Maudies Trip Report - 8 weeks in Europe
Jun 23rd, 2007, 03:59 AM
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Maudies Trip Report - 8 weeks in Europe
Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who answered my endless questions and those who unknowingly let me absorb all this great information as I lurked on this board and became thoroughly addicted over the past two years of planning and researching our first European holiday.
To set the scene, DH and I are both 51, we live on the West Coast of Australia, about 10 minutes driving time to our capital city of Perth and about 15 minutes to the port of Fremantle and our beautiful white clean beaches. Our son is 22 and putting himself through University, our 19 year old daughter is a TA for Air Mauritius. As a lot of good things begin with a bottle of wine so did the plans for our trip. We were talking about the Norwegian Coastal Voyage with our friends of 30 years, N & R. We then and there decided, in two years time, we would “go for it”. Our younger children were both still in school so we needed to wait until they were a little older and we also needed the time to save, save, save. After lots and lots of researching and throwing all our ideas around we came up with our final itinerary for 8 weeks in Europe. As it takes so long for us to get there and costs just over $2000AUD per person we decided to all take long service leave from our jobs and have the time of our lives. N had spent some months in Europe 30 years before and some time in Denmark in later years where his wife, R, was born.
We booked our flights on Singapore Airlines, for the long hauls, we have flown with them before and always had excellent service and food (yes good airline food!) and our internal flights through SAS – we found their website easy to use, had instant confirmation by email, flight times suited us and also the fact that they use major airports and we didn’t have to waste time and money getting into cities. All our accommodation was booked via the internet, some recommendations from this board others were just “pot luck” as they were in the right price range.
I will try and condense this as much as possible as I am sure you don’t want to hear about very little thing did and saw along the way and many places have been covered endlessly before, however please ask away if there is anything you wish to know or that I can elaborate on.
The best advice I received from this board – pack your sense of humor and be flexible not everything will go as planned.
The worst advice received – do the Ospizio Bernina to Alp Grum walk in Switzerland, it was like a moonscape, we half expected Triffids to come wheezing over the next hill, the view at Alp Grum however made it all worthwhile and we did walk off those extra glasses of wine from the night before.
To set the scene, DH and I are both 51, we live on the West Coast of Australia, about 10 minutes driving time to our capital city of Perth and about 15 minutes to the port of Fremantle and our beautiful white clean beaches. Our son is 22 and putting himself through University, our 19 year old daughter is a TA for Air Mauritius. As a lot of good things begin with a bottle of wine so did the plans for our trip. We were talking about the Norwegian Coastal Voyage with our friends of 30 years, N & R. We then and there decided, in two years time, we would “go for it”. Our younger children were both still in school so we needed to wait until they were a little older and we also needed the time to save, save, save. After lots and lots of researching and throwing all our ideas around we came up with our final itinerary for 8 weeks in Europe. As it takes so long for us to get there and costs just over $2000AUD per person we decided to all take long service leave from our jobs and have the time of our lives. N had spent some months in Europe 30 years before and some time in Denmark in later years where his wife, R, was born.
We booked our flights on Singapore Airlines, for the long hauls, we have flown with them before and always had excellent service and food (yes good airline food!) and our internal flights through SAS – we found their website easy to use, had instant confirmation by email, flight times suited us and also the fact that they use major airports and we didn’t have to waste time and money getting into cities. All our accommodation was booked via the internet, some recommendations from this board others were just “pot luck” as they were in the right price range.
I will try and condense this as much as possible as I am sure you don’t want to hear about very little thing did and saw along the way and many places have been covered endlessly before, however please ask away if there is anything you wish to know or that I can elaborate on.
The best advice I received from this board – pack your sense of humor and be flexible not everything will go as planned.
The worst advice received – do the Ospizio Bernina to Alp Grum walk in Switzerland, it was like a moonscape, we half expected Triffids to come wheezing over the next hill, the view at Alp Grum however made it all worthwhile and we did walk off those extra glasses of wine from the night before.
Jun 23rd, 2007, 04:00 AM
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Haarlem area – Netherlands 4 days
We left Perth on April 25 and landed at Amsterdam early the following morning and picked up our nearly brand new VW Passat hire car. We managed to stow 4 suitcases and backpacks and took off with N driving as it is the wrong side of the road for us and he has driven in Europe before and DH as navigator which took some getting used to for him but after a couple of wrong exits and finding our way back onto the motorway we made it to our first B & B, De Telescope in Spaarndam West. Nice breakfast,,clean, simple accommodation. http://www.detelescoop.nl/newpage2.htm
We off- loaded our luggage and set off in the car to explore and ended up in Alkmaar for the afternoon which was very pretty and we were glad we had seen it without the cheese parade that happens on a Friday. Had our first Frites with curry mayo – heavenly. We drove onto the Dijk that connects Noord Holland to Friesland to a look around and a hot chocolate.
Up early to get to the Aalsmeer flower auction we got lost, took the wrong elevator and ended up being shown around by a retired employee and who took us around the floor where all the carts were whizzing by and shown heaps more than the average tourist gets to see. What a piece of luck. Went to the tulip fields at Hillegom but the weather had been very warm and the tulips were about 4 days past their best but still an amazing site. Ended up in Delft for the afternoon, nice to see but very touristy.
A wonderful day spent at Keukenhof but again the warm weather had taken its toll on the flowers and the staff were talking about closing some of the displays as they were really past their prime. Managed to spend a couple of hours at Zaanse Schans late in the afternoon.
We drove to Katwijk Am Zee to take a river cruise but the town was fairly closed up being a Sunday so we drove on to Den Haag and found our way to Scheveningen beach which was just awful – highrise buildings, dark sand, bungy jumping, Bali style shops, we realized how spoilt we are at home with our pristine white sand and clear blue sea and we fight for no highrise, now I know why! A quick look at the International Courts of Justice and back to Katwijk for our 3 hour river trip. http://www.rederijtriton.nl/
Saw polders and windmills and hundreds of people enjoying a beautiful Sunday out on their boats, a very pleasant relaxing afternoon.
