Switzerland, Part One

Well it was Christmas time and Jules Peter and I had been discussing for years the prospect of spending Christmas in Switzerland. So with all of us being in the UK this year we thought it would be the best time. So with tickets all booked I headed up from Southampton on the 22nd to meet Peter and Jules. We were staying near London City Airport and flying out to Zurich early in the morning on the 23rd.

The flight was uneventful, but full of posh types heading off to Klosters and Davos (places far out of our price range). After landing in Zurich we dumped our bags at the hotel and headed into the city proper. Zurich is a nice place. It was cold, but bearable. It is full of lovely old buildings and interesting side streets. It is a pity we only had the afternoon to explore the place, but it is somewhere I will have to go back to. One thing I found pretty cool was they turned the overhead lines for the trams into lights (photo below), so they are far less of an eyesore! We went into a few shops, but they just reinforced our idea that Switzerland is an expensive place (even more so then the UK I reckon). We went into Jelmoli (a department store) to grab some food for the upcoming week and then headed out for dinner.

The next day (the 24th) we jumped on the train for our five hour journey to Saas-Fee - it was going to be our home for the next six days. So we headed to Brig, changed to a bus to get there. The scenery along the way was amazing. It is a very beautiful country. I can see why it is so popular with hikers in summer - it is something I have added to my list to do before I move back to Oz.

Anyway, Saas-Fee is a ski resort in the Alps about an hour from Zermatt. It was a pretty little village, busy with people arriving for Christmas. They have banned cars in the village itself (you have to park on the edge) which is a nice touch. We checked into our apartment (which was amazing) and then headed into town to grab some more supplies for the week ahead. After a couple of drinks and some unpacking as well as phoning Oz to wish everyone a Merry Christmas we headed out for dinner. Cheese fondue is a popular Swiss dish, so against my better judgment I decided to try it. for some reason I have an issue with melted cheese. My brain seems to think that it is far worse for me then normal cheese, now I realise that this is total rubbish, but I cant help it. So after a couple of mouthfuls I was over it all. But I guess I had to try it!



Peter and Myself in Zurich


Zurich Scenes


Zurich Scenes


Zurich Scenes


Zurich Scenes


Zurich Scenes


Jules and Myself in Zurich


Zurich Scenes


Zurich Scenes


On the train to Saas-Fee


On the train to Saas-Fee


On the train to Saas-Fee


On the train to Saas-Fee


On the bus to Saas-Fee


On the bus to Saas-Fee


On the bus to Saas-Fee

November and December

I realised the other day how far I was behind updating this blog. So I have been wondering how to go about it. It turns out it is not that difficult. Both November and December were fairly quiet times for me, so I can just do one post to cover the entire time!

On the 5th of November Jules and Peter headed down and we all went to a 30th birthday party for one of Jules' friends. Ev and Kris (Peter's brother and girlfriend) came down as well. They had just arrived in the UK so were jet lagged, but still kept up with us (most of the time). We also headed over to Portsmouth and checked out the HMS Victory (Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar) which was pretty cool.

The rest of November and most of December was uneventful. To be honest I have forgotten what happened, so it can't of been that exciting. I do know that work was pretty full on, so I guess that was taking up most of my time.

Matt and Dave, old flat mates from Canberra, came to visit at the end of December. They wanted to see the Victory (third time for me) and Stonehenge (also the third time), so we did that. My old colleagues from SCT were also having their Christmas drinks, so I got to catch up with them as well.

Also at work we had a major demonstration to our customer for the work we are doing. The customer is just about to confirm a £400 Million contract, so it was an important demonstration. Luckily it all went well so that was good (and a major relief)!

That is about it!



The Victory.


More of the Victory.


Stonehenge.


More Stonehenge.


The Bargate (part of the old city walls) in central Southampton.


Old bombed out church in central Southampton.


My place - Admiralty House.

Holland

Just got back from a long weekend in Holland. It was pretty good actually. Apart from seeing Luuk back in June, I had not seen the family over there since Easter. So it was nice to catch up with them. Also, my cousin Monica and her new husband, Duncan, were finishing their honeymoon in Holland and visiting Wim and Jitta for the first time, so I got to catch up with them as well.

