Our departure to the Northern hemisphere was not an ordinary one. Australia's East coast was set for a thorough soaking and this would lead to some drama for us. Michael drove us to the airport and as we checked in, we were told that our flight to Sydney had been cancelled. Not a great deal of concern there as we did have a couple of hours slack in our transit through Sydney but it would cut short our stay in the Qantas Club in Sydney which is always an enjoyable start to any trip. We did ask whether we could get on an earlier flight but that had closed 10 minutes earlier. It would be undiplomatic of me to mention that I had wanted to leave for the airport 15 minutes earlier so I won't!
For those that know Sydney International Airport, it is served by 2 longish North South runways that usually operated in tandem, and a much shorter single East West runway. Due to weather, operations were limited to the single East West runway. One of my first thoughts were how tight that would be for take off for an A380 with a full load of fuel and passengers for the long haul to Dubai, if in fact possible.
As we sat in Qantas Club, we noticed that the flight we had been rescheduled on, was getting delayed more and more and the flight that was scheduled after it, actually had an earlier departure time. It was around this time that an announcement was made in the lounge asking all passengers on our flight to check with service desk. We went, and they changed us to the later flight which was leaving earlier. Still with me? I asked for Priority Transfer cards that get you through security and immigration at Sydney airport much faster and passes were handed over. After another 30 minutes, the departure board advised us to go to gate. We headed off to gate and then noticed that our flight wasn't even on the departure screen. We went to another service desk and they advised us to go back to lounge and wait for a firm boarding call. We were advised that things were fluid but I thought they were more sopping wet. Then the moment arrived and the board was flashing final call. We made our way down thinking our time in Sydney was getting tight but we were wrong. When the staff member scanned our boarding passes, he frowned and then told us we weren't on this flight any more and we needed to go to Service desk. Now things were getting very silly.
We marched to the service desk where we were told by the frazzled staff member to take a seat and wait for a call whilst they tried to route us through Melbourne. So much for our pre booked emergency exit seats on QF 1. The flight to Melbourne was already boarding and despite assurances, I was pretty sure our luggage was not going to make the same trip as us. We got to Melbourne before 4 and our flight was to Dubai was leaving after 10:00 pm. It was going to get us less than an hour for our transit stop which we had actually been looking forward to a long leisurely transfer as the Emirates lounge is truly opulent. One bit of good news was the airport at Melbourne was bordering on empty so we didn't feel the need to use our priority transfer passes so we kept them for another day. Our pre booked Emergency Exit seats were no longer valid on the new flight as they had been booked by other passengers. The helpful Qantas staff at the lounge said they would see what they could do and did manage to get us exit seats on the Emirates flight from Dubai to Düsseldorf (which we had managed to stuff up in our attempt) and on the Dubai leg, they blocked the third seat in our row which gave us a tad more comfort as it would mean we could spread out a bit more. When we eventually boarded, we were a bit dismayed as we were unpacking into our seats when another passenger fronted up saying she had the third seat. Krystyna went to the nearest cabin crew and proceeded to rip him a new one whilst I slyly attempted to get a look at the woman's boarding pass. Sure enough, she was in the 3rd row further back and we had our 3 seats to the 2 of us.
It was a good feeling when the plane finally lumbered down the runway. Dinner was served at about 23:00 hours, I tried to watch a couple of films but found it hard to focus as it was a long day. However, I only managed to catch a couple of hours sleep. A really nice breakfast was served whilst I watch "The Martian" and then we were on final approach to Dubai. We had managed to gain 30 minutes on the leg, but we were not going to get much quality ground time. After being security screened, we had a quick glance at the nicest Emirates lounge in Terminal A where we had arrived but then had to make our way to terminal C which can take up to 30 minutes including a train ride. We made it into the lounge as our flight was boarding but Krystyna managed to have her glass of Moët!
We boarded our Emirates A380 and found that Emirates do away with the window seat on the Exit Rows. Interesting comparing the 2 airlines with the same aircraft. Emirates came out the winner as it appears they actually have more staff who were friendlier and more efficient. Maybe the comparison is unfair as the Dubai-Düsseldorf leg is just over 6 hours whereas Melbourne -Dubai was about 15 hours. We noted the Qantas staff sneaking down to the secret crew quarters very frequently. The Emirates entertainment screen also appears bigger and a better range of newly released films, eg Emirates had the new Star Wars film, Qantas didn't. Full marks to Qantas for at least having a decent plunger coffee being offered. Pretty sure Emirates were serving up a jug of instant.
Arriving at Düsseldorf International Airport did not showcase German efficiency. Very slow moving queue to get through passport control. There was very little air movement and quite frankly, it was a better more efficient experience in Cambodia. Krysia's brother Janusz was there to meet us and we made our way to the parking lot for our drive to our temporary home. The temperature was pleasant, the sky was blue (but not Australian blue) and it had been a long two days. A quick tour of the amazing gardens and chicken pens; the house is on a rural-ish allotment in a suburb of Duisburg. We headed off to another nearby town for a traditional German Chinese banquet where I ate way too much but it was very yummy. But after about 2 hours sleep over the past 48 hours, I was ready to lay my head down in my plate. Janusz was very understanding when I explained his roosters may not see another dawn if they woke me too early the next morning.
The 2 travelers woke at a reasonable hour the next morning. Janusz had been off early getting fresh bread rolls. We headed off to Düsseldorf on a mission to find decadent ice creams. We parked next to the Rhine which was almost in flood and flowing very fast. Massive river and I don't think I'll be able to look at the Murrumbidgee again and also call it a river. A number of massive River cruise boats were also moored there awaiting their next cruise. We walked the streets of the old town, cobble stoned streets add to the effect. Lots of outdoor eateries and lots of English style pubs. Eventually, we found our target and had the most delicious and evil of lunches (Facebook photo refers). We headed back to Duisburg where Janusz had some errands to do. We stopped at a mechanics and whilst we waited were offered sparkling water and magnums - too soon. We drove by where Krystyna lived prior to immigrating to Australia. Not the nicest part of town, very close to the Industrial part of town and the apartment block is no more for that very reason. One last stop at a nearby supermarket for some grocery items for dinner. It is the same supermarket that Janusz visits daily to get their "out of date" food stuffs to feed his army of chooks. Quite an amazing array of food these chooks get to eat, no wonder they look so content.
The next day arrives with the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. However the morning is glorious so we set off for a walk around one of the local lakes. There are a few geocaches hidden along the way but one needs to decode the puzzle and the puzzles are in German so no happiness there. I will come back again and fire up my GPS. Interesting to note that as we walk and pass other walkers, no greetings are offered and eye contact is avoided. Few people are swimming but there are "no swimming" signs about. After lunch, we head off to Rheinbeck and another quest for ice creams. We stroll through the quaint streets and a nice park but the thunder is getting closer so we head back to the car.
One more stop on the drive home, to a local cemetery where Janusz's friend and former landlord was recently buried (the reason for our European sojourn). What a beautiful, peaceful place that is more of a park than a cemetery. There are less and less headstones these days with graves not being marked out as we are used to back home. Another stop at supermarket on way home and then another early night for me, listening to the rain fall on the roof.
Another mosquito battle during the night with Krysia valiantly trying to protect me and falling victim in my stead. We are off to Holland today, Venlo being the nearest city. It's all new to me without passport controls on the borders. We zoomed along the Autobahn, one minute we are in Germany then the next we are in Holland. We parked a fair way out of town and walked in along the river along a bike path. I have never seen such infrastructure dedicated to two wheelers. Notice how I didn't say bikes as motor scooters are also allowed to use them. They have their own sequencing at traffic lights and friendly bell use is a constant. We made our way to the cobble stoned city Centre and had our first decent coffee. It's still hard to get use to everyone smoking. My former work buddy Caroline had warned us to a certain delectable potato snack "fries of war" but despite our best efforts, we could find none. Found a supermarket with a most amazing range of food stuffs, especially coffee and cheeses. My 2 Polish traveling companions made a bee-line for the shop that specialises in Polish produce but were disappointed to find that the truck from Warsaw hadn't arrived which was meant to be carrying fresh pierogi. Popped back 3 times just to make sure, but no luck. Had lunch at a cafe and taught Janusz a new English expression when we described our meals as "nothing remarkable". Had to make a slight detour on the way back to the car, as Janusz had purloined our left-over bread from lunch and had to feed the ducks. The ducks were happy with this decision. An easy drive back home with the requisite stop at the supermarket to pick up the leftovers for the chooks.
Hurrah, a mosquito free night. Back in the days when I used to work for AusCheck, I worked with Caroline. She married a German and moved to the other side of the world. She now lives in the nearest town to Duisburg. Small world eh? She kindly offered to give us a mini tour of some nearby points of interest and the first stop was amazing. An ex huge iron foundry has now been converted to a cultural meeting place but all the old huge machinery and associated buildings is still in place. It was extremely photogenic. There was a large police exercise taking place so we felt extremely safe but feeling safe has been a common experience for the entire trip so far. We had a pit stop at the cafe on site and were served the hugest of slices of cake. Krystyna has been well trained by Janusz and purloined Caroline's left over cake in case any ducks would need feeding on the way home. We then toured the local streetscapes and visited an old church at Kloster Kamp dating back to the 1100s with amazing gardens and the most beautifully maintained cemetery I have ever seen. We bid Caroline farewell and spent the afternoon wrestling with airline booking systems and AirBnB, organising our trip to Sweden and Poland. It is still light at 10:00 pm as I write this.
