We left Pretoria at 6:50 am on Friday - we were off to Cape Town. Yay! Neil drove us to Jo'burg (about 35 to 40 minute drive) as he had to go back to Pretoria and in to work for a meeting. He will join us in CT around 16:00. At the airport, the parking system entails booking a valet to meet you in a designated spot and he takes the car and parks it until you return. Usually washing and cleaning the car are included in this process. You call them on your return and they bring your car to you. At the car rental place, George and Sheryl were at the desk making some changes to our contract so Sheryl could be the primary driver -she is a good driver. Grant and I were watching the top 10 of animals and golf courses on a TV monitor screen. Number 3 was a sea gull picking a golf ball off the green and dropping it into a pond. This question was not answered: where does the golfer play from? Our car was a white Lexus which had all the bells and whistles.
Our place was in the de Waterkant area which is pretty upscale and uphill. Lots of skinny alley-like roads. Parking again was a bit of an issue at that time of day so we finally went into a parkade and walked to the check-in place. We toured our apartment and decided it was perfect and had all the things we needed and wanted. Grant and Sheryl went to move the car closer while George and I relaxed. Sheryl brought us watermelon and mint drinks which we enjoyed on the top terrace. Luckily there was an umbrella to keep the sun off our heads.
Lunch was at "Table 13". The presentation of our meals was delightful. Avocado appears in most sandwiches. The greens are called "rocket" and usually accompany every food. Also spinach is on the menu in many places. We started on the patio but soon moved out of the sun. I have a kind of ugly hat that I planned to wear in the sun but it was nixed! We visited the "Spar" grocery store so breakfast would be covered. Then back to the airport to pick up Neil. He was pleased with the Lexus.
A Cooking class of Traditional SA food: what could be finer! We arrived at Leopard's Leap, a winery near Franschhoek--lovely landscaped place with an outstanding winery house. The decorated Christmas trees were interesting--made of branches that were cut and arranged in a triangular shape like an evergreen tree and then decorated. George took a photo so maybe I will try to make one sometime, next year? We were met at the door with refreshing cocktails and proceeded into a room that was like being in a TV cooking show. Pieter, the chef talked and demonstrated what we would cook. He is an Afrikaner (descendant of the Dutch and Huguenots) and used words from the language and also spoke to some of his staff in Afrikaans. He made some lamb sausage in the fashion of my childhood memories of making sausage. (I thought this was way beyond what I thought we would do!) However, after the demonstration we were served some which was lovely. Our first job was to make an appetizer using figs, blue cheese, puff pastry, biltong, pea shoots, spices and a wine sauce which we also made. There was avocado and cream cheese dip for garnish. We were in groups of four wearing large white aprons and each had their own station. What fun! After the prep, we joined the rest of the group of 13 and ate together. We met a couple and their two kids from the Utah who had been in Jo'burg for 3 years and were on their way to Geneva at the beginning of January. At the other end of the table with Sheryl and Neil were a couple from Durban, a woman from Germany and a father and son who lived nearby. Our next task was to cook venison (from Springbok) which we were to butterfly and stuff with Feta, Dijon mustard and celery leaves and then, wrap in "net vet" which is the fatty stuff that covers one's stomach. Of course, it was already washed and prepared so all we had to do was touch it and wrap it around our piece of meat. Sheryl needed to only touch the meat with one finger which complicated the butterflying procedure. It was very tasty but a bit of a challenge to get it cooked so it wasn't running red, right Grant? Mine was cooked too well on one end and not so much on the other end. The chef also made a salad with samp (a sort of pasta), snoek (a fish which was smoked) and other stuff salad. After each cooking, we sat together and ate what we made with some additions from the chef and his minions. Oh yes, the beef tongue! Pieter had prepared and cooked it although it still looked like a giant tongue. He cut it with grace and ability and then added a marinade and arranged it with aplomb on a place. I could hardly watch this! Surprise!! It tasted really good--kinda soft and beefy and the marinade was the finishing touch. Did I mention wine was presented and enjoyed at every possible minute! We were treated to Malva pudding with custard which is very traditional and resembled Sticky Toffee Pudding. Yum! And really, who could complain about custard. There was also specialty coffee and tea. What a wonderful experience. Yay.
Parking is a source of income for many here and in other parts of the country. The way it works is in parking lots or on the street, there are men, well, mostly men, who help with parking for a tip. This probably includes insuring that your car is safe in some areas. Anyway, upon arrival the Parker guy will wave you forward and in the direction of where they is a spot in his "area". You drive to where the spot is and he directs your parking. You either give him a tip when you leave the car or when you return. He will also direct you out of the spot. Well, we arrived at the Good Neighbours Market with thousands of others and parking was hard to come by. Unfortunately, we were spotted by two Parker guys nearly at the same time. Neil turned down a street toward one Parker guy's spot and the other thought we were his. The two nearly came to blows. Using the wisdom of Solomon, Neil offered to pay them both. Parker guy 1, insisted that we indeed go with Parker guy 2. (Maybe Parker guy 2 was more senior in the job, maybe tougher, who knows!) Finally, Parker guy 2 went back to his area with some outrage but accepted the money. We parked and scrounged up some change--the payment is usually between 5 Rand and 10 Rand which is between 50 cents and one dollar. In Pretoria, N & S keep a cash of change in the car for this parking game but we were driving our rental Lexus in Cape Town, so we paid both Parker guys and went off to the Market. This little dance happens in any parking situation, whether on the street or in a parking lots.
Lunch on Saturday was at Devil's Peak. It is a craft beer place which pleased Grant and Neil. George ordered a taster which was five shot glasses of different beers. They served lovely hamburgers with rocket as part of the garnish. I requested a strawberry milkshake. It arrived and was blue and had no strawberries. We all agreed that it was tasty. When we quizzed the waiter about its contents, he said they were out of strawberries so he choose what he thought was the next best thing.
Imagine Kirstenbosch Garden with a hillside of 2000 glo sticks waving in time to the music. That was the end of a Christmas Carols evening we attended. We took a picnic as did nearly everyone else--others's picnics included wine and wine glasses that sat on a stand that was pushed into the ground and had a loop at the top to hold the glass. Picnicking here is serious business. There were many lovely Christmas carols, angels and all the characters from the Nativity scene. Imagine again a soloist singing "O Holy Night" in the coming darkness--spectacular. The last song, of course, was "Silent Night" which is when we sang and waved our sticks. All the lights were turned off so it was pretty dramatic. Another parking story--finding a parking spot at first, was quite a challenge and we were all glad to stop the car and as Neil put the car in park the GPS person's final instruction was "drive to highlighted route". She was a tad behind us.
Sunday, coffee and breakfast at "Origin" a cool breakfast place. Some of the waiters had t-shirts which had " Some like it Black" on the back. "Origin" was near our place--lovely coffees and teas. The teas came with a small black teapot with tea leaves to add and a timer. Then we drove to the Waterfront and experienced the "parking dance". Although this one had an added component--the Parker guy, while riding his bike, lead us through the underground parking garage to a spot where we parked. He rode along waving us to follow him and then he waited for his tip. Later, we wandered around downtown, through Company Gardens by the Parliament and into a book store. One of the books I looked at was "Zuma, Goodnight" It was fashioned after "Good Night Moon" a childhood fav. George looked at one called "Where is Zuma" fashioned after our kid's childhood fav called "Where is Waldo". We hear a lot about Zuma on the news, he is the not so popular president of SA. There were some marches on Reconciliation Day last week that included some "Down with Zuma" sentiments. Lunch at "Truth" cafe which is a place we have been to before--sort of a warehouse decor with many tables and one long table with extension cords coming down from above resembling old time light bulbs. These are for charging cell phones.
We had a mountain top experience on Sunday afternoon. The weather was perfect, clear and cloudless. We drove up to Table Mountain, a must experience when in CT. We took a cable car to the top. The car revolved so we had great views of where we had been and where we were going. There are many paths to walk and see the views at the bottom of the mountain. The only wildlife is the Dassies (read dussie). A child called it a badger and an adult was heard saying "some varmint". We wandered and enjoyed and then waited an hour for the cable car to return. If there are clouds that cover the top of the mountain, it is called the "tablecloth".
A marvelous dinner at the Taj hotel--you can guess the ethnicity of the food. Some friends of S & N joined us and it was a party. We ordered a variety of Indian food and each tried everything, kind of like a family dinner. George and I are not too experienced with this food but really enjoyed all the flavours and textures. A highlight was between the appetizer and mains--it arrived at the table in a seemingly smoking dish. In the insert was mango sorbet and in the outside dish was dry ice. What a delightful treat. There was also some yogurt to cool our spice-hot mouths. It was fun to be included in this fantastic dinner and evening.
Monday, we had another sit on the top terrace and then headed out for a drive along Chapmans Peak--many stops for photos along the way. The scenery was breathtaking. Then a visit to see SA penguins at Simons Town. Love the way they march like shuffling soldiers not moving their arms(?) We poked along in the kiosk markets stalls. Lunch at "Lekker". The word seems to be a noun and a verb and an adjective and means like or good. Continued the drive back to Cape Town to visit a comic shop that Grant had read about. He wasn't impressed so we headed to a winery for a tasting.
As we approached the site, there was a security guard who Neil chatted with. The guard admired our car and Neil told him that unfortunately it was a rental. The guard suggested we give it to him, tell Hertz it was stolen and he would lend it to us the next time we were back at the Constantia Winery near Cape Town. Driving down the lane to the winery house was so green and lush with purple flowers and giant cork trees. I think we all had a feeling of peaceful relaxation just viewing it all. I was happy to skip the wine and sit on the front terrace.
Then back to the airport--had to stop to gas up. I think we can all relate to the stress of trying to find a gas station to fill the tank before returning a rental car. There was one at the exit to the airport but not at the entrance. Getting to it could be quite involved. At my suggestion, we made a slightly illegal turn and saved a bunch of GPS instructions. Our flight was delayed an hour so by the time we got back to Pretoria, it was midnight. Good night, Moon!
What a grand time. Sheryl did some great planning. Neil was the primary driver--a task he is master at. Grant helped with setting up the GPS. George had booked the car and he and I were the encouragers. Great group to travel with and a great weekend.
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Monday, 14 December 2015
Six days in Mauritius December 7 to 13, 2015
After 12 hours in airplanes, we arrived in Mauritius. A shuttle drove us to our resort in Flic En Flac--along the way we viewed mountains, sugar care farms, lots of construction and a few small towns. We checked in and went to bed. 12 hours later, we were revived and ready for the beach. Had to buy a "woggle" for me, water shoes for George and then we spent most of the afternoon floating in the Indian Ocean. Yay. This resort has themed buffets and tonight it was Mauritian and ending with Mauritian dancing. The drumming and singing sounded like our Aboriginal music and the dancers had yards and yards of fabric in their skirts which they whirled around in. Very lovely.
Today, a tour to a Tea Factory and a vanilla museum. Did you know that all tea starts from the same kind of leaves and the way it is processed makes the tea? For example, to make vanilla tea, they add vanilla powder to black tea and it sits together for 3 months and voila! Vanilla tea. I am no longer surprised that real vanilla is so expensive. It is quite a process to get vanilla. I have to admit that I only like herbal tea which isn't actually made from tea and I never use vanilla as I don't like the taste of it. However, it was an interesting day--although a long drive. Mauritius is really quite small--only takes an hour to drive across. It is a beautiful island with many lakes, mountains and of course, the ocean. We visited a couple of plantation houses and had an excellent lunch at one. The lunch started with smoked marlin--delicious.
Today, a tour to a Tea Factory and a vanilla museum. Did you know that all tea starts from the same kind of leaves and the way it is processed makes the tea? For example, to make vanilla tea, they add vanilla powder to black tea and it sits together for 3 months and voila! Vanilla tea. I am no longer surprised that real vanilla is so expensive. It is quite a process to get vanilla. I have to admit that I only like herbal tea which isn't actually made from tea and I never use vanilla as I don't like the taste of it. However, it was an interesting day--although a long drive. Mauritius is really quite small--only takes an hour to drive across. It is a beautiful island with many lakes, mountains and of course, the ocean. We visited a couple of plantation houses and had an excellent lunch at one. The lunch started with smoked marlin--delicious.
I think if our dermatologist could see my skin, she would be shocked. I got quite burned today and I don’t know how it happened. I was almost never in the sun without sun screen and mostly when I have a swimsuit on, I am mostly under water. Oh my! On Tuesday, we didn't get sunburned so why did we on Thursday! My skin is hot and hurts. When I am out I must us an umbrella to keep the sun off me. Sheryl said that it is possible to get burned even under water. The temperature here is between 30 and 35 in the daytime and 25 at night.
Our next tour day involved visiting a ship model making workshop. There were models of the ship Vasa which we saw in Sweden. It was built to the King's specs but was too high so on its maiden voyage it sank after 1 kilometer--didn't even make it out of the harbour in Stockholm. It spent 300 years under water, was raised and is on display in its very own museum. Kind of cool! We visited and were blessed at a Hindu shrine and temple. There is a shrine to Shiva who is one of their many gods. Over 300 thousand people go there to pray at the annual pilgrimage . We saw a volcano crater, a waterfall, huge tortoises, a rum distillery and many other sights. It is a small island but there is lots to see.
Our next tour day involved visiting a ship model making workshop. There were models of the ship Vasa which we saw in Sweden. It was built to the King's specs but was too high so on its maiden voyage it sank after 1 kilometer--didn't even make it out of the harbour in Stockholm. It spent 300 years under water, was raised and is on display in its very own museum. Kind of cool! We visited and were blessed at a Hindu shrine and temple. There is a shrine to Shiva who is one of their many gods. Over 300 thousand people go there to pray at the annual pilgrimage . We saw a volcano crater, a waterfall, huge tortoises, a rum distillery and many other sights. It is a small island but there is lots to see.
If I summed up our time here, I would say our schedule was: arrive, float in the Indian Ocean, tour, float in the Indian Ocean, tour, float in the Indian Ocean, leave for Jo’burg and Pretoria. The food has been excellent--every evening there is a theme at this resort. There is happy hour every night for a few hours. We usually go down to the bar, get a drink and then play "Take Two" which is Neil's game. Well, sort of, it is played with Scrabble tiles and no board and when he plays, it is called "Take One".
