Day 19 - Friday 27/09/2013 York

We had a cooked English breakfast, yum, and then caught the bus to York - it's only a 10 minute journey usually, but due to roadworks, we take a different, slightly longer route.

The Shambles, York

So many things to do and see that we don't know where to start. At the moment there is the York Food and Drink Festival, so we wander through the stalls, looking at the local produce. I buy a small pork pie - something I've always wanted to try, and will eat it later. There are lots of tempting foods including Arbroath smokies, Scottish salmon, huge hog roasts, Wensleydale cheese amongst others, Yorkshire sausages (more than a foot long), fudge and cupcakes, wines and beers, etc. etc. etc. lots of tempting aromas.

The York Minster - part thereof

The market led us to my favourite part of York, the Shambles. We scour the shops, looking for a particular duck ornament, without success unfortunately, but enjoyed the shops and atmosphere along he way.

York Minster from Starbuck's

STS enjoys a milkshake at a chocolate shop, and we continue on to the York Minster. Still an impressive structure, but it's difficult to get it all in a photo!

Stonegate, close to the teddy bear shop

A coffee and hot chocolate at Starbuck's gave me a toilet opportunity. There are not many decent public toilets in York - my only grumble.

Interesting buildings, York

Down the road I found a teddy bear shop, and bought a Merrythought teddy - to keep my Steiff company on the way home. I asked if they would be interested in looking at my bears, with a view to selling them in their shop, and they suggested I contact them with more information, and go from there. This could be a good opportunity for me.

On the Roman wall

Our next stop is the sportswear shop, but unfortunately they don't keep any West Ham shirts (for FTS - first teenage son). Apparently we are too far north for London teams, although they did have Chelsea and Arsenal shirts. We'll have to look elsewhere.

Up and down the steps

Sausage rolls for lunch - 4 for a pound - and then to the Yorvik viking centre. It's an interesting display and lots of fascinating information that has been gleaned from the remains that have been unearthed.

We had another look at the markets, and headed to the roman wall for a walk along the top.

View near our bus stop

My feet are playing up again, so we catch the bus back to the hotel, have a nice meal, and a wine or two, at the pub, and then back to our room for some blogging.

MOH sends a message to his brother - GO HAWKS! for Saturday. We're trying to find out how he will be able to watch the game, which will be at about 6:00am local time.

Since writing this post we have found out from MOH's brother, that Hawthorn actually won the AFL Grand Final for 2013!

Bloody Ripper! - from MOH

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day18 - Thursday 26/09/2013 Leaving Berlin

An early start today - breakfast, pack suitcases, visit to ATM (at last we can use our euro), taxi to Tegel airport, and fly to London. It seems our tickets are still valid, unlike previous advice. It's raining again today.

Somehow 'we' have misplaced our tickets, but I have the email on the iPad, and this will suffice - thank heavens! Also, this is the first time I have passed through the metal detectors without a query or search of any kind. This makes a nice change!!! The whole process is stressful enough without being treated like a terrorist.

At Heathrow, we get our passports stamped again, hooray, collect our luggage, catch the courtesy bus around to the car rental terminal, and after some messing around, loaded up our car, and drove up the M1 to York.

After settling in to our room, we enjoy a counter meal at the adjoining pub, and have an early night, in anticipation of a big day in York tomorrow.

No photo opportunities today - too busy getting organised and navigating.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 17 - Wednesday 25/09/2013 Discovering Berlin

There's no rain today - perfect for sightseeing and shopping. We buy a few souvenirs along Kurfurstendamm, come back to the hotel to check-in for our flights tomorrow, and then go to the train station for a trip to Alexanderplatz.

View of Berlin from Tower

Our first port of call is the Berliner Fernsehturm tower. There is a 360 degree view of Berlin, quite impressive. The views would also be impressive at night, with all the lights. Next we go shopping at the Galeria Kaufhof. They have a very cute Steiff bear sitting in a suitcase at a reduced price - right up my alley! Thanks for the tip, Audrey.

The card got a good workout there, and MOH says you're in big trouble when he gets back to work. Outside, they are setting up stalls for the Oktoberfest. Looks like fun, but we are leaving tomorrow.