We are off to Cologne today, or as us fluent Deutchers would say, Koln. It is Germany's 4th largest city. I think I have been here as a 6 or 7 year old with Mum and Dad. We autobahned to a friends house in the 'burbs then caught one of those light rail thingos into the Centre of the city. Amazing old cathedral is the Centre point of the town and a lot of the city's development has been focusing on nothing detracting from that focus. The cathedral is huge and it is also the focus of the tourist in Cologne, hence the swarms of buskers and beggars in the general area. After a bit of a explore on foot, we decided to do one of those hop on hop off bus tours without any hop offs. It was very interesting and we enjoyed it very much. We then headed off on foot again and was captivated by a piano wielding busker. Very relaxing music so we bought 3 of his CDs. We then headed off across the rail bridge which has been jam packed with lovers locks. Very impressive, then a quick view from a nearby tall building, then by 15:30, we were ready for lunch. I think the beer I was served would have to be the second smallest I have ever been served (those keen followers of my FB travels would have to remember the tiny can I got in Japan). Then, it was time to make the hike back to the light rail and the drive home.
03:30 dark o'clock saw the alarms going off so we could catch the 7:00 flight from Düsseldorf to Stockholm. On the road by 4:30 and we weren't the only ones at this early Saturday hour. German laws forbid truckies using autobahns on Saturdays but there was a lot of traffic. Made it to the airport with time to spare but the airport was chockers with travelers. After checking in and clearing security, we grabbed a coffee and a sandwich and waited for departure time. We were flying GermanWings/Eurowings, some complicated hybrid of a low cost carrier under the Lufthansa umbrella. By the fact we had paid extra for luggage and emergency exit seats, that meant we got a small feed as well. As we approached the Swedish capital, we good see the many islands that make up the nation spread out around us. No passport control as we were traveling within Europe means my passport doesn't have a Swedish stamp.
Ewa (Eva) was waiting for us, despite our cunning plan to catch the express train to the city. Our taxi ride to her apartment In the Centre of the city brought back memories of Bangkok as our taxi straddled the lanes, spent most of the time between lanes and indicators were rarely used. We basically left our luggage and started wandering the streets. First stop being a baker where we had nice coffee and nice rolls. Now how can I say this diplomatically? Stockholm in summer can be a tad freezing, the intermittent showers didn't help and when the wind picked up, it was icy. In fairness, the sun would peek out occasionally and if the wind died down, it was pleasant. But our walk toward the old city was punctuated by ducking into shops to get out of the weather and this did mean a few more coffees were consumed, to buy us the right to be undercover. The old city is very photogenic. We made our way to a vantage point over the sea side of Stockholm where the cruise ships dock but the weather again made us retreat and some of our party resorted to ice creams - yes , I don't understand either. We then went to the photography museum which is more gallery than museum but I did find most of the images depressing whilst still being thought provoking.
We then made our way back to a castle where an author was giving a presentation upon his latest book, about a Polish/Swedish King and the presentation was entirely in Swedish, I did at one stage say I would buy the book but then changed my mind and will wait for the movie to come out. After being on our feet most of the day and the very early start, we grabbed some hippy pizzas from nearby and took them home to devour. After a glass of red, I struggled to bed and collapsed.
A clear sky greeted us on waking. We were staying in Ewa's apartment, located in the centre of the city. After breakfast, we headed off to the waterfront where our first adventure was an amphibious bus ride. Very entertaining and interesting as well. When the bus made the transition from land to water, the PA was playing the theme from Titanic. Similarly, when landing, the James Bond theme was played. We then headed off to the Vasa museum, it was the pride of the Swedish fleet and the most powerful warship in the world when launched, however it was a tad too top heavy and breached after firing a cannon salute about 1 km into its first voyage and promptly sank. Much effort in 1961 to salvage it and it now sits in a remarkable museum.
A quick word here about Public conveniences in Sweden. Forget male and female dedicated rooms, think of long lines of cubicles. Makes men have to queue along with those of the fairer sex. After a serve of Swedish meatballs for lunch, we wen to the Museum of Modern Art. How can I say this, some real weird shit in there. Then a quick hike back to the apartment meant that wasn't that quick as the legs had put in 2 long days. We popped down to a nearby restaurant for a lovely dinner. The door did not indicate the large crowd inside. Food was lovely, dessert was even better and yes I know, dessert is also food. Finished the night with a quick go in Ewa's massage chair and our Swedish adventure was almost over.
A taxi at 7:00 am and we admired the orderly Swedish peak hour traffic flow on the highway to the airport. I do disagree with this new fad of queuing to get a boarding pass from a machine, then queuing to do a baggage drop where the staff member looks you up on the system in any case. It really doesn't seem to have any efficiency. Then we still had one more queue to get through security. A bit more breakfast was consumed in honor of all the queuing then we boarded our LOT flight to Warsaw. Bye bye Sweden, it was lovely to meet you and great to catch up with Ewa.
An uneventful but expensive flight to Warsaw, the baggage almost beat us to the carousel, not many passengers had luggage in the hold of the aircraft. Staszek, Krystyna's brother was at the airport to meet us, for somebody who doesn't speak English, he sure as hell spoke more English than I speak Polish. We drove to the old city where we had hired an Airbnb apartment. We dumped our luggage and then set off for a quick wander of these quaint old streets. Then it was time to find a fine establishment for our luncheon. We chose a cafe that had many momentos of the old communist days including some old Russian cars. Krystyna described one dish on the menu which very much sounded like a ploughmans lunch but came out looking like a carnivores delight, meat stacked to the ceiling along with some cheese croquets and onion rings.
After lunch, we stopped and looked at to worlds narrowest apartment. Worth reading about on the web. amazing. We then took off to the Museum Palace of Wilanowie. Very similar to what I remember of the palace of Versailles and I am always reminded of the immortal words of Mel Brooks as he utilised the services of the Piss Bucket Boy "It's good to be the king!" After touring the palace, we walked the grounds eating fresh cherries and admiring the bumble bees and squirrels.
Krysia had an appointment with her Polish dentist so Staszek and myself went to a coffee shop and tried to communicate by smoke signals, semaphore, crayons, charades and occasionally words. Then it was time to catch up with Christian, Anna and Brian at a sushi restaurant. Another long day so my body wasted no time falling asleep once the head hit the pillow.
We were on the road by 10:00 the next morning after a little embarrassing moment when we tried to figure out how to leave the apartment complex. There was a hidden button that eventually released us. First attempts at a Jewish museum were thwarted by it being closed so we had a coffee and a bun instead. We the headed off into the country where Staszek has a delightful house that he built and has an enchanted forest with cubby houses and strawberry patches and lots of other goodies. I was sent to a hammock so I wouldn't get in the way. We then stopped at a super super market "Auchan", French apparently. It was huge, could barely see from one end to another, fantastic range of goods. We were then dropped at another shopping centre where we arranged to get my glasses made up. I'm afraid dearest was wrong, it is not cheaper than Australia so we won't make that mistake again. A quick stop at Staszek's apartment where we were fed and then we strolled down the road to Christian and Anna's new apartment that they are renovating. What a stunner! Every mod con including the secret cat hideaway, gizmos elsewhere that I didn't know had been invented and a lovely aviation theme throughout. Back to Staszek's because it had at least been an hour since we were fed.
A big walking day. After breakfast in our apartment, we headed out to the Warsaw Uprising museum. Very well done but also very depressing. The Poles have been treated disgustingly by both Russians and the Germans. They have every right to feel nervous having such neighbours. Visited a salad bar for lunch and then somehow I was led to the Polish equivalent of "Trade Secrets" only it was even more boring because I couldn't read anything. We then trammed to a magnificent park with a very long unpronounceable name but it was so green and lush and full of squirrels! Bussed back toward the apartment and according to the phone's pedometer function, we did about 20k on foot today. Had a first dinner where I ordered some nachos and got a glass mixing bowl full of corn chips and a sliver of melted cheese on top then met Krysia's cousin Andrej for more dinner and more walking. He has talked me into getting a telescope. Went to colored fountains nearby, saw a hedgehog in the wild and crashed for the night.
There apparently is a geocache 2 doors down from our apartment. Trouble is, that door is a door to a church. With much encouragement from management (Krysia), we had a bit of a rummage in the foyer but felt very uncomfortable whilst we did. Especially when we were in full view of the altar and there was a nun doing nun things. I was convinced we were in the wrong place so we gave up.....for the time being. Staszek came to pick us up and we headed off to the Jewish museum. At first I wondered about the purpose of the museum along with my general uncomfortableness with religion. It was interesting about how the Jews were treated differently from others, in many ways better than the general population but I could understand how that could also create hostility and jealousy. The museums coverage of WW2 was very bleak. Nothing can explain the holocaust to me except man's ability to be swayed by false arguments when considering the existence of "the supreme being". We went to one of Warsaw's iconic building, the cultural centre which as good views from the 30th floor. It dismayed us at seeing kiddies on school excursions shining laser beams into each other faces. These things should not be considered toys. We had lunch near a little park near a railway station then went back to a previously visited park to ensure I saw the famous statue of Chopin.
This deserves a new paragraph. I was feeling very tired, it had been weeks since I had an afternoon nap of any sorts. I pleaded my case to management, I could go back to apartment and have a little slumber, Krysia could have some quality time with her brother and everyone’s a winner. I even factored in a refreshing ale. I was dropped near the apartment and as I walked, I noticed a clue to the geocache that had alluded us in the morning. Hmm, will investigate later. Got to the apartment, thought first things first and cracked a delightful Polish dark ale. I then remembered that Krysia had put a a load of washing in the front loader in the morning. Thought I would do the domesticated thing and hang the washing around the apartment. I opened the washing machine door and a tidal wave of water came flooding out. I quickly slammed the door shut and looked at the lake spreading on the kitchen floor. Smeg ! The apartment was equipped with a mop so I started mopping but I still had the problem of a washing machine full of water. I googled the washing machine model number and searched for a manual on line and eventually worked out a way of running a drain cycle, followed by a spin cycle. A bit more mopping and a bit of towel work and the place was almost back to normal. Double smeg, I was sort of proud of myself, and felt muchly that I deserved another beer. Nap time was slipping away quickly but then there was a loud firm knock on the apartment door. Damn, management home already, I opened the door and there stood 3 burly Polish policemen. Gulp, I would have loved to have seen the look on my face. They barked lots of words at me, none of which I understood. I stood tall and squeaked back at them "Nyet Polski!" and beamed them my famous smile. I was worried that something may have happened to Krysia but then they all seemed to speak at me again and I understood even less. I then hit them with a "Je suis Australien" and gave them an even broader smile. More Polish words in return but then one of them pointed at the gate/exit, you know, the one that had us stumped the other morning? I took a chance and walked out the apartment and went and pushed the secret button. Yay verily, there was much "Jnkuyer"ing and they left the scene. I went back into the apartment, gazed longingly at the pillow and waited for Krysia to come home. I related my tale of bravery and there were looks of disbelief but you just can't make this stuff up. Off to have dinner with Staszek's full family then a quick trip to the train station to sort out tickets for our trip to Kraków the next day. That was much harder than it sounds but eventually that was sorted.