I flew out on Friday night from London City Airport. It was pretty cool being able to turn up thirty minutes before the flight was leaving without any trouble - better then the ninety minutes you have to leave for Heathrow! Also you can catch the train and tube all the way there. No dodgy buses! As we were waiting to close the plane doors one of the ground crew came up to the person sitting next to me and asked to see her passport and then her credit card. So I start thinking who on earth am I sitting next to, but it turns out she had just left her purse in the terminal. So having a bit of a scare (thinking she had done something wrong as well) combined with the fact that she hated flying, meant I had a fun companion for the trip - to be honest she just talked at me for sixty minutes so it was not all that bad.

Monica and Duncan were not arriving until Sunday, so on the Saturday the rest of us (Wim, Jitta, Luuk and Nolan) went into the city (Rotterdam) and then just caught up - it was nice. The next day Wim and I drove up to Monnickendam to pick up Monica and Duncan and then over to Scheveningen to look around. For the end of October it was unseasonably mild (like most of October had been) so it was nice just walking along the beach. I had not seen Monica and Duncan since I left Oz, so it was nice to catch up. We all went to a restaurant for lunch (Mussels!) and then back to Wim's place for the afternoon. That night we met up with Wim's brother and went out for dinner in Gouda (tapas!) it was all very nice.

As a side note, one thing I like about Holland is that people keep their curtains open (even at night). So as you are walking along the street you can look in and see people sitting around watching television, reading a newspaper or having a chat. It is nice to see.

On Monday Monica, Duncan and I caught the train over to Delft. Wim had to work, Jitta had just finished a nightshift and the boys were at school, so we entertained ourselves. Delft is famous for making authentic Delft Blue (a type of porcelain) and the Nieuwe Kerk (new church). This is where the members of the Dutch Royal Family are buried. Oh and in case you are wondering there is also an Oude Kerk (old church). So we went into the new church and climbed the bell tower (naturally) which gave us some nice views of the surrounding town! We then went back and looked around Rotterdam a bit before heading back to Wim's place. We had a quick dinner before I was dropped off at the airport for my return flight. It was nice seeing all the family again!

As we were flying back into London you could see all these fireworks being let off, I assume for Halloween. It was a pretty amazing sight actually. More then made up for the stinky bus ride back from Heathrow (no flying into London City this time).




Canal in Delft.


The ubiquitous Dutch Windmill.


Canal again.


The Nieuwe Kerk.


Monica and I in the central square.


The Stadhuis.


Views from the top.


Views from the top.


Views from the top.


Rotterdam!

London

So I have spent the last few weekends (or at least part of weekends) in London catching up with friends.

First off Pat and I went and saw Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman on friday the 7th. It was a pretty good play actually (I did not know anything about it before I went in). Although the acting left a bit to be desired, it was still not that bad. This was also Pat's last night in the UK. He was heading off to India for a couple of weeks before going back to Oz. So it was good to catch up with him.

The next weekend (15th/16th) I went up to catch up with Caroline and David. They were staying at a mates place in Kensington, so I booked a hotel room near by for saturday night. David was lucky enough to score tickets to the Chelsea match on that day (although I am sure he would have preferred an Arsenal match). So Caroline and I hung around Kensington, went to a few shops and then Wagamama's for lunch (first time I have been there and it is fantastic!). That night we headed to a few bars but David did not have the stamina (I guess drinking all day at the footy will do that to you, so we had an early-ish night).

The next weekend I went up on the sunday to see Caroline and David for one last time before they headed back to Oz. Because of track work I drove to Basingstoke and then jumped on the train. Unfortunately there was a problem at Woking, so they got us off the train and were going to bus us the rest of the way. As we were waiting for the bus the conductors told us to go back in and jump on the train going to Guildford, we would head into London a different way. So thirty minutes later a full train arrived at Guildford to the confusion of the platform staff. It turns out there was no special train to take us the rest of the way into London. Forty-five minutes later we were told to jump on the train and head back to Woking and then into London. Needless to say I was not happy.

By the time I arrived in Kensington we only had time to head out for lunch (which was delicious). We then all headed back to Waterloo (Caroline and David were going to Guildford to visit David's brother) and I headed back to Southampton.

