Month: October 2019

I have to confess that I have a couple of odd habits when I travel. The first is that when I arrive somewhere I like to do my washing. Not so strange you may be thinking, but it’s not usually the very first thing you do when you reach a new destination. I went to New Caledonia with my friend Ani a couple of years ago and when we got to our resort she found me in the bathroom moments after we checked in, wrapped in a towel, hand-washing the clothes I had just been wearing. To this day she mocks me mercilessly about it. When I messaged Ani that I had arrived in Singapore the first thing she said was “I guess you’ve got a load of washing on then” (and I had 🙂 ). In the UK when I stayed with my friends Claire & Sean, I not only did my laundry every day, but theirs as well (to Claire’s horror). I’m traveling pretty light on this trip but definitely have no need wash so often. I just can’t help myself. It’s not something I feel compelled to do when I’m at home. Go figure. The second thing is that when I am asked something in a language I don’t understand, I respond in Spanish. I don’t know why this is, it isn’t my native language, I could just speak English, but I open my mouth and Spanish comes out. I can speak basic Spanish from previous travels in Spain and South America, but I’m not fluent. ‘No gracias’ just seems to slide off the tongue so much more smoothly than ‘no thank you’. And (more embarrassingly) if I can’t find the right Spanish word I mix a bit of French and Italian in as well. Perhaps I should learn how to say ‘can I please wash your clothes’ 🙂

I love learning, but it has to be relevant and experiential, otherwise my attention span is equal to that of a goldfish. I don’t recall much from the history classes I took in college, there were too many facts and dates to remember and it all seemed pretty boring. However, today I learned that Czechoslovakia emerged from WW1 a democratic state after the Austro-Hungarian empire collapsed. I have a vague memory of writing a (terrible) essay about this empire at school that the teacher covered with giant red question marks. Today he would just write WTF. I also learned that Czechoslovakia then lost some of its territory to Germany because its leader didn’t go to the meeting where it was discussed (those of you working in a corporate will shake your head because this still happens just not with countries). Germany then rudely occupied it in WW2 and introduced their programme; it was finally liberated by the Soviet Union who then established the communist party and made life really really shit for everyone for 45 years; until 1993 when after several years of uprising, democracy was reestablished and the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Boom that’s got to be at least a B for me 🙂 Unless I have my facts wrong in which case just send me a private message 🙂 🙂

The source of my learning today was the Museum of Communism in Prague. It’s a fantastic museum that sets out a frank and open account of Czech history prior to German occupation, through the entire period of communist rule, and the impact this had on peoples lives. The museum slogan is ‘Communism – the dream, the reality, the nightmare’, and it was so interesting. And sometimes terrifying. And very very humbling. Especially the real life accounts from people who lived through this time. I cannot imagine enduring it. From the photos that are on display I can see many parts of the city look the same now as they did in the 1930s. Except in the museum photos there are German army cars lining the streets, or Hitler is standing on the tower platform I was on yesterday, or the square I walk through on my way home is overflowing with people asking for their freedom, or it is filled with communist troops forcefully establishing their rule. I am very grateful that it is 2019, and to call NZ my home.

There is also a wonderful irreverence in many of the displays, which spills into other parts of the city. If only college had been more interactive and interesting I might have paid more attention 🙂

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It has been a stunning Saturday in Prague and I am a happy girl. I have walked, I’ve climbed up towers to escape the tourist crowds and get the best views across the city, and my belly is full of roast pork and apple strudel. I have a few days here and looked at travel blogs to see what the ‘must not miss’ attractions are. If you are planning a visit I recommend The Invisible Tourist blog for Prague, it’s full of awesome information and suggestions for things to see that are off the beaten track. An absolute highlight of today was a tour of the Klementinum in the old town which houses some of Gallileo’s original scientific intruments, and a beautiful Baroque library built in 1772 that is full of priceless books and globes (you can’t take photos inside, and can only step into it for 5 mins in small groups, it wasn’t touched during the war or during Communist rule, it’s still in use ! and it is amazing). It also has a tower which has the best views of the city.

As my close friends will know, I am highly open to suggestion. Say the word cheesecake and I will want a piece. So, after several hours of walking past pigs on a spit and restaurants touting their pork as the best there is, I didn’t stand a chance and made a beeline for a cosy table where I ordered myself roast pork for lunch. With gluhwein (mulled wine but somehow more delicious!). It was so good. And only $20NZ.

