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Day 7

Hard to believe we have been away for a week already, although we have packed a lot in, it still seems to be passing quickly. Today we were visiting one the big highlights of London.

The Tower Bridge and the Tower of London were amazing with the history really coming to life. I could see the battles, prisoners and sentences happening as I saw the rooms, places and objects around me. The Tower was the home of various Kings and Queens and was also a large armoury and the home of the royal mint.

One of the Beef Eaters, the historical personal guards of the monarchs and now guards of the Tower, led us around the grounds showing us were Queens of Henry VIII had been beheaded, were the Crown Jewels were kept and where all the torture took place. We learnt about Guy Fawkes trying to blow up Parliament (the origins of the old cracker night that used to occur in Brisbane on 5 November each year) and the murder of the two child princes and where their bodies were found – creepy.

Throughout the grounds were the legendary ravens – the ravens have always been at the Tower and the legend says that that if the ravens ever left the Tower, and the Kingdom, would fall. Although no-one believes the legend these days, the ravens are kept with their wings clipped by the ‘Raven Master’ so they can’t fly over the walls just in case. The ravens eat lots and lots of raw meat and bird biscuits soaked in blood (not human blood we assume)!

The Crown Jewels were behind an enormous vault and guarded by the same Grenadiers that guard the Palace. No photography is allowed but one guy tried to film the crowns worn by the kings and was yelled at very loudly by the guards. I have never seen so much gold in one place – one solid gold wine urn could easily fit a child in it.

We marvelled at the suits of armour and all of the weapons kept in the tower over the years. We were able to pick some of the old swords and axes up to feel the weight and there was an interactive room where Caitlin was able to ‘battle’ Mum in a sword fight hitting shields – an arcade style game – Caitlin won 42 to 37, Mum was miffed.

Outside of the Tower there was an ice skating rink – Caitlin wanted to have a go but you needed to book a place in a session and it was booked out in the time we had available – maybe in Sweden.

After the Tower, we all enjoyed our first meal in an English pub – we had fish and chips (complete with the traditional peas), bangers and mash and steak and ale pie.

We were leaving VERY early the next day (4.00 am) for Denmark so needed to get home to pack and have a rest, but not before some last minute shopping at Harrods again…

We finally found our cousin Bradley who has been in London for two weeks already and plans to stay at least another six months and he came back to our house for dinner.

Day 8

YAAAAAWN… we were up at 3.30 to get dressed and wait for the Private Hire cars to take us to the airport. These are like taxis but are people’s own cars that take you places for a set fee. No taxi meter, you book them the day before. There are two types – saloon cars (basic passenger cars) and estate cars (bigger ones for more room or more people and luggage). We had a people mover like the one we have back home but it was a German-made car of some sort.

The British Airways flight was OK – a breakfast of ham, cheese and mushroom roll and lemonade!!!

Landed in Copenhagen just as dawn was breaking and the first thing we noticed was all of the wind generators supplying electricity – lots and lots of them.

Copenhagen is very pretty but it is strange, for the first time, being in a country that didn’t speak English (or as we prefer to say – speak Australian). As it turns out, though, they all learn English at school and everyone we spoke to had no trouble understanding us and answering in English.

Ben and Lisa showed us a round. We walked through the main square past the very old town hall and then down the main shopping street decorated with festive garlands with large red hearts. The Danish Kronor is about one quarter of the Australian dollar but everything is more expensive, for example, a Big Mac (the universal benchmark) cost about AUS$8.00.

Our breakfast consisted of some local hot dogs – a very thin roll with the frankfurter inserted in a hole full of sauce – smallish, but very yummy.

We came across a skating rink and walked across the ice throwing snow balls at each other, although it was actually 0 degrees according to an electronic weather billboard, the snow was man-made – the forecast did not include a white Christmas but we still had our fingers crossed.

We headed towards the famous Little Mermaid and came across a public toilet – note the Danish word! It was a long walk but quite pleasant in the Danish midday sun – felt like late afternoon really because the sun is so low in the sky – but still nice when it is on you.

The Little Mermaid was a gift to the city by an artist in 1913 to commemorate the literary works of Hans Christian Andersen. On the way back we walk through the royal palace. Although there were guards, it was very different to the security for the Queen – at least what we could see. The ‘Palace’ is actually four palaces (buildings) around a central plaza – one palace is for the King and Queen and the others for members of the royal family – one is Princess Mary’s but we didn’t know which one.

We walked to the ‘round tower’ in the middle of town and walked up to the top – no stairs, just one long continuous ramp. At the top we had a 360 degree view of Copenhagen.

After Mum and Dad got lost – funny we didn’t even notice until they rang us – we went to the Tivoli. Like the EKKA but it goes all year round. Connor and Caitlin went on some rides. Both were roller coasters, but the first one wasn’t nearly as scary. After the first one, Connor was pumped to go on more, just not “the demon”. But after a lot of persuading, we went on. It was fast, with three loops and lots of corkscrews. Connor came off smiling, and still hates Caitlin for making him go on!

