Day 18 - It's over!

Reality has hit us now as we sit in the departure lounge at Heathrow awaiting the first of our two flights home.

This first one is the killer, more than 12 and a half hours, whereas the 2nd one is only 7 or so hours.

Sounds like just a short one doesn't it!

While the place we stayed at last night was okay, it wasn't until this morning that we fully realised how convenient it was. Just a short bus trip to the terminal, did our boarding passes and check in by using the self service machines and we were in.

The only delay was when coming through security, something beeped when I went through.

This resulted in me having to remove my runners for a check. No result.

Then there was the pat down that did not miss a single part of my body, and I mean not one part!!

Still not happy, they brought out the scanner and ran it all over me, still finding nothing, so let me go with the rest of the cattle who were lining up to get through.

I knew I was safe and okay, but having a pat down in front of hundreds of other people can be a little discomforting.

As we had a few pounds of cash left to use up it was off to find some breakfast, and Heathrow does not disappoint when it comes to scrambled eggs and toast - delicious.

As I said in my last post, one part of us is looking forward to getting home to Will and Lachie, but the other part wants to stay here to be with Sam. Also, looking at the departure screens only makes us want to go and explore even more cities, there is so much to see over here and we have only touched the tip if the iceberg.

Flight one, the size of this thing is amazing!

This has been an amazing trip, just about everything we have seen has been new to us, so many churches, museums and historical sites visited and we have also met lots of lovely and interesting people, as well as some who we are glad to see live over here and not near us!!

Another trip is not on the cards for a while, as we might need to save a bit, but after coming back so soon after our first overseas trip together, we have learnt to never say never.

As our two younger sons reach the age where international travel becomes the norm, who is to say whether or not we go and visit them should they decide to spend an extended period overseas?

Needless to say, I have hundreds of photos to remember this trip by, and every photo has a story.

I also have this blog as a live account of what we did and where, and it captures my thoughts on the very days that the photos were taken.

To those who have taken the time to peruse it, thanks!

The 'Bernard Files' will continue when I get back home to Bendigo, but don't expect to see photos of such beautiful international places. Every attempt will be made to keep the enjoyment factor high for those who have become regular readers, as I enjoy adding to it.

Perhaps you could start one of your own and coax some of my readers into reading yours as well.

Everyone has a story to tell, so try it out, you might be like me and really get into it!

Stay tuned...

Day 16 - nearing the end of our trip.

Well today was the day I have probably been looking forward to the least, which doesn't sound good at all because we are so lucky to be doing what we are doing.

Firstly, you might recall that we are off to Les Miserables tonight, something that I must admit I haven't really been looking forward to, as musicals aren't really my thing.

Secondly, at some stage tonight we have to say goodbye to our son Sam again, meaning we might not see him again for nearly a year. That's the killer for me.

As Sam had a bit of a day out with his mates after they left us yesterday afternoon, he wasn't really contactable early today, so Jen and I wandered out on the streets for a while soaking up the change in weather for the better.

When he did rock up we decided to walk down to Harrod's and check it out. As it was nearly 11.00 and we had to go past Buckingham Palace, we forgot about the changing of the guard that happens at that time every day. There were people everywhere, and we really had to push our way through to get to where we needed to go.

The crowds were pleased to see us, but maybe the Changing of The Guards held more appeal!

After negotiating this, we found our way to Harrod's, and after 30 or so minutes we glad to be out of there as it was unbearingly warm in there. Still, it was good to say we have been there.

We decided to have a coffee instead of spending our millions at Harrod's !

As Sam has just started a new job, he needed to do some work from his house, so he headed back there for a while and Jen and I continued our wanderings, and prepared ourselves for the exhilarating entertainment that awaited us tonight 😁

Today's selfie!

Strolling through the Soho district.

And today's pano shot of the Soho district.

After meeting up with Sam at an Italian restaurant, where I ate the best pasta dish I've ever had, it was off to the theatre...

Now it is confession time...

I must admit that I have been tired on this trip as we do a lot every day, and I make sure I go to the gym each day to compensate for all the crap I am eating too!!

I remember seeing the opening 2-3 songs, and next minute it is the interval, and everyone is up and about, except me as I'd been fast asleep for most of it.

