Now then, now then! I feel I must apologise for not having made a significant contribution on here for over two whole months! Come to it, I haven't made any contribution on here for over two whole months! I could blame laziness, I could blame NZ's crappy dial up connection that I use, I could even go so far as to make stuff up in the form of excuses. But I won't.
Ah heck, I will. I'll blame laziness. And the dial up. And then I'll tell you that the reason the rest of my diary has not been posted on here is because I have been in talks about making it a book. Swap the word 'talks' for 'thoughts' and you're pretty much there. I'm trying find time amongst all the excitement of living in a new country, looking for somewhere to live in this new country, as well as somewhere to work, to try and write some stuff down and then attempt to sell it.
The other main reason for my absence from my own site is the lack of hatred and loathing I feel for my former employers. I have simply forgotten all about them. Maybe I'll post some excerpts from the final emails I received from them up here soon. That could be good for Christmas, what do you think?
Anyway, apologies again for the lack of content. I'll try and continue the trip diary where it left off soon. Before Christmas! But just in case I don't: have a good Christmas, won't you?
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Berlin and Warsaw
15th August 2008 - 14.55 - Moscow Time
Writing location: Somewhere between East Belarus and West Russia
Upon arriving in Berlin, we were glad to be free of our apartment (for those not aware of the meaning of ‘couchette’ – think 6 bunks, 3 high, strangers snoring and not much room for luggage!). We quickly washed in the Hbf’s WC and caught the S-Bahn to Berlin Lichtenberg, in the old East, where we were to catch our train to Warsaw later that evening. Making use of the station’s lockers, we headed straight to the TV Tower, as we had incorrectly read its closing time as 1pm! We spent some time viewing the city from up high, then took the pleasant walk to Checkpoint Charlie. Feeling quite tired, now, we grabbed a coffee and jumped on the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz. It had been nearly ten years since I visited Berlin and I saw a lot of change around the area of Potsdamer Platz – cosmopolitan being the word. We took a walk through the park (and rain!) to the Brandenburg Gate, where we witnessed a protest march against Russia’s actions in Georgia. Great! Just where we’re headed! We finished the evening in the Zoologischer Garten with a bad pizza and a display from some rather aged men on skateboards outside the church. One had quite scaly biceps, one was very thin and weedy and needed my Euro Cents to go get a meal and the third was rather obviously trying to cover up a few greys up top!
The train out of there that evening was quite a few steps above the couchette on the way in, only I was still getting used to sleeping at high (!) speed, so I didn’t feel great when we found ourselves in the dark, rust-stained confines of Warsaw Centralna station at 5.45am, having jumped off the early-arriving train in a moment of panic. Still, the attendant’s look of bewilderedness through the open window as the train just sat there for a good ten minutes longer made it a lasting memory!
The dodgy-looking taxi dropped us at the foot of the old town and we walked into our hotel at approximately 6.15am, a little early for our 2pm check in. After a couple of hours in ‘Coffee Heaven’, we made our way down towards a bridge we could see in the distance. It turned out to be the Mermaid Bridge, over the River Wisla. We then took a walk up into town, before tucking in to a Pizza Hut next door to the hotel. We checked in at about 1.59pm and were asleep by 2.03pm. Only for an hour, though!
We spent the warm, sunny evening wandering the old town, which included a trip up the viewing terrace and a walk to the Post Office, which we were told was open 24-7. It was!
Later, we settled down to a dinner in the main square where I had easily the best fillet steak and peppercorn sauce I have ever had. It didn’t cost a lot, either. We sat in the pub adjoining the restaurant after and wrote postcards to our family before returning to bed.
Next day, we opted to have breakfast out and trundled through the old town, trying to find somewhere to eat. One girl wouldn’t show us the breakfast menu for a while, insisting that we took a seat before she would show us it! When we told her that we wanted to look around a bit first, she just replied “Welcome to our restaurant!” After eventually finding somewhere open and reasonably priced (bacon toast and omelette), we headed back down to the river to see if we could take a trip on a boat we had seen yesterday. On the walk there, we found a place called ‘Hula Kula’ which seemed to be a giant mall and library, only with the most amazing garden built onto its roof – which you could walk around. Upon arriving at the river front, we enquired about the next river boat trip, but they told us “Not today”, presumably because there were no other takers. We sat by the Mermaid Bridge and statue and watched people bathing in the fountain beneath the statue. They were getting a bit carried away and it wasn’t long until a pair of Community Support Officers (Polish equivalent!) came and told them to stop. We took the mass exodus as our opportunity to take some photos, before walking up into town for a ‘Fresh Point’ sandwich and a piece of Warsaw Friend Chicken, although they were continuing their adamance that it was from Kentucky for some reason. We then sat in the park and watched the guards guarding the thing that had burning flames and therefore really needed guarding, before heading to the Museum of Caricature.
