Thursday, 28 June 2007
Wet, wet London
Hi everyone, a short post to let you know that I haven't had time to get any photos done for the last two posts - so you'll have to come back and check them out later. We're off to Holland tomorrow and will try and get things up-to-date then.
Monday, 25 June 2007
Wales-London-Day30 25th June
Monday ... and it’s raining even more.
Had plans to all head off to Tintern Abbey (Liz would lead us down and then head back home) but woke to more rain. Decided that we’d just leave from The Glen Farm and say our farewells. Liz has been a wonderful host and something to aspire to. Opening her home and welcoming a family of five to come and stay must have been quite an imposition! We did have a wonderful stay and will hope that Liz might come back to Australia so we can return the favour - would love to show her around Cape Otway.
We headed from Liz’s down the Wye valley and stopped at Tintern Abbey and had a wander around the outside. Amazing to be driving along and suddenly come upon these wonderful old ruins that Wordsworth imortalised. Some restoration work going on (as is just about everywhere in Europe...) and it’s still raining. Then back across the Severn and bypassed Bristol to get to Bath. Had a walk around for a few hours and saw some of the highlights. Not enough time to do any tours or see inside the roman baths (not to worry, saw them on Getaway only a couple of months ago!)
Then it was back to the M4 and all the way back to Budget to drop the MPV off. Everybody had a powernap (except me - I was driving the three lane highway!) during the 120 miles back. fairly uneventful except for the stops once we got closer to London (did I mention it’s a lot like the Westgate?). Lot’s of nice cars zooming past going faster than the 75 mph I was doing. The 2.9 ltr diesel auto coped well with the trip and we did 654 miles and spent about 90 pounds on fuel (a bit over $2 a liter so not too bad). All up, hiring the car was a successful venture.
Got to the backpackers just before 8 and had to wait while a big school group checked in before us - very glad we booked! Had to walk up to the 4th floor to register and hand over the cash and receive our linen and the swipe card for room 412. We were in a dimly lit room with three double bunks, a few lockers built into the wall, no fan (it was warm and even though the window was set open it was a bit stuffy), a sink that was semi blocked, no chairs or table, and a South African guy called Clive. Settled in and went out to see the lights of Piccadilly Square. One good thing about the hostel is that it’s very central.
We then wandered down through Trafalgar Square (lots of people and pigeons about) and down to the river. Wandered along to the North bank of the Thames and then crossed over on the bridge. Noticed that there were these cast steel statues on the bridge and then on the top of buildings on both sides of the river. Amazing must have been able to see about 20 of them!
Then along the South bank and towards the BA London Eye. Had a great view of the city in the twilight and s it got darker and the lights came on, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament/Westminster Abbey. Heard the big clock strike 10 pm! Felt very tired at the end of the day and looked forward to lying down and closing my eyes.
Got woken by a fire alarm at 12:45 halfway into a deep sleep. Didn’t panic (been through too many false alarms at Deakin - but still a bit scary) but we all had to evacuate out on the cold windy street (grabbing some essentials on the way out). Spent about 30 minutes outside with a hundred other people and the fire truck with it’s flashing blue light before we could go back inside and back to sleep.
Had plans to all head off to Tintern Abbey (Liz would lead us down and then head back home) but woke to more rain. Decided that we’d just leave from The Glen Farm and say our farewells. Liz has been a wonderful host and something to aspire to. Opening her home and welcoming a family of five to come and stay must have been quite an imposition! We did have a wonderful stay and will hope that Liz might come back to Australia so we can return the favour - would love to show her around Cape Otway.
We headed from Liz’s down the Wye valley and stopped at Tintern Abbey and had a wander around the outside. Amazing to be driving along and suddenly come upon these wonderful old ruins that Wordsworth imortalised. Some restoration work going on (as is just about everywhere in Europe...) and it’s still raining. Then back across the Severn and bypassed Bristol to get to Bath. Had a walk around for a few hours and saw some of the highlights. Not enough time to do any tours or see inside the roman baths (not to worry, saw them on Getaway only a couple of months ago!)
Then it was back to the M4 and all the way back to Budget to drop the MPV off. Everybody had a powernap (except me - I was driving the three lane highway!) during the 120 miles back. fairly uneventful except for the stops once we got closer to London (did I mention it’s a lot like the Westgate?). Lot’s of nice cars zooming past going faster than the 75 mph I was doing. The 2.9 ltr diesel auto coped well with the trip and we did 654 miles and spent about 90 pounds on fuel (a bit over $2 a liter so not too bad). All up, hiring the car was a successful venture.
Got to the backpackers just before 8 and had to wait while a big school group checked in before us - very glad we booked! Had to walk up to the 4th floor to register and hand over the cash and receive our linen and the swipe card for room 412. We were in a dimly lit room with three double bunks, a few lockers built into the wall, no fan (it was warm and even though the window was set open it was a bit stuffy), a sink that was semi blocked, no chairs or table, and a South African guy called Clive. Settled in and went out to see the lights of Piccadilly Square. One good thing about the hostel is that it’s very central.
We then wandered down through Trafalgar Square (lots of people and pigeons about) and down to the river. Wandered along to the North bank of the Thames and then crossed over on the bridge. Noticed that there were these cast steel statues on the bridge and then on the top of buildings on both sides of the river. Amazing must have been able to see about 20 of them!
Then along the South bank and towards the BA London Eye. Had a great view of the city in the twilight and s it got darker and the lights came on, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament/Westminster Abbey. Heard the big clock strike 10 pm! Felt very tired at the end of the day and looked forward to lying down and closing my eyes.
Got woken by a fire alarm at 12:45 halfway into a deep sleep. Didn’t panic (been through too many false alarms at Deakin - but still a bit scary) but we all had to evacuate out on the cold windy street (grabbing some essentials on the way out). Spent about 30 minutes outside with a hundred other people and the fire truck with it’s flashing blue light before we could go back inside and back to sleep.
Friday, 22 June 2007
Wales-Day29 24th June
Sunday,
Had a bit of a sleep in, and then had a wonderful cooked breakfast, nothing was too much for our host, including catering for Reuben’s coeliac condition! Did a bit of internetting and then headed through Monmouth via a nice drive through narrow lanes with hedgerows which followed fast flowing river. Saw the covered bridge and other highlights of the town before heading on to Cardiff and the outdoor Welsh Folk Museum at Fagans. A bit like Sovereign Hill, this large site has original buildings (transported and rebuilt on the site) that depict Welsh/Celtic life over the past couple of thousand years. From thatched circular huts all the way to the 1970’s.
One particular terrace/row of cottages had small houses that depicted the change of the past couple of centuries - great to see the differences in such a compact space. Things like roof and wall cladding, furniture and how technology (radio, TV, appliances, heating) changed over time. Great to see the simple old farm houses and how there was a miners institute which was built by funds supplied by the workers and was used for education and recreation. We walked over to the castle gardens with the ponds and walk up the stairs to a rose arbor, which was fantastic. There were small garden plots designed with symmetry and a range of plants, there were amazing gates, and hedges to provide some surprises as we walked around. The castle building was also impressive with large rooms and huge tapestries and four poster beds - the rich sure did live well.
Decided to take the scenic route home and headed north out of Cardiff and first stopped of at Castle Coch. An amazing little castle built by a rich guy and looks like the archetypal castle with a drawbridge and cylindrical towers perched high up on a hillside. Then headed on to Brecon and across to Abergavenny before getting back to Monmouth. There were intermittent showers all the way home but the drive was amazing up through the valley. Now and then small mining communities down near the river with lots of (cheap) terraced housing for the miners. This is traditional coal mining country and lots of history of disasters and fighting for rights and better conditions. Still visible slag heaps of discarded rock piled up but no sign of the mines (must be hidden behind the hills or lower in the valley).
Wendy was being provender from the back seat and dished up some yummy banana and honey sandwiches and even cups of tea and coffee! The landscape her is stereotypical English countryside. Dotted with small farms, fields with hedges and stone wall, small woods here and there and sheep and cattle braving the elements. ... and did I say it was green? Must be absolutely idyllic in the sunshine. We did have a few patches of sunlight, offsetting the light coloured fields against the dark grey sky. All in all a good idea to see a bit of the countryside rather than the dual carriage motor way. A good day and thanks to Liz for being our guide.
Helped Liz cook up a lovely prawn risotto and and enjoyed another marvelous meal. Ella (the labradoodle) really enjoys company and would like to play all day. Hit the sack a little earlier tonight.
Had a bit of a sleep in, and then had a wonderful cooked breakfast, nothing was too much for our host, including catering for Reuben’s coeliac condition! Did a bit of internetting and then headed through Monmouth via a nice drive through narrow lanes with hedgerows which followed fast flowing river. Saw the covered bridge and other highlights of the town before heading on to Cardiff and the outdoor Welsh Folk Museum at Fagans. A bit like Sovereign Hill, this large site has original buildings (transported and rebuilt on the site) that depict Welsh/Celtic life over the past couple of thousand years. From thatched circular huts all the way to the 1970’s.
One particular terrace/row of cottages had small houses that depicted the change of the past couple of centuries - great to see the differences in such a compact space. Things like roof and wall cladding, furniture and how technology (radio, TV, appliances, heating) changed over time. Great to see the simple old farm houses and how there was a miners institute which was built by funds supplied by the workers and was used for education and recreation. We walked over to the castle gardens with the ponds and walk up the stairs to a rose arbor, which was fantastic. There were small garden plots designed with symmetry and a range of plants, there were amazing gates, and hedges to provide some surprises as we walked around. The castle building was also impressive with large rooms and huge tapestries and four poster beds - the rich sure did live well.
Decided to take the scenic route home and headed north out of Cardiff and first stopped of at Castle Coch. An amazing little castle built by a rich guy and looks like the archetypal castle with a drawbridge and cylindrical towers perched high up on a hillside. Then headed on to Brecon and across to Abergavenny before getting back to Monmouth. There were intermittent showers all the way home but the drive was amazing up through the valley. Now and then small mining communities down near the river with lots of (cheap) terraced housing for the miners. This is traditional coal mining country and lots of history of disasters and fighting for rights and better conditions. Still visible slag heaps of discarded rock piled up but no sign of the mines (must be hidden behind the hills or lower in the valley).
