Read this blog: The one where Matilda struggles with acronyms Saturday 16th March 2024 In a change from our usual pattern, Robert significantly overspent today’s culture budget by booking a 350km round trip to the DMZ & Vịnh Mốc Tunnels at a cost of 1,050,000 Vietnamese đồng [VND] each. That converts to approximately £82. It turned out to be a very full day and as it went on Matilda in particular found it difficult to keep all the different military acronyms and allegiances straight in her mind so here is a key and some definitions for reference: After the 1954 Geneva Accords, Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam close to the 17th parallel. The DMZ was a narrow band of land, stretching for approximately 5km on either side of Ben Hai River, all across the country from Laos to the coast. We were picked up from our hotel at 08:00 and a small select group of five set off with a guide and a driver. First we travelled north and along a 9km stretch of road which was the scene of extensive casualties during the American War and which became known as the Horror Highway. During the Easter Offensive, […]
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Read this blog: The one where we revisit Reims Wednesday 27th to Saturday 30th September 2023 We set off early in Al the Motorhome to travel through the Channel Tunnel to Calais. The last time we took a motorhome to Europe in 2018 it was the original [larger] version of Alan and before any additional restrictions resulting from Brexit or Covid. On that journey we took our dog Ralf and whilst we were more or less waived through, he had to have been vaccinated against rabies; have his own pet passport; be seen for a health check by a vet before leaving the UK and be seen again by a vet within 24 hours of leaving Europe to return. We were so grateful to our friends Richard and Mandie for their hospitality and their support on this previous visit and for making an appointment for Ralf with their vet. This time there were border controls and stamps in our passports before we could board Le Shuttle. From Calais it was almost a straight motorway down to Reims – our first stopping off point on our way to watch New Zealand play Italy in Lyon – and we were struck by how little […]
Sunday 5th February 2023 MrShuttle again sent a confirmation of the time of we would be picked up for our visit to Auschwitz and as we would be leaving before breakfast the hotel provided us with a packed lunch each in a brown paper bag. It included such shiny green apples that we felt it must be someone’s job in the kitchen to polish them. Auschwitz is about 70km from Kraków and on board the coach we watched a video about the camps. Auschwitz: a single word synonymous with genocide which conjures up the worst that mankind can do. A single word known the world over. Far from being a single place, Auschwitz was in fact a vast complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps consisting of Auschwitz I, the main camp or Stammlager; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a concentration and death camp with purpose-built gas chambers; Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labour camp for the chemical conglomerate IG Farben as well as dozens of sub-camps. A single word cannot convey the sheer scale of the site and we both struggle to describe the enormity of this place and therefore sometimes, below, we are indebted to better minds than ours for their words. Robert has visited […]
Thursday 6th October 2022 We had a stressful start to our journey to Gruyères as Robert received an alert that the train we had booked would not be stopping at Montreux where we were due to change to catch an onward connection. However we decided to board the train we had booked to go at least part of the way. The on-board announcements also made no mention of our scheduled stop but fortunately when Robert went to check with the guard he was told that all would be fine and we would be able to make our connection as planned. The route from Milan to Montreux passes along side Lake Maggiore . . . . . .and through beautiful mountain scenery. From Montreux we travelled to Montbovon and then on to Gruyères where we were greeted at the station by the potent and mouthwatering smell of chocolate and the prospect of a long uphill walk [below right]. The main purpose of our visit to Gruyères was to visit the HR Giger Museum and Bar. Hans Ruedi Giger was born in 1940 in Chur in Switzerland and there is another ‘Alien Bar’ in Chur which was closed when we tried to visit […]
Sunday 8th May 2022 Having travelled on the Amtrak Acela train from New York to Boston, today we started our coast to coast trans-American train journey. Over the next three days we will be taking two trains to travel the 2,911 miles from the east to the west coast of the USA. The journey starts at Boston’s South Station. As a sleeper passenger, prior to your journey you may use the facilities in the Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge inside the station – a glorious spacious room with splendid ceilings. There are complimentary snacks including crisps, chocolate and soft drinks. Robert’s planning meant we had arrived early at the station so we left our luggage at the Metropolitan Lounge and went for a final walk around Boston. On our first day in Boston Matilda was surprised when she pressed the walk button at a road crossing and it told her sternly to ‘wait’. Matilda felt now was the time, perhaps childishly, to get her own back [put sound on]. We had heard about the nine bronze duck statues and made our way to see them. They are apparently based on a popular American children’s book by Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings about a […]
Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th March 2022 Day 19 was the last day in our dash to make it to Standedge Tunnel in time for our booking on Monday. Sunday was not all plain sailing and we suffered a series of lock disasters. At lock 23W only one paddle worked and the lock was taking ages to fill as more water was leaking out than was flowing in. However, Matilda has discovered that sometimes, when the water level changes, a paddle which was impossible to raise will become more readily mobile. This turned out to be the case and after finally opening the second paddle, we were able to progress. Having experienced very high water levels previously, on this stretch of canal the level was very low. At lock 24W we grounded in the tunnel coming through under the bridge and Matilda had to let water through the lock with the aim of refloating The Duke. Despite passing some beautiful buildings our troubles were not over. At lock 25W when he inspected the water level Robert declared it would be impossible to cross the pound without grounding and once again we needed to let extra water through. This took some time […]
Tuesday 14th September 2021 The helicopter ran smoothly this time, if a little late, and as the first helicopter of the day rose . . . . . . we left blue seas surrounding Tresco and clear skies overhead. However, we were soon flying above the cloud cover and when we landed back on the mainland . . . . . . the skies were becoming more overcast. Following a tasty breakfast on the front in Penzance we walked along to the Art Deco Jubilee Pool. Matilda remarks on this every time she flies over: when seen from above the deep turquoise of the pool situated right by the sea is more vibrant than this photo reflects and it looks so very inviting. The Jubilee Pool is described as one of the best pre-war lido’s in the world. It originally opened in May 1935 and is a rare survivor from this hardier bygone age of open air swimming. It was damaged by storms in February 2014 but following major structural works reopened in May 2016. The large triangular seawater pool is usually a few degrees warmer than the sea and the water in it is replaced by tidal movements. In […]
Thursday 9 January 2020 We left Helsinki on the 10:00 Allegro service to St Petersburg in bright sunshine. This would have been a much better day to visit the Suomenlinna Fortress: what a difference the weather can make. Shortly after departure we were offered a choice of fish, meat or vegetarian meal, with fruit juice and either a brownie or a yoghurt [see Dish of the day]. Many people, including Robert, chose to eat this immediately but it seemed more like lunch than breakfast so Matilda saved hers for later and thought of the myriad school children on a trip who eat their packed lunch almost before the coach has passed out of the school gate. We were in first class and so could help ourselves to unlimited water, tea or coffee from a refreshment station in the middle of the carriage. The Allegro train is a purpose-built, high speed Alstrom Pendolino [tilting] train: top speed 140mph. These trains are purpose-built because they need to cope with two different voltages on the Finnish and Russian train systems, as well as the two different gauges of railway track. The journey takes 3 hours and 27 minutes and both customs checks and […]
Wednesday, 20th November 2019 There were conflicting reports about whether it was possible to visit the Royal Palace, but we set off to try and gain entry, armed with our passports which we had been told we would need if we were successful. This quest proved to be an exercise in perseverance. Initially we took the tram to the Nations Unies tram stop and walked a short distance to one entrance to the Palace. Here we were told by one pair of guards that it was always closed to the public and we were not allowed to take photos. A little further down the street a second set of guards told us that we had to walk clockwise around the perimeter to a different entrance. On the way, we passed the Rabat Ville Railway Station which has a well tended fountain in front. We also took some time out from our quest and visited the Art Deco Cathédrale Saint-Pierre situated on a pleasant circus, Place du Golan. Construction began in 1919 and it was inaugurated in 1921. The two distinctive towers were added to the striking exterior in the 1930s and the interior is beautiful yet rather minimalist by comparison […]
