Summer Trip - Berlin (10-12th August)

Our GPS estimated that the drive from Glessen to Berlin would take about five hours, but due to major staus (traffic jams) and diversions the trip took eight and a half hours. We arrived in Berlin at about 7:30pm and met Gunther and Margaret at their farmhouse. Gunther took us on a walk around the area before we came back for a late dinner. The girls slept in a hay loft overnight.
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast before the girls were to stay with Margaret for the day while Mark and Terri-Lyn drove into Berlin with Gunther. He was an excellent tour guide and showed us many of the main places in that dynamic city, including the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie (the entry point into and out of East Germany) and Siegessaule (a magnificent tower in the centre of the Tier Garten which we climbed up) After a scrumptious BBQ we sat by a bonfire and chatted. It was a short, but jam-packed visit to Berlin.
The drive back to Glessen was hassle free and we watched the Olympic Games on the television with Aunty Netty when we got back. Our last night in Glessen included beer, schnapps, piano accordion and music – good fun. It was good to get back to Dagmersellen and settle in

for the second half of the year.

Summer Trip - Bonn/Nieuwvliet/Glessen (31July-10th August)

Matthew sings a song at his 80th Birthday dinner:

Summer Trip 2008 – Bonn (31st July – 2nd August)

We had organised to have a day with Matthew, so early in the morning we drove to Beuel (in Bonn) to meet him at his accommodation. Ingo and Troute were also there and we boarded the ‘Poseidon’ for a two hour cruise along the Rhein River. We disembarked at Linz, a lovely old town with narrow cobble-stoned streets and colourfully painted buildings. We walked around the town and had some lunch before boarding the ‘Moby Dick’ for the return to Bonn. Mark quickly visited Ushi while we got ready to go out for dinner to celebrate Matthew’s 80th birthday with Ingo, Troute and some of his school friends. It was an entertaining evening with music and magic tricks.

Summer Trip 2008 – Nieuwvliet, The Netherlands (2nd – 8th August)

We packed up the cars and headed off for a six night holiday at Nieuwvliet, a seaside resort in Holland with Irene and Eckhard. Once we were settled in we had a walk along the beach, some chile con carne for dinner, played ‘31’ card game and hit the sack.
Mark and Terri-Lyn went for an early morning run along the dunes at the beach. We drove our cars the 12 kilometres into Sluis. Rain started falling when we arrived. We walked through the shops and stopped for coffee/hot chocolate under the town’s windmill. Spent the afternoon relaxing.
After brekky the girls, Mark and Ecki rode their bikes for about 20 kms on a round trip to Cadzand and were hot and tired when they met up with Terri-Lyn and Irene (who had walked there). There we had a drink/ice-cream. Back at the unit we had a BBQ, sat and chatted til bed.
We tried the beach out after breakfast the next day, but it was too cool and windy to sit, so Zoe and Irene went for a walk along the beach searching for shark's teeth but were unlucky. We played ten-pin bowling in the afternoon before enjoying a delicious spaghetti Bolognese.
The morning was lovely and warm, with very little wind so we ate our breakfast of eggs and bacon outside on the porch. We all went to the beach for a few hours, then Mark, Alexandra and Zoe rode their bikes to Bretzens, while Ecki rode for 96kms.Farmer’s Omelette was a delicious way to finish our day.
During the night we were all woken up by a thunderstorm. When we got up in the morning the rain was still relentless, with the rain running full pelt down the glass doors (Irene called it the Rheinfalls at Schaffhausen). Due to the weather we had a very quiet day in, reading and playing games, before another round of ten-pin bowling.
Once we had packed and cleaned the house we drove off towards Glessen. There was heavy rain and major staus (traffic jams) which made our journey a few hours longer than it should have been.

OVERVIEW OF NIEUWVLIET:
* Breakfast each morning was spent together around a table of rolls, cheese, ham, jams, eggs, bacon, juice, coffee - courtesy of Ecki. We really appreciated his cooking each day.
* Beaches were nice, but no surf and murky water, yet jam-packed with people.
* Summer weather in Europe - very ordinary - only about 5/6 warm, sunny days in five and a half weeks.