Google will tell you that cash is king here but that’s not quite true. Cards are accepted most places, or euros. Unless you’re shopping from a market in which case you’ll need some Czech koruna. What Google won’t tell you is just how many people will also be visiting this beautiful city. The crowds were so chocka at times that I couldn’t turn around. And this isn’t even the peak time to visit :0 Luckily there are a lot of towers to climb, and quieter hidden gems tucked away to escape to.

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Re- A drop of golden sun
Mi- A name I call myself
Fa- A long, long way to run
So- A needle pulling thread
La- A note to follow so
Te- A drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I really REALLY don’t do musicals. It just is not natural how everyone bursts into song and jumps around. Having said that, if there’s anywhere on the planet that would inspire you to sing along it would be pastel-pretty Saltzburg, and I have been humming this song ALL day. Good luck getting it out of your head 🙂

Salzburg is the capital city of the State of Salzburg (in Austria), just across the border from Germany, and only one hour 40 minutes by train from Munich. It is the birthplace of Mozart and the setting for the Sound of Music. It has a gorgeous 7th century old town which escaped a lot of damage from the wars, and your jaw will hit the floor when you visit (which you must). It takes less than 15 mins to walk from one end of the old town to the other if you’re not stopping, but that is a hard thing to achieve because every 2 steps there’s something new and beautiful to see. Then there is the sacher torte, the Mozart chocolate balls, and venison/cheese sausages in bread, and the smell of Christmas in the air….and happy people humming songs from the Sound of Music.

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What could be more perfect on a beautiful autumn day than visiting fairytale castles in the Bavarian countryside? Not much as it turns out. Today I joined a tour to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein castles (say that quickly 10 times). Both castles are walking distance apart and can be reached by train from Munich. Our guide today was Patrick from Wellington (small world), and it was amazing. The castles are cool, the autumn foliage is breathtaking, the story of eccentric King Ludwig who built Neuschwanstein and other nearby castles during his reign is captivating. And I met new friends to share a beer with at the end of the evening. Katy, Victoria and Danielle you’re awesome, safe travels.

Perfect day 🙂

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My beloved handbag was just about ready to fall apart by the time I arrived in Munich, so even before I bought essential food supplies I went in search of a replacement. I have had this handbag since September 2016 when I was in Barcelona and I have an unexplainable love for it. It’s faded now and definitely worse for wear, but sometimes you just get attached to things. I bought it from a Desigual store in Barcelona and I wanted to replace it with a new bag from the same brand because I love their designs. I got to their store in Munich about 35 mins before they were due to close, and looked at every bag before choosing one that was a similar size and shape, paid for it, emptied my old bag into it, carried the old one outside, checked the pockets and lining for anything important, folded it, gave it a kiss and placed it into a bin. A man who watched me do this asked what I was throwing away and I said my old handbag, it’s been awesome but now its job is done. He said ahh, I understand, I have done the same with my wife. Ha. Not quite the same but the sentiment was there, and he winked and walked on.

Munich has a dark past to rival Berlin – this is the site of Hitler’s rise to power, he formed the Nazi party here and gave his first speeches of anti-Semitism (in the now famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall), and tours of Third Reich hotspots, the nearby Dachau concentration camp and Hitler’s Eagles Nest tours are apparently very popular. It is enough to know this while I am here but you would be forgiven for not knowing that these dark reminders are all under your nose. Munich is a vibrant city and unlike Berlin, it has a well preserved (70% reconstructed) old town which is really very beautiful. I walk to the Marienplatz to see the incredible gothic town hall building, and for only 4 euros you can take a short elevator ride to the top of the tower to get uninterrupted views to the Alps (on a good day like today), and right across the city. If you’re there at 11am, 12pm or 5pm you’ll see the glockenspiel in the tower and hear the carillon bells too. Amazing. Round the corner is the Viktualienmarkt where you can buy your fruit, wine, meat, cheese or grab a hotdog/schnitzel/burger/roast pork bun and a litre of beer and plop yourself in the shaded beer garden. I’m not a big beer drinker but it is the drink of choice here – I have just missed Oktoberfest (it ran 19 Sept – 4 Oct this year) which sees visitors drinking 7 million litres of beer. I called into the famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall which was packed with people drinking litre glasses of beer (for 5-10 euro), eating knuckles of pork (13 euro) and suckling pig (17 euro) while listening to oompapa music…..a bit more than I could stomach. Instead I head to the English gardens which is a massive 910 acre park, and as it’s another gorgeous sunny 23 degree day seems the perfect place to be. It is packed with people enjoying the sun, including several people who felt so good in the sun they took their clothes off! There is even a part of the river where the water is so strong there are people surfing on it. I was so distracted by the unexpected naked people that I wandered off the path, accidentally slipped in some mud and got covered in dirt, so headed back to my apartment to shower and change and put on a load of washing before heading back out again for dinner. It’s surprising how dignified you can pretend to be when your backside is covered in mud 🙂

