So long, farewell.....

Well, my time down under has almost come to a close.  I am sitting in the Air New Zealand lounge, waiting for my flight to be boarded.  My last week in Australia has been more work then play, but I did get the chance to see a new state, Victoria, and see a bit of Melbourne.  

Melbourne is a interesting city.  It has its high points, and definitly has a style, with the Victorian era design prominent in the buildings, but its not full of "sights".  But it has some great food and social scene.  I had the pleasure of a local "insider" view, as my friend Meagan, put me in touch with her friend Vanessa.  Vanessa was kind enough to show me around on my one evening free, so after she picked me up at the hotel, we headed straight to the Eureka SkyTower, which hosts the highest observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere.   We headed up to the 88th floor, and caught the last rays of sun as twilight decended on the city.  It was a beautiful sight and Vanessa pointed out the highlights of the city from 285 meters in the air.  It was an incredibly windy night, and you could see the glass flexing in the winds!!

Once we were done with our viewing, we headed down to the Yarra river to grab dinner at the Blue Train Cafe...a favorite spot of Meagan's.  The food was amazing, the company better, and it was nice intro to Melbourne.

Unfortunitly, it was all work from there, and I did not get to spend much more time in the city, except to sleep.  And now I am on my way back home.  But Australia has given me a bit of a teaser, and I can't wait to be back.....as soon as possible!!

From the Valley to the Hills

What to do with two free days in Australia?  Trying to minimize travel and maximize the seeing potential, it seemed best to limit travel to about 2 hours outside of Sydney.  Virginia had only one more day in Australia, so we decided that Saturday would be spent exploring some of the wine country in New South Wales:  Hunter Valley.  Now...how best to do this?  Wanting to enjoy our day and not have to worry about choosing the wineries or driving after the tastings, we booked with a company specializing in bringing people to the boutique wineries of the area...no Lindemans or Wyndham for us!  

So bright and early (0810), we were picked up and heading towards the Hunter Valley.  First stop:  Iron Gate winery, which both grows and produces the wine onsite.  They only sell to a handful of restaurants in the area, so the only way to bring this home was to buy at the winery.  The tasting was private, with our group of 10 people have our own presenter, and amoung the offerings, we tasted the Hunter Valley staples of Semillon and Shiraz, and an "up and coming" varietal: Verdelho.  The Verdelho was a very pleasant surprise for me.  This Portuguese grape was introduced to Australia in the 1800's, and has become more popular in the last 15 years.  After the tasting, there was a quick tour, and then we were off to the next venue.  Kelman Vineyards is set up as a co-op, with the residents of the neighborhood all invested in the vineyard.  In addition to the still wines, we tasted a semillon sparkling, and some specialty dipping oils. 

We had a bit of "free" time for lunch, so Virginia and I continued our tasting, but this time at the Hunter Valley Cheese shop.  Now that's what I call a good lunch!  Our final tasting of the day was at Ernest Hill Winery.  A special treat awaited us here, as a mob of grey kangaroos joined us amoung the vines for a great photo-op!  As the sun set, we headed back to Sydney, a few bottles of wine in hand.

Sunday I was on my own, so I headed west toward the Great Dividing Range and caught a train to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains.  The Mountains are named for the color of the light reflecting off the oils emitted by the eucalyptus leaves.  As the train approached our destination, the clouds came charging in, and we arrived in the midst of a small hail and wind storm with the temperature about 20 degrees cooler than in Sydney.  Not exactly what the weather channel had predicted!  I quickly ducked into a sporting goods shop to add to my "southern hemisphere wardrobe".  Lucky for me, it was end of season, so this so-called impulse buy did not cause too much damage. 

Warm and cozy, I strolled 2km towards Echo Point, an amazing look-out over the Jamison Valley and the Three Sisters rock formation.   Aboriginal legend is that 3 beautiful maidens were transformed into the formations by their witch doctor, helping them escape the unwanted advances of some suitors.  The witch doctor died before he could change them back, and they have been trapped in the stone ever since.

Echo Point is the tourist spot of this town, so there were throngs of tourists who bused the short distance to take pictures and move on.  In search of some peace and solitude, I found the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, which winds it way down along the cliffs, into the Jamison Valley via the Great Staircase and onto the Katoomba Falls.  The unpredictable weather and numerous rough steps kept most people away, and began to take in the beauty of the mountains.   The walk was challenging enough to keep most casual tourists at bay and to give a good workout, but not overly strenuous.  As I approached a break in the trees, I looked back across the valley, to see a rainbow stemming from the Three Sisters.  It was a perfect moment.   Continuing my trek, I came to the Katoomba Cascades, a precursor to the Katoomba Falls which lay ahead. 