We rose early the next day, ducked around the corner to a bakery and cafe to get rolls and coffee for breakfast. On the way to coffee, we had a look for the geocache but knew we were closer but still far away. After breakfast, we read the logs of previous finders and it sounded like one had to press an intercom button to gain access and this sort of stuff gives me the heebeegeebees. I declared the mission over but the tenacious one would not give up. She ducked out for a moment and came back with the biggest smile on her face. Success, she dragged me back to show me the scene of her victory and in fact, we then went off to find 2 more caches, both of which she found before me.
Staszek then came and gave us a lift to the train station. As always, the Polish hospitality is outstanding, he came bearing cakes and a bottle of tonic water for me. The train trip was uneventful, the train comes with WiFi that only loses the signal when you are trying to confirm future accommodation bookings. We were slightly dismayed to find, when we pulled into Kraków station, that it was bucketing down. We had left one suitcase in Warsaw with most of our stuff, including our rain jackets. Only got slightly drenched when we ran for the taxi and soon Krysia and her older sister Allina were reunited. As we are staying with Polish people, the first issue of the day is to start feeding us. I enjoy the company of the 2 cats, especially the one that purrs a lot! Krysia has some dramas with her security clearance for new job and needs to print and sign a document, however Macs and PCs sometimes don't like talking to each other so we head off to nearest shops to get a USB drive. That is the easy part, finding someone who will print it is another. Photo printing places aren't interested and eventually a nice young man in a phone accessory kiosk, downloads it and prints it, not a service the kiosk provides and didn't want to accept any money. Back home and time for more food because it has been a while. Interesting night sleep as Krystyna's sister collects old clocks of the type that chime on the hour, on the half hour and any other time that they feel like it. There was a lot of chiming going on.
Another aspect of this holiday that I haven't addressed is the traditional European bathroom. Many of our stays have involved bathrooms, particularly the showers, that either involve gymnastics and/or tiny spaces, and sometimes wet, cold, clammy shower curtains just waiting to attack. We think this might be to enable us to have a head start in case we are interested in a future submariner career.
After another filling Polish breakfast, we headed off with Allina by tram to the castle in the centre of old Kraków. I was treated to an English audio tour of the cathedral which was interesting. Crowds of tourists and it really was a lovely summers day. Kraków avoided the devastation that Warsaw experienced during the 2nd world war. In fact, the Germans used it as their administrative centre during their occupation of Poland. Himmler even moved into the castle. Had a nice lunch in the town square accompanied by a Polish Porter beer then accompanied the women to the arcade full of little shops selling Amber trinkets. I escaped with my life but many trinkets did not escape. Then another tram ride back home and a visit to a supermarket to buy more socks and undies so Staszek doesn't need to see us and reunite us with our other luggage. However, in an Einstein moment, I have just discovered that I managed to not count successfully to 2, the number of shirts I needed to pack. Bottom! Some Czeck beers to wet the pallete, met Krysia's grand niece who writes a polish blog and has thousands of followers so I gave her a few tips to increase her popularity
Last morning in Kraków, a short walk to a nearby church, famous for churchy type things then back for a final pack. Our train to Warsaw is one of the faster new tangled ones but unlike the old rattler that bought us to Kraków, this was doesn't have wifi!
Awaken to a very wet Warsaw. Krysia had a Drs appointment somewhere else and I didn't. She hit the streets by 7:00 and I was mobile by 8:00. I made my way to the biggest shopping mall in the city, managed to buy someone who shall remain nameless until he pays, a souvenir. Reunited with management around 10:30. We bought our rail ticket to Berlin (unfortunately, the train is not the modern version that brought us from Kraków) and spent the rest of the day's wandering around the shops. There is a very nice chain coffee shop called "Green Nero". We had found one near the old city and we brunched in one in the Gallery, lovely coffee and nice rolls. Afternoon spent in a different shopping centre and the Polish version of "Trade Secrets" was thoroughly explored.
We were meeting Andrej and his partner for dinner. Things got a little complicated when Christian rang with a sublime offer. He is an Air Traffic Controller and was working that night, would we like to visit him in the office? Would we ever? It did make life a bit complicated with our dinner date and to complicate matters, with the rain, Warsaw traffic was even worse than it usually is. Still, a lovely dinner was had, more Warsaw traffic was negotiated, a car/driver handover was made with Anna who showed us her rally skills. Despite pre preparation by Christian involving passports, security guards were extremely slow in getting into the honey-nest. It was worth the angst. Christian gave us a good run down on what was happening in the night skies above Poland. Every thing was cool calm and collected except for me. When Christian was due for a break, he and Anna (who also works Int the same building as an air safety investigator) gave us a tour of the rest of the facility including going up the Control Tower. Did I mention absolutely brilliant? We were due for an early start the next day and eventually dragged ourselves away. Thanks again Christian and Anna for an unforgettable experience and heartfelt apologies to Andrej for accommodating the tourists so graciously.
The next day saw us being collected by Staszek for a day trip to Wroclaw (pronounced Vrodsworff), where Krystyna grew up as a child. Just let me know if there are any Polish words you want help with pronouncing. We were on the road by 5:00 am for the 350k journey. Two freeways seem to connect the cities with an intervening stretch of road that connects them. All our Polish friends tell us that the police don't patrol the roads for speeding but these are the same people who have taken significant point penalties on their licenses. Once we hit the 'burbs, we made our way to their old apartment. There next door neighbor from all those years ago was out picking cherries from a tree in front. He was a young boy the last time they met. Apparently, the streets have narrowed somewhat from those days.......or someone's memory is a tad hazy. We then went to Krystyna and Staszek's fathers grave and did some maintenance. All the graves seem to be lovingly maintained. We headed off to the central part of the city and as with all the other such places we have visited, it was absolutely charming. The other skill required when visiting such places is the ability to sniff out a parking spot. Not easy, even for our skilled guide Staszek.
After a little feed, we wandered the streets some more then went to the very old university whose name I'd better get right XXXXXXXXXX We then met with Staszek's son from his first marriage. Krystyna hadn't seen him for 41 years. This called for celebrating in true Polish style by eating more. Buskers were doing the rounds of the eateries then coming in for "donations”. I would have paid to keep them from playing. A quick photo opportunity in front of the earliest recorded restaurant in the world then we bade our farewell to Marcin. Off then to the longest ball of string, nope cancel that, the longest painting in the world and probably the worlds first 360 degree effort. So big in fact, they have built a special circular building to house it. Whilst we toured that, Staszek went for a stroll to retrieve bubbies jacket that had been left at the lunch venue. We then visited a lovely Japanese garden that Staszek had many years ago, helped to install the water features. The long drive back to Warsaw where we bade farewell to Staszek and his wonderful hospitality.
Up again at sparrows for our 6:00 a train trip to Berlin. This was not a comfortable experience. The old style carriages where you sit in a booth of 6 seats, 3 facing backwards and if the compartment is full, a complex arrangement of interlocking feet. A corridor passes along one side where a conductor comes occasionally or a water trolley. The train driver blows his horn very frequently and the train stops at every 2nd tiny town. It was extremely hard to get comfortable and we were so glad when we finally arrived. It is handy having my own multi-linguist on this trip. We firstly booked our onwards trip to Duisburg for the next day, then armed with maps of our apartment photographed on phones, we got in a taxi and before long we were at our apartment. By the way, the taxi metre displayed in the drivers rear view mirror.
Delightful bohemian little joint, not very far from Fredrickstrasse. We headed off down the street and very close by was a little Vietnamese restaurant, while not having a very nice street presence, served absolutely amazing food. This may have spoiled us for future food stops. We then headed down the strasse and first mission was to find the ladies. A word of complaint here, in Europe you usually need to pay to go to a loo. Even the world famous Maccas, you need to get a code to use their facilities. As the situation deteriorated to DEFCON 5, she finally barged into a hotel and used some foyer facilities like looking as a guest.
Further down the road is the iconic Check Point Charley. A couple of people are dressed as marines and the hut looks to be in original condition. Off then to the Brandenburg Gate. There was some sort of filming taking place so most of it was gated off. There was some other sort of festival taking place nearby which looked to involve lots of sausage and beer. Off to the Reichstag and I was impressed by the German version of COMCAR except they drive black Audi A8s. Further wanderings led us to what looked like the main cathedral which was near the major construction of some new museum that will look like its 200 years old when completed. One of us then needed an ice cream stop (not me) and then we took a short boat tour along the River. After an hour of that, we were off to the building that dominates the Berlin skyline, the sky tower built by the East Germans. Great views from there. Unfortunately, at the bottom resides the German version of "Trade Secrets" so guess where the next stop was? We chose to wander back to the apartment along the river Spree and stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant under the shadow of another big old church. Lovely having the mild evenings with the late sunsets.
Nice to have a relative sleep in (around 7:00 ish). A nearby cafe supplied some ordinary coffee and a roll which we ate in the apartment. A quick pack, a short stroll a quick hail of a cab and we were soon back at the main train station. Our train to Duisburg was not until 17:50 and we wished to leave our luggage at the station. 2 big lockers were required and it added 28 Euros to the stay.
