We're Home

Well, Toto, it looks like we're back in Kansas again. How do I know this? There are no more autumn trees, the temperature is quite a bit warmer than we've been experiencing, the accents are different and there are two puppies following us around the house.

The check in at Heathrow was fantastic. Because our plane was with British Airways we were able to check in via the internet and print our boarding pass while still at John's. That left only checking in the bags and going through security, both of which required no queuing and were very quick.

While in England, we have dispelled a few myths: the people are very polite and attentive in their service, the weather isn't always horrible, customs and security staff can have a sense of humour and Heathrow can operate quickly and efficiently. One customs officer, in response to queries from Michael, suggested that if she divulged the nature of what the ultraviolet light revealed, she would have to shoot him! Perhaps, she suggested, that should have been done at the beginning of the trip and it would have been much cheaper for Mum and Dad.

We had a good flight home via Bangkok. The only delay this time was when leaving Bangkok the pilot decided to wait for a tropical storm to blow throw, for which we were grateful. There was a bit of turbulence between Bangkok and Australia, but not as much as we experienced on the way out. We all had a few hours sleep between London and Bangkok and then only the adults dozed between Bangkok and Sydney. My head is now starting to feel a bit woozy, a bit like coming off the Manly ferry after a big swell.

Since landing at 7am we have unpacked the bags, done the washing (it never ceases to amaze me that despite keeping up to date while away, there is always 2-3 loads still to do!), checked the mail and done a quick shop. At the moment Andrew has gone to work to check his emails, Rachel is practicing for her school choir performance at the Opera House tonight and practicing her tuba, and Michael has fallen asleep in front of the TV.

Back to our own beds and normal routines. What an experience we all have had. I'm sure there will be many memories for years to come.

Farewell to England and our friends

Nikki and Chloe

A family walk down Marlow streets

John and Sarah

Friday:



The flight from Germany went smoothly and wasn't delayed at all! Once again, getting through, check in, security, customs and baggage pick up at Dusseldorf and Heathrow went so easily it was unbelievable. Not like the horrow stories we had heard. Although it was sad leaving behind friends, we know we have all enjoyed the opportunity of each others company, learning new customs and the excitement of being in a different country with a different language.



John met us at Heathrow and it was easy readjusting to having the driver on the right hand side of the car. It felt far more natural to be driving on the left and overtaking on the right! The children enjoyed getting reaquainted with the Shepherd's large TV screen with SKY TV offering all english speaking programmes.







Saturday:


A pancake breakfast, a roast pork lunch and another fine day in Marlow. Anyone would think we were being spoilt on the last day of our holiday. We have had a walk or two in the sunshine, a play in the back garden and feel totaly spoilt to have enjoyed such a remarkable time away together. It is now 6pm and we are having our showers, brushing teeth and putting last minute things away before leaving for our flight home. We should leave at 10pm and arrive in Australia 7am on Monday.

Talk to you soon.

Farewell to Germany and our friends

Rachel teasing Ralf

Michael's new friend, Dennis

Martina (neighbour) and Beate

Michael in the Oktoberfest mood

Ralf showing us Phantasialand

Friday:


Well, the day has arrived that we must pack up and say 'Auf wiedersehen' to all our friends in Wuppertal. We had a mini afternoon tea and dinner party last night to say 'tschüß' to Ralf, Shaun, Frau Köller, Beate, Carstan, Jan, Marlte, Petra and Dennis. It has been wonderful getting to reestablish friendships and making new ones. The children, especially Michael, are already thinking about becoming exchange students and staying with Ralf. Michael would rather do it sooner than later as he is asking questions of age and other requirments. Rachel has taken a shine to Ralf too and teases him as much as he teases her. If I don't sound my usual self when I return, that might be because Beate wants to swap places. I don't think the transition with work and family would be all that seamless, but I know all our friends would welcome her. I think last night it was organised that Beate and Rachel come home with Andrew and Marlte (a younger not older brother for Rachel and a daughter for Beate!) and Michael and I stay here.