Bath

Pat and I got an early flight from Dublin to Bournemouth and then got the train over to Southampton. Caroline and David were due to arrive at lunchtime, so we headed up into town to grab some lunch. Forty-five minutes later we were still waiting for food and Caroline and David were due to arrive in ten! When the food finally did arrive we scoffed it down and then ran down to the bus stop to meet them. Luckily we all arrived at the same time, which was good. It was fantastic to see both Caroline and David again as well!! We came back to my house and then headed out for a drink. For dinner Pat and I took them to a nice restaurant near home called Dock Gate 4 - probably my favourite restaurant in Southampton.

The next day we went out for breakfast and then drove over to Salisbury to check out the town. We walked around the city centre (which is pretty nice) and then went into the Cathedral and did a tour. The guy was informative, but took ages, so in the end we left the tour and Salisbury and headed over to Bath to check it out. I had been over there last time I was in the UK in 2003 and liked the town, but thought the Roman Baths (probably the major tourist attraction there) was a disappointed.

We walked around the city again for a bit and then headed into the baths. Unfortunately my view point has not changed. Perhaps I was spoilt by seeing Pompeii and Rome just before seeing the baths last time. In any case it was nice to be with Pat, Caroline and Dave, so that was enough!

We headed back to Southampton and headed out for a curry for dinner! It was great being with everyone again.



Caroline in Salisbury.


The Cathedral.


Me in Salisbury.


The baths and Bath.


David getting ready for a swim!


The baths and the Cathedral.

Dublin (and Surrounds)

Pat, one of the blokes I caught up with in Brussels a few weeks ago, was off to Dublin to catch up with Sandra, another friend from Canberra who was now living in Dublin. Having a free weekend, I decided to head over and meet up with the two of them and check out Dublin (again).

I met up with Pat on Grafton Road, where we had a drink and waited for Tamsin (my landlord) to come in and meet us. Sandra was in the process of moving into a new place, so she could not make it into the city centre. We had a nice drink and then some food before Pat headed off to Sandra's while I stayed at Tamsin's (there was not enough room for me at Sandra's).

The next day Pat, Sandra and I headed down to a place called Glenalough, about one hour south of Dublin. This was a lovely area and it was a reasonably nice day (not much rain), so we went out for a walk along the lakes and rivers - it was all very beautiful. The pictures do not really do it justice.

On our way back we decided to go to Johnnie Fox's pub, which was apparently famous for its seafood. Not really knowing the way Sandra stopped and asked for directions - which were not really much help. The exchange kind of went like this:

Sandra: Do you know the way to Johnnies Fox's pub?
Man giving directions: Sure. Do you know the right turn just after the old bridge?
Sandra: Yes
Man giving directions: Don't go that way, keep going straight. Do you know where the Commonwealth Centre is?
Sandra: Yes
Man giving directions: Well you don't want to take the right just after that, keep going straight. Until you get to a modern looking car park, don't take the left turn after that, keep going straight.

This kept going for about 10 minutes. Basically he told us all the ways not to go. Luckily we got clearer directions down the road and made it to the pub where we had a lovely late lunch/early dinner.

We then met up with Sandra's sister and some of her friends at a tiny pub in the city centre, which was nice. Ireland has banned all smoking inside pubs, so it is nice to go out to pubs and not come home smelling like smoke!

The next day the three of us headed out to Newgrange, which was still just as interesting (or at least I thought so). We did not have time to see both Knowth and Newgrange, so we just headed over to Newgrange. We then headed back towards Dublin and met up with Tamsin at Howth, a coastal village just to the north of the city. We had a nice dinner in a pub, before heading out for a walk and then back home. Pat and I had an early flight back to Bournemouth tomorrow where we were going to meet up with Caroline and David!



Glendalough


More of Glendalough


Some more of Glendalough


Pat and I!


Even more of Glendalogh


Yet more of Glendalough


Almost the last one of Glendalough


One of the few photos with Sandra in it


Pat

Little Australia

A mate of mine from Uralla, Brad, was over for a visit, and he had organised for a group of Uralla people over here to meet up for a drink. So yesterday I caught the train from work to London to meet up with everyone. I had booked a hotel room for the night because it was going to be a big one!

