Author: Glendon

Retired Australian Lawyer having worked representing the innocent and the not so innocent in Australia and some of the remote parts of the world and having travelled widely through Europe, Western Russia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Thailand Malaysia Solomon Islands northern China, Hong Kong and the UAE So now that I have the time I am writing about my travels present and past. Hope you enjoy exploring off the beaten track.

The Retirees go Abroad – Prague and the Czech Republic – Meet the Worrells

Ivor and Shanelle arrived this afternoon from Vienna. We met out the front of the Apartments as though we were meeting at Carindale Shopping Centre and that we had done so recently – last time we met was probably 18 months ago. After settling in we set off to show them the sights. Our apartment is in Wenceslas Square and is central for all the things that Prague offers. So we walked to the main square to view the astronomical clock and its hourly show along with the myriad of other tourists who turn up from everywhere. Whilst visiting the clock we also visited the tower. You access the tower from the adjoining building. Just past the lift is a dramatic glass wall made with glass logs with a feature “carved” into it. From the top of the tower we could see the city. Starting with the Powder tower once part of the city defences it is called the powder tower as that is where they stored their gun powder. Then the spires of St Vitus church, the Jan Huss memorial, the road to the Jewish Quarter, the roof tops off some of the elegant hotels.

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After getting our over view we choose to walk through the Jewish Quarter where there are some fascinating buildings decorated with motifs that seem to have no meaning. We then strolled around to Charles Bridge where we had spotted a restaurant for dinner and discussed our plans for tomorrow.

Thursday and its chilly with a forecast of the weather warming with the day. We have chosen to do a private tour. We can hire an open top mini bus for 2 hours for 3,000 Czech Koruna. Although we will repeat a lot of what Kerry and I have already seen, there is so much that we don’t mind seeing it again. The tour starts with a pass by the National Play House and swings through the Jewish quarter, past the powder tower, and the National Museum at the top of Wenceslas Square and the good King (who only reigned in the 11th century till he was 26 years old when his brother stabbed him) sits astride his horse. We then head for the other side of the River Vlana passed the “Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire” building and up to Prague Castle.

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At the castle we walked through the courtyard of the Presidential Palace into the main square where the changing of the guard takes place. We are too early for it this time. The President is home – the flag is flying. The Square has a grand fountain and what appears to be the former well covered by a bird cage. Oh and there is Shanelle and a strange man watching her. Look at that she’s picked him up. And it appears she is giving him ideas about what she wants. Just in time out come the guards to take control followed by the band. All sorts of vehicles are adapted to tourist coaches. Here one of the open top sports cars that carries four passengers.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Prague and the Czech Republic – Praha by Segway

Wednesday – we started with clear blue skies and a coolish breeze. Excitedly we hurried to the old town and our Segway tour. Alexandria was to be our guide. We selected our helmets tried the machines and we were off – inching our way forward to start. Good thing we went early so that we could avoid the crowds. We went down to Jewish Town and saw where the various notable synagogues could be found. They boast the oldest synagogue in Europe and of course I have a photo.

 

We were making our way to the river and came to where Stalin built his largest statue on the banks of the Vltana. It is no longer there thanks to Nikita Kruschev declaring Stalin a criminal and destroying the monument. Not to waste a good set of stairs and a large plinth the Czech’s built a large metronome in place of the statue. Then we went to the beach by the Vltana where the swans and ducks congregate, onto the Franz Kafka museum with the pissing politicians and then to “Lenins” wall.

Oops it was “Lennons” wall – John Lennon memorial. We also found where the restored cars/ tour taxis parked up. Then onto the Palace. The tour groups were out in force so we elected to go to the Petřín Lookout Tower. It is a 63.5-metre-tall steel-framework tower strongly resembling the Eiffel Tower. Although it is much shorter than the Eiffel Tower, it stands atop a sizable hill, Petřín, so the top is at a higher elevation than that of the Eiffel Tower. Built in 1891 it was used as an observation tower as well as a transmission tower.