We had a treat day yesterday, Thursday. We didn't go to any old churches ('just more dead people' as Michael would say) or castles but instead had a slow start and a brunch of Scottish origin: haggis, blood sausage, bacon and baked beans. We then started packing and removing our rubbish and later went to Beate's where she took Rachel and Michael with her to pick up her sons from school and preschool. So the children did go to school in Germany after all! We then went to the town centre of Schwelm and had a fantastic afternoon tea of very special icecreams. There were at least 5 menus of icecreams to choose from, including desserts made to look like spaghetti and lasagne! Beate then helped me shop for the dinner itmes I wanted for making my thank you meal. It was tricky knowing how much to buy as each time I spoke to Ralf he said so and so may be coming too!! Anyway, it all got made and in time for Shaun to go to waterpolo training, and some extra for Frau Köller to try the Aussie's cooking, 'what no dressing on the salad??' Another late night followed with the grownups watching Ralf's 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' collection and the kid's swapping rooms with Ralf to try the 'cubby hole' he had built as a spare room. So, this morning we breakfast and pack and fly off to Heathrow. I wonder what delay there will be on the flight this trip?

Phantasialand

Sorry there was no commentary to go with the photos. The keyboard ran out of battery power. 'Perhaps you are using it too much!' would be Ralf's comment.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we spent the whole day at Phatasialand, which is like a mini Disneyland. It is a theme park at Brühl, near Köln. The rides opened at 10 and closed at 5.45. We arrived at 9.45 and left at 6.00 with the kids wanting more but having gone on most of the major rides. We missed a few rides and a few shows so there is still more for us to do next time we visit. There were more rides than at Movie World and it catered for a wider range of ages and stages. There was only one ride which Michael was too short for and many rides that Rachel wanted to go on. So I think that says a lot. We also saw two 4D shows, a street parade of the characters from the park, a stage show of dancing, acrobatics and illusion tricks.
We were very fortunate with the weather and the road conditions. The night time rain clouds disolved by the time we left the outskirts of Wuppertal and it started raining heavily again the moment we left the car park at the park! The regular traffic jam that we had experienced the day before was no where near as hevy. We had started early and had brought things to make breakfast in the car while stuck in traffic, instead we were able to pull off into a rest area and make breakfast with relative ease. Thank you God for all the blessings you have provided us over this time. We appreciate them all.
Well, we are now on the countdown for leaving Germany and then for the trip home. We don't want the holiday to end, but are looking forward to being in our own beds again. I wonder how the puppies will receive us, with disdain or leaps and licks? Thanks again, to Anna and our neighbours for taking care of things in our absence.

Photos

Rachel with Penguin statue at the Wuppertal Zoo

Düsseldorf motor show-museum

Köln cathedral spires

A Rhine scene; Toll house, castle, vineyards and village

The family after a visit to Phantasialand

Rhine views

Monday:
We had a leisurely start to the day, the kids slept in for a change. We went to Düsseldorf for breakfast at a huge furniture store that is well famous here for offering a good value breakfast special, IKEA. Yes, it was big but I couldn't think of much that they might offer that was different to our stores, perhaps I should have taken Kathy or Susan with me for a more accurate assessment!
We then went on to a car museum/specialist dealership. Lot's of fantastic cars: Maseratti's, Aston Martin's, McLaren motor's, Morgan's and so on and so on. Once again I thought of some who would have enjoyed the experience, such as Mum and Mark. Afterwards we went to a small town nearby on the Rhine where we watched a few barges ply the wide and flat river.
As the weather was holding out we took the opportunity to go on to Köln where we enjoyed a well known Goulash restaurant, which only a local would know of or find. We then walked through the busy city malls to the catherdral. HUGE and wonderful to see inside and out. AMAZING.
By 6pm we where enjoying the hospitality of Beate and Carsten, and their sons Jan and Marlte. Michael and Rachel declined the offer to sleepover and go to school with Jan. I think spending the night with boys who only spoke German was a bit off putting, apart from the idea of going to school while on holidays. Another great night getting to know each other and enjoying fabulous food. I'm glad we have walked so much, otherwise we would be charged for excess weight!!

