2022 October 25th - December 15th: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, UK and France
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| We are in the old town, Tallinn, Estonia Back streets, full moon, Kayla |
Dateline: 2022 December 26th. Toronto, Ontario
Sailing was over, the boats had been put on their cradles. Toronto was glorious. But!
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| I have arrived from Toronto/ Gatwick This is my (incredibly expensive) pad in Oslo Kayla & Zam, aka Jurgen |
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| Start as I am expected to proceed I guess? Dinner at the local Indian. One of the few types of food Kayla can expect to live through without Celiac complications |
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| Next day, Kayla & I wander around a pretty miserable Oslo. |
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| We are on the roof of the Oslo Opera House Forget it, prices here are astronomical |
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| Kayla heads back to here new home I investigate the town. Here, the palace grounds |
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| Heading towards the town centre |
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| This is a relatively well thought out city. Probably only a few cities have Jaguar E vehicles as taxis |
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| Lots of old world and new world |
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| Once I have found a washroom (difficult for old people here), I can see that I really like the town Like fruit & veg stalls and great supermarkets everywhere |
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| I've convinced Kayla that it's here turn to take me out |
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| Sunday and Zam has the car so we head out to the local hills for a hill hike |
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| My knees don't appear to mind this time |
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| Not a big deal, but good views and a chance to get out |
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| It's Sunday, so it's a big family outing here |
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| A touch of been there, done that, but a fun diversion |
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| This is a Norwegian bank note. The only currency I saw for weeks. EVERYTHING is charged on a card |
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| Zam drops me off. I head to the local river and walk down it to town. A hot chocolate and a well deserved piss break |
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| E mobile everything, everywhere. Use it, dump it, anywhere |
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| We have caught the Oslo train to Trondheim. I'm hoping for endless fjords, Northern Lights and lots of sweaty hiking up mountains. It's nearly 3PM and the sun is setting |
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| Fully multi cultural too |
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| There's a lot of rivers in Norway Something to do with rain I guess. This one flows through Trondheim |
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Next day we do a pretty massive hike into the hills west of the town |
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| The city is very livable with some old world charm |
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| A long way, and if you like hiking, which we do very enjoyable, but zero mountains |
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| But no mountains here either |
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| Just a lot of really well maintained hiking paths through the forests |
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| We were maybe heading for the hill just over Yonder But as it was getting late, we decided we had reached where were heading for |
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| Of course, we take the longest routes |
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| Of course, we don't exactly get lost just confused |
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| Had snacks and turned back |
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| We catch a ferry across an actual fjord and hope |
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| We eventually work out its a cross country ski run, complete with (working) street lights |
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| We follow a winding, very wet, path |
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| There's lots of bog here. Very wet bog |
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| It's easy buying food at the stores here, but this time our AirBnB is a nightmare for cooking |
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| Part of the loop. The town obviously has a lot going for it Mostly when the sun is shining I'd guess |
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| Next day, it's a grand tour of the town. Best in the summer maybe |
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| I was amused by the level of automation here. Quite literally, "Tap 'N Crap" |
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| Next day, and into town via the back streets |
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| Good luck with that folks Great idea, and as this is Norway, there's almost certainly funding available |
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| It wasn't the best hike. Actually, yesterday's was better |
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| After a few Km's we have some form of snack |
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| And checking our surroundings, eventually decide to get out of here on a friendly local bus |
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| But only after another long hike over pretty boring roads, heading back to the ferry |
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| Which is pretty reliable, and very easy to book through the local transportation app )of course) |
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| I'm constantly amazed by other countries public transit Everything works and makes sense |
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Once again, love the public transit getting here Our Helsinki AirBnB is easy to find and a great place This is the harbour market, which would work a lot better in the summer It's bloody cold here |
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| This to the airport for flights to Helsinki |
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I'm not, but stumble across one of the mini market restaurants in town. The best salmon soup and never ending bread BONUS! Toilets |
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| Kayla & I head out around the town. We are very central She's meeting a summer camp friend for lunch |
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| Next day, we ferry to the local harbour islands |
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| I meet Kayla after our various lunches, and we head off to the local museum Everyone HATES Russians and Germans |
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| The main channel entrance for domestic, ferries and Finnish navy |
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| And an ancient ship yard There's also a museum here which gives a lot of insight into the German invasion (Finns HATE Germans) and occupations (It ended badly for all the Quislings - the name of the puppet PM) |
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| Back on the mainland Yet another church where we warmed up on the pews |
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| I'm not too impressed with the temperatures here Helsinki |
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| Another mini restaurant market. Yes, Rudolf Reindeer soup. It wasn't very good, but I expect Rudolf is well past his best eat by date anyway |
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| Kayla's friend has recommended that we check out the Helsinki library (really!!?) It was amazingly stunning. Would that Toronto could invest like this |
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| Helsinki Library roof with grey miserable view |
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| But we have places to go to AirBnB's to move into Helsinki - Tallinn, Estonia ferry |