Then off to join one of those "Hop on Hop off" double decker bus tours. It was good but we may have picked the wrong company. As we did the hop on hop off bit, many times we waited longer than the advertised 15 minutes for the next bus to come along. Some of the guides were better than others but still it is a good way to get a feel for a city. We did manage an ice cream stop along the way. Our lunch stop was at another Vietnamese restaurant but we had been spoiled by the effort the day before. The beer was good though before bubbie managed to say when only had 40 minutes to get back to station, locker and train. I thought we had another hour but doggie bags were arranged and I had to skull the beer. As we boarded the bus, management did note that my timings were correct but we decided to proceed slowly toward our destination. Luggage was retrieved, we made our way to the prescribed part of the platform where our carriage would arrive. Ok, I got into trouble for the following views, there is not enough space for big luggage on the train, I don't like traveling 245 k backwards and there wasn't enough of the 245 bits, the air con struggled and the wifi didn't work. Very smooth and quiet though and beer cost the same as water.
Janusz met us at the station and as we drove home, we got hit by a mega storm and I mean mega. The 2 metre dash from the car to the front door had me looking like a drowned octopus. The house has a cellar and the water was flooding in through the little windows. We all pitched in scooping water into buckets and hurling it from the house. Germany doesn't have a State Emergency Service organisation; this would have been typical of the sort of call out back at home except very few Aussie homes have Cellars. I think we downed tools around midnight and I had a celebratory beer or 2.
Next day was a quiet day as Janusz organised his defensives for any future down pours. Went for a short stroll to see if I could find any nearby Geocaches but was thwarted by not having local maps loaded to GPS. Will try again in a few days.
The next day dawned as a fairly grey and drizzly sort of effort. Not good enough Germany, and the night had been a bad one being constantly dive bombed by mossies. After the regular jaunt to the local supermarket, we headed off to Xatham, an old Roman town partially reconstructed but also old structures had been thoughtfully protected with an amazing museum built over them. Our visit coincided with some sort of 2 day festival with hundreds of Romanesque type peoples camping on site and participating in events. Pity about the rain because the Roman gear didn't look particularly suited to that sort of weather. Dinner at the same Chinese restaurant that we started our stay with only this time I didn't fall asleep with my face in my plate. Another night of dive bombing mossies but this night also featured a ninja squirrel.
All night long I had been hearing rustling out in the garden. In Europe, it is quite common to have dual hinged doors and windows. So a door that swings normally on a vertical hinge can convert to its bottom hinges and open in a leaning sort of way. Sort of secure as a person won't be able to climb through without knocking the door of its hinges. The bedroom door also has one of those magnetic fly screen curtain that self seals as you walk through. Well, ninja squirrel had managed to negotiate through the fly screen partially, and when attempting entry into the bedroom, managed to wedge himself (had to be a bloke squirrel) upside down in the gap and little claws caught in the fly screen making a bit of a mess of the screen in the process. With a little helpful prodding by me, the little squeaker managed to free himself and scurry off into the night.
So, with the combination of the squirrel and mossies, that was another night I felt like I got about 2 hours sleep. Went for a walk with management and I scored my first German cache down a pretty little lane in the middle of nowhere. As we got back to the house, the clouds were gathering and soon there was thunder and more rain. The offer to go to Duisburg zoo didn't thrill me, what with the rain and thunder and the fact it is an older style zoo with small enclosures. It was explained to me that the climate just over the Rhine was different and it wouldn't be raining, so we set off. We parked near the zoo and it started to rain so that was the end of that adventure. We ended up exploring some other parks as the rain then did clear. It wasn't that summery and I was glad I was wearing my rain coat. We met Janusz's friends Gunter and Katerine for dinner. Twas just a trifle awkward as Gunter spoke English, Katrine didn't, Janusz prefers German and Krystyna's German is a bit rusty (but 600% better than mine). I practiced looking at the fire place. Down the road for ice creams then we bid our farewells and headed home.
Our bedroom door at Janusz's house is a work in progress. Today's effort would make a medieval castle quite proud. A late night visit to the loo will probably awaken those slumbering in Düsseldorf 70 km away. At least there were no ninja squirrels.
The next day dawning was yet another grey drab effort. Before the drizzle arrived, Krystyna and me channeled her late mother and haunted Janusz by doing some pruning and clearing in the gardens. Janusz began to do a rain dance to try to get us to stop but before we did, we did manage to clear some paths and trails that really did need some clearing. I had an encounter with some stinging nettles, the first time since I was a child in the UK in the 60s. The forecast for the rest of the week is not promising so much doubt about whether we do a day trip to Amsterdam.
Another grey cooler day with not much on the agenda. Went for a stroll to another nearish geocache but we had no luck in finding it. Came back home and watched Janusz's mates do some serious re-cobblestoning as a preventative measure for the cellar flood debacle. I then did some sleuthing via Google Translate to read the logs on that pesky cache and soon determined that the coords were out by some margin. As we had nothing better to do, we traipsed back and did find it some 20 metres from where it was meant to be.
Krystyna thinks I need entertaining (I don't) so it's off to Amsterdam we go. The train left nearby Duisburg at 7:00 am so an early start was required. Was probably the coldest day of the trip (bar Stockholm) and we froze whilst waiting on the platform for the train ( which was delayed because of the crap weather). Wasn't the uber fast train but it still managed a respectable run of 2.5 hours. We started off with a 1 hour canal tour, quite interesting but I didn't take many photos as the boats windows looked like they had be cleaned with the water straight from the canal, a lovely shade of sludge. After the tour, we found a cafe for lunch, amongst all the "coffee houses", the ones that sell dope and all the associated paraphernalia.
We did some more walking and eventually crossed to the other side of the port via free shuttle ferries. The ferries run every few minutes and are jammed packed with walkers, cyclist, scooterists and the smallest of cars. First stop was the Eye, which was in many ways similar to the Sydney Opera House and houses their film institute. Stopped for a coffee and people watched for a while. Nearby was the Adam Lookout which funnily enough was a lookout. It featured a spectacular elevator ride in a glass roofed elevator with all sorts of wizz bang effects (FB video refers) going on as we went up. Nice views all around as Amsterdam is yet another European city that hasn't gone down the sky scraper path. The roof was very blowy so we went down a level to the cafe restaurant level where we did partake in beer, wine and chips. Got our cheesy souvenir photo sorted and then it was back to the ferry to nip across to the other side. Was almost train time so we grabbed some Thai takeaway to eat on the way back. The train back was the uber fast version so we were back in Duisburg in next to no time.
Our final full day in Germany arrived. We celebrated with a trip to the zoo. The Duisburg zoo is famous for its koalas so we made a special effort to avoid them. The original zoo dates back to the 1930s and some enclosures are dated and small which saddened me. I don't like dolphin shows where the Dolphins perform tricks but I must say, I was really impressed with how the Dolphins managed to throw balls at the right velocity and angles to be caught by the wrangler. Did I mention it was another overcast day that always looked like it was going to pelt down on us? We celebrated by having ice creams. A final dinner at a nice Italian place with Gunter joining us (and the rain also got an invite).
Nothing like a bit of drama to get the heart racing on our last day. I bought 3 spectacle frames from Canberra with me to Warsaw, plus my latest script in order to get the glasses made in Poland. As they weren't going to be ready in time, we made arrangements for them to be shipped to Germany. We received an email from the optometrist last Thursday saying they had been shipped. I'll leave out a lot of the detail but when they hadn't arrived in Germany a week later, much ringing between Optometrists, Polish postal service, German postal service, DHL ( funnily enough they were no way involved in the debacle at all but Polish postal service thought they may have been) and another courier service, we found that the package was sitting in Düsseldorf with a wrong address on the label. I think only DHL can hold their head up high! Well we were flying out of Düsseldorf that night so we changed our plans and left much earlier for the city so we could grab the package. Accordingly, we had a bit of spare time before our scheduled 9:30 pm departure so we went up to another tower where we admired the views and ate just a little snack or 3.
Our final trip with Janusz and his trusty transporter. Sad farewells were said at the airport and we made our way to our awaiting flight. Full marks to Emirates again for their 5 star service. The leg to Dubai was still squishy in cattle class but at least the food was edible, well presented and a huge range of options with the Entertainment System. No sleep for me on the 6 hour leg and then we had 3 hours in Dubai in the brilliant Emirates Business lounge. At least on the Sydney leg with Qantas, we had pre booked Emergency Exit seats and that makes a world of difference on a +13 hour journey. Good thing we had stuffed our faces at Dubai as Qantas weren't generous with the vittles on offer. We arrived at Sydney at 05:00 , very dark and cold and whilst we were disembarking, we were paged to be informed that there would be one less item of luggage waiting for us at the carousel. Shucks, takes away the surprise, doesn't it? Apparently, it arrives tomorrow after being somewhere nice. Our flight to Canberra was delayed due to fog and then we were home, minus 3 or something silly like that, with Michael and Eva at the airport to greet us.
So, there ends the European Adventure! It was great to meet my extended family and I appreciated their efforts in trying to communicate with the dumb Aussie who only speaks English and a smattering of German from old WW II movies (Rous Rous, achtung (baby), gott in himmel etc. Eric., and even less Polish. I loved the historical cities with their interesting streetscapes, old houses, narrow streets, cobblestones. I loved the hospitality that ensures I'm always well fed. Normal German beer is a cut above normal Australian beer. A few things surprised me;having to pay to use a public convenience, the lack of public drinking water fountains, the number of people who still smoke. Public transport is marvelous but that comes with having such an urban density that they have. Janusz's house is rural but you can travel no more than a few 100 metres to come across small hamlets. Australia IS empty by comparison. If I was to travel to Europe again at the same time of year, I would pack a few more long sleeved garments and yes just maybe, my parka. Navigation would be easier with a smart phone with a locally procured SIM card that allowed you access to Google Maps so you could tell where the hell you were. WiFi is available in the strangest places but it is not consistent and quite often, extremely slow.