Little changed in the second half as I nodded off again fairly quickly. It's not that I was bored by it ( okay, so maybe I was) but I just could not stay awake!!!!

The curtain finally came down and the next few minutes were a blur as we jumped out of our seats to beat the crowd. A quick gathering on the footpath out the front, and a quick but heartfelt goodbye to Sam who had to catch a  different train to us. This was the part I was dreading most, so it was good that it was quick, as I probably would have lost it!

As he disappeared into the crowd I kept him in my sight as long as I could just to savour every last minute of seeing him. Can't wait to see him again.

Some packing to do tonight as we spend tomorrow night at a hotel next to Heathrow.

Day 17 - Second last day

Today has been just killing time.

We are due to head out to our new digs out next to Heathrow, as we chose to stay there for our last night rather than worry about the hassle of doing it early in the morning from central London.

Plus, Sam told us that the Underground line we would be using is so crowded at that time of the day that it would drive us nuts trying to negotiate it with our backpacks.

So today we just wandered around the shops and up to Westminster Bridge for some final photos.

The weather changed today for the better, and even though it was only about 18-19 degrees, so many locals were in their shirts and t-shirts, and even singlets in some cases! We thought that was a bit extreme, but the weather was beautiful.

One of today's pano's.

And another! Getting good at them aren't I !!

Where old meets new down a side street.

And the beautiful view walking down a random back street.

Big Ben is always impressive no matter from where you take the photo.

We are now tucked up in our digs, she is packed and ready to go and I have my crap out and everywhere. I console myself by knowing that when the plane reverses out tomorrow, my backpack will be packed and safely in the back somewhere.

We are both keen to get back home and see our other two boys, but leave here with very mixed emotions as we leave another one here.

We don't when or if we'll ever be back here (might need to go back and save some more money first!!) but we have already identified where and what we'd like to see should the opportunity arise again.

Day 15 - Back in London, Easter Sunday

We were both fairly knackered last night after a day of travelling on the trains from Berlin to London, but loved every minute just the same.

We woke up to Easter Sunday fairly refreshed and looking forward to meeting Sam and some of his housemates for lunch.

As there was a Cathedral nearby, Jen was keen to go along for the Easter service, so off we went.

It was jam packed with people leaving the service that had just finished, and people trying to get in for the next one. We managed to score some good seats and sat and waited for things to begin. 

This was when the bad news hit. Jen went and got some books, and upon reading them we discovered that before the actual Mass, there was going to be 30 minutes of singing and praying, then the Mass would take place.

We had to stay, because already there was a bun fight for seats in the Cathedral that was massive, and we'd have no chance of getting them back if we ducked out.

Imagine my dismay when the mass started and just about every part of it was being sung by the large choir ( who did sound brilliant I must say). At this rate the 10.00 service was going to last all day!

Anyway, after about 90 minutes Jen gave me a poke and suggested we leave, as she is still unwell and needed to take some more medication. Saved!!!

We quickly snuck out and walked back to our digs and did a few things. About an hour later we were walking past the Cathedral and we noticed that the service was just finishing, about an hour and a half after we ducked out.

Heading into Church...

And the crowd coming out more than 2 hours later.

From here it was out to the suburbs to go out for lunch for Easter Sunday with Sam and some of his housemates. It was amazing to see more of London that we would have otherwise missed out on, and seeing the row upon row of terrace houses.

One could almost picture what it must have been like here many years ago, especially when many would have had smoke coming out of their chimneys.

Me with Sam and his mates Jase and Mick.

We had a great few hours together, a magnificent roast lunch and loads of laughs.

After we went our seperate ways, Jen and I decided to explore around the streets where we are staying. We walked a couple of hundred metres down to the end of our street, and you just wouldn't believe who our close neighbours are...

We even took a photo of their house...

And today's selfie!

 

Tomorrow is the last day we will have with Sam as he is back to work on Tueday in a new job.

Jen has big ideas about going to Harrod's. That could be painful, mentally as well as financially!!

And you might remember in my posts about two weeks ago, that I thought we were going to see Les Miserables in London back then. 

Well, I got my dates mixed up, must have been due to my total lack of excitement about it!!