George read that Mark Twain once said that God first created Mauritius and then used it for the blueprint for paradise. I think he is right.
And on to South Africa. Yay.
George read that Mark Twain once said that God first created Mauritius and then used it for the blueprint for paradise. I think he is right.
And on to South Africa. Yay.
Monday, 7 December 2015
Six days in London, England, December 1 to 6, 2015
Arrived on a flight from Charlotte, NC, a tad early and with some sleep as the plane wasn't full so we could stretch over a couple of seats. We took a bus to our B&B--the hosts are fine. Our first task was to get an Oyster card which allows unlimited travel by bus or tube. We always try to sit on the top level in the two front seats. We spent some time wandering around Trafalgar Square--lots of buskers. We visited Leicester Square looking for discounted show tickets. Saw a bus that had "If you wouldn't eat your dog, why eat turkey? Go vegan!". I thought: dog, turkey, dog, turkey--seems like a no-brainer! Also there was a demonstration against bombing Syria which caused our bus to take a diversion, read detour. There would be vote tomorrow night which would be pro bombing and so it goes--the bombing would start on December 2nd. We had a lovely dinner at St. Martin in the Fields. Who could have known how much I like custard on dessert.
We took a ride on the London Eye which is spectacular. Visited some parts of the Tate Modern. I just don't get modern art! I think that I need Grant to give me a tutorial. We had hoped for a guided tour but the guide didn't show up. There was a lovely Christmas market nearby. We walked to buy Sheryl some tea at Twinings of London--tasted some delicious tea with lavender in it. The tea was made using boiling water from a tap. Seemed like a great way to scald oneself.
Shows: First "Sunny Afternoon" which was a musical about the "Kinks" who I didn't remember but George knew most of the songs. A couple of women sitting next to us and in fact, the whole theatre loved the music. Our seat mates told us that the story line fit what happened to the group. Very talented group.
Second "Cats"--amazing. Could be the best musical we have ever seen. The dancing was superb and the music and singing was great. The orchestra was perfect. We loved every minute of it.
Third--"The Illusionists" which was right up my alley. What amazing talented people. Everything was done with a camera transmitting it to a large screen. One fellow was extremely funny.
Had a great guide at the Victoria and Albert museum. The guide quoted Prince Albert as saying that happy people are easier to rule. I wondered if Mr. Trudeau would agree with that. The guide inspired us to consider training to become guides when we settle in Ottawa again. He is a retired architect and was so passionate about the museum. He pointed out how the museum puts old and new art side by side. There is a gallery which is cast courts which contains copies of wonderful sculptures from places all over Europe. Students could study them without having the expense of travelling to the different places. Of course, Michelangelo's David was there. There was a sculpture of a mother breastfeeding her baby. What a marvelous place! We had coffee at a cafe which we entered through the garden. The eating rooms were magnificent. Also tried some pistachio cake which I wouldn't recommend.
The Lighting of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar square happened on Thursday. The tree had been cut and sent from Norway. London is very dressed up for Christmas all the trees seem huge. It is a tad windy this evening.
Moved to a different B&B. This one is more rustic. George went to the Churchill War Rooms and Museum and was pumped when we met up again. I went to the National Gallery. Monet's painting are so amazing. We had coffee in the cafe and chatted with Claire and Brienne on facetime.
Our Oyster cards make travelling around so simple and easy. We still walk lots but it is great to just flash our cards are ride merrily along. On our last day, we attended a service at Westminster Abbey, wandered through a few markets and briefly visited the Portrait Museum. Most museums have free admission so it feels OK to spend a short time and get a brief look.
So an hour by coach to the airport and then on to Mauritius. London is a wonderful, people filled place--great to be there.
We took a ride on the London Eye which is spectacular. Visited some parts of the Tate Modern. I just don't get modern art! I think that I need Grant to give me a tutorial. We had hoped for a guided tour but the guide didn't show up. There was a lovely Christmas market nearby. We walked to buy Sheryl some tea at Twinings of London--tasted some delicious tea with lavender in it. The tea was made using boiling water from a tap. Seemed like a great way to scald oneself.
Shows: First "Sunny Afternoon" which was a musical about the "Kinks" who I didn't remember but George knew most of the songs. A couple of women sitting next to us and in fact, the whole theatre loved the music. Our seat mates told us that the story line fit what happened to the group. Very talented group.
Second "Cats"--amazing. Could be the best musical we have ever seen. The dancing was superb and the music and singing was great. The orchestra was perfect. We loved every minute of it.
Third--"The Illusionists" which was right up my alley. What amazing talented people. Everything was done with a camera transmitting it to a large screen. One fellow was extremely funny.
Had a great guide at the Victoria and Albert museum. The guide quoted Prince Albert as saying that happy people are easier to rule. I wondered if Mr. Trudeau would agree with that. The guide inspired us to consider training to become guides when we settle in Ottawa again. He is a retired architect and was so passionate about the museum. He pointed out how the museum puts old and new art side by side. There is a gallery which is cast courts which contains copies of wonderful sculptures from places all over Europe. Students could study them without having the expense of travelling to the different places. Of course, Michelangelo's David was there. There was a sculpture of a mother breastfeeding her baby. What a marvelous place! We had coffee at a cafe which we entered through the garden. The eating rooms were magnificent. Also tried some pistachio cake which I wouldn't recommend.
The Lighting of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar square happened on Thursday. The tree had been cut and sent from Norway. London is very dressed up for Christmas all the trees seem huge. It is a tad windy this evening.
Moved to a different B&B. This one is more rustic. George went to the Churchill War Rooms and Museum and was pumped when we met up again. I went to the National Gallery. Monet's painting are so amazing. We had coffee in the cafe and chatted with Claire and Brienne on facetime.
Our Oyster cards make travelling around so simple and easy. We still walk lots but it is great to just flash our cards are ride merrily along. On our last day, we attended a service at Westminster Abbey, wandered through a few markets and briefly visited the Portrait Museum. Most museums have free admission so it feels OK to spend a short time and get a brief look.
So an hour by coach to the airport and then on to Mauritius. London is a wonderful, people filled place--great to be there.
Friday, 4 December 2015
Brienne, You are our wonderful granddaughter.
Brienne Victoria McLaughlin Klein born January 24, 2015. What a joy!
We spent a week at Oak Island at Christmas before you were born. Your Mama was big and we watched your footprints go across her tummy when you were being active. I gave her tummy massages just for fun. Your Dad's family was here as well so we had many fun visits while watching your Mama and waiting. Christmas was fun.
We got a call from your Grandma Klein on January 24 saying you were on your way. It hadn't been a cake walk for your Mama but I will leave her to give you the details at a later time. On February 1, we arrived on Oak Island and stayed in a cottage on 13th St. You were such a lovely baby - reminded me of your Mama when she was your size. You cried a bit but mostly ate and slept and we could hold you a much as we wanted to. Your Mama was studying Engineering and we were here for two months to help take care of you. We all had to hold you carefully because you could only just lay there. We needed to support your back.
We four grandparents are in charge of food and taking care of your parents. Your Klein grandparents will be here for a few more days. You are doing well--it is so lovely to hold you. We went along to you first doctor's appointment. You are perfect. Your Mama comes over to visit and has a nap while we take care of you. Your Mama also works on her studies. You sometimes wear a baby sweater that belonged to your Mama. It was knitted by your great aunt Beth. The bonnet fits--there is also booties and leg warmers neither of which stay on very well. Ours days are filled with you.
At your one month pediatrician visit, you weighed 12 pounds. You are growing perfectly. Grandad and I went with your Mama to a baby massage lesson--very interesting. You seemed to like the process.
In March, we moved to Myrtle Beach. Your parents joined us for the weekends, then back home so your Dad can go to work. You and your Mama came to visit nearly everyday. Your Auntie Sheryl and Uncle Neil arrived to meet you--both enjoyed holding you. They went to OKI to take care of you while your Mama attended Science Olympiad. Arleigh, Krista and Violet arrived for the week. Everyone, including Violet got to hold you. You like to lay underneath a baby toy thing and kick and look at the toys. Your Mama is a very relaxed mother. Your Aunt Rebekah came to see you as well. We had a houseful of people to enjoy my birthday celebration. You had lots of other visitors. What a darling you are!
Your Uncle Grant arrived on March 24. He was happy to hold you and in fact, you were the very first baby he had ever held. On March 26, you had your first vaccinations. You were not impressed.
What a wonderful time we had watching you grow from birth to three months.
You had your first airplane ride to Manitoba in June. Your Mama brought a yoga mat so you could lay and stretch in the airports. Your Dad brought a stuffed whale for you to look at. You are such a darling--smiling and enjoying stroller rides. You don't sit yet but your are moving a bit--launching yourself forward off the blanket. Everyone loved you and held you. You fell asleep in the arms of my best childhood friend's Mother and also with a friend of great Aunt Arleigh. (We were in Neepawa for the memorial service of your great Grandma Gladie. A lovely time to introduce you to the McLaughlin relatives.)
A highlight (for me) was you and your Mama having a photo with Al Simmons who is an entertainer who performed at Clear Lake on Canada Day. (He was a family favourite when our three were young.) You were wearing a Canada Birthday red onesy and I had my Canada Day t-shirt on and we had a photo together as well.
We are back again for another three months with you and your parents. Grandad and I were here to take care of you and we had a pact with each other to go to the beach every day possible. You had already learned to dance with your Dad as the teacher. (08/09) You were smiling and sweet. You had learned to crawl since we saw you in June and were gliding around furniture. We had a routine in September of a morning walk and nap, play and then another nap in the afternoon. We didn't worry about feeding you and your Mama was mostly here to give you your milk and her motto was "food before one is just for fun" so any extra food was to practice being part of the family at the table. By 16/09, you had learned to wave and would sometimes wave when someone was leaving. We played PattiCakes with your hands and feet and by 17/09, you were clapping. You were crawling and cruising around furniture. Your other Grandma arrived and then you went to stay with her in Wilmington on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She took you to the library to a lap session which you loved. What a joy for us, grandparents.
You are a smiley, lovely baby. When we arrive or you arrive at our place, you are very excited to see us. Grandad gives you whatever food is on the menu. Some things you like are avocado, mashed bananas, sometimes baby cereal and scrambled egg. You also like to suck on a piece of celery. Your Mama puts the food on your highchair tray and you eat some and mess with the rest. You will no doubt see photos from Halloween, where you have green eyebrows, face and hands from eating avocado. You have become a toddler--stumbling along like a drunk with your hands up. On November 9th you were walking around carrying an empty milk jug. You are as happy with empty yogurt containers and formula bottles as you are with actual toys. You still love to dance--you wiggle you bottom and sometimes shake you head and move your arms in time to the music. Your Dad taught you well. You also like to try to open our kitchen cupboards so elastic bands are holding the sink one closed. You played with plastic stuff in our kitchen. Grandad put some toys in another cupboard but you haven't discovered it yet. You like to play with a large magnet on our fridge and now you can remove it as well as put it back.
You are a treasure and we are delighted and feel fortunate that we are here to be part of your first year. You love books--you will study them closely, turning pages and now (November 11th), you love to sit and listen to the same book again and again. Current favourite is "The Paper Bag Princess" You also love to go on stroller rides--sometimes it puts you to sleep and on others you just ride happily along. You also jabber and I think if we understood baby jabber, we would be impressed with what you are saying to us. Sometimes you talk to yourself while looking at books. You often bring a book, wait to be picked up and read to. You like to touch the "furry" or "slippery' parts of the book. Maybe you be will left-handed. You like to drum and imitate anyone who beats time on the table or milk carton.
Today you were the star of the Art Show--walking around and smiling at all the people when they talked to you. You and Mama came over for cookies after and you stayed to play with us. You were busy pushing a walker kind of toy and when you ran into something, you would just steer it around the obstacle. Clever girl. We bought you a stuffed puppy with places to push for music. You know where to push but don't push hard enough. You love to hear the songs. You move with the music.
Today we went to Leland for lunch and an errand. You were delighted to sit at the table in the high chair and watch and see all that was around. The cook came over to remark on how you were watching him with such interest. You had a bit of flat bread to eat. We went to "Fuzzy Peach" to celebrate your Mama being accepted into Engineering. You were happy to be there.
You love the "I am gonna get you game". You giggle and walk/run away and then wait to be grabbed and hugged. You and I love the Hands, Finger Thumbs book--if I drum, you keep time. Also you like to imitate the drumming. You love to play when we also sit on the floor with you. One time you were giggling and walking around me and leaning on my back. Then you spun around and to my side and fell. I just caught you before you hit the ground. You like to have piggyback rides.
Your hearing is excellent--always hear small bells and sounds. Yesterday, your Mama was giving your Grandad a reflexology treatment in the bedroom. They were chatting softly and you perked up your ear to the sound. You and I were in the living-room.
Today is our last full day here until February. Your Dad is away in DC for your Great Grandma Klein's funeral. So we spent the day with you and your Mama. We went to the playground--you walked around, had a swing and went down the slide into Grandad's arms. Then we went to the beach. Your Mama took your socks off and you walked in the sand--you were delighted.
I forgot to write about "Baby Signing Time". You love to listen to the music and watch the small children sign. The purpose is to help you communicate with your caregivers until you have the real words. We love it too and look forward to continuing with it in February.
Tomorrow is November 30. You will stay with us while Mama goes to an Extreme STEM tour. Then we will go to Wilmington to the airport. This has been a fantastic time for us. We will always treasure our time with you and your parents. They love you and take such great care of you. See you on January 31 at the airport. In the mean time, we will face time with you whenever we can.
We spent a week at Oak Island at Christmas before you were born. Your Mama was big and we watched your footprints go across her tummy when you were being active. I gave her tummy massages just for fun. Your Dad's family was here as well so we had many fun visits while watching your Mama and waiting. Christmas was fun.