By the way, I had a great time. Photos following in a few days time
For those that know Sydney International Airport, it is served by 2 longish North South runways that usually operated in tandem, and a much shorter single East West runway. Due to weather, operations were limited to the single East West runway. One of my first thoughts were how tight that would be for take off for an A380 with a full load of fuel and passengers for the long haul to Dubai, if in fact possible.
As we sat in Qantas Club, we noticed that the flight we had been rescheduled on, was getting delayed more and more and the flight that was scheduled after it, actually had an earlier departure time. It was around this time that an announcement was made in the lounge asking all passengers on our flight to check with service desk. We went, and they changed us to the later flight which was leaving earlier. Still with me? I asked for Priority Transfer cards that get you through security and immigration at Sydney airport much faster and passes were handed over. After another 30 minutes, the departure board advised us to go to gate. We headed off to gate and then noticed that our flight wasn't even on the departure screen. We went to another service desk and they advised us to go back to lounge and wait for a firm boarding call. We were advised that things were fluid but I thought they were more sopping wet. Then the moment arrived and the board was flashing final call. We made our way down thinking our time in Sydney was getting tight but we were wrong. When the staff member scanned our boarding passes, he frowned and then told us we weren't on this flight any more and we needed to go to Service desk. Now things were getting very silly.
We marched to the service desk where we were told by the frazzled staff member to take a seat and wait for a call whilst they tried to route us through Melbourne. So much for our pre booked emergency exit seats on QF 1. The flight to Melbourne was already boarding and despite assurances, I was pretty sure our luggage was not going to make the same trip as us. We got to Melbourne before 4 and our flight was to Dubai was leaving after 10:00 pm. It was going to get us less than an hour for our transit stop which we had actually been looking forward to a long leisurely transfer as the Emirates lounge is truly opulent. One bit of good news was the airport at Melbourne was bordering on empty so we didn't feel the need to use our priority transfer passes so we kept them for another day. Our pre booked Emergency Exit seats were no longer valid on the new flight as they had been booked by other passengers. The helpful Qantas staff at the lounge said they would see what they could do and did manage to get us exit seats on the Emirates flight from Dubai to Düsseldorf (which we had managed to stuff up in our attempt) and on the Dubai leg, they blocked the third seat in our row which gave us a tad more comfort as it would mean we could spread out a bit more. When we eventually boarded, we were a bit dismayed as we were unpacking into our seats when another passenger fronted up saying she had the third seat. Krystyna went to the nearest cabin crew and proceeded to rip him a new one whilst I slyly attempted to get a look at the woman's boarding pass. Sure enough, she was in the 3rd row further back and we had our 3 seats to the 2 of us.
It was a good feeling when the plane finally lumbered down the runway. Dinner was served at about 23:00 hours, I tried to watch a couple of films but found it hard to focus as it was a long day. However, I only managed to catch a couple of hours sleep. A really nice breakfast was served whilst I watch "The Martian" and then we were on final approach to Dubai. We had managed to gain 30 minutes on the leg, but we were not going to get much quality ground time. After being security screened, we had a quick glance at the nicest Emirates lounge in Terminal A where we had arrived but then had to make our way to terminal C which can take up to 30 minutes including a train ride. We made it into the lounge as our flight was boarding but Krystyna managed to have her glass of Moët!
We boarded our Emirates A380 and found that Emirates do away with the window seat on the Exit Rows. Interesting comparing the 2 airlines with the same aircraft. Emirates came out the winner as it appears they actually have more staff who were friendlier and more efficient. Maybe the comparison is unfair as the Dubai-Düsseldorf leg is just over 6 hours whereas Melbourne -Dubai was about 15 hours. We noted the Qantas staff sneaking down to the secret crew quarters very frequently. The Emirates entertainment screen also appears bigger and a better range of newly released films, eg Emirates had the new Star Wars film, Qantas didn't. Full marks to Qantas for at least having a decent plunger coffee being offered. Pretty sure Emirates were serving up a jug of instant.
Arriving at Düsseldorf International Airport did not showcase German efficiency. Very slow moving queue to get through passport control. There was very little air movement and quite frankly, it was a better more efficient experience in Cambodia. Krysia's brother Janusz was there to meet us and we made our way to the parking lot for our drive to our temporary home. The temperature was pleasant, the sky was blue (but not Australian blue) and it had been a long two days. A quick tour of the amazing gardens and chicken pens; the house is on a rural-ish allotment in a suburb of Duisburg. We headed off to another nearby town for a traditional German Chinese banquet where I ate way too much but it was very yummy. But after about 2 hours sleep over the past 48 hours, I was ready to lay my head down in my plate. Janusz was very understanding when I explained his roosters may not see another dawn if they woke me too early the next morning.
The 2 travelers woke at a reasonable hour the next morning. Janusz had been off early getting fresh bread rolls. We headed off to Düsseldorf on a mission to find decadent ice creams. We parked next to the Rhine which was almost in flood and flowing very fast. Massive river and I don't think I'll be able to look at the Murrumbidgee again and also call it a river. A number of massive River cruise boats were also moored there awaiting their next cruise. We walked the streets of the old town, cobble stoned streets add to the effect. Lots of outdoor eateries and lots of English style pubs. Eventually, we found our target and had the most delicious and evil of lunches (Facebook photo refers). We headed back to Duisburg where Janusz had some errands to do. We stopped at a mechanics and whilst we waited were offered sparkling water and magnums - too soon. We drove by where Krystyna lived prior to immigrating to Australia. Not the nicest part of town, very close to the Industrial part of town and the apartment block is no more for that very reason. One last stop at a nearby supermarket for some grocery items for dinner. It is the same supermarket that Janusz visits daily to get their "out of date" food stuffs to feed his army of chooks. Quite an amazing array of food these chooks get to eat, no wonder they look so content.
The next day arrives with the threat of afternoon thunderstorms. However the morning is glorious so we set off for a walk around one of the local lakes. There are a few geocaches hidden along the way but one needs to decode the puzzle and the puzzles are in German so no happiness there. I will come back again and fire up my GPS. Interesting to note that as we walk and pass other walkers, no greetings are offered and eye contact is avoided. Few people are swimming but there are "no swimming" signs about. After lunch, we head off to Rheinbeck and another quest for ice creams. We stroll through the quaint streets and a nice park but the thunder is getting closer so we head back to the car.
One more stop on the drive home, to a local cemetery where Janusz's friend and former landlord was recently buried (the reason for our European sojourn). What a beautiful, peaceful place that is more of a park than a cemetery. There are less and less headstones these days with graves not being marked out as we are used to back home. Another stop at supermarket on way home and then another early night for me, listening to the rain fall on the roof.
Another mosquito battle during the night with Krysia valiantly trying to protect me and falling victim in my stead. We are off to Holland today, Venlo being the nearest city. It's all new to me without passport controls on the borders. We zoomed along the Autobahn, one minute we are in Germany then the next we are in Holland. We parked a fair way out of town and walked in along the river along a bike path. I have never seen such infrastructure dedicated to two wheelers. Notice how I didn't say bikes as motor scooters are also allowed to use them. They have their own sequencing at traffic lights and friendly bell use is a constant. We made our way to the cobble stoned city Centre and had our first decent coffee. It's still hard to get use to everyone smoking. My former work buddy Caroline had warned us to a certain delectable potato snack "fries of war" but despite our best efforts, we could find none. Found a supermarket with a most amazing range of food stuffs, especially coffee and cheeses. My 2 Polish traveling companions made a bee-line for the shop that specialises in Polish produce but were disappointed to find that the truck from Warsaw hadn't arrived which was meant to be carrying fresh pierogi. Popped back 3 times just to make sure, but no luck. Had lunch at a cafe and taught Janusz a new English expression when we described our meals as "nothing remarkable". Had to make a slight detour on the way back to the car, as Janusz had purloined our left-over bread from lunch and had to feed the ducks. The ducks were happy with this decision. An easy drive back home with the requisite stop at the supermarket to pick up the leftovers for the chooks.
Hurrah, a mosquito free night. Back in the days when I used to work for AusCheck, I worked with Caroline. She married a German and moved to the other side of the world. She now lives in the nearest town to Duisburg. Small world eh? She kindly offered to give us a mini tour of some nearby points of interest and the first stop was amazing. An ex huge iron foundry has now been converted to a cultural meeting place but all the old huge machinery and associated buildings is still in place. It was extremely photogenic. There was a large police exercise taking place so we felt extremely safe but feeling safe has been a common experience for the entire trip so far. We had a pit stop at the cafe on site and were served the hugest of slices of cake. Krystyna has been well trained by Janusz and purloined Caroline's left over cake in case any ducks would need feeding on the way home. We then toured the local streetscapes and visited an old church at Kloster Kamp dating back to the 1100s with amazing gardens and the most beautifully maintained cemetery I have ever seen. We bid Caroline farewell and spent the afternoon wrestling with airline booking systems and AirBnB, organising our trip to Sweden and Poland. It is still light at 10:00 pm as I write this.
We are off to Cologne today, or as us fluent Deutchers would say, Koln. It is Germany's 4th largest city. I think I have been here as a 6 or 7 year old with Mum and Dad. We autobahned to a friends house in the 'burbs then caught one of those light rail thingos into the Centre of the city. Amazing old cathedral is the Centre point of the town and a lot of the city's development has been focusing on nothing detracting from that focus. The cathedral is huge and it is also the focus of the tourist in Cologne, hence the swarms of buskers and beggars in the general area. After a bit of a explore on foot, we decided to do one of those hop on hop off bus tours without any hop offs. It was very interesting and we enjoyed it very much. We then headed off on foot again and was captivated by a piano wielding busker. Very relaxing music so we bought 3 of his CDs. We then headed off across the rail bridge which has been jam packed with lovers locks. Very impressive, then a quick view from a nearby tall building, then by 15:30, we were ready for lunch. I think the beer I was served would have to be the second smallest I have ever been served (those keen followers of my FB travels would have to remember the tiny can I got in Japan). Then, it was time to make the hike back to the light rail and the drive home.
