difference is rather than walking around a museum piece you are walking around a living, working distillery.

At the end of the tour there is the customary free sample of the "Water of life". With that coursing through my veins I hardly noticed the shower on my way back into the town centre. After a stop for an early lunch I wandered to the St Magnus Cathedral. The cathedral is an amazing building. Originally built in the 12th Century it's been adapted and expanded as many times as it has changed hands. Originally built as part of the Hamburg(!) diocese it was then transferred to Trondheim (Norway) until the Orkney and Shetland Islands were taken over by Scotland where they transferred to Scottish diocese, all of this before the reformation!

Opposite the cathedral are the ruins of the Bishops palace and the Earls palace. The Bishops palace was built for the bishops of the cathedral. The Earls palace was built for the Earl of Orkney and Lord of the Shetlands, Earl Patrick Stewart (see also Scalloway in Shetland.) He of the evil heart, murderous ways with the locals and eventual execution for treason - at this point I remember thinking to myself in Scalloway castle last summer that I must visit Orkney some time and see the palace there!

To avoid the next shower I dived into the Orkney museum which has displays on life in the Orkneys from the Stone age up to modern day with an eclectic range of items on display. After having looked round the museum, I wandered back through town to the bus station and caught the bus out to Stromness. The next largest town in the Orkneys and, also, the more major port (the long distance ferries from Aberdeen and Lerwick stop there). The town is very pretty and quite reminiscent of Lerwick. I had a wander through some of the streets and stopped at the Stromness museum which has an even more eclectic mix of exhibits on Lighthouses, the sunken German fleet in Scapa Flow (the body of water surrounded by the larger of the islands) and natural history with a large collection of stuffed animals and birds.

I wandered back to the bus stop, caught the bus back to Kirkwall, and then another out to the small island of Lamb Holm. During W.W.II the island was used to house Italian POWs, mostly captured in Northern Africa. They were put to work building the Churchill Barriers, and at the same time helped to build up the camp they were held prisoner in. They were granted two Nissan huts with which they built a small chapel. The chapel (Now known as the Italian chapel) still stands and is an amazing tribute to the work of the people who helped to build it.

After looking round the chapel I walked back to the main road and caught the bus back into Kirkwall for a well earned rest, and maybe a second small Highland Park!

Weather

Light Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Kirkwall; Tuesday, 08 August, 2006

With a hearty breakfast inside me I headed out to the bus station and caught the bus out to Tingwall. Tingwall is the landing point for the ferry to Rousay, Eglisay and Wyre the closest of the Northern islands to the mainland.

There are tours of the island on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the summer and I had pre-booked onto the Tuesday tour. The tour takes you the whole way around the island on the single road that runs round the edge. The entire route round the island is about 15 miles, and the tour lasts just over 5 hours, so you can imagine there is lots of time to take in the scenery and the sights.

There are lots of stops around the island for photo opportunities including where the seals usually lie out on the beach (though there were very few today) and at the many archaeological sights around the island. There are 163 recorded sights on the island, ranging from Viking back to Neolithic, with lots of cairns and tombs, broch's and other dwellings. Many of the remains you can see are older that the Pyramids and with the number of sites that there are, you can understand why Rousay is also known as the Egypt of the north.

One of the major sights is Midhowe Broch and Cairn. The burial tomb is one of the largest and a spectacular structure. The next-door Broch (which is about 3000 years younger, but still just scraping into BC!) is also spectacular with hand carved ditches and channels in the rock it is built on as further protection.

A large number of Viking (and earlier) remains are along the next mile or so of coast line, and a pleasant (or at least I assume it would be when it’s not pouring down) walk along the shore line takes you past these, many marked with information boards. The entire walk from leaving the mini-bus, walking down (and it is definitely down!) the 500m or so to the Broch, looking around and walking along the shore walk takes a little under two hours and as we emerged onto the main road again from the shore front we were met by the minibus to continue the tour.

The final couple of stops of the day are at three more cairns along the southern part of the island. The most interesting of the three is Tavershoe Tuick which is a two tier tomb. There is a lower tomb which has its own access and an upper tomb.

After looking around all the sites we were dropped of back at the ferry terminal with enough time for a bite to eat and a drink in the restaurant/bar before the ferry back to Tingwall and then the bus back to Kirkwall for a change into some dry clothes!

Weather

Light Showers Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Kirkwall; Wednesday, 09 August, 2006

It had taken 23 hours to get to Kirkwall (I could have done it in a little over 4 if I'd flown, but where is the fun in that!) and so at 9:15 I left the hotel ready for the even longer journey home. Admittedly, the journey up didn't include a 5 hour stop for a spot of sightseeing.

I caught the bus out to the airport and the plane down to Aberdeen. This was my third visit to Aberdeen airport, but the first time I had actually left the terminal building. I picked up the bus to the station in the centre of Aberdeen where I dropped off my luggage before heading off into the city to do some sightseeing.

First stop was the old Tolbooth house which now houses the Aberdeen civic history museum which has small displays on the growth of Aberdeen, the Tolbooth itself, the life of an Aberdeen PC and crime (reflecting the Tolbooth's previous existence as a prison)

After looking around the Tolbooth I wandered around the corner, just in time to catch the hop-on-hop-off open-top tour of Aberdeen. The tour takes in the main parts of Aberdeen and has a comprehensive pre-recorded guide, though the city's traffic appear to have serious effects on both time keeping and producing long quiet periods.

The next stop was the Provist Skene's House. This is one of the few medieval buildings that survive in Aberdeen and the interiors have been reconstructed to show what life was like at various times during the buildings existence.

The final stop was at the maritime museum which has lots of displays on shipping and for some reason that escapes me now North sea oil... Then it was back to the station to pick up my luggage and back onto the train for the next leg of my journey, closing the loop that had started by heading north to Thurso, I caught the train west, back towards Inverness and the sleeper south.

Weather

Heavy Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Kirkwall; Thursday, 10 August, 2006

I woke up at some point during the night, by then the train had changed directions and as I popped to the toilet I spotted us passing through Warrington Bank Quay station, already in England and heading steadily south.

At a little after 7am with breakfast by my bed we passed through Harrow and past the tube, signifying most defiantly the entry into London. 15 minutes early the train pulled to a halt in Euston station and I headed towards the front of the station and the bus home to a hot shower and then work for 10:30!

As I got in through the door my watch chimed 9am, 23 hours and 45 minutes after checking out of the hotel in Kirkwall I was back at home.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Lisbon; Thursday, 17 August, 2006

After getting in from the airport and dropping my stuff off at the hotel I went for a wander.

Just around from the hotel is the Gloria lift (more a funicular than a lift) which takes you up to the park at São Pedro de Alcântara. Unfortunately, the neighbouring Rossio station is currently closed whilst they carry out repair works on the tunnel that leads into it, and as the lift goes over the top of it, it has been closed until the work is done, so instead I had to climb up. The park is also closed for renovation so this wasn't the greatest of starts, though the views across the city from the street are well worth it in themselves.

The park is in the upper town and I had a wander through here until I reached the Elevador de Santa Justa. This is a proper elevator and was built by a pupil of Gustav Eiffel (and it shows). On the top of the lift is a two storey platform, from where you can get more stunning views over the city.

I caught the lift back down and wandered back to Rossio and caught the tram out to Belém. The town is packed with sights, but at this time of night they were all closed, but that didn't matter as I took pictures of them, with the river and the sun setting into it.

After spending the best part of an hour wandering around Belém I caught the tram back into Lisbon, grabbed a bite to eat and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Lisbon; Friday, 18 August, 2006

Having spent a large proportion of the night being woken up on a regular basis by a car alarm I was in the need to something to properly wake me up. The croissants at breakfast did the trick with their almost 100% sugar content! After coming down off the sugar high I headed off to the Praça do Comércio to catch the sightseeing tour.

Lisbon has open-top sightseeing buses, but they also have sightseeing trams and it was this that I caught. The tram, an original from the 1960’s goes round the city up and down many of the hills that the city is built on, and past large numbers of the main sights including the castle and cathedral.

After finishing the tour I caught the normal tram back along to the top of one of the hills to take in some of the views of the city. I spent some time taking pictures from the various view points near the castle before heading the short distance down the hill to the Cathedral.

The cathedral is striking for it’s look. If you didn’t see the large rose window in the centre you would be convinced that from the front it was a mighty fortress or castle, even the towers are crenulated! Inside the cathedral is quite dark, with not much to see, but for a charge you can go out into the cloister at the back, which has been dug up to reveal over 2000 years of settlements, with Roman streets underneath Moorish dwellings.

I would like to claim that I wandered the short distance up to the castle, but I am lazy and it is quite a steep hill, and I am on holiday, so I caught the bus! The castle is perched on the top of castle hill and has stunning views over the city centre and surrounding countryside. Inside the grounds the shell of the castle is all that remains, but you can climb up the ramparts for further views over the city. There is also a small multi-media exhibition on the history of Lisbon.

I caught the bus back into the centre of town and wandered out to Cais do Sodré station to catch the train along the coast to Cascais. The town is effectively Lisbon-on-Sea and has miles of stunning beaches. Just outside of the town centre the landscape changes to small cliffs, and slightly further on is the Boca do Inferno, literally “Mouth of Hell”, a square opening in the cliffs which has been warn away by the waves which sucks water in forces it back out again with spectacular results.

After catching the bus back to Cascais station and the train back into Lisbon it was time for a spot of dinner and then I caught the tram up into the Bario Alto or upper old town to have a wander in the twilight and early night before catching the funicular back down to the lower town and the tram back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Lisbon; Saturday, 19 August, 2006

With another sugar rush breakfast inside me I headed out of the hotel to the Metro and caught the train out to Sete Rios station and the train out to Sintra (normally if they hadn’t been doing repair works I could have wandered round the corner and picked the train up at Rossio!).

From Sintra station I caught the bus out to the spectacular Palácio de Pena. The palace is built on the top of the highest hill in the area and has stunning views. The palace is stunning in itself with several different building styles and colours having gone into it. It is also one of the busiest tourist attractions in Portugal and consequently to look round you have to join the back of a large and slow moving queue. However it was worth it as many of the rooms are spectacular and the information boards tell you a lot about the history of the palace.

From the palace it was a short walk down the hill to the Castelo dos Mouros or Moorish castle. This is perched on the top of the next highest hill and again has stunning views. The only parts of the castle that remain are the outer defence walls, but you can climb up them to take in the views (though not particularly good if you have vertigo as they only have castle on one side!)

After looking around the castle I wandered back to the bus stop to catch the bus back into Sintra. Unfortunately, the buses, despite being quite regular, are also quite small and very very popular. Consequently I had to let two pass and waited more than 45 minutes before I finally managed to get on one, in the end it would have been as quick to walk back into town!

In town is another palace this time the Palácio Nacional. This is a less interesting palace than the Palácio de Pena, but there is still lots to see including the kitchens with their strange double chimneys, making the back of the palace look a little like a Kentish hop house.

I walked back to Sintra station and caught the train back to Lisbon and dinner. After stopping off at the hotel for a while I caught the bus out to the end of the 28 tram route to catch it through the city in twilight. Thankfully I was the only person who had thought of this so I managed to get a good seat and three stops later the tram was full. As it was evening and the roads were quiet the tram rattled up and down the hills at quite some speed! By the time it reached the Cathedral it was almost dark. I stayed on it, much like the rest of the passengers, almost all doing exactly what I was (I don’t quite know how the locals get around given all the tourists hogging their trams) to the end of the route and then caught the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Lisbon; Sunday, 20 August, 2006

After breakfast I wandered down to the ferry terminal at Cais do Sodré and caught the ferry across the Rio Toja to Cacilhas. From there I picked up the bus out to Almada and the Cristo Rei.

The statue of Christ standing over Rio de Janeiro is one of the most famous sights in the world. In the 1950’s a small but similar statue was built on the hill on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon to give thanks that Portugal managed to stay out of the second world war. The statue, despite being smaller than the one in Rio is still massive. A lift runs up one side of the tower to the actual base of the statue, some 150m up. From there you can get stunning views of the city of Lisbon and out as far as Cascais and Sintra. Just below the viewing station you can also visit one of the worlds greatest tacky gift shops with glow in the dark statues just one of the delights available for purchase!

I caught the bus and ferry back to Lisbon and then the Metro out to the Parque das Nações. This was originally the sight of the World Expo is 1998 and has now been turned into a large exhibition and open space for the city. From the site you can also see the whole length of the stunning Vasco de Gama bridge, which at 17KM long is one of the longest in the world.

The site is massive and the easiest way to take it in is to catch the Cable Car that runs along the water front from the Oceanarium to the Vasco de Gama tower (which was sadly closed when I visited). After having found that the tower was shut I wandered over to one of the restaurants for some lunch before catching the cable car back to the Oceanarium.

Oceanário, the Lisbon Oceanarium is the second largest in the world and the largest in Europe, as they keep reminding you every couple of meters! Inside the massive tank contains thousands of species and it is spectacular. If it was not for the sheer number of people, you could spend hours standing transfixed at the tank as all the marine life floats past. The main tank occupies the centre of the building, in the four corners are smaller tanks that have different habitats (Indian Ocean, Artic etc) with both Marine and non-marine life, including in one tank some very noisy and playful beavers.

After looking around the Oceanarium I walked back to the metro station and caught the metro back into town. After a short wander around the city centre I walked down to the Praça do Comércio and picked up one of the two open top bus tours that Carris (the tram and bus company) run around the city.

The Olicipio tour runs up the coast from the Praça do Comércio back to the Parque das Nações (D’oh!) and then back through the top of the town before coming down through the Bario Alto and back to the Praça do Comércio.

After the tour I stopped for a small dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Lisbon; Monday, 21 August, 2006

First stop of the morning was back to Praça do Comércio and onto the other open top tour that Carris run, the Tagus tour. This one goes through the centre of town and then out to Belém. On getting back to the Praça do Comércio I caught the next Olisipio tour as I had missed quite a lot the previous evening as I had sat on the side with less things to see! As the tours are both quite long, and I’d had a late breakfast it was mid afternoon by the time I got back to the city centre. I stopped for a brief bite to eat before catching the tram out to the Basilica de Estrela.

The Basilica is the second most important church in Portugal and is an impressive domed structure. Inside it is quite dark, but filled with lots of paintings.

After looking around the Basilica I wandered back to the Bario Alto and to the ruins of the Convento de Carmo. The roof and parts of the walls were destroyed in the earthquake that almost totally flattened Lisbon on 1st November 1755. The building now houses the an archaeological museum which displays many finds from across the city.

After a leisurely dinner I wandered back to the Praça do Comércio in time to catch the last Tagus tour of the night. The last tour in July, August and September sets off at 20:15 and consequently runs through the city and dusk and into the night. Following the heat of the day it was still in the high twenties as the bus went round the city, but with the wind from the movement it made for a very pleasant end to the day.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Phew! What a scorcher (more than 40C, 104F)
41ºC/106ºF

Lisbon; Tuesday, 22 August, 2006

Some of the temperature may have gone, but if anything the conditions were far more unpleasant today as the humidity was getting higher rapidly and for the first time ever I experience the effects of pollution as my eyes refused to stop stinging and watering when I was outside, but cleared up instantly when I went into air-conditioned buildings.

I wandered down to the station at Cais do Sodré and caught the train out to Belém, figuring that being right by the river would be more pleasant than in the city centre.

First stop was the Monument das Descobertas. Built as part of a world exhibition held in Belém in the 1940’s it shows some of the most important figures in Portuguese maritime history, topped by Vasco de Gama and Henry the Navigator (the two that everyone has heard of). The monument is hollow inside and houses two exhibition floors, one which tells the story behind each of the figures, and one which tells the story of the exhibition and building of the tower. You can also, as I did, catch the lift to the very top of the monument and go onto the roof for stunning views across Belém, the Ponte 25 de Abril (Looks like the Golden gate bridge), Cristo Rei and Lisbon.

Next stop, a hefty 10 minutes walk along the river front was the tower of Belém or Torre de Belém. Originally built in the middle of the river as a defensive structure it sort of lost its purpose when the course of the river shifted after the 1755 earthquake, and it now finds itself a couple of metres off the bank at Belém. The tower is one of the most famous symbols of Portugal and once again offers stunning views over the surrounding area from its roof.

From the Torre de Belém I caught the tram back a couple of stops to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. The church is quite impressive, but absolutely heaving with tourists. The cloister is even more impressive and as you have to pay to get into it quite a lot quieter. The cloister is bizarrely two storeys high and includes an exhibition which charts the history of monastery, Lisbon and Portugal over the last 500 years. You can also access from here the upper choir of the church, which gives you stunning view inside the church, and of the herds of tourists below!

Just outside the monastery is the starting point for the Belém land train which runs around the town centre taking in all the main sights before climbing into the hills above the town for more views of the river, before returning back to the monastery.

I wandered back to the tram stop and caught the tram back to Lisbon and wandered down to the Panteão Nacional (or the Church of Santa Engrácia to give it its religious title).

The Panteão is the most important church in the country and is where some of the leading lights in Portuguese history are laid to rest. In the main body of the church, the tombs of the country’s greatest Poet lies along side that of Vasco de Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator. Inside rooms are the tombs of more important figures.

You can climb the stairs (or take the lift) to the 2nd floor for views from the gallery over the centre of the church and up to the dome. Continuing up the stairs you reach the base of the dome and the outside terrace from where there are yet more stunning views of Lisbon.

By the time I got back down to the bottom of the church it was time head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and head for the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
36ºC/97ºF

St Austell; Friday, 22 September, 2006

I finished work at lunchtime and headed up to Paddington. An eventless, but slow journey later, I arrived at Paddington with enough time to have a largish lunch before catching the train.

The train left on time, but managed to loose 5 minutes before it even got to Reading. For most of the rest of the journey it was OK, but beyond Exeter it was held up for another 20 minutes as one track was closed through Dawlish due to storm damage. It is easy to see how. The line not so much hugs the coastline as goes paddling in it. The wind was quite light, but with high tide the waves were crashing over the sea wall and onto the Cornwall bound tracks. The previous evening the storm had managed to wash away part of the foundations for the Cornwall track, which was causing the delays to get through.

The ride down is very scenic, made even more so by the speed of the journey beyond Exeter. Leaving London at 3pm we reached Exeter in a little over 2 hours. The rest of the journey through the remainder of Devon and down into Cornwall was scheduled to take another 2 hours, but in the end took almost three as the line meanders its way across the countryside.

By the time I arrived in St Austell it was already dark and I was tired, so I was a lazy git and instead of walking the mile to the hotel (all down hill!) I got a cab.

After checking in I went up to the room, collapsed onto the bed and decided that it was probably best to get changed for bed now as the chances of still being awake in a hours time were limited. I was right, I never heard my watch bleep for 10pm.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

St Austell; Saturday, 23 September, 2006

The weather forecast for the previous week had been predicting gloom and doom for the whole South West portion of England. Thankfully, the weather forecast was as accurate as usual and I left the hotel into bright sunshine.

I walked the short distance (I think the hotels estimation of 1 mile from the station was a little out) back up to the station and caught the bus out to Mevagissey and onto the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

The gardens were laid out during the 18th and 19th century, but fell into disuse and disrepair during the 20th century. They were finally restored in the 1990's by the same people who went on to found the Eden project. The gardens, designed like a jungle, cling to the side of a steep hill that leads down to a small valley at the base of the gardens. At the flatter top of the site more formal gardens have been laid out. After spending more than two hours wandering around the gardens I wandered back to the bus stop and caught the bus back to St Austell and managed to make the five-minute connection with the bus out to the Eden project.

The china-clay industry has left some massive scars on the Cornish countryside, with the large pits where they mined the most obvious example. It was into one of these that the idea of the Eden project was born. The base of the pit has been cleaned, two massive Biomes (like greenhouses, but made out of a plastic that allows UV light through rather than glass) have been built. Up the sides of the pit are the outside Biome, examples of flora that grow in the warm climes of Cornwall. The two biomes are split into the slightly uncomfortable Humid Tropic biome with its cocoa, banana and pineapple plants, amongst others, and the more climatically comfortable Warm Temperate biome that houses plant species from Mediterranean and temperate climes.

The whole area is very impressive, especially as everything was new less than seven years ago (about the only Millennium project that opened on time, within budget, and is popular!). You can still see where some plants are still developing, and the odd space which has yet to be cultivated, but it also makes it the kind of place that you want to go back to in a few years time to see how it has matured.

After spending nearly three hours in a China-Clay pit, I caught the bus back into St Austell and caught the train out to Redruth. The plan was to pick up the bus at Redruth out to Lizard point (the most Southerly point on mainland UK, not to be confused with Lands End, the slightly more famous most South-Westerly point on mainland UK). Unfortunately, thanks to a small gaggle of already drunk Cornish teen girls blocking the footbridge briefly, I missed the bus and with it any chance of making the trip. The next bus, and hour later would have got me to the Lizard and back, but only after the Sun had set, and by the time I would have got back to Redruth I would have missed the last train back to St Austell. Instead, I had a short wander around Redruth, decided it was a bit of dump and walked back to the station to wait the 35 minutes for the next train.

I arrived back in St Austell and wandered through the town. At a little after seven on a Saturday evening the place was deserted. Totally and utterly deserted. There wasn't even a drunk lying on a bench. I don't know where the population of St Austell go on a Saturday, but it's obviously not the town centre.

I arrived back in St Austell and wandered through the town. At a little after seven on a Saturday evening the place was deserted. Totally and utterly deserted. There wasn't even a drunk lying on a bench. I don't know where the population of St Austell go on a Saturday, but it's obviously not the town centre.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

St Austell; Sunday, 24 September, 2006

There are two major issues I have with Cornwall. One is the fact that the public transport, whilst reliable, isn't particularly regular, especially on a Sunday. First train south from St Austell on a Sunday isn't until gone 10 and the period between busses can be measured in Archaeological ages. The other problem is the total lack of any left luggage facilities, anywhere. There were none in Penzance; there are none in St Austell, Truro or Falmouth. In the end I spent the entire day lugging around a backpack with three days clothes, books, wash bag and other related paraphernalia.

There are two major issues I have with Cornwall. One is the fact that the public transport, whilst reliable, isn't particularly regular, especially on a Sunday. First train south from St Austell on a Sunday isn't until gone 10 and the period between busses can be measured in Archaeological ages. The other problem is the total lack of any left luggage facilities, anywhere. There were none in Penzance; there are none in St Austell, Truro or Falmouth. In the end I spent the entire day lugging around a backpack with three days clothes, books, wash bag and other related paraphernalia.

I arrived in Falmouth (just 20 odd miles from St Austell) at a little after 12:30, more than two hours after leaving the hotel (If it wasn't for all the hills it might just have been quicker to have walked.) From Falmouth Docks station it was a short, if hearty walk, up hill to Pendennis Castle. Built by Henry VIII the castle remained in active service until 1956 when it was handed to what is now English Heritage. The castle is of the same design, and building programme as Portland, Deal and Walmer castles (See Weymouth and Days Out), and of St Mawes, it's sister that sits the other side of the Fal providing an almost impenetrable fortress across the harbour.

Having looked around the castle I wandered down into Falmouth and caught the ferry across the river to St Mawes and the castle there. Unlike Pendennis which is high on a cliff, St Mawes is almost at sea level, which meant it could fire cannons that would hole a ship on its waterline. The castle is also the only building on the site, unlike Pendennis which has had many extra buildings added and earth embankments built.

After looking around the castle, and a short wander around the town I walked back to the harbour and caught the ferry back across to Falmouth. I had a wander through Falmouth for a while, before heading back to the station and Truro.

By the time I arrived in Truro, the capital of Cornwall, and it’s only city, it was gone six, so everything had closed. However, I had a pleasant wander through the streets and took some photos of the Cathedral and city centre. I stopped for a bit to eat and had a further wander in the dusk, before climbing back up to the station for the short (hour and a half) wait for the sleeper, desperately trying not to fall asleep on the platform.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

St Austell; Monday, 25 September, 2006

Despite feeling quite so sleepy the previous evening, it had taken some time to fall asleep on the train, and I had assumed that I would keep waking up through the night. So I was quite surprised when, after having fallen to sleep, my alarm woke me up at 6am with the train already stationed in platform 1 at Paddington. I had a light breakfast and then staggered off the train and in the direction of the tube, home and a really hot shower!

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Bergen; Wednesday, 25 October, 2006

I sneaked away from work at a little after 3, with the aim of getting to the airport early so that I could have dinner, given that SAS Braathens don't provide food in Economy. Sadly, I had figured without the rail network which was in the process of disintegration at the time. 25 minutes after leaving work I was still standing on the platform, less that 200 yards from my desk!

Eventually, a train did arrive, at got me to Gatwick a little after 4. I zipped through to the terminal building and to the zone where my flight was checking-in to see a massive queue, stretching half way across the terminal. Thankfully, it was for the flight to Billund, so I was able to walk straight up to the counter and check in for Bergen. I picked up some pre-ordered Norwegian Krone and joined the back of the very long queue through security.

Given the number of people queuing, I was surprised that it took less that 20 minutes to get through to the departures lounge. Sadly, by now I only had bout 35 minutes until my flight was due to start boarding so I grabbed a sandwich, sat, and ate that. In the end, I had nearly an hour as they were late calling the flight, which meant that I could have had a proper dinner!

After an uneventful flight I touched down in Norway at a little after 9, working out which limb I was going to offer up as payment for the taxi into town, as the last airbus of the evening was in less than 20 minutes. 12 minutes after touching down, rather to my surprise, I found myself, with luggage (having shot through immigration, baggage reclaim, and customs) boarding the airbus - even more surprising given that I was one of the last people off.

The bus dropped me off in the centre of town, from where it was a five-minute walk to the hotel, then a short walk across the street to the other building, as the hotel now covers both sides of the road, and into my room.

After a quick unpack I collapsed into bed for some well-earned rest.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Bergen; Thursday, 26 October, 2006

After a massive breakfast (and a twenty-minute rest to allow some sort of digestion to start) I staggered out of the hotel and into the centre of town. First stop was the tourist information centre for a Bergen card, and as they were selling them some postcards and stamps (might as well get it all done at once).

I had a wander through the city centre and out to the station where I collected my tickets for my trip to Flåm on Saturday. I then wandered back into the centre and on to the most historic part of the city, Bryggen

This tight collection of buildings and small lanes was home to the Hanseatic (see Riga, Lübeck, Hanover, Bremen, Krakow...) merchants, who turned Bergen into the most important city in Norway, and one of the most important cities in Europe. All the buildings are timber and are literally floating on a timber raft anchored at the edge of the Fjord. They all have an olde worlde feel to them and a distinct lean. Sadly this final feature is a more modern problem. In 1944, whilst Norway was occupied, a German munitions boat exploded in the harbour destroying most of the castle area and severely damaging the Bryggen.

Wandering through the tiny alleyways you finally find yourself at a not particularly appealing concrete building. This is the Bryggen museum. It tells the history of the area, the Hanseatic traders, and has remains of several further buildings from the area, dating back to the 12th Century left in situ where they were discovered (the building was built around them, which partly excuses some of its less than brilliant architecture)

From the museum it's a short walk further down the harbour side to the Bergenhus, the side of the city castle. Only a few buildings remain now, and they all had to be rebuilt following the 1944 explosion. On a Thursday in October the only building that is open is the Håkonshallen, sadly this doesn't open until the late afternoon, so instead, given the weather had taken a short breather I walked back to the centre of town and caught the funicular railway up to Fløyen. The views from the top are spectacular, not only of the city laid out beneath you, but also across the fjords that stretch away from the city.

After about 20 minutes the weather started to close in again so I caught the train back down the hill and popped back to the hotel for a while to dry off.

A little later, and only once the Håkonshallen was actually open, I wandered back out from the hotel over to it. The hall is the main remnant of the old castle, and the top floor, a massive open space with a proper Norwegian hammer beam roof, is spectacular. By the time I left the castle the sun was (or at least would have been had it ever managed to break through the clouds) setting, so I decided to hop on the Fløibanen again and get some photos of Bergen in the dusk.

Once again, after about 20 minutes the weather started to close in, though this time accompanied by a wind that appeared to want to make me make the 320m descent faster than 8 minute train trip! I wandered back through the town, stopped for a Norwegian grilled sausage (I was still quite full from breakfast) and then headed back to the hotel, for a quiet evening and an early night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Bergen; Friday, 27 October, 2006

On average it rains for 260 days of the year in Bergen, and October is the wettest month by some way. So it was with quite some surprise that I woke to clear skies, and a crisp late autumn morning. After another million plus calorie breakfast I left the hotel and headed out to take in some of the impressive churches that shape the Bergen Skyline.

First stop, at the top of a particularly steep hill, in the university quarter was the Johanneskirken, a red brick church which has impressive views over the city and fjords. The church itself is quite plain on the inside, or looked as much through the closed doors, it appears to only be open for very limited hours (which don't appear to include Sundays!). The church stands at the end of the main street which runs down to the fish market, and from it's elevated position offers stunning views. I meandered back through the city to the Cathedral.

The cathedral is a much plainer church from the outside, and according to the guidebooks is similarly plain inside, sadly it was closed, with no indication that it had any intention of opening. I wandered back along the lanes at the back of the Bryggen to the Mariakirken, the oldest church still in use in the city, and one of the oldest in the country. According to the guidebooks it is well worth looking around.

For the third time in the morning my attempts to visit something were thwarted. This time as I approached the church I spotted that there was a hearse and funeral cars parked outside. No matter how impressive the church, I'm not about to go blundering into someone's funeral to have a look, so I decided to give it a miss, which is a shame as the church is only open for 90 minutes a day Tuesday to Friday. I was left wondering how the people of Bergen go to church if all the churches are shut on Sunday?

I walked back along the Bryggen to the Fish market, and finally found something open. The Hanseatic museum is based in an old merchant’s house and has exhibitions spread over three floors. The ground floor shows what the storeroom would be like, with displays on the different products that they traded. The first floor tells some history of the league, as well as having examples of rooms that the merchants, and their servants, would have lived in. On the top floor are further rooms and an exhibit on the trading that went on inn Bergen (almost all Cod based including, inexcusably, cod-liver oil) Walking around the building you have to remind yourself that you are not actually drunk as none of the floors are level and there isn't a single right angle in the whole place.

By the time I left the museum it was early afternoon and I had achieved a visit to only one attraction and a lot of finding things closed. Sadly, at this point a quick flick through the Bergen guide showed that this was unlikely to be rectified. Bergen is most definitely a summer city. By late October the museums that are still open are usually only open for a couple of hours! Instead, as it was such a pleasant day, I thought I would catch the bus out to the cable car that goes up to Mount Ulriken, at 642m the highest of the seven peaks that surround Bergen.

After tracking down the bus (turned out to be the sole trolley-bus route) I caught it out to the hospital on the edge of town where the signs point to the cable car station. A strenuous 10 minutes walk later I found myself at the lower station and confronted by a sign "Due to poor weather conditions on the mountain the cable car is closed". At this point I decided that the rest of the afternoon was probably best written off, caught the bus back into town and went back to the hotel to read a book until it was time for dinner!

Sadly, even this proved to be a task too far, even with no lunch, no snacks and only a can of cola all day, Breakfast was still causing through my veins and other internal bits, and by 7pm I still didn't feel like a full meal. Instead, I popped out to take a wander around the city at night, picked up a sandwich from a seven eleven and collapsed back into bed for an early night a little after 9pm!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Bergen; Saturday, 28 October, 2006

Almost the whole of today was spent travelling. More than 3 hours to get to a small town, less than an hours there and then another three hours to get back, it would have to be special. In some ways Flåm, the ultimate destination of the day is a little bit of a let down, but it’s not the town that I've actually come to see.

Getting to Flåm is one of the most impressive and breathtaking journeys you can take. From Bergen the normal Norwegian train runs along the edge of the Fjords for a while, passing through countless tunnels and crossing back and forth over rivers until it turn inland and rises to a plateau in the mountains. In late October you can see the snow line approach, and then by the time you get off the train at Myrdal it looks like Winter has taken a very firm grasp. From here the journey gets even more spectacular.

The Flåmsbana runs the 20Km from Myrdal at 864.3 metres above sea level to Flåm at sea level. Dropping at gradients of 1 in 18 (the steepest gradient of any normal railway on the planet), curving round on itself including doing a full 180° turn in a tunnel inside the mountain. At one point you can look across and see the railway at Myrdal, and at two different levels on the side of the mountain. Part way down the train stops at a small gap between two tunnels by a massive waterfall with an opportunity for the passengers to get off and take photos.

After the journey down there is very little that Flåm could do to match the trip. Instead it cashes in on the tourist market with a selection of souvenir stalls and shops which is only surpassed in my experience by Tat Land (AKA Santa park, Rovaniemi, Finland). If your flabber has not been too gasted by now you can top the sensory (and credit card) overload off with an alternative return to Bergen by way of a fjord ferry and then bus. Given that the return ticket price on the train was only a little more than the single I had already decided that it would be financially more prudent to come back the way I came.

The added advantage of doing this was that I could spend the journey down looking out of one side, and the journey back out of the other (the better views on the whole are from the left hand side). Back at Myrdal I had a fifteen minute wait for the train back to Bergen, where I contemplated the folly of wearing clothing that was fine at 9C in Bergen and Flåm, but a little too thin in the sub zero temperatures of Myrdal. Thankfully, the sun was still just out, and there was no wind so it wasn't too bad.

By 7pm I was back in Bergen and after stopping to have a look around the Bryggen at night (not that much, they don't floodlight it!); a quick sandwich (Once again Breakfast was almost enough for the night); and discovering that you can't buy any beer except alcohol free after 6pm on a Saturday in the Fjord areas, I headed back to the hotel for another gloriously long sleep, extended even further by the final act of summoning winter, the clocks going back.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Bergen; Sunday, 29 October, 2006

Whilst it may have actually been light at 8:30 this morning, unlike the past few, I knew that it also meant that it would be dark long before 4, not that mattered, almost everything would be shut long before then!

Given the extra hour in bed I had an even larger breakfast, and witnessed several guests get the dawning sensation that they had missed out on an hour extra in bed as the "no it's ten, no it's not it's nine" conversations went on.

After a leisurely breakfast I left the hotel and wandered out to the Bryggen. Behind the main blocks are three small buildings, which were knocked together into one several hundred years ago to act as communal halls and administration offices for the Hanseatic merchants, the Schøtstuene. After a short stop to look around some of the souvenir shops at the front of the Bryggen, only because it was pouring down at this point, I wandered over to the Bergenhus to visit the Rosenkrantztarnet, the main defensive building in the fort, and in October only open for three hours on a Sunday. The tower, completely rebuilt to the original medieval layout after the destruction of the 1944 explosion, has several floors starting at fjord level in the Kitchens and Dungeons (where the toilets are conveniently located) and climbing up through the tower to the roof for, even on a now very wet day, stunning views over the city, and if they weren't shrouded in both the previous and next showers, the surrounding mountains.

From the fort it was a soggy 15 minute walk back across town to the University and the two main museums over there (the third museum, the maritime museum, closed for the day whilst I was still in the first museum!). The Natural histories collection houses the universities zoological and geological exhibits, including several very impressive skeletons of whales, and a scary number of stuffed animals (though on closer inspection some of the exhibits, which are all looking a little past their prime, appear to be wire and wood frames, so it may not have been as eco-systemically catastrophic as I had first feared.

Around the corner from the Natural History Collection is the Cultural History collection which has exhibits on the Vikings, church art, ethnography, Egyptian mummies and Henrik Isben (the famous Norwegian playwright who lived in Bergen for a while)

By the time I left the museum, just on Kicking out time at 4pm the light was starting to fade, and the rain had taken on monsoon qualities. I took a short, but very wet walk back to the hotel to dry off and see if the rain would let up.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Bergen; Monday, 30 October, 2006

With a final blow out breakfast inside me I checked out of the hotel and headed out to the Bergen Aquarium.

The Aquarium is based on the end of a spit of land that sticks out into the Fjord, a 15 minute walk from the Hotel. Unfortunately, this spit of land is made up of a big hill that I didn't know about, otherwise I would have walked into town and along the shorefront rather than up the middle.

The Aquarium has the usual selection of species from around the globe, as well as three seals and a small penguin family. There is also, for some unknown reason, a display of creepy-crawlies and spiders.

From the Aquarium I wandered back into town and had enough time to wander up to the Maritime museum which I had missed the previous day. The museum has exhibits explaining the history of seafaring in Norway from Pre-Viking times up to today’s oil tankers and cruise liners.

By the time I left the museum it was a little before half twelve, my flight was in less that 4 hours and I knew it would take at least 30 minutes to get to the airport, so I decided to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and head for the airport. In the end, I was quite thankful as there was a massive queue on the road out of Bergen, and it took nearly an hour to get out to the airport.

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Manchester; Wednesday, 08 November, 2006

I’ve had something that I always thought was probably true confirmed to me. Having several pints with a departing colleague, and then taking a flight don’t mix.

After spending a significant part of the afternoon firstly in the pub, then queuing to get through security at Gatwick, I arrived in the departures lounge to find that everything, except the bars, were closing for the evening! I decided, thankfully, against any more booze and instead concentrated on consuming as much expensive French water as my wallet could allow.

It still lead to a particularly uncomfortable (though part of that was turbulence outside of the plane, rather than inside of me) flight. By the time I arrived in Manchester, not that I knew it at that point, the worst had passed.

After a relatively swift trip from plane to bags I then encounter possibly the longest walk ever to get to the “Integrated Airport Railway Station”. It was nearly 10 minutes of walking before I finally got a glimpse of a ticket office and tracks!

An uneventful journey later I arrived in Manchester Piccadilly, to repeat the same process all over again, as the platforms for trains from the Airport are positioned somewhere closer to Cardiff than to Manchester!

By the time I got to the hotel, a further 5 minute walk away, I had worn off any alcohol that was still in my system, and after a very large glass of water from the bar, collapsed into bed and sleep.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Manchester; Thursday, 09 November, 2006

The whole day was spent attending a conference in Manchester, the main reason for being up here in the first place

The evening was spent getting quite drunk with other members of the conference

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Manchester; Friday, 10 November, 2006

The following morning was spent congratulating conference members on their hangovers!

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Manchester; Saturday, 11 November, 2006

With the conference having finished the previous evening I now had a long weekend to my self in the North West. However, by the time I finally got my act together and got out of the hotel it was already late morning.

Up to Manchester Piccadilly and then out on the train to Lancaster. Once the most important town in the region, the central focus for the county of Lancashire, which once boasted Liverpool and Manchester as small towns within it. The city now is somewhat dominated by its larger southern children, but is still a very pleasant small city.

Perched on hill, above the railway station, is the Castle. Uniquely, it is still a working prison, the only castle in the country still fulfilling this duty, and court complex, as well as being an historic building that can trace it’s current structure back 900 years to King John, and the site nearly 2000 years to the Romans.

Saturday, in the end, turned out to be the best day to visit. With the local crown court on site it is only possible to visit the court rooms and some of the old cells when they are not sitting, it’s not possible at all to visit the existing cells, without getting a criminal record!

Access around the castle is by guided tour, and the tour guide gives a good background to the history of the castle, it’s use as a prison and a court. There are displays on the methods of punishment used during the ages, as well as a visit to the site of the public executions (now the jury room, which is a little concerning)

I had a look around the area near the castle, taking in the Priory church (closed) and the remains of the Roman Baths (un-locatable!) I wandered back to the station to catch the train out to the seaside resort of Morecambe.

However, by the time I arrived in Morecambe the weather had deteriorated by quite a bit. What had been bearable light drizzle was now heavy driving rain with hailstones mixed in and a powerful wind, enough to stop you in your tracks and make walking difficult. I struggled the hundred yards or so from the station to the seafront, but then (now totally soaked) had to give up and walked back to the train to dry off.

It was still “Interesting” weather by the time I got back to Lancaster so I decided to call it a day and head back to Manchester, which in the end proved to be a good idea. The journey to Lancaster may have only taken a little over an hour; the journey back took nearly three with speed restrictions in place because of the weather!

Still slightly damp, despite all the time in the warm train, I headed back to the hotel to dry off, warm up and then have dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Manchester; Sunday, 12 November, 2006

Another day that I’m late out of the hotel, though this time it was caused by my typing up the previous days being late out of the hotel (isn’t it amazing how IT has transformed our lives…)

Off the Piccadilly, again, this time instead of heading north to Lancaster it was time to go south to Chester. The county town of Cheshire, possibly one of wealthiest counties in the UK, it’s the kind of city that the guidebooks can’t help but moan about because it’s besieged by tourists (I’m sure there is an irony in there, but it’s late and I’ve just had two pints!) Chester could be summed up in one concept. Take York and slap it down on the west coast near the Welsh border.

Ancient city walls that stretch, almost unbroken around the city, Check. Roman city with Viking credentials, Check. Castle that has been replaced by a Georgian palace which is now a court, Check. Large river, Ouse in York, Dee in Chester, Check. The only difference is that York is a little to far south to have had its history affected by rampaging Scots. Chester and the Welsh are a different story.

Chester station is conveniently located the best part of a mile from the city centre, thankfully my ticket included free bus transfer. When buying the ticket it explains there is a bus every 6 minutes, they forget to add the condition “Mondays to Saturdays” on Sunday there is only a bus every 30 minutes, not that the 15 minute wait for the next scheduled bus put me off waiting. In the end I would probably have been better off by walking into the city centre.

Arriving in Chester city centre the first thing I saw was the open top bus tour. Chester’s is a little different. Whilst many other cities use old buses (i.e. things that were plying the streets as the number 36 about 25 years ago) Chester is possibly the only city that uses a vehicle that looks like something out of the 1920’s. The vehicle is actually a converted truck made to look like a 1920’s London omnibus. Therefore it’s not open top by conversion, but more from the original design!

The tour takes in much of the city centre, travelling up most of the roads in the centre of the city, in some cases more than once, before crossing the river Dee to the other side of the river through Chester suburbs before returning back over the Dee to the city centre. The tour guide gives a running commentary on many of the buildings and sites that the bus passes.

After taking the bus tour I walked down to the Cathedral and had a look around. After the Romans and then the Vikings, Chester became an almost exclusively monastic city, with seven monasteries in operation at one point. The Cathedral is the remnants of one of these monasteries. After having looked around the cathedral I walked through the grounds past the separate bell tower (built in the 1970’s to stop the bells from destroying the structure of the Cathedrals tower) onto the city walls.

These are one of the main features of Chester and form an almost complete circuit of the city. The line they follow is the same that the Romans laid out to protect their fortress, now nearly 2000 years later with a few minor changes, and several rebuilds they remain pretty much the same and allow stunning views over the city centre, at stages soaring above the main shopping streets and over the canals and railway tracks.

Walking around the walls takes some time, and by the time I got back to the area near the Cathedral it was already starting to get dark, and most things were closing, so I walked to the bus stop, realised I had missed the bus by 5 minutes and walked on to the railway station (for the record it did take longer than the wait for the bus on the way in, which sort of justified the laziness!)

Just over an hour later, I was walking back towards my hotel in Manchester and dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Manchester; Monday, 13 November, 2006

Having left my luggage in the hotel storage room I headed over to the station to catch the tram to the Western side of the city. The main attraction is the Museum of Science and Industry which charts Manchester’s rise to prominence during the industrial revolution, as well as housing exhibits on the history of gas and electricity; the sewage system in Manchester and the general history of Manchester from its Roman roots.

Part of the museum is based in the worlds first railway station, the original building of the Manchester to Liverpool railway, made famous by Stephenson’s Rocket, and fittingly there is an exhibit on this (in the Second Class booking hall!)

Across the road from the main part of the museum, but still part of it, is an exhibition on air and space with lots of models of planes (and some cars for no readily explained reason) and some background on space.

You could easily spend a couple of days looking around the site, longer still if you decided to read every caption and take in every talk that the museum puts on. After about four hours my legs and feet had decided they had enough, and with a short lunch inside me I headed back to the tram stop and the North Eastern part of the city.

On Exchange Square, once home of the Corn exchange, a large Ferris wheel has been erected, supposedly only temporarily, but as it’s been here before and the council got in very serious trouble with its citizens when they allowed it to go, it is likely that it might by staying. The wheel isn’t as large as the London eye, or as creaky as the Prata wheel in Vienna, but it does offer stunning (if slightly concerning when the wind gets up) views over the city centre and surrounding countryside.

Back down on solid ground I wandered around the corner to the Cathedral, a building that is quite lost amongst the high-rise shopping centres and office blocks of modern Manchester, but quite visible from the top of a big wheel that’s not so gently rocking in the wind.

After a quick look round the cathedral it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and head back out to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Cologne; Monday, 18 December, 2006

After landing in Dusseldorf and getting the train down to Cologne, I checked into the hotel and then went into town for a wander.

At this time of year the whole of Cologne is covered in Christmas decorations and every few yards there appears to be another Christmas market. After spending quite some time wandering through the market stalls around the Cathedral, I took advantage of having an all zone ticket and got the tram out to Bonn to have a look at their Christmas markets.

After a couple of hours in Bonn I caught the tram back to Cologne and popped by the hotel to pick up some new batteries for the camera before heading back out to the Neumarkt, the largest of the Christmas Markets.

I spent quite a long time wandering through the Neumarkt, before catching the tram along one wore stop to the Heumarkt where there is another market, this one with more emphasis on the hot wine!

From the Heumarkt I wandered down to the Rhine and followed it along to the railway bridge walking past the Fishmarkt, At the Cathedral I climbed up from the river to bridge level, and then walked across the river next to the railway line and back to the hotel.

Weather

Foggy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Cologne; Tuesday, 19 December, 2006

Following a pig out at breakfast, I wandered down to the tram stop and caught the tram into town and onto the Hauptbahnhof. My destination for the day was Xanten, after Cologne the most important surviving Roman town in Germany, and about the only one that hasn't been built upon.

The journey is quite slow as you have to change in Duisburg and wait nearly 30 minutes (made even longer when you find out that the train to Duisburg does stop at the Köln Messe/Deutz station that is 5 minutes walk from the hotel, and you need not have spent 45 minutes getting to the Hauptbahnhof because of engineering works on the tram lines!). The final part of the journey is on a little branch line out to Xanten which wanders its way through the German countryside, at times almost invisible through thick fog, but as the train came out of the only tunnel on the line, and the on board computerised announcements came out with 'Die nächste haltestelle ist Xanten, Das Zug endet dort.' the sky had cleared and there were large patches of blue.

According to the guidebooks, it is about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the station to the centre of town. As usual, this was wildly inaccurate, 5 minutes after leaving the station I was standing in the market square looking at the impressive cathedral church that dominates the town. Inside is no less impressive and you are given an insight into what all really old churches would look like if they never had reformations or threw stuff out, it's a hotchpotch of aisles, alters, alter screens and choirs, more soberingly, in the crypt is a small display to some of the residents of the area who met their deaths during the Nazi time in the concentration camps. The back of the Crypt wall has blocks with the names of some of the more infamous camps - Bergen Belsen, Dachau and Auschwitz - etched into them and then covered with barbed wire, it suddenly reminds you that it wasn't that long ago.

The modern town of Xanten is built on the edge of a much older settlement. Colonia Ulpia Traiana was built here in around 70AD and occupied for at least 200 years. Today only the foundations of a few of the buildings remain, and that would be all, if the site hadn't been 'Disnyfied'. Archaeologists have attempted reconstruction's of some of the buildings on their original foundations, based on findings elsewhere and an element of guess work.

The results are actually quite impressive with parts of the Roman wall, a villa, amphitheatre and temple all open for visitors to look around, and in most places you can still see the remains of the buildings, the temple, for example, is almost floating on modern building methods over the roman remains of it’s original foundations. The site is massive, and not all has survived, as the main road bypassing the town cuts a swathe through the middle of the site. On the opposite side of the road is probably the most impressive remains, mostly because they haven't rebuilt, instead they have encased it in a glass structure to preserve the remains of one of the largest bath houses ever discovered. You can walk around inside and get a feel for how the Romans relaxed.

After spending several hours wandering around Roman remains, and with a blister doing a good representation of the size of the Roman empire throbbing on my foot I hobbled back to the station and caught the train back to Duisburg, and then back to Cologne.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Cologne; Wednesday, 20 December, 2006

Wuppertal doesn't actually exist. There is no city called Wuppertal, instead it's the creation of the late 1920's by merging 6 towns that run into each other down the length of the river Wupper. Consequently, there is no great city centre, and thanks to its heavy industrialisation from the 19th century onwards, and the carefully pinpointed accuracy of allied bombing raids, nothing of any major historical interest, except it's transport infrastructure. Not something usually a pull on the tourist itinerary, but the Wuppertal Schwebebahn is no ordinary railway. It hangs, from a single rail, over the roads, houses, and for a large part of its route, the river, of Wuppertal.

The only thing vaguely like it in the world is the "Blue Wander" in Dresden, and that only climbs a hill, this runs for several kilometres, stopping at 19 stations and is an integral part of the Wuppertal transport system. Having been convinced by the write up in two of my three guidebooks I made the 45 minute trek from Cologne to Wuppertal. Yes, it's an impressive engineering feet, and it's impressive the way it swings out over the river (though it's not the raging torrent that the guidebooks make out, you could drown in it, but you would have to make a strong effort!), but is it worth the journey from Cologne, probably in itself not, so I went for a hunt to see if there was anything else interesting around the Central station, 45 minutes later I was on a train heading back to Cologne!

I explored some of Cologne's Roman past on my last visit, but I had managed to miss one of the most major Roman sites in the city. Located near the Rathaus are the remains of the Praetorium and a large section of Roman Canal. The Canal stretches for a good couple of hundred feet and is almost completely intact. The Praetorium itself is just parts of the foundations, but the museum explains some of the history of the area, and the function and structure of the building.

I had a wander through the streets of the old town for a while, taking in a couple more Christmas markets that I hadn’t realised existed, before heading back to the hotel to drop my bag off and then head out for dinner.

Weather

Foggy Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Cologne; Thursday, 21 December, 2006

Time to complete a Roman hat trick this morning. Koblenz has been an important town since Roman times, its name derives from Confluence as it is as this point that the Mosel and Rhine rivers merge, today under the watchful eye of several impressive fortresses.

After arriving at the main station I walked the 20 minutes or so, through the modern town to the centre of the old town, around the Munster (closed to prepare for Christmas), the museums (most closed for the winter period) to the Mosel river side (all boat tours shut for the season) and along to the point where the two rivers merge. Today it is called Deutsche Ecker, German corner, and resembles the bow of a ship riding out into the two rivers. An impressive statue on a plinth only topped for size by Leipzig, stares out over the join. The statues plinth can be climbed to the top for stunning views (not late November to early Feb!), or alternatively you can take a ferry across the Rhine (March - November only) to the base of the fortress (access only all buildings closed December and January) which can be reached either by a hefty walk up the steep slope or by cable car (summer months only).

As you may have guessed by now, I wasn't having much luck with things being open. After two hours of wandering around Koblenz all I had managed to do was to see some relatively impressive views and double the size of the blister on my foot. I walked back to the station to catch the train back to Cologne. However, instead of going back the way I came, straight up through Bonn, spending most of the time inland, I took the slower train back that starts by crossing the Rhine, just outside Koblenz, and then travelling up the Right hand bank where the train hugs the riverside most of the way back. With a light mist over the banks it was very beautiful, and more than made up for the lack of open attractions in Koblenz.

Cologne, like much of Germany appears to be in a constant state of rebuilding. When I visited in April 2004 the land on the opposite side of the river from the Cathedral was a building site, with not much to see. Today it houses the Cologne Triangle building, a 28 storey office block, with a viewing platform on the roof. With the mists having lifted enough to be actually able to see across from one bank of the Rhine to the other, I caught the lift up to the top to take in the the views. Even with the mist there are still stunning views over the city. The Cathedral is almost more impressive when seen on a level with the roof!

After spending quite some time at the top I caught the tram back to the hotel to drop some stuff off before heading back out shortly after it had got dark, the distinct advantage of the shortest day of the year, is that you don't have to wait that long for it to get dark! I wandered back to the tower and went back up to the roof to take some even more impressive views of Cologne at night, with the city centre lit up and the Cathedral standing proudly over all of it.

I walked over the Rhine by the railway bridge, and took in a couple more of the Christmas markets before stopping for a bite to eat, before heading back to the hotel to pack and sleep.

Weather

Foggy Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Cologne; Friday, 22 December, 2006

I checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance to the station to pick up the train to Düsseldorf. After dumping my luggage in the last large locker in Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof, I caught the S-Bahn out to a small town on the outskirts.

This small town would probably never have been known to the outside world, were it not for the discovery in a small cave in the mid 19th century of remains. The looked strangely human, but different, more powerful with a strange ridge on the skull. Despite similar bones being discovered several years earlier in Gibraltar nobody had taken much notice up until then. With this discovery Human kind suddenly had an ancestor and Neanderthal suddenly became the most widely used German place name in the world.

Toady nobody knows where the cave was that the bones were found in. The whole Neander valley has been destroyed by mining, but a museum in the town has a wealth of information (in both German and English) on the finding of the bones; what they meant to the world at a time, just years after the publication of “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”, that was coming to terms with the idea that humans may not have been “placed here” but evolved from other creatures. There are displays on how Neanderthals may have lived, communicated and hunted.

After spending a very long time looking around the museum I walked back up to the station and caught the train back to Düsseldorf and then on by tram to the riverside TV tower.

The tower stands out on the Düsseldorf skyline, despite all the other tall buildings, and from the viewing platform at 175m the views are spectacular. The Rhine meandering its way north towards the sea and towards the south the spires of Cologne Cathedral just about visible (with a squint and a bit of imagination!) By the time I came back down from the tower there was no time left to look around the rest of Düsseldorf, it was time to head back to the airport and hope that I could get home.

The prognosis was not good. All the fog and mist in Germany had been mild to that in London. For three days thick freezing fog had all but closed Heathrow and London City airports with only limited numbers of flights landing. Shortly after arriving at Düsseldorf airport my worst fears were realised. Lufthansa had cancelled all flights back to London. I was sent round to the ticket desk where they transferred me onto a BA flight to Heathrow that should have left 25 minutes earlier, but was delayed for “some considerable time”.

I walked back over to the BA check-in desks and checked in for my flight and headed straight through security and to the gate. By the time I sat down it was 17:00, 40 minutes after the flight should have left and 30 minutes before my original flight should have gone. The purser from the flight appeared at a little before 17:30 and started making announcements about the flight. The earliest slot we could get would not be for another 2 hours.

So it was with a little surprise, after lots of frantic action and the cancellation of two further BA flights that were going to be accommodated on this flight, that at a little after 6pm an announcement came that they would shortly be commencing boarding of the flight as they had managed to get a take-off slot just before 7. It was an even bigger surprise when my boarding card was rejected when I went to board. Due to the number of passengers on the flight BA regrettably had to upgrade me to Business Class.

I may have arrived 90 minutes later than I should have done, into an airport some 20 miles west of my original destination, but I was a comfortable flight, I, unlike a lot of other people, had got home without too much incident, and in style! A very nice Christmas present from BA (not sure how Lufthansa will feel when they get the bill though!)

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Bristol; Saturday, 20 January, 2007

After two days of management training in a conference centre on the outskirts of Bridgwater in Somerset, (I work in London, go figure!) I said goodbye to my colleagues and, whilst they set off on a 4-hour coach ride back to London and the office on Monday, I walked the two miles to the station in Bridgwater.

After an uneventful journey, I arrived at Bristol Temple Meads Station. I have an issue with Bristol (partly connected to my issues with Bath) and it is that the signage is not great and they keep changing the layout of the roads. I had looked at a map and worked out that it was almost a straight line from the station to the hotel, and it should not have taken more than 10-15 minutes to get there.

45 minutes later, with sore feet and decidedly less than happy, I arrived at the hotel having walked round in about three different very big circles!

After having checked in, I walked out from the hotel round the corner to the new M&S to get some food for dinner, as I did not really want to see any more of Bristol that evening!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Bristol; Sunday, 21 January, 2007

After a refreshing shower and a less than impressive breakfast (my definition of selection of cold meats and cheeses would normally require there to be more than one of each) I headed out from the hotel and wandered towards the city centre.

The centre of Bristol is based around the old floating harbour and docks. With the increase in size of ships from the start of the 20th century the docks moved out along the Avon to where it meets the Severn, leaving the docks to decay, subsequently allowing the late 20th centuries favourite past time "Regeneration" to take place as they were (and still are being) transformed into a trendy arts, museum and living area. Part of the regeneration has seen the re-use of the canal for it's original purpose, as a means of transport. During rush hours in the winter and all day during the summer and at all weekends, ferries run up and back between the city centre and various other points, such as the train station.

I arrived at the jetty just minutes before a ferry heading west was due to depart and so I hopped on this and caught it the short distance down the river to the SS Great Britain.

Built as the first Iron Hulled ship by Brunel it changed the whole way ships were built. After more than 80 years of service the ship was finally sunk in a bay in the Falkland islands in 1937. Thankfully there were enough people who recognised the importance of the ship, and in 1970 it was successfully re-floated and sailed the 8,000 miles across the Atlantic to Bristol. At Avonmouth it was taken into a dry dock, patched up and taken off the pontoon it had sailed across the Atlantic on, and then was towed the last stretch up the Avon, underneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge (another of I.K. Brunel’s masterpieces) for the first time ever (the ship was launched before the bridge was built), and back to the dry dock it had been built in 127 years to the day it was launched, and then they started the restoration work.

It is still going on! The parts of the ship above the waterline have been restored to perfect condition, but below the waterline 127 years of salt water have seriously taken their tole, in places the iron has simply flaked away to nothingness. The ship is now sealed in its dry dock, a layer of glass seals the bottom of the boat from the elements and dry air is being pumped in to attempt to remove the salt content of the iron, it makes for a bizarre sight, as a thin layer of water is pumped over the glass the ship looks like it is still afloat. Underneath the glass you can walk around the base of the ship and read about the restoration work and see where the iron is rotting, a museum next to the ship tells its history from it's final momentous journey up the Avon in 1970 back to it's launch by Prince Albert, before being able to go onto the ship itself to look around.

After a couple of hours wandering around the Great Britain I caught the ferry across the river to the North bank and walked up the gardens on this side of the bank to Cabot tower. The tower sits on the top of a tall hill and from it’s viewing platform at the very top you can get stunning views of the city, the docks and the massive hail storm that was just approaching.

The descent took about 4 minutes as I was behind a child having serious issues with the descent, which was thankful, because by the time I got to the bottom the hail storm has stopped and it was clear and sunny again. I caught the ferry back cross the river to the SS Great Britain and picked up the ferry down to Temple Meads. From here I jumped on the bus and went out to Clifton to visit another of Mr Brunel’s constructions.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is an amazing structure, soaring high above the Avon gorge. Next to the bridge is an observatory which, from the top floor, offers stunning views of the bridge and gorge, as well as a camera obscurer. In the basement of the building a passageway leads down to a cave in the side of the gorge that overlooks the bridge. On the opposite end of the bridge is the visitors centre, which explains a little about the history, construction and maintenance of the bridge, it's also a good place to wait out another heavy hail storm!

I walked back across the bridge to the bus stop and caught the bus back into to town, stopping off at the ruins of St Peters Church, destroyed during bombing raids in the second world war, to take a ride on the Bristol eye, a Ferris wheel that offers views over the city centre. By now it was getting late so I grabbed a bit to eat, before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Hail Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Bristol; Monday, 22 January, 2007

After checking out I walked through the city centre to the bus station and caught the bus out to Glastonbury. More famously known for it's music festival, the town itself is a pleasant small English town, with the stunning remains of a Benedictine monastery, ruined after the dissolution of the monasteries following the reformation. Only a few parts of the buildings remain, but those that do give an impression of what the site would have looked like.

Glastonbury is also famous for its Tor, a large hill over 150meters higher than the surrounding countryside, topped with the tower of a chapel. It had been my intention to climb this to take the views, however, the weather over the preceding few days had been les than impressive, and the ground was so muddy that I decided I probably didn't want to travel back home looking like I had actually been to Glastonbury!

The final thing that sealed my decision was the fact the bus was sitting at the bus stop as I left the abbey grounds, so I caught it back to Wells, where I had a look around the cathedral there before catching the bus onto Bath.

My reason for going to Bath was to try and put some of the daemons of my previous trip behind me. And it started well, walking up towards Poultney bridge there was a stunning Rainbow arching through the sunlight and clouds over the city centre. Unfortunately, the water it was reflecting was heading my direction in the form of large hail stones and so after 20 minutes of wandering round Bath I was soaking wet and freezing cold, much as I was when I had previously visited. Utterly disheartened, I trudged (and squelched) back to the bus station to catch the bus back into Bristol.

By the time I got back to Bristol and had a late lunch/early dinner, it was getting dark, and I had just under two hours until my train. As I had a day ticket for the bus I caught one back out to Clifton and took some photos of the bridge in the dark, where it is even more impressive lit up than it is during the day.

I walked back to the bus stop, caught the bus back into town, picked up my luggage from the Ibis and, being very lazy, and unwilling to get lost again, caught the bus back round to Temple Meads station.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Hail Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Rome; Tuesday, 20 February, 2007

No trip to Italy would be complete without taking in the full Italian experience, which includes the customary "Air Traffic Control Dispute". The first warning should have been when I was in the departures lounge at Heathrow at 11:30 and saw that the 10:00 Rome flight has only just gone to "Go to gate", despite this 30 minutes before departure the gate number for my flight came up, I walked down, straight onto the plane and settled into my seat.

At 12:35, on time the doors were closed, the air bridge retracted and then the pilot let us know that we would be waiting for about another 90 minutes as the Air Traffic Controllers in Rome were on strike until 4pm, so we couldn't leave until we could be certain they would be back at work by the time we reached Italian airspace. After 20 minutes Heathrow decided that they needed the gate so we were sent off to the middle of the airfield and sat there for 40 minutes. Eventually we got the all clear, and for once made a very quick getaway from Heathrow. From the engines starting again, to us being in the air was less than 4 minutes, and we didn't stop at any point, just queue jumped everyone else and took off.

After an eventless flight we landed in Rome, where any annoyance at the delay was put in sharp focus by the fact that the previous BA flight (2 and a half hours before ours was supposed to depart) had only arrived minutes before ours. We may have had an hours delay, they had closer to four, and my bag appeared to come round before any of the earlier flights luggage!

I caught the "Leonardo Express" into the city centre and walked the short distance to the hotel, checked in and then went for a wander.

After 10 minutes random wandering I came across lots of ruins, turned a corner and was greeted by the site that pretty much defines Rome, the Colosseum. I spent quite some time taking photos of it from various locations and angles, before it suddenly dawned on me that it was almost 8:30 and all I had had to eat since breakfast were a couple of BA sandwiches and a chocolate bar, so I wandered off to find a restaurant, and then back to the hotel to sleep off what in the end was a big meal.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Rome; Wednesday, 21 February, 2007

Having finished a decidedly sweet, and not particularly filling breakfast, I headed out from the hotel and back to the Colosseum to see it in daylight.

All the guide books warn of the massive delays and long waits to get into the Colosseum, this however, does not apply if you have a RomaPass which allows you to bypass the whole queue and go straight in (and the speed the queue was moving at, it saved me over 40 minutes!) The Colosseum has, over the last two millennium, been used for its original purpose, and then from the middle ages onwards as a store and source of construction materials. It really is surprising, given that, how much of the structure still remains. You can climb (or like me be lasy and take the lift) up to one of the higher terraces to get a good view across the whole arena.

From the Colosseum I crossed the road and wandered into the back end of the remains of the Forum. The best preserved, and most interesting part, is spread over the Palatine hill and includes the remains of palaces built by Augustus as well as stunning views over the Forum and central Rome. I spent several hours wandering through the palatine, before realising that breakfast had really not been enough. So I found a small snack bar and had a pizza before wandering down the road to the Circus Maximus.

The circus was, in its day, the worlds largest sporting complex. It's here that Ben Hur style chariot races would take place, sadly, unlike the Colosseum, almost nothing of the Circus, other than the raised central section, the embankments that would have formed the base of the seating and a few stones are all that remain.

I caught the metro back from the Circus to Termini and caught one of the many open-top tours that go around Rome. This one (discounted with the RomaPass) starts at Termini before heading off past the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, the Vatican and many other of the major sights of the city.

I got off the bus a little before it got back to Termini and had a wander through some back streets to reach the Trevi Fountain, another of Rome's most famous landmarks. I would have thrown my coins in, but as the mass of people standing around, chucking coins and taking photos was four or five deep I decided not to try. Instead I wandered a little further on to the Pantheon, a spectacular, and massive, domed church in the middle of all the narrow small lanes. From the Pantheon I wandered on past the Area Sacra Argentina. These are the remains of several temples which are strictly off limits to humans, but have become home to many feral cats.

From Argentina I wandered on a little further until I found myself at the front of the Forum. I was going to do a bit more exploring, but it was just gone 5, and they were in the process of locking the area up for the night! Instead I wandered on along the road that runs past the Forum back to the Colosseum and had an earlish dinner in a little pizzeria opposite, watching the sun go down and the flood lights go up.

After a brief stop back at the hotel to drop stuff off, and to make a comfort stop, I headed back to Termini to catch the last sightseeing bus of the day. Rome by night is as impressive, as it is during the day and, despite the now heavy rain, the evening re-tour was worth it (I was sitting at the very front in one of the only two rows with a roof, I don't know if the passengers further back thought it was so worth it!) not only for all the sights at night, but also, as it was still the end of the rush hour, an excellent, but safe place, to watch the war that is Italian Driving taking place all around you!

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Rome; Thursday, 22 February, 2007

Termini is the first stop of the morning to pick up the Archeobus. This is another hop-on-hop off route that runs from the centre of Rome, south down the Apennine way, a route that was built, and in many places unaltered since its original construction. The bus (or more roofless coach, imagine a coach, but with it's top removed in the same way as an open-top double decker bus) takes in many sights along the way including the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian, lots and lots of Roman ruins, as well as a nearly two mile (and very bumpy) ride down one of the original, and dead straight, parts of the Apennine way.

After about an hour the coach reaches the remains of one of the many aqueducts that watered Rome, still standing, at this part for over 1KM, after 2,000 years. The coach stopped here for about 10 minutes before heading back in towards Rome, following mostly the same route back as it did out. After a brief comfort break at Termini, I jumped on the next one back out to the Mausoleo di Ceclia Metella.

These are the impressive remains of a Mausoleum, which also house an exhibition on some of the artefacts found around the site, as well as an explanation about the geology of the area. The mausoleum sits on the top of a small hill, visible from quite a distance, as it rests on a bed of Volcanic rock, soft usually, but becoming very hard when it is exposed to air, hence why this part has not eroded, but much of the surrounding area has. It also helps explain why there are so many large Catacomb complex's around as they could be easily carved out, and would harden naturally when the air reached in.

From the Mausoleum, I had a wander along part of the Apennine way. Along the length there are ruins of tombs and monuments. In it's day this was "The" road that lead to Rome and all the most important people of the day wanted to be remembered after their passing, by the passers by!

After stopping for a quick lunch near the Mausoleum, I wandered back on myself to the the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. These are the largest of the Catacombs built, with tunnels and passageways stretching some seven miles. A Basilica was built on top of the Catacombs at a later date. To go into the Catacombs you have to be accompanied by a tour guide, and the tours last about 25 minutes, ending inside the Basilica.

After finishing the tour I had enough time to grab a Panini from the stall opposite the Catacombs before the last bus of the day back to the Aqueduct and the city. Arriving back at Termini a little after 5:30. I dived down into the Metro and hopped along three stop to Spagna, and the Spanish Steps, another of Rome's "Must see" sights. By the time I climbed to the top (only afterwards did I find out that there was an escalator from within the metro station!) the sun was just setting behind the spires and towers of the city, with the dome of St Peters bathed in a beautiful Orange light. I walked a little further along the ridge, to the area just above the Piazza del Popolo, where there were even better views over the city.

After soaking in the atmosphere, and the last of the suns rays for the day, I walked down into the Piazza and sought out a restaurant for dinner. Sadly after having sat down I was told that they weren't serving dinner for another 60 minutes, so I decided to just have a coffee and a pastry to whet my appetite. I then caught the bus back towards the Colosseum to the group of restaurants near where I had eaten on Tuesday night. After a long, and very filling dinner, I staggered back to the bus stop at the Colosseum and caught the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Rome; Friday, 23 February, 2007

Friday was time for a day-trip to another country, sounds impressive, but not when you consider that the entire state is surrounded by Rome. The Vatican, the worlds smallest recognised state, and one of only two Absolute Monarchies left in Europe (the other being Liechtenstein). It’s also home, as I found out, to some of Europe's largest queues, though the Vatican authorities may be able to claim that the longest queue, that for the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (two and a half hours long when I joined it) is only a couple of people long, the rest of the queue is in Italy!

I did manage to jump the queue a bit (i.e. from two and a half hour wait to 60 minute wait) by taking the generous offer of a guided tour of the museums and the chance to jump a significant distance up the queue, the tour costs €25, but the additional information, and the quick exit to the St Peter Basilica after the tour are worth it in themselves. (If you are thinking of taking a tour, try going to the very front of the queue and walking along it looking like a tourist, one of the touts is bound to spot you and invite you to join the queue much further up)

The tour lasts a little over 90 minutes, and by the end that's probably about the right length. The statistic quoted by the Vatican is, if you were to have each item in the collection on a conveyor belt, and stopped to look at each one for just 60 seconds, it would take 12 years to view everything (and that's without sleeping, eating etc.) How they then justify the massive entrance fee when most people who want to see the museum will come back on numerous occasions baffles me.

The tour ends in the Sistine chapel, home to possibly one of the most famous painting and decorating jobs in history. Michelangelo’s masterpiece is awe inspiring, and well worth the massive queues and long waits to see. After the tour, as I was in a group, we could exit into the main area of the Basilica, otherwise you go out by a different exit, back into Rome, have to walk back round to the basilica and queue up for the metal detectors all over again.

The basilica is the largest church in Catholicism, and is very impressive, though inside, because of the way it has been designed, you don't feel that it is that large. To get a true feel of the scale you can join another massive queue (I waited for a little over an hour) to go up to the top of the dome. You have the choice of a lift to about a third of the way up, or stairs the whole way. Part way up you come out onto a viewing platform inside the dome, looking down onto the church below, and it looks a very long way below from there. After another 300 or so steps you finally reach the viewing platform at the bottom of the lantern. The views over the Vatican, and Rome are stunning and worth the wait and the cost. On the way back down, you exit from the dome onto the roof of the Basilica where there is a Souvenir shop, post box and refreshment stop before you either take the lift or walk the last 200 steps to the bottom.

After climbing the dome I descended the short way into the crypt where the tombs of many of the former popes are. By far the busiest is, of course, that of Pope John Paul II.

By now I felt a little churched out (it was already gone three, and I had arrived at the back of the queue at a little after nine). So I walked back across the border, possibly one of the least well guarded but most baroque international borders in the world, into Rome and walked the short distance down to the riverside and the Castel St Angelo, and promptly back onto Vatican soil! The Castle was originally built by Hadrian (he of the small wall to stop the English entering Scotland, or something like that) as his mausoleum. Over the course of the next 1,500 years or so it became, amongst other things, a Prison, fortress and palace for the popes. Today it is open to the public to look around, and from the top offers stunning views of the one thing you can't get stunning views of from the top of the dome of St Peters, the dome of St Peters. Along it’s battlements there is also a quite nice bar where I stopped for a small cola and a chance to rest my, by now, seriously weary feet.

I finished looking around the castle and headed back along the riverside to Piazza Navona, which as close as Rome gets to a central point. I popped into a Café and brought an Ice-cream to eat whilst I had a wander around the square. It was very pleasant, with the sun setting and the last few rays of sun warming my face as I ambled slowly round a beautiful square in Rome, thinking that at that very moment my colleagues still had 30 minutes of work time left and it was cold and damp back in Britain, I don't know what the Italians call it, but the Germans call it Schadenfreude, and it was a very pleasant sensation.

After finishing my amble around the square I walked back to the bus stop and squeezed myself on a bus back to the hotel, where I took my boots off (and it were physically possible may have taken my feet off as well and put them in a bucket of water for a while) and had a short rest before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Rome; Saturday, 24 February, 2007

First stop of the morning was the Baths of Caracalla. The baths are located a little way south of the Circus Maximus, and are some of the largest remains in the city. In places the remains still reach to the original roof level, mosaic floors are still intact and you can see from the structure how the baths visitors would have progressed from the hot baths down to the colder pools.

From the baths it's about a 1KM walk down part of the start of the Apennine way to one of the largest gates in the former city walls. The walls have surrounded Rome at this point since the time of the Republic, and the museum which is housed in the gatehouse tells the history of their construction, use and repair over the centuries. The walls were still acting as a line of defence for the city up into the nineteenth century, 2000 years after their original construction. There is also an opportunity to walk along a small section of the wall.

After leaving the wall I caught the bus back into town and over to the Castel St Angelo to go on a cruise down the Tiber, unfortunately, by the time I got there the morning sailing's had all finished, and the next sailing was not until 4, but I was told it would be leaving then and there was no need to book. Instead I wandered back up to the castle and had a bite to eat before catching the bus back to Plaza Venezia and visiting the Vittoriale.

The monument is one of the largest and most visible in Rome, rising to a level above many of the surrounding churches! Originally built to commemorate the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century it was not a particularly loved structure, considered to large and destroying the views. Today, within its walls, the remains of the Unknown soldier are buried and it acts as the countries national war memorial. You can climb the steps to the top to get stunning views over the city, just don't attempt to sit on the steps, I watched a couple being frog-marched off the monument by the guards, and signs all around in multiple languages remind people that it is a memorial.

From the back of the memorial you walk down some steps and arrive at the start of the Forum. With time to spare I had a wander through the parts I had not already visited earlier in the week, and then with the best part of an hour still to spare before the river cruise I wandered over to San Paolo where another of the major gates of the wall, a large white pyramid, and the station for trains to the coast. The latter being the main reason for visiting to check on the times of trains to Ostia for Sunday.

I caught the bus back to the Castel and wandered down to the mooring point 10 minutes before departure, only to see the boat leaving. On enquiring I was told that it was the only sailing of the afternoon, it was scheduled for 15:45, had to be booked in advance and was full by 3pm (given that I asked at a little before midday I was less than impressed.) I walked back up the steps and had a wander through to Piazza Navona to grab an ice cream as compensation before wandering back to the hotel to drop stuff off before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Rome; Sunday, 25 February, 2007

I checked out from the hotel and walked back to Termini where I dropped off my luggage, then hopped on the metro out to Pirmide and then the overground train out to Ostia.

Ostia was once the main port of Rome, located at the mouth of the Tiber. However, over time the course of the Tiber has changed, and the river has silted up. Today, Ostia is two kilometres from the cost. You can visit the new Ostia, Lido di Ostia, but the descriptions of it make it sound like a massive beach that is home to “Rome by the sea” The original Ostia does, in large parts survive as one of the finest examples of Roman ruins anywhere in the world. And very few people seam to know about it. In Rome the queues for the seven ticket booths at the Colosseum stretch for over 40 minutes. At Ostia the queue for the single ticket booth was three people!

The area that the town occupied is massive. I had thought that in the four hours that I had to explore the site before I had to start making a move back to the airport would leave me time to spare, in the end I only saw a little over half the site.

Everywhere you look there are the remains of the town, from the necropolis at the entrance to the Forum, Theatre and Warehouses in the middle. It’s very easy to imagine what life might have been like in the town at its height.

In places there are large mosaics still intact after 2,000 years. Not just in the baths, but the mosaics that shop keepers had put down outside their premises to lure shoppers in. In the bakery you can still see the indentations made in the cobbles by the hooves of the donkeys as they turned the mill stones.

After looking round large parts of the site I looked at my watch to see what the time was, with an idea to go and grab some lunch. Instead I found that it was almost half one and I needed to be making a move back into the city to pick up my luggage, so I walked back to the main gate (a nearly 10 minute walk in itself) and back onto the station where I waited for the train back to the city centre.

Sadly, Italian railways proved themselves to be about as reliable as British ones by cancelling the train, so I had a fifteen minute wait before the next one, by the time it arrived I suddenly realised that I had been out in the Sun for the best part of half a day without any protection and had to face the real possibility of having managed to get sunburnt in February.

I picked up my luggage from the left luggage office, brought my ticket for the airport express and started the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Valletta; Friday, 16 March, 2007

There is something rather pleasant about leaving work at 1 in the afternoon with a packed suitcase, especially when the weather forecast for the next few days is a sudden, and unexpected return of the winter everyone thought had not decided to take place.

I had an event free journey down to the airport, through all the checks and eventually onto the plane, the only drama being that it left 20 minutes late because of a delay on its inward flight.

I arrived at Malta, at about the same time that the last bus was due to leave, so there was no real need to worry about the time, I was going to have to catch a cab anyway. It was thankful, as baggage took an age to come round. After an initial 15 minute wait the belt moved off, 20 or so bags came out, and then it stopped. A couple of minutes later it started up again, and repeated 20 bags, stop, wait 4 minutes go again. My bag finally came into view after 4 rounds of this fun game, but was on the other side of the conveyor, and I couldn't be bothered to walk through the scrum to get to it, knowing that if I did try, it would be at that point that the belt would start up again, this time going without a stop!

After having cleared customs I joined the back of the shortish queue for a taxi which rushed me (at at least twice the speed limit) to my hotel, where I checked in and went straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Valletta; Saturday, 17 March, 2007

After a filling breakfast I left the hotel and walked the couple of yards to the end of the road, which was also the coast. I walked along the coastline for about a kilometre, going the whole way around the head of land that Sliema, where I was staying, is built on.

I reached the ferry terminal, purchased a 7 day bus pass, and promptly made no use of it as I boarded the ferry to cross the harbour over to Valletta.

From the quay side at Valletta I had a wander up through the capital, stopping to go into the spectacular St John's Co-Cathedral and museum, and the Knights Armouries, before continuing on down to the other side of the spit of land that Valletta is built on, walked along the coast a little and stopped at the Malta Experience.

This is a 45 minute audio-visual presentation which tells the history of Malta, from the Neolithic, to it's independence from Britain in the 1960's and it's declaration of itself as a republic in the 70's.

From there I walked back through the city centre to the bus station and caught one of the "Vintage" busses which run Malta's public transport network out to Buskett Gardens. These are the only woods on the islands, and house a large park area open all the time. Sadly my arrival coincided with a 45 minute heavy shower, which meant that the only parts of the gardens that I saw were from various shelters. The rain eventually stopped, but by then I decided to move on.

A little further up the road is Clapham Junction, it’s named due to the number of "cart tracks" (though there is no evidence that it was carts that made them) that have been cut into the soft limestone. From there I walked back towards Buskett and on to Dingli where I caught the bus back into Valletta, just missing the next heavy downpour. By the time I arrived in Valletta it was already getting dark, so I had a quick wander around the centre before grabbing some dinner in a restaurant by the Cathedral.

After a particularly large dinner, only because no-one bothered to mention the size of the starters!, I waddled back to the bus station and caught the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Valletta; Sunday, 18 March, 2007

For some unknown reason the hotel had decided that everyone should have a full cooked breakfast this morning (I'm not quite certain what the vegetarians had other than Baked beans and bread - and I saw other guests using the baked bean spoon to shovel up sausages so that probably took them off the menu as well!, perhaps Malta hasn't heard of vegetarianism). Sadly, I would have preferred the cold buffet as the full cooked buffet was a little greasy!

Partially sated I headed off down to the bus stop and into Valletta, where I changed busses and caught the bus out to the South coast.

As a land mass, Malta is not massively old, being formed when the African and European plates fused together, forcing parts of, what is now, the Mediterranean sea floor above the water line. In Human terms, though, Malta is ancient. Some of the temples even pre-date the busses! First stop of the morning were the temples of Hagar Qim and the temples of Mnajdra, both of which are within half a kilometre of each other. In both cases there are at least three separate temples that have been built over time. At Mnajdra almost on top of each other. The oldest temples date back to before 4000BC, putting them back beyond the Egyptians, and Stonehenge, battling for age with some of the sights in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The temples are completely open to the elements (the fifth and most destructive element being tourists) and you wan wander around virtually the whole site. The only places they don't let you in are where scaffolding are holding bits up whilst they conserve them!

A kilometre or so back along the road from the temples, and the previous bus stop is a viewing platform where you can look down the cliff face and see the massive natural cave that has been carved out by the sea - the Blue Grotto. You can walk down the road that winds its way down to the small harbour side village of Wied iz-Zurrieq where boats regularly leave to take in the Grotto, and many of the other caves that the sea has formed in the cliffs. However, when the sea is smashing against the rocks as heavily as it was when I got down there, then the boats do not leave (not good for the tourism, regularly drowning visitors!). After having a quick look around the village I walked back up the road (and I do mean up!) to the bus stop and caught the bus back to the main town of Zurrieq. As the bus terminated there (no real reason, it should have carried on into Valletta) I decided to have a quick look around the town, which as it was 1pm on a Sunday was shut. I walked back to the bus stop and caught the next bus back into Valletta.

From Valletta I went back to Sliema, getting there just after 3, just in time to catch the last harbour cruise of the day. Several different companies offer cruises around the harbour, each taking exactly the same route and the same amount of time. The cruise sets off around the Marsamxett harbour that is formed by the land that Sliema and Valletta are on, before briefly entering the Mediterranean sea to move into the Grand harbour, formed by Valletta and the three cities of Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua. Whilst the Marsamxett harbour is almost exclusively marinas and luxury yachts, the Grand harbour includes the main port of Malta, and the ship yards that provide a healthy proportion of Malta's income.

The tour lasted just under two hours, by which time I had realised that, yes it was sunny, yes it was warm, but yes it was still only March and the wind takes the edge of the temperatures. I popped back to the hotel to change out of shorts into trousers to prevent the early stages of hypothermia from setting in. I headed back out into Valletta and had a wander around the top end of the city, near the bus station, past the ruins of the Royal Opera House, destroyed by German bombing in 1942 and never rebuilt, and up to the Upper Barraca Gardens.

These are a pleasant set of gardens set high on the cliff face, the offer stunning views over the grand harbour and across to the three cities. After spending some time up here, I wandered back into the centre of Valletta and found a restaurant to eat in, before catching the bus back to Sliema and bed.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Valletta; Monday, 19 March, 2007

When I originally booked I had not looked at the dates in any guide book. It was only a few weeks before visiting that I found out the 19th is a public holiday. Consequently, I realised that most of today could be spent looking at the very firmly locked doors of museums and attractions. I had, however, pre-booked tickets to look round one of the most impressive temples in Malta at 4pm, so I had to find stuff to do in the intervening 6 hours or so!

Thankfully, apart from a few shops and the tourist information office, nobody else appeared to be paying much attention to the public holiday and virtually everything was open. First stop was the Great Siege of Malta exhibition. This is an exhibition where you walk through with a CD-Player strapped to your chest which should play the relevant soundtrack for each area, and set the lighting and videos going. On the whole it worked relatively well, but in a few rooms things either didn't start or went out of sync. The museum tells the history of the Knights of St John who, after being defeated in Jerusalem and evicted from their Island base in Rhodes eventually settled in Malta in the mid-16th Century. In 1565 the, then mighty, Turkish empire was getting a little bit annoyed by the knights continuing attacks on their fleet (the Turks did allow them to leave Rhodes without being killed, so you can sort of understand their annoyance). The Turks besieged Malta with the intention of wiping out the Knights. Over three months of fierce battles ensued, ending when a relief force from Sicily arrived, the Turks left, and from that point onwards their Empire started to disintegrate. The exhibition continues on with a brief explanation of the history of the Knights after the siege, a couple of hundred years of relative peace and prosperity followed by rapid collapse when most of their benefactors found themselves lying beneath the guillotine on the streets of France, 18 months of occupation by Napoleon's troops before Nelson came along to take the Islands for Britain until the mid 1960's when they gained independence. The only negative of the exhibition and, to some extent Malta as a whole, is the over simplification of late medieval history. the Knights are always portrayed as the Christian "good guys" against the "Evil" Muslim Turks.

From the exhibition it was a short walk to the State Apartments. The armoury that I had visited on Saturday is based in the old stables of the Apartments, but on Saturday they had been closed for a function. Today they were open, but in hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to visit. Whilst I did get to see most stuff I spent the entire time being engulfed in German and Japanese tourists, to the extent I was left wondering if there were any people left in Germany and Japan at the time!

Next stop from there was the old Knights hospital. Today it houses an exhibition on how the knights cared for the sick and injured, and the use of the hospital after the French take-over of the island. After looking around the hospital I stopped briefly for some lunch before heading back to the bus station and catching the bus out to one of the three cities that overlook Valletta on the other side of the harbour, Birgu (or as it has been known since the end of the siege Vittoriosa.) First stop here was the Inquisitor's Palace.

The palace houses a small exhibition on the role of the Inquisitor, thankfully (for the locals at least) the Inquisitor on Malta was a lot less "enthusiastic" than his Spanish counterpart, but had to be brought in after the knights started to become a little less religious than their leaders wanted. The museum is not massively interesting, but the building is worth looking around.

From there it was a short walk back to the main gate of Birgu and the Malta at War exhibition. The exhibition is based in the air raid shelters that were carved out of the rock during World War II to shelter the Maltese from the Italian and German air-raids. You start by watching a 20 minute film that was originally released in 1943, after the invasion of Sicily and the end of the attacks on Malta, as a propaganda tool to show the rest of the allies that the people of Malta had been through as bad, and worse then they were going through, but had made it through victorious (for the bravery of the people the entire nation was awarded the George Cross, the UK's highest civilian award for bravery, which still appears in the top left hand corner of the flag). After the film you are handed a hard hat and descend into the shelter. The complex is quite large, but it must still have been cramped when there were hundreds of people crowded into it.

By the time I emerged from the shelter it was gone three so I headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back to Paola, mid way between Birgu and Valletta. Here, underneath the streets of this unassuming suburb, is what UNESCO classify as a "Unique site". The Hypogeum is an underground temple, carved out of the rock it resembles many of the temples on the surface, and yet was carved by hand from the rock. The Hypogeum has always been a popular attraction on Malta and consequently was slowly being destroyed by all the visitors and the Carbon Dioxide they were breathing out. Following massive conservation work the rock has been stabilised, but entrance is now restricted to just 80 people per day, tickets have to be booked in advance and when I arrived the had a sign up saying that it was fully booked for three weeks.

The tour starts with a small exhibition explaining about some of the findings in the excavations before moving into a small theatre to watch a short video about the site. From the point at which the video starts the entire tour is timed by a computer to ensure that damage from breath is minimised. As you are guided around the actual Hypogeum the lights come on and go off, to show where you should be. The structure itself is breath taking (excuse the pun) and amazing, given that it was done by hand and basic tools over 4000 years ago.

After the Hypogeum I walked the short distance to the neighbouring above ground temples at Tarxien. As it was gone five they had already closed, but you can still view part of them through the fence, and they do look impressive.

I caught the bus back into Valletta and visited the National Archaeology museum. The museum houses many of the artefacts that have been found in the temples across the island, Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, Tarxien and the Hypogeum amongst others. The museum also has temporary exhibitions and at the time I visited was very fortunate to see an exhibition on one of the other great Archaeological finds of the 20th Century, the Chinese Terracotta Soldiers. After looking around the exhibitions I caught the bus back from Valletta into Sliema and went for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Valletta; Tuesday, 20 March, 2007

An early start this morning to get down to the bus station in Sliema to catch the early bus out to Cirkewwa and the ferry across to the only other inhabited of the Maltese Islands, Gozo.

After catching the ferry and connecting bus I arrived in the main town on the island Rabat, or as it was renamed by the British, Victoria. The main focal point of the town is the Citadel which looms over the whole town, and holds many of its attractions, but the first stop was the cinema on the approach road to the Citadel and every half hour shows "Gozo 360°" an audio-video show similar to the Malta experience in Valletta. The show tells a bit about the history of the island, which appears to have been inhabited before the main island of Malta was.

After watching the show I wandered up the hill to the Citadel. The first thing that meets you as you walk through the main arch is the cathedral, and it was here I headed first. I'm glad I did as the entrance fee into the Cathedral and the associated museum also includes an audio guide which covers both the cathedral and museum and a summary on many of the other buildings as you walk around the Citadel complex. The Cathedral is quite impressive, but the attached museum is less interesting with little information on what the exhibits are.

I started to walk around the Citadel to take in the other sites. First stop, next to the court house, naturally, are the old prison cells. The cells still have the graffiti which was carved on the walls when prisoners were kept there, much of it dating back to the early days of the knights. From the Prison its a short walk to the Natural science museum which houses a small collection of items on the Geology, marine and bird life of the islands (all of it stuffed and mounted!)

Slightly further on you reach the back of the Citadel and are greeted with stunning views over the rest of the island. Walking back down a different lane is the museum of Folklore, which houses exhibits on the tools and implements that people used in their everyday life in the past. The museum is not particularly interesting, but the building it is housed in, three former houses knocked together, gives more of an insight into how people lived.

The final stop on the tour of the Citadel is the Archaeological museum. Here many of the finds that have been made on the island are on display, which is heartening that they haven't all been whipped off to the main museum in Valletta. After handing back in my audio guide I wandered back down to the bus station to catch the bus out to the main archaeological site on the island, the temples of Ggantija.

The temples claim to be the oldest free standing structures in the world. They are very impressive, with massive stones forming the walls. It's easy to see how in earlier times it was thought to be the homes of a race of giants. After having a quick wander around the town the temple is on the edge of, Xaghra, I walked back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into Rabat. I had a brief wander around the centre of Rabat, but by know the wind was starting to carry drops of water in it so I headed back to the bus station to catch the bus back to the ferry. I 'm quite glad I did, as from this point onwards the weather started to deteriorate quite dramatically.

On the way back to the ferry terminal there was a massive downpour which at times was running as a stream down the roads, I don't think the roads in Malta and Gozo are built for this kind of weather. We arrived at the ferry terminal just as the first wave of rain was stopping and just in time to board the ferry. I brought a cup of coffee and a chocolate bar and went to stand up on the deck as I assumed, rightly that it was going to be a little rough…

The ferry has to turn 90° before entering Cirkewwa harbour, and at this point I discovered that it was raining very heavily, with a lashing wind, which had been behind us all the way from Gozo, which was why I had stayed quite warm and dry. At this point it might be worth mentioning that I hadn't seen a weather forecast for a couple of days and was dressed only in a T-shirt and shorts!

I disembarked the ferry and made a very rapid dash for the cover of the bus back to Sliema. By the time it arrived back near the hotel the rain was down to a fine drizzle and the wind was calming down. I popped back to the hotel, changed into some warmer clothing, and headed back out to get some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Valletta; Wednesday, 21 March, 2007

The first day of spring and the wintry weather of the previous day had most definitely gone. With an almost clear sky, but still quite a stiff breeze, I headed out from the hotel back down to the bus station in Sliema. This time it was to catch the bus to the former capital of Malta, Mdina. The fortified town was the capital up until the construction of Valletta was completed in the later part of the 16th century. Today it is still impressive, sitting on a cliff overlooking all the surrounding countryside. The main part of the town hasn't changed much since the 16th century, with the layout still matching that of the medieval city.

First stop was the Mdina experience, the same as the Malta experience and Gozo 360, it tells the (now quite familiar) history of the islands, with a focus on Mdina in particular. The ticket also included entry into two other attractions in the town, "Medieval Times" and "The Knights of Malta". Medieval times is a walk through tableaux of wax works depicting what life was like in the middle ages, with a small amount of explanatory text. The Knights of Malta is another walk through museum, but you have a multilingual commentary which you walk through with, similar to the great siege exhibition in Valletta.

After looking around the exhibitions I carried on having a wander around the town, before heading out of the gates into the suburb that built up around the fortified city, Rabat. Here is the Roman museum, it is built by, and over, the only remains of the Roman occupation of the island that have been found. The artefacts found on the site suggest that it may have been the residence of the Governor or a senior person due to the number of statues of the emperor and his family, but the museum signs admit that this is only conjecture.

From the roman museum it's a short walk to three further attractions, the grotto of St Paul, supposedly the cave that the saint had lived in for the three months he had stayed on Malta after being shipwrecked, the Catacombs of St Paul which are a large network of burial chambers carved out of the rock which you are guided around with an audio guide and the Catacombs of St Agatha, which have more decorations than the St Paul Catacombs, but no information.

I walked back to the bus station and realised I had enough time to get out to the temples at Tarxien before they closed, so I hopped onto a bus back to Valletta and another one back out the other side to Tarxien.

The temples here were discovered shortly after the nearby Hypogeum. It is a very large complex with several different temples, but very little information about what you are looking at.

After looking around the temples I headed back to Valletta to do some souvenir shopping before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to the hotel to pack for the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Valletta; Thursday, 22 March, 2007

After a final breakfast, I packed my bags and headed off to the bus stop and (with a large bag) made myself thoroughly un-popular with the commuters on the bus into Valletta, then took the bus out to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Amsterdam; Monday, 09 April, 2007

With the end of a heavy cold still rattling around my lungs and consequently insufficient sleep for the previous three nights or so I headed out from home to the airport. This would go some way to explain why I managed to leave my trusty camera, memory cards and batteries sitting on my bed rather than in my bag, sadly I wouldn't find this out for another couple of hours, and not until I had got to my hotel room in Amsterdam, by which time I would have missed any opportunity to turn round and go back, though as my train was the last that ran for a while due to 'a fault on the train which cannot be rectified' this wouldn't have been a particularly good option, but I also missed the opportunity of spotting this whilst in international departures at Gatwick where I could have picked up a replacement cheaper!

After an event free flight I landed at Schiphol airport, though the runway you land on from the UK could well be in Belgium given the amount of taxiing it takes to get to the terminal building, at points you felt the pilot was getting bored as he accelerated up the taxiways obviously giving thought to potential take off speeds. Nearly 10 minutes after landing we finally pulled up at a gate and actually managed to get into the terminal building.

Schiphol is one of the largest airports in the world, and as it only has one building it is consequently a very long walk from anywhere to anywhere else. It was a further 15 minutes (and a brief toilet stop) before reaching immigration and baggage reclaim, and our bags still hadn't come round by that time! After a short wait the bags came up and for once mine was in the first 20 or so off.

I walked through customs into the main arrivals hall and then walked another couple of hundred meters to the train station to catch the train into Amsterdam. 20 minutes later I found myself at Centraal station, and after getting a 96 hour transport pass and negotiating the chaos of the building works outside the station and the bank holiday timetable got on a tram to the hotel. The total distance from Schiphol airport to the hotel must be less than 10 miles, yet it took nearly two hours from the point at which we landed until I was actually in the hotel. At which point I discovered I had left my camera at home!

Feeling a little miffed, I caught the tram back into town, just as all the shops were closing. Thankfully I found a camera shop that fitted every single criteria that I had created for the perfect replacement camera shop. 1. They spoke English (admittedly a very selfish criteria when you are in another country, but this is the Netherlands and most do...), 2. They had a sale on, 3. Today was the last day of the sale, 4. They were still open, 5. They had some ex display cameras that they wanted to get shot of. 10 minutes late I left with a perfectly working, but slightly worn, ex-display Kodak camera reduced from €159 to €99 with a 1GB memory card thrown in for free!

Finally back on a sort of even keel I had a wander around the centre of Amsterdam for a couple of hours, learning how to use the camera (badly, sadly the downside was that all the original guides had gone and the only instructions left were in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, so not even Dutch!), before finally stopping for dinner and then heading back to the hotel for an early night to catch up on some sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Amsterdam; Tuesday, 10 April, 2007

I headed out into town and first stop of the morning was going to be the Anne Frankhuis, home until her capture by the Nazi's of one of Amsterdam's most famous residents. However, on arriving the queue was already well over 90 minutes long, so I decided to try back later. Instead, I walked round the corner and stopped to write some postcards in front of the Westerkerk, which then opened, so I had a quick look around inside. As the queue for the Anne Frankhuis was, if anything, longer I decided to abandon that for now and try later in the day. Instead, I walked back up towards the central station, through the Red light district, which even in mid-morning was still doing a brisk trade. The whole area is a combination of all the "Liberal Dutch" I.e. Prostitutes and pot. Consequently it's packed to the gunwales with pissed up tourists on extended Stag parties (the fact that Monday had been the Easter bank holiday, and consequently a very large number of people took the week off !), most of them British, and by appearances most of them off their faces (or still off their faces from the night before) at 11am, it doesn't make you want to stop, or admit your nationality.

At the central station I boarded one of the many canal tours that run around the city. The museumboot has seven stops at many of the major sites in the city, taking a little over two hours to do a full circuit. It has the advantage over some of the other cruises in that you can hop-on and off as you wish. Despite this I still did a full tour, ending up back at the central station about two hours later. After a brief pause for a late lunch I caught the metro and tram out to the main museum area of the city.

The Rijksmuseum is Amsterdam's largest and most important museum, housing many of it's most famous art treasures. The building is massive and covers many floors. Sadly, it's also undergoing restoration and renovation that means nearly all of it is closed to the public until 2010 at the earliest. The small wing that is still open (and still charging a stonking €10 entry fee!) houses a collection of "the best", which is a fair comment with some of their most famous art works from the Dutch masters. Whilst there is no set route through the exhibition, the way it is laid out effectively forces you to follow a set route, which ends in a room with one single, large picture - Rembrandt’s "Night Watch" dominating.

From the Rijksmuseum it's a short walk further on to the most visited attraction in the Netherlands. The Van Gogh museum (for another €10, at least all of it is open!) houses many of the artists works, as well as sketches and has some background historical information on the artists, and his relationship with is brother Theo who kept much of the collection during Vincent's life (he only really gained any appreciation after his death). The museum also has a recently built annex which houses temporary exhibitions.

I was just in time to catch the last Museumboot of the day back to the central station, and thought it would be useful to catch it round to the Anne Frankhuis to go and visit, but before the boat even moored, it was obvious that the queue was still well over the hour, so instead I stayed on and went back to the central station. From there I took the tram out to Waterlooplein and had a wander around some of the canals, before reaching the most famous bridge in Amsterdam, the Skinny Bridge. From there I walked for a bit longer before heading back towards the centre and stopping for some dinner.

After dinner I quickly headed back to the hotel to drop my bag (and posters I had brought at the Rijksmuseum and had been carrying around for the previous 4 hours or so!) and quickly freshen up before heading back out again, this time for an evening canal cruise.

The cruise follows round a similar route to the museumboot (and many of the other boats), but shows a different side of the city with all the bridges lit up (and the red light district truly lit up in red!).

The cruise finished a little before midnight, and I managed to catch one of the last trams back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Amsterdam; Wednesday, 11 April, 2007

I set off from the hotel with the intention of heading up to the tourist information office to get some ideas for things to do. Sitting on the tram, as it left the last stop before the central station, I noticed a Bike hire company that also claimed to run tours. Arriving at the tourist office there was a bit of a scrum of people, so I decided to come back a little later, and walk back down to the hire company and get some information.

According to their brochure, they run two tours, a three-hour tour of the city and a six-hour tour that goes out into the countryside. I went to book for the following day and was asked if I wanted to go today instead as the group were just about to set off. So, slightly un-prepared (thankfully as the morning had been so warm I had left my jacket at home and was in lighter trousers than jeans) I joined a six hour cycling tour of the Holland countryside.

At this point it would be useful to distinguish between Holland and the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a country of 17 million odd people formed from 11 (12 since the reclamation of large amounts of land in the 20th century) provinces, of which North Holland and South Holland are just two. Amsterdam, being one of the most important cities on the planet in the 16th and 17th centuries because of the Dutch East Indies and West Indies companies, is situated in the province of North Holland, and consequently the name has rather stuck. It would be like referring to England as Middlesex, or Germany as Brandenburg.

The tour starts with a short cycle from the office to the back of the central station. I occasionally cycle to work in the Suburbs of London where Cycle lane is considered a rude word as it takes up valuable lording space for Chelsea tractors (SUV's), so the abundance of Cycle lanes, through some of the busiest parts of Amsterdam, is pleasant. However, for someone who has not cycled on the road before, it could be a little terror inducing, especially with the trams zipping past. Behind the station we boarded a ferry for the very short crossing to the North bank of the Ij and the northern suburbs of Amsterdam.

The first part of the trip is through the suburbs, but after a couple of minutes the city peters out and you are in the open countryside. After about 40 minutes cycling we came to a largish canal which we had to cross on a bizarre boat, the whole boat is a floating platform. The engine is attached to the land on the other side and it pulls the boat backwards and forwards across the canal using pulley ropes.

A little further on, we stopped in the town of Broek in Waterland, in the heart of the countryside for lunch, delicious Dutch pancakes, about the size of a pizza and with any possible combination of toppings on them. After a filling lunch we cycled on further until we reached the edge of the Ijmeer. Until the construction of Dykes the Ijmeer was the South Sea, connecting directly into the North Sea, and had been the origins of Amsterdam's wealth. With the creation of canals, and the need to protect the land from flooding a dyke was built which sealed the South Sea off, today the Ijmeer is rapidly becoming a freshwater lake, but still has the potential to destroy large swathes of Holland. In 1953, a storm surge came down the North sea. It left a trail of devastation and death in its wake, an inter island ferry sunk with massive loss of life in Scotland, large parts of the Netherlands inundated and thousands killed (this is the part that is remembered in the Dutch psyche) and Canvey island in Essex flooded and hundreds killed (the part that sticks in the English psyche). Today there are defences in place to protect against most eventualities, but with the houses still snuggling up to the edge of the dykes several meters below the water level of the lake and the sea, you can still se the potential for a major disaster. As part of their defences, for possibly the first time in their history, the Dutch are returning some of their reclaimed land to the sea to reduce the level overall. The Dutch, of anyone in Europe, have the most to fear from global warming and rising sea levels.

The tour winds its way back towards Amsterdam by riding along the top of one of the dykes for a couple of kilometres, back to the small town of Durgerdam where there was a brief refreshment stop, before the final 45 minutes or so of cycling back to the ferry and central Amsterdam.

By the time we got back to the Bike company it was gone five, and I had lost almost all feeling in by backside (and remembered why I had spent that bit of extra money on a better saddle for my bike!). In an attempt to get some feeling back I hobbled back to the hotel and had a refreshing shower. An hour later, and able to walk again, and in a new T-shirt not covered in a large percentage of dead Dutch bug life, I headed back into town for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Amsterdam; Thursday, 12 April, 2007

After a less than impressive breakfast (all that was left at 9am, with an hour of breakfast left, was a slice of cheese a piece of dried out ham and a couple of pieces of white bread), I headed to the central station and caught the train out to Leiden. From there I caught the bus to the small town of Lisse. The town itself is quite industrial and not massively interesting, what is on the edge of town is the real reason for coming.

Keukenhof is the worlds largest flower gardens, and this being the Netherlands, their main flowers are Tulips, millions of them. The park attracts over 800,000 visitors a year, good for any attraction, spectacular when you realise that it is only open for the 8 weeks or so that the tulips are in bloom. Surrounding the park, and possibly more impressive than the formal planting inside the park, are the acre upon acre of bulb fields. Row upon row of brightly coloured tulips in strips.

After looking around the park I hired a bike from the rental stall in the car park and cycled round some of the fields, the smell is overwhelming and the colour fantastic (though I would suspect those with Hay Fever may disagree!)

By late afternoon I caught the bus back to Leiden and the train back to Amsterdam. As it was such a lovely day, I then caught another train out Zandvoort aan Zee, the nearest seaside town to Amsterdam. The long sandy beach stretches for miles in each direction, and the only thing that stopped me from paddling was the knowledge that this is the North Sea, which in April, even on the hottest day, would still be almost freezing.

Having had a wander along the beach for a while I headed back into Amsterdam for dinner and then back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Amsterdam; Friday, 13 April, 2007

After checking out from the hotel and dumping my bags in the luggage lockers in Centraal station I headed off towards the resistance museum, first stopping at the Hollandsche Schouwburg. This was once one of the Netherlands premier theatres, then during the second world war it was converted into a reception centre for Jews who were to be deported to the east and their deaths. All but the façade of the theatre has been torn down, and today it is a memorial to those who died.

Around the corner is the resistance museum. The museum tells the history of the Dutch resistance to the Nazi’s during WWII. From small starts the organisation grew to a massive scale, with many Dutch actively involved in undermining the German occupation.

I walked back from the museum towards the centre of Amsterdam, stopping at Waterlooplein to take in the flea market which is there each day. The main items for sale, which about a quarter of the stalls were selling, appeared to be bike locks, which goes some way to set in mind what the level of bike theft must be like in Amsterdam! I wandered through the market for a while before heading back over to the Dam and the Amsterdam historical museum.

The museum is housed in the former orphanage and tells the history of the city from it’s birth in the 13th century, through to the modern times in exhibits and models.

From the historical museum I caught the tram the short distance out to the Heineken brewery. The beer is no longer made on site, but the former brewery has been transformed into the “Heineken Experience”. The exhibition takes you through the general process of brewing, as well as looking at the history of the company and its advertising. Part of the tour includes three halves of Heineken to sample on your way round.

Slightly tipsily I headed back from the brewery to the Centraal station to pick up my bags and head back to the airport and the plane home.

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Vilnius; Friday, 25 May, 2007

Having escaped work early I headed down to Gatwick. In the end I didn't need to leave work as early as I did as checkin didn't open for nearly an hour after I arrived, so, as I was flying with an airline which doesn't serve food in economy, I had a very early dinner before checking in.

With it being the Friday afternoon of a long bank holiday weekend I was glad of two things. One that I had arrived early as it took nearly 40 minutes to clear security, they were being very quick but the sheer number of people (an alarming number in matching t-shirts all jetting off on Stag and Hen weekends) were taking time to clear.

The second thing I was glad of was having taken my bosses advice that the £17.00 for the business lounge was worth it. I'd booked it a couple of weeks in advance, and was not so certain that it was value for money, until I saw the departures lounge. It looked more like the concourse at Victoria station, when half the trains have been cancelled and the rest delayed. Chances of a seat were zero and the air conditioning was struggling to keep the space bearable. So with some glee I walked into the quiet environs of the business lounge, with its working air-con and ample seating (completely ignoring the free food and booze!)

The only down side to the business lounge is that it is that little bit further from the gates that the normal lounge, and when your gate is as far away as it is physically possible to get... (up until last summer the gate I left from was part of the satellite terminal, linked to the departures lounge by a monorail. However in Gatwick’s continued expansion the gap between the buildings has been filled in with walkways and offices, making it take almost twice as long to get to the gate as it was with the monorail, but that’s progress for you.

The flight was uneventful (ignoring the stag party who were generally doing what the stereotype of British Stag parties is!) and we landed in Vilnius 15 minutes early. Even with a relatively quick transit through the terminal, the time difference meant that it was gone 10 by the time I emerged into the arrivals lounge. I couldn't be bothered to try and find the bus stop so I got a taxi from the rank and promptly got ripped off. The guide book says that the fare into the centre of town should be Lt15 (2003 version), Lt18 (2004 version) or Lt20 (2006 version). I got charged Lt60 (not including the tip of Lt0 that I gave, the taxi driver appeared a little upset that I didn't want to tip him)

Having checked in to the hotel, I decided to take full advantage of the facilities and made a good 10 hours use of the bed!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Vilnius; Saturday, 26 May, 2007

With a full Lithuanian breakfast (personally couldn't spot the difference between a Lithuanian and a continental cheese and ham breakfast but...) inside me, I headed out into town. First stop of the morning, after having cheated and taken the funicular up the side of the hil, was the Vilnius castle museum on the top of Gediminas hill. The museum is based in the only surviving tower of the upper castle, and has a small exhibition of armour and models of the castle as it developed. However, the main reason for visiting the castle are the stunning views from the roof of the tower, over the whole of the city.

Having spent some time in the tower I walked back down the path to the cathedral square. This was part of the lower castle, and at present the Lithuanians are in the process of rebuilding the palace part of the castle (destroyed by the Russians in the 19th century) brick by brick. It's scheduled to be ready for Vilnius's turn as the European capital of culture in 2009 (as I was to experience for much of the rest of my stay, a lot of Vilnius is currently being repaired and renewed in advance of 2009, making it quite a bit of a building site at present.) I had a look around the impressive cathedral before having a walk up the main tourist street of the city Pilies gatve, stopping at the top, by the town hall, for an early lunch, before continuing having a wander around the Old town. After a while I found myself back by the Cathedral, so I wandered around the side to the museum of applied arts. The museum has a permanent collection of sacred art and artefacts, as well as having short term displays. One of their, not so short term, displays is the exhibition of the furniture and paintings that they have acquired to fit out the rebuilt palace when it reopens in 2009.

From the museum its a short but steep walk up to the hill opposite the castle and the site of the three crosses. This is supposedly the site where 14 monks were murdered by pagans, and has been an important site for the Lithuanians for a long time. In their usual friendly way, the soviets ripped down the crosses as they felt they would only stir up Lithuanian nationalism, and they didn't want that in the most westerly of the USSR's republics (as history would show it was Lithuania that effectively destroyed the USSR by being the first one to declare its independence in 1990). Today the twisted remains of the three crosses are still on display, but new ones have been built at the top of the hill. From here there are more stunning views over the city, and across to the upper castle.

Having walked back down the hill to the city centre, I wandered through some of the western side of the old town, taking in the spectacular St Anne's church, and then stopping at the bastion for a quick look around, and a pleasant relief from the scorching temperatures. It may have been 34 outside, in the passageway of the bastion it was about 16 and very pleasant for it!

From the bastion I followed the only remaining part of the old city wall, round to the only remaining gate, the Gate of Dawn. The gate has, above the road way, a small chapel, which is a site of pilgrimage.

With my feet aching I wandered back towards the town hall square and stopped for a late afternoon drink and snack. Refreshed, I walked the 25 minutes or so back to the hotel to drop stuff off, and change into less sweaty clothes, before heading back out again for dinner

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Vilnius; Sunday, 27 May, 2007

After yesterdays increasingly oppressive heat it was inevitable that something would give, and shortly after having drifted off to sleep I was woken by a spectacular thunder storm. With lightning almost over head, and the sounds echoing off the hills that surround Vilnius on most sides, it was very impressive, as was the associated spectacular downpour, and more importantly the strong wind and significant drop in humidity!

However, by the time I woke up again at a little after 8, the temperatures and humidity had started to rise again. By the time I stepped out of the hotel and 10 it was already baking. I walked in towards town, stopping off at a supermarket to purchase large quantities of bottled water (both the guide book and NHS had warned about the water in Vilnius.) First stop of the morning was the archaeological museum.

The museum traces the history of humankind in the area that currently forms Lithuania from the first traces about 11,000 years ago through until the end of the 14th century AD. After looking around the museum I walked next-door to the Lithuanian national museum. This picks up the story of the Lithuanian people from the 14th century through until the outbreak of war. A small exhibition also traces the history of Stalin’s deportations which took place in 1941 (until the Nazis invaded) and from 1944 (once the Red Army routed the Nazis).

From the national museum I walked up the main street to a government building. Today it houses a museum, in the past it was the headquarters of the KGB. In its basement are the cells where the KGB extracted their confessions and killed thousands of prisoners. The museum is spread over three floors. The entry floor and the second floor have exhibitions on the KGB, the Lithuanian partisan resistance, which was all but crushed by the KGB in 1953, and the methods the KGB used for keeping tabs on the population. The museum is very interesting, but the basement is probably not an ideal family day out. The cells form a bleak confirmation of the way the KGB treated their "prisoners". The two most distressing parts are the padded cell, where inmates were put to be beaten without others hearing, and the execution cell, where thousands of people were killed.

Emerging back into the daylight you are struck by the bottom rows of stones on the outside of the building. Carved into each one is a name and two dates, all of the second dates fall between 1947 and 1953, when the Stalinist purges were at their height. These are the names of just some of the people who only ever entered the building.

So far today I had experienced an almost continuous timeline from the first humankind in Lithuania through to the repression of the KGB. It was only right then to hop on a trolley bus to one of the most important sites in Lithuania. In the early hours of 13 January 1991 soviet troops rolled up at the TV tower in Vilnius. Earlier the previous year the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic had voted to split from the USSR and seek its independence. By January tensions were running high and on the 13th blood was shed. 12 Lithuanian's died defending the tower, independent Lithuanian TV carried on broadcasting until the soldiers physically forced them off air. On December 31st of that year the USSR ceased to exist, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia had gained their independence by the Autumn. Today the entrance to the TV tower is marked with wooded crosses in memory of those who fell in making the Baltic states free.

The tower itself has a viewing platform and revolving restaurant from which you can get stunning views over the city, and at the time I visited, the spectacular thunder storm that was raging around the tower. After having done a full rotation (about an hour) I descended and caught the trolley bus back to the hotel, arriving back just seconds before the even heavier and more spectacular thunder storm that then broke.

90 minutes late the storm was finally subsiding so I decided to take a chance and head out into town for dinner. On the way there were several more rumbles, and a few spots of rain, but these were the very last gasp and by the time I had settled down to eat (taking another big chance by sitting outside) the warm late evening sun was pushing away the remaining clouds.

After dinner I had a short wander through the town before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Weird Weather
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Vilnius; Monday, 28 May, 2007

Despite the pleasant finish to the evening, another storm moved over Vilnius during the night with yet more thunder and rain, and yet still by Monday morning the humidity was quite high, and rising. I left the hotel and started the walk towards the station. Stopping only briefly to buy some stamps and postcards it took well over an hour to reach the station, so I also purchased some additional bus tickets for the journey back to the hotel in the evening.

Today’s destination was Trakai, its about 25 KM south west of Vilnius, yet it takes the train almost 40 minutes to make the journey. From the station at Trakai it was a 5 minute walk to the bus station, another 10 minutes on to the tourist information office and a further 20 minutes on to the main attraction of the town the Island castle. The castle, as it's name implies, sits on an island in the largest of the three lakes that surround Trakai, and is reached by two bridges, one to a small intermediate island, and one onto the castle. The castle is very impressive, though there is not very much to see inside, and only a limited part open to the public. After having a look around I wandered back across the bridge to one of the café's on the town side of the lake to stop for a late lunch.

After lunch I had a wander through the town, being Monday the majority of the town was closed, but the remains of the other castle, the peninsular castle, are open to have a look around.

After looking around this castle I was pondering on what to do to fill the 90 minutes before the train, I had a quick look up and realised the most likely activity would be getting very wet as the clouds of today’s storm were forming. I walked back towards the bus station to see if there was a bus back to Vilnius, arriving at exactly the same time as the Vilnius bus pulled up. I paid my fare and boarded, the bus pulled out of the bus station and started on it's journey towards Vilnius.

At the first bus stop outside of town the driver pulled over and closed both of the roof lights that had been open. Less than 30 seconds later we were driving through another spectacular storm (thankfully the driver, deciding that on this occasion safety was more important than the timetable was, was taking it very slowly).

By the time we arrived back in Vilnius, an hour later, the storm had stopped and it was another beautifully clear afternoon! Having experienced the walk in the morning I caught the trolley bus back to the hotel, which itself took over 20 minutes.

I had a quick break to freshen up, before heading back into town for the evening.

Weather

Sunny Weird Weather
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Vilnius; Tuesday, 29 May, 2007

The now customary overnight spectacular storm was delayed. When I woke at about 4:30 the sunlight was streaming through a crack in the curtains, and at this point, whilst had paid a quick visit to the toilet, I seriously started to give some consideration as to how I was going to deal with the "land of the midnight sun" in six weeks time. I closed the curtains and quickly fell back asleep. To my concern, when I next awoke it was dark again, had I slept the whole day through, a few seconds later it became quite clear why as the room was illuminated by a bright flash, and almost instant boom and the sound of the contents of the Baltic sea being emptied onto the roof (and being on the top floor it was a little noisy). I checked my watch, just before 8, outside you could just hear the shouts of school children and commuters getting soaked. I turned over, pulled the duvet a bit tighter and blissfully snoozed for over an hour (have I ever given the impression that I'm a nice person!)

By 9 the storm clouds were disappearing behind the hills to the west of Vilnius, and light fluffy clouds, with the odd hint of blue were the order of the day. With a another large breakfast in me I headed to the bus stop and onwards to the station to head out to the temporary inter-war capital of Lithuania, Kaunas.

In the frantic horse trading the took place after the first world war Europe was carved up by the victors and their allies, in some cases settling old scores, and in other cases trying to re-invent empires. At it's height the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Dutch of Lithuania, was an important country, and Vilnius's population reflected that with the Poles in the majority. With that still the case in 1918 Vilnius and the surrounding area ceased to be part of a newly independent Lithuania, but instead became part of Poland. Without a capital it fell on Kaunas, the second city (and third largest in the Baltic’s) of Lithuania to take on the mantle of capital. And so it remained until the manoeuvrings of Molotov and Ribbentrop carved up Eastern Europe between the USSR and Germany. Lithuania got Vilnius back, but also got a detachment of Red Army troops that equalled and eventually heavily outnumbered the Lithuanian army.

I, just, caught the 10:30 express bus to Kaunas, which completed the 100Km journey in about 75 minutes (on roads where there were several long stretches of 40KMH restricted roadwork’s!) The bus was moving so fast that it managed to catch up with the mornings weather from Vilnius, on its way west, and by the time I got to the bus station in Kaunas I got to actually enjoy in person some of the weather I had listened to others enjoying. With my Karma score for the morning reset to zero I caught the trolley bus from the bus station to the centre of the old town. You can walk, but at nearly 3KM, most of it along shopping streets it doesn't make for a particularly thrilling walk. I got off the bus at the stop for the castle, and after initially walking the wrong way, found myself at the castle.

Kaunas, unlike the rest of continental Europe, is not closed on a Monday. It's closed on a Monday and a Tuesday, and in the case of the castle Wednesdays as well. After having a look around the outside, in the last of the drizzle, I had a wander through the park that the castle is located in. The park eventually tapers to an end where the rivers Nemunas and Neris (which also flows though Vilnius) merge. I walked back along the bank of the Nemunas and crossed over on a modern bridge, which had quite clearly replaced an earlier Soviet built one (it's a bit difficult to hide the stars, hammers and sickles when they are on the top of the support struts!). On the opposite bank is one of Kaunas's two funicular railways.

This one, called the Aleksoto Funicular and from the top viewing platform offers stunning views over the city. Having taken in the views and the first rays of sunshine of the afternoon, I wandered back through the old town, and into the new town, up the long and very boring shopping street, past several museums which were all closed, because it was Tuesday, with the exception of the zoo museum, but that was heaving with young children so I decided to avoid it. After 40 minutes walking I reached the city's other Funicualr, the Green Hill Funicular, which rises up the Green Hill (strangely!) From the top there is no view over the city, but you are in the shadow of the massive white church which has been built up here. It was once a Soviet radio factory, and before that a Nazi paper warehouse. Today, it is a church, which is also closed on a Tuesday!

I walked back down the hill, and having exhausted most of the attractions of Kaunas that are actually available on a Tuesday, caught the trolleybus back to the railway station, to see if there was a train anytime soon (there are only a handful a day, and this is Lithuania’s busiest railway line!) Amazingly enough, a train was due to leave within 10 minutes, so I purchased a ticket (a whole 4Lts - £0.90 cheaper than the bus!) and boarded for the slightly slower, but more scenic journey back to Vilnius.

By the time I arrived back in Vilnius, it was almost 5 and the humidity and heat had climb back to their levels of the previous days. I boarded and empty trolleybus back to the hotel, that by two stops on was absolutely heaving and not particularly pleasant. When I got back to the hotel I dashed straight into the shower to cool off a little, before changing into clean clothes and heading back out into town in search of dinner.

Weather

Weird Weather Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Vilnius; Wednesday, 30 May, 2007

I left the hotel at a little after 9:30 so that I could wander down to the town to catch the 10:00 sightseeing bus, the bus had been cancelled for the previous 10 days due to "Technical issues" but was due to be running today, except that it had been fully booked for a party of school children, though they didn't bother mentioning this at the stop until just before 10. Myself and a couple of other tourists were not so impressed, though they did say if we wanted to wait three hours then the 1pm might run!

I had a wander through the town and stopped at a few of the market stalls to have a look for souvenirs, and then stopped at a café for a mid-morning break. After the break I wandered down to the Vilnius picture gallery. It is part of the Lithuanian museum of art, and houses Lithuanian paintings from the 16th to the 20th century, and more importantly on a day like today, is beautifully cool inside.

After having had a look around I wandered down through the town to the district to Užupis. There is not much to see here, but the area has declared itself to be an independent state (though no one, not even the residents, take it too seriously). Having walked through an entire state in under 5 minutes, I wandered back into the old town and stopped for a late lunch, before having a wander down the main street and through the new town.

The main street through the new town, Gedimino prospektas, runs from the Cathedral to the river, stretching some 1.75KM. At the river end is the parliament building. A fine example of Soviet era architecture, and looking in some ways like a smaller version of the old East German parliament, this building has survived because it was here in 1990 that the declaration of reestablishment of independence was declared. It was effectively the final nail in the coffin of the USSR, though it would take over a year, and lead to the deaths of more than 20 Lithuanians, Lithuania became the first part of the USSR to stop being part of it. Today, a small reminder of, what must have been very frightening days, is left by the side of the parliament building. Some of the concrete and barbed-wire blocks and anti-tank devices deployed outside the building to keep the Soviet troops out, and the dream of independence alive. The majority of the blocks remained in place until 1993, when the final Soviet troops left Lithuanian soil. After the last troops left a few blocks were kept as a memorial to those who died.

I crossed over the river and wandered back along the bank towards the hotel. What I hadn't realised was just how much the river meanders through Vilnius, and it took the best part of an hour, in very little shade to walk back. By the time I got back to the hotel I was in serious need of the Ice cold shower that I dived into.

After refreshing up and getting rid of another particularly sweaty set of clothes (with the thought that I am not going to enjoy opening my luggage when I get back home!) I headed out into town for my final dinner in Lithuania.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Vilnius; Thursday, 31 May, 2007

The most sensible time to go on a guided minibus tour of a city is when you arrive, lets you know where everything is and builds a map of the city in your mind. But I’m not one to do things the easy way. After packing my bags, leaving them in the luggage store and checking-out of the hotel, I waited in the lobby to be picked up for the Vilnius city tour, which I had booked the previous day.

The tour takes you around the man parts of Vilnius, starting at the Cathedral, then driving round the city, stopping at several of the largest churches, including the spectacularly over the top St Peter and St Paul (one of the other tourists described it as looking like an over engineered wedding cake, and I could see her point.)

The tour returned to the Cathedral square and then we walked the short distance to the presidential palace (in the meantime the bus goes off to act as a shuttle service for people on the full day tour to Trakai.) By the time we reached the palace the lightning was streaking across the skies and the rain was starting to fall. We briefly sheltered under a couple of trees (possibly not the most sensible thing to do!) until the bus turned back up and we could sit inside it and get the full description. The tour then continued through the old town, up streets that were fast resembling major rivers there was that much water around.

We stopped briefly at the amber museum to have a look around, before continuing on to the churches of St Anne and St Benedict. A final drive through town took us to the gates of dawn and a short walk back to the tour companies offices.

The driver, very kindly, offered to drop me back off at the hotel. It may have stopped raining by then, but the rivers that were formally roads were still in full flood! Getting back to the hotel I picked up my luggage and caught a taxi back to the airport, in the process finding out that I hadn't been ripped off as much as I thought I had on the Friday night. 43Lt back to the airport, going a slightly longwinded way, but avoiding the city centre which was almost at a standstill.

Weather

Thunder Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Hamburg; Friday, 15 June, 2007

Checkin was due to open at Gatwick at 6. This means being on the 5:53 train from East Croydon, and this always meant getting the 4:45 night bus from home, and getting up at 4am to be able to shower and summon up enough consciousness to check that I had everything. Then last summer Travelodge converted an old office block less than 200 yards from East Croydon (and less than 150 yards from work!) into a hotel, and offered £25 rooms. So last night, whilst totally compos mentis, I did the final checks that I had everything (passport, hotel voucher, camera, travel insurance documents) and then went into Croydon to stay the night. It's a slightly bizarre experience checking into a hotel less than 4 miles from your home, but it was very pleasurable when my alarm went off at the slightly less obscene time of 5:30. After a quick shower I grabbed my bags (everything was in there last night, no need to check again) and made the 5:53 with a couple of minutes to spare.

Of course the only down side to this is the lack of breakfast, or even hot leaf based beverage, which can only be partially covered by the plastic available once into the departures lounge at Gatwick (you can have plastic baguette, sit down plastic or McPlastic, it doesn't make much difference at 7am). Having covered at least the important task of the hot leaf based beverage and just minutes before the flight is due to be called there is the sound of a ringing bell, followed shortly after by the announcement 'The fire alarm has been activated in this area, evacuate immediately' repeat every 3 seconds. So the entire departures lounge evacuate, some people foolishly deciding to go back through security, I headed towards the gates. Once out of the departures lounge the announcement changed to say that the alarm had been activated in a different area and to stay where you were. A short way from the departures lounge and there was no alarm at all.

Unfortunately this did also mean, that with just 15 minutes before the flight was due to depart there were no announcements about flights, and no general screens showing departures, only those at each gate. As there was nothing else to do I wandered towards the old satellite terminal and checked there, no Hamburg flights displayed. I walked back and started down the long walk towards gate 27. Thankfully as I walked past gate 12 it had Hamburg up and a couple of bemused looking gate staff wondering where everyone was, only four other people had had the same idea as me. The emergency was declared clear at a little before 8, and a few minutes later there was a stampede of passengers running at the gate. With all the boarding cards checked the staff obviously decided to abandon the usual routine of inviting those with low number boarding cards to board first. Instead the man at the gate opened the doors and said "all for Hamburg..."

After an utterly uneventful flight and a slightly tedious journey into the city centre (there is no direct rail link to the airport, you have to catch a bus to the nearest station, about 10 minutes away) I checked into the hotel and hopped back onto the S-Bahn into the city centre. I got off at Landungsbrücken, from where regular open top tour busses run. I got on the first one and spent nearly 2 hours getting an introduction to the city (mostly in German!) Arriving back at Landungsbrücken I wandered over to the Elbetunnel, which runs under the river to the opposite bank. Unusually it has lifts at each end that lower and raise cars and bikes into the tunnels. I had a wander through the tunnel and took in the stunning views of the harbour side from the opposite side of the river, before wandering back through the tunnel and onto the town hall.

At the time of visiting the town hall square was being used to host a beach volleyball competition, so was very crowded, I had a wader around the surrounding area and down to the Alster lakes. I arrived just in time for a late afternoon boat cruise around the lakes (really its one lake, that's split by two road and a railway bridge.) The cruise was interesting, despite only understanding brief bits as it was all presented in German (despite the sign saying "Multi-Lingual tour"). When the tour was over I had a longer wander through the heart of the old town, but by now the weather was rapidly deteriorating, and the light fading (despite it only being a little after 6), so I found a restaurant for some dinner. By the time I finished dinner the weather had cleared so I had a longer wander around the old town at dusk before heading back to the hotel, just as the next downpour arrived.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Hamburg; Saturday, 16 June, 2007

Taking advantage of the free use of an umbrella that each room is equipped with I ventured out into Hamburg. My first stop of the morning had been one of my last yesterday evening, St Nicholas's Church. The church was once the tallest in the world, and had been destroyed twice in it's history before its final destruction in the firestorms that swept Hamburg on July 27th 1943. The fire destroyed large parts of the city, but this was one area which was not repaired or rebuilt. Instead it's remains, some fragments of the walls, and the whole of the tower (now singed black) were left as a memorial against war and to the victims. In the former crypt is a document centre which has more details on the history of the church, today the tower houses a lift which speeds you to the base of the spire, about half-way to the top. From here there are stunning views over the city centre.

After taking in the views I descended back down to street level and wandered the short distance to the docks area. The warehouses and canals are still a hive of activity, even if the docks are no longer in use (a much larger container terminal is located a little further along the river Elbe). Today they are home to several museums, galleries and a few wholesalers (mostly of rugs!). One of the largest museums, and the cheapest (being free) is the Zollmuseum, the customs museum (as in drugs, smuggling and border control, not traditions!) The museum tells the history of the development of Customs in Germany from the Roman empire to the modern day. It also has some exhibits on Customs in the rest of the EU, and some of the ways people try to smuggle contraband into the country.

From the museum it was a short walk back through the docks to the "Hot Spice" museum. This tells some of the background to the spice trade, which Hamburg was an important part of. One of the main attractions is the sheer smell, lots of examples of spices are out for you to look at and sniff and the aroma is a little intoxicating. Just round the corner from the spice museum is "Miniatur Wunderland"

The Germans are the world leaders in model railways, and massive layouts are treated with great reverence (and as a way of making some people lots of money, at €10 for entry, and at least 200 people in whilst I was there its clear there is money in it). The museum has several large displays, the main one being a series of scenes in Hamburg. Every few minutes the lights dim and you can view it all as if it is night. It's quite interesting, but the sheer number of people makes it a little unpleasant, especially on a sticky day!

By the time I left Miniatur Wunderland it was already almost 4 so I stopped for a quick bite to eat, before walking around to the Rickmer Rickmers. This was originally built as a trading ship to the East Indies in the middle of the 19th Century. After many years of service it was seized during WWI by the British and then given, for a reason that I could find no explanation for, to Portugal as a training ship. It served this purpose until the middle of the century, when it was decommissioned and left to rot. The ship was saved and brought back to Hamburg, the city of it's birth, to be restored and opened to the public. You can look around parts of the ship to see what life was like, or stop for a bite to eat in the restaurant that occupies the first deck. Its also a convenient place to hide when the heavens decide to open. After looking around this ship I decided to have a look around the one almost next door.

The Cap San Diego is a typical freighter built in the early 1960's. According to the guide books it is very interesting to look around. Sadly, it was closed for an event when I got to it (they didn't bother mentioning this at the land end of the 400m bridge that links it to the harbour wall, only when you actually get onto the landing stage do you find that out!

There are several different companies which offer harbour and river tours, all sailing from the landing stages near the Cap San Diego, most cost €15 and are only in German. However, there is a cheaper way to see the harbour, and that's on board one of the regular ferry services that ply up and down the Elbe, run by HVV they are included in the public transport ticket in the same way as busses or metros, and the 62 runs every 15 minutes about half an hour down stream, turns round and comes back. It made for a very pleasant end to the afternoon.

I popped back to the hotel to drop stuff off and then headed back out for dinner. Afterwards I walked back via St Nicholas's church. In the summer, on Friday and Saturday nights, the tower is open until 10pm, so with dusk starting to fall, I ended the day as I had started it by taking some more photos from the top of the tower.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Hamburg; Sunday, 17 June, 2007

Most of today was to be spent travelling. I was booked on the 10:48 train from the Hauptbahnof to Westerland on Sylt.

Sylt in part of the North Friesland islands, a string of islands that lie in the North Sea off the coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Sylt is the largest of the German ones and the most spectacular to get to. The only access onto the island is by a thin embankment, wide enough to take train tracks, but not much wider, which runs across from the mainland. It's a bizarre experience sitting on a train watching it shoot off the edge of the continent and across the water on this thin bank of land to Sylt.

Sylt, not only being the largest, is also the most northerly of the islands in Germany, and at it's northern most point Lise is officially the most northerly town in Germany (directly across the water you're actually opposite Denmark). From Westerland a regular, if expensive, bus network runs up and down the island, so I took the bus up to Lise. At the final bus stop is the harbour home to the most Northerly post office in Germany, the most northerly cash machine in Germany, the most Northerly etc, etc. As tacky sites it comes in a respectable third behind Lands End n Cornwall and the runaway winner, Santa land near Rovaniemi, Finland!

It might come higher, if it weren't for the beautiful setting, fine golden/white sand dunes and clear blue sea that are a short walk along the beach. I had a long walk along the lower dunes and beaches before catching the bus back into Westerland and then on to Hörnum at the southern tip of the island. Again this has beautiful sandy beaches, but a bigger and uglier port which spoil the view a bit.

By now it was half five and time to head back to Westerland and the train journey back to Hamburg. By the time I finally arrived back in Hamburg it was almost half nine. I had spent nearly seven hours on trains to spend four hours on Sylt, but the beauty of the island made it worth it. I managed to grab a late snack of a Bratwurst before heading across the platform to my hotel and packing!

Weather

Light Rain Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Hamburg; Monday, 18 June, 2007

I finished breakfast and checked out of the hotel and, as per usual, put my luggage into the left luggage lockers at one of Hamburg’s many stations. I walked the short distance from Dammtor to the edge of the Alster lake to pick up one of the other tours that are available.

The flussfhart runs from the lake, through two locks to the old harbour and out onto the Elbe, along the way it takes in both the new harbour developments and the old harbour buildings. The tour was quite interesting, but as my German has become very rusty I understood less than a tenth of what was being said (two years ago I could probably have understood closer to a quarter, so the rust has set in on a pretty dodgy grasp of the language to begin with!)

After the tour I took the U-Bahn round to St Michaels church. It stands a little over 300m from St Nicholas's, but unlike the former was rebuilt after the war. Like St Nicholas's it also offers a lift to a viewing platform at the base of its spire, offering equally stunning views, especially of the blackened and charred spire of St Nicholas's. I walked back to the U-Bahn station and caught the train round one stop and another attempt to visit Cap San Diego. Thankfully, today it was open.

The ship is pretty impressive, especially when you get below decks and see the massive storage decks, and go deep down into the bowels of the ship to look around the engines, and mechanics of the ship. By the time I surfaced from the incredibly stuffy and hot innards of the ship, I was quite glad for the rain that had started, however it soon became clear that rather than a brief shower, this was only going to get heavier. I had left myself another 40 minutes of sightseeing before I had to leave to go to the airport, in the end I decided I would prefer 40 minutes extra sitting in the airport than 40 minutes getting soaked, so I headed back to Dammtor, picked up my luggage and made my way back to the airport.

Weather

Light Showers Heavy Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Tromsø; Wednesday, 18 July, 2007

There was once a series of adverts in the UK, which went along the lines of “Ground Coffee taste without the grind”. At 9am, on Clapham Junction station I discovered a “retail outlet” which has managed to perfect “Instant coffee taste, with the grind”! It kind of set the tone for the day, everything just slightly less perfect than it should have been.

It’s mostly my own fault. I had been planning this trip for the best part of a year, booking the flights, hotels and majority of the transfers the previous September. In my mind, everything was going to go perfectly, there would be no issues, no problems and every leg would run smoothly and to order. Of course, a significant part of this all hinged on the British transport infrastructure, and the reliability of officially the worlds worst airline for loosing baggage in getting me to Scandinavia in the first place. The coffee was just the first reminder that there were darker forces at work than my meticulous planning (and let’s face it, there are no forces darker or more disturbing than British transport catering!)

Having made it, without further incident to Feltham and the bus to the airport, things were looking up, until, just before Hatton Cross tube station the bus stopped at the lights and then failed spectacularly to move again. After lots of engine revving, and air brake application and de-application, the driver accurately and concisely announced he had discovered the full technical reason for the problems. “The bus is knackered, everyone off, you’ll have to walk to Hatton Cross!” The walk itself is not particularly arduous, or long (less than 400m and on the flat) the issue lies in getting from where the bus was to the tube station, the other side of all six lanes of the A4, on it’s approach to the airport!

Having successfully negoatiated my way to Hatton Cross, avoiding being mown down by delayed motorists determined to catch their flight, I managed to pick up another bus through to Terminal 4, where I discovered the one thing the “fast bag drop” wasn’t was fast. 45 minutes later with the advertsing “When you arrive at the airport drop your bags at the fast bag drop and sail through to the departures lounge smoothly and effortlessly” ringing hollow in my mind I was standing at the back of the queue for security. Thankfully, for once, BAA had got enough staff on, so I was through security in a couple of minutes.

I got to the gate shortly before boarding was supposed to commence and waited, through the boarding time and up to the time when boarding was supposed to have closed. Finally, just 5 minutes before the flight was due to have departed, they announced that boarding could start, the usual scrum commenced, which I have never quite understood on a full frills airline, as everyone already has their seat. 15 minutes later we were all in, belted and ready to go. It’s at this point that they announce the flight crew (pilot and first officer) have been delayed on their inbound flight from Manchester, and that we will be delayed for another 30 minutes of so, until they arrive!

Eventually, once the crew had arrived we took off for an uneventful flight before landing in Oslo over 40 minutes late. I walked through the terminal to the baggage reclaim and awaited the arrival of my bag. 30 minutes later I was still awaiting the arrival of my bag and was starting to get concerned that BA had managed to loose it. Spending the next 12 days travelling around Scandinavia in the same clothes did not appeal, with the added disadvantage that as I wasn’t staying in one place more than a couple of days bags would never catch up with me. Thankfully, after another 10 minutes or so my bag finally appeared on the belt so I grabbed it and made my way to the train into town and onto the hotel.

After checking in and dumping my luggage I went out into the early evening sun of Oslo. I took the metro out to Frognerseteren up in the hills overlooking the city to take in the views of the Fjord in the summer sun. The last time I had been here it was the shortest day of the year, and there was very little light. Today, less than a month after the longest day, and with Oslo not really experiencing much in the way of night, the scene was more breathtaking.

I caught the train back down into town and spent a good two hours wandering around the city centre taking in the sights, before heading back to the hotel for some sleep, ready for the early start the following morning.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Tromsø; Thursday, 19 July, 2007

After the last decent nights sleep for some time, I got up early to grab breakfast before heading back to the airport and the flight North, in fact the furthest north I had ever been, to Tromsø, capital of the arctic. After a relaxing flight I arrived in Tromsø and again had to wait a significant amount to time for my luggage, thankfully, this would be the last time, until the flight back to the UK, that I would have to let my luggage be handled by anyone else, and by the time I got back to the UK if BA wanted to loose a bag load of dirty washing then I wasn’t going to be too worried!

I still managed to, just, make the connecting Flybussen into town and walked the short distance to the hotel and checked in. After dumping my luggage, and pulling a fleece out of my bags, as the temperature difference 400Km north of the Arctic circle to Oslo was noticeable, I went for a wander through the town, mostly in search of the Tourist information centre.

All my guidebooks listed the tourist information centre as being just opposite the cathedral, even the street signs pointed to that location, but all that was there was a convenience store and a restaurant. I spent 5 minutes walking up and down the streets nearby trying to see if the sign was pointing somewhere else, then giving up I thought I might be able to get some information at the bus station. When I got to the bus station I found they had handed half of their office space over to… the tourist information centre! I went in and picked up some leaflets on things to do, as well as booking to go on a bus and ferry tour of the fjords around Tromsø the following day.

After leaving the tourist centre I headed back towards the centre of town and caught the bus out, across the fjord to the mainland and on to the cablecar. The car runs to a station nearly at the top of the hill that overlooks the island that most of Tromsø is on. The views are breathtaking, not only of the city laid out beneath you, but the whole of the island, and a large vista across the fjord and the other small islands and mountains that surround Tromsø. I spent nearly three hours wandering along the ridge and pathways before the weather started closing in, so I headed back to the cable car station and descended back to the bus stop and then back on into town. By now it was gone 8pm so I decided to stop for some dinner.

After dinner I had a further wander around the city centre, before, at a little after 10:30 walking the 30 minutes or so, over the impressive bridge that links Tromsø to the mainland, past the stunning arctic cathedral and back to the cable car. I re-ascended back to the top and took in the marvel of the city, at 11:30 at night, bathed in the light of the midnight sun (albeit from behind a fairly thick cloud cover!).

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Tromsø; Friday, 20 July, 2007

I came back down and wandered through the streets of the city until nearly 1am taking in the mind-bending sight of constant daylight. I’d only been in it for a few hours and already I could feel it doing strange things to my mind.

Tired from a day of walking I headed back to the hotel for some sleep, something that proved to be nearly impossible. The curtains in the hotel were not that thick, and trying to sleep in that much light was next to impossible, but just the sheer process of lying down for a couple of hours, even if I didn’t sleep got rid of the tiredness.

I got up at about 8, had a shower and wandered down for breakfast then headed out to take in some of Tromsø’s museums. The first stop was the Polarium, a museum to the arctic and how man has adapted (or not) to live in its inhospitable climate. After looking around the museum I wandered back across town to the Polar museum. This is a slightly different museum. In my mind I re-titled it “The Norwegian museum of why most of the rest of the world has an issue with us” dedicated as it was to seal and whale hunting, and justifications for this!

After stopping for a brief, very late lunch, I wandered over to the bus station in time to catch the 4pm bus. The local bus company in co-operation with the Hurtigrunten run a round trip which takes you out North-East from Tromsø across the mainland, crossing several Fjords on the way to the town of Skjervøy, just above the 70° North and then back on the Hrtigrunten to Tromsø, arriving back around midnight.

The first hour of the journey the bus ran along the coastline of the main land, parallel and then past the end of the island that Tromsø is on, before turning inland and heading across to a fjord at Svensby. Here the coach pulls onto a ferry and we all got off for the 25 minute crossing. Then it’s all back on the coach for the next leg of the journey through across to another ferry at Lyngseidet and a longer crossing of another fjord. Along the whole route the scenery is breathtaking and my camera should really have been white hot from use by the time the bus dived down into a tunnel, under another fjord, round a bit of an island, across a fjord on a narrow bridge and finaly around a hill and down into the port at Skjervøy, taking the crown as the most Northerly place I had ever been.

The bus pulled up right in front of the gangway onto the ship and we all marched up the ramp and onto the ferry, a couple of minutes late it slipped its morrings and started on it’s 4 ½ hour journey back south (the journey up had taken a little over 3 ½ hours). The ferry is the cheap way to cruise the fjords. Yes you can pay to go on an all inclusive cruise from it’s start in Bergen up to Hammerfest and Kirkeness on the border with Russia and back from around £1500, but you can also use it to go from port to port as a ferry service as a non-cabin passenger, and you still get all the glorious sights, but at a fraction of the cost.

I spent quite a bit of time out on the deck watching the fjords slip past, before realising that it was not that much above freezing, with a strong wind and it might be wise to move inside for a while before hypothermia set in! I went back out on the deck as the ship came around an island an into sight of Tromsø, although it was still a good 30 minutes before we finally moored up and disembarked, just a few moments before midnight.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Tromsø; Saturday, 21 July, 2007

I wandered back from the ferry to my hotel room, and had a nice hot shower to warm myself up and then tried, again fruitlessly, to get some sleep.

Several sleepless hours later I got up, had breakfast and headed out for another day in Tromsø. Sadly the weather was not playing according to the script. I had originally planned to book to go on one of the whale watching cruises that leave in the late afternoon, but the sea conditions were quite rough, and all the cruises had been cancelled. Instead I had a wander around some of Tromsø’s other museums. Stopping at the Art museum of Northern Norway, the Geological walk and Botanical gardens and the Tromsø museum before wandering back over to the Arctic Cathedral.

Here, unfortunately my sightseeing came unstuck, as it was closed for a wedding until late in the evening, so instead I headed back into town and had some dinner, before going back to the hotel to pack my stuff up ready for the following mornings journey to Finland.

Once again I tried to get some sleep, because by now I was starting to feel as though I was in some kind of drug induced state. I was totally conscious at the time of what I was doing, but appeared to have little, if any short term memory of what I had done a few hours later. The only way I can remember what I did visit is by looking at the entry receipts and guides to the various musumes and attractions I had visited.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Tromsø; Sunday, 22 July, 2007

I must have got a couple of hours sleep at least, as I was woken up by the sound of my alarm going off at 6:30, typical, the one time you get some sleep is the time you have to be up early to catch the bus!

There is one bus a day that makes the 11 hour journey from Tromsø in Norway to Rovaniemi in Finland. It leaves at 7:30 and I had to make sure I was on it for the rest of my journey plans to still work. In the end I needen’t have worried. Whilst the bus may have been almost full 11hours later when it pulled into Rovaniemi, at 7:30 it set off from Tromsø with me and four other passengers. For the first two hours or so we ran through the Norwegian countryside, a fjord always visible on one side or another, in a light drizzle, stopping twice but on both occasions leaving with exactly the same passengers that we had started with in Tromsø.

The bus climbed into the mountains and came to where Norway, Sweden and Finland all meet. Despite the Norwegian/Finnish and the Norwegian/Swedish border being those between a non-EU and an EU member, there appeared to be nobody around, and no one in the customs office to stop us from smuggling all that really cheap Norwegian booze into Finland!

Weather

Light Rain No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Rovaniemi; Sunday, 22 July, 2007

Within a couple of minutes of crossing into Finland the coach pulled up at the first service station of the journey, and at the same time the gentle drizzle that had accompanied us all the way from Norway dissapeard (almost as though it had stopped at the border, refused entry by the Finns) to be replaced by a gloriously warm sun and a clear blue sky.

After a 20 minute stop the coach continued on for about another hour before stopping again for a break, slowing down every now and then to avoid running over the reindeer that wander out into the road. The pattern continued until early afternoon and the final stop at Muonio. From there the coach ran direct for the last two hours to Rovaniemi, arriving about 20 minutes early. I took my bag out from the luggage hold and walked the short distance to the Sokos hotel and checked in.

After having a well needed comfort break (I hadn’t realised that the last two hours would have been non-stop, otherwise I might have had a better break at Muonio!) I wandered back out into the warm summer sun of Rovaniemi. After about an hours wandering I came back to the hotel to have dinner in the restaurant, before attempting to get some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Rovaniemi; Monday, 23 July, 2007

Sadly sleep no did not appear to want to visit me. Despite having decent thick curtains I couldn’t drop off, so after another day-night (what do you describe the night-time when there is no darkness) I was fearing I would be knackered. Instead after a large and filling breakfast I suddenly felt really full of energy. I would suspect this is the start of the manic streak that most people in the arctic regions develop during the summer, obviously it only needs 96 hours without darkness to send you a little loopy.

So I decided to use up my energy by hiring a bike and seeing the area around Rovaniemi by pedal power.

After hiring a bike from the next door arctic safaris I headed out along the banks of the river following it out of the centre of town, round the side of a big lake, and finally, back in towards town. I then decided it would be time for a challenge, time to be able to say something impressive, like “I’ve cycled all the way to the arctic circle and back”, I just wouldn’t quantify that the starting point was Rovaniemi, 8Km south, not London some 2,500Km South!

I have to admit that I did sort of fail in my attempt, the last 400m were up quite a steep hill so I gave up and pushed the bike up the hill for the last part! After locking up the bike I wandered into the world of tack that is Santa Land. If anything it was even more tacky that it had been last summer, except this time I wasn’t in full control of my mental state, so I let the tack get to me and went bad souvenir shopping. Most of my friends would end up having a highly touristy hat forced upon them!

Having purchased the whole of the EU silly hat mountain I had a bit of a further wander around the site, stopping for a very nice late lunch of a salmon steak cooked in a traditional Lappish fire pit. Then I saw a sign pointing across the road to a nature walk to “Santa’s forest” so I decided to have a look.

The walk is about 1.4KM to the forest, and then you have to walk the same route back. It goes through several different examples of Lappish habitat, including bog, marsh and dry pine forest. On starting the walk you do have to walk past a large sign warning that you are “Kulku Omalla Vastuulla – Walking at your own risk”. My slightly warped mind imagined Santa’s killer ninja reindeer lead by Rudolph the black belt reindeer, but that was probably just the lack of sleep.

The walk is quite interesting with signs every now and again telling you about the habitats and flora, the walk ends at the entrance to Santa’s forest, which appears to be a pine tree plantation, which was closed to all visitors! I walked back to Santa land, picked up the bike and cycled all the way back from the Arctic Circle… the 8Km to Rovaniemi, returned the bike and had a wander around the town centre for a while, before going over to Arcticum, the Rovaniemi museum of the Arctic. When I had been last year one of the main exhibition areas had been closed for the construction of a new permanent exhibition on the Arctic and the environment, and I was interested to see what this would be like, so I headed back.

The new exhibition is very good, and includes a Northern Lights show and information on how changes in weather patterns and the ice sheets are slowly destroying not just the habitats, but also the way of life of the indegiouns people of the arctic regions.

After looking round the museum I wandred back to the hotel, picked up my bag and walked down to the station to get the sleeper down to Helsinki. This was one of the parts of the trip that I had splashed out on. I could have travelled in a normal seat on the train all the way down to Helsinki, for about €75, but the thought of spending 11 hours staring out the window didn’t appeal so I decided to go for a sleeper. I could have saved some money here and gone for a shared cabin, but I have issues regarding sharing my sleeping space with strangers. I could have had a single cabin to myself in a standard sleeping car. Instead, though I decided to go for the premium package.

Finnish railways have recently introduced new double deck slepping cars. All the cabins on the top deck come with ensuite shower and toilet and a full size single bed. This compares favourably to my experience of British sleepers with their bed just wide enough to lie down on without hanging off the edge, one toilet between twelve and access to showers only at the London terminals! Unfortunatly, I discovered the hard way that if you really build something up in your mind, you are likely to be sorely disappointed. The bunk was very comfortable, the toilet and shower unit very ingeniously fitted into the cabin, it’s just a shame that someone forgot to fill the water tanks of the carriage up before it left Rovaniemi. The first time I flushed the loo, it came up with an out of service sign, no water came out when I tried to wash my hands. Speaking to the train manager confirmed that there was a.) no water in this carriage, b.) no space to be moved to another part of the train. So my journey was going to be much closer to that of a British sleeper after all…

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Rovaniemi; Tuesday, 24 July, 2007

…which it was, including the lack of sleep, though this time I should have expected it. I have now confirmed that no matter how comfortable you make the sleeper, I can’t sleep on them. I can lie back and feel the motion of the train rocking me into a trance like state, but it’s not sleep and as we finally travelled far enough south to see a proper nights sky I realised that it would be at least another day before I would sleep, and my grip on reality was possibly getting more fragile.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Helsinki; Tuesday, 24 July, 2007

Having locked all my stuff in the locker at Helsinki station, it was far to early to check into the hotel, I headed down to the fish market to catch the boat along the coast to Porvoo.

The town, is about 40Km along the coast from Helsinki and can be reached by regular busses, but its much more interesting to take the steam ship that sails once a day at 10 from the Fish market in Helsinki to the centre of Porvoo. The journey took about 3 ½ hours, wandering along the archipelago, with a short period where it has to run through open sea, which is probably best not experienced in the below deck (and at waterline) café.

I spent a while wandering around the centre of Porvoo taking in the sights and the wooden buildings that it is famous for, before heading to the bus station. Whilst the journey is interesting, it’s probably only worth doing in one direction at over three hours. The bus arrived back in Helsinki just over an hour after it left Porvoo.

After reclaiming my bags, buying train tickets to go out of town for the following day and checking into the hotel, I had a brief wander around the city centre, stopped for an early dinner and then went back to the hotel to try for a really early nights sleep.

At just after 9pm I closed the curtains and switched off the lights, to my delight I couldn’t see anything, no light, total darkness. I switched on the lights, got ready for bed slipped into the comfortable bed, switched off the lights and before I could even think about going to sle…

Weather

Light Rain Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Helsinki; Wednesday, 25 July, 2007

Some point around 6 or 7 am I woke up, turned over and promptly went back to sleep again. The next time I woke up was just after 8, and by now I was so awake and fully charged that I virtually sprung out of bed. I looked back at the bed and realised that I hadn’t just slept I had SLEPT. Normally I must be quite a restless sleeper as whenever I wake up the duvet is always in a twisted mess, and I can usually untuck the sheets of even the most well made bed. This morning apart from a few hairs on the pillow, and a head shaped indentation, you would think the bed hadn’t been slept in. And I felt normal again (or as normal as I ever am). It’s quite scary to think just how easy it is to get a bit out of it without proper sleep, and that’s in a relaxed environment. I thought back to some of the places I had been to recently, especially the KGB cells in Vilnius. At the time I hadn’t really given the idea of sleep deprivation as a form of torture much thought. Yes, I understood that it is unpleasant not to get sleep, but to be deprived of sleep for a long time is seriously destabalising, add in a stress-full or terrifying situation and I could suddenly realise quite how an unpleasant form of torture it would be.

I took the lift down to breakfast, for some reason that I could never get an answer to the hotel had decided not to have internal staircases between floors, except behind alarmed fire doors, so all guests had to use the lifts, even if it was to go the one floor down to breakfast! I discovered that whilst I knew the hotel was a large hotel, I hadn’t realised quite how large, how full, or that everyone would want breakfast at the same time! I managed to get a table, but more by having sharper elbows, better eyesight, and slightly less rickety hips and knees that the majority of my fellow guests.

After breakfast I headed out to the station to catch the train to Lappeeranta. The town is situated less that 25 miles from the border with Russia, and it’s quite bizarre to wander around a town where the road signs point to St Petersburg. I had a long wander around the centre of town and the harbourside area. Above the harbour is an old fortress which has been turned into a collection of museums and offices.

Walking up through the fortress and back down the other side on the far side of the harbour I came across the annual Lappeenranta sand sculpture display. There were about 5 big sculptures, and lots of small ones, mostly on a space theme (think Neil Armstrong next to ET, Darth Vader and the Martians from Mars Attacks!) I had a good look around before walking back to the station to catch the train back to Helsinki.

I stopped off for dinner in a very nice Greek restaurant that I had discovered two years previously, and then headed back out to the fish market and the boat out to the Suomenlinna sea fortress. I arrived at a little after 10pm, and the sun was just starting to head for the horizon. I walked across the islands to the far side of the fortress, looking out West over the Baltic towards Sweden, and watched the sunset into the sea. The sun setting is something that you take so much for granted living in London that unless the sun is particularly large, or the sky goes a particularly stunning colour you don’t give it a second thought. There was nothing stunning about the sunset at Suomenlinna, the cloud cover was quite heavy, there were no oranges or purples, just the light of the day disappearing, but it is one of the most impressive sun sets I think I have ever watched.

Feeling strangely elated, I walked back across the islands to the harbour and caught the boat back to Helsinki, arriving just after midnight, to discover that the last tram back to near the hotel had already left, so I walked back.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Helsinki; Thursday, 26 July, 2007

Another stunningly solid sleep and I was ready to face the almost certain disappointment which would follow that evening when I got the ferry, the other part of the trip that I had splashed out a bit on, getting a small cabin with a window to myself. After breakfast and checking out I caught the bus out to Seurasaai, and had a wander around the lakes area.

I spending about a hour wandering around I caught the tram back into town and realised at that point that I had no idea how early I needed to check into the ferry, As I had my reservation with me I decided to catch the tram out to the ferry terminal to check. I arrived and walked up to one of the checkin desks to ask. The answer was that I could check in now if I wanted, as it would mean I wouldn’t have to queue up closer to boarding time at 3pm.

I handed over my reservation and there was some tapping of the keyboard, then there was some more tapping of the keyboard, some checking of the reservation, some more tapping of the keyboard, a quizzical look, more tapping. By now I was convinced that something had gone very wrong, had my booking been cancelled, had I needed to reconfirm, had I booked in the wrong direction… The lady then printed out a boarding pass and a programmed a room key then explained about the delay.

She hadn’t been able to find my booking in the seaside cabin section; I’d been upgraded from Seaside class (€225) through Silja class (€400) and Silja plus (€550) to Commodore class (€700). She didn’t explain why, and I wasn’t going to complain in case they decided to put me back down again. As I left the terminal to go back into town I had one of those moments, that if it had been a film the screen would have gone hazy and a flashback would have taken place. When I had been on the sleeper the train manager had explained that I was entitled to a full refund, but that it would take a couple of days to process, how long was I staying in Helsinki for. I’d said only until Thursday as I was getting the ferry over to Stockholm, and he responded that it wouldn’t be enough time so I would have to arrange for a refund when I got back to the UK. Had he told the train company, had they contacted the ferry company, it’s the only logical explanation I could give for the equivalent of being upgraded from cattle class to first class.

I walked back the short distance to the city centre, and did the one touristy thing that I hadn’t done the two previous times I had been to Helsinki. I caught the Pub Tram.

The Pub Tram runs in a roughly (very roughly, but the marketing men just managed to make it work) beer glass shaped route around the centre of Helsinki. There is a charge for boarding, but on board it’s decked out in art deco style, making you feel as though you might be in the set of a Agatha Christy novel, with the exception of the large plasma screen which carries a live feed of “TramCam” (as I titled it in my head) from the front of the tram. You glide around the streets of Helsinki, in a London bus red tram sipping from a pint of beer. There really is no other way to travel.

Having completed a full circuit of the route I disembarked and, slightly tipsily, walked back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and go out to the ferry. I arrived back at the ferry a few minutes before boarding started, still partly convinced that it was a hoax and that I would be downgraded, but I boarded the ship normally, found my cabin, popped the key card in the lock and the door opened, onto a large cabin, with a double bed, a lounge area with a large TV complete with video player and X-Box, a balcony with more chairs and sitting underneath the TV, a minibar stocked with a large bottle of Champaign and several other drinks. I wandered down to the information desk to enquire where I needed to leave my credit card details to use the minibar and was met with the response, “no need to sir, it’s all complementary”

I spent a good hour exploring the ship, as no passenger areas were off limit, the only areas that were restricted to certain passenger groups I had a key card that opened the door to. I wandered down to the sumptuous Commodore lounge and realised what this was going to be like. It was as though I had walked into the business lounge at an airport, except you had your own private bed chamber, and there would be none of that nasty boarding, seat belt, take off, landing nonsense, the lounge would float the whole way to Stockholm.

I popped back up to my cabin, popped open the champagne, and as I poured the first glass the ship slipped it’s moorings and sailed out into the Baltic. Having gone through the channels so many times in sightseeing boats, I hadn’t really appreciated how small the channels were, now I was on a ship that put some of the cruise ships to shame because of it’s size, I realised how small those channels were. A couple of minutes later we sailed past Suomenlinna, crowds standing on the edge to waive the ferries off as they depart, the same they do every evening, I waived back, raised my glass of Champaign and toasted Helsinki. Yes, this leg of the trip had started badly, but the end was making up for it.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Stockholm; Friday, 27 July, 2007

Technically I should be feeling like something unmentionable. In the last week I had got only three decent nights sleep, I had covered several thousand miles, I had cycled to the Artic circle, and last night I had consumed a disgusting amount of food at the buffet dinner, not forgetting the bottle of wine that came with that, a whole bottle of Champaign, and two cans of beer. Instead, as stepped out of the shower, turning off the water with the gold plated taps, and stepping into the soft towelling dressing gown and towelling slippers, I felt disgustingly health.

The ferry docked in Stockholm on time, but it was not a part of Stockholm that I recognised. I had assumed, wrongly, that as they Viking and Silja services leave from roughly the same area of Helsinki, they would arrive into the same parts of Stockholm, near the Katerina Hissen and the Central station. Sadly, for Silja, this is not the case, their ships dock at a mooring North East of the city centre, a 500m walk from the T-Bahn and then a three stop ride to the Central station, and the left luggage lockers that I would be making use of.

After dropping off my luggage I walked out the back of the station and down to the town hall, where I boarded one of the lake Mälaren steam ships to head up the lake to the royal palace at Drottningholm. This is where the Swedish royal family actually live on a day to day basis, but despite this, during the summer at least, parts of the palace and grounds are open to the public to look around. The steamer is the most pleasant way of reaching the palaces, taking a little under an hour to steam up the lake to the palace.

I had a long look around the Palace, as well as the grounds and the small Chinese Palace at the back of the grounds, before heading back into Stockholm, this time by way of bus and T-Bahn. I went back to the Central station, picked up my luggage and headed onto the hotel to check in. After doing all the necessary at the hotel I headed back out into town. I wandered up to the palace in the centre of town and to the Cathedral, which I had not visited on my original trip to Stockholm. The cathedral looks quite small from the outside, but inside is much bigger, though quite dark with little natural light getting in. I had a long look around the cathedral before heading round to the side of the castle, just in time to watch an impressive changing of the guard.

Impressive for two reasons, one the number of soldiers involved, and two the spectacular cloudburst that took place for almost exactly the same time as the guard change ceremony. I was already standing in a cloister type arcade, mostly to get a better view, but as the first soldiers moved out to the centre of the courtyard the skies opened. They persevered through their ceremony, which took nearly 10 minutes, as it neared its end the rain reached a crescendo and it looked as though most of the courtyard, and then by knock on effect, the arcade, would flood. Thankfully, as the last soldier retreated to the dry the rain stopped.

I wandered through the old town for some time, watching the rivers cascade down the streets, it had been a really impressive storm! After stopping for dinner in a small restaurant in Gamla Stan I headed back to the hotel to get an early night.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Stockholm; Saturday, 28 July, 2007

Up early and out to the station to catch the train out to one of the most important Viking era sites in Scandinavia. Uppsala is the seat of the church in Sweden, and has been for many centuries, but it hasn’t always been in it’s current location. About 20 minutes bus ride away you reach Gamla Uppsala, Old Uppsala, which was abandoned after the cathedral here burnt down, and the city decided it would be wiser to rebuild it inside the new port town slightly further down the river, but took the name with them!

But the area had been important for longer than the church. Next to where the Cathedral was (and now a small church is located) are 10 mounds, three of which, at least, contain the remains of Vikings, these are fine examples of mound burials which were carried out in the latter part of the first millennium. In the past you used to be able to clamber all over them, but damage, and a better understanding of their importance, had lead to the mounds being fenced off, but a museum tells the history of the excavations of the site and the founding of the area.

I spent quite a lot of time looking around the mounds and the museum, before catching the bus back into Uppsala, to look at the town that was built to replace the original settlement. Sadly, the Cathedral was being used for a wedding later in the afternoon so I only got to get a quick look inside, before having to leave, but along with the spire of the cathedral, there is one other structure which stands out on the skyline of the city, and that’s the castle.

Today the castle still houses the offices and residence of the regional governor, but also house a small art museum. To see the main parts of the castle you have to go on a guided tour which happen a couple of times a day, thankfully I was in time to make the English language tour, which turned out to be just me and the guide. She took me around the castle, telling it’s history and the important role it has played in the life of Sweden. The tour ends in the remains of a massive chapel, absolutely covered in carvings, sculptures and plaster work.

The castle has been remodelled and rebuilt on several occasions, with an entire chunk of it being dismantled and taken to Stockholm for the building of the palace there, only a small part of the original castle remains. This has been turned into a small museum, with waxwork tableaux’s telling about castle life.

After looking around the grounds of the castle and the botanical gardens it was time to head back to the station and get the train back into Stockholm, pausing briefly to look at the small collection of large rune stones which was dotted around the university grounds, by the cathedral. Once back in Stockholm I wandered down to the quays near the palace to book an evening boat tour. When I last visited I had done most of the tours, but they had all been during the day. I wanted to go on one that would allow me to be out on the lake as the sun set, and the 8:30 under the bridges tour fitted that bill. In the gap before the tour I stopped for a quick dinner, then headed back to quay.

The tour crosses from the Baltic in Lake Mälaren, travels around some of the islands and then back into the Baltic. It’s an interesting tour, made more interesting by being able to watch the sun sort of set over the lake (this being Scandinavia in the summer it was never going to get completely dark, but most of the way there).

The tour ended back at the palace and I caught the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Stockholm; Sunday, 29 July, 2007

I checked out of the hotel, deposited my luggage in a locker at the central station and headed out into the Swedish countryside, to Läggesta and then by bus onto the small lakeside town of Mariefred. The reason for this is the palace that is located here. Gripsholm is as close to a typical castle as you can get, drawbridges, turrets, moat the whol lot.

I spent some considerable time exploring the castle, though if you are into Swedish painting you could take even longer as most rooms were covered in art work, from ancinet kings and queens up to the current royal family (and members of ABBA!)

I had a brief wander around the grounds before heading back to the station, though this time by the steam railway which runs from underneath the viaduct the Stockholm railway line runs over to the grounds of the castle. The trains rattle slowly down the 4Km between the two, but are a more interesting way of getting back.

By the time I arrived back in Stockholm there was less than an hour left before I had to catch the train out to the airport, so I wandered over to the city hall to climb to the top of the tower for a final view over Stockholm. Unfortunatly, since I last visited a new limit of 35 people at a time has been implemented on the tower so I joined tha back of what I thought was quite a short queue to climb the tower. 15 minutes later just three people had been alowed in and it looked as though I could be there for a very long time, so, reluctantly, I left the queue and wandered back to the station, picked up my luggage and headed for the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Swansea; Friday, 03 August, 2007

With my clothes barely dry from the trip to Scandinavia I headed back out on the road, this time to the wilds of South Wales. The journey was uneventful up until Cardiff, at which point the train waited in the station for nearly 30 minutes as some idiot had driven their lorry into the bridge that the train was supposed to go over, and for safety reasons the line had to be shut and the train diverted, unfortunately the driver did not know the route that we were being diverted by, so we had to wait for a driver who did know the way to arrive!

Eventually we arrived into Swansea 55 minutes late (and annoyingly 5 minutes before the entire journey would have been free!). I had looked at a map before I left of how to get to the hotel from the city centre, but I had forgotten how to get from the station down towards the seafront, and I couldn’t be bothered to go wandering, so I hopped into a cab out to the hotel. I’m glad I did, as the hotel proved to be slightly less the city centre hotel that was advertised on their website. It was a good mile from the city centre, along a road running next to the docks, that appears to be a mix at present of derelict docks buildings awaiting destruction, empty wasteland, and new gleaming office blocks being built.

After checking into the hotel and dropping my stuff off I headed back out and walked into town, taking nearly 30 minutes to reach the edge of the city centre, and then spent another 30 minutes wandering around the city centre. After a while it became pretty obvious that the centre of Swansea is an identikit town, you could be in any large town anywhere in the UK, the shops are all the same, the restaurants are all the same, and the large groups of people getting plastered on a Friday evening are the same.

My wanderings took me to the bus station in time to catch a bus out onto the Gower peninsular to Mumbles. The bus itself wandered around the back streets for quite a while and it was gone six by the time I arrived in the Mumbles.

I wandered along the sea front for about a mile and a half from Oystermouth square to Mumbles pier. I climbed up the cliff path and walked along a little further to bracelet bay. The whole way along you have the stunning views back across the broad sweep of Swansea bay.

After taking in the views I found a bus stop and caught the bus back into town and went to look for some dinner. Sadly, I had forgotten, in the peace and tranquillity of the Gower peninsular, that this was the first Friday of the month, and consequently there were a very large number of people who, at 8pm on the first Friday after payday were getting off their faces (thus proving that Binge drinking is a British problem and not a English problem!).

After walking past several queues for restaurants (and a similar number of revisited dinners that were decorating the pavement), I decided to cheat and go to where there would be nobody else dining, a small hotel a mile and a bit out of town!

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Swansea; Saturday, 04 August, 2007

After a belated start I finally made it into the centre of Swansea a little after 11. I headed over to the bus station to catch the bus out to some of the castles on the Gower. However, after spending 55 minutes on the bus, then changing, then spending another 35 minutes on another bus, I came to realise that more than two castles in a day would be impossible. However, I wasn’t massively worried, a combination of spectacular scenery, and the constant presence of that very fine, very soaking light rain, made me quite glad to be on the bus for a large part of the day

My first stop (which was at about a quarter past one!) was Weobley castle, high on an outcrop of land overlooking the north coast of the Gower. A lot of the outer shell of the castle remains, and from the higher points on it you get stunning views over the coast, looking along a broad sweeping bay.

One of the rooms of the main tower has been partly restored to act as an exhibition space to tell the history of castles on the Gower, including lots of information on Weobley and the other castle managed by Cadw (The Welsh Historic monuments service) at Oxwich, which made up for the fact that I would be unable to visit it because of the time it had taken to get to Weobley.

After looking around the castle I had a look at the timetable and found the bus back to connect with the bus back to Swansea wasn’t for another two hours, but a closer inspection of my guide book revealed that the bus had gone on a massive six mile loop around the countryside to get to the castle, so I was less than 2 miles from the hub of public transport in this area (i.e. one bus an hour!) at Llanrhidian Cross, so I walked up the road and sure enough 35 minutes later found myself at the bus stop at Llanrhidian in enough time to make the bus an hour earlier back to Swansea.

Instead of going the whole way back into the city centre, I got off at the hospital and changed onto the bus out to Oystermouth, the centre of Mumbles. I walked the short distance from the seafront up the hill to the castle.

Oystermouth castle is in a more ruinous state that Weobley, but you can still access the battlements, from where, if you peer through the fine mist of light rain that was falling, you get stunning views of the whole sweep of the Swansea bay, from the tweeness of Mumbles, through the city centre and onto the slightly less beautiful industrial and refinery works at Port Talbot.

I came down from the battlements at the same time as the custodian was ringing the bell to let people know they were about to be locked in, and walked back to the bus stop to catch the bus back into Swansea city centre and to dinner, pausing to stop off at the station to buy my ticket for my Sunday sightseeing trip.

Weather

Light Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Swansea; Sunday, 05 August, 2007

Wales is a little devoid of rail links across the middle of it. There is a busy rail corridor running along the south coast through Cardiff and Swansea, and a similarly busy line running along the North through Wrexham and onto Holyhead. There are even some lines running down the West cost and the English/Welsh borders, but across the middle there is only one line.

It’s, aptly, named the Heart of Wales line, and is described as one of the most scenic railway lines in Britain. It runs, roughly, in a diagonal line up from Llanelli, skirting along the edge of the Brecon beacons, before finally crossing the border into England and joining the Shrewsbury to Hereford line at Craven Arms, a place I had previously visited when I stayed in Worcester.

The line has twenty or so stations, though the vast majority are request stops only, and on a Sunday there are only two trains in each direction all day, the first leaving Swansea at 11am. Most of the passengers who boarded at Swansea with me were all doing the same thing – the “Heart of Wales Circular Day Ranger” a special ticket which lets you travel in a circle from any station on the line, back to it using the Heart of Wales line, as well as the main route from Shrewsbury to Swansea via Hereford, Newport and Cardiff.

The journey is very slow, taking over 4 hours to cover the 100 or so miles, but the scenery, for the most part is beautiful, running along the edge of the Brecons, the Black Mountains and crossing the Wye Valley and Offa’s Dyke before entering England via the rural backwaters of Shropshire at Knighton, a town which itself straddles the border. The train stops for about 30 minutes, in Llandrindod Wells for about 30 minutes, so that the trains can cross, most of the line is single track, and so that the crews can swap. The guard and driver come up from Swansea, and then go back, with the guard and driver who have come down from Shrewsbury taking the Northbound train back there. The 30 minutes is not enough time to see more than the station and stretch your legs, but the whole area has been “revictorianised” to make it look closer to what it did in 1900 rather than 2007.

By the time I got into Shrewsbury it was almost half three. There were two options for the return leg, either a train at 16:11 or one at 18:13. I decided, as I had 45 minutes to the earlier one, to have a quick wander, if I found stuff to do I would come back for the later train. Having left the station I walked up the hill towards the centre of town and came across the castle and regimental museum, which were just in the process of closing, as were most of the shops and none of the restaurants, with the exception of the McDonald’s, were open, so I took that as a good a sign as any that dinner would be in Swansea and I should catch the earlier train. Shrewsbury itself looked like a very interesting town, but probably a place that disserves a little more than a quick 45-minute, or two hour, wander.

I got back to the station to discover that the train had been delayed by about 10 minutes, so I got a sandwich and drink from the buffet and then waited. The train eventually pulled in 20 minutes late, and then proceeded to loose yet further time over its journey. By the time it pulled into Cardiff at 7pm it was 45 minutes late, so late in fact that they turned everyone off the train and made us all get in a much smaller train in front as the carriages were needed elsewhere! At least this train managed to claw back some of the lost time, and I arrived back into Swansea at a little before 8, stopped off for a quick bite to eat in the town centre, and then, feeling very lazy, caught a cab back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Swansea; Monday, 06 August, 2007

I checked out of the hotel, left my bags with them and headed off into town and the bus station. There I picked up the bus to Kidwelly, west of Swansea. The highlight of the town is its spectacular castle, built, originally, by the Normans in the 12th century to subdue the Welsh, it swapped hands several time during the first hundred years or so, but then remained firmly in English hands through rebellions and uprisings, mostly due to its design of concentric rings of defence, outer walls, inner walls, lots of murder holes and arrow slits, it’s pretty much everything that you expect from a castle.

Much of the site is in ruins today, but you can still get a good feel of the whole castle, and from the top of the still standing south tower you get views over the whole of the town, and much of the countryside beyond, empasising quite how important this site was to keep. Nothing moved around this area without the castle knowing.

After spending a considerable time exploring the castle I hopped on the next bus on to Carmarthen, to have a quick look around the remains of it’s castle, of which not so much is in existence. A large part of the medieval castle has been replaced at some point by the county offices, but one of the gate towers, part of the outer wall and a fragment of one of the towers is still standing, and once again offers commanding views over the surrounding countryside.

I walked around the town for a short while before heading to the train station. Whilst there are not very many trains to Kidwelly, there is at least one train an hour from Carmarthen, and at half the time it takes by bus, it made much more sense to go back to Swansea this way (added to that I only had two and a bit hours to get back to Swansea, get out the Ibis, pick up my bags and get back to the station!)

I arrived back in Swansea and walked back to the hotel, through the modern SA1 development, this is the regeneration of the docks in the city centre and is doing to Swansea’s Docklands what they have done to London’s and Cardiff’s. I picked up my bags and walked to the bus stop to catch the bus back into town and then on up to the station, arriving with about 30 minutes to spare before my train, or as it turned out 10 minutes to spare before the delayed train from an hour before. I’m not quite sure what had caused the delay on the earlier train, but mine pulled out of Swansea on the dot of 5:30.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Bern; Tuesday, 14 August, 2007

I had another restless nights sleep, something that was becoming quite common this summer, though on this occasion I could locate the reason instantly. As my flight from Gatwick was early I had booked into the Travelodge in Croydon the night before. Along with the glorious views of South London's Manhattan (!) my room overlooked the even more exciting view of the extractor fans for the air-conditioning in the Somerfield (Notso)Supermarket, which were on the whole night. I did get some sleep, it's just a shame that the majority of it appeared to be in the period immediately before my alarm went off. I had a quick shower, grabbed my bags, checked out and headed for the station.

30 minutes later and with my bags dropped off at the (for once correctly titled) fast bag drop, I was at the back of what appeared to be one of the longest queues for security that I had ever seen, thankfully as I joined the queue they opened another two desks, so I shot right to the front of the queue, giving me enough time to actually have some breakfast before the flight.

Which was good, as the flight was 30 minutes late leaving Gatwick because of Fog in Zurich, and the service that followed was well below BA's usual quite low standards! Breakfast on the plane was a bacon roll that if you stretched your imagination could be described as palatable. This was made all the worse by being in the back row, opposite the toilet, which had a door that flew open on take off to release waft after waft of loo cleaner/disinfectant smells. To make things worse members of the Cabin crew kept going past it ignoring it (apart from occasionally spraying a bit of air freshener around). By the time I landed I was starting to feel quite unwell. Thankfully, within a couple of minutes of leaving the plane I felt much better again.

A relatively smooth journey through the airport was only held up by having my bag searched by customs. The man seamed quite downhearted that he only found clothes and a couple of guide books, on the down side, by the time I got to the station I had missed the train to Bern and had to wait another half an hour.

With the ruthless efficiency with which the Swiss railways are known the train left Zurich airport on time, quickly reversed into Zurich main station and then headed out fast to Bern, arriving a little over 60 minutes later. I walked the short distance to the hotel, checked in, dumped my bags, and headed back out to explore the city.

My first stop of the afternoon was to be Gurten, one of the main hills that overlook the city. The instructions for getting there are relatively simple, catch the number nine tram from the station to the Gurtenbahn stop and then catch the Gurtenbahn Funicular up to the top of the hill. Unfortunately, Bern is in the process of building a brand new tram and bus station in front of the railway station, and since the beginning of August, until the end of the year, they had severed the tramlines across the city. The trams were still running, it's just it took nearly 20 minutes to find where they were running from. Once I found the tram, and broke a note into enough small change to be able to buy a day ticket, it was a very simple journey.

From the top of the Gurten the views are spectacular, looking over the city and to the mountains beyond. To give nature a little helping hand a tower has been erected at the highest point which takes you an extra 60m or so up, clear of the tops of the trees and able to see even more of the city. After taking in the views I had a bit of a wander around the parkland at the top of the hill, and stopped for a very late lunch in the self-service restaurant by the Gurtenbahn station. After finishing lunch, having a bit more of a wander I caught the Funicular back down to the bottom of the hill, and the tram back into town.

I had a long wander through the town, taking in the bulk of the area that lies in the curve of the river. From the main station the river loops around the edge of the city for about a mile, and it was a very pleasant walk to meander along the top of the hills overlooking the river. At one point the river surges through a small set of rapids and a short waterfall, adding in the high up bridges crossing it at this point it makes for a dramatic site.

My wanderings ended me up in the Rosegarten, above the city on the opposite side of the river, again the views from here are spectacular, more so perhaps than from the Gurten, if only for being much closer in to the city centre, and able to watch the river in full roar. By the time I left the Rosegarten it was gone 7, so I wandered back to the hotel to drop my bag off and have a bite to eat, before heading back out again.

I headed back out shortly before 8:30 and made my way back towards the Gurtenbahn, arriving back at the top of Gurten just as the sun finished setting behind the city. I spent about 30 minutes wandering around the park taking some more photos of Bern at night before heading back down into town and back to the hotel for, what I hoped would be a decent nights sleep, ready for an early start the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Bern; Wednesday, 15 August, 2007

In the four weeks prior to this trip I had already subjected my body to massive sleep deprivation caused by never-ending day, and dragged it round several thousand miles of Northern Europe. The sensible thing to do would be to take it easy for a while, after all I’m overweight and the only real exercise I get is walking, so it’s not in the healthiest of states. However, I don’t do the sensible thing. Instead, with my body barely recovered from the lack of sleep I decide to try out Oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness on it

Whilst they may not be the very highest of the mountains in Switzerland the Eiger (3970m), Mönch (4099m) and Jungfrau (4158m), translate as the Ogre, Monk and Virgin) are some of the most spectacular. And getting to within admirable distance of the summit of the Jungfrau is surprisingly easy. At 3454m above sea level Jungfraujoch holds the record as Europe’s highest railway station, getting there requires several changes of train and a near 10Km ride through the heart of the Eiger.

Consequently I was up early, and out to the station whilst the rush hour was still on to catch the 9:09 train to Interlaken. I got off at Interlaken, but sadly my jacket didn’t. By the time I remembered that I had put it in the overhead rack I was already half an hour from Interlaken. The trains from Interlaken take one of two routes up to Kleine Scheidegg, where the final train to Junfraujoch leaves from, and return tickets allow you the choice to go up one way and come back down the other. I decided to go up the clockwise way and caught the train up for leg two of the journey to Grindelwald. Here you change trains again to go on up to Kleine Scheidegg, but I decided to have a quick detour hear and take the cable car up to First.

The Firstbahn station is about a 10 minute walk from the main railway station, but mostly on the flat, on the way I passed a number of shops, including one selling jackets. I popped in and £40 lighter left with a new jacket (Whilst it may have been 28C in Bern, by the time I got to Jungfraujoch I would be lucky if it was much above freezing). I boarded my gondola and took off from the base station, through two intermediate stops at Bort and Schreckfeld and arrived at First about 30 minutes later. The views from here over the valley, and across to the imposing high peaks are simply breathtaking. I spent about 25 minutes wandering around the top station before catching the cable car back down to Bort station, here I alighted to make a more unusual descent back down to Grindelwald.

From Bort it is possible to hire a scooter, which you return at the Firstbahn station in Grindelwald, they lend you a helmet as well and point you in the direction of the 4.5Km track down the side of the mountain. How long you takes depends on gravity and how much pressure you apply to the breaks! You get a completely different view of the mountains from ground level, rather than up in the cable car, and you pass through a number of small farmsteads and the outlying suburbs of Grindelwald. The only down side is that the last kilometre or so is on a normal road and a little disconcerting as the scooters do wobble a bit.

Having returned my scooter to the station (where it is loaded onto a maintenance car and set back up to Bort in batches) I walked back to the main station and picked up the train to Kleine Scheidegg, which climbs spectacularly through the foothills and lower parts of the mountains before it reaches the slight plateau the Kleine Scheidegg is on. Here I changed trains again onto the Junfraubahn for the final leg up to Jungfraujoch. The train to Jungfraujoch starts by climbing further up the side of the mountains, until it reaches what can only be described as the rock line, the point at which all grass and scrub appears to stop abruptly. It then dives into a nearly 10Km tunnel that climbs the final 1200m to Jungraujoch, stopping twice on route, partly to let trains coming down pass, and also so you can take in the views, at each stop, despite still being in the rock, passageways have been cut that blast out the side of the mountain, windows have then been installed so that you can remain safe and (relatively) warm, but still enjoy the views.

The first thing you notice on arriving at Jungfraujoch is that the Oxygen is most defiantly thinner, the closest I can describe it to was a combination of slight travel sickness, combined with the light headedness you get after blowing up balloons, alternatively it’s a lot like the way you feel after not sleeping for several days without actually seeing any nights! Consequently, I felt fine, but several other people were staggering around the place as though drunk, and at least one poor kid was being quite ill in the sinks in the toilets.

As with any “furthest…” “highest…” “longest…” attraction it has the customary souvenir shop (the tag line for the whole operation is “Top of Europe”, I somehow feel that the Norwegians may have a better claim to this but…) and “the highest post office in Europe”. It also has a number of attractions, several of these, thankfully, being the view over the surrounding mountains and glaciers. As I exited the station complex onto the side of the mountain and a glacier I was suddenly very glad for the jacket. Whilst it wasn’t freezing (the digital signs were merrily proclaiming it was +8C) the wind was enough to make it feel cold. You can walk along the glacier on a specially secured path to a restaurant and hotel about 40 minutes away, but as I was only wearing trainers and jeans, I didn’t really think I was prepared enough. You can also go skiing, but as I have never skied before in my life, I felt 11,000 feet up on a glacier was probably not a good place to learn. One thing I did decide to have a go on was the aerial slide.

You strap yourself into a harness, scramble, slither and slide your way up a bit more of the mountain (not easy when the snow is at least a couple of foot deep, and you don’t have that much oxygen to play with), have the other end of the harness attached to a steel wire, and then become a human cable car. The ride is a combination of exhilarating and petrifying. The thing they don’t tell you is the breaking system. It’s you, or more importantly you backside, and a mound of soft snow that you plough through (remember at this point that I am wearing jeans!) After dusting myself down I damply, walked back to the start point to hand the harness in. Thankfully, the conditions on the top of a glacier are perfect for fixing issues like this. Whilst it may only be 8C with several foot of snow, the effect of all the sunlight bouncing off the snow and surrounding mountains, as well as it directly being on my back, meant that by the time I had walked the 200m or so my jeans were almost, but not completely dry.

I had a further wander around the site, taking in more of the views and stopping for a very late bite to eat, before catching the last train of the day down to Kleine Scheidegg and from here continuing on my clockwise journey by taking the train back down the mountain to Lauterbrunnen and from here the penultimate train back to Interlaken. This being Switzerland everything connected, so 10 minutes after arriving back in Interlaken the train to Bern pulled out. Even so the entire round trip to Interlaken to Jungfraujoch to Interlaken, without the diversion to First, or even getting out of the train at Jungfraujoch takes nearly five hours, and by the time the train finally pulled into Bern at half nine, I was ready for bed, and I think my body was considering strike action.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Bern; Thursday, 16 August, 2007

After the glorious weather of yesterday, which had allowed me such spectacular views from the mountains, Thursday brought the payback; both in the torrential overnight downpours, and the peeling skin from where I had unwittingly got myself sunburnt. Looking out at the sky in the morning it was quite obvious that if I had gone up into the mountains today the main thing I would be looking at, apart from snow, would have been cloud!

After a leisurely breakfast, and an even more leisurely flip through the guidebooks I headed out to the station and for the second time out to Interlaken. However, on arrival this time instead of heading into the hills, I carried on, along the lakeside on the floor of the valley to Meiringen. The name of the town is not particularly famous to most people, though its nearby major attraction is world famous, if only for a fictitious event, for it is from the mighty Reichenbach falls, that topple to the valley floor just south of the town centre, that Sherlock Holms and his archenemy Dr Moriarty fell to their deaths. The fact that it is a work of fiction, and no such event actually took place in real life hasn’t stopped this small town cashing in.

I was originally going to head straight for the falls, and then come back into town, but my curiosity was tweaked by the Aarschlucht or Aare Gorge. I caught the small local train down to the end of the line at Interkirchen and on the way it passes the edge of the Aarschlucht. The river has gouged a deep, but narrow gorge through the rock creating an incredible natural sight. The train then dives into a tunnel that runs through one of the sides of the gorge, with a station almost at the end of the tunnel, access is through a door in the side of the cliff! I kept on the train for the final couple kilometre in Interkirchen and then started to walk back along the length of the route towards Meiringen.

There are four ways of passing from Interkirchen to Meiringen. One is to follow the road, up and over the top of the hills, one is to take the train back, the third (and not recommended) is to jump in the river and let it take you back (though this will almost certainly be fatal). The fourth, and most interesting way is to take the boardwalk that has been fastened to, and in places tunnelled through, the side of the gorge. The walk takes about 25 minutes, but the views as the gorge gradually narrows to not more than a meter of so wide are spectacular, and the sound of the water forcing its way through deafening.

From the end of the Aarschlucht it’s just over a kilometre to the base station of the Reichenbachfall Bahn. This Funicular takes about 5 minutes to climb to its top station, still a good hundred or so meters below the top of the falls, but by one of the higher pools that the upper part of the waterfall pours into. A further 25 minutes hike uphill and you reach the top of the falls, from where there are stunning views out over the countryside, you can see the valley that Meiringen lies in quite clearly laid out before you.

I descended (it’s only 15 minutes on the way down) back to the funicular station and caught that back down to Meiringen, and zipped across town in the hope of getting to the cable car in time to get up to the Alpen tower before the clouds completely covered the view, sadly, the clouds weren’t going to be the problem. It was already 4pm, and the last assent to the tower with return had already left (and I didn’t want the 3 hour hike back down to the station) so instead I headed back to the railway station to take the train back a couple of stops to Brienz to pick up the rack railway there to ascend up the 2350m to Rothorn. Once again I was beaten by the clock, arriving 5 minutes after the last round trip departure had left (and no option here for going up and walking back down!) Defeated, I waited for the next train back to Interlaken, where, on arrival, the skies absolutely opened.

In the end I had a 35 minute wait at Interlaken for the train back to Bern, and by the time I arrived back at the main station it was already 7pm, so I headed back to the hotel, dropped my stuff off and went out for dinner.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bern; Friday, 17 August, 2007

I had decided to leave my choice of what to do up to fate. If it were clear and sunny when I woke up I would head back to Meringen and visit the Alpne tower and the Brienzer Rothorn Bahn as I had wanted to yesterday. If it were grey and overcast then I would have a short wander around Bern and then head off to Zurich. When I looked out of my window at 8am the sun was shining and I was set for a visit to some more mountains.

I checked out of the hotel, but took advantage of their luggage storage facilities and headed back out to the station and for the third day in a row back out to Interlaken (I was beginning to think it may have been wiser to have stayed in Interlaken rather than Bern!) and for the second day in a row onto Meiringen. Today, however, I would be able to go up to the Alpen tower, as it was only mid-morning when I reached the base station. The journey up to the tower, almost at the summit of Planplatten is spectacular. The first cable car, a large 80-person effort, runs every half an hour up to the fist station. From there you change onto a small gondola car that runs up to two further stations, where you change again for a final gondola up to the tower. The only way to reach the tower is by cable car or on foot. The tower itself houses a small restaurant and a bar, but also offers views over the whole region (or what you could see of it through the rolling clouds that kept coming and going over the mountains.)

The journey up took quite a long time, as I just missed the first cable car, and had to wait the best part of 30 minutes. I timed my descent with the intention of not having to wait so long, a relatively easy feat when the descent from the Alpen tower to the main cable car takes 25 minutes, just leave at the same time as the previous departure! When I got back to Meiringen I wandered back to the station, just in time to miss the train (bang goes the idea of integrated Swiss transport), which meant a 25-minute wait. This also meant I missed the connection at Brienz for the Brienzer Rothorn Bahn, which meant another 45 minute wait for that. But it was worth it.

The line climbs up nearly over 2,000 to the summit of Rothorn, on the way up it twists and turns back and forth over the side of the mountain offering stunning views of Brienz and the lake and beyond to Interlaken, Innerkirchen, and across (when the cloud briefly parted) to the Jungfrau and the mountains in that region. The other fascinating part of the journey is how you ascend up. It’s a pretty straightforward cogwheel railway, except that it is still being powered by the same steam engines that have always run the service.

On the way up the cloud kept rolling in and at one point I thought that we would disappear into a fog, but the train kept ascending, and like a plane, rose above the lower cloud and as it reached the top of the mountain the sky cleared for dazzling sunshine to light up the mountain side, the valley and lakes.

I had a wander around at the top, but there is only a souvenir shop/café and a hotel, so I caught the same train back down 35 minutes later, arriving back in Brienz with enough time to make the train back to Interlaken, and enough time there to catch the train back to Bern.

At Thun, the last stop before Bern what appeared to be the entire army was standing on the station, all waiting to catch the train back to Bern for connections on to home. It would appear that the Swiss army only work Monday to Fridays (hint here to neighbouring countries, if you want to mount an invasion, try starting about 7pm on a Friday, you have until 9am Monday morning to get dug in before the army reports back for work.)

At Bern I walked back to the hotel to pick up my bag, and then walked back to the station to catch the train, by now thankfully much emptier, all the soldiers had caught earlier connections, on to Zurich.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Zurich; Friday, 17 August, 2007

I arrived in Zurich and headed straight for the hotel. After checking in, getting my key card swapped over because it wouldn’t work, twice, and having to virtually force the door because it was jamming I finally got into my room to discover that despite booking five months in advance and asking for a non smoking room I had been given a smoking room, which smelt like it hadn’t been aired for a couple of years!

I enquired about swapping, but was told that was all there was (I can only assume that when I placed my reservation five months earlier I was fortunate to be the very last person to be able to get a room – that or else they hadn’t bothered taking note of the request, or couldn’t be bothered to check). It was only later on, after checking my credit card statement that I found they had also charged my card Sf600 in advance, to be refunded if I didn’t do a bunk without paying (the total bill came to less then Sf300!)

I headed back into the centre of Zurich and had a wander around for an hour or so before heading back to the hotel and my (still) stinking (literally) room.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Zurich; Saturday, 18 August, 2007

I left the hotel and headed to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the train to Sargans. The town itself is quite pretty, and has a large castle on a hill overlooking it, but the reason for coming here was purely for a connection into one of the strangest places on the planet. Sargans lies on the West bank of the Rhine, on the right lies the fourth smallest country in the world, and Europe’s only true Absolute monarchy (The Vatican is also an absolute monarchy – where the king/emperor/pope is head of state and head of the government – but nobody is (or at the very least should!) be born a citizen of the Vatican!), Liechtenstein.

The very name conjures up images of un-numbered bank accounts, which it has lots of – unlike the Swiss who were kind of forced to clean up their act in the 1980’s and 90’s everyone, except those not wishing the whole world to know their true worth (or at least their own nations tax inspectors), forgot about Liechtenstein so it has carried on. It is estimated that some Sf 125,000,000,000 (Sf 125 Billion, about £50 Billion) is in the vaults of the various banks in the country. Though it is quite difficult to call it a country when you consider its size. It’s barely 25Km from North to South, less than 10Km wide at its widest point, and a very large part of it is mountain! Though into this space it still manages to cram a massive financial industry, 35,000 people and a large amount of false teeth. For some reason that I could find no explanation for Liechtenstein is the world’s largest exporter of false teeth. I suppose someone had to be! And the final bit of trivia, that might never come is use. Liechtenstein, along with Afghanistan, are the only two countries in the world that are doubly landlocked, i.e. there are two countries between them and the sea.

I arrived in the Capital Village (I would use City, but that is more synonymous with great Metropolises like London, Paris or Madrid, not a place that you can walk the entire length of in less than 5 minutes), Vaduz just on lunchtime and had a brief wander around the centre. I joined the citytrain tour for a short tour around the centre and outskirts of Vaduz. The tour stops briefly below the castle so that you can get a view of the imposing building; it’s closed to the public as the Prince and his family still live there. The tour also goes past several of the vineyards that are scattered across the village centre; wine being one of the next major industries, after “doubly-landlocked-off-shore-banking” and false teeth.

Having been on the tour I had a look around the Liechtenstein Landesmuseum. The museum has exhibits on archaeology and the history of Liechtenstein. It also has a collection of stuffed animals, at least one of each kind of animal that lives in the country. Given how well presented and fresh the animals looked I had the distinct feeling that these were ancient museum pieces which where killed in a different time when people accepted this, rather that these might have still been alive not that long ago and were killed for the museum, I could well be wrong, but as there were no signs in English and nothing obvious in German about the animals, and they were in a part of the museum which is almost brand new…

I left the museum and wandered back to the bus station where I picked up the bus to Malbun on the South Easter side of the country. The journey up to Malbun is spectacular as you climb up hairpin bend roads into the mountains. Just before Steg the road moves into the mountains, through a tunnel and out the other side before climbing the last part into Malbun. The village itself is very pretty, in the end of a valley that looks every part the geography textbook glacial valley. But the main reason for coming here is the ski lift. Open all year round it zips you up to the top of the Sareiserjoch Mountain for views across the Alps and down into Austria. There is also a very nice restaurant with a sun terrace, which today was living up to its name, next to the summit station where I stopped for a bite to eat.

I caught the lift back down to the bottom in time to catch the bus halfway back to Vaduz, and halfway down the mountain as well, to the village of Triesenberg. From here there are views across to the other border, that with Switzerland. This one is far easier to make out. Mountains on either side line a wide valley bottom, along the middle of which runs the river Rhine, not that far from it’s source, and still a long way from it’s might as it powers through industrial Western Germany. This is the natural border of Switzerland and Liechtenstein and it is possibly one of the world’s most beautiful borders.

I had 35 minutes to wait for the bus back down into Vaduz, where I would then have another 25 minute wait for the bus back to Sargans and Zurich. I then spied a “Wanderweg” sign (signed walking route) pointing to Vaduz, 1hour. I decided that it might be nicer to walk back down the mountain into Vaduz than catch the bus.

The route initially is along roads, but soon becomes a farm track, and even this eventually peters out into a small footpath down through woods. After about 2Km of the path it emerges back onto a road, a couple of hundred meters up from Vaduz castle. You continue to walk along the road, right past the main entrance to the Princes home (no police, or security guards, just lots of signs saying private) and a bit further down you can look up the road to a stunning view of the castle in full. The footpath then comes away from the road again and descends down into the centre of town. I arrived back at the bus stop with about 5 minutes to spare before the bus, almost exactly one hour after leaving Triesenberg.

I caught the bus back to Sargans and the train back to Zurich, which with the ruthless efficiency of the Swiss transport network connect with each other with a couple of minutes to spare so that you can walk gently over to the platform, but still not have long to wait. I left the station in Zurich and had a brief wander around the city centre in the fading light, before heading back to the hotel for a bit to eat and an early night as I wanted to be out early on Sunday.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Zurich; Sunday, 19 August, 2007

Up early and out to the train station to catch one of the earlier trains to Luzern. I arrived at 9:30 and headed straight for the steamship ticket office. Part of the reason for coming to Luzern is to go on what is called the “Golden Rundfhart” a round trip that takes in a paddle steamer, the worlds steepest cogwheel railway up to Mount Pilatus and then a cable car and bus return trip to the city centre. By getting to Luzern early I was able to get a ticket for the 10:15 sailing.

I had about 30 minutes to spare, so I had a quick look around the city centre, including a walk across the Kappellbrücke, a wooden covered bridge, which goes part way across the river then turns at an abrupt angle to reach the shore. In each set of roof beams is a painting of a religious scene. Most of the paintings and wood are sadly replicas due to a fire in 1993, but you still get the effect of this 14th Century masterpiece. I had a quick look around the rest of the city centre, and then wandered back to the quay.

The boat sails across the lake that Luzern lies on, crossing backwards and forwards to make several stops, before finally arriving at the change over point at midday. From here there is the usual tourist scramble as people try to make it to the train station ahead of the crowds. The train ride up is very spectacular, if only for the angle at which it climbs, given that there are no wires or pulleys hauling the train up, it’s all done on it’s own little engine, it gets up gradients of 48% (effectively a 45 degree angle!) through a low cloud bank and up to the summit of Mount Pilatus. The whole journey from Luzern to the summit takes about 2 and a half hours, the journey back down can be done in 45 minutes.

I had a wander around the summit for a while. In addition to the usual gift shop and restaurant there are also two hotels, so that you can stay up here if you wished to. There are several walks around the top of the mountain, but given the fact the cloud had really closed in, to the extent that you could barely see 10 meters in front of you, I thought that might not be such a good idea, so after having a final look around, I joined the queue for the cable car down the mountain.

The journey back down is in three stages, stage one a 25 person cable car that takes you down to a small sports and activities park, then 4 person gondolas that take you down to the bottom of the mountain, and then a 15 minute bus ride back into the city centre. The only problem is that the first cable car section only runs every 15 minutes, but the hourly trains bring up about 100 people at a time, meaning that there is always a queue. I thankfully managed to get onto the second car, having only waited about 20 minutes.

I arrived at the sports and activities park and decided to have a go on the toboggan run. This is a metal slide, which you go down on sitting on a plastic toboggan. It was really great fun, so fun in fact that I had a second go down, got over confident, went to fast and very nearly crashed on a bend. I thankfully managed to keep myself and toboggan on the run, but it was a close thing. By the time I got back up to the top, I decided it was probably time to take the second cable car back down to Luzern.

After swapping onto a bus at the bottom of the mountain I arrived back in Luzern just before half three, and went straight to one of the main attractions in the town. The Löwendenkmal. This is a monument to the Swiss solders who died trying to defend the French royal family during the French revolution and is of a fatally wounded lion carved into the rock. Next door is another rock carving, but this is slightly older.

The glacial garden was discovered in the late nineteenth century when the areas owner was clearing the ground ready for an extension to his wine cellar. He came across strange marks on the rock, and further excavations revealed the rock record of where a glacier had once moved across what is not Luzern. The area has been preserved, including several pot holes that were formed underneath the glacier by melt water at high pressure, and they look like perfectly carved funnels.

After looking around the glacial garden I headed back across town to catch the funicular up the hill to Château Gutsch. The Château itself is now a restaurant and hotel, but the views from the balcony over the city and lakes are stunning. I took these in for a while, before heading back to the station to catch the train back to Zurich

The last time I had come to Zurich had been just before Christmas, and the weather meant that it had been impossible to get a good view of the city from the hills above it. Today I intended on correcting that. After arriving back from Luzern I hopped straight onto the S4 and headed up to Uetilberg. From the station I walked the short distance to the viewing tower and from there was rewarded with stunning views of the city centre, the lake and out across the mountains. In the distance, and with the use of the identifying chart on the railings I could make out Mount Pilatus, and almost directly behind it the Jungfrau, Eiger and Mönch. I climbed back down from the viewing platform and took the train back down the mountain, heading part of the way into the rapidly setting sun. I stopped in town for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Zurich; Monday, 20 August, 2007

The last time I visited Zurich I had real problems trying to find a left luggage locker at the main station and ended up having to go all the way out to the airport to use one there. Since then things have changed… Not a bit. I still spent 5 minutes wandering around all the luggage lockers at the station until I had confirmed what I had suspected, that every one was full and that I would once again have to trek out to the airport to dump my bags before heading back into town. All this was after the Ibis overcharged me for the room by nearly £40 and had to spend nearly 10 minutes sorting the mess out to refund the money onto my card!

On arrival back at the main station I headed to the quay by the national museum to go for a ride on the river. Boats shuttle up and down the river to lake Zurich and then on to the casino. I got out where the river meets the lake to join one of the larger ships that run up and down the length of the lake. I boarded, with five minutes to spare the next departure, which was running the entire length of the lake down to Rapperswil. The journey takes about an hour and three quarters, but the views of the lakeside towns and villages were breathtaking.

I had a brief wander around Rapperswil and decided that I had created a new long German word – Europaeschermontagelschloßen – to define the process of the whole of Europe being shut on a Monday. Even half the shops were closed! I headed back to the railway station and took the S7 train back towards Zurich. This runs, for almost the whole length of its route along the side of the lake so you can take in more views, from a slightly raised level, including watching the boat you got off of about an hour earlier still only halfway up the lake.

Back in Zurich and I had about 90 minutes before I needed to head off for the airport so I had a brief wander around the town centre, taking the Polybahn from the riverside up to the University to take in some of the views, before finally crossing the river and climbing up onto the high ground overlooking the river and old town.

I wandered down to where the river and the lake meet to have a ride on the Ferris wheel which was in town for the summer, it was quite pleasant, up until the point that the rain started, whilst I was at the top and they were loading passengers at the bottom, I got quite wet in the two minutes or so that I was dangling there. By the time I had disembarked it was time to head back out to the airport, pick up my luggage, check in and head home

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Light Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Florence; Friday, 28 September, 2007

Despite a slightly delayed arrival into Pisa, and the discovery that the airport station and the train ticket office are at completely different ends of the airport building!! I managed to catch the 6:35 train into Pisa changed onto the Florence train, and finally made it into the city centre a little after 8pm

I walked, what I thought would be the relativly short distance, to the hotel. This took the best part of 40 minutes in the end, but mostly because the pavements are so narrow that I had to keep stopping to move my bag out of the way, or pick it up.

I arrived at the hotel and checked in, dropped my stuff in the room and headed straight back out again for a wander around the city.

My first stop, as I had to cross it to get into the city centre was the Ponte Vecchio. The bridge is lined with small shops on both sides most of the way across. The shops give way to stunning views up and down the river from the middle.

I walked a little further on to the Piazza Della Signoria and had a look at the outside of the impressive town hall, with its statue of David outside. I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre. But by now was starting to feel quite tired from a long week at work, and nearly 9 hours of travelling, so I walked back to the hotel for a decent nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Florence; Saturday, 29 September, 2007

With a good nights sleep, and a decent breakfast inside me I headed out into the city. The first stop of the morning was to be the Cathedral. This is possibly the most famous building in the city; it's white, red and green marble a stark contrast to the muted colours of all the surrounding buildings. The Cathedral is three separate buildings; the main building with its distinctive dome, the bell tower that stands almost as tall as the dome, and the baptistery, the oldest part of the complex.

After having a quick look at the queues and the speed they were moving at I decided it was probably best to join the slowest one to begin with, that for the dome of the cathedral. You enter the cathedral by a side door, near the alter and then start your assent up the 430+ steps to the top. About a third of the way up you come out onto a gallery just beneath the foot of the dome, which gives you stunning views of the painted dome above you, and stomach churning views down to the marble and gold of the sanctuary below. Having walked half way around the dome on the gallery you start to ascend the dome itself, in a small, winding stairway sandwiched between the outer and inner skins of the dome. The final 30 steps or so are up over the inner skin and out onto the roof, just below the lantern. The views are breathtaking and take in not only the city, but out to the suburbs and the mountains beyond.

On the way down you again get to have a view of the inside of the dome, walking round a gallery a bit above the one on the way up, actually at the foot of the dome, and where the paintings start. By the time I had descended back down to ground level I had climbed up and down well over 800 steps. Of course, the best way to relax after that is to climb the 414-step bell tower. The bell tower benefits from having regular floors where different bits of bell equipment would have been stored, so there are far more opportunities to stop both on the way up and on the way back down. The views, once again are impressive, more so for the views afforded of the cathedral and its dome.

Having ascended and descended excess of 1,500 steps in a little over an hour I headed round to the front of the cathedral to have a look inside the building itself. The queue that was outside was deceptive. Whilst it looked very long, it only took about three minutes to get into the building. The queue is formed purely because the entry door is only wide enough to let one person through at a time. I had a look around the inside of the Cathedral, and was pleased that I had gone up the dome as it was not possible to get that close to the dome or the alter. I also popped down into the crypt of the cathedral to have a look at the remains of an earlier church built on the same site.

After looking around the cathedral I headed back round the front to the Baptistery. This is the oldest part of the complex, and currently undergoing extensive renovation on the outside. Inside it is simply spectacular with its golden roof well worth the entrance fee. With my feet now well and truly exhausted I headed the short distance to the Piazza della Repubblica for a quick bite to eat, followed by a quick postcard stop by the post office and then onto the Uffizi gallery to see how bad the queue is.

The Uffizi is officially the busiest tourist attraction in Italy, and the guide books all told tales of woe of 4-hour queues and still not getting in. They emphasises buying tickets in advance and how you would not be likely to get in just by turning up. In the end I was pleasantly surprised, not only by the fact the queue was only 90 minutes long, but also because the gallery was free to get into, I hadn’t noticed (possibly because the UK doesn’t take part in things that the EU suggest), but this weekend was European Heritage Days and most of the museums and galleries in Florence were free (shame the same didn’t apply to the Cathedral.) This had the added advantage of not making me feel too guilty about the fact that I would probably be round the gallery relatively quickly. All the climbing of the morning, added to 90 minutes queuing had given me a hefty dose of museum feet, even before I had started.

In the end I went with the flow, as most people were moving round quite quickly, bypassing the large tour groups and only stopping at the “crown jewels” of the collection – the odd Botticelli, a Caravaggio or two – that kind of thing. By the time I left the gallery I had spent nearly two hours inside, and felt that I had seen all that I would be able to take in.

From the Uffizi I walked the short distance back to the river and across to the southern bank, from there I walked up stream for a short while before I reached the Porta San Niccolò. From there it was a short walk up the steps and terraces to the Piazzale Michelangelo, a glorified car park, but offering stunning views over the city.

I walked on a little further to the Chiesea di San Miniato al Monte from where there are even more stunning views before deciding that it didn’t look that far to walk along the road back down to the Porta Romana and the hotel. In the end my scale reading skills proved to be badly out as it took nearly an hour, in the fading light, but it was a pleasant walk and the views, before the road started to descend back down into the city, were stunning.

After having a quick comfort stop in the hotel I headed back out again in search of dinner and some evening sightseeing.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Florence; Sunday, 30 September, 2007

Having discovered that this weekend was effectively see Europe for free weekend I decided to make good on the offer and try and cram as much “expensive” stuff in as possible. My first stop was just up the road from the hotel at the Palazzo Pitti. Built as a home for the Pitti family on plans rejected by the Medici as too ostentatious it still ended up in the hands of the Medici, after the Pitti family’s finances hit the rocks.

Today the palace houses a series of museums, as well as the former quarry out the back which has been turned into the spectacular Boboli gardens. In the space of a couple of hours, and without stopping even to have a quick drink I made my way through the Galleria Palatina, Galleria del Costume, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Museum della Procellane and then out to have a wander around the Giardino di Boboli.

Having done all that I then headed back across the city to the Accademia, home to the worlds most famous statue – Michelangelo’s David – and had a look around that before finally stopping for an exceptionally late lunch/slightly early dinner.

After my meal break I headed over to the station to pick up the bus out to Fiesole. Fiesole is a settlement which is much older than Florence, and has at times been more important than the city. Today it is a dormitory town of Florence, but still has it’s own character. After a crowded bus journey up to the town I had a quick wander around before stopping off at the Archaeological zone and the Bandini museum before having a look around the cathedral.

I caught the bus back down into Florence and had a brief wander around before marking the official end of summer.

October 1st is the first day of the winter season in Florence, with many of the museums reducing their hours. Most noticeable amongst Florence’s attractions changing its operating times are the open-top hop-on-hop-off busses. Today was the last day that evening trips operated on any of their routes, so to be able to see Florence and the surrounding area at night from a bus tonight was my last opportunity.

I boarded the Route B bus on the South bank of the Arno, near one of the old city gates. This tour went around part of the city centre, before once again climbing up the hills into Fiesole. The views at night, with the valley a sea of twinkling lights is spectacular. I stayed on the bus back round to the train station, where it connected with the Route A bus through the city. This took in many of the sights of the city centre, and then climbed up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo where is stopped for a brief while, before completing the same route back down to the Porta Romana that I had done the previous evening. Yesterday it took me nearly an hour. The bus did it in barely over five. From the Porta Romana stop it was just a short walk back to the hotel, where exhausted I headed for a relatively early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Florence; Monday, 01 October, 2007

A good long sleep later I woke up fresh and ready to face the worst day of the week. Monday. I have already, in previous trips, (self-)discovered the word Europaeschermontagelschloßen, the act of Europe being closed on a Monday, and today proved no different. However, I had come prepared. I had already visited all the sites on my “must” and virtually all on my “would like to” lists, so could have a more relaxing day spent viewing the city from the top deck of tour busses.

Whilst I had done the tours the previous evening, not much of the scenery was visible outside of town, and inside there was limited scope for photos due to the fact that it was night! To correct for this I caught the normal bus up to the station and started my day of sitting down not doing very much by boarding the bus back out to Fiesole. I had seen some of the views in daylight yesterday on the way up to the Archaeological area, but as the bus had been very full, much of the scenery was obscured by armpits and elbows. On the top deck of a bus, when you are sitting by where the window should be, the views are uninterrupted and simply magnificent.

Having taken in the views up and back to Fiesole I changed busses a couple of stops back from the station onto the city line. For two stops I had to stand on the lower deck, but the bus half emptied at the station and I was able to grab a decent upstairs seat before the next wave of passengers boarded. With a little bit of self satisfaction I noticed that a couple of people who were on the bus from Fiesole had stayed onto the station and were unable to get seats.

I stayed on the bus for one full circuit of the route, and then went round another couple of stops to one of the few attractions open on a Monday, the Basilica di Santa Croce. I spent well over an hour looking around the church and the museum, before heading back towards the centre of town and stopping off in a little café for a late lunch/early Chianti. By now most of the sites that were open were in the process of closing, so with a bit of time on my hand, and with a lovely warm sun, I decided the easiest, and laziest thing to do would be to catch the Fiesole bus once again and spend a couple of hours sunning myself.

By the time I got back into town the streetlamps were just starting to come on, so it was time to make one last stop for the evening before dinner. From the station I caught a number 13 bus up to the Piazzale Michelangelo to take some pictures of the city at night.

During the day the views from up here of the city are glorious, at night they are possibly even better, with the lights of the riverside roads illuminating the Arno, the dome and bell tower of the cathedral still dominating the city, but muted slightly as they are not heavily floodlit, so they can merge more with the background of the city.

I spent a bit of time up at the Piazzale before catching the bus back down to the station and walking towards the cathedral in search of dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Florence; Tuesday, 02 October, 2007

An early start, a quick breakfast and then out into the Florentine rush hour and onto the station. My flight was due to leave Pisa at 5:45, so I had most of the day to play with, but to make sure I did not miss the flight was going to have that day in Pisa itself.

The train creaked and rattled through the countryside between the two cities, stopping, it felt like, at every other town along the way. Eventually, after nearly an hour and a quarter it pulled into Pisa Centrale. I hunted down the left luggage office and dropped my bag off, before heading out into the town.

Large swathes of Pisa at the time of visiting were being dug up, so getting from the station was made even trickier. Trying to walk around holes in the road; pavements which were about as even and level as the cities most famous landmark; and drivers who, obviously impatient at the delays caused by the road works, were exhibiting behaviour what would normally be described as “baseless stereotypes” but in this case were every bit as bad as all the stereotypes make out; made the walk longer and scarier than it should have been.

It took about 15 minutes to walk across the town to the Piazza Dei Miracoli, home to the world’s most famous building cock-up. You’ve seen the pictures, you’ve heard the engineers and the scientists, but nothing quite prepares you for how out of alignment the tower is on first sight, and how it now, thanks to a bodged attempt to make it straight after the first couple of layers had been built – it curves towards the top. Should they ever get the bottom level, the top will still lean, as one sides supports were built longer to try to counter the lean.

First stop was the ticket office to try and see if I could book a ticket to go up the tower. I wasn’t hopeful, all the guide books went on about how you had to book weeks in advance. In the end, the next tour I could book on was only 40 minutes later, so I brought my ticket, along with entry to all the other sites around the cathedral complex.

The leaning tower, whilst being the most famous, is not the most important structure in the Piazza Dei Miracoli. The tower is merely the bell tower of the Cathedral which stands next door to it, beyond that is the baptistery and the cemetery. In addition there are also two museums on the site.

I figured, that I had enough time before my journey up the tower to have a look around the baptistery, then joined the queue for the tower. Having climbed up and down the tower, one of the most bizarre climbs up a building I’ve ever made, I had a look around the Cathedral and the Cemetary before stopping for a quick snack.

After a brief lunch I boarded the open top bus for a tour of the rest of the city. An hour later it deposited me back at the Piazza and I had enough time in the hour between services to look around the two museums before picking the bus back up, catching it round to the station, picking up my luggage and making the train back to the airport in time to check in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Barnstaple; Friday, 12 October, 2007

The only problem with going on holiday in the UK is the time it takes to get anywhere. From South London to North Devon its less than 250 miles, but it would still take over 6 hours, and that is with all the trains running to time and making each connection.

I strolled out of work at 11:30 on a Friday morning, for the second time in a month, and made my way up to central London and then across town to Paddington. After stopping briefly for a bite to eat, I wandered down to the platform and onto the train out to Exeter

I knew that if everything ran to time I had 17 minutes to make my connection at Exeter, with the Barnstaple train which only ran once an hour. By Tiverton parkway, the stop before Exeter the train was already running nearly 15 minutes late, and then seamed to wait on the platform for ages.

Thankfully, it managed to find some time from somewhere and by the time we pulled into Exeter, to discover that the Barnstaple train left from the opposite side of the same platform, the train was only 10 minutes late.

I settled down into a seat on what I thought would be a relatively empty train, but turned out to be almost as packed at 4:30 on a Friday as a London commuter train. The service meanders its way through the Devon countryside. Officially it only stops at two intermediate stations, and several more are available on request, despite stopping at most of these and people getting off at each one, the train was still almost full when it eventually pulled into Barnstaple

My friends met me at the station and drove me back to their place, before we walked the mile and a bit back into town for the evening, taking in some of the main sights of town on the way.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Barnstaple; Saturday, 13 October, 2007

We set out from my friends house, with them driving, to explore North Devon. First stop was the cliff-tops above Saunton Sands. From here you can look down on a wide beach which runs from the base of the cliffs towards the mouth of the Estuary of the Taw. On a mild Octobers day, with good surf, the beach was heaving with surfers and body boarders. We spent some time watching them before moving off further along the coast, through the town of Croyde (a beautiful seaside town with a wide beach and golden sands, not to be confused with my home town of Croydon an ugly dump with wide buildings and golden skips!), and on to the town of Woolacombe.

If it were possible, Woolacombe was even more packed with surfers than Saunton Sands had been. Everywhere you looked there were people on their way to or from the beach, surf board in hand. The only reminder that you were in the UK and not Hawaii was the fact that all the surfers were dressed in full body wetsuits and those coming back from the water shivering slightly.

We stopped for a late lunch of Pasties (The Devonians are slowly appropriating all off the good cultural bits of the Cornish, whilst still actually being friendly to tourists!) and had a quick walk along the beach before heading back to Barnstaple.

Whilst my friends got on with things they had to do I had a look around the town centre. I had a good wander around through the little lanes and alley ways of the centre, stopping at the museum of Barnstaple and North Devon for a look around before taking in the Pannier market and Butchers row.

I wandered back down to the riverside in time to meet my friends and head back to theirs for dinner and a night in watching, despite everything, the English beating the French in the Rugby.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Barnstaple; Sunday, 14 October, 2007

After a late start, we headed out into the heart of North Devon. A couple of miles out of Barnstaple is the Broomhill Sculpture Garden which has lots of pieces of modern sculpture dotted around the grounds of the hotel.

After leaving there we drove on and up into Exmoor, taking in many of the little lanes and passes which go through the heart of the Mooreland. We stopped briefly to pick up some sandwiches in Lorna Doon country, at the end of the Doon valley, before heading into Somerset and up to the edge of the moor where it meets the sea for some spectacular views. Sadly, the cloud was a little bit too low to be able to see across the Bristol Channel to Wales, but the views across the top of Devon and Somerset are still spectacular.

After a quick ice-cream it was time to start heading back to Barnstaple. A quick look at the clock showed that it had taken nearly 2 hours to reach this point from leaving the sculpture garden, and my train was in just over an hour.

Thankfully, there is a much more direct road around the top of Exmoor and down into Barnstaple. For part of the time it was touch and go as to whether we were going to make it in time, but in the end we pulled into the forecourt of Barnstaple station with nearly 20 minutes to spare, we could have had a second ice-cream!

Sundays are notoriously bad for travelling by train in the UK, not only are the services less frequent and the train shorter, but regular engineering works as well, and today was no different. Whilst the train from Barnstaple ran as normal, at least as far as Exeter (it was replaced for the rest of its journey south by a bus), the train back to Paddington meandered its way through Devon and Somerset, taking nearly three hours to do the same journey that had taken only two hours in the opposite direction, on the plus side though, my seat was right by the buffet so it was convenient for refreshment stops!

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Tuesday, 06 November, 2007

Having worked a late shift, I leapt straight onto a train at East Croydon, and headed over to London City Airport. The flight was due out at 9am the following morning, but that meant that check-in would be a 7.30, which in the tortuous logic of my mind meant getting up at 5am. Given that a room in the Travelodge by the airport was only £26 I thought this was good value for the 2 hours extra sleep.

Sadly, I had calculated all this without the help of Travelodge, their tiny fine print and their money grabbing! By the time I arrived at the Travelodge it was a little after 10pm, but I didn’t think this was going to be a problem. I was wrong. It appeared that they had managed to do a little overbooking on their rooms, and consequently had left themselves with very few rooms for sale on the day. By the time I arrived, they had already made the decision that I wasn’t going to arrive (according to the very small print I eventually managed to track down several days later on their website, the price I had was a non-refundable price and I had to let them know if I was going to be later that 21:30, my understanding would be that if I had pre-paid for the room, and they have a 24 hour reception, the time I arrive should be pretty irrelevant).

The upshot of it was at 10pm I found myself being told that I didn’t have a room, wasn’t going to get a refund and there was nothing I could do about it. A quick call later (by me, on my mobile, at my expense) to the telesales team got a small conession out of them. They had been a bit quick in reselling the room I had paid for, and therefore they were refunding my £26, but that still left the issue of not having a room for the night, and being stuck a good 2 hours from home, and a very early wake-up call, if I decided to head back home.

Thankfully, ETAP stepped into the breach. I had walked down to the ETAP on the grounds that if they didn’t have a space, I was most of the way back to the previous DLR station, and I could if need be head back into town. They had one room left, which they let me have for the rack rate of £39 (the additional £13 having to be paid for by me!). After grabbing some food from the next door petrol station I turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Wednesday, 07 November, 2007

Heading out from the ETAP I walked the 15 minutes or so up to the airport and checked-in. I stopped for a brief bite to eat in the restaurant before going through to departures, discovering that the large box of name badges that I was taking with me to the conference I was attending were “dangerous articles”, walked back to the BA desks, checked my name badges in (thankfully (?) there had been problems with the baggage belts and my bag was easily retrieved) and then went through to departures.

The flight left a couple of minutes late, as they were waiting for the breakfasts to be loaded, given what a cooked airline breakfast is like, I would have preferred if they had left on time with the breakfasts left on the tarmac.

Whilst the plane claimed to have landed at Glasgow airport, by the time I had walked all the way through to the baggage reclaim belts it felt more likely that it had landed in Edinburgh! I got out to the bus stop just in time to miss the bus to Paisley. Thankfully, I only had about 10 minutes to wait for the next one, but I felt that so-far things had not been auspicious.

However, bad things do come in threes. I’d had the hotel problem, the name badge problem and now missing the bus, and that would appear to have accounted for all my bad luck. Thankfully I’m not superstitious, otherwise the fact the hotel checked me into room 101 would probably have pushed me over the edge!

The main purpose of coming up to Scotland had been to attend a conference, and for the next two days, that was what was going to be taking up all my time.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Thursday, 08 November, 2007

At conference all day

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Friday, 09 November, 2007

The conference finished a little before 1, and after a brief lunch I picked up my stuff and headed towards the station. I caught the train into Glasgow and wandered over to my hotel, which took considerably longer that I thought it would, because I missed going over the correct bridge over the Clyde, and had to walk nearly a mile out of my way!

After checking in, and doing a bit of work (it was only 3pm on a work day, and I felt a bit guilty), I headed out into town to get some dinner, only to walk into the manic celebrations that were taking place in the city centre. Earlier in the day, whilst I was on a train heading into the city centre, Glasgow had been awarded the Commonwealth Games, and needless to say, the populace were a little happy about this.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Saturday, 10 November, 2007

I had an early start as I had booked to go on a sightseeing tour today. I had a quick breakfast and walked the half mile or so to the Subway station to catch the train round to the city centre. I arrived at George Square the same time as the minibus for the tour arrived.

The tour was due to take in some of the stunning natural scenery around the city, heading North past Loch Lomond and into Glencoe. With everyone already waiting the tour was able to start early and we headed out into the quiet streets of a city nursing the mother of all collective hangovers.

It’s the best part of an hours driving to get from Glasgow to the start of Loch Lomond, and then another 20 minutes or so before we reached our first stop at Inveruglas, just over half way up Loch Lomond. The views from here over the Loch are stunning, and with the shifting clouds and occasional shafts of sunlight, breathtaking.

From Inveruglas we headed north towards Glencoe. On the way we stopped a couple of times for photo stops, including at the impressive entrance to the glen. We continued on to the town of Glencoe where we stopped of lunch, before having a woodland and loch walk around the town.

After the walk we headed back through Glencoe and on down into Glenetive. This area is even more remote that Glencoe. We took in all the scenery and made it back onto the bus with just moments to spare before the dramatic sky that had made the photos look good, decided to do what it had been threatening and absolutely belt it down. Driving back, warm and dry inside the bus you couldn’t help but feel something towards the hikers, straining to lean into the wind, being battered by the rain. And that something was smugness!

A final coffee stop in Tyndrum and a chance to pick up some souvenirs before back onto the bus for the 90 minute drive back into Glasgow.

After grabbing a bite to eat in the city centre, I walked back to the hotel, this time crossing the river by the correct bridge, and making it back in a lot less time!

Weather

Light Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Sunday, 11 November, 2007

After the early starts for the conference, and yesterday for the tour, I had intended on having a nice long lie in this morning. Unfortunately, someone at the ETAP had decided differently, and in the process of getting the croissants heated for breakfast managed to set the fire alarm off, albeit briefly at half six. Thankfully, we didn’t need to evacuate, but it still meant that whilst I was able to drift back off, I didn’t have the solid nights sleep I had been hoping for.

After breakfast (which did appear to have some slightly burnt croissants as part of it) I grabbed my things ready for a day trip out to one of Scotland’s many islands. I walked into town to Central station and got there with nearly 40 minutes to spare before the train.

Or I would have had 40 minutes if it were not for the fact that it’s a Sunday, despite all the SNPs hard work Scotland is still part of the UK, and consequently the almost inevitable “Plannedsundayengineeringworksbussesreplacetrains” (it’s so common that it might as well all be one word!) was happening. I wandered out the front of the station and caught the replacement bus out to, of all places, Paisley, where the trains were starting from. The bus took 20 minutes longer that the train would have done, and consequently I made the train, rather than missing it, which I would have done, had I arrived at Central station much later.

The train runs to Wemyss Bay where you change onto the CalMac ferry across to the island of Bute. My reason for visiting was two fold, firstly for the stunning journey along the banks of the Clyde towards Wemyss, and the across the sea to Bute. Secondly it was to visit the castle in the capital of the islands Rothesay.

The castle is important not only to Scottish but also to British history. It was built in the 13th Century and lost twice to, and recaptured from, the Vikings in the first hundred years. The family who built it were the Stewarts, and it was their descendents, who made the castle their home, who first became kings of Scotland, and then in 1603, after the death of Elizabeth, James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well, and united the crowns of the two countries.

Much of the castle today is in ruins, but the main entrance has been rebuilt and houses a small museum.

Having looked around the castle I had a wander around the town for a short while before heading back to the ferry to take the journey back in the opposite direction. I arrived back in Glasgow a little before sunset so I caught the train out to the Exhibition centre and took some photos of a winters sunset on the Clyde, the cranes silhouetted against the clear sky, next to the modern bridges and the armadillo (Scottish exhibition and conference centre).

I walked back to the hotel and dropped off my stuff before wandering out for a bite to eat, and then an early night, in the hope of no more fire alarms.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Paisley & Glasgow; Monday, 12 November, 2007

Another early morning fire alarm call courtesy, this morning, of a guest and their want for “crunchy” toast at 7am. After breakfast I quickly packed my things and headed out to Queen Street station to drop my bag off in the luggage lockers. After doing so I descended down into the Low level station and caught the train out to Dumbarton.

Like Edinburgh, Dumbarton has a lot of reminisces of once active volcanoes, and like Edinburgh it also has a castle built on the top of one, although in Dumbarton’s case it’s actually two volcanic plugs with a bit in the middle which forms a bizarre camel like hump rising up from the foreshore of the Clyde.

In the past it served as the westernmost outpost of the Scottish kingdom, when Bute and the other islands were still part of Norway. Mary Queen of Scots lived here, and it served as a prison for many of Scotland’s more infamous land owners (namely Early Patrick Stewart of the Orkneys and Shetlands)

Having looked around the castle and climbed up and down the nearly 600 steps, I headed back to the station and continued on a little further north to Balloch. The town, marks the point at which Loch Lomond becomes a river, for its short journey onto the sea.

The scenery round here is spectacular, but on a cold Novembers day, with the cloud starting to build, there is not much else to do, so I caught the train back into Glasgow.

By the time I arrived it was just before 3:30, so I decided to fill up my last couple of hours by taking the open top bus tour of the city, to see how much had changed in the five years since my last visit. In reality not much, there are still large building sites everywhere as the city in continually transformed and refurbished. If anything, in places, there were even more empty lots than there had been before. Whilst I was on the bus, thanfully in the covered part, the fine weather of the previous 48 hours decided to break, and a steady light rain started to fall. By the time I got back to George Square I still had well over three hours before my flight, but decided it was probably a good time to head for the warm and dry of the airport.

I picked up my bags from Queen street, walked the short distance to the bus station and caught the airport bus, out into the evening rush-hour traffic. I might have had three hours to make my flight, but some of my fellow passengers had obviously left things a little tighter, as there were some anxious tuts and fidgets coming as the bus crawled along the motorway, stuck in the rush hour traffic. A journey that should have taken 20 minutes took nearly 50, but I didn’t mind. I still had a long wait at the airport.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Lisbon; Saturday, 17 November, 2007

An uneventful trip through the airport was only hampered by an hour delay to the flight, the plane having been stuck in snow in Poland earlier in the day.

An even less eventful flight later we landed in Lisbon, I zoomed through the airport, but my friend, who was travelling on an American rather than an EU passport, spent a good 30 minutes getting through passport control.

We caught the bus into town and checked into the hotel before going on a short spot of sightseeing up the Santa Justa lift, before heading off for a spot of dinner, and then bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Lisbon; Sunday, 18 November, 2007

An early breakfast and out to Sete Rios and the train to Sintra. Having arrived we caught the bus up to the Palácio de Pena and had a wander around the wall walk before heading inside to look around the palace. It was noticeably much quieter on a Sunny Sunday in November than it had been on an August morning.

After looking around the palace we then went for a walk through the grounds of the park. This was something that I had not done when I visited the first time, and it turned out that it had been a mistake to miss them on the first occasion as the grounds are as spectacular as the palace, offering stunning views from rocky outcrops back over not only the surrounding countryside, but also close up to the palace itself.

The walk eventually brought us out at the bottom of the gardens, below the Moorish castle, and by a bizarre duck house built in the style of a middle-ages castle. We walked up the roadside path, which meandered through the trees up to the castle. After stopping to purchase tickets, we walked down to the castle to have a look around. Unfortunately, at this point, my friends vertigo kicked in, and I can understand why, as there are sheer drops either side of steps with no handrail, and trying to explain that they have been standing like this for over 1000 years without any issue, doesn’t appear to make sufferers any more likely to respond positively.

We walked back from the castle to the bus stop, where we waited for the next bus, which was 10 minutes away. When it arrived it sailed past absolutely packed to the gunwales so we waited another 20 minutes for the next bus. This one turned up packed, three people got off, and then got straight back on again, the bus then pulled off, without having picked anyone up. At this point we decided it was probably best to forget trying to use the bus to get back down to Sintra centre, so instead we walked back towards the castle, and followed the path down the hill to the town. The walk down is quite strenuous over un-even and rocky paths with large steps and a steep incline. Thankfully, we were walking downhill; I dread to think that it would be like to climb back up in the opposite direction.

About 40 minutes after leaving the bus stop (and probably an hour before any of those waiting managed to get onto a bus) we arrived back in the centre of Sintra and made our way towards the station. We caught the train back into Lisbon, and stopped off at the hotel, as my friend wanted a quick rest before we headed out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Lisbon; Monday, 19 November, 2007

The first stop of the morning was the castle. We walked over to the bus stop and caught the small bus up to the castle. We spent about an hour wandering around the site, taking in most of the sites that were open, but the weather meant that the views from the battlements and ramparts were not a good as I saw when I last visited.

After a brief stop for coffee we headed down the hill to the cathedral where we had a look around that. From the cathedral we caught the tram down to the centre, and then the newly restored Gloria Funicular up to the São Roque. The church from the outside is very plain, but inside the church is spectacular. Cherubs, gilt, icons, its all there.

From the church we wandered down to the metro station at Baxia and caught the metro out to the Parque das Nações, where we stopped for lunch before having a wander through the gardens and a ride back on the cable car.

We caught the bus back into town and wandered over to catch the tram round through the Alfalma, arriving at the tramstop, and more importantly under the shelter, just minutes before a spectacular downpour sent everyone else dashing for cover, whilst the rain continued we remained on the tram, all the way round to Estrella, where we visited the basilica. After looking around we caught the bus back to the hotel to drop stuff off before heading out to Belém for dinner.

Weather

Light Showers Thunder
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Lisbon; Tuesday, 20 November, 2007

Out of the hotel and back onto the tram to Belém to take in some of the sights there. First was the monastery, followed by the monument to discovery and then the tower. Unlike when I visited in the summer the Tejo was a little rough today, and getting to the tower was a case of waiting for a big wave to crash over the walkway, soaking anyone who was in range, and then zipping across before the next big one came along. In the summer sun it’s an impressive monument, in the drizzle of a winters day, with the river smashing at its side it takes on a much bleaker outlook.

With the weather starting to clear a little, and even patches of blue sky starting to appear, we caught the train out to Cascais, where, after wandering around for a bit we had a very late lunch in some weak afternoon sun, which towards the end of the meal started to turn into a fine drizzle, but we decided to be British about it and sit the rain out, which, thankfully, only turned out to be a short bit of drizzle and then nothing more.

We had a further wander around the town centre before heading back to Lisbon and across to the Christo Rei statue on the opposite bank. At this point my friends vertigo kicked in and she decided that she did not want to go up the statue, so I went up by myself. The views were possibly more stunning than when I last visited. Then it had been weeks on continuously hot sunny weather, the pollution and haze had built up and it had been hard to get clear views to places in the further distance.

After all the rain and thunder storms of the last few days, which had now cleared to a final bank of cloud disappearing south behind me, and a few light clouds over the centre of Lisbon, the views were clear, with the Pena Palace and Moorish castle, high on their hills over Sintra clearly visible in the far distance, the sun was now peaking out from behind the last banks of clouds, just getting ready to set behind the statue and bathing Lisbon in a warm, very photographical light.

I came down from the statue and met back up with my friend, who had been perfectly happy to take in the views in the shadow of the monument, we caught the bus, ferry and metro back to the hotel to drop off stuff, and to have a pre-dinner drink before heading out for dinner at Lisbon’s largest and oldest Beer hall, a gigantic barrel roofed restaurant that stretched back for a long way, and served very good food.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Lisbon; Wednesday, 21 November, 2007

Bags deposited in the luggage room, though with the thought would it still be the luggage room when we got back, we headed out for a final day in Lisbon.

We took the Santa Justa lift up to the Convent do Carmo overlooking the city to look around the remains of the Earthquake ravaged church, and take advantage of their facilities, for the port the previous evening had appeared to be a good idea at the time, but wasn’t so much now.

After looking around the Convent we headed back down in the lift to Rossio and caught the metro up to the top of the Parque Eduardo VII. The park was named in honour of the British Monarch who came to reaffirm the Anglo-Portuguese alliance (Portugal is England’s oldest ally) in 1902. From the top of the park you can look down the length of it, down the hill it is on, towards the roundabout and statue at the Praça Marquês de Pombal and from there on down the Avenida da Liberadade towards the Tejo in the distance.

Based in the park is the botanical gardens, so we popped into here to have a look around, and take advantage of their facilities, for the port the previous evening had appeared to be a good idea at the time, but wasn’t so much now.

From the Botanical gardens we walked down to the bottom of the park, and then headed down the Avenida da Liberadade stopping part way down for a very pleasant lunch in a little street-side café. We continued walking down, and near Rossio stopped again at another café, partly to have another coffee, but also to take advantage of their facilities, for the port the previous evening had appeared to be a good idea at the time, but wasn’t so much now.

With very little time left before we had to head to the airport, my friend wanted to go on a final tram ride through the streets of the Alfama, so we caught a 28 round up through the Alfama and back to the city centre past the Cathedral. Having arrived back near the Praça do Comércio we walked the short distance to the hotel, picked up our bags and hopped on the AeroBus back to the airport. When we got there we took advantage of their facilities, for the port the previous evening had appeared to be a good idea at the time, but wasn’t so much now.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Brussels; Friday, 21 December, 2007

After a quick lunchtime exit from work, I headed up to St Pancras to catch the Eurostar. Just five weeks after its move to its new home, I was intrigued to find out what they had done to the station. The last time I had travelled from here was to go to York, virtually 4 years to the day before, and during its last few months in its old state as one of London’s more forgotten stations.

The transformation has been spectacular. The grim and dark station has been replaced with a light bright and airy space. Sadly, it appeared that, not everything was a shiny and spectacular as all the press hype of the previous few weeks had lead people to believe. Most of the shop units were still empty and the much-heralded push towards using electronic ticketing wasn’t working.

After four separate attempts to get my tickets out of the automatic machine I had to queue up in the ticket office, where they claimed that I must have used a completely different card to make my booking, which just happened to have exactly the same number as the one I was presenting! After a short discussion on this (and a tacit admission from the ticket office person that their systems were not up to scratch), they decided to rebook my tickets for the same trains and seat and reissue them that way!

Having negotiated the check-in, I walked through security to the departures lounge, to another disappointment. Whilst Waterloo had been light with lots of shops, cafes and a bar, St Pancras had one very small WHSmiths, a small bar and a small Café Nero’s and nowhere near enough seating.

Still, this was all made up for when the train departed. When I first went to Brussels in 2004 the train had taken over and hour and a quarter to wander through the suburbs of South East London and Kent, before finally reaching the channel tunnel. Today, we hit the tunnel exactly 30 minutes after pulling out of St Pancras, a bit of a change. In fact the journey is so fast from London to the Tunnel that you now spot that the train slows quite considerably to go through the tunnel, and then doesn’t really speed up again as it picks it way gingerly across the Northern French and Southern Belgium land, still undermined by the trenches of the first World War. Less than two hours after pulling out of St Pancras the train pulled into Brussels and I made a quick transfer to the hotel.

After checking in, I caught the tram back to Bourse and had a wander around the Christmas market that stretches around the Bourse and Grand Place area of the city centre. The Grand Place itself is turned into the focal point of the Christmas celebrations with a massive crib, Christmas tree and a light and sound show projected onto the Hôtel de Ville during the evening.

I watched the light show for the best part of an hour, whilst munching my way through a couple of hot waffles, and a glass of hot wine, before heading off to take in more of the city at night.

I caught the tram out to Heysel home to the Atomium, after the Mannekin-Pis; probably the next most famous Brussels land mark. By the time I reached Heysel the fog was starting to settle, and a heavy frost had already started, making the streets and parks look as if it had snowed.

The Atomium has recently been given a multi-million Euro clean and refurbishment, with the spheres now having sparkling lights embedded in them. Combined with the shine of the recently cleaned spheres and the light being reflected from the frost on the ground it made for a spectacular sight.

After looking around the area for a while, I headed back into town, stopping for another quick waffle, before heading back to the hotel and a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Foggy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Brussels; Saturday, 22 December, 2007

The mists and fog of the previous night had cleared completely and a clear blue sky heralded a crisp but sunny morning. With breakfast inside me, I stepped out and instantly returned to my room to pick up my gloves! Whilst it might have been clear and sunny, in the shade it was bitterly cold.

My first stop of the morning was Tervuren, the small town to the East of the city, which I had visited briefly on my last visit. The town is home to one of the most spectacular museums in Belgium.

Set in parkland, which with a light mist, and all the frost, made for a perfect winter picture, the museum was built in 1908 to house a collection of artefacts brought back from the personal African lands of King Leopold I. For decades they have been displayed as originally intended as a display of how the Belgium people had paternalistically looked after the savage natives of the colonies. A few years ago the museum closed for a refurbishment, and a re-evaluation of Belgium’s role in Central Africa. Whilst the behaviour of other European nations towards the peoples of Africa cannot be excused, the former Belgium colonies suffered the most, and have continued to be some of the most badly affected in Africa. Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic Congo (formerly Zaire) have all too often hit international attention for the wrong reasons. When the museum reopened it still had the same artefacts on display, but they have been uncompromising in telling the truth. The words loot, plunder and genocide appear on the display cards, referring to the actions of the colonials. It makes for an interesting museum, which helps to give an insight into the cultures that King Leopold imposed Belgium rule on.

By the time I left the museum it was early afternoon, so I headed back into town and then out to Heysel again to have a look around the refurbished Atomium. In the end it took nearly two hours to get back there, and after having had a quick look around I headed for the snack bar to grab an exceptionally late lunch, before finishing off looking around and taking in the views from the top sphere.

From Heysel I caught the metro out to Simonis and walked up to the Basilique de Sacré Coeur, where I had intended on having another look around and to take in the sights from the roof. However, the church was hosting a roving exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci, which is travelling around Europe. However, given that I had already seen it for free in Rome in February and decided not to bother with it when it reached Vilnius in May I baulked at the idea of paying €10 to see something I had already seen, just so that I could get the views from the panorama platform.

Instead, I headed back into town to visit the Christmas market and do a spot of last minute present shopping. Whilst shopping I meandered through several roads of restaurants, and by the time I had brought everything I wanted was famished by the beautiful smells emanating from all around. I chose a decent looking seafood restaurant just around the corner from the Grand Place. Sated after a very pleasant evening meal, I headed back to the hotel to, python like, sleep it off

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Brussels; Sunday, 23 December, 2007

Having checked out of the hotel and dumped my bags into a left luggage locker at Gare du Midi, I caught the bus out of town.

Located about 12Km to the South of Brussels in the Walloon (French Speaking) region of Belgium, is a small, and at first glance, quite standard Euro town (i.e. it has the same identikit list of shops that is present in virtually every town from Galway to Tallinn). However, it’s name tells of a more interesting and important past. The town is Waterloo and it was in fields to the south of here that a new Europe was created.

Just outside the town is the Lion Monument, around which are a host of tourist attractions that explain the details and history of the battle. In a distilled format, Napoleon having previously being deposed and sent into exile has come back and is still intent on taking over the world, a coalition of the willing was formed to “Regime change” France (heard any of these phrases before?) A combination of British, Dutch, Prussian and other nations combined to taken on the French. In June 1815, in a field outside of Waterloo the French met the British and Dutch forces. Battle raged for over ten hours, but the tide turned towards the end when the Prussians arrived and eventually the French retreated in disarray, Napoleon himself only just escaped capture by the Prussians, and eventually surrendered himself to the British who promptly exiled him again, this time permanently.

The battle ended French power in Europe, effectively lead to the creation of modern day Belgium and Germany, and for a while, appeared to bring peace to the continent. It would be nearly 100 years before serious fighting broke out again.

Today you can take it all in in a “spectacular” audio-visual presentation (their use of the word spectacular, not mine!) climb the lion monument to get views over the battlefield, and go on a tour of the main areas of the battle on the equivalent of an off-road land train. After having done all of these, and a few other things, I had effectively exhausted all there was to do in Waterloo so I caught the bus back into Brussels. Unfortunately, it appeared that most of the rest of Wallonia were also heading into Brussels, on the same bus. I only just got on and then had to spend a long 90 minutes (which was odd as the outward journey had only been 45 minutes) standing up jammed into a packed bus.

By the time I arrived back into Brussels there was just enough time to pay a quick visit to the Mannekin-Pis who was in his finest Christmas clothes, before heading back to the Gare du Midi to pick up my bags and catch the train home.

Weather

Cloudy Foggy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Hammerfest; Saturday, 12 January, 2008

The last time I had flown out of Heathrow to Norway I had had an interesting journey to the airport. Thankfully this time the journey was smooth without any hitches and I quickly found myself at the Thistle hotel at the west end of the runway.

After a bite to eat for dinner, and a not particularly pleasant pint in the bar, I headed to bed for an early night ready for urrghh O’clock the following morning to get to the airport for my 7am flight!

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Hammerfest; Sunday, 13 January, 2008

My alarm went off at 4:30, as I staggered out of my bed and into the shower I was thankful that I hadn’t had to get up at 3 to get a taxi! After a quick cup of tea and a biscuit (virtually the entire contents of the hospitality tray!) I checked out of the hotel and waited outside for the first hotel hopper of the morning. Normally I would have walked to the bus stop, but this being a Sunday the first bus was later and less frequent than the hotel hopper and I wanted to make sure I made it to the airport in time.

My booking had originally been quite straight forward, then Opodo had started with the minor changes to times, which then became major changes to times, and then changes to flight numbers and a request to send back the tickets to have them re-issued. I had done all this, but 10 days prior to leaving I still hadn’t had the replacement tickets and had had to contact Opodo to find out what was going on. They said that they had converted the tickets to eTickets rather than paper ones, but I wasn’t completely convinced that they hadn’t messed up, so I wanted to be at the Airport early to be able to sort out any issue. In the end Opodo had been true to their word. There was no queue at the check in desk, and 30 seconds after arriving my luggage was disappearing into the labyrinthine depths of Heathrow terminal 3 and I was in possession of three boarding cards.

After a quick breakfast in the departures lounge I wandered down to the gate, and shortly afterwards onto the plane, which promptly pushed back early and in a complete change of script to the normal events at Heathrow was airborne less than 10 minutes later, and most of that time was taken taxing to the runway. After arriving in Oslo, clearing customs, re-depositing my bag and re-clearing security, I found myself on board plane number two of the day. After another eventless flight I landed in the twilight of Tromsø at 13:30, transferred through the airport and at 2 o’clock started my third take-off roll of the day and lifted off into the darkness of a Polar winter.

By the time I arrived in Hammerfest it was just after half two, and it was dark. Seeing that it had been dark since November, and would remain dark for another month that was hardly surprising. What was surprising was how small the airport was and how lacking in services it was. Hammerfest is the most Northerly city in the world, and that is it’s main tourist credential, so you would have thought that taxi’s might have been waiting to meet the plane. Having said that, how may tourists visit the place in the middle of the polar winter, probably not many? Consequently I had to walk the 40 minutes or so into town and onto the hotel.

Having checked in I went out for a wander around town taking in some of the sights, or those that can be seen in perpetual darkness. I had wanted to go up to the restaurant and viewing platform on the cliff above the town, from where the views are supposedly spectacular. One way to reach this is by a 5KM walk along roads, the other is to climb the zigzag path up the side of the cliff. About three-quarters of the way up it became obvious that the slippery snow on the lower part of the climb was now turning into sheets of ice, so I took in the views from most of the way up, which were still pretty impressive, before descending back down to town and wandering back to the hotel to have some dinner (having at this point realised that all I had eaten all day was a sausage bap at Heathrow and a grilled sausage at Oslo) and then to participate in what makes a Hammerfest winter so special, in the words of a more literary traveller than myself – “I began to feel as if a doctor had told me to go away for a complete rest… Never have I slept so long and so well” (Bill Bryson, Neither here nor there)

Weather

Sunny Clear (Polar Winter)
AM PM
Very Cold (-20--10C, -4-14F)
-11ºC/12ºF

Hammerfest; Monday, 14 January, 2008

I awoke to two startling facts. One that I was apparently, the only person staying in the hotel as there was nobody around at Breakfast except one member of staff who looked more bored that I think I have ever seen before and was overly enthusiastic to help with anything I wanted, a sure sign that the tedium levels had peaked! Secondly the concept of a day without light is not technically as bleak and dark as it sounds. There was quite a bit of light, think the kind on twilight that you get at 10ish on a really clear summers night around mid-summer, no sun in the sky but enough light to be able to make out colours and mountains in the middle distance.

After my slightly bizarre breakfast I checked out (once again encountering a member of staff who was obviously not particularly rushed off their feet this morning) I wandered down into the centre of town to visit the Royal Polar Bear Society museum. When I got there I discovered that they had recently moved, back almost to where the hotel was!

After looking around the hotel I popped by the post office to get some postcards and stamps and sent those off before wandering up to the city’s other museum. Having taken in virtually all the sights of the city (there is a ruin of an old fortress and a monument to the first attempt to accurately map the size of the globe, which ended in Hammerfest in the 1850’s, but these are on a spit of land right round the other side of the harbour, and having walked from there the previous day on the way down from the airport I knew it would be the best part of an hours round trip for no real purpose.

By now the Hurtigruten had just docked so I walked back to the hotel, picked up my bags and broke my third record of the trip (first being the longest baggage tag I have ever had on a bag with three airport codes, the second being the furthest North I have ever been), the shortest distance ever between hotels, all of 100 meters.

Having checked in and dumped my stuff in my cabin, I had a wander around the ship, before settling into what I felt was the ship lifestyle, lots of reading of books, eating of food and drinking of beverages (not all alcohol!).

About 3 and a half hours after leaving Hammerfest we pulled into Oxford. I thought that it was a little quick to have got from the top of Norway to the Home Counties, especially as Oxford is so far up the Thames as to not be navigable to. It turned out that it was Øksfjord. A short stop, punctuated by some frantic Norwegian shouts as they closed up the hold before a waiting passenger could load their van on, a couple of minutes later, and with the van safely stowed on the car deck we pulled back out and continued on. The first part of the journey had at times been a little bumpy. I had already checked and found out that on leaving Hammerfest the boat has to travel in open waters for a while before it can go down into the fjords. With that now behind us we settled into the calm waters of the fjords and continued south, and then, about an hour later, what I had been waiting for happened, off the Starboard side of the ship the Aurora had come out to play. The lightshow was stunning, with green clouds swirling overhead (sadly the light wasn’t strong enough for my camera to pick up so I didn’t manage to get any photos). The show ended after about 30 minutes so freezing, but happy, I returned to my cabin to warm up and to continue the journey to somewhere I was certain I’d heard of before…

Skjervøy was where I had first encountered the Hurtigruten when I went on a coach and boat tour from Tromsø the previous summer. Given that I had already seen the port I wasn’t too upset to miss it as dinner was called shortly before we were due to dock. Doubly happy given how delicious the dinner (and the second helpings of dinner!) were. Leaving Skjervøy we travelled for another hour or so before crossing past the northbound Hurtigruten (in this instance the MS Trollfjord). I had popped out on deck to see this anyway and was amazed that at pretty much the same time there was an even more dramatic and spectacular display of the Northern Lights. This time it included reds, oranges and purples and really danced around the sky. There was even a band in the distance which for a while I thought was just the glow from a big city until I realised that the nearest cities that could create that kind of glow would have been London or Stockholm, and I was in the middle of Fjord hundreds of miles from the nearest big town.

When I had last been on the Hurtigruten (makes it sound like I use it on a near weekly basis!) I had disembarked at Tromsø to go back to my hotel. It had been gone midnight and it was during a period at which I was getting no sleep (and slowly going a bit nuts). However, the lure of my warm cabin and soft bed meant that I didn’t see Tromsø again, instead I went to bed about an hour before we were due to dock.

Weather

Clear (Polar Winter) Clear (Polar Winter)
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-6ºC/21ºF

Hurtigruten; Tuesday, 15 January, 2008

Overnight the ferry had docked in Finnsnes and moved off again without me even waking. What finally brought me out of my slumber were the kitchen staff directly below me starting on the preparations for breakfast. I had a quick shower and just prior to going in for some food, popped out on deck to watch as we docked at the first port of call of the morning, Harstad, we had arrived about 15 minutes early, which meant we had the interesting sight of us having to park in tight behind the northbound ferry, which was due out the time we were due in (This time the ferry was the MS Kong Harald). Overnight it had also been snowing quite heavily and the front of the ship had a pretty hefty deposit (so much for those people who had paid for the luxury suite at the front of the ship, they wouldn’t be able to see out for a while!

The first notable attraction of the morning (after the plentiful breakfast of course) was entering the Risørenna, a 4KM channel dredged out of the fjord in the 1920’s to allow larger boats like the Hurtigruten to pass between the mainland and the islands, rather than having to go out into open sea. At the end of the channel, and marked with a spectacular arched bridge almost exactly the same as that in Tromsø was the next brief stop of the morning Risøyhamn.

After a spectacular three point turn, almost on the spot the ship continued south from Risøyhamn, stopping for about 30 minutes in the town of Sortland which appeared to be a large shopping centre and not much else, the only mention of it I could find in the guidebook was as a centre for changing busses when visiting the Lofoten islands, so I decided to stay on the nice warm ship, and await the next stop, a little over an hour later at Stokmarknes and the Hurtigruten Museum.

In the end it took a little longer to get to Stokmarknes, for no apparent reason. By the time we had tied up it was gone twenty past, which meant there was just over 45 minutes to have a look around the museum, and one of the former ships. I got back a couple of minutes before the horn sounded to let people know we were going, just one person had to pick up their pace on hearing the horn to make it back on board. We then pulled out into the darkness. Supposedly the next part of the cruise is one of the most spectacular, entering the Raftsund with the ship just squeezing down the channel between the mountains, and then up into the Trollfjord. Given that it was now pitch black there wasn’t much of the Raftsund to see, and the diversion via the Trollfjord didn’t take place.

The next stop of the evening was at Svolvær on the Lofoten Islands. This was one of the longer stops of the day and meant there was enough time to have a look around a bit of the town (or what of it you could see in the dark) and visit the Lofoten Krigsmuseum. After having had a look around these it was time to head back to the ship for dinner and the 90 minute sail to the final port of the evening.

The leg from Svolvær onto Stamsund was would could be described as “choppy”, out in the sea it was noticeable that there was quite a swell and the boat was pitching quite a bit. By the time the boat reached Stamsund a significant number of passengers were out on deck “taking the air” and many, including myself, decided that it might be quite nice to get off the boat for 10 minutes or so whilst it was docked up. Eventually the horn sounded and it was time to re-board the boat for the long leg across the sea from the bottom of the Lofoten islands to Bodø, which would require a three hour crossing back across the open sea before we got back into the sheltered water of the fjords, it was going to make it interesting to get to sleep, so as an aid I headed to the bar for a quick night cap before turning in.

Weather

Light Showers Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Hurtigruten; Wednesday, 16 January, 2008

In the end I hadn’t needed to worry about getting to sleep, the worst of the rough seas were over in about 30 minutes, and whilst the boat was still rolling a little bit, it was actually quite restful when you were lying down. As we sailed on into the night I had gone to sleep reflecting on how far my stomach had come since I was a kid. I used to get travel sick at the mere thought of going somewhere. A 30-minute crossing over the channel on a hovercraft on a dead calm day, sick; a 10-minute car journey, sick; travelling by coach, sick; airplane, sick. Today I can happily read a book on a coach, or wander around on a ship in heavy waters, even sleep on a rough sea, with apparently no ill effect.

Whilst I was sleeping we had made the stop at Bodø, as well as another at Ørnes. By the time I got up at 8am we were well on our way to the next port of call, Nesna, but before we reached that, a about 9:15, we made an important transition. At 66° 32’ 35” North we crossed the arctic circle and left the polar regions behind us. This would be impressive, if it wasn’t for the fact it was at least the 12th time in 20 months that I had done it. I’ve crossed the Arctic circle now by foot, on bike, by taxi, by bus, on a plane and on a ship. In fact I have now crossed it more times than I have visited the British Museum. One of these is 7 miles from home, the other well over a thousand, that’ll be today’s modern global society!

A brief stop at Nesna and an opportunity to book for the following mornings sightseeing tour of Trondheim, which would allow me an opportunity to see more of the city than I would have done in the short time I had before I had to catch the train to the airport.

Sixty minutes later we were approaching the next stop of the morning, and one of the longest of the day at Sandnessjøen. I got off the boat and had a brief wander around the town, which really is just a small costal town. However the surrounding scenery is spectacular with the Seven Sisters mountain range dominating the area. The best views of this, according to the guidebooks at least, come from the southbound Hurtigruten, so it made sense to pick up a spot of lunch on land (at a fraction of the price that it would have been on board!) and then re-board the boat ready for the afternoons mountain spotting.

As we continued south, it became apparent that Sandnessjøen appeared to be some kind of cut off point. Whilst there had been the odd other boat about since Nesna we had passed a car ferry and a catamaran and south of Sandnessjøen the waters were positively teaming with trawlers, ferries and other small ships. Along the edge of the fjord the houses continued for several miles south of Sandnessjøen and it did really look like we were entering a much more populated part of Norway. A quick check on the map and it showed that Sandnessjøen was just slightly north of where the country starts to bulge outwards, so it sort of made sense.

Most of the mountains were obscured by mist and snow, so there really wasn’t that much to see, on the plus side it meant that there was a better excuse for sitting inside out of the brisk chilly wind that was blowing outside. Just gone four, and with it already having been dark for over an hour, we pulled into the penultimate stop of the day at Brønnøysund, for a short 45 minute stop. If Sandnessjøen was a small town then Brønnøysund appeared to be a sleepy village, there was hardly anyone about, even though it was still, technically, the middle of the afternoon. A quick look around an then back on the boat for dinner and the three and a half hour cruise to the final stop of the day Rørvik.

Rørvik arrived at the same time as a hefty snow shower, with driving winds decided to pass by, which made for an interesting time on deck as we watched the ship dock. There was a choice of museums to visit in the one hour that the ship was moored up for, I, along with the other four people who got off the ship to brave the elements went to Norveg. On the way back I was disconcerted to see the funnel of the ship moving, I picked up my pace a bit, more concerned as to how I had managed to spend an hour inside the museum and why my watch was telling me the boat wasn’t due to leave for 20 minutes. Thankfully, as I rounded the corner I saw that it was the Vesterålen mooring up on its Northbound trip. This was the sister ship to the one I had originally been booked on, the Lyngen. That ship had been sold and the following shuffle round of ships had left me on the Nordlys, I was quite glad once I had seen the Vesterålen as it was built at a time before the concept of the Hurtigruten cruise had been born, and looked quite like (and say this quietly) a converted whaling ship!

I got back onboard the Nordlys and went to warm up for a while, in my room, then turned the temperature down so that I could sleep and popped up to the bar for a quick drink, then back to bed for my final night at sea.

Weather

Sligh Snow Showers Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Hurtigruten; Thursday, 17 January, 2008

It had been a bumpy night, and it was obvious in the morning that whilst I had slept there had been a bit of movement (my phone had slid off the side of the table, across the cabin floor and to the bottom end of my bed, which made switching off the alarm a little more difficult and consequently any attempt to go back to sleep impossible. Sadly for me I had decided that it would be a good idea to get up early, have a shower, pop into Trondheim and deposit my luggage and come back to the ship before Breakfast. Consequently my alarm went off at 6:30

I duly got up, showered, finished packing, checked with the person on ship reception that I was OK to get off and then get back on again for Breakfast and headed out into the crisp winters morning. I felt surprisingly sprightly, which was good as virtually the whole of today would be spent travelling, and a considerable lot more than I had planned. When I had originally booked I had about 45 minutes to spare in Bergen to change planes, tight, but with Norwegian reliability easily doable. Then the flight times had changed, the flight to Bergen had slowly got earlier and the flight from Bergen later, in the end I was looking forward to about two hours forty minutes of flying and three hours thirty minutes of sitting around in a small airport which I new didn’t have much in the way of facilities!

I followed the signs leading from the harbour front through a maze of streets heading towards the town centre, after about 5 minutes of walking I emerged at the back of the Nordkapp which was moored up behind the Nordlys, still I would know for the return leg. It was about a ten minute walk to the station where I quickly located the left luggage lockers and dropped off all my luggage and unnecessary stuff (like books and laptop) and once I had locked the door realising that I had left my hat and gloved in the locker. I couldn’t be bothered to pay another forty krone so I decided that as it had been quite mild on the walk down to the station it would remain that way. Thankfully I was proved right, but walking around town in just a jacket with no hat or gloves it became obvious quite quickly that I was being mistaken for a local as I was offered Credit cards and asked directions.

I walked back to the Hurtigruten by my improvised short cut route, which did envolve dodging a couple of fork lift trucks, but as other people were walking this way I felt that this was probably acceptable good practice. After my last breakfast aboard I disembarked again to join the morning sightseeing tour. The tour is run for passengers off of both boats, with the southbound passengers (of which I no longer was one) having to be rushed back at the end of the tour to make the 10am departure. As so 90 minutes after waking up and officially before the crack of dawn (but this is Norway in winter and dawn is a lazy thing not bothering to slide out of bed until the other side of ten.) we set off for a tour of Trondheim.

The first hour we went on a coach tour around the city centre and main sights, and then up to a view point over the city where there were some stunning views of the pre-dawn city. After taking in the views here and then a bit of a further drive we arrived, on the dot of nine at the Cathedral where we had a guided tour.

The Southbound passengers (and Northbound passengers who didn’t want to walk) were whisked back to the ship and I had a bit of a further wander around the city, now with the streetlights out and a warm winters sun in the sky (which as odd as all the thermometers dotted around the city insisted that it was –1).

An hours wandering later I found myself back at the station where I brought a ticket to the station next to the airport and picked up my luggage from the locker. I settled into the train for the half hour journey to the airport, which had the added treat of the penultimate stop…

Just to the south of the airport, is a small town. To the Norwegians the name is insignificant, but on a cold winters day, with snow lying thick on the ground, the photographic potential of a wintry scene in Hell is just too much to miss. I now have a photograph that I will print out and use the next time someone tells me that “that won’t happen until Hell freazes over” I can produce and say it already has! (I would like to repeat, for those who have not already picked it up from earlier comments and postings, I am not a nice man!)

Værnes station is located almost at the end of the runway of Trondheim airport (or to give it its full tame Trondheim Lufthaven Værnes), and it is obvious that soon this will be an important integrated station that links to the city centre. At present the train service is hourly, and you have to walk down a long corrugated iron tunnel to get to the terminal building! Having checked in I went through security and waited for my flight. It left on time, I had been hoping for a bit of a delay, so that I didn’t have so long to wait at Bergen. I was doubly disappointed when it landed five minutes early and proceeded to pull straight up to a gate and start off loading fast. Doubly dissapointed when I found out that the flight back out of Bergen was delayed by an hour.

So here I was, sat in the international departures lounge (occupying about the same space as a single gate room at Gatwick or Heathrow) draining the last remnants of the battery in my laptop, trying to avoid reading my book as I knew I only had enough of it left to last the flight. Looking up I saw a picture on the wall of the Trolfjord, and there in the middle, paying a visit during summer time was the Nordlys, clearly identifiable and a reminder that despite all the travelling I had been to some spectacular places.

Weather

Sligh Snow Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Seville; Sunday, 09 March, 2008

The flight landed a full half-hour earlier than it was scheduled to. A bit of a wait to get through immigration was countered by the fact that my bag was already coming round on the baggage carousel when I got there. A quick walk through arrivals and out to the bus stop just in time to make a bus that I should never have caught into town.

From the bus stop it was a good 20 minute walk to the hotel, but in the warmth of the early evening, and with the almost overpowering aroma of the orange blossoms on the trees the lined the street virtually the whole way there, it was a pleasant walk.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I headed back out into town going for a long wander around the city centre, taking in the massive cathedral and it’s bell tower, originally the minaret of the mosque that was converted into the cathedral following the re-conquest of Spain, the Real Alcázar (the royal palace), the small lanes of the Barrio Santa Cruz and down to the riverside and the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower) and La Maestranza (The bull ring). By the time I had finished wandering around and taking pictures, it was gone 10:30, but I thought, this is Spain so dinner should just be starting.

Sadly, my knowledge of the timings of meals in Spain is more appropriate to the citizens of Madrid, and not of Seville. By 10:30 most of the restaurants were closing up for the evening as everyone had settled down for dinner before 9. I eventually managed to find a little bar near the hotel which was still serving tapas, and after a (possibly unhealthy) quantity of Chorizo I headed back to the hotel and to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Seville; Monday, 10 March, 2008

If the Sevillians have an earlier attitude towards dinner than their countrymen in Madrid, then the same could not be said for Breakfast. The hotel quite happily carries on serving breakfast until a very leisurely 10:30 and I intended to make use of this by having a lie-in. Sadly, I hadn’t taken into account the Phantom Driller, who this morning, as he (or possibly she) would every morning started up at a little after 8am, forcing me from my bed and out to breakfast by 8:30. On the plus side, I did get to see more of the city!

After a very hearty breakfast (perhaps their Latin brothers in Italy could take some lessons!) I headed out into town to do some sightseeing. My options were limited by my old adversary, Monday! The only thing that was fully open would be the Cathedral and the bus and river tours, so I would have to occupy myself with these today, and then try and fit the whole of the rest of Seville into tomorrow.

I walked back through the old town to the riverside to pick up the open-top bus tour of the city. The tour runs around the outside of the city centre roughly tracing the lines of the old city walls, with a short diversion into the site of the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition and later on in the tour the 1992 World Expo site. Of the two, the 1929 buildings appear to have fared far better than their more than sixty-year younger counterparts at the Expo site have.

After doing one full circuit of the tour I got back off the bus back at the Torre del Oro and walked back to the cathedral. Having had another wander around the outside of the building in daylight to take in it’s sheer scale (it’s officially the worlds larges Cathedral by volume, but possibly only because St Peters in Rome and the Notre Dame in Paris are Basilicas not Cathedrals!), I wandered inside. The cathedral is a massive network of small courtyards, chapels, side rooms and passageways, so there is lots to explore. The inside of the main part of the Cathedral is spectacular with it’s massive cavernous interior and spectacular gold decoration everywhere. After having explored the cathedral it was time to climb the Giralda.

The Cathedral was built in the 15th century, following the re-conquest of Spain from the Moors, on the site of the former Mosque, with many of the details of the Mosque retained. It’s minaret was adapted and turned into the Giralda, the bell tower of the cathedral and from the viewing platform just below the bells, the best viewpoint in the city. The climb up is quite easy as the tower was designed for people to ascend on horses, so it’s ramps the whole way to the top, with just a short flight of stairs to take you out onto the viewing platform. From here the views over the city centre were spectacular.

Having taken in the views I descended back down to the cathedral floor and exited through the Patio of the Orange Trees, part of the original Mosque complex, a large square with ranks of orange trees laid out, all in full blossom and creating a glorious aroma.

I had a bit of a wander through the old town stopping for a good lunch in one of the little café’s for a spot of tapas before heading back down to the river side to go on a cruise down the river. Having done the cruise I decided that it probably hadn’t been worth it as it sails up the river for 15 minutes, turns round sails back past the Torre del Oro where it starts on for a further 15 minutes then turns round again and comes back with very little commentary, and not that much actually visible from the boat.

I got off the boat just in time to catch the sightseeing bus one stop round to the Plaza España, part of the Ibero-America exhibition site of 1929. The buildings of the exhibition are in the parkland of the Parque Maria Luisa and in the late afternoon it was very pleasant to spend some time wandering around the park, taking in all the buildings of the exhibition. By the time I had wandered around the park and back to the Plaza España the final sightseeing bus of the day was pulling up, so I decided to go around the route once more, sitting on the opposite side of the bus, to take in more of the sights.

I was back at the Torre del Oro just under 45 minutes later (the driver appeared to want to get home fast!) but it was still to early to go for dinner, so instead I wandered back to the hotel to drop most of my stuff off before heading back out a short while later for a very pleasant dinner in a little side street just up from the Cathedral.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Seville; Tuesday, 11 March, 2008

With a repeat of the Phantom Driller and a decent breakfast I headed out of the hotel and back to the river and the Torre del Oro. Originally this had been the final defensive tower on the old Moorish walls, guarding the city and the river than ran past it. Today it is the city’s maritime museum and as it was a Tuesday it was both open and free. Sadly it was also full of noisey, uncontrolled and quite obviously bored French school kids.

I took advantage of the audio guide and a seat to get most of the details of the buildings history and the museum without having to worry about the school kids getting in my way, and after most of them had dispersed had a wander around the building looking at the exhibits.

From the Torre del Oro it was a short walk up to the Royal Palace, the Real Alcázar, where once again there was a group (though a different one this time) of French school kids. Thankfully they were in the group queue so I sidled in through the individual visitors entrance and started looking around the palace. It is a simply spectacular building. Taking lots of its influences from the Moors it combines the beauty of Islamic architecture with the wealth of a nation that controlled most of the worlds gold for many years. If the building is spectacular then you start to run out of superlatives when you reach the gardens, which complement the palace perfectly.

After spending quite a lot of time looking around the palace and gardens I headed over to the Parque Maria Luisa for a late lunch and then, once they had opened into the two museums here. First stop was the Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares de Sevilla or the museum of arts and traditions, Seville and after looking around that it was across the square to the Archaeological museum.

The Archaeological museum goes a long way to showing the important Roman history of the region. Just 9KM from modern day Seville is Itálica. This was once the third most important city in the Roman empire after Alexandria and Rome. It was the birth place of Emperors Hadrian and Trajan and was my next stop.

From outside the Archaeological museum I caught the bus up round to the bus station at Plaza de Armas and from there the regional bus out to the town of Santiponce. The bus continues all the way to the archaeological site at Itálica, but I got off in the centre of Santiponce so that I could have a wander around some of the other remains that are scattered through the town. The main one being the Theatre. Sadly access to the theatre was closed for the day, but you can still access a view point above it to look down on what are fairly substantial ruins. From there it was a short walk on to the main site.

As you enter the site at Itálica the first thing that you are met by should be the substantial remains of the Amphitheatre. Sadly, the main thing I was struck by was groups three and four of French school kids, I couldn’t work out where they were all coming from! After getting into the site the kids were heading for the Amphitheatre, so I headed for the remains of the houses, and had most of the site to myself. A signed walk takes you around most of the main areas of the site, though not that much has been excavated. After about an hours walking, in a very hot sun (Itálica is not recommended in the height of summer!) I had completed most of the site, and was starting to burn, so I was happy to have reached the cool shade of the Amphitheatre. Whilst it is not as impressive as the Colosseum in Rome, it is still a pretty spectacular piece of building work, especially given that it has withstood over 2000 years.

Having walked around the site, and the Amphitheatre I got back to the main entrance just as the gates were being locked, thankfully with no sign of any school kids. As I had over 20 minutes until the bus I had a wander back up towards the town centre. In the end I wish I hadn’t as by the time the bus arrived it had managed to locate one of the groups of school kids and was absolutely packed to capacity. I only just managed to get on and had a quite uncomfortable 25 minute journey back into Seville.

Having arrived back in the city centre I caught the bus round to the hotel to drop off my stuff (and apply a bit of after sun) before heading back out into town for my final dinner of the trip.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Seville; Wednesday, 12 March, 2008

This morning the Phantom Driller was not around so I managed to get an extra hour in bed and woke a little after 9. By the time I had showered, shaved and had breakfast it was time to pack up my bags and make my way to the airport bus.

I walked back through the lanes of the Barrio Santa Cruz towards the bus stop, and arrived the wrong side of the traffic lights as it left. Thankfully, I had given myself enough time that if I missed that bus, the next one would still get me to the airport with more time than I actually needed, so I brought a bottle of water and went and sat in the park near the bus stop for twenty minutes.

The journey to the airport, through the airport and onto the plane was a smooth as any other journey I have made and the flight was uneventful, until we reached the coast of France.

Whilst I had been sunning myself in southern Spain, The UK was being battered by the worst storms of the winter, and some of the worst weather in years. I had seen it on the TV news of an evening as I was getting ready to go out, but wasn’t really taking it in, except in a smug way. As the plane started its decent into Gatwick it was clear that the wind was still blowing quite strongly and so the next twenty minutes proved to be one of the bumpiest and least pleasant landings I have ever made.

By the time the plane touched down there were several people happily filling the sick bags, and there was no talking going on. There wasn’t any enthusiasm for a round of applause that one passenger tried to start up, everyone was nursing their churning stomachs. Whilst there was never any doubt about the safety, the plane was always in control, it was just so rough that everyone just wanted to get onto solid ground, not helped by the gusts of wind which were whipping around the apron at Gatwick and making the plane rock whilst it was on stand. I have never been so glad to get onto the air bridge just so that my stomach could calm down.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Dublin; Sunday, 06 April, 2008

Waking up on a Sunday morning to snow would normally be a good thing, when you are intending on flying it is not such a good thing. With trepidation I left home and walked down to the station. Surprisingly the trains were all running to time, and, 30 minutes later, I arrived at Gatwick. As I was checking in the first sign that all was not well was announced. The runway had been closed for 30 minutes so a build up of snow could be cleared. My worst fears were realised when I got through security to find every single square inch of space occupied by passengers, and at 1040 every flight that should have left since 7am still showing as not yet left. I knew it was really bad when I saw that the 9.15 to Dublin still had not departed. That had to get over to Ireland, turn round and then come back to form my 1240 flight.

With stoicism, I ventured further into the lounge and found it was as full as I had feared. Everyone was crowded into the departures lounge, there were no spare seats, babies were crying, it would be a horrendous wait. So I pulled out the credit card and went to the business lounge and begged. 5 minutes and £20.50 later I was relaxing in a comfortable seat, with a view of the runway, and a nice cup of coffee!

And there I sat, watching the snow slowly stop, the time for my flight come and go, the 09:15 finally depart just before 3 and then, just after half four, the announcement that all Aer Lingus flights had been cancelled, and we had to be "de-controlled". At the same time a host of easyJet, FlyBE and other airlines flights were being cancelled so it was chaos. Immigration couldn't deal with the number of people re-entering, and they hadn't told the security staff about the Aer Lingus flights, so all the passengers got sent back into the lounge, which was thankful, as 5 minutes later the flight was back on!

In the end it was another two hours waiting until a sudden and urgent call for all Aer Lingus passengers to get down to gate 6 and, even once we had boarded a further 40 minute wait to get all of the luggage loaded. Eventually, exactly 7 hours late, and into a fast setting sun, we pushed back and set off. For once, perhaps because of the delay, or maybe because of all the cancellations, it only took a couple of minutes from push back to take-off roll.

An eventless 50 minutes later the plane touched down at Dublin airport, and after a relatively quick passage through the airport, I found myself on the 2115 airbus into town.

Thankfully, the hotel was only a very short walk from the bus stop, so by 2145 I had already checked in and was on my way back out for a quick evening stroll around the city centre.

I had a quick wander around the temple bar and trinity college areas before wandering up to St Stephens green and then on round to St Patrick's and Christchurch's Cathedrals, before wandering back to the hotel. I was quite surprised when I got back to the hotel and realised that it was just before midnight.

Weather

Heavy Snow Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Dublin; Monday, 07 April, 2008

Up and out quite early as I had booked to go on a coach tour to the Neolithic tombs at Newgrange.

All the previous times I have been to Dublin it has been during the summer, when the city centre is not at its busiest. Consequently I had not experienced the traffic jam that is O'Connell street in a Monday morning rush-hour. The bus jam rivalled even Oxford Street at its worst! I negotiated the jams, not a particularly difficult feat to achieve on foot, and got myself to the pick-up point at the main Tourist Information Centre early.

The tour started by journeying North from the city centre out towards the valley of the river Boyne, and our first stop of the morning, the Newgrange visitors centre.

After a quick look around the visitors centre and a short Multi-media presentation on the history of the site, it was time to catch the shuttle bus out to the site. The visitors centre is about 10 minutes drive from the site, and you can only get tickets from the visitors centre, consequently the site is very peaceful. We had a tour of the site including going inside the mound and a demonstration of what happens with the sunlight at dawn on the winters solstice.

Having looked around we caught the bus back to the visitors centre, and just in time, a few seconds after getting back inside the skies opened and a spectacular hail shower ensued. A quick lunch in the visitors centre and then it was back onto the bus for the second stop of the day Monasterboice

With the tour of the site completed, again just in time to avoid the next massive shower, it was back onto the bus and back to Dublin. On arrival I had a wander around the castle area for a while, before heading back to the hotel to drop stuff off and then back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Dublin; Tuesday, 08 April, 2008

Another tour today, though this time the pick-up was just around the corner from the hotel. We set off, just before 10 into the Dublin traffic, and 10 minutes later arrived at Trinity college, a couple of hundred yards further down the street.

A long drive South out of Dublin and into County Wicklow, first stop at about 11.30 was high in the Wicklow mountains at the Wicklow gap. From there it was a short drive down into Glendalough for a stop to look at the ruins of the monastic settlement.

From there it was back on the bus and on to Avoca to the hand-weaving mill for a brief tour, and then a late lunch, plus the opportunity to visit the gift shop. Back on the bus again to start the return journey back into Dublin.

We arrived back into Dublin at a little after 1630, so I had more than enough time to walk down to the Liffey to catch the 1700 river tour, unfortunately nature had conspired against me. The tide was very low, and there was insufficient water in the river for the tour to run, instead I wandered back to my hotel, dropped my stuff off and the headed back out, catching the tram out to Heuston station and then wandering up into Phoenix park.

I had a long wander through the park and left just as the sun was setting. I caught the tram back into the centre and then walked up to the castle to join the ghost walk.

If nature had conspired against me earlier with the river cruise, it was rapidly clear that it was becoming a vendetta. The threats of snow during the evening had put all bar one other person off, so the guide decided that this wasn't enough for the tour to take place and cancelled.

I walked back through Temple Bar, grabbing a late bite to eat, and then headed back to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Dublin; Wednesday, 09 April, 2008

I packed my bags, grabbed a quick breakfast and then walked down to Busáras to leave it in the luggage lockers, then walked round the corner to Connolly station to catch the train out to Malahide.

The town is about 9KM north of Dublin and home to Malahide castle. When the last member of the Talbot family finally vacated it in the 1970’s they brought to an end the longest continuous residence of a house by the same family in Ireland (ignoring the short period when they were dispossessed by Oliver Cromwell!) Today the house is owned by the city of Dublin and is open to look around, albeit on an audio tour.

After looking around the castle I headed back to the station to catch the train back to Dublin. The first one was cancelled, so in the end I had a pleasant 40 minute wait sitting on a bench in the warm sun (only remembering when I got on the train that the only times I have really got sun-burnt were both in Dublin!)

By the time the train got back into Connolly I had missed the midday river cruise, and there wasn’t one at one so instead I headed over to Dublin castle to go on a tour of that. The first tour was fully booked, but I was able to get on one about 30 minutes later so quickly grabbed a sandwich before taking the tour around the “Symbol of English oppression of the Irish for over 700 years”. It was from here that Ireland was run, firstly as a separate country and then, following the act of union, as part of the United Kingdom, up until the creation of the Irish Free State in 1921.

Following the tour I wandered down to the river to catch the river cruise only to find that nature was continuing her vendetta and had managed to get the hat-trick. After yesterdays lack of water today it was very quickly obvious that there was a bit too much. With less than two foot clearance between the river and the bridges the tours had been suspended. Instead I wandered along the edge of the river heading down stream, past O’Connell street and down towards the Customs House.

This area of Dublin – the Docklands – is rapidly being developed into the modern business heart of the city. Gleaming office blocks and sleek shopping centres a testament to the phenomenal economic growth of Ireland over the previous 20 years. Just across the road from one of the larger shopping complexes is something that brings you right back down to ground with a jolt.

The Irish Famine Monument is a stark reminder of the suffering that Ireland has been through. The statues of emaciated and dying people desperate for food is very moving. You forget whilst you are looking at it that you are in a modern busy city, with one of the busiest roads just feet behind you. You are taken back to a time when people like this would have huddled around here hoping to get on a ship out of the country. A figure at the back has the body of a child draped over his emaciated skeleton.

Leaving the monument I walked through the docklands area and found myself approaching Busáras just as the skies started to open. I dashed inside and looked at my watch. I could, if I wanted to, spend another hour in the centre of Dublin before I would have to catch the bus out to the airport, but given what the weather was doing, I thought it was probably best to admit defeat at this point, pick up my luggage and catch the airbus back to the airport. 45 minutes later the driver finally cleared the traffic in O’Connell street and joined another traffic jam on the airport road, 35 minutes after that a bus full of very frantic people, concerned they were about to miss their flights, and one smug git who didn’t have to rush as they had left an hour early, arrived at the terminal building. It was quite fun to watch people trying to fight their way off the bus, I decided to just stay in my seat until the end and then calmly stepped off the bus and walked to checkin.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Verona; Friday, 02 May, 2008

I met my friends on the train at East Croydon, them having got on in town, and we all headed out to the airport. After a swift, painless and totally uneventful checkin we found ourselves in a location we would be revisiting many times during the trip, the bar.

A swift pint later it was time to wander down to the gate and onto the plane. A totally uneventful flight later we touched down in Verona, swiftly progressed through the airport and found ourselves, by way of the airport bus, at the central railway station in Verona. A short walk later and we arrived at the hotel.

With the formalities done, and with most peoples stomachs rumbling, we headed around the corner from the hotel and ate in a small restaurant just off the main square. From there it was a gentle meander down the main streets of the town taking in the sights, before stopping off for a late evening drink in a little bar by the river. Time appeared to flow at a completely different rate and very soon it was 1am and time we really should be turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Verona; Saturday, 03 May, 2008

After breakfast in a little café just down from the hotel, and locating a small kiosk which sold Verona cards, we had a daylight Wander through city to the Torre dei Lamberti, the large tower overlooking the city centre. From the top the views over the city were spectacular.

Next stop of the morning was church number one the Chiesa di Santa Anastasia, from there it was a short walk to the Duomo for church two, and then on through the town centre to the Porta Borsari, one of the original gates of the city, for a spot of lunch.

Appetites sated, for a while, we walked the short distance down the road away from the gate to the Castelvecchio and it’s museum. We had a long look around the castle taking in the views from its ramparts and towers, and the museums housed inside it’s buildings.

After leaving the castle we cross over the river on the fortified Ponte di Castlevecchio and walked along the opposite bank of the river to the next bridge and church number three of the day the Basilica di Santa Zeno.

After that church it was a short wander around the corner to a bar for a late afternoon drink, and then a walk back along the riverside to the hotel to freshen up before going back out for early evening drinks, dinner and then late evening drinks!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Verona; Sunday, 04 May, 2008

Verona is home to the third larges Roman Arena and this was our first stop of the morning. Today the Arena still serves it purpose of entertaining the masses. Whilst we were visiting they were in the process of setting up the Arena for a presentation of Anthony and Cleopatra. Everywhere you go in Verona there are reminders of the link between the city and the works of England's greatest playwright (Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, as is, more surprisingly, The two gentlemen of Verona!) and the Arena was no exception.

From the Arena we wandered through the town, up past the Chiesa di Santa Anastasia and across the river towards the Roman Theatre and archaeological museum. By the time we arrived at the site it was just after midday, so an ideal time to stop at the next door restaurant to have a quick Sunday lunch. Of course this being Italy, we had to have a full Sunday lunch and two hours later we all staggered with distended, but contented, stomachs from the restaurant towards the theatre.

We had a look around the theatre, and the archaeological museum which is in its grounds, and then climbed the hill to the Castle San Pietro above it to take in the views across the river of the city centre. From here Verona looks beautiful with the compact city centre, church spires and terracotta roofs laid out in front and bordered by the river.

After taking in the views we descended back down the hill, and across the river to a small bar on the opposite bank, and took in the views of the Roman Theatre and Castle San Pietro over a cold spritz.

Popping back briefly to the hotel to freshen up, we met up again a short while later to take part in the now routine dinner ritual of drinks, dinner, drinks (some managing to put away another large dinner, despite the enormous lunch!).

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Verona; Monday, 05 May, 2008

A final short morning in the city, and the glorious weather of the previous couple of days had broken with a light drizzle in the air when we woke, replaced shortly after by a brief, but beefy, shower. After packing bags and leaving them with reception we went for a wander around the Arena and out along the line of the walls to the Tombe di Gulliana, supposedly where Juliette was buried (but given that Romeo and Juliette is FICTION – a fact that some tourists fail to understand) it is just a tourist trap, and this being Monday on continental Europe – shut.

After a wander back to the hotel to collect our bags we walked back down to the station and joined the queue for the bus to the middle of nowhere international (or VERONA (Brescia) as Ryanair like to call it.)

With all the grace that befits a Ryanair flight there was a bit of a scrum for the coach, and then over an hour later when we arrived at the airport (which is nowhere near Verona, and quite frankly nowhere near Brescia either!) a scrum for people trying to retrieve their bags so that they could check in fast.

By the time we checked in we were up into the 120s for boarding, so we didn’t partake in the crush for the gate mentality that takes over low-cost passengers. Sitting in the departures lounge we were able to watch everyone stand up and rush towards the gate as the plane landed, obviously all failing to spot the issue that it still had to park up, empty its incoming consignment of tourists, and give the plane a bit of a tidy before they would be allowed to board, and 20 minutes later they were all still standing there, whilst our little group were sitting comfortably in an almost deserted departures lounge.

In the end we had a battle of wills with another small group to see who would chicken out first and go to the gate before they were called. In the end we won and for the first time ever I was the last person to clear the gate, with the door being quite purposefully slammed behind me! And consequently had to play hunt the single seat that is left (between an Italian couple who insisted on having the Window and Aisle seat and a steaming row for the length of the flight)

Back at Stansted, and the fastest I have ever been through the airport, we decided to swap allegiances and caught the bright orange easyBus back into the centre of London.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Dubrovnik; Saturday, 10 May, 2008

Six AM on a Saturday morning is not a time I normally like to be familiar with, and originally I wouldn't of had to be, but BA had moved the flight forward by two hours from the time I originally booked, and so bleary eyed I set off for Gatwick Airport.

A couple of uneventful hours later the plane landed at Dubrovnik airport and I got my first stamp in my new passport (all the more impressive given that I have had this passport for over three years!) Through the airport fast and onto the shuttle bus into the city.

Being lazy I grabbed a cab in the city centre for the short journey up the hill to the hotel. After checking in changing into shorts, and applying a healthy slathering of sun block, I headed back down the hill into the heart of the medieval old town.

I had a long wander through the ancient streets of the walled old town, stopping to visit the Rectors Palace museum and then pausing for a late afternoon drink in the sun in a bar opposite. After my refreshment break, I continued to have a wander around the old town and the harbour.

By the time I next looked at my watch it was rapidly approaching 8PM and time for some dinner, which I had in a small restaurant in a side street off of the main street in the old town.

With a very nice dinner inside me I had a little bit more of a wander, stopping for a very nice ice-cream, before finally finding myself at the bus stop for the bus back up the hill to the hotel, and the welcoming thought of a comfy bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Dubrovnik; Sunday, 11 May, 2008

I wandered back down the hill towards the old town. First stop of the morning was a short walk along the city walls. These are impressive for a number of reasons, not least being their ability in 1991 and 1992 to withstand the pounding with modern artillery they were given during the siege of Dubrovnik. The walls are also completely intact forming a solid ring around the city and allowing you to go completely round the top without having to descend to street level at any point.

I spent quite a long time wandering along the walls and by the time I had come back down it was as near as makes no difference, lunch, so I stopped for a bite to eat at a small cafe just outside the city walls. After lunch I meandered through the city down to the harbour to pick up one of the many tour boats that leave regularly on tours of the city walls and neighbouring Lokrum Island.

After the tour I leapt on another boat for the journey down the coast to the small town of Cavtat. The town was the original site of what became Dubrovnik, but was abandoned following a major earthquake. Today it is a pleasant medieval town, laid out in a crescent around the bay. I only had a little time to look around before it was back on the boat and back to Dubrovnik.

On arrival I was treated to the bizarre sight of a band contest in front of the clock-tower. I watched this for a while, before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back into town for dinner.

With another massive and very tasty dinner inside me I went on a short wander around the city in the dark before finally heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Dubrovnik; Monday, 12 May, 2008

It was a relatively early start as I had booked to go on a day excursion to a beautiful medieval town, better known for it's more recent history. But as it was over 140Km away it would take a bit of driving (and crossing a few international borders) to get there.

Time for a quick, dirty and not particularly politically correct history of the 20th century in the Balkans. A Serb started World War I by assassinating the Austro-Hungarian Emperor whilst on a trip to Bosnia (which was part of the empire at the time). The Croats fought on the side of the Nazi's against the Russian allied Serbs during W.W.II. Yugoslavia, originally formed after the first world war as a kingdom to bring the small Balkan states together in harmony, after the Second World War became a communist state under the leadership of General Josip Broz Tito (a Croat). Under General Tito's relatively liberal brand of communism this worked and turned Yugoslavia into an attractive holiday destination for the capitalist pigs, sorry Western tourists. Then Tito died in 1980 and, after a few years of the country struggling by, ethnic tensions and rabid nationalism took over and Yugoslavia started to disintegrate with first Slovenia and then Croatia declaring independence in 1991. The Croats claim that the Serbs were trying to subsume all the former Yugoslav nations into a greater Serbia, and certainly from a westerners view at the time the Serbs, and in particular their president Slobodan Milosevic, were painted as the aggressor on all fronts (though there were several incidents where Serbian civilians were the victims of atrocities carried out by the other sides in the wars)

The longest war of independence was also the bloodiest, and lead to the most atrocities being committed, took place in Bosnia. Therefore, it is slightly surprising that just 9 years after the war officially ended, Bosnia is today being touted as a tourist destination, and one of its principal destinations is Mostar, once a byword for the ethnic tensions. The town’s historic old bridge was destroyed by the Croat army so that the town could be divided by the river between a Croat bank and a Muslim bank. Today, following peace and reconciliation, and a hefty restoration job the town is again united, at least by a bridge.

Mostar was my second stop of the morning. But to get there we had to drive along the coast, cross into Bosnia, then back out of Bosnia and back into Croatia (a small part of coastal strip was ceded to Bosnia in 1945 so that they had access to the sea) before finally crossing back into Bosnia about 45 minutes later, and a short while after that stop one at the town of Pocitelj.

The small fortified hill town demonstrates what is unique about Bosnia in the region, virtually next door to each other are the tower of the catholic church and the minaret of the mosque. Out-doing both of them is the stunning ruins of the hill fortifications. After a brief wander around the town, and a stop to take in some of the local craft shops, it was back onto the bus and on to Mostar.

Evidence of the war, which raged here until 1999, is still clearly visible, many of the buildings have shrapnel scars and damage, and more are still ruined from the war, burnt out uninhabitable shells, which had been family homes or businesses.

Bosnia is not a wealthy nation, with little in the way of industry. The valley that Mostar lies at the top off is fertile and provides for the nation and some exports, but the majority of the countries income comes from tourism, and this is an industry that Mostar has mastered. The main sites of the town are all located in the small old town, and to reach any of them, from any direction, requires walking past a large number of gift shops.

Our guide walked us through the old town and pointed out the main sights, before leaving us for a couple of free hours sightseeing at the old mosque.

Having looked around the mosque, the remainder of the old town, one of the museums, and seen the wonder that is the restored bridge (I heard one person comment that they had been to Mostar in the 1980's and they couldn't tell the difference between the bridge then and now, if its destruction had not been broadcast across the globe they wouldn't have believed that it had been destroyed and rebuilt.) I stopped for a very nice lunch of local delicacies in a little Bosnian family run restaurant just down from the bridge.

After that it was time to get back on the bus for the long drive back to Dubrovnik. By the time we arrived back in town it was just time for a light dinner, before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Dubrovnik; Tuesday, 13 May, 2008

The walk to the first attraction of the morning was a long and arduous one, across the road to the bus stop to pick up the Cabriobus, Dubrovnik's "open-top" sightseeing bus.

After completing the tour I wandered through the town to the harbour to catch the boat out to the small island of Lokrum. Firstly a monastic settlement, then the playground of the Hapsburgs, then a Napoleonic fort, today it is a haven for nature (and in one small corner naturists!) and uninhabited, to the point that you have to be off the island on the last boat, nobody stays overnight.

I had a long wander around the whole of the island, taking in the ruins of the monastery (and the very nice restaurant that is now in its grounds), the cliffs and lakes of the island (which appear to be suffering from a peacock infestation, I have never seen so many in one place!) and walking up (and I do mean up!) to the Napoleonic fortress.

I finished my wanderings about 10 minutes before the ferry was due so I had a short wait by the small landing stage, and gently topped up the sun-burn! The ferry got me back into town and I wandered over to the airport shuttle bus companies office to check the times of the busses for the following day, before heading back into the old town to take in more of the sights.

I had the guide book with me and it suggested two possible walking routes which I could merge easily into one as I had already done a circuit of the city walls. The first part of the walk was up the narrow, stepped lanes towards the Ethnographic museum, which turned out to be shut by the time I got there, and the bolt on the door implied that it wasn't just for a late lunch (even though the sign claimed they were open 09-16 daily!)

I then took in the cathedral and some of the other churches in the city centre, including having a look around the Franciscan church, monastery and cloisters, which included a small museum.

With a serious case of museum feet I stopped for a refreshment break on the main street, before catching the bus back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out for dinner.

Instead of heading straight into town, I quickly caught the bus in the opposite direction to the end of the peninsula to take some photos of the sunset over the islands. Whilst I was able to take some photos it was obvious that the weather was on the turn, and after dinner, walking back to the bus stop I was certain I could feel the odd spot of rain.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Dubrovnik; Wednesday, 14 May, 2008

Overnight I had been proved right about the weather. There had either been a big downpour, or it had been lightly raining for many hours. With breakfast inside me and my bill paid I wandered down into town whilst there was a break in the rain.

The first thing that became obvious was a need to reassess my timings to get to the airport. The roads were almost grid-locked and the busses heaving.

I had a short wander around the old town, taking in the last of the churches that I had missed yesterday, as well as the memorial room to the Dubrovnik defenders, which commemorates all those (from the Croat side) who died defending and liberating the city.

After that it was time to get back to the hotel, collect my luggage, check out and get a cab to the bus station to pick-up the airbus.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Plymouth; Sunday, 15 June, 2008

It’s nearly four hours by train from London to Plymouth, a journey made even longer by engineering works on a weekend. Thankfully, I wasn’t coming from London, having spent the previous two days visiting friends in Barnstaple, I only had to cross the county.

Sadly, Devon public transport is not the speediest, and even this short journey took over two hours.

I walked down through the centre of Plymouth from the station to my hotel, checked in and then had a short wander up onto the Hoe to have a quick look at Plymouth sound and the sights up there.

I wandered back down from the Hoe and, after grabbing a bite to eat, headed for bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Plymouth; Monday, 16 June, 2008

After an unconvincing breakfast “box” from the hotel, I headed up through town to the train station. Quite a few of Plymouths key attractions are closed on a Monday, and the weather forecast for Tuesday wasn’t so good, so I decided to do as much outdoor stuff as I had planned today.

My main destination was Totnes, which I eventually reached just before 11:30, thanks to the marvellous services of Cross Country trains (it should only have taken 25 minutes, but the train was over 30 minutes late, and then got later on route!). From Totnes station I walked the short distance to the towns other station. Built at the point where a former branch line diverged from the main line into London, it is now the southern terminus of the South Devon Railway, a steam preservation line which runs for 7 or so miles up the Dart valley to Buckfastleigh.

On reaching Buckfastleigh I had a look around the small museum and workshop exhibition at the station, before catching the bus on to the abbey at Buckfast for a look around that.

The abbey was opened in 1932 on the site of a former abbey dissolved by Henry VIII. Today, the abbey, and the area around it are sometimes referred to as Fastbuckleigh based on their ability to cash in on the tourist pound. After looking around the abbey, and the gift shop, I caught the bus back to the station in time to catch the train back to Totnes.

From the station I caught the river ferry down the Dart to the town centre and then had a wander through the historic old town. At the top of the hill, overlooking the surrounding town is Totnes castle. The castle is a fine example of a Norman Mott and bailey castle. All that remains are the stone walls of the upper castle, and parts of the outer curtain wall, but from the top of the mound the views over the countryside are stunning.

I wandered back through the town to the station, conscious of the time it had taken me to get to Totnes, that in the early evening it might take as long. In the end I needn’t have worried. A train was pulling in as I approached the station and 25 minutes later I was back in Plymouth.

I had another wander around the city centre, taking in the Sutton Harbour and Barbican, the original parts of the city. With not much happening in Plymouth on a Monday evening out of peak time (the Uni students have all finished, but the schools are yet to break up, so it’s the perfect time for a quiet visit) I grabbed a bite to eat in the Pizza Express next to the hotel, and caught a film in the cinema opposite, before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Plymouth; Tuesday, 17 June, 2008

After another quite frankly useless breakfast box, I checked out of the hotel. I had wanted to leave my luggage at the hotel as it was over eight hours until my train, and I didn’t really fancy dragging it around with me all day, but the hotel claimed that they had no luggage space at all. In the end I finally tracked down some left luggage lockers at the bus station, and then headed up onto the Hoe.

My first tourist stop of the day was a Smeatons tower. 14 miles off the coast of Plymouth are the Eddystone rocks. These are some of the most dangerous rocks around the British Isles and have, over the years, claimed a huge toll in vessels and lives. Towards the end of the 17th Century a lighthouse was erected on the rocks. Sadly, the lighthouse was washed away during a storm. So a second lighthouse was built. This one had to be replaced after the lantern caught light and burnt down. A third tower was built by Smeaton. This proved to be more study and lasted for over 100 years, before it became clear that, whilst the lighthouse was fine, the rock it was standing on was being undermined by the sea. A new lighthouse was built, but Smeatons was dismantled and brought back to land, and rebuilt, piece by piece, on the Hoe. Today you can climb the tower and see what life in a lighthouse might have been like (cramped) and take in the views over Plymouth from the lantern room and balcony.

Having looked around the tower I walked down to the sea front and joined one of the many tour boats which go out into the sound and then up the Taymar past the Navel Dockyard at Devonport. After the tour I headed back towards the Barbican for a spot of lunch, before wandering round to the Citadel for the afternoon tour.

The Royal Citadel was built between 1666 and 1670, partly as defence from the sea, but also to send a message to the strongly parliamentarian town of Plymouth that the Royals were now back in charge. The story goes that there are more guns trained on the town of Plymouth than out onto the sound, whilst it’s not actually true, there are a substantial number of points from which the town could be fired on.

The Citadel has been in use by the army since it’s opening, and today it still is. The outer walls are maintained by English Heritage, and twice a week, as part of the deal there are guided tours of the citadel and chapel.

From the Citadel I walked back down to the Barbican and visited my last attraction of the trip, the Plymouth Gin distillery. Having sampled some of their produce it was time to totter back to the bus station, pick up my luggage, head back to the station and start the long journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Gdansk; Monday, 21 July, 2008

The original plan, as set out last October when I booked it, was that Monday would be a relaxing day with a gentle journey mid-morning up to Luton airport to catch an early afternoon flight to Gdansk. I even changed the day I was flying out as Mondays’ flights were at 13:30, as apposed to Tuesdays which were at 08:00. Then just six weeks before I was due to leave I got an e-mail from Wizz letting me know that my flight time had been changed to 08:00, checkin at 06:00. From Luton this left me with three options. A very expensive cab ride in the early hours of the morning. A night bus and night train at an even earlier hour of the morning, of bite the bullet, pay the extra and stay overnight in Luton.

As so it was that I awoke at 5:30 to the sound of the first departure of the morning roaring past the window of the Ibis hotel Luton Airport. After the bleary-eyed stumble through the shower I checked my bag (for about the 40th time), checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance up the hill to the airport.

One very smooth checkin, uneventful flight (save for the choir of screaming babies on board), transfer to the hotel and chekin and luggage drop later I found myself in the centre of Gdansk having a wander around the streets.

The entire city was levelled during World War II so it is amazing to see a virtually intact 18th century city with countless churches and riverside buildings. From the ruins of the war every building was reconstructed from it’s rubble and its all credit to the people of Gdansk that they have rebuilt such a beautiful city.

I stopped for a quick late lunch and then boarded a ferry for the short journey down the river towards where it joins the Baltic at Westerplatte. This small spit of land has the unique distinction of being the very last part of Poland to fall to the Nazi’s, holding out for nearly two months, and also the very last part of Poland to be liberated. It is also the location were, at dawn, on September 1st 1939 the warship Schleswig-Holstein launched an attack, signalling the start of the invasion of Poland, and with it the start of World War II. The whole site was destroyed during the course of the war, and, unlike Gdansk itself, has not been rebuilt. Instead the ruins of the bombed out buildings are still where they were when the guns finally fell silent in May 1945. Nature is slowly taking back the site, but, if anything, this makes the ruins look all the more eerie.

The site is well worth a visit, though it has to be said, not during a massive thunderstorm that started just as I arrived. The rain was of such ferocity that it was obvious that it could only continue like that for a few moments, but just when you thought that it managed to find even more fury and increase the pounding. With lightning bolts cracking around me (at one point the flash of lightning and sound of thunder were simultaneous) I decided that hiding under a tree was a bad idea and instead ran to a nearby bar to shelter under its awning, but just this short run I got soaked through, and my bag was saturated (to the extent that my guidebook was unusable for several hours before it dried out)

Eventually, the rain petered out into a light drizzle, which was good enough for looking around the site. After having had an explore I caught the bus back to the centre of town and stopped off at the 24 hour post office to get some stamps for postcards before grabbing a bite to eat.

After dinner I had another wander through the old town up to the historic dockyards. In my mind I had expected a much wider approach, perhaps a grand boulevard leading to the internationally famous gates of the Gdansk shipyards. Instead, the gates that feature in almost as many stories of the fall of communism as the scenes of the Berlin Wall being breached, are down a small residential street. Looking at them I could vividly remember the news stories from the late 1980’s when the world watched as the Solidarity movement in Poland finally forced the collapse of the communist government. Just looking at the gates I could visualise in my mind the moustached face of Lech Walesa being carried on the shoulders of his colleagues through the gates and on to become the first democratically elected president of Poland.

Just to the side of the shipyard gates is a reminder that the struggle was not without loss. Whilst the campaign of the 1980’s lead to the fall of communism, similar action in the 1970’s lead to the deaths of over 40 striking shipyard workers when the army went in to break up the strike and Marshall law was imposed. Today, three high crosses tower over the site, and plaques on the walls remind visitors of the sacrifice that those strikers made.

With the sun rapidly setting, and the light drizzle slowly increasing, I decided it was time to head back to the hotel and try to catch up on some sleep.

Weather

Light Showers Weird Weather
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Gdansk; Tuesday, 22 July, 2008

The bed in the hotel turned out to be exceptionally comfortable, and I had the best nights sleep in a long time. I awoke refreshed and ready to start the day, by stuffing my face at breakfast – a good nights sleep really gives you an appetite.

I caught the bus into town and headed for the Old Town making a tour of the main street (Long street). I stated at the old gate to the city which includes the Prison Tower and Torture Tower, though now home to the amber museum, then stopped off at the Uphagen’s house before taking in the City museum in the town hall.

Having climbed to the top of the tower of the town hall and descended back down to ground level I though there would be nothing more sensible then climbing to the top of the tower of the largest church in Gdansk, St Mary’s! 400 odd steps late I emerged onto the very rickety viewing platform, wedged between the two sloping halves of the roof, took in the views and then descended back down again before I developed vertigo!

A brief pause for a late lunch overlooking the river was followed by an afternoon taking in the museums and sites of the impressive sounding “Central Maritime Museum”. This included the crane. If Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and Rome the Coliseum, then Gdansk has the Crane. It’s on every postcard, in every tourist book and appears on every map. Having looked around the museums on this side of the rive I caught the ferry to the other side to take in the main part of the CMM as well as the museum ship MS Soldek.

By now it was starting to get late, and my legs and feet were killing me, but it wasn’t quite late enough for dinner. I thought about doing some more wandering, but when I started to feel a bit of pain in my leg I decided it was probably best to go back to the hotel, change into something less clammy than my Jeans, which in the temperatures were starting to feel too hot, and put my feet up for a short while before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Gdansk; Wednesday, 23 July, 2008

With my stomach bulging from another massive breakfast I headed out into town. I had plans for the afternoon, but that gave me a couple of hours to clear up another couple of museums in the city centre.

After visiting the Artus Court and the Archaeological museum there was just time for a quick spot of lunch before my afternoon trip on the Tram Ferry across the Gulf of Gdansk.

Helping to form the gulf is a small thin spit of land that juts some 20Km out into the Baltic. At the very end is the town that gives the Peninsular it’s name… Hel.

At this point it would be an occasion to line up a string of jokes about going to Hell etc (which I have quite happily done on the Blog). But Hel is quite capable of living up to it’s name.

The shape of the land makes it easy to defend and consequently it was the last part of Poland to hold out against the advancing Nazi’s, not falling until October 3rd 1939, over a month after the war had started just on the other side of the Gulf at Westerplatte. Conversely at the end of the war, with confusion in the ranks, and pinned down by Soviet forces, Hel was not liberated until May 9th 1945, two days after the complete surrender of Nazi Germany.

Today, Hel is a peaceful and tranquil place (if you ignore the thousands of people lying on the beaches bronzing themselves, and the seafront arcades). A family resort it has a number of attractions including a fishing boat museum with a tower you can climb for views over the gulf and a aquarium housing a number of the, now sadly becoming rare, Baltic grey seals.

After having exhausted most of the sites of the town I wandered back to the train station. As all tickets are sold as singles (returns are effectively double the singe price) it is easy to make the tip to Hel into a circular one, coming out on the ferry, but back by the train.

The train runs the length of the peninsular, never very far from the coast so you always have good views. On leaving the peninsular it heads in land so that it can make a more leisurely 180 degree turn before heading back down the coast towards Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk.

By the time I arrived back in Gdansk it was gone 8 so I headed down to the riverside for some dinner. After a pleasant meal I walked back through the city centre, with the light going and the floodlights on I was able to take several decent pictures of the city before heading back to the hotel and a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Gdansk; Thursday, 24 July, 2008

The usual routine of breakfast and bus into town was quickly dispensed with and by 10:30 I found myself in the queue at Gdansk Glowney ticket office to buy a ticket to Malbork. 10 minutes later I was on the platform waiting for the 11:14 and an hour later it finally pulled in!

The journey only took a little over 30 minutes, with the most stunning part left to last. As the train crosses the river into Malbork you are given a stunning view of the castle, the reason for visiting.

Malbork castle is the largest in Poland, and one of the most impressive I have ever seen. There are three castles within the castle complex, set amongst concentric rings of defensive walls. This place was built with one thing in mind, to keep people out.

It was built by the Teutonic Knights after they had come to Poland to “Christianise” the local populace, and at one point became the capital of their empire (after having relocated from Venice.)

Much of the castle was destroyed during the Second World War, virtually the whole of the lower castle disappeared to the point where there is nothing left to restore. The middle castle, which was home to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and the guest quarters has been virtually all restored, although frescos have only been repainted in areas where they are certain what they originally looked like. Finally the upper castle, which was the monastery has been virtually all restored except for the chapel, which is at least another 20 years away from completion according to the tour guide.

The tour through the castle, and you have to go on a tour to be able to look around!, takes about three hours, and covers the whole of the middle and upper castles. At the end of the tour there is the opportunity to climb the main tower of the high castle for stunning views over the site, and the surrounding countryside.

By the time I had descended back down from the tower it was gone 5pm and time to head back to the station (where the train was late again, but only by 5 minutes), and catch the train back to Gdansk, then after a quick pause at the hotel for a freshen up, it was back out for my final dinner in Gdansk.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Gdansk; Friday, 25 July, 2008

I checked out of the hotel and temporarily left my luggage at the station. I had a couple of hours to kill before my train to Warsaw, and one museum left that I wanted to visit.

Located near the station are the headquarters of possibly the most famous Polish organisation - Solidarity. In the basement of their building is an exhibition called “Roads to Freedom” which charts the history of opposition to the communist regime in Poland and it’s eventual downfall.

The museum has lost of information, exhibits and photos and in the end I had to rush round the final parts to make sure that I made it back to the station in time.

After collecting my bags and wandering over to the platform I was delighted to find that Polish railways were continuing their high level of efficiency. At a little after 13:15 the 12:49 to Katowice pulled in (according to the indicator boards it was only running 20 minutes late!) and then, after much shouting between passengers, finally pulled out at 13:25, exactly the same time my train was due to depart.

Under Polish rules, as explained by a local, a train isn’t late until it is over 15 minutes late – an idea I think they have taken (or perhaps it is the other way around) from British trains. Consequently I boarded my “On Time” train and it happily departed 14 ½ minutes on time.

I settled down for the five hour journey to Warsaw with a good book…

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Warsaw; Friday, 25 July, 2008

By the time the train eventually pulled into Warsaw it had managed to slip from on-time to late and then to quite late indeed. At 55 minutes late it wasn’t the latest train I’d ever been on, but it was getting close!

Along with the general delayedness of the train, the other thing that had become increasingly noticeable was the humidity. As we had travelled inland further from the Baltic the temperature in the carriage had risen, and everyone was slowly looking more uncomfortable.

Just as I exited the station at Warsaw the solution to the humidity presented itself, with a massive flash of lighting and a torrential downpour. Thankfully, unlike at Westerplatte a couple of days earlier, I was already under shelter when the heavens opened so was able to watch other people getting a soaking.

The rain lasted for about five minutes and then subsided to the occasional drip, so I thought it was a good time to make the short walk from the central station to the metro stop about half a kilometre away. However, as I walked I did notice that the rain didn’t appear to have cleared the humidity. As I approached the metro station the small spits of rain become big gobs of rain and I quickened my pace, diving into a shelter just seconds before an even more spectacular downpour took place.

After the rain had subsided it took another five minutes or so for the lakes that had been formed to drain away to the point where you could walk rather than wade to the station. I brought my ticket, and made my way to my Hotel.

With the checkin formalities completed, I dumped my stuff and headed back out into the strange light that you get when there is thunder around. Thankfully, the last of the storm had passed, and it was noticeably fresher and more pleasant. I caught the trams round to the Old Town and once there climbed up the Belfry of St Anne’s Tower to take in some of the sights.

I descended back down just as the clock was striking half nine and wandered over to a restaurant for a late dinner.

Weather

No Data Weird Weather
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Warsaw; Saturday, 26 July, 2008

I headed out early from the hotel and was in the Old town shortly before ten, consequently I was one of the first into the Royal Castle and was able to wander around the state apartments in peace and quiet without all the tour groups standing in the middle of the rooms!

After the Royal Castle I had a wander round the old town and took in St Johns Cathedral, the old city walls, Little Insurgent Monument, Monument to the Warsaw uprising and the Barbican before stopping for some lunch.

With lunch settling I hopped onto the Warsaw Old Town Mini-Train for it’s short tour around the old and new towns. I then walked down from the old town to the trams towards the city centre and popped down to the Palace of culture and science.

The Palace was given as a gift of friendship to the people of Poland from their Overlords, sorry neighbours, in the USSR. It is a truly impressive pile. Whether you like the building or not (and most people don’t), you can’t help but be impressed by the sheer size and scale of the thing. You also can’t help but be impressed by the views from the gallery from the 30th floor.

From the palace I caught the tram out to the site of the Jewish Ghetto. Originally this was the heart of Warsaw’s massive Jewish community, and then in 1940 the Nazis forced all of the Jews in the city into the Ghetto and walled them in. Today markers around the edge of the ghetto show where those walls were. The site has several monuments in particular to the people who were taken from here to the death camps, and to those who were involved in the Ghetto uprising in 1943.

The monuments are located in quiet streets and parks, it’s hard to imagine on a sunny quiet Saturday how horrific the conditions, and the terror and fear were. Having looked around the Ghetto I returned to the hotel to drop off my bags before heading out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Warsaw; Sunday, 27 July, 2008

The day didn’t get off to the best of starts. I got all the way to the tramstop before getting the sensation that where I really wanted to be was in the toilet. That theme carried through much of the day, with regular pit stops made for “comfort” breaks.

The first stop of the morning was Pawiak Prison Museum and from there it was onto a couple of trams round to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. The uprising started on 1st August 1944. I visited on 27th July, just a couple of days before the 64th anniversary and the museum was having an open week with opening hours extended through until midnight and free entry. The place was absolutely heaving, and thankfully, it was with locals, bringing their children to see what had happened in their city, to make sure they don’t allow the horrors of the war aren’t forgotten.

From the museum I caught a tram back into the old town for a lengthy lunch (followed by another pit stop) and then caught the tram back out to the south to the Botanical gardens.

After spending a long time in the Botanical Gardens I caught the bus back up into the old town and went for dinner. I started to have a wander through the old town, only to find that I needed another pit stop, but to my horror all the public toilets (or at least the two I tried) were closed. Thankfully, at the point I found the second toilet closed I saw the bus back to the hotel pulling up on the other side of the road, so I dashed over and 10 minutes later was in more comfort.

I waited for about an hour to make sure that my stomach had settled and then headed back into the old town to take some final photos before heading back to the hotel and my packing.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Warsaw; Monday, 28 July, 2008

All over Warsaw are kiosk that sell tickets for the trams, busses and Metro. By virtually every stop is a kiosk. There is, however, an exception to that rule. There are no kiosk anywhere in the vicinity of the Ibis hotel I was staying in.

So instead of being able to hop on a tram down to the station, instead I had to wander all the way back to the metro station, where there was a kiosk, buy a single and get on the metro down to the centre of town, and then walk to Centraliny station.

I had, of course, left myself far to much time and arrived at the station with 40 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.

Remarkably, the train proceeded to turn up and depart on time (well it had only come out of the depot) and so I was on my way to Poznan

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Poznan; Monday, 28 July, 2008

Of course, there was no way the train was going to stay on time, but it did a valiant job, and we left the last stop before Poznan just a couple of minutes late.

Then, about 5KM (as it turned out) outside of Poznan the train ground to a halt and then crawled virtually the whole way into Poznan Glowney, in the end it arrived 20 minutes late. I quickly popped into the tourist information centre in the station to buy a Poznan card before getting on the tram to the hotel.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I headed back out and into the Old Town to have a quick look around. Obviously, this being a Monday, virtually everything was closed, with the exception of one exhibition the Makieta Dawnego Poznania which I visited.

From there I caught the tram out to the island of Ostrów Tumski to have a quick look around the island and the Cathedral. As it was late the whole area was deserted, but this also meant that only part of the Cathedral was open, so I would have to go back to have a fuller look.

I had a wander around the rest of the island and then headed back into town for a spot of dinner.

After a brief pause at the hotel I headed back out after sunset to take some more images of Ostrów Tumski.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Poznan; Tuesday, 29 July, 2008

A pleasant, but soulless breakfast in the gigantic restaurant of the hotel set me up for the day so I headed into the Old Town to knock off a hefty number of the cities museums.

