Leaving London

Well it’s my time for me to leave the UK. I have been here just over 17 months which is hard to believe. In some ways it has gone very quickly and in others it has gone slowly.

I had a great last few days in London I was staying at my friend's Matt and Suzanne's house. I wandered around London appreciating it with the time I had. I made sure I did some very typical English things, I finally went to Knightsbridge and went to Harrods. Matt's brother Andy had a few days off, so he and I had high tea at the Dorchester Hotel complete with cucumber sandwiches, cake and scones. After that Andy we went to Tate Modern to see the latest installation also Andy being a member we went to the members lounge to have a drink and get one of the most spectacular views of London. It was a very posh day. My last dinner in London was some very humble fish and chips with mushy peas at the local chippy!

(Andy poshing it up at high tea)

I have very much enjoyed my time here and have had some of the greatest experiences of my life. But at the same time I’m not sure it’s the place for me. I seem to have a love hate relationship with this place especially London. I’m either having a great time or am feeling a little miserable (sometimes I don't think the weather helps)

Even though I have been a little horrified with some of the standards of audiology here. I have had some great jobs and have been given a lot of variety in my areas of work and opportunities to really broaden and consolidate my skills.

I love the city I think it is fantastic but at the same time I can find it a little suffocating and it’s hard to visit the countryside as it is so expensive.

I’ve compiled a list of things I love and hate about the place so enjoy!

Things I will miss:

The red double-decker buses. They’re so iconic and I love to sit up the front of the top and see all the interesting sights the city has to offer. Much better than being stuck underground! Although I do strongly dislike the route 77 which was the most inconsistent route and often never showed up and made me late for work.

The Thames, the river it self is murkey and does not look inviting at all. But I love the area along the river including the art galleries, performance spaces, halls restaurants and bars

l miss living in a city that has such amazing sights and buildings that you start to take for granted. I sometimes used to walk home along the river and often marvelled at the sights. I love Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s, Battersea PowerStation and Trafalgar Square.

Being able to meet my friends after work and jumping on a train then ending up in Paris for the weekend. I love the proximity to Continental Europe.

The English culture of binge drinking, I know that Aussies are big drinkers but back home we have some stamina. The English have perfected the art of drinking as much as possible in the shortest amount of time and then end up wasted in record time. Funny to watch and sometimes fun to join in.

My jazz dance classes at Pineapple with Michelle, It’s Britney Bitch!

Earning pound, travelling with the pound is great suddenly every thing seems a real bargain!

Most of all my friends, who I feel are hard to make in London. But the friends I have made there have been fantastic and I have had many a great night out with them

Things I won’t miss:

The tube, you love it at first then you develop a hatred for it. It can be fantastic and the frequency of trains great. But peak out tube is a nightmare, trying to squish on a train with people pressed up against you in everyway possible. Frequent severe delays, part closures, to top off being stuck underground it a dusty ugly lair it makes not for fun commuting.

Coming home late at night: With the tube closing at 12ish, a free taxi a rare find coming home after a late night can be a disaster, especially when it is the other side of town. You may have a great boozy night out with your friends, then wind up waiting forever for a night bus, which you have to share with drunks and crazy people (night buses are either a party with lots of boozy people or can be scary and aggressive – I have seen a guy get punched in the face on one). So a couple of hours late you wind up home sober and tired and wonder why you ever went out in the first place.

How expensive it is. London is now the second most expensive city in the world. After living here I would completely agree with that statistic. For those that visit realise how fast your money disappears. Rent is unbelievable, I can’t tell you how much I paid for a tiny bedroom in a share house.

CHAVS. A Phenominon only to England but they exist all over the world with different names. It apparently stands for council-housed and violent. A Chavs best outfit would be their tracksuit that has matching top and bottom. They wear big ugly gold jewellery, have a pet bull-terrier, they live in a council house but still somehow earn money, they wear hooded tops or anything with the English flag on it, have a baby when they are 16.

http://www.chavscum.com/

With the above statement, you have to understand that London also has one of the hugest rich poor divides. That accompanied with other societal problems has led to an increase in violence, gang activity with the media splashing the latest headlines of the latest youth to be stabbed. Along with increases in “anti-social behaviour” and an increasing culture of fear. It’s all too sad in the end.

Now a list of some things I have done which I will never forget

Seen a Shakespeare play at the globe theatre.