03:30 dark o'clock saw the alarms going off so we could catch the 7:00 flight from Düsseldorf to Stockholm. On the road by 4:30 and we weren't the only ones at this early Saturday hour. German laws forbid truckies using autobahns on Saturdays but there was a lot of traffic. Made it to the airport with time to spare but the airport was chockers with travelers. After checking in and clearing security, we grabbed a coffee and a sandwich and waited for departure time. We were flying GermanWings/Eurowings, some complicated hybrid of a low cost carrier under the Lufthansa umbrella. By the fact we had paid extra for luggage and emergency exit seats, that meant we got a small feed as well. As we approached the Swedish capital, we good see the many islands that make up the nation spread out around us. No passport control as we were traveling within Europe means my passport doesn't have a Swedish stamp.
Ewa (Eva) was waiting for us, despite our cunning plan to catch the express train to the city. Our taxi ride to her apartment In the Centre of the city brought back memories of Bangkok as our taxi straddled the lanes, spent most of the time between lanes and indicators were rarely used. We basically left our luggage and started wandering the streets. First stop being a baker where we had nice coffee and nice rolls. Now how can I say this diplomatically? Stockholm in summer can be a tad freezing, the intermittent showers didn't help and when the wind picked up, it was icy. In fairness, the sun would peek out occasionally and if the wind died down, it was pleasant. But our walk toward the old city was punctuated by ducking into shops to get out of the weather and this did mean a few more coffees were consumed, to buy us the right to be undercover. The old city is very photogenic. We made our way to a vantage point over the sea side of Stockholm where the cruise ships dock but the weather again made us retreat and some of our party resorted to ice creams - yes , I don't understand either. We then went to the photography museum which is more gallery than museum but I did find most of the images depressing whilst still being thought provoking.
We then made our way back to a castle where an author was giving a presentation upon his latest book, about a Polish/Swedish King and the presentation was entirely in Swedish, I did at one stage say I would buy the book but then changed my mind and will wait for the movie to come out. After being on our feet most of the day and the very early start, we grabbed some hippy pizzas from nearby and took them home to devour. After a glass of red, I struggled to bed and collapsed.
A clear sky greeted us on waking. We were staying in Ewa's apartment, located in the centre of the city. After breakfast, we headed off to the waterfront where our first adventure was an amphibious bus ride. Very entertaining and interesting as well. When the bus made the transition from land to water, the PA was playing the theme from Titanic. Similarly, when landing, the James Bond theme was played. We then headed off to the Vasa museum, it was the pride of the Swedish fleet and the most powerful warship in the world when launched, however it was a tad too top heavy and breached after firing a cannon salute about 1 km into its first voyage and promptly sank. Much effort in 1961 to salvage it and it now sits in a remarkable museum.
A quick word here about Public conveniences in Sweden. Forget male and female dedicated rooms, think of long lines of cubicles. Makes men have to queue along with those of the fairer sex. After a serve of Swedish meatballs for lunch, we wen to the Museum of Modern Art. How can I say this, some real weird shit in there. Then a quick hike back to the apartment meant that wasn't that quick as the legs had put in 2 long days. We popped down to a nearby restaurant for a lovely dinner. The door did not indicate the large crowd inside. Food was lovely, dessert was even better and yes I know, dessert is also food. Finished the night with a quick go in Ewa's massage chair and our Swedish adventure was almost over.
A taxi at 7:00 am and we admired the orderly Swedish peak hour traffic flow on the highway to the airport. I do disagree with this new fad of queuing to get a boarding pass from a machine, then queuing to do a baggage drop where the staff member looks you up on the system in any case. It really doesn't seem to have any efficiency. Then we still had one more queue to get through security. A bit more breakfast was consumed in honor of all the queuing then we boarded our LOT flight to Warsaw. Bye bye Sweden, it was lovely to meet you and great to catch up with Ewa.
An uneventful but expensive flight to Warsaw, the baggage almost beat us to the carousel, not many passengers had luggage in the hold of the aircraft. Staszek, Krystyna's brother was at the airport to meet us, for somebody who doesn't speak English, he sure as hell spoke more English than I speak Polish. We drove to the old city where we had hired an Airbnb apartment. We dumped our luggage and then set off for a quick wander of these quaint old streets. Then it was time to find a fine establishment for our luncheon. We chose a cafe that had many momentos of the old communist days including some old Russian cars. Krystyna described one dish on the menu which very much sounded like a ploughmans lunch but came out looking like a carnivores delight, meat stacked to the ceiling along with some cheese croquets and onion rings.
After lunch, we stopped and looked at to worlds narrowest apartment. Worth reading about on the web. amazing. We then took off to the Museum Palace of Wilanowie. Very similar to what I remember of the palace of Versailles and I am always reminded of the immortal words of Mel Brooks as he utilised the services of the Piss Bucket Boy "It's good to be the king!" After touring the palace, we walked the grounds eating fresh cherries and admiring the bumble bees and squirrels.
Krysia had an appointment with her Polish dentist so Staszek and myself went to a coffee shop and tried to communicate by smoke signals, semaphore, crayons, charades and occasionally words. Then it was time to catch up with Christian, Anna and Brian at a sushi restaurant. Another long day so my body wasted no time falling asleep once the head hit the pillow.
We were on the road by 10:00 the next morning after a little embarrassing moment when we tried to figure out how to leave the apartment complex. There was a hidden button that eventually released us. First attempts at a Jewish museum were thwarted by it being closed so we had a coffee and a bun instead. We the headed off into the country where Staszek has a delightful house that he built and has an enchanted forest with cubby houses and strawberry patches and lots of other goodies. I was sent to a hammock so I wouldn't get in the way. We then stopped at a super super market "Auchan", French apparently. It was huge, could barely see from one end to another, fantastic range of goods. We were then dropped at another shopping centre where we arranged to get my glasses made up. I'm afraid dearest was wrong, it is not cheaper than Australia so we won't make that mistake again. A quick stop at Staszek's apartment where we were fed and then we strolled down the road to Christian and Anna's new apartment that they are renovating. What a stunner! Every mod con including the secret cat hideaway, gizmos elsewhere that I didn't know had been invented and a lovely aviation theme throughout. Back to Staszek's because it had at least been an hour since we were fed.
A big walking day. After breakfast in our apartment, we headed out to the Warsaw Uprising museum. Very well done but also very depressing. The Poles have been treated disgustingly by both Russians and the Germans. They have every right to feel nervous having such neighbours. Visited a salad bar for lunch and then somehow I was led to the Polish equivalent of "Trade Secrets" only it was even more boring because I couldn't read anything. We then trammed to a magnificent park with a very long unpronounceable name but it was so green and lush and full of squirrels! Bussed back toward the apartment and according to the phone's pedometer function, we did about 20k on foot today. Had a first dinner where I ordered some nachos and got a glass mixing bowl full of corn chips and a sliver of melted cheese on top then met Krysia's cousin Andrej for more dinner and more walking. He has talked me into getting a telescope. Went to colored fountains nearby, saw a hedgehog in the wild and crashed for the night.
There apparently is a geocache 2 doors down from our apartment. Trouble is, that door is a door to a church. With much encouragement from management (Krysia), we had a bit of a rummage in the foyer but felt very uncomfortable whilst we did. Especially when we were in full view of the altar and there was a nun doing nun things. I was convinced we were in the wrong place so we gave up.....for the time being. Staszek came to pick us up and we headed off to the Jewish museum. At first I wondered about the purpose of the museum along with my general uncomfortableness with religion. It was interesting about how the Jews were treated differently from others, in many ways better than the general population but I could understand how that could also create hostility and jealousy. The museums coverage of WW2 was very bleak. Nothing can explain the holocaust to me except man's ability to be swayed by false arguments when considering the existence of "the supreme being". We went to one of Warsaw's iconic building, the cultural centre which as good views from the 30th floor. It dismayed us at seeing kiddies on school excursions shining laser beams into each other faces. These things should not be considered toys. We had lunch near a little park near a railway station then went back to a previously visited park to ensure I saw the famous statue of Chopin.
This deserves a new paragraph. I was feeling very tired, it had been weeks since I had an afternoon nap of any sorts. I pleaded my case to management, I could go back to apartment and have a little slumber, Krysia could have some quality time with her brother and everyone’s a winner. I even factored in a refreshing ale. I was dropped near the apartment and as I walked, I noticed a clue to the geocache that had alluded us in the morning. Hmm, will investigate later. Got to the apartment, thought first things first and cracked a delightful Polish dark ale. I then remembered that Krysia had put a a load of washing in the front loader in the morning. Thought I would do the domesticated thing and hang the washing around the apartment. I opened the washing machine door and a tidal wave of water came flooding out. I quickly slammed the door shut and looked at the lake spreading on the kitchen floor. Smeg ! The apartment was equipped with a mop so I started mopping but I still had the problem of a washing machine full of water. I googled the washing machine model number and searched for a manual on line and eventually worked out a way of running a drain cycle, followed by a spin cycle. A bit more mopping and a bit of towel work and the place was almost back to normal. Double smeg, I was sort of proud of myself, and felt muchly that I deserved another beer. Nap time was slipping away quickly but then there was a loud firm knock on the apartment door. Damn, management home already, I opened the door and there stood 3 burly Polish policemen. Gulp, I would have loved to have seen the look on my face. They barked lots of words at me, none of which I understood. I stood tall and squeaked back at them "Nyet Polski!" and beamed them my famous smile. I was worried that something may have happened to Krysia but then they all seemed to speak at me again and I understood even less. I then hit them with a "Je suis Australien" and gave them an even broader smile. More Polish words in return but then one of them pointed at the gate/exit, you know, the one that had us stumped the other morning? I took a chance and walked out the apartment and went and pushed the secret button. Yay verily, there was much "Jnkuyer"ing and they left the scene. I went back into the apartment, gazed longingly at the pillow and waited for Krysia to come home. I related my tale of bravery and there were looks of disbelief but you just can't make this stuff up. Off to have dinner with Staszek's full family then a quick trip to the train station to sort out tickets for our trip to Kraków the next day. That was much harder than it sounds but eventually that was sorted.
