TravelStream™ news feed for member kathryn77 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kathryn77 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:11:44 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/6/1256679263/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/6/1256679263/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/6/1256679263/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:11:44 -0400 Rest of Europe!

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Voss, Western Fjords, Norway

So, we decided to do the 7 hour train journey from Bergen to Oslo, since it is rated as being in the top 20 train journeys in the World! We weren't disappointed!!

We were booked on the train just before 8am from Bergen, and when we boarded, we were disappointed to find that we were in a 'two-seater' type seat, and only had half a window between us to view the amazing scenery :-( How unlucky!!

The train was packed as well, so we couldn't even move :-( Then, after setting off, the guard announced over the tannoy that upgrades were available for 90 kroner (about £9) Comparatively, train travel in Norway is really cheap compared to everything else there. It only cost us about £20 for our original (bought in advance) tickets.

When the guard came round, we asked for the upgrade, and ended up with a 4 seater to ourselves, with table, and a massive window - so so worth it!! The views were AMAZING!! We left Bergen in reasonable weather conditions, and as the train gained altitude, it got noticeably colder outside as we started to notice snow. By the time we got to 1200 metres +, there was about a foot of snow - and this is just October! It was beautiful up there!! The train luckily stopped quite a few times, and we were able to hop out for a few minutes here and there - otherwise the photos would be rubbish and all blurred! We saw lots of fjords as well - but these were early on in the trip, and the photos were all blurred.

Enjoy the pics, but it really is something you should see in your lifetime - I would so recommend this train journey - but in winter like this, so that you get the snow effect as well - awesome!
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Bergen, Western Fjords, Norway

We arrived In Bergen late Saturday afternoon, and headed to find our accommodation - a place called Citybox. It is cheap and basic, in that the reception is only manned for a few hours a day, and check-in is electronic outside of these times - so we basically put in our card to confirm the booking, it found us, and printed out our electronic key! Simple! It was fine and central enough.

We headed out straight away to explore the city as it was such a lovely evening! Apparently it rains in Bergen about 280 days a year, so as we didn't know what lay ahead the next day, we got into the sightseeing straight away by going up in the funicular to get a view of the city, seeing it at dusk. We were glad that we did that, as Sunday was quite overcast (though no rain! We were so lucky! We got about 10 minutes of rain the whole time we were there!)

After that, we went to find a restaurant that we had seen in our guidebook - called Pingvinen - as it sold Norwegian food in a bar type atmosphere, and was allegedly on the cheaper side which did turn out to be true, as it was outside of the 'touristville streets'. The menu was written on a blackboard, and consisted of 4 to 5 options. We both went for the meatballs, and OMG were they ever the yummiest meatballs we had ever eaten?! In fact, probably the best meal I've had in a long time!! They were served with Norwegian style 'mushy peas' which were delicious, new potatoes & carrots, and the portions were MASSIVE so it was so worth it! I was stuffed halfway through, but there was no way I was letting it beat me!!

On Sunday we toured the city, which, like Oslo, is really easy to walk around and is quite small - but oh so much prettier! The buildings were all stunning, and the houses so traditionally colourful. As it was winter, a lot of tourist places were closed, so, for example, we couldn't do a fjord tour as they only run May to September. We went out to the castle area, through the traditional area of Bryggen and afterwards had a wander through the residential areas, as the buildings were so pretty!

Later, we went for a beer in the Irish bar (well, you have to, don't you?!), and it had such a bad atmosphere - very weird for an Irish bar!

For dinner we decided to try another Norwegian restaurant, and this time Steve ate reindeer and I had elk - I suspect that a jolly old man in a red suit is none to pleased with us right now!!

We went back to Pingvinen for a couple of cheap(er!) drinks, and for the Norwegian atmosphere later on, and discovered that their menu changes every night - so although just a few things on the blackboard, it changes! (But have the meatballs if you get the opportunity!!)
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Oslo, Oslo, Norway

A while ago, I did a "Dublin to Everywhere" search on Skyscanner to see where I could go for the cheapest price for this weekend, as it was an Irish holiday weekend - the result: Norway at a bargain €25 return (inc tax!)

I booked it...then rang Steve and asked if he fancied going to Oslo for the weekend. "Why?" he asked..."Not been there yet" I replied....so as he hadn't either, he looked up flights and managed to get a similar bargain, and we landed in Oslo on Friday within half an hour of each other.

As we knew Norway was expensive, we had done a bit of research in advance, and concluded that we didn't want to stay in Oslo for the entire weekend, so in advance, we got cheap internal flights to Bergen on the Saturday, and booked a train ticket for the 7 hour journey from Bergen to Oslo on Monday, as we read that it is in the top 20 World train journeys (well deserved! More on that later!)