Tuesday:
Today had a rainy start but we were not detered. We went for a little drive to near Frankfurt. It took us 3 hours, which should have only been 2, but we had a large traffic jam and a detour along the way. We eventually got to the Rhine river at Bingen for the start of a cruise down river to St Goar, near the famous Lorrelei. This area of the river is known as the "Romantic Region" and has many castles and vineyards along the steep and terraced slopes of the valley. It is approximately half way from the Rhine's start in Switzerland to it's end at Rotterdam. We again enjoyed the autumn colours and watched people hand picking the vines as it is now vintage time. The drive home started along a winding road through a wonderful forest before we hit the Autobahn. There was traffic but no major hold ups on the way home, thankfully.
Dinner this time was waiting for us at Frau Köller's where she had cooked authentic German food and even a vegetable that I have never seen in Australia. How far do we need to walk now??
Talk again soon. Love and prayers to you all.

A taste of photos from Germany

Looking down Ralf's street

Shaun, Frau Köller and Ralf (making faces) at the Spare Rib's restaurant

Ralf outside his home

Beyenburg

Shaun and Ralf at Oktoberfest

Facts and Figures

The Schwebebahn:
Planning started in 1887 for a suspension transport system, it was opened on the 1 March 1901
The track length is 13.3 kilometres in total
There are 20 stations from on end of Wuppertal to the other, Ober Barmen to Vohwinkel (we are staying at Ober Barmen)
The distance between each stop ranges from 200 metres to 1000 meters, but most are approximately 500-700 metres apart
There are two carriages per Schwebebahn which are joined in the middle like a "bendy bus"
They run every three, four or five minutes depending on the time of the day
Wuppertal is the only European country to run this form of transport, although Japan have made a similiar version
The track mainly runs over the top of the Wupper river until it reaches Vohwinkel where it runs over the top of the main road
A good website is www.schwebebahn.de
To pronounce it I think of the words, Schweppes, sway, bah, barn

Wuppertal:
The city is located 30 kilometres from Düsseldorf and 40 km from Köln in the north east of Germany
There used to be two main cities, Elberfeld (1883) and Barmen (1884) which connected on 1 August 1929 to make one city
In 1930 they took the name of the river, Wupper, and the word for valley, tal, to give the city it's current name of Wuppertal
Wuppertal is the capital of the Bergisches Land
The population is approx 360 000
The city is known as the 'city in the country' as it is surrounded by parks and forests
2/3 of the city is a green belt and there are many walking tracks through the parks and woodlands
Wuppertal is well known not only for the Schwebebahn, but also industry, cultural activities and it's universities
The cities web site is www.wuppertal.de

I hope this helps Robert with the information he was asking, and in the mean time a few details for others.

A concert, a stroll and a party

Friday:
The weather was fantastic. After a slow start to the day Ralf and I went shopping for breakfast things. Again there were fresh rolls, meats and cheeses.

Michael has made good friends with the 13 year old boy next door, Dennis, and they spent most of the day playing computer games, shooting each other with pellet guns, riding scooters and also exploring the neighbourhood. Rachel and another boy, Christopher also joined in some of the time. Andrew has caught the kid's colds and spent the day reading. Ralf and I went shopping all over the place for groceries for a party Ralf is holding on Saturday. He has said there will be about 20 people celebrating Oktoberfest.

At night we enjoyed a photographic exhibition on the theme "blue" and afterwards heard Shaun sing solo 10 pieces from Schumann. He has a wonderful baritone voice and was abley accompanied by a friend (both about 22 years old). Beate, Ralf's ex wife and Shaun's mum, and I sat together with Frau Köller. Ralf, Beate and Frau Köller should be very proud of their young man. Ralf then invited some friends back home to have a mini party in preparation for Saturday's main party. It was nice getting to know some more people and to know there will be a few familiar faces.