First stop of the morning was the Old Town Hall itself with its museum followed by the museum of the local army which was right behind it. At this point the plan fell to pieces. The museum of the Poznan uprising (which took place after the end of WWI and effectively ensured that Poznan was part of the recreted Polish state, not part of Eastern Germany) was closed for reorganisation. I popped round the square to find that the Archaeological museum was just closed (no reason given, but it was 45 minutes after their advertised opening time and the door was locked!) and the museum of musical instruments was closed until further notice for renovation.

Instead, I headed back out of town to Ostrów Tumski to revisit the cathedral in the daytime, and I’m glad that I did. Not only is the cathedral more impressive when the sun is shining right through the stained glass, but you can also visit the crypt of the church which houses some of the ruins of the original cathedral that stood on the site.

From there it was a short walk to the banks of the man-made lake Malta and running alongside it is the Lake Malta Mini-Railway. I had a quick ride on this up to the Zoo, and then caught the bus back into town. I then walked over to the Wilson Park and the Palmhouse that is located there.

Supposidly it is the largest greenhouse in Europe (I would like to suggest it is the largest greenhouse in continental Europe as I am convinced that the Main house at Kew in London is bigger!). I had a long wander around that and then went into the gardens where there is a surviving bunker from WWII that you can visit, only it was shut.

By now I had pretty much given up on Poznan, so much of it was closed that I couldn’t be bothered to try anywhere else, so I headed back into town and had a very late lunch (it was about 4) and then headed back to the hotel for a quick rest, and to check the state of my bank balance, before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Poznan; Wednesday, 30 July, 2008

After a less than satisfactory breakfast (it would appear that all the businessmen had cleared the entire place out of food before I arrived), I packed up my things and headed for the station.

I exchanged my remaining Zlotys for some Euros and went to wait for my train. It was apparently good timing. As I decended the steps into the underpass all the lights went out. There appeared to have been a total powercut to all the electrics of the station, with the exception of the clocks and the tannoy.

In semi-darkness I climbed up the steps onto the platform, only to discover that this was the same platform that was accessable from the forecourt of the station, I had just hauled my heavy bag up and down the steps for no reason!

The powercut appeared to last for some considerable time, it still hadn’t cleared by the time my train finally dparted nearly an hour later (officially on-time according to the indicator board, stuck on it’s setting for the 10:41 to Berlin, late according to my ticket which stated it was the 10:20!)

The train lost a bit of time on route, and at just before 12:45, 20 minutes behind schedule, we crossed the Oder River from Poland into Germany.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Berlin; Wednesday, 30 July, 2008

Two things happened as we crossed the border.

Firstly the train picked up speed, and with it eventually gained back five of the lost minutes so that we were only a quarter of an hour late into Berlin. Secondly, the cloud bubbled up and we crossed from a Sunny Poland into a considerably greyer Germany.

I managed to make a quick change at Gesundbruunen station and 10 minutes after stepping off the train from Poznan I was arriving at the doors of my hotel for the night. If my stay in Poznan for the previous two evenings had been in dull luxury, tonight was going to be cheerful budgetness. I was staying in the Generator Hotel (as it was called by the booking agent) or to give it it’s correct name, the Generator Hostel.

However, despite the slightly tower-blockish appearance (being as it was a converted tower-block!), the reception staff were very friendly, and my room (a single en-suite, rather than a shared facilities dorm!) was small but very comfortable. I unloaded my stuff and then headed into the centre of the city.

I had a wander around the area of the new Hauptbahnhof which opened a couple of months after my last visit. When I was last in Berlin the whole area was a massive building site, right up to the Reichstag and the Brandenburg gate. Today it is park-land, riverside café’s and even a beach. It’s amazing how much it had changed in such a short period of time, and that’s not including the stunning structure that is the Main Station with it’s curving arched roof and cavernous interior (the trains go overhead at bridge height East-West through the city and in a fairly deep tunnel North-South.

I walked through the grounds of the Reichstag, past the Brandenburg Gate and on to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This is a gigantic sculpture on the ground level, with a museum underneath. The sculpture is 2000+ concrete blocks of varying heights laid out in columns and rows and underneath is a very moving museum telling some of the stories of those who suffered during the persecution of the Jews from 1933 to 1945.

After looking around the sculpture and museum I headed back to the Reichstag to go up the dome. In 2004 I had done it on a February evening, when it was difficult to see very much. In 2006 I had attempted to do it on my final day, but the queue had gotten the better of me. Today I was determined to visit so I joined the queue and was happily informed that current queuing time was 45 minutes. 20 minutes later I was inside the Reichstag!

With the skies starting to clear into a warm early evening glow, the views were spectacular, down the length of the Tiergarten and in the opposite direction down Unter den Linden to Alexanderplatz. Having taken my fill of the views I wandered down to the bus stop and caught the bus round to the Zoo to have a quick bite to eat, before heading back to the hotel to drop stuff off and then head back out again to take some night-time photos of the monuments.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Berlin; Thursday, 31 July, 2008

I had set my alarm for late, working on the basis that breakfast was served until 11. It was only as I got up at 9am that I looked at my hotel card and discovered that people not checked out by 10am would be charged for the next night, so I quickly got up, showered, packed my bag and had a hurried breakfast so that I was checked out at 9:58.

I caught the tram to Alexanderplatz and dropped my luggage before walking down to the river by the Cathedral. I only had two hours to fill, but, thankfully, timing was on my side. As I arrived one of the many tourist boats that ply the Spree was about to depart so I was able to go on an hours cruise along the river, taking in the main sights.

It arrived back at its mooring point, which was next to my other destination for the day the DDR Museum. After having had a look around “Life in the East” it was time to head back to the station, pick up my luggage and head off for the Airport and my next Destination Zurich and onto Luzern.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Luzern; Thursday, 31 July, 2008

After all the “fun” of my travels through Poland with the “On Time” trains, it was something of a relief, but not a surprise, to be in the hands of the ruthlessly efficient German and Swiss transport networks.

The plane was about 10 minutes late leaving because of problems being caused across Europe to air-traffic control by the Lufthansa strike which was going on (and which saw long queues of people at the Lufthansa ticket desk and a very full flight for me!) In the end we made it all up and landed at Zurich 10 minutes early.

A quick flight through the airport was brought to a shuddering halt when I got to the baggage hall to discover that there would be a 25 minute wait for the bags (the little screens said so, and to within a minute or so they were right!) Having collected my luggage and made it through customs unmolested (the last time I landed at Zurich I got pulled over) I quickly headed for the train station, purchased my Half Price card (99 SFr and halves the cost of all your transport in Switzerland for the month!) and a ticket to Luzern and was surprised to find myself on a train that I seriously thought I would not make.

A little over an hour later, and on-time to the second, the train glided into Luzern station. I wandered through town to the hotel, checked in and dropped of my stuff and then went for a long wander through town, before heading back for a good nights sleep and an early morning.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Luzern; Friday, 01 August, 2008

Sadly a good nights sleep is what I didn’t really get. Firstly, it was the eve of the Swiss National Day, so there were large numbers of people about until very late very drunk, and setting off fireworks everywhere. I would have had no problem with this normally, but as I was staying in a converted jail the windows, which were open, were inaccessible to close so had to stay open all night.

Secondly, I didn’t quite see what the conversion was, other than the ability to open the cell door from the inside as well as the outside. The bed looked authentic and wasn’t particularly comfortable, neither was the wafer thin pillow. And in an attempt to make more money they had resorted to UK style prison overcrowding, turning what had been a single person cell into a twin-room with a second bed making an exceptionally narrow corridor between the two, and on several occasions I managed to bang my shins into it, on one occasion taking off several layers of skin on the sharp metal corner.

Consequently, I wasn’t particularly refreshed when I got up, and the shambolic breakfast with not enough table space, no knives and no glasses didn’t help my feelings towards the proprietors.

I very quickly checked out, and made my way over to the railway station to catch the train to Interlaken. This route forms either the first or final (depending on which way you are heading) of the Golden Express Panorama route from Montreaux. A route that I would be completing on Sunday. As the name of the route implies it takes in some incredible views. I had paid the extra to travel first class, and I’m glad I did. The train was bursting at the seams in standard, in First there were only a few people, and consequently I was able to occupy seats on both sides of the carriage taking photos out of both sides of the train, and I took quite a few photos.

The crowning glory of this part of the journey is the steep climb up to and then through the Brünig Pass. It’s so steep that the train has to become a cog-wheel railway to get up, rising almost to the top of the tree-line from the valley floor. Then, once over the top, you get the stunning view of the Meiringen to Brienz valley floor, with the river Aare running in an almost straight line, before plunging back down to meet that valley at Meiringen.

Whilst the journey from Meiringen to Interlaken is one that I had done several times the previous summer, it is still quite impressive with the mountain walls on either side of a virtually flat river valley, before opening out into the Brienzersee.

Two hours after leaving Luzern, and bang on time, the train pulled into Interlaken, and stop 6 on my itinerary.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Interlaken; Friday, 01 August, 2008

I quickly stowed my luggage in a locker at the station, as the hotel wouldn’t be starting checkin for a couple of hours I decided it would be a good time to head into the mountains.

My first target for the day was Schynige Platte, overlooking the Brienzersee and Interlaken at 1967m. The journey up on the cog-wheel railway is quite slow, taking nearly 50 minutes to complete the assent to the railway station, from which it is a further 20 minutes walk to the very top of the peak and the viewing platform.

In the Alps this is more than enough time for the weather to intervene and turn an OK day into a miserably wet one.

By the time we reached the station it was raining, heavily and with the gusty wind this turned into unpleasant sheets of rain, aided by the cooler temperatures at this height, it wasn’t a nice place to be. So instead of having a wander I got back on the next train down. On arrival at Interlaken I discovered that the rain was following, and was now pouring down in the town. I waited it out for about 45 minutes before it finally started to ease down to a light drizzle, at which point I grabbed my luggage and made a dash for the hotel, getting to just a couple of meters from the door before it picked back up again.

I checked in, and then sheltered in the hotel whilst this band of rain cleared back down and then headed out again, this time to go up to the much closer Harder Kulm, located on the opposite side of the river to Interlaken, it is much lower, and was clearly visible when I was at the bottom. But again, on my way up on the funicular railway the weather closed in and at the station, five minute walk from the peak, the rain was lashing, so I got back on and descended back to Interlaken.

I had to wait 20 minutes at the funicular station for the weather to clear and then wandered, despondently back to the hotel, feeling quite sorry for the Swiss whose national day was quite clearly a wash-out.

Then, about 8pm a strange thing happened. The cloud all evaporated. I know you can get some funny weather phenomenon in mountain areas, but this was really bizarre. In the space of 10 minutes it went from a wall of heavy grey clouds surrounding the town, so that you could only see the very closest mountain wall disappearing into the murk, into a stunning vista of snow-capped mountain peaks, green hillsides, and rock bathed in the warm glow of an Alpine evening sunset.

The festivities for the national day also picked up at this point, so I headed out from the hotel to watch some, and found myself, a little later, standing on the edge of a large field in the city centre, with a half litre of beer, and a bratwurst watching a spectacular fireworks show, aided by the local populace who were also setting their own fireworks off.

Contented, and more importantly dry, but probably stinking of the smoke from fireworks, I headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Interlaken; Saturday, 02 August, 2008

A day spent travelling today, without actually changing locations. Part of the reason for stopping in Interlaken was to explore more of the alps in this region, and with the masses of cable cars and funiculars that are dotted around the place, this is what I set out to do.

My first call of the morning was Schilthorn. It’s billed as the rival to Jungfraujoch (which is the highest station in Europe) as being the place to get the stunning views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau that you don’t get from Jungfraujoch as you are too close.

The journey up had several legs, firstly the train to Lauterbrunnen, then a cable car to Grütschalp, then the train along a ridge with stunning views down into the Lauterbrunnen valley, to Mürren. From the station in Mürren it was a pleasant, and flat, 15-minute walk through the town to the cable car station and on up to Brig, there it’s another change onto the final cable car up to Schilthorn.

At several moments on the way up I feared that the cloud would spoil it, as we kept passing into large banks. But, by the time we emerged at Schilthorn, we were well above the clouds and I had a simply amazing view across the valleys to the three peaks. I took in the views for a while, both from the terrace, and from the revolving restaurant where I stopped for an early lunch. I had a quick look around the rest of the station at Schilthorn, which is mostly made up of memorabilia and exhibitions about its use as the set for the 007 film “On Her Majesties Secret Service”. I then retraced my steps back down to Mürren, briefly diverting to go up the Allmendhubelbahn to Allmendhubel to take in the views from there, and then on down to Lauterbrunnen.

From Lauterbrunnen I hopped on the train up to Wengen, to catch the cable car up to Männlichen. Männlichen forms part of the series of peaks that separate the valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. When I got to the top the cloud was starting to descend and at times there were short periods of whiteout, but you could still make out the views of the Lauterbrunnen valley (and the bizarre site of Wengen station looking as though it was next door to Lauterbrunnen. They are almost at the same location, just a couple of thousand feet apart in altitude. From Männlichen you can also see across the Mürren and on the opposite side down to my next destination, Grindelwald.

The aerial gondola between Männlichen and Grindelwald (or to be more precise, Grund which is the bit of Grindelwald properly in the valley) is the longest in Europe, and it is certainly spectacular. The journey took the best part of 35 minutes with stunning views all the way down.

From Grund I caught the train up the hill to Grindelwald, and then took a diversion to go back up to First as I had done the previous year. Once again the views are spectacular, but I also knew there was a nice restaurant up there and sitting on the sun terrace with a cold beer, looking across to the Glaciers and peaks of the alps is certainly a pleasant way to end an afternoon.

It was back onto the cable car to Grindelwald and then onto the train back to Interlaken and a chance to rest my feet!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Interlaken; Sunday, 03 August, 2008

I only had a couple of hours between checking out and catching the train through the mountains to Geneva, so I didn’t want to stray too far from town.

After dropping my bags off at West station I had a short wander around the town centre, and then took the funicular railway up from behind West station to Heimwehfluh.

From up here, on a sunny day, the views were spectacular. Laid out before you is the town centre, with the Aare River running between the Brienzersee and the Thunersee. In some of the photos I took it almost looked like it was a model rather than a real place.

I spent quite a bit of time taking in the views, and then decided to stop for a drink. Time passed quite quickly and I soon realised that I should be starting to make a move back down to the city.

As it was such a nice morning I walked back down into town rather than taking the funicular, the walk only took about 30 minutes, and by the time I got back to West station it was time to collect my luggage to make my train.

The Golden Pass Panorama route runs from Luzern to Montreux, but in reality is three separate railways. There is the section from Luzern to Interlaken, which I had already taken to get to Interlaken. The next two stages I would do today.

The middle section runs from Interlaken to the town of Zweisimmen which is a very pretty ride, if not particularly noteworthy. At Zweisimmen you change onto the final train to Montreux. This is supposed to be the extra special leg. The train is formed slightly differently. Instead of there being an engine at the front and then carriages behind there are a couple of carriages, then the engine then some more carriages. People sitting at the front and back of the train get the same view the driver would normally have, and I had booked a seat at the very front.

Unfortunately “Ce train est défectueux” the air conditioning in the front carriage had broken down and it had never left Montreux that morning. So instead I had to make do with a refund, and a seat at the back, taking in the view from the rear, which is still something special.

The ride is spectacular winding through the mountain, climbing up steep gradients and in places doubling back on itself. In particular the final descent into Montreux station is very steep and twisty, it would probably have been even more interesting from the front than it was from the rear!

At Montreux I made a quick change and boarded a normal Swiss train for the ride back along the edge of Lake Geneva to my final stop of the trip, Geneva.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Geneva; Sunday, 03 August, 2008

I arrived at Geneva station and quickly made my way to the trolley bus out of town to my hotel, which was near the airport. After checking in and dropping my stuff off I headed back into town and had a long wander around.

The city was still in party mode from the National Day on Friday, with a massive fun-fair and stalls laid out on both sides of the lake.

After a long wander round, and a quick bit to eat from one of the stalls I headed back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Geneva; Monday, 04 August, 2008

As with the rest of Europe, Geneva is closed on a Monday, so there was nothing to visit in the city. Instead, I had planned to go on a cruise on the lake down to Lausanne, have a quick look around the city, and then come back to the airport. The only departure of the day that would be of any use was the 10am from the centre of Geneva, so to get there on time I had to get my luggage into the lockers at the airport and get myself back to the centre of the city and down to the lake before 10.

Consequently my alarm went off at 7:30 and I quickly showered, packed and wolfed down a breakfast. I was out of the hotel by 8:20 and straight onto a bus to the airport.

Of course, all my planning had failed to take into account the efficiency and speed of the Swiss public transport system and I found myself standing at the quayside a little before 9am with a ticket in my hand and an hour to kill.

I had a wander around the city centre and then back to the quay in time to catch the paddle steamer up the lake. The journey takes just under 4 hours, but the views are well worth the slightly numb bum that I had at the end (I’d paid a little extra to go in first class, and I’m glad I did as second looked very cramped and uncomfortable. First wasn’t great, but there were cushions on the seats and an at seat food and drinks service)

The ferry stops at many of the towns along the lake, including making a couple of stops in France, before eventually arriving into Lausanne. I had originally planned to take the Metro up to the city centre, and then walk to the cathedral; unfortunately the Metro was closed for major refurbishment and extension so I had to get the replacement bus.

From where the bus dropped me off it was a ten-minute walk up to the cathedral, which is visible from most of the city. I had a look around inside as well as climbing the tower for the views over the city and the lake, but by now the cloud was really starting to roll in and it was difficult to see more than a couple of miles in each direction.

By the time I had descended back down to the nave of the cathedral it was time to head back to the station to catch the train to Geneva. I wandered back through the town to the station and waited for the next train to Geneva airport for my luggage and my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Venice; Saturday, 27 September, 2008

The last time that I had flown from the South Terminal at Gatwick it had been a little bit of a traumatic experience, with the flight being delayed then cancelled, then reinstated then re-cancelled, then reinstated for a second time then delayed before finally taking to the skies over six hours late, and all of that just for a couple of flakes of snow.

A couple of days ago the air traffic control computers, which monitor all the traffic in and out of the London airports, crashed, effectively shutting all the main airports down for a couple of hours, and the delays and cancellations had continued up until today. So, despite a blue sky, and the Gatwick website reporting no delayed flights, I set off, not particularly convinced that I was actually going to get to Italy.

The first thing that struck me, after the painless check in and wander through a virtually deserted security check, was how much quieter the airport is when it’s actually functioning properly. There were still seats available and people weren’t camping out on the escalators.

In the end, my flight was delayed, but only by about 20 minutes, and then the strangest thing happened. After pushing back the plane proceeded to taxi towards the runway, then onto the runway and took straight off, without at any point coming to a halt. A very rare occurrence for Gatwick!

Two uneventful (apart from some turbulence) hours later the plane touched down at Venice airport and 30 minutes after that I found myself sitting on the bus heading in to the city.

Sadly, this being Italy and not Germany or Switzerland, the bus just missed the Vaporetto down the Grand Canal, so I had a 20 minute wait, or so I thought. Then I realised that the next ferry, a couple of minutes later, was an “express” which only stopped at a couple of the stops down the grand canal. There was a possibility that if I caught that it might just overtake the Number 1 I had missed. So I boarded and started my journey down the Grand Canal.

Sure enough, at the stop just before Rialto (where my Vaporetto terminated) we overtook the missed number 1, so I was able to make a quick change, and get to the hotel 20 minutes earlier.

After checking in, I headed back out and caught a Vaporetto down to St Marks Square to have a look around and take a few pictures (and indulge in a small ice-cream, well it is Italy!) before catching the Vaporetto back to Rialto and have a quick wander around there (also making a more important stop at a cash machine!).

Having taken a few photos I decided, as I had just missed the Night-Vaporetto, and the next one wasn’t for another 30 minutes, to walk back to the hotel. At a couple of points I thought I may have got myself lost, in the little back lanes, crossing far more canals that I could remember counting there being between Rialto and my hotel. Eventually, after about 15 minutes walking I came out of a little alleyway and into S Toma’ square. As the Vaporetto stop for my hotel was called S. Toma’ I deduced that I was probably very near the hotel, sure enough as I looked down another alleyway I saw the hotels sign.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Venice; Sunday, 28 September, 2008

A typically Italian breakfast (i.e. a croissant and a coffee, and not much else) and then out to St Marks Square to join the queues.

I had been warned that the queues for some of the key attractions in Venice, The Cathedral, its bell tower and the Doga’s palace could be very long. As the Cathedral was closed for some reason (what a church thinks it was doing being closed to tourist on a Sunday Morning, what does it think it is, a religious establishment?), I was expecting the queues for the other main attractions to be even longer.

In the end the queue for the Bell Tower was only about 10 minutes long. Having taken in the views from the top of the bell tower I headed over to the Doga’s palace, and once again the queue was only about 10 minutes long.

Having looked around the palace I was going to quickly hop on a Vaporetto over to the neighbouring island of San Giorgio Maggiore, however, as I managed to get a particularly good seat at the very front of the boat, in the sun, I decided to stay on and use the Vaporetto as a sightseeing tour, which is what I think the majority of my fellow passengers were doing. The boat goes on a route round the back of the main island, up through the cruise ship docks and round under the bridge linking Venice to the main island before coming back down the length of the Grand Canal to the Vaporetto stop just before St Mark’s square. From there it was a short hop on another Vaporetto back to where I had started from just over an hour before and a return to my original plan and over to San Giorgio Maggiore.

When I got there I found that the church was still closed for a two hour lunch (lucky I had gone on that sightseeing diversion as I would otherwise have had a very long wait!) I popped to a nearby café for a late lunch before heading back to the church just as it reopened. The main reason for visiting was to go up the church’s bell tower. From here the views are as stunning as they are from St Marks, with the added benefit of getting the full view of St Marks square with the Cathedral and Bell tower together (a sight that is impossible when you are standing within St Mark’s bell tower!)

Having taken in the views I hopped back on the ferry over to St Marks square and then went for a ride on the ferry through the Northern part of the Lagoon (and in the process awaking some childhood memories of family holidays to the region – see the blog!) round to Burano and then onto the cathedral at Torcello.

Having taken in Torcello, and an hours stop and wander through Burano I caught the Vaparetto back towards the centre of Venice, stopping briefly to have a look at the lighthouse at Murano before arriving back at Fondamente Nova. From here I had a wander through the alleyways and canal paths of the city until, without really intending to, landing up by the restaurants just down from St Marks Square, and from where I had caught the ferry some five hours earlier.

As it was now starting to get quite late I stopped for a good dinner, before finally catching the Vaporetto back to the hotel and a good nights rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Venice; Monday, 29 September, 2008

Out slightly earlier today to head over to St Marks Square and the cathedral. Sadly, everyone else had had the same idea and after dumping my bag in the luggage office I joined the back of a long queue. Thankfully the queue moved quite quickly so it only took about 20 minutes to get inside.

Having looked around the Cathedral and the Loggia I headed across the square to the Museo Correr. This, along with the Archaeological museum are included in the ticket to the Doge’s palace. The reasoning being that as people have paid for them they might visit them (though most people appear to think of it as a sneaky way of making you pay more for the Doge’s palace than it’s actually worth as nobody would visit the other museums anyway). Based on the number of people looking around the museum I have a tendancy to believe in the extra charge theory!

With the museums done, I headed off to get a spot of lunch. I thought it might be quite nice to pop across the Lagoon to the Lido to get some lunch. Unfortunately there were only little kiosk around the Vaporetto stop, and having walked a few minutes in each direction past the stop I couldn’t find anything that I really wanted, so I caught the next Vaporetto back to the Arsenal and had a bite to eat near the restaurant I had eaten in the previous evening.

After finishing lunch I caught a Vaporetto across to the Santa Maria della Salute to have a look around. From there it was a short walk to the Traghetti stop. These are stripped down Gondolas that offer the experience of having travelled on one without having to pay the horrendous price tag. They server the purpose of crossing the Grand Canal at many locations, which is useful given that there are only a handful of bridges over its entire length! Having crossed I had a long wander down the alleyways of the city, meandering in no particular way, stumbling across a couple of nice churches (which were all closed) and a church that had been turned into a temporary exhibition on violins before finding myself crossing the Grand Canal on one of the few bridges by the Academia.

From there it was a short walk down to the canal side looking over the southern islands, where I stopped for a late afternoon drink, before catching one of the circular ferries out and round to Murano and back.

By the time I got back into the city centre the sun was setting and it was time to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for some rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Venice; Tuesday, 30 September, 2008

With my luggage sitting in the hotel reception, I headed back out into Venice for my final day. First stop of the morning, and less than 3 minutes walk from the hotel was the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (better known just as Frari). This imposing structure comes up on you as a wall of brick, and it’s not until you have walked some way around it that you realise it is actually a building.

From there I had a wander through the alleyways towards the station, stopping off to pop into San Rocco church on the way. At the station, I caught the Vaporetto across the lagoon to Murano to visit the museums and churches on the island there.

After a quick visit to the churches, and a longer wander around the glass museum, and a very pleasant lunch by the main canal, I caught the boat back across to the main island to take in some more of the cities churches.

Having looked around the churches I found myself having wandered down to the gardens at the eastern end of the main island. After a short while looking around I headed back up to the Arsenal, which you can’t go into as it is still in active military service, but the are perfectly happy for you to take photos of! By the Arsenal was a very nice little café and I stopped there for a late afternoon pause, before starting to head back to St Marks Square. On the way it became clear that the good weather of the last few days was coming to an end, and as I approached the Vaporetto stop the rain started to come down quite hard.

I had thought about having another wander along the canals, and maybe a spot of souvenir shopping, but with the weather closing in I decided the easiest, and driest thing to do would be to pop back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and head off to the airport.

Weather

Haze Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Belfast; Saturday, 08 November, 2008

When I last popped across the Irish Sea, my flight had been delayed by over six hours because of snow. At that time you could hardly move in Gatwick because of the number of people, with flights being cancelled left, right and centre and more passengers pouring into the lounge by the minute.

Fast forward just seven months and it was a very different scene that greeted me as I came through security. Whilst the weather was still lousy (heavy rain and strong winds this time rather than a light dusting of snow), the state of the departures lounge could not have been more different. The departures screens showed all the flights for the rest of the day as being on time, all 20 of them, and that was in the mid-afternoon. There were a couple of people wandering around, a few people in the café’s and restaurants, and the usual queue in WHSmith’s (it is an ancient charter, or something similar, that where there is a WHSmith’s in a transport location, be it bus, train or plane, there must always be a queue).

You could have filmed a creepy film in there it was that un-naturally quiet. Thankfully, to restore my faith in Gatwick airport my flight promptly got delayed, though to be fair it wasn’t Gatwick’s fault, and with the plane having to divert to Liverpool on it’s way in because of a sick passenger you can’t really put any blame on FlyBE either.

So an hour later than originally planned, and still shocked by the quietness of the airport, I boarded my flight which promptly pushed back, accelerated along the taxiway and was pretty much up to take-off sped as it ploughed straight onto the runway and up into the leaden and blowy skies of Southern England.

75 minutes later, and for the first time in many years struggling to keep my lunch down because of the turbulence throughout the flight, we touched down at Belfast city airport and parked up. With a swift trip through the airport and two busses later I found myself at my hotel, wondering as I looked at the St Patricks Day cards, the Irish Dancing statues and the pictures of Mary, whether I was in predominantly Catholic or Protestant part of Belfast.

After unpacking I headed back into town and on my way confirmed that it must be a protestant area as Sinn Fein would only have offices in Unionist areas (for those of you who haven’t spotted yet the word of the day is irony or possibly sarcasm).

I had a wander around the city centre taking in the sites around the city hall and the rejuvenated riverside before wandering back to the bus stop and the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Belfast; Sunday, 09 November, 2008

An early rise today as I had booked onto a tour up to Northern Irelands most visited tourist attraction.

Having been picked up in the centre of Belfast we headed north along the coast road. Stopping briefly in Carrickfergus to have a look around the outside of the castle, before continuing north.

We carried along the stunning coastline (ignoring the not particularly pleasant port town of Larne) up to Carnlough where we had a brief comfort stop, from there we continued along the coast as it turned from being North South to East West and the waters changed from the Irish Sea to the North Atlantic, through the towns of Cushendall, Glenariff and Cushendun. Just beyond Ballycastle we pulled into the car park for the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Sadly, the bridge had closed for the season the previous weekend, but as our driver noted, this was the first time in many weeks that we had such a stunning view, as it was the first time it hadn’t been raining or misty.

In front of us was Rathlin Island, and clearly visible behind it were the brooding hills of the Mull of Kintyre on Scotland. The views from here were spectacular and having taken our fill of the views (and the strong icy winds!) we clambered back onto the coach and onto our main destination of the day.

Formed millions of years through the slow cooling of lava, the Basalt columns of the Giants Causeway are instantly recognisable, and one of the natural wonders of the world. The Causeway is totally open to the public, and the National Trust which run the site are perfectly happy for people to clamber all over the columns (Basalt being one of the hardest rocks on the planet it would take some serious work to actually cause damage to the site!) and on a windy day with large waves crashing over the end of the causeway it makes for a truly breathtaking activity (and body-temperature-taking!)

After a good 90 minutes or so around the Causeway I wandered back up to the visitors centre to get a bite to eat before we all had to head back to the coach to start the journey back to Belfast.

On the way back we stopped off in the town of Bushmills, home to the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland (visitors centre had closed the previous weekend… I’m sensing a pattern developing!) to have a look around the distillery shop. From there it was a brief photo stop at Dunluce Castle and at the beach in Portballintrae before heading back down the motorway to Belfast.

Still slightly chilled from the time out at the Causeway and exhausted from all the clambering over ancient monument, I grabbed a quick bite in the city centre before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Belfast; Monday, 10 November, 2008

I checked out of the hotel, caught the bus into town and dropped my luggage off at the tourist information centre (a hang-over from the troubles is that there are no left-luggage facilities at the train or bus stations or at the airports).

I wandered up the road to the open-top bus tour stop and got on the next tour going to have a tour of the city.

The wind had died down a lot from the previous day, and consequently most people were sitting up top in the open, but I managed to get a good seat to take the odd photo or two.

The tour went round the city centre then out to the new “Titanic Quarter”, what was previously the shipyards. The tour passes the very slipway on which the ill-fated Titanic was built before heading out of the city centre and into the leafier suburbs.

The tour bus then stops briefly outside a fine Palace building, built in acres of parkland. Given the importance of this building and some of the recent history of the North of Ireland it is amazing that they allow tour busses this close to the Stormont parliament buildings, but they do. The building which has figured so much in the peace talks, the building in which the Good Friday Agreement was signed, bringing an end to the violence, and now home to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

From Stormont the tour headed back into town, past the city airport and out into the areas which had featured all too often in the new bulletins of the 70’s 80’s and early 90’s. Today the murals of the Shankill and Falls road are tourist attraction, but in the past they marked (and to an extent still today hide) the divided communities of Belfast. The predominantly Loyalist Shankill road with it’s murals to the Queen and the Unionist groups. The predominantly Falls road with it’s murals to Bobby Sands and Irish republican groups. Even today the road that runs between the two is closed off over night, perhaps one day this won’t be necessary, but according to the tour guide it still is today.

By the time the tour arrived back in the city centre there was only a little bit of time left before I had to head back to the airport so I went for a quick ride on the Belfast Wheel, at which point the wind decided to really get up and it wasn’t the most pleasant sensation sitting in a little capsule 60m up being quite violently rocked backwards and forwards by the wind, though the view, when I could focus on them, were stunning.

After getting back onto terra-firma I had a brief wander around the centre of the city. Sadly, after being pretty flattened in the war, and then torn apart by 30 years of violence the city has only recently been rejuvenated as a temple to the main form of worship, the shop. Wandering around the pedestrianised city centre it was difficult to tell (apart for the accents) that you weren’t in any other city in the UK, apart from the odd genuine Irish pub, and a couple of Irish chain stores, I could have been in London, Manchester, Cardiff or Glasgow.

Hopefully, as the regeneration of the city continues it can bring out a unique character, but as I got on the bus out to the airport I realised that it isn’t there yet.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Bruges; Friday, 19 December, 2008

Having bumped into a friend at St Pancras station and had a spot of lunch with them, I was feeling quite full by the time I passed through security into the depressing departures lounge at the Eurostar terminal, still harking back to the glory days of Waterloo.

A couple of minutes early they announced the boarding of my train, and as usual with Eurostar, everyone rushed to the gates, despite everyone having a pre-confirmed seat. Given that, without noticing, I was standing right next to the access ramp to my train I was one of the first on, and it became obvious quite quickly why everyone was rushing. The train was going to be full, in fact it was getting so full that the train manager was making regular pleas for people to stop putting anything other than massive luggage in the luggage racks and if it could fit into the luggage shelf above your seat you had to put it there. They were getting very jumpy about bags being left in the vestibules, and to some extent you could understand why. Just a couple of months previously there had been another big fire in the channel tunnel. Once again, nobody had died, but the damage had been massive, but there were concerns about people escaping from full trains.

The fire had also meant that my train was going to take longer and stop less often. Rather than a stop in Ashford, and another one in Lille, today it was fast to Brussels. Albeit that it took nearly double the time to go through the tunnel at what can’t have been much over 30 miles an hour. It felt more like a tube train than the greatest revolution in British rail travel!

Arriving in Brussels at the height of the evening rush hour, on a Friday, the last Friday before Christmas, was always going to be a little fraught. Last year when I did it I had only to get across the city to my hotel. Today I was heading back out of Brussels and into Flanders. I wandered up to the platform for my train, which arrived five minutes later bursting at the seams.

It was quite clear that a large contingent of my Eurostar were doing exactly the same as me, going to Bruges, and as most of them were British. My suspicions were confirmed when, en mass, and without actually saying anything, agreed that compared to a British evening train this service was empty and could easily take a couple of hundred more people and luggage.

In the end I had to stand all the way to Ghent were about half the train got off, and then had a set for the final 30 minutes to Bruges. From the station I wandered over to my hotel, checked in and then headed out for a wander around the city at night.

When I had come to Bruges in 2004 it had been on a day trip from Brussels, and at the height of the tourist season so the city was heaving and it was difficult to see anything. In late December the city, whilst still busy, isn’t as impossibly packed, and at night is possibly more beautiful that it is during the day.

Having had a long wander around, and a short stop in the Christmas market for a splash of hot wine and a braatwort (Flemish Bratwurst), I headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Bruges; Saturday, 20 December, 2008

I made sure I filled up at breakfast, with the pound in free-fall against the Euro the idea of stopping at restaurants during the day for a lunch wasn’t one that I wanted to contemplate.

Heading out from the hotel I followed one of two suggested walks that the hotel gives to all their guests. The walk goes around some of the most historic parts of the city, taking in all the key sites and passing many of the city’s museums.

First stop, after just a couple of hundred yards was the Halve Mann brewery, and not one to turn down the chance of a brewery tour I went in, an hour (and a half-pint) later I continued on the walk round through some of the alms houses of the city and along more of the canal sides.

By the time I finally finished wandering and emerged at the Cathedral it was gone 1pm, by which time the cathedral itself had closed for lunch, so I wandered a bit further down to the Markt. When I got there I was just in time for the bus tour. I had attempted to take the bus tour when I was last in Bruges, but on that occasion the police had started to close off all the roads ready for a road race, and consequently they had to cancel the tour half way round (though they didn’t charge anyone!)

This time the tour did run it’s full and interesting course, and helped to fill in some of the blanks in my mental map of the city of how things linked together.

From the bus tour I had another wander around the city centre, this time heading away East from the Markt and Burg. After wandering for the best part of another hour I found myself back at the Belfort in the Markt, just before it was due to close, and being a tower-junkie, I had to climb it. With the dying twilight on the horizon and the twinkling lights of the Christmas illuminations the city looked even more spectacular than I remember it doing so.

I descended the tower in increasing darkness and headed back towards the hotel, popping into the Church of Our Lady to have a look around on the way.

After a brief relaxation stop I headed back out into the city to look for some (cheap) dinner and to take in more of the city by night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Bruges; Sunday, 21 December, 2008

After another massive breakfast I headed out of the hotel on the second of the two walks the hotel suggests. This walk goes East out of the very centre of the city following the canals up to the main canal which leads to Zeebrugge and the coast. It then follows the main canal which also follows the old city fortifications, and past four windmills on the site of former fortifications.

By the time I got back into the city centre it was already gone one, and as I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry I thought it would be a good time to visit some museums.

The first museum I visited was the Choco-Story, followed by the Friet museum, by the end of which I was still not feeling hungry (but not so certain that chips on top of chocolate is a great combination).

I wandered a bit more around the city centre as the sun finally broke through the clouds that had pressed down on the city since I had arrived, sadly, it was almost at exactly the same time that it was setting, so it didn’t last for that long.

Having exhausted the Christmas markets in Bruges over the previous couple of evenings, I hopped on a train the short distance to Oostende to take in the markets there. Now, its possible that I missed the main market, as supposedly Oostende has quite a good Christmas market, but the one I looked round wasn’t particularly good, or particularly large.

I had a bit of a wander around Oostende before heading back to the train and back to Bruges. After a brief pit stop in the hotel I popped out for a bite to eat and then back to the hotel to start packing.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
11ºC/52ºF

Bruges; Monday, 22 December, 2008

Having made sure that I had consumed considerably more food than the €13 charge would cover; I checked out from the hotel and headed through town to the station. Normally at this point I would have left my luggage in the lockers here to pick up later, but as it was a Monday, and everything was closed, I was going to spend the day travelling along the coast, and would leave my luggage in a much more convenient location of the lockers at Oostende station.

The Kusttram (costal tram) runs virtually the whole length of the Belgium coast, from Knokke in the north on the border with the Netherlands, down to De Panne in the South, almost on the border with France and a town which has played a largely unknown, but vital, role in two world wars. Having purchased my Day card for the princely sum of €5 I boarded the first tram and headed north up the coast towards Knokke.

My plan was a simple one, and for part of it worked very well. I would catch the tram all the way up to Knokke taking in the views, and making a note of places I wanted to get off at and have a longer look, then once I had made my way back to Oostende I would repeat the process going all the way South to De Panne and then stopping off on the way back. It was a cunning and well thought-out plan that only had two major flaws. One being that I had to be in Brussels for my Eurostar no later than 8pm, and the other, that even as far west as the Belgium coast, it still gets dark just before five!

The first part of the journey went very well, with a comfortable trip up the coast to Knokke, and after a brief stop to make use of the facilities at the station and a quick look around the area around the station (not much to see, but by here you are a good 2KM from the coast and most of the town is up the road on the sea), I caught the next tram back a few stops to Heist.

At Heist I got off the tram and walked the short distance to the beach. Towards the North it was just possible to make out the coast of the Netherlands and the sand dune disappearing off into the distance. To the south the view was pretty much obliterated by the port in the next town on the coast, the port town of Bruges, but more famous to most people for the disaster that happened just outside the harbour on a cold March night in 1987, with it’s bow doors left open and running at full speed to make up a delay the Townsend Thorensen ferry the Herald of Free enterprise was overwhelmed by sea water and capsized a little outside the harbour. Since then the town of Zeebrugge has been linked in the mind with this tragedy, with the rise of Eurostar the port now handles very little in the way of passenger traffic, but still a significant amount of freight if the containers stacked up everywhere is anything to go by, but it is clear in the area around the port that the lack of passenger traffic has had an effect with lots of empty buildings and vacant lots.

Slightly further down the coast, and after a long interrupted run of dunes the beauty is suddenly brought to another grinding halt by Wenduine. A long strip of high-rise developments look out across the beach. From the beach looking along the coast towards Zeebrugge there are the beautiful dunes, directly in front of you is the cold grey, but beauty of the North Sea, to the left, it’s best not to comment.

Having taken in the sites of Wenduine I got back on the tram and headed back towards Oostende, and then on out to De Panne, and this is where the plan start to o a little wrong. As Oostende is in the middle of the coast, I had assumed that the journey from Oostend North which took not more than an hour would be the same heading south. Whilst the number of stops may be similar, the tram runs on the street for most of its journey south and consequently moves much slower and the stops are busier. I’d worked out in my mind that as long as I got to De Panne by 16:30 I would still have enough time to come back up and get off in a couple of locations.

The tram duly pulled into De Panne a couple of minutes before 16:30 and I had a look around the town, but by now the light was rapidly starting to fade, which is a bit of a shame as De Panne is a town that should be more famous than it is. In World War I it was capital of the only part of Belgium that wasn’t invaded by the Germans. And in World War II it wasn’t just the town of Dunkirk that witnessed the mass evacuation of Allied soldiers. It was the entire coast from Dunkirk to De Panne where soldiers were able to leave on the flotilla of little ships, given shelter by the dunes.

I got back on the tram and started my journey back towards Oostende. By the time I reached the first stop I had identified as a jumping off point it was already dark, and impossible to see the dunes, so I stayed on the tram all the way back to Oostende. By the time I got back I was left with 45 minutes to wait for the train to Brussels, but with not enough time to do anything else, so I collected my luggage, pulled out my book and waited for remainder of my journey home to continue.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Berwick upon Tweed; Friday, 23 January, 2009

My first trip of 2009, and possibly one of the slowest and most relaxed starts to a trip ever. I was booked on the 3pm train from Kings Cross, but I finished work just before midday so that I could meet a friend for lunch up at St Pancras before heading off.

After an obscene amount of Sushi, and having left my friend to go back to work, I waddled over to Kings Cross station, grabbed a coffee and waited the hour for my train to be called.

On the dot of three the train pulled out of Kings Cross and three and a bit hours later, a couple of minutes early, it pulled into Berwick station.

I had checked online before I had left the exact location of the hotel and how to get to it, so I headed straight away from the station and towards the hotel. Sadly, the map I had consulted had been a little wrong, and it placed the hotel on the opposite side of the road from where it was. Unfortunately, that road was the A1 and I had to cross it on four occasions before I finally spotted the hotel back where I had come from 10 minutes previously.

Feeling slightly knackered I decided I couldn’t be bothered to walk back into town to grab any dinner so I made use of the conveniently located supermarket and then went back to my room for an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Berwick upon Tweed; Saturday, 24 January, 2009

I was up early as I had to catch the 10:15 bus from the station. This was the only bus that was running today, in fact it is the only bus of the week going where I wanted to go, so getting it was pretty much essential (not quite as essential as ensuring I got the return one in the evening, but the next most essential thing.)

A few miles south of Berwick is one of the most important religious sites in the country. It’s where Christendom was re-established in the kingdoms of England, and from it’s monastery one of the most beautiful, treasured and famous books was produced. Today it’s simply called Holy Island, before the Vikings destroyed it it was Lindisfarne, birthplace of the Lindisfarne Gospel, certainly the most expensive and probably the most important book in the British Library.

The Island is only an Island for part of the day, for most of the time it is accessible by a three mile causeway from the mainland, but for four hours at the high tides the causeway ifs flooded and Holy Island becomes just that, an Island. The buses are timed so that they can get on, and back off the island when the causeway is open. At certain times it’s not a problem, as the tides move through the day there can be days when the causeway is only closed at night. Today, though, the tides meant that the causeway would close at midday and wouldn’t reopen until just after four. So once I was on the island, I was going to be on for some time. Having arrived with the tide on the turn the bus turned round and left again to get back to the mainland before it got stranded.

According to the tourist office, over half a million people visit Holy Island each year, today there was me and one other lady on the bus (bizarrely also from London) and just a handful of cars in the visitors car park. With so few tourists in the winter a lot of the island is either closed up on heavily reduced hours. Sadly, there also appeared to be a major event happening on the mainland as most of the islanders had gone and nearly all the shops and the Lindisfarne museum were closed.

My first, successful, stop of the morning was at the ruins of Lindisfarne Priory. Built by the monks who returned after the Vikings had been defeated, it fell into ruins after the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII and today is a set of romantic ruins in the churchyard of the main church of the island. Having looked around the priory and the attached museum, I went for bit of a wander along the costal path.

At high tide the island is about 1 mile by 1 mile, but in that space it manages to fit in a wide variety of land forms and geological features. Along with craggy outcrops of rock (such as the one the castle is build on), the island has rolling pasture lands, mudflats and large amounts of Sand dunes.

The castle was closed for the winter break so I was unable to go in, but I could take in the land around it, including the small garden designed in the 1920’s (though in the middle of winter it’s a bit bare!) I then went for what I thought would be a short wander along the coastal path. In the end I spent nearly three hours walking, constantly being drawn away from the path by the breathtaking scenery, including the spectacular dune system and the perfect sandy beached bays.

I finally emerged from the dune system to see a small amount of the road starting to appear beneath the waves, evidence that it must be approaching four and time for the tide to recceed and the island to once again become connected to the mainland. The bus wasn’t due to leave until just after five, so I headed back into the centre of the island and had a bite to eat and a drink in the pub near the bus stop.

By the time I collapsed back onto the seat of the bus I was shattered but happy. By the time it had bounced down the causeway, over the rough roads of Northumberland and into Berwick I was shattered and with a rather full bladder, thankfully the station toilets were open so I was able to dash into them, before walking back to the hotel.

Having had dinner on the island (albeit very early) and with aching legs and feet I decided to just have a nice bath and collapse into bed for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Berwick upon Tweed; Sunday, 25 January, 2009

After a late wake up I wandered into town to have a look around the town centre and take in all the attractions which were open. Sadly, as this was the middle of winter, all the museums were shut. Instead, the only attraction to visit was the town battlements, which almost completely encircle the town centre.

The walk around takes about an hour, longer if you divert off to look at the remains of the castle. Unfortunately, my late start hadn’t left me with enough time to do the latter as I was also aiming to catch a bus just before lunchtime to visit an attraction that was open. However, I had enough time to do one circuit, albeit briskly, of the battlements.

Having taken in the sights, I wandered down to the bus stop to catch the bus to Alnwick and from there on to Warkworth and its castle. The journey along the coast is spectacular, especially on such a clear day, with Holy Island and its causeway clear to see, and in the distance inland the peaks of snow-capped mountains. The other spectacular site was the sheer lack of customers on the bus. With the exception of one person who got on at Berwick and went to the next village along, I was the only person, all the way into Alnwick.

In Alnwick it was a quick change onto another equally deserted bus (though this one did at least pick up a few people on route) and onto Warkworth.

The castle in Warkworth absolutely dominates the town, visible from several miles away, the central tower shows how important this area was in the middle ages. I took an audio guided tour of the castle and then had a longer wander around the grounds, before walking back along the riverside, past the medieval church to the ancient bridge and entry gate into the town, which were still used up until a new bridge, was opened in the late 1960’s. Having sampled all that Warkworth had to offer I walked back to the bus stop with a couple of minutes to spare for the bus back to Alnwick.

Coming back from Alnwick the bus was positively packed with one other person on for virtually the whole way back to Berwick (he got off just on the opposite side of the Tweed) and one more getting on about half way along for a few stops. It did make me wonder how much money must Northumberland County Council used to subsidise my journey to make it profitable for the bus company.

Back in Berwick I had a much longer wander around the battlements, taking in the remains on the castle this time, and using the vantage point provided from the top of the walls to watch the last of the sunlight disappear into the Tweed and the stars come out.

By the time I finished walking around the walls I was knackered, so I decided to grab a bite to eat in a local fish and chip shop, and then, lazily, caught a cab back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Berwick upon Tweed; Monday, 26 January, 2009

I was up and out of the hotel relatively early to get down to the station to catch the train to North Berwick. You would have thought that North Berwick would be pretty close to Berwick upon Tweed, sharing as they do a common name. And to some extent they are, there is probably not more than 40 miles that separate them, the only problem is that to get from one to the other you have to go all the way into Edinburgh and back out again!

Having finally reached North Berwick, nearly two hours after leaving Berwick upon Tweed, I wandered down to the town centre to catch the bus to my first attraction of the day.

North Berwick is situated at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and is the first major settlement after the coast has turned into the Firth. In it’s recent past its been a holiday destination, but longer ago it was an important strong-hold and the surrounding land is littered with castles and fortifications, my trip today was to see two of them.

I had originally considered walking to all the sites, as they are not more than a couple of miles from North Berwick, but it had dawned on me a couple of days ago that I had not given myself enough time when I had booked my return ticket from Edinburgh, so I had only a little over four hours in North Berwick to squeeze everything in, hence the reason that a few minutes after arriving in North Berwick I was already leaving it on the bus heading to my first castle.

Dirleton is a couple of miles West of North Berwick, and the site of the first castle of the morning. Having looked around that I managed to time it just right to catch the bus back into North Berwick and on up out of town to the supermarket.

The reason for heading to the supermarket was not to do a bit of shopping, but to let the bus do the difficult work of climbing up to the cliffs above the town, where the supermarket is conveniently located, from here it was a relatively flat two mile walk to the second castle, Tantallon.

Tantallon is sited on the cliffs overlooking the very turn of the coast, hence the impressive nature of the building and, on a clear day such as today, the stunning views out over the Firth.

Having taken in the views I started the walk back towards the supermarket. I got back a couple of minutes after the previous bus has left, so I decided to walk down the hill (which, lets face it is a lot easier than walking up the hill!) into North Berwick and have a look around the town centre, taking in the harbour and the beaches, before heading back to the station and my train back to Edinburgh.

Thankfully, the connection on the return leg was a little longer than it was on the outward leg, so I was able to grab a bite to eat, I’d been feeling hungry since shortly after leaving Tantallon castle, and the long walk hadn’t made things any better. After a quick bite it was back on the train and back to the other Berwick for the walk back up to the hotel and a very relaxing bath.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Berwick upon Tweed; Tuesday, 27 January, 2009

Up relatively early as I had to catch the train to Edinburgh. Nothing strange it that, I’d done it yesterday. The only difference was that the Travelodge in Edinburgh where I was staying tonight doesn’t allow checkin until 3pm, and the Travelodge in Berwick insisted that I checked out by midday, so rather than going direct I went on the more scenic route.

From Berwick I headed south to Newcastle and then caught the train across the top of England, the line follows the Tyne valley and runs parallel to Hadrian’s Wall (hence it’s name the Hadrian’s Wall Country Line). Ninety minutes later the train pulled into Carlisle, the West Coast version of Berwick upon Tweed, where I changed onto my final train up through the Lowlands of Scotland towards Edinburgh.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Edinburgh; Tuesday, 27 January, 2009

My train left Carlisle on time and speeded its way north, following the same route that I had been subjected to nearly three years previously on a bus (see Eastern Lowlands). On that occasion the sleeper had broken down and it had taken nearly all day to travel from the midlands to Scotland, taking over three hours to get from Carlisle. Today it was considerably quicker, just a little over the hour, though, perhaps as a reminding gesture, the train did slow down a little as we went past the Annadale Water services so that I could get a good view of where we had made the final refreshments stop.

Five minutes early (and only 32 months after I should have done so by train) I arrived, for the second day in a row, in Edinburgh.

Having taken the long route round I now only had about 15 minutes to wait before the hotel started to checkin, and by the time I had wandered up to the hotel the wait was even less than that.

By now it was gone three, and getting on the wetter side of damp. It was too late to head out of the city centre, so I decided to visit the castle once again. This is my third visit, but this was my first visit since joining English Heritage, and consequently the entrance fee was zero (a bit of a saving on the £10 everyone else has to pay!)

After having a long look around the castle, I decided as I was doing things that I had already done before I might was well round the afternoon off with a visit to the Scottish Whiskey Heritage centre.

The centre has, at some point since my last visit, just over six years ago, rebranded itself as the “Scottish Whiskey Experience” (something quite a lot of things appear to be doing, become Experiences rather than just a museum or a centre). The museum part was being refurbished so was closed, instead, for a lot less than the normal entry fee, we got a talk and slideshow presentation on the creation of Whiskey, and a tasting tutorial, something that I’ve not previously had (all the distilleries I’ve been to always just give you a taster, no explanation about how to properly examine and taste a Whiskey)

Tanked up on two whiskeys before I’d even had dinner, I decided it was a good time to grab a bite to eat, and found a very nice Kurdish/Iranian restaurant just behind the castle (as you do in Scotland!). Having stuffed myself full, and cancelled out the effects of the Whiskey, I had a wander around the old town, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Foggy Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Edinburgh; Wednesday, 28 January, 2009

My previous evening wanderings had taken me past the new bus station, and on spec I had looked inside to see whether they had left luggage lockers, which they did and at quite a bit less than the office in the station, so after checking out of the hotel I headed there to deposit my bags before wandering back to the station to catch the train to Linlithgow

The palace at Linlithgow has played an important part in the history of Scotland, and was the birth place of one of their most famous monarchs – Mary, Queen of Scots. Having looked around the palace I headed back to the station and continued on to Falkirk, a couple of stops down the line.

Falkirk is the point where the Union canal from Edinburgh meets that canal from Glasgow. There is only one slight problem. The Union canal is 35 meters higher than the Glasgow canal. Up until the 1930’s this was overcome through a ladder of 12 locks which took a day to navigate but got you from one to the other. In the 1930’s with the canals virtually dead the locks were abandoned, and then built upon.

Leap forward to the latter years of the 20th century, and a growing interest in revitalising all of Britain’s inland waterways, but how could you link these two back up now that locks were gone. Step forward modern technology, many millions of pounds of lottery funding, and the worlds first (and still only) rotating boat lift – the Falkirk wheel, and it was to here that I was headed.

The guidebook recommended two ways to get there, either the number 3 bus from outside the station, or a short walk along the Union canal, taking about 20 minutes. I decided to be healthy and take the walk. In the end it took closer to 40 minutes (I assume that the person who wrote the guide book ran, as I don’t see how you can do two miles in 20 minutes in a relaxed manner!)

After visiting the wheel, and having a voyage on it, I decided to take the bus back rather then walk, this proved to be equally inaccurate, as the bus stops at the bottom of the hill that the station is on, there is no signage, and you can’t actually see the station from the bus, it was only the kindness of the bus driving letting me know it was my stop that prevented me from continuing all the way into town.

Up until this point everything had been going very well, trains turning up within minutes of getting to the station, and no delays. It wasn’t possible for it to continue, and at Falkirk it didn’t. On arriving at the station there was a sign saying there were no trains towards Edinburgh because of a problem with the signalling and points equipment. I had three choices. Wander down into the town and try to see if a bus went to Edinburgh, wait on the station for the problem to be fixed, or take the train further West into Glasgow and then come back via an alternative route.

As I had time to spare, and appeared to have spent most of this trip travelling long distances out of my way, I decided to take option three and hopped on the train that was just arriving to Glasgow. When I got to Glasgow the problem still hadn’t been fixed so I walked the short distance from Queen Street to Central station and then took the, very long way back to Edinburgh, pootling along the slowest set of lines between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

By the time I got back to Edinburgh it had been dark for over an hour, and checkin was due to open in 40 minutes time, so I headed back to the bus station, picked up my luggage, hopped on an airbus which turned up as I got to the bus stop and promptly ran all the way to the airport without stopping. By the time I arrived at the airport I was still 5 minutes early for checkin, not that that really mattered, the flight was already delayed by 40 minutes!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Granada; Wednesday, 11 March, 2009

I’d stayed in a hotel in central London overnight so that I could get up later to catch the train out to Stansted, rather than having to catch a night bus. In the end I shouldn’t have wasted the money, as the room had mice scurrying around in it all night so I didn’t get any sleep.

Having checked out over an hour earlier than I had originally intended to I grabbed a very early breakfast from the Tesco by Liverpool Street station and consumed it on the train up to Stansted. Thankfully, by the time I arrived at Stansted check in was already open, but in some confusion as people were being sent to the wrong bag drop zones by the check in machines.

I had a leisurely journey through the airport, and an uneventful, if full flight. Catching the bus into town required sitting in traffic for some time. The 10KM journey ended up taking over an hour to complete. By the time I checked into the hotel I was desperate for the toilet.

Having relieved myself, and unpacked, I headed out into the city centre. I had a quick wander away from the hotel towards the Cathedral, stopping for a late, but very pleasant lunch near the Cathedral. Suitably fed and watered (actually staggering slightly under the weight of food!), I headed back past the edge of the Cathedral and out onto the main street the Gran Via.

I decided to have a quick wander up to the Alhambra and have a look around the outside so I caught one of the multitude of minibuses that run up the tight, tiny roads. Having had a quick wander around the entrance area and along some of the walls I found myself on the edge of the car park just as the open-top bus arrived. As it was warm and sunny, I decided to spend a little time taking in the tour.

Having completed most of the tour back to the Cathedral I got off and had another short wander around before heading back to the sightseeing bus to catch the last service of the day, which would take in the city at sunset.

By the time I had completed that tour it was coming on for 8pm, perhaps a little early for dinner in Spain, but as I hadn’t properly slept the night before I wanted to get an early night, so I found a nice restaurant near where I had had lunch, had a quick dinner and then went back to the hotel for some decent kip.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Granada; Thursday, 12 March, 2009

After a less than filling breakfast I headed out from the hotel for a morning walk through the Albaicín, the old Moorish quarter of the city, as suggested by the guide book. In the end it took up a large part of the day, as I stopped at several sights along the way included the El Bañuelo (Moorish bath house), the Museo Arqueológico y Ethológico (Ethnography and Archaeology Museum), and the Colegiata El Salvador a former mosque which was converted into a church after the reconquest before reaching the main target of the walk, the Mirador San Nicolás.

The views from the plaza here are spectacular, across the ravine of the Rio Darro to the hills of the Alhambra with the fort laid out before you. The Plaza is directly in front of the church of the same name, which was another converted mosque. Sitting just next door to it is the Mezquita Mayor de Granada, the current mosque, opened in 2004, over 500 years after the last of the Moors left Granada. The mosque operates an open door policy so I was able to wander around their beautiful gardens, taking in the views which were as stunning as those from the Mirador, with the added advantage that there are far less tourists (and conversely pick-pockets).

Having stopped for another latish lunch in a little cafe just behind the church I continued by wander through the Albaicín, taking in more of the sights, including several more churches which were converted from mosques, their bell towers showing distinct signs of a previous life as a minaret. Towards the end of the walk you pass along the Calle Calderería, a street full of shops laid out like an Arabian Souk.

By the time I got back to the Plaza Nueva at the bottom of the Albaicín I was quite tired, so I decided to take a quick stop in an internet cafe and book my ticket for the Alhambra for the following day. I had read in all of the guide books that it was important to book in advance as the number of tickets available is heavily restricted, and there is no guarantee when you go up to the ticket office that there will be any left for that day. Whilst looking online I saw an advert for the Bono Turístico card, which, along with admission to several museums, also gave access to the Alhambra and a couple of free bus rides. At the same time I also saw that the Alhambra would be open for evening viewing on Friday, so I decided rather than booking my ticket on-line I would book an evening ticket, and then get a Bono Turístico for a full day visit. Having completed my booking I wandered off to the tourist office to buy a card. Sadly, the tourist office doesn’t stock them, but a little Kiosk just down the road does, except that closed at 2 and it was now gone 4, though I could get one from a branch of the CajaGranada bank, except all the local branches were now closed, so I could pop down to the Science park, just two kilometres away to buy one. In the end I decided I couldn’t be bothered, but this left me with an issue of how to get a ticket for tomorrow.

All the guidebooks had said that you could purchase tickets through the cash machines of the BBVA bank, however, on visiting a branch of BBVA there was a big notice on the door, before you even got in, saying that with effect for 2007 they were no longer the agents for the Alhambra cards. As I wandered back towards the Cathedral my attention was caught by a notice stuck next to a cash machine of a branch of la Caixa bank. As I wandered over to it, whilst I could see it was in Spanish, it had the key words Alhambra and Credit Card. Five minutes later, having followed the step by step instructions in Spanish (and not having the faintest idea what they meant) I was in possession of my Alhambra ticket for the following day.

Having now sorted the ticket for the Alhambra I had a wander around the Cathedral area, taking in the Capilla Real and the Cathedral. As I emerged from the Cathedral it was just gone six, so I hopped onto a bus up to the Alhambra, and then wandered up through the Olive groves above the complex to the viewing platforms. Perched high on the hills above the Alhambra they have stunning views out of the planes that Granada rests on, with the mountains in the distance and the snow capped Sierra Nevada directly behind, and from here I was able to watch a stunning sunset, slowly turning the walls of the Alhambra, and the city into a deep red.

Having taken in the sunset, I caught a bus back down from the Alhambra and back up the hill of the Albaicín to the Mirador San Nicolás to take in the full scope of the Alhambra at night, and then hopped on another bus down past one of the former entrance gates of the city the Puerta Elvira.

By now it was getting quite late so I went for some dinner before heading back to the hotel and another good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Granada; Friday, 13 March, 2009

Today was going to be about the Alhambra. I had a ticket for the day and another for the night.

After a slightly more filling breakfast than the previous day (there was bread as well as cornflakes, and the juice machine was working). I headed out to the Alhambra to start some serious sightseeing.

I had a slot of 11:30 for entering the most spectacular part of the complex the Palacios Nazaries, but that meant I had quite a lot of time for wandering around the rest of the complex taking in the Palaces, Fortress and gardens.

By the time I had seen everything inside the complex it was almost half four, I was knackered and starting to feel quite hungry. I stopped at a little restaurant overlooking the entrance to the park, and had about the latest lunch I have ever had.

Sated, I wandered down past the Alhambra, following a pathway that runs alongside the walls of the complex with the Rio Darro running next to it. After quite a steep descent I arrived at the bottom of the Albaicín.

I had a short wander around the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up ready for the night time trip back around the palaces.

I got up to the palace with time to spare, which was fortunate, as I had to walk along quite a bit of the outside to get to the open entrance (the way through from the ticket office I had taken in the morning isn’t open at night, probably to stop people getting lost or wandering off!) I wandered up inside the main part of the complex, and was able to go into the courtyard of the Palace of Charles V.

Having taken quite a few night shots of the site, it was time to go into the Palacios Nazaries. Whilst at night there are far fewer people around, so it’s less crowded, there is also far less of the site open (despite the ticket costing the same as a full day ticket). Most of the Palace was open, but you could only get so far before having to come all the way back, in the end most people, including me, were only in the palace for about 25 minutes (there are only so many photos of a building shrouded in darkness that you can take).

However, it was still late enough for the last busses to have departed, so I wandered back down the hill to the centre of town, and then back to my hotel for a well earned kip.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Granada; Saturday, 14 March, 2009

After a quick breakfast I grabbed my things and headed to the bus station to go to Jaén for the day. I got to the bus station and had a choice (with just 25 minutes to go before the bus was due to leave). The very long queue to the desks, when I would have to stammer through my non existant Spanish, or the automated ticket machine, which had a much shorter queue, but was also service in Spanish only.

In the end I decided to try my luck at the self-service ticket machine, and with some judicious “That looks like return” pressing of buttons, and quite a bit of luck, I had a day return ticket to Jaén in my possession. My only error was to select a confirmed bus for the journey back, rather than selecting an open return (which I kind of worked out just as I stuck my Credit Card in the machine, by which point it was far too late to do anything about it.)

10 minutes later I found myself on the bus, my ticket having been checked and confirmed to be correct, and we headed off North towards Jaén, taking in some stunning scenery. It is clear to see from the journey how important Olives are to the economy of Andalucía. Virtually every spare inch of land is planted with olive trees, mile after mile of plantations stretching up the sides of hills and into the distance.

Ninety minutes late we arrived in Jaén and I quickly wandered to the tourist office to find out the opening times of some of the attractions I wanted to visit (all my guide books, a couple of years out of date, all gave completely different times for everything, which wasn’t really helpful). With a set of times, a very good map and some suggestions for things to do in hand I headed out of the office to explore the city.

The first thing I did was get in a Taxi and leave the city! Albeit to go up to the Castle at the top of the hill. I already had an inkling that the walk would be quite steep and long (and on the way back down this was confirmed, so much easier to deal with a 4KM hill descent rather than an unknown distance assent up a track that at times was close to 45 degrees.

I had a look around the castle, and the views from the surrounding hillside, before walking back into town, just in time for lunch. After a stop for lunch I wandered down to the Palacio de Villadompardo where there were three sights to see, a Gallery, an Ethnographic museum, and the star attraction, the largest and most complete Arabic Baths in Spain.

By the time I had finished looking around the Palacio and I had wandered back to the Cathedral, it had opened for it’s evening session, so I had a look around that, before wandering down just past the bus station to the Museo Provincial for the Archaeological exhibits and the city art gallery.

When I had got my ticket out of the machine in the morning, I had been concerned, once I had failed to get an open return, that I would end up having to hang around the bus station or the city centre for a couple of hours. In the end I had to rush through the end of the Art gallery so that I could get back to the station in time to catch the bus back to Granada.

I caught the bus with about 10 minutes to spare, and collapsed, exhausted into my seat. Thankfully, I had had quite a large lunch and really wasn’t feeling hungry, so when I got back to Granada, I just went back to the hotel and to my welcoming bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Granada; Sunday, 15 March, 2009

Another early start and out to the station to catch the train down to the coastal city of Almería. The train ride, up behind the Sierra Nevada Mountains on a high plateau and then down into Almería is spectacular.

From the station it was quite a boring walk into the city centre, until you reach the fortress like Cathedral with its massive walls and towers (there to deter the Pirates that used to plague this part of the coast). Sadly, it being a Sunday the cathedral was fulfilling its proper function as a house of God, rather than as a tourist attraction.

I continued on walking through the old part of the city, gradually climbing up the hill to the spectacular Alcazaba resting over the city centre on it’s cliff top location. As this was about the only attraction open in Almería today I intended on exploring it thoroughly.

A couple of hours later, and with every corner of the Alcazaba explored I descended back down the hill in towards the centre of town, making a short detour up the side of another hill to the old city walls and the statue of Christ that overlooks the city. From here the views of the Alcazaba were stunning, though the surroundings were less than salubrious, looking as though the project had just been abandoned (a stairway that leads to nothing, and plants growing up between the paving slabs)

By the time I got back to the city centre I only had about 90 minutes until my evening train back to Granada so I went for a quick wander along the sea front, on a warm Sunday in March it was pretty busy, and after a quick ice cream I wandered back to the station.

I was quite glad I had a reserved seat, as the train was absolutely heaving, as it pulled out of the station there were already people standing, and they were still standing when I got off at Granada over two hours later (I hoped they weren’t going to be standing all the way back to Seville another 3 hours away, but the mass of humanity that greeted us as the doors opened at Granada station suggested that some would be.)

I wandered back from the station, stopping off behind the cathedral for a bite to eat, before heading back to the hotel to pack my bags and get some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Granada; Monday, 16 March, 2009

A quick breakfast and then it was time to check out, catch the airport bus and head home.

Alarmingly, given that I was flying with Ryanair, and most of my previous experiences haven’t been great, the flight left almost on time, and arrived back in London on time, my luggage was just coming round on the belt as I reached it, I hopped on a train which left moments later, caught a bus at Liverpool Street within seconds and just two hours after the plane touched down at Stansted I was sitting on the train back home from London Bridge. I’m fearing the worst for my next trip, it’s never been that smooth before, something spectacular is about to go wrong!

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Munich; Wednesday, 15 April, 2009

Having landed and made it through the airport in record time, I arrived in the city centre and hopped onto a tram to the hotel. I got off the tram and completely failed to notice the sign for the hotel so spent a good five minutes wandering up and then down the street the hotel was supposed to be on before finding it, right by the tram stop. I checked in to be slightly annoyed by the fact the room was shared facilities rather than ensuite, that’s a couple of stars knocked off of HotelClub for that one!

I left the hotel and had a long wander around the centre of Munich, taking in most of the major sites, so much more easily when there isn’t 50,000 drunk people falling around the place (the other times I have visited Munich have always been during Oktoberfest)

In the end I spent nearly five hours wandering around the city centre, and it was only when I saw the time on the clock of the old town hall that I realised I need to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel, as I wanted to get up early the next day

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Munich; Thursday, 16 April, 2009

An early start, out to the station and onto the train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen up in the Bavarian Alps. From the station in Garmisch it was a quick walk round to the Zugspitzbahn station and onto the train up to the Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany.

The views from the top of the Zugspitze are stunning, and on a good day like today you supposedly can see four countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). Only problem, is that there are no signs to show what’s in each country. However, I was able to identify the Austrian areas more easily. As I walked across the top of the viewing station from the highest bar in Germany to the neighbouring restaurant I found myself entering the Tyrol region of Austria. There wasn’t much there and the restaurant was closed so I left Austria and crossed back into Germany.

Having taken my fill of the Zugspitze I caught the cable car back down to Eibsee and then the train back to Garmisch. From there I had a wander through the town up to another cable car. This climbs up to a mountain on the opposite side of the town from the Zugspitze. It’s also a mountain which many British tourists visit purely for its name – Wank.

The views of Garmisch-Partenkirchen are possibly even better from the top of Wank than from the Zugspitze. Having taken in the views, and a break for a very late lunch, I caught the cable car back down into town, and then picked up the train to the next town along Mittelwald.

I had a wander around the town, though there was not much to see. Having taken in the town I got the train back to Munich.

By the time I got back it was almost 9pm so I grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel to catch up on my sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Munich; Friday, 17 April, 2009

The weather forecast for Friday hadn’t been good, and as I got up it was proving to be correct with a pretty hefty downpour soaking the commuters standing at the tram stop visible from my room. I decided to try and do things that were indoors today, and so after breakfast headed out through the light drizzle to the Residence.

This is the former home of the Electors and then Kings of Bavaria, and one of the largest buildings in the city. When I had been here a few years earlier I had looked around the treasury, but didn’t have time to look around the rest of the palace. And you do need time.

Four hours after entering the Residence, I emerged blinking into the daylight having explored only a part of the massive building. I had a quick pit stop for something to eat, and then wandered through the Hofgarten at the rear of the Residence and found myself by the Englischer Garten.

I stopped for a short while to have a look at the guys surfing on the artificial wave, before continuing walking through the garden. As I approached the Chinese tower the rain started to pick up from a light drizzle to quite heavy again, so I quickly dived under the tower for a short while to let if ease off.

When the rain stopped it revealed a rapidly clearing sky, so I wandered back into town and popped up the Frauenkirche, to take in the views. My hunch that the rain had cleared the sky was right and I had stunning views out over the city to the Alps in the distance.

I descended back down from the viewing platform and got back to the Marienplatz just in time to join the Beer and Brewery tour for the evening.

Just before midnight, and with quite a bit of beer in me, I walked back the short distance to the hotel from the Hofbrauhaus.

Weather

Heavy Rain Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Munich; Saturday, 18 April, 2009

Saturday, like Friday was supposed to be a bit miserable in the morning and would then cheer up later on in the afternoon. I had been looking at going on a bike tour in the morning, but had just seen a leaflet with the actual times on it showing that in addition to one at 11 they ran a repeat at 4, so I decided that would be the evening’s entertainment.

Having taken in the main city abode of the Kings yesterday, I decided today would be a good time to have a look at the country retreat, so I caught the S-Bahn out to Oberschleißheim to look around the palaces there.

I didn’t quite get my timing right, and whilst walking in the gardens between two of the palaces I got quite a soaking, but by the time I was heading back to the station the sky was clearing and it was looking good for the afternoon.

I had a very late lunch, and just before 4 headed to the meeting point for the tour at the Old town hall.

Just before 10pm, and with quite a bit of beer in all of us (which in hindsight makes me wonder how I actually got back without killing myself) the tour arrived back at the office and I wandered back to the hotel

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Munich; Sunday, 19 April, 2009

I had had great plans for going on another walking tour, or taking in one of the many other museums in the city which I had not yet seen.

But by the time I had woken up, had breakfast and packed it was already quite late, and the weather was so good that it seamed a waste of time to spend it inside a museum.

I went for a long wander around some of the places we had cycled past last night (given that I may not have been paying as much attention to the scenery as to cycling whilst drunk and not thinking about my rapidly expanding bladder), and took in some parts of Munich that I had not seen before including the stunning Angel of Peace statue.

After about two hours walking it was time to head back to the station to pick up my luggage that I had dumped there earlier, and head out to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Carlisle; Saturday, 23 May, 2009

With a long, but uneventful journey behind me I hobbled the short distance from the station to the hotel (having managed to pull a muscle in my foot, during my sleep, over a fortnight earlier). I checked in, and as it was my first Travelodge since the mouselodge incident, with trepidation, went into my room.

Following a thorough inspection of the room, in which I could find no trace of any wildlife ever having scurried through it, I wandered out into the late evening sunshine of the city.

I spent about an hour hobbling around the city centre taking in some of the main sites including the Cathedral and Castle.

By the time I got back to the hotel I was feeling quite tired from the extra effort of hobbling against walking, so I had a bite to eat in the hotel cafe before turning in for an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Carlisle; Sunday, 24 May, 2009

No rodents woke me up during the night, it was just the large, loud stag party at about 2am that woke me up, but you can’t really blame Travelodge for that. Sadly in the process of being woken up with a start by the two way tirade of foul mouthed abuse that two of the party were conducting out in the corridor, I managed to do something to my already injured foot to really set if off throbbing, so it took another 50 minutes, and a hobble to the vending machine in reception for some pain killers, before I finally started to drift off again.

By the time I woke up again it was just before 8, and time to get up anyway. The couple of hours sleep appeared to have fixed the worst of the pain in my foot, it was down to just a mild background throb, so I was able to contemplate the busy day I had planned.

At just a couple of minutes after nine I was standing at the bus stop waiting for the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall bus. Sadly, 20 minutes later I was still waiting as the bus had arrived from the garage, but the driver was caught in traffic coming in from, I assumed a different garage. Once driver and bus were reunited we set off.

The bus follows the line of the wall all the way; supposedly, to Newcastle (although there are no buses which do the whole trip and only one a day in each direction that actually make it to/from Newcastle). It dives down little country lanes, and as he was running a little late, at speeds which made for an interesting and bouncy ride. By the time we reached the first major fort on the wall the driver had made up the 10 minute delay he had started with. I stayed on the bus for a bit longer to my starting location of Vindolanda.

Having taken in the sites of Vindolanda and its museum I wandered back to the car park and caught the bus on to my next stop, the Roman Army Museum.

After taking in the museum I had a wander around the nearby Northumbria National Park visitors centre and a small, but very dramatic part of the wall. Then it was back onto the bus again for my final destination of the day.

Birdoswald Roman Fort is much smaller than the site at Vindolanda, but benefits from actually being on the wall. When I visited there as a “Living History” session taking place, which made the site very busy, and hefty chunks of it closed off to visitors.

Outside the fort there are some substantial remains of the wall stretching for over a mile, down the side of a hill and back up the other side. I had a wander part way along to the start of the descent at a mile fort, but by now I could feel my ankle really starting to twinge so I thought it would probably be wise to wander, slowly, back to the bus stop, getting there with nearly half an hour to wait, but still able to walk.

By the time we arrived back into Carlisle my ankle had started to seize up so it was quite painful hobble down to the station to book a ticket for the following morning, and then back to the hotel to rest my foot for a while, at which point I also spotted that I had managed to get myself burnt, which given it’s a bank holiday weekend in the UK should have been impossible.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Carlisle; Monday, 25 May, 2009

An even earlier start today to head off down the Cumbrian Coast. The local rail company offer a number of day tickets, one of which I was using today to go for a quick lap of the county, travelling down the line that hugs the Cumbrian coast to Barrow-in-Furness, then back round through Lancaster and the lakes to Carlisle. Whilst the route is spectacular its not what you would call high-frequency, so to get the most in you need to set off on an early train, and the 08:44 fitted the bill.

Having left Carlisle the train travels out to the coast at Maryport and then follows the line of the coast, at time literally hugging the base of the cliffs, round all the way to Barrow. However, that was a stop for later, my first stop of the morning was the small town of Ravenglass (just beyond the small but slightly more famous, and luminous, Sellafield nee Windscale!)

Ravenglass is the terminus of the Ravengalss and Eskdale railway, a narrow gauge railway which runs inland from the coast to the heart of the dales. Its run entirely as a tourist venture these days, but previously it was a working industrial line. I took the train all the way to the end of the line at Dalegarth. I had intended on having a wander around the area, perhaps wandering into the Dales, or perhaps the round trip walk to the Roman ruins. Unfortunately, by now my foot which had been twinging earlier in the day was in agony, so I only wandered a couple of hundred yards towards the village of Boot, had a quick look around and then hobbled back to the station.

Having had a very nice ice cream in the station cafe to take my mind off my foot I got on a return train back to Ravenglass. Unlike the journey to Dalegarth, the return had open carriages so I sat in one of those. By the time I got back to Ravenglass I was feeling much more relaxed about my foot as my attention was now focusing on my quite warm arms, the weather was clearly much better than I had thought it was!

I had a short wander around the exhibition at Ravenglass station before it was time to catch the train onwards to Barrow-in-Furness. Arriving at Barrow I had intended on missing the first train, visiting the ruins of the Abbey about a mile out of town and then catching the train two hours later. Sadly, by now my foot was back in control of the pain receptors, so I got on the train and headed on to Lancaster.

At Lancaster I had a 40 minute wait for a train back towards Carlisle, so I popped into the station cafe, and there, to my relief, not only was I able to grab a very late lunch and a nice cold drink, they also stocked painkillers (I had left my packet at the hotel thinking I wouldn’t need them). 30 minutes later, and with only mild twinges (and the thought at the back of my mind that I was probably causing irreparable damage to my ankle) I wandered over the foot bridge at Lancaster and caught the train north.

By the time it got to Penrith my foot was still only slightly twinging, so I got off and had a look around the ruins of the castle, directly opposite the station. I wandered back to the station, sensing that the painkillers were starting to wear off and that it might be a painful walk back from Carlisle station, so I grabbed dinner in a cafe next to the station so that I could head straight from the station in Carlisle to my hotel bed.

After my snack I caught the train back to Carlisle, and as predicted had a painful hobble back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Carlisle; Tuesday, 26 May, 2009

The pain in my foot had suddenly come on nearly three weeks earlier. I’d gone to bed fine and woken up with an aching ankle. Since then it had gotten better then worse again, and yesterday had been the worst ever. So it was with quite some surprise that I woke up with no pain. I got out of bed and put my weight on my foot, getting ready for inevitable shooting pain and collapse back onto the bed, but nothing came. As quickly as it had come, my foot had, apparently healed itself. Which was thankful as I had planned quite a bit of walking for today.

First stop, once again, was the station for another early train, and another special ticket, this time a “North West Round Robin” which takes in one of the most famous lines in the country, the Settle to Carlisle line. For such a famous line the frequency of trains is even less than the previous days Cumbrian coast line, but then there was a time when there could have been no trains. The line came within weeks of being shut (they had even put up the closure notices with the confirmed closure date before a final last minute reprieve). Today, it’s a booming line, though the 8:53 this morning only had a spattering of people as it pulled out of Carlisle.

By the time we reached Dent, the highest station in England, the train was bustling with most seats taken, hill walking equipment strewn around the carriage, and a guide from the friends of the Settle and Carlisle line pointing out key sights.

From Dent the line descends to one of the most famous railway structures in the country, the Ribblehead viaduct. Whilst it’s not as architecturally stunning as the Forth rail crossing, and there are considerably longer viaducts and bridges elsewhere in the country, the sheer beauty of the scenery that it crosses is hard to beat. Just at the end of the viaduct, situated in the middle of nowhere, is Ribblehead station, here you can disembark and take in the viaduct, or go walking, but I had a cunning plan. Rather then spending three hours at Ribblehead, where I was sure after looking at the viaduct I would have to find something to do for nearly three hours, I stayed on the train to Settle, where I would have an hour to look around there, before catching the train back to Ribblehead, and then catching the next train back towards Settle and beyond.

Settle was a pleasant market town, with a lively market and a small museum, though there wasn’t really anything particularly spectacular about it. According to the guidebooks the best thing to see was to climb to the top of Castleberg to take in the sites of the surrounding countryside, but sadly, Castleberg is currently closed as it’s unstable. After wandering around the town for about 50 minutes I made my way back to the station and then back to Ribblehead.

It was only as I was walking along the path at the foot of the Viaduct that I remembered how much pain I had been in the previous day and wondered where it had all gone (apart from a minor ache in my leg muscles, but probably more caused by them having gotten used to walking strangely whilst my foot was playing up).

As I had predicted it didn’t take very long to take in the Viaduct and the Dales around it, so I wandered back to the station with about 25 minutes to spare before the train. The ticket allows you to cover quite a distance, though in reality, once you have gone beyond Settle there isn’t much more to see as I was about to find out.

From Ribblehead I got back on the train all the way to Leeds, where it was a quick change onto the train to Preston going through Bradford, Halifax, Burnley and Blackburn. Whilst there were a few small sections of stunning scenery, most of the ride was pretty dull, and some of the towns that the train went through remind you that there are swathes of the country which have never recovered from the industrial decline of the 1970’s and 80’s. At Preston I changed onto the train back towards Carlisle, but then changed my mind at Oxenholme and got a return ticket on the branch line out to Windermere in the heart of the Lake District.

Of course, what I had just done was the standard tourist thing of thinking that because there is a lake called Lake Windermere, and there is a town in the Lake District called Windermere, the two must be next door to each other. With just an hour between arriving and having to catch the train back to Oxenholme to stand any chance of making back to Carlisle in a reasonable time, I didn’t have much time to explore. You can get to the side of the lake from Windermere, but it’s a 25 minute walk down hill from the station, so after just a couple of minutes taking photos I had to head back up the hill to catch the train back to Oxenholme and from there back to Carlisle and my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Carlisle; Wednesday, 27 May, 2009

Given that on the previous couple of days I had got up quite early to get pre-9am trains I had intended on having a nice long lie in and getting up quite late. Unfortunately, Wednesday is obviously the day the local glass recycling bins get collected, so I was woken at a little after 7:30 by the sounds of the cities empties being poured into the recycling lorry.

Having decided it was no use in going back to sleep I got up and then went out to explore the sites of the city. My first stop of the morning was the imposing bulk of Carlisle Castle. Having had a long look around that I crossed over the road to the Tullies House Museum which tells the history of the city.

I had a quick stop for a bite to eat before heading back out on the bus into Hadrian’s Wall Country, except this time I was only going back just over 800 years rather than nearly 2000. I got off at the ruins of Lanercost Priory, once a wealthy monastic order, slowly brought to it’s knees by being used as a base for armies going in both directions, and finally succumbing to Henry VIII reformation.

I caught the bus back into town from Lanercost and then hopped on another one back out the other side of town to Bowness-on-Solway. Bowness is a pleasant little town on the Solway Firth. But it is also a Geographically and Historically important place. It is here in the very top left hand corner of England that Hadrian’s wall meets the West coast, and England comes to an end. Across the waters of the Solway Firth is Scotland, and behind the Wall stretches for 84 miles back towards Newcastle.

Of course, technically Bowness isn’t actually the end of the wall, that would just have been far to easy to sail round and attack from the English side, so the wall continued along the coast all the way to Ravenglass, but this is the start or end point (depending on your direction) for people who want to “Walk the Wall” and so I set off on my walk.

I had no intention of completing the walk in full, just the first mile or so into the town of Port Carlisle to pick up the bus (and stop for a quick drink in the nice looking pub opposite the bus stop), but it does give me the opportunity, this August, to walk the last mile or so into Wallsend near Newcastle and successful claim to have walked from both ends of the wall (just ignoring that it took three months and only involved actually two miles of walking)

Having had a very pleasant half pint (I didn’t want to knock back a full pint in the 20 minutes I had to wait for the bus, another 10 minutes and it might have been a different story!) I caught the bus back into Carlisle to start packing for my move on north tomorrow.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Carlisle; Thursday, 28 May, 2009

An early start and out to the station to catch my train north. As the train pulled out of Carlisle station into the murk of low cloud that had descended I crossed the border into Scotland

Weather

Light Rain No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Glasgow; Thursday, 28 May, 2009

From the Murk of England into the full blown downpour of Scotland, almost at the same time as the train crossed the border the weather deteriorated, which didn’t look good for the day.

Thankfully, by the time I reached Glasgow it was down to a slight drizzle which itself was starting to ease. I caught the station link bus round from Glasgow Central to the bus station and dropped my bags off at the left luggage office.

I walked the short distance to Queens street station and then caught the train out to Hillfoot to visit a less famous Roman Wall.

Built 20 years after it’s more famous southern relative, the Antonine Wall ran the much shorter distance between the Firths of Forth and Clyde. It wasn’t a success and not more than 20 years later the Roman army retreated back to Hadrian’s wall, but in the time they were there they managed to leave a mark. Halfway between Hillfoot and Bearsden stations are the remains of Bearsden Roman Baths, the only remaining part of a fort that stood on the line of the wall.

Having looked around the baths I walked back to Bearsden station and caught the train south and over 1000 years forward through history to Uddingston and the castle of Bothwell.

After looking around Bothwell it was time to head back into Glasgow, pick up my stuff and check into my hotel for the night out at the airport. Having done that I caught the bus the short distance into Paisley and picked up the train to Ayr on the Scottish west coast.

As I arrived in Ayr the weather was already well on the turn with the skies rapidly clearing, and as I walked along the sea front the mists in the distance started to clear and I had the stunning view across the millpond still waters to the isle of Arran and behind it the Mull of Kintyre peninsular.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel to get some sleep. I wandered back to the station and caught a train back to Paisley, contemplating the idea at getting off at one or two of the other seaside stations on the way back up. In the end I didn’t which proved to be the right idea as I discovered when I caught the last bus of the evening back to the hotel, one train later and it would have been a two mile walk (or a taxi)!

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Glasgow; Friday, 29 May, 2009

The original plan was to have been a relatively leisurely morning, with a 9:30 flight to London and staying in an airport hotel I could afford to get up at 8. Sadly, BA had kept moving the flight backwards, so with a 7:55 flight I had to get up at a little after 6, dash through the shower and then walk the short distance to the airport and my flight to, most painfully, work, not even home!

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Torquay; Tuesday, 23 June, 2009

A smooth journey down as far as Newton Abbott, with the only hold-up being caused by the train prior to mine at Exeter having problems joining with another train. Eventually, that one left five minutes after my train was supposed to have left and given it was occupying the only platform my train could pull into it did look at one point as if my train could get cancelled.

At Newton Abbott a whole school load of kids got on filling the already busy train up to beyond capacity, which made getting out at the next station quite interesting. I walked away from the station and prepared myself for what I thought would be about a 10 minute walk to the hotel. As I came round the corner from the station I realised that Google Maps had struck again and in fact the hotel was only yards from the station.

After checking in and dumping my stuff I had a wander into town. The walk from the hotel in Torquay proper was quite dull, along a few shopping streets (which had an alarming number of empty shops). However the walk was rewarded by the stunning scenery of Torbay when I got down to the coast.

I had a wander along the seafront and part way along stopped off to have a ride on the Torquay High Flyer balloon to take in some of the views, with the sweep of the bay all the way from Torquay through to Brixham visible in the warm evening sun.

Having descended back down to earth I continued on walking along the coast road, eventually, after about an hour of walking, arriving into Paignton. I had a look around the town and a quick bite to eat before deciding to cheat at catch the bus back to the hotel, which given I had walked over three miles I though was perfectly reasonable.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Torquay; Wednesday, 24 June, 2009

After being woken early by the majestic heard of stampeding Wildebeests that were the school kids heading towards the station, I had an early breakfast and then headed out to the bus.

The bus journey to Paignton was painfully slow. Not only did the bus stop almost everywhere, and then waited for 10 minutes in central Torquay, by the time it left Torquay it had passed the magical start time for the Senior free bus pass, which meant that by the time the bus reached the High Flyer it was already heaving. By the time I arrived in Paignton it was already gone 10. I had intended on catching the steam train down the preserved line to Kingswear for Dartmouth, but the queue for tickets made it pretty clear that there would be little chance of getting a ticket before the departure at 10:30, and even if I did, I would be standing all the way, so I walked back to the bus station to catch the bus.

The bus pulled out at 10:30, at exactly the same time as the steam train, and even though the bus went a more circuitous route as we manoeuvred our way past the queue for the Dartmouth ferry into Kingswear the train was only just arriving.

Of course, this did mean that several hundred people all at once were wanting the ferry across to Dartmouth, so I had a bit of a wander around Kingswear, letting the worst of the queues die down, before catching the ferry across the Dart to Dartmouth. From there I wandered down to the ferry down the river to the castle.

Having looked around both the castle and the church I walked back into Dartmouth to have a look around the town, and then caught the ferry back over to Kingswear. Onto a different bus and out to the final of the Torbay triumvirate of towns, Brixham.

A quick look around the town later and it was onto the bus back to Paignton. With the sun still beating down, and the busses busy with recently released school children, I decided to catch the open-top bus to Totnes. A quick look around Totnes and then back onto the bus to Paignton and then, avoiding the still busy, and painfully slow, bus back to Torquay, I decided to catch the train back two stops to Torre.

Having stopped for a quick pit stop I headed off again, this time north to Newton Abbott. I had intended on exploring the town and maybe stopping for dinner, but on arrival it was pretty clear that there wasn’t very much in the town (or else I didn’t find the correct area in my 20 minutes wandering), so I hopped back onto the bus into Torquay to grab a bite to eat and then back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Torquay; Thursday, 25 June, 2009

I had intended on visiting the castle at Berry Pommeroy today, about a 50 minute bus ride from Torquay, most of the way to Totness. Given that the bus appeared to go around the back roads, and just serve a couple of small towns, I had assumed it would be pretty quiet, and that I would be able to look out and easily spot where to get off.

By the time the bus finally left the suburbs of Torquay (which in itself took nearly 30 minutes), the bus was absolutely heaving and I was squished in a seat with mostly a pillar as a view.

Consequently, by the time I finally saw a sign for the castle we were in the process of pulling away from a bus stop, it was pointing back the direction we had come, and said it was a mile away. I decided it was probably easiest to stay on the bus and carry on into Dartmouth. Which I was glad I did as the view I could see (and after Totness it emptied out enough for a few minutes to get a better window seat) was stunning, as the bus chugged (and at time struggled up hills) its way through the Devon countryside to Dartmouth.

Dartmouth itself was even busier than it had been yesterday, so I quickly grabbed a sandwich from a supermarket, ate it quickly on a bench on the river side, and then caught the ferry back across to Kingswear, with enough time to make the 13:30 steam train back to Paignton.

From Paignton it was a quick bus ride back to Torquay and then onto Torre Abbey, before rounding off the afternoon with a ride on the Town Road Train.

After a quick pit stop back at the hotel I caught the bus into Brixham for a bite to eat and then the evening on the Original Brixham Ghost Walk.

By the time I got the bus back to Torquay it was almost 11, so I headed back to the hotel to get some kip.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Torquay; Friday, 26 June, 2009

With my bags all packed I headed out of the hotel for a final morning in Torbay. My stop for the morning was Kents Cavern.

After taking in the caves it was time to head back to the hotel and pick up my luggage. I could have caught the train from Torre station, but as I had just missed the train, and the next one wasn’t for over an hour I decided to catch the bus back along the coast to Paignton to pick up the fast train to Exeter and then onto Barnstaple.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Barnstaple; Friday, 26 June, 2009

An uneventful journey up to Barnstaple. I walked across town to the hotel and checked in.

After settling in I wandered out for a walk around town before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to the hotel and a early night ready for an early start tomorrow.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Barnstaple; Saturday, 27 June, 2009

A very early start to the day to get the bus into Biddeford. I was going to Lundy for the day (an island about 13 miles off the coast of Devon), and the boat left at 9am, but they board everyone at 8:15 so I had to get a bus a little after 7:15 from Barnstaple to be there in time.

I had read a bit about the journey to Lundy before I set off, and most of the descriptions were horrific, of horrendous journeys across with everyone lurching around the ship and throwing up off the side, of day trips having to be cancelled because the sea was going to be too rough to take people back, so it was with some trepidation that we set off.

Millpond, Ironing Board, Pancake, there aren’t enough descriptive flat words to explain quite how calm the journey out was. A crystal clear blue sky, the boat cutting through the water, barely making any movement, and as we approached Lundy a family of Dolphins joined us and leapt along side.

I had seven hours in Lundy, and I thought that this would probably be quite long. If the weather had been bad (as had been forecast all week) it was going to be many hours sitting in the tavern reading the book I had brought with me.

In the end, with the weather remaining the excellent side of Glorious, I was able to wander over the whole of the island, taking in its stunning scenery, ruined buildings and, at the end, the Tavern for a swift bottle of beer (alcohol free, as they had run out of all the other stuff), then it was time to take the ferry back.

As I was making my way back down to the harbour you could see the quite menacing black clouds hovering over the Devon coast, which made it look as though some people were getting a soaking (as I found out later it was most of the North coast of Devon, and Biddeford in particular getting quite a downpour). On Lundy itself it was starting to get a little hazy, and I feared that the journey back to the mainland was likely to be more “lively” than the journey out.

I was wrong, if anything it was even stiller (no Dolphins rocking the boat!), so still in fact that we made excellent time and had to spend 10 minutes sitting off the coast waiting for the tide to rise high enough on the estuary to allow the boat to cross the sand banks safely and access the river down to Biddeford.

After landing I grabbed a bite to eat in Biddeford, before hopping back on the bus to Barnstaple to tend to the sun burn I had managed to get (despite constantly applying suntan cream throughout the day!)

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Barnstaple; Sunday, 28 June, 2009

I had time for breakfast this morning, and then it was time to check out. Normally when I come to Barnstaple it’s to see a friend, and that had been the original plan, but one of his mates from school had booked his stag weekend for the same weekend, so we were going to meet up later in the day.

As the hotel had quite an early checkout time, I had a few hours to kill before we would meet up. I left my bags with the hotel and headed over to the station to hire a bike for a few hours.

Today, Barnstaple is the end of the line for trains from Exeter, but up until the cuts of the 1960’s trains continued on, across what is today the station car park and along the coast through to Bideford and onto Torrington. Whilst the trains may no longer serve the line, the trackbed had been converted into a cycle and walking path which has the great advantage of being pretty level the whole way through, and makes it a perfect detour for a few hours.

I set off from the station, cycled underneath the bypass and then out onto the old railway line. I made it virtually the whole way to Torrington before it was time to turn around and head back to Barnstaple.

Whilst the journey out had been marked with the odd spit and spot of rain the journey back was a little more unpleasant. As far as Bideford it was fine, but as I left Bideford the rain started to come down, not heavily, but just continuously. Added to that the wind got up, and as is the case with these things, it was a head wind, driving the rain into my face and slowing my progress down quite a bit.

By the time I got back to Barnstaple I was a little damp, and was absolutely knackered. I had also been on quite a hard saddle, so I had a bit of a sore behind. I walked, slowly into Barnstaple to meet up with my friend for a few hours before it was time to catch the train back home.

On arriving at Exeter the previous Paddington train still hadn’t arrived, it was already over 10 minutes late, and my train was already 30 minutes late. Given that it wasn’t originally due into London until gone Midnight this was looking like quite a serious problem. However, when the earlier train arrived the train manager very kindly allowed me to get on his train (even though my ticket was technically only valid on the later train)

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Light Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Derry; Wednesday, 22 July, 2009

Given that it was the Wednesday after the schools had broken up, I was fearful that Gatwick was going to be horrendously busy. In the end it was quite quiet, to the extent that the plane was loaded and pushing back before it was even scheduled to, and we ended up landing in Belfast 20 minutes ahead of schedule (catching the ground crew off guard who had to run to the plane to start letting us off!)

A quick zip through the airport wasn’t quite quick enough and I missed the bus into town, so I had a thirty minute wait for the next one. By the time I arrived in Belfast it was already quite late so I checked into the hotel and decided to get an early night

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Derry; Thursday, 23 July, 2009

From the hotel it was a very short walk to Great Victoria Street Station, to pick up the train to Derry, which lead to my first quandary of the day, what do you call the city. To the UK government, and to the loyalist community it is most defiantly Londonderry, to the nationalist community it’s Derry. In writing the train company appears to get around it by referring to it in most places as L’Derry (which does make it sound a bit like a French beach resort)

In the end I couldn’t be bothered with the additional two syllables and just called it Derry. When, over two hours later the train finally pulled into the station I was glad to see that all the signs from the local council say Derry rather then Londonderry.

On the map it hadn’t looked that long, but in the end it was nearly a 30 minute walk from the station to the hotel (though that did include going down the wrong road.) And that was up a pretty hefty hill.

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel I headed out into the city to have a wander around. To get the best views of the city I had a walk around the city walls, which form a complete circle around the city centre.

I then went for a wander along the river side, before being caught in a hefty shower, which was my queue to head back to the hotel for a bite to eat.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Derry; Friday, 24 July, 2009

I wandered down into town and started to have a bit of a walk along the riverside to take in the views, however, my wanderings had to be halted early as the light mist that I had been wandering through decided to develop into a full blown downpour, so I dived into the nearby Tourist Information centre to wait out the rain.

As the rain started to subside I left the TIC at the same time as the open top tour of Derry (thankfully today operating with a fully closed top!) was getting ready to leave, so I went on that tour to take in the sites. As it pulled back into the TIC an hour later I was then in time to take a walking tour of the city centre.

Having completed my suite of tours for the day I wandered down into town to complete my riverside walk which was so rudely interrupted by the weather, on to the Foyle Valley Railway museum.

With that museum under my belt I headed back into the city centre to do the main museum, the Tower museum. I was quite surprised as to how much there was to see in there, and in the end I didn’t get to see it all, as despite having nearly three hours when I arrived, by the time I left they were shutting the doors for it’s closing time.

I had a bit more of a wander around the city, including wandering down into the main part of the Bogside to take some close up pictures of the murals on the walls of the buildings before having a wander back through the city and further down the riverside.

By the time I got back to the city centre it was starting to get quite late, so I stopped for a bite to eat before heading back to my new hotel (having been put up in the owners other B&B the evening before hand as the one I had booked into I would have been the only guest).

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Derry; Saturday, 25 July, 2009

After a very healthy (portion size not wellbeing) breakfast I headed out into town and over to the railway station. I purchased a one day ticket which gave me unlimited use of all the buses and trains in Northern Ireland, not bad for £15!

First stop of the morning was Castlerock and a walk along the cliffs to the Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne. I spent over two hours walking to and around the site, and as I wandered back to the station I realised that I had managed to time it just so that I would miss trains in both directions and have a nearly two hour wait. Thankfully the trains were playing up and the Belfast train was still sitting in the station (and diverted to Portrush) when I arrived.

It left a few moments later and 30 minutes further down and then up the line I found myself in Portrush.

This is Northern Ireland’s premier beach resort, and it is just like any major British sea-side town on a sunny Saturday, absolutely packed and unbearable, so I headed out to the bus station and into the countryside.

I caught the open-top bus out towards the Giants Causeway, with the intention of changing there onto another bus to take me onto the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge which had been closed when I had gone on the Giants Causeway tour from Belfast last November. I felt quite glad to be going on from the Causeway as it was absolutely heaving with tourists and coaches; a far cry from the peacefully quiet place I remembered from November.

I got to the rope bridge with just over an hour before the final bus of the day back. Not a problem I thought, how wrong I was. Firstly from the entrance kiosks it’s a walk of just over a Kilometre, or 10 minutes to get to the bridge, and then you have to queue to get over and then queue to get back over. When I got to the bridge the queue was over 30 minutes in each direction, meaning that if I joined the queue I would miss the last bus of the day by at least 20 minutes, so I decided to take some photos of the bridge (and a couple of people freaking out on it and freezing to the spot and having to be pulled over, possibly another cause of the long delays crossing), before heading back to the car park and start the journey back.

Whilst getting to the rope-bridge had taken over 6 hours (albeit that it wasn’t my original intention of going there, I had thought Portrush might have been more pleasant, and on the way out I did spend two hours wandering around Castlerock), the journey back was decidedly more speedy.

As the weather was starting to look a little ropey (and there were still masses of tourists at the Causeway), I caught the bus back into Bushmills and picked up the open-top bus on it’s outward bound journey to the causeway. Consequently I had a comfy seat out of the light drizzle when it left the causeway loaded town with tourists.

There was an event going on in Portstewart so the bus went straight down the main road into Coleraine rather than following the coast which made the connection in Coleraine for the train back to Derry even more comfortable that it had previously been. On arrival in Derry there was a bus waiting to go back to the bus station so less than three hours after leaving the Rope Bridge I was walking into a restaurant in Derry for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel to pack, ready to move on the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Derry; Sunday, 26 July, 2009

After another stunning breakfast it was time to checkout and head down for the bus. The hotels credit card machine was on the blink so I was going to have to trudge into town get some cash out of an ATM head back and then go back in for the bus, until the owner offered to give me a lift down to the bus station and an ATM, saving the multiple trips backwards and forwards, and also avoiding the hefty walk down hill with heavy luggage.

It also gave me the opportunity to find out quite how quiet Derry is on a Sunday morning. The answer is very quiet. The bus station had only just opened when I arrived at a little after 10:45, and the first bus that pulled in was my 11:30 departure to Galway from the depot over the border in Letterkenny. A little before we were due to leave a Ulsterbus did pull in, pick some people up and leave again, but that was the only other sign of any public transport in the city this Sunday morning.

The bus left on time and headed out of the city and out of the country across the most invisible border in the world. Anywhere else you could have mistaken the sign for just a road sign telling you that you were in a new county, the only difference is that County Donegal is in a different country to County Derry.

The bus pulled into the first main stop at Letterkenny about 5 minutes early and the driver popped out to speak to a member of staff. I didn’t think anything of it, but a little bit further on at the next stop some 25 minutes late we were all asked to get off the coach and get on the (much nicer) coach in front. The driver had reported at Letterkenny that his Speedometer was sticking at 70 KPH so he didn’t know how fast he was actually going on the main roads, hence getting to Letterkenny ahead of schedule.

After the change of bus the journey was uneventful as we headed South and West towards Galway.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Galway; Sunday, 26 July, 2009

The journey may have been uneventful from Derry, but you couldn’t say the same about the weather. It was pretty impressive, with regular massive downpours.

We arrived in Galway on time, and in a window of good weather, so I was able to walk to the bus stop, get the bus out to my B&B and get into the hotel before the sky burst open again.

I sat out this particularly heavy downpour in the hotel, and after it had cleared walked back down the hill into town. As I set off the sky was blue and the sun was out, but twice on my way into town I had to dive for cover as yet another wave of rain came across.

I had a long wander around town, punctuated with regular dives for cover. The last downpour finally let up, but rather than stopping it went into a continuous drizzle. With the skies still looking threatening, and the option of either 15 minutes or nearly two hours for the next buses (as I had no intention of walking back up the hill in this weather) I decided to grab dinner in the form of some supplies for a spa and then dived onto the bus just as the weather picked up it’s relentless soaking again.

15 minutes later and with great timing the rain paused just as the bus arrived at my stop so I was able to leap off and scamper to the hotel before the skies opened again. I had a look online at the weather forecast for the day (some showers) and for tomorrow (mostly sunny) and contemplated whether I should get a wetsuit or a dry-suit for the following day.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Galway; Monday, 27 July, 2009

I caught the bus into town and headed to the tourist office to book up for a tour the following day, get some postcards, and then pick up one of the many open-top tours that run in Galway. This tour had the benefit of the front third of the bus being covered so I avoided the worst of the spectacular downpour which hit just as we started moving off.

After the tour I had a bit of a wander through the city centre before finding myself at the quayside for the Lough Corrib river cruise, which I decided to join. By now it was beautifully sunny and warm so I sat up on the sun deck. 20 minutes into the cruise and everyone was diving for the lower deck cabin as the skies opened again, then it cleared, everyone went up towelled down the seats to make them dry and enjoyed another 10 minutes before the heavens opened again, this repeated twice more during the 90 minute cruise.

After the river cruise I wandered back into the centre of town, via a quick visit to the cathedral, and visited the Galway museum. I had intended on joining a walking tour at three after visiting the museum, but as I stepped out of the museum at about ten to three the skies were looking menacing again. I decided not to risk it and instead joined a different open-top tour for another tour of the city. Whilst it hadn’t rained at three and the skies had cleared quite nicely, halfway round the skies opened again and I again found myself running for the cover of a lower deck, and very grateful that I hadn’t gone on the walking tour as I would probably have been soaked.

Finishing the tour I had a bit more of wander around the centre of the city taking in a few of the sights before heading back to the hotel, getting to within 200 meters of the door before the skies opened again and this time getting absolutely soaked as there was nowhere to head to.

After a change of clothes I wandered back out again, this time into almost clear blue skies with no clouds looking threatening. I had a wander down the hill from the hotel onto Galway bay and walked along the Prom all the way from Salthill back into the centre of Galway, which made for a very pleasant evening with the sun (and force 9 gale) on my back.

A quick bite to eat in the city centre and then back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Galway; Tuesday, 28 July, 2009

I checked out of the hotel and took my luggage down to the left luggage office at the train station, then walked the short distance to the coach station to join my day tour of Connemara.

The tour headed out along the banks of Lough Corrib and then out into the Wilds of Connemara stopping at a ruined abbey at Ross Errily before heading to the village of Cong where they filmed “The Quiet Man”. From there it was a drive through the stunning scenery of Connemara, where the small coach proved its worth going up little lanes into the hills that a normal sized coach wouldn’t be able to traverse.

The main stop of the day was at Kylemore Abbey and Gardens, then it was time to start heading back towards Galway, only there was a slight problem. Two of the tour group failed to show at our departure time. They had got ten to four and ten past four confused and wandered back, thinking they were on time, 20 minutes late. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem, but the tour was now not going to arrive back into Galway until after 6, and the luggage office closed at 6.

The driver got onto the office who went and spoke very nicely to the left luggage office staff at the station and because I had been able to describe my bag (and more importantly had left the Belfast baggage tag on it so I was able to uniquely prove it was my bag as it had my name and I could confirm the flight details), they let them take it so we didn’t have to worry about getting back into town in time.

After the tour ended I was reunited with my luggage, grabbed some water for the bus journey, and waited for my coach to Limerick

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Limerick; Tuesday, 28 July, 2009

Just over two hours after leaving Galway the coach pulled into Limerick station and I got off, recovered my luggage from the luggage compartment and wandered the short distance from the station to the city centre and my hotel.

After checking in I had a quick wander around the city, taking in some of the stunning views of the late evening sun, setting behind the clouds over the Shannon, before grabbing a bite to eat and then back to the hotel for a well earned sleep.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Limerick; Wednesday, 29 July, 2009

I headed out from the hotel in the direction of the waterfront as a quick look at the map showed that most of the attractions that the city had to offer were on the river. After a quick detour via the Tourist information centre to get some postcards, I wandered over to the Hunt Museum.

Having looked round the museum I was about to walk round to the castle when I stumbled across the well-hidden and not publicised (no flyers or notices in the tourist information centre) open-top-tour of the city. I did a circuit on that, having to dive for cover part way round as the skies opened (becoming a feature of this trip!).

I then continued my walk taking in St Mary’s (Church of Ireland) Cathedral before moving down to the main site of the city, King Johns Castle.

In the end, with a combination of lots to see, and dodging between buildings to avoid sharp showers, I spent nearly all the afternoon in there, coming out of the castle just in time to avoid the next shower by hopping on the last tour bus of the afternoon.

I quickly detoured up to the bus station to buy my ticket for the following morning before wandering back to the hotel for dinner and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Limerick; Thursday, 30 July, 2009

After a decent breakfast I packed my bags and wandered the short distance from the hotel up to the bus station to catch the bus onto my next stop, Cork

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Cork; Thursday, 30 July, 2009

The bus pulled into the new bus station in Cork 10 minutes early, and that wasn’t the only surprise. The last time I was in Cork had been five years ago (the last time I was travelling around Ireland), and since then the city has undergone a massive transformation. The dark dingey bus station has been opened up so it’s much larger and lighter, there are lots of new glass fronted buildings, and along the south channel of the River Lee is a boardwalk for part of the way

I had to wait a bit before I could check into the hotel, though they did look after my luggage for me, so I had a wander around the city centre taking in all the changes, as well as popping via the station to collect my train ticket for the following day.

After checking in to the hotel, I wandered back to the bus station and picked up the coach to Cashel in county Tipperary, famous for its Rock and the ruins of a once great Cathedral there.

I spent the whole afternoon looking around the town, including the ruins of two abbeys, the rock, and the museum to Irish music and culture, finally getting a bus back just before 7. By the time I got back into Cork it was getting late so I had a quick bite to eat, before heading to bed.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Cork; Friday, 31 July, 2009

I had a little bit of time to spare after breakfast before my train north to Dublin, but it was raining quite heavily, so I got the open-top bus tour, except this one had a partially covered front so I was able to sit in the dry and take in the sites (albeit through very damp windows, I did wonder how many of my photos would look more impressionist rather than real)

After the tour I wandered back to the hotel, picked up my stuff and walked over to the station to catch the train to Dublin

Weather

Heavy Rain No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Dublin; Friday, 31 July, 2009

Nearly three hours after leaving Cork the train pulled into Heuston station in Dublin, and I headed for the tram.

After getting out to the hotel and dropping my stuff off I headed out into the city to do a spot of sightseeing.

As the weather was starting to clear, and as I have seen Dublin many times before, I decided to head slightly out of the city to take in the views of Dublin bay. Previously I have done this from Howth in the north, this time I went south to Bray.

Unfortunately, by the time I reached Bray the weather had started to make a turn for the worse and I it was impossible to make out anything more than about a mile away.

After getting a bit of a soaking I headed back into town, and out the other side, but here it was even worse, with a really strong wind making it difficult to stand still to take photos, so I decided to jack it in and head back to the hotel for dinner and an early night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Dublin; Saturday, 01 August, 2009

I had a quick breakfast and then negotiated the walk ways over the motor-way back to the tram stop.

Unfortunately, as it was a bank holiday weekend, the tram was partially closed to enable extension works to go ahead, consequently I had to walk the final two stops past Busaras to Connolly station to catch the “Enterprise” service to Belfast

The Enterprise service is run jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways providing the only cross border train service in Ireland. It’s got a reputation for being a symbol of cooperation during the worst of the troubles.

It also has a reputation for being habitually late, and this morning was no difference. The inbound train from Belfast should have arrived at 09:55 when I got to Connolly station and a little after 10:15 it still hadn’t arrived; in fact it didn’t arrive until gone 10:30.

A very quick clean later (and not enough time to put the reservation cards in, I was quite glad I was at the front of the queue so I was still able to get the seat I wanted), and they started boarding us at a little after 10:40.

We pulled out on time, and appeared to be going smoothly, for the first two minutes, until we found ourselves behind a stopping train all the way to Howth Junction, we then picked up speed, but by the time we crossed the border we were already 10 minutes late.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Belfast; Saturday, 01 August, 2009

10 minutes late by the border became 20 minutes late by the time we finally pulled into Belfast Central station, the train had crawled the last few miles into Belfast (though it had saved some time by not letting everyone off who wanted to get off at Portadown, there were a half dozen, quite unhappy customers still on board as the train pulled out!)

From Belfast Central I hopped on the next train back to Great Victoria Street and walked the short distance to my hotel for the night.

Having checked in and dropped all my stuff off, I headed back out to go south of the city to Strangford Lough, the largest sea Lough in the British Isles.

There are several ways of getting to the lough; I caught the bus down the coastal side of the Ards Peninsular and round the bottom to Portaferry.

I had a look around the town, taking in the aquarium (Exploris) and its ruined castle, before popping across the mouth of the lough to Strangford on the opposite side. The 150 Square Kilometers of lough narrows down to a channel just a couple of hundred meters wide by Strangford and the ferry really had to fight the tide to get across.

I had a wander around Strangford, taking in it’s slightly less ruined castle, before it was time to head back across the lough to Portaferry and the bus back to Belfast.

The return bus ran up the edge of the Lough to its start at Newtownards, offering a different selection of stunning views to the ones on the way out.

By the time I finally arrived back in Belfast the light was starting to fade so it was time to grab a bite to eat and then head to bed.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Belfast; Sunday, 02 August, 2009

With my bags safely stowed in the hotels luggage room I wandered across the road to the bus station to head south to the Mourne Mountains

I didn’t have very much time as I had an early evening flight so it was only going to be a quick touring visit. From Belfast I caught the bus out to Newcastle, down quite close to the border with the republic. There I picked up the summer only Mourne Rambler bus which went up into the hills and mountains.

Whilst mostly designed as a way for walkers to get into the mountains to start their hikes, you can just sit on the bus and go once round its circular route back to Newcastle through some of the most stunning scenery in Northern Ireland.

Having made it back to Newcastle I hopped back on the bus to Belfast and then onto one of the Open-Top tours of the city to take in some of the sights.

By the time I got back to the centre of Belfast it was fast approaching the time to head off to the airport, but there was just time to go into the new shopping centre and take the lift to its viewing dome at the very top of the building to take in some of the views over the city.

Then it was back to ground level, over to the hotel to grab my luggage and back to the bus station to catch the airport bus and start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Monday, 10 August, 2009

Arriving at Kings Cross to find there are no trains on any platform is never a good sign. An earlier problem with the power cables at Doncaster meant that everything coming in was heavily delayed. By 10:30 the 8:00 arrival still hadn’t pulled in. Needless to say there was absolute chaos with the concourse overflowing with people out on to the street, and tempers, rapidly, becoming frayed, even though the staff were giving out as much information as they could.

I decided to sidle across the road to the much quieter St Pancras and keep an eye on the live departures information on the internet, consequently I was able to sit in quiet with a good book until five minutes after my train was due to leave when it finally gained a platform number, sidle back cross to Kings Cross and board in a much more relaxed frame of mind that some of my fellow passengers.

In the end we were only 25 minutes late in departing (good considering the train an hour earlier than mine had only left a few minutes before mine), and a significant number of people had jumped on the other trains so mine was quite empty. However, it was clear that there were still some fractious people on board as the “Bar-Cafe” manager had to keep announcing that the “Bar-Cafe” would be late opening as they hadn’t had time in the short turn around at Kings Cross to get everything set up, by the third announcement you could hear the frustration in her voice!

We lost a bit more time on route and arrived into Newcastle around 30 minutes late. I walked from the station to the hotel, which is the point at which I discovered that Newcastle is built on some pretty steep hills, and my hotel was at the bottom of the second one from the station.

Having checked in and dumped my stuff I headed off with the intention of visiting Tynemouth Priory and Castle, so I headed for the Metro station and hit a major problem. The Metro is nearly 30 years old and it doesn’t look like they have ever upgraded the ticket machines. What might have been OK in the early 80’s isn’t quite so practicable by 2009. I hadn’t expected the machines to take credit and debit cards, but notes would have been useful. The only thing the machines would take was coins; the only thing I had was a note. So I to wander back into the very centre of town to the main Metro station to find a change machine and buy my ticket there.

By the time I had messed around with all this, and then just missed a train, it was getting on for 5pm, and by the time we finally reached Tynemouth closer to half five, by which point the site would be closing, so I stayed on the train round to the seaside resort of Whitley Bay to have a look.

Sadly, Whitley Bay looks as though its heyday is behind it. All the big hotels I saw were boarded up, and a large number of the guest houses were up for sale, it probably didn’t help that as I was wandering around I had to keep finding shelter as another downpour passed through.

Disappointed with the coast, I headed back into town, through another downpour and back to the hotel to get a bite to eat. By the time I had finished it had stopped raining and the skies were blue again, so I headed out for a wander from the hotel.

Just across the road from the hotel is the Millennium bridge (or blinking eye bridge), so I had a wander over that taking in the multitude of other bridges that span the Tyne in central Newcastle. The other side of the bridge and I was in Gateshead so I had a wander up from the riverside into the town centre. From there, as I had an all day ticket for the Metro, I hopped on one headed for Sunderland to have a look around there.

Within five minutes of leaving Sunderland station I had already see two people nearly having a fight and several pools of vomit on the street, it could just be I caught the place at a bad time, but I decided it was probably best not to do a lot of sightseeing so I headed back, quickly, on the next Metro back to Newcastle. From the central station I wandered down to the river side and had a stroll along the quayside back to the hotel taking in the bridges at night, before heading to my bed for a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Tuesday, 11 August, 2009

First stop of the morning was the change machine at Central metro station so that I could by a day ticket for the metro, then it was off towards the coast and North Sheilds. From there it was a short walk down to the river and a quick hop across the Tyne on the Sheilds ferry to South Sheilds. There I picked up first target of the day, the South Tyneside sightseeing tour.

I did a full circuit of the tour, before continuing on to Souter Lighthouse down the coast to have a look around that.

After the lighthouse I wandered back up the coast to Marsden Bay to have a look around the grotto which had been blasted out of the cliffs, and turned into a pub and restaurant, then it was back onto the bus and up to the Roman remains at Arbeia just above South Shields.

Having looked around the site, I wandered back towards the river to catch the ferry back across, hoping that I would beat the massive black clouds that were gathering, I did, but only just and I still got a little damp.

From the shelter of the ferry waiting room I watched a particularly spectacular downpour work its way out to sea, and then, with impeccable timing, a very damp load of passengers disembarked the inbound ferry.

Back in North Shields I headed back to the Metro station and round one stop to Tynemouth to take in the Castle and Priory that I had failed to do the previous evening.

Then it was back to the hotel for a bit to eat, and an early-ish night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Wednesday, 12 August, 2009

An early start to the morning as I had to be at the station before nine to catch the bus up onto Hadrian’s Wall. Unlike in May from Carlisle, the AD122 only has one service a day in each direction to and from Newcastle, so its quite important to make the morning one, otherwise it’s the train out to Hexham (at additional cost) and then hanging around in Hexham for a while for the next bus.

First stop of the morning was Chesters Roman fort and bathhouse, then onto Housesteads set dramatically on a ridge. From Housesteads it was back to Hexham on the bus and a look around the town, and a spot of lunch, before catching the train one stop to Corbridge and the Roman site there.

After looking around Corbridge it was back to the station and back to Hexham and then onto the last AD122 of the day, the one that goes back to Newcastle.

By the time I got back into Newcastle it was already gone six, but with clear blue skies I decided to head on out to one of Gatesheads most famous sites, though it’s only just over ten years old, and most people think it’s in Newcastle.

Anthony Gormley’s Angel of the North statue stands on a hillside overlooking the A1 as it approaches Gateshead and has become an unofficial shorthand for the whole North East (in the same way as the Houses of Parliament or a Red Double-Decker are short hand for London). Up close it was smaller that I thought it would be, though you don’t have the effect of seeing it on a hilltop, when you are on top of the same hill.

Having taken in the statue it was back to Gateshead metro station and I realised good timing to head out to the coast to take some pictures of Tynemouth castle and priory in the evening twilight.

I took quite a few photos and then started to wander along the coast a bit to take some more pictures. Part way along I stopped to watch the stunning sight of the moon rising, appearing to come up from underneath the North Sea.

I carried on walking as I watched it, and managed to completely miss all the signs for the Metro station that I was heading for Cullercoats, and instead found myself back in Whitley Bay, with the time fast approaching 10:30, so I wandered back to the metro station and caught a train back to the hotel. I managed to grab some stuff from the Tesco’s just behind the hotel with minutes to spare before it closed, and then headed for bed.

No sooner had my head hit the pillow then I was up again as the fire alarm had been set off. The whole hotel evacuated, I did a naughty and quickly got dressed but was still in the middle of the main bulk of evacuees. It turned out, 20 cold minutes later, after the fire brigade had been and gone, that a guest had not believed the signs about sensitive smoke alarms and “this is a no-smoking hotel” and had lit up in their room. Needles to say, there were not continuing their stay in the Travelodge.

So, nearly 40 minutes after I had started going to bed, I finally got to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Thursday, 13 August, 2009

Whilst my going to sleep may have been disturbed by a fire alarm, I was slightly less impressed when I was rudely awaken by yet another fire alarm, this time someone burning toast at breakfast, by cooking it in their own room!, thought they did at least stop the alarm before everyone had to evacuate.

I headed out into town to Central Station to pick up the city sightseeing tour of Newcastle Gateshead. I did one complete circuit and continued round on the second circuit to the bus stop right by the hotel (which, if I had bothered to check I would have found this morning saving myself the hefty walk up hill!). I wasn’t going to the hotel, instead I was just in time to watch one of the most impressive sights in Newcastle Gateshead, the sight of the millennium bridge tilting up to allow a ship to pass underneath.

Having watched the bridge perform its magic, I crossed over it and went into the Baltic Mill. Formerly a flower mill today it is the regions premier modern arts complex and the centre piece of the regeneration of this part of Gateshead. Having looked around the mill, and taken in the views from the roof top terrace, I wandered the short distance along the quayside to the regions premier music venue the Gateshead Sage.

From the sage it was a short walk back across the High Bridge to the New Castle, the building that gave the city its name. After looking around the castle, and grabbing a quick bite to eat, I hopped on a train out to Prudhoe to take in the castle there.

From Prudhoe it was back to Newcastle and the final stops of the day at the Anglican Cathedral of St Nicholas and the Black Gate, former gatehouse of the castle, now separated from it by the railway line.

I headed back to the hotel for some well earned rest, and some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Friday, 14 August, 2009

I headed out from the hotel to the station to drop off my luggage before heading down onto the Metro and out to my final Roman fort of the tip.

At the imaginatively titled Wallsend, the Wall finally meets the Tyne, and it’s final fort, Segadunum. I had a long look round both the museum and the fort site before heading back into town for some lunch.

With just a couple of hours left before I had to catch the train I took in a couple of the big free museums in the city. First off was the Great North Museum, and from there it was a quick hop on the Metro over to the Discovery museum.

I had lost track of time and only part way round the Discovery museum the tannoy went off to announce that the museum would be closing shortly, so I didn’t get to see all of it.

From the museum I wandered over to the Catholic Cathedral to have a look around, but that to had closed, in fact it appeared that all the sights in Newcastle close at five, so I headed back to the station to collect my luggage and have a bite to eat before catching my train home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Milan; Friday, 25 September, 2009

I’d been delayed getting away from work, and got to Gatwick 20 minutes after checkin had opened, and given the size of the queue I was confronted with I was slightly concerned about getting through in time, but the queue moved very quickly and just over 10 minutes later I was checked in and joining an even longer queue for security.

Finally through security, I popped into WHSmiths for a guide book and Dixons for some batteries. I was going to wander up and look at getting some lunch, but as I went past the departures screens I noticed, that despite it still being 50 minutes until my flight was due to leave, it had a gate number and a “Go to Gate” message, so I grabbed a sandwich and munched it on the short walk to the gate.

I didn’t know what was happening, straight through the airport at speed, the closest gate to the terminal building with a plane already on stand, and only a couple of minutes later boarding. I knew it couldn’t last, and it didn’t. We sat there for about 20 minutes whilst ground crew came in and out of the plane. Then there was an announcement to see if four people were on the plane. They weren’t but their bags were safely stowed in the hold, so we had to wait for them to be located and off-loaded before we finally pushed back around 20 minutes late.

An uneventful, if slightly bumpy, flight later we touched down at Malpensa airport. I was through quite quickly and taking my life in my hand dashed across the road to catch the inter-terminal bus round to the station in Terminal 1.

As I walked through the door I spotted that I had three minutes until the train departed. I grabbed a ticket from the office and leapt onto the train with seconds to spare. 45 minutes later I was in the city centre, trying to find the correct tram stop to get to the hotel.

I finally got to the hotel, it was quite a bit further out of the city centre than I was expecting, checked in and then headed back into the city.

I had a wander around the Cathedral area, and the Victor Emmanuel Gallery (think shopping centre, and then realise that that label doesn’t do it justice). After a short wander I grabbed a bite to eat, and after a pretty large dinner (to make up for the small lunch), I waddled away from the restaurant.

I had a quick wander around a bit more, before heading back to the tram stop and the journey back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Milan; Saturday, 26 September, 2009

With my first ever large Italian breakfast inside me (the hotel went for the Full continental route, rather than the coffee and a croissant normally associated with Italian hotels), I headed out into town and the first stop of the morning, the castle.

Two years ago in Florence I benefited from European Heritage Weekend, when every museum and gallery was free. Last year in Venice, by a pure fluke of picking the same weekend (last one in September), I found a large number of attractions free. I had looked on the internet and couldn’t find any mention of European Heritage Weekend for this year, so I didn’t know what to expect when I got to the five museums in the castle.

As to whether it was European Heritage Weekend, or just the staff couldn’t be bothered to take money, all the museums were free, which suited me just fine.

Having taken in all of the attractions of the castle, I had a wander around the surrounding parkland, including stopping for a rather late lunch. I then wandered back towards the Cathedral to pick up the Metro (as my feet were feeling tired, I couldn’t be bothered to walk the half mile to my next stop!) out to a couple of the more spectacular churches in the area.

First up was San Lorenzo alle Colonne, one of the oldest churches in Western Europe dating back to the 4th Century, from there it was a bit of a hike over to Sant’Ambrogio. After looking around the churches I caught the metro back into the city centre and out to the spectacular central station.

The main reason was to check the times of trains to Bergamo for tomorrow, and to get a ticket in advance, but the station itself was worth the visit. It’s a vast and highly elaborate building (if you ignore the fascist undertones of who had it made so spectacular). I caught the tram round from the station, in the North Eastern part of the city, to the Naviglio Grande in the South West of the city. The canal was once a major part of the city’s port. The network of canals were so efficient that Milan, despite being a very long way from the sea, was at one point the 13th most important port in the country (and remember this is a country with a massive coastline along both sides of the country).

By the time I had finished looking around it was starting to get dark, so I headed back to the hotel to drop my stuff off and freshening up, before heading back out to take some pictures of the castle and night, and to grab a bite to eat.

Weather

Haze Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Milan; Sunday, 27 September, 2009

It was the point at which I set my alarm for 7am on a Sunday morning last night that I really resented booking a hotel so far out from the city centre. Dutifully, at 7am I was woken up, dragged my still slumbering body through a shower and up into breakfast, before heading out to catch an early tram into town.

The reason for the early start was so that I could get out to Bergamo, part way between Milan and Verona, and the choices of train, that I had found out about, were either 9am or 11am (it was only after getting to Bergamo that I found out that there were more trains from a different Milan station!) So, at a little after 10am I found myself stepping off of the train at Bergamo station and heading for the bus up to the old town.

The city is really two cities in one. The old town, medieval in structure, perched precariously on the top of the hill, surrounded by it’s Venetian walls, and the new town down in the valley beneath it. All the main attractions are, naturally, located in the old town at the top of the hill, hence the lazy approach and catching the bus all the way to the top (or I could have walked to the Funicular station and caught that up, but as the bus was there...)

From the bus stop I wandered a bit further up hill, thanks to the help of the city’s other Funicular railway, to the remains of the castle at San Vigilio. After taking in the views I came back down on the Funicular, and had a long wander around the old city centre, taking in many of the main sights including the bell tower, remembrance garden and castle ruins and a couple of the city museums.

I then caught the Funicular and bus (well it was there when I got off the funicular, I wasn’t going to let it go to waste) back to the station to pick up the open-top sight seeing tour of the city. Having done a circuit and a bit I got off back at the main entrance into the old town and had a bit more of a wander around, taking in the Cathedral and the even larger and more impressive Santa Maria Maggiore.

I stopped for a late afternoon drink and snack in the main square before it was time to wander back to the open-top tour stop for the bus back to the station. I could have taken the normal bus, but as all of these were heaving, and the tour bus was almost empty, and I had paid for it, it seemed a shame to let it go to waste.

In the end I had a 40 minute wait for any train back to Milan, and opted to go back a different (and at this point I also discovered cheaper!) way. I arrived back at the Porta Garibaldi station so caught the metro the couple of stops round to central station to grab a quick bite to eat, before catching the trolley bus and tram back to the hotel for some decent sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Milan; Monday, 28 September, 2009

A very leisurely breakfast this morning to make up for yesterday, and then a gentle wander into town to go on the open-top bus tour.

This being a Monday there was very little in the way of attractions actually open, so I decided to do a circuit of each of the two routes the tour offered. Only Milan’s traffic got in the way.

By the time I finally go to the starting point at the castle it was already 11:15, but that wasn’t a problem, the tour wasn’t due out to 11:30. 11:30 came and went, as did 11:45. Finally some 25 minutes late the bus pulled in from the first tour of the morning which had obviously taken quite a bit longer than the 90 minutes allocated.

There were patches of bad traffic, and you could see where it had gotten held up on its first journey, but with the driver going at quite a bit more than the normal sedate speed for a tour, we made it back to the Castle only 10 minutes behind schedule, and by the time we got back round to the Cathedral again, the bus was almost on time.

By now it was early afternoon, and I decided to take a break from the tour (having now been round Route B fully once and half way round again to get back to the Cathedral) and headed into the Cathedral to have a look around.

Having taken in the sites inside the cathedral I took the lift to the roof to take in the stunning views both of the Cathedral itself and of Milan from it.

Then it was time to come back down to earth, take the tour bus round on route A for a circuit and a bit back past the Cathedral to the castle.

After getting back to the castle I had a wander round to the station for the train to the airport to check what times the trains were, and where the luggage lockers were. Unfortunately, I found that the luggage lockers were all out of service (and looked like they had been out of service for some time), so instead I wandered over to the central station to check there. Thankfully they did have a left luggage service, so I knew that I could leave my stuff there, and if needed take the bus from there out to the airport.

Having sorted out the plans for tomorrow, I wandered back to the centre of town for a bit to eat, before heading back to the hotel to pack and get a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Milan; Tuesday, 29 September, 2009

I checked out of the hotel and caught the tram and trolley bus round to the central station to drop by bags off for the morning, and then wandered back over to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

The church, originally part of a monastery, is quite spectacular, but the main reason people visit is for the painting in the old refectory of the monastery. In fact so many people want to visit, and so fragile is the work, that you have to book months in advance to get a chance to see it. The work is “The Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci, and when I arrived the tickets had sold out until November.

Thankfully, I had booked online at the end of June, but even then had only just got a ticket for a reasonable slot. My visit wasn’t due until 13:15, but I needed to pick the ticket up in advance, and I wanted to have a look at the rest of the church (and more importantly, as I needed to get back to the station and then the airport quite quickly after the visit), find out the easiest way of getting there and back.

I had a good look around the church, and then with nearly two hours before my ticket time, had a bit of a wander around the area of the old, now vanished, canal near the Garibaldi station.

Having taken a look around, and stopped for a quick lunch, I headed back to Santa Maria for my turn to have a look at the Last Supper. Getting into the refectory is a slow process, as they put you through a number of air tight, and gradually cooling, rooms to ensure that the humidity in the room is not affected by lots of people coming straight in from a hot square outside.

You go in as part of a party of 25, no more than this is allowed in another attempt to keep the damage to the painting to a minimum, the main problem being that Leonardo used the wrong type of paints and the wrong technique, so that the painting was already degrading within a decade of it’s painting.

After taking in the painting you exit, as you would in any good museum, via the gift shop, and back out to the square in front of the church.

Then it was time to head for the station to pick up my luggage and then get out to the airport. I could have wandered back across town to the north station and catch the train back to terminal 1 and then the inter-terminal bus to terminal 2, but as the express coach to Terminal 2 leaves from outside the station I thought I would catch that.

I made the mistake of sitting at the front, and after about 10 minutes of the journey was convinced that I wasn’t going to make it to the airport. We had already been involved in several near misses, and were currently tail-gating a cement lorry down the autostrada at over 100Km/H.

We did make it to the airport in one piece, but as a sign of the driving, when the luggage doors opened a lot of the bags fell out as they had been moved around so much! I grabbed my bag, joined a queue for checkin and started the journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Nuremberg; Sunday, 20 December, 2009

For the last couple of years I have been going to Belgium just before Christmas. Thankfully I didn’t this year. The chaos of Eurostar having broken a couple of days previously, and still not working, added to generally appalling weather conditions across most of the UK, Northern France, Belgium, Northern Germany and everywhere in between made it look as though any travel might be difficult.

I set of extra early to make sure that I didn’t get caught up in snow chaos, and consequently found myself at Stansted Airport with three hours to spare, although I needed nearly 45 minutes to get through security, so it was probably a good thing.

Through security and the news looked pretty grim. The Air Berlin flights to Cologne and Dusseldorf were all either “Indefinitely Delayed” or Cancelled, and the Hannover flight that should have left at two in the afternoon was currently estimating a departure closer to 7pm.

As a precaution, in case I was massively early, I had booked myself into the Business lounge at Stansted, so I headed there to take in the free food and drink until either my flight left, or they kicked me out of the airport and into a hotel.

There was one other man in the lounge, he’d been there since lunchtime, trying to get back to Dusseldorf, but the airport was closed, and they couldn’t say when a flight would leave. I felt quite guilty when, 90 minutes later, and bang on time, my flight was announced for boarding.

Just over two hours, and an uneventful flight later, we touched down in Nuremberg, the airport covered in snow, but thankfully the runway still open. Baggage reclaim, customs and a quick U-Bahn ride into town and I found myself at the hotel. After an initial panic because they couldn’t find my booking on the system (the guy was convinced I’d said my surname was Brown!), I checked in and headed to my bed.

Weather

No Data Slight Snow Showers
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-6ºC/21ºF

Nuremberg; Monday, 21 December, 2009

With a “full-German” breakfast inside me I headed out into the snow to take the tram out to my first destination of the day, the Dokumentationszentrym and Reichsparteiagsgelände. Long titles, short description – Nazis. Nuremberg is a city that has been badly tainted by the Nazis, it was here that they enacted the racial laws which turned the Jews into second-class citizens. It was here that the largest of the Rally’s were held, the biggest propaganda events. But it was also here that the world held the Nazi leaders to account at the end of the war. Partly because the courthouse had a prison attached which meant there were no chances of escape or assassination of the defendants, but partly, symbolically, to prove a point.

I had a long wander around the Documents Centre and then followed the signed walk around the Third Reich’s parade grounds. Some of the most infamous pieces of propaganda were filmed here and it’s slightly weird to wander through the now slowly decaying remains of what was once supposed to be the “Reich to last a thousand years”.

By the time I got back into the city centre it was already mid-afternoon, and I was starting to think about a late lunch. I got off of the tram and after a couple of minutes wandering found myself at the Hauptmarkt where the Christmas market was taking place, so I grabbed some food from there, before heading off up the hill to the imperial palace.

I spent quite a bit of time up at the palace, going on a guided tour of the apartments as well as climbing one of the towers for stunning views over the city, made more stunning by the snow on the roofs.

By the time I left the castle it was already dark so I wandered back to the hotel and dropped some of my stuff off before heading back out to the Christmas market to do some final Christmas shopping.

I staggered back to the hotel, more weighed down by the amount of sausages I had consumed (and gluhwein drunk) than the presents, and turned in for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Slight Snow Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Nuremberg; Tuesday, 22 December, 2009

Another filling breakfast under my rapidly tightening belt and I headed out towards the city centre.

First stops were a couple of the city churches, the Lorenzkirche, the Frauenkirch and the St Sebalduskirche, though the first one I decided to give a miss as a massive school party were entering as I arrived and I thought it would probably be a little busy inside.

After these I walked round to the Statmuseum Fembohaus to have a look around both the house and take in the “MultiVision Expereince” Noricama.

I had a wander back through the Christmas market, stopping for a late lunch, before finding myself back at the Hauptbahnhof. From there I had a wander around the edge of some of the remains of the city walls back round to the castle.

By the time I had reached the castle it was getting dark so I headed back through the city centre to the hotel to have a quick rest before heading back out again for some further “wandering” around the Christmas market (and in no way do I mean excessive gluhwein consumption!)

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Nuremberg; Wednesday, 23 December, 2009

I checked out of the hotel, chucked my bags into a left luggage locker and hopped on the train out of Nuremberg for a day-trip to Bamberg.

I had a long wander around the city centre taking in the sights, before climbing up to what I thought was the Cathedral, it looked impressive enough to be it. Instead it turned out to be the Frauenkirche, so after looking around that I had to come back down the hill and climb up a different one to get to the Cathedral.

The Domplatz is an impressive site, with the cathedral on one side and the imperial palace on the other. I kind of got distracted by the palace, so went and had a look around that before heading back over to the Cathedral for a look around.

I wandered back through the town, taking in Kliene Venedig (Little Venice) and the Old Town Hall before it was time to head back to the station to get the train back to Nuremberg.

Unfortunately, the snow of the previous few days was still playing havoc with the German trains. My train arrived on time, but then had to wait in Bamburg station for the delayed Inter City service from the Wernemunde (I think on the very north coast) to Munich. To be fair to it, a train that had covered the best part of 1,000KM was only 55 minutes late, but it did have to add a delay onto mine, which got a little later all the way along the line, and so it was gone 3:30 when I got back into the Hauptbahnhof.

I had originally planned to wander back up to the Christmas markets for a final Gluhwein and Bratwurst, but a quick calculation made it obvious that I could, but I would then be removing any safety margin for getting to the airport. Normally this wouldn’t have given me any cause for concern in Germany, but on the past few days I didn’t want to risk it, so instead, I wandered down to the left luggage lockers, picked up my stuff and headed back to the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Heavy Sleet Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Holyhead; Tuesday, 19 January, 2010

Despite Southern’s best efforts I made it to Euston with time to spare for my train north. The first part of the journey to Chester was uneventful, however after leaving Chester and crossing into Wales the line suddenly becomes stunning. With the backdrop of the mountains, by Bangor the Snowdonia national park, and the tracks skirting the shore, it made for a very pretty ride.

On time we pulled into Holyhead, and with the final thing I saw before we pulled into the station being the hotel it was a pretty quick transfer from the train to my room.

Having checked-in and dropped all my stuff off I went for a wander around the town. To be brutally honest there is not much in Holyhead, especially not in January, apart from the small church built in the remains of a Roman shore fort.

Having quickly exhausted the town centre I went for a little wander along the sea front down towards the breakwater and the country park, arriving at the same time as the setting sun was breaking through the clouds by the side of Holyhead Mountain.

According to the guide books their is a leisurely walk up from the country park to the ruins of a roman fort on the summit of the mountain, but even I a self-confessed city boy, know that you don’t start walking up the side of a mountain just as the sun is starting to set. However, it did give me an idea for things to do on Saturday morning before my 14:30 train.

I had a wander back towards the town, taking the new pedestrian bridge into the port/station complex and popping into a supermarket to pick up some things for breakfast (the hotel didn’t have a restaurant so breakfast was either an overpriced muesli bar and a bowl of cornflakes, or whatever I could get in Lidl at 6pm on a Tuesday night). Having stocked up on both dinner and breakfast I headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

No Data Haze
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Holyhead; Wednesday, 20 January, 2010

After my self-catered breakfast it was off out of the hotel, onto the bus and out of Holyhead.

First stop of the morning was the longest one, not in terms of time, but name. Llanfair PG, or its fuller name Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, or its very full Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. It’s even longer if you translate it out of the Welsh into English becoming: “St Marys Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the Red Cave”. Having taken in the excessively long station name and the information boards in the tourist information centre I headed out to the edge of town to the Marquess of Anglesey’s Column to have a climb up the 115 steps to its viewing platform.

Even on a damp and drizzly day like today the views were still stunning. The two bridges over the Menai Straits, Thomas Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge and Robert Stephenson’s Britannia Bridge, are both spectacular feats of engineering by themselves. And behind them, rising into the clouds, the peaks of Snowdonia complete the vistas.

Having climbed back down to earth I caught the bus on into Bangor for a spot of late lunch before catching another bus back out to the town of Beaumaris.

There are castles, there are castles and then there is the castle at Beaumaris. You can start down the mental checklist: Moat, yes; Round towers on each corner, yes; Drawbridge, yes. But to the normal “classic castle” you can add that the outer wall and towers hides an inner set of walls and towers which are the actual castle, and then you have to chuck in the stunning backdrop of the Menai straits and the snow-capped mountains of Snowdonia (when they appeared from behind the blanket of cloud that was hovering around the peaks).

Having looked around the castle and the town it was time to catch the bus back towards Bangor. I hopped off the bus in Porthaethwy to take in the views of and from Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge, walking across it to also get the stunning views of the rival Britannia Bridge.

On the other side I got back on the next bus and continued on back into Bangor. I had a quick wander around the town and went to have a look inside the Cathedral, only to find it all locked up. By now it was heading towards 4, and I knew I didn’t have that much daylight left so if I wanted to enjoy the, lengthy, bus journey back, I needed to get the 4pm service.

On the way out in the morning I had caught the X4 bus, which I though for an express route went quite a bit around the houses. I was wrong; the 4/4A bus I caught back went an even more circuitous route and took a good 20 minutes longer to get back to Holyhead. It was only when we a large Stena Line ferry and the Lidl appeared in view that I realised we were actually back in Holyhead.

I grabbed some dinner from the Co-Op in the centre of town and headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Holyhead; Thursday, 21 January, 2010

I headed over to the station to buy a “North Wales Rover”, these are fantastic tickets which let you travel around, depending on how many zones you buy, all or part of North Wales on buses and trains. I got the 3 zone ticket, and by the time I got off the train at Conwy an hour later I was already even, every journey I took for the rest of the day would be a saving.

From the station I had a short walk along a section of the city walls to the castle (well, why go along the pavement when you can go above). After taking in the castle and the rest of the city walls, I hopped on the bus down to the next major town down the coast, Llandudno.

I had thought that this much out of season absolutely nothing would be open, and for the most part I was correct. However, one thing, the coach tour around the Great Orm on Marine Drive, was running so I took that.

Finishing the tour I had a wander down the almost deserted pier. It was at this point that I remembered that whilst it was sunny, it was still the middle of January, and the wind that was coming off the sea was biting. I decided I needed to warm up, so I went for a bus ride, this time retracing my steps back from Llandudno through Conwy to Bangor. The bus runs along the coast, and the views are spectacular, well worth the trip by themselves.

I got off at Bangor station and caught the train back to Colwyn Bay. From the station I walked the short distance down to the sea front. To be kind to Colwyn Bay it was at sunset, there was a bit of a breeze and it was off-season, but the sight of the semi-derelict pier did make me feel that the place was a little bleak.

I walked along the Prom for a while before heading back up to the station and catching the train back round to Llandudno where I went for some dinner in one of the many Fish and Chip shops that line the main street.

Having filled up I caught the train back to Llandudno Junction just in time to miss the train back to Holyhead. I had nearly 50 minutes to wait for the next train, so I took the opportunity to walk the short distance from the station into Conwy and take some evening photos of the floodlit castle.

I headed back to the station and with about 5 minutes to spare made the train back to Holyhead. By the time I got back to the hotel I was really in need of the bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Holyhead; Friday, 22 January, 2010

Up even earlier this morning and back to the station for a two zone rover ticket, even cheaper and I worked out by the time I hit the first castle of the morning I would be up. On the way in the previous evening it had been drizzling a little, but obviously overnight that had cleared and instead this morning there was a bright sky, but still some small patches of mist hanging around.

These were particularly noticeable as the train went past RAF Valley, with the runways and taxiways holding a few foot of mist above them, it was quirt eerie. Not quite as spectacular though as the scene as we crossed the Menai Straits. There the mist was filling the straits, but stopped below the level of the bridges, so you could see the bridge, clear air then the mist, but not the water.

The train pulled into Bangor a minute or so early so I was able to make the earlier bus to Caernarfon, and arrived at the castle about 10 minutes after it had opened, in fact it was so early that in some places the custodians were still opening up doors as I got to them!

Having taken in the castle, and a bit of a wander around the town it was time for an afternoon sightseeing tour by public transport. First off was the bus up along the edge of Snowdonia to Porthmadog. In the original plan I had about 10 minutes to make the connection in Porthmadog, but the bus was late and it stopped further from the train station than I was expecting so I had to walk very quickly. As I was still about 400 yards from the station the level crossing barriers came down and I knew I was going to have to really rush if I was going to make the train (which I wanted to as there is only one every two hours!) Thankfully, I made it, just, and only because the guard was at the end of the train nearest the road. If she had been at the other end I wouldn’t have made it as she had already closed all the rest of the doors when I ran up.

Collapsed into a seat I took in the stunning views as the train continued on its journey along the northern edge of Cardigan Bay. Cardigan Bay, if you look at the map of Wales, is basically the whole of the West coast. The train runs right along the edge of the shore for part of the way offering stunning views down the coast. I got off at the end of the line at Pwllheli (pronounced Poothl-heli, though speaking to a number of people not even other Welsh speakers can pronounce it the way the locals do!), and had a wander down to the beach. Whilst Pwllheli isn’t at the very end of the Llyn (the peninsular that forms the north sweep of Cardigan bay) it is the largest town on it, and does have some of the stunning beaches that the area is renowned for.

I walked the short distance from the centre of town out to the beach and after having climbed down through the dunes (on the laid out and signposted path in case you were worried I was destroying sand dunes) I sat on the empty beach for a while taking in the stunning surroundings, clear air and relaxing sound of the waves breaking.

From Pwllheli I caught the bus back along the coast a bit to the town of Cricieth and had a look around the ruins of it’s cliff-top castle, then it was back on the bus to Pwllehli for the final part of the journey direct to Caernarfon along the coast road, hugging the space of land on the north of the Llyn between Snowdonia and the sea of Caernarfon bay. As the bus ran towards Caernarfon the sun slowly dipped into the Irish Sea.

I arrived back into Caernarfon a little after 5, with the last of the light starting to go, but with enough twilight left to get some pictures of the Menai Straits at sunset, and then once the twilight had faded, some night shots of Caernarfon castle.

Then it was back to the bus stop, the bus back to Bangor and then the train back to Holyhead and some well earned dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Holyhead; Saturday, 23 January, 2010

I headed out of the hotel and back over towards the Country Park to have a wander around. I had originally intended on walking up to the top of Holyhead Mountain (at less than 300m it’s hardly a mountain), but there was quite a bit of mist floating around the summit, so I thought it wisest not to attempt the walk.

I had a long walk around the park, and along a part of the costal walk before it was time to head back towards the hotel to pack my stuff and head for the train home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Coventry; Saturday, 20 February, 2010

What should have been a relatively easy journey was turned into a near nightmare by chaos on the tube caused by something thinking it would be a good idea to close most lines at the same time for engineering work. By the time I finally got to Euston I only had 10 minutes to spare before my train left.

Thankfully the rest of my journey was utterly uneventful and the train pulled into Coventry on time an hour later. I walked the half mile across the city centre to the hotel to check in and dump my stuff.

From the hotel I walked the short distance (very short given that I had a view of it from my room) to the Cathedral. In fact there are two Cathedrals in Coventry. The Old Cathedral remains, captured in time, as it was after the November 1940 blitz which saw it reduced to a shell. Next door the modern Cathedral stands as a testament to the fighting spirit of the people of Coventry and to the ideas of a brave, modern late 20th century that the architects thought the rebuilding of Coventry would be the dawn of.

The main tower of the Old Cathedral is still standing and now houses both the tourist information centre and access to the best view in the city. I climbed the 180 or so steps to the top and what greeted me was surprising.

I had thought that virtually the whole of Coventry had been destroyed by the Nazi bombing raids, and yes there were large tracks of rebuilt city, but there were also large numbers of buildings that clearly pre-date the 20th century dotted around the place.

Having taken in the city from it’s highest point I descended back to the ruins of the old cathedral and had a look around before heading over to the new cathedral. Unfortunatly the new cathedral was had a service taking place and was closed to tourists. Just opposite the cathedral I spotted a museum, so with time to spare I thought I would have a look around

A long time later I emerged from the Herbert museum thoughrly impressed. By now it was getting dark so I wandered back over to the hotel to drop my camera and bag off and then walked back to the station to pick up pre-booked tickets for Tuesday and to purchase a ticket to Stratford-upon-Avon for the following day.

With that done I wandered back into the centre of town and grabbed some dinner before heading back for an early nights sleep

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Coventry; Sunday, 21 February, 2010

07:30 is not normally a time I am familiar with on a Sunday, but I had set my alarm early so that I could get over to the station and get the first train of the morning into Birmingham so I could get an early connection out to Stratford-upon-Avon. That plan started to fall apart the moment I pulled the blind up and spotted that outside it was a bit white.

Overnight there had been a small amount of snow. Unfortunately, this is the UK and any quantity of snow is enough to cause travel disruption so it was with some trepidation I walked to the station. I was right to, instead of leaving at 08:37 my train finally pulled out a minute or so before 9am. I had had 22 minutes to make my connection in Birmingham, I now had zero minutes. Might just have been doable if it was cross platforms, but the connection was from a different station a five minute walk away so I knew I was going to have a long wait for the same train I would have caught if I had gotten up an hour later!

I arrived in Birmingham and walked between New Street and Moor Street stations. It was the first time I have ever been to Moor Street station and I was really surprised how picturesque it was for a major city centre station. Unlike New Street which is completely covered in and, quite frankly, a horrible station, Moor Street was really pleasant, with a particularly nice little cafe on the concourse where I wiled away a large part of my hour wait for the train to Stratford.

Thankfully the rest of my journey turned out to be smooth and I arrived in Stratford just after 11am. I headed into the centre of town, and first stop was the bus tour. I did a full circuit of the route, partly to get my bearings on the city, but also to avoid the large coach loads of tour parties which were hitting the museums as I arrived.

Stratford is a pretty little town, but its reason for being so popular is based on its most famous son. One William Shakespeare, born and brought up in the town, it’s also the place he retired to and is now buried in the parish church. Given his impact on English Literature it’s no real surprise that this small Warwickshire town is one of the most visited places in the UK outside of London. It does however mean that even on a snowy Sunday in mid February it was still very busy with tourists.

Having done a circuit on the tour bus I walked down to Shakespeare’s birthplace house and museum, and then on to the Nash House and New Place. From there it was back onto the tour bus out to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage before heading back into town to visit Holy Trinity Church and a visit to Shakespeare’s grave.

By now I was pretty well Shakespeare’d out so I headed back to the station to get the train back to Birmingham and then onto Coventry.

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel I had a wander around the city centre taking some night photos of the Cathedral before heading off for some dinner and then the comfort of my bed.

Weather

Light Snow Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Coventry; Monday, 22 February, 2010

After a quick breakfast I headed out to catch the bus out to Kenilworth and its castle.

I spent a long time wandering around the site, taking in all the buildings, but unfortunately not the Elizabethan garden as the paths were sheet ice.

I caught the bus back into Coventry and after a quick stop for lunch popped into the Coventry Transport museum.

Having looked around the museum I headed over to the Priory visitors centre. The Priory was the original cathedral in the city, but was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries. Today there are only small remnants of the priory still visible, but they are set out in a small garden.

After looking around the priory I wandered down to Spon Street. The buildings here are not in their original locations, but they were all moved here to create an area that captured what the old Coventry looked like before the bulk of the city was destroyed in the Blitz.

I had a bit more of a wander around the city, but by now it was getting dark, so I headed back to the hotel for some dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Coventry; Tuesday, 23 February, 2010

I checked out of the hotel and wandered back to the station and caught the train up to Birmingham to put my luggage into the left luggage office there.

From New Street I caught the train out to Bournville. This is a small village on the outskirts of Birmingham city centre. The village was built by the owners of the local factory. The fact that factory is Cadbury’s make it one of the most famous in the country.

You can’t look around the actual factory (it’s still a working factory churning out millions of kilos of chocolate a week, so they need to keep it a little clean!), but the Cadbury World centre gives you an overview of the history of chocolate and the company.

Going around the visitors centre takes a couple of hours (and longer if you need to sit down after the sugar rush of all the chocolate you get handed as you go round), and ends in the largest Cadbury’s shop in the world.

After visiting the centre I wandered back to the station in what was starting to become heavy snow. By the time I arrived back in Birmingham I had nearly two hours before my train, but with my bag weighed down with half a tonne of chocolate gifts, the snow had developed into very heavy snow with accompanying biting winds.

Given the weather and the weight on my back I decided to just camp out in a coffee shop watching the snow fall before heading back to the station to catch the train home.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Malaga; Friday, 12 March, 2010

In spite of the terminal transit being upgraded at Gatwick and having to catch a bus from the station to the North Terminal, I was walking up to the checkin desks less than 30 minutes after leaving my desk at work. What was even more surprising (given I had looked on line earlier in the week and found that my flight only had two seats left, and these were more than 10 times the price I had paid!) was how empty the checkin area was. 15 desks open, 10 checkin staff looking for customers!

It wasn’t just the checkin that was empty, I walked straight through security only stopping to take my jacket off and unpack the laptop. Walking out into the departures lounge it looked very busy, but that was only because one full Emirates flight to Dubai was running spectacularly (four hours when I arrived, and getting worse) late and most of those passengers were crowded around the information desk at the entrance to the lounge.

I had a brief stop for lunch and was going to settle down with a book for a while when my flight appeared with a gate number, so I wandered over in that direction (knowing that the plaintive calls of “please be aware this gate is a 15 minute walk from the terminal building” are actually pretty true!). I arrived at the gate and got into the “couldn’t be assed to pay any extra and don’t need special assistance queue”. When we were called forward 10 minutes later, a full 40 minutes before the flight was due to depart, it was only at that point that I looked round and discovered a very, very long queue had formed behind me!

A packed, but uneventful flight later, we arrived in Malaga, making one of the more spectacular approaches to an airport. The whole way down there had been thick cloud. That cloud had finally cleared about 30 miles before Malaga revealing the mountains. The plane came down, over the mountains, over the city, out into the Mediterranean, turned so the setting sun was beaming straight in through my window and then in a straight line from over the sea to the centre line of the runway.

Malaga airport appears to be almost as large as Gatwick, and with only two border police on for a full easyJet flight there was quite a queue to get through immigration. In fact the queue was so long that by the time I got down to the baggage reclaim belt it had stopped running and my bag was just sitting on it waiting to be collected.

There are many ways of getting from the airport to the city; I had chosen the train, which meant a five minute walk through a car park and over a dual carriageway to the station. The guidebooks all said that you should catch the train through the central station to the next one on at the end of the line as this is the closest to the city centre. Unfortunately, these guide books (written as they were in 2007) didn’t have the information that the line between the main station and the centre of the city has been closed since 2008 for “upgrade works” that don’t appear to have completed yet. I hadn’t realised this until I tried to purchase a ticket! I caught the train to the central station and then, having only looked on the map at how to get to the hotel from the end station, caught a taxi to the hotel. Of course I didn’t realise that the centre of Malaga is currently being rebuilt and all the roads are up, that it’s got enough one-way streets and one-way systems to make a British town planner wet themselves, and I’d also forgotten that it was now just before 7pm on a Friday evening, and consequently the journey took some time.

Having checked into the hotel I dumped my stuff and went for a wander around the old town for a while taking in some of the sites including the Cathedral and the bottom of the castle (it was closed for the evening so I wasn’t going to start walking up a massive big hill!). I spent a good two hours wandering around before I suddenly remembered this is exactly what I had done last year in Granada and got myself caught out by the Andalucíans having dinner earlier than in other parts of Spain and finding at 10pm that there was nowhere to eat. So just before 9, I found a nice looking restaurant and had dinner. By the time I had finished dinner I went for a bit more of a wander and discovered that my earlier assumptions about Andalucian’s having dinner early was wrong, it’s just the people of Granada that keep shorter hours as Malaga’s restaurants were still piling in the customers at 10pm.

I wandered back to the hotel and, after dispatching a mosquito that was buzzing round the room with a particularly heavy guide book, turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Malaga; Saturday, 13 March, 2010

Having taken on and defeated the impressive breakfast that Ibis laid on, I headed out into the city.

Fist stop of the morning was the cathedral (having dodged the heather sellers). From there I walked the short distance to the remains of the Roman Theatre. These lay undiscovered at the foot of the Alcazaba until the start of the 20th century and have slowly been uncovered over the years. Unfortunately, when I visited, the site was being renovated with new walkways and a new museum being created, so all you could do was walk into the top part of the amphitheatre and look down onto the ruins.

As I was at the Alcazaba I went in there to have a look around next, taking in all the buildings and courtyards. Whilst nowhere near as spectacular as the Alhambra in Granada, it benefited from having very few visitors wandering around.

After taking in the Alcazaba my legs were aching quite a bit, there is a fair amount of steep slopes with uneven paths and the pigeon stepping you have to adopt to get around safely makes for hard work on the muscles, so I decided to take the weight off of my feet for a while by catching the open-top sightseeing bus.

By the time the bus got round to the top of the Gibralfaro my legs were feeling better so I got off and had a look around the ruins here. Inside of the site there is not much to see, but the views from the walkways that go around the top of the walls are spectacular. Having taken in all the sites I got back on the sightseeing bus and did a complete circuit to take in the tour. Arriving back at the Gibralfaro around 90 minutes later.

I had a bit of a wander around the outside of the Gibralfaro taking in a couple of the viewing platforms over the city, before walking back down the (very) steep path back into the city centre.

By the time I got back to the centre it was starting to get dark, so I wandered back to the hotel to drop by bag off, and then headed back out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Malaga; Sunday, 14 March, 2010

A very leisurely start to the day and I finally emerged from the hotel just after 11 to have a wander around town for a while, before heading over to the bus stop near the hotel to catch the bus out to the botanical gardens.

I had a long wander around the gardens taking in all the sites, but managed to get my timing completely wrong. I emerged with, what I though, was 5 minutes to spare before the next bus. Unfortunately, I had managed to pick the one hour in the day where there was no bus, so I was faced with either an hours wait for the next bus, or to walk back towards the city the way the bus had come, and pick up the more regular city bus.

In the end the walk didn’t take too long, which was thankful as it wasn’t particularly pleasant, walking along side a very fast road on only a thinly marked track, I was quite glad when I finally got to the bus stop.

The bus whisked me back into town and I was having a wander through the old town towards the Picasso museum trying to decide whether to go directly to the museum, or to have a late lunch, when I felt a spot of rain. Thinking fast I found a nearby restaurant and took a seat under cover for a late lunch just moments before the skies absolutely opened. The rain poured down for nearly 40 minutes, during which time I had a particularly pleasant meal! It was only as the rain was abating that I realised I would have been soaked if I had stayed up at the botanical gardens!

After lunch I walked over to the Picasso museum to have a look around and from there had a long wander around the rest of the old town taking in some of the squares and lanes I hadn’t previously been down.

I quickly popped back to the hotel to freshen up and drop off my bag before heading back out again for a wander down to the sea front, reaching the beach just as the final bits of light were fading. With the light finally gone I made my way back into the old town and grabbed a bite to eat.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Malaga; Monday, 15 March, 2010

Another slow breakfast, and after checking out of the hotel, a leisurely walk along the riverside to the open-top bus tour bus stop.

As it was a Monday nearly all the attractions were closed, so it was going to be a quiet day for doing things. Instead I was going to concentrate on topping up the tan as the weather had improved substantially with the thermometers crossing the 20 degree mark, and the sky almost completely clear of clouds.

I did a circuit of the tour route and then headed back up to the castle. Unlike the rest of the attractions in the city, the castle is actually open on a Monday, though not many people appeared to know, so it was very much quieter than it had been on Saturday, and consequently I was able to take more of it in, in peace.

I had a long wander around the site, with even better views that on Saturday with the heavy rain having cleared some of the haze from the sky. It was so clear that I could actually make out the botanical gardens where I had been yesterday.

I stopped for lunch in the castle and so, by the time I boarded the bus, there wasn’t that much time left before I had to head out towards the airport.

I got off the bus at the cathedral and then walked back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and head to the bus stop for the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Liverpool; Sunday, 11 April, 2010

I would have hoped it was déjà vu, but that only applies if you think something has happened before, but it hasn’t. No, this was just plain repetition, It’s the weekend, I’ve managed to make it to Victoria on route to Euston with plenty of time, only to find that the ticket gates were locked closed and nobody was being allowed onto the platform. Last time it was over crowding, this time it was a “faulty escalator” and so instead of having a relaxed journey up to Euston I once again found myself having to rush up to the station to catch my train out to Liverpool.

Thankfully, that was the only hiccup in what was then a very smooth journey up to Liverpool.

After checking into the hotel and dropping all my stuff off I headed out for a wander around the city. I had a long wander down to the docks and had a look around the Albert docks and around Pier Head where the most famous buildings of Liverpool are located.

Just as the sun was starting to set I headed over to the Wheel of Liverpool to take in the sunset from a slightly different angle.

By the time I made it back to the ground it was gone nine, so I quickly grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Liverpool; Monday, 12 April, 2010

I pulled back the curtains to reveal a stunningly clear blue sky, a distinct improvement on what the weather had been like a week earlier, and at one point I had feared would still be like. After a winter that dragged on from early December all the way into early April, the sudden arrival of spring just before Easter had been an unexpected piece of good news. I watched the morning traffic make its way over the flyover in front of my hotel window whilst munching on breakfast (no catering in the hotel meant that I didn’t just have any breakfast, I had a slightly stale M&S breakfast purchased the previous evening in the station.)

I headed out into the warm spring sun and wandered down to the tourist information centre to purchase a Liverpool Visitors Card which would cover me for most of my transport and attraction requirements for the next couple of days, and then I carried on walking down to the Albert Dock to pick up the City Experience Open-Top sightseeing tour.

I did a full circuit of the tour, and then wandered the short distance down the riverside to the Pier Head to hop on the Mersey Ferry cruise. Back on dry land I caught the bus back up into the city centre for a spot of late lunch before getting the sightseeing bus back up to the Anglican Cathedral.

Having taken in the Anglican Cathedral and the stunning views from its tower, I walked the 800 yards or so down Hope Street to the other Cathedral, the Metropolitan Catholic one. I doubt there are any other streets in the world which can boast a Cathedral at each end!

Two Cathedrals down, it was time to attend to, if you believe the hype of the tourist office, the real first religion of Liverpool is (and no, it wasn’t as I thought, football), and technically, they did claim they were bigger than Jesus – The Beatles, and more specifically, the Beatles story based in Albert Dock.

With the three main denominations ticked off, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Beatle, there was just time to catch the last Yellow Duckmarine of the afternoon. The Duckmarine, like similar services in Dublin and London, uses old World War II amphibious trucks (DWKS, pronounced ducks) converted to tourism duties to take tours round by both road and river (or in Liverpool’s case, dock)

By the time I disembarked it was rapidly approaching dinner time, and as I tried to decide where to go I suddenly remembered seeing a sign for a Yo! Sushi the previous evening, so I headed back into the big Liverpool One shopping development in search of food.

Yo! were running a special deal, all plates one (cheap) price, so needless to say I stuffed my face. Some time later I staggered out of the restaurant, my distended stomach hanging over the top of my jeans, so I took that as a hint to have a bit of a longer walk round the city centre before heading back to the hotel to sleep off all that rice and fish.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Liverpool; Tuesday, 13 April, 2010

First stop of the morning was the Williams tunnels out the back of the city centre. It was about a 30 minute walk up the hill out of town to get there.

Unfortunately, when I got there I discovered that they weren’t taking individual visitors today as they had group bookings, despite their website saying they were open for individual tours! So instead I walked the short distance, thankfully back down hill, to Edge Hill station, through a particularly unpleasant bit of Liverpool.

From Edge Hill I brought a one day ticket and decided, as it was quite sunny, to head out to the coast and have a look at what the Merseyside seaside looked like.

First stop was Southport on the Liverpool side of the Mersey, with its long pier stretching out into what can only be described as mud flats. At no point did I actually see the sea, there was something that could have been sea in the distance, but I wasn’t 100% certain. The pier had seen better days, and it took almost as long to catch the tram up the pier back to the land end as it did to walk down in the first place.

Slightly disappointed with Southport I wandered back to the station to catch the train back into Liverpool. Having arrived back in Liverpool I caught the bus through the Mersey Tunnel to New Brighton on the Wirral side of the Mersey.

I didn’t stay long, if I thought Southport was a little down at heals then it was nothing compared to New Brighton. I think Southport might have had a heyday that it could look back on with rose tinted spectacles. I don’t think New Brighton ever had a heyday.

I caught the train back from New Brighton into town and went for an earlyish dinner down by the Albert Dock, thankful for the first time today that I had made a good decision, as I was the last person who was able to wander into the restaurant and get a seat straight away, before a massive queue started to build up.

After dinner I had a longer wander around the city centre, taking in the key sites around the Cavern club before heading back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Liverpool; Wednesday, 14 April, 2010

Having dumped my luggage in the left luggage office at Lime Street Station (a rare occurrence in Britain to actually have left luggage facilities), I headed back down to the Albert Docks to start doing a run through of the museums I had not yet done.

First off, above the Mersey Ferry booking office, was a second part of the Beatles Story museum, a “Fab 4D” cartoon show. From there it was a quick hop round to the Albert Dock and the Maritime and International Slavery museums.

Then onto the bus and back towards the station to finish off my time in Liverpool with a look around the World museum, a museum whose main task appears to be covering every topic that is not covered by the couple of specialist museums in the city (so it has everything from Egyptians to the space race via botany, biology and an aquarium).

By now it was time to head back to the station, collect my stuff, and make my way up the coast from Merseyside to the Fylde, the next block of land up from Merseyside that culminates in the UK’s home of seaside kitsch, Blackpool. My expectations weren’t high...

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Blackpool; Wednesday, 14 April, 2010

I arrived at Blackpool South station and walked the short distance to the hotel. The previous evening in the hotel in Liverpool I had used Google Street view to see how to walk from the station to the hotel, in the end I needn’t have bothered as I could see the hotel the moment I left the station.

Having checked in and dropped off my stuff in my room I headed out towards the sea front. I got to the shore just as a tram went sailing past so rather than taking a tram up the prom I wandered up all the way to the North Pier.

I had a stroll down the near deserted North pier, looking to the world like a pier whose best times are behind it.

When I got back to the land end I was just in time to catch a tram, which I did up to Cleveleys, where they were terminating due to vandalism to the power lines further north, so I caught the tram back, through the centre and down to the South Pier.

By now I had seen most of what Blackpool had to offer, so I got on a bus back north to Fleetwood to see what was there.

I was more impressed with Fleetwood than I was with Blackpool, with the sand dunes and the beautiful scenery of the Lake District across Morecambe Bay.

I hopped back on the bus into Blackpool and grabbed a late bite to eat in the hotel before heading to bed, trying to think of how I was going to fill another day and a half.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Blackpool; Thursday, 15 April, 2010

At some point during the night an idea had started to form in my mind, so that by the time I had had a late breakfast I knew what I was going to do today.

Head out from Blackpool and head into the Lake District instead.

For an area which is not that far away, the journey took quite some time, with nearly an hours wait in Preston. By the time I arrived into Windermere, it was already the early afternoon. I hopped on the open top bus down to the edge of the lake at Bowness, also the main harbour for all the lake cruises that ply up and down Lake Windermere.

I hopped on a cruise heading back up the lake, past Windermere and on to Ambleside. At Ambleside I arrived just in time to hop onto the open-top bus round to Grasmere.

I had quite a long wander around Grasmere, which is a really pretty little village, and also the last resting place of William Wordsworth.

From Grasmere it was back on the bus down to Bowness, and a look around there, before it was time to start heading back to Blackpool.

During the day I had been following the developing chaos being caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, but also the news that it should generate some spectacular sunsets, so I thought there might be some good to come from staying in Blackpool.

However, by the time I got back in, the clouds had rolled in and whilst there was a definite pink tinge to the bottom of them, there was no spectacular sunset, so I grabbed a late dinner and went to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Blackpool; Friday, 16 April, 2010

I was left with a couple of hours to kill in Blackpool before I needed to be on a train to Preston to get my booked train back to London, so I headed back into the town centre to take in the one key sight I had not yet done, the tower.

The tower complex models itself as a full day attraction, offering restaurants, an aquarium, a “Jurassic adventure” and more amusement arcades than anyone can have change for.

The main reasons for visiting, though, are to see the spectacular ballroom, and to take the lift to the top of the tower for the views out over the coast. I very quickly made my way through the other attractions and headed for the top of the tower. And it’s true, from the top the views are spectacular, looking up and down the coast. Unfortunately, it was starting to get a little hazy so you couldn’t see massively far (I could just about make out what I thought was Southport pier, and in the opposite direction what could have been the hills of the lake district, though it could also have been clouds!). Having taken in the views I caught the lift back down.

By the time I had taken in all the attractions of the tower it was only just midday, and I still had quite some time to kill, so I caught the bus south, past the south pier and beyond the pleasure beach. Where I got off was at Starr Gate, the end of the tram line, if it hadn’t been ripped up to be modernised.

Here I found an almost deserted beach, with beautiful sand dunes and relaxing sound of the sea gently lapping at the shore.

It had taken me nearly two days, but I had found a nice part of Blackpool, but now it was time to start the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Dusseldorf; Friday, 30 April, 2010

The flight landed on time in Dusseldorf at 16:45, this of course meant that I would have to negotiate my way from the airport via the central station to my hotel at the height of the rush hour. In Britain this would probably not be worth contemplating, but even at the height of the rush the trains were busy but not sardine style packed.

I’d looked on the map and it was difficult to tell how far it was from the S-Bahn station to the hotel, but it was one stop on the tram. Given there was one due within a couple of minutes I thought I would wait for the tram just in case. The tram arrived, I got on, it took off and then less than 20 seconds later slowed down for my tram stop. Getting out of the tram I could clearly see my hotel just on the other side of the road. I could also quite clearly see the S-Bahn station not that far behind me!

I checked my stuff in and then, after freshening up, headed back out into the city.

I had a long wander around the Altstadt (old town) and then walked along the Rhine terrace out towards the media harbour and the TV tower. By the time I got to the TV tower it was starting to get quite late, so I headed back towards the Hauptbahnhof to indulge in my dirty little habit of Bratwurst.

Having sated my craving for German sausage I headed back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Dusseldorf; Saturday, 01 May, 2010

There is a problem with a very good hotel with exceptionally comfortable beds. If you forget to set your alarm the previous evening because you’ve been naturally waking up at 6:30 every morning for the last three weeks, even at weekends, and think you’ll do the same, you end up sleeping in, and in, and in.

Thankfully breakfast was served until 11:30, possibly because they have experienced a number of their guests getting rather too good a nights sleep and not waking up until gone 10am.

By the time I finally got my stuff together and got out of the hotel it was already gone 11. I walked the, now obviously, short distance to the S-Bahn station, and then was slightly shocked to find out that I had a near 20 minute wait for the train. This appeared to be a little odd for a Saturday, for the trains, one stop from the Hauptbahnhof to be so infrequent.

It was only after I had walked from the Hauptbahnhof to the Tourist Information and gone to purchase a Dusseldorf welcome card that I found out, for the very helpful man in the office. Today is May 1st (that I knew), it’s May Day (that I knew), It’s a public holiday and most things are closed (that I didn’t know). It transpires that the Germans have their May Day public holiday on May Day, none of this shifting it to the following Monday (unlike us workshy Brits!) Consequently all the public transport was running to a Sunday timetable. Just to add further confusion Sunday was going to be the Dusseldorf marathon, so none of the guided tours would run, and there would be substantial disruption to Public Transport. This is what happens when you just pick a destination at random without reading up on it in advance.

From the tourist office I caught the tram out to the TV tower to take in the views. It took some time to work out which way I was looking, partly due to the massive curves in the Rhine as it snakes its way through this part of the country, and partly because I had forgotten that Dusseldorf is mostly on the Eastern bank of the Rhine, and thought that it was like Cologne and mostly on the West. Realising this simple mistake also helped resolve the issues in my mind with why the river appeared to be flowing up stream through Dusseldorf!

From the TV tower I caught the tram back to the station to pick up the city sightseeing tour. 90 minutes later I was back at the station and taking a tip from the tour caught the U-Bahn north from the city centre to the Suburb of Kaiserswerth to have a look around the remains of the palace there.

By the time I got back to the centre of Dusseldorf there was just time to hot foot it back down to the river to catch the last Rhine Sightseeing Cruise of the day. Arriving back just gone 7pm it was time to find somewhere to get dinner, and then after another bit of a wander around the Altstadt to head back to the hotel for another good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Dusseldorf; Sunday, 02 May, 2010

Another relatively late start and it was almost 11 by the time I finally left the hotel, which proved to be to my advantage, as all the trams were really messed up. Today was Marathon day in Dusseldorf, and consequently the city centre was pretty well closed for several hours, so instead of attempting to head into the centre for a while, I headed south to the Palace at Benrath to have a look around.

I decided, before heading into the Palace to have a long wander around the grounds, and I’m glad I did as not only were they spectacular, but within minutes of going into the palace the good weather of the previous days broke and a light, penetrating drizzle broke. Quite a pain when you are walking between palace buildings, and from the palace to the tram stop, absolutely soaking if I had still been out in the park and had had to walk back to the palace.

By the time I got back into the centre of Dusseldorf (using the cunning method of catching the tram further south to a train station, then taking the train into the city centre and then using the U-Bahn, which was still working) the Marathon had been going on for over 4 hours and by the 40Km mark on the Königsalle I was expecting to see the fun runners. It appears though that in Germany marathons (unlike their British counterparts) are still run as serious sporting endeavours, rather than an excuse for attempting to kill yourself by running for 26 miles in a half tonne rhino costume.

I had a long wander round the city centre, taking advantage of virtually every road being closed to all transport including the trams, and their not being that many runners so you can easily cross the road between them.

I walked for quite a while, conscious that I appeared to be going backwards around the course as after around 30 minutes I saw a couple of very pained looking runners limping along, followed by a car with flashing lights, an ambulance, a bus and then a fleet of street sweepers cleaning up behind themselves, I think I had just found the back markers!

However, it looked like the city was going to remain closed for some time still to come, so I decided to go a bit further up the Rhine to it’s next major city, on the junction with the Ruhr, Duisburg. I went for the pretty ride, catching the U-Bahn all the way through the open countryside, taking a lot longer than the train, but seeing much more.

This was thankful, as there wasn’t much to see in Duisburg. It’s the kind of place (like Croydon) that only the town fathers could love. I had a bit of a wander around and managed to find a couple of nice buildings, but I was conscious of the very, very heavy clouds that were piling up above. Just a few yards from an underground tram stop the skies got very dark, the wind really picked up and I decided that it would be a good time to be making a hasty walk to cover.

Just a couple of meters short of shelter the skies absolutely opened. I managed to get undercover merely slightly damp, but there were people who had only been a few meters behind me who were absolutely soaked by the time they got to cover. Given the weather was deteriorating, and it was now rapidly heading for six, I caught the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof and caught the train back to Dusseldorf. It was still tipping it down when the train stopped at the Airport, but by the time we pulled into Dusseldorf a few minutes later the skies were clearing and if you hadn’t seen it you wouldn’t have believed it had been raining a few minutes earlier (apart from the massive puddles everywhere.)

I went for a bite to eat and a late wander around the city centre before heading back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Dusseldorf; Monday, 03 May, 2010

It’s Monday, so Europe is closed! After a late breakfast an a leisurely check out I headed over to the station to drop off my luggage in the lockers before spending the day visiting some of Dusseldorf’s parks and gardens, as they were about the only things open on a Monday.

First stop, to the north of the city centre was the aptly named Nordpark. The park also houses the city’s aquarium, which was open, but I decided not to go in as it’s quite small and an unfeasibly large number of children were going in as I arrived so I thought it might be a little noisy and crowded inside!

Instead I had a long wander around the park. It’s divided up into a number of areas with a small formal lake surrounded by statues, then a large fountain and a some blocks of planting. At the back of the site is a small Japanese Garden.

Having looked around the Nordpark I hopped back onto the U-Bahn and then a tram over to Schloß Jägerhof and the start of the Hofgarten.

The Hofgarten runs through the centre of the city, with formal tree lined boulevards near the palace merging into formal gardens and then large open spaces before finally ending up in the Museum quarter the other side of the Oberkassel bridge.

By the time I got to the Oberkassel bridge there was about 30 minutes before I needed to start heading back so I wandered over the bridge to the other side and had a brief look around Oberkassel before hopping back on the U-Bahn, heading back to the station to pick up my luggage and then out to the airport.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Norwich; Monday, 31 May, 2010

An achingly slow journey across London on the coach, it took more than an hour to get from Victoria to Stratford, by the time we hit the motorway we had been going for nearly 90 minutes, and were officially half way through the timetabled journey by the time we reached the M25. To be fair to them though, the coach did then have a pretty clear run and managed to do the 100 or so miles from the M25 to Norwich city centre in slightly less time than it had done the previous 20 miles from the centre of London.

I walked the very short distance from the bus station to the hotel (which was effectively above the bus station) and checked in.

Having dumped my stuff I headed out for a long wander around the city centre taking in the main sights.

I had no particular direction to follow, other than knowing at some point I needed to pop into the station to purchase a rover for the remainder of my stay, so after quite a long wander I found myself up by the station.

Having purchased my ticket I then walked back along the riverside all the way round the outside of the city centre before finally returning to the Cathedral.

I had intended on visiting the Cathedral, as the guide books all said that it was open until 7pm. However, as I arrived at a little after 6 the doors were being closed in line with the large signs by the entrance, which looked pretty elderly, advertising the cathedral as being open until 6pm each day, so I’m not quite certain where the guide book got their information from.

I wandered for a bit longer through town before stopping for an early dinner, back to the hotel to freshen up, and then back out at dusk to have a wander round in the twilight.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Norwich; Tuesday, 01 June, 2010

I hadn’t booked breakfast at the hotel and had intended on picking up something for breakfast the previous evening, but had forgotten. So instead I wandered out of the hotel in search of a cafe which I eventually found (having passed up the customary half dozen Starbucks).

After breakfast I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre until I reached the Cathedral. I had a good look around the cathedral and the visitors centre. By the time I left it was just in time to catch the open-top sightseeing tour around the city.

I did one full circuit back to the cathedral and then stayed on for the short distance on to the station. At the station I hopped on the train out to Hoveton and Wroxham, in the heart of the broads.

I had a good look around the town before heading back beyond the national rail station to the station of the Bure Valley railway, a small narrow-gauge line running to the market town of Aylsham.

A quick spot of sightseeing in Aylsham, then back on the train to Hoveton, back on the normal train to Norwich, and across the platform onto the train to Ely.

At Ely I was just in time to get into the Cathedral and have a look around before it shut for the evening, which was thankful as the rain was starting to pick up. By the time I left the cathedral the skies were beginning to clear and it was turning into a lovely evening.

I had a wander down to the river side and walked along the river bank for a while before it was time to head back to the station and the train back into Norwich for dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Norwich; Wednesday, 02 June, 2010

An early start to get out to the station for the first train I could catch out to the coast at Sheringham. First stop was the Poppy Line steam train out to Holt. I had intended on catching the bus into the town to have a look around, but there was a 30 minute wait, so instead I caught the train back to Sheringham.

From there I hopped on the CoastHopper bus service along the length of the coast round to Hunstanton.

Having taken in Hunstanton I caught the bus back to Wells-next-the-sea and wandered out to the sea (which is nowhere near Wells!)

Then it was back on the bus to Sheringham and then on to Cromer for a look around there.

I wandered back to the station in Cromer to catch the train back to Norwich; unfortunately I mistimed it and ended up catching the train on its way out to Sheringham and back again!

By the time I got back to Norwich I was knackered so I grabbed a quite bite to eat and then headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Norwich; Thursday, 03 June, 2010

Not quite as early a start as yesterday, but in a repeat it was back down to the station and onto the train. This time it was out to Great Yarmouth.

I walked from the train station down to the sea front, and was just in time to catch the first open-top tour of the morning round the town. I did a full circuit and then came back into the town centre to start making my way through the museums.

I walked down some of the little lanes (called Rows in Great Yarmouth) to the South Quay and started working my way down the quay on an attraction crawl. First up was the Lydia Eva steam boat, then onto the Elizabethan house and the Greyfriars’ Cloisters ruins. Next up were the Row 111 and Merchants houses before finally stopping at the Time and Tide museum in the former Herring smoking plant.

Despite being closed for nearly 30 years the Herring plant still had a pretty impressive fishy smell, showing how much it had permeated the brickwork of the building, and on a hot sunny day, it was coming out just that little bit extra.

From the museum I jumped back on the bus and caught it out to Scroby Sands at the top end of the beach to have a wander through the dunes, before catching the land train back into the centre of town and stopping for a very late lunch.

After lunch I hopped on a bus out to the ruins of a former Roman Fort just north of Great Yarmouth in Caister. Having looked round the ruins it was back onto the bus into town and a wander around the church yard of the big church, St Nicholas. I had intended on looking around inside, but I arrived 15 minutes after they had locked up for the day.

Then it was time to wander back to the station to catch the train back to Norwich, dinner and well-earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Norwich; Friday, 04 June, 2010

Having paid for a late checkout from the Travelodge, so I had somewhere to store my luggage before my train I had a couple of hours to take in some of the attractions in the city.

First stop of the morning was the Castle. I had a good look around the museums in the castle and then went on one of the tours up onto the castle battlements to take in the stunning views of the city centre.

Having taken in the castle I grabbed a quick spot of early lunch, as I didn’t think I would be able to get anything on the train, and then wandered my way through the city to the Catholic Cathedral to have a look around that.

After the cathedral it was time to wander back to the hotel, collect my stuff and head for the station and the train back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Bonn; Thursday, 08 July, 2010

An utterly uneventful journey across to Bonn, apart from the long queues at immigration where they were questioning everyone entering the country, even those on EU passports, though it did mean my bag was already on the reclaim belt when I arrived at it. Having, just, caught the bus into town I wandered over to the hotel and checked in.

With everything safely stowed in my room I headed back out and caught the U-Bahn down to Bad Godesberg. I’d been here many years ago, the first time I’d come to Cologne, but hadn’t really looked around the place that much.

From the station I wandered down the Kilometre or so to the riverside where there are spectacular views of one of the prettier bits of the Rhine, with the hills and vineyards climbing on the opposite bank.

I caught the car ferry across the river to have a quick wander around the other side and to get some stunning views of the sun setting behind the Rhine. Realising that it was now starting to get quite late I caught the ferry back over, walked back to the station and just made the train back to Bonn. I arrived a couple of minutes before 10, and managed to grab the last, and slightly greasy, bratwurst from the kiosk in the station before they closed (but that was still preferable to the McIndigestion, which would have been the only other option).

I had a long wander through the city centre in the fading light, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Bonn; Friday, 09 July, 2010

Had I realised first thing how warm today was going to get I might have moderated the speed with which I attacked things at first, and I would certainly have stocked up with more than the three litres of water that I left the newsagents near the hotel with.

First stop of the morning was Königswinter on the opposite side of the Rhine to Bonn, but effectively now a suburb of the city. It marks the start of the area where most of the Riesling wine production comes from. The town itself has centuries of history most noticeably evident in the ruins of a medieval castle that overlook the town from the top of the Drachenfels hill.

There are two ways to get to the castle, you can make the 3KM or so climb up the very steep path that winds its way up through the hills and offering stunning views over the river, or alternatively you can catch the Drachenfelsbahn rack railway which goes virtually the same route, but requires minimal effort on your part. I’ll let you guess which one I took.

The views from the restaurant and viewing platform at the top station are spectacular with clear views across to Bad Godesberg, up the river towards the bend beyond Unkle and back towards Bonn. There was a slight haze forming so I think I could make out the spire of Cologne Cathedral, but it could easily have been a much closer electricity pylon.

I walked up the final short, but very steep, climb to the ruins of the castle and had a look around them before walking back down towards the middle station and the Schloß Drachenburg. I arrived just minutes after the English language tour had set off, and there wasn’t another one for a couple of hours. As the next German tour was also 90 minutes away I decided I probably couldn’t be bothered to look around so I continued my walk down hill stopping for a latish lunch part way down and then diverting off to visit the Reptile Zoo, Dragons Tunnel and the Nibelungenhalle.

Walking round a reptile zoo I had assumed that the substantial heat was coming from all the lamps keeping the creatures warm, I hadn’t realised that actually it was just the genuine heat of the day, and more importantly also the humidity. As I continued to wander down the hill back into Königswinter itself and proceeded to drink quite rapidly the remaining two litres of water I had left with me. By the time I got back down into the town it was almost unbearable. Up on the hill there had been a bit of the breeze to take the edge off of the humidity, but down in the town it was what I think can be described as like being in a pressure cooker.

Thankfully away from the centre of the town, down by the river, it was a little cooler, with a bit of a breeze, so I brought another couple of litres of water and in the end spent about two hours just sitting underneath a tree, in the shade, watching the traffic on the Rhine go past

It’s amazing how in the heat, not doing anything makes you so tired (of course the hiking down a 3KM path on a 1 in 5 incline during the hottest part of the day might have had something to do with that), so after a while I caught the tram back into Bonn and onto the hotel to get a change of clothes and to drop off all the empties. In the end I actually had a bit of a nap in the hotel (as the very nice chambermaid had switched on the air con onto arctic when she tided the room and consequently it was absolutely gorgeous inside.

Refreshed I wandered back out of the hotel around 8pm to look for dinner. I had thought that by now (and lulled into a false sense of security by the air con in the room) it might be a little cooler, but the wall of hot air that hit me as I stepped out of the hotel pointed to it being a sticky night.

I caught the tram into the city centre, had a brief wander round and stopped for a small bit to eat (the one advantage of it being hot is that you don’t want to eat so much!), and then caught the bus back to the hotel for some more sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
35ºC/95ºF

Bonn; Saturday, 10 July, 2010

I had a leisurely breakfast and then set out into the wall of heat that met me as I opened the door of the hotel. If yesterday had been baking then I didn’t know how I was going to describe today, as it was due to be even hotter, though thankfully, considerably less humid.

First stop of the morning was the Haus der Geschichte der Budesreupublik Deutschland (the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany) at catchy name for what is a really interesting museum. From there it was a short U-Bahn ride back one stop to Museum König and a look around there, before heading back into the city in search of more water as I was almost out and starting to feel parched.

I stopped for a very light lunch before having a wander around the Munster, and then with the heat now really building headed down to the river.

There was no way I could do any more wandering around with the heat as high as it was, so it felt like the ideal time to take a cruise down the Rhine and I arrived at the landing stage a couple of minutes before the 2pm departure to Linz was due to set off.

The journey was very pretty with beautiful scenery all the way down to Linz. Heading against the flow of the Rhine it took nearly two and a half hours to make the journey (bang to the timetabled times all the way along). The return, if I had wanted to do it, would only take 90 minutes, which goes some way to explain the power of the Rhine in this area.

I had a brief wander around the town centre before heading off to the station to play timetable roulette. I couldn’t decide whether to catch the train back into Bonn, or carry on upstream to Koblenz. I decided that whatever the first train was I’d go in that direction. I got to the station five minutes after the Bonn train, but five minutes before the one to Koblenz, so Koblenz it was.

The train runs parallel to the river most of the way along, but beyond Linz the scenery, in places, gets a little more ‘industrial’ so I was rather glad that I hadn’t bothered getting the boat any further on. The final part of the journey is an impressive sweep around the back of town. The train stops on the East bank of the Rhine opposite the ‘Deutsche Ecke’ monument which marks the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel. It then carries on a bit further, climbs up into the hills above the city, through a tunnel and then out onto a bridge across the Rhine, before turning back to head into the Hauptbahnhof.

I caught the bus from the station down to the Deutsche Ecke. When I came here last time everything was closed, the same was true today. The first time was because it was a cold, foggy, Thursday just before Christmas and everything was locked up for the winter. Today it was because it was just gone six, I had lost track of the time a bit!

I tried to have a wander down to the Ecke, but it’s in the process of being re-landscaped so access was pretty impossible and most of the area was a building site, so instead I had a bit of a wander through the old town before stopping for a bite to eat. I was purposefully timing this. Germany were playing in the Third place playoff at the World Cup final that evening and I wanted to time getting the train to match so it would be nice a quiet. It meant that I managed to get a fair choice of restaurants as all were set up with outside seating, but nobody had yet turned up as there was still nearly two hours till the match, so I was able to have a very pleasant light meal before wandering back to the station and catching an almost empty train back to Bonn, and from there a very empty bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
38ºC/100ºF

Bonn; Sunday, 11 July, 2010

An early checkout as there was still quite a bit I wanted to see (and there was a coach party supposed to be checking out at 9 so I wanted to avoid the massive queue). I zipped over to the Hauptbahnhof to drop off my luggage into the lockers there and then caught the U-Bahn south to the first stop of the day, the Deutsche Museum Bonn.

With almost perfect timing I arrived just moments after the museum opened so for some time was the only visitor going round. From the Deutsche-Museum I headed over to the Stadt Museum and managed to repeat the same trick arriving just as it opened.

From there it was a short walk over to the Egyptian museum where I was probably the second visitor of the day as there was one person leaving as I arrived, and nobody else inside.

I had a quick look around the museum and then hopped back on the U-Bahn south to Bad Godesberg to have a look around the castle ruins.

From Bad Godesberg it was back north to the Hauptbahnhof and over to the LandesMuseum, the last museum of the day.

In the end I didn’t have enough time to do the LandesMuseum justice as I had to head back to the station to pick up my luggage and head back to the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Torshavn; Monday, 26 July, 2010

The final approach to the Faroe Islands turned out to be quite bumpy with a couple of sudden drops and quite a steep approach, but the final few minutes of the flight, once we had descended below the level of the clouds were stunning with the islands rising up out of the sea and the final approach up a fjord towards the runway.

A very swift journey through the airport left me concerned that I was going to end up with a pretty long wait for the bus into town, but it appeared that the bus company puts on an extra service to meet the twice weekly London flights as there was one parked up outside the terminal building waiting as I emerged from it.

A 40 minute, rain-lashed journey later we arrived in Tórshavn, with the rain starting to abate. It was a short walk to the hotel and after checking in and dropping my stuff off in the room I headed out for a wander around the town.

I had no particular route in mind, and in the end ambled over a large area, although given the size of the Capital City on several occasions I managed to end up wandering back past places I had already been past.

I stopped for a bite to eat in a restaurant in the centre of town, before having a bit more of a wander and then heading back to the hotel for an early night as I had to get up early the following morning.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Torshavn; Tuesday, 27 July, 2010

An early start to the day, as I had booked onto a full day tour, so I needed to be out of the hotel before 8am.

Having been collected for the tour and the remainder of our tour party (of two) we headed out of Tórshavn on our tour north.

We had several stops along the way, including an extended stop in Klaksvíg before we finally reached the most northerly point on the tour at Viðareiði.

We then worked our way back down through the islands, stopping for a very pleasant and filling Fish and Chip lunch just after 2pm. With lots more photo-stops along the way, we finally arrived back into Tórshavn at just after 6. I had a wander around the town, including through the parliament area.

The town was really starting to buzz in preparation for the national day celebrations over the following two days, including having all the roads closed and open-air concerts taking place on what, until yesterday evening, were the city’s streets.

I headed back to the hotel for a decent night’s sleep ready for the noisy day ahead.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Torshavn; Wednesday, 28 July, 2010

After a foggy start to the day the clouds started to lift quite rapidly and it looked as though it would turn into a good day, so, after having a brief wander around town and taking in the views from the Kings monument, I decided to go on one of the hikes that the guide book recommended (it should be noted this was the shortest one!), to the town of Kirkjubøur, on the south west coast of the island.

The guide book said it was an easy 7KM, 2 hour walk, which it was, from the start of the trail a 40 minute hike up out of Tórshavn! The walk climbs quickly into the hills and from the top there were stunning views out over the city and the surrounding islands. After a short walk through the middle of the hills, the vista changes to the islands to the South and West of the Faroes.

Most of the way the signage (small cairns of pilled stones) is excellent, but towards the end they start to run out and I ended up having a scramble down a very slippery path (not certain if it was the actual path or if I had picked up a sheep trail) down to the road.

I walked the further kilometre into the village centre and went to visit the ruins of Magnus Cathedral, the largest medieval building on the islands, and the first cathedral that they started to build (albeit that they stopped work at the reformation and never finished the job). Unfortunately, it is currently under scaffolding for heavy repair work so there wasn’t much to see.

I had intended on walking back the same way, but the final scramble down had put me off the idea, so instead I took the longer (by another 4KM) but less rocky route back along the road, which skirts along the west coast for a while before suddenly shooting across the middle of the island to Tórshavn.

By the time I got back into town my feet were aching quite a bit, so I stopped for a while to sit and watch the finals of the Rowing competition which is one of the highlights of the eve of national day.

I wandered back to the hotel and had a shower and a change of clothes (the scramble down had made quite a mess of me trousers) before wandering back out for a bite to eat and to take in more of the celebrations for national day, then with the sun still shining and a clear blue sky, I headed back to the hotel to try and rest my weary feet and legs.

I had a couple of hours rest before getting back up again just before midnight to wander down, with virtually everyone else in Tórshavn to watch the fireworks display. The display went on for a good ten minutes or so after which it was definitely time for bed.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Torshavn; Thursday, 29 July, 2010

I had a final breakfast, packed and checked out of the hotel, leaving my bag behind the counter, for a final few hours in Tórshavn.

I had intended on taking in the couple of museums that were in the city, but they were closed, as was the tourist information centre. In fact the only things that were open were the park (which is very nice and I had a long wander around) and a couple of cafe’s (so I stopped and had a couple of cups of coffee.)

Whilst I was doing this the great and good of Faroese life were in the Cathedral celebrating a national day service and preparing for their precession to the parliament building (all 100 yards or so between the two buildings!). I finished my coffee and was able to catch both the end of the procession and the opening of parliament.

Whilst I can’t understand a word of Faroese, I was very impressed by the choir that were singing (unaccompanied) several traditional songs ending with what I assumed was either the national anthem or another major national song as most of the crowd were joining in.

Then the bulk of the national day celebrations were over, as was my time on the Faroes. I had a little bit of time to wander back round the harbours before returning to the hotel to collect my bags, then back to the bus station and the bus out to the airport...

Weather

Foggy Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Copenhagen; Thursday, 29 July, 2010

From the airport I hopped on the metro all the way to the stop by the hotel and within 30 minutes of stepping off the plane I was checking in to the hotel.

Having dumped my stuff I went for a late evening wander around the city centre starting over at Kongens Nytorv and the Nyhavn before wandering round to the palace.

As it was quite late, and I found myself by the bus stop for the bus back to the hotel and one was arriving (no honest it was), I caught the bus back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Copenhagen; Friday, 30 July, 2010

I didn’t sleep particularly well, I’m not certain if it was the noise from the street or the fact the bed was only a couple of inches wider than my body (I would struggle to even call it a single, it’s about the same size as a bed on a British sleeper train, without the comforting motion of the train rocking to help send you to sleep.)

After a large breakfast to make up for the lack of sleep I headed out to the station. My first stop for the day was to be Frederiksborg Slot in Hillerød. I got to the station and purchased my ticket only to find that there were engineering works and I had to get a rail replacement bus part of the way (I thought I was in Denmark not Britain!)

Thankfully everything worked and, although it took a little longer, I got to Hillerød just before midday and wandered down to the castle.

After having had a look around I decided, rather than trying to repeat the journey back I would go on to Helsingør (only about 20 minutes by train), have a look around the town there, and then head back into Copenhagen by direct train from there.

By the time I got back to Copenhagen the weather had pretty much cleared up for the evening, and after having had a wander around the town for a bit I headed over to Nyhavn to pick up one of the canal tours that run from there.

After the tour I then took the extended tour using one of the waterbuses that now run up and down the harbour and are included on the city tickets.

By the time I got back to Nyhavn it was getting late so I grabbed a bit to eat and then headed back to the hotel, hoping for a better night's sleep.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Copenhagen; Saturday, 31 July, 2010

A much better night’s sleep was only interrupted (rudely) by my alarm going off. I’d set it a bit earlier so that I could get out of the hotel in time to join the morning bike tour of Copenhagen.

The tour takes in most of the main sites of the city, though it only covers about 8KM of cycling in the three hours, so it’s hardly a workout.

Having completed the tour it was time to do a bit of exercise so I had a wander back through the city and over the water to Christianshavn to have a look around the Vor Frelsers Kirke. I’d had a bit of a look around it when I had visited in 2005, but that was in the winter and it’s key attraction, its spire, was closed.

You climb around 250 steps to the viewing platform at the base of the spire from where there are stunning views, but the views get even better if you are brave and climb the staircase that winds its way around the outside of the spire.

Having taken in the views I descended back down and then went for a wander through more of Christianshavn and along the edge of Christiania. After quite a long walk I found myself by the Opera House, so I decided to rest my feet by taking the boat up and then back down the river to take in the views from there.

Unfortunately, there boat didn’t appear to be keeping particularly good time for the timetable, and was heaving, so I had to sit inside nowhere near a window seat for most of the journey. I got off at Nyhavn and had a very late lunch/early dinner on the harbour side before wandering back through the town to the Rundetårn.

Having climbed that and taken in the views I decided, with the sun disappearing behind clouds and only about 40 minutes of light left, to catch the bus back to the hotel to rest my poor aching feet.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Copenhagen; Sunday, 01 August, 2010

After a quick breakfast I headed back to my room, packed and then made my way out to the airport to catch my flight north.

Whilst Copenhagen airport is large and swish, the same couldn’t be said for the bus station that is terminal 1, domestic. It’s light and modern, but its also pretty small and lacking in facilities (four desk double as checkin, service and bag drop – albeit when I arrived there was nobody else around so that didn’t matter.)

Because it’s so small, it also meant I was massively too early and ended up sitting in departures for the best part of 90 minutes before we were called forward.

An uneventful 25 minute flight (I think one of the shortest I’ve ever been on, and a slight surprise given the train takes over 4 hours!) and I arrived in Aalborg.

Weather

Haze No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Aalborg; Sunday, 01 August, 2010

The plane landed ten minutes early and the luggage was round within minutes, but that still didn’t stop us from missing the bus into town. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the guidebook had been correct with their “Buses every 15-30 minutes” statement. Sadly, buses are only every hour (I don’t know where they got their information from) so I had a long wait. In the end I sat it out in the airport terminal with a cup of coffee and a free internet connection.

By the time I arrived in the city centre and walked to the hotel it was just after two. I knew that the hotel’s official policy was that you couldn’t check in before three, but I thought I would give it a chance and see if I could check in early. Not only did I manage to checkin, but the very nice lady on checkin changed my booking over to the special summer deal which meant I got breakfast thrown in for free and 90Kr knocked off the price of the room.

After dumping my stuff I went for a wander around town, mostly looking for somewhere to rent a bike from as the city is very flat and easy to get around. Sadly the bike hire shop was closed on a Sunday. Aalborg does run a city wide bike hire scheme where you release a bike from a stand for 20Kr in the same way you would a trolley at a supermarket and then get your 20Kr back when you drop it back off again. In a lengthy walk around town I came across plenty of empty stands but no bikes (interestingly I only saw three actual bikes being cycled, which makes me wonder where the rest of them had gotten to.) I did, though, stumble on the entrance to the ruins of the Franciscan Friary (the Gråbrødrekloster Museet), which are located underneath the city centre, so I popped down in the lift (the museum is free, but the only access is via the lift which charges per 250kilos, so a very light family can get in quite cheap!)

My wanderings took me out of the back to town, through the city cemetery to the North Jutland Art Museum. Whilst I’m not a massive fan of modern art, the guidebooks (which on this occasion had got it right) said it was an interesting place to visit, if only for the architecture of the buildings.

After having a look around I wandered up being the museum to the Aalborg tower, which sits on the hill above the museum overlooking the city centre, fjord and surrounding, very flat, countryside. The views on a clear day like today were excellent.

From the tower I wandered back down into town and had a long wander around the city centre, ending up in the Aalborghus Slot to have a look around the former city castle. Just outside the grounds were a selection of restaurants, so with the late evening sun still keeping the city warm I sat out for a bit to eat before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Aalborg; Monday, 02 August, 2010

First stop of the morning, after another hearty breakfast, was the cycle hire shop to pick up a bike for the day. Then with bike I cycled the 5 or so Kilometres out of town to the Viking burial site at Lindholm Høje.

From there I cycled back into town stopping off on the way for several photo stops before heading for the churches in the city centre, the Budolfi Domkirke and the Vor Frue Kirke.

Then it was off over to the castle to visit the one part which I hadn’t been able to yesterday (as its only open 10:00-15:00), the dungeon.

By now, I had pretty much exhausted all there was to do in Aalborg on a Monday (all the rest of the museums are closed) so I decided to continue my Danish journey north. I cycled over to the station, parked my bike up and picked up the train to Frederickshavn. From there I changed trains and continued heading north to Skagen, the most northerly town in Denmark.

I had looked, before leaving Aalborg at what the cost of taking my bike on the train would have been and it was quite expensive, it would also have been an issue as the train was pretty full with bikes already.

So with one bike on hire parked up at the station in Aalborg, I hired another bike here in Skagen to help me see the place. Equipped with bike I continued to head north, all the way to the beach at Grenen. This is the point at which the Skagerrak, a part of the North Sea, and the Kattegat, the channel that leads to the Baltic meet in a crashing of waves and currents, or at least there would be a crashing of waves and currents if it wasn’t such a beautifully calm and clear day! The two seas just gently lapped at each other. I was quite surprised how orderly Denmark ends, in other countries the end is high sea cliffs crumbling into the waters, but here it’s a gentle slope down into the sea (I think it might be called fully accessible!)

From Grenen I cycled back through Skagen and south to the Buried Church. The town is surrounded by Sand dunes, and over time these have drifted, quite quickly at times, so that by the early 19th century the church had been almost swallowed up by the sand. The church elders flogged off the innards of the church and dismantled the main building, but left the distinctive tower still standing as it was an aid to shipping. Today the floor of the tower is several foot below the ground level, and the dunes are continuing to creep in on it.

Then it was time to head back to the station, drop off the second bike and head back to Aalborg where I picked up the first bike and headed back over to the hotel, via a quick twilight tour along the waterfront.

Exhausted from almost a whole day of cycling I headed for my bed and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Aalborg; Tuesday, 03 August, 2010

I dropped the bike back to the hire shop early then had some breakfast and packed my bag. After leaving my bags in the luggage room at the hotel I headed out for a final quick look around the city, taking in the Historical Museum as it was open and wandering along the waterfront for a while.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and wander the sort distance back to the railway station and the train South to Århus.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Aarhus; Tuesday, 03 August, 2010

I walked to the hotel, checked in and dropped my stuff off before heading out into the city to do some sightseeing.

The hotel is right next to a number of sights so I ticked a couple of them off straight away in the Viking Museum and the Cathedral. There is nothing odd about the Cathedral, apart from it being the largest church in Denmark. The Viking museum, on the other hand, is a bit of an oddity being, as it is, in the basement of a bank. You have to go in, past the tellers and down a flight of stairs into an area where Viking age houses were found during an archaeological dig in the 60’s (I’m assuming when work was underway to build the bank that is now above them.)

From the Cathedral I walked the short distance to the Vor Frue Kirke (not to be confused with the Vor Frue Kirke in Aalborg or the Vor Frelsers Kirke in Copenhagen – I know I’m starting to get confused between them!) which is in fact three churches in one with a church in the crypt on the main church, and another chapel in the attached cloister, which itself is now a care home for the elderly.

From the Church I wandered back across town to the tourism office to pick up an Århus card and then wandered out to the Den Gamle By ethnographic museum to have a look around it. Unlike the similar examples in Helsinki, Oslo, Riga, Stockholm, Turku and Riga I’ve visited (I think it’s something about the Scandinavia/Baltic region!) this one focuses on the Urban rather than rural environment so the buildings are all from town settings and the aim is to try and create an idea of what life was like in a small town in the past.

Den Gamle By is also unique in continuing to expand having recently opened buildings from the early part of the 20th century and now working on a plan to create a small area that recreates early 1970’s Denmark for future generations (complete with reel to reel tape players!)

In the end I was looking round the outside of buildings as all the insides close at 6pm, so I took that as a hint it was probably time to head off (though you can wander around the outside of the buildings all the time) for a bite to eat, a bit more of a wander around town, and then bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Aarhus; Wednesday, 04 August, 2010

I had a brief wander around town, mostly trying to find the bus stop for the bus out to the Moesgård Museum. Eventually I found it and after a succession of empty buses on other routes went past the only one to be heaving happened to be the one I needed. It was full of young kids and for a while I feared they would also be going to the museum, but they got off at a park just outside of the centre of town.

The museum is located about 10KM south of the city centre in a former palace and is most famous for the perfectly preserved body of the Grauballe Man which was discovered in a bog in the 1950’s. Today he takes pride of place in the centre of the museum.

The museum grounds hold a number of examples of different types of burial grounds such as barrow graves and passage graves and there is a pleasant (when it isn’t raining) 4KM walk around the grounds taking them all in. With a couple of judicious stops in dense wood I managed to avoid virtually all of the rain and made it back to the start point dry.

I caught the bus back into town and wandered round to the Occupation museum. After looking around there I had a wander through town and found myself in the very pleasant botanic gardens above Den Gamle By. I had a long walk through the gardens and eventually found myself right out the back of town with the skies closing in.

So, given I had a free travel ticket with the Århus card I jumped on the bus and stayed on the bus until the sudden shower had passed. Thankfully this coincided with the bus pulling up at a stop near the hotel so I was able to get off, wander back to the hotel and drop my stuff off before heading back out for dinner.

After dinner I had a bit of a wander along the banks of the Å. I wandered back through town and just as I was approaching the cathedral felt the first heavy spots of rain. I managed to scamper back to the hotel just in time, getting in a couple of seconds before another spectacular cloud burst.

As it was gone 9:30, and I’d had quite a good meal I thought it would be a good time to turn in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Aarhus; Thursday, 05 August, 2010

I left my luggage in the baggage room at the hotel and wandered into town for a final couple of hours before I had to catch the train out of Århus.

There was a long list of museum that I was thinking of going to, so I thought I would start at the Art Gallery as that wouldn’t take too long and then I could see what was left after that.

In the end, the gallery was so good that I had to almost run round the last part of the exhibition so that I could get back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and catch the train.

The train left on time into a tremendous downpour. A little while after the skies cleared and as we entered the rolling countryside the skies became pretty clear. A quick change at Fredericia and I was on the train to Esbjerg.

At Esbjerg it was a quick change onto a bus down to the harbour where I checked into the ferry. I had thought that there might have been some facilities down there, but there weren’t just a couple of seats and a coffee machine. But as there was only a hour until boarding, and the buses were only every 20 minutes, I thought it was best to just stay put and read a book.

With typical Danish efficiency boarding started bang on time at 17:45 and less than a quarter of an hour later I was in my cabin. I had treated myself to the upgrade to Commodore De Luxe class so that I had a much more comfortable journey (and a free lounge with free snacks and drinks).

At 18:45 the ships horn sounded and we slowly pulled away from dock and from Denmark.

It’s a pretty uneventful journey to begin with, and after dinner I go for a wander around deck, which is when I notice that it is starting to get a little choppy. This proceeds to get quite a bit worse over the next 20 minutes or so, to the point where there are quite a few people either dashing to the side of the boat, or grabbing for the carefully placed bags that are in racks on the walls every hundred meters or so.

What is most surprising is that given how full I am, and given how much, as a Kid, I would get travel sick at the mere sight of a coach or a ferry, how well I felt.

So, just after 11, with a group of people outside being sick, I drew my curtains and went to bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Aarhus; Friday, 06 August, 2010

I had intended on having a nice long lie-in and then going for a late breakfast. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be as the PA system crackled into life just before 8am (which I wouldn’t have minded except that this was 8am ships time, 7am UK time) announcing that Breakfast was shortly going to be served, then 25 minutes later that there would be a chance for children to meet the captain in a few minutes time.

I took that as my invitation to go down for breakfast, and sure enough the restaurant was in the process of emptying.

Overnight the swell had calmed down and it was now pretty flat and calm. Then, just after 10am ships time, land appeared on the horizon, albeit Great Yarmouth. This was a bit surprising, as we weren’t due to dock for another three hours. I can’t remember how far it is from Great Yarmouth to Harwich, but I would have thought even with the pretty poor road network in that part of England you could do the journey around the coast in less than three hours, and we only had to go in a straight line!

But true to the timetable, it took three hours before, almost on the dot of 1pm ships time we landed at Harwich and I disembarked, walking across a time-zone into the terminal building so that I was at passport control 55 minutes before I had landed.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Leamington Spa; Sunday, 15 August, 2010

An uneventful journey up to Leamington and then a much quicker walk than I was expecting from the station to the hotel meant that I was checked in and ready to go just a couple of minutes after midday, so I was able to catch the bus to Stratford an hour earlier than I was expecting.

When I visited Coventry at the start of the year I had brought an ‘all sights’ ticket from the Shakespeare birthplace trust which would give me unlimited access to all of the five sites for the whole year, for pretty much the same as paying individual entry fees at three sites, so at the time it appeared to be good value. Today it turned out to be even better value as it meant I could go back to the sites, and visit the one that was closed back in February, for free.

First stop, via the open-top tour bus was Mary Arden’s farm. Mary was Williams’ Grandmother. After having had a long look around the site I caught the bus back into town and went round to the Nash house where they were carrying out archaeological digs on the site of the house where Shakespeare died so there was much more to see than when I had been in February.

I had a bit of a wander around town and a refresh on the rest of the Shakespeare sites, though not being able to take much in as the sites were much busier in mid-August than they were in February!

Thankfully, I had checked on arrival the times of the buses back to Leamington so I had found out early that the last bus on a Sunday is just after half six, so made sure that I was back at the bus stop in time to catch the bus back.

By the time I had gotten back to Leamington everything had closed, which was a bit of a problem as I had been hoping to buy breakfast! I had a long wander around the town before grabbing a bit to eat and heading back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Leamington Spa; Monday, 16 August, 2010

An early start as I was meeting a friend who was going to show me around Warwick Castle.

We spent a long time looking around the castle, and then went for a late lunch in a very good nearby pub. My friend went on her way and I had the remainder of the afternoon to have a look around the town.

I was going to have a look at some of the museums, but Warwick appears to have more deeply integrated into Europe than other cities as all the museums were closed on Mondays. Instead I had a look around the large parish church and climbed up its tower for the views over the town and the castle.

By the time I got back to the station it was approaching five and as the next train back to Leamington wasn’t for some time so instead I headed into Birmingham for dinner.

After a very pleasant (and filling) dinner I headed back into Leamington and back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Leamington Spa; Tuesday, 17 August, 2010

I headed out of the hotel and straight to the bus stop to catch the bus out to Charlecote Park. This is a large National Trust property half way between Warwick and Stratford-Upon Avon.

I managed to time my visit almost perfectly and only had a couple of minutes to wait for the bus on into Stratford, where I changed onto exactly the same physical bus which has changed routes and headed out to the other main NT site round here, Coughton Court.

I spent quite a long time at Coughton and got back into Stratford a little after 3. I had been wondering what to do for the remainder of the afternoon. I’d been toying with catching the bus into Evesham to have a look around there, but in the end I decided to go on one of the Avon boat cruises that run from Stratford, and I’m glad I did. Not only was it a very interesting tour, it also meant that I was sitting inside a covered boat at the same time the massive storm that had been brewing for most of the afternoon broke. It would have coincided with about the same time I would have arrived in Evesham if I’d caught the bus!

The cruise got back to the landing stage almost exactly at the middle of the storm where it eased off a bit so I was able to dash from the boat to the lobby of the nearby hotel without getting that damp. Within seconds of getting under the shelter the main bulk of the storm hit, and the car park became a lake in seconds. People less than 100 meters away when the storm hit were absolutely soaked by the time they reached the lobby. By now I was very glad that I’d not gone to Evesham.

By the time the storm cleared there was just enough time to wander through the town to a Costa’s for a very late lunch (almost 5pm) before catching the bus back into Leamington.

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel I wandered back out and joined the evening free walking tour round the old part of the town. Bizarrely the tour ends in the lobby of the Travelodge so I took the opportunity to have a quick rest stop before heading back out for a light dinner then it was back to the hotel to finish off packing.

Weather

Sunny Weird Weather
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Leamington Spa; Wednesday, 18 August, 2010

I’d paid for a late checkout so with all my stuff safely left in my room I headed out for a final couple of hours in Leamington, just enough time to finish off the towns sights.

First stop was a proper wander round the Jephson gardens which I had visited on the walking tour the previous evening, including taking in the glasshouse in the centre of the gardens.

From there it was a short walk across the river to the parish church of All Saints and then back over the road to the Pump Rooms which have now been converted into a museum, art gallery, cafe and library.

I had a look around the museum, which tells the history of the town, and the art gallery which houses some of the town’s art collection.

There was just time for a quick lunch before I headed back to the hotel, collected my stuff and wandered back to the station for the train home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Turin; Friday, 24 September, 2010

At one point it had looked like I might have a very long delay to my flight. The French air-traffic controllers had gone out on strike (again) and a lot of flights were up with 2 or 3 hour delays. Thankfully, for some reason that we weren’t aware of, the Pilot on our flight had managed to get us re-routed, via a slightly longer course over Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland down into Italy, thus avoiding all French air space, and only adding 10 minutes to the flight time. On top of that, he managed to get us off the stand fast-ish, and whilst the planes around us were settling in for their two hour wait on the tarmac, we, just 30 minutes late, were on our takeoff roll.

The flight was even less time than expected, and rather than being quite late we ended up landing only 10 minutes behind our scheduled time. With a quick run through the airport, collecting a Torino card on the way, I made the train into town with a few minutes to spare that I would have caught if we had been on time.

At present the trains from the airport don’t go all the way into the city centre because of major works on the railway lines (so major that they don’t actually exist at present!), instead they terminate at a station on the outskirts of the city centre, Dora. Thankfully, given the weather was starting to look threatening; Dora is just a couple of hundred meters from my hotel, so it was a very quick walk from the station to the lobby.

I checked in and took my stuff up to my room, I was about to head out when the first heavy shower passed through. After 20 minutes it had stopped, and I, foolishly, thought that would probably be it. So I headed out of the hotel in a light drizzle over to the bus stop to catch the bus into town.

Sitting on the bus the weather deteriorated quite a bit and by the time I got to the city centre it was raining heavily and steadily.

Thankfully, a very large number of Turin’s streets have porticos along them, so I was able to wander around quite a bit of the town without actually getting wet.

I had a long wander around the city centre in the rain, before it started to ease off a little. I took this as a hint to catch the bus back to the hotel at this point as the bus stop didn’t have any shelter. Sure enough within a couple of minutes of getting on the bus the skies had opened again.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Turin; Saturday, 25 September, 2010

I headed out of the hotel into town to carry on having a look around, this time in the dry, and it is a much more impressive and pleasant city in the dry.

I had a short wander around the Archaeological Park before heading over to look around the Cathedral, before visiting the museum in the Cathedral’s crypt

I had a long wander around the city centre, walking along the length of Via Po down to the river and across to the Gran Madre di Dio church on the opposite bank (though as there was a wedding going on at the time, I thought it was a bit rude to wander around the inside of the church)

I caught the bus back through the centre of town to the station at Porta Susa and grabbed a bite to eat there before heading over to the Museo Civico Pietro Micca.

The museum was very interesting, helped along by an almost personal guide as I was the only English visitor to the museum at that time. A visit includes a guided tour around the tunnels underneath the museum which date back to the early 18th century and were used to help defeat the French besieging the city as part of the Spanish war of Succession.

By the time I emerged from the tunnels I was blinking, partly due to the low light levels in the tunnels, but also because the sun had finally decided it wanted to shine, albeit in a hazy form. I took this as a hint to go out to the Basilica di Superga high on a hill overlooking the city for the views.

I caught the bus and tram over to the terminus of the Sissi-Superga rack railway and managed to catch the hourly train with a couple of minutes to spare. I got to the top station and wandered up to the Basilica taking in the views of the city, slightly spoiled by the haze and thin veil of pollution that appeared to be settled over it, though the low clouds helped to make the Alps stand out even more in the distance.

I took in the attractions that the Basilica had to offer before catching the train back down into town, getting back into the city centre just before dinner time.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre having a look at a couple of restaurants before finally settling on a very pleasant one on Piazza San Carlo. After the very filling dinner I staggered over to the other side of the square to get a small Gelati before wandering back past the Royal Palace and the Cathedral to the bus stop to catch the bus back to the hotel.

By the time I arrived back I was feeling very full, and suddenly very tired, so at barely half nine I turned it for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Turin; Sunday, 26 September, 2010

I’m not quite certain what was in the Risotto last night, but had some spectacular effects on my dreams. I can’t remember anything about the dreams other than they were weird! Still I had had a very long nights sleep, and woke feeling very refreshed.

After breakfast I headed into town to pick up the City Sightseeing tour bus. I went for two full circuits once on each side so as to take in all the views (although virtually everything worth seeing is on the Right hand side!)

From the bus I wandered over to the Mole Antonelliana to take in the views from the viewing platform. The journey up to the platform is a bit weird with the glass lift rising up the centre of the building without any shaft (other than a short one at the bottom to take it through the lower couple of floors and another short section to line it up with the doors at the top). Instead it just goes up and down on its wires, in much the same way as any lift would do, it just feels a little odd that there is no shaft, not even a glass one!

The views from the top were stunning, better than the previous days as the haze had completely cleared, so I was able to see more. Having taking in the views I caught the lift back down and had a look around the Cinema museum which is housed in the rest of the building.

After stopping for a late lunch I caught the City Sightseeing bus out a couple of stops to the Capuchin Monastery for the views from there, which are even more stunning as you can see the gaps in the Alps, and get the full view of the Mole Antonelliana. I walked back down into town and over to the Egyptian Museum.

I had a very long look around the museum, but still don’t think I did it justice. I wandered over to Piazza San Carlo for a pre-dinner drink, and then failed to go for dinner by catching the last City Sightseeing tour of the day, to take in the city at sunset.

Arriving back into the city centre I then went to have that post-pre-dinner-drink-dinner. With another stunning meal inside me I headed back to the bus stop to go back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Turin; Monday, 27 September, 2010

I checked out of the hotel and headed out into the city to try and find things open on a Monday.

First stop, as it was advertised as being open was the Borgo Medievale, a mock up of a middle ages Piamontese village. Whilst the site was open on a Monday, the main thing worth visiting, the recreation of a castle in its centre, was closed!

After having a wander around what was open in Borgo Medievale I walked back into town along the banks of the Po.

I had a long wander round town, and a very pleasant lunch, before heading over to have a look at the archaeological park by the Cathedral.

There wasn’t that much to see there, but by now it was getting close to the time I needed to head over to the airport so I caught the bus back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and started the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Middlesbrough; Friday, 22 October, 2010

With an uneventful journey up I arrived in Middlesbrough in the gloom of an overcast autumn late afternoon and walked the short distance across town to the hotel.

Having checked in and freshened up I wandered back out to have a look around town, and find somewhere to eat.

I had a relatively long wander around town, and found pretty much nothing, other than fast food shops, so in the end I wandered back to the Supermarket near the hotel and brought some dinner from there, before wandering back to the hotel to eat it there, before having an early night, hoping that there would be more to fill up the next five days than the first night had shown.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Middlesbrough; Saturday, 23 October, 2010

I decided to have a bit of lie-in, so by the time I finally left the hotel it was already gone 10, which left me with only 25 minutes to walk across town to catch the train. Of course, I could have gone out earlier with a bit of shampoo in my hair as the rain outside was so fine and heavy that it was far more effective at getting me wet than the pretty useless shower in the hotel had been.

Pretty much soaked I arrived at the station and brought my ticket north to Hartlepool. The journey takes you over the “original” railway, part of the Stockton to Darlington railway which kick started the whole idea of trains 180 years ago. With the rickety train bouncing all over the place on the decidedly bouncy line it would appear that not much has changed in 180 years round here.

Hartlepool is best know for it’s populations interesting way of dealing with Monkeys (the story goes that at the height of the Napoleonic wars a French ship was wrecked off the coast, the only survivor was a monkey dressed in a French uniform. As the people of Hartlepool had not seen a French man (or a monkey) before, the assumed it was a spy and hung it, hence they are know known as Monkey Hangers), and it’s “memorable” former MP Lord (did you bring the Garlic, cross and silver bullet) Mandleson.

What I wasn’t expecting was a pleasant small town centre which has obviously recently been heavily regenerated and the former docks converted into row upon row of (in-town-)out-of-town-shops. Next door to the vast retail site was the real reason for visiting, the historic docks.

I had a long wander around the docks taking in all the sights including the Museum of Hartlepool and the HMS Trincomalee whilst all the time the weather was slowly improving.

Having taken in the sights of Hartlepool I had a decision to make. Back into Middlesbrough, or continue north up the coast. In the end it was partly dictated by the fact that the next train North was sooner than the train south so I headed north towards Sunderland and Newcastle, and I’m glad I did as, once your past the eye sores of sites being demolished north of Hartlepool, the train runs along the coast, through some breathtaking scenery, made all the more impressive by the North Sea being quite “lively”. As the train went past the harbour at Seaham the sea was merrily crashing over the harbour walls churning the harbour up.

The journey up the coast is quite slow, but it doesn’t matter as for the vast part of it the countryside is interesting. Nearly an hour after leaving Hartlepool the train finally pulled onto the High Level Bridge and crossed over the Tyne into Newcastle.

By now it was heading rapidly towards early evening, so I decided to grab a very late lunch/early dinner in Newcastle and then make my way back. As I wandered over to a restaurant I saw a bus go past that made me realise that I didn’t have to go back the way I had come. First thing in the morning, before my train to Hartlepool, there had been a train going to Bishop Auckland, now going through Newcastle was the bus to the Angel of the North statue, which continues onto Bishop Auckland, I had a plan for the journey home, go back in a big loop through the County Durham countryside.

So, after dinner, I wandered back to the bus station and with perfect timing (for once) made it just before the bus was due to depart. It was an interesting journey, back through Low Fell, Chester-le-Street and the impressive entrance into Durham, with the sun just starting to disappear behind the spire of the cathedral. Shortly after leaving Durham the sun had fully gone, so the final part of the ride through the countryside to Bishop Auckland was in the twilight.

Of course, before setting out from Newcastle I had checked that there would be a train to catch when I got to Bishop Auckland, and there was, last one of the night! The bus arrived at about 25 minutes before the train, at which point I suddenly realised I didn’t actually know where the station was in Bishop Auckland, I’d kind of made the assumption that it would be in the town centre, but that’s not always the case and I had the nasty feeling I could have just caused myself some serious problems. Thankfully, there is pretty good signage in the town, and 20 minutes later I found myself standing at the station waiting for the train back, through Darlington and the other part of the oldest railway, to Middlesbrough and a very welcome bed.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Middlesbrough; Sunday, 24 October, 2010

If yesterday morning had been the epitome of damp, then this morning was the complete opposite, a clear blue sky, that kind of clear blue that means only one thing, cold. So I turned over pulled the duvet a bit tighter and decided that actually I wouldn’t get up at 8.

Two hours later the sky was still clear and looking crisp, but I felt it had probably got above freezing, so I got up and got ready to go out.

My first stop of the morning, a “short” walk from the city centre, actually turned out to be closer to 20 minutes, was the Dorman museum, effectively the town museum. Having had a look around the museum, I headed back towards the town centre and to MIMA. When I had booked to visit Middlesbrough, I hadn’t expected it to have a massive, modern, modern-art gallery. I don’t know why, virtually everywhere else does these days! I had a very pleasant lunch in the cafe before having a wander around the galleries.

The museum produces a very useful free map to the public art in Middlesbrough, which you can follow to visit the key piece, the largest piece of outside public art in the country – Temenos.

It forms the centre piece of the Middlehaven redevelopment of the old docks area north of the train station. Unfortunately, at the time of visiting the only other residents appear to be the Football stadium, what I suspect is the tax office which has my money in it (every time I have ever had to write to the tax man it’s always been to Middlesbrough) and Middlesbrough College. Everywhere else is the rubble of sites which have been cleared for redevelopment which doesn’t appear to be taking place. It’s possible when I visited that it was in the unfortunate break between all the demolition teams moving off site and the building teams moving on, but it was just such a wasteland, and the weeds were just so high, that I fear it might not have been quite that simple.

Having looked at Temenos, and realised that it looked almost exactly like the Anish Kapoor sculpture in the Tate Modern a few years back, just without the outer skin, I wandered back towards town, taking a quick detour to visit Teesside’s answer to the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and the Brandenburg Gate.

The Transporter Bridge is the international shorthand for Middlesbrough, and it’s only one of two working transporter bridges left in the UK (the other one being in Newport, Gwent). The small museum next door to the bridge tells the story of its history, construction, how it works and lists some of the other examples around the world. Then it was time to take a quick trip across the Tees.

It’s a bizarre experience, the whole massive structure supports a gondolier that runs just a few feet above the water, taking 90 seconds or so to cross the river to the other bank, it is a bizarre cross between a ferry and a train, not feeling like either. Having crossed over I watched it cross back over before realising that actually there is nothing on this side of the river, so I had to wait the 10 minutes before it came back over, then caught it back to Middlesbrough.

I wandered back through town taking in the rest of the public art from the map I’d picked up at MIMA, but it couldn’t help to hide the fact that I had pretty much exhausted Middlesbrough of things to do on a Sunday that didn’t involve shopping or drinking, so I headed over to the cinema to take in an evening film, before grabbing some dinner stuff from a Tesco Express before heading back to the hotel for some more sleep.

Whilst I may have had the longest and deepest nights sleep ever in Hammerfest in January, I think Middlesbrough in October may be about to be the longest period of sustained long sleeps.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Middlesbrough; Monday, 25 October, 2010

My plan for the day, as the weather was supposed to be good, was to head for the coast, which meant much of my itinerary would be based around getting there, and as I was taking one of the rare trains to Whitby (there’s only four a day on a Monday), this dictated that I had to have a lie in and a leisurely breakfast before heading over to the station.

The train journey in very pleasant running along the northern edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, but it can’t detract from the fact that it is quite slow, 90 minutes to do less than 30 miles! I arrived in Whitby just after midday and headed for my first stop, the Abbey.

Access to the Abbey is via a stiff climb up the 199 church steps (or if you’re being lazy, and have discovered this before you get to the top, the open-top bus service which does all the leg work for you!), from the top of which there were stunning views over the Yorkshire coast, made all the more impressive by the very rough nature of the sea, battering away at the harbour wall.

The Abbey was founded by the Saxons, improved by the Normans, dissolved by the Tudors and made world famous by the Victorians, or more importantly two Victorians. The photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe took lots of photos of the ruins of the Abbey at Whitby and put that on the map. Bram Stoker took it the next step further and made Whitby an important part of his novel Dracula, and since then the town has milked (or should that be bled) the link for all its worth.

Having looked around the Abbey I hopped on the open-top bus to do a circuit around the town taking in all of the key sites, before hopping back off an hour later at the Abbey to visit the next door church of St Mary’s.

Having looked round the church I descended the 199 steps back down to the town centre and had a wander round taking in the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, before stopping off at one of the many fish and chip restaurants for a bite to eat, not quite certain as to whether it would count as a very late lunch or a slightly early dinner.

As I staggered out of the restaurant I decided that the meal would count as both lunch and dinner, there had been so much of it. In a vain attempt to try and undo some of the damage to my waistline I wandered down the west pier and climbed the lighthouse for views out over the town. By now the tide was high and really lashing at the harbour wall, turning the entrance of the harbour into anything other than a haven.

By now the sun was starting to set, so I wandered back across town to pick up the bus back to Middlesbrough whilst there was still light in the sky to see most of the journey.

It was a very pleasant journey back, though the last 30 minutes or so were in the dark, so I didn’t see much of the views. By the time I got back into Middlesbrough it was nearly seven so I staggered back to the hotel, still full from my fish lunch, watched some telly and had an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Middlesbrough; Tuesday, 26 October, 2010

If yesterday had been a glorious day then today was the exact opposite. The prediction had been for some light showers, and to begin with that’s what it was, but as the morning wore on the weather appeared to get increasingly poor. Thankfully, the plan was to spend almost the whole day travelling so it wouldn’t really matter what the weather was doing.

The only slight flaw in this plan was it did require getting from the hotel to the bus station, which provided ample time for a light soaking.

First trip of the morning and it’s the bus back into Whitby, though this time a different route from the one the previous evening. This route went up over the Moors and it was pretty spectacular, if only for the horrific weather, lashing rain and a really strong wind that made the bus weave and wobble quite a bit. By the time I arrived in Whitby the rain had reached a crescendo and in the 20 or so yard scurry from the bus stop to the station I managed to get soaked again.

At the station I brought my ticket for the through train to Pickering. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is different from other heritage railways in that it is able to run over the “normal” rail route to Whitby, and they almost double the service between Whitby and Grosmont. Beyond Grosmont the line climbs back up through the moors before finally descending back down into the town of Pickering on the Southern edge of the Moors.

I had a wander around Pickering, intending to look at the castle, only to find that it’s closed from October to March! I had a bit more of a wander around before making my way over to the bus stop to catch the bus along the southern edge of the Moors and then back down into York.

It’s quite a long journey (made even longer by the extended “crew refresh” that took place at Marton) so by the time I got back into York it was already almost four.

I had a quick pit stop for a sandwich in the station before catching the train north to my final stop of the day, Durham.

I was taking a bit of a risk, as I wasn’t due into Durham until gone five. Whilst any museums or other attractions would be closed by then, I had hoped that the Cathedral, the defining symbol of the city, perched high over the river Wear, would still be open, and my gamble paid off, I arrived at 5:30, with 30 minutes to spare before it closed.

I had a wander around the bits of the Cathedral that were still open (they were closing it behind me as I went, and all of the exhibition areas had already closed), before heading back down to the bus station to catch the bus back to Middlesbrough and dinner.

Weather

Heavy Rain Misty
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Middlesbrough; Wednesday, 27 October, 2010

I’d booked myself on a stupidly early train out of Middlesbrough as I’d wanted to have a full day in York, so it meant having to get up at the same time as if it were a work day before packing and heading over to the station.

I arrived in York an hour later and having deposited my luggage with Europecar (they run the left luggage office, I hadn’t just dumped it in a hire car!), I headed out into the city.

First stop, just outside the station was the city sightseeing bus stop. The last time I had been to York was nearly seven years ago and I wanted to remind myself of the layout of the city (not that much would have changed, not much has changed in York in several hundred years).

After doing the bus tour I then wandered down to the Ouse to go on a river tour. Last time I had visited had been just before Christmas and none of the river tours were running then. The tour lasted about an hour and gave a different perspective on the city from its most defining feature.

I had a long wander around the city centre taking in Clifford’s Tower and the castle area, marvelling at the size of some of the queues for the top museums. I know it’s the half term break, but the queue for Jorvik was in excess of two hours and even the Castle Museum had a queue at least 60 people deep, you’d spend longer in the queue than you would in the museum, and when you got in it would be so busy that it would be impossible to see anything!

The other problem with all the crowds were the number of people wanting lunch at the same time, in the end I decided to try my luck having lunch at half two, and that still left me having to wait a few minutes for a table.

With lunch inside me I headed over to the Minster to have a look around. This was an idea that was very quickly abandoned when I saw the entrance price. £8 just to get inside the Cathedral, another £5 if you wanted to climb the tower. I though churches were places of worship rather than of profit! With that idea scuppered I had a bit of a longer wander around the city centre and over some of the city walls before heading over to the back of the station and the National Railway Museum.

As the museum is free I thought it would be a good (and cheap) way of filling up the final hour or so before I had to wander back to the station. In the end I was only part way round when the started to close the museum down, which was my cue to head back to the station, pick up my luggage and continue my journey south.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Salisbury; Friday, 26 November, 2010

After a mad dash up to Waterloo I managed to make the train with a couple of minutes to spare. I settled down into my seat and gently watched as the sun set over suburban South West London.

Just after 5, and less than 2 and a half hours after leaving the office I arrived in Salisbury, about the quickest I had ever made a holiday destination from work.

I was wondering how I was going to make my way to the Hotel, but I knew it was next to the Cathedral, and given it’s got the largest spire in the UK it wasn’t difficult to spot the direction I needed to be heading in.

I arrived at the hotel, checked in and freshen up before heading out into town to have a wander round.

However, in the twenty minutes it had taken me to freshen up the weather had taken a bit of a turn for the worse from chilly and dry to heavy snow.

I had a foreshortened wander around the town, but took advantage of the snow laden skies to take some good night shots of the Cathedral and the area around the cathedral, before heading into town for a bite to eat, and then back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Salisbury; Saturday, 27 November, 2010

I had breakfast and then phoned the Cathedral to see if there were any spaces left on the morning’s tower tour. There were so I headed out to the Cathedral to have a look around.

The tour up the tower took nearly two hours, and the views from the bottom of the spire were stunning, perhaps made even better by the light dusting of snow which was slowly melting away.

Having been up the tower I finished off wandering around the Cathedral, including taking in the Magna Carta exhibition. From there I headed across the road to the Salisbury and Wiltshire museum.

After the museum I grabbed a bite to eat for a very late lunch and then had a wander around Salisbury, though it was at this point I found that all the rest of the museums were closed for the winter.

I wandered over to the tourist information centre to see how easy it would be to get out to Woodhenge, like Stonehenge but possibly older, but by the time I’d got the bus out there it would already be gone sunset so there wouldn’t be much point.

Instead I had a bit more of a wander around the town, before headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then go out for dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
0ºC/32ºF

Salisbury; Sunday, 28 November, 2010

The hotel had an “Holistic and Psychic Fair” taking place during the day and consequently had closed the restaurant for the morning, so everyone could either have breakfast very early, or take it in their room. Naturally, I decided I would prefer the lie in and asked for breakfast at 09:30. By 10am it still hadn’t arrived and I got the impression by the way the reception phone wasn’t being answered that there was a problem.

At 10:15 I was phoned to say it was a “little” delayed, though by this point I wouldn’t classify 45 minutes as a little delay. Unfortunately, I had to check out by 10:40 so it was looking likely that I was not going to get breakfast.

I left my room to check out and at the same moment my breakfast finally arrived, over an hour late. But as I had to check out I had to turn it away. I stomped down to reception in a pretty bad mood, which was made even worse by the flat refusal of the hotel to refund me for the breakfast I had paid for, but never had. They did offer me the option of speaking to the duty manager, but the mood I was in I thought it was probably best not to speak to them, as I was finding it difficult to keep my language civil.

I left my luggage with the hotel and wandered over to the bus station to catch the “Stonehenge tour” out to Stonehenge. The tour is a pretty hefty rip-off by the local bus company. Rather than running a regular bus route out to Stonehenge you have to catch the tour which costs at least three times what a regular bus would. Given the morning I was having I was by now composing two lengthy letters of complaint.

My mood mellowed quite a bit when we arrived at Stonehenge. Firstly because as a English Heritage member I was able to queue jump a very large party of tourists and secondly because Stonehenge is such an interesting place, made all the more special by the light dusting of snow on the ground which gave it an even more magical quality.

After looking round the site, I hopped on the next bus back down to Old Sarum and had a look round there, before catching the following bus back into Salisbury.

By now I had pretty much exhausted all that Salisbury had to offer, so, after a pleasant lunch, I headed back to the hotel, grabbed my bags and headed back to the station and the train home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Birmingham; Friday, 17 December, 2010

The weather forecast had been pretty OK, with snow not forecast until late afternoon, so I was a little perturbed to look out of the window at work a bit before midday to witness a blizzard whipping across Croydon, and more importantly, it clearly starting to settle.

With some trepidation I headed out to City Airport wondering if I would get away or not.

I dropped my bag off at checkin and was told that the runway was currently closed and there was a chance that the flight might be delayed or cancelled. At the time there were a large number of delayed flights, but only one which had been cancelled, and they had started to make boarding announcements so I didn’t think it was going to be too bad.

Unfortunately, I had reasoned without BA’s inability to think about its passengers. They had already cancelled the flight from Frankfurt that made my flight, so that the plane didn’t get stuck in London. Of course, I only found this out from looking at the web once I was in the departures lounge.

So it was little surprise when the flight (due out at 14:45) first went to “Next Info 15:00” and then to “Consult Ticket Desk”. I wandered down to the BA ticket desk to see if there was any chance of getting a transfer onto the 7pm flight which was still running, but was told it was full, as was every other flight to Frankfurt from every other airport in London until Monday. Given that I was flying back on Monday it seemed pretty pointless to go to Frankfurt just to fly back so I had to abandon my plans.

Thankfully (and using that word entirely inappropriately) BA were equally as pathetic with getting the bags back, so I had a good 20 minutes to re-plan.

I was originally flying back from Frankfurt to Birmingham to take in the Christmas markets there as well. So rather than cancelling the whole holiday, why not just head for Birmingham straight away, or on Saturday, as the transport infrastructure was slowly disintegrating for the evening. In the 20 minutes I had to wait for my bag I was able to book not only a stunning deal on a hotel for Saturday and Sunday night in the centre of Birmingham, but also find a really cheap train ticket for travel up.

So that was it. My trip to Frankfurt got as far as departures, but my trip to Birmingham was going to be a little longer.

Weather

No Data Light Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Birmingham; Saturday, 18 December, 2010

I’d left myself over two hours to get from home to Euston (a journey that should take less than 30 minutes), but based on previous experiences, and with the weather, I thought it would probably be best to leave some extra time. In the end I had to find inventive ways of wasting time, and managed to swallow up a good half hour by getting the bus between Victoria and Euston, taking in the whole length on Oxford Street on the last Saturday before Christmas. Unfortunately, the weather had kept the shoppers away and I still ended up at Euston with nearly 90 minutes to spare before my train was due to leave.

The train left on time and, ignoring the horrific crashing noises as ice fell from the train and smashed underneath the wheels, had an uneventful if slightly delayed journey (it’s a bit difficult to go top speed into a snowstorm!)

I was going to catch a taxi from New Street round to the hotel, but on emerging from the station I realised that was probably a bad idea. The roads were gridlocked and the queue for taxis was at least 30 people deep, so instead I walked round to the hotel. It took longer than it should have done as its quite exhausting dragging a heavy suitcase through thick snow.

I checked into the hotel, dropped off my stuff and headed back out into the fading light of the late afternoon to take in the Frankfurt Market.

I had a very long wander round, stopping off at several of the stalls to sample the bratwurst, and am happy to confirm they are as good as the ones you get in Germany (the fact it was a German serving might have had something to do with it!)

After the long wander I headed back to the hotel to defrost and for an early night.

Weather

Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Birmingham; Sunday, 19 December, 2010

The snow had stopped falling and the sun was trying to breakthrough when I got up. I had a quick breakfast and then wandered out to the bus stop to pick up the bus to the Botanical gardens out in Edgbaston.

I have a very long wander around the gardens; being one of the first people on site I had the magical sight of the almost pristine snow over the spacious grounds. After taking in the grounds I warmed myself back up in the glass houses before heading back into town.

Next up was the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, but, as it is right by the Frankfurt market, there was just time for a quick pit stop for “Ein bratwurst Bitte!”

I spent a very long time going round the museum as there was an awful lot to see, and that was with an entire floor closed for redevelopment. The key attraction was the Staffordshire Hoard; a massive find of Anglo Saxon gold discovered the previous year and now part of the permanent collection of the museum.

After leaving the museum I had a bit of a wander around the centre of Birmingham, which was a slightly surreal experience. I’ve been to Berlin several times so know my way around the city quite well, but I’ve always come as a tourist. This was the first time I had wandered round Birmingham as a tourist, but I’ve been up to Birmingham for work so many times I know the city centre pretty well, but it was amazing the number of things I noticed when I was just wandering around rather than trying to get to or from a meeting.

My wandering took me back to the Cathedral which I had a wander around before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out for a bite to eat and a late wander around the market just before it closed for the evening.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-4ºC/25ºF

Birmingham; Monday, 20 December, 2010

In the original plan I was going to be spending today travelling between Frankfurt and Birmingham. Instead the key aim of the day would be to travel the 1KM between hotels, so I had pretty much the whole day to spare.

I’d decided to head out of the city for the morning and go out to the small town of Burton-on-Trent some 25 miles away. Calling Burton a small town is actually a bit of an injustice as it was the brewing capital of England. At one point a quarter of all beer brewed in Britain was brewed in this small town. Today it recalls that heritage by being home to the National Brewery Centre.

Arriving in the town the first thing that strikes you, even as the train doors open, is the smell of malted barley and hops in the air. Today, there is still a large amount of brewing going on, but it’s all done by big multi-nationals (the name Coors stands over the city where once Bass’s logo’s sat) in highly mechanised processes.

I had a wander through the town to the centre. Having looked around, and had my four free tasters (which in the end was the best part of a pint), I wandered back through the town and caught the bus over to the nearby city of Lichfield.

Lichfield is not particularly well known even in the UK (except for those where the dreaded phrase “Overhead line problems in the Lichfield Trent Valley area” has caused untold misery), especially not it’s cathedral which is a real surprise.

I was expecting a smallish cathedral, not the gigantic structure at the back of the town. Its three spires and Gothic architecture looking quite a bit like a (not much) smaller version of Cologne.

I had a long look around the Cathedral and was considering having a wander around town when I popped into the station just to check on train times back for later. At that point my plans for the day changed quite abruptly as the screens were flagging massive delays, the snow was coming back in and train services were already in a mess. I decided not to risk it and went for the train that was arriving at that moment, and I was lucky I did. It was 45 minutes before anything passed us in the opposite direction and as Lichfield is the end of the line, it would have been a very long wait if I had left it longer.

The train crawled back into Birmingham through yet another blizzard finally making it back into New Street around 30 minutes late. I walked back, through the snow to the hotel to pick up my bags and then walked them round to the Travelodge. The walk was only around a Kilometre, but with all the snow on the ground, and dragging a heavy case, it took nearly 30 minutes and I was absolutely shattered by the time I checked in.

After having a quick freshen up, I headed back into town to grab a bite to eat and have another wander around the market, before heading back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.

Weather

Haze Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-4ºC/25ºF

Birmingham; Tuesday, 21 December, 2010

I headed out from the hotel and over to New Street to pick up the train out to Bournville and Cadbury World. I had visited earlier in the year, but as I had slightly more time in Birmingham than I was expecting, and as it appeared to be a good way to get lots of chocolate based Christmas Presents, I decided to pay another visit.

It’s amazing the difference a bit of snow makes. When I came in February the place was absolutely heaving, today in late December with half a foot of snow on the ground the place was virtually empty.

Having taken in the exhibitions (and my fill of chocolate, both shopped for and consumed), I headed back to the station and caught the train back into town. From there I headed over towards the Jewellery Quarter for a look around.

I had a good wander around the place, as well as taking in the museum before heading back into town for a bite to eat and a final evenings shopping in the Christmas markets, finishing off the present buying.

Filled with Bratwurst and Glühwein I staggered back to the hotel and attempted to pack my bag with everything I had brought so that it still closed, before heading to bed.

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Birmingham; Wednesday, 22 December, 2010

I had originally planned to spend today visiting Wroxeter Roman City out in Shropshire. I normally wouldn’t bother checking, but for some reason this morning I decided to give the site a call just to check that they were open, as it was going to be a pretty long journey to get there. I’m glad I did as the recorded announcement was that the site was closed today due to the weather conditions.

So instead, I went for plan B, which was a trip to Ironbridge Gorge instead.

Unfortunately, I didn’t bother phoning ahead there to check to see if anything was open and consequently found everything shut when I got there, but the visitors centre and museum weren’t my reason for coming to Ironbridge. I’d come to see the spectacular bridge that proved you could use cast Iron to make major structures and put this part of rural Shropshire at the heart of the industrial revolution.

I had a long wander around the area taking in the beauty of the Gorge and the elegance of the bridge before retiring to a very nice pub for lunch.

In fact the pub was so nice that I booked a room for three nights in August to come back and properly take in the World Heritage Site.

By the time I had finished lunch it was coming up to three and I needed to start heading back into Birmingham. I caught the bus back into Telford no problem, and then managed to get a bus straight away back to the station, thus avoiding the 20 or so minute hike that I had endured on the way out.

However, on arrival at the station I found out I shouldn’t have bothered. The train I was aiming for was delayed by over 30 minutes (in fact it continued to get later and by the time I finally left on the following train, it was nearly an hour late) so I had a 25 minute wait for the stopping train back into Birmingham.

The light finally disappeared from the sky over Wolverhampton and by the time I got back into Birmingham it was definitely night. I popped up to the station building to pick up my luggage from the left luggage office, before heading back down onto the platform and my train home.

Weather

Light Snow Haze
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-3ºC/27ºF

Leeds; Friday, 14 January, 2011

I had a very smooth journey up to Leeds, and thanks to the wonder of Google street view managed to take a very short cut to my hotel.

Having checked in and dropped all my stuff off I went for a wander around the city centre.

I then grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and an early night

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Leeds; Saturday, 15 January, 2011

An early start as I headed out to the station to make the journey to the pleasant North Yorkshire market town of Richmond. The journey itself was uneventful, if tedious having to get a train out to Darlington and then pick up the bus to Richmond (the other option of catching two buses up through the dales would have been even longer, but considerably cheaper!)

I arrived in Darlington just in time for the rain to start up, and by the time I reached Richmond it had settled into a hefty continuous downpour. I headed straight for the castle to have a look around the exhibition and ruins. By the time I had finished looking around the weather had just about calmed down to a heavy drizzle so I had a look around the town centre.

I had just over an hour to wait for my bus to the next destination, and with the weather picking up in ferocity again, I sought refuge in a pub overlooking the market and had a very pleasant lunch.

I managed to time my lunch so that I left the pub and was able to leap straight onto the bus which then headed off through the dales to the small market town of Middleham. Today Middleham is the centre of the Racehorse training industry in the UK. In the Middle ages, for a while at least, it was important in the running of England. Today it’s spectacular castle is a reminder of that important past.

Having looked round the castle I had a long wander around the town itself, which is really pretty, before it was time to start the lengthy journey back home.

I had looked at turning the journey into a round trip carrying on into Ripon and then back into Leeds from there, but the buses were not particularly frequent, and it would have ended up costing more as the return fare on the train had been almost the same as the single, so from Middleham I caught the bus back across the Dales, taking in the scenery which had become even more stunning than it had been on the journey over as all the heavy rain had started the rivers breaking their banks.

By the time I arrived back into Richmond it was dark, and I had a 20 minute wait for the connection back to Darlington so I had a quick look around the centre in the dark (and wet), before hopping back on the bus.

At Darlington the great British institution of the weekend engineering works was in full force. There hadn’t been any in the morning, but according to the notices, after midday Darlington was the furthest North you could hope to get by train without either a very long detour via the Tees, Wear and Tyne back into Newcastle, or a hefty bus ride up the M1.

Consequently the trains were in a bit of a mess and there were no direct trains back to Leeds for nearly two hours, so instead I hopped on the train that was about to depart and caught down to York, where I changed (for the umpteenth time recently it felt like) onto another train to Leeds.

I arrived back in the city centre just before 8 so grabbed a light bite to eat (the lunch really had been very good) before heading back to the hotel to try and dry off.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Leeds; Sunday, 16 January, 2011

When I looked out of the window at around 9:30 the skies looked pretty clear and whilst it was damp on the ground it looked as though it was dry.

By the time I had had a shower and some breakfast the weather had taken a distinct turn for the worse and was starting to drizzle quite heavily as I left the hotel for the short walk down to the Royal Armouries.

I had a long look around the armouries, which was just as well as all the time I was in the museum it was absolutely pelting it down outside. Having exhausted the galleries I made the short dash across the plaza to the Pizza Express on the other side for a late lunch (working on the basis that the weather might just improve by the time I had finished).

I was proved partly right, and by the time I emerged it was merely down to light rain rather than a monsoon. I wandered back into the city centre and up to the city art gallery to have a look around and from there next door to the Henry Moore Institute.

With the city’s art collections taken in, and the weather having almost decided to give up on getting things wet, I went for another wander around the city centre before heading back to the hotel for a light bite to eat and an early night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Leeds; Monday, 17 January, 2011

Up early and out to the station. I wanted to do visit two towns today so I needed to make an early start.

First off it was up into the Dales on the train to the market town of Skipton. I had a wander through the town and over to their castle. The castle is described as one of the finest examples of a medieval castle, and from the outside it is, it’s just no effort has been taken on the inside to give any idea of what it would have been like, it’s just a series of whitewash walled rooms with occasional information plaques.

I had originally hoped to be able to fill up quite a bit of time at the castle and then catch the bus across the dales to my next destination Harrogate after lunch. Instead the castle took so little time that as I left it the previous bus (and they are only every other hour) was just leaving.

Rather than have a two hour wait in the town, I wandered back to the station and caught the train back to Leeds and then out to Harrogate. I’m glad I did as I wouldn’t have seen the magnificent view of the Crimple Viaduct as we left Pannal station before doing a very tight 90 degree turn and running across it.

I had a long wander around the centre of Harrogate, stopping for a late lunch, before finding myself outside the Royal Pump Room’s museum. I had a quick look round, and took the waters (which are pretty unpleasant, so they must be good for you!), before heading on into the Valley Gardens to have a wander through them.

The gardens climb up onto the edge of the Pennines and the views across the rolling Yorkshire Dale countryside were spectacular. I was heading for the botanical gardens at the back of the park, but by the time I reached them they had already closed the ticket office for the evening as sunset was only just over an hour away.

I walked a short distance back to the main road and caught the bus back into Harrogate where I had a final wander round before heading back into Leeds.

After grabbing a bite to eat I went for a wander around the city centre, and headed over towards the Clarence Dock and Royal Armouries to have a look at them in the dark, and I wasn’t disappointed. The main architectural feature of the Armouries is a tall glass tower which acts as the main staircase. Up the centre are arrays of weaponry and at night the whole tower is brightly lit, looking like a blazing lighthouse marking the end of the Leeds Liverpool Canal and the Aire weir.

Having taken that all in I wandered back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Leeds; Tuesday, 18 January, 2011

Another early start, this time to get over to the bus station to pick up the first bus in a carefully choreographed journey (the only bus of the morning to my final destination left at 11:15 and if I didn’t catch it I would be stuck). I got the bus with plenty of time to spare and it was running fine for most of its journey until the outskirts of Harrogate where it met a particularly nasty set of roadworks.

We eventually pulled into the bus station nearly 10 minutes late, which wouldn’t have been much of a problem as the bus was due to wait there for 10 minutes before continuing onto Ripon. Unfortunately, the bus company had decided at this point they wanted to change vehicles so we all had to decamp out of the first bus and into another one, before they could start boarding the passengers waiting in Harrogate.

It didn’t take as long as I might have feared and it was only about five minutes late leaving the bus station. The problem was my connection in Ripon was only 8 minutes.

I needn’t’ have worried, firstly the bus station in Ripon is more an oversized traffic island, you can walk from one end to the other in five seconds, and secondly, I hadn’t taken into account the natural ability of a bus driver to really open up the taps on an empty stretch of road. We pulled into Ripon bang on time, if slightly bounced around.

I changed buses and made the final leg of the journey out to the World Heritage site of Fountains Abbey and Studly Royal. The Abbey was the largest Cistercian abbey in the UK and is one of the finest ruins of an abbey still standing. In the 18th century the land around was landscaped with the ruins becoming a feature of the gardens.

I had intended on spending about three hours looking around the site and catching the twenty to three bus back into Ripon to have a look around there. In the end, by the time I actually first looked at the clock it was already half two and I was two miles away from the visitors centre and bus stop, so instead enjoyed the remainder of my walk around the site, and caught the penultimate bus of the day an hour later back into Ripon.

The only downside was by the time I arrived back in Ripon it was just before four and all the museums were closing, but I did manage to get into the Cathedral in time to have a look around. I then went for a short wander around the city centre, before heading back to the bus station and starting the long journey back into Leeds.

By the time I got back into Leeds I had developed a bizarre craving for Sushi so headed over to the Yo-Sushi in Harvey Nicolas (Grim Northern Mining City to Poncy Southern Shopping City in less than 15 years!) to have my fill before heading back to the hotel to start packing.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Leeds; Wednesday, 19 January, 2011

Up early and time for a long commute to work. A combination of the price of tickets, the price of the Travelodge and a random 1/2 day's leave to use up, meant that I was heading into work from Leeds (rather than having to get home on Tuesday night).

After a quick breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the station to catch the train back down to London

Just over two hours later, and over five minutes early, the train pulled into Kings Cross and I headed across town to the office.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Southampton; Friday, 04 February, 2011

I just about managed to squeeze myself and my luggage into the already heaving train, feeling guilty that I was paying considerably less for this than the majority of my fellow passengers who are paying considerably more than £3.75 each way just to go to Horsham, let alone all the way down to Southampton.

A couple of stops down the line, with careful positioning, I was able to secure a seat which then improved to a window seat a couple of stops further down the line.

Part of the reason for the fantastically cheap ticket was that the journey time from Croydon to Southampton is not particularly express like. In fact it would have been quicker, by some way, to have gone up into London, over to Waterloo and gotten the train down from there. Though I would still have had to squeeze into a horrifically overcrowded sardine tin, except in that instance for the better part of £40.

So, nearly two and a half hours after leaving Croydon, but in a first for Southern, five minutes early, the train pulled into Southampton and disgorged the final few remaining passengers who were travelling on it.

I walked the short distance from the station to the hotel, checked in, dropped off my stuff and headed out into the misty, slightly damp night to have a look around the city centre.

I wasn’t expecting particularly much. After all, Southampton has been one of the UK’s major ports for a long time, and got pretty extensively bombed during WWII. Most of the area around the hotel has been developed into a retail and entertainment park, so after walking across acres of desolate car park and past cavernous superstore after cavernous superstore, it was a bit of a surprise to suddenly stumble along a chunk of the old medieval city walls.

I had quite a long wander around the city centre before grabbing a late bite to eat and heading back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Southampton; Saturday, 05 February, 2011

One of the main reasons for coming down to Southampton had been to meet up with friends, and that was what Saturday was devoted to.

After having an early morning wander around the city centre, I wandered back to the station to meet my friends in a coffee shop near the entrance.

We spent most of the day wandering around the city partaking of the Coffee shops, restaurants and bars before it was time for them to start heading home.

After leaving them at the station I wandered back to the hotel, dropped off my stuff, grabbed a light bite to eat at the hotel bar, and then wandered over to the nearby cinema to grab a late evening film before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Light Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Southampton; Sunday, 06 February, 2011

I checked out of the hotel and left my luggage in their storage room before heading out for a wander around the city. I headed first to the City walls and took the self guided walk along them around the edge of the old town centre.

The walls eventually lead you down to the harbour and the Wool house, the largest free-standing medieval building in the city, and today home to the Maritime museum.

I had a long look round the museum, before continuing along the wall walk down towards the Town Quay and the ferries across Southampton Water to Hythe. As the day was quite nice I decided to catch the ferry across and have a look around Hythe, though on a Sunday morning in Early February, Hythe could be described as pretty dead, so after a quick look around and a stop in a coffee shop in the “town centre” I headed back into Southampton and continued walking around the walls.

I had intended on visiting another couple of attractions in the city centre. The archaeological museum in one of the old gates supposedly has a lot of information on the development of Southampton. Unfortunately, that was closed due to staff shortages.

The medieval house, according to the English Heritage website, was due to be open that afternoon. According to the sign outside, it was closed until Easter, so that proved to be another closed attraction.

By now it was late afternoon and the weather was starting to deteriorate. Added to that was the fact that there were no trains direct back to London. Instead there was a rail replacement service so I decided, as it was going to be a pretty slow journey back, and there was not much else to do, I wandered back to the hotel, collected my bags and wandered over to the train station to get the bus out to the parkway station.

By the time I arrived at Southampton Airport (Parkway) the weather had deteriorated to pretty atrocious, so I felt vindicated in my decision to leave early. It still didn’t help the fact I had a 35 minute wait for the train back into London.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Porto; Thursday, 24 February, 2011

In spite of massive queues at security, the whole process through the airport was amazingly smooth. I don’t quite know what Gatwick’s done, but it’s worked. The queues may be long, but they move like the clappers.

I arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare, which was good as they very quickly started boarding people. With ten minutes to go before our scheduled departure time they were already closing the doors and getting ready to do the safety briefing.

By the time we touched down in Porto a steady tail wind had added to the smoothness and we touched down 25 minutes ahead of schedule. A quick trip through the terminal, with the bags taking only slightly longer meant that I was sitting on a Metro train heading into town at the same time I was due to land.

I walked the short distance from the metro station to the hotel, checked in, and then headed down into town for a wander around.

I had a bit of a wander around the riverside area, before heading towards the Tourism office to buy a Porto Card. From there it was a simple step across the road and onto the penultimate open-top tour bus of the day to go round the city centre taking in the sights.

The tour route includes going out to the Atlantic coast and then coming back into down along the bank of the Douro River. The bus arrived at the coast at the same time as the sun started to set and it made for some very beautiful scenes, especially with the Atlantic being quite lively.

By the time I got back into town it was starting to get a dark so I headed back to the riverside and grabbed a bite to eat, before hiking back up hill (the funicular railway was closed for no apparent reason) to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Porto; Friday, 25 February, 2011

I open the curtains to a beautiful sunny morning with a clear blue sky, so after a very hearty breakfast, I headed down to the riverside area to pick up another of the tour bus routes, this time one that runs up along the coast. I did a full circuit of that and hopped back off the bus in the city centre.

I then picked up the Metro and caught it one stop, across the spectacular top span of the Dom Luis I bridge to the upper area of Vila Nova de Gaia. From there I wandered down the passageways and staircases of the old town pas the edge of the Port cellars to the Croft Cellars, where I went on the tour.

Two samples of Port later I continued my wanderings down to the waterside and from there along the river bank back to the Dom Luis Bridge where I picked up the third and final open-top tour route from CarrisTur which took in the main bridges of the city.

I arrived back near the old stock exchange, and went to go for a visit. Unfortunately, you have to go round on a guided tour, and the next English one wasn’t for another hour, so I booked onto that and then headed up into the centre of town and the Torre dos Clérigos.

This is the tallest building in the city, and given it’s already on one of the highest points of the city already; it makes for some stunning views from the top. I had enough time to climb up to the top, take lots of photos come all the way back down, walk back to the Stock Exchange, pick up some stamps, postcards and fill them out, before my tour started.

The stock Exchange is an amazing building, if only for showing how those people who play the markets have always made fantastic amounts of money and know how to spend it in the most extravagant way. In particular the Arabic room at the end of the tour shows fabulous wealth (if not fabulous taste!)

As I was leaving the stock exchange the final castles tour bus of the day was pulling up outside, so I decided to have another circuit on that, especially as the journey along the river and up the coast would be whilst the sun was starting to set.

By the time I got back to the Stock Exchange it was dark, which meant it must be dinner time. I wandered through some of the back streets until I found a very nice little restaurant and had a very nice fish dinner.

Filled to bursting, I then, very lazily, caught a bus back up the hills into the centre of town, and then the Metro one stop to the station nearest the hotel, before staggering back the short distance to my welcoming bed.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Porto; Saturday, 26 February, 2011

I decided to take advantage of the later breakfast to have a bit of lie-in, so by the time I left the hotel it was almost 11am. First stop of the morning was just down the hill at the Cathedral.

I had a good wander around the Cloisters and museum whilst a service was going on, timing my return back into the main body of the cathedral just as the service was completing, so I was then able to have a look around the Cathedral straight away.

From the Cathedral I walked down to the riverside and picked up one of the many boat tours that run up and down the Douro. Whilst the trip was very pleasant, especially with the heat of the day starting to build, it could have benefited from a commentary.

I stopped by the riverside for a very nice lunch, before catching the Funicular back up the hill arriving just in time to catch one of the few trams still running in the city (all of which operate as a kind of heritage service) for a quick spin around the city centre. It’s penultimate stop being conveniently just outside my hotel so I was able to quick pop back in and freshen up.

From the hotel I wandered back down to the top of the Dom Luis Bridge and wandered across it, taking in the stunning views. From the other side I again wandered down into the lanes and passageways of the Vila Nova de Gaia, this time heading for Taylor’s cellars. Almost an exact repeat of the previous day’s visit to Croft, but you can’t say no to free alcohol!

I wandered back down to the riverside and caught a bus up into the centre of town near the San Francisco church.

The church itself is no longer in use, but you can visit it for an eye watering example of what happens when someone has far too much money and gold! The rest of the complex includes the original crypt with a slightly creepy ossuary and a small museum.

Right outside the church is where another one of the old tram lines starts, so I decided to catch that tram out, along the edge of the river and then back to the old tram museum. The museum was closed so I caught the third (and final) tram route back up to connect with the one back to my hotel where I stopped off to drop off some of the junk from my bag, and to grab a light supper from one of the local cafes.

I then walked back down to the Dom Luis Bridge, which by now in the dark was lit up and made the views even more spectacular. Having taken in those views I wandered back up to the Cathedral to get some shots of it in the dark before heading back to the hotel feeling exhausted.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Porto; Sunday, 27 February, 2011

After another filling breakfast I only had a couple of hours to kill before having to head back to the airport, so I caught the funicular down the hill to the Ribeira to have a final wander along it.

In the end I had quite a long wander and found myself almost down by the tram museum, so I caught the tram up the hill past the Crystal Palace gardens to take in some of the views of the river before it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my stuff and head back to the airport for the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Jerez; Wednesday, 09 March, 2011

In spite of being five minutes late pushing back, and the usual queue to get onto the runway at Heathrow, the plane touched down in Madrid 20 minutes early, and even with the massive hike from the satellite terminal to the main building I was still standing by the baggage belt at the same time I should have been landing. Unfortunately, the baggage took a little bit of time to come round, and by the time it had I had just missed the shuttle bus to the hotel, so I had a 30 minute wait in the airport forecourt.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I picked the shuttle bus back up and went back to the airport to catch the metro into town to have a look around.

I had a wander around the royal palace and Sol areas, before heading over to Plaza Mayor for a bite to eat, even managing to almost get into Spanish habits by not starting dinner until 9:30.

After a bit more wandering I headed back to the airport and once again just managed to miss the shuttle bus. Thankfully, I had left enough time that there was one final one of the night, so I was able to wait for that and got back to the hotel just before midnight, and a well-earned sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Jerez; Thursday, 10 March, 2011

A quick breakfast down I caught the shuttle bus out to the airport to check in for my flight down to Jerez. In the end I could probably have left it another hour or so to pick up the bus as I was wandering around the airport for nearly 90 minutes before the flight was finally called.

In the end the flight was delayed by quite a bit and it was nearly 45 minutes late by the time it landed in Jerez, but that was OK, as I managed to make it through the airport with a couple of minutes to spare before the bus into town.

Having gotten into town I decided I couldn’t be bothered to try and find the bus stop so I jumped in a cab to the Hotel. I hadn’t realised quite how far away the hotel was and it took the cab a good 15 minutes to get to the hotel.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I wandered back into the old town, discovering on the way that it took nearly 30 minutes to get to the edge of it, in a pretty boring and very uphill walk.

I had a long wander around town, stopping off part way round for a very late lunch in a nice café near the main square.

I got back to the Plaza del Arenal just before the land train set off for a tour of the city, so I decided to hop on board and take the tour.

After that completed it was then a short walk down to the main Sherry Bodegas to catch the last tour of the day round the site including tastings and tapas.

Full of sherry and tapas I had a bit of a further wander around the Cathedral and Alcazar area before finding the bus stop back to the hotel, conveniently just as the bus was about to depart.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Jerez; Friday, 11 March, 2011

After a filling breakfast I headed back into town, this time taking the bus up the hill, arriving at the Cathedral a few minutes before it was due to open.

I had a long wander around the Cathedral and then walked round to the Alcazar to have a look around.

Unfortunately, at this point the weather took a distinct turn for the worse and I spent quite a lot of the time running between buildings to avoid the downpours.

By now I had pretty much exhausted what the city had to offer as many of its main museums were either closed for restoration, or not yet open for the summer season, so I decided to wander down to the station and catch the train out to Cadiz.

I arrived in Cadiz just in time for the weather to improve dramatically, and in time to hop on one of the open-top sightseeing tours of the city.

Having taken in the tour I went for a long wander around the city centre, and out to the two fortifications. The first, the Castillo de San Sebastián was closed for renovation, but the long walk out over the 750m causeway was worth it for the stunning views of the city. The second the Castillo de Santa Catalina was open and had a couple of small exhibitions which I had a look around, as well as being able to take in the views.

I wandered back to through the city centre to the station in the late twilight to catch the train back into Jerez and was treated to the beautiful scene of the sun setting behind Cadiz as the train ran across the isthmus.

I walked back from the station in Jerez to the centre of town to track down somewhere for dinner, and after a very filling meal, wandered back over to the Alcazar to catch the bus back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Jerez; Saturday, 12 March, 2011

I just about managed to make it to the bus stop shelter before the first hefty downpour of the morning fell, and then took the opportunity of a slight pause in the torrent to run the short distance from the station bus stop to the train station itself.

I hopped on the first train back out to Cadiz, and as we headed towards the coast the sun started to breakthrough, so that by the time I reached the city it was sunny and warm again.

I headed over to the Cathedral to have a look around, and then up one of the Cathedral’s towers to take in the view of the city from there. Next door is the Yacimiento Arqueológico, which has Roman and Phoenician remains of the city underneath the Bishops palace.

Having taken those in I walked the short distance over to the Cathedral museum to have a look around.

After a quick stop for a late lunch I wandered back through town to the Cadiz museum to have a look around that, before making my way back through the Carnival crowds to have a look around the Old Cathedral, located next to the current one, but dating back, in parts, to the 13th century.

When I had booked to come to Jerez, part of the reason for choosing there over Cadiz, had been that I couldn’t find any hotel rooms at a reasonable price in the city. I thought it might just have been that there weren’t any. It turns out it was because I was choosing to visit over the Carnival weekend, and strangely, virtually every room in the city had been booked nearly a year in advance.

Unfortunately, the bulk of the celebrations on the Saturday didn’t kick off until 8pm and I had a ticket for the 9:10 train, so I was only able to see a small amount of the celebrations before I had to head back to the station and pick up the train to Jerez and then the bus back to the hotel

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Jerez; Sunday, 13 March, 2011

The carnival celebrations were due to kick off at 3pm today, so I thought I would stand a much better chance of seeing some of them.

However, the day didn’t have the best of starts as I discovered when I got up that the water was off in parts of the hotel and I was unable to have a shower.

After a leisurely breakfast I headed to the station and the train in Cadiz, and then had a wander around the town taking in the build up to the big parades.

I managed to catch quite a bit of the carnival before the first hefty shower passed through just after 3pm.

I watched a bit more, but the next cloud burst was pretty obviously going to be a very long, and very wet one, and people were already starting to drift away, so I headed back to the station and caught the train back to Jerez.

It was still chucking it down by the time I got back to Jerez so I wandered back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat, to dry off, and to pack.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Jerez; Monday, 14 March, 2011

After breakfast and checking out I walked over to the bus stop and caught the bus back into town, making it to the coach station with a couple of minutes to spare before the airport bus left.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that the first flight was an internal one, so arriving at the airport with two hours to spare was a little excessive, but it did mean that I was first in the queue for checkin!

After checking in and having a long wander around the very small departures lounge the flight was eventually called and, after some minor confusion with the queue getting muddled up with another queue for a Barcelona flight, boarded.

A very bumpy flight later we landed at Madrid. I had hoped that they would have been able to check my bags all the way through to London from Jerez, but unfortunately, in spite of Iberia and BA now being the same company, they couldn’t find a link to my booking, so I had to go through the whole baggage reclamation and then checking in again procedure.

Thankfully, I had four hours for the connection so I was thankful for something to take up some of the time.

After checking in for the second time in less than three hours, I wandered through to departures to await my flight.

Six hours later and bang on time the plane touched down at Heathrow and then a really freaky thing happened, I sailed through the airport.

In less than 20 minutes from landing I had disembarked, been bussed back to the terminal, been through immigration, collected my baggage and walked the quite long walk to the bus station to catch the bus back to Feltham and the train. Everything connected correctly, nothing was delayed, and nothing went wrong. I think that was the first time that had ever happened at that speed!

Weather

Heavy Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Northampton; Friday, 18 March, 2011

Apart from a 15 minute delay due to emergency engineering works in Watford, the journey up was pretty much uneventful and shortly after arriving I found myself in the hotel.

The fact the lobby was heaving with Police and security officers was a bit of an interesting introduction to Northampton. One of the Police officers explained that they had been dealing with a small “melee” which has now been dealt with and then checked me in, as the hotel staff were filling out statements.

With that slightly disturbing introduction I wandered up to my room, dropped off my stuff and then went for a short wander around the city centre.

I pretty quickly realised that Northampton appears to be a bit of a schizophrenic town. Some very nice buildings, in some quite posh looking areas, and yet also some really divey looking places, sadly the latter forming a ring around the hotel.

Getting slightly concerned about the thought of being out on the streets of Northampton on a Friday night I decided to head back to the hotel and visit the cinema that it’s built above to fill up my Friday evening.

On leaving the cinema to walk the 30 yards back to the hotel I passed at least two puddles of sick, saw three police vans racing towards the city centre and what appeared to be a couple being “very friendly” in a shop doorway.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Northampton; Saturday, 19 March, 2011

With no sign of a major police presence in the reception this morning I headed down for a quick breakfast before heading out for the morning. I quickly stopped off at St Peters Church just down from the hotel to have a look around. The church itself is no longer in use as a religious centre, but with bits of it dating back to Saxon times it’s an important part of Northampton’s history.

From there I wandered on down to the station to catch the train out to Bletchley to visit Bletchley Park.

After having a long wander around Bletchley Park I wandered back to the station and was just in time to catch the train a couple of stops further south to Berkhamsted to have a look around the ruins of the castle there.

Having taken in the ruins it was time to start heading back to Northampton as I was supposed to be meeting up with friends.

After a very long afternoon and evening with friends I finally got back to the hotel a little bit before 1am.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Northampton; Sunday, 20 March, 2011

I checked out of the hotel and joined my friends (who had also been staying over) for a late breakfast before spending the morning having a wander around the town.

After a couple of hours of wandering we stopped for a late lunch and a bite to eat, before it was time to head back to the hotel to collect luggage and make our ways home.

My friends had come up on the bike, but I was going back on the train so I said goodbye to them at the hotel and walked down to the station.

I had known that the journey home was not going to be particularly easy as the rail company had a strike going on, so instead of a quick 60 minute journey from Northampton straight into London I had to look forward to a 50 minute coach ride to Milton Keynes to catch the hourly service that was running from there into town.

However, that was without the gremlins getting into the works and the radiator on the coach blowing out and leaving us dumped by the side of the road on the outskirts of Milton Keynes for 40 minutes before a replacement coach arrived.

By the time that got us to Milton Keynes I had missed the train and so had to wait another 40 minutes for the very last train of the day (which at not even 6:30 is a bit poor) down to London.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Bristol; Friday, 15 April, 2011

Straight through London faster than I think I’ve done it for a long time; I ended up being at Paddington with nearly an hour to spend, so I had a large lunch at the station before catching the train out to Bristol

The previous time I’d come to Bristol I’d got hopelessly lost in the floating harbour area and ended up walking round in a very large circle taking nearly an hour to find the hotel. This time I knew Bristol better, and I knew exactly where the hotel was, so five minutes after stepping off the train I was checking in to the hotel.

Having dumped my stuff I headed out of the hotel and up onto the Downs at Clifton. I was originally aiming for the suspension bridge first off, but managed to misjudge bus stops and got off far too early. In the end it was quite fortuitous as I was able to have a very pleasant walk across the downs and then get stunning views of the bridge as I approached it, rather than it just appearing as it does when you come at it from Clifton.

After a long wander round I headed back in to town, stopping off for a light dinner, before going off to meet friends for the evening.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bristol; Saturday, 16 April, 2011

After an early start I headed out of the hotel to the bus stop near the station to get the bus out to Wells, and from there on to Cheddar.

Cheddar is home to the UK’s most famous Gorge (though the Avon Gorge through the outskirts of Bristol comes a close second). The Gorge is littered with attractions at its lower end, focused around the two sets of show caves.

You can only get a joint ticket to all the attractions so it made sense to try and take in as many as possible. First off was the explorer tour, an open-top bus tour that takes you up the Gorge, past the worst of the tourist traps and into the unspoilt upper gorge where the scenery is stunning. The bus dropped everyone off outside Gough’s caves so I had a look around them, before crossing the road to the museum of pre-history.

Then it was a quick spot of lunch before heading down the gorge and then up 273 steps to the lookout tower on the top of gorge. From there it was all the way back down and into Cox’s caves and the very cheesy Crystal Quest in the lower part of the cave.

After that I was feeling pretty Gorged out so I wandered back to the bus stop and caught the bus on into Weston-Super-Mare, the West country’s premier seaside resort.

I had a go on the Wheel of Weston and then went for a wander along the prom (or more importantly got the land train most of the way along the prom and then walked back). Weston was very busy, but with the tide a long way out, and no particular wish to empty all of my 10p pieces into slot machines, there wasn’t much to do in the town so I headed back to the station and caught the train back into Bristol and then on out to Bradford-on-Avon.

The small town marks the point where the river and the Kennett and Avon canal, which have been running parallel to each other since Bath, diverge with a large canal basin. The town dates back to Saxon times with a small Saxon era church, and pleasant walks along both the river and the canal.

I had a look around the town and then had a walk along the canal tow path down to the next settlement of Avoncliff before catching the train back one stop to Bradford-on-Avon for another wander around the town centre before it was time to head back into Bristol and dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Bristol; Sunday, 17 April, 2011

After breakfast I headed into the centre of town to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus. I did a complete tour of the route before stopping in the city centre for a late morning coffee, then managing to pick exactly the same bus back up a couple of stops further down its route and catching it up round to the city museum.

I had a long wander around the city museum and art gallery before heading back down to the station.

When I’d looked up things to do in the area there were several mentions of the Severn Beach railway line as being scenic and worth doing, so I grabbed a return ticket to Avonmouth (as far the trains go on a Sunday) to take in the views.

Now it’s possible that it’s the short section from Avonmouth to Severn Beach that’s particularly spectacular, as the section into Avonmouth whilst being interesting wasn’t the worlds prettiest of rides.

I got off at Avonmouth to have a quick look around, but very quickly realised that it’s not actually a particularly interesting place, dominated as it is by the port. However, by then the train had already departed back to Bristol so instead I had to get a bus back into the city centre.

I got off the bus at College Green and had a look around the Cathedral area and around the city quay before catching the last sightseeing tour of the day.

After getting off the tour I grabbed an early dinner before heading back to the hotel to drop stuff off before, in the twilight catching the bus back up to Clifton to take some photos of the suspension bridge lit up at night.

After that I headed back to the hotel to pack and then grab a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Bristol; Monday, 18 April, 2011

After a leisurely shower and breakfast it was time to head back into work, for a while I thought it was the longest commute I had ever done, but then remembered the morning I woke up in Glasgow and commuted back into work!

I checked out of the hotel, bade Bristol farewell and hopped onto the train back to London through the morning gloom (which in itself was a surprise as the weather forecast just 10 minutes earlier had implied clear skies across the whole of the South!)

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Porthmadog; Friday, 29 April, 2011

I had spent the night in Birmingham as I wanted to get the early train from there out to Porthmadog, so at a little after 8am I found myself on the train at New Street station heading for Wales.

The first part of the journey across the West Midlands and then across Wales wasn’t the most interesting train ride in the country, but as the train ploughed on further into Wales the scenery got progressively more stunning.

I had to change trains at Machynlleth which in itself was a stunning location. The train ride from there on along the Cambrian coast being continuously stunning virtually the whole way. I arrived in Porthmadog a little before 1 and quickly made my way round to the hotel to check in, drop my stuff off and head out again.

First stop was the Welsh Highland Line station to purchase a ticket for the only train of the day to Caernarfon for the following morning, and then a wander back up to the national rail station to catch the train back a couple of stops to Harlech.

Harlech is home to a stunning castle and I had a long wander around this and the village before walking back down to the station and catching the train another couple of stops along the line to Abermaw/Barmouth.

Abermaw is a pretty little coastal resort with wide sandy beaches, sand dunes and the stunning hills of Snowdonia coming almost down onto the beaches. I had a wander around the town and the beach for a while before it was time to start making my way back to the station and the train back to Porthmadog.

Everything was going fine until we reached Tygwyn station where things went a bit wrong. The level crossing had failed and as the road is very fast at this point the train couldn’t just creep across in case something came over the hill at speed and slammed straight into it. Eventually, after 40 minutes of waiting they were able to stop the traffic and let us move across.

By the time I got back into Porthmadog it was starting to get dark so I grabbed some dinner from the Tesco by the station and headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Porthmadog; Saturday, 30 April, 2011

Another early start to get to the station for another long train ride. Whereas yesterday I had covered at least 150 miles in the four hours, today it would take me nearly three to go just under 30. The difference being this line is a little more special and a little more spectacular than even the Cambrian coast.

The Welsh Highland Line finally reached Porthmadog just a few months before I visited, having been extended over a number of years back to its original length (and actually a bit further as it never used to go into Caernarfon, instead ending in quarries near Dinas.) At present only one train a day makes the trip across town from the Ffestiniog station in the harbour and out onto the line, and it was this train I was booked onto.

The first part of the journey is relatively flat out across the flood plain, but pretty soon the train starts to climb, up through the spectacular Aberglaslyn Pass and on along the edge of Snowdon through some spectacular scenery, before finally descending back down into Caernarfon.

I had a quick change in Caernarfon onto the bus out to Llanberis and a second special train of the day. This time the Snowdon mountain railway, which I had intended on whisking me up to the summit of Wales’s highest mountain. Unfortunately, the weather had put pay to that. Whilst it was gloriously sunny it was also pretty windy, and towards the top of the mountain the wind speeds were at levels that made running trains dangerous, so we were only able to go 5/8 of the way up, but that still included some stunning views of the mountain.

Back at the base station more than an hour earlier than I had originally envisaged I decided to visit Electric Mountain, the name of the visitors centre for Dinorwig Pumped storage power station, and arrived just in time to make the last guided tour of the station itself of the day.

With the tour complete it was time to catch the bus back into Caernarfon to grab a bite and a late wander around the town to fill up the nearly two hours before the last bus of the day back to Porthmadog.

In the end I actually got away slightly earlier as the National Express coach that was going to Pwllheli was also stopping in Porthmadog so I caught that instead.

The journey out to Caernarfon had taken nearly three hours in an open carriage on wooden seats, the return was just over half an hour in plush leather reclining seats on a modern luxury coach, a slight contrast.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Porthmadog; Sunday, 01 May, 2011

Not quite such an early start to the day, but first stop was once again the railway station, this time to go in the opposite direction back up into the hills, but to the former slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog on probably the most famous of Wales’s little railways.

I caught the train all the way out to Blaenau taking in the spectacular line, which includes a section where the train spirals back over itself to climb up a particularly steep bit of hill (caused by the original part of the line being closed as it was to be submerged in a reservoir to create yet another pumped storage power station).

At Blaenau caught the shuttle bus up to the Slate caverns at Llechwedd and had a look around all the attractions there.

By the time I got back to the station I was just in time to catch the train, unfortunately there didn’t appear to be any train. The reason was that there was a large fire near the railway and the fire brigade had halted all trains.

At one point it looked like we would have to be bussed back to Blaenau, but eventually the final train of the day made it through to take us back, so instead of having a couple of hours exploring Snowdonia national park, instead I had two hours sitting on Blaenau Ffestiniog station.

By the time I got back into town all the restaurants were full so I had to grab a takeaway from the local Chinese and take it back to the hotel to eat.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Porthmadog; Monday, 02 May, 2011

My original plan had been to spend part of the day on the Ffestiniog railway before catching the train out to Blaenau to start my journey home, but the problems of all the previous days made me concerned that I could end up getting stranded, so instead I decided to have a long lie in and a lazy morning wandering around Porthmadog before catching the 13:30 bus to Blaenau rather than risking the train.

The bus turned out to be a miraculously good choice. Firstly as the journey was so spectacular through the countryside and secondly as it got me to Blaenau 55 minutes before my train was due to leave.

12 minutes before my train was due to leave the train from Porthmadog was due in, but it didn’t appear, and by the time we pulled out of the station heading for Llandudno it had still not put an appearance in, meaning that if I had caught it I would have been stranded. Any later train from Blaenau meant I wouldn’t have been able to make it back to London that evening, and going back to Porthmadog would have led to the same result.

The ride down from Blaenau to Llandudno along the Conwy Valley is another spectacular journey, starting with the bizarre and scarred landscape of Blaenau then entering a long tunnel which pops out into the lush green of the upper Conwy Valley it’s hard to imagine you are only the other side of the same hills that are so scarred in Blaenau.

We arrived in Llandudno on time and my train back to Chester arrived within a minute of it’s scheduled time. Unfortunately, it was only two cars long and spectacularly busy. At each station down the line it got progressively later as people tried to squeeze on so that by the time we reached Flint the train was running 18 minutes late, exactly the same length of time as my connection in Chester was.

Thankfully, the train managed to make up a couple of minutes between Flit and Chester and we arrived in with two minutes to make the sprint down the platform to the London train. Thankfully most of the train was also making the sprint so it was pretty obvious to the Virgin train crew that they couldn’t really get away with leaving this number of people abandoned, so they held the train for a couple of minutes to allow everyone to board.

Slumped into my seat I finally caught my breath and was able to unwind a little from the previous hours increasing tension, and enjoy the journey through the evening sunshine back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Venice; Tuesday, 17 May, 2011

The last time I had come to Venice it had been late in the evening when I arrived so I’d taken the bus into Venice from the Airport. This is the quickest and cheapest way of doing it, but there is another way, and as the flight had landed just after 4pm there was more than enough time to take the boat into Venice.

It’s an interesting journey through the edge of the Lagoon and out across the watery equivalent of the motorway down to the Fondamente Nuove and then round through the canals into the Grand Canal.

Having hopped off the airport boat at its penultimate stop it was then only a single stop on the regular vaporetto across the Grand Canal to the stop for the hotel.

After dropping all the stuff off we headed back out to grab a pre-dinner drink and then wander through to the Rialto area for some dinner.

After dinner a stroll through the back alleys from the Rialto to Saint Marks square before catching the vaporetto back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Venice; Wednesday, 18 May, 2011

I hadn’t had the world’s greatest of nights sleep, mostly caused by the number of mosquitoes in the room, but after some rocket fuel coffee at the hotel we headed out.

First stop of the morning was to get over to Fondamente Nouve to pick up the vaporetto over to Burano and then onto Torcello.

Having had a wander around Torcello and taken in the sights it was a short hop back across the lagoon to Burano for a long wander around there, stopping off for lunch.

From Burano it was back round to the Lido and then on, via St Marks, to have a wander around Dorsoduro stopping off on the Fondamenta Zatterie for an evening drink before heading back over towards the hotel for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Venice; Thursday, 19 May, 2011

Another poor night’s sleep, once again caused by the mosquitoes, but after a cup of coffee it was time to head out towards the Lido and a trip to the very south of the Lagoon.

Having crossed to the Lido we caught the bus down the length of the island to its southern tip, where the bus drives onto the ferry for the five minute crossing to the next island of Pellestrina. It then runs the length of Pellestrina as it thins down with the lagoon next to the road on one side, and on the other side of a high sea wall the Mediterranian.

From Pellestrina it’s a quick change onto the waiting Vaporetto for the final 20 minute chug across the Lagoon to the town of Chioggia.

There’s not much to see in Chioggia, the main reason for visiting is for the journey there and back, but the town is an important fishing harbour, with several good fish restaurants, so it made sense to stop for lunch and have a long wander round before catching the boat, bus, bus on boat and bus back to the Lido.

From the Lido we hopped on a Vaporetto round to Cannaregio to have a look around the Ghetto.

From the Ghetto we walked back past St Marks and onto the Arsenale area. Then it was back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out towards the Rialto for a bite to eat and another evening wander.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Venice; Friday, 20 May, 2011

Having carried out a mass killing on Mosquitoes before going to bed I actually slept pretty well.

After breakfast and leaving the bags at the hotel we wandered down to the Fondamenta Zatterie and caught the vaporetto across the canal to the Giudecca to have a look around that island and taking in its main church Il Redentore.

From there it was a short hop on to San Giorgio Maggiore to go up the bell tower and take in the sites.

There was just enough time to catch the Vaporetto back the slow way to the hotel and pick up the luggage before catching the boat back out to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Oban; Friday, 27 May, 2011

By the time I left work I already knew the flight was going to have a substantial delay on it, as my electronic boarding card was merrily updating itself regularly with the estimated departure time creeping further and further away from the original 21:00. To compensate for the inevitable long wait, I booked myself a space in the business lounge and headed to the station.

Of course, travelling down to Gatwick on a Friday evening at rush hour is never a particularly pleasant experience, but add on that it was the Friday of a Bank holiday weekend at the start of the school holidays it made the train just that little bit more “busy”

An event free journey down to the airport and a quick run through bag drop and security saw me sitting in the lounge less than 40 minutes after leaving work.

The flight was eventually called 20 minutes after the originally scheduled departure time, and by the time everyone had boarded and push back had started it was nearly 22:00. The advantage of that was we accelerated away from the gate and just carried on picking up speed straight onto the runway and into take-off.

With a heft head wind as well it was gone 23:00 by the time we finally landed in Glasgow, by which time it appeared most staff had gone home as it took an age for the bags to come round.

I had originally intended on getting the bus into town, but by now it was nearly midnight, I was tired, and it was raining so instead I decided to take the hit and get a cab straight to my hotel.

A quick checkin, but even with that it was still gone midnight when my head hit the pillow, knowing I had to be up early the following morning to get the train West.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Oban; Saturday, 28 May, 2011

Up early for a quick breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading down to Queen Street station to catch my train to Oban. I arrived at the station with about 30 minutes to spare, which in the end proved to be a sensible decision as the train was heaving.

It’s a long, but stunning journey up through the southern highlands over to Oban and the four hours or so passed by with one amazing vista after another coming past the window. On arriving at Oban I dropped my luggage off in the lockers at the station and headed out into town to have a look around.

First stop after a bit of a wander was the Distillery to book myself on the next tour, which wasn’t for another 30 minutes, so I walked down to the local tour agents to book on a tour of Mull, Staffa and Iona for the following day, before heading back to the Distillery for the tour.

From the distillery I walked back to the station to pick up the City Sightseeing tour. The bus arrived 20 minutes before the tour was due to start and slowly started to fill up. 14:00, the departure time came and the driver went to switch the engine on, but was met with the sound of a very flat battery. He made several attempts to get the bus working before a mechanic turned up to try and get it started, which he did, for a short while before the engine once again died. So instead of getting a 2 ½ hour tour of Oban instead I got a warm enclosed top deck of a bus for 40 minutes in which to sit out a massive belt of rain that suddenly hit.

With the rain cleared and the bus officially declared broken, I headed back to the station to pick up my bags and walk over to my hotel to checkin, dropped my stuff off and then headed back into town to visit McCaigs tower.

Having taken in the views I then headed down to the harbour to go on an evening cruise around the islands out to Mull and back. On the way out I stood up on deck and took in the views, including a spectacular rainbow over the stern of the ship, on the way back the weather closed in fast and I took shelter in the restaurant taking the opportunity to also have dinner.

By the time we finally got back into port (and we were delayed somewhat by the strong head winds and choppy seas) it was starting to get dark so I walked back along the prom to the hotel to get an early nights sleep.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Oban; Sunday, 29 May, 2011

Overnight the rain and wind had continued and I woke to a pretty dismal looking day, but as so often happens in this part of the world, but the time I left the hotel after breakfast it was blue skies.

I walked down to the ferry terminal to catch the boat out to Mull for the tour, but at the ticket gate I was told that my tour had been cancelled as the seas around Staffa were too rough to allow a landing to take place, so I had to quickly pop downstairs and purchase tickets for the alternative tour of just Mull and Iona and arrange to pop back into the tour shop the following day to arrange a refund.

Having been out and back to Mull the previous day I was aware of where the disembarkation point would be so I was able to be first off of the ship and get the choice of seats on the coach for the tour of Mull. The tour runs along the southern part of the Island, through the hills and mountains down to the port at Fionnphort , through some of the most dramatic scenery the island has to offer.

On arrival at Fionnphort there was some uncertainty as to whether we would be able to get over to Iona. The rough seas that had put pay to the Staffa ferry from here were also threatening the much larger Iona ferry, but in the end they did run the service, albeit on a pretty rough crossing.

Having arrived on Iona I wandered up the tourist route through the ruins of the nunnery and past the cemetery, including the grave of former Labour party leader John Smith, to the Abbey to have a look around that.

From there I had a bit more of a wander around this part of the island, but time was limited as we had to be back on the ferry before 3, so I headed down to the harbour to grab a late lunch before catching the 2:30, very rough, crossing back over to Mull. The coach was already waiting when I got off the ferry, with about half the tour party, as we’d all taken a look at the crossing and realised it was getting worse. The final members of the tour did come across on the 3pm and they were looking much worse for having caught the later crossing.

The coach went back across Mull through the highlands and back to the ferry port just in time for the arrival of the Oban ferry.

Having arrived back in Oban I had a bit of a wander around town before stopping for a bite to eat in an Indian restaurant then heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Oban; Monday, 30 May, 2011

I checked out of the hotel and walked down to the station to pop my bags into the luggage lockers. I then popped round to the tour shop to get my refund for yesterdays cancelled tour.

I had about three hours to spare before my train so I decided to head out to Dunstaffnage castle, about 3 miles out of town. Whilst there are hourly busses I had just missed one and the next one wouldn’t have left me with enough time to look around, so I grabbed a cab instead.

I had a long wander around the site taking in both the castle and the ruins of the chapel before heading back into town to pick up my stuff and catch the train back to Glasgow.

The train ride back was if anything more spectacular as it was sunny so there was much more to see, on the way down some of the mountains had been a little obscured by the pounding rain.

We eventually pulled into Queen Street station a little after 16:00, I wandered the short distance up the hill to the bus station and picked up the bus back to the airport and my uneventful and thankfully on time flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Ipswich; Friday, 24 June, 2011

A Friday evening trip across London is always an unpleasant experience and this was no different. Thankfully I’d left plenty of time and the journey was pretty smooth, if very full, so I arrived at Liverpool Street with over an hour to kill before my train.

I grabbed a bite to eat near the station and then wandered back to stand on the concourse for a while before the train was finally called.

Given that it was half seven at night I though the train was going to be relatively empty, but I was proved wrong as by the time we finally pulled out of the station every seat had been taken and people were standing in the aisles.

The number of people on-board meant that it took longer than scheduled at each station and by the time we finally pulled into Ipswich we were five minutes late.

I emerged from the station into a late evening drizzle which had just started and slowly got worse as I walked towards the hotel.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I went for a wander around the harbour side and the town. Unfortunately, a wet Friday night is not the best time to see Ipswich and I didn’t have the greatest impressions of the town so I headed back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

No Data Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Ipswich; Saturday, 25 June, 2011

After an excellent breakfast I staggered out of the hotel to have a look around the town. I had a long wander and ended up at the town’s museum.

Having had a look around that I went for a bit more of a wander before I realised I had pretty much exhausted all Ipswich had to offer so I headed over to the station.

I caught the train out to the nearby Cathedral town of Bury St Edmunds and had a long wander around there taking in the Abbey gardens and ruins of the Abbey as well as the Cathedral and town centre.

From there I caught the train back into Ipswich and then out to Lowestoft to have a look around there. Unfortunately, I quickly realised that there wasn’t much to Lowestoft (once you’ve gone to the Eastern most point in Britain you’ve pretty much done the town), so I wandered back to the station and rather than wait nearly two hours for a train back to Ipswich, caught the train up through the broads to Norwich, which made for an interesting ride.

After stopping for dinner in Norwich I caught the train back down to Ipswich, had a final wander around the town centre and headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Light Rain Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Ipswich; Sunday, 26 June, 2011

With another stunning breakfast inside me and my bags stored in the hotels luggage room I headed out for the day, over to the bus station and out on the bus through Felixstowe and out to the end of the headland and Landguard fort.

I had a long wander around the fort, taking in all there was to see, and the caught the bus back into Felixstowe for a quick look around there.

From Felixstowe it was back on the bus into Ipswich and a wander down to the harbour side for a very late lunch.

After lunch I had a bit more of a wander around the town, by chance stumbling upon the ruins of the medieval Dominican friary.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and make my way back to the station for the train home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Stuttgart; Saturday, 23 July, 2011

Heathrow on the first day of the school summer holidays is never a nice place to be. However, for once everything appeared to be running pretty smoothly, a few flights with twenty minute delays but nothing cancelled or delayed for hours.

Sure enough almost to the minute the gate was advertised as opening we were called forward to board.

Of course not everything can be as smooth as this, and we then proceeded to sit at the gate for 15 minutes waiting for a take-off slot due to congestion. However, only 15 minutes late we took off for a uneventful flight down to Stuttgart.

With a quick journey through the airport and a relatively speedy journey into the city centre I found myself at the hotel just before 8pm. Having checked in and dropped off my stuff I headed back out into town.

When I had visited a couple of years back the TV tower had been closed for refurbishment, but it was open today so I headed out over there, the stadtbahn still winding its way perilously up the hills.

By the time I got to the top of the tower there was the end of a stunning sunset bathing the city in a warm red glow. I took a few photos whilst watching the light finally disappear from over the city, then popped down a floor to the Panorama Café for a bite to eat before heading back to the stadtbahn (they are not trams, but there also not U-Bahns!) stop and catching the train back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Stuttgart; Sunday, 24 July, 2011

After a filling breakfast I headed out into town and straight back out again to Schloß Solitude on the outskirts of the city centre. I went round on one of the guided tours, but didn’t get very much as it was in German and, unlike a lot of other palaces around the country, they didn’t provide an English text so I was only able to make out about a fifth of what was being said.

From the castle I caught the bus back into town and the wandered over to the station to take in the views from the top of its tower. They still have their exhibition about the massive changes they are hoping to make to the central station, but recent news and the slight issue of money appear to have taken the shine, and likelihood of completion, off of the project.

From the station I wandered down Königstraße and through the palace gardens to the impressive Neues Schloß. Unfortunately, this massive palace is still in use (albeit by the state rather than any royals.) However the next door Alt Schloß is now home to the Baden-Württemberg state museum so I popped in there for a look around.

Having done all of that my feet were feeling a little tired, so I decided to rest them for a short while by taking the Stuttgart tour. Run by the local bus and tram company the multilingual tour runs over two routes that operate as a figure of 8 over the city. The Blue tour takes off towards the north and on its return becomes the red tour to do a southern circuit.

I did both tours and by then was feeling suitably refreshed so I went for a wander around the city centre, eventually finding myself walking through some of the parks that for a U around the city centre.

By the time I finally left the Killesberg Park it was getting quite dark. However, by pure chance, I exited quite close to a U-Bahn stop with a train going straight back to the hotel.

Given that I’d grabbed a bite to eat in one of the café’s in the park I took that as a sign and went back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Stuttgart; Monday, 25 July, 2011

Out of the hotel early, dropped luggage off at the main station and then out to the Schloßplatz to join the morning bus tour of the city (taking in several of the sights I’d missed the previous day from sitting on the wrong side of the bus).

By the time the bus completed its tour it was time to head back through the castle gardens to the train station, pick up my bags and make my way to Heidelberg.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Heidelberg; Monday, 25 July, 2011

Thankfully, mine wasn’t the Berlin train which was running over 70 minutes late (I didn’t even think such things happened on German railways!), but everything was in a bit of a mess due to, what I probably mistranslated as a signal failure outside the station.

A lot of trains were leaving from the wrong platform, which is always fun to watch in Germany. Eventually mine left, from the correct platform, but five minutes late.

The whole way to Heidelberg the guard was apologising for the delay, which makes a change from British trains where you only get that once you’re past the hour mark! From Heidelberg station it was a short walk round to the hotel to drop my stuff off then back to the station and out towards Dilsberg.

The small town is located on the top of a hill overlooking the Neckar Valley, and built around the ruins of its castle.

After taking in the sights of Dilsberg I headed back to Heidelberg and had a long wander around the city centre, stopping for a bite to eat in the market square.

I meandered down to the riverside and across the old bridge to the other bank to take in the stunning views of the castle complex reflecting the setting sun.

After a bit more wandering it was time to head back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Heidelberg; Tuesday, 26 July, 2011

A quick breakfast and then it was out to the funicular railway that runs up past the castle. I took the two trains all the way to the very top station for some stunning views over the city, before coming back down to the station for the castle and going to have a look around.

In addition to looking around the outside of the castle, I also took one of the guided tours of the inside, and then went for a wander through the castle gardens.

With a late lunch inside me I headed down into town and over the river to the hills on the other side.

I went for a very long walk up to the top of the Heiligenberg which has several sights at the top, not least of all the view over the castle.

I had to spend a bit of time hiding in a beer-Keller towards the top as the weather decided to choose that point to break into a spectacular thunder storm.

Having survived the storm and finished off taking in the sights I descended back down to the Old town and stopped for a bite to eat, before wandering back over the river to take some pictures of the castle and the old town at night.

Exhausted I headed back to the hotel for a well-earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Heidelberg; Wednesday, 27 July, 2011

I had a couple of hours to kill before my train on to Mainz, so after dropping my luggage off at the station I wandered into town and had a long walk around the old town centre.

I ended up down by the river with about 10 minutes to spare before one of the river cruises set off so I boarded that for an hours cruise past the old town. The ship I used was proudly boasting about being the largest solar powered ship on a river in Germany.

By the time we got back to the landing stage it was time to wander my way back to the station, collect my stuff and head off to stop 3, Mainz.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Mainz; Wednesday, 27 July, 2011

Given that the train was already 5 minutes late by the time it reached Heidelberg things weren’t looking too good for the myth of the efficient German trains. Halfway through the journey the train suddenly came to a juddering halt and the train manager apologised that due to a “defekt" we would be waiting a couple of minutes.

We did move off after a couple of minutes, but by then we had lost quite a bit of time, and we eventually pulled into Mainz a quarter of an hour late.

The hotel was located right next to the station so after a quick check-in I was back out and on a bus into the city centre.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre and then went to have a look around the Cathedral. Unfortunately, I’d arrived just after the museums had closed, but I was still able to wander around the Cathedral itself. Considering it’s over 1,000 years old it’s in pretty good nick.

I left the cathedral and was just in time to catch the last “Guttenberg Express” land train of the evening for a tour around the city centre taking in the main sights.

After the tour I had a bit more of a wander around, grabbing a bite to eat on the way before I heard the ominous sound of thunder rumbling in the distance.

I managed to get back to the hotel with about 10 minutes to spare before the skies absolutely opened with lightning darting across the sky in all directions, and from my hotel window the view of lots of people getting awfully wet.

The storm raged for the best part of two hours, by which point I decided I might as well just head to bed for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Mainz; Thursday, 28 July, 2011

By the time I woke up the storm had cleared and the sun was just starting to break through the clouds. After a quick breakfast I headed out into town to start ticking off museums. First up of the morning was the state museum.

From there it was a short walk around the corner to the Roman and German museum and after that a quick walk through town to go to St Stephen’s church to see the Chagall windows.

Then down the hill to the ruins of the Roman Theatre, unfortunately, they were in the process of doing further digging at the site (they have taken up a whole street and are working their way back towards a church uncovering more of this massive site) so I was unable to go in, but could look through the fence at the substantial remains.

After a quick pit stop for lunch I wandered over to one of the many shopping centres in the city. Not to go shopping, but to look at more Roman remains. When they were building the centre they uncovered an old temple, and rather than cover it up they incorporated it into the basement of the shopping centre.

As it was getting quite warm, I decided I would head down to the river for a little walk (and an ice cream!) By the time I had finished my walk along the river bank it was time to head back into town for some dinner.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander taking in some of the main sights at night, before heading back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Mainz; Friday, 29 July, 2011

After a quick breakfast and pack I checked out of the hotel and dropped my bags off at the station before hopping on a bus round to the Guttenberg museum.

Having taken in the museum there was just enough time for one final Roman site, so I wandered up to the remains of the old Roman gate and wall. Very little still remains other than the course of the wall being picked out by buildings, but as it’s at the top of the hill that overlooks the city the views were pretty good.

Then it was time to head back down into town, pick up my luggage and catch the train out to Koblenz.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Koblenz; Friday, 29 July, 2011

Whilst this train was at least on time for it’s journey, that didn’t make up for the fact that it was absolutely packed! Thankfully I managed to get a seat, but there were people standing for most of the hour journey from Mainz to Koblenz.

From the station I walked the kilometre or so down to the hotel, checked in , dropped off my stuff and then headed back out down to the riverside in the direction of the Deutsches Eck. When I had visited last, just over a year earlier, there had been lots of building work going on, in preparation for Koblenz’s hosting of the 2011 German National Horticultural Show which was now in full swing. Unfortunatly it also meant that I couldn’t just wander down the edge of the Rhine to get to the Eck as part of the show was in the way, so instead I went for a long wander through the old town, and down to the edge of the Mosel and walk along the river bank there to get to the Eck.

I took in the views from the Eck and had a quick climb up the Kaiser Wilhelm monument to take in the views from there.

I then went for a bit more of a wander through the old town, visiting the Liebfraukirche before stopping for a bite to eat.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander, including getting back down to the Eck just as the sun was setting behind the Mosel, then it was time to head back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Koblenz; Saturday, 30 July, 2011

Today was about visiting the Horticultural show. With an early breakfast under my belt I headed over to the main entrance to get my ticket and take in the show.

The show is based over three sites in the city, two the Electors palace and the space behind the Deutsches Eck almost next door to each other. The third was up on the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress which overlooks Koblenz from the other side of the Rhine.

I spent most of the morning taking in the gardens in the Electors palace and then wandered down towards the Deutsches Eck. I stopped there for a quick lunch, and then took advantage of the free boat trip included in my ticket to sail up the river to the small town of Stolzenfels and have a look around the castle there.

After looking round the castle I caught the boat back to the Deutsches Eck and then picked up the Cable Car to take me up to the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. I had a very quick look round part of the site, but it was so large I was going to need the whole of Sunday to do it justice, so instead I hopped back on the cable card down to the Deutsches Eck and was in time to watch a concert being given by a German Beatles tribute band.

By the time the concert had finished it was getting quite late so I wandered back through town to my hotel and bed.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Koblenz; Sunday, 31 July, 2011

First stop of the morning was the station and the train south a little way down the Rhine Gorge to the town of Boppard. Here, above the town is a spectacular view point over the Rhine, which thanks to the topography of the hills manages to make the Rhine, one of Europe’s most important rivers appear as four unconnected lakes.

There are two ways to reach the view point. An hours stiff uphill climb, or 20 minutes sitting in a chairlift all the way to the top. Needless to say it didn’t take much encouragement to get into the lift.

Having taken in the views I headed back into Koblenz and up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress to take in both the museums up there and the remainder of the garden festival that I hadn’t already seen.

I spent a long time wandering around the museums and the site, and in the end only just caught the last shuttle bus of the evening back down into town.

Exhausted from a long day’s meandering I headed back to the hotel to pack and then get a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Koblenz; Monday, 01 August, 2011

I had an early breakfast and then headed down to the riverside to take another of the tours that operate from the piers on the Rhine. This one took in a small part of the Rhine and the Mosel, so giving a full view of the Deutsches Eck.

After completing the tour I wondered over to the Kastor Basilica to have a look round there, and then went on the old town sightseeing land train.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my stuff and make my way to the station.

I had left myself nearly an hour to do this, which I thought might have been excessive, but the hotel were having real problems with their computer system and in the end it took nearly 20 minutes to check me out (and charge the €3 for the one beer I’d had in the bar – kind of think was it worth the effort)

Thankfully, I got to the station with about 15 minutes to spare so I didn’t have to run for the train.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Trier; Monday, 01 August, 2011

By the time I arrived in Trier the temperatures, which had been climbing through the morning, showed no intention of stopping, and as I stepped off of the train I was hit by a wall of heat.

I walked the short distance to the hotel and checked in and then headed out into the city, just as most museums were closing for the evening.

Thankfully, the RömerExpress land train tour was still running, so I was able to take that and get an overview of the city.

After the tour I had a long wander around the old town, eventually ending up outside the basilica where I discovered a very nice restaurant so I had a spot of dinner there, before going for a bit more of a walk, taking in some of the city sights in the fading light, then headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
36ºC/97ºF

Trier; Tuesday, 02 August, 2011

I was up early as I wanted to get out to the small town of Cochem before the worst of its onslaught of tourists turned up. The town is located on a very pretty bend in the Mosel, with a picture perfect town centre and a brooding medieval castle perched on a hill overlooking the centre, so naturally it draws tourists by their thousand.

First stop of the morning was the castle, on the hill above the town. It’s only visible on a guided tour and I was early enough to get onto the first tour of the morning.

Having completed the tour I headed back down into town and the caught the chairlift that goes up to the hill on the opposite side of town for stunning views over the town centre, the castle and this particular stretch of the Mosel.

I had about an hour to kill before the train I’d booked onto back to Trier so I had a long wander around the city centre, which was slowly becoming impassable because of the tour groups, so I took that as my queue to head back to the station.

Back in Trier I wandered down to the Porta Nigra and was in time to get the open-top hop-on-hop-off bus for its tour. As it was so hot, and sitting on the open top deck was so refreshing, I did two circuits (as a lot of other people were doing). By the time I finally got back to Porta Nigra the temperature was starting to fall a bit and the air was a bit fresher.

I walked the, very, short distance to the Porta Nigra and had a look round that, then it was time for a spot of dinner, a long wander around the city centre and then bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Trier; Wednesday, 03 August, 2011

First stop of the morning was the open-top bus stop. With a couple of hours left on the 24 hour ticket I thought I’d make use of it to shuttle between the sights I wanted to visit.

First on this list was the Ampthetheatre, located just on the edge of the city centre. Having looked round that I hopped back on the bus and round a couple of stops to the Basilica and then the Imperial Baths.

From the Imperial Baths it was a short walk to the Viehmarkt baths in their glass cube. Final set of baths of the afternoon were the remains of the Barbara baths. These were in the process of undergoing conservation, so you could only view them from a single viewing platform on the edge of the sit.

The Baths are near the Römerbrücke, the largest, and oldest standing roman bridge north of the Alps. It’s quite amazing to watch modern cars drive over something that was built by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago.

I went for a wander along the banks of the Mosel down to the Zurlaubener embankment, where I was just in time to catch a boat for a short cruise down the Mosel and back.

From the river I walked back through town and was in time to have a quick look round the cathedral before it closed for the evening.

Then it was back to the hotel to freshen up, before popping back out for a bite to eat and then bed.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Trier; Thursday, 04 August, 2011

I had a quick breakfast and, after a much speedier checkout than the one a couple of days earlier in Koblenz, headed into town to take in the last couple of sights.

First stop of the morning was the Landesmuseum, which houses many of the Roman finds that have been discovered around the city, including some pretty impressive funeral monuments.

I headed back towards the city museum, but stopped off briefly in the market church to have a quick look around.

The city museum is housed in the cloisters for the church that was at one point housed in the Porta Nigra. I spent quite a bit of time looking around, and in the end had to rush the last couple of galleries as I needed to get back to the hotel and pick up my luggage.

I walked the short distance back to the station, arriving with about 15 minutes to spare before the longest journey of my trip.

The train ride from Trier to Cologne is actually quickest done going via Koblenz, but there are direct trains, which at over 3 hours are a much slower way of getting there, but the views as the weave their way through the foothills of the Eifel are worth the journey.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Cologne; Thursday, 04 August, 2011

Thankfully the train pulled into Köln Hauptbahnhof on platform 1, so it was a simple walk off the platform onto the Cathedral terrace, then down a short flight of steps to the hotel.

Having checked in and freshen up I went for a short walk around the cathedral area and then over the bridge to Deutz and up the Triangle tower to take in the views.

Then it was back over the bridge to one of the restaurants by the riverside for a spot of dinner, another wander around the cathedral area and then back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Cologne; Friday, 05 August, 2011

After a late breakfast I headed over to the station to catch the train out to Aachen.

By the time I arrived in Aachen it was already close to lunchtime so I grabbed a bite to eat in one of the café’s around the tourist information centre. After lunch I was in time to catch the afternoon open-top bus tour of the city and out to the border area.

About 5Km outside of the city the Belgium, Dutch and German borders all meet and there is a small monument to this, which has turned into quite a big tourist operation. The bus stopped for 20 minutes there so I was able to have a quick look around and have a wander over the border into both The Netherlands and Belgium.

The bus was a bit delayed on its journey back due to a traffic jam in the small part of The Netherlands it had to pass through, so it was gone three by the time I was back in the city centre.

There was enough time to have a wander around the Cathedral before it was time to head back through the town to the station and catch my train back to Cologne.

I dropped my stuff off at the hotel and had a bit of a wander around the Rhine promenade before wandering back towards the Cathedral. To my surprise at gone 8:30 it was still open to visitors so I had a long look round, until they started closing it down just before 9.

I went for a long wander round the old part of the city before heading back to the hotel for a well-earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Cologne; Saturday, 06 August, 2011

After a long lie in and a late breakfast I headed out into town for a wander around.

I eventually found myself out by the cable car so I took that across the Rhine and then had a long wander around the park on the opposite side of the river.

From there I caught the bus back into town and got some exercise in by climbing the 500 or so steps up to the top of the cathedral tower to take in the views.

Having climbed all the way back down I decided it would be a good time to grab an early dinner and then head back to the hotel for a quiet night and to make a start on the packing for the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Cologne; Sunday, 07 August, 2011

After checking out of the hotel and leaving my bags in the left luggage office I caught the train out to the small town of Brühl about half way between Cologne and Bonn.

The town is home to a spectacular set of palaces built for the bishop elector, the main palace near the railway station was the formal home, and during the period of West Germany was used as the location for formal state banquets.

This palace is linked to the smaller hunting lodge around 2KMs away by a set of formal gardens.

I spent most of the day wandering around the site, and pretty soon it was time to head back into the town centre, pick up my luggage and make my way out to the airport and the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Ironbridge; Friday, 12 August, 2011

The original plan had been that I would race up to town from work to get an early evening train up to Birmingham.

In the end the riots earlier in the week made that considerably easier as work had decided to close early each day, just in case. So shortly after 2pm I found myself at home packing my bags and preparing for a leisurely saunter up to Euston.

I arrive in Birmingham a little after 7, walked down to the hotel and checked in.

If my home town had been the graphic video images of burning buildings for the English riots, then Birmingham hadn’t been close behind, and the scars in the city centre were pretty obvious with lots of boarded up windows.

Having grabbed a bite to eat I wandered back to the hotel for a quiet night’s sleep

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Ironbridge; Saturday, 13 August, 2011

I had thought sitting at home listening to the sirens and helicopters on Monday evening had been a pretty unpleasant experience, but I now realised that was nothing compared to the train journey to Telford.

Earlier in the week the Home Secretary had banned a march through Wellington by the far right (and supposedly not racist) English defence league. Despite their march being banned a very large number of members were still going to Wellington to have a “Static demonstration” and most of them had boarded the train I was on. In spite of the heavy police presence it was a scary environment, and in spite of all the claims of their leadership, the members present were clearly demonstrating some particularly “non-diversity-friendly” language (to the extent that a couple of them were hauled off the train by police at Smethwick because of the language they were using). It was only 45 minutes to Telford, but it was an unpleasant 45 minutes.

Having got off the train and left the racists to continue on to Wellington (where a fair number were subsequently arrested for drunken behaviour and minor public disorder offences), I wandered over to the bus stop and caught the bus up into the town centre to the bus station. There it was a 40 minute wait for the next bus to Ironbridge so by the time I arrived at the hotel it was just before 2.

I checked in, dropped off all my stuff and went for a wander.

First stop was, naturally, the Iron Bridge, and next door to it the gift shop where I was able to purchase the Ironbridge gorge passport which would give me access to all the sites, and free travel over the weekend.

I wandered over the bridge and had a look around the Toll House which has a small exhibition on the history of the bridge. From there I walked back over to the town and picked up the bus down the gorge to Coalport and the Tar tunnel.

Having taken in the wonders of the Tar tunnel I walked the short distance along the canal to the china works and had a look round there.

Then it was back on the bus and round to Jackfield to take in the tile museum before finishing off with an early evening wander back along the Severn the mile or so from Jackfield to the Ironbridge following the course of the old railway.