We left Perth on April 25 and landed at Amsterdam early the following morning and picked up our nearly brand new VW Passat hire car. We managed to stow 4 suitcases and backpacks and took off with N driving as it is the wrong side of the road for us and he has driven in Europe before and DH as navigator which took some getting used to for him but after a couple of wrong exits and finding our way back onto the motorway we made it to our first B & B, De Telescope in Spaarndam West. Nice breakfast,,clean, simple accommodation. http://www.detelescoop.nl/newpage2.htm
We off- loaded our luggage and set off in the car to explore and ended up in Alkmaar for the afternoon which was very pretty and we were glad we had seen it without the cheese parade that happens on a Friday. Had our first Frites with curry mayo – heavenly. We drove onto the Dijk that connects Noord Holland to Friesland to a look around and a hot chocolate.
Up early to get to the Aalsmeer flower auction we got lost, took the wrong elevator and ended up being shown around by a retired employee and who took us around the floor where all the carts were whizzing by and shown heaps more than the average tourist gets to see. What a piece of luck. Went to the tulip fields at Hillegom but the weather had been very warm and the tulips were about 4 days past their best but still an amazing site. Ended up in Delft for the afternoon, nice to see but very touristy.
A wonderful day spent at Keukenhof but again the warm weather had taken its toll on the flowers and the staff were talking about closing some of the displays as they were really past their prime. Managed to spend a couple of hours at Zaanse Schans late in the afternoon.
We drove to Katwijk Am Zee to take a river cruise but the town was fairly closed up being a Sunday so we drove on to Den Haag and found our way to Scheveningen beach which was just awful – highrise buildings, dark sand, bungy jumping, Bali style shops, we realized how spoilt we are at home with our pristine white sand and clear blue sea and we fight for no highrise, now I know why! A quick look at the International Courts of Justice and back to Katwijk for our 3 hour river trip. http://www.rederijtriton.nl/
Saw polders and windmills and hundreds of people enjoying a beautiful Sunday out on their boats, a very pleasant relaxing afternoon.
Jun 23rd, 2007, 04:40 AM
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Bruges – 3 days
Visit to UNESCO site at Kinderdijk on our way to Brugges,then the landscape, houses and state of the roads all became very different and poorly maintained compared to the Netherlands. Fought our way through the masses of people and parked in the underground carpark. N was happy to park the car as there were many one way streets and it was not an easy task to drive or navigate. Stayed at Bruges B&B which was built in 1652 but oh that circular staircase was a killer. http://www.bedandbreakfastbruges.be/
The owner, Annemie, was a very chic Belgian lady and the style of house mirrored her image, very comfortable rooms, clean and a good breakfast. Spent the rest of the day checking out chocolate shops and all the wonderful old buildings – we really enjoyed Bruges, it was so interesting.
It’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium and so it was! Up early for a lovely walk before the day trippers took over, so quiet and peaceful, wonderful for photography too. Decided to spend the day at Flanders, it was ANZAC day when we left so this day was our own private day of remembrance. We visited the Diksmuide Trench of Death – so very sad. Paid our respects to our “Diggers” at a small cemetery in the middle of a farmer’s field. This and so many, many more are kept in pristine condition by the Belgian Government and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission I believe. Spent a couple of hours at “In Flanders Fields Museum” in the Cloth Hall which was very well done. We drove to the Tyne Cote Cemetery and left a sprig of wattle (our floral symbol) and back to Ypres for dinner then to the very moving last post ceremony at Menin Gate before driving back to Bruges – daylight saving makes this easy.
Spent the next day wandering the food market – yum! We then did a bus trip around the city and were able to mark things on our map for exploring later that afternoon. Paid a visit to the Chocolate Museum (of course), spent some money in L’occitane, some time in the Minnewater and some time over a couple of Leffe Blond beers.
Our final morning was spent on a canal boat ride, very enjoyable to see Bruges from a different perspective but we had the pain of all pains for our boat driver and we couldn’t hear very much of what he said over the noise of the engine. Although he made sure we all heard his hints for a tip – we would have obliged had he not made it so very obvious.
Packed, we headed into Amsterdam to drop off the car.
Visit to UNESCO site at Kinderdijk on our way to Brugges,then the landscape, houses and state of the roads all became very different and poorly maintained compared to the Netherlands. Fought our way through the masses of people and parked in the underground carpark. N was happy to park the car as there were many one way streets and it was not an easy task to drive or navigate. Stayed at Bruges B&B which was built in 1652 but oh that circular staircase was a killer. http://www.bedandbreakfastbruges.be/
The owner, Annemie, was a very chic Belgian lady and the style of house mirrored her image, very comfortable rooms, clean and a good breakfast. Spent the rest of the day checking out chocolate shops and all the wonderful old buildings – we really enjoyed Bruges, it was so interesting.
It’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium and so it was! Up early for a lovely walk before the day trippers took over, so quiet and peaceful, wonderful for photography too. Decided to spend the day at Flanders, it was ANZAC day when we left so this day was our own private day of remembrance. We visited the Diksmuide Trench of Death – so very sad. Paid our respects to our “Diggers” at a small cemetery in the middle of a farmer’s field. This and so many, many more are kept in pristine condition by the Belgian Government and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission I believe. Spent a couple of hours at “In Flanders Fields Museum” in the Cloth Hall which was very well done. We drove to the Tyne Cote Cemetery and left a sprig of wattle (our floral symbol) and back to Ypres for dinner then to the very moving last post ceremony at Menin Gate before driving back to Bruges – daylight saving makes this easy.
Spent the next day wandering the food market – yum! We then did a bus trip around the city and were able to mark things on our map for exploring later that afternoon. Paid a visit to the Chocolate Museum (of course), spent some money in L’occitane, some time in the Minnewater and some time over a couple of Leffe Blond beers.
Our final morning was spent on a canal boat ride, very enjoyable to see Bruges from a different perspective but we had the pain of all pains for our boat driver and we couldn’t hear very much of what he said over the noise of the engine. Although he made sure we all heard his hints for a tip – we would have obliged had he not made it so very obvious.
Packed, we headed into Amsterdam to drop off the car.