Saturday:
Again, a sunny and beautiful day. While Ralf and his neighbour, Petra, prepared the house for the Oktoberfest we went exploring to another part of Wuppertal which is a very old town and on the other side of one or two valley's. Not as brave as it may sound as we took Dennis, Petra's son, with us. Ralf lives about 10 minutes walk from a major bus, train and schwebebahn hub, so it was easy to catch a bus to Bayern Berg, once we had looked at a transport map with bus routes marked. What wasn't so easy was buying the travel ticket, but Ralf had come to help with that before letting us fly on our own. It was a gorgeous afternoon to walk around the lake and the village for a few hours. The colouful trees in the forests and by the paths, white swans on the lake, old houses with slate shingled walls and an abbey helped complete the scene and once again came the phrase, "Well, Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!". We headed back to our starting point then caught a schwebebahn to another city area and looked for some items which Michael and Rachel wanted to buy before heading back again to our starting point and buying icecreams. So we managed to get around and use a smattering of very poor German and a lot of sign language to help communicate with Dennis and various shop keepers.
We came home to find the house decorated in the Bavarian colours of blue and white, the snacks on the table and the beer ready to pour. The crowd started arriving at 5.30pm and kept coming until after 10pm. Did I say 20 were expected, it seemed more like 50 who squeezed themselves into all corners of Ralf's house, which we would liken to a large terrace house. Everyone made merry and most people tried at least a small conversation with us, as we did with them, which created many smiles, laughs and calls for Ralf or Shaun's assistance. Although we had longer and easier conversations with quite a few people too. Ralf's sister and husband came, whom I last met in 1982 so it was great to catch up again. We have been invited to Beate (Ralf's ex wife) and her husband, Carstom's home for dinner on Monday night, and the children invited to sleep over and go to school with their 8 year old son. I don't know if they will accept being real live "show and tell" news items, but we'll ask. The party ended for us in various stages, I was the last to bed at 1.15am leaving about 10 people still talking in the kitchen. I think it will be a slow start to the day for many. And next week they will do it all again when they have a neighbourhood party for a hedge cutting session. I hope they cut the hedges first before they start to party too hard. Hosting parties for this large group of friends seems like a regular form of entertainment, so it was a privelge to be invited and welcomed into this large circle of ecclectic friends.

Sunday:
It is now 10.30am and Michael and I are the only ones to surface downstairs so far, although Andrew is probably in bed reading. I don't think we'll be moving very far this morning. The weather has also clouded over, so I am very glad that we took the opportunity to explore the delightful countryside yesterday. We haven't travelled so far or so often as we did in England, it has been more immersing ourselves in the different language and custom of the area. In the remaining days we will explore the Rhine river, south of here and visit the large cathedral at Köln (Cologne). It should be less crowded on the roads, and other areas, as school goes back on Monday. So we are pleased that Michael and Dennis had a few whole days to play and get to know each other a bit.

Please excuse any typing and spelling errors. I had just got used to a different keyboard layout in England and am now discovering the delights of a German keyboard which has extra letters and many keys in 'odd' places. For example the 'z' and 'y' are reversed, there is also "öÖ, äA and üÜ on the right hand side of the keys, and it takes forever to remember how to find the @, which makes signing into email and this blog a slower process than usual. I have discovered that the english spell check isn't working. Also, there are no photos yet as that is one topic I haven't even tried to put into the mix. Technology isn't my strong point in Australia and I had John's help in England but my German isn't going to be of assistance in this area. So you'll just have to be patient.

I will try and dig up some history points and details about Wuppertal and the Schwebebahn for the next installment. Love to you all, and hope all is spinning well in your worlds.
Gruße aus Deutschland.

We are now in Germany

Day 18:
Yesterday, we had a great trip from Marlow to Heathrow, didn't get lost once, even without Jenni (yes, we said our sad farewells to her)! It was then a quick pass through check-in and customs. It was amazing that the airport wasn't evacuated as we were asked to take our shoes off when passing through security! We then enjoyed a pleasant lunch and watched the business of Heathrow from the brand new Terminal 5. We worked out that they landed approximately 1 plane per 1.5 minutes and probably the same for takeoffs. There was some time to work these maths out as our flight was delayed by 20 minutes (the only flight we saw that was delayed) can you see a theme! When we boarded the plane we had two window seats, which the adults reluctantly gave up for the kids enjoyment. I don't think Rachel appreciated the sacrifice as she wanted to play with the blind and close it to stop the bright sunshine! All the same we watched the coast off sunny England disappear and flew the very short distance over the Channel to Europe. It seemed we had just reached flying height and we started to descend again. Almost like taking a short train trip, not changing countries.