We got a call from your Grandma Klein on January 24 saying you were on your way. It hadn't been a cake walk for your Mama but I will leave her to give you the details at a later time. On February 1, we arrived on Oak Island and stayed in a cottage on 13th St. You were such a lovely baby - reminded me of your Mama when she was your size. You cried a bit but mostly ate and slept and we could hold you a much as we wanted to. Your Mama was studying Engineering and we were here for two months to help take care of you. We all had to hold you carefully because you could only just lay there. We needed to support your back.
We four grandparents are in charge of food and taking care of your parents. Your Klein grandparents will be here for a few more days. You are doing well--it is so lovely to hold you. We went along to you first doctor's appointment. You are perfect. Your Mama comes over to visit and has a nap while we take care of you. Your Mama also works on her studies. You sometimes wear a baby sweater that belonged to your Mama. It was knitted by your great aunt Beth. The bonnet fits--there is also booties and leg warmers neither of which stay on very well. Ours days are filled with you.
At your one month pediatrician visit, you weighed 12 pounds. You are growing perfectly. Grandad and I went with your Mama to a baby massage lesson--very interesting. You seemed to like the process.
In March, we moved to Myrtle Beach. Your parents joined us for the weekends, then back home so your Dad can go to work. You and your Mama came to visit nearly everyday. Your Auntie Sheryl and Uncle Neil arrived to meet you--both enjoyed holding you. They went to OKI to take care of you while your Mama attended Science Olympiad. Arleigh, Krista and Violet arrived for the week. Everyone, including Violet got to hold you. You like to lay underneath a baby toy thing and kick and look at the toys. Your Mama is a very relaxed mother. Your Aunt Rebekah came to see you as well. We had a houseful of people to enjoy my birthday celebration. You had lots of other visitors. What a darling you are!
Your Uncle Grant arrived on March 24. He was happy to hold you and in fact, you were the very first baby he had ever held. On March 26, you had your first vaccinations. You were not impressed.
What a wonderful time we had watching you grow from birth to three months.
You had your first airplane ride to Manitoba in June. Your Mama brought a yoga mat so you could lay and stretch in the airports. Your Dad brought a stuffed whale for you to look at. You are such a darling--smiling and enjoying stroller rides. You don't sit yet but your are moving a bit--launching yourself forward off the blanket. Everyone loved you and held you. You fell asleep in the arms of my best childhood friend's Mother and also with a friend of great Aunt Arleigh. (We were in Neepawa for the memorial service of your great Grandma Gladie. A lovely time to introduce you to the McLaughlin relatives.)
A highlight (for me) was you and your Mama having a photo with Al Simmons who is an entertainer who performed at Clear Lake on Canada Day. (He was a family favourite when our three were young.) You were wearing a Canada Birthday red onesy and I had my Canada Day t-shirt on and we had a photo together as well.
We are back again for another three months with you and your parents. Grandad and I were here to take care of you and we had a pact with each other to go to the beach every day possible. You had already learned to dance with your Dad as the teacher. (08/09) You were smiling and sweet. You had learned to crawl since we saw you in June and were gliding around furniture. We had a routine in September of a morning walk and nap, play and then another nap in the afternoon. We didn't worry about feeding you and your Mama was mostly here to give you your milk and her motto was "food before one is just for fun" so any extra food was to practice being part of the family at the table. By 16/09, you had learned to wave and would sometimes wave when someone was leaving. We played PattiCakes with your hands and feet and by 17/09, you were clapping. You were crawling and cruising around furniture. Your other Grandma arrived and then you went to stay with her in Wilmington on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She took you to the library to a lap session which you loved. What a joy for us, grandparents.
You are a smiley, lovely baby. When we arrive or you arrive at our place, you are very excited to see us. Grandad gives you whatever food is on the menu. Some things you like are avocado, mashed bananas, sometimes baby cereal and scrambled egg. You also like to suck on a piece of celery. Your Mama puts the food on your highchair tray and you eat some and mess with the rest. You will no doubt see photos from Halloween, where you have green eyebrows, face and hands from eating avocado. You have become a toddler--stumbling along like a drunk with your hands up. On November 9th you were walking around carrying an empty milk jug. You are as happy with empty yogurt containers and formula bottles as you are with actual toys. You still love to dance--you wiggle you bottom and sometimes shake you head and move your arms in time to the music. Your Dad taught you well. You also like to try to open our kitchen cupboards so elastic bands are holding the sink one closed. You played with plastic stuff in our kitchen. Grandad put some toys in another cupboard but you haven't discovered it yet. You like to play with a large magnet on our fridge and now you can remove it as well as put it back.
You are a treasure and we are delighted and feel fortunate that we are here to be part of your first year. You love books--you will study them closely, turning pages and now (November 11th), you love to sit and listen to the same book again and again. Current favourite is "The Paper Bag Princess" You also love to go on stroller rides--sometimes it puts you to sleep and on others you just ride happily along. You also jabber and I think if we understood baby jabber, we would be impressed with what you are saying to us. Sometimes you talk to yourself while looking at books. You often bring a book, wait to be picked up and read to. You like to touch the "furry" or "slippery' parts of the book. Maybe you be will left-handed. You like to drum and imitate anyone who beats time on the table or milk carton.
Today you were the star of the Art Show--walking around and smiling at all the people when they talked to you. You and Mama came over for cookies after and you stayed to play with us. You were busy pushing a walker kind of toy and when you ran into something, you would just steer it around the obstacle. Clever girl. We bought you a stuffed puppy with places to push for music. You know where to push but don't push hard enough. You love to hear the songs. You move with the music.
Today we went to Leland for lunch and an errand. You were delighted to sit at the table in the high chair and watch and see all that was around. The cook came over to remark on how you were watching him with such interest. You had a bit of flat bread to eat. We went to "Fuzzy Peach" to celebrate your Mama being accepted into Engineering. You were happy to be there.
You love the "I am gonna get you game". You giggle and walk/run away and then wait to be grabbed and hugged. You and I love the Hands, Finger Thumbs book--if I drum, you keep time. Also you like to imitate the drumming. You love to play when we also sit on the floor with you. One time you were giggling and walking around me and leaning on my back. Then you spun around and to my side and fell. I just caught you before you hit the ground. You like to have piggyback rides.
Your hearing is excellent--always hear small bells and sounds. Yesterday, your Mama was giving your Grandad a reflexology treatment in the bedroom. They were chatting softly and you perked up your ear to the sound. You and I were in the living-room.
Today is our last full day here until February. Your Dad is away in DC for your Great Grandma Klein's funeral. So we spent the day with you and your Mama. We went to the playground--you walked around, had a swing and went down the slide into Grandad's arms. Then we went to the beach. Your Mama took your socks off and you walked in the sand--you were delighted.
I forgot to write about "Baby Signing Time". You love to listen to the music and watch the small children sign. The purpose is to help you communicate with your caregivers until you have the real words. We love it too and look forward to continuing with it in February.
Tomorrow is November 30. You will stay with us while Mama goes to an Extreme STEM tour. Then we will go to Wilmington to the airport. This has been a fantastic time for us. We will always treasure our time with you and your parents. They love you and take such great care of you. See you on January 31 at the airport. In the mean time, we will face time with you whenever we can.
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Oak Island, NC September, October, November, 2015
Well, after driving and driving, we arrived at Claire and Noah and Brienne's house. yay.
Our little cottage is great, quite compact but has what we need--air conditioning is very important as the temperature in usually in the 30s. (that's Canadian) A bonus is an outdoor shower which is great to wash the sand off after being at the beach. We have a pact to go to the beach everyday when the weather is fine. We usually go after Brienne goes home and after 17:00.
We are here to take care of our darling grandone while Claire studies and Noah teaches. So we have her every day from about 8:30. Our routine is a walk that includes Claire--Brienne usually sleeps for the hour we are walking. Then back to our place to play. Did I mention how much energy it takes to care for a 7 month old!!! She is crawling and gliding around furniture. Our place is baby proofed so she goes everywhere. We are protecting the wires of the TV, etc with pillows and suitcases. George usually gives her some food at lunch time and then she has a long nap. Claire goes to the University on Tuesday and Thursdays and the other days she studies at home. She is taking 3 courses--2 are online.
Brienne has figured out how to clap. It is so delightful to watch her learn--she has great concentration. She will also bounce up and down if you say dance to her. I have been trying to remember little rhymes from our children's babyhoods. She does like "PattiCakes, PattiCakes, Bakers' Man.)
We went to church for the last two Sundays looking for friends to have dinner with. Everyone is very friendly and different that we wonder if, in fact, this is really a Lutheran Church. It is called St. Peter, there are two services, two choirs and it is full of geysers like us and older. There is also a nice coffee hour but no Sunday school. And we lost our keenness and found no friends. We did meet our neighbours across the street and spent the turtle vigil with them and chat when we see each other.
Last evening, Brienne, George and I met Claire and Noah for a fundraiser at Brunswick College. It was many restaurateurs serving morsels and we got to sample them Yum--some delicious southern dishes!
This was our second trip to Myrtle Beach. We went on Labour Day Sunday and were amazed at the amount of traffic compared to March when we are usually there. We had a Sunday to Monday, sleep-over there and stayed at a hotel by Barefoot Landing. Did some chair swimming. This was the night of the big moon and the eclipse but it was too cloudy to see anything.
Well, I have become a coughing Snuffleupagus--haven't had a cold in forever but it has me now. I am doing everything to get it under control before Linda and Larry come for Thanksgiving. I can't tell you how often I wash my hands! The germs have me! Yes, I ended up going to see a doctor and I have acute Bronchitis which is a drag. After a week if antibiotics, my lungs are clearer but I will have the cough for a few more weeks. Being sick sucks!
So another trip to MB to pick up the L's. We had a little walk on the beach as they have not been there before--also a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Hey, Sheryl said there will be a KK in Jo'burg. What about that. We had an amazing Thanksgiving feast--Claire and Linda did the cooking and we all enjoyed. While they were here we had a tour of Southport via a golfcart. Southport is a quaint town nearby where many movies and TV shows have been filmed. George and Linda and Larry and Claire enjoyed touring the Battle Ship in Wilmington while Brienne and I rested at home. The week sped by and there was more to do but alas another trip to MB and they were flying on home. So this weekend we took it easy, went chair swimming and walked on the beach.
Oh, yeah, we had a gecko invasion, well, one came into our cottage. Linda and Larry were here to help hunt him down. I am not a hunter so I joined an advisory committee of one while the others chased him around the kitchen. They all had plastic bags on their hand so they wouldn’t actually have to touch it. He came toward Linda but she lost her confidence and missed him. Then he sped under the fridge. I had visions of seeing him crawl up the wall and onto the ceiling. Linda saved the day by using the broom to encourage him to come out from under the fridge. And he did. George was the hero and snatched him up and put him outside where he might be living happily ever after. It is hard to know as the chase may have put a damper on his joie de vivre! Now George says he is an international gecko hunter as he saved us from one in Pretoria, too.
We are enjoying chair swimming again, (October 24th)--nothing like sitting in the waves and watching them crash into shore. The water is very salty and of course, wet! George celebrated his birthday with a lovely dinner at Claire and Noah's. One of our friends summed us up like this: "Cathy and I want to wish you a Happy Birthday. I don't know what the number is (year of birth) and it does not matter. The essential thing is that you and Pat have filled the past year with amazing adventures. You are not a year older, you are a year richer for the experiences you have had. We definitely miss your presence. Nevertheless we are truly delighted that you are going places, meeting people, and doing things that we think are wonderful. When you tell us about your travels, we get to share in your experiences vicariously. So - keep on moving! We look forward to seeing you again in Ottawa, when the time comes."
Our little cottage is great, quite compact but has what we need--air conditioning is very important as the temperature in usually in the 30s. (that's Canadian) A bonus is an outdoor shower which is great to wash the sand off after being at the beach. We have a pact to go to the beach everyday when the weather is fine. We usually go after Brienne goes home and after 17:00.
We are here to take care of our darling grandone while Claire studies and Noah teaches. So we have her every day from about 8:30. Our routine is a walk that includes Claire--Brienne usually sleeps for the hour we are walking. Then back to our place to play. Did I mention how much energy it takes to care for a 7 month old!!! She is crawling and gliding around furniture. Our place is baby proofed so she goes everywhere. We are protecting the wires of the TV, etc with pillows and suitcases. George usually gives her some food at lunch time and then she has a long nap. Claire goes to the University on Tuesday and Thursdays and the other days she studies at home. She is taking 3 courses--2 are online.
Brienne has figured out how to clap. It is so delightful to watch her learn--she has great concentration. She will also bounce up and down if you say dance to her. I have been trying to remember little rhymes from our children's babyhoods. She does like "PattiCakes, PattiCakes, Bakers' Man.)
We went to church for the last two Sundays looking for friends to have dinner with. Everyone is very friendly and different that we wonder if, in fact, this is really a Lutheran Church. It is called St. Peter, there are two services, two choirs and it is full of geysers like us and older. There is also a nice coffee hour but no Sunday school. And we lost our keenness and found no friends. We did meet our neighbours across the street and spent the turtle vigil with them and chat when we see each other.
Last evening, Brienne, George and I met Claire and Noah for a fundraiser at Brunswick College. It was many restaurateurs serving morsels and we got to sample them Yum--some delicious southern dishes!
This was our second trip to Myrtle Beach. We went on Labour Day Sunday and were amazed at the amount of traffic compared to March when we are usually there. We had a Sunday to Monday, sleep-over there and stayed at a hotel by Barefoot Landing. Did some chair swimming. This was the night of the big moon and the eclipse but it was too cloudy to see anything.
Well, I have become a coughing Snuffleupagus--haven't had a cold in forever but it has me now. I am doing everything to get it under control before Linda and Larry come for Thanksgiving. I can't tell you how often I wash my hands! The germs have me! Yes, I ended up going to see a doctor and I have acute Bronchitis which is a drag. After a week if antibiotics, my lungs are clearer but I will have the cough for a few more weeks. Being sick sucks!
