Same old England?

After three weeks of familiar English life – motorways and country lanes, towns and villages, pubs and cafes, farms and forest we reflect on the question a few people have asked “would you come back and live here”? That familiarity does allow some comfort – you know you can get a good cup of tea wherever you go, or alternatively the coffee is very average everywhere. As soon as the sun comes out the beaches will be packed. Other reminders of home – scones and cream, a pint of bitter, the weather changing as soon as you get used to it. 

Apart from the distance to West Australia and our family, probably the biggest reason we would struggle to settle back here would be the sheer volume of people and traffic. 64 million inhabitants and 36 million motor vehicles on this small island means you’re never far from anyone and if you’re going anywhere there will often be a queue. It is true the British love queuing in person or on the road, they are very patient. We encountered so many miles of road works on the motorways up and down the country.

Tony mistakenly believed a sunny summers day on the south coast meant a nice quiet drive and a leisurely wander along a National Trust coastline, when in fact it meant being swamped by thousands of beach-goers packed tightly on the sand and the roads backed up for miles. 

As in Australia, the British want to live in the suburbs in a bungalow with a garden, albeit on a smaller scale. Compare that to what we experienced in Europe cities and towns where apartment buildings contain over half the population. Urban sprawl is not an American or Australasian phenomenon, it began here in the 19^th century as the industrial cities spread out into the countryside although to be fair there is so much greenery that the distinction between town and country is blurred.

We spent a welcome week or so in Burley in the New Forest, enjoying the trees and the moorland and the company of friends.  Then we headed north to Edinburgh via the Yorkshire Dales (check out the latest TV hit a slow ride through the Yorkshire Dales), viewing National Trust properties long the way.  We decided that if we had a whole day of driving to do we would visit stately homes and gardens on the way to break the journey and to use our National Trust Membership at Wallington in Northumberland, Quarry Bank near Manchester, and Croome in Worcestershire which was the site of a WW11 secret airbase.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/croome/features/grayson-perry-art-exhibition-comes-to-croome

Edinburgh was full of people for the Fringe Festival, the Arts Festival and the Book Festival, all on at the same time!  We stayed in an excellent Airbnb in Warriston near the Golden Acre, a 15 minutes bus ride up the hill to the city centre.  The Fringe had over 400 shows happening each day and we just went to the half-price ticket booth to see what was on offer.  We took the flyers from the artists spruiking their shows each morning, booked tickets and we weren’t disappointed at all seeing 6 completely different shows in two days, a mixture of theatre, musical, one about UK tax (!) and a compelling piece about volunteering in the refugee camps in Greece and near the Hungarian border.

Fringe Fest venue

Spruiking for ticket sales

maintaining my interest in waste!

We spent some time in Scotland exploring graveyards for long dead relatives in Ladykirk, Berwick on Tweed and West Linton – all good finds for the ancestry project.

We spent a night in the Peak District at Ladybower, hills all purple from the heather, and near the lake where the Lancaster Bombers practised their Dambuster routines in WW11.

Ladybower Lake

 

Then to Somerset and the village where Sally grew up, EastBrent, for the annual Harvest Home – a celebration of the harvest being gathered in and an opportunity to partake of a huge luncheon for 500 people of ham, salt beef, roast beef and salad, Christmas pudding and Cheddar cheese (being only a few miles away from Cheddar) – all washed down with proper scrumpy cider and local beer to keep you nicely relaxed during the speeches!  Some things had changed but the traditions remain and we had a wonderful lunch catching up with family and spotting friends from primary school all those years ago.

The view from Brent Knoll - note the Hinckley Point Nuclear Power Station in he distance!

St Mary's Church, East Brent

Parading the bread and cheese at East Brent Harvest Home Luncheon

An original mini 'utility'!  Spotted in Bideford, North Devon

Now we are in Devon for a few days, visiting local gardens and scenic small towns and planning our trip to Iceland in a couple of weeks.  We visited a beautiful garden at Rosemoor yesterday owned by the Royal Horticultural Society. It made me envious and, as always when I visit the UK, I came away with the idea of creating fabulous hanging baskets etc that never quite work in sunny Perth!