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I’ve been catching the train a bit more now that my destinations are closer together, and it’s so easy to buy a ticket online, get to the station and hop on board. I was recommended to check out the Man in Seat 61 website – https://www.seat61.com/ -and it is amazing. This guy has compiled a recommended list of train travel all over the world so you can look up how to book, what to book and useful tips before you go. Despite having looked up my trip from Copenhagen to Berlin I was surprised when my train got onto a boat for the crossing to Germany! It was in the site, I just missed it 🙂 So cool.

Train stations are pretty universally similar, so even though I can’t read the signs, normally I can navigate my way through without a problem. In Berlin though, the train station has 5 levels, each with multiple platforms and 16 tracks in total! Confusing. Worth allowing extra time if you’re arriving/transiting or departing from here just to figure out where you are. Oh and do buy a giant salted pretzel while you’re waiting for your train. Yummmmm.

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One of the things I love about travel is that wherever you go, you get to see that people are basically good, and experiencing this gives your faith in humanity a warm boost. I feel a bit uneasy about visiting Berlin, because I think the sadness of its history will be too sad. And it is. I feel sick to my stomach as I walk to the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Potsdamer Platz, the Berlin Wall museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the former secret service HQ, the site where Jewish people were deported on trains to concentration or extermination camps, and many other memorials to all of the terrible things that happened here not so long ago (not even a century). 2019 is also the 30th anniversary of the Berlin wall coming down so there are lots of memorials dotted around Berlin. Tourists with their selfie sticks climbing on things and posing for pictures with their big smiles in all of these places does nothing to make me feel better. This is a heavy place to visit. After a couple of hours I am feeling quite low and take a pause in one of the many local parks to sit in the sun and recharge. It is 24 degrees today – quite unexpectedly warm for this time of year but I am not complaining at all. Although I might have to go shopping if the warmer temperatures last because I left most of my summer gear in the UK.

Today is a Sunday, a day of rest, and nothing much is open except for these monuments, museums and food places. Being the weekend I am sure I can find some local hang-outs if I go searching, and I do find some amazing places. Berlin photo week is on and there are awesome exhibits and experiential displays in the eastern part of the city; the old Tempelhof airfield which was once the site of so much destruction and despair is now a vast park where people skateboard, fly kites, cycle, rollerblade, picnic or sleep on the grass; in the eastern side of the city people flock to the river for time out and sunshine; restaurants are packed with people enjoying their day off; and there is incredible street art on buildings and on remnants of the Berlin wall to be seen. I am so appreciative of Google maps on trips like this – I can’t imagine traveling now with just paper maps – but sometimes even Google throws a wobbly, sending you in a wild circle back to where you started, or blanking out when you are in the middle of nowhere, or giving you no clue which way to go next. Today, at my lowest moment, Google sent me into the dodgiest area of Berlin, home to some charming locals who in return for only a few Euro offered me drugs and many other pleasurable experiences. Luckily I am a seasoned traveler, so in return I offered the classic kiwi ‘oh yeah nah’, put on my meanest face and hot footed it out of there.