I had a quick pit stop before going for a short wander around Ironbridge itself and then heading back to the hotel for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Ironbridge; Sunday, 14 August, 2011

Out early, onto the first Gorge Bus of the morning and up to the Victoria town at Blists Hill.

I spent the whole of the morning wandering around the site, stopping for lunch there, before catching the bus back over to Coalbrookdale and one of the most important industrial sites in the world.

The Old furnace at Coalbrookdale is where Abraham Darby perfected the use of coke in smelting, and with it creating vast quantities of cheap strong Iron. The whole of the industrial revolution can be traced back to this one small part of what is now rural Shropshire.

Along with the furnace itself I had a look around the museum of Iron and the Darby Houses before leaping back on the penultimate bus of the day down to the museum of the Gorge in Ironbridge to have a look around that.

After looking around the museum I was just in time to catch the last scenic cruise up the Severn for the evening, which included being able to see a Kingfisher feeding in the river.

From the mooring point I wandered back to the hotel for a very nice dinner before heading out to take some photos of Ironbridge at night, and then back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Ironbridge; Monday, 15 August, 2011

Out early again, this time heading beyond the gorge to another part of what is now sleepy rural Shropshire, but in its time one of the most important places in England.

Admittedly that time was the 1st to 5th centuries AD, but then Wroxeter was one of the five most important cities in Roman Britain. Today only parts of the bath house and elements of the forum remain, but they are enough to give you an idea about the scale of the site.

Having looked around Wroxeter I caught the bus on into Shrewsbury to have a look around the town, taking in the museum and a cruise around the curve of the Severn that marks out the city centre.

I then wandered over to the Abbey to have a look around the remains, before coming back to the castle to take in the views from the top of the tower.

After stopping for a late afternoon coffee in the town centre it was time to wander back to the bus station and catch the bus back to Ironbridge, dinner and bed.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ironbridge; Tuesday, 16 August, 2011

I had quite a bit of time to kill today, having to check out of the hotel by 11am, but my train not leaving Birmingham until nearly 7pm.

I checked out and took my bag with me to the bus stop to catch the bus a bit further along the river Severn to the small town of Bridgnorth.

The town now has a thriving tourist industry based on being the northern end of the Severn Valley Railway, which has recreated the experience of heritage railway, even down to the exceptionally friendly and helpful booking clerk at Bridgnorth station who offered to look after my bag for the day so I didn’t have to lump it around with me.

I brought a rover ticket and spent quite a bit of the day taking in the scenery of the Severn Valley before ending up back at Bridgnorth mid-afternoon.

I had a long wander around the upper and lower towns before realising that the bus back to Ironbridge, to catch the bus back to Telford to catch the train back to Birmingham was in five minutes and my luggage was still at the station, 10 minute’s walk away.

Thankfully, I had already checked the timetable and realised that in the likely event of this happening I would have to admit to wasting £6 on the ticket from Telford to Birmingham and would have to buy myself a new ticket from Kidderminster, but it did mean that I could start my journey home on a steam train.

So a little after 3:30 the train pulled out of Bridgnorth station starting my, smooth and uneventful journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Sorrento; Friday, 30 September, 2011

The internet managed to conspire to make me have a very bad feeling about the flight as I set off to head to the airport. Whilst check-in has supposedly opened at 1pm the previous day, it had taken until 8am before the online system worked, and then it indicated that the flight was indefinitely delayed. Though, when I dropped my bags at the airport the lady at the desk was unaware of any delay, but did think the plane may have been swapped and was starting at Gatwick rather than coming in from somewhere else.

The flight was very smooth, with an almost cloudless sky across Europe there were stunning views and we followed the Seine from the coast and past Paris, then down over Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps before flying down the West coast of Italy and the final approach into Naples.

Unfortunately, we’d been battling with a headwind the whole way down, and by the time we landed we were 15 minutes late. In spite of a really quick journey through immigration and baggage reclaim, it still meant I missed the bus to Sorrento by a matter of minutes. So I had to wander over to the café in front of the airport terminal building and have a very slow cup of coffee in the 90 minutes I had to wait.

The bus left on time, straight into the Friday evening Neapolitan traffic so it was a pretty slow journey for much of the way down, though once beyond the sprawl of modern Naples the views over the coast were stunning. However, by the time the bus finally arrived 20 minutes late into Sorrento it was already dark, so I didn’t get to see much of the final descent down into the town.

I walked the short distance from the bus station to the apartment I had rented, checked in and then headed out for a short wander around the town.

I stopped in the main central square and was in time to get one of the last land train tours of the evening around the city centre and down to the port.

After completing the tour I popped into a nearby restaurant for a late dinner, before finishing off with a walk back to the apartment, stopping off at the park near the complex that overlooks the bay.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Sorrento; Saturday, 01 October, 2011

Up early, and after a disappointing cold shower (there appeared to be no hot water in the apartment), I headed out over to the train station to catch the train out to the first stop of the morning Ercolano.

At Ercolano station I caught the Vesuvius Express coach up to the car park at the base of the summit and then walked up to the edge of the crater (which was quite a hefty walk in the hot sun). Having taken in the crater and the stunning views of the bay of Naples, I descended back down and caught the bus back into Ercolano.

From the station I walked down to the towns other claim to fame, the ruins of the Roman city of Herculaneum, destroyed in the same eruption that did for Pompeii.

Whilst Pompeii was pretty much destroyed by the pyroclastic flow of superheated gases and ash, Herculaneum succumbed to a torrent of lava and mud that swept down the side of the volcano.

I had a very long wander around the site before finally heading back to the station and catching the train back to Sorrento.

By the time I got back to Sorrento it was getting close to sunset, so I wandered down to the harbour to watch the sun set and then had a very pleasant meal in a harbour side restaurant, before staggering back under the weight of pasta to the apartment.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Sorrento; Sunday, 02 October, 2011

At 6am when they woke me up with their crashing and banging I had wanted to do something nasty to the people in the next door apartment, but in the end they did me a favour.

Unable to get back to sleep I got up just after 7 and by 8 was having breakfast in a little café near the station.

I caught an early train out to Pompei and found myself at the site ahead of the worst of the crowds, albeit by virtue of being at the back of the train and slightly faster down the staircase at the station than the very large Saga party that had occupied most of the rest of the train.

The site is massive and in the end I spent the whole day wandering around taking in all the key sites from the Forum area up to the Villa dei Misteri and then all the way across the site to the Amphitheatre.

I’d stopped early, around 11am, for lunch, as at that time the café was empty, and I knew that wouldn’t be the case an hour later. By half four I was starting to flag a bit, so on my way back to the station I popped into a café for a late bite to eat and a drink.

By the time the train, which appeared to have some serious technical problems as it kept slamming its breaks on, finally arrived back into Sorrento it was nearly seven so I quickly wandered back to the hotel, dropped off my stuff, had a quick wash to get at least a couple of the layers of suntan cream encrusted with dust off of my skin, and then headed back out for a light dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Sorrento; Monday, 03 October, 2011

Another early start, this time down to the harbour to get a relatively early boat out to one of the islands in the Bay of Naples, perhaps the best known of them – Capri.

A smooth crossing and straight off the boat into the hordes of touts trying to sell you taxi tours, car rental, scooter rental, restaurants (even before 10am!), boat hire and boat trips. I had already done my research so I knew I wanted to go on one of the boat trips out to the blue grotto, and before I’d left England I’d checked on line so I knew the name of the company that was offering the best deal. Unfortunately for them, it was their tout who got to me first and desperate to make a sale (I don’t think very many punters were biting) gave me a discount on the rate (only 50 cents, but I let him believe it was enough to persuade me!)

The tour set out from the harbour round to the blue grotto where an interesting in-sea boat transfer takes place from the motor launch into the very small row boats that fit through the tiny gap into the cave. You only get a couple of minutes in the cave (which for the price they charge makes it incredibly expensive), but it is stunning.

The boat dropped us back in the harbour as another ship from the mainland was landing at a different jetty; consequently our landing stage was devoid of touts so I was able to wander out of the harbour unmolested.

I popped to the transport kiosk and brought a day ticket for the bus and then joined the quite long queue for the bus to Anacapri. The queue may have been long, and the bus tiny, but it possessed Tardidic qualities to swallow up passengers. It meant I didn’t have the most comfortable of journeys standing on the exit door steps, but it did mean I had a first class view of the journey up the mountain to Anacapri, the stunning switchback roads and at times the sensation that you were actually flying over the island rather than still being connected to it.

In Anacapri I had a quick look around the town, and then caught the chairlift up to the highest point on the island the summit of Monte Solero. It took about 15 minutes to make the journey up and with all the noise of the town fading away, and just the squeak of the wheels on the support columns it was incredibly peaceful. From the summit the views over the island and across the bay of Naples were simply stunning.

Having descended I caught the bus out to the far end of the island at Faro to have a quick look around, there wasn’t much to see other than a lighthouse that’s still in use and therefore closed to the public, and a beach. I headed back to Anacapri and then caught the bus into the main town of Capri to have a look around there. Compared to Anacapri, Capri is incredibly busy, very expensive and defiantly more a place where people come to be seen. I had a short wander around the centre, but after the pleasantness of Anacapri and the quietness of Faro I couldn’t warm to the place so, with a boat back to Sorrento leaving within 30 minutes, I caught a bus back down to the harbour and made my way back to Sorrento.

I had a quick stop for a late afternoon snack in a café on the beach near the harbour and then went for a wander around the town centre for a short while, before heading back to the flat to freshen up and then back out for dinner in a little restaurant just round the corner form the apartment block.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Sorrento; Tuesday, 04 October, 2011

After a leisurely breakfast in a little café near the station I wandered over to the city sightseeing bus stop in time to take the first tour of the morning. Unlike sightseeing tours in other locations where there is lots to see in the city centre, this tour concentrates on heading up into the hills above Sorrento, and along the Sorrento peninsular for the views from there. Consequently you are sitting on the top deck of a double deck bus as it powers its way up and down tight windy roads with switchbacks and hairpins, it makes for an interesting experience.

The tour took nearly two hours so by time I was back in the centre of town I was in time to catch a bus out to Amalfi. Only problem was the 11:30 appeared to have been cancelled (or never existed) and the queue for the 12:00 was pretty impressive. I joined the back of it, not expecting really to get on. 12:00 came and went with no sign of a service, then just before 12:15 a bus going to Amalfi pulled in and the queue started piling into it. In the end I missed getting on that bus by about 6 people, but looking at how packed it was, and the thought of standing for nearly two hours, I was quite glad I’d missed it.

Thankfully, the 12:30 was running, and it turned up only about ten minutes after the previous one had left, so for an extra 10 minutes standing at the bus stop in the sun with a breeze I had a very comfortable, seated journey with the pick of windows, so I was able to get a very big picture window for the journey.

The road from Sorrento to Amalfi is spectacular, winding its way perilously along the side of the cliffs, hanging out over the sea with lots of tight bends and the bus drivers flinging their buses round them without a care in the world and a cheerful toot on their horns before they start just to let those coming in the other direction that death was coming in the shape of a large blue coach.

Having arrived in Amalfi and taken in some of the sights of the city centre I headed over to the second city sightseeing tour of the day, this time in an open-top minibus to continue along the coast to the towns of Minori and Maiori. Having completed that tour I then caught the third tour of the day, again in an open top minibus up to the town of Ravello.

I had a long wander round Ravello, and stopped for a very late lunch in a little café perched on the side of the hill overlooking Minori, Maiori and the coastline further south. Then it was time to start the journey back to Amalfi and then onto Sorrento.

For the journey back I was in the front seat so I had a spectacular, and at times hair-raising journey, the number of near misses was unbelievable, also slightly concerning was the sight of the driving crossing himself and clearly saying a quick prayer before each really tight turn. Beyond Positano and along the windiest bit of the route we were travelling in the dying light of the sun, and by the time we came off of the coast road it was almost completely dark.

We finally pulled into Sorrento just before 8, so I wandered down towards the flat to have dinner in a little restaurant there, before heading back to the apartment to pack.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Sorrento; Wednesday, 05 October, 2011

I had a quick shower, grabbed my bags, handed back the keys and headed for the station to catch an relatively early train up to Naples.

I had several hours to spare before my flight so after dropping my bags off in the luggage office at the station I caught the metro up to the Museum of Archaeology.

The museum is home to many of the treasures from Pompei and Herculaneum as well as from many other Roman sites around Italy, and I spent a couple of hours wandering through the parts of it that were open (a fair number of galleries were closed for renovation)

Having looked round the museum I wandered the short distance down to the Cathedral and had a look round that before it was time to head back to the station, collect my luggage and head to the airport for the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Scarborough; Wednesday, 19 October, 2011

With an uneventful journey up from London and a quick walk across town I was checked into the hotel. I headed out for a late night walk along the prom.

After taking in most of the South bay I walked back up through town to the hotel and headed to bed for an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Scarborough; Thursday, 20 October, 2011

After quite a late lie in I headed out into town and to the first stop of the morning, the impressive castle that dominates the town.

I had a long wander round the ruins and the headland that it stands on and then went for a wander through town ending up by the railway station just as the bus to Whitby was pulling in.

As I didn’t have much else planned I hopped on the bus and caught it up the coast to Robin Hood’s Bay to have a look around there, and then a little later picked the bus up from there on up to Whitby.

I had a long wander along the beach and up over the West cliffs before heading back to the centre of town to catch the last bus of the evening back to Scarborough.

After a spot of dinner I had another wander along the prom before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Scarborough; Friday, 21 October, 2011

Compared to yesterday it was a relatively early start as I needed to get to the station to catch a train before 10.

If yesterday had been heading North up the coast, today it was south as I purchased a ticket to explore the North Yorkshire coast down as far as the Humber.

First stop was Filey and a quick wander around town and along the beach, arriving in time to watch the odd sight of one of the small fishing boats being towed out of the sea and onto the slipway using a tractor.

From Filey I continued south to the resort town of Bridlington and had a look around there, before continuing my journey south to Beverley

After a look around the Market town and it’s Minster it was time to head south again, this time to Hull where I had the choice of a 40 minute change of trains or two hours to look round. However, as sunset was less than an hour away, I decided to leave Hull for another day and caught the train back towards York.

I was glad I did as I got some stunning views of the Humber estuary and the magnificent Humber crossing from the train.

By the time I got back to York it was late, but I decided the eating options were probably better here than in Scarborough (there is only so many fish and chip suppers you can stomach) so I grabbed dinner in a restaurant down by the river.

After dinner I headed back to the station and caught a latish train back to Scarborough and my hotel bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Scarborough; Saturday, 22 October, 2011

After a quick breakfast in a coffee bar near the hotel I headed down to the sea front to catch the open-top bus along the prom. The bus doesn’t run that far, just round the headland and to the other end of the North bay, but it’s enough to get a flavour of the town.

From the North bay I had a wander through the Peasholm Park round to the aquarium and then climbed up onto the headland at Scaby Mills for some stunning views of the North bay and the North Yorkshire coast.

Wandering back down to the park I caught the North bay railway back to the parks main entrance and then hopped back on an open-top bus back to the harbour.

I brought a ticket for the next cruise out into the bay and had enough time to spare for a quick lunch before setting sail.

The cruise travelled south down almost to Filey and then headed back to the harbour.

From the harbour I walked along the South Bay to the Spa theatre and seeing there was some stand up comedy on that evening enquired as to whether they had any tickets left. With one of the last tickets of the gig secured I wandered back through town to grab an early dinner, before heading back to the theatre for an evening of comedy.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Scarborough; Sunday, 23 October, 2011

Up early again to get a bus out onto the Moors and over to the town of Helmsley. The journey was very pretty through the rolling countryside, if slightly scary bouncing around on the top deck of a double decker rattling down tiny country lanes at 60 miles an hour.

I had a quick look around the town centre and then headed over to the main attraction of the town, it’s stunning castle.

I had a long look around the ruins before heading back into town to grab a bite to eat.

My next stop would normally have been a three mile walk along country lanes, but, thankfully, the Moorsbus service was still running for the season so I was able to catch the only bus of the afternoon out to Rievaulx Abbey.

I was worried that the 2 and a half hours that I had until the return bus might be too long, but in the end it was just about right to have a good look around the site, and grab a late cup of tea in the tea shop before heading back to Helmsley.

My bus back to Scarborough bounced through the edge of the Moors in the fading light and by the time I got back to Scarborough it was dark.

I had another wander through the town and down by the sea front before heading back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Scarborough; Monday, 24 October, 2011

With my luggage securely stored in the left luggage office on York station I grabbed a ticket and headed over to the town of Knaresborough near Harrogate.

I had originally intended on visiting here when I was in Leeds at the start of the year, but the main reason for visiting, the Petrifying well and Mother Shipton’s Cave weren’t open at the time so I didn’t bother.

After arriving in the town I had a bit of a wander around taking in the church and the ruins of the castle before heading down to the riverside and the cave and well.

Having made my wish in the wishing well and witnessed children’s toys slowly turn to stone, I wandered back through the town and stopped off at a very nice riverside pub for a late lunch, before heading back to the station to start my journey home.

I got back to York with a little over 90 minutes to spare before my train back to London so I had a bit of a wander around the city centre before wandering back to the station, picking up my luggage and heading back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Edinburgh; Friday, 25 November, 2011

Given that British Airways gives you a free baggage allowance, it’s always a mystery why people still insist on taking massive bags onto the flight, almost as though they were conditioned to avoid putting anything in the hold.

Unfortunately, on a completely full flight on a Friday evening this meant there wasn’t enough space for everyone’s bags, and consequently some grown adults were having temper tantrums with each other. In the end, by the time some of the luggage had been forcibly extracted from the grips of passengers and put in the hold, we were late for our slot and had to tuck in behind a couple of other flights to be able to get away.

Before we even started taxing the pilot warned us that it was going to be a bit of a bumpy flight, and he wasn’t half wrong. Most of the way we bounced through the sky, with the poor cabin crew trying to serve drinks and snacks.

In spite of the turbulence, the head wind and the late start, we managed to touch down in Edinburgh only five minutes late. I’d sat at the back of the plane, so by the time I finally disembarked and got down to the baggage belt my bag was just in the process of appearing on the belt, so I grabbed it and from being the last passenger off the flight was pretty much the first one in the taxi queue.

15 minutes later I was checked into my hotel and getting ready for a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Edinburgh; Saturday, 26 November, 2011

The hotel bed turned out to be particularly comfortable, and it was only the sound of the wind howling that finally woke me up around 10.

After a leisurely and very large breakfast I headed out of the hotel to the station, and caught the train into Edinburgh.

First stop of the morning was Carlton Hill. An area I had gone past on so many occasions previously but never bothered visiting, which is a shame as the views over Edinburgh are some of the most stunning. I had a long wander around the top of the Hill, taking in the views from the top of the Nelson Tower.

I then wandered down the hill and along to Holyrood Palace, another place I had not visited before, in spite having been through Edinburgh on a number of occasions.

After taking in the palace I wandered over to Our Dynamic Earth to have a look around that and then wandered up the Royal Mile to the castle, just in time to reach it as it was being closed as the winds had become so strong.

I had a long wander around the city centre, including a walk around the city’s German Christmas market, before heading back up to Carlton Hill to take in some views of the city at night, with the flood lights and Christmas lights out.

By now the weather had deteriorated to strong winds and increasingly heavy rain, so I retreated back to the station and caught the train back to the hotel, warmth, a good meal and a stunning bath.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Edinburgh; Sunday, 27 November, 2011

I checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance to the train station to get the train into town, only to discover that ScotRail had decided to cancel both of the next two trains, and that the buses from nearby only run on weekdays. So I had an hour long wait on a pretty cold and windy station before I finally made it into Edinburgh.

After dropping my bags off in the lockers at the bus station I headed back into town to have a wander around before heading over for the tour of Mary King’s Close that I’d booked the previous day, and had thankfully been able to rearrange in my cold hour waiting.

From the Close I headed over to the Scottish National Museum and spent much of the afternoon having a look around.

From the museum I headed over to the Art Gallery to have a look around there and then a quick wander around the Christmas market before it was time to collect my bags and head to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Eastbourne; Friday, 09 December, 2011

It was an uneventful, if packed journey down. After dropping off my stuff at the hotel I quickly changed and then headed out to meet my friends in town for a wander through the Christmas market and then a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Eastbourne; Saturday, 10 December, 2011

Up early and out to a beautifully sunny morning. I had breakfast in a little café on the beach taking in the millpond still sea and the light glinting off the pier.

After breakfast I caught the bus out to Exceat and the start of the walk up over the seven sisters chalk formation.

It was quite a lot longer walk than I had originally expected, especially as the seven sisters are quite a lot steeper than I thought.

Just after midday I reached the National Trust tearoom at Birling Gap and stopped for a quite bite to eat and a cup of coffee. Fortified I headed off for the next leg of the walk, up past the Belle Tout lighthouse and then the big climb up to Beach Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in the country.

By the time I got to Beachy Head it was gone two so I popped into the pub for a late lunch. After lunch I remembered that it was actually December and not the middle of summer, and consequently, mid-afternoon is not actually far off from sunset and with the sun already hidden behind the cliffs it was distinctly cooler than it had been earlier.

I walked down from Beachy head getting back into town just as the sun was starting to set and had a nice walk along the prom and then an explore along the pier.

As I came back up the pier I could see the most stunning moon-rise coming up from the East and I watched that for a while before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out to meet my friends for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Eastbourne; Sunday, 11 December, 2011

Another early start and I caught the bus out to Pevensey just a bit further down the coast to have a look around the castle there.

From Pevensey I got back on the next bus and continued on into Hastings. I had a long wander around the town, climbing up to the top of the west cliff only to discover that whilst the castle and the other attractions at the top were closed, the lift wasn’t

Having taken the lift back down I caught the next bus that was coming and continued along the coast through the town of Winchelsea and down into the Cinque port of Rye.

Today Rye is a couple of miles from the coast and consequently a quiet but historic little town. I had a long wander around, including climbing the tower of the church to take in the views, before it was time to head back towards the railway station to catch the train back to Eastbourne.

By the time I got back to Eastbourne it was already dark, so I headed back to the hotel, freshened up and then popped out for a bite to eat, before heading to bed for an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
9ºC/48ºF

Eastbourne; Monday, 12 December, 2011

At an awful hour I got up and caught the commuter train back out of Eastbourne and back to work.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Frankfurt; Tuesday, 20 December, 2011

To minimise the potential delay we were facing because of snow at Frankfurt the Pilot decided to take the slow and winding taxi route down to the far end of the airfield, which meant that we only had to sit there for about 10 minutes before we were allowed to take off.

We arrived in Frankfurt to a fair dusting of snow, though rapidly melting. After being bussed to the terminal and getting through to arrivals I got to the station just in time to miss the train and have to wait 20 minutes for the next one, which in the height of the rush hour was heaving.

Thankfully, from the station it was only a very short walk to the hotel where, after several issues, I eventually checked into a room that had everything in it working.

After checking in I wandered out into town to have a look around, taking in the Christmas market and grabbing dinner there.

After a long wander around I headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Frankfurt; Wednesday, 21 December, 2011

Out early to head out to the Roman fort at Saalburg and to have a short walk along the Limes, the German equivalent of Hadrian’s wall.

I spent most of the morning and a fair part of the afternoon wandering around the site at Saalburg and then the town of Bad Homburg before heading back into Frankfurt to take in more of the Christmas markets.

I then had a wander along the riverside to take in the stunning views of the city before heading back to the Christmas market to grab some dinner before a final wander along the riverside and then back to the hotel

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Frankfurt; Thursday, 22 December, 2011

I wandered out of the hotel into a slightly damp morning and headed over to the Archaeological museum to have a look around that.

After having a long wander around the museum I took in the St Pauls Kirche before spending the bulk of the early evening finishing off some Christmas shopping in the Christmas market and grabbing a bite to eat there.

Weather

Light Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Frankfurt; Friday, 23 December, 2011

After checking out of the hotel and dropping off my luggage at the station I headed back out to the front of the station and caught the hop-on-hop-off sightseeing tour from the front of the station for a tour of the city from a different angle.

I did the full circuit of the tour by which time the cloud had lifted and I was able to get the lift to the top of the Main Tower for the stunning views over the city.

From there it was a short walk back through to the Römer to see how they had almost completely dismantled the Christmas Market overnight.

I wandered over to the Cathedral to have a look around inside and then climb the tower to the top to take in the views from there.

Then it was time to head back to the station, pick up my luggage and head on home.

Weather

Slight Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Aberdeen; Wednesday, 18 January, 2012

A bit of a frantic dash from work as the training session I was on overrun and I was left with 90 minutes to make the flight.

Thankfully, Gatwick was incredibly quiet, and for once the trains were favourable so I was in the departures lounge barely 30 minutes after leaving work.

To make things even better the flight started loading early, was half empty, pushed back early and taxied straight from the gate into its take-off roll so we left Gatwick a good 20 minutes before we were scheduled to.

Having landed in Aberdeen I wasn’t quite early enough to make the bus to town, and with an hour to wait in the cold I decided instead to catch a cab to the hotel.

After checking in I went for a short wander around the local area and grabbed a late bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

No Data Clear (Polar Winter)
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Aberdeen; Thursday, 19 January, 2012

A relatively late start to the day and I went for a long wander around the city centre. Unfortunately a lot of the tourist attractions in Aberdeen are closed on a Thursday in mid-January, but the tourist office had a couple of leaflets on walks that you can take around the sights of Aberdeen so I took advantage of those.

The first walk started from near the centre of town and headed up through Old Aberdeen, through the university area and past the old Cathedral.

After stopping off at the Cathedral I continued walking through the nearby park and up to the end of the walk at the old bridge over the river Don.

From here it was a pleasant walk through the Donmouth nature reserve to the dunes and beach and the start of the second walk south, back along the seafront to the harbour and centre of town.

By the time I finally made it back into the centre of Aberdeen it was getting dark, but as it was only about 3:30 that felt a little early to be heading to bed, so instead I visited the maritime museum and after that popped to the cinema to take in a film, before a slightly later dinner than I originally expected and then home

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Aberdeen; Friday, 20 January, 2012

Up earlier than the previous day and down to the bus station to catch the bus out to Stonehaven and then onto the ruins of Dunnottar castle.

The ruins are pretty impressive standing on a rocky crag overlooking a picturesque bay and looking out to the North Sea. Today it was benign, calm and in the hazy sun looked almost Mediterranean, though it being the North Sea in January clearly freezing cold.

I spent a long time wandering around the castle and then took the costal path back along the cliffs towards Stonehaven, stopping off outside the town to take in the impressive war memorial that stands on a hill overlooking the harbour.

I continued walking down into town and had a wander around the harbour and town, before heading back to the bus stop to get the bus back into Aberdeen.

I had a wander around the city centre before heading for a bite to eat and then an early night, ready for an early start the following morning

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Aberdeen; Saturday, 21 January, 2012

Up early and down to the station to get the train north out of Aberdeen to Elgin.

It was quite a long walk into the centre of town, past the Walkers shortbread factory, and by the time I got into the centre the weather was starting to get a little unpleasant.

I had a quick wander up the massive Motte of the former castle, of which only a small fragment of the base of the keep remains, to take in the views, which were impressive, if slightly difficult to make out through the almost horizontal rain that was starting to come down.

Having sheltered in a bus stop for a few minutes the shower passed and I continued on into town and out to the ruins of the old Cathedral. In the time it took to look around the ruins the weather went from calm to storm with torrential downpour to gloriously sunny and the back to calm again.

Having avoided the worst of the weather, and taken in the sights I wandered back down to the station. The original plan was to catch the train on one more stop to Forres and visit the historic distillery on the outskirts of the town, but as it was a mile and half walk I was a little dubious and not long before we reached the station there was another massive downpour which made my mind up that I would take advantage of having purchased a ticket all the way through to Inverness I would stay on the nice warm, dry, train and take in the stunning views.

I arrived in Inverness and went for a short wander around the town centre, but of course it being that bit further north sunset was even earlier than in Aberdeen so it wasn’t that long before I headed back to the station to make the long journey back south to Aberdeen.

Arriving back in Aberdeen I had a pleasant dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Aberdeen; Sunday, 22 January, 2012

Having dropped my bags off at the left luggage office I walked round to the bus station to pick up the coach out to the small town of Crathes.

The town is home to a massive estate with a spectacular castle and walled garden. A large part of the estate along with the castle and gardens were left to the National Trust of Scotland in the 1950’s and today they are open to the public.

I spent most of the day taking in the stunning walks through the estate and the very informative guided tour of the castle, helped by the fact that I was the only person on the tour, so I got a personal tour.

Having spent most of the day at the castle it was time to head back into Aberdeen, pick up my luggage and head for the airport.

Once again we got an early boarding call, so early that If Aberdeen wasn’t such a small airport and I was looking at the gate I might have had to leave a third of a pint in the restaurant.

At the same time as the inbound flight was due to be landing we were already picking up speed down the runway on our way back south.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Colchester; Friday, 27 January, 2012

Having finished a meeting I was having in Chelmsford I headed over to the station and caught the train north a couple of stations to Colchester.

After checking into the hotel I wandered down through the town taking in the key sights, including the castle and the priory, though as it was already dark everything was locked up.

I wandered through town for a while then stopped for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Colchester; Saturday, 28 January, 2012

I woke to a stunning morning, and after an excellent breakfast headed out to the station to catch the train one station north to the town of Manningtree.

Manningtree is the nearest station to the Dedham Vale, an area immortalised by landscape painter John Constable.

His most famous work, the Haywain, was painted at the mill in Flatford and after a pleasant two mile walk across the countryside I arrived to find a scene that, apart from a slightly raised water table, hasn’t changed since the scene was originally painted (except that is for the missing hay wagon).

I had a wander around the really pretty little settlement, and stopped for a mid-morning cup of tea and a scone in the National Trust tea room, before heading back over the countryside to Manningtree station and back into Colchester.

From Colchester I hopped on another train and out to the coast at Clacton. I had a long wander around Clacton taking in the pier and the esplanade gardens before wandering back into town and catching the bus further up the coast to the small town of Walton-on-the-Naze.

The bus went all the way out to the Naze so I wandered back along the beach front to the town centre. By the time I got back to the pier the sun was starting to set so I headed over to the station and caught the train back to Colchester.

After dropping my stuff off at the hotel I wandered down into town for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Colchester; Sunday, 29 January, 2012

Checked out, but with my luggage in the hotels reception office I went into town to take in the main sights.

After a pleasant walk through the castle gardens which include substantial parts of the towns old Roman Walls, I arrived at the castle.

The castle keep is the largest Norman keep in the country, bigger even than the Tower of London, after which it is modelled. Even more impressive than the 1000 year old Norman keep is the fact it is built on the 2000 year old remains of a former Roman temple.

I had a long wander around the museum which is now housed in the castle, telling the history of the area, including going on a guided tour of the Roman foundations beneath the castle and up onto the castles roof for what should have been stunning views if it wasn’t for the heavy mist that was rapidly changing into a shower.

Having looked round the castle I wandered over the road to the Natural History museum which is housed in a former church to have a look round that, and after another heavy shower, walked down to the ruins of St Botolph’s priory and the gatehouse of the former St John’s Abbey.

By now it was starting to get on a bit and after grabbing a late lunch, taking in some more of the Roman walls and Jumbo, the towns massive former water tower, it was time to collect my belongings and start what would be, as it was a Sunday and there were engineering works, the long journey home.

Weather

Misty Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Faro; Wednesday, 15 February, 2012

Given the last time I had tried to stay at the Travelodge near London City Airport they had sold the room out from underneath me because I didn’t get there until after 10 I was determined this time to be there before they could do that and so at a little before 8pm I found myself dumping my luggage in the room.

On the plus side there was a good view of the Thames Barrier in the near distance, and the elegant curves of the Docklands Light Railway outside the window. On the downside was the presence of the Docklands Light Railway immediately outside the widow, with the wheels squealing past at exactly the same height as the window.

I headed into Stratford to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel to try and get some sleep, a task that was much more achievable once the DLR had finished running for the night

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Faro; Thursday, 16 February, 2012

In the end I must have slept through the first couple of dozen DLR’s as by the time I looked at the clock on my phone it was a minute before my alarm was due to go off. Normally for a 9:30 flight I would have aimed to have been sitting in the departures lounge by 7:45, rather than still lying in bed watching Breakfast news, but as my flight was from London City I thought I could probably risk it.

After a leisurely shower I repacked, checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance to the terminal building, straight to the bag drop desk with no queue, up the escalator and just 15 minutes after closing my hotel room door I was ordering a coffee in the Caffé Nero’s in the departures lounge.

I had barely sat down to start my coffee when the flight was called so in the end I finished my breakfast in the gate room. After a minor delay due to a last minute delay to some of the crew (the pilot had come in from Stockholm, the First Officer from Madrid) we made the dramatic take-off from City Airport and headed towards the Algarve.

After a pleasant, if slightly bumpy flight, we landed at Faro and once again I had a smooth journey through the airport, barely stopping from leaving the plane to reaching the taxi rank at the front of the airport with my bags.

Having checked in at the hotel and dropped my stuff off I wandered down to the bus stop and caught a bus into town, which in the end proved to not be that long a journey.

I had a long wander around the old walled town, taking in the sights from the top of the tower of the Cathedral as well as the museum and the Cathedral itself.

By about 5 I was starting to get a bit peckish so, after picking up some postcards and some stamps, I stopped for a bite to eat in a little café overlooking the harbour and had some very late lunch.

I had a bit more of a wander around before stopping by the station to check on times of trains for the weekend and then, with the sun rapidly starting to head for the horizon, and not 100% certain of the walk back to the hotel, I headed back.

After freshening up I wandered down to the hotel restaurant for a very light dinner and a drink before heading back to my room for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Faro; Friday, 17 February, 2012

I had a late breakfast and then headed out into town for the day, walking the 2KM in rather than catching the bus. I started by heading over to have a look around a couple of churches recommended by the guidebook – the church of São Pedro and the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. The latter having a very interesting, if slightly gruesome chapel made out of human bones.

Next stop was the museum of the Algarve and after zipping round that a short break from the walking by taking in the land train tour of the town centre. After the train I polished off the rest of Faro’s attractions by visiting the Municipal museum located in a former convent building behind the Cathedral.

Having exhausted Faro, and still only early in the afternoon I decided to head over to the train station and head east. I caught the train along the coast to the small town of Vila Real de Santo Antonio.

I walked the short distance down from the station to the harbour to pick up the ferry across the river and into the future. Santo Antonio is a border town and down the middle of the Rio Guadiana not only runs the Portuguese/Spanish border, but also the diving line between WEST and CET. So whilst it was 16:30 on Santo Antonio, just 400 yards away across the river it was already 17:30.

I caught the ferry across to Spain to the small town of Ayamonte and had a brief look around the town. I didn’t want to linger too long as I wasn’t certain if the times of the return boats posted at the ticket office in Santo Antonio were local times to Portugal or to Spain. Depending on the answer I either had 10 minutes to look around before the last boat of the night, or the choice of one in 10 or one in 70 minutes. As I was boarding the boat I noticed there was a different set of times correct for CET so I could have had longer, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

So, 50 minutes before I left Ayamonte I arrived back on the other side of the river in Vila Real de Santo Antonio. I had a bit of a wander around the town before heading back over to the station to catch the train back to Faro.

By the time the train left Santo Antonio it was already dark, and by the time I got back to Faro I was quite hungry (realising only then that I hadn’t actually bothered to stop for lunch). I headed into town for a large dinner. Sated, I wandered back to the station and caught a cab back (having already decided that whilst the walk in was very nice in the sun, it would have been horrible in the dark)

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Faro; Saturday, 18 February, 2012

An early start, and a quick breakfast, before I walked back into town and to the station to catch an early train west along the coast to the town of Lagos.

I arrive in Lagos mid-morning and had enough time to wander around the centre and take in the key sights such as the former slave market, the church of Santa Maria, the Bandeira Fortress and the town museum before I needed to head back to the bus station to pick up one of the infrequent buses further along the coast to Sagres.

Sagres, at least until the 15th Century, was the end of the world. This is as far South West as you can come on the continent, to the West lies just open sea and until the voyages of discovery proved there was land beyond. Even today it has the feel of a town on the end. The massive open skies and surrounded by sea far into the horizon.

The actual most South-Westerly point, The Cape of St Vincent, is about 4KM round the headland, but is inaccessible by public transport in mid-February, and with all the cycle hire shops closed, and only three hours until the return bus, not achievable in the time I had.

Instead I walked down the peninsular of land sticking out from the town and out to the impressive fortress which straddles the headland.

I had a long wander around the fortress site, and by the time I made it back into town, there was only about 15 minutes until my bus, which was a shame as the smell of grilled fish coming from one of the restaurants was highly tempting.

Back in Lagos I had a bit more of a wander around the town centre before heading back over to the station and catching the train back to Faro.

Having been salivating at the thought of food since Sagres nearly four hours earlier I made a beeline for the centre of town and had a very pleasant fishy supper, before heading back to the station and catching a cab back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Faro; Sunday, 19 February, 2012

What should have been a long lie in was slightly disrupted by the cleaners deciding that 8:30 on a Sunday morning was the ideal time to hoover the corridors. After a busy breakfast (everyone else appeared to have been looking forward to a lie in and was therefore forced to have breakfast at the same time after all being woken together), I walked into town and brought a ticket for the boat tour of the Lagoon and visit to the Ilha Deserta.

The Island forms part of the natural barrier that helps to create the islets, salt pans and lagoon of the Ria Formosa, which in themselves help to protect Faro from the Atlantic.

The Island is, as its name suggests, almost completely deserted. With the exception of some fishermen’s huts and a stunning restaurant (built using sustainable wood, up on stilts, accessed via a boardwalk and fully solar powered all to protect the natural environment) the island is completely empty of buildings.

I had a very nice and filling lunch in the restaurant, before going for a walk around part of the island.

From the restaurant there is a board walk that takes you along the Northern part of the island, being able to take in the scenery, without damaging the flora and fauna. After about a kilometre or so, the boardwalk swings inland and down to the south coast, where it takes you down onto the beautiful sandy beach at the most Southerly point in Portugal.

It’s then a very pleasant walk (or in my case pleasant, but slightly chilly paddle) back along the beach towards the restaurant.

In the end with the paddling and taking in the scenery it took me over two hours to walk the two kilometres, but that did include quite a bit of paddling in the sea.

Back at the restaurant I had a late afternoon beer before it was time to catch the ferry back to Faro, across the Lagoon flooded with the light of the setting sun casting an amazing glow on everything.

Back in Faro, and still stuffed from lunch, I had a bit of a wander around the town before I caught the bus back to the hotel and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Faro; Monday, 20 February, 2012

I checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage in the store, and headed into town and the train station to catch the train partway along the coast to the town of Tavira.

From the station I had a long wander around the town centre taking in the key sights of the castle and the Roman bridge that spans the river here.

I then had a very pleasant walk along the river to the point where it enters the sea, but arrived just after the hourly boat to the island that forms a natural barrier from the sea had left. Rather than waiting another hour I headed back into town for a very nice lunch.

After a very filling lunch and feeling really quite stuffed I wandered back through the town to the station to catch the train back to Faro.

Back in Faro, and using my very patchy Portuguese I managed to get a cab to take me back to the hotel and wait for me whilst I collected my bags, and then took me onto the airport.

A smooth journey through the airport and a smooth journey back to London stopped being quite so smooth when we got to baggage reclaim. It was nearly 40 minutes after landing before the first bags started to come round, and by the time I got to the train station there wasn’t a train back to Croydon for nearly half an hour.

By the time that arrived I had missed the last train of the night from Croydon so I had to treck up to Clapham, where none of the lifts were working and had a 20 minute wait there for one of the last trains of the night back home.

It was quite a difference to just a month previously when landing at almost exactly the same time I’d been home in 50 minutes, by the time I finally put my key in the lock at home it was nearly 2 and a half hours since I’d touched down.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Cordoba; Tuesday, 13 March, 2012

For once an utterly uneventful trip to the airport (other than the usual rush hour crush) and bang on departure time the fully loaded plane pushed back, a quick trip to the end of the runway, and then off into the misty skies of a London day.

Having arrived in Madrid, made my way to the hotel and checked in, I wandered out to the main street to pick up the hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus.

Despite it already being 6pm the buses were still running for another couple of hours, so I was able to take in all the sights of both the routes available, including some stunning views of Madrid at night.

At 10pm, I popped back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out towards the Puerta del Sol to grab some dinner.

Just before midnight I wandered back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Cordoba; Wednesday, 14 March, 2012

After a massive breakfast I checked out of the hotel and headed for Atocha station and my train south through the centre of Spain.

A very pleasant and relaxing hour and fifty later, and on time to the second, the train pulled into the station in Cordoba and I wandered my way through the city to the hotel.

Having checked in and dropped all my stuff off I headed out to have a look around the city centre. I was going to save the spectacular Cathedral-Mosque (the jewel in Cordoba’s crown) until later in the trip so I just wandered round the outside and the Patio of the Oranges. I then walked the short distance to the Castle and had a long look around that taking in both the building and the spectacular gardens.

Just across from the castle are some reconstructed Arabic baths so I had a look around them before having a bit more of a walk around the town. I ended up crossing over the river upstream from the spectacular Roman bridge (albeit that only two of the piers are still original, the rest merely 1,000 years old!) then walked back to it along the edge of the river.

As I was wandering across the bridge I had a stunning view of the sun setting, almost into the river, and then within a couple of minutes the bridge being bathed in floodlights as it lit up for the evening.

It may have been 30 during the day, but the weather forecast was predicting it to drop to around 6 overnight, so rather than sit out for dinner shivering in shorts and T-shirt, I popped back to the hotel to get changed, and to at least get close to the Andalucian dining time.

I had a long wander around the city centre, down the many tiny lanes, taking lots of photos before I reached the area around the Cathedral where I found a very nice (and very cheap) tapas bar for some dinner.

Then a few more photos later, I headed back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Cordoba; Thursday, 15 March, 2012

After a quick breakfast I headed out to the bus stop on the main road to catch the coach tour out from the city to the Madinat al-Zahra. The site, about 6KM west of the city was built to be the capital of the al-Andalus Caliphate and was designed to show off the wealth of the Emir. Sadly, with splits and rivalries the site was only in use for about 30 years and from initial construction to final destruction it took less than 80 years. Today about 15% of the site has been uncovered, but that’s enough to give an idea as to how spectacular the city would have looked.

After the whole morning, and part of the afternoon wandering around the site, I arrived back into Cordoba and went for a long walk along the city walls. A large part, starting by the main road at the Puerta del Almodóvar and stretching round towards the Alcázar remain (with a few missing patches), but they do give a clear indication as to how massive the city was in medieval times.

Eventually my wall walk brought me round to the Punte Romano, and after a brief stop for an exceptionally late lunch (possibly only in Spain does 5pm count as lunch), I crossed over to visit the Torre de la Calahorra to see the museum and take in the stunning views from the roof.

From there it was back across the bridge and up into the old Jewish quarter to visit the Synagogue, one of only three ancient synagogues surviving in the whole of Spain, and the only one in Andalucía.

Having visited the synagogue I wandered back towards the hotel, stopping off in the square by the hotel for a pre-dinner drink, then with the temperature starting to fall, I quickly popped back to the hotel to change into warmer clothing and then headed out looking for dinner.

I had a wander around the city centre, taking in the ruins of an ancient Roman temple, before finding a very nice restaurant that specialised in Andalucian/Moroccan fusion cooking (basically the type of food that was probably being eating when it was al-Andalus) right behind the Mezquita.

Stuffed from a very nice dinner I wandered back to the hotel and within minutes of my head hitting the pillow was fast asleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Cordoba; Friday, 16 March, 2012

With breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel and down to the Mezquita to have a look around. It truly is a stunning building, but possibly spoilt slightly for having a whopping great big Cathedral slapped in the middle of it. From the Mezquita I wandered up through the Juderia to have a look at the Archaeological museum.

By the time I finished looking round the archaeology museum the weather had taken a distinct turn for the worse. I wandered back in the direction of the hotel, stopping to shelter from a particularly heavy burst of rain in the museum of the inquisition, but even with hiding and avoiding the worst of the rain by the time I got back to the hotel I was soaked.

After drying out and putting on some dry clothes I headed back out again, into an overcast but at least dry late afternoon, I wandered through a bit more of the Juderia, now starting to get an idea of how all the little alleyways join up.

I then headed over to the top end of town via the Roman temple ruins to the Palacio de Viana to have a look around that, then it was back down towards the river and along the banks a bit further, past some more ruined mills and across a bridge further upstream. The way the river snakes through the city meant that from the other side of the bridge I was a couple of hundred meters walk from the end of the Roman bridge, rather than well over a kilometre on the other bank.

I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre and then it was time to grab some dinner in a very nice tapas bar just behind the Mezquita, before heading back to the hotel, taking a short detour via the Roman Mausoleums.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Cordoba; Saturday, 17 March, 2012

I’d pretty much done most things that Cordoba had to offer, so I had a bit of a lie in and after a late started headed out into town visiting Casa Andalusí, a house presented as it would have looked in the 12th Century and the museum to the history of the Jews in Cordoba.

After a bit more of a wander it was time to meet up with friends who were, entirely by chance, also in Cordoba today.

I spent the rest of the day with my friends taking in the sights, mostly from café’s and bars.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Cordoba; Sunday, 18 March, 2012

After a quick breakfast and packing it was time to head out to the station and the train back north to Madrid.

The journey was once again smooth and fast, with the train pulling into Madrid’s Atocha station five minutes early.

As I had a couple of hours to kill before my flight I dropped my bags in the left luggage and then headed over to the nearby botanical gardens to have a look around.

After looking round the gardens it was time to head back to the station, pick up my bags and make my way back to the airport and the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Lübeck; Wednesday, 11 April, 2012

With an earlyish flight in the morning, I had booked into the hotel attached to Terminal 5 so that I could get a bit of a lie-in.

Having checked into the hotel and dropped my stuff off I wandered back over to the terminal building to grab a bite to eat before heading back to my room for a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Lübeck; Thursday, 12 April, 2012

Normally, with a flight from Heathrow it’s a 90 minute commute across London, which for an 08:30 check-in time would have been through the most packed part of the rush hour.

Instead, a little after 8am I rolled out of bed into the shower and 30 minutes later I was walking across the link bridge between the hotel and the airport terminal.

An uneventful flight later and I landed in Hamburg, collected my bags, headed into the city centre and then straight back out again on the train to Lübeck. From the station I walked the short distance to the hotel and checked in there.

I headed back out from the hotel down to the central bus station (having already worked out I would miss the train by about two minutes) to catch the bus out to the seaside resort of Travemünde.

I had a long wander along the beach, taking in the bracing Baltic Sea air before the first drops of rain started falling. As I made my way back towards the train station the drops turned into a fine shower, then a heavy shower, progressing (thankfully after I reached the station building) to an absolute downpour.

I was quite glad that the heating on the train had been put up to maximum as it meant I was able to steam dry myself quite effectively in the 20 minutes it took to get back to Lübeck.

I headed from the station into the city centre to have a wander round at dusk, taking in the main sights, and taking the lift up the tower of the old St Peters Church to take in the views over the city.

After stopping for dinner I had a bit more of a wander around the old town, and along the canal side, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Lübeck; Friday, 13 April, 2012

With a massive breakfast inside me I headed out from the hotel over to the station to pick up the train towards the North. After purchasing my “Schleswig-Holstein Happy Ticket” which effectively gave me free rail travel for the rest of the day I hopped on the next train up to Kiel.

I had originally intended on going to Schleswig first, but there was a 45 minute wait for the next train, and as my ticket let me go anywhere I decided to jump on the train up to Flensburg. I had a wander around the town taking in the stunning scenery around the harbour, before realising that I didn’t have enough time to make the next train towards Schleswig, so instead I jumped on one of the buses that had been going past with the intriguing destination of “Denmark”

Flensburg is just a couple of Kilometres south of the Danish border, and the number 1 bus makes the journey into Denmark every 20 minutes. The final part of the journey, through what would have been at one point two border crossings and a no-man’s land, is slightly bizarre as this relatively quiet road widens out with large grass central reservations and verges where the huts and customs halls would previously have been. You then, unmistakeably arrive in Denmark with a massive Danish flag flying on a pole surrounded by much smaller Finish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic flags.

The town of Kruså where the bus terminates (in what I’m assuming used to be where the Danish customs halls and crossing posts used to be) is quite small and there isn’t much to see, but you can take the small pleasure of walking backwards and forwards over an international border without anyone asking to see your passport.

After a short while in Kruså I caught the bus all the way back to Flensburg station and was in time to pick up the next train south to Schleswig. The town is situated at the head of the largest Förde in Germany (which technically makes it the largest Förde in the world, so long as you ignore all those Norwegian Fjords). Schleswig is another town that has a Scandinavian feel to it, particularly with the massive cathedral that dominates the town and presides over the head of the Fjord.

Having taken in Schleswig I headed back to the station to begin my journey back towards Lübeck. At Kiel I had 40 minutes to wait for the next train so I had a bit of a wander around the waterside area behind the station before heading back for the train to Lübeck, and dinner in the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Lübeck; Saturday, 14 April, 2012

After a late start (I thought I’d hit snooze on the alarm clock, but had actually switched it off), I headed out to the station to pick up the train south to the town of Lüneburg.

I was quite glad I’d made the decision to head out of town as every few minutes another packed train would pull into Lübeck and disgorge another couple of hundred people into an already heaving town centre.

I arrive in Lüneburg in the early afternoon and went for a wander around the city centre taking in the sites, before stopping off at the old water tower to take the lift to the top for the views, and then a descent back down through the workings of a water tower.

I had a longer walk around the city taking in the impressive St John’s church and the St Nicolai church before stopping for a very late lunch near the Abbot Mill.

As it was starting to look a little overcast, and with exhausted feet, I headed back towards the station to catch the train back to Lübeck.

The sun had already set by the time I got back into Lübeck so I had a quick wander around the Holstentor area to take some night photos before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Lübeck; Sunday, 15 April, 2012

After breakfast I headed into town to “do” Lübeck and started by visiting the museum in the Holstentor before walking around the edge of the old town following the line of the canal down to the Cathedral.

Having looked round the cathedral I went for a long walk around the old town before finally ending up outside the Marienkirche just in time for the end of a service and it reopening to tourists.

From the Marienkirche I had a long wander round the rest of the centre of the old town before realising I’d pretty much exhausted Lübeck, so I head over to the station and caught the train back out Travemünde to take in the seaside in the sunlight.

I had a long wander around the town, this time in the dry, before taking the ferry across to the very pleasant beach on the opposite side of the Trave River in Priwall. After wandering around there for a while I came back into Travemünde and took the bus and train further up the coast to the town of Neustadt, in time to watch a stunning sunset on the Baltic.

By the time I got back into Lübeck it was dark and time to head back to the hotel for a bite to eat and then bed.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Lübeck; Monday, 16 April, 2012

After packing I headed over to the station and caught the train back to Hamburg, where I dumped my luggage in the lockers at the station and headed out into the city for a couple of hours before I had to head back to the airport.

I caught the Hochbahn out from the station to the Landungsbrücken and from there went on a very pleasant ferry ride (ignoring the Hail storm partway through) along the Elbe to Finkenwerde and then onto Blankenese.

I caught the S-Bahn back into Hamburg and then went for a wander through the Elbe tunnel to the opposite bank of the river before it was time to head back to the Hauptbahnhof, pick up my luggage and head for the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Heavy Hail Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Fort William; Thursday, 03 May, 2012

Based on previous experience of using the sleeper I wasn’t massively surprised when we ground to a halt in Watford Junction station for the best part of 40 minutes. In the end I was more surprised that the train moved off again continuing its journey North rather than being told to get off and get on coaches.

Somewhere just north of Rugby I turned in for the evening, but it being a sleeper didn’t really sleep very well, so I was able to easily make out both of our stops and Crewe and Preston.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Fort William; Friday, 04 May, 2012

I must have gotten some sleep as I slept through the stop at Carlisle to pick up breakfast and was only woken at about 4:30 by the rattle of the train coming through the Haymarket tunnels and across the points into Edinburgh. Over the next 20 minutes there were a series of bumps and bangs as the Inverness and Aberdeen portions detached and some heftier thumps as the lounge car and seated accommodation were attached to what had been the front of the train and an engine to what had been the back, and so, going in the opposite direction we rattled over the points and nosily through the Haymarket tunnels again, and after that I drifted off.

By the time I awoke again it was clearly light and we were heading for the highlands. I pulled up the blind, thankfully after getting dressed, to realise we were actually stopped on Garelochhead station (lucky I hadn’t decided to pull up the blind before putting some clothes on). After breakfast in my cabin I walked down to the lounge car just as the train was pulling into Ardlui station, and prepared for the interesting part of the journey across Rannoch moor and the highlands.

The two hours up from Crianlarich to Fort William are some of the most spectacular scenery in Britain, crossing the desolate Rannoch Moor, stopping in Currour, the highest and most isolated railway station in Britain (10Km from the nearest road) and then finally winding its way back down into Fort William on the junction of several lochs and the base of Fort William.

I wandered over to the hotel to drop my bags off and then had a walk around the town centre, taking in what remains of the Fort that put the Fort in Fort William, and the centre of town. I then headed over to the bus station to get the late morning bus up to the Nevis Range Arial Gondola.

The Gondola rises to almost the peak of Aonach Mòr and from here there are stunning views over the lochs and mountain ranges that surround Fort William. It’s also a very quick way to “Bag a Monro” without really expending any effort.

At the top there is also a very nice café where I had a filling lunch before it was time to head back down to catch the bus back into Fort William. Thanks to roadwork’s, by the time I got back into the town centre it was almost 5, so by the time I checked into the hotel and dropped my stuff in the room it was time to grab dinner and then have an early night to catch up on the missed sleep from the sleeper.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Fort William; Saturday, 05 May, 2012

As the room hadn’t included Breakfast I’d grabbed some breakfast things from the Tesco’s near the hotel the previous evening and picked up a cup of coffee from a café near the station and so at 8:30 on a Saturday morning I found myself on board the train heading further north, and west.

The West Highland line from Helensburgh through Crianlarich and Fort William to Mallaig regularly features in the top 10 world’s best railway journeys, and on the leg from Crianlarich to Fort William it’s easy to see why. However, the final leg is regularly highlighted as even more stunning, and the guidebooks aren’t wrong. From the journey along the edge of Loch Eli with Ben Nevis looming behind you, up into the mountains and then across the stunning Glenfinnan viaduct (or Harry Potter viaduct as it’s now usually referred to as) before diving back down to the coast at Arisaig and then Mallaig.

I had a quick wander around Mallaig and then headed over to the CalMac office to get tickets for the ferry across to Skye. On arrival in Skye I wandered the short distance to the Clan Donnald visitors centre based around the ruins of the castle and set in acres of gardens and wooded land that you can wander around.

I spent so long wandering around that in the end I needed to pick up the pace a bit to make it back to the ferry in time to catch it back over to Mallaig.

In Mallaig I had a look in the local museum before it was time to head back to the station and make the stunning return back to Fort William.

Back in Fort William I dropped my bag back into the hotel and then headed out for dinner, before having another early evening.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Fort William; Sunday, 06 May, 2012

I treated myself to breakfast in the café in Morrisons before setting off for a Sunday morning walk along the first part of the Great Glen Way.

The full route, over 70 miles runs the full length of the Great Glen from Fort William up to Inverness, I was only looking to do about 5 miles to Neptune’s Staircase where the Caledonian Canal make its descent down to sea level.

First stop on the walk was the ruins of Inverlochy castle about a mile and a half outside of Fort William; I had a look around that before continuing on through Caol to the sea lock at the very end of the Caledonian Canal at Corpach.

From there it was about another mile to the impressive 8 lock flight of Neptune’s Staircase. I had a look around the area before stopping at the canal-side hotel for a late lunch.

I had originally planned just to catch the bus back into Fort William from there and have a wander around the town, but looking up the train times I noticed that I could get the train out to Glenfinnan to have a look at both the viaduct and the monument (it’s at Glenfinnan that Bonny Prince Charlie first raised his standard and started the campaign that would eventually lead, just 8 months later, to bloody defeat at Culloden.)

The view of both Loch Shiel and the viaduct are possibly more spectacular from ground level than they are from the train and I was so captivated by the views that only just made the return train (and last train of the day) back to Fort William.

After a spot of dinner I headed back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Fort William; Monday, 07 May, 2012

Before checking out I had just enough time to visit the West Highland museum in town. Then it was time to check out, head over to the station and catch the train south.

Through a stroke of luck my assigned seat was one with a big window, and on the opposite side to the journey up so I was able to see all the sights I missed on the way up.

By the time I arrived in Glasgow the weather had taken a distinct turn for the worse and I was left with the choice of either spending a wet hour wandering around the city centre, or an hour sitting in the warm in the airport, so I chose the latter, grabbed my bags and headed to the bus station to catch the air bus out to Glasgow Airport.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Wroclaw; Wednesday, 30 May, 2012

With an early-ish flight from Heathrow in the morning I decided to get a head start and spend the night near the airport.

I checked into the hotel, had a very quick wander around Feltham to see if there was anywhere to eat, and then grabbed some dinner from the Asda below the hotel when I decided there wasn’t

With a quick dinner inside I turned in for the night

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Wroclaw; Thursday, 31 May, 2012

I woke looking forward to a day spent mostly travelling.

After checking out of the hotel I wandered over to Feltham station and caught the bus out to the airport and Terminal 1. My check-in desk was, of course, at the very far end of the terminal building, so a very long walk later I joined the back of the queue to check-in. 20 minutes later I had my two boarding cards and my luggage had a tag on it that should be sending it to Wroclaw via Warsaw. I’d see in a few hours’ time if that worked.

The queues for security were pretty bad, even by Heathrow’s standard, but at least it meant that by the time I’d got through security and grabbed a quick breakfast, it was time to head to the gate and board the flight.

Two hours later we landed at Warsaw and I followed the signs for flight connections, and my second major queue of the day. 45 minutes later I was through flight connections and with only about an hour to wait for my connecting flight back out to Wroclaw.

A short 40 minute flight later I arrived at Wroclaw, was amazed to find my bag not only had made it all the way, but was one of the first off, and quickly made it out to the bus stop and the bus into town.

With a quick change in the city centre onto the correct tram I headed out to the hotel and checked in.

Having deposited my stuff in the hotel I caught the tram back into town and had a short wander around the centre, before grabbing a bite to eat, and then heading back to the hotel to head to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Wroclaw; Friday, 01 June, 2012

I headed out from the hotel to the tram stop and caught the tram over to the Cathedral Island towards the north of the City centre, the birthplace of Wroclaw.

I had a long wander around the sights both of Cathedral Island and the neighbouring Sand Island taking in several of the churches and the cathedral, including taking the lift up to the top of one of the cathedrals towers for the stunning views over the city centre.

I then wandered over to the Botanical gardens and had a long wander around them, taking advantage of the various green-houses to skip most of the short, sharp showers that passed over.

From the botanical gardens I caught a tram out to the Old Jewish Cemetery to the south of the town centre to have a look around that. It’s an incredibly moving place as it reminds you quite how thriving a Jewish community then Breslau had prior to the Second World War, and how completely it was wiped out. Not a single headstone has a date later than early 1939.

From the Cemetery I caught a tram back into town to have a wander around the old town near the town hall, before grabbing a bite to eat, a bit more of a wander and then the tram back to the hotel

Weather

Light Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Wroclaw; Saturday, 02 June, 2012

Breakfast completed I headed back into the city centre and first stop was the Mary Magdalene church and it’s Penitents bridge, not one for people who suffer from vertigo, the open-air bridge that links the top of the two church towers some 80 meters up.

Then it was over to the university to have a look around the stunning rooms there including the views for the top of the mathematical tower and the seriously over the top church.

After a stop for a very late lunch I caught the tram out to the people’s hall to have a look around. Unfortunately, there was an event taking place which meant that the hall and much of the surrounding park land was closed off to anyone who didn’t have a ticket, but I was able to see parts of the multimedia fountain, have a wander around some of the park land, and take in the stunning Japanese gardens.

I headed back into town and had a bit more of a wander around, including taking in the Patriots hill before having a very nice dinner and then back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Wroclaw; Sunday, 03 June, 2012

I had originally intended on visiting the Panorama Raclawicka, but when I got there the next available ticket wasn’t for a couple of hours, so I decided to give it a miss for the day, instead I had a bit of a wander around the area near the Panorama and then headed over to the old arsenal buildings to take in the two museums there.

Having seen the Archaeological and Military museums I wandered back towards the Rynek and stopped at the Elizabeth church to climb it’s tower, before heading over to the Rynek to get some lunch.

I had a bit more of a wander around the town centre and then found myself down by the landing stage for one of the river cruises as it was getting ready to leave, so I had a quick journey down the river.

Unfortunately, the weather had deteriorated quite a bit by then, and by the time I got back to the landing stage I was pretty well soaked. I grabbed a tram back to the hotel to dry out and change, waited for the rain to ease off a bit and then headed back out to town.

I had a quick bite to eat in the centre of town, but again the weather got quite a bit worse and I ended up, for the second time in a couple of hours, sitting, soggily, on a tram back towards the hotel.

A fortifying quick drink in the bar whilst I dried out, and then to bed.

Weather

Haze Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Wroclaw; Monday, 04 June, 2012

After breakfast I headed into town and made a second attempt to visit the Panorama Raclawicka, this time with considerably better results, arriving a couple of minutes before the 11:30 show and getting a ticket for that straight away.

Having taken in the Panorama I wandered back over to the People’s hall to see if it were open again after the weekends events, but they were still in the process of taking stuff down so it was closed to visits, however I did manage to catch one of the performances of the Multimedia Fountain.

I caught a tram back into town for a late lunch and a bit of a wander around before deciding to finish the afternoon in the zoo.

I had a long wander round the zoo, so long in fact that I very nearly got locked in, before heading back into town for a quick bite to eat and then back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Wroclaw; Tuesday, 05 June, 2012

Breakfast completed I checked out of the hotel and headed back to the airport to start my long journey home.

A hopeful introduction to a smooth journey was the speed with which I passed through the airport in Wroclaw, making it from the bus, through check-in (all the way to Heathrow) and security in about six minutes.

The journey continued smoothly, despite a very wet terminal to bus and bus to plane transfer, through a seamless transit in Warsaw and onto the flight to London

A bit of stacking outside Heathrow meant that we ended up being five minutes late landing, but for what could have been a very complicated and long day if something hadn’t worked, that wasn’t really an issue.

Weather

Haze Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Douglas; Friday, 29 June, 2012

A disarmingly smooth journey through the airport with the entire process from getting off the train to leaving the security area being done and dusted in under 10 minutes. Consequently I had a pretty long wait in departures before I could wander down to the gate.

Again, only a short wait before we were called forward for boarding, and bang on time started our take off roll down the runway.

Less than an hour later, and 15 minutes ahead of schedule we touched down on the Isle of Man, and with the luggage popping round in seconds flat I ended up having a 10 minute wait for the bus I thought I was going to miss.

The bus even went to just above the hotel so I had a short downhill walk.

After checking in I had a quick shower and then, with the last of the evenings light fading over the skies of Douglas, turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Douglas; Saturday, 30 June, 2012

With breakfast consumed I wandered down the hill to the prom and then walked along the front the mile or so to the tram station at Derby Castle.

From there I caught the Manx Electric Railway up to Laxey and then took the Snaefell mountain railway up to the highest point on the island, the summit of Snaefell. Unfortunately, the lovely sunny weather down on the coast was not being mirrored up the mountain, and by the time we reached the summit the whole mountain had disappeared into a thick and eerie fog that left visibility at less than 50 foot.

I had a wander around the strange muted landscape before grabbing a welcome cup of tea in the café and then catching the next tram back down to Laxey.

I had a wander around Laxey near the station and then caught the Great Laxey Mines Railway through the only tunnel on the island to the Laxey Wheel, the symbol of the Island.

I’d forgotten from my previous visit quite how much of a site there was to explore at Laxey and after taking in the wheel, mines and some of the walks around the valley sides it was time for lunch, for which I caught the local link bus the short distance down to the sea front in Old Laxey.

After lunch I picked the tram back up and continued north to its terminus in Ramsey. I walked the mile or so out to the Grove museum of Victoria life and had a look around that before walking back into the town centre for a wander around.

Having taken in the sights of Ramsey I headed back to the bus station and was in time to pick up the bus down the Western coast of the island to Peel.

I had a quick look around Peel before catching the bus back into Douglas, dinner and a welcome sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Douglas; Sunday, 01 July, 2012

With another stunning breakfast inside me I headed out of the hotel and down to the train station to catch the first steam train of the day south towards Port Erin.

From Port Erin I caught the bus out to the Sound of Man, the most South-Westerly point of the island, from where there are stunning views of the Calf of Man.

I took the bus the short distance back up the hill to the ethnographical museum at the Cregneash Folk Museum.

Having looked round there I caught the bus up to Ballasalla and visited the ruins of Rushen Abbey, once the most powerful site on the island, reduced to ruins by Henry VIII and hidden from memory until the late 20th century.

Having taken in Rushen Abbey I headed into Castletown, the old capital of the island to take in the castle of the same name.

After looking around Castle Rushen I had a bit more of a wander around Castletown before stopping off at the very nice pub on the town square for dinner.

Feeling bloated, and slightly sleepy, I caught the bus back to the hotel and turned in for the night

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Douglas; Monday, 02 July, 2012

I only had part of the day to explore, so after checking out of the hotel I headed down to the centre of town and picked up the bus into Peel.

I had a wander around the town centre in a light drizzle, before heading to the town’s main museum the House of Manannan.

By the time I had looked around that the rain was starting to pick up a bit, but I thought I would have enough time before it really started raining to have a look around the castle.

Unfortunately, I only got about half way round before I was defeated by the rapidly deteriorating weather, so I headed back into town and decided to catch the bus north to Ramsey to do a bit of sightseeing from the warmth and dry of the top deck of a bus.

In Ramsey I was able to dash from the warmth and dryness of the Peel bus straight across the garage forecourt and into the equally dry Douglas bound bus, which then took off into the fog of the hills of northern Man.

By the time we arrived back in Douglas the rain had reduced to a small drizzle again so I was able to walk across town to the Manx museum. After the museum I wandered back down to the hotel to pick up my bags and head to the airport.

Originally, when I had booked the flight it was due to depart at 18:00, but over the intervening months the flight time had slowly been pushed back to 19:55, which turned out to be a problem as shortly after 19:00 a massive bank of fog descended on the island. The inbound plane was unable to land, turned round and temporarily landed at Blackpool to see if the fog would lift before deciding it wouldn’t and returning to Birmingham, leaving us passengers on the Isle of Man stranded.

In an incredibly smooth operation FlyBE took us all back through security, booked us onto the morning flight and then booked us into a nearby hotel.

So 30 minutes after I should have been checking into a hotel in Birmingham I was instead checking into another hotel on the Isle of Man for an extra night on the island.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Douglas; Tuesday, 03 July, 2012

A quick breakfast as I had to be at the airport early, and things weren’t looking great. It was still pretty foggy, but the sound of turbo-props starting up drifting through the fog from the airport implied that some flights were leaving.

In the end the flight was delayed, but only by 10 minutes, and only because they had replaced the plane for a much larger one, to try and accommodate two flights worth of passengers.

And so, nearly 13 hours late I finally bid the Isle of Man a fond farewell.

Weather

Foggy No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Szczecin; Friday, 20 July, 2012

As it was an early flight the following morning I headed over to the Travelodge in Feltham so that I didn’t have to get up so early the following morning.

As before it took several attempts and a couple of key card changes before I was actually able to get into my room. Having dropped my stuff in my room I quickly wandered down to the supermarket below the hotel to grab some stuff for a light supper before heading back to my room, eating, and then turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Szczecin; Saturday, 21 July, 2012

I checked out of the hotel and headed down to the bus stop to arrive at exactly the same moment the bus to the airport did. A very quick journey later I found myself in Terminal five on the first day of the school holidays at the back of a long queue to drop my bags off (thankfully, not as long a queue as the one that appeared to be snaking out of the private first class area!)

The flight was a little late leaving as it was full, but thankfully, we could almost have pushed back straight onto the active runway the stand was so close to the start of the take-off area, so incredibly, for Heathrow, just a few minutes after pushing back we were airborne.

Arriving into Berlin five minutes early I realised I hadn’t needed all the spare time I’d given myself as I could probably have made the earlier train to Szczecin, but rather than rush into town to make the train I instead decided to take it slowly and have a couple of hours wandering around the city before heading for the train.

Having dropped my luggage in the lockers at the Hauptbahnhof I caught the U-Bahn down to the Brandenburg Gate and had a wander around the area there before slowly making my way back to the Hauptbahnhof via the Reichstag and the riverside. I collected my bags, caught the train over to Gesundbrunnen, changed and picked up my train to Szczecin.

An uneventful, if noisy two hours later (there was a large family that had several young children they were letting run up and down the train screaming at the top of their voices), I arrived into Szczecin Glowny and walked the short distance to my hotel.

After checking in and unpacking I headed out for a late evening wander around the city centre before stopping at the town hall square for dinner in one of the restaurants. After dinner, I had a bit more of a wander along the riverside, before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Szczecin; Sunday, 22 July, 2012

First stop of the morning was the train station to visit the tourist office. I had intended to go their directly, but on the way I spotted an automatic ticket machine for the station, rather than having to join a massive queue and try and do everything in my non-existent Polish, I decided to use that to check how much it would cost to get up to the coast.

Given how cheap it was, and that seats were available, I booked for later that afternoon with the return mid-evening. With the tickets in my pocket I continued down to the tourist office to get a Szczecin card and then on up to the Ducal Palace to have a good look around.

Having taken in the sites of the Ducal palace I headed down to the old town hall and had a look around the historical museum that is based there, before grabbing a quite bite to eat and then heading over to the station to catch the train to the coast.

Swinoujscie (formerly Swinemünde) is located in the very north western corner of Poland, at the mouth of the Odra river delta and with some stunning beaches. It’s also got quite a fair amount of ruined fortresses due to its location.

From the train it was a short ferry crossing over the river Swina to the town centre and first stop, as it was closing within the hour, was the museum of deep sea fishing. Having looked round that, I went for a long wander through the town and the large park that surrounds much of the town centre.

I eventually found myself down by the river mouth at one of the many fortresses and had a look around that before continuing along the river to where it empties into the sea and then walking back along the long sandy beach.

I had a nice long walk along the beach, so long in fact that I left Poland altogether and entered Germany! Having returned back across the border I wandered back through the town towards the station and made my train with about 20 minutes to spare, but sadly no time for dinner.

By the time I got back to Szczecin I was just able to catch the last tram of the night up the hill from the station to the hotel where I picked up a bite to eat at the bar before turning in for the night

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Szczecin; Monday, 23 July, 2012

After a hearty breakfast, to make up for the lack of dinner the previous evening, I headed out over to the Cathedral to have a look around. Much of the Cathedral was destroyed in WWII, but it has been repaired and part of that has included putting in spectacular panoramic windows in the spire of the cathedral tower. Lifts whisk you to the viewing platform in ease from where there are stunning views over the city centre.

Having taken in the tower and the cathedral itself, I headed down to the station for one of the more unusual sights in the town, Szczecin underground. Underneath the station is a massive bunker complex, originally started by the Prussians as part of the station construction it was converted into an air-raid shelter by the Germans and then into a nuclear bunker by the Soviets. Today there are tours round both parts of the bunker (in Polish, but with an English transcript).

After taking both tours I quickly grabbed some lunch before heading off to do one of the two suggested walking routes that the tourist office publish. In this instance a 3Km walk from the city centre out to the beautiful rose gardens in the North of the city, except I cheated and took a tram up to the rose gardens and walked back in the opposite direction.

Having completed that walk I then took the other suggested walk, this one is even easier to follow that the first walk as the entire route is marked on the pavements in the city centre with a broken red line. They even paint on the information point numbers so you know where to look for an information board.

By the time I had completed both of the walks it was early evening so I headed over to the old town hall square for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel to start my packing ready for the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
35ºC/95ºF

Szczecin; Tuesday, 24 July, 2012

I had a leisurely breakfast, popped over to the tourist office to pick up some postcards and send them off and then it was time to check out and head down to the station.

In contrast to Polish railways, the train, run by Deutsche Bahn, was on time to the second (though from experience this is becoming a rare thing for DB). And so at precisely 10:57 we pulled out of the station and I headed towards the German border.

I had assumed that as Poland was in Schengen it would be a smooth ride into Germany, and initially it was, but two stops over the border a whole gaggle of Polizie got on the train and inspected everyone’s papers.

Needless to say, on a train travelling from Poland to Germany, discovery of a British passport caused quite a bit of interest (so much for trying to travel as a local). Firstly there was confusion as my passport is 8 years old and has the identity page in a different place to newer passports. Then there was confusion as my passport is so badly battered that the whole of the front emblem (UK coat of arms) has rubbed off so they thought it might be fake. Finally there was uproar as I had left the stub of a boarding card for a flight from Hamburg in middle of it – clear evidence that I was an enemy of the DDR, shame the DDR hasn’t existed for the last 20 odd years, but I think they may have reverted to original training.

Eventually, after a few minutes examining my passport, and me starting to consider how I phrase “I can’t make it into work today, I’m being held in a DDR gulag for espionage”, the police handed it back to me and walked on.

Cover blown I put my headphones on and sunk back into the seat to avoid being looked at as a weird foreigner and travelled deeper into Germany.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Rostock; Tuesday, 24 July, 2012

I needn’t have worried too much about sticking out a like a sore thumb, as after my little episode with the passport checks someone got on at a stop further down the line and proceeded to much on raw garlic.

Over the next 30 minutes or so it was clear that most of the carriage was getting irritated by this. It was a hot day, the train was stuffy and only a couple of windows would open, fine when the train was moving, but when it regularly stopped at stations, and at some of them for some time to let other trains pass, the smell started to become decidedly unpleasant.

I did think that it was all going to kick off into one gigantic Teutonic row (to some extent I was hoping it might do that), instead most of the people just sat their tutting in a decidedly English way.

Eventually the Garlic eater got off, unfortunately at the same station I had to get off at to change to the S-Bahn into Rostock, and to make matters worse it was clear he was heading for the same train as me.

Thankfully, I had a heavy bag, had to use the lifts and was therefore able to carefully avoid the carriage he got into.

30 minutes later the train pulled into Rostock Hauptbahnhof and I quickly changed onto the tram out to the hotel. After a quick checkin and dropping off of luggage I headed back out to the train station and caught the train out to the costal suburb, Warnemünde.

I had a long wander around the town, taking in its sight, including from the top of the main lighthouse, and then enjoying a pleasant boat trip round the harbour. As most of the restaurants were pretty busy, and as I had a day ticket, I popped back into Rostock to grab dinner and have brief wander around the town centre, before heading back to the beach to catch sunset.

After watching the sun go down I headed back into Rostock and back to the hotel for a quick drink (whilst I let the air-conditioning work its magic on the room) and then bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Rostock; Wednesday, 25 July, 2012

First stop of the morning was the Hauptbahnhof to pick up tickets for the following day and then down into town for some sightseeing.

I had a look round the Neue Markt and the area around the town hall before heading over to the Marienkirche just in time to see the astronomical clock in action.

After pausing for a very nice lunch, washed down with ice cold lemonade, I wandered through the Old Town in increasingly stifling heat, with every temperature display nudging into the mid 30’s.

A quick stop at the Petrikirch, where there was a lovely breeze to be had at the top of its tower whilst taking in the views, and then a further walk through the old town, following the town walls.

Part way round, when I got to the Steintor, I decided that it was just silly getting this hot so instead I hopped on a tram down to the riverside to take a tour on the ferry that crosses over, then walked along the tree-lined bank of the river in some more comfort than in the centre of town.

By the late afternoon, and with no sign of the heat abating, I headed out to Warnemünde, where the sea breeze made the temperatures much more pleasant.

I did a bit of shopping as I realised the two pairs of shorts I had brought with me would not be enough to last in the current conditions, and then stopped for an early dinner.

A long walk along the beach, and then back to the station to pick up the train back to the hotel and then (after another trip to the bar to allow the air-conditioning a fighting chance) to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
35ºC/95ºF

Rostock; Thursday, 26 July, 2012

I was out early to head to the station and off up to the island of Rügen off the Baltic coast of Germany. Germany’s largest island it’s also home to one of its strangest landmarks, a massive building complex started by the Nazi’s that was never used as it was intended.

Prora was built for the “Strength through joy” programme, sort of a Nazi holiday camp, where party members would be able to enjoy sunny holidays on the Baltic. Five massive blocks of building with thousands of rooms were built to house the masses, but by the time most of the site was complete the country was at war and the Nazi holiday camp never opened. Partly used as a hospital during the war the site was eventually left to rot.

Today some of the site is finally being renovated and brought back into use, but lots of it remains empty and eerily quiet, just yards from a packed beach.

Having taken in the bizarre sight of Prora I headed further along the Island to Ostseebad Binz and picked up the islands Steam railway along to one end of the island at Ostseebad Göhren and had a look around there, then it was back on the train to run almost the full length of the line over to the town of Putbus.

From there I caught the train up to the North Eastern corner of the island at Sassnitz and had a look around there before it was time to wander back to the station and make the journey all the way back to Rostock (the advantage of ending in Sassnitz being it’s where the direct trains to Rostock start from, so I could collapse, exhausted, into the seat and just sit there for 2 hours)

I quickly stopped in the centre of town for a light dinner and then headed back to the hotel to pack and go to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Rostock; Friday, 27 July, 2012

I checked out of the hotel and took the tram over to the Hauptbahnhof to drop off my bags before heading back into town.

I had originally been looking for the Stasi museum, which took some finding (it’s almost like they were trying to be secret). However, when I got there a large group were being given a tour so it wasn’t possible to visit, so instead I went for a bit of a wander around town, stopping for a mid-morning cold lemonade to try and alleviate the heat, before heading back over to the station to pick up my things and head onto Schwerin.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Schwerin; Friday, 27 July, 2012

I arrived in Schwerin and walked to the hotel (it turned out via the long way). Having checked I wandered back to the station through the city centre to get a train up to the small costal harbour, and former Hansiatic, town of Wismar.

I had a bit more time for wandering around than I was anticipating as the train was nearly 30 minutes late, but it eventually arrived.

I had a long wander around the centre of Wismar, which has a lovely old-town almost completely pedestrianized with a little canal running through the heart of it.

After taking in the town I visited the three churches in the town. St Nicolaikirche, which pretty much survived the war intact and is still a fully functioning church. St George of which only the tower now survives, much of the rest of the building having to be pulled down in the early 60’s as it wasn’t safe, and now houses an exhibition on the three churches of the old town.

The final stop was the Marienkirche. It survived the war, but was stripped of all its fittings following the war by a population desperate for shelter and fuel. It remained a shell, slowly rotting away until after unification, at which point a campaign was launched to save it. Building work has now pretty much finished and the church has been restored to the building it was before the war, but is now an arts exhibition space.

After looking around the churches I wandered back to the market place and stopped there for dinner before heading back to the station and the train back to Schwerin and bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Schwerin; Saturday, 28 July, 2012

Breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel and down to the lakeside to pick up the open-top tour bus of the city for a look around. I took one full circuit of the tour and then wandered back over to the market place to have a look around there and then into the cathedral.

I climbed the cathedral tower for some stunning views over the city and the inner lakes and after a quick pause for lunch that’s where I headed next just making the 2pm lake cruise.

After sailing around a couple of the city’s lakes I headed over to the Schloß to look around the museum and then the gardens and orangery.

I then went for a walk in the wider Schloßgarten that lead away from the palace. By the time I made it back to the castle it was already getting quite late so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out for dinner.

With it being a particularly warm and muggy night I decided I wanted to eat outside and thankfully, Schwerin had plenty of places offering this, including the very nice beierkeller that I ended up in (so not really a bierkeller, more a biergarten).

Stuffed to capacity with various sausages I went for a brief wander through town to take some night photos, pausing briefly to fill up any remaining empty space in my stomach with a very nice Italian ice-cream.

Then it was back to the hotel and to bed to try and sleep. Something that proved close to impossible.

I started with trying with the windows open, but then found I was surrounded by mosquitos. I spent the next 30 minutes gradually reducing the mosquito population of Schwerin by a considerable amount and of my room by 100%. So to avoid any further mosquitoes, and after a nice cold shower, I tried to get some sleep, but the room was just too humid and hot.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Schwerin; Sunday, 29 July, 2012

In the end, at about 4am after failing to get any sleep I decided I had to give up and open the window and accept that sleep would be accompanied by bites.

Thankfully, I managed to get a couple of hours of restless sleep, and, possibly because of my slaughter of the previous night, the mosquitos had avoided me.

After breakfast, at which it was obvious most people in the hotel had not had good nights’ sleep – everyone looked tired and over-hot, I packed my bag, left it in reception and went into town for a couple of hours before I had to catch my train.

First stop of the morning was the art museum close to the hotel. After looking around that I wandered up through town to the Schelfmark area of the city, formerly its own small town before it was swallowed up by an expanding city, and had a look around there, then headed back to the centre of town, diving into the tourist office to avoid a sudden shower.

It was there that I found a flyer for the TV tower, which had a viewing platform open for visits. As I had nearly two hours to kill before my train I caught a tram out to the stop advertised on the flyer and then walked the short distance to the tower.

I took in the views, which very quickly started to disappear into thick, heavy clouds, and very soon it was obvious that the short shower earlier had just been a taster. Soon it was absolutely chucking it down and it was clear I was going to get wet.

I waited in the entrance hall of the TV tower hoping for the rain to stop, but in the end, knowing I had to pick up my luggage and get to the station for a train in a little over an hour, I had to make a very soggy walk back to the tram stop (which felt much longer than the walk in the dry in the opposite direction had felt). I got back into town, quickly ran to the hotel to pick up my luggage and use their toilets to change to into a dry T-shirt and put a hooded top on, before braving the elements again to head to the station and my train onto Magdeburg.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Magdeburg; Sunday, 29 July, 2012

Just under two hours and 200Km later and you wouldn’t have known that the weather had been so bad earlier. I arrived in Magdeburg and was greeted with the kind of warm, but fresh, weather that had been so missing in Schwerin. None of the clammy humid conditions, instead a light breeze and sun.

After checking into the hotel I headed out into the city for a wander around. I started by heading out to the Elbauenpark on the edge of town, intending to have a look around as it was still open. When I got there I found out that there was an entrance charge just to get into the park. As the entrance charge was a lot lower on a Monday (as most things would be closed, as they were at that time), I decided to come back later, and instead headed back into the centre of town.

I had a wander around the cathedral area and along a small remaining part of the former fortress walls that used to surround the city centre, before looking for some dinner.

It was at this point I found out that the people of Magdeburg clearly eat early on a Sunday as everywhere had stopped serving. In the end I had to rely on a bratwurst stall in the station for a pleasant, if unhealthy, dinner.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Magdeburg; Monday, 30 July, 2012

After a restless night caused by an annoying mosquito in the room, that I finally managed to kill just after midnight, I got up had breakfast and then headed into town for the morning. First stop was the Cathedral and after then a wander through the centre of the city, trying to discover something else that was open to look around. Sadly, nothing. Magdeburg is a city that completely abides by the concept of being closed on a Monday.

Eventually I wandered back to the station and caught the train north into the Altmark, one of the most deserted parts of the country with more horses than people.

I caught the train up to Stendal and then picked up the connecting train down to the small town of Tangermünde. Tangermünde is at the point where the River Tanger flows into the Elbe and is a beautiful medieval town, with almost all of its historic walls and gatehouses surviving, a picture postcard beautiful town centre and a romantic castle overlooking the rivers.

I had a long wander around the town before it was time to catch the train back to Stendal to have a look around there.

After the beauty of Tangermünde I was less impressed by Stendal, which is probably impacted by it being the major population and commercial hub of this empty region, so a little DDR’ed in places.

Having looked around Stendal I caught the train back to Magdeburg and then got the tram out to the Elbauenpark to have a look round that at considerably less than it would have cost the previous day.

The park was created for the 1999 BUGA Horticultural show which included landscaping a former land fill tip into a grass covered rolling hill acting as both a viewing point and the location of a dry toboggan run. In places the park is starting to show it’s age a little, but much of it is still in good nick and it was nice to wander around such an empty space with so few other visitors around.

After looking around the park I headed back into town and had a bit to eat before heading back to the hotel to kill a few more mosquitos before bed.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Magdeburg; Tuesday, 31 July, 2012

After breakfast and packing I headed out briefly into town to enjoy the last hour or so in the city before I was due to head on to Erfurt.

I wandered over towards the former convent and then back along the riverfront to the restored Johanneskirche.

The church is now an arts centre, but one of the towers has been opened up as a viewing platform. I had thought that as the whole thing had been refurbished they would have installed a lift, but no it was a hefty 280 odd steps up to the platform.

However, the climb was worth it as the views over the city were spectacular.

Having descended back down to ground level I wandered back over to the hotel, grabbed my stuff, checked out and headed to the station for the penultimate destination of the trip, Erfurt.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Erfurt; Tuesday, 31 July, 2012

I caught the tram from the station over to the hotel, checked in and then headed back out into the city.

First stop was the Dom complex, two massive buildings on a hill standing over the centre of town. In addition to the cathedral there is the church of St Severus which makes up the complex. I had a look round both before continue to wander through the centre of town.

I stopped off at the Krämerbrücke, a small bridge that is completely covered in shops and houses on both sides. At the end of bridge it passes underneath a Methodist chapel from whose tower there are stunning views over the city centre, and from where you can truly get an idea of the size of the cathedral area.

I then caught the tram out to the edge of town and the Egapark showground. The park was partly built around an old fortress the Cyriaksburg, with the main building having been turned into a museum of gardening one of the towers into a observatory and the other tower into a viewing platform.

I had a long wander around the site taking in all the different gardens before it was time to head back into town to grab some dinner in a very nice restaurant looking across the Domplatz, a short further wander and then back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Erfurt; Wednesday, 01 August, 2012

I had a large breakfast before heading out for a day’s sightseeing, with the first stop being the hefty climb up to the Citadel that overlooks the city. The views from the bastions were stunning, particularly of the cathedral and the domplatz.

From the citadel I wandered through town, roughly following a suggested itinerary in the guide book, picking up the main sights that I hadn’t see the previous day on my wanders.

I wandered past the ruins of the Barfüßerkirche, destroyed during the war and left in ruins as a memory, and on to the Haus zum Stockfisch to look round the Stadtmuseum located there.

After pausing for lunch in the main shopping street I continued my walk and stopped off at the Predigerkircge, the Michaeliskirche and the Augustinerkloster before heading over to the museum in the Alte Synagogue.

The Synagogue is, possibly, the oldest in central Europe, though for over 500 years it lay hidden and unknown. The large Jewish community of Erfurt was either killed or fled during pogroms in the late middle of the 14th century, and after that point the Synagogue was used for storage, and eventually converted into a dance hall. It was only a few years ago that it was realised exactly what it was and at that point a restoration programme started to return it to as close as it would have been at the height of the Jewish community.

After looking around the synagogue I wandered past the Rathaus and Fischmarkt before heading back over towards the Domplatz to find some dinner.

After dinner, and quickly popping back to the hotel to freshen up, I wandered back out to take in the sites in the last of the days sun, wandering up to the Citadel to watch the sun fade over the city.

I had a long wander through town and ended up at the Domplatz illuminated not just by the floodlight cathedrals, but also by an amazingly bright full moon.

I ended the evening wandering part of the way back up to the Citadel to take a few photos of the floodlight cathedrals before heading back to the hotel to pack and then go to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Erfurt; Thursday, 02 August, 2012

Following another spectacular breakfast I popped back to my room, packed the remainder of my stuff and then checked out of the hotel and headed to the station.

Whilst it was a long journey back to Berlin, it was at least on a single train that I could collapse into for nearly three hours. That was lucky as it was already 10 minutes late by the time it arrived at Erfurt and proceeded to lose a little more time before it reached its next major stop at Halle.

Up until that point I had had a compartment to myself, but, as this was the one train a day from these parts up to Ostseebad Binz in Rügen, it was always likely that it would fill up, and at Halle a family got in to full my compartment. If my journey was relatively long at 3 hours, their six hour trek up to the Baltic was something else, and long before Berlin their two children was starting to get bored.

It was at this point I was thankful for the headphones and the dark-glasses, though not so thankfull as the train arrived into the lower level of Berlin Hauptbahnof and I realised that the lights in the carriage weren’t actually working, which makes for finding your luggage a little more interesting.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Berlin; Thursday, 02 August, 2012

From the central station I caught the S-Bahn round one stop with the intention of picking up the U-Bahn down one stop to the hotel. My plans were thwarted by the German Mole of Doom.

The mole character is used whenever there are engineering or building works taking place to indicate disruption to the service, and in this case the disruption was caused by the construction of a new bit of U-Bahn line, the same bit of U-Bahn line, it has to be said, that they have been building ever since I first visited Berlin over 8 years ago, which meant that the line between where I was, and where I wanted to be was closed and replaced by a walk. In the end, it wasn’t too bad a walk to the hotel so I wandered down to it and checked in.

For the first time since the Windhook Country Club in Namibia over 9 years earlier I had my bags transported to my room for me by a porter (given I don’t normally stay in this kind of hotel I have not concept of how much you tip porters. I gave €5, but that could have been incredibly cheap, though the guy, as you would expect from a professional, didn’t say anything!)

Having explored the acreage of my room, I headed out for an afternoons wandering, and started the sightseeing directly opposite the hotel in the Fransösicher Dom, including taking in the views from the base of its dome.

Next stop was the Bärenzwinger (bear pit), quite literally a pit (albeit delightfully landscaped with a range of environments for them to enjoy) for the city’s bears. The emblem of Berlin is a bear, so the city keeps some bears! From there I wandered over towards the TV tower to look at the options for a bike tour of the city, and then headed over to the Berliner Dom to have a look around that, and take in the views from its dome.

I started to wander over to the Reichstag, but on my way stopped at the Neue Wache, the memorial to all victims of war and tyranny to have a look. It’s an amazingly moving space, exceptionally simple but it works perfectly to create a respectful space.

I continued wandering over towards the Reichstag with a view to taking in the sights from its dome, but since my last visit in 2009 they had changed the access rules, and you now have to book on-line in advance, so I postponed that for a while.

Instead I wandered back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out for dinner, though having to pause for a couple of minutes, thankfully in the hotel reception as I’d only got that far, whilst the most spectacular downpour, accompanied by enormous hail stones, went past.

After dinner I had a long wander around the city centre taking ending up at the Alexanderplatz watching something (I have no idea what it was) that involved a lot of music, and a lot of fire.

I then walked back to the hotel stopping to take some final shots of the Fransösicher Dom before having a late beer in the bar, and then heading for bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
35ºC/95ºF

Berlin; Friday, 03 August, 2012

I had a nice long lie-in and woke up to see that the weather had deteriorated overnight into continuous heavy rain. However, as the weather forecast said it was supposed to be improving later I took a risk and headed down to one of the cycle tour providers and booked onto their 4pm tour.

I then picked up the U-Bahn out to the Olympic stadium to have a look around that, and by the time I had taken in the museum it was starting to dry out, so it made going onto the roof of the bell tower worthwhile.

I caught the train back into town and over to Alexanderplatz to join the cycle tour and then spent the rest of the afternoon and the early evening touring round the centre of Berlin by bike, taking in the key sights and stopping off near the Zoo for dinner.

Slightly sore from riding a bike for so long I headed back to the hotel and to bed.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Berlin; Saturday, 04 August, 2012

I woke up feeling a lot less stiff than I had expect to do after an afternoons cycling, so boyed with energy I headed over to the cycle tour company to hire a bike for the day.

I had a long cycle round the centre of Berlin, stopping off at some of the sights I had missed previously, including the excellent exhibition at the Stasi documentation centre.

I then cycled out to the site of the former Templehof airport, now a community park where you can cycle on the former runway and taxi-ways, which is a very weird experience, if only for seeing that they are not as flat and level as I had expected them to be.

Then I cycled back into town and had a long cycle round the wall area and the Tiergarten, including stopping off for a very late lunch at the same place I had had dinner the previous evening, before, feeling now very stiff, it was time to head back to the hire shop and return the bike.

I staggered back to the hotel and had a very long hot shower, which relieved a lot of the stiffness and then headed back out for a late night wander round before finally returning to the hotel to grab a late drink at the bar and then to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Berlin; Sunday, 05 August, 2012

I had a very long lie-in and by the time I got up any idea that I had been cycling the previous day appeared to have gone away.

After checking out of the hotel and finally managing to find a locker at Zoo station I had about 90 minutes to kill before I needed to head to the airport, so, as it was now chucking it down, I saw a bus that was heading to a random U-Bahn station, was double deck and had empty seats and front, and took it for a mystery tour through some of Berlin’s Southern suburbs.

It worked out quite nicely as by the time I had reached the destination, hopped on the U-Bahn and made it back to Zoo it was time to pick up my bags and head for the airport.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Hull; Friday, 10 August, 2012

I had an uneventful and speedy journey from work up to Kings Cross and then on up to Hull.

The hotel is within the station complex so it was a very short walk from the train to the reception desk and then on up to my room.

As it was already quite late I had a quick bite to eat in the bar and then headed to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Hull; Saturday, 11 August, 2012

The forecast had been for a sunny day, but that obviously wasn’t taking account of sea mists as it was pretty foggy when I woke up.

After breakfast I headed out into town to have a look around, taking in the remains of the Beverley Gate, one of the former city gates, and arguably the place where the English Civil war kicked off when the city refused to open the gate to King Charles to prevent him getting access to the weapons stored in the town.

I wandered further on past the towns marina, taking in the Spurn Lightship which is moored up there and watching the impressive sea lock at work letting ships out into the Humber estuary. A short walk further along the water front brought me to the river Hull and I followed it back into town stopping off at the Holy Trinity church and then the Church of St Mary the Virgin.

By now the fog had burned off and it was turning into a very pleasant day, so I wandered back through town to the hotel to change into shorts and a T-shirt as it was getting a little too warm for jeans.

After the change I took in a couple of the city’s free museums starting with the Wilberforce house museum before visiting the streetlife and then the Hull and East Riding museums.

It was getting quite late in the day so there wasn’t enough time to visit any more of the museums so instead I hopped on a bus out over the impressive Humber Bridge to Barton-on-Humber to take in the view of one of the most impressive modern structures in the country.

Unlike many of the other impressive bridges in the UK you can actually walk across the Humber Bridge, so I did that. I hadn’t realised quite how wide the bridge was, as it took over 40 minutes to get from one side to the other.

Having crossed the bridge I caught the bus back into Hull and went for some dinner, then to bed.

Weather

Foggy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Hull; Sunday, 12 August, 2012

The city run museums didn’t open until the afternoon, but after breakfast I headed to the town’s impressive aquarium – The Deep, located at the point where the River Hull empties into the Humber.

I spent a long time looking round the aquarium, which has a lot more than just tanks of fish, and after lunch in their roof-top café taking in the views of the Humber from the bridge to the sea, wandered over to the Maritime museum, which had by then opened.

After the Maritime museum it was a very short walk across the square to the Ferens art gallery and then from there down to the Hands on History museum in the former grammar school.

By now I had exhausted pretty much all that Hull could offer, so I wandered down to the station and caught the train out to the coast for the rest of the afternoon, stopping off at Bridlington.

After a while in Bridlington, including a very nice fish and chips dinner, I wandered back to the station and caught one of the last trains of the day back to Hull and to my room to pack.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Hull; Monday, 13 August, 2012

After an early breakfast it was time to check out of the hotel, walk the very short distance out of the door and onto the platform and my waiting train back to London and then on to work.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Sheffield; Saturday, 25 August, 2012

Despite leaving plenty of time to make it up into town, First Capital Connect conspired to ensure that there was a lot less waiting time at St Pancras than was healthy for my nerves.

An uneventful journey up to Sheffield on a very full train (one entire carriage was missing along with all the reservations that should have been in that, which created some issues). After arriving in Sheffield it was a short walk up the hill to the hotel to check in.

After checking in and dropping my stuff off I went for a walk around the city centre, taking in the main sights including the Winter gardens located next to the hotel and the outside of the Cathedral.

Unfortunately, the cathedral was already closed for the evening having shut up shop after the evening service, which had taken place a 3pm!

As the weather started to deteriorate I headed back to the hotel to dry off and then, when the rain finally relented a little bit, I headed out for a bit to eat, then back to the hotel for a quick drink and then bed.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Sheffield; Sunday, 26 August, 2012

I headed out of the hotel down to the station to catch the train to the Victorian spa town of Matlock Bath and its key attraction the Heights of Abraham.

As the train pulled out of Sheffield station it was still a pretty OK day, and it was still fine for the 25 minutes I was waiting on Derby station for the connection, but almost predictably, as soon as I stepped off the train at Matlock Bath the skies decided to open.

Thankfully I was able to find some shelter, but there were quite a lot of very soggy looking people walking past. After 30 minutes the rain eased down into a drizzle so it was less unpleasant to wait in the outside queue to take the cable car up to the Heights.

I spent most of the afternoon up on the Heights taking in the caves and the views before heading back down into Matlock Bath for a very late lunch in a riverside pub before hopping back on the train into Derby and then back up to Sheffield.

I arrived back in town in time to have a look around the Cathedral, which was open much later this evening, before it closed.

I then had a wander around the city centre for a little while, before grabbing some dinner and then heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Sheffield; Monday, 27 August, 2012

I checked out, left my bags with the hotel and headed out to the edge of town and the Botanic gardens.

I had a long wander through the gardens, including the spectacular greenhouse and the carefully restored (though thankfully not returned to original purpose) bear pit.

I wandered back into town and after lunch had a look around the former canal docks in Victoria Quays before heading back into the centre of city for a later afternoon coffee before collecting my bags and heading to the station and the train home.

Weather

Cloudy Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Windsor; Friday, 31 August, 2012

Given how long it has taken to get to some of my destinations in the past, it felt slightly odd that I was stepping off the train barely 60 minutes after leaving home. From the station it was a short walk up the hill past the castle to the hotel, and after a quick checkin and drop-off of stuff, I headed back out to take some photos.

I had a wander around the centre of Windsor taking in the castle and the small lanes nearby, and then wandered through the Royal Windsor Shopping centre, which used to be the central station, in fact it still houses a single platform for the shuttle train that runs to Slough, a shadow of its former self, but a fantastic Victorian building that’s had a new lease of life.

My meandering eventually brought me out by the Thames and the ancient town bridge over to Eton.

After taking quite a few photos I headed back into the town centre and grabbed a late night bite to eat before heading to bed.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Windsor; Saturday, 01 September, 2012

I had a long lie in and by the time I finally left the hotel it was already late morning. This turned out to have been a good idea as the early morning rush for tickets to the castle had already subsided and the next crowd were queuing up to watch changing of the guard rather than queuing up to buy tickets.

After a relatively painless queue (later in the day the queue was at least an hour long), I was into the grounds of the castle. I’d booked a ticket for the tour of the round tower terraces so I headed over there first. After the tour I descended back down to the castle grounds and started the general audio-guided tour around the site.

Again I appeared to have timed my day relatively well as the queue to get into the state apartments wasn’t too bad so I was able to get into there, and get round without too many other people also trying to see everything at the same time.

I had a long wander around the grounds that are open to the public before stopping for a late afternoon coffee and then down to St George’s Chapel to look around that.

With all the sites, that you are allowed to see, in the castle seen, I headed down through town to the riverside to catch one of the last river cruises of the afternoon for a pleasant 40 sail up and down a small stretch of the Thames.

After finishing the boat tour I walked over the bridge into Eton and found a nice pub a bit back from the river where I had a very pleasant dinner.

By the time I had finished dinner it was dark so I had a wander through the streets of Eton in the night before heading back over the river into Windsor and back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Haze Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Windsor; Sunday, 02 September, 2012

There had clearly been a big wedding reception that was being held in the hotel the previous evening as breakfast was very busy, taking nearly 5 minutes just to get a seat. After breakfast and packing I dropped my bags with reception, checked out and headed over to the castle and the starting point of the hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus tour.

The first part of the journey was taken in a light drizzle, but this quickly cleared and I was able to take advantage of the open top.

I did a full circuit of the route on both sides of the bus before hopping back off in the centre of Windsor for lunch.

I then walked out onto the Long Walk, the three mile walk that runs from the rear of the castle to the statue of George III on horseback placed there by his son (who didn’t see eye to eye with his dad, so it may explain the substantial distance).

Having taken in the long walk I wandered back into town and picked up the bus out to Runnymede located a couple of miles from Windsor, and the location, in 1215, of the signing of the Magna Carta.

After taking in the small monument and Runnymede, and the very pleasant riverside walk, I headed back into Windsor to pick up my bags and then head home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Bologna; Thursday, 27 September, 2012

A quick journey through Gatwick soon ground to a halt with the news that the flight was already heavily delayed, and the delay was slowly creeping later.

Thankfully, with some shuffling round of planes, it was only 90 minutes late by the time we finally set off from Gatwick and headed to Italy.

There was still a pretty hefty delay in getting the bags at Bologna and by the time the airport bus crawled through the late evening traffic jams into the centre of Bologna it was gone 8:30 and the last bus direct to the hotel had departed for the evening.

In the end I walked the mile or so from the central station to the hotel and checked in, then headed back out into the Bolognese evening to look around the city centre.

Having taken a large number of photos I headed back to the hotel for a well-earned nights rest.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Bologna; Friday, 28 September, 2012

With a stunning and sumptuous breakfast inside me I headed out into town to explore.

First stop of the morning was the Torre degli Asinelli and the hefty 500 odd step climb to its top and the stunning views it offers over the city centre, then down to the Piazza Maggiore to pick up the hop-on-hop-off open-top coach tour of the city.

I did two circuits of the route taking in the views before the service ended for its extended lunch break, which I took as a hint to grab a quick bite to eat myself.

Lunch consumed I headed over to the Cathedral to have a look around that before ticking off the Basilica di San Petronio and then wandering over to the land train up to the massive church of San Luca on one of the hills outside the city centre.

The land train runs alongside the Portico San Luca, the longest continuous portico in the world, as it makes it way up the hill.

Having looked round San Luca I picked up the last land train of the day back down into town, stopping to take in the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore, before finding a very nice Bolognese restaurant just behind the Piazza Maggiore for a very pleasant dinner before heading back to the hotel

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Bologna; Saturday, 29 September, 2012

Saturday started off badly as I discovered my camera was playing up and had decided it no longer wanted to take any photos so having trekked all the way into town I trekked all the way back to the hotel as I didn’t want to carry a heavy lump of uselessness with me all day.

Second attempt into the town centre, this time making use of the camera on my mobile to take photos, I headed over to the Basilica di San Domenico to have a look around.

By the time I had finished at the Basilica it was lunchtime so I found a very nice restaurant on the Piazza Santo Stefano and had a lengthy lunch before turning my attention to the seven church complex of Santo Stefano.

Having taken in all the sights of the various churches I wandered back through town to the old stock exchange building.

The building has been converted into a public library, and in the process they discovered significant Roman remains in the basement, which they have now turned into an exhibition.

I had a good look around the remains before going for an extended wander around the city centre building up an appetite until it was time to settle down for dinner

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Bologna; Sunday, 30 September, 2012

With my bags packed and left with the hotel I headed back into town for a final morning looking round.

First stop of the morning was the Archaeological museum and its stunning collection of Egyptian and Roman artefacts.

Then it was down to its sister museum a short walk away to look at its collection of Medieval and religious artefacts.

I had a final short wander around the city centre before it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and make my way back to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Stavanger; Thursday, 18 October, 2012

With just one flight leaving Gatwick after mine the airport was almost creepily quiet, with most things closing for the evening.

With the airport so quiet it was quite surprising to see so many people at the gate room when the flight was finally called.

All boarded and pushing back on time we headed off into the night sky and north towards Norway.

With a strong tailwind pushing us all the way, and a generous timing on the flight schedule we landed in Stavanger 20 minutes early.

A bit of a delay waiting for the luggage, but then through to an equally deserted Stavanger Airport.

As it was late I decided to take a taxi to the hotel. Had I know quite how close the hotel was, and that the 90 second taxi ride was going to cost over £15 I think I would probably have walked.

I checked into the airport hotel and went straight to bed, only to be woken 45 minutes later by a fire alarm which turfed everyone out of the hotel for about 15 minutes before it was back to finish off the attempt at a good nights sleep

Weather

No Data Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Stavanger; Friday, 19 October, 2012

I checked out of the airport hotel, stuffed with an excellent breakfast, and walked the short distance to the bus stop to pick up the airport coach into town.

Having dropped my bags off at the station I had enough time to wander down to the harbour to pick up the daily sightseeing tour boat up to the Lysefjorden.

The tour lasted about 3 hours and took in some spectacular scenery, including stopping to sample water straight from a Norwegian waterfall.

Arriving back into Stavanger I went for a long wander around the city centre, taking in the Cathedral and much of the area above the harbour in the Skagen area.

Then it was back to the station to pick up my luggage and head over to my hotel to check in.

After checking in and dropping off all my stuff I headed back out into town to look, unsuccessfully, for some dinner at a reasonable price, settling instead for a sausage from a 7-Eleven store by the Torget.

Then it was back to the hotel for a long, and uninterrupted, sleep

Weather

Cloudy Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Stavanger; Saturday, 20 October, 2012

A nice long lie in, followed by a massive breakfast, and by the time I finally staggered out of the hotel it was the other side of 11am.

First stop of the morning was the Stavanger Museum, and after spending quite some time looking round that I wandered around the corner to the slightly less impressive archaeological museum.

I went for a long walk through the Gamle Stavanger area. A collection of around 150 traditional wooden houses, which was originally destined to be demolished in the late 1940’s, but was saved and now forms a particularly picturesque part of the city.

Buried deep in Gamle Stavanger is a reminder of the areas former working past with the Norwegian Canning museum. It sounds like the kind of niche museum which wouldn’t justify a visit, but with the rain starting to really pelt down I dashed inside and spent a very interesting hour finding out not just about canning fish, but the importance that the fishing industry played in fortunes of Stavanger over the years.

With the weather improving slightly I finished off walking through Gamle Stavanger and then walked back around the edge of the harbour.

Having visited one museum that dealt with fish in oil it was now time to visit a museum that just dealt with the Oil.

With the vast reserves of Oil discovered off the coast of Norway in the 1960’s and early 70’s the country went from being one of the poorest in Europe to the richest and the Norwegian Oil Museum tells the history of that transformation, as well as having several interesting displays on what Oil actually is and how you get it from deep underground to the refineries and eventually cars.

By the time I left the museum it was getting dark and time to look for some dinner, so I had another failed attempt at wandering round town and was considering the £47.50 chicken with Cashew nut before deciding I’d rather just pay £4 for some sausages and be done with it.

Thankfully, breakfast had been so filling that by the time I’d finished the sausage I was feeling quite full.

A bit more of a wander around the town centre at night and then it was back to the hotel and my incredibly comfortable bed.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Stavanger; Sunday, 21 October, 2012

With yet another massive breakfast inside me, and another long sleep banked in the energy reserves I checked out of the hotel, wandered my luggage down to the lockers at the station and brought a ticket for the next train south to Sandnes.

Sandnes is located at the head of the Gandsfjorden, and the journey down on the train is along some stunning scenery. However, looking out the opposite side of the train its easy to see why the area is often referred to as Stavanger-Sandnes, there is no break in the urban environment.

I had a wander around Sandnes, which on a Sunday morning in late October was deserted. But from the head of the Fjord there were some stunning views.

However, there is only so long you can stare at a view so I wandered back through town and caught the bus back into Stavanger.

I wandered down to the harbour and had a long look around the spectacular maritime museum before heading up out through Gamle Stavanger and into the leafy back roads of the city to the museum houses at Breidablikk and Ledaal.

Having taken in both the houses I had about an hour to spare so I wandered very slowly back through Gamle Stavanger and around the edge of the harbour before heading back to the station to collect my luggage and then hopping on the airport coach back to the airport and the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Manchester; Friday, 09 November, 2012

I’d been at a conference in Manchester for the previous couple of days, so it was a very short walk after the conference ended from the hotel it was being held in to the slightly better hotel that I’d booked into for my holiday.

Given it was only 3pm, and I wasn’t actually on leave yet after checking in I fired up the laptop and did a couple of hours work, clearing through most of the emails that had come in whilst at the conference, and then on the dot of 5pm I logged out of the work email and shut down the computer.

As the weather had eased down a little bit to light drizzle rather than the heavy rain of a couple of hours previously I wandered out into town to have a look around.

I wandered in the direction of the Town hall and arrived there as they were in the process of switching on the city’s Christmas lights. Clearly the event had been going for some time, so I was a long way from seeing anything, though I did see the lights around me fire up.

There was a short fireworks display and after taking in that I had a long wander through the city centre, firstly taking in the area around the former central station and then eventually finding myself by the Cathedral on the other side of the city centre.

Having walked quite a long way I decided to be lazy and caught the tram back towards the hotel, stopping off to grab a bite to eat.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Manchester; Saturday, 10 November, 2012

With a very good night’s sleep, and a massive breakfast inside me I headed out from the hotel and took the short walk to Manchester Oxford Road station to pick up the train to Piccadilly (I was feeling lazy) and then the train out to Buxton on the edge of the Peak District.

As it had been quite late when I got up, and then even later by the time I had finished stuffing my face at breakfast, it was almost 1pm by the time the train finally made it into Buxton. I had a bit of a wander around the city centre, which has a striking resemblance to Bath, before walking through the Pavilion gardens and out to Poole’s Cavern, located out the back of town.

The cave system is spectacular with a series of amazing chambers and a river running through parts of it, not to mention some of the fastest growing stalagmites in the world.

Having taken in the caves I took the 20 or so minute walk up into the hills to the folly of Solomon’s Temple from the top of which there were stunning views over Buxton.

By now the sun was already starting to get low in the sky so I walked back down to Poole’s Cavern and then on back into town to have a final wander around before heading back over to the station and catching the train back into Manchester.

From Piccadilly station I caught the tram out to The Lowry at MediacityUK in Salford to pick up a ticket for the comedy show the following evening I’d booked to see, and then had a wander round the piazza in front of the BBC’s offices, with the slightly disorienting effect of watching a live BBC sport report on a big screen that was being broadcast from the studio immediately behind my back (but sadly the studio faces the windows so the cameras can’t see people going past).

Then it was back onto the tram to St Peter’s Square to take in the Town hall in a slightly more deserted form, including the slightly creepy giant lit Santa on the roof of the porch.

I walked back from the town hall towards the hotel through Chinatown, so as I was there I stopped off for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for another good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Manchester; Sunday, 11 November, 2012

A very lazy start to the day meant that by the time I finally left the hotel it was almost midday.

As it was such a lovely day I decided to head out of the city and up into the Lake District. A short walk from the hotel and I was on the platform at Oxford Road station with a couple of minutes to spare before the train north to Oxenholme and then on to Kendal.

I wandered down the hill into town and had a long wander around before following the guided walk up the side of the massive hill overlooking the town and to the ruins of the castle.

I had quite a long look around the castle before returning back into town for a very late lunch and then back to the station in the fading light to catch the train back to Manchester.

The journey up had been pretty smooth, and on a half empty train. The journey back was smooth, but did require changes in both Oxenholme and Preston and all the trains were absolutely heaving.

Back in town I headed over to the hotel, dropped my stuff off and then headed back out over to Salford for a night of comedy at the Lowry.

Virtually immobilised by laughter a couple of hours later I made my way back into Manchester and back to my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Manchester; Monday, 12 November, 2012

Waking up to a typical Mancunian morning with the rain beating down on the window, I had a fortifying breakfast, checked out of the hotel and headed out into the weather.

A very short, but wet, walk to the tram stop and out, again, to MediacityUK to visit the attractions in Salford Quays. First stop was the Imperial War Museum North and then after lunch there into The Lowry to see the exhibition and paintings of Salford’s most famous son.

From The Lowry I caught the bus back into the city centre and out to the Manchester Museum located in the middle of the university. It’s like a mini version of the British Library has crashed into a mini version of the Natural History museum with dinosaurs, mummies and a whole host of other artefacts.

I had intended on also visiting the city gallery, but I spent so long in the museum that by the time I went to leave they were already closing, so instead I had a quick bit to eat to fortify myself for the flight, picked up my luggage and headed into the Monday evening Manchester evening rush-hour.

In the end it was pretty much as awful as a London one, with every train delayed, nothing matching up to the indicator boards and complete confusion. Eventually a train arrived showing it was going to the airport (despite the platform indicator saying it was heading to Middlesbrough) so I risked it and got on.

20 minutes later I disembarked, thankfully, at the airport, rather than half way to Yorkshire, checked in and headed to the departures lounge.

Weather

Heavy Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Strasbourg; Thursday, 13 December, 2012

At the end of a long week (which had included long days on both the Saturday and Sunday) I was glad to get away from work on the spot of five, and thanks to having pre-brought my ticket the evening beforehand, 15 minutes later was speeding my way towards central London.

The train arrived at St Pancras and I walked the short distance from the Thameslink station over to the Eurostar check-in and after a very quick check-in and security check I slumped down in a seat at the bar in departures with a burger and a pint.

I barely had time to consume them before they announced our train as ready to board. I joined the throng of passengers heading to the train, and into a packed carriage.

On time, we pulled out of London and tore our way through the Kent countryside and down to the Channel Tunnel.

The train was fast to Gare du Nord, so we were able to run a little early, and we pulled in five minutes ahead of the scheduled time.

From Gare du Nord I walked the short distance to the Gare du L’Est and on to my hotel for the night.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Strasbourg; Friday, 14 December, 2012

After an OK night’s sleep and a good breakfast inside me I headed over to the Gare du L’Est to pick up my TGV across to Strasbourg.

A comfortable journey, albeit 15 minutes late, I arrived in Strasbourg, caught the tram into the city centre and walked the short distance to the hotel.

After checking in I went for a long walk around the city centre taking in several of the Christmas markets that dot the city at this time of year.

After a while I found myself at the Cathedral, so I had a look around that, and then took advantage of the tower to climb up it and take in the views of the city.

I had a wander down to the riverside and a bit of a walk along there, before hopping on a tram out to the European district where the Human Rights Court and the European Parliament are housed.

Then it was back into town for a quick bite to eat a spot of shopping in the Christmas market and then back to the hotel and an early night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Strasbourg; Saturday, 15 December, 2012

A massive breakfast and then out into town. First stop of the morning was out to the Jardin des Deux Rives and then onto the Passerelle Mimram an elegant footbridge across the Rhine that connects France seamlessly with Germany. It was here in 2009 that there was a symbolic welcoming of France back into the NATO family after many years of absence with a symbolic crossing of the bridge by the NATO leaders, only slightly overshadowed by Silvio Berlusconi taking a long call on his mobile and therefore missing the press call.

The bridge ends in the small German town of Kehl which I had a quick wander around before wandering over to the station and catching the bus back into Strasbourg.

I took the tram across town to the area of the Ponts Couverts, the old covered bridges and the fortified dam/extra large pillbox - Barrage Vauban. After taking in the views here I headed back towards town through the Petite France area, a number of small islands that help split the river L’Ill into several channels.

I ended up back by the ticket office for the boat tours that run around the city centre so I enquired about tickets. Even at three in the afternoon the only tickets left were for the 7pm boat, so I booked onto that and then had a bit more of a wander around the city centre.

I then caught the tram out to the former Citadelle which had been turned into a large park to have a look around there, before heading back into the city centre and a spot more shopping at the Christmas Markets.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the various Christmas Markets, picking up gifts for Christmas, so by 6pm I was pretty loaded down. Rather than cart them around with me for the evening on the boat tour I headed back to the hotel and dropped everything off, before heading back through town to the quay for the boat tour.

The tour should do a loop around the Island that the bulk of the city centre is on, before heading off up to the European institutions area. However, due to the volume of rain that had fallen over the previous few days the river was running very high, with large amounts of the water being channelled along the north branch of the river making it impassable under the bridges for the boat, so instead they went up as far as the Barrage Vauban along the southern channel before turning round and coming back, and then heading up to the point where the river empties into the Rhine canal, behind the European Parliament, Council or Europe building and the European Court of Human Rights.

By the time the boat arrived back at the quay there was just enough time to grab a quick late evening Crêpe from the Christmas Market by the Cathedral before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Strasbourg; Sunday, 16 December, 2012

I had arranged, the previous evening, to be able to have a late checkout, so I didn’t need to worry about dropping luggage off, or anything like that, instead after breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the university area to visit the city’s Botanical Gardens.

Unfortunately, when I got there I discovered that due to “Les conditions météorologiques” the gardens had been closed, until next March! So instead I caught the tram back out to the European Institutions district to have a wander around them in the light.

The massive (and some would say as it’s only used for about 12 weeks of the year – white elephant) of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg is the dominant building in the area. Nearby is the more restrained, although still odd-looking building of the European Court of Human Rights, and nearby the incredibly ugly building of the Council of Europe.

After looking around these I caught the tram back into town and had a little wander round before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my stuff, check out and head for the station and the train back to Paris.

Weather

Heavy Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Paris; Sunday, 16 December, 2012

I arrived at Gare de L’Est and headed into the Parisian rush hour to Les Halles and my hotel for the night.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I headed out for a bit of evening sightseeing. I had assumed that it was gone 6 on a Sunday evening it would be entirely from the outside, but I was about to be proved wrong.

First stop of the night, just a short hop on a packed metro from the hotel was Notre Dame. I had a walk around the outside and was amazed to find that despite the fact the cathedral was in the middle of Sunday mass it was still possible to visit as a tourist. I had a quick look around, but didn’t feel comfortable taking lots of photos whilst people were worshiping.

From Notre Dame I caught the metro round to the most famous of Paris’s landmarks, the Eiffel Tower. The tower itself is open until 23:45 at this time of year, but messages on the boards above the ticket desks warned of 45 minute wait for lifts to the top, and the queue just to get tickets was pretty massive, so I decided to keep my feet on the ground for tonight and instead take lots of photos.

Back on the metro and up to the Arc de Triomph. I had intended on just looking at the Arc, but on arrival I noticed that there were people not only standing directly underneath it but also on the top of it, so I found the subway under the road and to my astonishment found that it was open until 10pm, so I decided to purchase a ticket and take the 250 odd steps up the inside of the Arc.

There are a couple of small galleries on the way up that give a bit of information on the Arc, its construction and its history, but it’s a half-hearted attempt as they know the real reason people have visited is to get to the top for the stunning views. And I wasn’t disappointed. From the top of the Arc is possibly some of the best views of the city, with all the key monuments clearly visible, and at night beautifully lit up.

Having descended back down from the Arc I caught the Metro round to Montmartre and took the funicular up to the Basilique du Sacré Cœur. Again I was amazed to find that the church was still open, so I had a bit of a look around before realising that it was now well gone 10pm and time to head back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Paris; Monday, 17 December, 2012

I had a pretty massive breakfast as I intended on it lasting me most of the day, to avoid the temptation of snacking on Crêpes through the day (fat chance I knew, but it was worth a try). After checking out of the hotel and leaving my luggage with them I headed over to Notre Dame again, this time to climb to the top of the South tower.

Having taking in the stunning views from the Cathedral I descended back down to ground level and had a better look around the inside of the building as there wasn’t full mass going on. Then it was down into the metro and round to the Eiffel Tower, but not to climb it, instead I headed down to the river and took one of the many sightseeing cruises leaving from the pontoons down there.

After the sightseeing tour it was time to head up the tower and take in the views, and be amazed by how much people can get away with charging for a sandwich - €7, I decided not to bother!

Descending back down to ground level I started to walk back to the metro at Trocadero station taking some photos of the tower in the strange light that was enveloping it. If took a couple of seconds for the realisation that the reason for the strange light was the impending downpour that even now was starting to spit. I made a hasty exit towards the metro station, but even then I got pretty soaked by the downpour.

I caught the metro out to La Defence, the large area of corporate headquarters and skyscrapers on the edge of the city that ends the formal avenue that starts at Concorde and goes through the Arc de Triomph and on to La Defence.

Having found that it wasn’t possible to go up the Grand Arch that forms the key part of La Defence, and with the time rapidly starting to tick away I caught the metro back to the top of the Champs-Élysées and then took a bus down the length of Frances most famous street to Concorde.

I took quite a few photos at Concorde looking up the Champs- Élysées to the Arc de Triomph and on to La Defence and then it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my stuff, catch the RER round to Gare du Nord and check-in for my Eurostar back to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Hurtigruten; Sunday, 27 January, 2013

In the previous week Heathrow had nearly closed on several occasions because of a slight fall of snow, and consequently, the flight we were due to take had been cancelled the previous Sunday and twice more since, so it was with some trepidation that we checked in to a flight that was still 'on time'

In the end the flight did operate, but with the usual efficiency of Heathrow it was nearly an hour after our scheduled push back time that we finally started our take off roll.

An uneventful and smooth 90 minutes later the plane touched down in Bergen and after a swift run through baggage and customs it was onto the flybussen into town and the hotel.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Hurtigruten; Monday, 28 January, 2013

Several hours to kill in the morning, so first stop, after dropping off bags, was the Fløibanen to take in the views of Bergen, including the slightly disturbing sign of a Hurtigruten ship tied up in the harbour when there shouldn’t have been one there.

We had a wander through the Bryggen before stopping for a cup of coffee, also as a way of getting out of a particularly spectacular downpour.

As the rain didn’t show any sign of letting up we headed back to the hotel to collect our luggage and then headed down to the Hurtigruten terminal.

There we were updated that our ship was running fine without a problem, but there might be a slight delay as there was a ship moored up that was late back from repairs in Hamburg, and was supposed to have sailed the previous evening.

Eventually, 30 minutes after our ship was supposed to have docked at the end of its journey from Kirkenes, the other ship slipped its moorings and headed off into the rapidly setting sun.

In the end, as our ship was pretty empty, they didn’t need to delay the safety briefing or boarding that much, but cleaning and scheduled maintenance meant that we didn’t depart until about 15 minutes after we were supposed to. However, by then I was stuffed from the excellent evening buffet meal.

As Bergen faded into the distance I headed back to my cabin for some sleep…

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Hurtigruten; Tuesday, 29 January, 2013

…Sleep, unfortunately, was not something that was easy to come by as the boat pitched around in pretty rough seas, at one point almost ejecting me from my bed onto the floor.

Things must have calmed down eventually, as my alarm woke me at 7am. By then we should have been moored up in Måloy, but with the strong seas overnight we were running quite badly late and so instead of having an early breakfast watching the Norwegian coastline slip by, I had breakfast to the sight of the ship being loaded and unloaded in Måloy.

Thankfully, this proved to be a good thing, as shortly after leaving Måloy the ship entered open water, and it became pretty clear that this was far worse than that which we had encountered overnight. Those who had decided to take a late breakfast didn’t appear to be enjoying it that much.

Quite a few people had disappeared either to the sick bay or to various extremities of the ship by the time we finally left open-water and headed into the small port of Torvik. The ship was originally due to dock for 30 minutes, but running as late as it was, and with very little cargo to load and unload, we ended up departing after just 10 and headed up towards Ålesund, accompanied by an early lunch for those of us who had managed to keep breakfast down and felt up to it.

In Ålesund we went on a Hurtigruten arranged walking tour of the town centre, to take in the Art Nouveau buildings that characterise the town since it was rebuilt in 1904. Thankfully, the stop in Ålesund was quite long, so the ship was able to make up all the lost time by cutting short the visit length and leaving at its scheduled time to head on to the next short stop at Molde.

A pleasant and relaxing cruise across to Molde, but shortly after departure, and whilst dinner was in full swing, the ship entered open sea again. Whilst the rocking wasn’t as bad as in the morning, there were several people who decided not to complete dinner and head back to their cabins, or out onto deck.

About an hour after dinner we docked in Kristiansund, with an hours stop scheduled. However, as we would be docking again in daylight southbound, it was gone 10, and there was still about another 50 minutes of rough water left, I decided to turn in for the night and try to get to sleep before the heavy going started again.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Hurtigruten; Wednesday, 30 January, 2013

As to whether there was any rough water after leaving Kristiansund I wouldn’t know as the plan worked and by the time my alarm woke me up we were in the process of docking in Trondheim (albeit nearly 40 minutes late)

After a quick breakfast we joined the city sightseeing tour of the city to take in the views and the cathedral, before heading back to the ship to continue the journey north.

The first part of the afternoon was back up the Trondheimfjord that the ship had sailed down the previous evening, the spectacular views along this, the third largest fjord in Norway made it a very interesting section of the journey, culminating with the amazing Kjeungskjær Fyr (lighthouse)

About 90 minutes later, shrouded in an eerie mist, we entered the Stokksundet, a tiny passageway, barely larger than the ship itself, with a spectacular 90 degree turn part way through it, the ship treaded its way through the sound, taking all the skill of the captain.

After a couple more hours sailing (and dinner) we arrived at the second and final port of the day, Rørvik. Just a short stop here to let people stretch their legs and look at the southbound MS Nordnorge, before it was time to board again, and continue our journey north towards the Arctic.

Weather

Sunny Foggy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Hurtigruten; Thursday, 31 January, 2013

I’d set the GPS on my phone to wake me just before we reached the Arctic circle, but as it was still dark it was difficult to see the actual monument, however the ship sounded its horn at pretty much the same time as my GPS said we were crossing the circle, so that was confirmation enough. Then it was back inside for breakfast before the first stop of the day at Ørnes.

Overnight the boat had lost yet more time, so the already short stop in Ørnes became an even shorter stop, making up a fair amount of the lost time, the handily non de-iced gangway attached to the ship deterring anyone from wanting to go ashore.

From Ørnes it was a steady sail up the coast to the city of Bodø, punctuated by the visit of King Neptune to baptise all those who were crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time, and then out of spite baptise all of us who had snuck across the arctic circle before without having a ladle full of icy water poured down their necks.

Originally we had planned to just have a look around the city during the three hour stop, but on reading up about the place in the guidebook it was clear that during the winter months there wasn’t going to be much to see. At the same time the organised tour to Saltstraumen was short of numbers to enable it to go ahead, so we booked onto that, along with a couple of other people enabling the tour to go ahead. In the end it proved to be well worth it, partly as we got to see all there was in Bodø from a nice warm coach, but also as the views of the maelstrom at Saltstraumen were spectacular.

By the time we returned to the ship it was clear that the next leg was going to be busy as the café area was almost full with people making the four hour crossing over to the Lofoten islands. Given the previous couple of experiences, as it included a large stretch of open water, it was also likely to be a little rough.

In the end, the journey across the sea to the Lofoten islands was pretty calm, with a clear sky and lots of twinkling stars it did look like we might have been in luck for the Northern Lights, but just before we docked at Stamsund what looked, initially, like mist, turned out to be a very heavy and prolonged snow shower which lasted all the way through the short stop at Stamsund and the 90 minute sail across to Svolvær.

We arrived in Svolvær with the snow falling heavily, and already a large accumulation on the ground. This makes it all the more strange that a large group of us took the opportunity to go to somewhere even colder in the shape of the Magic Ice gallery of Ice sculptures.

We had about 45 minutes in Svolvær to have a look at the gallery and a little wander around town before it was time to get back on board and continue the journey through the night further north.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
0ºC/32ºF

Hurtigruten; Friday, 01 February, 2013

It was still snowing heavily as we had breakfast watching the people of Harstad port go around their business. I finished my breakfast just as the boat was pulling out of the harbour, so didn’t get the full enjoyment of those people still having breakfast when we went through a pretty choppy bit of water just outside the harbour.

A little further on and we finally reached the back edge of the snow and within minutes the scenery had changed from low clouds and snow to clear skies and a wide vista across snow covered mountains. About an hour later we docked at Finnsnes, which was still covered in snow, but in the glorious sun it appeared like a fairy tale version of a Norwegian town.

After a short stop in Finnsnes it was back on the boat and North again, this time to the capital of Arctic Norway, Tromsø.

There were a range of activities that had been arranged in Tromsø, including city coach tours and walking tours, but as I’d already had a couple of days in Tromsø a few years earlier I opted instead to go husky sledging in the countryside just outside of town.

We were met at the quayside by a coach from the centre which took us out to the Husky centre, about 25KM out of town. After kitting up in very warm snow suits we got into our sledges and went for a 30 minute ride through the countryside with the Alaskan Huskies clearly enjoying it as much as their human passengers.

After the ride there was a little time to meet some of the dogs, and then have coffee and cake in a traditional Sami tent before catching the coach back to Tromsø and re-boarding the boat.

We continued sailing north towards Skjervøy, and whilst we did, very faintly, the Northern lights started to appear in front of the boat. They were only very slight, a green trace that only really showed up on long exposure photos, but we had at least found some, the question was would there be any more before the end of the trip.

Weather

Heavy Snow Clear (Polar Winter)
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
0ºC/32ºF

Hurtigruten; Saturday, 02 February, 2013

Despite standing out on deck for nearly an hour, we didn’t see any more of the Northern lights last night, so it was with a bit of dismay that we were woken up at 6:45 by the ship nosily departing Hammerfest.

First stop of the morning was the town of Havøysund where there was just time to take a few photos before we continued north to Honningsvåg and an important excursion north, very north.

Honningsvåg is located at the southern end of Magerøya Island. The road runs up from here along the edge of the island to the Nordkapp, the North Cape. This is supposedly the northern most point of Mainland Europe. Given that the neighbouring Knivskjellodden is more than a kilometre further north, and that as it’s all on Magerøya island it can’t really be called part of the European mainland, it’s a bit of a dubious claim, but nobody else is disputing (or possibly has the money to build the tourist infrastructure to match) so it is to the Nordkapp that people come to say they’ve made it to the top of Europe.

The coach ride from the port was very interesting in itself across this frozen island, with metres deep snow, small isolated fishing villages, and for the last 13Km of the journey a compulsory convoy behind a massive snow plough.

For all the claims against it, the Nordkapp is incredibly remote, and with the sea cliffs feels like it is the end of something. The visitors centre includes the usual selection of “most northerly” – Post box, coffee shop, toilets etc. It also has a cinema which regularly shows a film of the North Cape during the different seasons which gives an impression of how remote this place is, and, more importantly, how spectacularly lucky we had been with the weather – clear blue skies (when the sun finally made it into the sky) and no wind.

After just over an hour at the Nordkapp it was time to head back across Magerøya to the ship and continue our journey, no longer northwards, now to the east, turning across the top of Norway and starting our descent towards the Russian border.

However, the wonderful weather had another surprise left in store for us, as several times during the evening, including during the middle of dinner, which everyone hastily abandoned, we were treated to the stunning Northern lights dancing across the sky, wrapping the whole view in a green glow with ribbons almost billowing in the solar breeze.

With the awesome power of the universe clearly demonstrated I went to bed, ready for the voyages turning point.

Weather

Clear (Polar Winter) Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Hurtigruten; Sunday, 03 February, 2013

After an early morning stop in Vadsø before breakfast the ship continued on its final leg into the port at Kirkenes. This has always been the furthest-most terminal of the Hurtigruten located in the borderlands between Russia and Finland – just 15 and less than 40 kilometres away respectively.

We had originally booked to go on a tour to the Russian border, but unfortunately, not enough people had signed up for it so it had been cancelled the previous evening. In the end this proved to be no bad thing as we were able to get the bus out to the spectacular museum in Kirkenes to have a look around that.

With the ruthless precision that nobody ever gives the Norwegians credit for (perhaps it’s the accompanying laid back attitude that make everyone think things just happen) the bus reappeared at the museum just before 12:15 and took us back, via the town centre to the Hurtigruten waiting at the quayside, ready to start the Southbound journey (albeit with a day’s sailing North to begin with)

Getting back on the boat was a slightly strange experience as many of the people we had been sailing with for the last 6 days had only been doing the short cruise, and had left the ship at Kirkenes to go to the airport and then home, and with only a handful of people joining the ship to do the 6 day Southbound cruise the boat suddenly felt a lot quieter.

The ship set sail on time, for once, and headed out across the mouth of the Varangerfjorden towards its next stop at Vardø, the most easterly point of Norway, further east than Istanbul or St Petersburg.

At Vardø there was enough time to have a look around the tiny, but perfectly preserved Vardøhus fortress made all the more pretty by the deep snow piled up in the moat and on the ramparts.

Whilst we had dinner the ship stopped at Båtsfjord and then a couple of hours later pulled in for a very quick stop at Berlevåg, then it was time to turn in for the night during which we would turn again and begin the actual journey South.

Weather

Sunny Clear (Polar Winter)
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-5ºC/23ºF

Hurtigruten; Monday, 04 February, 2013

Whilst we were having breakfast we briefly stopped off again at Havøysund and then passed the Versterålen heading north.

First main stop of the day was Hammerfest, a town which had grown almost out of recognition since my last visit in 2008. Since then the Liquid Natural Gas terminal has opened on the outskirts of town and along with gas the money has really started to flow into town. Row upon row of modern blocks have been thrown up in the intervening years, along with a new cultural centre and lots more housing. This was all clearly visible from the coach tour that we did of the town, and even more so when it went to the viewing point on Mount Salen.

What was also obvious was a distinct change in the weather, with a biting wind dropping the already low -7C to an icy -25C with the wind-chill. Thankfully, we were only out of the coach for a couple of minutes at the two stops – Mount Salen and the Meridian Column. The tour dropped us back at the boat just before departure time and with the last passenger back on board we slipped our moorings and moved back out of the harbour.

With the icy winds and choppy seas we ended up being nearly an hour late by the time we finally reached Øksfjord, and what was supposed to be a short stop was extended by problems loading the cargo, so we were still quite late when we headed off out into the open sea towards Skjervøy.

We were originally due into Skjervøy at the same time as dinner was due to start, but with the delays we sat down to dinner in the middle to quite a breeze with waves crashing over parts of the ship, on several occasions the windows of the restaurant got a soaking, and that is three floors above the waterline. However, for everyone who had been through the previous Tuesdays crossing between Måloy and Tørvik, this was just a mild swell.

Sjkervøy was again supposed to be a quick turn around, but ended up taking longer than the booked stop, so we headed out towards Tromsø quite a long way behind schedule and the midnight concert in the arctic cathedral rapidly being pushed back closer to 1am.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-7ºC/19ºF

Hurtigruten; Tuesday, 05 February, 2013

In the end we finally docked in Tromsø a little before 12:30 and with a quick coach transfer the excellent concert started a short while after. With the time built in for overruns and with the lights in the coaches favour the whole way back from the Cathedral the boat finally departed Tromsø a bit after 1:45, only just 15 minutes late.

After a good night’s sleep and a late breakfast I was out on deck in time to watch the ship tread its way through the spectacular Risøyrenna channel, a 100 wide and just 7m deep dredged channel which enables the Hurtigruten to thread a path through the waters to serve the Vesterålen islands rather than taking the more inland route near Narvik and missing out both the Vesterålen and Lofoten’s

Then it was a short 90 minute cruise to Sortland, the capital of Vesterålen, where I had a brief wander around town before hopping back on board for lunch and the sail south to the founding home of the Hurtigruten – Stokmarknes

At Stokmarknes there was time to look around the Hurtigruten museum and the preserved D/S Finnmarken. When I visited several years ago, whilst travelling on the 1990’s built MS Nordlys, the Finnmarken did look incredibly dated and of another world. Compared to the MS Lofoten, it looks like she’s only just come out of service; it was quite striking the similarities (including a very similar deck layout) between the Finnmarken and my home for the last 9 days.

After Stokmarknes there was a demonstration out on the deck from the chef into how to properly prepare a salmon, including the opportunity to sample some different ways of marinating or serving the fish.

We then headed for the, supposedly, spectacular Raftsundet. Unfortunately the weather was closing in fast with the snow clouds almost enveloping the ship so it was difficult to see more than a few meters around the boat, though it was very obvious that the cliffs had come an awful lot closer!

Given there was nothing to see the captain obviously decided rather than cruising through the Raftsundet at a leisurely pace, allowing people to take in the views he went through at the maximum permitted speed and we arrived into Svolvær nearly 30 minutes early.

I had a long wander around the centre of Svolvær, but at 6pm on a very snowy Tuesday evening, apart from other Hurtigruten passengers, the town was deserted, so I eventually returned to the ship ready for dinner on departure.

After Svolvær we stopped at Stamsund for a short while, before heading out into the very choppy waters of the Vestfjorden for the overnight journey to Bodø.

Weather

Misty Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Hurtigruten; Wednesday, 06 February, 2013

By now I had clearly developed my sea legs as I had a very pleasant night’s sleep, in spite of the ship moving around quite a bit. At breakfast it was clear that about 80% of the passengers had also become at one with the ship, the other 20% were looking as rough as someone who has spent most of the night in the throes of bad sea-sickness.

Just before 9:20 most people went out on deck, into the glorious morning sunrise, and stood there as a single mournful blast on the ships horn saluted the monument to the Arctic Circle and we crossed the invisible line and out of the Arctic region. This was followed by the “traditional” southbound ceremony of having fish-liver oil; I think I preferred the ice cubes down the back on the northbound leg!

First daylight stop of the morning was at Nesna for a few minutes, and then we continued on our journey south, the weather noticeably having improved from the previous biting winds and snow. Just before lunchtime we arrived at Sandnessjøen and had an hour’s stop, so there was enough time to get off the ship and have a little wander around the town.

As the stop at Sandnessjøen coincided with the start of lunch most people were back on board the ship just over half way through the stop to continue the daily grind of consumption of vast quantites of food.

Leaving Sandnessjøen the ship route goes past the mountain range known as the seven sisters, which helped to remove the chill wind that had been blowing across us all morning. This accompanied by the beautiful sunshine saw a sudden rash of deck chairs being erected on decks still glistening with ice.

The beautiful sunshine lasted until the stunning sunset that made the mountains glow red and the sea shimmer pink as we slowly glided into Brønnøysund just before 4pm. I had a wander around the town and took a few sunset pictures before it was time to head back to the boat and continue south to the accompaniment of the 'Captains Dinner'

After dinner we docked again at Rørvik, with the northbound ship arriving just after us. There was an opportunity to look around the Northbound ship, the Richard With. I’d been on an almost identical ship back in 2008, the Nordlys, but I had forgotten quite how enormous they are compared to the tiny Lofoten (though they are themselves dwarfed by modern day cruise liners)

As we left Rørvik and headed for a 2 hour crossing of open sea I settled down to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-5ºC/23ºF

Hurtigruten; Thursday, 07 February, 2013

After a very disturbed night’s sleep, with several really choppy bits of crossing overnight, I had to get up early as I was booked to go on the walking tour of Trondheim, which was due to leave at 7:30, so it was a very quick breakfast, and then down onto the quayside.

The walk was very interesting, with a lot more of the city centre seen than on the coach tour the previous week, though the slippery conditions made it quite hard going, and meant that we had to hurry the last part of the tour to make sure we made it back to the ship in time for its departure.

We then had another long sail up the Trondheimfjord, the same stretch of water that we had covered just over a week ago, before the ship reached the end of the fjord and turned south heading towards Kristiansund. As this was going to be quite repetitive the crew livened things up for us by flooding our cabins.

Overnight they had identified a series of piped which had frozen whilst we had been travelling and with first light had set about defrosting them, unfortunately a combination of a 50 year old ship and over-enthusiasm ensured that the piped unfroze in the predictable manner by bursting. The ensuring spurting water seeped into a couple of cabins, mine included.

To be fair to them, the second they realised what was happening they stopped and then set about making sure the cabins were sorted. It meant that for the last night on the ship I had a beautifully shampooed and steam dried carpet.

I had a quick wander around Kristiansund when we moored up and decided, in the daylight, that it was a much nicer town than I had thought in the dark. Then it was back on the boat for a pretty rough open sea crossing, during which time most people were making a start on packing their bags, and were consequently regularly out on deck trying to stop themselves feeling seasick!

Dinner started just as we cleared the open sea so was a calmer affair, if significantly depleted. As far as Kirkeness the whole restaurant had been full each night. It had thinned out a bit after Kirkeness, but not at much as had happened after Trondheim, almost half the spaces were free!

The late evening stop was in Molde for 45 minutes so I had a wander around town for a while, then came back to the ship to finish packing whilst the boat was static and then headed to bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-5ºC/23ºF

Hurtigruten; Friday, 08 February, 2013

It was lucky that I turned in relatively early as I, along with most people, were woken around 3am as we rounded the West Cape into particularly rough seas for about 30 minutes, with the whole boat rocking and pitching around until it made it into the shelter of the islands around Måløy.

During breakfast we made the final stop at Florø, and then slipped our moorings for a final time to start the 6 hour sail round to Bergen and the end of the cruise.

As it was a full ship booked from Bergen in the evening they asked us to vacate our cabins by 10, so most of the morning was spent either sat in the café or out on deck, the weather having become really rather pleasantly warm in the sun (though still bitterly cold as soon as you caught any wind).

Just before 2 the sides of the islands, which had previously been dotted with occasional summer houses gave way to more intense levels of housing and a short while later the urban sprawl of Bergen came into view.

For a ship that, at times, had been over an hour late, we tied up at Bergen exactly on time. After disembarking and collecting our luggage from the terminal it was then a short walk back up the hill to the Scandic hotel to check back in for the evening.

Having dropped everything off we went for a wander around Bergen, ending up at the aquarium with plenty of time left before it closed to have a look around.

A quick stop for a bite to eat, and then, quite early, but needed to bed in a room that didn’t move around and didn’t have the sound of an engine throbbing away underneath it all night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Hurtigruten; Saturday, 09 February, 2013

After breakfast and checkout we wandered down into town and picked up the trolley bus out to the cable car.

When I’d visited Bergen previously the Cable car had been out of action due to high winds, but today with a clear blue sky and barely a breath of wind it was running, albeit incredibly busy with people taking it to the top of Ulriken mountain to go skiing.

Having taken in the views from the top we descended in a considerably less packed car and then back into town. A quick wander round to the Bryggen museum and a stop for a cup of coffee, then the Håkon Hall and the fortress museum before running out of things to do as by that point all the museums were closing, but there were still several hours before we needed to be at the airport.

We caught the funicular back up to the top of mount Fløyen and popped into the restaurant up there for a late afternoon snack and hot chocolate. Fløyen was, if anything, busier than Ulriken with skiers and winter hikers so it took some time to get the funicular back down, which thankfully killed the final amount of time that we had so it was back to the hotel to collect luggage and then over to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Braga; Friday, 22 February, 2013

As it was an early flight I’d stayed overnight in a hotel attached to the airport so I was able to meander across to check-in after a hearty breakfast at a more reasonable time. However, all the timesaving in the world could have proved useless as it was starting to snow as I left the hotel, an in Southern England that means only one thing – major disruption.

For once, the snow wasn’t having too much of an impact, as less than 15 minutes after clearing security, and a full hour before departure time, the gate number came up, and by the time I’d meandered over to the gate boarding had already commenced.

In reality they had been hoping to get us all on board early, which they achieved, as we had a good 15 minute divert at the airport to a holding pen to be thoroughly doused with de-icing fluid, which given the build-up of snow on the wings, nobody was complaining about.

Thankfully with a strong tail wind and generous timetabling on easyJet’s side we arrived into Porto a few minutes early, but sadly not early enough to enable me to make either the once every three hours direct coach to Braga, or the Metro into Porto that left 10 minutes later. Instead I had a 25 minute wait at the airport before getting the Metro into town, which then left me with just 8 minutes to make the connection to the train out to Braga.

When I got to Campanhã station, at the same time as a spectacular cloud burst, there was a massive queue for tickets and I did think that my chance of making even the train an hour later were looking dubious, when I then spotted the ticket machine that nobody appeared to want to use, so I got my ticket out of that and made the train with about 30 seconds to spare.

I was quite surprised that at half one on a Friday afternoon the train was quite so full. Full enough that it was over half an hour before I finally managed to get a seat. Having arrived in Braga, with the skies threatening another spectacular downpour, I caught a taxi over to the hotel, getting into my room at the same point as the heavens opened again.

When the rain finally abated about an hour later I wandered out of the hotel to have a look around the city centre, stopping off at the Cathedral and visiting the Museu Pio XII and the medieval tower. I’d been having such a nice wander that I’d failed to notice what the weather was doing, and it was only as I started to head back to the hotel that I noticed quite how dark the sky had become. In the end I nearly made it back to the hotel, getting within 100 yards of the hotel when an absolute downpour started at full speed – none of this increasing intensity from a light drizzle, it was straight into full monsoon.

It was still chucking it down an hour later after I had dried off, so I decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant, rather than heading out into the weather again.

By about 9pm it had stopped raining so I went out for an evening walk and to take in more views of the city, before heading back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Braga; Saturday, 23 February, 2013

When I woke up and looked out of the window I did have to wonder if I’d been transported to another city overnight. The sky was crystal clear, or that which I could see without being blinded by the amount of sunlight pouring in through the windows.

After a leisurely breakfast I headed out of the hotel and had a wander through the city centre, taking in the sights before heading over to the site of the Roman Baths, arriving shortly after they opened for the day.

I had a look around the Baths, and the neighbouring archaeological museum before going for a long wander around the city.

Having stopped for a quick cup of coffee overlooking the Praça da Republica I picked up the bus out to the stunning Bom Jesus do Monte.

Access to the site is either by funicular railway (which was on a lunch break when I arrived) or by walking up the amazing Escadaria do Bom Jesus with its chapels, water fountains, and stunning views over the city centre.

I had originally thought it would be a walk up the staircase and I’d be back down for the bus 90 minutes later. However, after 90 minutes I had only just gotten to the top of the staircase having stopped so regularly to take in the views and to look at the different chapels and water features.

By the time I’d finished taking in the church and sights at the top of the stairs it was getting into the late afternoon, so I stopped for a very late lunch/very early dinner at the café on the edge of the staircase, with its view out over the surrounding countryside. Bathed in the late afternoon’s sunshine and warmth, and with good food and a cold beer I very nearly had to walk all the way back down as I was in danger of missing the last funicular back down to the bus stop. Thankfully, I made it with a bit of time to spare.

Back in town I had a further wander around before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Braga; Sunday, 24 February, 2013

I had another leisurely breakfast, albeit in a completely deserted restaurant with only the waiter for company then checked out leaving my bags with the hotel.

I had a long wander around an almost completely deserted Braga. The city is one of the most conservative, and Catholic in the country and early on a Sunday morning it did appear that absolutely everyone was at mass.

I eventually ended up around the back of the Cathedral just after midday as the morning mass was coming to an end, and at that point, as several churches emptied out, the city centre suddenly came alive with people other than tourists wandering around.

I walked over to the other major Roman ruins in the city, which should by now have been open, but due to a technical fault their door was jammed shut so they were unable to accept visitors.

By now it was starting to cloud over quite rapidly and I was left with a choice. I could continue to wander around the city centre for another 40 minutes or so before heading to the coach station and taking the bus back to the airport, or go straight to the station and catch the train back into Porto.

Given that it did look like it was going to pour down with rain soon, and that the train was quite a bit cheaper than the bus I decided to head over to the hotel, pick up my things and wander back to the station.

In the end the cloud lifted again so it didn’t rain, but with a comfortable seat the whole way this time I was able to take in the stunning views of the Northern Portuguese countryside from the train on the way back into Porto.

Getting to Campanhã station in Porto I had around 10 minutes to make the connection for the half-hourly metro to the airport, which would have been fine if all the ticket machines had been working, but there were only two and the queues were quite long. In the end, for the second heart stopping time in two days, I managed to get the ticket out of the machine, slap it against the validator and leap onto the now waiting metro with a second or so to spare before the doors closed.

A 40 minute ride later I arrived at the airport, checked in, dropped by bags off and headed for the departure gates.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Palma de Mallorca; Wednesday, 13 March, 2013

As it was an early flight from City I had booked into the Ibis Budget hotel near the airport so that I could get a good night’s sleep and wouldn’t have to try and get to the airport through the morning rush hour.

Within about 5 minutes of checking in I discovered that the first aim may have been defeated as the toilet continued to slowly drain from the cistern into the bowl long after the flush had been pressed. It didn’t appear to want to stop, but it did want to make quite an irritating dripping water noise, that was clearly audible in the whole room.

I saw the guy on reception and he looked at his computer, bit his bottom lip and apologised that the hotel was completely full so he’d try and come and fix it.

After 10 minutes with the screwdriver in the tanks behind the room (now I know what all those fire doors in the corridors in hotels between rooms contain!), during which time I had checked on line and confirmed that every other hotel within a three mile radius of the airport was also full, he confirmed that it was “knackered” and the drip couldn’t be stopped.

He said to wait where I was for a moment and zipped back downstairs, reappearing a couple of minutes later with a new key card – whilst the hotel was fully booked, not everyone had turned up yet so I was moved rooms and the last person to check in tonight (assuming they arrived) would be getting the water torture.

Weather

No Data Heavy Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Palma de Mallorca; Thursday, 14 March, 2013

After a decent night’s sleep, helped by not having the sound of a dripping toilet filling the room, and a quick breakfast, I headed out of the hotel and over to the airport. Having stayed overnight near the hotel, and given it was City, which prides itself on its short check-in times, I left it quite late so it was only 45 minutes before the flight that I dropped my bags and joined the incredibly long queue for security.

Thankfully, the queue did move relatively quickly, so that I was sitting in the lounge 20 minutes before the planned departure time, and early enough to see the nine (yes they were that specific) minute delay go onto the flight.

With a quick boarding we ended up pushing back just on nine minutes late and headed out for one of the world’s most impressive take-offs over the Thames, Docklands and City of London. After some bumpiness over the Thames estuary we settled into the flight with a full cooked breakfast, which thankfully had all been cleared away again when, somewhere over the Pyrenees we hit some really bad turbulence which had everyone diving for the nearest seat if they were stood up.

The worst only lasted a few seconds and it couldn’t have been more than about 5 minutes of bouncing around, but it felt like a lot longer. We were all quite glad when the captain announced we were on our descent into Palma and would be on the ground within 20 minutes.

After a painfully slow queue for passports and a long walk through the airport I arrived at the baggage belts to see my luggage already coming round, so it was a quick collect and through to the bus into town.

Having dropped off my stuff at the hotel I headed back out, starting by walking into town along the sea front and then, near the cathedral, picking up the open-top sightseeing bus. I did two circuits of the route (one on each side) to take in all the key sights, by the end of which I was feeling quite cold so I wandered back to the hotel to warm up and to collect my jacket that I had hung up in the wardrobe thinking I wouldn’t need it.

I wandered back into town and had a long walk around the city centre, partly as it was starting to get late trying to find a restaurant that was open, without much luck. In the end I had given up and was walking back to the hotel when I came upon a street full of restaurants which were all in the process of opening.

After a very filling meal I walked the short distance back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Palma de Mallorca; Friday, 15 March, 2013

Still feeling slightly full from the previous evening I topped up the food levels at breakfast before heading out from the hotel and over to Poble Espanyol to have a look around that.

Having looked around there I had intended on catching the open-top bus one stop up to the Castell de Bellver, but as it was such a lovely morning I stayed on all the way back into town, bathing in the warmth and sun.

In town I visited the Royal Palace and the Cathedral, pausing between the two for a traditional Spanish long lunch. I then had a long wander through the labyrinth of small roads and alleyways of the old town, stumbling almost by accident upon both the Arabic Baths, so I had a look around them, before heading back to the bus stop near the Cathedral and finally taking the bus up to the Castell de Bellver.

I clearly hadn’t timed my visit particularly well as within a couple of minutes of arriving at a deserted car park, getting my ticket and walking towards the entrance nearly 20 full coaches crested the hill into the grounds and started to disgorge tour group after tour group.

In the end I spent quite a bit longer than I would probably have done at the site, just because it took so long to see anything, though I probably saw more than the tour groups, each of which was brought in round and out in less than 20 minutes flat. I spent longer than that just standing on the roof of the main building captivated by the stunning views over the Bay of Palma.

The car park was still a mess of badly parked coaches when I got back, just in time for the City Sightseeing bus to arrive and then very loudly on his horn point out to one of the coach drivers that he was parked in a bus stop (I didn’t know those open-top buses had such loud, or aggressive horns!) As he threaded his way back out of the car park, blasting his horn at every coach that attempted to reverse out on him, the bus driver proved who was in charge.

I got off the bus at the stop nearest to the hotel and walked back to drop my stuff off and freshen up.

A bit later, refreshed, I walked the short distance back to the street I had discovered the previous evening and fell upon the menu of a tapas restaurant devouring quite a lot of what was on offer.

Sated, and fit to burst, I staggered back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Palma de Mallorca; Saturday, 16 March, 2013

Having consumed quite so much it really wasn’t much of a surprise that I didn’t have a particularly great night’s sleep. Not helping was the knowledge that I wanted to be up relatively early.

After a rushed breakfast I headed out of the hotel to the bus stop and caught the normal bus into town, making it to the train station for the Tren Sóller with about 5 minutes to spare. I caught this amazing train out through the Majorcan countryside, up into the mountains and then down to the town of Sóller.

There I changed onto the connecting tram down to the beach and harbour at Port de Sóller. I had a long wander around the place, stopping for a mid-morning ice-cream and a coffee. At the time I thought I had probably made a mistake by coming straight down here, as I was too early for lunch at any of the countless restaurants all set with stunning views over the harbour and the snow-capped mountains.

I caught the tram back into Sóller and had a brief wander around town before hitting the beautiful main square and finding the countless restaurants there, all ready for lunch. I had an amazing platter of local specialities (local cheese, hams, bread, olives and peppers) washed down by some stunning fresh lemonade made with the local lemons that hang on every tree that isn’t an orange tree in the valley.

Stuffed, for not the first time on this trip, I continued having a wander around this stunning town, stopping at the station to take in the two excellent, and free, exhibitions of work from Picasso and Joan Miró. Then it was a longer wander through the town to the botanical gardens.

After looking round the gardens I was left with a decision to make. There was a bus back to Palma in 20 minutes time that would take a stunning route up along the coastline and then through the mountains, but I had no idea where it left from, or I could wait about an hour and catch the train back to Palma.

I decided to have a wander round the edge of town to head for the station, just in case I came across a bus stop. The wander worked slightly more spectacularly and quickly than I was expecting as I turned down a street and instantly came across the bus station.

The ride through the mountains was stunning with mountain top town and coastline hugging roads that were very reminiscent of the Amalfi coast. By the time I arrived back into Palma the light was just starting to fade, so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up.

As I still felt full from lunch (and probably the previous evening’s dinner) I went for an evening wander, but steered clear of the street with all the good restaurants in it, before heading back to the hotel for what I hoped would be a better night’s sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Palma de Mallorca; Sunday, 17 March, 2013

Breakfast consumed I checked out of the hotel and headed into town for the day.

First stop of the morning was the modern and contemporary art gallery Es Baluard. The gallery has been built within the walls of the former Saint Peter Bastion using both modern concrete and the original stone walls of the fortress. It makes for an amazing building with the modern and historical merging into one.

Having spent quite a long time looking round the gallery, and taking in the views from the roof, I headed down into town and caught the bus out along the coast to the resort town of S’Arenal to have a look around.

I’d had an idea of what the place might be like, and it didn’t fail to keep up to my pretty low expectations.

I had a bit of a wander around and then took the land train the 5KM or so along the prom to the preceding resort of Can Pastilla, having a quick look round there before catching the next train back.

By now the skies were becoming increasingly threatening, and it was fast approaching the time I needed to start making a move towards the airport, so I cut my losses and caught the bus back into the centre of Palma and walked back to the hotel.

Having collected my luggage I walked down to the road by the side of the marina and picked up the airport bus there, thankfully early on its journey so I was able to get a seat, unlike the people who got on in the centre of town.

I arrived at the airport about 20 minutes before checkin was due to open so I stopped at a café for a very late lunch before heading to the checkin desk and starting my journey home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Hythe; Friday, 12 April, 2013

An amazingly smooth journey came to a grinding halt within touching distance of the end. The journey across London had been smooth, and I’d made the train at St Pancras with a couple of minutes to spare. Everything had been running smoothly until the train ground to a halt a couple of hundred yards from the end of Folkestone West station.

A major signal failure (which on checking later was still causing problems for the last train of the night), had taken out the signals and the train couldn’t progress any further.

After sitting there for about 15 minutes the decision was taken to reverse us back up the line to the previous station of Sandling, “detrain” us all and put us on buses.

The first element worked OK, with the train getting back into Sandling relatively easily. We all disembarked and walked to the car park for the replacement bus, at which point the guard, having checked the train was empty, got back on the train and it shot off back to Ashford leaving us all stranded.

20 minutes later there was still no sign of any replacement bus, and no sign of anyone from SouthEastern wanting to take responsibility, so I gave up and phoned for a cab.

By the time the cab arrived there still hadn’t been a bus to take people on, so I was rather glad that I’d acted unilaterally (although in the knowledge that SouthEastern were going to refuse point blank to refund me).

Having checked into the hotel and dropped my stuff off I went for a wander along the sea-front and then wandered through Hythe, partly to take in the place, and also to see if there was anywhere to get dinner.

However, just as I was starting to consider options there were the first drips of rain and a look at the sky implied that if I wanted to remain dry I might want to consider the hotel as an option.

I managed to get to within 100 yards of the hotel before the cloudburst started. Thankfully I wasn’t too soaked, but it was clear over the next couple of hours that I’d made the correct decision to eat in the hotel as the wind whipped around the hotel lashing rain in all directions.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Hythe; Saturday, 13 April, 2013

There’s something very comforting to be curled up under a big warm duvet whilst rain hammers at the windows and the wind howls round the outside of the building. That’s increased even more when it’s accompanied by the sound of the English Channel smashing into the beach just a few yards away. Consequently I had a wonderful night’s sleep and after a stunning breakfast was ready to face the day fully refreshed.

I caught the bus into Folkestone and had a look around the town centre, catching the funicular railway down to the beach and having a wander through the old town before heading back to the bus station and catching the local bus out to the site of the former Air base at Hawkinge.

This base was the closest one to Dover and the front line during the Battle of Britain. Today virtually the whole site has been developed into a housing estate, but one small corner with a couple of hangers and a few Nissen huts still remains as a museum to those brave men and women of the RAF who protected the country during its darkest hour.

After looking around the museum I caught the bus back into town and then picked up another bus to go up onto the top of the North Downs and the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel le Ferne. With its cliff-top position looking out to the coast of France and the Horizon, from where wave after wave of Luftwaffe planes headed towards England during those desperate months in 1940, it’s a moving site. The simple memorial of a pilot sat looking out to sea, and a single wall with the names of those airmen who gave their lives being a sobering reminder of how much people had to fight to retain their freedom.

The weather was deciding to enhance the melancholy mood by closing in around the site as I sat having a cup of tea in the visitors centre with the first sleety drops of rain buzzing round in the air.

From the memorial site I caught the bus on into Dover and then another bus up to the entrance to the castle.

By the time I got to the castle the weather was rapidly deteriorating into heavy rain accompanied by a biting wind ripping in off the channel. I had a bit of a wander around the castle and took in both the keep and the underground tunnels before giving up and heading back down into town to catch the bus back to Hythe.

Crossing back over the North Downs near the Battle of Britain Memorial the weather deteriorated so much that it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front so the bus slowed to a crawl over the top of the downs.

Back in Hythe with the weather settled down into a thin penetrating drizzle I headed back to the hotel to dry off, warm up and have dinner, before another pleasant night’s sleep listening to the weather scour the rear of the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Hythe; Sunday, 14 April, 2013

Despite the weather forecast claiming it was warm and sunny they clearly hadn’t taken the readings for this corner of Kent as I looked out of the hotel room at a grey and overcast sky that was still slowly eking damp over Hythe.

After breakfast and checking out I walked through town in a light drizzle to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway station to catch the train out to Dungeness.

I had a long wander around Dungeness, which is a truly strange location, the seemingly endless shingle beach, the multiple lighthouses, the lunar like landscape, and the whopping great big Nuclear power station.

I climbed up the old lighthouse to take in the views, which were sadly not more than a mile or so due to the weather. After descending I popped into the Britannia Inn for a spot of lunch.

On emerging from the Inn it was difficult to tell if I was still in the same place. In the space of 45 minutes the clouds had completely cleared and instead there was a stunning blue sky. Whereas before I could barely see more than a mile into the gloom I now could clearly make out the coast of France, the downs coming down to meet the sea between Folkestone and Dover and in the opposite direction what looked suspiciously like Beachy Head some 30+ miles away.

I caught the train back to New Romney and had a quick wander around, before realising that the station is stuck quite a long way away from both the beach and the rest of the town, so I had a look around the museum and model railway before catching the next train on to Dymchurch.

There it was much easier to get out to the beach, albeit the beach having disappeared under a very high tide, but with the sun beating down it was a really pleasant afternoon to have a stroll along the prom with an ice cream.

I wandered back to the station and caught the train back into Hythe, managed a very quick connection onto the bus back the three stops (lazy I know) to the bus stop near the hotel, walked down to the hotel, picked up my stuff and was back at the stop in time to pick up the bus 30 minutes later into Folkestone.

The bus arrived a few minutes early into Folkestone so I had enough time to make the seven minute walk to the station and catch the train an hour earlier than I had planned. Settling down into the seat, this time actually heading between Folkestone and Sandling in the correct direction.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Leicester; Friday, 26 April, 2013

The morning rush hour had been an almost total wipe-out because of the main signalling centre being evacuated due to fire alarms. I’d struggled into work with my luggage on a heaving bus and consequently was quite pleased I’d booked a train after 7pm from St Pancras as it would give me sufficient time to get up there.

By the time I left work shortly after 5pm there were still some major delays occurring, nearly 12 hours after the initial incident, but thankfully the trains were in a sufficient enough mess that I caught one to St Pancras almost straight away, and whilst it dawdled through South London and took nearly an hour to do what should normally take 30 minutes I was still at St Pancras with time to spare.

I grabbed a light bite to keep me going in the Pret in the 20 minutes I had spare before my train left, then wandered up to the platform and headed north.

In only a few minutes longer than it had taken to get the 9 miles from Croydon the train managed the 100 miles up to Leicester, arriving a few minutes early.

A short walk from the station and I found myself at my hotel. After checking in and dropping my stuff off I headed out into town for a brief wander around, before finding a curry restaurant, for which the city has a justified excellent reputation, and a delicious evening meal.

Feeling a little bloated I headed back to the hotel and to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Leicester; Saturday, 27 April, 2013

Having topped my stomach back up to bursting on the buffet breakfast I waddled out of the hotel and across town to the bus station to catch the bus out to the first attraction of the day, the castle at Kirby Muxloe.

If I’d been slightly more awake when I’d been planning the morning I might have noticed that the castle wasn’t actually due to open until the following Saturday. Consequently I got all the way to Kirby Muxloe to find that the castle was closed. However, given its location on an island in a lake it’s possible to see much of the castle, and get some very good photographs, without actually going inside.

From Kirby I caught the bus back into Leicester and then picked up the bus back out to Ashby de la Zouch to look around the castle there, which was open.

I had a long wander around the castle, made longer still by needing to dive for cover as a torrential hail storm passed through, and then went for a bit of a wander around town.

I was considering spending more time looking around the town, but with the bus back to Leicester due and the sky looking like it wanted a rematch on getting me soaked I decided to head back to the bus stop, and within seconds of getting onto the bus the skies once again opened and another torrential hail shower thundered down.

By the time I had gotten back to Leicester you wouldn’t have believed that it had been so foul. With a clear blue sky and warm sun it felt like a proper summer afternoon.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre, taking in the Jewry wall, St Mary and St Nicholas churches and the Cathedral.

I was wandering back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out to dinner when the weather finally managed to get the better of me as the skies opened whilst I was crossing the large open space in front of the Magazine gate. By the time I had made the cover of the university buildings just 30 or so yards away I was soaked.

After drying off and freshening up I wandered back into the city centre and found another really good restaurant and topped the stomach back up to full

Weather

Heavy Hail Showers Heavy Hail Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Leicester; Sunday, 28 April, 2013

After a slightly disrupted night’s sleep, almost exclusively put down to eating too much good food, I compounded the issue by having another large breakfast.

Having checked out and left my bags with the hotel I wandered over towards the Cathedral to take in one of the most recent additions to Leicester’s tourist attractions. Looking at a car park might appear a little bit of a strange sight, but given it was under this car park that archaeologists discovered the remains of the last King of England to die in battle just a few months earlier it puts it a bit more in context.

Nearby is the medieval guildhall, and there they were holding an exhibition on the dig and the background to both Leicester at the time and why a Kings remains ended up where they did.

From the guildhall I wandered over to the Newarke Houses Museum and Gardens to have a look around them, and then, as they had a sign advertising it was open for just that day, the Castle hall building.

Having stopped for a very late lunch I wandered back in the direction of the hotel to take in the New Walk museum and Gallery.

By the time I left the gallery, shortly before it was due to close, there was just about time to have a late cup of coffee before heading back to the hotel to collect my things and then wander back to the station, past the statue of one of Leicester’s more famous son’s and another Travelling Tom, Thomas Cook.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Ayr; Thursday, 02 May, 2013

Whilst I’ve been booked on late flights before, I’ve never been booked onto the very last flight of the night, so it was a weird experience wandering through a Gatwick Airport that was quite as deserted as it was.

Thankfully with the previous flight having already left, and all the shops and restaurants already closed, there was no danger of us having a late get-away and sure enough as soon as the gate number was flagged up everyone in the departures lounge stood up and wandered in the same direction.

From the almost balmy climate of Gatwick it was a bit of shock when 90 minutes later I emerged from the terminal building at Glasgow into a cold drizzle and walked the short distance to the Holiday Inn and my bed for the night

Weather

No Data Slight Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Ayr; Friday, 03 May, 2013

Refreshed and with a large breakfast in me I walked the couple of yards from the hotel to the bus stop and caught the bus into Paisley, which the proceeded to wander around the back streets for so long that it would probably have been quicker just to have walked.

I had a cup of coffee in Paisley before heading up to the station and catching the train south to Ayr. At Ayr I walked through town in a mild drizzle to the hotel and checked in.

Having checked in I decided, having checked timetables and directions to head out to Dundonald castle near Troon.

The first part of the journey to Troon was OK, but in increasingly bad weather I wandered down to the bus stop to wait for the bus to Dundonald, only to find, when it appeared slightly further down the road, that despite the bus stop having the timetable up, the bus didn’t actually stop there, but round the corner and far enough down the road that there was no way I was going to make it, and with only one bus an hour, and the next one not getting me to the castle until after last entrance for the day, I decided to abandon all attempts and trudged back to the station, soaked and not particularly happy.

Back in Ayr I had a bit of a wander around the town, but the weather was slowly getting even worse, so around 4:30 I decided to give up, wandered back to the hotel and had a very long hot bath to warm up.

As dinner time approached the rain changed from torrential to cataclysmic so I decided not to bother going out and instead had dinner in the hotel. However, shortly after finishing dinner I looked out of the window and noticed that it had finally stopped raining and the sun was starting to break through the clouds, just in time to produce a stunning sunset.

I grabbed my jacket and camera and headed out to take some photos and have a much drier wander around town.

After a good hours wander I came back to the hotel, had a quick drink in the bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Ayr; Saturday, 04 May, 2013

After the awful weather the previous day, the most noticeable thing when I drew the curtains was not only the blue sky, but the visible presence of Arran out in the Firth of Clyde which has simply been shrouded in weather the previous day.

Having had an early breakfast I walked down to the station hopped on a train to Kilwinning and then changed there onto the train to Ardrossan harbour and the ferry to Arran.

From the ferry terminal I caught the bus that ran round the southern half of the island to take in the stunning views. In theory this bus connected in Blackwaterfoot with the bus doing the northern half of the island, but as to be expected with public transport in the UK the bus was late, the connection didn’t wait and I had 40 minutes to wait in Blackwaterfoot for the next bus going anywhere.

After a brief picnic lunch on the sea front the next bus arrived which was taking the direct route back to the capital, Brodick, across the centre of the island over the main road – The String. Whilst it wasn’t what I had been originally planning I was very quickly happy I had been forced to take this bus as the views as it climbed into the mountains of the centre of the island were stunning.

Back in Brodick I had a quick wander around town, before catching another bus out to the visitors centre at Cladach to have a look around the Isle of Arran Brewery.

From the brewery I wandered over to the castle to have a look around there, before it was time to catch the bus back into Brodick and make my way back to the mainland and Ayr.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Ayr; Sunday, 05 May, 2013

I’d had to get up early the previous day, so with breakfast being served later I took the opportunity to have a bit of lie-in.

After breakfast I went for a short wander around the town centre before heading over to the bus station to catch the bus out to Culzean and the castle there.

The Castle, gifted to the nation by the Kennedy family after WWII is set in stunning grounds, which have been turned into a country park.

I spent virtually the whole day wandering around the park and castle taking in all the sights.

There was so much to see that in the end I had to miss a few things just to be able to make the irregular bus back to Ayr.

I had a bit more of a wander around Ayr, looking for somewhere to have dinner, before realising that on a Sunday evening there wasn’t anywhere, not even the fast-food restaurants which had all closed, so I headed back to the hotel and had dinner there

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Ayr; Monday, 06 May, 2013

Having checked out and left my luggage I walked the couple of yards from the hotel to the bus stop and caught the bus out to the small harbour town of Dunure, a few miles south of Ayr.

Dunure is home to an impressive set of castle ruins (a former home of the same Kennedy family as Culzean) and I had a good look around them and a wander around town, before heading back to the bus stop and catching the bus part way back into Ayr to the town of Alloway.

Alloway is to Scotland what Stratford-upon-Avon is to England. Birthplace of Scotland’s most celebrated son Robert Burns, the town has embraced Burns in much the same way that Stratford has Shakespeare.

The whole town is Burns focused, from the Birthplace cottage, through the impressive museum to the Poets Walk, the Auld Kirk, Burns Monument and even the Brig O’ Doon.

I spent several hours in the town taking in all the Burns sights, before heading back into Ayr for a final wander around the town and brief spot of exercise taking the Lang Scots Mile walk along the seafront.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and head for the Airport and my flight home.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Banbury; Friday, 17 May, 2013

A quick run across town from work and despite the best efforts of First Capital Connect I made it to Marylebone just before my train got its platform number, which was important as I managed to get a comfortable seat before the full crush load of people boarded a few minutes before departure.

The train was fast to Banbury so barely an hour from leaving Marylebone I was disembarking and heading across town to the hotel.

Having dropped my stuff off I headed out into town for a long wander, taking in the key sights before grabbing a late bite to eat and then back to the hotel and the giant comfy bed in my room.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
13ºC/55ºF

Banbury; Saturday, 18 May, 2013

I had a late breakfast and then headed out into town to take in the key sights of Banbury. Unfortunately after the Cross, the market, the canal and the small museum there wasn’t too much more to see, which given I had another day and a half to fill was a little concerning.

Taking a risk I caught a bus out to the small Cotswolds village of Hook Norton to have a look around the Hooky brewery museum and see if I could get on a brewery tour.

Unfortunately the tours were all booked for the day so I could only have a look around the small museum and try a tasting of a few beers.

I caught the bus back into Banbury and then walked over to the station to catch the train into Oxford, just down the line, where there were more things to do.

From the station I jumped on one of the hop-on-hop-off open-top tour buses that run round the city centre to take in the main sights.

After doing a full circuit I got off in the centre of town and had a bit of a wander, taking in Balliol College.

Having spent quite a bit of time wandering around town I caught the last open-top bus of the day back round to the station and picked up the train back to Banbury, thankfully managing to catch the last train for some time as everything else was delayed or cancelled due to problems back up the line.

I had a bit more of a wander around Banbury before stopping for dinner and then back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Banbury; Sunday, 19 May, 2013

Another late breakfast, and taking it almost to the wire with checkout time I left my bags with the hotel and wandered back into Oxford for the day.

I went on a very interesting walking tour round some of the Colleges and the Bodleian Library before heading over to the castle to have a look round that.

After going on a tour of the castle, and taking in the views from the top of the original Norman mound I caught the open-top bus back to the station and headed back to Banbury.

Of course, if this had been Germany there would have been left-luggage lockers at the station where I could have stored my bag during the day so that I could then have picked it up and gone straight out on the next train, but unfortunately it isn’t (though the train company is owned by Deutsche Bahn!) so instead I had a 15 minute walk across town to pick up my bags, and then walk the 15 minutes back to pick up the train.

I’d thought by going for a train around 6pm that had started in Birmingham might have made it a little emptier than if I’d gone for the slightly later one that would have started in Stratford-upon-Avon shortly after Shakespeare museum kicking out time. It probably was, but it didn’t feel that way as I squeezed myself into the last window seat for the journey back.

At the next and final stop, Bicester the heaving platforms confirmed that the train back was going to be as cosy as the train out.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Katowice; Thursday, 23 May, 2013

With a very early flight I’d decided to stop overnight at the Ibis near Heathrow so that I didn’t have to get up quite so early. So at a little after 5:30, bleary eyed I stumbled from bed into the shower and 25 minutes later, only slightly more awake out of the hotel and down to the bus stop for the next bus into Heathrow.

After having to let two full buses go I eventually squeezed onto one of the last night buses of the morning and headed into the airport, packed between a couple of other bleary eyed travellers and the 6:30 shift at the airport.

Having checked in the previous day it was a quick bag drop, security and then breakfast, during which nearly an hour before it’s departure time, and with only a sip of coffee drunk, that my flight flashed up as boarding.

I wandered down to the gate and waited for 20 minutes before they actually started the process of boarding us onto the bus out to the plane.

An uneventful flight later we touched down in Warsaw where I collected my bag, wandered up to departures and checked it straight back in again through to Katowice. I had a couple of hours to kill at the airport so I had a wander down to the café furthest from my next flights gate for an early lunch so that I could kill some more time wandering back to the gate afterwards.

The flight was called and the 20 or so passengers collected at the gate. We were put onto a transfer bus, normally used to holding 80 or 90 people, and bussed out to the small propeller plane parked out of sight of the airport building.

A second uneventful flight of the day and we were down in Katowice. A very smooth journey through the airport meant that I was outside the terminal building with my bag less than 10 minutes after the plane had come to a stand, and more importantly, in time to catch the shuttle mini-bus into Katowice.

The bus dropped me off near the hotel. After checking in I wandered out into town to have a look around.

I had a bit of a wander, but it soon became clear that Katowice isn’t what you might describe as a pretty city, or with that much to see. After about an hour wandering I headed back to the hotel to grab dinner and then an early night to make up for the very early start.

Weather

Heavy Showers Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Katowice; Friday, 24 May, 2013

I had a long lie-in and by the time I’d had breakfast and headed out of the hotel it was already gone 11.

I went for a bit of a wander around the town centre, trying to see if there was anything worth visiting. I visited the Silesian museum and spent a fair amount of time taking in the exhibitions there, before heading up to the Cathedral to look round.

A bit more of a wander around the town presented a couple more nice churches and a decent park, but there was very little to keep me in the centre so instead, after a quick consult of the guidebook, I headed down to the station to catch the train into the town of Opole.

The main site worth visiting, according to the guide book, was the only remaining tower of the former castle for the stunning views over the city that were available from the top.

Unfortunately, the tower itself was closed for renovation, but I still had a pleasant afternoon wandering around the pretty streets of the town, taking in the riverside views and the very pretty restored Rynek.

After a quick pit-stop for a snack in one of the many bars facing the town hall I headed back to the station to pick up the train back to Katowice.

Given it’s only just over 100Km from Opole to Katowice the train took over two hours, so it was already dark by the time I got back to Katowice.

I wandered back to the hotel, and after a quick drink in the bar turned in for the night.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
16ºC/61ºF

Katowice; Saturday, 25 May, 2013

Another late start and very filling breakfast. I headed out of the hotel and over to the Rynek to pick up the tram out to the Park of Culture and Recreation.

The massive park covers 620 hectares and includes lots of attractions. I started off by catching the tram up to the very top of the park to visit the ethnographic museum.

After looking around that I had a long wander back through the park until I eventually reached the Zoo towards the southern end of the park.

I went into the zoo and to begin with it all appeared pretty OK, but part way round I started to have real qualms about it, several of the animals were pacing backwards and forwards over small areas in their cages, most noticeably the single elephant and one of the two brown bears.

Even more concerning was the visible rib-cage in the rather thin looking lion, which could just have been the zoo ensuring it was having a diet closer to what it would get in the wild – I suppose a really tubby lion would possibly be even worse – but it didn’t add to the general feeling of unease about the zoo.

With the weather starting to close in a bit I decided to head back into town and finished off walking through the park to the tram stop.

Within a few seconds of boarding the tram a massive shower came down that made me very thankful that I had left the zoo when I did. By the time I got back into the city centre it had calmed down to a light drizzle, but the threatening clouds made it clear it was only a brief rest bite, so I decided to head back to the hotel, arriving a couple of minutes before another cloudburst.

After the weather finally calmed down for the night I headed out to find a bite to eat, then it was back to the hotel for a nightcap before turning in.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Katowice; Sunday, 26 May, 2013

I had another long lie in and a late breakfast, so by the time I had gotten back to my room it was time to pack and head out on my way.

After checking out I wandered back through town to the station, arriving with about 20 minutes to spare before the train. However, this is Poland and from previous experiences I should have realised that the train was likely to be late.

In the end it was almost 15 minutes late leaving Katowice, so I wondered how late it was going to be by the time it had completed its three hour trek across central Poland

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Warsaw; Sunday, 26 May, 2013

…Unbelievably, the train made up all the time that it had lost, and by the time it pulled into Warszawa Centralna station, next to the Moscow departure it was actually a minute early.

I walked the short distance from the station to the hotel and checked in.

Having dropped my stuff off I headed back into town to have a wander around and take in the sites, including climbing back up St Anne’s Belfry as I had done when I first visited Warsaw.

With spots of rain in the air I had a wander around the old town for a bit, finding myself in the Rynek as the drips of rain started to get harder. I was forced to seek shelter in an accommodating bar at the side of the square and sit out the downpour with a pint.

By the time the rain had finally cleared it was starting to get late so I had a bit more of a wander around the old town, taking in the city walls and Barbican before heading back towards the castle to try and find somewhere to eat.

I found what looked like a very nice restaurant service traditional Polish cuisine and took a seat. Where I then sat for half an hour trying to get served, even making eye contact with a number of the staff, but to no avail, they clearly didn’t want to serve (they were ignoring quite a few customers).

Frustrated I left to find another restaurant, where I had a very nice meal, and spent the time between courses composing a short, sharp and pointedly negative review of the first restaurant to post on TripAdvisor.

Sated both for food and revenge I headed back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Warsaw; Monday, 27 May, 2013

The original plan had been to just have a wander around town for a couple of hours before heading off to the airport. Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken into account how dire the weather was going to be.

I took advantage of a short break in the downpours to head over to the central station and pick up the hop-on-hop-off (thankfully with its open top covered for the day) bus to go on a tour of the city.

By the time the bus made it back an hour later the weather had deteriorated even further so I stayed on and went round another time taking in the sights from the opposite side of the bus.

On the second arrival back at the central station the rain had temporarily eased off to an unpleasant drizzle so I quickly wandered round to the Palace of Culture and Science to take in the views of the city from the top of the tower.

Thankfully the clouds had lifted enough to get some OK views for a little while, but then the cloud rolled in again so I headed back down.

I caught a tram into the old town and carefully leaping between cover made it to a café near the castle where I had a late lunch watching people getting soaked.

Around 3 the cloud suddenly parted and the sun started to shine, so I took that as a hint to make a move back to the hotel to collect luggage and then head out to the airport.

I was thankful I’d taken the hint as a few moments before reaching the railway station the skies opened again. It was still chucking it down a couple of hours later as the plane took off into a monsoon on its way back to the relative dry of the UK.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Birmingham; Thursday, 06 June, 2013

I’d had a meeting in Leamington Spa all day, so it was a pretty simple journey from Leamington the 30 minutes or so into Birmingham, and then a very short walk from Snow Hill station to the hotel the other side of the Cathedral gardens.

Having dropped my stuff off I headed out for a wander around town in the glorious sunny evening.

I had a long wander around the centre of Birmingham taking in the area round Victoria Square and then heading over towards the canals at Brindley place.

After a long wander I headed back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat and an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Birmingham; Friday, 07 June, 2013

After a leisurely breakfast I walked down to New Street station to catch the train out to Shenstone and from there walked the two miles or so out to the small town of Wall.

Today just before you enter Wall you pass under the M6 Toll motorway, and then the A5 road before reaching the main street running through the village, Watling Street, following the same path it has since the Romans built it to link Rutupiae to Viroconium (Now Richborough near Sandwich, Kent and Wroxeter in Shropshire). Clearly still the best route to get from the South East of England to the north of Wales.

The reason for visiting Wall was to have a look at the remains of the Roman staging post that sat beside Watling Street. Today just parts of the Bath house and a Mansio have been uncovered but even these small remains give an idea to the importance of this route.

I had a bit of a wander around Wall hoping that I could find the bus stop for the bus on into Lichfield as I didn’t really fancy the two mile walk back in the hot sun, but just as I spied it in the distance the once every two hours bus sailed passed me and the bus stop. So instead I retraced my steps back to Shenstone and the train back into Birmingham.

After a quick lunch stop in Birmingham I headed back out the opposite side of the city towards Stourbridge Junction and then on the tiny train that runs down the hill into Stourbridge Town, I had a bit of a walk around Stourbridge, but there wasn’t that much to see, and I was only killing time until the bus for the final leg of my journey onto Kinver was due.

I got off the bus in the centre of Kinver and walked the mile or so out to the Rock Houses at Kinver Edge.

Having had a look around the rock houses I had a bit of a walk along Kinver edge and up to the little church that is perched spectacularly overlooking the town centre. I then walked back down into town just in time to miss the bus back into Stourbridge, so I stopped for a pint at the pub just by the bus stop.

I caught the next bus into Stourbridge and wandered over to the station to catch the train back up the hill to Stourbridge junction and then on into Birmingham. Unfortunately, the train had developed a fault so they had cancelled all the services for the foreseeable future, so instead I wandered back to the bus stop and picked up the bus back into Birmingham, which took quite a bit longer, but did at least give me a chance to see some different bits of the West Midlands.

On the plus side, the bus dropped me back even closer to the hotel than the train would have done. After a quick freshen up I wandered out into Birmingham to find dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Birmingham; Saturday, 08 June, 2013

It wasn’t that long after Breakfast that I realised I should have gotten up a little earlier as the journey out to Dudley proved to take a lot longer than I thought it would.

By the time I finally arrived in Dudley it was already well gone 12, and by the time I made it down to the Dudley Canal Trust I had missed the 12:30 tour of the Dudley tunnel, so I stopped there for an early lunch before taking their 13:00 tour.

Thankfully, the Canal Trust has an entrance into the back end of the Black Country Living Museum, my next stop of the day, so I didn’t have to walk quite a long way back round, and in fact found myself straight away in the main part of the site.

I had a long wander around the museum taking in all the sites, and going down into one of the surviving drift mines underneath the museum.

In the end, there was so much to see at the museum that I ended up having to leave when they closed the museum for the night, which meant it was too late to visit the neighbouring Dudley Zoo. Instead I caught a bus up the hill to the bus station and changed there onto a bus back into Birmingham.

After dinner in town I had a late evening walk around the centre of Birmingham, taking in the quite scary sights of Broad Street on a Saturday night with people paralyticly drunk at barely 10pm staggering alongside a canal where there was no rails to stop them falling straight in, though none did.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Birmingham; Sunday, 09 June, 2013

Having checked out of the hotel I walked over to Brindley place and picked up one of the narrow-boat tours that leave from there to cover part of the Birmingham canal network. My tour headed North out of the city towards Wolverhampton, taking in the Oozells loop which has been redeveloped into one of the smartest parts of the city and the almost abandoned Icknield Port Loop that is now only accessible by boat as the towpaths have become so overgrown and the buildings so derelict that it’s closed to all other access.

The tour finishes by returning to the city centre going through the Broad Street tunnel and the link between the BCN and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, doing an impressive three point turn at the MailBox and then coming back through the Broad Street tunnel to its mooring point.

I had a bit more of a wander around the canal area, before stopping for a late lunch, and then heading back over to Victoria Square to pick up the open-top sightseeing bus.

The tour took in most of the centre of Birmingham, as well as the Jewellery quarter and the very picturesque suburb of Edgbaston.

By the time the bus made it back to Victoria Square it was time to wander back over to the hotel, collect my luggage and head for home.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Groningen; Friday, 21 June, 2013

I’d booked a half day’s leave so I could get an earlier flight to Amsterdam, and as usual it was a struggle to make sure I got away from work on time. Only 20 minutes after I should have been on leave I finally managed to get out of the building and head to East Croydon station.

I had a smooth journey down to Gatwick, and up until about 45 minutes before the flight was due to depart everything appeared to be running smoothly, then for no given reason the flight suddenly went to being 45 minutes delayed, which is a pretty big delay on a 60 minute flight.

We were eventually called to a gate 20 minutes after we were supposed to have departed, and by the time we finally pushed back it was nearly an hour late, though BA did have a pretty compelling reason, the plane we should have been on had developed a technical fault and they wanted to use a working plane instead!

An uneventful flight saw us land on a runway at Schiphol airport that was probably closer to Rotterdam than it was to Amsterdam. Doing at least 30 mph the plane still took over 15 minutes to get to the gate, and once there it was another 20 minutes’ walk through the terminal building to get to immigration and baggage.

Having collected my stuff I wandered down to the train station to wait for my train to Groningen.

Over 3 hours after landing at Schiphol I finally disembarked the train at Groningen and found a taxi to take me to the hotel.

It was thankfully a very quick checkin and then straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Groningen; Saturday, 22 June, 2013

I had a nice long lie in and then a leisurely breakfast before heading out of the hotel and wandering into town, heading first off for the Grote Markt in the centre of the old town

In predictable form the first place I headed to was the tower of the Martinikerke to take in the views over the city. Then after a quick pit stop sitting in the Grote Markt recovering from pounding up and then down 150 odd steps, I had a look around the church itself.

With the weather looking like it was about to change I headed back over towards the station to pick up the canal tour of the city. I managed to arrive with a minute or so to spare before the first of the afternoon’s heavy showers pounded down.

The tour itself was quite interesting, but with the commentary only in Dutch and German I didn’t understand most of it. Though how many people heard much of it when the rain was pounding on the glass roof of the boat is another question.

After completing the tour I walked the short distance over the bridge to the Groninger Museum, only getting slightly soaked on the way. I had a long wander around the museum taking in the different galleries and stopped for a very late lunch/early dinner in the café.

The skies looked like they were clearing, and with about five hours of daylight left; I decided to catch the train out to the nearby coastal town of Delfzijl.

About halfway through the train journey it became apparent that the weather hadn’t cleared as first a bank of dark cloud approached and then dumped another massive downpour on the Dutch countryside. By the time I reached Delfzijl it had reduced to a grotty mixture of fine drizzle alternating with short periods of heavier rain, whipped up by a stiff breeze coming off the land rather than the sea.

I had a bit of a wander around by the beach and the seafront, and after a little while it did start to clear, with even a speck of blue sky appearing, around the same time that the mists cleared to reveal Germany a few kilometres away across the channel. I walked back through the centre of town to the train station and got there a few minutes before the next hefty shower made its presence felt.

By the time I got back into Groningen it was starting to brighten up again, or as much as it can in the last hour before sunset, so I walked back to the hotel, had a quick drink in the bar and then headed to bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Groningen; Sunday, 23 June, 2013

Another long lie in and a very late breakfast meant that I missed the worst of the morning’s weather and it was almost sunny by the time I left the hotel.

I walked into town and had a wander around the flea market in the Vismarkt before having to make the first of several dives for cover as a short, sharp and very cold shower passed over.

Having missed that I wandered over to the North Eastern corner of the old town to have a look around the gardens of the Prinsentuin and then wandered back to the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum and had a long look around there, carefully missing several more cloudbursts in the meantime.

By the time I left the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum it was late afternoon and I had by now exhausted all of the attractions available in Groningen, so I wandered over to the railway station and picked up the train south to the town of Zwolle.

The train journey managed to help me avoid another stiff shower and by the time I arrived in Zwolle it had turned into a very pleasant sunny afternoon.

I had a long wander around the town, sadly I’d arrived a little too late to visit anything as all the museums and attractions had already closed for the evening, but that didn’t matter as the pretty town centre was worth the visit just by itself.

Having seen most of the city centre I was trying decide whether to stop for dinner here or head back to the station when I noticed the massive black cloud rising on the horizon. I decided to make a fast saunter to the station to catch the train back to Groningen, and about 5 minutes after arriving at the station was rewarded with the biggest, and longest, cloudburst of the day, with the pounding rain lasting most of the hour long journey back to Groningen.

On arrival back in Groningen it had dried up again, so I had a quick dinner in the centre of town before wandering back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Groningen; Monday, 24 June, 2013

With a final big breakfast inside me I checked out of the hotel and walked back to the station to pick up the train to Schiphol.

After putting my bags into a luggage locker at the airport I caught the train on into Amsterdam for the couple of hours I had left before my flight back to the UK.

I had a wander around the centre of the city, taking in Rembrandtplein and the area around Dam before heading over towards the station and catching the tram out to the recent developments on the reclaimed islands in the IJ.

I had a bit of a wander around IJburg before it was time to head back to the centraal station, catch the train back to Schiphol and my flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Llandudno; Friday, 28 June, 2013

A very hectic day at work meant that despite making it very clear I had to get away by 5pm it was still nearly 5:20 when I finally managed to get out of the building and head over to the train station.

With barely an hour to make my connection at Euston it was touch and go and in the end I very nearly didn’t make it. Thankfully, the train had been late boarding due to delays earlier in the day, and consequently as four minutes late, which was just enough for me to make it.

The train proceeded to pick up even more delays due to a broken down train at Berkhamsted and then track problems around Crewe so by the time we finally pulled into Manchester we were 25 minutes late, not that I was complaining.

I walked the short distance from the station to the hotel, checked in and then turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Llandudno; Saturday, 29 June, 2013

After a very long lie in, I checked out of the hotel and headed back to Piccadilly to pick up the train out to Llandudno.

The train left Manchester pretty full and, thanks to the races at Chester, proceeded to become packed out as it travelled on. Thankfully, virtually the whole train exited at Chester so for the last 70 minutes or so the train was significantly more comfortable.

I walked from the station to the B&B, checked in and then headed out into Llandudno. First stop, the open-top sightseeing tour.

After taking in the full tour I went for a wander through the town, along the sea front and then finally out along the pier.

By now the wind had started to really pick up so I headed back to the hotel to warm up before heading out for dinner.

After an extended dinner, due to a very busy, and very slow, restaurant, I went for another wander along the sea front before heading back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Llandudno; Sunday, 30 June, 2013

A large breakfast inside me I headed out of the hotel and up the street to the tram station to catch the Great Orme tramway up to the summit.

If I thought the previous evening had been windy it was nothing compared to the minor gale that was blowing on the top of the Orme. Thankfully it was a pretty warm wind, so it wasn’t that cold, which was good given I’d gone out in a T-shirt and shorts.

I had a long walk over the top of the Orme and then walked down to the Great Orme Mines to have a look around them before heading back up to the summit for a very late lunch.

I caught the tram back down into town and then picked up the last tour of the afternoon along Marine Drive which skirts around the edge of the Great Orme.

Back at the pier I headed out on one of the boat trips to take in the stunning views of Llandudno and the Great Orme, with the backdrop of the Snowdonia mountains behind the town.

Back on land I had a long wander through town before heading back to the hotel to change into something warmer for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Llandudno; Monday, 01 July, 2013

After a late breakfast and checkout I headed out into a clammy damp mistiness that had enveloped Llandudno.

I had intended on taking the cable car up to the Great Orme, as it hadn’t been running the previous day due to the winds, but it looked as though the winds on the top were still pretty strong as everything was shut up.

Instead I had a bit of a wander in the area around the cable car station – Happy Valley, before heading back into town to pick up a bus.

As the day was looking pretty grim, I decided I’d just do some sightseeing from the comfort of a bus seat, so hopped on the bus in Caernarfon.

From Caernarfon I picked up the bus out to Llanberis at the foot of Snowdon, which was shrouded in a very heavy mist, and picked up the Snowdon Sherpa service there.

The Sherpa buses run throughout the Snowdonia national park, linking together key walking sites, but along the way offering stunning views of the park and the various peaks. The bus I picked up visited Pen-y-Pass and Capel Curig before dropping me off in Betwys-Y-Coed.

I had a bit of a wander around Betws-Y-Coed, but then it was time to pick up the bus back over to Llandudno to start making my way home.

If my outward journey had been fraught, I feared the same might be happening to this leg as the bus was a couple of minutes late arriving, and then after only about 5 minutes of its journey it pulled into the forecourt of a local petrol station to top the tank up.

In the end, I managed to get back to Llandudno grab my bags and get to the railway station just in time to make the train to Llandudno Junction, and the connection on to Birmingham.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Dresden; Friday, 19 July, 2013

As it was an earlish flight in the morning from Heathrow I’d decided to stay overnight at an airport hotel to make the following morning a little less stressful.

After a smooth journey across London I checked in to the hotel, and after a quick late evening snack in the airport retired to my room for a good night’s sleep

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Dresden; Saturday, 20 July, 2013

Waking up at the same time as checkin was due to open is made so much less stressful when you are only five minutes’ walk from said checkin.

After checking out of my room I walked over to the terminal building, dropped off my bags and then wandered through to departures.

An uneventful morning in the airport, and in the end only a slight delay pushing back due to some delays in loading the bags. By the time we arrived at Berlin Tegel airport we’d made most of that time back.

My bag was the third one off the belt, and on exiting the terminal building there was a bus waiting to whisk me into town, so by the time I reached the Hauptbahnhof in the centre of Berlin I had nearly two hours to kill before my train to Leipzig, for the connection to Dresden.

In the end it was nearly 2 ½ hours to kill as the train was almost thirty minutes late into Berlin. Given that I only had 19 minutes to make the connection at Leipzig this was a little concerning.

Thankfully, the Germans never like to do things by half and rather than just having on train running late they had most of their trains delayed, so whilst the delay to the train from Leipzig to Dresden wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the train from Berlin to Leipzig, it was just long enough to enable the connection.

Just over an hour later I emerged from the Hauptbahnhof in Dresden and walked the short distance to the hotel, checked in and then headed into town for a wander.

I had a long wander round the Altstadt, taking in lots of the sights, before stopping off for a late night Bratwurst and the tram back to the hotel

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Dresden; Sunday, 21 July, 2013

Woken early by a blazing sun shining through the floor to ceiling windows in my hotel room, I had a large breakfast and then headed down to the centre of town.

First stop was Teatreplatz to pick up the hop-on-hop-off tour bus, to take in the sights of Dresden from the comfort of a moving vehicle with no windows, which on a day like this with the sun beating down, proved to be a wise move.

After a spot of late lunch in a beergarten overlooking the Elbe I headed out to the Großer Garten to have a wander around that, taking in the park railway that runs round much of the park.

I headed back into town in the early evening to grab some dinner before having another wander through the Altstadt and then picking up a late evening bus to take the tour of the city in the stunning sunset.

By the time I got back to Theatreplatz it was gone 10pm so I grabbed a late night ice-cream as desert and then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Dresden; Monday, 22 July, 2013

A surprisingly busy late breakfast which ended up taking longer than expected as I had to queue for everything. I’d kind of expected that on the Monday morning most people would have already left, but clearly not. By the time I finally got out of the hotel it was almost half ten, so I caught a tram down to Theatreplatz and then walked the short distance down to the ticket office for the Saxony Steamship company.

I caught their 11am round trip tour that sailed up the Elbe to the Blue Wonder bridge and then turned round and came back.

By the time I got back it was oppressively hot, so I decided, despite only having finished breakfast about two hours earlier, to have a leisurely light lunch in the beer garden on Theatreplatz and while away some time in the shade.

By about 2pm it had started to cool down a little, so I ventured out from the beer garden and headed over the road to the Zwinger to have a look around. Because it was Monday all of the museums were closed but the site is worth a wander around just for its architecture and the views from its roof top terrace. From the Zwinger I walked over Theatreplatz to the Catholic Cathedral and had a look around there, before heading across town to the slightly more famous, but theologically speaking less important, Frauenkirche, the symbol of a rebuild Dresden.

In the mid-afternoon sun not many people had bothered trying to climb up to the dome, which given it’s a lift most of the way, and all the passageways had air conditioners blasting out cooling breezes it was probably one of the more pleasant places to be. The views, with the sun shimmering on the Elbe were spectacular.

From the Frauenkirche I walked back to the Residenzschloß and was surprised to find out that all of their museums are open on a Monday (but closed on a Tuesday) so I spent much of the rest of the afternoon having a look around the various exhibitions, finishing off with a final climb of the afternoon to the viewing platform on the palace clock tower.

The views from here are some of the most stunning as you get good views over Theatreplatz and the Zwinger, as well as excellent views of the dome of the Frauenkirche (neither of which are possible from the Frauenkirche, the latter due to Physics, the former due to the tower of the castle getting in the way)

Feeling knackered, and with a serious case of museum feet I decided to rest my feet for a little while by making use of the second day of my hop-on-hop-off bus ticket and taking the evening tour around the city centre in the evening light.

After a quick bite to eat in the centre of town I headed back to my hotel room to take advantage of the stunning floor to ceiling windows, and it’s 14th floor position to watch the light fade over the city.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Dresden; Tuesday, 23 July, 2013

My train was booked for 11:08 which meant I didn’t really have enough time to do anything in Dresden before needing to check out and head off, so I took advantage of an extra-long lie-in and being one of the last people down into Breakfast.

Packed and checked-out I walked the short distance over to the main station and caught the lift up to the platform where my train was already waiting, and nearly full. I’d paid the extra €4 to reserve a seat, which I was now very thankful of.

At exactly 11:08 we pulled out of Dresden and headed for the Czech border.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Prague; Tuesday, 23 July, 2013

The train had been making pretty slow going over the final parts of Germany, which was good for the views and the scenery was stunning, but not so good for its timekeeping so by the time it crossed into the Czech Republic it was already 15 minutes late and proceeded to get later as the journey went on, finally pulling into Prague almost 30 minutes behind schedule.

I stepped off of the air conditioned carriage into an absolutely baking Prague, the wall of heat hitting me being reminiscent of stepping off a plane in a hot country.

I walked what I had thought was the short distance to the hotel, but in the end turned out to be a 20 minute slog mostly uphill. I checked in, had a quick shower to cool down and then headed out into town.

First stop of the afternoon was the castle, for which I had discovered the direct tram stopped almost outside the hotel. I had a long wander around the castle grounds including the gardens, and then grabbed an early dinner in one of the restaurants near the cathedral.

I walked back through the gardens and picked up the tram down the hill to the start of the funicular railway up to the Hunger Wall and Petrin observation tower, I took in the views from the top of the tower before heading back down into town via a long walk over the Charles Bridge, long mostly because of the number of times I stopped to watch performers, including the very good violin quartet who were playing the hits of Abba and the Beatles…

From the Charles Bridge, and via a very nice gelato, I wandered my way over to the Old Town square.

By now the sun was starting to set and I decided, after seeing the price list, that I didn’t actually want a last drink of the night, so I wandered back via Wenceslas Square to my hotel.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Prague; Wednesday, 24 July, 2013

A relatively early Breakfast compared to the previous day and then out for the first stop of the morning the walled fortress at Vysehrad. I spent a long time wandering around the ramparts taking in the views. I then headed down the hill to the riverside and picked up the tram a couple of stops up the line to one of the many river cruise companies offering tours of the Vltava.

I’d clearly chosen the wrong company as the boat was at best only a quarter full and it became obvious why very quickly when it transpired there was no commentary on what you were seeing, it was literally just a cruise along the river and back.

Disappointed, I had a late lunch in a café that made up for the cruise by being both very nice and very cheap. I walked back up into town and caught the tram up to the castle to start actually going inside things.

I got to the ticket desk and the very nice lady there said it probably wasn’t a wise idea to buy a ticket now as it was only valid for the day, and everything would start to close in 30 minutes, which was kind of her as she could quite easily have sold the ticket and made a bit more money for the castle.

Instead I wandered down through the gardens and over a little footbridge to the park on the next hill across that has the metronome monument on it. I spent a bit of time taking in the views from the metronome and then wandered back through the park to the tram stop and caught a tram back down into town.

Given I’d saved money on the castle I decided to splash out and have dinner on the Old Town Square, which was nice but probably not worth the money, even with all the entertainment taking place on the square.

After a brief wander through town I wandered my way back to a tram stop and took the tram to near the hotel and then feeling lazy waited for the tram that actually went up the hill to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Prague; Thursday, 25 July, 2013

I had a slightly earlier breakfast and headed out of the hotel quickly to get over to the castle early. Sadly everyone else had the same idea and whilst I got a seat on the tram as I was starting further out than most people, I still had to join the back of a very long queue for tickets at the castle.

First stop of the morning was the Cathedral which was heaving with tourists, though most were just standing near the doors, deciding they didn’t really want to pay to go in, so once past the ticket inspectors the rest of the Cathedral itself was pretty quiet.

The same happened in the Basilica of St George, behind the Cathedral, which had been under renovation when I came back in 2001, so I had a good look around there, before visiting the Old Royal Palace.

From the Palace I wandered down to the last thing on my ticket, the Golden Lane. This was really packed with tourists, and in the cramped narrow passageways of some of the buildings the humidity and unpleasantness did momentarily make me wonder why I was doing this.

Having visited the Golden Lane I’d done all the sites that my “Short visit” ticket allowed me to do, and given the temperature I certainly wasn’t going to pay the extra to climb 400 odd stairs to the top of the Great South Tower of the Cathedral, so I wandered back down into town and down to the riverside near the Rudolfinum. Here there were a couple of different companies offering river cruises so I decided to take a risk and go on another one.

This one turned out to be much better than the previous days tour. Not only did it include a full commentary (albeit in about 10 languages, which lead to some confusion, and on very short descriptions such as the names of bridges quite a bit of repetition with only accents to identify which language was which), it also had a café on board so I was able to enjoy the tour whilst rapidly draining a litre bottle of water.

After the tour finished I went for a wander through the small Jewish quarter area of the old town taking in the sights there before heading back over to the Old Town Square to take the lift to the top of the Astronomical clock tower for the views.

Back down on ground level I stopped in a small bar in the square behind Our Lady of Tyn church for a pre-dinner drink.

I’d already decided on the restaurant for dinner as I’d seen the menu earlier in the day and it appeared to be quite good value (in the end less than half the price of the previous evenings meal), but it did mean going all the way back up to the castle and then a bit further up the hill.

After dinner I wandered back down through the castle, which was still surprisingly busy even quite late in the evening and walked down the steps to the metro station at the bottom of the hill, where with perfect timing the tram back to the hotel was arriving, so I hopped onto that and headed back to the hotel to pack ready to move on in the morning.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Prague; Friday, 26 July, 2013

I had a couple of hours to spare before my train to Brno, so I headed down into town and over to the Wallenstein Palace and gardens. The palace is today the home of the Czech senate, but the very pleasant gardens are open to the public to wander around.

The palace and gardens were built for Albrecht von Wallenstein who had a particular fascination with stalactites so one entire wall of the gardens is made up of fake stalactites.

After looking round the gardens there was just time to wander over to Wenceslas square and have a quick look round there before it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my belongings and head off to the station.

I got to the station with lots of time to spare, but because the train was starting in Prague it was already parked in the platform and ready to board, so rather than having to hang around on the platform I was able to sit in air-conditioned comfort for the 25 minutes or so before it departed for Brno.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
30ºC/86ºF

Brno; Friday, 26 July, 2013

Thankfully I’d checked on line a couple of days earlier so was aware of the ‘alterations’ that were in place. Brno central station undergoing significant rebuilding meant that the long distance trains were all being diverted away to a different station with a replacement bus.

What they hadn’t explained was that the ‘different station’ was in fact a hastily constructed slab on concrete on the edge of a marshalling yard on the outskirts of town. Having clambered down with my heavy luggage from the train to basically trackside it was then a short walk over to the replacement buses, and a five minute ride into the centre of Brno.

I walked the short distance to the hotel, checked in, dropped my stuff off and headed out into town to take in the sights.

First stop was just opposite the hotel, the church of St James and underneath it’s ossuary. I then went for a long wander through the old town taking in the various sights and stopping in the main square for dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Brno; Saturday, 27 July, 2013

Unfortunately, with the temperature quite high and a hotel room with no air-conditioning I didn’t get the greatest of nights sleep, so I was up relatively early and out into an already baking Brno to do a day’s sightseeing.

First stop was the cathedral on the top of Petrov Hill. Quite a hike up in the weather, so I’m not quite certain why I then compounded it by climbing up the Cathedral towers to take in the views over the city, and to see the Cathedral treasury.

Having already been up one tower for the morning it made sense to go up another one, so I headed over to the town hall and climbed the 170 or so steps to the top of their tower, where there were not only good views but also an amazingly beautiful breeze.

After a quick pit stop for lunch I wandered down to the square by the theatre to pick up the tour bus that runs round the outskirts of the city taking in the views and some of the history of the town.

Back in the city centre I wandered over to the Capuchin church to take in their decidedly creepy crypt with the mummified remains of nobles and former monks.

Just around the corner is the entrance to the labyrinth of cellars underneath the vegetable market, into which you can go on regular tours. Not only are the tours very interesting, but on a day with the temperatures heading through the roof, the cold temperatures underground are blissful.

After a tour of the labyrinth I decided to seek somewhere a little cooler for the evening so I headed out of town to the Brno Reservoir which is where all the city’s residents had clearly already disappeared to. The reservoir was formed by damming the river and allowing it to flood a valley. During the summer months ferries shuttle up the lake and into the river canyon that forms the head of the reservoir, with a full round trip taking around 2 ½ hours.

I did the last round trip of the afternoon/evening and on the way back as we left the river canyon and entered the top end of the lake the whole area was bathed in the glow of a gloriously clear and hot summer’s sunset.

I caught the tram back into town and headed back over to the hotel where, after about 15 minutes of waving a rolled up magazine around, I dispatched the mosquito that was buzzing round the room and turned in for another sticky and disrupted night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
38ºC/100ºF

Brno; Sunday, 28 July, 2013

If anything Sunday dawned even hotter than Saturday had been, and this was born out after breakfast when I wandered out of the hotel and the first temperature reading I saw was already at 34C.

It was into that heat that I attempted the very steep climb up the hill to the castle. Normally it wouldn’t have been so strenuous, but in this heat it was really unpleasant.

Thankfully, the castle, keeping to the tradition of all castles, was a coolish place. Medieval Castles, horrible to live in during the winter, but on a day like today very pleasant. I spent a long time wandering around the various exhibitions, partly out of interest and also partly to keep myself out of the sun during the hottest part of the day.

The last part of the castle to look around was the casemates, which had at one point been turned into a pretty notorious prison. I had wondered why, as I walked around the castle, there had been so few visitors. Now I knew why. If the castle had been cool then the casemates were like nirvana. They were probably around 16 degrees, but when it’s 40 outside that temperature difference is amazing.

I, like many other of the visitors, spent a very long time wandering around the casemates. There wasn’t much to see, but I wasn’t giving up this chance of being nice and cold.

By the time I wandered back down into town it was late afternoon, but it was still at 40 degrees so I headed for one of the cafes on the main square and knocked back to large lemonades in quick succession (I had been thinking about beer, but I needed liquid and I didn’t want to get drunk as quickly as I would have done with beer.)

Sated, and probably staving off heat exhaustion, I went for a little wander around the area near the main square, before heading back to the hotel to have dinner in the pub and brewery that its located in.

With the light starting to fade, but the temperatures still in the high 30’s I went for a wander around town taking some night photos before heading back to the hotel to see if there was any point in sleeping.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Phew! What a scorcher (more than 40C, 104F)
40ºC/104ºF

Brno; Monday, 29 July, 2013

Even with the fan going at full blast and the window wide open it made no difference and sleep didn’t come. After hearing someone else doing it elsewhere in the building around 2am I had a nice cool shower to see if that would have any effect, but the fact that I dried off within about two minutes and then was sweating again suggested this was not going to be a night for sleep.

Finally giving up any chance of sleeping around 6am I had another long shower, and early breakfast and then headed out to have a wander around town for the last few hours before it was time to move on again.

Following on from my experience with the labyrinth on Saturday and the Casemates yesterday I headed over to the Mintmasters cellars underneath the new town hall.

Sure enough they were gloriously cool, so I spent rather longer than I would ever thought I would have done staring at 16th Century silver coins minted in Brno. I didn’t take any of the information in, I was more just wanting to drag out the coolness for as long as possible.

Eventually, once I’d been overtaken by people who had entered the museum nearly an hour after I had (and it’s a very small museum), I decided it was perhaps time to face the furnace outside.

I went for a little wander round to the main square and stopped for an early lunch in the shade and whiled away the last hour or so of my time in Brno watching people wander up to the fountain in the square and immerse their heads straight into it in an attempt to cool down.

I collected my luggage from the hotel and wandered over to Brno main station to pick up the rail replacement bus.

The organisation of the buses was pretty good, it’s just a shame the same couldn’t be said about the trains. Whilst the buses got us to the station in time, the train was already 25 minutes late, and with very little shelter it was a pretty warm 25 minute wait.

Eventually the train arrived and I clambered on board to discover my reserved seat was being used as a luggage store for a large family who had the rest of the compartment and made it pretty obvious they weren’t going to be happy having to move all their stuff. It was also apparent that they either didn’t like air-conditioning, or had switched it off. So rather than make a scene I took a seat in the almost empty compartment next door, where the two people already sitting in there had the air-conditioning set as beautifully cold.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
38ºC/100ºF

Bratislava; Monday, 29 July, 2013

…Sadly setting the air-con at cold didn’t appear to make much point once we entered Slovakia as the power being supplied was clearly different to that in the Czech republic. The lights were all a little dimmer and the air-con went down to an asthmatic wheeze, thankfully it was only about 30 minutes from crossing the border to getting off in Bratislava, so I didn’t worry too much.

I walked the short distance from the station to the hotel and checked in. My first impression of a modern hotel was almost immediately called into question as I went to press the lift call button and the power failed across the hotel. Thankfully it was only for about 30 seconds, but it was with some trepidation that I got in the lift.

After dropping my stuff off I caught a trolley bus into town and then went for a long wander through the old town, eventually ending up at the New Bridge. I walked over the bridge to the pylon at the other end, on top of which is a viewing tower and restaurant.

I took the lift up the tower to take in the views of the old town, the communist housing development that is in stark contrast to the beauty of the old town, and the mighty Danube winding its way through the countryside. As it was a relatively clear evening it was possible to see all the way across into Hungary about 15 miles away, and across into Austria, about 3 miles away.

I descended back down to bridge level and crossed back over to the old town side and had a bit more of a wander, before stopping at one of the restaurants on the main street to have a very nice traditional Slovakian meal.

I wandered back through the old town and picked up a bus back to the hotel, where my air-conditioned room was now at arctic levels.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
39ºC/102ºF

Bratislava; Tuesday, 30 July, 2013

There was no comparison between the two night’s sleep. I was woken by my alarm which is a rare occurrence; I’m normally awake long before it goes off.

After a quick breakfast I wandered over into town and caught the bus out along the Danube to Devin Castle to have a look around the ruins. I spent quite a bit longer there than I was expecting to, and I only just caught the bus back into town, avoiding an hours wait for the next one.

I stopped off in town for lunch before walking over to Michaels Gate, the only surviving gate of the old town fortifications. Today it houses a pretty boring exhibition on arms and armaments, but the view from the top of the tower over the old town is pretty good.

I then walked over to the main square to pick up the land-train tour of the old town and after completing that, briskly walked over to the square by the opera house to pick up the company’s other tour up to the castle.

After the tour had finished I stopped for a bit to eat before heading back up to the castle grounds to take in the views as the sun started to set over Bratislava.

I caught the bus back to the hotel and, with the air-con already set, another cold and gloriously comfortable night’s sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Bratislava; Wednesday, 31 July, 2013

After breakfast I had time to rearrange my luggage ready for the final couple of legs of the journey.

Before leaving the room I made a final check on the live train details on Czech railways website and the train was running to time as it left Breclav heading for Bratislava.

So it was quite surprising when I got to the station just a few minutes later to see that the train was now 10 minutes late, and over the course of the next half hour or so proceeded to get later and later. For every five minutes that went by the delay would increase by about five minutes, until it was standing at forty.

That’s where the increases stopped, and sure enough nearly forty minutes late the train pulled it with an ancient an wheezing engine attached to another engine that looked pretty broken, so I can only assume that was the cause of the delay.

Having arrive in Bratislava they promptly detached the two engines from the front and attached a new engine which then whisked us at speeds of up to 120 Km/h across the Slovakian countryside, with a still wheezing asthmatic air-conditioning system.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Budapest; Wednesday, 31 July, 2013

The train slowed to a stop within a few hundred meters of crossing the border into Hungary, made a clunk and a loud humming sound before the air-conditioning burst into lung busting life and the train took off.

Despite the new engine, and clearly a renewed vigour once it reached Hungary, we still managed to lose more time, and by the time we finally arrived in Budapest it was 45 minutes late. I walked the kilometre or so down from the station to the hotel and checked in before heading back out into the city.

First stop was up into the castle to take in the views of the city and have a wander around, pausing near the main palaces for a quick, and surprisingly given its location, relatively cheap dinner.

From the castle I caught the funicular railway back down to road level and the picked up the tram that runs alongside the bank of the Danube for a couple of stops before changing to the bus that goes up the Gellért Hill to the Citadella.

I arrived just as the sun was starting to go down, and was given a spectacular view of the city at sunset with the sky turning orange over the Danube and then slowly the city illuminating as floodlights came on.

I spent quite a bit of time on the top of the Citadella and it was staring to get quite dark as I picked my way back down the dimly lit paths back into the town centre.

I walked over the bridge back to Pest and picked the tram up along the riverside, aiming to catch it back to where it connected with the tram back to the hotel.

Unfortunately the line is still being repaired after the early June floods, so there was a bus for a part of the way, which meant I didn’t get quite such a good view of the river and the castle hill.

Back at the hotel I had a quick drink in the bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Budapest; Thursday, 01 August, 2013

After a good nights sleep and a decent breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the Buda Hills.

I picked up the chairlift that climbs up into the hills and from the top station walked the short further distance up hill to the Elizabeth observation tower to take in the views over the city. After the hefty hike up the hill I had a bit of break in the café at the bottom of the tower before heading back down to the chairlift station.

I took the chairlift back down to the base station and picked up the bus for a couple of stops back to where it connects with the trams, where I changed onto the tram out to the far end of the Children’s Railway.

I travelled the length of the children's railway back to the end closer to the city centre and then changed onto the cog-wheel railway back down the hill to the centre of Buda.

I hopped on a tram round to Margaret Island and spent most of the afternoon wandering along the island, taking in the sights on the island including the religious ruins and the views from the water tower, before wandering over to Heroes Square.

A long wander around Heroes Square and the city park that it forms the entrance to and then it was time to head back into the centre of town to get some dinner.

After dinner I had a little wander along the riverside before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Phew! What a scorcher (more than 40C, 104F)
41ºC/106ºF

Budapest; Friday, 02 August, 2013

First stop of the morning was back up the hill to the castle to have a long explore through the labarynths that are underneath many of the buildings at the fisherman’s bastion end of the complex. As with other underground experiences on my trip in the oppressive summer heat the glorious cool temperatures down in the caves had attracted a large number of tourists to become moles for the morning.

I finally left the labarynth when I actually realised I was shivering in just a T-shirt and shorts so I headed back up into the wall of heat that hit as soon as you left the caves and walked the short distance over to the Matthias church, the main religious building in the castle.

Having taken in the sights there I caught the bus back over the Danube to Pest and visited the main Church of Hungary the Basilica of St Stephen.

I had a long look around the church, before taking the lift up to the base of the dome to take in the views of the city, the castle and the distant hills.

Back down on ground level, and after a very nice lunch in the shadow of the basilica I caught the bus out to the Statue park on the outskirts of town to take in the collection of Soviet era statues dumped here in the early 1990’s as Hungary moved rapidly from its communist past.

I spent quite a bit of time at the Statue park, and by the time I got back to the city centre it was time for dinner, so I found a decent looking restaurant just back from the Danube and ate there.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel to start the process of packing, again.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Phew! What a scorcher (more than 40C, 104F)
42ºC/108ºF

Budapest; Saturday, 03 August, 2013

Breakfast done and dusted and with my bags all packed I checked out of the hotel and headed out to the airport.

Originally I had booked a direct flight from Budapest to Berlin, but back in February this had been cancelled by Lufthansa and instead they had routed me via Munich.

This appeared to have caused some considerable problems with my booking in their systems as I couldn’t check-in on-line or at the kiosks in the terminal building. Eventually after much keyboard tapping, frowning and lots of apologies, the lady at the Lufthansa ticket desk finally managed to get my booking sorted and I was able to checkin through to Berlin.

However, my worries didn’t end there as the flight promptly gained at 25 minute delay, which when there was only ever an hour to make the connection at Munich, and I’d already seen from the Lufthansa app that the flight from Budapest would be connected to the terminal by bus rather than air-bridge did make me start to wonder if I’d actually make the connection.

Thankfully, it became increasingly obvious in the gate lounge that there were a large number of people who were all in exactly the same situation as me, to the extent that it was becoming clear that it would be far cheaper for Lufthansa to delay the Berlin flight at Munich, rather than deal with the sheer number of displaced passengers should we not make the connection.

Holding onto that thought, 10 minutes after we should have departed we started boarding…

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
38ºC/100ºF

Berlin; Saturday, 03 August, 2013

Whilst the bus connection at Munich hadn’t changed we were at least only about 5 minutes late landing after being allowed to queue jump on the runway at Budapest, and as we landed the captain announced that there had been some gate changes, with the Berlin flight being moved much further down the terminal building, to a gate close to where transit passengers coming in on buses would emerge (as for the poor person who was trying to make the connection to Stockholm that had been swapped with the Berlin flight for the gates is another matter.)

Having made it back to the terminal building by bus, and then up to the gate I only had to wait about 5 minutes before we started the boarding process all over again. Settled in my seat with the plane fully loaded with passengers the captain informed us that there would be a slight delay whilst a few final transiting bags were loaded, I did start to wonder in that meant my bag was at risk of not making the flight.

Landed in Berlin it was obvious that my bag has been one of the last few bags as it was the first up on the belt. With my luggage I headed out of the airport and into town to the hotel.

Having checked in I went into the centre of town and had a wander round, stopping to take in one of the Spree river cruises that ply up and down the river, this one leaving from round the back of the Berliner Dom.

After the cruise I wandered over to Alexanderplatz and with perfect timing sat down to dinner under shelter just as a big thunder storm went overhead.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander, before picking up the 100 bus to do a spot of seated sightseeing back through the city centre to Zoo, before hopping on the U-Bahn back a couple of stops to my hotel and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Thunder
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Berlin; Sunday, 04 August, 2013

Breakfast and then check-out. With my luggage in store in the hotel I wandered into town to do a blitz on the museums out on “Museum Island”

I’ve been to Berlin on a number of occasions, and it’s a bit shaming to say that I hadn’t previously visited the spectacular collection of museums that the city has altogether in one location.

I intended on putting this right today, and started with a visit the Alte Nationalgalerie, home to the spectacular art collection that the East German state had put together. From there it was a short walk over to the Neues Museum to take in Egyptology there and then across to the Pergamon museum to see the stunning Pergamon alter and the other massive bits of archaeology that have been recreated in the centre of Berlin.

Then it was just round the block to take in the ancient Greek and Roman art and sculpture in the Altes Museum.

Having museumed myself out, I had about 90 minutes to kill, so as there was one waiting there, I hopped on an open-top bus tour through the city centre to take in the sights sat down.

A full loop later I hopped off the bus near Checkpoint Charlie and caught the U-Bahn back to the hotel to collect my luggage and start the journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Faversham; Friday, 09 August, 2013

From work it was a short journey up into town and then back out to North Kent, arriving in Faversham a little over 90 minutes after switching off my PC at work.

I walked through the town to the pub that was to be my hotel for the weekend, and, after checking in, I went for a little wander around the town.

I then headed back to the hotel and had an evening sampling some of the many offerings from the freeholders range.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Faversham; Saturday, 10 August, 2013

After breakfast I headed out into town for a bit more of a wander, before heading over to the Shepherd Neame brewery for my pre-booked tour.

I had a very interesting tour and a good sample of several of their products, including the particularly pleasant, but lethally strong 1698 brew.

Having taken in the main industry in town today, I headed out to the back of town and the site of one of the former big employers, the gunpowder works.

At one point Faversham was one of the most important gunpowder producing locations in the country, with the works being built up over centuries. In fact it was only the location of the works, in the South East of England with the clouds of war starting to build in the early 1930’s that lead to their eventual closure and relocation to the coast of Ayrshire.

Today the works have been turned into a country park with several waymarked walks around the site, taking in many of the ruins of buildings that were important in the manufacture of gunpowder.

Having visited the works I walked back into town and then diverted slightly to the former gunpowder mill just on the edge of the town centre.

With Faversham’s industrial past and present taken in I wandered over to the station and caught the train one stop down the line to the seaside resort of Whistable, where I spent the late afternoon having a wander around.

I caught a mid-evening train back to Faversham and walked back over to the pub for dinner and another sample of their wonderful range of beer, before retiring to bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Faversham; Sunday, 11 August, 2013

I checked out of the hotel and headed over to the station to pick up the train along the coast to Herne Bay.

At Herne Bay I walked over to taxi office and picked up a cab to take me the 5 miles or so by road out to the ruins at Reculver.

After having a long wander around the ruins I then walked the 4 miles or so back along the very pleasant cliff-top walk into Herne Bay.

Having made it back into Herne Bay I had a long wander round the town centre, and stopped for a late lunch, before the weather started to deteriorate.

Given it was already mid-afternoon I decided that the weather was my queue so I headed back to the station, caught the train back to Faversham, wandered through town to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Dundee; Saturday, 24 August, 2013

Having solved the problem of an earlyish flight by staying overnight at the Travelodge just down the road from the airport it was a short walk to the terminal building and a very quick journey through an almost deserted London City Airport to the departures lounge.

Having left it until less than an hour before departure to head down to the airport I only had a very short time to wait before we were called to the gate.

After a comfortable flight, on a pretty small plane, we touched down in Dundee on time. A quick taxi ride to the centre and having dropped my luggage off at the hotel I went for a long wander around the city.

Having checked into the hotel I then wandered across the car-park to the Discovery Point Centre and the RRS Discovery ship to have a look around them.

Then, following the handily produced guide to the heritage of Dundee, I went on a walk around the key architectural sights in the city centre, taking regular stops at a number of café’s round the route as I dived for cover from the next heavy downpour.

Eventually I headed back to the hotel before having to head back out to the nearby supermarket as the restaurant wasn’t able to serve any food.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Dundee; Sunday, 25 August, 2013

What I had intended on being a quick breakfast turned into a much longer experience as it took more than an hour from leaving my room to actually getting some food in front of me.

Having completed one of the longest breakfasts ever I headed out from the hotel and over to the station to catch the train up the line to Arbroath.

First stop in the town was the ruins of the Abbey, and after a long walk around them, I wandered down to the harbour side to have a look around, albeit with a lot obscured by a heavy mist.

I popped into one of the local fish shops to try the local delicacy, Arbroath Smokies, before heading back to the station to catch the train back through Dundee, across the Tay Bridge and on to the town of Leuchars for the connecting bus to St Andrews.

I picked up the open-top sightseeing tour and did a complete circuit of the town before heading down to the castle to have a look around and then over to the Cathedral.

After a long wander around the town and a quick pit-stop in a café for a very late lunch, I wandered back to the bus station to catch the bus back to Leuchars and change onto the train back to Dundee.

Tonight, there was actually service in the restaurant attached to the hotel so I was able to have a pleasant dinner (with significantly speedier service than breakfast) and then headed back up to my room for a good night’s sleep

Weather

Misty Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Dundee; Monday, 26 August, 2013

I woke up to a thick wall of fog that was enveloping the whole of the city, giving me slight cause for concern that my flight in the evening may not run, especially as a quick check online showed that the 6:30 flight had been cancelled.

After a breakfast conducted at near light speed compared to the previous morning, I checked out of the hotel and headed out into town to catch the bus a short distance along the coast to the castle at Broughty Ferry.

I had a long look around the castle and a bit of a wander around the harbour area before I headed back into town and over to the Verdant Jute Works, formerly one of the city’s many Jute manufacturing plants, all of which have closed down, and now a museum to the history of the Jute Industry in the city.

It was a very interesting museum with lots to see, and some enthusiastic demonstrations of the equipment that was utilised in the works when it was in full manufacturing.

By the time I left the works there was just time for a quick, very late lunch, before I headed back to the hotel to collect my stuff.

The morning’s fog had now all disappeared to be replaced by a gloriously sunny afternoon, and the flight was still scheduled to be taking place, with departure just 90 minutes away. However, because Dundee is such a small airport the last check-in time was just 15 minutes before departure, so I took advantage of the extra time to walk to the airport along the very pleasant riverside walk that leads under the stunning Tay Bridge.

At any other airport I would probably not have made the flight as I wandered up to the check-in desk just 30 minutes before departure time, but here it turned out I was one of the earlier passengers, as I discovered when I walked through security into an almost deserted gate room.

A short while later the other 20 or so passengers for the flight drifted through into the gate lounge, just before the flight was opened for boarding.

Weather

Foggy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Genoa; Thursday, 26 September, 2013

Having spent the night at an airport hotel it was a very quick walk from my bed to check-in, and with an uneventful journey through the airport, and an on-time departure, it was just 2 ½ hours from stepping out of bed to pushing back.

A slightly bumpy flight later we arrived into Genoa and I caught the bus to one of the main stations in town, and then a local bus back out to the hotel. I checked in and headed back out into the city.

I wandered down to the harbour side to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour and, after quite a long wait for the bus, went on two full circuits to take in all the sights.

Back in the city centre I had a long wander through many of the tiny lanes and then took a funicular up to the top of one of the hills for the views back down on the city centre.

Back down to sea level and I finished off with a very nice dinner in a restaurant near the harbour before wending my way back to the hotel

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Genoa; Friday, 27 September, 2013

Given I was on leave, it didn’t feel right to be getting up at half seven, but with breakfast only served until 9, and needing to get an early train, I had to head out early.

Down to the Piazza Principa station and onto the train out to La Spezia, as my gateway to the Cinque Terre National park. The Park, made up of five almost inaccessible (apart from the railway line and the goat path that connects them) towns perched on rocks and cliffs on the coast.

First stop was the furthest of the five – Riomaggiore. I had intended on walking the path between a couple of the towns, with the short kilometre or so between Riomaggiore and Manarola being the obvious starting point. However, due to recent landslips both that path, and the next one linking Manarola to Corniglia were closed, so after a look around town I headed back to the station to catch the train back up the line.

The already busy trains weren’t being helped by the number of people who, like me, were having to use the train rather than walk between towns, so it was a tight squeeze, and given the weight of numbers, I decided trying to get out at Manarola wasn’t an option so I stayed on until half the train got off at Corniglia.

Corniglia is the only one of the five towns not directly on the coast, being some 90m up in the cliffs. To reach the town it’s a back breaking almost 360 step climb up the cliff side, or, if like me you’ve brought a Cinque Terre card, 5 minutes on the very convenient electric bus that rattles up the hillside like a demented donkey.

I stopped for a quick lunch in a small trattoria in the main square before having a wander around the town, and then, fortified by a gelato, headed over to the path for the 4KM walk between Corniglia and Vernazza. The signs at the train head said the estimated walking time was 90 minutes to two hours, which given the distance covered indicated quite a bit of climbing.

95 minutes later, and absolutely knackered I reached the end of the path in Vernazza having climbed up to a peak of around 200m above sea level, and then the really knackering part, in the last kilometre or so descended all the way back down to sea level, over some very rocky ground, giant steps and in places, pretty treacherous bits of path.

I had a long wander around Vernazza before deciding that as the 3KM walk to Monterosso was signposted as taking 2 hours+ that included too much climbing and I caught the train instead. I had a wander around the town, before heading down to the harbour at catching the boat back down the coast part Vernazza and Corniglia to Manarola to have a look around the final one of the five towns.

Exhausted, and with the sun starting to fade I headed back to the station to catch the train, bizzarely, further south to La Spezia. There I picked up an InterCity train which overtook the slow stopping train I had let leave without me at Manarola about 30 minutes before it arrived into Genova.

By the time I got back to Genova it was late, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and I found that the Metro stops running at 20:30, along with most bus routes. To make matters worse as all the metro stations and tabacchi are closed there is nowhere to purchase transport tickets so I had to trudge the 30 minutes back to the hotel in the pouring rain, rapidly going off Genoa as a holiday destination.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Genoa; Saturday, 28 September, 2013

After all the exertions of the previous day I did at least sleep well, and with breakfast being served until a reasonable time, was able to have a bit of lie in. However, when I pulled back the curtains at 9:30 I was still greeted by, I assumed the same heavy rain that had been falling the previous evening.

With breakfast consumed and the weather improved to just grey and overcast with a light drizzle, I headed out of the hotel down into town to firstly purchase a couple of transport tickets and then to give Genoa an opportunity to try and win-back some affection.

Things didn’t start well, as my first stop of the morning, the Cathedral, was closed as they were only showing the vast numbers of cruise ship passengers around. However, a short distance away is the former city gate of Porta Soprana and they were very happy to welcome tourists so I had a look around the gate, taking in the views, and then wandered a few yards down the hill to the house that, perhaps the most famous son of the city, Christopher Columbus, was born in.

I wandered back through the lanes of the city down to the harbour side and had a look around the galleon Neptune, originally used as the set of Roman Polanski’s film Pirates and today a pretty good mock-up of a galleon ship. As I was down in the harbour I took advantage of the slight breeze, which was alleviating the oppressive humidity across the city, to have a bit to eat.

I headed back up through the centre of town, stopping off at the Basilica church of Santissima Annunziata del Vastato to have a look round there, before popping a little further up the street to the museum in the Palazzo Reale.

I then took another one of the many elevators that are dotted round the city up to a viewpoint to take in the sights with the sun just making occasional appearances, before having a wander over to an altogether different type of lift.

Leaving from near the Castello D’Albertas it looks to all intense and purpose like a standard lift, which is why I thought it a little strange that there was a 6 minute wait for the next lift, could it be that slow? Having boarded the lift everything appeared normal as we descended down to the base of the lift shaft, which is where things start getting a little strange. The lift frame stopped but the body of the lift was then slowly moved forward onto rails before then continuing for several hundred meters down a small railway line pulled like a cable car or funicular. It was all very odd.

By the time I finally exited the lift I was actually right by the Piazza Principa railway station, so I picked up the bus back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for a bite to eat in town.

After another good meal near the harbour side, I managed to catch one of the few buses still running back to near the hotel and then it was just a quick hike up a massive flight of steps to the road the hotel was on and a well-deserved rest.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Genoa; Sunday, 29 September, 2013

The previous evening there had been a wedding reception taking place in the hotel bar, and, possibly because I left it late, and possibly because the weather was pretty awful, breakfast was absolutely heaving.

After a stop-start breakfast, and having given it a good couple of hours for the weather to improve to a mild drizzle, I headed out of the hotel and up into the hills above the Principa station to the museum of the cultures of the world in the Castello D’Alberti’s, which was also hosting another (or possibly the same) wedding.

Having looked around the castle I took the crazy Balbi lift train back down to the station and then walked over to the Granarolo cog wheel railway. I took the train all the way to the top to take in the stunning views over the city, which was helped by the skies clearing for the 20 or so minutes I was up at the top of the hill. Just as the return train was arriving the clouds suddenly filled with cloud again and as I boarded another heavy, but brief, downpour ensued.

As the bottom station was right by the Pallazzo dei Principe I decided to have a look around that, and taking advantage of another brief break in the weather headed into the centre of town to take in the other great palaces of the city, now an extensive art museum – Pallazzo Tursi, Rosso and Bianco

Exhausted from Art, and with the skies clearing again I headed over to the Righi funicular to ascend another hill to take in the views of the city from there, again arriving at the summit for a few minutes with good weather before the clouds once again rolled in and started to drizzle.

Back down in the town centre I wandered over to the main square and had a look around the Ducal palace, including going up the Torre Grimaldina to take in the views of both the city and the Ducal prison cells.

By now the weather had deteriorated into prolonged heavy rain, with lightning streaking across the sky and it clearly wasn’t going to get much better, so I dashed across the road to the bus stop to pick up the bus back to the hotel with the decision already made in my mind that I was going to eat in the hotel restaurant.

It was only a two minute walk from the bus stop to the hotel, and quite a bit of that was under cover, but even then I was pretty well soaked by the time I got back to the hotel, so I had a lovely warm shower, a change of clothes and then down to the restaurant for a surprisingly good dinner.

Weather

Thunder Weird Weather
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
21ºC/70ºF

Genoa; Monday, 30 September, 2013

An amazing difference from the previous morning, not only was the breakfast room deserted, but the skies were blue and the sun was out.

I had a couple of hours to kill before I had to head to the airport, so I caught a bus into town and finally, after several attempts during the weekend, got to visit the Cathedral.

Having seen round the Cathedral I had a bit of a wander around the city centre before it was time to head back to the hotel and collect my luggage. I caught the bus back towards the centre of town, to the main bus station to pick up the airport bus.

After 40 minutes wait, and an increasing number of bemused looking tourists, it finally became clear that there wasn’t going to be an airport bus, it would appear that the drivers were on strike over something, so instead with a couple of other tourists I jumped in a cab out to the airport, arriving still with plenty of time before my flight.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
25ºC/77ºF

Den Haag; Friday, 25 October, 2013

By the time I’d left work the BA app had already informed me of the lengthy delay to the flight, so I wasn’t really surprised when I dropped by bag off and was told the delay was likely to be over 90 minutes.

Over the course of the next hour or so the delay increased and decreased at regular intervals, eventually settling on a delay of about 50 minutes.

Of course, to the delay you then have to add on the 20 minute taxi at the Amsterdam end as the plane drives the last 20 miles or so to the terminal building, another 20 minutes to walk the final 2KM from the gate to baggage reclaim and then the inevitable 25 minute delay to the half-hourly train to Den Haag.

By the time I finally made it to the hotel it was already gone 11 and, knackered from travelling, I turned straight in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Den Haag; Saturday, 26 October, 2013

First stop of the morning was the Haagse Toren, at 42 stories the highest viewpoint in the Netherlands.

Having taken in the stunning views of the sand dunes at the coast I headed back down the tower and caught a tram out to the end of the line at Duindorp and then walked along the massive sandy beach back towards the harbour at Scheveningen. Past the harbour I continued walking into the centre of Scheveningen to have a look around before catching the bus round to the dunes further down the coast to Kijkduin.

I then took the bus back into the centre of town and had a long wander around The Hague itself, including taking in the Dutch Houses of Parliament.

After stopping for a very, very late lunch I wandered over to the stunning Peace Palace, now home of the International Court of Justice.

From there I hopped onto a tram and made it to Scheveningen just in time to catch a stunning sunset over the beach and harbour.

Having had a wander along the seafront at sunset I hopped back on a tram into town and back to the hotel for dinner and then bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Den Haag; Sunday, 27 October, 2013

Overnight the clocks had gone back, and with them a significant change in the weather with the wind whipping round the windows of my 9th floor room.

After checking out and dropping my bags in the left luggage lockers at the station I headed out to the north of the city centre to Madurodam.

I spent several hours looking round the site, taking in the whole of the Netherlands in miniature.

I then wandered back into town and had a long walk around the sites of the city centre, before it was time to head back over to the station, and with the light starting to fade, grab my luggage and head back to Schiphol.

I had an early flight the following morning, and rather than having to get up at the crack of dawn and get to the airport from Den Haag, I’d decided to stay at an airport hotel. Even with the strong wind whipping round the courtesy bus bus-stop I didn’t realise quite how a significant decision that was going to be.

The bus dropped me off at the hotel and after checking in and dropping my stuff off, I had dinner in the hotel restaurant and then headed back for an early nights’ sleep.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Den Haag; Monday, 28 October, 2013

At an unreasonable hour I got up to head over to the airport, with the wind rattling round the hotel even more than it had been the previous evening.

The bus, struggling at times against cross winds, headed back to the airport and there I found quite how good idea it had been to stay at the airport overnight as the winds had brought the Dutch rail system to a grinding halt, with no trains running through the airport. If I’d stayed in Den Haag, I would have been stranded.

Instead, 2 hours later I found myself sitting on a plane that was rocking heavily on the tarmac with every gust of wind. After a 40 minute wait for air traffic to spot a gap in the winds we pushed back from the gate, pretty much straight onto the runway, and headed off towards Gatwick.

With the winds still battering Southern England it was a very bumpy landing into Gatwick, but in the end only about an hour behind schedule, and for once my bag was already going round on the carousel when I got to baggage reclaim, which could only mean one thing – the trains would be in a horrible state.

45 minutes later I finally pulled out of Gatwick on a surprisingly empty train heading back towards Croydon and work.

Weather

Heavy Showers No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Chester; Saturday, 16 November, 2013

Having been at a conference for the previous few days I woke up in the Premier Inn in Manchester after a nice long lie-in feeling refreshed and ready to go.

Breakfast completed and hotel checked out from I wandered over to St Peter’s Square and caught the tram round to Piccadilly station and wandered up to the station to wait for my train.

Given my experience earlier in the year with the absolutely packed Llandudno train I had decided to take the slower train that ran round via Stockport and the Cheshire countryside rather than the direct route. It took nearly 90 minutes, and on a pretty tired train, but at least it wasn’t heaving.

I walked the short distance from the station to my hotel, checked in and then headed out into town for a long wander round.

After a while I found myself on the banks of the Dee, just as a boat was about to do a short sightseeing cruise, so I hopped on board and took in the views from the river.

Back in the town centre I had a wander around the Roman Garden and the Amphitheatre before the light finally faded for the day.

I had a wander back through town; stopping for dinner in a city centre hotel before heading back to the hotel and another good night’s sleep

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Chester; Sunday, 17 November, 2013

Breakfast completed and I walked back into town, and the first stop of the morning was the heritage bus tour of the city, on board a working early 20th Century London Omnibus.

As the tour finished by the Cathedral I had a long look round that before grabbing a bite to eat.

After lunch I headed up onto the city walls and walked the whole way round the 2 or so mile circuit of the walls.

By the time I’d it was starting to get dark so I stopped off to have a quick look round the St John the Baptist church, the original Cathedral of the city, before taking in some more of the city centre and the walls at night.

I wandered back to the hotel for dinner and then bed.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Chester; Monday, 18 November, 2013

All checked out, but with my luggage still at the hotel, I headed down to the station to catch the train out to Hooton and then onto Ellesmere Port.

I spent the whole of the morning looking round the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port, including taking in the short cruise along the Shropshire Union Canal on board a converted canal barge.

I caught the train back from Ellesmere Port to Chester and wandered across town to the stunning Grosvenor Museum.

By the time I had exhausted the museum there was just time to grab a very late lunch/extended coffee break before heading back to the hotel to collect my luggage and then head back to the station for the train back to London.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Nice; Friday, 13 December, 2013

I dislike cutting things fine, but with work being busy the check-in desks at Gatwick had already opened by the time I finally got out of work just before 5 and made a dash for the station.

The train decided to crawl part of the way, cranking up the stress just that little bit further, but in the end there was plenty of time as despite the airport being very busy nobody appeared to actually be flying as both security and the departures lounge were deserted.

I had a quick bite to eat in the Yo! Sushi before wandering over to the gate and onto a flight that looked, thanks to the very large school party, like it was going to be packed.

Ready to push back almost 10 minutes early we ended up being delayed as the air-bridge linking us to the terminal decided it didn’t want to co-operate and refused to detach from the plane. Eventually engineers from the airport managed to manually crank it far enough back that the plane was able to be manoeuvred out.

An uneventful flight later we landed at Nice Airport and with a stand close to the runway, a short walk through the airport and very quick baggage delivery I managed to make the shuttle bus to town that I was convinced was uncatchable.

I walked the short distance through town to the hotel, checked in and headed to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Nice; Saturday, 14 December, 2013

A surprisingly quiet breakfast room greeted me when I wandered down a little after 9:30, with only three other tables occupied. Having gorged myself on breakfast I headed out into town to have a wander.

I had a long walk through the city centre, taking in the very impressive gardens that make the centre of the city very pedestrian friendly (but by the looks of it a nightmare for drivers). I then turned into the Old Town area, with its narrow alleyways and lanes, finally stumbling upon the Cathedral more by accident than plan.

Having looked around that I continued my wander through the old town. I eventually reached the southern end of the old town and the stunning view of the coast. With the sun shining down from a cloudless sky it looked almost tempting, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was mid-December.

From the coast I headed over to the lift up to the castle area and spent a very long time wandering around the former fortifications, taking in the stunning views along the Côte D’Azur and basking in the glorious weather.

I stopped for a light lunch in a restaurant at the top of the site with views over to the Ligurian Alps before wandering round to a café for a post lunch coffee with views along the beach and the Promenade des Anglais.

I took the more physical descent back down to sea-level and then wandered along the Promenade des Anglais taking in the views, before picking up the land-train that runs round the city centre taking in the key sights (before heading, inevitably straight back up to the castle and the same place I’d had lunch a couple of hours earlier).

Back on the sea-front I wandered back to the Place Masséna to have a look around the Christmas market that was situated there. It didn’t quite feel right, it looked like a Christmas market, it smelt like a Christmas market, but it was about 15 degrees too warm to be a proper Christmas market.

Just back from the market I went for a quick ride on the Ferris Wheel, taking in the last of the dying light of day before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before going out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Nice; Sunday, 15 December, 2013

Having consumed another massive breakfast and checked out I headed down to the sea front to pick up the open-top tour bus.

I did a full circuit taking in the stunning views from the cliffs above the harbour, returning back to the starting point just in time to pick up the next bus back up the hill to Cimiez

The original location of the Roman city that was founded here there is lots to see, with some stunning remains and I spent much of the day looking round the Roman ruins, as well as the excellent museum to the French painter Matisse, who died in Nice.

I caught the bus back down into the city centre and by now it was already mid-afternoon, so there was just time for a quick cup of coffee and a bit to eat before heading back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then down to the bus stop and off to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Ghent; Friday, 20 December, 2013

Despite the train from work grinding to a halt outside London Bridge for 10 minutes I made it to St Pancras with plenty of time, so I had a quick cup of coffee before it was time to check in to the Eurostar and make my way through the shambles that was security – long queues, nobody quite knowing where to go and lines merging with each other. The advantage of the chaos was that by the time I had cleared security there was only a short wait until the train was called.

Just over two hours later we pulled into Brussels and I made the treck across the station to the platform for the train to Ghent, which, just as it was due, did the usual Belgium trick of getting a creeping delay of a few minutes that would go forward another minute every couple of minutes, so by the time it finally pulled into the station what had been “on time” two minutes before it was due was ten minutes late.

Pulling into the building site that is Gent-Sint-Pieters station half an hour later I was unaware that the local tram and bus drivers had just downed tachographs and taken wild-cat strike action, so I happily wandered over, purchased a ticket and waited in the freezing wind on the tram platform with a number of other commuters for the best part of 30 minutes before it became clear that there weren’t going to be any trams.

I managed to warm back up by making the 25 minute, and very dull, trudge into the city centre dragging my, thankfully relatively light, luggage behind me.

Having checked in I headed back out for a quick wander around the centre of town, taking a few photos, before grabbing a bite to eat in one of the stalls of the Christmas market and then heading back to the hotel for a drink before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Ghent; Saturday, 21 December, 2013

A late rise and breakfast and then out for a quick wander around town, and a check to see when the river cruise boats ran.

I eventually found myself at the Belfort so had a look around the museum located in its tower, and the views over the city from the platforms two thirds of the way up the tower. From the Belfort I popped into the neighbouring St Nicholas church before heading back to the riverside to pick up an early afternoon river cruise.

River cruise completed I wandered back through the little lanes of the city centre to the Cathedral and had a look around that before spending a little while wandering through the stalls of the Christmas Markets picking up a few final gifts for family.

I stopped for a light bite of a braatworst and gluhwein at one of the stalls almost opposite the entrance to my hotel. This proved to be useful as not only was it bitterly cold and windy, as I was finishing it started to rain so I headed back into the hotel to warm up, just as a downpour really got underway.

The downpour continued for much of the evening, so I decided to have a light dinner in the hotel bar, before having an early night

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Ghent; Sunday, 22 December, 2013

After the rain of the previous evening it was quite a surprise to wake to a clear blue sky, albeit with a hefty wind rushing through the street my room looked down on.

Breakfast completed I headed out to the Gravensteen, the castle in the centre of the city, to have a look around there, and as the ticket was also valid at the St Peters Abbey, I caught the tram out to there and also had a look around.

By the time I left the Abbey it was late afternoon, and the weather had taken a distinct turn for the worse. I made a dash for the bus shelter and only got partly soaked in the process.

I got back to the hotel and dried off, waiting for the rain to pass, which it eventually did, before heading back out into town to have a wander through the Christmas market and then dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Ghent; Monday, 23 December, 2013

I checked out of the hotel and had a bit of a wander around Ghent, but it was soon pretty obvious that the combination of it being a Monday, and the day before Christmas Eve had ensured that the only place open was the castle, and as I’d done that the previous day it felt like a bit of waste to money to go back again.

Instead, after having had a morning coffee overlooking a deserted boat cruise landing stage I headed back to the hotel, picked up my bags and headed back into Brussels.

The other consideration as I sat on the train heading back to the capital was the massive storm that was heading straight for the Low Countries. It was already smashing into Southern England and was causing major travel disruption, so it made more sense to be close to the Eurostar terminal, just in case they suddenly decided to start cancelling services.

Having arrived in Brussels I dropped my bags in the left luggage office and caught the tram out to Heysal to have a look around Mini-Europe. When I’d last visited in 2004 it was shortly before the major EU expansion and so much of the site was under construction as they attempted to put in buildings for the 10 new member states.

Since then another three countries had joined, including Croatia just a few months before so I went to have a look around a slightly less mini Mini-Europe.

After taking in the avidly pro-EU propaganda of the site I caught a tram back into the city centre to have a look around, including visiting the Christmas Market by the Grand Place before it was time to head back to the Eurostar terminal and check-in.

Despite the weather savaging train services across the South East of England the Eurostar service ran perfectly to time throughout, so I arrived in St Pancras in time to catch a train towards home that should have arrived nearly an hour earlier.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Margate; Friday, 03 January, 2014

When I originally planned to go down to Margate after New Years it was the early summer and my major concern, based on the previous few years, was would I get down there through the inevitable snow. However, snow wasn’t going to be my issue, the foul weather that had been streaking across the British Isles for nearly a month with storm after storm wreaking havoc, especially over parts of Kent, did make me wonder if it was a wise idea to be heading so close to the coast.

Still, dodging the regular spectacular showers I headed into town to pick up the High Speed train down to Kent.

I arrived in Margate with an overcast, but dry sky and so wandered the short distance from the station to the hotel, checked in and then headed back out.

In the dying light of day the beach and sea were calm as I wandered along the wide sands of the bay.

However, almost as soon as I got over to the opposite side of the bay, by the harbour, I turned back to see a very menacing sky. I hurried up to the Turner Contemporary museum and made it inside the building with just a couple of moments to spare before the skies opened and a massive downpour fell over the town.

It was difficult to tell if the skies ever lightened, as by the time the rain stopped it was already dark. Thankfully, I’d sat out that particular arm of the latest storm in the very nice café of the gallery, and after finishing my pot of tea I wandered back through the town towards the hotel.

I did have a look for somewhere to eat, but in the end settled on the restaurant attached to the hotel.

Having finished dinner I decided I would pop back out to see Margate at night, only to have that decision immediately reversed when I looked out the window of my room to see another massive downpour emptying, this one showing no immediate sign of slowing, so I headed back to the bar with a book and settled into the warm for the rest of the evening, along with many other of my fellow Premier Inn guests.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Margate; Saturday, 04 January, 2014

Breakfast consumed I headed out of the hotel and along the sea front, up past the gallery and onto the Eastern cliffs, taking in the views from the former fort, and the temporary art installation of a house with its entire frontage slipped down.

I wandered through some of the back streets and eventually found myself at the spectacular shell grotto which I had a long look around, before heading back towards the centre of town, stopping off at the Tudor House on the way.

A walk through the Old Town, with a quick stop for a pint of a very nice local brew in a specialist Ale and Cider pub, and I found myself by the bus stop for The Loop bus service which links the seaside towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate together.

With the skies indicating another heavy shower was on its way I decided to hop on board and travel a bit further round the coast.

In the time it took to get to the next major seaside town, Broadstairs, the spectacular downpour came and went, so by the time I arrive there it was back to being very windy, but dry.

I had a bit of a wander along the cliffs above the beautiful bay that the town sits on, before heading to the nearby Royal Albion hotel for a very late lunch, during which I sat out another downpour.

Sated, I headed back to the bus stop and continued on into Ramsgate, arriving just as the light of the day was fading. I had a wander round for a bit, but with spits of rain starting to fall I decided it would probably be wise to head back to the bus, making it back to the shelter of the bus stop just a few moments before both the bus, and the next downpour arrived.

This downpour lasted almost the entire way back into Margate, at times the water was running down the windows so fast it looked like we were in a car wash.

Back in Margate and with just a brief rest bite in the bad weather I decided not to risk it and instead headed back to the hotel to again have dinner there.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Margate; Sunday, 05 January, 2014

Breakfasted and checked out I headed out into a gloriously sunny morning, with just faint wisps of fluffy clouds in the sky. On the beach the tide was so far out, and the sea so calm, it was hard to imagine that yet another storm had been forecast for just a couple of hours later.

I walked across the bay again, this time arriving at the Turner Contemporary in the dry to have a proper look around the gallery.

From the Turner I wandered back through town and caught the bus out to the Hornby visitors centre to have a look around there.

After looking round the Hornby centre it was time to head back into Margate.

From the morning’s low tide and glorious sun it was now much easier to believe that there was another storm on the way. The tide was right in, and starting to churn slightly, the sky was already overcast and there was the odd spot of rain in the air, so it felt like as good a time as any to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and then head back to the station for the train home, back through the teeth of another storm.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Cheltenham; Friday, 17 January, 2014

Ninety minutes, in theory, should be more than enough time to get across London to catch a train from Paddington. However, with another round of flooding affecting Southern Britain, now actually a daily occurrence, the trains were in a complete mess and whilst I made it to Paddington with about 10 minutes to spare, it was a little too close for comfort.

Having settled down into my seat I was able to relax as the train meandered its way west across England, turning off of the main line at Swindon to travel along the stunning Golden Valley to Stroud and beyond towards Gloucester.

I walked the 10 minutes or so from the station out to the hotel and dropped my stuff off, before heading back out and wandering into town, except I hadn’t realised quite how far out of town the railway station actually was (and the hotel was further still). By the time I reached the town centre it was already close to dusk.

I had a wander around the town centre and stopped for a bite to eat before deciding that it would make much more sense to catch the bus back to the station.

I walked back from the station, only to find that the bus also stopped just around the corner from the hotel as I saw it emerge from a side street on it’s return leg.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Cheltenham; Saturday, 18 January, 2014

Having discovered quite how close to the hotel the bus stop was, I wandered over there after Breakfast and headed into town.

I walked the short distance to the bus station to catch the bus out to Cirencester, only to find out that the buses actually left from the next street across, so I wandered over there and picked it up with a couple of minutes to spare.

A very pretty ride through parts of the Cotswolds, if slightly slow at times as the aging bus struggled to climb the hills, eventually dropped me off in the centre of Cirencester.

I had a long wander around the town, including taking in the park formed from part of the Bathurst estate, before heading over to the town museum to have a look around there. Inspired by the museum I walked out to the back of town to have a look round the remains of the Amphitheatre before heading back into the town centre.

After a brief stop for a late lunch I wandered over to the parish church, one of the largest in the UK, to have a look around, before having a walk in the Abbey Gardens, taking in the only other remaining bit of Roman ruins in the town, a small part of the town walls.

I had a bit more of a wander around town, before the skies started to fill ominously with very dark clouds. I didn’t quite make it to a café in time and got quite wet. I thought it would be a relatively short shower so I went to sit it out with a coffee.

In the end, two large coffee’s later and with the light of the day starting to fade the rain finally reduced to a mere drizzle, I made a dash for it to the bus stop so that I could get the penultimate bus of the day back to Cheltenham.

The two large coffees, the poor state of the road and the even poorer state of the buses suspension made for an uncomfortable journey, and I was quite glad to find that the shopping centre next to the bus stop was still open so that I could make use of their facilities on arrival.

I had a bit more of a walk around Cheltenham town centre, mostly looking for somewhere to get a light snack before finally wandering back to the bus stop and catching the bus back to the hotel and an early night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Cheltenham; Sunday, 19 January, 2014

With breakfast consumed and my bags left in store in the hotel I headed out into a glorious crisp winters morning with a clear blue sky and almost blinding sun, such a difference from the previous evening.

First stop of the morning was straight through the town centre and out the other side again to the Pittville Park and Pump Room. The Pump room was where those coming to Cheltenham to take the waters would have come to take the cure. I had a look around the pump room, but declined the offer to sample the waters.

I walked back to town through the pretty Pittville park and then continued on through the town centre along the Promenade and the beautiful examples of Georgian Architecture and on into Montpellier.

I had a long wander around Montpellier stopping for a quite long lunch in one of the many café’s before walking over to the town’s museum.

There was lots to see in the museum and gallery, with some of the rooms being so crowded with artefacts that it’s almost certain I missed stuff on the look round.

By the time I had exhausted the museum and gallery it was late afternoon and after a quick stop in a café for a coffee it was time to catch the bus back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Coimbra; Friday, 14 February, 2014

Heading out of work into the rain that had been plaguing Britain for the previous 8 weeks it wasn’t to the thought of sunnier climbs as the weather forecast made it clear that Portugal had been hit by pretty much the same continuously wet weather.

With a degree of coordination not normally found in British transport the train was pulling into the platform as I arrived, and at Clapham the same was repeated. By the time I emerged from Feltham station straight onto a 285 bus that had just pulled up my concerns were really up – just how delayed or cancelled was my flight going to be as transport karma had to be re-established.

In the end it was the same underlying theme from the previous few weeks that helped restore the karma, the highly active jet stream that was pushing storm after storm into the UK was also making for some particularly turbulent and unpleasant flying conditions. A flight that on a good day was doable in just about two hours took three, and they were three pretty bumpy ones.

We landed, very heavily, into the teeth of another hefty shower in Lisbon, and the end was still passing through as I trudged the 10 minutes or so uphill from Sete Rios station to my hotel for the night.

The original plan was to drop my stuff off and then head into the centre of Lisbon to do some late night sightseeing. Instead I grabbed my kindle, my wallet and headed for the bar.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Coimbra; Saturday, 15 February, 2014

If the previous evening had been foul then the morning after the night before was, as so often is the case, glorious. The sun was shining, an almost clear blue sky and a massive breakfast buffet after a lovely long lie-in.

Having gorged myself I went back up to my room, packed and then headed down to Santa Apolónia station to catch the high-speed train up to Coimbra.

The train passed through the Portuguese countryside, vast swathes of which were flooded, but this didn’t appear to effect the service (unlike the UK) with the train pulling into Coimbra-B station 5 minutes early. Consequently I had an even longer than planned wait at Coimbra-B for the train down the track to Coimbra-A station in the centre of town.

Having walked from the station and checked into my hotel I headed out into town to do some exploring.

I had a long wander through the old town including taking in parts of the old city walls as well as both the Old (12th Century) and New (16th Century) cathedrals and the university district.

Having avoided a couple of sharp showers through diving into cathedrals or random university buildings at fortuitous moments I headed back down into the newer part of the city and across the river to have a wander along the flooded river bank, before taking quite a few photos of the historic city centre from the pedestrian bridge that links the two banks of the city.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out for a very pleasant dinner in town and a quick stroll along the riverside to take some night shots of the city before heading back to my bed.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Coimbra; Sunday, 16 February, 2014

Another long lie-in and massive breakfast combo set me up for the day.

I headed out of the hotel and climbed up through the narrow lanes of the old town up to the university district and visited the stunning Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro stopping on its terrace café for lunch looking out over the dome of the old cathedral and the river.

From there it was a wander through the university district and down to the botanical gardens to have a look around them

From the botanical gardens I wandered back via the Praça da República and the overly engineered fountain in the Jardim da Manga to the centre of town for a late afternoon coffee before crossing the bridge to visit the ruins of the Old Santa-Clara monastery.

A long look around the site, made all the more incredible by the video of how they had rescued the site, which had started to be inundated by the river not long after it was built and had to be abandoned by the 17th century, by pumping out all the water. As you wandered round the lower parts of the church the tidelines were way above your head on the pillars.

I crossed back over the river and stopped for dinner in one of the restaurants that overlook the river, which had noticeably dropped from the previous day and was almost back within its banks.

After dinner I had a bit of a wander through the park before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Coimbra; Monday, 17 February, 2014

Yet another long lie in and large late breakfast before it was time to pack up and head back towards the station.

The timing of the trains from Coimbra back to Coimbra-B were such that I either had to wait for 45 minutes at the junction, or trudge the 2Km back to Coimbra-B through a heavy shower. I decided to have the long wait.

A couple of hours later, and with the rain still lashing down I arrived back at Lisbon Santa Apolónia station and put my bag in a luggage locker for a little while.

Emerging from the station into the very end of the latest shower I wandered through to the centre of the city and was just going to have a wander around, but another shower made my mind up that I’d do a spot of sightseeing from a tram.

Taking advantage of a serious bunching problem with the trams up into the cathedral and castle district I hopped on an almost empty tram at the rear of the queue, hopping off at the Portas del Sol to take some photos in another gap in the showers.

I continued on back round into the centre of the city at which point it was time to head back to the station, pick up my luggage and wend my way back out to the airport and finish the journey home.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Portsmouth; Friday, 21 February, 2014

I finished work just after midday and made it down onto the platform at East Croydon with a couple of minutes to spare before the Portsmouth train pulled in. The journey was smooth and pain free, and less than 90 minutes after leaving my office I was walking through the door of the hotel to check in.

After dropping my bags off I headed out of the hotel and wandered down towards the historic docks, not realising quite how far they were from the hotel, coupled with the lack of any lunch. By the time I got to Gunwharf Quays shopping centre, just before the dockyards I was famished so I grabbed a late and very naught fast-food lunch, before heading on towards the historic docks.

However, my attention was diverted by the sight of the Spinnaker tower, now the most famous sight on Portsmouth’s skyline. I headed in and took the lift up to the viewing towers. I spent quite a bit of time taking in the views and by the time I’d gotten back down to ground level and walked the final leg on to the historic dockyards they were already heading towards last admissions time.

Thankfully I’d purchased joint ticket at the Spinnaker tower which, once I’d swapped the voucher they had given me over, gave me a year’s access to the site, so I wasn’t too worried about actually getting into any of the museums of boats, instead I just had a long wander around the site.

After looking round the dockyard I walked the short distance back to Portsmouth Harbour station, and being incredibly lazy, caught the train one stop, three minutes, back up the line to Southsea station and back to my hotel to freshen up before heading back out to find dinner.

Portsmouth on a Friday night in term time (for most of the centre of Portsmouth appeared to be university buildings) is what might be described as “bustling”. Consequently I decided to eat quickly and head back to the relative safety of my hotel room from where I could watch Friday night in Pompy play out from my 4th floor window.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Portsmouth; Saturday, 22 February, 2014

After a filling breakfast I headed over to the bus stops near the station and caught the bus round to the seaside town of Southsea. The fact that Southsea is less than a mile from the centre of Portsmouth would make you think that it would be difficult to spot where one ended and the other started, but the wide expanse of Southsea Common, and the pleasant gardens of the Promenade made the demarcation pretty clear.

I had a long wander along the prom taking in the stunning views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and watching the incredible amount of traffic shuttling backwards and forwards between the island and the mainland (Car ferries, catamarans and hovercraft all shuttling backwards and forwards)

A short walk along the prom took me to the closed Southsea Castle, but I was able to have a quick peer in past the main entrance gateway as the café was open. However, just behind the castle the D-Day museum and Overlord embroidery was open to look round.

I continued my walk along the prom down as far as the remains of Southsea Pier from where I caught the bus back to the Harbour and changed mode of transport to ferry as I crossed the harbour over to Gosport.

There were two attractions in Gosport that I wanted to visit. Both were only accessible by walking, the first a mile and a half to the North East, the other three quarters of a mile to the South West, so it was going to be a long afternoon of walking.

First stop was the Explosion! Museum on the site of the former Priddy’s Hard armaments supply depot. Having looked around their exhibitions I retraced my steps back into the centre of Gosport and back out again down to the submarine museum.

By the time I left the submarine museum it was starting to get late and by the time I was back at the ferry terminal in Gosport the sun was already starting to set.

I caught the bus the short distance back round to Old Portsmouth to take some photos of the Cathedral and the old fortified walls of the harbour, including the Square and Round towers.

A bit of a wander through the lanes of Old Portsmouth and eventually I arrived back at Gunwharf Quays knackered and in need of dinner, so I stopped off at a Yo-Sushi for a quick fuel stop.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander through Old Portsmouth before catching the bus back round to the hotel and a well-earned sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Portsmouth; Sunday, 23 February, 2014

Breakfast completed I checked out slightly perturbed that the Ibis was charging for luggage storage.

I wandered down to the harbour and headed to the Historic Dockyard to take in the attractions there. First stop was the Iron built warship HMS Warrior followed by the Dockyard Apprentice Museum.

I had a quick look around action stations, which appeared to mostly be a service on behalf of Navy recruitment before taking a pit stop in the Georgian tea rooms.

I headed down to the Royal Navy museum and then the Victory Experience and Trafalgar panorama before heading over to have a look around the main attraction on the site, HMS Victory.

After looking round the Victory I popped next door to the museum for the Mary Rose, which at the time of visiting was about 20% of the way through its five year drying out process, having spent the previous 20 years absorbing a wax polymer to prevent the wood from decaying.

By the time I’d finished in the Mary Rose there was just about enough time to hot foot it down to Gunwharf Quays to pick up the harbour cruise that took a quick look round the harbour, which included a very interesting running commentary from the captain on all the ships from the Navy (and the US Submarine) that were in port.

Slightly windblown from the harbour cruise it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and then head back to the station and off home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Brighton; Friday, 28 February, 2014

Having left work I just caught the FCC train, which in hindsight was probably a mistake. Packed, smelly and overly hot it meandered its way down to Brighton, with the on-board entertainment being provided by a poor passenger who was suddenly and very violently ill in the bin by the doors.

Having stood all the way from Croydon to Brighton I was quite glad it was only a very short walk from the station down to the hotel, where I checked in, dropped off my bag in the room and headed out into town.

I had a wander down to the sea front and a bit of a wander along, but by now the drizzle had been upgraded to a heavy rain and with a gusty wind the conditions down on the sea front were anything less than pleasant, so I wandered back through The Lanes stopping for a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Brighton; Saturday, 01 March, 2014

The contrast to the previous evening could not have been more stark, on pulling back the curtains in my hotel room I was greeted with a glorious clear blue sky and bright sunlight.

I had a quick breakfast before heading back down to the sea front and first stop of the morning, the Brighton Wheel.

Having taken in the views I had a long walk along the sea front down to the marina, where I stopped for a coffee before heading back into town which was now besieged by day trippers who had spotted it was a nice day and had headed for the coast.

To escape the worst of the tourist crowds I hopped on the bus up to the downs and headed out to the Devils Dyke where I had a bit of a wander and a very nice late lunch in the pub at the top of the Dyke.

Catching a late afternoon bus back towards town I changed buses in Hove and headed further along the coast to the seaside village (if you can call a suburb of Brighton a Village) of Rottingdean, stopping to sample one of the many cafés located in the settlement.

I took the bus back the long way round the back of Rottingdean and up over the racecourse so by the time it was coming back down the hill into Brighton I was greeted with the sight of the late winter sun slowly setting into the sea.

A bit of a wander round the city centre and then dinner before heading back to the hotel for a well earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Brighton; Sunday, 02 March, 2014

Any hope for a repeat of the nice weather was dashed the second I drew back the curtains and saw the wall of grey sky hanging over the city.

Breakfast completed and checked out I headed back down to the seafront, winding my way through the North Laine and The Lanes and then heading back in land to the city museum located in the stable block of the Royal Pavilion.

After the museum I headed across Pavilion gardens to have a look round the Royal Pavilion itself, and from there headed down to the Sealife centre on the sea front.

A late lunch by the sea front and then a wander down the pier, cut short by what felt like spots of rain.

Given how overcast the sky was I thought it was probably about time to make a move for home and I was just a couple of yards from the canopy of Brighton Station with my luggage when the skies started to open.

It being a Sunday it was of course the statutory Rail Replacement bus service back to Three Bridges, which at least lasted for the same length of time as the downpour so that by the time I had to get off the bus to catch the train for the final leg home it was down to just a fine misty drizzle.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Barcelona; Friday, 14 March, 2014

Despite having stayed overnight in an airport hotel it was still a horrific time of the morning when I had to get up, check out of the hotel and walk the short distance to the North Terminal.

Having dropped my bags off I headed through into Departures to grab a light breakfast before wandering down to the gate.

Despite a bit of delay on departure due to a thick blanket of fog lying over southern England we still arrived in Barcelona about 10 minutes early and a short while later I was sitting on the train into the city centre.

Having dropped my bags into the left luggage locker at Sants station I wandered over to Plaça de Catalunya to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus and took it once round the red route of the Southern half of the city.

Back at Plaça de Catalunya I headed over to the Cathedral to have a look around and take in the views from the roof, before it was time to head over to the station, pick up my luggage and head over to the hotel to check in.

Checked in I headed back into the city centre for a bit of a wander before catching the last open-top tour of the evening to get the views of the city at sunset.

Back at Plaça de Catalunya just after 9pm and starving I decided I couldn’t be completely local and I had to eat, so I headed down towards the cathedra to find a bit to eat and located a very nice tapas restaurant.

Stuffed and sated I waddled back to the metro and caught the train back to the hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Barcelona; Saturday, 15 March, 2014

I woke to a clear blue sky and a blinding sun pouring through the windows in my 14th floor hotel room. I had a quick breakfast and headed out to the Sagrada Familia as I thought it was likely to get busy early. I was proved right, but my idea of early was slightly out and in the end I had to queue for nearly an hour to get to the ticket office, only to find that you couldn’t go up the towers as all the tickets for the day had already been sold, so I was only able to look around the inside.

However inside it was pretty amazing. When I last visited 10 years earlier the inside had still been a proper building site, but today the inside has been all but completed and it makes a stunning space.

I spent quite a long time taking in the stunning church before heading back into town to pick up the other open-top sightseeing bus route from the one I’d taken the previous day.

I did a full circuit before staying on round to the stop for the Blue Tram up to Mount Tibidabo.

I caught the tram and then the funicular up to the Temple de Sagrat Cor church at the top of the mountain and then took the lift inside the church to its viewing platform, officially the highest point in the city. From here the views over Barcelona and out over the Mediterranean were spectacular, despite the heat haze.

Having stopped for a very late lunch at Mount Tibidabo I came back down and caught the Metro back into town for a long wander, before picking up the last blue route sightseeing bus of the day to take in the views of the north of the city at sunset.

Again, starving by 9pm I hunted out another pleasant tapas restaurant before heading back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Barcelona; Sunday, 16 March, 2014

Having checked out I headed back into town, avoiding the Barcelona Marathon that had closed a large part of the city centre, and over to Montjuïc, taking the cable car up to the castle at the very top of the hill.

The fortification offers, as any good fortification should do, stunning views over the city and the port.

After having a long look round I caught the cable car and funicular back down to ground level and had a wander through the lower parts of the park, which was also the finishing point for the Marathon which was starting to draw to a close.

I wandered up through the park, taking advantage of the handily placed escalators to avoid having to do any climbing, ending up at the Olympic stadium, which I had a look round, before heading back down into town for a quick look around the Barcelona History museum.

I’d held off doing this to quite late in the day, as it was free from 3pm onwards, but this did mean that I only really had time to do part of the museum justice, the spectacular Roman remains located in it’s basement.

Having whipped round the last part of the museum I headed back over to the hotel, picked up my luggage and made my way back to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Leipzig; Friday, 04 April, 2014

An earlyish flight from Heathrow so I’d stayed over the previous evening at an airport hotel. Consequently it was a relatively smooth and quick journey into the central bus station and then on to Terminal 5 on the Heathrow Express (even if it was nearly 5 minutes late)

Heathrow itself was heaving, with many schools having a teacher training day and the holidays starting there appeared to be a mass exodus in full swing.

The flight left, on time, from gate 1 which turned out to be almost the completely opposite end of the terminal building from where I was when they announced it, and by the time I got to the gate they were making a final call.

We pushed back on time and had a smooth take-off, which was the last smooth part of the flight. Due to the particular atmospheric conditions there was turbulence at all heights across most of Western Europe and the best the pilots could do was get us into a pocket of mild turbulence rather than the full on plane rattling that was at our originally assigned height.

The bumping only really came to an end once we came below about 10,000 feet on final descent into Berlin, by which time the turbulence had taken its toll on a few of my fellow passengers.

Down on the ground and a quick baggage claim and uninterrupted stroll through customs and out to the bus over to the Hauptbahnhof meant that I had nearly two hours to kill before my train, but thankfully I’d paid the extra couple of euros to upgrade to first so could kill that time in the very pleasant DB Lounge

Pulling into Leipzig bang on time I wandered the short distance from the station to my hotel and checked in, dropped my stuff off and then went for a wander through town.

Just as it was starting to get dark, and my stomach was starting to rumble, I found myself on the main street of restaurants, so after a quick browse found a very nice Bierkeller for a leisurely dinner. I’d chosen a table outside which was very nice, but the layout of the pavement meant that I was sitting slightly awkwardly for most of dinner, but I didn’t really notice until I stood to get up to leave and found that my leg had almost completely gone to sleep.

With some feeling, and an odd twinge in the muscles, in my leg I had a bit more of a wander before heading back to the hotel for what I thought would be a good night’s sleep.

And for the first couple of hours I was right.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Leipzig; Saturday, 05 April, 2014

However, around 1am I was woken by a shooting pain in the muscles at the back of my knee and no matter how I tried to lie down, sit down, stand up or walk around I couldn’t find any position that was comfortable for more than about 10 minutes. The pain eventually reached a crescendo around 3am when I suddenly realised that the large bottle of water in the mini-bar could double up as an ice pack. 40 minutes later I was actually able to lie down and eventually around 5AM I must have finally fallen into a fitful sleep.

Waking up I discovered that whilst the pain was less than during the night, the movement options were more limited, with putting on socks and stairs being the two most painful jobs of the morning.

After a very slow descent to breakfast, and a very large breakfast to make up for the lack of sleep and the pain, I hobbled out of the hotel, discovering that walking on the flat was generally OK.

So I ditched the plans to head out to, and climb up to the top of, the massive Völkerschlachtdenkmal and instead concentrated on seeing sights at ground level in the city centre.

I had quite a long, and slow, wander round the city centre, stopping off at the Nikolaikirch and the Thomaskirch to have a look around them before wandering over to the Stasi museum located in their former headquarters.

It was only as I was limping up the steps that I realised the bulk of the pain in my leg had gone, and it was now down to just stabbing pain on stairs, so by adjusting my gate to basically dragging my damaged leg up behind the good one I found I was starting to get around without too many problems.

Having visited the Stasi museum I headed over to the Hauptbahnhof to pick up the sightseeing tour bus and took in both of the routes that they did, covering much of the city. To my delight as I climbed down the stairs from the top deck of the second bus I realised that whilst it was still a bit uncomfortable, my leg was almost back to normal.

Given that my leg appeared to be working, and that I was right next to the Panorama Tower I decided that perhaps I would climb a tower, albeit 29 floors by lift and just two floors by stairs.

Descending back down to ground level I had a bit more of a wander around and very carefully chose my seat at the restaurant I had identified for dinner to try and make sure that my leg didn’t get the same treatment as the previous evening.

Another massive dinner later I wandered back through town to my hotel for a relatively early and I hoped full nights sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Leipzig; Sunday, 06 April, 2014

I woke after a decent nights sleep with no pain in my leg, so I decided that was a good enough sign to take in a lot of stairs.

After a full breakfast I headed out across town to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal. When I’d previously visited it on a day trip from Berlin in 2006 it had looked quite shabby, covered in pollution and in serious need of renovation. Well in the intervening eight years that’s exactly what had happened, spurred on by the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 that the monument was originally built to commemorate, the whole site had been given a spruce up, with lots more information, displays, more areas to visit, and a commensurate hike in the entrance fee.

I spent quite a bit of time in the monument, taking in the views and the exhibitions, so by the time I got back into the city centre it was already early afternoon, so I had a late lunch and did a bit of wandering through the town.

By the time I’d finished wandering it was already closing time for most of the museums, so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out into town to grab a light dinner.

After dinner I caught the tram back out to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal to take some night photos before heading back to the hotel to pack ready for an early start the following morning.

Weather

Misty Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Leipzig; Monday, 07 April, 2014

I was booked on a train out of Leipzig before 10, so I had to get up and have an early breakfast before checking out and heading over to the station.

After arriving in Berlin and dropping my bag off at the left luggage lockers in the Hauptbahnhof I picked up a ticket and headed deep into the surrounding Brandenburg state to the city of Brandenburg an der Havel.

I only had a couple of hours to look round so I started by having a wander over towards the old town and the Cathedral Island. It was only as I walked past the second closed museum of the day that it finally twigged that it was a Monday, and consequently everything was going to be shut.

The Cathedral, or what of the Cathedral wasn’t undergoing a major renovation, was open to have a look around and a quick visit to the Cathedral museum.

I continued on having a wander around the town, taking in the ruins of the city walls and many watch towers that surround the old town.

By the time I eventually arrived at the back of the old town, having seen most things, I realised it was time I needed to head back towards the station and make the long journey home.

Back in Berlin just over an hour later I picked up my bags from the Hauptbahnhof, back tracked a couple of station to Zoo and picked up the airport express bus back out to Tegal and my flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Canterbury; Friday, 11 April, 2014

A quick dash across town after finishing work saw me make the train at St Pancras with plenty of time to spare.

About an hour later we pulled into Canterbury and I hiked across town to the hotel to checkin.

I wandered back out to have a look round town for a little while, detouring through the Cathedral grounds and then wandering out to the Westgate before heading back through the town centre to track down some dinner, then it was back to the hotel for an early night as I needed an early start the following morning

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Canterbury; Saturday, 12 April, 2014

Breakfast consumed I headed the short distance over to the bus station to pick up the 9:45 bus out to Sandwich, from where it was a mile or so walk along the side of the River Stour to reach the Roman fort at Richborough.

I had a long visit to the site before heading back into Sandwich for a look around, and a spot of lunch, before catching an early afternoon bus back into town.

I headed up through the city centre and stopped off at the Eastbridge Hospital to have a look there, before heading over to the Cathedral, taking the advice of the guidebook to avoid the queues of the morning by turning up mid-afternoon, just before they started to close everything down for evensong.

I had a long look round the Cathedral, making sure I did the Choir first as that was due to close shortly after I arrived.

From the Cathedral I had a bit of a wander through town towards the river where I picked up a punt tour of the river with a very knowledgeable guide.

After the tour on the Stour I had a long wander through the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up ready to head back out for dinner.

Weather

Haze Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Canterbury; Sunday, 13 April, 2014

After breakfast I headed round the corner from the hotel to the ruins of St Augustine’s abbey, the first Christian site built in England since the fall of the Roman Empire, and arguably the seed from which the Church of England and the entire Anglican communion grew from.

From the Abbey I wandered over to have a look around the city walls, including visiting the Simmons monument and the remains of the city’s castle.

After a brief stop for lunch I hit the museums visiting the Roman museum, Beaney museum and gallery, Canterbury Tales and Canterbury Heritage museum in quick succession.

Knackered and suffering from a serious case of museum feet I brought myself 40 minutes of relaxation by taking one of the row boat tours of the Stour.

After the tour I had a bit more of a wander round the city centre before heading back to the hotel just before the sun started to set to grab dinner and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Canterbury; Monday, 14 April, 2014

In the end I was quite glad I’d had an early night as it meant I managed to get some sleep in before dinner decided it wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Several times during the middle of the night I had to get up.

By the time breakfast came round I was feeling better, but decided to forego the full cooked breakfast and instead stuck to bread based products.

Having completed breakfast I headed back to my room, packed, checked out and made my way back across town to the station and my train back to work.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Salzburg; Wednesday, 16 April, 2014

Just two weeks out from the trip, and by pure chance, I discovered that rather than departing Gatwick at 15:10 my flight had been retimed to 13:00. After some frantic re-arranging of annual leave arrangements I managed to get away from work just before 11 and headed down to the airport.

An exceptionally full, but comfortable and uneventful flight later we arrived into Salzburg where the plane was met by buses and a rather too efficient baggage team who were already driving across the airport apron fully loaded before the buses had pulled off from the plane.

With a very quick journey through immigration, baggage and customs I found myself less than 15 minutes after touching down boarding the bus into town.

After checking-in at the hotel and dropping my stuff off I went for a wander round town, taking in the main sights in the city centre, before taking the funicular railway up to the fortress to take in the views from there.

Descending back down into the old town I continued my wandering before ending up outside a very nice looking Bierkeller.

Quite a bit later, and fit to bursting from excellent bratwurst and even better beer I staggered out of the Bierkeller, had a very brief stop to take a few evening photos before heading back to the hotel and my bed.

Weather

No Data Light Sleet
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Salzburg; Thursday, 17 April, 2014

With a very large breakfast inside me I headed out into town to hit the sights. First stop of the morning, given they might all have been closed to tourists for the remainder of the Easter period was to hit the cathedral and key churches in the city centre.

After having a wander around the cathedral I popped into the nearby Panorama museum to take in the stunning 19th century panorama picture of Salzburg, before heading back across the cathedral square to the Abbey of St Peters.

Alongside the impressive (and richly decorated) church and the interesting cemetery you can also visit the Catacombs that have been hewn out of the cliff face that rises up almost vertically behind the abbey.

From St Peters it was a short walk round the corner to the Franziskanerkirche for a quick look there, before I headed over to the Salzach to book myself onto one of the short river cruises up the river and a quick spot of lunch riverside before the cruise started.

The specially designed ship has to work hard to battle against, what is in effect a gushing mountain river, which in places is very shallow, but consequently you do get to see a lot as at times it’s barely moving forwards in the strong currents. However, coming back down stream with the motors on full blast you really do fly by. The tour ends with the boat doing its own little waltz in the middle of the Salzach before docking to demonstrate the agility of the craft (and to unsettle the stomachs of a few passengers)

I wandered back through the town stopping off to have a look round the last church of the day the Kollegienkirche before meandering my way through the little streets of the Alte Stadt.

I then headed over to the other hill on this side of the river the Mönchsberg to take the lift up through the middle of it to its summit and the stunning views it offers over the city centre, as well as stopping off at the Museum der modern, modern art gallery located on the summit.

Having looked round the gallery I descended back down to street level and headed back to the hotel to freshen up, before heading back out for dinner in another nice Bierkeller I’d spotted earlier in the day.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Salzburg; Friday, 18 April, 2014

Another hearty breakfast consumed I headed on into town and over to the main station to pick up the bus out to Schloß Hellbrunn. Originally built as a summer pleasure palace by the then Prince Archbishop, the grounds include a number of trick fountains designed to entertain the Prince’s guests, or mostly to entertain the Prince whilst soaking his guests, and much the same appears to be the case today with the tour guide taking quite a bit of pleasure in using the myriad of hidden jets to get as many of the visitors as possible at least a little damp.

Having taken in both the gardens and the palace I headed back into town and was just in time to sign up for an afternoon bus tour out to a salt mine and into the Bavarian alps.

The first stop of the tour was at one of the Prince Archbishops former salt mines near the town of Hallein. The tour through the mine takes about 90 minutes and included a ride on an old mine railway deep into the side of the mountain, a series of films about the history of the mines and salt’s relationship with both the Prince Archbishops and the city of Salzburg, a trip across a salt lake created as part of the extraction process and two very weird slides down, in one case, 42m between levels. The tour ends with an escalator ride back up to the level of the railway (as of course every good mine should have its own escalators…). Due to its location we ended up crossing the border into Germany and later back into Austria, all nearly 200m below the ground

From the mine we drove further up into the alps, crossing the border back into Germany, again, and this time up to the Obersalzburg, the area that became synonymous with the Nazi regime after Hitler brought a summer house here. Today there is almost nothing left of the giant fortified complex that was built up here, other than the Eagles Nest, the mountain top command centre, though as its only open between May and October it wasn’t possible to visit.

From the Obersalzburg we descended part way back down the mountains to the lovely small German town of Berchtesgaden. This is a pretty little town, and would probably still be a quiet sleepy Bavarian Alpine village if it hadn’t been the nearest settlement to the Nazi headquarters at the Obersalzburg and therefore the town name linked to them, and as such making the town a target for bombing raids at the end of the war.

After a stop in the town for a very late lunch we headed back onto the bus and back along the riverside to Salzburg.

Although lunch had only been about 50 minutes earlier, it had been very light, so I grabbed a light dinner before having a bit of a wander round town and then headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Haze Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Salzburg; Saturday, 19 April, 2014

Fortified with breakfast my first stop of the morning was to head up to the Fortress to take in the sights.

There is quite a lot to see up at the fortress with a number of exhibitions and museums and so by the time I had finished looking round it was already early afternoon. I descended back down into town on the funicular and made it over to the Salzburg Festival Halls just in time to take the daily guided tour round the theatre complex.

The festival halls are only actually used for seven weeks in the entire year, a week at Whitsun and then the main six week festival in July and August, during the rest of the time they lie idle, apart from a daily group of tourists wandering round. To some ways that helps to explain the eye watering prices that were quoted for seats at any of the performances during the festival.

The tour started in the relatively new (2006) Mozart house which has a large auditorium and an almost equally as large stage, which the tour takes you round into the back of. After the Mozart House you then move into the main space the Rock Theatre. Originally carved out of the sheer cliff face to act as a viewing space for the Spanish Riding School that was located in front of the cliffs, today it’s been turned into the dramatic backdrop for the main stage (on which a certain Von-Trapp family performed on shortly before deciding to take a permanent and very sudden vacation from Salzburg), and apparently adds something special to the acoustics of the space.

The tour ends in what is now the halls bar, but at the time of creation was the indoor riding hall.

After the tour I headed over to the Salzburg museum to have a look around there before a quick, and late, lunch in the Motzartplatz.

After lunch I wandered over to the Schloß Mirabell, built by the then Prince Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich for his lover Salome, with whom he fathered 15 children (not bad for a senior Catholic cleric…) The palace itself was already closed for the evening, but the stunning gardens were still open so I had a long wander around them before finding myself back by the riverside, slightly downstream from the centre of town and from where it was possible to get some excellent pictures of the old town and fortress.

I walked back alongside the river to the old town and had a dinner in the same bierkeller I’d been to on the first night before heading back to the hotel and a well-earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Salzburg; Sunday, 20 April, 2014

A nice long lie in, followed by a leisurely breakfast then it was time to pack the bag, check out of the hotel and pick up the bus back to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Inverness; Friday, 02 May, 2014

As it was an early morning flight I’d headed over to the airport the evening beforehand, so at a little after 5am I was checking out of the Premier Inn and heading towards the terminal building at Gatwick.

I had an uneventful journey through the airport, and everything appeared to be running smoothly with everyone on board and ready to go about 10 minutes before we were due to depart, but then one of the passengers got taken ill and had to be taken off of the plane.

By the time they had managed to get a paramedic to check him over, confirm he was unfit to fly, recover his bags from the hold and then get back to a ready to depart position we were over an hour late pushing back and even later by the time we finally turned onto the runway to take off.

Thankfully an uneventful flight (which I suppose it probably wouldn’t have been if they hadn’t taken the sick person off…) later we touched down in Edinburgh and after a quick journey through the airport I was on the bus into town.

I’d originally had several hours to kill in Edinburgh, but with the delay to the flight this was now only a couple of hours, so I had grabbed a very slow cup of coffee near the station before heading down to catch my train north.

The train was packed almost the whole way to Inverness, so I was quite glad of the short walk from the station down to the hotel to be able to stretch my limbs a little.

Having checked in I went for a bit of a wander through the city, and up the River Ness towards the Ness Islands.

After quite a long walk I headed back to the hotel to grab dinner and an early night

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Inverness; Saturday, 03 May, 2014

I had to be up early to grab breakfast as I had an early train to catch from the station across the top of Scotland to Kyle of Lochalsh and across to Skye.

The train journey was stunning as the little train pootled its way through the mountains and along the side of lochs over to the West coast of Scotland and the nearest crossing point to Skye, Kyle of Lochalsh. At one time this was a bustling ferry port with the ferry across to Skye shuttling backwards and forwards, but with the opening of the Skye bridge the town has quietened down and had an almost deserted feel at midday on a Saturday.

After a brief wander around town I headed over to the bus stop to pick up the coach for the final leg of the journey over the bridge and up the Isle of Skye to its capital Portree.

I had five hours to look around Portree, but it soon became apparent that this was probably a couple of hours too many as it was clear there wasn’t much to see.

Having looked around the harbour, and gone for a walk through town I was still left with quite a bit of time to kill before the coach back, not much to do, and rapidly deteriorating weather.

In the end I found a very nice café near on the main square of town and settle down to a long period of drinking coffee and reading a book.

A little before 5:30 my coach back pulled in so I was able to dash from the café, through the downpour, to the coach and board.

I’d booked onto a coach that went all the way back to Inverness via a different route from the train which was, if anything, more stunning that the train ride over in the morning had been, with the road hugging the side of many more lochs before shooting up through the mountains and finally coming back down towards Loch Ness and the final leg back into the city.

It was amazing how tired you can become not doing very much. A three hour train ride in the morning, a four hour coach ride in the evening and most of the middle part of the day sitting down in a café and I was feeling absolutely shattered, so I grabbed some sandwiches from a supermarket near the bus station, had them for dinner and headed to bed.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Inverness; Sunday, 04 May, 2014

Another early start to head over to the station, this time to head south to the small town of Aviemore, the self-proclaimed gateway to the Cairngorms.

The mountain range was my destination for the afternoon, but first I picked up the steam train that leaves from the national railway station to head deeper into the highlands, up the Spey Valley.

A very genteel ride through Boat of Garten and up to the small station at Broomhill, and then back took nearly two hours, after which it was lunch time.

Having consumed lunch in a small café in town I headed over to the bus stop near the station to take the bus up into the mountains and to the base station of the Cairn Gorm mountain railway.

I took the funicular railway up the side of Britain’s 6th highest mountain, adding another mountain to my list of British Isles mountains conquered without expending any energy (Snowdon, Aonach Mòr and Snaefell being the other major ones so far), and another slightly tacky mountain top restaurant and shop experience.

After some time at the top of the mountain I retraced my steps back down the funicular and then back by bus down into Aviemore to catch the train back to Inverness, dinner and an early night.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Inverness; Monday, 05 May, 2014

As I didn’t have anything planned for the morning, and my train wasn’t until just before 1, I was looking forward to a nice long lie in. Unfortunately, the fire alarm system at the hotel was having different ideas and at around 06:45 the entire hotel was evacuated into a chilly Northern Highlands early morning.

30 minutes later we were let back into the hotel and after leaving it about 45 minutes for the worst of the queue for breakfast to die down (given everyone was now up, they were clearly all going to go to breakfast at the same time), I headed down for breakfast.

Having checked out I wandered over into the centre of town to pick up the City Sightseeing tour bus to take the tour of the city.

I did one complete circuit and part of a second circuit to get back close to the hotel so that I could pick up my bag and head back over to the station.

I was very early for the train, but this proved to be a good idea as they allowed boarding to start more than 30 minutes before departure and I was able to get a comfortable seat with a big window and plenty of space, which given by the time the train left there were lots of people standing, was a godsend.

Three and a half hours later we pulled into Edinburgh Waverley station and I walked the short distance over to the airlink bus stop and picked up the bus back to the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Tromsø; Friday, 23 May, 2014

I’d finished work at midday and headed back home to pack and head over to the airport so that I could get a decent early night ready for the early start the following morning, and the likely lack of sleep for the following few non-dark nights.

Of course, I’d failed to take into account the combined effects of the Friday afternoon immediately before a school half term holiday, that was also the start of a bank holiday weekend, and accompanied by heavy showers.

The upshot was whilst I made it to Feltham in a little over 30 minutes, the next four miles to the airport took considerably longer and included having the first bus terminate short at Hatton Cross tube station, the tubes in a mess, and when I did finally get on another bus lots of roadworks that took ages to get through.

Having checked into the hotel I headed out to the airport terminal for an early dinner, and then back to the hotel for a relatively early (though not as early as I’d hoped for) night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Tromsø; Saturday, 24 May, 2014

My alarm woke me at an awful hour for a Saturday morning and so bleary eyed I checked out of the hotel, headed over to the airport, checked in for the flight and then sought out some sustenance to get me through at least until Oslo.

An uneventful flight later we landed into a very humid and overcast Oslo, hotter and certainly more muggy that London had been. Having collected my bags and cleared customs I headed up to the departures level and just 15 minutes after picking my bag up from the baggage belt I was sending it on it’s way again back into the baggage system, this time with a Tromsø label and into the care of SAS.

Back through security for the second time, and for the second time in four hours into the holding pattern of waiting in the departures lounge, only slightly livened up by the gate being moved 10 minutes before departure.

An uneventful second flight of the day deposited me north of the Arctic Circle in Tromsø from where I headed into town and over to the hotel.

After checking in I went for a wander around town before heading back for the dinner that was included in the room rate.

Dinner completed I headed out for long walk over the Fjord to the mainland and the cable car up the city’s mountain.

Despite the overcast, and at time sleety weather, the views were pretty stunning and I took quite a few photos before heading back down in the cable car, and then cheating and catching the bus back into town and to my hotel bed.

Weather

Light Showers Light Sleet
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Tromsø; Sunday, 25 May, 2014

Having checked out of the hotel I headed back over to Tromsø airport to catch flight number three of the trip…

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Longyearbyen; Sunday, 25 May, 2014

The flight was uneventful, however the scenery was spectacular, as we made the approach into Svalbard and the pristine Ice and snow of the island met the clear blue waters of the sea. The captain brought the plane down to quite a low height so we got a stunning view of the island, mountains and fjords and we cruised up to Longyearbyen and the islands airport.

We landed at the small airport and after an incredibly quick transit through the terminal building (think out of town DIY store), was on the shuttle bus into town.

Having checked into the hotel we went for a wander round town, stopping off at the Svalbard museum to have a look around that.

After a very pleasant (if morally dubious) dinner in the hotel restaurant we headed out again for a bit more of an explore round the totally deserted town.

With not much else to do we headed back to the hotel to have a drink in the bar, before realising that it was already gone 10pm at night, but with the sun still happily shining down from a clear blue sky all concept of time had gone out of the window.

After staying up a little while to watch through to midnight sun I headed down to my room to draw the thankfully very effective curtains and then turned in for the day.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-3ºC/27ºF

Longyearbyen; Monday, 26 May, 2014

After a reasonable lie-in and a massive breakfast it was time to go on a tour of the city and surrounding area.

The Maxi-Taxi tour took in all the sights of Longyearbyen, including the site of the former settlement, destroyed during WWII, and the adjoining settlement (now merged into Longyearbyen) of Nybyen. We then went up into the hills overlooking the fjord to visit the weather radar station and a look at the city’s mine – the only one still functioning nearby and used purely to supply enough coal for the power station to work.

After the tour there was a little bit of time to wander round the centre of Longyearbyen before it was time for activity number 2 of the day, the slightly less sedentary Husky dog sledging.

Having previously done something similar on the Hurtigruten trip the previous year I wasn’t expecting this tour to be quite so hands on – from the harnessing and setting up of our sledges, to actually having to do all the mushing, which up the side of a mountain is not a fun thing.

After a couple of hours we arrived back in town, exhilarated but also exhausted and aching in places I didn’t know it was possible to ache in.

As it was already pretty late in the evening I had to grab dinner in the restaurant first, before they stopped serving, before I could get into a very hot bath and try and sooth some of my muscles.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
0ºC/32ºF

Longyearbyen; Tuesday, 27 May, 2014

After an early breakfast it was outside to wait for the pick-up to go on a boat ride around some of the nearby Fjords and possibly to the abandoned Russian mining settlement of Pyramiden.

After being collected by coach and dropped off at our ship we were told the bad news that we wouldn’t be able to visit Pyramiden as the sea-ice was still too thick for the ship to be able to break through, and whilst this was a bit of a disappointment, as we were on an ice-breaker it did mean that we were going to be able to see exactly what it’s like to sail through ice.

Most of the day was spent on the ship sailing around the various fjords, including the bizarre situation of having a delicious on-ship barbecue whilst ice breaking through a frozen sea.

About 9 hours after leaving Longyearbyen we arrived back and headed back to the hotel for dinner and to pack.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Longyearbyen; Wednesday, 28 May, 2014

A late breakfast followed by checkout and a wait outside for the airport bus.

The wait was shortened when a taxi driver dropped off some passengers and asked if we were going to the airport as he was heading that way and he’d take us for the same price as the bus, we’ll we weren’t going to turn that down.

It was a very busy morning at the airport with a Norwegian Air Shuttle flight to Oslo arriving and then departing 50 minutes before our SAS flight.

Whilst the flight back wasn’t nearly as impressive as the flight up due to much thicker cloud, there were still some pretty impressive views of the Norwegian coast as we headed in over the Western Fjords and down into Oslo

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
0ºC/32ºF

Oslo; Wednesday, 28 May, 2014

Bags collected we headed over to the flybussen into town and walked the short distance to the hotel.

After checking in we headed down to Aker Brygge to grab some dinner, but in the end had to make do with some fast food from a nearby stall as most of the restaurants were already closing their kitchens for the evening.

A quick wander around Aker Brygge and then it was back to the hotel with the sun starting to set for the first time in days.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Oslo; Thursday, 29 May, 2014

After the first night’s sleep with actual darkness for several days, and a hearty breakfast, we headed down to Aker Brygge to pick up the Museum boat out to Bygdøy

First stop was a look around the Fram museum and then the Kon-Tiki museum before catching the bus up and round to the Viking ship museum.

After stopping for a late lunch at the Viking ship museum we walked round the corner to the Norwegian Folk museum, the collection of historic buildings from across the country. When I’d visited about 10 years earlier it had been in the winter, and most of the buildings had been closed, but in the height of summer it was possible to see inside a number of the buildings, in particular the spectacular stave church.

Having looked round the folk park we wandered back down to the fjord-side to pick up the boat back to the centre of Oslo.

A quick freshen up and then out for dinner, after which we had a wander around the castle complex before heading back to the hotel for a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Oslo; Friday, 30 May, 2014

Breakfast was a slightly more complex affair as the hotel was obviously struggling to cope with the number of guests all wanting breakfast at the same time and there was quite a long wait before we were able to get a table.

Finally fuelled for the day we headed out to the Akershus Festning to have a look around.

After the castle we wandered down to the harbour area to pick up one of the regular service boats that goes out around the islands, using it (and the free travel included with the Oslo card) as a much cheaper sightseeing service than the official sightseeing tour boats.

Back on the mainland we caught the metro and headed up into the hills overlooking the Oslofjorden to Frognersteren to take in the views, and a stop at the café/restaurant close to the summit.

A quick freshen up in town and then back out for dinner.

After dinner we caught the tram round to Vigeland Park and had a look around before heading back to the hotel

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Oslo; Saturday, 31 May, 2014

Another disjointed breakfast that was possibly even busier than the previous mornings.

Refuelled, first stop of the morning was a quick look round the Cathedral on route into the centre of town and then back out the other side and onto the Munch Museum.

Last time I’d visited was just after (another) break-in at the museum where they had their copy of the Scream stolen and the museum had been closed.

It had taken about two years for the painting to be recovered, and in that time they had beefed up security quite a bit, so getting into the museum was probably more protected and security aware than boarding an international flight.

Having looked around the museum we headed back down to Aker Brygge and caught another of the service boats out into the Fjord for a bit more sightseeing, before heading back to the Town Hall and picking up the open-top sightseeing tour bus to take in the sights of Oslo from there.

Having done a full circuit we headed back to the hotel to freshen up, and then out for one final really expensive dinner in Norway.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Oslo; Sunday, 01 June, 2014

Breakfast was a slightly calmer affair so we were able to get a table straight away, and after packing, leaving the bags at the hotel and checking out, we headed back down to the Town Hall to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus to see more of the city.

The tour took significantly longer than expected as the service coincided with the arrival of another cruise ship, so the bus stopped for over 20 minutes at the cruise terminal to attract custom, and by the time it left was considerably busier that it had been for the rest of the tour.

Back in the centre of town we stopped for a quick bite of lunch before heading back to the hotel to pick up the bags and start the long journey back to the UK.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Stirling; Friday, 06 June, 2014

It was always going to be a late-ish night as the flight wasn’t due to get into Glasgow until gone 22:30. However, by the time I arrived at Gatwick the flight was already delayed, and that continued to get worse to the point that by the time we finally turned onto the runway to start our take-off roll it was 22:20.

We arrived in Glasgow a little after 22:15 at a gate over the far side of the airport so by the time we’d gotten to the baggage hall and collected the bags, which took even longer than the passengers to arrive, I’d just missed the Jet Bus into the city, and rather than the usual 10 minute wait that this would normally require, there was now a 30 minute gap until the next service at midnight.

Getting off the bus at Buchannan bus station I walked the short distance to the hotel and, after managing to raise the night reception to let me in, checked in and went straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Stirling; Saturday, 07 June, 2014

I had a late breakfast and after checking out wandered over to Queen Street station to pick up the train up to Stirling.

I walked from the station over to the hotel just to see if I could checkin (even though it was long before checkin was supposed to open). The room I was booked into was just being cleaned so they looked after my bag for a little while whilst I popped next door to the Beefeater restaurant to have a rather bigger lunch than I was originally planning on having.

Stuffed I waddled back round to the hotel, checked in, and then headed back into town.

I headed over to the bus station to pick up the bus round to a place that’s now a suburb of Stirling, but 700 years ago was empty land, land on which one of the most important battles is Scottish history was fought.

Bannockburn is the battle that all Scots remember – 24th June 1314. Having chosen to visit on the 7th June 2014 just days before the 700th anniversary, it wasn’t surprising that there was quite a bit of a show on.

I had a long look round the visitors centre before heading out to the battlefield monument.

Unfortunately, at the same time as I was heading out to the monument the weather, which had been fine up to then, decided to deteriorate quite quickly and in the time it took look briefly look round the monument I got pretty well drenched.

I, soggily, caught the bus back into town, which thankfully had its heating set to furnace, so by the time I arrived back in the centre of Stirling I was only slightly damp.

I had a brief wander round the city centre before heading back to the hotel to change into clothing that hadn’t been rained on and then blast dried by a buses heating system.

The hotel itself was pretty new having only recently opened in a new leisure park area on the site of a former barracks, so along with the hotel and the Beefeater restaurant there were a couple of other restaurants as well as a cinema, so with the weather still being particularly poor I grabbed dinner in another of the nearby restaurants and spent the evening watching a film.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Stirling; Sunday, 08 June, 2014

Breakfast consumed I wandered into town and walked up through the old town past the Mercat cross and tollbooth to Mars Wark and the Holy Rude Kirk.

I had a look around the ruins of Mars Wark and was wandering around the neighbouring cemetery when the first heavy (and cold) shower of the morning briskly passed through. By the time I’d made it to some shelter it had actually stopped raining, and that was pretty much the experience for the rest of the day lots of very short but very heavy showers.

From the cemetery I walked the short distance up the last part of the hill to Stirling Castle and spent much of the day having a long wander around the site.

After finishing in the castle I started to head back down the hill, but stopped off at Argyll’s Lodgings just down from the castle for a quick look around.

Back down in the town centre I hopped on a bus up to the suburb of Causewayhead to pay a visit to the National Wallace Monument.

The high Victorian Gothic monument is located on the top of a rocky outcrop and is visible from across the city. It commemorates William Wallace and is placed where historians think he and his men would have waited for the English before sweeping down on them for a memorable victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, a few years before Bannockburn.

From the top of the monument the views are spectacular, particularly as the skies had now cleared, temporarily, to reveal the Forth Valley in its full beauty.

By the time I had descended back down to ground level the monument was just on closing time so I wasn’t able to look round the visitors centre. Instead I headed back into town on the bus and from there picked up the train one stop up the line to Alloa to have a look around there.

Sadly, there wasn’t very much to see in Alloa, and there didn’t even really look like anywhere to have dinner (other than the Asda café) so I headed back into Stirling to have a curry in the old town before heading back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Stirling; Monday, 09 June, 2014

Checked out and with my luggage being kept at the hotel I headed back over to the bus station to catch the bus out to the nearby town of Doune.

At one time Doune had played an important role in Scottish life. Its castle was heavily refurbished and expanded by the Duke of Albany the man who was the power behind the crown for three successive Scottish kings in the mid to late 14th century, turning it into an impressive fortress.

The castle is still in reasonably good nick, which is possibly why it’s been used for many period dramas and films, the most famous of which saw it doubling for at least five different castles from the mighty Camelot through the weirdly named Anthrax to the down at heel Swamp Castle.

For it was from the battlements of this castle that a French soldier taunted King Arthur and over these walls that a Trojan Rabbit was launched in Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Having looked round the castle I headed back into Stirling, with the original plan of spending a bit more time looking round the city.

However, on the way back what had started as a light shower appeared to develop into full on heavy rain, and after sheltering for some time in a café in the centre of Stirling it was clear that it wasn’t going to get any better, so I cheated and got a taxi round to the hotel, asked him to wait whilst I picked up my bags, and headed back to the station thus avoiding getting utterly soaked.

I arrived back into Glasgow just as the evening rush hour was starting, so I decided it was probably best to head out to the airport then and be early rather than risking it.

On a wet Monday evening I was glad I’d made that decision as the bus took nearly 50 minutes to make a journey that should have taken just 15, arriving at the airport with plenty of time for me to make my flight, but clearly having cut it very fine for some of my fellow passengers.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Newport; Friday, 27 June, 2014

Having finished work at lunchtime I headed over to the station and caught the train down to Portsmouth, where I picked up the disappointing Hover bus (A bus linking to the hovercraft terminal rather than an actual hover-bus) link to the Hover terminal in Southsea.

A very bumpy, but quick, 10 minutes later we landed at Ryde hover port and I walked the short distance to the bus station.

By now it was heading towards the evening rush hour (if the Isle of Wight can be said to have such a thing), so the bus took some time to get into Newport. I disembarked a couple of stops before the end near the hotel and wandered down to the reception to check-in.

After checking in and dropping my stuff off in my room I wandered on into town to have a look around, before hopping on a bus up to the northern port town of Cowes to have a look around.

A bit of a wander round Cowes and I found myself at the floating bridge or chain ferry. I took this over to East Cowes and there picked up a different bus back in towards Newport, that stopped at the same stop near the hotel as the bus from Ryde had earlier.

I wandered back down to the hotel and had a very pleasant dinner in the onsite restaurant before turning in for an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Newport; Saturday, 28 June, 2014

Breakfast completed I wandered down to the bus stop and picked up the bus back towards East Cowes and the former summer home of Queen Victoria – Osborne.

I spent the whole of the morning exploring the site, both the house and grounds, which stretch down to a former private beach that the royals used.

I caught the bus on into Ryde and had a bit of a wander around town before hopping on the open-top tour that runs from Ryde out over the downs.

90 minutes later and back in Ryde slightly windblown I had a late lunch before wandering out along the pier to take in the views of both the town and across the Solent towards Portsmouth.

I caught the train back one stop, the shortest national rail train journey that you can make, to Ryde Esplanade to pick up the last Island Explorer bus of the evening.

This one was heading back to Newport, but the long way round via the whole of the east and south coasts of the island.

The journey took nearly 3 hours, but I got to see a very large amount of the island.

Back in Newport I grabbed a quick bite to eat in town before heading back to the hotel

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Newport; Sunday, 29 June, 2014

With another stunning breakfast inside me I headed out the other side of town and into the neighbouring settlement of Carisbrooke to have a look around the stunning castle that towers over the settlement, and much of the island.

Having spent a couple of hours looking round Carisbrooke I caught the bus on to Yarmouth and had a look around their much smaller castle.

After a spot of lunch by the harbour I picked up the Needles Breezer open-top tour and went for a ride round the countryside of the South West of the island, ending up at the Needles.

I had a look around the formerly secret rocket testing facility at the New Battery before heading down the hill to have a look around the restored Old Battery.

After looking round the Needles from the top of the cliffs I wandered back along the cliffs to Alum Bay and took the chairlift down to the beach, where I picked up a speedboat tour around the Needles and Alum Bay.

After spending a little time in the very twee heritage centre at Alum Bay I picked up the penultimate Needles Breezer of the afternoon back up to the Needles and then back on into Yarmouth.

Another bit of a wander around Yarmouth before it was time to pick up the bus back into Newport, dinner and a well-earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Newport; Monday, 30 June, 2014

If I done a little more planning I would have realised that going via Cowes and Southampton would have made for a significantly less potentially stressful journey up to Birmingham where I was heading to for a conference the following day.

Unfortunately I hadn’t and so I was booked on the midday train from Brockenhurst which meant I had to make some tight connections to ensure I didn’t end up missing the train and having to pay through the nose for a new ticket.

After checking out I decided that at this time of the morning it wasn’t worth risking that the bus from near the hotel to Newport would connect with the next bus, so I walked into the centre of town and the bus station, in time to pick up the number 7 towards Yarmouth.

Halfway between Newport and Carisbrooke, at the narrowest point on the road, naturally, a bus going in the opposite direction had broken down and so a good five minutes (or almost all) of my connection time was spent inching round that.

As if that wasn’t enough to give me palpitations shortly after Carisbrooke the bus had to abruptly stop and then reverse about 200m back down a road as it came head to head with a massive tractor occupying most of the carriageway.

Two more encounters with tractors meant that by the time I reached Yarmouth my 15 minutes to connect to the ferry was down to just 3 minutes.

I made it to the terminal building and onto the ferry, just, with moments to spare.

Thankfully, a 30 minute uneventful crossing later dropped me off in Lymington with enough time to catch the train back to Brockenhurst in time to make the connection there.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Zeebrugge; Friday, 04 July, 2014

Turning the getting out of work at lunchtime on a Friday into a habit I headed up to St Pancras and the Eurostar across to Brussels.

After a chaotic check-in it was through to a heaving departures lounge due to the late running of a previous Brussels train. Thankfully that started boarding relatively soon after I got into the lounge making it a bit quieter. More thankfully it was just their train that had been delayed, mine started boarding on time and in fact was already closed up and ready to depart a few minutes early, though they still kept us in the station until our departure time.

An uneventful journey through the Chunnel and across to Belgium, I arrived in Midi and made a quick interchange to the Inter City service up to Blankenberge.

At Blankenberge I crossed over to the Kusttram stop and picked up a three day ticket from the machine which thankfully managed to spit it and my change out in enough time to be able to dash over the tracks to the opposite platform where the next tram was waiting (although looking at the departures screen showed the next one was less than 10 minutes away)

I got off the tram in Zeebrugge and walked the five minutes or so back to the hotel to check-in

After checking in I wandered back down to the tram to take it back into Blankenberge with an idea of having a bit of a wander through the dunes before taking a pleasant dinner on the promenade. Unfortunately, this was about to be taken to pieces by the weather

I got off the tram a stop before the centre of Blankenberge to climb up through the dunes, but as I did a gigantic flash of lightning and almost instant rumble of thunder indicated that the weather was about to break, spectacularly.

I managed to dash back down to the shelter on the tram stop only getting a mild soaking. As I got there a tram was arriving so I decided to hop onto that to shelter from the worst of the rain, which I thought would only last a few minutes.

35 minutes later and approaching the centre of Oostende the rain finally started to die down. I got off the tram and went for a bit of a wander around Oostende, but found that most restaurants were already closing for the evening – clearly the weather had done for passing trade. So instead I had to hop back on a tram and take the 50 minute ride back to Zeebrugge and a pleasant, but not entirely desired pizza in the hotel bar.

Weather

No Data Weird Weather
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Zeebrugge; Saturday, 05 July, 2014

After the storm of the previous evening it was nice to see a nearly clear blue sky as I left the hotel and headed out for the longest tram journey of the trip, all the way down to the far end of the line almost on the French border in De Panne.

It took over two hours, of, at times, very pretty scenery, to get to the very end of the line.

I walked the short distance down onto the beach and most of the way up to the French border, before heading back into De Panne and along the promenade to the far side of town.

I hopped back onto the tram and went along the coast to the next stop in Koksijde where I stopped for a late lunch and then a wander through the dunes and along the beach to the next town of Oostduinkerke.

At Oostduinkerke I picked up the tram again and caught it along to Nieuwpoort where I went for a wander along both the beach and the riverside down into the centre of town.

Back onto the tram and onto the next stop at Westende and a quick wander around the town. I was thinking of stopping for a quick drink and a bite to eat in a café or bar, but as Belgium’s world cup game (that they were about to lose) was on things were a little busy so I hopped back on the tram down to Raversijde.

At Raversijde the remains of the Atlantic Wall defences that were built, initially during the First World War, but then heavily strengthened by the Nazi’s during the Second are able to be seen from the beach. I had a wander along a stretch of the wall to the next tram stop.

By the time I reached the tram stop the light was starting to fade and the trams were about to go down to a 20 minute rather than 10 minute frequency, so I decided to call it an evening and head back to the hotel, which was still a good hours ride away.

As it had been a very pleasant pizza the previous evening I had dinner again in the bar in the hotel and watched some very dejected Belgians suddenly morph into proud Flemish supporters of the Dutch side.

Sated, and feeling knackered from a lot of walking in dunes, I headed up to my room and sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Zeebrugge; Sunday, 06 July, 2014

Breakfast consumed, and all checked-out from the hotel I headed back over to the tram stop and picked up the tram to De Haan, just this side of Oostende to pick up the journey up the coast.

I had a long wander through De Haan, which is a very pretty town, and up onto the beach. From the prom I walked out into the dunes and had a long wander along until I saw a helpful sign pointing to a tram stop the other side of the dunes, so I headed up through them.

As I turned to go up through the dunes I couldn’t help but notice that Oostende was no longer visible as a heavy black cloud had enveloped that part of the coast, so I picked up the speed a bit and made it to the tram stop just as some hefty drops of rain were starting to fall.

However, by Wenduine it was clear skies again so I had a long wander around the Mole area and then down onto the beach and the town.

Back onto the tram and into Blankenberge, I wandered through the town and out onto the esplanade. This is clearly the most resort-y of the towns on the coast with lots of high rise towers, casino’s and the entire seafront occupied by waterfront bars and restaurants. It was to one of these that I retired to have a spot of lunch and then extend my stay as another spectacular storm ripped across the Belgium coast.