We stopped for coffee and cake (a lemon and earl grey cake) and resumed our trip back down to the old town passed the statue of Karel Macha and the memorial to those killed during the communist era to end our Segway tour. I was ecstatic about the ease of using a Segway and the fun that can be had with it. The tour company Euro Segway Prague were good to deal with also.

Walking back to our apartment we passed some markets filled with tourist trinkets but also with fresh fruit and vegetables. Some of the boxes of berries looked very tempting. And there were some interesting coffee shops along the way. Back home I stopped to grab some snaps of Wenceslas Square. At one end is a large building now a museum where I can imagine Good King Wenceslas last looked out in the 11th century on the feast of Stephen, when the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even. At the other end is the passage to the old town as we are in the New Town quarter. Beds of roses lay between me and the museum and the air was full of perfume.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Prague and the Czech Republic – Getting To Know Praha

We arranged a tour of the city (called Praha by the Czechs) not on the traditional hop on hop off bus but on a small tour which rushed us around the city after which we end at the Prague Castle and then we walked down the hill to the old town. The day started with drizzle and grey skies but finished in sunshine. While waiting for the tour to start we visited an arcade. Prague is remarkable for its architecture. It is baroque, art nouveau, renaissance and gothic and on and on. The arcades are charming and popular. Here are photos of an arcade with a theatre as the centre piece.

The bus tour was a rush with a combination of English and Italian speaking tourists which meant the guide was saying everything twice and you never knew quite which building she was talking about. She took us through Jewish Town with its world listed synagogue and a history of Jewish settlement from the 10th century until WW2.

Everything else was so much of a rush that I could not be bothered trying to take photos. Once we arrived at the “castle” it became apparent that it is not a castle but rather the district is called Prague Castle. It is the old centre where the King of Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Silesia and the Holy Roman Emperor resided and his court surrounded him and the foreign dignitaries filled in the Lesser Town. So there are numerous Palaces of the King and the court making up the “Castle”. Lots of churches and disused churches like the photo below where one has been transformed into a hotel with an ecclesiastical feel. Each district making up Prague had its own town hall some grand and some like the castle where the King was top dog – quite minor. Again the architecture was fascinating like the palace below where the exterior was covered in a patterned design.

The Cathedral was as you would expect outstanding.

Then there was St Georges Cathedral with its rouge colour and phallic tower. In the courtyard of the Cathedral was the statue of a naked boy and the belief is that if fair maidens rub his phallus then they will become fertile. You will notice the only shiny part of the statue is his phallus so there are a lot of horny dick rubbing women visit Prague including the young American nurse who was amongst our tour group (centre of the photo).

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We moved down the hill through the various castle buildings and came to our restaurant where lunch awaited us. Czech ham, followed by Salmon on a potato mash and then a sorbet. Very tasty and not too filling. Down, down, down to the river we went until we came to Prague’s narrowest street. A signalised footpath would you believe it.

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We were making our way to the Charles Bridge so that we could cross to the Old Town/New Town side of the bridge (the new town dates from the 13th century and the old town from the 8th century).

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The Charles Bridge built in the 14th century by Charles IV is just for pedestrians now and it replaces two former bridges. (You can see the remains of the earlier bridges on the boat trip of the Vltana River.) It has fortified towers at either end and in the 18th century someone thought it would be a good idea to build 30 statues to saints on the bridge. The photos give you the views from the bridge to the castle to the bridge towers to a little house by the bridge, the top of the National Theatre with its golden crown, a nearby tower with the unusual turrets around the centre spire, Charles atop a pedestal to the university he created and two panoramic shots looking up and down the river.

We came upon the boat quay behind the statue of Charles and under the arch of the Charles Bridge and the remaining arches of the Judith bridge from the 11th century and another bridge lost in a flood to provide a covered harbour for these tourist ferries. Quite honestly they don’t do much and the trip was quite boring except for the beer and the ice cream handed out to all passengers. My photos show the banks of the river with Charles bridge, the yellow penguins at Kamil Lhotak an art gallery I gather, the water wheel in Certovka Canal (“certovka” is roughly devil woman and it relates to an ugly old witch who lived in a street nearby and the locals identified by painting 7 devils on her house that remain there to today).

