Englischer Garten

Each Friday, school finishes at 2:20pm.  So Malcolm and I decided we need to start taking more advantage of this.  We caught the train into Schwabing, a very nice northern suburb of Munich, and went for a walk through the English Garden.  

This garden is one of Europe's biggest city park (bigger than London' Hyde Park and New York's Central Park).  In summer this park is full of people walking, cycling, jogging, sun bathing, swimming and even surfing.  In winter they are still walking but people are also cross country skiing, tobogganing, cycling and jogging.  The beer gardens are closed but there are still the inside restaurants and bars open.  It was lovely to walk through and see so many people enjoying it.  The snow was soft and very pretty.

 

  

 

We then headed into the centre of town to wander through some stores and for dinner.

Cross Country Skiing

On Sunday, Malcolm and I headed off with our friends Sophie and Craig to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to try some cross country skiing.

It took us two and a half hours to get there by train but the scenery was well worth it.  Garmisch is a ski town which holds many international ski competitions and you can get to the top of the tallest mountain in Germany there.  It is very beautiful.  Our friends had cross country skiied before, Malcolm had many years ago and I was a total novice but how hard could it be?

The answer to this was VERY!  This type of skiing is a great workout I kept getting told.  I knew I should have spent more time on the cross trainer back home as this is the sort of movement you do.  It took me quite a while to get my arms and legs coordinated.  We did this for a couple of hours and we were very tired at the end of it (and very sore the next few days).  We found a restaurant and rested with beer, sausages and more beer before the train ride home - which seemed quite short, probably because we slept most of the way :)

Paris - take 2

Had problems with the first Paris entry so have tried again.  Malcolm's turn to write something on our blog....

A romantic weekend in the city of light - what better way to celebrate Ingrid's birthday? Cheap off-season flights and hotels and lack of crowds were a bonus.

Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 was not. We went around in circles for quite some time before finding our pre-arranged rendez-vous point. It subsequenly didn't help that the "Yellow Bus Shuttle" was, in fact, grey. We then discovered the wonders of the Paris "circulation" (french for traffic). This at least gave us a "Paris by Night" tour across town to the delightful little Aviatic Hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens.

Ingrid's birthday was celebrated with a dinner in an over-the-top beaux arts decorated restaurant on the Boulevard Montparnasse - a delicious duck dish followed by a plate full of crepes washed down with an Alsation Pinot Gris.

Next morning, after a not-too-early breakfast of coffee and buttery croissants in a local brasserie, we wandered past Les Invalides, through the gardens of the Champs de Mars to the Eiffel Tower. Here we were proffered our first "Is this your gold ring that I just found?" scam. In pretty blustery conditions, I climbed the stairs to the second level (unfortunately, the top level was closed). As magnificent as the views were, they were overshadowed by the extraordinary engineering of this "temporary" structure. It was originally referred to by its many opponents as the "metal asparagus" and only just avoided being torn down in 1910 before it was found to be useful for antennas for the then new fangled radio transmission. Seven million visitors each year are now probably quite glad.

As well as the rain, we were also soaking up the atmosphere. Paris seems so, er ... Parisian.

We climbed the 284 steps up the narrow spiral staircase inside the Arc de Triomphe to see the magnificent 360 degree views. Although it was originally Napoleon's way of glorifying his war victories, this imposing monument is now seen more fittingly as a symbol of the lives lost in France's many wars. The memorial flame over the grave of the Unknown Soldier is suitably sobering.

We had lunch at Chatelet overlooking the Seine. Ingrid discovered "croque monsieur" - a fancy name for extremely tasty cheese on toast.

The weather dictated that we switch our itinerary indoors. Ingrid was pleasantly surprised at my non-reluctance to visit two of the largest up-market department stores in Paris, the Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps. She realised why when she saw the breathtaking interiors and the exquisite stained glass cupolas.

We tried dodging the rain in shop doorways (haute couture and haute prices) and wine bars (much better alternative), but we finally had to buy an umbrella to replace the one cruelly taken from us on our last day in Chianti. The most sober pattern available had lots of little Eiffel Towers. We were now fully fledged tourists.

Huddling under our new acquisition, we performed a three-legged race over the Pont Neuf to Notre Dame. We did not go in as there was a service for the victims of the Haiti earthquake underway. We circumnavigated the cathedral looking for the perfect flying buttress photo angle. On Sunday, we visited the interior. Its simple Gothic style is complimented by its marvellous stained glass rose windows. This was accompanied perfectly by a booming, end of mass, organ extravaganza. Oddly, we found ourselves seated next to a gentleman who clearly suffered kyphosis.