So another trip to MB to pick up the L's. We had a little walk on the beach as they have not been there before--also a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Hey, Sheryl said there will be a KK in Jo'burg. What about that. We had an amazing Thanksgiving feast--Claire and Linda did the cooking and we all enjoyed. While they were here we had a tour of Southport via a golfcart. Southport is a quaint town nearby where many movies and TV shows have been filmed. George and Linda and Larry and Claire enjoyed touring the Battle Ship in Wilmington while Brienne and I rested at home. The week sped by and there was more to do but alas another trip to MB and they were flying on home. So this weekend we took it easy, went chair swimming and walked on the beach.
Oh, yeah, we had a gecko invasion, well, one came into our cottage. Linda and Larry were here to help hunt him down. I am not a hunter so I joined an advisory committee of one while the others chased him around the kitchen. They all had plastic bags on their hand so they wouldn’t actually have to touch it. He came toward Linda but she lost her confidence and missed him. Then he sped under the fridge. I had visions of seeing him crawl up the wall and onto the ceiling. Linda saved the day by using the broom to encourage him to come out from under the fridge. And he did. George was the hero and snatched him up and put him outside where he might be living happily ever after. It is hard to know as the chase may have put a damper on his joie de vivre! Now George says he is an international gecko hunter as he saved us from one in Pretoria, too.
We are enjoying chair swimming again, (October 24th)--nothing like sitting in the waves and watching them crash into shore. The water is very salty and of course, wet! George celebrated his birthday with a lovely dinner at Claire and Noah's. One of our friends summed us up like this: "Cathy and I want to wish you a Happy Birthday. I don't know what the number is (year of birth) and it does not matter. The essential thing is that you and Pat have filled the past year with amazing adventures. You are not a year older, you are a year richer for the experiences you have had. We definitely miss your presence. Nevertheless we are truly delighted that you are going places, meeting people, and doing things that we think are wonderful. When you tell us about your travels, we get to share in your experiences vicariously. So - keep on moving! We look forward to seeing you again in Ottawa, when the time comes."
Brienne is trying to walk. She is delightful--she will take a few steps and then realize that she doesn't actually quite have the balance to walk so she plops down and giggles. We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to watch her grow. Starting in November we will have her everyday again. Noah's Mom was here and took charge on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She will return to NC in December.
Well, Halloween has come and gone. Lots of neighbours decorate but nary a child appeared for candy. Brienne turned into green baby while eating mashed up avocado with her hands. It was even in her eyebrows and her face had a green tinge. Her costume when she visited Noah's school was Batman. Sunday we went go to Southport to see "Blythe Spirit"--very well done, excellent actors.
November is here already--my health is still not back to normal. I am still coughing but improving--although I have sore coughing muscles. Brienne has definitely become a toddler. She rises from the floor and steps out and around--still a tad wobbly but she is only 9 1/2 months old. She is such a treasure. We spend our days caring for her and then we visit, do chair swimming and do the errands that keep life going. Time is flying but it has been great.
The arts group I joined has a show in the middle of November. I have been puzzling over what I would paint for it with no inspiration. The first Friday of the month, there is a Gallery Walk in Southport a lovely little town nearby that is Clear Lake times 10. We wondered around from gallery to gallery, drinking wine and enjoying appetizers and looking for a turtle souvenir of the hatchlings. Then a light came on and I decided to paint one myself. So that is what I did--finished it the day before the hanging deadline. I volunteered at the Show and discovered that my painting got an honourable mention. Pretty cool, eh? The coordinator and I were working together a couple of times and she told me she was starting to talk "Canadian" eh?
We spent a delightful weekend in Myrtle Beach--saw two Christmas shows and walked on the beach. We have great memories of being there near the ocean as we have stayed there for the month of March for the past 6 years. Krista and I walked there together many times. We shopped a bit and had doughnuts at KK and headed back to OKI. Brienne is definitely a walker. She loves to be read to as well. She brings a book, waits to be picked up and helps turn the pages. What a joy.
November 30 has arrived and that means "pack up and move on". It was definitely difficult to leave that darling baby and of course, her parents. We spent most of Monday sorting--we will leave our car and lots of stuff here until we are back in September. Since our first year of being Meaderthals, we have slept in 44 beds, been in 8 countries and delighted in the adventures we have had. Life is good.
Well, Halloween has come and gone. Lots of neighbours decorate but nary a child appeared for candy. Brienne turned into green baby while eating mashed up avocado with her hands. It was even in her eyebrows and her face had a green tinge. Her costume when she visited Noah's school was Batman. Sunday we went go to Southport to see "Blythe Spirit"--very well done, excellent actors.
November is here already--my health is still not back to normal. I am still coughing but improving--although I have sore coughing muscles. Brienne has definitely become a toddler. She rises from the floor and steps out and around--still a tad wobbly but she is only 9 1/2 months old. She is such a treasure. We spend our days caring for her and then we visit, do chair swimming and do the errands that keep life going. Time is flying but it has been great.
The arts group I joined has a show in the middle of November. I have been puzzling over what I would paint for it with no inspiration. The first Friday of the month, there is a Gallery Walk in Southport a lovely little town nearby that is Clear Lake times 10. We wondered around from gallery to gallery, drinking wine and enjoying appetizers and looking for a turtle souvenir of the hatchlings. Then a light came on and I decided to paint one myself. So that is what I did--finished it the day before the hanging deadline. I volunteered at the Show and discovered that my painting got an honourable mention. Pretty cool, eh? The coordinator and I were working together a couple of times and she told me she was starting to talk "Canadian" eh?
We spent a delightful weekend in Myrtle Beach--saw two Christmas shows and walked on the beach. We have great memories of being there near the ocean as we have stayed there for the month of March for the past 6 years. Krista and I walked there together many times. We shopped a bit and had doughnuts at KK and headed back to OKI. Brienne is definitely a walker. She loves to be read to as well. She brings a book, waits to be picked up and helps turn the pages. What a joy.
November 30 has arrived and that means "pack up and move on". It was definitely difficult to leave that darling baby and of course, her parents. We spent most of Monday sorting--we will leave our car and lots of stuff here until we are back in September. Since our first year of being Meaderthals, we have slept in 44 beds, been in 8 countries and delighted in the adventures we have had. Life is good.
Sunday, 18 October 2015
A Month in Manitoba - Family and Goodbyes June 20 to July 18, 2015
Looking back, this month contained many events that I treasure in my heart and that many never happen again, but wait, maybe that is what life is about. During this time, I always had the feeling that the one who would have loved every minute of having her family around her wasn't there and yet she was why we were all together.
My greatest moments were when all eight of our immediate family were in Manitoba. The first occurrence was our birthday celebration at Brahmas just outside Neepawa. Grant, Sheryl and Neil had just arrived from Winnipeg airport. Grant flying in from Ottawa and Sheryl and Neil from Pretoria, SA. There was a great deal of construction and their drive, which should have taken 2 hours, took nearly 3. Claire, Noah and Brienne and George and I had moved from Elkhorn at Clear Lake to our favourite Bed and Breakfast in Neepawa. And at last here we all were, having a mediocre meal, laughing and talking and my heart was full of joy. Being at Clear Lake for the most important day of the year--Canada Day and bonus-- the entertainer was Al Simmons--Claire and Brienne had a photo with him--Violet enjoyed his antics, too. Schulzi and her Mom joined us for Canada day and were staying at the same hotel as we were. Brienne had a nap in Lili's arms. George and I had moved to a hotel in Neepawa which was only just acceptable. We gathered there in the breakfast room to laugh and chat after the day at Clear Lake. Joining the "children" at the end of their breakfast at the B&B was so delightful. Our friends, George and Susan, at the B&B where we had stayed many times during the past three years of Gladie's journey were so accommodating and kind to let us share our time in their wonderful home. They orchestrated our family photo in their back yard.
Other highlights: Guys shopping and returning with the giant-est marshmallows in the world. Noah buying a t-shirt that read " I love Neepawa". George bringing a stone from Clear Lake to place at Gladie's niche. We all have warm fuzzies for all the times we spent there. Arleigh picking stones for the same purpose but at the farm. Grant picking up a stone at Elks Manor, Gladie's home after Bob died. Placing stones or flowers at the cemetery are a way of saying "I was here and that I will always hold the memory of Gladie in my heart". Eating Gladie's favourite chocolate Wonderbar after the interment and having Happy Face balloons in the church waving around marked the joy of Gladie's life. Having ice cream (for me three times on Canada Day) because ice cream at Clear Lake is a ritual in fact, a family tradition. I bet everyone knows what flavour Bob would order every time we arrived at McTasvish's or the Boardwalk. And oh, the sunsets--how many times in our years in Manitoba have we enjoyed the sun setting over Clear Lake. And we have the photos to prove it.
My time at the farm was bitter/sweet--I missed times gone by and also relived lots of wonderful memories of times spent there. Bonfires. Hotdogs and s’mores. Sheryl cooking wieners. Those large marshmallows! Dancing in the barn yard to the music of The Irish Rovers on Bob's new truck radio. Many hours enjoying the bounty of the garden. Trips to the gravel pit. The golfing on the driving range. I remember how much Bob used to enjoy hitting them. Many family celebrations over the years including dimes in the cake. Grant and Neil and Violet playing soccer and Frisbee. Looking at the stars. Rob and Violet playing t-ball. And so many more...... just being there!
We all came to Manitoba to honour the life of Gladys McLaughlin but we also honoured our memories of growing up there. Everyone had a part in making the service very special. Joanne’s remarks. All the readings and remembrances, David lighting the candle, bringing in balloons, Violet placing one by the alter. Claire and Sheryl’s joint remembrances were great. Krista’s poem. George and Arleigh's remarks. Grant’s moving reading. The dancing happy face balloons were a special joy to me and to others who mentioned them at the lunch. Noah’s excellent care of Brienne during the service. The music especially “Lord of the Dance”. I think I could imagine Gladie dancing around the place in time to the music. All the cousins and special friends who came to the service. Sometimes it seems that lunch part moved too fast. Would have been great to have more time to chat.
Our Friday night/Saturday morning at the Grand Hotel in Winnipeg. Claire, Noah and Brienne were leaving in the morning. Our breakfast was in our room as it was easier than going out and also fun to eat and visit. This was the first of our goodbyes. Later in the day Grant would leave for Ottawa. Happily, we still had Sheryl and Neil for a couple of days. They went back to Elkhorn and prepared dinner while we spent some time just with Grant. Elkhorn was our family vacation spot since Sheryl was 2 years old and I think we all felt a tad sad at the end of our time there.
We enjoyed the rest of the week at Elkhorn, had a lovely dinner with Arleigh and Dave and Krista and Violet and friends, Tom and Betty, to celebrate our anniversary. Also Krista and Violet had a sleepover with us at Elkhorn. One last lunch at the Brahmas and then we went to Libau to spend the week with Schulzi. Lots of painting and visiting and yummy food and a bonus trip to the Museum for Human Rights and to see Les Mis at Rainbow Stage. Friday, July 18, we flew from Winnipeg to Iceland to start our next adventure.
My greatest moments were when all eight of our immediate family were in Manitoba. The first occurrence was our birthday celebration at Brahmas just outside Neepawa. Grant, Sheryl and Neil had just arrived from Winnipeg airport. Grant flying in from Ottawa and Sheryl and Neil from Pretoria, SA. There was a great deal of construction and their drive, which should have taken 2 hours, took nearly 3. Claire, Noah and Brienne and George and I had moved from Elkhorn at Clear Lake to our favourite Bed and Breakfast in Neepawa. And at last here we all were, having a mediocre meal, laughing and talking and my heart was full of joy. Being at Clear Lake for the most important day of the year--Canada Day and bonus-- the entertainer was Al Simmons--Claire and Brienne had a photo with him--Violet enjoyed his antics, too. Schulzi and her Mom joined us for Canada day and were staying at the same hotel as we were. Brienne had a nap in Lili's arms. George and I had moved to a hotel in Neepawa which was only just acceptable. We gathered there in the breakfast room to laugh and chat after the day at Clear Lake. Joining the "children" at the end of their breakfast at the B&B was so delightful. Our friends, George and Susan, at the B&B where we had stayed many times during the past three years of Gladie's journey were so accommodating and kind to let us share our time in their wonderful home. They orchestrated our family photo in their back yard.
Other highlights: Guys shopping and returning with the giant-est marshmallows in the world. Noah buying a t-shirt that read " I love Neepawa". George bringing a stone from Clear Lake to place at Gladie's niche. We all have warm fuzzies for all the times we spent there. Arleigh picking stones for the same purpose but at the farm. Grant picking up a stone at Elks Manor, Gladie's home after Bob died. Placing stones or flowers at the cemetery are a way of saying "I was here and that I will always hold the memory of Gladie in my heart". Eating Gladie's favourite chocolate Wonderbar after the interment and having Happy Face balloons in the church waving around marked the joy of Gladie's life. Having ice cream (for me three times on Canada Day) because ice cream at Clear Lake is a ritual in fact, a family tradition. I bet everyone knows what flavour Bob would order every time we arrived at McTasvish's or the Boardwalk. And oh, the sunsets--how many times in our years in Manitoba have we enjoyed the sun setting over Clear Lake. And we have the photos to prove it.
My time at the farm was bitter/sweet--I missed times gone by and also relived lots of wonderful memories of times spent there. Bonfires. Hotdogs and s’mores. Sheryl cooking wieners. Those large marshmallows! Dancing in the barn yard to the music of The Irish Rovers on Bob's new truck radio. Many hours enjoying the bounty of the garden. Trips to the gravel pit. The golfing on the driving range. I remember how much Bob used to enjoy hitting them. Many family celebrations over the years including dimes in the cake. Grant and Neil and Violet playing soccer and Frisbee. Looking at the stars. Rob and Violet playing t-ball. And so many more...... just being there!
We all came to Manitoba to honour the life of Gladys McLaughlin but we also honoured our memories of growing up there. Everyone had a part in making the service very special. Joanne’s remarks. All the readings and remembrances, David lighting the candle, bringing in balloons, Violet placing one by the alter. Claire and Sheryl’s joint remembrances were great. Krista’s poem. George and Arleigh's remarks. Grant’s moving reading. The dancing happy face balloons were a special joy to me and to others who mentioned them at the lunch. Noah’s excellent care of Brienne during the service. The music especially “Lord of the Dance”. I think I could imagine Gladie dancing around the place in time to the music. All the cousins and special friends who came to the service. Sometimes it seems that lunch part moved too fast. Would have been great to have more time to chat.