After a longer lunch than I had been intending to consume I wandered along the prom to the pier in a light drizzle, only to be caught out as the intensity of the rain suddenly shot up again.

A couple of minutes, and five euros lighter, I emerged from a little kiosk shop with an umbrella and walked back to the tram stop.

I caught the tram up the line through Zeebrugge and onto the last coastal town Heist. However, by the time I reached Heist the weather had deteriorated even further and I decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle any longer so I hopped on the next tram back to Zeebrugge and collected my luggage.

Checking the train and tram times showed that the easiest (and driest) connection was to carry on all the way back to Oostende and pick up the direct Intercity train from there, which I did, back to Brussels and a 45 minute wait for check-in for the Eurostar to open that was at least in the dry.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Bordeaux; Friday, 18 July, 2014

Originally the flight I’d booked had been just before midday, so I’d taken a day’s leave. Then, a few weeks out BA decided to move the flight by nine hours, and so I found myself with an entire day to kill (as I wasn’t about to lose the leave), but a very relaxed journey to the airport.

Despite getting the slow train, and it going even slower because of signal problems at Redhill, I still arrived at Gatwick nearly three hours before departure.

After a very long wait in the airport the flight was called and we all merrily trooped down to gate 572, where the plane was already waiting, and about 10 minutes later they started to board us.

It was only whilst in my seat looking out of the window I realised that we might be in for a bit of a delay as they were still off-loading the luggage from the inbound flight. Given it had landed at least 40 minutes beforehand it would go to explain why luggage takes so long to get round at Gatwick.

Whilst we sat on the tarmac waiting for the luggage to come off, our luggage to come on, and then the catering to arrive, the fine sunny afternoon started to change, and by the time we were pushing back lightning was flashing around the sky surrounding Gatwick.

The initial take-off wasn’t too bad, but pretty soon we were into some very heavy turbulence as we had no option but to come round the edge of the thunder storm. It was a good half hour before the captain was finally able to turn off the seatbelt signs.

And it was a repeat on the way down, if anything more spectacular storms were raging around Bordeaux as we approached, so it was a very unpleasant approach and landing.

Finally, close to 11:30 at night more than 10 hours later than originally planned, I found myself at the bus stop for the airport bus to the hotel, waiting under a shelter as a torrential downpour, accompanied by lightning in all directions, continued.

Thankfully, the storm started to die down and by the time I reached the hotel, a little after midnight it was just the odd drop of water falling from the sky.

Having checked in I headed straight for bed.

Weather

No Data Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Bordeaux; Saturday, 19 July, 2014

After a pretty sultry night, despite having the asthmatic air-conditioning on, I got up, had breakfast and headed out into town.

I caught the tram out to the river and had a long wander down the riverside, taking in the impressive Bordeaux riverside buildings, before heading back into the centre of town near the tourist office and wandering through the pedestrianized centre before reaching the square by the Cathedral and Town Hall.

I stopped in a little café overlooking the cathedral for lunch, and was then going to visit the Cathedral, except it was closing for its lunch. So, instead, I wandered up to the Saint Seurin Basilica to have a look round both the church and the impressive archaeological remains in the crypt beneath it.

From Saint-Seurin I walked the kilometre or so out to the only remaining part of the Roman city, a small chunk of the amphitheatre, which is all that survives following a decision made after the revolution to pull the whole of the area down to create new housing.

Having looked round the ruins of the amphitheatre I wandered back into town through the Public and Botanic gardens before picking up the tram round to the Saint Michael Basilica. After looking round the church I was going to climb the neighbouring bell tower for its views over the city, but by now the weather was incredibly close and just walking on the flat was unpleasant enough without the thought of climbing up a tower.

Instead I wandered back over to the cathedral to have a look around, inside it was beautifully cool and so I joined the many other tourists who had discovered this little haven from the oppressive heat and spent quite a bit of time just sat inside the cathedral cooling down.

Some of the humidity had started to ease when I left the cathedral, so I wandered back to the hotel, rather than trying to get onto the packed trams that were going past, to freshen up before heading back out to dinner at a restaurant down by the riverside.

I had a very nice meal, and just as I was finishing was able to see the start of the after-dinner show – another spectacular thunder storm starting to travel up the river. Having paid the bill I hastily made my way back to the hotel, managing to get in just as the first heavy spots of rain were falling. A few minutes later I was able to sit in the dry of my room watching the skies light up and the rains lash down.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Bordeaux; Sunday, 20 July, 2014

Breakfast consumed I headed out into town and the first stop was the bell tower of the cathedral. A quick ascent up to take in the stunning views that rapidly started to disappear into clouds.

Back down on the ground I wandered over to a nearby café for a quick pit stop, and to sit out what I thought would be a short shower. Over an hour later after three torrential downpours it finally looked like it was starting to ease off on the rain, so I caught the tram round to St Michaels to climb its tower

Again, part way up the tower many of the views disappeared, but on this occasion it started chucking it down whilst I was up the tower, including a couple of flashes of lightning – not something to fill you with confidence given I’d just read the original tower had been destroyed by a lightning strike a couple of hundred years earlier.

Back down at ground level, and in the dry, I had a wander through the city, stopping off at the Grosse Cloche (big clock) and then down to Porte Cailhau.

I wandered a bit further down the riverside towards the Place de la Bourse and had a brief look round there before the next cloudburst sent me (and many other tourists) scurrying for shelter.

By the time it had stopped absolutely chucking it down it was gone five so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then a little later headed out for dinner at a nice restaurant I’d spied whilst sheltering from the showers.

The restaurant had quite a large outside eating area looking onto a very pleasant square, so I was a little miffed when I was directed to a table at the back of the terrace area, right next to the restaurant building. 20 minutes later I was very glad the waiters had done that as the skies opened for a torrential downpour that overwhelmed the umbrellas that were protecting the forward most tables and soaking a fair number of tourists.

Dinner consumed I had a bit more of a wander, playing hide and seek with the showers as they passed through, before heading back to the hotel to start the packing process and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Bordeaux; Monday, 21 July, 2014

With a late breakfast under my belt and checked out with my bags at the hotel I headed into town for a full days sightseeing. First stop was on the opposite bank of the river at the Stalingrad pier where I picked up one of the regular passenger boats that run up and down the river.

The views from the boat were stunning, but because it was during the start of lunchtime there was only a limited service running backwards and forwards between the pier and the main transport hub at Quinconces rather than further up the river.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre, and the caught the little electric bus that runs through the narrow streets of the old town down to Victoria where I had a look around, and then stopped in a restaurant on a small square for a very nice lunch.

I caught the tram back up to Quinconces and was in time to pick up the ferry services up the river. I did a round trip on the boat landing me back at Quinconces to join the open-top sightseeing tour bus.

By the time the tour got back to Quinconces it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and make my way to the airport for my already delayed flight.

Eventually, 30 minutes before we were originally due to depart someone actually thought to tell the passengers what those of us with the App already knew, that the flight was delayed by over an hour and that it was going to be a very late arrival into Gatwick

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Zagreb; Friday, 25 July, 2014

Having managed to avoid a large number of showers over the course of the afternoon I ended up delaying heading off to the airport to avoid yet another one.

This also had the advantage of bringing the humidity right down to a level where humping a heavy suitcase across southern London wasn’t such a chore.

The rain, and earlier thunderstorms had caused chaos to the railways with lightning strikes and flooding taking services out all over the place, but thankfully my trains all ran smoothly and a little after 21:30 I found myself at the reception of the airport hotel checking in.

Having dropped my bags off I headed back to the terminal building to pick up some items for dinner from the Marks and Spencer before heading back to my room for a light dinner and then bed

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Zagreb; Saturday, 26 July, 2014

I woke a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off, which at least meant I wasn’t woken by the alarm, but did still mean having to try and function at 6am on a Saturday morning. I checked out of the hotel and headed over to the terminal building to check-in in and wait for my flight.

An uneventful flight later, and 10 minutes earlier than scheduled, we touched down in Zagreb and after a speedy journey through the airport I found myself on the shuttle bus into town. From the bus station it was a pretty humid and sultry 20 minute walk to the hotel where I checked in and went to my room where the air-conditioning had already been set to a beautiful arctic level.

Bags dropped off I headed out into town, initially just intending on going for a wander as I hadn’t really read that much up on the city. However, when I got to the main square it was just in time to catch the free land train tour round the southern edge of the city centre so I was able to see quite a bit from there.

Back in the main square I then saw an advert for the Zagreb Eye, based at the top of the tallest office tower off the square, so I took the lift up to the viewing platform for some stunning views over the city.

Back down at ground level I wandered over to the Cathedral and had a look round there. As I was coming out of the cathedral the sightseeing tour bus arrived for the 4pm tour so I decided to jump on that and take in some more of the sights of the city.

By the time the tour got back to the cathedral it was almost 6, so I decided to hunt down some food as I suddenly realised that I hadn’t eaten anything since a not particularly filling breakfast on the plane 9 hours earlier.

Sated from dinner, the last part of which was accompanied by a spectacular electric storm, I had started to head back to the hotel, a journey which took quite a bit longer than expected as on a couple of occasions I had to dive for cover as the rain tried to pour down, but kept failing.

Eventually, a few minutes after I got back to the hotel the skies did finally properly open and absolutely chucked it down for more than an hour, by the end of which I was happily ensconced in the hotel bar for the evening.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Zagreb; Sunday, 27 July, 2014

A nice long lie-in, unlike the previous morning, and a leisurely breakfast meant that it was heading towards midday before I made it out of the hotel and into town.

I wandered up through the centre of town to take the funicular up to the upper town. I had a bit of a wander round the upper town, and at this point found out that not only are most of the museums and attractions closed all day on Monday, they also close at 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, which meant most things were already closed.

The one thing that was running was the open-top tour bus, and my ticket from the previous day was still valid, so I re-took the green line that I had done the previous afternoon, this time sitting on the opposite side of the bus, from where there were much better views.

Having done a lap of the green route I was back near the restaurants around the cathedral, so I decided to have a slow late lunch/early dinner. This managed to occupy nearly two hours, by which time the first of the afternoon red route tours was ready to depart so I took that round for a tour of the city.

Back at the cathedral again I went for a long wander, and an evening drink, but decided that I was still stuffed from the enormous lunch, so instead, after a bit more of a walk, headed back to the hotel and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Zagreb; Monday, 28 July, 2014

Given it was Monday, very little was going to be open, so I had a very late breakfast and then wandered down to the Botanical gardens a short walk from the hotel.

I had a long walk round the gardens and then wandered back over to the funicular to head back up into the upper town.

I stopped for a long lunch in one of the few open restaurants up on the hill and then, as it was open, climbed up the Lotrscak tower to take in the views over the city, much of the view being a massive great big black cloud with lightning emanating from it.

I decided the highest exposed point in the city was probably a bad place to be standing so headed back down the tower, down into the lower town and over to my hotel which I reached with about 30 seconds to spare before an absolute cloudburst drenched the city.

The torrential downpour went on for about 2 hours, after which the worst of the humid conditions had abated and I was able to wander out to have a pre-dinner drink in a little café near the main square before heading slightly further up the road to a very nice dinner.

Back at the hotel I did a quick pack ready for the morning and then turned in.

Weather

Cloudy Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Zagreb; Tuesday, 29 July, 2014

Breakfast completed it was time to check out and head over to the bus station. I walked the short distance to the tram stop to catch the tram two stops round to the station. I’d purchased a couple of tickets the previous day so already had one to validate. The first validator failed to work and it was only a nagging thought at the back of my mind about the way one of the other passengers was observing people validating tickets that I decided to try a validator slightly further down the tram, which did work.

Halfway towards the next stop the person I had suspicions about stood up, flashed his ID badge and with another couple of colleagues did a full ticket check of the tram, catching out a couple of other tourists who clearly hadn’t bothered trying more than one validator.

Whilst they were being given a talking to on the platform at the bus station stop I walked over loaded my luggage into the coach and headed out of town to the airport.

On checking in I was upgraded to business, which I thought was going to be great, until they said there wasn’t a lounge for domestic customers and instead I had to sit in the tiny and very humid gate room (not even a café or a working vending machine!) with everyone else.

We boarded on time but for some reason the plane just sat there for about 15 minutes without moving, until two really noisy jet fighters shot down the runway and took off beside us, at which point we were allowed to start our take-off roll

50 minutes late we touched down in Dubrovnik and 30 minutes after that I’d recovered my luggage, handed it back over to another airline and was sat in the considerably more pleasant than Zagreb departures lounge waiting for a flight into the unknown…

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Belgrade; Tuesday, 29 July, 2014

…The highest potential for something going wrong had been with having to transit through Dubrovnik, but the part of the trip that had been worrying me the most was how far out of my depth was I going to be in a country where they didn’t even use the same script as everywhere else I’d ever been.

After a very pleasant flight with Air Serbia and an exceptionally speedy journey through Belgrade airport and onto the shuttle bus it started to become very obvious that there wasn’t much to worry about as the Cyrillic was always accompanied by a Latin text version, and a lot of the time by a direct English translation.

A hefty hike up a steep hill with heavy luggage brought me to my hotel, and after checking in, and waiting the 60 minutes whilst they processed my passport to make me legally resident in the country as a tourist, I headed out into town to have a look around.

I headed up to the Belgrade Fortress which dominates the city to take in the views. I arrived around the same time as sunset which was amazing to watch as it disappeared behind the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers.

A long wander round the complex, and by the time I was heading back towards the park it’s located in it was getting quite dark.

I walked down the main pedestrianized street and found a nice restaurant to grab a light supper (two lots of airline food and snacking in departures at Dubrovnik had kind of killed my appetite for the day), before heading back to my hotel just as the evening thunder storm was starting, arriving back just as the first heavy drops were falling.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Belgrade; Wednesday, 30 July, 2014

Breakfast consumed and off out into town. First stop of the morning was across the road from the Serbian Parliament for one of the two open-top sightseeing tours that occasionally run around the city. Unlike other tours they are very infrequent and just do a circuit – no getting on and off – but it did mean getting to see a lot more of the city than I would have done otherwise.

Having completed the tour I walked back to the site of the St Sava Cathedral, the world’s largest Orthodox church, which like it’s counterpart in Barcelona the Sagrada Família is still being built nearly 100 years after the initial plans were put in place (though it did have a full 45 year hiatus in building between the outbreak of WWII and works starting again in 1985). Inside it is a stunning space that is impressive even without all the rich decoration that’s due to go in it.

I walked back towards the centre of the city, detouring to take in the long since completed (and now being refurbished) St Michaels church before wandering over to Republic square to have a look around and then a late lunch.

After lunch I wandered back over to the fortress area to have a longer look around in daylight, first taking advantage of one of the electric land trains for a ride around much of the park and fortress area.

Inside the fortress I stopped off at the Military museum before having a wander around the ramparts and a stop for a late afternoon coffee in a café on the walls.

Back over to the Serbian Parliament to pick up the other open-top sightseeing tour which was set to head off at 6pm. The first part of the route was much the same as the morning tour, but once it crossed the Sava River it went for a much longer tour around Novi Beograd.

Returning to the parliament building I wandered back down the main pedestrian street and stopped off for dinner before heading back to the hotel just as the first drops of what turned out to be a massive overnight storm were starting to fall.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Belgrade; Thursday, 31 July, 2014

Thursday broke as an damp morning, and it was clear that it wasn’t likely to get much better any time soon, so I headed out into the drizzle to visit the Ethnographic museum.

After the museum I had a bit of a damp wander, not particularly surprised at how much emptier the centre of Belgrade was on a damp day rather than a sunny one.

After wandering around the castle for a while the weather started to improve, and after a quick visit to the Cathedral it was pleasant enough to sit outside for lunch in the bizarrely titled ? café (originally called opposite the cathedral, but the cathedral authorities had objected to the name so they just decided to rebrand it as a question mark)

I had a very nice, and quite lengthy lunch in ? before heading off for a long wander into the afternoon sun, that very quickly turned back into drizzle, then heavy thundery downpour.

Through the careful use of shop awnings I managed to make my way to the centre of town only getting mildly soaked, and then sought out shelter in a café near Republic square thinking the weather would have to ease off soon.

Three hours, and two pints later, the rain finally died down to a light drizzle, so I headed back to the hotel to properly dry off. Having spent much of the afternoon and early evening snacking I didn’t really fancy dinner so instead I grabbed a quick bit to eat in a café round the corner from the hotel, getting back to my room just as the next heavy thunderstorm started up.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Belgrade; Friday, 01 August, 2014

With the sun actually shining this morning I checked out, left my luggage and headed out to explore more of the lower castle area.

My first stop was the exhibition in the Nebojsa Tower, located on the banks of the Sava river at the bottom of the castle hill, except the tower was closed for no apparent reason, so I had to make do with just having a wander round the outside and then head up through the various fortifications of the lower part of the fortress.

I stopped off at the small collection of churches about halfway up to have a look round and then wandered through the main part of the fortress over to the Roman Well.

A quick look round the well and then I headed down into town for some lunch.

Lunch completed I had a wander through the Skadarlija, the bohemian quarter of the city, though to be fair it mostly just resembled a large tourist trap.

By now it was time to start moving on, so I headed back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and headed down towards the airport bus back out to Belgrade airport and onto my next stop, and next country.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Ljubljana; Friday, 01 August, 2014

Thankfully I’d booked a transfer in advance, so when I emerged from baggage reclaim, surrounded by the giants of the Serbian basketball team who’d also been on the flight, it was to be greeted (for the first time ever) by someone holding a board with my name on it.

Graeme, from Four Seasons Travel drove me into town, telling me quite a lot of details about the city, things to see and do and suggestions for places to eat (in that strange small world syndrome he’d grown up in Woking and had previously worked in Reigate before moving to Slovenia over a decade before)

Dropped off at my hotel I checked in and then headed out to do a bit of late night exploring.

It turned out that I’d arrived during the middle of the Ljubljana festival, kind of like Edinburgh but over a longer period on a smaller scale, and there were lots of music performers out in town which I spent quote a bit of time watching.

By the time I grabbed an ice-cream from a stall near the town hall it was already nearly midnight, so I headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Ljubljana; Saturday, 02 August, 2014

First stop of the morning, after breakfast, was to head up to the castle. I was feeling lazy so was going to take the funicular up, but as I was walking to the funicular station I found I could be even lazier and pick up the land train which was sitting there waiting to be caught.

I spent much of the day up at the castle having a long wander round the various parts freely open to the public including the viewing terrace, chapel and penitentiary before taking in the paid for attractions such as the museum and the viewing tower.

After stopping for a second coffee of the day in the castle I had a wander down into the weird almost Bond-Villain like area beneath the castle courtyard to have a look around a couple of galleries based down there.

Just to see what it was like I took a quick ride on the funicular railway down and then back up the hill, before having a final wander round the castle complex.

I then caught the land train back down into town for a very late lunch and a bit of a wander around the city centre, during which I stopped off in the tourist information centre and booked myself onto a tour for the following day.

I headed over to the Cathedral to have a look around, but there was a service going on so I left it for now and went on a bit more of a walk round the city centre, before stopping off for dinner.

A lengthy, and very nice, dinner later I headed back to the hotel for an early night as I had to be up early the following morning for the tour.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Ljubljana; Sunday, 03 August, 2014

I’d booked onto a tour called “Slovenia in one day” which is a pretty talk ask, even for a relatively small country. In reality it only covered a chunk of the Western part of the country, but did include most of the top five tourist attractions.

I was picked up by the tour guide just before 8 and after collecting the four other members of the party we headed North West out of the city along the deserted Sunday morning roads. We had a clear and smooth journey all the way up to Bled in the North West of the country and it’s imposing and spectacular lake.

We parked in the grounds of Tito’s former summer residence, now a very exclusive hotel, and joined up with another tour group to take one of the small wooden boats that ply the lake over to the island located just off shore. The island houses a church which has been a site for pilgrimage for centuries, but the real reason for going over was for the stunning views of the lake, castle and surrounding mountains that can be had from there.

As we were so early we were the first people over to the island so had the space to ourselves for a few minutes of peace and tranquillity, but looking out over the lake it was clear to see, that like a Viking army, hordes of tourists were rowing towards the island.

After a quick photo stop on the edge of the lake we drove round and up to the impressive Bled castle that is located on a rocky outcrop at the edge of the lake and had a quick tour round there, before driving back down into town for an early lunch lakeside.

Lunch over it was back in the mini-bus down the motorway, past Ljubljana and on down to the South Western corner of the country and the castles and caves of the Karst region. First stop was the castle at Predjama, built into a massive cave system, halfway up the side of a cliff.

From the castle we drove back into Postojna to visit the amazing caves that are located there through a torrential downpour. After the 90 minute tour of the cave system, which included a 4.5Km ride into the caves (that’s how large they are) on a small train, we emerged back into a gloriously sunny afternoon.

A relatively short drive back up the motorway and we were back in Ljubljana just after 6. After dropping my stuff off at the hotel I headed out for dinner, before, exhausted from a long day, returning to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Ljubljana; Monday, 04 August, 2014

Having checked out of the hotel I had a few hours to fill before the train towards the Italian border, so to get into the mood for visiting Italy I headed out to follow the town Roman trail that takes you round some of the key remains of the former Roman settlement of Emona, that modern day Ljubljana has been built on top of.

After walking most of the route I headed back into the centre of town and had a look round the Cathedral before joining one of the numerous river cruises that sail up and down the city’s river taking in the views.

By the time I arrived back at the landing stage it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my things and head round to the railway station to catch the train over to the Italian Border.

The original plan was to catch the train all the way to Villa Opicina just over the border in Italy, and as far as the trains go these days, TrenItalia having abandoned all attempts to run anything approaching a helpful service a few years earlier. However, on arriving at the station it became clear that the journey was about to become significantly more complicated.

There were no trains running, and there hadn’t been for many months, due to extensive damage caused by severe winter storms so it was the most dreaded and English of phrases – Rail Replacement Bus Service.

The next problem was that the international tickets queue was full of people who weren’t fully understanding how they got to Villa Opicina, and with time counting down to the departure time of the replacement bus it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to get a ticket in time, so I opted for the alternative which was to get a ticket to the previous station – Sezana which is still in Slovenia and could be purchased from the self-service ticket machines and hope that I could pick up a taxi from the rank at the station there through to Trieste.

Given that the railway ride to Sezana and Villa Opicina is describe as very pretty it was a bit of a shame then that virtually the whole journey was a reapat of the run down the motorway that the tour had done the previous day.

Despite being the express bus making virtually none of the scheduled stops and bombing down the motorway we still ended up arriving into Sezana 30 minutes later than the train would have done. Adding to the problems there was no taxi rank as it was being used to run the rail replacement buses out of, so after a bit of a wander to try and find if there was a taxi rank I eventually had to ask the very nice receptionist in the station hotel to call a cab for me. Given she knew what I wanted as soon as I walked through the door, and had the taxi number on speed dial I can only assume that this has become a very regular occurrence for her.

And so for the first time on my travels public transport had failed and I crossed into Italy in the back of a taxi.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Trieste; Monday, 04 August, 2014

The taxi ride was, in fact, considerably more useful than if I had been able to come in via public transport as he dropped me off right outside the hotel.

Checked in I went out for a little wander around the centre of Trieste, stopping at a café in the main square for a pre-dinner drink before finding a stunning fish restaurant a few streets back.

Stuffed I gently staggered a bit more round the city centre before heading back to the hotel for a well earned rest.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Trieste; Tuesday, 05 August, 2014

Breakfast consumed I headed over to the harbour area to pick up the City Sightseeing tour of Trieste. I did two complete circuits to take in the views from both sides of the bus, even if on the first time round some of those views were through a quite sudden and drenching downpour.

I stayed on the bus back up to the Cathedral and Castle and got off there to have a look around, firstly in the very bizarre Cathedral which was created by merging two neighbouring small churches into one single and architecturally mismatching singe building. The building also includes several bits of the former Roman fortress on the site, with quite large parts of the Bell tower, from the top of which I took in some good views over the city, being made up of clearly recycled chunks of masonry.

From the Cathedral I wandered over to the Castle and had a long look round the site, taking in the various museums and displays. By the time I’d finished in the castle it was already late afternoon, but the weather had improved considerably, so I caught the bus out to the Mirimar palace park and had a wander through there and back down onto the sea front.

I picked up the bus just over an hour later a couple of stops further on from where I’d left it and took it for its final tour of the evening round the city.

Back in the city centre I headed back to the hotel briefly to freshen up before heading out for dinner, this time over by the former canal in the city centre.

I dined at a canal side restaurant which was interesting as a very blowy but warm wind was causing a bit of chaos with the napkins, tablecloths and umbrellas – and at one restaurant on the opposite side of the canal the furniture as it sent a chair crashing into the water.

After dinner I had another stroll round the city centre, picking up a very nice ice-cream on the way, before heading back to the hotel

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
30ºC/86ºF

Trieste; Wednesday, 06 August, 2014

I headed out of the hotel and wandered over to have a quick look round the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral before heading into the very centre of town and catching the tram replacement bus up to Villa Opicina to take in the stunning views over the city and the Adriatic that can be had from up there.

I had a long walk along the ridge, but sadly the trees were a little too heavily laden with leaves and pine needles to be able to get a good view.

Back down in town I headed over to the station and caught the train up to the border town of Gorizia.

I wandered through town to the stunning castle and had a long look round that before heading back to the station.

I made it to the station with a few minutes to spare before the train back to Trieste, but none of the ticket machines were working and by the time I finally managed to get to the front of the queue for a ticket and get to the platform it was just in time to see the train pulling out.

With an hours wait I wandered over to a vending machine to get a drink, only to discover that having put the money in and had the drink drop into the tray the collection door was broken – partly because there were now half a dozen bottles waiting to be rescued.

Feeling a little less than impressed with TrenItalia I waited out the 55 minutes until the next train vowing never to use their services again.

Back in Trieste I went for a bit more of a wander through town, before grabbing dinner in a restaurant near where I had eaten the previous evening, before heading back to the hotel to start the packing process all over again.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Trieste; Thursday, 07 August, 2014

A final Italian breakfast consumed and then it was time to check-out and head over to the bus station to catch the bus out to Friuli-Venezia Giulia Airport to start an almost day long journey to cover just a couple of hundred miles.

When I got to the airport I had a quick check with the ticket office to see if there was any chance of getting the second leg of my flight brought forward so I didn’t have to spend most of the day in transit, but it was to no avail as they said my ticket was unchangeable.

The airport only has a handful of flights a day, and mine was the last departure before a five hour siesta through the middle of the day, so everyone was very efficient in ensuring we were on the plane and taking off early.

A short flight later and we landed at Munich airport, where the plane spent about 15 minutes wandering around the airfield before finally finding a parking space.

And so began five entirely uneventful and utterly tedious hours in transit before the second leg of the flight out to Budapest departed.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Budapest; Thursday, 07 August, 2014

A quick journey through the airport, with baggage coming round very quickly, and a few minutes later I found myself on the 200E bus heading to the metro station and then on into the centre of town and the hotel.

Having checked in I went for a bit of a wander up into the castle district and then down round Deak Ferenc Ter, including taking a ride on the Budapest big wheel (with an excellent commentary about sights you can see in Plymouth!)

I’d lost track of the time and by the time I’d finished wandering the metro had closed for the evening, so it was a slightly longer than expected walk back to the hotel and my well-earned bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Budapest; Friday, 08 August, 2014

The excellent breakfast in the hotel that I remembered from the previous year was still there and so very sated I headed out into town and up to the starting point of the Big Bus Tour

I took the full tour round once on each side to take in all the views, seeing quite a bit more of Budapest than I had previously seen.

After stopping for a late lunch I headed north out of town to the Roman remains at Aquincum and had a long wander round the site, which is quite extensive – made all the more reminiscent of other major Roman archaeological sites that I’ve looked round by the sun beating down and the temperatures really starting to get quite high.

I caught the train back into the city centre after finishing off looking round and then headed out for dinner, before heading back to Deak Ferenc Ter to pick up the night time Big Bus Tour of the city.

Making it back with still a few metro’s running I headed back to the hotel and another excellent nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
36ºC/97ºF

Budapest; Saturday, 09 August, 2014

Another excellent breakfast and then it was time to check-out and make my way back to the airport for the flight back to Zagreb.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Zagreb; Saturday, 09 August, 2014

A very comfortable and smooth flight and straight through the airport at Zagreb onto the airbus meant I was back in the centre of Zagreb less than an hour after landing.

I headed over to my hotel for the night and checked in before heading back out into town for a wander.

I headed up into the old town to visit the Museum of Broken Relationships and have a bit more of a wander round before heading back to the very nice restaurant I’d eaten at nearly a fortnight earlier for a final dinner on the trip, then back to bed for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Zagreb; Sunday, 10 August, 2014

Sadly the combination of being opposite the lift, and an internet router being in my room with its flickering green lights illuminating the room all night, I didn’t get a good night’s sleep – in fact I got very little sleep so was more than happy to agree that I would write a TripAdvisor review – I don’t think they were expecting it to be as unflattering as I eventually posted.

Checked-out I caught the tram back over to the bus station to pick up the coach to the airport.

40 minutes before our scheduled departure time we got a gate number and 30 minutes later we were all boarded and ready to go. At which point the pilot told us the good news that due to a major storm currently battering the South East of England we were going to be held on the Tarmac at Zagreb for 90 minutes so that by the time we arrived we’d be landing in better weather.

True to his word, we sat there for about 80 minutes before they started up the engines and exactly 90 minutes late we pushed back and headed back towards the UK.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Eastbourne; Friday, 15 August, 2014

A smooth journey down from work and a quick walk across town later I was at the hotel and checked in.

I was going round friends for dinner, so I only had time to take a few photos and get changed before I headed out for the evening.

After dinner I caught a cab back to the hotel and straight to bed

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Eastbourne; Saturday, 16 August, 2014

An excellent breakfast consumed I headed out of the hotel to have a bit of a wander round the Airbourne site before meeting up with my friends.

We had a long wander along the seafront before they needed to head off and I headed into town for a spot of lunch.

I was back at the hotel with time to spare for the main event of Airbourne for the day, the Red Arrows display. Due to the poor weather on the previous two days their display had been heavily cut back, but with crystal clear blue skies and the sun beating down they were able to do a very long and spectacular display – all of which I saw from the stunning view point of the hotels roof – one of the highest points in the town centre, and at times almost level with the jets as they tore past.

Late afternoon I headed over to my friend’s house and then we headed back out into town for the afternoon, spending quite a bit of the time being deafened by a modern fighter jet tearing across the sky.

I quickly popped back to the hotel to freshen up and get changed as the temperature was starting to drop and shorts were starting to be quite chilly.

I wandered back round my friend’s house for dinner before walking back along the seafront to the hotel and to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Eastbourne; Sunday, 17 August, 2014

Another stunning breakfast completed, I headed out onto the seafront and picked up the open-top bus tour up for a quick outing to Beachy Head, Birling Gap and East Dean.

Back in town and with the cloud rolling in only a limited display from the Red Arrows, which I decided to stay on the open-top bus to view, and actually got some stunning views of the limited display as the bus went up over Beachy Head.

A quick lunch break in town and then down to the Redoubt fortress to have a look round the fortress and the museum, then a wander back along the seafront to the hotel to take in the last of the displays from the hotel.

After the end of the show I headed out for dinner and then it was back to the hotel to prepare for the fireworks finale to Airbourne, again seen from the stunning location of the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Eastbourne; Monday, 18 August, 2014

Even getting up early and being at the Breakfast rooms doors as it was due to open I still wasn’t the first person in, with several more senior guests in – mostly moaning about how they were kept awake by the awful racket of the fireworks the previous evening and how they should be banned – there really isn’t pleasing some people!

After breakfast, and all packed, I checked out and walked briskly back to the station to pick up the train that turned from returning from a holiday to commuting to work.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Perth; Friday, 22 August, 2014

As it was an early flight the following morning I headed down to Gatwick and checked into the Premier Inn by the North Terminal.

After a late dinner courtesy of the Marks and Spencer Simply Food I headed to bed with my alarm set for unpleasantly early and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Perth; Saturday, 23 August, 2014

The goodnight guarantee from Premier Inn lived up to its promise and consequently I was rudely awakened by my alarm at an unreasonable hour. After a quick shower I checked out of the hotel and headed over to the terminal to drop my bags and then grab breakfast.

We landed in Edinburgh pretty much on time and after a quick journey through the airport I found myself on the tram heading into town. This turned out to be a bad decision as it took nearly an hour to get to Waverley station, against the air bus that would have taken barely 30 minutes.

An hour later than I’d been hoping for, I was on the train and heading north towards Perth. The first part of the journey rammed sardine like into the small two car train that had most of the Hearts away supporters club heading to a match at Kirkcaldy.

I checked into the hotel, dropped off my stuff and then headed out into town to have a wander.

I had a long walk around town taking in the key sights, in fact spending so much time taking in the sights that by the time I reached the castle that houses the Blackwatch museum it had already closed for the evening.

I had a bit more of a wander round the town before grabbing an early dinner in a very nice Indian restaurant and then heading back to the hotel for a quick drink in the bar and then an early night to try and catch up on the sleep rudely lost in the morning.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Perth; Sunday, 24 August, 2014

An excellent night’s sleep made up for the previous night’s missing hours of shut eye and I was pretty much convinced I had slept through my alarm when I woke up feeling totally refreshed, only to be surprised that it wasn’t yet 8am.

As I was up much earlier than planned I had a leisurely breakfast and was still able to head out of the hotel and catch the bus an hour earlier than I’d planned out of the city centre and over to the Palace of Scone.

The Palace was once an Abbey and it was here, on the sacred Stone of Destiny, that Scottish kings were proclaimed for centuries – up until Edward I stole the stone and spirited it away to England at the end of the 13th Century. Over the years use of the site has changed and today it’s the site of a spectacular 19th Century Scottish Georgina Gothic Palace that is still lived in by the Earls of Mansfield – though they have opened large parts of the grounds and the ground floor of the palace to the public.

I spent a long time wandering around both the palace and the grounds, including a quick journey through the star shaped maze.

Having exhausted Scone I headed back into town and had a bit more of a wander round the town centre, crossing over the Tay on the Tay Viaduct path that runs next to the railway tracks over the river, including a link from the middle down onto Moncreiffe Island. Over on the opposite bank is a sculpture trail that I followed back to the Old Bridge and then back into town.

Next to the bridge is the city museum and art gallery which I popped into to have a look round, but there wasn’t that long before closing time so I wasn’t able to see everything that they had on display.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then out for dinner – using the rankings in Trip Advisor to pick what turned out to be an outstanding Nepalese restaurant.

Bloated from excellent food I waddled back to the hotel for a night-cap and an early night to give my stomach a chance to digest all the food.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Perth; Monday, 25 August, 2014

I had a significantly less good breakfast than the previous morning so checked out of the hotel less than impressed with the service.

From the hotel I headed over to the Cathedral to have a look round there and then continued on over to the Black Watch museum and castle

After looking round the museum I took a long wander through the North Inch back to the riverside.

A quick stop for lunch and then it was back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head for the train back to Edinburgh for my flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Broadstairs; Friday, 12 September, 2014

A quick dash across town and then onto the HighSpeed at St Pancras.

About 10 minutes late, as a preceding train had been cancelled and ours was turned into a stopping service, we arrived in Broadstairs and I walked down the hill to the hotel.

After checking in and taking some photos of the stunning views from my room I headed out for a quick wander around town before stopping off for some dinner in a very nice Indian restaurant just opposite the hotel.

Then it was back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Broadstairs; Saturday, 13 September, 2014

A very pleasant breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel and went for a wander around town in the warm morning sun.

I quickly found myself down on the beach, and with the tide out went for a bit of a walk along the fascinating coast. Wide sandy beaches and chalk cliffs with interesting caves and formations carved into them by the power of the sea make the walk so interesting that before I realised it I’d walked all the way into Ramsgate, making it to the centre of town just as the tide was starting to come back in again.

I hopped on a bus back to Broadstairs and grabbed an excellent lunch in the hotel.

I had intended on walking along the beach in the opposite direction, but it was still high tide so instead I went along the cliff tops, round past the North Foreland to the stunning Botany Bay with its chalk stacks.

As it was such a lovely afternoon, I continued on my walk and before long I was heading into the outskirts of Margate.

I picked up the bus in the centre of Margate and caught it round to Ramsgate again, to have a wander along a little bit of the cliffs above the harbour to take in the views. However, before long the sun started to set so I headed back to the town centre and picked up the bus back into Broadstairs and dinner.

After a short stroll along the prom I had a drink in the bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Broadstairs; Sunday, 14 September, 2014

Another excellent breakfast, and after checking out of the hotel I headed over to the neighbouring Dickens House museum. I had a long look round the museum and then a walk round some parts of the town I hadn’t visited the previous day.

I’d already booked myself onto a tour to look round the Ramsgate Tunnels at 2pm so after my town wander I headed over to the bus stop to pick up the bus into Ramsgate.

After an incredibly interesting tour of the tunnels I headed back into Broadstairs and stopped off at the hotel for a late lunch before picking up my bags and heading back to the station to start the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Siena; Thursday, 25 September, 2014

After the not quite a full week from hell at work I was glad to be getting away on the dot of five to head down to Gatwick.

In theory I could have left it till much later to head down to stay overnight, but it was a useful excuse to exit the building at 5pm.

Having checked into the hotel I went for an earlyish dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep, something I hadn’t had for a number of nights, before a relatively early start the following morning.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Siena; Friday, 26 September, 2014

I didn’t bother with breakfast in the hotel, instead checking out then a few minutes later checking in for the flight and hitting breakfast in the terminal.

After a little glitch with the flight information- for a while the screens just displayed Go to Gate with no actual information as to which gate it was – everyone made it to the plane and five minutes before scheduled departure time the plane was already pushing back and heading towards Pisa.

Arriving a couple of minutes early ended up being a pain as there was no chance we were going to make the earlier bus into Florence, so instead just had to wait for the best part of 50 minutes for the next bus, which was then promptly 25 minutes late.

A quick hop from the station in Florence over to the hotel to check in, and then out into the city centre for an early evening wander, a quick pre-dinner drink in the main square and then a very nice dinner in a restaurant overlooking the Neptune fountain.

A lovely Italian Ice cream finished off the evening and then it was back to the hotel for another stunning night’s sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Siena; Saturday, 27 September, 2014

A thoroughly disappointing breakfast in the hotel wasn’t what I’d have liked after such a good night’s sleep, but it’s what the hotel provided so with quite a bit of disappointment I checked out, leaving my bag with reception and headed into town.

I caught the bus up to the Piazzalle Michelangelo overlooking the city centre to take in some of the stunning view on this beautiful morning, stopping off in a little café just below the square for a significantly more pleasant coffee than the hotel had provided.

I picked up the bus back on into town, which as it was a Saturday morning, got caught in some spectacular traffic, so by the time I got back to the central station it was midday.

As I only had about 90 minutes before I needed to pick up my luggage and head over to Siena I stopped off at a nice café near the Santa Maria Novella church for a light lunch, and after that headed back to the hotel to pick up bags and then wander onto the bus station.

A quick journey through the Tuscan countryside, along a really poorly maintained bit of Autostrada and just over an hour later we were pulling into the bus station in Siena.

I walked down the hill to the hotel and checked in, then headed out for a wander around the city centre taking in the Campo and the Duomo before stopping off for a pre-dinner drink in the Campo watching the last of the days wedding parties leave the town hall.

A short walk down hill to the market square located a very pleasant trattoria where I had a delicious dinner.

By the time I’d finished dinner I was so full, and it was getting quite late, that all I could do was gently waddle back up the hill to the hotel and turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Siena; Sunday, 28 September, 2014

Second disappointing breakfast of the trip completed it was off out into town, and first stop of the morning was the Cathedral.

I had a long look round the Cathedral, the museum, view point, Crypt and Baptistery, thankfully reaching each area just ahead of the massed ranks of day trippers who had turned up shortly after I did.

After taking in all the sights of the Cathedral, and a quick stop for coffee near the baptistery I headed over towards the Basilica of San Dominico, the massive church that dominates the skyline behind the Cathedral and had a look around there, stumbling upon perhaps one of the more gruesome Catholic relics – the severed head of St Catherine of Siena.

A slightly disappointing lunch in a café near the basilica and then a wander over to the Medici fortress. In the end it was quite a long wander around the outside and then inside of the fortress as I turned left on reaching it and had to walk round three sides to get to the entrance that I would have reached in under five minutes if I’d have turned right instead. However the walk did show how impressive a structure this is.

Up on the battlement walls we took in the stunning views across the city, the only place where you can see the three main towers of the town hall, cathedral and San Dominico.

A quick pit stop on the campo and then it was into the Palazzo Publico to have a quick climb up the Torre del Mangia for the views and then back down and into the stunning town hall rooms that house the Museo Civico.

After a refresh in the hotel it was back out for another lovely dinner on the campo before heading back to the hotel for a well earned rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Siena; Monday, 29 September, 2014

I decided to abandon the hotel breakfast and instead had a significantly better breakfast at one of the cafes on the Campo before heading up the hill to the bus station to head out of town for the day.

The town of San Gimignano is a remarkable Tuscan hill town. Not just for the excellent wine that it produces, but also for it’s crazy skyline.

During the middle ages a craze for tower building broke out across the city with more and more increasingly larger towers being built in what is quite a small walled town centre.

Over time some of the towers have been demolished and the general heights have been reduced, but there’s still enough towers to create a very weird view as the bus approaches up from the valley below.

I had a long wander around the town centre before stopping for lunch in a nice restaurant just away from the central square.

The town is quite small, and today is a bit of a tourist trap, with many day tours from Florence doing San Gimignano as a late afternoon stop on the way back from a day in Siena, so with the numbers of raised umbrellas, flowers and other implements to indicate different groups suddenly shooting up I decided to head back to the bus stop and return to Siena.

Back in Siena with about an hour of daylight left I had a pleasant pre-dinner drink on the Campo before heading down slightly behind the Palazzo Publico to an amazing little restaurant down on the market square for the best meal of the trip.

Sated, and staggering slightly under the weight of food it was back to the hotel to allow the digestion process some time.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Siena; Tuesday, 30 September, 2014

After packing and checking out I headed to another café on the Campo for breakfast, possibly the best one of the trip.

A quick wander through town took us down to the Fontebranda, the medieval water supply of the city.

Wandering back up into the city centre I stopped off at the sanctuary of St Catherine to have a quick look round and then headed over to the Santa Maria della Scala to have a look around their exhibits.

I wasn’t expecting much from the Santa Maria della Scala, but was amazed by the size of the complex once you got down to the lower levels, with a massive archaeological museum housed in tunnels carved out underneath the Duomo.

Significantly later than I was originally expecting I left the complex and headed back down onto the Campo for a final lunch, then it was time to head back to the hotel and pick up bags.

I decided to get a taxi back up the hill to the train station, and was glad we did as the station was quite a bit further out of town than it looked on the map.

Just over two hours later and nearly a minute early our second train of the day pulled into Pisa Centrale station, this unfortunately meant that I had significantly longer to wait at Pisa Airport than I was expecting as I’d assumed at least one connection would fail or one train would be cancelled.

Thankfully, bag drop was open early so I was able to checkin and head through to the departures lounge and the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Chichester; Sunday, 04 January, 2015

Another late breakfast and after checkout it was over to the bus station to pick up the bus out into the South Downs national park.

I headed up to the town of Singleton to visit the Weald and Downland open air museum.

I had a long wander round the museum, taking in most of the buildings located round the site.

From Singleton I headed back into Chichester and had a bit more of a wander round the city centre, taking in the remainder of the former city walls.

Then it was back to the hotel to pick up my bags and headed back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Eindhoven; Friday, 31 October, 2014

As it was an early flight the following morning I’d headed down to Gatwick to stay overnight in the Premier Inn by the terminal.

After checking-in and a quick Marks and Spencer dinner I turned in early.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Eindhoven; Saturday, 01 November, 2014

At an hour that even for a weekday morning would be a little early, but for a Saturday was positively obscene, I was woken by my alarm, staggered through the shower and after quickly dressing and repacking headed over to the terminal building.

A smooth journey through the airport and everyone was on the plane with a good 10 minutes to spare before we were due to push back. 20 minutes later we were still sat there as the pilot informed us of a technical problem with the plane, which took another 20 minutes to fix. That should have been it and on our way, but due to the inefficiencies of the ground-handling agent we had to wait nearly an hour before we were finally pushed back and on our way.

Having arrived at Schiphol and walked the miles from the plane to the baggage reclaim hall and then the station it was only to be confronted with the very odd sight of the usually efficient Dutch railway system in meltdown.

Weekend engineering works (something I fear the British subsidiary Abellio has infected the parent company with) meant there were no direct trains from the airport into the centre of Amsterdam, and consequently all other trains were very busy and slightly chaotic, but things had been made much worse by an “overhead line problem in the Delft area”, which had wiped out services, with many either cancelled or running up to 90 minutes late.

Eventually, by changing trains in Utrecht, I finally made it Eindhoven nearly 4 hours later than planned, but at least without having to worry about storing my luggage before I was able to checkin to the hotel as by now checkin was open.

After dropping my stuff off I went for a long wander around the city centre, stopping off for a visit to the stunning Van Abbemuseum.

After the gallery I continued having a wander around town, before heading to a restaurant for an early dinner having just realised that I hadn’t actually eaten since a British Airways breakfast at around 9am.

Dinner finished I went for a bit more of a wander before heading back to the hotel for a quick drink in the bar and then bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Eindhoven; Sunday, 02 November, 2014

A chaotic and poorly organised breakfast (hotel was full to capacity and had issued guests with time slots for breakfast, which clearly hadn’t worked as there was still a 20 minute wait just for a table when I arrived at my scheduled slot!), and then it was off to the station to head out of town to the nearby city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch).

As it had been a late breakfast, by the time I reached Den Bosch it was already early afternoon, so after a quick cup of coffee in a café by the canals in the city centre I went for a long wander round the city.

I stopped off at the Cathedral and had a look round, before heading a short distance further on to the former church that has now been converted into a museum to the town’s most famous painter son – Harmonious Bosch.

The museum is very well presented, making use of the tower of the former church to offer stunning views over the city and an introduction to both the town and the man.

In the end I spent so long in the museum that I was in danger of having to be kicked out at closing time.

I headed back to the market square and decided to have dinner here, before heading back to the station to get a later train back to Eindhoven and a final night cap before turning in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Eindhoven; Monday, 03 November, 2014

With the hotel almost empty, breakfast was a considerably better organised and more pleasant event than the previous day.

After breakfast I checked out and headed back to the station and on into Amsterdam, where I left my bags in the luggage lockers at Centraal station before heading out into the city

The weather forecast for the day wasn’t particularly good, which meant that the open-top tour buses all had their tops on, which appeared to be the best way of spending a couple of hours looking round the city in the dry.

I did two full circuits of the tour, during which the skies absolutely opened – hence staying on to go round a second time.

By the time I got back to Centraal station for the second time the skies were down to a light drizzle, and my time to head to the airport was up, so I collected my luggage and headed out to Schiphol.

Having checked in I watched as over the next hour or so the flight did Southern Railways trick of a creeping delay – getting two or three minutes later every 2-3 minutes, so it’s always an hour away.

Eventually, nearly 90 minutes late we boarded to be told that the delay had been caused by a technical fault on the plane, which given it was exactly the same plane I’d flown out on on Saturday didn’t really fill me with much confidence.

Just over an hour later, and with no further technical problems, we touched back down in Gatwick, where having messed up the start of the journey, and the ends of several previous journeys, Swissport for once redeemed themselves slightly by actually having our bags on the baggage belt as we came through Immigration.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Preston; Saturday, 15 November, 2014

Having been at a conference in Manchester for the preceding few days meant that rather than a very early start from London to travel up to Lancashire I instead had a very late breakfast in the hotel, checked out and walked the short distance round the corner to Manchester Piccadilly station to pick up the train north to Preston.

Despite the very late breakfast and leaving it until the last minutes to check out I was still in Preston long before the check-in time at the hotel, but they very kindly looked after my luggage for me so that I could have a wander round town unencumbered.

I had a long meander round the centre of Preston taking in the Minster and then headed down to the park that borders the River Ribble.

By the time I’d finished wandering it was long past the check-in time so I headed back to the hotel, picked up my bag, checked in and then headed out for dinner and a bit more of a wander.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Preston; Sunday, 16 November, 2014

Up early and out into the grey day for a trip out to the coast.

The last time I’d attempted to visit Morecambe the weather had taken a distinct turn for the worse, and in the face of a torrential downpour and biting wind I’d gone about 100 yards from the station before abandoning the attempt and heading back to the station.

Thankfully today the weather was considerably more benign with just a grey haze covering the horizon and reducing the visibility across the bay.

I had a long wander along the seafront taking in the pier and the recently restored Midland Hotel before heading back towards the centre and the statue of the town’s most famous son.

Unfortunately a couple of weeks earlier there had been an attempt to steal the statue of Eric Morecambe, so to protect the now damaged statue the local council had removed it for repairs, instead there was just a hole surrounded by fencing.

After a quick pit stop in a sea front café for a spot of lunch I headed back towards the station to pick up the train for a journey out into the countryside on the train.

I took the train out across the Lancashire countryside and into the Yorkshire Dales through the considerably quieter Clapham than its London namesake and down to Long Preston, just south of Settle.

I had a quick look at the timetables to see if it was possible to go back a different way either by Leeds or Carlisle, but in both cases, as it was a Sunday afternoon, there would have been a very long wait somewhere, so instead I retraced my steps back across the Dales to Lancaster and then back down to Preston.

Despite having not done very much all day, other than a bit of wandering along the seafront in Morecambe and a lot of sitting down staring out of the window, I was feeling really tired, so I had dinner in the hotel before turning in for an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Preston; Monday, 17 November, 2014

A nice long lie in so that I didn’t have to compete with salesmen for breakfast and then it was out of the hotel and over to the bus station to catch the bus out to the small town of Clitheroe and it’s equally compact castle.

I had a good look round the castle keep, which didn’t take very long as it really is quite tiny, and then a look around the attached museum that tells the history of the town and local area, including the infamous Pendal Witches (the Pendal Hill being one of the most obvious natural feature on the landscape)

I caught the bus back into Preston and wandered over to the city museum and gallery and spent quite a bit of the afternoon having a look round their exhibitions.

After a quick pit stop for a very late lunch I meandered back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then start the journey back south.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Glasgow; Saturday, 22 November, 2014

It doesn’t feel right to be getting the train on a Saturday morning at the same time as I do on a weekday, but for the long journey north it was best to get going early.

It was a quick a painless journey across London to Euston and then, after a short wait, onto the train to Scotland.

A smooth if slightly tedious four and a half hour journey later and we finally pulled into Glasgow Central station.

After checking in to the hotel and dropping off bags we headed out into the city. We walked up from George Square to the Cathedral and had a look around there before heading into the Necropolis to have a look around.

The Necropolis is already a slightly strange place made all the weirder by wandering around it in the early dusk of a late November’s evening.

Back from the Necropolis to the hotel to dry off from the drizzly mist that had been enveloping Glasgow before heading back out for dinner at an Italian near the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Glasgow; Sunday, 23 November, 2014

Breakfast consumed we headed out from the hotel and over to George Square to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus.

We took it round most of the circuit out to the Kelvingrove museum and art gallery which we had a long look around.

After stopping for lunch at the museum we walked up through the park to the university to have a look around the Hunterian museum and art gallery. By the time we’d looked round the gallery we were too late to make the last tour of the attached Mackintosh house for the day so we’d have to come back and do that.

We had a wander back down the hill to pick up the sightseeing bus from slightly further back down the route and finished off the circuit back past the university and Kelvingrove and into town.

After a stop at the hotel to freshen up it was out into town for dinner at a very pleasant tapas bar just round the corner from the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Glasgow; Monday, 24 November, 2014

Another big breakfast and back out to pick up the tour bus slightly closer to the hotel than the previous day, and slightly further round the route.

We caught it round to the recently opened Riverside museum and spent much of the morning looking round the museum and the Glasgow Tall ship moored up outside.

Rather than taking the tour bus and having an hours journey back into the city centre we picked up the electric city bus back to George Square and went for lunch.

After a bit of a wander round the city centre we hopped on the subway and out to the northern part of the city centre to visit the botanical gardens.

We just about managed to see all of the gardens, and the greenhouses before they closed for the evening. Back outside the gardens we picked up the penultimate tour bus of the night back round to George square.

Dinner was in a different Italian restaurant from the first night, and then back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Glasgow; Tuesday, 25 November, 2014

Having eaten and checked out we headed out across town to go back to the university and visit the Mackintosh house.

After the Mackintosh house it was back across town and out to the People’s Palace in Glasgow Green to have a look round the Winter Gardens and the exhibition in the palace itself of Glasgow’s history.

Back into town and a late lunch in the city centre before wandering over, in what was the start of the afternoons forecast drizzle, to the Modern art Gallery for a visit.

The Modern Art Gallery finished it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags, wander back over to Central Station and start the long train journey back south to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Cannes; Friday, 12 December, 2014

From my Gold card discounted ticket operating the barriers at East Croydon on the dot of 10 without requiring going to the side gate and missing the train, through the cheerful guard on the train; the friendly lady on check-in; the on time departure and arrival and stepping out of Nice Airport straight onto the Cannes bus which then set off and missed all the traffic arriving in Cannes 20 minutes early it was clear that I was having a very good day for everything working. Which made me feel all the guiltier when I checked Twitter having checked in at the hotel to discover that a short while after I left London airspace it had been closed because of an air-traffic computer problem crippling services for the rest of the day and resulting in virtually all the rest of the days flights to Nice being cancelled.

From the hotel I wandered down into the old town and had a walk through the commercial centre of the locals bit of Cannes – Cheese shops, a Carrefour, fishmongers not a single sign of bling anywhere. I reached the Hôtel de Ville and then decided that I was feeling up to hiking up the side of the hill that the castle was on to take in the views over the city at sunset.

The castle itself was closed for the evening, but the views over the bay and to the Esterel Massif bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun were spectacular. What was equally spectacular were the number of what were clearly eye-wateringly expensive gin palaces moored up in the harbour.

From the castle I wandered back down into town and had a walk along the harbour side taking in the, at times, ridiculous yachts (though in some cases small cruise ship may have been a better name for the craft).

Beyond the harbour I found myself in the non-residents end of Cannes, with the five star hotels, Gucci and Louis Vuitton shops and jewellers who probably charge you just to look at the stuff you could never afford. Like the floating gin palaces it was all a bit tacky and expensively cheap.

Heading back into the sensible end of town I found a nice restaurant down a side street and had a very nice dinner with an eclectic mix of Corsican, Southern French and Northern Italian styles, all washed down with an exceptionally pleasant (but it turned out very strong) local red wine.

Stuffed, sated, and slightly sloshed, I wandered back from the restaurant to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Cannes; Saturday, 13 December, 2014

Thankfully I’d also consumed nearly a litre of fizzy water in the restaurant so by the time I woke up, just before 9, I felt fine. I headed down for a late breakfast and then out into town for the day.

The previous evening I’d seen that the centre that hosts the annual Cannes Film Festival was this evening hosting the TF1 Music Awards, and consequently the centre of Cannes was going to be closed down from mid-afternoon onwards. With this in mind and a generally good weather forecast I decided to head down to the harbour and catch the ferry across to one of les Îles de Lérins, four small islands located about half a mile off the coast of Cannes.

The largest of these and the one with most attractions and therefore the most regular ferry service is Île Sainte-Marguerite so that’s where I headed to.

Having arrived on the island, as one of only five people on the boat, the first stop, after a brisk hike up the hill from the harbour, was the fort. This is an impressive building, clearly visible from Cannes, and amongst its many other uses it’s housed a prison that as its star attraction was home to the Man in the Iron Mask for 11 years prior to his final transfer to the Bastille in Paris.

I had a good wander round the fort including the excellent museum and the prison, taking advantage of the whole site being free to get into, rather than the normal €6.

From the fort I then followed the coastal path that makes its way around the edge of the island, a route of around 8Km. I stopped of lots of times on the way round to take photos and to step off the path to visit a number of sites located nearby including WWII block houses and Napoleonic cannonball ovens.

By the time I finally made it back to the harbour it was approaching 4pm and I had just enough time to make use of the only other island facilities that were open (the two restaurants and two snack bars all being closed for the winter), before catching the ferry back across to Cannes.

Including wandering around the fortress and the detours of the path to look at other sites I think I ended up walking about 10Km, which I hadn’t really noticed until I’d been sat down on the boat for 15 minutes and went to stand up to find that my whole body had stiffened up.

Staggering gently from stiff limbs I wandered back from the harbour into town to find a café for a quick cup of coffee, at which point I suddenly realised how hungry I was having not eaten anything since breakfast. A quick wander through the neighbouring Christmas market soon resolved that in the form of a delicious Crêpe and the stiff limbs were resolved through the medicinal use of Vin Chaud.

I had a little wander through town before finding another very nice restaurant just back from the harbour side and had another delicious dinner, this time though with a much less potent but very pleasant white wine. Stuffed, but not sloshed this time I headed back to the hotel to the comfort of my bed to let my limbs de-stiffen naturally.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Cannes; Sunday, 14 December, 2014

I had another breakfast almost completely to myself in the deserted hotel café before packing and heading out into town.

First stop of the morning was down onto the seafront to pick up the number 8 bus – rather grandly titled the Palm Imperial. It’s one of the normal town bus services, but because it runs along the seafront it’s operated, mostly, by open-top double-deckers so it was a good way to take in the sights on a bargain price sightseeing tour.

After heading out to the end of the route at Palm Bay and taking in the sights there over towards the islands I hopped on the next bus back into town and went in hunt of lunch.

A very pleasant, if slightly lengthy, lunch later and I staggered out of the restaurant and wandered my way up the hill back to the castle to have a look around the museum and the views from the tower.

As with the previous day at the Fort for some reason that wasn’t being explained the museum and observation tower were free for the day.

I had a long look around the museum and then climbed the 109 steps to the top of the tower to take in the views over the city.

Having exhausted the museum and the view point I wandered back into town and had a bit of a walk along the sea front before it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my stuff and make my way back to Nice airport and my flight home, hoping that all the problems that had been caused by the air traffic control failure on the Friday afternoon had been resolved.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Munich; Friday, 19 December, 2014

Last day in work before Christmas and it was either going to drag until lunch, or I was going to end up in a frantic rush to get everything done before disappearing off.

Thankfully, it turned out to be a dragging kind of morning so I was able to clear my desk, power down my PC and meander out of the building the moment my annual leave kicked in and make a break for the airport.

A slightly fraught journey across town, with every connection just failing and every traffic light appearing to be red got me to the airport with just 90 minutes before departure. Not good when the queues for security were approaching an hour. Thankfully I was able to go through the FastTrack route and skipped at least 50 minutes off the queue.

The plane left on time and it was an uneventful flight to Munich, but landing into some un-forecast drizzle suggested that the weather wasn’t looking good.

A quick journey through the airport, albeit with my bag being one of the last ones off the carousel, and down onto the S-Bahn, this time however the connection working with the train leaving a minute or so later.

I got off the S-Bahn at the Ostbahnhof and picked up the U-Bahn out to Neuperlach Zentrum to change onto the bus, by now the drizzle was down to a heavy downpour so I leapt on the first 197 bus I saw, just outside the station, without first checking whether it was a clockwise (Innenring) or anti-clockwise (Außenring) service. It turned out to be an Innenring service that took nearly 20 minutes to get round to the hotel, rather than the 5 the Außenring service would have taken.

However, by the time I got to the bus stop for the hotel the rain was back down to just a mild drizzle, so I was able to get over to the hotel in relative dryness and check-in.

By now it was nearly 9pm and I decided just to grab a quick bit to eat, and a drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Munich; Saturday, 20 December, 2014

A long lie-in and a large breakfast meant that by the time I finally left the hotel and started to make a move towards the city it was already long gone 11am.

I headed for the city centre to the Marienplatz and arrived just in time to take in the midday performance of the town hall tower clock.

I had a long wander around the Christmas market in the Marienplatz and surrounding streets before hopping onto the U-Bahn out to Theresienwiese, the site of the Oktoberfest and quite a substantial Christmas market.

I spent quite a bit of time at that Christmas Market, but was amazed that despite its size it was still dwarfed by the part of the site that isn’t in use, with the vast footprints of the where the beerhalls are placed during Oktoberfest quite difficult to comprehend, even for someone who has attended the annual booze-up.

Having taken in the statue of Bavaria located off of the edge of the grounds I headed back into town and did a bit more wandering around taking in the various Christmas markets and just meandering around the centre of Munich, taking the opportunity to top-up my still full stomach with the odd Bratwurst and Glühwein.

Eventually, slightly knackered from all the walking, I headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Munich; Sunday, 21 December, 2014

Having not really done very much the previous day I decided I was going to hit the high-culture today. Though that would require a bit of a lie-in and another stonking breakfast.

I headed into town and over to the site of the Bavarian State Painting Collections which is divided over a number of galleries, four located next to each other covering the main sweep of the Collection.

First stop was the Alte Pinakothek which houses the pre-18th century art, most of it being religious art from a number of old masters. The gallery itself was in the process of being renovated, so a large part was closed which meant that I’d zipped round the gallery in quite a quick time.

Next, across the road from the Alte Pinakothek the Neue Pinakothek houses Art from the 18th and 19th century, again lots of famous painters including a few Van Gogh’s, Cezanne’s and Monet’s. There was an excellent exhibition of late mid-19th century paintings and late 19th century photos of Venice that really helped to show how little that city has changed over the last 150 years or so.

From the Neue Pinakothek it’s a short walk back past the Alte and across the other road it faces to the Pinakothek der Moderne, the collection of Modern art and design. This included a good collection of works by Picasso and Miro as well as lots of exhibits on modern design. The building itself was incredibly interesting built round a central rotunda offering wide sweeping views across all the galleries.

After a very late lunch in the café in the Modern art gallery I headed across the road to the final gallery of the day the Museum Brandhorst which houses the contemporary art including works by Warhol, Cy Twombly and even Damien Hurst. I don’t know if it was being galleried out, or if it’s a final realisation that I just don’t get contemporary art, but I was round and out in less than 30 minutes.

I wandered back towards the centre of town, stopping off at the Königsplatz to take in the stunning sky bathed red by the shortest days setting sun, and the monumental buildings of the Propyläen, Glyptothek and Classical Art museum.

Back in town I headed over to Sendlinger Tor to the Christmas market there to do a bit of Christmas shopping and to have a decidedly unhealthy dinner of Bratwurst and Glühwein before heading back to the hotel to rest my museum feet.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Munich; Monday, 22 December, 2014

I had another massive breakfast and then headed out into Munich to try and find things to do on a Monday, never an easy task in mainland Europe when most museums and attractions are closed.

Thankfully you can always count on either a botanical garden or a zoo and Munich had both, so I decided my first stop of the morning would be the Botanical Garden over to the western side of the city, and after that I’d head to the zoo.

After a look around the glasshouses I spent a good hour or so wandering round the gardens, most of which appeared to be under fir tree branches to protect them from the Munich winter, including bizarrely their alpine rock garden!

The gardens back onto the Scholß Nymphenburg so I took the tram one stop up the line to the top end of the palace grounds and walked back through them towards the palace itself.

I was quite surprised to find that the palace was actually open for visitors so I had a look round on the audio-guided tour before heading over to the café in the former palm house behind the palace for a spot of late lunch.

By the time I’d finished in the palace gardens and grounds it was too late to make it to the zoo, which was probably fortunate as the public transport system appeared to be in a bit of a melt-down with trams bunching up together and then, according to the tram stop displays, massive gaps between them.

I hopped on the first tram that was heading back towards the city centre, which turned out not to actually go anywhere near the centre of the city, but did connect into an U-Bahn line so I was able to head back down into town from there.

I had a bit more of a wander round the Christmas markets to pick up the last couple of things and dinner in a nice restaurant close to the town hall before heading back to the hotel to pack my bags and check-in for tomorrows flight.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Munich; Tuesday, 23 December, 2014

Breakfast completed and checked out of the hotel I headed into town to deposit my luggage in the lockers at the Ostbahnhof and then head on into the city centre. Of course with a late breakfast and pushing checkout to the limit it was rapidly heading towards 1 before I finally made it into town.

First stop of the morning was the Glyptothek a museum housing a fine collection of Greek and Roman statues, marbles and busts. There is quite a lot on display, including one hall which is almost completely filled with Roman Portrait busts, which when you first enter looks a little creepy.

I headed back in to town walking back via the Old Botanical Gardens, which just appears to be a city centre park with a very large fountain (and a very large bierhaus) and not much else.

I hopped on the U-Bahn back out to Theresienwiese to have another look around that Christmas market, and also to get a spot of lunch.

With quite a bit of time to fill, and not much to do, I hopped on the tram out to the suburb of Grünwald which is located on the banks of the Isar River and has an impressive castle dominating the high ground over the river. Sadly, by the time I arrived there was insufficient time to see the castle, so after a quick couple of shots from the stunning bridge across the river I headed back into town and down to the Odeonplatz to have a bit of a wander round the Residenz grounds before heading back over to the Rathaus for a final Bratwurst and Mulled wine of the trip.

Sated with sausage I headed back over to Ostbahnhof to pick up my luggage and headed out to the airport to start the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Chichester; Friday, 02 January, 2015

It was a smooth a seamless journey down to Sussex on a virtually empty train, and after a quick check-in at the hotel I headed out into the city.

I had a wander around the city centre, taking in the Market Cross and part of the City Walls before heading over to the relatively new Novium museum based around the excavation of a Roman bathhouse just behind the cathedral.

Having looked round the museum I headed over the road to the Cathedral to have a look around that.

From the Cathedral I headed into a café for a very late lunch before wandering back to the hotel to freshen up before meeting an old friend for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Chichester; Saturday, 03 January, 2015

A late breakfast, and then out into a light drizzle to catch the train along the coast to Portchester.

I walked down from the station and had a long look round the large Roman fort which dwarfs the impressive Norman castle that occupies one small corner.

After a look around the castle, and a wander around the edge of the site, I headed back to the station to catch the train back towards Chichester, getting off a stop early at Fishbourne.

Fishbourne is home to the second Roman site for the day, the impressive Roman Palace and its famous mosaics.

I had a long look around the site, extended by the spectacular downpour that passed through just as I was about to look round the gardens.

With the downpour meaning I’d missed the hourly train back into Chichester, and with the skies clearing, I walked the mile and a half back into the city for dinner.

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Gozo; Thursday, 15 January, 2015

I’d been suffering from a heavy cold for almost two weeks by now, so it wasn’t particularly surprising that I stood on the platform of the station realising exactly what I’d forgotten to pack before heading out which included such essentials as cough mixture and a belt.

Southern did their best to try and stop me from having to worry as the trains were in a particularly awful state this morning, with the one I eventually caught running more than 10 minutes late and then terminating at Selhurst so it could be sent into the depot to be mended due to the state it was in.

Eventually, through blind luck mostly, I made it to Gatwick Airport, having taken nearly 90 minutes to do a journey that should have taken less than 30.

Thankfully, it was a very smooth journey through the airport, onto the plane and a bang on time departure.

Arriving at Malta airport it was another exceptionally smooth journey, so smooth in fact that rather than having a 50 minute wait for the bus I was able to catch the one I assumed I would miss and with a quick transfer at Cirkewwa onto the ferry and I found myself arriving at the hotel in Mgarr 90 minutes earlier than I was expecting.

Having spent most of the day travelling, I had a very quick sightsee of the town from the balcony of my hotel room before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Gozo; Friday, 16 January, 2015

The first decent night’s sleep in nearly a fortnight was brought to an abrupt end by the church on the hill opposite starting to sound the quarter hours from 7am onwards. After trying to sleep through a few I decided to give up and got up just after 8 to head down to breakfast.

Having had a large breakfast I headed out of the hotel and down to the harbour to pick up the bus. I was in two minds as to whether to head straight into Rabat, the island capital, or to head out up to the coast as buses were due to both locations within minutes of each other. The decision was made for me by the arrival of a full ferry load of tourists from Malta who were all queue barging to get on the Rabat bus so instead of having to stand for 20 minutes in a sardine tin I opted for a seat on the bus heading up to Marsalforn.

I was very glad I did as the journey up through the middle of Gozo was pretty impressive from the hill top towns to the views over the coast. Marsalforn itself was a bit of a pity as it’s been heavily built up for the tourism industry with a large number of big hotels surrounding the harbour, but with the harbour itself and the stunning cliffs rising immediately behind the town it was still quite a nice place to wander around for a little while.

From Marsalforn I caught the bus the 15 minutes or so into Rabat and changed there onto another bus out to the National Shrine Basilica at Ta’ Pinu to have a look round that.

After looking round the Basilica I headed back to the main road and picked up the bus down to the west coast of the island at Dwejra. The natural scenery here is stunning, with the limestone having been carved away by the sea into caves, some of which have collapsed to form an archway and an impressive tunnel through the cliffs that has created an inland sea. It was from here that I boarded a short boat trip that went through the tunnel, into some of the caves and past the Azure Window arch.

I stopped for some lunch in a restaurant with stunning views over the inland sea, and after refuelling I headed up to the small fort building on the headland to take in the stunning views.

I caught the bus back into Rabat and having disembarked promptly got back on again as the bus was changing to one going back to Mgarr.

Back at the hotel I watched the end of a stunning sunset from my rooms balcony before heading down for dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Gozo; Saturday, 17 January, 2015

A quick breakfast and then out of the hotel down to the harbour to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus of the island.

The bus took a long route around the island by first heading up into the hills behind the harbour and the islands second city of Nadur before heading down to the North coast at Ramla bay. Backtracking through Nadur it then visited a craft food display in Xewkija before heading up to the temples in Xaghra and the site of Calypso’s Cave where there was a short photo stop.

Back on the bus we headed over to Marsalforn before reaching Rabat and then heading out to the Basilica at Ta’ Pinu and then down to the Azure Window at Dwejra. Skirting round the edge of Rabat the bus then went down to the south harbour town of Xlendi before heading back into Rabat and then back down the main road to Mgarr.

After a quick pause for a bottle of orange juice and a chocholate bar I was back on the bus to take in the stunning views from the other side as I caught it back round to it’s first stop in Rabat.

I was just in time to join a late running land train tour round the edge of the Citadella and then once that was completed I headed up into the Citadella to have a look around.

When I’d visited in 2007 the site was looking a little forlorn and in need of some TLC. We’ll it’s certainly receiving it at the moment as the site was undergoing major renovations that aren’t due to finish until 2017. Unfortunately it did mean that much of the site wasn’t able to be visited.

After looking round what was open of the Citadella I headed back down to the bus station and picked the bus back up to continue the tour on down to Xlendi where I disembarked to have a look round this small harbour town. I had originally intended on just spending around 35 minutes looking round so that I would be able to catch the next (and last) tour bus back to Mgarr, but in the end there was quite a bit to see, with the cliff walk to a cave and the views of the harbour taking quite some time, that I’d long since missed the last tour bus and so I decided that I might as well have dinner in one of the nice looking restaurants near the harbour.

Stuffed to the gills from dinner I eventually staggered back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into Rabat thinking that I wouldn’t have very long to wait for a connection back to Mgarr. Unfortunately I’d managed to time my arrival in Rabat with the point in the timetable where there is a missing bus (to coincide with the ferries becoming less frequent), so instead of there being one there waiting for me I had a 45 minute wait.

Eventually the bus arrived and I headed back to the hotel, a quick drink in the bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Gozo; Sunday, 18 January, 2015

Breakfast completed and all checked out of the hotel I caught the bus over to Xaghra to visit the stunning pre-historic site of Ggantija.

After a long time looking round the ruins of this 5,600 year old temple I headed over the road to the other key sight in the town the Ta’ Kola windmill to have a look round there, then a quick visit to the nearby Ninu’s cave, located beneath someone’s house.

I arrived back at the bus stop just in time to catch the bus down into Rabat and changed there onto another bus out to Ramla Bay where I went for a long wander along the beautiful red sands.

Then it was back on the bus towards Mgarr, getting off in the town in the hills above to have a quick look round and then over to Fort Chambray to have a view of the small amount of Roman fort still remaining and to take in the view of the harbour.

By now it was starting to get late so I wandered down the hill into Mgarr and over to the hotel to pick up my luggage then a quick walk back down to the harbour got me to the ferry just in time to make the 15:45 departure.

Back in Cirkewwa it was a short wait for the bus that then took me back all the way to the Airport, even if it did mean getting frequent scares from the Maltese Sunday drivers.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Athens; Friday, 13 February, 2015

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel, partly as didn’t want to try and get in with luggage during the morning rush-hour, but also because up until 48 hours beforehand there was a planned bus strike which would have made getting to Heathrow much more difficult (and expensive). Having checked out of the hotel I caught the bus round to terminal 5 and checked in for the flight.

After an initial delay due to another passenger kicking off about the location of their seat we eventually were all boarded and got away for a smooth flight to Athens.

Having landed it was an exceptionally quick journey through the airport and less than 30 minutes after landing I was on a bus into the centre of Athens.

From Syntagma square I caught the metro out to the hotel and checked in.

Dumping my stuff in the room I headed back into the city centre and wandered down to the bottom of the Acropolis hill before realising that it was actually quite late with the two hour time difference, so I grabbed dinner in a restaurant overlooking the acropolis.

After dinner I walked up the hill to the entrance to the Acropolis site to take some photos before heading back down the hill to get the metro back to the hotel and heading to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Athens; Saturday, 14 February, 2015

At only a two hour time difference from the UK I didn’t think this was going to cause any problems, but by the time I woke up it was already too late for breakfast so instead I headed into town on a croissant from the bar and a glass of incredibly sweet orange juice.

First stop was naturally the acropolis, which I approached from the South slope, coming up through the many ruins located there. I had a long wander round the top of the acropolis site taking in the buildings and the stunning views over the city.

On leaving the Acropolis site I found myself by Areopagus hill from the top of which there are excellent views over both the ruins of the Ancient Greek market place (Agora) and the Acropolis itself.

Having taken in the views I descended down the edge of the hill and stopped for a late, but very large lunch, in a restaurant on the pedestrianized road that circuits the Acropolis site.

I had a bit of a wander through the flea market area of the city and back towards Syntagma square stopping off to have a quick look round the Cathedral, which was sadly mostly covered in scaffolding.

I headed back through the narrow lanes of the Plaka to the Acropolis Museum to have a look around that.

I spent a long time looking round the stunning museum, only opened just over a year ago, and well deserving of having all the missing bits of the Acropolis returned to it.

Having looked round the museum I headed back towards Syntagma square and picked up one of the land train tours for a quick journey round the heart of the city before heading over to Monastiraki for a bit more of a wander and then dinner.

Sated and exhausted I hopped on the metro back to the hotel and, having double checked my alarm, to bed.

Weather

Light Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Athens; Sunday, 15 February, 2015

Up in time for breakfast this morning and after topping up the cucumber tomato and feta levels I headed out to the centre of town to pick up the open-top sightseeing bus.

I did two full circuits, once on each side, taking in the views before returning to Syntagma square just in time to take in the spectacular changing of the guard ceremony.

From Syntagma I wandered through the National Gardens and then up through the more exclusive parts of the city to the funicular railway to take me to the top of Lykavitós Hill, the highest point in the city and stunning views over the Greek Capital and most of its ancient sights.

Not only are there stunning views at the top of the hill, there’s also a perfectly located restaurant serving excellent food, so I decided to stop for a late lunch up here, with the Acropolis and Temple of Olympian Zeus down below me forming my backdrop to another stunning, and massive, Greek salad.

Stuffed, and waddling slightly, I took the funicular back down the hill into the city centre and went for a bit more of a wander around the posh end of town, before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

Refreshed, and starting to feel like there might just be some space for dinner inside me I caught the metro over towards the area around the Ancient Agora and found a very nice restaurant with stunning views of both the Agora and the Parthenon for dinner.

Stuffed for the third time in less than 12 hours I waddled back to the metro station and headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Athens; Monday, 16 February, 2015

I headed out of the hotel into town and the first stop was Hadrian’s Arch and then the neighbouring spectacular Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Having looked round both of them I walked the short distance over to the Panathenaic stadium to have a look around that (and to walk on the same track that both the Ancient and first modern Olympians used)

From the stadium I hopped on the open-top bus round to the Roman Agora and had a look round the ruins of the Roman market area, before wandering over to the remains of the once massive Hadrian’s Library, built by Emperor Hadrian (he of wall fame).

Just down from the ruins of the library and the Roman Agora is the much older Ancient Greek Agora which covers a much larger space and has significantly more in it, including the reconstruction of one of the Stoa covered market halls, and the stunning Temple of Hephaestus.

By now I was starting to feel the effects of walking through too many archaeological sites, so I grabbed a late lunch near the Ancient Agora and then wandered back through the Flea market area to pick up the open-top bus up to the Acropolis.

From the Acropolis stop it was a short walk up the neighbouring Filopappou Hill to the small caves that claim to be the prison where Socrates was held, and then a slightly stiffer climb up to the top of the hill and the spectacular views over Athens, the port and of course the Acropolis.

I wandered back down the hill into town to pick up the last open-top tour bus of the night and did the last circuit covered by my two day ticket.

By the time the bus got back to Syntagma square it was starting to get quite cold so I headed back to the hotel to change into slightly warmer clothing and then headed back out for dinner near the Acropolis before heading back past Hadrian’s arch at night to take some views of the Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus at night

On my way back to the metro station to catch the train back to the hotel I stopped to have a look at the remains of a Roman bath house, uncovered when they were building the Metro line in the early part of the 21st century.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Athens; Tuesday, 17 February, 2015

Breakfast completed and all checked out of the hotel I headed into town for the last couple of hours of my stay in Athens.

I wandered over to the Kerameikos area to the Ancient Greek cemetery along with its stunning museum.

I spent a long time looking round the site, and by the time I left there wasn’t really much time left to look at any of the museums which had been my plan for the late morning/early afternoon.

Instead I found a nice restaurant and had one last large lunch before heading back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then start my journey back to the Airport and the UK.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Zaragoza; Wednesday, 11 March, 2015

With a very early flight I’d booked into a hotel at Heathrow for the night and so to much grumbling from commuters about someone bringing a bag onto their train I made my way over to the airport through the evening rush hour.

I made a quick detour to grab some dinner from the Marks and Spencer in the arrivals hall before checking in and heading to my room.

After dinner in my room I turned in for an early night ready for a very early start.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Zaragoza; Thursday, 12 March, 2015

For once I’d actually asked the hotel for a wake-up call as I thought there was a chance I might not wake up of my own accord. In the end with the time still showing a 3 for the hour I woke in plenty of time.

With Heathrow shrouded in a light mist and still cloaked in darkness I made my way through the eerily quiet airport, the deserted security area and eventually onto the shuttle train out to the satellite terminal where my flight was leaving from.

Pretty much on time we took off with the sun only just rising behind us for an uneventful flight to Madrid. From the airport it was a relatively quick hop into the city centre to get to Atocha for the early afternoon train towards Barcelona and the French border.

I picked up the bus into the city centre and then walked the short distance to the hotel to check-in and then head out into the narrow lanes of the old town to have a wander.

First stop was the site of the spectacular Roman Theatre and then onto the Plaza del Pilar, the heart of the historic centre with the Basilica church and the Cathedral dominating the long plaza.

I had a look round the enormous basilica, a site of pilgrimage even to today, and then took the lift up one of the towers for the views out over the Basilica, the river and the wider city.

Back down from the tower I had a bit more of a wander round the city centre taking in some more of the city’s Roman remains before finding myself by the medieval stone bridge around sunset so I was able to get some stunning photos of the Basilica with the sun setting behind it.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up, and to kill some time before any restaurants were open. Eventually my stomach forced me out of the hotel just before 9pm when I managed to find a very nice tapas bar about half way to the cathedral.

Stuffed from most of Aragon’s cheese and meat output for the year I headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep, and a lie-in to make up for the early wake up.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Zaragoza; Friday, 13 March, 2015

I had a nice long lie in and eventually made it down to breakfast gone 10 to discover I had the whole of the breakfast room to myself with most people clearly having eaten earlier.

From the hotel I headed out into town to take in some of the key sights. First up was a long visit to and wander round the Roman Theatre and then a quick look round the Roman Bath.

I headed back to the main square to have a look round the remains of the Forum, but it was closed – as it would be for the whole trip – due to technical problems. Instead I headed into the neighbouring cathedral to have a look around including its tapestry museum.

After the cathedral I was just in time to take the last presentation (by myself so they ran it in English for me) at the Puerto Fluvial, the former Roman river gate, which helped cement the city as an important trading site in Roman Iberia.

By now it was just gone 2pm which I’d managed to find out from reading the guide book was when most Zaragozans have their main meal of the day, so in an attempt to blend in with the locals I found a very nice restaurant and had a very large and very nice lunch.

Stuffed from lunch, and with 30 minutes to go until the museums reopened I decided to take the time to wander along the riverside down the kilometre or so to the Aljafería Palace.

The palace has served as a Moorish palace; a home to the Spanish kings and queens; the local base for the Spanish Inquisition and today the home of the parliament of the autonomous commune of Aragon. When the parliament isn’t sitting it’s the site of an impressive museum and I spent a long time wandering round the strange mix of Moorish and Spanish architecture.

From the palace I caught the bus back over to the hotel to freshen up and to wait for dinner, which thankfully this time I didn’t have to worry too much about being late given the size of the lunch I’d had.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Zaragoza; Saturday, 14 March, 2015

A slightly less excessive lie-in meant that the breakfast room was actually quite busy by the time I got down.

I left the hotel and headed out to the Plaza del Pilar to pick up the double-deck hop-on-hop-off tour bus. This was the first day of the season that the service was due to operate so I was a bit dubious as to whether it would run, but it did, though it took slightly longer than timetabled as in a number of places around the Expo site they had to work with a road layout that had changed from the previous summer.

I did two full circuits, to take in the view from both sides before arriving back by the Basilica just around 2pm. A quick wander around the square to take me past the chimes of the hour and then into a very nice restaurant for another stonking lunch.

After lunch I had a look at the list of sights to see, and with the Forum closed it was pretty obvious that I’d exhausted Zaragoza of most sights if I didn’t want to trek out to the Expo site and pay through the nose for the aquarium, so I had a bit of a walk around the city centre before picking up the tour bus again back to the Basilica.

The bus arrived back just as the sun was starting to set and turned out to be the last service of the day that would do the entire route effectively at night so I stayed on to take a different view of the city.

Back in the main square just on 9pm I found a tapas bar and had a light supper before heading back to the hotel

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Zaragoza; Sunday, 15 March, 2015

With the train not due to leave until 13:40 I would normally have got up relatively early checked out and tried to see some more of the city, but Zaragoza isn’t big and I had pretty much exhausted the tourist sites, so instead I had a nice long lie-in and a late breakfast before checking out a little before midday and making my way to the bus stop.

I caught the bus over to the train station where I had a bit of a wait before the fast AVE train back to Madrid and then the local commuter train out to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Potsdam; Friday, 27 March, 2015

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel as it was going to be a relatively early flight, and I was very glad I did. When I got to the airport the queues were massive with long lines going to every set of desks. Clearly despite it still being term time until 3:30 a lot of children were either on inset days or off sick from school

Despite the queues I was through security within half an hour of arriving. The flight boarded on time and we pushed back just a couple of minutes late.

After an uneventful flight we landed into a bright and sunny Berlin. However, in the 10 minutes it took to get from the plane to the arrivals hall the weather had turned into a spectacular cloudburst which was soaking the city. Thankfully a covered walkway to the bus stop, and then a very quick leap onto the bus when it arrived ensured I stayed dry.

By the time the bus reached the city centre it was bright and sunny again. The bus terminated at Zoo station which was exactly where I needed to be to pick up the train out to Potsdam. Given it was a Friday and mid-afternoon I thought it might end up being quite a busy train, so rather than standing I invested in a €4 upgrade ticket which meant I could sit in 1st class. I was very glad I did as the train was already full and standing when it arrived and the platforms were pretty well packed with people waiting to join. In the end I only just got a seat in 1st class.

A smooth 20 minute journey late we pulled into Potsdam where I hopped onto a tram the couple of stops round to the hotel to checkin. After checking in I wandered across the road to the Alter Markt area to have a look around, including the stunning Nikolaikirche, the roof of which you can climb up onto for amazing views over the city.

Back down at street level with slightly aching knees I caught the tram round to the Hauptbhanhof to grab a very late lunch/reward for climbing, and then headed back into the centre of town.

I had a little bit of a wander in the fading daylight, found a nice restaurant and had a dinner little more than 90 minutes after lunch.

I then headed back to the hotel to rest my weary legs and get an early night ready for a long following day.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Potsdam; Saturday, 28 March, 2015

An early breakfast and then out over to the other side of the city centre to pick up the first tour bus of the morning. I did a full circuit of the route and as there was a 25 minute wait for the next departure I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre, before picking up the tour bus and going round to Park Sanssouci.

The Park was the location of the summer homes of the Prussian royal family with, seemingly every one building a new palace. Consequently the park is littered with exotic palaces from the impressively large Neues Palais to the picturesque 12 room Schloß Sanssouci.

As I’d already visited most of the palaces a number of years earlier – and let’s face it the key point about a preserved royal place is that they don’t change – I didn’t bother actually paying through the nose to go into any of them, but I had a long wander through the park taking in all the sights.

By now the weather had improved quite a bit and after catching a bus back into town I picked up the tram out to the Glinecker Bridge.

The bridge fell right across the border between the Western districts of West Berlin and East Germany and consequently was a closed off area to almost everyone right up until 1989. The bridge was also, famously, the location where spy swaps took place with Soviet and American spys making the walk across it to their respective freedoms.

In some ways I should have come to the bridge early in the morning when it was foggy and dark as that’s really the kind of weather you’d associate with a location like this, but on a sunny afternoon it did mean you could take in the pretty lakes and further castles of this area.

I caught the tram back into town and popped back to the hotel for a quick freshen up before heading out at dusk to catch a regular bus back over to Park Sanssouci.

I’d expected that, as with any other major attraction like this, it would be beautifully floodlit at night and I could get some good photos, but the whole area was in total darkness with just the limited moonlight providing any lighting options for a picture.

I headed back over to the hotel and decided to eat there for the evening, before turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Potsdam; Sunday, 29 March, 2015

Breakfast and checkout complete I headed down to the side of the hotel where the tour boats depart from.

I caught a 90 minute cruise round the lakes that the Havel river forms around Potsdam, each one surrounded almost on all sides by palaces and summer houses, this really was an area the Prussian’s loved.

By the time the boat made it back to the quay the weather was rapidly deteriorating with a stiff breeze blowing and spits of rain in with it, so I popped back up into the hotel and collected my bag and headed on into Berlin.

A quick change off of the S-Bahn onto the underground and two stops south to Stadtmitte and my hotel for the night, just round the corner from Checkpoint Charlie.

After checking in I headed out into town for a long wander without any major plan in mind for where to head to.

I spent quite a bit of time talking, but by now the weather had really started to deteriorate so I headed back to the hotel and had a very nice dinner in the bar before turning in.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Potsdam; Monday, 30 March, 2015

The weather had improved marginally on the previous evening so after a long lie-in and a late check out I headed out into town.

First stop was to wander over to Bernauer Straße to look at the recently opened displays and walking route dedicated to the Berlin wall. The wall ran directly along the middle of the road with residents literally cut off from each other overnight.

To begin with there were several successful escape attempts as people could jump out of a window in an East Berlin house straight into the waiting nets of the West Berlin fire service standing outside on their side of the border. Quickly the authorities stopped this, first by bricking up the windows and then by demolishing the houses completely, eventually clearing even more buildings to create the death strip that ran between the outer wall (that the West Berliners saw) and the inner wall that kept the East Berliners in.

Today the path has the line of the wall clearly marked with metal posts, as well as fragments and recreations of the wall along with lots of information boards and displays about the area. There is a lot of information as well about the number of escape tunnels that were built under this part of the wall.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering along the wall and would have spent longer if it wasn’t for the weather deteriorating from drizzle to full on hard rain that was impossible to carry on wandering in.

I found a nice restaurant nearby and had an extended lunch break trying to sit out the rain.

Eventually the rain cleared back down to a drizzle, but only in time for me to have to start heading back to the hotel to collect my stuff and start the journey home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Winchester; Friday, 03 April, 2015

It was quite refreshing to get away to a holiday quite so quickly. After changing trains at Clapham Junction I’d normally be heading over to Feltham and then onto Heathrow. In the time it would normally take me just to get to the airport I instead managed to get all the way to Winchester and down into town to the hotel and checked in.

Having left my stuff in the room I headed out for a wander around town starting off by the cathedral and wandering through its grounds before finding myself down by a pleasant walkway by the Itchen

It would have been even more pleasant had the weather not chosen this point to start to deteriorate into a fine heavy drizzle.

I walked back into town alongside the Itchen stopping off at the statue of Alfred the Great briefly before the weather deteriorated to such an extent that I headed back to the hotel.

I waited in the hotel for a little while for the weather to improve before I headed out to dinner.

After dinner I went for a bit more of a wander around the Cathedral, but once again the weather deteriorated rapidly and I ended up scampering back to the hotel soaked to the skin.

I took advantage of the bath tub to have a more pleasant soak before going to bed.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Winchester; Saturday, 04 April, 2015

The comfy bed combined with the hot bath the evening beforehand meant that I was glad breakfast was being served until late, otherwise I may well have missed it.

Sated for the day I headed out over to the bus station to pick up the bus out to Bishop’s Waltham, home to one of the many palaces and castles that the Bishops of Winchester had built.

I had a long look round the site and then headed into the small medieval market town itself to have a look around and a stop for a late lunch before hopping on one of the last buses back into Winchester (buses stop early out here on a Saturday)

A brief wander round the town centre, before I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Winchester; Sunday, 05 April, 2015

Another long lie in and big breakfast before wandering up to the station to pick up the train out to Fareham. At Fareham I picked up the bus to go a couple of miles up the road to the small village of Titchfield and the former Abbey there.

The Abbey itself was converted, after the reformation, into a sumptuous palace but subsequently turned to rather spectacular ruins.

I had a long look round the ruins of the palace before heading back to the bus stop and taking the bus all the way back into Fareham to get some lunch.

As I had a day ticket for the bus I decided to go on a ride down to the neighbouring town of Gosport to have a bit of a look around, and grabbed a coffee in a café overlooking Portsmouth harbour.

I retraced my steps back to Fareham and the train back to Winchester, arriving back just in time to head out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Winchester; Monday, 06 April, 2015

Having done the key sights away from the city centre I was left with today to do a quick lap of the town.

Checked out and with luggage stowed in the hotel I walked the short distance to the restored city mill to have a look round that. The mill was returned to working order around 2005 and is once again using the power of the River Itchen and a water wheel to make flour. Whilst it is quite a fast flowing river, in the centre of Winchester the Itchen is also quite shallow so it’s amazing quite how much power directed water and well-designed gearing can generate.

From the mill it was a short walk alongside the River to Wolvesey Castle, another of the Bishop of Winchester’s palaces to have a look around its ruins and then a quick dive into town to grab a coffee and a light bite.

Then up the hill to the Westgate, the former city gate that is still standing and leads onto the minimal remains of Winchester castle, with just the restored Great Hall and its famous Round Table being the only major elements remaining.

Wandering back down the hill and just before reaching the cathedral I headed into the City Museum for a look around and then across the Cathedral green to have a look inside Winchester Cathedral.

Coming out of the Cathedral I suddenly realised quite how hungry I was feeling so I wandered onto the main high street and stopped off at a pub for a late lunch.

Having pretty much exhausted the key sights of the city centre, and conscious that, as it was the end of a long bank holiday weekend, the trains would be getting busy, I headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and wandered up to the station.

I was proved right about the trains as the first to arrive, the fast train into London, was already pretty much full and standing. I decided to give that one a miss as was quite glad as everyone who had been on the platform appeared to be standing as it pulled out.

A couple of minutes later the slower (by 5 minutes) train pulled in almost deserted, so I was able to get a selection of seats to myself for a comfortable ride back into London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Malmö; Friday, 10 April, 2015

I’d stayed overnight at the Premier Inn at the airport as the flight was relatively early and I wanted some extra time in bed, but that still meant being up before the sun was. After filling up at breakfast I caught the shuttle train back to the South Terminal in a light morning mist.

The last time I’d flown from the South Terminal had been over 2 and a half years earlier, coincidently on Norwegian the same airline I was flying today. Things appear to have changed dramatically in the intervening 30 months, not least of all the labyrinthine duty free shop that you have to walk through to get to the departures lounge, the thing it most reminded me of was the path through an Ikea, suitable I suppose on a trip to Sweden.

I’m not quite certain what they hoped to achieve by the massive duty free store as by the time I walked through it and made it into the departures lounge my flight had already had a gate number up so if I’d actually stopped to shop I may well have ended up missing the flight.

I touched down in Copenhagen a couple of hours later into glorious sunshine, the last 20 minutes of the flight having been across the stunning, and incredibly neat, Danish landscape. After passing through the airport I hopped on the train across the Øresund Bridge and across my second international border of the hour into Sweden and Malmö.

The hotel didn’t check-in until 3pm, but they were happy to look after my bag so I left that with them and went for a long wander around the city centre taking in the main sights.

I had thought about taking one of the canal cruises that the guide book recommended, but it appears that unlike a month earlier in Zaragoza where I was arriving on the opening weekend of the season, I was running a week early for Malmö as none of the tours, boat or bus, were running until the following Saturday.

Instead I carried on wandering round the city centre, pretty much following the canals so following the course of the tours, even if I was having to expend the energy myself.

By the time I was back by the station it was well past the start time of check-in at the hotel so I headed over there checked-in and after freshening up headed back out into town to look for some dinner.

I found a very nice Indian restaurant in the little square (that is its actual name – Lilla torg) where I had dinner amongst the crowds of Friday evening in downtown Malmö.

After another short wander I headed back to my hotel for a quick, if not cheap, drink in the bar and then to bed to catch up on some of the missing sleep from the morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Malmö; Saturday, 11 April, 2015

I had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel before heading out to the station and out of town for the day.

The next big town (ignoring the Danish Capital the opposite side of the Øresund), less than 25Km from Malmö is Lund which is home to a large university and a cathedral, so I suppose on the British scale that makes it a full city.

The train took a full 10 minutes to make the journey and from the station I wandered into the centre of town to have a look around, stopping off at the spectacular cathedral.

From the Cathedral I continued to wander through town in a big loop, eventually finding myself by Kulturen the city’s open-air/folk/ethnographic museum dedicated to preserving traditional buildings from the Skåne and surrounding regions.

I spent a lot longer than I expected wandering round the small, but very full site. By the time I left it was fast approaching 3pm so I headed back over to the Cathedral to see the Astronomical clock in action (it only runs twice a day and I’d missed the earlier show). In the end it wasn’t really worth going back for.

From the cathedral I headed through the city and over to the botanical gardens to have a look around.

After the botanical gardens, and a stop for a coffee in the centre of town, I headed back to the station to catch the train back into Malmö.

I stopped off at the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out into town to look for some dinner as I’d realised that despite the large breakfast the lack of lunch was becoming noticeable!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Malmö; Sunday, 12 April, 2015

The hotel was clearly close to full overnight as Breakfast was heaving and I only just managed to find a table. After a quick breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the station to pick up the train North out of the city.

First stop of the morning was the city of Helsingborg. Until the opening of the Øresund bridge between Malmo and Copenhagen the ferry spanning the 4Km channel between Helsingborg and Helsingør in Denmark was Sweden’s fastest connection to mainland Europe and prior to that had been a key battle ground between the two nations as they plied for supremacy over the this part of the world.

Consequently the city had an impressive castle, much of which as gone, but parts of the bastions and the main tower still stand and are worth having a look around. From the top of both the views are spectacular, particularly across the straights to the castle of Kronborg, AKA Hamlet’s Elsinore in the Danish town of Helsingør.

After climbing the tower and having a wander round town I decided, as a return ticket wasn’t very much at all, to hop on the ferry over towards Helsingør, mostly so I could get a good view of both cities from the water. I had about 20 minutes to wander around Helsingør before I hopped back on the ferry and headed back to Sweden.

Back in Helsingborg I picked up the afternoon train back down the coast, through Malmö and on round to the port town of Ystad. The town is vital for another link to Denmark, this time to the Island of Bornholm which lies off of Southern Sweden but is part of Denmark. I had a bit of a wander around town, but by now the weather was starting to deteriorate rapidly and any chance of a light evening disappearing behind increasingly threatening clouds I wandered back to the station and thankfully was sat on the train back to Malmö when the heavens opened.

It was still drizzling quite heavily when I got back to Malmö so I decided rather than going to find a restaurant I’d just eat in the hotel and then turn in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Malmö; Monday, 13 April, 2015

Breakfast and checkout completed I wandered into town (or more staggered into the massive head wind blowing round the station) and, after a quick stop to look round Lilla Torg virtually deserted with all the restaurants not yet open for the day, headed over to the castle

The castle is part of the long history of warfare between the Danes and Swedes for control of Skåne, the area of land that is now Southern Sweden, but has passed backwards and forwards between the two countries many times over the course of history.

The current castle is an interesting mix of a 17th Century construction and a 1930’s build that combines historic Danish and modern Nordic with the 20th century element baring in places quite some resemblance to the Stockholm and Oslo town halls.

Inside the castle there are a number of museums and I spent quite a long time looking round the exhibitions before even reaching the rooms of the historic castle, where there is an excellent display charting the history of the wars to control Skåne in one of the Canon towers along with the kings chambers reconstructed as to how they would have been when he was in residence.

I stopped off in the very nice café in the castle complex to have a bite to eat before wandering back through the parks to the centre of town.

By now it was time to head back to the hotel and collect my luggage before hopping on a train back over the Øresund Bridge into Denmark and on to Copenhagen airport for my flight back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Tenby; Thursday, 23 April, 2015

I’d had to come to Port Talbot for a meeting, so rather than trekking the 200 or so miles back to London it made more sense to take Friday off as leave and head further on into the west of Wales.

Meeting concluded I headed back to Port Talbot station and caught the train over to Swansea and then hopped on the Pembroke Dock train to, at a leisurely pace, take me to Tenby.

Around 2 hours later, after a very picturesque ride through the Welsh countryside we finally pulled into Tenby station and I walked the short distance up to the hotel to check-in.

Having left my stuff in the room I headed out for a long wander around the town in the gloriously sunny early evening.

I took in a lot of the town centre, including the castle and harbour before heading down onto the Castle beach and walking along the golden sands to the South beach.

From the South Beach I wandered back up into town and having taken in the town walls headed back to the hotel for dinner and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Tenby; Friday, 24 April, 2015

I was up relatively early as I wanted to get the 10am bus out of Tenby and towards Pembroke. The original plan was to visit Pembroke castle have a wander round the town, maybe pop into Haverfordwest and then head back to Tenby to visit the museum and Tudor Merchants house.

However, as the return ticket was the same price as a day ticket I did have the flexibility to change plans and they changed very quickly as the bus stopped pretty much at the entrance to Manorbier castle I decided to hop off and have a look around that, before picking up the next bus an hour later.

A quick check on the Traveline Cymru app showed that if I stayed on the bus to Haverfordwest I’d be in time to make an easy connection over to St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, so I stayed on into Haverfordwest and then on out to St Davids

The city is based around the stunning cathedral huddled down in a hollow beneath the main square.

I wandered down past the cathedral and onto the ruins of the Bishop’s palace to have a look around that before head back to the cathedral.

I had a long wander round the town, only really being stopped by the nagging drizzle turning into full on light rain, so I headed into a café for a quick coffee before catching the bus back to Haverfordwest.

Back in Haverfordwest I had the choice between catching the next bus back to Tenby which was due a few minutes later or having a look around town. As it was home time for most people the bus was going to be quite busy so I decided not to take up a seat on the busy bus and instead headed into town to have a look around.

I wandered up to the castle to take in the views and after a bit more of a wander round town headed back to the town centre to grab another coffee before catching the bus back to Tenby.

I arrived back into Tenby just as the light was starting to fade so I headed back to the hotel to drop off my stuff before heading out to dinner.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Tenby; Saturday, 25 April, 2015

Breakfast completed I headed out into town and over to the museum and gallery to have a look around.

After taking in the museum and having a wander around town I headed over to the station to pick up the train in Pembroke.

I wandered through Pembroke over to the castle to have a look around.

I wasn’t expecting to spend as much time as I did looking around the castle and in the end it was late afternoon before I’d finished off exploring so I grabbed a late lunch in the castle café and then had a walk round the Castle pond to take in the views of the castle.

Then it was time to head back to the station to catch the train back to Tenby.

After a quick wander around town I headed back to the hotel to drop my stuff off before heading out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Tenby; Sunday, 26 April, 2015

Another filling breakfast and then quickly out into town to have a look around the Tudor merchant’s house.

Having taken in the house I had to quickly head back through town to the hotel to pack and check-out before the midday deadline, then head down to the station to start my very long journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Wick; Thursday, 30 April, 2015

With utter chaos raging on the trains I was really quite glad I’d changed my plans and brought all my stuff with me to work, rather than trying to pop home and come back out again.

In the end it took nearly an hour to make a journey that can normally be done in just over 15, with quite a few very stressed people who had clearly left it a lot closer than I had to departure time to head to the airport.

Checked in I wandered through into departures and waited for the flight to be called.

Due to an earlier delay at Edinburgh the flight was originally due to leave about 10 minutes late, but once we had boarded the pilot made an announcement that a light that wasn’t supposed to come on had come on and therefore needed an engineer to come to fix it.

In the end we were an hour late by the time we finally pushed back at Gatwick and didn’t make up any of the time, so by the time we finally touched down at Edinburgh the last tram and bus over to the hotel had left.

A quick, but expensive, taxi ride later I arrived at the hotel checked in and with the clock heading rapidly for midnight headed straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Wick; Friday, 01 May, 2015

A healthy breakfast and then out of the hotel and onto a tram back to the airport to check-in for flight number 2.

This flight was far smoother with boarding, all 26 of us, completed about 15 minutes before departure time. We were already on the end of the runway and starting the take-off roll at the same time as we should have been pushing back.

A very smooth flight later and we landed so early at Wick that the B&B owner, Keith, who had offered to collect me from the airport, was running through the terminal doors as I stepped away from the baggage belt with my bag.

After giving me a very quick tour of Wick and pointing out the key sights Keith dropped me off at the heritage centre whilst he took my luggage back to the B&B as the room wasn’t ready yet.

I had a long look round the heritage centre, which is a combination between an Aladdin’s Cave and a Tardis – massively bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside and absolutely stuffed with exhibits.

Having taken in the heritage centre I wandered into town to pick up some lunch before it was time to head back to the B&B to check in.

From the B&B I headed back into town and picked up the bus out to John O’Groats – well you can’t come this far north without going all the way to the end. I had a long look round there – partly extended because the choice was either 15 minutes or 2 and a half hours due to the bus timings.

I picked up the last bus of the night back into town and popped into a pub in the town centre for a light dinner before heading back to the B&B for a good night’s rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Wick; Saturday, 02 May, 2015

I headed out of the B&B early and had a wander up above the harbour and onto the headland leading away from the town centre and towards the castle. I didn’t want to walk too far as I was booked on a tour of the town’s distillery at 11, so about halfway round to the castle I headed up a convenient path back into the top of town, coming out right by the distillery.

It turned out that nobody else wanted the 11am tour so I got a personal guided tour of the Old Pultney distillery followed by a tasting of their very fine whiskey.

Feeling slightly tipsy I headed back down the path to the headland walk and continued on round to the ruins of the castle to have a look around that.

From the castle I headed back in towards town with a bit of a dilemma as I’d pretty much done everything there is to see in Wick, so I decided to hop on the bus and head round the long way via John O’Groats and the Pentland Firth coast into the neighbouring big town of Thurso.

In Thurso I visited the Caithness Horizons museum and had a bit of a wander around before it was time to hop on a more direct bus back to Wick across the countryside, rather than round the coast.

The bus dropped me off right outside a nice looking Indian restaurant, so I had dinner there before heading back to the B&B

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Wick; Sunday, 03 May, 2015

The weather forecast had not been good for Sunday and for once it turned out to be as awful as they had been predicting, with the strong winds starting during the night and by dawn accompanied by driving rain.

If it had been nice I would have gone walking out in the countryside, but in this weather that would have been pointless, and probably dangerous, so instead I decided to do some sit down sightseeing and caught about the only bus running on a Sunday the coach down to Inverness.

The journey was spectacular with the road hugging the coastline most of the way, crossing tow Firths on low bridges before finally approaching Inverness via the Black Isle and an impressive cable bridge.

I had a bit of a wander round Inverness, stopping off for a late lunch and then an early dinner, before heading back to the bus station to make the return journey.

By the time I got back to Wick the weather, if anything, had gotten worse and in the 8 minutes it took me to walk back to the B&B my jeans were soaked through and I’d lost all feeling in my fingers from the biting wind and stinging rain. Thankfully my waterproof jacket at least kept the bulk of my body dry.

Back in the B&B I had a long hot bath to get feeling back into my fingers and toes and when it became clear the weather wasn’t going to improve until late in the night I watched a bank holiday movie on TV before turning in

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Wick; Monday, 04 May, 2015

Today was going to be about travelling, and after an early breakfast and checkout I started the journey with the walk across town to the station to pick up train number one.

Wick is the very end of the line for the Far North Line which pretty much sums up the remoteness of this part of the world from even Inverness. The train is timetabled, and took, just over 4 hours to travel the 100 miles or so south to the Highland capital, but the journey was pretty spectacular, particularly when the tracks dive down right onto the beach between Helmsdale and Brora, just feet from the pounding waves of the North sea.

Four relatively relaxed hours, and four large coffees, later we pulled into Inverness and I made the quick change to the Aberdeen train.

The Wick train had filled up down the line, but at no point was it actually full, whereas by the time the Aberdeen train pulled out of Inverness it was already standing room only and it only got busier as it went down the line.

Consequently I was jammed up by my half window in quite cramped conditions that made the two and a bit hours to Aberdeen feel far longer than the 4 and a bit hours down from Wick.

Arriving in Aberdeen I headed out of the station over to the bus stop and out to the airport to complete the last leg of the journey back into London.

Weather

Slight Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Belfast; Friday, 15 May, 2015

An 8:45 departure from City on a Saturday morning was never going to be doable from home so instead I headed over towards the Excel exhibition centre to stay at one of the hotels there for the night.

Having dropped my stuff off at the hotel, just minutes before two massive coach loads of French and German school children arrived, I wandered out to grab some dinner.

I had been intending on taking the cable car (or dangleway) over to the O2 (formerly the millennium dome) to grab a bite to eat over there, but as I arrived at the station it was closing down for the evening, apparently there isn’t enough custom to keep it open after 8pm (though if you believe the news stories that should apply 24/7)

Instead I grabbed some things from the Tesco express opposite and headed back to the hotel to have a self-catered dinner in my room before popping down to the bar for a drink and then turning in for an early night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Belfast; Saturday, 16 May, 2015

One of the major advantages of using London City Airport is its fantastically short checkin times. Normally I like to be at the airport before the 2 hours prior to departure time comes round. However with city that time had already come and gone by the time I stepped out of the shower at the hotel.

A brief breakfast picked up the evening before at Tesco’s and then it was off out for the 10 minute or so walk across the Royal Victoria dock and through the streets of apartments and houses, that until the 1980’s were derelict docks, to West Silvertown station and the two stop hop on the DLR round to City Airport.

15 minutes after boarding the train at West Silvertown I was already sat in the departures lounge having dropped my bag off and cleared security. At this point I was pondering if I could have had another 20 minutes in bed.

An uneventful, if bouncy, flight across to Ireland and a repeat at Belfast City Airport with a very smooth journey through and by 11:00 I was already handing over my luggage to the safe keeping of the Premier Inn and heading back out into town.

When I’d last been to Belfast, just 5 years previously, the whole area I was standing in had been a proto building site – clearance had been completed and the first tentative foundations were going down. Today there are hundreds of apartments, all the Titanic related museums and attractions along with the Public Records office and the hotel, it makes getting your bearings quite difficult and it took a bit of time to find my way back to the centre of Belfast.

Having had a brief wander round I headed over to the City Sightseeing tour bus start point to pick up the city tour, doing a full circuit of the city out to Stormont and then through both the Falls Road and Shankill Road areas of the city, including a much longer trip along the peace wall than I remember the tour taking the last time I’d been here. Unfortunately, part of the tour did include taking in a particularly spectacular, cold and thankfully very short shower. However, by the time we’d gotten back to the city centre it was dry warm and sunny again and the bus was bone dry.

I wandered down to the Lagan and picked up my second tour of the day, this time the boat tour that runs from just below the weir out along the former docks area taking in many of the key sights of the Titanic from its slipway to the dry dock it was fitted out in. Of course the tour guides are very quick to point out that there was nothing wrong with the ship when it left the Harland and Wolff shipyards, even if only 13 days later she was rusting at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Back at the Weir at the end of the tour I headed back into the centre of town to grab a very late lunch and then picked up the penultimate open-top tour of the day, which, thankfully this time, stayed dry the whole way round.

Tour completed I headed back over to the Premier Inn to checkin and then went for a little wander round the area which now includes a Marina as well as the Titanic museum and the SS Nomadic tender boat that was built at the same time as Titanic for bringing the 1st and 2nd class passengers out to her at Cherbourg.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
11ºC/52ºF

Belfast; Sunday, 17 May, 2015

Usual excellent Premier Inn breakfast and then out onto the open-top bus tour to head over to the Ulster museum for the morning. I was intending on it being a relatively quick journey round to the museum, but there were problems on the Falls Road which meant that the bus was taking a different route.

Throughout the 70’s, 80’s and into the 90’s and even the 00’s problems on the Falls Road would have been bad news. Today, it’s because the council was resurfacing the road.

I had a long look round the Ulster museum and then wandered through the neighbouring Botanical Gardens to have a look round the Palm house before heading back to the bus stop to pick up the tour bus back into town.

After a stop for lunch in the city centre I wandered out to the Crumlin Road to visit the former Gaol to take in the afternoon tour.

The tour was incredibly interesting; not least for just how many of the people who run Northern Ireland who have been guests of the prison when it was open.

I walked back into town and then headed back out to the hotel for dinner and then a bit more of a wander around the Titanic Quarter before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Slight Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
13ºC/55ºF

Belfast; Monday, 18 May, 2015

Given I’d been staying in the Titanic quarter it did make sense to actually visit some of the attractions around me, and after checking out I headed the half mile or so up the road to the Titanic dock and pump house.

The large dry dock was specifically built for the Olympic class ships (Olympic, Titanic and Britannic) and this was the last time that Titanic was on dry ground as it was fitted out and finished off. It left the dock here and less than a fortnight later was lying at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Having visited the museum and descended down into the base of the dock itself I headed back down the road to the Titanic Experience and SS Nomadic.

First off was the SS Nomadic, the White Star line’s first and second class passenger tender based in Cherbourg where the harbours were too small to accommodate the massive bulk of the Titanic and her sister ships.

A long look around the Nomadic and then it was into the Titanic Experience. Built next to the slipway where Titanic and Olympic were constructed. This is an excellent museum and I spent much longer looking round than I thought I would.

Consequently after a quick lunch in the café I realised I’d pretty much run out of time and needed to head back to the hotel and onto the airport.

I’d picked up my luggage and was halfway back to the bus stop for the shuttle to the airport when the skies opened with a torrential downpour, mostly made up of hail, which dropped the temperature from cool to virtually freezing. Thankfully I managed to make to be underneath the flyover crossing the Lagan before the worst of the downpour hit and sheltered there for about 20 minutes before it eased enough to carry onto the bus stop and off to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
7ºC/45ºF

Ramsgate; Friday, 22 May, 2015

With the threat of a train strike causing chaos on Monday and Tuesday lifted I headed from the office and up to London.

After a quick change at St Pancras I was on the train down to Thanet and just over an hour later was disembarking at Ramsgate.

I had thought about walking the mile or so down the hill to the town centre any my hotel, but as a local bus was pulling up just as I left the station I took that as a sign and caught that down the hill.

A quick checkin to the hotel and then out for a brief wander round town before stopping for dinner.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Ramsgate; Saturday, 23 May, 2015

I hadn’t booked breakfast in the hotel and instead popped out to a nearby café for a spot of breakfast before going for a wander round Ramsgate.

I had a walk up through the Albion Palace Gardens, and their man-made ravine, to the East Cliff and took in the views from there before taking the lift back down to harbour level and visiting the very interesting Maritime Museum.

The harbour, and the town, were very busy with celebrations for the 75th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of forces from the beaches at Dunkirk, many of the boats having started their crossing from the harbour at Ramsgate.

Consequently many of the small ships had gathered in the harbour and were open to look around, including the only recently restored Medway Queen.

After taking in the small ships and a visit to the beautiful Seaman’s chapel I headed back into town to have a bite to eat.

By now the cloudy and damp weather had deteriorated to a full on downpour so I sheltered in a café for a little while before doing some sightseeing of Pegwell Bay from the dry and warmth of a local bus.

A couple of hours later back in Ramsgate the weather was finally improving and I went for a long walk around the harbour and out along the breakwater for some stunning views of the town in now glorious sunshine.

I popped back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out for dinner in a very nice Indian restaurant on the West Cliff.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Ramsgate; Sunday, 24 May, 2015

Another café based breakfast and then I picked up the bus up to the station and from there the train down along the coast to the town of Walmer. I walked down from the station to the beach and the main reason for visiting the castle.

I had a long look round Walmer Castle and the gardens before heading out onto the beach and walking the mile and half or so into the neighbouring town of Deal to visit it’s castle.

Walmer and Deal castles, along with Sandown which is now just ruined fragments, were built to exactly the same plan but have lead two totally different lives. Walmer became the comfortable home of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and these days resembles a very pleasant if slightly Disneyfied palace by the sea. Deal still remains clearly a defensive fort, though none were ever called into active service.

Whilst there is less to see in Deal castle, the interior being almost completely empty and there not being massive gardens built onto the back, there is more scope to imagine what life would actually have been like for the average soldier based here, with the cold damp passages – even on a relatively warm day – clearly indicating this wasn’t a comfortable sea side palace.

I had a bit of a wander around Deal and was trying to decide on whether to head back to the station or leave it another hour and continue to wander, perhaps taking in the pier, when the first spots of rain started to fall.

I walked back to Deal station wondering if I was going to make it before the weather really deteriorated as it kept threatening to chuck it down. Thankfully, whilst there were still spits and spots of rain it held off as the train pulled in.

A couple of minutes later, just before the train arrived at Sandwich, the skies absolutely opened and by the time the train pulled into the platform there were some very soaked people boarding.

It was still chucking it down when I got back to Ramsgate, so rather than catching the bus straight back down the hill to the harbour I caught it round the opposite direction of the Loop into Margate and stopped off at a coffee shop for a coffee to sit out the last of the poor weather.

With the rain finally having stopped I hopped on another loop bus and headed into Broadstairs for dinner before picking up one of the last loops of the evening back into Ramsgate and a well-earned sleep.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Ramsgate; Monday, 25 May, 2015

With a sense of Groundhog Day I headed out of the hotel, grabbed breakfast in a café and was standing on Ramsgate station at exactly the same time as the previous day, boarding the same train, heading in the same direction.

However, this time I reminded myself not to disembark at Walmer and instead stay on round to Dover.

It’s a good 25 minute walk up to Dover Castle, with the final 15 minutes being nearly vertical, so I had hoped to be able to pick up a taxi at Dover Priory station to save all the effort, but on arrival there didn’t appear to be any cabs, and my distance memory of their being a taxi office by the station was either wrong, or had been redeveloped away. So instead 30 minutes later and slightly out of breath I found myself in the queue for tickets to Dover Castle.

The Castle is an English Heritage site so my membership card should have got me in for free, but as it was a Bank Holiday, and the 75th anniversary commemorations of Operation Dynamo, which had been co-ordinated from the tunnels under Dover Castle, there were special events on and consequently they were charging even members an access fee.

The castle was incredibly busy and there were queues to see many of the main sights, particularly to go down into the wartime tunnels. I eventually got onto a tour after standing in a queue for the best part of an hour, but it was worth it.

If I’d known how busy it was going to be I would probably have brought a picnic with me as trying to get food was also very difficult with most of the food outlets regularly running out and having to suspend services for periods whilst they cooked up more batches of food.

Eventually I managed to see most of the site and consume a particularly revolting chicken salad sandwich that had me reaching for the antacid tablets within a couple of hours.

Having seen pretty much all there was to see at the castle I walked back down into town and onto the station to catch the train back into Ramsgate, where I treated myself after the revolting lunch to a very nice dinner in the Pizza Express just round the corner from the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Ramsgate; Tuesday, 26 May, 2015

After a nice lie-in it was time to get up, check out and start the journey into work.

As I was coming out of the hotel I saw I’d just missed a loop bus up to the station that was almost empty, and yet there were lots of people waiting at the bus stop. I assumed they were waiting for a different bus, but when the next loop turned up about five minutes later they all piled onto this meaning I only just managed to get a seat (and got some withering looks for daring to hold up the queue by purchasing a ticket and for having luggage). Only when I was sat down and looked at my phone did I realised how badly I’d timed leaving the hotel. It was 09:33 and all the free bus passes had just become valid.

As the bus turned up towards the station it passed, coming in the opposite direction, the National Express coach which was going to be by backup plan had the rail strike still been on.

Thankfully it wasn’t so I was able to get the train just after 10 from Ramsgate and a little before 11:30 was at St Pancras with plenty of time to make it back to Croydon before my half days leave ran out.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Andorra la Vella; Wednesday, 17 June, 2015

With both the train into work in the morning delayed and, in the end, the bus home from work because the trains had completely failed, it was almost inevitable that the train back down to the airport would be delayed.

After waiting nearly 20 minutes I finally caught the train that should only have been a two minute wait and started on my journey down to the airport and the hotel for the night.

My normal choice of hotel was fully booked so in the end I had to catch the bus from the airport down to the Ibis located on a trading estate on the outskirts of Crawley.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Andorra la Vella; Thursday, 18 June, 2015

A good night’s sleep despite being on an industrial estate and I caught the shuttle bus back to the airport to check-in.

A smooth journey through the airport, smooth flight and then onto the coach at the airport with a couple of minutes to spare (which was fortunate as there was nobody else waiting). After a quick ticket purchase at the coach station in Barcelona it was back onto the same bus and off towards Andorra.

It was a long, and for quite a way boring journey, up the motorway towards France. However, after a while we turned off the motorway and headed into the foothills of the Pyrenees and the journey became more interesting building towards spectacular scenery as we approached Andorra.

Arriving in town I wandered over to the hotel and checked in before heading out for a walk around.

Having spent quite a bit of time wandering around I found a nice restaurant and had a late dinner (or very early if working on Spanish times)

Then it was back to the hotel to turn in as I had an early start the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Andorra la Vella; Friday, 19 June, 2015

I had a quick breakfast and then headed out of the hotel to the Old town to pick up the tour bus for a morning tour. The tour took in some of the high land immediately to the east of the capital, but first started with a visit to the Electricity Museum.

The museum was very interesting, as the history of electricity production in Andorra, almost exclusively Hydroelectric, is also the history of the transformation of this small nation from a poorly connected mountainous backwater to the thriving modern state that it is today. What’s more surprising is that’s all happened in less than 100 years ago. Photos in the museum show the first roads towards France and Spain being built in the 1920’s and 30’s which appears so recent for a country to have been able to create basic communication links between its neighbours.

From the museum the coach headed up into the mountains, following a tight and winding road up to the lake at Engolasters, which powers the hydro station we had previously been looking at. The lake today houses a number of activities, including walks and adventure trails. Sadly, the main feature of the lake that will stick in my mind was the point at which my already frail camera finally gave up the ghost and died. The message being displayed I discovered when I got back to the hotel basically said – if you haven’t taken out an extended warranty on this, buy a new camera.

After a brief pause for coffee at a lakeside café, the coach took us back down a couple of hundred yards to a former mountain trail that has now been expanded into a long flat path trail leading through the mountains. About 10 minutes’ walk down the path we came to viewing platform from which there were amazing views down the valley to the Capital and beyond.

Back on the bus and we continued down the hill to the small Romanesque church of Sant Miquel d'Engolasters to have a look around before getting back on the bus to drive back down into town and the end of the tour.

I headed back to the hotel to check on my laptop exactly what the message on my camera meant and if there was an easy remedy. There wasn’t – it was dead – so I decided to take advantage of the exceptionally low tax rate, and the very favourable exchange rate, and visited one of the numerous camera shops on the main street in the old town.

About 20 minutes later and many Euros lighter I was the proud owner of a new camera body (the lenses from the now dead camera being of the same fit). I headed back to the hotel to drop my shopping off and then headed out into town for a walk.

The Anella Verda or Green ring is a series of trails that go round the mountain sides surrounding Andorra La Vella. Almost completely flat (once you’ve hiked up the side of the hill to reach them), they provide pleasant easy walks and stunning views. For the afternoon I headed up to the path running along to the North of the city (or the sunny path as it’s referred to). The path is about 4Km long and runs alongside an irrigation channel that gently burbles away next to you whilst you walk.

In the end I followed the path past the centre of town and part way up the Northern valley for about a kilometre out of town, stopping at one of the ancient bridges over a mountain stream that used to link the mountain paths together – today overshadowed by the main northern road shooting past it.

It was a fairly long and quite steep walk back down into town after which I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner in a very nice restaurant just up from the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Andorra la Vella; Saturday, 20 June, 2015

Another early start and back to the old town (although this time a significantly shorter walk since I’d found out that the hotel had an entrance onto the main street in the old town on the 5th floor – that my room was on – rather than having to go all the way down to the ground floor and then hike back up to the old town further down the road), to pick up the tour bus – today a minibus rather than a full coach as the roads we would be travelling were going to be a bit bendy.

The journey was going to take us all the way up the Norther valley for as far as the road goes (the Northern valley having no road access out to France, just mountains and a cable car over the border), and after the short tour round town picking up the passengers for the tour, we headed up the valley to our first stop the village of La Cortinada to visit it’s church and mill

The church was originally of similar design to the one we’d visited the previous day – but as the area became richer from Iron mining the villagers extended the church resulting in a small Romanesque church with a much larger baroque extension tacked on the back. After looking round the church we crossed over the road to the mills that sit over the river at this point. One a saw mill was used for cutting tree trunks into usable planks and then neighbouring mill used the same water source of the powerful mountain stream to grind cereals for flower.

From La Cortinada we headed further up the valley and after a brief stop and walk through the National Park at Vall de Sortney we headed on up the final, and very winding road to the mountain resort of d'Arcalís. During the summer season (July to late August – very short up here) the chairlifts are open to take in the scenery – with one taking you over the lakes and into France. However during late May and June they were closed whilst they did their maintenance works after the long skiing season (late October to early May) so we were only able to walk around to take in the stunning scenery.

Back onto the bus and we headed back down the hill to the village of El Serrat where we stopped for an incredible lunch that was included in the cost of the trip, but must have cost close to 90% of the ticket price.

From El Serrat we continued down the valley to Llorts stopping off to have a quick look at the Iron mines that helped to turn this part of the valley into an economic powerhouse with its own industrial revolution transforming the valley. From the mines we drove the few hundred yards down into the centre of the Village to have a look at the traditional houses passed down from family to family.

From Llorts we drove back down the valley to the main town of the parish – Ordino and had a long walk around taking in the main sights.

Then it was back onto the bus, stopping off at one final viewpoint to take in the stunning views up the Northern Valley, before heading back into Andorra la Vella.

Despite having had a very filling lunch and still feeling full when I left the hotel for an evening stroll, by the time I’d passed about three restaurants with glorious smells emanating from them I was starving again so I found a nice tapas restaurant near the centre of the old town and had dinner there, before heading back to the hotel slightly bloated for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Andorra la Vella; Sunday, 21 June, 2015

Having checked out and left my bags with the hotel I went out for a wander around town by the river.

Given there wasn’t actually that much to see I decided to head up onto the other Anella Verda path – referred to as the shady one – to have a walk along that and take in the city. This turned out to be a good choice as the wooded area it winds its way through made for a pleasant space to be with the temperatures starting to get quite high.

I walked the path to its end at the edge of Andorra La Vella and then walked back across town and back down by the side of the river into the centre.

Stopping off at a café on a platform over the river I had a relaxing lunch before having a final detour up into the old town to while away my last hour or so in Andorra.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and make my way back to the coach station and the long journey back south to Barcelona.

The journey was no longer than the outbound trip, but with the coaches air-conditioning system on the blink and the temperatures outside well into the 30s it felt a lot longer, and stickier, than the inbound trip.

Back in the blissfully air-conditioned buildings of Barcelona Airport I did a quick t-shirt change into something less saturated and then checked in for my flight.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Barrow-in-Furness; Friday, 26 June, 2015

Out of work and across town as quick as I could I made it to Euston with about 40 minutes to spare before my train.

Despite it not being particularly warm it was horribly muggy and Euston is not a pleasant station to have to wait in on a sticky day, so I was quite glad that they announced the platform for the train relatively early.

On boarding the air conditioning was on full blast making the train beautifully cool, but as more and more large bags got placed into the overhead luggage racks blocking some of the air vents the train did start to warm up quite a bit, so by the time we finally pulled into Manchester (thankfully only a couple of minutes late), I was thankful for the much cooler and clearer air of the North.

A short walk down from Piccadilly station to my hotel for the night, and after a quick bit to eat it was off to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Barrow-in-Furness; Saturday, 27 June, 2015

A late start, though early enough to avoid the massive rush for the end of breakfast, and then out of the hotel and back over to Piccadilly station to catch the train north, firstly to Lancaster to change onto a Barrow train.

Everything appeared to be fine until we ground to a halt approaching Wigan. By the time we pulled into Preston station we were already 15 minutes late – which given I only had a 9 minute connection – was concerning, though that concern soon ceased to matter when it was announced that due to issues with the overhead cables near the Scottish border nothing would be moving for the foreseeable future.

In the end we were only held at Preston for 30 minutes, and so finally arrive into Lancaster 45 minutes late and long after my booked train had gone. Thankfully, as the trains were in such a mess ticket acceptance was in place and therefore I could use another operators slightly slower service that left about 25 minutes later.

My original plan was to head down to the hotel, check-in, drop off my luggage and then head back to the station to get the 14:50 departure north up towards Ravenglass. Unfortunately, thanks to the delay I was arriving into Barrow on the train that was the 14:50 departure and so was clearly not going to be able to keep to the original plan.

However, there is a reasonable service on a Saturday, Barrow is a very flat town, and the walk to the hotel was considerably reduced thanks to the cut-through of a Tesco Extra car park and retail estate. 60 minutes after arriving into Barrow I was checked in and on the next train heading north up the coast.

My stop for the afternoon was Ravenglass a town on the Cumbrian coast at the meeting point of three rivers just before they empty into the North sea and a village with a history that goes back to the Roman times when it had a large fort. Into modern times a small narrow gauge railway was built to shuttle iron ore from the mines down to the railway here. The mine line closed in the early part of the 20th Century, but in an early case of heritagisation the line was converted into a tourist attraction and re-opened to passengers in 1915.

As it was quite late in the day there was only one round trip left so I took that up the line to the town of Boot up in the fells, before heading straight back on the last train of the day to Ravenglass.

Back in Ravenglass I visited the remains of a former Roman Bath house, at one point attached to the large fort – most of which has been lost to the sea. The remains of the Bath house whilst not substantial are quite impressive for their height and for the amount of original Roman rendering and plaster that still remains on them.

Having looked around the remains I wandered back to the station and picked up the last mainline train of the weekend (no Sunday service and nothing north of Millom or south of Whitehaven after 8pm any day of the week) back into Barrow.

After a quick stop to get some cash out I headed back to the hotel and popped into the neighbouring restaurant for dinner before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Barrow-in-Furness; Sunday, 28 June, 2015

A good night’s sleep and I woke to the predicted drizzle lashing at the window of my hotel room. Sadly, the restaurant next door that breakfast is served in is not physically connected to the hotel, so after a warm shower in my room I topped that up with a cold misting drizzle dash from the shelter of the hotel to the shelter of the restaurant.

After breakfast, and with the rain having decreased down to just a few spits, I headed across the car park to visit the Docks museum. The museum has been built inside a former graving dock with the walls and floor of the dock forming the sides of the museum. The museum was very interesting, though I wasn’t able to see everything as they also appeared to be using the museum as a site for a Vintage Clothing Fair.

By the time I’d finished looking round the museum the weather had improved considerably, so I wandered up to the station to pick up a train back down the coast to the genteel seaside resort of Grange-over-Sands.

I went for a long walk along the prom in Grange, taking in the stunning views across Morecambe Bay and stopping for a coffee in a very nice prom front café, before heading back to the station and picking up a train back a few stops to Ulverston.

Ulverston turned out to be a very nice historic market town, which also happened to be the birthplace of Stan Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy fame). Needless to say the town takes great pride in its former son (even though he left age 6) and the large museum housed in the former cinema was well worth looking around.

From the museum I followed the signed path out of town and up onto the hill that overlooks the town, capped with its own tower designed to resemble one of Smeaton’s lighthouses from where there were excellent views over to the mountains of the Lake district and down to the shore of Morecambe Bay.

Back down into town and feeling quite knackered I headed back to the station to catch the train back to Barrow, dinner and an early night.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Barrow-in-Furness; Monday, 29 June, 2015

Breakfast completed I checked out and headed over to the main bus stops in town to pick up a bus out to Furness Abbey.

The ruins of the abbey are located on the edge of town and, despite being deliberately made uninhabitable after the reformation, substantial parts still survive. I had a long wander round the site before taking the footpath along the small river that runs through site back into Roose where I picked up the bus back into Barrow.

I headed back to the hotel and picked up my luggage before wandering up to the station to pick up my train for the first leg of the journey home.

For a journey south it may appear a little odd to be heading North, but the railway line between Barrow and Carlisle is one of the most scenic in England, so as I was in this part of the country I’d routed myself back to London on an early evening train from Carlisle and this was my way of getting there.

The train runs along the edge of the bay round to the town of Millom where it then heads up the coast towards Seascale and its slightly more (in)famous neighbour Sellafield.

By the time we reached Sellafield it was clearly shift end time as the train filled almost to capacity, which then emptied again over the next couple of stops towards Whitehaven.

Beyond Whitehaven the line hugs a narrow strip of land between the sea and the cliffs which make for some spectacular views, even on an afternoon where the sea is a long way out and dead calm.

We finally pulled into Carlisle about 2 ½ hours after leaving Barrow and with about 15 minutes for me to make my connection onto the much faster train south back to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Hurtigruten; Saturday, 18 July, 2015

Despite most of South and West London being gridlocked because of various roadworks we made it to Heathrow in plenty of time, checked in and headed through into departures.

The flight was delayed by about 20 minutes due to the inbound plane being delayed by headwinds on its journey in from Ukraine, but apart from that it was a smooth journey through the airport and onto the flight.

As it was the first day of the school summer holidays, Heathrow was pretty busy, and it was nearly 50 minutes before we finally pulled onto the runway and started our take-off run.

With the help of the same wind that had delayed the inbound flight we made up a lot of the lost time, so that by the time we landed in Bergen we were only just 20 minutes late.

A very quick transit through the airport, with the bags being almost as quick as the passengers meant that we were soon on a Flybussen into town and to the hotel.

Checked in, we went for a quick evening drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
13ºC/55ºF

Hurtigruten; Sunday, 19 July, 2015

Breakfast completed we checked out of the hotel, left our bags and then headed out into town. First stop was over to the Station to pick up our tickets for the Norway in a Nutshell tour that we'd booked at the end of the Hurtigruten trip.

Then we wandered back through the town, stopping off at the Domkirke to have a quick look around as it was actually open for the first time when I've been in Bergen.

By now it looked like the clouds were starting to lift so we headed over to the funicular railway and took it up to Mount Fløyen for the views. The gamble paid off and by the time we reached the top the cloud had lifted to well above the top of the mountain offering stunning views over the whole of the city and the Fjord.

We stopped for a cup of coffee in the very nice restaurant up at the top of the mountain, before heading back down into town, against the flow of a much larger number of people who had obviously waited for the clouds to lift before making a decision to go up.

We continued a wander through town taking in the no longer wrapped in scaffolding St Mary's church (It's been in restoration ever since I first came to Bergen nearly a decade ago!), and the ruins of St Catherine's hospital before wandering past the Bryggen and stopping for a brief lunch down by the fish market.

With about 90 minutes to kill before we could head over to the terminal to check-in we picked up the Bergens Expressen land train tour to take in more of the sights of the city, including a view from half-way up Mount Fløyen that allowed us to watch our Hurtigruten dock at the end of its previous voyage.

Back in town we headed over to the hotel to pick up our bags and walked the short distance down the hill to the Hurtigruten terminal to check in, have our safety briefing and to explore the ship before it set sail for the start of our voyage late that evening.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Hurtigruten; Monday, 20 July, 2015

Unlike the MS Lofoten back in 2013 the MS Richard With is a considerably larger and more modern ship, including stabilisers that help to remove most of the sea conditions. However, no matter how stable the ship the Western Cape of Norway is pretty rough water, and it was very obvious where we were when I was rocked awake at around 5am as we started the passage round it.

In the end I didn't get much more sleep than that, and by 7am I was up on deck with a cup of coffee watching the ship dock at Torvik, before headed down to Breakfast.

After a brief stop in Ålesund the ship headed down into the Storfjorden the spectacular Geiranger Fjord. At the bottom of the Fjord we had to head down onto the car deck from where we were transferred onto a small ferry to take us into the shallow and tiny harbour at the end of the Fjord where we picked up the coaches for an afternoon tour through the stunning scenery of this part of Norway, meanwhile the MS Richard With, with all the passengers who weren't on the tour, did a very quick 180 degree turn and was already steaming back up the fjord by the time we made it onto the quayside.

The tour started with the dramatic climb up out of Geiranger up the Eagle road and into the mountains that surround the town. After a brief photo-stop towards the top we continued on to the town of Eidsdal where we took the ferry across the Storfjorden to Linge.

Shortly after Linge we made a stop at the stunning Gundbrandsjuvet where the river scours its way violently through a gorge. After the Gorge we headed up into the mountains up to the top of the Trollsteigen, one of the most spectacular roads in the country. From the viewing platforms on the side of the cliffs, as the mists parted briefly, the incredible layout of this road, with its 11 hairpin bends, became clear.

Back on the coach and the driver earned his keep taking us down the stunning, winding road to the bottom where we stopped for coffee in a roadside cafe before continuing on our drive through the Norwegian countryside.

The final leg of the journey was a 35 minute ferry crossing back over the Moldefjorden to the town of Molde, where the ferry raced the southbound Hurtigruten into port.

In Molde we were transferred to a hotel opposite the Hurtigruten quay for a very pleasant dinner before watching the MS Richard With dock and re-joining her, via the slightly more elegant route of a rigidly solid gangway.

Up to the panorama lounge for a late night drink before turning in for the night, gently rocked to sleep as the ship entered a two hour stretch of open water.

Weather

Light Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
13ºC/55ºF

Hurtigruten; Tuesday, 21 July, 2015

Following the disturbed sleep of the previous night, and aided by being gently rocked to sleep by the ship I'd slept through the docking and loading at Kristiansund and by the time I woke up the ship was docking into Trondheim at just gone 8.

As we'd already done the tours from Trondheim when we came in 2013 we instead had a late breakfast and just wandered around the ship for the time it was in port.

Sailing away from Trondheim up the Trondheimsfjorden there were some stunning views, which were enjoyed over lunch before heading up onto deck for the final few moments of the fjord to see the amazing red lighthouse.

The number of people up on deck waiting to take in photos of the lighthouse made it obvious that to get the best spots for the natural highlights you need to get there early, so just over an hour later, and at the tail end of a downpour, we were positioned at the very front of the ship ready for its journey through the stunning Stokksundt where the path through the sound is not much wider than the ship, and the 90 degree turn part way through makes for an even more incredible journey.

From the Stokksundt we continued north, with dinner taking place whilst we crossed some open water, making for a slightly bouncy experience, before we reached the port of Rørvik.

At Rørvik we met the Southbound Hurtigruten, which tonight was the Lofoten. As the stop here is quite long there was an opportunity to head on board and have a look around the ship, just to remind ourselves of quite how small it was.

Back on the Richard With we headed for the bar for quick nightcap before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
18ºC/64ºF

Hurtigruten; Wednesday, 22 July, 2015

Docking several times overnight ensured a disrupted sleep, but it also meant that I was awake in time to be up on deck a few minutes after 7 as we crossed the Arctic Circle.

After breakfast there was time to watch the precarious transfer of passengers from the Hurtigruten onto a small ferry for the Glacier tour, from the fifth deck it looked decidedly dodgy as this tiny catamaran bobbed up and down next to our ship.

As we weren't booked on any of the tours from Bodø we held off having lunch until after the ship had docked, consequently the restaurant was deserted.

After lunch was the long sail across the open water to the Lofoten islands, but with a millpond still sea and clear blue skies it was an incredibly smooth journey.

Dinner whilst in port in Stamsund and then we sailed onto the main town of the Lofoten Islands – Svolvær. We had a bit of a wander around the town, before heading back to the ship for a drink in the bar before it filled back up again as people returned to the ship.

The highlight of the day, and one of the key natural highlights of the whole trip, was the journey down into the incredibly narrow Trollfjord. With most passengers out on deck you could almost hear people breathing in to help the ship squeeze into the narrow cliff lined fjord. By the time we reached the end of the Fjord to turn around it did feel like we were at a celebrity event with the number of camera's going off.

Making the whole thing more incredible, and a confirmation that we were well above the Arctic Circle by now, was as we turned in the Fjord, in beautiful sunlight, all the clocks showed midnight.

Then it was time, along with the rest of the ship, to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
19ºC/66ºF

Hurtigruten; Thursday, 23 July, 2015

After a late night, you'd hope for a lie-in, but with three port calls in relatively quick succession ensuring a disturbed night’s sleep, and the final one being just before 7am there really wasn't much point in trying to get any more sleep so I got up and headed into breakfast.

After breakfast we sailed on further north towards our afternoon stop at Tromsø, making a stop late morning in the town of Finnsnes, which wasn't anywhere near as pretty as it was when it was four feet deep in snow.

Tromsø just after lunch as we hopped off to visit the Polaria museum and have a wander round town, finishing off with an incredibly expensive beer in a very nice pub overlooking the Hurtigruten pier before it was time to re-board and continue the journey north.

The procession of food continued with dinner being served just as we left Tromsø whilst the ship headed north into choppier weather, by the time the second sitting were getting ready for their dinner at 20:15 there was a distinct roll starting to go on.

We stopped briefly in Skjervøy, a 30 minute stop reduced to just 5 because of the delay from the choppy sea, before setting off again, at which point I decided to turn in for the night (though it's difficult to describe it as night when the sun never sets.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
18ºC/64ºF

Hurtigruten; Friday, 24 July, 2015

Several overnight stops ensured a slightly disturbed sleep, so I was up early just after the ship left Hammerfest.

With the meal schedule condensed due to excursions in the early afternoon (Breakfast ending at 10, Lunch starting at 10:30); I took advantage of being awake to have an early breakfast, thus putting a reasonable amount of time between that and a later lunch.

A brief stop in Havøysund and then up to the island of Magerøya and the town of Honningsvåg. Here most of the ship, having already consumed lunch, disembarked to go on a trip up to the North Cape. However, as we'd booked to do a breakfast trip on the way back south instead us (and about 20 other people) headed into the now deserted restaurant to have our lunch.

After lunch, and to enable to crew to undertake a training exercise, we disembarked and had a wander round the small town, visiting the small museum which had a very interesting exhibition on the forced evacuation and scorching of the North of Norway at the end of WWII.

Back on the ship just after the end of their training exercise the crew were all ready to go, but as with any excursion, someone had been late back to the bus at the North Cape and now they were running late back to the pier.

Eventually they all made it back on board, but we were nearly 20 minutes late heading out of port. The highlight of the afternoon was supposed to be the rock structure outside of Kjøllefjord called the chapel, but it was upstaged a few minutes later by the massive party of line dancers in full country and western get up who boarded at Kjøllefjord to head up to the next stop of Mehamn.

From Mehamn we continued north into increasingly foggy weather, so that by the time we reached Berlevåg it was really difficult to see more than a few meters. The Northbound and Southbound ships are due to pass just outside the harbour, but because we were running late the Southbound ship had to sit outside port for quite some time, as it wasn't safe to have two ships in port, before finally being allowed in as we left. With the obvious conclusion that midnight fog was considerably more likely than midnight sun, I turned in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
11ºC/52ºF

Hurtigruten; Saturday, 25 July, 2015

Breakfast and then off the ship at Kirkenes to join the tour to the Russian Border. This tour had been cancelled when we'd tried to do it in January 2013, and even with a full ship the numbers taking part only half filled a coach.

The tour headed out of town and passed by the local iron ore mining village and mine before stopping off at the Long Fjord for a photo-stop before continuing onto the border.

Due to the nature of the border, being both an international frontier and the edge of the Schengen agreement, it's not actually possible to see much of Russia, other than one of the border watch towers, but it's still quite impressive to have made it to what once was one of only a few points where a NATO country and the USSR shared a border.

Back from the border and back onto what was now the Southbound Hurtigruten to start our journey back towards Bergen.

Next stop was Vardø with a quick visit to the monument to those killed in the Norwegian Witch trials, before getting back on the ship.

The tour leader had organised a waiving competition with her counterpart on the MS Nordnorge, an almost identical (but not sister ship) to ours. With glorious sunny conditions the original plan had been to pass the Nordnorge as it left the port in Berlevåg with passengers on their respective port sides waiving. In the end the Nordnorge was running quite late and was only a few hundred yards in front of us as it entered the port. Thankfully as the weather was much nicer than the previous evening it was safe for us to enter the port at the same time, so whilst the Nordnorge was docking we came alongside, their passengers ran round to starboard and put us to shame with the sheer number of balloons and decorated sheets they had produced.

The whole event was marked with a large amount of horn blowing from both ships and hoses being use to form water arcs between the two ships. No doubt much to the chagrin of the poor people of Berlevåg who were trying to get some sleep.

After the Nordnorge left we docked and as the sun started its bizarre journey back round the sky to its Western starting position, but still in full view, I headed back to my cabin

Weather

Foggy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Hurtigruten; Sunday, 26 July, 2015

Given that dawn had been over two months previously it would be wrong to say that I was up before dawn, but for a Sunday morning I was up at a ridiculous hour to go out on the early morning tour to the North Cape for breakfast and then back through the countryside of the Northern most part of Norway back to Hammerfest.

After breakfast and a quick wander round the tourist trap that is the North Cape the bus headed back down towards the port, stopping to visit a Sami reindeer herdsman. From Honningsvåg we headed through the undersea tunnel back onto mainland Norway and the continued on through some stunning scenery (and some scenery that I'm sure would have been stunning if it wasn't for the thick fog that kept descending) down to the town of Russenes where we stopped for coffee and waffles, before completing the final 70Km back across the interior to the coast at Hammerfest and our waiting ship.

We took advantage of being back slightly early to head into a deserted lunch, by the time we finished people were having to hunt for tables.

The ship then headed south making its afternoon stop in Øksfjord before heading on Skjervøy, the port where I first discovered Hurtigruten 8 years and 6 days previously, where on the quayside there were large numbers of passengers waiting to join from the coach tour from Tromsø.

We continued south passing the MS Kong Harald in the late evening, after which I turned in for the night.

Weather

Foggy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Hurtigruten; Monday, 27 July, 2015

Due to the way the ship has to manoeuvre to dock at Finnsnes it was a disturbed night sleep. Given the early start yesterday, and an early start today meant that I wasn't best pleased at being woken up at 3am with the sound of the ship doing a three point turn in the harbour.

Not quite as early as the previous day we were up, breakfasted and on the quayside at Hardstat at 8am to join the coach tour across the Vesterålen towards Sortland. The tour was very interesting with lots of excellent views over the island, but due to the nature of the tour there was quite a bit of padding to ensure we reached Sortland at the same time as the ship (taking into account we had to make a ferry crossing part way along the route.)

After lunch we continued on, stopping early afternoon at Stokmarknes to visit the Hurtigruten museum and the MS Finnmarken. I hadn't on my previous visits paid much attention to the history of the ship, but on this visit we were advised to, as the Finnmarken, in it's quite dated way, was in service from 1961 right up to December 1993 when it was finally replaced by our own MS Richard With, a massive leap in comfort, space and technology from what the Finnmarken offered.

Leaving Stokmarknes we headed into the stunning, and narrow Raftsundet, before once again making a short detour into the Trollfjord (so staying up to midnight a few days earlier had actually not been needed, as we passed through it in the late afternoon this time.)

As we were booked on an evening tour over the Lofoten islands we had to have dinner very early at 5:30, just after the Trollfjord so that we could be off the ship as soon as it docked at Svolvær at 6:30.

The evening tour was, if anything, more interesting than the morning one as the Lofoten Islands are themselves are more interesting landscape. The tour included a 90 minute stop in the town of Henningsvær to have a look at a local gallery as one of the two main industries on the Lofoten islands is art (due to the quality of the light) along with stockfish.

From Henningsvær we continued along the islands towards our final destination to Stamsund. However, after having been so good for the rest of the trip so far the weather really started to close in and much of the second half of the trip was done through a murk of low cloud and drizzly rain. By the time we reboarded the boat at Stamsund it was really chucking it down.

Back on the boat there was time for a quick nightcap before turning in.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Hurtigruten; Tuesday, 28 July, 2015

Breakfast completed and out on deck just in time to cross the Arctic Circle again.

A generally quiet day was punctured with a stop in Brønnøysund where I got off the boat and had a quick look around, mostly just to stretch my legs.

Just south of Brønnøysund we passed the Torghatten Mountain, famous for the hole that was punched into the mountain by glacial activity during the last ice age.

After a special end of cruise dinner, as many of the passengers would be leaving the following morning in Trondheim, the ship docked in Rørvik with the MS Nordkapp coming in right behind us, so it was possible to have a look around that ship.

Back on the Richard With and a brief nightcap before Watling the first proper sunset in nearly a week and then to bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
19ºC/66ºF

Hurtigruten; Wednesday, 29 July, 2015

Breakfast whilst in Trondheim and the highlight of the morning was watching a passenger miss the boat, only for the captain to relent and pull back in to let him on. The fact that he'd already delayed two tours earlier in the week by being late out to them was clearly a point with many other passengers who could be heard muttering that perhaps he should have been left on the quayside as a punishment (also it would be possible to get to Kristiansund, the next stop, well before the ship made it due to the shape of the coastline)

A long sail up the Trondheimsfjorden and then around the coast, during which lunch was served and then into Kristiansund late afternoon.

With a large number of passengers having disembarked at Trondheim and three more coach loads off on an overland tour to Molde the ship was very empty during the last dinner.

At Molde there was time for people to have a last stretch of their legs before Bergen as all the remaining stops would only be a few minutes, and for those on the overland tour to re-join the ship. It also appeared to be a major place for people to take their cars off of the ship.

A quick nightcap watching the mountains disappear into the murk of drizzle and mist and then to bed for the last time on-board.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
14ºC/57ºF

Hurtigruten; Thursday, 30 July, 2015

Overnight the ship went round the West Cape of Norway, some of the roughest water along the coast, and it was pretty obvious when we did as I was woken by the sensation of significant movement of the ship.

After the rude awakening I went back to sleep again and was woken just before 8 as the ship started to dock at Florø. That was convenient as it meant I had time to have a final shower, finish my packing and get my bag out into the collection zone near the lift so that I wouldn't have to hall it off the ship myself.

A final breakfast and then a quick check around the cabin to make sure I had picked up everything before pinning the door open to show it had been vacated and up onto the main deck to nab a table for the next five hours for the final run into Bergen.

The final journey in was relatively smooth, and with not very many people left on the ship quite quiet. We must have had a favourable tide as Bergen came into view just before 2pm and we were all docked and disembarking by 2:15, about 30 minutes earlier than expected.

Having collected our luggage we picked up the transfer coach and headed to our hotel in Bergen.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Bergen; Thursday, 30 July, 2015

The last stop for the transfer bus was our hotel, and it turned out it’s where one of the large tour groups that had been on the Hurtigruten were also staying, the difference being they had their own coach so had already arrived and cleared check-in by the time we arrived. Though they had also depleted all the serviced rooms so we were able to get one of our two rooms to dump stuff in before heading out for a wander around the Bryggen.

After a bit of a wander we headed back to the hotel to check in the second room and unpack before wandering down for the complementary dinner.

Dinner completed we had a bit more of a wander round the Bryggen area before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Bergen; Friday, 31 July, 2015

Another early start for this trip and after breakfast out of the hotel and over to the railway station to pick up the train.

We had booked onto the Norway in a Nutshell tour which is a self-guided train boat and coach tour round some of the most spectacular scenery in Norway. When I’d been to Bergen nine years earlier I had done part of the tour as far as Flåm before backtracking. This time we would do the whole round trip.

The first leg follows the Fjords and rivers inland to Voss and then up into the mountains before finally arriving at the junction station of Myrdal where we were to change onto the Flåmsbana for the trip back down to fjord level. As I’d previously done the trip I knew that the train would be very busy and that there was a convenient cut through the station building to the Flåm train that was already waiting for us.

With decent window seats we started the twisting journey down the mountain, with the train twisting through the tunnel and at points passing over itself as it winds its way down past waterfalls and into the valley below.

We had about an hour in Flåm to grab a bite to eat before it was time to pick up the Fjord ferry along two different arms of the Sognefjord – the longest year round ice-free fjord and third longest fjord in the world. First we sailed up the Aurlandsfjord to where it met the Nærøyfjord and then sailed down that to the town of Gudvagen.

In Gudvagen we had to change onto buses for the next leg back up into the mountains. There were five buses parked up and by chance we decided to head for the rear one on the grounds it might not fill up so much, it turned out to be a good choice as it was quite empty and the driver turned out to be an excellent and very funny guide – not bad for a regular bus service! The bus headed out of town and after a journey through a tunnel climbs up onto the mountain the tunnel goes through to descend back down the worlds steepest road (18%) taking in the stunning views over the valley bottom.

Back down at the bottom of the hill we went back through the tunnel and then continued on across country to the railway station at Voss.

At Voss there was always going to be a relatively lengthy wait, but due to delays on the train it turned into a 75 minute wait before we finally got the last train of the day back to Bergen.

Back at the hotel in time for the free dinner and then, after a quick nightcap in the bar, to bed for a well-earned sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bergen; Saturday, 01 August, 2015

Rested and breakfasted we checked out of the hotel and wandered round to the tourist information centre to pick up the City Sightseeing tour bus. The tour buses are open-top, but given the weather in Bergen the retractable roof probably spends most of its life locked in the closed position, as it was today given the forecast for later in the afternoon wasn’t good.

We did a full tour round before getting off at the back of the Bryggen and having a bit of a wander. Then with slightly rumbling tummies, and with not much left to do in town, we caught the funicular up to Mount Fløyen to visit the café up there for coffee and cake.

We spent quite a bit of time up there, leaving the café in time to watch that afternoons Hurtigruten arrival down in the harbour – today it was the largest ship the Finnmarken and the noise of its horn reverberating around the mountains was quite impressive.

Back down in town we picked up the hop-on-hop-off bus with the intention of just taking it round to the fish market, but at this point the skies opened and in the end we sat out a massive downpour on two full rounds of the tour.

By the time the rain had finally stopped we were almost back at the hotel so we hopped off, grabbed our bags and picked up the Flybussen out to the airport arriving just in time for checkin to open.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
17ºC/63ºF

Basel; Saturday, 29 August, 2015

The plan of staying overnight in an airport hotel so that I didn’t have to rush in the morning went out the window when I woke up a few minutes before 7 to find the plug was charging my phone, and consequently alarm, from wasn’t working and therefore rather than getting up at 6 for a leisurely shower and then getting the bus over to terminal 5 I was forced to very quickly get up, get out of the hotel and get over to the airport.

With nothing quite joining up, and no working phone to be able to check on time, I was quite stressed by the time I finally made it to bag drop, with a little over 20 minutes to spare before it closed.

Once through the airport things calmed down, and after a very smooth and comfortable flight I touched down in Basel, went straight through the airport onto a bus into town and by the time I got to the hotel my room was ready and I was able to check-in.

Having dropped my stuff off I headed on into the centre of town to have a look around, firstly by heading down to the river and taking in the views from the main bridge linking the two central parts of town.

I headed up to the Münsterplatz and had a look around the cloister and the views from the terrace at the back of the church before heading inside the Münster to look around. It is possible to climb the tower to take in the views, but you have to be in a group of 2 or more, so being by myself I wasn’t allowed to go up.

Back out of the Münster I headed across the Münsterplatz and visited the Museum of Cultures on the opposite side of the impressive square. I had a long look around the museum, only leaving because they were starting to close the building as it was already closing time.

Back at the Münster I took the steps down to the riverside and crossed using one of the four different pulley ferries that operate across the river.

On the opposite bank I stopped off for a quick drink in the baking sun, watching the locals swimming down the river (less swimming more just being carried along by the current).

Drink completed I picked up the tram out to and across the German border to the small town of Weil am Rhine where a bridge crosses the Rhine over to the French town of Huningue. From the centre of the bridge it’s possible to see Germany, Switzerland and France at the same time, though to actually reach the join you would need to be on a boat as it’s in the middle of the Rhine.

Having crossed back into Germany I picked the tram up again and headed back over into Switzerland and the centre of Basel for dinner, a very nice Italian meal to finish off the tour of major European nations of the day, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Basel; Sunday, 30 August, 2015

After breakfast I headed back out into town for a bit more of a wander around, including popping into the tourist information centre to see what else there was to do. I picked up a leaflet for the self-guided tram tour that uses the circular route 15/16 to take in a significant part of the city, including some spectacular climbs up into the hills around the south of the city centre.

The round trip took about an hour and after a brief stop for a morning coffee I headed up into the university district to visit the Spalentor – one of the former city gates and one of the most spectacular, before heading over to the neighbouring botanical gardens to look around that.

By the time I’d had a quick spot of lunch in town the temperature was starting to get quite unpleasant so I decided the easiest way to deal with this, given its Switzerland, was to head to the top of the nearest mountain.

Thankfully that was a short train and connecting bus ride away in the town of Reigoldswil where I took the cable car up to the top of the mountain to Wasserfallen.

I had a drink at one of the cafes at the top of the mountain whilst taking in the views, and the beautiful cool breeze that was making the temperature much more bearable.

After a quick walk around the top of the mountain I headed back down and caught the buses back into Basel, stopping off at the Eastern most former city gate to have a look around that, before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

Refreshed I headed back out into town for dinner, deciding on a very nice Anatolian restaurant in the old part of town, before having a wander up to the Münster to take in the views over the Rhine at night before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
36ºC/97ºF

Basel; Monday, 31 August, 2015

I checked out of the hotel and then headed over to the station to pick up the train a couple of stops down the line to the station at Kaiseraugst to visit the Roman remains of Augsta Rurica.

Given it was a Monday I was quite surprised to find that the whole site, including the museum, was open to look round – though with some difficulty as an event at the weekend meant that a large number of marquees and kiosks were in the process of being dismantled.

I looked round the key parts of the site, including the temples and carefully restored theatre, before heading across to the far side of the site to visit the Amphitheatre.

The temperatures were even hotter than the previous day, and by the time I made it back from the Amphitheatre I was exhausted so I stopped off for a quick drink in a café in town before heading back to the station to pick up the train back into Basel.

I walked back to the hotel, picked up my bags, and then headed out to the beautifully air-conditioned airport for the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
37ºC/99ºF

Chatham; Friday, 11 September, 2015

I’d had a bit of emotional rollercoaster of a week, mostly caused by quitting my job of 12 years (albeit having to start a nearly four month notice period before I could actually walk out the building), so I was quite thankful to be heading away for the weekend to a pub.

I left my route down to Chatham to fate, standing on platform 2 at East Croydon waiting for the first train into either St Pancras to pick up the High Speed or to Victoria to pick up the slow speed service down to Medway.

In the end first in, by a matter of seconds was the St Pancras train, which proved to be a good choice as I had just enough time to purchase my ticket at the terminal before the train became available to board.

A smooth journey down to Chatham, and onto the pub – mostly because I was feeling lazy and decided to get a taxi the 2 or so miles down the hill (and then back up the other side, and down again) to the hotel.

After checking in and dropping my stuff off I went for a little wander around the area around the pub before retiring to the restaurant for dinner and then an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Chatham; Saturday, 12 September, 2015

A very filling breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel to have a bit more of a wander around the marina area before picking up the open-top bus tour that picked up from the nearby retail park.

I did a full circuit of the tour route coming back to the marina an hour later. I walked round the corner to Dickens world and booked onto the next tour, which was due to start a short while later.

After the tour I stopped for a bite to eat before heading back over to the bus tour stop and heading on into Rochester to have a look around what was once England’s smallest city, before the local council forgot to get the charter renewed and it reverted to just being a town.

I had a look around the Cathedral before wandering over to the impressive ruins of the Norman Castle, climbing to the top of the keep for some stunning views along the Medway.

Back at ground level I picked up the tour bus to do one more full of the circuit to take photos. Returning to Rochester I headed to a café for a late afternoon coffee. I then headed back to the hotel to freshen up.

With the sun starting to set I headed back in Rochester to take some photos of the castle and cathedral at night, and I wasn’t to be disappointed with the castle floodlit in a particularly interesting way, with red floodlights inside making it look even creepier that it does in the daylight.

Having taken quite a few photos I stopped for dinner in a very nice Indian restaurant just by the river before catching the bus back into Chatham and then down to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Chatham; Sunday, 13 September, 2015

Breakfast completed I checked out of the hotel and headed the short distance over to the historic dockyard to have a look around.

I had originally only planned to spend a couple of hours looking around the dockyard intending on spending the afternoon looking around Fort Amherst just beyond the dockyard, but in the end there was so much to see in the dockyard that I didn’t even do that full justice let alone visit the fort.

On entering the dockyard I was advised by the ticket office to pick up some timed tickets for a couple of the exhibits that can only be visited on tours, so I picked these up and then headed straight up to the Victorian Ropery for the first tour of the morning.

The tour was very interesting with the highlight being the spectacular Victorian Double Rope Walk at the end of the tour. Still in active use today for creating maritime rope the ¼ of a mile long building is incredibly impressive and amazing that the process of making rope really hasn’t changed very much since the Victorian era of sail ships – even if the volumes required have decreased significantly

From the ropery I popped next door to the exhibition on the final century or so of the Docks working life from the rise of the steel and steam powered ship replacing the former wood and sail methods that the dockyard had previously been producing through its time as a builder of submarines to its eventual closure in 1984.

I stopped for a quick lunch near the ropery before heading back through the docks to have a look around the three historic warships – HMS Gannet, HMS Cavalier and the Submarine Ocelot.

Ocelot had to be visited on a guided tour, so that dictated the order in which I did the three ships, and was probably the most interesting of the three, mostly because it’s not every ship based museum that has a full sized submarine that you can walk through.

Having taken in the ships I had a brief look round the other collections in the dockyard, though by now I was starting to flag and didn’t really do them justice. Final stop of the afternoon was the Heart of Oak exhibition that, through a walking film experience takes you through the 19th century process of constructing a wooden ship.

Feeling totally knackered I left the docks and headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then headed back to the station and the train home.

Weather

Cloudy Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Friday, 25 September, 2015

I’d booked a half day of work, so after a quick journey up into town my second train of the day was the sushi train at St Pancras for lunch before I headed over to Kings Cross to pick up the train North.

I was booked on the 3pm train to Edinburgh which I thought would be a relatively quiet train as it was before the evening rush. Sadly, it looked like a lot of other people had decided to book the afternoon off as well and the train was pretty much full as it left Kings Cross

It was a generally smooth journey, although in a couple of places the train ground to a halt so that by the time I finally got into Newcastle it was gone 6pm.

I headed over to the Metro, got a ticket and picked up the train out to the hotel.

The hotel itself wasn’t particularly close to the Metro station, so by the time I checked in it was already gone 7pm and I didn’t really fancy trekking all the way back into town, so instead I used the restaurant at the hotel for dinner and then turned in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Saturday, 26 September, 2015

Breakfast eaten I headed down to the Metro station and headed on into town to the bus station at Haymarket to pick up the bus north to Alnwick.

There were a number of options available with three different routes all going to Alnwick, but given the next one leaving was also the fastest I decided that was probably the best one to go for.

About 90 minutes later the bus pulled into the bus station in Alnwick and I got off for a wander around the town centre.

After a bit of wandering I found my way over to Alnwick castle and gardens to have a look around them, spending quite a bit of the day inside the grounds.

Having exhausted the castle and gardens – though not taking part in the Harry Potter broomstick riding activity (parts of Alnwick Castle was used in the films) – I headed back over to the bus station and picked up the bus onwards to Alnmouth a couple of miles outside of town, and on the coast at, as the name might suggest, the mouth of the river Aln that also runs though Alnwick.

I spent quite a bit of time taking in the beautiful scenery and lovely beach before picking up the bus back into Alnwick, but which point it was starting to get late and I realised I hadn’t had any lunch. I stopped in a café for a very late panini and coffee dinner/lunch before heading back over to the bus station and picking up a different bus for the slightly longer, but possibly more scenic, route back down into Newcastle.

Having had lunch so late, and with it now quite late I decided I wasn’t feeling that hungry and instead headed back to the hotel for a drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Sunday, 27 September, 2015

Quite an early start to get out of the hotel and into town to pick up a train just after 10 to head up North to the top of Northumbria at Berwick. In the end I made the train without too much difficulty, but as the train was running late there was a real risk that I might miss the connection I had planned in Berwick to start my journey south.

Thankfully, due to fortuitous positioning on the train meaning the door I stepped out of was by the exit steps, and for two people asking the bus driver quite a complex ticketing query, I made the bus with a couple of seconds to spare.

The bus itself was heading all the way back to Newcastle (taking 4 hours rather than the 50 minutes the train had just done the journey in), but I was only going part of the way down to the coastal town of Bamburgh and its spectacular cliff top castle

I had a good explore round the castle including the state rooms and taking in the stunning views over to both Lindisfarne and the other Farne Islands, before having a bit of a wander through town and back over to the bus stop to continue my journey south.

The next bus was only going to Alnwick, but serving more of the small towns along the coast so it made for a very interesting ride, with the amazing ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle drawing my attention and making up my mind to leave the bus at Craster to go exploring

I walked through the small, but very pretty, little harbour side and headed on out across the fields, following the large number of other visitors, towards the ruins of the castle.

With their position on the cliffs overlooking this stretch of the North Sea coast, and with the stunning barrelled walls of the gatehouse still standing, the ruins are spectacular, with a fair amount to see – though little in the way of information boards or guiding to know quite why the castle was built or how it ended up the way it did.

Back in Craster I headed over to a café near the bus stop for a late lunch and a coffee before the bus came in and I picked that up back into Alnwick before changing there for a bus back on into Newcastle.

I arrived back into Newcastle quite late, but feeling very peckish, so I found a restaurant near the bus station and had a quick dinner there, before catching a late Metro back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Monday, 28 September, 2015

Given the late night I had a bit of a lie-in and by the time I got down to breakfast most of the rest of the hotel was deserted.

I headed back down into town and over to the bus station to pick up the bus out to the Beamish living history museum located about 50 minutes bus ride away in County Durham.

I spent much of the day looking round the large site, with its various themed areas including a pit village, a colliery, a recreation of a 1900s town high street and WWII era farm.

The museum is spread out over quite a large site, but the historic open-top trams and buses that run round the site link everything up making it quite easy to get to see everything in a few hours.

I left just before the site was about to close, mostly because there was only one bus back to Newcastle after the museum closed and I suspected that would be quite busy, so I wanted to make sure I had seat for the journey back. In the end the bus was pretty much empty – but with a new driver learning the route it did take quite a bit longer to get back than it had done to get out.

I decided to hop off in Gateshead and pick up the Metro out to the coast getting off at South Shields. I walked down to the Tyne and picked up the ferry across to North Shields where a free link bus avoids the big hill up into the town centre and then continued on to the seafront at Tynemouth.

I had a long wander along the seafront taking in the views of the beach and castle ruins bathed in a beautiful bright red sunset before heading back to the Metro station and going back into the centre of Newcastle.

After grabbing a quick dinner in Newcastle I headed back out to the hotel and the comfort of my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Newcastle upon Tyne; Tuesday, 29 September, 2015

Having checked out of the hotel and left my bags with reception I headed back into town once more, this time to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus to take in the key sights of Newcastle.

I did one full circuit on the bus, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience as it had the worlds loudest and screechiest brakes, making it quite difficult to hear the commentary, and slightly concerning about its stopping ability, albeit that it never was going more than about 15 miles an hour.

I popped over to the central station and had a quick coffee stop whilst I waited for that bus to head off and the one 30 minutes later to arrive, which had much better breaks and made for a more comfortable ride.

Having done another loop, this time actually being able to hear the commentary, and taking in the view from the opposite side of the bus, I headed into the centre of the city to grab a late lunch.

By now there wasn’t much time to visit any of the museums in the city centre, so instead I hopped on the Metro and headed out to the pleasant seaside town of Whitley Bay to have a bit of a wander around, before catching the Metro back to where the coast line met with the airport line and picked that up back to the hotel and my luggage.

The hotel room deal included a free transfer to the airport, so rather than dragging my luggage all the way back down hill to the metro station I took advantage of the transfer and headed over to the airport, where I picked up the same metro train a couple of stops back up the line and headed back on into the city centre.

Unlike the train up, the 17:25 departure on a Tuesday evening, stopping at virtually every town down the East Coast, was quite deserted and I had a lot more room for the comfortable journey back.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Rotterdam; Saturday, 24 October, 2015

It wasn’t the earliest flight I’d ever had, but with planned engineering works potentially making the journey down to Gatwick difficult I’d opted to spend the night beforehand in a hotel at the airport, so I’d had a bit of a lie-in and 5 minutes after checking out of the hotel was dropping my bag back off with bag drop and heading into the departures lounge.

An on time departure and early arrival into Amsterdam was only slightly put out of kilter by the plane landing on the furthest possible runway at Schiphol, so by the time we’d spent 15 minute taxying around the airport perimeter we were back on correct arrival time.

The usual long hike through the airport and then a bit of a wait for luggage meant that I missed the train to Rotterdam by about 5 minutes and ended up with a 25 minute wait for the next one. Thankfully the next one was a high speed train direct to Rotterdam and took less than 30 minutes to get me there.

I picked up the tram outside the station to the stop nearest to the hotel, checked-in, dropped my stuff off and then went for a wander around the city.

Rotterdam, like much of the rest of the Netherlands, is a very easy city to wander around being flat, though its noticeably much more built up and high-rise than even Amsterdam and with very wide roads at times it took some time just to go a short distance as you waited interminably for three directions of road traffic, then a couple of massive herds of cyclists to cross before a green man appeared to let you get to a traffic islands in the middle of the dual carriageway to repeat the same process over again.

In the end I only realised how long I’d been wandering when I realised the sun was starting to set so I took that as a cue to locate a restaurant, have some dinner and then cheat and get the tram back to the hotel and my comfy bed.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Rotterdam; Sunday, 25 October, 2015

A filling breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel over to the Centraal station to pick up the hop-on-hop-off tour bus. I’d normally say open-top, but on this occasion despite it being City Sightseeing it was being operated by a very comfy double deck coach with a very unremovable roof (given at least one very low bridge that the bus only just passes under, and the number of tram wires it keeps going under, it’s probably reasonable that they don’t want to have an open-top vehicle)

I did two full circuits of the route – one on each side before arriving back at the Centraal station and stopping off for some lunch.

After lunch I headed down to the Maritime Museum to have a look around both the museum and it’s harbour of historic ships, cranes and other vessels moored in the harbour immediately behind the museum.

It’s an interesting collection with lots to see and I spent quite a bit of time looking round everything.

From the museum I headed back towards the hotel to have a look around the Laurenskerk the last remaining building from Medieval Rotterdam, but sadly the church was closed for the afternoon so instead I popped across to the nearby and considerably more modern Markthal which is a stunning structure.

Leaving the Markthal I was just in time to pick up the hop-on-hop-off bus for the last stops of it’s penultimate tour of the evening, staying on for the last tour. I was very glad I got a good seat as I was treated to some stunning sunset views of the city as the bus crossed some of the bridges of the city.

Back in the centre of town I found a restaurant and had another very nice dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Rotterdam; Monday, 26 October, 2015

Slightly disturbed to spend part of breakfast watching the BBC London travel news on Breakfast. For some reason the hotel had the TV set to BBC One, which meant that at 8:30 in the Netherlands I was watching exactly what I would have been at home if I was getting ready for work. None the wiser for what the weather for the day in Rotterdam would be like, but fully aware that the Overground was part suspended I headed out of the hotel and in the direction of the harbour cruise quay.

Given it was a Monday and most attractions were closed I had intended on picking up a morning harbour cruise, but when I stepped off of the tram it coincided perfectly with the arrival of the waterbus up the river to the UNESCO listed Kinderdijk area. Given the weather was so nice I decided to throw the original, and very limited plan, out the window and instead hopped on the boat.

Arriving at Kinderdijk the first thing that greeted me was the tourist office offering bike rentals, so I picked up a Dutch bike and headed down into the Polder. First stop – after the ticket office – was the visitors centre to watch a short movie about the history of the Kinderdijk and the details on how all the windmills work together to pump the water out of the low lying area into the river.

From the visitors centre I cycled the kilometre or so down to the first of the museum mills and had a look around that before cycling another kilometre onto the second museum mill, which was in full and spectacular sail. Standing in the mill with the sails rattling round at top speed gives you a greater understanding of how this was not a quiet or easy job.

I cycled round a lot more of the area – an area that I wouldn’t have been able to cover if I was on foot – before heading back to the tourist information centre to drop off the bike and catch the ferry back into town.

Back at the Erasmus Bridge quay in Rotterdam I picked up a ticket for the 4pm harbour cruise with a joint entry to the Euromast so, with nearly 90 minutes to kill before the harbour tour, I headed over there to take in the views.

After taking in the views from the top of the Euromast, and taking quite a few photos I descended back down to street level and headed back to the River Harbour quay to pick up the tour.

The ferry back from the Kinderdijk had just missed the previous tour, but in the end I was quite glad it did as the 14:30 returned absolutely packed with all the outside seats full, whereas the 16:00 tour was at best 60 people across a boat with capacity for 600.

Having completed the tour I headed back into the centre of town for dinner and then, with a bloated stomach, headed back to the hotel to digest and sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Rotterdam; Tuesday, 27 October, 2015

Following a late breakfast and checkout from the hotel I headed out over towards the river to take in the views of the city from the opposite bank.

I caught a bus over to the South bank and had a bit of a wander round, taking in the views of the SS Rotterdam moored up on the opposite side of the harbour, before heading back across the river using the Masstunnel pedestrian tunnel under the river.

Back on the other side I had a long wander around the park land at the base of the EuroMast before heading up the tower to the restaurant for a late lunch with some stunning views over the city.

I headed back down into town and picked up a tram to head over to the opposite side of the Erasmus Bridge with the intention of walking back over the bridge to take in the views before having a final wander around the harbour area, but at the stop before the bridge the tram filled to such an extent that it was impossible to get out for the next couple of stops, so I had to go sailing past the stop I wanted, and a couple more, before heading back.

By the time I got back to the Erasmus Bridge I realised I needed to stay on the tram and get back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head for the airport.

Having picked up my luggage I managed to make to the station with just enough time to spare before the train back to Schiphol and my flight back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Shrewsbury; Friday, 13 November, 2015

I’d been at a conference for a couple of days in Manchester and as the conference came to an end the weather, which hadn’t been great, turned decidedly unpleasant.

I quickly popped out into the city centre, but the weather was so unpleasant that after a quick visit to the bank to pay in a cheque I headed back to the warmth, and dry, of the hotel for the rest of the afternoon and evening – taking advantage of the very nice on site restaurant to have a relaxed dinner before turning in for an early night

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Shrewsbury; Saturday, 14 November, 2015

The mornings weather appeared to be better as I checked out of the hotel and headed over to the station to pick up the train to Shrewsbury, but that turned out to just be a pretence as the rain started again about half way into the journey, and by the time I arrived in Shrewsbury it was raining quite heavily.

I walked over to the hotel and left my luggage with them, before heading next door to the bus station to pick up the bus out to the small Shropshire town of Much Wenlock.

The town can lay claim to be the actual birthplace of the modern Olympics, with the Wenlock games having taken place many years before the modern games were restarted in Greece (in fact the founder of the modern Olympic movement even visited the town to get inspiration).

The town is also home to a very impressive set of ruins of it’s former Priory, destroyed following the reformation, and it was to these that I fought my way through the driving rain to visit.

I had quite a lengthy look round the site, taking quite a lot of advantage of the areas where there was shelter to stay out of the rain.

After looking round the priory I had a wander round town and popped into the very nice, is slightly small, town museum to have a look around, before heading back to the bus shelter to pick up the bus back into Shrewsbury.

Back in town I checked into the hotel and, after unpacking, headed out to have a brief look around town before the sun set. On my wandering I found myself outside the local theatre and looking at the events schedule noticed there was a comedy act on that evening- on a whim I enquired in the box office and was able to snap up the very last ticket.

I had just enough time to grab an evening meal before heading back to the theatre to take in the show before returning, in a now cloudless night, back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Shrewsbury; Sunday, 15 November, 2015

The heavy driving rain of the previous day had been replaced with a light mizzle that was equally as soaking, but just a different way of getting soaked.

After breakfast I headed out over to the train station and picked up the train one stop down the line and over the border into Welshpool. From the station I walked into the centre of town and then up through the estate parkland to the impressive Powis Castle, perched high on a ridge over the town.

I had a long wander around the staterooms and the more interesting servant’s areas of the castle before heading over to look at the impressive gardens.

Unfortunately the weather had taken another turn for the worse and in trying to look around the gardens I was getting soaked, so I abandoned that and instead headed over to the tearoom to get a late lunch and to dry out.

With the weather showing no sign of improvement I headed back from the castle down to town and onto the station with the intention of getting the train just before 3.

The weather had been so poor for so long that the ground water and rivers were no longer able to cope and slightly further down the line the tracks had been flooded and the rail line was currently suspended, with no replacement buses planned, no service buses on a Sunday and no sign of any taxis.

I retreated to the old station building – which is now an outlet store with a very nice café – to try and found out how to get back to Shrewsbury. Keeping an eye on the internet I was able to spot that one train that had been heading towards Aberystwyth had been turned round at the next town down the line and was now preparing to return back to Welshpool and Shrewsbury, so once it was confirmed it was on the move I finished my tea and headed back down to the station.

The train arrived, and after a 20 minute wait for the train in the opposite direction to come off the single line from Shrewsbury, we set off into the dying light of day.

Back in Shrewsbury I headed back to the hotel for a long hot bath and then a pleasant dinner in the hotel restaurant, before turning in for the night

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Shrewsbury; Monday, 16 November, 2015

Breakfast completed, room checked out of and luggage left with the hotel I headed out for a wander around the town, taking in the main sighs including the spectacular sweep of the River Severn as it passes through town and the Abbey

After a quick lunch in a café in town I wandered down to the castle to have a look around the site before heading back to the hotel to collect my stuff and start the journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Marseille; Thursday, 10 December, 2015

A very quick and scarily easy journey across town had me arriving into Heathrow less than 90 minutes after hitting shutdown on my work PC. I thought it couldn’t last, and it didn’t as I hit the considerable queue in security caused by every other bag being pulled over for checking. Needless to say mine was one of them.

Eventually through security at least it meant I didn’t have long to wait before my flight was called and I made my way to the gate and onto the plane. We were all closed up and ready to go around 15 minutes early, but then went on a long wander around the airfield at Heathrow meaning we didn’t reach the end of the runway for nearly 45 minutes.

A comfortable and smooth journey later, and a stunning final approach along the Marseille coast, we landed, cleared immigration and customs and a short while later I was on the shuttle bus to the centre of town.

From the station I walked the mile or so, thankfully all downhill, to the hotel – making a mental note that on the way back I’d use the tram and metro, even if it did take longer.

After checking in and dropping my stuff off I headed out of the hotel for a quick wander around the old port area near the hotel, taking in some of the key sights, before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Marseille; Friday, 11 December, 2015

A filling breakfast completed I headed down into town to the harbour to pick up the boat out to the Island of If and its impressive castle.

The island is part of a small archipelago, a couple of hundred meters off the coast at Marseille, with If being the smallest of the islands. The castle features in the Alexander Dumas novel the Count of Monte-Cristo and consequently that has helped to drive quite a tourism industry for the place (even on a Friday morning in winter, a fortnight before Christmas, there were still a good dozen people heading to the island on the boat I was on, and that was the third of the morning)

I had a long look around the castle. Naturally, quite a lot of the space is given over to an exhibition about Alexander Dumas and his life, but there are also small exhibits on the castle itself – though most of the displays were only in French.

I pretty much had managed to exhaust all there was to see on the island a short while before the next boat heading back to Marseille arrived, so I wandered down to the landing stage and picked that up back into town. Once back in the Vieux-Port I wandered round to the starting point of the Petit Train service and picked up their tour up to the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde.

The land train runs up through the old town, taking in several sights, before climbing up to the Basilica where there is a 30-minute stop to get off and look around. The church is about the highest point in the city, with the church dominating the skyline of the city. Naturally, from its terraces the views over Marseille and the islands are incredible.

After looking round the church and taking in the views I headed back to the car park just in time for the next Petit Train to arrive and picked that up heading back down into town. From the last stop on the tour I walked on down the harbourside road to the St Jean fortress and followed the path that runs around the outside of the fortress and over to the city’s Cathedral.

The Cathedral is as impressive as the basilica, but because its down at sea level, and not visible from much of the city, is a bit overlooked – consequently it was considerably quieter that the basilica had been. I had a good look around the Cathedral before heading back towards town and to the stunning MuCEM.

The first national museum to be built outside of Paris the MuCEM has helped to spark a massive regeneration of the harbour area of the city. The former Fort St Jean has been incorporated into the museum complex with the amazing modern museum, and its ramped path that winds its way up the outside of the building, linked to the top level of the fortress via a slim bridge.

I spent a long time looking round both the museum and the fortress, including watching the sun set behind St Nicholas fortress the twin of St Jean located on the opposite bank of the harbour entrance.

Back down in town and I picked up the bus out to the Parc de Pharo, located beyond Fort St Nicholas, to take some photos of the stunning views of the fortresses and harbour at night, before heading back into town for a bite to eat and then, with a full stomach, I waddled back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Marseille; Saturday, 12 December, 2015

I took advantage of breakfast being served until later on the weekends to have a bit of a lie-in, and combined with a leisurely breakfast it was gone 11:30 before I finally left the hotel and headed down to the Vieux-Port.

My first (and main) stop of the day was the open-top bus tour that leaves from close to the Hôtel de Ville and heads round the city taking in the main sights. Whilst the route is very similar to that of the land train, the views to be had, particularly along the seaside road from the top-deck of a double decker are much more spectacular, and the commentary was considerably more informative.

I did one full circuit returning back to the harbour side from where I headed over to the museum of the Roman Port to have a quick look around, before a light lunch in a restaurant overlooking the harbour.

Lunch completed I picked up a later bus to repeat the tour, this time on the opposite side of the bus taking in the views from there – which was impressive for the number of small valleys that were completely hidden if you weren’t looking at them.

Back down in town and I picked up the local bus back up to the Basilica, arriving just in time to catch the last sun rays of the day light up the city a golden honey colour, providing some stunning photos.

I picked up the bus back down into town and headed back to the hotel to drop my stuff off and freshen up before heading back out to find a restaurant for another stunning dinner.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Marseille; Sunday, 13 December, 2015

A late breakfast and after checking out of the hotel I headed down to the harbour to book onto a boat tour out to the spectacular Calanques National Park for the afternoon.

That booked I wandered back into town and visited the Museum of Marseille History with its impressive Ancient Greek and Roman remains dating back to the founding of the city over 2600 years ago.

After a quick stop for lunch in a harbour side restaurant I wandered back over to the harbour to pick up the boat tour out to the Calanques.

It was a very interesting tour, with impressive scenery – possibly made more impressive by the slightly rough seas.

Whilst I enjoyed the tour several of my fellow tourists didn’t have such a good time, and by the time the boat got back to the shelter of the Vieux-Port 3 hours after setting off about half the boat had lost their lunch.

I headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then started the journey back to the airport and home.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Budapest; Saturday, 19 December, 2015

An early flight, so at an unpleasant hour of the morning I exited the airport hotel and made my way down to Terminal 3 to drop my bag off.

A surprisingly smooth journey all the way through the airport, through the flight and with the connections at the other end had me at the reception desk of the hotel a little after 13:30 local time. It did mean I caught the hotel unaware and I had a 10-minute wait to be able to get into the room as it was still being cleaned.

After dropping off all my stuff I headed out into town and first off headed over to the castle. The city appears to have quite a bit of cash floating around to do refurbishment programmes, as I’d found on previous trips – this time it was the area around the Metro station near the castle, and it took a good five minutes’ walk before I finally tracked down where the buses up the hill went from.

I had a bit of a wander around the castle area, taking in the views over the Danube from the Fisherman’s Bastion. I stopped off at the new 3D history of Hungary film that was in a part of the castle previously closed off.

With the sun starting to set I climbed up to the café in the largest tower of the Fisherman’s Bastion and picked up a mulled wine to drink as I watched the misty murk of day turn into the misty murk of night as the city’s floodlights illuminated the gloom.

I wandered back down through the castle, making a note of some potential places for dinner, before catching the bus back down into town and heading over to one of the Christmas markets to have a wander around and pick up some last minute Christmas gifts.

Back at the hotel in time to drop my shopping off and freshen up before heading back up to the castle for dinner.

After a bit of wandering around I decided on a nice looking restaurant located in the cellars. In hindsight I should have chosen elsewhere as the first two stone steps leading down into the restaurant were slippery, I lost my balance and came down with my back and my coccyx both making a heavy impact with the steps totally winding me at the same time.

It took about 5 minutes to get my composure back before I very carefully, and slowly, descended down into the restaurant for a pleasant, if slightly uncomfortable dinner.

Dinner completed I had a bit of a wander around the castle just to see if anything else other than my back was hurting, but everything else appeared to be working fine, so I headed down to the metro station and picked up the tram back round to the hotel to turn in for the night and to try and get some sleep.

Weather

No Data Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Budapest; Sunday, 20 December, 2015

In the morning I was feeling quite a bit better, with just some bruising on my arm, but it was pretty clear when I went to sit down for breakfast that I’d bruised that area, as it was quite uncomfortable to sit down – which made it all the more irritating as I’d mostly planned to spend the day seeing the sights from a hop-on-hop-off bus.

I decided to risk it anyway, and with some careful and occasionally tender corrections to seating style I was able to do the buses without too much pain.

Given the weather forecast for the rest of my time in Budapest I’d decided to use the cheaper of the multitude of companies that offer hop-on-hop-off tours. They are cheaper because they don’t have open-top buses, unlike much of the rest of the competition, which in summer probably hurts their business, but looking at the bedraggled and soaked occupants of some of the open-top buses going round town, I was quite glad for the sealed roof and dry seats.

The tour I booked onto had two routes and I did one full circuit of their Red line, before swapping onto the Yellow line to do that.

Several hours later, back at Elizabeth square, I grabbed a bite to eat and a quick coffee, before hoping back on a red route bus to take it round the city at sunset (or murk darkening as it was again given the day’s weather).

After having done much of the tour the bus was heading towards the final couple of stops when it became clear that the Sunday evening traffic in Budapest was not good, so the driver took a free-style route, skipping out the last two stops but ensuring we made it back to the centre of town without getting stuck in too many traffic jams. It did mean that we went sailing past my hotel and I then had to track back there to drop stuff off and freshen up before heading back out for dinner.

Back up into the castle area for dinner again, at a different restaurant, this time one on the level with only a single step up into it so no risk of further injury.

After a very nice dinner, if very quiet as I was the only diner in the restaurant, I had a little bit of a wander around the castle before catching the bus and tram back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep

Weather

Misty Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Budapest; Monday, 21 December, 2015

Breakfast proved that things were improving slightly, with the only pain now when standing up from sitting.

I headed back out into town and had a bit of a wander around the Christmas Markets near Elizabeth square before catching the Yellow line bus to do a quick circuit of that from the front seat.

Back in town I had a much longer wander around all the Christmas markets around both the main square and round the Basilica of St Stephen, stopping off in the Basilica market for a late lunch.

I headed back to Elizabeth square and picked up the Red line bus to complete part of the tour up round to the Citadella.

In the murk and mist the Citadella was spookily quiet with its Christmas market being enveloped with rolling mist, and the piped Christmas music sounding slightly creepy in the sound smothering fog.

I had a bit of a wander around the Citadella, but there really weren’t any views to take in as the mists appeared to be getting much thicker, so instead I caught the bus back down into town and headed back over to the hotel.

After freshening up I headed back up to the castle to find a nice restaurant, this time choosing one that was not only on the flat, but also relatively busy so I didn’t have to dine alone.

Dinner completed I had a long wander around the castle area, taking in the views before catching the funicular railway down the side of the hill to the chain bridge, where I picked up the bus to the tram back to the hotel.

Weather

Misty Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Budapest; Tuesday, 22 December, 2015

Breakfast and check-out completed I left my bags with the hotel and headed out into the city. First stop of the morning was the Parliament building. The last couple of times I’ve been to Budapest the area was undergoing major rebuilding and refurbishment but that had now been completed so I wanted to go and have a bit of a closer look at the very impressive building.

I had a bit of a wander around the site, taking in the exhibition in the Lapidarium underneath the square, as well as watching the guards performing a ceremony. From the parliament I walked alongside the river back to the Margaret Bridge and picked up the tram from there.

Tram line 2 has to be one of the most picturesque on the planet, taking in the full sweep of the Parliament building before running along the bank of the Danube past the Castle and Gellert hills. I took the tram past all the key sights and onto the Zwack Unicum distillery a bit further down the river.

Unicum is the Hungarian national spirit and is made from a combination of 40 herbs and spices to create quite a unique flavour. As part of the tour of the cellars and museum there is the chance to taste both the original drink, which is quite bitter, or the sweeter and milder plum version.

Having consumed 2 shots of 40% proof booze in quick succession I perhaps didn’t give the museum as much attention as I should have. Instead I headed back into town to grab some lunch, if only to try and counter the effects of the alcohol.

Revived, mostly through strong coffee I caught the Metro under the Danube to the bank opposite the Parliament to take some more photos before walking back up to the Margaret Bridge, this time on the Buda side and then wandering across to the mid-point of the bridge where it takes a 150 degree turn and offers stunning views down the river, one of the few places in the city where you can get a good view of the Parliament, Citadella and full sweep of the castle in one place.

By now the sun was already heading low into the sky so I started my journey back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and head on out to the airport, though in the process I checked the app on my phone to discover I was going to have a much longer wait that I expected as the flight was already delayed by over two hours.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Sliema; Monday, 18 January, 2016

I felt very guilty as I put my out of office notice on my work email, given I’d only been at my new job for a fortnight to be taking nearly a week off already didn’t feel right, but it had been booked long before and my new bosses all insisted that I should take what I’d booked.

So after an uneventful Monday evening commute across London I had a quick change at home and headed out down to the airport to stay the night, as the flight was very early the following morning

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Sliema; Tuesday, 19 January, 2016

At a very unpleasant hour of the morning I got up, checked out of the hotel and headed over to the terminal to deposit my luggage. An uneventful journey through the airport, onto the plane and out to Malta.

My bag was the first one round on the belt, and this combined with nobody else waiting to get a bus pass meant that I managed to make the airport bus that I had been convinced I would miss, especially important given a recent timetable change had reduced them from half hourly to hourly.

A little over an hour later, and after a very circuitous route the bus finally made to Sliema Ferries and I disembarked to walk the short distance to the hotel.

Having checked in and dropped off my stuff I headed out to find some lunch as I realised I was feeling very hungry, having only had a croissant around 6:30 all day. Thankfully there was a restaurant immediately outside the hotel, and they offered a discount to hotel guests, so that made hunting for food a lot easier.

After a very filling lunch I wandered over to the bus stop and caught the bus into the capital Valletta to have a bit of a wander around. During the wander I also stumbled across a land train tour of the city, so I took that round to help take in some of the sights.

Back in the square by the Co-Cathedral at the end of the tour and just as I was about to continue my wandering I felt a couple of spits of rain, so not wanting to risk getting wet I headed over to a nice café, that had a big awning, and sat down to have a late afternoon drink. Within a minute or so of sitting down the skies had opened and a torrential downpour was sending most of the rest of the tourists that were around scurrying for either the café or shelter elsewhere.

A lengthy shower, and a very nice drink, later I headed back up to the bus stop to pick the bus back round to Sliema and the hotel.

I had a light snack in another restaurant near the hotel and then turned in for an early night to try and catch up on some of the sleep lost due to the early start.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Sliema; Wednesday, 20 January, 2016

The hotels breakfast room is located on the 8th floor, with stunning views over Sliema Bay and Valletta, consequently everyone appeared to take much longer than people normally do in a hotel to eat their breakfasts, myself included.

With the first round of sightseeing done of the morning I headed out of the hotel and across the road to the kiosk for the hop-on-hop-off bus tours, where I purchased my ticket for the North tour and a discounted ticket for a later day (or Friday as I’d already decided) for the South tour of the island.

The North tour takes in many of the key sights, as its name suggests, in the North of the Island. Travelling out via the stunning domed church at Mostar and the cities or Rabat and Mdina before heading inland to the town of Mgarr and its ancient temples. Then it’s a quick detour down to the sands of Golden Bay on the countries North West coast before traversing the whole width of the island (at this point not more than a couple of Kilometres) to the North East coast at St Paul’s Bay.

From St Paul’s Bay the bus continued down the coast, passing through the near continuous costal development and back into Sliema.

I hopped off in Sliema and found a nice seaside restaurant for a light lunch before heading back up to the bus stop to repeat the tour, this time taking in the views from the opposite side of the bus.

As the tours take nearly three hours to do a full circuit (you do get value for money from them), it was almost dusk by the time I made it back to Sliema again.

From the open-top bus I headed the short distance to the regular bus stop and picked up a bus into Valletta where I went for a bit of a wander and stopped to have dinner.

After dinner I went for a bit more of a wander, taking in some of the areas of the city that have seen significant refurbishment to the fortifications since I was last hear 9 years ago, in particular the area around the Prime Ministers offices.

By now my legs were starting to ache so I headed down to the bus station and picked up the bus back into Sliema and my welcoming bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Sliema; Thursday, 21 January, 2016

Using some of the knowledge I’d picked up the previous day from the open-top tour I was heading out to visit several of the key sights, using the public buses so that I wasn’t so reliant on the open-top bus. After breakfast I headed over to the bus stop and picked up the bus out to Mostar to change for a bus round to Mgarr.

I hopped off on the edge of town and wandered up to the Skorba Temple where I found that to visit you have to buy a ticket from the council offices in Mgarr itself. I had a wander around the outside of the site – in reality there isn’t much to see at this site – and then walked the mile or so down into Mgarr itself and to the Council offices to pick up a ticket to look round the Ta’ Hagrat Temples, located in the centre of town.

Having looked round those temples, which were worth the entrance fee, I headed back to the bus stop and picked up the bus over to Mostar to have a look around the spectacular domed church. Unfortunately, the church takes an extended lunch break from 11:45 to 15:00 and I’d arrived at 12:30 so there was no chance to have a look inside.

Instead, with good luck, as I was pondering what to do, the bus heading to Rabat turned up so I hopped on that and headed up to the old capital where I picked up another land train to take a tour of Rabat and the surrounding countryside, from which there were some stunning views.

Back in Rabat I headed over to look round some of the Catacombs, starting at the small St Catald Catacombs and then moving on to the much larger collection at St Pauls.

With the Catacombs done I wandered back towards Mdina, stopping for a brief late lunch in a café overlooking the walls of the city, before heading into the fortified old capital (or very old capital – it has been over 400 years since Valletta became the capital) for a wander round. At the far end of Mdina the bastions come to a point from which there are stunning views down most of the length of the East coast of the island from St Pauls Bay in the North (the very North of the island and Gozo being hidden by a hill) down to Freeport at the Southernmost tip. I sat taking in the view for quite a long time, at which point I realised that I needed to make a move back if I didn’t want to miss the hourly bus back to Sliema.

The bus managed to catch the back end of the Maltese rush-hour, particularly along the coast road and crawled back to Sliema, so by the time I got back to the hotel I was really quite hungry. Rather than heading somewhere else for dinner I instead stopped off at the restaurant attached to the hotel and had a very nice dinner there, before turning in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Sliema; Friday, 22 January, 2016

The original weather forecast for Friday was not good with a near 70% chance of rain. However, when I pulled back the curtains to reveal a crystal clear blue sky I thought it was likely I could get away with a day on an open-top bus without getting wet.

Breakfast completed and voucher exchanged for a ticket for the South tour I hopped on the first bus of the morning and headed out into the Southern part of the Island. After leaving Sliema the tour headed over to Valletta and did a full circuit around it’s fortifications before heading in land to Paola for yet more ancient temples and the Hypogeum. From Paola the bus headed over to the Three Cities, the original settlement of the Knights of St John when they settled the Maltese Islands, before they had finished fortifying Valletta.

From there the bus headed out into the more rural areas of the South East of the island, visiting the beautiful Maraxlokk harbour before heading back inland past ancient caves (making a note of which buses stopped outside the entrance ready for tomorrow) and under the Airport before heading to the Blue Grotto and the stunning ancient remains at Hagar Qim. From there it was back across the interior of the island, returning back to Sliema.

The bus dropped me off just in time to pick up one of the harbour tours which I duly did, taking in the views of the two harbours that surround Valletta and help make this one of the most important, and largest, natural harbour in the Mediterranean.

From the boat tour of the harbour it was back onto the open-top bus to go round again with the views from the opposite site, making sure I’d got the details correct for places to visit tomorrow, including where the relevant bus stops were and which buses to catch.

By the time the bus was starting on the final leg back into Sliema it hit really bad traffic and in the end we got an extended tour round some parts of the island that aren’t on the normal route so that the driver could pick up the coast road at Spinola Bay and head back into Sliema from the opposite direction. It also meant I was able to get a good view of the restaurants available at Spinola Bay which helped me decide where to go for dinner.

Back in Sliema I headed over to the hotel to freshen up and drop stuff off before heading over to the bus stop and picking up a bus back round to Spinola Bay where I found a very nice restaurant on the edge of the bay overlooking fishing craft and the water. I had a very pleasant dinner, with a particularly nice half bottle of Maltese wine, before heading back to Sliema exhausted and ready for my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Sliema; Saturday, 23 January, 2016

I was intending on having a bit of a lie-in, but the builders in the neighbouring building were having none of it and had the drills going just after 7am, so I was forced into an early shower and an early breakfast.

It did mean I was out of the hotel early and on my way into Valletta to pick up the bus out the caves at Ghar Dalam for a look around them and the interesting attached museum that tells some of the history and geology of the islands, including relics that would suggest that there once might have been pigmy Hippos and miniature Elephants roaming around the islands.

From the caves I hopped back onto a bus to head back most of the way into Valletta to change onto the bus out to the spectacular temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. The temples, along with those on Gozo are possibly the oldest man-made structures on the face of the planet pre-dating anything the Egyptians or Mesopotamians have. I spent a long time looking round the site, so long in fact that I missed the hourly bus back to Valletta.

Thankfully, I was in time for the hourly bus, a few minutes later, round to Rabat which took in large parts of west coast of the islands, including the impressive Dingly Cliffs and radar station. From Rabat I hopped onto a bus back into Sliema and popped back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner.

I was heading out for dinner quite early as I’d seen there were a large number of nice looking restaurants around the harbour in Maraxlokk when I’d gone past on the open-top bus the previous day, but getting there would be a relatively lengthy bus ride so I set off with the clock only just gone 5pm.

Having changed buses in Valletta I finally made it down to Maraxlokk just after 6:30, by which point it was obvious that the bustling harbour side restaurants clearly do a better trade during the day in January than they do in the evening as most were closed.

However, I managed to find one that was open and had a decent meal before heading back over to the bus stop and making the bus back to Valletta by the skin of my teeth (and thus saving myself a half hour wait). Back in Valletta it was a quick change onto a bus back to Sliema, my hotel and the fun job of packing ready for an early departure the following morning.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Sliema; Sunday, 24 January, 2016

Originally I had planned to have a full day on Malta today, but then BA cancelled the original flights and the only alternative were EasyJet flights that left at midday on the Sunday.

After breakfast I checked out of the hotel and headed down to the bus stop to pick up the airport bus.

Much like the inbound journey the bus took nearly an hour of wandering around different parts of the island before finally making it back to the airport, but with lots of time to spare.

I checked in, headed through security and said goodbye to Malta.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ibiza; Wednesday, 17 February, 2016

I’d been working from home so shortly after packing away the laptop and having a bite to eat, I was heading out of the door for the airport hotel, into a miserably wet night.

A smooth journey round South East London had me at the airport hotel, conveniently located next to a Crossrail building site, in less than an hour

I turned in relatively early as it was an earlyish checking in the morning, though being London City the deadline was only 20 minutes rather than an hour before departure.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Ibiza; Thursday, 18 February, 2016

A breakfast taken watching the building work on Custom House Crossrail station and then, after checking out, down to the bus stop to pick up the bus a couple of stops to City Airport and a very quick journey through to the Departures lounge and then onto the boarding gate.

As I’d suspected the flight wasn’t particularly full and I had the whole row of seats to myself so I was quite comfortable for the flight down to the Med.

Arriving on time it was a quick journey through the airport and out to make the half hourly bus into town with a couple of minutes to spare. That dropped me off a couple of minutes’ walk from the hotel and by the time I reached it check-in was open so I was able to get straight into my room, drop off my stuff and head on out into Ibiza Town for some sightseeing.

I headed across town into the Dalt Vila, the old walled city that dominates the natural harbour and this part of the island back to the Phoenician times.

You can walk all the way around the walls of the Dalt Vila from where there are excellent views, and it’s an excellent way to get some exercise as the walls rise impressively between bastions wrapping its way up the hill.

I stopped off at one of the bastions where there was an exhibition on the building of the walls, which I was able to look around before it closed for the evening. However, it was clear everything else would be closed by the time I reached any of the other museums or the Cathedral, so I just continued walking around the walls and exploring some of the small lanes of the old town.

After several hours up in the Dalt Vila I descended back down into the growing gloom and had a quick wander around the harbour area before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

I hadn’t seen many restaurants, or even sign of restaurants when I’d been walking round, and I was quite tired from an afternoon of climbing up fortifications, so I cheated and headed down to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner as soon as it opened at 8:30 before having an early night

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Ibiza; Friday, 19 February, 2016

Up and out early I headed back down to the harbour area to have a bit more of a wander around, particularly to see if there were any restaurants for the evening as the guide book indicated this may be the place to go, and it clearly is – in summer. In the middle of February the owners were clearly taking the opportunity of the island being almost deserted of tourists to do refurbishments and there were lots of places with cement mixers outside and the sound of drilling coming from inside – clearly they wouldn’t be open for dinner that evening!

I wandered up through the harbourside lanes into the bottom of the Dalt Vila and then back up to the Cathedral to have a look around that before visiting the neighbouring museum that charts the history of the Dalt Vila from it’s original settlement by the Phoenicians through the Punics, Romans and Moors to the modern times.

I had intended on visiting another museum located in the Dalt Vila, but that appeared to be closed for refurbishment so that had pretty much exhausted the list of things to do in the old town.

I had a quick flick through the guidebook and found out about some caves on the north side of the island in a town called Port Sant Miquel which were well worth a visit, and a quick check on the bus timetables indicated there was a bus out there in about 40 minutes’ time with one back around 2 and a half hours later, so I headed down to the bus stop with a slightly ominous sky suggesting the afternoon was about to get wet.

I was right, and a couple of minutes into the bus journey the skies had opened and it was bucketing it down. The bus arrived in Sant Miquel where I then found out that during the winter months they don’t continue on down to the Port for the cave and instead if I wanted to visit I’d need to head the 4Km or so down the road to the port.

It had stopped raining so I headed off down the road for a couple of hundred yards before I found out that it turned into a very steep mountain road, with almost hairpin bends, a 70Kmh speed limit, no pavement and effectively a river running down the middle of it from the earlier rain. After a few more yards I decided it would probably be suicidal to continue on down the road, a decision backed up a few minutes later once I was back on a pavement as a massive lorry came tearing past.

Back up in Sant Miquel I now had two hours to kill before the next bus back, nothing to visit, and the rain had started again. Thankfully there was a restaurant doing lunch just opposite the bus stop so I popped in there and have a very nice, and slightly extended lunch in there heading back to the bus stop in time to get the bus back into Ibiza just as the rain was finally ending.

I popped back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out to the Dalt Vila once the sun had gone down to have a look around the floodlit old town.

Back down in the town centre I’d built up a bit of an appetite from all the climbing up into the Dalt Vila so popped into a restaurant I found that was open and had a light dinner before returning to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Ibiza; Saturday, 20 February, 2016

When I opened the curtains it was clear that the weather forecast on the app on my phone was a little wrong. It was suggesting it would be cloudy and overcast with a 60% chance of rain, the crystal clear blue skies with only the occasional wisp of fluffy cloud suggested otherwise, and therefore my plan of spending the day visiting the neighbouring island was still a good one

After breakfast I headed down to the harbour to pick up the ferry over to Formentera. The island is the only other inhabited island in the small archipelago of the Pityusic Islands, of which Ibiza is by a large margin the biggest. According to the guidebooks one of the key defining features of the island is that it is flat and very good for cycling.

I was a little cynical of this boast, mostly because even to the naked eye from Ibiza the island clearly rose up quite a bit from the sea. On arrival I hired a bike anyway and headed off down one of the cycle paths to explore the island.

Almost immediately I was confronted with the main road into the islands capital – St Francis – which was a 2KM almost continuous climb. I decided at that point that instead I would have a look around the beaches and salt pans of the area around near the harbour as they were clearly flat.

I spent several hours exploring the quiet coves, bays and beaches and the stunning disused salt pans. In that time I barely met another person – it was very peaceful and quiet.

I got back to the harbour about 50 minutes before the ferry was due to leave so that I could drop the bike back with the hire shop and then grab a drink in the harbour café before the 40-minute crossing back to Ibiza.

The final approach into Ibiza harbour with the sun starting to dip behind the peak of the Dalt Vila was very impressive. From the harbour it was a short walk back to the hotel where I dropped some stuff off before heading out for a wander around town to while away the time until the restaurants opened at 8pm.

I eventually found a very nice restaurant just off one of the main squares and had an excellent meal there before returning back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Ibiza; Sunday, 21 February, 2016

Having checked out of the hotel I headed over to the base of the Dalt Vila to have a look around the Necropolis.

This city of the dead has been in use from the Phoenician era and the very interesting museum houses a number of artefacts relating to the various burial rights of the Phoenicians, Punics, Romans and Moors who all used the site, repurposing it for their own needs as they went along.

Outside of the museum you can wander around the Necropolis and even descend down into one of the interconnected tombs that have been carved out of the rock.

By the time I had finished the Necropolis I had pretty much exhausted all the sites that were to be seen in Ibiza Town, but still had several hours to kill before my flight back home, so I decided to catch the bus over the island to the next most important town – Sant Antoni and have a look around there.

I had just under an hour to have a look around the town, which was even quieter than Ibiza Town and possibly even more set up for Clubbers and Beach holidays, and that turned out to be more than enough as I found myself back at the bus station a good 15 minutes before the bus back across the island was due.

Back in Ibiza I picked up my luggage and headed down to the bus stop to pick up the bus back to the airport.

The airport, like much of the rest of the island, was clearly operating on a much reduced capacity in the winter months with large areas of the vast check-in hall in darkness and almost all the shops in the departure lounge closed for the winter. Which made it all the weirder that they decided to park the plane up on the airfield and bus us across rather than just using one of air bridges that was lying idle.

If the flight out had been empty and comfortable, the flight back wasn’t. Clearly everyone had gone out to Ibiza in stages, but everyone was coming back on the Sunday evening and the completely full flight meant that the cabin crew were having to make people, including me, give up the seats they had requested as families had been split up.

Cramped into an Aisle seat I hadn’t wanted it wasn’t the most pleasant of flights back to London City, particularly with quite intense turbulence on final approach and a landing that involved several bounces down the runway before we finally made full contact, but at least the luggage came round quickly.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Tenerife; Friday, 11 March, 2016

As it was an early flight I’d stayed over the previous night at an airport hotel, so I only had to make the short walk from the room to the check-in desk at 6am. Which was thankful as the incredibly thick fog meant that getting to the airport that morning would have been very difficult.

The fog was clearly going to cause major havoc with Gatwick’s operations by the middle of the day, but thankfully this early in the morning the plane was already at the airport and the delays were still pretty minor. In the end we pushed back less than 10 minutes late and headed off towards the South.

A strong tailwind meant that we landed on Tenerife around 20 minutes ahead of schedule, and with a reasonably quick run through the airport I was able to get a bus into Santa Cruz not that long after landing.

Having dropped off my stuff at the hotel I headed down into the centre of town to the Plaza de España and picked up the open-top sightseeing tour bus to take in the sights of the city and to get my bearings.

As it was a very pleasant afternoon, and most things were starting to close anyway I decided to do two loops (one on left side of the bus, one on the right) to get the most views, and that left me back at Plaza de España just before 7pm and the very quick sunset that takes place this close to the tropics.

I wandered back to the hotel to drop my camera and stuff off before freshening up and then heading out for dinner, having already found out that on the Canary Islands dinner starts at the more reasonable time of 8pm than it does in mainland Spain.

I had a very nice meal in an Inn on a small square before heading back up the hill to the hotel and a good night’s sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Tenerife; Saturday, 12 March, 2016

If sunset was a quick affair, sunrise was even quicker, and with a West facing hotel window a pretty blinding affair due to the lightweight curtains. Consequently, I was showered and down in breakfast not long after 8am.

I headed back down to the Plaza de España and to the tourist information centre to see if there were any coach or bus tours to the Volcanic parts of the island. I was in luck as there was a tour with a space left leaving at 11am, so I quickly booked on and, given there was lying snow in the mountains, headed back to the hotel to pick up a light jacket.

The tour headed off on time and was pretty soon climbing, something we would do for much of the day given Santa Cruz is at sea level and the peak of Mount Teide is nearly 4,000m. The landscape on Tenerife is stunning, and apparently very predictable. Up to 1000m it’s a fair mix at which point the Canary Pines start, they grow only between 1,000 and 2,000m above sea-level with those points being almost exact and at just around 1,000m sure enough the pines started.

At 1,500m we passed through the top of the clouds and shortly afterwards made our first stop of the morning on a viewpoint looking across to the summit of Mount Teide and down on a sea of clouds, with just the highest peaks of Gran Canaria visible above the cloud level.

We continued to climb and, as predicted, at 2,000m the pines shrunk away to very stubby trees and then disappeared completely as we entered the Teide National Park and its bizarre moon like appearance with old lava fields and magma plugs punctuating the landscape.

The heaviest snow in 15 years had fallen a couple of weeks earlier, and consequently the mountains were heaving with locals not used to such conditions. It consequently made the going slow, and with a couple of people on the tour off of cruise ships who had to be back in Santa Cruz on time, it meant there wasn’t time for us to take the cable car up to the very summit of the mountain, but we got very close.

Having taken in the views of the magma plugs, left over from long since eroded Volcanos and more of the lava fields we started to head back towards Santa Cruz, stopping at a very nice restaurant for a late lunch, before taking a different route back down to sea level near Puerto de la Cruz, again marvelling at the preciseness of nature – Pines starting at 2,000m; clouds at 1,500m; Pines stopping at 1,000m.

As it was still relatively early I picked up the tram in Santa Cruz and caught it out to the end of the line in La Laguna, the former capital of the island to have a look around there.

I had a long wander through the town, taking in the sites and stopping at the towns very interesting museum before the sun started to set and I took that as my cue to catch the tram back into Santa Cruz for a much lighter dinner than the evening beforehand and then bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Tenerife; Sunday, 13 March, 2016

Another early wakeup call from the sun and another early breakfast. I headed down into town and wandered along to the stunning Auditorio. The structure is partly modelled on the Sydney Opera House, with a single curved arch that tapers to a point above the centre of the building (looking not unlike a scorpion about to strike!)

I had a wander around the outside of the building, taking in the views of both the Auditorio and the neighbouring Castillo de San Juan, an 18th century fortification that was one of a number built to protect the Canary Islands from, amongst others, the British.

The whole area around the Auditorio had previously been very run down, with my next point of interest previously being the city’s land fill dump until it was closed, landscaped and converted into the Palmetum, a large botanical garden dedicated to Palms and related plants. Hundreds of examples grow on what used to be an eyesore and is now a green a pleasant part of the city.

Having taken in both the palms and the stunning views over the city and surrounding mountains from the top of the site I headed back down into town and stopped for a light lunch, before wandering over to the main museum in the city to have a look around.

The museum is located in a large building with two wings. On the ground floor there was a very interesting exhibition on the geology of the Canary Islands and how they were formed and shaped by volcanic action. On the upper two floors one wing of the museum is dedicated to the Archaeology of the island and the other to the Natural history of the island – it’s an eclectic collection and at times a little confusing when you don’t realise you’ve wandered from one area to the other.

In the end there was almost too much to see in the museum and they were starting to close for the evening and usher people out of the building as I reached the last displays.

I headed back to the hotel to drop off my stuff and freshen up before heading out for another lovely dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Tenerife; Monday, 14 March, 2016

I only had a little time to finish off looking round the city before I had to head back to the airport for my flight, but thankfully the automatic alarm clock of the sun blasting through the curtains just after 7am meant that I had more time that I had originally thought I would.

I had a quick breakfast and then headed out of the hotel and through the Plaza de Principe, after which the hotel was named, before heading back down to Plaza de España.

In the 1920’s the Plaza de España was constructed, and in doing so one of the fortresses that protected the city was demolished. In 2006 the square was remodelled and it was discovered that one corner of the castle had remained, albeit buried deep underneath the square.

As part of the remodelling access was created to the remnants of the walls and a small interpretation centre was created.

I had a look around the centre, taking in the walls and some of the history of the city’s fortifications before it was time to head back to the hotel and finish packing.

I packed, checked out and made my way towards the bus station, knowing the journey back to the airport was around the hour, which would get me there just as check-in was opening.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Ieper; Thursday, 24 March, 2016

I had a half day from work and so a little before 1pm I headed out of the office and towards the station. The trains were playing up a little so in the end I had a good 20-minute wait and it was fast approaching 2 by the time I got to Euston. Thankfully there was a bus going the couple of stops down to St Pancras so I still made checkin with time to spare.

After all the horrid events earlier in the week in Brussels the security checks were tight and took a bit longer than normal, but it wasn’t too bad and I was sat in the departures lounge for a good 10 minutes before the train was called for boarding.

The train arrived into Brussels a little late, which was good as it meant I had to spend less time in Midi station which was a very tense place, with large numbers of heavily armed soldiers wandering around. Within 15 minutes of arriving I was already on a train heading back out of the station and towards Flanders

Having changed trains in Kortrijk I finally arrived in Ieper a little before 9. Thankfully the heavy rain that had been lashing the trains since Ghent had petered out so I was able to walk into the centre of town and over to my hotel in the dry.

By the time I got to the hotel and checked in it was too late to have dinner, so I had a quick bar snack and a drink before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Ieper; Friday, 25 March, 2016

I had a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading out into town. I wandered over to the Grote Markt, the main square in the centre of town, and had a look round there before walking over to the Cathedral and visiting there. Given the whole of the city centre was just a pile of rubble in 1918 it’s amazing how well it was rebuilt to look like it must have done before the start of hostilities.

From the Cathedral I walked back to the station and picked up the bus out to Passchendaele and the Commonwealth War Graves site at Tyne Cot.

Built around a former German Pillbox this is the largest such site in Europe and the rows and rows of white headstones is very moving, what’s more moving is the much longer list of names inscribed on the walls of the cemetery for those who have no grave as no part of their body was ever found, and the list on the wall here only covers the period after 15th August 1917 as they had run out of space on the Menin gate so decided to add the names of those who went missing after that date to the memorial here. Next to the graveyard is a small interpretation centre that tells some of the background to the Third Battle of Ypres that saw the heaviest fighting around this area. Most moving of all at the site is the single voice slowly reading out the names and ages at death of the men who are still missing.

From the cemetery I walked back to the bus stop and caught the bus back a couple of stops to Zonnebeke and the Memorial Museum in the town. The museum has lots of detail about the Third Battle of Ypres, and also on the build-up to the war in general. The second part of the museum takes you down into the recreation of a British dugout that would have been built at the front to house men on the front line. The final part of the museum takes you up into a recreation of both a German and British trench line to get a better understanding of what they were like.

There weren’t very many people at the museum but even so with the previous couple of days rain it was clear quite how muddy and unpleasant these trenches got.

I caught the bus back into Ieper and had a late lunch and a bit of a wander round, taking in the Menin Gate and the row after row of names of the missing – 54,896 names in total. I then headed over to the market square and caught the bus out to Hooge to visit the Hooge Crater Museum.

The museum covers the fighting that took place in this area, and the craters that were created by forces tunnelling under the ground under enemy locations, packing the tunnels with explosives and then setting them off to create massive craters in the landscape – now mostly filled with water.

From Hooge I caught the bus back into Ieper and had dinner before heading back over to watch the nightly Last Post ceremony that takes place at the Menin Gate each night at 8pm as it has since 2nd July 1928, a continued act of remembrance for the truly horrific cost of war.

After the ceremony ended I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre at night before returning to the hotel.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Ieper; Saturday, 26 March, 2016

I had a large breakfast as I was intending on doing quite a bit of walking today. I headed out of the hotel and over to the start of the city Ramparts. These were built in the 17th and 18th Century as Ieper (Ypres as it was then) has always been a strategically important place. The ramparts now encircle around half the city and include the impressive Menin and Lille Gates.

With quite a few photo stops along the way (and a detour back to the hotel when a bird scored a direct hit on my jeans) it was well into the afternoon by the time I finally made it to the end of the ramparts by the station.

I decided to make a detour away from war and defence and look at something that Belgium is more happily known for. Picking up a bus (I had originally intended on catching a train, but the service was temporarily suspended due to a fatality on the line), I headed into the neighbouring city of Poperinge, the capital of the Belgium Hop industry – vital to Belgium Beers.

In the centre of town is the building that was the former town scales and is now a museum dedicated to Hops – their history, importance in the process of making beer and how they are produced.

After visiting the museum I had nearly an hour to kill before the train back (which had now started running again – I’d checked online) so I had a wander around the town before heading back to the station and into Ypres.

By the time I got back from Poperinge it was about half seven so I headed down to the Menin Gate to take in the last post ceremony before heading out to find some dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Ieper; Sunday, 27 March, 2016

Breakfast completed I headed over to the impressive Cloth Hall to have a look around the In Flanders Fields museum.

The museum tells the history of the war, starting at the end of the period known as the Belle Époque and how the tensions had built up over Europe that lead to the outbreak of the war. The museum then takes you through the main events that took place in and around Ypres.

It is an incredibly moving, and in places emotionally draining, museum but also massively engaging, so much so that I’d lost all track of time and by the time I exited the museum almost three hours had elapsed.

I wandered across town to the Stedelijk Museum which is more of a general museum about Ieper before wandering back onto the ramparts and heading back round to the Grote Markt. As I wandered along the ramparts it became increasingly obvious that the weather was about to take a turn for the worse, so when I got to the square I found a nice café under cover and settled down for a quick drink and a late lunch, just before a spectacular cloudburst took place.

By the time it had stopped raining it was starting to get quite late so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out to the Menin gate for that evenings Last Post ceremony (the 30,262nd such ceremony) before stopping at a different café in the square for a light dinner and then heading back to the hotel to pack

Weather

Sunny Intervals Weird Weather
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Ieper; Monday, 28 March, 2016

I’d originally booked the trip nearly a year beforehand, long before I’d even considered changing jobs let alone having started it. However, but a weird fluke I’d had a request to attend a meeting in Brussels on the Tuesday, so I’d been able to extend the trip by an extra day and work were putting me up in a hotel in the centre of Brussels, so after breakfast I checked out and headed down to the station and on into Brussels.

Of course, the trip and the work meeting had all been booked long before the events of the previous Tuesday when suicide bombers had brought carnage to the Airport and a metro station in the centre of town, which had led to such a visible security operation when I’d arrived on Thursday. By Monday lunchtime that had started to relax down a little with more access to stations, but it still meant I had to be checked off against a list of registered guests before being allowed into the hotel.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I headed out of the centre of Brussels and out to the Atomium.

I had a long look round the Atomium, stopping for a drink in the café located in the top ball, with stunning views over the city, before catching a tram round to the Eastern side of the city and another tram out to the beautiful suburb of Tervuren and had a wander around its quiet park, part of a former Royal Palace, before heading back into Brussels for dinner.

I headed over to the streets beyond the Grand Place where there are lots of restaurants. It was very clear that the city was still quite nervous with most of the restaurants either empty or only with one or two diners. I found a nice restaurant and had dinner entirely by myself before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Ieper; Tuesday, 29 March, 2016

Breakfast completed I reconfirmed I had a late checkout on the room and then headed back up there to get changed into my suit for my meeting.

Meeting completed a couple of hours later I headed back to the hotel to change out of the suit, pack and checkout. I headed over to the Midi station and put my bags into the left luggage lockers there.

I had originally planned to spend the afternoon working out of cafes in the city, but the events of a week previous had meant that my line manager was more than happy for me to not be in Brussels, so instead I headed into the neighbouring city of Leuven and had an afternoon mix of some work and a spot of sightseeing, before it was time to head back to Brussels collect my luggage and pick up the Eurostar home.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Funchal; Friday, 08 April, 2016

I’d been working from home during the day, so I was able to finish work and be on a train to the airport within a few minutes. Not that it did me much good as the train got to just outside East Croydon and then ground to a halt for almost 30 minutes because of an incident at the station. Driver didn’t have any information, but from twitter it appeared to be a disruptive passenger on the platform my train was heading for which required the assistance of both the regular transport police and some armed officers, so I was quite glad I was stuck outside the station.

By the time the trains started moving again the entire evening rush-hour had been wrecked and Southern were in panic mode making alterations to trains left right and centre. Thankfully this worked in my favour as it meant trains that wouldn’t have stopped at Gatwick were being stopped there to meet trains that were starting there rather than in London, so in the end I was only about 25 minutes late getting to the airport.

I took the shuttle over to the North Terminal, and after picking up a few essentials (dinner and sun tan cream as my previous bottle had run out in Belgium on the last trip) I headed over to the hotel, checked in and after a pleasant M&S dinner in my room turned in for an early night as I had a relatively early flight in the morning.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Funchal; Saturday, 09 April, 2016

A painless journey through the airport and onto the early morning flight to Madeira. We touched down around 15 minutes early and had the ridiculous process of catching a bus from the steps to the building less than 45 yards away, but because it was across a service road we weren’t trusted to walk it ourselves.

Luggage came round surprisingly quickly, which added to the early arrival meant I ended up waiting almost 30 minutes for the next aerobus into town.

After checking into the hotel I headed out for a wander, heading to the harbour area where I picked up one of the hop-on-hop-off tour buses to take in the key sights of the city. The tour was quite convoluted as it took in all of the city and then headed out to Câmera de Lobos. It was a pleasant afternoon so I also took the opportunity to top-up my tan.

The bus arrived back in town and immediately set off again as the last bus of the night, so I stayed on to take in the views from the opposite side of the bus, arriving back into town just before 7pm. I had a bit of a wander around the city centre before heading back down to the harbour as I’d noticed there were a large number of restaurants down there.

Dinner completed I walked back to the hotel along the sea front.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Funchal; Sunday, 10 April, 2016

With an OK breakfast inside me I headed out into town and walked along the sea front to the Cable Car station. From there I took the cable car up to the Monte area, high above the city centre and then walked the short distance to the second cable car of the morning to catch that halfway back down a different hill to the Botanical Gardens.

The journeys both underlined how rugged but also lush a landscape Madeira has, with steep volcanic hills and valleys, all covered in vegetation – where man hasn’t engineered enough of a flat space to build on.

The botanical gardens fall away down the side of the hill heading back towards the sea, and the views over the city centre and the sea were stunning. I stopped at a café halfway down the hill for a late morning coffee and to take in the views.

Having looked round the gardens, which took most of the morning, I caught the cable car back up to its top station and wandered the short distance back to Monte, pausing there for lunch in a café by the cable car station to take in the views and have a chicken omelette that I was later to regret.

Lunch completed I headed over to the Monte Palace tropical gardens, again located on the steep terrace of a hill these gardens cling to the terraces with a mixture of Portuguese and Oriental themes throughout the gardens. At the lowest point of the gardens is a small café again with stunning views, this time with the added benefit of a free sample of Madeira wine.

It’s a long hard slog back up the terraces to the top of the garden, though that was made significantly easier through the use of the buggy service that for €2 will zip you to the top in around 10 minutes, passing lots of exhausted looking people on the way up.

Back up at the top I walked round to the Monte church, famous as the final resting place of the last Habsburg King, who was exiled to Madeira at the end of WWI and died here shortly afterwards.

The second Sunday after Easter is the date of the Madeiran Flower Festival, a fact I’d only discovered from the commentary on the open-top bus the previous day, so with the main festivities kicking off in under an hours’ time I headed back to the cable car station and made my way back down to the sea front to take in the parade.

By the time I got down to the seafront there was already quite a crowd present, with the spectators a couple of rows deep the whole way along the parade route, but by careful manoeuvring I was able to get into a space where I could take in much of the parade and get some photos.

Having watched the parade, I headed into the old town area for a quick drink to contemplate dinner, but I was still feeling quite full from lunch so in the end I decided to wander back to the hotel for a bit and then head out later for dinner, a choice I was very glad off as back at the hotel it became clear that the not so pleasant chicken omelette had a reason for not being so pleasant.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Funchal; Monday, 11 April, 2016

I had managed to get some sleep, but I’d been up several times in the night, and never so glad of the presence of a bidet in the bathroom! By breakfast time I was starting to feel hungry again and the gaps between being ill had lengthened so I had a light bite to eat and a lot of water and juice before heading out into town.

I’d always decided that today I was going to do the Yellow Bus tours, and I was glad to be spending much of the day sat down. I started by taking the tour out to Câmera de Lobos where I changed onto the shuttle bus service up to Cabo Girão. The Cape is the 2nd highest sea cliff with a vertical drop in the world, and to make it that more impressive they’ve built a viewing platform that juts out from the top of the cliff, with a glass floor meaning you can look straight down 1,500 feet or so to the beach below.

I’d managed to avoid two showers on the way up to the cape by sitting downstairs on the bus, and skipped a third one by having a cup of coffee in the café at the cape before wandering back to the bus stop to take the bus back down into Câmera de Lobos. Back down at sea level I had a bit of a wander around the town before heading over to the bus stop and picking the tour bus back up to head on back into town.

By now the weather had improved considerably so I stayed on the bus and did a full circuit from the top-deck in the sun, though by the time we arrived back into the harbour area at Funchal I was feeling unwell again. I decided to cut my losses and grabbed a taxi back the short distance to the hotel and about 30 minutes later left the hotel feeling considerably better.

I headed back to the harbour side and picked up the town tour bus to do two circuits of the tour and then went for a little wander around the cathedral area of the city before heading back to the bus stop and picking up the last Câmera de Lobos tour of the day.

For some reason, as it was free, I sat in the front seat and consequently was under cover when about two thirds of the way round the skies opened again and deposited another massive soaking on the island.

Back in town I wandered over to the Old Town area to have a bit of a look around and then to have a bite to eat. I had a very pleasant meal, but still wasn’t feeling perfect so hailed a cab back to the hotel rather than walking the mile or so, once again I was very glad I did as by the time I reached the hotel I was in need of the facilities.

Thankfully, that turned out to be the end of it and I was able to get a decent night’s sleep.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Funchal; Tuesday, 12 April, 2016

I had a decent night’s sleep and headed out into town to take in some more of the sights of Funchal. However, on my way into town I got diverted by the offer of a Catamaran tour along the coast which was departing about 90 minutes later so I signed up for that, and wandered off to find things to do to fill up the time.

Just across from the harbour is a small shopping centre that includes a theatre that shows a 30-minute film on the history and development of the island so I booked to see the next showing, which was in 20 minutes’ time, leaving me just enough time to head over to the Blandy’s wine lodge a short walk away and book onto a tour and tasting for later in the afternoon, just after the Catamaran was due back.

From having not much planned I’d managed to fill up most of the day in the space of about 10 minutes. I wandered back to the Madeira Film Experience and watched the very interesting film about the island and then headed down to the harbour to pick up the Catamaran.

The key selling point of the tour I went was that it was a much smaller catamaran than the others doing similar tours and had an enclosed cabin in case of inclement weather or rough seas. About 15 minutes after setting out in glorious sunshine it proved its worth as we hit a massive bank of rain with strong winds head on. Several of my fellow passengers didn’t have quite such an enjoyable ride as they spent the next two and a half hours being quite ill.

However, once the rain shower had passed and the seas calmed down a bit it was a very pleasant sail out to the base of Cabo Girão, past Câmera de Lobos. The sail out to the foot of the cliffs had taken nearly two hours and I was concerned that I might not make it back to town in time for the Wine lodge tour and tasting, but the current and winds (and another approaching weather front), helped to speed us back into harbour, arriving on the dot of 3 when we were supposed to arrive.

From the harbour I walked round to the wine lodge and went on a very interesting tour on how Madeira wine is produced, followed by the obligatory tasting of the product.

I wandered back down towards the harbour, and stopped in one of the cafes for a late afternoon drink and a snack as I realised I hadn’t actually had any lunch so far, then I headed down to the open-top bus tour stop to make use of my 48-hour ticket and pick up the penultimate city tour of the day.

I was a bit disappointed as the bus wasn’t properly open-top with a plastic roof in place, but about 10 minutes later when yet another spectacular downpour hit I wasn’t quite so disappointed, or soaked. I did a full circuit back to the harbour and then went for a wander along the seafront down to the Fortaleza de Santiago to have a little look around there and the historic old town part of Funchal.

The old town area is home to many of the city’s restaurants so I decided to have dinner down here, before walking the mile or so back to the hotel and another good night’s sleep

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Funchal; Wednesday, 13 April, 2016

With breakfast completed I only had time to head back to my room to pack before checking out of the hotel and walking into town to catch the aerobus back to the airport.

The aerobus in itself is a great sightseeing tour with it winding its way up into the hills on the edge of the city to reach the main trunk road, and on each switchback offering stunning views over the old town and harbour.

I reached the airport with plenty of time to spare, checked in and headed through security into what is basically a building site. They are clearly in the process of updating the airport, but at the time of visiting it meant there were virtually no facilities and an awful lot of drilling going on.

The plane was very busy, but unlike on arrival where we couldn’t be trusted to walk to the plane and had to be bussed boarding was a quick walk across the tarmac and then onto the steps. I’d held back to be one of the last to board as there didn’t appear to be much point in being in a scrum, and as I had a bulkhead seat my bags would have to go into an overhead locker so I didn’t have to worry about finding space, space would be found!

I was very glad I held back as just as I approached the gate yet another of Madeira’s spectacular showers passed over, soaking people who were standing on the steps trying to board. They decided to call over a bus for the 20 or so of us still in the terminal and rather than walking through the shower and waiting on the steps we were bussed to the bottom of the steps and then allowed up one at a time so that we didn’t have to wait in the rain.

Boarding completed we set off down the runway in a heavily loaded and fully fuelled jet down a runway built on hundreds on concrete pillars over the sea, I’ve never been quite so glad to feel the moment of rotation and us leaving one of the world’s scariest runways intact.

Weather

Heavy Showers No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Nijmegen; Saturday, 30 April, 2016

As it was an early flight I’d stayed overnight in an airport hotel and only had to get up 2 hours before the flight was due to leave. Consequently, I had a much less painless journey through the airport arriving at the gate at 6:40.

If my journey through the airport had been painless, the same couldn’t be said of the staff as an IT glitch meant there were no working computers at the gate, and they had to resort to hand writing everyone sequence numbers and surnames down to then cross check off against a print out before dispatching the plane. Despite this, and it being a full flight, we were only about 20 minutes late pushing back and with a quick taxi round the airport were airborne shortly afterwards

A very quick flight later and for some reason landing on the runway closest to the airport and not the one closer to Dover than Amsterdam meant that we were at the gate almost on time, and then it was the usual long walk through the massive D terminal at Schiphol and back to luggage reclaim.

Through the airport relatively quick and down onto the station platform with enough time to make the 11:00 train onto Nijmegen (so only 80 minutes after landing).

I’d forgotten that Dutch InterCity trains differ from their counterparts in the UK and Germany in not being that fast, and it took the full 90 minutes of the schedule for the train to pootle the 80 or Kilometres from Amsterdam to Nijmegen, including a five-minute stop and reverse in Arnhem. Thankfully, the hotel was just outside the station so I was able to check-in and be up in my room before the train had turned round and headed back towards Amsterdam again.

After unpacking I headed out into town, wandering down to the centre and on to the Waal riverside before climbing up into the Valkhofpark, located where the former city fortress used to be. Occupying the high ground in the city (and if you know the Netherlands the concept of high ground is a rarity), it offers good views over the city and the river valley. A couple of the towers and part of the wall remains, but the main remnant of the old fortress is the Sint-Nicolaaskapel which I had a look around.

From the park I wandered back through town to the Grote Markt and after looking round that stopped in one of the many cafes on its sides to have a very late lunch.

Lunch finished I headed back down to the river for desert. The Pancake Boat runs regular 75-minute sightseeing tours along the Waal, but to be honest there is very little to see – either floodplain, industrial areas or docks – so instead of a running commentary or sightseeing the boat offers an unlimited pancake buffet with vast numbers of pancakes being cooked fresh by the on-board chefs to be supplemented by a range of sweet and savoury fillings from the buffet table.

I don’t remember much of the tour, other than feeling very full at the end as I gently waddled off of the boat and headed back towards the hotel.

Having filled up with a late lunch and more pancakes than I’m willing to admit to, and with the sun setting, I took that as a hint to head back to the hotel and attempt to digest my dinner and catch up on my missed sleep by having an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Nijmegen; Sunday, 01 May, 2016

Given I’d eaten quite a bit not that long before bed the previous evening I had a really good night’s sleep, though some pretty weird dreams – I’m blaming the bacon infused pancakes for that. I headed down to breakfast actually feeling quite hungry which I wasn’t expecting so I had another large meal before heading out for the day.

I wandered through town to the Valkhof museum and spent a very long time looking round it’s exhibits including the spectacular collection of Roman remains that help cement Nijmegen’s claim to be The Netherlands oldest City and the large collection of Pop Art in the basement (it’s that kind of museum)

There aren’t very many attractions in Nijmegen and the only other museum – the bicycle museum – is open on a Monday so I was saving that back for tomorrow. Having exhausted my list of places to visit in town for the day I headed back towards the station and on my way passed a bus stop showing a bus into the neighbouring city of Arnhem due in a couple of minutes’ time, so I decided to go for a bus ride through the Gelderland countryside.

The other reason for visiting Arnhem is that it is the twin city of my home town Croydon so I was interested to see what the place looked like. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly surprised that it was twinned with Croydon the only difference being the destruction of Arnhem’s town centre was an act of war, rather than the act of counsellors.

Having taken in most of Arnhem I headed over to the station to catch the train back into Nijmegen and then onto the city of Venlo to have a look round there.

Venlo had even less to commend it than Arnhem, but it did have a couple of decent restaurants so I had dinner in the centre of town before catching the bus back up the opposite side of the river from the train watching the sun slowly start to set as we finally approached Nijmegen.

I had a quick drink in the hotel bar before turning in for the evening.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Nijmegen; Monday, 02 May, 2016

Another long lie in and after breakfast and checkout I headed out of the hotel and wandered over to the nearby Kronenburgerpark to have a look around. Like the Valkhofpark this contains remnants of former fortifications with parts of defensive walls and the picturesque Kruittoren now turned into a pleasant park with a large lake and fountain.

On a sunny warm day, the park was quite busy, despite it being a normal working day. I had a long wander round before heading over towards the centre of town and wandering up to the main church – St Stevens.

The Church and its tower dominate the city skyline, particularly from the river so I took advantage of the church tower being open on a Monday morning to climb to the top and take in the excellent views over the city and beyond. It’s also very easy to see the change in landscape that made Nijmegen such an important location in times gone by with the land to the West flat as far as the eye can see, but to the East hills starting to form.

Having taken in the views from the top of the tower I descended back down to street level and had a look around inside the quite plane and austere church before wandering over into the Grote Markt for a quick lunch.

Lunch completed I headed down to the riverside and had a quick look around the Bicycle museum before it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my stuff and start the long journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Exeter; Friday, 27 May, 2016

I’d been working from home during the day, so within a few minutes of finishing work I was on a train heading into the centre of London and on to Paddington.

I’d gone for an early train as I wanted to make sure I made it in time, but because I’d left so much time everything worked perfectly including the bus sailing through the centre of town from Victoria to Paddington, so I was at the station with more than 90 minutes to spare before the train left.

Paddington on the Friday evening is always a busy place, add in that it was a Bank Holiday weekend, and the start of the school half term holidays and it was clear that the concourse was close to capacity with tempers appearing to fray everywhere as people without reserved seats made mad dashes for the gates whenever a train was announced to avoid having to stand for hours on end.

Thankfully I had a reserved seat, and by careful use of the internet knew that my train would be leaving from Platform 10, so was able to be by the gates as they were released to let us onto the platform. As I got comfortable in my seat the great swarm of fellow passengers surged down the platform packing the train out, and it remained that way for nearly an hour until we reached Newbury.

As the trains were so full, and with extra ones laid on to help alleviate the crowding, it was inevitable that there would be congestion leaving Paddington and by the time we reached Reading we were already the best part of 15 minutes late, time that we didn’t make up as we meandered our way South West by virtually every station.

I now knew why the ticket I had purchased had seen so much cheaper than the one for the train just 8 minutes earlier, that one was second stop Exeter, this one as something like 9th or 10th stop Exeter.

By the time we finally pulled into the station it was long past 10pm and I was knackered so instead of hefting my luggage up the steep hill to the hotel I cheated and caught a cab.

I checked into the hotel and almost as soon as I’d made it to the room turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Exeter; Saturday, 28 May, 2016

I looked out of the window in the morning expecting the clouds and rain that had been forecast, instead to be greeted with hazy warm sunshine. After a swift breakfast in the hotel restaurant I headed out to start exploring the city and started by visiting the gardens and castle ruins immediately opposite the hotel itself.

Having looked around some visible remains of Exeter’s past my next stop was some slightly more hidden remains in the form of the Underground passages that were originally built to ensure that the pipes that fed fresh water to the cathedral and later the city could be maintained without the need to keep digging up the road – what a crazy idea. The passages survived for their original purpose into the very beginning of the 20th century and have since had a life as an air-raid shelter. They’ve been a tourist attraction since the 1930s and are now open for regular tours.

After taking the tour and having a look around the interesting museum I stopped for a quick bite to eat before wandering down through the town, past the Cathedral and the remains of the Medieval Exe Bridge now left abandoned as the course of the river has been changed, and down to the historic Quay side to have a look around.

Whilst down there I saw a sign for a cruise down the Exe to the Double locks – at this point the river was one of the first in the world to be Canalised as needed a couple of locks to get ships from the sea up to the city centre – so I decided to pick up the boat. The route is interesting as in a number of occasions a member of the crew has to hop out, close off both ends of a bridge, unlock it and then swing it round to allow the ship to pass through, before repeating the process in reverse to allow people access back across the river.

The cruise ended at the Double Locks, which is now also a very conveniently and picturesquely sited pub, so I stopped there for a quick drink before the mile and a half or so back into town.

By now most of the sites in the city centre were either closed or about to close, but I still had several hours of light left so I headed over to the Central station and picked up a train out along the coast to the small station at Dawlish Warren.

Between Dawlish Warren and Dawlish, the Great Western Railway, and more importantly Brunel, undertook one of the most impressive, but also idiotic, builds. The railway runs along the top of the sea wall, which makes for stunning photos as trains are lashed by pounding waves – and on a lovely balmy spring evening makes for a lovely walk – but finally proved to not be indestructible in February 2014 when a large section was swept away and the whole of Southern Devon and all of Cornwall was cut off from the national rail network. The walk is very pleasant, with a slight climb at the start over the edge of Red Rock, but then a flat and level walk between the sea and the railway all the way into Dawlish.

By the time I got to Dawlish I’d built up a bit of an appetite so I stopped for dinner there before catching the last direct train of the night back to Exeter Central and the welcome sight of my bed to rest my now very weary feet and legs.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Exeter; Sunday, 29 May, 2016

Another pleasant breakfast completed and I headed out to the station to pick up the train to Okehampton. This is quite a big thing, as the line to Okehampton closed in the early 1970s. However, for the last 10 years or so the local railway company, in cooperation with the Dartmoor railway that now own the tracks, have been running a Summer Sunday service between Exeter and Okehampton. It’s clearly well liked as the train was busy most of the way through.

Arriving at Okehampton I headed out of the station and walked down the quite long hill into town, thinking as I went that I was going to have to do this in reverse later in the day, and then onto the ruins of the impressive Okehampton Castle, located a bit further out of town.

The castle can trace its history back to shortly after the Norman invasion and was in use right up until the point the family who owned it ended up on the wrong side of Henry VIII and his executioner.

I had a long wander around the castle taking in the ruins as well as the stunning views up onto Dartmoor before realising it was time to head back to the station if I didn’t want to spend another 4 hours in the town, which whilst it looks very pretty, probably didn’t have enough to keep me entertained for that length of time.

Back in Exeter I had a quick lunch and tried to decide what to do next. I could have visited the city’s museum as this was my only chance, with it being closed on a Monday, but in the end the weather made up my mind as it was just too hot and too sunny to spent it inside a museum, so I headed back to Exeter Central station and picked up the train down to the coast at Exmouth.

Unfortunately, almost everyone else in Exeter appeared to have had the same idea, and to make matters worse the previous train had been cancelled, so the already full train when it pulled in was rammed full by the time it left and then only proceeded to get fuller at all the following stations – accompanied by increasingly ignored pleas from the guard for everyone to move down inside the train so that everyone could get on.

Eventually, having taken closer to an hour rather than the 40 minutes it should have taken, we arrived at Exmouth and I headed down through the town to have a look around and take in the much more pleasant and refreshing sea air.

The beach itself was heaving, and the queues for the Ice Cream kiosks were horrific, but thankfully I’d spotted that there was a local open-top bus service so I used that to take in the key sights of the town.

I spent some time in Exmouth before finally jamming myself back onto another packed train back to Exeter. Back in Exeter I grabbed a bit to eat and had a look around the city centre in the peace and tranquillity of the late evening, before heading back to the hotel for a quick drink in the bar and then bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Exeter; Monday, 30 May, 2016

Having checked out of the hotel I wandered through town to the Cathedral. Outside on the green it was clear that it was a Bank Holiday Weekend as there was a large troop of Morris Dancers performing, and trying to rope the general public into taking part.

Carefully avoiding the pagan festivities outside, I headed inside the Cathedral to have a look around. The cathedral is pretty impressive from the outside and inside it’s no different with its stunning roof and light interior.

The biggest attraction inside, though, appeared to be the attempt to fund raise by building a Lego replica of the Cathedral. 300,000 bricks at £1 per brick is a good way of encouraging the public to give. Given the small elements of the cathedral that were built I hoped that it had only been going for a very short period of time.

By the time I’d looked round the cathedral it was lunchtime so I stopped for a quick bite to eat and a look at what to do to fill up my last couple of hours in the city, given that all of the museums were closed for the Bank Holiday. I decided to go for the cheap cruise option across the Exe Estuary.

The cheap tour option is to use the public ferry that runs between Starcross station and Exmouth hourly during the summer months. I headed over to the bus station and picked up the bus out to Starcross and changed there onto the ferry.

With the light breeze it was very pleasant to be sailing across the bottom of the Exe on a lovely sunny day and there was quite a lot to see as this end of the river is very busy with moored boats and people generally messing about on the river.

Over in Exmouth I had a bit of a wander round before heading over to the bus stop and picking up the bus back into Exeter.

Back in Exeter I only had about an hour left to kill so I headed for a coffee shop for a quick shot of caffeine to keep me going for the near 4-hour train ride home.

Caffeinated up I headed back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and made my way down the hill to Exeter St David’s station to pick up the train back towards London and home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Trondheim; Wednesday, 22 June, 2016

I’d worked from home so that I could get down to the airport with time to spare, and I was very glad I had as the trains were, as they had been for a number of weeks, in a complete mess. In the end it took nearly 90 minutes to do a journey that should have taken just a little more than 30.

Not that it made much of a difference as the incoming flight had been delayed leaving Trondheim on its way into London and so we didn’t start to board until after we should have departed. Everyone boarded quickly and the doors were soon closed and the plane being pushed back. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for us to depart but for us to be towed off the stand to make room for another aircraft and dumped on the airfield as the next available blot wasn’t for another half an hour.

So, over an hour late we finally headed down the runway and off towards Norway with an estimated arrival time of tomorrow.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Trondheim; Thursday, 23 June, 2016

In the end we made up some of the lost time, and only arrived 45 minutes late, and a little after midnight. Thankfully I’d booked the night in the airport next to the terminal building so I only had to walk a couple of hundred yards to check in.

However, on reaching my room I found that it had been used during the day and not cleaned with dead coffee cups, empty drinks bottles and litter all over the room, so wearily, as I’d quite like to have turned in, I headed back down to reception to complain.

I was told that there were no other free rooms in the hotel, so I then had to wait another 20 minutes whilst a member of staff gave the room a clean including fresh bedding, though they still didn’t clear up all the rubbish. Eventually, just after 1am I got into my room and went straight to bed.

I had a bit of a lie-in and a late breakfast before packing, checking out and heading down to the Flybussen stop to catch the coach into town.

From the bus stop it was a short walk over to the hotel where I was able to check-in straight away and barely an hour after leaving the last hotel room I was in the new one.

Having dropped off my stuff I headed out for a wander around town taking in the key sights, as well as stopping off at the tourist information centre to pick up some guides.

By now it was gone three so I headed back to the hotel for the complementary afternoon pancakes and coffee before heading back out, fortified, for the steep climb up to the city’s small fortress sitting above the centre.

I spent a long time wandering around the grounds, and stopping off for a quick beer in the very nice café next to the main fortress building, so by the time I’d walked back down to town dinner was already being served at the hotel.

After dinner I had a little bit more of a wander in the area immediately around the hotel, before heading back to my room to sleep

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Trondheim; Friday, 24 June, 2016

The shape of the windows, combined with the curtains ensured that darkness was not an option available in the room, combined with really warm overnight temperatures and some particularly noisy gulls outside ensured that I had a fitful night’s sleep, and after a couple of hours napping finally gave up on just before 6am so I had a cup of coffee and watched the southbound Hurtigruten sail into port before I had a long shower and headed down for breakfast.

After breakfast I headed out into town and picked up the tram to take me out to a country park on the outskirts of town. The tram is officially the most northern in the world and the ride – climbing out of the city and up into the hills – is worth it in itself.

I had a wander around the country park, but the large lake ensured that there were a large number of flying things that made walking around it slightly unpleasant as you were constantly trying to flap them away.

I headed back to the tram stop and returned back into town in time for a quite bite to eat before heading down to the fish market to pick up the afternoon sightseeing tour round the harbour and out to Munkholmen.

The tour was very interesting taking in the top part of the river, the harbour, former U-boat pens and ship building yards before heading out across the Trondheimsfjorden to go past Munkholmen before returning to the city.

The tour completed I headed back to the hotel to catch the end of the afternoon pancakes before heading back out for a bit of a wander around town to rebuild up an appetite for the free evening dinner.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander before returning to my room and making another vain attempt to get a decent night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Trondheim; Saturday, 25 June, 2016

I was right and after another heavily disturbed night’s sleep I got up, had breakfast and then headed out into town and back down to the fish market.

I picked up the regular shuttle boat that takes you out to Munkholmen, the small island about 2Km off of the city centre in the Trondheimsforden that has acted as fortress and prison and today is a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours – and some of the locals even use it as a place to go swimming from.

The boat took around 15 minutes to cross the quite choppy fjord to the island. After disembarking I had a wander around the outside of the fortress before heading inside and joining a tour of the former prison that takes up the bulk of the island.

The tour was very interesting giving quite a lot of history of the island and the fortress that was built here before it was converted into a prison. Following the tour, I had a wander around the grounds of the fortress before stopping for an early afternoon coffee in the very nice café in the grounds.

I had a bit of a wander along the beach that makes up one end of the island before the boat arrived and then headed back into the city.

Later in the evening, after dinner, I went for a walk along the pathway running next to the fjord between the station and the site of the former city walls as Skansen.

Then it was back to the hotel for a final attempted night’s sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Trondheim; Sunday, 26 June, 2016

I was clearly getting better at sleeping through the light as I actually got some sleep and was awoken at 8am by the horn of the northbound Hurtigruten announcing its arrival.

After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the Nidaros Cathedral to take in the museums and sights there.

The cathedral is the most important religious site in the country – the Norwegian equivalent of Westminster Abbey – and is the cathedral in which the coronation of Norwegian Kings and Queens is conducted in. Consequently, the neighbouring Arch Bishops Palace museums house a number of interesting exhibits, including the Norwegian Crown Jewels.

A large part of the Arch Bishops palace was destroyed in a fire in the 1980’s and the museum in the rebuilt buildings house many fragments of the former building.

Having taken in the museums I headed into the Cathedral itself to have a look around and also to climb the 170+ steps to the base of the spire from where I was able to take in some stunning views over the city and the Fjord.

By now it was fast approaching 3pm so I headed back to the hotel to pack my bag, check out and head back out to the airport to start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Lodz; Friday, 22 July, 2016

I’d had to travel up to Scotland for work the previous Sunday so I was able to finish work early on the Friday and make my journey up to Stansted ahead of the rush-hour.

I was looking forward to my night in the hotel, partly as it was a relatively early flight from Stansted, but mostly because the hotel boasted air conditioning and the previous few nights had been so unpleasantly close and humid that I hadn’t slept properly.

An uneventful journey across town and up to Liverpool Street and then onto Stansted where I transferred onto the shuttle bus to the hotel.

After checking in and finding that my room was beautifully cold, I headed out to grab a bit to eat for dinner from the neighbouring M&S Simply Food and headed back to my room with my picnic.

Given the lack of sleep from the previous evenings I turned in early and with the air conditioning working overtime had to actually snuggle down in the duvet.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Lodz; Saturday, 23 July, 2016

My first good night’s sleep in several days thanks to the air-con, with a decent lie-in. A quick breakfast and checkout later and I was onto the shuttle bus back to the airport with just 100 minutes until departure.

My previous experiences of Ryanair haven’t been great and I hadn’t used them for 7 years or so – during which they had reached their most penny pinching and obnoxious, however this was apparently new Ryanair so I was willing to give them another chance.

Through check-in smoothly and quickly and the same for security and out into departures with around 40 minutes to spare before the gate was due to be announced. I stopped for a quick coffee and a read of my book before the gate number flicked up on the screen.

10-minute walk later and I arrived at the gate, which was already very busy with customers in long queues – which is odd as even Ryanair now assign seats so it wasn’t for the scrum for the best seats (I’d booked far in advance and paid the extra to ensure that I’d already bagged the best seat on the flight). The inbound flight pulled up at the gate and in the smooth precision that is Ryanair the previous passengers were off and we were boarding within 10 minutes. We were all on and ready to go five minutes before our scheduled departure time when the captain announced that there would be an air-traffic control delay.

After nearly 40 minutes of waiting we were finally on our way and it was an uneventful flight over to Lodz. A quick journey through the airport and into a cab into town.

I checked into the hotel, dropped off my stuff and then headed out into town for a long wander. I slowly walked up the main pedestrianised street taking in the different sights, and, given it was already late afternoon, I stopped for a pre-dinner drink.

Wandering further up I ended up by the Plac Wolnosci at the end of the street, by which point I realised that all the bars and restaurants had run out – so after a quick look around here I headed back down the street and found a nice restaurant for dinner.

Dinner completed I walked back down to the hotel and had a quick night cap in the bar before turning in for the evening.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Lodz; Sunday, 24 July, 2016

I had a filling breakfast and then headed down to the tram stop to catch the tram up to just past where I’d walked to the previous evening- it was a nice stroll, but not something you’d want to keep repeating when cheap public transport is available.

My destination for the morning was Manufaktura – a large retail and leisure park at the North end of town. This may appear an odd place to head, but it is one of the highlights of the city and its new beating heart.

Lodz was a village of some 500 people at the start of the 19th Century. By the outbreak of the Second World War the population was the other side of 600,000 and it was all down to the linen mills that built up around the city. The largest, and most elegant one, was built by Izrael Posnanski and included multiple mill buildings, laboratories, workers housing and his own palatial palace. From the grand days of the late 19th Century the 20th was less kind and eventually the company that had taken on the mills after the collapse of communism itself collapsed and the site fell into ruin. At the turn of the 21st Century the site was regenerated into a leisure and shopping district housing museums, cafes, bars, cinemas and other attractions. The centre of the site was turned into the largest Rynek in Poland.

Rynek’s are the ancient medieval market squares at the heart of the old towns of all of Poland’s major cities (or at least those that existed as cities in the medieval period), so prior to the opening of Manufactura Lodz hadn’t had one.

My first stop of the morning was to the museum of the factory – located in one of the former office buildings – that houses an exhibition on the history of the site from its founding to its regeneration. I also took advantage of the add-on ticket to climb up onto the roof for views across the site with a good information board giving key details about the buildings and what they were used for.

Across the site and in one of the later buildings to be added – a three storey mill – is the ms2 museum, part of the city’s art gallery and dedicated to their collection of 20th and 21st century modern and contemporary art. I had a bit of a wander around that before stopping off for lunch in one of the restaurants on the site.

From Manufaktura I walked the short distance back to Plac Wolnosci where I joined a tour of one of the more interesting sites in the city – the sewer that runs underneath the giant roundabout. The sewer itself isn’t actually a functioning sewer, it was used in the early days as a place to store large volumes of water that could then be flushed down into the sewers of the streets leading off of the square – including the main North-South road through the city. The interesting tour did a full loop of the gloriously cool sewer before returning to the surface.

Part of the reason for going on the tour was to get out of the oppressive heat of the day which I returned to after the tour. I walked down the main street from Plac Wolnosci until I found a pleasant look (and very cheap) bar and stopped there under the shade and with a cold beer relaxing for some time.

After the beer I headed back to the hotel for a little while to get out of the heat, before heading back up to Manufaktura for dinner in a very nice restaurant I’d spotted earlier in the day.

I overdosed on Pierogi’s (Polish dumplings) and so ended up leaving the hotel feeling very full, consequently I didn’t feel like running for the tram and ended up having to wait 10 minutes for the next one back down to my hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Lodz; Monday, 25 July, 2016

After breakfast I headed back up towards Manufaktura and headed to the former palace of Izrael Posnanski to have a look around the museum that is now housed in part of the site.

Having looked round the museum I picked up the tram out to the north of the city centre and the former railway station at Radegast.

In the 4.5 square kilometres between the site of the Izrael’s factory and the station at Radegast the Nazi’s created the second largest Jewish ghetto, which included a section for Gypsies. When time came for the Nazi’s to liquidate the ghetto and send the innocent residents to their deaths it was from Radegast station that they were loaded onto cattle wagons and sent to the gas chambers or Chelmno and Auschwitz.

Today the station is a memorial to those who lived and died in the Ghetto and in the gas chambers. On a desk in the former station building are thick folders that have facsimiles of the lists that were drawn up showing the names of all the people to be deported to their deaths – the sheer size and number of the folders (and they only represent a fraction of the victims) is horrific, as are the example Cattle wagons that are sat in the station as if awaiting their next consignment.

After looking round the site I was intending on wandering back through the former ghetto site, but something made me decide to walk back to the tram stop and I’m glad I did as within 10 minutes a torrential downpour started. It was so heavy that I thought it couldn’t last that long and by the tram made it back into the city centre it would have calmed down, but I was wrong and by the time the tram reached near the hotel it was, if anything, more intense. Rather than dashing for the hotel and getting soaked to the skin I, instead, headed for the closer shopping centre.

45 minutes later, after the worse of the thunderstorm had passed over, the rain was still chucking it down and I realised that I was going to be stuck in the centre for a long time if I didn’t just brave the 70 or so meter walk across the hotel I could be stuck there for hours so, with a slight reduction in the intensity of the rain, I made a dash for it. I got to within 20 meters of the hotel when the rain picked up its intensity again and by the time I reached the cover of the hotel I was soaked.

I squelched up to my room and, after a very warm shower, changed into some dry clothes. I decided to sit out the storm in my room, which by 7pm meant sitting it out in the onsite restaurant as the rain, which had been chucking it down for four hours by now, showed no sign of easing off.

After dinner in the restaurant I headed back to my room and looked out of the window to see that the rain was finally starting to ease off – a little too late to do much with it, so instead I watched a bit of TV before turning in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Weird Weather
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Lodz; Tuesday, 26 July, 2016

The weather still wasn’t great when I got up so I had a leisurely breakfast and checked out of the hotel quite late, leaving me with only a little bit of time before I needed to head over to the airport.

As the morning drizzle had stopped I headed over to the tram stop and caught the tram back out to the top of the former Jewish Ghetto and went for a walk around the old Jewish Cemetery.

The Cemetery houses many of those who didn’t survive the ghetto, as well as generations of the Jewish population of Lodz that helped turn the small village into the thriving city it was by the outbreak of World War II.

Extensive works had taken place near the entrance to tidy up the cemetery and undo the years of neglect that fell across the site following the end of the war, but as you go further into the site it returns more to the wild state that anywhere left unattended for nearly 70 years will return to.

After having a wander around, it was time to catch the bus back to the hotel, collect my bags and start the journey back home.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Freiburg; Friday, 26 August, 2016

I’d worked late earlier in the week so was able to knock off an hour or so early on the Friday afternoon and miss the worst of the rush hour traffic as I headed over to my hotel for the night near Heathrow.

After checking in I had an early dinner got an alarm call set for 5:30, given the last time I’d caught the Saturday morning Basel flight my phone had failed to charge overnight had gone flat and therefore it was only because I woke up in time that I, in a slightly stressed manner, made my flight.

With everything set I turned in for an early night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Freiburg; Saturday, 27 August, 2016

5:30 came rather too quickly, but at least the alarm call worked and I was out of the hotel in time to catch the hopper bus to Heathrow and check-in for the flight.

A smooth journey through the airport, flight and journey through the airport at the other side had me waiting for the bus to Freiburg that I originally thought it wasn’t going to be possible to catch.

Consequently, I was in Freiburg earlier than I thought I would be, and even after stopping off at the tourism office to pick up a Freiburg Welcome Card – giving me free use of the public transport in the whole region, it was still too early for the hotel to cope with as they didn’t have a room ready for me. I was able to leave my luggage in the storage room, but still had a fair amount in my back pack that I didn’t have an opportunity to get rid of, so had to lug around town for the afternoon – in some pretty warm temperatures.

After a bit of wandering around town I eventually found a shop selling drinks and quenched a massive thirst before sitting down to plan what to do. I decided that as it was so hot in the city centre it might be a little cooler up in the mountains so I headed out to pick up the cable car up into the mountains surrounding the city, that was included free in the Welcome Card.

A short tram and bus ride later it was obvious that a lot of people had the same idea as me as the cable car was very busy with lots of people in the queue. It meant the full load of 7 people were being packed into each gondolier, but it did mean that a pretty long queue was being cleared very quickly

The cable car is quite long, with a very steep climb up to the summit, taking around 10 minutes to make the journey. At the top the weather was still gloriously sunny, but a cooling breeze made if feel quite a bit cooler than it was down in town – though it was at this point that I remembered that the of course my sunblock was still down in my suitcase in the hotel, so I needed to make sure I kept in the shade as much as possible.

After having a walk around the top area for a bit I headed over to the very nice looking restaurant built above the top station and had a light lunch and a cold beer, during which a text finally arrived from the hotel saying that my room was ready.

Having soaked up a little bit of sun and finished my late lunch I caught the cable car back down the mountain, the bus back to the tram stop and the tram all the way back to my hotel where I was able to check in, unpack and have a lovely cooling shower.

Once some of the heat of the day had finally died down – so that it was only in the mid-twenties as dusk arrived – I headed out into town for a bit of a wander before grabbing a bite to eat and then returning to the hotel

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
39ºC/102ºF

Freiburg; Sunday, 28 August, 2016

I was up relatively early and after a chaotic breakfast in the restaurant as it was so busy – but virtually no staff on duty – I headed over to the train station to pick up the train out into the region.

The train headed out to the South East of the city and after climbing through the mountains and passing the Titisee (and yes, it is pronounced in a way to raise titters from the English speakers) weaved its away along the hills to the area around the Feldberg, the highest point in the Black Forrest.

I got off at Bärental station where I picked up the bus to the base station of the Feldbergbahn cable car which climbs the last couple of hundred feet up to the summit, and the viewing tower.

I took in the views from both the summit and the top of the tower before descending to take a look around the Black Forrest Ham museum located on the 1st floor of the tower.

Back down at the base station I picked the bus up back to Bärental station and continued on down the line to the town of Schluchsee, which is on the banks of the lake of the same name. Here I picked up a lake cruise boat that did a full tour around the lake, taking just over the hour. Back at Schluchsee I had a bit of a wander around before catching the train on one more stop to the end of the line at Seebrugg.

I had a little bit of a look around Seebrugg before picking the train back up and heading back to Freiburg. I was quite glad I’d gone onto Seebrugg as, whilst there wasn’t much to see there, it did mean I had the choice of seats coming back, whereas by the time the train left Schluchsee it was already full and standing.

I was sat on the opposite side of the train from the way out and so got to see more of the scenery, which was pretty impressive, with the railway and road threading their way through a thin mountain pass and gorge on their way down towards Freiburg.

Back in town I had dinner in a restaurant near the Münster before heading back to the hotel, intending to have a drink in the bar, only to find out that the hotel bar was closed (along with their restaurant) due to short staffing – so instead I grabbed a bottle of fizzy water out of the vending machine and sat on my balcony for a little while before turning in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Freiburg; Monday, 29 August, 2016

Breakfast completed and my bags packed I checked out of the hotel and went for a wander around town.

I started by heading over the road to the neighbouring Stadtpark and from there picking up the funicular train up the Schloßberg hill that overlooks the city centre.

At the top I had a long walk around taking in the views of the city and the vineyards growing on the side of the hill before catching the funicular back down into town and heading over to the Münster.

The Münster is the dominant building on the city skyline with its spire dominating most views of the city. Inside it’s quite a dark church and was very busy with tourists.

Back out of the Münster I headed over to the two remaining gates of the city – now highly decorated and acting as other key points on the city skyline.

I headed back in the direction of the hotel and stopped off at a very nice tapas bar for a late lunch before wandering back over to the hotel, collecting my bags and heading over to the station to pick up the bus back to the airport over the German/French border in Mulhouse.

I arrived on the French side of the airport only to find that my flight was checking in on the Swiss side so I had to walk through an (unstaffed) customs post and cross yet another international border just to checkin.

Bags dropped I headed up through security and back through the same international border into the French half of the airport to wait for my flight back to the UK.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
36ºC/97ºF

Gothenburg; Friday, 16 September, 2016

I’d managed to finish work a little early so headed down to the airport, checked in and went through to the departures lounge for what I thought would be a couple of hours wait until my flight was due to depart.

At 17:35 a text came through from Norwegian welcoming me on board the 19:35 flight, followed a couple of minutes later by another one telling me that the flight was now delayed until 22:30. What had already been a late arrival into Gothenburg got later, and the chances of making the last bus from the airport – that I’d already paid for – started to shrink.

There was no further news for another three hours until just after half 8 when the delay started to creep up in 20 minute intervals, every 20 minutes or so. At this point I bit the bullet and booked for a taxi to meet me at the airport as the arrival time was now past the time of the last bus at 1am.

Eventually, after several passengers had pestered the handling agent enough, they admitted that the plane was on the tarmac at Gothenburg with a fault that was still being fixed. Around 10pm the plane finally took off from Gothenburg and began its journey into Gatwick.

Every other plane of the evening had left and any reminder of it had been cleared from the departures board in the lounge with the exception of ours – still showing Await Gate Information.

Finally, just after 23:30 we received the long awaited gate number and what was left of the passenger population of the departures lounge headed down to gate 16.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Gothenburg; Saturday, 17 September, 2016

The fact we had a gate still didn’t mean we had a plane. That didn’t arrive until after midnight and by the time they had gotten everyone off and all of us on it was already 00:30 before we finally pushed back, just missing the five-hour delay mark by a couple of minutes. On the plus side, it was the shortest taxi I’ve ever had at Gatwick and we were airborne within five minutes of pushing back.

A thankfully uneventful flight landed us at a near deserted Gothenburg airport around 3:15 in the morning. By the time I’d picked up my luggage and walked through the empty customs hall to arrivals it was gone 03:30. The other thing that was gone was the taxi driver. With no sign of them I had to join the very long queue, so by the time I finally arrived at the hotel it was fast approaching 5am.

Thankfully, the hotel I had booked did a very speedy check-in and their beautiful comfy bead had me drifting off within a couple of minutes of my head hitting the pillow.

I woke up, feeling fine around 4 hours later at 9 and decided that I might as well not lose any more of the trip so I got up, had a lovely shower and a very filling breakfast before heading out into the city.

My first stop was, naturally, the open-top bus tour which, due to it being the end of the season, was only running on the Saturday, and then only 4 journeys. I did two full circuits, one on each side, taking in the sights of the city – which was much prettier than I expected the city to be – given it’s the largest port in Scandinavia.

Back at the starting point I wandered over to the Trädgårdsföreningen a series of gardens run by the local garden society that includes a pretty impressive palm house and a large rose garden. On a warm sunny Saturday, the whole area was very busy but also still lovely and peaceful.

I had a long look around the gardens and then walked on down to the Centralstation where I picked up the heritage tram that runs through the city centre to take in some of the sights from a museum vehicle.

After doing the circuit of the tram route I headed down to the harbour area to have a look around, and after purchasing a 24-hour travel card, took one of the ferry services that runs down the Göta älv, the river running through the heart of the city, to take in the views from the water. I’d timed it just right as on the journey back the sun was starting to set lending a beautiful orange hue to the buildings.

Back in the city centre I found a restaurant for a quick dinner. Whilst sat down for dinner the lack of sleep and busy day really started to catch up with me, so after finishing dinner I grabbed a tram back to the hotel for a well-deserved early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Gothenburg; Sunday, 18 September, 2016

The hotel, very conveniently, offers a 6pm checkout on Sunday’s so I was able to take advantage of that and after breakfast head out into town without worrying about packing first.

First stop of the morning was the aquarium and maritime museum located a couple of tram stops south of the hotel. I had a long look around these before picking up the tram again and heading round to the Natural History Museum.

The museum looks like a very traditional museum, with lots of exhibits in wooden cases down long corridor exhibition spaces, and the vast number of stuffed animals does make it more resemble a killing field than a museum, but given the age of the museum you have to kind of accept that’s how things were done back then.

I had a wander back through the large park that the museum is located in to pick up the tram from the opposite side of the park back into town, where I joined the penultimate boat tour of the canals for the afternoon.

After the very interesting tour it was time to head back to the hotel, pack my bags, and head on out to the airport.

I had over four hours till my flight and I had originally planned to stop in the city centre for dinner before heading out to the airport, but for some reason I decided to head straight for the airport bus and whilst I was on it check my flight. At this point it was already badly delayed and I started to get the impression that I might not be flying back to Gatwick any time soon.

By the time I got to the airport the delay had increased so I asked a lady on the Norwegian check-in desk what the chances of the flight actually arriving were. As she worked for a handling agent rather than the airline she was able to be a little more candid with me than a Norwegian employee would probably have been and advised that the chances of leaving tonight would be 50/50 at best, given the flight had never been less than an hour late all year.

Deciding it wasn’t worth the risk I headed over to the ticket counter for British Airways to enquire about the chances of getting onto their flight. The very helpful lady there said there were still a fair number of seats but my best bet would be to book a return flight online, with the return leg really far in the future as that would be cheaper by a couple of thousand kroner.

I checked online and as she’d described a single flight was nearly 4,000Kr but a return flight was a little over 2,000Kr so I booked the plane for 2 and a half hours’ time and a return leg at the end of June 2017 and then wandered back into the airport to the BA desk to check-in.

Through into departures, and a little while later the inevitable announcement that the Norwegian flight had been cancelled came over the Tannoy, and a short while later a text from Norwegian telling me that my flight was now 2pm the following afternoon (that flight was subsequently delayed and didn’t leave until gone 9pm, 23 hours after the original departure time). It was with a great sense of relief that I relaxed into the comfort of my BA seat at the plane pushed back on time and headed me back towards London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Pisa; Friday, 30 September, 2016

As it was an early flight I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel, and shortly after dawn found myself waiting for the hoppa bus back to the terminal.

A smooth journey through the airport and a bumpy flight later I was in Pisa and after catching the bus into town walked the short distance to the hotel where I dropped off my stuff and headed out into town.

I walked up through the city centre, across the Arno river and on into the older part of the city, heading for the main attraction of the town the Cathedral and its infamous bell tower. However, before I reached them I realised that I was actually quite hungry so I stopped in one of the restaurants near the tower for a very late lunch/early dinner.

Sated I headed on to the cathedral square to start having a look around the key sights of Pisa.

I’d pre-purchased a ticket, which included an early evening ascent of the tower so I started off by visiting one of the museums before starting on the main buildings, taking advantage of the early evening departure of all the day trippers from Florence to have a lot of the sites quietly to myself.

I looked around the impressive Camposanto and the Baptistery before heading over to the Cathedral to lo around that.

By the time I left the cathedral it was time to head over to the luggage office to hand my bag in and then head over to the tower to start my ascent

I’d timed my ticket to make sure I’d be at the top of the tower at sunset and I wasn’t disappointed. As most of the day trippers had gone there were only about 20 people at the top of the tower to watch the sun turn the sky orange and then deep red as it descended behind the old city walls.

Having watched the sun go down I headed back down the tower and spent a bit of time wandering around the site in the dusk, being able to take phots without hordes of tourists getting in the way. I then wandered back through town, stopping for a late evening drink in the old town before walking back over to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Pisa; Saturday, 01 October, 2016

I was up early to have a good breakfast before heading out to catch an early train the 20Km or so in land to the walled city of Lucca.

From the station I walked the short distance to the gateway into town and up onto the walls. The best way to see much of the city is from the top of the walls, so I did a full circuit which took around 2 hours to complete once I’d kept getting diverted off to take photos and explore some of the bastions.

Back at the start point, behind the Cathedral, and I turned to head into the city centre. I was just intending on having a wander around to see where I ended up and without even trying managed to find myself in the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro.

The Piazza is built on the site of the former Roman amphitheatre and some of the entrance arches are supposedly the originals. You can certainly still make out the shape of the space from the buildings. As it’s one of the key sights in the city it was pretty busy, but I managed to find a table at one of the restaurants on the square to have a long lunch and watch all the other tourists go by.

After a very good lunch I headed out of the square having a bit more of a wander stopping off at the Basilica di San Frediano to have a look around there before finding myself at the Orto Botanico where I had a wander around the gardens.

The ticket for the Botanical Gardens also included access to one of the towers of the city the Torre Guinigi, easily identified across the city by the trees growing out of the top of it. As I’d paid for the ticket it would seem wrong not to climb it, especially as the wide and shallow stairs most of the way up make for an easy climb. I was glad I did as the views from the top were excellent with the Tuscan hills creating an amazing backdrop to the city.

Back down on ground level I wandered over towards the Cathedral and had a look around that, resisting the temptation to climb their tower, before stopping off at a small bar in the square overlooking the cathedral for an early evening drink.

By now there were the first hints of rain in the air with a few spots occasionally appearing on the pavement, and feeling quite tired from all the walking, I made my way back to the station arriving there just a couple of minutes before a heft shower went through.

Back in Pisa I walked back to the hotel through a light drizzle. Just as I made it back to the hotel the rain started to increase and once inside it spent the next few hours being quite wet. Thankfully I was still stuffed from lunch so decided just to have an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Pisa; Sunday, 02 October, 2016

Breakfast completed I packed my bag, checked out of the hotel and headed on into town.

I wandered through the city centre to the river and then walked down stream for a while, taking in the views of the palazzos on both sides of the river. I had a quick look around the stunning Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina on the banks of the river before continuing on down to where the old city walls met the river by the Citadel.

I had a look around the old canal and remains of the city wall on the South side of the river before crossing over the Arno and following the city walls up on the North bank until they came to the cathedral area.

The difference between the site in the early evening on a Friday and lunchtime on a Sunday was remarkable, with the whole space heaving with tourists – many of them partaking in the photo opportunity of appearing to be either supporting or knocking over the leaning tower.

I had a wander through the area, but it was so busy with tourists that I decided to head away down the first side street I could find towards the botanical gardens – my actual destination for the afternoon.

Unfortunately, the gardens had just reverted to their winter opening times which meant they were closed on a Sunday. With that plan thwarted I instead headed back towards the centre of town and went for a large lunch instead.

Sometime later, and feeling very full, I headed back towards the cathedral and continued my walk along the old city walls.

After a while it was time to start heading back, thankfully I’d already thought that I would be some way from the train station when I decided to start heading back so had picked up a bus ticket in advance, meaning the bus made the 3KM journey back to the station rather than having to walk it.

I picked up my luggage from the left luggage office and made my way back over to the PisaMover replacement bus (the new airport shuttle railway which had been due to open in December 2015, and was definitely going to be open by the end of September 2016 still a bus service on the second day of October) back to the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Thessaloniki; Thursday, 13 October, 2016

Southern were once again embroiled in another strike I’d been working from home during the day so was able to get down to Gatwick relatively quickly, albeit on a Gatwick Express train that was forced to make an additional stop at East Croydon to try and relieve overcrowding.

I’d booked the Yotel cabin hotel at the airport so headed straight there to checkin before grabbing some dinner in the airport.

As I had an early start I turned in early.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Thessaloniki; Friday, 14 October, 2016

I’d set multiple alarms as my small cabin had no windows so I wasn’t convinced I’d wake up in time, but in the end I was awake a little after 4am and after a quick, if very cramped, shower, I checked out and headed over to the North terminal to checkin for the flight.

I’d forgotten quite how busy Gatwick is at that hour of the morning as there is a mass of flights all leaving between 5 and 7, so the departures lounge was very busy. Thankfully it wasn’t very long before we got a gate for the flight – mostly because it was one of the bus gates and they wanted to corral everyone early to ensure they made the flight on time, consequently I was on a bus and heading to the plane whist all the clocks still started with a 5.

We ended up being delayed for around 20 minutes on the tarmac due to air traffic control restrictions, but after that it was an easy journey – if at times quite bumpy – down to the North of Greece and a smooth if quite slow transit through the airport. The same could be said for the bus into town with the first part of the journey being quite quick until it hit Thessaloniki Friday lunchtime traffic and crawled through the city centre.

I’d landed just after midday, but by the time I got to the hotel it was gone 2:30 so I was hopeful I would be able to quickly checkin and head back out into the city, but the hotel still hadn’t got a room ready for me and I had to wait another 15 minutes before I was actually able to check in, drop my stuff off and walk into town.

I headed down to the waterfront and headed along the side of the harbour towards the city centre and onto the White Tower at the Eastern edge of the old city.

I had a bit of a wander around the area before picking up the last open-top tour bus of the day to take in the key sights of the city, returning back to the White Tower around 75 minutes later.

As it was still open I visited the exhibition in the White Tower on the history and development of the city located over the floors of the tower, before taking in the views over the port and surrounding city from the top of the tower.

Back down at ground level I wandered over to one of the boat tours that head off for a quick circuit of the harbour. The tours are free, so long as you purchase at least one of their over-priced drinks (but at €5 for a tour of the harbour and a large cold beer you can’t really complain)

Having completed the tour, I wandered back through town looking for somewhere to eat, before finally finding a very nice Armenian restaurant set off of a small square. I had a very nice and very filling dinner and completely sated I gently waddled the mile or so back to the hotel and an early night to compensate for the very early start.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Thessaloniki; Saturday, 15 October, 2016

I had an early breakfast and headed off into town to pick up the first tour bus of the morning. Having only done one circuit the previous evening I completed a second circuit on the opposite side of the bus before staying on to head back up to the upper town.

I had a long wander around the fortified upper town taking in much of walls and the towers and eventually making my way up to the fortress at the very top of the hill. Unfortunately, the fortress is only open Tuesday to Friday and then only 8-3 so I wasn’t going to have a chance to look around inside, but I had a wander around the edge before heading back towards the bus stop.

I caught the bus down to the next stop at the vast archaeological complex of the Galerius Palace that stretches underneath the city streets for hundreds of metres. Above ground there are only a few visible elements with the Galerius Arch and the Rotonta being the most visible and the first I had a look around.

I then wandered back down through the complex stopping off at the interpretation centre and then having a wander around the edge of the palace buildings which have been uncovered further down the road. As I was wandering around I walked past a run of nice looking restaurants, so I took the opportunity to have a very late, and very filling lunch, before staggering back off to complete my walk past the palace remains.

I eventually wandered down to the end of the complex on the waterfront and as there was one waiting to go out took one of the last open-top tour buses of the evening for a final tour round.

Dropped back at the White Tower I had a bit of a wander around before stopping off in a café to grab a very light bite to eat. With my belly full again I set off on the long walk back across town to my tiny hotel room.

I put the keycard into my room door and it flashed red, which it then proceeded to do on the three times I checked. Clearly my card had wiped itself during the day, or hadn’t been programmed correctly, so I headed back down to reception to get it re-programmed.

It turned out that the reason my card wasn’t working was because that was no longer my room. My string of tweets to the Hotel company had clearly had way more effect than the letting off steam I had intended them on having and the manager was very happy to hand me a new keycard to a much bigger room.

I moved my stuff between rooms and then headed down to the bar for a nightcap before turning in for the night in my much, much larger bed.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Thessaloniki; Sunday, 16 October, 2016

I had an early breakfast as I’d noticed that a lot of the sites I wanted to visit only opened 8-3. Despite that it was still gone 9.30 by the time I finally set off and up the hill to my first stop of the morning the church of Saint Dimitri.

When I got there a service was still in full swing so I had to wait a little time before I could go in, along with a large number of other tourists, so by the time the congregation exited there were an equal number waiting to get in and it was a bit of a crush to look around.

From the church it was a short walk down the hill to the ancient agora and Roman Forum. This is one of the largest exposed archaeological sites in the city centre and has significant parts of a theatre and some of the market area open to look around.

Having taken in the agora I walked a little further, through one of the city markets where a number of restaurants were already open for lunch with beautiful smells emanating, and onto the city’s most important church – Agia Sofia – I had a long look around this spectacular Byzantine church, which thankfully wasn’t too busy with tourists.

After looking around the church I decided that breakfast had been a long time ago so I backtracked to one of the restaurants in the market for a very nice lunch.

From the market I continued my walk across town and onto the Archaeological museum located near the White Tower. There was a lot to see in the museum and I thought I was going to struggle to see everything before they closed at 3 – but it turned out that they were still on their summer timetable and were staying open to 5 so I didn’t have to rush round.

Located just being the Archaeological museum is the Byzantium museum and that was my next stop of the afternoon.

By the time I’d finished looking around the Byzantium museum I had a very advanced case of museum feet and as it was already getting dark I decided to cheat and catch a cab back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Thessaloniki; Monday, 17 October, 2016

I had a bit of a lie-in and then headed down for a later breakfast. After breakfast I quickly packed and headed down to reception to checkout.

I could have walked the quarter mile or so to the train station to pick up the half-hourly local bus to the airport, but my experience of being so full on the way in and the cheapness of local taxi’s made up my mind to be lazy and I asked the hotel to order me a cab to the airport.

30 minutes and just €20 later, I found myself at the airport terminal in time to join the checkin queues. The airport didn’t appear to have much in the way of technology and online checkin wasn’t available so everyone was queued up at the checkin desks going through the manual process – I’d forgotten quite how painfully slow the whole process was, but eventually made it through into the tiny departures lounge with quite a bit of time to spare before my flight back to the UK.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Paris; Friday, 28 October, 2016

I’d worked from home so was able to quickly head up to St Pancras to pick up the train. I had a smooth journey through and was into the departures lounge with plenty of time to spare. It turned out that was with too much time as the train then became delayed, a delay that was only made worse as just before we were about to board another train was put into the neighbouring platform and boarding wasn’t allowed to start until the platform had been cleared of all the inbound passengers.

Eventually we set off around 45 minutes late, and as we were on a non-stop service, there wasn’t any option to make up time so by the time we finally arrived into Paris it was rapidly heading towards midnight.

I could have taken the metro out to the hotel, but it would have been pushing it to make it before the last metro of the night headed out to the hotel, so I cheated and headed for the taxi rank and took a taxi out to the hotel where I checked in and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Paris; Saturday, 29 October, 2016

Given it had been such a late arrival the previous evening, I would normally have had a nice lie in, but I need to be up early this morning to head out to Versailles to be ahead of the crowds. Even after breakfast it was still dark when I left the hotel and walked the short distance to the metro station, in fact it was pretty much still dark all the way to Versailles itself, with dawn only really breaking as the train pulled into the station.

It was a short walk from the station to the palace where, after a few quick photos, I joined the already pretty lengthy queue that was forming in preparation for the doors opening at 9am. Given the even longer queue that was forming outside the ticket office I was really quite glad I’d purchased my ticket online a few days earlier.

Just after 9 the doors open and we all streamed into the palace to start the tour. The palace is every bit the extravagant and enormous structure that the hype makes it out to be, and inside the rooms live up to the ego of the Sun King.

There was a lot to see, and I was very glad that I had taken the advice of several different sources that said you needed to get to Versailles early to be able to take it all in – and to avoid the worst of the crowds. The hall of mirrors was still pretty busy, but looking out the windows you could see the waves of coach parties making their way to the entrance which would in around an hours time make the whole place unbearable.

I looked round the whole of the main palace building and quickly stopped for a very late morning coffee before picking up the Petit Train out through the park to the Grand Trianon – the summer palaces – about 2KM from the main palace, arriving just as they opened at midday.

I had a long look round the Grand and Petit Trianon and their respective gardens as well as walking out to the Queens Hamlet – the full size toy village and farm that was built for Marie Antoinette for her to play at being a peasant.

Back to the petit train and back up to the palace to head into the gardens at the start of the afternoon musical fountains circuit. Many of the major fountains were in operation playing to musical accompaniment. I followed the suggested route that took in most of the main sights of the gardens, ending up at the Neptune fountain a few minutes before it’s single and spectacular, show of the day – so spectacular that they need to close down most of the rest of the fountains beforehand to ensure there is sufficient pressure and water.

After the show finished I had a bit more of a wander around the palace gardens before, with the last light of the day, I headed back to the station and once again was on the train in darkness as I headed back into Paris. I stayed on the train all the way through to the Notre Dame and hand a wander around the Cite area before finding a very nice restaurant on the Left Bank for dinner before finally heading back to the hotel and turning in for a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Paris; Sunday, 30 October, 2016

After a much later alarm call and breakfast I checked out of the hotel and caught the metro up to Gare du Nord to drop off my luggage in the left luggage lockers there before heading over to the south side of the city with the intention of visiting the catacombs.

Unfortunately, it looked like everyone else had the same idea as the queue was massive and well past the two-hour mark so I abandoned that idea and instead headed for a slightly less creepy but equally odd subterranean attraction.

Up until the 1970s you could go on guided tours of the Paris sewer system that included boat rides through the larger tunnels. Those options aren’t available these days, but the Sewer museum is open and it’s possible to head down beneath the streets of the Quai d'Orsay to have a look around a small section of the actual sewer system (albeit mostly the storm drains and guttering system rather than the more human elements of the flows). The museum was very interesting, but with a very warm humid environment and the distinct smell that could only be described as sewage it was quite difficult to stay down for too long so in the end I did skip over some of the exhibits.

Back up on the surface in the clean air (or at least less smelly, but probably more polluted air) I went for a bit of a wander along the bank of the Seine taking in the views before crossing over towards the Grand Palais. I had intended on going inside to look at an exhibition, but the queues there were lengthy and looking across to the Petit Palais the same issue was happening there with queues (it turned out that a lot of sites had free entry for the day which would explain the very long queues.)

As it was such a nice sunny day, and as one was pulling up at the bus stop as I approached it, I decided to get on one of the hop-on-hop-off open-top bus tours of Paris to take in the sites (that were mostly of lengthy queues outside all the major museums) of the city and did a full lap of the tour.

The tours start and end at the Eiffel Tower and back there at the end of a full circuit I realised that I didn’t have enough time to visit anything else, so instead I stayed on the bus round to the Arc de Triomph and then headed down into the metro to get the train back to Gare du Nord to pick up my luggage and then check-in for my train back to London.

Earlier in the day the station had been evacuated as someone had tried to take an unexploded WWI shell through. The service had been playing catch-up all day and the queues for security were pretty lengthy. By the time I finally got through they were calling my train so I headed straight down onto the platform and found my seat.

The return journey was significantly smoother than the outbound and we even arrived back into London a few minutes ahead of schedule, but as it was late and there had been quite a bit of disruption over the previous few weeks to Eurostar services I’d decided not to risk a very late night trip back across London and had booked into the Premier Inn on the Euston Road, and so less than 20 minutes after leaving the train I was turning in for the night ready to complete the last 8 miles of my journey home the following morning after a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Doncaster; Friday, 04 November, 2016

I had a meeting booked with a customer in Doncaster for Monday, so rather than come up on the Sunday evening I’d come up on the Friday afternoon to have a weekend in the area.

A smooth journey across London and onto Kings Cross where I managed to get to the train and my luggage stowed before the vast numbers of my fellow passengers arrived. I knew Friday afternoon trains could be busy, but I wasn’t expecting every single seat in the whole train to be reserved and for all of those to be taken.

I was quite glad work had reserved me a seat, even if my window seat was almost completely made up of support pillar rather than actual glass.

The journey up to Doncaster was uneventful and it was just a short walk from the station round to the hotel where I checked in a did another couple of hours of work before heading down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.

I’d stayed at the same hotel earlier in the year for work, so knew in advance I wanted one of their Yorkshire burgers – burger, bacon and Wensleydale cheese sandwiched between two Yorkshire puddings. When I’d stayed here before I was defeated by it, this time I’d only had a very light lunch and by the time I made it down to dinner I was hungry enough to devour the entire thing. I still had a bit of space left for a small desert so I asked for the Cheese plate, assuming it would be a couple of pieces of cheese – it turned out to be most of a cows output for one year, so by the time I finished dinner I was stuffed and had to gently waddle back to my room to watch a bit of telly before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Doncaster; Saturday, 05 November, 2016

I had a nice long lie in and a very pleasant breakfast before heading out of the hotel and over to the station. As it was such a nice day I’d decided to head out to the nearby North Lincolnshire coast and so picked up the train out to the Victorian seaside resort of Cleethorpes.

Unfortunately, in early November, even on a nice sunny day, there isn’t much to do in Cleethorpes so after a bit of a look around town I headed back to the station and picked up the train back inland a little and up to the ruins of an Augustinian monastery at Thornton.

It was a short walk from the railway station to the abbey and it’s very impressive gatehouse – about the only part of the site to survive the destructive powers of Henry VIII. I had a good look around the site, including both the gate house and the limited remains of the abbey church and cloister.

By the time I’d looked around the whole site, and dodged a couple of very short but quite punchy showers, it had taken around 90 minutes, which was good as the trains on this little branch line are only every two hours. I headed back to the station to pick up the train, catching it on towards the end of the line at Barton-on-Humber before it turned around and came back through Thornton and back towards Cleethorpes.

I hopped off the train at Grimsby to have a bit of a wander round, but it was already starting to get quite dark so I popped into a café to have a quick drink and just to double check on the train times with the intention of catching the bus back to Cleethorpes to pick up the train back to Doncaster.

However, a quick check on the National Rail website revealed that the evening service was gently falling to pieces with lots of delayed and cancelled trains, so instead, after my coffee, I headed back to Grimsby station and picked up the first train heading back towards Doncaster to make sure I could get back.

Back in Doncaster around a hour later I had a quick wander through town to find somewhere to eat and after dinner made my way back through the already quite drunk crowds to the hotel for a drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Doncaster; Sunday, 06 November, 2016

Another long lie-in and pleasant breakfast before I headed out of the hotel towards the station and my first stop of the day the castle at Conisborough.

On the way to the station it was spitting slightly, and by the time I made it onto the platform the skies had opened and it was pelting it down. I was hopeful that by the time I got to Conisborough the worst of the rain would have passed, and to some extent it had, it was just a steady freezing drizzle accompanied by an icy wind then accompanied me on the walk up the hill to the castle.

The Castle itself was very impressive and I had a long look around the visitors centre and inside the keep where it was warm and dry. I spent much less time looking around the keep as being on the top of the hill made the area even colder in the wind.

After looking round the castle I headed back down to the station to catch the train back into Doncaster, and another soaking as I walked back from the station. I’d originally intended on going straight to the town museum to have a look around, but I was so wet and cold I headed back first to the hotel to dry off and warm up for a little while.

By early afternoon the weather had mostly cleared so I headed out the short distance up to the city’s museum and art gallery to have a look around them and spent quite some time there.

Leaving the museum I had planned to visit the Minster, an impressive site visible from the train as you head North out of the station, but the weather once again intervened as another hefty shower passed through and in the end I decided just to head back to the hotel for a couple of hours of warmth before heading out to dinner.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Kiel; Friday, 11 November, 2016

I’d travelled down to an airport hotel the previous evening as I had an early flight, it still didn’t make having to set my alarm of 04:15 any more horrific.

After a quick shower I checked out of the hotel and picked up the hoppa bus back to the airport and after bag dropping and going through to security found some breakfast in the almost deserted departures side of terminal 5.

A smooth and fuss free flight, made more comfortable by the short notice swapping of the plane to a bigger one meaning there was lots more space for everyone. We landed in Hamburg on time and after an equally smooth journey through the airport, with my bag and me reaching the same point of the baggage belt at the same time, I was onto a train into the city centre.

By the time the train arrived into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof it was just before 11 and I was starting to feel quite hungry, so with 30 minutes to spare before my train onto Kiel I popped to a wurst stall and had a very nice bratwurst before wandering down to the platform where my train was waiting for me.

Another smooth leg of the journey and less than 90 minutes after leaving Hamburg I was stepping out of the station in Kiel and into the neighbouring InterCity hotel to checkin. After dropping my bags in my room I headed back out for a wander around town.

I had a long wander around the area near the Hauptbahnhof called the Hörn, which marks the very end of the Kieler Förde before heading further into town to have a wander around the old town area, stopping off at Sankt Nikolai Kirche to have a look around.

Whilst it was quite pleasant walking around the city with the sun shining, as soon as it set the temperature took a bit of a nosedive and with it become quite chilly I headed back to the hotel to warm up a little before heading out a little later to grab a bite to eat and then an early night to make up for the very early start.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Kiel; Saturday, 12 November, 2016

I had a nice long lie-in to make up for the early start the previous day, and after a quick breakfast, headed out of the hotel and next door to the Hauptbahnhof for a journey across the width of Germany, which this far north was barely 100Km.

The train ride was through some very beautiful countryside and across the Kiel canal on the spectacular Rendsburg High Bridge then back round on itself in a 360-degree loop to drop from the very high bridge back down to canal level for the station. The journey continued through the countryside, crisp white with frost (where it wasn’t disappearing into banks of fog) before finally arriving on the North Sea coast at Husum.

I had a wander through the town and down to the harbour. Following major erosion and flooding around 400 years ago Husum suddenly found itself as a major port and a key jumping off point for access to the North Friesland Islands, which on a clear day should be visible from the coast. Today wasn’t what could be described as a clear day as the fog restricted visibility to less than 100m.

I had a long wander around town and eventually found myself at the Schiffahrtsmuseum Nordfriesland so I had a look around that. By the time I came out of that museum I’d just missed the hourly train back to Kiel so I headed back towards the station and stopped off at the NordseeMuseum museum for a look around before heading back to the station in time to make the train back to Kiel.

Annoyingly just as the train was preparing to leave the sun started to burn through the fog and pretty soon into the journey back all the fog had lifted.

Back in Kiel I caught the bus up to the Aquarium about 2KM north of the train station to have a look around that, and as there was still just about time I walked down to the Zoological museum and was able to get a ticket a couple of minutes before they stopped selling them for the day.

After looking round the museum I wandered back into town and back over to the hotel to freshen up, before heading back out a little later to take some photos of Kiel at night and to grab a light dinner.

Weather

Foggy Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Kiel; Sunday, 13 November, 2016

I had a quick breakfast, checked out of the hotel and put my luggage in a locker at the station before heading off into town to visit a couple of museums in the short time I had left in the city.

First stop of the morning was the former Fish Market and now home to the towns maritime museum for a look round their exhibition on the history of Kiel and the sea including quite a bit on the Kiel ship canal – the busiest in the world, and several good models of the harbour over time.

I had a wander up through the old town, stopping off at the Schloßplatz which is mostly made up of modern buildings (being a major U-Boat harbour Kiel got pretty well flattened during the war), and then on down to the Warleberger Hof to have a look round the Stadtmuseum.

By now I’d pretty much seen everything that I wanted to see in Kiel and decided that rather than hang around in the city I’d take an earlier train back to Hamburg and spend a couple of hours there before heading on out to the airport.

I was glad I made that decision as a little way out from Hamburg the train came to a grinding halt and a series of announcements in German, but pretty much understandable in English, first informed us of a broken-down train ahead of us that they were trying to fix and then, after a fairly long wait, the news that we were being diverted away from Hamburg Hauptbahnhof and across instead to Hamburg-Altona on the opposite side of the city. To get there we had to join the back of a long queue of trains shuttling in and out of the terminus so that took quite a bit of time to.

By the time I’d finally got to Altona I had the choice of putting my bag into a luggage locker and having about 40 minutes to look around the immediate area, of which there isn’t much to see, or just calling it a day, not risking any further disruption, and heading straight out to the airport given that the airport S-Bahn train stops at Altona.

I decided not to risk it and 40 minutes later, three hours before my flight was due to depart, I found myself arriving into the airport station to checkin and spend longer than I had planned enjoying the delights of Hamburg airport.

Weather

Cloudy Haze
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
0ºC/32ºF

Gibraltar; Thursday, 01 December, 2016

I’d had a business meeting out in Gibraltar on the Thursday morning and had spent the afternoon working from my room in the hotel.

Once I’d powered down the laptop I headed out of the hotel for a wander around town and down to the Ocean Village harbour to have some dinner.

After a very pleasant meal I wandered back through the city centre to the hotel before turning in for an early night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Gibraltar; Friday, 02 December, 2016

Up early and after a quick breakfast I headed over to the cable car to take it up to the top of The Rock. From the cable car station it was clear that the day was going to be a little misty as the whole of the top of the rock was shrouded in a fog.

The cable car ascended to the top station and as it did it the scenery slowly disappeared into a fog. I was the only person wandering around the top that early so I could watch the Macaques having their breakfast (and fights) before having a bit of a wander around the top station and a quick pause for a coffee.

By the time I’d finished my coffee the worst of the fog had cleared and most things were pretty visible so I headed off for a day exploring the rock. First stop was up to O’Hara’s battery at the very highest point of the rock and overlooking Europa Point – the end of Gibraltar. From there I walked down to the spectacular St Michaels Caves and had a wander around them.

From the caves I continues down the hill past the Apes Den before making it to the Great Siege Tunnels and having a look around them before descending a bit further to the Moorish Castle.

When I’d visited in 2005 this had been closed for renovation so I hadn’t been able to look round. Today it was open so I could explore the Tower of Homage and take in its views up the rock and across into Spain.

I set off on the final walk down from the tower into the town and a well-deserved rest for an ice cream and a drink near Casemates square before walking back to the hotel to rest for a little while.

Having sat down for a few minutes I realised that stopping moving had been a bad idea as I could fee muscles in my legs I didn’t know existed starting to ache, so rather than heading out for dinner I decided to cheat and headed up to the very nice restaurant on the top floor of the hotel which I presumed offered excellent views over Gibraltar, but as it was dark and fog had come down again it was difficult to tell.

Weather

Foggy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Gibraltar; Saturday, 03 December, 2016

I woke up feeling less stiff than I had been fearing but still a bit achy from the previous days walking.

I headed out for a quick breakfast before wandering over to the Cathedral to have a look around and then next door to the very interesting Gibraltar museum and spent quite some time looking round there, which also helped to miss some of the worst of the showers.

I wandered down into the centre of town and over to the Harbour on the off chance that one of the dolphin tours might be running, but with the weather making even the water in the harbour a little choppy it was clear they wouldn’t be running, and the locked-up offices only confirmed that.

I wandered back to Casemates square and had a spot of lunch before catching the bus down to Europa Point, the end of Gibraltar, home to its lighthouse and even today with heavy clouds views across the straights of Gibraltar to Africa. The latter being visible for only some of the time before it disappeared into the cloud of the next hefty downpour.

Retreating to the bus stop I caught the bus back into town and picked up another bus round to the quieter East Coast of The Rock that sits on a thin strip of land where the Rock meets the sea.

I spent a little time wandering round before the rain picked up again and I retreated back to the bus and headed back into town and then onto the hotel.

The weather really started to deteriorate and I spent the evening in the hotel deciding once again to dine in the rooftop restaurant – which had the added attraction of gales howling round it’s windows this evening, before turning in for an early night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Gibraltar; Sunday, 04 December, 2016

I was woken around 8am by the sound of thunder reverberating off the side of the Rock that overlooked the hotel and with the curtains pulled was able to spend a couple of hours watching the most spectacular storm rage with thunder, lightning and sheets or rain heavier than anything I’d ever seen before and really fierce winds.

Whilst this was all very spectacular it was slightly concerning as it meant all the morning flights into Gibraltar had been diverted to, the much safer to land at, Malaga airport and this could have meant a hefty delay to my flight later that afternoon.

Thankfully around 11am the skies started to clear and just before checkout time arrived the rain had stopped so I could check out of the hotel and go or a little wander around town.

I headed over to the Botanical Gardens and Alameda Wildlife Park and spent a couple of hours wandering around there before the skies made it clear they were preparing for another downpour.

I made it back to the hotel with a couple of minutes to spare before the skies opened again, thankfully this time not accompanied by the strong winds so the chance of my flight running were looking slightly better than 50/50

After picking up my bags I got the hotel to call me a taxi and headed back over to the airport. Shortly after arriving the flight before mine touched down, nearly an hour late, but it was here rather than in Malaga so it was with some confidence that BA opened the checkin for my flight.

The weather remained unpleasant with pouring rain, but without the strong winds it was possible to get planes in and the plane to form my flight eventually arrived around 55 minutes late, having held back in London because of the weather.

Eventually we were called forward to board the plane, which was made decidedly unpleasant as it was a walk across the tarmac and up open steps in the bucketing rain, but eventually everyone was on and with a pretty bumpy first thousand hundred feet we took off into the low clouds and back towards Britain.

Weather

Thunder Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Prague; Friday, 16 December, 2016

Normally the journey to Heathrow takes around 90 minutes to two hours. Today it was going to be quite a bit longer, though I was very thankful that I’d taken the decision to stay overnight in Heathrow the night before my flight.

The Southern drivers were on strike and not a single train was running. Whilst I had plenty of options for getting to the airport they all involved a significant bus journey through the end of the school home time and rush hour.

My boss had very kindly let me finish a bit early, so I was already at the bus stop a little after 15:30 but still had to let three buses go past before I could get on one. I got to Croydon with time to spare before the airport bus, which then didn’t show because the traffic was so bad. It had been turned around a couple of stops earlier to get it back on time.

Eventually the next bus turned up half an hour later and everyone crowded on – though clearly only three of us with luggage were actually going to the airport – everyone else was using it as a way of bypassing the lack of trains

The bus crawled through the traffic of South and West London eventually making it to the airport just after 19:00. After a quick pit stop (I had been sat on a bus for nearly two hours), I picked up the final bus of the evening to go the couple of stops up to my hotel for the evening.

I’d booked the trip back in April, and at the time the hotel I was staying in wasn’t open (it didn’t open until late June). Consequently, the booking was a bit hidden in their computer system and it did take some time for it to be tracked down so I could be checked in.

I had a quick dinner in the hotel restaurant and then turned in for an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Prague; Saturday, 17 December, 2016

I had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel and then, leaving several other guests waiting for the expensive half hourly hotel hoppa bus that would take 20 minutes to get them to the airport, I crossed over the road and picked up a local bus (which in the surrounds of Heathrow are free for everyone to use) down into the airport, arriving less than five minutes later.

I walked over to Terminal 3, checked in and wandered through to departures, wondering – given the almost solid fog that was outside – how late my flight would be.

In the end, we were only an hour late pushing back from the gate, though it did take another 40 minutes to make it out onto the runway and started on an uneventful flight to Prague.

Landed and through security I picked up my bag, purchased a 72-hour public transport ticket and caught the bus from the airport to the end of the metro line and then the metro to the stop closest to the hotel.

Thankfully it was only a very short walk to the hotel as in the process of getting off the metro the release mechanism on my luggage broke meaning the handle was stuck in its half-up state, with one of the supports broken away from it. I nursed it the short distance to the hotel and, after checking in, my first port of call was the neighbouring shopping centre to purchase some replacement luggage for the journey home.

Luggage sorted and left back in the hotel I headed out into town and caught the tram up to the castle to have a wander around (and to see if they might have a Christmas market up there). I was surprised to see the much-heightened level of security to get into the vicinity of the castle, with soldiers searching and metal detector-wanding every person going in.

I had a long wander around the castle area, including taking in the Christmas market that was up there, before walking back down the hill and having a wander through the area at the base of the castle hill where I knew there were a number of decent restaurants.

I found a very nice one near the Charles Bridge and had a very pleasant dinner before wandering back over the Charles Bridge itself and down through the Old Town square (making a note of its Christmas market) before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Prague; Sunday, 18 December, 2016

As it had been a relatively early start the previous day I had a bit of a lie-in and a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel and over to the main station to pick up the train to Pilsen (Plzen).

Leaving Prague in the low cloud I wasn’t massively surprised that by the time I got to Plzen it was snowing, albeit not settling.

I had a wander around the city centre and visited the cathedral – deciding not to bother climbing the tower as the views would just have been of snow cloud or fog – before wandering over to the museum of brewing.

Pilsen is the home of Czech Pilsner larger with the method having been perfected in the city during the 19th century. The town is still home to Pilsner Urquell the largest Czech brewer.

I visited the museum and went on the tour of the cellars and underground passageways that radiate out underneath the city centre.

As the tour and the museum both came with a free voucher for a drink in the neighbouring pub I popped in there to make use of my vouchers before making my way back towards Plzen main station and catching the train back to Prague.

Back in Prague I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back over to the area I’d eaten in the previous evening to have dinner, again finding another very nice restaurant near the Charles Bridge.

As I’d done the walk across the Charles Bridge the previous evening I decided that was probably enough and instead I caught the tram from just outside the restaurant all the way back to the hotel for a quick night cap before turning in.

Weather

Cloudy Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
0ºC/32ºF

Prague; Monday, 19 December, 2016

As it was a Monday quite a few sites in Prague were closed, although not everything. After breakfast, I made my way up to the north of the city and the zoo.

The zoo is located on the North bank of the river and located over a large rocky outcrop with parts of the zoo down on the lower level near the river and other parts located high up on the top of the rock – with some animals such as the mountain goats, taking advantage of the cliff face for their home.

My first views of the zoo were that it was quite dated with quite a few small enclosures and several instances of seeing animals pacing up and down in their cages, but this turned out to be only a small un-refurbished part of the zoo with many of the other themed areas having large spaces for animals to move around in – though in mid-December in Central Europe the big cats were quite happy to remain in their heated indoor quarters.

I spent most of the day wandering around the zoo taking in the various animal pavilions and exhibits. I just about managed to see everything, though the time in the Gorilla Pavilion – the last I visited- was limited as on the dot of 16:00 they announced the zoo was now closed and started ushering everyone towards the exit.

I caught the bus and tram back into the centre of town and wandered down to the Old Town Square to have a look around the Christmas Market – and to pick up a few last-minute items. I also stopped off to sample some of the local Christmas food.

From the Old Town Square I wandered back to the hotel to freshen up (and to drop my shopping off) before heading back out for a very light dinner and then back to start packing my new bag ready for the journey home the following day.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Prague; Tuesday, 20 December, 2016

I left my bags with the hotel and headed out for a final couple of hours in Prague. I hopped on a tram and headed up to the Metronome that stands on the high ground the opposite side of the river from the Old Town to take in the views and to have a wander around the large park behind the view point.

I then wandered over to the end of the ridge that the castle is located on, with the intention of wandering up through the castle gardens, but due to the heightened security there was no access to the gardens, you’d have to walk the half mile or so onto the castle and come back down, so instead I hopped on a tram back down the hill to St Nicholas’ church.

I had a good look around the spectacular church with the rococo sculptures and large number of golden statues before popping to a nearby restaurant for a quick lunch.

After lunch I caught the tram round the short distance to the most Legii and descended the steps down onto the small island that the bridge rests on.

It’s a quiet place and from here there are spectacular river level views of the Charles Bridge and the surrounding historic buildings.

Having almost run the battery in my camera to empty and with the afternoon racing on it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my luggage and make the return journey back via the metro and bus to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Innsbruck; Saturday, 07 January, 2017

It was a very early flight, so thankfully I’d come down to Gatwick the night before, but even then, it was still 04:30 when my alarm went off and I stumbled through the shower, got dressed and headed for the terminal building.

A smooth journey through the airport, a comfortable flight and an early arrival into Innsbruck meant that I was already standing outside the hotel in the city centre at 10:30. They didn’t have a room immediately available so I left my luggage with them and went off into the city.

First stop of the morning was the tourist information centre to pick up an Innsbruck card which would give me free entry for all the museums I might want to visit, the public transport, sightseeing bus and some of the nearby cable cars into the mountains.

Just a short walk from the tourist information centre was the old town hall and its impressive tower poking it’s head above the tightly packed streets of the old town. As it was open for taking in the views I went inside and climbed the 130 or so steps to the top and wasn’t disappointed as there were excellent views across the city and the valley floor to the impressive mountains rising on either side.

Back down at ground level I wandered through the old town down to the Marktplatz in time to pick up the sightseeing tour bus. I did a full circuit of the route, including the 15-minute photo stop at Bergisel above the city centre, and stayed on a couple of extra stops back to the Hautpbahnhof and the hotel where I was now able to checkin and unpack.

I headed back out of the hotel and picked up the bus out to one of the many cable car stations near the city, this one allowing me to take the Patscherkofelbahnen cable car up to near the top of the Patscherkofel mountain to take in the views.

By now the snow shower was starting to get quite heavy and so there was quite a bit of cloud, but I was still able to excellent views across the valley over the city and to the sides of the Nordkette mountain range on the opposite side of the valley, though much of those mountains disappeared into the cloud, with their peaks invisible.

On the top of the mountain, even without much breeze the -13C were quite a bit more noticeable than they had been down at ground level, and with only a couple of return journeys left before the cable card closed for the night I headed back down to Igls at the foot of the mountain to pick up the bus back into the city.

I had a wander around the old town taking in the Hofberg and the square around the cathedral before heading back towards the hotel to warm up.

Having warmed back up in the hotel for a little while I headed back out into town to have some dinner before heading back to the hotel in a full-blown snowstorm to the lovely warmth of my room and bed for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Light Snow
AM PM
Very Cold (-20--10C, -4-14F)
-13ºC/9ºF

Innsbruck; Sunday, 08 January, 2017

I looked out of the window to find that there had been quite a bit of snow fall overnight, and it was still coming down quite heavily. After breakfast, I wandered out of the hotel down to the Marktplatz in quite heavy snow to pick up the bus to the Alpenzoo up in the hills above the city.

Given the weather conditions the zoo was quiet with only a couple of other visitors, but it did make it quite nice for exploring, and with several of the animals enjoying the conditions (most of their specimens are native to Alpine conditions so to them the weather was perfect) great for getting photos.

I had a long wander around the zoo, stopping in beautifully well heated café for my own feeding time, before catching the bus back down into town and visiting some of the sites in the Old town.

First up was the Museum of the Golden Roof – a museum dedicated to the Hapsburg family and their rise to prominence in Tyrol before heading around the corner to visit the impressive, and in places slightly over the top Cathedral.

From the cathedral, I wandered over to the Hofburg, the Imperial palace, and had a long visit to the various state rooms that were open. Which was good timing as the palace was due to close for several weeks for refurbishment that evening.

After taking in the palace I walked over to the neighbouring Horkirche, which was built to house the tomb of Maximillian I, the emperor who secured the Hapsburgs power in Tyrol, but who is buried near to Vienna so the tomb itself is empty despite its guard of bigger than life size black marble statues.

As I came out of the Hofkirche I was in time to pick up the penultimate sightseeing tour of the day, so I did that and caught it back round to the hotel again. By now the light snow was picking up again and with the wind increasing I decided rather than venturing out again I’d have dinner in the hotel before turning in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Snow Light Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-7ºC/19ºF

Innsbruck; Monday, 09 January, 2017

Overnight the city’s workers had been out in force and all the pavements and roadways were clear of ice and snow. With patches of blue sky occasionally being visible in the blanket of cloud I decided I’d take the opportunity of it being included in the Innsbruck card to take the cable cars up to the city’s mountain range the Nordkette.

I caught the bus from outside the hotel round to the base station of the Hungerburgbahn funicular and took that up to the base station of the cable car. At the base station, it became obvious that a lot of people had taken the day off work to go skiing and snowboarding as I was about the only person not dressed in luridly coloured ski gear or carting planks of wood to strap to my feet.

Thankfully, because it was so busy the frequency of the cable cars had been increased to the point they were turning them round and sending them back out again pretty much straight away, so although I missed the gondolier as I arrive the next one was only about 7 minutes later.

The cable car takes you up to Seegrube at around 6,250ft and on the journey up we climbed up through the low clouds before bursting out into clear blue skies with the dazzling sun being reflected off the deep snow lining the ski runs.

I had intended on picking the second cable car up straight away and going all the way to the highest station at Hafelekar but the crush of winter sports enthusiasts wanting to chuck themselves down a 70% slope was so deep that I decided to have a bit of a wander around Seegrube first.

The area houses several ski runs, but most importantly a very nice restaurant offering stunning views over the mountains and slopes. Even on a cloudy day the views were impressive with just the tops of peaks popping out above the cloud level, it really felt like you were on a plane, enhanced by the effects of a very crisp larger at altitude.

Fortified I braved the crush and got myself into the queue to take the cable car up the last let to Hefelekar. In the end, I managed to get onto the cable car at the third attempt and got up to the highest point on the mountain to take in the stunning views, which by now also included some parts of the valley as the skies had begun to clear. From the station it is possible to walk up a well-made path to the summit of the mountain, but with all the snow lying around, and the sheer drops, I decided it probably wasn’t intended to be used in the winter so instead, after having a little look around, I became the only person on the cable car going back down the mountain to Seegrube.

At Seegrube I changed onto the main cable car and descended back down to Hungerburg and took in the views from there over the city and the opposite mountain ranges before picking up the Hungerburgbahn back down the city centre and the tram round to the station.

By now it was time to pick up my luggage from the hotel and start my journey back to the airport and the flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Dublin; Friday, 17 February, 2017

I’d been at a conference for work for the previous couple of days, so it didn’t take very long to pack the stand away, pile into a cab and head across the city to my hotel for the weekend.

Obviously, everyone else was turning up at the same time as there was quite a queue to checkin, but the process was very quick and a few minutes later I found myself in my penthouse room (6th floor) with the top of the Millennium Spire just about visible over the buildings.

After changing out of my work clothes and unpacking I headed out into town for a quick wander and then a bite to eat.

Dinner completed I headed back to the hotel for an early night as the previous couple had been quite late.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Dublin; Saturday, 18 February, 2017

Breakfast was very busy and slightly rushed as there weren’t nearly enough tables for the number of people who wanted to eat.

Having finished breakfast, I headed out of the hotel and over to the Dublin Bus office to buy a two-day ticket for the open-top bus tours and with that purchased joined a tour round the docklands area of the city.

The last time I’d been in Dublin to stay (ignoring multiple fleeting trips for work in the preceding 12 months) the docklands area had only just started to be developed and it was interesting to look around the area at the speed of development.

As with London the dockland area is the centre of Dublin’s financial sector with lots of glass buildings nestled round the former docks and the Liffey. The tour weaved its way in and out of the area before returning to the city centre.

From the Docklands tour I crossed over the road and joined one of the classic city tours that was about to depart for its tour round the heart of the city.

I did a full circuit back to O’Connell street and then went off in search of lunch.

Lunch completed I picked up another tour bus to take in some more of the views and to get over to the temple bar area to have a wander round there.

I spent quite a bit of the afternoon just wandering around Dublin before making it back to O’Connell street in time to pick up the last tour bus of the night which set off just as the sun was starting to set.

With the final part of the tour effectively being a Dublin at night tour I arrived back at O’Connell street and, after dropping some stuff off at the hotel, headed out to grab dinner before coming back to the hotel and turning in for the night

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Dublin; Sunday, 19 February, 2017

If anything, the breakfast this morning was even more chaotic and busier than the previous day. I managed to get a seat but as soon as I stood up – actually to go and get some more juice – a couple swooped in and grabbed my table so I decided that was a clear indication that I wasn’t going to have any more breakfast.

I headed back up to my room to pack my bags and then went back downstairs to join the long queue of people checking out.

It took about a quarter of an hour to get through the queue, checkout and leave my luggage with the reception team, but thankfully I was still in time to catch the tour bus back round to the docklands area rather than having a long walk.

My first stop of the morning was the Epic Ireland exhibition held in one of the former customs bonded warehouses by the Liffey. The museum tells the history of emigration from Ireland as well as exploring the Irish diaspora around the world and the impact of the Irish on Science and the Arts.

I spent quite a long time looking round the museum, and by the time I’d caught the bus back round to O’Connell street I was feeling very peckish so I stopped for a largish lunch – given my breakfast had been rudely interrupted.

After lunch, I had about an hour to kill before I needed to get the bus back to the airport so I wandered over to the GPO to look around the exhibition on the 1916 Easter Rising.

It was a very interesting exhibition and in the end I had to skip some of the final exhibits as I realised it was getting very close to the time I needed to head back to the airport.

