Travel Home

The trip home was not its own reward. While getting to the airport was easy, and checking in was pretty easy, the trip was long and a bit uncomfortable.

And, to top it off, it turned out that St. John's (where we were supposed to land for a five-hour hiatus) was severely fogged in (and the temperature was only 12 degrees as well), and we counldn't land there. So we were re-routed to Halifax, amid a lot of confusion at the airport as well. They staff there were run off their feet, since all flights to and from were cancelled, so there was a lot of rebooking.

We managed to get a series of flights through Ottawa and on to Toronto, and actually arrived an hour earlier than we had thought. So got home about midnight, after almost 24 hours of being up.

Sigh. But a good vacation nonetheless. And many happy memories.


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Location:Dundas

Back in Britain, August 1-4

Our time back with Dan has been good, with a lot of rambling.

Our first full day, we went back to Covent Garden for a re-look (and some breakfast), then walked over to St. Martin in the Fields, to see what was going on there, and to listen to a free lunch-time concert. The church was magnificent (the picture does not do it justice), and the concert was good.

The important thing was that we learned as well about a concert that evening, also at the church. A pianist playing, among other things, the Moonlight Sonata, and Clair de Lune. So that made our evening also very good. We spent the afternoon (what was left of it) walking towards the British Museum, and of course stopping for a beer along the way. Once again, the weather was in our favour. Dan did not join us, so we didn't see him until we got home at the end of the day.

Then, Wednesday, we again spent a bit of time getting organized before going out, then went up to Streatham Hill Road for breakfast, stopping at a local patisserie for a few delicasies, then crossing the road for a sit-down coffee, and sweets. Then off on the bus/railway to visit Hampton Court Palace, known for its connection to Henry VIII, and his wives. But also known for the renovations done under William and Mary. The day was sunny and warm, and the grounds were spectacular, the castle magnificent in all its opulence and extravagance.

We enjoyed the tour of the kitchens, the Royal Suite from Henry's days, and the Chapel Royal. Then went to the Cafe for a bite, and then finally to the Maze to get lost briefly before they closed the place. And we even ran into King Henry along with Katherine!

That evening, Darlene took the opportunity to go to a local Quaker meeting down near the St Martin in the Fields Church. I decided to go and meet Dan in Guildford, and he and I went out in that nice smaller town to a Thai restaurant at the top of a local building, where we watched the sun go down and enjoyed a very pleasant meal. We got home about the same time as Darlene, who had wandered about Trafalgar Square a bit before catching the bus home (a trip which she enjoyed a lot).

Our final full day was rainy. We ended up going back to bed and sleeping the morning away, then headed back downtown, this time by bus. A coffee (obligatory), and a tour through Trafalgar Square to see Nelson's Column and its lions, along with a boat-in-a-bottle of Nelson's ship.



Decided to go to the National Gallery (remember, all admission to museums like this are free), and looked at some wonderful artwork. Then met Dan after his work, walked around a bit through Soho and the West End Theatre District, found a little restaurant with a solemn waiter, and ate before returning home.

In spite of being tired, we stayued up on our last night to pack and talk with Dan, then tumbled into bed.

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Location:Lambeth, London

August 1, Travel Day

This day was a full travel day, all by train. And it began early.

We got up at 4:30, catching the S-Bahn at 5:15 to the Munich Hautbanhaus, where we arrived in pretty good time, and bought some food before getting on the train which would take us to Paris. This was a TGV train, and seats were assigned. And we were lucky that for about half of it, we had two seats each.

As we travelled West, we crossed flat farmland, then into the hilly areas of Germany, before crossing the Rhine into France at Strasbourg. We had already gone through Ausburg and Stuttgart, and had now left Germany. A pretty country indeed, with towns and cities having their own beauty.

But France seemed immediately different. I am not sure I can describe the difference, but it felt different. Perhaps that's my old prejudice speaking, but there it is. We travelled quite fast through France to arrive in Paris a few minutes late. However, I was reassured to learn that the distance between the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord was not great, and very walkable. So when we arrived, we got outside and walked to a local cafe for a lunch. Absolutely enjoyable, and much appreciated.

Walking to the Gare du Nord took only about fifteen minutes, but we had more difficulty than expected finding our train, and how to get on it. After some looking, we discovered the train, and were sitting there for a while before we realized that we had to go through a customs thing before getting on, and heard the announcement that this area was closing in a few minutes. Fortunately, one of the guards rushed us through, and we got on the train with about two minutes to spare, after great rushing.