Jun 23rd, 2007, 05:11 AM
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Amsterdam – 3 days
Boogaards B&B is fantastic, Peter, the owner, is a very genial host. We had two rooms on the top floor with a shared bathroom and wonderful BIG soft towels. Also access to the utility room which was equipped with a coffee machine, fresh cake daily, fridge that was stocked with juice, beer and soft drinks. http://www.boogaardsbnb.com/contact.html
The rooms were lovely and we had our own private tiny roof terrace to sit out on, made a great spot for a picnic dinner or a quiet beer. Wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again, Peter also made a laptop computer available for us. Found a nice Thai Restaurant for dinner that night.
An early morning walk to the flower market, I could have purchased every bunch! Then back for Peter’s pancakes. After we waddled out we purchased a Canal bus pass just down the road and spent a couple of lazy hours riding the canals. We ended up at the Van Gogh Museum for a couple of hours then the Diamond Museum . We took the canal bus back into the city centre, I found the area around Dam Square to be very dirty and sleazy, didn’t like it at all. Back to the canal and Anne Frank House but when we got there it was closing early – quite a few very disappointed people. We walked back to the B&B along some lovely canals, I liked this area so much better.
Tried Anne Frank House again the next morning but the line was huge so we just wandered the canals, DH and I were lucky to stumble upon the local markets and had a wonderful morning sampling the food and talking to people, we even came across a funeral parade complete with horses and an amazing white draped carriage that carried the coffin. Spent the afternoon at the Heineken Experience, which was great fun and included 3 beers in the entrance fee, we couldn’t fit in the last one so we gave our vouchers to a couple of young Aussie backpackers – they of course were ever so grateful.
Picked up a picnic dinner and dropped in our fridge then finally found the line at Anne Franks was fairly small so we jumped in and waited about ½ an hour, that was a very sobering experience.
We were sorry to say farewell to the Netherlands, our first European experience but it was time to move on to Denmark. Peter had organized a van to take us to the airport
Boogaards B&B is fantastic, Peter, the owner, is a very genial host. We had two rooms on the top floor with a shared bathroom and wonderful BIG soft towels. Also access to the utility room which was equipped with a coffee machine, fresh cake daily, fridge that was stocked with juice, beer and soft drinks. http://www.boogaardsbnb.com/contact.html
The rooms were lovely and we had our own private tiny roof terrace to sit out on, made a great spot for a picnic dinner or a quiet beer. Wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again, Peter also made a laptop computer available for us. Found a nice Thai Restaurant for dinner that night.
An early morning walk to the flower market, I could have purchased every bunch! Then back for Peter’s pancakes. After we waddled out we purchased a Canal bus pass just down the road and spent a couple of lazy hours riding the canals. We ended up at the Van Gogh Museum for a couple of hours then the Diamond Museum . We took the canal bus back into the city centre, I found the area around Dam Square to be very dirty and sleazy, didn’t like it at all. Back to the canal and Anne Frank House but when we got there it was closing early – quite a few very disappointed people. We walked back to the B&B along some lovely canals, I liked this area so much better.
Tried Anne Frank House again the next morning but the line was huge so we just wandered the canals, DH and I were lucky to stumble upon the local markets and had a wonderful morning sampling the food and talking to people, we even came across a funeral parade complete with horses and an amazing white draped carriage that carried the coffin. Spent the afternoon at the Heineken Experience, which was great fun and included 3 beers in the entrance fee, we couldn’t fit in the last one so we gave our vouchers to a couple of young Aussie backpackers – they of course were ever so grateful.
Picked up a picnic dinner and dropped in our fridge then finally found the line at Anne Franks was fairly small so we jumped in and waited about ½ an hour, that was a very sobering experience.
We were sorry to say farewell to the Netherlands, our first European experience but it was time to move on to Denmark. Peter had organized a van to take us to the airport
Jun 23rd, 2007, 11:14 AM
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Hello Maudie, what a charming and interesting trip report! I know it will take a lot of time but I hope you will be able to share all of your two months in Europe with us. I love the outdoor markets also and I always want to buy all of the flowers. Best regards.
Jun 23rd, 2007, 06:00 PM
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Thanks for the positive reactions, I have never done this before and hope I am not boring you to death but I guess you will stop reading if I am!
I know 8 weeks is a long time but I am determined to finish and maybe someone might just get one little piece of helpful information.
I know 8 weeks is a long time but I am determined to finish and maybe someone might just get one little piece of helpful information.
Jun 23rd, 2007, 06:01 PM
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Copenhagen – 2 days
I had a full on body search by a very butch security person as we were leaving Schipol, she was very rough. I know they have a job to do and they are looking after our safety but I left quite violated standing in full public view while she ran her hands all over me including inside my bra. In fact it was quite creepy, ugh! We had a very nice flight nevertheless, with clear blue skies we could watch all the lovely scenery unfold below us, crops and crops of yellow rapeseed.
We stayed at the Hotel Nebo in the old red light district which is being cleaned up, it was almost over the road from the railway station so it was in an excellent position for getting around. If only those walls could speak! Our economy room was pretty basic, single beds with a washbasin, desk and wardrobe, shower room and toilets down the hall, it was old but very clean and as we were not spending much time there it suited us and the budget just fine. Nice staff too and it had a lift – bonus. Great breakfast too.
It did feel a bit like the seamier side of town but walking through the station it was amazing to find ourselves in quite a different part of town. Did a most enjoyable canal tour then we walked the famous shopping street, Stroget, saw H C Andersens statue and some nice buildings until we reached Nyhaven, on a sunny Sunday afternoon it was very much like Fremantle with lots of people at outdoor cafes and families enjoying themselves – we felt right at home here. After a light meal we went to Tivoli and spent a couple of hours enjoying the sights and sounds. We were lucky enough to catch a swing band and symphony orchestra.
The next day we sent R ahead of us to visit with her family in Svendborg where she grew up. It is one of Denmark’s many islands and is linked to the mainland by the Great Belt Bridge. R’s mother is quite elderly and this maybe her last chance to visit so time spent with her mother was precious.
We did all the tourist sites, Round Tower, saw the bridge to Sweden, we followed the Guards walking to the Castle to relieve the night watch, and then the changing of the Guards at Amalienborg Castle, no Fred or Mary in sight though as this was only a week or so after the birth of the princess. Though I did see a lovely floral tribute in the shape of a cane pram filled with pink flowers on the harbor outside the castle. We even walked up the aisle of the Church they were married in.
