My Euro Trip 8 Red Telephone Box

It's so much fun sitting here people watching - the Brits certainly make the most of blue sky. The park is filled with people young and old lying on the grass, sitting on park benches and strolling around the gated park area. There we even kids running in and out of the water feature, trying to see how close they could get to the changing water spurts coming up from the ground. And I'm feeling content. I might have only landed in London 3 hours ago but already I know this is going to be the trip of a lifetime.

 

I then walked back towards my hotel, taking the obigilatory photo next to a red telephone box. Trust me, I plan to take photos of all the stenotype ally tourist attractions on this trip. I had a quick rest in my room before going downstairs to have one of the worst dinners ever (note to self, if the hotel has a free meal included and it is at a buffet style restaurant don't do it - spend the money and go somewhere else).

I did manage to stay up until 8pm (only just) before crashing. Unfortunately I did wake up at 3am and haven't been able to sleep since (it is now 5.15am) so I think today will be a long one. 

My Euro Trip 7 Sitting On A Park Bench

I then headed to the 3 mobile store to get a SIM card for my phone - within 5 minutes of getting there I already had mobile phone connection with unlimited data for 30 days (yes I know it is a sad thing how excited I was). I then used my phone to see what was around the area that i could go to next and saw that there was a Public garden area just around the corner.

Before coming here I was reading my lonely planet book where it mentioned that as soon as there is a bit of sunshine, people flock to the many parks around London. Well it was certainly accurate as I

walked through the gates of Russell Square Park and saw all the people lying on the grass, sitting on park benches and just wandering along the paths. Whilst I was sitting there, I just started writing and this is what I wrote:

I'm writing this post sitting on a park bench in Russell Square Park enjoying the sun. It might only be 14 degrees and I'll admit I'm a little bit cold without my jacket on but I don't care. There is blue sky in London!

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My Euro Trip 6 Jet Lag

I can't believe that I'm finally in London! After catching the train from the airport and checking into my hotel I decided it was time to explore a bit. Even though I was exhausted I knew the best thing to help my jet lag was to stay up as late as possible so my aim was to at least stay up until 8pm London time (5am Melbourne time). This meant that I had 5 hours in which I needed to do things so as I wouldn't fall asleep.

I started with a walk to The Brunswick shopping ball just around the corner where my first priority was to get water as I was really dehydrated from the flight. I went to Waitrose which I'm guessing is a similar idea to our Woolies. It was quite interesting to have a look at the different brands around, seeing both familiar brands that we have back home as well as some new ones. I was very happy to see Cadbury and I also saw Galaxy (this is one that my UK friends back home keep on telling me about so it is on my list to try).

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My Euro Trip 5 Directly from Heathrow

Arriving at Heathrow I was expecting long lines to get through immigration and customs but within 45 minutes of the plane landing I was already on my way to the train station. Oh and on that note, getting to my hotel was so easy! Melbourne, pay attention - have a train that goes straight from the airport into the city - it is so convenient and easy! I was able to get the tube directly from Heathrow Airport to Russell Square station which is just around the corner from my hotel so that within 1 hour from clearing customs I was checking into my hotel.

Anyway I have now checked into my hotel and am about to go explore the streets near the hotel. My goal is to stay up as late as possible tonight so as to avoid jetlag - lets see how I go.

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My Euro Trip 4 Strong accent

On arrival at Dubai airport I was so glad to stretch my legs and it was a good thing that I wanted a walk as getting from the arrivals gate to my departure gate was a decent walk. The duty free shops and cafes just kept on going!! My stopover in Dubai was only 2 hours so by the time I stopped to have some breakfast/lunch (I cant decided what it was as my body clock was so confused) there wasn't long to wait until my flight. When it was time to board, it was quite funny as the Emirates staff member who was announcing which sections of the plane were to board had such as strong accent that no one knew if he was saying B, D or E. I could overhear people saying 'Did he say D or E?", "No he said B". I think the Emirates guy eventually gave up and just let everyone board the plane.

Given that the 14 hour flight from Melbourne to Dubai wasn't as bad as I thought, I was expecting the 7.5 hour flight from Dubai to London to be easy. Yeah, I was wrong. I think the combination of lack of sleep and having an unsettled stomach meant that the flight just dragged. I was definitely glad when we touched down.