After the boat ride we went to the astronomical clock. The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town City Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; “The Walk of the Apostles”, a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. According to local legend, the city will suffer if the clock is neglected and its good operation is placed in jeopardy and a skeleton, mounted on the clock, was supposed to nod his head in confirmation. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

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Our tour ended in a quarter of the old town created by Charles to house foreign businessmen in Prague. He was wanting to ensure they did not avoid the Kings taxes. So he built a quarter of luxury accommodation, a church, a mosque, a synagogue and a brothel for their comfort and containment. It is just off the old town square.

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There were two other Aussies on this tour – Pam and Vic from Oxenford. Pam’s feet were tired so whilst we mapped our way back to the apartment and Vic got instructions from our guide Pam pulled up a chair in a cafe and that is where we all rested until we had coffee and a chat. Parting was such sweet sorrow but we wanted to fit in another walk tonight so we left them in the cafe and went back to the square to find our way home.

This is where we met our destiny for Tuesday – we booked a Segway tour. I left Kerry to take some photos while she tried a Segway to see if she liked it and could handle it. The answer is obvious. I got some good photos of the memorial to Jan Hus a Czech protestant who taught in line with the protestant teachings of the English independent Wycliffe against catholic indulgences. Hus was burned at the stake as a heretic on the order of Pope John XXIIII following the Council of Constance. After Whycliffe he is considered the initiator of the Protestant movement and the martyr causing the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. On the way home I stopped to get these photos of the Lekarna Adam a pharmacy founded in 1520. On our evening walk I took shots of the National theatre and the monument to those lost in the black plague.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Prague and the Czech Republic – Getting There

It is a fine Monday morning in late August. We finish packing and walk around to the bus to go to the airport. Twenty minutes later we step out and into the departures lounge of East Midlands Airport. We are there three hours before departure of our international flight and 30 minutes after arriving we are in the terminal and hours too early.

Finally boarding and the trip is without incident. We find our chauffeur as we had arranged a pick up form the airport. His English is quite understandable so we chat on the way to our apartment. Kerry asks about the sights and in particular the former German concentration camp. Well, our driver is Montenegrin and he has seen it and becomes very melancholy – how frightful the camp is and remembering the wars in Bosnia etc.

We arrive at last. The sun has gone and darkness is creeping over the city. We go out to find a supermarket. Kerry spots a group of young people in the courtyard. “Do you speak English? We want to buy groceries.” she asks. One girl with limited English tries desperately to help us and leads us up the street. We bump into a street spruker for an Irish pub who speaks English. He directs us to Alberts under Debenhams by the metro but our Czech friend is not so sure. The Spruker speaks to her in English, French and German but does not know Czech so our friend follows us to Alberts just to make sure we get there. She then disappears in the crowd.

Shopping is interesting with the koruna being about 35 to the pound. Our small selection of groceries was 581 koruna or about 12 pounds. Dinner is a hotdog and a chicken cutlet and some french fries. We know how to end the day on a high!

After a restless night due to the apartment design not really permitting airflow we arose to trip around the city. The apartment design does not seem to flow. We have our bedroom in the loft without a window or airflow. The kitchen while appearing to be spacious is cramped once you open its huge window. The living room would be fine if there were some suitable furniture in it. Here are the photos of the apartment. However it does have some innovations like the carpark lift. In the square below our deck is a circular room comprising large windows with large doors and no obvious purpose. I thought it was the abandoned idea for a reception. No it is a car lift to the carpark below which holds 40 cars. You swipe your electronic card, drive in the motor vehicle and the elevator takes the vehicle to that space.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Home for a Few Days then off to the Tattoo – Edinburgh’s Tattoo

With so much happening in Edinburgh, we decided to take the train from Dunfermline Queen Margaret Station to Edinburgh Waverley Bridge Station. This was a great decision given the traffic nightmares we had already endured.