Tomorrow night is the night, and despite my other well intentioned suggestions, it is all systems go for tomorrow night.

I'm sure it will be good, at least I hope so, but Jen is really excited about it.

Stay tuned....

Day 14 - Berlin to London

It was a super early start today as we had to catch our first train at 6.00 in the morning, meaning setting the alarms for 5.00.

Neither of us must have been sleeping well, as I woke at 4.00 and couldn't get back to sleep, and then at 4.30 I hear "Are you awake?"

So all of our worries about missing the alarms was unnecessary, although no doubt we may be tired when we hit London late this afternoon.

As we left our digs so early, the reception was not open, so they told us to just lock our cards in the room as we left. We must have checked about 50 times to make sue we had everything, because once we shut that door there was no going back in.

Leaving our Berlin digs at 5.50 in the morning.

Dawn over Berlin, and the good weather arrives just as we leave.

 A similar thing happened when leaving the building, as there were only certain doors we could exit from, all other doors needed the keycard. Imagine our panic when a door closed behind us that we could no longer go back through, and we found ourselves in the main atrium of our hotel, that we were told would be locked until 9.00. For a few minutes we actually thought we were locked in and would not be able to get out, thus missing our trains.

The relief we felt when the door to the outside opened for us was unbelievable. There was quite a deal of mumbling as we walked towards this door, God only knows what we would have done if it was locked!

Our experience of running the rails yesterday paid dividends today, we made every train easily and on time. By the time we left Berlin we actually felt confident in negotiating the city by public transport, a pity that we go and leave the very next day.

Today was meant to be a flight to London, but we did choose to change our plans after the tragedy with Germanwings last week. We do realise the chances of it happening again are so remote, but we have discovered that we actually love travelling on the train as there is so much more to see.

A brief stop in Cologne to change trains gave us enough of a chance to see that this would be an amazing city to explore.

I think it was on our original plans, but we changed our route significantly when we decided to include Berlin in the trip.

After working out the time differences with her and home, I realised that I could pick up some live AFL scores, so it has been interesting to see that Essendon are touching up Sydney. The train we are on now doesn't have wifi, so I am missing out on the rest of the match!

I was also halfway through listening to the Coodabeen Champions show from last week, so even that is on hold, much to my disgust.

As we have now left Germany and are speeding through the Belgian countryside in grey and drizzly conditions, one cannot help but thinking about the various wars that have been fought in this area, particularly in the Great War when so many thousands of Aussies lost their lives in the areas we are travelling through.

And before we knew it we were changing trains again in Brussels, then under the channel and into the rolling green hills of England.

We hadn't been in our new digs for long when Sam got in touch and popped around which was great.

After ducking out for tea together Sam headed home, all ready for a day out together on Easter Sunday.

Sam and Jen in deep discussion.

Day 12 and 13 - Berlin

Well today started slowly as Jen is still unwell, but after a quick trip to the Chemist for drugs, and a shop for a big scarf, we were off.

She just got up and said ' I'm sick, but I didn't come this far to sit in a hotel room'

As it was a fairly cold and bleak morning, we decided to take a spin on the Berlin Tour Bus, one of those double deckers you see in each large European city that take you on a tour of the city highlights.

The bloke who gave the commentary was a classic, cracking jokes, giving 'nods' and generally making the trip even more interesting than it otherwise would be.

He was English, but also spoke fluent German. He would explain something in German first, then English, which meant that we got the jokes the second time around. It also meant that we we knew when a joke was coming, so we could at least prepare ourselves to laugh, whether it was funny or not.

He was just like a bloke you would find sitting at the bar in any English pub.

Some shots from the tour...

Just one of many high rise apartments in the old East Berłin. There were no windows on the west side, so that the people could not see towards the west.

What these photos do not show is how drab and grey these buildings were, as they have only been coloured up since the reunification in 1989.

Wherever we go in Berlin we see these brightly coloured pipes above the ground. I was going to ask our tour guide about them, but Jen suggested that talking to them might distract them from what they have to say on the tour.

He must have read my mind, because just as we stopped beside these pink ones he went on to explain them.

Apparently, Berlin is built over a large swamp, meaning the water table is very high. With so much building going on, they need to drain the water table before putting the pipes underground, which is why they are currently above the ground.