Back in the old town after that, we watched this amazing artist creating ‘Space Paintings’ with only a handful of spray cans and about three tools – it was truly amazing stuff! After a drink on the old wall, we visited a Mongolian restaurant we had seen before for dinner. Unfortunately, the ‘Mongolian’ part seemed to just be an advert for a restaurant elsewhere in town, so we enjoyed our Chinese dinner.
We returned to the Castle Inn hotel where we had been staying and collected our bags and bought bus tickets. The same girl who provided us with bus times and sold us the tickets ended up catching the bus with us and chatting with us about our journey. She happened to mention that she felt Warsaw train station was a sorry sight, left over from communism, and that with Euro 2012 just 4 years away, they would definitely have to change it. We left Warsaw in agreement of her statement: Amazing city; shame about the station! She also managed to drop in her bit for the Polish Tourist Board by saying: “I hope that you will come over and see us in Warsaw again soon.” Along with a quick “Hello!” as she got off the bus. I’ll remember that!
Writing location: Somewhere between East Belarus and West Russia
Upon arriving in Berlin, we were glad to be free of our apartment (for those not aware of the meaning of ‘couchette’ – think 6 bunks, 3 high, strangers snoring and not much room for luggage!). We quickly washed in the Hbf’s WC and caught the S-Bahn to Berlin Lichtenberg, in the old East, where we were to catch our train to Warsaw later that evening. Making use of the station’s lockers, we headed straight to the TV Tower, as we had incorrectly read its closing time as 1pm! We spent some time viewing the city from up high, then took the pleasant walk to Checkpoint Charlie. Feeling quite tired, now, we grabbed a coffee and jumped on the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz. It had been nearly ten years since I visited Berlin and I saw a lot of change around the area of Potsdamer Platz – cosmopolitan being the word. We took a walk through the park (and rain!) to the Brandenburg Gate, where we witnessed a protest march against Russia’s actions in Georgia. Great! Just where we’re headed! We finished the evening in the Zoologischer Garten with a bad pizza and a display from some rather aged men on skateboards outside the church. One had quite scaly biceps, one was very thin and weedy and needed my Euro Cents to go get a meal and the third was rather obviously trying to cover up a few greys up top!
The train out of there that evening was quite a few steps above the couchette on the way in, only I was still getting used to sleeping at high (!) speed, so I didn’t feel great when we found ourselves in the dark, rust-stained confines of Warsaw Centralna station at 5.45am, having jumped off the early-arriving train in a moment of panic. Still, the attendant’s look of bewilderedness through the open window as the train just sat there for a good ten minutes longer made it a lasting memory!
The dodgy-looking taxi dropped us at the foot of the old town and we walked into our hotel at approximately 6.15am, a little early for our 2pm check in. After a couple of hours in ‘Coffee Heaven’, we made our way down towards a bridge we could see in the distance. It turned out to be the Mermaid Bridge, over the River Wisla. We then took a walk up into town, before tucking in to a Pizza Hut next door to the hotel. We checked in at about 1.59pm and were asleep by 2.03pm. Only for an hour, though!
We spent the warm, sunny evening wandering the old town, which included a trip up the viewing terrace and a walk to the Post Office, which we were told was open 24-7. It was!
Later, we settled down to a dinner in the main square where I had easily the best fillet steak and peppercorn sauce I have ever had. It didn’t cost a lot, either. We sat in the pub adjoining the restaurant after and wrote postcards to our family before returning to bed.