Slide down some giant slides with my friend Adam at the tate mondern

Picniced at Primrose hill

Been on the London Eye,

Stood in the west and east hemispheres at Greenwich

Been to see two football games The second being my team Arsenal

Been to the theatre, to see Stomp and the Fiddler on the roof

Some memorable nights in Camden pubs and other nights out in London

(meeting a knight on a night out)

Been to one of those giant club nights the UK have perfected

Saw the Tour de france begin in London.

Become like the Brits and spent afternoons lounging in various parks to soak up the sunshine.

Seen the Queen as she drove out of Buckingham palace

Switzerland

So I headed on to Switzerland.  I had been to Geneva before

 but no-where else.  I arrived in Zurich late at night and then headed straight to bed.  The next day I wandered around town.  The hostel that I was staying at and the city are very similar in a way that they have everything you need or could want, perfectly clean, the people friendly and intelligent but it just lacks a little soul.

I walked around, and had a nice lunch, looked in some shops, walked around the lake a little. Had a nice hot chocolate.  I splashed out and bought myself a nice watch and the coolest thing I saw (for those of you that went to year eight Macleod High School German Class) check out what play was playing at this theater.

I then headed to Interlarken.  It is in a beautiful part of Switzerland, with lakes and surrounded by mountains.  I was planning on doing some walking but when I did arrive, I walked the long walk to the hostel in the snow.  Winter has come very early to Europe this year and several of the mountains and small towns are already covered with snow.  So that meant no-walking (my water-proof boots are on their way to Canada), so I met up with some others at the hostel, checked out the town and had cheese fondue for dinner, it was as it is cheesy and you feel rather full and tired after eating it.  It is quite a work out and one I wouldn't want to do on a regular basis.

The next day, Kate a Kiwi girl I met at the hostel decided to go Canon-Jumping.  Which was the only activity going on at the time. It involved jumping of a ledge then letting a rope catch you and swing you through the Canyon.  I was not up for it, but I became official videographer, which earned me a few drinks later on.

The next day I headed to Basel, but just for the night before flying home.

I was nice to travel again but this time it felt a little empty as I didn't have Will with me and also it lacked a bit of thrill as this time on the other side was not going back to work, but I will be heading home and then to Canada which I am very excited about.

Germany - Freiburg & Fussen

So I moved on from Munich. I then headed to Freiburg a town in the middle of the southern balck forest. I wanted to see this area as I heard it can be lovely but the wweather was misserable, the hostel full of old German hippies and some students waiting for their apartments to be ready. Apart from a lovely American woman Barb who was visiting her daughter there was no-one much to chat to. So I cut my time there short.

I headed out one morning when the rain had cleared to an area where there was a lake and some walking trails, but after a very scenic and nice train ride there I got out and it started snowing then my feet got went so then I grew rather dispondent.
So I treated myself to lunch and headed back. I walked around Freiburg which is a very sweet town and it a university town so there are many people. It is very pretty and very typically German. The streets are all cobbled and I think it is very sweet the stonework outside each shop depicts what the shop is see the photos when I put them up.

(This is the paving for a book shop)

I treated myself to a piece of Blackforest cake and a coffee to hide away from the rain. It was very nice and when you are in the Blackforest it is a must to do.

I shoreted my time in Germany so I was looking for some things to do, so I did a big back-track to Baveria and when to see some castles.

I took a long trainride to a little town of Fussen which is adorably sweet. The pension where I was staying had a lovely owner. The town is overfun with Japanese tourists even in the middle of winter but for good reason. It is home to two very impressive castles, one of which inspired the disney castle.

After a good nights sleep I headed up to the castles and took a tour of one the Neuschwanstein, meaning new-swan stone. It was built by Ludwig the II the king of Baveria, it is stunning and the interior was magnificent with oak carved ceilings, painted murals on the walls, the castle was in-fact dedicated to Wager Operas. There were secret doors and eve the srevents digs were nice. Kind Ludwig lived in for around 120 days off and on during his reign then he died so it was never 100% finished.

I walked over a brige for a fantastic view of the casltles, still cold at least my spirits were better after the lousy black forest. 