Wendy was being provender from the back seat and dished up some yummy banana and honey sandwiches and even cups of tea and coffee! The landscape her is stereotypical English countryside. Dotted with small farms, fields with hedges and stone wall, small woods here and there and sheep and cattle braving the elements. ... and did I say it was green? Must be absolutely idyllic in the sunshine. We did have a few patches of sunlight, offsetting the light coloured fields against the dark grey sky. All in all a good idea to see a bit of the countryside rather than the dual carriage motor way. A good day and thanks to Liz for being our guide.
Helped Liz cook up a lovely prawn risotto and and enjoyed another marvelous meal. Ella (the labradoodle) really enjoys company and would like to play all day. Hit the sack a little earlier tonight.
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
UK-Wales-Day28 23rd June
Saturday, Oxford, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath, Bristol and Monmouth...
In the morning we were surprised to see all the people around and how big the place actually was. Apparently a big day at Ascot with lots of people heading to the races and the Welcome Break stop (with the hotel and a few fast food chains) is one of the most popular places to pull over and it was very busy. We headed off and spent a few hours at Oxford. It was a special weekend (with loads of tourists) and they had lots of extra places open. We happened upon St. John’s College (on St. Giles) and had a bit of a tour of the place, quadrangles and gardens etc. Very nice. Then on foot around some of the landmarks parts of town and decided we keep moving on to Salisbury and did a drive by of Stonehenge on the way. It was very crowded and we didn’t think it was worth the money to stop (besides it was threatening to rain).
Found a car park in Salisbury and decided to check out the market before the cathedral. It had started raining - stopped at an oppy and found a reasonable brolly for £2.50. The market was OK, with a few stalls starting to pack up (about 4:00 pm.) but bought some fruit cheap. Had a nice wander through the city and over a small bridge over a small creek. It was full of swans and ducks. The swans were busy preening themselves (bending their necks and using their beaks to sort out their feathers) and kept being carried down stream by the current. They’d have to stop and paddle back up under the bridge to be where the people were (a bit like Sisyphus in the myth). Did a little bit of shopping for necessities and then walked over to the massive cathedral with the tallest spire in the UK (123 meters).
Had a quick look inside (they were starting an evening service) and saw what might be the oldest working medieval clock (1386) and an amazing fountain that had a reflective surface but still flowed. Visited the Chapter House to check out one of the remaining (four) copies of the Magna Carta which was written in 1215 by the noblemen of England to persuaded the king to relinquish his power and brought about democratic government and parliament. It was written on vellum, which is animal skin (it’s an academic argument as to whether vellum is calf [veal] skin and parchment is lamb skin) and quite an amazing thing. The actual Chapter House is wonderful in itself, but I won’t go into details here other than the amazing carvings in the frieze around the walls - put it on your itinerary if you visit Salisbury here.
Then on the road again and a drive-through of Bath and also Bristol before finding our way to Monmouth in Wales. Had to pay £2.10 to cross the Severn river on a very large bridge (won’t have to pay on the way back). Apparently the tide here is the second largest in the world (don’t know if the tide near Broome is the largest) but there was hardly any river left (tide was out) and lots of mud flats. Would be useful to find an environmentally sound way to harvest the energy of the tidal flow.
Following Liz’s excellent instructions we found her place (The Glen Farm) around 9:00 pm and it was good to see her again (and we met Ella the dog). Had a very nice curry dinner and were very well looked after by Liz who had set up space for us all to sleep and stocked the pantry. We definitely felt at home. We had a late cuppa after dinner but realised we were all ready to crash as we sat down around midnight. Liz had also had a big day, coming back from Norfolk and getting ready for us.
In the morning we were surprised to see all the people around and how big the place actually was. Apparently a big day at Ascot with lots of people heading to the races and the Welcome Break stop (with the hotel and a few fast food chains) is one of the most popular places to pull over and it was very busy. We headed off and spent a few hours at Oxford. It was a special weekend (with loads of tourists) and they had lots of extra places open. We happened upon St. John’s College (on St. Giles) and had a bit of a tour of the place, quadrangles and gardens etc. Very nice. Then on foot around some of the landmarks parts of town and decided we keep moving on to Salisbury and did a drive by of Stonehenge on the way. It was very crowded and we didn’t think it was worth the money to stop (besides it was threatening to rain).
Found a car park in Salisbury and decided to check out the market before the cathedral. It had started raining - stopped at an oppy and found a reasonable brolly for £2.50. The market was OK, with a few stalls starting to pack up (about 4:00 pm.) but bought some fruit cheap. Had a nice wander through the city and over a small bridge over a small creek. It was full of swans and ducks. The swans were busy preening themselves (bending their necks and using their beaks to sort out their feathers) and kept being carried down stream by the current. They’d have to stop and paddle back up under the bridge to be where the people were (a bit like Sisyphus in the myth). Did a little bit of shopping for necessities and then walked over to the massive cathedral with the tallest spire in the UK (123 meters).
Had a quick look inside (they were starting an evening service) and saw what might be the oldest working medieval clock (1386) and an amazing fountain that had a reflective surface but still flowed. Visited the Chapter House to check out one of the remaining (four) copies of the Magna Carta which was written in 1215 by the noblemen of England to persuaded the king to relinquish his power and brought about democratic government and parliament. It was written on vellum, which is animal skin (it’s an academic argument as to whether vellum is calf [veal] skin and parchment is lamb skin) and quite an amazing thing. The actual Chapter House is wonderful in itself, but I won’t go into details here other than the amazing carvings in the frieze around the walls - put it on your itinerary if you visit Salisbury here.
Then on the road again and a drive-through of Bath and also Bristol before finding our way to Monmouth in Wales. Had to pay £2.10 to cross the Severn river on a very large bridge (won’t have to pay on the way back). Apparently the tide here is the second largest in the world (don’t know if the tide near Broome is the largest) but there was hardly any river left (tide was out) and lots of mud flats. Would be useful to find an environmentally sound way to harvest the energy of the tidal flow.
Following Liz’s excellent instructions we found her place (The Glen Farm) around 9:00 pm and it was good to see her again (and we met Ella the dog). Had a very nice curry dinner and were very well looked after by Liz who had set up space for us all to sleep and stocked the pantry. We definitely felt at home. We had a late cuppa after dinner but realised we were all ready to crash as we sat down around midnight. Liz had also had a big day, coming back from Norfolk and getting ready for us.
Sweden-UK-Day27 22nd June
Friday, Stockholm to London (and some other places...)
Oh dear, had a bit of a mix up this morning... I woke bright as a button and check my watch and saw it was 10 to 7. Told Wendy and hopped up and had a shower and got dressed. Coaxed Wendy out of bed and thought we’d head on down to breakfast asap. I did comment how quiet it seemed in the hostel and that there wasn’t a car in the street. It’s Midsummer celebration from the 22nd-25th so I put that down to late night celebrations etc. Anyway, I put on my watch and noticed that it was 20 to 5! Had to shake my head and then apologised to Wendy and tried to work out how I’d read my watch wrong - maybe looked at it upside down? Wendy went back to sleep and I wrote a bit of blog and then went back to bed too. Did set my alarm on the Palm Treo and forgot to switch it of silent - so I missed that too. What a mess! Anyway we made good time and caught all the connections and did a self check in at the airport and changed our seats so we could get a window and sit next to each other. Bumped into Heather and Philip again and heard about their drama - Deb had taken Heather’s passport by mistake and was catching a 9 am flight. She rang them at the hotel and they managed to get ready in 15 minutes and race (doing 180 kms in a taxi!?) out to the airport in time to swap the documents so Deb could make her flight. Then they had 3 hours to kill...
So, we had a two hour flight and got into Heathrow a little late (had to do a couple of fly rounds) and then took ages to get through passport control. They hardly had any people on the counters and it must have taken at least 35 minutes. Texted the boys and they were on their way to meet us at our terminal and they waited patiently. Finally walked out and there was Reuben with a sign (written on his hand) “C & W Warren“ just like all the other guys with their sheets of A4 and people’s names on them. Great to see them again. They had nearly got deported because they didn’t (couldn’t) write down on the landing card where they were going to stay - we hadn’t told them! When they said that they were going to meet their parents, they were asked what they were going to do if we didn’t show. ”Sleep at the airport“, was their answer and it nearly wasn’t good enough. Anyway they got a little talking to, and had to give my mobile number and then got let through. The little things you don’t think of passing on...
Went to Budget to pick up the car and ended up with a 7 seater Kia Serdona instead of a small station wagon. This ended up being a much better option... It ran on diesel and there were four arm chairs (two at the front and two in the middle) with a bench at the back and still room behind that for the luggage. Cool! We had to be driven from the airport to the depot and then we were on our way. Had to head out on the M4 and then the M25 to get to Stanstead to pick up Ash. What a hoot - first time driving in the traffic in England. Just the same as the Westgate really, lots of traffic and some stop/start stuff - roundabout a two hour trip. Ash had processed fairly quickly through the airport and was waiting (for about 20 minutes) out on the road, so we did a drive-by pickup. Once we were all loaded in there were lots of stories about travelling and flying and catching up on news - nice to have the family together again. Matthew took over as navigator and we headed us the back way over towards Oxford to stay at the Day Inn Hotel (a WelcomeBreak facility). We did a stop in a small town and discover Waitrose (the supermarket) and stocked up on supplies. Then we hit the M4 right on the money and the hotel was just on the other side! Nice to have a hot shower and comfy bed.
Oh dear, had a bit of a mix up this morning... I woke bright as a button and check my watch and saw it was 10 to 7. Told Wendy and hopped up and had a shower and got dressed. Coaxed Wendy out of bed and thought we’d head on down to breakfast asap. I did comment how quiet it seemed in the hostel and that there wasn’t a car in the street. It’s Midsummer celebration from the 22nd-25th so I put that down to late night celebrations etc. Anyway, I put on my watch and noticed that it was 20 to 5! Had to shake my head and then apologised to Wendy and tried to work out how I’d read my watch wrong - maybe looked at it upside down? Wendy went back to sleep and I wrote a bit of blog and then went back to bed too. Did set my alarm on the Palm Treo and forgot to switch it of silent - so I missed that too. What a mess! Anyway we made good time and caught all the connections and did a self check in at the airport and changed our seats so we could get a window and sit next to each other. Bumped into Heather and Philip again and heard about their drama - Deb had taken Heather’s passport by mistake and was catching a 9 am flight. She rang them at the hotel and they managed to get ready in 15 minutes and race (doing 180 kms in a taxi!?) out to the airport in time to swap the documents so Deb could make her flight. Then they had 3 hours to kill...
