Stockholm

This weekend was the first weekend we had been out of the UK & Ireland for the past 8 months or so. We had booked some cheap flights ages ago to Stockholm and the day finally arrived to go. Kirsty and Dan joined us for 2 out of the 3 days that we were there.

After the flight and long bus ride we finally made it into Stockholm central station. Eventually after sorting out money and our Stockholm card we got to our accommodation which was on a boat. All 4 of us shared a room, and it was tiny. It barely fitted the 4 bunks and there was just enough room for two people to move at a time, but it was clean and was fine as it was just a place to sleep.
After sorting out bedding etc, we made our way into Gamla Stan (the Old Town) for
somelunch. We found a homely cafe and had some good food - a nice large chai latte and my pasta salad was amazing (full of olives, gherkins, sun dried tomatoes, grilled caps etc on top of the pasta). Once we had filled up, we went to check out the sights. We walked along cobbled streets with colourful buildings and saw the royal palace.





From there we headed into the main part of Stockholm where there was some event on with snowboarders and lots of prizes being handed out. Soon it was time to find a place for dinner and we headed back into Gamla Stan where we had previously seen lots of restaurants and found one which was serving elk meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberrys (traditional Swedish food). Which three of us had and was yummy.

As it was the day the RWC semis were being played (All Blacks vs France), we found an Irish pub to watch the game, to our horror and disappointment, as the All Blacks lost. Even I was upset and this is someone who's never been a big fan of rugby!

Next day we headed to the Vasa museum which is a museum containing a salvaged warship (The Vasa) from the 1600s which had been built for the king but sank because it was top heavy. It was retrieved in the 1960s and has been restored and located within the museum. It was a beautiful ship with lots of carvings. There was also a display showing the remains of some of the survivors and it appeared that there were alot of malnutrition and dental problems in those days.



After that we headed back to Gamla Stan to go through the royal palace, unfortunately there was a function on, and most of the royal apartments were closed. When we arrived we saw the changing of the guard ceremony.



We went through the Treasury and initially started with a guide but found that she wasn't great so we left the guide and went through the rest of the Treasury on our own - which wasn't that big and to be honest a little disappointing. We saw some of the royal apartments which were open and these were also a bit disappointing as they don't appear to have been maintained very well.
Anyway, following that we had tea and cake in a cafe (yum, more food :-). As Andrew & I had our Stockholm card, we were entitled to a free boat cruise, so we decided to check it out. The cruise left from the mainland and went around Djurgarden island (which is where the Vasa museum and Skansen are). It was a nice cruise and we got to see parts of Stockholm we wouldn't have seen otherwise, along with a commentary. We then joined back up with Kirsty and Dan for dinner in a nice Italian restaurant before they had to catch their flight home.



As it was now just the two of us, we had to check into another room. This time the room was on the boat next door. It was bigger than the room we had previously even though it only had 2 beds in it! There was a couch and a wardrobe too. Unfortunately the facilities on this boat weren't as clean as the last one, but we made do. Below is the view from our room.



After an early night with lots of sleep, we awoke to a brilliant sunny day. We got breakfast on the run and stored our bags at the bus station before going up the Katarina lift which had some nice views of the city. Then we checked out the Skansen museum which is a large open air museum with buildings from several parts of Stockholm over a range of years, which was interesting. There were some very quaint buildings. We also saw some wolves, a large elk, bears and lots of squirrels running around.






Then it was time to get back on the bus and head to the airport for our flight home.

Grace's last day at BCHF!

So, after over 4 years with Beca, I've decided that it is time for a change/break. I'm taking some time off just to chill out and figure out what I want to do. It feels weird to be finishing but I am also glad to be leaving. So watch this space...

Hampstead Heath Walk

It was a beautiful day so we decided to go for a walk! We had a few ideas, but turned to the internet for help. We had always wanted to check out Hampstead Heath, and found several walks on the lastminute.com website, one which went through the Heath.

We started off at Archway tube station, up the hill past the Whittington Stone and through Waterlow Park.

On the other side of the park we passed Highgate Cemetery where Karl Marx (among others) is buried. It seemed to go on forever, although it was rather creepy and overgrown in parts. On the opposite side of the road were large residential developments on private roads uniformly lined up, down the hill.

A bit out of place was this large house with a grand entrance.

We passed through the small local township, with the smell of Sunday morning cafe breakfasts, then into Hampstead Heath where we headed to the top of Parliament Hill. There was a fantastic (although slightly hazy) view of the city, not far off. It was such a contrast after the feeling of being quite remote for the last hour.

Apparently this is the bathing pond. Perhaps it's a bit more inviting in the summer?

From the other side of the Heath we strolled down to Hampstead village. This area has more millionaires than anywhere else in Britain, however it didn't appear at all pretentious. It is a gorgeous village, and as we approached it felt like we were far away from the city again.

Then it was back on the Tube to head home.

York

This weekend we headed up to York. It is only 2 hours on the train from London, which is a good amount of time to be stuck in a seat.


The first thing you see when you leave the train station is the city wall. The wall almost completely surrounds the city, apart from the entrances (bars), and where old castle used to be. Bootham Bar:


Another major feature is the York Minster, a very impressive Cathedral. It is a huge building which has been added to several times, making its construction last for over 200 years. What's even more amazing is the history of the previous buildings on the site. We went down into the undercroft and saw remains of Roman foundations, and later foundations of a Norman cathedral which are still holding up the current Cathedral today (although there has been some structural reinforcement in recent times.)


We also climbed up to the top of the Cathedral, up 275 very narrow spiral steps. The view from the top was great. You can see over York and beyond. Perfect weather too.


We had our essential cream tea in the afternoon (this has become a holiday habit ever since going to Devon and Cornwall). After walking around for a while we came across Shambles, an old street which was once lined with butchers. Now, all that remains are meat hooks outside the shops, but the street has a lot of character, particularly the irregular, overhanging buildings.


Another popular street is Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate (not literally a gate). It's claim to fame is that it's the shortest street with the longest name, since it is only 35m long. We had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant. Here is the Bootham Bar at night:


On Sunday we went on the free walking tour run by local volunteer guides. These are some of the best tours you can do because the guides are so passionate about the city, and are obviously not in it for money! We saw parts of the old Roman and Medieval walls, the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, walked along the top of the city wall, saw some of the bars (that's gateways in the walls, not pubs) and saw the Shambles again.


After some nice freshly made crepes, we checked out Jorvik, the Viking exhibition. It prides itself on offering not only an audio-visual experience but a multi-sensory experience of Viking times. In particular the smell of someone sitting on the (outdoor) toilet was memorable.

To finish off our weekend we spent a few hours at the National Railway Museum, the world's largest railway museum. It is housed in old railway shed and is so large that we probably only saw half of it. There are trains ranging from the "Rocket" the first steam locomotive, to the Mallard, to the Bullet train and the Eurostar. Seeing the old locomotives lined up around the turntable sparks memories of Thomas the Tank Engine, you almost expect them to start talking! One of the staff was giving a talk about how steam engines work. One of the locomotives has been cut in section so that the details of the pipes and boilers can be seen. The warehouse next door is a cross between a museum and a warehouse where you can see all the items in storage, but they are not hidden away. The Flying Scotsman is being restored and we saw it totally stripped down in the workshop.


We ran out of time to see the rest of the museum, as it is so large, and we were back onto our modern train to London.