By the time I return to my hotel I have clocked up just over 19km of walking (you can hire bikes or catch trams but I felt like walking) and my feet (and heart) are tired. I feel a better sense of the harmony the people of this city are creating amongst the reminders of the past, but the past is all around. If, like me, you only have a short time in Berlin, I recommend looking up some travel sites and blogs for recommendations of what to see and do. The city is spread out and a game plan is definitely needed. Even I made a list 🙂

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Beach time in NZ…..as temperatures plummet for me, they’re warming up at home. Max will be loving the beach 🙂 Miss you buddy. Thank you Heliena xx

I’ve spent a week in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, and it is a place that just feels good . If you look at photos of the city you’ll see beauty and history and amazing architecture (old and new), but that won’t give you a feeling of the place, so I’ll try to let my words do the talking and suggest you take the photos below as eye candy. Denmark has consistently ranked as one of the best countries for quality of life and happiness (alongside Finland, Norway and Switzerland), as measured by income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. Taxes here are very high – the base rate is 40%,or 65%+ for high income-earners – yet the majority of people support this because they know the country will support them when they need it for healthcare, loss of job, study etc. Home loan interest rates are only 0.5%. There are bike roads everywhere, plus metro trains and buses making it so easy to move around the city. And then there’s the Danish philosophy of Hygge, pronounced ‘hewgge’ in a NZ accent. If you Google the word hygge it has a very formal description that talks about intentional intimacy and coziness. From my time here, and talking with people, it seems to mean being happy in yourself, living in the moment and sharing your happiness with others, and that happiness comes from you and not from things. Which is a wonderful outlook on life and one I can relate to! And it really does feel like that here, even to a visitor. I’m eating alone in a restaurant and people seated next to me invite me to conversation explaining we’ll all have a better night if we share it together. Trampolines installed on the footpath just to have fun with (I LOVE these trampolines so much). People move out of your way, and you do the same because it’s nicer. Babies in prams sit on the footpath outside neighborhood stores while their parents are inside. Bikes are lined up on footpaths unlocked. Cemeteries are parks where people walk and picnic and spend time, and they’re beautiful. People you meet want to help you have the best time in their city. It’s cheap to eat healthy (until recently there was a tax on nuts ! because they’re high in fat). Neighborhoods are becoming nicer and safer through the efforts of locals and start up businesses wanting to create a better place to live. I’m sure these traits also exist in other places, but this is the first place I have been where it is so apparent. As I’ve talked with people about my travel they’re like WOW that’s amazing that you’re taking time to find yourself, but that’s not it. I don’t need finding. I know who I am. I’m taking time for me and investing in my happiness and love of travel and learning new things. Which is actually pretty hygge 🙂 🙂

I’ve stayed in a few different places in Copenhagen because I keep extending my stay – first in the very centre, which is nice to see but I recommend you move out to one of the suburbs to experience life as a local. I rented an apartment through Airbnb in Norrebro which is a young hipster neighborhood and really nice to stay in. And right now I’m in Vesterbro which was an industrial area that is fast becoming known for amazing food and art. Copenhagen has 17 restaurants with Michelin stars and is quite the place for foodies – I’ve eaten in a few of the off-shoot places owned by the Michelin star places and the food is really good. Even the current food trend of porridge (made from pearl barley) is good, served savoury with chicken, coriander, chilli and peanuts; or sweet with apple and syrup.

As well as wandering and exploring in my usual way I have also booked some tours through Air BnB which have been amazing. I love biking but because I am not used to being on the other side of the road, and there are SO many bikes, I book a bike tour to help me get my bearings and understand the road rules. Highly recommend doing this, or just rent a bike and stay on the right. This city is made for biking and with no hills you can get anywhere fast. I also booked a tour called ‘Good evening, hygge and happiness’ which was the best experience, run by grad students, exploring the parts of Copenhagen you won’t find by yourself and having a wonderful time. This tour also introduced me to orange wine, which is not made by oranges, but is a type of wine that is orange in colour, organic, and really tasty. And I chose a walking tour of the city to understand its history – also run by a grad student and it was great to get a deeper insight and to piece everything together.

Tomorrow I catch a train to Berlin, and while I’m looking forward to seeing it, I am sad to be leaving because I like it so much. I must be feeling comfortable here because I am often asked for directions by people speaking Danish – I send them off in different directions with a smile, a bit of English and my few Scandi words – Ja = yes, Takk = thanks, Exact = you’re so right, Absolute = yep, Top class = that is most excellent. Hopefully they found what they needed 🙂 And if I do find a new version of myself while I’m traveling I’d like her to be part Danish 🙂 🙂

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