So, we had a two hour flight and got into Heathrow a little late (had to do a couple of fly rounds) and then took ages to get through passport control. They hardly had any people on the counters and it must have taken at least 35 minutes. Texted the boys and they were on their way to meet us at our terminal and they waited patiently. Finally walked out and there was Reuben with a sign (written on his hand) “C & W Warren“ just like all the other guys with their sheets of A4 and people’s names on them. Great to see them again. They had nearly got deported because they didn’t (couldn’t) write down on the landing card where they were going to stay - we hadn’t told them! When they said that they were going to meet their parents, they were asked what they were going to do if we didn’t show. ”Sleep at the airport“, was their answer and it nearly wasn’t good enough. Anyway they got a little talking to, and had to give my mobile number and then got let through. The little things you don’t think of passing on...
Went to Budget to pick up the car and ended up with a 7 seater Kia Serdona instead of a small station wagon. This ended up being a much better option... It ran on diesel and there were four arm chairs (two at the front and two in the middle) with a bench at the back and still room behind that for the luggage. Cool! We had to be driven from the airport to the depot and then we were on our way. Had to head out on the M4 and then the M25 to get to Stanstead to pick up Ash. What a hoot - first time driving in the traffic in England. Just the same as the Westgate really, lots of traffic and some stop/start stuff - roundabout a two hour trip. Ash had processed fairly quickly through the airport and was waiting (for about 20 minutes) out on the road, so we did a drive-by pickup. Once we were all loaded in there were lots of stories about travelling and flying and catching up on news - nice to have the family together again. Matthew took over as navigator and we headed us the back way over towards Oxford to stay at the Day Inn Hotel (a WelcomeBreak facility). We did a stop in a small town and discover Waitrose (the supermarket) and stocked up on supplies. Then we hit the M4 right on the money and the hotel was just on the other side! Nice to have a hot shower and comfy bed.
Sweden-Day26 21st June
Thursday - end of conference and back to Stockholm...
Had a couple of admin things to do first up, ring the boys, check with Ash and book some accommodation in the UK for tomorrow night. We’ve booked a car and will pick that up from Heathrow, then go pick Ash up from Stansted and then find the Days Inn Hotel in Oxford (all on a Friday afternoon/evening). Have been enjoying the breakfasts, lots of coffee and orange juice, cereal, scrambled eggs, meatballs and sausage and a range of bread and toppings.
Edward De Bono was unable to attend the conference for the final plenary (he’s had heart surgery and was advised to stay home) so they patched him in by phone. After morning tea Hans Rosling, in his talk, Is the World a Better Place, gave a great overview of what has changed with regard to global economy and health (using statistics that he animated to show change over time). The software he uses is available from http://www.gapminder.org.
If you’re interested you can see a similar presentation that he gave at a recent TED conference. The closing/final activity was a couple of sisters (from Sweden - and yes, with the obligatory blonde hair) who were musicians (one on the piano and the other on violin and signing) and they performed some folk/jazz music. Very nice.
Then picked up some freebie conference paraphernalia (they were giving it away - postcards, badges, bags etc.) on the way out. Phew, I feel tired but now we have to find some lunch and then catch the train back to Stockholm.
Caught the same train as Heather, Philip and Deb and enjoyed a smooth, fast ride back to the capital. Found our youth hostel after a long trip down (to the underground track) and back up again. We didn’t get good advice from the ticket seller and ended up with an 8 trip ticket for 160SEK and could have got a day ticket each for 180SEK. Anyway hostel was close to the station, dropped out gear and headed back into the city to visit the south island and then walk back into the city.
Found the Sofia Church on a hill and then wandered back along the water front and across the bridge into the old town. Had a nice beef curry for dinner which was the first asian food for a while. The narrow streets are amazing and the old town is sort of on a hill so the street often meander up/down. The buildings do start to get a bit boring after a while, all of similar design and painted in a range of ochre colours (red, yellow) and pastels (green, blue, pink). Started to run out of energy so decided to head back early around 9, found the underground and had an entertaining ride back listening to a couple of happy (young) drunks trying to negotiate wether they were going to go out again after a short rest. It’s midsummer here so the days are long, it’s holiday time and there are things to celebrate. Tomorrow back to the UK and seeing the boys again.
Had a couple of admin things to do first up, ring the boys, check with Ash and book some accommodation in the UK for tomorrow night. We’ve booked a car and will pick that up from Heathrow, then go pick Ash up from Stansted and then find the Days Inn Hotel in Oxford (all on a Friday afternoon/evening). Have been enjoying the breakfasts, lots of coffee and orange juice, cereal, scrambled eggs, meatballs and sausage and a range of bread and toppings.
Edward De Bono was unable to attend the conference for the final plenary (he’s had heart surgery and was advised to stay home) so they patched him in by phone. After morning tea Hans Rosling, in his talk, Is the World a Better Place, gave a great overview of what has changed with regard to global economy and health (using statistics that he animated to show change over time). The software he uses is available from http://www.gapminder.org.
If you’re interested you can see a similar presentation that he gave at a recent TED conference. The closing/final activity was a couple of sisters (from Sweden - and yes, with the obligatory blonde hair) who were musicians (one on the piano and the other on violin and signing) and they performed some folk/jazz music. Very nice.
Then picked up some freebie conference paraphernalia (they were giving it away - postcards, badges, bags etc.) on the way out. Phew, I feel tired but now we have to find some lunch and then catch the train back to Stockholm.
Caught the same train as Heather, Philip and Deb and enjoyed a smooth, fast ride back to the capital. Found our youth hostel after a long trip down (to the underground track) and back up again. We didn’t get good advice from the ticket seller and ended up with an 8 trip ticket for 160SEK and could have got a day ticket each for 180SEK. Anyway hostel was close to the station, dropped out gear and headed back into the city to visit the south island and then walk back into the city.
Found the Sofia Church on a hill and then wandered back along the water front and across the bridge into the old town. Had a nice beef curry for dinner which was the first asian food for a while. The narrow streets are amazing and the old town is sort of on a hill so the street often meander up/down. The buildings do start to get a bit boring after a while, all of similar design and painted in a range of ochre colours (red, yellow) and pastels (green, blue, pink). Started to run out of energy so decided to head back early around 9, found the underground and had an entertaining ride back listening to a couple of happy (young) drunks trying to negotiate wether they were going to go out again after a short rest. It’s midsummer here so the days are long, it’s holiday time and there are things to celebrate. Tomorrow back to the UK and seeing the boys again.
Sweden-Day25 20th June
Wednesday,
Back to the conference and looking forward to the coffee breaks and lunch - the food has been great. The first plenary was a dry (but interesting) lecture on neuroscience by a French professor, Jean-Pierre Changeux. He spoke of the Capable Person as someone who can understand themselves as another (be aware of themselves as a rational, conscious individual).
I went to a double-session run by a group of health-care workers who showed us an innovation method for creative thinking. We had a group of five which include an Italian, New Zealander, British, Swedish and me. Quite interesting and a bit like what I’d learnt at a Proteus conference a couple of years ago in Melbourne. About brainstorming and using random words to associate with ideas and apply them to the problem to see what thoughts a rise. It was good fun and nice to meet some other people. A consultant, accountant, pre-school teacher and an adult educator.
Also went to Goran Carstedt who is a consultant and coach and has held management roles with Ikea and Volvo. His presentation was about Co-creating a Desired Future and suggested that we first need to place our mission, work and organisation into the bigger picture, then we need to organise ourselves by inviting people to co-create (rather than a top-down approach) and then leaders need to take an outside-in approach which is like bottom-up rather than top-down.
Howard Gardener finished off the day and spoke about his project Good Work in Education. He suggests that good work is work that is at once excellent in quality technically, personally engaging and meaningful, and carried out in a responsible and ethical manner. It is important that the conditions that are conducive to this are provided and he suggests the important things to nurture ‘good workers’ are:
• early value systems (often religious)
• the first workplace (internships)
• vertical support (mentors)
• horizontal support (peers)
• periodic booster shots (positive and cautionary examples - like conferences?)
We have been trying to find a public phone booth that will take coins (10 kroners - which is $2!) but all we can find take your credit card. All we need to do is make the first local connection and then we use the 30 digits to make the long distance call, so it seems crazy to use a credit card to make a local call... There are apparently other cards you can get but we must have tried a dozen shops without luck - people look at us crazy and say use a mobile! Then we tell then we want to ring Australia... Use the credit card they say - but that’s expensive. We bought an international card that was such good value, we probably won’t use it all. They seem to have removed most public phones except for at railway/bus stations.
Had dinner with Heather and Phil to finish off the day.
Back to the conference and looking forward to the coffee breaks and lunch - the food has been great. The first plenary was a dry (but interesting) lecture on neuroscience by a French professor, Jean-Pierre Changeux. He spoke of the Capable Person as someone who can understand themselves as another (be aware of themselves as a rational, conscious individual).
I went to a double-session run by a group of health-care workers who showed us an innovation method for creative thinking. We had a group of five which include an Italian, New Zealander, British, Swedish and me. Quite interesting and a bit like what I’d learnt at a Proteus conference a couple of years ago in Melbourne. About brainstorming and using random words to associate with ideas and apply them to the problem to see what thoughts a rise. It was good fun and nice to meet some other people. A consultant, accountant, pre-school teacher and an adult educator.
Also went to Goran Carstedt who is a consultant and coach and has held management roles with Ikea and Volvo. His presentation was about Co-creating a Desired Future and suggested that we first need to place our mission, work and organisation into the bigger picture, then we need to organise ourselves by inviting people to co-create (rather than a top-down approach) and then leaders need to take an outside-in approach which is like bottom-up rather than top-down.
Howard Gardener finished off the day and spoke about his project Good Work in Education. He suggests that good work is work that is at once excellent in quality technically, personally engaging and meaningful, and carried out in a responsible and ethical manner. It is important that the conditions that are conducive to this are provided and he suggests the important things to nurture ‘good workers’ are:
• early value systems (often religious)
• the first workplace (internships)
• vertical support (mentors)
• horizontal support (peers)
• periodic booster shots (positive and cautionary examples - like conferences?)
We have been trying to find a public phone booth that will take coins (10 kroners - which is $2!) but all we can find take your credit card. All we need to do is make the first local connection and then we use the 30 digits to make the long distance call, so it seems crazy to use a credit card to make a local call... There are apparently other cards you can get but we must have tried a dozen shops without luck - people look at us crazy and say use a mobile! Then we tell then we want to ring Australia... Use the credit card they say - but that’s expensive. We bought an international card that was such good value, we probably won’t use it all. They seem to have removed most public phones except for at railway/bus stations.