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My Euro Trip 3 Melbourne to Dubai

My first leg of my trip was Melbourne to Dubai. Even though it was a 14 hour flight it went fairly quickly. I think that being an overnight flight certainly helped as I was able to sleep for a couple of hours. It was my first time flying with Emirates and I was very happy with the service. I got to fly on an A380 and it certainly is a massive plane. Unfortunately, my budget is quite tight so a first class ticket wasn't an option for me so I was stuck in economy. It was hard walking past the signs for first class where they get their own private compartment and business class where they have flat bed seats to the economy class. Saying that though, the seats in economy were fairly comfortable and I had plenty of legroom (that may also be because I'm not that tall).

During my flight to Dubai I had a lovely lady sitting next to me for the flight. She was in her 70s and was travelling to Western Europe for 6 weeks. She said that she spent her younger years raising a family and since her husband passed away that it was time to do things for herself and so every year during Melbourne winter she travels overseas for 6 weeks. What a great way to spend your retirement!

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My Euro Trip 2 Let's Go!!

Day 1: The long flight that is Melbourne to London

I have finally arrived in London!!!! I left home at 5.45pm Melbourne time on Monday 11th May and arrived in London at my hotel at 3pm London time on Tuesday 12th May (midnight Melbourne time). Door to door it was a total of 30 hours and I am exhausted!

After spending the last 17 months planning the trip and having the last 3 weeks at home getting ready for my trip (and lazing around the house) I was excited that the day was finally here. My parents drove me to the airport and after we said our goodbyes it was time to walk through the International Departures gate alone. Even though I am excited to be traveling by myself, being stuck waiting for your plane at an airport by yourself is boring! Especially if you are like me and hate shopping so looking at duty free wasn't an option to waste time.

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My Euro Trip 1 If You Were To Tell Me

Welcome to my travel journey. I am about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life - 3 months traveling around UK and Europe.

I first decided I was going to organise a big overseas trip back in December 2013 so it has been a long time coming. After 17 months planning the day is finally here! I will admit that I am a little bit nervous but I am so excited for one of the biggest adventures of my life. I am about to travel overseas for 3 months solo and I can't wait!

If you were to tell me 2 years ago that I would quit my job and travel overseas for 3 months by myself I wouldn't have believed you. I am such a cautious person that throwing caution to the wind, quitting my job and traveling solo is a big step for me.

I'm using this journal as a way to keep in contact with family and friends back home, but also as a memento of my trip.

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Scandinavia 28 Greenland is not green

Not a lot to report on our trip’s last day. We caught a train to the airport, and we had a lot of trouble getting information about our flight—like a gate assignment, and whether or not they would feed us. Also, there was a real scarcity of seating in the airport. Lots of high-end shopping, though.

Once we got on the plane, we were told that this was a substitute plane. Boy, was it tight—no knee room AT ALL. I kind of had a meltdown for a while. On the other hand, they did give everyone a sandwich and a beverage. This first flight was a 3 hour flight to Reykjavik, Iceland. Once it landed, it did not taxi up to the terminal. Instead, buses came out to the plane, and drove us to the terminal. We were trying to find our way to our next gate, but first we had to go through passport control—twice! But we made it to our gate, before the flight left.

The last flight was much better. It was a 6 hour flight, but we had knee room and a screen on the seatback in front of us. And we got 8

to see glaciers flowing in Greenland! Greenland is not green (sort of like the labeling on “fair and balanced” news channels) but it is impressive. Greenland is NOT on our “want to visit” list however; I much prefer my ice in a glass.

And now we’re back on our home continent. Good to be back, except the gravity feels a little different.

Travel Journal Scandinavia 26 Peacock Theatre

We watched 2 pantomime shows, featuring Harlequin and Columbine, with the clown Pierrot. They were staged in the Peacock Theatre, with a front curtain that opened as shown. There was some pretty good dancing, too. The performances were about 25 minutes each. One was called Harlequin Mechanical Statue, and the other was The Tailor Deceived.

At 10 pm there was a “free” concert (included in the admission price). The singer, Jessie J, is from the UK, so she was singing in English, but like most rock concerts, we had a hard time understanding the words. There was another show that night—a Summer Revue, I think more of a variety show, but it was in Danish so we didn't go. There was a large crowd for the free concert. I don’t know, but I don’t think it was like a typical large rock concert. Much too sedate.