We passed through German customs and had a short wait for our bags and then we were out looking for Ralf. We didn't have to look far as he was waiting right outside the doors with open arms and handshakes all round. A 40 minute drive along the Autobahn, passing trees even further coloured by Autumn than Marlow's, saw us arrive in Wuppertal in the late afternoon. A few beers, settling into our rooms, exploring Ralf and Shaun's home, meeting Frau Köller (whom Kylie last saw in 1982 and Andrew in 1995), meeting Shaun and enjoying dinner and a few more beers before retiring to bed. Ralf and Shaun's English is fantastic, Frau Köller's is non existant and our German is not much better but we still had a good evening together sharing many laughs and conversations. It is fantastic getting to know each other again after such a long time, although the highlight of the holiday for Andrew is Ralf picking on Kylie!

Day 19:
Today, Thursday, and we have had a great continental breakfast of meats, cheeses and fresh bread rolls and we are deciding if we shall explore Wuppertal by Schwebebahn (the upsidedown train) or go to the zoo. We'll let you know what we decided in the next installment.

Congratulations to the Bower's on the birth of your daughter. We hope all the other Mum's-to-be at church are doing well too. We hope all is well in all the households who are joining us via this blog. Thanks too, Grandma and Grandpa, for the postcard from Queensland, it arrived at Ralf's the same day we did. Glad you had a great time catching up with the family.

Another day in London town

Day 16
Monday, after looking at the forecast we weren't quite sure if it was going to be pouring down with rain combined with a huge southerly wind and, therefore, a good day to keep the children home with the sniffles or a good day to finish exploring areas we haven't seen yet! God decided that the weather would permit at least another day to explore so we chose London. We started late but still saw heaps. We walked a lot, caught the equivalent to the Explorer Bus, enjoyed a river trip to Greenwich, caught the "tube" and the return train to Maidenhead station, got lost on the roads and still arrived "home" by 9pm.Wow, what a day! Maybe we can do better tomorrow?



Day 17
Tuesday, and we headed off again for London to use up the rest of the allotted time on the touring bus. We took in the sights of Trafalgar Square, where there are no longer a heap of pigeons as in days gone by. It is now illegal to feed the birds, tuppence a day. In fact it could cost you a £500 fine. We then went to The London Dungeon which is an attraction with actors and themed rooms recreated to show the horrors of living in London in days gone by, which included the plague, Sweeney Todd, The Great Fire etc. We were wished a horrible visit by the person at the entrance gate, if that gives you any indication of the mood created. We then took the bus to Tower Bridge and had a late lunch by the Tower of London. When we went to the Tower we where greeted by a Yeoman warden who then took us on a tour around the Tower and into the Yeoman's private chapel. The Tower was started by William the Conqueror in 1025 and has been added onto many times by further rulers, including Henry VIII. The Crown Jewels where extremely impressive!! The size of some of the diamonds and gemstones as well as the amount of gold tableware and sacrament items would certainly help the current financial crisis! The weather was overcast and a few times of drizzles which required the wet weather gear to be brought out, but nothing too serious. At least we didn't pack the spray coats for no reason. We have been very fortunate that the weather has been so favourable to such a large extent.

Our health seems to be holding OK. The kids don't look so miserable any more.

Tomorrow we are off to Germany for a week and a half. So it's almost bye bye to England. We will be back for just one day before we head back to our real home.

(Adding images wont work for me just yet, sorry)

Thanks

We would like to thank our wonderful housesitter, Anna, for taking care of things while we are away. I was talking to her this morning and she has been very concientious in her care of our two dogs and our home. It is very comforting to know that things are being looked after back in Oz. Thank you Anna.

Our God Rains

Lunch at the Red Lyon in Hurley


Day 15

Sunday, today was a relaxing day where we visited John and Nikki's church again where we heard an excellent sermon on the Lord's Prayer delivered by a recently returned missionary from Nepal. We noted that the weather was quite different from the previous week as we were all rugged up and in our rain gear compared to last week in our summer clothes!

John and Nikki then shouted us a delightful lunch at a traditional/homely pub in a neighbouring township. We ate a delicious Sunday roast dinner and sampled some locally produced ale.

As it was a rainy day it was easy to spend the rest of the time chilling out at home.

Rest and Recreation

Christ Church College, Oxford

a common mode of transport around Oxford


A Lego Land family

Michael and Rachel enjoying a self propelled ride


Where would we be without our GPS navigator, that we have nicknamed Jenni? Sometimes she does confuse us, and once she tried to get us onto an M road via a roundabout which didn't exist and was in fact a grassy hill! But all in all she is a very useful tool to use in a foreign country.