Had dinner with Heather and Phil to finish off the day.
Sweden-Day24 19th June
Tuesday,
The walk from the hotel to the conference venue is a pleasant one (either way you go - along the river bank or via the streets) and I’ve noticed that there are a fair share of Volvos on the streets here... Duh! A few hoons with their doof, doof, making heavy going of the cobbled streets but otherwise sedate drivers in their sensible cars. There are few bicyles around and it makes sense - fairly flat landscape and special section of the footpath is bitumen so the ride is smooth - so there are lots of bikes parking/locking places. We are fairly well in the old part of town and the ‘industrial landscape’ has changed so that it now houses the university and the conference center, and all the paper mill industry has moved out of town. Many of the existing buildings that were owned by the Holmen Company still stand and they are all painted Nörrkoping yellow (check the photos). Many are now halls/perfomance auditoriums and university buildings as well as a few converted to museums.
And now to the conference talks for today: Philip Adey gave a presentation that examined the notion of a general intellectual capacity that everyone has. There’s no quick solution of magic bullet (that will mean you can teach everyone something) but if you allow for the notion that there is a general intelligence, then there are specific ways to stimulate this while allowing for different types of abilities. He discussed the range of intellectual capacities concerning general mental abilities (including the cohabitation of general and special abilities), cognitive modules, cognitive development, and some evidence for plasticity of the general processor. All sounds a bit complex, but it made sense on the day.
David Perkins spoke about he Thoughtful Will and took us on a journey to discover just what the will is, and suggested that it may be a resource that is a reservoir of strategic wisdom about self-management. It was very good, the guy is 78 and he was walking around on the stage and then off the stage and up into the audience - very engaging and had a conversation with us rather then giving a lecture.
Bob Swartz did a presentation on Infusing Critical and Creative Thinking into Content Instruction and didn’t impress me all that much. He had tiny little overheads and didn’t seem well prepared. His topic was really about using ‘graphic organisers’ that facilitate skillful thinking.
Listened to Jonathan Rowson who spoke about, What is it like to be a Chess Grandmaster? A very interesting talk and boiled down to the fact that you need to take into account your intuition as well as be able to process the cognitive load. Gave a nice insight into the world of competitive chess and showed how a lot of playing the game at that level is about looking for patterns and not necessarily making the best move but what feels or looks right.
The day finished with Per Frankelius suggesting that time has come for a new innovation perspective. He showed how innovation has changed over the 50 years and that we now need new models.
We went on a dramatised tour of Nörrkoping in the evening before the dinner. It was raining a little and the tour guide brought some umbrellas with her. ‘Joanna’ was the person who told us about like 100 years ago. How a young girl come to the big city, had to find accommodation and a job. You needed somewhere to live before you could get a job, and you needed a job before you could get somewhere to live! The problem was usually solved by someone renting a corner of a room for you to sleep in and you paid some rent to call the place home. She was dressed in period clothing and talk more about her getting married to a good (sober) man who also had a job and having four children. It was nice to get the history lesson from a personalised context.
Conference dinner in the evening and we chatted with Kathy from Sydney and watched/heard a thunderstorm come over, then saw a rainbow and then blue skies. Nice food again with a range of yummy (cold) seafood and strawberries and ice cream for desert. Actually had some Four Sisters Shiraz with the food! The entertainment afterwards were a very lively musicgroup group who jumped around a fair and kept the crowd amused.
We also went to a demonstration called Memory of the Universe, of some new 3D universe mapping software where a guy (via Skype from New York) took us on a 3D tour of the universe starting with our planet and traveling out to edge of the know universe. This as far as light has travelled in something like 10 billion years. I lost track of the the dimensions once we left our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Very interesting though and amazing to see, made me feel very small. The photo below shows the earth surrounded by communication and geo-stationary satellites, the space station, the moons orbit, the geo-magnetic field and the sun (as well as other stars).
So, to sum up - it’s all too magnificent & wonderful for me to comprehend and understand completely.
The walk from the hotel to the conference venue is a pleasant one (either way you go - along the river bank or via the streets) and I’ve noticed that there are a fair share of Volvos on the streets here... Duh! A few hoons with their doof, doof, making heavy going of the cobbled streets but otherwise sedate drivers in their sensible cars. There are few bicyles around and it makes sense - fairly flat landscape and special section of the footpath is bitumen so the ride is smooth - so there are lots of bikes parking/locking places. We are fairly well in the old part of town and the ‘industrial landscape’ has changed so that it now houses the university and the conference center, and all the paper mill industry has moved out of town. Many of the existing buildings that were owned by the Holmen Company still stand and they are all painted Nörrkoping yellow (check the photos). Many are now halls/perfomance auditoriums and university buildings as well as a few converted to museums.
And now to the conference talks for today: Philip Adey gave a presentation that examined the notion of a general intellectual capacity that everyone has. There’s no quick solution of magic bullet (that will mean you can teach everyone something) but if you allow for the notion that there is a general intelligence, then there are specific ways to stimulate this while allowing for different types of abilities. He discussed the range of intellectual capacities concerning general mental abilities (including the cohabitation of general and special abilities), cognitive modules, cognitive development, and some evidence for plasticity of the general processor. All sounds a bit complex, but it made sense on the day.
David Perkins spoke about he Thoughtful Will and took us on a journey to discover just what the will is, and suggested that it may be a resource that is a reservoir of strategic wisdom about self-management. It was very good, the guy is 78 and he was walking around on the stage and then off the stage and up into the audience - very engaging and had a conversation with us rather then giving a lecture.
Bob Swartz did a presentation on Infusing Critical and Creative Thinking into Content Instruction and didn’t impress me all that much. He had tiny little overheads and didn’t seem well prepared. His topic was really about using ‘graphic organisers’ that facilitate skillful thinking.
Listened to Jonathan Rowson who spoke about, What is it like to be a Chess Grandmaster? A very interesting talk and boiled down to the fact that you need to take into account your intuition as well as be able to process the cognitive load. Gave a nice insight into the world of competitive chess and showed how a lot of playing the game at that level is about looking for patterns and not necessarily making the best move but what feels or looks right.
The day finished with Per Frankelius suggesting that time has come for a new innovation perspective. He showed how innovation has changed over the 50 years and that we now need new models.
We went on a dramatised tour of Nörrkoping in the evening before the dinner. It was raining a little and the tour guide brought some umbrellas with her. ‘Joanna’ was the person who told us about like 100 years ago. How a young girl come to the big city, had to find accommodation and a job. You needed somewhere to live before you could get a job, and you needed a job before you could get somewhere to live! The problem was usually solved by someone renting a corner of a room for you to sleep in and you paid some rent to call the place home. She was dressed in period clothing and talk more about her getting married to a good (sober) man who also had a job and having four children. It was nice to get the history lesson from a personalised context.
Conference dinner in the evening and we chatted with Kathy from Sydney and watched/heard a thunderstorm come over, then saw a rainbow and then blue skies. Nice food again with a range of yummy (cold) seafood and strawberries and ice cream for desert. Actually had some Four Sisters Shiraz with the food! The entertainment afterwards were a very lively musicgroup group who jumped around a fair and kept the crowd amused.
We also went to a demonstration called Memory of the Universe, of some new 3D universe mapping software where a guy (via Skype from New York) took us on a 3D tour of the universe starting with our planet and traveling out to edge of the know universe. This as far as light has travelled in something like 10 billion years. I lost track of the the dimensions once we left our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Very interesting though and amazing to see, made me feel very small. The photo below shows the earth surrounded by communication and geo-stationary satellites, the space station, the moons orbit, the geo-magnetic field and the sun (as well as other stars).
So, to sum up - it’s all too magnificent & wonderful for me to comprehend and understand completely.
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Sweden-Day23 18th June
Monday, and the conference has begun.
We are based in Nörrkoping (pronounced Norshopping) and staying at the Strand Hotel which is a quaint older style hotel with a great staircase. Our room has high ceiling and a writing desk and sitting area and a view out of the window onto the river and bridge. The toilet has a warning sign in four languages that says there is a shredder attached to the flushing mechanism so don’t throw anything into the toilet that shouldn’t be in there.
The conference opened with some Swedish folk music and dancing and then we were off. As it’s a conference on thinking, there are topics from the brain and neuroscience (which may be interesting), to topics on how can we teach for better learning and how to work together on innovation or shared futures. As usual, conferences are a good measure as to your own knowledge/understanding and some of the presentations have been a bit ho, hum, while others are stimulating and expose you to new ideas. Peter Gärdenfors kicked things off explaining how we became human and explain the evolution of thinking from primeval man to now. Also went to Bo Ekman who gave us a rather pessimistic view of the world and the state of global warming and economical development. More questions that answers. Britt-Mari Barth in her talk, Knowing - Process or Product, gave us a wonderful example of a learning activity which encouraged primary school aged children to think (hard) about what they saw in a painting. They went on to discover different types of painting styles and how light and colour where used. On evaluating the lesson, one student commented how they learnt a lot and the teacher didn’t even help! Just how it should be, although there had been a fair bit of preparation involved.
Wendy and I had a chat to Guy Claxton who had given a good presentation regarding the need to think about the language we use to talk about learning. He mentioned a macro-language to talk about learning dispositions and a micro-language to talk about student ‘learning’ rather than student ‘work’. He said we should build learning power through; gently, systematically coaching the development of positive learning dispositions in three ways:
• broadening: becoming more ready
• strengthening: becoming more willing
• enriching: becoming more able
He has written about the new three ‘Rs’ which are resourcefulness, resilience and reflectiveness etc.
Bill martin was the last plenary presentation and he was replacing John Edwards who couldn’t make it (quite a few keynote speakers have been unable to attend). Bill gave a talk on Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Leadership, and suggested that to have a successful organisation things need to be aligned, everyone needs to be on the same page and leadership has a responsibility to provide this through providing values and mental models of how to be. So, rather a big day with lots of things to think about.
The food has been excellent, the venue is amazing (not too much walking between any of the 12 concurrent talks) and we’ve met lots of people. There are about 1300 delegates and many of them are teachers from Australia and New Zealand, so good to hear some familiar accents. After the talks ere finished we went on a guided tour of the industrial landscape of Nörrkoping which introduced the historic buildings and how things have changed in the last 150 years.
We are based in Nörrkoping (pronounced Norshopping) and staying at the Strand Hotel which is a quaint older style hotel with a great staircase. Our room has high ceiling and a writing desk and sitting area and a view out of the window onto the river and bridge. The toilet has a warning sign in four languages that says there is a shredder attached to the flushing mechanism so don’t throw anything into the toilet that shouldn’t be in there.