I began the long decent down the Furber Stairs, a 1.5 km staircase constructed in the early 1900's that lead down the Katoomba Falls, giving spectacular views of the Three Sisters, the Falls, and the Jamison Valley.  The stairs are narrow, dark and damp, as they wind through a cool climate rainforest, and once at the bottom, I decided not to make the climb back up, as the end of daylight was catching up with me once again.  From the bottom, I walked the boardwalk through eucalyptus groves and past abandoned coal mines to the Skyway Cable Car, which offers a "cheater" way in and out of the valley.  Having taken the legitimate way down, I enjoyed the views as the glass chamber swayed us back to the top of the gorge.  With some awesome pictures and very tired legs, I made my way back up to the train station, and napped on my trip back to Sydney.

The best 5k of my life

Today, it was not about time or personal bests.  Today's 5k was all about witnessing the beauty and power of the sea, the blue skies, and the brisk ocean breeze.  Following the advice of some of my Aussie-experienced friends, Virginia and I grabbed the bus around noon and headed to Bondi Beach, the closest the ocean gets to Sydney.  The Pacific was out in full force today, and as we approached the beach, the thunderous surf made promises of some serious waves.  No surfers on the beach today, so we sat and admired the crashing of the water against the rocks, before heading out on the cliff tops to Coogee, a 5km walk along some of the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen.

The walk itself was straight-forward, however the brisk head-winds and numerous rocky steps and inclines made hitting the gym un-necessary.  As we passed through veils of sea-spray as the waves made their way up the cliffs, I saw ocean baths scattered along the shoreline.   I had never heard of an ocean bath, but it was a sea-side swimming pool, which was filled by the waves crashing over the edge.   Even though it is winter, and the South Pacific is on the chilly side (as I found out the other day), there were swimmers in some of the baths, getting in their evening laps.

The cliff path winds past some of Sydney's most beautiful beaches, including Bronte, Clovelly and Tamarama, all with their own charm and appeal.   Not a lot of beach goers out today, which made the walk along the shore peaceful and serene.  Probably my favorite section was the sun-bleached memorials at Waverley Cemetery, overlooking the sea as a final resting places. 

As 5pm approached, we were chasing daylight during the last 1.5km, and as we when we reached the Coogee Boardwalk, we finally saw the enclave of surfers, getting much more action then those at Manly on Monday.  Finishing our afternoon "stroll", we toasted our afternoon with a few pints at the Coogee Bay Hotel beach bar, and watched the sunset over the waves. 

The start of a beautiful friendship.....with Australia!

I am not sure it had sunk in when I boarded the plane in Bangkok that I would end up in Australia in a bit less then 24 hours.  For me, it was one of those places that I never thought I would get to see in person.   But there, I was, buckled in, with my seat back and tray table in their upright and locked positions.  1.5 hours after the departure time, we were off, with 10 hours to wait to see if I was going to make my connecting flight in Bangkok (I only had a 1hr 50 min layover).  Decideing that it would do no good to fret about it, I settled in for a 3 movies, 2 meals, 1 snack and 0 sleep.   No worries, the flight went by rather quickly, and we landed at Bangkok with 30 mins before boarding began on my next flight.   Thank god my bags were checked all the way thru and that there was no passport control.  At least I got my 15 mins of a brisk jog in after clearing security.   Hopefully, I will get to do some more exploring on the way back.  :).  Settled into flight #2, I was encouraged that I was dozing slightly as we pulled away from the gate.  When I woke we were taxing to the gate and I could not believe that I slept the whole time!  Then I noticed that it was slight daytime, and that I had only slept an hour.   Due to some replacement of a spare part, we left finally left Bangkok about 2 hours late.  No matter, I slept my way thru most of the second flight anyway, and landed at around 10pm.  45 mins later I was all settled into my hotel, and looking forward to a bit of touring in the morning.

Meeting up at breakfast with my collegeuge, Virginia,  we set out to one of the most familiar harbours in the world.  There are a few places that I have seen in pictures or thru media and have thought that they would be incredible to see in person.   Amoung these are the Eiffel Tower, Mt. Everest (from the ground...), Antartica, Machu Picchu, and the Sydney Opera House.  As we approached the Circular Quay and the harbour, the Opera House appeared from behind the ferry docks, and with the midday sun sparkling off the roof, and the water rippling softly in the foreground, it was a beautiful moment.  The structure is unique and stunning.  I very much want to see if the accoutics are as artfully engineered as the exterior.  Maybe later this week.....

Finally turning our back to the Opera House, we admired the Harbour Bridge towering above the water.  Then we noticed the people walking on the top of it.  I am not generally afraid of heights, although over the last year or so, I have become a bit nervous on long, narrow stair climbs; but the thought of climbing all the way to the top of the bridge gave me a bit of a pause.  But just for a moment as I agree to give it a shot with Virginia later this week.   So stay tuned.....

We took advantage of the warm, sunny day in late winter to walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens, and then caught a ferry to Manly, which is home to one of the surfing beaches around Sydney.   It was great to walk barefoot in the sand and dip my toes in the Tasmen Sea (and indirectly, the South Pacific).  The water was MUCH colder then I had expected, a reminder once again that once you cross the equator, south does not equal warm! 

