THURSDAY 9/5/12

The day started off with the first sleep in for a week. With a heavy first day in The Hague and Caroline's sprained ankle we ddn't breakfast with Auntie Dieuwke until 9:30 upstairs in her appartment. We had been advised that a visit to the photo Museum and the Community Museum had been arranged and we headed off shortely after. Caroloine's cousin Beate (Carien's sister) arrived from Amsterdam after a 2.5 hour drive (traffic snarls) and we met at the Community Museum.  It housed a stunning array of 15th to 18th Century art and really depicted life in the Netherlands. There were also works from modern artists and all housed in a Frank Llyod inspired art-deco building of amazing proportions. We had lunch in the cafe there and then went back to the appartment to look at family photos and discuss recent events

. It was a short break before the next cousin, Adele and husband Hermond arrived from Amsterdam also to take us to a bar/cafe in Scheveningen ( near the beach). Cousin Frits was there waiting with beer in hand and soon the other cousins arrived, Toon and partner Helene, daughter Marije and cousin Steven arrived later. We had a wonderful night and it was just great for Caroline to be able to see her cousins on her fathers family tree and share some stories. There was much laughter and Aussie/Sicilian/Dutch sledging really kept things in balance. At the end of the evening we accompanied Steven to his house a street away. He kindly gifted us a book entitled "The Netherlands from the Top" which I immediately rewrite the title to be "Holland from Underwater or Downunder (take your pick". Frits drove us back to Chateau Bleu and here we are again typing these stories.

11/5/2012

We had a nice quiet morning, with Aunt Dieuwke, looking at local homes & architecture; trees; little streets; canals & bridges; walked through a large garden once belonging to a noble woman who created a lovely Japanese Garden (which escaped the Germans); geese. The garden was designed with tranquility in mind and it made you just want to think about nothing. We had a lovely lunch in the garden cafe. Once home, Guy assisted the handy man with broken doors and flooded balcony and with some computer problems which was a small act of gratitude for all that Auntie Dieuwke has done for us while we were in The Hague. Then it was time to move on to the station for the journey to Rotterdam. We passed the time at Rotterdam at a neary coffee shop munching on farmers cheese sandwiches and typically beautiful Dutch hot chocolates. The closer you get to France the better it becomes.

FRANCE - PARIS

In transit once again! Left Rotterdam at 16:58 and stopped briefly in Antwerp, scene of much destruction in WWII but still many of the old narrow houses remained. 2 hours ago and already flashed past Belgium and now on to Gare du Nord a Paris. We are on the Thallys train which is super fast. So much fun watching the traffic stopped on the freeways and our train speeding past at 350km+.

The countryside changed once over the Belgium border with smaller villages being the norm and fewer chateau visible from the fast train. However once the we were on the outskirts of Paris, Guy quickly spotted the Eiffel Tower and yelled out "There it is, There it is". S hortly after we landed at Gare du Nord and made our way to the Port d'Orleans line. it after peak hour but the metro was still full. We ended up being wedged inbetween the Gendarmes and some other people for a short while until the train started emptying out at Montparnasse Bienvieu.

12/5/2012

Paris!!! So exciting to be back here again! We had the night at the Ibis in Rue des Plantes. The hotel was very cozy but clean and modern, in a chique little neighbourhood called Alesia, which we chose as it was close to Montparnasse TGV. It was a lovely little area, beautiful little streets and houses from all eras. We found a nittle place to eat, a typical beautiful restaurant, with a lovely waitress. We did converse a bit in french with Deborah who smiled at our terrible French and answered politely in English . Main course was pasta with four fromage for Caroline and Sauteed veal with pasta accoutrements for Guy (pronounced Gee). The vin rouge was from the Rousillion and was tres bon aved bon gout(with good taste). Desert was Creme Brulle. We did a reconoitre of the area after to look for all the ATMs so that in case one didn't work we would not be without cash tomorrow.