East is still a bit East

As soon as we entered Germany there was a noticeable improvement in the quality of the road surface and the courtesy shown by fellow drivers but on the other hand people seemed a bit more wary and circumspect than the Czechs. It is interesting to remember that the Berlin Wall only came down in 1989 and many people’s lives were completely changed thereafter.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/november/9/newsid_3241000/3241641.stm.  There are still the soviet style concrete apartment blocks in many towns and cities, built using preformed concrete sheets much as are used for building industrial units etc in Australia today.  They could build a block of flats in 118 days! 

Dresden was visited as an after-thought because we were passing through on our way to Berlin. It was worth the 36 hours spent there as it is a relaxing and roomy city; it was levelled in 1945 and subsequently rebuilt with wide open streets and large expanses of grass, pedestrian and cycle ways. The amazing detail in the re-constructed historical buildings in the centre has to be seen to be believed, especially the Frauen Kirche and the Catholic Cathedral which you would swear were hundreds of years old.   They have a motto that Dresden is ‘a city for everyone’ to counter some of the more right wing rhetoric about refugees in recent years.  They have also set up a remarkable trans-disciplinary partnership – the Dresden Concept - between universities, researchers and industry to develop sustainable solutions including new insulated building materials, green walls and many other projects. 

Dresden: Designed to filter the smog and catch rainwater

Dresden: across the Elbe

Dresden : The Free Church, reconstructed after it was destroyed in WW2 and re-opened only a few years ago.

German efficiency is really a pleasure, nothing is left to chance and nearly everything works like clockwork. Public transport is spotless and runs so well that at every tram-stop or train station a list of the next 6 arrival times are posted up on electronic boards. We have been really impressed with how many wind and solar farms there are in Germany and all across Europe, the entire country ran for 24 hours recently only on alternative energy.

Meissen just along the Elbe River from Dresden produces some of the best porcelain in the world; amazingly detailed exquisite pieces which are still all hand-painted using the same techniques practiced here since 1710 and are hence very expensive! It is still a state owned company and had a thriving export market even when it was behind the Wall.

Meissen Porcelain

The staircase at Albrectsburg Castle

The museum has a large collection dating from the inception of the pottery and many pieces made for overseas markets like China, Japan, Russia and Italy. In the oldest castle in Germany just up the road at Albrechtsburg, a group of mining experts and scientists perfected the porcelain mixture known as 'white gold' and produced their porcelain for 150 years before realising they needed more space and the castle needed to be preserved.   Albrechtsburg is worth a visit with an elevator up to the castle from the parking area – much appreciated!  The displays cover the porcelain manufactuary and also the innovative architectural designs incorporated into the building – diamond brick vaulting etc. 

German autobahns are not the faint-hearted, however full concentration with plenty of indicating both left and right means you can travel pretty quickly and free of any tolls. The outside lane is often “open speed” so it is a good idea to stay out of the way of the mostly black Mercs, Audis and Beemers who race along and suddenly appear behind you if you are a bit tardy at changing lanes. 

Berlin was full of tourists and many of the ‘sights’ involved the war time period and the Wall.  It is obviously heavily influenced by recent history; that is the last 75 years since the end of World War 2. Virtually destroyed by bombing because it was the Nazi centre of power, Berlin was then divided up in quarters by the Americans, French, British and Russians and surrounded by the Soviet client state East Germany until 1990.  Vast building projects are now being undertaken and there are more cranes here than we saw in London with the federal German government especially prominent. Having visited countless museums and galleries highlighting the reformation and renaissance and impressionist art on our European odyssey,  we concentrated on finding out what had happened in Berlin in the 20^th century. We have been impressed by the openness to confront the catastrophe that was Berlin after the war with families split up and neighbourhoods bricked up; with commentary often taking a dig at the Stasi secret police and the methods the communists resorted to try and keep the “evil west” out. The DDR Museum was excellent and gave a very full picture of what it was like to live in East Germany complete with a Trabant - the car that ran on two stroke – we recommend you visit the DDR Museum first thing at 10am or after 5pm, otherwise it is too crowded to see everything. 

Berlin Wall: across the wall - many families and relationships were broken or separated when the wall was built.

Taking a boat ride is a great way to get your head around Berlin's layout

Contact details for those who want to hire a Trabi!

We stayed out of town in Altlandsburg in a lovely AirBnB run by a family of beekeepers with a wonderful garden.  We took the twenty minute S Bahn train into Berlin each day which also connects to the U Bahn, trams and buses.  You could also rent a Trabi from the bicycle shop nearby!