The conference opened with some Swedish folk music and dancing and then we were off. As it’s a conference on thinking, there are topics from the brain and neuroscience (which may be interesting), to topics on how can we teach for better learning and how to work together on innovation or shared futures. As usual, conferences are a good measure as to your own knowledge/understanding and some of the presentations have been a bit ho, hum, while others are stimulating and expose you to new ideas. Peter Gärdenfors kicked things off explaining how we became human and explain the evolution of thinking from primeval man to now. Also went to Bo Ekman who gave us a rather pessimistic view of the world and the state of global warming and economical development. More questions that answers. Britt-Mari Barth in her talk, Knowing - Process or Product, gave us a wonderful example of a learning activity which encouraged primary school aged children to think (hard) about what they saw in a painting. They went on to discover different types of painting styles and how light and colour where used. On evaluating the lesson, one student commented how they learnt a lot and the teacher didn’t even help! Just how it should be, although there had been a fair bit of preparation involved.
Wendy and I had a chat to Guy Claxton who had given a good presentation regarding the need to think about the language we use to talk about learning. He mentioned a macro-language to talk about learning dispositions and a micro-language to talk about student ‘learning’ rather than student ‘work’. He said we should build learning power through; gently, systematically coaching the development of positive learning dispositions in three ways:
• broadening: becoming more ready
• strengthening: becoming more willing
• enriching: becoming more able
He has written about the new three ‘Rs’ which are resourcefulness, resilience and reflectiveness etc.
Bill martin was the last plenary presentation and he was replacing John Edwards who couldn’t make it (quite a few keynote speakers have been unable to attend). Bill gave a talk on Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Leadership, and suggested that to have a successful organisation things need to be aligned, everyone needs to be on the same page and leadership has a responsibility to provide this through providing values and mental models of how to be. So, rather a big day with lots of things to think about.
The food has been excellent, the venue is amazing (not too much walking between any of the 12 concurrent talks) and we’ve met lots of people. There are about 1300 delegates and many of them are teachers from Australia and New Zealand, so good to hear some familiar accents. After the talks ere finished we went on a guided tour of the industrial landscape of Nörrkoping which introduced the historic buildings and how things have changed in the last 150 years.
Sweden-Day22 17th June
Sunday,
We sailed all night and arrived in Stockholm at 9:30 am (picking up the hour I lost on my birthday). Awoke to see tiny islands as we sailed by them at beginning of landfall on the Swedish coast which is an archipelago. Looks like lots of little holiday residences scattered over these islands, tucked away in the forests and usually with a boat tied up to a jetty. Looks like a nightmare to navigate through it all, some of it is quite narrow for a big ship. Have seen a couple of other large vessels so it must be the main route to Stockholm. The rocky islands remind me a bit of the granite near Esperance and Albany except here they are black and grey rather then red. Had a good sleep and a great shower. It was overcast and drizzling which was a shame because we’d planned to spend most of the day looking around Stockholm.
Whizzed through customs (nothing to declare - although we had to stop while a dog sniffed us over) and out into the rain. Found a bus into town easily enough and dumped the luggage into a locker at the station. Had to do the bankomat thing first and got ourselves some Swedish Kroner. The only problem with some of these machines is that you get large denominations - so now I had a couple 500 SEK notes ($100). Banks re usually good at changing them but it was Sunday and they’re not open. So, off to a news-agent and bought an international phone card and a snack. Then we could get some change for the locker and also tried to make a couple of calls home etc. but couldn’t raise anyone so we set out into the rain.
Walked across into the old town and enjoyed the narrow streets and (not many cars could get around here) and ended up in the old square. A few tour groups also out braving the elements but we headed into a coffee shop and down a tight spiral staircase to the cellar. Only candle lit, so quite dark but full of people and dry and warm. Enjoyed a latte (which came in like a soup bowl) and some cardamon cake and a chocolate cake. We then discovered that Wendy had left her reading glasses on the ferry and the waiter very kindly lent us his mobile to ring the company to ask about lost property. Didn’t have much luck (got the ‘on hold’ messages) and was cut off. Tried again later when we visited the Alfred Nobel museum and the person selling the tickets let us borrow the house phone! People are very kind. Finally got through (after 15 minutes on hold), and let them know of our loss and hopefully we’ll hear something about them. Will need the loss report to be able to claim on insurance... The Nobel museum was expensive and probably worth a longer stay (lots of audio and video which we didn’t really have time to sit through) and had a focus on creativity and how breakthrough ideas don’t always happen in the laboratory but often during times of relaxation/contemplation.
Back into the weather and past the palace with its guards standing in the rain getting wet and back across the river to see if we could find something to eat. Found a mall and found out that things are expensive - a takeaway bowl of soup was $12. Lots of people around and everybody is eating ice cream/yogurt. Didn’t find anything as we were running out of time and headed back to the station but did see a sort of cultural center (drama, art & literature) that had a whole library of animated novels. Lots of people inside out of the rain lounging in bean-bags absorbed in these cartoon novels. Emptied the locker and raced to the platform and noticed that our train was leaving at 16:40 (I had 16:20 in my mind so we did find something to eat in the station and went back to the platform in time for the 16:40. The train was there but it wasn’t ours! We’d missed the one we needed (the 16:20) and there were others in the same position (a couple of primary school principals from Sydney)!. A train guard told us not to worry, “just go to the last carriage and it will be OK”. Plenty of seats but it was a slower train so we’d get there an hour later than planned - did have a good chat with Gloria and Danuka though.
Got to Nörrkoping and checked into the hotel (they had emailed a code to get into the front door and also into the 2nd floor) where we found our room (door was open with the keys inside) and the conference registration information. Settled in a little and headed down to the conference centre, 6 minute walk. The area is very interesting and used to be very industrial with a river flowing through which used to drive 17 power stations (the water drops about 18 meters over 2 kms through the town which is situated near the mouth of the river that runs into a bay). We were about an hour and a half late but were greeted with a smile and we traded our registration voucher for our name tags and the conference bag and found some food and a glass of wine. We bumped into Heather, Philip and Deb a little later and it was nice to see some familiar faces. Will have a closer look at the program in the morning to work out what sessions we want to go to.
We sailed all night and arrived in Stockholm at 9:30 am (picking up the hour I lost on my birthday). Awoke to see tiny islands as we sailed by them at beginning of landfall on the Swedish coast which is an archipelago. Looks like lots of little holiday residences scattered over these islands, tucked away in the forests and usually with a boat tied up to a jetty. Looks like a nightmare to navigate through it all, some of it is quite narrow for a big ship. Have seen a couple of other large vessels so it must be the main route to Stockholm. The rocky islands remind me a bit of the granite near Esperance and Albany except here they are black and grey rather then red. Had a good sleep and a great shower. It was overcast and drizzling which was a shame because we’d planned to spend most of the day looking around Stockholm.
Whizzed through customs (nothing to declare - although we had to stop while a dog sniffed us over) and out into the rain. Found a bus into town easily enough and dumped the luggage into a locker at the station. Had to do the bankomat thing first and got ourselves some Swedish Kroner. The only problem with some of these machines is that you get large denominations - so now I had a couple 500 SEK notes ($100). Banks re usually good at changing them but it was Sunday and they’re not open. So, off to a news-agent and bought an international phone card and a snack. Then we could get some change for the locker and also tried to make a couple of calls home etc. but couldn’t raise anyone so we set out into the rain.
Walked across into the old town and enjoyed the narrow streets and (not many cars could get around here) and ended up in the old square. A few tour groups also out braving the elements but we headed into a coffee shop and down a tight spiral staircase to the cellar. Only candle lit, so quite dark but full of people and dry and warm. Enjoyed a latte (which came in like a soup bowl) and some cardamon cake and a chocolate cake. We then discovered that Wendy had left her reading glasses on the ferry and the waiter very kindly lent us his mobile to ring the company to ask about lost property. Didn’t have much luck (got the ‘on hold’ messages) and was cut off. Tried again later when we visited the Alfred Nobel museum and the person selling the tickets let us borrow the house phone! People are very kind. Finally got through (after 15 minutes on hold), and let them know of our loss and hopefully we’ll hear something about them. Will need the loss report to be able to claim on insurance... The Nobel museum was expensive and probably worth a longer stay (lots of audio and video which we didn’t really have time to sit through) and had a focus on creativity and how breakthrough ideas don’t always happen in the laboratory but often during times of relaxation/contemplation.
Back into the weather and past the palace with its guards standing in the rain getting wet and back across the river to see if we could find something to eat. Found a mall and found out that things are expensive - a takeaway bowl of soup was $12. Lots of people around and everybody is eating ice cream/yogurt. Didn’t find anything as we were running out of time and headed back to the station but did see a sort of cultural center (drama, art & literature) that had a whole library of animated novels. Lots of people inside out of the rain lounging in bean-bags absorbed in these cartoon novels. Emptied the locker and raced to the platform and noticed that our train was leaving at 16:40 (I had 16:20 in my mind so we did find something to eat in the station and went back to the platform in time for the 16:40. The train was there but it wasn’t ours! We’d missed the one we needed (the 16:20) and there were others in the same position (a couple of primary school principals from Sydney)!. A train guard told us not to worry, “just go to the last carriage and it will be OK”. Plenty of seats but it was a slower train so we’d get there an hour later than planned - did have a good chat with Gloria and Danuka though.
Got to Nörrkoping and checked into the hotel (they had emailed a code to get into the front door and also into the 2nd floor) where we found our room (door was open with the keys inside) and the conference registration information. Settled in a little and headed down to the conference centre, 6 minute walk. The area is very interesting and used to be very industrial with a river flowing through which used to drive 17 power stations (the water drops about 18 meters over 2 kms through the town which is situated near the mouth of the river that runs into a bay). We were about an hour and a half late but were greeted with a smile and we traded our registration voucher for our name tags and the conference bag and found some food and a glass of wine. We bumped into Heather, Philip and Deb a little later and it was nice to see some familiar faces. Will have a closer look at the program in the morning to work out what sessions we want to go to.
Latvia-Sweden-Day21 16th June
Saturday, three weeks on the road already!
