February 2nd Sailed from Sydney Harbour on the 20,000 ton Russian Liner "Shota Rustaveli".
February 5th. arrived Auckland NZ .
February 10th Arrived Tahiti. Saw what the island offered driving a rental VW. Encountered our first "Squatty-Potty" in a bar containing the washed-up flotsam and jetsam of the seven seas. February 20th Arrived at Balboa (in the oddly-named Panama Canal Zone surrounded by Panama) to commence the journey through the iconic Panama Canal. American workers were surprised that we spoke English so well considering our ship was flying the Hammer and Sickle ! It was a highlight experiencing this event. Arrived Cristobal the next morning. A major experience to write home to the folks about!
February 23rd Stopped at Willemstadt, Curacao - a cute, hot and dry island but very picturesque and historic. Shopping frenzy with the purchase of a transistor radio to listen to the "free world" Too bad it was mostly in Spanish March 5th Arrived Southampton Docks UK on Friday ( temperature a chill 4 degrees) .Said goodbye to all our shipboard companions and set out for Waterloo station on the "Boat Train"
February 10th Arrived Tahiti. Saw what the island offered driving a rental VW. Encountered our first "Squatty-Potty" in a bar containing the washed-up flotsam and jetsam of the seven seas. February 20th Arrived at Balboa (in the oddly-named Panama Canal Zone surrounded by Panama) to commence the journey through the iconic Panama Canal. American workers were surprised that we spoke English so well considering our ship was flying the Hammer and Sickle ! It was a highlight experiencing this event. Arrived Cristobal the next morning. A major experience to write home to the folks about!
February 23rd Stopped at Willemstadt, Curacao - a cute, hot and dry island but very picturesque and historic. Shopping frenzy with the purchase of a transistor radio to listen to the "free world" Too bad it was mostly in Spanish March 5th Arrived Southampton Docks UK on Friday ( temperature a chill 4 degrees) .Said goodbye to all our shipboard companions and set out for Waterloo station on the "Boat Train"
ENGLAND
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| Camping Fun |
Hit all the usual tourist sights, especially London's magnificent museums.
May 20th -hitch hiked towards Ireland with our shipboard friend Peter -met with abject failure due to miserable weather and a tent without a sewn in groundsheet. Left London on Saturday Morning headed for Koln via Folkestone, Ostend and Brussels
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| Vicki and Rolf |
GERMANY WEST
May 29th, Koln (Campground RodenKirchen) -met up with friends Vicki and Rolf who helped us find a suitable VW Kombi. They showed us around and introduced us to Currywurst and Pommes Frites. There was also a trip to see the 600 year old Dom -nothing like this around most of the world ! Left friendly Koln on June 4th heading south through Wittlich, Trier to Luxemburg. We didn't realize that Trier had more claim to historic and photogenic fame than we were aware of. It was to be decades before we managed to get back and visit this treasure.
LUXEMBURG: Cute, but nothing to report. Had a nice bridge as I remember.
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| Carcassonne |
Left Paris June 12th driving through Versailles and Chartres, Vendome, Blois, the Loire Valley (visiting Chateaux: Chaumont, Amboise, Chenonceaux, Luynes, Langeas, Chinon) and Tours. Also toured Angers, La Rochelle, the Roman ruins at Saintes, Pons, Fronsac and St Emillion with its mediaeval ruins. Always hoped we'd get back to the magnificent Loire Chateaux one day! We never did :-(
ANDORRA: just another country...who would have thought !! So cute!
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| Andorra |
SPAIN
June 19th saw us in Bayonne and Pamplona, Olite and Zaragoza. Very hot and dry weather indeed. Visited Teruel, Sagunto, Ampolla where the "English" camping ground was for sale at an attractive price. We could have made a life here but didn't! June 24th Tarragona and Barcelona for the bullfight and also the replica of the "Santa Maria" Back through snow-bound Pyrenees through Andorra.
FRANCEJune 28th Magnificent medieaval Carcasonne and on through Aigues-Mortes, Nimes and the 300m triple-tiered Roman aqueduct at the Pont-du-Gard -a very impressive sight. Naturally called in on St Bennet's fortified church near Glannum and on to interesting Les Baux, the bauxite town before discovering Arles. July 1st in Aix en Provence, San Tropez, St Raphael, Cannes, Antibes and Nice.
MONACO: camped on the side of a cliff. We didn't complain.
ITALY
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| Typical tourist Hi-Jinks |
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| Herculaneum |
We spent our spare time swimming in the sensational deserted beaches of the Adriatic in the 40 degree heat -seriously relaxing fun ! The beaches were pristine!!
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| The mighty SS Rumba |
GREECE
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| Arrival in Igoumenitsa, Greece |
Passed through Patra and the Korinth Canal for a swim on the way to Piraeus. July 23rd Athens: Agora, Stoa of Attilus, Temples of Theseum, Philoppus and Olympian Zeus. Visited the Stadium and the Archaeological Museum, the Flea Markets, Parthenon, and the Victory Temple. Also the Roman Agora and Theatre of Dionysius Moussaka stalls and the "Son et Lumiere".July 26th Left Athens for Thebes, Delphi with its Oracle (long gone I believe) amphitheatre and Stadium, Larnia and Larissa via the Vale of Tembi. Swam in the Agean on the way to Thessalonika Kavala and Xanthi. July 29th Crossed Komotini and Alexandropoulos to the Turkish border.