After a few hours watching the waves and catching a bite to eat while the surfers waited for the perfect curl, jet lag had started to take its toll, so we headed back to Sydney.  Not quite ready to give up the day, we wandered through the surrounding areas, taking in some great 19th century buildings, including the GPO (General Post Office), which has been restored and houses many shops and eateries (think the Old Post Office Pavilion in DC) and the Queen Victoria Building. which was originally built as a shopping center in the late 1800's. 

Since its winter, the sun sets around 5:30pm, and the fading light gave us no hope of fighting off exhaustion anymore, so we called it a day and headed back to the hotel.   Off to work tomorrow.....but never fear...more Australia adventures will follow of the next 2 weeks.

Something is rotten in the State of Denmark.......

Well, not really, but how could I not use that quote?  :)  With a week of vacation in our hands, we decided to veer away from beach resorts and high-tourist European cities and instead head to Denmark to explore new lands.  Using Copenhagen as our base-camp, we stayed on the island of Zealand and headed to some of the surrounding towns to encounter Vikings and royalty, castles and Shakespeare.

Arriving in Copenhagen on Thursday morning, we set off immediately for the Carlsberg brewery to sample some local brews.  This proved to be a bit more difficult then anticipated, as our bus driver forgot to tell us where to get off, and if not for the keen eye of James, we might still be on the bus.  However we did arrive, and embarked on a history lesson of the Copenhagen brewing industry.   As with all good brew tours, this one ended with partaking in the product, and it set our mood for the rest of the trip.

I have to admit, we did quite a bit of guessing on this trip....knowing only the highlights of the city (thank you Lonely Planet), we choose to steer away from the known chains (both American and European) for everything from hotels to restaurants to our mandatory morning coffee run.  This tactic served us quite well, as we enjoyed the local seafood on the Nyhaven Canal, grabbed an early batch of some Danish pancakes at the street market and enjoyed the habour-view from our "budget" hotel. 

Our best find, by far, was the Copenhagen pass.  This gem not only gained us admission to most of the well known museums, sites, and attractions in the Greater Copenhagen area (including many of outlying cities and towns), it also provided us with free use of the bus, metro and train systems.  In the first 24 hours of our 72 hour pass, we had already exceeded its value by 1.5!   Highly recommended!

As we were keen to see more of Denmark then just the city, we headed out to Hillerod on Friday to see our first castle, the Fredricksborg Slot.  This amazing structure is built across 3 islets in a lake, giving the illusion of floating on the water.  Built in the 17th century, its truly magnificent, with its towering walls and long approach.  The very helpful guide at the main desk directed us up to the chapel ("Skip the first floor, its really quite dull") which was ornately decorated in gold trim with high vaulted ceilings.  Impressive, but really makes it clear how historically tied power and religion have been.  We were equally impressed with the remainder of the castle, as each room was elegantly painted, walls and ceilings, and in some areas, the art was quite intricate.  James put it best when he said "this is how I always imagined castles as a kid.....grand and colorful". 

Next stop was Roskilde, which is home to Denmark's answer to Westminster Abbey.  That's right.....a whole bunch of dead royalty in a church.   The Domkirke (cathedral) towers above the town, making navigation quite easy.   Expecting a similar experience to the chapel at Fredricksborg, I was pleasantly surprised to see a much simpler, yet still elegant decor of the interior.   At least it was this way in the Nave.   The side chapels which housed the coffins/memorials of the monarchy were quite another story, and once again the ornate (and sometimes colorful) paintings, carvings and tombs dominated. 
James patiently humoured my love of old churches (and subsequent graveyards), and was well rewarded as we set off to the Viking museum on the shores of the Roskilde Fjord.   Seeing the ship making was cool, and all, but it so much better when you get to sail a viking ship.    And so we piled into a replica Viking ship, grabbed the oars and rowed our way out into the fjord.   We had a nice strong wind, so we hoisted the sails (and I mean we.....this was a DYI sailing trip), and set out to the seas to test our pillaging skills!  Ok...so maybe the trip was light on the pillaging side, but it was a blast, and a nice workout too!

Our final excursion from the city was up the northeast coast of Zealand to Helsingor....other wise known as Elsinore for all you Shakespeare fans.   That's right...Kronborg slot is the home of Hamlet, and as we approached this castle on the sound, I was definitely feeling a bit literary.  We got to do some nice exploring of the grounds and courtyard of the castle, but unfortunately the interior was closed for some meeting of Danish old men.  No worries, as we wandered back to town, and hopped aboard the floating duty-free shop for a 20 minute ride across the sound to Sweden.   After all....if its that close, why not pick up another country?  So for a few hours, we strolled the streets of Helsingborg....having coffee, doing some geocaching, and watching the waves at the shore.

We spent quite a lot of time out of Copenhagen, but I have to say the best night of the trip was that spent in Tivoli.  The amusement park in the middle of the city, it was not over-run by kids like so many places in the US.  Mostly, it was the perfect mix of an old fashioned fair with some high-flying rides.  The entire place is full of gardens, lakes, concerts, and restaurants.  And at night its transformed by hundreds of fairy-lights, turning it truly magical.   It was quite easy to get lost in the evening, and its by far, a new favorite memory.