Summer Trip 2008 – Glessen (8th – 10th August)

When we arrived back in Glessen we watched the last part of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony with Auntie Netty. It was interesting that the Germans and Swiss call Beijing ‘Peking’.
The following day we dressed up and drove in to Cologne to attend the wedding service of Irene’s friend, Rosemary's daughter. The church was a beautiful, historical place and there was a choir playing wonderful music during the ceremony. Afterwards, outside the church we met the bridal couple and had a glass of champagne/orange juice with the guests. We dropped the girls off with Aunty Netty before walking to the house of an Australian woman who lives in Glessen, Judy (with her husband Franz). It was great to catch up for a chat with an Aussie accent.

Summer Trip-Romantic Road(29-31July)

Once again we packed up our car and set off north towards the South-East of Germany. In this part of the country, Bavaria, there is a long, scenic road with historical towns dotted along the way. This road is called the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road). We reached Fussen mid-afternoon and checked into a lovely apartment. We had booked some tickets to visit Neuschwanstein, a gorgeous castle that inspired the castle at Disneyland. It was a very long and steep walk up to the top of the hill where the castle sat. We had a guided tour of this beautiful castle, which is so unique with its design and paintwork, unlike anything we had seen so far. Back down the hill we walked through the picturesque town of Fussen and had a yummy al fresco dinner.
Our hotel is a Kur Hotes, a wellness retreat (we wished we could stay longer), so in the morning the girls used the fitness room to have a workout while Mark went for a run. After a delicious breakfast in the hotel dining room we drove north along Romantic Road. There were beautiful views along the way with rolling hills and thatched squares of agriculture. We drove through Augsberg on the way to our first stop in Nordlingen, a city with a wall completely surrounding it. We walked up on the wall for a while before descending to eat our lunch in the shadow of the main city tower. Back on the Romantic Road to Dinkelsbuhl, where we stopped for an ice-cream in this lovely old town. Late in the afternoon we arrived at our nice apartment in Rothenburg. While the girls hit the internet café Mark and I went for a walk through the town, did some souvenir shopping and had a cold beer in the Market Square.
Our B&B offered a continental breakfast in the café and after that we headed towards Bad Mergenthien – a very old, beautiful city with lovely buildings around a large square with a fountain as the focal point. We drank some milkshakes in the company of some wasps who sent us on our way quicker than we would have liked. We arrived in Glessen late afternoon and had afternoon tea with Auntie Netty on her back porch in 34 degree heat.

Summer Trip-Amsterdam (22-25th July)

Driving to Ramsgate to board the ferry to Belgium the traffic was dreadful; it felt like we stopped at every traffic light. But on the ferry we were able to relax, before beginning our drive to Amsterdam. We finally arrived at about 11pm and found our houseboat to be very cosy. We managed to get an onstreet car park very close to us but it cost us twenty Euros per day to park there. After lunch the following day we walked to the centre of Amsterdam – Leidseplein, where we visited the Tourist Office. From there we made our way to the Bulldog Bar, where Mark has hazy, but great memories from when he visited twenty-three years ago. Mark and Terri-Lyn then took a one and a half hour cruise along the canals while the girls went on a paddle boat ride. We hired 5 bikes for 24 hours so we could see more of the city, then enjoyed a quiet night relaxing on the pontoon of the houseboat.
On our bikes we all took turns leading the way through the streets of Amsterdam to heaven only knows where. Alexandra inadvertently led us down a red-light street – TWICE. There were scantily-dressed women sitting behind windows trying to tempt customers. At a picturesque outdoor café we stopped for some cool drinks, before dropping the bikes off. The girls were set up with pizza for a night on their own while Mark and Terri-Lyn visited a friend of Soo’s, Karen (aka Haggis) and her husband, Simon, who live in Amsterdam. They cooked us homemade pizzas and we had a happy night chatting together.
OVERVIEW OF AMSTERDAM:
* Lovely, fun city set on canals – a great place to be
* People are very friendly and speak excellent English
* Easy going nature. Eg. Prostitution legal; Cannabis legal and sold in cafes
* Bike riding. It is unbelievable how many people ride their bikes; so many, but plenty of bike lanes through the city. * Helmets are not required and not worn – babies sit on the front handle bars without protection.
* The houseboat on the canal is the best accommodation that we had on the trip.
* This is one of the few cities in the world where Mark feels he could live in, outside of Australia.

