For the love of getting lost!

I wasn't enjoying my new job in London very much so I decided to go to Belgium for a few days to catchup with my friend Bec. I wouldn't usually give in on a job that easily but for the sake of finishing one week earlier than I had originally intended, I thought why not. This is my year to travel so I'm allowed to be a little selfish with it.

I met Bec in Bruges. She's been on the road for 7 months now and she takes it all in her stride. She's the definition of a good traveller (and I don't think she even knows it) - she travels modesty and sustainably and she respects the local culture, custom and language as much as she can wherever she goes. Go Bec, so proud of you! She writes a pretty mean blog herself, you should check it out.

Bruges was beautiful! Someone we met described it as an 'open air museum' which sums it up to a tee. The whole town centre is UNESCO protected. It's a bit like being in a fairytale. It's not a very functional town but it's idyllic. I liked the 'step' roofs on the narrow houses. The houses (the majority of which are still lived in) appear stuck together, bordering the quiet, cobblestone streets.

The streets of Bruges

Bruges

Playing tourist in Bruges

After a couple of days in Bruges we took the train to Ghent. It took half an hour. Man I love these little European countries - it's so quick and easy to get around. Ghent is bigger that Bruges and it's more of a working city. Like Bruges, Ghent has a medieval history. The spectacular Gravensteen castle sits quietly in the centre of town. It doesn't demand attention, there's no manicured grass around it that you can't walk on, it's just there - a reflection of how modest Belgians are about where they live. The Belfry is quite impressive too.

View of Ghent from the Belfry

Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a university town so it's more vibrant than Bruges. We happened to be there for the annual light festival. Every year, students from the university create art with light. Some of the exhibits we saw were really cool and many of them were dynamic. The light bulb cloud was my favourite.

Light festival, Ghent.

Light bulb cloud at the light festival. Very cool!

That night we went to the Bierhaus on the river. The girl serving at the chip shop recommended it to Red and Alice. Just quickly, Belgians are obsessed with fries. Chip shops everywhere. They socialise over chips the way we do over coffee. French fries are not actually from France, they are from Belgium. The Americans got it wrong. The Belgians don't really care though, they are far too easy going to make a fuss. Besides it means less tourists and more chips for them, win!

Back to the Bierhaus. In my previous post about Germany I mentioned that I'm not a huge beer fan. Well that was in September and I feel like I've grown as a person since then :-P Belgian beer is amazing! Better than German beer in my opinion but I'm no expert. The lovely bartender at the Beerhaus recommended a few trappist beers for us to try. The 4 of us sat at the bar and enjoyed the atmosphere - it was a great night with great company. My favourite trappist beer was Orval. I also had St Bernardus Prior which wasn't trappist but was probably the best beer I've ever had in my life.

Orval is too yum!

Red, Alice, Bec and I in Ghent

Oh I forgot to mention the waffles. Belgium waffles are not wafer-like. They are thicker, sweet and a little chewy - best eaten plain or with a little bit of icing sugar. Delicious! Dank u Belgium!

Last year I went to Germany on 3 separate occasions. Oh Germany, stop being so cool, you're costing me too much money! I really like Germany; I like the food, I like the people, I like the language and I like the kuchen. I ate my favourite German meal in Fussen; my favourite German city is Hamburg and I had one of the best nights of my life in Cologne. I don't want to bore you with paragraphs about each city so I'm just going to write dot points about what I think makes this country something special.