Day 13

Friday, Andrew and I went to Oxford for a few hours walking around the city of colleges and tried to spot where the TV characters from Inspector Morse would have roamed. We tried to visit Christ Church College's dining hall but it was closed to visitors, as is often the case we have been told. The children had a TV day at home with Nikki and John. They now know the programming of SKY TV as well as they do our five channels at home! That's a worry!!

Day 14

Saturday we had a huge day out at Lego Land, a theme park in Windsor. There where rides and activities to suit all of our children's age groups (2-11). It opened at 10am and closed at 6pm, we arrived at 10.30 and left at 6.05. Andrew has been wearing his pedometer and said we walked about 10km's. Our usual touring has averaged about 8km's. As I said, a huge day of roller coasters, building Lego creations, watching 4D movies, looking at Lego model towns and cities and much much more.

Once again, the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy our day. It was a bit chilly though at 12C and a strong wind chill factor. We can definitely see the trees changing to their autumn colours even in the relatively short time we have been here.

We appreciate you praying for our good health. Rachel is still coping with her cold, but yesterday complained of a sore ear. Being out in the cool and wind wouldn't have helped. We'll keep a watch on that, as we fly to Germany on Wednesday. This morning, Sunday, Michael has an extremely drippy nose.

Thanks for your comments on previous blogs. I hope any who are reading these jottings are enjoying joining us by proxy on this adventure. It has helped me keep some form of diary system and I hope I can work out a way to print the entries for our photo albums and journals upon our return.

Summary of our trip north

Warwick Castle

Evening at Lake Windermere

Back to ancient roots

Falkirk Wheel - it's a long way from lower to upper canal!

two viking warriors discovered in York

Day 9 to Windermere


On the way to Warwick we drove through Stratford upon Avon and visited Anne Hathaway's cottage. it is a pretty town and the cottage has been well preserved. One of the facts that caught our attention is that the thatching is regularly renewed (every 30 years partially and 60 years fully) and is now netted to stop various animals, such as rats and squirrels from nesting there. The period pieces included a four poster bed with tester (canopy) that was imperative to catch any animals, and droppings from their activities, from falling on you during the night! And we all thought four poster beds with canopies looked romantic!


We were then on our way to spend the majority of the day at Warwick castle. We saw a trebuchet working (a type of canon come huge slingshot), falcons, a ghost tower complete with a ghost story (the fantastic actors made even the adults jump!). There were many displays and exhibitions with very realistic wax work models. One of which told the story of the preparation for battle in 1471 showing the making of armour, the blacksmiths and other activities and relevant stories.


We reached our B&B at The Lakes District in the early evening and enjoyed a meal at a carvery restaurant on the edge of the lake where we watched the sunset and the rain fall.





Day 10 to Edinburgh

We woke to heavy rain, the first since 11th September we were told. That sounded like a long time to the landlady but only 3 weeks without rain didn't sound so long to us. Still, we enjoyed exploring the area by car. In some places it was a case of imagining what view might have been behind that cloud.


On to Scotland. We detoured from the main road to a town called Auchinleck which is in the region James Boswell was the Laird. James Boswell is famous for being a companion to and writing about Samuel Johnson. Kylie's maiden name of Affleck is the anglicised version of Auchinleck. We then drove on to Glasgow, where Kylie's father's family emigrated from when he was a boy. Not as gloomy a city as I had imagined. Probably helped by the fact that it was a sunny afternoon. From there we drove onto Loch Lomond and saw Ben Lomond behind. Another afternoon sun over the lake but this time sunny. Still not having seen enough, we drove to Falkirk and saw a fantastic feat of engineering. To join two canals very different in height they have built a mechanism where the boat drives into the lower "bath" and the wheel turns to lift it to the higher canal and vice versa.


At last we drove into Inverkeithing, a suburb of Edinburgh, where we stayed in a private hotel and again heard ghost stories from the manager and swapped travelling tales with other guests. Great fun, and fortunately no ill dreams or night time awakenings.