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| We are incredibly central, just 100 metres from Viru Gate the old defensive area of the town |
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| Well, we knew it was going to be November, but, very few tourists |
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| And of course, Estonia's signature, flowers and flower sellers |
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| The old wall is still standing and functional, even if it's only a tourist attraction. The first time I've needed cash since Canada |
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| It's late, but we still try yo get a few touristy bits in |
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| It's quite impressive, probably more so in the sunshine |
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| We enjoy it immensely Kayla's new culture |
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| We head to a local pub Salmon soup is definitely to be missed |
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| Kayla modelling Full moon in old Tallinn |
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| Our AirBnB had a personal sauna. I use it |
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| Tallinn Song Festival grounds Site of the singing revolution, C1991 |
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| Of course, everything public is closed for the season |
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| Being a new Estonian, Kayla immerses herself in her new motherland |
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| Kayla has booked a visit of the old (C1480?) town hall. It's not open to the public in winter |
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| Town gate by moonlight Somehow, some of this stuff has survived from the 14thC |
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| Somehow, some of this stuff has survived from the 15thC |
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| Keik in de Kok Museum. There's lots here Mostly well done and informative |
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| To be fair, there's an awful lot of old Lutheran churches around |
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| Just to keep the peasants and any superfluous bad guys in line |
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| I am going to the West Does that count? |
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| Apparently a cafe in the summer |
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| View from a top floor of the castle |
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| I come from the South West? These guys got around |
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| We've done most of the fortress Kayla has run off early to get a new tattoo |
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| Kayla modelling here Estonian heritage (Apparently, Estonia's national bird and flower) |
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| The fortress was extensive and mostly very old |
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| Arriving Tartu after our bus trip Tartu is the old capital and the major university town in Estonia there's a museum here. The KGB cellars. The actual location of KGB head office. Fascinating. Guess What? EVERYONE here HATES Russians |
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| Next day and we head to the Estonia National Museum A truly amazing place. The best I've ever seen |
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| Where Kayla spots the National Bird of Estonia as in tattoo |
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| You cannot imagine the depth and breath of the entire exhibits Totally 21st century tech too |
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| The Gunpowder Cellar. Kayla want's to try it out Quirky place but far too much testosterone here for me to feel comfortable |
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| We were up pretty early for our bus to Riga Heading into Riga old town |
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| Our AirBnB in Riga is fantastic. Supposedly a UNESCO site Supremely wonderful |
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| Latvian war of independence memorial |
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| Kayla wants to rest. I'm out for a tour of the town. The local friendly army inviting the population to inspect one of their troop carriers |
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| Riga's Orthodox Cathedral I'm stunned that anyone can still believe this stuff |
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| Riga has a bucket load of old charm, cobbled streets, green spaces and great cafe's. Here's a Christmas market |
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| Kayla out of it, but enjoying the culture and R & R of it all |
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| I've booked tickets for tonight's Opera (Friday) while coming down here on the bus: La Traviata Good production, but surprised that it's so popular |
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| Next day, there's lots of lovely streets and coffee shops |
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| Kayla really misses here baked delights, so she always heads to and Celiac free stores. Very sad while we were here, a beggar/ refugee asked us 5 Euros. We have no cash. A bit devastating for me |
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| The Russian Embassy. Note dePiction of Putin opposite. Also "Fuck Putin" signs everywhere |
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| The National History Museum Total waste of time, nearly chewed my arm off |
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| We are totally central old town 15 seconds to the main square 5 minutes to the opera house |
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| The old town is fun to wander around |
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| But it's a lot of fun We are cooking in pretty much every meal here. I've found the best bread in the world Latvian Black Rye |
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| I noticed at last nights opera, there's a Latvian bubbly at the bar I buy one in a supermarket for about E3. It's E5 per glass at the show |
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| Riga's Daugava river and traveller |
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| Don Giovani. Saturday Night A weird night out. The Don is a real cad and ends up evaporating in a sheet of flames because he is an evil seducer. Who writes this stuff? My experience of seducers is that they screw your girlfriend and move onto the next victim laughing all the way from your bedroom to the next one |
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| Daugava river, two travellers and churches |
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| We decide to head around town To the other side of the river It's extremely uneventful |
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| Our last day in Riga |
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Riga Opera House Pretty good venue, Incredibly cheap |
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| La Traviata. It was cheap enough to go, but I wouldn't pay real prices for it |
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| And I'm off on my own to the Sunday matinee I'm glad I went. Puccini is always fantastic. Best one yet Tomorrow, flying to Krakow |
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| Caption |
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| Basilica Maryaka, inside Same old stuff here |
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| Old town, Krakow. Poland We have a lovely place right in the old town, luckily, around the corner from tourist mayhem here in the square |
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| Auschwitz, Polish Oświęcim, also called Auschwitz- Birkenau |
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| Prayer Mats and shawls |
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| I've borne witness to several masacres Like The Killing Fields in Cambodia There is no depth humanity cannot sink to |
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| Its a production line of guides taking around a million+ visitors every year. Our's was very keen and thorough, Auschwitz and Birkenau |