We wandered around this morning, had croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast, then off to Montparnesse to catch the train to Bordeaux! We are on it now, Guy managed to get us 1st class tickets for a bon price (ridiculous price). This is another superfast train that flies at 400km+. Stunning old villages from the 14th century fly past and leave indelible imprints in our minds.

ROUFFIGNAC

We are now at our first (and really only) village, where we will spend the next fortnight. Amongst the cows, fields, chateau & dog Scooby.

The remainder of the train journey was smooth, though exciting when certain buildings of interest were spotted in the distance. We called a taxi to take us to our final destination, and he was very cheerful. The hosts (and dog Scooby) welcomed us , there was busyness about the place in a rush to get the appartment next door ready for visitors on Wednesday; It had rained all month and the grass was in great need of trimming.

We took ourselves off to the village to explore and do some shopping and to get some real croissants baguettes to munch on. It was much larger then we thought. Just up the road from us is the supermarket and a restaurant/cafe, a bit further on is the village with restored Church, amazing buildings and beautiful little shops. We collected some information about caves and chateaux to visit. Rouffignac had a horrid time in the last world war and there is information about it around the village and on street names, even the taxi driver gave us some history when we drove in. You could never imagine it now in the quietness of the place now (except for a manic dog near the Bric a Brac shop which was nearly over the fence with unpleasant intent). We had intended to have dinner over a three hour period. Caroline and I started with the baguette, butter, reclette and the foie gras for Guy. We sat outside with a fine Chateau Banquine 2007 and just enjoyed our first evening sunshine dinning experience. Sleepiness overtook us and so a walk down a nearby lane beckoned.

The glowing light was fading as we returned to our gite and sleepiness again set in. The cows have joined us in the next paddock and we are off to bed.

　

　

　

8/5/2012

As there was nowhere for a midnight snack, finding anything before 7am for breakfast was also very difficult. Our taxi took us back to the airport and we had some time to eat and look at shops. It was sad to be leaving the Czech republic, such a lovely place. Uneventful flight to Amsterdam, took us over the Dutch farmlands with their myriad of warerways and canals, quite a sight.

Then the fun with train tickets begun. The machines didn't work for us, were told that the train would leave at a certain time, and on the platform there was an earlier one, so were confused! We did get on that one and sprinted off through the country side and Guy was able to spot a few windmills and see some farms and traditional houses. And as in the CR also lots of little plots of land belonging to locals who liked to do a bit of gardening.

The Hague central station was without public phones, tried madly to find somewhere we could get a sim card. We got a free one, but wasn't as free as we thought. Guy got some credit an discovered that we then had extra credit so all good. This process all took time and my aunt was waiting for our call! Of course we didn't have her number on us, but did have my cousin, so via via we did manage to contact her. We waited for her outside of the station looking at a park with deer and swans! Very cute. The Hague has a lot of forested space around. My aunt has a flat at Chateau Bleu which is bordered with the property of the Queen.

Firstly we went to my cousin Carien, who lives nearby, for lunch. Then to the minature town of Madurodam, which displays major buildings from around the country.

My aunt has a lovely flat overlooking massive gardens in all directions. Signs beyond her property warn people to not driving further without Invitaion. My cousin Mary came over for dinner and we went for a walk through the forest and past the palace. All of the original forests were destroyed during WWII and the regrowth is very impressive.

9/5/12

The day started off with the first sleep in for a week. With a heavy first day in The Hague and Caroline's sprained ankle we ddn't breakfast with Auntie Dieuwke until 9:30 upstairs in her appartment. We had been advised that a visit to the photo Museum and the Community Museum had been arranged and we headed off shortely after. Caroline's cousin Beate(Carien's sister) arrived from Amsterdam after a 2.5 hour drive (traffic snarls) and we met at the Community Museum.