We visited the wonderful Marble Church, David’s statue, King Neptune, Little Mermaid, we walked miles that day. Even saw the horseguards practicing for some special event, possibly the christening. To rest our aching feet we caught a train up to Kronberg Castle and had a wander around then watched the ferries loading cars and trucks for the crossing to Sweden which was just across the Sound.
I had a full on body search by a very butch security person as we were leaving Schipol, she was very rough. I know they have a job to do and they are looking after our safety but I left quite violated standing in full public view while she ran her hands all over me including inside my bra. In fact it was quite creepy, ugh! We had a very nice flight nevertheless, with clear blue skies we could watch all the lovely scenery unfold below us, crops and crops of yellow rapeseed.
We stayed at the Hotel Nebo in the old red light district which is being cleaned up, it was almost over the road from the railway station so it was in an excellent position for getting around. If only those walls could speak! Our economy room was pretty basic, single beds with a washbasin, desk and wardrobe, shower room and toilets down the hall, it was old but very clean and as we were not spending much time there it suited us and the budget just fine. Nice staff too and it had a lift – bonus. Great breakfast too.
It did feel a bit like the seamier side of town but walking through the station it was amazing to find ourselves in quite a different part of town. Did a most enjoyable canal tour then we walked the famous shopping street, Stroget, saw H C Andersens statue and some nice buildings until we reached Nyhaven, on a sunny Sunday afternoon it was very much like Fremantle with lots of people at outdoor cafes and families enjoying themselves – we felt right at home here. After a light meal we went to Tivoli and spent a couple of hours enjoying the sights and sounds. We were lucky enough to catch a swing band and symphony orchestra.
The next day we sent R ahead of us to visit with her family in Svendborg where she grew up. It is one of Denmark’s many islands and is linked to the mainland by the Great Belt Bridge. R’s mother is quite elderly and this maybe her last chance to visit so time spent with her mother was precious.
We did all the tourist sites, Round Tower, saw the bridge to Sweden, we followed the Guards walking to the Castle to relieve the night watch, and then the changing of the Guards at Amalienborg Castle, no Fred or Mary in sight though as this was only a week or so after the birth of the princess. Though I did see a lovely floral tribute in the shape of a cane pram filled with pink flowers on the harbor outside the castle. We even walked up the aisle of the Church they were married in.
We visited the wonderful Marble Church, David’s statue, King Neptune, Little Mermaid, we walked miles that day. Even saw the horseguards practicing for some special event, possibly the christening. To rest our aching feet we caught a train up to Kronberg Castle and had a wander around then watched the ferries loading cars and trucks for the crossing to Sweden which was just across the Sound.
Jun 23rd, 2007, 06:01 PM
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Svendborg, Denmark – 4 days
We had booked a hire car and picked up another VW Passat, even newer than the last one, under 100 on the clock and don’t you just love that new car smell? N was happy as he had got used to the other car so it was smooth sailing.
Our first stop was Roskilde Church, another UNESCO site, where all the Danish royals are buried, it was quite interesting to see how the tombs/coffins etc changed over the years as fashions changed. We then traveled onto the Viking Museum, 5 ships have been raised from a riverbed, they were sunk there countless years ago to block an invasion. The ships were built around 1000AD in Galway, Ireland. A replica has been made of the biggest ship and will make a journey to Galway in July 2007, I believe you can follow its progress on an internet site.
We arrived in Svendborg and visited R’s mum, we then crossed to another island and found our little cottage at Troense on a Sound looking back at Svendborg. It was so pretty, thatched roof, rounded attic windows and that amazing view. The owners live in one half and the other is rented out. We had our own entrance, decent size bathroom, small but adequate kitchen area with a table then a sitting room with TV. Upstairs a large landing area with two single beds and another room with two single beds. Our only complaint was the quality of the towels, must have been the landladies old ones but we did politely point out to her that new ones would be much nicer!
There is a great bakery in the village so it was hot Danish to start the day. We dropped R to her mum’s and spent the rest of the day touring around the countryside, and even going across the Middlefart Bridge (don’t you just love that name). We drove through a pretty forest and up to Himmelbjurg , which is the highest point in Denmark – it was freezing so hot chocolate and back in the car with the heater going we moved on to Silkeborg to see the Bogman and Bogwoman at the museum. Vow to wear warmer clothing tomorrow.
Spent the morning in Svendborg and did some damage to the credit card. The kitchen shops there are just fabulous – plain, simple but oh so stylish Scandanavian designs, just love them. Climbed to the top of Bregninge Church but it was so windy we had to hold onto our glasses and it was impossible to take photo’s of the amazing view. Watched more car ferries load and unload and visited the oldest church in Denmark, walked in beech forests and just had a relaxing day. Drove to our little cottage through Valdemars Slot, which is where the Royals spend some of the summer, amazing to be able to drive right through the middle. We had a wonderful dinner of Smorrebrod at a friend’s house along with too much home made wine!
Our last day was spent around Svendborg while N & R said goodbye to mum then we walked a final time around our tiny village, pick out the most beautiful yellow thatched cottage with its own lake and stunning garden, lilac trees in bloom everywhere – oh if only we could win Lotto! We even came across a house getting re-thatched and watched for some time, it was really interesting to see.
We traveled to Odense where the Hans Christian Andersen museum is and had the best hot chocolate of our trip – a glass of hot milk and a huge piece of chocolate on the end of a popsicle stick that you stirred into the milk, I resisted the extra cream they supplied for the top! We enjoyed the museum but found the numbering system hard work as it didn’t seem to flow in a rational pattern.
Spent another boozy evening at R’s longtime school friend’s house and her dear husband whom we had not met before, it was great though to have a home booked meal. Dessert was an Applecake with a marzipan base - it was to die for. P is a retired sea captain and kept us entertained with his stories for hours. The founder of the shipping line Maersk was born locally so it is a very sea oriented area and there is even a retirement village funded by him for ex-employees.
Tomorrow we drop the car at Copenhagen Airport and take off for London.
We had booked a hire car and picked up another VW Passat, even newer than the last one, under 100 on the clock and don’t you just love that new car smell? N was happy as he had got used to the other car so it was smooth sailing.