I wandered back over to the hotel, collected my luggage, picked up the AirLink bus and made my way back to the airport and my journey home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Leuven; Thursday, 23 February, 2017

Storm Doris had been pounding the South East, so I was really quite glad I’d been working from home rather than having to get down from the office in Hertfordshire, but even as I was counting my blessings that I wasn’t caught up in the chaos taking place on the West Coast mainline a tree was in the process of falling onto the line about half a mile from my home station.

By the time I’d finished work and headed down to the station the trains were totally messed up with nothing due for over an hour and even that looking like it might get cancelled and my backup plan of getting the bus up to the tube at Brixton was thwarted as I saw several buses going past all packed to capacity and the countdown app showing there wouldn’t be another bus for nearly 20 minutes.

Thankfully, next door to the station is a very nice cab company, who had a driver available, and after a quick visit to the cash point I was in the cab and heading up into tow.

The traffic was pretty light most of the way in, until we hit Waterloo bridge and crawled across it and up towards Kingsway. By the time I got to St Pancras it had taken nearly 90 minutes, but the locked gates of the tube station, the hordes of people milling around and the general look of chaos everywhere pretty much proved I’d made the best choice.

The cab dropped me next to the Eurostar entrance and I was very surprised to see that compared to the masses of chaos outside inside the terminal was peaceful, calm and virtually deserted. I’ve never been through the checkin and security process at St Pancras so quickly.

Through to departures and I had time for a leisurely dinner in the bar before my train was called.

We left on time and headed out towards the continent, but got stuck behind a slow-moving freight train through the tunnel so by the time we arrived into Brussels we were nearly 15 minutes late. Thankfully my hotel for the evening was just a two-minute walk from Midi station so I was very soon checked in then turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Leuven; Friday, 24 February, 2017

I had a long lie-in and a late breakfast before heading back to my room to pack and head out of the hotel. I walked back over to Midi and purchased my ticket through to Leuven before heading up to the platform to catch the slow train.

I’d caught the slow train as I had an hour to kill before I could check into the hotel in Leuven so I thought I’d might as well kill that on the train rather than having to hang around when I got to Leuven.

I arrived in Leuven and walked to the hotel arriving just in time for the start of checkin so I was able to get straight up into my room and, after dropping everything off, headed back out into town.

I wandered into the city centre and headed straight over to the tourist information centre to book a ticket for the following day’s tour of the Stella Artois brewery. Having purchased that I went for a long wander around the heart of Leuven, including the Grote Markt and the Oude Markt before heading over to the impressive St Peter’s church in the city centre to have a look round that.

By the time I left the church it was drizzling, so I decided to stop for a late lunch at one of the restaurants on the Oude Markt. By the time I’d finished lunch the rain had stopped so I went for a bit more of a walk, finding myself down by the city botanical gardens just as they were closing.

I wandered over to the nearby bus stop and caught the bus back the mile or so from where I was to the hotel and freshened up before heading back out for dinner.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Leuven; Saturday, 25 February, 2017

There were clearly a large number of people staying at the hotel – more than the breakfast space could cope with – so there was a bit of a jostle to get tables and it took a bit of time before I was able to actually get some food.

Once I’d completed breakfast I headed out of the hotel and caught the bus round to the other side of the city centre to visit the Groot Begijnhof. This was a former closed community of lay women – they hadn’t taken holy orders, but were effectively living the life of nuns. The buildings are now part of a world heritage site, and are owned by the university, but you can wander around the quiet cobbled streets taking in the peace and tranquillity of the area.

Having looked round the Begijnhof I headed over to the botanical gardens – the Kruidtuin – to have a look around there, before heading back into the centre of town to have lunch.

I’d booked onto the afternoon English tour of the Stella Artois Brewery that dominates the town, so after lunch I headed over to the brewery to join the tour.

The 2-hour tour included the brewery, the bottling plant and a trip to the brewery bar for a couple of free samples.

With the free samples still washing around inside I headed back the short distance to the hotel to drop off the free gifts and then, after a little while to freshen (and sober) up, I headed back out into town to take some photos at night before stopping for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Leuven; Sunday, 26 February, 2017

Breakfast was as chaotic as the previous day, but I’d clearly come towards the end of the worst of the chaos as it was starting to quieten down as I was eating.

I packed my bag, checked out and left my luggage in the store room, before heading out into town.

My first stop of the morning was the canal area near to the brewery. This had been built when the town housed a much larger number of breweries and was there to link the town to the rest of the country to get the beer out. Over time the number of breweries has decreased and the bulk of the area is now made up of a strange mix of regeneration on one side of the canal, and the decaying former Artois brewery buildings that they left when they opened their new mega-brewery the other side of the main road.

Near to the canal is the Klein Begijnhof – another former lay community – but on a much smaller scale with only one main street running through it, but if anything, prettier buildings.

I carried on having a wander around the city centre, stopping for a late lunch in a restaurant near the Grote Markt before it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up my stuff.

With all my luggage, I headed back to the station and picked up the fast train back to Brussels and the Eurostar home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Cadiz; Thursday, 16 March, 2017

Having worked from home in the morning I was on a lunchtime train up to Clapham and then back out to Feltham, reaching Heathrow in almost record time as every part of the journey connected smoothly.

I had an equally smooth journey through the airport, albeit a lengthy one as the plane was parked out at one of the satellite terminals so I had to take the shuttle train out to it. To make things more interesting BA had the flight showing as boarding on the screens in the main terminal building and there were quite a few people running down the escalators to catch the shuttle – the same one I ended up catching without the need to hurl myself down a very long escalator. However, in the B terminal the screens were all still showing the more benign go to gate.

It did ensure that everyone was at the gate on time and consequently at the exact time we were due to push back the plane was moving away from the gate and out to join the long queue on the taxiway.

It was another 30 minutes before we finally made it to the far end of the runway and could take off into the clear skies of a lovely spring day in London and head towards Madrid.

Just under two hours later and again on time to the minute the plane touched down and pulled up at the gate in Madrid. As we were out on the Terminal 4 Satellite Terminal it was a lengthy walk through the terminal, onto the shuttle train and then through the main terminal to baggage reclaim, where my bags still hadn’t arrived by the time I got there.

Thankfully the bags came around only a couple of minute after arriving and I could head out of the baggage hall and pretty much the same time the half hourly shuttle bus to the hotel must have been leaving, as I didn’t see anything when I got outside, but I ended up having to wait over 25 minutes for the bus to turn up so I must just have missed the previous one.

As the bus had to serve all the terminals it was quite a lengthy bus ride, especially as nobody got on at any of the other terminal stops, to reach the hotel. I quickly checked in, dropped my bag in my room and headed back down for dinner.

I’d decided, rather than trying to hunt out somewhere local to eat – or head into central Madrid and really show I was a tourist by eating several hours before the locals – to head down to the hotel restaurant and dine in there.

After a very pleasant meal I had a quick drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Cadiz; Friday, 17 March, 2017

Up early for breakfast and to checkout so that I could get the shuttle bus back to the airport. As the bus works a circular route the leg back to the airport was considerably quicker as it went straight to T4 where my flight was leaving from.

I checked in – which, despite using the self-service kiosks, involved six different members of Iberia staff in the process and then headed into the terminal to wait for my flight.

We were called on time and all boarded the bus out to the plane. Despite this for some reason, that was never made clear, the flight ended up being delayed by 15 minutes and with that I assumed that I had missed the only direct train from the airport to Cadiz for several hours and would therefore have an expensive taxi ride into Jerez itself and then the slower local train down to Cadiz. The flight was made that little bit worse by the cabin crew spending most of their time talking to a passenger in one of the front rows of the plane so that service didn’t reach the back of the plane before they needed to prepare for landing.

By the time we landed and came to a halt on stand there was less than 20 minutes until the train left, so I didn’t really hurry to disembark or whilst walking over to the terminal – unlike the guys who were off-loading the luggage from the flight. By the time I reached the terminal building my bag had overtaken me and was already going around the belt. I grabbed it, walked out into the terminal and found myself – much to my disbelief – on the platform at Jerez Airport station with time to spare before the train to Cadiz.

45 minutes later the train pulled into Cadiz and after a short walk across town I reached the hotel where I checked in, dropped my bags off before heading back out into town.

I wandered past the impressive post office and main market before heading to my main stop for the afternoon the Torre Tavira – the highest point in the city and home to a camera obscura.

Having taken in the views from the roof terrace, and a good tour of the city on the camera obscura I went for a long wander heading up to the walkway along the old fortifications that also doubles as a sea wall, and then through the Parque del Genovés botanical gardens and on round to the Alameda Apodaca.

By the time I found myself back by the cathedral the sun was starting to set so I took a few pictures before heading back over to the hotel to drop my stuff off and freshen up before heading out for dinner, or on Spanish timing a very early dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Cadiz; Saturday, 18 March, 2017

I had a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading out across the square to the Cathedral to start the day by looking round that. I took one of the quite in-depth audio guides and so had a pretty lengthy visit to the cathedral.

Leaving the cathedral I immediately went back inside, though through a different door and into one of the bell towers. It’s a pretty steep climb up the tower, made slightly easier by it being a ramped path almost the whole way to the top – just a short 15 step spiral staircase to reach the terrace at the top. From the top the views over the city were spectacular, made even more helpful by knowing what most of the things I was looking at were thanks to the previous days visit to the Camera Obscura.

I was pretty much done visiting and considering if I wanted to take some more photos from the top when I noticed the time – a couple of minutes to 12, and this being a bell tower I decided it would make a much wiser plan to get away from the bells before they started their longest peel of the day.

Back down on ground level with a minute or so to spare I headed over to a café on the square for a light lunch, and to listen to the bells going off from a safe distance. Lunch completed I wandered past the cathedral and had intended on visiting the Old Cathedral, which was replaced by the current one as it was too small, but I got there to find that it was closed with no indication if it was just for lunch or for the rest of the day, so instead I wandered round the corner to visit the Roman Theatre.

The theatre is the second largest Roman Theatre so far discovered, with only the one in Pompeii beating it for size. What remains is pretty impressive and would be even more so if everything had remained as it would have been closer to double the height that it is today.

After looking round the theatre I headed over to the port to pick up the open-top bus for a tour of the city, partly to see more and partly because it was getting quite warm to be walking around the city and I thought it would be nicer to be able to sit down in the sun and get a bit of a breeze as the bus moved.

I did a couple of circuits to take in all the sites and then wandered back through the old town to the hotel to freshen up ready for dinner.

I headed out for dinner just before 8pm and it turned out that this wasn’t the best of times. The cafes and bars were already full of people who had been there for a long time, and didn’t look like they were moving, and most of the restaurants were only just starting to put their tables out. In the end I walked for about 30 minutes around the old town area taking in the sites before returning to a very nice tapas restaurant I’d seen setting up to grab the last available table for dinner.

After a very nice dinner with a slight over-order on the olives I wandered back through the old town and to the hotel to turn in for an early night to give me time to digest.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Cadiz; Sunday, 19 March, 2017

Breakfast completed I headed out to pick up the morning tour bus, just to lap up some more sun whilst it was still early (and to make use of the quite expensive ticket.) I did a full circuit from the Cathedral and then on one further stop to La Caleta beach where I got off to go for a wander.

I walked down onto the beach and had a bit of a look around before heading over to one of the two castles that protect the only bit of beach in the old town, and built after the English ransacked the city in the 17th Century, Castillo de Santa Catalina. I had a long look around inside the castle taking in the views of the beach and calm bay.

The opposite side of the beach is the Castillo de San Sebastián. When I visited Cadiz from Jerez in 2011 this was still a military site and out of bounds to tourists – all you could do was walk down the causeway to the first small fort. Since 2012 the site has been de-militarised and a refurbishment in well underway. The first small fort is still very dilapidated, but the larger fort immediately behind it is in much better repair, albeit just an empty shell with the main lighthouse for the bay located in the centre of it.

It was a pleasant walk down the 750m or so causeway from La Caleta to the fort and well worth it for the stunning views back over the city and the whole sweep of the isthmus. I took quite a few photos from the fort before heading back down the causeway to the main road.

I picked up one of the city buses and caught it along the coast to the main beach area, about 4KM from La Caleta and then, having taken off my shoes and socks, went for a nice long walk/paddle in the sea all the way back to where the city walls meet the sea near Puertas de Tierra. At this point the beach stops and its rocks so I took the path back up to the main road and came upon a very pleasant looking restaurant with some seats in the sun so I stopped for a very late lunch or slightly early dinner in the late afternoon sun.

By the time I’d finished lunch it was starting to get quite late and by the time I walked the final kilometre or so back to the Cathedral and the hotel it was already heading towards 7pm so I headed up into my hotel to freshen up (and to wash the last of the sand off of my feet).

Once it was dark I headed back out for a wander through the old town down to La Caleta to take some pictures of the beach and the forts in the dark – though I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t appear to be that floodlit.

Having taken a final few photos I wandered back towards the hotel, stopping off for a quick snack and a small beer in a tapas bar near the market.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Cadiz; Monday, 20 March, 2017

I had to get up for the early breakfast as I had a long day travelling due to lots of poor connections. I could have caught a later train from Cadiz than I did, but that would only have gotten me to Jerez station rather than the airport so I would have had to pay for a taxi (no buses in time) for the sake of an extra 40 minutes waiting it didn’t feel worth it.

A very smooth journey from Cadiz to Jerez Airport where I had to wait nearly 40 minutes before checkin even opened and then another 90 minutes through in departures before we could board.

An equally smooth flight to Madrid that arrived five minutes early and with my luggage popping round on the belt shortly after I got to the baggage hall, and no queues at the BA desks to check back in I found myself back on the secure side of the airport less than 40 minutes after stepping off the previous flight and with another 3 hour wait ahead of me

Thankfully Madrid is a large airport, at the very least having a walk along the terminal filled up quite a lot of time, before we were called to board the BA flight for the final leg back to London

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Mannheim; Friday, 31 March, 2017

Having stayed overnight near City airport meant that I could still be having breakfast in the hotel 90 minutes before departure. I checked out of the hotel and walked down to the bus stop to take the bus a couple of stops round to the airport, drop off my bags and wander through to the departures lounge.

The flight was called not long after I got through to departures so I wandered down to the gate to board. Unfortunately, a group of tourists had kicked up a fuss about not being able to sit together on a 70-minute flight from London to Germany and the airline had decided to cave into their protests, consequently when I went to board I was told that my seat had been moved from the back of the plane, where it should have been quiet, to the middle where I was surrounded by screaming babies (and given it was a small plane I knew they would be badly effected on final approach into Frankfurt).

As suspected a generally smooth flight was ended with a series of howls from the various babies as the plane made its final, and quite bumpy, approach into Frankfurt. After landing we taxied for the best part of 15 minutes to get to a stand, and then had a 10-minute bus ride back pretty much to the same place where the plane came off the runway.

Through immigration and luggage, I wandered down to the railway station to pick up the train. Due to the timing it was considerably quicker to head into Frankfurt city centre and come back out again rather than waiting a long time for the next direct train to Mannheim, so I did that.

In the end it worked out even quicker than I was expecting as the preceding train to Mannheim had been delayed on an earlier journey and rather than missing it by 20 minutes I was able to catch it with a couple of minutes to spare, so made it into Mannheim well ahead of when I was expecting.

I wandered over to the tram stop outside the Hauptbahnhof and brought a three-day public transport ticket before hopping on the tram out to the hotel to check in.

Once I’d dropped off all my stuff I headed out into town for a wander, with no particular destination in mind. I headed through town, past the main museum and then down to the Rhein riverside to take the views across the river. The river at this point forms the boundary of not just Mannheim from its sister city of Ludwigshafen on the opposite bank, but also the state line between Baden-Wurttemberg and Rheinland-Palatine, and the number of flags up indicated the two sides wanted to make sure people knew which side of the state line they were on.

I wandered down the river until I was into the harbour area, which wasn’t particularly interesting so I picked up a tram back round into Mannheim city centre via Ludwigshafen to take in the views over the two bridges.

After a quick pit stop for a very late lunch I headed over to the Water Tower, one of the main landmarks of the city for a look around the pleasant park space that the tower is in. As it was still quite early I decided to go on a sightseeing tram ride round the region. The number 5 tram runs as a circular route through the neighbouring towns out as far as Heidelberg before heading back, with the route running either side of the Neckar river. The full loop took just over 2 hours to complete and there were some very interesting views along the way.

By the time I got back into Mannheim it was starting to get dark so I grabbed a bite to eat before returning to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Mannheim; Saturday, 01 April, 2017

I had a long lie in and a late breakfast before heading out into town. I started off by having a wander down to the Neckar river, the other river that runs through the city centre, and had a long walk along the river bank.

By now I’d taken in much of the city centre, so I decided to catch a train and head out to the nearby Cathedral City of Worms to have a look round there.

It was a short 30 minute or so ride on the train out to Worms and then a short walk into the city centre and the very impressive Cathedral. I had a wander around the Cathedral gardens before heading inside the Cathedral for a look around.

After visiting the Cathedral I went for a wander through the city centre, unfortunately I’d mistimed it and I arrived at the old Synagogue just after they had closed for the evening so wasn’t able to look around that, but just around the corner were the old city walls so I was able to follow those for an interesting walk around part of the old city defences.

By now it was starting to get late so I headed back to the station and caught the train back to Mannheim where I went in search of dinner for the evening.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Mannheim; Sunday, 02 April, 2017

I didn’t have that much time left in Mannheim before I needed to start heading back towards Frankfurt for my flight home, but I did have enough time to visit the spectacular baroque palace in the city centre.

Once one of the most important palaces in Germany it’s importance started to wane after Mannheim was swallowed up into Baden, and these days a large part of the palace building is occupied by the University. However, a section in the centre of the palace is still owned by the state and is open as a museum both the how the royals of the time lived, but also covering some of the history of the city.

I had a long wander round the palace rooms and the exhibitions, making full use of the supplied audio guide.

From the Palace I wandered over the road to the nearby spectacular church with its domes and towers and had a look around that, before finally wandering back down to the market for a quick look round there before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my bags and make my way back to Frankfurt Airport.

Back at Mannheim Hauptbahnhof I quickly found out that I could have had a bit longer as the train I was booked on had been retimed due to engineering works and was running nearly 30 minutes later than the time on my ticket, so in the end I spent quite a bit of time just sat on the platform waiting for it.

The train was one of Deutsche Bahn’s sleek ICE high speed trains, which was slightly defeated by the fact that between Mannheim and Frankfurt it has to run on the normal lines, but it was very comfortable for the 40 minute journey back to the airport.

Back at Frankfurt Airport I checked my luggage in and headed for security and the flight home.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

New York; Thursday, 13 April, 2017

I’d booked a half days leave and had been working from home for the morning so I was able to set off for the airport as soon as I hit shutdown on my laptop.

I had a smooth journey across London to Heathrow and was dropping my bag off three hours before departure time, only to find that the flight had just been delayed by two hours.

In the end I had nearly four hours to kill in the terminal building before we were finally called to go to the gate in the B satellite terminal and then onto a bus out to the jet.

Once on board the pilot finally explained the reason for the delay – the original plane had developed a fault on its way into Heathrow in the morning which required a major fix so they had had to swap over the jets for one which was being kept as a hot-spare, but it had needed much longer to be gotten ready for departure (probably a good dusting as well).

So two hours late we finally pushed back from the stand, headed for the runway and took off into the spring afternoon sunshine.

It was a smooth flight across the Atlantic, and we could make up a little bit of the lost time, but we were still more than 90 minutes late by the time we landed and it was starting to get dark as we taxied to the stand.

I had heard lots of horror stories of the time it takes to get through US immigration, in particular at JFK. I don’t know if the delay had helped, if it was just quiet or that things had improved, but I was through immigration in around 25 minutes and quickly afterwards had my bag and was through customs to the arrivals lounge where I checked in for my shuttle to the hotel.

We had to wait about 20 minutes for the shuttle, which also then proceeded to wander round the other terminals picking up other passengers and then, despite the fact it was close to 22:30, got stuck in traffic on the way into New York.

By the time I got to the hotel it was gone 11pm local time (I was trying to ignore the fact that I’d been up since before 6 and in effect it was now 4am back in the UK), so after checking in I headed straight for my room and turned in for the night without even unpacking.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

New York; Friday, 14 April, 2017

Possibly because it had been such a late arrival I got a good night’s sleep and woke at the relatively sensible time of 7am so I unpacked my luggage had a shower and headed down to reception to get a recommendation for somewhere to get breakfast. They suggested a diner a block away so I headed over there for breakfast.

Having consumed a breakfast that was fast approaching my own body weight – and by some way not the largest thing on the menu – I headed back to the hotel to pick up my camera and bag and then headed out into the city.

First stop was just across from the hotel – the World Trade Centre site. As it was still early there were very few tourists around so I was able to take in the two memorial pools, located on the footprints of the twin towers, in the quiet. After having a look at the memorial I headed over to the new One World Trade Centre, given the same name as the North Tower it’s now the tallest building in the Western hemisphere and the top few floors have been opened up as an observation tower.

As it was early I could walk straight up to the ticket desk, get a ticket, get through security and get into a lift within a couple of minutes which zipped me up to the top of the building. From the viewing gallery on the 100th floor there were spectacular views over Manhattan, Liberty and Ellis islands, Brooklyn and up both the East and Hudson rivers. I spent quite a long time taking in the views before finally heading back down to ground level.

By the time I got back down to ground level the whole area was heaving – with the queue to get tickets now very long and the area around the memorial no longer as quiet as it had been earlier. From the WTC I wandered through the neighbouring streets until I reached Wall Street and had a bit of a wander around the financial district, taking in both the Charging Bull and the Fearless Girl statues before heading through Bowling Green and the Battery Park to the Staten Island Ferry terminal.

At this point I decided to head uptown to the heart of Manhattan so I hopped on the Subway up to Times Square – which turned out to be even busier than the area round the World Trade Centre had been.

As I was wandering around I came across the bus stop for one of the many open-top tour companies offering bus tours of New York – this one had the advantage of having buses on stand, staff available to sell tickets and quite short queues so I paid for my two day ticket and boarded the Downtown tour.

I took in a full circuit of the downtown tour, back to Times Square where I changed onto the uptown tour and did a circuit of that. Back in Times Square I had a bit of a walk around until the time was right to head back to the bus stop, as the sun set, to pick up the night tour.

By the time I’d completed the night tour it was gone 9pm and I realised I was quite hungry. Thankfully the tour stopped just opposite a pizzeria which was serving giant New York pizzas by the slice so I had a couple of slices before catching the subway back to my hotel and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

New York; Saturday, 15 April, 2017

I was up again at 7am so I headed over to the diner to grab breakfast and then headed down to the harbour area to pick up the river cruise that was included in the bus ticket.

I’d headed down early as I though the crowds might be quite big later in the day, but it turned out that everyone else had had the same idea, so despite being at the slipway nearly 30 minutes before the departure time I was still at the back of a very long queue. So long in fact that there were still about a dozen people ahead of me when they stopped boarding for the first cruise of the morning and set off. Unfortunately, there was only one boat in this operation so I had to wait in line for another 90 minutes before the boat returned, but at least it meant I was able to get a very good seat when we did start boarding.

The boat took in the East and Hudson rivers before heading out past Liberty Island where I could get a lot of good pictures of the Statue of Liberty before we headed back to the slip way to disembark. The queue of people waiting was significantly longer than it had been when I’d been in it so I was quite glad I had continued to wait as I suspect some of the people towards the back may have had waits of over 4 hours to board.

I walked round to Battery Park and picked up the next tour bus to head round the city and back over to City Hall where I got off and headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge to go for a wander across it.

Once again, I appeared to have had the same idea as every other tourist in the city as the walkway was heaving for the first part of the walk. However, once past the first tower it looked like most people were turning back so the walk between the two towers and down into Brooklyn was much quieter and I was able to get better views of the river, Manhattan and the impressive bridge itself.

Whilst the bridge itself isn’t that long the slipways onto and off of it are very long, and on the Brooklyn side added a good half mile or so more onto the walk, so that by the time I finally made it to a Subway station I was knackered.

I decided to catch the Subway back to the hotel for a bit of a rest and a freshen up before heading back out to grab some dinner and then turning in early for a good night’s rest.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

New York; Sunday, 16 April, 2017

Another early start, breakfast in the diner and then off up to Times Square to pick up the once a day tour of the Bronx.

Thankfully I’d learnt from the previous day and was at the bus stop very early, but there were still about 20 people ahead of me in the queue. In the end the bus left about 10 minutes early as it was completely full (I can only assume there must have been another bus behind us as nobody appeared to be really kicking off in the queue).

Unlike the other tours this one had a live guide who gave quite a bit more information and a bit of a locals view on many of the areas we passed through on the tour – including offering lots of suggestions of places to go both for sites and to eat (probably receiving a healthy commission on each!)

Back at Times Square I had about 90 minutes’ time left on the ticket so I picked up the downtown bus and took it round to the start of the High Line.

The former goods railway has been turned into a spectacular urban park, taking advantage of the trees and flowers that seeded themselves on the line once it closed to trains with added planting to make it more of a city oasis.

The line runs for just under 2 miles down to Penn Street Station and I wandered the whole line taking in the views and art displays along the line. Down at Penn Street I hopped onto a bus to the nearest metro station and caught the metro out to Brooklyn and the Botanical Gardens.

The Botanical Gardens had been recommended by several people, particularly as it was the height of blossom season, and it was clear they were popular as there was a pretty lengthy queue to get tickets, but once inside I wasn’t disappointed.

I had a long wander round the gardens before heading back to the subway. I had intended on heading back into town – but I noticed that the subway station headed out to Brighton Beach and Coney Island so I hopped on an outbound train down to the beach.

I got off at Brighton Beach and wandered down to the board walk before having a walk along the back towards Coney Island, where I took in the views of some of the old fairground rides.

By now the sun was rapidly heading below the horizon so I headed back to Coney Island Subway station and caught the train back into town for some dinner and then back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

New York; Monday, 17 April, 2017

Before heading out to breakfast I asked reception if it was possible to arrange for a late checkout, which they agreed to, so I was able to head straight from Breakfast over to the 9/11 memorial museum. I had wanted to visit it on the Friday after the One World Observatory, but by then tickets had sold out until late in the afternoon and I didn’t fancy the long queue. This time when I checked the ticket machine there were tickets available straight away so I paid my entrance fee and headed into the museum.

The museum is located beneath the plaza and around the foundations of the twin towers. The very moving museum tells the story both of the horrific events of September 11th but also background into the reasons for the events of that day and the aftermath.

It’s not an easy museum to look around – with the video footage of the planes striking the towers and their subsequent collapse perhaps more sombre because you are at the point where it happened, and so many people died.

I spent nearly three hours looking round the museum, and would have spent more time but by then it was getting very busy and difficult to actually see any of the exhibits. Thankfully I’d seen most things by then so I headed up to the coffee shop in the top floor of the museum to grab a light lunch before heading out.

Located just opposite the museum is the stunning Oculus building which houses both a large shopping centre and the main railway stations for the World Trade Centre. The building is spectacular as is the incredible open space inside it – so I had quite a bit of a look round that – before I realised it was time I needed to start packing and making a move for the airport.

Back in the hotel I packed my bag, checked out and then headed over to the subway station to catch the train out to Jamaica Centre where I was able to change onto the automated AirTrain round to the British Airways terminal to check-in for my red eye flight back to the UK.

I had a quick journey through the terminal and had some time to spare before my flight was called. Thankfully everyone boarded quickly so we took off on time and headed towards the sunset.

The flight was marketed as the sleeper service so shortly after take-off, and with night already falling, the cabin crew did a very quick meal and drinks service before dimming the lights.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

New York; Tuesday, 18 April, 2017

I actually managed to get a couple of hours of reasonable sleep on the flight before the pilot woke everyone up somewhere over Liverpool to let us know that we had started our descent and would be on the ground in around 40 minutes’ time.

That left just enough time for the cabin crew to chuck a small breakfast bag at everyone before the seatbelt signs went on and we made our final approach.

The flight arrived around 20 minutes early, so slightly bleary eyed, I was out of the terminal shortly before 7am and on my way back across London to home and my desk to start work at 9.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Lille; Friday, 28 April, 2017

I’d left plenty of time to get up to St Pancras, and to get through the likely crowds trying to use Eurostar on the Friday evening of a Bank Holiday weekend. I was very glad I did as the queues when I reached St Pancras were enormous. Thankfully there were staff from Eurostar trying, despite the best efforts of some of my fellow travellers, to get things organised into queues for the relevant trains.

It took a good 45 minutes to get through checkin and security from the point at which I joined the back of the queue, but given the number of people that wasn’t too bad. It also meant I only had around 20 minutes to wait in the lounge before the train was called for boarding.

Due to a late inbound train we were a couple of minutes late leaving, and because of that we ended up grinding to a halt outside the channel tunnel for a few minutes as another slower train had been let through before us.

By the time we finally pulled into Lille the train was about 15 minutes late and I was considering getting cab to the hotel, but when I emerged from the station there appeared to be two different types of taxi – ones painted black and ones painted white – with the drivers screaming at each other. I decided I probably didn’t want to get into a cab with someone who was just having a road rage incident so instead I decided to walk over to the hotel, which took around 20 minutes.

I checked in, and given the time, headed straight up stairs to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Lille; Saturday, 29 April, 2017

After a hearty breakfast I headed out of the hotel into the centre of town and over to the Tourist Information Centre to buy a 3 day Lille City Card that would give free access to most of the museums and attractions both in Lille and in the neighbouring region, as well as unlimited travel. The very helpful man in the tourist office also offered to book me a place on the city bus tour that was included in the pass price, and was filling up rapidly.

With my tour seat booked for about 2 hours later I went for a wander through the heart of the city taking in the main squares before wandering up to the old Citadel on the edge of the city centre, which is still an active army base, but also an attractive city park.

I was back by the Tourist Information Centre just before boarding of the tour buses started so I was able to get a good seat for the tour.

Tour completed, and an idea of several places I wanted to visit in the city, I had a quick look in the remains of the palace building that the TIC is based in, before wandering over to the Town Hall to go up the clock tower.

The 1920’s tower has stunning views over the city centre, and a convenient lift that does most of the climbing for you – though it doesn’t start until the 4th floor so there was still around 100 steps to climb to get to it.

From the town hall I wandered over to the Place de la République as it was one of the interesting areas I’d seen from the bus tour and had a bit of a wander around that area before heading back over to the main square where I’d seen a number of good looking restaurants earlier in the day.

I had a very nice meal in a restaurant just off the main square before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Lille; Sunday, 30 April, 2017

I’d done quite a lot of walking the previous day, and slept very well and quite late. Thankfully food was still being served when I managed to get down so I had a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel.

I’d timed my lie-in well as the first place I wanted to visit was the Cathedral, and that had had a service on until midday so it wouldn’t have been able to visit if I’d been much earlier. Clearly it had been a major service as the air was thick with the smell, and smoke, from the incense they had been burning and after spending about 20 minutes looking round the Cathedral I had a really dry throat – thankfully that was quickly relieved at the very nice bar that had it’s tables out on the square in front of the cathedral.

I had a bit of a wander around the area near the cathedral before heading back over to the Place de la République to visit the Palais des Beaux Arts. According to the tourist information centre this is the second largest gallery in France after the Louvre, though as it was undergoing renovation some parts of it were closed off.

I spent a very long time looking round the galleries and in the end they were actually starting to close the building up when I finally left. I went for a little bit of a wander through the streets around the gallery and pretty quickly found myself back at the Grand Place, and as it was mid-evening decided to hunt out somewhere for dinner.

After a very nice seafood dinner I went for a bit more of a walk, partly to wear off some of the food, and also to be able to take some photos with the buildings floodlit at night.

With at least a little bit of the excess food walked off I headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Lille; Monday, 01 May, 2017

Another late lie-in and breakfast, after which I packed my bag and checked out of the hotel. Leaving my luggage in the store room I wandered over to the Lille Flandres station to pick up the train out to the small city of Arras.

The city was on the edge of the front line for much of the First World War, and was comprehensively destroyed in the battles. The whole of the city centre was restored during the latter part of the 20th century to how it would have looked during it’s heyday in the 18th century and it makes for a very pleasant place to walk around.

As it was the May Day holiday there wasn’t much open, but thankfully there was information on one museum that was open – the Wellington quarries – on the outskirts of town so I headed over there.

The quarries were one of a number of underground quarries from which the limestone used to build the city was mined from. Over the years the quarries were worked clean and forgotten about. However, at the start of the First World War their importance was realised by the defending allied soldiers, and with the aid of New Zealand and Welsh soldiers the quarries were all linked up with a complex of tunnels and passageways, including tunnels under the city centre that created a network of some 20KM.

The network enabled the soldiers to creep up right to the very edge of the German front lines, and on the first day of the battle of Arras the allied soldiers blew out the last parts of the tunnel to open up access ways straight onto the German lines, making significant land gains in just 24 hours.

However, the whole battle slowed from then on and the casualty numbers became quite horrific, with around 4,000 casualties every day for the near 40 days of the battle. The quarries and tunnels have been turned into a museum and a memorial to the soldiers who dug the tunnels and those who spent their last few nights waiting down in the tunnels before dying on the battlefield.

I had a very interesting tour of the tunnels which lasted just over an hour, taking me up to the point where I needed to head back to the station and start my journey home.

Back at Arras I caught the train back to Lille and quickly headed across town to pick up my luggage from the hotel and then headed back to Lille Europe to checkin and wait for my Eurostar home.

Weather

Cloudy Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Caernarfon; Friday, 05 May, 2017

I’d been in a meeting in the morning near Colwyn Bay, so given I was already a long way into North Wales I’d decided to tack a weekend on. After the meeting finished I headed back to my hotel, changed out of the suite and headed down to Colwyn Bay station to pick up the train to Bangor where I connected with the bus down to Caernarfon. I walked from the bus stop down to the hotel, checked in and did a couple of hours work to conclude the day.

Once I’d managed to power down the work laptop I headed out of the hotel and went for a wander round the town centre, taking in the walls and the outside of the castle. I also located the site of the ticket office that I needed the following morning.

I headed back into the centre of town for a bite to eat before making my way back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Caernarfon; Saturday, 06 May, 2017

I was up early as I wanted to make sure I made the early Welsh Highland Railway train up through Snowdonia. I got to the ticket office early, but even then there were still a fair number of people already waiting.

The train left a couple of minutes late and bursting at the seams – thankfully I’d managed to get a window seat, so I was able to take in the stunning Snowdon scenery as the train headed up into the mountains before descending back down to sea level at Porthmadog.

I had a bit of a wander round Porthmadog as I had nearly an hour to kill before the bus back to Caernarfon where I stopped off for some lunch.

As it was a bit of an overcast afternoon, and with the castle pencilled in for the following day, there wasn’t much else to do in Caernarfon so I decided to go for another ride into the mountains, this time courtesy of the local buses and the Snowdon Ranger service.

I took the bus into Llanberis and then picked up the bus up to Pen-y-Pass. Up at Pen-y-Pass I had a bit of a wander around, feeling quite out of place as I was the only one in jeans and trainers – clearly ill prepared for a trek up a mountain, but perfectly kitted out for using Public transport to reach the interesting places.

After having had a wander round the visitors centre and a cup of hot chocolate in the café it was time to catch the next bus down the other side of the hill and on into Betwys-y-Coed. Again, I had a little wander round the town here, again feeling out of place with my lack of hiking gear, before picking up the next bus back up the mountains into the slate mining areas of Blaenau Ffestiniog. This was probably the most interesting leg of the journey as the small bus powered its way up through green hills before cresting one and descending into the lunar landscape of the slate mining mountains – centuries of waste slate littering the sides of the hill making the whole area look very grey.

Down in Blaenau I hopped on the national rail train back down the Conwy Valley and onto Llandudno where I stopped for a quick dinner before catching a late bus back through Bangor to Caernarfon and my welcoming hotel bed.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Caernarfon; Sunday, 07 May, 2017

Another early breakfast and then a stiff walk out of the town centre up to the site of the former roman fortress Segontium which has a perfect position looking over the Menai Straits. I had a long wander round the site before heading back down into town and over to the Castle for a look round there.

I spent quite a long time looking round the castle and taking in the stunning views from the towers. Back at ground level I had a bite to eat and then decided, as it was such a lovely day, to head up Snowdon, so I caught the bus back into Llanberis and wandered over to the Snowdon Mountain Railway.

It was here that the plan fell apart as the first available train wasn’t for another three hours and that wouldn’t leave me enough time to get back down, get back into Caernarfon collect my luggage and make the train I needed to catch from Bangor.

So instead, after quickly consulting the Snowdon Sherpa timetable, I changed my plan and for the second time in as many days a short while later found myself standing up at Pen-y-Pass. This time it was to wait for a very irregular Snowdon Sherpa service that takes a very scenic route down through the region back to Porthmadog.

In the end it turned out to be a very good choice as the views from the bus were stunning as we made our way through Snowdonia.

Back down in Porthmadog I had enough time for a late afternoon coffee and snack in a café overlooking the bus stop before picking up the bus back into Caernarfon.

After picking up my luggage I headed back to the bus station and caught the bus back to Bangor where, due to the unique way the trains are timetabled, I had a 58 minute wait for the train back towards Crewe.

Whilst I was waiting I kept an eye on the train I was due to connect with, which was running on time, but then noticed than an earlier, and significantly faster, train that I was due to miss by a couple of minutes was over 20 minutes late and consequently now a possibility to catch.

As my train made its way back across North Wales, the train I was aiming for continued to run later and later. By the time my train made it into Crewe, bang on time, the fast train was now so late that it was due to arrive at the same time as the train I was originally intending on catching. Whilst it still meant I had a 35 minute wait at Crewe, it did at least mean I could catch the fast train that only stopped at Milton Keynes, rather than the one that stopped at every station down the line.

30 minutes late for the train, but around 45 minutes earlier than I was originally expecting, the train pulled into Watford Junction where I disembarked and headed for my hotel for the night, prior to a full day in the office.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Dieppe; Friday, 19 May, 2017

I’d headed down earlier in the day and spent the afternoon working out of the hotel in Newhaven, which to make up for the travelling time meant I ended up working until almost 7pm before I finally powered down the laptop and headed for dinner.

After dinner, and with an early start needed the next morning, I double checked I had everything repacked before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Dieppe; Saturday, 20 May, 2017

I was up so early that after showering and getting dressed I ended up being stood outside breakfast for a good five minutes before it was due to open.

Breakfast completed I collected my luggage, checked out and waited for the cab I’d booked to take me to the ferry terminal. I’d mostly booked it as I was just feeling lazy the previous evening and didn’t really fancy the quite boring 10 minute walk to the terminal. As the rain absolutely pelted it down I thanked my laziness for ensuring I didn’t get soaked.

Down at the terminal I checked in and waited for boarding to start, trying to steer away from the rugby club/stag do that were already pretty wasted at 8am. A little while later we were called forward to board the bus to take us the 400 or so yards to the ferry. With the rain having given way to clear blue skies I headed up to the deck and watched as we cast off and made our way out of Newhaven harbour.

Carefully avoiding the rugby club party, who were continuing to drink copious amounts, it was a pleasant and relaxing crossing with the boat arriving into Dieppe around 15 minutes early and once again it was onto a bus to take us back to the terminal – a bus that was delayed for a few minutes by a missing member of the Rugby club. We eventually made our way back to the terminal, picked up my luggage and headed to the bus into town. This bus was a very small bus and was already packed – mostly with the rugby club guys and at several points on the five minute journey into town I was convinced I was about to have someone throw up over me, but I thankfully made it to the centre in once piece before and from the bus stop walked the 10 minutes or so over to my hotel.

Checked in and with my luggage stowed in my room I headed out into town for a wander. I had a long walk around the beach area near the hotel before heading inland arriving on the main street at the same time as some parade was taking place, so I watched that go past and then continued back down the main street.

That brought me up to the Eglise St Jacques, one of two very big churches in the city centre, so I had a look around that before wandering on a bit further until I reached the harbourside.

With almost perfect timing I arrived at the harbour just as they were announcing boarding for a 45 minute boat cruise along the coast, taking in the stunning cliffs, so I joined that tour and spent another 45 minutes on a boat, to add to the four hours earlier in the day.

Back in the harbour it was already gone six so I headed over to a nearby restaurant and had a very nice dinner, before gently waddling back to the hotel weighed down under the mass of mussels that I had eaten.

I had a bit of a rest in the hotel, waiting for the sun to set, which for a pretty much West facing seaside town were suitable spectacular, before heading back out to take some night time shots of the city. Photos taken I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Dieppe; Sunday, 21 May, 2017

I had a relatively early breakfast and checked out of the hotel. I went for a stroll along the promenade down into the town centre where I arrived in time to get a ticket, and a good seat, on the first Petit Train departure of the day.

Back at the harbour side about an hour later I went for a further wander through the city centre before making my way up to the impressive castle that sits on a hill overlooking the town centre.

I had a wander around the grounds and walked up through the castle courtyards and out the drawbridge onto the esplanade behind it from where there were impressive views of both the castle and the town centre.

I headed back down to the castle in time for the afternoon opening of the museum that is housed inside the main buildings. I had a long look round that before walking back down the hill to the town centre and picking up a late lunch.

Lunch completed it was time to head back over to the hotel, collect my luggage and make my way back to the ferry terminal for what had become a very complicated journey home.

When I’d originally booked it was just going to be a relatively late arrival home, but a couple of weeks before the trip I’d been booked to attend a meeting the other side of Swansea on the Monday lunchtime so I now had to get up into London to the overnight hotel that work had booked me, at the same time as dealing with a new train timetable that had started today and had removed the late night and overnight services from Brighton into London. Consequently it meant the ferry had to run, had to be on time and I had to catch the 21:34 train from Newhaven, and make a four minute connection in Brighton to make the last direct train.

Consequently, it was with some thanks on my part that boarding started almost the moment checkin closed and 15 minutes before our scheduled departure time we were already clear of the jetty and starting to head out of port.

Sadly it wasn’t to last as the ferry managed to lose all that time and didn’t dock at Newhaven until the due time. It took some time to get the bow doors opened and by the time I finally got to passport control it was already 21:20. That would have been fine, if DFDS hadn’t insisted on putting larger items of luggage in containers on the car deck, that were located at the far end of the ferry and so had to wait for all the vehicles to disembark before they could bring them through and by the time I finally left the port it was already 21:50.

What should have been a relatively quick journey now extended long into the night as I had to wait for nearly 20 minutes in Brighton for a train to London Bridge, which just missed the last tube of the night and then a long and expensive cab journey over to my overnight hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Sliema; Thursday, 25 May, 2017

I’d worked from home in the morning so it was a quick journey down to Gatwick and through to departures.

We made our way down to the gate when called, and then proceeded to sit there for the best part of an hour. The inbound plane had arrived on time, but there were a couple of passengers who required wheelchairs to get off of the plane, but the company that should have met the plane was short staffed and the passengers were still waiting to be collected.

Eventually, nearly an hour after we should have started boarding some company staff turned up and helped the passengers off the plane so we could start boarding.

After a very quick boarding the pilot got the plane off the stand and, with a bit of que jumping on the taxiway, we took off very shortly afterwards.

A smooth flight later we touched down in Malta just 30 minutes behind our scheduled arrival time, but still long after the last bus for the night had left so we had to head over to the taxi office and get a cab out to the hotel.

30 minutes later we were checked into the hotel, and after a quick night cap, turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Sliema; Friday, 26 May, 2017

An early breakfast and out of the hotel to pick up the first open-top bus tour of the day, choosing to take the North tour for the day.

We did a full circuit of the Northern route back to Slimea where we stopped for lunch, before picking up the local bus back out to Rabat.

A tour round Rabat on the land train and then we walked down into Mdina for a look around there before heading back to the bus station to pick up the bus back into Valletta.

We had a bit of a wander around Valletta and stopped off for an evening drink before making our way back to the bus station and back into Sliema to freshen up before heading out for dinner in Sliema.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Sliema; Saturday, 27 May, 2017

Early breakfast again, and once again out for the first bus of the morning, this time South round the island. We did a full tour back to Sliema and then stayed on round to Marsaxlokk where we got off to have a bit of a wander

We stopped at a very nice café on the harbour side for a spot of lunch before catching the local bus back into Valletta for another wander around the parliament and Upper Barrakka Gardens area before taking the lift down to the waterside and picking up the ferry across the Grand Harbour to Cospicua.

We went for a walk around Cospicua taking in the sites of the three cities before heading back into Valletta on the bus for a repeat of the previous evening with a quick drink before heading back to Sliema

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Sliema; Sunday, 28 May, 2017

A bit more of a lie-in this morning as we went for a later breakfast and then out in time to catch the first harbour tour of the morning at 10am.

The tour went round the Grand Harbour and then the Marsamxett Harbour taking in all the key sights of Sliema, Valletta and the three cities of Senglea, Cospicua and Birgu.

Back in Sliema we had a quick cup of coffee before picking up the local bus back into Rabat and changing there onto the bus towards the blue grotto. The bus runs along a spectacular cliff top road by the Dingly cliffs before heading down the steep switchback road down to Wied Iz-Zurrieq and the harbour for trips out to the blue grotto.

We weren’t going to visit the grotto, but on the tour the previous day had noticed a number of decent looking restaurants so we headed to one of them for a very pleasant lunch.

Lunch completed we caught the bus on towards the airport where we changed and were aiming to catch the bus back into Sliema.

Unfortunately, political rallies in preparation for the following week, were taking place in Sliema and had managed to completely jam up all the roads so after waiting nearly an hour for a bus we instead hopped in a cab and headed back into Sliema that way.

After freshening up we headed back out to a restaurant near to the hotel for dinner, and to watch all the political activists go past on their open-top buses and cars with their flags flying and horns blaring – it made for a noisy dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Sliema; Monday, 29 May, 2017

A late breakfast, or as late as it can be when the hotel stops serving at 9:30, and then after packing my bag it was time to check out and head back to the airport.

Unlike the previous evening buses were running. During the summer the bus company supplements some of the their most popular or important routes with direct services and it was one of these – the TD2 – that we picked up from Slimea Ferries. It’s a limited stop service having only called at three stops prior on its journey in from St Julian’s and then running fast to the airport. Knowing the speed Maltese bus drivers prefer we were down at the stop nearly 20 minutes before the bus was due, and that turned out to be a good idea as it turned up a good 10 minutes before its scheduled time and then, after loading the passengers that were there, set off straight for the airport arriving nearly an hour before its scheduled time.

It meant we had to wait for a little while before check-in opened but were then able to drop our bags and head on through to departures and our journey home.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Heraklion; Friday, 09 June, 2017

I’d been at a conference for work all week in Athens, and my colleague was also heading back to the airport so we took a cab from the conference centre back out to the airport to checkin and, after a quick dinner, go our separate ways – him back to London, me into a holiday.

Despite it being a very quick flight, and the plane being a completely full A320, there was a brief meal and drinks service on-board with everyone getting a packet of biscuits and a drink. Then, as soon as the cabin crew reached the back of the plane, it was time for the final approach and landing into Heraklion, touching down less than 40 minutes after the wheels had left the runway in Athens.

I was feeling lazy, so instead of going in hunt of the bus into town and then walking from the bus station I instead wandered over to the taxi rank and picked up a cab to my hotel, which I was quite glad about as it would have been quite a bit of a hill that I would have had to drag my bag up.

Having checked in I went for a short wander around the centre of Heraklion, though as it was already approaching 11pm I kept it short as I was feeling quite tired. After about a 20-minute walk round the centre of town I headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Heraklion; Saturday, 10 June, 2017

Despite wanting a good night’s sleep, a combination of the heat and the thin curtains meant that I was awake long before 7am. I tried to have a little bit of a lie-in, but it wasn’t working so instead, after a refreshing shower, I headed downstairs for an early breakfast and then headed out of the hotel for a wander.

I wandered down through town towards the Venetian harbour and was intending to have a wander round there when I spotted the open top bus tour approaching the bus stop that I was standing by, so instead I decided to pick that up.

Given how warm it was I was very glad to be on the top-deck of a bus able to get some of the lovely breeze that was being generated by the buses motion. I did a full circuit of the tour through the city centre, out to Knossos and back before getting off at the harbour to have a little wander, and to pick up a bottle of water, before catching the next bus that was coming around on the extended tour that took in the countryside and some of the beaches of this part of Crete.

With that second tour completed I was feeling quite peckish so I stopped at a very nice-looking café by the waterside for lunch and then wandered back the short distance to have a look round the spectacular St Peters Church – one of the oldest buildings in the city having started life as a Catholic monastery before becoming a mosque during the ottoman period and today an Orthodox church.

After looking round the church, and some of the ruins outside of its former incarnations, I headed over the road to the Crete Historical Museum and spent a long time looking round the very interesting exhibitions they had.

I left the museum just in time to hop on the open-top bus for its final tour of the evening, catching it back round to the city centre to then go for a wander through the heart of the Venetian middle of the capital taking in the Lion fountain and the Loggia.

Near to the Loggia is the stunning Agiou Titou church (St Titus). In traditional Greek Orthodox style, its quite a plain church on the outside with just white walls and a blue dome, but inside it was very beautiful with lots of icons and beautifully carved wood.

Having looked round the church I headed back to the hotel to freshen up with a quick blast from the hotels super-efficient air-conditioning before heading back to near the Lion fountain for some dinner.

After dinner, I headed down to the Venetian harbour and wandered down the harbour wall to the fortress to have a look round the outside at night before heading back up the hill to the hotel and to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Heraklion; Sunday, 11 June, 2017

I had another disrupted night’s sleep, but at least it meant I was up early to have breakfast and then head out to go for a walk before the worst of the days heat hit.

My aim for the morning was to have a wander along the old city walls, that form almost a complete circuit around the city centre. They are impressive structures with the walls being incredibly thick and several large bastions located along them adding to the impression in invincibility.

From the centre of town and the St George gate I followed the outside of the walls round to the Jesus Gate where there was then access to climb up onto the top of the walls and follow them along for the rest of the way back down to the sea at St Andreas Bastion. I spent about 90 minutes walking along the walls, including stopping off at the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis the Greek Author of, amongst other works, Zorba the Greek.

Down at the end of the walls where they met the sea I headed along the coast back towards the city centre for a little while in search of somewhere to stop for some refreshment as it was a bit too early for lunch, but the bottle of water I’d taken with me had long since been exhausted and the heat was really starting to climb. Thankfully there were several cafes along the way so I could stop at one that overlooked the sea front and had a couple of very refreshing bottles of sparkling water before continuing towards the fortress.

I decided that rather than going straight into the fortress I would stop for lunch and ended up eating in a very nice restaurant overlooking the fortress and harbour. After lunch, I crossed the road and headed into the Venetian fortress for a look around.

The fortress is very interesting with lots of explanatory boards about the history of the fortress, the harbour and the Venetians in Crete. After taking in the exhibitions I climbed the stairs to the terrace and battlements on the top of the fortress from where there were excellent views both of the harbour, city and the neighbouring island of Dia. However, the most impressive views were of the planes taking off virtually over the fortress (the end of the runway being little more than a mile from the fortress) and then turning dramatically in the sky as they all headed North towards mainland Europe.

Having looked round the castle I headed up into town to visit the Archaeological Museum. This is a sunning museum with lots of exhibits of the Minoan finds both from Knossos and other parts of the island. The museum houses some of the key finds including some incredible frescos and a stunning model of what it’s thought the palace looked like.

I spent a very long time looking round the museum, so long in fact that by the time I left I was feeling hungry again so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then out for an early dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Heraklion; Monday, 12 June, 2017

Breakfast completed, and my bag packed I wandered down to the bus station to pick up an early morning bus out to Knossos. I’d read that the site can get busy early so I wanted to be there before many of the tour parties arrived, and even having set off early it was still pretty busy when I got there, particularly for tickets. Thankfully I’d purchased a joint ticket at the Archaeological Museum the previous day so I was able to skip the worst of the queue and head straight into the site.

I spent most of the morning looking round the site, and trying to avoid the growing coach and cruise parties that were going around – each on much faster tours than I was doing. By the time I got to the end of the recommended itinerary it was getting difficult to actually see any of the site for the mass of humanity crawling over it.

Thankfully I had managed to see most of the site, which was more than the several hundred-people standing in the sun in the very long queue for tickets were likely to, so I was pretty happy with that.

I’d just missed a bus back into town so I popped into a café near the bus stop for a coffee and some water, and to pass the time, before I picked up a later bus back into Heraklion.

Back in the city centre I headed back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and did a bit of strategic repacking, before heading back to the bus stop to pick up the bus out to the airport.

I checked in and wandered through to the small, and sparsely served departures lounge at Heraklion airport, which I thought I would only be in for about 90 minutes before my flight left.

2 and a half hours later, and nearly 45 minutes after the flight was originally due to depart they finally started boarding, which was thankful as the time to make my connection in Athens was being eaten into.

In the end it didn’t matter too much as Check-in for my London flight had only just opened by the time I’d landed, been bussed to the terminal, collected my luggage and made my way back upstairs to departures and for the second time of the day through security and into a departures lounge.

I didn’t have as long a wait in the lounge at Athens as my BA flight was on time all the way back to London, though the lack of staff at Heathrow meant it took another 30 minutes from getting to the gate before the airbridge was attached and we could actually get off the plane.

Bags collected I wandered out into arrivals in time to meet my pre-booked taxi back home.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Turku; Thursday, 22 June, 2017

The weather had been getting increasingly oppressive and overnight it was almost impossible to sleep. As I was due to be working from home during the day it meant when I eventually gave up trying to get any sleep at 4:30 I was able to get up, have a shower and start work a little after 5.

I was therefore able to finish quite early in the afternoon, and so could head down to the airport outside of the evening rush, even so the train was still pretty full and with no working air conditioning an unpleasant experience.

A smooth journey through the airport, but – as appears to be standard with Norwegian – a delay to the flight that eventually ticked up to 45 minutes late by the time we finally pushed back and headed for the runway.

It was an uneventful flight and we managed to make up a little time so it was only just gone midnight when we finally landed in Helsinki. Thankfully, once through customs, it was only a two-minute walk and down one escalator to get to my hotel for the night, and after giving the room about 20 minutes of icy blast from the air con I was able to turn in.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Turku; Friday, 23 June, 2017

The best nights sleep I’d had for several days meant I woke refreshed, and after a good breakfast at the hotel I caught the train into the centre of Helsinki.

I had about an hour to spare so I had a bit of a wander around the area around the central station before heading back to the station to pick up my train out to Turku.

The train journey was smooth and we arrived into Turku on time. I walked the 10 minutes or so across town to the hotel and checked in.

After dropping off my bags I headed out and started by wandering down along the riverside. My first stop was one of the many companies offering boat tours of the archipelago, and about the only one that was running services on the Saturday – which was the mid-summer holiday in Finland, so I booked onto their evening dinner cruise which guaranteed I had something to do on the Saturday evening and that I would be able to get some dinner.

I continued walking by the river down past the maritime museum (closed until the Sunday morning due to the Bank Holiday weekend) to the Castle (closed until the Monday due to the bank holiday weekend.)

I had a look round the outside of the castle and wandered back alongside the river until I spotted the city’s floating bar-come-tour boat about to pull into the stop close to where I was. As that was running I decided to hop on board and went for a little cruise up and down the river for the time it took to drink two very pleasant local beers in the warm mid-Summers sun.

I was on the boat long enough to be able to have dinner onboard as well as they fired up the on-deck bbq, but decided it was probably time to disembark when I managed to get a massive dollop of mustard right down my white T-shirt.

Thankfully the boat was pulling up at the stop nearest my hotel so I hopped off and headed back to my room to clean up.

I went out for a bit more of a wander around the city – which by now was almost deserted, most people having headed home for the mid-summer celebrations so I headed back to the hotel, had a drink in the bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Turku; Saturday, 24 June, 2017

Another really good night sleep, only slightly disturbed by the fact it never properly got dark at any point, and an excellent breakfast set me up for the day.

I already knew that, with the exception of my booked archipelago dinner cruise for the evening there was very little open today. About the only thing that was running was the standard ferry service that runs from the city centre out to a nearby beach and parkland so I headed down to the stop to catch the second service of the morning.

I took the ferry out to its furthest point and had intended to have a wander around the parkland, but just after the ferry left the dock the skies opened and what started as a light drizzle quickly developed into a full downpour. I was able to look around a little of the park, but then had to head back to the ferry dock and find a shelter to sit under for the next 50 minutes or so until the ferry returned.

Slightly damp, and for the first time in weeks – shivering – I re-boarded the ferry and headed back into town.

I walked back to my hotel and got back just as the skies opened again, this time for an even heavier downpour which lasted for a couple of hours.

Given there was nothing open and no point in getting wet I spent the afternoon in the hotel having a very nice lunch and reading my book.

The rain finally petered out about an hour before the dinner cruise was due to leave but the skies were still quite leaden and the wind was brisk and I did wonder if the tour would actually take place – so I headed down to the boat with a little worry of what I would do for dinner if the tour didn’t take place. Thankfully the Finns are used to less than perfect weather and this wasn’t going to stop the tour taking place, but it did mean that rather than eating our dinner in the sun on a small island in the middle of the Archipelago we were going to tie up at the island but stay on board to eat.

The boat headed out from the harbour and sailed for about an hour into the archipelago before we reached the island we were heading to. Everyone got off the boat to have a little explore of the island – which took less than 5 minutes, but it gave the crew time to set up the buffet tables to serve dinner onboard.

Back on board there was a feast of food with at least 8 different types of smoked fish available and way more food that all the passengers could consume. After dinner, there was some onboard entertainment before the ship headed back into Turku.

We disembarked back in town just as the skies started to clear and, at nearly 11pm, the sun broke through so I was able to walk back to the hotel in the sun.

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Light Showers Heavy Showers
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Turku; Sunday, 25 June, 2017

I had another excellent night’s sleep and a good breakfast before it was time to check out and head back to the station and my train back to Helsinki.

Again, it was another uneventful journey and we arrived back into Helsinki on time. I had about 30 minutes spare but as it wouldn’t have been enough time to do anything in Helsinki I instead wandered round to the suburban train platforms and picked up the train back to the airport.

A smooth journey through the airport and once again a delay from Norwegian. This time the flight was so full that they were pleading for people to offer to put hand luggage in the hold so that everything could fit – and as I didn’t need by bag during the flight I offered up my bag – this turned out to be a big mistake.

It was an uneventful flight and we landed back in Gatwick around 30 minutes late. It was a quick journey through the airport and my original hold bag came up on the baggage belt very quickly.

Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for the bag I’d offered to go into the hold and it was a good 20 minutes and some worry that it hadn’t actually been put on the flight, before it finally came around – just in time for me to miss my train at Gatwick.

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Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Gothenburg; Friday, 30 June, 2017

As it was a very early flight I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel. Despite it being so early the airport was heaving and it took quite a bit of time to get through security and into the departures lounge and then, as the flight was leaving from a B gate, out on the shuttle to the B terminal.

Boarding started very promptly and the flight wasn’t that full so we were fully boarded and already pushing back from the gate 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled departure time. A very comfortable and smooth flight later, and with a good tail wind, we landed in Gothenburg 15 minutes early. After a quick baggage reclaim as well I was very soon outside of the terminal and on the bus into town.

I popped into the tourist information centre in the centre of town to pick up the city card that I had purchased and then picked up the tram over to the hotel.

The last time I’d arrived at this hotel it had been at 5am after a massive delay to the flight and I must, by a long way, have been the last to check in for that night. Today I was at the hotel just a little after midday, and technically still three hours before checkin opened, but I asked very nicely and I was probably the first person of the day to checkin.

After dropping off my stuff I wandered over to the ferry stop and picked up the ferry one stop towards the centre of town and disembarked at Lilla Bommens Hamn. One of the buildings in this relatively recent complex is instantly identifiable by its colour scheme and has become known as the lipstick building. It also happens to be one of the tallest buildings in the city, and during weekdays has an observation deck on the top floor.

When I got up to the deck there was one other person up there, but they left relatively soon and then I had one of the best views in Gothenburg all to myself for about 10 minutes before anyone else arrived.

Back down at ground level I hopped on a tram and headed over to the Universeum – a very strange science/ecology museum and animal park that is centred round a large indoors rainforest – certainly the largest rainforest in Scandinavia.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering round the museum as there was a lot to see, including stopping off for a late lunch on their 4th floor restaurant terrace – a welcome relief to be out in the dry heat of the city after 20 minutes wandering round their internal rainforest, complete with oppressive humidity.

After the museum I caught a tram out to the end of the line at Saltholmen to go for a ride on the ferries out in the archipelago. From the terminal at Saltholmen the ferries head out to several of the islands in the Southern part of the Gothenburg archipelago. They run relatively regularly and I was able to do two loops from Saltholmen taking in most of the islands.

By the time I got back to the ferry terminal the sun was starting to dip below the horizon so I caught a tram back in towards town, changing partway along onto one that stopped outside the hotel – making it back to the hotel just before 11pm and a well-earned night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Gothenburg; Saturday, 01 July, 2017

I had a good breakfast in the hotel and then headed out. There were two places I wanted to visit during the day – the Aeromuseum in a formerly secret cold war era aircraft hangar bunker tunnelled into the hills, and the fortress at Bohus – one of the most impressive in the country. In both cases the buses left from a bus station on the opposite side of the city and with the tram to it out of action for track repair works it meant hunting down a tram replacement bus.

The bus to the Aeromuseum was only every hour, whilst the castle had four buses an hour and originally I was aiming for the aeromuseum bus, but the tram replacement buses were much more efficiently organised that I’m used to back in the UK and I ended up at the bus station with over half an hour to kill so I decided to revise my plans and – as there was one arriving at that very moment – I caught the bus out to the Bohus Fästning.

The castle/fortress is very impressive, perched on a small outcrop of rock over an otherwise relatively flat landscape at a point where the Göta river divides into a couple of channels. I spent a long time in the castle and it’s almost TARDIS like interior that appeared to take up far more space than there was within the walls.

I spent over two hours wandering round the castle and with the heat and sun I took advantage of the small café selling ice cold water and ice-cream to help cool down and rehydrate. By pure chance I checked the timings of the buses and worked out that if I was on the bus in 20 minutes time I would be able to make a quick change back in Gothenburg onto the bus out to the aeromuseum, so I did that.

About 45 minutes later I was stepping off the bus at a random crossroads in the middle of empty fields with nothing to see except for an old jet fighter parked on one corner, being a subtle hint to the presence of the aeromuseum.

During the cold war, on behalf of NATO, the Swedes dug a massive underground hanger and works area into the ground near an airfield that was used to be able to secretly store and work on large numbers of air force planes. Today NATO have gone but the hangers have been turned into a museum dedicated to all things air related. Whilst I wasn’t particularly interested in the museum exhibits the building itself was amazing.

I spent quite a long time looking around and in the end, I needed to walk quickly back to the bus stop to make sure I made the hourly bus back into Gothenburg.

Back in the city centre I headed over to the canals to go on one of the Paddan canal tours. I’d done it when I’d previously visited, but as a free tour was included in my Gothenburg Card, and as it was still quite warm, the idea of sitting on a boat drifting along the canals and river appealed.

Back from the tour I headed over to the hotel to freshen up and to have a bite to eat, and then with the evening sun keeping the air warm I headed out onto the ferry from the stop by the hotel to go for a ride on the ferry up and down the river, an idea that a lot of other people appeared to be having, but only a couple of us appeared to have thought of picking up the ferry on its inbound trip to Lille Bommens Hamn rather than waiting the 18 minutes until it came back. Consequently, I had a very nice seat with excellent views for the whole trip.

An hour later I was back at the landing stage and by now the wind had started to pick up quite a bit and it was getting quite chilly, so I headed back to the hotel for a drink in the bar and then turned in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Gothenburg; Sunday, 02 July, 2017

The hotel very conveniently offered a super late checkout time of 6pm on Sundays so after breakfast I was able to head out of the hotel and get on with the day.

My first stop was the open-top bus tour. Again, this was something that I’d done on my previous trip but it was included free with the Gothenburg Card so I decided to do it again.

After completing the tour I had a bit of a wander around the city centre and paused for an early lunch before heading over to the Gothenburg city museum.

It was one of the few places that I’d wanted to get to on the previous trip, but I hadn’t had time to visit, so I’d deliberately left a lot Sunday to dedicate to looking round it, and I wasn’t disappointed. Not only by the excellent exhibitions, but also by the stunning building itself.

Having taken in the museum I walked round the corner to Gustav Adolfs Square where I was in time to pick up the land train tour of the city.

As much of the heart of the city centre is pedestrianised the open-top bus can’t visit, but the land train is able to go down these streets so it was possible to see much more of the city that I had done previously – including the picturesque Haga district.

Back at Gustav Adolfs Torg I went for a bit of a wander round the city centre before it was time to head back to the hotel, freshen up and check out.

I caught the tram back over to the bus station to pick up the airport bus and this time safe in the knowledge that the plane forming my flight was already at Heathrow and getting ready to fly out to Gothenburg.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Amersfoort; Friday, 07 July, 2017

Having worked from home in the morning I had the afternoon booked off so I was able to travel down to Gatwick on a relatively uncrowded afternoon train.

A smooth journey through the airport and down to the plane, with the only hiccup being a slight delay in starting boarding which meant we were 10 minutes late leaving the stand. However, we appeared to have parked almost on the runway as there was barely time for the crew to give the high speed version of the safety talk before the plane was accelerating down the runway and heading for the skies.

Clearly we had a hefty tail wind, or the timetable assumes a much longer taxi at Gatwick, as we landed in Amsterdam 25 minutes ahead of schedule – albeit with a good 5 mile taxi back to the terminal building.

Again a smooth journey through the airport and down onto the station where I had about 10 minutes to spare before my train to Amersfoort.

I walked the kilometre or so from the station to the hotel and after checking in a dropping off my bags in my room I headed out into town for a wander.

My first stop – and probably most people’s arriving in Amersfoort was the stunning Koppelpoort, the combined land and water gate that protected the city and the entrance to it’s canal system. From there I wandered through the picturesque city centre, past several beautiful squares and on to the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren the third highest church tower in The Netherlands, albeit that the church itself is long gone – destroyed in the 18th century in a gunpowder blast.

I stopped at one of the many restaurants in the square around the tower for a light dinner before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Amersfoort; Saturday, 08 July, 2017

A relatively early start and after a good breakfast I headed out into town, with my first stop being the offices of the volunteer group that run canal tours round the city. I booked onto the two tours that they offer – a regular tour round the Western parts of the canal network and a less regular tour round the eastern parts. The second tour was booked for later in the day, but the first tour was due to start about 20 minutes later so I went for a little wander round the neighbouring Hof market place before heading back to the boarding point.

The West tour was very interesting – taking in lots of the key sights in the city and some impressive bits of architecture. Tour completed and back at the boarding point I had about 90 minutes to spare before my second tour of the day so I went for a wander around some of the streets of the city – taking in some more of the defensive gates of the city before finding myself back at the Hof by the spectacular Saint Joris church.

I visited the church which has an interesting architectural history – the original and oldest part of the building being the current tower which was originally a watchtower for the city, before being adapted by having a chapel built onto the end of it. The original chapel is long since gone, but the second larger church that was built on the site was in significant parts still kept, but opened out when the much larger current church was built around it – in places it does look very much like the skeleton of an old building within the existing church structure.

Having looked round the church it was time to head back to the boarding point and pick up the East tour round the canal network. Whilst the canal itself forms a complete ring around the city at one point on the Eastern part of the network one building has been built so low as to prevent access underneath it by boats so the tour gets up to that point, moors up and we continued on foot around the obstruction – and through some more pretty parts of the city – to the opposite side where a second boat was waiting (two East tours set off at the same time going in opposite directions with the other party meeting us just as we moored up to take our boat back – we used theirs.)

I headed back over to the square by the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren for a quick spot of lunch before joining the land train tour of the city – run by the same group of volunteers who run the canal tours.

The train took in a much wider part of the city – including some of the former city walls, before returning back into the centre. I stayed on for the final tour of the day as that one finished close back to the hotel.

I freshened up in the hotel before heading back out into town a little later for a very pleasant dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Amersfoort; Sunday, 09 July, 2017

I’d realised pretty early on that there wasn’t that much more to do in Amersfoort so I’d decided to have a bit of a lie-in and a lazy start to my Sunday. Consequently, it meant I ended up checking out of the hotel close to the latest time at midday, along with most other guests who had clearly had the same idea.

Having left my bag with the hotel I headed over towards the Koppelpoort and then followed the very pleasant walking route alongside the river and canals the follows the line of the old city walls. In places the walls either haven’t totally disappeared or have been restored to how they would have looked a couple of centuries ago.

The walk was around 2KM, and with photo stops took me about an hour to complete, which meant it was perfect time to grab a slow lunch in one of the restaurants around the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren.

Lunch completed I wandered through town to the city museum – Museum Flehite – which I spent quite some time looking around.

By now I had exhausted much of what there was to do in the city centre, and still had quite some time to go before I needed to be heading back to the station so I wandered back to the Hof and whiled away a good 90 minutes or so sat in the warmth (and shade) of a café taking the longest time possible to consume a large bottle of water.

I eventually headed back to the hotel to collect my bag and then headed over to the station to pick up the train back to Schiphol. Despite the train being delayed on approach to the airport, there was still just about three hours left before my flight departed, but as the airport is so large I decided to check in and head on through to departures.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Liverpool; Friday, 14 July, 2017

I’d been at a conference all week in the city, but the hotel the conference had been in had weddings over the weekend and had consequently pushed up the room prices to eye-watering levels, so after the conference finished I picked up my bags and headed across town to the hotel I’d booked for myself for the weekend.

I unpacked and freshened up before heading back down to the waterfront to meet up with other colleagues who were staying on the Friday night for dinner.

After a very nice dinner, and a diversion to a very pleasant bar near the waterfront, I headed back to the hotel for a well-earned nights rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Liverpool; Saturday, 15 July, 2017

The hotel’s breakfast space was way too small for the number of guests who wanted to eat and, despite avoiding the advertised busiest times, I ended up having to take my breakfast back to my room to find somewhere to eat.

After I’d had breakfast I headed down to the waterfront at the Pier Head to pick up one of the open-top bus tours that run around the city. I purchased a ticket for their combined City and Beatles tours and started by taking the city tour around the city centre.

Back at the Albert Dock I changed buses and picked up the Beatles tour bus which, after a tour round parts of the city, headed out into the suburbs to run past Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and the childhood homes of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

I hopped off the bus when it got back to the Albert Docks and went for a bit to eat before picking up a late afternoon city centre tour to take in the view of the city and, being lazy, the quick route back to my hotel.

I dropped my stuff off and then headed out to grab some dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Liverpool; Sunday, 16 July, 2017

A slightly less chaotic breakfast meant I actually had a table in the breakfast area but it was still very cramped.

Breakfast completed I headed out into town and over to the St Johns Beacon tower – home to the city’s radio stations and an impressive viewing gallery to take in the views over the city, down the Mersey to its mouth and into the hills of North Wales.

Back down at street level I picked up a bus to travel under the river across to Birkenhead and to go for a wander round Birkenhead Park. The park was the first public park in the world, and was the inspiration for Central Park in New York – with many features looking familiar from my visit there earlier in the year.

Having wandered round the whole of the park I headed back into Liverpool city centre for some lunch and then made my way down to the Liverpool Museum at the Pier Head.

When I’d last visited the museum was in the final stages of being constructed so I’d wanted to have a look round the impressive building and the large collection of items on display.

I had a long look round the museum, but running out of time to see everything as the museum was starting close before I got to see the last of the exhibits.

From the museum, I walked the short distance along the waterfront to the Mersey ferry terminal to pick up the Ferry for its 60 minutes cruise along the Mersey (with several renditions of that song…)

Back at Pier Head I headed back to the hotel to drop my stuff off and then headed out for dinner.

I had a meeting with a customer in Liverpool on the Monday morning so after dinner I had an early night to be ready for the following mornings meeting and then my journey back home.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Kendal; Friday, 21 July, 2017

Another week and another conference had me staying over in Lancaster. The conference had been on the Thursday, but due to the timings it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to get back to London that evening so work had put me up for a second night in the Travelodge in Lancaster City Centre and I worked out of there for the morning.

During my lunch break I grabbed some food from the Tesco beneath the hotel and wheeled my luggage through the tail end of a heavy shower to Lancaster station where I hopped on the train one stop to Oxenholme and changed there onto the waiting train to Kendal. It was a short walk from the station to the hotel in Kendal and I made it before the end of my lunch break and with time spare before my next call at 2pm. Unfortunately, the hotel didn’t have a room ready for me (despite having checked in online the previous evening), so I had to find a quiet corner of the restaurant to make the call.

Shortly after I’d finished the call my room was ready so I was able to complete checkin and get into the room to drop my stuff off and finish off my days’ work.

Having shut the laptop down I looked out of the window to see that the clouds were starting to clear and the showers were just down to a light drizzle. By the time I left the hotel it had completely stopped so I was able to go for a wander without the need for an umbrella.

I had a wander through the town centre and down to the banks of the River Kent, before crossing over and heading up through the park on the opposite bank to the ruins of Kendal castle perched on the high ground overlooking the river.

It was a pretty steep climb up to the castle, but well worth it for the view both of the town and of the hills of the Lake District.

I had a wander around the castle ruins taking in both the ruins and the views before I felt a couple of spots of rain, so I decided it was probably a good time to head back down into town.

It was a good 15-minute walk back down into town, and the spots of rain were becoming much more frequent, but I managed to make it back into the centre and into a restaurant before the next shower passed through.

After dinner, I had another little bit of a wander round the town centre before heading back to the hotel and turning in

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Kendal; Saturday, 22 July, 2017

I woke up to yet more rain and decided that given how wet it was looking I would try and do indoor stuff in the morning to see if the weather would get any better, so after a lengthy breakfast I headed out into town and over to the museum.

I had a long look round the very interesting little museum with its eclectic range of exhibits from geology and geography to Egyptology and the Free Masons.

By the time I’d finished looking round the museum the skies were starting to clear so I headed over to the bus station and picked up a bus down to Windermere town and down to Lake Windermere at Bowness-on-Solway.

I arrived in time to get a ticket for the next Southbound sailing down the river and have a quick bite to eat before boarding started.

The journey down the lake was very pretty, with the sun slowly starting to appear from behind the clouds as we headed south.

I disembarked at the southern jetty at Lakeside and, as I had a joint ticket for it, joined the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway for a journey along it’s line to Haverthwaite and back.

Back at Lakeside I joined the next steamer which headed the whole length of the lake up to Ambleside via Bowness-on-Windermere. At Ambleside I was just in time to catch the open-top bus out to Grasmere to take in the stunning views in the now glorious late afternoon sun.

I’d timed it perfectly as at Grasmere the bus was on it’s last journey of the day so instead of terminating at Windermere it was due to head all the way back to Kendal, so I was able to take in the views all the way back to the bus station in Kendal in the sun on the open-top deck.

Back in Kendal I headed back to the hotel to drop my stuff off before heading out for a bite to eat and then turning in for the night.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Kendal; Sunday, 23 July, 2017

The original weather forecast had been dire for the whole weekend, but I woke on the Sunday morning to clear blue skies, so I had an early breakfast and checked out of the hotel to make the most of the day.

First stop was back over to the bus station to pick up the first bus of the morning out to the town of Coniston and from there a 15-minute walk down to the banks of Coniston Water. The lake is the third largest in the Lake District and like Windermere and several others has boat services running along its length to take in the views.

I boarded the first full lake tour of the morning and we headed south down the lake. About halfway down the captain had to suddenly shut down the engine as the warning lights had come on. After a short pause, he tried firing it back up again, but once again there were warning lights and buzzers.

After another couple of fruitless attempts to get the boat working again the decision was made to try and limp the craft back to the landing stage at the midway point and tie up there to wait for the half lake tour boat that was due a little later.

With the alarm buzzers sounding, and only occasional bursts from the engine to try to prevent any damage the captain managed to get us back to the landing stage where we waited for the other boat to come and rescue us and take us on a tour of part on the norther part of the lake. We didn’t get to see the whole lake, but as they had refunded us the full cost of the ticket you couldn’t really complain.

Back in Coniston I headed over to the bus stop and was just in time to pick up the bus back towards Windermere, choosing to get off in Ambleside for a late lunch.

From Ambleside, I hopped on the open-top bus back out to Grasmere to have a wander around the village before catching the first open-top bus of the evening that was heading all the way back to Kendal.

The bus got most of the way into Windermere in the dry but then the spots of rain started to fall and after living with it for a few minutes I decided to move into the covered area at the front of the bus. I was glad I did as a couple of minutes later, and with most of the seats now filled with other people having the same idea as me the skies opened and there was a massive downpour.

In Windermere, most people got off so I was able to get a seat right at the front to be able to take in the views in the dry all the way back into Kendal.

By the time we got back to Kendal the worst of the rain was easing, but it was still a pretty damp walk back to the hotel to pick up my luggage. Given that it was still raining I cheated and ordered a taxi to take me the half mile or so from the hotel to Kendal station where I picked up the train up to Oxenholme and changed there onto my train to Watford where I was going to disembark to have a night in the hotel there before heading into the office on the Monday morning.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Torun; Wednesday, 02 August, 2017

I’d stayed overnight at a Heathrow hotel, but that still meant my alarm went off at 4:45. I staggered through the shower and dressing and then headed out to the bus stop to pick up the bus down to Terminal 3 where I checked in just minutes before an IT glitch brought the BA servers to a grinding halt.

Through in departures I had a quick breakfast and then waited for the flight to be called to board and head on my way to Poland.

We arrive in Warsaw about 15 minutes early and after a speedy journey through the airport and onto the train into the city centre it was pretty obvious that I was going to have a very long wait for my booked train out to Torun, so I had a quick check online and discovered that there was an earlier train, and I should just about make it with around 10 minutes to spare.

In the centre of Warsaw I walked from the local station to the central station and thankfully found a ticket machine without a queue, and an English interface, and was able to book myself onto the train that – at that very moment – was pulling into the platform beneath me (it’s scheduled to wait in Warsaw for around 15 minutes). I grabbed my ticket and headed down to the platform to pick up the train and continue on my journey to Torun.

Arriving in Torun on time I decided against the 30 minute walk as it was already quite hot and steamy so I grabbed a cab for the 10 minute ride over to the hotel where I was able to check-in, drop off my stuff and then head out into town.

I had a long wander around the town centre, taking in parts of the old city walls and its many towers before making my way down to the former Teutonic Knights Castle – where I arrived just as they were closing for the evening.

I had a bit more of a wander round the centre, also keeping an eye out for somewhere to eat – when I spotted a restaurant specialising in Perogi – the delicious Polish dumplings – so I ended my hunt there and had a very filling meal.

Feeling slightly bloated from the excess of dumplings I headed back through the city centre taking in the town hall square and then as I headed towards my hotel stopping off at the Fontanna Cosmopolis to take in one of it’s evening light, sound and water shows.

Starting to feel the effects of a lot of dumplings, and a very early start, I walked the short distance back t the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Torun; Thursday, 03 August, 2017

I had a nice long lie-in – so long in fact that I nearly missed breakfast. However, I made it for the last 20 minutes of service, much I think to the annoyance of the waiter who looked like he was about to start packing everything away, thankfully another couple arrived a few minutes later proving I wasn’t the last to come down.

After breakfast I headed out of the hotel for a wander along the southern part of the city walls by the river, including taking in the impressively leaning, leaning tower of Torun – originally a perfectly built tower on the walls, but following subsidence in the clay in the 19th century it’s taken on a very distinct lean with the top of the tower 1.4 meters further North than the bottom.

As I wandered along the walls I came down to the riverside just in time to see the river cruise ship pulling up to its pontoon, so I headed down and went on a cruise along a very short stretch of the Vistula river – short but very pretty as the ship sailed past the historic waterfront walls and towers of the medieval city.

Back on dry land around 50 minutes later I continued walking along the walls before I reached the point I’d got to the previous evening so I headed back into the centre of town an over to the Rynek to find somewhere for lunch.

I had a very nice lunch in a restaurant overlooking the old town hall and after lunch I headed over there to take in the museum housed in much of the old building, before tackling the 177 steps of the town hall tower to take in the views over the city.

Back down at ground level I had a bit more of a walk round the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out in search of dinner.

I hadn’t deliberately set out to find another perogi restaurant, but as I was walking around that was one of the first that I came upon and as it had a couple of spare tables left I had dinner there.

Once again stuffed with dumplings I wandered off into town to take in more of the city at night, including the area around the walls before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Torun; Friday, 04 August, 2017

Not quite such a late lie-in and a fuller breakfast, as they did replenish some of the dishes rather than clearing them away. I headed out of the hotel and over to the ruins of the former Teutonic Knights castle to look around that.

There was quite a bit to explore – whilst the remains on surface level aren’t that substantial there are some significant cellars underneath and, linked by a short enclosed passageway, over to the Gdanisko. When I’d seen it on the Wednesday afternoon I thought it was a pretty tower with a strange bridge linking it to the castle. Having read the signs it turned out that the pretty tower was inf act the communal toilet, as it sits directly above a little fast flowing stream that heads on down into the Vistula a few metres later.

Having looked round the castle I had a bit more of a wander through town taking in some more of the city walls and several more of its impressive churches – as well as finding a second Rynek on the far edge of the city centre.

I wandered back to the main Rynek and stopped there for some lunch before heading back out into the city stopping off at the Cathedral to have a quick look around (shortened as they were in the process of setting up for a big looking wedding the following day so they were closing off large parts of the church.)

From the cathedral it was a very short walk down the aptly named Kopernika to the house that Nicolaus Copernicus’ family owned around the time of his birth – so it’s assumed he may have been born there

The house is now a museum dedicated to both how a wealthy merchant family would have lived at the time and to the great man himself and his discoveries.

Having looked round the museum I had intended on visiting the city museum, but it was just on closing time when I arrived so instead I had a little bit more of a wander round the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.

I’d decided to have a smaller dinner, given I’d had quite a big lunch, so I only ordered a small plate of perogi at the restaurant, though even that was more than enough for dinner. Feeling decidedly full I went for quite a long wander around the old town to wear off some of the calories, taking in a Friday night in Torun. Lively, but fun lively – not like a Friday night in Croydon.

Suitably tired out, and with my stomach feeling slightly less bloated I headed back to the hotel to do a preliminary pack of my bag before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Torun; Saturday, 05 August, 2017

I had an earlier breakfast than I had had on the previous day as I wanted to squeeze in a trip to the Tourn Historical Museum. Consequently I was at the door of the museum just as they were opening and ended up having staff following me around switching on lights and firing up displays as I approached them. The museum was very interesting and I should have devoted more time to it, but I had to speed up my visit when I saw the time and realised I needed to get back to the hotel.

I got back about 10 minutes before the deadline to checkout, but thankfully I had finished packing after breakfast so I was just able to grab my bag and head down to reception. After checking out they called me a taxi and I headed back to the central station.

I’d expected about a 20 minute wait at the station, but that was without the taxi driver who did the journey in at least half the time the taxi had taken on the journey into town on the Wednesday, and because the train ended up being delayed by 15 minutes.

Back in Warsaw I picked up a 24 hour transport ticket and caught the tram the one stop from the central station to the stop closest to my hotel.

I checked in, headed up to my room on the 28th floor to drop my stuff off, and take in the views, and then headed down into town.

My main stop for the afternoon was to take one of the hop-on-hop-off tour buses for a tour round the city. With the combination of a long route and heavy traffic by the time we got back to the start of the route it was fast approaching 7pm so I caught the tram round to the old town and went for a wander trying to find somewhere for dinner.

There was an event going on in the Rynek which meant that all the restaurants there were either full or refusing to accept a single diner (I’m assuming working on the basis they were busy enough they would rather have every seat taken). In the end I wandered down towards the end of the old town and managed to find a very nice pizza restaurant and ate there – my first night on the trip to not include pierogi!

I had a bit more of a wander around the old town before heading back to the tramstop and making my way back to my hotel and a good night sleep 280 odd foot in the sky.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Torun; Sunday, 06 August, 2017

I’d managed to arrange a late checkout from the hotel so, after a suitably late breakfast, I headed out into town to pick up the hop-on-hop-off bus to take in some more of the town.

I only had enough time to do a single circuit – which turned out to be a good thing as the route was heavily disrupted by a number of events taking place in the city centre.

Afterwards I headed back to the hotel to finish off packing, check out and start the journey back to the airport and home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Toronto; Friday, 25 August, 2017

It wasn’t a particularly early flight, but as I’d managed to get an incredible deal on first class I’d stayed over in Heathrow the night before so I could make full use of all the facilities. It meant that after a bit of a lie in, and with no breakfast from the hotel I headed over to the terminal to checkin.

I had a very pleasant four hours in the lounge taking full advantage of the free food and drink before it was time to head to the gate, and onto the bus that took us out to the plane. Whilst I was on the bus I had a quick check on my phone for the price of the same flight the following day and was able to feel smug that anyone who turned up at Heathrow to book the flight last minute tomorrow would be paying more for economy than I’d paid to be at the very front of the bus.

It was an excellent flight, with amazing service – as you would kind of expect. It was one of BA’s most modern 787’s so the cabin only had 8 passengers for the two members of the crew to serve, so the inflight service was very personal, and it had to be one of the most comfortable flights I’ve ever had.

We landed in Toronto and after a very quick journey through the airport I was on the train into town and then down to my hotel.

I checked in, dropped off my bags and headed back down to the harbourside, immediately outside the hotel.

My room looked straight out over the harbour and to the Toronto Islands located a short distance off so it was to there that I headed first. The journey over was pretty dramatic with the stunning Toronto skyline slowly revealing itself as the ferry headed out from the harbour with the massive CN tower being the focal point.

Over on Centre Island I had a long wander round taking in the beautiful setting and the stunning vista of the Toronto skyline before heading further into the islands. I headed over the bridge onto Middle Island and had a lengthy wander round the quite difficult maze before heading over to the beach and the pier.

I took the boardwalk along the south coast of the island and onto Ward’s Island where I made it to the harbour on the north side of the island not only with plenty of time to catch the ferry back into the city centre, but also to see the sun set between the buildings of Toronto and the city start to light up for the night.

The boat took an indirect route back to the mainland, making an additional stop near the city airport to pick up more passengers but if anything it made the journey better as it meant we headed across the harbour with the CN tower slowly lighting itself up for the night.

By the time we got back to the main harbour it was close to 9pm, but even with the comfortable flight the fact it was 2am back in the UK was starting to make itself felt and I decided to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Toronto; Saturday, 26 August, 2017

I had a really good nights sleep and it was 6am before I woke up. Deciding that it probably wasn’t a good idea to try and force any more sleep as that was probably only going to make any jet lag worse I got up, had a leisurly shower and headed down to breakfast.

Breakfast completed I was out of the hotel not long after 8am and heading over to the first stop of the morning, the most iconic building in the city - the CN tower. I arrived not long after they had opened their doors for the morning, and consequently spent quite a bit of time walking round long queuing systems that were completely deserted to the cash desk and then on up through the building to the lifts to the viewing gallery.

I spent quite a bit of time up in the tower taking in the views from both the main deck and the much higher skypod some 1800ft above the ground. By the time I started coming down the tower was getting busy and the queing system was earning its keep.

I had a bit of a wander around the area near the CN tower and then on down to the harbour front before finding myself at the bus stop for the City Sightseeing bus tour so I decided to join the next tour and take in the view of the city.

The tour is very long and covers a major part of the city centre, taking over 2 hours to do a full loop. I did one full circuit and then back round to the centre of the city at Yonge-Dundas Square where I got off and had a bit of a walk around Canada’s Times Square before grabbing a late lunch and then hopping on a later bus.

I did another full circuit – taking in the views from the opposite side of the bus before ending up back in the city centre. Back at Yonge-Dundas Square I headed down into the metro to head back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out for dinner in a restaurant near the hotel.

I don’t know if it was jet lag, or just the effects of being on the go since 6am, but by the time I finished dinner, around sunset, I was feeling knackered and as it was going to be dark soon I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Toronto; Sunday, 27 August, 2017

I slept through to 7am so I thought it must just have been tiredness rather than jet lag. I had another relatively early breakfast and was out of the hotel a bit before 10am so I could head over to the harbour front to join the first harbour cruise of the morning – the trip being included for free in the City Sightseeing ticket.

The harbour cruise was very interesting – not least of all for how close it got to the end of the runway at the city centre airport.

Back at the harbour I wandered over to the bus stop to make further use of the 48 hour sightseeing ticket by catching the bus for a bit more sightseeing – this time from the top deck of a former London Routemaster that claimed it was a number 11 going to Aldwych!

I got off near the Rogers stadium, where it paused for a 15 minute comfort stop, a did a bit of souvenir shopping before heading up past the centre and down to the area around the CN tower.

Opposite the tower is the former engine shed for the railway station (the tower itself backing onto a cutting the railway runs through on final approach to Union station) which has now been converted into a leisure and retail complex including restaurants, a small museum to the history of the railroad in Ontario and Toronto, and also the home of the Steamwhistle brewery.

I had a look around the museum and some of their outside exhibits before wandering over to the brewery. Unfortunately I’d timed it at the same point as a Blue Jays baseball match had just finished at the nearby Rogers Stadium and consequently the bar area was so packed it was impossible to get near the desk to book a tour.

Instead I had a wander through the downtown area and back to the harbourside where I stopped for an early diner by the harbour.

After dinner I had a long walk along the harbour side and then, just after the sun had set, back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Toronto; Monday, 28 August, 2017

I was up again at 7am and after breakfast and packing I checked out of the hotel and headed to the metro to head out to the North of the city.

Located on high ground to the north of the city centre is Casa Loma, the home of a former business magnate who ran the Toronto Electric Light company and helped to build the hydroelectric dam at Niagra Falls. He wanted to build a palace for his wife and son so went on a tour of Europe for ideas and decided he liked all the castle so much he wanted a bit of each in his. Conseqnelty the buiding has a very distinctive look with Norman, Celtic, Scottish Baronial, Italianaite, Tudor and Teuronic influences across it (i.e. it’s a bit of a visual mess). The castle turned out to be very expensive to keep up and with his business failing – and a decision to invest in real estate in 1914 when everyone else was investing in war bonds – he was forced to move out of the castle, which was eventually taken over by the city of Toronto to cover back taxes.

Today it’s open to the public to wander round and see what being one of the richest men in Canada at the start of the 20th century brought you. It’s pretty impressive inside with lots of luxurious fittings and stunning views from the top of the towers.

I spent a good couple of hours looking round the castle before I headed back down to the metro and a couple of stops south to the Royal Ontario Museum.

The ROM is a spectacular museum housing a full mix of artefacts from Dinosaurs to the modern day. I spent several hours wandering round the museum and if it hadn’t been for an almost fatal case of museum feet I would probably have spent longer.

After taking in the ROM I headed down to the distillery district to have a look round and to grab a very late lunch.

Having looked round the district and had a very nice lunch I hopped on a streetcar back into the city centre and walked over to the town hall to have a look round the area there before realising it was time I headed back to the hotel to collect my things, head over to the airport and look forward to another very comfortable flight back to London.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Penrith; Friday, 01 September, 2017

The 33rd day of strike action on Southern had very little effect, other than ensuring that I had to work from home rather than the office as mine was one of the few trains cancelled. Which was a shame as it would have been much easier to get to Euston for my train from Watford than it was from South London.

I made it to Euston with lots of time to spare before we boarded to start the journey north which started out of Euston on time. Less than 20 minutes later we were crawling through a series of failed signals that meant by the time we finally crawled through Milton Keynes we were running nearly 30 minutes late.

The train managed to make up some of the time, but it was still 20 minutes late by the time it finally pulled into Penrith, nearly 4 hours after leaving Euston.

It was already gone 10, so by the time I’d walked down into the centre of town and checked into my hotel I was ready to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Penrith; Saturday, 02 September, 2017

I had an early breakfast and was up out of the hotel in time to get back up to the station to pick up the first open-top bus of the morning out into the Northern lakes. It was a beautiful sunny and warm morning so I was able to enjoy the stunning scenery from my top-deck open-top view. I stayed on the bus as it travelled down the length of Ullswater to the town at the Southern tip of the lake – Glenridding.

I hopped off at Glenridding, and with almost perfect timing, made the first northbound boat of the morning back up the lake towards Pooley Bridge at the Northern end. The sail up the lake took a little over an hour and offered even more stunning views that those from the bus.

Back on dry land I had a little wander round the town of Pooley Bridge before hopping on the next bus back into Penrith and changing there onto the bus out to Keswick and the second major lake of the day.

The bus stopped in the centre of Keswick from where it’s a 10 minute or so walk down to the banks of Derwentwater. Down at the riverside I joined one of the regular launches that travel round the lake in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The boat I was on went clockwise for an hour-long sail round the lake taking in yet more stunning scenery.

Back in Keswick I had a very quick lunch before boarding the second open-top bus of the day, this time heading back past Derwentwater and up into the hills south of the lake. The open top bus runs through stunning scenery – and I was quite glad I was on the driver’s side of the bus as quite often that scenery was making contact with the seats on the left-hand side.

The bus runs out to Seatoller at the foot of the Honister Pass and the views along the whole journey were breath-taking. There wasn’t much to see in Seatoller so I stayed on the bus and headed back in towards Keswick. I was glad I did as the bus got stuck in heavy traffic and what had taken just 30 minutes on the way out took nearly an hour on the way back.

Back in Keswick I was in time to catch one of the few buses a day that runs out past Bassenthwaite – the most northerly of the main lakes – and on up to Carlisle where I stopped for some dinner before catching a late evening bus back down from Carlisle to Penrith and my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Penrith; Sunday, 03 September, 2017

The weather for today wasn’t looking so good so I had an early breakfast and after checking out of the hotel I headed up to Penrith castle to do stuff early before the rains came. The ruins of the castle are pretty impressive, with their red stone walls standing high opposite the railway station, making an imposing welcome to those arriving off trains.

After some time looking round the ruins I headed back down into town to pick up the bus back out Keswick and there changed onto the much smaller number 77 bus for a trip up into the mountains.

The bus runs out from Keswick and up through the Whinlatter and Honister Passes and past Crummock Water, Buttermere and Derwentwater on its near two-hour loop through some of the most stunning scenery in the lake district.

Half way round at Buttermere the weather closed in which made the final climb up Honister pass to its peak at nearly 1,200ft all the more impressive, albeit making the view from the top of the pass down over the valley towards Derwentwater a little gloomy. Down the other side of the Honister pass the bus headed through Seatoller, where I’d been the previous day, and then along the opposite bank of Derwentwater back into Keswick.

Back in Keswick I had some lunch and was going to go for a wander when the skies opened again, this time with the kind of light persistent rain that was clearly settling in for the long term, so instead I hopped on a bus that was heading south through the lake district towards Windermere and Kendal to take in the views alongside Thirlmere.

I hopped off the bus in Ambleside and headed back towards Keswick – this time with a bit of a break in the weather so I was able to see much more of the amazing scenery.

Back in Keswick and I had an early dinner in the town centre before heading back to the bus station to pick up the bus back into Penrith, pick up my luggage and head back to the railway station and my train back south.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Bruges; Friday, 15 September, 2017

It was a very early alarm call for the taxi to get up to St Pancras in time for the early morning Eurostar. In the end we’d actually overestimated the time required and ended up at St Pancras nearly an hour before check-in opened, but at least it meant we could have a breakfast before heading through security.

A smooth journey through check-in and security, an on-time departure and early arrival into Brussels and the re-opening of the interchange corridor at Midi meant that we were on a train heading out to Bruges a little after 11:30.

From Bruges station we took a cab round to the hotel and dropped our bags off, as it was still a little too early to check in, and then headed out into the town for a bit of a wander, stopping off at a bar in the Markt for a late lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to complete check-in and then headed back out to pick up the city tour mini-bus for a tour of Bruges.

After the tour we went for a little wander through the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and then out to dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Bruges; Saturday, 16 September, 2017

Looking out of the window it was onto a scene of a massive downpour that was pummelling the canal below, so it looked like the day might be a bit of a washout. However, during breakfast the rain started to reduce down to a drizzle, and by the time we left the hotel just before 10am it was down to only the occasional spit.

It meant we could hop onto an early canal tour in a virtually empty boat and take in the city sights from the water.

Following the tour we headed over to a nearby café for a late morning coffee before wandering through the old town and down to the Beguinage to have a look around that before stopping for lunch at a nearby restaurant with a view over the point on the canal where all the boats turn and head back. It was also the resting point for horses doing carriage rides through the city.

After lunch we continued having a wander through the old town, stopping when we got back to the Markt for a late afternoon coffee.

Following a bit more of a wander we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then back out for dinner.

After dinner we had a little bit more of a wander before heading back to the hotel

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Bruges; Sunday, 17 September, 2017

The Sunday was a car free day in the city centre and consequently there were no vehicles – not even buses – allowed in the city centre, which made getting back to the station interesting.

Given that we’d explored much of what there was to see in Bruges we decided to head to the perimeter of the car free zone and pick up a cab back to the station to catch a train out to Oostende.

Having put our bags into the luggage lockers at Oostende we headed over to the tram station and picked up the Kusttram to head north along the Belgium coast towards the Dutch border.

We hopped off in Blankenberge and went for a wander along the sea front and out down the concrete pier – the only pier in Belgium.

Back on the seafront we found a quite nice restaurant and had an early lunch before heading back down to the tram stop and picking the Kusttram back to Oostende where we picked up our luggage and caught the train back in towards Brussels.

We arrive back in Midi about an hour before check-in was due to open, so we popped to a bar just outside the station for a drink before it was time to check-in, join our train and head back to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Bilbao; Friday, 22 September, 2017

I was booked on a very early flight, so I’d stayed overnight in a hotel near Heathrow. The flight was so early that the time I needed to check-in was before the hotel hoppa buses started running, so I had to get a cab down to the terminal building.

It was a smooth journey through the airport and onto the plane, which started boarding early and ended up pushing back off the stand around 15 minutes ahead of schedule. It was a smooth flight and with the early departure and a bit of a tail wind we ended up landing in Bilbao around 20 minutes early.

I cleared the airport and hopped onto a bus into the city centre where I changed onto the Metro over to my hotel and went to check-in. My room wasn’t ready straight away so the hotel gave me a free coffee whilst housekeeping finished it off.

Checked in and with my bags safely stowed in my room I headed out for a bit of a wander round the town – aiming to be down at the first stop of the open-top bus in time for the next departure, which I was.

I did two circuits of the open-top bus, taking in the sights of the city before it returned back to its starting point at the Guggenheim and ended its journeys for the day.

I wandered into the Guggenheim and had a long look round the gallery, though to be honest the most interesting part was the building itself.

From the Guggenheim I had a bit of a wander back along the waterfront and then on into the Old Town where I had a look around the streets of the original part of the city.

By now I was starting to get very hungry, but it was clear that the people of Basque Country do not eat particularly early and virtually no restaurants were open, so I headed back towards the hotel into the more touristy part of the city where I was able to find an open restaurant for dinner before I headed back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Light Rain Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bilbao; Saturday, 23 September, 2017

Around 2am it was clear that all the walking of the previous day had had a less than positive effect on my right knee which was woke me up in the middle of the night to express its displeasure in the form of pain. I eventually managed to get back to sleep after a couple of pain killers and a lot of Voltarol rubbed into the skin to try and calm down the inflammation.

Thankfully I’d remembered to pack a knee support in my bag for just such an eventuality, so heavily strapped up I was able to hobble down for breakfast.

After breakfast I, slowly, walked down to the riverside and caught the tram two stops round to the Guggenheim museum and picked up the morning open-top bus to do a bit more sightseeing that didn’t require any movement on my part.

Back at the Guggenheim I stopped at the very nice café by the entrance for a lengthy lunch and then, with my knee slightly less painful that it had been previously, slowly walked the half mile or so over to the Funicular railway to take the train up to the top of the Artxanda mountain and the viewing point up there for some stunning views over the city.

Having spent some time up at the viewing point I caught the funicular back down the hill and hobbled back over towards the hotel – taking several strategic bench stops to take in the view and to rest my leg.

Back at the hotel I decided it was probably best not to head back out for dinner, so instead I had what turned out to be a very nice meal in the hotel restaurant, before turning in for an early night to make up for the lack of sleep the previous night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Bilbao; Sunday, 24 September, 2017

My knee was feeling better so it was a slightly quicker walk down from the hotel to the riverside after I’d checked out to pick up the boat tour I’d booked.

The tourism website had suggested booking a ticket in advance, but made it sound like this was an option rather than actually being essential. I’d taken the advice and was in possession of a ticket for a two hour cruise down the river to the sea and back – and I was glad I had as more and more people turned up and it became clear that the sailing was fully booked. In the end around 40 people got turned away.

The cruise was very pleasant sailing down the river through the city centre and then out to the coast, including passing under the spectacular transporter bridge shortly before reaching the harbour.

Back in the city centre after the tour I headed over to the metro and picked up the train back out to the transporter bridge. The bridge was fully restored and re-opened at the start of the 21st Century and this included the installation of lifts up to the top gantry – allowing people to go to the very top of the bridge to take in the view and watch the transporter mechanism at work.

The visit which included an audio guide took around 90 minutes to complete, so by the time I’d caught the gondolier back over to the pier I’d started at it was time to catch the metro back into the city centre, wander over to the hotel and pick up my luggage before heading back to the airport and the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Bucharest; Friday, 20 October, 2017

I’d stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport, so it was a quick journey into terminal 5, and then a very smooth journey through. The flight inbound had been delayed by nearly 40 minutes because of congestion at the airport, but they worked wonders on the turnaround and we were only 20 minutes late pushing back in the end.

An uneventful 3-hour flight later we touched down in Bucharest and after quite a bit of a wait for my luggage I was on the express bus into town – albeit not particularly express like as we hit Friday evening rush hour (or at least I hoped that was why the traffic was quite so bad.)

Nearly an hour after leaving the airport, just 16Km away, I arrived at my hotel and checked in. Having dropped my stuff in my room I headed back out and over to the nearby metro station to catch the tube into the city centre.

I went for a little bit of a wander around the city centre, mostly heading over to the Old Town to have a look around.

On my wanders I found a couple of very nice-looking restaurants, so I stopped in one for a quick dinner and drink before I continued wandering through the old town and over to the New St George church before walking up into the university district.

There I spotted a metro station, which was in fact the next one down from the one nearest my hotel, so I hopped on the metro and headed back to my hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Bucharest; Saturday, 21 October, 2017

I had a nice long lie-in and a good breakfast, so by the time I finally made it out of the hotel it was already well gone 11am.

My first stop of the morning was to wander down to Revolution square – pausing briefly to have a look round the outside of the Ateneul Român theatre. The square was the point where the revolution in Romania in December 1989 really picked up a head of steam. There had been protests for some time in the city of Timisoara, and on the morning of 21st December Ceausescu addressed a crowd of about 100,000 people in the square from a balcony on the (now former) Communist Party Headquarters building that dominates one side of the square. The speech had been designed to make it look like Ceausescu was still in control, but the crowd had different ideas and started heckling, booing and chanting the name Timisoara. As the secret police started to open fire a full-scale riot broke out and from there several days of fighting and bloodshed lead to the rapid collapse of the regime. On Christmas day Ceausescu and his wife were executed.

Today the square houses two memorials to those who died in the fighting with one listing the names of all those who were killed by the Ceausescu forces. Today it’s difficult to imagine what this space must have been like at the time – the fast roads and hordes of tourists not helping.

After taking in the square I continued wandering south along the Western edge of the old town – taking in some of the more interesting buildings, along with some of the truly ugly communist era blocks.

Down in the centre of the city I turned onto Union Boulevard and walked along its western end from the river up to the imposing bulk of the Palace of Parliament. This massive building required the demolition of vast parts of the old city and is now the 2nd largest administrative building in the world (after the Pentagon). After taking in the views from the outside I wandered round to the tradesmen and tourists entrance to join a tour.

The tours run regularly, particularly in English, though from the organisation you wouldn’t have thought so as it was quite chaotic getting through booking, purchase and then security screening. In the end the 2pm tour that I was booked on didn’t get underway until well gone 14:30, but it was worth the hassle as the tour shows off some of the most impressive rooms and halls of the building – even if you only visit less than 5% of the whole structure.

After the tour I had a bit more of a wander before finding myself back in the Old Town, and as it was fast approaching 5pm I decided to stop for a very late lunch or early dinner and a drink in another very nice restaurant. In the end the food (and beer) was so good that I spent much longer than I normally would on dinner and it had long since gotten dark when I paid the bill and walked back through the university district to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Bucharest; Sunday, 22 October, 2017

Another lie-in and a filling breakfast and then it was off out. In this instance over to the metro station and a couple of stops north to the Parcul Herastrau – one of the city’s largest parks and its green lung.

I’d originally intended on just popping up to the park to visit the ethnographic museum, but the park had so much to see and do that I spent the whole day there.

The first stop I made was at the corner of the park by the Arcul de Triumf, a large triumphal arch in the middle of an incredibly busy roundabout (so yes, a copy of the Arc de Triomphe in every way). From there I wandered down the curiously named Aleea Michael Jackson (strange because on his one visit to the city he stood on the balcony of the Palace of the Parliament and said Hello Budapest.) The avenue runs up through the heart of the park with large trees lining the pathway, and in mid-October, showing everything with a myriad colour of leaves.

I then wandered down to the lake side and was impressed by the size of the lake, and the fact there were quite large boats doing cruises round it, so as you can imagine one of the landing stages was my next destination, getting there by walking through a garden dedicated to the founding fathers of the European Community.

The 25-minute cruise round the lake was very pleasant, particularly with the stunning colours of the various trees in their autumn finery. There wasn’t any commentary, but if anything, that made it more pleasant as there was just the sound of water going past and the wind rustling (and dislodging) the leaves.

Back at the landing stage I walked around the corner to the former Expo building which has now been turned into an enormous beerhall, though given the weather was so nice I decided to sit outside and had a very pleasant lunch.

Lunch completed I headed back through the park to the ethnographic museum which had been my goal several hours previously when I had set out. The museum is of a similar design to the many others I’ve been to with lots of rural buildings collected from across the country and rebuilt in the museum. Perhaps the most impressive were the half sunken pit houses which are semi dug into the ground and hunkered down almost invisible in the landscape. There was also a very impressive large wooden church that looked remarkably like a Scandinavian stave church.

I spent virtually the whole of the afternoon wandering round the museum before heading back out into the park and through the final rose garden area down to the metro back to the hotel. I quickly freshened up before heading back to the metro and into town to grab some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bucharest; Monday, 23 October, 2017

Given it was Monday a lot of sites were going to be closed, so I took advantage to have another decent lie in and a late breakfast before heading out.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a wasted trip as the Natural History Museum that I headed to was closed – despite Google Maps and the website saying it was open. It turned out that the summer season had ended the previous Friday, but sites that are open on Mondays in the summer hadn’t all got around to updating their information.

I headed back into town and was going to visit the ruins of a palace from the time of Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Impaler), but that turned out to be closed also as it was undergoing restoration – this time having been like that since 2015!

So instead I had a bit of a wander around the old town and then over to Union Square to take some photos down to the parliament palace. I wandered back to the metro to catch it back to the hotel at which point I spotted the bus stop for the buses back to the airport – and more importantly – how busy they were.

My original plan had been to head back to the hotel, have a spot of lunch and then pick up the bus back on the main road, but it was clear if I did that I would probably be standing for the best part of an hour back to the airport so instead I headed back to the hotel, picked up my bags and headed straight back to the city centre to catch the bus.

I just missed one as I came out of the metro station, but I was quite glad for that as it was standing room only on that one. I walked down to the bus stop and the next one out was already sat waiting, with people already on board, so I could get on and get a seat.

By the time the bus pulled out 20 minutes late there were only a handful of seats left and they had all gone at the next stop near the University, so by the time it got to the stop near my hotel it was very full and several people I recognised from the hotel were struggling to get on.

From there it was a long and at time tortuous ride out to the airport with every set of lights on red for three or four minutes at a time, but we eventually made it whilst the checkin area was being set up. Once setup was complete I could checkin, pass through security and have a much later lunch than I’d anticipated before the flight started boarding.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Rome; Friday, 10 November, 2017

It was an early flight, so I’d stayed overnight near Heathrow, but it still meant a pre-dawn exit from the hotel to get to the airport in time.

It was a smooth journey through the airport, the flight and onto a train into town before I found out that the last part of the journey wasn’t going to be so smooth as the local public transport in Rome was all on strike for the day, meaning getting to the hotel and then on into town was going to be complicated. Thankfully the first leg wasn’t too bad as the train station I was headed to was only one stop on the metro from the hotel, so it was barely a kilometre walk, I just hadn’t realised from the map that was mostly up the side of a hill.

I arrived at the hotel slightly more puffed out that I was expecting and had a little rest there before heading out to go into town. I’d originally booked the hotel as it was a little way away from the city centre, but located very close to a metro station so I thought it was going to be easy to get around. Now I had the choice of an hours walk into the city centre, or an expensive taxi ride. I opted for the taxi.

Rome’s traffic is never great at the best of times, and when the public transport isn’t running that doesn’t make things any better, so it took nearly 40 minutes to drive over to Piazza del Popolo where I’d asked to be dropped off.

I had a wander around the square before heading further in towards the centre of the city, stopping off at the Spanish Steps, and then just round the corner for a pre-dinner drink in a nice café hidden in a side street by the steps which had the advantage of being able to people watch, but not being ridiculously priced.

From there I continued walking through the centre and eventually found myself at Piazza Barberini where there were several good restaurants, so I stopped there for dinner.

The public transport workers had a suspension of their strike pencilled in for 17:30-21:00 to allow Roman’s to get home from their offices, but it also meant I was having to eat to a time frame and had to rush dinner a little to try and get away in time to be able to get the metro back to the hotel.

Unfortunately, the restaurant didn’t have the fastest of service and by the time I’d asked for the bill, been brought a complementary limoncello (which was very kind of them and on any other night would have been a welcome gift, but not when you’re on the clock for the last metro) and then finally the bill I was very close to the time of the last service.

From the restaurant it was a short walk down to the metro station and onto the metro back towards Termini where I needed to change onto the metro line out to the hotel. Unfortunately, the delay in the restaurant was enough to ensure that I caught the last metro from Piazza Barberini, but that also meant I’d missed the last metro at Termini, so I had a long 30 minute walk back through the university district to the hotel.

By the time I got back to the hotel I was feeling knackered with the combination of the long walk (which despite coming from the opposite direction also included a hefty bit up hill) and the early start, so I had an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Rome; Saturday, 11 November, 2017

I had a quick breakfast and then headed round to the metro stop to catch the train into town, thankfully the service was fully running this morning and so just 8 minutes later I was emerging out of the exit of Colosseum station and into the huge crowds of tourists milling around.

I joined the back of the security and ticket queue which whilst it was long was moving quite quickly – despite the claims of the touts trying to sell “skip the line” access that it would be hours before anyone would get in if they waited in the queue. Sure enough less than 40 minutes later I had passed through security, ticket purchasing and was standing on the second level of the colosseum looking over the arena floor.

I had a long look round the Colosseum before heading over the Piazza to the Palatine Hill, which was included in the entrance fee and spent most of the rest of the morning and the afternoon wandering round both that and the Roman Forum.

I stopped for a quick bite to eat at a restaurant near the forum for a very late lunch before heading round to the open-top bus tours stop and catching the first tour that came round – which happened to be City Sightseeing.

With a combination of Saturday afternoon traffic and a number of political demonstrations taking place across the city it took the bus some time to go round the tour and by the time we got to Termini, stop 1 on the tour, it was already getting dark – so I was able to stay on the bus and take a night time sightseeing tour through Rome.

I did a full circuit in the dark and then stayed on round until just after the Colosseum where I got off and headed in towards the centre of the city to go in hunt of dinner.

After a bit of walking I ended up at Piazza Navona which had several very nice restaurants round the edge so after a bit of menu reviewing I picked on with good views over the square and settled down to a very nice dinner.

Quite a bit later, and quite a lot fuller, I wandered out of the square and walked through the centre of the city over to the nearest metro station at the Spanish Steps where I caught the metro back to Termini to change and then on up to the hotel.

Back at the hotel I had a quick nightcap in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Rome; Sunday, 12 November, 2017

I had a bit of a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading on into town.

I’d see the previous day that the same bus that ran past the hotel also ran into the very centre of the city so rather than taking the metro I picked up the bus and headed down to the Largo di Torre Argentina, the largest remains of Republican era Rome and more famously home to many feral cats.

Due to the cat sanctuary you can’t actually go down into the remains, but you can get a good view of them from the pavement above, so I had a long look round before crossing over the road and heading back in towards the city centre, stopping off at the stunning Pantheon.

There was quite a queue to get into the Pantheon, but it was moving quickly, and it was well worth it to take in the stunning view of a nearly 2000-year-old unsupported dome that is the key attraction of this site.

Having taken in the Pantheon I wandered a bit further through the old town before stumbling across the Trevi fountain which was absolutely heaving with tourists all attempting to chuck coins over their shoulders whilst avoiding the countless people trying to sell selfie-sticks and mobile phone chargers (they never show that in the films…)

I found a little café in a side street away from the fountain for a light lunch before heading back over to Piazza Barberini. By now the clouds that had filled the sky were starting to rapidly leak their moisture and it was turning into quite a grey and damp afternoon. Thankfully the open-top buses weren’t – they all had roofs pull across them, so I boarded one of them to take the tour in the daylight around the city. I did a full circuit and stayed on the one extra stop onto Termini where I got off and headed down into the Metro.

I caught the metro back to the hotel and picked up my bag before wandering over to the bus stop and taking the bus back down the hill to Tiburtina station to catch the train back to the airport and my flight back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Oslo; Friday, 01 December, 2017

I’d been working at home and had to make a bit of a dash across London to get to the airport in time – not for the flight, but to find a quiet space to be able to take part in the last conference call of the day that if I’d stayed at home for I would have missed the flight.

After finishing the call, I had a late check-in, but thankfully a smooth journey through the airport and to the gate.

The flight was delayed a little by evening congestion, and further delayed on route by strong headwinds, so I was really quite glad that I only had to walk the 300m or so from the terminal building to my hotel for the night.

Having checked in I headed up to my room and straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Very Cold (-20--10C, -4-14F)
-10ºC/14ºF

Oslo; Saturday, 02 December, 2017

The hotel was clearly designed for conferences, so on a Saturday morning in early December the massive breakfast room looked deserted, even though there must have been about 30 people having breakfast.

After a filling breakfast I packed up my bag, checked out and headed back to the terminal building to catch the train into Oslo where I changed onto the tram replacement bus – the tram stops by the hotel having been closed for roadworks – and caught that round to the hotel.

I thought I would be way too early to check-in and would have to leave my luggage – but the hotel already had a room ready for me and let me check-in really early, so I was able to dump my bags and headed out into the city.

First stop was to wander down through Vinterland near the National Theatre – their Christmas market – though the thought of paying nearly £10 for a small cup of mulled wine slightly dented any idea of fully participating in the Christmas market feel.

I headed on down towards Akyr Brygge and had a wander around there, an area that had changed massively in the less than four years since I was last here. From Akyr Brygge I caught the tram round to Majorstuen and then the metro up into the hills to Frognersterene to take in the views over the Fjord as a very early sunset approached.

Back down in the city centre I headed back to the hotel to take advantage of the free afternoon waffles that were included in the room rate, and then went for a bit more of a walk around the royal palace area where the hotel was.

I didn’t wander for long as the time of the free dinner that was also included in the room rate was approaching so I headed back to the hotel and had that.

After dinner I wandered back down to the Fjord edge and then on up into the castle area to take in the views at night.

By now it was starting to get really cold, and I was feeling quite tired, so I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-7ºC/19ºF

Oslo; Sunday, 03 December, 2017

After another filling breakfast and checking out I headed back down to Aker Brygge and booked onto the afternoon fjord cruise – one of the few tours actually running in December. The tour wasn’t for another hour, so I headed up into the castle to have a wander around and take in the stunning views of the fjord with a light mist under a crystal clear blue sky.

Back down in the harbour I’d arrived about 10th in the queue and was quite glad I got there early as within 5 minutes the queue was very long. We boarded about 12:45 and I was able to get a really good seat. Everyone made it on, but the last to board didn’t have great views – or were out at the very front of the ship taking the full blast of the freezing air.

The tour lasted just over 2 hours during which we took in a large part of the inner fjord, passing several of the islands, and a brief stop at Bygdøy for the museums, before heading back into town with the sun setting into the Fjord.

Having spent two hours sat in the open I was feeling quite cold, so I headed over to a café in the nearby shopping centre and had a long coffee and waffle break before going for a final wander through the area around the harbour.

I then headed back to the hotel to pick up my bags and head back over to the station and the train back to the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Berlin; Wednesday, 20 December, 2017

I’d worked from home in the morning, and after clearing the last email I quickly packed my bag and headed to the airport.

I had a smooth journey through Heathrow and despite lengthy delays to many other flights ours was only a few minutes late starting boarding. The fog that had been plaguing London for the previous couple of days was still around so there was a lengthy taxi and quite a wait to take off, which despite the best efforts of the captain to get us to Berlin fast still meant we were 20 minutes late landing.

Having picked up my luggage I headed out of Tegel Airport and picked up the TXL bus in towards the city centre. I had originally intended on getting off at the Hauptbahnhof and grabbing a quick bit to eat, but it turned out that the bus stopped one tram stop back from the hotel, and as there was a tram behind us as we pulled into the Hauptbahnhof I stayed onto the shared stop and quickly swapped to the tram.

After checking in and dropping off my stuff I headed back out and picked up the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof to have a snack dinner of a Bratwurst before picking up the U-Bahn over to the Brandenburg Gate.

The whole area was looking very festive with a massive tree, and a busking saxophone player belting out Christmas tunes.

I had a long wander round the area before walking further down Unter den Linden to the Berliner Dom to take some photos round there, before finishing off by walking on down towards Alexanderplatz.

The area around the Neptune fountain at the base of the TV tower is home to one of the largest of the city’s Christmas markets so I had a long wander round that, before it reached closing time and we were all ushered out of the site and over towards the railway station.

As I arrived at the train station a tram heading back to the hotel was just arriving so I took that as a hint and headed back to the hotel and my bed.

Weather

No Data Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Berlin; Thursday, 21 December, 2017

I had intended on having a nice long lie-in and getting a late breakfast, but the hotel was in the process of commissioning a new fire alarm system and they started the (very loud) tests a little after 8am, so I was forced to get up and have a noisy shower before heading down to breakfast.

After breakfast, and just about recovering my hearing, I headed out of the hotel and made my way towards Spandau the North West corner of the city.

Here is the Spandau Zitadelle, one of the oldest buildings in the city and a fine example of a Prussian fortress with it’s star bastions and tower. The site was used for arms manufacturing right up until the start of the 20th century and managed to survive the arrival of the Soviet soldiers in the city in the dying days of WWII by everyone assuming it was much better fortified and guarded than it was.

Today the site is undergoing major refurbishment with a walk around the walls partly completed and an interesting museum located in the main gatehouse, with a couple of other museums located in buildings around the site. The main museum links to the Julius tower – which dominated the site, and from the top of which there are excellent views over the fort to fully appreciate the shape of the bastions, and more importantly the natural sights of the Havel and Spree rivers joining – the main reason for a fortification being here in the first place.

I spent a long time looking round the fortress and by the time I left I was starting to feel quite hungry so I caught the train back into the centre of Berlin, getting off at Zoo station to visit the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz to get some food and have a wander around. This market is located around the memorial church at the end of Kurfürstendamm and has an added poignancy as it was the location of the 2016 truck attack on Christmas market that killed a number of people. Around the memorial church a small display of photos of the victims and a large number of candles adds to the power of the memorial church.

Having taken in the Christmas Market I wandered back to Zoo station and picked up the number 100 bus to do a bit of free sightseeing from the top of a local bus past the Tiergarten and the Reichstag to Alexanderplatz where I wandered through the square and yet another Christmas Market.

I topped up the last of my Christmas shopping at this market before catching the tram back to my hotel to drop the shopping off and then headed back out into town for some dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Berlin; Friday, 22 December, 2017

Thankfully the fire system commissioning had been completed successfully so I was able to have a bit of lie-in, as did quite a few people in the hotel and breakfast was much busier than it had been the previous morning.

After breakfast I walked the short distance to the Nordbahnhof and picked up the S-Bahn South West through the city to the botanical garden.

I had a long walk around the Botanical Garden, following the suggested Winter Walk to see the parts of the gardens that are best in the winter months before heading over to the glass houses and having a look around them – including the spectacular, and beautifully warm, Großes Tropenhaus (Large Tropical House).

From the glasshouses I walked the short distance to the Botanical Museum and had a brief look around that before leaving the gardens and making my way back into the city centre, getting off the train at the Hauptbahnhof.

At 3pm on the last Friday before Christmas the Hauptbahnhof was spectacularly busy with people trying to get away all over Germany and trains all looking packed. I decided to get away from the station as quickly as possible and headed back over to the hotel, and after dropping off some of my stuff, heading next door to the Natural History Museum.

The museum has a massive collection, with pride of place being given to their substantial collection of Dinosaur skeletons – how a Natural History Musuem should do it! Along with the usual collection of stuffed animals there is also the ‘Wet Collection’ – thousands of specimens preserved in formaldehyde in glass jars all stacked on shelves in an enormous glass cube – it makes for quite a creepy exhibition.

Having done the museum I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out into town to get some dinner, before heading back to the hotel and having an earlyish night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Berlin; Saturday, 23 December, 2017

I had a bit of lie-in and a late breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading over towards the East of the city.

Earlier in 2017 Berlin had been host to the Internationale Gartenausstellung, a horticultural exhibition located at the same park that the 1987 exposition had been held at. Given the 87 even was in then East Germany the whole area had been renovated and rebuilt in time for this years exhibition.

The park itself is undergoing further work to convert it fully into a public space, but the bulk of the site is open to look around, including the cable car that links the two corners of the park and the high ground in the centre that includes a viewing tower and café.

I arrived at the park by the Cable car entrance so immediately took the car up to the middle station where I then climbed the viewing tower to take in the views over the city. Unfortunately the murk, and quit high winds meant there was nothing to see and it was pretty cold. As the rest of this area is still undergoing works I had to re-join the cable car to descend down to the ‘Gardens of the World’ stop to then visit the gardens, just making it in time as by now they were stopping people from boarding the cable car due to the high winds.

I spent a couple of hours wandering round the gardens, including the impressive maze and the very pretty Chinese and Water gardens. By then the wind had died down a bit so I was able to walk back to the cable car stop and take it back up over the high point and down to the U-Bahn station to catch the train back into town.

I stopped off in the Ostbahnhof to grab a spot of very late lunch and then caught the train round a couple of stops to Alexanderplatz to have a final look round the Christmas markets before it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and head for the airport.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Nottingham; Friday, 05 January, 2018

I’d been up in Nottingham for a couple of days, following a work meeting in the city, so as soon as I powered down the laptop I was able to head out into the city.

I walked over to the castle and had a long wander around the area taking in the castle, the Robin Hood statue and the Brewhouse Yard as well as a quick stop by the oldest pub in England – Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.

From Brewhouse Yard I walked back towards the station and picked up a tram back into the city centre to find somewhere to have dinner.

I had a little bit more of a wander around the centre – though much of the area around the impressive Council House and Old Market Square was closed off as they were in the process of dismantling the Christmas Market.

As it was starting to get late, and I was feeling lazy I caught the tram one stop back up the hill to the lace market and walked back over to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Nottingham; Saturday, 06 January, 2018

I had a filling breakfast and headed out into town to take in some of the key sites. First stop of the morning were the city caves, located beneath the Broadmarsh shopping centre.

When I’d visited about 15 years previously there had been a limited audio tour of the caves, but as it was a Saturday there was a guided tour about to leave so I was able to go on that and found out a lot more than I had the previous time, not least of all being able to put into context the layout of the caves as being a system that would have been accessed from the foot of the cliff, but with the building of the shopping centre on top of it the cliff itself had disappeared into the building. At one stage on the tour you walk out what would have been one of the entrances and into the modern concrete box of the shopping centre above.

The caves are now part of the same organisation as what were called, when I last visited, the Galleries of Justice and are now called the National Justice Museum, so it made sense to buy a joint ticket and that was my next destination.

The Galleries of Justice had been interesting, if a little bit cheesy with the live re-enactors showing you what life as a Victorian criminal would have been like. The National Justice Museum is a considerably more learned institution – with the re-enactors taking you through the process of a court case in the Victorian court house. The museum has many exhibits on all aspects of justice, crime and punishment from the grim days of the past up to the modern day.

By the time I finished looking round the museum it was already mid-afternoon, so I grabbed a quick lunch before heading back over to the castle to have a look around the grounds and the building itself.

I hadn’t realised that the castle closed quite early, so I hadn’t seen all of the museums galleries when the custodians started to close everything up for the evening.

I had a bit more of a wander around the grounds – and then noticed another hefty looking shower approaching, so quickly headed back over to the hotel, making it back with a couple of minutes to spare before the heavens opened again.

I waited out the shower and then, once it was dry, walked down to the Old Town Square to find some dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Nottingham; Sunday, 07 January, 2018

After checking out of the hotel I caught the tram round to the station and the train out of town and along the Trent to the market town of Newark.

Newark was a key Royalist town during the Civil War, though it’s history goes back much further than that with it playing a key part in English history for a long while. King John (he of the Robin Hood legends, and more factually of Magna Carta) attended a great feast in the castle from which he contracted dysentery and promptly died in a room above the gatehouse.

The castle was the main point of my visit, and despite only a small fragment of it remaining, it is still very impressive – not least of all for the way it rises from the banks of the River Trent. Almost as impressive is the large Town Lock on the river from which there are particularly good views of the castle and river.

I crossed the river at the lock and headed back to the castle to have a look around the site. Other than a couple of towers, parts of the Gatehouse and the wall facing the river nothing else of the castle remains, so it wasn’t a very long visit to take in the whole of the site.

I had a quick wander around the town before heading back to the station and picking up the train back into Nottingham. I caught the tram round into the city centre and stopped for a late lunch before wandering back to the Old Town Square and taking some photos of the area – now most of the Christmas market had been cleared away, and it was actually possible to see the buildings.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and start my journey back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Alicante; Friday, 12 January, 2018

Despite booking into an airport hotel and having checked in my luggage the night before it was still an un-holy hour that I had to get up and stagger in a still sleepy state through security and into departures.

Thankfully it appeared that everyone else had decided to just walk zombie like to the gate rather than explore the departures lounge and 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time we were already pushing back and heading for the runway.

With a strong tailwind we zoomed down to the South of Span and landed 35 minutes early into Alicante and through an almost deserted airport. I was already on a bus heading into town at the same time as we should have arrived.

Of course, at 10am no good hotel is going to have a room ready so I wasn’t able to checkin, but they did take my bag off of me so I could go exploring. My first stop of the morning being to walk up behind the hotel to the Castell de Sant Ferran. The castle is interesting for being almost ruinous with no buildings, other than the outer walls, but from it’s remains there are excellent views across the city to the much more impressive Castell de la Santa Bàrbara. I had a long walk round the fortress, taking in the views, and the pleasant sensation of warm sun on my skin – something that had been missing in the UK for some time.

Just outside the gates of the castle was a very nice little café, which I stopped at for a large lunch – breakfast having been very quick at the airport many hours earlier. By the time I’d finished lunch and wandered back down the hill into town I was able to check in to the hotel and freshen up a little.

From the hotel I headed back out into town and caught the tram from the centre out towards Santa Barbara castle. I had a long wander around the base of the hill that the castle is on, before making my way round to the lift that takes you up through the centre of the rock and to the top level of the castle. By the time I got to the top the sun was setting and I was able to take in some amazing views of the city as it was bathed in the last light of the sun.

I continued to have a look round the castle, which is open until 10pm each night and, once those up for the sunset have gone, gives you almost the castle to yourself to explore. However, with the last lift back down at 19:45 I made sure I didn’t stay up too long as I didn’t fancy the hike back down in the dark.

Back down at sea level I walked up through the old town and took in the Basilica of Saint Mary and some more of the old town squares before finding a nice restaurant for a light dinner and then back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Alicante; Saturday, 13 January, 2018

I had a bit of a lie-in, and a quick breakfast in the hotel, before heading out into the centre of town and picking up the tram out to the neighbouring town of El Campello. Located just outside the centre of the town is a small promontory that for much of the last 8,000 years was a separate island, and home to various groups from the Bronze age forward. Today, connected back to the land the site is an active archaeological dig and a great insight into the history of this part of Iberia.

The bronze age site is cut across by a large Roman villa and bath house, showing the continuous use of the site. Having looked round the Illeta del Banyets I headed back on the tram a few stops to Lucentum to visit the Roman remains there. This is the site of the original Roman city of Alicante and has significant remains to explore including the original Forum and the east gate – complete with the stone worn down by centuries of cart wheels running over it.

After looking round Lucentum I caught the tram back out to the beach at El Campello and had a bit of a wander along the sea front, before finding a nice restaurant on the sea front to stop in for a quick lunch.

From the beach I walked back to the tram stop, caught the tram back into the centre of Alicante and wandered over to the Archaeological museum.

The large and impressive museum traces the history of the area from the prehistoric through the Iberian and Roman cultures to the middle ages and the run up to the Spanish revolution.

Having looked round the museum I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then, a little later once they had actually opened for the evening, headed out to find a restaurant for dinner.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Alicante; Sunday, 14 January, 2018

First stop of the morning was the very impressive roundabout above the tram terminus in the centre of town – complete with ornamental gardens and a giant fountain. From there it was a short walk down to the elegant central market and finally down into the old town to the very non-descript Cathedral, hidden in the heart of the old town.

From the cathedral I walked on through the old town to the Town Hall before heading over to the Water Museum, which wasn’t as interesting as it’s website made out, but the remains of the ancient cistern and well deep beneath the castle hill was much more interesting.

The museum is next to one of the main entrances to the Ereta Park which winds up the side of the castle hill towards the walls and fortifications of Castell de la Santa Bàrbara. I spent a long time walking up through the park, stopping regularly to take in the stunning views – including a significantly more impressive view of the Cathedral and its colourful domes from above – features that are completely hidden at ground level.

The park continues right up to the fortified wall that runs down from the castle – though these days it conveniently has a large gateway in it that allows you to cross through to the other side and access the main entrance to the castle.

I started to have a wander around the lower levels of the castle, before finding the very nice restaurant that had lots of good reviews on the internet. As there was a table in the sun, and it was early afternoon, I decided to stop off for lunch here and have a very enjoyable meal taking in the views and basking in the warmth of a sunny January day on the Costa Brava.

Quite a lot later, after a large lunch, I continued my wandering around the castle, taking in the various buildings and exhibitions. The castle is home to parts of the city museum and alongside the history of the castle they tell a little of the history of the city as well.

By the time I’d finished wandering round the castle the sun was already low in the sky and the winds were starting to take the edge of the temperatures, so I headed over to the lift and descended back down to the seafront. From there I walked along the promenade for a little way until it reached the first tram stop outside of the city centre and then caught the tram back to the city centre and walked back to the hotel.

Later in the evening, once I’d finally finished digesting lunch, I popped back out into the city to grab a light dinner in a tapas bar near the hotel, before returning to my room to sleep off all the days food.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Alicante; Monday, 15 January, 2018

I checked out of the hotel and wandered down to the bus station through a very light drizzle. I dropped off my bags in the left luggage and then headed along the harbour front and down the esplanade to the old town.

I headed into the old town and popped into the Cathedral for a quick look around, the previous day it being busy with people attending mass.

From the cathedral I walked up into the highest part of the old town, on the edge of the Ereta park and at the end of the city wall. I had intended on walking along the part of the walls that are open to visitors, but I missed the staircase that lead up onto the wall and by the time I’d climbed to the top of the old town and realised that I’d have to go all the way back down and start again I decided that I didn’t really want to walk the walls that much.

Back down into the main part of the city and I stopped for an early lunch before heading back over to the bus station to pick up my luggage, catch the aerobus and start my journey back home.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Graz; Friday, 23 February, 2018

I’d worked from home in the morning so after lunch it was a quick dash down to Gatwick for my late afternoon flight out to Vienna.

After a smooth journey through Gatwick, including an early departure, I made my way into the centre of Vienna from the airport and over to my hotel located next to the Hauptbahnhof to check-in.

As it was quite late I popped back over to the station to get a quick dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Graz; Saturday, 24 February, 2018

The previous evening the train I’d taken from the airport to the hotel had been going through to Graz, but I’d deliberately stayed overnight in Vienna as I wanted to make the journey in the light. The line from Vienna, through the Semmering Pass, is regularly ranked as one of the prettiest rides in Europe, so there didn’t seem much point in missing it by going through the pass at night.

After a long lie-in, and a leisurely breakfast, I checked out of the hotel and walked over the road to the Hauptbahnhof to pick up my train. The initial 40 minutes or so of the journey aren’t that interesting as the train makes its way out of Vienna and south towards Weiner Neustadt, but from there the scenery increases dramatically as the train turns into the valley at the foot of the pass, and then through a series of turns, bridges and tunnels, slowly winds its way up to the top of the pass at Semmering. The views on the way up were spectacular – particularly with the heavy covering of snow.

From Semmering the line passes through a long sloping tunnel that brings you back out the other side of the pass and then a 40-minute ride through valleys before reaching Graz.

It was a very short walk from the station to the hotel where I checked in and dropped my stuff off before heading out into town. First stop was the tram station at the Hauptbahnhof to buy a three-day tourist ticket and to pick up the tram into the centre of town and then onto the Schloßbergplatz at the foot of the hill that the castle is on.

To make access to the castle easier the city has built a lift that runs up the middle of the hill, through the rock, from the Schloßbergplatz, linked by a tunnel into the cliff. I headed down the tunnel and brought my return lift ticket before heading up to the top level which puts you at the foot of the fortress walls and by the main symbol of the city – the Uhrturm.

I spent a while taking in the views of the city from the Schloßberg before having a wander round the rest of the site, including the small remnants of the fortress that once dominated this hill (the bulk of it having been destroyed by Napoleonic forces.) I had intended on catching the funicular railway, but that was closed until the Monday morning for it’s annual maintenance, so instead I headed back over to the lift and down to the cavern at the base of the cliff.

The cavern has lots of tunnels running away from it, mostly built by the citizens as air raid shelters during WWII, today these have been converted into a small railway which runs through the tunnels as the fairy-tale express. It’s all in German and I think even if my German was up to fully understanding a little bit bonkers – but it was an interesting ride through the tunnels by itself.

Back out of the cliff I went for a little wander down to the riverside and the Murinsel – a large café and seating area crated on a small island in the middle of the river, linked by bridges from both sides. After stopping for a quick coffee on the island I headed back into the centre of town and over to my hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner and then a night time wander up to the Schloßberg (the lifts run until midnight) to take in the city at night, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Graz; Sunday, 25 February, 2018

Breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel and caught the tram into the centre of the city. I went for a long wander round the old town, taking in the opera house, cathedral and mausoleum and some of the very pretty, small squares and alleys that make up the pretty heart of Graz.

After stopping for lunch in a café near the Hauptplatz I headed over to the Joanneumsviertel – a collection of buildings in the centre of town that now house the city’s art gallery and natural history museums.

I spent a long time looking round the two museums before heading back to the tram stop and taking the tram out to the suburb of Eggenberg where another part of the museum exists at the spectacular Schloß Eggenberg.

The palace is built in a large park and with a thick covering of snow everywhere looked like a scene from a Christmas card. The palace itself was closed for the winter, but it was still possible to explore the ground floor courtyards as well as the grounds – including meeting the very cold looking peacocks that inhabit the park.

Having looked round the park I headed back to the tram stop and caught the tram back to the hotel. I was freshening up and preparing to head back into town for dinner when I got a text message from BA telling me that my flight the following evening had been cancelled and instead I’d been moved onto a flight to Heathrow. With train specific tickets for the journey back to the Vienna the following day, it took a good couple of panicked seconds, and a couple of re-reads, to realise that the Heathrow flight was 10 minutes later than my originally booked Gatwick flight and therefore I didn’t have to worry about changing rail tickets.

Having got my pulse rate back down I finished off freshening up and then head out into town for some dinner and a bit more of a wander round the city at night before heading back to the hotel to pack.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-6ºC/21ºF

Graz; Monday, 26 February, 2018

I’d packed the night beforehand, so I could make more of the Monday morning. As I didn’t have to checkout until 12 and my train was half an hour after that I decided it would be easier to spent the morning in town then quickly head back to the hotel, grab my bags, and checkout in time for the train.

So after a quick breakfast I headed over to the Schloßbergbahn, only to discover that yes it was re-opening today, but not until 10am, and it was only 9:20! So instead I walked back to the Schloßberglift and caught that up to the Schloßberg to have a little wander round. By the time I got to the upper station of the Schloßbergbahn it was a couple of minutes before 10, so I was able to get the first train back down to river level. As it was the first train since maintenance had been completed the car was spotlessly clean – including the front window from which I could get the amazing views over the city as the train descended. Given another couple of trips the window would almost certainly have been smeared with fingerprints!

Back down at river level I walked down to the Graz Museum and had a long look round their exhibition on the history of the city, before it was time to head back over to the hotel, collect my luggage and head for the train.

The train journey on the way out had been exceptionally comfortable in a modern train. Sadly, the train that was supposed to be forming my service had broken down and would instead be starting from Vienna – so to get everyone there Austrian railways had fished some much more elderly carriages out from a depot somewhere and called them into service. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had time to check that the heating was working correctly, so the more than two-hour journey back to Vienna was scenic but chilly.

Back at the Hauptbahnhof it was a simple cross platform change onto the train back out to the airport and my flight back to Heathrow, even though I’d planned to end the day at Gatwick.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Very Cold (-20--10C, -4-14F)
-12ºC/10ºF

Funcahl; Friday, 02 March, 2018

I’d stayed over in Gatwick the night beforehand, partly as it was a very early flight, but also due to the impending poor weather in the UK with heavy snowfall expected. In the end the snow hadn’t fallen overnight, but it was bitterly cold as I headed over to the inter terminal transit to head back to the South Terminal and security – I’d been able to check my bag in the previous night.

A smooth journey through the airport and with no sign of the bad weather striking, it looked like everything was going well. We pushed back on time and headed towards Madeira.

The first indication that things might not go to plan was about an hour out from Madeira as the pilot came on the PA to say that at the moment they were still confident of landing in Madeira, but they were prepared to divert to either Porto Santo or Lisbon if the winds continued to gust badly at the airport.

Thankfully there was a lull in the winds and, after a particularly unpleasantly rough approach, we touched down at Madeira airport, I collected my bags and headed for my hotel in Funchal – albeit into a really stiff breeze.

After checking in I stopped at a restaurant near the hotel for a very pleasant lunch and then had a bit of a wander round the old town before picking up one of the open-top sightseeing tours.

I did both the Funchal and the costal tours before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and then back out for dinner in the old town.

Just before I went to bed I booked an airport transfer for the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Funcahl; Saturday, 03 March, 2018

When I woke up the day looked a little more overcast than the previous one, but I was pretty certain the wind had died down a bit, so thought everything would be fine. A quick check online showed the flight as being on time and after breakfast and checkout I was met by the airport transfer and taken back up to Madeira airport.

The transfer was quite early, and drove quite fast, so I was at the airport more than 2 ½ hours before the departure time, but even by then I could tell things might not be going well. Two morning flights to Lisbon had already been cancelled and there appeared to be general chaos in the check-in area with people trying to rebook onto other flights.

Check-in for the flight to the Azores was supposed to open at 10:30 but that time came and went, checking online showed that the flight had been delayed at Ponta Delgada, but would be about an hour late. By 11:30 they still hadn’t opened the check-in and the flight had now moved to indefinitely delayed. It was becoming pretty obvious that the flight was going to be cancelled as they described the weather conditions in the Azores as being some of the worst in 50 years and with the airport at Ponta Delgada closed.

Finally, at midday, the airline announced that the flight was cancelled and that they would be arranging hotels for everyone. With the next flight not due to depart until the Sunday evening, no guarantee that they could get me back on the Tuesday, and with hotel prices in Funchal on the hotels.com app starting to tick up in price I had to make a decision whilst standing in the rebooking line as to whether to bother or to abandon the trip.

In the end I managed to speak to an airline representative who said I could get a full refund if I decided to abandon the trip – and that the call centre would be able to handle that, rather than having to stand for possibly another four hours in the rebooking queue to be seen, so I decided to leave the que – very quickly book a hotel in Funchal – and head over to the aerobus back into the city centre.

An hour later I was checked into my new hotel, and after doing the admin of contacting the airline to arrange the refund; the tour company I’d booked two days’ worth of tours from Ponta Delgada with to let them know there wasn’t any point in trying to collect me; and then booking more tours this time on Madeira for things to do over the next couple of days, I headed out of the hotel to make significantly more use of the open-top bus tour ticket than I had expected.

I was part way round the costal tour when I felt the first drops of rain and decided at that point – given there was nobody sitting in the covered section – to move there. About 90 seconds later the bus was being lashed by a heavy downpour and the sky was being illuminated with a pretty spectacular lightning display.

By the time the bus got back into the centre of Funchal it had stopped raining, so I went for a little wander along the prom and had an early dinner before heading back to the hotel, arriving just before another lengthier downpour started that showed no sign of stopping so I had a drink in the hotel bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Thunder
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Funcahl; Sunday, 04 March, 2018

I’d had an email overnight from the company running todays tour confirming that I would be collected at 08:30, so I had an early breakfast and was down outside the hotel ready to be collected when the minibus arrived.

After a couple of stops at other hotels to pick up the other guests for the tour, we headed out West along the South coast to start the tour in Câmara de Lobos before heading up to the viewpoint at Cabo Girão.

From Cabo Girão it was then a very pretty ride down the side of the mountain towards the coast at Ribeira Brava where we had a 30-minute stop, enough time to have a wander round the town and take in the key sights – including the impressive views along the coast in both directions and the very pretty church sunken down from the road.

The next part of the tour was supposed to be up into the mountains and then a 20 minute or so walk along a Lavada. Unfortunately, due to the storms the previous Wednesday many of the mountain routes were still closed with landslides and rockfalls making all bar one route impassable. The route that was open was much longer, and with the poor weather at the top of the mountains, it meant there wasn’t time – or really the conditions – to do the Lavada walk part of the tour. Instead we went on a very pretty drive up through the only open mountain route and back down towards the North Coast at Porto Moniz, stopping on the road just outside of, but high above, the town to take in the stunning views.

Down in Porto Moniz we had the included lunch in a pleasant restaurant overlooking the natural swimming pools – rock pools that have been carved out by the actions of the sea over years and now form sea water swimming baths, albeit closed today as the seas were still really rough.

After lunch we had a bit of time to wander around the town before heading back to the bus and continuing along the North coast, taking the modern highway, but occasionally catching glimpses of the former coast road that wound its way round the edges of the cliffs, that had been the main way of getting round the island up until 2005!

Just outside Seixal we stopped on a small part of the old coast road that has been retained as a viewing platform to take in a stunning waterfall that cascades over the old road and to see how in just over 10 years much of the road has been swallowed up by cliff falls and erosion.

Back on the road and we headed to the town of São Vicente for the last stop of the day and a long look round this pleasant little town. It sits on a river valley surrounded on both sides by high cliffs that protect it from the winds, which meant in the sun it was a really pleasant and warm sun trap.

From São Vicente we headed back South the quick way along the main highway that passes through the mountains in modern tunnels that knock hours off the previous times to cross the island that involved heading up over mountain passes.

Back in Funchal I headed back to the hotel, freshened up and then headed out for dinner in the Old town before returning to the hotel and turning in ready for an early start the next day.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Funcahl; Monday, 05 March, 2018

Todays tour started a little later with the minibus not arriving until just gone 9am, which was a pain as I’d gotten up at 7am to have breakfast!

The tour started by heading out of Funchal into the hills around the city and the small town of Camacha where one of the last wickerwork factories on the island still operates – wickerwork had been a major industry on Madeira for a long while but is now just a small craft industry. The factory houses a large gift shop and a museum showing examples of the wicker workers art, but the most interesting part was being able to go down onto the factory floor to watch the people working with the wicker from initially splitting the wood into its strips through to building baskets and other products.

From Camacha we headed back into the bus and climbed up into the mountains – seeing quite a lot of damage from the previous weeks storms with rockfalls on the road and lots of downed trees. The road took us up to the third highest peak on the island, and the highest that can be reached by road – Pico Areeiro.

On the way up the weather had been quite good, but near the summit the cloud had rolled in, so it wasn’t possible to get particularly good views, but it was still possible to walk to the very summit of the mountain – an ascent of at least 20 meters from the car park!

Coming back down the mountain the skies cleared to leave amazing views over the North coast and down into the valleys into which we now headed stopping for a while in Riberio Frio for a coffee, a look at the stunning scenery and a quick look round the trout hatchery.

We continued down the valley to the North coast and then headed back up slight to the town of Santana. Here there are several examples of the small thatched houses that used to be common dwellings on the island – today housing craft shops. We had a lengthy stop in Santana, enough time to have a pleasant lunch in a café near the traditional houses, before it was time to head back to the bus and continue our journey east.

We drove to almost the eastern most point on the island at Ponta do Rosto, from where it’s possible to look back down the island along both the North and South coasts at the same time. After spending a little while here in the beautiful warm sunshine we headed down to the final stop of the day at Machico and one of only two golden sand beaches on the island – loving imported every couple of years from the Sahara only to have the sea wash it all away again over the next 24 months.

After looking round Machico we headed back east towards Funchal, taking the main coast road that weaves its way under the impressive airport runway – built on stilts over the road and the over the sea – reconfirming in my mind the decision to cancel flights when the weather isn’t great here is a very good idea.

Back in Funchal I headed over to the old town and picked up the cable car up to Monte – originally to have a wander around up there, but by the time the cable car reached the top station the weather had spectacularly deteriorated to the point where I just sought shelter in the café of the cable car station until the worst of the rain had passed and then headed back to get the cable car back down into town before the last departures of the night. Back at sea level I walked back to the hotel and in a repeat of the previous evening got in with minutes to spare before the rain settled in for the night – making the decision on where to have dinner an easy one, just heading down to the hotel restaurant and not leaving the building again until the rain stopped.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Funcahl; Tuesday, 06 March, 2018

It was still raining when I got up, and it rained all the way through breakfast and the first part of the morning.

Given the weather was so poor I decided there really wasn’t any point in trying to brave it so instead I just hung around in the hotel until it was close to checkout time, which did coincide with the rain finally stopping.

I walked the half mile or so along the front from the hotel to the bus stop for the aerobus back to the airport.

I was quite early at the stop, so I headed to the neighbouring café for a quick lunch and a drink before heading back to the bus stop just before the bus was due.

In the end I could have waited quite a bit longer at the café as the bus was nearly 20 minutes late and a very elderly looking coach when it arrived, rather than the modern low-floor bus that it had been on the way in from the airport.

I don’t know if the 20-minute delay had been deliberate to give the driver an excuse to put his foot down on the motorway, but it was certainly a very quick journey to the airport arriving early compared to the timetable.

I checked in and headed through security and found a comfy seat with a good view of the airport runway to wait at to see if I would be making it home. Thankfully planes were landing and taking off without any major issues, and 90 minutes before we were due to leave the sight of a BA A320 touching down confirmed that I would be getting off Madeira this time.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ponta Delgada; Friday, 02 March, 2018

I’d stayed over in Gatwick the night beforehand, partly as it was a very early flight, but also due to the impending poor weather in the UK with heavy snowfall expected. In the end the snow hadn’t fallen overnight, but it was bitterly cold as I headed over to the inter terminal transit to head back to the South Terminal and security – I’d been able to check my bag in the previous night.

A smooth journey through the airport and with no sign of the bad weather striking, it looked like everything was going well. We pushed back on time and headed towards Madeira.

The first indication that things might not go to plan was about an hour out from Madeira as the pilot came on the PA to say that at the moment they were still confident of landing in Madeira, but they were prepared to divert to either Porto Santo or Lisbon if the winds continued to gust badly at the airport.

Thankfully there was a lull in the winds and, after a particularly unpleasantly rough approach, we touched down at Madeira airport, I collected my bags and headed for my hotel in Funchal – albeit into a really stiff breeze.

After checking in I stopped at a restaurant near the hotel for a very pleasant lunch and then had a bit of a wander round the old town before picking up one of the open-top sightseeing tours.

I did both the Funchal and the costal tours before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and then back out for dinner in the old town.

Just before I went to bed I booked an airport transfer for the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Ponta Delgada; Saturday, 03 March, 2018

When I woke up the day looked a little more overcast than the previous one, but I was pretty certain the wind had died down a bit, so thought everything would be fine. A quick check online showed the flight as being on time and after breakfast and checkout I was met by the airport transfer and taken back up to Madeira airport.

The transfer was quite early, and drove quite fast, so I was at the airport more than 2 ½ hours before the departure time, but even by then I could tell things might not be going well. Two morning flights to Lisbon had already been cancelled and there appeared to be general chaos in the check-in area with people trying to rebook onto other flights.

Check-in for the flight to the Azores was supposed to open at 10:30 but that time came and went, checking online showed that the flight had been delayed at Ponta Delgada, but would be about an hour late. By 11:30 they still hadn’t opened the check-in and the flight had now moved to indefinitely delayed. It was becoming pretty obvious that the flight was going to be cancelled as they described the weather conditions in the Azores as being some of the worst in 50 years and with the airport at Ponta Delgada closed.

Finally, at midday, the airline announced that the flight was cancelled and that they would be arranging hotels for everyone. With the next flight not due to depart until the Sunday evening, no guarantee that they could get me back on the Tuesday, and with hotel prices in Funchal on the hotels.com app starting to tick up in price I had to make a decision whilst standing in the rebooking line as to whether to bother or to abandon the trip.

In the end I managed to speak to an airline representative who said I could get a full refund if I decided to abandon the trip – and that the call centre would be able to handle that, rather than having to stand for possibly another four hours in the rebooking queue to be seen, so I decided to leave the que – very quickly book a hotel in Funchal – and head over to the aerobus back into the city centre.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Boston; Thursday, 29 March, 2018

I finished work just in time before the taxi arrived early to take me to the airport. It was thankful it was a little early as the route the driver took was a little obscure and didn’t save any time – if anything it took longer than going the normal route.

Thankfully I had lots of time, so it wasn’t too much of an issue. We eventually arrived at the airport and I checked in and dropped off my bags before making my way through to the lounge.

The gate was announced about an hour before we were due to depart, but even taking the slow route via the walkway rather than the shuttle I still arrived long before boarding started, it being delayed by the caterers being late loading the lunches.

We eventually got away about 15 minutes late and had a lengthy taxi round the airfield before we finally took off nearly an hour after our original push back time.

It was a smooth flight across the Atlantic, and with a good tail wind we made it to the gate at Boston about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. A quick and painless trip through US immigration and baggage reclaim and I was at the bus stop for the shuttle to the metro less than 30 minutes after the planes wheels had originally hit the runway.

I caught the shuttle bus from the terminal round to the Blue line metro station and then picked up the subway into the centre of Boston before walking the last couple of hundred yards to the hotel and checking in.

Checked in, and with my stuff dumped in my room I headed back out to quickly grab a bite to eat as it was still only about 9pm local time – even if every ounce of my body was complaining that it felt much more like 2am.

I had a quick bite to eat and then headed back to my room to turn in.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Boston; Friday, 30 March, 2018

After a full American breakfast, I waddled out of the hotel and walked down a couple of blocks to the harbourside to pick up the hop-on-hop-off tour trolley. For some reason in Boston they didn’t want to run buses, instead they had what looked like converted trucks that were painted to look like old time trams, and didn’t hold that many people (I was glad I was doing this during an early Easter as I could imagine the trolleys must end up having quite long queues in the summer months.)

I did two full circuits of the route, one on each side, with different driver/guides and I learnt quite a bit about Boston and its history on the way round, as well as getting a good idea of the layout of the city from the circuitous and often overlapping route.

Back at the start pint for a second time I hopped off and as it was now fast approaching 3pm headed over to one of the harbour side restaurants for a very late lobster-based lunch.

After lunch I walked up through some of the historic market area of the city, through the Quincy Market and past the Faneuil Hall, which was sadly closed for renovations. I continued up to the Old State House. This was the former home of the governor and it was outside here that one of the first acts that kicked off the American War of Independence took place when, in March 1770, in confusion caused by someone shouting fire, British soldiers opened fire on Bostonians, killing a number in an act that came to be called the Boston Massacre.

Today the old state house is a museum dedicated to the story of the revolution, as well as the history of the city around that time – trying to put into context why some of the events that happened, happened.

I’d arrived in time to have a good look round the museum, but too late to join the last tour of the afternoon – but it did mean I had a lot of the museum almost to myself.

From the museum it was a short walk back to my hotel to freshen up before I headed out for dinner in the city centre and then, after a bit of a wander round the area near the current state house, back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Boston; Saturday, 31 March, 2018

After another overly filling breakfast I headed out of the hotel and walked down to Boston Common and then on over to the Public Park. These are two large open spaced in the heart of the city that make it feel much more liveable that some other American cities. The Park is one of the oldest public gardens in the country, though in early April – after a long and late winter, it was still in the process of being prepared for the summer with the lake drained and being dredged in preparation for the summer boating season.

Just opposite one of the entrances to the park is one of the most famous buildings in the city – the Bull and Finch Pub, more famously known as Cheers. I joined the other tourists in taking a few photos before crossing back over the road onto the Common and over to the start point of the Freedom Trail.

The trail is a 2.5 mile long walk that runs through the heart of Boston and across the Charles river to Bunker Hill, running past many of the key sites associated with the start of the American War of Independence including the burial grounds housing the graves of many of the key players, the Old South Meeting House – where the plan to destroy a tea shipment, that became known as the Boston Tea Party, was started; and the house of Paul Revere – he of the midnight ride.

I did the first part of the trail from the Common up past the Massachusetts State House and the Granary and Kings Chapel burial grounds before following the trail down into the harbour.

Though the route of the tour is only 2.5 miles, by the time you keep diverting off the route to visit a burial ground, chapel or other site it rapidly extends the walk and by the time I had gotten back down to the Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market it was into the early afternoon and my feet were aching so I stopped off for a late lunch and a bit of a relax.

Rejuvenated I diverted away from the main route of the trail and instead headed over to the harbour and the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. This is an interactive and AV heavy museum/tour that takes you through the events of the act from the initial meeting in the Old South Meeting Hall through to the locals heading down to the harbourside disguised as members of the local Native American tribe to board the ships and throw all the tea into the harbour and then in the AV elements of the museum the aftermath and into the start of the war. Along the way there is the opportunity to experience throwing tea into the harbour – or as the describe it for British tourists a spot of petty treason.

Having done a tour of the museum I headed back over to North Boston and re-joined the Freedom Trail continuing past the oldest restaurant in the US and up into North Boston and Paul Revere’s house which I just about had time to look around before it closed for the evening.

I continued on a bit further along the trail to the Old North Church, where the lanterns that informed Paul Revere as he started on his midnight ride that the British were coming by water, but by the time I got there it had closed for the evening, and a quick check online showed that the rest of the key sights along the route were either already closed or would be closed by the time I got to them, so I decided to pick up the tour again in the morning and instead headed back into town to the hotel to freshen up before popping out for a well-deserved dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Boston; Sunday, 01 April, 2018

I had just finished breakfast and was back up in my room getting ready to head out when my phone pinged to show a text message had come through, and once again that opening line that British Airways would like to apologise set the panic levels rising. When they had cancelled my flight back from Vienna a few weeks earlier the cancellation had been accompanied by a rebooking for a flight a few minutes later, and if it hadn’t been that had only been Austria. This time there was no rebooking details, just a message to contact customer support if I still needed to travel and getting stranded on the wrong side of the Atlantic is much more difficult to get out of than being stuck less than a day’s train ride from home.

I immediately got onto the phone to British Airways to try and find out what was happening. The very nice lady in the contact centre wasn’t certain why the flight was cancelled, but she went off investigating options for me. In the end, nearly 20 minutes into the call whilst I was on hold another text pinged into my phone to let me know I’d been booked onto a flight 2 ½ hours later than my original one, so I could at least get home. The same information had just made its way to the lady in the call centre as I came off hold, so I was able to continue on with my day and let my blood pressure come back down.

I could have walked back through the city to pick up the Freedom Trail where I had left it off the previous evening – which would have involved walking across a not particularly pleasant looking bridge (the fact it is due for demolition within weeks of visiting is only part of the issue – the three lanes of traffic in each direction weren’t appealing) – or I could take the ferry that runs every 30 minutes on a Sunday from the aquarium across to the naval base in Charlestown right by were the trail is picked back up again, it was an easy choice to make.

I was the only passenger for the ferry, which I thought was a bit odd, but it meant I had the whole upper deck to myself to be able to take some good photos of Boston harbour and the Boston Skyline as the ferry crossed.

From the naval base I followed the trail up the side of Bunker Hill to the site of the Bunker Hill Monument, built to commemorate one of the early battles of the War of Independence and one that showed early on that the British could be defeated. The Bostonians held on to the fortified high ground until the third British attack of the day, before finally retreating. Whilst it was a loss, the British had suffered casualty figures at close to 50% of their men, so any victory was pyrrhic.

Next to the monument is the Bunker Hill Museum which tells the story of the battle along with the history of the monument and how it had taken on its current form. After looking round the museum and walking up to the monument – but deciding not to climb the 240 or so steps to the viewing platform at the top – I headed back down to the Subway station to catch the subway back into town.

In the city centre I changed lines and headed out to Cambridge on the north bank of the Charles River and Harvard University to have a look around the worlds premier university campus. The university also houses several excellent museums and I spent quite a lot of time looking round the Natural History and Peabody museum, so long in fact that they were starting to lock up the museum as I was leaving.

I headed back into town and stopped in the centre for an earlyish dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Boston; Monday, 02 April, 2018

Without any worrying text messages, and another filling breakfast under my belt I checked out of the hotel and headed down to the harbour.

The original plan was to have a late start to the morning, a slow wander through the city, join the 1pm harbour cruise that I’d booked on the Saturday afternoon and then head back to the hotel and airport. However, with an extra 2 ½ hours to kill now introduced into my itinerary I’d decided to head out earlier and take in the Aquarium.

I was glad I had as it is a very spectacular example – with it’s massive central tank being home to a number of incredible creatures – not least of all their enormous and nearly 100-year-old sea turtle.

Having looked round the aquarium I headed over to the landing stage just in time to join the harbour cruise. The cruise headed out into the start of the harbour islands before heading back into the city via the airport and Charlestown. It was a very interesting tour and with an interesting commentary as we went around.

As we headed back into the harbour I noticed that there was a landing stage for another local ferry service and a quick check online showed that this operates a service out across the bay through all of the islands to the settlement of Hull and then Hingham before heading back, this appeared to be not only a good way of seeing much more of the harbour islands, but also a cheap way of killing nearly two of those extra hours I had.

It was a very interesting ferry ride, though I got the impression that not that many tourists know about it as the person manning the ticket booth was a little surprised when I asked for a round trip coming back straight away!

Back in the city centre I walked up from the harbour to the hotel and collected my luggage before heading back to the subway and out to the airport to catch my, now significantly later, flight home.

Weather

Heavy Snow Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Glasgow; Friday, 06 April, 2018

I had to attend a three day conference for work on the following Monday, and work were fine to book me a flight up to Glasgow on the Friday, so after finishing work I headed over to Heathrow to catch my plane.

A smooth journey through the airports at both ends, so smooth in fact that less than 20 minutes after hitting the runway I was sat on the bus into town, and that was with being sat in the one before last row of the plane and having luggage to collect.

I checked into my hotel and then quickly popped out for a late bite to eat in a restaurant just round the corner before turning in late.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Glasgow; Saturday, 07 April, 2018

I had breakfast in the hotel and then headed over to George Square to pick up the open-top bus tour of the city…

I did a full circuit back to George square and then stayed on round to Central station where I hopped off and grabbed a quick lunch.

I then headed up into the station and picked up the train out to Gourock and changed there onto the ferry over to Dunoon.

By now the weather was deteriorating quite a bit and the light drizzle meant it was much more pleasant to sit inside, though the tinted windows of the ferry made the weather look even worse. It was still a pretty journey across the very end of the River Clyde and into the start of the Firth of Clyde – a couple of lochs emptying into the firth at this point helps to make the scene more picturesque.

Over in Dunoon I had a bit of a wander round, though the museum had closed just as I was arriving, so there wasn’t actually anything other than scenery to look at. However, I still had a wander around the town and the harbour and from the hill by the museum got some good photos over the river estuary and the Firth.

I headed back to the pier and caught the ferry back across to Gourock where the connection to the train back to Glasgow was slightly less seamless – the ferry timetabled to arrive 60 seconds after the previous train had departed.

Back in Glasgow I picked up train tickets for the following day and then picked up some things for dinner from a local supermarket before heading back to the hotel for a bedroom picnic and an early night

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Glasgow; Sunday, 08 April, 2018

I had a bit of time to spare in the morning, so after a late breakfast I headed over to George Square and used by still valid tour ticket to take the open-top bus round to Central station to pick up the train out to Balloch at the southern end of Loch Lomond.

I’d factored in for delays on the train, but in the end it ran perfectly to time which meant I arrived in Balloch with over an hour to spare before my Loch Lomond cruise departed, so I had a bit of a wander around the area near the pier, on the banks of the short River Leven that connects the Loch with the Clyde, and then headed over to the nice looking riverside pub for a quick snack and a drink.

I headed back over to the landing pier about 15 minutes before the cruise was supposed to depart and very shortly afterwards they started to board, so I was able to get a good seat at the back of the boat to take in the views.

The tour took in the whole of the southern end of the Loch and then sailed up through the group of islands that occupy the middle part of the loch, before heading over to land at Luss to pick up some more passengers.

From Luss the boat took a different route back through the islands, providing lots of photo opportunities until it emerged back in the lower part of the loch and headed back to the pier at Balloch.

I walked back over to the station and only had a couple of minutes to wait before the train back to Glasgow arrived.

Back in the centre of Glasgow I went for a bit of a wander in the twilight through the area around Trongate, a part of the city I’d only previously been past on the tour bus, and then walked back through the Merchant’s Quarter to the hotel to drop off my stuff.

After freshening up I headed out to a restaurant near George square for dinner, before going for another short walk round the George Square area to get a final few photos before returning to the hotel to prepare for the conference the following day and then turn in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Oostende; Friday, 20 April, 2018

I’d worked from home in the morning, so I was able to make a quick dash up to town and over to St Pancras in time for check-in to open. I already knew I would have a tight connection at Brussels, so I’d deliberately booked a seat that would have me close to the connecting subway at Midi. So it was with quite a lot of annoyance I discovered on check-in that Eurostar had decided to randomly reallocate my seat to the back of the train, making the connection really difficult.

I had a smooth journey through St Pancras and on over to Brussels, where thankfully Infrabel, the Belgium infrastructure operator, was having a bad afternoon with hefty delays to services meaning that with a bit of judicious running I made the connecting train to Oostende by the skin of my teeth.

The train made up some of it’s time so that by the time we reached Oostende it was only a couple of minutes late, but that was enough to ensure I missed the connecting tram round to the hotel – which would have meant either a long walk or a 30-minute wait, but a quick check on Google maps revealed there was a bus leaving from the adjacent bus stands a couple of minutes later.

A few minutes later and I was all checked into the hotel and, after dropping off my stuff and freshening up, I headed out over to the seafront to go for a wander.

It was a beautiful almost summer like evening with the sun setting into the sea. I had a walk along the prom before settling into a seaside restaurant for dinner accompanied by the stunning sunset.

After dinner I had a bit more of a walk before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Oostende; Saturday, 21 April, 2018

After a pleasant breakfast I headed out of the hotel and caught the tram along the coast to the outskirts of the town and the dunes at Raversijde. Here, during the second world war, a chunk of the Atlantic wall was built, much of which sill survives, all being slowly being swallowed up by the dunes. I spent a long time looking round the site taking in vast amount of engineering that must have taken place to build all the fortifications and tunnels.

From the Atlantic Wall I headed inland slightly to the Anno 1465 museum. This has several reconstructed buildings from the fishing village that existed on the site during the 15th century. The museum tells the history of the site and why it was abandoned.

From Raversijde I caught the tram back through the centre of Oostende and over to the dunes to the east of the city. Here it was time to visit another fortification, albeit in this instance from the earlier Napoleonic era.

The spectacular fort was built to defend the Belgium coast from the marauding British, but the attacks never came, and the site was slowly swallowed up by the dunes until the outbreak of WWI at which point the Germans dug it out of the sand and brought it back into use. After the war it served several purposes including as a museum and a climbing wall, as well as being pulled back into service as a fort by the Nazi’s in WWII. By the 1980’s it was abandoned and slowly decaying before it was protected by the state and refurbished and restored.

Most of the outside of the fort has been restored to how it would have been during the Napoleonic times, but inside a lot has been left how it was by the late 80’s.

After having a long look round the fort I popped out onto the very pleasant deck bistro built above the dry moat for a very late lunch and then wandered back over to the tram stop to head back into Oostende.

I stopped off at the hotel to freshen up before heading out for a very light dinner, given lunch has been barely an hour earlier, before having another walk along the prom and then heading back to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Oostende; Sunday, 22 April, 2018

After checking out of the hotel I headed over towards the harbour to have a wander around that part of the city, stopping off at the small Aquarium dedicated to the sea life of the North Sea.

From the Aquarium I wandered round to the Oostende city museum and had a look around their exhibitions and a climb up to the Bellevue tower at the top of the building for the, obstructed, views over the city.

I had a wander around town, taking in the spectacular St Peter and Paul church from the outside – sadly it was closed for visits – and then headed over to the Icelandic fishing trawler Amandine. This was the last of the Oostende trawlers that used to head out to the fishing grounds off of Iceland, and when she was retired from service she was put into dry dock in Oostende and turned into a museum. It is an interesting place to visit, if only to get a better understanding of how unpleasant the life of an Icelandic trawlerman would have been.

I stopped off briefly at a café near the trawler for a spot of lunch before heading round to the other side of the harbour for the second boat visit of the day t have a look around the considerably plusher Zielschip Mercator.

From the sailing ship I headed over to the tram stop and took the tram a couple of stops through the town to the Koningspark to have a brief look around the very pleasant Japanese gardens, and then it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my luggage, and start the long journey back towards home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Tromsø; Saturday, 28 April, 2018

We’d stayed overnight in an Airport hotel due to the early flight time to Oslo, so at the crack of dawn it was into a taxi and over to the terminal. A smooth journey through the airport and a very smooth flight meant we ended up being in Oslo 20 minutes ahead of schedule, and with a significant wait before our connecting flight onto Tromsø.

After a long wait in Oslo airport the flight to Tromsø left on time and arrived a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. It was a quick journey through the airport and then a taxi through the tunnels under the city t the hotel.

After checking in, and partaking in the free afternoon waffles, we headed out of the hotel for a wander along the harbourside taking in the stunning views that surround Tromsø. Down in the harbour the Hurtigruten 24 hours ahead of ours was in, and as it was the new ship – Spitsbergen, we popped on board to have a look around.

We left the Spitsbergen before it was due to leave and headed back over to the hotel in time for the included evening meal.

A little later we had a very expensive small drink in the bar before turning in for an early night.

Weather

No Data Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Tromsø; Sunday, 29 April, 2018

Checked out of the hotel we caught the town circular bus up to the Tromsø museum and had a long look around that, stopping for a Coffee and Waffle lunch in the museum café.

We picked up the bus back down into town and wandered down to the harbourside to watch our ship – the MS Nordlys arrive and dock.

Then it was time to head back over to the hotel, grab our luggage and head over to the ship to checkin there.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Hurtigruten; Sunday, 29 April, 2018

We boarded about 20 minutes after the ship had docked, and by then it was nice and quiet as most people had disappeared off to go on tours or just to have a wander around the city. We checked in and dropped our luggage into the baggage room as our cabins weren’t yet ready.

We had a good wander around the ship, to check where everything was, and then retired to the café to wait for the cabins to become available.

Once they released the cabins we grabbed our bags and unpacked and then headed out onto deck to was the departure from Tromsø

Shortly after departure was dinner and then about an hour after that the first stop of the journey in Skjervøy.

Following the stop we headed up to the bar for a drink and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Hurtigruten; Monday, 30 April, 2018

Life on the Hurtigruten assumes a routine very quickly with a continuous conveyor belt of stunning scenery, ports stops and regular meals.

After breakfast the ship docked at Havøysund for a short time before continuing the journey north.

At the next stop at Honningsvåg I was supposed to go on a tour down to some fishing villages near the North Cape, but it turned out that only a couple of people had booked onto that tour so they had cancelled it. Despite the best efforts of the expedition team to extract money from me I declined their polite offer of a sea eagle safari for just an additional £100 and instead opted to have a wander around the town instead.

Everyone else had grabbed early lunches so they could go on the tours that were running and so I was able to have a more leisurely lunch in an almost deserted restaurant before heading out into town for a wander.

I headed up to the small church above the town to have a quick look around, and to take in the views from it’s elevated position. The church is also symbolic as it was the only building in the town that wasn’t destroyed by the retreating Nazi’s as they laid waste to Northern Norway towards the end of WWII.

Having looked round Honningsvåg I headed back to the ship and then once the tour parties had returned we set off again.

A brief, but always spectacular stop in Kjøllefjord punctured the late afternoon before dinner was taken at the same time as a stop in Mehamn.

We continued north towards the last port of the evening at Berlevåg, though we were slightly late arriving and consequently had to wait outside the harbour for 15 minutes as the southbound Hurtigruten had gotten there first. As it was getting dark we watched the stop in Berlevåg from the comfort of the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Hurtigruten; Tuesday, 01 May, 2018

Overnight there were a couple of stops, but by the time we met for a late breakfast we were already approaching Kirkenes.

We had intended on visiting the very nice museum on the outskirts of the town, but unfortunately a quick check on line had revealed that it, along with almost everything else, would be closed as it was the May Day public holiday, so instead I had a little wander around the harbour area in Kirkenes.

A lot of the passengers had been doing the short Northbound tour from Bergen to Kirkenes, and the ship was noticeably emptier as we started on the southbound return leg.

After lunch and some more sailing we arrived in Vardø and I hopped off to have a look around a bit of the town.

After dinner it was Båtsfjord and then once again the southbound Hurtigruten beat the Northbound into Berlevåg, though of course this time it meant we didn’t have to sit around waiting.

Heading out from Berlevåg there was a spectacular sunset which we watched from the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Hurtigruten; Wednesday, 02 May, 2018

After breakfast there was the impressive, if quite ugly, view of the Arctic gas plant on the outskirts of Hammerfest before we arrived in the town.

Hammerfest still brands itself as the worlds most Northerly town, though Honningsvåg has recently taken that title away from them by growing large enough to be classified as a town.

We disembarked at Hammerfest to have a look around the museum of the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society, which shares a building with the tourist information centre.

Shortly after departure from Hammerfest it was time for lunch and then a brief stop in the very pretty settlement of Øksfjord.

We had a long sail south to Skjervøy, departure from which signified the start of dinner.

After Skjervøy the ship took a detour down the Lyngenfjorden to take in the stunning views of the Lyngen alps up close.

Shortly after passing the Northbound Hurtigruten we had a quick drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Hurtigruten; Thursday, 03 May, 2018

Several stops during the night, and in the morning we awoke docked at Harstad.

After breakfast there was a journey through one of the more impressive man-made sections of the route as we sailed through the Risøyrenna, a narrow channel dredged between lots of low lying islands, and one of the key pieces of engineering that allowed the Hurtigruten to become a reality in 1893. The channel leads all the way to the next stop of the day at Risøyhamn.

After Risøyhamn we sailed through increasingly more stunning scenery before reaching Sortland where we stopped for about 30 minutes.

Departure from Sortland signified the start of lunch. After lunch the next stop was Stokmarknes, the spiritual home, and birthplace, of the Hurtigruten. On previous trips I’ve got off here to visit the Hurtigruten museum as admission had previously been included in the price of the cruise, but as there was now a hefty entrance price to visit I decided it was as easy just to stay on board.

About an hour after departing Stokmarknes we entered the stunning and narrow Raftsundet where the mountains come right down to the edge of the water, and then had a quick detour to the mouth of the Trollfjord. Due to the amount of snow still on the mountains we didn’t enter the fjord because of the risk of avalanches.

About 30 minutes later we landed at Svolvær and took that as an opportunity to have a relaxed buffet dinner as most people had eaten earlier as the were off on excursions from the town.

I hopped off and had a little look round the town before we continued south through the waters of the Lofoten islands towards our last stop of the day at Stamsund.

Having taken in the stop at Stamsund, and as the ship headed for open water to cross from the Lofoten islands over to Bodø I turned in for the night, to be gently rocked to sleep by the rough seas.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Hurtigruten; Friday, 04 May, 2018

Breakfast and then shortly afterwards we reached the Arctic Circle – marked by a globe on an island, the southern extend of midnight sun and from here south there is always day and night.

First stop after the circle was Nesna and then a couple of hours later Sandnessjøen before lunch.

After lunch we sailed into Brønnøysund for an hours stop so I got off and had a wander around town for a little while.

A little while after leaving Brønnøysund we passed the Torghatten, a not particularly tall mountain, but spectacular for having a whole all the way through it halfway up the face – it makes for a very weird site and brought most people out onto deck to watch.

Dinner tonight was a special celebration meal – partly for the 125th anniversary of the Hurtigruten, but also as a lot of passengers were leaving at Trondheim the following morning, an end of cruise dinner.

For the people on the early sitting dinner started at 17:30 and was conducted through some pretty choppy waters. Thankfully we were on the later sitting at 20:00 and most of the meal was conducted whilst the ship was in port in Rørvik.

After dinner we had a quick drink in the bar before tactically turning in for the night a short while before the ship entered some more rough open sea.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Hurtigruten; Saturday, 05 May, 2018

We awoke to a damp Trondheim and an almost empty ship. When we’d boarded at Tromsø there had been five sittings for dinner, tonight there was just the one sitting, and that didn’t require much of the restaurant to accommodate.

Most of the day was spend sailing, first down the Trondheimsfjorden and then continuing down the coast until we eventually reached Kristiansund in the late afternoon.

Here we disembarked the ship to join the Atlantic Road tour, a journey along the coast road from Kristiansund to Molde.

The tour started by heading to an old stave church for a look around before continuing onto a restaurant near the start of the Atlantic Road. Here we stopped for a dinner of Bacalhau, a Portuguese dish made from the salted and dried clip fish that this part of Norway produces.

After dinner we travelled over the spectacular Atlantic Road, a series of bridges and dykes built between islands that mean at times you are on bridges across the Atlantic.

The tour continued on through stunning scenery of this part of Norway, before arriving into Molde at the same time as the MS Nordlys was arriving.

After re-boarding and watching as the ship left Molde we headed up to the bar for a final evening drink of the journey and then headed to bed.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Hurtigruten; Sunday, 06 May, 2018

Overnight the ship went through open seas and round the Vestkapp, or West Cape, an area of sea prone to storms, and tonight was no exception with gales whipping up the waters and making for quite a bouncy ride, that did wake me up a couple of times.

After breakfast it was time to pack up the cabin and checkout to give the crew a chance to prepare the ship for its next northbound journey, starting that evening.

Lunch was had sailing through the western fjords before we finally sailed into Bergen harbour.

After disembarking and collecting our luggage we took the shuttle bus round to our overnight hotel and once again were able to partake in the free afternoon waffles.

The hotel we were staying in had once been the Harbour control office, and consequently had a tower that afforded views across the whole of the harbour, which guests can visit. I was able to take some stunning views over Bergen, as well as watching some random marching bands walking along the Bryggen.

After the inclusive dinner and a drink in the bar it was time to turn in to get some sleep in a bed that didn’t move.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Hurtigruten; Monday, 07 May, 2018

After breakfast it was time to checkout and start the long journey back home, that ended up taking most of the day, first on the Flybussen to Bergen airport for a flight back to Oslo before catching the return leg of our flight back to London.

I was quite thankful that I’d booked a taxi to meet us at the airport as it was a tiring day, even though we’d not done much at all.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Brussels; Thursday, 17 May, 2018

In the original plan for the weekend I’d been intending on catching a late Eurostar on Friday – to escape the Royal Wedding – and would have been in Brussels a little before 11pm.

However, a customer based in Brussels had enquired about having a meeting around this time so it appeared logical to add it onto the trip and head out a day earlier.

It also meant I got to travel during the day and had a much more relaxed journey up to London and across to Belgium.

Sadly, in the interim the really good rate at the hotel I was staying in on the Friday and Saturday night had ended and was now out of range, so I had to have one night in a different hotel.

I headed over there from Gare du Midi, checked in, and did a couple of hours work to get to the end of the working day before heading out to the Grand Place area to have a look around and stop for dinner.

I had a very nice meal in a restaurant near the Bourse before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Brussels; Friday, 18 May, 2018

I’d arranged a late checkout with the hotel, so after my morning meeting I was able to come back and change out of the suit and attend a conference call before I had to check out and head back across town to my hotel for the next two nights.

After checking in I did a couple of hours work before the clock hit finishing time and then I headed out for a wander.

I headed over to the European quarter to go for a wander through the area and down through the Parc du Cinquantenaire to the Belgium Triumphal Arch.

From there I wandered on down to the Montgommery tram stop and picked up the tram out to the beautiful parklands of Tervuren.

I spent a long time wandering round Tervuren and it was only with the light starting to fade that I headed back to the tram stop and picked up the tram back into town to grab a bite to eat before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Brussels; Saturday, 19 May, 2018

I had a nice long lie-in and a leisurely breakfast before heading out into town and over to the Cathedral.

I’d done the open-top bus the first time I’d visited Brussels, but the weather than hadn’t been brilliant so it had ended up being a closed top tour and mostly seen through steamed up windows, so this time – with better weather – I decided to try again.

The company runs two different tours – one taking in the European district and another taking in the Atomium and north of the city – and I’d brought a ticket that let me do both tours.

What I hadn’t taken into account, partly because the trip had been booked in a blind panic to get out of the country within minutes of the date of the Royal Wedding being announced, was that there was just a small event – Belgium Pride – taking place across the whole of the city centre on the Saturday, accompanied by lots of road closures. It meant the service was running erratically, and in places going totally random routes, but it did mean in lots of places it was possible to get an elevated view over the festivities.

I did a loop of both routes before heading off into town for a late lunch. I then had a look round the cathedral and a bit of a wander through the parts of the city centre that weren’t a solid mass of festival goers before ending up back at the sightseeing tour bus stop shortly before the last tour of the night attempted to set off.

I did a final circuit of the northern Atomium route before heading back into the city centre and then over to my hotel to freshen up.

Refreshed I headed out into town and over to the Place du Congrès. The square forms a viewing platform behind the column that houses the tomb of the unknown soldier and looks out towards the west and the stunning views of the sun setting behind the Brussels skyline.

After taking quite a few photos I headed down into the centre of town for a bite to eat and then back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Brussels; Sunday, 20 May, 2018

I had another long lie-in and slow breakfast before checking out and heading out into the city. It had clearly been a good party the previous night as the city was deserted – though evidence of the festivities was still visible on the streets in places.

As things had returned to normal I caught the European quarter open-top bus tour to take in the actual route that it went round, which was quite substantially different to the one it had taken yesterday. I did the same for the Atomium tour and once again a lot of the tour route was new.

Back in town I headed over to the restaurants near the Grand Place for a late, and long lunch, before having a wander through the central area, eventually ending up at the city’s most notorious flasher – the Mannekin Pis.

I had an early evening waffle from a stall nearby before it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my luggage and wander over to the Eurostar terminal to checkin.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Visby; Friday, 25 May, 2018

I finished work at 4 and headed straight to the airport, though on the Friday afternoon at the start of a Bank Holiday weekend this did take longer than usual. Thankfully I’d left enough time and got to the airport just on the 2 hour to departure mark.

The plane was parked out on the airfield, so pretty soon after getting through security we were called to the gate to start boarding buses. Possibly because they had started so soon it meant that the flight was all closed up and ready to go a good 10 minutes before our originally scheduled departure slot.

It was a smooth flight over to Stockholm, with our flight landing just behind an easyJet arrival from Luton. This did mean that by the time we’d been parked up and started disembarkation the queue for the two passport booths was already pretty long and it took a good 20 minutes to clear immigration.

Thankfully, this did mean that all the luggage was on the belt when I got through and so I was able to walk straight up to my bag, grab it and head through the deserted customs channel to arrivals.

I’d booked to stay at an airport hotel overnight, so I started heading off through the terminal buildings to get there. It turned out that the hotel was at the opposite end of the airport to where we had landed, and it took nearly 20 minutes to walk the distance, including several escalators, travellators, stairs and lifts before I finally reached reception and checked in.

Nearly an hour after landing I finally hit my bed for the night and set my alarm for a far too short distance into the morning

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Visby; Saturday, 26 May, 2018

I had a quick shower and headed down to breakfast. The hotel is very large, and a major conference centre, consequently the dining room is vast though at 8am on a Saturday morning it still was quite difficult to find an empty table.

A quick breakfast and a dash back to the room to pick up my luggage then I checked out and walked back through the terminal to checkin for the morning’s flight to Visby. Thankfully, this was from Terminal 4 so I only had to walk a couple of minutes, rather than the 20 minute walk of the previous evening.

It was an uneventful, if quick, flight to Gotland – landing less than 40 minutes after leaving Arlanda. After collecting my luggage, I headed out of the airport and picked up a taxi into town and onto my hotel.

Consequently, it was only just after 11:30 when I arrived at the hotel, and I was expecting to be told I’d have to store my luggage and come back later, but the hotel had my room ready and I was able to checkin, dump my luggage and head back out.

Part of what attracted me to Visby were the images of it’s city walls. An almost complete set of medieval walls encircle the old town of the city, with most of the towers still standing as well. I wandered out of the hotel and headed down to the sea front and the start of the walls.

I walked the whole way round the walls, a circuit of about 3.5KM, but by the time I’d been in and out of some of the towers and taking in some of the other views, including the stunning views over the city from a terrace above the cathedral, it was nearly 5pm by the time I finally made it back to the hotel.

I had a quick freshen up and then headed back out into the centre of town to take in a little more of the city’s sights including the main square and the Cathedral before stopping off at one of the restaurants lining the edge of the town square for a light dinner (light mostly to keep costs down).

Sitting down for 90 minutes to have dinner turned out to not have been the best idea as I’d started to seize up from all the walking earlier and it was a stiff and slightly painful walk back to the hotel and my bed to try and relax and unstiffen my aching limbs.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Visby; Sunday, 27 May, 2018

I had a quick breakfast and then headed out into town to take in the sites of the city, and in particular the large number of church ruins that dot the city centre.

First stop were the combined ruins of St Peter and St Hans churches, the latter having been built behind the former when it became too small. Today just a small part of St Hans survives, although it’s a pretty impressive column reaching up to where the vaulting of the roof would once have been. St Peters has a number of the stumps of columns visible and it’s easier to make out the line of the church.

From the first set of ruins I climbed up the hill towards the walls and was intending on visiting the prison museum in one of the towers of the wall, but it appeared to be closed – and closed for some time, so instead I headed back through the old town and down to the eastern gate, mostly so I could pick up some water from the shops outside of the historic centre.

As I got to Österport the Land Train was just pulling up for its first journey of the day, so I decided to hop on and took the 25-minute tour round the outside of the city walls. It had an interesting commentary which filled in some of the missing information, not least of all over why there were so many ruined churches (The Hansiatic league suspected the city’s merchants of either harbouring or not actively pursuing pirates in this part of the Baltic and to make a point they invaded and burnt every church, other than the Cathedral, to the ground. With the reformation that followed what remained of the churches were just left to decay).

After the tour I headed back through town, stopping off at a couple of the view points that the terracing on the hill allows, before making my way down to the Cathedral where I had a look around the inside. The original building is from the 12th Century, and whilst parts of it survive the building has undergone significant renovation over the centuries with much of the stone being repaired or replaced, and new stained-glass windows installed.

From the Cathedral I wandered back t the main square and grabbed a quick lunch sat in the sun overlooking the ruins of St Karin’s church, which was my next stop. The church is one of the most impressive ruins as not only do all its walls survive, but even the stone vaulting for the roof is intact, looking like the ribs of a skeleton. You could easily imagine with just some tiles and windows the building would almost be complete again.

A short walk from St Karins and there were two more sets of ruins. The byzantine styled St Lawrence’s and the Dotting’s church and then a short walk further down the road St Clemens. After taking in these in full (including climbing up to the top-level walkway in St Lawrence’s), I headed over to the next set of ruins – St Nicolai. These have been partially repaired, with a new roof placed on top of them to create an events space, and consequently it isn’t possible to go inside.

It also wasn’t possible to go inside St Gertrud’s or the Holy Ghost church, the next two on my walk, before I finally made my way down to the last set of ruins – St Olof’s. The church had once been one of the largest on the island, and probably one of the most impressive, but much of it’s stone had been taken to make other building and today the plants and trees of the Botanical Gardens, which have been created around the church, are slowly swallowing up all the remaining masonry. After looking round the ruins I continued into the gardens and had a long wander around the pretty gardens.

From the gardens I headed back towards the hotel, following the line of the western walls back to the harbour and then up through the Almedalen gardens and their beautiful lake, on a warm sunny Sunday surrounded by lots of people sunbathing, through to the Lilla Strandporten – one of the most important gates in the city walls and then back down the main road to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel and grabbed my camera as there was just time to get down to the sea front to catch the sunset. As the beach faces west, it offered a stunning sunset with the accompaniment of the Baltic just gently lapping at the shore. I watched as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon and then headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Visby; Monday, 28 May, 2018

It may have been a Bank Holiday in the UK, but for the rest of Europe it was a normal Monday, which consequently meant breakfast ended early, so I had to cut short my lie-in to be able to have something to eat.

Breakfast completed I popped out of the hotel and a couple of buildings down the road to the Gotlands Museum. The museum tells the history of the island and the city of Visby from a Geological and Social viewpoint starting with the formation of what is now the Baltic, through to exhibitions on how people lived up until the end of the 20th Century.

In the end I didn’t have enough time to see the museum in as much depth as it required as I had to get back to the hotel, pick up my bags, check out and head on over to the airport.

The hotel kindly booked me a taxi so that I got to the airport about 75 minutes before my flight was due to depart. I thought that would be cutting it fine, but in the end it turns out the traffic is quite slow here, and whilst at Arlanda checkin closes an hour before departure at Visby they don’t open the desks until an hour before.

Having made my way through the small airport I waited in the tiny departures lounge for my flight which turned out to be half empty in the end!

40 minutes later we landed in Stockholm and after a quick wait for my baggage I walked the long trudge back to Terminal 2 and checked in for my flight back to London, which even 4 hours out already had a near 90 minute delay on it.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Dundee; Friday, 01 June, 2018

As I was having to head up to Dundee for work I was able to get an afternoon flight to Edinburgh, so shortly after lunch I headed out to Heathrow.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and, despite a slight delay on departure, arrive in Edinburgh in time to make the tram and train connection at Edinburgh Gateway on to Dundee.

Given I was loaded down with half a conference stand I was lazy and picked up a taxi to go the half mile or so from the station to the hotel where I checked in and deposited my luggage in the room.

With most of the weight remove I headed back out into town for a late dinner before returning to the hotel and a well deserved sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Dundee; Saturday, 02 June, 2018

I had a nice lie-in and a decent breakfast before heading out of the hotel and down to the bus station.

My plan for the day was to explore the fife coast and that started by heading out of town and over the impressive Tay Road Bridge on a bus to St Andrews.

I had about 20 minutes to spare in St Andrews before my connection so I had a quick wander down to the Western Sands to take in the views before walking back to the bus station and picking up my connecting bus onto the town of Anstruther.

Anstruther is a very pretty little fishing village on the Firth of Forth, almost opposite North Berwick and with the Bass Rock and Tantallon castle just about visible across the waters (albeit with enough haze to make photography pointless)

I had a long wander around the town, including the harbour and beach before stopping for a fish lunch in one of the many fish and chip shops that line the main street through the town.

Having filled up I had another little wander for a few minutes before my bus was due t continue along the coast.

My next stop was Kirkcaldy roughly opposite Edinburgh on the opposite side of the firth. I had about 25 minutes before the connecting bus so had a bit of a wander around, but there wasn’t much to see other than shops and a slightly run-down bus station.

Kirkcaldy was the South Western most point of my trip and from there I started to head back towards Dundee, changing buses again in Glenrothes with its slightly weird shopping centre come bus station.

The final bus repeated the spectacular journey over the Tay Road Bridge and down into Dundee. I popped back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out into town to find dinner.

I had a light dinner, given the size of the lunch I’d had, and then headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Dundee; Sunday, 03 June, 2018

As I had to change hotels from the one I’d paid for to the conference hotel that work was paying for I decided to have a lie in and a late breakfast, checking out of the hotel just a few minutes before final checkout time.

I walked the couple of hundred yards across to road to the conference hotel, with the intention of just leaving my luggage there and heading out into town, but the already had my room ready so I was able to check straight back in and less than 10 minutes after leaving the last room I was unpacking again in my new room.

I headed out of the hotel and went for a little wander around the harbour area where the hotel was before stopping off at an oriental buffet for lunch.

On the opposite side of the harbour is the HMS Unicorn, a wood and iron built frigate that never actually saw active service. The boat was built so that the navy was ready if it was needed, but with a roof over it’s top deck rather than any masts or rigging. Given it would only take a couple of weeks to erect the masts and rigging on the ship, rather than many months to build from scratch, this was the quickest way to get lots of ships available. The Unicorn is about the only one still left and with it’s original roof still intact – which probably explains the generally good condition of the ship.

I spent a long time exploring the ship, including long enough stooped down in the hold to have my back complaining painfully.

Having explored the ship I had a bit more of a wander around the harbourside before I headed back to the hotel to meet up with my colleague that I was attending the conference with.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Cologne; Friday, 15 June, 2018

I’d stayed overnight in an airport hotel as it was a relatively early flight. After checking out I headed over the road to catch the bus into the central bus station and then change onto the Piccadilly line round to Terminal 5. However, on getting to the tube station the Piccadilly line was showing delays so instead I walked round to the Heathrow Express to get the free terminal transfer train instead.

Heathrow Express has recently installed ticket barriers, but not actually set up any system for getting the free transfer passengers through the system, so there was a long queue for the one member of staff who was letting people through as well as providing travel information. Consequently, by the time I got down to the platform I just missed the train and had a 15-minute wait for the next one.

Finally, at Terminal 5 I checked in and headed through into departures to grab some breakfast and wait for the flight to be called, which happened sooner that I was expecting. They were so efficient that the doors were closed, and the plane was ready to go 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time. We pushed back and then started a slow meander around the airfield before finally reaching the threshold of the runway 40 minutes after pushing back.

It was an uneventful flight, and I was hoping that was the end of the days issues, but no the baggage handlers at Düsseldorf airport took ages to offload the luggage and so by the time I finally got my bag I’d missed several trains. I finally got over to the train station to find that the train that had been due in 10 minutes time was delayed by 25 due to a signal problem, so I then spent another nearly 40 minutes waiting round to move. In the end it was 90 minutes after the plane landed before I finally started on my journey south.

Thankfully, once on the move the journey was smooth and I had a quick change in Köln onto the tram and over to my hotel where I checked in and headed up to my room to freshen up.

Having changed into something more suitable for the much warmer weather in Köln I headed out over to the riverside and was in time to catch the last Rhine river cruise of the evening.

Cruise completed I headed back into the old town to find somewhere for dinner that wasn’t showing the world cup, it took some finding, but I eventually found somewhere with a river view and good food.

I had a very nice dinner and then headed back to the U-Bahn stop to catch the tram back to my hotel and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Cologne; Saturday, 16 June, 2018

I had a nice long lie in and a quiet breakfast before heading out of the hotel and over to the cathedral to pick up the open-top tour bus.

When I first visited Cologne 14 years ago they didn’t have any hop-on-hop-off tours, instead there had just been a 2 hour coach tour round the city centre. A lot has changed since then and there are now two companies offering the standard open-top double deck tours.

I’d chosen the City Tour as on a Saturday it ran two routes, with their Saturday only blue tour taking in more of the industrial and riverside parts of the city.

I did two full circuits of the blue tour, with the second circuit in the very comfortable front seat which had masses of leg room

I had a quick stop in the Hauptbahnhof for a quick late lunch and then headed back to the bus stop to pick up the red tour through the old town. I had done one full circuit and was on the start of the second circuit when it started to spit gently with rain. Thankfully the driver was clearly prepared as at the next stop he came up onto the top deck and pulled the retractable roof back across the bus, turning it into a closed top bus.

About 5 minutes later we were very glad the driver had made that decision as the skies absolutely opened and there was a torrential shower for about 15 minutes, one of those showers that there is no point in running for shelter in as by the time you’ve got to cover you’re already soaked through – and there were several examples of that visible from the bus.

We completed the tour and from the Hauptbahnhof I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out into town and down to the riverside to find dinner.

After a very nice dinner I had a bit of a walk along the bank of the Rhein before heading back into the old town and picking up the tram back to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Cologne; Sunday, 17 June, 2018

Given it was going to be a long journey at the end of the day, with the chances of being in bed by midnight remote, I had a nice long lie in to make sure I was fully refreshed for the day ahead.

After a quick breakfast I packed, checked out and headed out into town to explore the city’s walls. The walls around Cologne were once around 7Km long and included 12 towers. Today only a handful of the towers/gates still survive and most of the wall has gone, destroyed when the city needed to expand beyond it’s medieval core. Today the course of the wall is shadowed by the inner city ring road, and – more conveniently for me, by the 12 and 15 tram lines, making visiting the sites on the wall much easier than having to trudge for kilometres between sites.

First stop was out to Eberplatz and the remains of the Eigelstein-Torburg, the northern most of the surviving city walls and today hidden in a small square. From there it was back onto the tram and down a couple of stops to Rudolfplatz and the Hahen gate. Here it is just the gate that has survived, with none of the wall remaining either side, but as with all the other gates that have survived it has been restored and is in use, with most of the gates being looked after by the city’s carnival societies.

Back down onto the U-Bahn and a couple of stops further on to Ulrepforte where some of the largest parts of the remains survive. The Ulrepforte itself is a tower, looking to all intents and purposes like it had just come out of a fairy-tale. A short distance away the Sachsenturm and a small part of the wall has been preserved to give an idea of how impressive it would have been in its heyday.

One more stop round on the tram and at Chlodwigplatz the Severinstorburg, the most impressive of the remaining gates, if only for the small part of wall that remains attached to it.

Having taken in all of the wall and gates that exist I stopped off at one of the cafes in Chlodwigplatz for a quick lunch before picking the tram back up and heading north, this time past Eberplatz and onto the Flora botanical gardens.

I had a long wander around the gardens, which would have been longer still had the glasshouses not been closed for renovation. From Flora I caught the tram back to the Hauptbahnhof to grab a quick bite to eat and then back to my hotel to collect my luggage, before returning to the Hauptbahnhof and starting the long journey back to my overnight stop for work in Oxford.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Birmingham; Friday, 22 June, 2018

I’d been up in Birmingham for a work conference that continued on until just after 6pm. After leaving the conference venue I walked the short distance back to the hotel I’d stayed in the previous evening to pick up my bags, and then with most of the accoutrements of a conference stand caught a taxi round to my hotel for the weekend. As the crow flies it was barely a quarter of a mile, but with all the road and building works taking place in Birmingham it would have been closer to a mile to walk and the taxi had to drive nearly two (though Birmingham’s fiendish one-way system also added to that.)

After checking in and depositing all of my stuff in my room I headed out into town to find some dinner.

I carefully followed the hotels well signed walking route that promptly took me on a quarter of a mile loop around a building site to the bottom of the hotel approach ramp, at which point I noticed most other people were ignoring the no pedestrian’s signs and walking down the ramp.

I headed over to Grand Central to find somewhere to eat, which took longer than it should have done as several places at 20:30 on a Friday evening had already closed their kitchens for the evening. Eventually I found solus in the Nando’s and had a very pleasant, if not particularly healthy dinner,

Having finally found food I headed back to the hotel, and ignoring the signs took the short cut up the access ramp to the hotel, shaving a good five minutes off the return walk.

I had a quick nightcap in the bar before turning in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Birmingham; Saturday, 23 June, 2018

I’d forgotten to switch the alarm on my phone off, so was woken up just after 7am, and after about half an hour of trying to get back to sleep admitted defeat and got up. Thankfully it did mean I was down to breakfast early and had a good selection to choose from.

After a leisurely breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the Cathedral to pick up the open-top sightseeing bus to take its tour of the city.

I did two full circuits taking in all of the sights before disembarking back at the Cathedral and then walking across town to Brindley Place to pick up my second tour of the day – this time of the canal network around the city.

I’d taken this tour when I had last visited Birmingham almost exactly five years previously, and I remember then that it passed quite quickly into countryside – so, given all the building work going on in the city centre, I was intrigued to find out whether the countryside was in retreat.

The tour headed out from Brindley Place and up through Sherbourne Wharf – which it hadn’t been able to do previously, past some very expensive looking apartment blocks.

Turning back onto the main line of the canal the boat did quickly leave the city behind and headed out into the countryside, but it wasn’t long before we reached an area that had previously been a long abandoned industrial site that has now been cleared and is clearly being prepared for building to commence, so whilst the countryside may remain at the moment, it won’t be for much longer.

Back in the city centre I headed up on to Broad Street and was in time to catch the open-top bus as it went past so I picked it up back round to the cathedral and then went in hunt of a very late lunch. In the end I headed back into Grand Central and had Sushi, which was the thing I’d actually wanted to have the previous evening.

My sushi cravings finally sated I caught the train a couple of stops out of town to Smethwick to visit Galton Bridge. Today it’s just a foot and cycle bridge over a railway line and a canal, but when it opened in the early 19th century this Thomas Telford construction was the highest single span bridge in the world. I had a quick look around, but there’s not much more to see than a single information board and views over the railway line, canal and the mouth of a canal tunnel, so I headed back to the station and caught the train back into town.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre, though that proved to be a bit difficult with the combination of Saturday shopping crowds and the sheer amount of building work going on in the city both to extend the tram and general building and regeneration.

Eventually I made it back to the hotel, though not possibly by the quickest route, where I freshened up before popping round the corner to the mailbox to find somewhere to eat, having decided I didn’t want to face Birmingham’s chaos again.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Birmingham; Sunday, 24 June, 2018

After yesterdays alarm issues I made sure it was switched off and instead had a long lie in before a slightly more crowded breakfast.

I checked out of the hotel and, after leaving my luggage there, headed over to New Street Station to pick up the tram. I was heading to Dudley and I could remember the last time I visited the bus ride taking a long time, something that the trip planners were showing, but they also showed I could catch the tram to just north of West Bromwich were it should connect with a bus on into Dudley.

Correct to their words less than 50 minutes later, and with everything running correctly, I was stepping off the bus outside Dudley Zoo.

The Zoo is built around the ruins of Dudley Castle and to add into the list of attractions available in a single ticket a vintage chair lift speeds you up the hill from the ticket office to the entrance to the castle.

There are quite significant ruins of the castle, though much of it is closed off with big warning signs about falling masonry, but you can still climb up the main keep tower for views over Dudley and the zoo itself.

Having seen all the castle had to offer I looked round the zoo, which with its hillside setting has many interesting enclosures. The zoo boasts both Lions and Tigers as well as a couple of giraffe.

I spent several hours looking round the zoo, only leaving as they started to close the zoo for the evening.

I walked back to the bus stop and picked up a different bus back towards Birmingham, this one I’d spotted previously running close to the hotel so I picked that up only about 40 minutes later I was getting off on Broad Street in central Birmingham- so much for the journey planner.

I wandered back to the hotel and picked up my luggage before once again cheating and calling for a cab back to New Street Station and my train home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Rouen; Friday, 06 July, 2018

The previous day a power failure just up the line from me had wiped out our train service with the station closed for most of the day and nothing running until late evening. Consequently, there had been dire warnings about delays and cancellations all day on the Friday as trains and drivers would all be out of place.

I’d already worked out a couple of different plans, in case things did turn out to be as dire as predicted, but in the end, there were only a couple of cancellations and things didn’t appear to be too bad, but I still left home at 18:30 a good hour earlier than I needed to just in case.

I got to East Croydon without any issue and changed there onto the first train heading towards the coast, which given a number of trains were showing as delayed was probably the best idea.

The train I was on to Brighton did the usual trick of loosing a couple of minutes each stop so by the time we finally got to the coast it was almost 20 minutes late and my 19-minute connection time for the train round to Newhaven had evaporated. The connecting train was running late itself, but only by a couple of minutes, and as I was at the far end of the platform and it was still swelteringly hot I decided it was just as easy to walk to the concourse, grab some water and wait for the next train.

The next train was, naturally, delayed by 10 minutes, so by the time I got to the Check-in counter at Newhaven harbour it had already opened, rather than having a 50-minute wait which I would have had if everything had run correctly.

I checked in and waited in the lounge for boarding to start, which in the end only commenced about 15 minutes before the ship was due to leave. The foot passengers are the last to board – after all the lorries had gone onboard – and it was already gone 11 by the time we were finally driven up to doors of the ship and allowed to board.

I headed up to reception where there was a long queue of people trying to enquire about cabins (which were all fully booked) and, thankfully, a much shorter queue of people who had pre-booked cabins waiting to get their keys.

After picking up my key I headed down to my cabin which overlooked the bow doors of the ship, and so to the sound of the ship starting up and the bow doors closing, I turned in for the night to get a couple of hours sleep

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Rouen; Saturday, 07 July, 2018

I got about three hours sleep, but with the combination of car alarms going off (despite drivers being told not to set their alarms as the movement of the ship would set them off) and the general sounds of the ferry it was disrupted. At about 4:30 wake up calls were made to all the cabins, which was a shame as I was in relatively deep sleep at that point – about the worst time to be suddenly woken up. Looking out of my cabin windows it was still dark outside, but the lights of Dieppe harbour were clearly visible, so I had a quick shower, packed, checked out of the room and headed to the disembarkation point.

By the time I got through the terminal building at Dieppe it was just after 05:45, at which point I found out that unlike the daytime ferries, there is no shuttle bus into town for the morning arrival, so instead I walked the 20 or so minutes pas the port into town and then back out again to Dieppe station to pick up my train. Given my train was at 06:15 this did cut it a bit fine.

Thankfully I made the train with a couple of minutes to spare. I collapsed into the seat and missed a lot of the journey down to Rouen as I was struggling to stay awake. On arrival into Rouen I had a quick look around the station area to see if there was a café open to get some breakfast, but because there was a partial SNCF strike on, nothing was open. Instead I caught the metro down a couple of stops to the Cathedral area and eventually, after a bit of walking, managed to find a boulangerie that was open and serving coffee.

Two strong coffee’s and a couple of pastries later I was ready to face the day, and immediately started by heading to my hotel for the night. I’d paid for a 9am check-in, so was able to drop my bags off, have a quick freshen up and then head on out into town.

First stop was the Panorama XXL – a large painting of the city at the time of the execution of Joan of Arc, which can be viewed from multiple levels. Having looked at that, the main feature of which is the cathedral, I headed back into the centre of town to see the real thing. I was going to go into the cathedral, but there appeared to be a large tour group just going in, and at the same time the landtrain turned up, so I decided to hop on that instead.

The train tour took in many of the key sights of the city and gave me a better idea of the layout of the city so it would be easier to plan my afternoon, as well as giving some facts on the city which at one point was the second city of France. Back at the cathedral I stopped for a pleasant lunch before heading into the cathedral to look around.

Having taken in the cathedral I wandered round the corner to the exhibition in the former bishops palace that tells the story of Joan of Arc, from her rural upbringing to her trial, execution and the retrial that took place around 30 years later that found her innocent. The museum then goes on to look at the role Joan of Arc has played in French society and identity over the years being used by all sides to promote a particular type of French ideal.

Leaving the museum, I had a wander through town heading over towards the market place where Joan was burnt at the stake, and the impressive – if slightly weird looking – 1970’s church that now stands near the spot. As it was mid-afternoon by now I stopped to have a quick drink, before heading back towards the cathedral and stopping off at the Great Clock to take a tour of the museum and the view over the city from the top of the belfry.

From the clock I headed up to the only remaining part of the castle of Rouen, where Joan of Arc was held prior to her execution. Today it’s just one tower that remains and that is now used as a venue for an escape game, but you can still look around the outside and get an idea for how impressive the castle would have been.

I headed back into the centre of town and grabbed a light dinner, but by now the effects of very little sleep and being up since around 4am were taking their toll and after dinner I headed back to the hotel to get an early night and some needed sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Rouen; Sunday, 08 July, 2018

I had a very long lie in and a late breakfast. It meant that by the time I’d packed it was almost midday and less than 2 hours before my train to Dieppe departed.

I decided there wasn’t time to see something and then come back and pick up my luggage so after checking out of the hotel I took my bag with me and went for a bit of a wander along the banks of the Seine, crossing over by the bridge nearest the hotel and taking in the views from the opposite bank. From here there are some excellent views of the Cathedral, and also on a really warm and quite muggy day, it makes for a pleasant place to walk along.

I eventually made it to the tram stop after about 45 minutes very slow walk, which is about what I was aiming for, so I hopped on the tram all the way back to the station – the advantage of having the bag with me paying off.

I got back to Rouen station about 30 minutes before the train was due to depart and pretty soon afterwards they put up the platform, so I was able to go and sit on the beautifully air conditioned train.

Everything ran to time and a little before 3 we pulled into Dieppe station. With 90 minutes to spare before check-in for the ferry opened I decided to pop into the centre of Dieppe for a late lunch. I had a bit of a wander down the main street until I found a nice place in the shade that was serving omelettes and beer, so I decided to stop there for a while.

Lunch completed I headed back through the town and out on the walk back to the harbour. It was difficult to imagine that it was less than 36 hours earlier that I’d been doing the walk in the opposite direction.

Back at the ferry terminal I was able to check-in and after a 30 or so minute wait we were invited to board the bus to take us to the ship. About 15 minutes early the boat pulled away from the dock and headed out into a choppy English Channel.

Everything appeared to be running smoothly, and Newhaven was pretty much in sight when the captain came on the radio to say that there was a fault with the loading ramps at the terminal in Newhaven, it couldn’t be fixed and therefore we wouldn’t be able to land. The only option we had was to return to Dieppe, which he promptly then did. And so, it was another near three hours of sailing back to where we’d come from, to then start an even longer journey back home via the Calais Dover route.

The original plan had been to have buses meet us when we arrived, but that plan was quickly scrapped in favour of keeping the foot and cycle passengers on board with the hope of sailing in the morning, so with nothing much else to do I retired to my cabin for the night and got some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Rouen; Monday, 09 July, 2018

I woke up around 7am and had a quick shower before heading down to the ship reception to find out if there was any more information. At that point they were still hopeful of setting sail later in the day, and with a breakfast voucher I headed to the restaurant for breakfast.

By 9am things were changing and after we’d all checked out of our cabins we were informed that we would all need to disembark at 10:30 and go back through French immigration to wait in the terminal, and then we would be re-boarded when the ship was ready to go.

By the time we got through immigration and into the terminal building plans had changed again. The technical fault at Newhaven was much more serious and wasn’t going to be fixed, so instead we were back to the original plan of buses up to Calais, just 12 hours later than could have happened.

By midday the coaches still hadn’t arrived, and tempers were starting to get frayed with the lack of information from above clearly not helping the staff on the ground. Finally, around 12:15 the first of the buses turned into the port and a Ryanair style scrum to board ensued. It was clear that there wasn’t enough space for everyone, and in the end, they needed two more buses to cater for everyone, so it was 1pm before our convoy, complete with a van carrying all the cyclist’s bikes, set off on the long journey back to Newhaven.

It was more than two hours driving before we finally reached the port at Calais and after clearing immigration yet again we made check-in for the 5pm sailing with moments to spare and soon after we were getting off our coach and heading up to deck on our new ferry.

An uneventful crossing, with no turning back involved, we landed at Dover and re-boarded our coaches for the journey to Newhaven. Except it wasn’t to Newhaven, it was instead to a coach park in the docks where three British coaches were sitting with passengers going in the opposite direction, and so we had to get off of our French coaches, collect our luggage and swap with the passengers heading back to Dieppe on to the British coaches to complete the journey back to Newhaven.

Over two hours late, and 23 hours and 40 minutes after we should have arrived at Newhaven the coach finally pulled into the car park of the ferry terminal and everyone, now exhausted, disembarked and started on the final leg of their journey home, which in my case was extended by Southern cancelling the next train so I had to sit on Newhaven Town station for nearly 40 minutes.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Rouen; Tuesday, 10 July, 2018

I’d been tweeting throughout my journey from the initial shots of approaching Newhaven, that fast turned into the extended journey back, and overnight the story had gained some traction with the local BBC news team in Sussex, so I woke to a tweet from their newsroom asking to do an interview

So at 7:45 on the Tuesday morning I was interviewed live on the BBC Sussex breakfast show about my experience.

Weather

No Data No Data
AM PM
No Data
No Data

Bristol; Friday, 13 July, 2018

I’d been in Bristol for most of the week at a work conference, but after that had finished I walked the short distance across town from the conference hotel to my hotel for the weekend.

The previous hotel hadn’t had air conditioning in the room, and with the hot and sticky weather, it was glorious to step into my room at the new hotel to the blast of icy cold air from the air conditioner.

After unpacking and freshening up I headed out of the hotel and met up with some colleagues who had also stayed on for the night after the conference and we went for a very nice dinner down by the floating harbour, followed by a wander around the area, taking in the SS Great Britain and the M-Shed before heading back into town.

I headed back to my hotel and turned in for the night

Weather

Sunny Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Bristol; Saturday, 14 July, 2018

After breakfast in the hotel I headed down through the recently redeveloped and pedestrianised cenotaph area to the city quay.

At the quay I picked up the open-top bus to do a tour of the city, which in the already hot temperatures was a very pleasant place to be.

I did two full circuits to take in the substantial number of views before disembarking again by the city quay and going for a walk through the city centre and up to the castle park.

The park was originally home to the city’s castle, reportedly similar in size to the Tower of London, but it was torn down following the English Civil War and only small parts of it now remain at ground level. After the castle was removed the area turned into one of the main commercial and residential areas of the city and remained that right up until 1940 when much of it was destroyed in bombing raids as part of the Bristol Blitz. After the war the area was cleared and just the ruins of St Peter’s church were left as a memorial to all those who were killed in the months of bombing that the city endured.

I had a long look round the ruins of the church and a wander through the castle park before finding myself at the edge of the new Cabot Circus shopping development, with it’s large number of restaurants at which point I realised I had missed lunch and was feeling peckish, so I stopped for a late bite to eat.

After lunch I had a bit of a wander around the area and then headed back to pick up the last open-top tour of the night round the city and then back to the hotel.

After freshening up I headed out into town to grab a light dinner before returning to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Bristol; Sunday, 15 July, 2018

After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and had a bit of explore of the area around the hotel before heading up to the castle park to pick up the sightseeing bus back round to the city quay.

I arrived at the quay a couple of minutes before the next boat was due so waited in the glorious, if very hot, sun. The boat arrived and I headed out on an 80 minute tour of the floating harbour. The ferries are, during the week, an alternative to Bristol’s gridlocked roads, but on a sunny Sunday they were very much being used by most people for sightseeing.

The ferry headed out of the city quay and round through Redcliffe and past the castle park on its way to the landing stage behind Temple Meads station. We then retraced our route back to the city quay before heading back out again and sailing down to Hotwells and the locks at Cumberland basin that keep the floating harbour floating.

We then sailed back past the SS Great Britain with really good views of the ship, before returning back into the city quay where I hopped off.

I headed into town and had a bit of a wander around before stopping for lunch and then picking up the open-top bus again back out to Clifton.

I got off the bus in Clifton, headed over to the Suspension Bridge and had a wander across the bridge taking in the stunning views of the Avon gorge, perhaps only slightly disrupted by the fact the Avon was at a very low tide so rather than a majestic river there was a muddy channel with a small trickle of water running through it.

I walked back down from the bridge back into town and then headed over to the Christmas Steps area just to have a look around before crossing back over the main road for a quick look at St Johns’ on the wall church.

By now it was starting to get late, and as I was by the hotel I quickly popped in to freshen up before heading back out to find some dinner.

Dinner completed I headed back to the hotel to prepare for the work meeting I had on the other side of the city the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Lublin; Wednesday, 25 July, 2018

I’d stayed overnight at the airport to avoid having to get up too early, though with the beautiful air conditioning of the hotel making decent sleep likely for the first time in over a month I was in danger of oversleeping so I set lots of alarms, and in the end got woken by the first one at 04:30

Bleary eyed I headed over to the airport, checked in and then after a quick breakfast headed over to the gate for boarding. The flight was booked to leave from a bus gate so it was pretty obvious that we would get an early boarding call, and that we did – with the first bus leaving nearly 50 minutes before the scheduled departure time of the flight.

Clearly they had been hurrying people through the airport as the last bus pulled up about 20 minutes before departure and we were all closed up and ready to go a good 10 minutes early, though air traffic control insisted we waited for our assigned slot so, in the end, we didn’t leave until we were supposed to.

A smooth flight and an even smoother journey through the airport meant that less then 40 minutes after the plane had hit the tarmac I was already on a train into the city centre. From the main station I walked down to my hotel for the night to see if my room was ready to check in to.

The receptionist made a couple of phonecalls to see if my room was ready and then confidently stated that it was and issued me with a key – having changed the room number on it before handing it over. I headed up to the floor, opened the door and it was obvious straight away that this was a much smaller room than I’d had the last time, and as I’d booked the same room it was obvious there had been an error.

I headed back down to reception where they tried to persuade me that the room type I had booked wouldn’t be available for a long time so I’d probably be best of just taking that room – with no offer of a refund of the difference, so I declined their offer and said I’d be back just before 3 to checkin, leaving my bags with reception.

I headed out into town and over to the Old Town of Warsaw to find somewhere to have lunch. After lunch I picked up the land train to do a short tour round the edge of the old and new towns and by then it was time to head back to the hotel to try checking in again.

This time there was no messing around and I got the right room. I collected my luggage and freshened up before heading back out into town to do a bit more exploring, eventually ending up back in the Old Town square just after 7pm, so it felt like a good time to stop for some dinner.

I had a very nice dinner of Polish dumplings in a restaurant on the square before finishing off my walk through the old town back at the castle square. As it was starting to get dark, and I was starting to feel the effects of a 04:30 start, I headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Lublin; Thursday, 26 July, 2018

The hotel was very busy so breakfast was a chaotic mess with people hunting for tables and food which wasn’t being relished at the same speed it was being consumed.

Eventually after getting breakfast I checked out of the hotel and took my luggage over to the central station and put it in a left luggage locker before catching the bus back round to the old town. I had a long wander round the walls of the old town, and stopped for a quick bit in the old town square before heading back to the bus stop and picking up the bus back to the central station to collect my luggage and wait for the train.

I’d timed it so I’d only have about 20 minutes to wait for the train, though as I arrived at the station that plan went out the window as the train was already 25 minutes late, and over the following 40 minutes kept creeping a little later every couple of minutes, so by the time it finally arrived on the station it was 35 minutes late.

The journey was over three hours long, and on an old Polish compartment train with only one opening window, which wouldn’t open more than a third of the way, it wasn’t a particularly comfortable journey. By the time I got to Lublin I was drenched in sweat so was quite glad to get off the very hot train into the slightly less hot, but still very hot station.

I caught the bus from the station round to my hotel to check-in. I’d been slightly worried that the hotel might not have air conditioning, or it might not be that good, but all doubts were swept away the moment the inner sliding doors parted and a blast of frosty air hit me.

After checking in I headed up to my room to confirm that the excellent air conditioning continued in there, and satisfied that it did I had a quick shower to freshen up and a change of clothes before heading out into town.

I caught the bus round the edge of the city centre to a stop right by the castle. I had a long wander around the castle area and then up through the narrow lanes into the heart of the old town, eventually finding myself in the market square.

The city was very busy as they had a festival of magic and circus performers on, so there were lots of people creating balloon animals on street corners, and from every window of the market hall tightropes had been strung that performers were walking across (albeit not that well as most ended up falling off – thankfully all with harnesses that stopped them plunging to the ground below!)

I had a wander round the square and found a restaurant in one of the corners that had seats outside, so I stopped there for dinner and to watch several people attempt to walk across the high wires and all fail.

Following dinner I had a bit more of a wander round the centre of the old town, past the cathedral and two of the main gates into the old town, before walking down the main shopping street to the large Lithuania Square at the opposite end of the street, where there were more performers, including more people with flaming juggling torches than I think I’ve ever seen. I watched for a short while before heading over to the bus stop and picking up a bus back to my lovely cool hotel room and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Lublin; Friday, 27 July, 2018

Breakfast in Lublin was a significantly more civilised event than it had been in Warsaw, so I had a slightly more relaxed meal and then headed out to the bus stop to catch the trolley bus out to the former Nazi extermination camp at Majdanek.

Majdanek is a harrowing place to visit, not only because so many people were deliberately killed here in the gas chamber, but also for how close it is to the city. In places like Auschwitz the camps were a long way from civilisation, as though the Nazi’s were trying to hide what they were doing – here at Majdanek the city’s suburbs come right up to the fences.

Much of the site was destroyed by the fleeing Nazi’s as the Red Army approached, but the Red Army did come faster than the Nazi’s were expecting and some significant parts of the site survived and ever since have been turned into a memorial to those who died.

On a hot and humid day walking round the site was uncomfortable, in particular looking in any of the barrack blocks which were even hotter and stickier than outside. I had plenty of water and knew I was only spending a couple of hours there, even then it was still difficult to imagine how people coped with being in the camp for weeks or months on end with the high probability of death being their only way out.

At the top of the site is the mausoleum, which, on an already harrowing site, is probably the most harrowing part. Under the dome of the mausoleum are the cremated ashes of just some of the victims of the camp, those who were killed in the period immediately prior to the site being taken by the Red Army. The mound of ashes is massive, and it’s difficult to comprehend that this is only a fraction of the human life that was destroyed here.

After looking round the camp I caught a trolley bus back into town and headed back to the Rynek to have a late lunch.

A lengthy lunch completed I headed round the corner to the Wieza Tyranitarska, one of the former gates of the city whose tower you can climb for stunning views over the city centre, including the Rynek and the castle.

Having taken in the views I descended back down to ground level and then wandered through the old town, taking in the ruins of a medieval church in Plac Po Farze before heading back down towards the bus stops near the castle.

I caught the bus back to the hotel to drop off some of my stuff and freshen up, and then headed back out again into town a little later for a light dinner and a little bit more of a walk around the old town before returning to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Lublin; Saturday, 28 July, 2018

I had a late breakfast before heading off into town and over to the castle. It meant that by the time I’d got to the ticket booth at the castle most of the slots to visit the Holy Trinity Chapel had been booked out so I had to plump for a 5pm tour, which was several hours away, but in the interim I had a long look round the museum that is housed in the castle – made up of an exhibition on the archaeology and history of the area as well as the city’s art gallery.

After I’d looked round the museum I headed into the courtyard and climbed the Donjon tower to take in the views of the city from the top of that. From the castle it’s a lot easier to see how the old town is built up on top of a small ridge with the towers of the various gates and churches filling the skyline.

Back down at ground level I left the castle and headed into the old town and over to the Rynek to pick up a late lunch. After lunch I continued on walking and had a look round the very impressive Krakow Gate before heading back down the main street to Lithuania park and stopping there for a little while, before it was time to head back to the castle to go on the tour of the Holy Trinity Chapel.

After the tour of the chapel I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and relax for a little while before heading out for a later dinner, which I was glad I did as the Rynek was heaving with people, but after a quick lap of the square it was clear that a lot of diners had been there for a while and were in the process of leaving, so I didn’t have to wait long to get a table.

After dinner I wandered back through the old town to the bus stop near the castle and caught the bus back to the hotel to start packing.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Lublin; Sunday, 29 July, 2018

Today was just going to be about travelling.

After breakfast I finished off my packing, checked out of the hotel and caught the bus back out to the railway station on the edge of town.

I’d checked online and the train I was catching came in as a local service from nearby and then had additional carriages added to turn it into the Inter City service back to Warsaw. I’d though that it might be possible the additional carriages would already be at the station so I could get on them early, but it turned out they were instead parked, in the baking sun, in a siding.

The local train came in almost on time and over the next 10 minutes there was lots of shouting and moving of engines, but it wasn’t until about 5 minutes before we were due to depart that the additional carriages turned up and were connected onto the train.

All the time they had been sitting in the sidings the windows had been fully closed, and with no air conditioning, it meant that the individual compartments were boiling when we got on board, even after opening the windows and when the train finally started moving, more than five minutes late, getting some air moving it was still baking on board.

It was another long, slow, and very hot journey back across Poland to Warsaw, and along the way the train continued to get a bit later, so that by the time we reached the edge of Warsaw we were over 10 minutes late.

I hopped off the train at Warsaw Wschodnia station to the east of the centre where I was able to quickly change onto the beautifully air-conditioned train out to the airport. It would have been quicker to have stayed on the intercity train and changed at the Central station as the airport train sat at Wschodnia for a number of minutes, and another 10 minutes at the Central station, but I didn’t care – the longer I could sit in the cold air of the train the better.

The train arrived at the airport about 20 minutes before checkin was due to open so I was able to wander slowly up to the checkin area, and rearrange my bag, before checking in and then heading on through to departures and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Cloudy
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Ryde; Thursday, 09 August, 2018

I was making my way over to the Isle of Wight in stages, using lunch breaks to make the journey. Having worked from home in the morning I used my lunch break to get down to Portsmouth and over to the hotel near the station.

After checking in I headed up to my room and finished off work for the day.

Work finished for the day I headed over to the Gunwharf quays to find some dinner before having a bit of a wander round old Portsmouth.

I headed back to the hotel for a quick night cap and then turned in for an early night

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Ryde; Friday, 10 August, 2018

I had a late checkout arranged with the hotel that meant I could work out of it up until 5pm if needed, but I intended on using my lunch break to make the short hop across the Solent to the island.

That plan had appeared fine right up until just before 11am when the weather started to deteriorate rapidly with heavy downpours, but more importantly strong winds.

I decided to delay lunch until a bit later in the hop that the weather would improve, but checking the Hovertravel website it became obvious that I wasn’t going to be getting over to the Island in the way I had been intending, and eventually, just before 2pm I took a late lunch and picked up replacement through tickets to route myself via Portsmouth Harbour, the catamaran and the island line train to the centre of Ryde. It took 20 minutes longer than the original plan and used up most of my lunch break, but I did just have time to grab some lunch before checking in to the hotel in Ryde and heading up to my room to finish off work for the day.

Work over again, I headed out for a wander along the prom. I’d held off for a little while as there had been a pretty sharp shower just after 5pm, but by 6pm it was sunny and I thought it would be safe to head out.

20 minutes later I was running for the shelter of a closed ice cream kiosk to avoid a soaking as a heavy shower came over. I waited out the rain in the dry of the kiosk before continuing on along the seafront to the start of the boating lake, making it to a shelter a few seconds before the next shower started.

Whilst I was in the shelter the closing events of Cowes week were taking place out at sea with three P&O cruise liners lining up by Ryde Pier and then having a flypast from the Red Arrows, who timed it perfectly with the skies clearing to reveal a pleasant evening.

I continued walking along the coast down to the Appley Tower and a look round there before heading back into the centre of town for dinner and then to bed.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Ryde; Saturday, 11 August, 2018

I had a very pleasant breakfast in the hotel before heading out over to the bus station to pick up the Downs Breezer open top bus for a tour up over the Isle of Wight downs. The tour headed out of Ryde and up over the Downs before heading down into Sandown and then back along the coast through Bembridge and St Helens back to Ryde.

Back in Ryde I changed onto the local bus and headed out to Wootton to pick up the Isle of Wight Steam train for a ride across the centre of the island to Smallbrook Junction and back. Back in Wootton I was at the stop just in time to pick up the open top bus again. It was quite busy on the top deck, so I had to sit in the covered part at the front, which about 5 minutes later turned out to be the best place to be as another heavy shower passed through.

I got off the bus in Sandown and changed onto a local bus to head along the coast to Shanklin and down onto the Esplanade. I had a wander along the sea front and then stopped in a seafront café for a late lunch before walking over to the bottom of Shanklin Chine.

Chines are gorges that have been formed by rivers running down the cliffs of the island and into the sea. The protection of the cliffs, and the south facing location, means that the Shanklin Chine in particular has become a bit of a haven for wildlife and plants and it’s a very pleasant walk up the side of the gorge to the top of the Chine at the Old Town of Shanklin.

I had a bit of a wander around the old town before catching the bus back to Shanklin railway station and then picking up the Island Line train back up towards Ryde. The Island Line is a bit of a backwater of the National Rail network with services being provided by very elderly ex London Underground trains, but it makes for an interesting ride up the East coast.

Back in Ryde, and with the weather clearing I took the last Downs Breezer of the evening for the full tour, this time it staying dry the whole way round.

Back in Ryde I hopped onto a bus into Newport to find somewhere to eat for the night, given the options in Ryde were a bit limited.

I had a pleasant dinner in Newport and then caught the indirect bus back to Ryde that heads across the island to the South Eastern corner in Ventnor before heading back up the Eastern coast through Shanklin and Sandown back to Ryde.

Back in Ryde I headed back to the hotel for a quick night cap before heading up to my room to turn in.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ryde; Sunday, 12 August, 2018

I woke up to heavy rain and a check of the weather forecast revealed it wasn’t likely to get much better for most of the day, so I needed to find something dry to do for the day. I had intended on visiting the town museum, but that turned out to be closed on a Sunday, so after finishing breakfast and checking out of the hotel I headed over to the bus station to pick up the Island Coaster

The Coaster is a bus service that runs three times a day from Ryde down the East and then South coasts of the island to Yarmouth. Along the way it travels through many of the major seaside towns as well as across some of the prettier parts of the islands scenery, though quite a bit of it was obscured by the hammering rain.

The journey took around 3 hours to complete and by the time we arrived in Yarmouth the rain had subsided into the occasional spot of drizzle, so I took a chance and joined the open-top bus tour up out to the Needles.

As we came back down from the Needles into Alum bay the weather started to deteriorate again, and rather than getting a soaking on an open-top bus I changed at the bay onto one of the normal buses and caught that back through the centre of the island to Newport.

I stopped in Newport for a late lunch before heading back over to the bus station and picking up the bus back round to Ryde.

Thankfully, despite the rain, the wind was calm, so I headed back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and walked over to the hover terminal to pick up the hovercraft back across to Southsea and then start the long journey back home by train along the coast.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Washington DC; Friday, 24 August, 2018

I had a leisurely afternoon passing through the airport and eventually out to the satellite terminal to board my flight, which was smooth an uneventful all the way across the Atlantic to Baltimore. I should have known it was all going too smoothly.

Baltimore has one terminal that handles all international flights, so I’d – perhaps foolishly – thought it would make the process of landing in the US slightly easier as they would concentrate staff in the one terminal to handle immigration. I was about to be proved wrong.

We were all made to queue up to use the kiosks to complete our customs declaration and then every single person was directed into the secondary queue to be re-checked by immigration officials, this included all the Canadian and American citizens from the flight. To add to the joy there was just two immigration staff on duty so the queue, which already had the back half of another flight from Germany in it, took nearly 90 minutes to get through before I finally made it to the border.

With virtually no questions and just one photo and a set of prints my passport was stamped and I was over the border and into the US. The one upside of taking so long to get through was that all the luggage had arrived by the time I got through to baggage reclaim so I was able to pick mine straight up, quickly pass through the customs queue and exit into the terminal building.

I then had a lengthy walk back through the terminal building to the desk where my pre-booked shuttle was picking up from, and by the time I made it to the desk I’d missed the previous shuttle and then had another 45 minute wait for the next one into town.

The shuttle made several drop-offs in the outskirts of Baltimore before finally heading down the Interstate into Washington to do another drop off before finally pulling up to my hotel nearly 4 hours after I’d originally landed into the airport.

I checked into the hotel and immediately went to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Washington DC; Saturday, 25 August, 2018

I had a quick breakfast in the hotel and then headed out and up to the metro station a couple of blocks away to catch the subway out to Union station. I’d had an early breakfast so by the time I made it to Union I had enough time to purchase a two-day open-top bus tour ticket and grab some water for the journey before the first bus of the morning set off.

The first tours of the morning took a very different route to that published on the map due to a 10K race that was taking place in the city that morning, so the live guide was having to jump around their tour script quite a bit as stops went past in a random order.

I did one full circuit on the red line and then stayed on round to the main interchange point with the other lines close to the Lincoln Memorial.

I hopped onto the next available Yellow line route that headed up through the city and out into the North Western districts towards the zoo. This tour at least stuck to the map of the route it was doing, which was thankful as I doubt the pre-recorded commentary would have been able to cope with a change of route.

Back at the Lincoln Memorial I hopped onto a Blue route bus that was immediately behind and did a loop of the blue line out to the pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. Back at Lincoln I changed back onto a red line, which by now was back onto its correct route and headed back to Union station where I stopped for a very late lunch.

I did one full correct circuit of the red route, this time actually being able to take in sights like the Capitol Hill before it headed back to Union station at the end of its normal running day.

My ticket included a night tour of the city, and during the day the guides had been advising people to get to Union station early as the queues usually started about an hour before the tour. As I got off the red tour bus there was already quite a queue forming, which in the end turned out to be one whole bus plus a couple extra, but that did mean that by the time they started boarding I had an almost complete choice of seats on the top deck for the night tour.

The night tour set off just after 19:30 with the sun starting to set over the city. The guide took us out past the Capitol Hill and down through the centre of the city, over the river and out to Arlington for an evening tour round the city and the Iwo Jima statue. As we arrived at the statue the Netherlands Carillion was being played – which the tour guide remarked on as being strange as it was never normally played, a few minutes later various peoples phones burst into life with news headlines on the passing of the former presidential candidate John McCain, which then put the playing into context.

From the Iwo Jima statue we crossed back over the Potomac in the dark and went for a tour around the key monuments in the city centre before finally parking up near the Lincoln Memorial where we all got off the bus for a 20-minute walking tour that took in the Korea war memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

Back on the bus we were driven back to Union station where I hopped onto the metro and caught it back to the hotel for a well-earned night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Washington DC; Sunday, 26 August, 2018

From the hotel it was a short walk a couple of blocks to Washington Circle where I was able to pick up one of the first Yellow line tours of the morning, on it’s way in to start its first full tour.

I did one full circuit of the Yellow line, and then changed onto the Blue at Lincoln Memorial just to finish off getting some photos, before hopping back onto the Red line to head back round towards the museums.

I had intended on spending the afternoon looking round a couple of the Smithsonian museums, but as the bus approached the National Mall the most noticeable feature was the vast number of different type of police cars (city, state, FBI, Security Services and transport) blocking the streets off. It later turned out that someone had left a bag abandoned near one of the museums which had sparked a massive security alert and the lockdown of most of the National Mall, and no access to any of the museums – so instead I stayed on the tour for an amended route through the city back to Union station and hopped off there to get a late lunch.

I picked up a later tour bus and, with access to the museums still restricted, headed down to the tidal basin to take in some of the different memorials that have been built round there, starting with the memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I had a long wander through the impressive memorial before ending on the shore of the Tidal basin, looking across to the Martin Luther King Jnr memorial.

I walked round the edge of the basin and had a look round the MLK memorial before heading through the park land to the Korean Memorial and from there onto the impressive, and very busy, Lincoln Memorial.

By now the sun was starting to set again, so I headed down the side of the memorial and picked up one of the local DC Circulator buses that run on routes across the city at regular intervals. I caught it back to the interchange point near Union station and changed onto the line that headed back to close to the hotel.

I headed back to my room and freshened up before heading out to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner and, slightly uncomfortably stuffed, headed back to my hotel room.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Washington DC; Monday, 27 August, 2018

After checking out of the hotel I headed down the road a couple of blocks to the interestingly named Foggy Bottom metro station and caught the metro over to the Smithsonian Museums.

I had intended on spending part of the previous day looking round them, but with the security alert having put paid to that I now had only half a day to try and do as much as possible. Thankfully the museums are all free, so I wasn’t having to worry about wasting entrance fees.

First stop, after a quick wander round the grounds of the Smithsonian Castle, was the Hirsshorn modern art gallery to take in their collection and from there it was a short walk to the neighbouring Air and Space museum.

This is one of the more impressive, and busier of the Smithsonian Museums, housing models of lunar modules, the nose cone of a 747 and various other exhibits – perhaps some of the most important being the Spirit of St Louis and the Wright Flyer – the machine that made the first powered flight.

Whilst the museums are free to look around they clearly recoup much of their costs through the horrifically expensive and not particularly pleasant food available for purchase in the cafes. I had a particularly unappetising lunch and then headed down the road to the neighbouring museum of American Indians.

This museum traces the history and culture of the different indigenous tribes that called the Americas home before the Europeans marched in and colonised their land. The museum has a rotating display focusing on only a couple of tribes at a time, as well as a general overview on the various nations.

Having looked round the museum I crossed over the road and visited the Botanic Garden and the National Conservatory to have a look at some of the native species of plants that exist across the states. It was also an opportunity, in an increasingly muggy day, to go and sit in a couple of cooler greenhouses for a little while – the arid desert and Hawaiian being the most pleasant.

With time starting to run out I had just enough time left to head back down the National Mall and have a brief look round the Natural History museum – including their impressive Dinosaur exhibition and their even more impressive Hope Diamond – before heading back to the metro and onto the hotel to pick up my luggage.

From the hotel I timed it just right to pick up the Circulator up to the metro station, which saved a 10-minute walk in quite oppressive conditions. I arrived at Union station with about 20 minutes to spare before the train to Baltimore Washington International Airport station left so I had enough time to get a ticket and get a seat on the train before it headed out of the city.

The station itself is nowhere near the airport so I had to change onto the free shuttle bus that took anther 10 minutes or so to finally reach the correct part of the terminal building for my flight, but that did mean by the time I entered the terminal British Airways already had check-in open and I was able to check-in, clear security and wait for my flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
36ºC/97ºF

Bergamo; Friday, 21 September, 2018

I’d arrived at the airport the previous evening on a flight back from a work trip to Madrid so had made a quick change of clothes and rechecked my bags back in, buying me an extra 20 minutes or so in bed. It was still 5am when my alarm burst into life.

I’d stayed in the BLOC hotel next to security at Gatwick and with no check-in to worry about I was able to fall out of the hotel and straight through an almost deserted security into departures in search of breakfast.

The flight was eventually called a few minutes before it was supposed to originally depart as there had been congestion on the airfield meaning it had taken longer to get the plane onto the stand than they were expecting, but after than initial hitch it was a smooth journey over to Verona and then onto the bus into town. I had plenty of time to make my train connection, and it turned out I ended up with even more as although the flight was 5 minutes late landing, the train was already 15 minutes late when I got to the station and by the time it finally turned up it was running nearly 30 minutes late.

A smooth journey across the Northern Italian countryside and clearly through a time portal somewhere as a train journey that was timetabled to take nearly 2 hours managed to arrive in Bergamo bang on time, the 30-minute delay disappearing somewhere along the way.

The hotel was a short walk from the station, but my room wasn’t ready, so instead I left my luggage with the reception desk and headed out into town.

I had a long walk up the main street through the centre of the modern lower town and up to the foot of the hills that the historic upper town sits upon, arriving at the lower funicular station just a couple of minutes before the next departure.

I caught the funicular up into the upper town and spent a long time having a wander around, taking in the main sights and eventually making my way into the main square, at about the perfect time for a late afternoon drink. After my drink pause I headed over towards the bus stop for the buses back down into town and headed back to the hotel to check-in and freshen up.

A little later I headed back out of the hotel and over to the bus stop to take the bus back up into the upper town for dinner in a very nice restaurant in the main square I’d spotted earlier. I had a very nice, and quite large dinner, so I went for a bit of a wander through the upper town at night to walk off a bit of the food, before eventually ending up at the bus stop for the bus back down the hill to my hotel and welcoming bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Bergamo; Saturday, 22 September, 2018

I had a bit of lie in to make up for the previous day and then, after a filling breakfast, I headed out. I’d originally planned to just catch the bus to the bottom station of the upper town funicular, but as the bus pulled into the stop the queue was already impressive, so I decided to stay on the bus up to the top of town.

From there I walked the short distance to the bottom station of the San Vigilio funicular which I took up into the hilltop settlement. San Vigilio is higher than the upper town so affords some stunning views over the two levels of Bergamo. It’s also home to a castle that once defended the city walls and from the top of its towers provides even more stunning views over the valley floor and the foothills of the alps.

I had a long look round the castle before walking back down to the centre of San Vigilio and stopping in the trattoria by the funicular station for a very nice, if slightly pricy, lunch. I then caught the funicular back down to the upper town and went for a wander along the city walls, taking in the casemates built into the sturdy masonry of the walls, as well as the views of the upper town funicular punching its way through them.

Back down at the lower gate of the upper city I was just in time to miss a packed bus, which was promptly followed a minute or so later by an almost empty bus which I caught up the hill, passing the full bus half way up.

I headed into the centre of the upper town and stopped at another very nice café for a late afternoon drink. I had intended on it just being a quick drink, possibly accompanied by some crisps or a couple of olives which is traditional in this part of Italy. I wasn’t expecting a virtual tableful of snacks including a couple of dozen olives, mini bruschetta’s and the best part of a loaf of bread – I checked around and every other table was being presented with a similar level of snacks, it’s just they all had two or three people sat at them. By the time I’d finished my drink and the free snacks I was pretty much full and given it was coming up for 5pm decided I probably wouldn’t want dinner that evening (the large lunch not helping either)

I wandered over to the far side of the square to have a look around the chapel of Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and the neighbouring Cathedral. By the time I’d done that it was rapidly heading towards sunset, so I decided to head back up to San Vigilio to take in the sunset from the highest point in the city, so I joined a queue of other people who had the same idea as me at the funicular station and caught the train back up to San Vigilio.

I had a bit of a wander around to find the best view over the city to watch the sunset cast spectacular colours over the stones, towers and domes of the upper town. Behind me I also had a good view of the sun itself setting into the foothills of the alps.

I waited around for a little while after it got dark, in case the upper city was particularly well floodlit, but it turns out it isn’t so after a little while – and still full from lunch and the evening snack – I headed back to the funicular station back down into the upper town and then the bus down to my hotel to have an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Bergamo; Sunday, 23 September, 2018

I had breakfast then packed my bags, checked out of the hotel and headed over to the bus stop. I caught the bus for a more scenic trip up into the upper town this morning. I’d already spotted the signs saying that a road race was taking place on the Sunday morning, but clearly several tourists who had just arrived on trains were very confused looking at their maps trying to work out if this was the bus to the upper town as it headed off down random side streets to get around the diversion.

Eventually, a good 40 minutes after leaving the lower town, the bus finally arrived in the upper town and I headed into the main square. The one site I hadn’t visited the previous evening was the bell tower of the cathedral, so that’s where I was heading.

On reaching the ticket office I was greeted with the disappointing sign that due to damage the stairs were closed and everyone had to take the lift up to the viewing platform. I caught the glass lift up through the centre of the town, noticing that towards the top there was a massive chunk of step missing – which did make me wonder how we’d get down if there was an emergency.

From the top I took in some of the best views of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and Cathedral, with their ornamentation and statues on the front of the buildings, as well as the views up to the castle and buildings of San Vigilio.

Back down at ground level I had a look around the museum that was in the palazzo attached to the tower. It tells the story of the city through the 16th century, a time when the importance of Venice, which ruled the city, was waning.

From the museum I headed down into the old town near the funicular station where I stopped for a very nice lunch in a café overlooking the square outside the station, a great place for people watching.

Lunch finished it was time to head back down to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then onto the station for my train back to Verona. This time the train was on time, and it was clear from the journey how the inbound train had managed to make up 30 minutes in a 2 hour journey – there is a lot of padding in the timetable. We waited outside Brescia for nearly a quarter of an hour, yet were still on time when we pulled into the platform, for another 15 minute wait there. Even with all the waits we were still 5 minutes early into Verona, which meant I just missed the bus to the airport, so I had a 20-minute wait for the next one.

Not that it mattered as by the time I reached the airport they still hadn’t opened check-in, so I had another 20 minutes or so to wait before I could check-in and head through security to finish the journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Leeds; Friday, 28 September, 2018

I’d been up in Leeds for most of the week already for work, which was accompanied by trying to shrug off a horrible cold that had progressed to a hacking cough that meant I hadn’t slept properly for several nights.

That hadn’t helped with being forced to move rooms the previous evening because the hotel had decided to assign it to another person, despite me already being in it.

Consequently, by the Friday evening I was feeling knackered, ill and grumpy. By the time I finished work I wasn’t really feeling like exploring the city so instead I grabbed by camera and walked in towards the city in search of some dinner, taking a couple of photos on the way of the old station wagon hoist and the city square.

I had dinner in the centre of town, and then with a massive coughing fit making up my mind, caught a taxi back to the hotel so I could have a very early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Leeds; Saturday, 29 September, 2018

Feeling a bit more alive after a reasonable nights sleep I had breakfast in the hotel and then headed out to the station.

I had originally had lots of plans for things I was going to do, but with the cold having knocked quite a bit out of me, and a rail strike taking place to add to the fun, I scaled back my plans. Thankfully, the trains up to Keighley were running normally (or at least until 7pm when they were due to finish for the evening), so I caught the train up there and changed onto one of the few railway lines in this part of the country that was running a full service – the preserved Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

The K&WVR was a pre-Beaching victim of cuts to Britain’s railways, but was also one of the first to be saved as an historic steam railway – with the whole of the original line saved and still being operated by steam and diesel trains.

The line runs through some very pretty countryside, and I purchased a day rover ticket, so I could get off and explore some of the stops.

I started by heading down the whole length of the line to the terminus in Oxenhope before heading back up the line to Keighley, so I could take in the views on both sides of the line. Back in Keighley I picked up some lunch at the station buffet before heading back to Haworth, the stop before the end of the line, but perhaps better known for its famous daughters.

I hiked, and that is the correct adjective, up to the top of the village and the old parsonage behind the village church. Here on a dining table in the front room of the parsonage some of the most famous works in the English language were penned as the three Brontë sisters created their novels.

The parsonage has been turned into a museum dedicated to the history of the sisters, and their extended family, as well as giving some background to the society and history of the time that shaped their stories.

I had a long look round the parsonage before heading back down through town to the station. The hills weren’t helping my cough which slowed me down walking down the hill and meant I missed the train back towards Keighley, so instead I caught the train back out to Oxenhope, on the grounds it would be the next train back.

This turned out to be a very good move as it meant I was sat down in the warm on board the train whilst the railway tried to work out what to do as the engine that was supposed to be operating the train had developed a fault. Eventually a spare engine was sent from further down the line, but we were a good 30 minutes late by the time we finally set off back towards Haworth and Keighley.

In my original plans for the day (that didn’t involve illness and rail strikes), I was going to get off the train on the way back at Saltaire and have a look around the planned town, but instead I decided just to get the train back into Leeds, grab some dinner from a supermarket near the station and then headed back to the hotel to have a picnic dinner and another early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Leeds; Sunday, 30 September, 2018

Breakfast completed, and my bags being held by the hotel reception I headed back over to the station to visit Saltaire.

The town was built by Titus Salt as a model village for the workers in his mill and today is a world heritage site. Along with being important historically, it’s also a very pretty little town – having been planned and with no major changes allowed the buildings still look as impressive as they would have done when the town was built.

I had a long wander around the town before heading across the Leeds Liverpool Canal and the neighbouring Aire river into Roberts Park at the edge of town, which is also a very pleasant park and was busy with families.

On the opposite side of the park the land rises steeply up through the Shipley Glen, and the easiest way of getting to the top is to take the cable tramway that runs up the slope. Whilst the tramway has been modernised and brought up to 21st century safety standards, it does still feel a bit like something from the early Victorian era with the two rickety cars rattling their way up and down the tracks.

I did a round trip, though the very pretty glen, before heading back towards the centre of Saltaire. I’d already spotted a riverside pub at the edge of the park earlier, and I decided that would be a good place to get a late lunch, which was very pleasant.

Sated I headed back to Saltaire station to catch the train back into Leeds and then walked back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then promptly turn around and head back exactly the same way to the station and my train back to London.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Odense; Wednesday, 03 October, 2018

Another week, another work trip – this time to Denmark and I’d been able to tack the weekend on.

I had an uneventful journey down to Gatwick and through the airport onto the flight to Copenhagen. It was clear that Wednesday lunchtimes are the time to catch flights to Denmark as the plane was barely a third full and I had not only my row but also the row behind me free, so I was able to recline (the half inch that Norwegian seats recline) my seat without getting in anyone’s way.

A smooth and quick journey through Copenhagen airport meant I either had nearly an hours wait there, or I could head into the centre of town and pick up the train half an hour earlier that started at the central station, so I quickly grabbed a ticked and made my way down to the platform to make a train heading to Copenhagen H.

In the centre of town I had enough time to pick up a very late lunch from a 7-Eleven before heading down onto the platform and joining the train to Odense.

2 uneventful hours later the train pulled into Odense and I walked the short distance to my hotel for the night, ready for my meeting the following morning.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Odense; Friday, 05 October, 2018

After my meeting on Thursday I’d swapped hotels (the Radisson being strangely more expensive mid-week than at the weekend meaning I’d slept in the CabInn before my meeting), and had worked out of my room all day on the Friday, with the added advantage that I could have a bit of lie in and take advantage of the hours time difference from the UK, thought that did mean I then had to work on until well after sunset.

With my laptop powered down and locked away I picked up my camera and headed out into town for a little explore.

The hotel is right in the historic centre of the city and I had a little wander round some of the small streets in this part of town, though getting round appeared to be a little tricky as lots of roads were closed off and there were hoardings everywhere.

Eventually I made it in towards the centre of the city, only to find that the very centre is currently a massive hole, the hoardings closing off a large part of the city centre that is being redeveloped.

I eventually walked round the edge of the cordoned off area and by the time I finally found the northern end of the works site to turn back towards the old town I realised I was up near the station and a couple of cheap restaurants, so I headed up there to grab a bite to eat.

The walk back towards the hotel was equally as complicated as again the hoardings prevented the quickest route, but eventually – having seen much more of the city than I was expecting – I made it back to my hotel and my comfy bed.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Odense; Saturday, 06 October, 2018

After breakfast I headed out of the Hans Christian Andersen Hotel and around the corner to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, where I brought my ticket not just to the museum but to the Hans Christian Andersen Birthplace museum, the Hans Christian Andersen Childhood Home and a printed map with a Hans Christian Andersen walk marked on it. Not that Odense is making the most out of its most famous son.

The museum tells the story of the man from his birth in the city through to his death and then the lasting impact of his works. There are also some mock ups of key scenes from some of his fairy tales, such as a pile of mattresses on top of a pea.

After looking round the museum I walked the short distance to a small house in the old part of the city which is purported to be HCA’s birthplace, though there is no confirmation of the fact. Whilst there is no evidence it was it birthplace there’s also nowhere else claiming to be it, so it has assumed the role and consequently you can see the room where HCA was (probably) born.

From the birthplace I headed back across the main market square to the Møntergården, a museum dedicated to the history of the city including a number of historical buildings that are open to look around to see how people lived in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are also a couple of other small museums in the Møntergården and the HCA ticket included entry to these, so I made full use of my ticket to look around these.

Having finished looking round the Møntergården site I again headed back to the main market square, but this time to pick up the HCA walk that takes you on a circuit round the centre of the city, taking in many of the sites related to HCA, as well as past many of the HCA fairy tale themes statues and artworks that have been erected around the city.

About two thirds of the way round the walk you end up at the HCA childhood home. This is where Hans spent most of his childhood before he moved to Copenhagen in search of fame and fortune. Its a tiny house, so it doesn’t take very long to look around, but it shows the conditions that Hans escaped.

The next stop round on the walk is the Cathedral and impressive city hall. As the church was still open I headed inside for a quick look around, I didn’t have much time as the cathedral was due to close, but I was able to take in the building, including the weird split level alter up half a flight of stairs and crypt down half a flight from the main body of the church.

I finished off the walk, passing the city’s palace and close to the station before heading back to the main market square and my hotel. Perhaps the most impressive part of the walk is that it managed to completely avoid the works in the city centre!

As I’d done quite a bit of walking I didn’t really feel like heading out for dinner so I decided to bite the bullet and just eat in the hotel restaurant. Normally that would be expensive, but given how expensive eating out in Denmark is anyway it comes a bit more relative.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Odense; Sunday, 07 October, 2018

Bags in the luggage store I headed back out into the city into a brilliantly sunny morning. I only had a little bit of time before I needed to get the train back to Copenhagen, so I only had time for a quick wander round the almost deserted city centre.

I headed over towards the Cathedral and to the very small botanical gardens located directly behind it and had the briefest of looks round that before having a bit more of a walk around the city.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, collect my luggage and try and drag my suitcase across the cobbles of the old town to the main road and back to the station.

I hadn’t booked a ticket for a specific train, and I was quite concerned at how many people were already on the platform when I got down there. Thankfully, by pure luck, when the train pulled in I was right by the doors and so was able to quickly hop on and grab an unreserved window seat.

This train was direct back to the airport so just two and a half hours later I found myself at the Norwegian self-service luggage belts sending my bag on its way back to London before heading through security myself.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Gozo; Saturday, 13 October, 2018

Yet another crack of dawn flight from Gatwick, yet another overnight airport stay, thankfully once again we’d been able to check-in bags the night before so in the bleary pre-dawn light we were able to head straight to the assisted travel desk to help mum through to the departures lounge.

We have an uneventful wait in departures, but as the departure time approached there was no sign of a gate appearing, long after later flights than ours had got theirs. In the end the gate number finally appeared a couple of minutes before departure was supposed to take place and then immediately went to final call. The guys from assisted travel were really good, picking everyone up and taking us over in the beeping buggy to the gate – which turned out to be the bus gate.

Whilst all the other passengers headed out on buses we were put on a minibus and taken out to the plane, where we entered one of those weird trucks that can raise itself from ground level to plane door level. Boarding through the front right door of the plane for the first time ever in my travels we quickly took our seats, and despite all the chaos with the gates we pushed back just five minutes late.

In Malta the assisted travel team were waiting there for mum and we repeated the process in reverse – though jumping the entire passport queue was a bit embarrassing with lots of very British tutting taking place. Bags collected we headed over to the bus stop and soon after were on the X1 heading across Malta.

It’s not a quick journey and it was a good 90 minutes before we finally reached Cirkewwa and the ferry across the Gozo channel to Mgarr. Thankfully the buses are timed to meet the ferry in this direction so a few minutes after getting off the bus we were sitting on the sun deck of the ferry preparing to cross the channel.

An uneventful crossing we arrived in Mgarr and, to avoid the steep hill up the hotel, picked up a taxi that promptly charged the same as it would have done if we’d headed all the way to the island capital of Rabat, but it meant we didn’t have to lug luggage up the hill and it helped mums knees.

After checking into the hotel we had a late afternoon drink on the hotels terrace overlooking the harbour before walking back down to the harbour and catching the bus into Rabat and changing there onto a bus to the harbour village of Xlendi. I’d remembered having a very nice meal in Xlendi the last time I visited, which was the reason for visiting.

We had a pre-dinner drink in a bar by the harbour watching the sun set into the mouth of the harbour, before walking down a little further to the nice restaurant for dinner.

Having consumed a very nice dinner we staggered slowly back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into Rabat, changing there onto a bus towards Mgarr and the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Gozo; Sunday, 14 October, 2018

Overnight the weather had taken a bit of a turn for the worse and Thunder storms, accompanied by quite hefty showers, were the order of the day through breakfast and into the mid-morning.

Eventually the skies started to clear and so we walked the short distance from the hotel up the hill to the bus stop to pick up a bus back down into the harbour. From there we at the front of the queue to join the bus out to Marselform, which was lucky as by the time the bus left it was full and standing.

The bus takes a very pretty route up the Eastern side of Gozo, heading up through Mgarr and further up into Nadur before plunging back down to sea level at Ramla Bay and then winding back up the hill to Xaghra and past the historic temples there before finally plunging back down to the coast at Marselform. Along the way the scenery is stunning, even in the grey leaden clouds that were covering the sky.

In Marselform we had a short wander round the harbour before heading to a restaurant for a light lunch. By the time lunch was finished the weather was clearly brewing itself back up again, and rather than risk it we headed back to the bus stop in time to get the bus back to Mgarr, getting off at the stop just above the hotel to walk back down to it.

We had an afternoon drink on the terrace watching the wind building up, and sheltered, the start of another heavy rain storm.

The original plan was to head out for dinner about 6pm, but by 4 it was clear the weather was getting worse and didn’t show any signs of improving, so instead we booked a table in the hotel restaurant for dinner.

By the time we headed down for dinner just before 7 the wind was howling round the building with hotel staff having to direct guests through a side door to prevent the hotels glass doors from shattering if they slammed shut.

Dinner was accompanied by the kind of storm that’s very interesting to watch if you’re warm and dry inside, but must have been horrible for anyone out it in.

After dinner we had a late drink on mum’s balcony watching a spectacular electric storm rage across Malta and the channel – it was the kind of light show that people would pay money to watch as nature was giving it to us for free.

Weather

Thunder Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Gozo; Monday, 15 October, 2018

By the morning the storm had blown itself out and the skies were clear with bright sunshine. After breakfast we walked up the hill to catch the bus down into the harbour to pick up the Open Top bus tour of the island.

The bus completed the first part of the tour round the Eastern side of the island and back into Rabat, where it was promptly curtailed due to a road closure that prevented it from heading west, so instead we went straight back to Mgarr and headed back out as the next tour!

By the time we made it back to Rabat for the second time the traffic closure was over and we were able to continue round to the west side of the island taking in the Ta ‘Pinu church and the former site of the Azure window.

When I’d visited in 2015 the Azure window was one of the highlights of the island – a large limestone arch over the sea on the western end of the island it was one of the main tourist sites, but during storms in March 2017 the arch collapsed and nothing of interest is now left, though it doesn’t appear to have stopped everyone pouring off the buses here or the vast number of tourist tat stalls.

We stayed on the bus to complete the full circuit back to Mgarr and then caught the bus back up to the hotel for a late afternoon drink on the terrace.

We’d decided to head back to Xlendi for dinner, and the hotel very kindly booked us a taxi to get out there, which was a lot quicker and easier than the two buses that would otherwise have been required. The very nice taxi driver dropped us off right by all the restaurants and gave us his card so we could call him back when we were finished.

We had another nice sunset drink in the harbour before walking round to a different, but equally excellent restaurant for dinner.

Stuffed again we food I called for the taxi and we waddled the short distance back to where the taxi was able to pick us up from which whisked us back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Gozo; Tuesday, 16 October, 2018

We had a late breakfast and checkout and then asked about getting a taxi down to the harbour, which is where we found out the hotel had a shuttle bus that did just that for free!

A few minutes later we were down in the ferry terminal, just as the incoming ferry was docking, so we only had to wait a couple of minutes before we could board. We headed out onto the sun deck and sat out in the warm sun as we crossed back to Malta.

Whilst the buses to the airport run every 45 minutes to match the ferry schedule, the buses to Sliema run every 30 minutes, and so it was inevitable that we would have a 20 minute wait once we’g got back to Cirkewwa, but that did atleast mean we didn’t have to run.

An equally long journey across the island we eventually made it Sliema and headed over to our hotel to check in.

By now it was mid-afternoon so we decided to catch the bus into the centre of the island and visit the Maltese Rabat, as apposed to the Gozitan one. By pure chance we timed it so we were at the bus stop as the express bus that ran fast, and more importantly direct, from St Julians to Rabat, arrived.

A speedy journey later we arrived in Rabat. We had a bit of a wander around the gardens, stopping for some refreshments in the pleasant café in overlooking the walls of the Mdina, before deciding to do the very touristy thing and get a horse and carriage ride round Mdina, as well as out into the narrow streets of Rabat itself. Whilst the ride was a bit cheesy and not cheap, we did see some bits of the city we hadn’t seen before.

Back at the starting point of the carriage tours we wandered back over to the bus stop in time to catch the slower bus back to Sliema.

After quickly freshening up in the hotel we headed out to dinner in one of the restaurants immediately outside the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Gozo; Wednesday, 17 October, 2018

The timing of the flight was such that there wasn’t any time to do anything today, so it was better to have a bit of lie in and a late breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading down to the bus stop.

We picked up the airport bus and headed back to the airport, arriving just as checkin was opening, so we were able to drop our bags off and head through to security and our flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Monte Carlo; Thursday, 08 November, 2018

I had a half days leave, and had worked from home in the morning so I was able to quickly dash down to Gatwick once I’d finished for the day.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and a relatively short wait for my plane before they started boarding. Despite it being a nearly full flight, they boarded everyone quickly and we were pushing back five minutes ahead of schedule.

The grey and overcast skies of Southern England were replaced with the Grey and heavily raining skies of the French Riviera as we landed in Nice.

A quick journey through the airport and then a short walk over to the bus station to wait for the shuttle bus to the hotel.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, and double checking the hotel website twice to confirm that I was standing in the place where the bus was supposed to pick up from on a regular basis I phoned the hotel to be told that the bus only runs if it’s booked, and that they would arrange to send it down in about 20 minutes time.

The bus eventually arrived and more than an hour after I left the airport I finally made it to the hotel, which if it hadn’t been chucking it down, would only have been about a 15 minute walk away.

I checked in and headed to my room to turn in for the night

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Monte Carlo; Friday, 09 November, 2018

I woke to the sound of the heavy rain still hammering on the windows and did wonder how wet I was going to get on the 5-minute walk from the hotel to the train station.

Thankfully, but the time I left the hotel it had eased off to a light drizzle, so I didn’t get too wet walking to the station or waiting for the train onto Monaco. The train journey was very impressive with the train running alongside the coast for a lot of the way, with tunnels helping it through the sea cliffs.

We arrived into Monaco station on time and I took the lifts and escalators up to the top level of the station and then walked to the bottom of several hefty flights of stairs that lead up towards the hotel. I climbed up the first double flight to the middle level between the station and the hotel. When I got to the top, to my surprise, and delight, there was a lift on the opposite side of the road going up the final part of the climb. As I got into the lift I looked back and saw there had also been a lift next to the first set of stairs!

I headed the 20m out of Monaco into France and over to my hotel. It was still very early, and the hotel said I could check-in now for €40 or come back in three hours and check-in for free then. They did at least offer to hold my bag for free, so I took them up on that and then made my way back down to the station, via both lifts, and then headed down through several flights of stairs and ramps to the harbour side at sea level.

I had a wander along the harbour front, which is also the main straight and pit lane for the Monaco grand prix, though it was difficult to tell with the funfair that was in situ. At the other end of the harbour I arrived just as the open top bus tour was pulling into the stop, so I took advantage of that to do some sightseeing from the top of the bus.

With the weather now cleared to sunny spells I did two full circuits of the bus to take in all the key sights and then, once it had returned to near the station, took the combinations of lifts and escalators back up the hill, through the station and on up to the hotel where I was able to check-in and get into my room to drop off my stuff.

After freshening up I headed back down into town and picked the bus up again on the harbour front to take the last full tour of the night, that was conducted in the dark with the floodlit sights of Monaco the main attraction.

Back on the harbour side I headed over to the supermarket I’d spotted there to do some shopping for dinner, as I was staying in an aparthotel, I thought I’d take advantage of the cooking facilities in my apartment to save the cost of at least one expensive meal out.

Shopping completed I headed back to the hotel and started to make dinner, with the original idea of then heading back out later to visit some of area around the Princes Palace at night, but whilst I was having dinner the rain returned, so I decided instead just to stay in and have an early night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Monte Carlo; Saturday, 10 November, 2018

I woke up to a still grey and overcast morning, but at least the heavy rain had given way to drizzle again. After a breakfast in the aparthotel, provided by the hotel rather than having to make it myself, I headed down into Monaco and caught the bus up into the oldest part of the Principality – Monaco-Ville. Built on a rock overlooking the bay and home to the Princes Palace this is a much quieter and less glitzy part of town than the area around Monte Carlo and the casino.

I had a long wander around the streets of the old city, stopping off at a restaurant near the Princes Palace for a very pleasant lunch, overlooking Western Monaco and into France.

After lunch I wandered along the western edge of the rock, taking in the impressive gardens that flow down the side of the cliffs and long to the Oceanarium museum. I then headed back up the hill and over to the Cathedral to have a look around that.

The Cathedral is home to the tombs of the royal family, with the most famous one being Grace Kelly. I had a look round the cathedral and then headed back into the old town to have a bit more of a look round.

By now the clouds were mounting quickly and it was only by the skin of my teeth that I managed to get to the bus shelter in time before a spectacular downpour swept through, even so the splashback from the rain hitting the pavement was enough to make the bottom of my jeans quite wet.

I caught the bus back over to the hotel to dry off, and to sit out several heftier showers that passed through before the rain finally fizzled out in the early evening.

With it now dark, and dry, I headed back out over to the bus stop and caught the bus back up to Monaco-Ville to have a look around at night – taking in the gaudy lights of Monte Carlo and the, possibly, trillions of euros worth of yachts in the harbour.

I had intended on having some dinner in one of the restaurants, but most were closed, and the ones that were open had long queues, so instead I popped into a supermarket that was still open and grabbed some things for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Monte Carlo; Sunday, 11 November, 2018

After checking out of the hotel I headed down to the station and picked up the bus out (and up) to the exotic gardens and observatory cave, at one of the highest points of the principality. I had a wander down through the gardens in a grey misty drizzle down to the observatory cave, located at the bottom of the gardens, but still over 100m above sea level.

Entrance to the gardens include a guided tour of the caves, which leave every hour and by the time I got down the hill to the cave I only had a couple of minutes to wait until the next tour started. The tour was conducted only in French, but that didn’t really matter as the caves themselves were more than impressive enough to make the commentary irrelevant. Filled with stalactites and stalagmites, as well as lots of examples of where they have met to become columns, the cave system was very impressive.

Despite all the stalagmites and stalactites, the cave was also quite a bit dryer than it had been outside, which made a nice change. However, by the time I’d completed the tour the weather had cleared up considerably and it was a bright blue sky and sunlight that greeted me as we emerged back into the sunlight, after the 300-step climb up from the bottom of the cave system.

I had a long wander back up the exotic gardens taking in the various types of cacti and succulents that happily grow on the cliffs that mostly make up Monaco. Back up at the top of the gardens I had a quick pit stop in the café before heading over to the bus stop to catch the bus that conveniently started at the gardens and ended in Monaco-Ville.

Over in the old town I picked up the land-train tour of Monte Carlo and Monaco-Ville. The tour itself took in much of the same route that the open-top bus had done, but with a different commentary there was more to learn.

The tour dropped my off at the Oceanographic museum, which turned out to be a very interesting museum and aquarium. The upper part of the building houses a museum that looks at the history of the study of the oceans, as well as mans impact on them, along with a small natural history collection of marine and related animals.

The lower floors house a large aquarium with several large tanks and lots of smaller displays, including one tank that contained several hundred small clown fish – there’s no way you’d find Nemo in that lot.

From the Oceanographic museum I caught the bus down into town and out to the Japanese Gardens to have a look round them. I hadn’t intended on spending too long looking round, but another hefty shower passed through and I ended up sheltering in one of the pagodas for a good 30 minutes whilst I waited for it to pass.

By now it was starting to get late, so I headed back up through the railway station and lifts to the hotel to collect my luggage and then headed back to the train station to catch the train back along the coast to Nice and on out to the station near the airport.

Thankfully, by the time I got to Nice the rain had stopped, so I was able to make the 20-minute walk back over to the airport in the dry, arriving just as check-in was about to open for the Gatwick flight to complete my journey home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Stockholm; Thursday, 20 December, 2018

I’d finished a little early so that I could get over to the Airport in time. I’m glad that I had as I managed to sail through the airport just moments before BA’s systems decided to go down for nearly an hour, which would have slowed down my progress.

The chaos that ensued meant that for most of that hour planes couldn’t be dispatched, so by the time my flight was due to depart there were delays of 40 minutes getting ramp staff to oversee the dispatch.

It meant in the end I spent rather longer than I had intended standing in the queue for boarding as they had us all lined up in plenty of time for the original departure time.

Eventually we boarded and after a lengthy taxi and a smooth flight we eventually made it to Stockholm.

I grabbed my bag and walked through the almost deserted airport, save for the passengers trying to get back to Gatwick which was still closed due to the drone.

30 minutes after landing I was at the hotel attached to the terminal building and after a quick checkin I headed up to my room to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Stockholm; Friday, 21 December, 2018

I was intending on having a nice lie-in, but the hotel only did breakfast until 09:30 so instead I was up relatively early to grab a full breakfast.

After breakfast and repacking my bag I headed back into the airport terminal and over to the railway station to pick up the local train down into Stockholm, changing at the City station onto the Metro. I arrived at my hotel for the next two nights too early to checkin, so instead they took my luggage and I headed out into town.

I caught the metro down to the city centre and went for a little wander around the harbourside and the bottom of Gamla Stan, the historical central island of the city, before heading back to the mainland to pick up the hop-on-hop-off tour bus to take a tour around the city.

The journey was very interesting, not only for seeing much of the city, but also for taking in the Christmas decorations in the city centre, including down Kungsgatan – the Stockholm equivalent of Oxford Street.

The tour arrived back at the harbourside just as the sun was setting and was about to set off on the final tour of the night to take in the city in the dark, so I stayed on to take in the city lights.

After completing the second tour I headed back to the hotel and checked in, freshened up and then headed back into the city centre for a further wander around Gamla Stan.

I went to have a look around the Christmas Market in the Stortorget, the main square in the old town, but at the time I arrived they were in the process of closing down for the evening, so I didn’t get to have a particularly big look around, though it was pretty obvious that most of the stalls had been selling food which reminded me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

I had a look round at some of the restaurants in the Old Town, but the prices were more eyewatering than the increasingly bitter wind that was whipping around the lanes, so I headed back towards the hotel and the supermarket that I’d spotted on the opposite side of the street, hoping that it would still be open.

Thankfully the supermarket was open until 10pm so I was able to pop in and pick up the makings of a decent dinner in my room, before heading back across the road as the first flakes of the next snow shower started to fall, to have dinner and then an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Stockholm; Saturday, 22 December, 2018

The hotel bed was very comfortable, and so I ended up getting up quite a bit later than I had originally planned, but still early enough to get some breakfast.

After a hearty Scandi-breakfast I headed out into town and over to the site of most of the city’s museums on the Djurgården island. Most of the museums here were already in site when I’d visited 10 years earlier, but one new addition was the main reason for visiting.

Located next to the amusement park a museum opened in 2013 dedicated to probably Sweden’s greatest cultural export (meatballs and flatpack furniture excepted), ABBA. They museum tells the story of the group from their childhoods through their years of fame up to what they are doing today.

The museum is highly interactive – though I declined the opportunity to get up on a virtual concert stage and do ABBA karaoke, and there is a lot packed into quite a small space, so I was quite surprised how long I had been in there by the time I finally exited (via the gift shop, naturally)

I wandered down past the museum and the amusement park to the waterfront and was just in time to pick up the ferry back across the water to Slussen.

Back in Gamla Stan I had a wander around the old town including a better walk around the Christmas Market and a chance to pick up some lunch as I was walking around.

After looking around the old town I headed up through the more modern part of the city, including taking in the very impressive fairy light reindeer on Nybroplan.

By now the snow was getting quite heavy so I headed back to the hotel for a little warmth and to freshen up.

A couple of hours later I headed back out, after dinner in the hotel, to the old town to have a wander round in the dark to take in the city lit up both with the regular floodlights and the Christmas lights.

I spent about 2 hours wandering around, but by now the weather was really starting to get cold, so I headed back to the hotel to warm up again and retreat to my comfy bed.

Weather

Light Snow Light Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Stockholm; Sunday, 23 December, 2018

I had another long lie in and excellent breakfast before packing my bag and checking out.

I headed back down to Nybroplan to pick up one of the commuter ferries that operate across the inner part of the archipelago. Whilst you can take a sightseeing tour around the islands, these are €25, where as the commuter boats are included free of charge on the transport ticket that I already had.

The boat headed out past the museums of Djurgården and the ammuseument park before continuing along the main channel between Djurgården and main islands that the city has expanded out onto.

The journey took around 90 minutes to get over to the final stop on Lidingö, from there it was a short walk up from the ferry terminal to the tramstop to pick up a tram a couple of stops back to the top end of the red metro line back into the city centre.

From the centre of town, after a quick lunch stop, I headed back out towards Djurgården, originally intending on visiting Skansen, the combined ethnographic museum and zoo that takes up a large part of the island, but by the time I got there it was less than an hour before it closed, so it felt like a bit of a waste of money to go in, if I wasn’t going to be able to see much of the site.

I was quite glad I made that decision as over the next 20 minutes the weather went from light snow flurries to quite heavy snow and the temperature took a dip, so that by the time I got back to the city centre the conditions were really unpleasant.

I quickly thought about what to do for the 90 minutes or so I had left before I needed to start the journey home, and then I remembered the very nice looking coffee shop just opposite the hotel, so I headed there for a very nice cup of coffee and a very comfortable seat in the warmth.

A couple of coffee’s later, and taking the opportunity of a slight lull in the weather, I headed over to the hotel, picked up my luggage and headed down into the metro station to start my journey back to Arlanda airport and my flight home.

Weather

Light Showers Heavy Snow
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-5ºC/23ºF

Valencia; Friday, 18 January, 2019

Having had a work function the previous evening, and a late night dash down to the airport, I woke up just before 5am not particularly refreshed, but at least at an airport hotel so I was able to quickly shower, dress and head down to checkin.

A smooth journey through the airport was replicated through to the flight and over to Valencia, with the plane landing half an hour early. With my bags coming round almost straight away when I got to the baggage belt, I was already leaving the airport before the original scheduled arrival time of the flight.

I’d picked up a Valencia card at the tourist information centre in the airport so I was able to hop straight onto the Metro which promptly left and whisked me to the city, it wasn’t even midday by the time I got to the hotel, so they didn’t have a room available, but they were able to hold my bags so I could then head on into town.

I wandered up through the old town to the Plaça de a Reina where I arrived just in time to catch the open-top tour bus of the city, about to head off on a tour round the historic parts of Valencia. I did the full tour back round to the square and by then it was time to head back t the hotel and checkin.

Checked in and refreshed I had a bit more of a wander around the old town before heading back to the tour bus stop in time to take their other route – round Maritime Valencia. I did the full tour back to the city centre, by which time the sun was already setting and the bus was preparing to head out one final time as the night tour of Maritime Valencia, so as I’d managed t grab the front seat I stayed on a did the tour, taking in Eastern Valencia and the harbour at night.

Back in the city centre I was starting to feel the effects of not having had much to eat since breakfast many hours earlier. I was a little concerned that as this was Spain 8pm might have meant a couple more hours of hunger, but it appeared that a lot of the restaurants were already open and serving.

I found a very nice restaurant near the main square and had one of the best paella’s I’ve ever eaten.

Fully sated, I headed back through the old town to my hotel and a well earned sleep.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Valencia; Saturday, 19 January, 2019

I had a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast before heading out from the hotel and over by metro and tram to the opposite side of the former river. I walked from the tram stop down to the Pont dels Serrans – a gothic bridge that stood over the Rio Túria for centuries. Normally if a bridge is no longer over a river it’s because it’s been dismantled and moved. In the case of the bridges in Valencia they are all in their original locations, it’s just the whole river that’s been moved.

The Rio Túria had always been prone to flooding, but in 1957 there were devastating floods in Valencia that finally made people act. To prevent the city being flooded again a new channel for the river was dug that diverted it to the south of the city centre and straight out to sea. During low flow periods the river is pretty much dry as most of the water fills the irrigation channels that were started by the Moors, and are still in use today, but when there are high flows this new Southern channel keeps the water away from the city centre. The now dry riverbed has been converted into a lovely park that runs through the heart of the city, well below the bustle of the city and the heavy traffic, and regularly crossed by the former river bridges.

The Pont dels Serrans is perhaps one of the most spectacular of the original bridges, partly as it is fully pedestrianised, but also as it forms the approach to the Torres de Serranos – the spectacular entrance gate to the city, with crenulations and designs inspired by the Moors. Today the gatehouse stands alone, the city walls, and all but one other gate, having been torn down in the 19th century.

The gate is open to the public to explore so I headed up the steep steps and through the different levels of the gatehouse before finally reaching the very top from where there were stunning views over the city skyline, and the former riverbed.

Back down at ground level I went for a wander through the old town and along the way ticked off a number of different museums, including the city Art Gallery, the ruins of a Visigoth church in the Crypt of St Vincent and the stunning archaeological museum, located just below the surface of a square behind the cathedral.

By the time I came back up to ground level it was already gone two and I did wonder if I was going to be able to get any lunch, but thankfully there were a couple of restaurants overlooking a large square the other side of the Cathedral that were still serving, so I had a very nice relaxed lunch and planned the rest of the afternoon.

The main site I was heading for was the Historical Museum, and to get there the easiest way was just to pick up the open-top bus I still had a ticket for. I’d also worked out that if I spent just under two hours in the museum I’d be out in time to pick up the bus as it completed it’s penultimate journey of the day and could then stay on to do the historical tour at night.

Plan in place I finished lunch and headed back to the bus stop and over to the Historical museum. The museum is very interesting for it’s content – telling the story of Valencia from it’s founding by the Romans through to the 1970s. However, it’s also interesting for the building its in. The former water reservoir that the museum occupies is a stunning piece of architecture with a forest of brick columns and vaulted ceilings creating a cavernous space where noise does strange things as it reverberates off the arches and columns.

I took nearly two hours to look around, though if my feet weren’t aching, I could quite easily have spent another two hours to fully see every exhibit (the very chunky English translation I was presented with at the start of the exhibition doing a very good job of covering each exhibit). So I headed back to the bus stop, just in time to pick up the open-top tour bus back to the start of the tour, and as luck would have it again I’d managed to bag the front seat for the night tour of historic Valencia.

Back in the city centre I had a bit of a wander before finding a nice tapas restaurant for a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Valencia; Sunday, 20 January, 2019

A relatively late breakfast and then out of the hotel and over towards the other remaining city tower the Torres de Quart. Sadly, despite it having been due to open at 10am, by the time I arrived a little before 11 it was still all locked up and showed no sign of being open any time soon. So instead I headed on down the road to the Jardí Botanic – the University’s botanical gardens – and had a long wander around them, popping in and out of the greenhouses with each small belt of drizzle passing over. Just behind the Jardí Botanic are the Jardín de Las Hespérides which is a public garden with a large open space and a number of hedges and orange trees. It looked like a relatively nice place, but at that moment another drizzly shower attempted to start.

My plan for the day (which was already faltering following the tower being closed) was to have lunch and then visit the Cathedral when it opened to tourists in the afternoon, but it was still quite early, so instead I caught the metro and then the tram out to the beach at Playa de la Malvarrosa, though the look of the sea indicated that paddling wasn’t an option. I had hoped to find a decent restaurant open on the sea front, but most appeared to be spending January being renovated, so the only open one was completely full.

Instead I headed back into the city centre and grabbed a quick bite near the cathedral waiting for it to open. The cathedral was due to open at 2pm, and by the time I’d finished lunch it was almost 3, so I assumed the Cathedral would be available to look around. For the second time in the same day I found a site completely locked up and with no sign that it was just about to open. So instead, I turned to the backup plan and walked up to the main road on the edge of the old town to pick up the bus out to the Oceanogràfic – the city’s aquarium and reportedly the largest such in Europe.

It was a very impressive aquarium, located over a number of buildings all connected either above or below ground, with several walk through tanks and a large number of species. I spent a long time looking round and found myself down by the dolphin enclosure about 10 minutes before the last show of the day was due to take place.

I felt a little conflicted about visiting the show, and wasn’t quite certain why the aquarium had them, as a lot of their exhibits were clearly around taking care of the seas and working with nature – and yet here they were training dolphins to perform tricks. I can’t say I was particularly impressed with the show, and it’s difficult to see why the aquarium still puts it on given its stark contrast to the rest of their very commendable work and educational message.

When I’d arrived I’d assumed that I would be round and out in a couple of hours, but in the end I had to virtually dash round the last couple of exhibitions to see everything before the park shut for the night, though being there at dusk as the chorus from the aviary got up to full cry, and the sun beautifully illuminated the stunning building, was worth staying for in itself.

I headed out of the park to see a massive queue for the next bus back in towards the city centre. Thankfully, due to taking the open top bus on the Friday, I was aware there was another bus stop about 200m further back up the road, before the aquarium, which was totally deserted when I got there. Consequently I had a nice comfy seat whilst a lot of other people were crammed in.

It was almost dark as we headed in and I realised the bus was going to stop at the bus stop at the end of the Pont del Serrans. Thankfully lots of other people appeared to have had the same idea as me and the bus emptied here as we all headed over to the bridge to take in the bridge, river bed and Torres de Serranos all floodlit.

I walked back through the old town, and was interested to find that the cathedral was now open – it looked like a mass was just finishing – so I headed inside for a quick look around before they started to close it down for the night.

The Cathedral finally completed, I was just in time to pick up the last tour bus of the night for a tour of the city – which had the advantage of filling the time until dinner would be served, so I took in the sites one last time before returning to the city centre and having another good dinner, then headed back to my hotel to pack.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Valencia; Monday, 21 January, 2019

There wasn’t much point in getting up early as I had to start my journey back to the airport at the same time as all the museums and attractions (or at least those that open on a Monday) would be opening, so instead I had a bit of a lie in before a late breakfast and then checking out.

I walked the short distance down to the metro station and as I arrived on a platform a train heading to the airport arrived. A very quick journey through the airport and after only an hours wait they started boarding my flight to Madrid.

The flight was a small sized turbo prop plane, and it turned out to be quite a bumpy flight – with the seat belt signs staying illuminated for the whole of the journey. Thankfully I was right by the galley so a couple of us were able to get service.

Clearly the bumpiness must have been caused by a tail wind as on a 70 minute flight we managed to land at Madrid 35 minutes early. The plane landed out at the domestic parking lot, so we had to be bussed quite a long way back to the main terminal and there I had to transit across to the T4S satellite terminal for my, now nearly 4 hour, wait for my flight onto London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Saturday, 23 February, 2019

I’d stayed the night before in an airport hotel as it was a relatively early flight, on waking up and looking out the window I did start to have concerns about whether I would actually get away as a very thick fog had descended across Heathrow overnight, with visibility down to less than 50m.

I headed down into the airport and through to departures. They had us all boarding on time, and in the end there was only about a 30 minute delay from the fog. We made up a little bit of the time on the way down to the Canaries, so were only about 25 minutes late landing. My bag was also about the third one on the belt, which meant that with a bit of a fast walk through the terminal I made the bus into town with about a minute to spare, the same one I would have caught if the flight had been on time.

I stayed on the bus to the end of the line and then walked the quarter mile or so to the hotel to check-in and get changed out of jeans into shorts and apply some suntan cream, before heading back over towards the bus station to pick up the hop-on-hop-off bus.

I did a full circuit of the tour round the city, before staying on for a couple of extra stops round to the beach.

I had a bit of a wander along the beach, which by now was mostly empty as the sun was setting.

I headed back up onto the prom and found a nice restaurant overlooking the beach where I had a very pleasant dinner before having a bit more of a wander along the prom and then returning to my hotel for an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Sunday, 24 February, 2019

I had a filling breakfast in the hotels top-floor restaurant, before heading back to the open-top bus tour starting point and taking the bus round towards the cathedral.

I had a long wander around the centre of the old town of Las Palmas, before finding myself by a café just as the cathedral bells were chiming one, so I stopped for lunch.

After lunch I headed back into the old town and over to the Casa de Colòn, a building that Christopher Columbus had once stayed in on one of his voyages. It’s now a museum dedicated to both his voyages and to some of culture and history of central and south America.

From the house I headed back through the old town to the tour bus stop and did a full circuit of the tour in the warm afternoon sun, before staying on round to the top end of the beach and wandering back along the sands towards the hotel.

I freshened up in the hotel and after a while headed back out into the old town to find somewhere for dinner. I had a very nice tapas dinner in a square in the city centre before catching the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Monday, 25 February, 2019

Another really good breakfast and a walk over to the tour bus stop to catch the bus round to the Cathedral. My first stop of the morning was to take the lift up the tower of the cathedral to take in the views over Las Palmas and the harbour. After a little while at the top of the tower I descended back down to ground level and walked round the corner to the tourist entrance to the cathedral.

The cathedral have worked out a good little trick for getting tourists to support the building. On a Sunday there is direct access into the cathedral, but during the week the only entrance is via the cathedral museum. There is no other way of getting into the cathedral, so you have to pay the entrance free to the museum – even if you don’t look round the relatively dull museum – though the views from some of the rooms down into the cathedral, and from the balcony over the cathedral courtyard garden are worth the fee.

Having quickly looked round the cathedral museum I headed into the cathedral itself. I had a long look around the cathedral before heading slightly further up the road and visiting the Museo Caniero which tells the history of the Canary Islands, including quite a lot of information on the history and culture of the original inhabitants of the islands who had been living there perfectly happily until the Spanish turned up in the 15th century.

After looking round the museum I headed to a nice looking café near the cathedral for a relaxed lengthy lunch. Lunch completed I walked to the bus station and caught the inter urban coach south to the southern tip of the island at Faro de Maspalomas

It was a very interesting bus ride, running along the coast of the island, but with good views towards the mountainous centre of the island. The final 30 minutes or so were through the heavily built up resort town of Maspalomas before we finally reached the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island.

I’d arrived just as the museum at the lighthouse was closing, so instead I went for a long walk along the beach, taking the opportunity to have a very nice paddle in the sea, which was quite a bit colder than I was expecting.

I stopped off at a beach front bar for a quick drink and a snack before having a bit more of a wander around and then heading back to the bus station to pick up the bus back into Las Palmas.

The bus headed all the way back to the bus station near the hotel so I caught it back there and then had a bit of a wander around the Santa Catalina area before heading back to my hotel to freshen up and then pop out for a light dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Tuesday, 26 February, 2019

I only had a couple of hours before I had to head back to the airport so after an early breakfast I caught the local bus round to the Castillo de la Luz. This former fortress has been carefully restored and converted into a gallery.

From the outside the fort looks as though it is complete, but inside the restoration and conversion into a gallery has enabled the preservation of some of the ruinous state of the interior – with the concrete shell of the modern restoration protecting the crumbling original walls.

I had a long look round the castle, taking in the exhibition as well as the impressive building.

Then it was time to head back to the hotel, pack my bag checkout and catch the bus back to the airport.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and onto the flight to Madrid, which arrived almost on time meaning I had plenty of time to make my connecting flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Rimini; Thursday, 21 March, 2019

Having stayed overnight in a hotel by Heathrow I didn’t have to have quite such an early start as I would otherwise had. It was still dark though when I headed out of the hotel towards the terminal.

A smooth journey through Heathrow and over to Bologna and then straight through the airport with my bag being one of the first off the belt. Consequently, I was able to get an early aerobus into the city and ended up at Bologna station with nearly 2 hours until my booked train, or I could just write off my very cheap €5 ticket and get a new €20 ticket for the train an hour earlier. I decided that €25 appeared to be a reasonable price to save an hours standing around needlessly.

Another smooth journey across the Italian countryside to Rimini and then, after managing to pick up bus tickets in butchered Italian, straight onto the bus out to the hotel.

I checked in freshened up and then went for a wander, firstly out onto the beach located just behind the hotel and the park area surrounding it, before catching the bus back into the city centre and going for a wander around some of the Roman remains of the city.

I started near the Roman Amphitheatre, which wasn’t open to look around the inside of, but most of it can be seen from the street, so that wasn’t a major issue. I then followed the old Roman walls round to the Augustus Arch, the main remaining part of the gateway into the city from the direction of Rome. It’s a pretty large structure just standing by itself with nothing else around it, which makes it look a little out of place.

I continue following the walls round to another one of the gates into the city before finding myself by the city’s castle and then down to the top end of the port canal and the Roman bridge that crosses it as the exit from the city to the North.

I spent a long time looking round the ruins and wandering through the city itself before heading back to the bus stop and catching the bus back out to the hotel. I then had a wander along the seafront to find a restaurant to have dinner in. Clearly during the height of summer there is a lot of choice, but on a late March Thursday there wasn’t much choice and I ended up walking up and down the seafront a couple of times before I found somewhere that was open and had a good menu.

After dinner I had a little bit more of a wander along the beach before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Rimini; Friday, 22 March, 2019

I had a nice long lie in and then a leisurely breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading over to the bus stop to pick up the bus back to the station.

I had expected the process of buying tickets for the bus to San Marino to have ben a little more difficult than it was, and had left nearly an hour to get from the hotel before the bus was due to depart, in the end the ticket buying process was incredibly quick and I was consequently standing at the bus stop for a good 45 minutes before the bus departed.

The bus spent a little while wandering round the edge of the city picking up passengers before heading out onto the main road out of the city and towards San Marino.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

San Marino; Friday, 22 March, 2019

I had expected the bus to start climbing long before reaching San Marino, as I had a picture in my mind of the whole of the country being mountainous, but in reality the climbing only really started once we had crossed the border.

The bus quickly climbed up the hills to the walls of San Marino city and the furthest into the city that public transport can reach, so then I was a pretty hefty 15 minute hike up hill with heavy luggage to the hotel. Having checked in, freshened up, and got my breath back from the hike up the mountain, I headed out into the city to have an explore.

As I was almost at the highest point already I continued climbing up alongside the city walls that my hotel was up against to the 1st tower, actually a small castle, located almost immediately above the hotel.

From up here the views across San Marino and Italy towards the Adriatic coast were spectacular, as were the views of the different towers of the city perched on the edge of almost sheer drops.

A couple of steps away from the first tower was a small restaurant, perched on the side of the cliff looking over the country and towards the sea, and I suddenly realised that I was quite peckish so I stopped there for a bite to eat taking in the views.

After lunch I continued descending down through the city taking in the sights, stopping off at the Cathedral to have a look around before ending up in the Piazza della Libertà, home of the country’s parliament. I stopped off at one of the little café bars on the edge of the square for an early evening drink which was promptly accompanied by quite a lot of free snacks.

Feeling quite full again, I continued on wandering down to the northern end of the city by the funicular from where there are once again excellent views over San Marino, Italy and into the mountains in central Italy. From the funicular I started to head back up through town again towards the hotel, stopping off on route for a quick ice cream before making back to my room.

I freshened up and then a little later headed out again to find somewhere to eat. I had quite a long wander around trying to find somewhere that was open in the evening – most of the restaurants appeared to cater just for the day tripper market – but I eventually found a restaurant immediately below my hotel and had a very nice meal there.

It did mean that after dinner it was a very short walk back up the hill to my room and bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

San Marino; Saturday, 23 March, 2019

After a filling breakfast I headed out of the hotel and back up to the 1st tower to actually go inside and have a look around. The tower is the largest of the three fortresses that line the hill and had several buildings to look around, as well as being able to walk along the top of the curtain wall, from where there were excellent views across to the 2nd tower and beyond.

I did look at going up to the top of the tower, but the almost vertical wooden ladder that then just became some metal rungs banged into the stone and a very tight hole in the ceiling to get through make me decide it probably wasn’t a great idea.

Having looked round the first tower I headed out along the cliff walk that linked the first and second tower together, taking in more of the city walls and running along the top of the cliff. I had a look around the outside of the second tower before heading inside and having a look around.

The second tower included a military museum with the usual collection of weapons arranged in fans on the walls, but from the top of the tower, which was considerably more accessible than the first towers top, there was a much more impressive view of both the first tower and the third tower.

I spent some time looking round the second tower before descending back down to ground level and continuing on my walk along the ridge to the final tower of the city defences, the third tower. The tower itself isn’t open to the public to look around, and is the smallest of the three fortresses being literally just a single tower.

From the third tower I walked back along the ridge, past the second tower and then down back towards the centre of town, stopping below the first tower for lunch in a very nice restaurant, sat out in the warm sun.

After lunch I went for a bit more of a wander around the city centre and eventually found myself back at the Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza della Libertà. When Parliament isn’t sitting its possible to look around the building, and as it was a Saturday, and entrance was included in the joint ticket I’d got for the first and second tower, I had a look around inside. You are free to wander round a couple of rooms in the building, including most surprisingly the main debating chamber – I can’t think of any other parliament that would give unfettered access to tourists to their parliaments debating chamber.

After taking the Palazzo Pubblico I had a bit more of a wander round the city centre before stopping off for an early evening drink with it’s complementary snack that was a decent sized meal in itself. I then headed back to the hotel to freshen before heading back out for a wander round the city once the sun had set.

I took in lots of the sites that I’d visited during the day to see them at night before wandering back up via the Cathedral towards the centre of the city.

I found another nice restaurant near the hotel and had dinner there before hiking the short distance back up to my room and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

San Marino; Sunday, 24 March, 2019

Another very filling breakfast and I then, after I’d packed and checked out I headed out into town and down to the Museo di Stato to have a look round.

The museum has a wide collection of materials focusing on the history of San Marino as well as religious art, geology and a small collection of artefacts from other parts of the world. A short distance away from the museum and on the same level of the city – so one of the few flat walks it’s possible to do – is the national modern art gallery which I had a look around as well.

Having taken in the museum and gallery I wandered back down to the Funivia and took the cable car down to the lower town of Borgo Maggiore to have a look around the town, and to take in the city from below.

After a little while wandering around I caught the cable car back up the mountain and then went in search of lunch – finding a very nice restaurant lower down the hill.

Filled up from lunch I headed a bit further down from the restaurant onto the Western walls of the city and spent some time wandering along the walls down to the cliff gate at the very edge of the city and then walking my way back up through the old town towards the San Francisco gate.

Next to the gate is a small chapel with a museum attached which I had a quick look around before it was time to head back to the hotel and collect my bags.

On arrival I had ended up having to go up several sets of steps, which with a heavy bag wasn’t great. Over the following couple of days I had now worked out how to get the whole way down just using the sloping roads, rather than having to negotiate steps, but it did mean that I took over 20 minutes to make it back down to the bus station and onto the bus back to Rimini.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Rimini; Sunday, 24 March, 2019

The bus from San Marino arrived back in Rimini just as the bus out to the hotel was departing, so I managed to miss that, and in the end due to traffic delays had to wait nearly 20 minutes before the first bus heading out to my hotel for the night.

I checked into the hotel and spent a little bit of time relaxing on the balcony of my room before heading out in hunt of dinner, at least this time knowing that there were unlikely to be many places open so I made sure I headed to one I knew would be open.

Dinner finished I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Rimini; Monday, 25 March, 2019

I had another great breakfast in the hotel before packing my bag, checking out and catching the bus back into town for a bit more of a wander around.

I started by visiting the large church located a short distance from the bus stop, and then headed through to Piazza Cavour before heading over to the castle for a bit more of a look around there.

From the castle I wandered back via the ruins of a former Roman house, which being a Monday was closed, but you could see quite a bit through the windows.

Back at the station I caught the bus back out to the seafront and went for a wander along the side of the Port Canal taking in the city’s lighthouse before wandering out along the breakwater to the statue at the end of the harbour arm.

I then walked back along the harbour wall to the beach and back along the sands to the hotel where I picked up my bag and headed back to the station to start the journey home.

It had taken a little while for a bus to turn up, so I was a little worried that I might be cutting it fine for my booked train, but in the end I had ample time as train services were in the process of disintegrating. There had been a lineside fire about 20 miles south of Rimini and the train that should have left 30 minutes before I arrived was still stuck the other side of that and getting increasingly late. It also meant that my train, the one an hour later than that one, was also getting a lengthening delay.

I’d left more than a hours flexibility in my return journey for getting from Bologna station to the airport, but with the delays mounting I was starting to get a little worried that I might not make the flight.

Thankfully, I hadn’t been able to purchase a cheap ticket on the return leg – all that had been available were fully flexible tickets, so I was able to get pop over to the ticket office and get my ticket endorsed across onto the train an hour before the one I was supposed to catch, which finally pulled into Rimini station 2 hours late.

The journey back to Bologna was uneventful, though the train didn’t make up any time, which made me very glad for the extra time I’d included in my itinerary. I came out of the station and straight in front of me was an Aerobus pulling up ready to head out to the airport, so I was able to make a quick change and start on the final leg back to the airport and my thankfully uneventful flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Bologna; Saturday, 13 April, 2019

I’d stayed overnight at Heathrow as it was an early flight. It meant I was relatively well rested before the morning hike to the furthest possible gate at Terminal 5 – C61, by the time I finally reached my seat the app on my phone had just ticked over the 2Km mark for the day.

After an uneventful flight, a quick journey into town and a quick check-in at the hotel I headed out over to the bus stop for the open-top tour. The stop by the hotel was half way round the route, so I took the bus to the starting point in Piazza Maggiore and then did a full loop round the city.

Back by Piazza Maggiore I went for a long wander around the beautiful, and almost completely pedestrianised, streets of the historic city centre, taking in the many food shops and restaurants – stopping briefly for a very late lunch, before finally finding myself at the Due Torre – the two towers that are the symbol of the city.

By now it was early evening, so I headed back towards the Piazza Maggiore and stopped for a pre-dinner drink, though with the size of the free snack that came with the drink I could probably have skipped the dinner altogether.

I had a little bit more of a wander through the narrow paths of the old town before finding a nice looking pasta restaurant which, whilst busy, actually had tables that weren’t all reserved.

The restaurant specialised in the local pasta dishes so I had a very nice Tagliatelle Ragu, accompanied by a very nice local white wine.

Refreshed and just on the good side of full, I had a slow wander back up the main street from the centre of town back to my hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bologna; Sunday, 14 April, 2019

I had a bit of lie in and a late lunch before heading out to pick up the open-top bus from outside the hotel back to the Piazza Maggiore. There I changed onto the San Luca Express land train that took me from the city centre up to the San Luca Basilica high above the city. As we set off it was a bit grey and overcast, but I didn’t think much of it. By the time we arrived at the Basilica it was raining and the city rather than being beautifully displayed beneath the Basilica was in fact hidden in a grey murk of cloud.

I had a bit of a look around the basilica, but the weather didn’t show any sign of changing soon so instead I headed back to the stop for the land train and caught it back down to the Piazza Maggiore.

By now the rain had changed from a continuous drizzle to frequent heavy showers, but thankfully one of the key sights of Bologna are the miles of colonnades that line almost every street, meaning its possible to get around large parts of the city sightseeing, without actually getting wet.

After having a long wander I found myself back in the Piazza Maggiore and decided, as there was a pause in the showers, to break cover from the colonnades and head across the square to the Basilica di San Petronio located in the centre.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round this spectacular church before exiting back into another beefy shower that I had to dash through to get back to cover without getting completely soaked.

From the Piazza Maggiore I wandered through the old town to the Basilica of Santo Stefano. This is in fact seven different churches, of different ages, that have been merged together into a single – slightly odd, architecturally – complex.

By the time I’d finished looking round the Basilica the rain had finally stopped so I was able to wander back to the Piazza Maggiore and sit at one of the square side tables to have a well deserved and very late lunch, whilst I watched the world go by.

I finished up just in time to catch the last open-top tour of the night back round to my hotel where I was able to freshen up before heading back out for a light dinner, given lunch had been barely 3 hours previously, and then back to the hotel with my stomach topped back up to full.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Chicago; Thursday, 18 April, 2019

I’d worked from home in the morning and then headed over to the airport on a half days leave.

A smooth and relaxing journey through the airport and then a long walk out to almost the furthest gate at the airport, with the plane leaving from the C Satellite terminal.

The flight pushed back on time and we started our long journey across the Atlantic, which was event free, smooth and comfortable.

We landed into Chicago at sunset and after a long taxi finally parked up on a stand close to the centre of the international terminal, so after disembarking it was only a short walk to immigration and what looked like long queues, but thankfully they were moving very fast and I was already through immigration and at the baggage reclaim belt before my bag finally made it round.

I grabbed my bag, left the terminal and headed over to the metro station to catch the train into town. Of all the parts of the journey this felt like the longest – possibly because my body was now feeling the effects of it being 3am back home and over 15 hours of travelling.

Thankfully it was only a very short walk from the subway station to the hotel where I was able to quickly check-in, head up to my room and head to bed for a well-earned sleep.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Chicago; Friday, 19 April, 2019

I woke up once in the middle of the night, but was quickly able to get back to sleep, but by 6am I was wide awake and it was clear that I wouldn’t be getting any more sleep, so I got up had a long shower and then, almost as soon as they opened for the morning, headed down to breakfast.

The weather forecast for the day wasn’t good with strong winds and cold temperatures predicted, in stark contrast to the following days, so I decided today would be a good day to do indoor things.

I headed out of the hotel and over to the Museum Campus on the south side of the city. The campus is located on the edge of Lake Michigan and houses several of the city’s key attractions, including the football stadium, aquarium and my first stop of the trip – the Field Museum.

The museum has an enormous collection of artefacts and exhibits, for which it can only every show a tiny fraction out in its halls, despite the museum itself being massive. I spent the whole of the morning and well into the start of the afternoon looking round the various exhibits, and I didn’t really do justice to the collection.

One of their star attractions is Sue the T-Rex – so much of a star that she has her own twitter account. The most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton every discovered she’s named after the palaeontologist (Sue Hendrickson) who discovered her in South Dakota in 1990. The exhibition had only very recently been given a complete overhaul into a new and expanded space and it proved to be a popular attraction with quite long queues to get to see the bones – but well worth the wait for the impressive sight of an almost complete T-Rex.

Whilst I could probably have spent the rest of the day, and much of the rest of the holiday in the museum, I was starting to get tired, so after a quick and very late lunch I headed out of the museum and next door to the Shedd Aquarium.

The Aquarium has the usual selection of species from across the world arranged into geographically zoned areas, and whilst there was a lot to see the sheer number of people visiting the aquarium meant it was difficult to see everything.

I managed to see a lot of the exhibits, but I decided against watching the dolphin and beluga whale performance which was scheduled as the last thing at the aquarium before it closed for the evening, instead taking the opportunity to get a much emptier bus back to the hotel.

I had a bit of a rest, mostly to try and get some life back into my aching feet from all the slow walking round museums during the day, and then headed out to grab a quick dinner in a nearby restaurant, before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Chicago; Saturday, 20 April, 2019

I managed to stay asleep for most of the night, but was still up long before breakfast was ready to be served, so had another prolonged shower and a couple of cups of coffee from the in room Nespresso before heading down for some food.

One of the main attractions that people recommended doing in Chicago was the architectural cruise down the Chicago river, so I had pre-booked a ticket for the first English Language tour of the morning at 10am. It meant I had lots of time to get down to the river side after breakfast, but it did mean that I was towards the front, though not at the very front, of the queue and consequently was able to get a good seat at the very front of the boat for the best views.

The boat tours up the Main spur of the river before briefly heading up the Northern channel and then back down part of the south channel before returning back to the start via the area around the Lake Michigan lock. The on-board guide had lots of information to tell about the various buildings alongside the river as we travelled down it, but some of the most interesting information was about who the US managed to reverse the flow of the river through the use of canals so that rather than flowing into Lake Michigan it now flows into the Mississippi and eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico (albeit the main reason being that Chicago was poisoning itself by flushing its sewage and rubbish straight into the river and into Lake Michigan, the city’s source of clean water – instead it became St Louis problem)

Having returned to the start point I caught the bus a couple of stops north to the John Hancock Centre with the intention of going up the tower to the 360 Chicago observation gallery on the 94th floor. However, as it was a Saturday, and a sunny day, the queue was in excess of two and a half hours to get to the top, so I decided to postpone that for another day. Instead I had a quick lunch and then headed back to the river to pick up the Big Bus.

The Chicago Big Bus provides the standard hop-on-hop-off open-top bus tour, though in Chicago it uses live guides to give the tour rather than a recorded commentary. This does mean that you can usually get a more interesting and personal tour, but it does occasionally mean you’ll get someone who clearly is only going through the motions and the first tour round the city wasn’t the most interesting.

Back at the start point I joined the next, and as it turned out penultimate, tour of the evening. This time the tour guide was much more engaging – if slightly obsessed with the number of Walgreens stores located in Chicago (The company having been founded in the city in the early part of the 20th century and now the parent company of it’s British equivalent Boots).

After the tour I wandered back through the central downtown Loop area of the city to my hotel to freshen up before heading out to dinner in a nearby restaurant that serves one of the city’s specialities the deep-dish pizza.

The restaurant was very busy, so I had to eat at the bar – but that did mean my order was taken really quickly, which is good given it takes 45 minutes to properly cook one of these behemoths – less pizza more full on mozzarella and tomato pie. In the end, despite having only had a small lunch many hours previously, I was only able to complete just over half the small sized pizza and left the restaurant with a dangerously distended stomach and a doggy bag with the remaining pizza.

I headed back to the hotel and headed straight to bed wanting to try and sleep off the pizza.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Chicago; Sunday, 21 April, 2019

I was quite surprised that, despite the amount of food consumed, I got a decent nights sleep and actually woke up after breakfast service had started. This did mean that I was running late as I had intended to get out of the hotel early as I, correctly, predicted that there would be a long queue for the Willis Tower Skydeck even before it opened.

It was only a short walk from the hotel to the entrance, if anything the walk to the back of the queue snaking its way halfway around the block was longer – though it was quite deceptive as the tower clearly caters for very big queues and once the doors opened and we started moving it kept flowing almost the whole way to the lifts. Less than 20 minutes after doors opening I was already on my way up to the 103rd floor, and there had been a good 10 minutes walking and only a brief stop at security prior to that.

The views from the highest observation point in the city are spectacular, particularly on a very sunny and clear day with (apparently) four different states visible – the most impressive feature though being Lake Michigan, looking to all intents an purposes like a sea rather than a lake.

One of the main attractions of the Skydeck is the Ledge – which are four toughened glass boxes that extend from the floor so that you can stand in a glass box suspended 103 floors up, seeing straight down to the road over 1000 feet below you. Though to deal with the sheer numbers you only get 60 seconds in a box which you have to share with one other group.

After taking in the views I headed back down the tower to the ground and walked round the corner to the Big Bus stop where I arrived at the same point a tour bus was coming round the corner. I took the tour bus round to the lake side and had a long wander through the impressive Maggie C Daley park and the Millennium Park. The latter is home to one of Chicago’s modern symbols the Cloud Gate, or Chicago Bean – a highly polished stainless steel sculpture originally designed to resemble a drop of mercury, but to everyone just referred to as the bean.

From the bean I wandered back through the downtown roads in the loop to find somewhere for lunch, and after lunch had a bit more of a wander before picking up the last Big Bus tour of the night for a final tour round the city.

Tour finished I wandered back to the hotel to freshen up and then, once the sun had started setting, headed back to the Willis Tower to take advantage of my free evening ticket to go back up to the Skydeck. In the early evening this was even quicker than the morning with me only stopping to put my camera bag through the security scanner and to wait for the first lift to come down.

Back up on the observation floor I took in the sights of Chicago at sunset and into the early night – with the lights of the city making it light up the night. I eventually headed back down in the lift to ground floor and walked round to the L Train station to pick up the train a couple of stops round to Millennium Park and revisited Cloud Gate at night – where it was easier to view the sculpture as there were only dozens rather than hundreds of people around.

I stopped for a quick dinner in downtown before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Chicago; Monday, 22 April, 2019

I had my latest lie-in of the morning and after breakfast I checked out of the hotel and headed out into town for my final day in Chicago.

After the queues of Saturday I headed back to 360 Chicago in the John Hancock Centre and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to walk all the way through and straight into the lift up to the observation deck on floor 94.

From here the views are probably more impressive of the beaches heading North out of the city, and of course the impressive sight of the Willis Tower – the tallest tower in the city.

The observation floor was so quiet that I was able to get a soda a sit in one of the window side bar seats to take in the view for a while. Having taken in the views I headed back down the tower and onto the main street.

From there I picked up the local bus a bit further north to Lincoln Park. The park is a large expanse of green space in the North of the city centre and home to both the Lincoln Park Conservatory – a collection of glasshouses and the Lincoln Zoo. Both are impressive for the fact that they are free to visit – which is a real rarity for a zoo.

I spent much of the afternoon wandering round the zoo and conservatory taking in the animals and plants before it was time to take the bus back south to the city centre and the hotel to pick up my bags.

I’d over estimated the amount of time I needed to get through the late afternoon traffic and in fact I ended up at the hotel with enough time to spare that I was able to have a quick drink in the impressive hotel bar – the hotel having previously been a bank the stunning double height banking hall is now the hotel bar.

With lots of time to spare I picked up my luggage and headed back to the subway to catch the train back out to O’Hare and start my long overnight flight back to the UK.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Reykjavik; Saturday, 04 May, 2019

After a smooth journey through Gatwick and a comfortable flight over to Iceland we exited the airport and caught the shuttle bus into the centre of Reykjavik.

Having checked in and dropped off bags we went for a walk through the city centre, taking in the main square and the area around the parliament, before finding a nice bar in the old town to have a drink in.

We then went for a wander through the streets of the old town to find somewhere to have dinner in, eventually finding a nice Italian restaurant just around the corner from the hotel.

After dinner it was a short walk back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Reykjavik; Sunday, 05 May, 2019

A relatively early start to the day as we were booked on a day tour to the south of Iceland and the hotel pickups were due to start at 08:30, so we had breakfast almost as soon as they started and left the hotel just after 8am to walk to the bus stop – getting there with what would have been plenty of time if the shuttle hadn’t been running super early, so it was pulling in almost at the same time as we arrived.

The shuttle bus did a circuit round the centre of the city to pick up guests for the various early morning tours, and then headed out to the bus depot on the edge of town. There we transferred into the minibus for the days tour.

We set off out of Reykjavik and drove along the main number 1 road, which is the islands circular road, heading South and East out of the capital and into the mountains outside of the city. We drove for about 90 minutes through an ever-changing landscape, past Geothermal power stations, high pressure steam vents rising from the ground, and in places rows of greenhouses powered by the steam. We crossed a number of impressive rivers that were thundering down from the glaciers in the high central part of the island before finally coming to our first stop of the day in Hvolsvöllur, there we had a quick cup of coffee and a comfort break before continuing East.

We had a brief stop on the road beneath the mass of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which had caused so much trouble to air traffic in 2010. Where we stopped there was a small photo display which showed some of the iconic pictures of the eruption which had been taken from the spot where we were standing, then it was back onto the bus and along the coast to our first main stop of the day at the Skógafoss waterfall.

After a good 45-minute stop there to take in the power of the waterfall, and the spectacular multiple rainbows being caused by the spray, we hopped back on the bus and continued along the coast to our next stop in the town of Vik. This was our lunch stop, and also the furthest East on the tour. In the town there was easy access down onto it’s black sand beach – which was very impressive, so there was enough time to have a look at that before we headed back to the bus and continued round the headland to the much larger and more impressive black sand beach and basalt columns at Reynisfjara.

Alongside the impressive beach and columns here the Atlantic pounds the beach with very impressive, and highly dangerous, waves – so we all were keeping well back from the shore. There were also good views down the long black sand beach to the sea arch at Dyrhólaey,

From the beach we headed back inland a bit to the nose of the Sólheimajökull glacier and it’s glacial lagoon located at the foot of the mountains and volcanos that make up the centre of the country. From the glacier it was a short drive back along the road to our final stop of the day at the Seljalandsfoss volcano.

Whilst the volume of water coming over the Seljalandsfoss waterfall is less than at the Skógafoss falls, it’s more impressive as there is a pathway up and round the back of the waterfall, allowing you to stand behind the falls in a cave underneath the lip of the falls.

From there it was a long two hour drive back along the main road into Reykjavik and drop offs at the different hotels. We got off in the centre of the city by the culture centre and walked down the hill to our hotel where we freshened up before heading out for dinner in a very nice Icelandic/Spanish fusion tapas bar.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Reykjavik; Monday, 06 May, 2019

Another early start as the pickup for our Golden Circle tour was at 9am, though on this occasion the driver of the shuttle bus had gone a different way round the city centre meaning we were the last pickup at nearly 9:15 before taking us directly to the coach depot.

Todays tour was on a full-sized coach as it’s the most popular tour that can be done on Iceland – round some of the key natural sights of the island. After leaving Reykjavik we headed North and East out of the city and up into the highlands of the interior before reaching our first stop of the day at the Þingvellir national park. This was the location for the original parliament of Iceland, and it was possible to walk down to the Lögberg (law rocks) where those first parliaments took place. The site is also important as being part of the rift valley that is slowly being formed by the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates pulling apart. The two plates are pulling apart from each other at about 1cm in each direction a year, creating an additional 2cm wide strip of new land every 12 months – though its so slow it’s impossible to see – but you can see the effect that millennia of this has on the land with lots of fissures and lava outcrops across the valley floor.

After Þingvellir we got back on the bus and crossed the valley floor travelling from North America to Eurasia and further on into the heart of the country.

The next stop was at Geysir, which also doubled up as the lunch stop. The main Geysir here has been dormant for nearly 20 years, but the smaller Stokkur geyser is very active with an impressive jet of water being expelled every 5 minutes or so.

We watched a couple of explosions before wandering back past the bubbling mud pools and smaller geysirs to the information centre and café to have a bit to eat.

From Geysir the bus moved onto the final stop of the day at the Gullfoss, or Golden Falls, a spectacular two-tiered waterfall that thunders down from the high plane into a deep canyon that has been carved out by the river over time.

After a lengthy stop at Gullfoss it was time to head back to the coach and make our way back to Reykjavik. We got dropped off very close to the hotel where we freshened up before heading out to the restaurant for the evening.

This was one of the first times that I’ve actually booked a restaurant in advance, and in the case of tonight’s meal nearly 6 months in advance, but the Grillmarkaðurinn is quite often marked out as one of the best restaurants in Iceland, and they offer a special Icelandic tasting menu that lets you experience Icelandic cuisine (or at least the nice bits of Icelandic cuisine, there’s no Kæstur hákarl – fermented shark – available here!) over 8 slowly served courses.

We spent nearly three hours in the restaurant and by the end were pretty well stuffed, but in a good way. It was a slow waddle back to the hotel and to bed.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Reykjavik; Tuesday, 07 May, 2019

We had considered taking the open top tour of Reykjavik in the morning, but that would have meant another really early start, and even if everything went well would have been tight to make a full tour and our connection for the bus back to the airport, so instead we just had a lie-in and a late breakfast before checking out and heading to the bus stop to get the shuttle to the airport.

The bus stop for the shuttle was also the first stop on the open-top tour bus route, so we were able to see that we’d made the correct choice as our hotel shuttle bus turned up and collected us, long before the open-top bus appeared. If we’d taken the tour bus there is every chance we would have missed the airport shuttle, which would not have been good.

The shuttle took us back to the coach depot on the edge of town and from there we took the coach back to Keflavik airport and our flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Ponta Delgada; Thursday, 23 May, 2019

I had a half days’ leave so after powering down my laptop I grabbed my bags and headed for Gatwick.

A smooth journey down to and through the airport and onto the plane where we promptly sat for quite some time as one of our fellow passengers, who had put luggage in the hold, failed to turn up. After about 15 minutes they finally found the bag and pulled it out so we were ready to go.