It housed a stunning array of 15th to 18th Century art and really depicted life in the Netherlands. There were also works from modern artists and all housed in a Frank Llyod inspired art-deco building of amazing proportions. We had lunch in the cafe there and then went back to the appartment to look at family photos and discuss recent events. It was a short break before the next cousin, Adele and husband Herman arrived from Baarn to take us to a bar/cafe in Scheveningen (near the beach). Cousin Frits was there waiting with beer in hand and soon the other cousins arrived, Toon and partner Helene, daughter Marije and cousin Steven arrived later. We had a wonderful night and it was just great for Caroline to be able to see her cousins on her fathers family tree and share some stories. There was much laughter and Aussie/Sicilian/Dutch sledging really kept things in balance. At the end of the evening we accompanied Steven to his house a street away. He kindly gifted us a book entitled "The Netherlands from the Top" which I immediately rewrite the title to be "Holland from Underwater or Downunder (take your pick". Frits drove us back to Chateau Bleu and here we are again typing these stories.

8/5/2012

Explored Prague again today. Had an early stroll to the Jewish quarter
after breakfast. Then were called for our tour .People in the group were from all over; Argentina, England,Ssouth Africa, Austalia (not just us) There was a lot of information given as the bus speeded to the Prague Castle, the Oldest and Biggest one in Europe!

We were greeted by a squad of guards marching and pealing off in formation up the main drive.

As today happened to be the Celebration Day for the Liberation of Prague after world war II. It was a huge place first started in the 8th Century, gradually extended by various dynasties. That's it for the history lesson. We could easily have spend the day there and then some. The views were magical, the cathedral and all the buildings were amazing.

Our energetic guide Martin raced us through at great speed (and skilfully) through the throngs of other tour groups. The bus next took us to the docks for a boat cruise, which was really nice. We had an hour admiring it all from the river.

The apple strudel was delicious. The last part of the tour was at the city square and seeing the clock tower in action again.

Before lunch we popped briefly into the local market which was hilarious. They had a stall with laughing witches that started up when you made a noise near them. We tried a Czech restaurant for lunch which was huge and full of locals. They give you a docket when you walk in, you then collect a tray and pick what you want to eat from a menu on the wall and the staff behind the counter give it to you, they then write on the docket what you ordered. I had fried mushrooms, fried cheese and mashed potato, which was delicious. The woman at the checkout informed us that it was cash only and Guy had to leave me as a hostage whilst he braved the beggars.

Tour over and onto the start of the our own wanderings, we were interested in the streets from where the tour started which brought us back to the river and bridge Legil. Back to explore the castle side againbut closer to the river. This is also a very old area of little sprawling streets, very beautiful particularly near the Charles bridge. We discovered a few working water mills and many little alley ways, canals and houses and back to the St Charles bridge, which is the one we started yesterday. This is a big walking bridge with many huge statues of saints and has guard towers at both ends. We decided not to explore the area behind the bridge too much as we may have spent the next 3 days trying to discover everything, Leave it to next time.

How can one keep finding so many streets that you have never found before even though you thought you saw them yesterday. We got back to hotel at 7pm, totally weary, crashed on the bed and woke around 10:30. Unfortunately too late to find somewhere for a snack by the time we got into gear again. A short stroll to sort out the senses and then back to get ready for tomorrows flight to Amsterdam.

We have really loved this city. It has charm and frienliness and a peace that cannot be forgotten. So many people gave their lives to save it and free themeselves from rotten Communism and before that the occupaying forces during WWII. Those people will never be forgotten in history and the monuments that occupy the streets in honour of their efforts.

7/5/2012

Big day today! As per usual at present, we bounce out of bed around 5am. We manage to update all our writing and uploading then. this was our last morning with the Lobel's. Jonathan made buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, a special recipi from his mother, for breakfast. Which were sensational!Carter's eyes were hanging out watching all the action in the kitchen and at the table!