TURKEY
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| Sidestreet in Istanbul |
heading back up to the heart of Europe.
BULGARIA
August 4th Shopping in downtown Plovdiv with a degree of language difficulty. Sofia...where are all the people in this clinically clean city? St Sofia Cathedral, Changing of the Guard at the tomb of some fella named Giorgi Dimitrov.
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| Bulgarian Border |
Offer of a free haircut by a local barber (at least I think that that was the offer as he chased me down the street !) Extensive Roman ruins and Soviet War Memorial.
Very curious locals hoping to sell us the "people's soft drink" to quench our thirst. These people don't get out enough !
!
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| Around the top of Albanian border |
August 7th roads turning primitive and unsealed. Rugged but picturesque country and isolated villages. Enjoyed Skopje and Pec and Kotor with their colourfully attired locals. Stopped just short of Dubrovnik on the spectacular coast.We should have wandered around this undamaged city when we had the chance! Travelled on through Split and Zadar in too much of a hurry to really enjoy these attractive cities (not ANOTHER Roman Ruin !!) Coast road is dangerous and littered with wrecks! We made it safely to the labyrintine cave complex at Postojna Jama but missed out on an awful lot of good stuff..
ITALYAugust 10th made it to Lido di Jessolo on the holiday coast where mostly German is spoken in the campground! Great hot showers and tasty pizza tho'. Short ferry rides to Venice where we saw the magnificent Cathedral and Doge's Palace, the Grand Canal and a ride on a Gondola of course. Wandered off through Vicenza, Verona, Padova, Lake Como up to the Swiss border.
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| St Gotthard Pass |
SWITZERLAND
August 12th Lake Garda?, and the St Gottard Pass to Zurich to see the gnomes before passing through Schwyz and Lucerne with its 14th century covered bridges. This country is quaint, flower-adorned and spectacularly beautiful. From Interlaken we tackled the Jungfraujoch (by road!) and the beautiful village of Grindelwald with its nearby glacier. Side trip to the awesome Trummelbach Falls (this is quite a sight) and a cable car trip up to Gimmelwald. This is awesomely spectacular and beautiful countryside!! Traversed the Grimsel and Furka Passes (and Sussten Pass ?) on the way to the Rhoner Gletscher, Andermatt and the OberAlp Pass. Through Romansch-speaking Graubunde to camp at Chur.
LIECHTENSTEIN -Blink and you have missed it! We bought some interesting postcards depicting Liechtenstein's Army! It seemed to have only one bloke !
AUSTRIA
August 17th Bludenz, Landeck, Inst to the Zugspitze on the German border.
GERMANY WEST
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles (how could you possibly describe the sheer magnificence of Neuschwanstein castle ? ), the Marienbruecke. The rococo church at Weis, Oberammergau, Linderhof and back into Austria via the incredibly steep Zirleburg road to Innsbrueck. Managed to get turned back at the German border for only having "Zoll plates" -"This car will never be driven in Germany again !!" so the gentleman said- drove back in the direction of Fuessen! Recrossed into Germany -a Miracle! Drove to Munich in constant drizzle to get the real picture about "Zollnummers" Wined and dined on the old standby "currywurst mit pommesfrites" at the HofbrauHaus. August 23rd -enjoyed the encyclopaedic Deutscher Museum with its fine collection of antique cars and World War II enemy aircraft. Spotted an Aussie Kombi with a sticker "Don't laugh !! your daughter may be inside!!" I was insensitive and laughed ! How much Currywurst can one eat ??
Out to see Dachau and then down to Rosenheim to sort out our Zollnummer insurance. August 26th Augsburg and the "Romantische Strasse": Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg.
Beautiful Heidelberg and its impressive ruined Schloss. We camped at a swamp. Later we did Rudesheim's Rhine Valley Drive, Niederwald Denkmal, the rock of the Lorelei and on to Koblenz.
Nurburgring, Eifel, Kornelmuenster to Aachen, Charlemagne's (Karolus Magnus anyone ?) city.
BELGIUM
August 31st Brussels -where you have to adapt to the local customs if you need to use local conveniences. I could expand on this !! Grand palace and the Mighty "Mannekin Pis" (don't miss it !!). Waterloo and Antwerp -goodbye Belgium
NETHERLANDS
Rotterdam and Delft -so cute.Slept on an expresway-to-be before moving on to Den Haag and Madurodam and Schipol Airport where we saw our first Boeing 747. September 3rd Amsterdam -Our-Lord-in-the-Attic, red light district -City is similar to London but without the skinheads and agro ("Ere...You lookin' for Bovver ?). Moved on to Volendam, Edam, heading for Venlo to catch up with a Dutch friend, Peter, from the Shota Rustaveli. Actually slept in a bed in Venlo! Travelled in Peter's 2 cylinder 600cc Citreon 2CV to Eindhoven and saw the futuristic "Evoluon" exhibition. Pushbike rides -a very Dutch thing to do!.GERMANY WEST
September 7th Wuppertal to ride the "Schwebebahn" and on to Munster to meet some German couple, Hans und Eva we had met earlier on our travels . A night at "Pinkus Mueller" pub for the strawberry beer. Drove through Hanover to the East German border.