We arrived at the station and made our way to the Royal Mile found a coffee shop beside the Jolly Judge bar down a lane after battling the crowds through the Fringe.

Photos of Edinburgh and the Royal Mile

We thought we were making great time until we got to within 100 metres of the Tattoo entrance. Here the officials Military Police and local Police were marshalling the ticket holders and corralling us until the gates opened. So there we stood for about ½ an hour before going through security then the ticket check then the ushers. Whew, nobody tells you about that.

Inside our seats were great except that we looked directly into the western sun. The set up was continuing and whilst people were straggling in the show began.

Photos of the set up the ceremonial introductions, the flyover and the massed pipers.

Somewhere in the massed pipers were the Manly Warringah Pipers but how to distinguish them I don’t know. We did pick out the Ghurkhas though. Then came the US Air Forces Special Command drill team with their bayonet fixed drill.

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There were fiddlers from the Falklands, dancers from Dun somewhere Bollywood presentations and Lotus Eaters and dragons.

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Even the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) sent the band from the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army). Not to be out done the Citadel Military College from South Carolina joined in.

Then the best act of the night – Switzerland’s Top Secret Drum Corps from of all places Basel. Finishing was left to the Queen’s Colour Squadron to show us “Marching up and down”. Followed by the Queen’s Own colours regiment.

The finale saw everyone massed on the parade ground whilst fireworks burst above in a twilight sky. Great show.

Then came the walk back to the train to find the next train came 90 minutes later. Oh well at least we got to sit down as we had to stand up on the train to Perth to get home.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Home for a Few Days then off to the Tattoo – Culross and North Queensport in the Kingdom of Fife

We left Harrogate relaxed and prepared for rain wind hail and a long trip to Dunfermline. Due to the Edinburgh Festival the Edinburgh Fringe and the Tattoo accommodation was at a premium in Edinburgh. Dunfermline is in the Kingdom of Fife and just north of Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth Bridge.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express but the trip to get there was very tiring. Traffic snarls and Tommy leading us up the garden path meant when we arrived we just needed a drink. Fortunately the predicted bad weather did not eventuate. After some dreadful takeaway and the subsequent indigestion, we slept soundly awaking to a bright sunshiny day with little cloud in the sky. A great day for the Tattoo and our planned visit to the ancient village of Culross and the old ferry port of North Queensport.

Culross is a village and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. Originally Culross served as a port city on the Firth of Forth and is believed to have been founded by Saint Serf during the 6th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was a centre of the coal mining industry. Sir George Bruce of Carnock, who built the splendid ‘Palace’ of Culross and whose elaborate family monument stands in the north transept of the Abbey church, established at Culross, the first coal mine in the world to extend under the sea, in 1575. The mine worked the coal seam under the Firth, with ingenious contrivances to drain the constant leakage from above. This mine was considered one of the marvels of the British Isles in the early 17th century, until it was destroyed in a storm, in 1625.

Photos of the palace and the family monument in the Abbey church.

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Culross’ secondary industry was salt panning. There was a considerable export trade by sea in the produce of these industries and the prevalence of red roof tiles in Culross and other villages in Fife is thought to be a direct result of collier ships returning to Culross with Dutch roof tiles as ballast. The town was also known for its monopoly on the manufacture of ‘girdles’, i.e. flat iron plates for baking over an open fire. The town’s role as a port declined from the 18th century, and by Victorian times it had become something of a ‘ghost town’. The harbour was filled in and the sea cut off by the coastal railway line in the second half of the 19th century. The village has some unusual street names also.

Photos of the town buildings, streets and the sea wall

The other notable building is the remains of the Cistercian house of Culross Abbey, founded 1217. The tower, transepts and choir of the Abbey Church remain in use as the parish church, while the ruined claustral buildings are cared for by Historic Scotland.