Our Friday night/Saturday morning at the Grand Hotel in Winnipeg. Claire, Noah and Brienne were leaving in the morning. Our breakfast was in our room as it was easier than going out and also fun to eat and visit. This was the first of our goodbyes. Later in the day Grant would leave for Ottawa. Happily, we still had Sheryl and Neil for a couple of days. They went back to Elkhorn and prepared dinner while we spent some time just with Grant. Elkhorn was our family vacation spot since Sheryl was 2 years old and I think we all felt a tad sad at the end of our time there.
We enjoyed the rest of the week at Elkhorn, had a lovely dinner with Arleigh and Dave and Krista and Violet and friends, Tom and Betty, to celebrate our anniversary. Also Krista and Violet had a sleepover with us at Elkhorn. One last lunch at the Brahmas and then we went to Libau to spend the week with Schulzi. Lots of painting and visiting and yummy food and a bonus trip to the Museum for Human Rights and to see Les Mis at Rainbow Stage. Friday, July 18, we flew from Winnipeg to Iceland to start our next adventure.
Friday, 2 October 2015
Thursday, 24 September 2015
The broom lady and Hatchlings Oak Island, NC September 21, 2015
Ten days ago, we were reading at the beach, when a woman (L.) walked past us carrying a corn broom like the one my Mom used to have. She stopped at a sign post that had garden edging making a path to the ocean. We chatted and she told us there was a Sea Turtle nest at the post. Seems that on July 21, a momma turtle dug a 2 foot deep hole and laid up to 150 eggs in it, covered it and left. (Interesting way to reproduce.) L. told us that she and J. who lives across the street from us were the head volunteers for this nest (there were 101 nests along the seven miles of the beach). These turtles are endangered and the University of Georgia is doing research to keep them around. Anyway, we were invited to keep a vigil with them and others watching for the hatching that usually occurs at night. Oh, the broom was to keep the path to the ocean clear. So we had some interesting experiences over the next 10 evenings. Often other locals and vacationers would come to join and sit for the evening.
Every night was different:
On one occasion, L. was complaining about people smoking on the beach and leaving the cigarette butts in the sand. A man piped up and said, "See, that is why we need guns."
Another time, a couple of friends of J. and her husband were sitting and we all got chatting about travel. J & J and this couple travel together every year and said they had gone west and into Canada. At that point the husband said, "...and we don't even like them." I thought he meant Canadians so I made some comment like, "What??" Turned out he was joking about not liking J & J. Oh my.
A couple of cousins were there for about six nights. One from Manhattan and the other from Raleigh, NC. Both want to retire here but haven't sold their houses yet. I found listening to their accents very cool. Southern accents are so strong, however, the New York one reminded me of a cousin we have in Brooklyn. One told me she just loved my accent. Wait, we don't have accents, do we?
On Friday, Day 8, we had a pizza party on the beach which included wine and chocolate. L. had some citronella candles so it was quite a celebration. I was certain that the babies would hatch that night but not so.
One evening there was discussion about Obama and one lady said she was certain that he really wasn't a USA citizen and that he was a Muslin. It always surprises me to hear people who seem quite reasonable say things like that.
A bonus of all this late night sitting on the beach, was that we got to see the Milky Way, the big dipper and hundreds of other stars--even some shooting stars. Who would have thought, that we would spend so many hours at the beach at night. It is also surprising the things people will tell you while there.
Anyway, the night of the hatching, we had just returned home from the beach, (at 19:10) when, J. sent a text saying that the turtles were coming. We left our dinner and sped over to the beach. Running really isn't in my job description any more but we actually ran! There was a definite depression in the sand over the nest and we could see little flippers moving. So we watched and watched and it got darker and later and then finally, at about 21:45, the two experts donned gloves, moved some sand away and helped the two at the top to move. and THEN, there was a "boil" of turtle babies spilling out of the hole and racing down the path toward the ocean. Some tried to go the wrong way so the helpers used red lights so the turtles would follow the light. Within about 10 minutes, the babies were swimming away. J. wished them Happy Birthday. We danced around and hugged each other. What a sight!
So now, two days later, the experts excavated the nest and we were included along with 40 others who were either invited or just happened to be on the beach. We all watched while J. dug down about 2 feet and discovered six babies who were alive but hadn't made it out of the hole. There were also many rubbery shells where the hatchlings had been and about 40 eggs which hadn't become turtles at all. We cheered as the last six went down the path and into the ocean. Good luck to them.
What a bonus experience this was! Who would have thought that we would get to witness baby sea turtles hatch. Yay.
Every night was different:
On one occasion, L. was complaining about people smoking on the beach and leaving the cigarette butts in the sand. A man piped up and said, "See, that is why we need guns."
Another time, a couple of friends of J. and her husband were sitting and we all got chatting about travel. J & J and this couple travel together every year and said they had gone west and into Canada. At that point the husband said, "...and we don't even like them." I thought he meant Canadians so I made some comment like, "What??" Turned out he was joking about not liking J & J. Oh my.
A couple of cousins were there for about six nights. One from Manhattan and the other from Raleigh, NC. Both want to retire here but haven't sold their houses yet. I found listening to their accents very cool. Southern accents are so strong, however, the New York one reminded me of a cousin we have in Brooklyn. One told me she just loved my accent. Wait, we don't have accents, do we?
On Friday, Day 8, we had a pizza party on the beach which included wine and chocolate. L. had some citronella candles so it was quite a celebration. I was certain that the babies would hatch that night but not so.
One evening there was discussion about Obama and one lady said she was certain that he really wasn't a USA citizen and that he was a Muslin. It always surprises me to hear people who seem quite reasonable say things like that.
A bonus of all this late night sitting on the beach, was that we got to see the Milky Way, the big dipper and hundreds of other stars--even some shooting stars. Who would have thought, that we would spend so many hours at the beach at night. It is also surprising the things people will tell you while there.
Anyway, the night of the hatching, we had just returned home from the beach, (at 19:10) when, J. sent a text saying that the turtles were coming. We left our dinner and sped over to the beach. Running really isn't in my job description any more but we actually ran! There was a definite depression in the sand over the nest and we could see little flippers moving. So we watched and watched and it got darker and later and then finally, at about 21:45, the two experts donned gloves, moved some sand away and helped the two at the top to move. and THEN, there was a "boil" of turtle babies spilling out of the hole and racing down the path toward the ocean. Some tried to go the wrong way so the helpers used red lights so the turtles would follow the light. Within about 10 minutes, the babies were swimming away. J. wished them Happy Birthday. We danced around and hugged each other. What a sight!
So now, two days later, the experts excavated the nest and we were included along with 40 others who were either invited or just happened to be on the beach. We all watched while J. dug down about 2 feet and discovered six babies who were alive but hadn't made it out of the hole. There were also many rubbery shells where the hatchlings had been and about 40 eggs which hadn't become turtles at all. We cheered as the last six went down the path and into the ocean. Good luck to them.
What a bonus experience this was! Who would have thought that we would get to witness baby sea turtles hatch. Yay.
Tuesday, 15 September 2015
Hem Hem... June 11, 2015. The story of bling-bum pants.
This is from Pretoria, South Africa.
After a day of shopping for summer pants and tops in a country where it is winter, even though the temperatures can be higher than 20 in the day time, I finally bought some bling-bum jeans. They have lots of shiny beads on the back pockets. I hadn't planned on buying jeans as they are so bulky to pack and take long to dry. Anyway, I decided that they should be hemmed and didn't feel like doing it. So, there is a fellow who sits under a tree and does sewing near the "Aroma" coffee shop where we often have coffee.. and Sheryl and Neil suggested that we take them there. He has a partner who fixes shoes. So, we took the jeans there. Only one of the team was there, I showed him the pants. He smiled and grunted and nodded that he could do the job but it wouldn't be done until the next morning. He took the pants and my bag. And that was that. I didn't get a tag or any indication of a claim ticket. So when we returned this morning, he was there and also his partner who was sewing. My pants were is a pile of sewing on the table. The shoe-fixing guy seemed to know which pants were mine and pointed them out to the sewing guy. The sewing machine was a Singer about the vintage of my Mom's when I was a child. He operated it using a crank thing on the side. He said he would do my jeans next, it would take about 20 minutes. We went to have coffee and the went back. He was just pressing the seams with his hands and indeed they were sewn quite nicely. George wanted to take a photo and the sewing guy said sure. He smiled and posed with delight. Then the shoe fixing guy said he was part of the team and wanted to be in the photo as well. So I said I would also be in the photo. There were many smiles and good will. Picture this a strip mall with lots of folks having lattes and cappuccinos and these two fellows sitting and sewing and fixing all day. Such are the contradictions of Pretoria and South Africa.
Sunday, 30 August 2015
Ottawa - August 17 to 30, 2015
We arrived in Ottawa via Iceland at midnight and went off to bed at the Hilton Garden Inn. Grant picked us up in the morning and we moved to an AirB&B on Argyle. Nice to be able to unpack our suitcases into drawers. Jet lag seems to encourage us that we take sudden naps so that is what we do.
Here are a few things we learned during our 9 months as Meanderthals:
1. There is so much world....
2. We learned this one a long time ago but it warrants repeating: If you want things to be just like at home, stay there.
3. Travel light
4. People are generally proud of their country/city and love to tell you about it. Listen. Then be proud of your country all the time.
We are reconnected with family and friends here and have long to-do lists of things in preparation for the next chapter of this journey. We saw various medical people, arranged for medications for me and actually did a bit of tourist stuff, like walking down Elgin, visiting East Block with a guided tour, having lunch with a friend of Grant's who just returned from Portugal, sitting and reading by the canal, dodging bicyclists while walking beside the canal, having coffee at TAN, (me) seeing the Alex Colville exhibit at the NAG and just enjoying Ottawa.
Oh, yes, we voted. I was told and read online that if you will be away on election day, you can vote at any Elections Canada office nearby. So off we went. Arriving at the office, we had to be buzzed in where we told two young women what we wanted. They looked shocked and said they would check and went off upstairs. We suspect they told their colleagues upstairs that there were two old geysers downstairs who thought they could vote there, today! So in due time, two others came and said it was true we could vote. So they took our IDs, went back upstairs, returned in 10 minutes with applications for us to fill out, left again and returned in another 10 minutes with voters' kits which they explained to us very thoroughly. We could have voted right then and there but as the candidates were not confirmed the ballot was blank. Better for us geysers to take them home and confirm who our candidate is, write the name on the ballot and either bring it back or mail it. So we did all that and decided to mail the series of envelopes that contained our filled out ballots. Now at the post office outlet, I was waiting to buy two stamps which I might mention cost $2.25, while George was parked and waiting as we had a bit of a deadline. Well, this couple in front of me seemed to have some complicated business to do which involved not VISA but their debit card and two Canada Post workers. Finally this was done and our votes are winding their way to Elections Canada as I write this.
Soon we leave for Oak Island so today, we will pack our stuff in the car, (hopefully it will all go in), leave some with Grant, organize the leftover food, and see Grant, have dinner with friends and..... then on Sunday, we will breakfast with my sister and her husband and then drive off into the sunshine.
So we are on our way--driving, driving, driving. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for a "Bones" audiobook--that should make the trip less boring.
Here are a few things we learned during our 9 months as Meanderthals:
1. There is so much world....
2. We learned this one a long time ago but it warrants repeating: If you want things to be just like at home, stay there.
3. Travel light
4. People are generally proud of their country/city and love to tell you about it. Listen. Then be proud of your country all the time.
We are reconnected with family and friends here and have long to-do lists of things in preparation for the next chapter of this journey. We saw various medical people, arranged for medications for me and actually did a bit of tourist stuff, like walking down Elgin, visiting East Block with a guided tour, having lunch with a friend of Grant's who just returned from Portugal, sitting and reading by the canal, dodging bicyclists while walking beside the canal, having coffee at TAN, (me) seeing the Alex Colville exhibit at the NAG and just enjoying Ottawa.
Oh, yes, we voted. I was told and read online that if you will be away on election day, you can vote at any Elections Canada office nearby. So off we went. Arriving at the office, we had to be buzzed in where we told two young women what we wanted. They looked shocked and said they would check and went off upstairs. We suspect they told their colleagues upstairs that there were two old geysers downstairs who thought they could vote there, today! So in due time, two others came and said it was true we could vote. So they took our IDs, went back upstairs, returned in 10 minutes with applications for us to fill out, left again and returned in another 10 minutes with voters' kits which they explained to us very thoroughly. We could have voted right then and there but as the candidates were not confirmed the ballot was blank. Better for us geysers to take them home and confirm who our candidate is, write the name on the ballot and either bring it back or mail it. So we did all that and decided to mail the series of envelopes that contained our filled out ballots. Now at the post office outlet, I was waiting to buy two stamps which I might mention cost $2.25, while George was parked and waiting as we had a bit of a deadline. Well, this couple in front of me seemed to have some complicated business to do which involved not VISA but their debit card and two Canada Post workers. Finally this was done and our votes are winding their way to Elections Canada as I write this.
Soon we leave for Oak Island so today, we will pack our stuff in the car, (hopefully it will all go in), leave some with Grant, organize the leftover food, and see Grant, have dinner with friends and..... then on Sunday, we will breakfast with my sister and her husband and then drive off into the sunshine.
So we are on our way--driving, driving, driving. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for a "Bones" audiobook--that should make the trip less boring.
Sunday, 16 August 2015
"Hel Yeah" Helsinki, Finland August 13 to 17, 2015
"And the pizza I had for breakfast wasn't bad, so I had one more for dessert" (apologies to Johnny Cash.) This is not exactly the truth. We had way too much pizza last evening so we saved some for breakfast. It was yucky! Anyway....