This was also a TGV, travelling through the French countryside, and then through the tunnel to England. It was all fairly anticlimactic after all, but I'm still glad we did it. Arrived at St. Pancras Station, and then got to Dan's house about the time he arived.

We went out for supper that night, to a little restaurant in Balham. The walk was long, and the meal was good.


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Location:various

Dachau

The second day we had decided to go to Dachau, which is just outside of Munich, and pretty easy to get to by public transit. And while we were not sure how we would react to the actual place, it called us and we went. The getting there was easy with the S-bahn. This dropped us in the centre of the town of Dachau. We had lunch there at a local hotel (and lunch in this part of the world is the main meal of the day. So we were full, when we caught the bus to the Concentration Camp Memorial. And the weather was dark, appropriately.

The Memorial is free admission, and they have used the actual admission buildings for the museum, and have also re-constructed a barracks in the fashion that it existed in WW2. The crematorium also still exists. And there are several monuments set up by various churches and synagogues to the victims of the camp. The rest of the area has pretty well been levelled. Interestingly, they have left areas of the barbed wire around the perimeter.

The exhibits were exceptionally good. The story is horrible, and the results obviously beyond comprehension, much less acceptance. The history leading up to the establishment of the camp, the social and political events preceding the rise of fascism, were all explained fairly and openly. The explanations of the groups singled out (and why they were singled out) were well-presented and accompanied by recording from survivors.

The actual facts of what went on in the camp was by its nature horrible. The degrees of torture, the work, the underground organising, the deaths, and finally the liberation of the camp all were there in full detail. And we began with a film about the camp, which set the mood for the rest.

There was more than we could absorb, and to say it was sombre would be to understate the obvious. The additional pathetic fallacy of a dark, forboding thunderstorm only added to the drama. We of course left too little time.

After that, we went back into the main old part of the town, and explored the Rathaus (Town Hall), the old square, and some of the older streets, before heading back home, again for a later eating time and talk with Ben and Jutta.

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Location:Dachau, Germany

Munich, July 27-31

Getting here was not half the fun. EasyJet is a budget airline, and even though it was not exactly "budget", it crammed and pushed us, and gave us very little. But it did get us to Germany almost on time. And the flight was fine.

Ben was there waiting for us, as promised, and we rode in his VW van back to their place in Eichenau. We got there late, so did not spend a lot of time catching up, just enough to get a grounding for the next few days. Their place is at the end of a road, a road named for their house, and to get to the train, you walk through a patch of forest and onto the town streets.

A bit of time talking before going off to bed. We were promised an early wake from the two boys in the morning.

And we got it. Although Darlene was up and out of the house for a stroll by six, I of course slept in until later, so didn't get to meet the boys until night time. We had arranged to meet Ben at his Google office for lunch, so that gave us a scheduling starting point at least, and it looked like we would get into Munich and spend the day sort of wandering. But ofcourse it was a slower start for us than we had anticipated, and it was almost eleven by the time we left the house. Off to the train station, tried to figure out how to buy a ticket through their machines, and waited for the S4 train to the centre of town. I was astonished by the number of bicycles there were at the station, and the infrastructure set up to handle them.


The train takes only about fifteen minutes to get to town, and so we arrived at Marienplatz station, eventually found the exit we were looking for, and started our search. Between Darlene's partial memory of what we had discussed with Ben, and mine, we were able to actually find the Google offices at first attempt. Signed ourselves into their computer, and were met by Ben. And what an office it is. Lots of activity, most of it quiet (they are programming, and this does not require a lot of noise), places for work which are airy and bright. And of course the perks: snacks all around; rooms for games; cafeteria with real food; room for massage therapy: all included in their work environment. It is a place in which it would be a joy to work.

Then off exploring the area. We tried to get some information at the Tourist Centre, but it was too crowded with tourists, so we went elsewhere. We walked down the street towards Karlsplatz, from the Neues Rathaus (the new City hall, which was built in 1867), to the large fountain at Karlsplatz, stopping at the Frauenkirche as well. In the middle of this, the skies opened, so we ducked into a wine bar for a short interlude. Back to the Hauptbahnhof (central train station) to check on our leaving location for Monday, then we caught a random tram (really the kind of LRT that Hamilton is balking at) and followed it to the end, then back again. Just to see the city from a different level. And to use our daily pass better. (a word here: they charge about 12 Euros for a pass for five adults for twenty-four hours, rarely check to see that you have it, and it allows use of any train, tram, subway, or bus in the Munich area: a great idea)

Home for a late snack and some talk with Ben and Jutta, then to bed. The morning, as usual, begins with Dylan about 7 AM. He is 2-1/2, bright, joyful, bilingual, and comes down the stairs saying in a loud voice "Darlene...where's Darlene?". So sleeping in is difficult. Darlene is up, but I try to sleep, Dylan and Ben come in to check that I am still there, so I get up.