Sadly we had to take our leave and check out the mysterious workings and challenge of the Czech train system. At odd times there was a bit of English thrown in with some of the announcements, but when you were really wondering, where were the station officials? It was a much cooler day and we were in our jackets. Jonathan put us safely onto the train to Ostrava, with the help of 4 of his students who were also taking the train with us. However when we arrived in Ostrava for the change over, we were alone and not one official to be seen. There was a short change over this time and we were a bit anxious to find the right platform. We did, just in time, but our train didn't arrive. Did we miss it already? Guy went to investigate and found that it had been delayed and would arrive shortly. Then a mad rush in front of approaching train to the opposite platform as the details had appeared there. Luckily the platforms were easily reached by walking accross the tracks. We did need some help to find the right carriage and our seats and this time a nice young man (conductor) was happy to show us where we had to be. A very different train to the Pendolino, very crowded and many more people standing everywhere, Guy was not able to reach the dining car for any refreshments for all the bodies in the 1st class corridor. I'm glad that we got our tickets on Friday, with reserved seats!

Back in Prague and the hotel. The same helpful girl on the desk, booked our tickets for the tour tomorow. We headed off to the big square.

After the lovely countryside and nature of the past few days, it back now to buildings, buildings and more buildings of all shapes and sizes and designs. Something facinating and charming about most of them. The history here is amazing in fact totally overwhelming. Except for when you have to haul you luggage, the cobbles are wonderful; statues on buldings everywhere; big portal doors everywhere, you can just imagine the horse and carriages thundering through them to hidden courtyards within. Safety for marauders of old.

At the Astronomical tower, battlng the crowds we made our way to the rooftop restaurant of the Uprince hotel, with recommendation from Jonathan. We had an amazing hour up there, claiming the best corner for the views of the square, tower and the rest of Prague, consuming an awesome cheese platter (for me) and chicken salad for Guy. On the hour the clock tower and Astronomical clock would perform music and dancing figures, which drew enormous crowds.

Our next destination was to find the Vltava river, again distracted by yet more interesting buildings, the Karluf bridge is covered in enormous statues of saints, the setting sun casting an unusually impressive light on gold statues and green rooftops.

In one street off the main square we found an English and Irish Pub nexto each other! Also an Ice Bar! And the American contender was the Jimmy Dean bar/restaurant. We found a Chech Chocolate shop, the hot chocolate was like syrup, delicious!

The light was now finally fading and we walked back via the Jewish quarter briefly and then back to the hotel.

All northern countries (including Guy )around the world are currently enthralled with the Ice Hockey World Championship.

Sunday 6th May

The agenda today was set by Jonathan who had thoughtfully planned a trip for us to Hukvaldy Castle which was perfect given our love of history in the medieval times. A short drive out to the countryside south of Frydlant brought us to the quaint village of Hukvaldy with its perfectly maintained hotels and surprising number of cafes and bars.

The walk from the village to the castel took us uphill past a game reserve and massive oak and birch trees with room sized root systems. (Lord of the Rings country)

As we walked up the winding road glimpses of the battlements appeared above us through the trees. We got to the top and were greeted by an enormous fortified opening in the walls. After paying a very reasonable entry price we spent the next forty minutes exploring the internal walls of the castle and its four storey keep. 


The views were spectacular over the surrounding town, villages, countryside and mountains. Jonathan told us that this castle was never taken in battle and when you look at the steepness of the surrounding land and the height of the walls, its no wonder. The castle was built from the 12th century and its keep is being extensively restored. It was a wonderful experience.
The scale of this place cannot be captured by photos and a personal visit is recommended.

  Our descent was a little less conventional as we elected to walk the natural path back to the village where we enjoyed some local pastry from a street vendor.

We relaxed at Jonathan and Lisa's place for lunch and then went to the Sunday afternoon worship at Jonathan's school. It was very moving to see what faith has done for a people who lived in darkness under a repressive Communist regime thirty years earlier. We were made to feel very welcome by the local people and we shall always remember their enthusiam and shared experiences.

Jonathan showed us his school which is impressive by anyone's standards and then it was off to sample traditional village restaurant food. It was a very warm and inviting place next the Catholic Church and village square. We ordered pints of Pilsner dark beer which was delicious and the food arrived not long afterwards. It was plentiful and delicious and served by a very happy man who spoke in a theatrical manner. Replenished we stumbled back to the appartment where we got into some Skype conversations with Jonathan's wonderful Dad, Bob in Albany USA, and his sister in Dublin.