Arrival in Helsinki, at the airport, wondering where the Finnbus was, we encountered a sign for a free shuttle to the train station. Well, say "free" and I am on it. So we ventured forth and were transported to a new link to the downtown train station which is exactly where we wanted to be. The airport link resembled something futuristic from the Jettsons TV program from way back. We paid our euros and went down into the bowels of the earth and found a wonderful fast train that took us downtown. In fact, George read later that it just opened in July. Very cool. After dragging our suitcases (I am so happy we packed lightly!), we arrived at our almost totally white, IKEA furnished place.
After our food needs were satisfied, we relaxed, tried to decide what to do using photos from Grant's trip and ideas from Sheryl's suggestions. Church in the Rock, Temppeliaukio, was high on the list and also really near our place. What an amazing structure! There was a pianist playing and many tourists milling around--somewhat irritating. However, when we returned for the Sunday concert, there was a more respectful atmosphere. The organist played very well--one piece was composed by Jean Siblius, Finland's renowned composer. We recognized it from the concert at the Cathedral. The acoustics in the church are outstanding.
From there we walked to Market Square where there was a grand market--lots of yummy food and stuff. The food looked wonderful and we did buy some treasures. We stopped to listen to a military reserve band play some jazz. Also stopped at the Old Market Hall for a Finnish Fika--coffee and a cinnamon bun. We checked out the Uspendki Orthodox church and George and Kendra took many photos. This is where they did the serial baptisms that Grant wrote about. Stockman department store was next--Kendra scouted it out while George checked the book store and I sat at Starbucks outdoor tables and read. Kendra was right, this Stockman was the fullest shop I have ever seen. The grocery part is probably 10 times the Eaton's one that Beth and I used to patronize in Winnipeg in the "70s. We, of course, spent some more euros.
The Lutheran Cathedral is an imposing white structure. The cool thing is there are many steps leading from it to Senate Square where they set up a huge stage and the "100 Guitars from Hel(sinki)" auditioned to play with a local metal hero. We went to a concert today with everyone in Helsinki and two ship loads of cruise people on the steps and in the square. It was so hot and there was almost no shade--I thought we would melt. After we had a lovely dinner at Zetor, the decor was old farm stuff. The food was good. We went home for a couple of games of Quiddler and then to bed.
Our tour of the city was a Tram ride which took us to many sites including the Olympic park. Hard to imagine Helsinki hosting an Olympic games. We also saw the Bear park. Anyway, it was a good way to tie places together. While on the Tram, a couple of women got on, sat across from us and were chatting with each other in Finnish. The one looked at me and asked where we were from. She was very interested and George told her how much everyone loved the gentlemanly, hockey player, Teemu Selannie. She was pleased and told us of places we might visit and invited us to join her as she and her friend were going for lunch on a small island. Unfortunately, we had already made other plans but it was fun to chat with her.
Kendra left early this morning. She is a great travel companion--we had lots of fun. Yesterday, while shopping, she discovered a book called "Ernest Gellner". Maybe this is a long lost relative!! We are excited about the next chapter of her life. Yay, Kendra!
This our last full day in Helsinki, we are having a relax and will explore our neighbourhood. We walked to a beach which is nearby, enjoyed a snack while we watched some beach volleyball. We also put our feet into the Baltic Sea. People were swimming but the water felt cool to us. There were two men chatting on the terrace where we were sitting. One was from Germany and the other from Finland, they were conversing in English. Rick Steves is right!
Hel Yeah!!! This is a great city. By the end of Monday plus some extra hours, we will be in Ottawa. It has been an amazing, magical month. Yay!
Arrival in Helsinki, at the airport, wondering where the Finnbus was, we encountered a sign for a free shuttle to the train station. Well, say "free" and I am on it. So we ventured forth and were transported to a new link to the downtown train station which is exactly where we wanted to be. The airport link resembled something futuristic from the Jettsons TV program from way back. We paid our euros and went down into the bowels of the earth and found a wonderful fast train that took us downtown. In fact, George read later that it just opened in July. Very cool. After dragging our suitcases (I am so happy we packed lightly!), we arrived at our almost totally white, IKEA furnished place.
After our food needs were satisfied, we relaxed, tried to decide what to do using photos from Grant's trip and ideas from Sheryl's suggestions. Church in the Rock, Temppeliaukio, was high on the list and also really near our place. What an amazing structure! There was a pianist playing and many tourists milling around--somewhat irritating. However, when we returned for the Sunday concert, there was a more respectful atmosphere. The organist played very well--one piece was composed by Jean Siblius, Finland's renowned composer. We recognized it from the concert at the Cathedral. The acoustics in the church are outstanding.
From there we walked to Market Square where there was a grand market--lots of yummy food and stuff. The food looked wonderful and we did buy some treasures. We stopped to listen to a military reserve band play some jazz. Also stopped at the Old Market Hall for a Finnish Fika--coffee and a cinnamon bun. We checked out the Uspendki Orthodox church and George and Kendra took many photos. This is where they did the serial baptisms that Grant wrote about. Stockman department store was next--Kendra scouted it out while George checked the book store and I sat at Starbucks outdoor tables and read. Kendra was right, this Stockman was the fullest shop I have ever seen. The grocery part is probably 10 times the Eaton's one that Beth and I used to patronize in Winnipeg in the "70s. We, of course, spent some more euros.
The Lutheran Cathedral is an imposing white structure. The cool thing is there are many steps leading from it to Senate Square where they set up a huge stage and the "100 Guitars from Hel(sinki)" auditioned to play with a local metal hero. We went to a concert today with everyone in Helsinki and two ship loads of cruise people on the steps and in the square. It was so hot and there was almost no shade--I thought we would melt. After we had a lovely dinner at Zetor, the decor was old farm stuff. The food was good. We went home for a couple of games of Quiddler and then to bed.
Our tour of the city was a Tram ride which took us to many sites including the Olympic park. Hard to imagine Helsinki hosting an Olympic games. We also saw the Bear park. Anyway, it was a good way to tie places together. While on the Tram, a couple of women got on, sat across from us and were chatting with each other in Finnish. The one looked at me and asked where we were from. She was very interested and George told her how much everyone loved the gentlemanly, hockey player, Teemu Selannie. She was pleased and told us of places we might visit and invited us to join her as she and her friend were going for lunch on a small island. Unfortunately, we had already made other plans but it was fun to chat with her.
Kendra left early this morning. She is a great travel companion--we had lots of fun. Yesterday, while shopping, she discovered a book called "Ernest Gellner". Maybe this is a long lost relative!! We are excited about the next chapter of her life. Yay, Kendra!
This our last full day in Helsinki, we are having a relax and will explore our neighbourhood. We walked to a beach which is nearby, enjoyed a snack while we watched some beach volleyball. We also put our feet into the Baltic Sea. People were swimming but the water felt cool to us. There were two men chatting on the terrace where we were sitting. One was from Germany and the other from Finland, they were conversing in English. Rick Steves is right!
Hel Yeah!!! This is a great city. By the end of Monday plus some extra hours, we will be in Ottawa. It has been an amazing, magical month. Yay!
Wednesday, 12 August 2015
"Back to the Future", Sweden August 9 to 13, 2015
We crossed into Sweden on the train and arrived in Linkoping (Linshawping) around 16:00. Neil and his daughter, Isabel were at the station waiting for us. We remember Isabel when she was a baby living across the street from us. If we were in the yard, we would sometimes hear her calling to us from her bedroom window when she was supposed to be sleeping. Theresa and Margot were waiting for us when we arrived at their lovely home about 15 minutes later. Isabel and Margot just loved Kendra who was happy to bounce on the trampoline with them as well as pick raspberries in the forest and more.... They were delighted to show us around. We all helped make a delicious pizza dinner with blueberry crumble for dessert. Margot was great at the crocodile game. And we had a flower making workshop with Isabel and Margot! Both girls are delightful and fun.
As expected Linkoping is very environmentally friendly. The house of Neil and Theresa is heated when necessary by warm water being piped through under the floors. The water is heated by burning burnable garbage. The city even keeps bike paths clear of snow using a similar method. They can and do use Bio fuel to power their car. The car will also run on gas. The Bio-fuel is made by treating household waste that we would put into our green bins. They receive green bags to use for saving this garbage. City buses run on biogas. The city is working on a state of the art development which may be completed in 2017 and will use all of the above and it will include a garbage chute to move the garbage to where it is treated or burned. There are bike paths everywhere. Sweden has many months of darkness in the winter so there are programs that encourage people to participate in hikes, walks and activities to keep fit and stay healthy. We were very impressed with what we learned about living in Sweden.
Saturday, we visited the "old town" which is a large area that was moved from the centre of Linkoping--it is sort of like Upper Canada Village. Kendra and Isabel and Margo rode bikes there and we others walked. The girls helped make a rope in the fashion that would have been used in the old days. A young employee showed us how they used to do the washing with a wash board and of course, it was easy to see the dryer! We visited the school room and all practiced our cursive writing using straight pens and ink. It was fun but we realized that cursive writing doesn't happen much anymore. There was a chocolate shop which we visited and bought some yummy chocolate. Neil told us later that it is tradition for children to be allowed to shop for sweets on Saturday and then eat it while watching TV later. Usually Swedish children are not allowed to have many sweets. We had a lovely picnic and then walked home--in all we walked 14,000 steps that trip.
Our Thai dinner out was very tasty. We viewed a large cathedral and then walked in the downtown squares. It is a happening place. One of the highlights was super delicious ice cream cones. In one square there was a huge medal bicycle that was also a plant stand. Margot climbed to the top of it, as did Isabel. Linkoping seems like a great place to live. We had such a grand time here, it was hard to leave the next morning.
Stockholm - while walking and dragging out suitcases to our new place, Kendra read a graffiti sign quite loudly, that said, "Be Careful! Jesus is coming very, very soon.". George who was ahead of her, startled and looked back, then Kendra said it was some graffiti. George said, " Oh, I thought you were warning me that he was on a bicycle behind us". We had become accustomed to getting out of the way of bikes while walking in Denmark. Our place is fine, has a good location and lots of space. We will likely have a quiet evening as we are all weary and ready to relax. We visited the grocery store and our tummies are full.
We hit the jackpot with tours today--City Hall, Parliament and the Nobel Museum. City Hall seems to have had a strange architect. According to our guide, he changed his mind about things very often and one result was that Saint Eric didn't get a head. We really had excellent guides everywhere. Sweden's Parliament is 43% women and there is a women's room which contains paintings and photos of the first woman MP, speaker and two other firsts, as well as some satirical comics. Also there is a mirror that has the subscription, "This could be the next prime minister". Sweden has not yet had a women PM. The Nobel Museum was great. I especially enjoyed listening to former winners in one exhibit when they were asked about what they hoped for the future.
Oh, I wanted to talk about our lunches today: I ordered a herring plate which was great, There were three kinds of herring-one was just plain, another had mustard sauce and the third had a garlic sauce. I think the only other herring I have ever eaten was pickled herring. George ordered Swedish meatballs which were quite a bit better than the ones at IKEA. Kendra had a potato/chicken/curry dish.
Stockholm is a city of bridges and water. There is a cultural festival on until the weekend. We enjoyed a juggling act, were not so impressed with a gospel choir and stumbled on a DJ where lots of young Swedes were dancing. Today, our last here, we had a boat cruise through the archipelago. There are many islands around Stockholm. We also visited the Vasa museum which houses a huge warship from the 1600s. It sank during its first appearance in the harbour because it was too tall and too narrow. It filled with water and went down and it took until 1959 before they had the tools to bring it up out of the water. Very interesting. We walked and walked in Stockholm--a cool city.
Tomorrow we are off to Helsinki. yay.
As expected Linkoping is very environmentally friendly. The house of Neil and Theresa is heated when necessary by warm water being piped through under the floors. The water is heated by burning burnable garbage. The city even keeps bike paths clear of snow using a similar method. They can and do use Bio fuel to power their car. The car will also run on gas. The Bio-fuel is made by treating household waste that we would put into our green bins. They receive green bags to use for saving this garbage. City buses run on biogas. The city is working on a state of the art development which may be completed in 2017 and will use all of the above and it will include a garbage chute to move the garbage to where it is treated or burned. There are bike paths everywhere. Sweden has many months of darkness in the winter so there are programs that encourage people to participate in hikes, walks and activities to keep fit and stay healthy. We were very impressed with what we learned about living in Sweden.
Saturday, we visited the "old town" which is a large area that was moved from the centre of Linkoping--it is sort of like Upper Canada Village. Kendra and Isabel and Margo rode bikes there and we others walked. The girls helped make a rope in the fashion that would have been used in the old days. A young employee showed us how they used to do the washing with a wash board and of course, it was easy to see the dryer! We visited the school room and all practiced our cursive writing using straight pens and ink. It was fun but we realized that cursive writing doesn't happen much anymore. There was a chocolate shop which we visited and bought some yummy chocolate. Neil told us later that it is tradition for children to be allowed to shop for sweets on Saturday and then eat it while watching TV later. Usually Swedish children are not allowed to have many sweets. We had a lovely picnic and then walked home--in all we walked 14,000 steps that trip.
Our Thai dinner out was very tasty. We viewed a large cathedral and then walked in the downtown squares. It is a happening place. One of the highlights was super delicious ice cream cones. In one square there was a huge medal bicycle that was also a plant stand. Margot climbed to the top of it, as did Isabel. Linkoping seems like a great place to live. We had such a grand time here, it was hard to leave the next morning.
Stockholm - while walking and dragging out suitcases to our new place, Kendra read a graffiti sign quite loudly, that said, "Be Careful! Jesus is coming very, very soon.". George who was ahead of her, startled and looked back, then Kendra said it was some graffiti. George said, " Oh, I thought you were warning me that he was on a bicycle behind us". We had become accustomed to getting out of the way of bikes while walking in Denmark. Our place is fine, has a good location and lots of space. We will likely have a quiet evening as we are all weary and ready to relax. We visited the grocery store and our tummies are full.
We hit the jackpot with tours today--City Hall, Parliament and the Nobel Museum. City Hall seems to have had a strange architect. According to our guide, he changed his mind about things very often and one result was that Saint Eric didn't get a head. We really had excellent guides everywhere. Sweden's Parliament is 43% women and there is a women's room which contains paintings and photos of the first woman MP, speaker and two other firsts, as well as some satirical comics. Also there is a mirror that has the subscription, "This could be the next prime minister". Sweden has not yet had a women PM. The Nobel Museum was great. I especially enjoyed listening to former winners in one exhibit when they were asked about what they hoped for the future.