We rose early the next day, ducked around the corner to a bakery and cafe to get rolls and coffee for breakfast. On the way to coffee, we had a look for the geocache but knew we were closer but still far away. After breakfast, we read the logs of previous finders and it sounded like one had to press an intercom button to gain access and this sort of stuff gives me the heebeegeebees. I declared the mission over but the tenacious one would not give up. She ducked out for a moment and came back with the biggest smile on her face. Success, she dragged me back to show me the scene of her victory and in fact, we then went off to find 2 more caches, both of which she found before me.
Staszek then came and gave us a lift to the train station. As always, the Polish hospitality is outstanding, he came bearing cakes and a bottle of tonic water for me. The train trip was uneventful, the train comes with WiFi that only loses the signal when you are trying to confirm future accommodation bookings. We were slightly dismayed to find, when we pulled into Kraków station, that it was bucketing down. We had left one suitcase in Warsaw with most of our stuff, including our rain jackets. Only got slightly drenched when we ran for the taxi and soon Krysia and her older sister Allina were reunited. As we are staying with Polish people, the first issue of the day is to start feeding us. I enjoy the company of the 2 cats, especially the one that purrs a lot! Krysia has some dramas with her security clearance for new job and needs to print and sign a document, however Macs and PCs sometimes don't like talking to each other so we head off to nearest shops to get a USB drive. That is the easy part, finding someone who will print it is another. Photo printing places aren't interested and eventually a nice young man in a phone accessory kiosk, downloads it and prints it, not a service the kiosk provides and didn't want to accept any money. Back home and time for more food because it has been a while. Interesting night sleep as Krystyna's sister collects old clocks of the type that chime on the hour, on the half hour and any other time that they feel like it. There was a lot of chiming going on.
Another aspect of this holiday that I haven't addressed is the traditional European bathroom. Many of our stays have involved bathrooms, particularly the showers, that either involve gymnastics and/or tiny spaces, and sometimes wet, cold, clammy shower curtains just waiting to attack. We think this might be to enable us to have a head start in case we are interested in a future submariner career.
After another filling Polish breakfast, we headed off with Allina by tram to the castle in the centre of old Kraków. I was treated to an English audio tour of the cathedral which was interesting. Crowds of tourists and it really was a lovely summers day. Kraków avoided the devastation that Warsaw experienced during the 2nd world war. In fact, the Germans used it as their administrative centre during their occupation of Poland. Himmler even moved into the castle. Had a nice lunch in the town square accompanied by a Polish Porter beer then accompanied the women to the arcade full of little shops selling Amber trinkets. I escaped with my life but many trinkets did not escape. Then another tram ride back home and a visit to a supermarket to buy more socks and undies so Staszek doesn't need to see us and reunite us with our other luggage. However, in an Einstein moment, I have just discovered that I managed to not count successfully to 2, the number of shirts I needed to pack. Bottom! Some Czeck beers to wet the pallete, met Krysia's grand niece who writes a polish blog and has thousands of followers so I gave her a few tips to increase her popularity
Last morning in Kraków, a short walk to a nearby church, famous for churchy type things then back for a final pack. Our train to Warsaw is one of the faster new tangled ones but unlike the old rattler that bought us to Kraków, this was doesn't have wifi!
Awaken to a very wet Warsaw. Krysia had a Drs appointment somewhere else and I didn't. She hit the streets by 7:00 and I was mobile by 8:00. I made my way to the biggest shopping mall in the city, managed to buy someone who shall remain nameless until he pays, a souvenir. Reunited with management around 10:30. We bought our rail ticket to Berlin (unfortunately, the train is not the modern version that brought us from Kraków) and spent the rest of the day's wandering around the shops. There is a very nice chain coffee shop called "Green Nero". We had found one near the old city and we brunched in one in the Gallery, lovely coffee and nice rolls. Afternoon spent in a different shopping centre and the Polish version of "Trade Secrets" was thoroughly explored.
We were meeting Andrej and his partner for dinner. Things got a little complicated when Christian rang with a sublime offer. He is an Air Traffic Controller and was working that night, would we like to visit him in the office? Would we ever? It did make life a bit complicated with our dinner date and to complicate matters, with the rain, Warsaw traffic was even worse than it usually is. Still, a lovely dinner was had, more Warsaw traffic was negotiated, a car/driver handover was made with Anna who showed us her rally skills. Despite pre preparation by Christian involving passports, security guards were extremely slow in getting into the honey-nest. It was worth the angst. Christian gave us a good run down on what was happening in the night skies above Poland. Every thing was cool calm and collected except for me. When Christian was due for a break, he and Anna (who also works Int the same building as an air safety investigator) gave us a tour of the rest of the facility including going up the Control Tower. Did I mention absolutely brilliant? We were due for an early start the next day and eventually dragged ourselves away. Thanks again Christian and Anna for an unforgettable experience and heartfelt apologies to Andrej for accommodating the tourists so graciously.
The next day saw us being collected by Staszek for a day trip to Wroclaw (pronounced Vrodsworff), where Krystyna grew up as a child. Just let me know if there are any Polish words you want help with pronouncing. We were on the road by 5:00 am for the 350k journey. Two freeways seem to connect the cities with an intervening stretch of road that connects them. All our Polish friends tell us that the police don't patrol the roads for speeding but these are the same people who have taken significant point penalties on their licenses. Once we hit the 'burbs, we made our way to their old apartment. There next door neighbor from all those years ago was out picking cherries from a tree in front. He was a young boy the last time they met. Apparently, the streets have narrowed somewhat from those days.......or someone's memory is a tad hazy. We then went to Krystyna and Staszek's fathers grave and did some maintenance. All the graves seem to be lovingly maintained. We headed off to the central part of the city and as with all the other such places we have visited, it was absolutely charming. The other skill required when visiting such places is the ability to sniff out a parking spot. Not easy, even for our skilled guide Staszek.
After a little feed, we wandered the streets some more then went to the very old university whose name I'd better get right XXXXXXXXXX We then met with Staszek's son from his first marriage. Krystyna hadn't seen him for 41 years. This called for celebrating in true Polish style by eating more. Buskers were doing the rounds of the eateries then coming in for "donations”. I would have paid to keep them from playing. A quick photo opportunity in front of the earliest recorded restaurant in the world then we bade our farewell to Marcin. Off then to the longest ball of string, nope cancel that, the longest painting in the world and probably the worlds first 360 degree effort. So big in fact, they have built a special circular building to house it. Whilst we toured that, Staszek went for a stroll to retrieve bubbies jacket that had been left at the lunch venue. We then visited a lovely Japanese garden that Staszek had many years ago, helped to install the water features. The long drive back to Warsaw where we bade farewell to Staszek and his wonderful hospitality.
Up again at sparrows for our 6:00 a train trip to Berlin. This was not a comfortable experience. The old style carriages where you sit in a booth of 6 seats, 3 facing backwards and if the compartment is full, a complex arrangement of interlocking feet. A corridor passes along one side where a conductor comes occasionally or a water trolley. The train driver blows his horn very frequently and the train stops at every 2nd tiny town. It was extremely hard to get comfortable and we were so glad when we finally arrived. It is handy having my own multi-linguist on this trip. We firstly booked our onwards trip to Duisburg for the next day, then armed with maps of our apartment photographed on phones, we got in a taxi and before long we were at our apartment. By the way, the taxi metre displayed in the drivers rear view mirror.
Delightful bohemian little joint, not very far from Fredrickstrasse. We headed off down the street and very close by was a little Vietnamese restaurant, while not having a very nice street presence, served absolutely amazing food. This may have spoiled us for future food stops. We then headed down the strasse and first mission was to find the ladies. A word of complaint here, in Europe you usually need to pay to go to a loo. Even the world famous Maccas, you need to get a code to use their facilities. As the situation deteriorated to DEFCON 5, she finally barged into a hotel and used some foyer facilities like looking as a guest.
Further down the road is the iconic Check Point Charley. A couple of people are dressed as marines and the hut looks to be in original condition. Off then to the Brandenburg Gate. There was some sort of filming taking place so most of it was gated off. There was some other sort of festival taking place nearby which looked to involve lots of sausage and beer. Off to the Reichstag and I was impressed by the German version of COMCAR except they drive black Audi A8s. Further wanderings led us to what looked like the main cathedral which was near the major construction of some new museum that will look like its 200 years old when completed. One of us then needed an ice cream stop (not me) and then we took a short boat tour along the River. After an hour of that, we were off to the building that dominates the Berlin skyline, the sky tower built by the East Germans. Great views from there. Unfortunately, at the bottom resides the German version of "Trade Secrets" so guess where the next stop was? We chose to wander back to the apartment along the river Spree and stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant under the shadow of another big old church. Lovely having the mild evenings with the late sunsets.
Nice to have a relative sleep in (around 7:00 ish). A nearby cafe supplied some ordinary coffee and a roll which we ate in the apartment. A quick pack, a short stroll a quick hail of a cab and we were soon back at the main train station. Our train to Duisburg was not until 17:50 and we wished to leave our luggage at the station. 2 big lockers were required and it added 28 Euros to the stay.