Saturday 6th to Sunday 7th July 2019 Although we could hear the Friday night revelling from our hotel room, it was not as loud as we had feared when the receptionist warned us and happily neither of us had recourse to the earplugs which had been provided. As we walked back along the marina to catch the ferry to Sardinia, staff on the more luxurious yachts were polishing the chrome and hosing down the decks whilst chefs were negotiating with local suppliers for fresh produce to be delivered. Unlikely as it is, if we ever have that sort of money we have promised ourselves we will return to Bonifacio on a luxury yacht. Regular ferries run between Bonifacio to Santa Teresa di Gallura on the northern tip of Sardinia and take about an hour. From here we were scheduled to catch a bus to Sassari and then a narrow gauge train to Alghero. Having taken the indirect route up to the bus station, a bus to Sassari was pulling out just as we arrived. The very accommodating driver allowed himself to be flagged down and accosted in pigeon Italian [unspoken ‘O’ level Latin] and agreed to let us put our […]
Wednesday 13th March When we arrived, very early, in Kolkata off the sleeper train and took a taxi to our hotel, the LaLit Great Eastern, we were not expecting a room to be available but wanted to deposit our luggage. We were therefore really pleased to be offered the use of the in-house spa as a “freshen-up” room. A shower, some complementary bottled water and a change of clothes and we felt ready to walk round a few of the sights which Matilda had identified as being within a reasonable distance of the hotel. Meanwhile, there had been a change of staff on reception and, much to our amusement, we were again offered the use of the freshen-up room. Clearly we were not measuring up favourably, even “freshened-up”, to the high sartorial standards they expect of their guests. Matilda had done some research and thought it would be possible to walk through and round The Maidan to see the Victoria Memorial and St Paul’s Cathedral. The Maidan is also apparently sometimes referred to as the Brigade Parade Ground and includes Eden Gardens and the Kolkata Race Course. The hotel staff clearly felt that we were a breed apart from their […]
Wednesday, 17th October 2018 As you pull out of the campsite in Bastogne you are faced with Ardennes Boissons – a drive-in off-license with plenty of parking for a vehicle the size of Alan. How could we drive past? The selection of bottled beer was extensive and we wanted to buy some bottles of “Airborne” in honour of the American troops and the struggle to retain Bastogne and the Ardennes. Ralf reluctantly, but successfully, completed his first museum visit at the Bastogne War Museum today. This involved him staying in the motorhome alone for the two and a half hours it took us to go round. He was waiting in the driver’s seat for us to return and although all was quiet when we exited the museum, he became quite vocal as we approached the vehicle but thankfully nothing untoward seemed to have happened in our absence. The museum itself is well laid out and very informative and certainly creates a sense of what it must have been like for civilians and the military alike on all sides to have been involved in the Battle of the Bulge in the depths of a harsh winter with limited food. In any crisis […]
Monday, 13th August 2018 An early swim before breakfast helped to get the day off to a healthy start. Following Robert’s friendly criticism of her backstroke technique yesterday, Matilda googled this and realised she was using the recreational technique, not the racing technique he was recommending. Looking in the wardrobe we found bathrobes and slippers for the pool which we had overlooked yesterday. Even though we got to the pool at 07:00, there were already several people there before us including a coach training several young swimmers: Matilda, always open to constructive comment, tried to interpret his arm actions to help improve her backstroke technique, but will probably stick with the recreational approach. At breakfast we realised we were sharing the hotel with the Austrian and Norwegian youth judo teams as well as those from several other countries which we did not see. This explained the signs to the “unofficial weighing room” on the mezzanine floor. The signs were positioned by the lifts and seemed to suggest these might become overloaded. In fact, the Cluj-Napoca Junior European Cup 2018 – International Judo competition ran from 11 August to 12 August, 28 countries and 290 competitors were involved. Although on the train […]
Last night we realised that the windbreaks, mentioned in the last post, which many use to mark out their territory on a camp site, are not necessarily effective against a curious Lakeland who is prepared to sneak under a motorhome and poke his nose into someone else’s personal space. Robert is the self-styled chef for this trip. Matilda was a little concerned that the preparation of the breakfast muffins for the morning seemed to take precedence over her evening meal. Robert is not going to make a short order chef any time soon: he does produce quite a professional English muffin, except when demands are being made for an imminent meal. The phrase ‘critical path flow’ springs to mind. But the view of Southwold beyond the muffins is very picturesque. The first morning waking up in the motorhome with Ralf was punctuated by whimpers and urgent indications that he wanted to go for a walk. Robert would have preferred a chilled start to the day including a coffee but Matilda persuaded him to head out. A passing dog walker commented, “I think it’s going to rain.” We smiled politely, but turning back to look in the direction he was heading we […]