Oh, I wanted to talk about our lunches today: I ordered a herring plate which was great, There were three kinds of herring-one was just plain, another had mustard sauce and the third had a garlic sauce. I think the only other herring I have ever eaten was pickled herring. George ordered Swedish meatballs which were quite a bit better than the ones at IKEA. Kendra had a potato/chicken/curry dish.
Stockholm is a city of bridges and water. There is a cultural festival on until the weekend. We enjoyed a juggling act, were not so impressed with a gospel choir and stumbled on a DJ where lots of young Swedes were dancing. Today, our last here, we had a boat cruise through the archipelago. There are many islands around Stockholm. We also visited the Vasa museum which houses a huge warship from the 1600s. It sank during its first appearance in the harbour because it was too tall and too narrow. It filled with water and went down and it took until 1959 before they had the tools to bring it up out of the water. Very interesting. We walked and walked in Stockholm--a cool city.
Tomorrow we are off to Helsinki. yay.
Friday, 7 August 2015
Legoland - Copenhagen, Denmark, August 4 to 7, 2015
We all left Berlin this morning--Karen went to London and Kendra, George and I arrived in Copenhagen without a hitch. Our place is delightful--a large apartment that the kitchen side opens onto a courtyard that is used by other residents as well. There are millions of bikes everywhere--our guide told us there are 1.8 bikes for every person here. We learned that as a pedestrian, one must watch out! We arrived with great hunger so went off to the grocery stores our hostess suggested. Our neighbourhood is trendy--lots of moms biking their kids around. Our first explore ended in being caught in the rain which included lightning and thunder. We didn't melt and had umbrellas with us so our clothes just added to all the laundry we had to do. Washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers seem to take forever here. There is something in the sink cupboard that is called a "Quooker". It has nothing to do with the stove but is connected to a tap by the sink that when turned on produces the most hot, boiling water imaginable. There is no need for a kettle.
Our walking tour was marvelous--the guide was from England but was very knowledgeable about Copenhagen. Factoid: the IKEA catalog is the second most widely translated book right after the Bible.. Factoid: the Danes love their monarchy and Lego. Seems Lego beat Barbie as the best toy!. We saw many sights but were assured that seeing the Little Mermaid, the star of the Hans Christian Anderson book, was a disappointment and overrated so we skipped it. Kendra had a Danish hotdog. Our walking tour was 3 hours long, interesting but I was ready for it to be over. Then hunger struck again--as Danes export lots of pork that is what I had, George had salmon and Kendra had a cooked cabbage, cheese salad. We checked out Licorice chocolates as licorice is popular here.
The canal boat trip showed us the city from the water. Some of the bridges were so low that only the boat with everyone sitting down could pass through. It was very pleasant as the cold days that I have previously complained about are now hot days and being on the water was cooler.
On the way home, we stopped for some Carlsburg and Turborg beer which are the two top beer rivals but are owned by the same company. George and Kendra did a taste test and decided they were much the same. Beer at the 7eleven costs 14.75 DK which is about $3.00 CDN. We had a relaxing evening and played a hilarious game of Quiddler. By midnight we were feeling pretty punchy and didn't have the ability to plan the next day so who knows.....
Next morning, we started out with coffee and a lovely Danish pastry at the best bakery in Copenhagen (according to our hostess). There were some pigeons walking around moving their heads as they do when they walk. George wondered if they get headaches because they move their heads so much.
We managed to attend a tour of Christiansborg Slot (read Parliament)--our guide was just OK but the house was interesting. There were many photos and sculptures to see. Women comprise about 40% of the parliament. We saw copies of the constitutions. They don't have an upper house. There was an elevator which goes up and down all day and doesn't stop so people just step in or out according to what floor they want to be on. I said that that would be enough to discourage me from wanting to be a member of Parliament. So George said that the elevator would dismember the MPs. We also went to the tower and had a great view of the city. We could see the bridge that goes to Sweden. That is where we are going tomorrow.
We had lunch at the library--what an amazing building. There is an outside terrace that has chairs so it is possible to sit and watch the traffic on the canal so that is what we did. We also checked out the library and found a cartoon wall with some really funny cartoons most of which had won prizes. One was from Canada. The building made us want to stay and study.
In the evening, we visited Tivoli which is a massive park with rides, entertainment, food, gardens and a 100 year old roller coaster. We went directly to the beer garden as it was hot. Later, after strolling around, we found the special roller coaster and Kendra and George took a ride. (My favourite ride is the carousal so I didn't join them.) I think I could hear them scream!
Tomorrow we will pack and pull our suitcases to the train station and we will be off to Linkoping, Sweden. We will stay with former neighbours from Mount Pleasant in Ottawa. They and they two daughters moved to Sweden a few years ago.
Our walking tour was marvelous--the guide was from England but was very knowledgeable about Copenhagen. Factoid: the IKEA catalog is the second most widely translated book right after the Bible.. Factoid: the Danes love their monarchy and Lego. Seems Lego beat Barbie as the best toy!. We saw many sights but were assured that seeing the Little Mermaid, the star of the Hans Christian Anderson book, was a disappointment and overrated so we skipped it. Kendra had a Danish hotdog. Our walking tour was 3 hours long, interesting but I was ready for it to be over. Then hunger struck again--as Danes export lots of pork that is what I had, George had salmon and Kendra had a cooked cabbage, cheese salad. We checked out Licorice chocolates as licorice is popular here.
The canal boat trip showed us the city from the water. Some of the bridges were so low that only the boat with everyone sitting down could pass through. It was very pleasant as the cold days that I have previously complained about are now hot days and being on the water was cooler.
On the way home, we stopped for some Carlsburg and Turborg beer which are the two top beer rivals but are owned by the same company. George and Kendra did a taste test and decided they were much the same. Beer at the 7eleven costs 14.75 DK which is about $3.00 CDN. We had a relaxing evening and played a hilarious game of Quiddler. By midnight we were feeling pretty punchy and didn't have the ability to plan the next day so who knows.....
Next morning, we started out with coffee and a lovely Danish pastry at the best bakery in Copenhagen (according to our hostess). There were some pigeons walking around moving their heads as they do when they walk. George wondered if they get headaches because they move their heads so much.
We managed to attend a tour of Christiansborg Slot (read Parliament)--our guide was just OK but the house was interesting. There were many photos and sculptures to see. Women comprise about 40% of the parliament. We saw copies of the constitutions. They don't have an upper house. There was an elevator which goes up and down all day and doesn't stop so people just step in or out according to what floor they want to be on. I said that that would be enough to discourage me from wanting to be a member of Parliament. So George said that the elevator would dismember the MPs. We also went to the tower and had a great view of the city. We could see the bridge that goes to Sweden. That is where we are going tomorrow.
We had lunch at the library--what an amazing building. There is an outside terrace that has chairs so it is possible to sit and watch the traffic on the canal so that is what we did. We also checked out the library and found a cartoon wall with some really funny cartoons most of which had won prizes. One was from Canada. The building made us want to stay and study.
In the evening, we visited Tivoli which is a massive park with rides, entertainment, food, gardens and a 100 year old roller coaster. We went directly to the beer garden as it was hot. Later, after strolling around, we found the special roller coaster and Kendra and George took a ride. (My favourite ride is the carousal so I didn't join them.) I think I could hear them scream!
Tomorrow we will pack and pull our suitcases to the train station and we will be off to Linkoping, Sweden. We will stay with former neighbours from Mount Pleasant in Ottawa. They and they two daughters moved to Sweden a few years ago.
Monday, 3 August 2015
"You Must have Dessert" -Berlin July 30 to August 4
Wow, we are here. Getting here was so efficient. we got the tram outside our hotel to the train station, took the train to the airport and landed in Berlin with a thud. It was all so automated that George wondered if we would have to also fly the plane! We met our friend, Karen from The Watergate at the airport. We used to watch "Corner Gas" together in the laundry room before we had TVs. She was coming from London, England and will be with us in Berlin. Our hotel is as cute as we remember it--it is in a great location. We walked to Checkpoint Charlie to look around. Then we had coffee and a snack. Our waitress was very grumpy.. Anyway the food was good but we might not go back there if she is working that day. We walked down Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate and over to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe and peeked into the Tiergarten--what a great city. There is so much to see. At this point, we needed a nap as we had been up since 5:30 this morning.
We watched a balloon man that reminded us of "Up" although he didn't fly away. After a pleasant dinner of wiener schnitzel , goulash and more, we discovered a concert that was sponsored by the South Korean Embassy. It was spectacular--a huge symphony, a beautiful opera singer in her princess dress, a pianist, and drummers. There were big screens so we could see that one of the performers kept her music in place by using a clothes peg. Who would have thought! The conductors were amazing. It was outdoors in front of the Brandenburg Gate -we got there around 20:00 and it continued until nearly 22:00. It was just starting to get dark by then. Wow. We were all delighted. We strolled on home and were glad of the warmth of our hotel as it feels like fall in the evening.
So this is August--temps at 24. We have tickets to see "Cabaret" a musical set in the 20s and 30s in Berlin. So this morning George arranged a walking tour for us in the area where it was set. So we took the Underground to what was West Berlin. The guide was great--shocked us to learn how open and advanced life was for gay people. When referring to a young woman who was her own person, he said she didn't take up much space because she loved to live on the edge. We had a lovely lunch in a cafe that the guide recommended.
We walked home for a relax and the set out for a boat cruise. After we got the English transmitter thing working, we enjoyed seeing the sights along the River Spree. And then it was dinner time. It was about 21:00 when we scouted out an outdoor restaurant. The waiter who resembled Faulty in his speed and abilities, said it would be 50 to 60 minutes before we got any food. So we ordered drinks and were prepared to wait. (Oh, yes, an important thing here is that my left eye had started to weep,) So we ordered and George and I decided to share a sausage dish and then have strudel for dessert. We mentioned this idea to the waiter. (Meanwhile my eye was even more weepy and getting sore from being wiped.) By about 22:30, we were nearly done and the waiter showed up, I said that we would skip dessert as my eye was sore ....... However, he replied in a mix of German and English, you must have the dessert you ordered. So I said we didn't want it. He insisted. So it took another 1/2 hour. Finally he returned and offered us free espresso because it was taking so long. Imagine espresso for me who only drinks decaf coffee! So George and Karen had espresso and I continued to wipe my eye.. And then there was apple strudel with cream. What could we do but share it three ways, munch it and laugh all the way home.
And today Kendra arrived. Yay!
"Life is a cabaret, my friend, Life is a cabaret!" A truly delightful production even if the story is sad. The dancing, singing, band and shenanigans--WOW. We started with a delicious dinner of wiener schnitzel with a ice cream/fruit/sorbet dessert and everything continued to be wonderful. Our seats were in the third row and the action was all around us. What can I say, we loved it. Then on the way home we encountered a roller skate hoard--there was music and probably 1000 skating down Unter den Linden-amazing to see. Our guide told us this occurs regularly--sometimes it is bicycles, sometimes skaters and we even saw someone on a unicycle. It all had a police escort.
Today the Reichstag--this is probably the best building ever! We even got to sit in the seats of the gallery in the house. The dome that brings heat and coolness is open at the top and we went up a ramp to the top with commentary in our ears all the way. It was coordinated with the walk and would say things like: Stop for a moment and enjoy the view. The building uses almost completely green energy. This was a highlight for me and our little group. We then, walked over to a beregarten as the temperature was 34 today.
After a little shop and poke around at Gallery LaFayettes and a rest for some of us, (Kendra continued to explore!), we had a delightful dinner at an outdoor cafe. Oh, I forgot, Kendra discovered an amazing chocolate shop which had huge chocolate structures of sights around Berlin. Very cute. Our last wonder and then home to bed. Karen has left for London and we three will be in Copenhagen by lunch.
We watched a balloon man that reminded us of "Up" although he didn't fly away. After a pleasant dinner of wiener schnitzel , goulash and more, we discovered a concert that was sponsored by the South Korean Embassy. It was spectacular--a huge symphony, a beautiful opera singer in her princess dress, a pianist, and drummers. There were big screens so we could see that one of the performers kept her music in place by using a clothes peg. Who would have thought! The conductors were amazing. It was outdoors in front of the Brandenburg Gate -we got there around 20:00 and it continued until nearly 22:00. It was just starting to get dark by then. Wow. We were all delighted. We strolled on home and were glad of the warmth of our hotel as it feels like fall in the evening.
So this is August--temps at 24. We have tickets to see "Cabaret" a musical set in the 20s and 30s in Berlin. So this morning George arranged a walking tour for us in the area where it was set. So we took the Underground to what was West Berlin. The guide was great--shocked us to learn how open and advanced life was for gay people. When referring to a young woman who was her own person, he said she didn't take up much space because she loved to live on the edge. We had a lovely lunch in a cafe that the guide recommended.
We walked home for a relax and the set out for a boat cruise. After we got the English transmitter thing working, we enjoyed seeing the sights along the River Spree. And then it was dinner time. It was about 21:00 when we scouted out an outdoor restaurant. The waiter who resembled Faulty in his speed and abilities, said it would be 50 to 60 minutes before we got any food. So we ordered drinks and were prepared to wait. (Oh, yes, an important thing here is that my left eye had started to weep,) So we ordered and George and I decided to share a sausage dish and then have strudel for dessert. We mentioned this idea to the waiter. (Meanwhile my eye was even more weepy and getting sore from being wiped.) By about 22:30, we were nearly done and the waiter showed up, I said that we would skip dessert as my eye was sore ....... However, he replied in a mix of German and English, you must have the dessert you ordered. So I said we didn't want it. He insisted. So it took another 1/2 hour. Finally he returned and offered us free espresso because it was taking so long. Imagine espresso for me who only drinks decaf coffee! So George and Karen had espresso and I continued to wipe my eye.. And then there was apple strudel with cream. What could we do but share it three ways, munch it and laugh all the way home.
And today Kendra arrived. Yay!