Our first stop was Roskilde Church, another UNESCO site, where all the Danish royals are buried, it was quite interesting to see how the tombs/coffins etc changed over the years as fashions changed. We then traveled onto the Viking Museum, 5 ships have been raised from a riverbed, they were sunk there countless years ago to block an invasion. The ships were built around 1000AD in Galway, Ireland. A replica has been made of the biggest ship and will make a journey to Galway in July 2007, I believe you can follow its progress on an internet site.
We arrived in Svendborg and visited R’s mum, we then crossed to another island and found our little cottage at Troense on a Sound looking back at Svendborg. It was so pretty, thatched roof, rounded attic windows and that amazing view. The owners live in one half and the other is rented out. We had our own entrance, decent size bathroom, small but adequate kitchen area with a table then a sitting room with TV. Upstairs a large landing area with two single beds and another room with two single beds. Our only complaint was the quality of the towels, must have been the landladies old ones but we did politely point out to her that new ones would be much nicer!
There is a great bakery in the village so it was hot Danish to start the day. We dropped R to her mum’s and spent the rest of the day touring around the countryside, and even going across the Middlefart Bridge (don’t you just love that name). We drove through a pretty forest and up to Himmelbjurg , which is the highest point in Denmark – it was freezing so hot chocolate and back in the car with the heater going we moved on to Silkeborg to see the Bogman and Bogwoman at the museum. Vow to wear warmer clothing tomorrow.
Spent the morning in Svendborg and did some damage to the credit card. The kitchen shops there are just fabulous – plain, simple but oh so stylish Scandanavian designs, just love them. Climbed to the top of Bregninge Church but it was so windy we had to hold onto our glasses and it was impossible to take photo’s of the amazing view. Watched more car ferries load and unload and visited the oldest church in Denmark, walked in beech forests and just had a relaxing day. Drove to our little cottage through Valdemars Slot, which is where the Royals spend some of the summer, amazing to be able to drive right through the middle. We had a wonderful dinner of Smorrebrod at a friend’s house along with too much home made wine!
Our last day was spent around Svendborg while N & R said goodbye to mum then we walked a final time around our tiny village, pick out the most beautiful yellow thatched cottage with its own lake and stunning garden, lilac trees in bloom everywhere – oh if only we could win Lotto! We even came across a house getting re-thatched and watched for some time, it was really interesting to see.
We traveled to Odense where the Hans Christian Andersen museum is and had the best hot chocolate of our trip – a glass of hot milk and a huge piece of chocolate on the end of a popsicle stick that you stirred into the milk, I resisted the extra cream they supplied for the top! We enjoyed the museum but found the numbering system hard work as it didn’t seem to flow in a rational pattern.
Spent another boozy evening at R’s longtime school friend’s house and her dear husband whom we had not met before, it was great though to have a home booked meal. Dessert was an Applecake with a marzipan base - it was to die for. P is a retired sea captain and kept us entertained with his stories for hours. The founder of the shipping line Maersk was born locally so it is a very sea oriented area and there is even a retirement village funded by him for ex-employees.
Tomorrow we drop the car at Copenhagen Airport and take off for London.
Jun 24th, 2007, 12:19 AM
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London – 5 days
Just as we entered London airspace the clouds parted and we had the most wonderful view of the city, seeing everything set out before us. Maintenance on the Tube line for the first two stops from Heathrow caused everyone to get bussed to the next station before we could start our journey. We had to walk in the rain to get to the busses which wasn’t a well thought out exercise at all. We got Oystercards and just loaded them up with about 25 quid each, all my reading about this made it all sound so difficult in fact it was so easy and we just put more money on when they ran low. We were staying with a friend near Northfields Tube station and it didn’t take us long at all to figure out the Tube system.
There were now five of us staying in a Terrace house designed for one but it was free so we couldn’t even complain about sleeping on at mattress on the floor – although my back did. Poor H didn’t seem to mind us invading her home – she was at work most of the time and we were out most evenings. Our first night we caught the tube into London and saw Mary Poppins, we had booked the tickets before we left Australia. It was a fantastic show, even the guys enjoyed it, we were on a high when we left the theatre.
The next day we did the Monopoly board tour in the drizzling rain and even managed to be in the right place at the right time to see the Horseguards change, although the Queen wasn’t in residence we gave her a wave. We ate our homemade sandwiches by a heating vent outlet on the steps of a well to do Regent Street office building! N and DH went to the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum which they raved over and then complained they didn’t have enough time. The girls wandered Westminster Abbey but couldn’t get in as it was closed to the public that afternoon but we did find a seat around the back and listened to the choral choir and organ music. I couldn’t take my eyes off Big Ben and Parliament house – it’s a fairly spectacular sight. The rain stopped and we wandered over to the Eye as we had also pre-purchased tickets, was ok and I guess it is one of those tourist must do’s but we thought it was pretty much a waste of money – we saw all those wonderful sights from the plane. Dinner that night at our local, a beautifully renovated pub.
Spent the day with friends that are having a year off work to travel, we decided to meet at Greenwich. DH and I caught the ferry down the Thames and again it was drizzling with rain, but this is London! We went through the Naval Museum, unfortunately the Cutty Sark was under wraps (only to hear a couple of days later it had been burnt), The Painted Hall, we walked up to the Observatory and saw the ball drop at 1pm, then walked back down the other side through a beautiful park full to Rhododendrons in full bloom. We found a lovely pub and some spent a couple of hours catching up on news, then had a great meal at a Turkish Restaurant before taking the DLR and Tube back to Northfields.
Had wonderful day at Windsor, purchased our daughter a cashmere scarf, did a boat trip, a bus trip then the tour of the Castle itself – just loved that dining table, would have been fabulous to see it set. The staff were very knowledgeable and were happy to have a chat. We walked the Long Walk and tried to get to the Royal Farm for a Devonshire Tea but ran out of time, pity as I was sure there was a scone with a huge dollop of cream there waiting for me.
DH and I spent the morning walking through Kew Gardens but we were about 3 days too early for the roses, they were in full bud……. but I did manage to find a couple bursting through to sniff. We found a lovely section on our way out with climbing roses and peonies set out like an English cottage garden, I was in seventh heaven. Caught a bus back to Kew Bridge and walked along the Thames to the Bull’s Head pub for lunch. Ended up in Harrods later for a quick look around – so over the top! Got last minute tickets to see Dirty Dancing that evening, we were up in the gods which I think spoilt it for us as you were looking down on it rather that participating in it but it was a nice way to finish our time in London. And it made our daughter so jealous – she loves that movie, pity though it wasn’t Patrick Swayze on the stage!