There is a bust in honour of Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald outside the Culross Town House. He was the first Vice Admiral of Chile.

Photos of the bust Town House and Cistercian Abbey ruins.

We also visited North Queensport the home of the world’s smallest light house. Primarily we went there to view the rail bridge the road bridge and the new bridge under construction. The village was also a snapshot of history losing its importance as a ferry port when the road bridge terminated a need for a ferry service.

Photos of the rail bridge, the road bridge the stanchions of the new road bridge the modern Liner terminal, the smallest lighthouse and someone’s lounge room we mistook for the lighthouse.

I would have to say that Culross was one of the prettiest villages we have visited. We had arrived early and we seemed to be following the postie or vice versa. We chatted to him few times and noted he was wearing shorts and a short sleeve cotton shirt whilst we were dressed much more warmly. He pointed out a few things particularly that the television series Outlander and several motion pictures have used Culross as a location.

We returned to the hotel just in time to rug up for the Tattoo as the clear skies had brought the cold and the wind.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Home for a Few Days then off to the Tattoo – Fountains Abbey

Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately three miles south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for over 400 years, until 1539, when Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and part of the designated Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more of the history of the site go to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountains_Abbey

Nerida Bishop had been telling us for ages that this was one place we had to visit and she was right. For our experience we walked through a forest along a cliff edge to reach the abbey ruins. Along the way we stopped at a bird hide to see what creatures were in the forest. The groundsmen set up a feeding site for the birds and one squirrel must have thought he was a bird. Not content with scavenging on the ground he climbed up on to one of the feeders – well see for yourself.

Then we made our way down to the ruins and met the volunteer guide showing tourists through the site and giving us the history. It seems that a number of Benedictine monks decided that life was too easy around York and they had lost their religious way. They formed their own group and were given some lands in this valley where they nearly froze to death but having survived went on to prosper join the Cistercians and suffer the same fate of the Benedictines – victims of their own earthly success, until Henry VIII took all that earthly success for himself.

Well in 400 years they developed this Abbey to the point where it was more palace like than abbey. The ruins tell you that but the giveaway is the last of the Abbotts built a tower for no other reason than to have a tower and show off the wealth of the abbey. Anyway enjoy the photos, they include the water mill which believe it or not was still working until 1936 and then became a generator for Fountains Hall for another 20 years.

Despite the ruins being at the bottom of a cliff the imposing tower was evident from far away. As we climbed down the cliff we could see the body of the church with the large set of storage rooms running across the face of the Abbey. The Abbey is located beside a creek which once ran straight but has been diverted to one side and used to carry waste and sewerage from the Abbey. The roof and windows have been gone for a long time but it is obvious that the weight of the roof and enormous windows caused stresses on the building frame with buttresses built to re-enforce walls and window cracks cover with clever masonry figures.

 

 

The watermill although not as impressive has proved to be the most resilient building and it still generates power for the Hall today.

 

 

As we departed we made a quick call to the Hall where a wedding was occurring. There was not much to see really but it was interesting to learn that the Lord of the Manor had supported Charles I in the Civil War and lost his fortune for choosing the loosing side.

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The Retirees go Abroad – Home for a Few Days then off to the Tattoo

Since we returned from Buckingham Palace we have continued our routine as members of the community in Long Eaton. Part of that routine is to assist at St Mary the Virgin Church at Attenborough. On our last working bee we were not sur e whether we may fit in another working bee so I took a photo of the Clean – up Crew. It has always been enjoyable working with this group of dedicated volunteers. As we work amongst the graves most days, we can probably include a few of the spirits around the place but of course they were absent for the photo.

Photo of the crew in the Vestry at morning tea

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The other group we routinely meet with and work with is the Rotary Club of Nottingham. The same thing applies here. We enjoy the company of all the members (despite their gentle ribbing when Australia shows its glass jaw in the cricket) and they seem to genuinely enjoy our irregular appearance and assistance. George, one of the senior members of the Club has held an annual Summers Garden Party and has done so for years. He always seems to pick the summer day and then the weather returns to usual UK weather and this year was the same. Though I was not confident that it was warm enough for swimming and stayed dry.