Still had the morning to spend in Riga so we packed up our bags and left them at the hostel while heading off to the cathedral (Doma laukums) which is the largest in the Baltics. Cost $6 (2 Lats) to go in so we didn’t bother - we’ve seen so many churches. This cathedral does boast a 6768-pipe organ which when built in 1884, was the world’s largest. Also visited St.Peter’s and I went up the lift inside the spire and had some good views of the old city. It was a little crowded in the lift with 12 of us (me and a bunch of French visitors) and as we exited the lift we had to squeeze past all the people going back down! There was really only room for 16 people (4 on each side of the viewing area), so we all shuffled along looking North, West, South and East before the lift arrived and we had to squeeze past the next lot who came up. Hip and shoulder together as we descended and a phone went off. It was that tight they couldn’t get to answer it before we got to the bottom. Bit of a weird experience...
Stopped for coffee (had a Viennese coffee again - half coffee/half cream - yum) and had to sit through Latvia’s version of Rage that was showing on a large LCD panel which was mounted in a lovely gilt frame! A few Irish guys were consuming shots of something and beer and I don’t think they’d been to school because they had a very limited vocabulary. One word in particular was getting used fairly regularly as a noun, verb adjective, adverb, past participle, conjunction and preposition, all in the one sentence! (very clever for not having been to school).
Dropped in at the hostel to do a bit of Ineternetting and then went to the markets to have a greasy Latvian lunch. It was very yummy though. We had these fried dumplings with either meat, cheese or potato in them and also what’s generically known as a zeppelin. A bit like a potato/hash-brown with a tasty onion/bacon/mince filling. We actually ordered another one it was that good.
Went back to collect our bags and had to try three taxis before we were happy with the price quoted (from $24 down to $15!). Departed Riga at 17:30 on the Regina Baltica a large passenger ferry with 10 decks, 8 with cabins for up to 1500 passengers as well as lower decks for trucks, camper vans and cars. Like a big hotel, it also has restaurants, casino, duty free shopping, a sauna and bars. Fairly comfortable but showing it’s age.
On the way out of the river/harbour we passed the coal docks! Amazing, heaps of cranes all working feverishly unloading trains into trucks and loading ships from big piles. No sophisticated conveyor belts or anything clever here - looks like they have been doing it this way for a long time. Then out through the breakwater and into the open sea. Thankfully the weather’s calm.
On the boat/ship we had a double cabin (a bit like the train but with only two bunks instead of three, and our own toilet and shower) and Ash was in a 4 berth with 3 other guys. We bought dinner on board and noticed that things were starting to get more expensive so Sweden will encourage us to watch the pennies (kroner) a bit more closely.
Still had the morning to spend in Riga so we packed up our bags and left them at the hostel while heading off to the cathedral (Doma laukums) which is the largest in the Baltics. Cost $6 (2 Lats) to go in so we didn’t bother - we’ve seen so many churches. This cathedral does boast a 6768-pipe organ which when built in 1884, was the world’s largest. Also visited St.Peter’s and I went up the lift inside the spire and had some good views of the old city. It was a little crowded in the lift with 12 of us (me and a bunch of French visitors) and as we exited the lift we had to squeeze past all the people going back down! There was really only room for 16 people (4 on each side of the viewing area), so we all shuffled along looking North, West, South and East before the lift arrived and we had to squeeze past the next lot who came up. Hip and shoulder together as we descended and a phone went off. It was that tight they couldn’t get to answer it before we got to the bottom. Bit of a weird experience...
Stopped for coffee (had a Viennese coffee again - half coffee/half cream - yum) and had to sit through Latvia’s version of Rage that was showing on a large LCD panel which was mounted in a lovely gilt frame! A few Irish guys were consuming shots of something and beer and I don’t think they’d been to school because they had a very limited vocabulary. One word in particular was getting used fairly regularly as a noun, verb adjective, adverb, past participle, conjunction and preposition, all in the one sentence! (very clever for not having been to school).
Dropped in at the hostel to do a bit of Ineternetting and then went to the markets to have a greasy Latvian lunch. It was very yummy though. We had these fried dumplings with either meat, cheese or potato in them and also what’s generically known as a zeppelin. A bit like a potato/hash-brown with a tasty onion/bacon/mince filling. We actually ordered another one it was that good.
Went back to collect our bags and had to try three taxis before we were happy with the price quoted (from $24 down to $15!). Departed Riga at 17:30 on the Regina Baltica a large passenger ferry with 10 decks, 8 with cabins for up to 1500 passengers as well as lower decks for trucks, camper vans and cars. Like a big hotel, it also has restaurants, casino, duty free shopping, a sauna and bars. Fairly comfortable but showing it’s age.
On the way out of the river/harbour we passed the coal docks! Amazing, heaps of cranes all working feverishly unloading trains into trucks and loading ships from big piles. No sophisticated conveyor belts or anything clever here - looks like they have been doing it this way for a long time. Then out through the breakwater and into the open sea. Thankfully the weather’s calm.
On the boat/ship we had a double cabin (a bit like the train but with only two bunks instead of three, and our own toilet and shower) and Ash was in a 4 berth with 3 other guys. We bought dinner on board and noticed that things were starting to get more expensive so Sweden will encourage us to watch the pennies (kroner) a bit more closely.
Saturday, 16 June 2007
Latvia-Day20 15th June
Friday - Riga (capital of Latvia and a port city on the Baltic coast - so far we’ve been in landlocked countries which is a bit difficult for an Australian to comprehend),
In our ‘apartment’ (with another double room sharing the bathroom and kitchen) we did a load of washing and the room stayed warm enough to dry it in the afternoon. There was a cool wind from the north today so light jumpers were put on. Asher is in a dorm in the Riga Old Town Hostel and up on the 4th floor. We’re a couple of doors down the road, up one level in an apartment building. They gave us a code to get into the door from the street but you don’t need it! Just push the door and you’re in (gives me the yips a bit, lots of shady looking characters hanging round). But, we need two keys to get through a double door and then we have another key for our own lockable room. Just that there’s so much security makes you wonder a little, well me anyway. The Hostel has a noisy bar (but you have to smoke outside) and the door to the spiral staircase that goes up to the dorms is made to look like a bookcase so it’s sort of hidden a bit but people keep coming in and out. It’s ll fun and noisy and many different English accents. Last night we did have a drink at the bar and tried out the Black Balsam (one straight, one with black current and one with coke) so we could come away saying we had tried it. It’s a herbal liqueur and black, some people don’t like it, but I reckon it could be an acquired taste. It’s a bit like Jagermeister or the Czech Becherovka. I probably like the sweet ones like Benedictine better.
Started off the day in the huge markets near the bus station where we arrived yesterday. There are five huge hangers (originally designed to house zeppelins) and cater for all your needs. Each one has different produce; meat, fish, vegetables, bread, cheese, staples, etc. and outside there are many more small stalls for the shoppers delight (lots of vegies, strawberries and cherries, and even people selling secondhand shopping bags for you to carry your stuff home in. After wandering through we ended up near the Academy of Sciences building, which is an interesting example of Soviet architecture (called Stalin’s birthday cake and built the year I was born). We were able to take the lift to the 17th floor for some great views of the old city. There was an interesting display in the lift foyer of the work done by the Latvian Folklore Association. They go out and visit the rural/remote areas and record music and songs, take photos and take oral histories of the local Latvian culture.
On our way back through the old town we did a DIY walking tour and after visiting the Ravel Hotel and going up the lass elevator to the 26th floor (for a great view over the city) went through the area with all the Art Nouveau district and it’s fantastically designed buildings. The building facades are covered with carvings of lions, nymphs and goblins etc. with colourful tiles accenting the designs. A few have been lovingly renovated while others are in various states of repair. On our way back through the old town and onto the bridge to get a view looking back to the city, I managed to trip on a stair and dropped my camera lens first! Oh, woe is me. Smashed the glass in the filter and mangled it into the lens so it was fairly well jammed in. Ash helped get the glass out of the filter and the lens still seems to work OK (auto focus etc.) except the zoom has got a little tight. Will have to take it into a camera shop in Sweden and look into an insurance claim.
Visited the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (a most appropriately designed building, very sombre, if not scary) and spent an hour walking through reading about the Soviet and Nazi occupations. Terrible stuff, with the invaders bringing their armies and new settlers with them and embarking on efficient programs of re-culturation which There were also mass deportations by the Nazis (just the same as elsewhere) and the Soviets shipping people of to the gulag! It’s an amazing story and you begin to wonder how these things have an effect on a people. I can understand that there may be some residual anger but also fear, particularly with the KGB actively monitoring what’s going on.
Went to the Lido restaurant for dinner and tried out few things but they weren’t as cheap as we thought they might be. This place was a bit similar to the Delano in Vilnius but less to choose from, they cooked fries in a huge (1 meter wide) fry pan!
Did some email at the hostel (wireless connection in the bar) and Wendy got roped into playing cards with a couple of Finns and a Latvian who were drunk enough to shout all the time.
In our ‘apartment’ (with another double room sharing the bathroom and kitchen) we did a load of washing and the room stayed warm enough to dry it in the afternoon. There was a cool wind from the north today so light jumpers were put on. Asher is in a dorm in the Riga Old Town Hostel and up on the 4th floor. We’re a couple of doors down the road, up one level in an apartment building. They gave us a code to get into the door from the street but you don’t need it! Just push the door and you’re in (gives me the yips a bit, lots of shady looking characters hanging round). But, we need two keys to get through a double door and then we have another key for our own lockable room. Just that there’s so much security makes you wonder a little, well me anyway. The Hostel has a noisy bar (but you have to smoke outside) and the door to the spiral staircase that goes up to the dorms is made to look like a bookcase so it’s sort of hidden a bit but people keep coming in and out. It’s ll fun and noisy and many different English accents. Last night we did have a drink at the bar and tried out the Black Balsam (one straight, one with black current and one with coke) so we could come away saying we had tried it. It’s a herbal liqueur and black, some people don’t like it, but I reckon it could be an acquired taste. It’s a bit like Jagermeister or the Czech Becherovka. I probably like the sweet ones like Benedictine better.
Started off the day in the huge markets near the bus station where we arrived yesterday. There are five huge hangers (originally designed to house zeppelins) and cater for all your needs. Each one has different produce; meat, fish, vegetables, bread, cheese, staples, etc. and outside there are many more small stalls for the shoppers delight (lots of vegies, strawberries and cherries, and even people selling secondhand shopping bags for you to carry your stuff home in. After wandering through we ended up near the Academy of Sciences building, which is an interesting example of Soviet architecture (called Stalin’s birthday cake and built the year I was born). We were able to take the lift to the 17th floor for some great views of the old city. There was an interesting display in the lift foyer of the work done by the Latvian Folklore Association. They go out and visit the rural/remote areas and record music and songs, take photos and take oral histories of the local Latvian culture.