The flight down to Madeira went well with a calm approach and landing onto the notoriously difficult runway. I’d pre-booked at taxi to take me down to my hotel for the night and as I emerged into the arrivals hall I was able to spot a man holding up a name board with my name on it.

This was the second attempt to get to the Azores, but at least the abandoned trip of the previous year had let me explore more of Madeira and so I’d booked a hotel in Machico, pretty much just off the end of the runway, which meant less than 10 minutes after leaving the airport I was sat in my hotel room looking out at the sea.

After freshening up I went for a little wander around the town, along the sea front and up the small river to the heart of the town and it’s church and town hall. I headed back down the main street towards the sea front and stopped at a very nice fish restaurant overlooking the small fort that sits back from the sea front for dinner.

I had a very filling dinner and then headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Ponta Delgada; Friday, 24 May, 2019

My flight time was such that I was able to have a bit of a relaxed morning and so was probably the last guest down to breakfast, which meant that the choice was quite limited.

After packing the few things I’d taken out of my bag away I headed down to reception, checked out and picked up my cab back to the airport.

In 2018 this was the point where everything had gone wrong, but then the winds had been really strong, and it was a lot calmer this morning. Arriving at the check in desk I was happy to see that they were checking people in for the flight, and even letting us through into departures. I still wasn’t completely sure we were going to make it until our SATA plane touched down on the runway, bang on schedule, and taxied to the terminal.

Another uneventful flight as we crossed the Atlantic for two hours to get to the Azores, topped off by a stunning approach and landing into Ponta Delgada airport.

As both Madeira and the Azores are parts of Portugal it was a very quick journey through the airport as it was a domestic flight – even if we were nearly 4 hours flying time from mainland Portugal. Through to arrivals and another person standing there with a name board for me. My taxi very quickly zipped me down into Ponta Delgada and dropped me off near my accommodation – not actually able to drive up to the door as I’d booked an apartment on a pedestrianised street!

Checked in and with my bags dumped in my room I headed out for a wander around Ponta Delgada. It was at this point that I realised I’d managed to time my trip with some major religious festival as there were lots of decorations up, and lots of roads being closed off. It became even clearer by the time I got down to the fort at the end of the harbour and the neighbouring church and square were decked out in garlands, lights and lots of fair stalls.

I had a long walk along the sea front, down through the harbour area, and then back through town to my room where I freshened up before heading out for a quick dinner.

I had dinner in a restaurant right by the main church and city centre gate – so a perfect spot to do lots of people watching and taking in the warmth of the late spring evening. After dinner I had a short wander around the immediate area, but conscious that I needed to get up early the following morning, I headed back to my room relatively early to turn in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Ponta Delgada; Saturday, 25 May, 2019

The apartment I was staying in provided breakfast hampers, so after my shower I popped my head out of the door to find a large hamper with my room number on it outside my door. Clearly the apartment owners hadn’t checked the reservation, or just assumed that a double room would always be occupied by two people, as the breakfast was clearly enough for two. So, I had a very filling breakfast as was able to pack a couple of items into my bag should I need them later in the day.

I headed out of the flat and down to the city gate where I was meeting my driver for todays tour. I’d originally booked the tours back for my 2018 trip and the company had been really good on refunding me, despite a no-refund policy, when the weather cancelled my flights and left me staying on Madeira. So, I’d immediately rebooked with them once I’d confirmed this trip. Today was a tour of the Eastern end of the island, with a tour of the West and central parts of the island booked for tomorrow.

I was first to be picked up so was able to claim a good window seat behind the driver. We made one more pickup stop as there was a large party of friends who were going to be split over two buses for the day. After meeting the other bus and collecting everyone we headed out of Ponta Delgada and had a brief stop a short way out of town at a black sand beach before heading on to the town of Vila Franca do Campo. From there we ascended up some very steep roads to a viewpoint and chapel high on the hills above the town, from where there were good views over the South coast of São Miguel Island.

We then headed inland and climbed up over and down into the caldera of the Furnas volcano, firstly to look at the fumaroles and bubbling pools near the crater lake and then headed further into town to have a look at the natural springs and further fumaroles. We were able to sample the water from a couple of the springs, which was naturally fizzy due to all the minerals dissolved in it.

The tour included lunch at a restaurant in Furnas that specialises in the local stew called Cozido that is cooked by burying the cooking pot in the ground, so it’s heated by the volcanic activity taking place underground. After lunch we headed out of the town and climbed back out of the volcanic crater before heading further north and stopping at a viewpoint on the rim of the crater high above where we had stopped by the lake in the morning. From here there were views across the whole of the enormous crater.

Having taken in the views we then headed further north to the Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeirões where a waterfall and river have carved out a gorge that a couple of small mills have been set up along to take advantage of the waterpower. We had a wander around the site, including by the waterfall and partway down the gorge before heading back to the vans and riding the short distance to the North coast where we stopped at a couple of viewpoints along the way.

After the final viewpoint it was time to head back into Ponta Delgada, which only took around 20 minutes as by this time we were at one of the thinnest points on the island, and it was barely 10KM to cross from North to South coast.

Back in Ponta Delgada we did the drop-offs in the reverse order, so I was last to be dropped off, though by now the festivities in the town centre were really starting to crank up a gear which meant the guide could only get to within a couple of blocks of my hotel to let me out.

I quickly popped back to the hotel to drop off some stuff and freshen up and then headed out into town, partly looking for dinner, but also to take in some of the festivities that were taking place.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Ponta Delgada; Sunday, 26 May, 2019

Overnight the tour company had emailed me to let me know that they were going to have to pick me up from a different point today as the road closures for the Festa do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres was reaching it’s peak today with a major parade through the city centre that had meant most roads were closed. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far away from the hotel, and probably a bit closer than the place where I’d been dropped off the night before.

Unlike yesterday, today I was the penultimate person to be picked up so the van was already mostly full. We did the final pickup on the edge of town and then headed over to the Pineapple farm and greenhouses located in the northern suburbs of Ponta Delgada. The Azorean pineapple is smaller than the ones that most people are used to, and the ones produced on the farm we visited were mostly used for the production of pineapple-based products (mostly alcohol), rather than for eating. Our guide took us around the different greenhouses talking us through the different stages of growth from the initial planting to final harvesting, then there was a chance to sample the final, alcoholic, product in the farm shop.

From the farm we then started to drive up into the mountains and up the side of another volcanic crater. We stopped part way up to take in the views down the spine of the island and, due to its location near the thinnest part of the island, the scene of both the North and South coasts at the same time. We then continued on up the road until we stopped at a hiking trail and walked for about 10 minutes to a viewing point high on the crater wall that overlooked the whole of the crater floor, including multiple crater lakes and the town of Sete Cidades.

Having taken in the view for some time we then walked back to the van and drove a short distance round to another point on the volcano rim to take in the view of the main lake, that appears to be two different lakes as it changes colour part way across. We managed to time the visit almost perfectly as the clouds and fog cleared just as we arrived, and then within seconds of us heading back to the van the fog descended again.

We headed down into the crater and over to the town of Sete Cidades where we stopped for lunch in a very nice restaurant in the town centre.

After lunch we headed back out of the volcano and headed across the island to the third and final volcano of the trip – Fogo. Unlike the other two craters which are enormous and can house whole communities within them this crater is quite a bit smaller and has no access down into it other than by foot, so it’s crater lake and shores are pristine. We stopped at a viewpoint high on the rim to take in the views, which were constantly changing as the cloud rolled in and out of the caldera.

From the view point we headed downhill a long way until we reached a small gorge located on the edge of the rim. Here there are more fumaroles and vents from the volcano that heat the small stream running through the gorge, turning it into natural thermal baths. We had a good look around the site before heading back to the van and onto the final viewpoint of the trip up on the North Coast. From here we were able to get really good views of both the Fogo and Sete Cidades volcanos and take in the sheer size of the mountains.

Then it was time to head back into Ponta Delgada and get dropped off in the city centre. The main parade of the festival, which lasts nearly 8 hours, was still well underway so we had to be dropped off on the edge of the city centre before wandering back towards my hotel. I stopped for a little while to take in some parts of the parade, and then at a small break in the parade I was able to zip across it and actually get back to my room to drop stuff off.

I freshened up and then headed back out to get a bite to eat – stopping at a café near the parade route, but slightly up a hill, so I was able to get a view of the parade taking place, despite all the people lining the route. I ended up having a much longer dinner than I would normally have had, just from the people watching.

As the parade came to an end I had a bit of a wander through the town centre before heading back to my room to pack.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Ponta Delgada; Monday, 27 May, 2019

I had a relatively early flight the following morning, so I had to get up early and leave, though thankfully, not before my breakfast hamper was delivered.

I’d pre-booked a taxi back to the airport with the same company that had picked my up on my arrival, so I headed down to the main road where they were supposed to pick me up from and waited. I waited until 10 minutes after the scheduled pickup time with no sign of them and then tried to call the contact number I’d been given – which didn’t work. Thankfully I was close to the main taxi rank in town and, despite the early time, there was a taxi on stand who was able to take me up to the airport for just another €10, on top of what I’d already effectively been scammed out of by the shuttle company.

I checked in for my flight and headed through to the departures lounge to wait for my flight back to Madeira.

It was a pretty slow boarding process as they checked everyone into a long queue and waited to have everyone in the queue before walking us out onto the tarmac and over to the plane, but it did mean that once we got to the plane everyone was on pretty quickly.

Only about 10 minutes late we pushed back and headed out across the Atlantic for our 2-hour flight to Madeira…

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Funchal; Monday, 27 May, 2019

…2 hours later and we had started the third circuit round the stack to the north of Madeira. The winds had increased whilst we had been flying and for the moment were above the level that the airport could safely operate at, so we had to sit, circle and wait. The pilots had told us that we would circle for about 30 minutes and if we couldn’t land at that point we would divert to the neighbouring Porto Santo island. After about 40 minutes of circling the pilots came on the PA again to let us know that an easyJet flight had just successfully landed at Madeira so they were going to give it a go. We came out of our stack and headed round the Eastern end of the island and started our approach to the airport.

Clearly things were very close to the limit as we lined up for landing, started levelling up and then were all pushed back into our seats as the pilots slammed full power on the engines and climbed back up out of their descent. We headed out to sea and did a couple of circles to the south of the airport before the pilots decided to have one final attempt. This time we did actually make it down, though right up until the point that the nose wheels finally hit the tarmac it always felt like they were about to abort and divert.

Finally arriving an hour late into Madeira I collected my luggage and met my now slightly annoyed taxi driver, who had been waiting watching the plane circle for an hour, and headed into Funchal.

After dropping off my stuff at the new hotel I headed out into town and picked up the open-top sightseeing bus to do some sightseeing and sunbathing at the same time in the glorious warm sun.

As it was so bright and clear I got off the bus at the Miradouro Pico dos Barcelos and took in the view over Funchal and the coast, stopping for a little while at the small café at the viewpoint. I spent quit a bit of time there and ended up only just picking up the last open-top bus of the day back down into town.

I headed back to the hotel and then popped up to the roof-top bar that overlooks the cathedral and offers a city centre view over Funchal, as well as a pre-dinner drink.

I then wandered down into town to grab dinner before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Funchal; Tuesday, 28 May, 2019

From all my previous trips to Funchal I had pretty much exhausted all there was to do in the city. It meant that I could have a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast before heading out into town. As my ticket was still valid, I went for a ride on the open-top bus, and then stopped back in town 90 minutes later to grab a light lunch.

I then wandered over to the cable car and took it up into the mountains, with the intention of having a wander around Monte at the top of the cable car, but by the time I got up there the clouds had closed in and it was quite damp at the top, so instead I headed into the small café built into the basement of the top cable car station and from where there are good views down the route of the cable car and into central Funchal.

After a small beer and watching the cable cars coming and going it was time to make my way back down to town level and then wandered back to the hotel to pick up my bags.

I walked over to the pickup point for my shuttle back to the airport, which arrived a couple of minutes early and then whisked us off to the airport to check in.

At check-in the agent was happily telling everyone that the flight was currently early and so could we all make sure we get to the gate about an hour before the scheduled departure time as they would like to get us away early.

Everything was running fine until about 20 minutes before the now very early plane was scheduled to land when I noticed that there hadn’t been any landings for a little while. A quick check online revealed that once again the wind had picked up and at present the airport was closed to incoming flights.

I sat in the airport watching the flight track of my inbound plane on a radar website as it entered a very familiar stack from the previous day. Eventually, after about 15 minutes the BA flight came out of the stack and went for an attempted landing, which it promptly aborted and headed away from the airport in the direction of Porto Santo. At this point I did think that the pilots had decided to divert, which potentially could have meant the flight being cancelled until the next day (the same thing had happened a few days earlier).

Thankfully the flight radar showed that it was merely heading back up to the stacking position for a little while.

About 10 minutes later a TAP plane came into view near the airport did a couple of loops to the south of the island, and then came in for a successful landing. The BA flight, now 20 minutes late, followed closed behind, at which point it became clear that I would be getting home today.

Almost as soon as the flight had landed they started making boarding calls for us to head to the gates, and less than 20 minutes after the flight had landed we were already on buses heading over to the plane to board. Somehow, despite the delays the crew had managed to turn the plane around in record time and we finally pushed back and headed for the runway bang on time.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Sidmouth; Friday, 31 May, 2019

I had a meeting in Exeter the following Monday so I was heading down on the Friday evening rather than the Sunday to make sure I was down in Devon well in advance of the meeting. I headed down via the scenic route from Waterloo to Honiton, though I wasn’t able to take in much of the countryside as I was on my work laptop for much of the time.

We arrived into Honiton just after 17:15 and I was preparing myself for the 45 minute wait for the next bus over to Sidmouth. So I was rather surprised when I saw a bus going to Sidmouth stopped in front of the station, in service and ready to accept passengers. The previous bus should have been around 16:30 so this was either spectacularly late, or an additional bus that doesn’t exist in the printed timetable. Either way I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth and I quickly boarded, purchased my ticket to Sidmouth – thus insuring the bus was going to where I wanted it to go – and then headed upstairs to the empty top front seat.

It was a glorious ride through the Devon countryside on a sunny summers evening as we headed down the Sid Valley through Sidley, Sidford and down into Sidmouth. I hopped off the bus and walked the short distance to my hotel where I was able to checkin, drop off my stuff and then head out into town to do some exploring.

I had a long wander around town, taking in the area around the river down to the seafront and then up the cliff walks to look over the town before heading back into the centre. I continued to walk along the seafront in the last light of the day before turning inland and finding a very nice Indian restaurant to have dinner in.

Stuffed from a very good meal I wandered back to my hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Sidmouth; Saturday, 01 June, 2019

The hotel was very nice, but did have some strange rules over breakfast – served 08:15-09:15 only, which meant that I needed to get up early on a Saturday morning to be able to get breakfast. However it did mean that I was up and out of the hotel early to get a bus out towards Seaton and the Tramway, arriving just as the site opened and able to pick up the first service of the day.

The Tramway houses a collection of historic trams from around the country that run on a 3.5 mile track up the former trackbed of the Seaton Railway line. Most of the trams are double deck and of their original designs without roofs, so up on the top-deck you are able to take in the stunning views of the Axe esturary, wetlands and the surrounding countryside with the wind, and sun, in your face.

I did a couple of round trips, taking in the three stops on the line and having a look round the main terminals at both Colyton and Seaton. Back in Seaton I went for a wander through town down to the seafront to have a look along the prom before stopping for lunch. After lunch I had a look at the local bus map and decided to go for a little ride along with coast towards Exmouth. I was able to pick up a little local bus that ran through the small town of Beer and back to Sidmouth where I made the quick change onto the bus towards Exmouth, via the picturesque Budleigh Salterton.

In Exmouth I was in time to take the open-top bus along the esplanade and up into the hills behind the town to the holiday camp and Sandy Bay. I stayed on the bus as it turned round and headed back to Exmouth.

From Exmouth I had nearly an hour to wait for the bus back via Budleigh Salterton, so instead I caught the bus back into Exeter and changed there onto the direct bus to Sidmouth, arriving right behind the bus that I would have been on if I’d waited in Exmouth, but having seen much more of the East Devon countryside.

Back in Sidmouth I went for a much longer wander along the seafront, this time heading West towards the small cliff that has the towns formal gardens perched on top of it. There was a walkway at the base of the cliff, and with the tide starting to go out it was a pleasant place to wander round and to see the geology and make up of the cliffs.

At the end of the cliff walk there was a set of steps leading up into the Connaught Gardens on the top of the cliff, so I climbed up them and had a long walk through the gardens before heading back down into town in search of somewhere for dinner and then my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Sidmouth; Sunday, 02 June, 2019

Another early start to get breakfast and then after checking out a wander over to the bus stop, hoping to avoid the impending rain, which I did manage to do only getting lightly drizzled on in the last few feet.

I caught the bus up over the cliffs to Seaton and then on to the border with Dorset and down into the town of Lyme Regis. The town is the centre of the Jurassic Coast world heritage site and the town probably most associated with the fossil finds that have made this part of the coast famous.

I wandered around the centre of town a bit, and was trying to decide whether to visit the museum when the skies made my mind up for me by taking that moment to open. I was glad they did as it’s a very impressive museum for the small space it’s crammed into. Lots of fossils sit alongside exhibits on the history of the town and area. If being the centre of the British fossil trade wasn’t enough claim to fame there was also a large exhibition on Jane Austins connections to the town.

By the time I’d finished looking round the museum the skies had cleared a little, so I took a risk and wandered along the seafront to the Cobb at the far end of the beach. I had a look around the Cobb area, but then the drizzle decided to come back. I headed back along the seafront moving between awnings, shelters and doorways that could be sheltered in as the weather kept switching between a background persistent drizzle and occasional hefty downpours.

By the time I made it back to the centre of town I was pretty wet, and still had 45 minutes to wait for the next bus back to Sidmouth, so I popped over the road and found a very nice warm pub that was serving local beer.

35 minutes late, quite a bit dryer and fortified by a pint of Dorset Gold I headed out of the pub in time to pick up the bus back to Sidmouth.

As the bus left Lyme Regis is climbed up the steep roads to the main road up on the cliffs, and as it climbed the clouds came lower, eventually by the time we turned onto the main road at the top visibility couldn’t have been more than 50 yards, if that. The journey back to Sidmouth passed through a number of different types of weather – the only continuous feature being that they were all damp.

I arrived back in Sidmouth into a damp mizzle that ensured by the time I’d walked to the hotel to collect my luggage I was quite damp again, although at least here I was able to get an additional top out of my luggage to keep myself a little dryer on the walk back to the bus stop to wait for the next bus back to Exeter.

Somewhere along the way the weather finally started to improve with the clouds clearing and the sun even coming out just as Exeter came into view. The bus ended its route in the Bus station on the North Eastern edge of the city centre. Sadly my hotel for the night was on the South Western edge so I had a 15 minute tramp across the city centre in now quite warm weather before I was able to check into the hotel, head up to my room and have a very refreshing shower and change into some dry clothes, before fishing out the work laptop and completing some work ready for the following day.

Weather

Light Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

York; Friday, 07 June, 2019

As I was transporting a hefty suitcase and a roller-banner I’d already booked a taxi to get me to city airport weeks in advance, but I was even more thankful as the torrential rain hammered on my office window as I was finishing off work for the day.

The cab slowly meandered its way across South London before finally crawling through the Rotherhithe tunnel and finally picking up some speed as it headed into the Docklands. By the time we arrived at City Airport it had taken nearly 90 minutes, but thankfully this being city I still had plenty of time to check my luggage in before the desks closed.

It turned out I had more than ample enough time as I was still sat in the airport over 2 hours later as the flight had been delayed partly due to the weather and then by the congestion on the apron when it finally did arrive.

Thankfully the delays meant that boarding coincided with a brief lull in the downpours so I was able to get on the plane with only a few spots of drizzle.

The plane was parked virtually at the end of the runway, which meant that from engine start-up to take off was less than 2 minutes, and quite a bit of time regained from the earlier delays. It was an uneventful 40 minute flight up to Manchester, and I though it would be a nice quick arrival, but in the end they decided to park the plane out at a remote stand. The ground crew were clearly having problems as it took them 15 minutes to attach the steps, by which time a full on monsoon was strafing the airfield and in the few yards to get down the steps and to the bus everyone was getting soaked.

It was also pretty clear that the ground crew had been totally focused on the steps for the whole 15 minutes as we still had to wait another 10 minutes in the terminal building for the bags to finally come round.

Thankfully, I was staying in an airport hotel so it was only a matter of calling the hotel to request the shuttle bus and then a quick ride to checkin and my comfy bed for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

York; Saturday, 08 June, 2019

I was booked on an early train from Manchester Airport so I had to skip breakfast in the hotel and get an early shuttle bus round to the station. Thankfully there was just enough time to get a cup of coffee and two not particularly pleasant croissants from the station café before it was time to board the train and head across the country.

It was a relatively uneventful journey, except for the 10 minute wait just outside Leeds as a truck had crashed into a railway bridge ahead of us and they needed to make sure it hadn’t caused any damage before they let us proceed across the bridge.

I eventually arrived into York in yet another downpour and got a taxi from the station to the hotel to checkin. I’d booked an early checkin at the hotel, so at a little after 10:30 I was in my second hotel room of the day and drying back off again.

After about 30 minutes the rain did ease off to a light drizzle so I took that as an opportunity to head out of the hotel and catch the bus out to the City Centre and to the Cold War Bunker, located in a residential area. The bunker is actually mostly above ground and was never secret due to it being in a residential area, and staffed by volunteers. It was designed to act as part of the control network running the country in the event of a Nuclear war and the 60 minute tour of the site helped to paint a picture of how unpleasant that would have been.

From the bunker I caught the bus back into town and headed over to the Jorvik Viking Centre. I’d visited when I first came to York many years ago, but several major floods of the Ouse and subsequent renovations means that the museum is now substantially different to how it used to look and it appeared with a lot more artefacts on display.

I had a quick pit stop for a late lunch before heading over to York Minster to have a look around the spectacular church and grounds before wandering back through the city centre to Cliffords Tower, the only substantial remaining part of the medieval castle of the city. As there was only about 30 minutes until the tower closed for the evening I didn’t bother looking round it, but instead I took advantage of the clearing skies to pick up the open-top tour bus and take in the sights of the city.

The tour bus stopped right by the hotel so after completing a circuit back to Cliffords Towers I took it another couple of stops on round to the hotel and headed back to my room to freshen up.

Refreshed I headed back out of the hotel and headed down to the riverside path running behind the hotel. The path runs alongside the River Foss, the other river that runs through the centre of York, and I followed the path a short distance down to where the Foss meets the River Ouse with a pretty little iron bridge crossing the Foss at this point. I headed over the bridge and walked back up the Ouse path in towards the city centre to grab a quick dinner.

After dinner I headed back down to the river and was just in time to catch an evening boat cruise down the Ouse, passing through the city centre as the floodlights started to come on over the historical buildings. The tour lasted about 70 minutes, though in reality there were probably only about 20 minutes of that where we were actually sailing through the centre of York – as much of the historic city is well away from the river, probably for the best given how often it floods.

Back at the landing stage I disembarked and wandered back towards the hotel and my bed.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

York; Sunday, 09 June, 2019

I had a nice lie in and a late breakfast before heading out in the sun to the bus stop near the hotel to pick up the sightseeing bus.

York is always a pretty city, but it is much nicer in the sun rather than the rain, so I did a full circuit of the city in the open-top bus taking in both the sights and the sunlight. By the time I got off the bus at Bootham Bar it was around lunchtime so I quickly popped into a café for a light bite before having a wander through the narrow lanes of the old city centre, including the very touristy Shambles area.

My wandering eventually ended me up back at Cliffords Tower and this time I did decide to climb the 50 or so steps to the entrance to the tower and then the 50 or so more steps inside the tower itself to take you up to the battlements at the top.

After taking in the views, and the information panels about the history of the castle located on the ground floor of the tower, I headed back down to ground level and had a wander around the Castle Museum before picking up the last open-top tour bus of the night back to the hotel.

I quickly freshened up and then headed back out to take a walk around the city walls. The almost complete set of walls run around the edge of the Medieval city, with many of the gates and towers still standing. I started at the Fishergate Postern Tower, near the hotel and slowly made my way anti-clockwise around the walls.

I did two of the three major sections of wall from Fishergate to Bootham Bar before heading into the city centre to get a quick evening meal, before heading down towards the station and completing the final section of the wall down the west and Southern sides of the city back towards the hotel.

By the time I got to the hotel it was starting to get dark and the process of locking up the walls for the night was already well underway (thankfully I’d checked and they start locking up at exactly the same place I started my walk and go anti-clockwise as well round the walls, so there wasn’t any chance of getting locked on the walls, or finding a section already closed and having to walk back.)

Back at the hotel I had a quick nightcap in the bar before taking my now very weary legs to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

York; Monday, 10 June, 2019

I was due to be at a conference for work in Manchester later in the day, but it meant that for the morning I worked out of my hotel room for a couple of hours before heading down to the station and picking up my train back to Manchester.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Aberystwyth; Friday, 21 June, 2019

I’d been at a conference in Birmingham, where work had been an exhibitor, for the whole day, having come up the night before, so was already carrying around a lot of luggage with me, alongside a roller-banner and the rest of the contents of the display stand. I’d been wondering about how I was going to cope with transporting the roller banner all the way to West Wales and back when I’d had a sudden brainwave mid-afternoon and checked on the website of the left luggage company that operates the service at New Street. At £21 it was expensive, but worth it for the lack of hassle, so once the conference ended I grabbed an Uber, loaded up the boot and headed to New Street.

The conference had finished at 16:00 and I was booked on the 18:25 train, which I was a bit worried about being quite full. After I’d checked the roller banner in for its long weekend in Birmingham I checked the times of the trains, and more importantly the inbound progress of the train that would form mine and decided to pay the £4 for a day return ticket to Birmingham International and head out there.

The train to Aberystwyth starts at Birmingham International and my reckoning was that I would be pretty much guaranteed a seat there, but by New Street the crowds at just after 6 on a Friday night would be quite large and I could end up having to stand with luggage for a long while, so I caught the slow train out to International and crossed over to the platform where the Aber train was due to come in on.

Bang on time, a very small two coach train pulled into platform 1, emptied it’s passengers out and people started boarding for the journey to Aberystwyth. I was one of the first to board so I was able to grab a decent window seat and stow my luggage in the big luggage rack at the end of the train. The train sat in International for about 15 minutes before it was due to depart and quite quickly started to fill up with people.

By the time we left International there were only about half the seats left on the train, and as we pulled into New Street there were clearly far more people on the platform than there were seats for them and even possibly standing room.

Boarding at New Street took quite a bit longer than originally timetabled, and by the time we set off the train was properly packed, with people crammed in the aisle and nobody able to move. Due to the time we’d take at New Street we ended up stuck behind a slow train and crawled most of the way to Wolverhampton, arriving about 15 minutes late, and at least here a few people got off, only for even more people to pour on.

For the people standing it must have been a pretty unpleasant journey all the way to Telford, nearly an hour after we left New Street, where the train finally emptied enough for everyone to be able to sit down. The train then continued to empty at Wellington and at Shrewsbury where it was empty enough for me to be able to swap seats so that I was still facing forwards as the train changed direction there.

The journey from Shrewsbury across the middle of Wales is a pretty spectacular one, with views of the hills and mountains always part of the scenery. It’s pretty, but it isn’t fast, taking well over 90 minutes to do the 75 miles, but despite all the delays on route we finally pulled into Aber on time. I quickly made it off the train and into a taxi for the short ride round to the Premier Inn where I could check-in and finally get changed out of my suit that I’d been sat in all day.

I’d managed to time everything just right and I was able to be back out on the seafront to see sunset on the longest day of the year – which from the calm waters of the North Beach at Aberystwyth was impressive. With the sun below the horizon I went for a bit of a wander around town before heading back to the hotel for a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Aberystwyth; Saturday, 22 June, 2019

I had an early breakfast and headed over to the station to catch the first of two buses that would take me north up the coast to the town to Tywyn and one of the Great Little Trains of Wales – the Talyllyn Railway. The bus left on time and took a very pleasant and picturesque journey inland to the market town of Machynlleth where I had about a five minute wait before my connecting bus headed back out of town and along the estuary of the River Dyfi to Aberdyfi and then up the coast to Tywyn.

I arrived with 45 minutes to spare before the next departure up the line, so after purchasing my ticket I had a look around the small museum housed in the station and took advantage of the café to top up the caffeine levels before it was time to board the train.

The total journey length isn’t very long at a little over 7 miles, and it’s not even a particularly large climb, only a couple of hundred meters, but the narrow gauge and the small engine meant that the journey to the end of the line at Nant Gwernol takes nearly an hour. On the way back the train also stops for 30 minutes at Abergynolwyn to enable passengers to enjoy the café there.

The ride was very picturesque, helped by the beautiful weather and being in an open sided carriage so I was able to get good photos without glass obstructing the lens of my camera.

Back in Tywyn I had a bit of a wander around the town and down to the beach before it was time to head to the bus stop and pick up the bus back to Machynlleth and then onto Aberystwyth.

Having arrived back in Aber I quickly popped into the hotel to freshen up before heading back out for a wander along the seafront, which was bustling on a warm sunny summer Saturday. I had a quick wander out on the pier, but it’s basically just a beer garden for the bar on the pier, with most of the rest of the space being taken up by an amusement arcade.

A little further along the coast I came to the ruins of the castle. Clearly once an impressive fortress just a small part of two towers and part of the curtain walls still stand, but what is there is pretty impressive, and I spent quite a bit of time having a look around the site before wandering back down into town.

By now it was getting late so I found a restaurant and had a quick dinner before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Aberystwyth; Sunday, 23 June, 2019

A couple of days before I’d headed to Wales the Met Office had been issuing weather warnings for the Sunday into Monday for most of the country, forecasting massive thunderstorms and torrential downpours, so I was pleasantly surprised to wake up and look out the window to see it cloudy by dry outside.

After breakfast I walked down to the other railway station in town. Alongside the national rail station there is a small narrow-gauge railway – The Vale of Rheidol Railway – which runs from near the mainline station. Whilst this is a heritage railway today, it – unlike every other heritage railway in the country – never closed, still being part of British Rail up until it was privatised in 1989.

The railway runs from the centre of Aberystwyth up the Rheidol valley to the town of Devil’s Bridge located some 660ft above sea level, with much of the climb being done in the final couple of miles, the train clinging to the side of the cliffs as it winds its way up the valley. It’s a very impressive journey, made all the more exhilarating by the open sided carriages that let you see the almost sheer drops from one side of the line, the train only inches away from the edge.

Devil’s Bridge is named for the bridge that crosses the Mynach river over its cascades which lead to a 90m waterfall before the river finally empties into the Rheidol itself. The myth is the bridge is named for the Devil as he built it to help an old lady get her cows back from the other side of the river, on the condition that he got the soul of the first thing to cross the river. The old lady being cunning sent her dog across so all the Devil got was a dog’s soul. In reality, the original bridge was probably built by local monks in the Medieval period. In the 18th Century the bridge was becoming damaged, so a new bridge was built on top, without demolishing the old bridge. At the start of the 20th century there was a need to upgrade the bridge again, and once again rather than taking down the existing bridge they just built a new one on top. This means there is now the impressive site of three bridges on top of each over spanning the gorge of the Mynach river as it cascades down the mountains at this point heading for the Rheidol.

On one side of the bridge is a set of stairs that take you down almost to the river level at the bottom of the canyon where you can see the carved rock formations that the river has dug from the stone, as well as getting excellent views of the stacked bridges. It was about a 10-minute circuit to get down to the bottom and back up again. On the other side of the road is a much longer – about 45 minute – walk that takes you all the way down to the 90m water falls as the Mynach river empties into the Rheidol, but as I only had 50 minutes until the next departure, or a five hour wait, I decided I’d skip that and head back to the train.

The journey back is equally impressive, if only for the quiet that you get as there is no need to really use the steam engine, except for breaking, for most of the journey as gravity pulls the train back down the cliffs. The engine finally kicks back in for the last 20 minutes or so as we head along the flat back into Aber.

Back in town I went for a little bit of a wander before finding myself at the bottom of Constitution Hill. This is a large outcrop of rock at the North end of North beach. From the top of the hill there are excellent views over the town and on clear days into Snowdonia. The healthy way to get to the viewing platform is to take the steep path that zigzags up the hill. I chose to take the funicular railway instead.

Up at the top there were indeed good views to be had, but more importantly views of the impending change to the weather as distant features disappeared into a grey murk of cloud and drizzle. After wandering around the top for a little while the rain finally arrived, so at that point I headed into the café and had a very late lunch/early dinner to wait out the heaviest of the first rain shower.

Taking advantage of a pause in the rain I quickly scuttled back to the cliff railway and headed back down to sea level and my hotel room, getting most of the way back before the rain started up again.

The rest of the evening was pretty much a wash out of light rain and drizzle, punctuated with occasional short bursts of heavier stuff, so instead of venturing back out I just headed down to the hotel restaurant and had a light meal in there about 9pm before turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Aberystwyth; Monday, 24 June, 2019

I had a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast before repacking my bag and heading down to checkout. I then headed over to the train station to catch the train one stop up the line to the neighbouring seaside town of Borth.

Borth is a bit down at heel and quiet, compared to Aberystwyth, but with a weird hazy mist and virtually nobody around it did give the town a bit of character. I had a long walk along the beach from the station to the Lifeboat station and then headed inland to visit the Borth Wild Animal Kingdom.

Previously called the Borth Animalarium this isn’t quite a zoo, but more a care home for abandoned and unwanted animals as well as some larger zoo creatures – including two lions and a couple of Lynx’s. Its quite a small place, but there was a fair amount to see. I arrived in time to watch the afternoon reptile show where a couple of snakes, a lizard and an iguana are brought out for members of the public to stroke.

After looking round the zoo it was time to head back to Aber, so I wandered down to the station and caught the train back into town. I stopped at a café for a quick lunch and then headed over to the town museum, which is housed in a converted Edwardian Theatre. It makes for an interesting exhibition space. There was a lot to see and in the end I only saw a glimpse of their collection before it was time to head back to the hotel and grab my bags.

I wandered back through town to the station and was thankful that my train was on time, as I only had a 40 minute connection in Birmingham in which time I’d have to pick up the work roller banner, and was a little concerned that it might prove to be too tight.

By Welshpool the train was still on time, and beyond that point there were no more single line sections or passing loops where we could get delayed. I was confident that my connection was going to be fine. That feeling lasted for about 5 minutes before an announcement from the guard made it clear the journey back was about to get a lot more complicated.

The train was approaching Shrewsbury where it would reverse and head down the line through Telford and Wolverhampton to Birmingham, except the points that control access to the line at Wolverhampton had totally failed, and wouldn’t be fixed for several hours, so rather than going any further the train was going to be terminated at Shrewsbury and instead we’d have to wait for buses onto Wolverhampton where we’d be able to pick up another train. I checked with the guard, but because I was on two tickets – one purchased by work to Birmingham and other by me to Aber – all the rail company had to do was get me to Birmingham, once I was there it wasn’t their problem and if I got stranded in Birmingham I would have to fend for myself.

Eventually, after a long wait a bus did finally turn up that took us on towards Wolverhampton, where we arrived in the middle of a massive thunderstorm, getting a soaking walking the short distance from the bus to the station kind of summed up the evening. By the time I’d gotten a connection into Birmingham my booked train was most of the way back to London and the two after it had also gone. There was one final train that would be an hours wait, and would then take over 2 and a half hours to get back to London, arriving after 01:30. I decided that it wasn’t worth it.

On the way back into Birmingham I had a quick check online and was happy to find out that the Holiday Inn right next to the station had rooms at a not unreasonable rate, so as the train pulled into New Street I hit book on the IHG app, and headed over to the hotel (via left luggage to collect my work stuff). 30 minutes later, rather than still waiting on New Street station for the last train of the night and a long journey home, I was tucked up in bed in my hotel room.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Aberystwyth; Tuesday, 25 June, 2019

Whilst having to pick up the roller banner had meant I had to travel via Birmingham and ended up getting stranded, because I’d been there for work the previous week did at least mean I had my laptop and phone with me, so I was able to arrange for a late checkout from the hotel and spent the morning working as near normal a work day as possible.

At lunch I checked out of the hotel and picked up the next Virgin train back to London which was virtually empty – who knew that trains at 13:30 on a Tuesday afternoon from Birmingham to London would be that quiet!

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Wrexham; Friday, 28 June, 2019

I’d been at a work conference in Liverpool all day, so once that had finished and I’d been able to pack everything away I headed down to the station to grab a bite to eat and then catch my train over into Wales.

Normally from Liverpool I’d have to change trains at Chester, but there is a random train in the early evening each weekday that runs through direct, and I was booked onto that train. I’d arrived on the platform early to ensure I could get a good seat as I thought it would be busy, but in the end the train was half empty the whole way, though a good number of people making the through trip.

From the station it was a short walk up onto the main road and then straight back down again to my hotel, where because of all my work luggage I was the last person off the train to arrive and consequently had to join a queue to check-in.

The whole day had been quite hot and humid, and waiting in reception hadn’t helped so I was a little concerned as to how warm the room would be. I didn’t need to worry, as soon as I opened the room door a blast of really cold air hit me. The aircon had clearly been put on by the cleaners earlier in the day and by now it was positively frozen in there.

I changed out of my work suit and spent a little time cooling down in the room before wandering down to the on-site restaurant for a very light dinner before heading back to my room and an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Wrexham; Saturday, 29 June, 2019

I had an early breakfast as I wanted to pack as much into the day as possible. I headed down to the bus station and picked up the bus out to Trevor. Trevor has a small canal basin from where boats head out across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, and this was my first destination of the day.

The aqueduct is the second highest in Europe, but also claims to be the highest navigable aqueduct in the world (all the higher ones not being navigable). I picked up the first tour of the morning on a narrow boat that heads out from the basin and over to the aqueduct. The trough of the aqueduct is only slightly wider than the boats themselves, so there is a strict whoever is on the aqueduct has right of way rule, with everything travelling in that direction keeping right of way until the aqueduct is clear. Thankfully there were only a few canoeist heading towards us when we arrived at the end, so we only had to wait a couple of minutes before starting our crossing.

The crossing is very spectacular, particularly if you sit on the site that doesn’t have the towpath as the lip of the trough is only a foot or so above the level of the water, meaning you can look out (and down) from the boat with an unobstructed view. Beyond the aqueduct the boat carries on for about a half mile to the town of Froncysyllte where there is space in the canal for the boat to turn around and head back.

Arriving back in Trevor I headed up to the main road and caught the bus back into Wrexham where I made a quick bus change and picked up the bus out to Denbigh. The bus took a very picturesque route through the hills of Denbighshire, taking nearly 90 minutes to make the journey. Denbigh was an important place in the middle ages and Edward I fortified the town to help his control of the Welsh lands.

High on a hill above the town centre are the ruins of the castle, and that was were I was heading to, though I first stopped off at Burgess Gate, a large gate on the old city walls, and now housing a small exhibition on the history of the town. I took a short walk along a bit of the city walls to stop off at Leicester’s Church, which was supposed to be an impressive building when it was being planned, but only a small part of it was ever actually built and it turned straight away into a ruin. I then headed up the last part of the hill, past St Hilary's Chapel, to the castle itself.

I spent quite a bit of time exploring the castle, taking in the views from the towers, and then stopping for a well needed bottle of lemonade in the café. From the castle it’s possible to borrow a key to let yourself onto the city walls, which aren’t totally open to the public due to their slightly ruinous state. I borrowed the key and headed back down to Leicester’s Church where the entrance onto the walls starts. I was able to walk most of the way around the walls, though the final couple of hundred yards are currently closed, so I couldn’t complete a total circuit back to the castle, instead I had to come back on myself to get back to the castle to drop the key back off.

From the castle I wandered back down to the centre of town to pick up the bus, and as I had a rover ticket I decided to keep going towards the coast, picking up the bus coming in from Wrexham and continuing onto Rhyl.

In Rhyl I had a quick wander round the town centre, but then it was time to head back to the bus station and catch the bus along the North Wales coast to Chester, following the railway line a lot of the way the views from the ride weren’t as impressive as I was expecting.

In Chester I changed again, onto the bus back down to Wrexham, but here I’d managed to time things badly as the races at Chester racecourse were just finishing and the town was struggling to cope with the traffic, so it took the best part of 30 minutes to get from the station to the other side of the racecourse, but from then on it was a pretty smooth journey down into Wales and onto Wrexham, with the advantage of the bus stopping right by the hotel.

I headed up to my room to cool off for a little while before once again heading down to the onsite restaurant for dinner and another early night.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Wrexham; Sunday, 30 June, 2019

Another early start and after a quick breakfast and checkout I once again headed to the bus station and once again picked up the number 5 bus towards Trevor, this time though I stayed on the bus and continued to the end of the route at Llangollen. This is a pretty town on the River Dee, at a point where it passes through some impressive rapids. It’s also now the starting point of the Llangollen Railway that runs alongside the River Dee for about 8 miles.

I purchased a day rover and joined the first steam train of the day out of the station heading West. I took the train the whole way to the current end of the line at Carrog (the line continues onto Corwen, but at the time of visiting the final section was having work done on it to extend the line into the centre of the town). After quite a bit of time at Carrog the train was ready to head back towards Llangollen so I hopped back on and made the journey back down the line.

At Llangollen I stopped in the station buffet for a quick lunch before heading out again on the next departure, this time just the one stop up the line to Berwyn. This small settlement is the point where the Llangollen canal, that I’d been on yesterday over the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, starts. It’s fed from the River Dee using a man-made waterfall created in the shape of a horseshoe. From the station it was a short walk down the hill to river and then across it on a chainlink bridge, before walking the last 300 yards or so of the canal back to the falls.

I spent a little time at the falls before retracing my steps back to Berwyn station, arriving a couple of minutes ahead of the train back to Llangollen. Back in Llangollen I wandered into town with the aim of having a look around, but I very quickly stumbled across an open-top bus that was running tour sup to the Horseshoe Pass outside of town, so I naturally jumped on that to do the round tour, and was very glad I did as the views were impressive – even if by the time we reached the summit of the pass the T-shirt and shorts were proving to be a little bit underdressed.

The bus waited for about 20 minutes at the top of the pass before heading back down into Llangollen where it parked up right behind the bus to Wrexham that was just starting to board, so I was able to make a quick change.

Back in Wrexham I had a quick pit stop in a café to top up the caffeine levels before I headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and make my way back home.

As with the previous week work had brought me tickets for the journey to the conference, and I’d brought my own ticket onto Wrexham from Liverpool – which meant that I had to go back via Liverpool, which included changing in Chester on the way back. Thankfully, unlike the previous journey back from Wales the connections all worked well. In fact they worked so well, with the train from Chester pulling in on the facing platform from the London train that was preparing to depart, that I ended up on a London train a full hour ahead of the one I was actually intending on catching.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Corfu; Thursday, 18 July, 2019

It was an early flight, but I was up even earlier than I needed to be as the Premier Inn at Heathrow had decided it was a good idea to install fridges in each room, but rather than hotel mini-bar fridges that are either quiet, or can be silenced overnight, these were just bog standard small kitchen fridges which make quite a bit of noise just before 5am when the chiller kicks in. Consequently, I was out of the hotel and at the terminal checking in at 06:30, which made what followed all the more annoying.

I wandered through to departures and had a relaxed breakfast waiting for my plane to land (on the satellite terminal once again) and for the gate to be called. Little did anyone on the flight know but at this point in time the BA baggage system was in the process of melting down with nothing being able to be checked in. You would have thought that bags that had already been in the system for over 90 minutes would already be heading to the plane and wouldn’t therefore be impacted…

It was a smooth flight over to Corfu and we landed a little late, but nothing untowards until people started switching their mobile phones on and a cacophony of incoming text messages greeted us all with the phrase – We have been experiencing baggage systems issues… …there is a possibility that your baggage may be subject to a delay arriving – so we all went through the airport and waited at the baggage carousel waiting for bags to come round. The belt started and the handful of cabin items that were placed in the hold because of lack of locker space came up, and then the belt stopped. We could also see at this point the tugs taking the luggage for customers heading back to London over to the plane and having it loaded, so it was clear that possibility was actually none of the luggage made it.

By now there was a very lengthy (i.e. the passenger count of a fully loaded Airbus 321) queue at the baggage handling agents desk and the one person on duty was clearly overwhelmed. I was also now receiving texts from my transfer saying they were here and would only wait for a few more minutes, so I decided it would be easier to claim online. I headed, with no luggage, through customs and out into the arrivals hall to meet my transfer who swiftly whisked me away to the hotel.

Whilst on the way to the hotel I tried to fill out the missing baggage claim, but BAs systems were all falling over because of the chaos. Instead I looked online to see if there was anywhere in Corfu that I’d be able to get some clothes to tide me over – at which point I discovered all of the shops would be closing in the next 20 minutes bar one – very conveniently there was a Marks and Spencer in town that would be open until 21:00.

Having checked into the hotel I caught the bus into the centre of Corfu and brought myself a new summer wardrobe – well it was cheaper to buy a back of 3 M&S basic T-shirts that purchase individual designer ones, and you can’t get boxers or socks in anything less than multi-packs. In the end I spent nearly €100 on clothes but decided to take BA at their word that my actual luggage would arrive before I headed home so didn’t splash out another hundred on a new suitcase.

After my shopping I headed out into town and spent a couple of hours wandering around the centre of Corfu Town doing some limited sightseeing (it’s more difficult to do when you’ve got a quite heavy M&S bag to drag around, along with the camera), taking in the outside of the old fortress and some of the gardens around the Palace of St Michael and St George. I then headed back over to the bus top and picked up the bus back to the hotel.

I dropped off my shopping in my room and went for a bit of a wander through the hotel grounds and took the hotels funicular down to the private beach at the bottom of the cliffs the hotel was on, then wandered a bit further round to the small harbour. At the end of the harbour wall is a small monastery which I was going to visit, but on looking at the time I realised that dinner was about to be served, so instead I headed back to the hotel and down to dinner.

After dinner, and with the sun setting behind the hotel, I headed back down to the harbour and out to the little monastery to take in the view and the last of the days light. I had a long wander round before heading back to the hotels beach and using the funicular to get me back up the hill to the hotel and my room.

By now the BA systems had finally stabilised and I was able to put my lost luggage claim in, as well as submitting my M&S reimbursement claim at the same time. Once that was done I turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Corfu; Friday, 19 July, 2019

I had an early breakfast, during which I checked my baggage claim and saw that it stated my bag was being loaded onto the morning flight out to Corfu so it should be at the airport by 14:00, and delivered to my hotel some time after that. Happy that it looked like my bags would make it I wandered down through the hotel grounds to the main road and waited there for the open-top hop-on-hop-off bus.

I did two full circuits of the tour taking in the main sites of Corfu Town and the Kanoni Peninsula that the hotel was located on before heading back into the city centre. I had a wander through the old town, up through narrow lanes surrounded by small shops and cafes, heading up to the New Venetian Fortress, located high above the old town protecting the city. However, on getting there I found that the fortress was all locked up with a sign saying it was closed indefinitely due to staff shortages, so instead I started to wander back down through the old town and found a very nice looking taverna to stop at for an early lunch.

It turned out to be a very nice and very cheap taverna and by the time I left I was feeling rather full, so I headed back through the old town and down to the Old Fortress. This is located on two small hills, just on the coast of Corfu Town. I headed over the short bridge to the main complex and then spent a long time wandering around the site. Parts of the complex date from the early Venetian period, but large parts were reused by the British when they had control over the islands before they were merged into modern Greece. Consequently, there is a strange mix of buildings inside the fortress, though the importance of those two hills is not wasted once you’ve slogged up them to the stunning views from the top of the land facing one.

I slowly made my way back down deciding it would probably be wise to stop at the small café halfway down. I’d taken a litre and a half of water with me, on top of the litre of water I’d had at lunch, but by the time I was descending all that was gone, and I was starting to feel quite thirsty again. The café was a welcome pit stop and I had a nice slow cold drink before heading down to the ground level of the fortress for a quick look around the chapel of St George. This looks like an Ancient Greek Temple but was originally built by the British as an Anglican church, before being converted to Greek Orthodox after control of the islands passed to the Greek nation. Inside it’s a strange mix of High Anglican and Greek Orthodox.

From the chapel I wandered back out of the fortress and was just in time to pick up the tour bus as it was coming past about to start its last journey of the night so I was able to hop on that and catch it back round to the hotel. On arriving back at the hotel, I checked to see if my bag had arrived, as the BA website was saying it had made it to Corfu, but there was no sign of it at the hotel.

I made it back to my room only about 30 minutes before dinner started so I freshened up and then headed down.

After dinner I decided that as most other people would have headed back to the hotel for a later dinner it might be quite quiet down on the beach so I changed into swimming shorts (my second new pair in a couple of days – the pair I’d brought from Amazon a week earlier still being in my luggage somewhere on Corfu) and headed down to the private beach. When I’d looked out earlier every sun lounger had been taken and both the beach and the sea had been very busy. By now there were just a handful of people on the beach and a couple of people in swimming, so I headed into the water. I was a bit surprised at how cold the water was – I’d been expecting the Ionian Sea in late July to be a bit warmer, but it was still comfortable enough to walk into without losing sensation in my extremities or my breath.

I spent a good 90 minutes or so swimming, floating, paddling and watching the last light of the day start to die in the sky. Just before it started to get too dark, and with the last people starting to head back from the beach, I headed in (deciding that being the only person out there probably isn’t a good idea if I suddenly got into trouble) and up to my room to shower and then turn in for an early night.

I was just about to turn the light out when there was a knock on my door. I quickly wrapped myself in the damp towel and opened the door to be greeted by one of the hotel bellhops with, at last, my luggage. It had finally made it, over 30 hours after I’d arrived, but at least I had it back – and not a moment too soon as it had the battery charger for my camera batteries in it and I was on the last of the juice in the spare battery. I did a brief check to make sure everything was there, put the batteries on to charge and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Corfu; Saturday, 20 July, 2019

Given I had all my new clothes, that would last for the whole trip, I’d decided not to unpack and instead continued to live out of the M&S bag – why wear only clean clothes when you can wear new clothes! I headed down to a later breakfast that the previous morning and then, after a quick post breakfast freshen up, headed down to the bus stop to pick up the regular city bus into town.

My first stop of the morning was the St Michaels and St Georges Palace. This had been built by the British to act as their main administrative building whilst they were in charge of the United States of the Ionian Islands. Today it houses a very interesting museum focusing on Asian Art with lots of displays on Chinese and Japanese art and artefacts, as well as collections from other parts of Asia.

From there I wandered slightly around the headland and visited the Byzantine Museum of Antivouniotissa. This museum dedicated to Byzantine art is located in an old church and was very impressive – with lots of examples of church icons and religious paintings. From the museum it was a short walk down to some restaurants situated on the old Venetian City walls overlooking the sea and across to Vido island. I had a very pleasant long and filling lunch before heading on down the road to the harbour.

Vido island is located in the mouth of the harbour and has played a key strategic part in the history of the islands, though today it’s mostly known for it’s beaches. I made it down to the harbour in time to catch the hourly ferry across to Vido and after the 5 minute crossing I headed out along the path that led along the coast of the island.

Along with the beaches, the island is also known as a place where thousands of Serbian soldiers were treated during WWI. Many of them died on the island from their injuries or disease and in a secluded woodland near the South East corner of the island is a mausoleum to the memory of these soldiers. Having taken in the mausoleum I continue on my wander around the island, which – apart from the beaches – was mostly deserted. I timed my walk just about right, arriving back at the harbour just as the boat was pulling in ready to take us back over to Corfu.

Back on the mainland I wandered through the Old Town and down to the Archaeological Museum. This is another excellent museum housing a number of artefacts from the history of the island, including their star exhibit parts of the west pediment of the temple of Artemis, which was discovered close to where the modern day airport is and is one of the oldest examples of a stone pediment in Ancient Greece.

Having spent quite a long time wandering around the museum I headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back down to Kanoni and stopped off at a bar at the very southern end of the peninsular to take in both the views across the lagoon and sea, but also the very impressive view of being at eye level with jets as they come into land on the airport runway, the start of which was located immediately below the bar.

After my drink I headed down the hill to the harbour and from there picked up one of the small boats that heads out to the small mouse island, located a couple of hundred yards off of the peninsular. The island houses another small monastery and provides excellent views of the peninsular itself. I spent a good 40 minutes or so wandering around the island and taking in the monastery before it was time to catch the ferry back to Kanoni.

Back in the harbour I wandered round to the hotels beach and used the funicular to go back up the cliff the easy way. After quickly freshening up I headed down for dinner. Once again after dinner I changed into my swimming stuff and spent another hour or so in the sea before heading back to my room, showering and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Corfu; Sunday, 21 July, 2019

I had an excellent night sleep – the combination of a swim and hot shower immediately before bed clearly had relaxed my quite a bit – so I was quite late down to breakfast, arriving with only about 30 minutes left of service and then having to quickly head back to my room to pack so that I could check out on time.

After checking out I wandered down the peninsular road towards the palace of Mon Repos. The palace was built on a headland as the summer residence of the British Governor General and served this purpose for a number of decades. Following the end of British rule it still continues to be an important building and it was even the place where Philip Mountbatten, now the Duke of Edinburgh, was born.

The palace itself has been turned into a museum, telling both the story of the palace and some of the archaeology and development of the island. This includes a number of artefacts that have been found at the two ancient temples that have been discovered in the palace grounds.

Having taken in the museum I then went for a long wander through the palace grounds taking in the two temples before heading back to the street and picking up the bus into town.

I stopped for a late lunch in a very nice café in the very centre of the town and spent quite a bit of time just watching the world go by, before heading back through the Old Town to the bus stop and picking up the bus back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel I picked up my luggage from the baggage room and then waited the 10 minutes or so before my transfer back to the airport arrived.

I checked my bag in at the airport and crossed my fingers that it would actually make it back this time.

A couple of hours later, and about halfway through the delivery of bags mine came round on the belt at Heathrow airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
35ºC/95ºF

Herm; Thursday, 01 August, 2019

Given the time of the flight I’d booked lounge access for myself and had headed down to the airport over my lunchtime so that I could work from the lounge for the afternoon. I’d just logged off at the end of the day and was settling down with a bite to eat when the dreaded announcement came across the PA – would passengers travelling on the GR609 flight to Guernsey please come to the airline information desk.

I’d been checking during the day and I’d seen that Aurigny had had some problems with their Jet. It had got stuck in Gatwick for over two hours earlier in the day due to a fault that had eventually been fixed, but I didn’t think that was going to be an issue for me as I’d booked on the turboprop flight that was quite a bit cheaper as it takes nearly twice as long.

It turns out that the flights were in such a mess that, rather than having two flights leave Gatwick within minutes of each other, they would just cancel the turbo-prop flight and redistribute the passengers over the 16:25 flight that was now leaving around 18:15 and the 19:00 flight which had been delayed to 21:00, and that’s why they needed the turboprop passengers back at the airline desk.

Thankfully, I’d only booked a hand luggage ticket and with no hold luggage, and having been through so early, I was the right side of the cut-off line for passengers to be transferred onto the earlier flight. It did mean that I had to go through the whole rigmarole of being decontrolled – through immigration, baggage reclaim, the red channel at customs, and back out to the checkin desks to pick up a new boarding card, before repeating the whole security screening process again to get back to the lounge. In total it took nearly 90 minutes from the initial PA to making it back into the lounge, and then a few minutes later down to the gate.

We boarded and the flight eventually departed 25 minutes after my original departure time, but a good 2 hours late for most of the passengers. However, due to the fact I’d been transferred onto the jet it meant the total flight time was a little over 30 minutes rather than the 70 or so that the turboprop does the flight in, so bizarrely – despite all the delays and messing around – I actually arrived in Guernsey 5 minutes ahead of when I should have done.

Seated in row 1 and with just hand luggage I was one of the first off of the plane and just 90 seconds after stepping off of the plane I was loading my luggage into the boot of a taxi and heading my way over to my hotel for the night.

I checked into the hotel, dropped my bag off, and then headed into the hotel restaurant for dinner.

I’d booked the hotel entirely at random on hotels.com as it was close to the airport and the room was quite cheap, it turned out that I’d also managed to book a hotel with a first class restaurant. Dinner was amazing with delicious food and outstanding service.

After a very pleasant dinner I wandered over to the bar to grab a final drink for the evening and was able to sit out on their patio, overlooking their pool, in the dying evening light with a pint of a local beer and all the stress of the journey over faded away.

As the last of the light died away I headed back to my room and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Herm; Friday, 02 August, 2019

I got up relatively early as I wanted to make a late morning sailing over to Herm, but mostly as I wanted to leave some time for breakfast as I was expecting it to be good, considering how good dinner had been, and I wasn’t disappointed. Once again the food and service were excellent.

After breakfast I headed back to my room, packed my bag, checked out and walked round the corner to the bus stop to pick up the bus down into St Peter Port and the harbour. I arrive with about 30 minutes to spare before the departure of the next boat to Herm so I was able to book my ticket (discounted as I had a reservation for the hotel) and head over to an ATM to pick up some cash, just in case anywhere on Herm didn’t like plastic. I then headed down to the boat and boarded.

It was a lovely day and clearly lots of people were making the daytrip to Herm, so the boat was already full a good 10 minutes before it was due to depart. The boat company had obviously realised this would happen and 5 minutes before we were due to depart we left the quayside to make way for the relief boat which was coming in to pick up the rest of the passengers.

A pleasant 20 minute sail across the sea we landed at the Rosaire steps – the low tide landing point – and I walked the couple of hundred yards down to the hotel. At this point it was too early to check-in, but I was able to drop off my bag (after having fished my camera out of it) and then head out onto the island to explore.

The first part of the explore wasn’t actually that long as I headed down to the Mermaid Tavern to stop for a quick lunch and to pick up some water from the kiosk as I though I’d probably need it.

Lunch completed I headed off to start a slow wander around the island. I headed north along the main island path and followed it past Fisherman’s beach before I reached the small island Cemetery and the slope down onto Bears Beach. As it was a very low tide the water had retreated so far that from here I was able to continue on walking around the whole of the top of the island at beach level, with the sea itself in places still several hundred yards further out.

I walked along the soft sands of Bears and Mouisonniere beaches before reaching Alderney point in the far North East of the island. At this point Mouisonniere beach turns into Shell beach, so named as the beach is made up of millions of tiny shell fragments, which makes it a slightly less comfortable walk than the other beaches. I stopped off at the small kiosk at shell beach for an ice cream and to finish my water before heading back the quick way across the common to the hotel as it was now time to check-in.

I grabbed my bag from the luggage room and walked the short distance from the hotel to my room which was actually in one of the converted cottages – conveniently this one was located next to the Mermaid Tavern and the main island shop – which as all the restaurants and pubs had bookings for the night turned out to be useful to be able to purchase some stuff to make my own picnic dinner later.

Having completed my self catering dinner I looked out to see that the tide was now close to high tide, so I changed into my swimming stuff and headed down to the Fisherman’s beach, a couple of hundred yards from my room, for an evening swim. If I though the water in Corfu a couple of weeks earlier had been colder than I was expecting the water off of Herm in early August was every bit as cold as I was expecting – that kind of cold that has you gasping for breath. After a couple of minutes wading out I either acclimatised to the water temperature, or I just lost all feeling in my body. I spent about 30 minutes having a swim before heading back to my room to grab my camera and go for a walk around the centre of the island at sunset.

I headed up the main road that climbs steeply up the side of the island to the old manor and church at the very centre of the island, and on one of the highest points, before descending back down to Belvoir Bay on the opposite side of the island. I’d stayed in my swim wear so I was able to have a little paddle at Belvoir Bay before walking round to Shell Beach and have a little paddle there as well – though deciding not to actually go swimming as there was nobody else around – great for the views, not so good if I’d gotten into trouble. From Shell Beach I headed back over the common to my room, watching the end of the sunset as it disappeared behind Guernsey on the horizon.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Herm; Saturday, 03 August, 2019

I had a bit of lie in, though I couldn’t stay in that late given the hotel only served breakfast until 10:30. After a not particularly great breakfast I headed back to my room and picked up a towel, some sunscreen and my tablet.

I’d decided that today was mostly going to be about relaxing and as the weather was set fair I headed down to the very quiet Mouisonniere beach and spent quit a bit of the day sat in some shade reading.

Eventually the battery in my tablet got to a critical stage, and by now the vast majority of the day trippers were already heading back to Guernsey, so I headed back to my room to charge my tablet. I then picked up my camera and headed out to finish off my walk around the island by taking the cliff-top walk around the southern half of Herm.

It was an absolutely beautiful early evening and the light was close to perfect for taking pictures, which meant that rather than the 60 minutes or so it should have taken me to walk from the harbour round to Shell Beach it actually ended up taking me nearly 2 hours.

By this point it was getting close to the time I had a table reserved in the Ship Inn so I decided to take a short cut across the common back to my room, rather than continue exploring across the common.

I quickly dropped my camera off in my room and then headed over to the pub for a dinner which was considerably better than the breakfast had been before returning to my room and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Herm; Sunday, 04 August, 2019

Whilst breakfast may have been served until 10:30 you had to check out of your rooms by 10:00, which meant I had to be up earlier today so that I could have breakfast, which was again a disappointing affair, pack my bag and head back to the hotel reception to check out and leave my bag in the luggage room, tagged for the 14:35 ferry back to Guernsey.

After checkout I headed north again this time to explore across the Common. This is the large area of land that occupies the northern third or so of the island, the edge of the common are the dunes that form the backdrop to Bear, Mouisonniere and Shell beaches but once your more than a few meters back from the edge it stops resembling dune and looks more like down-land.

The area is also home to a large number of Dolmen. Nobody is certain how many dolmens there are on the island, as the quarry that operated on the island in the Victorian era used the stones that formed the dolmen as a convenient source of pre-quarried granite when they needed to quickly fulfil an order. It means that today most of the dolmen are either missing pieces or have been badly disturbed, if not completely removed, but you can still get the idea of how the area may have looked.

I spent a long time wandering around the common before finally making my way back to the Shell Beach Café were I stopped for a quick bite to eat.

By now it was heading towards the time of my ferry, so I walked back round the common and past the hotel to the Rosaire steps as it was almost the peak low tide. Whilst I was waiting for the ferry to arrive the only tractor on the island pulled up with the luggage from the hotel and I was glad to see that my bag was on there.

After a quick off-load of incoming passengers, we boarded and made our way back to St Peter Port. In the end there turned out to be a lot of luggage on this ferry and by the time they got it all unloaded they were rushing to make the turn around for the next departure, so there was quite a bit of chaos on the quayside, but I did eventually manage to get my bag.

I walked the half mile or so from the low tide boarding point through the harbour and round to the centre of town and the bus stop, arriving just in time to catch a bus heading to the airport.

A quick ride out to the airport and I was able to go straight through security and into the departures lounge as I’d already checked in online and only had my hand luggage.

This time there were no problems or delays and we boarded early, with the plane pushing back a good five minutes early and thanks to a strong tailwind making it back into Gatwick 15 minutes ahead of schedule, followed by my quickest every journey through Gatwick – I don’t remember having only hand luggage before on a Gatwick flight – making a train a good 30 minutes ahead of where I’d been expecting to be.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Montreal; Thursday, 22 August, 2019

I had a half days leave booked, so as soon as the clock hit 1pm I shut down my laptop, grabbed my bags and headed for the airport. I had a smooth journey through the airport and onto the plane and then a smooth and comfortable flight across the Atlantic.

We landed pretty much on time, but there was a bit of a delay as we had to wait for a stand to become available. However, once we were attached to the airport it was a quick disembarkation and a very quick journey through the airport with Canadian Immigration being, once again, a very quick and seamless process.

I had to wait about 20 minutes for my bag to finally come round, but then I was out of the airport, less than an hour after landing, and onto the bus into town.

By the time the bus made it to the stop near the hotel it was already gone 10pm, though my body knew full well it was actually 3am back in London and that I’d been up for over 20 hours. So after a quick check-in I headed up to my room on the 13th floor and after a quick unpack turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Montreal; Friday, 23 August, 2019

Probably because I’d been so tired, I had a good night’s sleep and slept through until just after 8am Canadian time. Of course, that meant after I’d gotten showered and dressed, I was heading towards the end of breakfast by the time I made it down to the restaurant. I had a quick breakfast and then headed out into town. My first stop of the morning was just around the corner in Dorchester Square and the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city.

I did two full loops of the city, back to Dorchester Square to take in most of the key sights and then continued on a couple of stops into the Old Town of Montreal to find somewhere for a very late lunch before re-joining the tour to take it back to the hotel.

I had a bit of a freshen up in the hotel before taking the lift down from the hotel into the RÉSO, the underground city that joins much of central Montreal together so that in the winter months you don’t have to exit into the biting cold and snow of the city’s streets.

I spent some time wandering around, most of it lost, before finally emerging back above ground quite a long way away from where I’d entered the system. Thankfully it was also, as intended, close to many of the city’s restaurants so I was able to find somewhere to get dinner before descending back into the labyrinth and this time making it back to the hotel without getting too badly lost.

From the hotel I headed back to Dorchester Square to join the evening sightseeing tour, which operates hourly during the height of summer from 7pm until 10pm running on a different route from it’s daytime counterpart and taking in some of the more interesting vistas of the city, particularly at night.

I did the full tour, which lasted about an hour and three quarters, and by the time I got back to the hotel it was fast approaching 11pm so I headed back up to my room and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Montreal; Saturday, 24 August, 2019

I had another good nights sleep and a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel and pickup up the bus up to the city’s mountain (albeit its only a hill) – Mont Royal. I had a long wander around the top, taking in the stunning observation point that looks directly over the Downtown area of the city as well as the large illuminated cross that sits at the highest point of the hill. I then continued on my walk down to the observation point that looks over the Eastern end of the city and also has the second of the two Mont Royal stops for the sightseeing bus.

I caught the bus back round to Old Montreal and went for a wander through the streets of the old city. I had originally intended on visiting the Notre-Dame Basilica, but as it was a Saturday afternoon it was closed to visitors for a wedding, so instead I continued on wandering through the Old Town towards the Town Hall before stopping for a leisurely lunch.

After lunch I headed down to the old harbour and was able to join one of the afternoon cruises on the river operated by the Bateau-Mouche. The cruise was very interesting with a really good guide giving out lots of information about the history of the city, and the rivers development with the various canals and seaways that have been built to link the Great Lakes, via Montreal and Quebec City to the Atlantic.

Back in the harbour I had a bit more of a wander around the old town before heading over to the Metro station and catching the subway back to my hotel to freshen up for dinner.

After dinner I headed back out to the Metro and over to St Helens Island. The island was in part created by the Metro as the spoil from the building of the underground was used to join up a number of small islets and islands into the much larger island that exists today, and as if to complete the loop, the island itself is connected to the metro on the short yellow line that runs under the river.

I had a long wander around the park, being able to take in the stunning views across the river to Downtown Montreal at night, with the lights of the city twinkling on the rapid waters of the river. Sadly, I just missed the boat back across to Downtown, so rather than hanging around for another hour I walked back to the metro station and caught the metro back to hotel and my bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Montreal; Sunday, 25 August, 2019

I had a bit more of an interrupted nights sleep, waking several times in the middle of the night, and consequently ended up sleeping in longer than I had intended to. It meat that by the time I got down to breakfast they were trying to hurry people through so that they could get set up for Brunch a little later.

After breakfast I headed over to the Metro and caught it back over to St Helens Island and went for a wander around where I’d been the previous evening, I then headed inland to the Fort that had been built on the island to protect Montreal from invasion by the United States. Today it houses the Stewart Museum which tells the history of Montreal from the original First Nations tribes through to the arrival of the French and then the English take-over of Canada. There’s also a small part on the role the city played in the American war of independence.

From the museum I wandered over to the other side of the island to the Biosphere. This was built for the 1967 Worlds Fair, and at the time housed the American pavilion. It was designed by the man behind the Epcot centre in Florida and looks very similar with the metal dome covering the whole site. Today the museum inside is dedicated to the environment and doesn’t pull it’s punches about the damage that’s being done to both the Canadian environment and weather as well as the global environment by climate change.

After looking round the museum I headed back into the centre of Montreal for a very late lunch and then went for a bit of a wander through the Old Town before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

A little later I headed back over to the Old Town to grab some dinner in one of the restaurants on the main square before returning back to my hotel and attempting to get a better nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Montreal; Monday, 26 August, 2019

Clearly the time zone differences had started to catch up with me as I had another disturbed nights sleep, but at least this time I managed to make it down to breakfast in a reasonable time. After breakfast I headed back up to my room, packed and checked out.

After leaving my luggage at the hotel I headed over to the neighbouring cathedral - Marie-Reine-du-Monde (Mary, Queen of the World) – a suitably modest title for a cathedral. This large Catholic cathedral had been built by the French church in the heart of the predominantly Protestant English part of the city mostly because they could. Modelled on St Peters Basilica in Rome it is a very large church, although inside there isn’t much to see.

The same can’t be said for my next stop which was the Notre-Dame Basilica in the Old Town. This one is, naturally, modelled on the Parisian namesake on the outside, but inside its clear that no expense was spared on the gold, ornamentation and general bling. Of an evening there are lightshows that take place inside the cathedral and I could see why as it’s a pretty incredible assault on the senses.

From the Cathedral I walked down the hill to the oldest part of the city. Here where the French first set up Montreal is the Pointe-à-Callière museum. The museum is built over parts of the ruins of Old Montreal and tells the story of the founding and development of the city. The museum stretches down underneath the main square and you access several different buildings from their basements, which means there is a lot to explore in the museum.

By the time I’d finished looking round the museum it was heading towards 4pm so I was just in time to make one of the other river cruise companies tours on the St Lawrence. This was on a much larger ship than the previous tour, so consequently didn’t have quite the same effect when the boat moved into the rapid currents of the St Lawrence river, but it was still an interesting tour showing off many of the key riverside sights of the city.

Back at the dock I headed back into the Old Town and over to the metro station to pick up the train back to the hotel, where I collected my bags and picked up the bus out to the airport.

I thought I might have been leaving myself too much time, but I was quite glad I did as the bus crawled the last few miles into the terminal building, taking well over an hour to make the journey – and a good 20 minutes to go the final mile.

I checked in and headed through to departures to wait for my flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Caen; Friday, 30 August, 2019

After finishing work I headed over to the station and caught the train up into London. I managed to time it perfectly, arriving on the concourse at Liverpool Street at the same moment the next train to Southend Airport got a platform so was at the head of the surge of people heading for the train.

A comfortable hour long journey later I arrived at Southend Airport station and walked the quarter mile or so down to my hotel for the night and checked in.

Having dropped off my stuff in the room I headed up to the restaurant on the top floor for a late dinner. The restaurant has excellent view over the neighbouring airport building, apron and runway and I was able to watch the airport and the sunset whilst having a very nice meal.

Dinner completed I headed back down to my room and after watching a bit of telly turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Caen; Saturday, 31 August, 2019

I had a nice lie-in and a late breakfast before checking out of the hotel and wandering over to the airport. I’d already checked in online and only had hand luggage and with a deserted security screening area it took little more than 5 minutes to get from the entrance of the hotel to the departures lounge, certainly an advantage of a smaller airport.

The flight was called nice and early, and was barely half full – though with a small plane this did mean they put most passengers together in the centre rows to keep the plane balanced. We pushed back off of stand a few minutes early and were able to queue jump the Newquay flight that was supposed to leave before us. The flight over the channel was generally smooth, and as it was so short and on a turboprop plane was quite low so there were great views of Essex, Kent the Channel Islands and then Normandy as we came into land. We landed a good 10 minutes early, and with only hand luggage and another tiny airport I was waiting at the bus stop for the bus into town barely 90 seconds after leaving my seat on the plane.

I caught the bus into town and headed over to the hotel to check-in, drop off my bag, and then headed back out into town. My first stop of the afternoon was to wander over to the Hôtel de ville. Whilst this is the modern day town hall, in it’s previous life it was the Men’s Abbey, built originally by William, Duke of Normandy before he conquered England at the Battle of Hastings. As it was a Saturday afternoon in late August there were a vast number of wedding parties around the Town Hall, and the church of the abbey, that is still a functioning church, was closed to visitors for more nuptials.

Just opposite the town hall is the Old St Stephen’s Church. This church fell out of use in the 19th century and would probably eventually just have been torn down if it hadn’t received significant damage during the German retreat from Normandy following the D-Day landings, consequently the ruins have been preserved in part as a memorial to the damage that was inflicted on Caen – it being in the front line of the D-Day assault.

From there I wandered through the centre of town stopping off at the impressive St Peters Church, with its restored spire (more war damage) and the Leroy tower – one of the few remaining parts of the city’s old fortifications, before arriving at the Women’s Abbey, on the opposite side of town from the Men’s. Again this was founded by William and is now home to the administration for the Normandy region – though you can wander round the cloister of the old abbey building and, as all the weddings had finished for the day, wander into the attached church which houses the tomb of Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror.

After looking round the Women’s abbey I headed back towards the centre of town and to the largest of the sites in Caen – the impressive castle. Another building project of William today only a fraction of the original Norman keep remains, but the fortifications of the outer walls have been updated and preserved over the centuries and form an almost complete loop around the site.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering round the castle, taking in the views from the different ramparts, as well as the temporary exhibition in the Exchequers hall. Though by the time I got there it was close to the closing time of the buildings – though the actual grounds remain open until much later in the evening.

Having taken in as much of the castle as I could for the day I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out for a bit more of a wander around the old town and a hunt for somewhere to have dinner, eventually finding an OK restaurant behind St Peters Church.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Caen; Sunday, 01 September, 2019

I had an OK breakfast and then, after arranging a late checkout, headed out of the hotel to continue exploring the city. As it was a Sunday there was more chance that the Men’s Abbey might have been open for visitors, which turned out to be correct, though I had to wait about 10 minutes for the morning service to finish before being able to join the significant number of tourists looking around. The church is spectacular on the inside with soaring celinings and perhaps most importantly of all the grave of Duke William of Normandy, William the Conqueror, located infront of the main altar.

I managed to time leaving the abbey perfectly and was able to catch a bus back round to the centre of town and change straight onto a tram up to the top of the castle, thus having to avoid walking up the slopes into the main gate.

I continued my wander from the previous evening through the castle. The castle is home to two museums, the Musée de Normandie looking at the archaeology and history of the region , and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Fine arts gallery. I only had about an hour left before I needed to head back to the hotel and start my journey home so I wasn’t quite certain which one I should visit – I checked in the central ticket office for the castle and they said that both were free as it was the first Sunday of the month, so as I wasn’t spending any money I decided to have a quick look around both.

I just about managed to squeeze both museums into the time I had and then headed back to the hotel to finish off packing my bag, checkout and then head over to the airport.

Normally I’d be a bit worried that I was sat at the bus stop in the centre of town just 70 minutes before my flight was due to depart, but with the combination of a hand baggage only flight and a tiny airport I didn’t think this would be a problem, and it turned out not to be. If it wasn’t for the infrequency of the buses on a Sunday I could probably have left it even later as I was still sat around for about 20 minutes in the landside part of the airport before they opened security screening for the London flight.

The flight back to London was quick and we ended up arriving back into Southend about 15 minutes early, which meant there was more than enough time to make the connection for the rail replacement bus into Southend itself – engineering works meaning there were no train back to London from the airport. As the two lines from Southend are operated by two different companies they are singularly unhelpful in their co-operation, so the bus only went to the Greater Anglia station at Southend Victoria, it was then a 10 minute walk across Southend to Southend Central to pick up the C2C train back into London to finish my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ålesund; Thursday, 05 September, 2019

After the previous weeks experience of my first time using London Southend, this week I had my first departure from the new Heathrow Terminal 2, though only because of a last minute switch from BA to SAS due to the British Airways strikes – which head led to my return leg being cancelled so I’d had to book with SAS, only for BA to then reinstate the flight a day later.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and down to the furthest possible gate on the satellite terminal before a smooth flight across to Oslo.

As it was an SAS flight it had been given a gate much closer to immigration than the BA flights normally get, so I was through immigration within a couple of minutes of leaving the aircraft, and only about 10 minutes later I was in baggage reclaim awaiting my bag – and maliciously checking FlightAware to see that the original BA flight I was booked on was about 15 minutes late and was only just landing.

My bag came round quickly and I was soon through customs and out into the chill of a Norwegian night to pick up the shuttle bus out to my hotel. The shuttle buses were only every 30 minutes, but thankfully I’d made it through with 10 minutes to spare – even with the best journey through the airport I would have missed it if I’d been on the BA flight.

A 15 minute shuttle ride later, during which I was able to checkin to my room and download the keycard to my phone, I arrived at the hotel and was able to go straight to my room without even needing to interact with another human, and very soon was fast asleep in my very comfy Norwegian bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Ålesund; Friday, 06 September, 2019

As my flight wasn’t until lunchtime I was able to have a bit of lie in and a late breakfast before heading down to catch the shuttle bus back to the airport to checkin for my flight to Ålesund.

Despite it being a slight chaotic and last-minute boarding the flight pushed back from the gate on time and was very quickly at the end of the runway. The flight was pretty smooth for most of the journey, although for the last 10 minutes we descended a bit bumpily through the rain clouds down to Ålesund, arriving into a downpour that looked like it had been going on for some time.

Ålesund is a small airport without air bridges, so we all got quite a bit wet on the short walk from the plane to the terminal building. A couple of minutes later the baggage belt started up and my bag was the second one off so I was quickly through the airport and out onto the shuttle bus into town.

From bus stop in town it was only a short walk to the hotel, which I was glad off as the rain had, if anything, got heavier during the short ride in from the airport. I made it to the hotel, checked in and headed up to my room to dry off and hope that the rain would ease off.

In the end the train didn’t really ease that much at all during the day or evening. There were a few patches when it decreased to a light drizzle for about 10 minutes before picking up intensity again. I took the opportunity of one of those patches to pop out for a wander around the nearby harbour area to take a few photos and another lull to pop out and grab a quick dinner.

Given the poor weather I ended up having an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Ålesund; Saturday, 07 September, 2019

I woke up to almost clear blue skies, so after a good breakfast I headed into town to pick up the bus out to the aquarium on the edge of town.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the Aquarium before catching the bus back into town, getting off at the stop by the Art Nouveau museum.

I had a look around the museum along with the KUBE art gallery which is linked to the museum by an underground tunnel.

From the museums I went for a bit of a wander through the streets on this side of the Ålesundet – the small channel that separates the two islands that form the city, and allows a quick cut through between the fjords. I headed down into the harbour area before ending up near the harbour wall and the Fishing museum.

I had a quick look round the fishing museum and then walked out along the harbour wall to the small lighthouse at the end, from where there were excellent views of the city and Mount Aksla in the background.

I wandered back through the city centre and then headed up the steep streets to the Museum Park, located on a ridge right above the centre of the city. The park is also home to the Aalesunds Museum, but it was just approaching its closing time when I got there, so there wasn’t time to look around that today, instead I spent quite a bit of time just taking in the views from the sun trap that the museum park is in the late afternoon.

Eventually I headed back down hill to my hotel to freshen up before heading out to grab a quick dinner. I headed back to the hotel in time to watch the evening Hurtigruten departure, which was at the same time as a really stunning sunset, so I quickly popped out of the hotel down to the harbour to take in the sunset.

With the light rapidly fading, along with the warmth of the day, I headed back to the hotel to have a drink in the bar and then an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Ålesund; Sunday, 08 September, 2019

I’d managed to arrange a late checkout so I wasn’t having to rush to get things done. After breakfast I partially packed my bag and then headed out into town to explore the park and the mountain. The highest point in the city is Mount Aksla – not really a mountain, but a pretty high rocky outcrop that dominates the city centre. Carved out of the side of the rock is a staircase that takes you from the City Park up to the viewing platform and café/restaurant located at the top.

I headed over to the park to have a look round there before starting my ascent up the side of the hill. Its quite a strenuous climb, though there are frequent platforms as the staircase zig-zags its way up the hill with a copious supply of benches. In the end, with several photostops it took about 40 minutes to make the ascent up, though I was passed by the same runner about 4 times as she ascended and descended the mountain.

By the time I reached the top I was in need of a refreshing drink, so I paid the overinflated prices of the café at the top for a bottle of soda, though it also meant I got free entry to the viewing platform located on the roof of the café, which was probably work half the markup on the drink.

The views from the top, particularly on a day with clear skies – looking down onto the Fjords – are spectacular, and well worth the effort of getting up here. I spent about 30 minutes taking in the views before it was time to make my descent back down the mountain. That was a much quicker exercise, though even then it still took about 15 minutes to get to the bottom, partly due to the number of people coming up.

From the park I walked over to the Aalesunds Museum and had a quick look around that, though by now I was conscious that I only had limited time left before I needed to checkout of the hotel. After taking in the key highlights of the museum I headed back down into town and over to the hotel, taking advantage of still having the room, to change into a clean T-shirt and jeans that hadn’t stomped up the side of a mountain so that I was slightly fresher for my journey home.

I then checked out of the hotel, grabbed a cab and headed over to the airport. I’d intentionally headed over early as my amended booking, thanks to the BA strike, now meant I was booked on SAS all the way through to London and wanted to make sure that my bags could go straight through without needing to reclaim them in Oslo, thankfully on checking in my through booking was shown and the self-service machine printed my boarding card and baggage tag all the way through to Heathrow, so in the end I had rather more time that I needed to hang around in the departures lounge, not helped by the inbound flight from Olso being delayed by nearly 45 minutes due to a technical problem at Oslo.

The flight was inevitably late leaving Ålesund, not helped by the paperwork taking a long time to print at the gate, but given I had nearly 3 hours to hang around at Oslo Airport I wasn’t that worried. We eventually left 35 minutes late and made a bit of that time up on the way to Oslo so I still had quite a bit of time to wait around there before my final flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Hamburg; Friday, 20 September, 2019

Throughout the afternoon I’d had a series of texts from easyJet telling me that my flight was going to be delayed and checking online showed that this delay was increasing as each hour went by.

It did mean, though, that I didn’t need to rush for a train down to Gatwick as my 90 minutes between finishing work and departure slowly extended out to a full three hours. I caught a train later than I’d originally planned, and despite my best efforts still ended up with nearly 2 hours to spare at Gatwick before the flight finally was ready to depart.

An uneventful flight later we landed in Hamburg, just as the S-Bahn was starting to become less frequent. I had 5 minutes to walk to the station and get a ticket, otherwise I’d have a 30 minute, rather than 10-minute wait. In the end I decided it was worth the extra to just walk the five yards or so to the taxi rank outside the terminal and catch a cab direct to my hotel.

In the end I arrived at my hotel at the same time as I would have been catching the train from the airport, with a 40-minute journey to complete. I checked in and headed up to my room to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Hamburg; Saturday, 21 September, 2019

I had a bit of a lie-in and a late-ish breakfast before heading out of the hotel and heading over to Landungsbrücken to pick up one of the open-top bus tours around the city.

I did a couple of circuits taking in all of the main sites before stopping off to have a late lunch in the centre of town and a bit of a wander.

I eventually ended up at the Rathaus, near the landing stage for the lake and canal cruises, so was able to check where the evening cruise I’d pre-booked would be leaving from.

I then re-joined the open-top tour to do one more circuit back round to the Haputbahnhof where I found somewhere to grab a quick dinner.

After dinner I headed back over to the landing stages at Jungfernstieg to pick up my evening cruise. Originally when I’d booked this a couple of days before hand it was supposed to be a tour up the Alster lake and into some of the canals to the North of the city centre, but for various reasons – which were only explained in German – it wasn’t possible to run the tour in that direction this evening, so instead we’d have a tour of the historic warehouse district canals and down into the Elbe River.

This was a bit disappointing as I’d booked pretty much the same tour for the following afternoon, but the offer of free drinks for everyone helped lighten the mood – and in the end it turned out to be an excellent tour. It also meant I knew exactly where the best places to be for photos on the following days tour would be.

The tour eventually brought us back to Jungfernstieg after about 2 hours from where I had a little wander through the city centre before heading back to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Hamburg; Sunday, 22 September, 2019

I had intended on getting up earlier than I eventually did – but the bed turned out to be very comfortable and I ended up sleeping through my alarm, though thankfully I woke up with enough time to still grab breakfast.

I packed my stuff and checked out of the hotel and then walked over the canal into the warehouse district to have a wander along some of the canals and long rows of old warehouses. I ended up at the Miniature Wunderland exhibition. I’d visited this when I’d first come to Hamburg 12 years previously, but at that time it was a much smaller attraction, mostly focused on being a model railway with a couple of small models of other things – such as Hamburg airport. In the intervening decade the site has grown to now cover multiple floors of the warehouse building its in and expanded to cover lots more countries and lots more intricate moving displays. Unfortunately, on getting to the ticket office it turned out there was a 50-minute wait to get in – so instead I booked a ticket for later in the afternoon when it was due to be quieter.

With my ticket purchased for two hours in the future I instead headed back over the canal into the city and over to the Mahnmal St. Nikolai. This is the former St Nicholas church which was destroyed during the allied bombing raids of 1943. Again, this was a site that I’d visited back in 2007, but back then it was just the surviving tower of the church, which you could go up in a lift to a viewing platform at the base of the spire. The viewing platform is still there, and of course I headed up to take in the views over the city. However, since my last visit a new museum had been opened within the crypt of the former church which has been restored and houses an exhibition about the history of the church and the impact of the war on the city, as well as the story of the bombing that destroyed much of the city.

From the memorial and I headed over to the Rathausmarkt to grab some lunch before heading back towards Miniature Wunderland to have a look round that. I spent quite a lot of time in Miniature Wunderland – so long in fact that I suddenly realised I was at risk of missing the second canal cruise that I’d booked onto. Thankfully, as I was coming out of the museum there was a bus heading back over towards Jungfernstieg just pulling up at the stop so I was able to hop on that and head over to the landing stage to pick up my boat.

Despite it ending up being the same tour as the previous night it actually took a different route through the historic warehouses, so I was able to see much more of the area than I would normally have done. It also meant I was able to get several good photos from knowing where to look.

Originally I’d booked the tour as a bit of a risk as it only left me a little time to pick up my luggage and get over to the airport for my flight, but as the boat started to head back through the locks between the rivers Elbe and Alster my phone beeped with a text from easyJet to let me know that my homebound flight was going to be as heavily delayed as my outbound flight was.

Back at the landing stages I was able to make a more leisurely journey back to the hotel to collect my bags. Originally, I had planned to go the quickest route which would have been the U-Bahn a couple of stops to the Hauptbahnhof and then getting on one of the packed S-Bahns round to the airport.

However, with my flight now at least 80 minutes late I could get a seat on the U-Bahn from the hotel out to the edge of town and the penultimate stop on the S-Bahn to the airport so that, if the train was still packed, I’d only have to stand for a few minutes. This plan worked really well, using up a good 20 minutes more time than the direct route would have done and meaning I went the whole way with a seat.

At the airport I headed through security and down to the gate to grab a seat. Having made myself comfortable they then announced they were moving the gate. I decided not to bother moving until the plane actually arrived, which turned out to be the sensible idea as the moved the gate again about 45 minutes later.

We eventually boarded and pushed back nearly 80 minutes late, and then thanks to works on the runway at Gatwick lost yet more time so that by the time I finally landed and disembarked down the steps on a remote stand into the pouring rain, it was already gone midnight.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Sofia; Thursday, 10 October, 2019

I’d stayed overnight at a Premier Inn near Terminal 4, so that I didn’t have to get up in the complete middle of the night, although in the end I was still awake at 04:30. After a nice hot shower to wake up I headed out of the hotel and down to the bus stop to catch the bus over to Terminal 5. Clearly this was close to a major shift changeover at the airport as all the buses were absolutely packed, and there were several other hotel guests waiting at the stop with me, all with luggage.

Over the space of 20 minutes two buses came through so full that virtually nobody could get on. The third bus finally arrived nearly 30 minutes after I’d left the hotel and this one did have space. But it also had an exceptionally grumpy and rude bus driver who refused to take anyone with luggage shouting that we should pay for the hotel shuttle bus and that he was full up (despite their only being a handful of people standing on the lower deck). He eventually left after kicking off the one family that had tried to board.

At that point it was clear that this was going to be an expensive morning, so I pulled out my phone and flagged down a passing Uber to take me over to the airport. On the way we passed the last bus which had clearly emptied out at Terminal 4 as there was virtually nobody left on it. In the end we also overtook the 2nd bus, so I ended up at Terminal 5 about the time I was originally intending to. Thankfully, still early enough to have a very quick journey through the airport and then an uneventful flight over to Sofia.

The last time I’d checked in early at Heathrow it had been my trip to Corfu, which resulted in my luggage having a very different first day to the holiday from me, so I was naturally nervous about what awaited me on landing. Thankfully, it was an incredibly efficient airport with border guards who smiled and a baggage system that spat my bag out onto the belt less than 20 minutes after our plane had first hit the tarmac. I was straight through the rest of the airport and over to the metro station to catch the metro into town, where I changed onto the tram round to the hotel.

I checked in and freshened up a little before heading back out again. My first stop being just a short walk from the hotel at the very impressive Saint Aleksandar Nevski Cathedral. This gold domed cathedral is the primary cathedral of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and it shows with the attention to detail on the building and the impressive display of icons and frescos inside.

Having looked round the cathedral I walked the 40 yards or so across the road to another equally impressive church – St Sofia’s. What it lacks in bling compared to the Cathedral it makes up for in age, having been on the site since the 6th century. I spent some time looking around the inside of the church before I descended down into the crypt and the museum housed in there that looks at some of the ruins and tomb of the old city.

After finishing my tour of the crypt I headed back up to daylight and went for a wander through the heart of old Sofia. I reached the very centre of town where a couple of major roads intersect each other and to get any further you have to go down into a pedestrian underpass as the roads above are too dangerous to cross. This is, however, not like any other pedestrian underpass I’d been into before, as underneath the road are the large scale remains of the old Western Gate and parts of the city walls of Serdica, the Roman city that eventually became modern day Sofia.

Ruins contemplated, and possibly the longest I’ve ever spent in a pedestrian underpass, I re-emerged on the other side of the major traffic intersection and also onto the main North South street of the modern city – lined on both sides by a large number of restaurants, which reminded me that the last thing I’d had to eat had been some breakfast many hours earlier. As it was now 17:30 Bulgarian time I decided that was late enough to find somewhere to stop and grab an early dinner.

Dinner completed I wandered back on myself a bit up to the Rotunda church of St George and the further Roman ruins that surround that church. The church itself is the oldest standing still functioning building in the city, dating from the 4th century, though the archaeological remains surrounding it could be older – they are very impressive though with a fine example of a hypocaust and evidence of the former Roman Sewers.

With the light starting to fade I made may way back to the tram stop and caught the tram back to my hotel for a well deserved relax and an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Sofia; Friday, 11 October, 2019

I had intended on having a leisurely breakfast, but due to the number of people staying at the hotel, and the lack of tables in the breakfast area, I ended up having to wait about 15 minutes before being able to get a seat and then had to rush breakfast to make sure I could still get out in time for my first stop of the day, which was the open top bus tour of the city.

As there were only three tours a day I’d wanted to make the early one so that I could maximise my time in Sofia, so after rushing breakfast I headed out of the hotel and up to the back of the cathedral where the bus was already waiting to pick up passengers.

The tour lasted just under the hour and took in all of the main sites across the city, giving a good overview of the layout of Sofia as well as some ideas for other places that I wanted to visit. Back at the cathedral at the end of the tour I had a bit of a wander through the old city and eventually found myself at the Sofia History Museum, located in a very spectacular building right in the heart of the city.

I spent quite some time looking round the museum and it’s various exhibits, and was intending on going for lunch, but to get there I needed to walk through parts of the ruins of Ancient Serdica – the old Roman city that modern day Sofia was built on, and I ended up spending about an hour looking round the different parts of the remains, including some very detailed remains kept out of the weather by being located under one of the main roads – this included almost perfectly preserved roman water pipes and a pretty impressive mosaic floor.

By now I was famished so I found a nice restaurant on the main street and had a leisurely lunch to make up for the rushed breakfast of the morning. I then headed the short distance back to the Rotunda church of St George and had a look round both the church and the set of Roman ruins that lie directly behind it.

From the Rotunda it was a short walk under the presidential palace to the National Archaeological Museum. The museum is housed in a former mosque and has a large collection of artefacts found in and around the city. Obviously, due to the nature of all the ruins that are visible a lot of the artefacts are from the Roman period, but there are also items from earlier periods in history and some impressive item from the later Ottoman period in the city.

Next door to the museum is a pleasant café/bar and I stopped there for a late afternoon drink and to rest my legs from all the walking round museums that I’d done. I also took the opportunity to check in with a colleague who, by pure coincidence, was also in the city this weekend to take part in the Marathon that was due to take place on Sunday, so we arranged to meet up a little later for dinner.

Refreshed I had a bit more of a wander around the central area of the city before picking up the tram and heading back to the hotel to freshen up in advance of dinner.

My friend and two of her friends from her running club had arrived on the Friday flight from London and by the time I got back to my hotel were just heading down to the Marathon expo to complete their registration and get their bib numbers, so after freshening up I headed back out up to the Cathedral and met them there – as it was part way on their route back from the Expo, and the most obvious place to direct people to. We stopped in a little bar round the back of the cathedral for a drink before wandering through town to the main street and having dinner in one of the many restaurants there.

After dinner we wandered back to their Airbnb apartment before we parted ways, I headed over to the tram stop to catch the tram back to my hotel and a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Sofia; Saturday, 12 October, 2019

Thankfully breakfast was a lot quieter this morning when I got down, so I was able to get a table straight away and have a more relaxed breakfast than the previous day. After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and caught the tram over to the National Cultural Palace and its park.

The Palace occupies a major site at the southern end of the main street in the city and the park was very busy with locals and visitors enjoying the grounds and fountains. I had a bit of a wander around the park and over the Lovers Bridge – a connecting bridge that links the park to other public park areas in the south of the city over the multi-lane ring road. This could just be a functional bridge, but instead the city has placed lots of display boards along the length of the bridge, turning it into an outside exhibition space.

Also visible from the lovers bridge are the impressive mountains that sit to the south of the city. Looking at the mountains I had a sudden thought about whether you could easily get up them, and a couple of minutes later, after a quick check on Google maps, I was heading to the Metro.

I caught the metro to the end of the line and there changed onto a bus that took me out to the cable car station located to the south of the city that allows for quick access to the mountains. The cable car is part of a network of gondola cars and chairlifts that, during the winter, make this a major ski resort. During the summer months the lifts only operate at the weekend, but that was good enough for my needs. I purchased my ticket and headed for the gondola lift up the mountain.

I’d brought a combination ticket that allowed the use of the gondola lift and the two chairlifts to reach the very top of the mountain. However, the instructions weren’t that clear on the route you were supposed to take and in the end I caught the gondola all the way to it’s very top station, it passes through three intermediate stops along the way – an impressive 6KM ride that must have also climbed the best part of another KM along its route. In reality I should have got off at the penultimate stop where I could have easily changed onto the first chairlift.

Up at the top station I had a wander around the area before I set off to find the chairlift. It was shortly after here I found out about my mistake as I was very clearly at the mid-way point on the first chairlift – and with an almost sheer drop to get down to the lower station there was nothing for it but to hike up the side of the mountain to the change over station where the 1st and 2nd chairlifts meet.

The hike was very steep and despite only being about 500m horizontally it felt it was a similar height vertically, so it took me nearly 20 minutes and by the time I was at the chairlift I was knackered. I hopped on the chairlift and spent it’s 10 minute journey both enjoying the stunning views as well as trying to recover from the hike. At the top station it was a short walk to the very top summit of the mountain, though in reality the views from here weren’t as great as I thought they would have been, with other parts of the mountain obscuring the view of downtown Sofia. However, the journey back down on the chairlift turned out to be stunning with the mountain ridges giving way to spectacular views over the city, with the golden dome of the cathedral glinting in the sun.

Back at the bottom of the 2nd chairlift I swapped onto the 1st chairlift and continued my journey down – with its spectacular ride down the near sheer drop that I’d decided not to try and get down earlier, and down into a hollow in the mountain. From there it was a short walk, that I should originally have done in the opposite direction, back to the 4th station on the gondola which only operates in the up direction, so I had to go all the way back up to the top station.

At the top station I had another quick wander round, and more importantly a quick stop in the WC, before catching the gondola all the way back down to the lowest station, a journey that took nearly 30 minutes. Back down at the lower station I caught the bus back into town and then the metro and tram back to my hotel to freshen up.

Once it had gotten dark I headed back out over to the National Cultural Palace to take some photos of the city centre at night and wandered back up the main street before stopping part way up to grab some dinner in a very nice restaurant. After dinner I had a bit more of a wander through the old town before making it to a trolleybus stop just in time to catch the trolley bus back to my hotel and a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Sofia; Sunday, 13 October, 2019

Sunday was the day of the Sofia Marathon and I spent quite a bit of the day moving round the course so that I could cheer on my colleague and her running club friends. The Sofia marathon is run over two loops of a course that runs past most of the main sites in the centre of the city, along with a long run out towards the airport and back to bring the length up to the right distance. It meant that by staying within the central loop I was able to keep moving around to catch up with people as they worked their way around the city loop. Unlike the London Marathon the number of spectators was very small, so it felt like I was helping my friend and her friends for having at least one person on the course cheering them on.

It also meant I was able to do a bit more sightseeing around the central area including the Cathedral and the Parliament, and with most of the roads in the very centre of the city closed get some photos that would not have been possible at any other time as they required standing in the middle of a three lane road that on all the other days had fast flowing traffic running along it.

My friend made it across the finishing line in a respectable time and after a little time for recovery we all headed over to the centre of town for a spot of late lunch. After lunch they headed back to their apartment to take showers and freshen up and I headed back over into the area of the ruins of the ancient city of Serdica to carry on doing some sightseeing.

Having taken in more of the ruins I headed back to my own hotel to freshen up before heading over to my friends apartment for some post-Marathon celebration drinks and then we headed out into town to have dinner in a very nice Bulgarian restaurant that had been recommended.

Fully sated from a very filling meal we gently wobbled our way back to their apartment and then I headed on round to the tram stop to take the tram back to my hotel and my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Sofia; Monday, 14 October, 2019

Due to the timing of the flight it wasn’t possible to really do any sightseeing in the time I had before I had to head to the airport so instead I had a bit of lie in and then a very leisurely breakfast before packing my bag and heading out to the tram stop.

I caught the tram round to the metro and then with great timing made it down onto the metro station just as the train to the airport was pulling in.

My friend had booked a cab instead, and had set off around the same time, but in the end we made it to the check in queue at the airport directly behind each other.

Checked in we headed through into departures and then onto the uneventful flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Tunbridge Wells; Friday, 25 October, 2019

I arrived in Tunbridge Wells in the middle of a sustained downpour which had already been going on for some time and didn’t show any inclination of ending any time soon, so rather than walking the half mile or so down to the hotel I hopped in a cab.

I checked in and headed up to my room to finish off my working day.

As it had taken a bit of time to get across to Tunbridge Wells I had to work a bit later into the evening, during which the rain only appeared to keep getting heavier.

By 7pm I decided that rather than braving the foul weather I’d just eat in the hotel, which in the end turned out to be a good call as the food was really good.

By the time I’d finished dinner the weather appeared to have improved so I grabbed my camera and went for a wander around the Pantiles area of the town where the hotel was located. I made it the 300 yards or so down to the Chalybeate Spring – the source of the waters that puts the Wells into Tunbridge Wells – before the weather decided it preferred being wet so after taking a few quick photos I headed back to the hotel for the rest of the evening and an early night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Tunbridge Wells; Saturday, 26 October, 2019

Overnight the weather had improved quite considerably and after a quick breakfast I was able to finish off exploring the Pantiles and spring area of the town. Sadly I was a couple of weeks too late to sample the waters as they only offer tastings between Easter and the end of September.

I had a bit more of a wander around this part of the town before heading over to the bus stop and catching the bus up into the commercial centre of town and changing there onto a bus up to the towns older big sister town – Tonbridge (just to confuse everything Tonbridge – which dates back to before the Norman Conquest used to be called Tunbridge until the end of the 19th century, when then decided to change the spelling, but Tunbridge Wells, that had only existed since the 17th Century, decided to stick with the original spelling.

I’d caught the bus, rather than the train, as the station in Tonbridge is quite a long walk from the centre of the town – whereas the bus stop is right outside my main destination for the morning – Tonbridge Castle.

I wandered up from the bus stop to the gatehouse to the castle and then spent some time exploring the grounds of the castle – including the very obvious Motte with its fragments of keep overlooking the large Bailey and its outer wall overlooking the river Medway.

After looking around the grounds I headed into the tourist information centre, housed in a Victorian addition to the main gatehouse building – the only real surviving bit of the castle – to pay the entrance fee and pick up an audio guide to look around the inside of the Gatehouse.

It’s a comprehensive audio tour of the gatehouse which covers the whole building from the basement to the top of the roof from which there are views over the town. After taking in the whole building I headed back down to ground level, handed the audio guide back in and headed into the centre of town to grab some lunch.

Lunch completed I checked the weather and realising I could probably chance it I headed up to the station and caught the train south to the town of Battle to visit the Abbey and Battlefield.

Battle is the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings when the Normans successfully invaded England, killing the Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, in the process. As an act of homage William the Conqueror had an Abbey built on the spot where Harold fell which was in use right through until Henry VIII. Normally it’s possible to wander around the whole of the battlefield site and explore how the battle unfolded – but due to the recent wet weather the path was closed due to becoming a bit of a quagmire. Instead I went on the shorter audio guided route that takes you along a terrace at the bottom of the Abbey, that would roughly have been where Harold and his army would have been positioned at the start of the battle.

Having explored the battle, the audio guide then takes your around the ruins of the Abbey. It was at this point I was quite glad that the full walk was closed as a thin but very damp mizzle had started up, that would have soaked me if I’d been walking around the site. Having taken in the ruins of the Abbey I had a quick look around the exhibition in the gatehouse and then headed back to the station – making it back just as the skies opened for another hefty downpour.

I caught the train back to Tunbridge Wells and then cheated and caught the bus from the station back to the hotel where I was able to shelter from the downpour for a couple of hours before it finally cleared. With the weather improved I headed back into the centre of town for some dinner before heading back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Tunbridge Wells; Sunday, 27 October, 2019

I had a quick breakfast, checked out of the hotel and then walked the short distance round the corner to Tunbridge Wells West station. The station was originally on a number of different lines that over the years successively closed, until the final line from Tunbridge Wells to Eridge was closed by Network SouthEast in 1985 – possibly one of the last lines in the South East of England to be closed without any replacement. Shortly after closure the line was preserved and now operates as a heritage railway, with today being the last day of their regular operations for the year.

I made it to the station about 15 minutes before the first departure of the day so I was able to get a good seat for the first journey over to Eridge. I went the whole way through to Eridge before heading back one stop to Groombridge.

Groombridge had been a major junction in it’s day, but today it is a very quiet little village with a large moated manor house – whose grounds are open to the public and that’s where I headed to next.

I spent several hours wandering around Groombridge Place including going for a ride on the canal that feeds the moat and a wander through the Enchanted Forest – which mostly appeared to be a walk through the trees past lots of wooden objects that had been left to rot. There was a distinct, that’ll do, feel to the place.

I had an expensive and not particularly great lunch in the café – spending the whole time being watched by a peacock that clearly had designs on my crisps. Lunch completed (thankfully without losing anything to the peacock) I had a wander around the formal gardens before heading back to Groombridge station to pick up the train.

I had intended on catching the train one stop back to High Rocks to explore the large rock outcrop of the same name, but on arrival there it turned out that the site was closed for a function so it wasn’t possible to explore – instead I got back on the train and travelled back down to Eridge before catching the last train of the night back from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells West.

Back in Tunbridge Wells I walked back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and started my lengthy (caused by engineering works) journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

St Helier; Friday, 08 November, 2019

I had a quick journey down to Gatwick and through the airport. Nearly an hour before departure we already had a gate, and shortly after arriving there the team started boarded.

With the plane fully loaded we ended up pushing back 10 minutes before our scheduled time, and with only a very short taxi to the runway, and nothing ahead of us, we were taking off at the same time we were originally supposed to be pushing back.

In a jet it’s a very short flight to the Channel Islands, and barely minutes after the cabin crew had started service the pilot was making the 20 minutes to landing announcement and we were already starting our descent down into Jersey.In a jet it’s a very short flight to the Channel Islands, and barely minutes after the cabin crew had started service the pilot was making the 20 minutes to landing announcement and we were already starting our descent down into Jersey.

We landed 25 minutes ahead of schedule and with only hand luggage I was through the airport in a mater of minutes and straight into a taxi over to the hotel.

I arrived at the door to the hotel at the same time my flight was originally due to arrive, and was able to very quickly check in and head to my room.

After freshening up I popped out of the hotel to the harbour wall directly opposite from where there were excellent views out towards Elizabeth Castle, so I was able to get some good photos before heading back into the hotel and up to my room for an early night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

St Helier; Saturday, 09 November, 2019

I had an early start as I wanted to pack as much into the day as possible, especially as the weather wasn’t forecast to be great. After a quick breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the bus station to pick up the bus out to Corbiere. The bus left St Helier in the dry, but not 10 minutes into the journey the rain started to come down and as the bus pressed on west across the island the rain only intensified.

By the time we arrived at Corbiere, the South Western corner of the island, there was a full on squall going on with strong winds, and an unpleasant mix of very cold rain with bits of hail embedded in it. I wandered down from the bus stop, past some of the bunkers that show testament to how fortified these islands were by the Nazi’s as part of their Atlantic Wall, and to the start of the causeway out to the lighthouse.

The causeway was clear, and in fact the tide was still falling, so I had hours of spare time to be able to wander out across the causeway to the lighthouse if I wanted, but looking at the waves pounding onto the rocks nearby – and with the foul weather from the sky – I though it probably wasn’t a good idea to go out – not least of all just for getting soaked by the rain.

I headed back up towards the bus stop and got there with about 10 minutes to spare before a bus back into St Helier, thankfully the stop had a shelter which at least protected me from the worst of the rain, if not from the biting wind or some of the ricocheting hail stones.

Back in St Helier I had about 30 minutes until my connecting bus, so I quickly popped into the neighbouring Costa Coffee for a quick lunch and was still back at the stop in the bus station with a few minutes to spare for my journey out to the Jersey War Tunnels – I decided that in this weather heading underground was probably the wisest move.

I’d visited the tunnels when I visited back in 2003, but it was clear that in the intervening years a large amount of work has been carried out on expanding the exhibits and interpretation boards, so there was a lot to see, even though it was a repeat visit.

I spent so long looking round the tunnels that by the time I finally emerged it was into a sky where the sun was threatening to break through and the pounding rain had reduced to a very light drizzle. By the time the bus heading north arrived 20 minutes later the rain had stopped, so I decided to hop on the bus and head on over to the North West coast of the island.

The bus dropped my off at Les Landes Common where I went for a bit of a wander, taking in the ruins of one of the many Nazi fortifications located on the common. From here there are also excellent views down the whole sweep of the West coast down to Corbiere lighthouse at the Southern tip. After a brief wander around the common I headed on down the winding hillside road down to the top end of the beach at L’Etacq to take some photos there before pickup up the bus that starts there back into St Helier.

Back in St Helier I quickly swapped buses onto the bus out to Gorey along the coast where I went to take some night time photos of the massive Mont Orgueil Castle and have a little wander around the harbour town. I also took the opportunity to stop at one of the very nice restaurants that sit below the castle looking out over the harbour for a very nice dinner.

Dinner completed I headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into St Helier and then walked over to the hotel for a quick night cap before turning in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

St Helier; Sunday, 10 November, 2019

I originally had big plans for sites I wanted to visit today, but a quick check online last night revealed that both Elizabeth Castle and the pre-historic ruins at La Hogue Bie were closed until Easter, so that ruled out visiting them and meant there wasn’t actually that much to see, particularly given the limited bus service available on a Winter Sunday.

Instead I had a bit of lie in and a late breakfast before having a leisurely checkout from the hotel, making it over to the bus station in time to get the 11:30 bus out to Gorey. Thankfully one of the sites I’d planned to see - Mont Orgueil Castle – was still open. I arrived in Gorey a little before 12 and headed up into the castle.

When I’d visited before they castle was undergoing major renovation and archaeological digs – in preparation for the 800 year celebrations in 2004 of Jersey swearing loyalty to the English Crown (after the English King had managed to successfully lose all his possessions in France) – and there had been a lot of scaffolding and quite a few closed areas. So I was looking forward to being able to see more of the castle than I had done last time.

I wasn’t disappointed, there was a lot more to see – and every castle looks so much more impressive when it’s not covered in scaffolding! In the end I spent more than 2 hours looking round the site, by which point I was feeling quite knackered given the number of spiral staircases I’d walked up.

I grabbed lunch in the café in the castle, sitting in the sun watching the impressive site of the Jersey tide racing in and rapidly filling the harbour. Lunch completed I wandered back down to the harbour and then picked up the bus into St Helier. I was going to visit the museum, but as I got to it the time just ticked past last ticket sales so there didn’t appear much point as it would be a very quick visit – so instead I headed back over to the hotel to collect my luggage and have a quick afternoon snack and cup of coffee in the hotels bar.

Refreshed I headed back over to the bus station to pick up the bus back out to the airport and start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Amsterdam; Saturday, 30 November, 2019

As it was an early flight, I’d stayed overnight near the airport so the 5:30 checkin wasn’t quite as horrific as it might have been. After checking in and going through security I grabbed some breakfast before heading down to the gate – needless to say the furthest one from the terminal building at Gatwick – getting there just as boarding started.

It was a smooth flight, slightly delayed as the plane needed to be de-iced as it had spent the night on the stand in sub-zero temperatures, and we landed on the very distant runway at Schiphol so it was a lengthy taxi into the terminal building, where we were once again on the gate furthest from the terminal building. After a long walk through the terminal and claiming my baggage I headed into the arrivals hall and stopped off at the tourist office to pick up a pre-booked I Amsterdam City Card which would cover most of my travel and attraction costs for the break.

I then quickly headed over to the train station to pick up a new 5-year OV-Chipkaart (Dutch electronic travel card that works on all transport across the whole of the country) and top it up, before heading out to the bus station outside the terminal and catching the bus a couple of stops over to the Amsetlveen where I was able to change onto the tram and take that a couple of stops to my hotel. It was still way too early to check-in for the hotel, but I was able to drop off my bag and head back out again.

I picked up another tram heading back towards the city and changed at Zuid station where I hopped onto a local train a couple of stops down the line to the small town of Weesp where I changed onto a local bus (it was a very smooth connection, that could have gone very wrong if the tram hadn’t arrived when it did) and headed over to the town of Muiden.

Muiden is located at the mouth of the Vecht river, and at the point where, before the construction of the big dykes and the draining of the land, it emptied into the sea – so it was an important place to protect. Consequently, a large and impressive castle was built at the mouth of the river to help defend it. I had a long look round the castle and the fortifications that surround it before it was time to repeat the journey in reverse and head back into the centre of Amsterdam.

I stopped off briefly in the centre to buy a ticket for a evening canal cruise, which during the winter months take in the Amsterdam Light Festival – a series of light installations in or by the canals that are on display from late November until the New Year. When I purchased the ticket, the sales guy advised getting to the boarding point after 20:00 so it would be quieter and that the tours were at least every 30 minutes, and likely more frequently.

With the ticket purchased I headed back to the hotel to check-in and, after a freshen up, headed back into the city centre for dinner.

After dinner, and just a little before 20:00 I headed over to the boarding point for the evening cruise – to see quite a lengthy queue. Which given what the ticket salesperson had told me, was surprising. However, I joined the queue and waited for the next departure knowing it wouldn’t be too long, as that is what the salesperson had said. That turned out to be a complete lie as well and it was nearly 90 minutes before a boat finally turned up. I was far enough into the queue that I was able to board, but I couldn’t get a window seat and was only able to take photos by leaning at an awkward angle around other people.

The tour took around an hour – but it felt much longer as it was uncomfortably cramped, and with the sound system in the boat on the blink it was also impossible to hear any of the commentary – so all in all quite a big waste of money.

Disappointed we arrived back at the landing stage, where at least I was able to quickly get the metro down to Zuid station where I intended on picking up the tram – though it turned out that there was a fault with the overhead wires and the trams weren’t going south of Zuid station so instead everyone had to cram into a replacement bus which took me back to my stop near the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Amsterdam; Sunday, 01 December, 2019

I had a good night’s sleep and a decent breakfast before heading out of the hotel and aiming to go into town. The issues with the trams the previous night had clearly not been completely sorted out as there were big gaps in the service, and lots of people waiting at the stop – so I started by heading the six stops or so south to the end of the line on a tram that did actually arrive and then promptly turned out to be the next northbound tram anyway, so I had a seat all the way and by the time it got back to the original stop was close to full and only had standing room left.

I changed trams on the edge of the centre to catch one that was actually heading up to the station and once at Centraal station walked through the building and out the back to the ferry terminal located on the IJ to take one of the frequent cross-IJ ferries to North Amsterdam.

Located next to the ferry terminal on the north bank is the A’DAM Toren – one of the tallest buildings in the city and home to a viewing platform on the roof of the 21-storey building. I spent some time taking in the views over Amsterdam and beyond before stopping for a drink in the bar located on the viewing platform.

Back down at ground level I picked up a ferry back across the IJ and caught the tram down to the Botanical Gardens, located near Waterlooplein. I spent quite a bit of time exploring the gardens, including their Butterfly house and impressive large greenhouse containing three different environmental zones.

Leaving the botanical gardens, I had a wander back towards the centre of town, stopping off at the Rembrandtplein where there is a statue to the famous painter along with one of his most famous works – The Night Watch – recreated in statues underneath his statue.

I headed up towards the Rokin, where I was able to join a late afternoon canal cruise that was due to set off in time to catch the sunset. Unlike the previous night’s cruise this time it was possible to get a window seat, and to hear the commentary, as well as being able to take quite a few pictures as we sailed round the centre of the city.

By the time we got back to Rokin the last of the light was dying, so I went for a bit of a wander through the centre of the city with the Christmas, and red, lights visible. I then started to head back towards the south of the city centre, to get close to the tram back to the hotel and stopped near Leidseplein to get some dinner before finally heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Foggy Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Amsterdam; Monday, 02 December, 2019

As part of the I Amsterdam City Card you get free entry to a number of the big museums of the city, and for the Van Gogh museum the ability to get priority on timeslots for the ticket – all entry is via timed ticket and at busy times you could have a lengthy wait to get into the museum even after you’ve purchased a ticket. I’d booked the 11:30 slot for my visit to the museum so I was able to have a bit of a lie-in and a later breakfast before checking out and heading back into town.

In turned out that I probably should have started moving earlier as the problems with the overhead power lines for the tram had reoccurred and it was buses once again replacing trams, so I had to wait for the – already overcrowded – bus back towards the Zuid station where I changed onto a different tramline to head round to Museumsplein – Museum square.

I arrived with enough time to spare to have a look around the Stedelikj Museum, which focuses on Modern art, including the usual selection of installations as well as lots of displays of early 20th century Dutch furniture design.

I left the Stedelikj museum just in time to walk next door to the Van Gogh museum at the time of my ticket and headed in there. Whilst the timed tickets do stop everyone trying to get in at once they don’t prevent a build up of visitors inside and the museum was pretty much rammed with tourists looking around – making it difficult to see most of the paintings and to read any of the explanations, so I probably didn’t get as much out of the museum as I would have done if I’d been able to get there at a quieter time.

From the Van Gogh museum I walked across Museumsplein to the Rijksmuseum. This is the biggest of the museums and galleries in the city and despite being busy felt less packed than the Van Gogh museum, except around The Night Watch, which is the museums equivalent of the Mona Lisa and has everyone making a beeline to it.

I spent a long time looking round the Rijksmuseum, including stopping for a quick lunch in their café before heading on into the centre of town. I caught the tram up to the Damrak area of the city and was going to go exploring when the weather started to take a turn for the worst. I was right by the landing stage for another of the city’s canal cruise companies, with a tour due to depart within 10 minutes so I decided that was probably the best way to wait out the rain, and a couple of minutes later my choice was confirmed when the skies opened and a massive downpour, that continued for most of the hour of the tour, started.

Tour completed I had about an hour to spare before I had to start making a move towards the airport, but with the weather still wet and my experience of the tram in the morning I decided it was probably a good idea to start making my way back then. I hopped on a tram from the centre out to Leidseplein where I was able to change onto a tram heading towards the hotel. The rain had eased off to a light drizzle as I got off the tram and walked the 6 minutes or so over to the hotel to pick up my bags and then another 6 minutes back to the tramstop where I headed south to Amstelveen and picked up the bus back out to the airport.

Almost with perfect timing, once on the bus the skies opened once again and it was still chucking it down as I walked under cover from the bus stop into Schiphol airport to start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Geneva; Thursday, 19 December, 2019

I had a half days leave, so was heading down to Gatwick shortly after lunch. I had a quick journey through checkin and security and onto the flight. A slightly bumpy and delayed flight later – due to a strike by French Air Traffic Controllers we had to fly the long route through Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany before approaching Geneva along the lake, so as to stay in Swiss Air Space – we arrived in Geneva.

I grabbed my luggage and a free travel pass from the machine in the baggage reclaim hall, headed for the station and less than 15 minutes later was disembarking in the centre of Geneva, from where I walked the short distance to my hotel.

I checked in, dropped off my stuff and headed out to do a bit of sightseeing – though that turned out to be harder than I expected as fog started to roll in from the alps behind the city – pretty soon the clear skies that I’d had leaving the hotel had been replaced with a thick fog that had less than 100m visibility.

I started off by heading down to the end of the lake, where it goes back into being the Rhône river, and then wandered up through the small lanes of the old town to the cathedral at the top of the hill. Here the slight increase in height made the fog even worse with the top of the cathedrals spire and towers disappearing into the murk.

After having a wander around the old town I headed back down the hill and into Bastion Park, located to the south of the old city walls, and home to the wall of the reformers – a giant statue showing several of the key figures in the reformation.

The park is also home to the largest of the Geneva Christmas Markets and I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the stalls looking for gifts, and also having a very snacky dinner – trying a couple of different things from all the food stalls in the market.

By the time I’d explored the whole of the market they were starting to close down for the night so I took that as a hint to head back to the hotel and turn in for the night

Weather

No Data Foggy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Geneva; Friday, 20 December, 2019

The fog of the previous day had been replaced by heavy rain, that showed no real sign of stopping for any time during the day. After breakfast I headed out of the hotel, and by use of the hotels canopy and the underground shopping centre linked to the main station, managed to make it to the tram stop dry.

I caught the number 18 tram out to the end of the line at the European Organization for Nuclear Research at Meyrin on the Franco/Swiss border, better known as CERN. The site has two museums – the Universe of Particles and the Microcosm. I headed over to the large wooden globe that houses the Universe of Particles first to have a look around the museum, and also take in the hourly audiovisual presentation in English (I arrive about 10 minutes after the previous showing, so also got to see the French version that also runs every hour, 30 minutes after the English version).

From the globe I headed back across the street and into the main CERN complex to look round the Microcosm exhibition. By the time I’d finished looking round both exhibitions the weather had, if anything, gotten worse with almost sheets of water falling from the sky. In the 30 or so yards from the entrance to the museum to the tramstop I managed to get very wet.

I caught the tram back into town, and rather than walk up to the old town in the rain and get soaked, I decided to wait the 10 minutes under the bus shelter for the half hourly mini-bus service that heads up into the old town. Whilst it meant it took nearly 40 minutes after getting off of the tram before I was at the cathedral, instead of less than 10 minutes if I’d walked, it did at least mean I made it relatively dry.

After taking a couple of photos sheltering in the cover of buildings I headed into the Cathedral to have a look around. The Cathedral is the latest incarnation that has existed on this site, with buildings going back well over 1500 years on the site, the ruins of which are still visible beneath the cathedral. Along with the archaeological museum that I was intending to visiting next you can also climb the 160 or so steps to the top of the southern tower for views over the city, but given how heavily it was raining, and how low the cloud was, I decided that would probably both the pointless for the views and dangerous for the slippery steps towards the top.

Instead, after looking round the cathedral I made my way down below the building and into the archaeological museum to have a look around that. The museum has not only the remains of at least three former cathedral that have existed on the site, but also traces of Roman remains, and the burial site for a local tribal leader that was buried around 140BCE.

I spent a long time looking round the cathedral, so long in fact that by the end I had one of the staff coming up behind me to clear the museum as they were at closing time. I headed back up to street level where it was still chucking it down, so I sheltered in the portico of the cathedral before heading over to the bus stop as the bus came into view to catch it back down to the centre of town and a quick change onto the tram back to the hotel.

The weather showed no sign of wanting to clear up at all, so I popped into the supermarket in the train station to pick up some stuff for a picknick dinner and then, using the underground shopping centre and awnings of the hotels, made my way in the dry back to my hotel for an in-room dinner.

Quite a lot later the rain finally eased off and the skies cleared so at that point I was able to head back out into town and do some exploring – in this case I wandered along the east bank of the lake up to where the Jet d’Eau normally spouts from, but for some reason it had been switched off for the night. I then headed back along the lake side, through the English garden and the floral clock before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Geneva; Saturday, 21 December, 2019

The difference from the previous day couldn’t have been starker as I pulled back the curtains in my hotel room and looked on out a clear blue sky. After a quick breakfast in the hotel I headed out into the sunny morning intent on doing lots of outside things today (the weather forecast indicating that tomorrow wasn’t looking too great).

First stop was to take the number 15 tram out to the end of the line at Nations square. This is the home of the UN in Geneva – with lots of buildings around the square housing various different constituent parts such as the UNHCR and parts of UNESCO. Whilst you can’t get into the UN buildings, for obvious security reasons, you can still get a good view of the serried ranks of flagpoles flying all the flags of UN members.

Also located on the square is the statue – broken chair. This simple statue is of an enormous chair, with one leg blown off – the jagged edge where the leg ends in mid air making it clear this isn’t a clean break – the statue is in part a memorial to all the civilian victims of land mines and cluster bombs and was placed here as a reminder to world leaders of their responsibilities to their own citizens.

From the square it was a short bus ride down to near the lake and the large botanical gardens. I spent quite some time wandering around the gardens, in particular in their three glasshouses that have a number of different zones within them.

Having stopped for lunch near the botanical gardens I headed round the lake to the Eastern shore to pick up the ferry. Its possible to take a 60-minute cruise around the lower part of the lake to take in the scenery – mostly the mountains and the Jet d’Eau. But those cruises are quite expensive and pretty much follow the route that the local ferries run, and the local ferries are included in the free travel pass that the hotel gave me on check-in, so why bother wating money.

I caught the M4 ferry across the lake, back pretty much to the Botanical Gardens. All the way across there are excellent views of the mountains, including the snow-capped peaks deeper into the alps, along with a stunning view of central Geneva at the end of the lake. I made a round trip on the M4 ferry back to the starting landing stage where I was able to change straight away onto the M3 ferry which heads back down the lake towards the centre, stopping on the opposite bank to the Jet d’Eau. From there I caught the M1 ferry back into the very centre of the city.

From there I had a nice long wander around the old town before finally heading back to the hotel to freshen up as the last of the days light disappeared.

I headed out a bit later in search of dinner, which I had in a nice restaurant in the lower part of the old town, before going for a bit more of a wander and then heading back to the hotel

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Geneva; Sunday, 22 December, 2019

Whilst the weather didn’t look as bad as Friday, it was still grey, overcast and drizzly as I left the hotel after checking out.

I caught the bus a couple of stops north to my first stop of the day at the Musée d'histoire des sciences. This museum is located on the banks of the lake and houses a collection of historic scientific equipment, including telescopes, barometers, globes, sextants and even an electron microscope. There are quite a lot of informative displays on how the equipment was used and how it advanced science – with several hands on exhibits and experiments that you can recreate.

As I left the museum it was starting to drizzle quite hard, so I headed over to the bus stop and waited for the number 1 bus round to my next destination of the day. I could also have caught the number 25 bus which would only have taken about 15 minutes to make the journey, but I guessed – rightly as it turned out – that by taking the number 1 the 30 minutes or so it would take to make the journey would be a similar length to the incoming heavy shower that started to lash down just moments after I boarded the bus.

I caught the bus round to the aptly named Museum bus stop to visit the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. This museum houses a large collection of natural history artefacts – including vast numbers of stuffed animals, a small exhibition on geology and minerals, as well as exhibits on animals and their environments. I spent a long time looking round the museum, and even stopped for lunch in the museum café.

With the natural history museum exhausted I walked the short distance back into the old town, past the stunning Russian Orthodox Church with it’s gold domes glistening in the light reflecting back off of puddles on the roof, and over to the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire. This is a weird mash-up of museum and art gallery with the top floor being the city’s main Art gallery and the two basement floors being dedicated to Archaeology with the upper one being generic (Roman, Greek, Egyptian) and the lower being specifically related to the Geneva area.

By the time I’d finished looking round the museum I had a serious case of museum feet and so decided that I needed to rest my feet for a little while. I walked the short distance from the museum into the centre of the old town where I was able to find a nice bar and have a leisurely late afternoon drink.

I finished my drink just as the next hefty shower decided to start, so by the time I’d made it down to the bus stop I was quite wet. I decided that, given I only had about 3 hours until my flight anyway, that was probably a good time to just call it a day and head back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head on out to the airport for my flight home.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Essen; Saturday, 11 January, 2020

Originally I’d booked the hotel at Heathrow as I was supposed to be going on a work trip, but that got cancelled a couple of weeks earlier. As the hotel was on a non-refundable booking – and I had some airline credit that needed to be used, I’d booked an early morning flight to Germany so that in the end I had a weekend away for just an extra €40 for the hotel in Essen. It did, though, mean getting a really early flight from Heathrow to make the weekend worthwhile and consequently I had to get up at 5am.

For some reason I had a really bad nights sleep and kept waking up every hour or so. In the end it turned out to be for the best as I realised at about 03:50 that the USB port I was charging my phone off of had died and my battery was at just 4%, so if I had had a better nights sleep there was every chance my phone would have died before my alarm call and I could easily have ended up missing the flight! Feeling knackered from the poor nights sleep I got up at just after 4, had a shower and then made my way over to Heathrow, arriving at the terminal just as they were opening the checkin desks and security.

My journey through the airport was spookily quiet, with very few people around. Clearly 7am on the second Saturday in January is not a popular time to travel. The flight itself was half empty, so we were all boarded early – pushed back 10 minutes early and consequently jumped quite a long way up the take-off slots so we were airborne at the same time that we should have started pushback, despite it being a long taxi to the other end of the runway. With a good tailwind we ended up landing at Dusseldorf 25 minutes early and with a very short taxi to the terminal and only hand luggage I was on the Sky Train to the train station at the same time as we were originally scheduled to land.

By the time I reached Essen it was only just after 10:15, so I popped my suitcase into a left luggage locker at the station and caught the tram further into the centre of town to go for a wander. My first stop of the morning was the very nice, if quite small, cathedral. I spent quite a bit of time looking round, mostly because the cathedral treasury museum which I wanted to look round didn’t open until 11.

After looking round the cathedral, and when it finally opened, the treasury I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre – though there isn’t that much of interest in the centre of the city – given it’s key location on the Ruhr and its industrial importance most of the city centre was levelled by allied bombing during WWII. From the city centre I hopped on the U-Bahn and travelled south a couple of stops to the Museum Folkwang to look round the large art collection that the museum houses.

From the Museum Folkwang I quickly popped back into the centre of town to grab a late lunch and then headed back out south to the area around the fair and the Grugapark – this large park houses the city’s botanical gardens, along with several other attractions, though they were all closed for the winter and most of the plants had died back to just stalks so it was more just the opportunity to have a long walk in a pleasant park.

I caught the U-Bahn back from the Grugapark to the city centre, stopping off to retrieve my luggage from the Hauptbahnhof lockers before heading over to my hotel for the night to checkin and freshen up. I then headed back out into the centre to have a quick dinner.

After dinner I caught the tram out from the city centre to Zollverein. Here a part of the city’s industrial heritage has been preserved in the form of the pit lift and some of the buildings of the Zollverein coal mine. The site is now a museum and entertainment complex which I was intending on visiting tomorrow, but I wanted to get a couple of pictures of the Bauhaus buildings floodlit at night.

From Zollverein I headed back into town, stopping off again at the Cathedral to take a few night-time shots there before finally making my way back to the hotel to turn in for a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Essen; Sunday, 12 January, 2020

I had a really good nights sleep, waking just after 8am which left me more than enough time to have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel before checking out and heading back to the Hauptbahnhof to drop my bag into the left luggage and pick up the train out to the small town of Werden.

Werden is now a part of the greater city of Essen, but it has a history that goes back to at least the 13th Century and, unlike the centre of Essen itself, is actualy on the River Ruhr. The train from Essen took just over 10 minutes to make the journey and connected with the local buses heading over into the centre of town. I caught one up to one of the higher points in the town to take in the views over the river and the opposite bank. I then slowly wandered back down through the town taking in the picturesque church of St Lucius and the impressive Basilika St. Ludgerus which puts Essen’s own cathedral a bit in the shade.

I made it back to the station with a couple of minutes to spare before the next train back into Essen where I changed and then headed back out on the tram to Zollverein. The site has been transformed from a former mine and coking plant into a series of museums, and an entertainment complex. By a pure fluke it also happened to be the first weekend of celebrations leading up to the sites 10th anniversary of its rebirth later in January so everything was free.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the museums housed in the main building – these include the Ruhr museum that looks at the history of the region and some of the geology that made it such an important location in Germany.

I also headed up onto the roof of the main building to take in the views over the city and the former industrial landscape. Even with the rain clouds rolling in and cutting visibility down it was still possible to see several other former mine lifts dotted across the landscape – a history of how much industry was once in this area.

I had a bit more of a wander around the site, but the weather was clearly taking a turn for the worse with the damp drizzle starting to strengthen into something more unpleasant. Thankfully, just as the weather was starting to turn particularly unpleasant – mostly caused by a biting cold wind – I arrived at one of the restaurants dotted around the site, so I stopped there for a late lunch and a nice warming cup of coffee.

By the time I’d finished the weather was back to a mild drizzle, but rather than continue to get wet I decided it was probably time to start making a move towards the airport. I headed back to the tram stop and caught the tram back into Essen to collect my luggage. Clearly, I must have had some kind of premonition as when I got to the station most of the RE trains to the airport were cancelled for no obvious reason. Thankfully the slower S-Bahn was still running so I was able to catch that and with the combination of the extended waiting time and the longer journey time I got to the airport only about 2 ½ hours before my flight.

As I only had hand luggage I quickly zipped through security and headed into the departures lounge to wait for my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Vienna; Thursday, 23 January, 2020

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel so was able to get a bit of lie-in before hopping on a bus down to the central bus station and walking over to Terminal 3 to checkin. I had a smooth journey through the airport and, possibly for the first time at a London Airport, headed to Gate 1 for departure.

The flight pushed back early and after clearing some initial bumpy clouds we were soon in a bright blue sky and heading across Europe. The clear skies didn’t let up and we landed into a very sunny Vienna airport. There was a bit of a wait for the luggage to come round, but it still meant I was on the train into the city centre before 3pm and at my hotel 30 minutes later.

After checking in and dropping my stuff off in my room I headed out into town. I caught the tram a couple of stops round the Ringstraße to the Rathaus, where a large ice-rink has been erected for the winter in the grounds. Accompanying the ice rink is a selection of kiosks selling food and drink so I was able to grab a sausage and a cola to fill in for the missing lunch.

From the Rathaus I wandered back down the Ringstraße to the Hofburg, the former Imperial palace of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I spent quite a bit of time wandering through the different courtyards and buildings of the site.

I eventually found my way out onto the main shopping street of the city – Graben – and wandered the short distance down there to St Stephens Cathedral.

From the Cathedral I continued on wandering until I eventually made it over to the other side of the Ringstraße near the Stadtpark. From there I hopped on a tram back to the hotel where I was able to freshen up before heading back out a little late in search of dinner.

After dinner in a very nice restaurant in the city centre I headed back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Vienna; Friday, 24 January, 2020

I had wanted a bit of lie-in, but that wasn’t to be as Housekeeping decided to barge into the room at 08:20 and then a short time after that an incessant drilling from somewhere inside the building ensured that there was no chance to go back to sleep, so instead I got up and went to have a shower, where I discovered that my 4 star hotel certainly didn’t have a 4 star shower. Low pressure and a constant flip between tepid and scalding led to an unpleasant and painful shower. After that disappointment I headed down to breakfast where I had to wait a couple of minutes before a table became available – clearly everyone else had been woken up early by either housekeeping or the drilling.

After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and caught the U-Bahn across town to Schwedenplatz in the North East corner of the old town. From here both boat tours down the Danube canal and tram tours round the Ringstraße depart. I first headed over to the booking office for the canal tour to get booked onto the next cruise, and with about an hour to spare I then headed back to the tram stop for the Ring Tram tour round the edge of the old city.

The tour turned out to be a bit of a waste of money, as the commentary was patchy at best, and I would probably have seen pretty much the same just by combining a couple of local tram routes to do a circuit round the city. From the tram stop I wandered back over to the Danube Canal tour boarding point and waited for my sailing.

The 75-minute tour up the canal was quite interesting, if a little chilly in the 1C temperatures. The power of the River Danube being shown in the fact the journey up the canal took nearly 60 minutes to make pushing against the flow. The journey back to the pier was a little over 15 minutes!

After a quick stop for lunch I wandered back through the streets of the old town to the Cathedral where I popped in to have a look around, and to take the lift from the church floor to the top of the one of the cathedrals towers for a close up view of the stunning pattern tiled roof. From here there were also views across the city, though the misty murk meant visibility wasn’t that good.

Back down at ground level I continued to wander through the old town before heading over to the Schloß Belvedere where I had a nice walk through the palaces grounds. The end of the grounds was close to the hotel, so I headed back there to freshen up before heading out for dinner.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel and I had intended on having a relaxing drink in the bar before turning in. When I got to the bar a little after 22:30 it was to see that every single table had been reserved for a private function from 23:45. A little annoying, but as I only wanted a single drink not a major issue. However, as I ordered my drink a barman came round and altered the time to 23:15 and then over the following 25 minutes kept reminding the couple of us using the bar that we had to leave before then. Not the most welcoming experience. I pushed it until 23:10 at which point I headed back up to my room and turned in.

Unfortunately, the person staying in the neighbouring room had turned in before me, and it was at this point that I discovered quite how thin the walls were as their snoring penetrated through at full volume leading to a very disrupted nights sleep.

Weather

Misty Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Vienna; Saturday, 25 January, 2020

Another water torture shower first thing and then down to a relatively empty breakfast. I headed out of the hotel and over to the Staatsoper – the city opera house – to pick up one of the hop-on-hop-off tour buses that serve the city. The company I chose offered four different tour routes on a 48 hour ticket so I brought that and was able to quickly joint the start of their main Red Route tour.

The Red Route runs around the main centre of the city – following close to the Ringstraße most of the way round, but diverting off in places to visit interesting sites. I did a full loop of the route and then stayed on for a couple of stops to the Votivkirche.

The church was built, in part, in celebration for the failed assassination of the Emperor and was designed to be the tallest building in the city, Today it’s still the second tallest building on the Ringstraße – technically it’s the tallest building, but the 5m high statue on the top of the Rathaus brings it’s overall height to 4m above that of the church. I had a look around inside the church which is a cavernous space given it’s size.

I was mostly looking round the church to fill in a bit of time as I was also at the location where the infrequent Green Route tour departs from. In the winter there are only 3 departures a day and I was aiming to get the second of these. There is just the one bus running the route and it had clearly gotten a little delayed on the first tour of the day as it was nearly 15 minutes after the timetabled departure time before it arrived. As a result a number of people waiting had given up and picked up the Red route instead so I was able to get the top front seat for good views.

The Green route heads North out of the city centre to the area of Grinzing. This wine producing area used to be its own separate village but has long since been subsumed into Greater Vienna. The bus runs through the pretty centre of the town, past many of the wine lodges that the town is famous for. From Grinzing the bus climbs up into the hills to the panorama view point at the top of the Kahlenberg.

It was pretty obvious, as the bus started the climb, that this was a bit pointless as we were soon enveloped by the clouds as we reached the lower level of the misty murk that had been hanging over the city since yesterday. At the top visibility couldn’t have been more than 100m so we just had to imagine the view that the bus tour commentary was telling us about.

The tour returned back to the city centre, where at least the visibility was a little better, though it did appear to be slowly decreasing. Back at the opera house I changed onto the Yellow route, again managing to bag the all important front window seat for this tour which headed out west from the city centre past the West Bahnhof and out to the Summer palace of the Imperial court at Schloß Schönbrunn. Though by the time we got out to the palace the fog was really starting to close in, which combined with the rapidly setting sun meant it got increasingly difficult to see many of the sites as we headed back into the city centre.

I arrived back at the opera house just as the queue for the night tour was starting to form, so I quickly joined that and after about 30 minutes of waiting got a decent seat towards the back of the bus for my final tour of the night. This tour follows a similar route to the Red tour, but deviates away from the very centre of the city in places to visit the Prater amusement area and the symbol of the city – the Wiener Riesenrad – and again in the south of the city to take in both the Arsenal and the Schloß Belvedere.

Finally back at the Opera house I went to find somewhere to grab a bite to eat. After a pleasant dinner I headed over to the Karlsplatz to take in some of the stunning buildings that are in this part of the city – most notable of all being the domed Karlskirche.

From here it was a short walk back to the hotel and, after a slightly more successful and less harassed drink in the bar, I headed to bed.

Weather

Misty Misty
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
0ºC/32ºF

Vienna; Sunday, 26 January, 2020

Sadly, I got another poor nights sleep due to the paper thin walls of the room and another less than adequate shower and good breakfast later I was ready to check out of the hotel. I had intended on taking the opportunity of the receptionist on checkout asking if my stay had been good to let them know about my less than happy stay, but the receptionist was much more interested in making sure they took payment for my bar bill from my credit card and getting me out of the building to even want to ask how my stay was.

From the hotel I wandered through the Stadtpark over to the start point of the final tour that I hadn’t yet been on – the Blue Route, appropriately enough for the colour of the route it takes you out east towards the Danube and it’s multiple channels.

As I’d got out of the hotel early I was at the bus stop before the first bus of the morning had even arrived so I was once again able to bag the best seat on the bus and take in the good views on the tour. This route starts by heading south down the side of the Danube Canal before doubling back up the opposite bank and then heading over towards the Prater and Messe areas of the city. From there it crosses the Danube propper and stops off at the Danube Tower and Gardens before heading back into the city centre. From the Stadtpark stop I headed back round on a Red route bus to the Opera house and on to the Schottentor stop.

Here I was able to pick up the tram to head back out to Grinzing to have a bit more of a look round this pretty town and then to pick up the local bus – which I found ran every 4-6 minutes on a Sunday (that’s a lot better than every 90 minutes for the hop-on-hop-off bus) up to the summit of the Kahlenberg.

I had a good wander around the Kahlenberg area, including popping into the Polish church that sits at the top of the hill. This is the point where Polish forces rested the night before they helped defeat the Ottomans at the final battle for Vienna, and since then has been a point of Polish as well as Austrian interest.

After having a look around the church, and taking in the views afforded by less than 50m visibility over the city, I caught the bus back down to the end of the U-Bahn and down to Karlsplatz.

I stopped for a quick lunch near the Karlskirche before heading inside to have a look around this impressive church. The inside of which has been painstakingly restored over a number of years, including the amazing frescos that cover the inside of the dome. As part of the restoration there is a lift that takes you to a viewing platform just below the dome where you can take in just how impressive they painting, and restoration, is.

By the time I’d finished looking round the Karlskirche it was time to wander back to the hotel, grab my bags and start my journey back home.

Weather

Misty Misty
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Luxembourg; Friday, 07 February, 2020

After finishing work, I headed over to Heathrow airport, battling the traffic on a Friday evening at home time for everyone, but I managed to make it to the airport in time.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and onto the plane, and then a smooth – if slightly longer than expected journey down to Luxembourg – Due to a French air-traffic controllers strike we had to fly over Belgium and Germany before coming down into Luxembourg from the wrong direction to avoid French airspace.

A quick run through immigration and I was straight out to the bus stop with about 10 minutes to spare before the bus into the city centre.

I caught the bus down to the main station and then walked the short distance back to my hotel where I checked in and headed straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Luxembourg; Saturday, 08 February, 2020

I had an early breakfast before heading out of the hotel and over to the railway station to pick up a day ticket for the public transport and then to hop on the train one stop up the line to Pfaffenthal. The journey is one of the more spectacular departures from a capital city as the line crosses the different valleys that make up the city, offering great views over the city and the fortifications.

I hopped off the train at Pfaffenthal and had a look around the local area, including taking the funicular up to the Kirchberg plateau and then heading down in the lift to the valley floor and the Pfaffenthal quarter of the city. At the exit from the lift there was a map showing a couple of suggested walking routes to explore the area, so I decided to follow one of those. It led me a little further down the side of Alzette river, that flows through the city centre in it’s deep valley, and then back towards the fortifications and the Eich gate.

The Eich gate forms part of the fortifications of the city and is joined to the Vauban Tower on the opposite side of the river by a bridge which I crossed, and then continued on my way up the fortifications as they climbed up the side of the hill, crossing over the railway line and on up to Fort Niedergrünewald on a ledge high above Pfaffenthal. I spent some time wandering through the ruins of the fort and taking in the view over the valley, before continuing on up the hill emerging back onto the Kirchberg plateau almost opposite the funicular.

From there I walked back towards the city centre across the large bridge that spans the Pfaffenthal valley from which I was able to get some good photos of the area and the fortifications. Back on the city side of the bridge I wandered the short distance to the Pfaffenthal lift and took that back down into the valley. I continued my walk through Pfaffenthal, eventually climbing up onto the Bock Promontory that overlooks both Pfaffenthal and Grund.

From the Bock I headed down the opposite side and into the equally pretty Grund area of the city. I had a long wander around Grund before heading over to the Grund lift and catching that up into the upper city centre to go and find somewhere for a late lunch.

After lunch I caught the bus back round to the Rham-plateau high above Grund, and opposite Bock where there are further ruined fortifications, along with stunning views of the passageways and casemates that have been tunnelled out of the Bock promontory. I then walked down from the plateau into Grund and, after a quick stop for refreshment in one of the very nice bars in the centre of the area, caught the bus back up to my hotel.

I stopped off at my hotel for a little while to freshen up, before heading back out into the city for dinner. After dinner I headed over to the bus stop and caught the bus back out to the Rham-Plateau so that I could get some pictures of the city at night.

If anything the Bock and Grund areas are more spectacular at night and I was able to take quite a few photos as I worked my way back down to centre of Grund and the lift that took me back up to the upper city, right by the rear of the cathedral. I had a bit of a wander around the upper town area before I found myself back over by the Pfaffenthal lift. From the observation platform at the end of the lift bridge I managed to get some good views of Pfaffenthal at night, before I hopped into the lift and headed back down to the valley floor.

I had a little wander round Pfaffenthal at night before heading back over to the railway station and taking the lift/funicular combo back up to Kirchberg where I hopped on the bus back to my hotel and a well-earned rest.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Luxembourg; Sunday, 09 February, 2020

I had a bit of a lie-in and a later breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading out.

My first stop of the morning was back over to the Bock from where I followed the other edge of the promontory round through the impressive Three Towers Gate and then continued back down into Pfaffenthal.

From Pfaffenthal I caught the lift back up to the upper town and then wandered over towards the Adolphe Bridge. This impressive bridge spans the Pétrusse valley and links back to an impressive sweep of buildings on the opposite bank. I walked over the bridge and had been intending to take the slopes down into the Pétrusse valley, but I ended up taking a wrong turn and instead of heading down into the valley I found myself on a hidden pedestrian and cycle way that is suspended beneath the Adolphe Bridge.

From here there are amazing views down the Pétrusse valley, with the arches of the bridge acting as the perfect frame for pictures of the fortifications and the cathedral. I headed back across the valley, this time underneath the bridge.

Back on the side where I’d started I headed along the side of the fortifications for a little while back to the Place de la Constitution and then onto the Cathedral which I went in to have a look around.

Having taken in the Cathedral I then headed back over to the fortifications and this time took a very steep set of steps that descended all the way down, through the fortifications, to the floor of the Pétrusse valley to the tiny river.

I wandered along the valley the couple of hundred yards or so until the river finally reaches the Alzette at the start of Grund.

I had a bit more of a wander around Grund before it was time to head back up into the city and make my way over to the hotel to collect my bags and make my way back to the airport.

I had a quick journey through the airport and into the departures lounge where I ended up having to wait quite a lot longer than originally expected as the stormy weather initially delayed the departure of the plane from London, and then forced it to undertake a go-around at Luxembourg, so it was a good hour late before we finally pushed back and made our way back into the tail end of Storm Ciara as it left the UK.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Naples; Wednesday, 19 February, 2020

I’d worked from home in the morning as I’d booked the afternoon off as leave, so as soon as lunchtime arrived, I was able to log off and head down to Gatwick.

I had a quick and smooth journey through the airport, which was surprisingly quiet – especially as it was the Wednesday of the school half term holidays.

The gate was shown at the exact time that had been predicted ever since I’d arrived at the airport and was on a gate really close to the departures lounge, so very quickly we had a full gate and then a fully loaded flight.

There was a little bit of a wait to get the last of the luggage on, but we eventually pushed back on time, and had a direct run from the stand to the threshold of the runway almost directly behind us, and with nothing else waiting to take off or to land, we were soon airborne. I think less than 5 minutes from push back to airborne at Gatwick is about as fast as it’s possible to do it.

A generally smooth flight over and we touched down in Naples just as the last of the days light was starting to fade. There are no jet bridges at Naples airport, but we were parked right by the entrance to the immigration desks so we were able to just disembark via steps and walk into the building. There we were met by soldiers in full protective gear taking the temperatures of each passenger – clearly wanting to avoid any cases of Corona Virus making it through the airport.

There was also a lady from immigration clearly instructing UK passengers to use the EU channels for immigration, to speed the process up. Once through and with my bags round only a few minutes later I headed out of the airport and made it to the airport bus stop as the next shuttle was loading up, so I was able to quickly make the connection into town.

The bus dropped me off at the central station, from where it was a good 15-minute walk to the hotel.

By the time I finally got to the hotel and got checked in it was starting to get late, so I just headed down to the hotel restaurant for dinner, and then a quick nightcap in the bar before turning in for the evening.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Naples; Thursday, 20 February, 2020

I had a decent nights sleep and after a filling breakfast headed out of the hotel to go for a wander. The hotel being located in a palazzo built on the edge of the old city walls, it was only a couple of steps to be away from the manic driving of the modern city and into the relative peace, and narrow roads, of the old city.

First stop of the morning was the cathedral, located a couple of streets away from the hotel. The cathedral is pretty well hidden in amongst the city centre, with no great square or wide open space around it – unlike many other Italian cities. Instead it’s crammed into it’s space, with other buildings coming right up onto it. However inside it’s spacious and light with the sun streaming through the stained glass windows. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the cathedral, including visiting the original basilica which was built here over 1000 years ago, but later relegated to a side chapel as the rest of the cathedral developed.

From the cathedral I continue to wander through the old town, with my intention being to visit the underground Napoli site – this is one of the few entrance points to the ruins of the ancient city that was built here – accessible only by guided tour. Unfortunately, when I got there they had a notice up that there were no tours available before 14:00, so I decided to leave that for another day.

I continued wandering through the streets of the old town, before finally emerging out the other side of the city by Piazza Dante. From here I caught the metro a couple of stops south to the town hall square, which is where the open-top sightseeing buses leave from.

In Naples they have two routes – the red route which takes in the edge of the old city (the streets inside the old city being way too small for a bus to fit down – even the tiny buses that Italy specialises in are too big!), and the blue route that heads up into the hills overlooking the city. I started by doing a circuit of the red route, which dropped me back at the start point just in time to change onto the blue route. From this route there were stunning views over the bay of Naples, dominated from most angles by the brooding shape of Vesuvius.

Back at the starting point for the tour and I headed over to the stunning Gallaria Umberto I – a massive 19th Century glass shopping gallery – to grab a bite to eat for a late lunch. I then headed back to the bus stop to pick up one final tour for the day, taking the red route again to take in the views from the opposite side.

At the end of the tour I walked back past the Gallaria and into the massive Piazza del Plebiscito, one of the main squares of the city and an enormous open space. At the back end of the square is the round church of the Basilica Reale Pontificia San Francesco da Paola, with an amazing dome – which I had a look around before heading back out into the square and then back into the old town.

Naples is built on the steep slopes of hills, so dotted all along the lower part of town are funicular railways that take you up to the higher parts of the city. I headed over to the Central Funicular to take that up to it’s top station, and once there had a wander round until I came across a stairway leading back down into town from where there were stunning views over the city and the bay.

From there it was then just a short walk to Castel Sant’Elmo – the largest of the cities castle and the one occupying the most visible point – being the highest point of the city. By the time I got there the sun was already setting, and whilst I could have gone into the castle grounds I instead went to the view point just outside the walls that looks over the lower city and across the bay to Vesuvius where I was able to watch the amazing changes of colours across the city as the sun set behind me.

It also helped that just by the view point was a very nice looking restaurant with some outside tables where I was able to grab a quick dinner with an Aperol Spritz to enjoy the last of the days light, before it was time to start heading back down into town and to the hotel via yet another funicular and the suburban train.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Naples; Friday, 21 February, 2020

I had a quick breakfast and headed out to catch the open-top bus tour round to the town hall square. The original plan saw me just making the second Blue route bus of the day, but that plan very quickly fell apart once the bus turned onto the main road between the station and the town hall, which was close to gridlocked. A major demonstration was taking place outside the welfare office close to the town hall which was causing traffic chaos, and what should have been a 15 minute bus ride ended up taking the best part of an hour.

Thankfully I made it to the Blue route start point in time to catch the third bus of the day, fortunately boarding it just 20 minutes before my 24 hour ticket expired. I caught that bus most of the way round the route, getting off at the stop closest to the Castel dell’Ovo.

Today the castle is mostly a conference centre and exhibition space, but the battlements and roofs have been opened free of charge to the public so that you can explore them and take in the views of the city. Even more handily the only access up to the top of the castle is via the lifts that whisk you up to the main battlement level – taking all the hassle and hike out of getting to top of a tall castle.

Having taken in the views I headed back down to street level and wandered over to one of the many restaurants that line the seafront at this point where I stopped for a very nice lunch people watching and basking in the warm late February sun.

Lunch completed I continued walking along the coast, following the road round towards the city centre and port and eventually ended up at the Castel Nuovo. I headed inside to tick off my second castle of the day. Unlike Castel dell’Ovo, Castel Nuovo does charge for entry as it houses the municipal art gallery. There’s also an additional charge to go on a tour of the prison the basement of the castle and up onto the roof for views over the city. Naturally I chose to pay for both options which meant I had about 40 minutes to cram in the art gallery before I met the guided tour.

Having finished the tour I decided that what’s better than two castles in a day would be three, so I headed over to the Central Funicular station and took that up to it’s top station and then walked the short distance over to Castel Sant’Elmo. Like Castel Nuovo this also houses a museum, but I arrived about 15 minutes after last admission for the day had been sold, so instead I was able to purchase the reduced rate ticket just to take in the battlements of the castle.

With it’s position at the highest point of the city, it is the only location that has a true 360 degree view over the city, and by pure chance I’d timed it just right that as I made it up onto the roof of the castle I was in time to watch the stunning sunset. I continued to explore the roof area, but with the sun now set it was clear that it was still only February and it was starting to get quite chilly.

I headed back down to the funicular station and headed back down into town where I stopped for a quick slice of Neopolitan pizza – the large lunch I’d had earlier still keeping me relatively full.

Then I wandered over to the metro station and headed back to the hotel where I stopped for a quick nightcap and to rest my now aching knees, before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Naples; Saturday, 22 February, 2020

I had a bit of a lie-in and a late breakfast as I was planning on heading out of town for the day to look round the enormous palace constructed by the Kings of Naples in the 18th Century as their main palace, but the first direct train of the day from the station closest to the hotel wasn’t due to leave until just after 11:30 so I could have a relaxed start.

With a big breakfast inside me I headed over to the station, purchased my ticket and caught the train out north to the town of Caserta. On arrival I headed out of the station and, immediately opposite, was greeted by the site of one of the largest baroque palaces on the face of the planet.

I headed into the palace and purchased my ticket for both the palace and the grounds. First stop was to do the tour of the Royal apartments. These occupy the main floor of this gigantic palace and, given the size of the building, are opulent with quarries worth of marble and more gold leaf than I think I’ve ever seen before. You follow a set route round the apartments so that you get to see most of the rooms on the floor – a couple more than once as you pass through them to get to other parts of the tour.

By the time I completed the tour it was rapidly approaching 2pm so I quickly headed over to the restaurant to have a very pleasant, and surprisingly cheap, pasta lunch before going on to tackle the gardens.

For such a massive palace there are of course massive grounds – although the gardens rapidly taper to a thin stretch of land that includes a series of cascades and fountains which stretch for nearly 2 miles up the side of the hill. Thankfully, the palace offers a shuttle bus service that runs from the back entrance of the place right up to the bottom of the main cascade at the top end of the gardens. In theory the €2,50 is for a round trip but I suspect many, like me, just use it the one way to get up to the top and then walk back.

At the top of the Royal Park is a large English Garden, but that closes surprisingly early, with last admittance being at 14:30, and when I arrived at 14:31 the lady on the gate was already turning people away. I was able to get a couple of photos from the gate, before I headed back to the water features and started my long walk back down the gardens to the palace.

Despite it only being 2 miles, it still took me nearly 90 minutes to complete the walk, though that may have not been helped by the number of times I stopped along the way to take photos at the various fountains and cascades.

By the time I made it back to the palace it was close to it’s closing time and the last shuttle bus of the day was heading off back up to the top cascade to collect it’s last passengers. I wandered back through the various courtyards of the palace complex and across the main front grounds to the station.

I made it back to the station with about 20 minutes to spare before my train was due to leave, but thankfully it was already sat in the station as it started there so I was able to go and collapse into the seat for my journey back into Naples.

Once back in the city I again quickly grabbed some local pizza before heading back to the hotel to apply a good dose of Volatrol to my aching knees and, after a nightcap, to get some well deserved rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Naples; Sunday, 23 February, 2020

I had wanted to have a bit of a lie-in, but as I was wide awake by 8am I decided I might as well get up and head down to breakfast. This turned out to be a bad idea as it appeared that almost everyone else in the hotel was up early and there was a queue to get a table for breakfast and a queue to get any food, and a queue to wait for the food to be replenished. It was clear the staff weren’t coping particularly well with the rush.

By the time I’d finished breakfast the restaurant had pretty much emptied out and it was back to normal service, so I could have just waited a little bit. I headed back up to my room, packed and then headed down to check-out.

My main aim for the day was to actually visit the Underground Napoli sites that I hadn’t been able to visit earlier in the week, so I set off with the aim of making the midday tour. I had a bit of a wander through the streets of the old town as I had a bit of time to spare, and I remembered that they only advised people to turn up 10 minutes before the tour.

When I got to the tour departure point at 11:40 I was quite surprised at the size of the queue, and I did worry for a moment or two that I’d badly messed up, but then someone from the tour company was coming down the line separating out the English, French and Spanish speakers from the mass of Italian speakers for their respective tours.

On the dot of midday the English tour was invited to step forward to the cash desk and then we descended deep into the bowls of the city. The tour starts with the main descent, going down 38m into the former mine workings from where the original Greek New City or Neopolis was hewn from. The tour guide explained that after the spaces were created over several hundred years towards the end of the Greek period and into the Roman period, the massive spaces were then turned into giant cisterns to store water for the city. A job that they continued to do right up until the middle of the 19th century when a cholera outbreak tainted the waters so badly that the site had to be permanently closed and then, in keeping with all the stereotypes of Naples, they were turned into a rubbish dump for the next 70 years.

The tipping of rubbish finally stopped in the early 1940s, mostly because Naples was now a target for allied bombing (and once Italy swapped sides it then went on to be targeted by the Nazis), and the local populace needed a place to shelter, so the rubbish that was down there was cemented over to make new level floors and the space was then used as shelters.

The tour then heads on into the area of the cisterns and at points you have to squeeze through the narrow gaps in the rocks – some barely 50cm wide – and into the cisterns themselves. From there its then a hefty climb back up to street level and then a walk around the block to a small house which inside houses access to a tiny part of the original Roman Theatre of the city before the tour ends emerging back into one of the lanes of the old town.

By the time I completed the tour it was well into lunch time so I found a nice restaurant nearby and had a relaxing lunch sitting in the warm sun. After lunch I walked the short distance over to the monumental complex of San Lorenzo Maggiore, just to opposite side of the street from the entrance to the underground Naples tour. Under the church here there is a preserved part of the Roman city. This area was originally buried and damaged following flooding in the 5th Century, so it isn’t as old as the parts I’d seen this morning, but it looks more complete and building like. Unlike the Underground Naples you are able to wander round this site by yourself so I took the self-guided tour – though the large Italian language tour just ahead of me meant that for a large part of the walk round I was effectively moving at the pace of the tour group.

Back up at street level I had a quick look round the museum that’s attached to the complex, and includes some of the artefacts that were found there, but I had to cut my visit short a bit as I realised I needed to start making a move to get to the airport.

I headed back to the hotel to collect my luggage and then, rather than struggling over the rough paving and fighting my way onto a shuttle bus, I cheated and got the hotel to call me a taxi to the airport, arriving just as check-in was opening.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Edinburgh; Friday, 28 February, 2020

After finishing work I headed down to Gatwick. It was a quick and smooth journey through the airport and onto the plane.

We pushed back a couple of minutes early, but spent quite a bit of time waiting in the queue to depart before starting our journey north.

It was a smooth flight, and everything was on schedule to land more than 15 minutes early until just before we were about to land we all felt the sudden surge of power and change of pitch as the pilots pushed the engines back up to maximum and started a rapid climb as they declared a go-around.

A couple of minutes later, after levelling out over Fife and starting the second approach attempt the captain came on the PA to let us know why we’d had to go around. There was a plane that had been cleared for take-off ahead of our landing that had suddenly developed a mechanical problem before it started its takeoff roll, so was still sitting on the end of the runway as we approached, meaning it wasn’t safe for us to land.

The broken down plane was clearly moved pretty quickly as by the time we came back round 15 minutes later we were able to make a smooth landing without any issues.

An equally quick journey through the airport at Edinburgh and straight onto a tram to go the couple of stops round to my hotel.

I checked in and headed up to my room to drop stuff off before popping back down to the bar for a quick nightcap before turning in.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Edinburgh; Saturday, 29 February, 2020

I had a decent nights sleep, but was still awake before 8am, so, after a leisurely shower, I headed down for breakfast and then out to the tram stop to pick up the tram a couple of stops round to Edinburgh Gateway station. There I changed onto the regular train and went one stop onto Dalmeny.

Dalmeny is at the southern end of the Forth Rail Bridge and that was the main reason for heading here this morning. On leaving the station I followed the footpath that runs next to the railway line down to the start of the bridge and then underneath it and down a flight of stairs to river level in South Queensferry.

I’d booked onto the 11am sailing of the Forth Boat Tours Blackness Castle and Three Bridges tour which leaves from the Hawes Pier right next to the rail bridge.

The tour lasted about 90 minutes during which we sailed under all three of the crossings and a bit further upstream up the Forth to Blackness Castle. The tour also included a cream tea – the hot tea being particularly welcome with the biting February wind.

Back at the landing stage I retraced my steps and headed back into the city centre, getting off at Waverley where I headed up onto the North Bridge to pick up the bus to go out the opposite side of town, down towards the Infirmary and the 14th Century Craigmillar castle.

The castle is reckoned to be one of the finest examples of a medieval Scottish castle, with much of the building still in tact. I spent quite a bit of time looking round the castle, and taking in the views from the roof from where you can see the whole of the centre of Edinburgh as well as Arthurs Seat and the Firth of Forth. As the weather was clear it was even possible to clearly see Bass Rock out beyond North Berwick and pretty much as the sea.

I spent so long looking round the castle that the custodian was actually starting to make their rounds to lock the building up as I was leaving. I headed back down to the bus stop and picked up the bus into town, where I changed onto the tram and headed back to the hotel to freshen up.

I got back to the hotel a little after 5pm and was intending on just freshening up before heading out for dinner, but whilst I was there the weather – which had been beautiful for the whole day – suddenly took a turn for the worse as the first hits of the latest weekend storm to hit the UK made themselves felt with the wind whistling round the building and the rain hammering on the windows.

I decided, based on the weather, that actually the hotel restaurant was perfectly acceptable possessing the key selling point of not requiring to get wet or cold to get to.

After dinner I had a nightcap in the bar before turning in for the night – listening to the sound of the storm making me feel even more cosy in my warm bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Edinburgh; Sunday, 01 March, 2020

Overnight the weather had continued to be vile, and I had quite a nice long lie in with the sound of the rain pounding on the windows occasionally waking me up to turn over, stretch and go back to sleep again.

I eventually got up just after 9 and after a quick shower headed down to Breakfast. I had a leisurly breakfast, watching the rain pound on the windows some more, but with the noticeable lightening of the sky in the distance.

After breakfast, and a bit of time in my room packing the skies eventually started to clear and the rain stopped, do I checked out of the hotel. I caught the tram into town and changed onto a bus out to the Royal Botanical Gardens to have a look around.

The gardens are free to look around, but there is a charge if you want to go into the Greenhouses. I purchased a ticket for the greenhouses at the entrance gate, but the guy in the ticket office did warn me that if the already strong wind picked up any more they would be forced to close the glasshouses, in which case I would be able to come back and get a refund.

I wandered through the gardens, noticing that the wind was indeed strengthening, to the point that just as I turned the corner towards the entrance of the Greenhouses everyone was being ushered out as they had just closed them.

I continued having a walk around the gardens, stopping at the main building to get my ticket refunded and to grab some lunch in the restaurant.

Having looked round the gardens I caught the bus back into town and hopped off as it reached the Royal Mile. I headed up the final part of the hill towards the castle, only to find that the castle too was closed due to the high winds, so instead I walked a couple of steps back down the hill to the Scottish Whisky Experience and had a very pleasant tour and tasting there, including an additional – quite expensive- tasting of my favourite Scottish Whisky, Highland Park.

Suitably self central-heated from the now biting wind, I headed back down the Royal Mile and picked up the bus back over to York Place and picked up the tram from there back to the hotel, timing it perfectly to miss the very heavy shower that passed over whilst I was on the tram.

I quickly zipped into the hotel to pick up my bag and head back to the tramstop, but I didn’t quite do it quick enough missing the tram that was 8 minutes behind the one I’d gotten off by a good minute or so. Thankfully I did make it to the tram shelter just before the next hefty shower passed through so managed to keep dry from that as well. The next tram arrived on time and I caught that back to the airport for my flight back to London

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Arrecife; Friday, 13 March, 2020

My flight was at 7am so I’d stayed overnight at the airport. It was still an ungodly hour when I got up and made my way through security to the departures lounge for breakfast and to wait for boarding.

It was a smooth journey with the plane departing on time and eventually making it to Lanzarote 15 minutes early. I quickly got through the airport and was met by my transfer to the hotel.

I checked into the hotel, but as I was checking in the announcements were coming through that every cultural and tourist site – including all the museums and the volcanic parks – were to be closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak (despite their only being 2 cased on the island). This was confirmed a little later when I got an email from the tour companies that Id booked tours with to say that they had all been cancelled and they were going to issue me with refunds.

At least today the hop-on-hop-off land train was still running so I was able to take a tour of the city centre and get to see some of the sites. I was also able to have a bit of a wander around the centre of the town and walked out on the breakwater to the castle, though it was closed.

I had a bit more of a wander around the city before heading back to the hotel. I had originally intended on popping out for dinner, but it was soon obvious that most of the restaurants were going to be closed so instead I booked for the hotel restaurant.

I headed back to my room to plan what I was going to do the following day. It was clear that I wouldn’t be able to visit any attractions, but looking at the bus timetables it did look like I could explore a fair amount of the island – so with a notebook and the bus website I was able to plot out a route for the following day to explore at least a part of the island.

After completing my planning I headed up to the bar on the top, 17th, floor of the hotel to have a drink whilst watching the sun set behind the volcanoes.

I then headed down to the buffet restaurant for dinner before making my way back to my room for an early night given I was starting to feel the effect of the 4:30 wake-up

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Arrecife; Saturday, 14 March, 2020

I had a filling breakfast in the hotel before heading out to walk over to the main intercity bus terminal on the opposite side of the city centre. It was difficult to tell at 09:30 in the morning if it was quiet just because it was early on a Saturday or if people were staying in their houses.

I got to the bus station in time to pick up my first connection of the day – the scenic route 16 out towards the north coast of the island, through some of the main volcano and lava fields in the centre of the island. As the bus was quiet I was able to get a good seat and take quite a few photos on the very impressive journey past multiple volcanoes.

I hopped off the bus in the town of Tinajo, about 4km from the end of the buses route, mainly as it was the last town the bus stopped in before reaching the end of the route so I had about 20 minutes to have a quick look around and take some more photos before the bus returned and I headed back into Arrecife.

The bus arrived just before 12, giving me about 5 minutes to make the connection onto the next bus – this time out to the town of Teguise, located in the middle of the island. Until Arrecife’s port importance propelled it to the status of capital of the Island, Teguise had been the capital. I had a long wander around the former capital taking in the views, in particular of the main market square. I stopped in a little café for a quick lunch, before heading back to the bus stop and hopping on another bus, this time to continue north up to the Northern coast of the island.

The town of Caleta de Famara is located on the north coast and is partly surrounded by a large cliff ridge and sand dunes. From the beach it’s possible to see the island of La Graciosa, as well as a number of people surfing as the waves were pretty impressive here.

I had a nice wander along the beach, taking in the sea air and the sights, before heading to a bar near the bus stop for a quick afternoon drink and a snack whilst I waited for the bus onto my penultimate destination of the day.

The bus took me back south, through Teguise and down to the South coast seaside resort of Costa Teguise. Here I wandered down to the seafront and had a long walk along the promenade that links the multiple beaches of this resort location together. I stopped at a nice looking ice cream parlour in the centre of town for quick ice cream before finishing off my walk by making my way back to the bus stop.

The bus from Costa Teguise not only serves the Intercity bus station in Arrecife, but also the local bus station near the hotel, so I stayed on the bus round to here and then walked back along the beach towards the hotel.

I contemplated popping back into the hotel and changing into my swimming things as the beach and sea did look very tempting, but on getting back into the hotel it was to see that the news had moved fast during the day, with one of the UK main holiday airlines, Jet2, cancelling all their flights and the whole of Spain poised to go onto a full lock down. Thoughts of heading out onto the beach ended there as I spent a good hour on the phone waiting to get through to British Airways to confirm that my flight would still be operating. By the time I’d finished that – and read up fully on the shutdown details – it was dark.

I was going to have a pre-dinner drink, but the restrictions on the hotel meant that they had to close both their top floor bar and restaurant and now the only open facility was the buffet restaurant, so instead I headed there for dinner before returning to my room. On getting back to my room I found a letter under the door explaining that as a precaution they would be introducing a shift system for breakfast and dinner based on floor number to reduce the number of people in the restaurant at any one time. This meant that if I wanted breakfast I had to be down for 8am. So with nothing to do and an early breakfast call I turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Arrecife; Sunday, 15 March, 2020

Despite the original news being that the lockdown would come into force on Monday morning clearly overnight that position had changed and we woke up to being told that we were only allowed to leave the hotel to go to the pharmacy or to the airport.

After an early breakfast I had a whole day just hanging around inside the hotel. I headed down to the pool bar for a while, which was still open and serving drinks (but no food). I spent a couple of hours there sat in the sun, reading a book – and watching the police and lifeguards enforcing the lockdown on people who were still trying to sneak in a swim.

The highlight of the day was 18:30 when I was able to go down for dinner, and then after that it was back up to my room and another early night

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Arrecife; Monday, 16 March, 2020

As my flight wasn’t due to take off until 4pm my transfer was only booked for 2pm, but checkout was at midday. The hotel said that I could keep the room until 1pm, but then I would have to just sit in the lobby for the final hour until my transfer arrived.

So, after breakfast I hung around in my room for several hours – making sure I’d packed everything and ensuring that my phone and tablet were both fully charged, whilst at the same time monitoring the inbound flight to make sure that it was running.

For a little while things were looking dodgy as it’s original departure time came and went, but eventually, nearly 40 minutes behind schedule, it pushed back and began its journey towards Lanzarote, meaning I could checkout of the room relatively confident that I would be getting home.

After an hour and a bit sat in the lobby of the hotel my transfer arrived and I was quickly whisked off to the airport to checkin and start my journey home.

The airport was a little chaotic – with everything except a single newsagent closed airside and limited seating with all the restaurants closed and not really much to do.

However, the inbound flight was almost empty so we were able to start boarding earlier than normal and were soon all ready to go, albeit having to wait over 30 minutes to get a take off slot due to restrictions back in the UK.

We eventually pushed back 20 minutes after our original departure time and headed back to the UK and an almost deserted Gatwick.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

St Albans; Friday, 10 July, 2020

So, first trip as the Covid-19 restrictions started to ease and by pure chance the first trip to survive the rounds of cancellations and postponements had always been a quick weekend away to a city less than 40 miles from home – perhaps the best choice for getting back into the travelling habit.

As it was a short journey with only one change in Streatham onto a Thameslink train all the way to St Albans, I was able to travel up over part of my lunch break. The Thameslink train was deserted and so I was able to sit in relative comfort in the declassified first class compartment at the rear of the train and get on with some work – meaning I still had most of my lunch break left when I got to St Albans.

From the station it’s a hefty 10-15 minute walk up the hill into the centre of the city, so instead I cheated and got a taxi from the station all the way to my hotel, where I was able to checkin and go straight to my room, where I could remove my face mask.

I did a couple of hours work at the hotel before finishing off for the evening just after 5pm. I had a restaurant booked for 7pm so I only had a little time to explore so I grabbed the camera and headed over the road to the Cathedral to have a look around the outside of that.

I spent a good 45 minutes or so wandering around the outside grounds of the Cathedral and the last remaining parts of the Abbey that used to exist here – only small fragments now remain. After that I headed back to the hotel to get changed as my restaurant for the evening had a smart-casual dining code and my shorts were probably not covered by that.

Just before 7pm I headed out to my first proper restaurant meal since Naples back in mid-February. The meal was very nice and the service was excellent – if slightly weird with everything being delivered to a large tray set on a stand next to the table which I then had to help myself from onto my table to ensure that the waiters never got too close.

Stuffed from a lovely dinner I wandered back through the area around the cathedral down to my hotel. Passing up the idea of a nightcap in the hotels deserted and Covid-secure bar, I headed back to my room and had an early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

St Albans; Saturday, 11 July, 2020

Breakfast was a paper grab-bag containing some muesli, a croissant, cheese and a yogurt – accompanied by a small americano coffee which I took back to my room to consume.

After breakfast I trekked up the hill from the hotel to the centre of town, and on the way spotted that there was a barber on the opposite side of the road offering on-line bookings. Once I got to the bus stops at the top of the hill I had about 15 minutes before my bus onto the first attraction of the morning so I went onto the booking site and was able to secure the last slot of the day at 4pm.

The bus ride was, much like the previous days train ride, my first in over 4 months – and it was a slightly weird experience travelling on a bus that had most of the seats blocked out to ensure social distancing. However, the number of people using it was pretty low so it didn’t create a problem.

The journey out to London Colney took about 30 minutes, including crossing back over the M25 so that I was sort of back inside London – though the quiet country lanes (if you ignored the roar of traffic on the M25), would have suggested being much further away. I got off the bus at the stop for Salisbury Hall and walked down the access lane. Salisbury Hall was, for a number of years, the offices of the de Havilland Airplane Company and it was from these offices that they designed the Mosquito Fighter Bomber that went on to play a significant role in the RAF’s success during WWII.

The Hall is now in private hands, but just behind it is the de Havilland Aircraft Museum which houses a number of examples of the companies aircraft from it’s earliest days, through the war, it becoming the manufacturer of the worlds first passenger jet – the Comet – through to its later aircraft (in fact the story continues as the modern Dash 8 turboprops are once again being manufactured by a company called De Havilland Canada).

I’d booked my slot online in advance as today was the first day that the museum was open following it’s Covid closure, so I was one of the first to try out their new walking route and social distancing measures – which were impressive and ensured you saw most of the collection (though not the option to go inside any of the aircraft)

I spent a good couple of hours looking round the museum before making sure I got my timing right to make it back to the bus stop in time for the half hourly bus back into St Albans. I had a quick stop in a bakery to pick up some lunch and headed back down to my hotel room to consume lunch there, before heading back over to the Cathedral to look around there.

The Cathedral had a good walking route set out so that everyone could keep their distance and also see most of the building – including the puppets from the St Albans parade and a good view down the length of the longest nave in England. By the time I’d finished looking round the cathedral there was just enough time to pop back over to the hotel, drop off my camera, pick up a fresh face mask, and head on over to the barber for my first haircut in more than 8 months (I’d been needing to get my hair cut just before I went away to Lanzarote, but had put it off – as it turned out a bad idea – until after I was due back, but by then lockdown had started).

Finally seeing my ears for the first time in months I headed back to the hotel and freshened up there before heading out for dinner a little later in a very nice Moroccan restaurant in the marketplace area. After dinner I headed back over to the cathedral and had a wander around the grounds in dusk to take some more photos before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

St Albans; Sunday, 12 July, 2020

Another grab-bag breakfast and then off out into the city centre to have a wander around.

I had originally intended on visiting a couple of the city museums – but these had not yet reopened following their Covid closures so that was not possible. Instead I headed back down the hill, past the cathedral and into Verulamium park. The park sits on much of the land that was once occupied the Roman town and includes several remaining bits of the old city wall.

The other end of the park, and across a busy road, are the remains of the Roman Theatre of Verulamium and that is where I was headed for my midday booking. I arrived a few minutes early, but due to the lack of anyone else being around I was able to go straight in and look around the site.

The archaeological remains are the largest and most complete for a Roman theatre in Britain and show the whole space of the auditorium and stage as well as some neighbouring stores buildings. There is also the remains of a 2nd century town house located on the edge of the site.

After spending quote some time looking round the theatre I then wandered back through the park, stopping off at the café to grab a socially distanced bacon butty and well-earned bottle of pop. I wandered past the large block of the city walls that sit in the middle of the park and show quite how big a difference there was between the inside and outside of the walls with the outside side being significantly lower the inside.

From there I walked on a little further to the site of the London Gate. Today all that remains are the outlines of the footings of the gate – two large curved towers and two roadways running between them – but even from these it is clear to see this would have been an impressive structure. The gate itself was located at the Southern end of old town and would have been on Watling Street – the key Roman road running from Dubris (Dover) through Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) on its way towards Viroconium (Wroxeter) and eventually onto Deva (Chester)

Running up the hill away from the gate is another large 300m portion of the city walls, so I followed that up the hill, where it ends with the footings of another small tower.

From the Roman ruins I had a wander back down into the park and then along the river Ver towards the slightly more modern ruins of Lee House. These are the remains of a Tudor house that itself was built on the ruins of Sopworth Nunnery.

After looking round the ruins I headed back through the residential streets, stopping off for a well-deserved pint in a nice pub, before getting back to the hotel. Originally I had planned to just leave my luggage with the hotel when I checked out on Sunday morning, but due to the space behind their reception the hotel wasn’t able to offer luggage storage whilst they had their Covid-Secure measures in place. They’d also been unable to offer a late checkout as their cleaners all finish work at 2pm, so instead they had done me a deal on having the room for an extra night at a heavily reduced rate on the condition I was checked out before 10pm.

This meant that I was able to grab a take-away from the local Nando’s and take that back to my room to dine in whilst I downloaded the photos from my camera before finally checking out and walking back down the hill to the station and my train ride home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Chania; Saturday, 25 July, 2020

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel, which meant I only had to get up at 4:30 rather than 3:30. With light barely visible in the sky I checked out of the hotel and made my way over to Terminal 5 for my first flight in over four months. Whilst things were a bit different – everyone wearing facemasks being the most visible – the process through the airport was pretty smooth, and the reserve boarding (by rows from the back of the plane forward), did appear to be quite a bit faster than the regular boarding by group that BA used to operate.

An uneventful flight later and we landed in Chania around 30 minutes early. It was a quick journey through the airport with bags coming round pretty soon after getting to the baggage hall, in fact the combination of an early landing and a quick journey through meant that I beat my taxi driver to arrivals – he was still wandering up from the parking area when I got through and I met him part way across the arrivals hall.

The taxi dropped my off outside the hotel and, despite being quite early, I was able to check in and drop my stuff off before heading out into town for a wander.

I headed down into the pedestrianised streets of the old town – in part to track down the location of the tour office where my booked tour on Monday morning would leave from – and also just to take in the narrow lanes and sights of the old town, including the large chunks of Byzantine wall that still remain over parts of the city.

I eventually found myself down in the harbour and stopped at one of the cafes for a late lunch and to take in the views. After a very relaxing lunch I continued wandering around the harbour side before a bit more of a walk through the old town, before heading back to the hotel.

After freshening up in the hotel I headed down towards the beach – there is a small sandy beach located to the east of the headland that the Venetian fortresses are located on. I had a paddle in the beautifully warm water and took quite a few photos of the setting sun before heading back up to street level and deciding at random on one of the many sea-front restaurants that were open for dinner.

A very nice Souvlaki later I wandered back up to the centre of town to my hotel and a well deserved early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Chania; Sunday, 26 July, 2020

After a good nights sleep I headed down to the Covid-Secure breakfast – gone was the buffet and self-selection, instead it was waiter service from a limited menu, but the food was good and filling and probably better portioned than the hands on help-yourself method of a buffet.

Breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel and wandered back down to the beach and then started following the headland round, past the Venetian walls and ramparts to the far end of the harbour and where the harbour wall joins the land. From here its possible to walk out along the harbour wall towards the lighthouse at the far end. About half way along is the Bastion of Agios Nikolaos of Molos, from which there were excellent views across the whole of the harbour. I continued on walking and eventually made it to the Lighthouse end. By now the temperatures had really started to climb, so I was quite glad that down here the wind was quite strong and took several degrees off of the temperatures.

I walked back along the top of the wall back to land and then wandered round the corner to find a nice taverna by the harbour side to stop for some well-earned water and a quick lunch. Lunch completed I headed on further round the harbour taking in the various sights, including stopping for an actual drink at one of the many bars.

Back in the main part of the harbour I’d timed it just right to catch one of the glass-bottom boat tours that leave to head out to the small island of Lazareta located just off the shore. The tour heads out from the harbour and then moors up just off the island for about 20 minutes allowing people to observe the fish through the glass bottom, or to snorkel or swim. I decided to stay in the shade of the boat and watch the fish. After the pause the boat headed back into the old harbour, but did a quick tour round the whole of the harbour area with the guide talking about the different buildings that surround the harbour.

Having disembarked I headed back up through town and had a wander through the many narrow lanes of the old town, eventually popping out back by the old market and my hotel. I headed back into my hotel to freshen up.

A little later I headed back out of the hotel and over to the western side of the old town. I headed over to the western portion of the old Venetian walls and fortifications that protected the old town in the past. I had intended on heading up one of the bastions for the views from the top, but access to the Schiavo Bastion Lookout was fenced off, and a short walk round to the other side revealed why as large portions of the stonework had fallen away leaving the bare earth, which was also clearly starting to slide as well. Instead I headed up onto the much more robust western walls and followed them down towards the harbour.

I arrived just as the sun was starting to set behind the distant headland so I was able to get some good photos with the last of days light hitting both the lighthouse and the Firka castle.

As I was already down by the harbour, and it was getting dark, I wandered round past the restaurants and found a suitable one for dinner.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander around the old town, before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Chania; Monday, 27 July, 2020

Breakfast completed I headed off out of the hotel and down to the offices of the tour company who I was booked with for the day. I’d booked onto a tour that would take in several of the small villages to the East of Chania in the foothills of the White Mountains.

First stop of the morning was a drive to the town of Gavalohori where we visited the Folklore museum in the town, whilst the guide also introduced us to the various different fruit plants growing in the local area including oranges, olives, carob, figs and grapes. After looking round the museum we headed back into the van and continued on the tour, passing ancient Venetian wells on the outskirts of the town, and down to the small town of Xirosterni.

Here there is a raki distillery, the owner of which gives tours of the plant and talks about the history of raki production. The owner starts by showing his dad’s still, which is still in use by locals creating their own raki at the end of the wine making season each year, following ancient traditions. He also shows off his grandfathers still – which isn’t in use. Then its into the modern distillery where he talks about the modern process for the brewing of raki. After the tour there was a tasting session where we tried three raki’s – one made the traditional way in his dad’s still, one made in the modern factory and a flavoured raki that uses locally produced honey and herbs. Thankfully the tasting was accompanied by some food as it did feel a little early to be hitting the booze.

From Xirosterni we continued on our journey heading south to the town of Emprosneros where our first stop was two small churches that are partly carved into the rock. The upper church has a small building that clings to the side of the hill, with the main bulk of the building being carved into the hill. Below that church is another small chapel which is located in a natural cave, that even includes a small spring. Just down the hill from the churches is the Municipal theatre for the area set out as an outdoor amphitheatre, in the natural curve of the hills around it creating an excellent acoustic. Just below the theatre was another natural spring, where we were able to try the very refreshing water.

A short drive down the hill into the centre of the town and we stopped at a small bakery to try some of the local produce there – including the bread with olive oil, local cheese and more raki.

After the second food stop of the day we then drove onto the final stop on the tour in the town of Fres for lunch – which felt a little excessive, given we’d already had several raki’s and food – but you can’t turn down home cooked Cretan food, and it was well worth piling on a few extra pounds to enjoy it.

After the lunch it was time to head back towards Chania, with the drive back taking about 45 minutes to head back into town. The guide dropped my off outside my hotel so I popped back inside to freshen up and to have a bit of a relax.

I headed back out a little later and this time followed down the outside of the Western Walls towards the harbour, taking in the various forts and bastions that exist along the line of the wall.

Back down in the harbour I had a very light dinner – I was still pretty full from the various food stops on the tour – before having a bit more of a wander around the old town before returning to my hotel and my comfortable bed for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Chania; Tuesday, 28 July, 2020

I had a bit of lie-in and a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel. First stop of the morning was on the opposite side of the road in the old market. This was originally built to house the town’s market stalls, but today its mostly just tourist stalls. From the market I walked up hill slightly to the line of the Byzantine walls, that form an even smaller old town inside the later Venetian walls. I followed the walls round a bit and then headed into the centre of the area and the Kastélli archaeological site.

This site was unearthed by a joint Swedish and Greek team and includes parts of a Byzantine fortress and some evidence of late Minoan structures, which would date the site back to around 3500 years ago.

Just up from the site is the highest point in the old town, on a fortified outcrop. I had a brief wander round the ruins of a monastery located just off of the top, and then headed up to the bastion on the top of the outcrop which offered stunning views over the old harbour. I spent quite a bit of time up there taking in the views, before heading down into the old harbour itself and walking round to the Venetian Firka Castle on the far side.

There isn’t actually much to see inside the castle, other than the views from the ramparts, but it did give an opportunity to climb a small tower to take in views over towards the islands and further west along the north coast. Once I’d done looking round the castle I headed back down into the harbour and grabbed a quick lunch.

I then wandered back up through town to the bus station to catch the early afternoon bus along the coast to the town of Kissamos – the western most major settlement on the island. The bus runs mostly along the coast the whole way, with hotels and resorts lining the road for at least half the way there. I’d arrived in Kissamos on a day when the Archaeological museum was closed, but that didn’t matter as there are several sights out in the open that are well worth visiting, including the small by beautiful chapel of Michael the Archangel in the main town square and then a little further down the road the ruins of a Roman Cemetery and an even earlier necropolis below the street.

I had intended on popping into the impressive St. Spyridon Church, but as I was approaching it there was clear evidence that a funeral was going on, so I decided the last thing they needed was a nosy tourist, so instead I took a few photos of the outside and then continued on.

Almost next door to the church is a small spring that’s been topped by an impressive Venetian carved stone fountain, that’s clearly still used as whilst I was taking some photos someone walked up with their water bottle and filled up.

I headed back through the centre of town and then down the hill towards the beach part of the town, which was also conveniently where the bus station was located. I stopped off at a beach bar looking out over the two peninsulas that Kissamos sits between and had a drink before it was time to wander back over to the bus station and catch the bus back to Chania. I’d not timed it particularly well with the 6pm bus getting stuck in some serious traffic on the outskirts of Chania, so rather than the 70 minutes it should have taken it was close to 8pm by the time we finally made to the bus station.

I decided to quickly pop back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out to one of the restaurants in the back streets of the old town for a quick bit to eat before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Chania; Wednesday, 29 July, 2020

In the original plan for the day I was supposed to be booked on jeep tour up into the White Mountains, but unfortunately the tour company had been in contact the previous day to let me know that there weren’t enough people booked on the tour for it to run, so it had been cancelled. Instead I decided to head to the south of the island, but as there was only one round trip by bus each day, and that didn’t leave until after 12 it meant I was able to have a nice lie in and a slow start to the morning.

I made it over to the bus station with about 30 minutes to spare before my departure and managed to walk straight up to the ticket office and get my ticket. About 5 minutes later a massive crowd descended on the bus station and the queue became enormous. By pure luck I found a seat right next to what turned out to be our bus south to Palaiochora, so when boarding was getting ready to start I was able to tack onto the back of the small group of elderly Cretan women who barged their way past the queuing tourists to bag themselves the best seats on the bus.

The journey up and over the White Mountains is spectacular. It’s less than 60Km from Chania to Palaiochora in a straight line, but due to the mountains the bus takes nearly 2 hours to complete the stunning journey. There was just over four hours between arrival and departure time, which turned out to be about the right amount of time to look around the town. Palaiochora occupies a small peninsular of land so it has beaches on both sides of town – a stony beach that looks east along the south coast and a larger sandy beach that looks to the west.

I had a wander around the centre of town, taking in both the east and west sides of the town, before stopping off at a beachfront restaurant for a late lunch.

After lunch I went for a longer walk, this time up around the headland at the end of peninsular, from where there are great views over the sandy beach and up into the rear of the small castle that sits on the highest point above the town.

That was my next stop, which turned out to be a longer walk than I expected as I had to walk the whole way round the back of the peninsular and then half way back into the centre of town before a little roadway lead back in the opposite direction up the onto the promontory that the castle is positioned on, which in 33C heat was a bit excessive.

I eventually made it up to the castle and I wasn’t disappointed by the views from up there. From the tower you can see both beaches and the full stretch of this part of the coast, as well as the town and the stunning scene of the mountains shooting straight up from behind the town forming a wall of rock.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the castle, before finding the set of steps that lead quickly back down into the centre of town. I rewarded my earlier effort by stopping off at an ice-cream shop and having an absolutely heavenly rose flavoured ice cream, which restored my energy levels.

I had about 45 minutes before the bus was due to depart, so I headed over towards the bus station and the nearby stony beach and found a small seafront bar to have a quick drink in before heading back to the bus station and taking the bus back up through the mountains and over to Chania.

I only wanted a very light meal, as I was still pretty full from the very generous lunch I’d had in Palaiochora, so I once again headed to one of the tavernas in the old town and had a quick dinner there before heading to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Chania; Thursday, 30 July, 2020

My last day on Crete and time to hit the museums. After a little bit of a lie-in and a final breakfast in the hotel I headed out into the city.

First stop, just opposite the cathedral, was the Folklore museum – which shows what life would have been like for a Cretan living in Chania in years gone by.

From there I walked next door to the impressive archaeological museum which houses a large number of artifacts found across the city on various digs that have taken place – including several large mosaics and the usual collection of ancient Greek and Roman pottery.

From the Archaeological museum I walked down through the harbour to the Maritime museum to have a look round that. This is a slightly weird museum, if only for their treatment of their collection of fish specimens. For some reason they’ve applied googly eyes to all of the fish, making them all look a little surprised to see visitors and taking away some of the menace from the face of the sharks. The museum also houses an excellent model of the old harbour and the Venetian and Byzantine fortifications around the city, as well as models on the Venetian shipyards as well as the usual collection of models of ships.

I stopped off at one of the harbourside restaurants for my final meal in Crete and took in the last of the views of the harbour, before heading back into the centre of town and my final stop of the trip – the Minoan World 3D museum and 9D Cinema. I’m not quite certain since when fans and water jets count as dimensions, but it was all good fun in a delightfully tacky way.

From the museum it was a short walk back to the hotel where I collected my bags and waited for my taxi transfer back to the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Utrecht; Friday, 07 August, 2020

In the original version of this plan I’d work until the end of the day, have a leisurely trip down to Gatwick and get the evening flight across to Amsterdam. Then the virus came along and over the space of a three week period my flights changed eight times. So instead I’d booked a half day off work and shortly after powering down my laptop I was in a cab and on my way over to Heathrow.

I had a quick and painless journey through the airport, which was noticeably busier than it had been just two weeks earlier on my way out to Chania. A smooth flight and a very long taxi from the very distant runway at Schiphol later and I was back in the Netherlands. If Heathrow had been returning to its normal levels of business, the same couldn’t be said for an almost deserted Schiphol. Whilst most things were open there were very few people around, and for once I only just beat my bag back to the luggage carousel.

Luggage collected I headed over to the station and just managed to miss the train over to Utrecht, but thankfully there’s a pretty good frequency of service so not long after I was on a train and on my way.

After arriving at the Centraal station I headed over to my hotel to checkin and drop my stuff off before heading on into town to have a look round.

My first stop was to the centre of the old town and the old canal or Oudegracht which runs through the heart of it. I had a wander along the banks of the canal as it meanders its way through the old town, stopping off for a very nice ice-cream and then an early dinner in one of the many restaurants that line the banks of the canals.

Dinner completed I continued my walk down as far as the Cathedral and what at the time of visiting was one of Europe’s most impressive mounds of scaffolding – the Cathedral tower, which is one of the signature sights of the city, was undergoing major renovation and the tallest church tower in the Netherlands was also the tallest scaffolding tower.

I had a wander around the Cathedral area before heading back across the canal and over into the old town, wandering through some of the back streets until I reached the modern shopping centre and the mass of roadworks around it.

When the shopping centre was originally built the car was all the rage and a chunk of canal had been filled in and turned into a main road through the centre of town. Now, 40 years later most of those changes have been rolled back and toady the replacement shopping centre sits above a freshly revived canal and a road junction that’s being restored back to public transport, bike and pedestrian friendly.

I took some photos of the restored canal with the last light of the sun, before walking the short distance back to my hotel and my beautifully chilled room to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Utrecht; Saturday, 08 August, 2020

Breakfast at the hotel was still a buffet – but it was no longer help-yourself, instead the chef was behind Perspex serving everyone from the buffet counter! After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and wandered over to the bus station on the opposite side of the railway station to pick up the museum bus. This is a regular public bus service that just happens to run in a loop round the city centre taking in most of the main museums. Thankfully, for my benefit, roadworks in the city meant that it had to make a detour off of its normal route taking it even closer to my first stop of the morning that it normally would, the Spoorwegmuseum (Dutch Railway Museum).

The museum is housed in a former grand station, located on the edge of the city. Over time the Centraal station took more prominence and this station, whilst still grand, became a quiet backwater and was eventually closed to normal traffic. Eventually it was turned into the country’s railway museum, though still being connected to the rail network it is now served by a shuttle train that runs from Centraal station to the museum when it’s open – though I only found that out once I’d gotten to the museum!

I spent a long time wandering round the museum and it’s various exhibits. The main hall of the museum is used for rotating exhibitions and the display that was on when I visited was dedicated to food on trains, from the grand dining carriages of Pullman and Wagon Lits down to café cars and even a Belgium Bar Disco carriage that included a tiny – and I suspect quite jolty – dance floor.

I managed to time my visit perfectly and I finished looking round the museum just in time to catch the train from the centre of the museum site back to Centraal station. From there I walked, in air-conditioned coolness, through the big shopping centre over to the old town and on to the cathedral.

I had a look around the cathedral, which is a weirdly shaped building, until you realise that there is a large chunk missing. In storms in the 17th century one whole section of the nave from the central cross to the cathedral tower collapsed and has never been rebuilt. Where the central cross should be there’s now a giant wall across the east-west transept forming the outer wall of the cathedral leaving the cathedral tower standing by itself on the other side of the square.

Having looked round the cathedral I quickly popped into the tourist information centre to exchange my eTicket for the evening tour up the cathedral tower for the actual ticket and to get instructions on where to meet. I then headed back through town to the old canal and to the ticket office of the local company offering canal tours to exchange that eTicket for a tour ticket.

I’d booked onto a 90 minute tour of the canals, that took in the main old canal and the outer canal that follows the line of the old city fortifications, forming an almost complete moat around the centre of the city. The tour was very interesting with a small group of passengers and a captain who was giving out lots of additional information to that on the pre-recorded commentary (it helped that all the guests spoke English, so there was lots of time in the gaps where the Dutch, French and German commentary would be broadcast.)

Tour completed I headed over to one of the cafes by the side of the canal for a very late lunch and then went for a bit more of a wander through the old town. I was booked onto a evening tour up the cathedral tower, and as I had a bit of time to spare, and was dripping sweat from walking round in the baking heat, I headed back to the hotel to have a quick shower and change of clothes before heading back out for a dinner in a restaurant beneath the Domtoren.

My tour up the cathedral tower was at 20:30 which meant by the time we reached the top it would be perfect timing to get some views of the city and surrounding countryside bathed in the last light of the day. It’s possible to take an hour long tour up the inside of the tower during the day. The tour includes 465 steps to the top – and hopefully the same number back down. In the evening you can take the much more sedate lift tour, that utilises the builders lifts strapped to the side of the scaffolding to ascend to the top of the tower and take in the views.

The views were indeed impressive – coupled with the clear evening and the sunset it meant it was possible to make out the towers and skyscrapers of Amsterdam on the horizon. After some time taking photos we all had to get back into the lift and descend back down to street level. Back down on the ground I had a bit more of a wander through the old town in the last light of the day, before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
33ºC/91ºF

Utrecht; Sunday, 09 August, 2020

I got up relatively early as I had a busy day planned visiting a local castle. After a quick breakfast I checked out, left my bags with the hotel, and headed over to the station. I picked up the local train a couple of stops out to the small town of Vleuten and changed there onto the bus to the even smaller village of Haarzuilens, home to the impressive Kasteel de Haar.

As to be expected with an ancient castle, it’s not actually anywhere near public transport and it was a good 20-minute walk in already hot sun over to the entrance to the castle.

The castle was originally built in the middle ages and eventually fell into ruin before being rebuilt in the 19th century and turned into the template castle complete with towers, crenulations, moats, battlements, and a chunky portcullis. The family that owned the castle eventually passed it over to the Dutch state, but can still make use of it from time to time to host their famous parties that originally had the key political figures of the day attending, but by the 1960s were more a who’s who of celebrities.

You can wander around most of the main castle building – though at the time of visiting there was a well laid out Covid-secure walking route to follow and limits on the numbers of people who could come into each room. I spent a good hour or so wandering around the many rooms of the main building – which gives you an idea of the size of the castle.

After looking round the castle I headed out into the grounds, and took in the impressive maze – eventually finding both my way to the middle and the way back out again! I then followed one of the recommended walking routes round the extensive grounds to take in the best views of the castle gardens and lakes. I eventually made it back to the main entrance a couple of hours after first arriving, and only about 30 minutes before the hourly bus back to the station in Vleuten was due to leave the stop, 20 minutes walk away.

I quickly grabbed some lovely cold water from a kiosk near the entrance and made my way back to the village centre and made it to the bus stop with about 5 minutes to spare. As this was the Netherlands, the bus was bang on time and made it back to Vleuten station with enough time to calmly climb the stairs up to the platforms before the local train back to Utrecht came through.

Back in Utrecht I stopped for a late lunch. I only had about 90 minutes before I needed to start my journey home, so I headed back over to the canal and went on the shorter 60 minute canal tour – ending up with the same captain as the previous day, albeit this time with a larger language mix and less additional commentary.

Tour completed I headed back from the centre of town to the hotel, collected my bag and headed over to the station to catch the train back to Schiphol. The airport was still really quiet – so quiet in fact that many parts of it were closed, meaning I had to walk over to Terminal 3 to checkin, but then had to walk back over to Terminal 2 to find an open security lane to get through to departures.

Through in departures it was still really quiet. Around the airport are banks of screens, usually in blocks of six or eight, showing upcoming departures. Normally these are totally full and only display the next couple of hours of flights. Tonight, just three screens listed all the departures for the next 12 hours.

It did mean, though, that there was lots of space around the gate to spread out and wait for our flight back to London to be called.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
34ºC/93ºF

Aachen; Friday, 28 August, 2020

As it was an early evening flight I finished work a little early and headed down to Gatwick. This was the first time I’d been through Gatwick since the start of the pandemic, and it was surprising how quiet the airport was, even though everything was located in the one terminal.

Due to the lack of passengers, and other flights, we boarded and pushed back early and once we left the gate we didn’t stop again until the gate in Dusseldorf, no slow taxing round the airport waiting for our turn on the runway just rolled straight onto it and took off.

Dusseldorf airport was equally quiet and as I only had hand luggage I was through really quickly and over to the station and able to pick up a train towards Cologne only minutes after we were originally due to land.

The train journey was relatively smooth, though it randomly ground to a halt in Leverkusen for a few minutes meaning it finally arrived into Cologne about 10 minutes late. Not that that was a major issue given my hotel was physically part of the railway station.

Less than five minutes after stepping off the train I was in my hotel room and heading to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Aachen; Saturday, 29 August, 2020

Given the checkin time for my hotel in Aachen I had intended on having a bit of lie in and taking a late morning train over. However, the bell ringers of Cologne Cathedral had other ideas and at 7am they started up a full peal that lasted nearly 30 minutes – by the time they finished there was clearly no point in trying to get back to sleep so instead I was able to get my breakfast time moved forward, and was out of the hotel much earlier than planned.

I got the train over towards Aachen and walked down to the hotel in the hope that at the very least I’d be able to leave my bag there for a couple of hours before checking in. In the end it turned out that my room was ready so they were able to check me in. I dumped my stuff in my room and after freshening up I headed out to go for a walk in the hills.

On the edge of the city centre, just beyond the ring road, the Lousberg rises. This 264m hill (height above the centre of Aachen rather than sea level) is the highest point in the city and from the top there are good views over Aachen. Of course the downside to this is that you do need to slog up 264m to get to the top.

It also helps if you get the right path to begin with and don’t slog up the 200m or so to the top of the neighbouring hill which has a very pretty chapel, but no views. I descended back down about 50m to meet the path going up the correct hill and continued on up the Lousberg.

The hill was used as a quarry for centuries before being converted into a park in the late 18th Century and today is an area that’s popular with people going for walks. As you climb there are a number of attractions along the way including the faux acropolis about three quarters of the way up. I eventually made it up to the summit and the Obelisk that has been placed there.

The slog up did turn out to be worth it as the views over Aachen were good – particularly of the Cathedral, which you really can’t take in the size of when your down enclosed in the town. From the Obelisk I continued on walking through the park, taking in several of the other viewpoints, including ones that look across to the Vaalserberg – the highest point in (continental) Netherlands.

The route I took back down the hill looped around the back of it and eventually came out near to the Ponttor. This is one of only two surviving city gates and is the more impressive of the two for the barbican and fortifications that still remain.

After taking in the Ponttor I followed the main road in from the gate, which naturally enough, led to the Marktplatz and Aachen’s stunning Rathaus. I had a wander around the Marktplatz area, eventually stopping at one of the restaurants for what I originally intended on being a light snack, but ended up being a full meal as the portion size was enormous.

An early dinner completed I continued walking through the narrow alleys and over to the Cathedral. I headed inside to have a look around. The previous couple of times I’ve come to Aachen – always as day trips from Cologne – parts of the inside and outside of the cathedral have been shrouded in scaffolding, but in 2020 the repairs have either finished, or moved to areas that don’t have scaffolding everywhere and it was possible to admire quite how spectacular this cathedral is, albeit more for how small it feels inside given how imposing it is outside.

From the cathedral I continued wandering through the backstreets of the old town, but by now the light was starting to fade and my feet were really starting to hurt, so I headed back to my hotel to put my feet up, have a drink from the bar (you have to take it back to your room – no socialising in the bar during pandemic times) and then turn in for a well deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Aachen; Sunday, 30 August, 2020

I actually managed to get a bit of a lie-in this morning – with no dawn chorus of bells filling my room at an ungodly hour. After a decent breakfast – a proper buffet, albeit socially distanced – I headed out of the hotel and over to my reserved slot at the Couven Museum. I’d booked online a few days beforehand to ensure I was able to visit with a timed slot – I needn’t have bothered as there was a 6 to 1 staff to visitor ratio with me being sole visitor looking round the museum.

Having taken in the museum I went for a wander around the centre of town, which on a Sunday morning was almost completely deserted. Too early for the day trippers from Cologne probably! I stopped off at St Foillan’s Church. The building has clearly been rebuilt over a number of times with modern thin concrete and steel pillars holding up the ceiling, whilst surrounded by original medieval masonry work.

From the church I wandered up through town to the Hauptbahnhof to pick up the train over to the next big town – Stolberg. The town sits on a small river with a large hill rising in the centre on which, of course, they built a castle. And what a castle – turrets, round towers, gatehouses and every upper wall crenelated – it’s the textbook exemplar of a castle. Today, most of the castle is a restaurant and events business, but on days when they don’t have parts of the castle being used for weddings you can walk round a few of the rooms and part of one tower.

After looking round the castle I had a bit of a wander round the rest of the town before heading over to the bus station and picking up the bus part way back to Aachen. In the suburb of Brand, I changed buses onto the bus to Monschau, an even prettier German fairy-tale village nestled in a gorge with, you’ve guessed it a large castle on the top of the ridge.

The journey between Brand and Monschau is also interesting for it’s geopolitics with the bus crossing back and forth between Germany and Belgium. An old railway line ended up in the possession of the Belgium state following the first world war with all the structures and route line becoming Belgium territory, even though in places they were several miles inside Germany. The survived into the 21st century but was closed by 2007 with the tracks and stations long gone, but the territory remaining part of Belgium. Consequently, each time the former line crosses the road you technically enter Belgium for the width of a railway line before re-entering Germany.

At any other time this would be a good enough excuse as any to hop off the bus and spend a few minutes hopping between countries, but this is August 2020 and Germany is on the UK’s green list of countries you can happily visit without needing to quarantine on return. Belgium on the other hand is a long way down the red list of countries, and if I had hopped out it would have meant 14 days self-isolation on return to the UK. Instead I remained on the bus and continued to the end of the line in Monschau.

From the bus stop I headed up hill towards the castle that stands high above the valley floor and towers over the town below. It was a pretty hefty walk up the hill, only to be met by disappointment when I got to the top to find that the castle itself is currently closed for renovation works. After having a little look around the outer parts of the castle that were open, I found a staircase that led back down into the centre of town.

I had a long wander through the tiny lanes of Monschau and through the picturesque squares. I eventually found my way to the Old Market square where I stopped briefly for a quick bite to eat and a drink before it was time to start wandering back to the bus stop and to catch my bus all the way back to the centre of Aachen.

The bus took the same route back towards Aachen with the multiple border crossings, each time holding my breath that the otherwise mechanically sound bus did not suddenly breakdown whilst in Belgium. Thankfully, it didn’t and we were soon heading further into Germany and towards Aachen, with the skies rapidly darkening. On the outskirts of the city the drizzle started, that by the time I reached the centre was a full-on torrential downpour.

Thankfully, the bus stopped only a few yards from my hotel, so I managed to avoid getting totally soaked, but it was clear that the rain was settling in for the night. I was glad I’d had the big breakfast and the reasonable snack in Monschau as there was no way I was venturing back out into that weather, instead I grabbed a snack from the room-service menu before eventually heading for an early night with the rain still pounding at the windows

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Aachen; Monday, 31 August, 2020

The rain had continued hammering most of the night and was still going strong when I woke up a little after 8am. Thankfully it started to ease as I headed down to breakfast and by the time I checked out of the hotel and started to head out for the morning it was down to just a light, persistent drizzle.

First stop of the morning was the Cathedral’s treasury museum. This houses some of the finest – and most expensive – pieces of religious art, with gold and precious gemstones being the main motif of everything.

After taking in all the wealth of the Charlamagne empire (and the many centuries since) I had a bit of a wander around the city centre, taking in the small archaeological remains in the small park behind the cathedral that explain the history of the city from the first inhabitants around 4000 BCE through the Romans and Holy Roman Empire to the modern day. The remains are located just behind the Elisenbrunnen the neoclassical pavilion that was erected over the mineral spas that were discovered here.

Over the centuries these have proved to be a popular cure for many things, and the warm sulphurous water still flows from the two fountains in the pavilion – albeit with warnings about the water being non-potable. The smell, steam and slight yellow tinge to the marble would be enough to put most people off, but there were still people trying the waters. I declined to.

By now the usual curse of travelling in Europe on a Monday had struck with almost nothing open and not the weather for sitting at an outdoor café soaking up the sun, so I fell back on my so-far fool proof backup plan of hunting out the city zoo.

The Aachener Tierpark Euregiozoo does really go out of its way in its name to play down it’s zoo credentials – which given their line up of animals is probably not a bad thing. On the positive side all the animals were out in relatively large enclosures – albeit in the tail end of a damp morning – with nothing kept in enclosed houses (which also helps to make the zoo Covid secure for visitors)

I spent a good couple of hours wandering round the site, as the weather slowly improved, taking in the various animals before it was time to start heading back into the city centre.

My final stop of the trip was to make a quick detour to the Marschiertor the other of the city gates. This one is less impressive for the fortifications but is much taller and imposing in its environment – even if it is now effectively stuck on a road traffic junction.

Having taken in the gate I caught the bus back round to my hotel to pick up my luggage and then hopped back on another bus round to the Hauptbahnhof to start my journey back home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Frankfurt; Friday, 04 September, 2020

In the original plan I had a late night flight from Heathrow, but that plan had been put together in October 2019 and had changed so many times that the BA app glitched every time it tried to load all the booked, cancelled, rebooked, re-cancelled, moved, rerouted and updated flights. In the end it was an extra half-day’s annual leave needed and a mid-afternoon flight from Heathrow across to Frankfurt.

After navigating through Frankfurt Airport, I was quickly on a train into town and, after dropping my stuff off in the hotel, out for a wander through the historic old town – the Römerberg and the area around the Main River.

I watched the sun set behind the towers of the financial centre of Frankfurt from a bridge over the river before heading back towards the Römerberg and stopping off in a riverside restaurant for a relaxing dinner.

Feeling slightly full from a very generous dinner I went for a wander around the old town and down towards the Cathedral.

I was initially a little confused as I was certain that when I had visited back in 2011 there had been some Roman ruins just outside the Cathedral, but I couldn’t quite place where they were. It turned out that in the intervening 9 years this whole part of the city had been substantially redeveloped and the errors of the 1960/1970s rebuilds had been corrected to such an extent that the whole area looked like it was a continuation of the post-war sympathetic rebuild of the Römerberg, it was only after walking up a couple of steps and looking over a balcony did I see the Romain ruins, now located in their own museum space underneath the new buildings, protected from the elements and with a lot more on show. Though at the time of night shutters were up so taking photos wasn’t possible.

I had a bit more of a wander around the cathedral area before finding my way back to a tram stop and heading back to my hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Frankfurt; Saturday, 05 September, 2020

I hadn’t realised the night before that the hotel had only re-opened after its Covid closure that lunchtime and I was amongst the first guests to check-in. The realisation was made clear when I headed down for breakfast at about 9am to be told that Breakfast wasn’t available as they hadn’t yet worked out their plan for running it post-Covid, instead they would issue me with a refund on check-out, so instead I popped over the road to the Hauptbahnhof and brought a couple of croissants and a juice from a kiosk on the concourse.

After a coffee and breakfast back in my room I headed out and my first stop of the morning was down to the river to join a cruise along the Main. The company I was using offers three cruises. One leaves from their landing stage and heads out west, past the former Westhaven before returning. The second tour heads out east, into and round the Osthaven before returning. As the ships do one tour after the other the third option is to get a joint ticket and stay on the boat, so that’s what I had done and spent a very pleasant two hours in the sun sailing up and down the Main.

Disembarking back onto dry land it was a short walk partway back to the Römer to the Frankfurt Historical Museum, which I spent some time looking around.

Museum completed I headed up into the Römerberg and had a late lunch out on the square before wandering back over to the former open-air archaeological gardens and now a museum under a building. Sadly, due to the pandemic it wasn’t possible at the time to go down into the ruins, but all the shutters were up so it was possible to look over the balconies and take in the ruins from above.

From the ruins it was a short walk over to the cathedral where I had a look round the inside, before heading into the Cathedral museum. Compared to Aachen the previous week this is a much smaller and less bejewelled museum with just a small collection of robes and a couple of chalices, but it’s located within a quite cloister off of the cathedral and a nice space to spend a few minutes wandering around.

After taking in the cathedral and museum I went for a bit more of a wander through the old town before heading back to my hotel to freshen up for my evening river cruise.

Along with the daytime cruises the company I used also offers a Skyline tour that sets off just as the sun sets and so you are able to see the skyline of the city with the sunset and then in the dark. It makes for a very different view of Frankfurt.

The tour ended up mooring up slightly further along the river bank than where it set off from so rather than walking back through the Römerberg I walked up past the Cathedral and caught the tram back towards the station, where I stopped for a late evening Bratwurst before heading back over to my hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Frankfurt; Sunday, 06 September, 2020

I grabbed another makeshift breakfast from the station and, after consuming it, checked out from the hotel. I had expected them to give me the details on how to claim back a refund, or to start the process of refunding to my card, but instead the receptionist printed off my invoice, showed me the refund owing and then handed it to me in cash from the till. Not 100% certain if he was supposed to do that, but I wasn’t about to complain.

From the hotel I walked back over to the Hauptbahnhof to pick up the U-Bahn a couple of stops up to my first attraction of the day the Naturmuseum Senckenberg. This is the city’s Natural History museum and I spent a good couple of hours looking round the various exhibits. I even stopped here for a quick lunch on their roof terrace that has a great view across to the skyscrapers of the Frankfurt financial district.

Museum completed it was a short walk over to the PalmenGarten. This is a large park and botanical gardens that includes a number of glass houses of various types. The main palm house itself was still closed as it isn’t currently possible to create a Covid-secure route through it, but the other houses were open, as were all the open-air gardens.

I spent a long time wandering around the gardens before facing the inevitable and heading into the sub-tropical house with a facemask on. It was as unpleasant an experience as I was expecting, though thankfully the route through the various glass houses has been designed so that you get some cooler or less humid spaces between the really tropical rooms.

I ended up spending a couple of hours wandering round the gardens, and by the time I got back into the city centre there was only about 90 minutes left before I needed to be on train. As my feet were hurting from all the museum and garden walking I decided to cheat and get the open-top bus to finish off some sightseeing from a seated position. Thankfully, I managed to catch one of the last round trips of the day from the Paulsplatz.

An hour later I was back at Paulsplatz and made a quick change to the tram over to the Hauptbahnhof to pick up my luggage and head over to the airport for my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Reading; Friday, 11 September, 2020

I used up part of my lunch break from work to get out to my local station and up to Clapham Junction. I’d correctly remembered that some of the carriages on the trains out to Reading had tables so I was able to work for the 75 minute journey from Clapham over to Reading.

I quickly walked from the station to the hotel, checked in and finished off working for the afternoon. After a Friday evening post-work Zoom based drinks with colleagues I headed out of the hotel to find somewhere to eat.

After dinner I had a quick wander back through Reading town centre, but on a Friday just days before significant restrictions on movement were about to be reimposed the town centre was already a little lively so I decided it was probably wisest just to head back to the hotel and have an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Reading; Saturday, 12 September, 2020

After a slightly weird breakfast in the hotel I headed out for the short walk down the road to the impressive Victorian Town Hall and Reading Museum. The museum has an impressive collection of artefacts on the town and it’s development from the pre-historic through to the modern day, as well as having a replica of the Bayeux Tapestry and a large gallery on the nearby Roman settlement at Silchester.

As I was leaving the museum I picked up a leaflet about the Reading Town Trail, which is a guided walk that starts at the museum and takes in the major sights in the town centre. I followed the trail round most of it’s route – stopping at the Forbury Gardens before making my way into the ruins of Reading Abbey, which I spent quite some time looking round. The route of the walk heads back through the centre of town, so I quickly detoured off the route into the shopping centre for a quick comfort break and to have a quick lunch, before finishing off the train at the Minster and then heading back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel I picked up the spare camera battery that I’d forgotten to take out with me earlier, which was desperately needed as the one in my camera was flashing empty. I then headed over to the railway station to pick up the train out to Bramley to go and explore Silchester. Unfortunately, the ticket machines were being very slow and, because I was cutting it a bit fine, it turned out to be difference between making and missing the hourly train.

As I had an hour to wait for the next train I headed back out of the station and over to a nearby café for an afternoon coffee, before heading back to the station to catch the train out to Bramley. Thankfully I was able to make the train with lots of time to spare so I had a seat, which was fortunate as the train ended up being quite busy with several people standing.

I got off at Bramley and from there I followed the Silchester Trail, an 8 mile loop walk that takes you over to the modern day village of Silchester, via the Roman ruins. With a warm sun, a light breeze and pretty much flat walking – apart for the final quarter mile – it was a pleasant stroll through the countryside.

I arrived at the Eastern Gate of the old city of Calleva Atrebatum and was amazed at the size of the site. Most of the city walls are stills standing – though everything else of the city remains under the soil for preservation at present – and they were clearly visible a very long way off in the distance on the far side of the city, the 2000 year old lime mortar still glinting in the sun. Next to the Eastern Gate, and just outside the city walls, are the remains of the Amphitheatre, and it was to there that I headed first to have a look around. The size of the Amphitheatre really gives you an idea of how large this city was in Roman times, and this is a relatively substantial amphitheatre.

After looking round the Amphitheatre I headed back over to the walls and followed them round from the Eastern Gate to the Northern Gate, and then on further to the Western Gate. I had a quick look at the time and realised that from where I was the earliest train I would be able to get from Bramley, now a four mile walk away, wouldn’t be until after sunset. However, I was just a short walk from the English Heritage car park, so I headed over there and called for a taxi to get me back to the station.

The Taxi arrived within about 10 minutes, but it was still going to be tight to make the train, especially as Bramley has a level crossing at the end of the station, which could mean we ended up getting stuck in traffic and miss the train. Thankfully, the taxi driver was clearly used to this as he suggested heading North to Mortimer instead, giving me an extra five minutes before the train would be due, and avoiding any level crossings. It also had the advantage, according to the Taxi drive of being slightly cheaper than Bramley as it’s a few hundred yards less far to travel.

Taking the advice of the taxi driver we headed up to Mortimer, and he was able to drop me off at the station with a good 10 minutes to spare before the train. I caught the train back into Reading and then walked the short distance to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out into town to grab some dinner, before heading back to the hotel for a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Reading; Sunday, 13 September, 2020

I had a nice lie in and a later breakfast before checking out of the hotel and wandering across town to my first stop of the morning, the Museum of English Rural Life.

The museum has gained a bit of a cult following for it’s social media feed which has managed to raise the profile of a small niche agricultural museum in Berkshire up to that of some of the biggest museums on the planet, and its clear that the policy of a tongue in cheek approach to the subject has rubbed off on the rest of the museum team as what could be quite a stale museum is instead lively and interesting with lots to see, and through some ingenious out of the box thinking through the use of cheap cleanable styluses, they’ve managed to keep a lot of their interactive displays working where as a lot of other museums have just switched everything off.

I spent a long time wandering round the museum, including stopping to have a light lunch in the sun trap of their garden.

From the MERL I wandered back towards the centre of Reading, but skirted the very centre and instead headed down to the Thames Path by Reading Bridge and followed the path along some distance to Caversham Bridge and the boarding point for the afternoon cruise that I had booked.

I was about half an hour early so I had a little wander around the park near the pier before heading back just as the boat came in from its previous tour. As is usual, I’d only been stood there for a few minutes before other people started arriving and pretty soon there was a decent sized queue – so I was glad I’d headed back as early as I did.

The cruise was for 90 minutes and involved sailing upstream past some of the most expensive real estate in Berkshire and then along the Berkshire/Oxfordshire border until we reached the lock and weir at Mapledurham. Here the boat turned round and headed back towards Reading.

We landed back at Caversham Bridge and from there I walked the 15 minutes or so directly back to the city centre. As I needed to be making a move relatively soon I stopped at a Sushi bar on the high street and had an early dinner there, before heading back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then make my way back to the station for, what I though was, the 16:38 train.

Turns out that at short notice (at least for the online journey planners) the Sunday train service had been amended to 22 and 52 minutes past each hour, which meant as I arrived at 16:22 I was just in time to see the train pulling out. Thankfully the 16:52 was already sat on the platform so I was able to go and sit on that and waited for it to depart on its amended journey – normal route to Twickenham and then it revered to go for a wander around South West London through Kingston and Wimbledon before finally making it back to Clapham Junction nearly 90 minutes after leaving Reading.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Hanover; Friday, 18 September, 2020

When I originally booked this trip back last December I had an afternoon flight from Gatwick to Geneva and then a train along the lake to Lausanne. Then 2020 came along and as the summer progressed the numbers in Switzerland climbed to the point that, eventually, Switzerland went back onto the quarantine list in the UK, so the trip was cancelled.

Instead I reverted to what now appears to be the standard mantra, if in doubt – Germany. I’d booked flights over to Hannover instead, but the timing meant that the half day’s annual leave I had booked was a bit wasted – not needing to set to the airport until gone 3.

I had a smooth journey over to and through Heathrow and once again an early push back and very quick journey straight onto the runway and takeoff. It also meant we were 20 minutes early landing into Hannover.

On the downside, it meant that where as before I’d had about 10 minutes spare – based on the original arrival time – to make the half-hourly S-Bahn service into the city centre, I now made it to the station just as the previous train was departing so had a near 30 minute wait to get into town.

From Hannover Hauptbahnhof it was a short walk out the back entrance and over to my hotel where I checked in, headed up to my room and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Hanover; Saturday, 19 September, 2020

First stop of the morning, after breakfast, was to walk through the station to the square in front of the Hauptbahnhof and to the bus stop for the city tour. Despite the sunny warm weather, the company had decided that winter was coming and had locked the roof into place, but the big windows still opened so I was still able to get some decent photos from the bus. For a relatively small city the bus takes quite a long tour round the main sights which takes nearly 2 hours to complete, so after two full circuits to take in all the views from both sides it was lunchtime by the time I made it back to the station.

I popped into the station to visit one of the wurst stalls for a quick lunch and then headed down onto the U-Bahn to head out to the Maschee. The Maschee is a large lake located to the south of the city centre, and regular ferries operate around the edge of the lake. With all the Covid precautions in place the ferries don’t currently make any stops, so instead of a ferry service it’s more a sightseeing cruise, but from the lake you get some of the best views of the city skyline – most importantly the city’s stunning New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus).

Having done the cruise round the lake I walked the short distance back into the Maschpark which is effectively the back garden of the town hall from where there are excellent views to be had of the the town hall, especially with a clear blue sky and it reflecting in the water of the pond in the park.

From the park I caught a bus back over to the Hauptbhanhof to pick up the start of the Roter Faden – Red Thread. This is a 4KM walking trail that takes a circular route round the historic and architectural sights of the city. It’s easy to follow as it’s a thick red stripe painted on the pavement most of the way round the route. I followed the route to do a near full circuit, stopping just short of the end of the route at the Market.

Along the way I stopped off at the Aegidienkirche. The church was badly damaged during the bombing of WWII and was left as an empty shell. Today it’s kept as a symbol of peace and houses a bell that was donated to Hannover by it’s twin city of Hiroshima. The bell is rung every year on the anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on the Japanese city.

From the Aegidienkirche I continued followed the Red Thread round past the New Town Hall and along part of the Sculpture Mile before making it to the Markt with the impressive Marktkirch and the Altes Rathaus. The Marktkirch and Altes Rathaus bearing testament to the fact that Hannover is the point where Northern European/Baltic building styles stop with the whole area looking like it could be in Tallinn or Lübeck.

From Marktplatz I hopped on the U-Bahn and headed up North out of the city centre to the Herrenhäuser Gärten. These are large formal gardens that were once part of the royal palace and today provide a large green space just north of the city centre. I arrived with about an hour to spare before the gardens closed and about the same time until sunset. It was the perfect time to arrive as most of the visitors for the day had already left so I was able to wander around the gardens with them almost to myself.

After a long wander round the gardens I headed back to the U-Bahn stop and caught the tram back into the city centre and popped into the Lidl in the Hauptbahnhof to pick up some dinner. As I was staying in a suitehotel which included a small kitchenette area in each room I thought it would be Covid-healthier to have dinner in my room rather than heading back out (also with all the walking from the day I was feeling knackered and didn’t really feel like heading back out again).

Dinner and a later drink from the hotel bar completed I turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Hanover; Sunday, 20 September, 2020

I checked out of the hotel and headed over to the Hauptbahnhof to both drop off my luggage and to pick up a day ticket for the wider region transport. I then headed back towards the hotel and to the ZOB (Zentraler Omnibus Bahnhof) to pick up the bus out of town to the small town of Pattensen and from there onto the Schloß Marienburg.

Whilst looking like the perfect idea of a medieval castle with towers, turrets, crenelations and all of this perched on a hill overlooking an almost flat landscape it’s all just a show. The castle was built in the latter part of the 19th Century as a summer place for the House of Guelph that ruled over both Hannover and Britain from George I in 1714 through to the death of William IV and accession of Victoria to the British throne in 1837 (rules in place in Hannover meant that a Woman could never take the crown of Hannover, so the line split at that point).

As you would expect for a castle built by the people that brought you Mad King George III and Playboy King George IV the castle is a fine example of what can be achieved when money and power aren’t issues.

Normally you would have to go round the castle on a guided tour, but for Covid precautions the guided tours have been stopped and instead you follow a self-guided route through most of the main rooms, making sure you keep a distance from your fellow visitors.

The tour took a little over an hour, and by then you’ve seen most of the castle with not much else to see – which is a bit of a problem as the buses only run every 2 hours and the return bus back to Hannover was still over an hour away. So instead I walked down through the parkland following a hiking trail down to the river at the base of the hill, and then followed the road the 1.5Km or so back into Nordstemmen. Along the way there are stunning views back across the almost flat landscape to this single hill with it’s castle perched on it.

Back in Nordstemmen I made it to the station with about 10 minutes to spare before the train back into Hannover – which took all of 15 minutes to make a journey that took the bus nearly 70 (though the bus did all the hard work getting up the hill to the castle). During that time I was able to go onto the website of the Hannover Zoo and book an Authorisation to Visit slot, that gave you a time to visit the ticket booth to buy a ticket to visit the zoo – I think they may have taken their Covid-secure visit precautions a little too far.

From the Hauptbhanhof I caught the U-Bahn out to the Zoo on the edge of the city centre arriving about 20 minutes before the time on my authorisation. I was able to get a ticket, but then was shown towards a long and quite tightly packed queue of people waiting to be let in when the 16:30 slot came round. I decided it was probably best to hang back until most of the queue had been let through and then join the much more healthily spaced queue that was then available.

The zoo is arranged around a number of themed areas, with animals grouped by theme rather than by type – so you have the Lions in the Zambesi area, whilst the Tigers are over in the Indian Temple area. To begin with I though it was a bit gimmicky, but it does help show that animals are adapted for their environments which is why lions and tigers are such different animals.

I made it round most of the zoo, with the exception of the outback area where the keepers had already put the animals back in their houses overnight as the zoo was heading closing time, and with that they were also starting to herd the visitors out.

From the Zoo I caught the tram back into town and picked up my luggage from the station lockers before hopping on the S-Bahn and heading back out to the airport for my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Newquay; Friday, 02 October, 2020

After work I headed over to Heathrow for my evening flight down to Cornwall. Whilst Heathrow was relatively quite it looked like everyone who was at the airport was on the Newquay flight as there was quite a crowd at the gate.

It turned out that it was a full flight, and the gate agents were desperately trying to encourage people to hand over their luggage to go in the hold to create space.

The flight itself was very bumpy, with the plane bouncing amongst the clouds the whole way down to Cornwall, the pilot apologising that due to the length of the flight it wasn’t possible to climb any higher to get out of the turbulence – which at one point was so severe that having the lap belt on was the only reason I didn’t completely leave my seat.

We had a rough and wobbly landing into Newquay airport, but the wind had pushed us down the country fast and we ended up at the gate 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

I had a taxi pre-booked, which turned out was probably not needed as their was a taxi office in the terminal doing brisk business, but it meant that I was in the cab and on my way down into Newquay pretty soon after arriving.

I checked into the hotel and dropped my stuff off before heading out into the light drizzle to have a bit of an explore round town. The drizzle was accompanied by quite a vicious wind which made – in places – walking quite difficult.

I only had a wander around the centre of town, not bothering to venture down the cliffs onto the beaches as the crashing waves suggested that it wouldn’t be a good idea, so instead I grabbed some food from the Aldi in the centre of town and then headed back to my hotel for dinner and an early night.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Newquay; Saturday, 03 October, 2020

The hotel could only offer me a slot for breakfast at either 07:00 or 10:15, so I naturally took the later slot as I didn’t want to have to get up that early for no reason on a Saturday. After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and started wandering into town. Just as I reached the bus stop near the hotel the Newquay Land Train came into view slightly further up the road so I decided that would be the best thing to do first to get an idea of the town.

I caught the train round most of its route from the hotel out to the zoo and then back through the town centre and up over the hill by the Atlantic Hotel for the beach views.

Back in the centre of town I quickly popped into a café for lunch and then went for a wander through town. I had intended on visiting the town museum, but that was closed due to Covid, so instead I just carried on having a bit more of a wander and took in some of the views from the cliffs above the Towan Beach and Harbour.

I then wandered back to the pedestrianised centre of town to pick up the land train again, and caught that round to the Atlantic hotel where I was able to hop off and start exploring the cliffs round here. The cliffs lead out to Towan Head which sits on the edge of town and has stunning views across all the beaches of the town and the wide sweep of the curve of North Cornwall.

From Towan Head I wandered back down into town, passing the Huer’s Hut – a small stone structure placed high on the cliffs from where fishermen would watch the sea to see if they could spot the shoals of fish before setting off to catch them.

I continued on down the hill and into the harbour area where I had a look around before wandering back along a path that once had the original horse drawn tram tracks that linked the mines further inland to the harbour at Newquay. The path popped out by the side of the Aldi and from there I wandered the short distance back to the hotel.

I freshened up in the hotel before heading back out again a little later to take in the sunset from the cliff top near the hotel, as well as exploring the small tumulus that’s located there. Once there were up to 15 on this piece of land, but a local farmer dismantled most of them for their stone in the 19th century and today just the one is left still standing. After taking in the tumulus and the sunset I headed back over to the hotel and had a pleasant dinner there before turning in for another early night, mostly spent listening to the wind howl round the building and the rain pelt the windows.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Newquay; Sunday, 04 October, 2020

I managed to get a reasonable nights sleep, despite the howls of wind and the hammering of rain on the windows, though I did think it might make the day a complete write-off.

After breakfast I headed back up to my room and changed into waterproofs before heading out into a very light drizzle, but a howling gale. Whilst I was pleased that I wasn’t going to get wet it did make it take quite a bit longer than I was expecting to walk the half mile or so down to the aquarium as I was battling headwind the entire time – at places struggling to even stay on my feet, let along make progress.

I eventually made it to the aquarium and spent quite a bit of time wandering around, long enough that I stopped in the on site café for lunch.

By the time I headed out it looked like I’d managed to miss another heafty shower as I wandered back through town and then on down towards the zoo. I had a ticket booked for a bit later in the day, but a quick check online had shown that virtually none of the pre-booked slots had filled up so I thought I’d chance my arm and it turned out they were only to happy to let me in early – possibly as I was the only customer booked into the last slot and it meant the ticket office could close up early.

It turned out that there were very few other guests in the zoo, and in all the time that I was in there I think I saw only four other visitors, plus a couple of keepers.

Wandering round the zoo was also an experience in dodging the hefty short showers that kept coming across – timing leaving each covered area so that I got as little of a soaking as possible, and by the time I had seen the whole of the zoo I was getting quite good at it.

It would have been a 20 minute slog uphill in the pouring rain back to the hotel, so in the end I decided to wait the 10 minutes for the bus and caught that back the three stops. I then headed back into the hotel to get changed out of the wet weather gear, had some dinner and then waited for my booked taxi back to the airport.

The taxi drove back over to the airport through an absolute storm with howling winds and lashing rain. The weather was so bad that I did think at one point that the inbound plane might not be able to land, but 15 minutes before it was due there was the sound of a jet landing, and the familiar BA livery came into view.

The crew managed to turn the plane around quite quickly, which meant that boarding managed to coincide with a small window in the weather where it was only lightly drizzling, rather than pouring down – so we were able to walk out to the plane and up the boarding ramp in the dry. The flight was, thankfully, considerably smoother than the journey down and with the wind pushing us part of the way we landed around a half hour early back at Heathrow.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Uppsala; Thursday, 08 October, 2020

When I’d originally booked the airport hotel and the annual leave for today the plan was an early morning flight to Sofia and then a couple of days exploring more of Bulgaria outside the capital that I’d visited a year ago. That was all booked in November 2019, and then Covid happened.

Up until mid-September I’d kind of hoped that Bulgaria might make it back onto the UK’s safe list, but three weeks out it was clear that wasn’t going to happen, so I cancelled the booking – got my flight voucher and then used it straight away to book through to Sweden which had, the previous day, made it onto the safe list.

Three weeks later and it was a nervous journey over to Heathrow waiting for a decision by the Government on whether Sweden would stay on the safe list or come back off again. Thankfully, the decision was to make no decision – so my trip could go ahead.

This did mean as soon as I checked into the hotel I needed to cancel by back-up back-up plan of a trip to Berlin.

Admin completed I popped over to the terminal to pick up some things for dinner and after a light dinner in my room, and a drink in the hotel bar, I turned in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Uppsala; Friday, 09 October, 2020

An early start from the hotel and over to the airport to checkin and head on through to the departure lounge. As it was such an early flight they were keen to get us away quickly so boarding started promptly, with everyone one with time to spare. Then for some reason we just sat at the gate all sealed up for several minutes past our scheduled departure time.

Eventually they went to push us back, but not certain if they were short staffed, or just not paying attention, but nobody remembered to remove the chocks, so the first couple of attempts to reverse us off of the stand were met with quite a bit of resistance before they worked out what was happening and then we were on our way.

Otherwise an uneventful flight over to Stockholm and, despite the late departure, an early arrival. It was a quick journey through the airport, which of course meant I missed the earlier bus by a couple of minutes and had a 25 minute wait until the next one.

I arrived in Uppsala and headed over to my hotel with the original idea of just leaving my luggage, but the room was already available, so I was able to checkin and get refreshed before heading back out.

From the hotel I headed down towards the river and then over into the historic part of the city with the old mill (now the city museum), cathedral and castle.

I had a long wander around the area, including visiting the cathedral, before hiking up the hill to the castle to have a wander around the grounds and take in the views.

By the time I left the castle it was already starting to get dark, and by the time I was back down in town pretty much all the light of the day had gone. I headed back to the hotel to quickly freshen up and then popped out to find somewhere to get dinner.

A quick look round the restaurants in central Uppsala revealed that despite this being a student city, it wasn’t what I’d call student pricing (that or Swedish students are significantly better off than the rest of their European counterparts), so instead I headed back to the hotel where the pricing for dinner was closer to an acceptable price (though a Beer and a Burger did still cost close to £25)

By the end of dinner the early start was starting to catch up with me, so I headed up to my room and turned in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Uppsala; Saturday, 10 October, 2020

The hotel only had limited slots for breakfast, which had to be pre-booked at the weekend, so I was forced to have a lie-in and a 10am breakfast.

After breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over towards the Cathedral again, this time to visit the cathedrals treasury which is located halfway up one of the two cathedral towers. This small museum houses some of the cathedrals historical items, including those from it’s Catholic past.

From the cathedral I once again headed up the hill to the castle, this time to actually go inside and visit the city’s art museum which is located in the South Wing of the castle. I had a quick look round the gallery, though I was more interested in the views from the castle over the city than the artwork inside the gallery. I then headed down into the basement to the café for a quick lunch.

The castle was built for the Royal Family at a time when Uppsala was the most important city in the county and, as one would expect for a royal palace, came with extensive gardens. Today these have been turned into the botanical gardens, and it was here that I headed next. Several sections and buildings are sadly closed at present due to Covid-19 restrictions, but I was able to visit the Tropical House, albeit after a bit of a wait outside as it was at it’s maximum occupancy when I arrived.

The tropical house is a number of connected greenhouses with various environments including a lilypond, rainforest and arid rooms. Alongside taking in the plants I also managed to miss a hefty shower that passed through whilst I was looking around inside.

From the botanical gardens I wandered back through the university campus towards the city centre, diverting via the grounds of the old observatory. Back in the city centre I headed over to the Upplandsmuseet. The city museum is housed in a former mill on the river, with a large weir and mill races built around it. The museum charts the history of both the city and the surrounding countryside from around 5000 years ago to the present day, and I spent quite a bit of time looking round. So long in fact that it was almost closing time by the time I made it back down to the entrance.

I had a bit more of a wander through the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and then grab dinner.

After dinner I headed back out into the city to take some views at night, including trudging back up the hill to the castle in a light drizzle. I was going to spend a bit longer wandering around, but the light drizzle soon upgraded itself to light rain and looked like it was about to get heavier – so I headed back to the hotel to dry off and then turn in for the night

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Uppsala; Sunday, 11 October, 2020

Another healthy lie-in and late breakfast and then it was time to head out of town for the afternoon. My destination, Sigtuna, had at one point in it’s past been the most important town in Sweden, site or the royal mint and home to several churches at a time when Christianity was only just becoming established in Sweden. Today it’s a small little village on the banks of Lake Mälaren, albeit with a large number of ruined churches and lots of rune stone.

To get there I first had to take the local train one stop down the line to the town of Knivsta, where I then had to change onto the local bus over to Sigtuna. For a journey of less than 20Km it took nearly an hour to get there thanks to the indirect routing.

The bus stops right by the historic centre of the village, where there are several merchants houses and probably the smallest town hall in Scandinavia (though it hasn’t technically been used for council business since the late 1940s). I had a long wander through the old town and then down to the side of Lake Mälaren to take in the stunning views across the lake. Despite it being only 10C out of the wind in the direct sun it was surprisingly warm.

I wandered for a whilst along the edge of the lake, before turning back inland and heading up to the towns museum. The museum is housed in an historic building, with a modern extension and charts the history of Sigtuna from key Viking town to it’s role today as a dormitory town for the nearby Arlanda airport.

After looking round the museum I continues my explore round the town by taking in the various ruined churches that dot the landscape, starting at St Pers up on a hill overlooking the village. This church is still pretty well formed with the general shape being obvious, just large chunks of the side walls missing.

Next up was a quick detour up the hill to visit the belfry. This large wooden structure is placed on a high hill overlooking the town and the lake, and from it there are good views over the lake. The belfry has been in this spot since the 17th century, though the original was completely destroyed by fire in 2016 and the one that’s here today is a reconstruction that was opened in 2018.

From the belfry I continued back down into town stopping at the small remnants of St Lars church, which is really just one corner of the church tower that remains, though surrounding the site are a couple of Rune stones.

The final ruin of the day – Sankt Olofs Kyrkoruin – is the most complete of the ruins. Mostly it’s just the roofs that are missing, with much of the rest of the church still in situ – to the point that it can still be used as a chapel for special events. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the ruins before walking across the churchyard that it sits in to visit the slightly more modern Mariakyrka located opposite it.

By the time I’d visited the Mariakyrka there was just time left for a very late lunch/early dinner before it was time to retrace my steps back to the bus station, over to Knivsta and then back on the train to Uppsala. Back at the central station I grabbed some things from a small supermarket to have a light dinner with later and then headed back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
10ºC/50ºF

Uppsala; Monday, 12 October, 2020

I had a bit of an earlier breakfast and then checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage with reception, before heading out to the north of the city. Uppsala today is located around the river, but the original settlement – now called Gamla Uppsala – was located several kilometres further North.

For centuries Gamla Uppsala was an important settlement, and this is shown in the number of burial sites that dot the landscape, it’s thought there are several hundred individual burial sites over the landscape, but the ones that really standout are the large barrow mound burials that make Gamla Uppsala one of the most significant sites in Viking archaeology.

The mounds have attracted attention for centuries, with parliaments and rallies regularly using them as a natural (though they are man made) auditorium. Today the mounds are fenced off to stop damage to the grass that helps to hold them together, but it’s still possible to wander round the edge of the mounds to take in their sheer size – which considering each one was built to house just one significant person is impressive.

Located at the edge of the burial field is a small museum which charts a little of the history of the area, and the use of the mounds, as well as showing artefacts that have been discovered on the numerous archaeological digs that have taken place over time.

After looking round the museum it was time to head back into Uppsala to pick up my luggage and then catch the bus back over to Arlanda airport.

I had a very early flight the following day, so I’d booked an airport hotel which is where I headed to, before heading out into the terminal in hunt of some food.

Arlanda has four terminals (called Terminals 2, 3,4 and 5), but in the current Covid-19 environment only terminal 5 has any flights going from it, and consequently most things are closed – so it was a bit of a struggle to find somewhere to eat that wasn’t either overpriced or closed. In the end I visited a Pressbryån to grab some things to take back to my room to eat.

I took advantage of nothing happening in the airport to have an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Uppsala; Tuesday, 13 October, 2020

I had set my alarm for 5am, but in the end I was awake before then, partly from a not particularly great nights sleep. My room overlooked the runway, but only once you’d looked across the inside of the terminal building – a building that is open 24/7 and therefore had harsh bright lights on all the time. Needless to say the curtains in the room didn’t overlap, so there were several small gaps that meant darkness was not one of the features of the room and consequently I woke up several times during the night.

On the plus side, the shower was pretty good, and the buffet breakfast was filling, so I was in a functioning mode when I checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance over to the checkin desks for BA to drop my luggage off and then head on through to the departures lounge to wait for my morning flight back to London.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Saarbrücken; Thursday, 15 October, 2020

I had a half day’s leave and as soon as the laptop was powered down I headed to the airport. Originally the flight had been late in the evening, and wasn’t originally due into Frankfurt until nearly 22:30, so rather than trying to get all the way through to Saarbrücken in one go I’d opted to break the trip in Mainz and overnight there as it was only 30 minutes on the train from Frankfurt airport.

Of course once I’d got all that booked BA cancelled the evening flight and moved me onto the 3pm flight, so I had to book a half days leave and dash across to the airport as soon as I finished work. It did also mean that I could have made it all the way through to Saarbrücken, but in the interim the hotel prices had changed, so it was cheaper to stick to the original plan.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and after an early push back from the gate and a short taxi we were on our way. In the same way that Heathrow is still very quiet, Frankfurt is the same so with a good tail wind and a favourable runway allocation we ended up landing about 35 minutes early and being on stand only a couple of minutes after that.

I had a quick journey through the airport and was soon on the train heading to Mainz, with the last light of day still in the sky as the train pulled into the Hauptbahnhof.

I’d forgotten, from when I’d visited Mainz back in 2011 quite how much of a hilly place the city was and I’d failed to take that into account when I booked my hotel, consequently it was a pretty hefty slog up the hill to the hotel to checkin and drop my stuff off.

A quick check on google maps revealed that there was actually a tram stop only about 500m away, that could have saved me the hike up the hill, so once I’d dropped my stuff off I headed over there and caught the tram down into town.

I headed back to the Hauptbahnhof and brought my ticket for the following day, buying me a few extra minutes for the morning, and then headed to one of the food stalls outside the station for a quick Bratwurst dinner.

I then caught the tram back up the hill to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Saarbrücken; Friday, 16 October, 2020

Breakfast in the hotel was a slightly odd affair – everything was on clingfilm wrapped plates, but you still had to be served your plate by the chef – which even for Covid appeared a little excessive. After breakfast I checked out of the hotel and walked back down the hill to the Hauptbahnhof and over to the platform for my train to Saarbrücken.

It was a very pleasant, if slow ride taking nearly 2 and a half hours to go the 125Km, possibly not helped by the train randomly stopping a number of times for no apparent reason, which meant we were 15 minutes late by the time we finally arrived at the Hauptbahnhof. I walked the short distance from the station down to the hotel in the hope that I could either checkin or leave my luggage. Thankfully it turned out that my room was ready, so I was able to checkin, drop off my stuff and then head out to explore the city.

I had plans for later in the afternoon, so I only had a little time to explore the city. I set off walking along the riverside from behind the hotel down to the Old Bridge, the only surviving pre-war bridge across the Saar river in the city. The bridge, which has been pedestrianised, links the heart of the old town to the castle on a hill on the opposite bank, so I crossed over and was intending on hiking up the hill. However, down at street level was the Schloßkirche which was open so I popped in there first. Turns out this is now a part of one of the city museums so I had a look round that, and via the use of lifts inside the museum emerged onto the Schloßplatz without having expended very much in the way of energy.

After taking in the museum I had a quick wander around the Schloßplatz. The castle itself is a strange mix of palace and conference centre with the very centre being a possibly 1980’s glass structure. It’s also not currently open so I didn’t bother going inside, instead I had a wander around the small amount of battlements that still survive overlooking the river before heading back down to the Alte Brücke and crossing it back into the old town.

I wandered past the spectacular Town Hall before I headed on my way back to the station to pick up the train to go to my main destination for the afternoon. Sadly, I just missed the Express train that I was aiming for and instead had to catch the local stopping train that left 15 minutes later and that meant that I then had nearly an hour to kill when I got to my stop for the afternoon in Mettlach.

The journey following the Saar river was very pretty (once you got away from the iron works, slag heaps and mines in the near vicinity of Saarbrücken) and after arriving in Mettlach I wandered down through the town to the riverside. I had a bit of a wander around the town before it was time to catch the bus that I was aiming for up into the hills above the river and the small town of Orscholz.

The town itself is unremarkable, but a short walk from the town you reach the cliffs high above the river at the point it takes in a giant loop through the hills. Millenia of water flow and geology in action. You can just walk down to one of the viewing platforms, but there you are competing with the foliage for the views. Instead I headed over to the Baumwipfelpfad, a wooden treetop walkway that starts down at ground level and then gradually rises to the level of the tops of the trees before it turns into a stunning six tier tower right on the edge of the cliff. From the top level the views down over the Saarschleife are spectacular, and on a quiet Friday afternoon in mid-October I had them pretty much to myself.

As it had taken some time to get to the Baumwipfelpfad I was one of the last people to head out onto the walkway for the day, but it also meant that they were starting to close up as I headed back down again, but – as I had a bit of a wait until the next bus back to the station – the café was still open for a quick beer.

I caught the bus back down into Mettlach, where the connection worked considerably better having only about 15 minutes to wait for the train back to Saarbrücken. Back in Saarbrücken I hopped on a bus and headed back up to the castle area to take some photos of the city from the battlements at night, before catching another bus back down into town and going in hunt of some dinner.

After dinner I had a little bit of a wander around the town centre, before heading back to my hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Saarbrücken; Saturday, 17 October, 2020

Breakfast this morning had to be ordered in advance and was delivered to me in the restaurant on a tray – with the bread rolls concealed in a brown paper bag, in the same way a hobo hides their liquor in American movies. After the slightly weird breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the train a couple of stops up the line to the industrial town of Völklingen. The town has been heavily industrialised for nearly two centuries, with that tradition still continuing with the steel mill located close to the station. Slightly closer, and the first cause of industrialisation in the early 19th century are the old Ironworks.

The works themselves have a long history with just a slight blip in 1986 when the blast furnaces were switched off and the site was shut down permanently. The local authorities, as well as the German government, realised that this was an important part of the history of the area and they looked for ways to preserve as much of the site as possible. Eventually the Ironworks reopened as a visitors attraction, which by 1994 had made it onto Unesco’s World Heritage list – up there with the Cologne Cathedral and the Taj Mahal. Today there are parts of the site that have been allowed to be consumed by nature – if only to show how quickly the environment does start to heal itself where once even some of the worst pollution in the region was generated. However, much of the site has been kept as it would have been just after the fires were switched off for the last time (for obvious reasons you don’t want tourists wandering around a site that’s working with 2000C temperatures and volatile gases!)

You can explore most of the site, and that’s what I intended to do today – though with Covid precautions there are some spaces where you can’t currently get to. The tour starts in the sintering plant, where the residue from the previous smelting’s was pounded down into small parts and reused for the next batch. Along with the machinery the buildings now also house an audio visual exhibition on the plant. From the sintering plant you walk out onto the Ore Shed, where the plants former connection to the railway network is still visible and you can see how the train loads of raw ingredients would have been brough onto the site.

Next along was the Burden shed – this is the space where all the raw ingredients would have been stored, in separate siloes, waiting to be used. Today the silos have been opened up and turned into a massive exhibition space. To give some idea of how massive the site was by the time I’d gotten to the end of the Burden shed it was already 12:30, and I’d arrived on site quite a bit before 11am. Thankfully, next to the Burden Shed is a small picnic area with some vending machines, so I was able to grab a bite to eat and to prepare myself for the next part of the visit.

The fourth stop on the tour is the Blast Furnace itself, though rather than wandering through the tubes and pipework at ground level the tour instead heads up to the very top of the furnaces, some 25m or so off the ground and accessed only by metal industrial steps that cling to the outside of the structure. To add to the slight feeling of uneasiness is the requirement to wear a hard hat whilst walking round this area, which when coupled with a face mask (for Covid precautions) and glasses meant I had to make the decision – slightly out of focus, or totally fogged up. I decided on soft focus so put my glasses in my bag and started the climb.

At the top level you get to see the incline lift and wagons that would have brought all the raw ingredients up from the Burden shed to then be poured into the top of the blast furnaces. It’s only when you’re up inside the space your realise quite how enormous everything is, and quite how difficult a job this must have been as it’s all exposed to both the elements and the fires of the furnaces. Of course, this top level isn’t quite the top as there was another set of stairs to climb up to an observation platform wrapped around the top of one of the bits of plant that provided spectacular views over the site and the wider countryside.

After descending back down to ground level I continued the walk around the site, past the coking plant – where coal was turned into coke for the furnaces and along the many railways and pathways that lead back to the area underneath the Burden shed. This is now a museum called Ferrodrom which is an exhibition on iron and steel, as well as showing how the raw ingredients would be released from the silos directly above into the wagons and then head over to the incline lift to head up to the top. The final stop on the tour was the blower hall, this is a massive space where a number of enormous machines are housed. These machines, powered by the gasses coming out of the blast furnaces, would create the compressed air that was then used to keep the blast furnaces burning

By the time I finally finished the tour and left the site it was gone 4pm, over 5 hours looking round something that I thought I’d probably knock off in two. Though my feet were certainly telling me that I’d been pretty much continuously walking for those full five hours as I headed back to the station to catch the train back to Saarbrücken.

From the station I headed back to the hotel and had a bit of a rest there, before heading back out into town in hunt of something slightly more filling for dinner than snacks from a vending machine. After dinner I had a little bit of a wander around town, but I was really starting to feel tired from the day of walking round the ironworks, so I headed back to my hotel for a well earned sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Saarbrücken; Sunday, 18 October, 2020

I woke up to a thick fog blanketing the city, with the opposite side of the river barely visible from my hotel room. It also meant that I’d not been woken up by any light or sound leaking in from outside and so I was rudely woken up by my alarm.

I had another slightly odd breakfast in the hotel restaurant before heading back up to my room and packing so that I would be ready to go once I got back to the hotel from my morning museum visit.

When I’d looked at the Historical Museum of Saar it had looked quite small and I though that would be an easy museum to tick off on Sunday morning before I started my journey home. It turned out that the museum is an iceberg with only the very tip of it being visible on the surface and probably 95% of it being out of sight below. The museum itself stretches underneath the neighbouring castle, making use of many of the cellars of the building as exhibition space, but even that isn’t the lowest level as it also drops down into the old moat of the castle, with the 15th and 16th century walls and bastions ruined, but still in situ beneath the modern palace.

Consequently, I didn’t really do the museum the justice it deserves, but I managed to have a look round many of the exhibitions. There is, of course, a lot on the history of the region which has been dramatic to say the least. In the 20th Century alone it left and re-joined Germany twice (both departures being after the wars, and resulted in France getting her hands on all of Saarland’s coal). In the 1920’s it was a protectorate of the League of Nations before voting by over 90% to re-join Germany just as the Nazi’s came to power. Following WWII it become it’s own independent nation, albeit with France once again controlling it’s coal reserves. Finally in a referendum in the late 1950s the country of Saarland voted to re-join West Germany (the first German reunification) as the 10th State in the country (the other 6 joining in 1990 when the reunification everyone knows about took place).

From the museum I headed straight back to the hotel, grabbed my bag and checked out before wandering through an almost deserted city centre back to the station. German shops are normally closed on a Sunday, so this was no different to any other city, but all the cafes, restaurants and even the small food carts were also closed up, and I didn’t pass more than a half dozen people on my way to the station – it looks like Saarland takes it Sundays seriously.

The train was equally quiet most of the way back to Mainz, only filling up in the last couple of stops. I’d brought a cheap regional ticket, that was nearly €15 less than the through fare, but that was only valid to Mainz and I had originally intended on hopping off the train here, getting a local ticket and then getting the S-Bahn down to the airport. It turns out that you can buy local transport company single and day tickets on the Deutscher Bahn app, so as we approached Mainz I brought a single through to the airport and was able to stay put for the last 25 minutes.

Of course, this did mean that by the time I arrived at the airport I had over three hours until my flight, but that did mean I could grab an early dinner and take it slowly through to the gate.

Weather

Foggy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Playa de las Américas; Friday, 11 December, 2020

I’d stayed overnight at the Sofitel at Heathrow, mainly as they offered a special Covid-19 test and rest rate that included a Covid test that Spain required for entry into the country. The results were guaranteed to be back overnight so that I would be good to fly in the morning, but of course they weren’t. I wasn’t too worried, as I’d checked in advance and it was possible to have a test on arrival in Tenerife – though at yet more expense given I’d already paid for the test in the UK, but I thought that as it was a four and a half hour flight, even with a significant delay in test results they would be through before I landed and that would be nice and simple.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and onto the flight and a smooth journey down to the Canaries. As we pulled off of the runway I powered up my phone to download my test results – needless to say, they still hadn’t arrived. I passed through the airport waiting to see where I needed to be directed to get a test, but nobody actually wanted to see test results, only to do a temperature check so in the end I was very quickly out in arrivals, where I was met by my transfer.

I’m assuming it was due to excess drivers waiting around, but despite booking a private taxi transfer to the hotel I was instead given a private full-size coach transfer. It felt like a bit of a waste of fuel to transport one person and a single suitcase the 30Km or so along the coast.

I went to check in at the hotel and it was at this point that the lack of test results became an issue. The hotel explained that until I had the result they couldn’t check me in. I tried to make contact with both the Sofitel and the testing company, but neither wanted to answer the phone, so in the end I took up the hotels offer of a discounted test at the local hospital.

I quickly caught a cab up to the clinic, and 10 minutes later I was in an examination room having a swab pushed up my nose, at the same time my phone pinged to tell me that my overnight test result had finally come through. The results from the hospital test came back not much later so by the time I made it back to the hotel I had two negative tests for them to chose from.

I was finally able to check-in to the hotel and dropped my stuff off in my room, thankfully with still a small amount of time left before my evening tour started.

I’d booked onto an evening starwatching tour, as The Canaries are ranked as the third best place on the planet to be able to watch the night sky – partially due to their location, but mostly due to the combination of the height that you can get up to on the mountains. With the clouds below you blocking light coming up from the resorts and the low humidity reducing distortion in the air above you are guaranteed to get good views.

The tour started with a pickup from my hotel, followed by a couple of other pickups from the local area before we climbed up into the hills and stopped around 5pm for a very early dinner in a restaurant at about 600m altitude. It was here that we met up with the other two groups who had been picked up from other parts of the island. After dinner we headed back into the buses and continued to climb, up to over 1900m high up the side of the volcano from where we were several hundred meters above the top of the clouds, and had spectacular views of a river of cloud flowing below us. We stopped here for a good hour to take in the stunning sunset, accompanied by glasses of cava, before heading a 100m or so back down (and about 3KM along) the mountain to where we stopped to watch the night skies.

We had a very interesting nearly two hours watching the stars appear in the sky with the guide – a qualified astrophysicist – explaining all about them, using a laser pointer to highlight different stars and areas of the sky. Alongside that they had set up a telescope through which we were able to more closely observe parts of the sky – including being able to see both stars of a binary star system, the aftermath of a supernova explosions, and look outside of the Milky Way and stare into the approaching Andromeda galaxy.

After a final look through the telescope at Mars – the point being to show that in reality the planets are pretty boring compared to the stars – we finished with cups of hot chocolate to warm up with before being driven back down to the mountain and dropped off at our hotels – in time to make the 23:00 curfew that was coming into force on the island.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Playa de las Américas; Saturday, 12 December, 2020

I had an early alarm call, and was down to breakfast shortly after they opened, as I was due to be picked up for my booked tour at a little after 08:30. So, with virtually nobody about I headed out of the hotel and down to the meeting point for my Jeep Safari. The name turned out to actually be a bit of a con, as nobody is allowed to go off road anywhere on the island, and the entire tour could have been conducted in a comfortable mini-bus or van, but instead I would spend the next 8 hours crammed uncomfortably at an odd angle into the back of an ancient 4 wheel drive land rover knockoff.

The tour started by heading up out of Playa de las Américas and up into the mountains above, firstly driving through the county town of Arona before stopping a kilometre or so beyond it for view over the South Western corner of the island. From here it was possible to make out the key development of the islands economy, with large parts still covered by the netting of the banana plantations that were the key source of income for the islands up until the early 1980s when the concrete jungle of the resorts catapulted tourism up to the biggest income source.

From Arona we continued climbing up to the small town of Vilaflor where we stopped for a morning coffee before starting the final ascent up into the high planes on the roof of the island. This area is the caldera of a giant super-volcano, second only in size to the one in Yellowstone, but with an almost moon-like interior. We drove all the way across the floor of the crater, before climbing up to a view point on the rim. The viewpoint also looks across from the crater to the peak of the only active volcano left on the island, the near 4000m Mount Teide.

After spending some time taking in the views of the volcano and crater we headed back down into the crater floor and then took the same road that I’d been on the previous night for the stargazing down into the town of Tamaimo where we stopped for lunch.

From Tamaimo we headed out on a small winding mountain road that climbed up some 500m in just 3KM, before plunging back down the other side of the mountain and into the small village of Masca. This is situated inside the crater of a long extinct volcano, with the whole town virtually surrounded by the crater walls, apart from a small opening out into the sea at the western end, it makes for a very dramatic setting for the village.

Having looked round Masca for a while it was time to head back to the Jeep knock-off and make our way, uncomfortably, back to Tamaimo and then onto Playa de las Américas for the end of the tour, where I was dropped off outside the hotel.

I freshened up a little from being cramped up inside the car for nearly 90 minutes and then headed out for a wander around the town to see what it was like. It was pretty much as I had imagined, just a sea of high-rise concrete hotels, each one straining to get a view of the sea over the others. Not that the beach had much going for it, given it’s coarse black sand, and the reef off shore that makes the coast here good for water sports, but not so great for swimming.

After a little wander around town I grabbed some snacks from a 24 hours supermarket and headed back to my hotel for a light dinner – given I’d had a large lunch on the tour – before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Playa de las Américas; Sunday, 13 December, 2020

Another early start to the day, but todays tour would be markedly different to the previous days one. Firstly it was in a comfortable van that was easy to get in and out of and, as I was the only person on the tour, I had the front passenger seat for stunning views for the whole tour.

My guide for the day, Ángel, picked me up outside the hotel at 9am and we started by heading up the coast a little way to the town of Los Gigantes, named after the high sea cliffs that head up North from the town. The Canarians call them the highest cliffs in Europe, though the Portuguese dispute this and Geography would put them in Africa rather than Europe, but that doesn’t take away from their impressive size. The also represent the western most point on the island, and would mark the start of several hours travelling North East up the longest coast of the island.

On leaving Los Gigantes we spent a long time climbing up through the mountains before taking a very steep switchback road that descended down from around 1000m to sea level in virtually no horizontal space. This dropped us out into the small town of Garachico. At one point this was the most important town on the island, with a major port and key stopping point on the trade routes from America to Spain via the Canaries. Then in 1706 a massive volcanic eruption sent rivers of lava down the mountain and into the sea here, destroying the port. It’s still possible to see the effect today with the remains of gateway to the port lying many meters below the modern level of the town in a small park.

From Garachico we continued along the coast to the town of Icod de los Vinos, which is home to the worlds oldest Dragon Tree, thought to be at least 1,000 years old. From there it was on to the town of La Orotava where we stopped to look at the examples of Canarian Balconies as well as the beautiful cathedral, and their slightly over the top nativity scene, that takes up the whole of the town hall square with multiple life-size figures.

Back along the coast we reached the Northern most point of the tour at La Laguna where there was a stop for lunch and an opportunity to wander around the town that was, until Santa Cruz took over, the capital of the island.

After the lunch stop we started to head south again, bypassing the capital and taking our next stop at Candelaria. There is a legend that before the Spanish arrived the local Guanches people saw the image of a lady out in the sea so they built a statue to her and put it in a cave. When the Spanish arrived they immediately recognised it as the Virgin Mary and used it as a way to quickly convert the locals. Today you can still visit the cave where the statue was, and is still littered with candles and flowers. The statue itself has been moved into the significantly more impressive basilica a 100m or so back up the coast and closer to the centre of town.

In the square outside of the Basilica there are nine statues along the sea front. These depict the nine different Guanches kings who ruled different parts of the island until the Spanish completed colonisation of the island in 1496

From Candelaria we continued south to the final stop of the day at the Playa del Médano. This is a pleasant sandy beach, that today was very quiet with only gently lapping seas, but is reckoned to be one of the best beaches for kite surfing and windsailing on the island. The beach is also impressive for the perfectly shaped mini-volcano at the edge of the sea, and for the major international airport located just behind!

After stopping here for a few minutes we drove the final part of the circuit of the island back to Playa de las Américas where I was dropped off at the end of a very impressive and thorough tour – possibly helped by being the only person so having full access to the tour guide for the whole day. As I’d had a full lunch earlier in the day in La Laguna I once again quickly popped into a shop to grab a light bite for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Haze Haze
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Playa de las Américas; Monday, 14 December, 2020

As I’d had so many early starts for the previous days I had a bit of a lie-in and a later breakfast which meant that there wasn’t much time to do anything before I had to check-out of my apartment.

After leaving my luggage with the hotel I had a quick wander round town, though there wasn’t much to see, before heading back to wait for my transfer back to the airport.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Durham; Friday, 28 May, 2021

I’d stayed overnight at Newcastle airport and worked out of the hotel for the morning, before my half day’s leave kicked in just before midday. I checked out of the hotel, headed over to the metro and caught the train to Newcastle station.

I managed to time it just right and only had about 10 minutes wait until my train down to Durham left, so it was already available for boarding, but still quite empty. The train took the scenic route out of Newcastle, passing the castle and over the high level bridge with it’s stunning views of the bridges over the Tyne before looping back round to the mainline back south.

A quick 15 minute journey later and we pulled into Durham where I hopped out of the train, and straight into a cab for the ride down the steep hill into the city centre and then onto my hotel for the next three nights. Despite being early my room was already ready so I was able to checkin, drop my stuff off and then head out into town.

As I hadn’t had a chance to grab food on route I stopped off at the Nando’s down by the river for a quick lunch before heading on up into the oldest part of the city, past the market place and up the steep hill to Palace Green, the heart of the medieval city between the castle and the cathedral.

I had a bit of a wander around the Palace Green area, before heading out onto the riverside path that runs high above the water, just below the impressive towers of the cathedral. I followed the path down to the Prebends Bridge, located a little way north of the cathedral, and just after the major turn in the River Wear as it snakes its way round the rocky outcrop that the cathedral and castle are built upon.

Due to it’s location the view from Prebends Bridge are excellent, both of the cathedral and the gorge that the river runs through, as well as the man-made weir in the river that runs between the two former mill buildings. As I was watching from the bridge a number of rowing boats were out practicing on the river, making it all feel very English!

I walked back up into the centre of the old city and then down by the side of the Durham Museum to the Kingsgate bridge. The views from here down to the Elvet bridge are particularly pretty, with the medieval Elvet bridge helping to give an old world feel to the view. One of the nicest parts of the view from the Kingsgate bridge is that it doesn’t include being able to see the actual bridge structure, which is by some way the ugliest of all the bridges in Durham city centre – being a relatively modern concrete footbridge.

I followed the river back towards the centre of the modern city and crossed back over into the centre via the Elvet bridge before wandering back through the marketplace and down to the river on the opposite side of the loop to find a bar to have a quiet drink in.

After a relaxing drink I wandered back to the hotel to freshen up before popping back into town for a quick dinner getting back to the hotel just as dusk was starting to fall.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Durham; Saturday, 29 May, 2021

I had an early breakfast in the hotel before heading out for a morning of exercise, which probably wasn’t the wisest of moves given I’d been pretty much sedentary for the previous six months. First stop was a quick stop up the hill to the cathedral to have a look around this stunning Norman building. In 995 monks from Lindisfarne brough the body of St Cuthburt to this site to protect it from the Viking raids that were constantly hitting their monastery. A small shrine was built where the body was entombed, and when the Normans arrived they decided this would make a perfect building to upgrade to a grand Cathedral, with building taking a suitably cathedral like 300 odd years to reach the current structure.

After looking round the cathedral and cloister, and having a quick cup of tea in the café to fortify myself I headed to the central tower for the first bit of major exercise in a long time as I attempted the 325 step climb to the top of the tower.

The climb itself took only a little more than 5 minutes, but my lungs and virtually every muscle from my back down didn’t appreciate it, and by the time I got to the top I was seriously questioning some of my choices. However, the views from the top of the tower were enough to crush those thoughts with the city laid out beneath me, including the stunning structure of the castle – which these days is halls of residence for the university – that’s only really visible from height.

With Covid restrictions you only get a 40 minutes window in which to complete both your ascent and descent, but that was enough to take in the views and to get my heart rate and muscles back down to a point where I could contemplate the descent – which whilst it wasn’t anywhere near as painful on the lungs and leg muscles did really get my knees complaining.

Back down at ground level I grabbed a quick lunch and then headed over towards the bus station to head for my second bout of exercise of the day. The bus station itself was in the process of being demolished, so instead I had to track down from which one of the 10 or so temporary stops strung out along the street my bus was due to leave from, naturally it was the furthest.

I caught the bus out to the small suburb of Brasside, getting off the bus right outside the prisons! From there it was a pretty straight forward mile walk along a country lane to the ruins of Finchale Priory.

The abbey was built just before the turn of the 13th Century and was home to a community of Benedictine monks. As with most religious institutions of its type it was closed down during the reformation with the priory closing in 1536 and its fall into ruins starting then.

Today large parts of the structure still remain, and you can clearly make out cloisters and main buildings, though none of the roofs and quite a few of the walls are long since gone. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the ruins, and was quite glad that the small kiosk on site was selling water to be able to freshen up.

I then walked just over a mile back to the bus stop beyond the prison – for some reason I didn’t feel like waiting at the bus stop right next to a prison that houses some of the UKs worst prisoners (including terrorists, serial killers and the former president of Liberia), so I headed on to the next stop closer to Durham. By the time I got to the bus stop I was really starting to feel the effects of both the tower climb and quite a bit of walking, so I was glad when the bus turned up with big comfy seats and I was able to rest my legs for about 25 minutes.

Back in Durham I walked – or more likely staggered slightly – back to the hotel and then had a well deserved long bath, before deciding I couldn’t be bothered to go out again, so I ordered dinner from room service and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Durham; Sunday, 30 May, 2021

I had a decent nights sleep after all that exertion the previous day, but I think the bath must have helped as I didn’t feel to stiff when I woke up. I still used the excuse of all the previous day’s exercise as justification for catching the bus up out the back of town to the University’s Botanic Garden.

The garden is laid out over a couple of rolling hills to the South of the city centre, located between several of the colleges of the university. Inside there are specimens from across the globe laid out into themed gardens, including a bamboo garden and a large summer flowering meadow.

From the Botanic Gardens it was a short walk over to the university’s oriental museum located on the opposite side of the main road from the gardens.

The Oriental museum houses a large number of exhibits from the universities collections, primarily from China, but also from Japan, Korea and other South East Asian nations. There are also two rooms dedicated Egyptology including a couple of mummies.

At the time of visiting the museum was setting up a new exhibit on the silk road that was helping to bring their different collections together to show the flow of trade from China across the far and near east to Europe.

Having looked round the museum I caught the bus back into town and stopped for a quick lunch near the river before heading back up into the oldest part of town to visit the Durham Museum and Heritage Centre.

The museum is housed in the former St Mary-le-Bow church and tells the history of the city from it’s initial founding through until the modern day.

After taking in the museum I went for a bit of a wander through the old town, just taking in the sites, stopping for a late afternoon coffee before heading back to the hotel.

Unlike the previous evening I couldn’t really justify getting room service, so I headed out a bit later back up the hill into the old city centre and grabbed dinner in a restaurant halfway up to the cathedral before walking back down hill to the hotel in the dusk.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Durham; Monday, 31 May, 2021

I had a later breakfast than the previous mornings and then headed out from the hotel to go for a little walk along the river.

I didn’t have much time before I needed to checkout so I only walked as far as the Old Corn Mill, located on the opposite bank to the cathedral at the point where a weir crosses the river to another mill on the cathedral bank.

From here there are amazing views of the Cathedral and parts of the old city walls as they defend the high ground, the walls of the gorge that the river has carved through the landscape and in the distance the impressive Framwellgate.

After taking in the sites it was time to head back to the hotel, pack up my bags and head back to the station to take the train further south to Darlington.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Darlington; Monday, 31 May, 2021

I caught a taxi down from Darlington station to the hotel to check in and drop off my bags before heading back out. Thankfully the timing was good, and it meant that I was able to make the bus that only ran every other hour on a Bank Holiday Monday, which I caught to the edge of the town limits in the suburb of Piercebridge.

Piercebridge sits on the River Tees and today is a small quiet village. However, underneath the village lies the remains of a large Roman fort that once guarded the key Roman road that ran from York to the Firth of Forth and was the main supply line for the soldiers defending Hadrian’s Wall.

Most of the fort remains under the houses of the village, but the very eastern end, along with some of the original fortifications and ditches, are visible in a field to the edge of the village and are open to look around. The defensive ditches and footings of the gate house show how well defended this fort would have been.

I had a wander round the ruins of the fort before walking the short distance to the modern bridge across the River Tees and over to a field behind the coaching Inn at the end of the bridge which houses parts of the ruins on the original Roman bridge that crossed the Tees here.

Due to the frequency of the buses I only had a few minutes to look round the site, but it was enough to take in the small site, before heading back to the bus stop to catch the bus back into Darlington.

From the bus stop I had a bit of a wander through the centre of town – but, with the exception of the covered market and St Cuthbert’s church there isn’t very much historic in the very centre of Darlington.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then popped out to grab some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Darlington; Tuesday, 01 June, 2021

An early breakfast to be out of the hotel quickly and onto a bus for my first stop of the morning.

During the height of the first Lockdown in the UK at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the Prime Ministers chief advisor had – despite suffering from Covid himself – driven all the way from London to County Durham. He later went on a drive to Barnard Castle as he though his eyes weren’t working properly. The Prime Minister had complete confidence in him and he kept his job only to be sacked several months later for mocking the Prime Ministers girlfriend. One of the main upshots – alongside a big public outcry – was a lot of news coverage of Barnard Castle, and from all the pictures on TV it really did look like a very nice town, so that’s where I was heading to – albeit without the need to test my vision.

As access to the castle is limited due to the Covid measures that were in place at the time I’d booked a ticket to visit the castle at midday, so I had about 90 minutes to wander around the town before my booked entry. I first off headed down by the side of the castle to the impressive 16th century bridge that crosses the River Tees on the edge of town. From the bridge there are excellent views up to the imposing ruins of the castle above you.

I continued my walk around the town, before stopping off at a coffee shop for an early lunch before heading over to the castle just before my midday timeslot. The timeslots appeared to be quite flexible – more just a way of avoiding having long queues of people trying to get in all at once, and to limit total numbers on site, so I was able to go in a good 15 minutes before my booked slot.

The castle complex in Barnard Castle is one of the largest in the country, with the outer ward and curtain wall covering most of the high ground in the town with a smaller middle ward and inner wards protected by further fortifications and a grand ditch. I spent a good 90 minutes or so looking round the site, taking in the different parts of the castle.

After taking in the castle it was time to head back into the centre of Barnard Castle and pick up the local bus to my second stop, and second castle of the day, over the border into North Yorkshire and the market town of Richmond.

I had visited Richmond Castle previously, over a decade earlier when I’d been staying in Leeds. At that time it was early January and the weather had been awful, so I really hadn’t done the castle justice keeping to the indoor parts of the keep and only a quick look around the large inner courtyard areas of the castle. Today, Covid measures meant that the keep itself was closed, but the glorious weather made looking round the outer parts much easier.

Again, I spent quite some time exploring the castle, along with the small exhibition above the giftshop that tells the story of both the castle and the town, along with it’s many namesakes around the globe.

I had about 40 minutes to wait before my bus back to Barnard Castle so I had a bit of a wander around the centre of Richmond, taking in the very pretty market place, before hopping on the bus for the very pretty ride back through the North Yorkshire countryside to Barnard Castle.

Back in Barnard Castle I again had about 40 minutes before my connection back to Darlington, so I had a bit more of a wander around, taking in the impressive Buttermarket located in the middle of a modern traffic intersection at the south end of the town centre, before heading over to the bus stop and making my way back to Darlington and a well deserved dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Darlington; Wednesday, 02 June, 2021

Darlington is perhaps most well know for it’s connections to railways. The worlds first steam engine hauled passenger rail service started in 1825 on the Stockton and Darlington railway as it carried coal from the Durham mines above Shildon down through Darlington and onto the docks at Stockton-on-Tees. Whilst the concept of a passenger railway wasn’t new, nor was the idea of a steam engine hauled train, the S&D was the first to combine all these elements and is given credit as being the founding point of the Rail network in the UK, and eventually the globe.

Whilst the coal mines may no longer be producing or using the railways, a lot of the land that their sidings and yards took up have been put to new uses, and up near the start of the line at Shildon a large area has been converted into a modern railway museum that charts the history of rail travel in the UK.

Locomotion is the County Durham off-shoot of the York based National Railway Museum. The museum focuses more, as it’s name would hint, on the engines and power plants of the railway, rather than historic trains or royal carriages (though there are still a couple of examples of that, along with an original S&D carriage). Some of the key exhibits include the original Locomotion No.1 that launched the S&D line, the prototype of the Advance Passenger Train – that turned into a giant white elephant, as the High Speed Train – that is credited for saving British Rail and as of visiting was still in daily use by a small number of operators. In fact just a couple of days before visiting the power car that had set the world record for fastest diesel train had been retired from it’s last operator – East Midlands Railway- and moved to Locomotion as a key part of the national collection.

I hadn’t planned much for the afternoon, as I wasn’t certain how long I’d need at Locomotion, but I had purchased a bus ticket that let me travel across the whole of the North East of England, so I decided to head out for a ride into the countryside.

First stop was to get the bus back into Darlington, where I was able to quickly change onto a bus over to Middlesbrough and again made a very quick connection onto the X93 bus across the North York Moors.

The X93 starts in Middlesbrough, heads up over the moors to Whitby before continuing on south along the coast to Scarborough – a journey that takes a couple of hours in full, but I was only going to do the first part up over the moors and down into Whitby. The journey was very picturesque, once we’d left the urbanisation and industry of the Tees valley behind, with wide open views across the moors being helped by being on the top deck of a double decker bus. However, as we approached Whitby it became clear that the weather on the North Yorks coast wasn’t quite as good as it was inland as we hit a thick fog bank that was lapping a couple of miles inland. By the time we finally got down to the harbour side in Whitby visibility was barely a hundred meters and the temperature had taken quite a dip.

I had originally planned on having a wander around Whitby, but the weather soon put paid to that, so instead I headed back to the bus station to continue my journey back up the coast on the bus towards Saltburn. However, as I got to the bus station, in time for the 5pm bus, it was clear that the 4.30 bus still hadn’t arrived with massive queues everywhere. Eventually two buses pulled in together just after 5pm, with one deciding to go out of service meaning there was no way everyone would fit on the one reaming bus, and still maintain social distancing, so I decided to hold back at catch the 5.30 instead, which was quite a lot emptier.

The X4 heads north up the coast from Whitby through some of the former coal mining villages of County Durham, such as Easington, before reaching the seaside resort of Saltburn-by-Sea. I decided to hop of here, to have a look around, and partly because the fog had now lifted to stopping a few feet off of the coast – creating quite a weird site of whisps of fog lapping at the tops of the cliffs whilst the sea lapped at the bottom.

I had a bit of a wander around Saltburn and then headed to the train station bus stop to see the time of the next bus back to Middlesbrough to connect back into Darlington. It turned out that I’d arrived just at the point that buses had dropped from every 30 minutes to every hour, and I had quite a bit of a wait ahead of me. Alternatively, there was a train heading straight back to Darlington due to leave in about 15 minutes time, so I grabbed some dinner from the Sainsbury’s next to the station and brought a train ticket.

The train ride from Saltburn includes travelling between the outskirts of Stockton back to the edge of Darlington on that original railway line, that’s still in service 196 years after it opened.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Darlington; Thursday, 03 June, 2021

After packing my bag, leaving it with the hotel and checking out, I headed out from the hotel and walked the 15 minutes or so north to Darlington North Road station. Today this is a small single platform station on the Bishop Auckland line. More importantly the station sits next to an older version of the station, built by the Stockton and Darlington railway on their original line.

That older station is now the Head of Steam museum which tells the history of the railways in Darlington, as well as the history of the S&D. Whilst they don’t have the original Locomotion No.1 engine (that was moved to Locomotion in Shildon in early 2021), they do have a replica engine that was created for the 150th anniversary of the line as the original was too delicate to be able to used in service again.

Along with the exbibits and models you can also explore parts of the station itself including the original Victorian booking office.

Close by to the museum is the Skerne Bridge. This is the oldest continuously used railway bridge in the world having opened with the S&D in 1825 and still carrying trains to Shildon, Bishop Auckland, Darlington and Saltburn to this day.

Over it’s life the line has been expanded and contracted, and the rear of the bridge is marked by some additional Victorian abutment that were added when the line was wider, but from the front of the bridge you are still looking at the same structure that carried the first passenger trains nearly 200 years ago.

After taking in the museum and the bridge it was time to walk back down into the centre of town, grab a quick lunch and my luggage and then make my way up to Darlington station to catch the train back north to Newcastle and my flight back to London.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Southend-on-Sea; Friday, 11 June, 2021

I had a half day’s leave booked, so after shutting down the laptop I was able to head out for a lunchtime train up into London and then walked through the city from London Bridge to Fenchurch Street where I picked up the train out to Southend.

It was a quick walk through Southend from the station down to the hotel, and after checking in and dropping my stuff off in my room I headed out into town for the afternoon.

The hotel itself overlooks the pier, which at some 1.3 miles long is the longest pleasure pier in the world, and that was where I headed first.

Access to the pier is charged, irrespective of how you’d like to get along it – so rather than paying to walk a mile out to sea I opted to pay the little extra and let the worlds longest pleasure pier railway (as you’d expect it to be given it’s on the world’s longest pleasure pier) do all the hard work and take me down to the Pier head, about 1.2 miles off shore.

The reason for the pier being so long is due to the tidal rises and falls of the river Thames. At Southend at low tide you have to be the full 1.3 miles out before you’re in deep enough water to not risk running aground, so the pleasure steamers that used to make their way down the river to Southend needed a really long pier.

I had a look around the end of the pier – though with Covid precautions still in place the pavilion at the end of the pier was closed, and most of the small kiosk were also shut. I walked right down to the far end, past the lifeboat station and took in the unique view of being able to look right down to the mouth of the Thames, with the coasts of Essex and Kent just bobbing on the horizon.

After stopping for an ice-cream on the end of the pier I headed back to the Pier head station and caught the train back to the land, or as they call it on the ticket – dry, end.

I had a bit of a wander around the shore end of the pier, and then headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out a bit later to grab some dinner.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel through the centre of Southend on a Friday evening, which was a bit of an eye-opening experience, and that’s coming from someone who has regularly (in the before Covid days) been out in Croydon in the evening.

Back at the hotel I watched the impressive display being put on by both the light from the setting sun up stream, and the rapid retreat of the waters revealing the muddy bed of the estuary, whilst being serenaded by a long procession of modified cars driving past slowly but very loudly – ah, Essex!

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Southend-on-Sea; Saturday, 12 June, 2021

I was up early, partly as the dustcart was emptying the glass recycling from the neighbouring pub at 06:30, and partly as I wanted to make an early start away from the hotel for my timed ticket for the first attraction of the day.

After breakfast I headed up to Southend Central station and caught the train about 20 miles up stream to Tilbury. The town is now most well known as being the home for the London docks that moved down here with containerisation. However, the town has been important as a defensive point for London for centuries, with fortifications on both the Essex and Kent sides of the river protecting the vital supply route into England’s capital.

It was in Tilbury that in 1588 Queen Elizabeth rallied her soldiers as the Spanish Armada headed for England, on the site of a small fortress that her father, Henry VIII had had built. In the subsequent years the fortress was expanded and enlarged, with a major redesign under Charles II to turn it into the start shaped Tilbury fort that exists today.

I had a ticket for 10:30 entry – though it turned out it was pretty quiet in the mornings and I was able to enter a little early. The fort has served many purposes over the years, being updated remodelled and improved upon as each successive generation has moved through. Today the inside of the fort is largely as it was left during the Victorian era with large powder magazine, tunnels and officers quarters still in situ – though the common soldiers barracks are now little more than a low brick outline off the edge of the parade ground.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the fort – making use of the provided contactless audio guide, and taking quite a few photos, before it was time to head on to my next destination, so I headed back to Tilbury Town station and caught the train a couple of stops back towards the edge of Southend and the town of Leigh-on-Sea. From the station I caught the bus up the hill into Hadleigh, and from there walked the short distance, and thankfully all down hill, to the impressive ruins of Hadleigh castle.

A castle was built on this site in the 13th century, but the original building wasn’t of the greatest construction and the land isn’t the most stable, so over the years parts subsided, repairs became costly and within a couple of hundred years it had been abandoned to become the picturesque ruin that it is today – complete with a ruined tower that is clearly very slowly sliding down the side of the hill.

From the centre of the castle complex it’s easy to see why it was built here with stunning, and unobstructed, views up and down the Thames, across Canvey island and into Kent. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the castle site before it was time to start heading back. Rather than heading back uphill to the bus stop I continued the downhill walk and walked the 1.5 miles back to Leigh-on-Sea station. The bulk of the descent takes place shortly after the castle – so in this direction is fine, but coming from Leigh-on-Sea would have been a bit of a killer of a steep uphill climb at the end of the walk.

Back in Southend I headed over to the Central Museum. The museum is housed in the old Victorian public library and has a number of exhibits on the town. A large gallery traces the history of human habitation in the Thames Estuary from the stone age through to the late medieval period via the Romans and Anglo-Saxons. There is also a very impressive display on the finds of an Anglo-Saxon Princely burial that were discovered a short distance away when the road was being widened. Other exhibits include displays on the Flora and Fauna of the Estuary and the history of seaside entertainment in the town. I also had a quick look round the neighbouring Beecroft gallery.

After a quick stop for a very late lunch, I headed over to the bus station to catch the bus for a ride out to Canvey Island. The Island is only just that – with in places only a very narrow channel cutting it off from the Essex mainland. The island is probably most famous though for the tragedy that took place in 1953 when a massive storm surge in the North Atlantic forced a wall of water up the estuary inundating the island, which in places is below sea level, and killing 58 people. Over the years the defences protecting the island have been significantly improved and in the 1980’s a new sea-wall was built that rivals some of the Dutch projects on it’s scale. I had a walk along the sea wall heading round to almost the eastern tip of the island before heading back to the bus stop and back on into Southend.

Back in Southend it was already getting dark so I grabbed a quick dinner and then headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night – once again being serenaded by the exhaust pipe orchestra, tonight accompanied by a couple rowing so intensely that I heard the row approaching for a good couple of minutes before the passed under my window and for several minutes after without any let up.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Southend-on-Sea; Sunday, 13 June, 2021

I had a slightly later breakfast than the previous day and, after checking out of my room, headed down to the seafront to pick up the open-top bus.

Unlike the many other varieties of open-top bus that I’ve been on, this is literally just an open-top bus – a normal bus route, albeit a circular route, that happens to be operated in the summer months only by buses without roofs – so no commentary or guides – but a good way of seeing more of the local area. The bus heads out from Southend along the seafront through Westcliff and Chalkwell before turning in land and climbing the cliffs at Leigh-on-Sea before heading back through the pretty town centre of Leigh-on-Sea and then turning back down to the seafront to return to Southend.

I did two loops on the bus to get the best of the views – though by the end of the second tour it was clear that Southend was heading towards gridlock with a combination of poor driving and sheer numbers of people poring down to the beach on a Sunny Sunday creating the perfect conditions for traffic chaos.

I had a bit of wander round the town centre, marvelling at the sheer number of people coming into Southend – I don’t think I’ve seen that number of people together since the before-days! There was no point in even considering trying to find a seat at a café on or near the seafront, so I headed back towards the shopping centre end of town and was able to get a table in a Costa coffee to have some lunch.

After lunch I had a wander back down towards the seafront, taking in The Shrubbery – a large rock garden/shrubbery located at the bottom of the cliff gardens near the pier.

I then headed back up to the hotel where I’d arranged to meet up with a couple of friends who are local to this part of the world – the chance to actually meet them in person for over two years – we headed to the bar of the hotel which had the advantage of not having outdoor seating, only one small TV for the football and really good Air conditioning. The bar was nice and empty.

I caught up with my friends for a couple of hours before it was time to collect my luggage from reception and make my way back to the station to catch the train home. Sadly, I’d timed it badly as most of the rest of the visitors also appeared to be heading home at the same time and that combined with a reduced train service caused by engineering works meant there were a lot of people waiting for the train.

I might have been out of practice for a long time, but it’s amazing how quickly the commuting skills kick back in and I was able to judge the spot on the platform just right to be in the correct place for the doors when the train arrived, combined with the offensive use of luggage to ensure that I managed to get a window seat for my journey back into London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Cambridge; Friday, 18 June, 2021

I used an extended lunch break to head up to Cambridge, getting a bit of work done on the train on the way up – whilst also marvelling at the spectacular downpours that kept sweeping through. After three weeks of almost perfect weather the rain gods were making sure they got the average rainfall back up again.

I arrived into Cambridge during a brief lull in the downpours, with it just spitting heavily, and walked the short distance across the station forecourt to the hotel and checked in. I headed up to my room and logged back onto my laptop to finish my working day.

The end of my working day, but pure fluke, lined up with a period of relative dryness, so after packing my work things away I grabbed the camera and headed the short distance up the road to the University Botanic Gardens.

I had a long wander round the gardens, and was even able to visit the glasshouses which were open – which I was surprised about as I though they would have been closed because of the Covid restrictions – though the lack of other people being around due to the weather may have made it more possible for them to be open today.

From the glasshouses I wandered towards the very back to the gardens, where there is a raised walkway that takes you up to a really good view across some of the gardens.

I headed back down to ground level and started to make my way back through the gardens towards the entrance as it was approaching closing time. As I was wandering back I did wonder how they made sure the gardens were cleared and people knew to go home, when one of the gardeners on a bike cycled path ringing a big bell announcing that the gardens were closing.

I exited the gardens and walked back the short distance to my hotel, managing the whole round trip without actually getting rained on – made all the more impressive by the downpour that took place less than 10 minutes later whilst I was sat in my room.

I waited for a little while for the rain to subside, but in the end it looked like it was settling in for the night, so I decided to call it quits and use the restaurant within the hotel for dinner and then have an early night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Cambridge; Saturday, 19 June, 2021

When I’d booked the hotel, it was still touch and go as to whether we’d be able to travel within England, and the hotels website wasn’t offering Breakfast as they weren’t certain what the rules would be, so I hadn’t booked anything. Thankfully the hotel is directly opposite both a supermarket and a café, so rather than having the limited buffet that the hotel was offering for quite a high price, I headed over and grabbed some things from the supermarket and a cup of coffee and had breakfast in my room.

Breakfast over I wandered the short distance to the bus stop for the open-top tour. I picked up the first tour of the day and did a full circuit before staying on and catching it back round to the centre of the city where I was in time to hop off and visit my first booked museum of the trip – the Zoology Museum.

One museum down I popped into the centre of town to grab some lunch before wandering back past a few of the colleges down to the Polar Museum, housed in the Scott Polar Research Institute – founded in memory of the explorer who died on his way back from being 2nd to reach the South Pole. The museum isn’t particularly large, but they do manage to pack a lot into their exhibition space.

After taking in the museum I picked up the open-top tour and caught it back round to the Museum of Cambridge, only to discover (after a quick check on Twitter), that the museum had been forced to closer earlier in the day due to a shortage of volunteers, so instead I wandered back in towards the city centre and allowed myself to be accosted by one of the many people touting punting tours on the river.

You can hire a punt yourself and punt your way up and down the river, or you can get a professional to do the punting for you – which makes the chances of ending up in the river (as we saw twice on the tour) much less likely.

All of the tours take the same route along a stretch of the river from Magdalene Bridge to weir at Mill Lane and back, but it is probably the most important and picturesque part of the river with 8 colleges, backing onto it – including the best views of the Kings College chapel.

Tour completed I had a bit of a wander through the centre of town, taking in some more of the sites and colleges – although all were still closed to visitors in part due to the covid and in part as the final term of the year had only finished the day beforehand.

I ended up back at the open-top tour bus stop just as the penultimate journey of the day was arriving, so I hopped on that and caught it back to the hotel where I freshened up before popping out for a bit to eat before an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Cambridge; Sunday, 20 June, 2021

With all the Covid regulations in place it’s not possible to just turn up at a museum and visit these days (with some exceptions), so I’d had the full day planned out in advance making sure I had booked tickets for all the museums that I wanted to visit and that I’d left sufficient time between bookings.

After breakfast I hopped on a bus out to the edge of the city centre and my first stop of the morning at the Centre for Computing History. This museum tells the story of computing, from the difference engine and mechanical devices through to the modern computers, consoles and mobile devices of today. It was slightly disturbing to see so many devices that I’ve used myself – some not that long ago – now count as museum pieces.

From the Computing museum it was about a 15 minutes walk over to my next stop of the morning – the Cambridge Museum of Technology. This is located in the former town sewage pumping station and traces the history of the site, as well as the history of technology and industry in Cambridge.

I had a long look round the site, taking in the various exhibits, before heading back over to the bus stop and catching the bus back into town to grab a quick lunch. From lunch I had a wander through town and ended up at Great St Mary’s Church. This is the University church and along with the impressive inside , there are also some impressive views to be had from the top of the tower – so, having not learnt my lesson from Durham a couple of weeks earlier – I paid my money and spent several unpleasant minutes giving my lungs, knees and legs a good workout on the 123 steps to the top.

The climb is worth it as the views over the colleges are some of the best in the city – in particular the view of the Kings College. I descended back down to ground level and rewarded myself with an ice cream from a small cart that was located just outside the church – almost certainly doing a roaring trade from idiots like me climbing up the tower and then regretting it.

I walked back past the colleges and onto the Fitzwilliam Museum, this is the main museum of the university, housed in a suitably impressive building with a wide ranging collection from paintings and potters to ancient Egypt and classical civilisations.

With the Fitzwilliam Museum completed I was seriously starting to question my sanity on booking so many museums into the day, as my feet were aching from that very specific slow walk that you do as you look round a museum, but I pressed on and headed over to my fourth and final museum of the day – the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Housed over three floors this museum has some of the more interesting artefacts from the universities collection, with the museum itself acknowledging that some of them have been obtained in ways that you wouldn’t today. The top two floors deal with Anthropology and house exhibits, not all obtained in the most ethical of ways, from indigenous peoples across the globe. On the lower floor there is a more ethical display of archaeology from the Cambridgeshire region.

When I caught the bus first thing in the morning it was easiest to get a day ticket rather than trying to work out singles or returns, and I was thankful of that now as it meant I could sit down on the bus for about 10 minutes as it took me across the centre of Cambridge and up a hill – which in itself was a bit of a shock as I was pretty certain Cambridge was flat – to the shire hall. The Cambridgeshire County Council building occupies a site that has housed the administration of the are for nearly a 1000 years, as next to the building is a large mound that was previously topped by a castle. The castle is long since gone, but the high mound still provides an excellent viewpoint across the city.

I walked back down the hill from the castle and through the city centre, taking in some more of the sites – including stopping by Newton’s Apple tree. The claim is that this is the very tree that Isaac Newton was sat under when an apple fell and he came up with his theory of gravity. The fact that the tree was actually at his home is Lincolnshire and this is actually a more recent graft from that tree is gently overlooked. A short walk further on and I found myself back in the very centre of the city, near all the restaurants at about dinner time, so after a quick look at options I grabbed a table and had an early dinner, before heading back to the bus station and catching the bus back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Cambridge; Monday, 21 June, 2021

I worked out of the hotel for most of the morning, before taking an extended lunch break and using that to check-out, head over to the station and catch my train home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Norwich; Friday, 25 June, 2021

I travelled up to London during my lunch break, grabbing a bite to eat at Liverpool Street before hopping onto the train up to Norwich and making use of the good on-board WiFi to work the whole way up. A couple of minutes off-line to zip between the station and my hotel and then back online until the end of the working day.

With the laptop powered down I headed out of the hotel for a wander. The hotel overlooks the River Wensum and the station and from here there is a pleasant mile long walk that follows the river round the edge of the city centre, taking in some of the former fortifications of the city, as well as the old quayside and eventually drops you out by Elm Hill, which houses a fine collection of old timbered buildings, giving a good impression of what medieval Norwich would have looked like.

From Elm Hill I wandered back through the city centre, making a detour via the cathedral grounds and the marketplace with it’s Scandinavian style city hall tower.

I stopped off in a restaurant in the city centre for a quick dinner before heading back to the hotel as the light was starting to fade.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Norwich; Saturday, 26 June, 2021

I had an early ticket to visit the Castle Museum, and because I hadn’t booked breakfast at the hotel, I headed out just after 9 to go to a café in town for a quick coffee and croissant (and maybe a bacon bap) fuel stop before heading over to the castle.

The castle is Norman in origins and has served a number of functions, including prison, until the interior was gutted back to it’s shell during the Victorian era and it was turned into a museum. Trying to undo the vandalism of the Victorians the city is currently undertaking a multi-million pound refurbishment and restoration of the keep to return it close to how it would have looked when the castle was first built (albeit with modern day accessibility – the Normans we’re known for putting lifts in their buildings). The work is due to be completed in 2023, but as this is 2021 it’s pretty obvious that much of the site was going to be closed. Instead just a small wing on the museum – in a part of the building that was built onto the side of the Norman Keep – is open to look around, but they’ve made sure that some of their most important artefacts and exhibits are on display in this area.

After looking round the museum I headed back down from the castle into the city centre, and arrived at the bus stop for the open-top sightseeing tour with a few minutes to spare before the first tour of the day was due to depart. The tour takes in the key sights in the city centre, as well as climbing up onto Mousehold Heath high above the city centre for views over Norwich – including its numerous church towers and spires.

Back in the city centre I had a bit of a wander before stopping off near the market to get a spot of lunch. From there I wandered on to the ruins of St Benedict’s Church. Norwich has a very large number of churches – a reminder of when Norwich was the most important city in the country after London. Many have been repurposed, but some – as is the case with St Beneditcs – time and nature have taken control and the much of the church has now gone, with just it’s round tower still standing, albeit with lots of warning signs around it that it’s a dangerous structure at risk of collapse.

A short walk away from the ruins, and the other side of the city Ring Road is the Catholic Cathedral. If the Anglican cathedral is identifiable by it’s tall spire and long nave the Catholic cathedral is identifiable by it’s imposing bulk – the building makes itself know with lots of thick walls and towers. I arrived between a series of christenings, which meant that the whole of the inside had a weird hazy feel with the smoke from incense still billowing round the interior.

Next door to the Catholic cathedral is the site of a former quarry. The space has been reused as a hidden garden – The Plantation Garden, with the walls of the quarry turned into terraces with a grand Italianate staircase running up the back wall. Sunken deep below the level of the surrounding buildings and roads this is a peaceful oasis in the heart of the city, but even on a warm June afternoon was surprisingly empty.

Having taken in the garden and with the weather looking good I decided it would be nice to head out to the coast for the afternoon so I headed over to the bus station to take the bus out across the Norfolk Broads to the coast. From Norwich there are two express routes that head out to the coast. The X1 (and X11) heads out to Great Yarmouth before the X1 continues down to Lowestoft. The X2 (and X21 and X22) go straight across the broads to Lowestoft. With a cheap day ticket for the county it’s possible to do this as a circular route, and that’s what I decided to do – arriving at the bus station in time to catch an X22 out to Lowestoft.

I should, however, have learnt from my experience from just a few weeks earlier in Darlington, that just because its beautifully sunny inland, doesn’t mean that the coast isn’t shrouded in a cold enveloping mist, and in the final couple of miles heading into Lowestoft it became clear that this was the case. I had a bit of a wander around the town centre, but the weather really wasn’t pleasant so I headed back to the bus station to pick up an X1 to head up the coast and see if Great Yarmouth was any better. It wasn’t.

Rather than hopping off the bus in Great Yarmouth I decided to just stay on and head back into Norwich, which was probably for the best as I was treated to some lovely views across the broads as the edge of the fog banks gently rolled across the flat landscape just a couple of miles inland.

Back in Norwich I popped back over to the hotel to freshen up, before heading out and grabbing some dinner in a restaurant just by the station.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Norwich; Sunday, 27 June, 2021

I was up early again as I needed to get the train out to the North Norfolk coast (as apposed to the East Norfolk coast I’d visited the previous day). I caught an early train out to Cromer and then walked the 15 minutes or so out of town to Amazona.

Amazona is a small zoo that focuses exclusively on South American animals, including a couple of Pumas, Jaguas, Ocelots as well as various birds, monkeys, reptiles and a large collection of Patagonian Mara’s – a cross between a very large rabbit and a small deer – that roam around the zoo freely. I spent quite a bit of time exploring the zoo and taking in the numerous exhibits, so long that it was pretty much lunchtime by the time I made it back to the café at the entrance, so I grabbed a quick lunch there before starting my walk back into town.

It looked like most of the world had descended on Cromer for the afternoon as I made it back into town, as all the car parks were full and the roads were close to gridlocked. I had a bit of a wander along the seafront at cliff-top level, rather then descending down to beach level or the pier, as I only had a bit of time before my booked slot at the Cromer Museum.

The museum is located in a former fisherman’s cottage, just back from the cliff edge and covers a wide range of topics. The museum has a display on parts of a mammoth that was discovered just a couple of miles up the coast. Much like the Dorset coast, this part of the world is a perfect place to go hunting for fossils, though in Norfolk’s case they are from a later age with the bones of mammoth, Rhinos and hippos being found rather than dinosaurs.

Having taken in the museum I had a bit more of a wander around the town centre before it was time to head back to the station and catch my train back into Norwich. From the station I had a wander back along the river and then up through the grounds of the Cathedral, which stretch for a long way down to the river. I arrived at the Cathedral just as an afternoon service was finishing, so I had a look round the cloister before heading into the church itself once the service had finished.

After looking round the cathedral I wandered back through the city centre heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

As I had to work out of the hotel in the morning I decided to book a dinner and breakfast meal deal for the Sunday evening/Monday morning, which meant that I didn’t have to go very far to get dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Norwich; Monday, 28 June, 2021

After breakfast in the hotel restaurant I headed back up to my room and worked through until just before checkout time.

I then checked-out headed over to the station and hopped on the train back down to London, getting another couple of hours work done before zipping back across London to home during my lunchbreak.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Oakham; Thursday, 01 July, 2021

The advantage of home working is that home can become quite a relaxed definition. To do my job I need my laptop and an internet connection, and power after a couple of hours to keep the laptop charged. Something that comes as standard both in Hotels and on an increasing number of trains.

This all means that with a carefully planned overnight stop, it’s possible to get to places for a weekend that would normally mean arriving very late on the Friday night, just after lunch.

And that’s why I found myself on a sunny July afternoon walking the short distance between Peterborough station and a hotel. Getting to Oakham, my final destination in one go would have meant taking at least a half days leave, this way I’ve been able to use my lunch break to get up into London and then worked on the train the whole way up. A quick 5 minutes to move between station and hotel and then back to work for the rest of the day.

My working day finished I powered down the laptop and went in hunt of dinner, and what turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant walk around the centre of Peterborough.

I was quite surprised at how pleasant the city centre was, particularly around the expansive cathedral grounds, and it was clear that I needed to add Peterborough to the ever expanding list of places to have a weekend away in.

I eventually found a nice chain restaurant near the cathedral and had dinner there, before a slow wander back to the hotel and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Oakham; Friday, 02 July, 2021

I worked out of the hotel in Peterborough for the morning, finishing just before checkout time at midday, and then wandered over to the station to catch my train to Oakham, which only took about 30 minutes to make the journey. A quick walk across town to the hotel, checkin, and then up in my room and back to work for the rest of the day.

I finished just after 5pm, powered down the laptop, grabbed the camera and went out for a wander around Oakham.

Oakham is the largest town in the county of Rutland – which is a polite way of saying it’s pretty small. Rutland itself is less than 150 square miles, neighbouring Leicestershire (which it was merged into for 23 years between 1974 and 1997) is nearly six times the size, and Norfolk from the previous weekend is nearly 14 times the size. All to say, Oakham isn’t the kind of town where you need to take a bus to get from one side to the other – which is fortunate, as it also suffers from pretty terrible public transport in the evenings and on Sundays, which I’d only discovered a couple of weeks earlier and had to make special arrangements for.

From the hotel I walked the short distance past the library and over to the market place. The area is surrounded by a nice collection of buildings, and two wooden structures. The smaller of the two provides shelter above the town water pump and the larger of the two – the Butter Cross, houses the town stocks (I’m assuming not still in use!)

From the market it was just a couple of steps across to the impressive All Saint’s church which was still open to have a quick look around before walking down into the neighbouring fields which boarder the mound that Oakham Castle once sat upon.

The bulk of the castle itself is long gone, with just the great hall (great being caveated with the usual – For Rutland – size comparison) remaining inside the walls. Whilst they’re not as impressive (or stable) as they once were, a large part of the castle walls still stand, which you can walk round. Part way round a set of steps have been installed so that you can climb up onto the top of the walls for good views across the castle site, and then descend down into the castle area.

After taking in the castle I wandered back through the centre of town to the hotel and stopped there to freshen up, before heading back out to grab some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Oakham; Saturday, 03 July, 2021

Oakham isn’t blessed with a large number of attractions for the tourist to see – and it turns out that I’d seen all the outside attractions the previous evening. One of the main sites is the castle and the great hall, which is only open for a couple of hours each morning Wednesday-Saturday. So, after breakfast in the hotel I headed over there to visit, timing to be there just as it was due to open. Sadly, the great hall also doubles as the main registry office for the county, and with the massive backlog of weddings caused by the pandemic the local council had taken the decision to book them in throughout the day and keep the great hall closed to visitors – so that ruled out that as an option.

The only other inside attraction in the town is the county museum, but that didn’t open until 13:30, which meant I now had about 3 and half hours with very little to do. Thankfully, as I’d already assumed I wouldn’t be spending three hours looking round the Great Hall I’d checked the times of the few buses that do run from Oakham and had planned to head north into Leicestershire and visit Melton Mowbray. If anything the castle being closed turned out to be a bit of a blessing as I made it to the bus station just before a wave of light, soaking, drizzle passed through. I also arrived in time to take the more interesting of the two bus routes from Oakham to Melton.

Providing links across the county there are two bus routes branded as the Rutland Flyer. The RF1 runs from Corby in Northamptonshire, up through Rutland to Oakham and then on the main road up to Melton Mowbrary, taking about 30 minutes to do the final leg. The RF2 starts in Oakham and meanders around many of the villages in the northern half of the county before finally making it to Melton about 75 minutes later. I arrived at the bus station a few minutes before the next RF2 was due to leave.

It was a very pretty ride through the countryside, down lots of narrow lanes – which is always interesting in even a small single deck bus, and through several picturesque Rutland villages. After arriving in Melton Mowbray I wandered through the centre of town, past the memorial gardens and then looped back into the town centre to make a visit to one of the towns claims to fame.

Melton Mowbray styles itself as the Rural Capital of Food, its from here that the eponymous Pork Pie comes from, as well as Melton being one of only six places in the country (the other five all being within close proximity) which can make official Stilton cheese. As it was fast heading towards lunch time I headed over to Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe, located right by the market place in town, to sample a real Melton Mowbray Pork Pie.

After lunch, and a little bit more of a wander, stopping off at the impressive St Mary’s parish church, I headed back to the bus stop and caught the RF1 for the direct route back into Oakham. I had just enough time to pop back via the hotel for a quick use of the facilities before popping next door to the Rutland County Museum to have a look around that.

Having completed the County Museum I had now seen pretty much all there was to see in the town. Thankfully I’d taken the decision to buy a network day ticket rather than a return to Melton Mowbray so I headed back to the bus station in time to take the next RF1 service south to explore some more of the Rutland countryside.

Helping with the exploration was some major engineering works taking place on the railway bridge a little way out of town, so rather than being able to take the direct road the three miles from Oakham to Manton everything was on a major diversion the whole 12 miles round the other three sides of Rutland Water, great for the sightseeing – probably not so great for local connectivity.

After just over an hour the bus made it to the end of the line in Corby. I very quickly realised that I probably should have just stayed on the bus and headed straight back, so I found a coffee shop and had a slow cup of coffee in there before catching the bus 75 minutes later back to Oakham. On the way back in the bus took a slightly different diversion which meant that it stopped right outside the hotel, so I didn’t even have to walk back from the bus station. I hopped off and headed up to my room to freshen up before heading out to grab dinner.

After dinner I had a little bit of a wander around the town, before noticing that it appeared to be getting dark far faster than normal, at which point I noticed the sky and make a quick beeline for nearby shelter, getting undercover just as a big rumble of thunder rattled round the skie and the first spots of rain started to appear, within seconds the skies had opened and it was bucketing it down for a good 10 minutes before it finally eased up enough to risk walking the final 150 yards or so back to the hotel in relative dryness.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Oakham; Sunday, 04 July, 2021

I hadn’t done as diligent research when I booked this trip as I normally do, so it wasn’t until a couple of weeks before travelling that I discovered there were no buses from Oakham on a Sunday, and only a limited railway service that didn’t start until after lunchtime. So in an attempt to at least be able to see some things I’d hired a taxi for a couple of hours.

It turned out to be an excellent investment as my driver for the morning, Pete, gave me an excellent tour of the county taking in several different parts of Rutland Water, including stopping at the spectacular Normanton Church, and taking in the Welland Valley Viaduct – the largest brick built rail viaduct in the UK.

After several photo stops he finally dropped me off at the entrance to Burghley House, which was my destination for the afternoon.

I had a quick lunch in the garden café before heading over to the ticket office to checkin for my prebooked time slot for the tour of the house.

I did the tour of the house and then had a bit of a wander around the grounds – intermittently stopping to dive for cover as another of the frequent hefty showers passed through. I then headed over to the Garden of Secrets to have a look round that.

In the original plan for the day I was going to walk back from the house into the pleasant Georgian town of Stamford that the house and park is on the edge of, have a look round that and then get a train back to Oakham about 5pm. On my way walking through the grounds I happened to check twitter to see that the railway line into St Pancras, my route home, was slowly dissolving into chaos and my booked train would be replaced by a bus for a hefty part of it’s journey, but my ticket would be valid on an earlier train.

So instead of wandering round Stamford I made a beeline to the train station to catch the 4pm train, headed back through Oakham, picked up my luggage and was back on the platform for the train an hour earlier than originally planned.

It turned out to be a good idea for several reasons – the first being I made a London train at Leicester that was fast to St Pancras, so I ended up back in London much earlier than planned, but also because it meant I was onboard the train at the same time as one of the heaviest thunderstorms of the weekend passed through with a torrential downpour that I would have been caught in if I’d stuck to the original plan.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ipswich; Friday, 09 July, 2021

Unlike previous weeks where I’d been able to make a dash for my destination during lunch I’d been scheduled into meetings either side of lunch, so didn’t want to risk being late. Instead, I’d booked my ticket for the first train after the evening peak from Liverpool Street.

I got to Liverpool Street with more than an hour to spare before my booked train, so rather than waiting until I got to Ipswich to have dinner I popped into a very nice sushi restaurant that sits on a deck above platforms 1-3 and had a nice relaxed dinner whilst the evening commuters ran for their trains below.

After dinner I headed down to the platform just before my train got a platform and by pure luck I happened to be standing right by the correct platform, so I was able to pass through the gates and quickly grab a good seat onboard.

It was an uneventful journey up through East London and Essex and then across the border into Suffolk. We arrived into Ipswich on time.

I walked down from the station to the hotel and after checkin had a little bit of a wander around Ipswich before heading back to the hotel for an early night as I had a busy day planned for the following day.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ipswich; Saturday, 10 July, 2021

With all honesty I hadn’t heard about the Netflix drama The Dig until a colleague mentioned it a couple of weeks earlier when I’d mentioned I was planning on visiting Sutton Hoo. It’s lucky they did mention how popular it was as it turns out it had lead to a surge of bookings from people hoping to visit the dig site at Sutton Hoo, so it was with some luck that I managed to get one of the last available ticket slots for today when I booked some three weeks earlier.

After heading out into the morning drizzle from the hotel I walked the short distance to the Old Cattle Market bus station and caught an early bus through to the town of Woodbridge, which is where Sutton Hoo is normally described as being. In reality, Woodbridge is the nearest largest town with the actual site being some way away from the town centre – a feasible walk from Melton railway station, or – if you’re feeling lazy – served by four buses a day from Woodbridge town centre. It turns out that most people who visit Sutton Hoo do so by car as the bus was empty, but the car park was pretty full.

Due to the bus schedule I arrived towards the end of my 30 minute ticket window, which meant I avoided most of the crowds and was able to quickly get into the High Hall exhibition where they give some background to the tribes that were inhabiting the area at the time, the suspected King who was buried in the mound, and some stunning reproductions of the treasures that were found in the grave (the originals now being on display at the British Museum in London). After looking round that exhibition I walked over to Tranmer house, home of Edith Pretty whose land Sutton Hoo was found on, and was one of the driving forces behind the excavation taking place. The house has been restored to how it would have looked during those days in 1939 when the dig took place. From the house there is then a signed path that takes you to the burial mounds.

Having taken in the exhibition and mounds I wandered back to the main entrance and was going to grab a quick bite to eat in the café, but the queue was moving so slowly that I seriously doubted that I would make the bus in three hours time, let alone the bus that was due in less than 30 minutes, so instead I grabbed a bottle of water from the shop and then headed back over to the bus stop to catch the bus back down into Woodbridge.

I had a short connection in Woodbridge and then I was back out again on the bus, this time heading to the coast and the town of Aldeburgh. The bus crosses through the Suffolk countryside, from rolling hills and flat fens to the, on the day I visited, misty coast.

Aldeburgh has seen its fortunes come and go over time, and mostly all down to the nature of the coast round here. Whilst chunks of Norfolk are regularly swallowed up by the sea, the opposite is happening here, with the debris from further up the coast being deposited here through longshore drift. At one time Aldeburgh was an important port at the mouth of the Alde River. It built an impressive town hall during Tudor times and had a fishing fleet and a ship building industry that made it one of the most important towns on the East coast. But as the tide brought more sediment and debris with it the harbour and port silted up. And land that now stretches down to Orford Ness and beyond has moved the mouth of the river some 10 miles to the south, though at the same time nibbling away at parts of the land and taking the small fishing village of Slaughden that was to the immediate south of the town with it – the last part of the village finally succumbing to sea in the mid 1930s

Today the Tudor town hall is still standing as the Moot Hall and houses the towns small, but interesting museum that tells the history of Aldeburgh and Slaughden, as well as highlighting some of the important sons and daughters of the town – including Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify as a surgeon in Britain, who even served as mayor of the town.

From the centre of town it’s a pleasant mile or so walk south along the coast, past the site of where Slaughden used to exist to the Martello Tower. Martello Towers were built at the beginning of the 19th century as a way to protect the English coast from attack from the continent, with just over 100 being built. The one at Aldeburgh is the most Northerly, with the towers stretching south and west back along the coast all the way round Essex, Kent and East Sussex to Seaford. Possibly more impressive is to consider that when this Martello Tower was built it was at the end of the harbour – much of the land to the south of the tower has been created by the sea in less than 200 years.

I could have spent longer looking round Aldeburgh, but the last bus of the evening is at 6pm and after that it would have been an expensive taxi ride at least as far back as the railway station at Saxmundham, if not all the way to Ipswich, so I made sure I was at the bus stop in plenty of time to make the last bus of the evening back.

Back in Ipswich I went for a wander to find some dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Ipswich; Sunday, 11 July, 2021

I was able to have a bit of lie in this morning as my first port of call didn’t open until 11am, so I had a relaxed breakfast and then a slow wander through the city centre to the museum. Ipswich museum is that classic Victorian cover everything museum with displays on local flora and fauna, a large collection of stuffed and mounted hunting trophies/wildlife exhibits depending on your view, mammoths, Romans, Vikings, Egyptians and a world cultures gallery – it really does try to be the British Museum, but in a fraction of the floor space.

Having looked round the museum I headed into the centre of town for a quick lunch before continuing on to my second stop of the day at Christchurch Mansion. This is a large stately home, that is now part of Ipswich Museum, with it’s grounds having been turned into a pleasant town centre park. The mansion has a large exhibition space, which houses temporary exhibits, as well as the house itself which you can walk around.

From the Mansion I walked across town to the station and picked up an early afternoon train to go two stops up the line to the market town of Stowmarket.

This is a pretty market town on the River Gipping is home to the Museum of East Anglian Life, an ethnographic museum that brings together a number of rural buildings from across East Anglia. The land is part of Abbot’s Hall which itself has been turned into the main museum part of the site telling some of the history of the area and rural life in East Anglia.

