Day 5 in which the Allans continue north

After bidding Gothenburg a fond farewell we spent the day driving north to Segeltorp and it occured to me that the first part of this trip is all about heading north. We left Sydney almost a week ago and since then have had our eyes firmly fixed on north.

 

here's a selection of the journey today...

 

 

 

 
 

 

We've had unexpectedly mild weather so as yet haven't seen much snow so it was nice to see the landscape getting steadliy whiter as the day progressed.

 

 

 

 and then we arrived at my cousin's place in Segeltorp...

 

 

isn't it beautiful! happy now :)

 

 

Day 4 Gothenburg

The view from the window this morning is specatcularly un-blog-worthy so how about some photos of what we saw in Gothenburg today.

            

Gothenburg is a regal looking city full of very impressive buildings and some gorgeous churches.

 

Like this one we found while MGM was adventuring again, which was unfortunately closed.

 

 

As you can see Gothenburg turned on my favourite weather, cold (+4 so not too cold) and misty. The only way it could have been better? - snow of course ;)

 

 this is the Haga church built between 1856-59.

 

 

~

 

 We ventured up to Skansberget Hill to see Skansen Kronan (the Crown Redoubt), one of Gothenburg's 17th C fortifications.

 

 

~

 

We had another one of those HUGE breakfasts this morning so we skipped lunch at mid-day in favour of cake lunch at 3, in a lovely little cafe...

 

 

 that was next to this shop, I had to take this pic for Renae, who loves bicycles like this.

Day 3 Lubeck to Gothenburg

The view from my window this morning (yes I saw another dawn!)

After a huge, no really ... HUGE breakfast, we programmed the oh so polite Mrs Peabody (the sat nav) to direct us to Gothenburg & set off, away from the lovely Lubeck (it was hard to leave).

It was a long journey that started with a short trip through Denmark to catch the ferry, we weren't at all sure how this would work. We'd booked tickets but we didn't know if customs, passports, more paperwork would be necessary so it was quite a shock when we arrived an hour early and were unceremoniously ushered onto the waiting ferry - not the one we'd booked.

 

It was quite a busy bit of water, lots of ferries back and forth & they looked like this...

 

Before we knew what had happened we were all on a ferry-ride, i.e. the car too, across the Baltic Sea.

Once we arrived safely on Swedish soil we headed for Gothenburg with a quick, unscheduled side trip to Malmo for lunch. MGM calls this adventuring. He turns the sat nav off and just follows his nose. It can be a bit unnerving but I've learned to trust his instincts and he never seemes nervous about not knowing where he is, his confidnece is catching.

 

this is Malmo

 

 

It was a nice break but we still had a way to travel so we didn't stay long. Mrs Peabody had us to Gothenburg (where we did not find the Swedish Batman, sorry cherubs).

Everything stays open late so we went for a sight-seeing walk in the dark & chilly Gothenburg, just around the hotel.

Now we're tucked up in our little room nice and early, lots to see tomorrow. There will be much walking.

Day 2. Lübeck, Germany.

After travelling/flying for 26 hours we hit the ground running (or rather driving) - thank you business-class flat-beds and a full night’s sleep - we picked up a car at Frankfurt airport and drove for 6 more hours. MGM is amazing. I know he got a good sleep but still I think it’s a big ask to drive 6 hours on the wrong side of the road, in an unfamiliar car, at the speed of sound and yet he takes it all in his stride. True he does love driving in Germany where fast is good.

 

The Germans know how to build roads and how to drive on them. Everything is done in a very orderly manner, slowest in the right lane, slow in the middle lane, and fast! in the left lane. If you're in the left lane and someone approaches from behind it is understood that you will very politely move out of their way so that the approaching car doesn't have to slow down but just drives on past. MGM finds 200kph  a "comfortable" speed at which to drive & yet, believe it or not, we spent most of our time in the middle lane.