*Hamburg. Actually maybe I will write a paragraph about Hamburg. Just because it was my favourite. It's only thanks to my friend Tom that I went there in the first place. All I knew about Hamburg before I went there was what I'd seen in the film 'Bend It Like Beckham' (as I write this I can hear my friend Jenny saying 'Fi, there are some things you just shouldn't tell people'). When I arrived in Hamburg I didn't like it. I arrived by train and I was staying near the train station. I quickly realised this wasn't the safest part of town. There was a gang standing outside the station asking for money and a drunk preaching loudly in German as though he was possessed. It felt like Naples all over again but in Germany. Within a day though, I started to understand what Hamburg was all about. The contrast in the city is intriguing and that is what makes it special. Sure, every city has it's nice areas and it's rough areas but rarely do the personalities of the two strike you so profoundly that you feel as though you have been in two completely separate places and not in the same city at all. The city centre has a grand city hall and beautiful canals lined with designer shops while about 15 minutes walk away the St Pauli neighbourhood on the harbour oozes raw working class pride. We were told that the people of St Pauli don't warm to outsiders particularly well. I don't think it's that they don't like them necessarily, it's just that they are wary of them. It's a tight knit community; they've worked hard for what they've got and they don't want anyone coming in to change that. Traditionally the people who live there stand for antiestablishmentarianism and it's evident. The Karoviertel district has a similar feel, as does the red light district, the Reeperbahn, which borders St Pauli. These neighbourhoods are rough around the edges but they are real. There is so much music history in Hamburg too. The Beatles spent their early days gigging and partying in Hamburg. Love Me Do was written and performed for the first time there. I never knew that Lennon was the wildest of the bunch. Apparently he spent a lot of time in the Reeperbahn Police Station which is said to be the busiest police station in all of Germany. If I go back to Hamburg again, I'd love to be there on a Sunday. Every Sunday there is a fish and produce market at the historic auction hall on the harbour. It's been going for 300 years and is said to be more of an early morning party than a market. Live music, bustling atmosphere, fresh food and local delicacies - yes please!

I've just realised I took hardly any photos in Hamburg. Useless. Here is a photo of the original flyer for one of the Beatles first gigs

*My favourite part of Breman was the Schnoor neighbourhood. It's an area made up of narrow streets of medieval houses, some of which date back to the 15th century. Although people used to live in the houses, today most of them are used as local art galleries, shops, restaurants and pubs. The area is a little touristy but it's still worth visiting.

Schnoor neighborhood

Bremen

*Oktoberfest was unreal! So much beer and so many pretzels! My favourite part was dancing on the tables to the German band which plays all day in a grandstand in the centre of the hall. If you ever get the chance to go, GO! There are a couple of touristy halls but try and go to the ones the locals go to because the atmosphere is amazing. I'll never forget the group of German uni students that taught us the words to the song that the band was playing as we danced along. Call me weak but I was actually done after one day. I had the best time but the idea of having to drink that much beer for a second day was...ok ok I'm weak and I wasn't a huge fan of beer at the time. So instead, Karyna, Chris and I took the train to Fussen to see the Neucshwanstein Castle. The castle is amazing and the train ride out to it goes through some beautiful countryside. We had lunch in Fussen - it was the best German food I've ever eaten - crumbless pork schnitzel, sauerkraut, dumplings and gravy. Then we went back to Munich and ate pancakes, because that's how we roll...all the way back to London.

The girls!

Oktoberfest 2014

Neucshwanstein Castle

Delicious!

*Another memory I have of Munich is walking through the city's Englischer Gartens and seeing locals surf on the river. There is a man made wave that's been in the river since the 70's. The current was pretty strong but it didn't phase them - they line up on the riverbank ready to jump in and take their turn. Being hundreds of miles from a beach, the river is an awesome way for locals to get their fix.

*Cologne for the Christmas markets. Karyna, Ash and I went to Cologne for a long weekend in December to visit the Christmas markets. I have so many great memories from that weekend! The Christmas markets are beautiful and there are so many of them dotted around the city. We were lucky enough to have a German local to show us around the city on the Saturday. The nephew of Karyna's Mum's friend lives in Cologne. He showed us the university, made us coffee and put up with our laughing and obsession with glühwein - he was "dapper and practically perfect in every way" (Ashleigh Wheeldon, 2014). We all had a bit of a crush on him. We went out that night with him and his friends - so much fun! A lot of glühwein, beer, shots...uhh safe to say we weren't feeling great the next day. I couldn't face glühwein again for weeks but it was totally worth it.