We all met up at a pub in Earls Court where Kate was living (another Uralla person) and had a drink before heading off to the Walkabout in Shepherd's Bush.

Once we were there we all proceeded to drink far too much and listen to some really bad music (two words - Bon and Jovi). Towards the end of the night my cousin, Paul, and his girlfriend turned up. I had not seen him for ages either, so it was nice catching up with all these people.

We left around 2am and walked back to Earls Court (I was staying around the corner in Kensington). Man did I have a hangover this morning!


Brad and Kate


Paul and his girlfriend


All of us!

Brussels

A friend of mine, Melissa, from Canberra recently moved to Brussels to start work with the Australian Embassy there and thought it might be nice to have a mini reunion of all the Canberra people currently living in Europe. So for the past few weeks Melissa has be busy organising for us all to go to Brussels to catch up.

Pat, another Canberra bloke, also few into Heathrow yesterday for a holiday here in Europe, so I met him at the airport before we both boarded our flight to Brussels.

To say Pat looked exhausted when I met up with him would be a bit of an understatement. He had been travelling for over thirty hours and was in need of a good sleep. Luckily our flight to Brussels was on time.

Melissa met us at the airport and we went straight to our hotel where Pat had a nap and Melissa and I walked around. She had just arranged a place to live, but could not move in for a couple of days, so we walked passed that and generally just explored an area of the city that I have not seen before.

We headed back to meet Clem and Saskia who were staying in the same hotel and Cathy, who also lived in Brussels. We let Pat sleep a little longer while Cathy took us to this lovely patisserie near where she lived. The waiter made us order in French, which was interesting, but we all managed to get what we wanted, so it was all okay!

We headed back, got Pat up, had a few drinks and then headed out for some dinner. We then went to a couple of bars before heading to one place called Havana. It was bloody busy inside, and the bouncers just kept letting more and more people in to the point where it was impossible to dance or even move. So we went to leave, but the bouncers stopped us at the door. Apparently the custom in Brussels is to tip the bouncers as you leave a place (well for blokes anyway). So we gave them a couple of euros and got out of there. We then went to a few more bars, before getting back to the hotel around 4am.

The next day Pat, Melissa and I went into the Grote Markt (the centre square) for some food. They had a food market on, so we grabbed some interesting (read not all that nice) food, and sat down and watched the action.

It was then time for me to head out to the airport to fly back. Pat and Melissa were off to Switzerland to do some hiking, while I had to go back to work (I know what I would have rather done!).

New York, Day Five

Today was our last day in New York and it also coincided with the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. We thought there would be so many people that getting to the World Trade Centre site would have been next to impossible, so we watched some of the coverage on television before checking out.

We caught the subway and then walked over to the United Nations site to have a look around. We were actually quite lucky because this was the last week the UN would be open to visitors before the World Summit was due to begin. So we had a coffee in the cafeteria and wrote postcards before booking ourselves onto the tour. Unfortunately we had to wait a bit for the tour which meant this was the only thing we could do for the day before rushing back to the apartment to pick up our bags and then catching the train back to Newark airport.

The tour was pretty cool. Seeing these places of history on television in real life was amazing, and hearing the history and rivalry behind a lot of the daily workings from our guide (who spoke seven languages!) was interesting. I pretty much took over the end of tour question time asking a heap of questions, but then no one else seemed to have any (yes I did give them a chance!).

We then had a quick look in the shop and then headed back to Penn Station for our trip to the airport. We made the train with a few minutes to spare and luckily got to the airport in time. Unfortunately the airport was absolute chaos. First off you had to check in and then line up again to hand over luggage. It was a pretty silly system and took pretty much the entire two hours we had before the plane was due to depart.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat we boarded the plane and returned to sunny old England! For anyone interested New York should be a must see destination! I will definitely be returning.



The Secretariat Building.



General Assembly Building.



View of the City.



The Security Council.



A Statue from Hiroshima (notice the bomb scares on the back).



The General Assembly.



Funky Art!



More Funky Art!