Now it is off to Switzerland

Munich

Hey all,
I have spent the last two days in Munich. After arriving in my hostel in the afternoon I went out to dinner & then headed to the Hofbrau house with a guy from my hostel. It was hard to find a seat, but we managed and stayed for a beer, now one beer does sound a little bit pussy but you have to keep in mind that a beer there is 1 litre big. The Hofbrau house is Germany´s most famous beer hall, it can fit hundred and hundreds of people. 3 kinds of beers are dished out by beer ladies and gents who are able to carry about 12 of them at a time. I had even trouble lifting the one I had up to my mouth. It is rather touristy but it is great fun.

(The Baveria Maypole - Dedicated to Beer)

The next morning I was up and did a walking tour of Munich, we started at the Marienplatz to watch the rather lame Glockenspiel go off, we then walked around learning about the history of the city, before and during the wars, as well as the history and importance of beer, we visited churches, the market which was full of lovely food, I had to settle with cheese and bread as German food (schnitzel and sausages) is not very vegetarian friendly, we saw the local may-pole. We also saw the opera house, royal family residences as well as visited the streets were the Nazi´s started attempted to first take power by treason and physical means before their rise to political power.

(Glockenspeil in the Marienplatz)

That night it was back to the Hofbrau House (I figured I was failing my country by just having one there) a guy from the walking tour and I headed back. I know it is criticized for being touristy but it has a great atmosphere with a cheesy band of fat Germans in Lederhosen, as well as tables reserved for locals, who have their own steins put in a locker for them & when they return they are presented with beer in their own mug. The staff of usually slim but busty German girls carry more than their weight in beer and there are young girls selling those big German Pretzels. This time I managed 2.5 litres of beer, we had a good night as at our table were lots of rowdy German teenagers from the countryside in town for the night out.

(Enjoying Beer at the Hofbrau House)

The next day was Sunday so it was rather quiet in town, I went for a walk in the park which was beautiful it being rather cold the parks beer garden (one of the worlds biggest) was empty but I was hoping to find Munich's surfing hot-spot. That´s right! Surfing. There is no coastline but there is a stationary wave in the park where lots of German surf dudes hang 10. I didn´t find it though. I climbed one of the church towers to get a great view of the city and with all that walking I then retired to my hostel.

Tomorrow I am off to the black-forest!!!!

Polski - Krakow

Hey all,

Well I finished up work at St Thomas, and have had my boxes shipped to Canada. Now its time for me to go on the road again. This time with out my Will, who is in Canada.  After my hero and friend Matt did a baton pass of my passport out a train door (it's a long story!), I was off and running.

I flew to Krakow in Poland. After getting lost for 2 hours riding around on local buses I gave up and got a cab to the hostel. Turns out their directions were wrong! I spent 4 nights and 3 days there. It is a fantastic city. It has one of the most beautiful old towns I have seen and to make it more enchanting the old town is ringed by a park "the planty", which 

replaces the former town wall.

(The Planty with it's lovely Autumn colours)

It has one of Europe's largest town squares which has a tower, church and cloth hall to amaze at. Although Angie the pigeons here are just as scary as London ones. I took a walking tour of the city and our guide give us lots of information. Just outside of the old down on a hill is the Castle and Cathedral. Beautiful buildings with a view over the river.

After a dinner of dumplings I headed out the next day to walking around the Jewish quarter of town, and then I climbed the tower in the town square.

(View of the Town Square)

That night it was Halloween and although not largely celebrated here we went to a local club to party the night away, after lots of Vodka I decided to head home early as I had a big day the next day.

The next day I went to Auschwitz & Birkenau. It was a public holiday "all saints day" where families get together to remember passed love ones, they visit cemeteries to lay flowers and candles. After getting there I took a guided tour. The museum which is the whole grounds with displays in the buildings is fantastically done. Our guide was excellent and highly respectful. It was very confronting and the whole reality of what happened there is displayed so well, the piles and piles of shoes, huge amounts of human air cut of from bodies after execution. We were taken to the cells were prisoners were tortured to death as well as punished. I found it the most confronting when we had to walk through one of the gas chambers.

After 2 hours at Auschwitz we went to Birkenal, which is huge, and the Nazis never quit finished their plans for its extension. There is much less to see, but it is I think more disturbing because of the size. It stretches as far as the eye can see and its efficiency and chosen location are rather brutal to contemplate how easy they were allowed to exterminate so many people there. So overall it was not a pleasant experience but it was a very important experience for me to have.

The next day up to look at the market in the morning then off to Germany.