Ash and Karyna at the Christmas markets

Glühwein

*"Paris will always be Paris but Berlin is always becoming Berlin". He may or may not have been quoting someone, but our Sandemans guide said this at the end of his tour and I don't think there is any better way to describe this city. Last but certainly not least, here is my take on Berlin. To be honest, it took me a while to get it. Everyone I know who's been there raves about Berlin and at first I couldn't see why. It just seemed grey, gridlike and clinical to me. It was quiet too - unlike other cities there were hardly any cars on the road, no hustle and bustle (but maybe that's just because we were there over the Christmas and New Year period). I had a morning to myself one day and I wandered through some back streets around our hostel - I got a coffee, stumbled across street art and tried to get a feel for the city. That's when I figured it out. Anything goes here - it's a city that is always changing and there's a sense of potential, a sense that you can be anything you want to be here. There is obviously so much history in Berlin. It's history is a big part of the city but it doesn't define it and it's not held against it, at least not anymore. I really want to go back and spend more time in the museums. The Holocaust memorial is a must see - I like that nobody knows exactly what it means. There are many theories but the creator never told anyone so it's completely up to interpretation. Out of it's dark history has emerged a very creative city. Art, amazing food, good coffee and boutique stores are all ready to be discovered in Berlin. It's sarcastic, it's blunt, it's trendy and it parties like no where I've ever been.

East side gallery

*If I go back to Germany, I'd like to go to the Black Forrest in South West Germany and back to Berlin.

I know I have neglected this blog over the last few months - life in London has been a whirlwind of crazy, fun, hectic, frustrating, amazing moments and time has just flown. London sucks you in and before you know it you’re living the ‘London life’ - a life where you have plans almost every night, encounter people from every country and culture in the world on a daily basis, fall in love with some of the best markets I’ve ever come across and suddenly enjoy being amongst a crowd because, more often than not, the atmosphere is something else. It’s a life where you know that the citymapper app is the secret to finding your way around, where you give up on the hope of finding good coffee, get your news from the free daily newspapers on the tube, can survive on 5-6 hours of sleep a night, learn to carry an umbrella everywhere and are constantly planning weekends away. You have to remind yourself to breathe now and then because it’s so easy to get caught up in the rat race; a rat race that can be overwhelming and exhausting if you let it. While sometimes I feel like this city is way too big for me, I think I’m slowly getting used to it - the buzz that comes with living here is addictive. I’ve been lucky to have had the most amazing housemates over the last couple of months who made me feel welcome from day 1. I’ve also met some truly awesome people since arriving here who I can’t wait to spend more time with. I love the diversity here, I love that nobody cares what you wear, I love that there are no expectations and I love that everyone talks to everyone no matter who you are or where you’re from. Londoners (new and veteran) love their city and it’s infectious. As I said before this place grabs you and it doesn’t let go - I hope I get to stick around a bit longer (so long as I can find a new flat, pretty please spareroom) to explore even more.

Agency work has been interesting. Public healthcare (the NHS) is no where near as good as it is at home largely because the sector is dangerously understaffed. We are so lucky to have the high quality of healthcare that we do in Australia. So lucky. I won’t ever complain about the little things that used to annoy me about it ever again. In the end of the day it's work and working here is giving me the opportunity to travel which is and always was the main purpose of this year for me. The best thing about agency work is the flexibility - the ability to take short posts and travel between them, change posts should your situation change or should you cheekily decide to jet off and chase the sun a little longer. While I wasn’t really chasing the sun this time, although it didn’t rain at all the whole week (unheard of in Scotland), I got to spent the past week in the Scottish highlands with my amazing parents.

We stayed in a small town called Drumnadrochit. It was the perfect base for visiting our family and friends around Inverness and the valley that the town sits in is absolutely beautiful. I don’t think I could get sick of living in those surroundings - the fields, the highland cows, the forrest, and the really fresh air. The small town charm doesn’t suck either. Highlanders have big hearts, even if I am a little biased. Although I’ve heard that small towns can be a bit claustrophobic long term, the week we spent in Drum was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of London.

Our week started with a hike up Fyrish Hill with our good friends the Munros. Armed with chocolate buttons we made it up the hill, greeted by a stunning view of the Black Isle and the Cromarty Firth. It was windy up there but the sun was shining and you can’t ask for much more than that!

Fyrish hill and monument

View up on Fyrish hill

A tad windy!

The next day we took to the water - we made the most of the fine weather and cruised on Loch Ness. Drum sits in a valley right next to the Loch. Loch Ness is the largest body of freshwater in the UK, extending 37 kilometres. As for it’s resident monster, well our skipper said he’s never seen anything out there himself but he did say he has witnessed unexplainable patterns on the sonar, patterns that other boats have also picked up. Maybe something is out there after all! After our boat trip, we got back on the road and drove to Ullapool, a town well known for it’s seafood. The town of Ullapool itself was a little sleepy but the countryside we went through getting there was unreal. Photos don’t do it justice - there is a point where you have to stop yourself from taking photos and just enjoy and absorb what you’re seeing. There is something about the Scottish landscape - the vast, untouched terrain is breathtaking. In the rocky, mountainous areas, the ever-changing Scottish weather and shadows from the light create a real moodiness about it - sounds crazy but it’s true. Even though I’ve been to Scotland a couple of times before I saw so much more this time, by driving, than I’ve ever seen. Most of you know how much I love New Zealand, well I’d go as far as saying that Scotland is more beautiful, but only just. Maybe I should go back to NZ though, just to be sure :P

On a boat!