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| Apparently, there was a plan (this was Germany occupied Poland) to get rid of all the evidence, but the Russians advanced too fast for it all to be hidden from the Allies |
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| Used Zyklon-B Containers |
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| -B C |
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| Suitcases. Hope survived until the very end |
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| Unspeakable cruelty and degradation Something about the Master Race> |
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| The camp wasn't for the ones heading for the gas chambers. These were for the workers keeping the murder mill running |
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| This was a huge barracks |
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| And if you didn't qualify for the luxury treatment |
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| "Living" conditions were literally inhuman disease rampant |
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| This was the Beta version. Birkenau was industrial strength |
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| Birkenau Camp. At least a million, emptied out of the Baltic, and European ghettos from about 1943 |
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| Maybe a real cattle car as used, but it's aged pretty well if it was original |
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| You do actually feel how these people who were just coming into the camp must have felt |
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| This is what remains of the mass gass chambers AKA, "showers". About 1000 - 1500 per extermination |
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| Well, it look pretty benign here, but I don't need to escape the barbed wire of machine gunning guard towers |
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| Next day it's pissing down We head off to the local castle Wawelu Krakow is actually hard work Very difficult getting food, not really much here except being tourist bait |
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| And back to the central square in Krakow. Luckily, there is a food store everywhere here, but very little food in them. Lots of booze We try a Moldovan savignon tonight |
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| Another church. Same old stuff but it does have a belfry with real bells and sarcofagii for various Polish notables. Was that Chopins tomb? |
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| A Bell Way up a church tower that should come with a health warning and age limit |
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| It's free entrance day. I screw it up so we only have access to the armoury. At least it's dry in here |
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| There were two "super" markets in town. Both about the size of a large 7 - 11. This was the fruit and veg section Lot's of tiny ones, all selling lots of booze Endless bakeries for baked and sweet stuff What do these people eat here? |
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| And that's it. Up early again. We head off in different directions Kayla back to Oslo, me off to Bristol, then Toulouse |
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| Once I've eaten that, it's all downhill from there |
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| First things first, a bacon & tomato sandwich al la Newt |
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| A stroll into Exmouth is the highlight of the day |
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| mas Ma |
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| Or was it the trip to the British version of a high tech industrial estate, down a long country road behind a farm Hmmmmmm |
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| I need to come here to Exeter to deposit some old sterling notes into my bank account But there's a typical British "Christmas Market" here too Pretty damn good roast pig sandwich. Dreadful parking |
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| Of course, this being UK, nothing is organised to actually sit somewhere and eat it..... |
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| A parting gift from Lindy. the best Sainsburys bread mix |
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| The sad barbeque, just outside the kitchen window. Is it always raining here? Nothing to see here Move along |
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| A toast as we celebrate Lindy's birthday And with one mighty leap to Heathrow, I'm away to the races |
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| Well, such as it is. Peter struggling with old age and infirmity Something to do with being a bad boy biker when he shouldn't have been trying to reclaim his Mojo |
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| Club Shem Paradiso hard at work just being there for everyone |
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| Straight back into the projects. Shelving pre garage reorganising, again! |
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| Shem is off looking after grandkids in Paris. I'm chef and chief social coordinator. Natalie & Martin |
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| An automated Pizza stand I would never have thought of one of these |
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| The fruits of my 2nd project labours It took forever, mainly because there's a lot of high maintenance required here The labours for the shed wrecked my back for a week |
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| Kayla has been looking forward to coming here for years She arrives for a brief week. Jurgen (not Zam anymore) follows for a quick weekend |
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| Jurgen is leaving Oslo immediately after work on Friday Kayla & I head to investigate Toulouse We have tickets for Dvorak and Beethoven in town tonight |
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More tourist stuff this time Albi |
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| The Fig tree in Winter With view |
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| The tourist route Castelnau de Montmiral |
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| Even at this time of year, Club Shem is still so special |
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| A morning at the St Antonin-Noble-Val. Coffee & Croissant |
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| Then a stroll around the local cliffs overlooking St Antonin-Noble-Val |
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| As ever, Kayla making use of dads credit card to stock up on French gluten free swag prior to her return |
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| Last day in Gaillac. Here, the sheer quantity of great wines available Peter & Shem have both headed to babysit in Paris Francois (the Alexanders house cleaner) is taking me to the local station for my train trip to Paris tomorrow Once Kayla had her times set, I could book my return, from Paris |
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| I've taken the TGV, finally View from my AirBnB apartment |
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| From my AirBnB in Paris, quite close to the station, I pig out on really good (and cheap actually) sushi |
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I've taken my leave of the Alexanders and headed out to explore the city of lights |
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| There's security to get into the Eiffel Tower complex, and huge numbers of rats all around |
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| There's a million shots of the tower, especially at night, especially in winter, especially on the Seine |
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| Champs Elysee. Totally gorgeous, AND! Bonus, I've never been so happy to see a MacDonald's Unlike most places, it's just walk in (hobble cross legged in my case), and use the facilities I locate and head to a Ramen shop, and then back through FIFA World Cup deserted streets Tomorrow, it's back to Toronto for what turned into a Covid infused non Christmas HO HO HO! |
And that's it, anyone who has made it through to here
For everyone else, the secret is (whisper it)
TURN OFF THE TV
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