Then off to join one of those "Hop on Hop off" double decker bus tours. It was good but we may have picked the wrong company. As we did the hop on hop off bit, many times we waited longer than the advertised 15 minutes for the next bus to come along. Some of the guides were better than others but still it is a good way to get a feel for a city. We did manage an ice cream stop along the way. Our lunch stop was at another Vietnamese restaurant but we had been spoiled by the effort the day before. The beer was good though before bubbie managed to say when only had 40 minutes to get back to station, locker and train. I thought we had another hour but doggie bags were arranged and I had to skull the beer. As we boarded the bus, management did note that my timings were correct but we decided to proceed slowly toward our destination. Luggage was retrieved, we made our way to the prescribed part of the platform where our carriage would arrive. Ok, I got into trouble for the following views, there is not enough space for big luggage on the train, I don't like traveling 245 k backwards and there wasn't enough of the 245 bits, the air con struggled and the wifi didn't work. Very smooth and quiet though and beer cost the same as water.
Janusz met us at the station and as we drove home, we got hit by a mega storm and I mean mega. The 2 metre dash from the car to the front door had me looking like a drowned octopus. The house has a cellar and the water was flooding in through the little windows. We all pitched in scooping water into buckets and hurling it from the house. Germany doesn't have a State Emergency Service organisation; this would have been typical of the sort of call out back at home except very few Aussie homes have Cellars. I think we downed tools around midnight and I had a celebratory beer or 2.
Next day was a quiet day as Janusz organised his defensives for any future down pours. Went for a short stroll to see if I could find any nearby Geocaches but was thwarted by not having local maps loaded to GPS. Will try again in a few days.
The next day dawned as a fairly grey and drizzly sort of effort. Not good enough Germany, and the night had been a bad one being constantly dive bombed by mossies. After the regular jaunt to the local supermarket, we headed off to Xatham, an old Roman town partially reconstructed but also old structures had been thoughtfully protected with an amazing museum built over them. Our visit coincided with some sort of 2 day festival with hundreds of Romanesque type peoples camping on site and participating in events. Pity about the rain because the Roman gear didn't look particularly suited to that sort of weather. Dinner at the same Chinese restaurant that we started our stay with only this time I didn't fall asleep with my face in my plate. Another night of dive bombing mossies but this night also featured a ninja squirrel.
All night long I had been hearing rustling out in the garden. In Europe, it is quite common to have dual hinged doors and windows. So a door that swings normally on a vertical hinge can convert to its bottom hinges and open in a leaning sort of way. Sort of secure as a person won't be able to climb through without knocking the door of its hinges. The bedroom door also has one of those magnetic fly screen curtain that self seals as you walk through. Well, ninja squirrel had managed to negotiate through the fly screen partially, and when attempting entry into the bedroom, managed to wedge himself (had to be a bloke squirrel) upside down in the gap and little claws caught in the fly screen making a bit of a mess of the screen in the process. With a little helpful prodding by me, the little squeaker managed to free himself and scurry off into the night.
So, with the combination of the squirrel and mossies, that was another night I felt like I got about 2 hours sleep. Went for a walk with management and I scored my first German cache down a pretty little lane in the middle of nowhere. As we got back to the house, the clouds were gathering and soon there was thunder and more rain. The offer to go to Duisburg zoo didn't thrill me, what with the rain and thunder and the fact it is an older style zoo with small enclosures. It was explained to me that the climate just over the Rhine was different and it wouldn't be raining, so we set off. We parked near the zoo and it started to rain so that was the end of that adventure. We ended up exploring some other parks as the rain then did clear. It wasn't that summery and I was glad I was wearing my rain coat. We met Janusz's friends Gunter and Katerine for dinner. Twas just a trifle awkward as Gunter spoke English, Katrine didn't, Janusz prefers German and Krystyna's German is a bit rusty (but 600% better than mine). I practiced looking at the fire place. Down the road for ice creams then we bid our farewells and headed home.
Our bedroom door at Janusz's house is a work in progress. Today's effort would make a medieval castle quite proud. A late night visit to the loo will probably awaken those slumbering in Düsseldorf 70 km away. At least there were no ninja squirrels.
The next day dawning was yet another grey drab effort. Before the drizzle arrived, Krystyna and me channeled her late mother and haunted Janusz by doing some pruning and clearing in the gardens. Janusz began to do a rain dance to try to get us to stop but before we did, we did manage to clear some paths and trails that really did need some clearing. I had an encounter with some stinging nettles, the first time since I was a child in the UK in the 60s. The forecast for the rest of the week is not promising so much doubt about whether we do a day trip to Amsterdam.
Another grey cooler day with not much on the agenda. Went for a stroll to another nearish geocache but we had no luck in finding it. Came back home and watched Janusz's mates do some serious re-cobblestoning as a preventative measure for the cellar flood debacle. I then did some sleuthing via Google Translate to read the logs on that pesky cache and soon determined that the coords were out by some margin. As we had nothing better to do, we traipsed back and did find it some 20 metres from where it was meant to be.
Krystyna thinks I need entertaining (I don't) so it's off to Amsterdam we go. The train left nearby Duisburg at 7:00 am so an early start was required. Was probably the coldest day of the trip (bar Stockholm) and we froze whilst waiting on the platform for the train ( which was delayed because of the crap weather). Wasn't the uber fast train but it still managed a respectable run of 2.5 hours. We started off with a 1 hour canal tour, quite interesting but I didn't take many photos as the boats windows looked like they had be cleaned with the water straight from the canal, a lovely shade of sludge. After the tour, we found a cafe for lunch, amongst all the "coffee houses", the ones that sell dope and all the associated paraphernalia.
We did some more walking and eventually crossed to the other side of the port via free shuttle ferries. The ferries run every few minutes and are jammed packed with walkers, cyclist, scooterists and the smallest of cars. First stop was the Eye, which was in many ways similar to the Sydney Opera House and houses their film institute. Stopped for a coffee and people watched for a while. Nearby was the Adam Lookout which funnily enough was a lookout. It featured a spectacular elevator ride in a glass roofed elevator with all sorts of wizz bang effects (FB video refers) going on as we went up. Nice views all around as Amsterdam is yet another European city that hasn't gone down the sky scraper path. The roof was very blowy so we went down a level to the cafe restaurant level where we did partake in beer, wine and chips. Got our cheesy souvenir photo sorted and then it was back to the ferry to nip across to the other side. Was almost train time so we grabbed some Thai takeaway to eat on the way back. The train back was the uber fast version so we were back in Duisburg in next to no time.
Our final full day in Germany arrived. We celebrated with a trip to the zoo. The Duisburg zoo is famous for its koalas so we made a special effort to avoid them. The original zoo dates back to the 1930s and some enclosures are dated and small which saddened me. I don't like dolphin shows where the Dolphins perform tricks but I must say, I was really impressed with how the Dolphins managed to throw balls at the right velocity and angles to be caught by the wrangler. Did I mention it was another overcast day that always looked like it was going to pelt down on us? We celebrated by having ice creams. A final dinner at a nice Italian place with Gunter joining us (and the rain also got an invite).
Nothing like a bit of drama to get the heart racing on our last day. I bought 3 spectacle frames from Canberra with me to Warsaw, plus my latest script in order to get the glasses made in Poland. As they weren't going to be ready in time, we made arrangements for them to be shipped to Germany. We received an email from the optometrist last Thursday saying they had been shipped. I'll leave out a lot of the detail but when they hadn't arrived in Germany a week later, much ringing between Optometrists, Polish postal service, German postal service, DHL ( funnily enough they were no way involved in the debacle at all but Polish postal service thought they may have been) and another courier service, we found that the package was sitting in Düsseldorf with a wrong address on the label. I think only DHL can hold their head up high! Well we were flying out of Düsseldorf that night so we changed our plans and left much earlier for the city so we could grab the package. Accordingly, we had a bit of spare time before our scheduled 9:30 pm departure so we went up to another tower where we admired the views and ate just a little snack or 3.
Our final trip with Janusz and his trusty transporter. Sad farewells were said at the airport and we made our way to our awaiting flight. Full marks to Emirates again for their 5 star service. The leg to Dubai was still squishy in cattle class but at least the food was edible, well presented and a huge range of options with the Entertainment System. No sleep for me on the 6 hour leg and then we had 3 hours in Dubai in the brilliant Emirates Business lounge. At least on the Sydney leg with Qantas, we had pre booked Emergency Exit seats and that makes a world of difference on a +13 hour journey. Good thing we had stuffed our faces at Dubai as Qantas weren't generous with the vittles on offer. We arrived at Sydney at 05:00 , very dark and cold and whilst we were disembarking, we were paged to be informed that there would be one less item of luggage waiting for us at the carousel. Shucks, takes away the surprise, doesn't it? Apparently, it arrives tomorrow after being somewhere nice. Our flight to Canberra was delayed due to fog and then we were home, minus 3 or something silly like that, with Michael and Eva at the airport to greet us.
So, there ends the European Adventure! It was great to meet my extended family and I appreciated their efforts in trying to communicate with the dumb Aussie who only speaks English and a smattering of German from old WW II movies (Rous Rous, achtung (baby), gott in himmel etc. Eric., and even less Polish. I loved the historical cities with their interesting streetscapes, old houses, narrow streets, cobblestones. I loved the hospitality that ensures I'm always well fed. Normal German beer is a cut above normal Australian beer. A few things surprised me;having to pay to use a public convenience, the lack of public drinking water fountains, the number of people who still smoke. Public transport is marvelous but that comes with having such an urban density that they have. Janusz's house is rural but you can travel no more than a few 100 metres to come across small hamlets. Australia IS empty by comparison. If I was to travel to Europe again at the same time of year, I would pack a few more long sleeved garments and yes just maybe, my parka. Navigation would be easier with a smart phone with a locally procured SIM card that allowed you access to Google Maps so you could tell where the hell you were. WiFi is available in the strangest places but it is not consistent and quite often, extremely slow.
By the way, I had a great time. Photos following in a few days time