Summer Trip - London (15-22nd July)

A four and a half hour ferry ride from Oostende, Belgium delivered us and our car to Ramsgate, England. When driving in England cars must drive on the left side of the road (like in Australia), so it took a bit of concentration for us to drive in our left-hand drive car. The traffic was horrendous and it took us nearly three hours to reach our apartment in Willesden Green, London.
The first morning was used to catch up with sleeping, washing, internet, grocery shopping. After lunch we got the Tube (Underground Train) into Piccadilly Circus and the Tourist Office. We walked to Trafalgar Square, had a short look through the National Gallery (some Monet and Van Gogh paintings), then strolled to Buckingham Palace. We didn’t get to see the Queen, but the Royal Guards put on a show for us. On our way home we rode in the top level of a red double-decker bus.
The London Eye ferris wheel was the first stop on our second day and after packing a picnic lunch we took the Tube into London. During the slow-moving 30 minute revolution of the Eye we had a fabulous 360 degree view of London, particularly the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. A short walk away we viewed the Tower Bridge, a magnificent structure, with blue and gold trimmings. A couple of train rides later we walked through the Camden Markets, a bustling area.
A quiet morning-in before a lunch of meat pies and sausage rolls (our first for six months). We got the Tube to the Science Museum, which had terrific interactive displays. We had some fun making huge bubbles. Next, we visited the Natural History Museum, with its fantastic dinosaur section, birds and mammals and a life-sized blue whale. We ate some Jelly Tots that reminded Terri-Lyn of her childhood days.
Bath, in the west of England, was our destination for this next day and once we found a car park we walked towards the Roman Baths. We entered the Baths and with the admittance price we got a ‘phone’ with audio commentary of what we were looking at. It was amazing to see these baths that are so old in such great condition – you could easily imagine how it was living in those times. The town of Bath is very attractive, with lovely buildings, river and parks. The drive to and from Bath gave us picturesque views of the green, rolling hills of the countryside. We had a wonderful day.
Sunday was a quiet day. The girls went swimming in the local indoor pool in the morning. In the afternoon Terri-Lyn and the girls went to a cinema (another first for six months) to see ‘Mamma Mia’, which we enjoyed. Mark stayed home and watched the British Open on television.
On our last day in London we took the Tube into Covent Garden, looked through the markets and stopped at a nice pub for a beer and coke. We went to a large supermarket, Sainsburys, on our way home to buy some products that we can’t get in Dagmersellen, such as (for the girls) Milo, 2-minute noodles, tinned spaghetti, Weetbix; and for us BBQ sauce, oven bags, French onion soup.
OVERVIEW OF LONDON:
* Traffic is very heavy with lots of traffic lights.
* Red double-decker buses are plentiful. Mark says that no amount of pay would be enough for him to be a bus driver here.
* Pedestrians don’t obey the WALK / DON’T WALK signs.
* Underground – The Tube – great system. The trains come often; we hardly had to wait for a train. The connections between lines run smoothly. They are clean. Buskers are scattered along the walkways between lines, and they are usually pretty good.
* Small self-owned businesses are plentiful, with lots of mini-marts.
* Lamb (I miss it so much) at the local butcher was cheap and delicious.
* Weather was drizzly on most days.
* The Pound seemed so cheap until we realised that we needed to double the price to compare it with the Australian dollar.
* Our apartment was small, run-down, slow draining shower, but great location.
* Betting shops are on every block.
* People are generally very friendly – such a mix of nationalities.

Summer Trip - Brugge (13-15th July)

We began our next leg of the journey at 10:30am and arrived at our Bed & Breakfast in Brugge, Belgium at 2:30pm. We dropped in to the Tourist Office and then had a streetside dinner (Mark enjoyed the ‘local’ Flemish Stew). Unfortunately, Terri-Lyn woke up the next morning with Belgium Belly, but after brekky we made our first stop for the day at the Bell Tower. The 366 steps to the top resulted in a wonderful 360 degree view of the city. As we found on our guided 30 minute boat ride along the canals, Brugge looks so different from the water, with beautiful buildings and bridges . Our boat driver was impressively able to give the tour in three languages, switching between them with ease. The Choco-Story, the history of chocolate exhibition, was much anticipated and we enjoyed it very much, especially the yummy chocolate sample at the end. Belgium is well-known for its lace and we purchased a lace table runner, placemats and serviettes while we were there. Mark was intrigued with the outdoor urinal (left) situated on the footpath (luckily he didn't need to use it). On our last night in Brugge we splurged out on a delicious dinner at a restaurant in the Brugge Markt Square, with the Bell Tower as our backdrop.
OVERVIEW OF BRUGGE:
* Lovely city, the Markt being the central point.
* Everyone can speak English, making it easier for us to get by.
* Plenty of souvenir shops, particularly lace shops.
* All streets within the city are cobble-stoned.