The guest house we booked was one of the cheapest accommodations we could find, but wasn't in the city centre as a result - which was fine, as it was on the tram route, the stop being right outside the guest house. It was lovely! Like walking into an advert for Ikea, and the bathroom had under-floor heating!

It was also right next to Vigeland Park, which contains numerous sculptures by Norway's famous sculptor of the same name. Let's just say he was clearly a fan of all things natural!! You'll see from the photo's...! (the placards / bags etc aren't normally adorning the statues - think there was an eco/green demonstration recently, which is why they are there)

My favourite statue turned out to be the most famous one, called "Sinataggen" (the 'Little Hot-Head'!) See if you can see why in the photo's ;-)

After the park, we headed into the city centre, to make our way around the sites - and discovered just how small Oslo is, which made us glad we'd chosen not to stay there all weekend...! On the map, it looks quite spread out, but at our first stop (the Nobel Peace Prize centre), we realised the town hall was practically beside it, and the castle just behind - we managed to walk around everything in about 3 hours, including walking out to a bridge with a 'troll reputation' - alas, we didn't see any trolls :-( (But we did see some big fake ones!)

And so, to Bergen.....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1250543178/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1250543178/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1250543178/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:30:11 -0400 Ireland

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Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

I went to Belfast with no expectations - I really did not know what to expect. With such a recent history of "troubles" the press attention it gets, isn't always the best advertisement. I'm sad to say, but that is mainly my knowledge of Northern Ireland. As I was growing up, it was news that was current and I never questioned it. I had a 'young childs view' of what was going on, and I just hid myself from "all the bad things in the world" (not just NI troubles)

When I was older, I then didn't think it appropriate to question anything around this, as I felt "I should know!" And anyone I would have asked, I figured it be a sensitive subject, and one that was in the recent past that might cause upset, so I just left it. I feel that the past 'troubles' of NI to most people are just that: past - and should be left there.

Anyway, Lydia and I decided we would do a tour to get a bit of Belfast history. There are 3 ways you can do this: Red open top bus, Black cab tour, or the alternative open top bus competitor. We did the latter - we just kind of stumbled upon it, but it was a good tour, and the guide was quite informative.

The tour firstly goes to the main areas of "the troubles". Falls Road (the Catholic area) and Shankhill Road (the Protestant area). You know instantly you are in either area because of the wall murals that adorn most of the street walls.

In the Falls Road area, the biggest 'stand-out' thing for me, was when we were told that the block of high flats were used by the British army during "the troubles" to oversee the city. They would land helicopters on the roof, and had control over the top two floors. Since the 1992 'Good Friday agreement', citizens reclaimed the top 2 floors, and the destiny of the roof was put to a vote as to what became of it. The consensus being that it never be flat again so that no more helicopters could ever land there.

The dividing point between the two areas sent a chill down my spine. Memorial gardens on both sides for victims of "the troubles" and then the "peace walls" that divide the two troubled areas. To be honest it made me feel sad that this was still necessary in 2009. But again, with my lack of knowledge on the subject, and the fact that there has been recent stirrings of trouble, that it may still be there for a good reason - I don't know.

When we turned into the Shankhill Road area, the first thing I noticed was the presence of British flags. I then also noticed a lot of people wearing Rangers football shirts, which, having grown up on the west coast of Scotland, I know is also an association with the protestant religion - something I think is stupid, and I can't stand it when people ask me what football team I support - I know it is usually for a reason - to define your religion, as you'll be 'one or the other' - the fact of the matter is, I don't watch or follow football - end of. I also don't care what 'religion' a person is, to me, it's the person who matters. Equally - end of.

After the troubled areas, we got to see the real Belfast, and I had no idea....

CS Lewis was born here! The author of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'!
The Titanic was built here! I never knew that either! AND, it's the 100th anniversary of it's launch in 2012, and the city is gearing up for huge celebrations! They are currently developing the Titanic Quarter near where she was built, and it looks impressive so far.
We were also told that the Europa hotel (just behind where we were staying) is the most bombed hotel in Europe! Apparently they used to have signs in the lifts saying something along the lines of "Welcome to Europa hotel - the most bombed hotel in Europe"! (I know!!)

There is also a poignant peace symbol by the river.

After the bus tour, Lydia and I went up on the 'Belfast wheel' for views over the city, which was cool. Then Lydia amused me with my favourite quote of the weekend...passing the statue of Queen Victoria in the city centre...

"They don't put statues up in Malaysia because of religion, but if they did, they'd at least make them look pretty, it is the taxpayers money after all! I mean, they could have made her younger, or in her yewt or something" lolololololol!!!! Brilliant Lydia! (I did have to write that quote down so I wouldn't forget!)