Happy days!

Ullapool

Throughout the rest of the week we were fed cake and tea and more cake by our rellies, some of whom we hadn’t seen for 14 years. It was so great to see everyone, we loved every second of it. Our 5 nights in Drum sped by so fast and before we knew it we were on our way back down to England. We drove through the Nevis range and past Loch Lomond (while listening to Loch Lomond, best song ever! Reminds me of NYE growing up. What dorks, I know!). The drive was even more remarkable than the one to Ullapool. Honestly, if you haven’t been to Scotland yet, go or at least put it on your bucket list - it really is one of a kind.

The nevis range from afar

Loch Lomond

As soon as we arrived in San Sebastián I fell in love with Spain. The air was different somehow; everything was relaxed. You know when it starts warming up in Perth in Oct/Nov and you can smell summer? Well SS had that smell, that aura, in bucket loads!

San Sebastián is part of the Basque country. This part of Spain has it's own language, Basque, which is very different from Spanish. Nonetheless Spanish is still widely spoken and understood throughout the region. People of the Basque country have fought hard to see their region become independent of Spain but thus far their plight has remained unsuccessful.

View of the bay from the lookout.

Cool sand art in San Sebastián. Donostia is the name of the city in Basque language.

My favourite thing about SS was the Pinchos (Pintxos in Basque). Pinchos are delicious, beautifully presented, tapas style finger food, displayed on the counters of bars at lunch and dinner time. The concept is unique to the region. You get a plate, take what you want and then pay. Most were 2-3€ each. On our second night, the triplets went on a pinchos crawl in the old town! We tried 3 or 4 places - the last was our favourite - it had the best food, wine and atmosphere! I wish I had taken note of the name. Pinchos are usually eaten standing up too - either at the bar or nearby to make it more social and also so you can interact with the bar staff. I loved the culture of this! I even bought a book with the history and specialty recipe of all the pinchos bars in SS. A tad too obsessed? Maybe, but apparently SS has more Michelin stars per square km than anywhere else in the world. So much food so little time!

Our favourite pinchos bar! See how there are plates of pinchos presented on the bar.

Pinchos

That night we also met the Spanish Army. We had had a few drinks and stumbled across a Bacardi bar which had music playing. We had been looking for a place to dance so we went in. Turned out more than half of the people in the bar were soldiers. A lot of them spoke English and a few of them were great dancers so we got salsa'd around the floor - so much fun! Safe to say I had a crazy headache in the morning - red wine and motitos really don't mix!

It was a bit too cold to swim at the beach while we were in SS but we went and sat on the sand in the sun for a while. There was a trio of trumpet players playing on the broadwalk and their music floated down to the beach - they were unreal! The busking and street music I've heard so far on this trip has been top notch - it's that kind of local charm that is just priceless.

Buskers - amazing! Not the trumpet players but these guys were my favourite! So animated!

San Sebastian also has a famous gastronomy society that is still quite exclusive. It is male dominated - only recently have women been allowed to attend society dinners and they are still not allowed to participate in the actual cooking. We were invited to a society member's house for dinner on our first night in SS. There was a bit of a language barrier but we got by - I love that facial expressions and body language say more than words sometimes. The traditional food we were served was delicious and one of the best meals I've eaten so far. Although this dinner was organised through the tour, it's unique, local experiences like these that define what it is to travel.

Our generous hosts. Gastronomy society dinner.

Segovia

Segovia is famous for it's impressive aqueduct and alcazar. It feels as though Segovia is in the middle of nowhere but it's actually only 30 minutes from Madrid. It's an old, almost medieval city with unique character. I loved the old streets, the stone wall that still surrounds part of the city and the way many building fronts were decorated with different patterns. This was also the first place I had churros in Spain - for breakfast, because that's when the Spanish eat them. I didn't complain.