An old church that was bombed in WW2. It has been kept like this as a reminder of the horror that they went through.

One of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall.

The cobblestones mark where the wall once stood, a constant reminder.

Checkpoint Charlie.

This is the hotel that spies from all over the world stayed at during the Cold War. It was widely acknowledged that most rooms were bugged, but that didn't stop them fro staying here.

Just had to try out some traditional German sausage, and wasn't disappointed.

Jen feeling the cold a bit more than me.

And today's selfie at Planderplatz, a large square in Berlin where there are markets.

And sausages!!

And while in the gym which overlooks the city, I had a brainwave...I just had to go and have a beer at a bar!!

So after a quick shower, and asking Jen if she'd like to join me ( I think she would have preferred having her toenails pulled at this stage, as she is so unwell, and going out in the cold wasn't high on her agenda!)

So off I went, armed with my iPad so that I could read the news about the great win by the Tigers over Carlton, and went and found a nearby bar.

No sooner had I settled into the match review and my beer, there was a message from Jen. The next day would be Good Friday ( we have lost all track of time) and everything would be shut, and we had no food. So, she was going to make a trip to the supermarket, which just happened to be near the bar where I was.

My dilemma...do I go straight away and meet her there, or squeeze in one more quick beer and finish the articles about Richmond?

As it was fairly crowded at the supermarket, I figured the extra beer option was the one to take, and after chugging it down I managed to get there just as she was at the checkout, meaning we could walk back together. To make it up to her I then managed to cook up what we think has been our best meal on tour so far, albeit helped by a jar of mango and curry sauce!!

Sunday 2nd April

Even though it was the 2nd here, it was the 3rd back home, which meant our son Will's 20th birthday.

We felt bad at being away for his birthday, but are sure that Lachie and his friends helped to make it special for him.

Today was our day of testing the rail system to see if we were going to be able to use it to get to our train to London tomorrow at 6.00 in the morning. We thought we'd take a practice run, which only took 15 mins, so we were then wondering what to do next.

As we were already on a train, I suggested to Jen that we just stay on it and see where it went. At worst, we could get off and come back!

What a master stroke!!

It took us to an area called Potsdam, historically significant and a world heritage listed area, and only about 30 mins from Berlin.

The place was deadly quiet as it was Good Friday, the streets were huge and there were just massive spaces everywhere. You could easily spend a few days here alone exploring.

As we had forgotten that it was Good Friday, I had nothing to eat for brekky, so had to settle for this giant hot chocolate at Potsdam, that had TWO handles!!!

I'm sure the sign on the side translates clearly into English!

Hundreds of bikes at the train station belonging to those who travel into Berlin.

The Potsdam water taxi.

Just some of the wide open spaces in Potsdam.

And just topping up the energy levels for the car in the Main Street in Berlin.

And now for the most disturbing part of the day.

As we got on the train back to Berlin, another young bloke hopped on who was clearly homeless and down on his luck to say the least. He was dishevelled, barefoot and wearing what could be best described as rags. He basically had little to cover himself, and keep in mind that it has been snowing here.

It appeared that he was just riding the train as it was warm, and gave him somewhere to sleep.

Our initial response was to keep our distance on the train, but we then realised how desperate his existence really was. He was just sleeping and causing no harm to anyone.

After discussing what we could do, I chose to give him my jumper so he would at least have something to keep him warm. As our stop was coming up, more people got on and we lost sight of him, as the plan was to give it to him as we got off. He must have hopped off when we weren't looking, as a search of the carriage at our stop showed he was clearly not there. This made me realise that I should have done it sooner, as goodness knows where this poor soul is freezing tonight. I feel bad that I didn't act when I should have, as this poor bugger had 100% less than what I have, and I'd hate to think where he is tonight. My heart goes out to him.

We are now packing and setting alarms for very early in the morning, this time tomorrow we'll be in London, and getting ready to fly home in a few days. At least we'll get to see Sam again which will be great.

Did I mention that we are going to Les Miserables? Monday night. Couldn't even use the old 'I was planning to tidy up my sock drawer' to get out of that one. 

I have been told I WILL enjoy it.

Stay tuned...