It was a wonderful day and we are most grateful for Jonathan and Lisa being such great hosts and giving up their busy time to spend time with us. These are precious memories for Caroline who part of the larger van Dissel and Janssen van Raay families. I must confess that I am touched by their love for everyone and their warmth. Sadly tommorrow we go back to Prague and leave this wonderful place. We will have to come back one day.

6/5/2012

We have arrived at Frydlant nas Ostravici. Yesterday morning we bounced out of bed at 5am, after retiring very early. We head an early walk heading the opposite direction to the day before. It was a lovely day and the light was very soft, we found more towers and churches to photograph. Very old and beautiful.

Breakfast started at 7am at the hotel, and was included in the price of our stay. It was in a lovely huge room, which could have been a ballroom in a previous existance. All the food was lined up and wonderful, there was even an afternoon tea stand with cereals and cakes.

Afterwards we made our was to the station over all the various cobbles with out suitcases, which proved to be very bumpy, found the right train, seats but the wrong carriage. We didnt find that out till after the train glided out of the station. The train was a Pendolino fast train, all announcements were in Czeck and English. A young couple came looking for their seats and we discovered there were also carriage numbers, they were very nice and organised with the conductor to take our seats (so we didn't have to move), the girl had lived in Sydney for 2 years and had an uncle in Melbourne.

All together the train took about 4 hours. The Prague station was totally huge with a shopping centre and all within a massive building that looked like a museum.

The land scape and all the little villages along the way were totally beautiful, lots of fields with canola and other crops and industry, some of it left derilect by the soviets. We were totally crazy trying to photograph it all, but mostly ending up with photos of poles and trees in the way. C'est la vie! the buildings were mostly in bold colours and very pretty.

We had a change over in Ostrava for the last leg of the trip. It was right at the end of the platforms the trains were very old and you could open the windows and do the puffing billy hanging out of the window thing! Which was a lot more fun for taking photos, Guy took up pole position on the opposite window. Some stations were just of strip of concrete along the train, but most had a guard standing there as the train went past. There were dogs (with their owners) on the train as well.

We arrived and found the family standing there waiting for us beside the rail track (we had the concrete slab as well). An easy walk back to their appartment. A lovely place, with views in all directions. Explored the town a bit, shopped and a long walk to the next village where there was a church with a view of the whole valley. The weather was perfect, beautiful and warm. The village is so lovely really, there were people everywhere living the outdoor lifestyl; Bikes, motor bikes, rollerskates,and many many walkers. It is quite hilly here too.

It was so lovely to catch up with Jonathan and Lisa again and meet little Carter.

Today more exploring !

So the day, the 3rd, came and our early departure from the Dolma hotel in Coburg paid dividends with an on time visit to Officeworks so Guy could get a folder for the Epistle he developed with the travel arrangements.
We got to Guy's Mums place on time and waited for Sharon to come and collect us for the trip to Tullamarine.  All went well and we left on time onboard Malaysian airlines code share with KLM Flight.  The flight was great and no complaints, Guy revognised the cabin manager from his Rome trip in 2004 and was amply rewarded for his friendliness. Guy even adopted a little old Indian lady next to him because he was missing his Mum already and she was in need of his care anyway.  At Kualar Lumpur airport the old granny offered to adopt Guy much to the chagrin of her son in law.
KL airport was great as usual and much bigger now. Still to look at jungle.
Flight to Amsterdam started off with a smaller 777-200 but we still got the same seats and more room as there were only 3x3x seating arranged.  Staff very friendly, professional and generous.  Guy Fell asleep as soon as he settled into the seat and missed take off and the various intros by the cabin.  He smelt food and awoke and then woke Caroline who couldnt give  a stuff because she was unwakable but the following worked "Hey Caroline there's food on your tray.  Boing!  Dinner at 2:30 am AEST was delicious and then we both went back to sleep.  The movies were ok and breakfast arrived at 5am Dutch time(11 hours later)
Landed on time and headed straight for the dutch pancakes and previewed the shopping on our return in 6 weeks.  Just having a ball so far.