Our stay near Berlin included a day spent at the Sachsenhausen Camp Memorial & Museum we saw the sobering and terrible evidence displayed of Nazi atrocities, visited on every country they invaded or fought against –it was pure evil. The camp was taken over by the East Germans after the war to house political prisoners and then by the Soviets.  Many prisoners did not survive the experience.  The site of the camp is very close to Oranienburg town, so close many of the guards lived in the town. 

Potsdam was a completely different note to end our visit to Berlin with the summer palaces and extensive gardens of Sans Souci Park to walk around.  

We then drove from Berlin to the Hook of Holland in a couple of days, staying at a tradition German guesthouse in Rheine Messum overnight where we had a marvelous dinner and friendly hosts whose family had owned the guesthouse and restaurant since the 1500s…ah history!

Now we are in the old Blighty for another 6 weeks to catch up with family & friends again. 

Vienna and Prague

Perched on the 11^th floor of the Corinthia Hotel with a magnificent view encompassing historical Prague watching the sun set on the old castle and the river is a really memorable sight. At the same time the night before when we were well into our fifth hour sitting patiently in our car amongst thousands of others waiting for the “traffic jam from hell” to start moving on the freeway (?) just 20 kms away from our destination due to an accident. A great contrast that does give some  idea of what makes up the Czech Republic. 

Just waiting, no information and then suddenly five hours later it just cleared like magic!

  

Dr Who would be at home on the Prague Metro!

There is a real feeling of old world history in both Prague and Vienna; castles, palaces, church spires; they are planned cities with wide boulevards that allow trams, cars & pedestrians to co-exist easily. And traffic-free cobbled streets (not malls) where the four, five & six storey buildings of the nineteenth century fit together beautifully. We have enjoyed both cities for their ease of getting around (both walking & public transport), their spaciousness and lovely public parks and their cosmopolitan culture. Vienna was more ordered and spotlessly clean with a statue on every corner. Both have an ingrained café culture with great beer and coffee where you can just sit and watch all day if you like. Together with amazing art galleries too!  We saw a wonderful exhibition of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele paintings at the Leopold Museum in Vienna, just the day before we drove to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic where Schiele painted many of his works.

Just part of the huge Hapsburg Palace in Vienna

It is Vienna after all! Sachertorte anyone?

The museum quarter, Vienna - a great use of old and new to create public spaces

 Perhaps the thing we find most irritating in Europe is that so many people smoke in open air cafes and in the streets and occasionally we find ourselves retreating inside to eat to get away from them.  Tony just found something on the net that said Germany is loathe to encourage smoking bans because Hitler did this and they don’t want to upset people!  Very sensitive but having lived in smokefree WA for so long, it is an affront to the senses to have to sit next to a table of smokers when you are eating or enjoying a coffee outside on the pavement.  We saw a cigarette machine outside a block of flats tonight in Dresden so smokers don't have to worry about getting to the shop even! Rant over!

This is where you can satisfy your desire for a dirndl, Vienna

 

 It was interesting to cross from Austria into the Czech Republic by road and encounter a string of casinos within 50 metres of the border. We saw very few farmhouses in the Czech countryside, maybe a hangover from the collective farm days when most people lived in towns, although public ownership has dropped from 95% in 1990 to less than 20% now. It is very beautiful at this time of year, green trees and meadows, summer flowers on the roadsides and golden wheat, sweetcorn and sunflowers just about to be harvested.

We went to a wonderful museum in Prague that detailed the history and collections of the former aristocratic Lobkowicx  family that got their castles and belongings back after the fall of communism, the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic under President Vaclav Havel. Family members told the stories of the paintings and the treasured items on the audio guides (which we have found very useful on our travels and are often free) which really made the experience so much part of a story, highlighting their sense of belonging and included original composition manuscripts by Beethoven and other composers of that period.

Eating out is so cheap compared to home; we’ve had a number of meals recently that have cost less than 30% of what they would in Perth and the servings are pretty generous. We have struggled to spend a lot except on visiting places of interest, public transport is not expensive and we haven’t been driving long distances recently. Air BnB's continue to be excellent and we have managed to stick to our budget of close to $100 a night.