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| Schloss Heidelberg (als es einmals waere) |
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| Bernauer Strassse |
GERMANY EAST and BERLIN
Made the Helmstedt-Marienborn crossing again -where border guards were avidly reading notes from peoples notebooks!. Arrived in the Berliner Ring and it was like visiting an island! The West was pumpin' but the borders were evidence of Berlin's isolation. A lot of the "Wall" was made up of abandoned buildings from the War. It was an exotic landscape. We resided alongside the impressive terracotta ruins of Anhalter BahnHof
GERMANY WEST
September 14th Luneburg Heath to beautiful half-timbered Luneburg. Hamburg's St Pauli district, Reeperbahn and even a visit to the "Eros Centre" (just looking !!) Lots of exciting stuff for sailors on sale in this city. Picturesque black ceramic brick adorned Lubeck where temperatures were dropping like a stone. Took the stylish Puttgarden to Rodbyhaven ferry
DENMARK
September 18th Copenhagen -mermaid statues + modern shops + Tivoli Gardens. Nice city. On to Roskilde and its excellent Viking Ship Museum. Really worth a visit. Helsingor Slot and the ferry across the pond.
SWEDEN
September 20th Halsingborg Castle, Lund and modern Malmo. Bypassed Goteborg to visit Vitlyke and Blondsholm viking burial site.
NORWAY
September 2rd Crossed border into pretty Oslo with its interesting Vigeland Sculpture Park. Cold weather forced us into a very nice Youth Hostel at Haraldsheim. Viking Ship museum at Bygdoy, the Polar explorer Ship "Fram" and the Norwegian Folk Museum. Fantastic autumn colours near the 12th century wood stave church at Torpo. Rain, sleet, snow descending to Fossli valleys and waterfalls in the mist. Ferry at Kinsarvik to Voss (oldest house in country -but closed for the winter) Really rugged mountain scenery in lurid colour and long unlit tunnels heading towards Bergen and its Hanseatic waterfront and funicular ride up the cliffs. Square-rigger "Stadraad Lehmskull" looked appropriate in the setting. Another 12th century wood stave church at Fantoft and ruins of an abbey at Lyse (1146). Seems to be an alcohol problem with the town's youth. They can't get enough of it. September 29th Sailed midday on the good ship "Venus"
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| Teachers from New York |
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| Bergen waterfront |
SCOTLAND
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| Whelk and Clappy stall |
NORTHERN IRELAND
October 4th 2 hrs on the "Ailsa Princess" with the lingering smell of some other passengers' rancid unwashed socks. We arrived at York Rd Station Belfast after one month into "internment". Mustering courage we caught the #12 bus through the Falls Road and wound up having a "chat" in a British Army bunker for being a little too too close to protesting Irish housewives. Unfortunately missed out on some photo opportunities at the time. For contrast we sauntered along the Crumlin Road too, just to demonstrate impartiality We left next morning for Merrie England
ENGLAND
October 5th Dumfries Tunnel to the red stone ruins of Sweetheart Abbey. Bypassed Carlisle to see partially ruined Lanercost Priory and then the Roman Wall (at Housesteads Roman Fort), Hexham Abbey, Corbridge Roman Fort, then the monolithic Norman Cathedral at Durham. Next, Darlington with Stephenson's "Locomotion" then the scenic town York with its Minster.
A trip through Oswaldtwistle and on to Garstang to meet up with friends, Richard and Sue from the Shota Rustaveli. They introduced us to Blackpool and its concomitant "Illuminations" as well as Lancaster and the Priory. Returning to the road via Liverpool and the Birkenhead Tunnel under the Mersey River, we found ourselves in black'n'white tudorlike Chester. Further on was Conway Castle and the Telford Suspension Bridge near to the "smallest house in Britain" I ain't seen smaller I must admit!. Next royally historic Caernavon Castle before continuing to Cymer Abbey and rugged/picturesqe countryside through Snowdonia. Cold night camping beside the road in the Kombi. -2 degrees and snowing !! Saw Raglan Castle just as camera shutter failed ! Tintern Abbey - beautiful! and Chepstow Castle. Visited Bristol to see John and Margaret (more folk from the Shota Rustaveli) -heaps of cold rain. October 16th: Heading for London Town via the Avebury Stone Circle we arrived at John and Leslies' warm abode at Kensington at 6 in the evening. We had luck in finding accomodation in same building as our friends (after a few days) ! Our first European trip was finally and officially over. back to work!
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| A group of Colonials gathering at Addison Road, Shepherd's Bush |