Just as we entered London airspace the clouds parted and we had the most wonderful view of the city, seeing everything set out before us. Maintenance on the Tube line for the first two stops from Heathrow caused everyone to get bussed to the next station before we could start our journey. We had to walk in the rain to get to the busses which wasn’t a well thought out exercise at all. We got Oystercards and just loaded them up with about 25 quid each, all my reading about this made it all sound so difficult in fact it was so easy and we just put more money on when they ran low. We were staying with a friend near Northfields Tube station and it didn’t take us long at all to figure out the Tube system.
There were now five of us staying in a Terrace house designed for one but it was free so we couldn’t even complain about sleeping on at mattress on the floor – although my back did. Poor H didn’t seem to mind us invading her home – she was at work most of the time and we were out most evenings. Our first night we caught the tube into London and saw Mary Poppins, we had booked the tickets before we left Australia. It was a fantastic show, even the guys enjoyed it, we were on a high when we left the theatre.
The next day we did the Monopoly board tour in the drizzling rain and even managed to be in the right place at the right time to see the Horseguards change, although the Queen wasn’t in residence we gave her a wave. We ate our homemade sandwiches by a heating vent outlet on the steps of a well to do Regent Street office building! N and DH went to the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum which they raved over and then complained they didn’t have enough time. The girls wandered Westminster Abbey but couldn’t get in as it was closed to the public that afternoon but we did find a seat around the back and listened to the choral choir and organ music. I couldn’t take my eyes off Big Ben and Parliament house – it’s a fairly spectacular sight. The rain stopped and we wandered over to the Eye as we had also pre-purchased tickets, was ok and I guess it is one of those tourist must do’s but we thought it was pretty much a waste of money – we saw all those wonderful sights from the plane. Dinner that night at our local, a beautifully renovated pub.
Spent the day with friends that are having a year off work to travel, we decided to meet at Greenwich. DH and I caught the ferry down the Thames and again it was drizzling with rain, but this is London! We went through the Naval Museum, unfortunately the Cutty Sark was under wraps (only to hear a couple of days later it had been burnt), The Painted Hall, we walked up to the Observatory and saw the ball drop at 1pm, then walked back down the other side through a beautiful park full to Rhododendrons in full bloom. We found a lovely pub and some spent a couple of hours catching up on news, then had a great meal at a Turkish Restaurant before taking the DLR and Tube back to Northfields.
Had wonderful day at Windsor, purchased our daughter a cashmere scarf, did a boat trip, a bus trip then the tour of the Castle itself – just loved that dining table, would have been fabulous to see it set. The staff were very knowledgeable and were happy to have a chat. We walked the Long Walk and tried to get to the Royal Farm for a Devonshire Tea but ran out of time, pity as I was sure there was a scone with a huge dollop of cream there waiting for me.
DH and I spent the morning walking through Kew Gardens but we were about 3 days too early for the roses, they were in full bud……. but I did manage to find a couple bursting through to sniff. We found a lovely section on our way out with climbing roses and peonies set out like an English cottage garden, I was in seventh heaven. Caught a bus back to Kew Bridge and walked along the Thames to the Bull’s Head pub for lunch. Ended up in Harrods later for a quick look around – so over the top! Got last minute tickets to see Dirty Dancing that evening, we were up in the gods which I think spoilt it for us as you were looking down on it rather that participating in it but it was a nice way to finish our time in London. And it made our daughter so jealous – she loves that movie, pity though it wasn’t Patrick Swayze on the stage!
Jun 24th, 2007, 04:05 AM
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Bergen, Norway and The Norwegian Coastal Voyage – 14 days
Flew from horrible Heathrow, now I know why everyone complains, to Oslo and finally Bergen. The scenery on the last leg was awesome as we had brilliant blue sky. Used the Flybussen to get into the city, it was their National Day so there were lots of celebrations going on and people walking around in National Dress.
Our Hotel was Citybox and not too far a walk. The hotel was different in the fact we were given a password to get in the door then we had to check in by using our credit card, we were issued a room pass key. The hotel has minimal staff to cut costs and there was no one on duty but we were given good instructions so had no problems at all. http://www.citybox.no/
Basic, clean, quite a large room with a small bathroom and a small kitchen area, no breakfast provided but there is a café downstairs and also a common room to use. We found a supermarket down the road so stocked up on yoghurt, juice, fruit and rolls. Also there was a laundry on our floor which was fantastic as we found Laundromats and internet cafes very hard to come by in many places during our travels. We fell into bed and next minute there was a huge explosion outside our window, thoughts of terrorists crossed my mind but it was a brilliant fireworks display and we had front row seats – what a nice welcome to Bergen.
We walked to the Bryggen area and had the most amazing prawn rolls for morning tea and lunch and any other time we were walking past. The shops along the wharf were very interesting, contained some very expensive but beautiful things but the area was much smaller than I had imagined. There was a very cold wind blowing so we wandered back to our hotel to check out and walked our luggage down to the Hurtigruten office to leave there and checked ourselves in for our voyage. It started raining heavily so we waited in the passenger terminal but we were anxious to see more of this very pretty city. We finally got sick of waiting for the rain to stop so got our wet weather gear on and walked back into town and went up the Fliobanan to the lookout. Low cloud prevented us from seeing anything so we had a hot drink and waited. The rain stopped and the clouds parted long enough to see our ship “Finnmarken” had berthed and we had a magical view over the city. We thought it was best to make a dash back to the terminal while we could.
We left that night on the Hurtigruten cruise at 8pm. We had carefully chosen cabins months before, as the cruise was horribly expensive, we went for “cabins with no or restricted view” but had found two cabins at the very end of the life boats so we didn’t have a full window view but about half. We were not planning to spend too much time in there so we felt the money saved could be put to better use.