You can walk around the site and visit most of the buildings, as well as see the small farm that contains a number of local breeds of pig, sheep and goats.

I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the site before heading back over to the station to catch the train back into Ipswich where I headed out for dinner and then an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Ipswich; Monday, 12 July, 2021

I had another early start as I wanted to head back out to the coast and the pretty Suffolk seaside town of Southwold, and getting there isn’t the easiest of tasks. First leg was to get over to the station and take the train North up to Lowestoft, which in itself took nearly 90 minutes. I could call it déjà vu, but the sense of having been here before was because I had been here before barely two weeks previously coming in from Norwich. Not even the weather had changed.

From Lowestoft station I walked the short distance to the bus station and picked up the costal clipper bus – as it’s branded – for the 50 minute journey back South to Southwold.

The bus stop is located at the back of town, so it’s a good 10 minute walk to get down to the seafront and another 5 or so to get down onto the pier, which is where I headed to first. The pier is a bonsai version of the typical seaside pleasure pier with a couple of small kiosk shops, a hall of mirrors and some arcade games – but the real reason for coming down the pier are the excellent views back onto the town and cliffs that can be seen from the end of the pier.

From the pier I wandered south down the beach, pausing at a little café for a spot of lunch, and then continuing on down into the dunes at the southern end of the town. Here the sea, the beach, the fens and the River Blyth all start to merge into one another. I wandered up through the dunes to the harbour and then picked up the small ferry that crosses the river over to Walberswick on the opposite bank. Normally the ferry is operated by row boats, and forms part of a circular walk that crosses over by the ferry and then crosses back using a bridge that used to be part of the Southwold railway. However, due to the need to carry out repairs the bridge was closed, and with the next crossing being 8 miles further upstream, the ferry had swapped out their rowboats for engines and were running a turn up and go service.

It did also mean that once you’ve taken in the pretty village of Walberswick the option to continue the circular walk and head back into Southwold isn’t an option, so instead it was back onto the ferry over to the Southwold bank and then a walk through the reed fields back into the town centre.

I had a bit of a wander around the town, but once again, like Aldeburgh, I was having to keep an eye on the clock as the last bus of the afternoon back to Lowestoft was fast approaching and I didn’t want to miss it as it would once again be a very expensive taxi ride.

I caught the bus back up through the villages on this part of the coast and into Lowestoft, where I was able to stop for a quick coffee as the bus timing meant I missed the train by about 3 minutes, so had nearly an hour to kill.

By the time the train finally pulled back into Ipswich it was already long gone 8pm so I stopped off at a small convenience store and brought some snack food to take back to my hotel room, have a quick in-room picnic and then turn in for the night.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Ipswich; Tuesday, 13 July, 2021

After checking out of the hotel it was back over to the bus station and onto another bus, this time up to the small town of Framlingham. For a small Suffolk town it’s seen it’s fair share of history – in part from having a stonking great big castle in the centre of the town.

Whilst most of the inside of the castle has long since gone, the outer curtain wall and towers are still pretty much complete, making this a very impressive fortification, which has seen its fair part of history. Mary Tudor assembled a military force at Framlingham before marching down to London and claiming the throne after the death of Edward VI.

In later years most of the buildings inside the castle were pulled down but a small part remained and was turned into a workhouse, those buildings now house an exhibition space (along with the café and the shop) and access up onto the wall walk.

The towers and curtain walls house an almost continuous walk that links them all together, though the sections between towers are made out of wood, so in the event of an invading party being able to breach defences and get up onto the walls they could be isolated into a single spot by the quick removal of the wooden paths.

I spent quite some time exploring both the castle, and the moat beneath from where some of the best views of the castle – and a real sense of how imposing the building is – can be taken.

I then walked back through town to the bus stop and hopped on the bus back into Ipswich, a quick change of bus and then I was back out to Woodbridge to have a bit more of an explore of the town.

Woodbridge is an historic market town about 8 miles up the River Deben, at a point where the river is navigable by quite large ships, which made it an important inland port. Due to the shape of the river, creeks and land round here it has an impressive tidal range, which has long been taken advantage of, with a Tide Mill located here for over 900 years.

At high tides the water floods into the mill pond, and then once the tide goes out the water from the mill pond can be directed to the water wheel of the mill turning it to grind corn to make flower. The Mill was in danger of being lost in the 1960s but through the campaigning of locals it was saved, however only the building was saved – the neighbouring mill pond was converted into a marina. Today a small mill pond has been built to help keep the mill running, though it can only supply enough water for about 30 minutes of operation at low tide, rather than the several hours of running that the old pond would have provided.

Next door to the Tide Mill is the Woodbridge Museum. This was originally located in the centre of the town, but as the tourist focus has shifted over the years from the centre to the harbour it relocated here to capitalise on the number of tourists around. It’s a nicely put out display on the history of the town and surrounding area.

After taking in the museums of Woodbridge it was time to head back to the bus stop, catch the bus back to Ipswich and then walk over to the station, diverting via the hotel to collect my bag, and make my way home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Hexham; Sunday, 25 July, 2021

I’d stayed overnight in a hotel near Heathrow – or at least as close as you can get to Heathrow at the moment, with most of the closest hotels turned into government plague jails. Consequently, rather than a short walk to the terminal it was a 15 minute cab ride over to the terminal to checkin.

The journey itself was pretty smooth with my flight landing early, and by the time I reached Newcastle Central station I had plenty of time to make the train an hour earlier than the one I was originally aiming for. As the train was on the platform, and had a crew, I decided it would be unwise to wait for a later one in case that got cancelled due to the increasing number of railway staff being forced off work by the Covid-app pingdemic.

Consequently, I was in Hexham a good two hours before checkin for my hotel. I headed over to ask if it would be possible to leave my bag for a few hours, but it turned out that my room was already available, and they were happy to let me checkin.

After dumping my stuff in my room, I headed up into the centre of Hexham and had a wander round the town centre, taking in the Old Gaol, Moot Hall and Market place before arriving at the Abbey and having a look around that.

A quick stop for a late lunch in the centre of town and then I wandered on down to the bus station to catch the bus over to the nearby town of Corbridge and start my journey along the Roman frontier.

Parts of the current town of Corbridge date back to the 7th century, and there’s lots of remnants from the middle ages with a 14th century fortified vicarage in the churchyard. But a short distance out of town in the much older settlement of Coria, originally founded as a fort around 84AD the site pre-dates the wall by around 40 years, but after the coming of Hadrian’s Wall it became an important supply base to the wall that was just over 2 miles north of it. As would happen with Roman forts a small town or Vicus built up around the fort and today much of the fort and parts of the vicus have been excavated.

I spent quite a bit of time having a wander round the site – so long in fact that the custodians were effectively closing up behind me as I was making my way round the audio guided tour.

I walked back into Corbridge and caught the bus back into Hexam in search of some dinner.

After dinner I headed down to the River Tyne as looking at the map I’d realised it appeared to run almost perfectly West to East through town and sure enough from the bridge on the edge of town I was rewarded with a stunning sunset with the sun pretty much dipping down through the centre of the river. Having taken quite a few pictures I headed back to my hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Hexham; Monday, 26 July, 2021

I had an early breakfast and was out of the hotel and at the station before 9am to catch an early train across Wall Country to the town of Haltwhistle. The reason for being out so early was to be able to catch the first of just three Tynedale buses a day that run from Halthwhistle out to Birdoswald, site of the Banna Roman Fort.

Banna is one of the large forts that were strategically positions along the wall, alongside the regular mile castles and turrets. Large parts of the site have been excavated, including some significant sections of the wall itself including the earth ramparts and ditches either side of the wall that made up part of the fortifications.

The fort itself is high on a rocky outcrop with an almost sheer drop down to the river below and views across the Cumbrian countryside and across into the start of the Lake district. On a warm sunny summers day for a tourist it’s a beautiful spot, but for a conscripted legionnaire from the southern end of the Empire up here on a cold winters day this must truly have been the end of the earth.

From Birdoswald I hopped back on the Tynedale bus back to Walltown, located on the course of the wall and the Roman Army Museum. The museum is located on the site of the next fort East along the wall – Magnis. The site of the fort haven’t been excavated, so there aren’t any ruins to walk around, but instead the museum tells the history of the Roman Army here at the edge of the Empire, and has an interesting 3D film that shows some of the key parts of the wall that are located nearby – without the need to actually go and hike up to them.

Next to the museum is the site of a former quarry, which has been turned into a country park, with views up to the steep ridge rising up behind it which houses the next mile castle and parts of the wall upon it. I stopped here for a lunch break, grabbing some snacks from the visitors centre, whilst I waited for my bus on. From this point on my journey forward I would be in the hands of the AD122 – a bus route dedicated to serving the main points on the wall from Hexham to Haltwhistle.

After lunch I caught the AD122 a couple of stops up the road to The Sill Visitors Centre. This is a centre of the Northumberland National Park and it gives a bit of history on the foundation of the national parks in the UK, as well as an exhibition on Energy conservation and the environment. More importantly you can climb up the gently sloping roof of the centre to take in the stunning views from the top of the centre over to Steel Rigg – a long ridge that was used by the Romans as a natural boundary on which they then built Hadrians Wall. Some of the most stunning parts of the wall are visible from here, with structures disappearing into the distance.

From The Sill it was just one stop on the AD122 on to the site of the one of the most famous of the Hadrian Wall structures – the fort at Vindolanda.

Like Corbridge, Vindolanda itself is a couple of miles south of the wall and acted more as a supply centre than a fort, and consequently it grew into a large site with a vicus as big as, if not larger, than the fort itself. It’s also the location where some of the most important Roman remains have been found. The Vindolanda tablets are a series of wooden tablets that show the everyday life of people in the fort. One of the most famous tablets is the birthday invitation, which is believed to be the oldest examples of writing in Latin by a woman. That tablet – along with many others, are actually in the British Museum in London, but a few are still on display in the impressive museum located on site.

I spent a long time looking round the site – so long in fact that I had to use the out of hours exit to get out of the site as the ticket office and visitors reception had long since closed by the time I made it back to the top of the site.

Thankfully, I had kept a bit of an eye on the clock, so I made the last AD122 of the night that started off by heading back to Haltwhistle, before turning in the once a day X122 and speeding back into Hexham down the main road. Back in Hexham I grabbed a well deserved dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Hexham; Tuesday, 27 July, 2021

Another early breakfast and start to be out of the hotel and up to the bus station in time to make the first AD122 of the day and head up onto the wall. My first stop was about 20 minutes out of Hexham at the site of the Brocolita fort. Very little of this site has been exposed, but what has been uncovered and can be looked round is the temple to Mithras, located just outside of the main fort walls.

I had a look around the temple, and then wandered along a short part of the Hadrians Wall walk back to the bus stop to pick up the next bus out along the wall.

My second stop of the day was to the fort of Vercovicium, perhaps better known by it’s English name of Housesteads. This is the most dramatic of the forts on the wall, with the fort being built on the slope of a steep hill, the ridge of which forms part of the natural barrier that the wall took advantage of. If anything this site would probably have been even bleaker in the winter than Birdoswald as there’s fewer trees, a more barren landscape, and even on a warm summers day quite a keen wind whipping round the site.

I spent quite some time wandering round the site, taking in both the museum and the ruins, before heading back down the half mile or so to the visitors centre on the main road to pick the bus back up.

From Houststeads I caught the bus back towards Hexham and my next stop of the day at the fort of Cilurnum, more commonly known these days as Chesters. This is an interesting fort as it actually straddles the wall, with the line of Hadrians Wall running through the fort, rather than forming the northern wall of the fort as it does at Housesteads and Birdoswald. Part of that is because the site was not only a fort on the wall, but also guarded one of the weak points – where the barrier of the wall met the power of Mother Nature at the Tyne. Here, a fortified bridge was built, and the fort helped to protect this.

Along with an incredible museum charting the number of artifacts found from across the line of the wall, the site is also famous for housing one of the most complete Roman Bath Houses in England.

I had a long look round the site, before stopping for a late lunch in the little tea shop on site, and then heading back to the bus stop. Whilst I was only about 15 minutes from Hexham here I was actually heading in the opposite direction. I took the bus out along The Wall using it as a way of quickly seeing some of the major roadside attractions – such as the Black Cart Turret and then, the other side of Housesteads, the stunning Sycamore Gap, where the ridge that the wall is built upon dramatically dips down with a large sycamore tree – thought to be several hundred years old (but no where near as old as the wall) stands almost slap bang in the centre.

The bus continued on to The Sill and then the AD122 does a loop which varies each hour – sometimes heading down to Vindolanda then down into Halthwhistle before returning to the Roman Army Museum and then back to The Sill, the alternate hour the bus does the route in the opposite direction serving the Roman Army Museum and Haltwhistle before reaching Vindolanda. The bus I was on headed down to Vindolanda first and before doing the loop through Haltwhistle and coming back to The Sill.

I stayed on the bus through the loop and continued on back along the wall, having another chance to take in the stunning views of Sycamore Gap and Black Carts Tower before returning back to Hexham.

Back in Hexham I had a bit of a wander around town before popping back to my hotel to freshen up and then heading out in search of dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Hexham; Wednesday, 28 July, 2021

I took advantage of it not being such a packed day to have a little bit of a lie in and a later breakfast before checking out of the hotel.

I then wandered into town and visited the Old Gaol Museum. The museum is located in the old town Gaol, itself interesting for being purpose built as a Gaol rather than being converted from a castle or fort. The museum tells the history of crime and punishment in the area.

Having taken in the museum – including the dungeon that today can only be accessed via the convenience of a glass lift – I had a bit of a wander through town and stopped off at a café for a quick morning break.

I then wandered over to the Abbey and had a look round the Abbey museum, located in rooms just off of the modern cloister.

After the museum I had a brief wander round the Abbey itself again before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my bags and make my way onto my next destination in Carlisle.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Carlisle; Wednesday, 28 July, 2021

My train from Hexham arrived early into Carlisle, something almost unheard of for Northern Rail, but that was soon all undone when I got to the hotel and they insisted that checkin didn’t start until 2pm, even though it was 1:45 at the time they were pretty insistent on that.

After finally being able to checkin I dropped off my stuff and then headed out into town, with my first stop being the Cathedral. This had once been a much more important structure as part of an abbey, but a combination of the reformation, and several border skirmishes over the centuries, the Cathedral is now quite a bit smaller. I spent quite a bit of time looking over the site, including the treasury in the crypt.

From the Cathedral it was a short walk along the line of the old city walls to the impressive castle. With a large outer curtain wall, and hunkered down behind it a massive square keep, this castle makes its presence known.

I spent a long time wandering around the different parts of the site, including the outer ward with it’s Victorian era barrack blocks as well as through the inner curtain wall and up into the Keep.

Having taken in the castle I then headed on into town for a wander and to track down somewhere for dinner, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Carlisle; Thursday, 29 July, 2021

I was up early for Breakfast and then quickly over to the bus station to pick up an early bus north out of the city and across the border into Scotland – crossing at Gretna – and heading to the town of Dumfries.

Dumfries is a pleasant small town on the banks of the River Nith, located a few miles upstream before it empties into the Solway Firth. With a few mills and some pleasing architecture the town would be an interesting place to visit anyway, but it’s main draw is one of its historic residents.

Robert Burns, the Scottish National poet, settled in Dumfries and it was in his house in the town where he died. The church houses his mausoleum. One of the mills has been converted into the Robert Burns Centre, as you can imagine this town plays heavily on it’s connection to one of Scotland’s favourite sons.

The bus took significantly longer than expected to get into Dumfries due to a major crash on the outskirts of town that had us crawling in traffic for over 20 minutes, but I made it to the Robert Burns Centre just in the time slot of my pre-booked ticket so was able to have a look around the exhibition before they closed for lunch.

From the Burns Centre I had a wander through town visiting the Churchyard and Mausoleum as well as the house that Burns lived in up to his death. By then it was time to head up to the town museum for my timed ticket there.

The museum focuses on everything to do with Dumfries that isn’t Burns related – from prehistoric remains through to the modern day. So modern in fact that there was a display on plagues – Bubonic, Cholera, Spanish Flu and Covid – that included as an exhibit the same type of lateral flow covid test that I’d personally used just a few hours earlier.

From the museum I wandered back through town, across the impressive old bridge, and into the commercial centre to grab a very late lunch, before heading back over to the bus station and picking up the bus back down into England and Carlisle.

Back in Carlisle I had a wander around the town centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out later for dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Carlisle; Friday, 30 July, 2021

Another early start to the day, this time to get over to the railway station to pick up the train south down the Cumbrian cost.

Whilst Hadrians Wall is well known as crossing the top of England, what is less well know is that when it reached the Solway Firth rather than just stopping, it turned south and the Romans continued to fortify the coast heading south, with regular mile fortlets and occasional forts. The most famous of these is Aluana, located on the cliffs above the modern day town of Maryport. Of course because it’s located on the cliffs, and the railway station is located pretty much at sea level it was a bit of a trudge up through the morning drizzle to the Senhouse museum that overlooks the fort – but it was worth it.

The museum houses the collection of the Senhouse family who had a particular interest in Roman religious artefacts, and this includes the largest collection of Roman Altars. The museum is located on the edge of the site of the fort, and a viewing tower lets you climb up to get a view of the fort – the outline clearly visible under the grass, as well as views up and down the coast, and across the Solway to the coast of Scotland.

From the museum I wandered back down into town and into the harbour to visit the Aquarium. This small aquarium houses a number of species – with a focus on some of the aquatic creatures found off the coast of Cumbria, but also the usual selection of jellyfish, clown fish and other tropical and colourful species. One of the most interesting exhibits was a series of tanks showing lobsters in their life cycle from the tiny specs they start out as through to the full size creatures.

From the Aquarium I headed back up to the station and picked up the train to go another couple of stops south along the line to the town of Whitehaven. The town was an important port, and played a key role in transatlantic trade, with Rum being a key import through the port. The Rum Story museum tells the history of Rum, as well as touching on the more uncomfortable part of the trade – The Rum and Sugar coming in from the Caribbean was only one third of the trade. The next leg was goods from the UK down to Africa, and then the final and most horrific leg was the shipment of slaves from Africa back across to the Caribbean.

From the Rum Museum I headed down to the harbour to have a look around there. The whole area has been regenerated over the last 20 years or so from a harbour that was heading to dereliction to a modern marina. Next to the marina is the towns museum – The Beacon, which was my next stop to look around.

The museum charts the history of the area from prehistoric to modern times. On the top floor of the museum is a viewing gallery where there are excellent views over the harbour, then it’s down to the main museum, and then down one more floor to an exhibition on the town’s main employer – Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing site. The exhibition goes into great pains to explain how safe nuclear power is, how useful it is, how the whole process works. It’s just a shame that the Sellafield is also remembered by its former name of Winscale, the site of the UKs worst nuclear accident, when the reactor almost melted down.

Having looked round the museum I headed back into the centre of town and picked up the bus out to the nearby town of Egremont. The town has an impressive set of castle ruins that I had a long look around before catching the bus back to Whitehaven, and then changing onto the train back to Carlisle.

Weather

Light Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Carlisle; Saturday, 31 July, 2021

I had another early start to head over to the bus station for a day out exploring the Lake District. My first leg of the journey was to catch the 104 bus down to Penrith, with little of interest to see on that journey. I stayed on the bus through the centre of Penrith and out to the railway station by the castle to pick up my bus for the second leg.

The second leg of the journey was on the 508 bus, which started at Penrith station and then heads out into the Northern lakes. After leaving the station with just five of us on the bus, all with good seats, the next stop was back in town at the bus station where many people who got off the 104 earlier were waiting, which confirmed my choice of the risky 4 minute connection at the station over the town, by the time the bus left the centre of town it was full.

The first part of the journey is again not particularly interesting as the bus heads out of town, but once it’s off the main roads and into the smaller lanes of rural Cumbria the scenery opened up and became much more photogenic. The first major stop was at Pooley Bridge, located at the top of Ullswater, which the bus then ran alongside for the full length of the lake before reaching Patterdale at the Southern end of the lake. From Patterdale the bus then climbs up the Kirkstone Pass, the highest road pass in the lake district before heading back down the other side of the pass towards Windermere.

I hopped off the bus a couple of stops before the centre of Windermere and walked the short distance down the hill to the small town of Trout Beck Bridge where I picked up the 555 bus. The bus travelled up the remainder of Windermere, through Ambleside and then along the banks of Rydal Water, Grasmere and Thirlmere lakes before heading down into Keswick.

In Keswick I picked up the 77 bus, this service operates on a circular route (with 77A going the opposite way), on leaving Keswick the bus heads out to the town of Braithwaite and then climbs up the Whinlatter Pass and back down the other side into the villages of High Lorton and Low Lorton. Continuing on the bus runs alongside Crummock Water before heading into the Village of Buttermere. From the village it’s then out to run alongside the lake of the same name before reaching the bottom of the Honister Pass, the third and final pass of the day. Honister is one of the steepest passes in the country, and towards the top it was getting touch and go as to whether the bus was going to make it up, but at less than 10mph in the end, it did crest the top of the pass before heading back down again at a much higher speed.

At the bottom of the pass the bus headed through Seatoller, Borrowdale and Grange before heading up onto a road that runs in the hills high above Derwentwater, before finally descending back down to lake level and returning to Keswick, where I stopped for a very late lunch.

From Keswick it was onto the final bus of the day for the last leg of the journey back north to Carlisle. On leaving Keswick the bus ran alongside Bassenthwaite Lake for most of it’s length, marking the last lake of the day. North of Bassenthwaite and the countyside flattened down, and became much less dramatic as we headed out of the Lak District National Park, though up on the top deck of the bus there was one last big scenery shot as we turned onto the main road at Bothel with the hills of Scotland visible across the Solway firth.

From there it was a pretty standard ride back down into Carlisle. Having arrived back into the city centre I grabbed dinner before heading back to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Carlisle; Sunday, 01 August, 2021

I had a bit of a lie in and a late start as I didn’t have much planned before my booked train back across the top of England.

After checking out I headed over to the station and caught the train back through Haltwhistle and Hexham to Newcastle, where I hopped onto the Metro and out to the airport hotel where I was staying for the night.

I checked in, dropped my stuff in the room and then headed back down to the Metro station to pick up the train over to my final attraction of the trip. I had two options – catch the Metro all the way back into the centre of town and change there, or catch the metro a handful of stops to South Gosforth and change there onto the line that heads round via the coast. On a sunny Sunday afternoon the coast felt like the better option – and it proved to be with beautiful views.

My final stop was Wallsend station located at the point where Hadrian’s Wall ended in the fort of Segedunum. In recognition of this Wallsend Metro station is the only metro station in Britain, and possibly the world, which has signage in Latin.

A short walk from the station is the site of Segedunum fort – much of it having been excavated, and the attached museum giving a good overview of what life would have been like at the fort, as well as along the first part of the wall. At the rear of the site is a small stub of wall that from the South side of the fort ran the couple of hundred yards down to the River Tyne and completed the border and the Northern extent of the Roman Empire.

Having visited the site and museum I headed back to the Metro station and caught the train back into the centre of Newcastle, where I stopped for dinner, before catching the metro back to my Hotel for an early night as I had an early flight back to Heathrow and home the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bath; Friday, 06 August, 2021

After working from home during the morning I used my lunch break to head over to Paddington, grab a bite to eat and then pick up my train over to the West Country.

I worked on the train, and after a quick bus ride from Bath Spa station checked into my hotel and finished off my working day there.

With the laptop powered down for the weekend I headed into town to meet up with some friends who had moved to Bath during one of the earlier lockdowns.

I spent the evening out with them at a very nice pub and an equally nice Indian restaurant before heading back to my hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Bath; Saturday, 07 August, 2021

An early start as I had a two part tour booked for the morning. The first part of the tour was a cruise along a small section of the River Avon, from near the start of the Kennet and Avon canal up to the Weir at Pulteney Bridge. The second part of the tour was a walking tour through the centre of Bath, taking in all of the key sights and acting as a good way to get my bearings of the city.

The tour finished a short distance from the Abbey so I wandered back there to have a bit more of a look around. I made it just in time as they were due to close the Abbey for a big wedding about 15 minutes after I arrived – but that was enough time to have a look around.

I was trying to decide what I was going to do for the afternoon – I had two plans that were interchangeable for Saturday and Sunday, but after having a quick check on a weather app it became clear that the next couple of hours were likely to be quite wet, so I opted to spent at reasonable amount of that time in the dry of a bus. I headed over to the bus station and picked up the Mendip Xplorer bus for a pleasant ride through the Somerset countryside to the city of Wells.

As if almost by planning within seconds of the bus leaving the bus station in Bath the skies opened and the entire journey was accompanied by varying levels of rain from the mild drizzle to the full on downpour.

Having arrived in Wells, with it still drizzling heavily, I headed over to the shelter of the substantial Cathedral to have a look around that, including it’s impressive Chapter House located up a very worn set of medieval steps.

By the time I’d looked round the cathedral the weather had dramatically improved so I was able to leave the cathedral into the sunshine and have a bit more of a wander around the area. First stop was the impressive medieval Vicar’s close, a small lane of cathedral owned houses, linked via a footbridge over the road to the Chapterhouse and on into the cathedral. Walking back from Vicar’s close I took in the stunning views of the cathedral from across the cathedral green.

From the Cathedral it was a short walk next door to the Bishops Palace. Built at a time where Bishops had quite a bit more power than they do today, and weren’t always the most liked of people, it is almost more castle like than a castle, with a large fortified outer gatehouse and once through that an inner wall with turrets surrounded by a moat. Today the Bishop of Bath and Wells still resides in a small part of the building, but the rest of the building and the gardens are open to the public to look around. I spent quite a bit of time looking round the gardens and ramparts of the palace before heading inside to look through the couple of rooms that are open to the public. By then it was heading towards closing time for the palace and I needed to head back to the bus station to pick up my bus back to Bath.

Arriving back in Bath I had enough time to quickly grab some dinner before my timed entry to the Roman Baths came round. The Baths are what give the city it’s name and have held it’s fortunes through the centuries from the Romans to the Georgians. The only thing that stopped Bath’s development beyond the Georgian period was the sudden boom for sea-bathing and the Prince Regent, later George IV, moving the court to Brighton.

Whilst access to the museum and the complex is via a Georgian building, once inside much of the remains are as they would have been in the days of the Romans, with the hot spring still rising and flowing into the Grand Bath – the iconic view of the city that most postcards show. In the summer months the complex is open later into the evening, with flaming torches lit around the Grand bath to give an idea of what it would have been like during the Roman era, though the pop-up bar – and it’s prices – are much more 21st century.

I’d timed my ticket to ensure I was there during sunset and it was spectacular to watch the whole light and mood of the place change as the sun went down, with the flaming torches adding to the vibe. By the time I finally left the baths it was dark, so I took a couple more pictures of the Abbey lit up at night, before heading back to my hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bath; Sunday, 08 August, 2021

I had an early breakfast and checked out of the hotel to head over towards the Pulteney Bridge. The previous day I’d explored a small section of the River Avon below the Weir, this morning I was aiming to catch the river cruise boat that takes the upper part of the river between the Pulteney Weir and the Weir and Toll bridge at Bathampton.

I thankfully had remembered to take a jacket with me, which came in handy when sitting on the open top deck of a boat what a couple of short sharp showers passed through, but by the time we reached Bathampton, where the boat turned, the skies were clearing and the sun was out, and it made for a very pleasant sail back down to Pulteney Bridge.

As the skies were now generally clear (although as I discovered on a couple of occasions through the early afternoon, not always clear) I headed over to the open-top bus tour stop and picked up the hop-on-hop-off bus. There are two routes that operate in Bath, one takes in the sites in the centre of the city, whilst the second – the Skyline tour – heads up into the hills that overlook the city for the views back down on it.

I chose to do the Skyline tour first, before hopping onto a city tour once I got back into the centre. The city tour dropped me off back by the Abbey so I decided to go and have a slightly longer look around, without feeling that I was being hassled through as they had been preparing for the wedding the previous day. It turned out as I arrived, that in fact they had just closed for yet another wedding, so that was that plan out the window.

I stopped for a leisurely lunch in the centre of town before hopping back on the city tour bus and catching it out to the Royal Crescent.

This Georgian masterpiece was the first crescent to be built in Britain and is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the country. The park in front of the crescent is a popular place for picnics and, if you go right to the back of it, at just the right distance to be able to take in the whole sweep of the crescent in one photo.

A short walk down from the Royal Crescent is the Royal Circus – older than the Crescent (the man who built the crescent was the son of the man who built he circus – this ring of buildings round a large green, with several very large trees in the centre – is another reason that Bath is a UNESCO world heritage city.

A little further still down the road are the Assembly Rooms, these were the spaces where Georgian high society met for the nightly balls during the season. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived they were already closing for the evening, but I was able to take a few photos of the outside, before hopping back on a passing tour bus and catching that for a circuit round the city and finally back to the centre of town.

Opposite the Abbey, and set down at the original level of the town, are the Parade Gardens, and with some time to spare I had a look around these. Along with giving an idea as to how much closer to the level of the river the city used to be, the gardens also provide an excellent spot from where to take in the beautiful Pulteney Bridge and the Weir.

Having looked round the gardens it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my bags and catch my train back to London.

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Heavy Showers Slight Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Peterborough; Friday, 20 August, 2021

I headed up to Peterborough during my lunch break and then worked out of the hotel for the afternoon.

After finishing work I headed out for a wander around the city centre, taking in the Town Hall, Guildhall and Cathedral grounds.

I stopped off at one of the restaurants on the main street for a quick dinner before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Peterborough; Saturday, 21 August, 2021

I had a pretty full day planned, so I had to get up early and was one of the first people down for Breakfast. Fuelled for the day I headed out of the hotel and over to the bus station to pick up the Excel bus for my journey into the Fens.

The Excel bus is an express bus service that links towns across the Fens from Peterborough via Wisbech, Kings Lynn, Swaffham and Dereham to Norwich, only stopping in a handful of locations along the way. The service is run using very posh double decker’s with big comfy leather seats, Wi-Fi and USB charging ports and all of that for just over £10 for a day rover.

My first stop of the day was in Wisbech, a town that’s only just still in Cambridgeshire – sitting on the border with Norfolk and only a couple of miles south of Lincolnshire. Being an inland port on the River Nene the town was once an important location, and during it’s heyday in the Georgian period grew with large numbers of Georgian town houses, villas and even their own Crescent mimicking the Georgian splendour of Bath.

As the town expanded a number of speculative large town houses were built and in the early 18th century it was brought and furnished by a family of shipping merchants as a place to entertain prospective clients. After a few years the shipping merchants sold it and it was purchased by Jonathan Peckover – a successful shop owner and banker, who also happened to be a quaker and therefore didn’t see any point in spending money on remodelling the house. It remained in the family until 1948 where it was bequeathed to the National Trust, and therefore remains an almost perfect early 17th century Georgian town house. Today the house and the gardens are open to look around and I had a very interesting guided tour round the building, after having an opportunity to look around the gardens.

With the tour completed I headed back into the centre of town and grabbed some lunch before heading back over to the bus station and picking up the Excel bus for the next leg of my journey. This time all the way across to the middle of Norfolk and the town of Dereham.

Dereham was founded some time in the 7th century and has grown to be an important market town. With the coming of the railways it gained several connections, but as with many smaller towns in Britain these were lost in the Beeching cuts. However, the line was quickly preserved and today operates as the Mid-Norfolk railway, running the 17 or so miles down to the town of Wymondham.

I arrived at the station with enough time before my booked departure to have a quick look around the small museum and grab a quick cup of coffee before boarding and taking the train West. The journey is a pleasant ride through the Norfolk countryside before we reached Wymondham, where the train turned around and then headed back to Dereham.

Back in Dereham I headed slightly away from the town centre to pick up the bus, calculating that there was more chance of getting a front seat for the long journey back, and I was proved to be correct as the bus came to my stop almost empty, and then filled up quite a bit at the next stop, so I was able to enjoy the stunning views across the Fens on the near three hour journey back across some of the flattest land in the country.

Back in Peterborough, I went for a walk round the city centre, mostly to unstiffen my legs which, after three hours on a bus, were quite stiff. I also stopped off for a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
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Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Peterborough; Sunday, 22 August, 2021

I had another early start to the day, and once gain back over to the bus station, though this time it was to catch a local bus just a handful of stops into the suburb of Longthorpe. Today this is a very nice looking suburb with large thatched houses. It was also a sought-after address in the 14th century when the Thorpe family expanded their house by adding a fortified tower to it.

Over three generations the family went from being peasant farmers to being knighted for services to the Bishop of Peterborough and being able to afford the finest things in life. This extended to the decoration of their tower. However, during the reformation the walls were painted over to cover up the mostly religious imagery. Following damage during the second world war the walls were cleaned, and the paintings rediscovered. Unfortunately, a botched restoration project by the British Museum led to most of the colour being lost from them, but the images can still be clearly seen and the tour of the tower includes a detailed description of what the paintings show, or are believed to show.

From the town I walked down through the local park land towards the River Nene and my second steam railway of the day – the Nene Valley railway, picking it up at Orton Mere station. Another victim of Richard Beeching the line originally ran from the East Coast mainline at Peterborough following the river Nene through Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire until it met a line off of the West Coast mainline at Northampton. As with so many other lines it was preserved soon after services were killed off and today has been expanded back to run from a station just on the opposite side or the River Nene from the centre of Peterborough to a station about 8 miles away at Yarwell. The Nene Valley Railway has been one of the most successful of the preserved railways, carving a niche out for itself in films – with large portions of the 1980s Bond film Octopussy filmed on the line.

By pure fluke I was in Peterborough on a weekend where they had a special festival on, and consequently they were running relatively frequent services, which meant I didn’t have to wait long for a train to turn up to take me up the line from Orton Mere to the railways headquarters at Wansford where the train had a 20 minute stop to allow people to look around the site (and no doubt visit the gift shop), before it continued on the short distance to the end of the line at Yarwell.

From Yarwell I caught the train back to Peterborough and then walked the 15 minutes or so back into the centre of town and over to the cathedral to have a look around. Whilst it’s not the most impressive cathedral, it does have some serious history to it – being the burial place of Katharine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, as well as – for a while – being the burial place of Mary, Queen of Scots, before her body was moved down to London.

From the cathedral I had a bit of a wander through the town centre and stopped off for lunch before heading over to the city museum and gallery.

The museum is located in a former hospital building, which isn’t obvious at first, until you climb further up to the top and come across the operating theatre rooms with their massive glass skylights that illuminate the rooms. The museum has an interesting collection of artefacts on the history of the area from prehistoric through, inevitably, the Romans up to the modern day.

I headed back over to the Nene valley station and caught the train back up the line to Wansford, before back tracking one stop to Overton where the railway has a small exhibition dedicated to the connection between the post office and the railways, including some examples of the Travelling Post Office cars – older versions of which were immortalised in the Night Mail.

After a quick stop for coffee in the very pleasant café on the station I caught the last train of the day back to Peterborough and wandered back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out later for a quick dinner and an early night.

Weather

Light Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Peterborough; Monday, 23 August, 2021

I worked out of the hotel during the morning, and then in a convenient gap between meetings Checked-out, headed over to the station and caught the train home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

London: City of London; Thursday, 26 August, 2021

I finished work at lunchtime and headed straight up into London and over to my hotel, where I was able to checkin nice and early, which meant I would be able to get to my first book attraction of the day with plenty of time to spare.

That was until the London Underground decided to start falling apart on me. I got to Tower Hill station just as they were shutting the doors as the Circle and District lines had just been suspended. No problem I thought, I’ve got time I’ll quickly hop on a bus back to London Bridge and get onto the Jubilee line, which I did. The tube got two stops to Waterloo where it promptly terminated due to yet more disruption further up the line. Undeterred I headed up to the surface to catch a bus across Westminster bridge. I’d be a bit late for my first booking, but I’d get there.

Only as soon as I got to the surface it was clear there were problems with the buses – lots of demos taking place in the centre of London meant that there were no buses running from Waterloo to Westminster, and the only way of getting there was by foot, so I headed off down past County Hall and over Westminster Bridge.

By now I’d only have about 20 minutes to look round the Jewel Tower – one of the last remaining parts of the original Palace of Westminster – which wouldn’t be enough time, so instead I had a quick look round the outside and then headed over to my second, and more time sensitive attraction of the day – the Palace of Westminster itself.

Being late August the UK Parliament was in recess, which meant that the Palace of Westminster was open to us plebs to look around. Naturally there are several different layers of security to get through before you can get into the site, and that was why it was important to be on time for my booking.

Through security I picked up and audio guide for my self-guided tour round the palace. The first stop is the magnificent Westminster Hall – a magnificent medieval hall, and one of the few survivors of the original palace here, as most of the rest of the site has been lost to various fires over the centuries. From Westminster Hall you climb up a set of steps, that have often been used as a stage for visiting dignitaries to address the houses of parliament, and enter St Stephens Hall, and from here into the Central Lobby. After St Stephens Hall a strict no photos policy was enforced so I wasn’t able to take any pictures but given how often the two houses or parliament are shown on TV its not as if it was spaces that people wouldn’t recognise.

The only real difference in real life is that both chambers look much smaller than they do on the TV, and quite a bit more cramped that I’d expect. After visiting the House of Lords the tour takes you through to the House of Commons, the routing of the tour taking you through the Nay lobby so I effectively voted against the government to get into the Commons chamber. After the two chambers your descend back down into Westminster Hall and, almost to be expected, leave via a gift shop selling overpriced political tat and a coffee shop that charges tourist prices rather than the heavily subsidised rates the politicians get.

A quick check online showed that there was still some significant disruption to the tube network, and protests still disrupting buses, so I walked up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square and had a wander round before picking up a number 15 bus. The number 15 is probably one of the cheapest ways to do some serious sightseeing in London, as it runs from Trafalgar Square past Aldwych, The Royal Courts, Fleet Street and St Pauls, to the heart of the City of London and then onto the Tower of London, before continuing on into the top of the Docklands. As I was the only person at the bus stop as the bus pulled onto stand I got the pick of the seats, so naturally had the front seat on the top deck for an excellent sightseeing tour back round to the tower.

I hopped off at the Tower and headed back to my hotel room to freshen up, before heading out to grab some dinner and then making my way over to Green Park for my second bus based sightseeing tour of the day. This time, though, it was on an open top bus – and more importantly, at night to take in the different views of the city all lit up. The 90 minute tour went round quite a large part of the centre of London from Kensington all the way across to the Tower and back.

Back at Green Park I hopped onto the now operating tube and headed back to my hotel for a well earned rest.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

London: City of London; Friday, 27 August, 2021

I had an early start and breakfast so that I was out of the hotel a little after 9 to catch a tube round to Temple station from where I could walk up to Covent Garden. Despite having lived in London my entire life, I don’t think I’d ever gotten on or off a tube train at Temple before! I walked up from the station through some of the little back streets to the Strand and quickly popped into the grounds of Somerset House to take a few photos before continuing on to Covent Garden.

Until the early 1970s Covent Garden was the fruit and flower market for London. All that changed when the markets moved out to larger accommodation near Waterloo and the market halls were left empty. The market was an early example of a regeneration scheme with the former market halls being turned into small indoor markets housing boutique shops, cafes and restaurants and in turn making the area into a tourist magnet. The former flower market was also converted, into the home for the London Transport Museum, a museum dedicated to the history of public transport in the capital from the Sedan chairs of the 18th century through to the modern network that powers the city today. Amongst the exhibits are a number of buses, tube trains, trams and other vehicles, as well as displays on the iconic branding and signage of the system that set a standard for how many other systems around the world display their networks.

After looking round the museum for some time I quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and a toasted sandwich in the museum café before walking the 15 minutes or so up through the streets of this part of London to Bloomsbury and the British Museum. The Museum was my second stop of the day and after clearing security that was almost as intense as the Palace of Westminster the previous day I was into the building to explore. I had an idea of the main things I wanted to see – not least of all from trips earlier in the Summer the original Sutton Hoo and Vindolanda finds.

I spent a good couple of hours looking round the museum, and even then there were large parts that I didn’t get to see either because galleries were closed, or the rooms were just so busy that it just didn’t look pleasant to be in there. Also, after a while, I was starting to develop quite a case of museum feet from all the slow walking round of exhibits, so I left the museum and headed on North East out of Bloomsbury and towards Clerkenwell.

Mount Pleasant was once one of the most important postal sorting offices in the country, it was also headquarters to one of the UKs oddest railways – a tiny narrow gauge railway that ran under the streets of London from Liverpool Street in the East to Paddington in the West and never had any humans onboard. MailRail was the post offices way of avoiding the mail getting stuck in Central London traffic, and if it wasn’t for declining numbers of physical mail items it may very well still be in use today, but instead in the early part of the 21st century it was mothballed. A small part of the system, from the maintenance depot above the main line at Mount Pleasant and in a loop round the platform has been returned into service with new mail rail carriages that are capable of taking a human. The 15 minute tour round the small loop of track includes a history of the line, and what it was like to work on a service that had a train departing every 2 minutes for 22 hours of the day, 7 days a week.

On the opposite side of the road from MailRail, and included in the ticket, is the Postal Museum. This small museum tells the history of the postal service in the UK from the original mail coaches through to the modern day and is a good accompaniment to MailRail to get a full understanding of how the postal service in the UK operates.

Having taken in the train and the museum I headed down to Chancery Lane and hopped onto the Central line for a couple of stops to Bank, changed onto the DLR and headed out to Westferry to walk the short distance down to the ferry quay behind Canary Wharf. In my original plans for this trip I had booked an evening river cruise, but a few days out I’d been emailed to be told that they had received a block booking and were cancelling all the individual tickets. It was at that point I realised that, like with the number 15 bus, I could get the same sightseeing experience for significantly less by using the public ferries that run up and down the Thames, and by timing it right could probably see a lot more than I would have done on the sightseeing boat.

Thames Clippers whose service is currently sponsored by Uber (and so most Londoners have started to refer to them as U-Boats) operate a number of services up and down the river. The main route the RB1 running from Westminster towards Woolwich, which I would be taking later, but I’d timed my arrival to catch the slightly rarer RB6. These only operate in the rush-hour and this boat was starting at Canary Wharf for its journey up stream, through the centre of London, and on to Putney. I was one of the first to board, and was therefore able to bag a really good seat at the back of the boat. Clearly I wasn’t the only person with a similar idea as several of my fellow passengers who got on at Canary Wharf were still sitting in the same seats as the boat turned round at Putney and started to head back into the city.

With perfect timing (well, it’s actually timetabled, so more with very un-British timekeeping) the RB6 overtook an RB1 boat in the centre of town and arrived back at Canary Wharf a couple of minutes before it. I was therefore able to make a quick change and continue on down stream past Greenwich to North Greenwich. At North Greenwich I changed from one obscure form of London Transport to another by heading on over to the Cable Car station (again mostly referred to as the Dangleway). The Cable Car was one, of many, vanity projects undertaken by Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London and runs from a stop not particularly close to the Millennium Dome to a stop quite a long walk from the Excel exhibition centre. As a viable form of public transport it doesn’t fulfil any role – but, particularly if like me you’ve timed it to coincide with sunset – it does form a great way of seeing a different view of the city and Docklands as the sun sets behind the two financial centres skyscrapers.

Back at North Greenwich pier I continued my journey East to the end of the line at Woolwich, which included passing through the dramatic Thames Barrier, before returning back West into the centre of town, taking a night-time sail through the centre of London up to Westminster and then back to Tower where I finally disembarked and headed back to my hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

London: City of London; Saturday, 28 August, 2021

An even earlier start this morning as I’d booked a 9am entry ticket for the Tower of London, so it was probably a good thing that I was staying in a hotel less than 5 minutes walk from the entrance. Despite that, there were still about 50 people ahead of me in the queue when I arrived, but given the size of the fortress that isn’t really a problem as everyone soon disappears into the different buildings and sections. I decided, that despite it not being normal times, it would probably still be best to do the Crown Jewels exhibition first to avoid any crowds later in the day. I was able to walk straight in, and in reality it wasn’t a problem as there didn’t appear to be a queue at any point whilst I was in the tower – a Summer Saturday in 2019 I could easily have been looking at an hours queue if not longer to get in.

After doing the jewels I headed over to the White Tower. This is the four towered Norman castle keep that forms part of the original tower. Today it houses a number of exhibits on the role of the tower from fortress to prison, royal mint to execution ground as well as home to a menagerie of animals that eventually were used to create London Zoo. From the White Tower I continued to wander round the complex, taking in the ramparts and various other exhibitions in the numerous towers of the fortifications, including the bloody tower where Sir Walter Raleigh spent time before his execution, and the rooms above Traitors Gate.

Despite it being almost within touching distance of the exit from the Tower of London, getting on Tower Bridge – my next stop – requires walking round three and a half sides of the Tower complex, so I was a couple of minutes late for my midday booking to ascend the bridge – it turns out that this wasn’t an issue as nobody appeared to be too bothered about the timings, just that you’d already paid. When the bridge was built towards the end of the 19th Century the Pool of London – the area between Tower and London Bridges – was still an important port and part of the requirements of the bridge was that it should be able to open to let large ships through. However, with the bridge opening in excess of 50 times a day on some days another route was required to keep at least pedestrian traffic moving, so two walkways that run high above the bridge deck were included in the design, and it these you can climb up through the tower to reach.

The views from the walkways are very impressive both for looking up and down stream, but also for getting a view of the bridge itself that you wouldn’t normally get. Part of the walkway has been replaced with a glass floor that you can walk over just to add a bit of peril to the journey. After crossing the walkway you descend back down the south tower and then walk a short distance to the south end of the bridge where you then enter the Engine room and see how the bridge was powered when it was steam driven. Something that was still happening right up into the 1970s.

Back up from the bowels of Tower Bridge’s engine room I stopped off at a nearby café for some lunch before heading over into the city of London for my next stop of the day at the London Mithraeum. This is a Roman site with a strange past. It’s one of only a handful of Roman Temples where its been possible to find out who it was dedicated to – Mithras in this case. It was originally discovered in excavations in the 1950s with the true identity only being discovered on the last day of the Archaeological dig with the discovery of a statue to Mithras. In best 1950s ways, so that the very important office block that needed to be erected could go up, the whole site was excavated, removed and relocated to street level a short distance away. Roll forward into the 21st century and that very important office block has been pulled down to make way for the new European headquarters of Bloomberg. They took the opportunity to return the Mithraeum to it’s original location, three stories below the modern street level, and today its open to explore in the location where it’s been for about 1800 of the last 1850 years.

From the Mithraeum I had a wander through the heart of the City of London, past the Bank of England, Royal Exchange and Mansion House and down into the modern financial heart of the city (as apposed to it’s second financial heart in Docklands), and to 20 Fenchurch Street. The building is more commonly known by it’s nickname – the Walkie-Talkie – and by it’s unfortunate history of melting cars – the angles of the windows on the top were set just to that they formed a parabolic mirror and focused the suns light into a couple of spots on the street below where, amongst other things, they melted a wing of a high end Jaguar car, before shading was added.

One of the other features of 20 Fenchurch Street is that it is home to London’s highest public park, with the top floors housing a terraced garden, bars and restaurants. There’s also an outside viewing deck, and as you’d expect from a building in it’s position stunning views up and down the river and South across London. The view from the north is less spectacular as behind is quite heavily crowded by other tall buildings including the cheesegrater and the gherkin. I spent quite a bit of time taking in the view from the top before returning back down to ground level and walking the short distance back to my hotel to freshen up.

Given I’d only ever seen tourists in them, I’d decided to go full tourist and I’d booked dinner in the Aberdeen Angus Steakhouse by Leicester Square tube station. It was an interesting experience, with the service really top notch, just let down by a pretty chewey and not particularly premium bit of steak (though the prawn cocktail starter and Black forest sundae either side did partly make up for the shortcomings of the main).

From Leicester Square I walk down through Trafalgar square and onto Northumberland Avenue for my evening activity – I’d booked onto a Ghost Bus Tour of London, on board an old Routemaster bus through the streets of the capital. The tour was very good, and whilst the premise is around ghosts, it’s actually an exceptionally well presented bit of comedy with the conductor/tour guide giving a stella performance for the full 90 minutes – I have no idea how he manages to do that twice a night every night!

The tour dropped up off back by Embankment station so I was able to hop on the tube and quickly get back to my hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

London: City of London; Sunday, 29 August, 2021

I allowed myself a few extra minutes in bed on Sunday morning, and that turned out to be a bad idea as breakfast was incredibly busy by the time I got down. After fighting my way through the buffet I eventually had a decent start to the day and then headed out to Tower Hill to catch the tube a couple of stops round to Barbican.

From Barbican tube station I walked the short distance to the Museum of London – though given it required walking through the Barbican centre, which can quickly disorient you and send you off at right angles to where you think you are going – I made sure to keep following the map so that I made it in an almost straight line. The Museum tells the history of the city from pre-historic times through to the few glorious weeks in 2012 when the whole world watched London host the Olympics and Paralympics. The museum is due to move out to new premises in the next few years, which is why its exhibition stops almost a decade ago – especially as given how many things have happened in London in the following years.

From the Museum of London I bravely set out into the Barbican Centre to start navigating myself back to Moorgate. One of the features of the Barbican, which were a really good idea, were the Pedways – elevated walkways which kept pedestrians and cars apart. The Barbican was really the only place where they were used, and even then several end in weird steps or dead ends, but the idea has recently been revived, with a new connection opening a couple of years ago that runs from near the Museum of London to near Moorgate tube station, and along the way runs above an impressive section of the Roman city wall and the ruins of a city church. From Moorgate I caught the tube one stop south the Bank to pick up the DLR through to Westferry where I then walked round to the second branch of the Museum of London – the Museum of London Docklands.

Housed in a former docks warehouse in West India Quay the museum charts the history of the docks from their original founding’s, expansion and eventual decline before their regeneration into the second financial centre of London. Along the way there are exhibits on what life would have been like for the average dock worker, as well as a gallery on the very large role that London played in the slave trade.

At this point my original plan had just been to hop onto the DLR a few stops south to my next destination at Cutty Sark. Of course, I’d planned that without taking into account that it’s the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend, so naturally the line is closed for engineering works. Instead I wandered through West India Quay to the neighbouring Canary Wharf and from there picked up the rail replacement bus down to Island Gardens and the southern tip of the peninsular. From there the Greenwich foot tunnel runs under the River Thames, resurfacing next to the Cutty Sark. And of course both lifts were out of service for maintenance so it was around 100 steps down into the tunnel, and more painfully, 100 steps back out the other side.

The Cutty Sark was built to be a fast ship, a tea clipper whose role was to get tea from Indian and the East back to London quicker than the competition, and in this she excelled for a few years before steam ships took the wind out her sails. She had various roles over the years including a stint under a different name operating in Portugal, before she was purchased and returned to London to be put on display. She suffered a major fire whilst restoration works were underway in 2007, but almost 90% of the ship was saved and today she rests up on supports above the dry dock that she previously was in allowing you to not only explore all the decks of the ship but also to go underneath and walk beneath her keel.

From the Cutty Sark it was a short walk through the Old Royal Naval College complex to the Queens house. The building was built by Indigo Jones for Queen Elizabeth I, and features at it’s heart a hall that is a perfect cube. The house, at the time of visiting, also housed an exhibit on the Armada paintings – the series of paintings of Queen Elizabeth I that were painted after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and are probably the best know image of the virgin queen.

Having taken in the Queens House I headed back down to the Quayside at Greenwich to pick up one of the tourist sightseeing boats – whilst I may not have been able to keep my evening tour I still wanted to do at least one touristy sightseeing river tour – and this one is probably the classic tour starting a Greenwich heading back to the Tower and onto Westminster. The commentary was a bit cheesy, and made some very wide sweeping generalisations about Londoners, but as they operate at a more sedate pace than the public boats it was easier to see things on shore.

After disembarking at Westminster I headed back through to the city to the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street as I had an evening booking that I’d timed so that I was at the top of the building in time for sunset. Looking almost due West into the setting sun it was a pretty dramatic sunset, helped by a ridge of cloud that helped to frame the sun from above. Once the sun had set I headed back down to street level and had a bit of a wander through the near by Leadenhall Market before heading back towards London Bridge to find somewhere to have dinner, as nowhere is open in the City of London on a Sunday evening.

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London: City of London; Monday, 30 August, 2021

I’d learnt from the previous days mistake and moved back to getting up early so that I had a smooth breakfast before heading out round to Tower Hill to pick up the tube. I caught it round to Moorgate and then followed the Pedways again this time down to the Guildhall, the centre of government of the Corporation of London the body that runs the square mile. The guildhall is an impressive medieval building, that – until works were undertaken in the 1980s to build a new art gallery next to it – nobody realised sits on top of the original Roman Amphitheatre of Londinium. Today the art gallery houses not only some of the corporations art works it also houses in its basement those discovered remains of the arena.

From the Guildhall I had a walk through this part of the city stopping off at the ruins of Christchurch Greyfriars – a Wren built church that was destroyed in the Blitz and has been left as a memorial, with the ruined walls of the church now housing a small garden. From there it was a short walk on to the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, before I headed back towards St Pauls Cathedral, arriving just as the doors were opening for the day.

The cathedral opened at midday and I had a tour of the Triforium – the area above the cathedral floor that houses part of the organ – booked for 12:30 so I only had time for a quick look around the inside of the church before I joined the tour. Along with stunning views down on the cathedral from above another key part of the tour is a visit to the room which houses Wrens original drawings and model for St Pauls. The current cathedral is version 5, the previous four all having burnt down, the 4th most notably during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The 4th had a very tall spire, that actually made it a taller building than the current version, and Wren had quite the time convincing the relevant authorities and church members that what they really wanted was a dome rather than a spire. There are several iterations of drawings that show a spire slowly morphing into the dome that the cathedral is famous for today.

After the tour there was time to have a wander around the cathedral and down into the Crypt where many famous people are buried including Wren himself, along with Florence Nightingale, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson.

I had a quick stop for lunch in Paternoster square, just behind the cathedral, and then headed over to Regents Park and London Zoo.

The Zoo in Regents Park traces it’s origins back to the Medieval menagerie at the Tower of London which had outgrown it’s space and so was move here in the 19th century. Over time the role of the zoo has moved away from exhibiting weird and wonderful creatures to one of conservation. Due to the size of it’s site it’s meant its actively reduced the number of big species that live on site, with Rhinos, Hippos and Elephants now all enjoying the Bedfordshire countryside of the sister zoo Whipsnade.

It still has a number of key attractions including the tigers who were being particularly frisky when I visited. I spent a good couple of hours wandering round the site taking in all the exhibits before it was time to head back to my hotel to freshen up.

After a quick bit to eat at the hotel I headed back out for my evening trip to take in a show – something that every tourist to London should do, so I spent my evening watching an only very recently re-opened Phantom of the Opera.

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London: City of London; Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

I had my final early breakfast and checked out of the hotel before starting what I was calling my Orange day – a series of attractions located slightly away from the city centre, but linked together by the London Overground – the Orange line on the tube map.

First stop of the morning was south to Forest Hill and the Horniman Museum. Founded by tea magnate Frederick Horniman to showcase his collections from his travels, it’s turned into one of those museums that has a little bit of everything from Natural history and Geology to World cultures and musical instruments. The star attraction being the badly stuffed Walrus. When presented with the beast to stuff the taxidermist didn’t realise that walruses have lots of folds of skin, instead he stuffed the beast until it’s skin was taught, consequently it is an enormous beast – and one that has long been the mascot of the museum.

From Forest Hill the original plan had been to quickly hop back onto the Overground and head up a few stops to Hoxton. Unfortunately, that required the Overground to be operating properly and I’d chosen the very worst point to turn up as the service was only just starting to recover from an earlier suspension. Rather than a train every 7-8 minutes I ended up sitting on the station for nearly 40 minutes as train after train went from on time to late to delayed to cancelled. Eventually a train did finally come through, but even that was terminated short, thankfully two stops past where I needed to get to.

Eventually I reached my second destination of the day – the Museum of the Home in Hoxton. The museum is housed in a set of old alms houses and it charts the history of the home over the centuries. One of the key parts of the museum is it’s rooms through time exhibition which shows what a typical main room of the house would have looked like from the early 17th century through to the modern day.

I caught the Overground a couple of stops north to Dalston Junction, where I needed to walk the 200 yards or so up the road to Dalston Kingsland station, but I took the opportunity of a coffee shop to stop off for a very late lunch, before continuing my journey round to Stratford and then walking down into the Olympic Park.

I’d booked my final attraction of the trip – the ArcelorMittal Orbit – with quite a bit of scepticism as it did look a bit like a gimmick. However, once up on the viewing platform of the tower it was clear that this really is a good place to visit. Whilst the views of the Olympic park aren’t great – you’re too low down and close to see the Olympic stadium itself properly, but from the top it’s one of the best places in London to see both the historic City of London and the modern financial capital in the Docklands.

There are three ways down from the Orbit. You can go back down in the lift you came up in. You can descend the nearly 500 steps to ground level, or you can pop yourself in a padded sleeping bag an fling yourself down the 170m slide that wraps round the outside of the tower. I decided to use the stairs and every now and then there would be a scream of sheer terror as another person decided that the slide probably wasn’t the best choice.

Back down at ground level I had intended on walking back to Stratford station to get the train back into town, but as I was walking towards the station I passed a bus stop at the same time as a bus heading back to Shadwell was arriving, and as that was only one stop on the DLR from my hotel I decided that I might go for a bus ride instead.

I was glad I did as the bus wandered round large parts of the Olympic park and then the surrounding areas that just 20 years ago were either heavily industrial, or urban wasteland, but are today slowly being regenerated – including the canals and cuts that feed into the River Lee.

Back at Shadwell I hopped on the DLR one stop back to Tower Gateway, grabbed my bags from the hotel and started on my journey back home.

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Whipsnade; Friday, 03 September, 2021

As I’d done on so many other occasions recently I used my lunch break to head out to my hotel for the night right by Luton Airport Parkway station so that I could work the afternoon out of the hotel.

After finishing work for the evening I headed down into Luton to find somewhere to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and getting a good nights sleep as I expected I wouldn’t get the greatest nights sleep the following night.

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Whipsnade; Saturday, 04 September, 2021

I had a long lie in and a late breakfast at the hotel before heading out of the hotel and picking up the bus into Dunstable. I had a brief wander through Dunstable, including taking in the priory and market cross before grabbing a bit to eat in a café in the town centre.

I then picked up the last bus of the day out to Whipsnade – which given it was only just gone 13:30 says something about the bus service in Dunstable. It was a pleasant ride up onto the Dunstable downs and in less than 15 minutes I was being dropped off by the entrance to Whipsnade zoo.

My checkin to the lodge wasn’t due for another two hours so I had some time to look round the zoo. I started off by heading down to the Grand Whipsnade Railway. This is a small steam train that runs round some of the large paddocks, that would otherwise be too difficult to reach on foot. By pure chance I sat on the side that had the most animals on display and I got a very good view of the Elephants, Asian Rhinos and Camels before the train came back to its starting point.

The zoo is split into themed zones, based on where the animals would be found in the wild, and so I headed off into the Asian section, starting with the tiger enclosure. At London Zoo the previous week the tigers had been a little frisky as they were a male/female pair. Here at Whipsnade it’s three brothers, so they were just doing the usual cat thing of lying down looking at the rest of the world with contempt. From the tigers I wandered round past the Giraffe and White Rhino before arriving at the Lookout Lodges a couple of minutes before checkin.

Checkin was a smooth process taking just a couple of minutes to be ticked off, handed a glass of bubbly and shown to my small lodge that would be my home for the night. Checkin was at 16:30 and the zoo closes at 18:00 so after dumping luggage and quaffing champagne there was about 40 minutes time to explore near the lodges before we needed to meet again, so I headed the short distance away to the penguins and to take in the stunning views down from the ridge of downs that the zoo is perched on.

Guests reconvene in camp at 18:00 just as the zoo is being closed down, and shortly after we are the only members of the public left on site and our first tour of the evening takes place. We had two keepers with us for all tours with Laura and Patrick looking after us for the evening, Patrick staying on camp overnight, and then Lindsey joining us the following morning.

The first tour starts just opposite the lodges at the Eastern Bongos before moving onto the White Rhino – where we found out the name is a mistranslation, they should actually be Wide Rhino referring to their very wide mouths that they use to graze the grasslands. It was a short walk round to the African Hunting Dogs. The zoo has three, who are sisters, and spend their days together, including this evening all lying on top of each other in a corner of their cage. The next stop was round to the Chimpanzees who were expecting us as Patrick had their evening protein pellet meal to throw in to them.

With the chimps fed the next most important job was to feed the other nearby primates, namely us so we walked down to the base camp restaurant for a very nice evening meal whilst the sun set on the zoo.

After dinner we picked up torches and headed off into the dark of the night to explore the zoo. First stop were the flamingos, who were all merrily squawking away and having their dinner, then it was round past the Zebra to the Cheetahs. One of the Cheetahs had clearly had the message that they were on show and was lying on its heated rock so we were able to get excellent views of him. The same couldn’t be said of the lions on our next stop, who had all slumped right up against the windows of the viewing gallery making it almost impossible to make out anything other than a blond amalgam of bodies.

From the Lions it was then about a 10 minute walk back through the zoo and past the Rhino, some of who were now clearly snoring, and back to the lodges where we turned in for the night.

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Whipsnade; Sunday, 05 September, 2021

As expected I didn’t have a great nights sleep – mostly as it was really quite warm, and the odd occasional weird squawk, bellow or snore coming from the neighbouring animals, so I was up shortly after dawn making it to the shower block ahead of my fellow primates and first dibs on the showers.

After a surprisingly decent shower for what was the equivalent of a camping site shower block on the top of an exposed chalk ridge, we checked out of our lodges and headed back down to the Restaurant for breakfast.

After breakfast we were taken on our final tour of the trip, with the first stop being in with the Lemurs where Patrick fed them their breakfast and they leapt about in front of us – before trying, and failing, to stage an escape attempt as we left the enclosure.

Next stop was the Eurasian Lynx both of whom were up and prowling, and next door a chance for the guests to help feed the family of wild boar – mum, dad and four very cute piglets – whilst being told that of all the animals in the zoo the boar are considered some of the most dangerous.

A short walk round just in time to see the Brown Bear, Cinderella, behaving like the princess and flouncing back off to her bed as we arrived, but that didn’t matter as our main attraction was the wolverines in the neighbouring enclosure.

The final part of the walk took us up to the penguins which is where the tour ended a few minutes before the zoos gates were due to be opened for the day, which gave us all time to head to parts of the zoo where there would likely be queues later so I, like several of my fellow guests, headed off to the Aquarium which, as it’s an inside exhibit, was one of the few still to have a queuing system.

I had a look round the aquarium and attached butterfly house before taking in the dinosaur exhibit, spider monkeys and red panda before head off back over to the Lion enclosure where in 14 hours the lions had managed to walk about 50 yards to be lying fast asleep in the sun. A final walk down past the Zebra, including the small foal that was out with its mum, and a check in on the cheetahs before I reached the Hippos in the far corner of the zoo.

By now I had seen all of the site, and after a quick lunch I made my way back towards the exit. If the Saturday bus service had been poor the Sunday bus service was non-existent, which if it hadn’t been such a nice day would have led to an expensive taxi fare back to either Dunstable or Luton. Luckily it was sunny and warm so I was able to follow the public footpath across the top of the Dunstable Downs, stopping off at the National Trust visitors centre for a bottle of water and then taking one of the less steep paths down off of the downs and back into Dunstable town centre.

Thankfully from Dunstable there was a 20-minute frequency bus service back to the hotel so I was able to catch that back to the hotel where I had another quick shower and a little nap before heading down to the restaurant for dinner and then an early night, before working out of the hotel the following morning and catching the train back home during lunch.

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Farnham; Friday, 10 September, 2021

Another location that is reachable in an extended lunchbreak, so after making the relatively quick journey (my half hourly train to Clapham Junction of course being timetabled to arrive a minute after the half hourly service to Farnham departed) I walked down to the hotel, checked in and headed to my room to get back to work.

After powering down the laptop I headed over the road to the Sainsburys to grab something to eat for a light dinner as I didn’t have very long before I needed to head out for the evening.

I wolfed down a quick picnic dinner in my room before heading out and walking back up to the station to pick up the train one stop back up the line to Aldershot.

Arriving in Aldershot I wandered across town to the Princes Hall Theatre where I had tickets for David Baddiel’s latest tour.

It was a great show and after two hours of almost continuous laughter I left the theatre almost in physical pain from laughing so much.

I walked back across Aldershot to the station and managed to make a train back to Farnham that left a few minutes later. From Farnham it was a short walk back down to the hotel and then turning in for the night.

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Farnham; Saturday, 11 September, 2021

In my original plans for the day I was aiming for a later breakfast and heading out of the hotel about 10:30, as it later turned out it was very good therefore that I woke up just a little after 8 and decided that I might as well get up and have breakfast now before it got too busy. Consequently I was out of the hotel and ready at the bus stop five minutes early for the 09:32 bus. Where I waited, and waited, and waited some more. After several months of travelling round England where the buses have almost always been on time, or if they weren’t the local bus company had a tracking app that let you see in real time how the service was performing, Farnham was a very quick drag back to Classic bus, where there’s no info. Is the bus running, has it been cancelled, did the driver decide to depart 10 minutes early. None of the local buses appear to have radios so none of the other drivers knew anything about other services.

I had just about given up and was about to start on the 2 mile walk to my first destination of the day when around the corner, nearly 25 minutes late, my bus turned into view. I hopped on to a very apologetic driver – he’d been caught up in congestion on an earlier trip and was still recovering time – and headed off to my first stop of the day.

First stop, 10 minutes ride out of Farnham, was the site of the former Cistercian Abbey of Waverley. Originally built in the 12th century and expanded over the following years the site was eventually stripped from the church during the reformation and sold off to a mate of Henry VIII and from there a slow decay into ruins started on the buildings. Today not much of the original site remains, but there are still some substantial bits of masonry standing, and a downloadable audio guide from the English Heritage site was useful in telling me more about the site, as well as directing me to the back of the site by the river where the most modern addition to the site – 80 year old anti-tank blocks show how the site has continued to be used into the modern day.

I looked at the time and realised that I needed to start making a move back to the bus stop, as it would be inevitable that as my bus had been 20 minutes late the next one would be early. A premonition that a few minutes later came true as I turned onto the main road to see the bus fast approaching, requiring a sprint to the bus stop to make sure I caught it and didn’t have a long wait. Thankfully the driver realised why I was running and pulled up letting me on. The bus then meandered off on a very pretty tour round some of the more rural parts of Surrey before reaching the town of Godalming and then heading on into Guildford.

The bus station in Guildford is located next door to the main shopping centre and I took advantage of the food court there to have a quick lunch before heading off into town to have a quick look around. My first stop was the castle park and the remains of the Norman castle. I had a wander round the grounds which are now a very pleasant park and gardens, and then climbed up to the base of the Keep. In normal times you can climb up inside the Keep to take in the views from the top, but the council closed the Keep at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020 and 18 months later it was still closed.

From the castle I wandered down the hill to the small museum that’s located in a building built on the line of the former curtain wall of the castle site. I had a quick look round the museum before wandering back into town via the Millmead lock where the River Wey and the Godalming Navigations meet. By the time I got back to the bus station I was back up to running about an hour early from where I planned to be, so I decided to catch the earlier bus.

And this is where my being early paid off. First the bus timetable, that I’d checked about a week earlier, had been changed with a new Saturday service starting today, meaning the bus that I was aiming for was actually 15 minutes later, so rather than walking briskly to the bus station I could have sauntered. On leaving Guildford the bus headed out of town and turned onto the A31 Hogs Back road. The modern dual carriageway road follows the line of the original Hogs Back Road which may be Roman in its origins. Running along a narrow spine ridge on the downs with stunning views down on either side it would make a really good place to build a road.

Along with the stunning views the other thing the Hogs Back is famous for is routinely getting featured in travel reports for delays and congestion, and with road works closing a part of it that was the case today. Rather than taking 25 minutes to zip between Guildford and Farnham we crawled for about 3 miles past the road closure and along the diversion, eventually arriving into Farnham about 40 minutes late and most of my spare hour had evaporated. But at least it meant I could still do everything I’d planned – if I’d been on the later bus in the morning I could well have ended up in an even longer traffic jam.

I’d gotten off the bus close to the Farnham Museum which I had a look around, before walking across town to the Keep of Farnham Castle. There’s been a castle on this site since the 12th Century, though the ruins there now are from a later version of the castle.

After taking in the castle I wandered the short distance back to my hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner at a very nice Indian restaurant close by and then heading back for a well deserved early night.

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Farnham; Sunday, 12 September, 2021

I had a nice lie-in and a relatively late breakfast before heading out of the hotel and up to the train station to pick up the train a couple of stops down to the end of the line at Alton.

Today Alton is the end of the branch line, but up until the 1970s it was part of a through route from London to Winchester, offering an alternative to the line via Basingstoke, it survived the Beeching cuts of the 1960’s but only just and limped on to 1973 when the line was finally closed to passenger services. By 1977 the Mid-Hants Railway was already reopening sections of the line and the current route between Alton and Alresford was restored by 1985, making it one of the first heritage railways with a direct connection back to the National Rail network.

By chance the railway was running a special service today, which meant there were more trains than normal running, making it easier to see the whole of the line. My train from Farnham arrived at Alton just a couple of minutes before the next train was due to depart so I was able to hop straight on that and head two stops down the line to Ropley.

Ropley is the engineering headquarters of the line and home to the workshops and restoration facilities. Along with the other stations on the line it also has a lot of love poured into it from someone with green fingers as the whole station bloomed with flowers and large toparied trees and shrubs. I had a wander round the exhibits in the museum/workshops and watched as another train came through the station before hopping back on my original train and going one stop back up the line to Medstead and Four Marks.

Medstead is the quietest of the stations on the line, but is possibly the prettiest with a small single storey station and platforms overflowing with planting. I had a brief wander around the station building whilst the steam engine changed ends on the train before hopping back on the train and continuing our journey south back through Ropley and onto the end of the line at Alresford.

At Alresford I hopped out and walked the short distance into the centre of this pretty Georgian Market town to have a quick look around, and grab some lunch in the conveniently located Tescos, before heading back to the station.

The next train ran all the way through to Alton so I hopped on to do the full journey in one leg and to take in the views up the line over the rolling Hampshire countryside. At Alton there was about 10 minutes time to have a quick look round the station before the train returned south to Ropley.

At Ropley I visited the miniature railway – a scaled down train that you can ride on for a short trip alongside the mainline, and a good way to kill a few minutes before the final train of the day back up the Medstead which I caught.

That train then turned into the very final train of the day in service and ran back through Ropley to Alresford where I finished my day on the trains. I walked the short distance back into the town centre to wait the 10 minutes or so for the bus back to Alton – the last direct train having been much earlier in the afternoon. The bus was probably the biggest shock of the afternoon with a whopping £5.70 charge for the single ticket back to Alton.

The bus dropped me off right outside Alton station where there was a train waiting to head back towards London which I hopped onto for the quick trip up to Farnham and then walked back to the hotel to drop my stuff off before heading out to grab a quick dinner.

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Farnham; Monday, 13 September, 2021

I worked out of the hotel for most of the morning, before packing up and heading back home over my lunch break.

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Rye; Friday, 17 September, 2021

I’d travelled down to Ashford the day before so had been working out of a hotel there in the morning as I had a half days leave booked.

Once I’d finished work for the morning I packed up my things, checked out of the hotel and headed over to the station to catch the train on to Rye. From the station in Rye I walked the short distance to my hotel and was able to checkin early and drop my bags off.

I headed out into town to have a bit of a wander, taking in Mermaid Street – reportedly one of the most instagramed streets in Britain, and the rest of the historic town centre, including the Land gate and some of the look out points. Rye itself is built on the top of a rocky outcrop that stands over the Romney Marsh. Less than 800 years ago when the town built its walls and gates it was protected on three sides by the sea, but as the harbour silted up and the seas retreated the town now finds itself on a high position looking over the marsh, with the sea now some three miles away from the town.

Having taken in the town centre I headed down to the station and, after a quick late lunch from the local supermarket, picked up The Wave bus out into the Romney Marshes – through Camber Sands across the county border and the town Lydd and onto the edge of Kent on the coast at Dungeness and Lydd-on-Sea. Here the wide shingle beach, low rise houses that just line one side of the street, abandoned fishing machinery of years past and the wide skies make it unlike anywhere else in Britain. I spent a bit of time wandering around the beach area before hopping on a bus a couple of miles up the coast to the neighbouring town of Greatstone-on-Sea.

From the beach at Greatsone I headed in land a little to the RSPB nature reserve and followed the path round to one of the weirder constructions on an already weird bit of the coast – the Denge Sound Mirrors.

Before Radar was perfected the RAF, scientists and engineers had worked out that from the sound of a planes engines they could detect the direction it was coming from and even some rudimentary idea of it’s speed – but they needed a way of amplifying the noise. And this is where the Sound Mirrors step in.

Several large concrete constructions in the middle of the Romney Marsh, their concave faces looking out towards the continent and where any enemy planes may come from – they worked and for a number of years they would prove to be at the forefront of technology, but even before WWII broke out Radar was replacing them, so they saw little front line action, and instead faded into obscurity. Today they just sit in the middle of the nature reserve – an unnerving sight for someone who stumbles across them without knowledge of what they are.

Today you can’t actually go onto the island where the mirrors are located, but you can get a good look at them from across the short stretch of water that separates them from the rest of the nature reserve. Having taken in the mirrors I headed back to the main road and caught the bus back down to Lydd-on-Sea and then had a wander on down into Dungeness itself taking in the eiry quiet of this place.

I spent a bit of time wandering around Dungeness before I headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into Rye for a quick freshen up in the hotel before heading out for dinner.

After dinner I wandered back through the town in the dark, taking some night photos of the centre of Rye before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

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Rye; Saturday, 18 September, 2021

As the whole area, apart from the towns of Rye and Winchelsea, is a marsh down at sea level I’d decided that I’d hire a bike for the day and go exploring – helped by a large number of completely segregated cycle paths making this a pleasant option, without much need to cycle on actual roads.

I’d found a cycle hire company online that was based in the town, and had a pop-up collection point about 10 minutes walk from the hotel, and to make things even easier they hired out eBikes, so I could go some distance with very little effort.

I picked up the bike from the pick-up point and headed off first towards the coast at Camber Sands. This wide bay is effectively the last bay on the South coast as it sits between the cliffs of Fairlight and Hastings and Dungeness, beyond which the coast starts to head North forming the bottom right corner of Great Britain. The wide sweeping bay with a mix of sand and shingle is well know for it’s beach as well as the winds that make it a good place for Kite surfing – and even early on a Saturday morning there were a number of people already out on the water.

From Camber I carried on cycling, crossing the border from East Sussex into Kent – physically notable by the distinct improvement in the surface quality of the cycle path once into Kent (in marked contrast to the road surface the bus had gone over the previous day where East Sussex was significantly better). I continued on into Lydd and then turned to the south to cycle down to Dengemarsh and one of the weirdest locations in England.

The road itself helps set the scene, starting as a regular street in Lydd, before becoming a single track road, then the tarmac runs out and it just becomes concrete paving, before even that runs out and the track becomes a washboard rutted shingle track until you reach the beach. Dengemarsh beach is located at the back of the Dungeness Nuclear Power plant, and between Dengemarsh and Dungeness you pass the most southerly point in Kent as the cost starts it slow turn north. The area is also the point that the Dengemarsh Sewer exits into the sea. Whilst this may sound unpalatable – it’s actually the river that helps to drain water from the Romney Marsh and stop the area flooding – so it’s only marsh water that it’s dumping straight into the English channel at this point.

From Dengemarsh I cycled back through to Lydd where I stopped for a quick lunch and then on back past Camber and Rye before heading down into Rye harbour, now several miles from the town it shares it name with. Even from the harbour its still another good half mile following the course of the River Rother before you finally reach the sea again. At the end of nearly 15 miles cycling I was less than 5 miles due east of where I’d stood on the Dengemarsh beach 90 minutes earlier.

I followed the coastal track along the back of the beach and continued cycling on to the neighbouring town of Winchelsea Beach before heading back across the marsh towards Rye. By now I’d done just over 30 miles of cycling, quite a bit of it with battery assist on, and consequently I’d drained the batter, so for the final mile and a half back into the centre of town I was on my own with no assistance. Thankfully, for most of the way it was flat with the wind behind me, so it wasn’t too much effort to make it back to the cycle hire cabin.

I’d spent nearly 7 hours cycling, and even with the battery assistance I had still done a fare amount of exercise (you do still have to peddle, just not put as much work in to keep the wheels turning), and I was feeling quite sweaty, so I headed back to the hotel for a shower and some nice clean clothes.

I made the mistake of sitting down for a little while after my showers, so it was a painful experience to get moving again a little later when I went out to grab a quick dinner in a very nice Indian restaurant at the top of the town.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Rye; Monday, 20 September, 2021

The previous night before I’d gone to bed I’d predicted I would either have a really good nights sleep, or I’d spend it slowly cramping up and unable to get comfortable. Thankfully the first prediction came true and I woke up a little before 7am feeling really refreshed. Which was a pity as breakfast wasn’t being served until 8:30.

I had a quick breakfast and then checked out of the hotel before heading out into town for a wander and to take in the main sights of Rye. First stop of the morning was the Ypres Tower, or Rye Castle as it’s otherwise known. The tower sits on the edge of the outcrop that Rye is on, and with the assistance of Camber Castle it protected the entrance to the harbour, when the sea reached up to here. Today it’s a good three miles to the sea. I had a look round the exhibition in the castle before taking in the views from it’s viewing terrace.

Next stop was going to be the Castle museum a short walk away, but on arrival the whole building was still locked up – as the museum is run by volunteers it was pretty clear they hadn’t been able to find anyone to do the morning shift this morning, so instead I moved onto my next stop of the day – Lamb House.

Built by the Lamb family at the start of the Georgian period this is still one of the finest buildings in the town, and when – not long after the house had been build – King George I had to make an emergency landing in Rye it was here that he stayed. However, he isn’t the most famous person to have stayed in the house, that title goes to author Henry James who spent the last years of his life in living in Lamb House and even wrote some of his last novels here.

Just up from Lamb House, and on the highest point of the outcrop is the parish church of St Mary’s which was my next stop. The main draw being the tower which can be climbed to take you up to the highest accessible point in the town, and from here stunning views across Rye and the surrounding marsh land.

From the church I wandered back down through town, via the Castle museum again, which was open now so I quickly popped in and had a look around before continuing on down to the Rye Heritage Centre and the model of the town that they house.

By now I’d pretty much seen everything that Rye had to offer, so I hopped on a Wave bus and caught it over to Winchelsea – the neighbouring hill top town. Old Winchelsea had been down at sea level close to where a number of rivers merged, and consequently by the 13th century was rapidly being lost to erosion, so a new Winchelsea was built on the top of the hill – built to a grid pattern with the church at the centre, that’s pretty much the make-up of the town that survives to today. Three of the original 4 gates also still exist.

Due to the timing of the busses I either had just under an hour or nearly three to look round Winchelsea, so I crammed everything into 50 minutes and then headed back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Rye to grab a late lunch before picking up my luggage and heading down to the station to make my way home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Lewes; Friday, 24 September, 2021

Another Friday, another quick journey down during my lunch break and then finishing off my working day in the hotel.

With my laptop powered down I headed out of the hotel for a wander round the centre of Lewes. I first headed round the corner from the hotel to the High Street and the bridge across the River Ouse, which creates one of the prettiest points in the town, helped by the pretty buildings of the Harvey’s Brewery and the mix of Georgian and older buildings lining the street.

I continued on down the high street and on into South Street – at this point the chalk cliffs of the South Downs loom up behind the town centre, forming a natural barrier, and at this time of day a giant reflector for the light from the sunset.

I walked further on down South Street, past the cliffs and to where the River Ouse comes up close to the road, just by the sign marking the entrance to the town. From here there are excellent views back across the river and the flood plane to the town centre, and the ruins of Lewes Castle perched at the highest point on the hill above the town centre.

I did look at doing a loop round over the road bridge, but it would have been walking along both the A26 and A27 roads and didn’t look like particularly pleasant walking conditions, so I doubled back and walked back into the town centre the way I’d came.

After quickly stopping off at my hotel to drop off some of my camera equipment I headed out into town and grabbed dinner.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Lewes; Saturday, 25 September, 2021

Whilst I didn’t have much booked in for the day the less than convenient timings of rural buses in East Sussex meant that I had to have an early start to the day, so I was down at breakfast shortly after 8am and then shortly after 9 heading out of the hotel and over to the station to catch the train down to Newhaven.

The light mist that was floating around in Lewes had been replaced with a full on sea-mist by the time I’d made it out to Newhaven, albeit a very short one as you could pretty much see the edge of the cloud bank not that far out to sea, but it did mean it was a slightly damp walk through Newhaven and down the path running alongside the River Ouse to the mouth of the river and, on a chalk ridge above it, Newhaven Fort.

There has been some sort of fortification on the site since at least Roman times, and evidence suggesting further back than that, though the current construction is from the early Victorian era, and it’s an impressive construction – not least of all for how little of it is visible. The architect took advantage of the chalk cliffs to bury most of the site into the hills, there is very little to show from outside the size of the complex, which includes a deep dry moat that has hidden tunnels underneath it to allow soldiers to head under the moat and up into shooting galleries on the opposite side of the moat creating a lethal chasm – or at least it would have been lethal if the site had ever actually seen any action, but by the time it was built the threat from Napoleon III had receded, with the now deposed emperor living out a retirement in Kent. By the time the next threat came along a fort completely hidden from the sea isn’t much use when it’s totally visible from the air.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the fort and the various exhibitions, before it was time to head back down into Newhaven to catch the bus onto my next stop. In the end it turned out that I could probably have spent another 30 minutes up at the fort and I would still have made the bus.

On the day I was visiting the country was in the grip of panic buying of petrol as a shortage of tanker drivers had caused one or two petrol stations to temporarily run dry which had then sparked a run on petrol. With queues backing out of every petrol forecourt on the south coast the narrow roads of Newhaven town centre, and the coast road in general, were horrifically snarled up and a journey that should have taken less than 15 minutes ended up taking over an hour.

Eventually I made it the couple of miles up the road to the very small village of Rodmell. Located halfway between Lewes and Newhaven, Rodmell is home to Monk’s house – a 15th century house. That’s not particularly special as the whole village is made up of some pretty old buildings, it is after all a small Sussex village that’s been unspoilt for generations. What set’s Monk’s house apart is one of its residents at the start of the 20th Century.

With her mental health suffering, but her literary fame rising, Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard purchased Monk’s house originally as a holiday home, but eventually moved down here full time and where Virginia continued to write from, using both a room built in the garden and her bedroom, built as an annex onto the main house.

Sadly, Virginia’s mental health continued to suffer and in March 1941 she walked down to the nearby river Ouse and drowned herself. Following her cremation her ashes were buried under an elm tree in the gardens of the house, and her husband continue to live there until his death in 1969. In 1972 the house was sold to the University of Sussex who eventually passed it over to the National Trust.

The house has been kept in the same condition it would have been in when Virginia and Leonard were living there, and the gardens have been restored to how they were when Leonard laid them out. Today you can visit the house and be guided round the rooms by the National Trust volunteers, before taking a wander through the large gardens, and take in the views of the South Downs from their large lawn.

Having looked round the house and gardens I had some time before my bus was due – if it had been running to time, and close to an hour with the delay it was currently suffering (at least the bus company had a real time app that I could check that on), so I popped into the pub at the top of the village for a pint, returning to the bus stop as the tracker showed the bus a couple of minute away and caught it back into Lewes. I popped back to the hotel to freshen up before popping out for an early dinner and then an early night.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Lewes; Sunday, 26 September, 2021

I had a much later breakfast than the previous day, then quickly packed my bag, left my luggage with reception, checked out and headed up into town. And I do mean up. Lewes is built on quite a steep hill that provides a good lookout over the surrounding countryside, so naturally, at the very top of town was my first stop for the day – the castle.

A castle was built on the site shortly after the Norman invasion and at one time was one of only a handful of castles to have two mottes, though over time one has been lost so the castle much more closely resembles what everyone pictures a castle to be – a stone keep on top of a motte surrounded by stone walls and gatehouses.

I spent some time looking round the different parts of the castle – with exhibits in both the Barbican gatehouse and the main keep building, along with the views from the roofs of both. After descending the towers I popped next door to the Sussex Archaeological Museum which houses artefacts from the castle, as well as some of their other sites that Sussex Past own such as Fishbourne Roman Villa in West Sussex, as well as from the Priory in Lewes. The museum also houses a model of the town which in a 10 minute sound and light presentation tells some of the history of the town.

From the museum it was a 10 minute quite steep walk down hill to the bottom of town and over to another of Sussex Pasts’ sites – the Anne of Cleves house. Sadly the Tudor house was closed until at least 2022 as it isn’t possible to make social distancing work within the building – but you can still see a bit from outside. The house was part of the alimony that Henry VIII paid Anne on their divorce – which is quite surprising given the previous wife had died, the one before lost her head and the next one would also be beheaded, clearly Anne was a shrewd lady and decided not contesting the divorce request was a good move.

A short distance from the Anne of Cleves house, under the modern railway tracks, is where Lewes Priory, or the Priory of St Pancras as it was officially known, once stood. Unlike Anne, the Priory didn’t do so well under Henry VIII as he had the majority of the buildings demolished as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. Today just parts of the building remain in an open park, which you can wander round.

From the ruins of the priory I wandered back round to the station in time to catch the train south down to the coast at Seaford.

Originally a significant port on the south coast where the mouth of the Ouse was, the harbour eventually silted up and the shifting shingle of the beaches moved the mouth of the river all the way down to Newhaven. The town had a resurgence following the popularity of seaside resorts in the Regency period and into the early 20th century, but today it’s a quiet dormitory town for people working in Brighton, Eastbourne and London.

What it does still possess is it’s Martello Tower the first, or last, in the chain of fortifications stretching all the way along the coast back up to Aldeburgh in Suffolk where I’d been 78 days earlier. Where as the other end of the line is a holiday let, the Seaford Martello tower houses the town museum – an interesting collection of household appliances, Edwardian and Victorian shop fronts and some Roman and Neolithic finds chucked in for good measure, and all squeezed into the space of a Martello tower – with access to the roof for some of the best views along this bit of coast, and the stunning cliffs of Seaford Head.

After looking round the museum I walked back into town to pick up the community run bus up into the foothills of the downs and the small village of Wilmington. The village itself is home to a small priory, but it’s biggest claim to fame is on the almost perfect 45 degree slope of the rear of the Downs at the back of town. At some point in history (the archaeologists say probably no earlier than the 16th Century, folklore says cavemen) a 235ft outline of a man was carved into the chalk of the cliffs – visible for miles around. It’s about a mile walk out to the base of the Long Man of Wilmington – which today is actually made up of white painted concrete blocks on the hillside to help preserve the image.

I took in the views of the Long Man, which are actually best seen from a couple of hundred feet back from the carving, rather than up close as the angle of the slope makes it difficult to see the whole thing, and the headed back to the main road to pick up the bus on its way back in from Eastbourne to Seaford, hopped onto the waiting train back to Lewes, grabbed my bags from the hotel and made my way back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Penzance; Thursday, 30 September, 2021

Its quite a long way down to the tip of Cornwall, so I’d split my journey up into two legs. After finishing work I headed over to Paddington to catch the evening train down to Plymouth.

The journey is just over three hours, and by the time I reached Plymouth and walked to the hotel I was ready to turn straight in.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Penzance; Friday, 01 October, 2021

As I’d been able to come down the previous evening to Plymouth it meant I only needed to book a half days annual leave, so I worked out of my hotel room in the morning before powering down the laptop at the start of lunch, checking out and heading to the station.

I caught my train south from Plymouth, across the Tamar and on into Cornwall. It’s a very pleasant ride, but is also nearly another two hours on from Plymouth – which was why I didn’t even contemplate doing it in one go the previous evening. After arriving in Penzance I walked across the road to my hotel, checked-in, dropped off my stuff and headed straight back out to catch the Coaster open-top bus.

Unlike an open-top tour in other cities this is just a standard bus route, so no commentary, but you can also use a local cheap bus pass on it. Also unlike a city tour this takes a mammoth route that lasts almost four hours, doing a complete circuit round the south of Cornwall.

After leaving Penzance we headed north up the coast to Marazion for views across to St Michael’s Mount, before turning West inland for the longest part of the journey that isn’t close to the sea to travel across to the North coast of Cornwall at St Ives. The bus has an extended stop in St Ives at the bus station, high on the hill overlooking the harbour – so it’s the perfect spot to get some great photos of the town whilst the bus waits for its timetabled departure.

On leaving St Ives the Coaster climbs up the steep roads and into the hills of the North Cornish coast, running along a minor road that’s between the highest hills and the fields leading down to the coast. It passes many small villages and Hamlets, including Zennor for those wanting a trip to one of the few places in the UK with a Z placename. Along this part of the route there is lots of evidence of the industrial past of Cornwall with the ruins of Engine houses and chimneys from the Tin mine workings that used to power the Cornish economy.

About an hour after leaving St Ives the bus turns down a steep road and descends down into the stunning Sennen Cove – a beautiful bay with large crashing waves, sand dunes and a wide sandy beach, before ascending back up to the coast road and completing this leg of the journey at the car park for the Lands End Experience. Again, the bus takes an extended break here – though there is little to see to take photos of if you’re not getting off the bus.

From Lands End the Coaster heads onto its final leg back along the South coast of Cornwall, stopping briefly at Porthcurno for the communications museum, beach and Minack Theatre before heading along the small country roads that include a significant number of ancient Celtic crosses, standing stones and even a stone circle. The route finally arrives back on the edge of greater Penzance as it enters Newlyn, still high above sea level and quickly descends down the steep roads to the harbour and seafront.

From Newlyn it then runs along the seafront and past Penzance Harbour before reaching back to the bus station just under 4 hours after it left.

Having stayed on for the full circuit I was quite stiff by the time I finally got up out of my seat, so I went for a little wander around town, partly to stretch my legs and partly to find somewhere to get dinner as I was also feeling quite hungry.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Penzance; Saturday, 02 October, 2021

I’d packed my waterproof clothes as the weather forecast for most of the preceding week had suggested it was going to be wet. The predictions had run from torrential rain for the entire day to heavy rain for the entire day – so I knew I was going to get wet no matter what. However, the previous evening had seen the weather forecast change a little and the implication was that the heavy rain of the morning might ease of a little after lunch.

Consequently, I adjusted my plans and rather than heading out early for a full day of getting soaked, I had a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast in the hope that I might not get so wet later on.

After finishing breakfast I headed out of the hotel and caught the bus up to the town of Helston, where it connected with the L1 bus out to the Lizard. Depending on the weather this route is normally operated by an open-top bus. Today it was a fully enclosed double decker, with the upper deck being deafened by the sound of the rain hammering on the roof.

We set off from Helston and have a very pretty journey through the Cornish countryside and won onto the Lizard Peninsular, passing the beautiful Poldhu Cove and through some of the little villages before arriving at the village of Lizard where the bus ended. I hopped off, and taking a chance on the forecast being correct, headed straight to a pasty shop for an earlyish lunch and to sit out the worst of the weather waiting for a break in the rain than a weather app was predicting for 40 minutes later.

I had a very tasty pasty, and with the rain looking like it was starting to ease off headed out on the 15 minute walk down to the Lizard Point. It turned out that, for once, the app was correct and as I arrived at the Lizard the rain petered out to a drizzle before stopping entirely. It meant I was able to wander around Lizard Point without having to have the hood up on my jacket or protect my camera.

Whilst Lands End has all the fame and the over priced tourist experience for being the tip of Britain, it isn’t actually the most Southerly point (it’s also not the most Westerly point as that goes to Ardnamurchan Point in the Scottish Highlands – it’s claim is to the most South Westerly Point in Britain, and the most Westerly point in England). The most Southerly point is Lizard Point, and because it’s not so well know it isn’t thronged by tourists. I spent quite a bit of time wandering round the point before heading back to the village in time to catch my bus back towards Helston, just as the break in the weather came to an end and the afternoons hefty showers started their first appearance.

Given the weather I decided that rather than go anywhere else I’d do tourism by bus, so after getting back to Helston I was able to change onto an L3 bus and headed north up to the Cornish capital in Truro – past even more ruined Engine houses and abandoned mine workings that the previous days trip along the coast. In Truro I had a 10 minute wait and was then able to change onto the T1 bus that then ran back down to Penzance.

The T1 took about 2 hours to make the journey, heading through Redruth, Cambourne and Hayle and passing yet more examples of Cornwall’s former mining heritage as well as through several pretty villages along the way. At times the journey was conducted in glorious sunshine, then moments later the skies would go dark and another torrential downpour would pass overhead making so much noise on the roof of the bus that you worried it might cave in.

By the time I got back to Penzance it was already dark so I headed over to the hotel, and with the rain starting to bed in for the night decided that it would be easier to eat in the hotel restaurant and have an early night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Penzance; Sunday, 03 October, 2021

I had breakfast in the hotel and then checked-out and headed, once more, over to the bus station to pick up the first bus heading up the coast to the neighbouring town of Marazion.

From there I headed out across the beach and onto the causeway out to St Michael’s Mount. The small tidal island located just off the coast at Marazion has a causeway link for a couple of hours either side of high tide. I arrived at about 10:15 which meant I had an hour to make the 15-minute walk before the causeway closed for the rest of the day.

Safely across to the island I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat in the garden of the café watching the tide slowly starting to come in and lap at the edge of the causeway. What was almost more interesting was watching the number of people who wanted to risk walking along the route, despite it now being closed – though several discovered the error of their ways as they made it up to the island with wet feet, with the final few having to admit defeat and return back to the mainland and await the start of the ferry service (there’s about a 40 minute gap between the causeway becoming impassable and the tide being high enough for the small ferries to operate)

I headed on into the island and climbed up the steep slope to the castle that sits on the highest point. Whilst the castle is still the family home of the St Aubyn family – they have a 999 year lease from the National Trust – most of the site is open to explore and I had a long wander round the different parts of the castle that were open, and from the roof was able to take in the stunning views of the Cornish coast, and a now completely submerged causeway.

Having wandered round the island for some time I headed back down to the harbour and joined the queue to get a ferry back to the mainland. Whilst the service runs pretty much non-stop, and the journey only takes about 5 minutes each way, the boats are small only taking about a dozen people, so it took nearly 30 minutes to get to the front of the queue and onto a boat back into Marazion harbour.

Back in Marazion I quickly grabbed some lunch from a little café before heading down to the bus stop and catching the Coaster back into Penzance and then on round to Lands End, where I went for a wander down to the Land End sign – famous for all the photos people take at the start or end of their walk/cycle/drive from one end of Britain to the other – and then a further 200 yards or so on to where the actual most South Westerly point of Britain is, which had far less people milling around.

After taking in Lands End I headed back to the bus stop and picked up the next Coaster to continue on it’s journey back round the loop in the opposite direction to Friday, heading back through Sennen, St Just, Zennor and St Ives before returning to Penzance. With the sunlight starting to fade we arrived back into Penzance, with the bus overtaking the sleeper train that was slowly being shunted down into the station.

I popped back over to the hotel to pick up my luggage and to have a quick drink, but not a bit to eat as I’d assumed that there would be food on the train. This turned out to be a bit of an error.

About 40 minutes before the train was due to leave I wandered back over to the station and shortly after we were able to board and get access to our cabins for the night. After dropping my stuff into my sleeper cabin I headed down to the lounge car, which is where I found out that there was no proper food available on board, so instead I had to rely on a mix of nuts, crisps and flapjacks to make a passable dinner – washed down with a small bottle of prosecco!

I ate in the lounge car whilst the train prepared for departure and watched as we left Penzance and headed along the coast towards Marazion. As the train turned inland away from the coast I finished the last of my prosecco and headed back to my cabin to turn in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Rhodes; Wednesday, 13 October, 2021

Despite it being an early afternoon flight I’d booked into a hotel near Heathrow the night before as a series of protests over the weeks beforehand had regularly crippled the roads near Heathrow, and I didn’t want to risk being stuck in a traffic jam and miss the flight.

In the end, it the protesters decided to hit the Essex side of the M25 this morning, so Heathrow was find, but it did at least mean I could get a decent lie-in before heading over to the airport and checking in.

The flight itself was smooth and uneventful, apart from a slight delay departing as someone had failed to make it to the plane and they had to off-load their bag, but despite that we landed into Rhodes ahead of schedule.

After a little confusion with the transfer desk I was eventually in my taxi and speeding up the island towards my hotel.

I checked in, and quickly dumped my bags so I could get down to the restaurant to take advantage of the half-board deal that came with my room.

An almost Spanish time dinner completed I headed back up to my room and went to turn in for the night, at which point I discovered that my deluxe seaview room also looked over the Pool, where the Wednesday night DJ was just firing up their set. Even with the double glazed balcony door closed it was still as though I was sat in a club and eventually I just sat in bed reading until the DJ finished just before midnight, at which point I could turn in and get some well deserved rest.

Ignoring the small fireworks display that someone set off from the beach at about 12:30 just as I was starting to drift off…

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Rhodes; Thursday, 14 October, 2021

I had an all day tour booked for today, so I had to be up relatively early, which is why I was less than impressed with the delayed bedtime the previous night. After a quick breakfast I grabbed my stuff and headed over to the bus stop opposite the hotel to wait for my tour pickup, which happened on time.

The tour was to the three biggest sights on the island outside of Rhodes Town, and first stop – after a series of hotel stops to collect other tour members, was the site of the ancient acropolis of Ialysos high above the town.

Over time the site was reused as a monastery and a chapel were built with the area becoming known as Filerimos, though with much of the original ancient Hellenic ruins covered over. When the Italians took control of the Dodecanese Islands after the fall of the Ottoman empire they started to repair the church built during the era when the Grand Knights of St John of Jerusalem rules the island, as well as the orthodox monastery, both of which are now open and can be looked around, along with what remains of the ancient acropolis.

The Italians also built a way of the cross along the top of the plateau, with the 14 stations of the cross by the side of the path leading up to the edge of the cliff where they built a gigantic cross and a lookout platform. The cross itself only lasted a few years before the Italians themselves took it down. The location overlooks both the military and civilian airports of the island and it was thought it would be a good visual aid for allied bombers. Following the war the cross was re-erected by the Greeks and today it sits on one of the best view points on the island, from where there are excellent views of a large part of the west coast.

The tour spent just over the hour at Filerimos before we headed on to our second stop of the day – the Seven Springs. As the name suggests this is a point in the hills towards the centre of the island where seven springs all come to the surface near each other. The springs join together to form a small river that then flows down the hill. The area around the springs has become a popular outdoors restaurant with tables arranged around the lush green trees.

The Italians diverted some of the water away down a different route, by building a 180m long tunnel through the hill side, creating a picturesque (and well controlled) waterfall that then feeds into a different part of the river. You can walk along inside the tunnel, where the water is cool and refreshing and never comes up much higher than calf height, though be aware the tunnel contains quite a few bit of gravel and pebbles, making it uncomfortable on bare feet, and is also pitch black, just over 6ft tall and barely any wider than an average human – so if your claustrophobic, tall or very wide it’s not going to be a pleasant experience. You can also take an above ground path over the top of the hill down to take in the waterfall. The stop here was for about 2 hours, which was enough time to take in the springs, waterfall, tunnel and – conveniently – have lunch in the restaurant, mostly surrounded by several other tour groups.

The final stop of the day was a bit back up the coast in a town called Kallithea. Here, hot thermal waters had been discovered long ago and for many centuries the area was inhabited by leapers hoping the waters would cure them.

Needless to say when the Italians arrived they decided a hot spa was just what the senior officers deserved and so set about developing the site into a luxurious spa complex. When the Italians departed after the war the locals were able to use the facilities and did so for a number of years, until an earthquake in the 1960s altered the path of the underground spring so it no longer came out under the domed roof of the spa building, but instead cascaded down the rocks and straight into the sea about a 100m away. The site fell into a bit of a decline, but has since been revived as an major wedding venue, with it hosting multiple weddings a day during the height of the season. We stopped here for about and hour before heading back to the minibus to start the drop-offs back at hotels.

I quickly freshened up in the hotel and then headed out to wander down into the city for a little explore – though I didn’t have much time before sunset. I first headed down into the harbour and wandered down to the statues of deer that stand either side of the entrance to the Mandraki harbour – the main pleasure cruise harbour. The site of the deer statues is said to be the location where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood – one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. From there I wandered round the edge of the harbour towards the windmills that line up along one of the harbour arms, before turning back inland and heading down into the Old Town moat. The former moat that surrounded the high walls of the Old Town fortifications is now a public park and you can wander along most of the length, though there is no lighting down the end I was walking along, and with the light rapidly fading I decided not to venture too far. Instead, I wandered a bit further along the seafront and had a look around the St Pauls Gate to the city before walking on down to the impressive fortress like Sea Gate.

From the Sea Gate I had a long wander through the heart of the Old Town, looking down many of the little lanes and passageways before ending up by the Palace of the Grand Knights and then onto the impressive complex of gateways made up of the St Anthony and Amboise Gates which make it very clear that if the Knights didn’t want you in their city you weren’t getting in. From the Amboise Gate I wandered back to the hotel in time to have a late dinner before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Rhodes; Friday, 15 October, 2021

Originally, I had another full day tour of the Island booked, but this had been cancelled whilst I was in the air on Wednesday as the weather forecast wasn’t good. When I woke up it looked fine, but not long after a howling wind started whipping round the hotel and a very impressive thunderstorm, accompanied by some very impressively heavy rain roared through town.

After breakfast I hung around in my room for some time, waiting for the worst of the storm to pass, and by about 10:30 the sky was turning blue and the sun was even starting to come out, so I headed out of the hotel and walk the very short distance to the open-top bus tour bus stop virtually outside the hotel.

There are two open-top tours one has a red bus one has a yellow bus and whilst they are run by different companies (so tickets aren’t interchangeable) apart from that they are identical in every way. The bus I’d gone for this morning was the Yellow one. I did a full circuit of the route before staying on and carrying on round to the Acropolis.

Located on the high point of the city, overlooking the whole of Rhodes Town the Acropolis was the focal point of the city, with a number of temples scattered across the site. Today very little remains, apart from some of the superstructure and a couple of columns in the temple at the very top. I spent a little while walking round the top of the site, before descending down through the stairs to the lower level where there is more to see in the form of the ancient theatre – which is still in use for outdoor performances today – and the Ancient Olympic Stadium.

I had a long walk round both before heading back towards the top of the site to pick the next tour up and continue on round back to the Old Town.

I headed through the streets of the Old Town until I came to the Archaeological museum, which houses many of the finds of the Italian archaeologists who were the first to properly study the archaeology of the island during their occupation. The museum itself is housed in the former hospital of the Knights, which by itself is an impressive building.

I spent quite a long time looking round the museum before heading out onto the impressive Street of the Knights that runs up behind the museum towards the grand palace at the top. The street was home to the different Inns that represented the different counties that the Knights belonged to and is by some way the most impressive street in the city.

At the top of the street is the Grand Masters Palace – the headquarters building for the order, and home to the head knight. It’s a suitably impressive structure, having been restored during the Italian period. The palace is open to look around and it is as impressive inside as it is outside. From the grand staircase through to the enormous cavernous rooms inside you can’t help but be impressed by the power on display.

By the time I’d finished looking round the palace the light was starting to fade, so I had a little wander round the nearby area before heading back out through the Amboise Gate and wandering back down to the hotel for dinner and an early night.

Weather

Thunder Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Rhodes; Saturday, 16 October, 2021

I had another early start as I was being picked up a 9am by the coach to take me over to the town of Lindos, so I had an quick breakfast grabbed my things and was outside the hotel with a couple of minutes to spare before the minibus pulled up. The tour I booked wasn’t really a tour, it was more of a group transfer taking people from a number of hotels to Lindos where we were dropped off and told to be back at the bus station in five hours time – so we were pretty much on our own to explore.

After being dropped off I headed down the quite steep road into the town of Lindos and then immediately started climbing back up again as I headed up to the Acropolis high above the town centre.

Unlike Rhodes there are quite substantial parts of the Lindos Acropolis still standing, so I spent quite a lot of time wandering around the site taking in both the archaeology and the views over the town and surrounding countryside. In the end, I spent nearly two hours exploring the acropolis before heading back down into town where I decided it would probably be a good idea to get a bit to eat.

I found a nice restaurant with a roof terrace, and was initially a little disappointed to be sat on the side over looking the street below and not the coast. That soon changed as a swift, short but very sharp shower came over at just the right angle that I was kept dry by a combination of the neighbouring buildings and the awning, but people overlooking the sea quickly retreated inside with their meals.

After lunch I continued to have a wander through the city and ended up down at the ancient theatre. This is located towards the edge of the town and below the tip of the acropolis. The theatre itself isn’t open to look around, but it’s clear to see from the street with all the seating carved out from the rock – so rather than built it looks more like the theatre was excavated.

Having looked round the theatre I headed back up towards the main square of the city and was trying to decide if I should wait for the bus up the hill, or just walk it, when the shuttle bus suddenly came into view. Running from the square up the steep hill the shuttle bus takes less than 90 seconds to make a journey that would easily be a 10 minute slog, and it does all that for just €0.50, it would be foolish not to take it.

Back up at the main bus station I only had a few minutes to wait before both our bus and the rest of the passengers arrived and we actually ended up leaving about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It meant that the drive was able to pull off the road at a parking place on the main road high above Lindos to give us some stunning photo views over the town, beach and Acropolis. After the quick photo stop we all headed back onto the bus for the journey back to Rhodes, where I was dropped off back at the hotel, just in time as a couple of minutes late the skies opened again and we got treated to another hefty thunderstorm that lasted nearly an hour.

As the storm subsided I took the opportunity to pop out of the hotel and wander down to the very quiet beach and go for a little paddle, before heading back to the hotel and grabbing dinner and an early night as I had to set my alarm to a ridiculously early time.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Rhodes; Sunday, 17 October, 2021

I’d booked an all day boat cruise to the island of Symi – about 90 minutes sailing time away from Rhodes, and whilst the boat didn’t depart until 09:00 everyone was strongly urged to be at the boat by 08:30 to guarantee a good seat, so I set my alarm for 07:00 to give me enough time to get up, have breakfast and walk the 20 minutes down to the harbour. The other reason to get up early was to get all the paperwork completed for my return journey as I had to complete a full UK passenger locator form (which took 20 minutes) wait for that to come back with a QR code and then upload both that and my vaccine certificate to the British Airways site so they could verify my documents and let me checkin online later that day. Paperwork and Breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel a little before 8.

It was about 08:15 when I arrived at the port, but there were still about 30 people ahead of me already on the boat, but I still managed to grab a good seat for the trip. On the dot of 9am we pulled away from the harbourside and headed out under where the Colossus of Rhodes would have once stood and out into the Aegean Sea.

The island of Symi is the closest island to Rhodes, but getting there you pass along a stretch of the Turkish coastline that is part of Asia Minor. It’s very odd to think that you’re looking directly at a large chunk of Asia whilst travelling between two European islands.

First stop of the morning was the southern town of Panormitis, this small settlement has a sheltered harbour and a large monastery which is the main purpose of the town. Consequently at least once a day this small settlement suddenly gets a couple of hundred tourists pouring through it for about an hour – streaming into the monastery and visiting the harbour side café, before all heading back onto the boat to continue the journey.

After Panormitis we backtracked along the South coast of Symi before turning and sailing up the East coast, including a quick detour into St George’s bay for a quick photo stop before arriving in the main town of Symi, also called Symi – or just harbour to the locals.

We had just over three hours here, so after a bit of a wander around the town I found a nice little taverna and had a very pleasant lunch looking out across the harbour and to all the housed stacked up neatly up the sides of the steep hills that surround the town. There are archaeological remains and a museum located in the village high on the cliffs above the harbour, and there is an hourly bus that takes you up there, but by the time I’d finished my very pleasant lunch I’d missed the 2pm bus and the 3pm wouldn’t give me enough time to get back down.

So instead I wandered round the harbour and had a bit of a walk through the back streets, before heading to the main square and catching the Noddy Train – that was it’s actual name – a small Land Train (engine and one car) that takes you for a ride along the harbour and then up the side of the next bay for some stunning scenery, before returning back to the centre of town. As most of the passengers were from the boat the driver made an additional stop on the return journey to let us all get off right by the boat, just as boarding was starting with a free-for all on seats for the return journey, so I was able to get a really good seat right at the front of the open top deck.

From Symi the boat returns directly back to Rhodes, taking just over 90 minutes to make the journey, along the way we were overtaken by the high speed catamaran that can do the journey in about an hour.

Back in Rhodes I went for a little wander along the harbour, and down to the St Nicholas fortress which is now a lighthouse close to where the other side of the Colossus statue would have stood. After taking in the fort and the harbour side, along with the windmills, I wandered back through the New Market – Nea Agora – before heading back to the hotel.

I arrived at the beach by the hotel just in time for a stunning sunset so I was able to enjoy that for a little while before the light fully faded, and then I crossed the road over to the hotel to freshen up and then head down for my final dinner, and to checkin for my flight – only to find that despite having submitted all my paperwork, and it all being verified and confirmed as correct by BA, they still wouldn’t issue boarding passes as all the paperwork had to be show again at the checkin desks the following day…

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Rhodes; Monday, 18 October, 2021

I took advantage of not having much booked to have a nice lie-in. During Sunday there had been a changeover in guests, with large numbers departing and coachloads arriving in the evening. Clearly Sunday-Sunday week or fortnight breaks are the hotels normal stay type. It did mean that most people were new to the breakfast routine, and by the time I headed down at just after 9am, chaos was ensuing.

I was able to grab a quick breakfast – picking over the meagre remains that were left after the new guests had ravaged the buffet – before heading back up to my room to pack and then checkout.

After checking out I headed back down to the open-top tour bus stop, this time to try the Red bus, which turned out to be in a much better state of repair and with a better commentary than the Yellow bus. I took it round on a full circuit before hopping off in the centre of town and hopping on the town train – a land train tour of the city. Though in reality I shouldn’t have bothered as it took pretty much the same route as the hop-on-hop-off buses, without taking a detour past the aquarium or stopping anywhere on the way,

Tour completed I found a nice looking restaurant in the harbour and had a very pleasant lunch before heading over into the Old Town to visit the two free museum that were included in my entry ticket for the Archaeological Museum and Knights Palace. The Decorative Arts Collection is housed in the former armoury and has a number of pieces of pottery, ceramic and fabrics that have been decorated locally. Nearby is the Church of Our Lady in the Castle. This building has been an Orthodox Church, a Catholic Church and a Mosque before being converted back to a church during the Italian occupation.

From the church I had a long wander through the Old Town, stopping off at another Our Lady church, this time Our Lady of the Town. Unlike it’s castle namesake this church hasn’t survived history and is instead some impressive ruins – though you can still make out the shape and structure of the building.

I had a bit more of a wander through the Old Town before heading down into the City Moat where I wandered my way along the 2Km or so path that goes along the bottom of the moat, past several of the very impressive gates, before passing beneath the towers and turrets of the Grand Masters Palace.

The end of the walk drops you out close to the New Market which I had a quick wander through, making it back to the harbourside bus stop for the open-top tour in time to pick up the last bus of the day up over the Acropolis and down to drop my off right outside the hotel.

I grabbed my bag from the luggage store and had about 20 minutes to wait before my transfer back to the airport arrived.

Despite getting to the airport nearly 2.5 hours before departure there was still a long and slow queue at checkin as every persons documents were checked again, and by the time I’d finally cleared security there was only enough time to grab some gifts from the duty free and down a bottle of water before boarding started – although they could have waited a little longer as we all just stood on the ramp for 10 minutes waiting for a bus to turn up to take us to the plane parked on the edge of the air field.

However, to their credit, despite all the time taken to check people in, we left on time with – I’m assuming – everyone on board and headed back to the UK to see if the process on the UK end could be any more chaotic.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Lincoln; Friday, 22 October, 2021

I’d travelled up as far as Peterborough the afternoon before and had spent the morning working out of the hotel, so that I could complete the journey onto Lincoln during a slightly extended lunch break.

After checking out of the Premier Inn in Peterborough I wandered over to the station to catch the slow train up through rural Lincolnshire to Lincoln via Spalding and Sleaford. The journey was very scenic across the wide, open and very flat landscape of South West Lincolnshire before finally arriving into Lincoln.

I walked from the station over to my hotel, checked in and powered the laptop back up to finish off work for the day.

Work completed I headed out of the hotel for a wander, heading up the steep hills of Lincoln city centre to the area around the castle and cathedral.

I had a long wander round the Castle and Cathedral area, including wandering out to the Newport Roman Arch – a former Roman gateway into the city, and the only remaining Roman gateway that still has traffic running through it.

After wandering around the higher parts of the city I walked back down to the newer city centre down the aptly named Steep Hill, which includes some of the oldest buildings in the city as well as an impressive one in seven gradient.

I quickly grabbed some dinner in a restaurant in the lower part of town before wandering back to hotel via the riverside walk.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Lincoln; Saturday, 23 October, 2021

I had an early breakfast before heading out of the hotel and over to the bus station where I picked up the bus out to the South Lincolnshire town of Tattershall. The journey took just over an hour and ran through some very pretty Lincolnshire countryside

The castle in Tattershall was always important locally, but after the civil war fell into ruin. As with many of the castles of Britain it would have been just another ruin in the landscape if it wasn’t for the furore that occurred around the removal of the castles fireplaces and subsequent sale and shipping out to America. It was seen as an act of cultural vandalism and campaigns, lead by Lord Curzon who brought the castle site, were started to return the fireplaces and restore the castle.

With the castle restoration well underway Lord Curzon then spearheaded campaigns through parliament for better protection for the ancient monuments of the county, which eventually lead to the creation of the modern system of Scheduled Ancient Monuments and from it Historic England and English Heritage – which is all the more ironic given the castle is in the care of National Trust.

The fabric of the castle was restored to empty rooms on the lower floors, but perhaps a little bit of Disneyfication (before even the concept of Disney existed) with the roof with a set of battlements and crenelations that may not have existed originally on the castle, but from the top they do offer stunning views across the countryside, which even on a dull day included being able to see Lincoln Cathedral some 18 miles away.

After looking round the castle and a quick wonder around the village centre I headed back to the market place to pick up the bus back into Lincoln. Back in Lincoln I walked the short distance from the Bus station to the train station and, after a quick lunch, hopped onto a train to Gainsborough.

Gainsborough is located in the North Western corner of Lincolnshire, on the border with Yorkshire, and on the banks of the River Trent. At one time it was an important inland port – reputedly the most inland port in England at nearly 55 miles from the mouth of the River Trent. Today little comes this far up the river and the town has instead just become a quiet market town.

But the history of the wealth of the town is on show in the Old Hall – with the first buildings being erected by the 14th Century and houses one of the best examples of a medieval kitchen in the country.

After looking round the Old Hall I managed to time it right so that I could catch the bus back into Lincoln from the bus station that was a 5 minute walk from the Old Hall, rather than having to slog the 30 minutes back to the Railway station on the edge of town.

Back in Lincoln I hopped off the bus near the hotel and popped in to freshen up before heading back out to the station to head over to Newark for the evening to meet up with friends for dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Lincoln; Sunday, 24 October, 2021

I had a bit of lie in and a late breakfast before wandering over to the Bus station to catch the bus up the hill to the top of town. I wandered back through the Newport Roman Arch and centre of the upper town before reaching the castle.

The castle grounds are open for free and you can wander around. Very little of the original Norman castle remains, with just the mound that the medieval Lucy Tower stands on and the line of the walls being part of the original construction. Today the castle houses a Victorian Prison as well as the Crown Court for the town.

The Victorian Prison is open to look around and in the grounds it houses the city’s original copy of the Magna Carta, as well as the Charter of the Forests that was issued a few years later by Henry III as he confirmed the terms of Magna Carta. Along with the actual documents there is also a video that tells the history of the charter.

You can also explore the cells of both the Womens and Mens wings of the prison and see what life would have been like for the Victorian inmates of the jail. The tour through the complex ends in the Prison Chapel where the concept of isolation was imposed on the inmates as each one had their own private cell in the chapel where they could only see the preacher and none of the other prisoners – even if they were just the other side of a wooden door from them.

Having looked round the prison I then headed up onto the Walls Walk – a full circuit of the castles walls including access to several of the towers along the route. This includes being able to stand above the East Gate and have stunning views across the medieval centre of Lincoln to the Cathedral immediately opposite.

Having completed the castle I headed the short distance across the centre of town to the Cathedral and had a look around that, taking in the main church as well as the cloister and the chapter house, and taking advantage of the refectory to sit out a hefty passing shower with a cup of coffee and a very late lunch.

From the Cathedral I wandered past the ruins of the Roman East Gate as well as the Priory Arch and Pottergate which formed part of the walls round the cathedral complex in times past. I then continued on down hill to The Collection – the local museum dedicated to the archaeology of the city and county.

I spent quite a long time looking round the museum, before continuing on my journey down hill, stopping at the foot of Steep Hill to take in the views of the one in seven climb, and the Guildhall before wandering back to the hotel to freshen up before popping out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Lincoln; Monday, 25 October, 2021

I spent the morning working out of my hotel room, with a late checkout of 1pm, meaning I could work until lunchtime, pack-up and head over to the railway station and then continue working from the train back to London.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Sevenoaks; Friday, 12 November, 2021

Originally this was supposed to be a weekend in Bavaria, but that had to be cancelled a few weeks out and so I’d activated my back-up trip down to Sevenoaks.

However, when I’d booked it in I’d just matched the days of the trip, without really taking into account that the Friday was going to be a travel day, so on autopilot I’d booked the Thursday night in the hotel in Sevenoaks as well.

By the time I’d realised what I’d done the prices had risen so much that it was considerably cheaper to keep the four-night stay, including the Thursday, than to change it to a three or two night stay.

So, I spent the whole of Friday working out of the hotel in Sevenoaks.

Despite being less than 30 miles from London, Sevenoaks doesn’t have the public transport infrastructure that you’d expect. The last bus from the hotel – which was opposite the train station – up the quite steep hill into town, is just after 4pm each evening, meaning my options for the evening were either a long slog up the hill into the centre of town, or to eat in the hotel restaurant. The rain hammering on the windows of my room as I powered down my laptop at 5pm giving me the answer that I was going to stay put, eat in the hotel and have an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Sevenoaks; Saturday, 13 November, 2021

An early breakfast and then out of the hotel and over to the station to pick up the train to my first stop of the morning, Eynsford, a small Kentish village, lying on the valley of the River Darent that holds a surprising amount of history for a settlement of it’s size. My first stop was just to the south of the village, right by the River Darent at the Lullingstone Roman Villa.

Work on the villa started some time in the first century and carried on for much of it’s existence. It was in use right upto the end of the Roman occupation of Britain but was soon abandoned. The villa itself has a number of unique features from all of it’s rebuilds and expansions, but perhaps the most important are the cult room – which was used for worshiping Roman Deities, and the chapel, built in the 4th century which is one of the earliest traces of Christian worship in Britain.

About a 20 minute walk along the river bank from the villa and through the village centre you reach it’s Norman Castle. Originally built just after the conquest the castle was abandoned within a couple of hundred years and as such serves as a good example of what an early Norman castle would have looked like without any later additions.

Large parts of the outer curtain wall, as well as significant sections of the floor plan of the keep remain and you can explore round most of the site.

Having taken in the castle and the villa I headed back to the station. My next stop was north of here and the logical thing would be to pick up the same train I came in on and head north – but due to the way the railways were designed round here in the Victorian era with competing companies that isn’t possible – instead it would require two changes of train and take close to 90 minutes. Instead I headed back to Sevenoaks and picked up the train there north to Chislehurst.

From the station it was a short walk down to the entrance to my next stop of the day, Chislehurst Caves. Caves is a bit of a misnomer for them as the whole system has been carved out of the chalk by humans over a few thousand years – so it’s more abandoned mine workings than caves. The first tunnels were dug possibly 4,000 years ago when hunter gatherers were looking for flint which are in abundance in the chalk rock. During the Roman occupation further workings were made extracting both the flint and chalk for building material and also using the chalk to turn into lime for creating concrete. The final set of workings were undertaken during the Saxon era.

Mining had ceased long before the 20th century at which point the caves were turned into a successful mushroom growing business that prospered right up until 1939 when the caves became impromptu air-raid shelters. Over time the numbers staying underground grew from a few hundred locals to around 15,000 people – many of whom lived here permanently after their homes were destroyed in bombing raids. After the war the caves hosted music concerts and discos, but with the building of houses near the entrance in the 1990s that all came to an end as the new neighbours immediately started complaining about the noise from the revellers kicking out at 2am (it would be impossible to hear the actual noise of the disco from the surface).

Access to the caves is by guided tour only, and the 45 minute walk takes in all three different sections of the workings, as well as focussing on what life would have been like for the people sheltering down here from the bombs during WWII.

From the caves it was a short walk back to the station and I picked up a train back to Sevenoaks for another evening in the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Sevenoaks; Sunday, 14 November, 2021

I had a bit of a lie in and a late start, as my ticket for Knole house wasn’t until late morning. It also meant that I could make use of the bus to get up the hill into the centre of town and walk down into Knole Park from there.

I headed down into the park and then immediately back up again – rolling doesn’t do justice to the layout of the park – to head over to Knole House.

The House was once the palace of Archbishops, but following the reformation Henry VIII seized the property and it later found its way into the hands of the Sackville family, who remained owners until it was donated to the National Trust in 1947 – though members of the family still live in parts of the house.

Many of the larger showrooms are open to look around, with the ability to wander at your own pace without having to take a guided tour. Out of the main house the Gatehouse tower is also open to explore, you can climb up and take in the small suite of rooms on the different floors of the tower, before emerging onto the roof to take in the views over the house and grounds.

I also had a wander around the Orangery and did head down to the café to have a late lunch – only to discover that everyone else had clearly had the same idea as the queue was at least 40 people long with only limited seating – I instead decided I’d go for a wander in the park instead.

Most of the park is open to be explored and is home to a large herd of deer – made up of two species the speckled fallow deer as well as Sika, or Japanese, Deer. I’d chosen a good time to visit as November is the height of the rutting season and all of the stags had very impressive sets of antlers on display. That also meant it was possible to watch a lot of idiots put themselves in real danger by wandering up and trying to pet them.

I spent quite a long time wandering through the park before eventually finding my way back on a path that ended up coming out by the leisure centre and library in the centre of Sevenoaks. By now the sky was turning quite dark and a few spots of rain were starting to fall so I quickly found a nice café to grab a now very late lunch in, and sit out what I though would be a short shower.

90 minutes, and two cups of coffee on top of lunch, later, it was clear that this wasn’t a shower but instead general drizzly rain that was settling in for the afternoon and evening, so I took advantage of a short lull in the worst of the wet weather to walk back down the hill to my hotel room and another night of Premier Inn dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Sevenoaks; Monday, 15 November, 2021

I worked out of the hotel in the morning and then used my lunch break to head back home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Costa Teguise; Monday, 22 November, 2021

I finished work a little earlier than normal and headed over to the airport. I checked in and bid a farewell to my bag as I wouldn’t be seeing it again until I got to Lanzarote as it would be spending the night in the Madrid airport baggage system.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and a smooth and comfortable fight on a big widebody plane down to Madrid.

The health checks were much more superficial than I was expecting, and without luggage to collect from the belt I was through and into the arrivals hall in a matter of minutes.

I hopped in a taxi and headed out to my hotel for the night.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
10ºC/50ºF

Costa Teguise; Tuesday, 23 November, 2021

The hotel turned out to be a bad choice as the bed was about a solid as a block of concrete, so I woke up with an aching back which was still twinging slightly as I waited for the shuttle bus back to the airport.

I’d been trying to checkin online for the flight from Madrid to Lanzarote, but the Iberia app kept refusing to let me do so. I had to join the actual checkin queue, which moved very slowly, combined with the shuttle being slightly late, meant I could feel my stress levels rising. Thankfully once I reached the front of the queue it was all very quick as they just needed to see me personally back at the airport before they could release my bag from the overnight store into the main baggage system.

From then on I though the journey would be relatively smooth sailing, and it was right until I got to the arrivals lounge at Lanzarote airport, where I was expecting a transfer to be waiting for me. Instead there was nobody to be seen. A rep eventually turned up about 5 minutes later and directed me to the upper level where she told me my transfer was just arriving. 10 minutes later and with no transfer in sight I had to head back down to arrivals and track down the rep again, who insisted that my transfer was just outside the airport – I had to head back up to the upper level and wait another 10 minutes before the transfer finally appeared.

From there it was a smooth journey out to Costa Teguise and a much smoother checkin to the hotel. After dropping off my stuff in my room I headed out into town for a wander.

From my aborted visit to Lanzarote at the start of the European lockdowns in March 2020 I remembered their being a very nice icecream shop on the sea front towards the centre of Costa Teguise, so I wandered there and could confirm that the ice cream was as good as I remembered it.

I had a bit more of a wander along the seafront before turning back inland and heading over to the aquarium – about the only actual attraction in Costa Teguise. The aquarium houses the usual suspects of species with displays on the local marine life, as well as more tropical species and of course a walk through tunnel in the shark tank.

From the aquarium I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed down for dinner before an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
21ºC/70ºF

Costa Teguise; Wednesday, 24 November, 2021

I had a day tour booked to take in the key sights of the island, which had a very early pickup, so I had breakfast almost as soon as the restaurant opened and then headed down to my pickup spot. As I found would be a recurring theme with tours in Lanzarote the first 90 minutes of the tour were spent wandering slowly down the coast doing multiple pickups – the only advantage of getting on in Costa Teguise was that I had the first choice of seats, which on this tour wasn’t a major issue do to limits imposed at some of the days stops on numbers, but for other tours did mean actually getting a window rather than being stuck on the aisle all day.

With the pickups completed and a quick diversion to Yaiza to file the required paperwork for the National Park we were off to our first proper stop of the day – Timanfaya.

Prior to the 1730s this part of the island was rich agricultural land, home to many villages, but in 1730 a fissure opened up in the volcanoes and started to erupt. The initial major eruption lasted for 19 days, but after this the eruptions continued on – building and waning in intensity – for the next six years, after which around a quarter of the island of Lanzarote had been covered in lava with more than 30 villages destroyed. Today the almost lunar landscape is a stark reminder of the power of the earth. Due to the dry, arid climate of Lanzarote very little other than lichen has grown back in the 300 years following the eruptions.

Just because the eruptions have stopped it doesn’t mean the area isn’t still geologically active, with hot spots all over the national park meaning the volcano is still considered to be potentially active – and it’s to one of these hotspot areas that we initially visited, the main visitors centre shows how hot the land still is by taking you through four experiments. The first involves a ranger popping a few volcanic grains on your hands that have been dug up from just below the surface. The grains are very hot – almost too hot to hold, with most people either juggling them between their hands or dropping them back on the ground within a couple of seconds. At the second experiment a ranger holds some dry scrub to the walls of a small hollow in the rocks. After a couple of seconds the brush starts to smoke and a few seconds later it all bursts into flames – all from the heat given out by the rocks. The third experiment sees a ranger pouring cold water down a 10m pipe bored into the ground. A second or so later the water is ejected from the pipe as a steam geyser. The final experiment is the grill – located next to the restaurant, this griddle is located over a hole in the ground that still has heat blasting up from it. The heat is more than enough to cook all the meat for the restaurant that they place on the grill.

The next stage of the tour was a panoramic drive through the lava field that the volcano left after it’s eruptions – and this is where the advantage of being on a coach tour, rather than being in your own car, comes into play as coaches are allowed to drive round the route themselves, whilst motorists have to board one of the parks own coaches for the tour. The tour takes a circular 10Km route round some of the most spectacular parts of the lava field – including large gaping craters, collapsed lava tunnels and a climb up the side of one of the peaks to see the string of volcanic peaks laid out in a straight line along the 14Km or so of the fissure.

From the park we then drove north up through the island, past Teguise and over the highest pass on the island – passing close to the highest peak, before descending down into the valley of 1000 palms for a stop in Haria for a buffet lunch.

After lunch we drove the short distance to the Cueva de los verdes. The caves are in fact lava tubes formed when the outer layers of lava cool into solid rock, whilst the lava continues flowing underneath. When the lava stops flowing the cave structure is left behind. Occasional a part of the outer crust gives way creating an opening into the cave, and this is what has happened here. The tubes are from the Corona volcano which erupted around 4,000 years ago. The cave structure is spectacular and we had a long tour round the inside – taking in the multiple layers and the stunning precipice cavern.

The lava tubes continue down towards the coast – though not accessible from the Cueva de los verdes, but the next opening in the ground does have access to the sea, with a small lake in the cavern being home to a unique species of albino crabs. This complex – the Jameos del Agua was expanded and decorated by the Lanzarotta artist César Manrique creating a series of spaces which include a restaurant, café, pool and at the far end an auditorium capable of housing 600 people, all built into the lava tubes.

The Jameos del Agua was the last stop of the tour, and from there it was a relatively short drive for those of us staying in Costa Teguise back to our hotels – some of the later pickups in the morning were looking forward to another 90 minutes worth of driving back to their hotels.

After freshening up in the hotel I headed down for my booking in the restaurant.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
22ºC/72ºF

Costa Teguise; Thursday, 25 November, 2021

I was able to have a bit of a lie in this morning as the tour I was booked onto was picking up last from Costa Teguise, especially as it wasn’t really a tour, but more a shuttle bus taking us up to the northern most part of Lanzarote to pick up the ferry up to the next island – La Graciosa.

As we were one of the last pickup points the bus was quite late and a couple of other people waiting were actually on the phone to the tour company when the bus swung into view. It was a relatively short journey up to the port at Órzola where the ferry was waiting for us to make the 25 minute journey across to La Graciosa.

The package I’d booked was just the shuttle and the ferry with nothing else provided in La Graciosa, so I had about 5 hours to kill on a small volcanic island. Thankfully, shortly after arriving I found that there are several 4x4 jeep tours that operate from the harbour side out to the main points of interest on the island, so I hopped onto one of those for my own 90 minute private tour of the island.

First stop was the small settlement of Casas de Pedro Barba which is a small village of holiday lets around a natural shallow harbour that has no full time population, but from it stunning views back across the channel to Lanzarote. From there it was a cross island drive, along roads that made it very clear why only 4x4s are on the island, to the beach at Playa de las Conchas on the Western side of the island. Here there is a stretch of tropical white sand beach, with the deep turquoise sea and views across to three neighbouring small islets. It was then a short drive up to the northern most beach on the island at Playa Lambra and from there another short drive to the Mirador Baja de las Majapalomas. This view point is on the edge of a former volcano that has been all but washed away by the sea, with just some small parts of the crater remaining – but impressively these include a basalt bridge that spans over the crashing waves below.

From the Mirador Baja de las Majapalomas it was back in the Jeep and back across the washboard and rutted roads of La Graciosa to the harbour, where I stopped for a late lunch overlooking the small beach in the centre of the main settlement (it’s too small to really call it a village, let alone a town) of Caleta del Sebo.

After lunch I went for a wander, south down the island up over the dunes and down to the beach at Playa Francesa. From here there are great views across the channel to Lanzarote and the town of Caleta de Famara – the furthest place I managed to get to on my previous failed trip to Lanzarote.

I headed back to Caleta del Sebo and arrived a few minutes before the ferry was due to leave, and more importantly was able to get on board in the dry a couple of minutes before the rain clouds that had been stalking me up from Playa Francesa opened up and absolutely chucked it down. It led to quite a lively trip back across the channel to Lanzarote, including having to wait outside the harbour for a few minutes so that the captain could line up the entrance correctly with the waves.

From the harbour it was a short walk back to the coaches and then back to the hotels where I retreated to my room to dry off a little before waiting out the rain and heading down for a late dinner.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
20ºC/68ºF

Costa Teguise; Friday, 26 November, 2021

I had a late breakfast and then headed out of the hotel to the bus stop to catch the bus out to the village of Tahiche and the home that César Manrique built for himself in the lava flows including using some of the volcanic lava bubbles to create rooms below the earths surface.

Today the home is owned by the Fundación César Manrique who carry on his work in protecting the built and natural environment of Lanzarote. It’s thanks to their work that the island doesn’t have the strips of high rise hotels that are more familiar on the other Canary Islands and mainland Spain. The house and studio have been turned into an exhibition on the life of the artist as well as giving an opportunity to wander around the traditional surface level house and the bizarre world carved out from the lava below, it really does look like the evil masterminds underground volcano lair

I spent quite some time looking around the house and museum, and managed to time my exit just at the point where there were no buses down into Arrecife – my next destination - for some considerable time, so instead I hopped on a bus heading up into Teguise to have a quick wander round there before picking up the southbound bus back down to Arrecife.

I had a long walk through Arrecife from the bus station down to the sea front and the Castillo de San Gabriel.

This small fortification on the sea front was one of the first places I’d visited when I came to Lanzarote in 2020, but even then it had already been closed because of Covid, so I’d come back to have a look round.

Thankfully it was open, though there was a bit of a queue as it’s a little cramped inside and they need to limit numbers, and due to the weather it wasn’t possible to go up onto the roof of the fort, but I was still able to look round the inside of the building, which is actually the city’s historical museum.

After looking round the museum and castle in general I wandered back along the coast, past the Gran hotel and spa which had been my lockdown prison for my last trip and onto the Intercambriador – the small bus station located nearby, to pick up the bus back into Costa Teguise and my hotel.

I appear to have timed it all quite well as a very heavy shower passed over whilst I was sat on the bus and it was just down to a mild drizzle when I made it back to Costa Teguise, but I was still slightly damp by the time I made it back to the hotel, so rather than head back out again into the rain I just relaxed in my room until it was time to head down for dinner.

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
15ºC/59ºF

Costa Teguise; Saturday, 27 November, 2021

Breakfast complete and the most convenient tour pick up of my stay was from the bus stop right outside the hotel. Though once again this did mean spending a good 90 minutes travelling down the west coast picking up at lots of locations, and on this tour every seat was booked, which meant it was quite a painful process – especially towards the end as people weren’t happy that they couldn’t always sit together.

The tour I was booked onto was the highlights of the South of the Island, which would include another visit to Timanfaya, but given how impressive the location is I wasn’t too worried about that – and I’d managed to get a seat on the opposite side of the bus to the earlier tour so the panorama tour would give me a different view.

After the paperwork stop in Yaiza we first headed to El Golfo on the South West coast. Here the volcano has been partially eroded away by the sea, with the crater on the coastal side long since collapsed into the sea and the coast now lapping along the inside of the crater. However the outline of the rest of the volcano is still clear to see, and a spit of volcanic debris has managed to keep the water at bay from a lagoon formed in the back of the crater. The lagoon is home to algae that turn the water an iridescent green in contrast to the blue of the sea just a few yards away.

From El Golfo we had a short drive down the coast to Los Hervideros. This is one of the points where the lava from Timanfaya emptied into the sea creating lots of new land and some impressive natural stone bridges and features, helped by 300 years of erosion.

From Los Hervideros we drove back up the coast and into the Timanfaya national park where we stopped at the Camel ride. There is a group of around 400 camels of which around 150 work a couple of hours each day taking tourists up and down some of the dune like volcanoes. It’s all a bit Kitsch, but it is a good way of being able to see the volcanic areas without being behind a coaches window.

From the camels the next stop was the visitors centre for the experiments and then the panoramic tour, and I was glad I’d gotten to do it twice as the view from the opposite side of the coach was as stunning as well as different from the opposite side – including a lot more close up views of craters.

From Timanfaya we headed out of the park and to Mancha Blanca where we stopped for another buffet lunch before heading onto the final stop of the tour in the wine region of the island where there was a chance to sample the local wines, then it was back on the bus and back to Costa Teguise to start the drop-offs.

Back at the hotel I freshened up and then saw the news that once again whilst I was away in the Canary Islands the government was changing the travel rules and for a few hours – until it became clear the government needed to publish some legislation which wouldn’t happen until Monday – it looked like I was going to have to self isolate when I got back home.

I headed down to my last dinner at the hotel and then back to my room to start packing.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Costa Teguise; Sunday, 28 November, 2021

I had a transfer booked for 10am so I was able to have a relatively relaxed start to the morning with a later than normal breakfast and finish packing before checking out of the hotel and waiting for my transfer.

About 10 minutes after my transfer was supposed to have arrived I contacted the company who was organising the transfers and they were able to confirm that the drive was running late and would be with me shortly – which considering it was a transfer to the airport was a bit poor on their side.

In the end by the time we made it to the airport there was only 90 minutes until the flight was due to depart – in fact the plane was already landing as I walked into the terminal. Thankfully the queue for checkin wasn’t too long – it looks like most other peoples transfers had been early so they were already through as I had the 141st issued boarding pass for the flight!

The queue for security was lengthy, but did at least move relatively quickly, even so by the time I was through security my flight was already boarding, and, after I’d made a quick detour to the toilet as it was a four hour flight ahead of me, was at last call when I got to the gate.

All in all, a bit of a stressful end to a holiday that had been more stressful than it needed to be.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

London: Kingston; Friday, 10 December, 2021

The original plan for this weekend was to be in Nuremberg for the Christmas Markets, but for several reasons that wasn’t going to be possible (the fact that Germany had cancelled the markets a couple of weeks earlier almost being irrelevant by then). So instead I was having a weekend slightly closer to home in Kingston upon Thames.

As I still had the half days annual leave, originally booked for Nuremberg, I finished work at lunch and after a quick bit to eat headed off on my long and arduous 43 minute journey across South London.

After checking in to the hotel I dropped my stuff off and went for a wander, firstly down to the river and then along the riverside into the centre of the town.

I went to College in Kingston and in places the town hasn’t changed in the (many) years since I last spent time here, but in other locations the change has been considerable – not least of all around the area where the Hogsmill River empties into the Thames. Back in the 1990’s this was a gap in the river front walk as the only access over the river was back on the high street, and in reality you weren’t missing much as the river emptied into the Thames in the same way a sewer might. Today Charter Quay is a posh retail and dining area with the river channelled out into a small wetland and bridges built across the mouth, allowing you to walk continuously along the whole of the river front in Kingston.

From the river I wandered back inland a little to the area in front of the Guildhall and the Coronation Stone. This sarsen stone is reputed to the coronation stone of several local Saxon kings in the 10th century – Kingston being the meeting point of Wessex and Mercia until the two kingdoms were united.

My next stop was the Kingston Museum. This small museum is located next to the towns library on the main ring road that runs pretty much through the centre of Kingston. Inside the exhibition looks at the history of Kingston from the earliest pre-historic findings through to the modern day, with a particular focus on the towns roll as a trading centre and, during the 20th century, the home to the Sopwith aircraft company latter British Aerospace.

After the museum I wandered back through the centre of town and stopped off at the marketplace. Having missed out on the chance of a genuine German Christmas Market it was quite nice to find a faux-German Christmas Market here in Kingston, complete with Glühwein and Bratwurst.

I had a bit of a wander around the market, though quite a lot of the stalls were actually the standard market stalls just dressed up with a little tinsel, before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and digest my bratwurst before heading out for a proper dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

London: Kingston; Saturday, 11 December, 2021

I had a relatively early start and after a quick breakfast headed out of the hotel and over to the nearby bus stop to pick up the 65 north out of Kingston towards Richmond and onto my first stop of the day at Kew Gardens.

I deliberately took the bus onto the furthest gate, closest to the river and Kew Bridge, so that I could walk back through the gardens and exit back closer to Richmond. The gardens cover a massive space – some 330 acres – so exploring the whole of the gardens would take a long time. Instead I focused on covering the main sites.

These included the Princess of Wales Conservatory glasshouse and the iconic palm house. Both turned out not to be the best places to go when you’re dressed for a chilly winters day, but inside it’s a tropical rainforest – the heavy jacket and warm trousers turning out to be not appropriate for the conditions.

I also visited the Grass Gardens, Bonsai House, Tree-Top Walkway and Temperate house before ending my trip round the gardens at the Great Pagoda, located almost back in Richmond.

I left the gardens via the Lion gate and picked up the bus a couple of stops back into Richmond before hopping off the 65 and leaping onto the 371 bus that was following behind. Whilst both the 65 and the 371 headed to where I was going next the 65 would leave me with a 20 minute walk, whilst the 371 had just an 8 minute walk – so it made sense to take save on the walking to change buses.

I hopped off the 371 in Ham and walked down to the riverside and the 17th century Ham House, now part of the National Trust.

My first stop at the house was actually the café as I hadn’t had a chance to grab a lunch so I headed in there for a quick bit to eat before exploring the formal gardens and then heading back into the house to look around that.

Ham House completed I had a choice – I could walk the 2.5 miles or so back along the riverside to Kingston, or I could wander back and pick up the bus. The walk would take about an hour, the bus – by the time it went round the houses and got stuck in the Saturday afternoon traffic probably not that much less time. The weather decided to help make my mind up as it stepped up from light drizzle to rain as I walked out into the parkland around the house so I headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into Kingston.

I had another short wander through the centre of town, with another quick stop in the market for German sustenance, before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

London: Kingston; Sunday, 12 December, 2021

I had a bit longer of a lie-in and after a quick breakfast checked out of the hotel and headed over to the bus stop to pick up the bus out to Hampton Court.

Located 3 or so miles down the river, but only 8 minutes by bus from Kingston – Hampton Court is part of the Historic Royal Palaces (along with the Tower of London and a couple of other sites.) It was originally built for Thomas Woolsey as his own personal palace, but when he fell out of favour with King Henry VIII he knew the best way to hang onto his head for a little longer would be to donate the palace to the King, and it soon became one of the Kings favourite palaces.

The red brick Tudor entrance to the palace would still be instantly recognisable to anyone from the era, and is one of the iconic palace of Britain. Behind the gatehouse is the large Base Court and from here there is access to the smaller inner courtyards as well as the different parts of the palace.

I started by heading up into some of the oldest parts of the building – the apartments that Henry VIII used, these include the great hall, watching hall and access to the private pew above The Chapel Royal the Henry would have used to attend services.

On leaving Henry’s Apartments you can walk straight into the newer part of the palace, originally rebuilt during the reign of William and Mary some 150 years after Henry VIII the first suite of rooms you reach are actually modelled on the even more recent Georgian styles and tastes.

Normally you would be able to continue on from the Georgian rooms into the apartments that were built for William and Mary, but due to building works taking place at the time in the palace some rooms had been closed so instead there was a diversion down the back stairs into Fountain Court and back towards Base Court.

Instead of heading straight for Williams apartments I instead visited the Henry VIII kitchens, which show how the great feasts that used to take place at the palace during his reign would have been prepared. At the end of the exhibition you exit past a small café, which given the time I decided to grab lunch in. For what I had it turned out to be my most expensive lunch relative to value of the year, with a packet of crips costing £2.30!

After a deeply unsatisfying, if eye wateringly expensive lunch, I headed over to look round the William III apartments before heading out into the grounds to look around the gardens of the palace from the formal lawns of the East Gardens to the intricate planting of the Privy Garden.

I had a quick look round some of the smaller gardens, as well as the Great Vine, before heading over to the palace maze – the oldest hedge maze in the UK – to have a wander around that, before heading back over to the bus stop and catching the bus back into Kingston.

I grabbed a considerably better value dinner in a Yo Sushi in the Bentalls centre before popping back to the hotel, grabbing my bag and starting my long journey back home.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Istanbul; Wednesday, 15 December, 2021

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel as the flight was relatively early in the morning, so after a quick breakfast I hopped in a Uber and headed over to terminal 5. It was a smooth journey through Heathrow and down to the gate, though the flight ended up being late boarding as the plane had to be towed in from the airfield and got stuck in some traffic.

We eventually pushed back about 45 minutes late and headed off East. We managed to make up a bit of time, but we were still 25 minutes late by the time we reached the gate at Istanbul airport. A smooth journey at that end helped, including a very quick journey through immigration without anyone even looking at my PCR test result and on through customs. I headed out of the airport to meet my transfer.

The transfers were a little chaotic and it was a good 30 minutes before I was finally in a taxi heading straight into the Wednesday evening rush hour traffic into Istanbul. It took just over the hour, and some inventive driving from the taxi driver but we made it in one piece to the hotel and I was able to checkin.

After dropping off my stuff I headed down to the hotel restaurant for dinner as it was easier than trying to find somewhere outside given it was already quite late in the evening – a four hour flight and a three hour time difference accounting for a large part of the day.

With dinner finished I headed back up to my room and had an early night as I had an early start the following morning.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Istanbul; Thursday, 16 December, 2021

Having experienced the advantage of a personal guide, albeit by accident, the previous December in Tenerife when I was the only person on a tour I’d decided that for Istanbul I’d actually book a guide for a couple of days, and so at 09:30 I met Semih, my guide to Istanbul for the next three days. It turned out to be one of the best investments I’ve ever made with Semih’s knowledge of the city, history and culture helping guide me around Istanbul – as well as some amazing recommendations for dinners each evening that meant I had some incredible, yet really cheap, meals.

The first day of the tour focused on the Old Town of Istanbul, and the first stop of the morning was the Topkapi Palace, the palace of the Sultans from the founding of the Ottoman Empire through until the 19th century and a fine example of an Islamic palace. As the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was also the Caliph – leader of the worlds Muslims – the palace also played (and to some extent still plays) and important role in the life and worship of Muslims, with the palace being home to a number of religiously important relics. After taking in several of the courtyards and museums, including the spectacular kitchen block that stretches along almost one complete side of the complex, we headed back out to the outer most courtyard and visited the Hagia Irene. This Orthodox Basilica is one of the few in the city that weren’t converted in mosques following the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans. For a while it was used as an auditorium, but in the last few years it’s been turned back into a museum, albeit without any exhibits – just the impressive space.

Exiting the palace grounds we headed behind the back of the Hagia Sophia and on down to the site of the Hippodrome. Here in centuries past chariot races would have taken place. Today the site is marked by three columns in a modern and pleasant square, the columns themselves dating back to when the Hippodrome was in use. After looking round the Hippodrome we headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch, partly as we were hungry, but mostly because lunchtime prayers had just started in both of the next two sites on the itinerary so they weren’t open for visiting.

Lunch completed we headed back down towards the Hippodrome, but diverted off to visit the Binbirdirek Cistern. This is the second largest of several water cisterns that were built during the Eastern Roman Empire period to help the city withstand sieges. The cisterns themselves were built using columns recycled from demolished pagan temples – with the builders marks on each column to show who had relocated it, to ensure they were paid correctly. It’s odd to think that this ancient cistern, at least 1500 years old is made up of recycled columns from temples that are even older.

Having looked round the cistern our next stop was the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, or - as it’s more commonly known – The Blue Mosque, named for the blue tiles that decorate the walls inside. Unfortunately, at the time of visiting the mosque was undergoing some considerable renovation and very little of the inside decoration could be seen through the impressive amount of scaffolding inside. However, it was a good location for Semih to give a quick introduction to the layout and uses of a mosque.

Facing the Blue Mosque, across a large square, is probably the most famous building in Istanbul the Hagia Sophia, and that was our next stop. Originally built as an Orthodox Basilica the building was converted into a mosque shortly after the conquest. However, after the founding of the Turkish Republic it was decided to turn the building into a museum. The plaster that had been placed over the frescos when the building had been converted into a mosque was removed to reveal them – and it turned out that plastering them over had actually helped to preserve them from decay over the five centuries they were covered. The site remained a museum right up until the middle of 2020 when the Turkish government decided to close down the museum and convert it back into a mosque, though in a nod to the importance of the place rather than hiding the frescos they installed curtains that are drawn over them whilst prayers are taking place and exposed again when the building is open for tourism.

The Hagia Sophia is an amazing building, with an outstanding history – like the cisterns parts of the building are made from recycled columns from older temples, so whilst the building is over 1500 years old parts of the fabric are likely to be well over 2000 years old. It really is one of those must see sites that you do actually have to see, and I was more awe struck and impressed by it than even the hype about the building would lead me to believe.

The final stop of the day was a 15 minute walk away as we headed over to the Grand Bazaar – the giant indoor market of the city that houses over 400 shops all under one roof. Again, having Semih with me to guide me around the site was invaluable as there were many parts I would have missed if I’d just been visiting by myself, with his final flourish of the day being able to get rooftop access to a building next to the market to take in the roofline over the Bazaar. From there Semih took me back to the hotel and we arranged meet-up time for the second day.

After a long day of walking round the cobbled streets of the old town what better way to relax than taking advantage of staying in a spa hotel to book a treatment, and so with a little trepidation I headed down into the spa to experience the full Turkish bath experience, complete with a total body scrubbing followed by a foam massage and then a full body massage. I hadn’t felt that relaxed in a long time – though the lady who did the massage told me that I was clearly very stressed as all my muscles were knotted up and I needed to learn to relax more…

Feeling very relaxed, despite what the masseuse said, I headed out to a restaurant that Semih had recommended for dinner which turned out to be excellent and after that I had a wander back up to the Hippodrome to take in the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Hippodrome area at night, before heading back to the hotel for a very relaxed sleep.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Istanbul; Friday, 17 December, 2021

Semih met me in reception at 08:30 so we could head out on the second day of our tour. Today and tomorrow we had the advantage of having a taxi at our disposal to be able to explore further. When I booked the tour this was an option – we could have just used public transport, but that would have meant quite a bit more walking, and also less time at each point on the tour, so I’d opted for the easy transport option.

The first stop of the morning was the Dolmabahçe Palace. Located on the riverside in the newer part of the European side of Istanbul the palace was build in the middle of the 19th Century as the Ottoman Empire pivoted away from it’s Islamic roots to try and copy the styles and palaces of the Western European powers. Consequently this palace looks very much like something that would fit into Napoleonic France, Hapsburg Austria or even Victorian Britain. There are still a few Islamic twists such as the exquisite Hammam and the prayer rooms, but it is very much a palace of a Western monarch rather than an Islamic Sultan (and in part this pivot to the west is what led to the eventual downfall of the Ottomans and Turkey becoming a republic). We weren’t able to see all of the place as the Turkish President was due to give a speech there later in the day which meant that parts were already closed, but we were able to see large parts.

A short walk down from the palace and we reached the landing stages at Kabatas and from here we picked up a Bosporus Cruise. Once again having Semih was invaluable as the on-board commentary was patchy at best where as he was able to point out all the major buildings that we saw. The tour sets off heading upstream along the European coast before reaching the narrowest point of the Bosporus, at which point the boat turns and head back downstream, this side on the Asian side, before eventually turning back and crossing back over to the European side and returning to the landing stage.

Due to the Presidents appearance at the Dolmabahçe Palace the police were moving everyone along, so our taxi driver wasn’t able to be waiting for us as we disembarked from the cruise, instead he’d had to keep driving round the block, but it was only a couple of minutes before he got back round to us and headed off to our next stop of the morning – Taksmin Square.

The square is the main meeting point of people in the city, and also the starting point for many demonstrations over the years. From the square Independence Avenue or Istiklal Caddesi heads away – this is the main shopping street of the city, an Istanbul equivalent of the Champs Elysée or Oxford Street, but hiding behind many of the shops are little alleyways that lead to galleries or courtyards housing smaller shops, little markets and restaurants – and again having a guide was the only way I could have found these. We walked a long way down the road before taking a short detour to the Pera Palace Hotel, this was the hotel that Agatha Christie stayed in whilst she wrote Murder on the Orient Express. It’s also historic for being the first building in Istanbul with an elevator inside of the building.

From the Pera Palace we hopped back in the taxi and headed over to our lunch stop, another excellent recommendation from Semih with a delicious mese of local delicacies, and then it was back into the taxi and over to the last stop of the day at the Spice Market.

Officially known as the Egyptian Market to the locals of Istanbul, but known to tourists as the Spice Market this is a much smaller building than the Grand Bazaar, consisting of just one L shaped building, but inside there are a large number of shops mostly focussing on spices and sweets – including more Turkish delight than you could shake a stick at.

The spice market was the last stop on the itinerary for the day, so from there Semih walked me the short distance back to my hotel. After freshening up I headed out for a little bit of a wander around the old town, before heading to another one of his suggestions for dinner, which once again turned out to be an excellent dinner.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Istanbul; Saturday, 18 December, 2021

My third and final day exploring Istanbul with Semih and we first headed out in the taxi up to the Suleymaniye Mosque. The Mosque is located on the top of a hill overlooking the Bosporus and Golden Horn and is one of the most recognisable buildings in the city. The mosque was commissioned by Suleman the Magnificent and the grounds include the tomb of Suleman and his wife. For over 450 years, until 2019, the mosque was the largest in the city. Inside the mosque is richly decorated.

From the Mosque we drove over the Golden Horn and down to the waterside to visit the Rahmi M Koç Museum, the museum is an interesting collection of transport related exhibits from engines, boats and trains to cars, invalid carriages and bikes. There’s also exhibits of agricultural equipment – but the main collection is dedicated to classic sports cars from the ages. At the time of visiting the museum was also housing a temporary exhibit on childrens dolls, which appeared to have the greatest concentration of creepy and disturbing looking dolls ever assembled!

From the Museum we headed back across the Golden Horn and upstream into the hills overlooking the area where several smaller rivers merge to form the Golden Horn. The hill we visited is called Pierre Loti, after a Frenchman who visited the area in the 19th Century. From this high point there are stunning views back down the Golden Horn all the way to the mouth into the Bosporus, the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. We also stopped here for a Turkish coffee before catching the cable car down to the riverside in Eyüp.

Our final mosque visit of the trip was to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque. The mosque itself is pretty no descript, but the ground hold the tomb of the standard-bearer and friend of the Prophet, who is said to have died close to this spot in the 7th century during a siege of Constantinople. After the city finally fell a tomb was built here and is now a site that is venerated by Muslims.

From the Mosque we drove back along the Golden Horn, past some of the remaining remnants of the old Eastern Roman city walls of Constantinople before being dropped off in the Balat district for a walk around both this and the neighbouring Fener neighbourhoods. Until the 1950s these areas were the traditional neighbourhoods for the cities Jewish and Greek populations, but over time the original populations have moved away (in the case of the Greek population through a major citizen exchange with Turkish people living in Greece). In recent years the area has started to become trendy and now is home to a large number of cafes and shops – including the very tasty café we stopped off in for lunch.

After lunch we continued wandering through the Fener district including visiting the street of colourful houses, the imposing Greek Orthodox school perched on top of a hill and then finally the Church of St George, home to the Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox religion – effectively the Orthodox equivalent of The Vatican.

The final stop was back in the Balat district at the Bulgarian Orthodox church. The church was built in a very short time frame from prefabricated Iron in the middle of the 19th century. At the time the Bulgarian members of the Orthodox church weren’t happy that all masses were conducted in Greek and had petitioned the Sultan to be allowed to split from the main Orthodox church and set up their own branch, which the Sultan agreed to only on the condition that they had their new church built within three months – hence the need to go for a flat packed church.

After significant restoration work over the last few years the Church is fully open for visiting with an exhibition in the basement of photos from the restoration work showing how badly an iron building located on the flood plane of the Golden Horn in a humid environment can corrode.

The church was the last stop of the tour, and from here I said fond farewell to Semih and thank him for his guiding over the previous three days. As he lived in the opposite direction to my hotel he headed back home from there and the taxi driver took me back to my hotel.

I had a quick freshen up and then headed out to Semih’s final recommendation for dinner – once again a beautiful meal – before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Cloudy Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Istanbul; Sunday, 19 December, 2021

My three days of guided touring had given me a good understanding of the city, and Semih had given me a few suggestions of other places I might want to visit, so after a late breakfast I headed out of the hotel and caught the tram down a couple of stops to Tünel. Tünel is a funicular railway that runs from the waterside near the confluence of the Golden Horn and Bosporus up to the top of the New Town – at the far end of Independence Avenue. What’s more notable is that Tünel is the 2nd oldest underground railway in the world, after the London Underground, and technically the oldest underground railway that still runs the same route it has since it opened, with the line never having been extended or altered.

I took the train up to the top station of Tünel and then walked back down the hill towards the Galata Tower. The tower is one of the most prominent features on this side of the city. The former watch tower sits high above the rest of the New Town and from the 8th floor observation deck the views across the city are spectacular, taking in both the Asian and European sides of the city, as well as being able to see the Golden Horn, Bosporus and Sea of Marmara all within one view. I spent quite a bit of time taking in the views from up here before heading back down and continuing my descent back down the hill to the waterside. The steepness of the descent making it very clear that I’d chosen the best idea to go up to the top and walk down rather than trying to hike up from waters level.

Back down at the waters edge I headed over to one of the multitude of ferry terminals to pick up the boat across the Bosporus and over to the Asian side of the city. The journey only took about 20 minutes and as I stepped off the boat I set foot on Asian soil for the first time in my life.

I’d landed at Üsküdar on the Asian side, and from here a pleasant riverside walkway runs south along the edge of the Bosporus down to Maiden’s Tower and from there the best views back across the Bosporus to the European side, taking in the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Galata Tower all laid out in front of you. By the time I’d gotten to the view point I’d been walking for some time and was feeling quite peckish, thankfully there was a nearby restaurant which had tables available so I stopped for what turned out to be an enormous lunch overlooking Europe.

From lunch I headed back towards the ferry terminal and caught the ferry back across to Europe with the sun starting to set. From the European side I caught the tram back up the hill and walked back down to my hotel to freshen up, before heading out for a light dinner, considering how large lunch had been.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel, but rather than heading to the hotel it was to go to the entrance of the Marmaray the suburban railway that links the two sides of the city together, with the stop by my hotel being the last on the European side. I headed down onto the platform – a long descent down three very steep and deep escalators that itself took nearly 5 minutes to get down to track level – arriving just in time to catch a train east. Whilst the ferry crossing takes 20 minutes the train does the same journey in less than 5, and after an almost as long ascent up at Üsküdar station I was back out on the Asian side of the city.

I had another wander along the waterside, this time taking in the lights of the city twinkling across the dark waters of the Bosporus at night. If anything it was more magical looking across the water at night than it had been during the day.

Eventually I wandered back down to the ferry terminal and caught the ferry back across the Bosporus so I could take some photos from the river of the city at night. Back on the European side I again caught the tram up the hill and then headed back down to my hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
8ºC/46ºF

Istanbul; Monday, 20 December, 2021

I only had a couple of hours left in the city, as my taxi was booked for 13:45 – in recognition that the traffic in Istanbul out to the airport can take a very long time and that was the latest time the transfer company wanted to risk it for my 17:30 departure back to the UK.

After heading out of the hotel I headed back up to the Grand Bazaar to have a much longer wander around the maze of passageways and stalls inside.

From the Grand Bazaar I walked down through the narrow streets of the old town, past many more markets and stalls down to the Egyptian Bazaar and hand another wander through the spice market, before catching the tram back up to the Hippodrome and stopping there for a quick cup of coffee before it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and wait for my taxi.

The taxi actually arrived a little early, and at the other entrance of the hotel – which was a bit of a surprise as I didn’t know the hotel had another entrance. Thankfully, one of the gentlemen on reception walked me down to the lower entrance of the hotel and got my stuff into the taxi.

In the end it turned out that the traffic on a Monday afternoon wasn’t as bad as the transfer company had feared and, despite some congestion through the city centre, I was out at the airport a little after 14:30 and therefore had about a half hour to kill before my flight even got checkin desks assigned, in the meantime I’d gone for a wander along the massive airport checkin area, so by the time our desks were announced in zone C I was already up at zone M, so had quite a long walk back to checkin before heading through security and into the equally cavernous airport beyond.

The journey through the airport and the flight were all uneventful, but as we approached the gate at Heathrow it was clear that things were staring to go wrong. We first had to wait 10 minutes for someone to come up switch on the guidance lights for the pilots to be able to line the plane up correctly. Even at this point we were still on-time, so nothing much was going to be a problem, but then we just sat there.

After 20 minutes the pilots updated us that BA was having staffing problems with the ground crews and they would get to us as soon as possible to get the jet bridge attached, about 10 minutes later the lights come on in the jet bridge and it inches forward a couple of feet before grinding to a halt. 40 minutes later, and now 70 minutes after our scheduled arrival time stairs are finally attached to the back of the plane and we are disembarked that way to turn my last flight of the year into the worst one by some way.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Maidstone; Friday, 14 January, 2022

I had my lunch break on the train down to Maidstone and then quickly headed across town to the hotel to checkin and finish off my day.

After powering down the laptop I headed out of the hotel and down the hill into Maidstone town centre for a wander round, starting by walking down to the river Medway opposite the Archbishops Palace for a look around before heading across the river and into the centre of town.

I wandered around the centre of town for a bit, before stopping for a quick dinner in the Nando’s and then heading back to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Maidstone; Saturday, 15 January, 2022

A quick breakfast in the hotel and then the 10 minute walk down to the bus stop for the bus out to my first stop of the day at Leeds castle.

There’s been a castle on the site since Norman times, taking advantage of two islands in a lake to create a fortified space protected by a natural moat. Over the centuries multiple buildings have been constructed, reconstructed, demolished and rebuilt to create the buildings that exist today. To the rear of the site is the mostly Tudor castle building with a later manor house type building on the main island.

The bus stop is about a 10 minute walk from the ticket office at Leeds Castle, though I took longer to get there as the thick fog and slippery conditions underfoot made it a less than pleasant walk – having to listen out, rather than being able to see cars to cross the road being particularly unpleasant, but I eventually made it into the castle grounds.

From the ticket office it’s another 10-15 minute walk through the grounds to the castle, and I’d clearly arrived at the right time as the fog was starting to clear, leading to some impressive views of the lakes and buildings starting to appear out from the mists. By the time I actually reached the castle itself the skies were pretty clear and the sun had broken through.

I followed the set walking route round the castle itself which takes you through both buildings, and across the link bridge that connects the castle to the manor house.

From the castle I continued walking round the grounds, taking in the Great Water as well as the gardens, stopping off for a quick lunch in the castle restaurant, before heading over to the rear of the site to take in the Maze and the Bird of Prey centre, arriving just in time to watch the afternoon falconry display where several of the different birds of prey are allowed to fly amongst the audience.

By the time the display finished I was left with a decision to make as the buses started becoming much less frequent. I could either head back to the bus stop now, or I’d have to hang around for another 2 hours, quite a bit of that at the bus stop as the site was due to close in a little over an hour, so I decided it was probably best to head back to the bus stop and catch the bus back into Maidstone.

Back in Maidstone town centre I went for a bit more of a wander, taking in the town during daylight hours, including the quite nice area around the Archbishops Palace and the river.

I stopped off for a bite to eat in a restaurant near the hotel and then headed back to my hotel room for an early night.

Weather

Foggy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Maidstone; Sunday, 16 January, 2022

I had a bit more of a lie in this morning as my first attraction was only a 15-minute bus ride away, and didn’t open until 10am. After breakfast I popped over the road to the bus stop near the hotel and caught the bus round to the towns bus station to change there onto the bus out to my first stop of the day at Kent Life.

Kent Life is built on the site of a farm that has been in this location since at least Tudor times. Today the farm buildings have been restored and turned into living museums. The museum also houses examples of buildings from across other parts of Kent to show how life would have been like in previous era’s, including a tin chapel and a small village hall as well as a forge.

Dotted amongst the buildings are pens for farm animals – though I’m not certain that alpacas are an indigenous species to Kent. I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the site, before it was time to head back to the bus stop and catch the bus on to my next stop.

About 40 minutes bus ride north of Maidstone and we reached the former city of Rochester, now relegated to a town when the city’s administrators failed to submit the correct paperwork to keep their city status at the end of the 20th century.

The main site in town is the castle. The imposing keep standing guard over the town. The castle has been in ruins for centuries, but perhaps its most distinguishing feature is that all of the stonework around the many windows in the upper parts of the keep has been removed, making the building look almost like a face missing most of its teeth.

I climbed up through the different levels of the castle, taking in the views out across the Medway valley towards Chatham and the Thames and back upstream towards Maidstone. From the top of the castle you get the interesting perspective of the town centre railway and road bridges, crossing over the Medway at a normal height, whilst in the distance the viaducts of the M2 motorway and Channel Tunnel Rail Link streak across the landscape high above the river.

Having taken in the castle I headed over towards the Cathedral with the intention of having a look round there, but arrived just in time for the site to be closing for the day, so instead I had a little wander through the heart of the town, stopping for a coffee and late afternoon snack before wandering over to the bus stop and picking up a bus for the short journey on into Chatham, where I changed and picked up the bus back into Maidstone.

I stopped in the centre of town for a quick light dinner before heading back to the hotel to pack so that, after working the following morning, I could make a quick getaway for the train back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Berlin; Friday, 11 February, 2022

I had the afternoon booked off of leave, and had worked out of a hotel near the airport for the morning, so shortly after finishing for the day I was able to wander over to City Airport and checkin for my flight.

Despite there only being a few flights leaving in the following couple of hours the airport was surprisingly busy so I ended up wandering down into the gate areas to find a seat. A short while later our flight got it’s gate which was even further down than I was already sitting so I was able to just wander down the corridor when they started boarding.

An uneventful flight later and we landed at Berlin Brandenburg airport, almost a decade after I was first due to land here. I had booked flights in December 2011 for a journey in July 2012 that was supposed to use Berlin Brandenburg airport. After nearly a decade of delay the airport finally opened in October 2020.

I had a quick journey through the airport and then down onto a train into the city. From the station at Alexanderplatz it was a short walk over to the hotel where I was able to checkin, drop off my stuff and head out for a wander around.

I headed over towards the site of the former Palace of the Republic, the old East German parliament building which, when I first visited Berlin in 2004 was still standing, albeit in a derelict state. The parliament building had been built on the site of the former Berlin Palace which was destroyed beyond repair during WWII, the ruins being blown up by the DDR authorities to make way for their parliament building. Now in 2022 it’s almost as though most of the last 100 years didn’t happen as the Humboldt Forum, a replica of the original 17th century palace has been constructed and opened on the site.

I spent some time wandering around the area taking in the views of the Humboldt Forum and the stunning regeneration of this part of Berlin that has taken place over the last 18 years.

After spending quite some time round the forum I wandered back towards the heart of old East Berlin in the Alexanderplatz to grab some dinner and then turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Berlin; Saturday, 12 February, 2022

I had a relaxed breakfast and then headed down into the U-Bahn to catch the U5 line out into the Eastern suburbs of Berlin, changing at the Tierpark station onto the tram towards Köpenick. Until the 1920’s Köpenick was an independent town outside of the capital, but the slowly expanding boundaries of Berlin eventually swallowed the town up.

Located on the confluence of the Dahme and Spree rivers the town has a pretty old town centre with an ornate town hall and an impressive church as well as the Schloß all sitting on a small peninsular of land sticking out into the confluence. I had a bit of a wander around the town before heading down onto the Schloßinsle, a small island of land made by creating a canal between the palace and the rest of the town.

Köpenick Palace was originally built as a home for the Elector of Brandenburg but following the war was converted into a museum. With the fall of the Berlin wall the museum was brought under control of the merged city and today houses displays on interiors and room decorations with a focus mainly on the Baroque and Rocco periods.

Having explored the palace and museum I headed back down into town and caught the tram back to the Tiergarten where I had a booked ticket for an afternoon in the zoo.

The Berlin Zoo is world famous, but when the city was divided following the end of WWII the zoo ended up very firmly in the Western side of the city so the DDR, naturally, built a competing zoo in their part of the city. The zoo is still open today with surprisingly large enclosures displaying their collection of animals. I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the site taking in the various displays.

From the Tiergarten I headed back down onto the U-Bahn and back to Alexanderplatz to quickly freshen up, before heading over to the TV Tower for a booked trip up to the viewing platform, timing it so I was up at the top of the tower in time to watch the sun set over West Berlin.

After taking in the views from the top of the tower I then headed back down to ground level and went in hunt of dinner, before having a general wander around the former centre of East Berlin until I headed back to my room for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Berlin; Sunday, 13 February, 2022

Breakfast taken and my luggage left with the hotel I headed over to the Humboldt Forum to explore the inside of the building. Whilst it may look like a 17th century palace on the outside the inside has been built as a modern exhibition and museum space, though the first place I headed was to the basement.

When I visited Berlin in 2006 demolition work on the old DDR parliament was well underway, and during part of that process some of the ruins of the old palace’s cellars had been discovered – a surprise as it was assumed everything had been destroyed. At that time you could stand on the surface and look down into the cellar spaces. 16 years later and you can now stand in those cellar spaces – the Schloßkeller – albeit from within the Humboldt Forum and back as underground, undercover spaces.

From the Schloßkeller I climbed up through the building to the Ethnographic museum that covers much of the 2nd and 3rd floors of the forum. At the time of visiting only some of the rooms in one wing of the building are open as others are still being fitted out, once complete it will be a very impressive museum, arranged in continental themed areas.

From the museum I stopped off at the café for a quick cup of coffee before it was time to head down to reception and take the lift up onto the roof of the forum for some of the best views of the city. Whilst the roof isn’t that high up – only 4th floor level – it’s location and the surrounding buildings make for an impressive backdrop with the Berliner Dom and buildings of the Museuminsel (Museum Island) visible directly in front of you, the imposing bulk of the TV Tower and in the distance the domes of the Bundestag and the French and German cathedrals, along with the impressive dome of the forum itself – still copper brown waiting for time to slowly start the process of turning it green.

I spent quite a bit of time up on the roof before descending back down to street level and heading over to the U-Bahn.

You can spend time exploring the old East Berlin without taking into account the Elephant, or in this case Secret Policeman, in the room. So much of life in the DDR was lived under the control and fear of the Stasi, and it was from an office complex in the suburbs of East Berlin that they attempted, and eventually failed, to control the population.

The complex has been turned into a series of museums and centres, dedicated to peace, but the main corporate HQ so to speak of the Stasi has been turned into a museum and that was my final stop on my tour of East Berlin.

The museum is housed over three floors of the former Stasi HQ with two floors of exhibitions on how the Stasi was formed and how it operated, as well as exhibits on some of the ways they kept tabs on people and some of the tools they used – including wire taps, hidden recording devices and the always creepy collection of smell samples of the population.

On the upper floor the conference room and offices of the senior members of the secret police – including the office of the head of the service – have been restored to how they would have looked in the early 1980s in the times when these guys (and the head people were all guys – they even dismantled the ladies loos because they saw no point in having them) though that they would be in power for ever.

From the Stasi museum I caught the U-Bahn back into town, grabbed my luggage and headed over to Alexanderplatz station to pick up the train out to the airport to start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Bristol; Friday, 18 February, 2022

In the original plan for this weekend I was down in Somerset for an all day work meeting and I would then pick up my luggage from the hotel, head over to the station and catch the train up into Bristol for a nice weekend, before heading back on the Sunday evening.

Unfortunately, the weather was having different ideas and I was staying right in the red danger to life zone of Storm Eunice as she barrelled into the West Country.

Whilst Bridgwater, where I was, didn’t appear to suffer too much in terms of damage the main effect was on public transport with everything being cancelled, and even the local taxi companies refusing to take passengers. It meant that rather than being in Bristol for the evening work paid for me to spend an extra night in Bridgwater and attempt to start my journey the following morning.

In the meantime I’d contacted the hotel in Bristol who couldn’t refund the money for the Friday night, but could move the booking onto Sunday night so I would still get two nights in Bristol.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Bristol; Saturday, 19 February, 2022

I got up relatively early for breakfast, meeting with colleagues, on the idea that we’d all be making an early get away from Bridgwater, but that turned out to be a pipedream as Great Western continued to cancel trains one after another, with the morning turning into the afternoon before there was any sign of movement on the railways.

Eventually, a little before 12:30 a train was shown to be preparing to leave Taunton, the next station down the line, in the direction of Bristol, so me and one colleague headed to the station to see if we could catch that.

The train did arrive just before 13:00 and proceeded to run very slowly, with lots of long pauses between stations, all the way to Bristol – finally arriving a little before three. A journey that should have taken not much more than 30 minutes actually took nearly two hours, but at least I’d finally made it to Bristol, albeit nearly 24 hours late.

I headed over to the hotel and checked in and then headed out with the intention of having a wander around Bristol – but my plans were quickly beaten back by a change in the weather. From the previous days high winds but clear skies we had now moved into the slightly less strong winds, but lashing rain instead, so pretty quickly I decided the best thing to do would be to pop into a supermarket to pick up a few things for dinner and then retreat back to the hotel for the night.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Bristol; Sunday, 20 February, 2022

Overnight the wind continued to howl around the hotel, rattling the double glazing units in the hotel, and at times accompanied by the sound of lashing rain, but by about 8am it had started to calm down a bit, and after a leisurely breakfast in the hotel I decided it was probably about OK to commit to doing something for the day.

I headed over to the station and picked up the bus that heads up into Clifton to visit Bristol Zoo.

The Zoo has been in it’s Clifton location for nearly 200 years, opening in 1836, but this was my last opportunity to visit the zoo as it was due to close at the end of 2022 and move to a much larger site on the edge of the city, and it was easy to see why as the space they have is quite small, with no option to expand. Consequently most large animals have already been moved off-site with Lions and Gorillas being the only large animals still on the site.

Despite the continuous drizzle I spent a good couple of hours wandering round the different exhibits – though a lot of the animals appeared to have decided the weather wasn’t good enough to put in an appearance and were sheltering in the dry and warm parts of their enclosures – I couldn’t really blame them!

Having looked round the zoo I walked the half mile or so over Clifton Downs to the Clifton Observatory for the views over the Clifton Suspension Bridge (albeit through a pretty hefty downpour of rain), and then took the steps down from the observatory, through the rock, to Giants Cave that opens out on the side of the Avon gorge for really impressive views of the bridge from a unique angle.

By now the weather had deteriorated quite a bit further as the tail end of Storm Eunice was being replaced by the early throws of Storm Franklin moving in bringing more high winds and heavy rain to the West Country, so I decided that it would just be wise to call it quits and head for the bus stop, and get back to the dry of the hotel.

Back in the hotel the weather continued to deteriorate to the point that I decided the best option was just to have dinner in the hotel bar, it turned out to be a very good decision as the food was some of the best hotel bar food I’ve ever had.

It also meant that I ended up having a very early night – so I did get a lot of value for money from my swapped hotel night.

Weather

Light Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
12ºC/54ºF

Bristol; Monday, 21 February, 2022

With the effects of two storms in a couple of days still causing havoc with the rail network in the UK I’d pushed my departure from Bristol to the latest train I could catch based on checkout time from the hotel, so I worked from my hotel room right up until the last few minutes before checking out and then heading for the station.

I was quite surprised that my midday departure did actually leave on time, but with a 50mph speed restriction most of the way back to London, rather than the normal 125mph running the train quickly began to run late and pick up more and more delays on its way into London, eventually arriving nearly an hour late.

Weather

Sunny Intervals No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Oxford; Friday, 25 February, 2022

I headed up to London during my lunch break and over to Marylebone station where I caught the train on up to Oxford, spending the hour or so journey continuing to work.

After arriving in Oxford I hopped on a bus round to the hotel, checked in and headed up to my room where I got back to work for a couple of hours until the end of the working day.

With the work laptop powered down I headed out of the hotel for a wander, first heading down to Magdalen College and Bridge to take in the view of Sunset behind the botanical gardens, before heading back into the centre of town at the Carfax tower and then wandering through the covered market and the narrow lanes of the city centre to the stunning Radcliffe Camera.

From there I wandered down to Broad Street where I was in time to join the evening Ghost Tour which took in a significant part of the city centre both inside and outside of the old city walls. The tour was more of an historical and literature tour of the city with just a touch of the supernatural.

The tour ended up back at Broad Street and from there I found a place to have dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Oxford; Saturday, 26 February, 2022

I had a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading out across the road to the City Sightseeing tour office to purchase a 48 hour ticket and then wandered down to the nearby stop to pick up the first open-top tour bus of the day. I did a couple of circuits to get a good feel of the city before hopping off at the same stop I’d joined and then going for a wander through the narrow lanes surrounding the universities.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the lanes, including taking in one of the few remaining bits of the old medieval wall of the city, as well as popping into the courtyard of the Bodleian library to have a look round there before heading towards the centre of town to grab a quick lunch.

With lunch in my stomach I walked down to Carfax, the very centre of the city and home to the Carfax Tower. This was once the tower of St Michaels Church, but the rest of the church building has gone, leaving just the tower standing. There is a local law that states that no buildings in the centre of the city can be taller than the Carfax Tower, so it means from the roof on the top of the tower there are excellent views across the whole of the city.

So I climbed the 99 steps, which included a pretty narrow winding set of metal spiral stairs that were more pleasant to walk up than to walk back down, up to the roof and I wasn’t disappointed. From up here you can fully take in the city of dreaming spires and it’s easy to pick out key sights such as the castle, university church and the Radcliffe Camera.

After taking in the views from the top of the tower I climbed back down and wandered the short distance to the hop-on-hop-off bus stop to catch the bus a couple of stops round to the University Museums. Here two of the universities main museums – the Natural History and Pitt-Rivers Museums are in the same complex.

I spent quite a long time looking round the two museums, partly as there was quite a lot to see, but also partly because they were so busy it was actually difficult to get near to any of the exhibits. The Covid-19 rules in England had been pretty much all scrapped just a couple of days beforehand and consequently museums, especially free museums, were operating at full capacity.

Having eventually seen as much of the museums as I was going to see I headed back to the bus stop and caught the last bus of the day back round to the stop near my hotel and then walked back there to freshen up before heading out a little later to grab some dinner.

After a brief evening wander I headed back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Oxford; Sunday, 27 February, 2022

I had a nice lie in and a late breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading round to my first stop of the morning the Ashmolean Museum.

The Ashmolean is the main museum of the University of Oxford and is reputedly the first modern museum when it was founded in 1683 by the donation of Elias Ashmole’s collection of curiosities and artefacts. The original building was located close to the Bodleian Library, but moved to it’s current Victorian building in the middle of the 19th century. The lower floors chart human history form pre-historic to modern times in various locations with significant exhibits on Roman, Greek, Chinese and Indian history. On the upper floors are the galleries which display a large number of the universities paintings.

From the Ashmolean museum I walked the couple of hundred yards back to Broad Street and the building where it was originally founded. After the Ashmolean moved out the building had a number of uses before being turned in the early 20th century into the History of Science Museum. The museum has a large number of historic scientific instruments as well as more mundane items linked to the university such as the bed pans that penicillin was originally cultivated in and the blackboard that Einstein used when he gave a guest lecture at the university.

After taking in the History of Science museum I wandered down towards the River Charwell and visited the Botanical Gardens, taking the opportunity to wander around the small gardens and greenhouses.

From the Botanic Gardens it was about a 15 minute walk across the top of Christ Church Meadow to the College of the same name. I had a ticket booked for 3pm, and as it was still only 2.30 I took the opportunity to grab a quick lunch from a nearby supermarket and sit in the parkland for a while.

I then headed over to the College to pick up my entrance ticket and multi-media guide for my tour round both the College and the attached Cathedral.

The college was originally founded on the site of a much older priory by Thomas Wolsey as Cardinal College. After his falling out with Henry VIII the college was re-founded as Christ Church College and the Henry decreed that the chapel would become the Cathedral for the diocese of Oxford, making it one of the smallest Cathedrals in the country.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around both the college and the cathedral, to the extent that the porters and custodians were already starting to shut things up as I got to the end of the tour.

From the College I headed back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and made my way over to the bus station to take the bus over to Milton Keynes for an overnight stop prior to work meetings the following day.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Corralejo; Thursday, 10 March, 2022

I’d stayed overnight near the airport as it was a very early flight from Heathrow. Even staying at the hotel it still meant I had to get up just after 4:30, but my body decided 03:55 would be a better time to wake up.

I checked out of the hotel and caught my pre-booked cab over to the airport where I was able to quickly checkin and get through security, the airport still pretty deserted at this time of the morning, though by the time I headed down to the gate just after 06:30 it was starting to get a lot busier.

I had a smooth journey down from Heathrow to Lanzarote with the flight landing very early, though the bags then took an age to come round, but it looked hopeful for making the midday bus and therefore the 13:30 ferry.

I was out and by the bus stop a little after 11:45 so everything was looking positive, right up until midday came and went with no sign of the bus. Eventually the bus arrived at 12:25 which meant that unless the driver absolutely floored it there was little chance of making the ferry I was aiming for. Given how late he was running, it of course meant that more and more people were waiting at each stop so we slowly lost more and more time and I finally arrived at the harbour in Playa Blanca just as the ferry was pulling out of dock.

Thankfully the next ferry was only 90 minutes later, and it did mean I could stop for a very pleasant lunch in a café that overlooked the harbour and wait there with a beer before it was time to board.

The journey across to Fuerteventura was smooth and speedy and after disembarking it was only a 15 minute walk up the main drag to get to my hotel and check-in.

With my bag dropped off in my room I headed out into town and went for a wander around town, taking the path that ran along the beaches and waterfront. I had a bit of a meander through the town as well, and then headed back to the hotel.

My booking was half board which meant that I didn’t have to go in search of somewhere to eat each evening, so I had a quick drink in the hotel bar before heading on into dinner.

After dinner I headed back to my room to have a well earned early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Corralejo; Friday, 11 March, 2022

I had an early breakfast as I had two tours booked for today, with the first one picking up at 9am. Pickup was on time and a short while later I was filling out the liability insurance forms and health declarations to be allowed to go on an eBike tour to the volcanoes.

The tour lasted nearly 4.5 hours from when we set off and headed out into the volcanic landscape to the south of the town. The first stop was at a small volcano a mile or so out of town where the sides have warn down and you can walk into the crater itself. We stopped here for a few minutes before moving onto the uphill parts of the tour.

The advantage of the eBikes are that they do help take quite a bit of the work out of the hill, but they don’t do all the work and by the time we arrived at the second stop, after a couple of still climbs, everyone was looking a little out of breath – so it didn’t help that at this point we had to go on a 15 minute walk to another volcano, this time the last 5 minutes being a very steep climb up the side of it to reach a viewing platform on the rim on the caldera.

From here the views were spectacular across the north part of the island from East to West coast and across the sea to the southern part of Lanzarote.

After the second volcano stop the path was mostly downhill as we made our way to a refreshment stop in the town of Lajares which was very welcome, before a 25 minute cycle downhill to the coast and the picturesque popcorn beach, so named due to the small fragments of coral that wash up on the beach that do look just like popcorn.

From the beach stop it was a gentle cycle back to the centre of town and the end of the tour, where we were shuttled back to our hotels. I took advantage of a 90 minute gap before my next tour pickup to have a shower and change my t-shirt to a slightly less sweaty one.

The second tour of the day turned out to be with exactly the same company so at least I knew which minibus to be looking out for. My second tour was a Segway tour of the town, my first experience of using a Segway and it would turn out likely to be my last.

Before the tour started we had a quick lesson in control the device and then we set off into town. For the first 30 minutes or so everything was going well, but then I managed to hit a pothole and ended up on my side with the Segway on top of me and a very impressive gouge down the side of my leg. Patched up we headed on to continue to tour taking in the main promenade, and then riding out across the sands to the other side of the natural harbour before making our way back to the end point.

A few hundred yards before the end point we went over some very rough terrain and this time I fell backwards off of the Segway, adding some cuts to my shoulder to go with the injuries to my leg. I decided at that point that perhaps Segway wasn’t for me and I very slowly nursed the death trap machine back to the end point.

Tour over I headed back to the hotel to have a stiff drink and clean myself up, again, and then stayed in the hotel complex before it was time for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Corralejo; Saturday, 12 March, 2022

I had to be up and at breakfast for when it opened as I had an 8am pickup for a jeep safari to the south of the island, so after a quickly eaten breakfast I was standing outside the hotel just before 8 where I proceeded to wait for over 45 minutes waiting for the tour pickup. I tried WhatsApping the booking agent but didn’t hear anything back from anyone. Eventually I just gave up and instead decided to put together my own ad-hoc tour to the south using the local buses.

I walked down to the harbour and picked up the number 6 bus which runs from Corralejo down to the islands capital in Puerto de Rosario, after picking up through Corralejo the bus heads out through the dunes that form a national park to the south of the town, and it was a very impressive start to my impromptu tour with the almost Saharan landscape disappearing over the horizon complete with some pretty large sand dunes.

The bus terminated at the bus station in Puerto de Rosario where I was then able to change onto the number 1 bus to continue my journey South to the southern town of Morro Jable. It was whilst on this bus that I finally got a response back from the booking agents apologising for the mix-up with the pickup never having been booked in.

In the end I probably got to see more of the island by taking the local bus than if I’d been on the jeep safari as that would have shot straight down the main highway that runs close to the coast and gets you down to the southern tip of the island in less than an hour. Instead the local bus headed down through the centre of the island, taking in the stunning views of the changing landscape from the volcanic mounds of the north and centre before the island gave way to sandier and less rugged terrain.

The bus took over 2 hours, but we eventually arrived in Morro Jable where I hopped off and went for a wander around the town. The town itself is set on a long sandy beach that curves round the coastline that marks the southern most point of the island. The town has several viewing platforms from where you can take in the best views of the landscape.

I stopped off for a quick ice cream in a seaside kiosk before it was time to start the return journey. The only downside with using the local services was that it had taken over 3 hours to get down here, and I needed to head back after an hour if I was to get back to the hotel in time for dinner.

I took the buses back the same way I came down, but with the views from out the opposite side on the way back which were equally impressive but also different – almost as though the road the bus was travelling on formed some sort of boundary between different landscapes in the country.

I was able to hop off the number 6 at the bottom of town and wander back down the main drag to my hotel, rather than heading all the way back to the bus station or port. As it was such a pleasant day, and I still had a little bit of time before dinner, I decided to get changed into some swimming shorts and headed down to the beach for a little paddle. Unfortunately I’d timed it right with low tide, so only my ankles got wet, but that was enough to tell me that the water was a little too much on the chilly side to want to go any further.

After a quick paddle I headed back to the hotel to remove the vast amount of sand that had attracted itself to my body in such a short period of time, and then head down for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Corralejo; Sunday, 13 March, 2022

If the tour the previous day had been an example of how not to organise things then my booked tour for today, to Lobos island a nature reserve just off the coast of Corralejo, was a model in how to do things right. A few days beforehand the tour company had warned me that the chance of the tour taking place was only 50/50 due to the expected sea conditions and that they would be in contact with me early on Sunday to let me know, so I wasn’t surprised when I woke up to find a message on my phone from the company telling me the tour was off and a refund was on it’s way, giving me enough time to replan my day.

After breakfast I headed over to the bus station to pick up another of the local buses, this time heading to the West Coast town of El Cotello. I’d had a quick look on the map and it had the advantage of being a relatively short and direct bus ride away – with the added advantage of the buses being hourly even on a Sunday.

Again it was another pretty ride through the landscape of Fuerteventura, with the bus making a very wide loop south to serve the town of La Oliva, meaning the bus took nearly 40 minutes where as the direct route would have been less than 25 – but it did take you into the landscape behind the volcanoes and past some very pretty traditional windmills.

Arriving in El Cotillo I went for a wander and found myself quickly down at the beach where the increasing wind was causing some pretty big waves to break along the coastline, it was pretty impressive to watch as I wandered along the beach, a safe distance back from the water line.

My wander along the beach took me back into the centre of the town and from here I had a wander around the pretty town centre before heading up onto a view point on the cliffs overlooking the coastline both North and South and down into the little bay that the town is built around.

A short walk from the viewpoint is a small fort that looks like it was a museums, but has been closed for some time with a faded sign implying that it closed when Covid first hit the islands and hasn’t reopened since. Next door to the fort is one of a series of whale skeletons that are dotted around the coastline of the island to promote biodiversity and ecology.

By now I had pretty much exhausted all the town had for me, so I headed back to the bus station and caught the bus back into Corralejo and walked back to the hotel. With little more to do I decided I might as well break the habits of a lifetime and actually spend a couple of hours just sitting by and having a swim in the hotel pool, which may or may not have included a couple of drinks from the bar.

As I had an early start the following morning I headed back to my room to shower from the pool and then start packing so that I could make a quick getaway. As the sun started to set I quickly popped down to the beach to get some views of the town in the dark and then headed back to the hotel for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Corralejo; Monday, 14 March, 2022

Another early start and down by the doors of the restaurant before they had even opened so I could have a quick breakfast, go back to my room, grab my bags and checkout.

I timed it just right as I completed check out just as my transfer to the airport was arriving, a few minutes early. As we had a few spare minutes the driver asked if I’d like to go the scenic way through the dunes again, rather than bombing down the motorway as it would only add a couple of minutes to the journey time and I had plenty, so we once again headed down through the dunes to Puerto de Rosario and then on round to the islands airport a little way south.

In the original planning for this trip my flight from Fuerteventura had been early afternoon with a connection of just over 2 hours in Madrid. Unfortunately, relatively early on, the flight from Fuerteventura to Madrid had moved back to 11am, but the connecting flight hadn’t changed, so I was looking at a long afternoon in the lounge in Madrid.

I checked in and, despite having already uploaded them to my booking, the checkin agents asked to see my PLF and covid vaccine certificates again, so I had present those before I was handed my two boarding cards and sent through into departures.

At one point it looked like the flight might end up getting delayed by a bit, which I was a little bit hopeful for, and we were a good 10 minutes late pushing back, but a tail wind and good routing meant that we actually landed in Madrid 10 minutes ahead of schedule, adding yet more waiting time to my afternoon.

Thankfully I was able to take advantage of the lounge at Madrid airport so I could get some work done whilst spending the afternoon snacking for free, before eventually heading down to my gate about 15 minutes before departure, only to be called up again to present my PLF and Covid Vaccine certificate as they didn’t have them in their system!

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Toulouse; Friday, 25 March, 2022

I’d stayed overnight near the airport as the flight was very early in the morning, even so it was still an horrifically early time when my alarm went off and I headed over to the airport.

I had a smooth journey through the airport, onto the flight and across to Toulouse, with the flight landing over 30 minutes early. I managed to grab a tram into town with a few seconds to spare and was at the hotel only a little after 11am. They very kindly let me checkin exceptionally early so I was able to drop my stuff off in the room and head out into the Toulouse afternoon to explore.

I had originally had a bus tour of the city booked for 3pm, but I’d been emailed the day before to be told that due to a demonstration planned for the city they would have to move me to the 1pm tour. I’d been a bit nervous about that move as a delay on the flight could have caused problems, but in the end it turned out to be perfectly fine.

The tour, wandered round most of the main sites of the city so I was able to work out where things were that I wanted to see. The tour dropped me back off close to the hotel and the centre of the city so I was then able to go for a wander through the mostly pedestrianised heart of the city centre.

After a bit of wandering I ended up at the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, an peculiar building that has taken shape over several centuries and architectural styles with it’s final design being a bit of a mishmash of all of them.

From the cathedral I continued on wandering, past the monument to the unknown soldier, looking just like a mini Arc de Triomph, and onto the Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse. This Basilica is a very distinctive building on the city skyline with it’s multi-tiered tower looking like a gigantic wedding cake.

Having taken in the Basilica I headed back in the direction of the hotel so that I could freshen up before heading back into town a little later for dinner.

After dinner I headed back to the hotel for a well earned early night, needed as it was due to be an early start the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Toulouse; Saturday, 26 March, 2022

I had to be up and out of the hotel early to get the tram out into the town of Blagnac, north of Toulouse and home to not just it’s airport, but also one of the main hubs of aviation on the planet. This is the location where aviation first started in France and today it’s also the headquarters for Airbus as well as being home to the final assembly line for a number of their planes.

A lot of the history of flight and the importance of Toulouse is told in the Aeroscopia museum, but the museum also has occasional tours that you can book on, and so it was that before 9am I was outside the museum waiting for the tour guide to collect us for a tour round the Airbus plant.

The two hour tour starts by heading over to the paint shop for the A330, before going for a quick hunt around the vast complex in search of some of the Beluga and Beluga XL planes, used by Airbus to help ferry components such as wings and chunks of fuselage around between their various manufacturing sites across France, Germany, Spain and The UK. From there it was a drive over to the Final Assembly Line for the A350 where we were able to get out of the bus and climb up to a viewing platform at tail fin hight to look over the factory floor. It being a Saturday it was relatively quiet, but it was still amazing to see the scale and size of the operation, with this mammoth building housing just three planes being worked on at the time of visiting.

After taking in the A350 FAL we headed back onto the bus to go out to the Delivery Acceptance area, this is the place where the airlines come with their credit cards to pick up the keys to their new planes and part with the final payment on them. From there the bus returned back to the museum, via the end of Toulouse’s super long runway – built so that all new planes can be tested to see that they can reject a take-off if needed – and back to the museum for a tour inside the A400M military aircraft that is normally only visible from the outside.

After the Airbus tour there was time to head into the museum and have a look around the exhibits inside and parked out on their show lot. The museum houses a number of the test planes that were used to prove the design with the test Concorde and test A300 located inside the museum, and the gargantuan A380 test aircraft parked up outside. In all cases you can climb on board and see how the planes look – complete with the cockpits, test equipment and even parts of the interior exposed to show how the planes are put together.

Having spent quite a bit of time out at the museum I caught the tram back into town to the end of the line at the Place of Justice and then walked up to the Muséum de Toulouse, the city’s Natural History and Geology museum. The museum also houses a small botanical gardens which I also took the time to look around.

From the museums I had a wander back across town and down to the Pont Neuf – this is the oldest surviving of the bridges crossing The Garonne in the city and sits close to a bend in the river from where there are stunning views across the buildings lining the banks. I spent quite a bit of time taking in the views before catching the bus back across town to the hotel.

I freshened up in the hotel before heading out for a quick dinner in town and then back to my room and welcoming bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Toulouse; Sunday, 27 March, 2022

I managed to have a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast, so it was already gone 11am by the time I left the hotel and headed over to the Capitol – one of the largest squares in the city, and the starting point for the Petit Train, land train, that runs two different routes round the city centre. I was at the square in time for the Canal tour which was due to leave at 11:30 and only runs a couple of times a day.

The tour focuses on the south and east of the city centre, including the impressive Canal du Midi and the Canal de Brienne, which along with the River Garonne help to create a link from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean right through the heart of Southern France. The tour dropped me back off in the Capitol square, so I grabbed a quick lunch there and then headed back over to the Canal du Midi.

I had a canal tour booked for the afternoon so I headed over to the Canal port in the centre of the city to pick this up. The two hour cruise headed south out of the city centre, over the motorway and started into the countryside around the city before it turned around to make the return journey back into the city.

Tour completed I walked back across town to the Capitol and was in time to pick up the last Petit Train tour of the afternoon, this time the Cathedrals tour that headed towards the North and West of the old town centre.

Back in the Capitol and I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out a little later to go for a wander along the riverside at sunset, ablet to take in some stunning views of the city with the orange glow of the setting sun creating beautiful shadows.

By the time I finished walking I was quite a way from the city centre, but thankfully relatively close to a metro station so I was able to hop on the metro back to Capitol where I stopped for a well deserved dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Toulouse; Monday, 28 March, 2022

As it was a Monday most of the attractions in the city were closed, but what wasn’t were the public gardens.

There are a number of large gardens in the city centre, and three of them form a pleasant arc that you can walk around – connected by link bridges, that mean you never leave the parks or have to cross the road.

The Jardin de Plantes is a pleasant mixed garden with some wide greens, flower beds and a rockery come view point that is surrounded by a small moat. From the far side of the garden a link bridge goes over the traffic of the Grand Rond and into the garden located on the centre.

Building a park on the middle of a large roundabout doesn’t sound like the nicest place to be, but the Grand Rond is enormous and had a line of trees round the edge that help to deaden the sound of the cars and buses racing round outside the park. In the middle the large fountain helps to hide the sound completely and you wouldn’t know that you are sitting in the centre of a giant traffic island.

From the Grand Rond another link bridge crosses back over the road and into the Jardin Royal, a smaller garden that is mostly grass and trees set around a large lake.

Having taken in the gardens I was right by the bus stop for a bus that crosses over the Pont de Catalans just as it was due, so I hopped on the bus and headed across the bridge.

The Pont de Catalans sits a couple of bridges down from the Pont Neuf, but has excellent views back towards the Pont Neuf as well as the weir and the entrance to the Canal de Brienne. On the opposite bank of the river from the main city centre a walkway runs that lets you walk back up the river, over the weir – where you can see and hear the power of the water rushing over it – and back almost to the Pont Neuf.

By now it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and make my way back out to the airport to start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Nuremberg; Thursday, 31 March, 2022

The original plan was to work until the late afternoon and then get a cab over to the airport for my evening flight over to Munich, head into the city centre and stay overnight near the central station, working out of that hotel in the morning before catching the train during my lunch break up to Nuremberg and then working out of the hotel there.

And that plan was working right up until 3pm when I got an email from British Airways instructing me not to go to the airport as my flight had been cancelled, and I’d been rebooked onto a flight to Salzburg the following morning. Not only did that blow out of the water any options for working during the day, it also put me in the wrong country and several hundred miles further from my final destination.

I managed, somehow, to get through quite quickly to an agent on the phone at the BA contact centre to try and salvage my weekend, and through some good fortune of their being a flight on a Friday afternoon, I managed to get myself rebooked onto a direct flight to Nuremberg for the late afternoon.

With that settled I then quickly booked myself into an Airport hotel near Heathrow so that I could work out of there in the morning, pop down to the airport at lunch and then work out of the lounge in the afternoon, and with that confirmed headed out to the hotel.

Weather

No Data Light Sleet
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Nuremberg; Friday, 01 April, 2022

I worked out of the airport hotel until midday and then quickly hopped onto a bus over to Terminal 3 – my flight to Nuremberg leaving from a different terminal to Munich. I then spent most of the afternoon in the lounge finishing off work before logging off for the day and heading down to the gate.

However that wasn’t before getting yet another email from BA telling me that my flight back on Sunday had also been cancelled and I would now be on a flight very early on Monday morning – so I had to spend a few minutes rearranging work for Monday morning, booking a hotel near Munich Airport for the Sunday evening and – to help with work – booking a day room at Heathrow for the Monday.

I had a smooth journey through the airport, followed by a lengthy wait at the gate. Despite flashing up that the flight was boarding when I got to the gate it was to see that the plane had only just landed and disembarkation of the inbound passengers had only just started. It was another 30 minutes before we were able to start boarding and by the time we pushed back the flight was nearly 40 minutes late.

Thankfully it was a smooth journey over to Nuremberg, and a surprisingly quick journey through the airport and onto the U-Bahn into the city centre.

I got off the U-Bahn at the central station and walked the short distance to my hotel to checkin and then decided it was too late to do anything this evening, so I had an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Nuremberg; Saturday, 02 April, 2022

After breakfast in the hotel I headed out into town to explore – getting no further than the opposite side of the road as I came across the open-top sightseeing bus, albeit with the roof very firmly on given it was snowing all day. I took the tour for the full 2 hour circuit around the city and out to the Documentation Centre on the outskirts of town. Back in the city centre I quickly popped back to the hotel to freshen up and then managed to catch the next departure – same physical bus – back round for the city centre tour, hopping off at the Hauptmarkt.

I was just in time in the Hauptmarkt to join the landtrain tour which took in more of the city centre – being able to get into areas that a double deck bus couldn’t reach – so between the two tours I had a good overview of the city.

Back in the Hauptmarkt I had a wander around the small Easter Market that was in place on the square. It wasn’t quite the world famous Christmas Market, which was the original reason for booking the trip back in 2019 to attend the 2020 version – but then Covid got in the way, and the hotel would only allow the booking to be pushed to April 2022.

After looking round the market – and sampling the Nuremberger Bratwurst – I headed inside the Frauenkirche, the large church that dominates the rear of the market square to have a look around inside there, before wandering over to the much larger and more impressive St Sebalds church just slightly up from the market place.

I then went for a long wander through the narrow streets and lanes of the city centre, taking in many of the sights of the compact city centre that still sits within it’s medieval city walls. I eventually found my way down to the southern end of the city centre, and just beyond the city walls the DB Museum and Museum of Communication. The first ever commercial passenger railway service in what is today Germany (though at the time it was still the Kingdom of Bavaria) ran in 1835 from Nuremberg to Fürth, with the engine powering the service being designed and built by George and Robert Stephenson in Newcastle upon Tyne. So it makes sense for one of the main railway museums in the country to be in the birthplace of German Rail.

After taking in both museums I headed back to the hotel to drop some stuff off before heading out for dinner and then making my way up to the castle once sun had set to take in some views over the city at night.

With a suitably large number of photos taken I headed back down to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Light Snow Light Snow
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
2ºC/36ºF

Nuremberg; Sunday, 03 April, 2022

I had a quick breakfast and checked out of the hotel, dropped my bags off in the left luggage lockers at the station and then headed back up to the castle to take in the views on a crisp and clear morning.

After having a wander around the castle complex I headed back down into town and caught the U-Bahn out a couple of stops to the city’s court complex.

The Palace of Justice is still the main set of courts for this part of the country, though it’s most famous for being the location of the Nuremberg War Trials, where surviving senior members of the Nazi party were held to account for the war crimes and atrocities that had been carried out during the course of the war. The trials took place in court 600 which had only ceased to be an active courtroom a few days prior to my visit. I managed to visit in a small window of time when there was full access to the courtroom before repair and restoration work was due to start to return the court to it’s layout during the war crimes trials.

Above the court room there is an extensive and interesting exhibition on the trials held here and those subsequently held in The Hague as well as the development of the International Criminal Court that now carries on the work that was originally started by the War Crimes Trials here.

By the time I’d finished looking round the exhibit it was getting close to the time of my train back to Munich so I caught the U-Bahn back into the centre of town, picked up my luggage and caught my ICE train south.

From Munich central station I caught the S-Bahn out to the airport, getting off at the visitor centres station as my hotel was located close by.

It was still a good 10 minutes’ walk from the station, which I found out was needless as there was a regular bus from the terminal directly to the airport – on the plus side that did mean an extra 15 minutes in bed in the morning as I could catch that rather than staggering back to the station for one of the first trains of the day.

After checking in I headed up to my room and dropped my stuff off before wandering back down to the hotel restaurant to have a decent dinner on British Airways expense, I then headed back to my room and turned in for an early night given I had to set my alarm for 04:45

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Nuremberg; Monday, 04 April, 2022

My alarm woke me up as planned and after a quick shower and checkout I was at the bus stop with a couple of minutes to spare. There were a surprising number of people catching the same bus, which I suppose shouldn’t have been surprising as they were all also people who had been booked on the Sunday night flight back to London.

Almost in unison as a group we got off the bus and immediately created a queue at the BA checkin desk in the terminal.

Despite Munich being a major international hub at 5:30am on a Monday morning the airport was deserted, so it was quite quick through security and down into the departures lounge to be greeted with just one open café – the rest of the terminal still shuttered.

Boarding started a little after 06:30 and by 7am we were all on-board, closed up and headed off for the plane to get a hot shower in de-icing fluid before heading for the skies and eventually making it back to London.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Davos; Tuesday, 12 April, 2022

With the number of cancellations that BA had been announcing over the previous couple of weeks, not least of all my own experience only a couple of weeks earlier heading to Nuremberg I was a little apprehensive all afternoon that a text would arrive telling me my flight was off, but as my minicab arrived to take me to Heathrow I still hadn’t heard anything, so I hoped things would be OK.

It turned out that everything was OK – a quick check would show that flights to Zurich were very low down the cancellation list, almost as though it’s a really profitable route for them…

It was a smooth journey through the airport and onto the flight and at the other end. To the point that due to an early arrival and a quick baggage reclaim I was already on a tram to the hotel at the same time as I was originally due to land.

I checked into my hotel for the night and then went straight to bed as it was already almost midnight in Switzerland.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Davos; Wednesday, 13 April, 2022

After a reasonable lie-in and a quick breakfast in the hotel I headed out to the tram stop and caught the tram into the centre of Zurich, where I changed onto the train down to Landquart. In Landquart I changed onto the first of many trains from the Rhaetian Railway that I would be riding over the next few days.

During the worst days of lockdown, with the thought of ever being able to travel again a distant prospect, I’d been able to sate my wanderlust by watching videos of journeys on YouTube, and one set that I found particularly enthralling were those posted by train drivers working for this railway. Simple concept, place a camera in the cab of your train and record the journey. In a lot of places that would result in a relatively dull video, but when your railway includes large sections that are UNESCO inscribed then it becomes a different matter, and it was these rails that I was going to ride over the next few days.

The journey today was the relatively straightforward journey from Landquart to my base for the next couple of days in Davos. Within a couple of minutes of leaving Landquart we were already barrelling at full speed towards a wall of rock punctured only by the gorge of the Landquart river and hidden behind it a valley housing some of the most exclusive ski resorts in Switzerland, including Klosters.

After puncturing the wall of rock via a tunnel the train rapidly climbed up the valley with breath-taking view after breath-taking view being the order of the day. For the run up to Klosters the line was steep, but only snaked its way up the valley. From Klosters the route took a much more active approach to climbing the mountain pass over to Davos with the line climbing up the side of the mountain through a series of switch-backs with each pass showing more of the valley below, and the route already taken.

A little over an hour after leaving Landquart we arrived on the valley floor of the Landwasser river and rolled into Davos. I hopped off the train and straight onto the bus to go a couple of stops down to my hotel to check-in.

After dropping off my luggage in my room I headed out of the hotel into town and back down to the other side of the station to pick up the Jakobshornbahn, the cable car that runs up the side of the mountain opposite the town.

The cable car operates in two stages, the first and biggest – with accommodation for nearly 100 people heads up from Davos to ski resort at Ischalp where a smaller cable car completes the journey up to the peak of Jakobshorn. I had a bit of a wander around up here, but I only had a limited time as all the cable-cars and funiculars in town close down from 16:00 so I pretty quickly had to start the journey back down the mountain to avoid getting stranded.

Back in town I quickly grabbed some dinner from the Coop supermarket (restaurant prices in Davos were eye wateringly expensive) in town and headed back to the hotel to have a picnic dinner on my balcony overlooking the mountains.

Dinner completed I headed back to the station and caught the train back down the mountain to Klosters and spent some time wondering around that town before heading back to Davos and to bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Davos; Thursday, 14 April, 2022

I had an early start as I wanted to get quite a bit packed in today, so I was down in breakfast not long after it opened, and out of the hotel just after 8. I caught the bus down to Davos Platz station and picked up the train from there over to Filisur.

Filisur is the junction between the line from Davos and the Albula Line, one of the two UNESCO listed lines of the Rhaetian Railway, running from Thusis further down the valley to St. Moritz, my first stop destination of the day. Along the way the line twists and turns up through the mountains, including several points beyond Filisur where it spirals up the mountain side inside of tunnels and on tight switchbacks with the line both ahead and behind the train being visible. The line then reaches it’s maximum height in the middle of the 6Km long Albula tunnel which punches through the mountain range dropping the line out into the Beverin and then Inn Valleys before finally arriving at St. Moritz.

I had about 40 minutes connection time at St. Moritz, so I had a quick look around the station and the views from there over the lake towards St. Moritz Bad, as well as up towards the upper town of St. Mortiz Dorf before it was time to board the second train of the day.

Train two was along the full length of the second UNESCO listed line of the railway. This one follows the course of the Bernina Pass up through the alps with a gradual rise up from St. Moritz before a spectacular descent down from the mountains on the other side, once again the railway line zigzagging down the side of the mountain of a series of switchbacks before reaching a plateau and mountain lake. From there the line continues on down the mountain until it reaches the town of Brusio, where, to deal with an almost impossible gradient otherwise, the line loops through a spiral out in the open with the line dropping down underneath itself in a very compact space, and one of the highlights of not just this line, but all of the railways in Switzerland.

After going round the spiral the line continues to descend before crossing the border into Italy and reaching it’s final destination in the border town of Tirano.

I had about 2 hours to kill in Tirano and as it was 1pm when I arrived it made sense to stop for a very pleasant lunch in the square overlooking the two stations (one for the Rhaetian Railway and one for the Italian Railway) before having a quick look around town and returning to the station to make the journey back.

Back in St. Moritz I left the station and wandered up into the upper town – helped by the multiple escalators that rise up inside the hill that the upper town sits on, meaning you get to the top for almost no effort. Having taken in the upper town I picked up a local bus and headed down to the Spa part of the town in St. Moritz Bad, at the top end of the lake of the same name to have a quick look round there, before walking the mile or so back to the station along the lakeside

Back at the station I grabbed some items for a picnic dinner on the train and then headed over to the train to take me back up through the Albula Tunnel, onto Filisur and then with a quick connection onto Davos.

I made it back to Filisur just as the sun was setting, and by the time I was back in Davos it was already dark, so I hopped on a bus back to the hotel and headed back to my room for a well-earned early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Davos; Friday, 15 April, 2022

It was up early again and back down to Davos Platz station to catch the train, although this morning it was in the opposite direction to Klosters and onto Landquart. Bizarrely on the way down into Klosters, as the train zigzagged down the mountain I had a good view of the train ahead of us, which was ultimately my connection in Landquart.

From Landquart I changed onto the train I’d seen earlier which carries onto Chur where it waited for about 20 minutes before continuing on, which meant I had time to quickly hop off at Chur and grab some water and snacks for the journey – though this being Switzerland that turned out to require a small mortgage. From Chur the train heads off following the Rhein River, though for the first part of the journey this is hidden behind industry. At Reichenau-Tamins, about 15 minutes on from Chur the River become visible at effectively it’s source. Just beyond the station the Hinterrhein and Vorderrhein merge to become the Rhein proper and as the train leaves the station it crosses over a bridge that spans the confluence.

The train then continued following the Vorderrhein up through valleys and gorges, before climbing up into the hills overlooking it and eventually arriving into the town of Disentis/Mustér – double named as this area is in the heart of the Romansch speaking part of Switzerland, Disentis is the German name for the town whilst Mustér is the Romansch version. The town is most famous for it’s large Abbey that stands overlooking the town, and has quite the influence on the place. Which of course meant that on Good Friday there was nothing open in the town. I’d originally planned on spending a bit of time here and grabbing lunch, but it was clear that wouldn’t be an options so instead after about 20 minutes looking around I headed straight back to the station and got back on the same train to trace my tracks back to Chur.

In Chur I changed onto a slightly different line. The Chur – Arosa line starts from street level outside of the station and for the first couple of kilometres runs as a tram through the town centre, before heading off up into the mountains. After leaving town the line climbs quickly up through a couple of stops before reaching the small settlement of Langwies where it crosses the valley over the stunning Langwieser Viaduct. A short while later the train stops at Litzirüti where it crosses the train coming down in the opposite direction, which you can watch slowly weaving its way down the multiple switchbacks as the line descends the mountain just outside the station. From Litzirüti the line continues on up to Arosa.

The town in a pleasant ski resort set around a small lake and surrounded by higher peaks. I looked at taking the cable-car up to one of the higher peaks, but the timing would have been similar to my trip up the Jakobshorn in Davos a couple of days earlier and it felt like a bit of a waste of quite a bit of money to go up only to have to come straight back down again, so instead I had a bit of a wander around town before catching the train back down to Chur.

Chur itself is reckoned to be one of, if no the oldest settlements in Switzerland. I spent quite some time wandering around the city centre taking in the stunning churches and the castle before heading back down to the station to catch the train back up into the mountains.

From Chur I caught the Albula line train, though from Chur until Thusis it isn’t actually the Albula line, just linking railways. Up until Thusis the line is pretty standard as it snakes its way up the valley of the Hinterrhein, but at Thusis it crosses the Hinterrhein and the Albula which merge in town and starts to climb up towards the peaks.

Just before it reaches Filisur it crosses one of the most stunning viaducts on the network – the Landwasser Viaduct which gently curves high over the Landwasser river as it merges with the Albula and then immediately plunges into a short tunnel before arriving into Filisur station.

At Filisur there was a quick cross platform connection to the train back to Davos, an hour earlier than the previous evening so I was able to admire much of the line in daylight, deciding to hop off at Davos Glaris station and catch the connecting bus that runs parallel to the railway into Davos and then, very conveniently, onto the stop right outside my hotel.

Back at the hotel I had a quick drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Davos; Saturday, 16 April, 2022

My final day in Davos and I had a slightly later start than the previous days so I could have a bit of a lie in, a later breakfast and then an unhurried checkout from the hotel. I left my luggage with reception and headed on down to Davos Platz station. From there I caught the train back to Filisur, though now with the knowledge of where to look I was able to take photos of both the Wiesen viaduct on this line as well as a distant photo of the Landwasser Viaduct.

From Filisur I headed back up into the mountains on the Albula Line, though I only went one stop to the town of Bergün where I hopped off the train to visit the Bahnmuseum Albula which is based in a building next to the railway. The museum tells the history of all of the lines that form the modern-day Rhaetian Railways, including another line that has long since closed. The museum showed how the railways were built – through some very difficult terrain, making use of stunning tunnels and viaducts to link mountain communities together and help create the whole concept of Alpine tourism. The museum also shows how by 1914 the railway was running an electric service all year round up and over the 2250m Bernina Pass, despite all the snow and complications. Just a shame that over 100 years later the UK rail network is still brought to its knees by a single snowflake.

After taking in the museum I headed back to the station and continued on my journey back up through the Albula Tunnel and onto Samedan on the other side of the mountains. My original plan had been to hang around here for my connection for about 40 minutes, but it didn’t look like there was much to see, and the train that was to form my connection was already on the station heading a couple of stops away to Pontresina where it would turn round and come back, so I decided to hop on that for the journey to Pontresina and ensure I had a good seat for the journey on the penultimate leg of my exploration of the Rhaetian Railway.

After heading out to Pontresina and back to Samedan the railway continues on down to Bever where it diverges from the Albula line and continues to follow the course of the Inn river down it’s valley, through wide flood plains and deep gorges to the towns of Scuol and Tarasp which share a station. The final section of the line being particularly impressive as a wall of continuous peaks lines the opposite bank of the river, broken only by the impressive site of Tarasp Castle perched high on a rocky outcrop.

Arriving into Scuol the first thing I was greeted by was the Pendicularas, a gondola cable car that heads up high into the mountains. So I naturally brought a ticket and headed on up. At the top you are greeted with the breath-taking view of the valley and an almost uncountable number of peaks stretching off as far as the eye can see. Also at the top you are greeted by a very pleasant bar with an outdoor terrace, which would have been rude to ignore.

After a very nice local beer up above the snowline I headed back to the cable car and descended back down to Scuol to take the last new bit of railway back to Klosters. Whilst the bulk of the network was in place by the early 20th century this particular line only opened in 1999 when the 19Km long Vereina tunnel was opened linking the Bever to Scuol line with the Landquart to Davos line at Klosters.

The tunnel is impressive for it’s length, straight through a massive mountain range, but also because alongside the passenger trains regular car trains run through the tunnel cutting nearly 100Km off of a trip round the mountains and providing a vital link between the Inn and Landquart valleys.

Back in Klosters it was a quick change of train and then back up the hill to Davos where I zipped back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage and then headed back to the station to catch the train back down to Landquart and then onto Zurich for the next leg of my journey.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Zurich; Saturday, 16 April, 2022

By the time my train arrived into Zurich Hauptbahnhof from Landquart the sun was already starting to set, so I grabbed some items from a supermarket in the station building and then headed over to my hotel to checkin and have a picnic dinner.

After dinner I popped down to the bar for a quick drink and then headed back to my room to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Zurich; Sunday, 17 April, 2022

I had a bit of a lie-in, which turned out to be a mistake as the queue for food at breakfast was a bit of a scrum by the time I got down, and it took quite a bit of hunting to find a table that was available.

From the hotel I wandered down into town and over to the Landesmuseum, not to visit the museum but to pick up the river bus service that leaves from the quay just outside the museum. The ferry runs down the River Limmat through the heart of downtown Zurich and out into the top end of Lake Zurich before returning to the Landesmuseum, providing a good hour long water tour of the city for the price of the public transport day ticket.

After completing the river tour I headed a bit further away from the city centre and took the Dolderbahn, a cogwheel railway, up the side of one of the city centres bigger hills to take in the views. From the top of the Dolder there is a pleasant 25 minute walk up and onto the ridge to a wooden lookout tower that has views out over Lake Zurich and the Eastern side of the city.

Rather than heading back on myself I continued on down the other side of the hill to pick up the bus – in this case the bizarre double articulated trolley bus – back into the centre of town where I changed onto the S-Bahn service out to Uetliberg, the city’s mountain.

From Uetliberg, running along the ridge of the hills that look down on the Western side of Lake Zurich there is a pleasant walk to the TV transmitter and Cable Car at Felsenegg, where you can catch the cable car back down to Aldiswil and the train back into Zurich.

By a weird coincidence the distance from close to the S-Bahn station at Uetliberg to close to the cable car station at Felsenegg is exactly 1 billionth of the distance across the solar system from the centre of the sun to the median point on Pluto’s orbit. Consequently the Planetweg or Planet Way has been built which takes the 1 billionth scale and runs with it. A scale model of the sun starts the walk and within the first few hundred meters you’ve already passed Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars (as well as controversially the dwarf planet Ceres), before the distances start to stretch out. The walk takes you along the ridge passing Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and then the innermost pass of Pluto before reaching Neptune and then the median pass of Pluto close to the cable car station.

Stopping to take in the views along the way, and to read the information at each of the planets took just over 2 hours, which is about the same time as the Tourist Board says it will take on their website (and not the 1 hour 20 minutes that Google claim it takes to walk). You can extend the walk another couple of kilometres beyond the Felsenegg cable car to the furthest pass of Pluto from the Sun, but from there it’s either back tracking to the cable car, or a 50 minute hike down the hill to the station in Sihlau. I decided to stop at the cable car and took that back down the hill and picked up the train in Aldiswil back into Zurich.

Back in Zurich I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then quickly grabbed dinner in a cheapish fast-food restaurant in the arcade below the Hauptbahnhof before returning to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Zurich; Monday, 18 April, 2022

Although it was also a public holiday in Switzerland far fewer people appeared to have stayed the previous night at the hotel, so Breakfast was less of a scrum than it had been the previous morning.

After breakfast and checking out I headed out to the Hauptbahnhof and caught a train down the lake to the town of Rapperswil.

Located at the bottom of the lake, where a bridge separates the Zürichsee from the Obersee, Rapperswil is a pleasant town with an interesting looking castle perched on a low hill above the harbour, but I didn’t have time to visit today as I needed to get to the harbour to pick up the boat.

Rapperswil is also the end point of the hourly ferry service that runs down the length of Lake Zurich from the centre of Zurich. Making several stops along the way at various lakeside towns in a two hour journey.

I arrived at the quay just in time as shortly after I arrived a large number of people turned up also for the service and if I’d been behind them I wouldn’t have got as good a seat as I did right at the front of the boat where I was able to get some amazing views as we slowly sailed up the lake.

Just over two hours later we finally pulled into the quay at the top of the lake in central Zurich. From there I had a bit of a wander around the city centre before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab m luggage and make my way to the airport and my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Seattle; Wednesday, 27 April, 2022

I’d travelled to an airport hotel the previous evening, in part so that I could get the mandatory Covid test done and the rest of the paperwork filed to be able to checkin early, and partly so I could work out of the hotel in the morning and only have to take a half days leave.

With work finished, my laptop powered down, and officially on leave, I checked out of the hotel and headed over to Terminal 5 to complete checkin by dropping off my bags and head through to the lounge for a couple of hours before the flight.

The flight pushed back on time, just after 15:30 and with a quick taxi we were airborne only a few minutes later, which marked the start of the long, long afternoon. The flight was due to be 9 and a half hours long – though a helpful tail breeze meant that we only took 9 hours, but with an 8-hour time difference it was 16:50 when we landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, even though my body knew it was already gone midnight.

I’ve found entry into the US to be a hit and miss affair, some times you wait in line for nearly 2 hours to clear immigration, other times – like tonight – you’re through immigration and standing at the baggage belt less than 5 minutes after getting off the plane. With the bags coming round only a couple of minutes later I was out of the airport and on a tram into town barely half an hour after landing.

I caught the tram into the centre of Seattle and walked the block or so from the station to my hotel where I checked in and headed up to my room. By now it was still only 18:30 and light for the best part of another 2 hours. I was feeling absolutely shattered, but knew that going to bed now would be a very bad idea.

Thankfully there were things I could do as I had planned out the list of places I wanted to visit and noted which ones required pre-purchased tickets or reserved time slots. Given the potential for it all to go wrong if the Covid test had come back positive the day beforehand I’d not actually made the bookings, so I was able to spend quite a bit of time getting everything booked in and reserved for the following days.

By the time I’d finished that the sun was starting to set, so I spent a little bit of time reading before turning in for the night just after 9pm.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Seattle; Thursday, 28 April, 2022

Considering that, by the time I turned in the previous evening, I’d been on the go for 23 hours and was struggling to keep my eyes open I was confident of getting a long night’s sleep and waking up at a suitable hour.

Which of course meant that I was wide awake and unable to get back to sleep at 4am. Unfortunately, breakfast didn’t start until 6:30, so I spent the intervening time reading in bed before getting up for a shower a little after 6. Of course, having breakfast at 06:30 didn’t really help as none of the attractions I wanted to visit were open until 10am, so there was no real point in leaving the hotel until 9am.

Eventually a reasonable hour to set out came round and I headed over a couple of blocks to the Westlake centre where I picked up the Monorail over to the Space Needle. Both were built for the 1962 Worlds Fair, and 60 years later both are still going strong.

I was still very early at the Space Needle, but it did mean that I was first in the queue to go up so I was able to get straight up the tower without any waits and could get lots of photos taken before the crowds started to build up on the observation platform and the rotating floor below.

Having taken in the Space Needle I descended back to street level and walked the short distance round to the Museum of Popular Culture. The museum was originally dedicated to music – and still has large exhibitions on local bands Pearl Jam and Nirvana as well as exhibitions on Jimmy Hendrix, Hip-Hop and guitars, but they’ve also broadened out their remit to include exhibitions on TV, Film, Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. I spent a good two hours looking round all the different exhibits, after which I was starting to feel the effects of having had breakfast at 6:30.

Close to the museum is the Armory, which has – since the 1962 World’s Fair – been a food court, having previously actually been an Armory, so I headed over there and had a very nice pizza for lunch before heading onto my final stop of the afternoon the Chihuly Garden and Glass attraction, located halfway between the Armory and the Space Needle.

Dale Chihuly is a Tacoma born artist who specialises in glass and the museum has a large collection of his works, which are all pretty spectacular when you remember it’s all made from glass. I had a decent amount of time looking round the exhibition which is split into three sections. The first part is some of the more spectacular and delicate pieces which are housed inside the building. Then there is a small cinema which shows a number of films that explore Dale’s work, before you enter into the Garden where many more examples are on display amongst the plants and trees.

Having taken in pretty much all the sites on the old site of the Worlds Fair I headed back over to the Monorail station and caught it back into town and then headed back to the hotel for a little bit to freshen up and consider if I did need dinner, given that the pizza at lunch had been quite generous.

I decided I didn’t need to have dinner, so I stayed in my room until it was time to head back out again all they way over to the Space Needle. The ticket you get gives you two visits – one during the day and another on the same day, but in the final 3 hours of opening, so you can go up the town and catch sunset and a different view of Seattle in the same day, and that was my plan for the evening.

I headed out of the hotel just before 7 and caught the monorail back over to the Sky Needle. I’d assumed there would be a big queue, but in the end it took less than 5 minutes to be back up on the observation deck, though it was clear that the weather had decided that a sunset was not going to be offered, with heavy clouds filling much of the sky, still I stayed up at the top – and had a drink at the bar – whilst the light faded and the lights of the city switched on. As the last Monorail was at 9pm I didn’t stay that late as I didn’t really fancy a long walk back to the hotel, so shortly before 20:30 I headed back down to ground level and made my way back to the hotel and, hopefully, a better nights sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Seattle; Friday, 29 April, 2022

I woke up at 06:30, which wasn’t bad considering that would be about the normal time for a Friday, and I did feel a lot more refreshed than I had done the previous day. Though this did mean that by the time I got down for breakfast it was considerably busier than it had been on Thursday and it took quite a bit of time to get seated, get my order taken and delivered and then get the check. By the time I finished breakfast it was almost 8:30

Not that that really mattered as I’d had a relatively late start to the day planned with the first booked attraction being a boat tour in the early afternoon, so I had a relaxed start to the day with some coffee in my room before heading out to wander down to the waterfront mid-morning.

Pier 58 is historically the location where the steamship Portland arrived from Alaska with a ton of Gold, kicking off the Klondike Gold Rush. Pier 58 was demolished in 2020 (in fact a part of it collapsed into the bay during demolition due to the poor condition it was in), and isn’t due to be rebuilt until 2024, so at present is an empty space. But not to worry as the neighbouring Pier 57 had long been jumping on the bandwagon as an attraction called Miners Landing, housing a number of themed rides and attractions. The most visible is the Great Seattle Wheel, but for the morning I’d decided to pay a visit to a different attraction – Wings over Washington.

The attraction bills itself as a 5D experience, which suggests a slight misunderstanding of Physics and space, but in effect it’s an Imax style cinema where you sit is simulator style seats that move whilst jets of air or mists of water are directed at you during relevant parts of the film. The film itself is a promotion of the natural highlights of the State, so you do at least get to see more of the State.

After taking in Wings over Washington I walked the short distance along the waterfront to Pier 54 where I checked in for the first of two cruises of the day. This cruise was a 2-hour tour up through the Bay and then down the Lake Washington Ship Canal, through the lock gates that divide the Salty Sea of Puget Sound from the Fresh Water of Lake Washington and into Lake Union. The cruise almost completes a full circuit, but the final mile or so is blocked by land so at the end of the tour in Lake Union you have to get your own transport back into the city centre.

From Lake Union the bus should run every 15 minutes back into the centre of town, which would then only be a couple of minutes walk back down to the waterfront, and I made it to the bus stop with a good couple of minutes to spare, until I checked on the transit company app only to find that the bus had gone through 11 minutes early, and the next one was running several minutes late. Rather than a very long wait, and possibly being late for the next cruise I instead grabbed an Uber and made it back to the Waterfront.

The harbour cruise I’d booked left from the neighbouring pier – 55 – from the one I’d left three hours earlier. This cruise did a circuit around Elliott Bay, so I only had a small amount of repetition before we turned and headed south down the Bay. I clearly had my timing perfect as the weather was spectacularly clear and we were able to get really good views of Mount Rainier in the distance.

With the second cruise completed, I rounded off the afternoon by popping back to Miners Landing and taking a spin on The Seattle Great Wheel – a 175 foot high Ferris wheel that sits on the end of the pier.

After taking in the views from the wheel I wandered a bit further along the waterfront, mostly so that I could be lazy and pick up a bus that was going back up the hill to the hotel rather than having to hike up the pretty steep hill from the Waterfront to pretty much the highest point in the centre of town where the hotel was.

I popped back into the hotel to freshen up before heading out into town in search of dinner, conscious that I’d completely forgotten to stop for lunch at any point and I was now quite hungry. After a very pleasant dinner I headed back to the hotel, had a quick drink in the bar and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Seattle; Saturday, 30 April, 2022

As it was the weekend the hotel wasn’t serving Breakfast, instead it was serving Brunch which appeared to be exactly the same menu, just everything about $2 more expensive. I opted for a lighter breakfast (mostly to save some money) which was at least served more quickly than the previous day.

After expensive breakfast I headed out of the hotel and back down to the waterside to visit the Aquarium, located in pier 59. The aquarium’s primary function is as a research facility, in particular looking at the species in the Puget Sound and how they are fairing, the side effect of that is they have a number of species that are on display to the public – including a Giant Pacific Octopus. The aquarium capture a new octopus about every 6 months to study before releasing it back into the wild and capturing another one.

Alongside the fish and octopus the aquarium is also home to a couple of sea otters, river otters, Northern Fur Seals and Harbour Seals which are all on display in larger tanks outside of the main building. The seals and otters were particularly active when I visited and I spent quite a bit of time watching them swimming around their tanks.

From the Aquarium it was about a 15 minute walk along the waterside down to Pioneer Square, the centre of the old part of Seattle. Today this is a largely brick built neighbourhood, that sprung up following the great fire of 1889 when 32 blocks of the formerly wooden city were lost to a fire that started in a hot glue pot in a carpenters. Given the state of the city at the time, and the fact that nobody lost their life in the fire, the residents were quite happy with this turn of events as it meant they could rebuild what had been a bit of a squalid dump into a much nicer brick built city.

With the need to avoid some of the problems that had been caused in the previous settlement from it effectively being built on mud banks at water level the decision was made to build the new city 20 foot higher than the old one, creating a whole underground city beneath the functioning one that was used as a dumping ground and underground world. Since the 1960;s tours have been run that take you down into the underground city and it was onto one of those tours that I’d booked myself.

With the tour complete, and back out blinking into the bright Seattle sunlight I walked the short distance to the bus stop and picked up the bus out to Lake Union and the Museum of History and Industry. The museum charts the history of the city from the first nations peoples who lived here for thousands of years through the arrival of the first white settlers, the industrialisation of the city, the great fire and the modern tech city built around major companies such as Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon.

I could have spent longer looking round the museum, but it was fast approaching their closing time at 5pm so I had to finish off the last couple of sections quite quickly to make sure I saw everything. After leaving the museum I caught the streetcar back to Westlake in the city centre and then took a bus up the (very) steep hill of Queen Annes to Kerry Park.

The park is also known as Postcard Park as the view from here is the one that adorns most postcards of the city, with the Space Needle directly in front of the skyscrapers of downtown. The only thing that was missing from my view from a full picture postcard was the lack of Mount Rainier which had disappeared into the mists and clouds in the middle distance, but I still got an amazing view across the city and Elliott Bay.

From the park I caught the bus back down the hill into the city centre and stopped off at a restaurant there for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Slight Showers Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Seattle; Sunday, 01 May, 2022

After another expensive breakfast I headed out of the hotel and walked down to pick up the Monorail out to the Space Needle. I wasn’t making a repeat visit, but instead I headed down to the road below the needle to pick up the open-top sightseeing tour bus.

The buses had only resumed service the previous day for their summer season, and when I’d been planning my days the weather forecast for Saturday hadn’t been great, which turned out not to be the case, but it also meant I wasn’t trying to catch them on the very first day of service when things might have been less polished.

I did my usual two circuits of the tour so that I could take in views from both sides of the bus and then stayed on a couple of extra stops so that I was dropped off down on the waterfront where I went for a little wander before stopping for lunch.

After lunch I continued on wandering down until I reached the ferry terminal for the local passenger and car ferry services. A number of different operators offer services from Seattle out to neighbouring communities and Islands and these are all included in the standard fare tariffs. For a lot of the services you only pay when leaving Seattle, the return leg is free – so less than $10 for a two hour round trip felt like a pretty good deal.

The ferry service I took was to the town of Bremerton located further over into the sound, and accessed via the Rich Passage, a narrow and twisting passageway between different parts of the sound that would not look out of place in norther Norway.

Arriving in Bremerton I had two options, due to the ferry only operating a one ship service because of staffing problems post Covid. I could either have a very quick look around in the 20 minutes between arrival and departure, or let that sailing go and wait around for nearly 3 hours for the ferry to make the journey back to Seattle, turn around, come back and turn around again. After getting off the ferry and having a quick look around I decided it was probably best to go for the quick visit which I did before hopping back on the return sailing from my outbound one.

It turned out to be a good call, as the low cloud lifted for a short period of time and I got some pretty good views of the mountains around and behind Seattle from the boat, as well as pretty good views of the snow-capped top of Mount Rainier, which a short while later were obscured again as the cloud came back in – I certainly wouldn’t have seen those if I’d stayed in Bremerton.

Back in Seattle I had a little wander round the Pioneer Square area of town before catching a bus back up the hill to the hotel to freshen up, before heading out a little later to grab a light dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Seattle; Monday, 02 May, 2022

I didn’t have the greatest of nights sleep and ended up giving up a little after 6am, working on the assumption that if I wore myself out I’d be more likely to get at least a couple of hours sleep on the flight home.

I wandered down to breakfast and then headed back up to my room to pack before heading down to checkout and leave my luggage with reception. From there I walked down to the bus stop on 3rd Avenue to pick up the number 5 bus out to the Woodland Park Zoo.

The zoo is located about a 20 minute bus drive north of the city centre, and it was clear that on a damp Monday in early May I wasn’t going to have to worry about the crowds.

The zoo arranges its displays into themed areas that are linked together off of a main path. This works well as it means you can see everything just by heading along the main path and then just turning off when you get to a different themed zone, follow the path round the zone which then drops you back onto the main path either just where you left it or very close so that you don’t miss any exhibits.

Given the weather I wasn’t really expecting much to be out in their enclosures, but in most places it was possible to see all the exhibits. In fact the only display where most of the animals were hiding was the one specifically on the animals of the Pacific North West, I suppose they are used to hiding in their natural environment, and this was their natural environment.

I stopped part way round to have a quick lunch in the zoo restaurant before continuing on my wander.

In the end I lost track of time a bit and as I headed back to the entrance my phone bleeped to let me know it was 4 hours until my flight – the time I had planned on being back at the hotel collecting my belongings, not still out at the zoo.

Thankfully I was lucky with a bus arriving as soon as I left the zoo and after a quick luggage pick-up at the hotel I cheated and grabbed an Uber out to the airport, arriving just as checkin was opening for the flight home.

The journey through the airport was significantly easier than I was expecting with the queues for TSA only being about 20 minutes long so I had plenty of time in the lounge before we were called forward for boarding to start the long journey home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Colmar; Friday, 06 May, 2022

As the flight was quite late in the evening I was able to work from home for the whole day and only headed over to the airport after I’d powered down the laptop just before 5.

I had a smooth journey to and through Heathrow and a smooth flight over to Basel. The only spanner in the works came when we got to Basel airport to discover that there were only 4 boarder guards running immigration, and we’d landed second behind a flight from Kosovo, so there was already a long and slow moving queue.

To speed things up three of the guards were focussing on non-EU/Swiss citizens, which led to the weird situation that I was through immigration and into Switzerland quicker than Swiss citizens who had gotten off the plane at the same time as me.

The only advantage of taking an age to get through immigration was that by the time I reached the baggage belt my bag was already coming round, so I was able to grab that and make it to the bus stop for the bus into Basel city centre with time to spare.

The bus dropped me off outside the central station from where it was a short walk over to the hotel where I was able to checkin and head to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Colmar; Saturday, 07 May, 2022

I had an OK nights sleep, though it would have been better if I’d had the King size bed that I’d booked rather than the small twin beds in the deluxe room that I’d been upgraded to. I had a quick breakfast and then checked out and headed over to the station to catch the train.

Basel SBB station has a whole separate section for the SNCF trains that run north into France, with customs offices and even immigration guards on duty (though mostly on the Swiss side rather than the French). It also means that rather than being able to buy your ticket from the very user friendly SBB machines in the main ticket hall you have to try and use the badly designed (and French only) ticket machines in the SNCF part of the station, or give up and just use the SNCF app to purchase a ticket on the spot.

An uneventful train ride up to Colmar, during which my ticket that had taken quite so much trouble to get a hold of wasn’t checked at all. From the station I walked the kilometre or so through to the old town and my hotel for the next few nights. I was very early, way before the normal checkin time, so I hoped to be able to drop off my bags and come back to checkin, but the very friendly lady on checkin had a quick look and let me know that my room was already available and I could have it now.

Having dropped off my stuff in the room I headed out of the hotel and went for a wander around town.

I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the spectacular historic city centre. Almost every building is half-timbered and the combined effect would probably have a theme-park designer saying someone had unrealistically overdone it.

I stopped in a very pleasant café by the former Dominican Church for a late afternoon beer in the sun before wandering round the corner to pick up the petit-train blanc, one of two different land-trains that run in the town.

Having done the circuit I had a bit more of a wander before going back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back out a little later to grab some dinner and have a wander round the town centre at dusk before returning to the hotel for a good night sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Colmar; Sunday, 08 May, 2022

I booked an unpleasantly early breakfast slot for the Sunday as I wanted to make most use of the day taking in the surrounding countryside on the Kut’zig bus. This is an open-top minibus service that runs at the weekends in the summer months from Colmar to a number of neighbouring towns and villages in the winegrowing region of Alsace that surrounds the city. The bus only runs every 90 minutes and with so may different towns to visit you need to be on the first bus of the morning at 08:30 to really get to see everything.

The bus heads out of Colmar, bus the replica Statue of Liberty that sits on the outskirts of town – in memory of Colmar born Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who designed the Iconic gift to the US from France. After passing the statue and the edge of the towns small airport the bus heads out into open fields and vineyards before climbing up through a couple of small towns and reaching it’s northern most point as Ribeauvillé. I hopped off the bus here to have a look around the town.

I had a long wander round the incredibly pretty streets of the town, taking in the views of the three castle ruins that top the neighbouring hills and look over the town centre. After spending quite a bit of time exploring the town I headed back to the bus stop in time to make the next bus of the day. I stayed on the bus as it passed through the neighbouring small village of Hunawihr as it didn’t look like there was a lot there and instead continued on to Riquewihr.

If I though Ribeauvillé was pretty I was in for a shock with Riquewihr as it managed to crank the prettiness scores up still further, with it’s tightly packed town centre climbing up a steep hill to remaining fortifications at the top of town. I took the easy option for exploring the town by taking the petit-train that was due to depart from behind the town hall just a few minutes after the bus arrived. The train starts by heading up into the vineyards on the hills above the town to take in views over and down into it, before returning back down to town level and driving through some of the lower parts of the town centre. With the Petit Train tour finished I had a bit of a wander through the town, heading up to the very top of town and the Upper Gate and fortifications, before it was time to head back down the hill to pick up the next Kut’zig bus.

The next stop round was Kayserberg. Where the bus drops you off it doesn’t look all that impressive as it’s outside what would have been the towns fortifications and is today just a large tree-lined car park, but a few steps inside the old town and you are once again treated to a fairy-tale town centre, which alongside the half-timbered buildings and impressive church tower is complemented by a medieval fortified bridge, a very pretty stream, and standing just above the town the ruins of a castle.

I spent a long time exploring the town and then heading up to explore the castle and to take in the views from the top of the tower. In fact I was so taken in by the views that I lost track of time and only realised what time it was when I saw the bus I was aiming for pulling away from the bus stop from the top of the castle tower. With the bus missed I knew I had another 90 minutes in Kayserberg so after finishing off looking round the castle I headed back down into the centre of town and stopped at one of the very pleasant outdoor cafes for a light lunch and a beer to while away the time before I headed back over to the bus stop to continue my journey.

From Kayserberg the next stop on the bus route was Turckheim, but as this was accessible from Colmar by both bus and train I decided to skip getting off here as I’d be able to come back here on another day, so instead I stayed on the bus round to the town of Eguisheim. Like Kayserberg where the bus drops you off really doesn’t do the town justice as it’s a carpark on the edge of the old town, but a few minutes walk and you are inside this almost circular old town centre, set with a palace and chapel at its heart, and round the edge concentric rings of streets of half-timbered houses. The outer lane running between buildings that to one side sit on the site of the former forticiations.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round Eguisheim and in the end had to gently jog back to the bus stop to make sure that I didn’t miss the bus to continue on my journey. From Eguisheim the next stop was at the highest point on the tour at Voegtlinshoffen where there are views down onto the flat plains that run out from the hills and mountains of Alsace into the Rhine valley and across into Germany. As that was pretty much all there was to see I decided to stay on the bus and continue on round to complete the loop back into Colmar, arriving back a little after 6pm

I had a little bit of a wander around the bit of Colmar near the station, taking in the Water Tower and Court of Appeals as I intended on catching the last Kut’zig of the day to do a complete loop to be able to take photos of some locations that I’d missed earlier in the day. I think the bus driver was a little surprised to have someone catching the last bus from Colmar. In the end it turned out that I was the only person who wanted the last bus of the day and it was just me and the driver the whole way round the route, there was nobody to pick up at any of the stops. Consequently with the bus running ahead of schedule she very kindly gave me a couple of extra impromptu photo stops where I was able to get some stunning views of the hills and valleys at dusk.

We eventually pulled back into Colmar a couple of minutes before 9 and I headed back to the hotel to grab some snack food from the hotel shop, have a drink in the bar and then turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Colmar; Monday, 09 May, 2022

I had a much more leisurely timed breakfast that the previous day and headed out of the hotel a little after 10am to start my tour of some of the attractions of Colmar.

When I’d been wandering round on Saturday I’d noted that the river cruises were running very frequently, totally full and with long queues at both of the landing stages where you could pick up the tours. Clearly they were very popular on a hot sunny Saturday. So it was with a little trepidation that I headed down to the quay near the hotel wondering how long the queue would be. I needn’t have worried as it turns out at 10am on a Monday the tours are much less in demand and so I was able to get straight onto a personal tour that was just me on the boat as we sailed along a small section of the river taking in the Petit Venise area of the city.

From the river cruise I wandered over to the former Dominican Church to have a look round that, only to find out that they had recently changed their opening times and were now closed on a Monday, so I gave up on that idea and instead wandered round the corner to pick up the Petit-train vert, the green land-train tour of the town (green referring to the paint colour rather than it’s environmental credentials given this tour still used diesel powered dotto trains, whilst the petit-train blanc used electric dotto’s)

The petit train tours start and end outside the Musée Unterlinden and that was my next stop of the day. The museum is partly housed in a former convent, but over the years has expanded into a number of other buildings including a new build and a former baths. The oldest parts of the complex – the convent including the cloister and chapel – house the archaeology and religious art collections whilst the newer parts of the building house some more general collections as well as the modern art collection.

From the Musée Unterlinden it was about a 10 minute walk across town to the Musée du Jouet, which looks at toys and games over the years, with a particular focus on models and dolls – including the usual selection of disturbingly creepy dolls that were happily given to young children in the past. From the toy museum I headed back across town to the Musée Hansi for a quick look around that. The museum is dedicated to the artist Hansi who created a series of cartoons that depicted an idealised Alsatian village that was under the repression of incompetent and foolish German rulers – a good enough description of how Alsace felt under the rule of Germany for the artists to have to flee prosecution.

Having taken in the museums I wandered over to the bus stops near the theatre and picked up the local bus to head back to Turckheim to have a look around the town that I’d missed out the previous day.

Turckheim as a town is very pretty, helped by its location hemmed in by the river on one side and the mountains on the other – the latter now covered in vineyards. With the mountains coming down towards the river on one end the town is squeezed inside a triangular footprint with three gates guarding the line of it’s fortifications – all three still in situ and so it’s possible to get a really good view of what the town would have looked like for centuries.

I spent quite some time wandering around the town before it was time to head back to the station to catch the train back into Colmar (the last buses having left some time before). From Colmar station I walked back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Colmar; Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

Another lie in and a late breakfast before I headed back out into Colmar to visit some of the museums that had been closed on Monday.

My first stop was the Natural History Museum which whilst being a small museum manages to cram a lot in. On the entrance floor there is the usual natural history collection of stuffed animals from around the world, as well as a room dedicated to the animals of the Alsace region. Upstairs there is a gallery on Egyptology, Ethnography and a small geology collection.

From the Natural History Museum I headed over, via a quick visit to look inside the covered market, to the Museé Bartholdi located in the house where the sculptor was born. The museum shows a number of models and working examples of sculptures that Bartholdi created during his lifetime, including several of his most famous work – the Statue of Liberty.

Having looked round the museum I wandered back through the narrow lanes and streets of the old town, stopping off at St-Martin’s Church to have a look round there before making my way back to the Dominican Church to see if that was open today.

It turned out it was so I had a quick look around that – the building itself stopped being a church several centuries ago, being at various times a grain store and a general empty space. Today it’s a gallery showing a couple of important religious works.

Having taking in the church I headed round the corner to a group of very nice restaurants, where I was able to grab an outside table for a relaxed lunch in the sun.

After lunch I had a bit more of a wander around the centre of Colmar before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my bag and start the journey home by heading back to the station to catch the train back over the border to Switzerland.

It wouldn’t be the true SNCF experience without at least one delay, and so it was almost inevitable that my journey would get a delay, thankfully in my case it was only 10 minutes, unlike the poor passengers on the opposite platform whose train to Luxembourg was delayed by nearly 4 hours. At the last minute as I was purchasing the ticket on the app I decided to splurge the extra couple of euros and go first class, and I was glad I did. The train was very full as it pulled it, and getting a seat in any carriage for the 45 minute journey was going to be difficult, except in the single first class carriage which was empty.

A very comfortable journey back to Basel on the train and then a quick transfer through the station and onto the airport for my flight back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Harrogate; Friday, 20 May, 2022

I’d come up to Leeds the afternoon before so I was able to work out of the hotel in the morning and make the final leg of my journey to Harrogate over my lunch break.

I ended up on a work call that ran quite late so by the time I checked out of the hotel I had to run to make the train, which I did, but only just and then only because a late inbound train had kept the signal on red past it’s scheduled departure time.

After arriving in Harrogate I walked across town to my hotel to checkin and then carried on working until the end of the business day.

I’d booked an evening session at the Turkish Baths, so after finishing work I headed over there.

The Royal Baths in Harrogate were built at the height of the spa craze that gripped the country prior to WWI. The highly elaborate baths included many different treatment rooms, as well as a set of Turkish Baths. As the spa craze ended the bulk of the baths were decommissioned and turned into council offices, just the Turkish Baths remained. As other facilities across the country have closed they are now the only surviving Turkish Baths that retain their original design and layout.

Despite being called Turkish Baths, and having a very Turkish design inside these aren’t actually Turkish Baths in the sense of what I’d experienced in Istanbul. Instead they were much more like what you’d imagine a set of Roman Baths would have looked like, even the naming convention for the rooms was lifted straight from the Roman complexes.

After arrival and checkin I got changed and waited in the Frigidarium – which at first feel didn’t feel particularly cold, but after a quick tour round the facilities – the cold plunge pool, the Steam Room, the Tepidarium, Caldarium and Laconicum – walking back into the Frigidarium it was noticeably cooler than the rest of the complex.

After the tour we were left on our own to move through the different rooms at our own paces with just the reminder to drink lots of water and go through the process of heat, shower, dip in the cold pool, repeat. The two hours of the session passed surprisingly quickly and before too long we were all being called back into to the Frigidarium where you have to spend 30 minutes at the end of your session getting your body back into a condition where it can face the worse that North Yorkshire rather than Lazio can throw at you.

I quickly popped to a nearby fast food restaurant to grab a late dinner and then headed back to the hotel.

All the hype about the baths, which I thought had just been that – hype, was that after being in the baths you’d feel really relaxed actually turned out to be true and by the time I got back to the hotel I was struggling to stay awake, so I had an early night ready to get up early the following morning for a busy day.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Harrogate; Saturday, 21 May, 2022

I ended up having one of the best nights sleep I’d had in a very long time and ended up sleeping well past my original alarm. In my original plan I’d intended on heading out to the remains of a Roman site in the town of Aldborough, which was a slightly complicated journey to get to and required me to get a specific bus from the bus station. At the time I was supposed to be catching that bus I was still sat in the restaurant having Breakfast so it was clear I needed to change my plans for the day.

Instead, after a relaxed breakfast, I did wander over to the bus station, but in this instance to catch the bus south towards the town of Spofforth and to visit the ruins of the medieval castle/fortified manor house that is located there.

I spent quite a bit of time exploring the ruins, which given they’ve been abandoned for over 400 years were in pretty good condition, certainly better condition than the neighbouring railway viaduct that has only been abandoned for 60 years.

I caught the bus back into Harrogate and had a bit of a wander around town before finding myself at the Royal Pump Room Museum. The museum is housed in the former Royal Pump Room, which housed the Strong Sulphur Well – one of the key watering points for the in-crowd during the season when Harrogate was at it’s peak. Today you can still see the well, though it’s under a glass cover so you can’t smell it – for that you just need to walk round the back of the pump room where the poor peoples tap was, there the smell of sulphur is still quite strong, along with a warning from the council that the water isn’t fit for human consumption!

Having looked round the museum I walked the short distance to the Mercer Art Gallery to look around that before going for a general wander around town.

I’d lost track of time a bit, so by the time I realised I was feeling quite hungry it was already gone 16:30. As I was booked to go to a comedy gig in the evening I decided that it was probably as good a time as any to combine lunch and dinner and have a quick meal.

I then headed back to the hotel to freshen up and change out of shorts as the weather forecast for the evening wasn’t that great, before heading back out over to the theatre to catch Milton Jones’ tour as, by pure chance, it was passing through at the same time as I was here.

The show ended a little before 21:30, and by the time I was back at the hotel it was definitely time to turn in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Harrogate; Sunday, 22 May, 2022

I was up relatively early, which turned out to be a good plan as I was able to walk down to breakfast and get a seat straight away, by the time I finished there was a lengthy queue of people waiting.

After checking out of the hotel I headed down into town and picked up the bus over to the neighbouring town of Knaresborough. Up until the discovery of the healing qualities of the spring water in Harrogate Knaresborough was the much more important town – with an ancient market place and a castle testifying to that. However, within a few years of the spas opening the money and power had moved across to Harrogate and these days Knaresborough is part of the borough of Harrogate.

After getting off the bus at the bus station I had a wander through town, taking in the castle and the market square, before heading down to the riverside and Mother Shipton’s Cave.

The cave is located next to the Petrifying Well by the banks of the River Nidd just down stream from the castle on the opposite bank. The Petrifying Well is actually a geological formation caused by a nearby spring that passes through very mineral rich rock just before it surfaces, consequently the water is high in absorbed minerals which then precipitate out as it flows down stream, in effect the well is just a very big stalagmite, but it has the ability to cover objects in a layer of minerals in a couple of months, making them look like they have turned to stone.

Legend has it that a teenager named Agatha was pregnant but refused to say who the father was – she was chased from town and took shelter in the cave by the petrifying well on the grounds that none of the townsfolk came this way for fear of being turned to stone. She gave birth to a girl who had a number of deformities, and was accused of being a witch. Possibly not helped by her ability to predict the future, but by the time she was a young lady her powers of soothsaying were winning her fans and she was able to live a long life into her 80s though she wasn’t allowed to be buried in a church graveyard as they still suspected her of witchcraft. The myth and legend wrapped round the weird calcifying spring effectively turned this area into the first tourist attraction in the country, and they’ve been parting tourists from their money ever since.

Having taken in the well and cave I headed back into the centre of Knaresborough and caught the bus back into Harrogate where I grabbed a quick lunch before hopping on another bus out to the RHS gardens at Harlow Carr out the back of town.

The gardens occupy a large estate that flows around the banks of a small river. On the valley bank closest to the entrance are the formal gardens and planting, whilst on the opposite side of the river a woodland runs up the side of the valley with several walks running between the trees and plants.

I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the gardens before it was time to head back into Harrogate, grab my bags from the hotel and head over to the station to pick up my train back to London.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Luleå; Tuesday, 31 May, 2022

We arrived at Heathrow with plenty of time to spare for the flight, little to know that waiting time was something we wouldn’t be short of. Though, the assistance for my mum to take her down to the gate was so late that by the time we made it onboard we were the last passengers in.

And that’s where we sat for the next 90 minutes or so, whilst the pilots dealt with a technical issue that was preventing the plane for leaving. It turned out that it was the air conditioning unit not functioning correctly, which we could probably all have told them given how warm the plane was.

Eventually they decided that they needed to run some more checks that required everyone to get off of the plane – obviously so we couldn’t see that the BA Techs were just going to hit whatever wasn’t working with a hammer until it did work – so we were all deboarded back into the terminal, at now 8:40pm

As it was so late, and the delay was likely to stretch on further BA would normally be liable for giving us vouchers to get some refreshments, but with the last flights from the B gates already on final boarding all the cafes had shut up shop, so thankfully some bright spark authorised the whole plane being given access to the business lounge, which at least meant we could all get some food and drink, and kept the whole plane in one location.

Eventually with the clock rapidly approaching 11pm they announced that we could reboard the plane as the fault had been fixed. Which was cutting it a bit fine as there was only a short window now before the night flights curfew kicked in which would leave us stuck at Heathrow.

The pilot and co-pilot for the flight had been swapped over as the original pair had exceeded their hours, so a relief crew, who had assumed they’d be spending their night at home rather than flying up to Sweden, were in charge – though the same cabin crew were still on the flight.

We eventually pushed back exactly 4 hours late and made our way to the runway and out of Heathrow just minutes before the curfew kicked in.

Given the flight had left so late I was quite surprised how quickly we were met by ground crew at Arlanda, with a wheelchair for mum already waiting and after a surprisingly quick run through immigration – I suppose it was only our flight at that time needing to go through, we finally had our bags and headed towards the hotel a couple of minutes before 3am.

Thankfully, we were staying at a hotel attached to the terminal building, so we were in our rooms a couple of minutes later – or as it’s know in Stockholm at the beginning of June, Dawn.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Luleå; Wednesday, 01 June, 2022

Despite the very late night I got a decent few hours sleep, but we were still up in time for the surprisingly early finishing breakfast.

With breakfast finished we headed back to our rooms as there was no point in checking out until closer to midday, given our flight wasn’t until 2pm (it had originally been 11am, but got changed multiple times in the six months between booking and actually flying).

After checking out we headed down to the terminal which was just starting to gently melt down as the baggage system had just ground to a halt. Most of the airport runs on self-tagged and dropped bags, which was chaos. Thankfully, as mum needed to have her walker tagged for the hold we had to use a priority service desk which meant our bags were checked in by a member of staff and then we were able to take them round to the oversize belts to have them manually dropped into the system – which was still working.

We then headed up to the lounge to wait, this time already knowing that the flight was delayed by at least 40 minutes. Assistance turned up just as the flight went to go to gate and took us down to the gate, which was almost at the opposite end of the terminal, where we then proceeded to wait even more.

It’s not a good sign when the flight is already an hour late when only at that point does the cabin crew and pilots appear at the gate to get onboard. Eventually we left 90 minutes late, and only just ahead of the next flight of the day to Luleå which followed us from the gate all the way up the country, touching down just a couple of minutes behind us at Luleå.

Thankfully, as we arrived first we were the first to get service so we were very quickly hooked up to a jet bridge, a wheelchair was brough down for mum, a quick stroll through the airport and the bags were already coming round as we reached the belt.

By pure chance, we made it out of the terminal with a couple of minutes to spare before the next bus into town, which meant that we were only about 30 minutes behind where we would have been if we’d been on time and the bags hadn’t been so quick round.

After checking into the hotel and dropping off luggage we went for a wander through Luleå, down to the station to see if it was something that mum could manage in the morning – we decided a taxi would probably be better – and then to find somewhere to eat. In the end we decided to use the restaurant in the hotel and had a very nice dinner.

Mum turned in early so I grabbed my camera and went out for a walk round town to take in some of the other sites, including heading down to the harbour/sound where there had been sightings of whales earlier on, though I didn’t see any.

After stopping off at the cathedral and the towns main square I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Luleå; Thursday, 02 June, 2022

Our train was due to leave at 09:48, and to avoid any stress we’d booked a taxi for 09:00 to do the 6 minute drive down to the station, so we had to get up relatively early and have breakfast by 8. Just as we finished checking out of the hotel our taxi pulled up and in the end we were at Luleå station just on 9am. But as it was a glorious morning with a bright warm sun it wasn’t too bad as we could sit on the platform in the sun and watch the morning rush hour take place.

First through was the overnight sleeper up from Stockholm, which turned up a good 20 minutes late, followed shortly behind by two local trains which had been stuck behind it and were also late. So it was no surprise to find out that our train, which had to wait for all the other trains to clear the platforms so it could be shunted out of the sidings, was also going to be delayed. It eventually pulled in just before 10 and, after waiting for a freight train to come through on the single line, finally left nearly half an hour late.

The railway line we were travelling over – for the most part – is called the Iron Ore Line (technically only the part in Sweden as far as the junction with the line to Stockholm in Boden is the Iron Ore Line, but the whole route is usually meant when mentioning the line). It was built, and it’s key primary purpose still is, for the transportation of Iron Ore from the mines up the line in Gällivare and Kiruna to ports at Luleå, Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic and to Narvik on the Norwegian coast for year round ice free access to the North Sea. Consequently, passenger transport plays second fiddle to the freight trains, and with long single track sections, trains are scheduled to wait in places to let freight trains pass and the timetable has a generous amount of padding.

Depending on the source you look at it is either the most northerly, or one of the most northerly, passenger railways in the world (it’s certainly the most northerly in Western Europe). Despite ending in Narvik, Norway the line has no other connections to the rail network in Norway, with that ending 300km further south in Bodø, and for most of it’s existence has meant that Narvik was served by the Swedish national operator. That was until a change in operator under the most recent round of tendering saw operation of the passenger services pass from SJ the Swedish national rail company to Vy, the Norwegian national rail company along with the sleeper to Stockholm (at the same time Vy lost the contract for trains from Bodø to Oslo to… SJ!)

After setting off from Luleå nearly 30 minutes late, and having to wait for another 20 minutes for a passing freight train further up the line, the timetable padding became very obvious when we pulled into the town of Gällivare just 6 minutes late, and with several minutes to spare before our scheduled departure time.

By the time we reached the next major stop at Kiruna we were a good 20 minutes ahead of schedule and spent quite some time sat in the station in a now mostly empty train. The journey from Luleå to Kiruna isn’t particularly interesting with the land being quite flat with only distant hills, quite a few lakes and marshes and trees, so so many trees – mostly birch – for as far as the eye could see, only broken up in the few places where patches had been harvested, you could almost work out where they would be as the trees got younger and younger until you reached a patch that was being planted and then a patch that was being harvested.

Beyond Kiruna the line become much more interesting as the train climbs up into the mountains and towards the border. After a little while the line runs alongside the Torneträsk, the sixth largest lake in Sweden and something that we ran alongside for almost an hour with increasingly fast flowing mountain streams carrying snow melt thundering underneath us and into the lake. In places the lake was still clearly frozen, with the streams creating small thawed tracks through the ice as they entered the lake.

7 hours after we were timetabled to leave Luleå (albeit only 6 hours 30 minutes in reality), we finally reached the settlement of Riksgränsen (literally The National Border) where the train made a final stop in Sweden before entering a snow shelter. Halfway along the snow shelter the walls are painted in the Blue, Yellow, Blue stripes of the Swedish flag before suddenly swapping to the Red, White, Blue, White, Red striped of the Norwegian flag to signify we’d crossed the border.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Narvik; Thursday, 02 June, 2022

On exiting the snow shelter the train started it’s descent back down towards the coast at Narvik. The ascent from Luleå had been going on most of the way during the previous 7 hours and 433 Kilometers. Now the line has to lose nearly 600m of elevation in just 40Km.

Sweden is a country of gentle scenery and lakes, Norway of mountains and Fjords and almost as if nature itself was complying the stereotypes within minutes we were descending through peaks of snow capped mountains and then opening up ahead of us was the Rombaksfjord, which we would now follow from the mountains high above it’s head, along the mountain streams that feed into the head of the Fjord and then down the length of the fjord itself before it finally empties into the larger Ofotfjord close to the centre of Narvik.

The final 50 minutes of the journey were the most spectacular and all the guides that had said make sure you’re sat on the right-hand side of the train were correct.

We eventually pulled into Narvik on time, some 8 hours after we were scheduled to leave Luleå and from the station walked the short distance to our hotel for the night.

Mum wanted to freshen up and have a bit of a sit down, so I went for a wander down into the centre of town, in part to locate the easiest way of getting down to the bus stop for the next leg of our journey.

Back at the hotel we had a drink in the bar before deciding to eat in the hotel’s restaurant, which again was excellent food, before turning in for the night – though with a west facing room, a sun that wasn’t due to set for another 2 months and quite thin curtain, it wasn’t the greatest of nights sleep.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Narvik; Friday, 03 June, 2022

The hotel had very kindly let us have a late checkout as our bus wasn’t until 1pm, so we were able to just leave things in the room before heading out for a wander round town.

We headed down the hill into the centre of Narvik and took in the main square before heading over the road to visit the Kreigsmuseum.

Narvik, and the Ofotfjord played a key role in the Second World War, and were heavily fought over both during the Nazi invasion of Norway in 1940 and then throughout the conflict. The waters round here are the final resting place of a large number of ships.

The museum tells the story of the battles for Narvik and the impact on the town, including artefacts recovered from the Fjord and personal recollections of people who were here are the time.

After taking in the museum we made our way back to the hotel to grab our stuff, check out and then head back down to the bus station, located underneath a shopping centre, behind the museum.

The bus left Narvik on time and started its 230Km, 4 hour journey north. The first part of the journey is through town before heading into the classic Norwegian combination of tunnel through cliffs that then drops you out onto a stunning bridge that crosses a Fjord. In this instance the Hålogalandbrua which crossed the fjord at the point where the Rombaksfjord and the Herjangsfjord split off from the main Ofotfjord.

We then followed the Herjangsfjord up it’s length before reaching the town of Bjervik at it’s head. Here the bus really filled up and despite being a double deck coach there were only a handful of seats left as we climbed away from the Fjord and into the mountains, the journey was spectacular with the snowmelt waterfalls cascading down all the mountains and hills around us.

About 90 minutes after leaving Narvik we stopped at the town of Setermoen where a relief bus started alongside us, but even that was already full. We swapped the lead with that bus most of the way towards Tromø, though at the last stop it would get away several minutes ahead of us and was actually timetabled to get into Tromsø ahead of us.

We continued north and at the next stop at Bardufoss we ended up with a completely full bus. Thankfully nobody was left behind, and the next stop was Buktamoen where several local lines met the bus and people were able to change onto different routes, meaning the bus started to empty out. This was also the main pit stop of the journey, where we stopped for 10 minutes allowing people to freshen up, before the final 122Km and 2 hours down into Tromsø

Weather

Cloudy Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Tromsø; Friday, 03 June, 2022

After the pit stop in Buktamoen we continued on north, mostly stopping to drop people off.

Less than an hour later and we turned a bend and the Balsfjord came into view. This fjord comes off of the Tromsøysundet strait just south of Tromsø, so this was the first indication that we were onto the final leg of the journey, as we’d follow this fjord most of the way on into Tromsø (albeit turning off to head inland for one part to cut of a particularly big peninsular).

The very final part of the journey is the always impressive ride up over the Tromsø Bridge and down into the centre of town. It had only been 4 years since we were last in Tromsø, but in that time the city has grown quite considerably with lots of new tall buildings going up. They’ve also built an actual integrated transport terminal for the buses, boats and Hurtigruten, to replace the asphalt car park that they’d previously used.

After grabbing luggage we walked the short distance to our hotel to checkin.

The hotel rate included a free light evening meal so we partook in that before heading out into town for a gentle wander and a pint in a very nice pub overlooking the harbour before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Tromsø; Saturday, 04 June, 2022

Today was just a day of travel, starting relatively early with a taxi through the underground tunnels of Tromsø’s city centre road network to the airport.

We checked in and headed through to departures to wait for our flight, which to nobody’s surprise ended up departing late due to a delayed inbound flight, making it three for three on flight delays so far on this trip.

Thankfully all the delay did was reduce the length of the wait we had in transit in Oslo, so rather than three hours to hang around we only had to wait around for three hours.

We headed down to the gate for the flight to find that it was a small regional jet and leaving from a remote bus stand. Thankfully as it was a small jet mum was able to board up the steps. Unfortunately there was another lady who did need wheelchair assistance to her seat and on a tiny plane like this the only way that could be achieved was by some undignified manhandling through the emergency exit door. It looked like SAS hadn’t taken account of that, and in the end we were a good 20 minutes late by the time we pushed back, despite everyone being at the gate an hour before departure time.

We took off straight to the direction of Stockholm, and less than 10 minutes later had crossed back into Sweden, albeit at about 20,000 feet this time.

Weather

Light Rain No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Stockholm; Saturday, 04 June, 2022

We arrived at Arlanda, where once again we had to get a bus back to the terminal, but there was a guy waiting there with wheelchairs when we arrived so we were straight through to the baggage reclaim and quickly afterwards out to arrivals and our waiting taxi to drive us down to the hotel in Stockholm.

By the time we arrived at the hotel it as gone 8pm and there was only about 40 minutes of dinner time left for the included evening meal so we quickly dropped our luggage off and then headed down for dinner, then a drink in the bar, before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Stockholm; Sunday, 05 June, 2022

The previous day had been the Stockholm Marathon, and it was the weekend of the National Day holiday so the hotel was very busy so we were lucky to get a table for breakfast as shortly after we arrived a queue started to form for people waiting for tables.

After breakfast we headed out of the hotel and over to the metro station to catch the metro on into town. Our first stop of the morning was the sightseeing ferry quays down near the Royal Place where we joined the 2.5 hour long Under the Bridges of Stockholm tour.

The tour took us round the central area and then through the canal that links the Baltic Sea that sits to the East of the city to Lake Mälaren that sits to the west. The tour, as the name suggests, passes under a number of bridges, including the impressive railway bridges that bring trains into Central Stockholm, as well as through a lock which helps control the flow of water given the lake sits higher than the Baltic Sea. One of the most impressive parts of the tour is as the boat heads past the iconic city hall of Stockholm, turning so that everyone on the boat gets a good view of the impressive building.

Back at the quays and we headed over to the nearby park café to grab a light lunch before heading up to the tram stop and catching the tram out to the Vasa Museum.

The museum houses the wreck of the Vasa, the flagship of the Swedish Navy that sank on her maiden voyage and lay in the waters of Stockholm for 300 years before it was raised from it’s grave and, over nearly 40 years, preserved.

We spent quite a bit of time exploring the museum before it was time to leave. We originally intended on just hopping on the tram back into the city centre, but with the bank holiday and the glorious weather it looked like everyone else was also in this part of Stockholm for the day – with the Skansen park and zoo and the Gröna Lund amusement park slightly further up the tramline making everything very busy, so – as it was only a couple of stops – we caught a tram in the opposite direction round the loop at the end of the line, and back to the city centre having seats the whole way.

Back in the city centre we caught the metro over to Gamla Stan and then wandered up to the centre of the old town to have a bit of a walk around, before retiring to a bar on the main square – Stortorget – to have a drink, before going to dinner in a very nice restaurant next door.

Dinner completed we headed back down the hill from Stortorget to the metro station and caught the train back to the hotel and an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Stockholm; Monday, 06 June, 2022

When the trip was originally booked the return flight was at 8pm which gave us ample time to explore the city, but a couple of months before we were due to travel BA cancelled the late flights from Stockholm and instead put us on a flight 3:40 in the afternoon, so we now only had a little bit of time in the morning before we needed to be back at the hotel for 1pm to meet our taxi back to the airport.

With only a small amount of time we decided to go on a self-guided cruise round the archipelago using the public transport ferries.

From the hotel we walked the short distance to the metro station and caught the line one stop back to where we interchanged onto the other branch of the metro up to the end of the line at Ropsten.

We arrived at the metro station about a minute or so after the previous ferry had left, which was good as it meant we weren’t rushing to make the connection down to the temporary ferry quay about a five minute walk away.

From Ropsten the ferry runs back into the centre of Stockholm, stopping at several piers along the way on different islands, as well as the mainland, and offering excellent views of the city.

The ferry ended at Nybroplan where we were able to walk the short distance to the nearby metro station, stopping to watch the Swedish mounted army band ride pass on their way to Nation Day celebrations.

We hopped on a metro the one stop back to near the hotel, grabbed our stuff and waited outside in the sun for our taxi to the airport.

Once checked in we headed to assisted travel who were very busy and only to happy to let me take responsibility for mums wheelchair, which gave us access to the fast track queue for security – which was a blessing as the queue for regular security was enormous with a long queue just to enter a holding pen where people were queuing before being allowed to join the main queue!

Needless to say, as with every other flight on this trip our flight back to the UK was delayed, finally pushing back 40 minutes after it was due to, though with a tail wind and some very fast peddling by the pilots we ended up landing only 20 minutes late.

Not that helped much as there was just one person with a buggy to meet the three people who needed assistance off of the flight, and we were the last people left sitting on the plane for a good 15 minutes before we finally made it up the airbridge and onto the buggy back through immigration and to baggage reclaim, though we still beat the bags round!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Ashford; Friday, 17 June, 2022

The previous couple of days had been hot and today was due to be the hottest day, and night, of the year so far – so I was looking forward to be staying in a hotel I knew from a previous visit had excellent air conditioning.

Of course, the major issue with really hot days in the UK is how quickly it makes things breakdown, and I arrived at the station in time to catch my train into London Bridge to find that it was cancelled due to a track failure. Thankfully the previous train to Victoria was running so late that it was only just due to arrive, so I caught that. My original route would have been on air-conditioned trains the whole way, this rerouting meant getting on the Victoria line which was about as pleasant as I was expecting, but it did leave me with an extra 10 minutes at St Pancras to grab some lunch.

The journey down to Ashford was smooth and I was soon in the hotel, air conditioning set to chill and finished working for the day.

After finishing work I headed out from the hotel and had a wander up through the centre of town to catch the bus out to the coast at Lydd and Greatstones.

I had a pleasant wander along the beach in a very pleasant cool breeze before it was time to head back to the hotel. Unfortunately, the bus out to Greatstones had formed the last direct bus of the day back to Ashford, so rather than a direct trip back I had to catch the bus up the coast to Folkstone and then hop on a train there back to Ashford.

Back in town I grabbed a quick dinner before heading back to my room where I found the aircon had worked its magic, it was so cold that I shivered as I entered the room, with every surface cold to the touch. It might have been the warmest night of the year, but I really needed to snuggle down into the duvet to avoid being too cold!

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Ashford; Saturday, 18 June, 2022

Needless to say with the first night of decent sleep for a couple of days because of the aircon I woke up feeling much more refreshed than I had done for several days. I had a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading out into town to have a wander around and see the sights that Ashford has to offer.

The town is quite old, with some buildings dating back to the middle-ages, but the main growth of the town was with the coming of the railways, and then further reconstruction following the Second World War, so in places it’s not the prettiest, but the area around the church of St Mary’s was perfect pleasant to wander around.

Next to the church, in the former boy’s grammar school is the Ashford Museum. This has a focus on two main themes for the town, The Railways – the town was home to a Railway works for a number of years, and the War – the town had a lot of men go to fight during both wars.

A short distance away from the museum is a relic of an earlier conflict. During the First World War the town donated generously to the war savings schemes to help finance the battle, and as a result in 1919 were gifted a Mark IV tank. Today it’s still proudly on display in the centre of town – the only WWI tank on display outside of museum in the country.

I wandered back through town down towards the hotel and on the opposite side of the road (making me both the visitor who had travelled the longest and shortest distance to get to the tour) to the Curiosity Brewery for a tour and tasting session.

The tour of the brewery lasted about 45 minutes with the knowledgeable guide telling us all about the process and how the Brewery has adapted to make their brews that little bit different (using Champagne yeast makes quite a big difference). After the tour there was an opportunity to sample three of their beers and a cider.

Given how nice their product was I opted, after the tour, to head upstairs to their bar and restaurant for a late lunch accompanied by a pint of their very nice cider – which given I don’t normally touch the stuff says something about how good it is.

I had a little bit more of an explore through the town, but by now I had exhausted pretty much all of the sights of Ashford, so instead I hopped on a bus and headed out for a ride into the countryside, making use of the relatively reliable and frequent buses to explore some more of the rural parts of Kent down to the coast at Hythe than back up to Canterbury before returning back through the small villages along the Stour river back to Ashford – including the weird sight of manually operated level crossings at the village of Wye where a worker has to physically move the gate into and out of place, blocking either the railway line or the road depending on where the gates were.

I could imagine this being the case with a heritage railway, but this is the mainline from London to Canterbury!

Back in Ashford I grabbed a light bite to eat from a supermarket before heading back to my hotel room.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Ashford; Sunday, 19 June, 2022

Given the weather forecast for the morning I had a bit of a lie-in and a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel over to the bus stop arriving just ahead of the final hefty shower of the morning passed through, which I missed under the shelter at the bus station and then on the bus as it made it’s way through rural Kent to the town of Tenterden.

The town was at one time an important player in the Wool trade, at a time before the Romney Marshes formed and you could still get sea going boats right up to the town centre. Today Tenterden is a long way inland, and a pretty fair distance from the River Rother whose channels it used to sit on. The town had another brief renaissance when the railways arrived at the start of the 20th century, but by the early 1950s the line was being run down and eventually closed (some time before the main cuts to the UK network that took place in the 1960s).

Of course, that wasn’t the end of the story of the railway in the town as almost immediately a group was set up to preserve the line and reopen it, eventually, as a heritage railway with the first trains finally running on a short section in the 1970s.

Today the railway runs several miles down through the Kent and Sussex countryside to the town of Bodiam and that’s where I was headed. I hopped on the train, and we meandered through the countryside for nearly an hour before reaching our destination.

Bodiam is a very small village, but home to a very large and very well-preserved castle. If you think of a medieval castle – towers at each corner, walls with crenelations, set in a moat – you’ve thought of Bodiam castle. Today the outer structure of the castle and moat are in almost perfect condition, and it really does look like the textbook example of a medieval castle. Inside it’s a different matter as most of the inside structures have been lost, though you can still climb two of the towers for views over the moat and surrounding countryside.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the castle before it was time to head back to the station to catch the train back up the line to Tenterden, where I hopped off to have a quick look round both the railways’ museum and the Tenterden and District Museum.

I then had a wander around town to kill the hour or so I had left before my bus back to Ashford, where I had a quick pit stop for dinner in a restaurant in town before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Ashford; Monday, 20 June, 2022

I had an early breakfast and worked out of the hotel for most of the morning before using my lunchbreak to hop on a train back home to finish off my working day.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Woking; Friday, 24 June, 2022

I used my lunch break to head over to Woking and down to my hotel, which I worked out of for the rest of the afternoon.

I had intended on going on to try and visit the remains of Woking Palace, located in fields about a 50 minute walk away from the centre of town, but as 5pm came around the weather took a turn for the worse with a couple of showers passing through so instead I just relaxed in my room.

I had dinner booked in the local Pizza Express, made famous as a slightly dodgy alibi from Prince Andrew, though strangely enough the restaurant doesn’t appear to want to highlight that anywhere.

After dinner I had a wander back through town to my hotel for an early night as I had to get up relatively early the following morning

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Woking; Saturday, 25 June, 2022

An early breakfast and I was out of the hotel before 9am to head over to the bus stops near the station to pick up the bus out to Brooklands.

Brooklands was the site of the worlds first Motor Racing circuit, laid out at the start of the 20th century and built in a few months. The circuit attracted speed fans not just in cars but on bikes, motorbikes and then planes as well. During the first world war the site became a factory for planes that were produced to help the early use of planes in warfare. Following the end of hostility, the track returned to its position as a raceway with the first every British Grand Prix being held here.

With the outbreak of World War II, the site was taken over fully for aircraft manufacturing with both bombers and fighters being produced on site, and during that time part of the original racetrack was destroyed to fit more factories in. However, after the war the site continued to play a major role in the UK Aviation industry manufacturing commercial planes and jets and it’s most famous creation the nose, cockpit and tail sections of Concorde.

The site eventually closed down for manufacturing, but a small part of the track and the original clubhouse from the racecourse were saved and turned into the basis of the modern Brooklands Museum that exists to today. The museum tells the history of the site through exhibits on the vehicles and planes that were built on the site.

The site is also home to the London Bus Museum, which has a collection or original London buses from the first horse-drawn omnibus through to modern double decker’s and even a trial electric bus that was used in central London before the widespread adoption of electric buses.

But the highlight of any visit to the museum is to join the Concorde Experience tour. Here you are guided round the plane by former cabin crew who tell you some of the history of the production of the aircraft before taking you inside where you can sit in the seats and relive a part of what it would have been like to fly the worlds only supersonic passenger jet.

I finished off my time at the site by looking round some of the other airplane exhibits in the main field before it was time to head back to the bus stop and catch the bus back to Woking.

Back in Woking I headed over to the Lightbox. This large multi-use facility, located next to the Basingstoke Canal, on the edge of the town centre houses a number of exhibit spaces, one of which housed the permanent Woking Stories gallery which tells the history of the town.

One of the most famous of the towns residents was H G Wells, and whilst he only lived in the town for less than two years during this time he wrote some of his best works, including The War of the Worlds and walking through town you can come across statues of both the man himself, as well as a depiction of the Martian Tripod.

I spent a bit of time wandering round town before heading over to a restaurant to grab dinner and then turning in for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Woking; Sunday, 26 June, 2022

Another early breakfast and out of the hotel to pick up an early train down to Guildford and from there a short walk across town to pick up the bus out to my sites for the day. At one point it did look like my plan would fall at the first hurdle as the bus was nearly 15 minutes late – which considering it was coming from the depot was a bit of a worry.

My first stop of the morning was the Claremont Landscape Gardens in Esher, right on the edge of Greater London. The gardens were originally laid out in the 18th century as the playground of Royalty and the rich, with a Grotto, Island, pavilions and either a grass amphitheatre that overlooks an ornamental lake.

The gardens eventually passed to the National Trust shortly after WWII and today are open to look around. With the timing of the buses I either had just under an hour or just under 2.5 hours to have a wander around the gardens, and in the end I needed almost all of the 2.5 hours to do the gardens justice as there was so much to see.

I hopped back on the bus heading back towards Guildford and took it the 20 minutes back down the A3 to Wisley where I hopped off and, after crossing over the motorway standard road on a particularly unpleasant bridge, walked the short distance to the Royal Horticultural Societies gardens.

Wisley is the main garden of the RHS, and is spread out over a large site with formal gardens, orchards, kitchen gardens, Mediterranean terraces, glasshouses and woodlands to walk through.

I spent several hours wandering around the gardens and stopping at some of the viewpoints to take in the sights and in several places – in particular lavender hill – the smells of the gardens – sadly the nearby presence of both the A3 and the M25 mean it’s impossible to escape the noise of the outside world.

By the time I’d seen everything I wanted to see I still had a reasonable time to wait, at a bus stop right on the edge of the A3 for the bus back to Guildford, or about 20 minutes less waiting time at a stop in a Lay-By just off the A3 to catch the bus in the opposite direction, get off in Cobham, and wait on the high street there for the bus back – I chose the slightly less unpleasant option of going via Cobham

I had originally booked to stay through until the Monday, work out of the hotel and then get a lunchtime train back home, but due to a number of meetings that overlapped I needed to head back home, and by the time all the meetings had been booked in it was too late to change the hotel booking. On the plus side it did mean that I was able to keep the room through the day, and by the time I got back to Woking I was able to head back to the room, freshen up, pack my things and use the really good WiFi to get all my photos and video uploaded into the cloud before starting my journey home.

Of course, travelling by rail on a Sunday in the UK is never a great idea and as to be expected there were engineering works taking place. On the way down on Friday the train was non-stop Clapham Junction to Woking direct and took just 20 minutes. The journey back was non-stop Woking to Clapham Junction, but went on a pleasant wander round rural Surrey through Chertsey, Egham and Staines before finally arriving back into Clapham nearly 50 minutes after leaving Woking. At least with the timetabling of the journey the train was on time!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Florence; Wednesday, 13 July, 2022

As is so common with flights during the summer of 2022 the flight out to Pisa was heavily delayed, and by the time we finally departed was running 2 hours late, in part due to a late inbound flight, but also because we were on a remote stand and there weren’t enough buses to get us all over to the plane.

The flight itself was fine and the pilots even managed to make up some time landing us a little over 90 minutes late, a quick journey through the airport but we weren’t quite quick enough to make the PisaMova cable tram that now links the airport to the central station. By the time the next one arrived at Pisa Centrale we had missed the 21:30 train and so had nearly an hours wait.

That turned into a 90-minute wait as the train arrived in plenty of time, but then sat at Pisa for 30 minutes waiting for other trains to cross ahead of us. By the time we finally made it to Florence it was nearly 00:20, which is when we found out that all the taxis were on strike. Thankfully we had one piece of good luck as we were just in time to cram ourselves onto the last tram of the night out to the hotel.

By the time we checked in it was almost 01:00, not a great start when the next day you’ve got an all day meeting and presentation to a key customer!

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
35ºC/95ºF

Florence; Thursday, 14 July, 2022

We spent the whole day in meetings with our customer, which given the heat was quite exhausting.

We made it back to the hotel just after 17:30 and I jumped into a nice long shower before changing into something less warm than a suit and then met up with my colleague to head back into town for a very pleasant dinner in a Tuscan restaurant that the customer had recommended to us.

By the time we made it back to the hotel I was ready for a good night sleep, which with the excellent air conditioning in the room was actually achieved.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
37ºC/99ºF

Florence; Friday, 15 July, 2022

I did several hours work out of the hotel in the morning and over lunch so that I’d done most of a full day by the time I powered down the laptop a little after 14:00 and headed out into the wall of heat outside the hotel.

I caught the tram back into the centre of town and then walked over to the nearby bus stop to pick up the number 12 bus up into the hills above the city at the Piazzale Michelangelo. I spent quite a bit of time up at the square taking in the views over the city, helped by the crystal clear skies caused by the very dry heat which meant there wasn’t a haze over the city.

The only downside was due to the heat it was quite a bit of work to do anything so after taking quite a few photos I headed down to a small bar located just below the Piazzale and stopped there for a very large water and also a Spritz Aperol.

Refreshed I wandered back up to street level and after stopping off for a quick Gelati from a stall by the road I wandered the short distance round to the Church of San Miniato al Monte. To get up to the church it’s quite a stiff climb up several flights to stairs, but from the top the views over the city are even better than those from Piazzale Michelangelo.

After taking in the views for a while I headed into the church to have a look around, the church was beautifully cool compared to outside so I spent quite a bit of time just sat inside the church enjoying cooling down.

From the church I walked back down to Piazzale Michelangelo and then used the staircases and paths that lead down from the viewpoint back down to the riverside. Down at river level I followed the river towards the centre of town and crossed over on the Ponte Alle Grazie which is the previous bridge upstream from the Ponte Vecchio and from where there are some stunning views.

I continued on walking until I made it to the Piazza Signoria which was very busy with tourists. I had a little wander round there before finding a little bar to sit in and spend some time people watching with a large bottle of water, and another Spritz Aperol.

Feeling refreshed I headed out of the square and walked the short distance to the Duomo area to have a wander around the cathedral and take in the views, before it was time to meet up with my colleague, who had been doing her own thing all day, for dinner in another recommended restaurant.

After dinner we had a little wander round the city centre including taking in the Ponte Vecchio before we returned to our different hotels.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
39ºC/102ºF

Florence; Saturday, 16 July, 2022

I had a bit of a lie in as it was a Saturday and took a late breakfast, which was probably not the greatest idea as it meant I was out wandering around town at the hottest part of the day.

My first stop of the morning was the Giardino Bardini. These are a set of formal gardens that climb up the slope of the hill that Piazzale Michelangelo is located on. You can climb up through the gardens from river level before reaching the top of the gardens for more stunning views over the city centre, framed by pine trees.

I exited the gardens at the top, from where it’s a short walk round to the Medici built Forte di Belvedere which sits in a commanding position overlooking the city. The fort now houses a number of exhibition spaces which you can visit at a cost, alternatively you can get a free ticket which lets you wander around the battlements and terraces of the castle. The free ticket also gives you access to the café on the terrace at the top of the fort, from where I had a leisurely lunch in the shade looking across to the Duomo directly opposite me.

At the rear of the fort is access to the Boboli Gardens, my ticket from the Bardini Gardens allowing access of the same day, enabling you to complete a walk up and down the hill through the gardens. Whilst this is a pleasant walking route today it’s real purpose was to enable the Medici family to quickly flee from the Pallazo Pitti to the Fortress if they were ever threatened by a revolt.

I spent quite some time wandering down through the gardens and exited them at the entrance via the Porta Romana, rather than through the Pitti Palace. By the time I got to there I was exhausted from walking through the heat so from the Porta Romana I caught a bus back into the centre of town and then the tram back out to my hotel to freshen up with a nice shower and a change of clothes before heading back into town in the evening to meet up with my colleague for dinner.

After dinner my colleague was going to a concert so I had a wander with her through the streets of the city and over the Ponte alla Carraia at sunset before leaving her to go to her concert and I headed back to the station to pick up the tram back to the hotel for a well earned early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Phew! What a scorcher (more than 40C, 104F)
41ºC/106ºF

Florence; Sunday, 17 July, 2022

The weather was forecast to be even hotter today than the previous day, and as I had an early checkout from the hotel I wouldn’t have the opportunity for a shower or change of clothes so I decided to have a very lazy day exploring the city from the open-top bus.

The tour was slightly shorter than a typical sightseeing tour as road closures meant it completed the circuit in 50 minutes, but it took in the key sights that it could get close to, including heading up to the Piazzale Michelangelo and then running along the road on the ridge before descending back into town. Having the fresh air blowing over you as the bus moved at some speed over this part of the tour was very relaxing.

I ended up doing three complete circuits before hopping off back at Santa Maria Novella station to grab a quick bite to eat and then heading back to the hotel to pick up my luggage.

After a quick stop in the hotel for a bottle of water I headed back into the city centre to the main station to meet up with my colleague as we were both catching the same flight back to London.

Thankfully the journey was considerably smoother on the way back than on the way out with the train being on time and the plane only being 20 minutes late leaving Pisa.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Phew! What a scorcher (more than 40C, 104F)
42ºC/108ºF

Kalmar; Wednesday, 20 July, 2022

Just before I set off from home I’d checked and everything was running fine. I checked again about 5 minutes out from Heathrow and my flight was still on time, so it was with a bit of a surprise I was greeted with the news that my flight had an over 2-hour delay when I checked my bags in.

The original departure time came and went, but our departure time remained fixed with the same delay. Eventually just 40 minutes before our revised departure time they finally gave us a gate, which turned out to be the bus gate – thus insuring there would be no way we would make that revised departure time.

With delays getting buses, and a group of passengers who had to be offloaded as they had inadvertently managed to cancel their bookings after checking in (I wouldn’t have thought that would be possible), we finally pushed back off of the gate 3 hours behind schedule and chasing down the time before Heathrow closes for the night due to noise restrictions.

We made it out, probably the last flight on the night to depart and made our way over to Copenhagen. On the way the pilots managed to make up a little bit of time, crucially for British Airways – enough to bring the flight in under the 3 hours delay mark that would have resulted in yet more compensation claims.

The journey through Copenhagen Airport was surprisingly smooth for 2:30 in the morning, but then we hit the baggage arrival hall which looked like carnage. There were lots of people standing around the two belts that were working and the rest of the hall was stacked high with unclaimed (or unflown) luggage. It was pretty obvious that there might be a delay in getting bags, and that turned out to be true as it was nearly 3:30 before I finally had my bag and was through customs.

Thankfully, I’d made the bright decision of booking a hotel at Copenhagen Airport (my original plan I’d booked the night in Malmo, but then decided as there were only hourly trains overnight that could have gone horribly wrong) so it was only a five minute walk from the exit of the airport to the hotel check-in and then only a few minutes later my head hitting the pillows in my room.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Kalmar; Thursday, 21 July, 2022

I had a very good, if short, night sleep and woke up just before 10am in time to head down to the restaurant for a quick breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading over to the airport station to catch the train onto Kalmar.

Kalmar sits on the end of the Øresundståg service from Copenhagen over the Øresund Bridge to Sweden, so I could make the full journey on the one train, though it wasn’t the quickest taking nearly 3 ½ hours to make the journey. It did mean that I arrive at Kalmar just in time for checkin at my hotel there so I was able to drop my bags in my room straight away, grab some afternoon Fika (a Swedish afternoon Coffee and Cake tradition) that the hotel offers as part of the nightly rate, and head off into town to go sightseeing.

I spent several hours wandering round the city taking in the many sights – including the impressive castle as well as the numerous other fortifications across the city and getting my bearings for where the main things I wanted to visit the following day were located.

I finished off by walking along the top of the city walls back to the hotel where I was in time to catch the end of the included Evening meal before finishing off with coffee and a beer on the deck/balcony in my room that overlooked the harbour.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Kalmar; Friday, 22 July, 2022

I was up relatively early for a quick breakfast before heading out of the room and into town to go exploring.

First stop of the morning was over to the Stortorget – the main square in the centre of town and a quick visit to the impressive Cathedral that sits on one side of the square. I spent a bit longer than I originally planned in the cathedral as when I went to leave a short, sharp and pretty heavy shower was passing through the city, so I had to wait it out for about 10 minutes in the shelter of the Cathedrals portico before heading on to my next stop.

My next site to visit was the Kalmar Läns Museum, the Kalmar County Museum. The museum is located in a former warehouse building over a number of floors. Along with an exhibition on the history of the region and an exhibition on the archaeological finds at Sandy Borg an Iron age settlement which appears to have been wiped out in a massacre and resulted in a number of interesting finds, the main exhibition in the museum is on the Swedish Flagship Kronan.

The ship had only been in service for 4 years when it was sunk during a fierce sea battle in the Strait of Kalmar. The ship sank to the bottom of the Baltic and remained there until it was rediscovered in 1980 by the same man who found the Vasa in Stockholm. Over the following 40+ years multiple trips to the site have recovered about 90% of the contents of the ship and the museum houses a large number of them including an impressive set of canons, clothes, ornaments, every day utensils as well as some of the architecture of the ship.

My next stop was round the corner at the Maritime Museum, but it turned out that this is the only place in the whole of Sweden that still insists on cash only – virtually everywhere else has gone totally cash free, so rather than finding a cash machine and taking out just 50Kr (about £4) and all the related fees I decided I’d skip that and instead had a quick bit to eat before heading off across the city.

I paid a quick visit to the Kalmar Konstmuseum to have a look round their galleries before walking the short distance over to the main site of the city, the Castle – Kalmar Slott.

The origins of the castle are in the 11th century when a fortified tower was built to help protect the harbour and over the following years the fortification was expanded and enhanced with battlements, moats, defensive towers and walls built. The castle played a key part in one of the most significant events in the history of Scandinavia when, in 1397, the Kalmar Union was formed bringing together Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland under the control of Queen Margaret I of Denmark.

During the 16th century the fortress was transformed from a fortification to a palace fitting of the Swedish monarchy and today much of what remains inside is from this period.

After spending several hours in the castle I headed back across town to the hotel to catch the tail end of Fika, which I had out on my deck before then heading straight back to the restaurant for an early dinner.

Dinner completed I headed back out into town for another wander, making sure I made it back to the castle in time for the floodlights to come on so I could take some evening photos. I was surprised to find out that whilst the castle itself is only open during the day, for an entrance fee, once the castle closes the ramparts and battlements remain open for you to wander around free of charge, so I spent quite a bit of time taking some dusk and night photos before finally heading back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Heavy Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Kalmar; Saturday, 23 July, 2022

I had a nice long lie in and only just made it down to breakfast in time to catch the end of it.

After breakfast I went for a quick wander around town, with the intention of catching the bus out to the island of Öland in the early afternoon. However I had misread the timetable and seen the Monday to Friday times and only spotted the Saturday times were an hour different just as the 13:00 bus was departing, so instead I headed into the centre of town for a long lunch.

I was back at the bus station at 14:30 in time for the 15:00 bus, which turned out to be a good idea as the bus proved to be very busy. I managed to get a decent window seat but by the time we pulled out of Kalmar there were only a handful of seats left and a couple of stops further on it was standing room only.

After leaving Kalmar the bus heads up to the Ölandbron, an impressive 6KM long bridge that, at the time of its construction in 1972, was the longest such bridge in Europe. The first part of the bridge takes you up high over the Kalmar Strait, creating a passage for ships passing underneath, but quite quickly the bridge comes back down to only a few meters above the sea to travel the remaining few KM across to Öland.

Having crossed the bridge the bus headed North to Borgholm, the main settlement on the norther part of the island and where the bus emptied out quite a bit. From Borgholm the bus continued north up the length of the island before finally reaching Byxelkrok just over 2.5 hours after leaving Kalmar, and just in time for the skies to open with a spectacular downpour.

I had intended on spending a bit of time wandering around the harbour and town, and possibly stopping here for dinner, but after a few minutes of wandering and getting thoroughly soaked I decided that catching the same bus as I had come in on made much more sense, and after less than 35 minutes looking round Byxelkrok I was heading back south again.

The weather was pretty poor most of the way down the island with the ruins of the castle at Borgholm, which had been clearly visible on the journey up, disappearing into the murk just a couple of hundred feet from the road.

However it was clear the poor weather was limiting itself to Öland as the weather cleared up considerably as we crossed back over the Ölandbron and by the time we were back on the mainland it was blue skies and sunny.

As I’d caught the earlier bus I was back in Kalmar a little before 20:45 so I did have time to get back to the hotel and have the light evening meal there instead, before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Kalmar; Sunday, 24 July, 2022

Sunday was just going to be a day spent travelling.

After a pleasant, if slightly chaotic breakfast – the hotel managed to run out of plates at one point – I checked out of the hotel and wandered over to the station.

I arrived with nearly 30 minutes to spare before the train was due to depart, but it was already in the platform and able to be boarded so I hopped on and found a comfortable window seat that would be my home for the next 4 hours.

An uneventful journey across the width of Southern Sweden and then up and over the Øresundbron and back into Denmark arriving at Copenhagen airport right on time.

I had about 40 minutes to wait before checkin opened, but then I was able to get through security quickly into the lounge.

The inbound flight had been delayed 20 minutes leaving Heathrow, but the gate team at Copenhagen clearly wanted to clear most of that, so they had everyone in the gate room and ready to board a few minutes after the last inbound passengers had departed. In the end we managed to push back just 5 minutes behind our scheduled time and start our journey back to London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Leiden; Thursday, 04 August, 2022

I’d timed a minicab to pick me up from home at the end of the working day, which – at least according to their website – would, on a Thursday during the height of the Summer Holidays – get me to City Airport with lots of time to spare. That would have worked fine if the driver had taken the suggested route via the Rotherhithe Tunnel, but instead decided to spend the best part of 90 minutes weaving through back roads to the Blackwall Tunnel, where we promptly got stuck in a 15-minute-long traffic jam.

Not helping was the fact that I still wasn’t checked in as the British Airways covid document verification had failed to work (turns out that the Dutch locator form they insisted I had to fill out wasn’t required and that jammed their system up), so once I got to the airport, I still had to check-in and even at City you can’t leave it to the last minutes to check-in.

The taxi eventually got to the airport 50 minutes before my departure time, so still 30 minutes ahead of check-in closing, but still a lot tighter than I would have liked.

City Airport itself was very busy and in the end I had to walk all the way down to Gate 7 to find anywhere to sit. Thankfully it turned out that this was a good idea as a few minutes later the screens updated to show we would be leaving from Gate 9 so I was able to quickly wander down and be at the front of the queue for boarding – ensuring I could get my luggage into the overhead bins.

An uneventful if very quick flight across to Amsterdam, and for the first time in a very long time we landed on a runway next to the terminal, rather than the one that takes 15 minutes to taxi from.

The tales of chaos at Schiphol had been on a par with those at Manchester and Heathrow, which was part of the reason for going hand luggage only, so I was quite surprised at how quickly I was able to pass through immigration – I thought I was going to be in a queue there for hours, but in the end I was through in under 5 minutes, and 10 minutes later was already sat on the train to go the one stop to the town of Hoofddorp and my hotel for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Leiden; Friday, 05 August, 2022

The hotel let me have a late checkout, so I was able to work out of the hotel all morning through until 2pm when I checked out, headed over to the station and picked up the train a couple of stops down the line to Leiden.

I grabbed some lunch from a mini-supermarket in the station and headed over to my hotel in Leiden where I checked in and finished off my days work out of the hotel room there.

I powered down the laptop just after 6pm and then headed out into the town to go for a wander.

My first stop was to head into the historic centre of the city, across the ring of canals that helped form part of the outer fortifications of the city and then on into the very centre of town. I spent quite a long time wandering along the canals of the city centre before finding myself at the very picturesque area around the confluence of the Old and New branches of the Rhine.

From there it was a short walk over to the ruins of the city’s castle – the Burcht van Leiden. On a the top of a man-made hill that was built to protect the city from the waters of the Rhine are the ruins of a 12th century circular fort, which you can still go into and climb up onto the battlements, from where – at one of the highest points in the city you can see not very much as so many buildings have been built up close by!

From the castle I continued to have a wander through the city centre before heading back to the hotel as the last of the light of the day was fading.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Leiden; Saturday, 06 August, 2022

I had an early breakfast and was out of the hotel and back in the centre of town in time to catch the first canal tour of the morning from one of the many companies providing such services. This particular company uses the type of canal ships familiar to Amsterdam, which meant that for a lot of it’s route it stuck to the main outer waterways of the canal system, being too large to manoeuvre into some of the smaller canals.

Back in the city centre I had a bit of a wander around, taking in the Rembrandt Bridge and the site of the painter’s dad’s former wind mill – now recreated on the same spot. I then found myself at another of the companies offering canal tours, this one in more Leiden traditional open barges so I booked onto their tour, as well as booking for a night time tour later that evening. This turned out to be a good idea, as with a smaller boat the tour was able to go down several different canals to the earlier tour, meaning I got to see much more of the city centre than I would have done if I’d just stuck to the original tour.

After finishing the tour I headed back through town and grabbed a quick bite to eat before popping in to visit a couple of the large churches in the centre of town, the Catholic Hartebrugkerk and nearby the Marekerk, famous for being one of the first purpose built Protestant churches in the country following the reformation.

From there it was a short walk over to the Lammermakrt and the site of the De Valk Windmill. Originally this had been one of many mills dotted over the city, but today it’s the only remaining original windmill in the centre and is today both a monument and a museum, which shows how those working in mills would have lived and worked. As well as an informative film on the importance of the windmill to the history of the Dutch.

From the viewing platform at 14m up the mill there were excellent views over the city, and I did briefly consider continuing up to the window at the 29m top part of the mill, but then saw how steep the only stairs up (and more importantly down) were and decided that was a climb too far. The 6 flights of steep stairs having to go down backwards to get back down to ground level from 14m were bad enough!

From the Windmill I headed over towards the western side of the city and visited the Morspoort, one of only two remaining gates of the city, that were once part of the walls that, built up against the outer canals, helped protect the city.

From the Morspoort I wandered through the city centre, stopping off at the massive Hooglandse Kerk, which is now 25% church, 75% exhibition space – the building being too large for the size of modern Dutch congregations – before heading on to the Zijlpoort, the other remining gate of the city over on the Eastern side of the city centre.

I stopped for a late afternoon drink in a café near the Zjilpoort before heading back to the hotel via a supermarket to pick up some food for a quick hotel picnic dinner.

After dinner I headed back over to the canal tour company to join the evening tour round the canals of the city. There were only four of us of the tour (three tourists and the captain), so we used a small boat, which meant we were able to travel down some of the even smaller canals in the city centre and see even more of the network. The tour set off at 21:30 with the last of the sunlight just starting to disappear from the sky, so by the time we headed up the most stunning part of the tour, the final leg up the New Rhein past the city hall and under the Corn and Fish bridges the city was lit up in floodlights against a night sky.

Back at the landing stage it was time to wander back to the hotel, but I took a detour so that I went over the Rembrandt Bridge and past the Morspoort to take some photos at night, before getting back to the hotel for a well-earned nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Leiden; Sunday, 07 August, 2022

I had a bit of a lie in and after a late breakfast checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance over to the bus station to pick up a bus out to the coast.

My destination for the morning was the town of Katwijk aan Zee, located on the coast a few miles to the North West of Leiden and, technically, the mouth of the River Rhine. I headed to the mouth of one of Europe’s mightiest rivers only to find a small trickle of a river emptying into the sea amidst the sand dunes.

In reality, this is only the heavily sea defenced branch of the Rhine that runs through Leiden, and not the main part of the river which helps to form the port of Rotterdam and whose actual mouth is at the Hook of Holland some 20 miles further south. However, this particular branch does have historical importance as it did form part of the northern boundary of the Roman Empire on continental Europe. North of here are the barbarian lands that the Romans never conquered – Amsterdam included!

I had a wander down through the dunes of Katwijk which is a pleasant Dutch seaside resort with long sandy beaches and on a hot day an almost welcoming looking North Sea (Childhood experiences of swimming in the North Sea off Brighton and meeting some of the stuff that the 1980s Brits, French, Belgians and Dutch used to pump into the same sea putting me off swimming in it for life).

After wandering down the majority of the seafront I headed over to the bus stop and picked up the bus back into Leiden and from there wandered through the old town to the former studio of Jacob van Swanenburgh. Whilst you may never have heard of Jacob, you will probably have heard of one of his students a young local boy by the name of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, or just Rembrandt as the world now knows him. It was in this studio that the young Rembrandt was first introduced to art and his talent was first clearly on display. Toady the former studio is now a museum dedicated to Rembrandt’s time in the city before his move to Amsterdam in his early 20s.

Nearby to the Studio is the Pietrskerk, one of the largest churches in the city and one of the main locations where Pilgrim Fathers met before heading off to America. The pastor to the Pilgrim Fathers – John Robinson – is buried in the Church. Which makes it all the weirder that since the early 1970s the Church was deconsecrated and turned into an events space which means that were the high altar once was there is now a well-stocked bar.

From Pietrskerk it’s a short wander down to the canal and across into the grounds of the University and their botanical gardens the Hortus Botanicus. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the gardens, taking in the views over the canals and the greenhouses before it was time to start heading back to the hotel to pick up my bag and make my way back to Schiphol.

Originally, I had planned to spend another couple of hours in Leiden, but for the previous few weeks there had been horror stories of security at Schiphol taking hours to clear. It had become so bad that even people arriving 3 hours before their flights were still missing them, though that had then led to people turning up so far in advance that they departures halls were becoming dangerously overcrowded. The airport had just instigated a new policy that you could only arrive 4 hours before your flight, but as you can imagine, that meant most people – including me – were getting to Schiphol 4 hours before departure time.

I’d made sure I’d prepared by heading to the toilet near the railway station at Schiphol before heading into the terminal so if I was held in a queue for a long time, it wouldn’t be so bad. 24 minutes later I was standing in the departure’s hall looking forward to a 3 ½ hour wait before my flight was due to depart, and that was despite the airport claiming that it was one of the busiest days of the year for them.

Thankfully I had access to the lounge, so the time passed quite quickly and pretty soon it was time to head down to the gate, board the flight and make our quick hop back across the North Sea to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

London: South Kensington; Thursday, 25 August, 2022

After finishing work I headed up into Central London and across to my hotel, taking less than 50 minutes to get from home to hotel.

All checked in and my luggage stowed in my room I headed out to have a wander around the area and to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel for an early night as I had a busy day planned for the following day.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

London: South Kensington; Friday, 26 August, 2022

I had an early breakfast and was out of the hotel just after 09:30, walking the short distance down the road to the Natural History Museum to be there for it’s opening at 10am.

I spent nearly 3 hours looking round the Natural History Museum taking in all of the galleries and only briefly stopping for lunch. After the Natural History Museum I headed round the corner to the Science Museum and spent a couple of hours looking round that as well.

From the science museum I continued wandering up Exhibition Road to Hyde Park to take in the colossal Albert Memorial, located at the top of the cultural quarter that Queen Victoria’s husband had wanted to create prior to his death.

From the Albert Memorial it was a very short walk across the road to the Royal Albert Hall which I had booked a tour of. The tour took in most parts of the public areas of the hall, including climbing right up into the galleries at the top of the auditorium. Whilst we were visiting the Finnish Radio Orchestra were practicing for a concert they were giving as part of the Proms that evening so we were able to listen in to part of their rehearsals.

As we were the last tour of the day it meant there was less need to get us out and the next group in, so we had a more relaxed tour that ended up taking nearly 90 minutes rather than the 60 minutes originally scheduled.

From the Hall I walked back through Kensington and down to my hotel to freshen up and grab a quick bit to eat before hopping on the Piccadilly line and heading into the centre of London to go to the theatre to watch Les Mis.

After an excellent performance I headed back on the tube to the hotel and turned in for a well-deserved nights rest.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

London: South Kensington; Saturday, 27 August, 2022

My first stop of the morning was back along the Cromwell Road to the third of the big three museums in South Kensington – the Victoria and Albert.

This is an absolutely enormous museum and I spent several hours wandering round the galleries taking in the exhibits, but I probably only scratched the surface on what there was to see.

I had a quick pit stop lunch at a sushi place near South Kensington tube station and then hopped on the Piccadilly line up to Hyde Park Corner for my next attraction of the day, the Wellington Arch.

The Arch sits at the centre of the large traffic intersection at the top of Hyde Park and houses a couple of small exhibition spaces in one of the legs of the arch, as well as viewing platforms either side of the arch at the top. From the viewing platforms there are pretty good views over the grounds of Buckingham Palace, Green and Hyde Parks and across to my next museum to visit – Apsley House.

Also known as Number 1 London, as it was originally the first building in London that you reached if you were coming from the West, the house’s most famous resident was the Duke of Wellington, who lived here for a number of years, and held annual Waterloo Banquets in the upper floors to celebrate his most famous victory. The house is still in the hands of the current Duke of Wellington, though it’s cared for by English Heritage and open to the public. Along with he rooms left as they would have been when the Duke lived here the is also a small museum showing some of the gifts the Duke received from grateful monarchs around Europe once he’d disposed of Europe’s Napoleon problem once and for all.

From Apsley house I made my way back to the tube station and headed up to Kings Cross where I walked over to the London Canal Museum. Located in a former Ice Store for an ice-cream magnate in a basin just off of the Regents Canal this small museum tells the history of the canal network in London and the unique issues that the canals faced in London whilst they were still being used as commercial waterways up until after the Second World War.

After taking in the museum I wandered back along the canal to Granary Square. This area was originally part of the goods yards for Kings Cross Station, but fell into disuse as goods traffic switched to the roads. At one point this was a particularly nasty and dangerous bit of London, but over the last 20 years or so has been so fully rejuvenated that its now a popular place for people to visit and a convenient place to start the mile or so walk along the Canal towpath past the first five locks on the Regents Canal back to Camden Market.

I followed the tow path back to Camden and had a quick wander round the market before it was time to head over to the boarding pier for the London Waterbus which I was booked on to take me back along the last stretch of the Regents Canal from Camden, through the grounds of London Zoo, under Maida Hill in a lengthy tunnel and through to Little Venice, the point where the Regents Canal meets the Grand Union Canal.

From Little Venice I wandered back to the nearby tube station and caught the Bakerloo line down to Charring Cross and stopped off for some dinner there before hopping on the District Line back to Gloucester Road and my hotel bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

London: South Kensington; Sunday, 28 August, 2022

I had a bit of a more relaxed start to the morning and after a late breakfast headed out of the hotel and over to Pimlico to visit the Tate Britain gallery.

I spent a couple of hours looking round the gallery before hopping on a riverbus into town to meet up with friends for lunch.

After lunch I headed back over to the river and the Tate Modern gallery to complete my art tour for the day.

From Tate Modern I wandered back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out to grab a bite to eat.

After dinner I headed back into the centre of town and over to Green Park to pick up the London at Night Open Top sightseeing bus tour to take in the views of the city in the dark. I’d done the tour the previous year, but then the bus had been quite crowded as there was only one service a night due to Covid, where as this year there were half hourly services running from 19:30 to 22:00, so I decided on the 21:30 departure, which meant I was back at Green Park with spare time before the last tubes of the night back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

London: South Kensington; Monday, 29 August, 2022

I had an early breakfast and checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage with them, before catching the tube into town to Charring Cross where I was joining a photography tour.

The tour was actually a 1-1 tuition and tour of some of the key sights of London showing me how to get more out of my camera.

We started taking photos in Trafalgar Square before moving on to Chinatown and Piccadilly where we also stopped for a working lunch.

After lunch we headed down to Haymarket and St James’s Park – including stopping to watch the Pelicans, before wandering over to Horse Guards Parade in time to photograph the changing of the guard.

From Horse Guards it was a short walk down to Westminster to take a couple of photos including iconic London symbols such as the Elizabeth Tower with London Underground roundel and the London Eye by New Scotland Yard, which was where the tour ended.

I wandered back from the Embankment through Whitehall and St James’s Park to Green Park where I picked up the tube heading back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and make my way back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Grenoble; Wednesday, 31 August, 2022

After finishing work for the day I headed over to Heathrow Airport and my hotel room for the night.

In the original version of this trip I should have headed over to the airport after work tomorrow for a late evening flight, but a few weeks earlier BA had cancelled the evening flight and moved me onto a mid-afternoon flight, meaning I had to take an extra half days leave and work out of a hotel at the airport in the morning.

Unfortunately, by the time they cancelled my flight the price of hotels in Grenoble had gone up quite a bit so it was cheaper to keep the overnight hotel I had booked at Lyon airport, despite being able to get all the way through to Grenoble following the flight.

After dinner in the hotel I turned in early for a decent nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Grenoble; Thursday, 01 September, 2022

I worked out of the hotel in the morning, finishing at lunchtime and checking out of the hotel to head on down to Heathrow.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and we were all on the plane before it was due to push back only to get the news that not all passengers had made the flight, but all their bags had, so they would have to fish two bags out of the hold before they could let us depart.

In the end we were 45 minutes late by the time that we finally pushed back from the gate and headed out towards Lyon.

After arriving in Lyon I had a quick journey through the airport and then a short walk through the landside of the terminal building to my hotel for the evening.

I checked in, had a dinner in the hotel and then turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Grenoble; Friday, 02 September, 2022

Because in the original version of this trip I wouldn’t have gotten to bed until gone midnight I’d booked myself onto a late morning train, so I had a nice long lie in and a late breakfast before checking out and heading down to the TGV station at Lyon Airport to catch my train south.

An hour later the train arrived into Grenoble and I hopped onto a tram over to my third hotel in three days to checkin, drop off my stuff and then go for a wander.

I started by heading into the centre of town and the followed through the narrow streets of the old town until I reached the Isère river from where I was able to get some very impressive views of the mountains that surround the city with the edge of the Chartreuse, Vercors and Bellendonne ranges of the alps surrounding the city. The very last hill on the Chartreuse range before the river has been fortified over the centuries and today houses the remains of the Bastille fortification, which can be accessed via a steep hour long climb up from the river, or in about 4 minutes on the cable car.

4 minutes later I was at the top of the Bastille taking in the stunning views down the valleys of the Isère and Drac rivers with the three mountain ranges forming a wall around the city. I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the top of the Bastille taking in the views before going to explore more of the site.

The viewing platforms and cable car only form a small part of the top of the fortifications, there are several other areas that you can explore, including the Mandrin Caves. These are a series of caves and man-made tunnels that climb up inside the rocks of the hill tops that surround the Bastille, providing a way of defending the rear of the fort from attack – soldiers could hide in the hills and take out anyone who managed to make it up as far as the fort.

From the end of the caves it was a 10 minute walk back round to the Bastille and from there I headed into one of the casemates that has been turned into a small museum telling the history of the French Mountain Troops who played a key role in defending the high alpine passes. The museum tells the story of the creation of the force and the vital role they played during the second world war – initially trying to defend this corner of France and then in their sabotage and resistance roles against the occupiers. The museum continues on showing how the troops are equipped and work today, with the forces regularly being deployed on peace keeping missions.

Just outside the troops museum is a small part of the fortification that have been turned into an art gallery which houses rotating displays of local art works over three levels that you descend down through, before exiting below the cable car station and walking back up the hill.

I had a bit more of a wander around the Bastille area before hopping back on the cable car and descending back down to river level and going for a walk around the old town, stopping at a restaurant for dinner before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

I waited until just before sunset to head back out again. I’d noticed that the cable car runs until Midnight each night (except Sunday), so thought it would be quite nice to head up to the Bastille again at sunset to take in the views of the sunset and the views over the city at night and I wasn’t disappointed the views were spectacular.