* Connected by canals. this old walled-in city is world heritage listed.

Summer Trip - Paris (8th - 13th July)

Over the Summer break from school we had about five and a half weeks in which to travel around Europe. We were very happy to be able to spend the first week of this travel with Lynelle, Darren and their daughters. They caught a plane to Paris from Zurich Airport on Monday, 7th July.


Summer Trip - Paris (8th -13th July)

Our GPS told us that the first drive on our trip would take five and a half hours plus rest/lunch stops. After an uneventful drive through Switzerland and France we got our first view of the Eiffel Tower as we drove in to Paris. We easily found our apartment, which was small and comfortable. After settling in, we rang the Hawkes and arranged to meet with them the next day at Disneyland Paris. Finding a parking spot in the narrow Parisian streets was not so simple, but once found we then had to pay nine Euros per day to claim it.
We got up early the next day, which was very warm, and set off on a forty minute drive to meet the Hawkes at Disneyland. Some of the activities we enjoyed were: photo with Mickey Mouse; Grand Parade; Rides: Carousel, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom Manor, Big Thunder Mountain, Rock’n’Roller Coaster, Motor & Action Stunt Show, Twilight Zone of Terror. The girls loved the rides – the wilder, the better. Motion sickness kicked in for Terri-Lyn, but Mark went the distance. As we left Disneyland, with Tenealle coming with us for a sleep over, we noticed some fluid leaking from under our car – Oh No! We crossed our fingers and drove back to our apartment, but halfway home steam started rising from the car bonnet, requiring us to top up the water. We made it back, hit the sack and slept very soundly.
In the morning Mark and Terri-Lyn went for a run with the intention of finding a garage to repair our car, and luckily found a Renault (our car) garage. We took the car there to find out that the radiator was damaged beyond repair and needed to be replaced at a cost of 800 Euros(over $1300 AUS). As we couldn’t speak French and they couldn’t speak English it made it difficult to establish if this was reasonable price, but we were limited in our choices and had no alternative but to get the repair done. We spent the remainder of the day walking around Paris. The Eiffel Tower is a huge and wonderful spectacle, and as the lines to go up to the top of the Tower were very long we decided to come in early the following morning. We walked down the Champs d’Elysees and saw the Arc de Triumph before enjoying a beer/coke/croissant in a café along the river. To celebrate Bronte’s 11th birthday we all went out to a local Italian restaurant on the canal locks of Paris.
It was difficult to get out of bed for our 9am meeting with the Hawkes at the Eiffel Tower, as we felt SO tired. We only had to wait for 30 minutes to reach the front counter to get our tickets to go up to the top of the Tower. It was windy up there, but the view of Paris was super. Back down on the second level the view was even better as everything was closer. Zoe and Mark walked down to the ground while we all took the elevator. After many stops at souvenir booths we made it to the Louvre, where Lynelle and Terri-Lyn took the opportunity to have a wander through. As this gallery is so large we were only able to see a small portion of it, but we made sure that we saw HER – the Mona Lisa (right). She was suitably presented in the centre of a room heavily protected behind glass and security staff. It was great to see one of the most famous paintings in the world. Mark and Darren took the girls to a carnival close by and the girls were in seventh heaven i.e. plenty of rides and junk food.
We had a much-wanted sleep-in the next morning while Mark went for a run. We picked the car up from the garage and strolled through a streetside market. We used the Metro to get around and with Bronte and Chelsea, saw the sights that we hadn’t seen previously: Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame. In the evening the adults went to Montmarte (the Moulin Rouge district) for dinner. We had a delicious meal and a lovely last night together, before the Hawkes returned to the Southern Hemisphere.
OVERVIEW OF PARIS:
* Magnificent, vibrant city > very cosmopolitan
* Friendly people with a confidence about them
* Multicultural – all people seem to get along well
* Eiffel Tower – large, wondrous, focal point
* Our Apartment – gave us a real feel of Parisian life.
* Paris Metro – underground train network. Excellent. Only about 500 metres from anywhere in the city to the nearest train station, and only 2 to 5 minutes until the next train.