On our way back through the old town we did a DIY walking tour and after visiting the Ravel Hotel and going up the lass elevator to the 26th floor (for a great view over the city) went through the area with all the Art Nouveau district and it’s fantastically designed buildings. The building facades are covered with carvings of lions, nymphs and goblins etc. with colourful tiles accenting the designs. A few have been lovingly renovated while others are in various states of repair. On our way back through the old town and onto the bridge to get a view looking back to the city, I managed to trip on a stair and dropped my camera lens first! Oh, woe is me. Smashed the glass in the filter and mangled it into the lens so it was fairly well jammed in. Ash helped get the glass out of the filter and the lens still seems to work OK (auto focus etc.) except the zoom has got a little tight. Will have to take it into a camera shop in Sweden and look into an insurance claim.
Visited the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (a most appropriately designed building, very sombre, if not scary) and spent an hour walking through reading about the Soviet and Nazi occupations. Terrible stuff, with the invaders bringing their armies and new settlers with them and embarking on efficient programs of re-culturation which There were also mass deportations by the Nazis (just the same as elsewhere) and the Soviets shipping people of to the gulag! It’s an amazing story and you begin to wonder how these things have an effect on a people. I can understand that there may be some residual anger but also fear, particularly with the KGB actively monitoring what’s going on.
Went to the Lido restaurant for dinner and tried out few things but they weren’t as cheap as we thought they might be. This place was a bit similar to the Delano in Vilnius but less to choose from, they cooked fries in a huge (1 meter wide) fry pan!
Did some email at the hostel (wireless connection in the bar) and Wendy got roped into playing cards with a couple of Finns and a Latvian who were drunk enough to shout all the time.
Friday, 15 June 2007
Lithuania-Latvia-Day19 14th June
Thursday, Vilnius and then off to Riga (Latvia)
This morning we had a big breakfast and Asher filled his new thermos (bought from a Hyper Market - rather than just a Super Market) with coffee from the machine (cheeky!). Wendy did a bit of shopping and found some amber and a scarf. Spent the morning walking the old town again and popping into a couple of old churches. We’d seen one last night that was full of scaffolding, and I mean full. It’s rather rudimentary with complete saplings (rather than the clip-lock aluminum we use) that reached to the ceiling which were supporting a matrix of pine boards that completely surrounded the columns. It effectively filled the centre of the church and was boarded up so you couldn't get in amongst it.
Caught the bus to Riga (4.5 hour trip) at 1:30 and travelled down a dual-carriage way for an hour and a half. Stopped off for ten minutes in a town and then travelled on a two lane highway (one each way) and noticed that the driving here is a bit crazy. People overtaking wherever! At times cars on the verge and others overtaking so that it was nearly two lanes each way! Scary stuff. The bus kept up a good pace and did lots of overtaking too. Took a while to get across the border into latvia, a customs/passport checker bloke came on board and took all the passports, giving everyone the once-over, got off the bus and went somewhere and then 10 minutes later the bus driver handed them all back. New stamp, with a car on it this time (a little symbol to mark the mode of transport into, or out of, the country) - we got a boat on the Slovakian stamp (hydrofoil) and a train on the Austrian leg. Ash chatted to a Latvian girl who was on her way to London and I read a bit of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s. A Time of Gifts. It’s a travel story about a young guy who set’s out from England in 1933 to walk to Constantinople (Istanbul) and the book covers the first half of the journey to Hungary (there’s a second volume that covers the rest). It’s started well and the writing is good and looks like it will be a grand adventure.
Got into Riga just after 6:00 pm. and the Riga Old Town Hostel was only a 5 minute straightforward walk from the bus station and we checked before heading out for a wander to get our bearings. Did a walk through to the main thoroughfare and the Freedom Monument (where it’s traditional for newlyweds to lay some flowers) and the Laima clock. The parks all beautiful with a canal running down the middle (used to be the old moat protecting the city), paths, flower beds, benches, fountains and trees. Many of the churches are orthodox so laid out a bit differently from the usual Protestant or Catholic model. Inside there’s not many places to sit and always the separated place where the priests go (high altar?). All very nice to look at though, and nice paintings, chandeliers, domes in the ceiling and heaps of gold leaf. The language in Riga is different again and there seems to be a lots of Russain. It’s great to just walk around and sensible shoes are the go, the cobblestones are very uneven in places and the OHS rules are fairly lax. Often there’s a few stones missing or a broken step so you need to keep your eyes open. This becomes a real challenge because you should always be looking up, there re always surprises above your eye level, in the roof line of the buildings, a spire appearing at the end of a narrow street, an interesting gable, etc.
I have never seen so many expensive cars in one place. Lots of Porches, BMW (5,7 & 8 series), Audi, Lexus etc. and a lot of the taxis are Mercedes. Must be some money around, or it’s just that the rich people live in the old town - you actually have to pay to get into the old city, a bit like the tax you pay in London.
This morning we had a big breakfast and Asher filled his new thermos (bought from a Hyper Market - rather than just a Super Market) with coffee from the machine (cheeky!). Wendy did a bit of shopping and found some amber and a scarf. Spent the morning walking the old town again and popping into a couple of old churches. We’d seen one last night that was full of scaffolding, and I mean full. It’s rather rudimentary with complete saplings (rather than the clip-lock aluminum we use) that reached to the ceiling which were supporting a matrix of pine boards that completely surrounded the columns. It effectively filled the centre of the church and was boarded up so you couldn't get in amongst it.
Caught the bus to Riga (4.5 hour trip) at 1:30 and travelled down a dual-carriage way for an hour and a half. Stopped off for ten minutes in a town and then travelled on a two lane highway (one each way) and noticed that the driving here is a bit crazy. People overtaking wherever! At times cars on the verge and others overtaking so that it was nearly two lanes each way! Scary stuff. The bus kept up a good pace and did lots of overtaking too. Took a while to get across the border into latvia, a customs/passport checker bloke came on board and took all the passports, giving everyone the once-over, got off the bus and went somewhere and then 10 minutes later the bus driver handed them all back. New stamp, with a car on it this time (a little symbol to mark the mode of transport into, or out of, the country) - we got a boat on the Slovakian stamp (hydrofoil) and a train on the Austrian leg. Ash chatted to a Latvian girl who was on her way to London and I read a bit of Patrick Leigh Fermor’s. A Time of Gifts. It’s a travel story about a young guy who set’s out from England in 1933 to walk to Constantinople (Istanbul) and the book covers the first half of the journey to Hungary (there’s a second volume that covers the rest). It’s started well and the writing is good and looks like it will be a grand adventure.
Got into Riga just after 6:00 pm. and the Riga Old Town Hostel was only a 5 minute straightforward walk from the bus station and we checked before heading out for a wander to get our bearings. Did a walk through to the main thoroughfare and the Freedom Monument (where it’s traditional for newlyweds to lay some flowers) and the Laima clock. The parks all beautiful with a canal running down the middle (used to be the old moat protecting the city), paths, flower beds, benches, fountains and trees. Many of the churches are orthodox so laid out a bit differently from the usual Protestant or Catholic model. Inside there’s not many places to sit and always the separated place where the priests go (high altar?). All very nice to look at though, and nice paintings, chandeliers, domes in the ceiling and heaps of gold leaf. The language in Riga is different again and there seems to be a lots of Russain. It’s great to just walk around and sensible shoes are the go, the cobblestones are very uneven in places and the OHS rules are fairly lax. Often there’s a few stones missing or a broken step so you need to keep your eyes open. This becomes a real challenge because you should always be looking up, there re always surprises above your eye level, in the roof line of the buildings, a spire appearing at the end of a narrow street, an interesting gable, etc.
I have never seen so many expensive cars in one place. Lots of Porches, BMW (5,7 & 8 series), Audi, Lexus etc. and a lot of the taxis are Mercedes. Must be some money around, or it’s just that the rich people live in the old town - you actually have to pay to get into the old city, a bit like the tax you pay in London.
Thursday, 14 June 2007
Lithuania-Day18 13th June
Wednesday, in Vilnius...
Had a slow start after the big day yesterday, it is hard to keep up with myself dear reader. Not so much to do with age, but more to do with the way that we are living. We spend very little time sitting still, maybe first thing in the morning for breakfast, for a cuppa in a cafe, in a park for a snack, lunch on some steps or a bench and dinner somewhere. Other than that, it’s feet to the cobble stones and walking, walking, walking (don’t know how the pretty girls in their high heels manage to keep their ankles intact!) So the days are long and the sleep is sound - at nearly three weeks on the road my real life seems far away and difficult to think about.
Forgot to mention that on the way back from dinner last night we wandered through an old bohemian part of town called Užupis which was (playfully) declared a republic by some of the creative type residents. There is a small tributary running through and people were canoeing in the late evening while others watched fro the deck of a bar perched above the water. The wrought iron bridge across the river had all these padlocks fastened to it and they had engravings (betrothals?) on them like “Tomas ir Akvilė, 2007 02 14“. Looked fantastic and I think it’s it’s kind of nice to make public declaration - apparently the cusom was started in Latvia so we’ll have to look out for more there. We are wondering what happens to the keys...
Another great thing we’ve noticed is how the shops display their opening hours and have seen a few different ways... One involves a happy face when open, unemotional face when open half a day and sad face when closed, another uses clock symbols for each day, etc. etc.
Set out to walk up and down most of the old town in Vilnius. Planned a bit of a route that took in some old town and some of the significant places of interest and some of the quirky. Thy do seem to have a healthy sense of disrespect of themselves (or should that be a good sense of humour?) Did arrange a rendezvous with Ash for lunch and ended up at Delano which is a big basement type cafeteria-style eatery and tried just about one of each of the available dishes. Rolled out of there (really feeling like having a siesta) and back onto the streets to check out what was across the river and then wandered back through some of the old streets.
Found the university complex of buildings and did a tour the old campus following a map that led us to a number of the old courtyards. There’s even a church, St. John’s (founded in 1387) that faces into the largest of them. Then there’s the best ever looking bookshop (Littera) with 300 year old frescoes on low ceilings that have to be seen, particularly in that late evening light. There was even some English books! There’s also a huge brass door leading into the library that provides a commemoration/celebration/history of the university. Founded in 1579, it’s Eastern Europe’s oldest university - the Russians closed it in 1832 and it wasn’t reopened till 1919. Lots of history here.