I spent quite a bit of time up at the various view points high on the top of the Bastille before hopping on the cable car back down and walking back over to my hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Weird Weather
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Grenoble; Saturday, 03 September, 2022

I had a nice lie in and a late breakfast in the hotel before heading out to have a wander around some of the nearby parks and gardens.

Opposite the Hotel was the Parc Paul Mistral which is home to the Tour Perret, the only remaining structure from the 1925 International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism that took place in the city, and was the first reinforced concrete tower to be built in Europe at it’s time of construction. It was originally an observation tower which must have had excellent views of the mountains from it’s top. However, the tower closed in the 1960s and has never reopened, today its clear to see that whilst restoration work is underway it is an uphill battle to save the tower with large parts of the outer concrete having crumbled away revealing the now rusting steel reinforcement underneath.

From the Parc Paul Mistral I crossed over the road to have a look around the small botanical gardens located in the Jardin des Plantes. The garden also houses the city’s natural history museum and some greenhouses, but both of those were already closed for lunch by the time I got to them.

I took that as a hit and wandered over a bit further into the centre of town, stopping off at the stunning Place de Verdun in the centre of the city before making my way over to the area near the cathedral to find a café to grab a quick lunch in.

After lunch I walked the short distance on to the Musée Grenoble – the city’s art gallery, located in another park that sits on the line of the old city walls and the gallery even includes parts of the old city walls in in structure.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the galleries which cover mostly French art, but also some earlier Flemish, Dutch and Italian art. The gallery is known for being one of the first galleries to focus on Modern French Art and has quite a large amount of 20th and 21st century works.

From the Gallery it was a short walk back to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame which I had a quick look around before wandering on down to the Place Grenette which was the starting point for the Petit Train tour of the city. Afterall, this wouldn’t be a French City without a Petit Train.

The tour lasted about 50 minutes and took in quite a bit of the city centre, including crossing the Isère twice, though given the commentary was only in French it was a bit lost on me.

I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre before heading back to my hotel to drop my day bag off and freshen up before heading back out for a quick dinner and then back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
28ºC/82ºF

Grenoble; Sunday, 04 September, 2022

I’d decided to use Sunday as my museum day to try and tick off several of the city’s free museums. First stop was the Museum of the Resistance and Deportation of Isère. This very moving museum tells the story of how the Second World War made it’s way to Grenoble, the impact on the city and the restrictions on peoples lives initially under Vichy France, then Italian Occupation and finally the much worse Nazi Occupation, during which the work of the resistance, but also the deportation of the city’s Jewish population reached a climax.

From the resistance museum it was a short walk down to the former bishops place next to the Cathedral. This has been turned into a museum which houses a strange mish-mash of artefacts from Roman mosaics and medieval church art to relatively modern art and artefacts about the city. In the basement of the palace are the remains of an early baptistry that you can also look around.

From the bishops palace I headed on down to the river, via the open-air sculptures in the park behind the Musée Grenoble, and across the Pont St-Laurent to the Porte St-Laurent, one of the city gateways and nearby the ancient church of St-Laurent. The Church is likely on the site of part of the Roman burial ground as it would originally have been across the river from the Roman town, but over time small chapels, a church and then a monastery were built up on the site.

The history of the site is explained through the archaeological digs that have taken place inside the now deconsecrated church, with the floor having being removed and the various stages of construction and building opened up to see, including the numerous burials over the ages and the ability to descend down into the crypt where remains of the earliest sanctuary are still in place.

From the Archaeological museum I headed down the road running alongside the river stopping at a very nice boulangerie to grab some lunch before climbing up several hundred steps and about a quarter of the way up the Bastille hill to reach the former convent of Sainte-Marie d’en-Haut, which is now the Musée dauphinois.

This museum tells the history of the historic Dauphiné region, of which Grenoble has always been the capital, showing how the people of the region lived in times gone past when it was a much more rural region, surviving on mountain farming. The museum also has exhibits on the start and development of winter snow tourism that the region helped to pioneer, as well as a large exhibition on the glove industry in the city, which was the main Industry of Grenoble for many years, with the city at one point being known as the glove capital of the world.

After taking in the fourth museum of the day I wandered a bit further down the riverside road to reach the Porte de France. This former city gate is now the city’s main war memorial, with the names of those lost in the battles of the First World War inscribed on the inside of the gate. Across the road from the gate is the Jardin des Dauphins which is a small garden built on the bottom slopes of the Bastille Hill.

I started to wander up through the park taking in the views as I went, slowly climbing up through initially park land, but very quickly these turned into the fortifications of the lower part of the Bastille Hill. It’s not very well sign posted but at some point you actually leave the Gardens and are just on one of the paths heading up to the Bastille.

Hiking up to the Bastille on a warm sunny day wasn’t something that I had originally been planning to do, but by the time I realised that I’d left the gardens I was already so far up that it made more sense to just slowly continue on walking up, albeit being passed quite regularly by locals running up the path!

After about an hour of climbing I finally made the top of the Bastille and very quickly located the drinking fountain so that I could top up the water bottles that I had thankfully thought to bring with me and that I had almost drunk dry on the way up. Given that I’d walked all the way up I did think about taking the cable car back down, but instead decided to descend back down the opposite side of the Bastille through the fortifications on the Eastern side of the hill, which in the end were mostly via steps – well over 1,000 – back down to the Porte St-Laurent. From the gate I headed back to my hotel to slather my knees with Voltarol and turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Grenoble; Monday, 05 September, 2022

I woke up feeling surprisingly not stiff as I was expecting the unplanned hike of the previous day would have had an effect, but clearly the Voltarol had done its job and I was able to get out of bed, rather than crawl.

I had a lateish breakfast and checked out of the hotel heading over to the tram stop to pick up the tram out to the University. From there I picked up a local bus and headed out into the foothills of the Belledonne Range to the town of Vizille.

The town is home to a stunning chateau, which is home to the Museum of the French Revolution, which was my main reason for heading here to have a look around.

Unfortunately, the bus had been quite late and by the time I got to the museum there was only about 45 minutes to look around before the museum closed for lunch. Thankfully all the descriptions were in French only and I decided not to take an audio guide so I was able to see much of the site before they kicked everyone out for lunch.

I had a wander through the palace gardens, which have been turned into a public park and are open during lunch and after taking in the gardens went for a wander through the town centre. It may partially have been because it was lunchtime, but the town felt very empty with no shops open at all. Whilst some clearly were closed for lunch a large number looked like they hadn’t been open for a very long time and the whole town had a slight ghost town vibe to it.

I headed back to the chateau in time to make the bus back into Grenoble, which was running almost to time this time, and then headed back round to the hotel on the tram to pick up my bags before heading back to the main station and catching the TGV back to Lyon Airport.

A relatively quick journey through the airport and out onto the plane, which then took an age to board for no obvious reason and a further delay due to air traffic restrictions before we finally took off over half an hour late for the journey back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Carcassonne; Wednesday, 14 September, 2022

After finishing work for the day I headed over to the airport for my evening flight to Toulouse.

I’d been a bit worried about what time we’d finally get to Toulouse as the flight had not been anything less than 40 minutes late every day in the previous week, and the previous Wednesday it had been over 90 minutes late not arriving into Toulouse until gone 1am.

So I was pleasantly surprised when boarding started promptly 30 minutes before our scheduled departure time and less than 20 minutes later they were already closing the doors and preparing to push us back.

With a healthy tail wind we actually ended up landing in Toulouse, after a comfortable flight, 20 minutes early with our bags coming round at the same time as I reached the luggage carousel.

Consequently I was in my hotel room at the hotel connected to the terminal building before the time we were originally scheduled to land.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Carcassonne; Thursday, 15 September, 2022

As the flight had been quite regularly late, even when I was booking many months earlier, I’d made sure to book a train from Toulouse for the early afternoon rather than the morning so that I could get a decent nights sleep, not that I needed to worry in the end. From the airport I hopped on the AeroBus into town and over to the main station.

I had about 30 minutes to spare before my train was due to depart, but in the end it arrived a little early so only had to hang around for 20 minutes before I was able to get seated on board. A smooth journey down through the Occitan countryside and we arrived on time into Carcassonne. From the station it was about a 15-minute walk across town to my hotel where I checked in and dropped my stuff off in my room.

Having carefully applied a coating of sunscreen I headed out into town to go for a bit of an explore, starting off by visiting the Cathedral that was only a short walk away from the hotel and then having a wander around the area near there. Whilst the fortified upper town is one of the most famous fortifications in the country, the lower town was also fortified and small fragments of the old bastion walls still remain, mostly at three of the four corners where the fortifications once were.

From the lower town I braced myself for the slog up the hill to the upper town and made my way across the Pont Vieux and up the surprisingly shallow approach road that wraps itself around the fortress leading you to the gateway at the rear of La Cité as it’s known locally.

I headed into the fortified old town and had a long wander around the streets and lanes of La Cité before making my way over to the Château Comtal, the large castle at the heart of La Cité. I managed to arrive with about 10 minutes to spare before they stopped letting people in for the evening, but it also meant that it was quiet as there were only a handful of other people looking round at the same time as me.

After exploring the castle the route of the tour takes you out onto the ramparts where you walk along about 500m of the near 2KM walls of the city, from here you can take in the views down onto the lower city as well as across the towers and walls of La Cité itself.

The rampart walk ends close to the Basilica of Saint Nazaire which used to be the city’s cathedral until that was conferred onto the one in the lower town, despite that it’s still an impressive church with a long history and was worth a few minutes exploring.

After a little more wandering around La Cité I headed out through the Porte de l’Aude which isn’t one of the two main gate of the city, but does provide the most direct (if steepest and uneven) route back down to the river of the same name.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up, and after all the hiking up, round and back down from the city, a well-deserved shower before heading out in search of some dinner in the lower town, before returning to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Carcassonne; Friday, 16 September, 2022

I had a good nights sleep and with a filling breakfast inside me I headed out to explore more of the city, starting off by taking in the other UNESCO listed site in the city (after La Cité itself).

Running through the town on it’s 240Km journey from Toulouse to the sea is the Canal du Midi and naturally there are options to take a cruise along a part of this important waterway. The tour I took this morning headed downstream from Carcassonne along a stretch to the Écluse de Saint-Jean from where there are views down a Napoleonic avenue of cypress trees bordering the canal and in the distance the black mountains from where the canal draws most of its water.

From there the boat turned round, ascended back up through the lock and headed back towards the city, stopping for a few minutes at a point where La Cité is visible from the canal for a chance to take some photos.

Back in the city I had a quick lunch from a supermarket before picking up the Petit-Train that runs from the area around the Canal port and train station up to La Cité, avoiding the hike back up the hill. The land train drops you off by the Porte Narbonnaise which is where the Cité Land Train also departs from for it’s 25 minute tour round the fortifications, so naturally I did that next.

Back from the Cité Land Train tour I had a wander through La Cité before heading back to the Porte Narbonnaise to take the other Land Train back down into town and from it’s end point wandering the short distance to the Église Saint-Vincent to have a look around the largest of the city centre churches and the one that looks more like it should be a Cathedral than the Cathedral does.

From Saint-Vincent I wandered back to the hotel to drop off my stuff and freshen up before heading out a little later for an early dinner.

After dinner I made the hike back up the hill to La Cité where I had booked to visit the Remparts et Lumières. I was incredibly lucky in this as the seasonal light show along a different part of the Ramparts to those that you can visit from the castle should have finished the previous Saturday, but had been extended by a week to finish the following night. Because it was one of the last chances to do it for the year it was quite busy.

With an audio guide that provides both commentary and music that sync to the display you are watching you are guided along 500m of the oldest part of the city walls to the story of La Cité as told by the stones themselves. It all sounds a little cheesy, but with the views of the city at night it works really well.

I spent about an hour taking in all the presentations as I walked along the ramparts and by the time I left the city it was gone 10pm so I descended back down the hill to my hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Carcassonne; Saturday, 17 September, 2022

I had a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast before packing up my bag and checking out of the hotel.

Originally I had been due to spend another night in Carcassonne, but then BA cancelled my Sunday evening flight from Toulouse, instead putting me on a mid-morning flight which meant, with available trains from Carcassonne, I had to head back to Toulouse this evening and have a night at an airport hotel rather than spend the extra night here. In reality it was probably for the best as I had almost exhausted the sights and museums of Carcassonne.

The only place I hadn’t visited was the Musée des Beaux-Arts which was my first stop of the morning. The city’s art gallery houses a number of works from the 17th Century through to the modern day, with a significant number of modern art works that look specifically at the city.

Having taken in the gallery I headed into the centre of town for a bit of a wander around and a lengthy lunch before heading back over to the Canal du Midi to join my second canal tour of the trip.

This tour headed upstream from the centre of Carcassonne into the countryside and through two different locks – the Écluse de la Douce and the Écluse d’Herminis, the latter being one of the deepest on the canal with a rise of 4m. From the Écluse d’Herminis the boat turns and heads back towards Carcassonne pausing for about 20 minutes at a canal side café in a former lock keepers cottage.

Back in town and it was time to wander back to my hotel, collect my luggage and head back to the station for my train back to Toulouse. I had calculated this so I had about 25 minutes to spare, but that was without factoring in that there might be a delay to the train, and in the end I was sat on Carcassonne station for nearly 50 minutes before the train finally arrived.

Despite the delay I had a smooth journey up to Toulouse and an even smoother journey with connections to the Metro and then the tram working perfectly so that less than 40 minutes later I was in my airport hotel for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Carcassonne; Sunday, 18 September, 2022

I didn’t have the greatest of nights sleep and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, other than the bed despite looking comfortable was just a bit too hard.

After a quick breakfast I checked out of the hotel and walked the 15 minutes round to the airport to check-in.

Check-in was a bit chaotic with it taking nearly 45 minutes to get to the top of the queue, not helped by people trying to queue jump as they had connections to make – understandable if there were multiple flights, but we were all here for the last BA flight of the day so we were all going for the same plane!

By the time I was checked in there were only 20 minutes left until it was due to close and the queue suggested that there might well be quite a delay to the flight, so I was quite surprised that after a slow wander through security and the departures lounger boarding started promptly 40 minutes before departure, and 10 minutes before we were scheduled to leave the doors were once again being closed early.

Weather

Sunny No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Wiesbaden; Friday, 23 September, 2022

After the last experience of getting a cab over to London City Airport I’d left quite a bit of extra time, in the end it turned out to be too much and I ended up arriving with more than 90 minutes to spare before my flight.

Thankfully the inbound flight was quite early so they decided to start boarding quite early as well and pretty soon I was in my seat on board ready for departure.

The plane was parked virtually at the end of the runway, so they didn’t start pushback until after the safety briefing had been given and everyone was in their seats, then it was less than 90 seconds from starting the engines to powering down the runway.

A smooth flight later we landed in Frankfurt where I had a quick journey through the airport. I had originally planned to take the train to Wiesbaden as it should run every 30 minutes and only take about 35 minutes, but due to engineering works all the lines were closed and consequently I had pre-booked a taxi to meet me at the terminal and whisk me into Wiesbaden.

The journey took a little over 20 minutes, most of it at quite eyewatering speeds on the Autobahn, and pretty soon I was all checked into my room and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Wiesbaden; Saturday, 24 September, 2022

I had a decent nights sleep and a good lie in before wandering down for a late breakfast and then heading out of the hotel to pick up the bus to my first stop of the morning at the Neroberg.

The Neroberg is a hill that overlooks the city centre and the easiest way of accessing it, because this is Germany, is via a funicular railway. The Nerobergbahn is a bit special as it’s entirely powered by water and gravity. As I arrived there was a demonstration taking place as the train had just reached the bottom station and was in the process of emptying it’s water tanks to make it much lighter ready for the journey back up the hill, meanwhile at the top the other car was filling its tanks up with water to make it heavier than a fully loaded lower car, then when it’s time to set off they release the breaks and let gravity do the rest.

I took the train up to the top and then wandered a part way back down the hill to the view point over the city. Sadly the viewing terrace was in the process of being rebuilt so it wasn’t possible to get that close to the edge so the views were a bit restricted, however it was still possible to get a good view of the layout of the city.

After taking in the views I headed back up to the top of the hill and stopped at the café at the very top for an early lunch before wandering back over to the funicular station and catching the train back down the hill.

Back down in Nerotal I caught the bus into the city and hopped off at the Kochbrunnen. This is a small square at the point where the hot springs that run under the city break the surface. There is a small fountain formed by the hot waters bubbling up over a platform that has slowly been sculpted by the deposited minerals over the years to look like a small volcano. There’s also a small pavilion where you can actually take the water, though given the temperature it comes out at you’d need a cup or bottle to collect it in as it’s too hot to cup in your hands.

From the Kochbrunnen I had a bit more of a wander through the centre of town, taking in the Römertor, a small surviving part of the city walls, albeit undergoing heavy restoration work so very little was visible. I continued my wander through town and ended up at the Markt right in the centre and it was here that I picked up the land train tour that runs around the city.

I did the full tour, though it is possible to hop-off partway round at the Nerobergbahn and re-join later on and ended up back at the Markt. From there I caught a bus out of the city centre and down to the banks of the Rhein in the suburb of Beibrich to visit the palace there.

The Schloß Beibrich is a baroque palace located just above the banks of the Rhein and today is mostly used for events, including on Saturdays weddings -and lots of them, consequently it wasn’t possible to look round the palace so instead I had a wander through the grounds and then headed back to the bus stop to pick up the bus back into the centre.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed back out to grab a bite to eat, making it back to the hotel just as a massive thunderstorm rolled through with very impressive, and incredibly loud crashes of thunder and very bright flashes of lightning almost directly overhead.

The storm lasted for about 2 hours during which time it absolutely chucked it down, but after it finished I headed out to do a little bit of sightseeing at night, and as the temperature had dropped it was possible to see much more of the steam coming off of the fountain in the Kochbrunnen than it had been during the day. I had a wander around the centre of town before heading back to the hotel and turning in.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Wiesbaden; Sunday, 25 September, 2022

I had another lie in and a late start, and after checking out headed over to the Hauptbahnhof to put my bag into the luggage lockers there. I then picked up the train South West out of the city and down to the Rhine town of Eltville.

The town was, at one time, home to the Archbishops of Mainz and consequently has a small but pretty castle located down on the river front. The castle had a number of famous visitors, but perhaps the one that the castle likes to play up the most is local boy Johannes Guttenberg who set up a printing press in the town (alongside the presses he set up in Mainz). The castle has a whole floor of the tower given over to printing and all things Johannes.

From the top floor of the castle there were some pretty impressive views of this stretch of the Rhine, as well as of the pretty town centre. In what would originally have been the moat of the castle is the Rose Garden, which is open separately from the castle and can be wandered round free of charge. I had a little wander round that and then headed back to the station to catch the train back into Wiesbaden.

I headed back into the centre and over to the Markt where I visited the Stadtmuseum, which is located underneath the market itself and tells the history of the city from it’s earliest founding through to the modern day. Almost next door to the museum is the impressive Market Church which is visible from much of the city, so I had a quick look inside there as well.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre and found myself back by the Casino and behind it the Kurpark which is a pleasant set of gardens that lead back from the Casino up a gentle hill with a large lake offering some picturesque views of the imposing Casino building. I had a wander round the park and then headed back through the Casino itself, sticking to the public lobbies and the area under the great dome rather than risking venturing onto the playing floor.

I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre for a little while before it was time to make my way back to the station to pick up my luggage and head back towards the airport.

As I had the time I wasn’t going to bother with a taxi this time and instead took the train into the centre of Frankfurt and then intended on picking up the S-Bahn to the Airport which should have been running from there, except they’d cancelled the next handful of departures for unknown reasons. There was one train running, but when that pulled in already jammed packed and the crowds on the platform being at least four people deep I decided that the train wasn’t going to be a viable option, instead I headed back up to the surface and grabbed a taxi to take me back out to the airport.

In the end I was only at the airport about 2 ¾ hours before my flight so I had a relaxed journey through the airport and onto my way home.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Lausanne; Friday, 07 October, 2022

With a late afternoon flight I’d taken a half days leave, so I finished work, had lunch and then made my way out to London City Airport.

As it was London City I didn’t need to worry too much about getting there early, in fact I only left home about 2 hours before departure, anywhere else I’d already be at the airport by then. I had a smooth journey via National Rail, Overground, Underground and DLR to the airport, and by the time I got through security they had already assigned a gate to the flight and I was able to wander down and wait to be called forward for boarding.

Boarding started a little earlier than advertised, which meant that the plane was all ready to go a good 10 minutes before our departure time, but due to slot restrictions we had to sit there until it was time to push back on our scheduled departure time.

A smooth flight across to Geneva and a quick journey through the airport, taking advantage of the ticket machine that nobody else appeared to notice in baggage reclaim to get my train ticket to Lausanne, avoiding the queues several people deep at the station.

Because I didn’t need to queue for my ticket at the station I was able to make the train that was already on the station and barely 90 minutes after disembarking the plane I was getting off the train in Lausanne.

I caught the bus up the very steep hill to my hotel, checked in and dropped off my luggage, before heading back down into town and taking the metro to the bottom of the hill and Lake Geneva to take in some night time views across the lake into France.

From the lakeside I caught the metro back up the hill to the centre of town and climbed the last 120 or so steps up to the Place de la Cathedral from where there are good views out over the city. By the time I was up there it was almost 10pm so I stuck around to hear the cathedral clock chime the hour and the first call of the nightwatchman for the evening (the city still has a nightwatchman who calls out the hours from 10pm to 2am).

From the cathedral I headed back down to the station to quickly grab a light snack from the supermarket there before hopping on the bus back to the hotel for dinner and bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Lausanne; Saturday, 08 October, 2022

I’d already seen that the weather wasn’t supposed to be that good today, so I decided to have a lie in, a late breakfast and see what things were like closer to 11am. It was still raining at that point, but perhaps not as heavily as it had been, so I headed out of the hotel and made my way over to the Palais de Rumine which is home to a number of different free museums.

I spent a good couple of hours looking round the different museums in the Palais de Rumine, as well as taking in this impressive building. A nice feature of the building is that you can exit from the top floor directly out onto a pathway that runs close to the Cathedral, cutting off a pretty hefty climb up the hill.

I headed back to the viewpoint that I’d visited the previous night and then wandered round to the Cathedral to have a look around inside. It’s also possible to climb the tower of the cathedral, but given how much low cloud there was around it was pretty obvious that I wouldn’t be able to see much, so it felt a bit of a waste hiking up over 300 steps to not see very much.

From the Cathedral I headed back down into town and onto the station where I grabbed a quick bit to eat before hopping on a train to head along the lake down to Chillon and it’s very impressive Castle.

The Château de Chillon is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country and readily features in any imagery of Switzerland, but by mid-afternoon on a wet Saturday in early October the castle was pretty quiet so I was able to tour round without too may other tourists.

By the time I finished looking round the castle I’d just missed the hourly direct train back to Lausanne, so I instead decided to catch the bus a couple of stops back towards Montreux and change in the town of Terriet onto the funicular railway which took me up to Glion high in the hills overlooking the lake. From here there are stunning views over the southern part of Lake Geneva, and an excellent spot to capture views of the Château de Chillon.

With almost perfect timing, after taking quite a few photos, and with the cloud starting to roll back in again, the rack railway train from Glion back down into Montreux arrived and I was able to hop on and head back down the hill in time to make the fast train back to Lausanne.

Back in Lausanne I headed down to the lake side again, arriving a few minutes before sunset so I was able to get some excellent sunset photos of the lake and surrounding mountains before hopping back on the metro up into town to grab some dinner before heading back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep.

Weather

Heavy Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Lausanne; Sunday, 09 October, 2022

After a bit of a lie in and a relaxed breakfast I checked out of the hotel and headed over to the tram stop to catch the tram to the edge of the city centre and the location of the original Roman settlement of Lousonna, which was located down on the banks of the lake, a couple of miles West of where the city centre is today.

Quite a bit of the remains were only discovered when they were building a motorway through the area in the 1960’s including a complete mosaic which is now protected from the elements in it’s own little shelter, but visible to look at from the pavement. Across the road are the main part of the remains, representing some of the more civic buildings of the city including a temple and a basilica. A lot of the rest of the remains are under neighbouring buildings.

An example of this is a short walk away at the Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy, which houses artefacts from the site, as well as other parts of the ruins around the building and on the ground floor. I spent a little while looking round the museum before heading back to the bus stop to catch the bus back along to Ouchy at the bottom end of the metro.

I caught the metro up a couple of stops and walked the short distance along to the Jardin Botanique de Lausanne, the city’s small botanical gardens to have a wander round there, before hopping on another bus and heading back into the city centre to grab some lunch.

After lunch I walked the short distance over to the Musée Historique Lausanne and spent quite a bit of time looking round their permanent exhibition on the history of the town. Whilst there is a little bit on the very earliest of settlements the main focus is on the period from the construction of the old town around the Cathedral in the Middle Ages onwards, including a very impressive model of the medieval city centre which is used as part of an audio visual presentation.

Part of the museum is housed in one of the oldest buildings in the city, and it was interesting how they managed to weave the narrative of the museum into the fabric of both the modern extension and the ancient city building.

From the museum it was a short walk up the hill to the very top of the ridge that the heart of the old town was built around and the Château St-Maire, still used as part of the local government, so not open to the public, but from the square there were some good views back over the city and the lake.

I walked back down through the old town and used the Palais de Rumine as a cut through to save off on the steep inclines down as I made my way back to the hotel to pick up my bag before heading back down to the station to catch my train back to Geneva and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Paphos; Wednesday, 12 October, 2022

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel so it was a relatively quick, if slightly chilly journey into the airport – dressed as I was for my destination, rather than mid-October London.

A smooth journey through the airport, onto the flight and arrival into Paphos. I was through the airport and in my booked transfer, with my luggage, barely 30 minutes after touching down.

I arrived at the hotel, checked in and, given the two hour time difference and near 5 hour flight time from gate to gate, headed straight down to dinner.

After dinner I wandered down through the hotel complex to the seafront to take in the views of Paphos at night, but I was pretty tired from the travel so rather than venturing too far I headed back up to my room and turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Paphos; Thursday, 13 October, 2022

I had a bit of a lie in and then wandered down to breakfast, sat out in the hotel garden which was a very relaxing way to start the day. Fuelled for the day I headed out into town and started by wandering along the seafront walkway into the harbour area.

As I reached the harbour area I spotted an open-top bus tour so decided to hop on that and do a couple of circuits round the town to get an overview of the city and to find out a bit more of the history of Paphos, though the commentary on the tour was a little lacking in detail. After the second loop I stayed on the bus for a couple of stops to get out to the Tombs of the Kings, located a couple of Kilometres from the centre of town.

The Tombs of the Kings doesn’t actually contain any tombs of monarchs of any gender, but does included the tombs of many of the leading families of the day in the Paphos of at least 2,000 years ago.

The tombs are all hand carved from the rock, which considering how intricate they are with entire courtyards and buildings hollowed out from the rock, is pretty impressive. There are over 100 tombs dotted across the site, but 9 of them are particularly noteworthy due to their size and intricacy.

From the tombs I walked the 2Km or so back to the Fabrika Hill archaeological area. This area houses a number of different archaeological relics including two catacombs that you can wander down into, an Hellenic theatre and the hill itself which has been carved out over the millennia into a series of large interconnected chambers, to the point that there’s probably now more empty space than hill in the hill.

From the hill it was a short walk down to see the Ottoman era baths and a Byzantine church before finally wandering back down to the seafront and onto the hotel.

As I had time before it closed I had a quick swim in the pool before heading back to my room, having a shower and then heading down for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Paphos; Friday, 14 October, 2022

I had to get up relatively early this morning as I was booked on a day tour, and the pickup was at 08:30, so I was down having breakfast a little after service started at 7. It did mean that I practically had the restaurant to myself and the buffet was completely fresh.

The tour picked me up from the opposite side of the road from the hotel, and I was about halfway round the pickup locations so I was able to get a window seat whilst only having to sit through another 20 minutes of stopping at different hotels along the seafront.

After the final pickup of the morning the coach headed to the first stop, overlooking Aphrodite’s Rock – supposedly the birthplace of the Greek goddess. The three rock stacks coming out of the sea are pretty impressive by themselves and the scenery along this part of the coast is breath-taking.

Next stop along the coast was at the ancient city of Kourion. Once an independent Kingdom during the Roman period it became a city, but was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the middle of the 4th century. Today significant parts of the site have been uncovered, including several large buildings and the amphitheatre. We only had limited time on the stop here, so we only saw one of the largest houses and the amphitheatre, but it was enough to get a good idea of the impressiveness of the city before its destruction.

Slightly further along the coast and our most Easterly stop of the day was to look round the crusader era castle in Kolossi. Whilst there isn’t much to see in the castle itself, there were pretty good views to be had from the roof over the local area.

From Kolossi we drove up into the Troodos mountains stopping off at a winery for a tasting of their various products (and the inevitable opportunity to purchase) before moving on to the highest point on the tour in the small village of Fioni where we stopped for an included lunch which was made up of local Cypriot food.

From Fioni we traced our way partially back down the mountains to the town of Omodos where we stopped for an hour to explore the town and the 3rd century Monastery here that houses holy relics.

After the stop in Omodos it was back on the coach for the return journey to Paphos and the hotel drop-offs, with mine leaving me just enough time for a quick swim before the pool closed at sunset and then dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Paphos; Saturday, 15 October, 2022

After the previous days early start I had a bit of a lie in and was quite late down for breakfast, which turned out to be a mistake as the calm quiet of the previous day had been replaced with a manic free for all.

The battle of breakfast completed I headed out into town, walking along the seafront and continuing round through the harbour to the castle.

There has been a castle in the harbour since at least the Byzantine time, but the current castle leaves much of its design and layout to the short Venetian period. I spent a little while looking round the castle – though there is little inside, but the views from the roof over the harbour and lower part of Paphos were quite good.

The castle, along with Fabrika Hill, form part of the Ancient Paphos archaeological site, but to stop having to fence off large parts of the city only the core is actually being an entrance fee in the archaeological park, and that’s where I headed to next. The park houses a number of different structures from the Ancient Greek and Roman periods through to the time of the Knights of St John and the Ottoman period.

Some of the most impressive parts of the site were the mosaics many dotted around in the open air, though with a period of bad weather forecast many of those had been covered by sand to protect them.

It was at this point that my camera decided to give up the ghost, or more critically the SD card decided to corrupt itself, so from then on rather than taking photos I just wandered round the rest of the site past the remains of a Roman Agora and theatre to the Knights era castle – in used until it was destroyed by another on Cyprus’ devastating earthquakes.

Of course, I’d chosen the best time to wander round an open-air archaeological site, middle of the day. By the time I’d finished looking round the site I was quite tired and very sweaty, so I headed back to the hotel to freshen up, including a shower as I had a spa treatment booked in for the early evening.

As part of the hotel package, it had included a free spa treatment, so I’d opted for a massage, which was very pleasant and at the end made me seriously consider just going straight to bed, but instead I watched the sunset from my room balcony with a glass of wine and then headed down for dinner.

After dinner I headed back to my room and dropped off quite quickly.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Paphos; Sunday, 16 October, 2022

I was woken about 3am by a spectacular thunderstorm that was raging across this part of the island, lightning so bright that it made its way though the pretty good black out curtains and enormous claps of thunder that rumbled around the sky for a good minute or so after the initial bang.

That was then accompanied by the torrential rain which was still going when I woke back up again just after 8.

I headed down to breakfast after a shower to find it even more hectic than the previous day as the seating space had been reduced by half, given nobody wanted to eat their breakfast in the rain, but I managed to grab a table and have something to eat.

I hadn’t originally had much planned for the day, which was good as the heavy rain and thunderstorms continued through the morning, so I just hid in my room until it was time to checkout and then sat in the hotel lobby for the 25 minutes or so before my transfer to the airport arrived

Weather

Thunder Light Rain
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Bournemouth; Thursday, 20 October, 2022

As there was major engineering works taking place at the weekend the coach actually turned out to be the quickest option for getting back from Bournemouth, and therefore it made more sense to get a return on the coach rather than taking the train so after work I headed up into London and over to Victoria Coach Station to pick up the National Express service down to Bournemouth.

The journey was pretty smooth, though with long sections of road works on the Motorway it meant that we ended up arriving 15 minutes late.

I walked the 10 minutes or so from the station to the hotel and checked in before heading up to my room and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Bournemouth; Friday, 21 October, 2022

I worked out of the hotel all of the day on Friday, only popping out to grab some lunch.

This meant I missed with worst of the heavy showers that kept passing through during the afternoon.

After finishing work for the day I headed out of the hotel and over to my friends to have dinner and spend the evening with them before heading back to the hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Bournemouth; Saturday, 22 October, 2022

After an earlyish breakfast I headed out of the hotel and wandered down to the top of the East Cliff promenade high over the beach. Originally the quick way down to the beach from here would have been the East Cliff Lift, but that was damaged by a landslip in 2016 and six years later it still hadn’t been repaired, so instead I walked down the zig zag path that makes its way down the side of the hill to the beach.

I had a bit of a wander around the beach before heading on in towards the pier and the centre of Bournemouth. I had a quick look around the area around the pier and then headed up through the Lower Gardens, stopping off at the Aviary for a quick look at the tropical birds on display.

My friends then texted me to arrange meeting so we could head out over to the Isle of Purbeck as they were driving over. After meeting up we headed out of Bournemouth and down to Sandbanks, home to some of the most expensive property in the country, to pick up the chain ferry that crosses the short stretch of water between here and the Isle of Purbeck.

The total crossing time was less than 5 minutes and soon afterwards we were driving through the narrow country lanes of the Isle of Purbeck. We stopped off at a view point from where there were excellent views across the Isle as well as across to Sandbanks and Bournemouth itself.

From the view point we continued on driving down to the town of Corfe where we parked up near Norden station on the steam railway and walked the half mile or so back into town and over to the castle.

We spent quite a bit of time looking round the impressive ruins of Corfe Castle, sitting high on the hill over the surrounding countryside as a romantic ruin – deliberately destroyed on Oliver Cromwell’s orders following the English Civil War as it had been a royalist holdout.

From the castle we headed to the nearby Greyhound Inn where we have a very nice, and filling, lunch before a quick visit to the national trust shop and then wandered back over to the car park to pick up the car and head back into Bournemouth.

My friends dropped my off near my hotel before they headed home for dinner and then we met up again later in the evening for a couple of drinks.

Weather

Heavy Showers Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Bournemouth; Sunday, 23 October, 2022

Breakfast completed I packed up my bag and checked out of the hotel before catching the bus down to the pier.

I had a bit of a wander around the area by the pier, stopping off to have a ride on the Ferris Wheel that rises up above the pier and lower gardens. From there I then headed down onto the pier to have a wander along that.

I headed back to the land end of the pier and at that point my friends texted me to meet them for brunch over in Boscombe the next area of Bournemouth over from the town centre, so I hopped on a bus over to meet them.

After brunch and having a bit of a wander around Boscombe I bid farewell to my friends and headed back into Bournemouth.

I went for a bit of a wander around the sea front and did consider going into the aquarium, but then saw the entrance prices so decided to give that a miss. Instead, I went for a wander up through town.

I was feeling like a cup of coffee and there was a touch of rain in the air so I popped into a café which turned out to be well timed as a few minutes later a massive thunderstorm passed over the town unleashing monsoon rains and causing many more people to scurry into the café.

I spent quite a bit longer than I had intended in the café as I waited out the storm. I had a bit more of a wander around town, but by now most things were starting to close down for the evening so I headed back to the hotel to grab my bags, have a drink in the bar to fill in the time, and then head back to the coach station to pick up my coach home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Thunder
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Girona; Thursday, 03 November, 2022

I’d stayed overnight at a hotel near Hatton Cross tube station as it was an early flight from Heathrow. In the original plan I’d walk to Hatton Cross and take the tube, which is free, into Terminal 5. However, the weather overnight and into the morning was atrocious and it was still hammering it down at 5:30 when I got up so instead of the free journey into the airport I decided to wait for the 06:00 hoppa bus and pay the £5.50 to avoid getting wet.

I must have arrived at the peak of the morning rush as there were lengthy queues for security and the terminal was heaving everywhere, but after about 45 minutes it quietened back down considerably. I wandered down to my gate about 10 minutes before boarding was due to start and ended up sitting there for nearly 50 minutes as boarding got delayed due to the plane having to wait for the limited number of cleaners on duty.

Not that it mattered that much, my connecting train from Barcelona wasn’t due to leave until 15:50 giving me plenty of time to make the connection, and hopefully – as I’d purchased a full fare ticket – move my train forward if we were early.

By the time I reached baggage reclaim it was 12:20 Spanish time so whilst waiting for my bag I went onto the Renfe website to change my ticket, only to find that whilst I had a fully changeable ticket it doesn’t work when all the earlier trains are fully booked. I was stuck with my booked train.

It did mean I had a much more relaxed journey into town as I had a couple of hours to play with, so rather than paying for a local transport ticket to get the metro from Terminal 1 I hopped on the free inter-terminal bus round to Terminal 2 and claimed my free suburban rail ticket that came with my AVE ticket. Of course, I arrived at the station at T2 just as the previous train was leaving so I had a 30 minutes wait there before I continued my journey into Barcelona.

I arrived at Barcelona with still nearly 2 hours until my departure, but it did mean I could use the Sala Club to wait in with a nice cold beer and some snacks to while away the time before heading through the security check and down to my platform for my train onto Girona.

The train zipped through the Catalan countryside making the journey in just 40 minutes. From the high speed station in Girona I walked the kilometre or so over to my hotel to checkin and then after freshening up headed into town.

I wandered over to the Old Town of the city located on the opposite bank of the Riu Onyar and walked through the narrow lanes and steep cobbled paths up to the Cathedral steps and then on up to the city walls.

You can walk along the top of the city walls which, after being partially destroyed in the 19th Century to enable city expansion, have been restored to a near full circuit from leading up the hill from the river and then back down again. I walked pretty much all the length of the walls to the far end, only to find that they had started to lock the walls up for the night, so had to walk the whole way back only just managing to get off the walls before being locked in for the night.

I then headed back down into the lower part of the old town for a quick bit to eat before walking back to the hotel for a well earned sleep.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Girona; Friday, 04 November, 2022

I had a really good nights sleep and woke up at 7am feeling really refreshed. Just a shame that I’d set my alarm for 9am. I eventually got up a little after 8, had a shower and headed down for breakfast before heading out into town.

I wandered down through the modern city centre to the Plaça de la lndependència where I had a quick look around the square before leaving via the Sant Agustí bridge across the Riu Onyar, taking in the impressive views of the colourful cliff like buildings that line the river at this point.

Having crossed into the old town I wandered through the narrow streets stopping off below the front of the Basilica of St Felix to take in it’s myriad of architectural styles, before wandering round to the former monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants which is the only place along the walls where they haven’t been fully reconstructed with a small section of the norther part of the wall ending abruptly behind the church. I headed up onto the wall and walked along this small section back down towards the river.

As I was walking I noticed that the skies were getting very threatening, and then a number of flashes of lightning and distant rumbles of thunder started. By the time I got back down to street level the first spits of rain were starting to fall and the gaps between lightning and thunder were only down to a couple of seconds, so I knew I only had a very short period of time to find shelter before getting soaked.

Thankfully it was only a short walk back round to the monastery which I made with a few seconds to spare before a monsoon like downpour hit the city. The monastery is today the local archaeological museum. I had originally intended on doing most of the museums on Sunday, as they are all free on the first Sunday of the month, but €6 felt like good enough value for avoiding getting soaked so I sat out the storm, which lasted for a good 40 minutes, wandering around the museum.

By the time I left the museum the storm had passed and clear blue skies and a warm sun were making fast work of the standing water, in places you could actually see steam rising as the rain evaporated away quickly. I had a bit of a wander around the area behind the monastery and then started climbing up the next parts of the walls up towards the Cathedral, diverting off part way up to visit the Arabic Baths, and then afterwards just round the corner to look inside the Basilica of St Felix.

After the Basilica I wandered up into the old town and stopped off for a very late lunch at a café at the foot of the Cathedral stairs to recharge both mine and my mobiles batteries before climbing up the 90 or so stairs to the Cathedral and having a look around inside there.

From the Cathedral it’s just a short, and thankfully level, walk round to the former Bishops Palace which now houses the Museu d’Art which displays many artefacts that were originally on display in both the Basilica and the Cathedral, as well as a small selection of modern art and some temporary exhibit spaces.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the museum and the sun was already well on it’s way to setting as I wandered a bit further up through the old town, taking in the narrow lanes and stairways that lead up the steep slopes, before heading back down to the riverside and then wandering back to the hotel to freshen up and drop off my bag.

Having had a late lunch it meant I was able to hang on until almost 9pm before I felt the need to head back out again in search of some dinner, and at least tonight I wasn’t the lone person eating as it looked like locals were also starting their meals about this time. After dinner I headed back to the hotel and my very comfy bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Thunder
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Girona; Saturday, 05 November, 2022

Breakfast completed and I headed out into town, wandering in a different way so that I could cross over the river on a bridge further up into the old-town.

I had a little walk through the old town and then headed over to the city walls to take in the walk and the views in the daylight. The walls were quite a bit busier during the day than they were when I walked along them on Thursday evening, so it actually took quite a bit of time to walk the whole length as everyone had to stop quite often to let others squeeze past.

I was also able to get some very good views over the city and surrounding countryside from the top of the various towers, something which had been missing in the dark.

I came down off the walls and then wandered back through the old town keeping up relatively high close to the walls, it meant that I could explore some of the narrow passageways that run up into the upper part of the old town, including through the former Jewish neighbourhood. After walking along a couple of steep passageways I emerged out into a viewpoint located next to a falling down ancient tower and some very empty buildings which had views out over the roofs of the old town.

I walked on a little further and eventually came out by the Cathedral and Art museum, so I descended down the cathedral steps and stopped off at the same café I had done the previous day to have a slightly better timed lunch and to work out what to do with my time.

There were only really a couple of museums left to see and if I did them today I’d have to pay, where as they would all be free tomorrow as it was the first Sunday of the month, so instead I had a quick look up on things to do near Girona and found that the town of Figueres, about 40 minutes away by local train looked like a good bet. After finishing lunch I headed down into town and onto the station to buy tickets and wait for the train.

The train meandered through the Catalan countryside and eventually arrived in Figueres and from the station it was about a 10 minute walk to the centre of town. Once there you are soon made very aware of who the most important son of the town is. Born in Figueres in 1904 Salvador Dalí is what the town is about. The former Theatre, which was destroyed in the civil war, was rebuilt and converted by Dali in the 1960s to become a Theatre-Museum dedicated not only to his works – the largest collection of Dali pieces in the world, but as well as his private collection of other works. It’s also where Dali was buried following his death in 1989.

The museum is, as one would expect from Dali, a slightly surreal and odd place. Dali had designed it for people to wander through at will to experience the works, so it’s a bit of a snub to the man that the museum now has numbered every room giving the option to walk through a pre-prepared route (though you’re still welcome to go your own way round the site).

After taking in the museum I had a bit of a wander around the rest of the town centre in the fading light before stopping off at a café near the museum and the 1000 year old parish church for a quick tapas and beer before heading back to the station to catch the train back to Girona.

Back in Girona I wandered back to the hotel and had a quick snack and drink from the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Girona; Sunday, 06 November, 2022

I had a bit of a lie in and a late breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading on into town to visit the last two museums I wanted to see.

First stop of the morning was the museum of Jewish history which tells the story of the Jewish population in Girona. Arriving in the 800s the population grew and helped grow the city, but as is so often the case with European History the population was on the end of antisemitic politics as part of the Spanish Inquisition and the remaining population was expelled from the country in May 1492. The museum is located on the site of where the bath house and synagogue are thought to have been and with the ruins of these buildings and a number of artefacts the museum charts the history.

Only about 100m further up the road is the Girona History museum. Housed in a 15th century house which was converted in the 1700s into a Capuchin monastery the museum tells the story of the city, starting with the Roman settlement through to the modern day.

Having done both the museums I had about an hour to kill, so I wandered down to a café near the archaeological museum for a light bit to eat and a drink before making my way back to the hotel to collect my luggage and head back over to the station to pick up the train back to Barcelona.

Originally I had a 27 minute connection in Barcelona to make the train to the airport, but with the train leaving Girona 5 minutes late and then grinding to a halt in the tunnel outside Barcelona-Sants station for 10 minutes I only had about 10 minutes to grab my transfer ticket from the machine and make my way down to the platform to catch the train out to the airport, which I did with about a minute to spare.

From the airport station I caught the transit bus round to terminal 1to check in for my flight and complete my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Madrid; Friday, 11 November, 2022

My first evening flight from Gatwick since before the pandemic – and I’d forgotten quite how easy the journey down was, and quite how full the trains get.

I had a very smooth journey through the airport clearing security and getting into the lounge in just a couple of minutes after arriving at the terminal.

easyJet had been reporting the flight as likely to be delayed for some time, as the inbound plane was delayed getting into and leaving Valencia on it’s previous journey because of weather, so it wasn’t particularly surprising that we didn’t even start boarding until after we were originally supposed to push back.

We eventually took off about 45 minutes late, and hand managed to make a reasonable amount of that back up before we got to Madrid only to be put in a holding pattern for about 10 minutes and then landing about 20 minutes taxiing from the gate.

The gate turned out to be a bus, so despite being at the front of the plane I was one of the last to join the lengthy and slow queue for immigration. We were originally due to land around 22:30, but the time I made it through to landside it was already a couple of minutes before midnight, and then it was a good 10 minute hike through both Terminals 1 and 2 to get to the metro.

Thankfully it was only one stop to get to my hotel for the evening and pretty soon I was in my room and enjoying sinking into the comfortable bed.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Madrid; Saturday, 12 November, 2022

I had a nice long lie in and then a big breakfast before heading out of the hotel and into town.

My first stop of the morning was to head over to the National Library which is also home to the National Archaeological Museum. I spent quote a bit of time wandering around the museum which is very expansive, though at the time of visiting the upper galleries were temporarily closed so the history of Spain appeared to end with Moorish control of the peninsular.

From the museum I had a bit of a wander around the local area which includes an impressively large and concrete monument to the discovery of America close to the Columbus Column. Also nearby is a rundown and dilapidated square with an abandoned and decaying bank, called the Plaza Margaret Thatcher. Not certain if the square was named after her following it’s decay or if it’s just the natural course the square took after being named for her.

From the Colon area it was a short bus ride down the main road to the Prado Museum. This is the premier art gallery in Spain and houses some of the countries most important works of art. It also turns out to be incredibly popular even on a damp Saturday in November with the queue for tickets well over 45 minutes long and looking online wasn’t any better with the next available slot not being for another near 2 hours, so I abandoned looking round there and instead wandered the short distance down to Atocha station.

The original station building is an impressive single span arch roof enclosing a massive space that no longer sees any trains, following the rebuilding of the station as part of the high-speed network being built the original train shed has been turned into a botanical gardens with large trees and ferns adapting very well to the environment.

I also took advantage of the number of cafes here to grab a quick bite to eat before catching the train up to Sol in the centre of the city. That turned out not to be a good idea as the whole area is currently being pedestrianised, but all the pavements were in the process of being re-laid so there were only narrow path ways around the edge of the square and a large number of people, so instead I walked on a little further to the Plaza Mayor – the main square of the city and stopped there for a drink in one of the many cafes that line the square.

After spending a decent while people watching I walked on down from the Plaza Mayor to the Temple de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple that was rescued from the bed of the River Nile in the 1950s and rebuilt in Madrid brick by brick. I had intended on looking around inside, but once again there was a very long queue which would have meant at least a 30 minutes wait if not longer as only 10 people at a time are currently allowed inside the temple to comply with Covid regulations.

Just behind the temple is a view point over the lower part of the city and along the ridge to the Royal Palace and Cathedral that I spent a bit of time at instead taking in the views, before walking the 800m or so further along the ridge to the cable car station with the intention of taking the Teleférico. However on arrival at the station I discovered that the service had been suspended due to forecast weather, and to be fair the sky did look a little dark.

I was going to wander back up to the metro, but the sky was staring to darken very quickly and the wind was picking up fast hinting that a storm was blowing in, so I instead headed for a nearby bus stop to catch the bus to the nearest metro station, which proved to be a good call as a massive thunder storm rolled in across the city.

I caught the metro back to the hotel and freshened up before grabbing some dinner in the hotel whilst the storm continued to rage overhead and decided that heading back out into town probably wasn’t going to happen this evening, so instead turned in for an early night.

Weather

Light Showers Thunder
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Madrid; Sunday, 13 November, 2022

I ended up having a bit more of a lie-in that I’d expected, which was no bad thing. It did mean that it was gone 10am before I made it down to breakfast, though it appeared quite a lot of the hotel had also chosen to stay in bed late.

After breakfast I checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage with them and walked to the bus stop just outside the hotel to catch the bus round to the Castillo de La Alameda, the ruins of a 14th century castle which have been quite well preserved, at least at ground and moat level.

From the castle I walked back up through the neighbouring Parque Juan Carlos I. This was built in the 1990s as a new park for the capital between the fairground and the airport, covering a large area and housing a number of statues and monuments.

The park is so large that the council runs a regular land train tour round the inner ring road allowing you to see many of the key sights in a 20 minute tour. The tour was free so I hopped on the one departing at 13:00, which was almost completely full. The last tour before lunch was at 13:30 and given there was virtually nobody waiting I decided to go round again, this time in much more comfort and able to take photos out the other side of the train.

Back at the start point for the train I had a bit more of a wander round the park before heading for the metro station and catching the metro back into town.

I wandered down to the Palacio Real and had a walk around the very busy square in front the palace and the equally busy square between the palace and the cathedral, before heading down to the view point at the edge of the ridge that looks out over the lower part of Madrid from here.

From the viewpoint I made my way back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then on to the airport, thankfully just one stop up on the metro. It was then the long, long walk from the metro station through the whole of Terminal 2 and round to Terminal 1 where I discovered that I could have gone through the almost deserted security in T2 rather than the large, but fast moving, queue in T1.

Through security and Immigration I headed to the lounge to wait for my flight. easyJet eventually started calling the flight about 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time, so it was clear that we were going to get a delay, and in the end it was a good 30 minutes late before we finally pushed back off of stand and started our journey back to the UK.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Würzburg; Thursday, 08 December, 2022

I made it to the airport just as the evening rush was subsiding so the queues for security were pretty lengthy, but not many people were joining once I was in the queue so it didn’t take that long to get through.

Our flight was called and started to board in plenty of time, but it turned out that despite BA asking everyone to check in rolling suitcases as it was a completely full flight and space was limited there was still the usual luggage Tetris going on that meant we weren’t all closed up until several minutes past our original departure time.

That meant we missed our slot for the de-icing which potentially put us at the back of a long 90 minute queue and then a real risk that with that delay we might not make it to Frankfurt before the night flight ban kicked in.

A nervous 25 minutes whilst the captain and first officer tried phoning everyone from the ground teams up Heathrow eventually relented and opened up a second de-icing station, allowing us to head straight there and skip the queue.

By the time we took off it was nearly an hour late, but with a tail wind we made it down into Frankfurt only 40 minutes late and a good half hour ahead of the curfew. Sadly it didn’t look like anyone had told the ground crew about he speedy flight as they took 20 minutes to turn up and put the steps against the plane, despite the bus already waiting for us as we arrived.

The slightly poor service from Frankfurt Airport continued into baggage reclaim where we were left waiting for another 30 minutes before the bags finally came around.

I had originally intended on getting the train into the city, but with the trains now at the point where they dropped from every 15 minutes to every 30, and the likelihood that I was about to miss one, I decided to chuck money at the problem and 20 minutes later, and €40 lighter the taxi dropped me off at my hotel where I was able to checkin and finally get to bed.

Weather

No Data Misty
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Würzburg; Friday, 09 December, 2022

I worked out of the hotel in Frankfurt in the morning and then headed over to the station to catch my train over to Würzburg, which – after the tribulations of the previous evening – was comfortably smooth.

From the Hauptbahnhof I caught the tram round to the hotel and after checking in headed back out to have a wander round the city.

I started by following the walking path that ran past the hotel along the bank of the River Main heading towards the Alte Brücke, the oldest non-Roman stone bridge and also the halfway point from the source of the river and it’s discharge into the Rhein in Mainz. The bridge has 12 statues dotted along and with the castle high on a hill above it the scene was really similar to that of the Charles Bridge in Prague.

I also arrived in time to watch a river cruise ship and a river barge negotiate the very tight lock that sits under the bridge allowing ships to navigate the weir in Würzburg and continue on up stream.

From the bridge I wandered a bit further into town, taking in the Dom and then in the main market square the Christmas Market. I spent quite a long time wandering around the market taking in the different stalls, and I may have sampled one or two of the various food and drink offerings available.

I had a bit more of a wander through the city centre before heading back over the bridge and back to my hotel for an early evening and a well deserved early nights sleep to try and recover from the previous nights lateness.

Weather

Misty Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
1ºC/34ºF

Würzburg; Saturday, 10 December, 2022

After a leisurely breakfast I headed out of the hotel and wandered over to the tram stop to get a day ticket, which on a Saturday is excellent value as rather than being valid just for the day it’s also valid for the Sunday as well, so this one ticket would do the whole of my weekend. I caught the tram round into the centre of the city and then hopped on a conveniently timed bus that was pulling up just behind to go the two stops round to the Residenz.

The Residenz was the palace complex of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg from the 18th century onwards (when they felt it was safe enough to come down from the Marienberg Fortress up on the hill on the opposite bank of the river). The palace is a fine example of an 18th Century Rocco Baroque palace with vast amounts of stucco and frescos, all done to project the power and wealth of what was a very small kingdom.

I arrived at the palace in time to join the 11am English language tour, which was really helpful in getting some background to the building of the palace, as well as to the history of the Prince-Bishops in Würzburg. The tour just takes you round the first couple of rooms leaving you to explore the remaining suites of rooms on your own.

After taking in the tour of the palace I headed out into the Gardens to have a wander round those for a little while, including the stunning view across the rooftops of the city to the former home of the Prince-Bishops in the Festung Marienberg.

I headed back to the front of the palace in time to make the next land train tour of the city, which was surprisingly busy with virtually every seat taken – I hadn’t expected that many people to want to do the tour, but clearly I was wrong. The tour took in the key sights in the city centre, staying on the old town side of the river the whole time, but offering some excellent views across the river to the fortress at one point.

Back at the Residenz I went for a wander round some of the other sites of the city centre, stopping off at both the Cathedral and the neighbouring Neumünster to have a look around those before heading over to the Christmas Market for a very late lunch and a quick look round the Marienkapelle, the church in the market place.

By now it had been snowing for a little while and I was getting quite cold so I headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours to warm up, before heading back out again once it had gotten dark to spend a little more time looking round the city and exploring the Christmas Market before heading back to the hotel for a nightcap and then bed

Weather

Sunny Slight Showers
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-1ºC/30ºF

Würzburg; Sunday, 11 December, 2022

I had another late breakfast and then checked out of the hotel before heading into the neighbouring parklands and gardens built on the site of the lower fortifications of the Marienberg Fortress. The former bastions have been repurposed for a number of different functions and the former defensive ditches have been turned into walking routes and gardens, with a bulk of the work being done in 1990 for a state garden show.

It make the walk up to the fortress much more pleasant as the route has been planned to meander up gently rather than a stiff climb right up the side of the hill, though it did mean it took nearly 45 minutes to get to the fortress at the top.

I had a long wander around the fortifications and the grounds of the castle itself – though much of the site is only accessible during summer months, I was still able to look round the chapel where many of the Prince-Bishops are buried, along with being able to take in the views over the city from the fortifications directly on the river side of the hill that the fortress sits on.

After a good couple of hours wandering around the fortress I headed back down using a different route through many more of the lower fortifications, bastions and gateways before ending up at a conveniently located tramstop on the edge of the gardens.

I caught the tram round a couple of stops into the city centre and had a final wander around the Christmas Market, picking up a final couple of gifts and having a very late lunch before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my bags and head back to the station.

My journey back to Frankfurt was uneventful and a short while later I arrived at my hotel for the evening, checked in and was planning what to do for the evening when I got an email to say that my flight the following morning had been cancelled, with no alterative option available.

I spent a good couple of hours on the phone, email and twitter DMs before I finally managed to get hold of someone at BA to be able to rebook my flight, albeit to first thing on Tuesday morning, meaning I then had to head down to reception and hope they had availability for one extra night. Thankfully they did and slightly mentally exhausted I decided I’d better just turn in for the night.

Weather

Light Snow Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Cold (-10-0C, 14-32F)
-2ºC/28ºF

Würzburg; Monday, 12 December, 2022

The original plan for the day was to get up about 7am, have a quick breakfast, catch a train from the nearby Ostbahnhof just before 8 to be at the airport with plenty of time for my 10:30 flight. I’d then be back in London for midday and home just after 1pm to be back at my desk for the afternoon having only used a half days leave.

Obviously with my flight cancelled that wasn’t going to work, so instead I did a few hours work from the hotel in the morning through to early afternoon, both to get my hours in for the day and to build up a couple spare in case of any delays the following morning getting back to the UK.

About 2pm I headed out of the hotel and over to the Römer where the main Christmas market in Frankfurt is located and spent quite a long time just wandering round the stalls.

I normally have an idea of things I want to see or do in a city when I visit, but my day in Frankfurt was entirely unplanned, and I have been here a number of times before so instead of doing anything in particular I just had a wander around the city centre before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and have a very nice dinner that, along with the hotel bill for the night, was going straight onto an expenses claim form to British Airways along with the taxi I booked for 5am the following morning.

I decided it was probably best not to stay up too late as my alarm was set for 04:30, so about 9pm I turned in for the night and hoped that the journey back on Tuesday would be significantly more successful than Mondays journey.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Clear (Polar Winter)
0ºC/32ºF

New York; Thursday, 15 December, 2022

I’d worked out of an airport hotel in the morning, as it would otherwise have been a very tight connection to get over to the airport from home in time, so I was able to have a leisurely wander over to Terminal 5, despite the delays on the Piccadilly Line, check-in and head on through to the lounge.

I’d got an exceptional deal on a flight in First, mostly by taking a risk back at the height of the Omicron wave in early January that by December everything would be back to normal (especially as at that time UK citizens were still barred from entering the US due to Covid restrictions) and this time it had paid off (similar deals for New York at Christmas 2020 and San Francisco in Summer 2021 having to be cancelled and refunded).

So it meant that I was able to spend a good few hours relaxing in the lap of luxury in the Concorde room before it was time to walk over to the B satellite to pick up my flight.

Boarding started promptly and I was guided to 1A, my suite at the very front of the plane for the journey over, and almost immediately presented with a glass of bubbly.

The previous two BA flights to New York today had been cancelled which meant that this flight was completely full with bumped passengers, but they weren’t an issues – everyone was seated and ready to go about 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time. The combined cargo for three flights turned out to be a bigger issue as that took a long time to get loaded into the hold, meaning we were 75 minutes late before pushing back. Though, with a constant flow of bubbly and some snacks I wasn’t that bothered!

The flight over the Atlantic was smooth, with the service absolutely perfect from the great cabin crew, and in the end we were only about 45 minutes late arriving on stand. I was a bit worried at this point that they may be further delays as British Airways had only moved into Terminal 8 from their old home of Terminal 7 at JFK a couple of weeks earlier and there had been stories floating around about issues from the move, but we were soon hooked up to a jet bridge and walking into the terminal where we were presented with a totally deserted immigration hall.

Just 5 minutes after stepping off the plane I was already through immigration and waiting in the baggage hall – and with a surprisingly friendly and cheerful border guard, not something that’s normally associated with JFK immigration.

20 minutes after that I had my luggage and was soon in a transfer over to my hotel in Manhattan, which took the best part of another hour to pick its way through the traffic on a very wet night in The Big Apple.

By the time I made it up to my room it was already gone 10pm US time, 3am in the UK so I just left my bag where it was in the room and went straight to bed.

Weather

No Data Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

New York; Friday, 16 December, 2022

Inevitably I was awake just after 5am, so I dozed for about an hour before getting up and making use of my time by having a nice long shower and unpacking, before heading down to be one of the first people into breakfast when it opened at 7.

A lengthy breakfast later, and little while getting ready – hoping that the torrential rain might just turn it down a bit to heavy rain – I headed out of the hotel over towards the subway station at Times Square, stopping off to take some photos of the area in the grey murk of a very wet New York morning.

I picked up the Subway and headed Uptown to the top of the Museum Mile as, given the weather forecast was pretty bad for the whole day, I was going to spend the day indoors as much as possible. My first stop was the Museum of the City of New York which tells the history of the city, from it’s 17th century founding as a Dutch trading post through to the modern day.

I spent a couple of hours taking in the various galleries and the very interesting 30 minute film on the growth of the city, before heading out into the rain and starting my walk south through Central Park and onto my second stop of the day, the Guggenheim Museum.

The museum is housed in one of the most striking buildings in New York, built by Frank Lloyd Wright in an art-deco style with the bulbous rotunda housing the main part of the gallery. You start at the ground floor and take the sloping path up as it winds its way up to the 7th floor with the art displayed on the outer wall of the building, the central core open to look through the whole building at once.

From the Guggenheim museum I continued walking south just a couple of blocks this time to the largest museum in the Americas, and one of the largest on the planet – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or more commonly known as The Met.

The museum is housed in a gigantic building that has clearly been expanded multiple times over the decades on the edge of Central Park, and thankfully – given that it was already 14:30 when I arrived – on a Friday and Saturday is open until 21:00 which did mean I didn’t have to rush and see just the key displays.

I spent nearly 4 hours in the museum, which was about the most that my feet could take, and I’d only really given it a cursory overview – though I had seen most of the galleries and ticked off many of the key exhibits, including the Egyptian temple sent to The Met when it was rescued from its almost certain destruction with the construction of the reservoir for the Aswan dam in Egypt, and the museums copy of Washington Crossing the Delaware – one of the most famous of the paintings in its collection.

With my feet aching from the slow plodding round galleries I headed back towards the subway and caught the train back to my hotel where I was in time to grab the included buffet dinner, before heading back up to my room to rest my feet, and pretty soon after decided that going to bed was probably the best option.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

New York; Saturday, 17 December, 2022

My body clock was still clearly not adjusting and I woke up again just after 5am (also realising that I’d probably best just stick to this routine as otherwise it’ll be even worse when I get back to the UK and have to adjust back again!), so I dozed for about an hour, had a slow shower and read the news online before heading down for breakfast just as it opened at 7. Thankfully as I came back up to my room after breakfast I was able to see that the murk and drenching rain of the previous day had cleared and instead New York dawn was revealing a clear blue sky – which was good as I was due to be outside for most of the day.

I headed over to the subway station and caught the train downtown to the southern tip of Manhattan and the ferry terminal for the boats across to Liberty and Ellis Islands. When I first came to New York in 2017 I hadn’t booked a trip out to the islands in advance and it was only when I got here that I found out you needed to do it some time in advance. Back then tickets had been sold out and when I checked this morning once again there were no tickets available, so it was quite good that I’d booked my tickets back in November.

After passing through the airport style security check at the ferry terminal I hopped on the next boat across to Liberty Island the first stop of the day. It was only about 10 minutes across to the island, but the views were amazing, both of the approach to one of the most iconic statues in the world, but also the views of Manhattan stretching North up the island with block upon block of Skyscrapers.

Landing on the island I immediately headed round to the bottom of the pedestal as I had a 10am ticket for entry to the statue. There are three levels of access – just the island, the island and the pedestal and island, pedestal and access to the crown of the statue. The latter is limited to only a couple of hundred people a day and does involve a near 400 step climb from the top of the pedestal, 600 steps from the ground – I’d decided that I really wasn’t up to that, so I’d opted for a pedestal ticket instead, and then cheated by getting the lift up to the top.

I spent quite a bit of time taking in the views from the base of the statue, and then working my way back down by stairs to the lower levels of the pedestal and then out onto the top of Fort Wood, which has been there for much longer than the statue, but was chosen as a good site to place the statue on. From the edge of Fort Wood you get some of the best views of the statue in its full glory, you’re far enough away to actually be able to see the face and details, but close up enough to get the full scale.

From the statue I wandered over to the museum that’s located on the back edge of the island and had a look around that – though much of the content of the museum is a duplicate of the museum located in the Pedestal, infact many of the physical exhibits from the pedestal museum have been moved into this newer museum that’s open to everyone who can get onto the island. I had a bit of a wander round the edge of the island taking in the views both of the statue and New York before heading back to the ferry landing stage to continue onto the next stop.

If the statue of Liberty is the defining symbol of arriving into New York then Ellis Island was the reality for around 12 million people over 50 or so years at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The centre was built to process the vast number of immigrants arriving into the country – the vast majority of who would pass through in a few hours and become Americans. The site closed in the 1950s and was left to decay for nearly 30 years before being rescued in the 1980s and turned into the museum that it is today.

I spent a good couple of hours exploring the different exhibits in the museum which is broken down into three key areas – immigration from the first settlers through to the establishment of Ellis Island, the Ellis Island period and then American Immigration from the 1950s to the modern day. Along with the exhibits there is also the building itself on show with it’s impressive registration hall where people queued to see if they would be let in (spoiler, only around 2% of people got deported back, mostly because – as with airlines today – the steamship companies had to pay for the deportation so they did pretty strict checks on passengers before they even set off for America)

From the museum I headed back to the quayside and took the ferry back across to New York and caught the subway back up into the centre of town to have a wander around before heading back to the hotel for dinner and another early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

New York; Sunday, 18 December, 2022

Another 6am wake up, so I once again had an early breakfast and then headed out of the hotel back down to the southern tip of Manhattan, this time though to pick up the ferry for the very short trip across to Governors Island.

Located about 800m south of Manhattan this small island has been an important fortification point overlooking the city and harbour for centuries, before becoming a coast guard station for a while prior to the eventual sale of the island back to the city in the early 2000s. Today it’s a public park which used to just be open in the summer, but is now open all year round, albeit with most of the buildings on the site closed during the winter months including both of the two forts.

However, it’s still an interesting small island to have a walk around, and to take in the excellent views from the island across the channels to Liberty and Ellis Islands, as well as good views of the southern tip of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City. I spent a couple of hours wandering around the island before hopping back on the ferry back to the mainland.

I stopped off for a quick lunch before visiting the former Customs Office located on Bowling Green at the southern end of the main financial district. The grand building is now home to the National Museum of the American Indian which looks at the history of the native peoples from across the Americas from Patagonia up to the Arctic, and I spent about an hour looking around the exhibits there.

From the museum I walked north a couple of blocks to Wall Street, where outside the New York Stock Exchange the largest Christmas Tree I’d seen in the city was standing – trust the bankers to one-up everyone else. From Wall Street I decided to hop onto the subway and head north up to 86th street, about the mid-point (albeit a couple of blocks back) from Central Park, and then headed down there.

I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the lower half of Central Park, including taking in the Belvedere, The Rambles and ending up overlooking the Ice Skating rink as the last of light of the day disappeared, the rink illuminated both by flood lights, but also all the light coming off of the surrounding skyscrapers.

From Central Park I wandered back down to the hotel as it was only about 10 blocks away, getting back in time to grab dinner. After all that walking and then stopping for dinner I felt the several miles of walking catch up with my legs and feet so I decided to stay in the hotel for the evening and then have an early night – given my body clock hadn’t got any idea what the time was now I though, with an overnight flight the following night, I would probably best just to sleep when I felt tired and hope I could sort it all out once I got home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

New York; Monday, 19 December, 2022

I was once again up at 6am so after a shower and getting dressed I had time to fully pack before it was time to head down for breakfast. After breakfast I checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage with the porter, before heading out into the city for one last day.

I headed down to Times Square and started heading East down 42nd Street. This choice was deliberate as some of the best pieces of public architecture are on this street – the Public Library and Grand Central Terminal.

First stop was the Public Library, the largest public library in the world with over 55 million volumes in it’s collection, as well as many artefacts including Charles Dickens writing desk, Virginia Woolf’s walking cane, first editions of many famous books and the original Pooh Bear that was owned by Christopher Robin Milne – all on display in the library’s Treasures exhibit which I spent some time looking round.

It was then a short walk a bit further along the street to get to Grand Central Terminal. Everyone always says that it’s large and it’s scale can’t really be comprehended without being seen and after having popped inside to see for myself I can agree – the space of the booking hall is on a monumental scale, and the way that most of the historic fabric of the building has been retained and kept updated is quite an achievement.

After looking round the station I continued my walk along 42nd Street until I reached the end of the road at United Nations Plaza. It’s here that you meet the massive skyscraper that is the United Nations Headquarters, flanked by flagpoles flying the flags of all the member states as well as a selection of art works.

From the UN I headed back in towards the centre of town, stopping off for a well earned cup of coffee before heading over to St Patrick’s Cathedral, the city’s Catholic Cathedral and a building which in any European City would be one of the key buildings of the skyline, but here is made to look petit by the tower skyscrapers surrounding it. Inside the cathedral had been all decorated ready for Christmas and it was quite spectacular.

Across the road from the cathedral is the Rockefeller Centre and it’s here that is really the centre of Christmas for the city with the Centres Christmas Tree being the Big Apple’s equivalent of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree in London, with the added bonus of the light reflecting from all the tall buildings surrounding it, and an ice skating rink in front.

I spent a bit of time looking round the centre and the Christmas decorations before heading back in the Direction of Times Square, the other focus point of celebrations in the city where the crystal ball drops at midnight on New Years to usher in the new year, on the way I stopped off for a late lunch to get me through until I got to the airport later.

Times Square finished off I headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then walk the short distance to the E line station for the subway out towards the airport. I just missed a very full train, which turned out to be a blessing as a couple of minutes later another E train came through only about half full so I was able to get a seat for the 30 or so minute journey out to Jamaica Centre where I changed onto the Air Train round to Terminal 8 at JFK to checkin and start my journey home.

Of course, little did I know that as I arrived at the airport the British Airways flight management system had decided to meltdown grounding every plane that was not in the air already as captains couldn’t check or upload their flight plans, what should have been a pleasant couple of hours in the lounge extended on long into the evening, and threatened to go into the night…

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

New York; Tuesday, 20 December, 2022

Eventually just before midnight there started to be some movement with flights being called for boarding in order at slow intervals. At 01:15 we were assured that we should start boarding in about 30 minutes time, 30 minutes later and the axe fell on our flight as we were informed it had been cancelled – no reason given, but the general thought was that the crew didn’t have enough hours left to make the journey. So at 2am we were all escorted down to the checkin desks to get rebooked onto flights later in the day, pick up our luggage and either take the BA option of a hotel a long way out of town, or make our own arrangements.

Rather than waiting for the shuttle to the remote airport I decided that BA could pick up the tab for an Uber to a closer airport hotel and made my own self-booking arrangements, so that by 3am I was finally tucked up in bed.

I only got about 4 hours sleep before the ongoing jetlag kicked in and at 7am I was wide awake, which was probably a good thing as it meant I could have breakfast and then log onto the work laptop just after 8am Eastern, 1pm back the UK and work the half day that I was supposed to be working .

Having done my hours I had a couple of hours to spare, but given I was in an airport hotel completely surrounded by interstates I just sat in the room browsing the web for a little while before I checked out at 2pm and picked up the hotel shuttle back to the airport to attempt the journey all over again.

I had an equally smooth journey through the airport and into the lounge where I spent a few hours hoping that it would be an equally smooth journey onwards.

Of course, with all the previous issues it was inevitable that it wouldn’t go completely smoothly, and 45 minutes after we’d boarded we were still sat at the gate waiting for a couple of bags from missing passengers to be off-loaded. In the end we pushed back a little over an hour late, with a further 5-minute delay pushing back because the flight after ours beat us to pushing back and we had to wait for it to leave the gate area before we could start our pushback.

The usual lengthy, nearly 30-minute, taxi at JFK, but then, nearly 24 hours late, we were airborne and on our way back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

New York; Wednesday, 21 December, 2022

The overnight flight was uneventful, and it looked like we had pulled back a bit of time on the crossing, only to have to stack to the South West of London for a little while meaning we still ended up being an hour late on landing.

Thankfully it was a smooth journey through the airport to baggage reclaim where the final potential for something to go wrong sat. Over the weekend just gone there had been horror stories of people waiting up to 4 hours to get their bags, so it was a bit of a worry how long we’d have to wait. In the end the bags arrived less than 30 minutes after we landed and only after about 10 minutes of waiting.

With my bags collected I headed up to the Arrivals lounge for a shower and a quick breakfast before heading back to the same hotel I’d stayed at the previous Wednesday evening to use as a day office so I could get straight to work before heading home at the end of the working day.

Weather

Cloudy No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Porto; Thursday, 26 January, 2023

I had a smooth journey over to Hatton Cross and my airport hotel room for the night.

After checking in I quickly popped out to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and turning in ready for a relatively early start the following morning.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Porto; Friday, 27 January, 2023

I checked out of the hotel and headed over to Hatton Cross tube station where I caught the next Piccadilly Line train direct to Terminal 3 with a couple of seconds to spare. It was then a quick journey through the airport and over to the gate with a little bit of time to spare.

Unfortunately nobody had bothered to compare the flight to the gate and it turned out that it wasn’t the best sized fit for a fully loaded A320, with all the seats already occupied long before everyone had had their boarding pass scanned. This wouldn’t necessarily have been an issue if the flight had started to board on time, but it was pretty obvious at an early stage from the hand gestures and frantic tapping of mobile phones between the dispatch manager and the gate agents that the flight was going to be delayed – it turned out due to a fault with one of the crew jump seats.

Thankfully the plane wasn’t 100% full, and with a couple of passengers being shuffled around and one member of the cabin crew being upgraded from jump seat to the first row of business we were able to start boarding, even if it was exactly an hour late by the time we pushed back.

With a strong tailwind we managed to make up half the time, so by the time we landed we were only 30 minutes late and with just hand luggage and sharp elbows I was through the airport and heading over to the metro station less than 10 minutes after landing – not that it helped, I missed the metro by a couple of seconds and of course when the trains are at 18 and 12 minutes gaps it’s inevitable that I would hit the 18 minute gap to the next train.

I finally made it into town and headed over to my hotel where I was able to check-in, drop my stuff off and then head out for a wander.

As the hotel overlooked it, I headed over initially to the Sè area, taking in the square around the city’s Cathedral as well as the views that the buildings position, high on the cliffs of the river valley that Porto is built around, offers over the rest of the city the river and across the Douro to the neighbouring town of Vila Nova de Gaia.

From the cathedral I headed downhill stopping off at several different viewpoints on my way down eventually to riverside level just as the last of the days light was starting to fade.

I then headed back up through the maze of narrow streets and stairs back up to the top of the hill and to my hotel to freshen up before heading out to grab a quick dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Porto; Saturday, 28 January, 2023

After a nice lie-in and a leisurely breakfast I headed out of the hotel and wandered the very short distance over the road to pick up the local service bus out up the coast to my first stop of the morning up on the Atlantic coast. The Forte de São Francisco Xavier otherwise know as Castelo do Queijo or Cheese Castle due to the shape of the rock that it was built on resembling a piece of cheese, stands guard over the entrance to the important commercial and fishing harbour of Matosinhos.

Today the castle is little more than a shell with one small room holding a collection of artefacts, a bar and a room that doubles up as a craft market, but you can head up onto the roof of the fort and from there you can get some excellent views out over the harbour and down the Atlantic coast.

From Cheese castle I headed south along the coastal path that leads back towards the mouth of the Douro and the centre of the city. The path from the castle to the mouth is about 2.5Km, though it twists and winds along the shape of the coast, and at regular intervals there are options to help you on your way with a refreshment stop.

By the time I was about 2/3 of the way along the walk it was already fast approaching 1pm, so I stopped for a very pleasant lunch in the sun looking down on a sandy beach and the Atlantic lapping away at the shore – hard to imagine that this is the same sea that can produce powerful storms that batter the coast at less becalmed periods of the year.

After lunch I continued my walk along the coast finishing off at the Fortaleza de São João da Foz close to the mouth of the Douro River. This fort is slightly larger, but of a similar design to the Castelo do Queijo, though in this instance the inside of the castle has been turned into a business park so the grounds were actually closed on a Saturday afternoon. I was able to have a wander around the outside of the castle and along a little bit of the Mole that protects the mouth of the river from the worst of the storms that The Atlantic throws at Porto.

From the river mouth I caught the bus back upstream into the centre of town and had a bit more of a wander around the historic centre before wandering over to the Dom Luis I bridge that links Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Long since closed to traffic it’s now a pedestrian and metro bridge, with the metro running like a tramline across the bridge, which in the evening causes some issues.

Due to the bridges location it faces almost due West which means at sunset there are excellent views of the setting sun to be had, and consequently the bridge fills with sunset watchers, both tourists and locals and consequently the metro has to pick it’s way across slowly – bell ringing, to create a temporary gap in the crowds to keep the service running and let it through.

After taking in the sunset both from the bridge and the small Jardin do Morro over on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river I headed back over to my hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Porto; Sunday, 29 January, 2023

Another slow start to the day, but I was still early enough to be out of the hotel and across the road to pick up the first open-top sightseeing bus of the morning from it’s starting point. The City Sightseeing service in Porto has two routes and I jumped on the Red route to begin with heading out for a tour round the city and then down to the coast at Cheese Castle before travelling along the Atlantic coastline to the mouth of the Douro and then back into town.

My ticket for the bus also included a free boat cruise on the River Douro, so I hopped off the bus at the penultimate stop and walked down the short distance to the riverside to pick up my boat tour. Much like the open-top tour buses there are several companies all offering exactly the same tour, so it was – if anything – easier to have had the choice of company already made by the purchase of my bus ticket.

The 50 minute tour started by heading upstream under the two Gustave Eiffel designed bridges and two more modern replacement bridges with a glimpse of the motorway bridge in the far distance before turning round and heading back downstream, through the city centre, under the sixth major bridge in the city almost to the mouth of Douro and then turning back round to head back to the start point.

From the landing stage it was a short walk up hill to the centre of the lower part of town to visit the Igreja Monumento de São Francisco or Monument Church of Saint Francis. The church forms part of a complex that was once a Franciscan monastery and the church itself is a perfect example of what happens if you give people unlimited access to gold leaf – every surface on the walls and ceilings are covered in gold leaf, it’s probably by square centimetre the most expensive church interior I’ve ever been into.

Next door to the church are parts of the former monastery building including another small chapel, a museum and down below the tombs and ossuary of the order, which is slightly creepy when set against the opulence of the church upstairs.

From the church I wandered back to the open-top bus stop and picked up the Blue line to complete it’s tour over the Ponte Infante Dom Henrique and down into Vila Nova de Gaia before returning back over the river and ending up back up at the Cathedral.

I paid my small entrance fee to get into the Cathedral to have a look around – though the entrance fee also includes access to the cathedral museum, the double decked cloister with it’s intricate ceramic tiles as well as access up one of the towers of the cathedral for views out over the city, the river and Gaia. I spent quite a bit of time looking round the complex before heading back over to the bus stop in time to make the 16:30 departure.

I’d specifically aimed for that one as looking at the timetable we should have hit Castelo do Queijo and the Atlantic Coast around sunset and hopefully the views should be good. I’d got to the bus stop relatively early as I thought lots of other people would have the same idea, but in the end there were only three of us on the top deck by the time we made it to the coast just after 17:30, 15 minutes before sunset.

Lots of people had the same idea of taking in the views from the coast road, but they were all in their own cars, which meant the bus crawled down the seafront – which was perfect as it meant I got to watch the whole of the sunset as I would have missed the end if the bus had been moving at a more acceptable pace. We reached the mouth of the Douro just as the sun started to disappear behind the horizon as I was able to get some stunning photos of the sun half descended into the sea with the Mole and Lighthouse silhouetted in front of it. The only downside being that once the sun had gone down being on the top-deck of an open-top bus it did suddenly become very noticeable that it was only January.

Back in town I headed back to the hotel and freshened up before heading out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Porto; Monday, 30 January, 2023

My final breakfast in the hotel and after a very leisurely start to the morning I finally checked out just before 11am and headed over to the open-top bus tour to pick up the bus over to Vila Nova de Gaia.

I hopped off the bus in Gaia and had a wander around the area at top of the cliffs including the views from the Miradouro da Serra do Pilar located in front of the Monastery of the same name. From here there were excellent views across to the similar mirador at the Cathedral over in Porto.

This area is also the upper station for the Gaia Cable Car that links this upper part of the town with the riverside, where the port wine lodges and restaurants are all located, and I’m never one to skip out on a cable car when it’s running so I hopped onboard and head down to the lower town.

When I’d visited Porto about 13 years earlier the Port Wine lodges all offered free tours of their cellars that included a tasting of their products which were popular amongst the small numbers of tourists who made it there.

In the intervening years Porto has boomed as a tourist destination, and – in part due to the number of British stag and hen weekends – the port wine lodges have cashed in and tours now start at €12 and head up from there, especially if you want a tasting. Consequently, I decided that, given the way Port has been produced hasn’t changed in several hundred years it’s unlikely to be significantly different to what it was 13 years ago and I could spend a lot less on a whole bottle of the stuff in airport duty free. I decided to skip the wine lodges and instead just had a wander around the riverside area.

As it was early afternoon I decided to stop off at one of the restaurants on the riverside for a bit to eat and had the local delicacy a Francesinha, a local sandwich made with cooked ham, local sausage, stake draped in copious amounts of cheese, heated until it’s all melted, topped off with a tomato sauce and then – in this restaurants case – served on a bed of chips. I decided against the option of adding a fried egg to the top as probably one step too far.

It was a very nice meal, and enough to keep me fed most of the way to the weekend. Significantly heavier than when I walked into the restaurant I waddled out and headed back to the cable car to catch it back up to the top part of town and pick up the open-top bus back round to the cathedral.

I had just enough time left to do one final circuit of the red route and spend a little bit of time sat out in the beautiful warm sunshine before it was time to head back to the hotel, grab my bags and, because it was only about €2 more than the cost of the metro, grab an uber out to the airport.

A smooth journey through the airport, and a good couple of litres of Port purchased, I caught my flight and headed back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Santa Cruz de La Palma; Wednesday, 22 February, 2023

When I’d originally booked the trip, nearly a year earlier, the flight times had been later in the evening with just about enough time to get from home to Heathrow for checkin after finishing work, but with the flight time having gradually crept forward over the intervening months by the time it was due to travel getting to Heathrow from home after finishing work would have been impossible.

Instead, after working in the morning I used my lunch break to head over to Hatton Cross and the Hilton Garden Inn there where I’d booked a day-use room for the afternoon, which meant I was able to finish off the working day and then it was only a 20 minute quick hop from the hotel to the checkin desks at Terminal 3.

Checked in I headed through into departures and after a smooth journey through the airport and onto the plane a hassle free journey down to Madrid.

Perhaps because it was so late in the evening we were parked on a gate a long way down the T4S terminal building, which meant it was a good 10 minute walk just to get back to immigration, though it was empty at the time of arriving so I was through in seconds and on my way down to the shuttle train back to the main T4 building.

Despite the long walk I still made it back to the luggage carousels a good 10 minutes before the luggage started to arrive, but in the end it turned out not to be a major issue as I made it out to the front of the terminal just as the shuttle bus to my hotel for the evening was pulling up.

The shuttle did a quick tour round all of the other Madrid terminals collecting nobody and dropping nobody off before making it back to the hotel about 15 minutes later, where I was able to quickly checkin and head to bed.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Santa Cruz de La Palma; Thursday, 23 February, 2023

As my next flight wasn’t until the late morning I was able to have a bit of a lie in and a later breakfast before catching the 9am shuttle bus back to the airport.

After checking in and dropping my bag off for the second time in 18 hours I headed through security and eventually over to the gate for my flight down to La Palma.

Once again it was an uneventful flight, albeit a bit bumpy in places, the final approach was pretty spectacular as at one point for the approach we had to flight directly at the island and make a last minute turn coming quit close the cliff walls of the edge of the island. After landing the bags came round surprisingly quickly and I was out the front of the terminal with 10 minutes to spare before the bus onto Los Cancajos.

I made it to the hotel, checked in and dropped off my stuff before heading out for a walk around the resort, including a stroll along the seafront walkway that runs along the length of Los Cancajos.

Los Cancajos was originally a small village around salt-pans, whose major industry had been salt production, but by the latter half of the 20th century as the other Canary Islands had boomed with tourism it was decided to re-use the now abandoned flat pans as a convenient building space to build resorts on, and what resulted was the Los Cancajos of today.

There is very little evidence of the past, other than what looks like the ruined remains of a pier near towards the south of the centre. Most of the resort hotels and apartment blocks have their own swimming pools as the sea is quite rough here and the black lava sand beaches aren’t as comfortable on the feet for walking on as a typical sand beach (and in February the sea was really quite cold).

After having a wander around town for a little while I headed back to the hotel and went for a quick dip in the pool before having a shower and then heading down for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Santa Cruz de La Palma; Friday, 24 February, 2023

I had to be up relatively early to catch the bus on into the capital Santa Cruz de La Palma as I was due to join a 5 hours tour in the late morning there, rather than having a hotel pickup, so I had a quick breakfast and made sure I was at the bus stop at the same time as the bus was due to depart from the Airport given there are no actual timetables, just the start times from Santa Cruz and the Airport. Even with its meandering route through Los Cancajos the bus took less than 10 minutes to reach the Guagua station in Santa Cruz, where everyone was kicked off as preparations for the carnival the following week meant the city centre roads were closed and the bus wasn’t going any further – which turned out to be useful to know as it meant I only had 5, rather than 15 minutes, after the advertised departure time from Santa Cruz to make the bus in Los Cancajos!

I had a bit of a wander around the centre of Santa Cruz as I headed down to where I was supposed to meet the bus, getting there about 20 minutes before the departure time. We’d been told in the booking to be at the bus stop 10 minutes before the departure time and right on queue the coach turned up direct from the harbour where it had picked up guests from the ferry from Tenerife. It turns out that this was a scheduled 30 minute comfort and coffee stop for those guests, so I could quite easily have caught a later bus from Los Cancajos and still made the tour, as we ended up standing around for quite some time.

Eventually the tour set off and for the first part we drove along the main seafront road in Santa Cruz, taking the in pleasant seafront buildings and the castle before turning inland and starting to climb up out of the city centre. About 15 minutes later and 300m higher up we were on the rim of a long since extinct volcano looking right back down into the centre of Santa Cruz from the Mirador de La Concepción. There was a good 10 minute stop here to take in the views from the edge of the partially collapsed volcano, including down into it’s caldera where an entire suburb of Santa Cruz has recently been built.

From the viewpoint we continued our journey west across the island, climbing up into the rainforest and mountains that form the spine of La Palma, before diving through the rock in a 1km long tunnel and emerging out on the western side of the island, close to the site of the 2021 volcanic eruption that had put La Palma on the news. And, this was in fact the site of our next stop, just on the edge of the exclusion zone that’s still in place.

The eruptions lasted for 85 days starting on the 19th September 2021 and with them damaged vast swathes of the Western side of the island, destroying thousands of buildings, banana plantations and leaving a lava flow that in places towers like a new cliff over the landscape. The coach stopped a little short of the exclusion zone and we walked the last couple of hundred meters to the edge of the lava flow, about a kilometre below the still smoking volcano – the stain of sulphur around it’s rim clearly visible from below.

The lava flow runs straight down from the mountains to the sea, cutting through everything and it was a weird sight to see what would previously have been a mundane road just suddenly stopped by a 20m high wall of rock. The flow continues as a solid mark down the landscape, to one side banana plantations, grass and houses, to the other just this solid black wall of rock on top on the landscape.

From the view point in the exclusion zone we hopped back on the bus and continued the journey down the hill to the nearby town of La Laguna where some of the lava flows eventually stopped, but not before causing massive damage to the town. One flow came to a halt just a few feet from the towns church.

From La Laguna we headed back onto the coach and continued our journey west to the town of Puerto de Tazacorte, located at the bottom of a steep gorge, formed when the side of the massive volcano that first formed the island collapsed into the sea. The approach down into the town, zig zagging our way down the steep walls of the gorge was pretty spectacular as are the views back up the gorge from the bottom. Puerto de Tazacorte was also the site of our lunch, so we stopped here for a good 90 minutes to have lunch and then look around.

Leaving Puerto de Tazacorte we stopped off at one more view point in Tajuya, 3Km from the volcano and which, at the height of the eruptions had been the closest you could get to the volcano – from an elevated position looking head on you are staring almost directly into the centre of the crater.

We headed back towards Santa Cruz, through the lower and almost 3km long tunnel through the rock of the island, dropping off the passengers for the boat back to Tenerife before being dropped off just in front of the bus back to Los Cancajos. I was back in the hotel in time for a quick swim before the pool closed and then dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Santa Cruz de La Palma; Saturday, 25 February, 2023

I had a late breakfast before heading out of the hotel and catching the bus out to Santa Cruz to explore more of the islands capital

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the city centre, stopping off at the church and town hall before making my way down to the Castillo de Santa Catalina, which was sadly closed as repair works were taking place.

I walked a bit further on and made it to the Naval Museum, housed in a full sized concrete model of the Santa Maria, one of the three boats that Columbus used when he made his discovery of The Caribbean in 1492. In fact as part of that expedition Columbus and his crew seized La Palma for the Spanish King, and the Island traces it’s establishment back to this event. The museum tells the history both of this event and of the role of the islands in the Spanish Empire. For a number of years La Palma was the third most important port in the Empire behind Seville and Antwerp.

Having taken in the Naval Museum I wandered the short distance back through the town centre to the former convent of San Francisco which today houses the island museum. This is an odd museum that houses a number of different, and not related in any way exhibitions.

There’s a room looking at more the naval history of the island, a room dedicated to historic tools and another room filled with taxidermized animals from the island. Finally in the upper parts of the museum there are several galleries.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the museum is actually the buildings that it’s located in, with the two floor cloisters, and the stunning views across the roofs of the buildings towards the mountains and rainforest towering right behind.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the museum, running up close to it’s closing time at 2pm. I then quickly grabbed a spot of lunch in town before heading back to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Los Cancajos.

Back in Los Cancajos I went for a paddle in the sea, and quickly decided that the pools in the hotel were considerably more pleasant to swim in, and the concrete of the pool deck was considerably smoother and more comfortable to walk on than the black lava sand of the beach.

I headed back to the hotel for a swim and then dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Santa Cruz de La Palma; Sunday, 26 February, 2023

I had an all day tour booked, with a pickup time just after 9am so I had to have an early breakfast to get out to the pickup point in time.

The tour was marketed as a tour of some of the key sights of the island, with a particular focus on the Roque de los Muchachos – the original volcano that helped to form the island and still the highest point on La Palma. I had worried that the tour would cover a lot of the same ground as the tour I’d done on the Friday, but in the end only two stops were repeats with the last stop on the Friday tour becoming the first stop today – albeit with a lot more cloud and no views of the volcano.

The cloud would turn out to be a repeat issue throughout the day, and this was probably worse at the next stop the Mirador del Time high above the gorge that Puerto de Tazacorte is located at the end of – rather than getting the stunning views up to the caldera of the volcano and the scenes of multiple lava flows over the centuries that have ended in the seas here we were instead greeted with a wall of cloud that stopped at the view point – everything out to sea, to the north of us and above us was clear blue sky, but all the interesting things to see were hidden behind a wall of cloud.

After the viewpoint the next stop was the farmers market in Puntagorda, located close to where the climb up to the highest point starts. The market houses both a farmers market and a craft market, the latter being aimed very much at tourists rather than locals, though it looked like the farmers market side was very popular with locals. This was also the place where we were recommended to grab some lunch as there were no other options anywhere else, so I had a slice of very pleasant focaccia pizza whilst looking down into another gorge formed by a collapsed volcano before it was time to move on.

The next leg of the journey was a near 90 minute drive up the twisting winding road to the summit of the Roque de los Muchachos at over 2,400m above sea level. The final few minutes of the journey being on the high plane above the top of the clouds which offers one of the best locations in the world to set up telescopes and is consequently home to many of the worlds most important earth based telescopes.

At the summit of the mountain we had about 45 minutes to explore and wander around a part of the rim of the former volcano, though once again cloud cover below us mostly just left jagged crags of rock standing out from the cloud, like shark fins in the clouds.

A short drive back down the side of the volcano and we stopped at a view point on the rim of the caldera where you can look down into, in our case the clouds, the crater of the volcano on one side of the road and on the other look north up the island, down the slope of the volcano stretching all the way to the northern point of La Palma.

There was a brief stop about an hour later at the Real Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, located high above Santa Cruz, this church houses a statue of the Virgin of the Snows that once every 5 years is processed down into Santa Cruz as part of a major religious festival. This stop was followed up by another visit to the Mirador de La Concepción before we returned back to Los Cancajos just in time for a final swim of the trip and then dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Santa Cruz de La Palma; Monday, 27 February, 2023

I needed to get the bus that left Santa Cruz at 08:45, so I had an early breakfast and had checked out of the hotel shortly after 08:30.

The bus arrived only a few minutes after leaving Santa Cruz, so I was glad I’d made sure I got to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare, and less than 10 minutes later I was in the checkin area of La Palma Airport.

Checked in all the way through to London I wandered through the very quiet security area and up into departures where I was able to grab a seat out on the terrace to catch some of the last of the warmth of the Canary Islands.

Before too long my plane was landing inbound from Madrid so I wandered back inside and made my way to the gate, where boarding was called shortly afterwards.

An uneventful flight later we landed in Madrid and I made my way through transit and over to the lounge to spend the next several hours in transit. When I’d originally booked the trip I’d only had a 2 hour connection, but a few months earlier Iberia had decided to cancel the afternoon flight and put everyone on the morning flight, taking my connection time up to six hours – not quite enough time to actually do anything in Madrid, a bit too long to spend in the lounge, but in the end that’s were I spent the time – not helped by the fact that I wasn’t feeling too great from what, at the time, I thought was a cold. In fact it turned out (when I finally managed to get home on Tuesday afternoon and test) that after having avoided it for 3 years I was unwittingly sat in the business lounge at Madrid airport shedding Covid everywhere.

Eventually boarding for my final flight back to London was called and I headed down to the gate. Of course, it’s when you’re not feeling great and you just want things to continue to run smoothly that things usually go wrong. The plane eventually pushed back 45 minutes late, for no obvious reason and was still 35 minutes late by the time we landed at Heathrow.

It looked like things were getting better as we came off the runway and almost immediately reached our gate, except we had to wait just off gate for 10 minutes before anyone turned up to guide us on, then wait another 10 minutes to get the jet bridge attached, and then once all that had been completed a 45 minute wait for the luggage. I was really quite glad that I’d booked an airport hotel for the evening rather than trying to struggle home in a cab, so half an hour later I was in bed in my hotel room leaving the issue of getting home to the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Sal; Thursday, 16 March, 2023

When I originally booked the trip almost a year ago I’d booked a night in an airport hotel so that I could have a relaxed start to the day prior to a mid-morning flight. Then a couple of months before I was due to fly TUI changed the time of the flight from 10:30 to 08:40 and downgraded the plane from a 10-year old Dreamliner to a 25 year old 767, fitted out with the maximum density of seating you can get in, and adding in an extra stop in Boa Vista, adding 90 minutes to the flight time to enable a crew change.

I was quite thankful that at least the journey to the airport in the morning was a relaxed 30 second walk, aided even further by having been able to drop my bag off the night before.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and down to the gate where we boarded within about 10 minutes of the time they had advertised and we ended up getting away almost on time, fuelled by a series of lies from the crew that this had been a last minute plane swap and they had been up all night coordinating the changes, which is amazing given the emails from two months previously that set out in full detail what would happen.

The plane was possibly more uncomfortable than I’d even feared, with no recline in the seat and in the case of my seat on seat back pocket, so I had to hold everything during the two take-offs and landings and could only slightly relax once I could put the tray table down.

Just shy of 7 hours after leaving Gatwick we landed on Boa Vista, some 45Km south of where we should have been landing, for a crew change and then, after a reasonably quick turn around, we headed back exactly the way we’d come form 45Km to Sal where we eventually landed just 15 minutes ahead of the time I was originally due to land when I’d booked the trip a year ago.

The journey through the airport in Sal was very smooth and efficient with the eGates letting me into the country in about the quickest I’ve ever made it through an eGate, though that speed was hampered by my bag being one of the last off of the plane.

Through the airport and out onto the transfer bus, which promptly served every other hotel on the southern end of the island before ending at the one I was staying in, nearly an hour after leaving the airport.

Thankfully I was checked in quite quickly and got into my room to dump luggage and make it over to the restaurant for the afternoon snack service before it closed at 5pm. A quick snack later and I headed back to my room to change into my swimming trunks and headed to the pool for a quick swim in waters that were considerably warmer than the hotel pool a few weeks earlier in La Palma.

Swim over I headed back to my room for a shower and to relax before heading back to the restaurant for dinner and following that a night cap in the bar before turning in for a well deserved early night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Sal; Friday, 17 March, 2023

It was for the best that I went to bed early as at about 05:40 the electricity on this end of the island failed and the backup generator kicked in, unfortunately the generator was located on the opposite side of a wall to my room and it was a very noisy affair, making getting any more sleep impossible.

Thankfully I had to be up relatively early as I was being picked up at 8am for an eBike tour so I only lost about an hours sleep, and it just meant I was down at breakfast as they were opening the doors.

Breakfast completed I grabbed my stuff and headed to reception where I was picked up for the transfer over to the eBike shop where our tour of Santa Maria and surrounding area was starting from. It turned out to be a really good value tour, with a knowledgeable and passionate local guide showing us many of the key sites in the area, including the dunes and the salt pans that had been the main economic driver of the island before tourism fully took over. The final stop of the tour, after a good 4 hours of lightly peddling aided by very powerful electric motors and chunky tires, was at a café bar on the Western coast of Santa Maria before we headed back to the bike shop to return the bikes and conclude the tour.

I was picked up again from the bike shop and dropped back at the hotel just in time for a late lunch, after which I had a nice long swim in the pool before grabbing a snack in the restaurant and then heading over to the spa for a full body massage.

By the time I’d finished the massage and got back to my room to was the remnants of the hot oil off it was almost dinner time so I headed back over to the restaurant for my fourth meal of the day, and then over to the bar for a quick night cap.

Back in my room the generator was still going at full force and it was pretty clear that sleep was going to be very difficult if not impossible, so I headed over to reception to enquire if it would be possible to change rooms.

The staff on reception couldn’t have been ruder or less helpful if they had tried – their general view was your tough, we’re not going to do anything. I decided trying to argue with them wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so instead I headed back to my room, went online and used the hotel WiFi to submit a formal complaint to TUI.

Thankfully, around 22:00 the power was restored to this part of the island and the generator was finally able to be shut down, which meant that I could actually get some sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Sal; Saturday, 18 March, 2023

What I hadn’t realised the previous day, given I was up before 6am because of the generator, was that the store cupboard and work room for all the cleaners for the block I was in was next to my room, and consequently at 7am I was woken up to the sound of all the cleaners carts being filled with water and rolled out onto the pavement outside.

After doing the hotel rounds picking up the other guests we headed up to shark beach and, after a quick briefing and donning water shoes, to avoid the sea urchin spines, we headed out into the reef and paddled out to about knee high water.

Here the juvenile lemon sharks swim into the reef and come up to swim between the legs of the tourists. Whilst an adult shark can grow to several meters long, these baby sharks were all a meter or less and clearly the humans were much more of a threat to them then they were to us.

The tour guide is a trained biologist so they were able to explain a lot about the life cycle of the sharks and they role that they play in the eco system. They also pointed out that more people are killed each year by cows than by sharks, with the bulk of the fear of sharks being able to be attributed to Steven Spielberg and the Jaws films.

We spent about 40 minutes in the water with the sharks before it was time to head back to shore and take the shuttle back to our hotels.

We were back in time for a quick spot of lunch before I headed down to the beach and went for a quick dip in the sea. The golden sand beach and azure sea were very appealing, though it was obvious that going out more than a few meters into the sea is a bad idea here as the waves crash very close to the shore and had quite a strong drawback. I spent a little while swimming in the sea before heading back towards the hotel, via a quick stop at the beach bar.

Back at the hotel I had a quick extra dip in the pool, which was certainly warmer, safer and a lot less salty than the sea.

After showering I grabbed a quick snack in the restaurant before heading out of the hotel and wandering along the beach the mile or so into Santa Maria to have a look around the town before heading back to the hotel, making it back just as the sun was setting.

Then it was into the standard evening routine of dinner in the restaurant, followed by a drink in the bar and then an earlyish night, ready to be woken up by the cleaners at 7am.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Sal; Sunday, 19 March, 2023

I wasn’t so worried about the early wake-up this morning as I had a whole day tour of the island booked, with a pickup just before 9am, so I need to be up relatively early and had breakfast finished before 8am.

We spent about 30 minutes doing hotel pickups before the tour proper started, heading first to Kite Beach, where the eBike tour had taken us two days before, and then on up to the small settlement of Murdeira to take in the pleasant bay and Lion Mountain (two small extinct volcanic hills that resemble a lion lying down when seen from the bay in Murdeira). From there we continued north with a quick tour through the islands capital of Espargos and onto the weird landscape of Tera Boa.

Located in the north of the island, surrounded by a number of extinct volcanic cones, totally flat and desert like the area has a heat haze and shimmer that makes perspective stop working. Consequently you can see the reflection of the sky on the haze coming off of the land, giving the impression of vast lakes of water in the distance. The landscape also make it possible to take perspective defying pictures really easily and the guide spent a good 10 minutes taking photos of people posing on the top of water bottles or apparently balancing rocks on their little finger.

From the mirages at Tera Boa the next stop was the Blue Eye cave, another natural phenomenon and one that only occurs between 10 and 3. Down by the coast former volcanic lava tubes have in a couple of places collapsed forming sea caves, as well as a cavern in the rock, linked some 27ft below the water line by a tunnel out to the sea. When the sun is in the right position the combination of the sea water flowing into the cavern and light reflecting from different locations creates a bright blue eye in the centre of the cave – if you’re really lucky a loggerhead turtle might even swim in, though on the day we were there it was just the blue light.

From the cave we travelled a bit south to the town of Palmeira, the main port of the island, where we had a visit to a gift shop, before stopping at a restaurant for lunch.

The next stop was back across the island on the eastern coast and the volcanic crater at Pedra Lume. The centre of the crater is actually below sea level and due to the porous nature of the rock sea water filters into the crater filling it up to sea level. Surrounded on all sides by the rock of the caldera and with the sun baking down on it the water naturally evaporates leaving behind the salt that the sea water contained. For many years this was the primary economy of the island, in fact it’s reason the island is called Sal. To make it easier to access the salt lakes a tunnel was dug into the side of the caldera meaning workers didn’t have to clamber up and over the top of the rim to get in and out of the crater.

Today the salt lakes are still harvested for salt, but the lakes are also now a tourist attraction as the water has a salinity level 26 times that of sea water, meaning it’s impossible for a human body to sink in the lake, buoyancy takes over and everyone floats. The tour included a 30 minute stop here for us all to get into our swimming costumes and experience the really weird sensation of hyper-buoyancy, as well as the effect of being very buoyant on a lake with a breeze running across it, like sailboats you just drift across the waters.

After out float in the caldera lake we headed back to the bus for the journey back towards Santa Maria, stopping off on the edge of town to visit the botanical gardens, and to realise that – despite showering – we were all now gently encrusted with salt.

From the botanical gardens we drove back down to Ponta Preta for a stop in the same café bar we’d stopped on during the eBike tour for a sample of a local cocktail before concluding with the hotel drop-offs that got me back to my hotel a little before 6, just in time to have another shower to wash the salt off, and then a quick swim in the pool before heading down to dinner and then a night cap.

Before turning in I headed to reception just to see if it would be possible to keep the room a little later the following day as checkout was at 11, but the transfer wasn’t until 12:50 only to be told quite rudely by the front of house manager that checkout was 11 with no exceptions – she didn’t even check to see what room I was in, just dismissed me on the spot!

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Sal; Monday, 20 March, 2023

Up again at 7 with the cleaners I had a slow breakfast and spent a bit of time packing before heading down to reception a little before 11 to checkout. I had debated whether to say something about the service, but the person on reception appeared to be in such a bad mood and only communicating in short sentences that it probably wasn’t worth saying anything – though it did solidify my view that the European reception staff of the hotel really should all look for other employment as they clearly aren’t suited to customer service.

I wandered down from the hotel to the end of the road and the lighthouse at the southern most tip of the island to take a few photos and then wandered back along the beach to the hotel.

I was back at the hotel about 45 minutes before my transfer back so I was able to grab some water and something a little stronger from the bar.

Unlike the journey out where the transfer stopped everywhere on the way back we only stopped at one other hotel, and bypassed lots of the rest of the hotels, all with a TUI transfer bus outside loading up, consequently we were the first of the transfer coaches to arrive at the airport and through checkin quite quickly.

By now I already knew that we were looking at a relatively lengthy delay as the inbound flight had been delayed by 45 minutes on it’s departure from Gatwick, and it looked like headwinds were slowing it down further, with it not due to land until about the time we were originally due to take off.

So I had a slow meander through the tiny airport, visiting the duty free shop and stopping off at the small café to grab a largish meal as I wanted to avoid having to buy anything on board.

As predicted the inbound plane finally pulled up onto stand at the same time as we should have been departing, but the ground crew got it turned around relatively quickly and only 75 minutes late we were taking off from Sal and heading back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Las Vegas; Wednesday, 05 April, 2023

I’d originally planned on working from home in the morning and then heading to the hotel at lunchtime for my late afternoon flight. That would have left enough time to get from home to the airport in normal circumstances, but then the union representing the security screening staff at the airport announced a 10 day strike over Easter which meant I would have been very tight on time for getting through, so I decided as soon as the strikes were announced to book an airport hotel for the night beforehand and work out of there.

It meant that just 20 minutes after powering down the work laptop I was already pulling into Terminal 5 tube station and heading up to checkin.

In the end I probably didn’t need the extra time as security only took about 30 minutes to clear, but it made for a far more relaxing start to the holiday than fretting about missing the flight stuck in a queue for security.

A smooth journey through the airport and onto the plane, with everyone else apparently also experiencing the same as the doors were closed and the plane was pushing back about 5 minutes ahead of our originally scheduled time (and over an hour earlier than the same flight had done every day for the previous week!)

An uneventful and smooth flight over to Las Vegas and then an incredibly smooth journey through the airport, being one of the first to reach immigration, but even then it took less than 45 seconds to clear with the border guard doing a quick scan of my passport, asking the reason for my visit and then stamping me straight into the states.

Even the luggage came round within about 25 minutes of landing.

Through to arrivals I made my way over to the rideshare pickup area and ordered an Uber over to the hotel where I had a quick checkin and then up to my room.

I spent a little time taking in the views of the strip from my room, as well as popping next door to the CVS to pick up some water, as that isn’t something the hotel provided for any reasonable rate, before turning in for the night as my body was now telling me that I had been awake for nearly 23 hours, even if it was still only just gone 9pm.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Las Vegas; Thursday, 06 April, 2023

Of course having an earlyish night with the time differences and the effects of spending half the previous day just sitting on a plane, meant I woke up at 4am wide awake with clearly no way of getting back to sleep, so instead I spent a little time planning the day and then had a little explore of the hotel and casino (given everything is open 24/7) before finding somewhere open for an early breakfast.

A little later on I headed out of the hotel and across the road to pick up the Deuce bus to head south down the strip to the world famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign, thinking that at 9am it would be relatively quiet – that turned out not to be true with a large number of people already queuing to have their photos taken in front of it, though in reality with a carefully aimed selfie you can take one from the side without needing to queue.

From the sign I hopped back on the Deuce and rode it north all the way up the strip to the Downtown area where some of the older casino’s are located before heading back South again taking in the views of the different resorts along the way with their increasingly bonkers creations – a full Egyptian pyramid and obelisk, recreation of Manhattan, a half sized Eiffel Tower and even a recreation of part of Venice, complete with gondolas!

The hotel complexes are so large that it pays to sit on the driver side of the bus and take the views across the six lane road as any closer means you cant make out everything – so to get the full range of all the resorts I turned round at the South Transit Centre and headed back North again, completing the full set of all the resorts and complexes.

Back up in Downtown I went for a little wander over to the former post office and courthouse, which in the 1950s was the setting for some of the countries hearings into organised crime in the US – the court has long since relocated to newer premises, but the building – now a national monument – has been turned into the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, or more catchily the Mob Museum. I spent a good time looking round the museum and taking in the exhibits – some a little more macabre that the others (the actual wall, complete with bullet holes, where seven mobsters were killed by rival mobsters in the St Valentine’s day massacre anyone?)

Having looked round the museum I headed the short distance down to Fremont Street, the heart of Downtown Las Vegas and where many of the original Casinos are located – before the larger resorts were built down on the strip. Fremont Street is now fully pedestrianised so it makes for a pleasant space to wander around, especially as a high roof has been added to protect visitors from the elements (mostly the harsh desert sun), and act as a giant screen for displays and shows.

After taking in Fremont Street I hopped back on the Deuce and headed back towards the strip, hopping off around the Mirage to grab a very late lunch, or at that point a slightly early dinner, and then have a wander around part of the strip by foot before heading back to the hotel to freshen up.

Once the sun had set and the lights had come on I headed back out of the hotel and over to the Bellagio to take in the fountain displays which go off every 15-30 minutes, before heading back to the hotel for a well earned early night given the 4am wake up.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Las Vegas; Friday, 07 April, 2023

I was feeling lazy so I headed down to the coffee shop in the hotel to grab some breakfast, and shortly after vowed never to do that again as a coffee, juice and a particularly unpleasant sausage and egg breakfast muffin cost $33. With my unsatisfactory breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel and went for a wander along the strip.

My first stop of the morning was to wander down the LINQ Promenade which houses a number of shops and non-hotel restaurants which appeared to have much better pricing than those in the resorts so I stored that information away for later.

I then headed down the strip a bit further to the Venetian hotel and Grand Canal Shoppes. The whole resort is designed around the concept of Venice, though with little though given to the actual geography of the city with the Doge’s Palace connected to St Marks Tower by the Rialto Bridge (complete with travelators). The shopping centre was mostly made up of very high end shops, with a recreation of the grand canal wandering its way through it with gondola rides available to take on the waters. In this respect the resort has managed to exactly match the extortionate pricing of a gondola ride in the real Venice.

After spending quite a bit of time wandering around the Venetian I used the footbridge to cross over the road to The Mirage to take in the statue to Siegfried and Roy who performed at the venue for a number of years (until one of them was mauled by their tiger). I then wandered past the currently dormant volcano and then headed back over the road to grab a late lunch at the In n Out burger place that I’d spotted on the LINQ promenade.

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the casinos and resorts on this side of the strip including taking in the small animal park in the Flamingo, which, naturally, included flamingos along with turtles and fish as well as spending quite a bit of time exploring Paris which was directly connected to my own resort and features, like the Venetian, a very compacted sense of geography (the Eiffel Tower sitting above the Musée d'Orsay which is also the Palais Garnier Opera House located right next to the Arc de Triomphe).

After exploring Paris I headed back to my own hotel to freshen up for a little while before popping out a bit before sunset to take in another of the Bellagio’s fountain shows, this time from the walkways by the Casino itself so I had Paris as a backdrop. I then had a wander through The Bellagio before heading over the road to Caesars Palace to have a quick look around the Trevi Fountain and then the Forum shops, complete with their very weird spiral escalators.

I headed a bit further beyond the Forum to the Mirage and was there in time for one of the volcano shows of the evening, where the volcano out the front of the hotel erupts for about 6 minutes at the top of each hour during the night – it’s a pretty impressive show, particularly as it was now dark.

Having taken in the volcano show I grabbed a bite to eat and headed back towards my hotel, stopping off at a convenience store close to it to grab some things for breakfast in the morning – managing to put together a much more substantial offering for barely $10

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Las Vegas; Saturday, 08 April, 2023

I had originally been due to go on a tour out into the Mojave desert on the Californian side and visit some of the sites there, but due to low booking numbers it turned out I was the only person on the tour so the previous evening the organisers had cancelled the tour, but instead transferred me onto a slightly different tour heading into the Nevada part of the Mojave desert to visit the Valley of Fire.

After being picked up from the hotel we headed out into the desert that surrounds the city and on into the Valley of Fire. The area gets its name from the colour of the sandstone rocks which contain significant amounts of Iron ore within them that give them a deep red hue. Some of the rocks also contain manganese which makes some of them purple as well, with – in some locations – stripped rocks with the yellow sandstone, red iron ore and purple manganese all visible at once.

The first stop of the morning in the Valley of Fire State Park was the Elephant Rock, a rock feature that does look exactly like an Elephant with it’s trunk down in front of it. We spent quite a bit of time here taking in both the rock formations and the wider views over the valley. At the same time our tour guide told us some of the history of the area.

From Elephant Rock we headed a bit further back into the park to visit the Historic Cabins, these are stone buildings which were built at the time the area became a state park in the 1930s and were in use right up until the 1960s, as well as being home to a number of petroglyphs that the Native Americans that lived in this part of the country carved into the rock in the past.

The next stop on the tour was the visitors centre where we stopped for both a toilet break and to take in the exhibition on the history of the site and some of flora and fauna in the area before heading further into the park along the road that was weaved between two mountains and up to the north of the park to visit the Fire Waves.

The Fire Waves are areas of rock that were shaped by the water when this area was a sea bed and its created strange rock formations that look almost like layered pastry. The rocks also sit up high above the valley floor and from here there were excellent views out over the valley and the surrounding land.

The next stop on the tour was the Fire Canyon where once again the geology of the area was on show with rock changing colour part way through with almost perfect straight lines that if you saw it in a photo you’d assume it was a photoshop job.

The final stop on the tour was the turtle rock – named as it does look remarkably like a turtle with it’s head sticking out of it’s shell. Near here there is a sloping rock that you can climb up quite easily for stunning views over the area, until you realise quite how high up you are, that there are sheer drops on both sides and that the slope on the way down feels much steeper that on the way up.

From Turtle rock we drove back to Las Vegas and I was dropped off at the hotel where I had time to freshen up before heading out for a relatively early dinner and an early night as I had a very early start the following day.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Las Vegas; Sunday, 09 April, 2023

A 5am alarm call isn’t something that you usually want when you’re on holiday, but it was necessary for todays tour to the Grand Canyon the Western end of which is close to Las Vegas, but American standards of close – so still a 2.5 hour drive to reach the entrance!

After a 6am pickup in the coach we headed to a small restaurant in the suburbs of Las Vegas for an included breakfast and then started the long haul across state lines into Arizona and onto the Canyon. Normally the tour on the way out makes an additional stop at the Hoover Dam to take in the engineering masterpiece on the Nevada/Arizona border, but due to the Spring Break and expected numbers the decision had been taken to swap the stopping points around and head straight to the Canyon in the morning.

This turned out to be an excellent move by the tour company as we arrived at Grand Canyon West just as the site was opening and were amongst the first customers entering the park – by the time we left in the afternoon the car park which had been deserted when we arrived was full with cars backing up down the access road.

As we were on an organised tour we were able to stay on our coach rather than using the shuttle buses provided by the site so we were soon over at our first stop of the trip at Eagle Point, located around 4,000 ft above the canyon floor and with stunning views across the canyon and the rock structures that make this such an iconic natural feature.

Next to Eagle point there is a glass viewing platform that many of the people on the tour had paid the extra $30 or so to visit, but given you aren’t allowed to take anything – including cameras and phones – onto the viewing platform it felt like a bit of a waste of money so I didn’t bother and along with a couple of other people off the tour I had the whole area to myself for a good 10 minutes before the first shuttle bus of passengers from the regular entrance turned up. At this point I headed over to the small exhibition on different types of structures that the local Native American tribes build in the area both from wood and stone, before heading back to the bus to move onto our second stop.

Second stop of the tour was Guano Point – so named for the large cave on the opposite side of the Canyon which was home to vast numbers of bats. It was assumed that they must have created vast quantities of guano which could be mined for fertiliser and chemicals for ammunition so a whole mining operation, complete with a cableway across the Canyon from the Cave to Guano Point was built. It turned out that the bats were clearly constipated as there was barely 10% of the estimated volume of guano on the caves and consequently the whole site was eventually abandoned after massive losses, but today it is a great place to get views down into the canyon and the Colorado River some 4,000ft below.

It's also home to the only catering facilities in the park so this was our lunch stop for our included meal, which we took in the picnic area early enough in the day to enjoy the sun before the heat really started to build.

After Guano Point we hopped back on the bus and started the drive back towards Las Vegas, stopping off on the way back to Hoover Dam to take in the views of this spectacular piece of engineering, but also testament to climate change in the area with the high water mark of where Lake Mead, that the dam formed, used to fill up to until the early 1980s when it started to drop.

From the Hoover Dam it was a relatively quick 40 minute drive back into Las Vegas to be dropped off back at the hotel where I quickly freshened up before heading out for an early dinner, and then a well deserved early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Las Vegas; Monday, 10 April, 2023

I took advantage of an 11am checkout to have a bit of a lie in before dropping off my luggage and heading out onto the strip to explore some more of Vegas before my flight home that evening.

I started by heading over to Caesars Palace and exploring the enormous complex which includes the casino, multiple hotels, a Colosseum style theatre, Trevi fountain recreation and a massive shopping complex called the Forum. The Forum is also home to The Atlantis Story, an animatronic retelling of the Greek (yes I know, not certain they do) myth of the destruction of Atlantis.

From The Forum I headed over the road to grab some lunch in one of the few non-hotel fast food joints on the strip ($15 vs closer to $40 inside the hotels), before heading back over and have a wander around The Mirage Hotel greenhouse. From the Mirage I caught the Tram next door to Treasure Island where I discovered an important distinction in public transport in Las Vegas. The Monorail which runs up the East side of the strip is quite expensive with journeys starting at $5, where as the separate trams which run down the West side of the strip are all free.

Having had a look round Treasure Island I crossed over the road back into the Venetian to start heading South down the strip. By now the sun was really starting to beat down and just being out in it for a few minutes and with sunblock on I could still feel the back of my legs getting very hot, so I was aiming to do as much of the walking down the strip via the airconditioned casinos and resorts as possible – which is very possible as they are all connected up, or only a short dash across a bridge over the highway from each other.

From the Venetian I headed back over the road and then through the Forum and Caesars Palace to The Bellagio where I picked up the Aria Express through some of the newest resorts on the strip to the Park MGM. I was then able to quickly hop out of the casino into the heat, across the road and back into the air conditioned pleasantness of New York New York for a look round there.

From New York New York it was a warm five minute walk across the bridge over the highway to Excalibur, a medieval castle themed resort, before catching the tram from there down to the Mandalay Bay, the last main resort at the southern end of the strip before walking back through the link corridor to The Luxor – perhaps one of the craziest of the resorts on the strip with everything having a very Egyptian theme, down to the entire resort being housed inside a giant pyramid.

After takin in Luxor I headed back on the tram to Excalibur and hopped over to have a look round the MGM Grand before hopping back over to New York New York to retrace my steps back to the Bellagio and then finally, via Paris, back to my hotel to collect my luggage, call an Uber and make my way out to the airport for my flight home.

I had a very smooth journey through the airport and with only a slight delay of 15 minutes we pushed back off the stand and started our 5,000 mile journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Las Vegas; Tuesday, 11 April, 2023

Probably a combination of a flat bed and the better pressurisation and humidity inside an Airbus A350 I had a decent 5 hours of sleep on board the flight and woke up with my body thinking it was early morning and the time in London saying it was just coming up to late lunch.

Breakfast was served about an hour out of Heathrow and by the time we landed it was already 15:30. Thankfully it was a quick journey through the airport and a pretty quick pick-up from an Uber which meant by the time I got home I was feeling suitably tired for 6pm and looking forward to a good nights sleep, despite having only been awake for about 6 hours.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Rapperswil; Thursday, 20 April, 2023

With a late flight to Zurich I didn’t need to take any annual leave or book into an airport hotel, instead I was able to finish work at the normal time and head over to Heathrow, albeit during the evening rush-hour.

I had a painless journey over to Heathrow and then through the airport to the flight which, despite being on a bus gate, ended up pushing back on time for a slightly bumpy flight across to Switzerland.

Through immigration in record time I just managed to miss the tram out to my hotel for the night, but given they were still running at 8 minute frequencies that wasn’t a problem and I was soon checking in to the hotel before heading up to my room and turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Rapperswil; Friday, 21 April, 2023

A relaxed start to the day at the hotel with a decent length lie in and a late breakfast before it was time to check out of one hotel and make my way over to the second one. Unlike the previous evening I stepped onto the tram platform just as one was arriving so I was on my way right away heading towards the city centre. At the Hauptbahnhof I changed onto the local suburban lines and caught the train down to Jona.

The hotel I was staying at was equidistant between Rapperswil and Jona stations – themselves being less than a mile apart – so it made as much sense to get off one stop early and walk down the ever so slight slope to the hotel than stay on and walk the slight slope up from Rapperswil.

All checked in to the hotel I dropped off my stuff and then headed out towards town to have a look around, with my first stop being the banks of the Obersee.

The Obersee is actually just the upper part of Lake Zurich with a causeway having been built at the narrowest point to make access between Rapperswil on the East bank and Pfäffikon on the West bank more convenient, but these days the causeway is seen as a dividing point between the lower, and much larger, part of Lake Zurich which takes on the full Zürichsee name and this smaller upper portion that’s normally called the Obersee (or upper lake).

After having a bit of a wander around the lake edge I headed over to the Holzbrücke. The Holzbrücke is a wooden bridge that has been located on this site since at least medieval times creating a link across the lake long before the causeway was built, though the current incarnation only dates to 2001 when it was reconstructed after a near 200 year absence. The bridge also links to the Heilig Hüsli a very small chapel that until the bridge was rebuilt was on an island by itself.

At the other end of the bridge is the railway station of Hurden and from here I picked up the train one stop further on to Pfäffikon to take in the other channel of the Zürichsee and the full width of the bottom of the lake. At Pfäffikon I turned round and headed back to Rapperswil, this time being able to take in the view over the causeway to the Holzbrücke and the Obersee.

Back in Rapperswil I had a bit of a wander around the old town taking in some of the historic buildings before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before popping out for an early dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Rapperswil; Saturday, 22 April, 2023

I was up relatively early so that I could head down to the station and catch the train back round to Pfäffikon, mostly so I could get some better views of my main destination of the day the island of Ufenau located in the lake. At just over 1 million square foot the island is the largest island in Switzerland, but when you actually round that up to a useful measurement it shows that you could fit more than 12.5 Ufenau’s just into Hyde Park in London – so whilst it’s the largest island in Switzerland that says more about how few islands the landlocked country has.

From Pfäffikon station I walked down to the landing stage to pick up the ferry that had just come over from Rapperswil to Insel Ufenau and then onto Pfäffikon to pick me up before doing the journey in reverse. Along with a handful of other people we all disembarked at Ufenau and headed onto the island to explore.

Part of the reason for going via Pfäffikon was to get a better view of the island from land, but also it meant that I only needed to fill about 90 minutes before the next ferry off of the island – which turned out to be almost the perfect amount of time.

The island is still owned by the Einsiedeln Abbey which is located a little further up the bank of Lake Zurich. Due to it’s religious past its not surprising that the island is home to religious buildings, with a church and a separate chapel accounting for about half the structures on the island.

I had a slow walk around the edge of the island on the visitor path. If I’d walked at normal walking pace it would probably have only taken me about 15 minutes to see the whole island, so I made sure I stopped regularly to take photos to slow down the time I was taking. Towards the end of the walk I also took the opportunity to visit the church of St Peter and Paul and the neighbouring chapel of St Martin. Even doing things slowly I still had about 5 minutes to spare when I got back to the landing stage before the boat arrived.

Rather than the Ufenau shuttle that I had caught out to the island earlier this boat was one of the scheduled services that run the length of the lower lake from Rapperswil to Zurich and on arrival in Rapperswil it was due to wait just 10 minutes before heading back out and up to Zurich again. I decided that as the weather was quite pleasant, and I fancied a relaxed lunch, that I’d stay on the boat and head up the lake – taking advantage of it being covered by the day ticket that I’d brought. I did cheat a little and purchased an upgrade to 1st class which gained me access to the much nicer restaurant located on the sun deck which made the journey that bit more relaxed.

The journey up the lake took two hours to complete, after which I had a short walk from the ferry harbour in the city centre over to Stadelhofen station where I caught the train back to Rapperswil in a considerably shorter 30 minutes, albeit with slight less stunning views.

Back in Rapperswil I had a longer wander around the old town centre including heading up into the castle complex and down to the end of the town as a small spit of land sticks out into the lake to take in the views at dusk up the lake.

I wandered back via a Co-op supermarket picking up some stuff for dinner as eating out multiple nights in Switzerland gets expensive very quickly, before having dinner in my room.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Rapperswil; Sunday, 23 April, 2023

Sundays in Switzerland are very quiet with most shops closed, but thankfully at least some of the museums are open so I headed out of the hotel and over to my first stop of the day at the city museum or Stadtmuseum. The museum is housed across three buildings – an ancient tower building, a 15th century merchants house and a 21st century link building that joins the other two together.

Whilst all the signage inside the museum was just in German with no other explanations it was still pretty easy to follow along with the history of the city from it’s original founding through it’s industrial past and then its rebranding as a tourist resort at the end of the 19th and early 20th century, as well as discovering that the city still has a reasonable amount of industry – particularly around toilets and sanitary ware – located in the vicinity.

From the Stadtmuseum I had intended on visiting the castle and the museums in there, but the castle was undergoing renovation work at the time of visiting and was closed off to the public, so instead I wandered back down into the old town and visited the Rose Garden that is build onto the slopes of the castle hill.

Just behind the rose garden is a small Capuchin friary that is still working and is open to the public to look around so I had a quick look around inside there before heading down to the harbour area to take in some of the prettiest views of the city from both arms of the harbour wall.

By now I had pretty much exhausted all of the sites that there were in the city, and as I had a valid day ticket I decided to head out of town on a scenic train ride to fill up some time.

From Rapperswil I caught the train up to the junction town of Rüti where I changed onto the regional stopping train that heads up into the highlands above the lake and towards the second city of the canton – Winterthur. The journey was incredibly pretty with lots of green rolling hills, mountains and a couple of ravines along the way.

From Winterthur I caught the train back in towards Zurich and in the city centre swapped onto the tram-train S18 line that heads up into more of the highlands behind the lake and city over to the town of Esslingen. From there I was able to hop, almost straight away, onto a bus – you just have to love the Swiss Integrated transport – over to the town of Uster where I could pick up the regular S-Bahn train back down to Jona and from there walk back to the hotel – for a round journey of about three hours.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Rapperswil; Monday, 24 April, 2023

I had a couple of hours to kill before I could head back to the airport so after a long lie in and a late breakfast I checked out of the hotel and headed down into town to catch the train over to Pfäffikon.

When I’d gone through on Saturday for the ferry over to Ufenau I’d noticed a pretty mini castle on the road down to the landing stage. There hadn’t been time then to investigate at the time as I needed to make the ferry connection, so I decided to head over their first.

The site itself was closed, but you could wander around the outside of the mini castle and moat, as well as the attached chapel to take in the views.

From Pfäffikon I caught the train a couple of stops further up the line to the town of Richterswil where I arrived in time to connect with the ferry back down the lake to Rapperswil, so I had a final sail down the lake – which given it was a dull grey Monday afternoon was considerably quieter than it had been on the sunny Saturday afternoon.

I had a bit of a wander around the centre of Rapperswil before it was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my luggage and make my way back towards Zurich airport and my flight home.

Weather

Damp/Fog/Mist Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Vaduz; Friday, 28 April, 2023

I had a half days leave booked, so after powering down the laptop at lunchtime I headed out over to Heathrow for my afternoon flight straight back to Zurich that I’d only left on Monday evening.

I had a quick journey through Heathrow and a pretty seamless flight through to Zurich.

As I was landing earlier than the previous week I’d booked a hotel on the other side of the city, which was quite a bit cheaper than the airport hotels.

One train and a tram ride later and I arrived at my hotel, checked in, grabbed a snack from the bar and headed to my bed for the night.

Weather

No Data Damp/Fog/Mist
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Vaduz; Saturday, 29 April, 2023

I arrived down to breakfast shortly after a large coach party had departed, which appeared to have gone through the breakfast like a tornado with virtually every table requiring cleaning and virtually no food on the buffet, thankfully the team at the hotel were pretty quick in getting things sorted and in the time it took to get a coffee out of the machine I had a table and shortly afterwards the key parts of the buffet had been refreshed.

I had a leisurely morning in the hotel as I was booked onto a specific train rather than having an open ticket so I didn’t need to leave the hotel until about 11:30 to make in into Zurich city centre in time to make my connection.

In the end I could have probably left it even later as I had nearly 30 minutes to wait around in Zurich before my train arrived and turned out to be very lightly loaded with only about four people in my carriage for the one stop ride to the border town of Sargans.

In Sargans I hopped off the train and crossed over to the bus station to pick up the LieMobil bus that was taking me across the border and onto Vaduz. The bus from Sargans runs right up through the whole of Liechtenstein stopping off in the capital Vaduz, as well as the largest town Schaan before popping out the other side of the country into Austria and ending up in the Austrian city of Feldkirch.

Given I was probably going to be making reasonable use of the public transport in the country over the following couple of days I opted to buy an country wide 7 day pass that would let me on every bus in the country – including over the borders into both Switzerland and Austria, and even on the ÖBB train from Feldkirch in Austria through to Buchs in Switzerland via the four railway stations in Liechtenstein (all closed at the weekend when the trains run fast through the country, but the bus ticket is still valid).

Getting off the bus in Vaduz I walked the short distance over to my hotel and checked in, a slightly odd experience as the hotel is almost completely automated with just a kiosk to check in on. During my entire stay the only member of staff I’d see would be the lady replenishing the breakfast bar.

Checked in I had a wander round the centre of Vaduz before heading back over to the main bus stop to pick up the bus up into the hills and the highest settlement in the country – Malbun. From Vaduz the bus climbs steadily nearly 4,000ft up to the town located at 5,200ft above sea level. The town is the only ski resort of the country, and with the warming weather the season had finished a couple of weeks before I arrived so the whole area was closed up for a couple of weeks worth of maintenance before re-opening in mid-June for the summer biking and hiking season. It consequently had an almost ghost-town feel to it. I spent 25 minutes wandering around before hopping back on the same bus I’d come up on as it started it’s decent back down the mountain.

I hopped off the bus in the town of Triesenberg where I changed onto a different bus that climbed up another hill to the village of Gaflei which is the closest you can get via public transport to the middle point of the country – located a 1.8 Km very steep uphill walk away. I decided just to have a look around the area by the bus stop and catch the same bus back down into Triesenberg where I changed back onto the bus back down into Vaduz.

By the time I got back to Vaduz it turned out that all of the supermarkets had closed for the evening and given the price of even cheap meals in restaurants would blow my budget for the weekend I decided that there was nothing for it other than to hop on the bus and cross the border to go grocery shopping in Austria. It was a very pleasant ride up through the north of Liechtenstein and then over the border into Austria, and a quick turnaround in the supermarket in Feldkirch station meant I was able to hop back on exactly the same bus to take me back down to Vaduz for my hotel picnic dinner before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Vaduz; Sunday, 30 April, 2023

I had a bit of a lie in for the morning and then, after a quick breakfast, headed out of the hotel over to the bus stop to pick up the bus back to the south of the country and the last major settlement before the Swiss border of Balzers and it’s impressive castle of Burg Gutenberg.

Most of the castle is closed to the public, but some parts are open on Sundays from the beginning of May until October. Given that whilst it was a Sunday it was also only the 30th of April this was clearly going to mean not being able to see inside, but I was able to look around the outer courtyard and from here there are amazing views over the town and the surrounding countryside with the peaks of the alps towering around you.

After spending some time wandering around both the castle grounds and the town itself I headed back over to the bus stop and hopped back on the bus north, through Vaduz and onto the town of Bendern where a quick change later had me on the bus north to the town of Schellenberg – the last major settlement in the Northeast of the country and consequently it’s high ground guarding the valley that links Liechtenstein to Austria.

Naturally there are castles up here – both in ruins, but consequently it means you can look round much more of them than you can in Balzers. I spent quite a bit of time taking in the ruins and the views of the Obere Burg located on the Northeaster side of the town. From there it was about a 1.5Km walk down to the Untere Burg that looks out west over the Rhine and Switzerland.

On the way I stopped off at the Bäuerliches Wohnmuseum, this is an original 16th century building that has been preserved to show how life would have been like in the past. It’s open as a museum just two Sundays a month between April and October, and by pure luck this happened to be one of the days it was open so I was able to have a look around before heading on down to the ruins of the Untere Burg.

Having taken in two castles and an ancient farmhouse I hopped back on the bus and made my way back to Vaduz where I did the very touristy thing of taking the land train tour round the capital. The tour weaved its way through the town centre and out to the river but was pretty light on information and facts and quite heavy on polka music.

Back in the centre of Vaduz I decided that I really ought to do some exercise as I’d mostly spent the last two days sat down on public transport. From there centre of Vaduz there is a 1.5-2 hour walk that you can take called the Grüschaweg Trail that heads up hill, past the castle (still lived in by the royal family so closed to visitors) and then up along the ridge of the mountains overlooking the Rhine before a final climb up into Triesenberg. That all felt like a little too much climbing, so instead I caught the bus back up to Triesenberg and did the walk in the opposite and very much more pleasant downhill direction back to Vaduz.

Back in Vaduz I had another hotel picnic dinner before heading out later in the evening to have a wander around Vaduz at night. It turned out that at 10pm on a Sunday evening virtually nobody is out and in the 45 minutes or so that I was wandering around I think I saw only about 3 other people.

After taking a few night time photos I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Vaduz; Monday, 01 May, 2023

With breakfast completed I checked out of the hotel and headed down into the basement of the hotel where they had complimentary left luggage lockers in a secure area – the key fob for the locker giving you access through the door from the street – so I was able to store my bag there before heading out for the morning to have a bit more of an explore.

The weather forecast for the whole weekend had expected it to be pretty bad, but it had turned out that I’d had two really good days of weather, sadly the Monday morning was living up to the prediction of being very wet – so I decided rather than trapsing around in the pouring rain I’d do a bit more exploring of the country by bus. I hopped on the bus up to Schaan, the largest settlement in the country, where I was able to catch the bus over the border to the Swiss town of Buchs. Here I was able to change onto the train back through the width of Liechtenstein – non stop as the Liechtenstein stations are closed on public holidays as well as weekends – and onto Feldkirch in Austria where I picked up the bus back to Vaduz.

Back in Vaduz I picked up the little hopper bus that travels round the back roads of the city serving all the areas away from the main road, so I got to see much more of the town before reaching my actual goal of the Alte Rhinebrücke.

This wooden bridge was originally the main crossing point between Vaduz and the Swiss town to Sevelen on the opposite side of the Rhine. For motor traffic it’s subsequently been replaced by a modern bridge, but it’s still open for pedestrians to cross and more importantly at the mid point of the crossing are signs showing where you cross from Liechtenstein into Switzerland and vice-versa.

I spent just under 30 minutes at the bridge, which meant I was back at the bus stop just as the hopper bus was coming back round again so I jumped back on and caught it back into the centre of town and then wandered down to the Cathedral.

I had a quick look around the Cathedral of St. Florin before heading across the road to the LandesMuseum, the national museum of Liechtenstein.

The museum tells the history of the nation from the earliest archaeological finds through to the modern day, as well as having exhibits on the flora, fauna and geology of the country with a topographical model of the whole of the nation being one of the most interesting of the exhibits.

Just across the road from the museum is the treasury which houses some of the most important, and expensive, possessions of the nation – including the crown jewels and a Fabergé egg. Upstairs from the treasury is the Postal museum which was my last stop on my quick whirlwind tour of Vaduz’s cultural sites (the art gallery being closed as a new exhibition, due to open on the Wednesday, was being set-up!)

Having completed all the open museums I headed back to the hotel to grab my bag out of the luggage storage room and head over to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Sargans and the train back to Zurich.

What had been a very smooth journey back was suddenly interrupted on arrival into Zurich by the news that something had gone wrong with the railway line beyond the airport and the train was being diverted so it wouldn’t stop there. It meant I had to get off the train I should have taken through to the airport and instead change onto the local commuter train. Thankfully, by luck, I managed to position myself on the platform right where the doors were when the train pulled in so I was able to get a seat without any issue – though given it was only a 15 minute journey to the airport it wouldn’t have been a major issue. Once I’d finally arrived at the airport it was a smooth, if delayed, journey back to London to complete my journey home.

Weather

Heavy Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Kotor; Friday, 05 May, 2023

My flight was one of the last to leave London City Airport for the day, so it meant that I was able to finish work as normal and have a relaxed journey across London to reach the airport, and even with that I still arrived with way more time than I needed to make the flight.

I wandered down the corridor to the lower numbered gates at City as whilst the gates are displayed for flights until about 30 minutes before departure the actual gates show which flights will be leaving from them next, and from this I was able to spot that my flight would be the next one out from gate 7 after the Milan flight that was currently sitting on the gate had left.

As boarding was completing for that flight it meant that most of the seats in the gate area were now free so I was able to grab a window seat with a power socket and settle down for the 50 or so minute wait for my flight to start boarding.

In the end we actually had to wait a little bit longer as the flight on the stand next to ours was late departing and therefore started its pushback just as we were supposed to board, meaning we had to be held in the terminal until it was clear of the gate area so we could safely walk to the plane.

Whilst the actual flight was pretty bumpy the journey itself was pretty smooth, with the flight landing on time into Luxembourg. I was right at the back of the plane, which meant I was one of the last to disembark, but also meant I was the last onto the bus to the terminal, and consequently the first off the bus when we reached immigration, which always helps these days to avoid the queue of other 3rd country residents having to queue up behind me to be stamped into the country.

As the flight was mostly made up of business people coming back from meetings there had only been 13 bags loaded at City – one of the advantages of the window seat back at the terminal was I could see the whole off-loading and re-loading of the plane when it came in, and so was able to visually confirm that my bag made it onto the flight – with so few bags to be retrieved they were already coming round on the carousel as soon as I cleared immigration and so was able to grab my bag and head out of the terminal.

Less than 30 minutes from the wheels of the plane first hitting Luxembourg soil I was already out of the airport and walking the 10 minutes or so to my hotel for the night.

After checking in I dropped off my bags in the room and had a quick drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Kotor; Saturday, 06 May, 2023

Overnight there had been quite heavy rain in Luxembourg and in the morning there were still showers passing through, but a quick look at the forecast for Montenegro was all I needed to see to confirm that jeans and a jacket would be a bad idea, so I dressed for the weather I wanted, rather than the weather I had and, after a quick breakfast, checked out of the hotel and cheated by walking over to the bus stop and caught the bus the 2 minutes back to the terminal, therefore avoiding the bad weather.

I’d checked in online already so I only had to drop off my bags, which turned out to be a good move as the queue for check-in was pretty large – given it’s location Luxembourg airport actually serves not just the whole of the country but some significant parts of both France and Germany and so it can get pretty busy on a Saturday morning.

A smooth journey through the airport and onto the flight, with the only hiccup being the inbound plane being about 30 minutes late so that we eventually departed 40 minutes late. The journey down was very impressive once we finally cleared the cloud banks that covered much of Northern Europe, the skies clearing in time for the unmistakable view of the Venetian Lagoon and then the dramatic Adriatic coast of Croatia before a final dramatic flypast of the Bay of Kotor before we turned back on ourselves and landed at Tivat airport.

Once again, virtually back row of the plane, but this time with a back set of stairs meant that I was towards the front of the queue for immigration into Montenegro – the difference being everyone was being stamped into the country, no Schengen zone here (yet). Not that it made much of a difference as the immigration officers were all very efficient and virtually everyone was through in the couple of minutes before the luggage came round so I could grab my bag and head outside to meet my transfer round the bay to Kotor.

The old town of Kotor is totally pedestrianised, so the taxi had to drop me off just outside the main gate to the city, so I walked the last couple of hundred meters to the hotel to check-in and drop off my luggage before heading out to explore the city.

I spent a long time just wandering around the narrow lanes and paths of the old city, hemmed in by the walls round three sides and the imposing mountains directly behind, that the walls conveniently continue up. I had a bit of a wander along the lower city walls, which cover about 2/3 of the city and are free to wander along, leaving the walls heading up the mountain to the fortress until a different day.

On my way back through the old town I stopped off at the cathedral to have a look around both the church and the small museum and treasury on the floors above, before heading behind to visit the small St Pauls chapel and the archaeological remains in the garden above it.

From there it was a short walk through the old town to the Gurdic Gate or South Gate to the city. This is the most impressive of the city gates with a drawbridge, two off-set gateways and then in front of the whole complex a moat jus to add to the medieval vibes.

After all that exploring I headed back to my hotel and stopped off for a quick early evening drink on the outside terrace before freshening up and then heading out again in search of somewhere for dinner.

Dinner completed I had another wander round the old town in the dark with the floodlit buildings and, with all the day trippers gone, very quiet streets and alleys, before returning back to the hotel and my bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Kotor; Sunday, 07 May, 2023

I had an early start, in part due to the curtains in the room not being particularly heavy and letting quite a bit of light in, but also because I needed to be up early for my first attraction of the day.

After a very pleasant breakfast taken in the hotels restaurant out on the square I headed out of the city walls and down to the waterfront were I was able to book onto the 9am speedboat tour of The Bay of Kotor. The three hour tours run several times a day, but I thought it was unlikely that this one would be too busy, and also meant I wouldn’t be out on the water potentially without shade at the warmest part of the day. In the end the shade issue didn’t matter as the boats all had sun shades, but getting there early was an excellent idea as our tour only had 11 people on, where as the boats normally carry 24 – and all the other boats we saw for the rest of the morning were much more heavily loaded.

The tour starts by heading down the inner part of the Bay of Kotor to the town of Perast and the two islands just off it’s shore. The first, and at one point only, island is that of St George and houses a cemetery and a church that is only open for one day each year, and today wasn’t that day. Next door is the island of Our Lady of The Rocks – a man made island, created by the locals dropping rocks into the sea at this point until they created an actual island on which they could build a church of the same name. We were able to hop off the boat here to explore the island and the church, taking in the views back up the inner part of the bay, along with the narrow channel that links it through to the outer part of the bay and over to the pretty town of Perast itself.

From the island we hopped back onto the boat and continues through the channel and out into the outer part of the bay where the next stop was right over on the far coast, in fact under the coast as we sailed into one of the submarine bunkers that were cut into the rock of the peninsular by the Yugoslav navy to protect the from spying eyes. After sailing out of the bunker we continued on our way slowing down to take in the fortress on Mamula Island that is slowly being turned into a hotel and then on out into the Adriatic sea to our main stop of the day, just along the coast, in the blue cave.

This large sea cave has two entrances, only one of which our boat was able to fit through, but it allowed us access into the cave itself where the reflection of the sun between the two entrances and off of the stone and shallow floor of the cave create an eery bright blue glow to the water. We spent quite a bit of time in the cave and the area immediately outside, with some people on the tour taking the opportunity to have a quick swim – though they all agreed it really was too early in the year for the water to be warm enough to enjoy.

From the cave it was time to head back to Kotor and our captain opened up the taps on the speedboat getting us the 22 or so miles back to Kotor in under 45 minutes. From the harbour it was then a short walk back into the old town and a late lunch.

It took a bit of time to find a restaurant that had a seat for lunch as there were already quite a few tour groups wandering round and the restaurants and bars were very busy from all the day trippers. It soon became obvious that it was about to get a lot busier as a large MSC cruise ship announced its arrival in the Bay with several long blasts of it’s horn as it’s docked at the cruise terminal and disgorged another 2,500 day trippers, within 20 minutes the centre of Kotor was absolutely heaving so I headed back to the hotel for a little while to relax and avoid the worst of the crowds – though from my room which overlooked the city walls I could watch group after group being led round.

Once it had quietened down a bit I headed back out of the hotel and went for a wander through the now quieter streets, stopping off at the Orthodox church of St Nicholas and the neighbouring St Luka church before stopping at an adjacent café for a pre-dinner drink.

I had a bit more of a wander around the old town until it started to get dark and then I headed over to a very nice seafood restaurant that I’d seen by the Cathedral for dinner before returning to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Kotor; Monday, 08 May, 2023

My main aim for the day was to conquer the fortress at the top of the hill overlooking the city. Everything I’d read up on it in advance had suggested setting off early as there are nearly 1,500 stone steps to climb to get to the top and you’ll want to do those before it gets too hot. Also, once you’re into the afternoon the position of the sun makes taking photos down the bay more difficult as it moves round to be directly in front rather than behind you. Consequently, I had the good idea of getting up early to make sure that I was at the ticket booth to get onto the walls just after it opened at 8am.

Of course, the effect of a comfy bed, and having got up early the previous morning conspired against me and by the time I woke up it was already 08:30, so given I was already running late I decided not to bother rushing and headed down to breakfast. Though this turned out to be a bad time as I appeared to become a tourist attraction myself as the first day trip tour groups of the morning were already heading round and the hotel restaurant terrace is situated right in front of one of the many, but for the tour groups one of the first, palaces in the city. There must now be several photos of a palace in the background and me tucking into breakfast in the foreground.

Fortified for the journey ahead I popped back into the hotel, grabbed my bag, wandered round to the nearby kiosk and stocked up with several bottles of water and headed to the back of the old down and the access route onto the walls.

The guides I’d read had said it is possible to make the ascent in 30 minutes – but I can only assume from my experience that was done without stopping and first thing in the morning as the narrow steps mean you quite often have to stop to give way to people coming in the opposite direction. In the end it took me about 90 minutes to make the ascent, but that did include some extended photo stops at various points along the way as the stunning scenery of the Bay of Kotor and the old town opened up with each step higher up.

The fortress was, if anything, a bit of a disappointment after the stunning views on the way up as it had more limited views being set back a bit from the cliff edge, unlike the walls. Internally much of the fortress is ruins, but there were still some views to be had.

As I’d taken so many pictures on the way up I decided that I probably didn’t need to stop for pictures on the way down and the descent was much quicker, though it still took over 30 minutes – though that was with giving way to lots of people who clearly had decided slogging up the hill in the midday sun was a good idea. After getting off the wall my first stop was a quick pit stop back at the hotel to make use of the bathroom as there were no facilities on the hill and I had consumed the best part of two litres of water.

Freshened up I headed back out and stopped off at a restaurant for a relaxed late lunch. Restocked with calories I headed out of the old town and over to the bus stop for the local bus along the coast to the town of Perast. The journey should have taken about 25 minutes, but we got stuck on the road for quite some time as there had been an accident further along that we had to inch our way round, in the end it was nearly an hour before we made it into the town.

I had a long wander round the small town – which has a pleasant harbour front and excellent views the couple of hundred meters across the bay to Our Lady of the Rocks and St Georges Islands. Lining the harbour front alongside a number of restaurants are the large number of water taxi and boat tour companies offering quick transfers over to the islands, and they were a little persistent in trying to drum up trade, even relatively late in the afternoon. Despite all my wondering I did notice that at no point did the bus turn up going in the opposite direction, or even in the same direction I’d come from – which was a bit of an issue as I wasn’t quite certain where the bus stop for the trip back was. In the end I walked all the way back along the harbour front road to where it joined the main road where there was a bus stop, but with no sign of any details about bus times I wasn’t sure if I had 5 minutes, an hour or longer to wait – not helped by all the disruption caused by the earlier crash.

Thankfully, as I was waiting at the stop a Kotor taxi driver pulled up and offered a €10 fare back to the city centre, which given the bus fare was €2 didn’t appear too extortionate so I took a cab back, which was probably a good idea as we passed two buses coming in the opposite direction – which for an hourly service meant I would probably have been waiting for a very long time if I had decided to wait.

Back in town I headed back to my hotel to freshen up and then headed out for a final dinner in Kotor.

Weather

Haze Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Kotor; Tuesday, 09 May, 2023

Given how much exercise I’d had the previous day I, unsurprisingly, had an excellent nights sleep and woke up much later than planned. By the time I’d had a shower, eaten breakfast and gotten ready for the day it was almost the 11am checkout time so I quickly packed my bag and headed down to reception.

When I’d been up on the walls the previous day I had noticed what looked like a set of ruins close to the South Gate of the city, so I headed over there first to have a look around. It turns out it is a set of ruins, but of what I wasn’t quite certain. There were no signs or information display boards on site and Google Maps claimed it was both the ruins of an Ancient Roman Settlement as well as the ruins of St Francis Monastery. None the wiser I took some photos and then wandered back into the old town via the Gaudric gate, headed up onto the walls, and wandered round to the café that I’d spotted up on the walls for a late morning coffee and water, whilst watching another cruise ship, albeit much smaller this time, deposit its passengers onto the city.

From the walls I headed back down into town and walked round to another set of ruins, this time those of the monastery that had been attached to the Orthodox St Nicholas church – but given the need to reuse space in a cramped old town this is also now the site of the Kotor Bazar, basically a tourist tat market with stalls nestled between the ruins of the monastery and cloister.

A short walk away from St Nicholas and my last stop on the trip was at the Maritime Museum which has a decent collection of artefacts, maps, pictures and models about the history of seafaring and the navy both in Kotor, the Bay area and more widely the area that makes up modern day Montenegro. The museum is housed in one of the old palaces of the city, and is in fact the only one of the palaces that you can visit as the rest are all privately owned.

Final museum visit completed I stopped off at a very pleasant pasta restaurant for lunch before heading back to the hotel, picking up my luggage and head back to the area beyond the walls to pick up my transfer back to the airport.

Tivat airport is the busiest airport in Montenegro, which is a bit of an eyeopener as at 14:00 on a Tuesday there were just four flights left for the rest of the day – three to Belgrade and my one back to Luxembourg. To add to the quiet fell this was the first available return flight to Luxembourg as the first flight of the season had been the one I’d flown out with on Saturday, so there the flight back was only about half full, and pretty much everyone was a familiar face from the flight out.

The journey back to Luxembourg was smooth and in the end frustratingly early and well managed. When I’d booked the flights several months earlier I’d had to do them as two separate bookings as the LuxAir website didn’t allow me to create a connecting booking. I’d originally had a return leg for my London City flight booked for 21:00 in the evening, giving me a – probably too long – three hour connection in Luxembourg, but a few weeks before my trip LuxAir had cancelled the flight and moved me onto the 19:15 flight.

As it was on two separate bookings there wasn’t an option to transit through Luxembourg, instead I’d have to clear immigration, collect my bags, get back up to check-in and drop off my bags for the next flight. Check-in closed 45 minutes before departure and the arrival time of my Kotor flight was just 50 minutes before the departure time of the London flight – 5 minutes was not going to be enough to make the connection, so instead I had myself moved to the first flight the following morning.

Of course we promptly landed in Luxembourg 15 minutes early, cleared immigration in under 1 minute to find my bag already on the belt and was up at the check-in desks with what would have been 10 minutes to spare. Instead I headed out of the airport and caught the bus back round to exactly the same hotel I’d stayed at four nights previously.

I had a quick drink in the bar and a quick bite to eat before having an early night as I needed to get up very early for my flight back to London the following morning – given that check-in closed at 06:30

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Kotor; Wednesday, 10 May, 2023

I didn’t have a particularly great nights sleep, in part due to the room being rather warm and stuffy -so I had to sleep with the window open, but it was only about 800m to the end of the runway at the airport that is home to one of Europe’s largest cargo carriers with 747s taking off at relatively regular intervals.

Bleary eyed I checked out of the hotel just before 05:30 and rather than bother waiting for the bus decided that a nice brisk walk to the airport in the chilly morning air would probably be the easiest way of waking up.

At this time of the morning the queues for check-in were considerably shorter than they had been on Saturday morning, however the queue for security was surprisingly much longer and it took a good 10 minutes to clear through and get into the departures lounge.

It also turned out that there are a lot of people who either commute from Luxembourg to London or have early morning meetings as the plane was totally full and consequently rather cramped – but we left on time and in the end made it back to London a full 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

After a very quick journey through city airport – with once again my bag on the belt when I got there – I headed out of the airport and caught the DLR round to a hotel I’d booked a day use room in. Again, thinking I was going to be later and building in contingency I didn’t think I’d be back home in time for my morning meetings so had booked the day use hotel room to work out of, in reality I would probably have made it back home with time to spare, but at least I didn’t have to worry about being late for the meeting.

Weather

Light Rain No Data
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Kirkenes; Thursday, 18 May, 2023

Work finished for the day we hopped in a minicab and headed over to Heathrow for the late evening flight over to Oslo.

Nearly a year ago our trip to Scandinavia got off to a slightly choppy start when the outbound flight to Stockholm was delayed by over 4 hours due to technical problems. Thankfully that wasn’t full foreshadowing, but the fact that the aircraft that was going to form our service was only just taking off on the runway above us on an outbound leg to Belfast as we went through the tunnel to Heathrow Central indicated that there was likely to be a lengthy delay.

In the end the delay was almost two hours long, and so by the time we pushed back and headed off it was pretty late, made even later as the plane was parked at a remote stand and the airstairs developed a fault that meant it took nearly 15 minutes to get them removed form the side of the plane after we were already all shut up and ready to go.

We eventually landed in Oslo just shy of two hours late and, after a thankfully quick journey through immigration and baggage reclaim, made it to the taxi rank to grab a cab round to our airport hotel for the night.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Kirkenes; Friday, 19 May, 2023

As we had a late afternoon flight on from Oslo I’d thankfully arranged in advance a later checkout which meant that we could have a bit of a lie-in, though not too late as breakfast stopped being served at 9:30.

After checking out we caught the shuttle bus back round to the airport and checked in for the flight up to Tromsø.

This flight was uneventful, and about 90 minutes after taking off from Oslo we touched down at Tromsø airport, grabbed our stuff and headed into the city to check into our hotel, grab some dinner and then have a little wander in the late evening sun.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
11ºC/52ºF

Kirkenes; Saturday, 20 May, 2023

Another relatively relaxed morning as the flight we had booked had slowly crept later into the afternoon with multiple small reschedules over the preceding months.

After checking out we caught a taxi round to the airport and checked in for our hoppa-plane service up to Kirkenes via Vadso with Widerøe on one of their small turboprop planes.

All loaded and ready to go the pilot started up the engines and then about 90 seconds later powered them down as he then accounted there was a technical issue. We sat on the tarmac for about 15 minutes whilst the captain was on the phone to tech support before both he and the first officer got out of the plane. A couple of minutes later they got back on, closed everything up and started the engines up again, only to power them down again about 2 minutes later.

A second very quick trip out of the plane by the first officer and third time lucky the engines fired up and this time the propellers were going noticeably faster, or more accurately so fast that they were no long noticeable as anything other than a blur, and so 30 minutes late we took off from Tromsø on a plane that appeared a few minutes earlier to have faulty engines.

As the plane was unpressurised we flew relatively low, and consequently had quite the bumpy journey up through the northern parts of Norway, not helped by wondering if every bump and thud would be accompanied by further engine trouble, but eventually we made it down onto the ground in Vadso for our quick stop there and for about three quarters of the plane to disembark and one person to board.

Thankfully the engines started up fine on the first attempt here and a short hop over the fjord later we touched down in our final destination Kirkenes, where we grabbed our luggage, called a cab and headed into town.

After dropping off our luggage we headed down to the hotel restaurant for dinner as the cab ride through town round to the hotel had shown that not much was open on a Saturday evening.

Dinner completed we headed out for a quick wander round the town before heading back to the hotel for a nightcap, after which I went out for a longer explore round the town taking some photos before heading back to the hotel and turning in for the night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Kirkenes; Sunday, 21 May, 2023

Our earliest start to the day so far on this trip as our 11:20 bus departure had to be caught, given the next service wouldn’t be until about 6am the following day.

We checked out of the hotel and headed over to the main bus stop in town, arriving with a good 15 minutes to spare only to find the whole area deserted. Thankfully a couple of minutes before the bus was due a small handful of other people turned up for the bus, which was a good sign as the bus itself was 10 minutes late arriving – quite the achievement as this was the first stop.

I didn’t help the time keeping of the service when it turned out that the card reader on the bus wasn’t working properly and so the driver had to drop me off outside a bank and wait whilst I took out some krone from the ATM to pay the fare through to Hammerfest.

After the initial bumpy start the journey continued without any further drama, other than the stunning scenery of fjords and mountains as we crossed the very top of mainland Norway.

Very few people were joining or alighting, and by the time we reached Tana Bru, at the 25% completed mark in the journey we were back on time, so had the full scheduled 30 minute wait to make use of the toilet and stretch our legs.

The journey continued on from Tana bru through some of the most dramatic mountain scenery of the trip before descending into the tiny settlement of Kunes on a high plateau in the mountains where we met the Kirkenes bound bus and the official mid-point of the journey, and our second change of driver – the first change taking place at Tana bru (though in this instance it was the Kirkenes and Hammerfest drivers swapping buses to head back to where they had come from)

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Hammerfest; Sunday, 21 May, 2023

From Kunes the journey continued on much as it had previously with stunning views over mountains with wide plateaus and fast moving rivers before heading back down to fjord levels and joining the edge of the massive Porsangerfjorden, which we would drive around the edge of for almost two hours to reach the same point on the opposite bank, stopping in the local hub of Lakselv where our fourth drive of the day would take over, marking 75% complete.

The final part of the journey included the remainder of the journey along the Porsangerfjorden before turning inland and up into the more mountainous territory followed by a descent back down to sea level in Kvalsund and the final major structure of the day as we crossed over the Kvalsundbru and onto the island of Kvaløy, where Hammerfest is located.

Nearly 9 hours after setting off from Kirkenes we arrived in Hammerfest on time to the minute. After recovering our luggage we headed over to the hotel to checkin and then headed out into Hammerfest to grab some food, which at gone 9pm on a Sunday night meant Pølse (sausages) from the Narvesen.

Dinner completed we went for a quick wander around Hammerfest, before beating a retreat to the hotel and a nightcap as a brief but cold shower passed through.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF

Hammerfest; Monday, 22 May, 2023

After a hearty breakfast and checking out of the hotel we headed back down to the bus station to pick up the bus on the next leg of our journey, the much shorter hop over to Alta, with a journey time of less than 2 hours 30 minutes, though once again not lacking in stunning scenery.

The bus left on time and was making speedy progress down Kvaløy back towards the Kvalsundbru until the driver had to expertly perform an emergency break to avoid hitting a reindeer that had just wandered out into the middle of the road.

Quickly recovering, but driving a bit more cautiously for a while we continued down across the bridge and into Kvalsund and further along to the settlement of Skaidi where we rejoined the E6 highway that we’d left at this point the previous evening to continue our journey south west down Norway.

The next leg of the journey ran alongside the Goahtemuorjohka river, following it’s flow back up stream and into the mountains, passing by wide slow sections followed shortly after by tight fast flowing rapids and gorges.

From the mountains we descended back down to sea level to meet the edges of the Altafjorden at Rafsbotn and then followed the banks of the fjord round past the airport and into our next destination, Alta.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Alta; Monday, 22 May, 2023

Considerably less stiff than after the 9 hour journey the previous day we picked up luggage and walked the 100m or so from the bus station over to our hotel to checkin.

After dropping off our bags we headed back over to the bus station and picked up a local bus to head out the 10 minutes or so to the edge of town to visit the Alta Museum. In a recurrence of Sunday the card machine on this bus wasn’t working, but the driver decided he’d just let us off the 60Kr fare, which I suppose is probably easier to get away with than the 980Kr the driver in Kirkenes was charging.

The Alta Museum is located in a picturesque spot at the top of one arm of the Alta Fjord and at a point which has one of the highest concentrations of ancient rock carvings, or petroglyphs, in Northern Europe. The museum tells the history of both the rock carvings and the town, but the main attraction is being able to follow the 3Km or so walk way that takes you out of the museum and past the carved rocks.

All the rocks have been treated to lighten the colour of the rock to show the carvings off more closely, and about half have also been painted in red to make them stand out more. It’s certainly an impressive site, aided by the very picturesque backdrop of the fjord.

From the museum we caught the bus back into town, thankfully (or perhaps not) with a working card machine to pay for the fare this time, and then headed back over to the hotel.

A bit later we headed out to grab dinner, but with not may options decided to visit the Peppe Pizza – a Norwegian chain that always appears to get decent reviews – located underneath the hotel and were pleasantly surprised with a decent and reasonably priced (for Norway) meal.

After dinner we had a bit of a wander around the centre of Alta, taking in the Northern Lights Cathedral located just behind the hotel. The cathedral is best seen in the dark when hidden lights in the spire light up, during the middle of 24-hour daylight it looks more like a district waste heating plant or possibly a small polyclinic with a metallic chimney for disposing of hazardous waste.

Wander round Alta complete we headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Alta; Tuesday, 23 May, 2023

The earliest start of the trip with a 10:55 departure from Alta, and once again a service that only ran once a day back down to Tromsø.

So far the first two legs of the journey could be categorised as Kirkenes to Hammerfest being all about the Fjords and Mountains, whilst Hammerfest to Alta was the River and snow-capped plateau it was clear that this leg over to Tromsø was going to be about raw engineering as we left Alta through a series of impressive tunnels and bridge. Within about 20 minutes I’d already lost count of how many tunnels we’d passed through and that number only increased throughout the journey.

Just over an hour after we left Alta the bus reached the town of Burfjord where there was a 20 minute or so comfort break, but also a chance to get a first view of the might Lyngen alps that would also dominate the journey for the day.

Over some more impressive bridges and then briefly up into the mountains before descending back down to fjord level and the next stop indicator on the bus started to show that there was over an hours gap between two upcoming stops, indicating we were about to board our first ferry journey of the trip.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Tromsø; Tuesday, 23 May, 2023

The crossing from Olderdalen to Lyngseidet takes about 45 minutes and was the drivers opportunity to have his statutory rest break so after rolling onto the ferry we all had to disembark and head into the passenger lounge for the crossing.

To add to the already impressive engineering feats of the road this ferry also turned out to be pretty amazing as it has, in the last couple of years, been converted from diesel to battery powered, with a totally electric engine powering us across the Lyngen Fjord

Just before landing we all headed back onto the bus to continue the journey westwards, albeit only for about another 10 minutes before we reached the second electric ferry crossing between Svensby and Breivik, albeit this time with a crossing time of about 20 minutes the driver decided to keep everyone on the bus so we could make a quick get away once we’d landed.

From Breivik it was about another 30 minutes before we turned a corner on the fjord side road and the familiar shape of Tromsøya came into view, indicating we were almost at the end of this leg of the journey.

Sadly during the ferry crossings the weather had turned a little for the worse and by the time we left the bus station in Tromsø a light drizzle had started that would stay with us on and off for the rest of the day (and in reality all the way through until Oslo a couple of days later).

After dropping off our bags at the hotel and grabbing a bite to eat we had a little bit of a wander, but given the weather and that this was the second visit to Tromsø within the week decided relatively early to head back to the hotel, grab a drink and then turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Light Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Tromsø; Wednesday, 24 May, 2023

Breakfast completed, but not wanting to face another trudge through the drizzle we summoned a cab to the hotel and took the easy route round to the bus station to catch the first of three of the same bus of the day on our journey to Bodø via Narvik.

To help that last sentence make sense it helps to know that there were three separate bus services we needed to catch, run by two separate companies, but all – confusingly – numbered the 100.

The first leg, and our first 100 of the day, was a reverse repeat of the journey we’d made last year back down to Narvik, though this time the weather was considerably worse making a lot of the stunning scenery disappear into the murk of cloud shrouded mountains and at times very heavy rain showers.

Though the worst of the weather lifted in time for one of the spectacular parts of the journey – the final arrival into Narvik over the Hålogalandsbrua and then immediately into a tunnel through the hills.

We had about 2 hours to kill in Narvik before the next, but different, 100 headed off on our next leg of the journey so we had a bit to eat in the shopping centre that the bus station is part of.

Sustenance completed, albeit with a particularly unpleasant Burger King as that was the only option available, we were ready to complete the journey onto Bodø, taking advantage of the supermarket in the shopping centre to stock up on chocolate and water just in case.

Weather

Light Rain Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
13ºC/55ºF

Bodø; Wednesday, 24 May, 2023

The second 100 of the day headed out of Narvik and continued the slow journey South West alongside fjords and up into the mountains before passing through what I imagine are the very impressive Efjordbruene a series of three bridges that link across the Efjord over two small island that sit in the middle of the fjord creating three narrow straits, but were almost impossible to make out through the pounding rain.

About 20 minutes later we arrived at the ferry terminal of Skarberget where we rolled onto the ferry for the 25 minute sail across the Tysfjorden to the town of Bognes.

In the style of integrated transport that only really Norway can achieve our ferry with our 100 bus on it landed in Bognes at the same time as the much larger ferry that had left Lødingen an hour earlier and contained another 100 bus that had come down from Sortland on Vesterålen also docked.

We rolled off the ferry and headed about 10 minutes down the road to a small rest stop area in Storjord and pulled into the parking lot, followed a couple of minutes later by the other 100 bus which we then all transferred onto to complete the journey to Bodø. Whilst I had total faith in Norwegian transport either making it work or getting us to Bodø via another method, it was still a relief once we were on that third bus, especially as it would be the last time we had pot luck with the seating as all other legs from here on were with reserved seating.

From Storjord we continued on the third number 100 of the day for several more hours following the E6 road as it winds its way up mountains and along the edges of fjords and through impressive tunnels (some of which may have also had roadworks and alternate lane traffic working that caused a 20 minute wait to get through) before finally, for the last time, saying goodbye to the road we had been on for most of the journey down from Kirkenes in the town of Fauske

From Fauske the bus continued almost due west along the Skjerstad Fjord and then the Saltfjorden before finally arriving into Bodø and depositing us in the centre of town for the short walk down to our hotel for the night.

Whilst none of the legs of the journey had been the longest single leg this had been the longest day of travel with us arriving into Bodø nearly 13 hours after we left the hotel in Tromsø, so we were glad to get into the hotel, drop our luggage, have a quick drink in the bar and then turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Rain
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Bodø; Thursday, 25 May, 2023

We opted for a late breakfast after the previous days travel and a relatively quiet day. It had mostly been for convenience that I’d booked two nights it Bodø rather than anywhere else, but after the previous long days of travel it was quite nice to have two nights in the same town and not be back on the road.

After breakfast we headed out for a wander around town, taking in the harbour, town hall and cathedral before a passing hail shower forced us to retreat back to the hotel for a quick cup of coffee and a quick check on the map to see what there was to do in the city.

As the weather was still fluctuating quite a bit between sunny and hailing we decided that rather than taking the bus and walking for 5 minutes we’d get a taxi out to the Jektefartsmuseet located on the other side of the peninsula that Bodø is on the end of.

The museum charts the history of the wooden boats that plied trade up and down the Norwegian coast for centuries, with their captains learning how to navigate the treacherous waters of the Norwegian sea and the islands and rocks that surround the country as they sailed the dried stockfish that represented the main production of Northern Norway down to the markets in Bergen to trade for grain and other goods which they then sailed back north again.

The centre piece of the museum is an original Jekt boat which shows quite how skilled the crews were and, with another hail storm battering on the windows, quite how unpleasant the conditions must have been.

Another key feature of the museum is it’s excellent café which we stopped in for a late lunch before calling for a cab and heading back into town.

By now the weather had calmed down a bit so I went for a longer wander round town, heading all the way down to the main harbour and the station to see which Hurtigruten was in and to watch it sail out of the harbour on it’s crossing over to the Lofton Islands. Normally I feel quite jealous for those onboard and the journey they are undertaking, but watching the ship already pitching and rolling before it had even left the harbour due to the winds I for once felt I was probably in the better place.

Later in the evening we headed down to the harbour to a small restaurant located by the bus station and local ferry terminal that we had spotted on our earlier wander for dinner, confirming what we’d seen on google that it was a great place to eat.

The walk back to the hotel took slightly longer as we quickly needed to head under cover as yet another hefty hail storm passed through, this one managing to cover the whole street in hail stones in just a few seconds making it look like a heavy snow shower.

Back at the hotel we had a quick drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Hail Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
5ºC/41ºF

Bodø; Friday, 26 May, 2023

Back to the travelling and after a leisurely breakfast we caught a cab down to the station to pick up the first train of the journey and the longest single leg by both distance and time, the full 729km of the Nordlandsbanen from Bodø down to Trondheim.

We’d booked tickets in the Premium carriage, which whilst it doesn’t have any bigger or more comfortable seats than the regular standard class carriages does come with a coffee machine and regularly replenished snacks, which on a near 10 hour train journey probably saved us more than the price difference.

The train pulled out of Bodø on time and started its long journey south initially by heading East back along the fjords towards Fauske before meeting up again with the E6 and running alongside it for most of the journey south.

About an hour after leaving Bodø the train slowed down to a crawl and the driver sounded the horn constantly as we passed two small pyramids, one on each side of the tracks, topped with a metal globe. These are the markers that indicate the location of the Arctic Circle and the point where we left Arctic Norway and the end of 24-hour daylight.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Trondheim; Friday, 26 May, 2023

The journey continued south, passing alongside fjords, through mountainous terrain and back down to fjord level again, following rivers as they grew from streams into fast flowing rivers emptying into fjords before finally, just beyond the station at Røra we reached the top end of the Trondheim Fjord which we then followed all the way down into Norway’s Third city.

After a 10 hour journey the train pulled into Trondheim on time to the second and we were able to disembark and walk the short distance to our hotel for the night, whilst some masochists headed in the direction of the overnight sleeper that continues the southern journey down to the capital Oslo.

We checked in and after a quick drink in the hotel bar turned in for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
7ºC/45ºF

Trondheim; Saturday, 27 May, 2023

Our train down to Oslo wasn’t due to depart until after 3pm so we had a bit of time to spare in the morning to see a little of Trondheim and after a late-ish breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed down to the pier for the boats out into the fjord and the small island of Munkholmen.

We had a bit of a wander around the small island, mostly taking in the views back across the fjord to the city centre before stopping in the island café for a late morning coffee and waffles.

Picking up the next ferry back to the city we had a brief wander around the city centre before heading back to grab the bags from the hotel and then heading onto the station to pick up our train down to the capital.

Once again we’d paid for premium class so we were able to enjoy coffee and snacks throughout the journey without needing to constantly go to the buffet.

Shortly after leaving Trondheim we had the last view of a fjord as the train turned inland and started the 492km journey down the Dovrebanen towards Oslo.

The train continued to shadow the E6 road for most of the journey down towards Oslo, occasionally swapping sides of the different rivers that we followed up into the mountains before we finally crossed over the peak of the line about 2 hours after leaving Trondheim and then a relatively quick descent back down the other side of the plateau into the small town of Dombås where we had to wait for the late running train in the opposite direction, allowing a couple of minutes to step off the train and stretch the legs.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Kristiansand; Saturday, 27 May, 2023

As soon as the northbound train appeared around the corner pulling into Dombås station the train manager hurried people back onto our southbound train so that we were able to get underway again as soon as possible, and in the end we were only about 10 minutes late leaving Dombås.

The journey south continued, mostly through more rolling and much greener landscapes that we’d seen on the journey previously.

Shortly after leaving Dombås we started following the course of the Gundbrandalslågen river and we pretty much stayed next to this, and the subsequent lakes it flowed into for much of the rest of the journey down to Oslo, with the E6 occasionally disappearing over it and into an impressive tunnel through a mountain to cut off a particularly wide loop of the river that the railway continued to follow.

At Lillihammer, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, the river widens out to form Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway and we continued down the west coast of the lake the whole 117km to the southern end where the railway line finally crosses over the body of water as it changes from Lake Mjøsa into the river Vorma at Minnisund.

From here the railway line tracks away from the river as it headed for a quick stop beneath the terminal buildings of Oslo Gardermoen Lufthavn. From there it was a final 20 minute ride to the town of Lillestrøm and then, mostly through tunnels, into the centre of Oslo where we arrived bang on time.

From the station we caught a taxi round to our hotel for the night, who had very kindly kept a couple of plates of the complementary evening meal back for us so that we had a quick dinner and drink before turning in.

Weather

No Data Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Kristiansand; Sunday, 28 May, 2023

We had a relatively early breakfast and then caught a taxi over to the bus station in the centre of Olso.

In the original plan the journey down to Kristiansand and back should have been by train, following the Oslofjord and coast down to Norway’s most Southerly city. However, year long engineering works meant that buses were replacing trains for the entire journey, so it made more sense to take the bus which would give the same journey, but for quite a bit less and, it turned out, in quite a lot more comfort as the rail replacement buses were a hotchpotch of coaches whilst the Vy Buss service was on a big double decker luxury coach with massive 1 x 2 recliner seats and, in our case, the front row for stunning views down the whole journey.

The journey down to Kristiansand took just over 4 hours, but for the first time in the trip we weren’t on or following the E6, that turns East in Oslo and heads down to Swedish border taking in Gothenburg and Malmö before ending on the Baltic coast of Sweden, instead we were on the E18 which turned out to be a road of two very different characters.

Leaving from Oslo it was a wide motorway with multiple lanes running through multiple tunnels as it headed away from the capital, but the further away from Oslo we got the road got narrower and windier as it gradually reduced to a winding almost country road just one lane in each direction, often winding its way around hills, with just the occasional older tunnel where there wasn’t any other option.

That was until about 45 minutes out from Kristiansand where it reverted back to a multi-lane highway, finishing the journey in style with a combination of tunnels and bridges finishing in a wide tunnel right underneath the modern city centre popping out just by the railway station to end the journey by the harbour and station.

From the bus station it was a very short walk across the street to our hotel where we were able to checkin, drop off our bags and then head back out for an explore of the city.

We first headed up into the centre of the old town around the cathedral and town hall, where we stopped for a very late lunch of coffee and donuts whilst also staking out places to grab dinner later. From the centre of town we wandered down to the harbour, before walking round the promenade to the main sea-front of the town.

A bit of a wander further and we reached the Cristiansholm fortress, looking uncannily like the fortress in the Munkholmen off of Trondheim, though this time attached to the land rather than out on an island.

From there we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before popping out for dinner in a very pleasant restaurant by the cathedral, taking advantage of this much more southerly latitude to be able to dine outside in the late evening sun.

After a drink in the hotel bar I headed back out to take some photos of the city at sunset, though the positioning of the seafront due south, and hills directly to the west meant that it wasn’t possible to actually see a sunset, so with the temperature starting to fall quite quickly I headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Kristiansand; Monday, 29 May, 2023

We had a relatively late breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading down to the bus station to catch the bus back into Oslo, with the journey being a repeat of the previous days, just in reverse.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Oslo; Monday, 29 May, 2023

The journey wasn’t quite the same as the previous day as the driver took a few diversions to avoid some heavy traffic on the E18, though that still didn’t stop us getting caught up in heavy Public Holiday traffic coming back into Oslo and by the time we arrived at the bus terminal we were 50 minutes late.

From the bus terminal we headed over to the final hotel of the trip to check-in and have the included dinner, before catching the tram from directly outside the hotel down to the waters front at Aker Brygge for an evening drink.

After heading back to the hotel I popped back out again and headed down to the Opera House, close to the railway station.

Opened in 2008 the whole building was designed to be climbed up, with a gradual sloping roof leading to a terrace on the top of the main auditorium that offers views over the city and the fjord, and for the first time on the trip I managed to actually watch the sun set.

Having taken in the sunset I headed back to the hotel to turn in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Oslo; Tuesday, 30 May, 2023

Final check-out from a hotel completed we were aiming to catch the tram back down to Aker Brygge to pick up the ferry out into the islands, but it turned out that the whole of the area around the castle and town hall was closed off in preparation for a NATO conference that was taking place in the following days, with all the trams diverted back via the national theatre instead, so we had to take the tram there and then walk down to the waters front.

We hopped on the ferry that heads round the inner islands in the fjord that operates on a circular route stopping at all the islands before heading back to Oslo, so we were able to get a good sightseeing cruise of the fjord for the price of a one hour transport ticket.

By now it was almost time to head back to the airport so we grabbed the bags, headed back to the train station and caught the train out to Oslo airport.

With almost predictable reliability the flight was of course late, having been delayed earlier in the day on it’s inbound trip, but at least on this occasion we ended up only being 20 minutes late departing Oslo.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Buckingham; Friday, 09 June, 2023

After finishing work for the day I headed down to the station, into Victoria and across London to catch my train out of Marylebone.

The train was on time the whole way up, which meant that I had a tight, but achievable 8 minutes to make the connection with the bus to Buckingham. It turned out that I didn’t need to worry about the connection time as the bus was running at least 20 minutes late and the stagecoach app was suggesting it could well have been an earlier bus running 50 or even 80 minutes late.

A slightly bouncy journey later (before covid this route was operated by actual coaches, today it’s double decker buses and I don’t think they’re designed for 60mph thrashes along not particularly well maintained country roads), we arrived into Buckingham and I walked the short distance round to the hotel.

After checking in and dropping off my luggage I headed down to the bar to grab a light dinner before heading out into town for a wander at sunset, taking in most of the main sites including the Old Gaol, Church and several loops of the Great Ouse river that runs through the heart of the town.

Tour completed I headed back to the hotel for a quick drink in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Buckingham; Saturday, 10 June, 2023

I had a bit of a lie in and a quick breakfast before heading out of the hotel to actually visit the sites of the town.

I started by wandering up to the Church to have a look around, but that had a service going on so I decided not to go inside and disturb them, instead I headed back towards the centre and stopped off at the Chantry Chapel.

The Chapel is now the oldest building in the town and was originally built in the 1100s as a hospital before becoming the Grammar School and eventually passing to the National Trust in the early 20th century. Today it’s a café and bookshop, but you can still make out the structure of the building – which includes some 19th century renovations carried out by local lad, George Gilbert Scott (more famously known for St Pancras station in London – he also carried out renovations on the Parish Church and additions to the Old Gaol in Buckingham).

Having looked round the Chantry Chapel I wandered down into the centre of town and stopped for a late morning coffee before heading over to the Old Gaol.

The building served as the town’s prison up until the Victorian era after which it served several purposes before being converted into the towns museum in the latter part of the 20th century. The museum inside tells the history of the town and surrounding region from the pre-historic to the early 20th century as well as telling some of the history and characters associated with the building itself.

From the Gaol I wandered back up the high street to the pub that I was staying in for lunch as it offered a discount for hotel guests.

By now I’d pretty much exhausted all of the sites in the centre of Buckingham, so I just spent the afternoon having a wander around the town and following the riverside circular walk that runs around the edge of the town centre before it was time to head back to the hotel to freshen up and grab dinner.

I ended up having a pretty early night given how little there was to do in town.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Buckingham; Sunday, 11 June, 2023

Given I’d had an early night I got up relatively early and had an earlier than planned breakfast before heading back to my room to pack and check out – which turned out to just be dropping the keys into a box at the bottom of the staircase as the reception was all locked up.

The plan for the day was to visit Stowe Gardens, landscaped Victorian gardens about 2 miles north of Buckingham and the original plan was to order a taxi and head out there. First problem was that none of the taxi apps appeared to be working correctly and it was impossible to add a debit or credit card to the account to make the payment so instead I had to go in search of a cash machine.

After finally managing to find a cash machine I went to make a booking and the apps were now all saying a minimum of 25 minutes before a car would be available. Not a problem I thought, I booked the cab to pick me up from the Costa Coffee and headed there to grab a drink.

Almost as soon as I’d sat down in the window with my coffee the app pinged to say that there had been an error and the booking had been cancelled. Not a problem I though I booked again with yet another 25 minute wait predicted. A few minutes after that the app again cancelled the booking and after the 3rd attempt I actually got a phone call from the taxi company saying they did want to accept the booking as the £6 fare wasn’t worth it!

So with the original plan out the window I finished my coffee, grabbed a bottle of water from the next door Tesco Express and headed out on the 2 mile walk up to the gardens.

The walk itself was pretty straight forward and thankfully virtually the whole of the way is under an avenue of trees so I was sheltered from the pretty warm sun that was beating down. About 40 minutes after leaving the centre of town I arrived at the National Trust café and decided I’d earned a reward of a piece of cake and some more liquid, plus a pit stop in the facilities before I grabbed a map and walked the additional half mile down from the café to the ticket office and entrance to the gardens.

The gardens and park are massive and to see everything would require many more miles of walking – not helped by the rolling terrain and the growing heat. I decided to follow the walking route that covered pretty much all of the sites in the garden, but to cut off a couple of corners – particularly where they required walking down into a valley to then only climb back up the other side!

I spent a couple of hours wandering round the gardens before reaching back to the main entrance and having to make a decision. I’d seen about two thirds of the gardens so I could either see the remainder by turning right, or turn left and head back to the café and then Buckingham. With a 2 mile walk from the café to look forward to and the heat becoming quite oppressive I decided it would probably be wisest to cut the visit short and head back to town.

I stopped off at the café to grab some more water and an ice cream before walking back into town, arriving a couple of minutes before the bus back to Bicester was due to leave. I had originally planned to take the bus just over a hour later, but thought as I was here I may as well go earlier. It turned out to be a good move as the bus ran on time, but in the 20 minutes back to Bicester passed two other buses coming in the opposite direction, which given it’s only an hourly service, suggested there would be delays later in the day. It also turned out to be a very good idea when I got to Bicester North train station with a couple of minutes time to spare before the train and only a couple of minutes to spare before the thunder storm that had been rolling around for a while arrived, thankfully the train getting there first.

The journey back into London was pretty slow due to earlier signalling problems we ended up behind a stopping train and crawled most of the way back into London finally arriving back 25 minutes late.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Milton Keynes; Friday, 16 June, 2023

I took an extended lunch break to head up to Milton Keynes and shortly after checking into my hotel was back on my work laptop finishing off my day.

Once I’d finished work for the day, I was able to head straight out of the hotel and start to have a wander through downtown Milton Keynes, heading up towards the historic centre – though in this case the historic period is the last quarter of the 20th century.

I wandered through Midsummer Place and the market before reaching the link bridge over the V8 Road to Campbell Park. Main roads in Milton Keynes are labelled V for those heading Northish to Southish and H for those heading Eastish to Westish – the whole place is on a slight angle as Midsummer Boulevard, the main central road in the city, was laid out so that on the Summer Solstice the sun rose directly down it.

The park has an art trail that runs round the site, taking in many of the art installations that have been placed in the park. The largest one being the Milton Keynes Rose which is just at the entrance to the park and doubles up as the city’s cenotaph and central place for celebrations.

A short distance further on is the Light Pyramid which is set on the same axis as Midsummer Boulevard and is located on the end of a short ridge over the park, consequently the sun should rise directly behind the peak of the pyramid on the Solstice.

I wandered all the way through the park down to where it meets the Grand Union Canal and then walked a little further down to the nearest bus stop as the walk meant I was now more than 2 miles from the centre of the city, and with the walk back being mostly uphill I decided to cheat and catch the bus back in.

Back in the centre of the city I popped into one of the many restaurants around The Centre as it’s branded for dinner before heading back to the hotel for a quick beer and then an early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Milton Keynes; Saturday, 17 June, 2023

I had a relatively early breakfast and then headed out of the hotel over to the nearby bus stop to catch the bus over to my first stop of the day at a small field by the railway tracks halfway between Central Milton Keynes and the suburb of Wolverton. The reason was to visit one of the more infamous icons of Milton Keynes, it’s Concrete Cows.

Two sets of concrete cows were built at the time the new tow was being built with the original set moving around the town to various locations over the years, whilst a replica set was placed in a field by one of the main roads coming into town, consequently it’s the replica set that has probably been seen by more people that the originals.

Having taken in the cows I walked the half mile or so through the country park, that the cows graze the southern tip of, to the ruins of a 4th century AD roman villa that has been uncovered. Whilst its only really the floor plan of the villa that survives it does still show that the area has been inhabited for quite some time.

From the Villa it was about a 10-minute walk further north to reach the Milton Keynes Museum. The museum is housed on land that was, until the 1970s and the start of building works on the new town, a farm. Locals rallied round to save the land from development and today the farmhouse, gardens, barns and some new additions have been turned into the Milton Keynes Museum that tells the history of the area before the arrival of the boulevards and concrete.

The museum is also now home to the original set of the Concrete Cows, fitting in slightly better in a farm environment than on the side of the road in a park. Alongside the cows and the rural history, the museum also houses an exhibition on telephones and communications and a hall of transport that charts the history of Wolverton as the worlds first town purpose built to serve the railways.

From the museum I walked down to the nearby bus stop to catch the bus back into town. I ended up waiting over half an hour as one bus has been cancelled and the next one was running late, as it was picking up all the passengers from the cancelled bus, so by the time I got back into the city centre it was already nearly 3pm and I was starving – so I grabbed a late lunch and then headed over to the National Film and Sci-Fi Museum.

The museum was a bit pricy for what there was, a couple of galleries of props and some autographed memorabilia from Films and TV, and they had a very strict no-photos policy which meant that I was round and out in not a particularly long amount of time.

I stopped off for a quick cup of coffee in town before heading back past the Church of Christ the Cornerstone located almost in the centre of the city. The church opened in the early 1990s and is a shared facility with the city’s Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic and United Reform congregations all sharing the space.

Having looked around the church I walked back to my hotel to freshen up before heading out into the now quite unpleasantly muggy evening in downtown Milton Keynes to find some dinner before heading back to my beautifully air-conditioned room for a good night’s sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
25ºC/77ºF

Milton Keynes; Sunday, 18 June, 2023

Another late breakfast and after checking out of the hotel I headed over to the bus stop to catch the bus down to the southern suburb of Milton Keynes – Bletchley.

Whilst today it’s been subsumed into the City, for a long time Bletchley was it’s own quiet little town which is why it was chosen as the ideal location to move the government cypher school and code breakers out to at the start of the Second World War into the recently acquired Bletchley Park country house. From the house initially and then from a growing assortment of wooden huts and concrete blocks the men and women of Bletchley Park set about decrypting Nazi communications.

The most famous of the code breakers is Alan Turing, widely seen as the father of modern computing and much of the foundation of modern computers was laid down here, but there are countless other brilliant minds who helped dramatically shorten the war.

The museum that’s now on the site tells the story of those who worked here and how over time the operation grew so good that the Allies were able to read Nazi communications pretty much in real time, whilst the Nazi’s still believed that their cyphers and encryption was unbreakable.

Along with the house and two of the main blocks the museum also covers several of the wooden huts which have been preserved and restored, including hut 8 where Turing worked and his office has been recreated.

I spent much of the day wandering round the different exhibits at the park before leaving and heading to another, linked, but much smaller museum just outside of the parks grounds – the National Museum of Computing.

The museum effectively picks up the history of computing from the end of World War II with recreations of both the Turing designed Bombe machine as well as Colossus, the first electronic computer, and takes the story forward from there, through the big industrial computers of the 50s and 60s to the growth of the desktop PC, games systems, mobile devices and beyond.

After looking round the museum I headed back to the bus station in Bletchley, caught the bus back into Milton Keynes, had a very late lunch and then headed back to the hotel to pick up my luggage to start the journey home, only as I checked just before I got to the hotel I discovered that the train I was booked on had been cancelled, so rather than spending over half an hour waiting on Milton Keynes Central station I had a drink in the hotel bar

Shortly before my train was due to arrive I headed down to the station to pick up what turned out to be one of the most unpleasant train journeys I’ve ever taken on a train that was packed beyond capacity with barely operating air conditioning on a really muggy afternoon in a carriage where the smell from the toilet was all consuming. I was really quite glad it was only 40 minutes back into London, I don’t know how the people who had boarded 90 minutes earlier in Manchester were coping.

Weather

Cloudy Cloudy
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Amersham; Friday, 23 June, 2023

I worked from home in the morning before using my lunch break to head over to Amersham and then worked out of the hotel in the afternoon.

After finishing work I headed out of the hotel for a wander around town, taking in the Market Hall and the local church, before wandering alongside the river and then back through the Garden or Remembrance and the war memorials.

Having taken in most that the centre of town had to offer I headed over to the local supermarket to grab some stuff for dinner before heading back to my room.

I headed out a bit later for a wander round the old town at night, but as none of the buildings were floodlit I didn’t bother taking that long, or taking any photos, before heading back to my room to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Amersham; Saturday, 24 June, 2023

I had a relatively early breakfast, mostly because the person in the room above was up at the crack of dawn and the old wooden floorboards made quite a lot of noise with even the slightest movement.

After breakfast I had a quick wander round town to take in the Kings Chapel, though that was closed due to a wedding taking place – which appears to be the main industry in Old Amersham – the number of wedding parties in town, for the size of the place, was quite incredible.

My next stop of the day was the Chiltern Open Air Museum, located in Chalfont St Giles, which has no public transport links at all and is a good 2½ mile walk from the nearest station so I decided to try and get a cab, remembering how poorly that had gone in Buckingham just two weeks previously. Thankfully it appears that the cab companies in Amersham actually want to serve customers and a couple of minutes later I was in a taxi heading towards the museum.

The museum has a number of buildings that have been moved from different areas of the Chilterns – which cover quite a large area as there were some buildings from Bedfordshire and the Thames Valley, as well as a Tudor barn from Northolt, now in Greater London. They also had a recreated Iron Age round house from around 2000 years ago as well as one of the High Wycombe Furniture Factories that had been moved up here after the industry collapsed in the town.

I spent quite a long time looking round the site so I had a quick stop for lunch in the museum café before starting the walk along the Chiltern Way back to the tube station at Chorleywood.

The walk took just under the hour with a gradual uphill climb for the middle mile of it, followed by a very steep descent down into the valley where Chorleywood is located, and a steep climb up a long set of stairs to get up to the station high above the town – I was quite glad I’d done it in this direction though as the first half mile in the opposite direction would have been a painful slog up the hill.

I’d arrived at Chorleywood with about 15 minutes to spare before the next tube to Chesham, though that didn’t take account of the fact that there had been signalling problems back in central London and the train I was hoping to catch had been cancelled, so in the end I had to wait 45 minutes before the train arrived.

I caught the tube round to Chesham and had a look around the town, stopping off in a café for a late afternoon coffee, before heading over to the bus stop to catch the bus back down to Amersham and the hotel.

After freshening up in the hotel I headed back out again a little later and caught the bus back up the hill to the part of Amersham that was built with the arrival of the Metropolitan line to grab dinner up there as the hotel restaurant was closed for a wedding reception.

Dinner completed I had a little walk around Amersham on the Hill before hopping on the last bus of the night back down to the hotel and my bed.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Amersham; Sunday, 25 June, 2023

Thankfully the person in the room above was having a bit of a lie in this morning, so instead it was the over enthusiastic shouting of people in the courtyard instead that woke me up at 07:30, so I still ended up having a relatively early shower and breakfast.

After checking out from the hotel I headed up to the railway station. I had intended on catching the bus up the hill – given it’s a 1¼ mile hike uphill all the way – but the live info showed it was running late enough to risk missing the train, so instead I slogged up the hill in the rapidly warming day, arriving at the station with about 5 minutes to spare before my train and with no sign of the bus having gone past me.

I caught the train one stop down the line to the next village of Great Missenden. This is a picturesque small Chiltern Village, made up pretty much of just two streets – the main street and church street leading from the centre of town up to the church of St Peter and Paul on a hill outside the village centre. It would be unremarkable if it wasn’t for one resident who spent the last, and arguably most productive 36 years of his life working from a small hut in his garden creating the books the certainly defined my childhood any many generations more. From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory through the BFG and Matilda to The Twits and Fantastic Mr Fox – Roald Dahl made Great Missenden synonymous with him, even using places in the village as settings for his books.

Today in the centre of town a collection of buildings have been converted into the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre and that was my main stop of the day, to have a look around the museum, including, taken down from it’s original location and reconstructed inside the museum, the writing hut where so many of those characters first made it onto the yellow lined paper that he wrote on.

Having looked round the museum I walked the half mile or so up to the parish church and over to the churchyard where Dhal is buried in a simple grave, with a small memorial of a tree wrapped around by a bench with five seats, one for each of his children and step children and a passage from the Giraffe the Pelly and Me carved into the stone - We have tears in our eyes; As we wave our goodbyes; We so loved being with you, we three. So please now and then; Come and see us again; The Giraffe and the Pelly and me.

From the graveyard I walked back to the station and caught the train back into Amersham, where once again the buses were suffering delays so I walked back down the hill into town and visited the Church of St Mary the Virgin to have a look around inside.

From the church I walked the short distance over to the town museum, housed in a former Tudor Hall House and telling the history of the town. By the time I’d finished looking round the museum I had pretty much exhausted all of the sights that there are to see in the town and, because those buses were still running with delays, I had just enough time to get back to the hotel, grab my bag and make the bus back up the hill to the station where I was just in time to catch the tube back into London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

High Wycombe; Friday, 30 June, 2023

I took advantage of my lunch break to head up to High Wycombe, with a quick change at Oxford Circus between tubes letting me catch the earlier much faster train directly to High Wycombe without stopping.

I caught the bus from the station out to the coachway where my hotel for the weekend was located, checked in and got back to work.

Unfortunately, by the time I’d finished work the weather had taken a bit of a turn for the worse and the slight spots of rain that had been in the air when I was walking from the bus stop had turned into quite a heavy shower that lasted some considerable time.

By the time the showers had finally cleared, or at least reduces to an liveable with drizzle, it was gone 8pm and the last return bus of the day back down into town had left for the evening.

Given the hotel only did breakfast my only options were to walk over to the neighbouring retail park which includes a cinema and a couple of restaurants, or pop along to the neighbouring Waitrose and grab dinner from there.

In the end I opted for the Waitrose picnic dinner before heading back to my room to have dinner.

I popped down to the hotel bar to have a drink, and then had an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

High Wycombe; Saturday, 01 July, 2023

I had intended on having a bit of a lie-in, but the rather efficient air-conditioning had managed to make the room so cold overnight that I woke up about 7:15 as I was quite cold. Rather than trying to get back to sleep I got up, switched the air-con off and had a long hot shower, after which the natural pull of heat from the rest of the building meant my room was quite warm again.

After a decent breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the bus stop to pick up the bus down into the bus station in town, where I changed onto another bus out to the neighbouring village of West Wycombe.

The village is made up of a number of historic buildings, mostly forming part of the West Wycombe Park Estate – once the family estate of the Dashwood family, but today in the hands of the National Trust. Many of the attractions of the village are the direct result of the actions of one member of the family -Sir Francis Dashwood and his 18th Century work on the church, Mausoleum, and deep underneath both the cave system he had dug and turned into the meeting place of the notorious Hell-Fire club.

I had a timed ticket for nearly an hour later to visit the caves so I first headed up the hill to have a look around the Church of St Lawrence and the family Mausoleum located on the very top of the hill before heading back down to the caves to have a look round them.

After taking in the caves I headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back into High Wycombe, made a very quick change and a couple of minutes later was heading back out of town and up to the next village of Hughenden and it’s Manor house.

The Manor house passed through many hands during it’s life, but by the middle of the 19th century it was in the hands of its most famous owner, the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Most of the house has been preserved as it was when Benjamin and his wife Mary Ann were living there – though in 2004 it was discovered that during the war the house had been used as a top-secret map production facility, producing many of the maps used by the RAF bombers to plot their raids on Nazi targets. Today part of the house has been turned into an exhibit on this previously unknown history.

After looking round the house I had a quick wander round the gardens and then headed down the hill towards the Disraeli monument located about a mile from the house. I had considered going all the way to the bottom of the monument, but it would have been quite a long uphill hike to reach it across a field filled with cows, so I decided not to bother and instead walked on to the bus stop to pick up the bus back into High Wycombe.

Back in High Wycombe I had a quick stop for a very late lunch in a coffee shop in the town centre before having a quick look round the historic centre taking in the Little Market House, Guildhall and the outside of the parish church- the church itself already being locked up for the evening.

Having taken in the town I headed back over to the bus station and picked up the bus back up to my hotel, stopping off at the Waitrose to grab a picnic dinner.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

High Wycombe; Sunday, 02 July, 2023

I had an early breakfast and checked out of the hotel before heading down into town – on foot this morning as the buses to the hotel don’t run on a Sunday. I made it down to town with a couple of minutes to spare before the bus onto my first stop of the day in Beaconsfield.

Located in the heart of this very pretty Chiltern market town is Bekonscot, the worlds largest model village, a place where it’s always the 1930s, across seven different themed areas including a village green, busy market town and an art deco high street, complete with tube station.

There is a lot to see at the site, not least of all the intricacy of the models – with lots to see going on inside the buildings, as well as the (in)famous punning names for many of the shops on display including Argue & Twist Solicitors, Lee Key Plumbers Merchant and Ivor Cavity’s Sweet Shop.

After spending more time than I thought I would looking round the site I headed back to the bus stop just in time to make the bus back into High Wycombe, hopping off on the high street to walk up the steep hill to the buildings above the railway line and the Victorian mansion that houses the Wycombe Museum.

The museum uses 10 key artefacts from it’s collection to tell the story of the town and the surrounding area from the prehistoric through to the modern day – with a particular focus on the furniture factories that were a major part of Wycombe’s industrial past.

From the museum I headed back down into town to grab a very late lunch before having a little bit of a wander around the centre before catching a bus up to the retail park beyond the hotel so I didn’t have to slog my way back up Marlow Hill which had been steep enough going down in the morning that I didn’t want to attempt it going back up.

The bus up to the retail park runs every 30 minutes on a Sunday, which turned out to be perfectly suitable as it took about 10 minutes to walk back to the hotel, grab my luggage and another 10 minutes back to the bus stop meant I only had a couple of minutes to wait before the next one came round on it’s loop round the retail park before heading back down into town.

From the bus station I walked up to the station with a few minutes to spare before my train back into London.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Stratford-upon-Avon; Wednesday, 12 July, 2023

I travelled up to Stratford during the day as I had a work conference for the next couple of days in the town, that I was tacking a weekend away onto.

After a smooth journey up from London I checked into the hotel and got back on with work, before meeting up with colleagues in the evening.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Stratford-upon-Avon; Thursday, 13 July, 2023

Conference all day

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Stratford-upon-Avon; Friday, 14 July, 2023

The conference finished just before 4pm and after packing everything up and grabbing my luggage I wandered through town over to my hotel for the next two nights – the conference one having been way too expensive to stay in for the weekend.

After dropping off my stuff in my room and finishing of a little bit of work I headed out to meet up with colleagues who were also staying overnight in Stratford for dinner.

Following a very nice evening with my colleagues I headed back to my hotel for a decent nights sleep.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
20ºC/68ºF

Stratford-upon-Avon; Saturday, 15 July, 2023

I had a relatively early breakfast before heading out of the hotel and wandering down to the bridges by the river, the point where the open-top tour buses depart from to pick up one of the first tours of the morning.

I did two full circuits of the route, taking in the sights from both sides of the bus, before hopping off in the centre of town and wandering up to the house where Shakespeare was born.

I’d booked a ticket online earlier in the morning, and I was glad that I had as the queues for the ticket office were spectacular – both for groups and for individuals, though it did mean that once I’d skipped that queue it was still pretty busy inside the museum and getting into the house itself.

After looking round the house I had a bit of a wander around the town centre and grabbed a quick coffee before deciding on taking a chronological approach to visiting the Shakespeare sights – having done his birthplace the next stop would be out on the open-top bus to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage located about a mile away. The cottage actually belonged to Anne’s parents when William wooed her before a speedy wedding – their first daughter being born just six months after the marriage…

Much like the Birthplace the cottage isn’t quite in the shape that it would have been when William was around here – given both had extensions added in the years after William’s time, but the general look and layout of the cottage would be familiar to the bard and his wife if they suddenly turned up today.

From the cottage I hopped back on the bus and caught it back round into town and to the site of New Place, at one time the largest and most important house in the town and, once he’d made his fortune, the home that William purchased for his family when he moved back from London. In fact, it was this house that William would live in until his death on his 52nd Birthday. Unfortunately, 150 years after The Bards death the house had passed into the ownership of a curmudgeonly vicar who didn’t like his plays and got fed up with fans turning up so requested to not have to pay taxes on the building as he wasn’t able to enjoy it. When the council refused, he just tore down the building leaving just an empty lot. Today the area has been turned into a pleasant garden with the layout of the house marked on the ground. Thankfully, the next-door building was owned by his Grandson-in-Law, which has survived and now the two plots have been merged into a museum and garden.

So from birthplace to death place, it was only fitting that the next stop on my tour was the parish church of Holy Trinity, home to Williams Grave. I’ve visited here a couple of times before on other day trips to Stratford so wasn’t so fussed about actually getting up to the grave again when I found out there’s now a £4 charge! On the way back from the Church I passed by Hall’s Croft which was the house that his eldest daughter Susanna lived in with her husband John Hall.

I headed back into town to grab an early dinner, back to the hotel to freshen up, and then down to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Theatre to take in an evening performance of As You Like It.

By the time the show ended it was already well gone 10pm so I headed back to the hotel, grabbed a quick nightcap in the bar before turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Stratford-upon-Avon; Sunday, 16 July, 2023

I had intended on having a bit of a lie-in, but the creaking of the floorboards from all over the ancient fabric of the Tudor era building ensured that I was awake by 8am, so I headed down to breakfast and after packing my bags checked out and headed down to the waterfront.

Whilst the town is most known for it’s most famous son, Stratford was a pretty important town both before and after The Bard. Being the centre for sheep trading in this part of the country, with the wool continuing onto Coventry which at the time was one of the most important textile centres in Europe making the farms of Warwickshire highly profitable and Stratford a well-healed town.

As the wool industries dominance faded it was replaced with a more industrial focus, and Stratford jumped on the band, or more canal, wagon and built a link back to Birmingham and the heart of the Canal network. As the canals gave way to the trains and then roads it fell into disrepair before almost succumbing to complete dereliction before becoming the first canal to be fully restored for leisure craft and kickstarted the renovation and reopening of a canal network that today is busier than it was at the height of the golden days of canal traffic.

The canal starts in Bancroft Basin where a lock lifts you up from the Avon into the canal – and today this is the starting point for a canal and river cruise that uses a 21st century narrowboat to tour down the small section of the Avon from the town centre to the Weir just beyond Holy Trinity Church. The tour lasted about 40 minutes including both a descent and an ascent through the lock as well as a detailed audio commentary.

I’d noticed that there were other companies offering different tours, so after the canal tour I headed down to the river side near the theatre and took a tour that repeated the same section to the weir, but then continued back up the river past the canal, under the two town bridges and a fair distance upstream before turning back to the town centre.

By the time I’d gotten back into town the Theatre complex had opened for the day, which meant I was able to head inside and take the lift up the theatre tower to the viewing platform located high above the town with excellent views across both the town and out to the Cotswold hills and beyond.

Back down in the theatre I headed over to the small gallery that houses an exhibition of some of the costumes and props that the RSC and the theatre have created over the years. It’s also home to one of less than 250 surviving copies of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s work – put together by his friends in the years after his death to preserve his work and likely the main reason why Shakespeare is world known. The book was published in 1623, so it appeared only fitting to visit it in it’s 400th year.

Having taken in the gallery I had a bit of a wander around town, before noticing that the open-top bus was running some of the services with a live guide rather than the pre-recorded commentary, so I hopped on the next live guided bus and did a full circuit with a locals view on the town and it’s history.

Back in Stratford I stopped for a very late lunch before heading back to the hotel, grabbing my bags and heading over to the station to start my journey home.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Derby; Thursday, 20 July, 2023

After finishing work for the day I headed out to catch the penultimate train of the day – with another rail strike on, the last train was just after 6pm, which meant my original route of taking the train up to Birmingham had had to change a couple of weeks earlier when the strikes were confirmed.

Instead I caught the train up to Victoria and walked the short distance round to the Coach station to pick up the National Express coach up to Birmingham.

Due to a problem with loading passengers on a relief coach to Bristol that had been parked in our bay, the coach to Birmingham ended up being 30 minutes late leaving.

At one point it looked like we might claw most of that back, but then we hit roadworks on the M40 and in the end the coach pulled into the Digbeth coach station in Birmingham exactly 30 minutes late.

Rather than the 25 minute slog across town I decided just to order an Uber and catch that round to my hotel for the night, checkin in and then head to bed.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Derby; Friday, 21 July, 2023

I worked out of the hotel in Birmingham in the morning and then at lunchtime headed over to New Street Station and caught the CrossCountry train over to Derby, the bus round to the bus station and just an hour after powering down the laptop in Birmingham I was firing it back up again in my room for the weekend in Derby.

After finishing work for the day I powered down the laptop, grabbed my camera and headed out into the pleasant evening sunlight that had replaced the earlier showers.

I headed behind the hotel to the riverside park located behind both the hotel and the nearby council offices and then had a wander along the riverside path upstream towards the centre of the city. Along the way I passed the site of Exeter House, the point where, in 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie abandoned his, until then successful, march on London, turn around and head back to the Highlands eventually leading to the destruction of his troops and cause at Culloden the following year.

A short distance further on I reached the Cathedral and former Silk Mill. The Silk Mill, now the Museum of Making is located on the site of an older mill that is generally considered to be the first fully mechanised factory in the world – so it is fitting that it is today a museum dedicated to making things, in particular things that relate to Derby.

I had a bit of a wander around the city centre near the Cathedral before stopping off at a pizza restaurant for dinner and then a continued wander through the city centre, cut a little short as the weather decided to deteriorate as another hefty shower decided to pass through.

I headed back to the hotel and after a drink in the bar headed back to my room to turn in for the night with the idea of getting a good nights sleep ahead of a busy day the following day.

Sadly, that wasn’t going to be the case as the already faulty air conditioning system across the hotel decided to take particular disagreement with the unit in my room as, despite it being switched off, it screeched into life with an alarming electrical buzzing noise just on midnight. The screech stopped after 5 minutes, so I though that it was just a one-off and carried on trying to drop off to sleep.

I had managed to drift off when at 01:30 I was very suddenly wide awake as the unit screeched into life again. Bleary eyed I headed over to reception to see if they could do anything, and the very helpful night auditor on duty went to their central control panel to isolate my unit so it wouldn’t do it again.

Back in the room I had just about managed to drift off to sleep again when at 03:00 the unit screeched into life again, so another trip back to reception and a very apologetic night auditor said he’d be down to isolate the unit from outside the room which would fix it.

I headed back to my room and attempted to drop off to sleep again, about 4am there was a thudding noise and I did fear the unit was about to screech into life again, but nothing happened, though something was different in the room and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it for a few minutes until I realised that it was total darkness – the little red light on the TV, the night light in the bathroom all out – it was clear that all the power had gone to the room, by now with it gone 4am and having only had about a hour of really disturbed sleep I decided just to try and get some sleep and deal with everything later.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Derby; Saturday, 22 July, 2023

Of course, what I’d forgotten to take into account was with the power off my phone was no longer charging, and around 7am it decided to join in on the noise party by making it’s plaintive I’m starving beeps which woke me up and led me to heading back to reception to try and get the power sorted. One of the reception team spent a good 20 minutes trying to get the power back on in my room – not least of all so that I could have a shower as the bathroom was entirely internal with no light source.

After 20 minutes to unplugging everything in the room and trying to reset the circuits she gave up and went to see if there was a different room they could move me to – at which point they found out it wasn’t just my room but a whole bank of rooms that had the power blown on them, so in the end they had to move me across the corridor to a worse room for the rest of the stay – but at least it had working power so that I could have a shower in light and get some juice back into my phone.

Feeling slightly more human with a shower, albeit feeling the effects of having a really poor nights sleep, I headed down to breakfast and fuelled myself up for the day before heading back to the room, grabbing my day bag and heading out to do some tourist things.

First stop of the morning was the Cathedral and I spent quite a bit longer exploring it that I was expecting to – not least of all as the Church itself was only promoted to Cathedral in the 1920s, so wasn’t constructed as a great Cathedral building. However, it’s got as rich a history as many other cathedrals, not least of all for being the burial place of Bess of Hardwick – at one point the richest women in England, matriarch of the Cavendish dynasty, friend of Elizabeth I and responsible for a number of the best stately homes in the UK including Chatsworth, Hardwick and Bolsover.

From the cathedral I wandered the short distance round to the house that Georgian architect Joseph Pickford built for himself. Whilst he’s not as well know as some of his contemporaries the building is still a very fine house and is now a museum that shows both how the family would have lived when the first moved in there, as well as other examples of his work and in the top floors a museum dedicated to miniature theatres – a bit of a weird mix, but worth a few minutes looking round.

From the Pickford house I headed down to the riverside where I was booked on a cruise aboard a solar powered narrowboat – thankfully, given the distinct lack of sun for the previous couple of weeks, the boat can also charge it’s batteries by using a shore connection, so we were able to enjoy a 45 minute journey up and back on a small section of the Derwent between two weirs.

The boat starts and ends on the opposite bank of the river to the Museum of Making and that was my next stop, heading inside to have a look at the history of manufacturing in the city and more widely. The museum has a number of different exhibits, including an entire floor that is more museum store than exhibit – but lets you see a large part of the collection. The museum traces manufacturing from the first Factories – arguably on the same site as the current museum – through to modern manufacturing with Derby being home to Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Rolls Royce Engines, Alstom Trains and Toyota still present in the city.

A short walk away from the Museum of Making and I found myself at the City’s main Museum and Art Gallery. The museum has an eclectic range of exhibits from pre-historic flints and hippos to the modern day via a Broze Age Longboat and a small collection of stuffed animals. The Art Gallery houses a number of works by Derby born artist Joseph Wright.

By now it was already late into the afternoon and I realised that I still hadn’t had any lunch so I quickly grabbed one of the last sandwiches left in a Greggs near my hotel and headed back to my room to have lunch in there.

Being located directly above the bus station it also meant that I could plan what to do with the rest of the afternoon and early evening, which meant heading down to the bus station and catching a bus up the river valley to the town of Belper, part of the Derwent Valley Mills world heritage site. I spent about 45 minutes wandering around Belper in increasingly wet conditions before I decided to just give up, head back to the bus station and catch the bus back into Derby via a supermarket to grab some food and go back to my hotel room to eat, dry off and try and get a better nights sleep.

Weather

Light Rain Light Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Derby; Sunday, 23 July, 2023

Strangely, when you don’t have an air conditioning system screeching at you every 90 minutes it is possible to get a reasonable nights sleep.

Breakfast completed I packed up my bag, checked out and headed up to Derby station to catch the train north to Chesterfield.

I was meeting up with a friend who lives up in this part of the country to head over to Chatsworth House – perhaps the premier stately home in the UK, and part of that empire that Bess of Hardwick helped create.

My friend met me at the station and we drove out into the Derbyshire peaks over towards Chatsworth, stopping off at the Estate farm shop for a coffee as the traffic was so light due to the weather, and then on down to the Devonshire Arms at Pilsley in the heart of the estate for a very nice pub lunch.

Lunch completed we headed over to Chatsworth House to have a look around both the house and the gardens. Our timing was impeccable with the tour of the house coinciding with a particularly extended shower which finished just before we headed into the gardens to have a wander round, with at times there even being sunshine and patches of blue sky.

After a very pleasant wander around the gardens we stopped for coffee in the stable block before my friend drove me back to Newark Northgate station to pick up the train into London from there.

The previous evening LNER had texted me to say that the train I was booked onto, with an inflexible Advanced ticket, had been cancelled, so my ticket had been upgraded to open and I could catch any train within a reasonable window of my original service – which meant when we arrived back at Newark about 25 minutes before my originally booked service I was able to hop onto the train that arrived just 5 minutes later.

To add to the run of good luck this train only stopped at Peterborough and ended up arriving in London 40 minutes earlier than originally planned and whilst on the train I even got an email from LNER confirming that because my booked train had been cancelled they were refunding me the full cost of the ticket.

Weather

Heavy Showers Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Delft; Thursday, 03 August, 2023

As my flight had moved earlier in the evening that originally booked, I had to head over to the airport on my lunch break and work out of a hotel room for the afternoon before heading round to Terminal 5 to check in.

Both the plane and the crew had been delayed on different earlier flights, so we didn’t start boarding until after the original departure time, and by the time we started the long taxi down the length of the airfield at Heathrow we were 40 minutes late.

I thought it would be unlikely that we’d make up much time, given we were also due to land on the Polderbaan at Schiphol, the runway that’s a 20 or so minute taxi from the terminal building.

However, as we started the final approach to the airport the captain happily informed us that there had been a change of runway and instead, we would be landing on the runway that ended right by where our stand would be at Schiphol, immediately wiping 20 minutes off our travelling time.

The journey through Schiphol looked like it could end up being quite long as screens in the main departures lounge were showing 20–25-minute wait times for immigration, but as we got to the end of the long queue, we got redirected round to another set of immigration desks and were processed and through in under 5 minutes.

A quick hop one stop on the train to Hoofddorp and then a short walk and I was at my hotel for the night and a well-deserved sleep.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Delft; Friday, 04 August, 2023

A bit of a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast, and then I checked out of the hotel and wandered back over to Hoofddorp station to pick up the train towards Leiden and then, after a cross platform interchange, onto Delft.

It was still way too early to check in to the hotel in Delft, but they were able to take my bag so I could head out and explore the city. From the hotel I crossed over the canal by the railway station and then headed into the narrow lanes and canals of the old city.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the streets before finding myself in the main market square of the city. I had a bit of a look around here, including the very nice cheese shop that offered lots of tastings, before stopping off at a café to spend a little bit of time just sitting in the sun in the square and watching the world go round.

After sitting in the square for a while I headed over to the start point of the canal tour boats and was able to book myself onto the next tour that was due to leave in about 20 minutes time. The tour itself didn’t cover much of the canal network but did go past many of the key sights of the city, as well as getting quite a bit of history of the city.

By now it was heading towards check in time for the hotel, so I headed back over to see if my room was ready, which it was so I was able to check in and drop my stuff off, and take in the great views of the city that my room afforded.

Having freshened up I headed out of the hotel for another wander, this time keeping to the southern end of the old city and ending up at the Oostpoort – the old eastern gate of the city and the only surviving city gate. I spent a little bit of time exploring the gate and the area around before following the canal back up into town and over to the Markt where I stopped for a late afternoon/early evening drink in the square before having a wander round to find somewhere for dinner – which I ended up having at a restaurant on the opposite side of the square in the end.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander around the old town, passing by the Old Church and through some courtyards to end up near the Roos Windmill which I had a look around the outside of before walking back along the main canal towards the station, my hotel room and my bed for the night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Delft; Saturday, 05 August, 2023

Originally the weather forecast for Friday had been pretty bad but turned out very pleasant with the day staying dry, but it was clear pretty early on that Saturday’s weather wasn’t going to be quite so pleasant, but the morning did at least look dry.

After having breakfast, I headed back over into town to have a wander and eventually ended up at the Nieuwe Kerk or New Church, new in name only to distinguish its 14th century construction from the slightly older 13th century Oude Kerk or Old Church. Both buildings are representative of the importance that the city of Delft once had.

The New Church, since the 1584 burial of William of Orange, has acted as the final resting place of the Dutch Royal Family with a grand crypt below the main church floor being opened up for the state and family funerals, but not accessible at any other times.

Having looked round the New Church it was a short five-minute walk across to the Old Church to have a look around that – the €8 ticket covering both churches which made the price a little less steep.

The Old Church is distinguishable from a distance by its tower that has a very distinct lean, which started to develop whilst building work was underway and therefore in places the design of towers and ornaments were edited to try and visually hide some of the wonkiness.

If the New Church is the resting place of Royalty the old church is the final resting place of Delfts important sons and daughters, including several naval heroes, noblewoman and poets as well as Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who is credited for inventing the sciences of microscopy though the very powerful lenses he created, and consequently likely being the first human to see microbes through them, also pioneering microbiology. However, the most famous person buried in the church is the local artist Johannes Vermeer, most famous perhaps for his painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring.

As I stepped out of the church, I felt the first spits of rain and decided, given it was already approaching 1, now would be a good time to head under cover for some lunch, and just a couple of minutes after being seated well under cover the skies opened for the first of several sharp showers that accompanied my lunch.

Whilst having lunch a quick look at the weather apps showed that Delft was likely to have poor weather for most of the afternoon, but weirdly over by the coast at Scheveningen it looked like it was going to stay dry – so after lunch I made my way over to the tram stop near the station, dodging one more short sharp shower, and picked up the tram all the way out to the coast. Passing through Den Haag city centre I started to lose a little faith in the weather forecast as it was particularly wet here, but sure enough as the tram pulled into the centre of Scheveningen the skies were at least dry with the odd patch of blue.

I had a bit of a wander along the beach, and then a stroll along the prom, before stopping off for a drink in one of the beach side bars to while away the rest of the afternoon before it was time to head back to the tram stop and catch a tram back into Delft for dinner, a brief wander through the now thankfully dry streets and then back to the hotel to bed.

Weather

Cloudy Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Delft; Sunday, 06 August, 2023

Overnight there had been a few more torrential downpours as a storm that had been battering the UK the previous afternoon and evening passed over The Netherlands, but by morning there were more patches of blue sky than clouds, so after a quick breakfast and checkout I had another wander around town before heading over to the city’s Botanical Gardens.

The Gardens were originally built as a research facility for the Technical University – a purpose that they still serve, but now also double up as a quiet green oasis in the centre of the city.

After a long wander round the gardens, I headed back into town and over to the former cattle market where I’d discovered there were even more restaurants and bars than the nearby Markt square so headed here for lunch.

When I arrived there was a clear blue sky and warm sun, about 20 minutes later there was the clatter of customers who weren’t under cover diving for it as another punch shower passed through, a pattern that repeated a couple of times over the next 90 minutes or so whilst I decided to have a slow lunch.

Lunch completed and looking like the showers had stopped for a little while, I had a final wander around the city centre, heading over to the Catholic church of Maria van Jessekerk for a quick look around this much more richly decorated church than the Lutheran Old and New Churches.

From Maria van Jessekerk it was about a 10-minute walk back to the hotel where I picked up my luggage and headed towards the station, which I’d clearly timed well as another hefty shower was just about to hit – the first drops falling just as I stepped into the shelter of the station building.

My train from Delft was on time leaving but managed to lose a couple of minutes on the 15 minutes journey round to Den Haag, so the comfortable 6-minute connection turned into a 3 minute quick dash between platforms 2 and 9 to make the connection onto the Schiphol train, which took me onto the airport and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

London: Greenwich; Friday, 25 August, 2023

As the journey was less than 45 minutes across town I took a late lunch break and headed over to my hotel for the next three nights in Greenwich and then continued on working from the hotel room for the rest of the day.

Work finished I powered down the laptop, grabbed a quick bite to eat from a café near the hotel and then headed over to the railway station to pick up a train into town and my theatre visit for the year.

I’d booked seats for Mamma Mia! when they had first gone on sale for the dates and had managed to get a pretty good stalls seat for a reasonable price – a price which had shot up by over 50% when I looked earlier in the day.

The show was excellent if you skip over the encouraged audience participation in the encore.

After the show I headed out to catch the bus back over to Bank to pick up the DLR down to Greenwich and then the very short walk from the station back to my hotel room

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

London: Greenwich; Saturday, 26 August, 2023

I had a relatively early start and after breakfast I headed out of the hotel and over to the nearby bus stop to pick up the bus the couple of stops to Greenwich Park. The bus was deserved as the entrance I was heading to was right up on Blackheath up a really steep hill climbing out of Greenwich, which I didn’t fancy tackling this morning.

I spent quite a bit of time just wandering around the park, before heading down to the statue of General James Wolfe – the main reason was not to see the statue, but to take in the view from this ridge down onto the Old Royal Naval College down in Greenwich, along with views across the City of London, the Docklands, North Greenwich and beyond.

This part of the park is also the location of the Royal Observatory – the original home of the Astronomer Royal and the centre of time, zero degree longitude, the Prime Meridian, passing through the observatory grounds cutting the planet into the Western and Eastern hemispheres, with the ability to stand in both at once. It’s also the basis of the worlds time zones with UTC 0 corresponding with Greenwich Mean Time. The museum in the observatory covers all of these topics from the original astronomical observations of the site through to it’s importance in calculating time and with that longitude.

I spent quite some time looking round the different exhibitions, meaning that I was still at the observatory in time to watch the Time Ball rise on the mast on the tower facing the Thames at 12:55 and then drop on the stroke of 1pm – a signal that has been providing time to the boats down on the Thames for centuries.

From the Observatory I walked the short distance back through the park to the Rangers House. This stately home had originally been the home of the Rangers of Greenwich Park, but over time had fallen out of use and by the end of the 20th century was passed over to the care of English Heritage, however the building had lost all of it’s fittings and art works over the years so English Heritage had a palace with nothing to show inside. At the same time the collection of Gold and Diamond magnate Julius Wernher had just been saved for the nation, but had no home to display it in – so it turned out to be good timing and the collection is now shown off in the house, a house it has no connection to at all.

I spent a decent amount of time looking around the collection, and then quite a bit longer still as a massive thunder storm passed overhead and I took shelter in the house to avoid getting absolutely soaked. With the thunderstorm eventually passed overhead I headed down from the park into the centre of town and grabbed a late lunch, before wandering over to my final museum of the day – the National Maritime Museum.

I had a good look around the museum, spending most of the rest of the afternoon taking in the exhibits, to the point that they were starting to close down by the time I’d finished looking round.

As I left the museum it was pretty obvious that another pretty hefty belt of rain was about to pass through – helped by the thunder and lightning already rumbling around. I decided that I was unlikely to make it all the way back to the hotel without getting wet, so decided to cheat and catch the DLR the one stop from Cutty Sark to Greenwich in the hope to either keep ahead of the rain, or at the very least keep out of it under cover, and that plan worked almost perfectly – getting back to Greenwich station just as the first fat spots of rain started hitting the platform, unfortunately my assumption that the platform canopy stretched from the DLR platform all the way back to the station building was proved to be wrong and as I was walking the short distance through the gap in canopy the skies absolutely opened, thankfully I was able to dive into a small shelter so kept dry, but had to wait there for about 10 minutes as the rain totally hammered it down.

I took advantage of a short slow down in the rain to make a dash for the station building and then across to the hotel, only getting slightly wet in the process, and sat out the following 30 minutes of intense rainfall in my hotel room.

With the rain finally clearing through to a crisp but bright evening I headed back out of the hotel and wandered down to the riverside to have a wander around Greenwich at dusk – which is a much less busy place than Greenwich during the main part of the day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Cutty Sark with nobody beside it before. I headed down to the riverside to take in the sunset and then wandered back into the town centre to grab dinner before heading back to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Thunder
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

London: Greenwich; Sunday, 27 August, 2023

Breakfast completed I headed out of the hotel to the DLR station and caught the train a couple of stops to the end of the line at Lewisham and changed there onto the 89 bus out to (and up) Shooters Hill to my first stop of the day.

The folly of Severndroog Castle was built by the widow of Sir William James who had risen through the ranks of the East India Company from a first mate on a ship to Commodore and towards the end of his life served as an MP. The castle had originally been built in 1784 the year after his death and by the 1920s was in the hands of the London County Council and it’s successor the Greater London Council. When that was wound up in 1986 it passed to Greenwich Council who struggled to pay for it’s continued upkeep and in 1988 they boarded it up and left it to rot. They were almost successful with the building close to total destruction when it was rescued in 2013 and restored, reopening as a tearoom and viewing platform in 2014.

From the top of the castle – only open on Sundays – the views are excellent, and, on the day after a series of thunderstorms have cleared a couple of weeks worth of pollution and humidity from the air, stretch all the way from the North Down and Windsor Castle deep into Essex and Kent. I spent quite a lot of time taking in the views from the top of the castle – helped by the very keen volunteers who were happily pointing out all the sites that you can see.

As Severndroog is located almost at the top of Shooters Hill anywhere else is a downhill walk, so it made sense rather than heading back to the bus stop and taking two different buses to my next destination to just walk it (Google Maps was predicting almost identical travel times, but clearly a 2 mile walk is healthier than sitting on buses).

The walk turned out to be pretty dull, but the reward at the end was the stunning Eltham Palace. Originally a medieval palace and at one time the childhood home of Henry VIII, the palace fell into disrepair and by the early 20th century was in an advanced state of ruin, with only the Great Hall in any repairable state. At that point the site was purchased by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld who proceeded to restore the Great Hall and add on an Art Deco 1930s mansion to it creating a weird mix of modernity and medievalism. The house and grounds are now owned by English Heritage and are open to look around and I spent a good couple of hours looking round both the house and the gardens.

I stopped off in Eltham for a very late lunch in a café on the high street before hopping on a bus down to Woolwich and the ferry. There’s been a ferry service here since at least the 14th century, though at the time of visiting the service was suspended due to maintenance work on the current fleet of ferries. However, for pedestrians there is another option – the Woolwich Foot Tunnel, the unloved sibling to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. Whilst the latter sees about 1.5 million visitors a year the Woolwich tunnel barely gets 300,000 which means that when you head down into it you often have the whole space to yourself. In the 15 minutes or so it took me to descend down below the river walk through the tunnel and ascend on the other side I only saw 6 other people.

I had originally planned on taking the ferry one way and the foot tunnel back, but with the ferry option not available, and a bus pulling into the bus stop as I emerged from the stairwell, I decided to hop on a bus back to Canning Town and pick up the DLR from there rather than heading straight back over the river.

Back in Greenwich I grabbed a bite to eat and had another dusk wander round the town before heading back over to my hotel room for a well deserved early night.

Weather

Sunny Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

London: Greenwich; Monday, 28 August, 2023

I checked out of the hotel and left my luggage with reception before heading out into Greenwich for a wander, stopping off first at St Alfege’s Church in the heart of the town centre. The church is the Parish Church of Greenwich and the current building was designed by prolific church architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, though significant repair works had to be carried out following a direct hit by a bomb during the blitz.

From St Alfege’s I hopped over the road to the Market, which has been in Greenwich since the early 18th century, though today it’s much more focused on the tourist market than on providing provisions for the people of Greenwich (Waitrose and Marks and Spencers have taken over that role!)

I had a bit more of a wander around Greenwich before heading over to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to cross under the river and over to the Isle of Dogs. In comparison to the previous day’s experience at the Woolwich foot tunnel, I’d already passed more people on the stairs before I reached the tunnel than I’d passed the entire journey the previous day.

Over in Island Gardens I took in the stunning views across the river to The Old Royal Naval College, Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark and Greenwich Park before heading over to the DLR station and catching the train up to Heron Quays to meet up with friends for lunch.

After lunch we hopped back onto the DLR and headed down to Mudchute to visit the country park and farm. The park was formed by the mud from the excavations of the Millwall Docks in the 1860s being dumped onto the land by conveyor belts – literally mud chutes! With the redevelopment of the rest of the Isle of Docks as part of the Docklands development the local community banded together to protect this part of land and it was eventually turned into a park with a small urban farm opening within it.

Today the urban farm is a popular tourist destination, evidenced from the number of people looking round at the same time as us. The farm houses a significant number of animals – different types of pigs, sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens, ducks, geese and, slightly weirdly, llamas.

From the farm we continued walking through the park land and through Millwall park down to Island Gardens and then back through the foot tunnel to Greenwich itself.

In Greenwich we hopped on the Thames Clipper river bus service east. Earlier in the year the service had been extended beyond Woolwich, where it used to end, to Barking Riverside – a new development on former Power Station site that is slowly being constructed. Weirdly, for the UK at least, the infrastructure has been set up first with a railway station and ferry connection already in long before any of the houses, making it a slightly weird place to visit – an almost deserted patch of London with nothing there, except transport connection. Almost the direct opposite of the Thamesmead estate on the opposite side of the river that, after more than 50 years, is still waiting for decent transport connections to be installed!

Given how little there is to see at Barking Riverside we hopped back on the return Thames Clipper and headed back to Greenwich where we headed to a pub right by the Cutty Sark for a very nice dinner a couple of drinks before my friends headed off towards their homes and I headed back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage and headed home myself.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Braunschweig; Thursday, 07 September, 2023

I was starting to get convinced that any attempt to get to Braunschweig was doomed to failure. I’d originally booked for November 2020, but the second national lockdown in the UK put paid to that. An attempt to rebook for the summer of 2021 also got cancelled due to being on the Novavax covid vaccine trials and consequently not having a recognised jab to get into Germany.

I’d finally rebooked the trip in late 2022 with flights out of London early on the Friday morning and a return late on Sunday evening. That all changed early in the new year when BA cancelled the Sunday night flight and moved me back onto a flight mid-afternoon, and at the same time pushed the morning flight back by a couple of hours, leaving me with only just over a day in Braunschweig once I’d got there from the Airport in Hannover.

Thankfully, because the inbound flight change was by over 5 hours I was able to, after a lengthy call to the airline, change the outbound flight back to the Thursday evening free of charge, but even then that flight moved three times before finally settling on 19:40, in that time I’d had to cancel a hotel booking in Heathrow, book a hotel in Hannover and then get a day-use booking for a hotel in Heathrow when the flight at one point crept forward to 18:00

In the end I probably didn’t need the day use room as I could have gotten to Heathrow in time after finishing work, but given very unseasonably hot weather was hitting London I decided the beautiful air-conditioning of the Hilton Garden Inn at Hatton Cross was too much of a draw and over my lunch break I headed over to the hotel to work out of in the afternoon.

By the time I finished work for the evening I was actually shivering from how cold I’d managed to get the room – so walking back out into the wall of heat leaving the hotel was a bit of a shock to the body.

I headed over to Hatton Cross station and caught the tube round to Terminal 5 to catch my flight.

Another spanner that had been hurled into the works then appeared as a quick check on the Deutscher Bahn website showed that due to engineering works the half hourly S-Bahn service from the airport into town had been cut back to an hourly service, with the train due to leave just 20 minutes after my flight was due to land.

Thankfully the flight left Heathrow on time, and made good progress over to Hannover landing 15 minutes ahead of schedule, and with nothing else landing at the same time as us I was through immigration and down onto the railway station with a good 10 minutes to spare before the inbound train even arrived.

I caught the train down into town and then walked the short distance over to my hotel for the night.

Weather

No Data Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
30ºC/86ºF

Braunschweig; Friday, 08 September, 2023

I had a relatively early breakfast before heading out of the hotel and back over to Hannover Hauptbahnhof to pick up my train over to Braunschweig. The journey was uneventful and we arrived on time. I quickly found the left luggage lockers in the station and dropped my bag off, as it was still over 4 hours until checkin started at the hotel, and then caught the tram into the centre of town.

Schloß appeared as good a tramstop as any other to hop off at and from there I had a wander around the historic centre of the city, starting with the former palace. The current building is the fourth rebuild on the site with the first palace having been burnt down by rioting, the second one burning down due to an electrical fault and the third one being bombed to destruction in 1944. The site was left as a ruin until the 1960s when it was eventually pulled down. The foundations for a new palace were laid down in 2005 with the current building going up very quickly – mostly helped by the fact that whilst the façade was designed to be a replica of the previous palace the interior was designed as a shopping centre, so no need to design lots of intricate rooms and corridors – just a big open hanger to build shops in. Down one side of the shopping centre complex there is a small museum which houses recreations of a couple of the rooms from the previous palaces, including the throne room of the Dukes of Braunschweig, and I spent a bit of time looking round the rooms.

From the palace I headed further into the old town proper, stopping off at the Burgplatz right in the heart of the city, though at the time of visiting mostly filled with the stage and seating for open-air opera performances. Next door is the city’s cathedral the Braunschweiger Dom, which I popped into for a quick look around, including down into the Royal crypt beneath the altar – the final resting place of many of the Dukes of Braunschweig.

I stopped for a quick lunch overlooking the castle before heading back into the old town and over to the Altstadtmarkt and the Altstadtrathaus. The market and town hall, along with St Martini Church are one of five sets of market, town hall and church that used to exist in the city as at one point it had five boroughs – each with their own market square, town hall and cathedral. Eventually this proved to be a little excessive and the decision as taken to focus on having just the one, and this area was chosen to be the home to the city’s main functions.

Today the square looks very pretty with the medieval buildings of the church, town hall and former cloth hall, along with a handful of half-timber houses. Of course, it’s all a recreation as the city was close to totally destroyed during the second world war, in part due to the number of half-timber buildings that had still existed at that point, so when a firestorm from incendiary bombs hit the city it tore through most of the buildings leaving nothing.

The old town hall is now also a branch of the city museum housing an impressive model of the city as it was at the start of the 16th century – complete with all five markets and town halls – as well as exhibits charting the history of the city from it’s founding around the 900’s through to the second world war.

After taking in the museum and the square I headed over to the bus stop with the intention of looking at the map to see the quickest route back to the tram stop to head back to the station to collect my luggage, but as luck would have it just as I arrived a bus going to the Hauptbahnhof pulled up so I hopped on that instead and headed over to the station to collect my bags. A quick check on Google maps showed that due to the one way system in the centre of town the same route coming back from the station stopped right outside my hotel, so with my bags I hopped back on the bus going back the opposite direction and headed over to my hotel to checkin.

After checking in and freshening up I headed out for a bit of a wander around some of the other areas of central Braunschweig, including taking in the Alte Waage – a reconstructed half-timber building that used to house the city’s official weighing and storage station for goods going to market.

I spent quite a bit of time just wandering around the centre of town before stopping off for a bite to eat in a restaurant on one of the many squares in the old town and then heading back to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
31ºC/88ºF

Braunschweig; Saturday, 09 September, 2023

I had a bit of a lie in as none of the museums I wanted to visit opened before 11am, so I could have a relaxed start to the day, before catching the tram over to the first stop of the day the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum.

The museum houses collections of paintings, sculptures as well as artefacts from the Ducal collections. I spent a surprising amount of time wandering around the two floors of the museum – in part because it was so quiet you didn’t feel like you were getting in anyone’s way if you stopped and looked at something for longer.

From the Ulrich-Museum I had a wander over to the Städtisches Museum to have a look around that, only to find out that due to a food festival that was taking place in all the surrounding streets that weekend the museum had decided to close – possibly to stop the temptation of bringing food in? So instead I had a wander through the festival and down to the Happy Rizzi House, an apartment block that has been heavily decorated in cartoon book style, complete with weird edges and vibrant colours.

I was also able to take in the site of the Schloß having fourth attempt at burning down – I had wondered why all the streets were so quiet – assuming it was related to the food festival – but it turned out it was because the whole of the city centre had been closed due to a fire breaking out in the shopping centre, which was no surrounded by dozens of fire engines along with assorted ambulances, police vehicles and even the press.

I headed back through the food festival, stopping for a very nice bratwurst, before making my way over to the Sankt Aegidein church. The church was decommissioned at the start of the 19th century and after various uses became the State Museum at the start of the 20th century. The main church building was returned to the Catholic community of the city as their main church and the museum retreated into the buildings of the former monastery where they are today, along with a much larger building in Burgplatz, though that was closed for renovation for several years when I visited.

The main exhibition of the museum is the former fittings and furniture from one of the city’s synagogues. As the size of the Jewish community in the city reduced in the first decades of the 20th century some of the synagogues were closed as they no longer had sufficient members to support them. The internal furniture of one such synagogue was donated to the city museum in 1924 and, miraculously – perhaps because it was seen as a museum artefact – survived the war and has now been reconstructed. The heart of a disused synagogue inside a disused church.

After visiting the museum I popped round the corner to have a quick look around the church, before catching the tram over to the north eastern side of the city centre to visit the Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum – the state natural history museum, which knows how to draw in the crowds with a couple of dinosaurs outside the museum entrance.

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the museum and they were starting to switch the lights off and usher visitors out of the galleries when I finished looking round everything.

From the museum I headed back to my hotel room to freshen up before popping out for dinner. A little later I headed out again, this time to take some photos of the city at night – and discovered that Braunschweig at night is not the nicest of places given the number of absolutely paralytically drunk people stumbling round the streets, so after taking a handful of photos I headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Very Hot (30-40C, 86-104F)
32ºC/90ºF

Braunschweig; Sunday, 10 September, 2023

I only had a little bit of time before I needed to start making the journey home, so after an early breakfast I headed out of the hotel and headed over to the city’s Botanical Gardens to have a wander around them for about an hour.

I took in the different glasshouses as well as the grounds of the gardens, spending just about an hour at the site before it was time to head back to the hotel, pack my bag and catch the tram back to the station.

Back at Braunschweig station I caught the train back to Hannover and changed there onto the (still only hourly) S-Bahn out to the airport.

I had a smooth journey through the airport and a decent journey back home, albeit about 15 minutes late as the inbound plane had been delayed on it’s journey over to Hannover.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
29ºC/84ºF

Wuppertal; Thursday, 21 September, 2023

Another Thursday evening flight from Heathrow and once again I took advantage of my lunch break to head over to an airport hotel to work out of, though in the end it turned out I probably needn’t have bothered as the flight was delayed enough that I would have been able to finish at 5 and get over to the airport with time to spare.

Eventually we pushed back from the gate at Heathrow an hour and a quarter late and proceeded to taxi the entire length of the airport to take off from the Eastern end of the runway. The lengthy taxi and some slightly lumps and bumps along the way meant that we made up no time at all and ended up landing at Düsseldorf still 75 minutes late.

Thankfully our gate was about as close to the runway as possible and within a couple of minutes of the wheels first touching the runway the door was open and we were able to disembark, right into the centre of the terminal and only a short walk from immigration.

It meant that I managed to make, with some ease, the S-Bahn train into the city that left about 25 minutes after we’d first touched the runway, and so about 45 minutes after landing, coupled with my hotel actually being inside Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof, I was in my hotel room and ready to turn in for the night.

Weather

No Data Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Wuppertal; Friday, 22 September, 2023

I had a bit of a lie in and a later breakfast before heading back to my room to pack my bags and head downstairs into the station to pick up my train out to Wuppertal. On arrival at Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof I dropped my bag into a left luggage locker and went for a wander around the city.

I spent quite a bit of time having a wander through the pedestrianised centre of the city, eventually finding myself at the Elberfeld Town Hall. Elberfeld, along with the neighbouring towns of Barmen, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg and Vohwinkel were merged together in 1929 to form the new city of Wuppertal, with Elberfeld effectively being in the centre of the new city it took on the role of the new city centre with the largest shopping centre and the Hauptbahnhof.

I’d seen the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend which didn’t look good, so I’d decided to focus on visiting museums over the weekend when I’d be needing to find indoor places, so in a break from tradition the first attraction I headed out to was the city’s Botanical Gardens located high above the city centre.

The modern city of Wuppertal is a very thin and long city due to it stretching along the banks of the River Wupper as it travels through a valley, with much of the city stretching up both sides of the hills leading up from the river, meaning there’s lots of high ground, but not much flat ground in the city – it’s also the reason why they adopted their almost unique form of public transport, the Schwebebahn hanging railway which runs over the top of the River as there would be no space to put trams on the main streets without bringing everything to a grinding halt.

I caught a bus from the city centre up to the Botanical Garden and spent quite a bit of time wandering round both the gardens and the wider Hardt area that the gardens are located in, taking in the views down into the city from the high ground.

After quite a lot of time up in the gardens I caught the bus back down into town and stopped off at a café for a late lunch before heading back over to the station to collect my luggage from the lockers and head over to my hotel for the weekend to checkin.

I timed that well as shortly after making it to the hotel the first of several heavy showers decided to pass through, so I spent slightly longer than I’d originally planned in my room waiting for the worst of the wet weather to pass through before heading back out for a bit more of a wander.

I also took the opportunity to have a quick ride a couple of stops on the Schwebebahn before stopping off in the city centre to grab a light dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Heavy Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Wuppertal; Saturday, 23 September, 2023

After a decent night sleep and a good breakfast I headed out of the hotel to head over to the city’s gallery and museum the Von de Heydt Museum. Originally the Elberfeld state gallery the museum was the first in the world to purchase a painting by Pablo Picasso and along with works from Max Beckmann they built up quite a collection, right up to the point that the Nazi’s labelled both artists as degenerate and confiscated their works. After the war the museum was able to recover their artefacts and at the time of visiting had an extensive exhibition on the twos work, including a number of loans from other institutions.

From the museum I wandered through the centre of town down towards the Laurentisplatz, home to the city’s catholic basilica, but due to a wedding taking place the church was closed, so instead I had a quick lunch break in a café on the square, just keeping an eye on the weather as the forecast had originally predicted showers for around this time, which in the end never turned up and in fact after the cloud started to thin out in the afternoon the weather proceeded to get really warm and sunny for the rest of the weekend.

From the Laurentisplatz I had a bit more of a wander down to the New Church a short distance away, at which point I’d reached the end of the pedestrianised centre of Wuppertal so I headed over to the nearby bus stop and caught the bus the length of the city to Oberbarmen to visit the Visiodrom.

The large gas storage tank that had stood over the centre of the Oberbarmen district of since Wuppertal since the 1950s, and was one of the tallest structures in the city, was such an iconic structure that when it was decommissioned in the 1980s rather than tearing down it was protected as a monument, but without any plans of what to do with it. Eventually in the 2010s plans were put together to turn it into a tourist attraction housing the largest cinema screen in Europe and an exhibition space and, because if you’ve got the tallest building in the city, a viewing platform.

The screen shows specially designed films for the Visiodrom, which is then accompanied by an exhibition in the space on the ground floor – at the time of visiting the subject was Leonardo Da Vinic and his inventions and art. There was an interesting exhibition including creations of some of his models and drawings as well as some of his original note books.

The film runs every 30 minutes and by the time I’d looked round the exhibition I’d just missed the next showing so I took the lift all the way up to the top of the tower and the rooftop viewing platform to take in the views over Wuppertal before heading back down to the cinema in time for the next showing.

Having taken in the film and the small museum on the history of the gasometer itself and it’s conversion into the Visiodrom I headed back towards the station to catch the Schwebebahn. The hanging railway runs very frequently – every 3 to 4 minutes during most of the day – and the cars go round a loop at each end which means there is only a drivers cab at one end, at the back there is a large window and set of seat that you can take in the views of this feat of engineering speeding behind you. It means if you join the train at either Oberbarmen or Vohwinkel the two terminus you can pretty much guarantee the best seat on the train for the journey.

It takes about 30 minutes to run the full length of the line, with about 2/3 being above the River Wupper, before it swings in land floating high above the road below for the final leg into Vohwinkel. I took the Schwebebahn all the way out to Vohwinkel and then had a wander around there before catching a later train back into the centre of the Elberfeld area in the hunt for dinner and then back to my hotel room.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Wuppertal; Sunday, 24 September, 2023

I had a relatively early start, mostly because the queues for breakfast the previous day had been quite big and I’d wanted to avoid that again. After breakfast I packed my bag, left my luggage with the hotel and checked out before heading over to the Hauptbahnhof to have a little wander round there before picking up a bus out to Wuppertal-Dorp station on the Nordbahn.

The Nordbahn was built on a terrace up the hillside from the main railway running alongside the river in town, and consequently was much less successful, to the point that services were finally withdrawn in 1991 and the line abandoned. However, a local group saved the line and over a number of years converted the former track bed in the Nordbahntrasse a long-distance walking and cycling path.

The actual path starts close to Vohwinkel station several miles further back from where I joined the route, but the former Dorp station is a good place to start as it’s where the most interesting parts of the route start, with Dorp tunnel being just a few meters after the station.

Along the line all of the stations have been retained, either just as the outline of the old platform with a station sign, or in the case of Loh station a couple of miles down the track as the full platforms complete with canopies, signage and even a station clock that still works. The yellow departure posters found at every German station is even provided, though here it shows what you can see at each kilometre of the route rather than listing the zero trains that the station would see.

I walked all the way from Dorf station to Wichlinghauser station taking in the many different tunnels and viaducts along the way, including the LEGO bridge – one of the many bridges on the line that has been repainted to make it look like it’s made out of giant Lego bricks.

At Wichlinghauser the route of the former line continues on for many more kilometres, but its also the point that the former Schwarzbach line up from Oberbarmen joined the Nordbahn and as this too has been abandoned it’s also been converted into the Schwarzbachtrasse, in this case an interesting long sweeping loop that slowly takes the line back down hill to the valley floor to join the mainline, over an impressive viaduct, through a tightly curving tunnel and over a second LEGO Brücke before reaching the actual still operational railway in Langerfeld where it’s a short walk down to a bus stop to catch a bus back into Oberbarmen.

By the time I reached the bus stop I’d walked nearly 10 miles, so I was quite glad to sit down for a little while, and after we got to Oberbarmen to hop off and visit the station café for quite a bit of water as well as a very late lunch.

I didn’t have much time left in Wuppertal, but I did have just enough time to take the Schwebebahn one more time out to Vohwinkel – this time taking one of the seats in the main part of the carriage, before heading back to the station closest to my hotel to pick up my luggage and then head back to the Hauptbahnhof.

I’d decided to leave myself quite a bit of spare time as the old stereotype of ruthless German efficiency with their trains timekeeping is now long gone and the railways in Germany appear to be performing almost as badly, if not worse, that they are in the UK so I needed to make sure I had spare time to get back into Düsseldorf and out to the airport. In the end it turned out I’d picked about the only train that day which was running on time and wasn’t standing room only, so I had a pleasant and quick journey back to Düsseldorf and an equally quick journey back out to the airport terminal to start my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Bedford; Friday, 06 October, 2023

I did a full days work from home before heading down to the station to pick up the train into London. In part due to earlier delays and in part due to an overtime strike that was taking place the trains were in a bit of a mess and I ended up catching the previous train that was running nearly 30 minutes late, which then proceeded to make back a bit of it’s delay so that I made it to London Bridge with enough time to spare to catch the train 30 minutes earlier than the one I had intended on catching.

The earlier train from London Bridge also had the advantage of having far fewer stops on route up to Bedford, so by the time I arrived in town I was 45 minutes earlier than planned.

I walked the ¾ mile from the station to the hotel and checked in before heading out to have a quick wander around town, but mostly to find somewhere for dinner – which proved to be more difficult than I expected with most places either having no space, or nothing for well over an hour.

Eventually I manged to find a small Indian/Nepalese place quite close to the hotel which had tables free and it turned out to be a good find. The food was delicious and pretty good value.

Stuffed from dinner I headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night to digest my dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
22ºC/72ºF

Bedford; Saturday, 07 October, 2023

I had a bit of a lie in and a relatively late breakfast before heading out of the hotel to explore the town, it turned out that I could have had a longer lie-in as none of the museums in town were due to open until 11am, so in the end I spent more time wandering round the town centre than I’d originally planned.

I then headed down to the castle area near the river. Bedford had a castle, erected shortly after the arrival of the Normans, all the way through until a siege in 1224. Following the siege the castle was pulled down, with much of the stone going to repair the local churches and repave the town, today just a small fragment of the wall and the mound that the keep sat on are still in existence. From the top of the mound there are quite decent views over the river.

From the castle I headed back a couple of streets to visit the John Bunyan museum. His most famous work – The Pilgrim’s Progress – is the second most translated book in the world after the bible and given he was a local boy some of the inspiration come from the surrounding countryside and buildings. The museum traces the story of John from his birth in the nearby village of Elstow through his works, preaching and jailing and through to his death in London at the age of 59.

After looking round the museum I headed back into town to grab a quick lunch before hopping on the bus out to that small village of Elstow. At only 2Km from Bedford it’s long since been absorbed into the growing town, but it still keeps a pleasant small village vibe – helped by the large green surrounded by small cottages and the Abbey and Moot House which would both have already been long established when John was a small boy.

The Moot House is only open on Saturday afternoons, which meant it was particularly good timing to head out here as I was able to look round the museum. Originally built as a market hall for the abbey it became a manorial court and for a while it was owned by the Whitbread brewing family before being passed to the County Council in 1950. I had a bit of a wander around the church grounds of the former abbey and around a little bit of the village itself before catching a bus back into Bedford and changing there onto a bus out to Ampthill.

I hiked up the hill above the town to the site of Houghton House. This Manor House was originally built at the beginning of the 17th century and is believed to be the model for House Beautiful in Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress. In 1794 the building was abandoned by it’s owner who stripped it of anything of value, including the roof, before leaving it to ruination. Today the picturesque ruin has been stabilised by English Heritage and is open to look around, both the building and taking in the views down across the flatter lands of northern Bedfordshire.

From the house I headed back down into Ampthill, intending on grabbing a pint in the town centre before catching the bus back into Bedford, but that plan was quickly scuppered when a quick look at the departures board in the bus shelter showed there was one bus due in a couple of minutes, and the following bus, an hour later, cancelled – so it would have been two hours hanging around. I decided to head back into Bedford instead.

I hopped off the bus close to the hotel to freshen up and having a drink in the hotel bar before heading out for dinner (having taking the hint from the previous evening and reserving a table), and then a wander around town before heading back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Bedford; Sunday, 08 October, 2023

Another relatively late lie in and breakfast before checking out of the hotel and heading over to the nearby bus stop to pick up the bus down to the small village of Silsoe and the Country Estate of Wrest Park. The park was in the de Grey family for 600 years up until 1917 when the family was forced to sell, with the buildings and elaborate gardens passing into the ownership of an insurance company who turned the house into offices.

At the turn of the millennium the site was passed over to English Heritage who, nearly 20 years after they were gifted the building, are still carrying out restoration works of the house with only some ground floor rooms open to the public, but the stunning gardens have been fully restored and can be explored in full. I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the site before it was time to hop back on a bus and head back into Bedford.

I had a quick lunch before heading over to the towns main museum, The Higgins. The museum is named for the family that owned the house and attached Brewery that the bulk of the museum is built around. I spent a good hour or so wandering around the different galleries.

Just across the road from The Higgins is the Panacea Museum. The museum is located in the houses that the Panacea society purchased at the start of the 20th century as a group that were convinced that the second coming of Christ was imminent and that they should prepare for the after life. Over a number of years they purchased several houses and merged the gardens into a single space, building a chapel in the centre of the complex.

The group has long since closed, but the trust they founded is still around and tells their story in the museum which allows you explore most of the buildings on the site and the gardens as well.

Having taken in the Panacea I headed back over to the hotel to pick up my bag and walk back to Bedford station to start the needlessly lengthy journey home. If this was a normal day I would have been able to get a train direct from Bedford to East Croydon taking less than 90 minutes to make the journey and would have been home within 2 hours. Instead due to engineering works I had to catch the dreaded rail replacement bus all the way over to Hitchin on the East Coast mainline, which took an hour, and wait there for another 30 minutes for the train down to East Croydon. There was an option to risk it and catch a bus 30 minutes later as that was supposed to connect, but that was only just pulling into the station forecourt as my train pulled away from Hitchin.

I eventually made it to East Croydon more than an hour later than I would have done on a normal weekend.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Sofia; Thursday, 19 October, 2023

After a full days work I was going to take public transport over to the airport and to my hotel for the evening, but just as I was logging off the heavy rain that had been coming in waves throughout the day decided to set in again, and this time it looked like it might go on for some time so I decided to cheat at caught an Uber over instead.

The combination of the evening traffic and the heavy rain meant it took over 90 minutes to make the journey, so by the time I got to the hotel I was feeling quite peckish. Rather than heading out to grab something from a supermarket I just decided to head to the hotel restaurant and grab a bite to eat there.

After a filling dinner I headed back to my room for an early night as my alarm call was set for 05:30 to make the morning flight.

Weather

Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Sofia; Friday, 20 October, 2023

I was awake just before my alarm went off which was about the only blessing for being up at this time of the morning. After a quick shower I checked out of the hotel and headed over to Hatton Cross station to catch the Piccadilly line the one stop to Heathrow central and then walk over to Terminal 3 to checkin and drop off my luggage.

I had a smooth journey through the airport, including a pleasant breakfast in the lounge, with the plane all closed up and ready to go a few minutes early, but due to the storms that were hitting many parts of Europe this morning we had a bit of an air-traffic delay so we ended up having to wait on stand for about 10 minutes before going for a long taxi round the airport to the end of the far runway.

The storms and heavy weather across most of Western and Central Europe made for a pretty bumpy flight, but with the cloud finally lifting as we crossed into Serbian airspace and then into the warm autumn sun of Bulgaria for an arrival only 5 minutes behind schedule.

I had a quick journey through the airport and onto the Metro into town and then a short walk to the hotel. After checking in and dropping off my luggage in my room I headed out of the hotel for a wander around the city.

The hotel was located close to the National Palace of Culture and it’s gardens, so I wandered over the Lovers Bridge to the grounds and had a wander through them before reaching the end of the main pedestrianised street of the city centre – Vitosha Boulevard. I walked down the length of the road reaching the St. Kyriaki Cathedral Church at the end of the road before descending down into the subway under the main road that houses the archaeological remains of the old city of Serdica.

I had a bit of a wander around the ruins before heading up to the Saint Aleksandar Nevski Cathedral, the iconic church of the city – having a wander round the outside before heading inside for a quick look around as it was due to close pretty soon.

From the church I wandered back in towards the centre of town and went in search of dinner, which at 7pm on a Friday evening was, unsurprisingly, difficult to find a restaurant that wasn’t fully reserved – I ended up walking back up the Vitosha Boulevard about 2/3 to the hotel before I found somewhere that was open and had space.

After a pleasant if not stunning dinner I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre before heading back past the National Palace of Culture to the hotel and a well earned nightcap and then early bed time.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Sofia; Saturday, 21 October, 2023

I had an early start to get breakfast and be out of the hotel just after 8 to make it up to the cathedral for 8:45 and the start of my day tour out into the Bulgarian countryside. Thankfully I was awake a few minutes before my alarm went off, and at that time on a Saturday morning the breakfast room was pretty well deserted so I was able to have a relaxed breakfast and still make the metro over to the cathedral.

The tour I was booked on was a day trip out to the Rila Monastery, the largest monastery in the country and one of the largest orthodox monasteries in the world. The tour also included a stop at the Bonaya Church on the way back.

There were multiple buses at the meeting point all offering different versions of the tour – some including a lunch stop, at the expense of losing time at the monastery, some only going to the monastery, some only going to the church. Even within the tour groups there were multiple options with some people – like me – opting for a fully guided tour in English, whilst others had opted for a downloadable audio guide and some had just paid for the transport and no guide. Consequently there was quite a bit of confusion and it wasn’t until 9:15 that we finally set off – given that the tour company run the tour every day it’s quite a surprise how disorganised bits of it were!

We started off with a two hour drive out of the city and into the Rila Mountains, the highest mountain range in the Balkans. The last 50 minutes of the journey was a quite slow 31Km drive up into the mountains to the monastery at the meeting point of two rivers high in the mountains.

The guide gave us a 45 minute tour round the main parts of the complex, including inside the church – where photography was banned, before giving us just over an hour to explore by ourselves – including the opportunity to climb up the Defensive Tower, built in 1335 and the oldest surviving part of the complex.

After our allotted two hours in Rila we all piled back onto the coach and headed back into Sofia, diverting via the ring road to the southern suburb of Bonaya to visit the church there. Bonaya used to be a separate village and even then, as it is to today, it was home to some of the wealthier citizens of Sofia, who consequently had the money to richly decorate the church with frescos that still survive to today (in part by keeping the numbers allowed in to visit to small numbers and not allowing any photography or bags inside the main part of the church.

We had about a 30 minute stop here to take in the frescos and have a wander around the site before it was time to get back on the bus and head back into Sofia to be dropped off back at the Cathedral. From there I hopped back on the metro over to my hotel to freshen-up before heading back out a little later for dinner.

When I’d visited in 2019 and met up with a colleague who was running the city’s marathon on that occasion, we’d visited a Bulgarian Restaurant which I remember as having had excellent food, so thanks to the creepy prowess of Google for tracking my past movements I was able to identify the restaurant and head there for dinner.

Once again I wasn’t disappointed with the meal, and very stuffed I meandered back to the metro via a couple of nighttime photos in Serdica before heading back to the hotel for a night cap and then bed.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Sofia; Sunday, 22 October, 2023

Another pre-dawn start to have a quick breakfast and then head into town to pick up my day tour bus. This morning the journey was out to the countries second city, it’s cultural capital and reputedly the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, Plovdiv. After an on time pickup from the centre of Sofia we travelled the 140Km or so, mostly on the highway over to the city, arriving a little over 90 minutes after leaving Sofia.

The first part of the tour was a 2-hour guided tour round the city, during which time our driver and guide took us round some of the main points of interest in the city, including up and down several of the six hills that the city is built upon and through many of the historic areas including the Forum, ancient stadium and theatre.

The tour also included wandering through the grounds of a couple of the historic houses that the city is renowned for before the tour ended at the entrance to the Ancient Theatre, located in the saddle between the 2nd and 3rd hills of the city. From there we had two hours of free time to do our own thing and grab a bite to eat.

After the guide left I headed into the Ancient Theatre to have a look around that, including taking in the stage and the area above and behind it – not something that is possible in most Roman ruins. From the theatre I continued down the hill and visited the remains of the ancient stadium – only a small portion of this remains, but it’s the main part at the very turn of the course with the entrance tunnel and the curved seating.

I then stopped in a nearby café for a very pleasant, if slightly less the healthy lunch, of Baklava and Turkish Coffee with Rose Water before continuing on wandering through the city, stopping off at the remains of the Roman Forum and the Odeon before it was time to head back to the meeting point to catch the bus onto the next stop.

From Plovdiv it was a 25 minute or so drive south to the town of Asenovgrad and slightly beyond to the remains of the Asen Fortress. Little of the original fortress which guarded this mountain pass towards Greece, except for a small portion of the upper defences, and below that, picture postcard beautifully perched on a sheer cliff drop, the fortress chapel which is still in really good condition.

We spent about 30 minutes looking round the site before it was time to head back to the bus and the long two hour drive back into Sofia, dropping us off at the same place we’d been picked up 9 hours earlier. With just a few minutes left before sunset I had a short wander round before finding a restaurant to grab an early dinner in as the Baklava and coffee really hadn’t been enough given all the walking that I’d done.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander around the city before heading back to the hotel for a night cap and a well deserved early night.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
27ºC/81ºF

Sofia; Monday, 23 October, 2023

After several early starts in a row I decided, as I didn’t have much planned, to have a bit of a lie-in, which was rudely interrupted just after 9am by the drilling from the floor above as the builders started up work on the hotel refurbishment – not certain if they had been working during the weekend as I’d been out by then every morning!

A much more leisurely breakfast completed I headed back up to my room, packed my bag and checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage in their store room before heading out into town.

I had intended on visiting the Serdica ruins museum to have another look around that, but unlike almost every other museum in the city it turns out that it does close on a Monday, so that attempt was thwarted, so instead I went for a slow stroll around the city centre, stopping off more of the ruins of the old city in the grounds of the St George Rotunda church and then heading over towards the City Garden.

The park runs from the main road by the government ministries (and former communist party HQ) to the national theatre and is a pleasant green space right in the heart of the city. In front of the theatre is a large water feature with lots of jets and the statue of a dancer at one end facing the theatre at the other.

From the park I headed back onto the main street and stopped there for a long lunch break, before continuing on down to the National Palace of Culture and having a bit more of a wander around the park there.

I then caught the metro back up through the city centre to the Lions’ Bridge, an impressive structure with a lion statue on each corner, that’s not really done justice by the tiny stream that runs underneath it. From the lion’s bridge I then caught the tram over to the equally impressive sounding Eagles bridge which repeats the same formula – four impressive statues of eagles over a little stream.

By now it was time to hop back on the metro and head over to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then head on out to the airport to start my journey home.

Weather

Haze Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Avignon; Friday, 24 November, 2023

04:30 is a really unpleasant time for the alarm clock to go off, but with a 05:15 checkin it was my fate this morning as I had a quick shower and headed out of the airport hotel I’d spent the night in to walk over to Hatton Cross tube station and the first Piccadilly line service of the morning over to Terminal 3. A smooth journey through the airport, and an early call to the gate for a swift boarding, only for it to be hampered by an air traffic control restriction in Marseille due to forecast strong winds. We eventually moved off the stand a couple of minutes ahead of our originally scheduled time and started a long taxi around the airfield before finally lifting off into the skies almost 25 minutes later.

The strong winds were with us all the way from London, though thankfully on our tail the entire time so barely 1 hour 20 after departing Heathrow we were touching down in Marseille well ahead of schedule. A quick journey through the airport, despite immigration being quite busy and onto the bus 20 minutes ahead of the one I needed up to Vitrolles station to catch my train over to Avignon.

The train was pretty full, and I only managed to get a weird bench style seat that looked like it had come out of a booth of a pub, but it was comfortable enough for the hour long journey. We arrived in Avignon just after midday and I chanced my luck wandering over to the hotel to see if my room was ready yet. Surprisingly it was and they were able to check me straight in so I could drop off my luggage, freshen up and then head out into the city.

The hotel was right opposite the city walls the surround the oldest part of the city so they were my first stop of the day having a brief wander along both the outside and inside of the walls before I made my way down to the main gate, now called Republic Gate and with it the main road into the centre of the old town.

I wandered up the Rue de La République, stopping off briefly at the ruins of the cloister of the Saint Martial church. Today the church is a theatre and the tourism office, but at one point it was the starting point of two pilgrim routes one heading West to Santiago de Compostella and the other East to Rome.

I continued up the main road and into the main central square – Place de l’Horloge which is home to the impressive Town Hall and lots of restaurants with tons of outdoor seating unsurprisingly unoccupied on a very windy and chilly November afternoon. A short walk away from the Place de l’Horloge is the Place de Papes, Popes Square which houses the Palais des Papes which more resembles a Papal Fortress then a palace as well as the city’s Cathedral – Notre Dame de Doms d’Avignon.

Just behind the cathedral, and occupying the highest ground in the city centre are the Jardin des Doms which I headed up into to take in the views over the city, across the River Rhône, which dominates the city and once was the international boundary between the Kingdom of France on the opposite bank and the Holy Roman Empire, especially during the 14th century when the Popes relocated away from Rome to Avignon. From here there are excellent views not only of the city, the River and the Fort of Saint-André on the opposite bank (built by the French King to demonstrate his power to the city) but also out into the wider countryside and in the distance the peak of Mont Ventoux.

This is also a great spot to look down on the Pont Saint-Benezet, otherwise known as the Pont d’Avignon – one of the symbols of the city. Originally the only crossing point of the Rhone round here, the bridge was never up to the job of handling the powerful river and most of the bridge was long ago lost, leaving just a short stub jutting out from the land near the Papal Palace becoming one of the symbols of the city.

After taking in the views from the park I headed back down to the Place des Papes and popped into the Cathedral to have a look around that before continuing to wander through the old town, eventually finding myself down at the Pont d’Avignon arriving just a couple of minutes before sunset so I was able to get some beautiful views of the bridge bathed in the glow of the setting sun, and then from slightly further down the river bank the views of the outer walls of the city with the towers of the Palais des Papes and the Cathedral rising up inside.

I headed back into the old town to find somewhere to grab dinner and then after another short wander through the city headed back to my hotel room and a well deserved early night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Avignon; Saturday, 25 November, 2023

I had to be up early to grab breakfast and then walk down the stairs to the bus station underneath the hotel to pick up the bus out to the small town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard and from there the short walk down to the Pont-du-Gard itself.

This nearly 2,000 year old aqueduct was the tallest built in the Roman Empire and, despite losing 11 arches to stone thefts in the 11th and 12th centuries, is still standing strong dominating the Gardon river that it strides over.

I had been a little perturbed by how an early a bus I needed to catch from Avignon to get here, but it turned out that I was one of the first people of the day to reach the site and an area that in the summer is normally teaming with tourists was completely deserted. In fact, it turns out that November is a good time to visit as at no point did it get particularly busy.

I spent a good few hours exploring both the aqueduct and the surrounding countryside with several walking trails you can follow to get right up close to the aqueduct, before heading back over to the visitors centre to have a look around the museum.

Given the time it takes to look around the site and the irregularity of the buses (only one round trip possible on a Saturday) taking in the museum meant that I would miss the last bus back to Avignon, but that didn’t matter as there was a bus a bit later that would take me on into the nearby city of Nîmes from where I’d be able to catch the train back to Avignon.

I could have leapt straight onto the train in Nîmes, but as there were still a couple of hours until sunset I decided to explore the city a bit, given it was the Roman settlement here that required the construction of the Pont du Gard in the first place.

The most obvious mark that the Romans left on the city itself is the Arena, a small Colosseum that is still standing and still in use as a venue some 2000 years after it was constructed. So I decided to have a look around that.

The tour route takes you across the whole of the site from the arena floor right up to the very top of the structure and it’s clear to see how much of the structure still survives and is in regular use – though the main seating area is on carefully constructed scaffolding so none of the weight goes back onto the structure itself.

After quite some time exploring the arena it was time to head back to the station and catch the train back into Avignon where I popped into my hotel room to freshen up before heading back out into town to have an explore in the evening.

Given the importance of the city, and the number of historic monuments it has, I had expected that the main structures and the walls might be floodlit at night, but it turns out that none of the city centre is illuminated beyond the standard street lamps, so after a bit of wandering around in the dark I grabbed something to eat and then headed back to my hotel

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Avignon; Sunday, 26 November, 2023

A well deserved lie-in after the previous days early start and then out to explore more of the city, starting by heading to the city walls and following them round for almost half their length up to the Pont Saint-Benezet, otherwise known as the Pont d'Avignon.

The bridge was originally constructed to link the two banks of the Rhône river, but poor construction, changing river flows and just the general power of this long river nearing the end of its course, lead to the loss of most of the structure so that today only a couple of arches of the bridge linked to the Avignon bank, and connected into the city walls, still survive. The part that does survive was clearly the most well built section as tourists are happily allowed to walk out on it, taking in the views of the centre of the city, the walls and the river.

Having taken in the bridge, and the small section of the city wall that you are also able to access from the bridge I headed back up into the centre of the old town to visit the main attraction of the city – the Palais des Papes, or Papal Palace.

For around 70 years in the 14th century the leader of the Catholic Church ruled not from Rome but from Avignon, with seven Popes having their seat in the city – then on the border of the Holy Roman Empire and across the Rhône the Kingdom of France. In that time they built themselves a richly furnished palace, but as was the style at the time from the outside it more resembles a fortress.

Inside you can wander around most of the building taking in the various rooms of the building from large dining and assembly rooms to the smaller apartment rooms of the pontiff. You can also head down into the Papal gardens, located deep inside the complex but a beautiful sun trap and hidden away from the strong winds that regularly blow across the city.

I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the palace, including heading up onto the roof of the structure from where you can take in some of the best views of the city, before finally leaving just before they started kicking everyone out anyway.

I headed back down the main road towards the station and my hotel diverting into the Musée Lapidaire. Housed in a former Jesuit church the museum has a wide collection of artefacts from Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquity. It’s amazing quite how much they’ve managed to pack into a relatively small space with every part of the building filled with statues, mosaics, tablets, alters, bits of architecture and so many oil lamps.

I’d just finished looking round and was leaving the museum as a couple of gendarmes popped in to ask the museum to close for a short while as a protest march was just about to go past, so rather than heading back straight down the main street, against a flow of protestors, I headed back down through the small back streets before following the walls back round to the station and my hotel to freshen up before popping out a little later to grab some dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
9ºC/48ºF

Avignon; Monday, 27 November, 2023

I checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage with reception, as I had a couple of hours to kill before my train back to Marseille.

I popped over to the local bus station, located just inside the city walls, as apposed to the regional bus station under the hotel, and caught the bus round to Villeneue-lès-Avignon. Today the area is just a part of the city, but when it was originally built by the French Kings it was in a totally separate country with the border running down the centre of the Rhône.

Occupying the high ground on cliffs overlooking the river the Abbey of Saint-André took the opportunity to strike a deal with the French King and allowed him to offer them protection by building a fort around both the abbey and the other settlements on the top of the hill. The fact it also acted as a statement to the foreign popes in their own fortress across the river was pure co-incidence.

It was a short but very steep hike up from the bus stop to the entrance to the fort and then once inside a pretty hefty hike further up through the now almost empty fortress, with just a handful of buildings still standing, mostly in a ruined state, with the exception of the small Notre Dame chapel which is still standing in pretty good repair and open to look around.

From the chapel the suggested walking route takes you into the smaller of the two towers and from there up onto the ramparts from where there are stunning views out over the countryside and across the river to the city with the towers of the palace, cathedral and town hall all clearly visible on the horizon, with the lower parts of the city still hidden by trees even in late November.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the fortress and by the time I made it back down to the bus and back into Avignon I only had about 30 minutes before my train so I headed back over to the hotel, grabbed my luggage and headed for the station.

Whilst the train today had come from much further away, it came in mostly empty so I was able to get a table to myself for the hour journey back to Vitrolles from where I wandered down to the shuttle bus stop to catch the local bus back to Marseille Airport and then the flight back home.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Rothenburg; Thursday, 14 December, 2023

When I’d originally booked the trip, nearly a year earlier, I had a late night flight from Heathrow over to Frankfurt. In the interim flights had been chopped and changed and by the time everything finally settled I was booked onto a mid-evening flight out of City.

To make sure I made the flight I worked from home up until lunchtime and then hopped over to an airport hotel near City to work out of a room there on a day use rate for the rest of the day, leaving there just before 6 to walk over to the airport.

By the time I left the hotel there was only about 75 minutes until my flight left, and by the time I’d walked to city airport it was down to 55 minutes – which still turned out to be about 20 minutes earlier than I needed to be as the usual quick journey through security and then into the packed departures lounge occurred. I eventually wandered down to a gate area where there were no flights posted to sit down for about 10 minutes until our gate was displayed, which turned out to be the next door one.

Despite being a very full flight – the gate staff were insisting that everyone in groups 4 and 5 would have to give up their cabin bags into the hold – we boarded promptly and were all ready to go with about 5 minutes to spare, only to sit there for another quarter of an hour as a delayed inbound flight was bringing a connecting passenger.

With the flight finally boarded we set off and headed over to Frankfurt. It was a smooth and quick flight, with us landing 10 minutes ahead of schedule on a remote stand, but with buses and steps already waiting. As I only had hand luggage, and managed to get to the passport desks ahead of most people, I was through and on a train into the city within 40 minutes of landing, and in my hotel room barely an hour after touching the ground.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
6ºC/43ºF

Rothenburg; Friday, 15 December, 2023

I had a relaxed start to the morning and headed over to the station with plenty of time to catch my 11:30 train for the first of three legs to get over to Rothenburg, each with lots of connection time between them, or so I thought at the time! Despite being a pretty busy train DB were only laying on a 4 coach double deck train over to Würzburg, so I was quite glad I was already on the platform when it arrived from the depot and was able to get a nice window seat, by the time the train left about 20 minutes later there were virtually no spare seats left and the train only proceeded to get fuller along the line.

Just outside of Frankfurt we hit a problem with the signalling and ground to a halt for about 10 minutes, and then – because the train was so full – proceeded to lose time at every single station down the line as passengers struggled to get on and off. By the time we were approaching Würzburg my 20-minute connection had completely disappeared and I made it across to the connecting platform just in time to see the train disappearing off into the distance.

I took advantage of the enforced 59 minute wait for the next train to grab a bite to eat, visit the WC and then settle in on a bench on the platform to await the arrival of the inbound train, which again turned out to be a good move as the ancient two coach hunk of junk that pulled in 15 minutes before we were due to depart was pretty soon completely full – clearly nowhere near enough space for the people needing to use it, and once again along the way we kept losing time as people struggled to clamber on and off – it was so old that there were two steps up into the train – and at most stations had to run along the platform as they were clearly expecting a much longer train.

Thankfully the delay was only about 5 minutes by the time we reached Steinach – or to give it it’s full name Steinach (b. Rothenburg o.d. Tauber) [Steinach near Rothenburg upon Tauber], a junction station in the middle of nowhere were the train had a 13 minute, thankfully still 8-minute, connection onto the small train down to Rothenburg.

Despite being quite busy this train made it’s journey without any issues and 15 minutes later I was disembarking in Rothenburg and heading round to my hotel to checkin, drop off my stuff and freshen up from a needlessly long journey.

Refreshed, I headed out of the hotel into town, wandering in through one of the impressive barbican entrances that protect the old town from the outside world and headed over into the centre of town to visit the Christmas Market and have my first gluhwein and bratwurst of the season.

The Christmas market stretches over a large part of the city centre – including in the space under the town hall and out into the neighbouring squares. I spent a decent amount of time wandering around the market, and keeping my gluhwein mug topped up.

Having also picked up some last minute Christmas presents along the way I headed out of the market area and had a bit more of a wander around the city, taking in the Plönlein area which is the symbol of the city – one tower and one of the city gates at different heights at a fork in the road with a half timber house at the junction. If you were to type Fairytale German Village into Google it’s usually this spot that comes up as the number one image.

From there I wandered further down to the Spitaltor an equally impressive barbican entrance protecting the southern entry point to the city and from there followed the walls part way back before taking a side road off that brought me back to my hotel and a well deserved rest.

Weather

Heavy Rain Light Showers
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Rothenburg; Saturday, 16 December, 2023

Whilst the hotel was very comfortable and warm, and the breakfasts were excellent, the pillows or more importantly pillow was a major downside. Thin with almost no support to it and singular in it’s supply it didn’t make for the most restful of nights sleep. But after a hearty breakfast and a very strong coffee I was ready to head out into town for a day of exploration.

I walked back towards town the way I’d headed in the previous day, but at the Röderbastei I took a turn and headed up the steps by the Röderturm and onto the city walls. Almost the complete city walls exist encircling the city – mostly due to financial hardships after the 30 years war meaning the city never really grew enough to be hemmed in by its walls, so never felt the need to fully demolish them. By the time the city was growing enough it was being fuelled by tourism and the walls were a distinct bonus for the fairytale image. The walls fall into three main sections – a set of high walls to the East and north of the city which you can walk along the top of, high above the road below, a set of walls built along the steep cliffs that fall away from the city on the Western side so you walk along a wall path that’s high above the outside roads, but not that far off the ground inside the city, and then a section of walls that are built up from the sheer cliff, requiring no need to extend above waist height as they provided more than enough protection.

I headed up onto the walls and walked the first long section of the high walls all the way round to the Spitalturm taking in some impressive views of the city along the way. At the Spitalturm the high walls finish, but you can continue through the grounds of the local council and pick up the lower walls, or like me, divert off and have another look around the Spitaltor.

The Spitaltor is a major barbican gate that protected the southern entrance to the city, with the gate itself almost a small fortress. You can go into the inside of the gate and wander around the inner parts that look down on both sides of the roadway that weaves its way through the complex – clearly making it easy to defend the city, even if attackers breach the initial outer part.

From the Spitaltor I wandered around the corner to pick up the walls again and followed them north towards the Kohlgate, stopping along the way to take in some pretty amazing views across the valley and towards the rest of the city and it’s walls.

At the Kohlgate the walkways up on the walls stop as the natural geography of the land has the city high up on cliff overlooking the Tauber river which means sheer walls up to the start of buildings were enough to defend this part of town, and you can wander alongside them, the walls coming up to hip height.

The walls led me round to the site of the former Imperial palace which has long since disappeared with just a small chapel remaining what is now called the burggarten. From there it was back through the burgtor and carry on following the walls – though here a significant part of the walls have been incorporated into the outside walls of buildings built upon them, so you can’t get particularly close to the edge – the biggest offender being the former Dominican convent, which is now the city museum. A short walk further and you reach the Klingentorbastei protecting the northern entrance to the city and as part of it the Klingentor and the start of the high walls again.

From here I followed the high walkway back along the walls to where I’d started my walk at the Röderturm some 3½ hours earlier. I arrived back to find that the tower was now open to visit, so despite being quite tired after a lengthy walk I hauled my way up the 100-odd steps to the top of the tower to take in the views over the city.

Back down at ground level I headed into the centre of town to grab a very late lunch in the Christmas Market and then headed on over to the city museum to have a look around their exhibitions on the history of the city and the Dominican Convent that the museum is housed in. After taking in the exhibition I then headed back to the hotel to freshen up and rest my weary legs, heading out a little later to grab a quick dinner before an early night.

Weather

Cloudy Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
3ºC/37ºF

Rothenburg; Sunday, 17 December, 2023

A second slightly unsuccessful nights sleep mostly down to the worlds worst pillow, but helped by another strong coffee. After packing my bag and leaving it with reception I checked out and headed back into town.

When I’d wandered past it the previous day the queue for the German Christmas Museum was very long and moving very slowly. It turns out that getting there when it opens at 10am is the best way to avoid the queues. The museum is housed inside an even larger Christmas shop which houses more decoration, cribs, ornaments and figurines than you could imagine even exist in the world – and it’s like that all year round – helping to give the city the reputation for being a year round Christmas fest.

The museum itself charts the history of Christmas celebrations and how the ideas of decorated trees, baubles, nativity scenes, advent calendars, greeting cards and even Santa and Krampus came about. There’s also quite a bit of stuff on that very German Christmas element – the nutcracker in the shape of a soldier.

All Christmas-ed out in the museum that didn’t stop me grabbing a quick bit to eat in the market before heading over to the town hall to climb up the tower and take in the views.

Over 200 steps later it turns out the worst part are the final couple of steps as they require you to step on two thin ledges almost making you lean over backwards over the near vertical ladder that you’ve just climbed up – getting up is bad, getting back down again is frankly terrifying.

With my legs still wabbling from the climb I headed over to my final stop of the day at the very christmassy Middle Ages Criminal museum which tells the history of crime, punishment and torture in this part of the world from the earliest forms of justice – and mob justice – through the official used of torture and forced confessions to modern justice.

After looking round the museum it was time to start heading back. In theory, if all the connections worked, I could easily have had another hour in town before catching the train, but the experience on the way in made me nervous so I headed back to the hotel, picked up my luggage and caught the 2pm train from Rothenburg.

In the end it turned out that I could probably have stayed later as the first two trains were both on time and the connections worked perfectly, with me able to get a good seat on the train from Würzburg back to Frankfurt before it filled up and headed back towards the German financial capital past valleys slowly filling with mist as the light started to fade.

Previous experiences in Frankfurt have shown that trying to get the S-Bahn from the Hauptbahnhof to the airport are not pleasant, especially on weekends when the quarter-hourly service has been reduced to once every 30 minutes. Thankfully the DB app had suggested a better route of getting off the train one stop early at the Südbahnhof, which is only a couple of miles from the airport, and catching the bus from there directly to the terminal.

The connection worked perfectly and less than 30 minutes after getting off the train, and a full three hours before my flight was due to depart I arrived at Frankfurt airport to start the last leg of my journey home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Mild (0-10C, 32-50F)
4ºC/39ºF

Limassol; Tuesday, 23 January, 2024

After work finished for the day I headed over to Heathrow and my hotel for the night, which turned out to be a bad choice – my normal hotel of choice had been quite a bit more expensive for the night, but it would have been wiser to pay the extra as the hotel I chose turned out to be pretty poor – which is quite surprising for a supposedly four star hotel.

The room was bakingly hot, but the air con was catastrophically noisy so there was no way to get the room to a pleasant state. I should just have tried to open the windows as they kept out virtually no noise, which considering the take-off runway was only a couple of hundred feet away was the next problem.

Finally to add insult to injury my so called premium room overlooked the next-door McDonalds Drive Thru, and more importantly the super bright floodlights that, no matter how you drew them, could penetrate every crack in the curtains illuminating the room.

Though all of that paled into insignificance as I tried to get some sleep in a bed that must have been made from a cross section of road, complete with speedbump down the middle of the bed.

Needless to say, I got very little sleep.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
14ºC/57ºF

Limassol; Wednesday, 24 January, 2024

The poor quality of the hotel room continued the following morning in the pretty lacklustre breakfast which I had included in the room rate – if it hadn’t been it wouldn’t have been worth paying for.

After checking out of the hotel much earlier than I’d originally intended on doing I caught the bus round to the airport so that I could sit in the comfort of the lounge, rather than the discomfort of the hotel room.

The journey through the airport was pretty smooth, though with the plane delayed on it’s inbound flight from Cairo it was obvious from pretty early on that we were going to be late leaving. In the end all the passengers were onboard only about 10 minutes behind schedule, but the luggage and freight was taking quite a bit longer and we were already 35 minutes late by the time we pushed back. Originally the BA app had been predicting being 30 minutes early into Larnaca because of tailwinds, the delays ensured that we were 5 minutes late by the time we reached the gate.

Larnaca Airport was a breeze to sail through – helped by the Cypriots allowing UK passport holders to use the EU eGates – and about 15 minutes after landing I was already at the baggage belt hauling my luggage off of it.

When I’d gone to book transfers a private taxi to my hotel was quoting at nearly €200, so I decided to opt for the slightly cheaper express shared shuttle service for €75 with the warning that it could make up to three stops before my hotel, and I may have to wait up to 45 minutes at the airport whilst all the guests made it through.

It turned out that nobody else had booked the shuttle as the moment I approached the shuttle desk they called me by my name and took me straight out to a waiting taxi-van which whisked me away in comfort to the hotel.

Checked in and my bags dumped in my room I headed down to the hotel restaurant for dinner, before heading back to my room for an early night and a hopefully better sleep.

Weather

No Data Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Limassol; Thursday, 25 January, 2024

After a decent nights sleep, and a filling breakfast, I headed out of the hotel via its entrance down onto the beach and started a long wander into the centre of town along the seafront. It’s just over 5Km from the hotel to the centre of town, so it was a pretty lengthy walk, especially as quite a bit of the early part is along the sands of the beach – though at least this part was relatively deserted.

By the time I reached close to the centre of town the beachfront path was very busy with walkers, joggers, dog walkers, cyclists and more. Thankfully at the point it was getting busiest Google maps alerted me that I needed to cross over the road and head away from the coast for my first stop of the morning at the Archaeological museum for the district.

The museum has a very large number of artefacts, both on display in the museum itself and in the monuments store yard down the side of the museum. The majority coming from the two main archaeological sites close to Limassol – the ancient cities of Kourion, 14Km to the West and Amathous, 10Km to the East of modern day Limassol.

I spent quite a bit of time looking round the museum before continuing on my walk heading back down to the seafront and following it all the way into the old port, and sitting a little way behind it the medieval museum housed in the old Limassol Castle.

The Castle was originally built on the remains of a church during the Venetian rule of the city and was damaged and repaired during the Ottoman take over. During British rule the castle served as a prison before being turned into the regional archaeological museum. When that moved into its current home the castle’s exhibition was changed to look at life in medieval times, with exhibits spaced out across four floors from the basement up. Out on the roof I was able to take in the views over the city and over to the Troodos mountains.

By the time I’d descended back down to ground level I was feeling quite peckish so I headed over to a nearby restaurant for a spot of lunch before continuing a walk through the old town of Limassol – though there isn’t much of it left. The city is the second largest and most important of the Cypriot Republic and consequently a lot of new buildings are both in place and springing up. I did managed to stumble across the Orthodox cathedral of Agia Napa, but that was closed for the afternoon.

With pretty much all of historic Limassol seen I headed back down to the main coast road and, rather than walking back to the hotel, cheated and hopped on the regular buses that run along the route.

Back at the hotel I changed into my swimming trunks and headed down to the hotels beach, initially with the idea of going for a swim, though as soon as the waters hit my toes I immediately downgraded that to a slightly chilly paddle. After a few minutes paddling I headed back up into the hotel to dry off on one of the sunbeds that surround the, at the time of visiting empty outdoor pool.

With the sun starting to set I headed indoors and down into the hotel spa to pay a visit to the hotels heated indoor pool for a quick swim in there, which was at a much more pleasant temperature than the Eastern Mediterranean in late January.

After swimming I headed back up to my room to shower and get changed and then it was time to head down to another dinner, a quick nightcap in the bar and then an early night as I needed to be up early the following morning.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Limassol; Friday, 26 January, 2024

When I’d visited Paphos in late 2022 I’d taken a day trip that included a stop at the ancient city of Kourion, but on that tour we stopped for less than an hour and only saw a small part of the large archaeological site, so my main aim for the day was to head over there. I’d double checked the bus company website and made sure I’d noted all my connections, spotting that I could get the bus from outside the hotel to the end of it’s route at My Mall, where one of the routes out to Kourion started from.

Or at least where it used to start from. Despite the website saying so, and the app, and the MoovIt app, it turns out that the local bus company discontinued the route three months earlier – just nobody updated anything. The problem was I arrived a few minutes after the timetable said a bus had left and so I had a 40 minute wait for the next one, which I was OK with. It was only after nearly an hours waiting that I finally managed to find a bus driver who was able to explain what had happened – and that my plan for later in the afternoon would also need amending as they’d also removed the bus route that used to serve Kolossi Castle.

So, at about the time I had hoped to be arriving at Kourion I was instead on a little hoppa bus weaving my way across suburban Limassol heading to the central bus station to pick up the bus that now starts from there out to Kourion. By the time I finally reached the archaeological park it was nearly 3 ½ hours since I’d left the hotel.

Thankfully, the closest part of the park to reach were the bits that I hadn’t seen on the previous trip so I was able to spend a couple of hours wandering around the extensive remains of the Roman Agora, Public Baths, a couple of ruined houses and one of the first Christian Basilicas on the island before heading back over towards the visitors centre to have a quick look around the two parts of the site I’d seen previously.

Having now actually seen all of the site I headed back down to the bus stop and caught the bus part of the way back into Limassol, hopping of at Kolossi to revisit the castle there. As with Kourion it was much nicer to be able to wander around the site at my own pace with virtually nobody else there, for most of the time I was the only person inside the castle.

In the original plan I would catch the half-hourly bus that started at the castle back into Limassol, but with that route withdrawn I had to walk the kilometre or so back through the back streets of Kolossi to the main road and pick up the bus back into town from there.

Back in Limassol I had a wander through the old town, mostly because the bus back to the hotel is the only one that doesn’t serve the bus station, sticking to the coast road instead, and finally made it back to the hotel to have a quick freshen up before heading down for dinner.

After dinner I did contemplate a quick swim, but I was feeling quite full so decided it would probably be best just to grab a drink and sit out on my balcony taking in the cool of the night before turning in.

Weather

Light Showers Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
21ºC/70ºF

Limassol; Saturday, 27 January, 2024

I had a later start to the morning, not being amongst the first down for breakfast and consequently was able to sit out on the terrace as they had opened it up for breakfast this morning – there’s nothing quite like having breakfast with the sun on your skin.

After breakfast I headed out of the hotel to pick up the bus to head a couple of kilometres further along the coast road to the very edge of the city sprawl and the site of the ancient city of Amathus. The city was once one of the most important on the island, but by the 12th century it had been abandoned and much of the stone was repatriated into Limassol to help build some of the grand buildings of the new city.

At the same time the changing coastline and sea levels of the Eastern Mediterranean conspired to take the city’s port, with much of it now only visible to snorkelers and divers off the coast of the archaeological site.

There are several large buildings plus the outline of the market to explore and I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the site before it was time to start heading back into town – a feat which proved to be slightly more complicated by the very fast road and the only safe path taking you under the road and out onto the seafront path for a good few hundred meters before you can climb back up to a bus stop.

I picked up the bus back to the hotel and then headed up to my room to change into my swimming trunks and go for another paddle in the sea before retreating back into the hotel’s heated indoor pool for a proper swim.

After my swim I headed back up to my room to shower and freshen up as I had a spa treatment booked for late afternoon, a very pleasant 90 minute hot oil massage followed shortly afterwards by a very filling dinner.

A quick nightcap in the bar and I was ready to turn in for a good nights sleep.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Limassol; Sunday, 28 January, 2024

I think it would be fair to say that there was less to do in Limassol, at least in January, than I’d accounted for in days spent here so I took advantage of not having much planned to have a nice long lie in, a late breakfast and then just to sit out on my balcony in the sun drinking coffee until the time came to checkout of the hotel.

With my luggage left with the hotel I caught the bus into town and hopped off by the Municipal Garden to have a wander around that for a little while, and – as it’s located within it – pay a visit to the city’s zoo.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much there was to see in the zoo, I’d thought I’d be round and out in less than 10 minutes, but there was enough there to fill up nearly an hour.

From the zoo I stopped off at a little seafront kiosk for a quick bite to eat before hopping back on the bus to the hotel.

I had a bit of time to spare before my shuttle back to the airport so I was able to make a quick costume change, swapping the shorts for jeans and grabbing a hoodie out of my luggage for the inevitable cold arrival back into London.

As requested, 15 minutes before my pickup time I was outside the hotel waiting for my shuttle connection back to the airport, turns out that once again nobody else was interested in the service and instead there was a taxi driver already waiting outside who was clearly delighted that he didn’t have to wait around to get going.

An even speedier journey back to the airport – with only two or three near death experiences – than the ride in. I arrived early enough that I was worried checkin might not be open, but it was and there were no queues either, so I can only assume it had opened quite a bit before and had cleared the initial round of people waiting.

Of course with the speedy taxi ride and checkin, and an equally speedy journey through security and immigration, it meant I was at the gate nearly 2 hours before the flight was due to depart for our journey back to London.

Weather

Sunny Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF

Los Cristianos; Wednesday, 21 February, 2024

I’d stayed overnight at an airport hotel and had taken advantage of night before checkin so that after a quick breakfast I was able to check out of the hotel and wander straight through security without needing to stop for anything else.

A smooth flight and a relatively painless journey through the airport at Tenerife, with the only downside of the night before checkin being the bags are always the last off. I made it through with about 10 minutes to wait for the bus into Los Cristianos, only to discover a massive queue at the bus stop which indicated the chances of getting on the first bus were unlikely and it was possible the service wasn’t being particularly reliable.

At 14:15 the 14:00 service finally turned up and it was touch and go if there would be space as it was a large bus with lots of potential standing room. Thankfully I didn’t need to worry as at 14:25 whilst the earlier bus was still loading passengers, and I was still about 10 people from the doors, the 14:30 pulled up so myself and the rest of the queue opted for an extra 5 minute delay but spent sat down in comfort. In the end we followed the earlier bus all the way back into Los Cristianos, arriving directly behind it with nobody standing on our bus.

From the bus stop I walked the 500m or so down towards the seafront and my hotel to checkin, drop off my bags and quickly freshen up before heading out for a wander along the seafront.

Just next door to the hotel was a small ice cream shop, so I decided to get into the holiday spirit by having an ice-cream in the sun, whilst continuing my walk along the seafront.

I walk all the way down to the harbour, but decided that there wasn’t much else to see so headed back to the hotel and paid a trip to the hotels pool, which was suitably refreshing.

Swim completed, and all showered and dried, I was just in time to head down for the start of dinner service in the hotel, which was convenient as I was starting to get quite peckish.

After dinner I had another wander along the seafront at night, but there wasn’t much more to see (other than some people who were already quite well gone from the drink at 8pm!), so after a while I headed back to the hotel to have a night cap and then an early night ready for an early start the next day.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
26ºC/79ºF

Los Cristianos; Thursday, 22 February, 2024

The main reason for staying in Los Cristianos was actually to make it easy to hop across the strait to visit the neighbouring island of La Gomera which has far fewer accommodation options, and to help get to see the island I’d booked a day tour. The tour was originally supposed to start with a pickup from my hotel just before 9am, but whilst halfway through breakfast I got a phone call from the tour guide saying there had been a change of plans and he was going to collect me at 08:30 instead, so I quickly finished off what I was eating, popped up to my room to grab my bag and then head out to the pick-up stop.

The reason for the change was the tour guide having to do two rounds of pickups in the local area as the tour company only had a 7 seater van on Tenerife to match the 15 seater minibus on La Gomera, so he needed to collect 5 of us, drop us off at the ferry terminal, collect the other 5 people on our tour for the day and then get us all together and onto the fast ferry that left at 09:30.

Everyone corralled onto the ferry in time we took the 55 minute journey across to La Gomera, landing in the capital San Sebastián de La Gomera where we were met by the bus for the actual tour. We immediately left San Sebastián and headed straight out of the city on the main road to the West, starting a long but rapid climb up into the volcanic mountain that the island is constructed out of.

Our first stop was at the twin view points of the Mirador Colgado and the Mirador de los Roques. The first view point looks out Northeast over the island which, on a normal day, is covered by a dense fog of cloud caused by the trade winds blowing against the island, in comparison the view from the Mirador de los Roques towards the Southwest should be crisp and clear, with you passing through a cloud of mist and fog as you cross the road. However, a couple of days earlier a Calima (hot dry wind from the Sahara) had passed through the islands making the air dry and clear and the view points both spectacular, although it did mean we missed the advertised horizontal rain and cloud curtains.

Next stop was a quick coffee break in the small village of Temocodá and then on round to the neighbouring village of El Cercado to visit the Centro de Interpretación - Las Loceras. After a quick look around the museum it was then a short drive to the next viewpoint the Mirador Punta del Belete which looks directly down one of the many gorges carved out of the volcano by millennia of water flows. Along with it being a stunning natural feature for the shape of the gorge it also shows the history of the island with the clear bands of when volcanic material was laid down, thick and likely lasting many years during the early volcanic formation of the island and then much narrower representing eruptions that only lasted months in the more recent past.

From the viewpoint we then drove back into the heart of the island to visit the laurisilva forest and then stop for a traditional Canarian lunch in a small restaurant located in the heart of the forest.

After lunch we then drove to the north of the island and visited the Mirador de Abrante located high above the town of Agulo, one of only a handful of towns on the northern coast of the island. It was then a short drive back on ourselves to the Centro de Visitantes Juego de Bolas which has a small garden showing off plants native to the island, an reconstruction of a typical Canarian house from the period of the Spanish conquest, and an exhibition on the whistling language unique to the islands.

We then embarked on a the long, but very scenic, drive back initially along the north coast and then heading deep inland into the mountains before crossing through them in a series of tunnels to emerge about 10Km outside, and a good 2Km above, San Sebastián. A final drive down the mountain side and we arrived back in the city centre with about 40 minutes to spare before we needed to board the ferry back to Tenerife. The tour guide was based in La Gomera so he left us there with just enough time to have a quick self-explore around the city centre before heading back to the ferry terminal.

Whilst we’d been driving back to San Sebastián the clouds of the trade winds had started to form again over the island and with the speed of those winds it had made the sea a little choppy, so the crossing back from La Gomera to Tenerife wasn’t a smooth as the journey out, but we still arrived on time back at the harbour from where we headed back to our hotels individually. It was only 45 minutes later once I was comfortably back in the hotel that I got a phone call from the tour company as there was supposed to be a hotel transfer to meet us, but he’d got stuck in traffic and now couldn’t find any of us!

By the time I’d freshened up and headed down to dinner in was into the last hour of service and it appeared that most of the food had already been eaten with nothing much being refreshed. I was able to get a satisfactory dinner out of what was on offer, but it was hardly the excellent dining opportunity the hotel advertised. Just about sated I had a quick nightcap in the bar before heading back to my room.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Los Cristianos; Friday, 23 February, 2024

I hadn’t originally planned very much for the day, thinking I might just have a day relaxing in the pool or on the beach, but having experienced the size, or lack thereof of the pool and the fact that every sun lounger had been nabbed within minutes of the pool area being opened at 09:30 I decided to do something a bit more active instead.

I headed up to the series of bus stops in the centre of Los Cristianos that make up the bus station, picked up a one day travel ticket for €10 (plus €2 for the plastic card it’s delivered on) and headed off on a public transport tour of the island.

My first leg was the 473 bus North out of Los Cristianos along the Western coast of the island. The first 40 minutes or so were pretty dull as the bus worked its way through the resort towns of Las Americas and Costa Adeje, but once free of the tourist resorts, and the TF-1 Highway, we headed down on winding coastal roads past the banana plantations and open countryside of this part of the island.

I hopped off the 473 in the small town of La Arena, based around a shallow bay with quite impressive rock formations on either side of the bay and a wide sandy beach. I had a little wander around here, but with one eye on the clock as this was the most important connection to make, my next bus only ran three times a day, so I didn’t want to miss it.

Though I needn’t have worried too much as whilst I was wandering along the seafront I saw the inbound bus coming into town, a quarter of an hour late, which turned out to be exactly how late it eventually was when it made its way back for the next leg – the long ride on the 325 up through the mountainous Northwest of the island with another stunning and rapid ascent from sea level to 1000m+ mountain pass in a little over 35 minutes. The route continued through the mountains before a more gradual, but equally impressive, descend down into the small town of Icod before continuing along the main coast road to the end of the line in Puerto de La Cruz.

I spent about an hour wandering around Puerto de La Cruz, heading down to the castle on the seafront and taking the spectacular cliffs in the distance that we’d driven through, before heading back to the bus station to pick up leg three of the day, the number 102 all stops (should have caught the express 103) over to Santa Cruz.

After leaving Puerto de La Cruz this bus again climbed up into the mountains, although this time it was almost exclusively along the main highway across this part of the island. As we ascended up into the higher parts of the route the clouds closed in and we went through a pretty impressive rain storm which had the immediate effect of causing all the traffic to grind to a halt and what should have taken less than an hour to get across to Santa Cruz ended up taking over 90 minutes.

The rain had eased off to a light drizzle, accompanied by a warm sun and a rainbow, as we arrived into Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital of the island and the joint capital of the Canaries (along with La Palma de Gran Canaria). I did consider going for a wander, but with the delay on the previous bus and very long lines for all the buses heading back to Los Cristianos at the bus station I decided it was probably best to continue moving.

I’d just missed the 112 express bus back to Los Cristianos, but decided as it was express without any stops it was probably best to wait for the one a half hour later, at least with the advantage of being number 2 in the queue, given the queues for the stopping buses were already pretty long. It turned out to be a good plan, as the stopping buses appeared to be in a mess and only one put in an appearance whilst I waited for my bus, leaving just a couple of minutes ahead of mine and leaving a fair number of people behind. My 112 service powered down the motorway all the way to the turn off to Los Cristianos where it promptly joined a traffic jam stretching all the way from the town centre, which eventually took us over 30 minutes to inch our way the kilometre or so down to the bus stop.

Back in Los Cristianos, now close to the end of dinner time, I headed back to the hotel and had another unsatisfactory dinner before heading back to my room and turning in for the night.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Los Cristianos; Saturday, 24 February, 2024

I had a bit of a lie-in as my activity for the day didn’t start until 11am, and was starting from the building directly opposite the hotel on the seafront. I’d booked onto a scenic bike tour with cheese and wine tasting which sounded like quite the gentile and relaxed trip.

Of course it’s less gentile when after meeting down on the sea front you all get in a van and drive the 29Km to the Parque Recreativo de las Lajas, located some 2,200m above sea level up the side of Mount Teide and then the cycling is all back down the side of a mountain with the breaks on full pretty much the whole way.

The first part of the tour heads down the main mountain road, stopping off at the Mirador de Vilaflor where you can take in the views of the clouds below you and in the distance the sea a very long way below you. Its then back onto the main road and down into the town of Vilaflor itself, the highest town in Spain where we left the main road and started to wind our way down the mountain on smaller secondary roads.

After about 90 minutes of continuous downhill we reached the Bodega Reverón where we stopped for the Cheese and Wine tasting before remounting our bikes and continuing our descent. A short while later we pulled over at the side of the small lane we were on to take in the views down onto the coast and back up the mountain, at which point our guide proudly announced we’d reached the mid-point of our descent altitude wise, we’d come down 1,100m and only had another 1,100m to go except it would be squeezed into about 10Km of travelling, rather than the 19Km we’d done so far, which meant some of the road were going to be at 25%.

The remainder of the descent can mostly be described as a mixture of terror and aching hands, back and legs. The hands from having to grip the breaks with full strength most of the time just to keep the bikes speed down, back from having to sit bolt upright to avoid over-balancing the bike and legs from cramping for being in the same position on the pedals, never actually peddling, just resting, all the way down. Not helped by the final 5Km being on the busy main road into town, including cycling onto and navigating the main slip-road from the motorway into Los Cristianos and the very busy highway into the centre of town.

By the time I was back at the hotel I was exhausted, in some discomfort and in need of a stiff drink – a solution to all of those coming in the form of a relaxing float in the hotel pool and then a beer whilst soaking up the late afternoon sun, having managed to find a sun lounger that had been vacated.

Feeling much more relaxed I headed back up to my room to have a shower and then headed down to be in the queue when the doors opened for dinner, which turned out to be the way to do it as there was plentiful, if not particularly inspiring, food. I was at least able to have a reasonable dinner before heading to the bar for a quick drink and then an early night to try and rest my still slightly aching body.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Sunny Intervals
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
23ºC/73ºF

Los Cristianos; Sunday, 25 February, 2024

I had a relatively early start so that I could grab breakfast and check-out of the hotel in time to walk round to the harbour and pick up my whale watching tour that I’d booked for 10:30.

After leaving the commercial and tourist harbour in Los Cristianos the boat headed out into the strait that runs between La Gomera and Tenerife and is home to around 400 Short Fin Pilot Whales.

We were sailing out to sea for about 30 minutes before we encountered a pod of whales complete with mum, dad and several juvenile whales. The boat switched off it’s engine and we just drifted along side them taking in the majestic beauty of these amazing creatures. The company I’d booked with has a strict no-chase policy so when the whales eventually decided to head off further out into the strait the boat turned and headed slightly further along the coast to see if there were any other pods, or for sightings of the other local resident – Bottlenose Dolphins.

We did spot a couple of dolphins, but they were too far in the distance to be able to get clear photos of, and there were several other ships near them so the captain decided it was better to stay away from them.

Having seen the Pilot Whales and just about seeing the Dolphins we headed back into harbour ready for us to disembark and the 12:30 tour (which looked much fuller than our less than half-full boat load) to embark.

I had a wander back along the seafront, stopping off for a quick bite of lunch in a café, before heading back to the hotel and collecting my luggage.

If I’d learnt anything from the journey in it was to avoid the main busy points on the air bus route so rather then heading to the main bus stop in the centre of Los Cristianos, I, instead, headed the 500m or so back to the previous stop where I was able to board a mostly empty bus stow my luggage in the rack and get a comfortable seat before the bedlam at the next stop where the bus went from mostly empty to totally full in a couple of minutes.

Ignoring how busy it was I had a smooth journey back to the airport and waited for the crush to unload itself before grabbing my bag as one of the last off and then heading into the terminal to check-in for my flight that I already knew was going to be heavily delayed due to delays at Gatwick and very strong headwinds.

By the time we finally pushed back we were 50 minutes late, but the captain was optimistic of not being to late getting back to Gatwick, after all the strong headwinds on the way down meant we were looking at some very strong tailwinds on the way back. The inbound flight had taken over 4½ hours to make the journey down. Our pilot was predicting just 3½ hours to get back home.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Hot (20-30C, 68-86F)
24ºC/75ºF

Segovia; Thursday, 14 March, 2024

With a late evening flight, I was able to finish work at the normal time and then head down to Gatwick, with all the train connections working perfectly I still had nearly 2 hours by the time I reached the airport.

A smooth journey through the airport, though slight delays in getting the boarding process going as Iberia had swapped out the A320 for a larger A321 plane, creating more rows of business, moving the exit rows and throwing a lot of seating plans into confusion, at least half the plane was having to have new boarding cards issues at the gate, but despite all that we still pushed back within a couple of minutes of our booked time.

Unfortunately, our pushback coincided with a significant deterioration in the weather at Gatwick and a flurry of landing planes, which meant it was 40 minutes before we were airborne and despite it being an uneventful flight we were still 15 minutes late landing at Madrid.

Thankfully, being at the front of the plane meant that I was able to get through immigration whilst there were only a couple of rows of passengers ahead of me and with hand luggage only, I was through customs and out to the arrivals hall in reasonable time.

With almost perfect timing as I reached the bus stop the shuttle bus to my hotel for the night pulled up and shortly after midnight, I was all tucked up in my hotel room.

Weather

No Data Cloudy
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
17ºC/63ºF

Segovia; Friday, 15 March, 2024

The hotel I was staying in was a very business oriented one, so consequently when I wandered down to breakfast just after 9am there were only a handful of other guests in the large dining room, and when I hopped on the airport shuttle 90 minutes late I was the only guest so the drive could head straight back to Terminal 4 without needing to visit the other terminals first.

I caught the Cercanías train from the airport over to Madrid-Charmatin station where I changed for my Avant high speed regional train onto Segovia. The traditional rail route from Madrid to Segovia winds its way up through mountain passes taking nearly 2 hours to make the 60-mile journey, and now only runs a handful of times a day. The Avant trains use the high-speed line that just blast through the base of the mountains at about 150 miles an hour, making the journey in 28 minutes and about every hour.

The only downside of using the Avant is that the high-speed station, Segovia-Guiomar is 4 miles from the city centre, but thankfully the local bus service connects with each train so within a few minutes of getting off the train I was sat on the number 11 bus for the 15 minute ride right into the heart of the old town, dropped off at the foot of the Aqueduct and only a 5 minute walk from my hotel.

Because of good connection I arrived nearly two hours before the official checkin time, but thankfully my room was already available so I was able to checkin, drop off my bags and then head back out to explore the city.

I had a bit of a wander through the old town that sits on a rocky outcrop high above the surrounding countryside, so everywhere is either uphill or downhill. I decided to head downhill first, back towards the most famous sight of the city – it’s Roman Aqueduct that has been dominating the landscape for nearly 2,000 years. However, just beyond the aqueduct, and getting ready to head out on its next tour was the City Sightseeing hop-on-hop-off open-top bus, so I decided to take that first to get a better overview of the city.

I did one full loop of the city, arriving back just as the skies decided they would like to open, so rather than stay on for a wet repeat tour I hopped off the bus and had a brief wander around the Aqueduct area, making use of the shelter offered by both the structure and nearby buildings. The rain only lasted for about 20 minutes so after a brief look round I was able to head back to the bus stop and pick up the next tour as the number of sights from the bus were enough to warrant going round once on each side.

The second tour round was mostly in beautiful, and warm, sunshine and I was able to take in the stunning views of the city centre as the bus heads out into the surrounding hills for views across to the rocky outcrop that the city sit upon.

Back in the city centre I had a bit more of a wander around the Aqueduct area before climbing up the steps to the gateway in the city walls where the aqueduct meets the ancient city fortifications and from here took in the stunning views both of the aqueduct itself as well as the city. I started to head further into the walled city of the town, but my wander was quickly interrupted by the need to wait under a balcony as another hefty shower briefly passed through.

With the shower passed I continued to wander making it to the Plaza Mayor at the centre of the old town and next to it the Cathedral. I popped into the cathedral to have a look around and afterwards headed to a bar in the Plaza for a quick drink, and a snack to help sustain me through the next couple of hours until the restaurants started serving at 9pm. After my drink and snack I had a bit more of a wander around the city centre before heading back to my hotel.

Just before 9pm I headed out of the hotel to go for a wander, both to take in the sights at night and also to try and track down somewhere to eat. I eventually found a nice bar serving tapas just off of the square that the aqueduct crosses and was able to fill up there before a final wander and return to my hotel.

Weather

Sunny Intervals Light Showers
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
16ºC/61ºF

Segovia; Saturday, 16 March, 2024

The bed in the hotel room turned out to not be that comfortable, and consequently I didn’t need my alarm to go off as I was already awake long before I’d set it, which wasn’t helped by the hotel not starting breakfast until 9am, which was clearly too early for many of my fellow guests as I was the only person down just after 9 to eat and then, after a quick freshen up, heading out into town.

I wandered through the centre of the old town and down to the very end of the hill that the city sits on to the Alcázar, the royal castle that dominates the end of the peninsular with it’s triangular shape not dissimilar to the bow of a ship. Despite getting there early I had still been beaten by at least half a dozen tour groups on day trips from Madrid, unsurprising as the Alcázar is in the top 10 for most visited monuments in Spain.

I was able to work around the tour groups and spent quite a bit of time wandering through the rooms open to the public taking in the opulent rooms and the excellent views from the terraces and walls of the fortification. I then headed over to the onsite café which had one of the best views of both the Alcázar and the Cathedral, as well as having some really good churros.

Sated with Churros con Chocolate and beer I headed back in towards the centre of the old town, following the line of the city walls until I reached the Puerta de San Andrés, one of the gateways into the old city which is open to look around, along with a small stub of the original city walls that you can walk along.

From the gate I headed up into the Plaza Mayor to stop for a late lunch in the main square, before heading back to my nearby hotel room to freshen up (and charge my phone which I’d managed to run dangerously low on battery). It was also a convenient time to take a break as most of the museums are closed in the middle part of the afternoon, reopening at 4pm.

So, just after 15:30, I headed back out of the hotel, crossed the old city and descended down the hill from the Alcázar to the former Royal Mint located down on the banks of the Río Eresma, which used the power of the river to turn the machinery to make money. The Royal Mint of Segovia was responsible for producing coins of the kingdom from the 1500s to the 1800s before production was centralised in Madrid. Today the former mint is now a museum telling the history of both the mint and the broader topic of money itself.

From the mint I could have hiked back up the hill into the city centre, but I decided, especially as one was due within 10 minutes, to catch the bus back up the hill, through the city centre and onto the start of the aqueduct.

The course of the canals and rivers that have fed the aqueduct have changed over the centuries, but they all eventually came to one point where the land starts to fall away and creates the need for an aqueduct to cross into the old city. At this point there is now a stone structure that surrounds the aqueduct itself which acts as a marker point and so you can look through the structure itself and along the course of the water channel running down the middle of the aqueduct.

A short walk further on and you reach a restored sand trap – a large building that straddles the aqueduct and was used to remove sand, leaves and any other debris that had made it into the water – a kind of Roman water treatment plant. From here the height of the aqueduct builds rapidly, firstly with a solid wall before that gives way to 75 simple and then 44 double arches. You can walk alongside the structure all the way as it slowly towers high above you as you descend down into the main plaza at the start of the old town and then climb back up the other side to meet the aqueduct and city walls.

After taking in the aqueduct and a bit more of the city centre I headed back to my hotel to freshen up, before heading out a bit later to have a wander around the city at night, taking in the Alcázar and the Puerta de San Andrés before heading back towards the Plaza Mayor to grab a quick bite to eat before turning in.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
19ºC/66ºF

Segovia; Sunday, 17 March, 2024

As my coach back to Madrid was booked for 1pm, and I didn’t have to check out until midday, I decided – after another almost deserted breakfast – to head out into town first and do some further exploring before checking out.

I headed back down part way towards the Alcázar to stop off at the Museo de Segovia. The museum is housed in an old building located directly on the city walls, the Casa del Sol. The museum has exhibits on the history of the area from pre-historic times through to the late 19th century as well as some stunning views across to the Alcázar.

I spent just over an hour looking round the museum, and then it was time to head back to the hotel, but before I went to pack my bag I took advantage of one of the benefits of staying where I was to head up onto the roof garden of the hotel, from where there were stunning views right across the city – the only thing not visible being the Alcázar, blocked from view by the imposing might of the cathedral.

Need for views finally sated I headed back down to my room to pack, checkout and wander down to the bus station to catch the coach back into Madrid.

When I’d originally booked my train tickets there was a gap in the service with the option of either a train at 10:25 or nothing until 15:00, which would have been cutting it really fine to make it back out to the airport in time, so I’d booked the coach. As it turned out a few weeks later Renfe opened up additional trains, but given these were already selling at €30, against my €4 coach I decided to stick to the bus.

It turned out to be a good choice as I was able to get the front row seat for a very picturesque journey up into the mountains that divide Segovia from Madrid, albeit at some point the motorway builders decided they were fed up with all the uphill and downhill building so a significant part is cut off by a long tunnel through the mountains.

Back in Madrid I hopped on the metro from the Moncloa bus station back to Nuevos Ministerios to pick up the airport metro out to Madrid-Barajas and my flight home.

Weather

Sunny Haze
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
18ºC/64ºF