The next day we went to Dachau, and this was eventful enough I have done a separate entry.

The following day, Saturday, we decided to go together to the Zoo. The kids had been there before, but liked it a lot, and we were all interested as adults as well.

The trip and the zoo was great. We all bundled up (it was cool outside, and cloudy), got on the S4, transferred to the S3, and got off at the Zoo, ready for adventure. The kids were excited (Jason is 4+, Dylan is 2-1/2).

First stop had to be a bathroom, and after that a petting zoo with goats in it. Then off to see the elk, the rhino (a grey-brown one without a horn[it had to be severed due to infection]), the tigers. Then to the bat house, interesting because the bats were allowed to fly anywhere they wished, so they were fluttering about our heads. Also a bird house, where we watched weavers building their nests.

We saw the elephants, complete with a three-month baby, and the giraffes, where there was a one-year infant.

And finally to the primate area, where there were chimps, bonobos, gorillas, oragutangs, all in appropriate areas. And the chimps would get mad at times, and throw themselves agsinst the protective glass, with a loud bang.
Probably the most exciting for us, watching their interactions, and their tempers.

After a tiring time walking around the area, we headed back home. The adults were ready for an afternoon nap, but the kids were wired, so our plan didn't happen. But we did engineer a children's supper, followed by an adult supper.

Our last day in Munich—Sunday— required us to visit a beer hall, which we had not yet done. In Munich, beer halls are open to adults and children. People can, by law, bring their own food if they wish, but have to buy their drinks at the hall. And since this day was a sunny day, there were a lot of people there, outdoors at tables, eating away and drinking their beer in the beer garden. We had fish-on-a-stick (a mackerel rosted over a fire), some chicken, and of course a pretzel, as well as the beer. It was great.

But it was early to bed, since we had to get up at 4:30 to catch our train to Munich for the TGV to Paris.

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Location:Munich

Llandudno, July 25, 26

Right after breakfast (another English breakfast: how do those Brits live past 40 years with all that fat and so forth?), we got a cab to the train station (for three pounds), and waited for the train to Llandudno. While the car trip is only about thirty minutes, the train stops in several places, and takes twice as long. But it was worth it: views of the sea, long beaches, beautiful countrysides. And then we were there. The directions to the B&B were easy, and we got there in good time.

The B&B - Walstall House - was not our finest choice. They put us in an ordinary room on the third floor, were quite curt, not too helpful. We had gotten used to the fact that there are no facecloths provided in the UK or Europe, but this place also did not provide soap or shampoo. Hopefully, we wouldn't spend a lot of time in the room anyways, so it wasn't a big concern, but still an annoyance.

We went walking, partly to find the restaurant we had had recommended by our hosts in Chester's Blue Moon cafe, and partly just to get the lay of the land. We knew we wanted to take the tramway to the top of the Great Orme, and we wanted to walk the Pier. So we did both these things, under a fairly bright sky with a bit of wind. Of course, up on the Orme, although it is only about 600 metres, it was very windy, and even cold. As nice as it was, there was a pleasure in getting back into the valley and the coastline.

And the walk along the coastline, bay area, was wonderful. There is a long Promenade there, going about a kilometre, with terrace buildings along it. The main part of the town was purpose-built by a wealthy landowner (who benefitted greatly from the Enclosures Act) in the early 1800's, as a tourist/vacation area. But at least it was well-designed, and the architecture is very pleasant, albeit pretty uniform. So we enjoyed the walk, and were ready for our meal when the time for dinner came.

Dinner at the Seahorse was exquisite, tasty, not-too-expensive, and over too soon. Then back via the seashore again, to our B&B for an attempt at watching the news, before turning in again.

The next day we had a Welsh Breakfast (seems about the same as a British one), and headed off walking again. Our train to London didn't leave until 2 PM, so we had the morning to read, walk, get a coffee, and try for Darlene to get a check on her phone messages. For this latter, we had to join the Llandudno Library, so I now am a card-carrying member of that august establishment (it is really quite a nice place).

Then the train, tube, and bus to get to Dan's place, by which time we were all too tired to go out for his birthday. We ordered in curry-style dishes (here they will deliver wine or beer with your meal as well as the food), ate too much, and tumbled into bed.


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Location:North Wales