Photos of our host George, the new President John and Geoff, Past President Roy and David Kerry and the girls

The UK is a small place when compared with Australia but despite this it is always taking us longer than planned to travel anywhere by car because of the infernal delays on the motorways and slow trek when forced onto country roads even though the scenery is often stunning. So we planned our trek to Edinburgh (some 5 hours north) into two days – Harrogate and Fountains Abbey on day 1 and Edinburgh day two.

Harrogate is north west of York and famous as a spa town in Georgian times. Our hotel – the Majestic – although a relic of the Victorian age, is a good example of the idle pursuits that the town became famous for. Built in 1900 in 12 acres of parkland and only 5 minutes walk from the centre of Harrogate the hotel must have been the 7 star hotel of the Victorian era but today it suffers from its glorious past belonging to an era that is not to everyone’s taste today. Sad opulence I would describe it as. But it provided a wonderful backdrop for our wedding anniversary and staging point for Fountains Abbey and Edinburgh.

Dinner in the dining room that night and breakfast the next morning before we took to the treatment rooms for a massage and then a relaxing swim and spa. The way it should be always.

The town itself was easy to navigate but seemed to have become stuck in the same era as the Majestic. However we found a park with a photo frame and when others saw us a number wanted to copy us and we became unofficial photographers for three or four families.

Photos – Harrogate park and the Majestic Hotel

 

Nearby to Harrogate is the ruins of Fountains Abbey and its gardens and it is a story in its self for another day.

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The Retirees go Abroad – London in July – Audrey Hepburn Exhibition

The National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square held an exhibition of photographs on the life of Audrey Hepburn and we visited the exhibition before heading home. As you would expect no photos permitted.

The website for the gallery carries this statement about the exhibition;

“This fascinating photographic exhibition will illustrate the life of actress and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993). From her early years as a chorus girl in London’s West End through to her philanthropic work in later life, Portraits of an Icon will celebrate one of the world’s most photographed and recognisable stars.

A selection of more than seventy images will define Hepburn’s iconography, including classic and rarely seen prints from leading twentieth-century photographers such as Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Terry O’Neill, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn. Alongside these, an array of vintage magazine covers, film stills, and extraordinary archival material will complete her captivating story.”

I have taken some of the photos off the web site and these are below.

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After viewing the exhibition we went to the top floor restaurant for tea and discovered a great vantage point to view parts of London.

It was time to go home. So back to the hotel then the tube station to Moorgate station and collect Thistle for the drive to Long Eaton.

The Retirees go Abroad – London in July – Tower Bridge and Globe Theatre

We had attempted a visit last time we were in London with David and Veronica and missed the opportunity by being diverted. Not this time.

From Tower Hill tube station we walked past the Tower of London down to Tower Bridge. Built 1886–1894 it is a combined bascule and suspension bridge crossing the River Thames The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge deck is freely accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians, whilst the bridge’s twin towers, high-level walkways and Victorian engine rooms form part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

Entering upon the bridge from the north bank we proceeded to the first tower and after paying our fee we entered an elevator taking us to the top of the tower and a video presentation on the creation of the design for the bridge. From there we walked on the eastern gangway to the other tower stopping to view the river from the glass floor and to take pictures of London high above from the middle of the Thames. From the south tower we circuit back across the western walk way and then down the stairs and onto the engine rooms. As we do a boat travels through the open bridge. Quite a remarkable structure.

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It is then quite an easy walk along the south bank past Hayes wharf where there is a metal work sculpture of something that looks like it is out of a Jules Verne novel onto Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Here we did a guided tour after visiting the museum. Unfortunately I could not take photos as they were doing a rehearsal for that night so we got to watch the last three scenes of the play.

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Now completely exhausted we dragged ourselves across the Millennium Bridge over to Blackfriars tube station and home