Day 11 Edinburgh to York


We walked to the local train station and caught a train into the city, approx 30 minutes including a crossing of the Firth of Forth. It was low tide and the boats seemed to be stuck on the mud for metres out from shore. We arrived in the city and walked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle where we spent a few hours exploring. We returned down the hill to Holyrood House and views of the volcanic outcrop called Arthur's seat.


Returning to the car by train we drove on to York arriving after 8pm at the most luxurious of our lodgings to date and only 10 minute walk from the city walls. We had dinner at a pub at the base of the old walls called The Punchbowl, a familiar name to those who work near Bankstown.





Day 12 York to Marlow


We walked into the old city and went to Jorvik village. This is a recreation of what a viking village would have been like prior to the "modern" townships of York. There was also a museum of important archaeological items found when they were excavating for a new shopping mall. Another piece of the British history puzzle we have witnessed.


From there we walked the city visiting The Shambles (a collection of old buildings which seem to rely on each other to stay upright), the York Minster (the largest medieval church in Europe), and even an outdoor market which gave the feel of an ancient market town but with modern trading. After lunch we walked along part of the city walls and then down to the Micklegate bar, gate, and then back to the car for a 3.5 hour drive home.


Now for catching up on the washing and sorting out all our bits and pieces. Rachel has developed a cold, which is verging on croup symptoms, at least we have the medication with us if necessary.
We have heaps more photos which I'm going to try and burn onto a CD today, ah, the marvels and wonders of modern technology which I'm still trying to get my head around!

We hope all is well in the Land of Oz.

Back in Marlow

Yes, we have arrived safe and sound from our four day trip up north. But it is now 10.45pm and we are off to bed after a lovely dinner with our friends. We'll try and add some tales and photos to add tomorrow.

Off the air for a while

Well, today we enjoyed a quiet Sunday at home. After a relaxing start to the morning we went to 10.30 church with John and Nikki. In the afternoon I planned the accommodation for the next four days/three nights trip up north, Andrew read, Michael & Rachel played and then went to the park to look for conkers, which I think are chestnuts.
The next four days we will be travelling so we will not have any more inputs until at least Friday. Tomorrow we will visit Warwick castle and Stratford upon Avon. Then we will continue north to Windermere in the Lakes District, famous for its scenery as well as the area where Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated her Peter Rabbit stories. From there we will head into the lower reaches of Scotland visiting Glasgow (where my father's family lived before emigrating to Australia), Loch Lomond, Falkirk and then Edinburgh. Once we have looked through Edinburgh we will head on to York. After exploring York we head home. That should see us back at Marlow late on Thursday evening, our time.
We are all well and healthy and enjoying our time away.
Hope all is well in your worlds.
Love,
Kylie, Andrew, Michael and Rachel

Roman ruins and much more

Stonehenge

Stoney beach on the English Channel over looking the Isle of Wight

Roman baths at Bath

Jane Austin characters

Lacock village houses


Day 7: Bath

As it is Saturday, the two families were able to go to Bath together. It is a very busy town and even more so with a Rugby match being played and the end of the Jane Austin Celebration Week. Maybe there was also a Mini convention nearby as we saw heaps travelling together on the M4 on the way to Bath and on the way home.

Bath has hot springs near the Avon river which have been used since at least 2000BC. The peak times after that were the Roman times, 1200'sAD, and again during the Georgian period. The architecture and archeology of the area reflect all of those periods. Extremely fascinating and enjoyable. We also saw heaps of people dressed up in costume of the Jane Austin era as they were attending a ball tonight.

We left Bath in the afternoon and stopped at the village of Laycock on the way home. The inventor of photography came from Laycock and it was a town and Abbey used in some of the Harry Potter films. It is a World Heritage Site with fantastically old buildings which are still very much in use today.

On the drive home we enjoyed the sunny afternoon and sunset views of the Somerset and Wiltshire country side, which we hadn't been able to see in the morning as there had been heavy fog until midday.

We have been navigating our way about using photocopied maps and John's GPS which we have named "Jenni"*. Jenni has been invaluable in telling us where to go. She travels everywhere with us always chattering away, letting us know how far to the next turn, which exit to take for the multitude of roundabouts etc. She also lets us know where all the many fixed and mobile speed cameras are located. She doesn't seem to mind that we sometimes ignore her chatters. At times she leads us astray as her directions can be misleading, if not entirely wrong, especially with roundabout exits.