Over the next week we saw some amazing sights, beautiful fjords and scenery, had some spots of bad weather but most of the time it was good. Not used to such cold weather as we headed north, DH and I must have looked like Michelin Men with all our clothing but we were warm! A couple of times I wore thermal underwear, we did spent a lot of time out on deck so I thought I did pretty well but I had to have my gloves, hat and scarf! Our sleeping pattern was hopeless as it is so light we didn’t want to go to bed but didn’t want to sleep in either incase we missed something.
Gieranger Fjord was just as beautiful as the photo’s we had seen, Alesund, waterfalls, the wonderful old church at Trondheim, Svartisen Glacier, the cable car at Tromso and making a tiny snowman, a midnight sunset, little lighthouses out in the middle of nowhere, cute white reindeer with velvety antlers, Trollfjord at Midnight, stunningly pretty houses miles from anywhere – who lives there, what do they do? So many things to see and take in.
As I said before we did spend a lot of time on deck but also enjoyed the Panorama Lounge when we got too cold. We were allocated a table for the evening meal and that was ours for the entire cruise and scored one right at the back of the ship next to a huge window, how lucky was that? Breakfast and lunch were a buffet with plenty of choice but most nights a set menu and too bad if you were a fussy eater because there was no choice, we didn’t really have anything that we couldn’t eat but the “Sea Ham” turned out to be whale, hhhmmmm. There was a lot of fish, pickled herrings, baked and smoked salmon and plenty more although we love fish we were “fished out” by the end and found that the smell of cooked fish seemed to invade the ship, even more reason to be out in the fresh air. The staff were all very nice and friendly and we enjoyed talking to them.
To be continued
Flew from horrible Heathrow, now I know why everyone complains, to Oslo and finally Bergen. The scenery on the last leg was awesome as we had brilliant blue sky. Used the Flybussen to get into the city, it was their National Day so there were lots of celebrations going on and people walking around in National Dress.
Our Hotel was Citybox and not too far a walk. The hotel was different in the fact we were given a password to get in the door then we had to check in by using our credit card, we were issued a room pass key. The hotel has minimal staff to cut costs and there was no one on duty but we were given good instructions so had no problems at all. http://www.citybox.no/
Basic, clean, quite a large room with a small bathroom and a small kitchen area, no breakfast provided but there is a café downstairs and also a common room to use. We found a supermarket down the road so stocked up on yoghurt, juice, fruit and rolls. Also there was a laundry on our floor which was fantastic as we found Laundromats and internet cafes very hard to come by in many places during our travels. We fell into bed and next minute there was a huge explosion outside our window, thoughts of terrorists crossed my mind but it was a brilliant fireworks display and we had front row seats – what a nice welcome to Bergen.
We walked to the Bryggen area and had the most amazing prawn rolls for morning tea and lunch and any other time we were walking past. The shops along the wharf were very interesting, contained some very expensive but beautiful things but the area was much smaller than I had imagined. There was a very cold wind blowing so we wandered back to our hotel to check out and walked our luggage down to the Hurtigruten office to leave there and checked ourselves in for our voyage. It started raining heavily so we waited in the passenger terminal but we were anxious to see more of this very pretty city. We finally got sick of waiting for the rain to stop so got our wet weather gear on and walked back into town and went up the Fliobanan to the lookout. Low cloud prevented us from seeing anything so we had a hot drink and waited. The rain stopped and the clouds parted long enough to see our ship “Finnmarken” had berthed and we had a magical view over the city. We thought it was best to make a dash back to the terminal while we could.
We left that night on the Hurtigruten cruise at 8pm. We had carefully chosen cabins months before, as the cruise was horribly expensive, we went for “cabins with no or restricted view” but had found two cabins at the very end of the life boats so we didn’t have a full window view but about half. We were not planning to spend too much time in there so we felt the money saved could be put to better use.
Over the next week we saw some amazing sights, beautiful fjords and scenery, had some spots of bad weather but most of the time it was good. Not used to such cold weather as we headed north, DH and I must have looked like Michelin Men with all our clothing but we were warm! A couple of times I wore thermal underwear, we did spent a lot of time out on deck so I thought I did pretty well but I had to have my gloves, hat and scarf! Our sleeping pattern was hopeless as it is so light we didn’t want to go to bed but didn’t want to sleep in either incase we missed something.
Gieranger Fjord was just as beautiful as the photo’s we had seen, Alesund, waterfalls, the wonderful old church at Trondheim, Svartisen Glacier, the cable car at Tromso and making a tiny snowman, a midnight sunset, little lighthouses out in the middle of nowhere, cute white reindeer with velvety antlers, Trollfjord at Midnight, stunningly pretty houses miles from anywhere – who lives there, what do they do? So many things to see and take in.
As I said before we did spend a lot of time on deck but also enjoyed the Panorama Lounge when we got too cold. We were allocated a table for the evening meal and that was ours for the entire cruise and scored one right at the back of the ship next to a huge window, how lucky was that? Breakfast and lunch were a buffet with plenty of choice but most nights a set menu and too bad if you were a fussy eater because there was no choice, we didn’t really have anything that we couldn’t eat but the “Sea Ham” turned out to be whale, hhhmmmm. There was a lot of fish, pickled herrings, baked and smoked salmon and plenty more although we love fish we were “fished out” by the end and found that the smell of cooked fish seemed to invade the ship, even more reason to be out in the fresh air. The staff were all very nice and friendly and we enjoyed talking to them.
To be continued
Jun 24th, 2007, 04:05 AM
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There were a lot of German’s on board and I am sorry to say we found them cold and unfriendly, at times down right rude. We also had a German TV crew on board that were making a documentary on the Hurtigruten so that was quite interesting to watch as a small boat was often launched and they filmed us coming into ports and into some of the fjords and life aboard in general. We found out when it is going to be shown and our Danish friends are going to tape it for us, so that will be good to see.
We reached our turn around point at Kirkenes and I came down with a gastro bug which I found out is the Norovirus and is quite prevalent on cruise ships. Not only did I come down with it but so did a lot of people. The virus symptoms last around 24 hours but everyone who had it and their cabin partners were confined to the cabin for 3 days. So much for not spending a lot of time in our cabin with half a view. We were made aware of the fact that a virus was around on our first night at sea but the whole entire episode was handled very badly and I am claiming which our insurance company for two pre-paid excursions that we had to forfeit.