It has been relieving to not be in the presence of lots of armed police or soldiers as we were in France and parts of Italy. The acts of terrorism in France and Germany in recent weeks have been a sobering reminder that we are in a part of the world where we need to be careful. 

 

We have been in 11 countries so far in 10 or so weeks and the new car that we leased has clocked up over 9000 kms!  We have encountered only one or two border guards and the rest of Europe has been like one continuous countryside but with signs in a new language and different foods and traditions every few days.  Crops are similar, apart from the acres of dried poppies we saw near Cesky Krumlov (Czech Republic)  which end up as poppy seeds to go with all the local sunflower seeds in the supermarkets.

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

 

Now we are in Germany - more later!

The cities of middle Europe

Our road trip has arrived in an area where many of our ancestors lived – a great melting pot of Huns, Mongols, Slavs, Saxons, Vikings, Turks and lots of others that make us what we are. Touring the Budapest History Museum and learning that the Romans built a town here called Aquincum before all those mentioned above, gives you a real perspective on the scope of history in this great city and Europe as a whole. There was also an excellent exhibition about the relationships between Budapest and Krakow in the middle ages.  Shifting alliances and allegiances that mirror most of Europe up until the 18^th century and even later.  King-doms passed around a select group of families with sons and marrying daughters of close relations and allies to seal the deals.

Budapest looking towards the Parliament Building

St Martins Church, beautiful coloured tiles on the roof.

Just another lion for my collection! On the bridge over the Danube

Two towns had been built on either side of the mighty Danube River since medieval times - Buda and Pest, now they are one large metropolis, with a wonderful green space in St Margaret’s Island  spanning two of the bridges over the River  a respite from the traffic and concrete.

Recent history also involves the Hungarians being pushed around by the Nazis and the Soviets; no wonder they seem a bit wary of outsiders. They’re pretty hospitable and helpful but it takes a bit to get a smile sometimes. British diplomats rate Hungarian as the hardest language to learn, harder than Japanese and hearing it spoken it is understandable. Thankfully English is widely used and signage is bi-lingual everywhere. 

Public transport is excellent with buses, light rail and metro's running regularly and in sync - as well as electric car hire and the hire bikes that we have seen across Europe for use by tourists and locals alike.

Our stay in Budapest was enhanced with great accommodation at the aptly named Aquincum Hotel, next to the river; cheers Clare. On entering Budapest, Sat Nav got a little confused and took us 20 or more kms out of our way but eventually we found our hotel and saw some of the suburbs as we passed through them - twice! 

Aquincum was the roman name for the town along the Danube and we spent a morning at the Roman ruins and museum at Aquincum, just a couple of stops on the train away from the hotel.  They have some excellent artefacts and extensive walls and building layouts, some rescued from a highway construction project across the site in the 70’s. Well worth a visit.

Aqincum roman remains

Our last visit just outside Budapest was Memento Park where statues rescued from the soviet era are on display, including an impressive pair of boots on a large plinth, all that was left of a huge statue of Stalin that was pulled down and broken into pieces by the Hungarian protesters.  They showed old training movies for spies with techniques for setting up dead letter drops and ‘encouraging’ people to confess and spill the beans on others.  Some of it seems like movie tone news and not quite real but it was very real for the Hungarians and others who lived under Soviet Rule not so many years ago.

A heroic worker looking for a place to stay! Memento Park

Stalin's boots!  They look a bit small in the photo and are on a giant plinth - all that remains of the original!

Next stop was Bratislava, another country, another currency and a different language/spellings too!  All within only a couple of hundred kms from Budapest and even closer to Vienna, our next stop.

Old Bratislava - tourists groups from the river boats that run up and down the major european rivers providing a lifeblood for many towns.

Tile features on the roofs, well kep buildings and even some art deco here and there.

 Bratislava is a quiet town with some old areas that we wandered round for an hour or two and then, one of the highlights of our trip so far was finding Danubiana about 15kms out of town along the Danube.  It is a modern art gallery set on an island in the Danube which has an amazing collection of paintings and sculptures including Picasso (who has been following us across Europe!), Joan Miro and many others.  Very well worth spending two or three hours there.  Slovakia is well known for hiking in the mountains and mountain biking too.

Danubiana

Entitled Sperm by Andrey Markoc, 2016

In Vienna now, you will have to wait for the next instalment!