Before we left for Dublin, we ate in a local pub recommended by my friend Louise from this website. I can't tell you the name of it, because it's only 'known to locals' and is a 'local secret' according to Louise. I can tell you that it was great and yum though! Cheers Lou ;-)


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1250974674/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1250974674/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1250974674/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:25:11 -0400 Ireland

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Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

The nice bus driver dropped us in Coleraine. Just before we arrived, something 'blew' on the bus - to be honest, it sounded like a tyre blow-out, but whenever he put pressure on the accelerator it got worse! Luckily, we made it back to the bus station, all fine - can't speak for the bus!

We had over an hour now to wait for the train, so we went for a drink in a nearby pub. Lydia likes to try different beers she comes across, and the pub we went to sold Tennants - which is a Scottish lager...hmmmm...."That's what my dad drinks" I told her, "It's minging" I added...didn't put her off though - she tried it, and liked it. My dad will be so proud.

Anyway, we're sitting there, and suddenly I heard a 'familiar' sound - the tune of an "orange band" (I apologise if that's the wrong expression to use these days, but that's what I know it as). I hadn't heard one since I was growing up in Scotland, and my association with it is a nervous feeling, which comes from my granny's reactions on hearing it whenever I was with her when they were happening. Lydia didn't know this - having grown up in Malaysia, to her, it was just a marching band, and she wanted to go out and take photos - I was quite hesitant and suggested she didn't. She asked me why, and do you know, I couldn't provide her with an answer. I kind of tried to explain, but I don't understand the full politics, religious reasoning and history behind it, to have been able to give her a full accurate & honest answer. Having grown up with an open-mind, I have friends of all religions and backgrounds, so to me, the fact that the sound of that music unnerved me now, confused me.

When we went to get the train, we found it was delayed by 20 or so minutes - then 12 armed policemen came down onto our platform...I've seen that in Scotland too, so assumed there had been a football match or something...then the platform manager came along and told everyone we should all stand at the wall until everyone got off the train...Lydia pointed out that he was moreso saying it to young guys, which I hadn't noticed...

The train pulled in, and it was practically empty! However the carriage Lydia and I chose was more empty than others, containing only 2 guys and 1 girl. Turned out there was a reason for this - one of the guys was wired to the moon on drugs (not that he needed to tell us, but he did confirm that). He tried engaging us in inane conversation, and I could tell Lydia was uncomfortable, so wasn't surprised when she whispered to me that she wanted to move seats. I agreed with her, but told her we'd be better to wait until the next stop, as it wasn't far, that way we could move "as if we were leaving the train" without causing a scene with this muppet. In a rather sweet way, a local old man walked past us and asked Lydia if she was OK as he moved into another carriage.

After we moved, we found out that there had been an anniversary event in Derry / Londonderry that day, so this answered a lot of questions:
- why the train early in the morning bound for Derry / Londonderry had been so packed
- why we had heard a march in Coleraine earlier
- why armed police were waiting in Coleraine station for potential trouble
- why this guy may have been high as a kite in our carriage

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767901/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767901/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767901/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:28:38 -0400 Ireland

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Carrick-a-rede , Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

The name "Carrick-a Rede" is from the Scottish Gaelic "Carraig-a-Rade", which means 'rock in the road' - OK, I'm not that good, that's from the info leaflet I picked up, ha ha!

The "road" it's referring to is the sea route for Atlantic salmon as they journey west past Carrick Island. So 350 years ago, some fishermen erected a rope bridge between the mainland and the island, so they could get to the best spot to catch the salmon! How clever!

Now, the bridge attracts thousands of visitors each year as they test their nerves by crossing the 30 metre high rope bridge. Lydia and I become one of those fearless people that day.

It costs £4 to cross the bridge (£2 each way, ha ha!) and again,this is for maintenance and the well-informed bridge guides who control the 'flow of traffic' across the bridge, as only 8 people can be on it at any one time.

Fear not, it's not the same original bridge from 350 years ago - they replace it every 5 years, and the ropes go through some very tough tests before they're used. The guide was telling us this as we waited to cross back to the mainland. Someone asked him what they do if someone is really, really terrified, and he said that it's easy enough getting them over to the island (well, they want to get off the bridge don't they? But getting them back on it to go back is another story...and there IS only one way back! Someone suggested cloroform and a hanky which raised some giggles! (The guide said "if only" lol!)

Apart from one girl whose screams could probably be heard across the water in Scotland, everyone we saw made it across and back without any fuss.

And then it was time to get the bus at 5:30pm - which incidentally is the last bus of the day from Carrick-a-rede rope bridge! The buses are few and far between, so our day had been driven by the bus times, which determined how long we stayed at each place - and the bus timetables can be got from the tourist info place in Portrush.