Next day, we opted to have breakfast out and trundled through the old town, trying to find somewhere to eat. One girl wouldn’t show us the breakfast menu for a while, insisting that we took a seat before she would show us it! When we told her that we wanted to look around a bit first, she just replied “Welcome to our restaurant!” After eventually finding somewhere open and reasonably priced (bacon toast and omelette), we headed back down to the river to see if we could take a trip on a boat we had seen yesterday. On the walk there, we found a place called ‘Hula Kula’ which seemed to be a giant mall and library, only with the most amazing garden built onto its roof – which you could walk around. Upon arriving at the river front, we enquired about the next river boat trip, but they told us “Not today”, presumably because there were no other takers. We sat by the Mermaid Bridge and statue and watched people bathing in the fountain beneath the statue. They were getting a bit carried away and it wasn’t long until a pair of Community Support Officers (Polish equivalent!) came and told them to stop. We took the mass exodus as our opportunity to take some photos, before walking up into town for a ‘Fresh Point’ sandwich and a piece of Warsaw Friend Chicken, although they were continuing their adamance that it was from Kentucky for some reason. We then sat in the park and watched the guards guarding the thing that had burning flames and therefore really needed guarding, before heading to the Museum of Caricature.
Back in the old town after that, we watched this amazing artist creating ‘Space Paintings’ with only a handful of spray cans and about three tools – it was truly amazing stuff! After a drink on the old wall, we visited a Mongolian restaurant we had seen before for dinner. Unfortunately, the ‘Mongolian’ part seemed to just be an advert for a restaurant elsewhere in town, so we enjoyed our Chinese dinner.
We returned to the Castle Inn hotel where we had been staying and collected our bags and bought bus tickets. The same girl who provided us with bus times and sold us the tickets ended up catching the bus with us and chatting with us about our journey. She happened to mention that she felt Warsaw train station was a sorry sight, left over from communism, and that with Euro 2012 just 4 years away, they would definitely have to change it. We left Warsaw in agreement of her statement: Amazing city; shame about the station! She also managed to drop in her bit for the Polish Tourist Board by saying: “I hope that you will come over and see us in Warsaw again soon.” Along with a quick “Hello!” as she got off the bus. I’ll remember that!
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
First Entry
15th August 2008 - 12.53
Writing location: Somewhere between Warsaw and Belarus
I'll skip out all the bits about how saying goodbye to my family at London St. Pancras wasn't an easy thing to do and how the past few days have been full of thoughts about how the move could have been planned a bit better. Yeah. I won't mention that.
It's been a whirlwind few days as we have made our way across Europe, from London to Warsaw and now we're on to Moscow already!
First stop was Brussels: a friendly, though smelly town. At least the part where Brussels-Midi station is found is not that nice! Fortunately there was a fun fair on, so the district was lit up nicely and had plenty of fun and joy on display! After a good few miles traipsing round town, we decided on a Leffe and a Maes in (or outside, rather!) a bar opposite this curious, recent-looking castle. We then headed to the station to check that our luggage was actually stowed for the 24 hours we had dealt at, then tucked in for an omellette and pasta over the square from the station. The food was pretty good and the service wasn't bad. Oh, and 31euros for a meal for two, including drinks and service, right opposite an international rail station seems pretty reasonable for 2008!
We hung out at the station, making full use of the Haegan Daaz provided sofas, until several hefty men just came along and closed them down for the night by simply chucking them back into the shop! After that, we moved up to the platform and waited with the multinational congregation of passengers. The train arrived right on time (the delayed time!) and we scrambled aboard. Our boarding wasn't helped by the unorthodox method of ordering the coaches - a system that sent two older ladies, whom we had overhead praising the Eurostar for all manner of things, into quite a spin. A few shouts of words like 'Ridiculous' and 'Absolutely' in various orders followed. This was the only part of the trip where we didn't have double occupancy and this midnight madness was rounded off with our discovery of what, exactly, 'couchette' means...
Writing location: Somewhere between Warsaw and Belarus
I'll skip out all the bits about how saying goodbye to my family at London St. Pancras wasn't an easy thing to do and how the past few days have been full of thoughts about how the move could have been planned a bit better. Yeah. I won't mention that.
It's been a whirlwind few days as we have made our way across Europe, from London to Warsaw and now we're on to Moscow already!
First stop was Brussels: a friendly, though smelly town. At least the part where Brussels-Midi station is found is not that nice! Fortunately there was a fun fair on, so the district was lit up nicely and had plenty of fun and joy on display! After a good few miles traipsing round town, we decided on a Leffe and a Maes in (or outside, rather!) a bar opposite this curious, recent-looking castle. We then headed to the station to check that our luggage was actually stowed for the 24 hours we had dealt at, then tucked in for an omellette and pasta over the square from the station. The food was pretty good and the service wasn't bad. Oh, and 31euros for a meal for two, including drinks and service, right opposite an international rail station seems pretty reasonable for 2008!