The history of the churches and some of the buildings is all a bit sad. Lost to fire, decay, neglect, war etc. and rebuilt numerous times, not much is really original anymore but they are still magnificent. We have also noticed some archeological digs around the place, so folk are still finding out about the local history.
For dinner we found a place in the Lonely Planet guide and wandered down into the cave that is Balti Drambliai vegetarian restaraunt. It was packed but managed to find a table for the three of us up some steep half stairs and into an alcove that seemed like a small space in an old wall! Amazing. Had some nice (cheap) food though.
Had a slow start after the big day yesterday, it is hard to keep up with myself dear reader. Not so much to do with age, but more to do with the way that we are living. We spend very little time sitting still, maybe first thing in the morning for breakfast, for a cuppa in a cafe, in a park for a snack, lunch on some steps or a bench and dinner somewhere. Other than that, it’s feet to the cobble stones and walking, walking, walking (don’t know how the pretty girls in their high heels manage to keep their ankles intact!) So the days are long and the sleep is sound - at nearly three weeks on the road my real life seems far away and difficult to think about.
Forgot to mention that on the way back from dinner last night we wandered through an old bohemian part of town called Užupis which was (playfully) declared a republic by some of the creative type residents. There is a small tributary running through and people were canoeing in the late evening while others watched fro the deck of a bar perched above the water. The wrought iron bridge across the river had all these padlocks fastened to it and they had engravings (betrothals?) on them like “Tomas ir Akvilė, 2007 02 14“. Looked fantastic and I think it’s it’s kind of nice to make public declaration - apparently the cusom was started in Latvia so we’ll have to look out for more there. We are wondering what happens to the keys...
Another great thing we’ve noticed is how the shops display their opening hours and have seen a few different ways... One involves a happy face when open, unemotional face when open half a day and sad face when closed, another uses clock symbols for each day, etc. etc.
Set out to walk up and down most of the old town in Vilnius. Planned a bit of a route that took in some old town and some of the significant places of interest and some of the quirky. Thy do seem to have a healthy sense of disrespect of themselves (or should that be a good sense of humour?) Did arrange a rendezvous with Ash for lunch and ended up at Delano which is a big basement type cafeteria-style eatery and tried just about one of each of the available dishes. Rolled out of there (really feeling like having a siesta) and back onto the streets to check out what was across the river and then wandered back through some of the old streets.
Found the university complex of buildings and did a tour the old campus following a map that led us to a number of the old courtyards. There’s even a church, St. John’s (founded in 1387) that faces into the largest of them. Then there’s the best ever looking bookshop (Littera) with 300 year old frescoes on low ceilings that have to be seen, particularly in that late evening light. There was even some English books! There’s also a huge brass door leading into the library that provides a commemoration/celebration/history of the university. Founded in 1579, it’s Eastern Europe’s oldest university - the Russians closed it in 1832 and it wasn’t reopened till 1919. Lots of history here.
The history of the churches and some of the buildings is all a bit sad. Lost to fire, decay, neglect, war etc. and rebuilt numerous times, not much is really original anymore but they are still magnificent. We have also noticed some archeological digs around the place, so folk are still finding out about the local history.
For dinner we found a place in the Lonely Planet guide and wandered down into the cave that is Balti Drambliai vegetarian restaraunt. It was packed but managed to find a table for the three of us up some steep half stairs and into an alcove that seemed like a small space in an old wall! Amazing. Had some nice (cheap) food though.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Poland-Lithuania-Day17 12th June
Tuesday, my birthday and I’m 50 at last!
Up at sparrow fart (5:10 am) to catch the train at 6 - the express to Warsaw. Wendy and Ash had done a shop the night before and we had some muesli & yoghurt on the train. Fairly straight forward trip in a compartment that was full, lucky we reserved our seats the day before! Two girls were yabbering most of the way and there was a gangly guy who managed to sleep (fitfully, twitching as he dreamt) most of the time other than for when his phone went off. Head resting on a hand, legs everywhere and mouth agape (bad teeth) he didn’t say boo to anyone. I asked the girls about the ‘justus’ blokes and they said that they were private security guys. Scored a free nescafe from a girl wheeling an urn down the train.
In Warsaw someone directed us to the bus that took us to the airport and luckily got off at the departure lounge and then (with hundreds of other people) waiting, waiting, waiting (as you do in airports) to check in. Got to the counter and was told to go and get the paper tickets first!. That took another 15-20 minutes but got it sorted. Sat down and had some lunch and then went through passport control (Wendy was told she was a very attractive woman by the lady with the stamp) and off to board at Gate 2 and ran into another queue! Had to push in a bit and then they called us through. 3 gates checking through two scanning/xray points. They were checking everything. Lucky we were running late so they just asked me to open the laptop and then we were the last to get on the bus which took us out to the (turbo-prop) plane with 5 minutes to spare...
So, while we sat and had some lunch for 15 minuets the rest of the 2.5 hours we were there was waiting in queues! But then it took another 25 minutes before anything happened. Once we got on the plane and I grabbed a financial review ad there was an article about LOT (Polish airlines) saying that it had the worst delay record of any airline and the most lost baggage! Only a short flight of just over an hour, but we lost one hour as we moved into a different time zone on landing in Lithuania. So, I will only have a 23 hour day for my birthday, but I had it in three cities (Krakow, Warsaw & Vilnius), two countries (Poland & Lithuania) and also travelled on a train, plane and bus! What a day - finished it off with a nice dinner looking out over the old town and watching the sun start to go down (at 9:30 pm.) and saw a few hot air balloons sail/float/soar(?) past.
But back to arriving in Vilnius...
Caught bus into town from the airport and met an American lady who lives in Lithuania (teaches English and has been here for 9 years!) and she gave us directions to our accommodation. Through the ‘Gates of Dawn’ and under the Chapel of the Virgin Mary (apparently miracle-working and one of the holiest icons in Polish Catholicism) and visited by many of the faithful. Then around the St. Teresa’s Church and into the Domus Maria where we stayed in a converted monastery on the top floor in an attic type room with a view into a courtyard. Sweet.
Dropped our clobber, freshened up, grabbed a map and walked into the old town. Got accosted by a young bloke who showed me his gammy leg and said he was hungry. Took him to a supermarket and bought him some bread and a drink (happy to help out on my birthday). Saw the same guy later hassling a group of elderly tourists and getting some cash! Spent the next few hours wandering around enjoying the sites, the old, dark churches, the windy, cobbled streets, lots of shops selling amber and ended up near the river and went up to the old castle.
Great views from up high and the sun is still warm and high in the sky at 7:00 pm. Walked back down, through a park (lots of lovers sitting and canoodling - single stemmed flowers seem the go) and found the restaurant we were looking for, Tores. Sipped a cold pint of Švyturys while enjoying the view and a nice meal (not cabbage and sausage!) Put up with some Americans talking politics behind us but had a very pleasant evening. The day ended in the usual manner (asleep within 10 seconds of lying down), after doing some email and blog posting (actually have a network point in the room - first time yet!).
Up at sparrow fart (5:10 am) to catch the train at 6 - the express to Warsaw. Wendy and Ash had done a shop the night before and we had some muesli & yoghurt on the train. Fairly straight forward trip in a compartment that was full, lucky we reserved our seats the day before! Two girls were yabbering most of the way and there was a gangly guy who managed to sleep (fitfully, twitching as he dreamt) most of the time other than for when his phone went off. Head resting on a hand, legs everywhere and mouth agape (bad teeth) he didn’t say boo to anyone. I asked the girls about the ‘justus’ blokes and they said that they were private security guys. Scored a free nescafe from a girl wheeling an urn down the train.
In Warsaw someone directed us to the bus that took us to the airport and luckily got off at the departure lounge and then (with hundreds of other people) waiting, waiting, waiting (as you do in airports) to check in. Got to the counter and was told to go and get the paper tickets first!. That took another 15-20 minutes but got it sorted. Sat down and had some lunch and then went through passport control (Wendy was told she was a very attractive woman by the lady with the stamp) and off to board at Gate 2 and ran into another queue! Had to push in a bit and then they called us through. 3 gates checking through two scanning/xray points. They were checking everything. Lucky we were running late so they just asked me to open the laptop and then we were the last to get on the bus which took us out to the (turbo-prop) plane with 5 minutes to spare...
So, while we sat and had some lunch for 15 minuets the rest of the 2.5 hours we were there was waiting in queues! But then it took another 25 minutes before anything happened. Once we got on the plane and I grabbed a financial review ad there was an article about LOT (Polish airlines) saying that it had the worst delay record of any airline and the most lost baggage! Only a short flight of just over an hour, but we lost one hour as we moved into a different time zone on landing in Lithuania. So, I will only have a 23 hour day for my birthday, but I had it in three cities (Krakow, Warsaw & Vilnius), two countries (Poland & Lithuania) and also travelled on a train, plane and bus! What a day - finished it off with a nice dinner looking out over the old town and watching the sun start to go down (at 9:30 pm.) and saw a few hot air balloons sail/float/soar(?) past.
But back to arriving in Vilnius...
Caught bus into town from the airport and met an American lady who lives in Lithuania (teaches English and has been here for 9 years!) and she gave us directions to our accommodation. Through the ‘Gates of Dawn’ and under the Chapel of the Virgin Mary (apparently miracle-working and one of the holiest icons in Polish Catholicism) and visited by many of the faithful. Then around the St. Teresa’s Church and into the Domus Maria where we stayed in a converted monastery on the top floor in an attic type room with a view into a courtyard. Sweet.
Dropped our clobber, freshened up, grabbed a map and walked into the old town. Got accosted by a young bloke who showed me his gammy leg and said he was hungry. Took him to a supermarket and bought him some bread and a drink (happy to help out on my birthday). Saw the same guy later hassling a group of elderly tourists and getting some cash! Spent the next few hours wandering around enjoying the sites, the old, dark churches, the windy, cobbled streets, lots of shops selling amber and ended up near the river and went up to the old castle.
Great views from up high and the sun is still warm and high in the sky at 7:00 pm. Walked back down, through a park (lots of lovers sitting and canoodling - single stemmed flowers seem the go) and found the restaurant we were looking for, Tores. Sipped a cold pint of Švyturys while enjoying the view and a nice meal (not cabbage and sausage!) Put up with some Americans talking politics behind us but had a very pleasant evening. The day ended in the usual manner (asleep within 10 seconds of lying down), after doing some email and blog posting (actually have a network point in the room - first time yet!).
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