More wandering took us through the Latin Quarter, past the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Gardens. Eventually we had a late dinner in a modern wine bar in Montparnasse, an interesting set combination meal with a none-too-shabby Chablis.

The next morning greeted us with blue skies, so on my insistence we went up the much maligned Montparnasse Tower. At the height of 210 m, there were amazing views. Even more amazing was how brave Ingrid has become.

Feeling like hobbits, we navigated the tunnels of the Metro system, emerging at the Tuileries Gardens. Dodging joggers and doggy bits, we wandered through these gardens to the Louvre, marvelling at both its sheer scale and detail. Contrary to popular opinion, we found I M Pei's pyramid provides a nice counterpoint to the surrounding opulence.

The mythical Sainte-Chapelle did not disappoint, with its exquisite Gothic stained glass windows. The effect was magnificent, despite a dull day and some of the windows being under repair.

Perhaps in homage to Mum and Dad's sojourn in Alsace, I had always wanted to see the Place des Vosges. In trying to find our way there we stumbled on the Marais district, an area of cramped streets, crooked houses and a bohemian atmosphere, albeit slightly gentrified. I think I noticed a hint of disdain in the waiter's mien as we ordered the cheapest plate with the cheapest wine and tap water for lunch. It didn't matter as I had the best of company and a view over the slightly imperfect symmetry of the Place des Vosges.

By late afternoon we were on the train returning to our beloved Chales de Gaulle airport. The northern suburbs provided a stark contrast to the Paris we had been marvelling at for the previous two days.

Athough we didn't buy one of the ubiquitous Tshirts, like millions of other visitors, I think we could still say "I heart Paris".

If you too "heart Paris" click here for more photos.

("kyphosis" = symptom of which is a hunchback)

First Day of Skiing

On Saturday we decided to go on the school ski bus to Austria (about an hour and a half away) to go skiing. It was a long and very foggy day. Malcolm took me down 2 blue slopes before I could have a lesson. During my lesson he went down some red slopes and realised it has been a while since he skied! Lots of falling down and bruises but as my instructor said : "You must keep smiling". Around 3 in the afternoon we headed down the mountain, handed in our skis and headed to the bar. It was a "Apres Ski Bar" where traditional Austrian apres ski music is played.

Watch the video below to get an idea of the music. You can't tell too much about what's happening but at least you should hear it.

Siena - New Year's Eve

I have been slack and realised that people do read this blog afterall as it has been suggested that I update it. I will try not to be so tardy from now on, but this thing called work just keeps getting in the way!

After Assisi we travelled southwest to the coast at Argentario. We stayed at Porto Santo Stefano which is a fishing port which in the summer is full of well-healed tourists. It is also the location of one of the world's best known boatyards for the restoration of classic wooden yachts. It reminded me a lot of Fremantle except the prawns were not quite as good :) Being winter it was not too crowded and it was great to smell the sea air again.

We then drove to Siena. Boris (our GPS) guided us there which was not a problem until he tried to find our hotel. He navigated us into the centre of Siena which consists of very steep and narrow streets full of pedestrians. On finally escaping the centre, we saw CCTV cameras and signs indicating residents only. We are waiting to see if a fine is going to be sent out to us.

As it was New Year's Eve, accommodation was a bit hard to find but we finally found a room. Sienna was beautiful. The main piazza was being set up for a large outdoor concert that started at 10 pm. The concert was incredible with a videoprojection being displayed on the buildings surrounding the piazza. Very difficult to describe but click here to see a little of what it was about.

We wandered the streets and found a great cafe to have lunch and then of course we had to have......

We then did some shopping and then headed to the 13th century cathedral. Malcolm was excited as he got to climb to the top and take some pictures. I was excited as I got to wander around the streets some more.

We then went inside - WOW it was amazing with so much to see.

In the evening we had prosecco at a local bar, dinner at a trattoria then off to the piazza to listen to the music and celebrate the new year. They have lots of firecrackers here and anyone (and everyone) seem to be able to use them. These were going off all through the night - before, after and at midnight.

The next day we headed to Chianti. When the weather cleared it was very beautiful and you can see why people dream of moving here.

We had lunch and were going to stay and taste wines but after a lot of eating and drinking as well as head colds we decided to head home to Munich. This ended up being a great idea as we had no traffic (it took us 8 hours) and the next day the motorways were banked up all day.

If you want to see more photos of this part of our trip click here.