It was the same driver who had dropped us off, who picked us up again - funny! We were supposed to get that bus back to the Giants Causeway, then switch to another to Portrush, then take the train back to Coleraine...but Lydia mentioned our plan to the bus driver, and he said we could stay on if we wanted, as he was finished, and he was taking the (now out of service) bus back to Coleraine bus depot. Brilliant!

Also, I forgot to say, Northern Ireland is brilliant value for transport. You buy a one-day ticket for £15 and you can go anywhere in Northern Ireland by bus or train the whole day for that one price!

We got back to Belfast about 9pm - a 12 hour tourist day - we were WRECKED! (But it was brilliant!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767741/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767741/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767741/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:58:02 -0400 Ireland

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Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

So I'd seen photos of the Giants Causeway before, and always wanted to go. As we approached, I primed myself for disappointment, as lots of people had told me this is how they felt after they saw it in person...

...Initially, I was disappointed - from photos I'd seen, the hexagonal stones usually look huge (i.e. wide...in reality they're not...but I changed my mind about being disappointed...it is pretty amazing - and in my opinion, it's amazing because of the huge area it covers, so the volume of these mad hexagonal shaped columns spead over the area is what I think makes it amazing.

Now, there is geological fact about how the Giants Causeway came to be, but I'm not going to tell you that, because it makes me do this: *yawn* (I'm sure you can look it up on Wikipedia or something if you're interested)

Instead, I'm going to tell you the 'truth' about how the causeway came to be, according to Celtic folklore...

...it all began with an Irish Giant - Finn MacCool - he built the Causeway so he could get across the sea to fight the big bad Scottish giant, answering to the name of 'Benandonner'...when he finally made it across the water, the Scottish giant was asleep...but Finn could see that he was much much bigger than him, so he got a bit scared and came back. The Scottish giant found out that Finn had been over...so he came running across the Causeway from Scotland (as he was a giant, he was quite noisy when he ran, and so Finn & his wife heard him coming).

Finn's wife was quick thinking, and dressed Finn as a baby, and he lay down as if asleep, so when Benandonner came to the house, his wife shushed him saying he'd wake the baby - when Benandonner saw the size of this 'baby' lying there, he figured Finn must be HUGE if this was the baby he'd produced! So he fled back across the causeway, destroying it as he went, so that Finn couldn't then follow him back....and all that remains of the Causeway is what you see in my photos, and similar structures at the 'other end' of the causeway (The island of Staffa in Scotland)


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767588/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767588/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathryn77/5/1249767588/tpod.html Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:33:59 -0400 Ireland

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Dunluce, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

The taxi pulled round a corner on the country coast road, and as I was thinking about letting out a gasp, Lydia beat me to it! Stunning so it was. Castle ruins right on the edge of a cliff!

The castle is from the 16th century and from the Macdonnell Clan. Part of the castle (a kitchen area) collapsed into the sea in the 1600's and killed some of the servants.

It was a battleground on many occasions, so it even had trapdoors - an interesting video about the history told us that the menfolk used to put the woman and children in the traps, cover it with a stone slab and then set the ground above on fire, keeping them safe from the intrusion. Only so long that can work though, as much of the Macdonnell Clan were wiped out in one battle - women and children included.

One of the occupants through the years tried to turn the castle into an English style country home, and you can see the evidence of that from the windows in the castle ruins - shame!

It's only a bargain £2 to get into the castle grounds, and that includes full access and the informational video etc too. The entrance fee helps keep up the maintenance - and I guess that includes stopping any more of it falling into the sea!
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Portrush, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

...we literally had to wait a minute for the connecting train from Coleraine to Portrush. The Derry/Londonderry train pulled out, and ours pulled in. Perfect!

Once in Portrush, we headed for the bus stop but couldn't work out the timetable - surely we didn't have to wait an hour and a half to go the short distance to Dunluce Castle? We went to the tourist info place just across the street, and it turned out it was true! She advised us to get a taxi (yeah, it was that close!) saying it'd cost about £10. We decided to do this, and she armed us with bus times for the rest of the day, and we headed off to flag down a taxi on the main street.

Took no time at all to get to Dunluce Castle, and only cost £5 in the end - bargain - and crucial to the timings of the day - if we'd waited in Portrush for the bus, we'd probably still be at Carrick-a-rede rope bridge now! (OK...minor exaggeration - I'm sure we'd have got back the next morning, but you know what I mean!)
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Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

...we got the train from Belfast to Coleraine, then had to get off and switch to another train. It was insanely busy - standing room only - by the time we got off the train (which was bound for Derry/Londonderry, aka "Stroke City" (nicknamed as such because of the 'Derry-stroke-Londonderry' name it has to keep the Irish and the British happy) We didn't know why it was so busy, and put it down to Derry/Londonderry being the closest major city and it being Saturday, so people 'must have been going shopping' - how wrong we were!!!
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