View of Berlin from Tower

The Berliner tower, Alexanderplatz

From here we take the train back a few stations to get a closer look at the Brandenburg Gate. There are barriers and grandstands being erected along the main boulevard through the Tiergarten, so we can't get closeup pictures of the Victory Column.

We get some pictures of the Gate and continue walking back towards Alexanderplatz. There weren't too many people there, but when we moved aside to make room for a person in a wheelchair, I stepped on uneven paving and collapsed. In an effort to save the iPad, I injured my wrist, and one fingernail was bent in half and standing at a right angle to my finger.

Brandenburg Gate

Entrance to Galeria Kaufhof

Nothing appears broken, but I know my wrist is sprained. I purchase a wrist brace and analgesic cream from the Apotheke (chemist) and we head home, to the hotel, to get some ice. STS is worried that he will be called upon to assist with clothes changing, toileting and showering, now that I am one-handed. Only joking, STS!!

Setting up for Oktoberfest

Carousel at Oktoberfest

 

My new Steiff teddy bear

 

My new Steiff teddy bear

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 16 - Tuesday 24/09/2013 Heading for Berlin,

It's raining today, appropriate for our sad goodbye to Ciocia. She has been wonderful, accommodating us, feeding us, and providing for all our needs during our stay. She is a remarkable woman, and we will miss her greatly. After breakfast, we record her message to her sister in Australia, pack our bags, say a tearful goodbye, and hit the road.

Goodbye Ciocia

We have had a wonderful stay in Poland, and met MOH's extended family. They have all been very generous and accommodating. It has been a privilege to meet and know them all. We will miss them, but always stay in touch. As Wanda said - GET SKYPE! Thankfully, now I actually know the people that we send Christmas cards to. Goodbye everyone, and hope to see you all soon - maybe in Australia??

STS owes this KFC 30c for using the toilet - we didn't have any euro then - oops

It's a long drive to Berlin, and it rained almost all the way. MOH says he knows the way, but we get to Berlin, and he announces that he is lost. After some random turns, u-turns and driving around, STS finds our location on the map, and we are able to find our way to the car rental terminal.

The car is dropped off, and we drag our suitcases around Berlin, looking for our hotel. We are wet through, tired, and I am in urgent need of a toilet visit, so I am very grateful to finally arrive at the hotel. We drag our cases up 3 flights of stairs, only to find out that there is a lift at the rear of the building. I just want to hurry up, and get to our room! Very cranky at this stage!

Sculpture in Berlin

We organise ourselves and decide to go on a reconnaissance of the area, and look for something to eat for dinner. My grumpy mood soon passes when we discover some interesting knick-knack shops along the main street. We bought drinks at the local Netto, and had dinner in McDonald's. Old fashioned sized burgers, and good value.

Cathedral bombed during the war, amongst other buildings

Lots of tourist attractions and shopping opportunities for tomorrow.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 15 - Monday 23/09/2013 Saying Goodbye

Today we catch up with all the local cousins, and say our sad goodbyes. We visit Ela in Henrykow, then go to the bank to try to get some money from our traveller's card. We have euro on our card, but the ATM's have zloty. Unfortunately the answer from the bank is no. You definitely need zloty if you travel to Poland, or you might be caught short. Luckily we still ave some Australian dollars to exchange at the 'Kantor'.

Darek, gorgeous Olga, and MOH

Then back to Ciocia's for lunch, kiabasa sausages and mashed potatoes with sauce.

This afternoon we are visited by Kamila, Darek and little Olga, and a bit later by Damien and Agnieska. Later we are called on the phone by Wanda, who wants to know where we are. She is waiting for us, because she has food. Damien kindly gives us a lift to Wanda's on their way home.

We have recorded messages to MOH's mother, their Ciocia, from everyone on the iPad, so she will have a lot of heartwarming footage to watch when we get home.

We get home late, and hit the sack because we have a long day tomorrow.

 

Sights of Szprotawa

Stork nest on top of power pole

 

View from car - Szprotawa

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 14 - Sunday 22/09/2013 Driving back to Ciocia's

We leave early to drive back to Ciocia's, in Szprotawa for a few nights. The Autostrada is a great road, but lots of tolls to pay along the way. The radio keeps us company, with a mix of English and Polish songs. It's not to MOH's liking, but it keeps him awake. I've grown attached to 'La La La' by naughtyboy which seems to be on every time we change stations. So the volume goes up, much to MOH's annoyance.