The lights were very; very pretty but it was sooooo cold. Luckily there were braziers full of red hot coals every few meters to keep us warm. Dad tried some Glok – warm red sweet wine full of spices – Mum described it as hot cough linctus.

At the train station we unloaded our bags from the lockers we had hired earlier and found the train to Ystad. The train trip took about an hour and a half but it included a change of train at Malmo after we went over a very long bridge to Sweden. Dad had a snooze and we played Chinese Chequers (cheese on toast, we know) using one of our travel games.

At Ystad we were greeted by Ingmar and Igmarie, the parents of Ben and Lisa’s friends. They had a taxi waiting for us for the short journey to Bruksgatan (a street) and a very nice apartment – lots of room and comfy beds. All of the houses had lovely Xmas lights and ours did too. Tomorrow is Xmas day for the Swedes and, although Xmas eve back in Australia, pressie time at Igmar and Igmarie’s house – yeah!

Day 9 – Christmas Eve

Today was a sleep in. Although Dad woke at about 6.00 the rest of us started to stir at about 7.30 except for Connor who slept in until 10.00. We had a breakfast of Swedish Cornflakes and dressed for the cold to take a stroll through downtown Ystad.

The town has about 20,000 people and is very beautiful. We walked through the main shopping street though many businesses were closed and most of those that were open were due to close at noon. It was probably about 2 degrees but was quite bearable. Martin, one of Ben and Lisa’s friends was born here and showed us a very old church and the main square where the Ystad Band was playing Christmas Carols – nice!

We didn’t get the full tour, that’s tomorrow, because today we go to Martin’s parents place for traditional Xmas dinner at about 3.00 pm including herrings in mustard sauce and eel – we are all looking forward to it (Dad- the children have promised to try everything – we’ll see).

Connor and Caitlin went with Lisa and Ben to Martin’s sister to play Wii while Christine and Jeff had a bit of rest – the thought of a bit of that duty free Irish Whiskey sounded good as well – medicinal purposes only of course, Christine was a bit off-colour with a sore throat and no voice but the kids were having a great time playing Wii and eating Swedish cookies and ginger biscuits. After Caitlin flogged everyone at bowling Lisa, Ben, Caitlin and Connor walked home to get ready for the big Swedish Christmas eve gathering.

And what a night! The walk was long and brisk but worth every freezing minute. Ingmar and Ingmarie had two friendly little dogs that had won a number of Agility awards. Their house was warm and inviting. We sat and talked for a while and enjoyed some Glok and added our presents to the huge pile already under the tree.

When dinner was ready, we walked around smorgasbord style selecting cold meats, herrings, ham and eel. It was delicious, although it looked frightening complete with eyes and teeth, even the eel tasted good. Both Caitlin and Connor tried everything but in the end, Connor was a big fan of the eel. The adults all enjoyed schnapps and Xmas beer with lots of toasts. Connor and Caitlin had a drink that was like sarsaparilla but sweeter (Julmust) only available at Christmas and Easter. People went back for seconds and, in some cases, thirds because there was a second course of meatballs and sausages. When no-one could eat any more we went back to the lounge room for presents.

Ben played Santa, after observing the custom of pretending to go out for the paper and coming back as Santa, and handed out gift after gift after gift. It was great. Connor and Caitlin both received their own digital camera and Mum got a caricature drawing of Caitlin and Connor drawn at a market in London. Jeff got lots of gifts from the Transport Museum – London Tube socks and a small model of a tube carriage to join the Double Decker bus Lisa had given us when she came home last year.

It was a late night and the walk home did us all good. Lisa, Ben and Dad stayed up until 3.00 am talking and solving the problems of the world…

Day 10 – Christmas Day

Santa came! Some chocolates in great Xmas cups were left for Connor and Caitlin but the reindeer left a bit of a mess!?

Still no snow but Lisa is doing her special snow dance so we are hopeful.

We walked up to the town square to meet all of the family so Ingmar could lead us on the Grand Tour of Ystad. It was so cold the puddles on the ground were covered in ice so walking was a good idea. We saw the harbour with the huge catamaran (made in Australia) used to take people to the islands, the birthplace of a Swedish King, some buildings and a church that dated back centuries AND THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE DUE TO JUMP IN THE BALTIC SEA ON SATURDAY!!!! I have to admit it doesn’t feel very appealing at the moment because it is so cold but we’ll wait to see how brave we are on the day.

We ended up back the town centre for some grocery shopping – everyone is coming over to our place for dinner tonight – tacos.

We all relaxed in the afternoon watching the great Xmas movie “Love Actually” and received a phone call from one of the family saying snow was on the way – Lisa’s magic had worked!!!! Down it came. We were all excited and ran out into the street to run around in the falling snow – the neighbours must have thought we were idiots, especially dad dressed in boots, shorts and a ski jacket. The snow fall didn’t last long but it was enough to cover the ground and all the cars and will probably last until the sun comes up tomorrow.

The unit was very crowded as the guests arrived and a good night was had by all.

What a great day – a real white Xmas.