 

~

 

 We sarted out in the darkness at 6:30am so we got to see the sun rise, a rare event, especially for me.

 

 

~

 

The fast driving got us to Lübeck in fine time, by mid-day,so we had all afternoon to wander around this lovely town built on the river Trave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  ~

 

 

 

This is the Holsten Gate constructed between 1446-1458, the middle of four such gates. they certainly knew how to be impressive in the late middle ages. It now houses a museum.

 

~

  

and of course there are churches

 

 

This one, simply called "the Cathedral", had its foundation stone laid in 1173. Lübeck was bombed by the Brits in one of the first air-raids of WWII in 1942, reconstruction began on this church in 1947.

 

~

 

 

St Marys was begun, in 1200AD, was also heavily damaged in the 1942 air raids. This is memorialised by the preservation of the church bells which are still lying where they fell on the night the church was set ablaze by bombs.

 

 ~

 

Thank you to our travel-guru and all round wise woman, Liz, who recommended Lübeck to us & for suggesting we give ourselves time to see the Christmas markets definately a feast for the senses.

 

 

 ~

We enjoyed some of our favourite things...me chips (pommes) with mayo & MGM always goes for the knackwurst.
 

 

 

and

carrying on an Allans Abroad tradition -

good coffee and gishy cake for afternoon tea.

 

 

 

~

 

This city is lovely by day and by night

 

 

 

Day 1 Airports

Airports ... the smell of avgas and the international terminal - doesn't get much better. we'll be visiting a few today and I am totally okay with that.

 

 

Airport #1. Sydney. We're in the Qantas lounge. I reckon that if you're in the Qantas lounge you're on holiday soil...you know like when you're in the Australian Embassy in a foreign country, you're on Australian soil right?... Qantas clubs work exactly like that...so as we are on holiday soil I have declared us officially on holidays.

 

 

 

Airport #2. Hong Kong. I don't know what time it is but it's late. I texted my cherubs to let them know we were safely on the ground, even if only temporarily, and MYS said it was 1am in Sydney. I get very confused about times zones, days gained and lost in the process of traveling to the other end of the world but I have to say Business Class makes it so.much.fun! Anyway Hong Kong airport means the journey is half done. We're in the Cathy Pacific lounge this time, as One World travelers (how posh does that sound!) and it's lovely,  it's a little slice of familiar as these lounges are the same the world over. I like them for that familiar-ness but MGM likes them because I can't shop in here.

 

 

Airport #3.

Airport #3. Frankfurt. We have arrived. There's a lot more to arriving than the simple logistics of being in another country, in another hemisphere.

It’s about the air. The air smells and tastes so deliciously different, I notice it stepping off out of the plane onto the aerobridge. The air is cool and fresh and has a certain European quality to it – I love it.

It’s about the bilingual signs that has another language first and English second – I love that.

And of course it’s about adventure that waits just outside the airport door. I want to say a quick thankyou to Jeff and Naomi for introducing us to the particular type of travel that has become Allans Abroad. We’d never have done it this way if it wasn’t for you … we’re in a country where we know no one, don’t speak the language, can’t read any of the non-bilingual assistance-signs, don’t really know what we’re even looking at a lot of the time and we are both as happy as pigs in mud!

 

 

Our itinerary in pictures - not mine of course we haven't been there yet ;)

10 more sleeps

Stockholm

 Tromso

Snow Hotel, Kirkenes

Oslo

Copenhagen

 Cologne

New York

getting a little bit excited.

hello again

Hello happy travellers, the Allans are off again. No not in the sense that we've been left out in the sun too long...we're off in the sense that we are flying away in search of snow, and all things winter.

We leave on Boxing day - no turkey left-overs for us - and we're off to Sweden to see the New Year in with my cousins, Norway (Northen lights adventuring), Denmark, Northern Germany and coming home via NewYork.

Hope you'll come along with us again this time, it was so much fun journalling our trip here last time.

See you all soon,

W & MGM