Sights along the way

The autostrada, speed limit 120km/hr (some cars are travelling at 150km/hr)

We arrive in the late afternoon, and Ciocia has food ready for us already. This time it's a delicious cauliflower and vegetable soup. We show her all our photos and bring her up to speed with what we have been doing.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 13 - Saturday 21/09/2013 Auschwitz and Wawel Castle

We left early in the morning to drive to Oswiecim, 68km away. We visited Auschwitz 1, which is a real eyeopener. It is a must see for everyone, and an experience I will never forget. It is interesting to walk around the site, looking at the buildings and displays, but the pictures of some of the victims really made the gravity of the events hit home. All the faces were expressionless and wide-eyed.

Entrance to the gas chamber

For me, the tears started to flow when I saw the pictures of the children, and read their stories. One in particular caught my attention because she died on the same date as MOH's birthday. She was a pretty young girl, but the look on her face and the tear welling in her eye showed her fear and dread. She died after 2 years at the camp.

Auschwitz

A Killing Wall

It is heart breaking to think that people were subjected to such conditions and treatment. We went quickly through the gas chambers, and I could not continue. Luckily we did not go on an organised tour because it would have been too much. There are large displays of their belongings including shoes, luggage, clothes, pots and pans, combs and other accessories like glasses and even prosthetic limbs and hair. I could not look at this display. We decided not to go to the other site, Birkenau. No pictures of actual people out of respect. Enough said.

The striped pyjamas

I am still paying for our trip to the Salt Mine yesterday - aching legs and feet, I've used muscles I didn't know I had! We came back to the apartment to decompress and have lunch.

MOH couldn't resist

Later, we took a walk to the other side of the Centrum, to Wawel Castle. We passed the Cloth Hall again, and there was a lot of police officers decked out with shields. We wondered what was going on, and soon realised that the soccer fans had congregated in the square when they started chanting. We took pictures and moved on, not wanting to be involved in any kerfuffle.

Krakow football fans

Police presence - just in case

The State rooms of Wawel castle contain loads of furniture and huge tapestries from around the 16th century. No pictures allowed inside unfortunately. The cathedral dates back 900 years. Not sure how old the rest of the buildings are.

Entrance to Wawel Castle

Inside courtyard

I am physically and emotionally exhausted by the end of the day so we head home for dinner and rest.

Statue of Smok - the resident dragon

MOH's favourite church in Krakow

 

Posted with Blogsy

Day 12 - Friday 20/09/2013 Wieliczka Salt Mine

After a 10km drive from central Krakow, we arrived at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It is 700 years old and has 2,400 chambers and tunnels over 245km long. It would take about 4 months to see everything - thankfully, it's only a 3 hour tour. We descended 371 steps down into the mine (90 metres) before the tour started.

Going down the steps into the mine

Almost everything is salt - the floor, walls and ceilings. There are salt chandelliers and sculptures. The horses used to live their whole lives in the mine because it's too difficult and dangerous to raise and lower them safely. There are huge caverns in the mine where they hold events like weddings. Mass is celebrate every Sunday in the main cathedral. By the end of the tour we had descended to 164 metres. The camera coped better in the dark areas, so more photos later.

A salt statue

MOH and STS with salt statue

Definitely worth a visit if you're ever in Krakow.

Examples of salt

We left our car at the apartment, and walked to the Stare Miasta, the old town centre, to see the Cloth Hall. It was originally a trading market building, and is the oldest existing market building in Europe. These days it is full of souvenir stalls - lots of amber, jewellery, small trinkets like keyrings and figurines. Outside are more stalls with antiques and collectables, handmade crafts and bits and bobs.

Cloth Hall

Inside Cloth Hall

It is surrounded buildings and sculptures. In the evening there are lots of horse drawn carriages for the tourists to go on a short tour.

Carriages at Krakow

On our way to and from the Cloth Hall, we passed the Barbacan and the old towns fortification.

Inside the town walls

We walk home after a big day, for some rest.

 

Posted with Blogsy