We hung out at the station, making full use of the Haegan Daaz provided sofas, until several hefty men just came along and closed them down for the night by simply chucking them back into the shop! After that, we moved up to the platform and waited with the multinational congregation of passengers. The train arrived right on time (the delayed time!) and we scrambled aboard. Our boarding wasn't helped by the unorthodox method of ordering the coaches - a system that sent two older ladies, whom we had overhead praising the Eurostar for all manner of things, into quite a spin. A few shouts of words like 'Ridiculous' and 'Absolutely' in various orders followed. This was the only part of the trip where we didn't have double occupancy and this midnight madness was rounded off with our discovery of what, exactly, 'couchette' means...
The Trip begins...
Firstly: apologies to anyone who's been watching this blog intently over the last two months, hoping for a post to appear. The lack of internet providers along the way meant I took the decision to simply keep a journal of the trip and then later post it up here once the journey was over. I'm taking a risk here. I'm going to start to publish the best bits without us having a reliable internet connection to keep it up regularly and, if the truth be known, before I've properly finished my journal.
All in good time, though, all in good time...
All in good time, though, all in good time...
Friday, 5 September 2008
Update! At last!
Apologies if I appear to have taken a train off the edge of the earth. Some parts of Russia, and indeed the world, don't have easy or decent access to ol' Mother Internet, so the blog has failed in any kind of 'travel sense' to be a travel blog.
Rest assured, I have been keeping written copy of all that's gone on on our travels and this will be available, here, upon our arrival in NZ.
Yippee.
Rest assured, I have been keeping written copy of all that's gone on on our travels and this will be available, here, upon our arrival in NZ.
Yippee.
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Quiet times?
I just thought I would write a quicky after what has been a physically and mentally tiring week which consisted of moving out of our flat, arguing with a pair of plonkers who I (used to) work for, visiting Cardiff for two days and a stag do...
I won't say much more for now, as I'm incredibly tired, but expect a proper proper proper update on here very soon! We leave on Monday...
I won't say much more for now, as I'm incredibly tired, but expect a proper proper proper update on here very soon! We leave on Monday...
Friday, 1 August 2008
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Well, that didn't go to plan!
We didn't exactly fit in the accomodation booking last night! By the time we'd had dinner and chilled out a bit, it was time to go to bed! Pretty pathetic excuse, I know, considering how much we have to get done over the next few days!
My girlfriend found an excellent looking log cabin by Lake Baikal, which is surely going to be an excellent place to stay. She has emailed them to see if it's available during our stay. Also, we have decided on our hotel for the two nights in Moscow earlier on in the trip, we just have to book it now, so we have done a little towards it!
I mentioned in a previous post about wanting to stay in a traditional Mongolian ger along the way. We think we have found a good looking place, with very reasonable rates too, only trouble is the transfers from Ulan Bator to it are not cheap. Still, a decision will have to be made on this very soon!
I best get on with my work now...
My girlfriend found an excellent looking log cabin by Lake Baikal, which is surely going to be an excellent place to stay. She has emailed them to see if it's available during our stay. Also, we have decided on our hotel for the two nights in Moscow earlier on in the trip, we just have to book it now, so we have done a little towards it!
I mentioned in a previous post about wanting to stay in a traditional Mongolian ger along the way. We think we have found a good looking place, with very reasonable rates too, only trouble is the transfers from Ulan Bator to it are not cheap. Still, a decision will have to be made on this very soon!
I best get on with my work now...
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Second day in the final week...
All ok today! The only issue seems to be that one of them has something very important of mine. I'm apparently getting it back tomorrow, but we shall see!
With everything that is going on, I have realised that I haven't made any proper approaches for work once we get to New Zealand. I think I will spend the latter part of this week and part of the weekend on that (although just writing about it has made me go and have a look!)
We're both really excited about the trip now and are going to spend the evening booking up the rest of the accomodation we need!
With everything that is going on, I have realised that I haven't made any proper approaches for work once we get to New Zealand. I think I will spend the latter part of this week and part of the weekend on that (although just writing about it has made me go and have a look!)
We're both really excited about the trip now and are going to spend the evening booking up the rest of the accomodation we need!
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