Aqueduct - really impressive, well preserved. It's thought to have been built around 1st century AD.

Carved, decorative building fronts

The Alcazar of Segovia

I can't wait to start writing about Spain because I love it here so much but before I do here are the highlights of our last two stops in France.

Bordeaux

I really liked Bordeaux! It's like a mini Paris but friendlier and more relaxed. It also reminded me a bit of Melbourne. It's a university town but unlike Tours, the city is alive with music, art, food and great wine (obviously). The locals have fun here - the streets and squares of the old town are filled with restaurants, pubs and boutique bars and people swarm to them gathering late into the night. The shopping is also really good here - I discovered a French shoe shop that I love (and they have an online store, winning!).

Three highlights for me in Bordeaux were:

1) Seeing the gates that border the old town. There are four of them and they used to allow entry and exit in and out of what once was a walled city.

Porte Dijeaux - one of the four remaining city gates in the old town

Porte Cailhau - another of the four gates

2) Wine tasting at Aux 4 coins du vin.
This wine bar is outstanding. They have wine dispensers which display a range of white and red wines from the region, from expensive vintage wines to everyday wines. You get a bar card and you can decide whether you want a taste, half a glass or a full glass of wine from whichever bottle you choose. It shows you the prices and deducts from your card. Some bottles cost over £20 for a whole glass! It's dangerous because naturally you want to try as many of them as you can - if you stick to tastings only though it shouldn't get too expensive. But who sticks to tastings when you can have a whole glass? Right Mum? Sorry :P love you! Megan and Kar, you would have loved this bar, the food was really good too! It's a great concept and a good opportunity to taste an expensive wine that you would never be able to afford a bottle of.

I was the baby of our intrepid group. I got well looked after - I got mum hugs from Megan, eucalyptus throat lollies from Maggie etc etc and Greg, Megan and Serena were on a mission to find Laura, Lynn and I men! While we were at the wine bar, a group of guys came in and stood at the table next to us. Some of them were really good looking so Serena decided she'd start singing happy birthday to me in French (with the rest of the group singing in English at the top of their lungs) so that they would come over. They joined in the singing and before I knew they were at the table giving me 3 kisses on the cheek the way the French do! Hilarious! Afterwards someone said we should have told them Laura, Lynn and I were triplets! And from then on we became known as the triplets.

Typical street in Bordeaux

Bordeaux at night

3) Going to the opera
We found out that an opera was on in the Grand Theatre on our last night in Bordeaux so we thought we'd find out how much last minute/limited view tickets would be. Turned out they were 8 euro! Bargain! Unfortunately we didn't have time to go back to the hotel and change so we rocked up in jeans and sneakers - not exactly your typical opera attire. We felt especially grotty when we saw a girl wearing a ball gown and perfect hair! We got our tickets, went up the stunning staircase and went to the loo to try and make ourselves a bit more presentable. Laura almost walked in on an older couple doing the dirty in one of the female cubicles - at the opera?! - how scandalous darling :P

Anyway...once we'd freshened up we found a door with our number on it. It opened into a box of maybe 15-20 seats - just like the movies! We were in the centre of the theatre directly facing the stage with the chandelier just above us. Limited view pfft! True that our seats were towards the back of the box but I was on the side so I had a pretty good view - my giraffe neck is awesome in times like these! The performance was amazing! The orchestra played alone for about 15 minutes at the start and they were flawless, I was captivated! When the opera itself started we couldn't understand a word - the opera was in Italian and the subtitles were obviously in French but it didn't matter because you get the idea from the theatrics of it. And it was fun trying to work out who was in love with who and who's love was forbidden and why etc etc. We got talking to a French lady sitting near us before the show started. She was lovely and her English was very good so she tried to whisper a bit of the plot to us during the show.

Getting ready to watch the opera in the Grand Theatre

Luchon

The highlight of the time we spent in Luchon was the hike we did in the Pyrenees mountains. It took us 3-4 hours to get up to the top and then another 2 to get back. Some parts were really steep and some of the forrest we went through was beautiful. It was a hard climb but the view once we made it to the top was worth every step! It was almost like it wasn't real, the immensity of it sucked you in. Having lunch up on that mountain is something I'll never forget!

Look at that view! Unreal!

On top of the world!