* Any similiarity to people living or dead, in Orange or elsewhere is purely coincidental.

photos

Turville Norman church (Vicar of Dibley)

To mates.

Rachel at the Uffington White Horse

Avebury stone circle

Canal boat, not as roomy as the Hawkesbury houseboats nor the Hawkesbury River!

Well, Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!

Abbey Road, London


Michael and Rachel with a Beefeater guard at
Windsor Castle



Feeding the swans on the Thames at Marlow

In the London Eye

King's Cross Station on the way to Hogwarts (Harry Potter)

Now finishing day 6 and we have seen lots and been heaps of places and also had a bit of a rest too.


Day 4: Marlow district

The morning was a quiet start which was great for all concerned. I ventured into the township and did some grocery shopping. There are heaps of lovely clothes shops, but I don't have room in my cupboard at home! (Really, I would want to loose heaps to do them justice.)

After lunch John showed Andrew and I around some of the nearby villages. The children were happy to stay at home and watch TV. Why wouldn't they be when they have what seems to be 100 channels to flick through! We went to Turville which has a Norman church (the village and church featured in the TV show "The Vicar of Dibley" and the windmill on the hill was the one in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"). It was a quaint village and we sampled the local ale. We then went to Maidenhead and on to Bray, also on the Thames, and has an even older church. We passed the house that Rolf Harris lives in too. We then went onto another township and again sampled the local brew. Very different from the first.


Day 5: Wiltshire & Salisbury & Coast

Today was a big day. We started at 7.20am and arrived home at 8.40pm. Big by English standards, not so much by Australian and Andrew's standards. We saw the White Horse of Uffington which is a carving in the limestone hillside dating back to Neolithic times, approx 3400BC, and the nearby Uffington castle, which was a hillfort built approx 2700 years ago. There is no structure left, just the mound and 3 metre ditch which would have been the perimetre of the fortification.

From there we went to Avebury which is a village with heaps of standing stones. The stone circle has been cut by the village and the roads but it covers a large area and is very impressive in size of area, the largest in UK, and its age, built 2600BC.

After Avebury we stopped at The Barge Inn and had some refreshments at lunch time. There was a canal next to our table with at least 6 canal boats moored. They are extremely narrow houseboats.

Our next stop was Stonehenge, built 3000BC. Huge standing stones that remain impressive even though you can't walk amongst them as you can in Avebury. The ancientness of this structure, the Avebury stones and the White Horse has impressed me the most. Michael was impressed that we were driving between militiary training grounds and there were road signs saying beware of tanks crossing.

As we were next to Salisbury we went into the city and then into the former walled city to walk through the Cathedral, built 1200's. We even saw one of only 4 surviving original copies of the Magna Carta!

A day can't be complete when there is the opportunity to visit the beach! So we made a detour on the way home to Milford-on-Sea. This is a southern coastal town near Southhampton. We enjoyed views to the edge of The Isle of White and the kids dipped their toes in the English Channel. Too cold for a swim they said, but they enjoyed playing with and throwing the stones that comprised the beach. We made our way home and enjoyed a good night's sleep.


Day 6: Marlow rest day for Andrew and Kids; London for Kylie

After Andrew and I planned the remainder of our stay in England, I drove myself to Maidenhead, where I caught the train into London to do the Art gallery trips that would be my delight, but the death of the children. Andrew, Michael and Rachel enjoyed a lovely day with John, Nikki, Chloe and Sarah. There was play time, walks, TV etc. I travelled by train, Underground, bus and walked my way through London and home again. The highlight was spending a few hours in the Tate Art Gallery, which houses artwork of Great Britian dating from the 1500's to now. There were heaps of paintings by artists I enjoy such as Constable and Gainsborough and many more, but the real treat was rooms full of Turners' works.

I then went on to enjoy the very sunny and warm day with walks to Westminster, along the Thames to the Tate Modern Art Gallery, across the river to St Paul's Cathedral and then the bus to Regent Street, home of Hamley's toy store among many other things, and the Underground to Paddington to catch the train out to Maidenhead.

Tomorrow the two families are off to Bath.

I hope I have been able to transfer some photos OK.

some photos