Beer was available in take-away cups, but I think they solved the litter problem. There was a 5 Kr deposit on the cups, and they had machines around the grounds where you could redeem them (like the soda bottle redemption machines at the grocery store). But 5 Kr is about 75 cents, so it was worth redeeming. On the other hand, beer was cheaper by the 5’s and they had cardboard carriers designed to carry 5 beer cups. The park was selling a LOT of beer.

Finally, at 10:45 it got dark enough for their “Illuminatrions” light show, which took place over their small lake. With fountains of water, smoke machines, and lasers, it was an impressive 10 minute light show.

All in all, we enjoyed the evening. It was something very different than we usually do, and it was relaxing. Good ending to a good trip.

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Scandinavia 25 Tivoli Gardens

We walked up the main tourist shopping street for about a block before fleeing the congestion. Heading back toward the hotel, we found a restaurant advertising Tex-Mex, so we stopped in and shared a bowl of chili con carne with beer. Surprisingly tasty. It was also Happy Hour, but the price wasn’t discounted — the amount of beer was doubled! So we innocently ordered what we wanted to drink, and had to drink double the amount. Ah, the trials and tribulations of travel. We managed.
Today we decided to go to Tivoli Gardens. But we have learned that we can’t walk all day and stay up and out late. And Tivoli has several evening attractions. So we mostly did stuff in the room until mid afternoon.
Tivoli is one of the world’s first amusement parks. It has rides and arcades, but also gardens, restaurants, and various types of shows.
There are several roller coasters, including one described as the the world’s oldest wooden coaster still operating. If so, it has plenty of steel supports.
There is also a “Moorish palace” (hotel and restaurant), with a Husqvarna robot mower painted like a rabbit. (L note: The Husqvarnas we know are big, bad motocross motorcycles from our days in Utah. Boy, have times changed!) There is also a pirate ship restaurant.

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Scandinavia 24 Weird bridge.

From there we walked around more of the general area. We saw a pair of white swans with 2 cygnets, half grown with gray fuzzy feathers. We also saw the circle bridge mentioned earlier. It consists of 5 circles, each with a tall pole (mast) and cables from the top down to the edges of the circle. Unfortunately, it was under construction/repair, and we were not able to walk on it or get a good shot of it. Two days ago, it was open when we passed through, but today it was not clear how it opens and closes. I think 2 of the 5 circles swing open. Weird bridge.
  We decided to walk back into town. Near the City Hall there was a soccer tournament of sorts—2 small courts(about the size of tennis courts) set up on the (paved!) City Hall plaza. I think it was a tournament for charity (homeless?). Two teams of 4 played for about a 10 minute game on each court. They had (temporary) walls (about 4 feet high) and small goals, like indoor soccer. It was very entertaining. The players were obviously amateurs, but it was a very physical game.
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Scandinavia 23 Christiania Hippie town

This morning we went to Freetown Christiania. This is an alternative community that occupied a former military area in the 1960s or 70s — and continues to this day, somewhat to the dismay of the average Copenhagean. It is a sort of hippie community, with a relaxed attitude toward soft drugs and a communal vibe. The narrative on the bus said about 900 people live there, with about 180 children. I don’t know about those numbers, but it is a colorful community, with a lot of graffiti, quite a bit of poverty, and number of small businesses, from coffee shops and restaurants to a home improvement/general store, to several shops advertising weed. There are a number of signs asking “no photos.” We wandered around for a while, bought coffee and hot chocolate, and saw a display of drawer knobs, labeled “knops”. We were given permission to photograph them.

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Scandinavia 22 Amalienborg museum

The museum was interesting. Many of the rooms are as they were when a particular person occupied them. Mostly very cluttered with art, photos, etc. The Danish royal family seem to be related to all the other royal families of Europe. And I think most of the kings have been named either Frederick or Christian. Nowadays the monarch (currently a queen) does not get involved in politics. It is mostly a ceremonial position, and the royal family also tries to be accessible to the people. There is evidently a debate among the Danes about the cost/sense of maintaining a monarchy, but that seemed to be an internal Danish debate not to be discussed with outsiders — particularly not in the royal residences.
At noon we witnessed the changing of the guard, a process which takes quite a while. Sometimes it wasn’t possible for us to tell if anything was happening. The formal guards wear the big black hats and look a lot like Buckingham Palace guards. There were one or two outside each of the 4 palace buildings, but a much larger contingent (about 40) were involved in the guard changing.
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