"Life is a cabaret, my friend, Life is a cabaret!" A truly delightful production even if the story is sad. The dancing, singing, band and shenanigans--WOW. We started with a delicious dinner of wiener schnitzel with a ice cream/fruit/sorbet dessert and everything continued to be wonderful. Our seats were in the third row and the action was all around us. What can I say, we loved it. Then on the way home we encountered a roller skate hoard--there was music and probably 1000 skating down Unter den Linden-amazing to see. Our guide told us this occurs regularly--sometimes it is bicycles, sometimes skaters and we even saw someone on a unicycle. It all had a police escort.
Today the Reichstag--this is probably the best building ever! We even got to sit in the seats of the gallery in the house. The dome that brings heat and coolness is open at the top and we went up a ramp to the top with commentary in our ears all the way. It was coordinated with the walk and would say things like: Stop for a moment and enjoy the view. The building uses almost completely green energy. This was a highlight for me and our little group. We then, walked over to a beregarten as the temperature was 34 today.
After a little shop and poke around at Gallery LaFayettes and a rest for some of us, (Kendra continued to explore!), we had a delightful dinner at an outdoor cafe. Oh, I forgot, Kendra discovered an amazing chocolate shop which had huge chocolate structures of sights around Berlin. Very cute. Our last wonder and then home to bed. Karen has left for London and we three will be in Copenhagen by lunch.
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Oslo, Norway July 27 to 31, 2015
We travelled to Oslo by train. It is probably the most comfortable train we have ever been on. The seats allow enough space to store our carry-on suitcases and/or our backpacks. The seats lean back but don’t interfere with the traveller behind. We have tables and there is WiFi although just now I can’t connect. The scenery is spectacular--snow covered mountains with lakes and waterfalls. There are also lots of tunnels and of course, rocks. We learned about the tunneling through the mountains to build roads and rail tracks. The passing scenery seems to get more pastoral the further we go but only about 3% of Norwegians are in agriculture.
Arriving in Oslo, we noted that change in atmosphere from Bergen which is smaller and calmer than Oslo. Maybe because Oslo is 4 times bigger than Bergen! Our hotel is fine, quite new, but not in the best part of town. They seem to be rebuilding on both sides of it. We feel safe because there are two of us and it is always daytime here. It is good that this is not the only part of town we will be in. George was heard (by me) to say, "The further we get from our hotel, the better this city looks."We had a stroll to the harbour and checked out the opera house which is built over the water. We think we will try to take in a concert on the 29 of July. It is an amazing building.
Day two was a day of walking. My legs are tired. We tried to visit the Parliament but Rick Steves was wrong about the time so we missed the tour. We will try again another day. Anyway, we went to a grand tour of City Hall. What an excellent guide and he told a great story of the murals. Wow, I wish I could paint like that. I don’t mean the Picasso-like look but the ideas expressed. The guide was so proud of Norway and the history. We stopped for coffee and a cinnamon bun. Then we had a tour of the Nobel Peace building. The guide started by saying that it was her pleasure to be our guide. Her English was good but she had some problems. She was talking about that Chinese fellow who got the award but is still in prison and can’t accept it. She said, “the Chinese don’t give a s__t about human rights.”. We chuckled with surprise but she went on with the tour with out a hitch. The inspiration room was certainly inspirational. There were photos of all the winners set on top of many small lights that appeared to grow in the pathway. It was cool to see Lester Pearson as one of the winners. We felt the Manitoba Museum for Human Rights has a similar feeling. We stopped to people watch and then walked on home.
Day two was a day of walking. My legs are tired. We tried to visit the Parliament but Rick Steves was wrong about the time so we missed the tour. We will try again another day. Anyway, we went to a grand tour of City Hall. What an excellent guide and he told a great story of the murals. Wow, I wish I could paint like that. I don’t mean the Picasso-like look but the ideas expressed. The guide was so proud of Norway and the history. We stopped for coffee and a cinnamon bun. Then we had a tour of the Nobel Peace building. The guide started by saying that it was her pleasure to be our guide. Her English was good but she had some problems. She was talking about that Chinese fellow who got the award but is still in prison and can’t accept it. She said, “the Chinese don’t give a s__t about human rights.”. We chuckled with surprise but she went on with the tour with out a hitch. The inspiration room was certainly inspirational. There were photos of all the winners set on top of many small lights that appeared to grow in the pathway. It was cool to see Lester Pearson as one of the winners. We felt the Manitoba Museum for Human Rights has a similar feeling. We stopped to people watch and then walked on home.
We noted that there are many large groups of young people together and then realized that the Norway Cup is on . It is an international youth soccer tournament with 30,000 participants. So what about that! A note: The Norwegian Kroner is 6 koner to 1 Canadian $ so I am way better at my 6 times table than I was.
Today was our first rainy day--yay for umbrellas. I did tramp through a puddle so my pantleg is wet. We got to Parliament in time for the tour today. Chatted with a family who live here--very confident kids and an opinionated father. He thinks Canadians are so nice. Our guide was OK but if I were Grant, I wouldn't give him top marks. The House was impressive and there was lots of interesting art. Norwegians seem to prefer nakedness in their sculptures. I had a relaxing people watching sit this afternoon while George went off to the Norwegian Resistance Museum. Then we had coffee and cinnamon buns at the Alfred cafe, We poked around in book stores and then came home to relax.
Hot day in July, Yay. We got a transit pass for this our last day so we can get around for 24 hours on trams and buses. The best part is that it will still work to get us to the train station tomorrow so we will not have to walk and pull our suitcases.. We will take the train to the airport for our flight to Berlin. I am so glad that cities are so well organized to get us around. Today we went to the Vking Ship Museum--a couple got on the bus and sat in front of us, both had maps and the maps were the same. They were having a grand time figuring out where they were going. Anyway the museum, Kulurhistorisk, showed three Viking ships that had been used a graves. The one I liked the best was the one that was used for two women--they must have been pretty important to get such an elaborate grave. They were buried with 6 horses, 2 dogs and 1 cow and lots of other stuff. I wonder what Vikings thought was in the afterlife. It didn't say if the animals were alive or not.at the time of burial. I thought Brennan from "Bones" would have loved to identify what the bones could tell.
We attended a cello/violin/piano concert at the opera house--very nice. I loved having another chance to be in that building. People were walking off the sloping roof into the fjord--kids were playing in the water and others were just sitting and enjoying the warm sun. For our final hurrah here, we took the tram to see Vigeland's sculptures at Frogner Park. He spent his life sculpting the circle of life and the relationships that are part of it. Some are quite unhappy. I needed to see a bit more joy. Anyway, it is a 75 acre park where Norwegians come to play.
And so good-bye to Norway. A wonderful place to visit and experience. Oh, a word we encountered here and in SA--it is "parkering". You will guess what it means--the opposite is "parkering forbudt" So there! Tomorrow to Berlin.
Today was our first rainy day--yay for umbrellas. I did tramp through a puddle so my pantleg is wet. We got to Parliament in time for the tour today. Chatted with a family who live here--very confident kids and an opinionated father. He thinks Canadians are so nice. Our guide was OK but if I were Grant, I wouldn't give him top marks. The House was impressive and there was lots of interesting art. Norwegians seem to prefer nakedness in their sculptures. I had a relaxing people watching sit this afternoon while George went off to the Norwegian Resistance Museum. Then we had coffee and cinnamon buns at the Alfred cafe, We poked around in book stores and then came home to relax.
Hot day in July, Yay. We got a transit pass for this our last day so we can get around for 24 hours on trams and buses. The best part is that it will still work to get us to the train station tomorrow so we will not have to walk and pull our suitcases.. We will take the train to the airport for our flight to Berlin. I am so glad that cities are so well organized to get us around. Today we went to the Vking Ship Museum--a couple got on the bus and sat in front of us, both had maps and the maps were the same. They were having a grand time figuring out where they were going. Anyway the museum, Kulurhistorisk, showed three Viking ships that had been used a graves. The one I liked the best was the one that was used for two women--they must have been pretty important to get such an elaborate grave. They were buried with 6 horses, 2 dogs and 1 cow and lots of other stuff. I wonder what Vikings thought was in the afterlife. It didn't say if the animals were alive or not.at the time of burial. I thought Brennan from "Bones" would have loved to identify what the bones could tell.
We attended a cello/violin/piano concert at the opera house--very nice. I loved having another chance to be in that building. People were walking off the sloping roof into the fjord--kids were playing in the water and others were just sitting and enjoying the warm sun. For our final hurrah here, we took the tram to see Vigeland's sculptures at Frogner Park. He spent his life sculpting the circle of life and the relationships that are part of it. Some are quite unhappy. I needed to see a bit more joy. Anyway, it is a 75 acre park where Norwegians come to play.
And so good-bye to Norway. A wonderful place to visit and experience. Oh, a word we encountered here and in SA--it is "parkering". You will guess what it means--the opposite is "parkering forbudt" So there! Tomorrow to Berlin.
Sunday, 26 July 2015
Land of the Trolls, Bergen, Norway (July 23 to 27, 2015)
Our first sound of Bergen was walking across Festplassen square pulling our suitcases. There was a man, wearing the hat with straight hair, singing Neil Young, tunes. We also watching some tiny children flitting around with scooters. Our place is in a cute neighbourhood--it is painted Cheese Whiz orange, has a orange, rose tree at the front door and is close to everything. There is no microwave but lots of other things.
After a much needed sleep-in the next morning, we used the Funicular to get to the top of Mont Floyen. There is a park at the top--great view of the city and many, many trolls. We have pictures. We had lovely pastries and coffees. It was a long walk down but pleasant. I thought "this would be lovely in the summer". Wait, this is the summer! We strolled in the town centre and there was another troll. The fish market was interesting, We will eat there on Sunday unless we go to the McDonalds we found. The building that houses it, is white, was built in 1710 and has no outside markings. We usually feel it is part of our job to eat at the big M sometime during a trip!
Norway in a Nutshell was an amazing tour! We left our place this morning (Saturday) at 8:00 and travelled by train, boat, coach and train again. We saw waterfalls, mountains, fjords, very green forests and grass, goats and water the colour of Lake Louise. There was a siren singing to us from a cliff in the middle of a huge, steamy waterfall. We returned to Bergen at 21:00--a wonderful, day full of Norway. Some breathtaking sights to behold. Driving back to Voss, the road was so twisty that I had to hold my breath a couple of times. The Driver was excellent.
Today is a laundry day. Seems like washers in this neck of the woods wash for hours. We have taken to stopping and advancing the machine to finally get things washed. We have been in many homes since November--usually like to use AirB&B places. It is always an adventure to see what is where and how to make things work. Getting groceries is also interesting as there isn't always English on the labels. In Iceland, we bought double-yoked eggs which I find gross. Here, the egg pan was so great, I could actually turn them over with no breakage. So far we have slept in 31 beds. By the time we return to Ottawa, maybe we will know what kind of bed to buy.
We had a lovely stroll around the downtown area--had ice cream and coffee. While having coffee, a little girl,maybe 4 years old, and her Dad sat down next to us. The little girl looked over to George and said, "Dad, he has the same book as you.". George was reading Rick Steves. We visited a few markets, saw many people in the square and some buskers. It isn't a surprise that Norwegions are lean, there are so many inclines and stairs to walk on. Bergen is a delightful place.
This evening we attended an organ concert at the Domkirken The Cathedral.- a Lutheran Cathedral. This concert was part of a series--the organist was from Russia. George thought that there were parts he could have played with both hands and feet. Did you know that Norway is 76% Lutheran? Did you also, know that sometime in the past the Lutherans killed the Catholics and there was a bounty on priests? The music was classical--organs really are amazing. We strolled through the Festplassen and then home to pack.
Tomorrow we leave here on the train. And so to Oslo.
After a much needed sleep-in the next morning, we used the Funicular to get to the top of Mont Floyen. There is a park at the top--great view of the city and many, many trolls. We have pictures. We had lovely pastries and coffees. It was a long walk down but pleasant. I thought "this would be lovely in the summer". Wait, this is the summer! We strolled in the town centre and there was another troll. The fish market was interesting, We will eat there on Sunday unless we go to the McDonalds we found. The building that houses it, is white, was built in 1710 and has no outside markings. We usually feel it is part of our job to eat at the big M sometime during a trip!
Norway in a Nutshell was an amazing tour! We left our place this morning (Saturday) at 8:00 and travelled by train, boat, coach and train again. We saw waterfalls, mountains, fjords, very green forests and grass, goats and water the colour of Lake Louise. There was a siren singing to us from a cliff in the middle of a huge, steamy waterfall. We returned to Bergen at 21:00--a wonderful, day full of Norway. Some breathtaking sights to behold. Driving back to Voss, the road was so twisty that I had to hold my breath a couple of times. The Driver was excellent.
Today is a laundry day. Seems like washers in this neck of the woods wash for hours. We have taken to stopping and advancing the machine to finally get things washed. We have been in many homes since November--usually like to use AirB&B places. It is always an adventure to see what is where and how to make things work. Getting groceries is also interesting as there isn't always English on the labels. In Iceland, we bought double-yoked eggs which I find gross. Here, the egg pan was so great, I could actually turn them over with no breakage. So far we have slept in 31 beds. By the time we return to Ottawa, maybe we will know what kind of bed to buy.
We had a lovely stroll around the downtown area--had ice cream and coffee. While having coffee, a little girl,maybe 4 years old, and her Dad sat down next to us. The little girl looked over to George and said, "Dad, he has the same book as you.". George was reading Rick Steves. We visited a few markets, saw many people in the square and some buskers. It isn't a surprise that Norwegions are lean, there are so many inclines and stairs to walk on. Bergen is a delightful place.
This evening we attended an organ concert at the Domkirken The Cathedral.- a Lutheran Cathedral. This concert was part of a series--the organist was from Russia. George thought that there were parts he could have played with both hands and feet. Did you know that Norway is 76% Lutheran? Did you also, know that sometime in the past the Lutherans killed the Catholics and there was a bounty on priests? The music was classical--organs really are amazing. We strolled through the Festplassen and then home to pack.
Tomorrow we leave here on the train. And so to Oslo.
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