I do understand the need to keep infection confined but we were not given any assistance what so ever (even though their blurb stated this) and no one rang to ask us how we were or if we needed anything. We had 3 meals a day delivered when we rang and asked for them, no choice given and believe me you do not want fish in a cream sauce when you have spent a couple of hours with your head in the loo and then live with the smell of cooked fish in your cabin for hours! I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt on that 4th day as we broke free of our four walls and straight up on deck.
I did get a summons to reception later that afternoon, I was asked if I was now feeling ok. Sorry but not good enough and the Hurtigruten Line will be getting a letter from me suggesting some changes they might consider should this happen again. We also found out that the ship ahead of us”Midnatsol” had over 100 ill. I am not trying to scare anyone but just be aware if you are taking this cruise. If anyone is interested here is a link to a newspaper report http://www.aftenposten.no/english/lo...cle1801000.ece
Good news, I did read 2 books and finish a magazine of crosswords that I had carried around, “see” I told DH “I did get use out of them”!
Our final few days passed and we woke to a beautiful clear blue day as we sailed the last few hours we even shed our layers down to short sleeves, our last lunch on board and we did our usual “Kate and Leonardo” up on the pointy end as we sailed into Bergen Harbor in the sunshine. We were sad to leave in some ways and glad in others but also looking forward to our next adventure.
We reached our turn around point at Kirkenes and I came down with a gastro bug which I found out is the Norovirus and is quite prevalent on cruise ships. Not only did I come down with it but so did a lot of people. The virus symptoms last around 24 hours but everyone who had it and their cabin partners were confined to the cabin for 3 days. So much for not spending a lot of time in our cabin with half a view. We were made aware of the fact that a virus was around on our first night at sea but the whole entire episode was handled very badly and I am claiming which our insurance company for two pre-paid excursions that we had to forfeit.
I do understand the need to keep infection confined but we were not given any assistance what so ever (even though their blurb stated this) and no one rang to ask us how we were or if we needed anything. We had 3 meals a day delivered when we rang and asked for them, no choice given and believe me you do not want fish in a cream sauce when you have spent a couple of hours with your head in the loo and then live with the smell of cooked fish in your cabin for hours! I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt on that 4th day as we broke free of our four walls and straight up on deck.
I did get a summons to reception later that afternoon, I was asked if I was now feeling ok. Sorry but not good enough and the Hurtigruten Line will be getting a letter from me suggesting some changes they might consider should this happen again. We also found out that the ship ahead of us”Midnatsol” had over 100 ill. I am not trying to scare anyone but just be aware if you are taking this cruise. If anyone is interested here is a link to a newspaper report http://www.aftenposten.no/english/lo...cle1801000.ece
Good news, I did read 2 books and finish a magazine of crosswords that I had carried around, “see” I told DH “I did get use out of them”!
Our final few days passed and we woke to a beautiful clear blue day as we sailed the last few hours we even shed our layers down to short sleeves, our last lunch on board and we did our usual “Kate and Leonardo” up on the pointy end as we sailed into Bergen Harbor in the sunshine. We were sad to leave in some ways and glad in others but also looking forward to our next adventure.
Jun 24th, 2007, 04:39 AM
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We stayed two nighst at the Skansen Pensjonat on our return, it was in a wonderful position on the hillside above the town but the steps leading up to it beside the Fliobanen were a killer but I guess my thighs will thank me for it. Cars had to take a zigzag road to get up the hill and the pension was only half way up! Again it was neat, basic and clean and we did have a nice breakfast but the worst beds of the entire 8 weeks away.
http://www.skansen-pensjonat.no/
The day the cruise concluded we purchased tickets to do the Norway in a Nutshell round trip and also checked out where we had to catch the Flybussen back to the airport. It was very warm by late afternoon so we sat in the front garden of the pension with a cold beer or three and just looked out at the amazing view.
The Nutshell tour was a great day, all ran like clockwork, so very efficient. We walked to the station and caught the train to Voss, there were buses right at the station clearly marked for Gudvagen so we piled on and off we went to up to Stalheim for a photo stop and down the other side on a zigzag road (we were old hands at this now and it didn’t faze us at all – unlike the first one we did!!!). The driver pulled up right beside the ferry at Gudvagen which then took us on a two hour cruise up Norway’s longest and deepest fjord to Flam. We had time to go on a walk and stretch our legs before boarding the Flamsbana train which took us to Myrdal. A second later the train arrived to take us back to Bergen, this seat was booked and we had to sit in the carriage and seat indicated on our ticket. It was very enjoyable and we thought it was worth the money.
We were parting company with our dear friends in the morning and as we had to be up at 4am to get the Flybussen at 4.45 we said our farewells that night. N & R were returning to spend 3 more weeks in Svendborg, we were spending our 3 weeks in Switzerland.
http://www.skansen-pensjonat.no/
The day the cruise concluded we purchased tickets to do the Norway in a Nutshell round trip and also checked out where we had to catch the Flybussen back to the airport. It was very warm by late afternoon so we sat in the front garden of the pension with a cold beer or three and just looked out at the amazing view.
The Nutshell tour was a great day, all ran like clockwork, so very efficient. We walked to the station and caught the train to Voss, there were buses right at the station clearly marked for Gudvagen so we piled on and off we went to up to Stalheim for a photo stop and down the other side on a zigzag road (we were old hands at this now and it didn’t faze us at all – unlike the first one we did!!!). The driver pulled up right beside the ferry at Gudvagen which then took us on a two hour cruise up Norway’s longest and deepest fjord to Flam. We had time to go on a walk and stretch our legs before boarding the Flamsbana train which took us to Myrdal. A second later the train arrived to take us back to Bergen, this seat was booked and we had to sit in the carriage and seat indicated on our ticket. It was very enjoyable and we thought it was worth the money.
We were parting company with our dear friends in the morning and as we had to be up at 4am to get the Flybussen at 4.45 we said our farewells that night. N & R were returning to spend 3 more weeks in Svendborg, we were spending our 3 weeks in Switzerland.
Jun 24th, 2007, 10:56 AM
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I'm also sorry to hear about your confinement- not good! Did your husband also get the bug? It seems rather unfair that he would have to be confined to the cabin also, if he wasn't sick. Did they offer to bring you tea and things that a sick person would want? Certainly not fish!!