Day 11

Today we were chauffer driven in a nine-seater bus all around southern Sweden. The snow from the night before was still on the ground and it was VERY cold. We first visited a small fishing village that was also the site of an ancient burial ground in the hills behind it. The burial ground is like the Swedish version of Stonehenge – rocks, placed in the shape of a boat, mark the spot and are believed to have been erected during the ice age.

Next, our hosts took us to a beach popular in summer just to show us they had one – after walking over frozen snow we came across a wide beautiful beach. Although we kept well away from the cold water we could see why it was popular in the warmer months.

Sweden is a beautiful country with rolling hills and classic country houses complete with the odd windmill and, as we discovered, castles. Glimmingehus dates back to 1492 and wasn’t built to live in but as a fortress to withstand a siege though it was never put to the test. Connor was placed in the stocks in the castle square – well deserved we thought. Now, time for lunch… we stopped at a nice little café / shop where we enjoyed seafood pie (quiche) and salad AND hot chocolate – yum. The shop sold everything from handbags and shoes, to Xmas decorations, to garden statues, to second-hand furniture and paintings – very interesting. Ingmar bought the children traditional Swedish candy – red and white pieces that tasted very nice.

We had three more stops after lunch. The first was another fishing village where there was a very old church and some amazing old cottages, a stop at an apple orchid and some little fishing huts and then finally a rip to a burial mound of a Viking King – it was a huge mound of rocks with a tomb inside but we couldn’t go in because it was closed for winter. On the way home we all had a snooze in the lovely warm bus.

At home we relaxed for a couple of hours watching videos from Ben’s iPod through the TV and some Swedish cable TV before dressing to go to Ingmar and Ingmarie’s for dinner – a great meal of Norwegian Salmon, mashed potatoes and salad, followed by a desert of cream, apple and a pavlova-strudel-like dish – the adults enjoyed wine and the compulsory schnapps – very nice indeed.

We were driven home but Lisa and Ben went out to a ‘barn dance’ with their friends.

Day 12

Today is our last full day in Sweden. After a very late start, especially for Ben and Lisa, we ventured into town to find an internet café to post this blog and buy some souvenirs. Unfortunately we were unable to find internet café that was actually open. After waiting at an Internet café that was supposed to open and didn’t we walked up Ystad (pronounced u-stad) Main Street. There was not a lot of shopping done but Lunch at Max (a bit like McDonalds) and Ingmar’s favourite sandwich shop. After that it was straight home to physically and mentally prepare for the Baltic Sea dip.

We walked to Marie and Magnus’s place where Martin and Mel were staying talked and played a terrible game. It was called shocking tanks, you move your tank around on the floor and try and shoot the opposing person’s tank. You have six lives (1 hit=1 life) and every time you lose a life you get shocked/zapped by your tank’s controller. It was more of the shock of getting zapped than actually hurting. Then it was on to the sauna and then the Sea, Marie and Magnus had started to heat it up 30 mins beforehand but that was not really enough.

We changed into our togs waited in the sauna while Jean and Ritchie played hide and go seek (they were both looking for each other). As we heated up, we waited to see who was crazy enough to be the first to leave the sauna, run around the side and climb down a wooden ladder into the freezing cold Baltic Sea. Mel and Martin went first as they were ‘’experienced’. Then it was our turn – Caitlin went first and tentatively stepped down into the ladder, then climbed into the sea up to her waist and then quickly ran back to the sauna. Connor was next and immersed himself to his lower chest and also bolted for the warmth. Christine was much more hesitant and dipped just to her knees, being more scared than the rest of us. She too was glad to be back in the wood fired sauna. Dad’s turn. He had been worrying all day about this, dreading the time when it was his turn. But as we all came back smiling, Dad had a sudden rush of courage and allowed the water to come up to his shoulders! BRRRR!!!!!! In the end, we all kept coming back for more, with Connor ahead of all of us doing 5 dips, even one where he completely submerged, even though we were told to keep our heads above water!

Afterwards we walked back to the shower and got ready for the Wood’s farewell dinner and Ingmar’s birthday party at the same time. It was a great night and everyone left with sore hands from playing with toy tanks that shoot at each other resulting in an electric shock to your hands.

Day 12 and it is farewell to Sweden and hello to France

The train trip back to Denmark and the flight to Paris all went to plan. Virginie met us and drove us to the fantastic apartment right in the middle of Paris at the Place de Republique. The apartment block is really a very big square building with a huge courtyard in the middle. All of the residents are military families, and during the war the Nazis used it to interrogate the French - there is even a plaque commemorating eight resistance fighters who were tortured, killed and buried in the courtyard!

Day 13 touring Paris

After a breakfast of croussants we headed off on the Metro underground to the Eiffel Tower - wow, so big then a topless double-decker bus tour of the city - soooooo cold up top, only Dad was able to "bravely" last the distance. We had a whirlwind look through the Lourve (it is huge, really huge) before going home. We were going to go out again to see the night lights but we decided we were all too tired.

Tomorrow we pick up Mark and the other children and travell to a ski resort on the Swiss border for New Year. Again, it is uncertain when we will be able to post again, so keep checking, who knows when we might surprise you!